Off the Beaten Path

"It's about the journey, not the destination."

A saying that I've heard a lot and have taken on myself, in respects to most aspects of life.

I've learned that living each day is the most difficult part of life. But, each day also produces the most minute measures of joy that can give me so much inspiration and motivation to learn and grow more and more each day.

Denis Leary's stand-up always reminds of life's simple pleasures. (Happiness comes in small doses - 2:50) " LIFE SUCKS! GET A F@#$!? HELMET!"

Now, I haven't battled through addiction or lost the love of my life, but I can get a sense for what it must be like to actually walk in another persons shoes.

Art is Bashing (my brains)

My recent conversation with Curt Apwisch, singer and bassist for the band, Hotel War - Columbus, OH, is a prime example of enduring each day. We all go through the daily grind in our own way. Doing our best to 'keep it all together' in search of our dreams, goals, or simply just to get to the weekend.

He might be having a difficult go right now, but I reassured him that his journey will provide him with the tools necessary to reach his next achievement plateau. Unfortunately, we all reach a plateau at some point. The trick for me is to enjoy the success briefly, then move on to push through to the next achievement. Not too high, not too low. Just steady Eddie.

Now, my good friends in Hotel War are living the so-called 'Starving Artist' lifestyle. They do what they have to do to afford them the freedom and independence to imagine, create and explore their musical talents. They have sacrificed for their art, their craft that comes from some source of inner inspiration and desire to tell a story.

Why does a song bird sing?

Maybe it just feels natural. Maybe it's a gift to whomever will listen. Maybe to reach out to its surrounding community.

Just as a bird sings, so do people and instruments, creating a rhythm, beat and a tune that can sound excruciatingly painful, or angelic and peaceful. Anywhere in between there too, depending on who you talk to.

I've seen the lead guitarist of Hotel War, Justin Nash, make his six string instrument transform into a slip 'n slide, when his fingers glide up and down the neck of his guitar, as he searches for the perfect note to pick. This occurs countless times during a song, faster than the blink of an eye.

Mesmerized am I, watching the set move on, as Curt's voice, which is influenced by the likes of Vedder & Morrison, consumes and tackles the grungy spectators with his voracious, self-taught front-man moves. Justin says Curt is really feeling the music when his feet are tapping the stage like an excited Maximus - their dog - tail flicking the kitchen floor when their owner returns home.

One thing I love about Justin after I watch his performance is his self-criticism. He will always ask me my thoughts on their show, as if he knows he is being evaluated by a rock-guru-all-star critic. (Funny thing is, he already knows where the band F'ed up and how it needs to be fixed.) I am always pleased, sweaty, and buzzed - from beer and the band - which makes me a terrible friend sometimes, because I know he wants to hear more, but, honestly I don't know how they put their music together. I can't give them anything tangible to criticize their performance. I can barely whistle and walk.

I'm a friend who is happy to see his best friends smiling in the face of adversity. Having a passion for music and seeing that passion left on stage in the form of blood, sweat and beers. Soldier on my boys. You may never reach the destination in your mind, but the rest of us are sure enjoying the ride and wish you all the best.

I'm working on getting a show together April 25th, somewhere in Cincinnati. Show some support for the boys and come for the passion. And whiskey!

PS ~ the top pic is the band plus one tambourine specialist. Me! My shining moment as the boys were kind enough to even entertain the idea of me coming up to play with them on my favorite song. It was an experience I can only describe as 'Close to orgasmic without the orgasm!'

Alternative Motive for Life

My friend Logan Wallace has created "A Good Conscience Company" that reflects his outlook on life.

I believe it began with his vision of the design that alternativemotive.com sports, as it's badge of expression. From what I recall, Logan always saw this picture in his head. He drew it all over the place, especially on cd's that he owned.

Eventually, as his free-spirited nature would bring to fruition, he made the decision to go his own way and take the entrepreneurial route. Starting something he could call his own, the basic building blocks were already in place, somewhere, all jumbled in that zany head of his.

I believe the company exudes a clean & modern approach to business by the name, logo, and simply by having a conversation with Logan. He's always got ideas that are far-fetched to most, but seem pretty damn realistic in his world. I love this about Logan because he doesn't fear the unknown to often and isn't worried about the naysayers or objectors. He even went on Mtv to share is vision for his clothing company. That's bravery in my book.

Many people have ideas - including myself - but bringing the idea to life is the difficult part. Logan did this as a young twenty-something.

Alternative Motive is a clothing company that highlights Cincinnati, but also takes note of issues that affect the world such as breast cancer, free trade, and conservation and beautification. His company has donated a few thousand dollars to various programs, which is very inspirational for those that like to lend a helping hand.

Logan and his wife, Christie (who happens to own a cute second-hand store, The Mustard Seed Boutique) reside in Cincinnati, and both played soccer at Xavier.

Playoff Bound

Quick update on the 1790 Cincinnati soccer team. After winning an overtime thriller over the Stockton Cougars, considered the leagues lynch-pin keystone organization, 1790 hosted the St. Louis Illusion and won yet another game. The record stands at the league best 11-2 and the last win over STL clinched the number one seed in the playoffs, in Stockton, CA March 13-15.

We are heading to Detroit Friday, last home game is Friday, February 27th and finish the regular season with a road trip to STL March 7th.

Our organization doesn't have much exposure to the Cincinnati soccer community, but regardless, a championship cannot be taken away from the pride, dedication and hard work put in over the course of the indoor season.

Stay tuned.

It's a Way of Life

Big news in the ketchup world today!

For all you Heinz lovers, things, they are, a-changin'!

I was reading my new york times - the web version - and came across staggering news that Heinz is revamping the look of the bottle.

The pickle - which happens to be the first product that Heinz sold - that has been emblazoned on the bottle since its inception is being replaced by a cute tomato on a vine and adorning the slogan "Grown Not Made."

Apparently, tradition must be stomped on, sullied in ketchup, bullied and forced to wear a new outfit - like a pimp belittling his hoes for the clothes she wears.

This stain on the ketchup nation will take years to be washed out. No bleach strong enough.

During the ketchup movement, I have been a strong advocate for necessary use on most foods, even on most condiments.

People give me the stink eye when they see what happens to my eggs, corn beef hash, sausage & hashbrowns. Drenched in the slathering of tomato-ee goodness that puts Caligula's meals to shame!

Let it be known around the globe that we ketchup enthusiasts will unite in the fight between the good vs. the bad - btw, we are the good - the righteous red soldiers against the evil mercenaries who's sole end is for ketchup to meet its maker in the gut-wrenching, soul-bearing depths of the underworld.


KETCHUP TO CLAY

Traditions have real sentimental value, one thing that I learned from my dad at a young age.

I believe the story goes that one of his girlfriends tried to throw away a simple clay bowl that I made as a 2nd grader. The clay bowl sat on our desk, usually with rainy day change inside. My dad was between marriages and my brother and I stayed with him on WPAFB housing on Hickam Drive.

He got pissed that she wanted to throw it away, and me being young, not knowing the difference, I heard the word 'sentimental' and then understood why my dad kept many things I thought to be old. He taught me to take care of the things we did have. I don't know how I could have understood such an adult word at the age of 8, but it resonated with me. From keeping tabs on the whereabouts of my soccer ball, oiling my baseball mitt, and even keeping an eye on my little brother, I learned the lesson.

Not sell his spare set of golf clubs at a pawn shop for $35 that my brother borrowed! LOL!!!

I've said it before & I'll say it again...

My very small community of All Things Sam is about keeping the peeps up on what's trendy, nifty, & hot - like, um, like Paris', "that's hot."

Something like that.

Rather, it's more a place I'd like to highlight what's going on around me.

I just want to jot down a few ideas that I will be writing about in the future.

1) My friend Logan and his super cool, environmentally & socially conscious t-shirt biz, Alternative Motives.

2) My pseudo-uncle-in-law, Jake Speed & the Freddies - a Queen City Bluegrass Band.

3) My boys in Columbus, Hotel War. - a rock band that has plans of bathing in stardom.

4) My friend Karen writes, blogs, journals, and investigates for the latest trends in fashion, art, architecture, & design, where the epicenter is Cool Hunting.

5) Maribelle's Tavern - my roommates restaurant. My bruva was the former chef. But he's too rich.

6) Mount Lookout/Columbia Tusculum - the eastern quarters of the City of Cincinnati where I reside.

That should keep me busy for now. Any ideas, post some comments.

TwitterBug

Curiosity consumed me again to finally check out Twitter to see what all the fuss is about. My twitter name is allthingssam.

Twitter is, in Lehman's terms, another form of social media that allows each user to share their two-cents worthy update to their profile with 140 characters or less.

Most peeps like to post what they are doing, share a catchy cliche, provide a link of interest to an article, & allow others to know what song they are listening to, via Blip. My blip name is Bigsmooth.

It's an interesting new way to share your whereabouts, happenings, going-ons, ideas, quirks, and idiosyncracies.

Of course many people can update their prompt, "What are you doing?", on the go via cellphones which seems to make you much cooler, especially if you have an iPhone, where you can give the 411 on your likes and perturbs while sitting on a terrace at the trendy coffee shop.

Yes, I have dreamed of having an iPhone, but damn verizon doesn't provide one single quality phone of my liking that doesn't require a 750 credit score or a 1600 on your SAT! (Yeah, sure, you get 400 points for spelling your name correctly. Who came up with that urban myth? Idiot.)

If you want a more interesting read with some insight and some deets, check out this nyt article.

Honestly, I'm not one for letting my entire rollodex - do they still make those? - know where I am and what I'm up to at all hours of each day. I enjoy my quiet time too. But, occasionally, everyone feels the need to muster up some inspiration to share to their support group, family & friends, business colleagues, customers, and anybody else looking to waste more time that they could be procrastinating in better ways.

Thanks for the comic Pumpernickel.

A History Lesson

Okay, so 1790 Cincinnati hasn't quite the true sounding ring of a traditional sports team in America. It doesn't roll off the tongue as smooth as sorbet. There isn't even a debate on a mascot! But one thing is true: It is unique.

Maybe when the marketing team gets the word out about our organization, it will shed the "Excite" skin and become its own brand.

Now, onto more important concerns and questions that people are have been knocking my door down about. Yeah, right.

What the hell does 1790 mean anyway?

To answer this, I had to do some research. Let's take a little look at history and language.

This city was formally founded in 1788. But, it was initially called Losantiville.

Now if you remember anything from your Latin and Greek class you took in the 7th grade - of course I don't because I didn't go to a private school like everyone from Cincinnati - you will recognize that 'os' is Latin for "mouth", 'anti' is Greek for "opposite", 'ville' is French for 'town", and 'L' was a leftover from the 'L'icking River.

Add this equation up and you come to your solution: "The city opposite the mouth of the Licking River."

That still doesn't answer the question. Onward we go.

Losantiville at the time was considered 'West' or rather a Northwestern Territory at the time. I guess names can come and go because the governor at the time decided he was going to change the name of the territory to Cincinnati in the year 1790.

This name is referenced back to a popular Roman dictator, Cincinnatus, who saved Rome from destruction then quietly retired to his farm.

For those non-history buffs, just watch the movie Gladiator. There are some similarities. Minus the actual Gladiator parts.

Beyond that little ditty, I never really understood the significance of the weapon in the 1790 logo. ( Is that a volleyball too? )

The weapon is known as a 'Fasces', which signifies 'power' and 'jurisdiction' and 'strength through unity' - yes, another Gladiator quote.

You can see the tool that was used to represent these sentiments within a statue right here in Cincinnati. A tribute to Cincinnatus. See picture below.

Pretty cool stuff once you break it all down. Everything seems to be derived from the past. So the point of this story is to call your grandparents once in awhile ya stroke!

On another note:

1790 is currently in first place in the PASL. Our bout with the Stockton Cougars last Saturday resulted in a fantastic win in overtime.

Final score: 8 - 7. Yep, I dropped a bomb.com as well. It was also great to see my Uncle Mike in attendance!

Breathe & Smile

I began to read this post from The Change Blog and started scanning, thinking to myself blah, blah, change, self-help, blah, someone needs a kleenex, doo-bee-doo-be-do, more fake ways of helping people cope, etc...

Then something caught my eye. I began to read the words. "Yes, everyone breathes." My inner monologue said. "Most people can smile. Yes, yes, and yes."

This may be useful to some people to simply relax and gain some composure throughout the day.

Don't worry. Be happy!

I'm not an Economist but...

Operation Bailout

CNN article - Thought this was of interest. Hopefully the numbers are close to factual. At least it gives an idea of the incomprehensible figures that are constantly being thrown around by the media outlets.

I pay my meager taxes each year as an independent contractor, living single, renting a home, and get by just fine.

I do feel for the many people that are getting the short end of the stick in this financial downturn of living high on the hog as a society.

I hope that the current struggle becomes a blessing in disguise for our nation in the long run. We made a few wrong turns somewhere. Time to retrace our steps and solve the problems with surgery & rehab versus peroxide, gauze and a bandage.

1790 CINCINNATI - Yes, formerly the Excite

Professional soccer in Cincinnati has had a troubled past sustaining itself as a well-oiled business. Eventually, some suit has to get the books right, right? The business end seems to bring many soccer organizations to its demise, not only in Cincinnati, which is disheartening if you wish to see soccer succeed in America.

I understand soccer is a second-rate spectator sport in my country, and the popularity and understanding of the game is meager. If only, people in America, could grasp what soccer means to the rest of the world - I mean, we did label the so-called super bowl of sports 'Football,' which still baffles me.

Let's take a look at how many professional soccer organizations have come and gone from the Queen City.

Cincinnati Kids - 1978
Cincinnati Cheetahs - 1992-93
Cincinnati Silverbacks - 1996-98
Cincinnati Riverhawks - 1998-2003
Cincinnati Excite - 2004-2008*
Cincinnati Kings - 2005-2007*
* I was the token long-haired hippie on the team

Each organization has ceased operations, except the Kings, who have moved from a third-tier professional team to a developmental league that allows high school & college kids to gain near-professional-experience and a place to play at a high level during the summer months.

Which brings us to the only remaining professional soccer club in Cincinnati - drum roll please: badadabadada badadada - 1790!

Not a surprise to some who know the story - at least, the story I vaguely assume but haven't made any fact checks to be sure if it's even true - but I've been asked too many times so I will elaborate on where 1790 is derived from, where it plans to be headed, what happened to the former pro indoor team - yeah, indoor. you know, turf, walls, sambas, Tony Bono! - and what's been going on within our new organization and league.

I plan to add to this topic periodically so stay tuned for the deats! (That's details for you long-handers.)