Do You Ever Compare Yourself to Others?

One of the dangers that cyclists face is looking where they don’t want to go, ie: seeing a ditch or the front of a car and riding into it.

I’ve personally experienced this. One time I went mountain biking with a friend and I was riding a little too close to him. When he suddenly braked all I thought about was, “Don’t flip into the ditch…DON’T FLIP!”

Lo and behold, I still ended up braking hard with the front brakes, went over the handle bars, scraping my palm, and then rolling into the ditch.

Look where you want to go, not where you want to avoid.

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How to Drag 70 Naval Ships Across Over 3 Miles of Land

In the 1400s Constantinople was the global trade center of its time. Because of its strategic location, Napoleon stated:

“If the world was one kingdom, there would be no better city befitting to be its capitol than Constantinople.”

History tells us Mehmed El Fatih “the Conqueror” laid siege to the city and conquered it in 1453. Utilizing it as a strategic point of leverage against the European powers of his time, thus folks tried to find other trade routes to India and the “Far East.”

It’s for this reason in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. But, let’s take a look at things from a different perspective.

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Has Hollywood Run Out of Ideas?

In the entertainment industry there’s a common saying that goes along the lines of, “Give me the same but different!”

I feel as though most don’t understand what it means. My understanding of that saying is, “Give me the same emotional ride, but different (but relatable) characters, settings, names, and situations.

Shortly after I had watched the movie “Dredd” I realized it was very similar to “V for Vendetta.”

Both stories’ hero or main protagonist wasn’t the one depicted on the poster. In fact, in both films, the character featured on the cover hardly has any character change.

The iconic poster characters were placed there because they were characters that people recognize and would help in the marketing. But, in the story, they are who they are in the beginning and the end.

The real heroes are the female side-kicks that these poster characters take on in the story.

The film connects us with these female side kicks on a core emotional level. Some character trade allows us to relate to them or be sympathetic toward them.For example, the female side-kicks in both stories were orphans.

This allows us to experience the story and their personal change through their journey.

Here are some more poster examples for fun.

movie posters

movie poster

Why Some Poor Folks Get Fed and Others Do Not

The following is simply an observation on human interaction and communication. You can derive your own conclusions about the parties involved. But, please do share whatever insights you derive.

Chinatown in DC is a fascinating place. After you get over the fact that unlike Chinatown NYC, it’s not very Chinese, you realize Chinatown DC is a meeting place between poverty and affluence, and the Verizon Center seems to be the focal point.

I frequent the Chipotle and Dunkin Donuts there almost daily, and when I’m eating my breakfast or Lunch I like observing the people going in and out as well as those hanging about.

I’ve noticed varying successes of the poor enlisting the help of those who have the ability to give.

Key difference I’ve observed between those that get fed and those that continue on begging is the position from which they communicate.

“Can you help me please?” or “Spare some change maam…” from a sitting position hardly every yields a response from the commuters in motion.

However, those that get fed always begin with rapport in body movement. Either opening the door for the commuters going in an out or moving at the same pace as the one they’re about to approach.

Some smile while they’re at it.

The next part, that closes the deal is specificity in language. They say something along the lines of, “Excuse me sir.”

“Yes?” The commuter responds.

The poor gentleman looks them straights in the eye, body turned toward the person, “I’m very hungry. Would you be so kind to buy me a meal?”

The commuter now giving full attention, “I don’t have any cash on me, but I can buy you some Chipotle.”

The poor man responds, “I don’t know. I never had Chipotle.”

The commuter answers, “It’s good food. Wholesome and healthy.”

“Do they have lettuce?” The poor man asks.

“They do.” Answers the commuter.

The poor man responds, “I don’t like lettuce. Let’s go to McDonald’s!”

If You Refuse to Tell Your Story, Others Will Tell it for You

A few months ago I saw the movie “Act of Valor” on demand. This live-action movie was filmed by the Bandito Brothers, a couple of independent Hollywood filmmakers who made their career being stunt men.

The film was almost never made because of the SEAL community’s protectiveness toward military secrets. Later they decided instead to focus on individual people’s stories.

During the promotions I was intrigued, not because they were using active duty seals, which had never been done before. But, by the fact that they were using DSLR cameras to film it, as opposed to the typical large digital cinema cameras that many times require multiple people to operate.

In addition to the advantage of mobility and cost, DSLR cameras have the option to attach some of the finest lenses and have the greatest low-light capture capabilities known today.

When I finally saw the film however, I was disappointed in the story. The film starts off featuring the bad guy carrying out an embassy bombing. The antagonist is shown as a white guy who speaks Russian. Then later turns out its a Chechen Muslim. At that point I was like, “unh!”

Later I was thinking, “Where was this intel before the Boston bombings?”

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