Last week, Paul did the Crash Bag, to near-universal acclaim. One commenter remarked that he preferred Paul’s more level-headed tone to my “sour” and “bitter” outlook, and while I appreciate lemons as much as the next guy, that remark got me thinking: I do find myself in a default state of bitter, florid, impotent rage. It’s not that surprising, considering my hobbies:
- Watching/thinking about/reading about/writing about the Phillies.
- Watching/thinking about/reading about/writing about the Sixers.
- Watching/thinking about/reading about other teams I follow: Arsenal, the Flyers, the Eagles, the South Carolina Gamecocks.
- Consuming narrative fiction that’s heavy, dark and extremely cynical, like House of Cards and the novels of Richard Ford.
- Consuming music that is heavy and wallows in human weakness and suffering.
- Contemplating the pitiable futility and smallness of the existence of mankind in general and myself in particular.
Not a lot to get excited about there, particularly when you’re as pessimistic a person as I am anyway.
So I had a conversation with myself that would mirror the famous exchange between Powers Boothe and C. Thomas Howell in Red Dawn and decided that this week’s Crash Bag will be a positive, happy experience. If I can pull it off. We shall see.
@mdubz11: “predict ryan howard’s season.”
Ah, they test my optimism right off the bat. Very well (dons turban and places crystal ball on the table) mmmmmmm….ooogly moogly….