Tuesday Afternoon Ramblings

I’ve battled weight my entire life.  Genetically, I’m predisposed to Type II or Adult Onset Diabetes.  My body produces too much insulin, known as hyperinsulinism, and also has grown resistant to insulin as it attempts to convert glucose into energy, known as insulin resistance.  The results of these two conditions are a constant craving for something sweet or starchy to eat and the conversion of glucose into fat for storage.  It’s a difficult combination, and sometimes, the sugar cravings get so intense that I give in and binge for two or three days.  Then, I feel terrible for a week or two.  I don’t mean I feel guilty, although there is some of that.  No, I mean I physically feel as if I’m dying after a bad binge.

When I eat properly — and that’s properly according to what works for my metabolism — I feel great.  My energy levels are tremendous, I don’t get afternoon “brain-fog,” and the cravings dissipate.  I can go for weeks without having any sugars or starches.  During these periods, I lose weight and feel somewhat good about myself.  Then, inevitably, something happens to trigger a strong craving.  Maybe I have an especially bad day at work, or maybe I’m just missing my sons a little more than usual.  I turn to food for comfort, and the thought is always the same, “I’ve been doing really well.  Eating sugar tonight won’t hurt.”  Two days later, I’ve undermined all of the progress I’ve made the previous six or eight weeks.

My friends and colleagues don’t help, either.  I’m certain they mean well, but every single day, someone offers me something I shouldn’t eat.  I’ll politely decline, and they’ll say something like, “Oh, that’s right.  You’re diabetic.”  Then, the next day, they offer me something else almost identical.  They mean well, but when I’m already craving something, it’s difficult to then have it waved in front of me.

Luckily for me, I carry my weight fairly well, and few people believe that I need to lose as much weight as I do.  I won’t publish the number here, but trust me, it’s a daunting figure.  I’m working a little each day towards my goal, but anyone who has needed to lose weight knows how hard it is.  At this point in my life, I don’t care so much about how I look.  I’m far beyond ever being mistaken for a model, but I want to get healthy while I still am in pretty good health, if that makes any sense.  My heart is still in fairly good shape, but if I don’t get down to my goal weight soon, I know that serious issues will begin to surface.

On that note, it’s time for my afternoon walk.

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Monday Afternoon Ramblings

First of all, congratulations to the New Orleans Saints for winning the Super Bowl.  It’s great to see a team and a city have that kind of relationship, and it reminds me a little of the connection between the Steelers teams of the 70’s and the city that was suffering through the decline of the steel industry.  Back then, the team gave pride to the community at a time when it desperately needed something to believe in.  Hopefully, the people of New Orleans will take this victory and use it as inspiration for the better days to come.

We all need those better days, regardless of where you live.  These last few years have been a struggle for most of us.  Jobs are scarce; jobs that pay a real livable wage are even scarcer.  During the Super Bowl, a local commercial for a heart surgery center came on, and I thought to myself how many of us could really afford, even with insurance, to have the kind of care they offer.  I know I can’t at my current salary as an Instructor of English.  If this country is ever going to return to any semblance of prosperity, we need jobs and salaries that allow us to participate fully in the system.

Like the city of New Orleans, maybe as we rebuild, we can build things a little better this time so that the next storm doesn’t do quite so much damage.

www.thirdaxe.com

Friday Morning Ramblings

Apparently very few of my fans like football because my NFL week has been an abysmal failure, but I’ve enjoyed writing them, so it’s okay.  I know Dagan and Ferg enjoyed the ones they read, and reliving some of those moments and remembering some of those players were the most fun I’ve had in quite a while.  This Sunday, I’m predicting an upset:

Saints 34 – Colts 31

It’ll be exciting, but I believe the Saints have the edge in hunger.

Thursday Afternoon Ramblings

In no particular order, my top ten favorite Super Bowl moments:

10) Giants over Pats – The catch - I can’t stand Tom Brady and the Patriots, and the thought of them going undefeated and winning the Super Bowl made my stomach burn.  When Eli Manning escaped from a certain sack and flung a prayer to David Tyree, the darkest corners of my soul lit up with hope.  When Tyree pinned the ball against his helmet and secured the catch, the gates of heaven parted and shone light upon the earth.  All was not lost.  Evil could still be vanquished.  Did I mention that I really fucking hate the Patriots?

9) James Harrison’s INT return against Cardinals – I’m a defensive guy at heart, but over time, the NFL has made every effort to foster an offense-friendly environment for fans, so when defenses overcome all the rules and make a game-altering play, I cheer anyway.  When one of my favorite players on my favorite team makes a play that ultimately wins the game, I’ll take that memory to my grave.

8 ) Don Bebee stripping Leon Lett at the goal line – The only thing I despise more than the Patriots is the prison work-release program known as the Dallas Cowboys.  When Bebee ran down Lett, stripped him of the ball, and prevented a garbage touchdown, it no longer mattered that the Cowboys were winning the game.  The trash-talking scumbags were denied a celebration and were forever immortalized as the scumbags they are.

7) John Elway’s head first dive against the Packers – At the beginning of the season, a ruptured bicep tendon had threatened Elway’s career, and we all knew he didn’t have much gas left in the tank.  No one was sure how much he did have, but we all knew it wasn’t much.  When he dove for that first down, taking a pretty good shot and getting helicoptered to the ground, even though I was pulling for the Packers, I gained a whole new level of respect for the man.  He wanted that win, and he wanted it badly.

6) The Steelers’ surprise onside kick against the Cowboys – The Cowboys had been in control of the game from the opening kickoff, but the Steelers had scored to cut the score to 20-10 with 11:00 to play in the 4th quarter.  The last thing I expected was an onside kick, and neither did the Cowboys.  It worked flawlessly, and the Steelers scored to cut the lead to 20-17 with about 7:00 to go.

5) Ronnie Lott’s crushing hit on Ickie Woods – The goddamn Bengals and Ickie Woods had done that fucking Ickie shuffle too many times to my Steelers that year, so in the Super Bowl, I was hoping the 49ers would embarrass the Bengals.  Early in the game, Ronnie Lott delivered a message.  He hit Woods as hard as I’ve ever seen a running back get hit on a run, buckling Woods’s knees and pretty well crushing his spirit.  Woods was never the same runner after that hit.

4) Terry Bradshaw’s bomb to John Stallworth against Rams – This is really my first Super Bowl memory.  I have earlier football memories and earlier Steelers memories, but this is the first memory I have that’s a conscious awareness of the Super Bowl.  And man, what a memory–the Blond Bomber went up top on the Rams, who had played a wonderful game to that point and still had a chance to win the game, but when Stallworth cleared the safety, caught the pass, and sprinted to the endzone, the game was no longer in doubt.

3) Hacksaw Reynolds’s hit on the goal line stand – Hacksaw played at Tennessee and was near the end of his career.  He was a fierce competitor who had played on some lousy teams.  With the game on the line and his second chance to win a Super Bowl ring in sight, he clocked Pete Johnson (I think) and stopped the Bengals on the one foot line.  It was a thing of beauty.

2) Rod Woodson on Michael Irvin – Not long after we cut the score to 20-17, the Cowboys had a big third down to convert.  Rod Woodson had blown out his knee against the Lions in the first game of the season.  He had promised the team that if they would keep him off injured reserve, he would be ready for the Super Bowl if the team made it.  No one really expected him to make it back, but somehow he did it.  On this play, everyone in the world knew the Cowboys would throw to Michael Irvin, and even though he hadn’t played a game in five months, on this play, Woodson lined up across from Irvin to cover him.  You could see Irvin yapping his coked-out, trash-talking nonsense before the snap, but at the snap, Woodson covered him like a blanket and denied him the ball.  The moment I remember most is after the play was over, Woodson stood on one leg, bent his injured knee to his chest, pointed at it, and told Irvin that he was fine.  Even though we ended up losing the game, that memory still gives me chills.  Rod Woodson, you were the best defensive back I ever saw play the game.

1) Santonio’s Catch Against the Cardinals - It’s recent, and it gave my favorite team our 6th Super Bowl ring, the most in history until we win the 7th next year.

Wednesday Night Ramblings

All-time defensive players:

Safeties

5) Carnell Lake  4) Donnie Shell  3) Kenny Easley  2) Jack Tatum  1) Ronnie Lott

Cornerback

5) Darryl Green  4) Mel Blount  3) Michael Haynes  2) Champ Bailey  1) Rod Woodson

(note: Deion Sanders does not make my list because he was too scared to tackle a cheerleader.  You can’t tackle, you’re not a real defender in my book.  Great cover corner, but not a well-rounded football player)

Outside Linebackers

5) Kevin Greene  4) Greg Lloyd  3) Derrick Thomas  2) Jack Hamm  1) Lawrence Taylor

Inside Linebackers

5) Chris Spielman  4) Harry Carson  3) Jessie Tuggle  2) Jack Lambert  1) Ray Lewis

Defensive/Nose Tackles

5) Lyle Alzado  4) Fred Smerlas 3) Randy White 2) Joe Klecko 1) Joe Green

Defensive Ends

5) Richard Dent  4) Howie Long  3) Lee Roy Selmon  2) Bruce Smith  1) Reggie White

Wednesday Morning Ramblings

All-time greats, continued:

Tackles

5) Art Shell  4) Erik Williams  3) Jonathan Ogden 2) Anthony Munoz  1) Tony Boselli

Guards

5) Bruce Matthews 4) Russ Grimm 3) Alan Faneca 2) Larry Allen  1) John Hannah

Centers

5) Dwight Stephenson  4) Dave Dalby  3) Jeff Van Note  2) Mike Webster  1) Dermonti Dawson

The offensive linemen don’t get the glory of a quarterback, and unlike defensive players who get their names called every time they make a play, o-linemen only get announced when they make a mistake.  But people who know football know that games are won and lost by these men.  The team whose offensive line better controls the line of scrimmage is usually the team that wins the game.  The guys I’ve listed here are the ones who I feel were the best to play their individual positions.  There are a lot of great lineman I left off who probably deserve to be on here, guys like Randy Cross and Gary Zimmerman, but I wanted to narrow it down to five at each position.

Tuesday Night Ramblings

My all-time favorite players by position, continued (Again, only players I’ve seen play, and based on how much I have enjoyed watching them play):

Wide Receivers

5) John Stallworth  4) Hines Ward  3) Steve Largeant  2) Art Monk  1) Jerry Rice

Tight Ends

5) Kellen Winslow, Sr.  4) Mark Bavaro  3) Eric Green  2) Jason Witten 1) Ozzie Newsome

Fullbacks

5) John Alstott  4) Tom Rathman 3) Darryl Johnston  2) Franco Harris  1) Lorenzo Neal

Running Backs

5) Emmitt Smith 4) Eric Dickerson  3) Curtis Martin  2) Barry Sanders  1) Walter Payton

Quarterbacks

5) Terry Bradshaw  4) Dan Marino  3) Brett Favre  2) Peyton Manning  1) Joe Montana

Tuesday Afternoon Ramblings

Okay, so I’m going to list my personal all-time favorite players by position.  I’m going to limit this to people I’ve actually gotten to see play in my lifetime, so it’s not a comprehensive list.  Also, this is my opinion.  Here goes:

Kickers/Punters

5) Jan Stenerud, kicker  4) Morten Anderson, kicker  3) Jason Ellam, kicker  2) Gary Anderson, kicker  1) Ray Guy, punter

Returners

5) Billy “White Shoes” Johnson  4) Mel Gray  3) Josh Cribbs  2) Brian Mitchell  1) Eric Metcalf

Special Teams “Aces”

5) Steve Tasker  4) Via Sikahema  3) Hershel Walker  2) Trey Junkin  1) Bill Bates

Tuesday Morning Ramblings

Since the Super Bowl is this week, I thought I’d write a little bit about some of my all-time favorite players.

Terry Bradshaw – Forget about the goofball persona on Fox. Here’s what you need to know about the Blond Bomber: he played in four Super Bowls, and in each one he threw a TD pass in the fourth quarter.  He wasn’t always great, but he was the greatest when it mattered the most.

Barry Sanders – Nothing against Emmitt Smith, but if Sanders had run behind that Cowboys line, he would’ve hit 2,000 yards a season.  Quite simply, Barry Sanders was the best runner I’ve ever seen carry the football.

John Hannah – I know you’ve never heard of him.  He played left guard for the Patriots twenty years before Tom Brady, but he was one of the best lineman to ever play the game.  He was one of the first guys to incorporate power-lifting into his training regimen.  In his prime, each of his thighs measured 32 inches.  The man was a beast.

Joe Greene – Speaking of beasts.  No one dominated the trenches like Mean Joe.  He was the best DT to play the game.

Mark Bavaro – He played TE for the Giants in the late 80’s / early 90’s.  Before he blew out his knee, he was the most dominant TE in the game.  The urban legend is that during training camp his rookie season, after a blocking drill, Lawrence Taylor went to Bill Parcells and asked, “Where’d you get this guy?”  He played the game the way it’s supposed to be played.

Mike Webster – Personally, my all-time favorite player.  Iron Mike played 245 games in the NFL as a center.  At one point, he had started 150 consecutive games for the Steelers, and if memory serves, during that stretch, he never missed a single play.  The tragic side to that is the fact that he died from complications from repetitive concussions.

Reggie White – The Minister of Defense was the best defensive end I’ve ever seen play.  In his prime, he was unblockable.  In the Super Bowl with the Packers against the Patriots, there was a point where the Patriots had started driving down the field and looked to be taking control.  White on three consecutive plays embarrassed the tackle trying to block him and single-handedly ended the drive.  I always thought he should’ve been MVP of the game for that.

Jerry Rice – No one, and I mean no one, played the game better than Jerry Rice.  There simply are enough words to describe how dominant he was in his prime.  208 career TD’s.  Enough said.

Walter Payton – While Barry Sanders was the best runner and Jerry Rice the best receiver, Walter Payton was the greatest football player to ever strap on pads.  He was a great runner, a great receiver, a good passer, and one of the most dominant blockers of his day.  Ask a couple of linebackers he picked up on blitzes.  Sweetness might have weighed 185 pounds, but he was one of the strongest guys in the league.  Jack Youngblood told a story about Payton hitting him with a stiff-arm near the sidelines one time.  Youngblood played in the Super Bowl with a broken bone in his leg, so he was a pretty tough man.  He said when Payton hit him, he thought he was gonna die.  Walter Payton was also one hell of a person, and the world was a better place while he was still alive.

The rest of this week, I’m gonna chronicle my top 5 at each position.

Friday Evening Rambling

 The following is an interview with author, filmmaker, and all-around good person, Stephen Zimmer.  He is the author of The Rising Dawn Saga and Fires in Eden series and contributor for Seventh Star Blog.

D. A. Adams:  What first got you into storytelling? What was the allure?

STEPHEN ZIMMER:  Storytelling has been with me since my mom first read me The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy aloud, a chapter or so a night, when I was about 7. I’ve always tilted towards fantasy, in the movies and television that I’ve gravitated towards, as well as the books I have been drawn to.

The allure is to immerse myself in fantastical worlds, and to depart Mundania (with a nod to Piers Anthony on that word!). I’ve never thought that the world that we live in is “it”, and loads of mystics and theoretical physicists agree with me on that notion! Fantasy gives me the best chance to explore wild and wonderful worlds in this life, and storytelling provides a medium to craft some of these adventures into something that I can share with others. What are we waiting for? Let’s go!

DA: Outside of literary or film influences, what has shaped your artistic vision more than anything?

ZIMMER:  Dreams. Literally. I am fortunate to have very vivid, powerful dreams on a very regular basis, some incredibly life-like. The things that I experience and see in them often inspires me artistically, and really has had an impact on me. I look forward to adventures when I sleep, believe it or not! I’m fascinated by consciousness, and feel that it is a true unexplored frontier!

DA: Where would you like to be in five years in terms of your career?

ZIMMER:   I would like to have a nice timber A-frame high on a mountain close to the mountain where D.A. Adams’ woodland retreat is located, so we can hang out more often, go fishing, discuss the finer points of rock music, etc.!

Seriously, I would like to have the first 4 or 5 titles out in both The Rising Dawn Saga and Fires in Eden series, continuing a year-round appearance schedule. I would also like to have a release or two out in the horror genre, and perhaps some short stories in some quality anthologies, or maybe even a themed collection of short stories that I’ve done.

On the film side of things, I would like to be making modestly budgeted independent features, most hopefully in the fantasy genre. 1 feature a year would be great.  Between film and books, I hope to do just well enough that I can make a living just from my endeavors in these areas.

DA:  When I was a naïve college student, my friends and I would discuss creating the literary movement of our generation. Now, as small-press and independent writers, you and I are part of a movement away from the New York epicenter. How do you see this movement evolving over the next generation or two?

ZIMMER:  It is a brave new world in many respects. The barriers are falling down in some ways, especially with eBooks. However, as with music, it could result in a deluge of releases, and make it a little more difficult to get your work noticed, reviewed, or seen. I take it one day at a time, as there are so many unpredictable factors that have yet to play out fully. Will eBooks really overtake print, or will they co-exist? What effect will piracy have on eBooks? Without bookstores, who is going to be hosting reading clubs, advocating new authors, exposing new authors via readings, etc.  in a digital world? The word of mouth that occurs between people at bookstores, browsing the fantasy sections, etc. can’t be underestimated.

Overall, I would have to say that there is going to be an upswing in credibility regarding small press and independent authors, and the accessibility is going to increase in a digital world, but exposure and promotion are going to be very, very difficult if the music and film worlds indicate anything. My heart goes out to talented, seriously-minded independent rock bands that are in an ocean of bands putting out mp3’s everywhere, who have declining options for live clubs, radio, independent music stores etc. It is harder than ever to be heard and talked about, and I hope that it doesn’t become similarly difficult for authors to be read/reviewed/exposed.

DA: What would like your readers to know about you?

ZIMMER:  I wish they could see just how immensely dedicated I am to my work and to them. From the time spent writing and researching, to setting up as active of an appearance schedule as possible, so that the folks that enjoy my work can visit with me in person easier, I really value my readers and want to give them the best work and support that I possibly can. They are my friends, as they enable me to do what I love to do. If they commit to reading my series, I must return that commitment 10 fold on my end to give every aspect of being an author a 150% effort, as they deserve nothing less. Without readers, authors are pretty useless!

DA: We’ve discussed in private conversations the financial strain of being a “new” writer.  Do feel like this struggle has had a positive or a negative effect on your creativity?

ZIMMER:  I have to say that financial strain is mostly not a positive thing, but it does have its uses. Having to pull a late night drive after an event so that you can save on a hotel room is something that I wish I didn’t have to do, for one example of a negative. I wish I could take advantage of every promotional opportunity I encounter. But having thin resources does discipline you and makes you a better planner, I believe. I can see improvement in my planning in just the past couple of years, and am getting more out of the money I allocate out of my pocket to sustain my activities, appearances, etc.

DA: You and I met on the Con-circuit. Do you enjoy Con weekends?  If so, what do you find most fascinating about fandom?

ZIMMER:  I really do enjoy Con weekends! It’s my kind of crowd for sure! I love everything about it, the atmosphere, the new friends you meet (like you), the unpredictability, the learning (even when you are on a panel, you learn from the audience!), and so much more. I always hate that melancholy feeling that hits at the end of a con, when dealers are breaking their tables down, and attendees are rolling their luggage out.  It is really its own world, and it’s a wonderful one. The thing that fascinates me the most is that there is a real sense of community and “we’re in this together” mentality that resonates through fantasy/sci-fi/horror related Cons.

Also, I do not see the provincialism that plagues other writing circles, in other genres. The fantasy/sci-fi/horror writers really do help each other out and pull for each other, at least from what I’ve seen. (and in doing so, they push everyone higher, as JFK said, “a rising tide lifts all ships”)

DA: Any parting thoughts?

ZIMMER:  I really encourage people to give small press/independent authors and publishers a chance. Obviously, I’m a little biased, being a small press author myself, but there is a very logical and objective reason as well. The major publishers are shrinking and paring down their rosters, a trend that has resulted in many mid-list authors that are now working with small press outlets. Additionally, as the big publisher’s rosters are smaller and their schedules tighten, they are not as likely to take big chances with releases unless they can really project some success according to an established model. This means that small press is where a lot of the risk-taking and ground-breaking in the genre is truly occurring nowadays. The quality of writing is most certainly there in the small press world, as anyone who has read, to name just a few examples, Jackie Gamber, Lettie Prell, Elizabeth Donald, H. David Blalock, TammyJo Eckart, or D.A. Adams can attest!