Re: Brad Ten Songs

#1 now has 229 spins, I listened to it again last night after posting my list. #10 has 102 times around the track. I, like Ed, am not afraid to listen to a song over and over. When I was test-driving songs for the Cousins Album, I was thinking about The Soggy Bottom Boys. So I listened to it for about 2 weeks straight trying to figure out if I could sing it. The answer to that question...absolutely not. But that explains the excessive number of plays.

Re: Top Ten Songs, Gun Violence

Brad, I've never heard of any of your songs, excepting #2. Maybe I would recognize them by hearing them? Boy, I hope so.

And Marc (the level headed one) with 80% of his top ten songs being RAP? Is that the same genre that causes everyone to feel the need to be tatooed, pierced, and is now causing the gun violence that the NBA is now promoting? What has this world come to?

That's it, I'm telling Mom!

Marc on Brad's Top Ten Songs

Brad, although I’ve heard of all the bands on your list (with the exception of Chevelle) I’ve only heard three of the songs. I bought “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” just a few weeks ago and was bumping it in the car yesterday morning. Before I bought it I didn’t know it was Jay-Z and only knew the tune from the Beastie Boys concert video. Mix Master Mike mixes all kinds of music into their live shows and they do part of “Whatch ya Want” to the “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” groove. Since I liked it so much, I figured out what the original song was and bought it.

I never thought of doing the top ten based on play count. I took a look at it on my Itunes and was not surprised that five of my top ten played songs are by the Beastie Boys (1, 2, 4, 6, 8). Number one is “Ch-Check It Out”. Some of the other songs were a bit of a surprise. "O.P.P." by Naughty by Nature came in at #5. Really?? Of the Naughty by Nature songs, "O.P.P." isn't even close to my favorite. "Hip Hop Hooray", "Feel Me Flow", "Everything's Gonna Be Alright", and "Uptown Anthem" are all probably better. But then again I didn’t have any Naughty by Nature stuff for a LONG TIME. I finally bought their greatest hits album when I returned from Iraq. However, I did have "O.P.P." on a Hip Hop greatest hits CD, and it was one of the better songs on the album. That must have done it.

“What I Got” by Sublime was #3, “Breathless” by New Breed at #7, “Seabreeze” by Flynn Adam Atkins at #9, and “Mind on the Road” by Reverend Run at #10. New Breed and Flynn Adam Atkins are both Christian Rap artists. So, my entire top ten, with the exception of Sublime, is rap. I glanced over the top 100 or so and I would say that 80% of it is rap/hip hop.

What is amazing to me, Brad, is that you’ve played one song 228 times!! What was the count for your #10 song? My #1 was played 92 times, but #2 dropped all the way to 58. Also, the difference between my #10 and my number #100 is only about 15 plays.

Re: Guns & Violence

Guns don't kill people, people kill people.

Re: Ten Songs

After much deliberation on whether or not this was blog-worthy, here you go with the Brad Baldwin most played songs on my iPod:

Number 10: Dirt Off Your Shoulder by Jay Z
Number 9: The Red by Chevelle
Number 8: The Distance by Cake
Number 7: Last Resort by Papa Roach
Number 6: Number One Spot by Ludacris
Number 5: The Beautiful People by Marilyn Manson
Number 4: Jesus Walks by Kanye West
Number 3: One Step Closer by Linkin Park
Number 2: Save A Horse by Big & Rich (I actually like the Willie Nelson version better)
and the number one most frequently listened to song on my iPod with a whopping 228 spins...(drum roll please)...I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow by The Soggy Bottom Boys (O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack).

I can hear the boos already!

Marc: Guns and Violence (this isn't about the 2nd ammendment)

Sometimes our sensitivities about issues get a little out of control.

Today Kobe Bryant (and LeBron James by association) are being criticized for a Nike magazine print ad titled "Prepare for Combat." Underneath the picture of Kobe is the quote, "I'll do whatever it takes to win games. I don't leave anything in the chamber." All the hoopla over the ad is the result of its release right on the heels of a decision by NBA commissioner David Stern to suspend Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton for the remainder of the season. Those two, who play for the Washington Wizards, were suspended for bringing weapons (guns) to the locker room.

Nike used the same theme, "Prepare for Combat", for their Fall football advertising campaign. Remember the Adrian Peterson commercial? The NFL campaign included Brian Urlacher and a few other NFL stars. Then they rolled the same theme into other sports like soccer, hockey, and the NBA with a few of their big stars, like Kobe and LeBron. But that's beside the point.

So what is the point? I don't think there is an issue with a print ad that says, "I don't leave anything in the chamber". It's quite a stretch to compare that phrase to someone bringing guns to work. Are you catching my drift? "I don't leave anything in the chamber" is NOT in the same ballpark as bringing a REAL GUN to a locker room. It's not even in the same state. The funny part to me is that the association is such a stretch that the article finds it necessary to explain it to those who might not be able to make the connection: "The chamber in a gun is the compartment that holds the bullet before it is fired." Thanks Discovery Channel.

Maybe this whole thing is a waste of my time. The media is way too easy of a target.

But I do feel that the sensitivities to gun violence have spun out of control in our country. There have been kids suspended from school for drawing a stick figure with a gun. Seriously? I don't believe in blaming video games, music, toys, movies, TV, or NBA stars for gun violence. I blame it on a lack of parenting or guidance. Kids (or adults for that matter) can be taught the difference between those things and reality.

Take for example my own childhood. I grew up with toy guns all over the place. I remember getting a Starsky and Hutch gun for one of my birthdays (first grade I think). Unfortunately it was broken by the time the party was over, but that's another story. My brothers and I played guns all the time. In fact we made our own guns out of wood and gave them names like "destroyer" and "eliminator". I used to love taking a big piece of paper and drawing out an entire battle scene with tanks, airplanes, machine guns, hand grenades, and swords. My brothers and I played with army men, watched the "A Team", shot BB guns, slingshots, and rubber band guns, and had rock fights with the neighbor kids. Oh, and I used to play "Combat" on my friend's Atari 2600. Amazingly, I haven't been arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and I don't carry a gun to work. I reject the idea that gun violence is the fault of the guns.

Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton brought guns the locker room. Did I say that already? And the reason that they brought those guns is that they thought they might USE them. That's bad news. Stern's suspension decision was definitely justified. In fact, he should have banned them for life. I'm okay with taking action against serious infractions such as this one.

But let's not get ridiculous. What's next? Making the Golden State Warriors change their name? How about the Timberwolves? That wolf on their logo looks really mean and violent. So does that Raptor in Toronto. By the way, I don't remember any of the Washington Bullets being suspended for bringing guns to work. Maybe it's not the name after all.

Re: Ten Songs

To all those blog followers out there (Jen and Mom)

I appreciate Marc being willing to share what clearly is a somewhat disturbing and certainly unusual list. So without access to my iPod at this point, here are 10 songs that immediately come to mind and that I seek out on a regular basis, probably leaving others equally puzzled and disturbed.

1. I'm Yours - Jason Mraz
2. New York State of Mind - Billy Joel
3. Poker Face - Lady GaGa
4. American Boy - Estelle
5. Till I Collapse - Eminem
6. What a Wonderful World - Louis B. Armstrong
7. All Summer Long - Kid Rock
8. Waiting on the World to Change - John Mayer
9. Heartless - Kanye West
10. Viva La Vida - Coldplay

As both of my brothers can probably attest, I can also listen to songs I like over and over and over again, never getting tired of them. Once a goodie, always a goodie.

And Marc, I don't even know half the songs you mentioned, at least not by their song title.

Enjoy!

Re: Ten Songs

Avril Levigne...really?
MMMbop...really?
Sk8er boi...really?
Hanson...really?

Apparently you have more in common with your 13 year old niece that I thought!

Marc on Power to the People (addition)

As I've continued to think about things over the past few days, I thought of a good analogy to express my thoughts about how our two parties don't work together, but should.

A business may have a partner with a controlling interest of 55% and an second partner with a 45% share. But I guarantee that the partner with a 45% share doesn't want the business to fail! He has a lot invested, and even though he doesn't have the controlling interest, he no doubt wants to see the business succeed, right?

Not so in our government. I know it's not a business, but a party with a 45% interest in a government that affects the lives of 310 million citizens and millions or billions of others worldwide shouldn't be hoping that the government, or even just the CEO (President) fails. But that's exactly what is happening. The partner with the 45% interest (Republicans) are hoping the business (government) fails so that the stockholders (voters) will fire (not reelect) the CEO (President) and some of his executive board (congressman) and therefore they can regain the controlling interest (majority in Congress) and run the business (government) as they see fit, disregarding the input of the new minority interest (Democrats).

From the business standpoint, in the long run, it's going to fail completely.

Ten Songs

Okay, so here are 10 songs from my "Top Rated" playlist on my Ipod that I'm about 80% embarrassed to admit that I like so much...

Sk8er Boi Avril Lavigne
London Bridge Fergie
Free Mya
All the Girls B3
MMMbop Hanson
Summer Girls LFO
Lip Gloss Lil’ Mama
Informer Snow
I’m Not Missing You Stacie Orrico
Let’s Go Dancing 2 Men (Couldn't find a link for this one)

Have fun!

Marc on Power to the People

Oddly enough, after the election, the headlines all said that the democrats were busy blaming each other for the loss of Ted Kennedy's seat to the Republicans. Why were they blaming each other?? If I'm not mistaken about how this democracy thing works, the PEOPLE of Massachusetts made their choice. If the dems are going to be mad at somebody, then they should be mad at the citizens of MA.

The implications are significant to our government because of our two-party system. To be honest, I'm not thrilled with the two-party system at the moment. I know that in the end it's a great system, because it usually guarantees that we will at least continue to function as a government. Other countries with 29 parties and 15 different coalitions of those parties have a hard time accomplishing anything; it is damn near impossible to get a majority for anything.

My problem with it is that if neither of the two parties fits with your own views or beliefs, you're left with no voice. And right now I feel that the two parties are being pushed to opposite extremes by the radicals within each one. It sucks.

Another huge problem with the two-party system was highlighted after the MA election results were announced: the parties actually do all that they can to make sure the OTHER party fails. As soon as the results came out I noticed the scores of posts on Facebook from Republicans doing virtual celebration dances at the prospect of failing health care reform. I'd like to believe that they all were celebrating purely based on the health care reform bill, but the fact is that they were celebrating because Obama and the Democrats were going to fail.

Neither side is innocent. While GW Bush was in office every Democrat in the country was hoping that he would fail. The thought of anything looking like a victory for Bush was more than they could stomach. The "poster issue" then was the Iraq war. Now things are simply reversed. Too many Republicans don't care about issues any more. They only want Obama to fail. And health care is the new "poster issue".

So we now have a situation where the two parties are no longer working together as a single government. They are more like opposing soccer clubs screaming at each other and getting in brawls at the local bars after the game.

I love that we can vote and our votes count. But I don't like the fact that at any given time half (or a little less) is hoping that the other will fail.

RE: Power of the People

These days you don't have to look very far to find desperation, depair, pessimism and discontent. Nearly all the mediums used by people today as a means of staying informed are chocked full of this stuff. Newspapers, TV, radio, podcasts, internet, the list goes on and on.

Occassionally, and very occassionally (on the last pages or back cover), there is some positive news. And even this news sometimes is reported in an unfavorable light. Yes, our economy is improving but more and more people are out of work. Yes, some of our soldiers are coming home BUT far too many have been lost in battle. Accurate or inaccurate, these stories are depressing.

Why have we created such a tendency to be so negative? I know the whole "that's what people want, that's what they buy" argument and I think that's a bunch of BS. Whose heart isn't warmed and whose mood isn't improved by hearing a great story about the tremendous relief support that Americans are providing to Haiti? Or a story about personal or professional strife that has been overcome by Lance Armstrong, Anne Frank, Michael Oher, Erin Brockovich or even Joe Public?

I'm a sucker for any story that has a happy ending! Aren't you?

Brad's post about the health care bill is certainly more complicated than that. After all, which outcome you would consider to be the "happy ending" depends largely on whether you think the health care bill is a good thing or not. I'm not going there. But I do appreciate the positive spin Brad offers regardless of whether you wanted the thing to pass or not.

The positive spin on it, that it was "the people's vote" not a biased or non-majority partisan vote that ultimately will determine the outcome of such an impactful piece of legislation, is the happy ending I see from his comments. I for one certainly don't want to feel that the greatest and most impactful legislation that the US has ever created and passed only occurred because of the minority view. That makes me proud of our profoundly democratic, imperfect and inefficient system. See, I've found the negative side of the story!

But Brad's blog goes to show that there is both a positive and negative view that can be taken to any news. If media (and the public at large) would seek out the positive side of each story, instead of just the negatives, we could see overwhelming positive implications.

And public opinion is one of the most powerful economic impacts of our new world economy. So if everyone feels bullish, we act bullish. When we act bullish and positively, positive things begin to happen. That's the Power of the People. The system works.

Thanks Brad. I'm buying!

Power of the People

Regardless of your political position on the results of the MA special election, you have to wonder about the polital karma. Ted Kennedy, an icon for 47 years and a champion of healthcare reform, being replaced by a republican. One step further, the very change (to an election instead of an appointment) that helped TK get the seat, is what in all likelihood unseated the Dems master plan for the same health care reform that he fought to pass for so many years.

I saw a presentation from a government lobbying group that represents hospitals across the country about 2 months ago. One key piece of that presentation talked about the nations history of groundbreaking legislation. Everything from gender equality, worker rights, voting rights all were passed through a truly bipartisan vote (they had the specific numbers to show it, sorry I can't include). I don't think its coincidence that the first ever major legislation that would differ from that and be a party's agenda may have been stopped...by what?...the collective vote of the American people. As much as I hate our system and its inefficiency at times, sometimes it places the power in the hands of the right people. And that's a beautiful thing!

Brad on resolutions

A Catholic friend of mine told me years ago that instead of taking away something for the Lenten season, he tried to add something. I thought that was a great concept, hence goals v. resolutions.

Resolutions and goal setting aren't the problem. Undisciplined people unwilling to make changes to their behaviors and attitudes are the problem! I agree going "all in" doesn't work most times, and incremental changes have a better chance of yielding real results.

And I added another goal...No speeding or traffic tickets. Got to improve my driving!

Marc on Resolutions

Haha! I had to laugh… I don’t even know what a “non-correlated asset investment” is, so I have no idea why anyone would want to do one!

Brad, you not only make goals every year, but you keep stats on your goals?? Wow, that’s some crazy stuff. I noticed that you shy away from the term “resolution” in favor of “goal”. Any particular reason for that?

I fall in line with Ed here I think: my resolutions tend to come and go. I don’t write anything down or necessarily verbalize any of my resolutions, although with all the talk about it, I can’t help but do some evaluation and looking ahead at what I would like to see change in the coming year. Internally, though, I want to rebel against the idea of resolutions, because more often than not they turn out to be demoralizing rather than motivating.

It’s not necessarily that goals/resolutions are bad in and of themselves. But they simply do not work if you don’t know how to make realistic goals. I’ve heard Brad’s sermon on that before. A sedentary person is wasting their time if they make a New Year’s resolution to work out for at least one hour a day. Seven days later when they’ve worked out three times for a grand total of 60 minutes, they will look at their resolution and say, “Well, I failed, I suck, I quit.” And another resolution goes down in a blaze of glory.

America is obsessed with the “all or nothing” attitude. Both my brothers know that I regularly rant on something along these lines. Be reasonable people!

Small, incremental change is achievable. Set reasonable and attainable goals, and don’t let the TV tell you that you need a whole new you. No you don’t. Turn off “The Biggest Loser” and “American Idol” and “Extreme Home Makeover” and take the first, small step. Take pride in the little things, and don’t fool yourself into thinking that the ship is sinking at the first minor setback. Those things happen. You don’t have to be perfect, you don’t have to be the best, and you don’t have to be “110% committed” or “passionate”. Keep at it, and over time (a lot longer time than American culture wants to sell you) you will probably find yourself where you wanted to be all along.

reply to Resolutions

I have been poked fun at by friends and family for my rigid stance on goals. For the 8th year in a row I have created goals for 2010. I'm still finalizing but here they are...

1. Read 12 books.
2. Hike or climb in 2 different states and get above 14,000 feet.
3. Do a race longer than 2 and one half hours.
4. Host my niece and nephews without parents at our house for the weekend.
5. Execute a non-correlated asset investment.
more to come...

In addition to specific measurable goals, I started last year creating some general priorities that I want to continue to live by. They are...

General priorities
1. Moderation in diet.
2. Moderation in spending money.
3. Focused investment of time and money.
4. No clock punching at work.
5. Maximum time with Sasha.

One final note. My record of goal achieving since 2003 has been: 2003-5/9, 04-4/12, 05-5/12, 06-4/12, 07-4/10, 08-7/12, 09-4/8.

Resolutions

Now is a very typical time for resolutions and goals for self improvement. I'm among the masses that toy with what I can do each year to get a little bit better as a person. The most typical improvements for me and lots of others are probably a healthier lifestyle with a better diet and more excercise topping the list.

But over the past few years my resolutions have tended to be more interpersonal. They involve me making a conscious effort to change some little things that I do which bother others more than they do me, but that can make such a big difference in enriching and developing stronger relationships with those who I care most about - and who care the most about me. Because these resolutions are more personal, I personally am more self conscious about letting others know that I'm working to improve them.

Not sure what my two brothers have in mind for their resolutions for self improvement (these aren't just annual, but rather come and go with time) but I'm happy with mine. Happy that I can achieve them (generally, with some little slip ups) and happy that they will have big impact. Because if you make a resolution and no one see's the difference it feels like a waste of time. And that's one thing none of us can afford, wasting time.

In this fast paced and busy world, I'm hoping this blog brings me a little closer to my two brothers. All three of us have separate but equally great lives, families, interests - all of which keep us quite busy. But each of us also have good reasons to stay connected, and that reason needs to be more than just because we're brothers.

Finding more means to connect whether by blog, email, skype or in person ... now that's a resolution!

Narcissism - Good, Bad, or Indifferent?

An explanation of what spurred this topic for me: I have always felt (and still do) that the idea of wanting to "leave a legacy" is absolutely narcissistic. I already know that one of the arguments I will probably here is that I feel that way because I don't have children. Fair enough.

But still, should we care about whether or not we leave some lasting impressions of ourselves after we're gone? At the core, doesn't it feel a little selfish?

I realize that there is a danger here, because the "who cares what people think about me" attitude can lead to a very narcissistic PRESENT life. That's not what I'm advocating. It's important to lead a life which ultimately contributes to the well-being of others. No doubt. Maybe it's a matter of motivation? Doing something so that someone reads about me 25 years after I'm gone is ridiculous. Doing something because it makes a positive impact now is noble.

I know that Christians are very big on the legacy concept. That's actually the first place that I started to tire of the concept. Most legacies that I find amazing or impressive were never intended to be legacies. You can't create something and then call it a legacy. The legacy label comes years later almost involuntarily.

Okay, I'm just rambling now. I'll finish with the words of songwriter Chris Rice from his song "Power of a Moment":

But I have no guarantee of my next heartbeat
And my world’s too big to make a name for myself
And what if no one wants to read about me when I’m gone?
Seems to me that right now’s the only moment that matters

Marc

P.S. In doing a little research on narcissism, I came across an interesting article from the Harvard Business Review in 2000 about the pros and cons of narcissistic leaders. Check it out.

habitforge.com

From: Ed Baldwin
Subject: FW: Changing behavior - link

Interesting stuff. Takers? -Ed.
http://habitforge.com/

Edward A. Baldwin
Vice President & Director, Human Resources

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From: Marc Baldwin

Interesting concept. "Virtual communities" are usually scoffed at but I am beginning to understand that the virtual world is a new reality in our world. Jennifer has a very serious community of friends and supporters through "Super Poke Pets", and most people would say that's ridiculous. But during my deployment to Iraq, those were the people that she had DAILY contact with and who consistently encouraged her and checked in on her. Consequently, she has actually met some of these other women in London, California, Maryland, Virginia, etc.

At any rate, the interesting thing about this website is not that people are making commitments to create habits, but the added feature of allowing others to follow your progress and "cheer you on" is probably the real goal here. I think commitments are best kept when they are monitored in a community of accountability partners.

On a funny side note, sometimes the only thing that gets attention is emails! So it's funny that the medium for this habit-forming help is an email every day.

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From: Brad Baldwin

The old way – write em down and put em on the fridge for family and guests to see.
The new way – join an online community of strangers.

What is more impactful, pressure/encouragement from those close to you or from complete strangers? I think it depends on the individual.

Marc, I agree with your new reality. That being said (warning broad brush stroke upcoming) unfortunately, I think for so many the virtual community comes at the direct expense of real live relationships. I think it is because the anonymity of online avatars and ability to be someone you aren’t in reality gives people more bravado to communicate with others. I’m intrigued by people who actively forge relationships online but do not have similar aspirations of communicating directly with real live people.

It is slightly different but as an example: I travel a lot with a coworker. I constantly give him a hard time because he will always choose technology over people. Going out of a parking ramp? If there is a credit card automated line he will go to that instead of talking with the booth attendant. Checking in at the airport? He will get his ticket at the automated machine instead of a gate agent. He does it under the guise of “efficiency” but will hop in the technology lines even if they are longer than the people lines.

While I embrace technology more than I have historically, I still have reservations about technology as a form of quality social relationships. Hence, you won’t see me on Facebook anytime soon.

Welcome

Welcome to the Brothers 3 blog. We created this blog primarily to provide an outlet for our ever-expanding collection of opinions. You may not agree with them all, we sure won't. But we'll always attempt to either inform or entertain.