Meeting At Head Office
So we had a meeting this week at BusDrivaChronicles head office. I call it that because at this point the parent company has been rebranded so many times and changed names so many times, I really have no idea what its really called, so I figured screw it, I’ll take over. So anyway, we had a meeting, and yes I went down, and yes I drove, and yes I was on time, and yes I was ready to participate. “Was ready” being the operative term, because I was okie doked, plain and simple. I was lured down there with the intentions that we were going to be discussing in depth BusDriva TV, which between me you and the postman, was supposed to launch this week, that of course being the surprise I alluded to last week. But let me ask you a question, are you looking at my face right now? Are you listening to my voice? Are you cliff hanging on my every intonation and appreciating my every facial expression? No you’re not, but why? Because my Executive Producer has his head up his ass with his “other endeavors” and is neglecting the man responsible for everything he has under his control. His empire is the “house that Brad built”, yet Brad gets the least amount of recognition, the least amount of attention, and the least amount of respect, and to be honest, if I don’t move up in the pecking order soon, He will have a mutiny on his hands that not even The Eighth Reich would be able to handle. But hey, when I was down there to discuss what I thought was important, want to know what we actually discussed? I’ll tell you. First of all, apparently I’m not allowed to discuss, review or reference “American Psycho” ever again. Apparently people get scared or worried when I do that. Hey, how do you spell censorship? Oh, and guess what else? I’m being capped apparently as well. The last post broke 2,500 words, came in at almost 2,700 words in fact. Eli says that’s too much. Pardon me? Is it called TheEliChronicles?? I think not. Do people every week from all across the world, and probably from spots outside the world, in far off galaxies, where ever there is Wi-Fi, turn in every week to read Eli’s thoughts? No they don’t, and Eli’s thoughts are probably the second farthest thing from important to me as well. In fact, aside from Jersey Shore, there isn’t a thing I care about less than what Eli thinks. He has told me that he is going to start going in and editing anything over 2000 or so words, give or take, depending on the importance. He says 2000 should be the cap. I don’t like this kind of dictatorship rule, I’ll tell you that much. And I don’t like the threat of having some computer geek editing my doctrine all willy nilly like that either. If I wasn’t so convinced 95 percent of everything I say goes over his head, I probably wouldn’t have that much of a problem with it, but just so you know, and understand why I’m so hesitant, we are talking about a guy with one semester of university under his belt. The day a guy like that edit’s MY work, will be the day, I’ll tell you that much. And no, my educational level does not matter, nor is it applicable here, so don’t bother asking. Anyway, when I realized this meeting wasn’t really what I thought it was going to be about, and figured out we were here solely to bash your hero, the “People’s Blogger”, that’s when I excused myself to go to the washroom, where on my way out I accidently knocked Eli’s coffee into his lap. I then headed down the hall to the games room to play table tennis with Chavez the janitor for a while. An hour or so later, when I made my way back to the meeting room, everyone had broke for lunch, so I took that as my queue to turn my phone off and head home for the day. Meeting over.
BusDriva TV, An Addition To The Family, And A New Marketing Strategy
So, to get back to BusDriva TV, no my intro still isn’t complete. Not even started yet. And that’s not on me either. I brought an entire story board to the meeting and everything, all ready to go. All I have to do is pick a song. I have some ideas, but don’t really want to spoil any surprises, so until its ready, or hell, at least even worked on a bit, I won’t reveal too much more. What I’m worried about is that this phenomenal idea and concept I’m working on goes the way of my coffee mugs and business cards. I don’t think I would be able to handle NOT releasing me to the world on a digital format. It would be completely unacceptable to let that happen. And it will free up a substantial amount of my time as well. It takes between 4 and 6 hours to complete a blog, but for BusDriva TV, it will be wrapped up in 5 minutes. One take, no editing. Oh, and please understand this will be in addition to, not in lieu of, TheBusDrivaChronicles. However, the writing will thin out a little bit, in fact I can’t believe I’m keeping up the pace I’ve been keeping up to be honest. Which leads me to my next point. While my focus shifts to video, and my writing dissipates to two or three entries per month, I’ve enlisted the services of a correspondent to pick up some of the slack around here. He is a good friend of mine, and to call him poignant would be selling him short. I don’t want to delve into too much about him, but he is extremely intelligent, incredibly funny, and shares a lot of the same life views as I do. He, however, has a much stronger political and social focus then I, and will undoubtedly bring that to the table. I’ll let him introduce himself to you, but I will let you know, he currently lives in Prague, and he and I have talked about that extensively. Being that a high percentage of my viewers call the Western hemisphere home, he has assured me he will keep most of his topics focused on this side of the Earth, or at least of global importance, so as not to bore or confuse my masses. But if having a correspondent in the old world does anything, it will increase my surprisingly already high European and German readership, so now and again he may have to appeal to that side of the globe as well. If he does, be patient and open minded is all I ask. Be on the lookout for his offerings and what he has to say, because I know you’ll enjoy them and him in general. Next point. Now a lot of people read this blog, we all know that, but what I would like to know is how many of you come here habitually? I’ve told you before, my goal here is to become THE destination on the internet. I want to be indigenous to people’s shortcuts, favorites and bookmarks. So from now on, we are going to put YOUR loyalty to the test. I will no longer be sending out mass BBM messages promoting this blog. I will no longer be tweeting this blog. I will continue however to flyer the FaceBook page, but only for written offerings, not for BusDriva TV entries, if we ever get that concept off the ground and running that is. So if you haven’t tabbed me, shortcutted me, or favorited me yet, go do it now, I’ll wait. Could I potentially take a hit in ratings doing this? Maybe, but I’m pushing 700 readers a week here, if I lose 25-50 because they have to be reminded to come here, they probably aren’t really fans in the first place, right? I’m prepared to live with that, because at this point in the game, I shouldn’t have to chase people and beg them to read my blog, they should be at the level where they want to come here on the own will. I think I’ve proven myself thoroughly enough for that by now.Jeremy Lin
Truth be told, had I wrote this piece on “Lin”sanity a week ago, it would have been totally different, it wouldn’t have been so positive. Simply because two and a half weeks does not legitimacy make. But the reality of it all is this, back to back Sports Illustrated covers, practically owning the New York Times sports section, and this week’s cover of Time Magazine doesn’t lie. He is almost there, just not quite at the level by which too many people are placing him. The reasons he has captured the spotlight are simple. Yes it has to do with ethnicity, yes it has to do with playing in New York and yes it has to do with the simple fact that in this day of the LeBron’s and Dwight Howards, the NBA simply needs a refreshing and respectable feel good story. And Jeremy Lin is just that. Is he the second coming of His Airness, as one caller stated on talk radio last night? No. Should we be punching his ticket to the hall of fame and raising his number 17 to the rafters? Hardly. Is it a safe bet that the New York Knicks are going to win the championship? Doubtful, however playoffs in the ever increasingly weak Eastern Conference can be reasonably wagered now. But how about we do this, how about we just sit back, watch and enjoy a fine young man playing some inspiring, fun yet fundamental basketball, and not get caught up in all the hype, because, and mark my words, when it’s all said and done, this hype will be the downfall in Jeremy Lins meteoric rise to stardom. The media, the fans and the media (yes they need to be mentioned twice) are creating a pair of shoes no one could ever possibly fill. And they are doing it with no respect to the simple fact that Jeremy Lin is not that guy. Does he have a future in the NBA? Yes, I believe he will be a fine rotational player for years to come, his dedication and IQ on the court demands at least that much. But is the sample size we have seen lately what we will see for the duration of his career? Ask him that question, and even he himself will probably answer to the negative. So what has happened and more importantly how has it happened? The term you are looking for is “Leadership”. Jeremy Lin has remarkable leadership qualities, which FAR outweigh his skill set and knowledge combined. He came along at a time when the team seriously needed something to happen. And as good leaders tend to do, he stepped up to the occasion. High ranking superstars on that team went down with injuries, and as good leaders tend to do, he rose to that occasion as well. But while he was wrecking shop for those 8 or 9 games, what happens happened. Video got around about him, a book has been created on him, and opposing guards will START defending him, and his severe lack of a left hand, to the point where he will be forced to stay away from the basket that he once could attack with anywhere from 3 to 5 feet of open space on either side. But don’t worry, because that’s when something even better will happen, from my perspective and for the sack of his career that is. He will become a facilitator out of necessity. He will take open and smart shots, and because of his high basketball IQ and his leadership qualities, only open and smart shots, and nothing more. He will make the right pass more often than not, and will slowly but surely figure this games quirks and idiosyncrasies out to the point where he won’t steal a lot of shows like he’s tending to do now, but he will win ballgames. And before you know it, he could very well turn into a solid contributing backup point guard on a championship caliber team (like a Steve Blake), or a starting, decent quality, floor general of a rebuilding team (a la Jose Calderon). Either way, he will be dependable, he will have a lasting career, or at the very least, he will be fun to watch. And besides, no matter where he ends up, or how he ends up there, the very bottom line is this; no one will ever be able to take away the early months of 2012 when the world stopped and took notice of him, and all he did. The comparisons to Mike, Allen, George, and many others, even though will eventually prove to be his downfall, are what every single one of us, who has ever picked up a basketball, myself included, have ever wanted, if not just for one minute, let alone a month, give or take. So go and “Lin”joy you a bit of “Lin”sationalism, if for any reason at all, how about because it just feels “Lin” damn good. (Hey the last one is a stretch, but whatever; we are running out of “Lin”cronyms out here) and because that’s what the NBA really needs right now, not necessarily a “Cinderella Story”, but a true, decent “Feel Good” story for a change.
