Most portrayals of the future draw a dark, unfair, and bleak image of what society and the world will be. Maybe this is done for entertainment value, but maybe the use of technology and machines isn't a bad thing. Yes, technology and machines are taking jobs off the market, the opposite effect that politicians like to be associated with, but maybe eliminating jobs is the right direction. I don't know about you, but from my point of view, people would usually prefer to spend their time doing other things besides work. I might be wrong, but that's why vacation exists. What would be better than vacation all day, everyday? You might say you would get bored, but I beg to differ, because in a world where no one works, everybody needs something to do. Therefore, granted you have friends, you should find some people to do what you like, whether that be playing sports, acting, discussing books, getting drunk, getting high, satisfying your preversions, playing video games, watching movies, dancing, etc. However, you might ask yourself "how the f**k is that possible?" It's simple, we kill the Batman. Actually, no, we continue with the development of technology and machines until we, the people, are no longer necessary to perform any job whatsoever.
Once we hit the point where machines can carry on all the necessary tasks and duties that humans do, then we the people, no longer work and money is thrown out the window. You might ask yourself who's going to take care of the machines by performing maintenance and checking up on them in general. Again, it's simple, there are machines to check on the machines and machines to check on the machines that check on machines. In this model, machines run the world while people are free to do as they like. You can go to a restaurant and order food that is brought to you by a machine that was prepared by a machine and the ingredients were farmed and processed by a machine in a different department. In reality, this world would function exactly as the one we are in now, but there would be no currencies and machines would do all the work. This model works because machines do not crave monetary value like humans. Machines would work because that's what they are programmed to do.
All the machines should have personalities like WALL-E!
Of course people will quickly look to find flaws with this model, such as crime. These people will say that crime would become a huge issue, but I say nay. Crime would probably exist to some extent, but when there is no money, there is no monetary value. Everyone would have access to the same goods, same amenities, same weed. Why steal any of these things when you could just get it from a machine for no cost? Boom, problem solved again. On to the next problem, disease. People will keep fu*king so new people will continue to arrive and machines are immune to the common cold as well as diseases such as AIDS, HIV, lime disease, other STDs, or malicious viruses carried by birds or mosquitoes. I realize machines can get computer viruses, but I don't know how they'll get them because people can't look at porn on the machines that would be serving us and there wouldn't be much of any incentive to load a virus onto any of them since money is not an issue. In the off chance that some deviant prevert does put a virus on a machine, then the machines responsible for maintenance work can take care of that.
While I do enjoy the tales told in various forms of entertainment such as The Terminator, The Matrix, I-Robot, 12 Monkeys, Dark City, 1984, and Brave New World, I do prefer to envision a futuristic world in which people can frolic in freedom doing whatever their hearts desire. No need for money or work, after all, the real reason people work is to obtain money. Leave work to the machines that people's hard work in science create so we can spend the rest of human existence having a good time.
This could be everyday!
Well, that's my incredibly strange vision of what a sweet future would be like. This all came to me when I found out that the MBTA just introduced a new pay-for-parking system where people who park their cars at the station now pay a machine. I went on to jokingly ask if that was creating more jobs, at which point the aforementioned idea developed inside my small brain. In other completely unrelated news (I think I'm going to start referring to my thoughts as news on this blog), the Olympics came to an end yesterday and I was thinking about my favorite moments from the 2012 games. The first two things that came into my mind were Usain Bolt's continued domination, he has definitely achieved legendary status, and how delighted I was when two Americans took first and second in the 110 meter high hurdles. Both of these highlights stand out in my mind, but there was a third that I think will go unnoticed unfortunately, and that moment belongs to American 400 meter runner Tony McQuay.
The USA's second place finish to the Bahamas in the 4x400 relay has definitely overshadowed McQuay's absolutely beast third leg of the race. When McQuay got the baton he was trailing Bahama's third runner. McQuay hauled ass like crazy to take the lead and hand the baton off to the anchor leg, Angelo Taylor, in first place. I was hoping Angelo Taylor, a 400 meter hurdler, would be able to hold the lead, but the Bahama's anchor was able to overtake him. However, McQuay's split was something absolutely ridiculous, like a 43. something low! That's a boss leg and I think the guy should get some recognition for that. McQuay ran only 45.31 (I wish I could run anywhere near that because that's still really fast!) in the open 400 and didn't qualify for the final, but he sure did put it all together in the relay. His leg was one of my favorite parts of the Olympics this year and he deserves some major respect.
I'll get you the lead
McQuay is only 22 and I'm looking forward to following the rest of his career with great interest. You can count me in as a fan. I also cannot forget to mention that another one of my favorite people was in the news today, that would be Jose "The Special One" Mourinho. Man do I really like this guy! He knows how to win and he knows how to hit people where it hurts the most. I still enjoy thinking about the time that Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger took a shot at Mourinho. I don't recall exactly why he was calling out Mourinho, but I loved Mourinho's response, "Where are all his trophies?" No fooling around, right to the jugular. Anyways, with Mourinho's Real Madrid winning La Liga this past season, The Special One has now won the English Premier League, the Italian Serie A, and La Liga, not to mention the Portuguese League, too. He is the only coach to win those three leagues, arguably the three best leagues in the world. He then went on to say that maybe people should start calling him the "Only One." I need say no more. Click here for a short article about it.
That's all I have for now, but before I go, imagine a man that was a combination of Jose Mourinho and Jack Donaghy.
I feel that a dark fog has recently engulfed the sport that I enjoy most. Simply stated, I do not like the current installment of Barcelona. I dislike them not for their success as they are truly a wonderful soccer team, definitely one of the greatest of all time. What bothers me about them is the aura that surrounds the team. If something good is said about any other team, it must immediately be acknowledged that Barcelona is better. No exceptions are allowed, Barcelona has to be known as the best or else the players and fans will cry together as one tragic symphony.
Personally, I think that the Barcelona team of the mid 2000s was much more entertaining to watch. That was during the time when Ronaldinho was at his peak and he had the explosive Samuel Eto'o and a young, aspiring superstar in Lionel Messi. Today's Barcelona squad consists primarily of the Spanish national team with Messi, creating Spain on steroids. When you see the names on this Barcelona team you would think it is exciting to watch. However, I find their style of play quite boring. To me, it looks like they are just playing keep away from the other team, waiting for them to fall asleep so Messi can dribble by all of them and tuck the ball by a helpless goalkeeper. Now that's what I call entertainment! I know the statistics are staggering, Xavi and Iniesta pass the ball with a 99.99999% success rate, but is it really that hard when most of their passes are practically risk-free?
Now here's an exciting team
Barcelona's play style makes it incredibly difficult for the opposition to gain much possession. This is Barcelona playing to the strength of the players it has, which I have no problem with, but it does mean that they are going to have about 65-70% of possession in almost all of the games they have. I am always greatly disturbed every time Barcelona plays Real Madrid because of the ongoing argument about who is the best player in the world, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. The majority of soccer fans seem to believe that Messi is currently the world's best, and with plenty of reason. However, I grow increasingly tired of using Barcelona versus Real Madrid games as a point of argument. Everyone always speaks about how Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't show up in big games, like those against Barcelona. What do you expect CR7 to do when Barcelona has the ball all the time? I guess Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to make an impact on the game when he doesn't have the ball.
Did Messi score without the ball?
Don't get me wrong, Barcelona deserved all the success they had during the 2010-2011 season. They dominated La Liga and played very well in the Champions League, capping it off with a 3-1 win over Manchester United, which was a more entertaining game than I expected. Although I'm still bothered by the way everyone is on Messi's nuts (the little genius), but I'll rant about that later. With Barcelona winning it all in the domestic league and Europe's most prized soccer tournament, Barcelona's current squad is arguably the greatest of all time. But look back only as far as last year. Inter Milan's 2009-2010 campaign resulted in more trophies as the team won the treble, bringing home the domestic league title, the domestic cup title, and the Champions League trophy. I do realize that Barcelona accomplished this feat very recently, too, but the style with which Inter won the Champions League is incredible. Inter Milan knocked out Chelsea (champions of England), Barcelona (champions of Spain), and beat Bayern Munich (champions of Germany) in the final. Inter knocked out the champions of three of the best leagues in the world and won the Italian league which is high up on the rankings as well. That is one heck of a year and maybe it should go down as one of the most historic seasons in soccer history. I do realize that in the previous season Barcelona won many trophies and capped it all off with a great Champions League triumph, but Inter's run was simply magnificent, headed by my favorite coach of all time, Jose Mourinho.
I'm the greatest of all time, and I know it
Mourinho is now part of the Barcelona and Real Madrid clash, given that he is Real Madrid's current coach. I was a little sad when Barcelona still managed to win La Liga this season ahead of Real Madrid, but I still think Mourinho's first campaign at the head in Madrid was successful. I have no doubt that the Special One can give Barcelona a good run and hopefully manage to pull ahead of the defending champions this coming season, and if we're lucky, maybe Victor Valdes will try to restrain Mourinho from celebrating again.
I'm a very strange sports fan, in that I don't necessarily have a great deal of favorite teams. I am more a fan of certain players and how they play the game and carry themselves. This is why I dislike the current Barcelona team. I used to be a Barcelona supporter back when they had Rivaldo and Patrick Kluivert. I just do not enjoy watching the current installment of Barcelona play. All the passing back and forth, sometimes with very little effort to go forward, gets dull. Even when Barcelona wins games 5-0 the play is very choppy. I don't understand how Jose Mourinho's Inter team can be criticized for playing solid defense, yet Pep Guardiola's Barcelona is praised for playing keep away.
Another thing that bothers me about Barcelona is Lionel Messi. I think he is an absolutely fantastic player and is exciting to watch. I like it when he gets the ball because he usually tries to go forward and relentlessly attack the goal. What bothers me is the media around him. The media is always hyping up how the "little genius" is the greatest. I don't doubt that he is currently the greatest player in the game, but it annoys me how he's always compared to Diego Maradona. These comparisons are only made because both are Argentinian.
I'm on drugs and I use my hands!
I think the argument is taken back too many years. We only need to look back to the late nineties and we can see that Messi isn't even the best South American to play for Barcelona. Ronaldo, Il Fenomeno, was better than Messi. Ronaldo was faster, dominated keepers, and beat entire defenses on his own in his one year at Barcelona in the 96-97 season. Ronaldo also scored a great deal of goals in the ultra defensive Italian league despite many injuries. I don't understand why the debate about the greatest soccer player of all time always starts with Pele and Maradona. Ronaldo was simply better.
Greatest of all time
Barcelona is an exceptional team and I respect what the club has done. Winning countless trophies and consideration as one of the greatest teams of all time is nothing to take lightly. I just wish the media would stop representing them as a club that can do no wrong headed by its little genius. All other clubs take a seat behind Barcelona, and if Barcelona is knocked out of a tournament, they must have been wronged. When the day comes that Barcelona does not look like the Spanish national team and they open up play more, I might once again support Barcelona.
This past weekend Jose Mourinho suffered his first loss at home as a futbol manager since February 2002. Love him or hate him, that is simply absurd. This guy managed 150 futbol games in a row at home without losing and that deserves great praise.
Many people hate Mourinho, describing him as cocky and arrogant. Those are the reasons that I love him! This guy is the shit and he's not afraid to take a shit on others. Criticize Mourinho and he'll hit you back where it hurts, just ask Arsene Wenger or Rafa Benitez. Criticism and trash talk follows this guy everywhere and he consumes it all while reveling in all his successes.
Regardless if Real Madrid can catch Barcelona in La Liga or win the Champions League this year, Mourinho is still the greatest coach in the world. Last year he lead Inter Milan to the highly coveted treble, winning the domestic league and cup in Italy as long as the prestigious Champions League where his squad knocked out the English, Spanish, and German champions from the competition. Did I mention that he won the Champions a few years earlier with FC Porto? How is Mourinho not the greatest coach?
I find it hard to decide if I love the guy more for calling himself a special one or infuriating Victor Valdes to the point where he was trying to prevent Mourinho from celebrating. Mourinho's uncanny ability to get underneath the opposition's skin (and those he's not playing against) is one of his greatest assets. I can only imagine how great it feels following a victory to know that the other team hates you for having won, that must be incredible!
I think people don't like Mourinho because they wish they could be him.While he is busy riling up what seems to be almost everyone in the futbol world, his players love him at the same time and that is more than most managers can say about their relationships with their players. Remember when Sir Alex Ferguson threw a boot at David Beckham? Any manager in the world would take the silverware that Mourinho has earned over his coaching career and it is amazing the type of success he can have at many different clubs. The man is simply a genius. Getting Eto'o and cash from Barcelona for Ibrahimabitch, pure genius.
I expect Mourinho to continue firing up the world of futbol for years to come. He truly is a champion. Long live the Special One!
