A boy's dream...

When I was a boy, my father would take me to Cardinal's baseball games. To this day, those few trips to a baseball stadium have made me a lifelong fan of baseball and the Cardinals. Happily, because I have a midwestern temperment and am always interested in seeing other baseball teams, regardless of their talent level or the city in which they inhabit. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to the Washington Nationals. Last night, I was able to attend my first(of many) Nationals baseball game(with pretty nice seats) courtesy of the generosity of a friend of a friend. The game was a lot of fun despite absurd prices for food, mainly due to the good company and decent baseball(don't even ask me to describe Dodger's third baseman's abysmal fielding). Overall, a very nice experience.

But this got me thinking. Whenever I go to random events like a sporting event or concert, I always end up pondering random questions. Last night's question was "If I was a major/minor league playerWhat would I have as my intro music when I walked up to home plate for my at bat?"

The initial response I have to this is always that I would want to play the raunchiest rap song I could think of, just for my pure amusement. See examples here and here. Thinking about it, I realized that this is too short sided. All should get enjoyment from the song I choose, especially if my goal is to "Keep It Platinum."

Add to this the songs that Lincoln just mentioned for intro music at political events and you understand the importance of such musical choices. McCain did have it way over on the Democrats, especially for using the theme song to Rudy as his intro music.

So I put to you readers in the form of a contest. What would be a good song for that walk up to the plate or being introduced in a game or event?

Some parameters:

- It's got to be something memorable - usually something with a good hook(not many of us get to stand up on stage for a three minute introduction/crowd warm up).

- It's got to appeal to a wide variety of people at said event. This means that the music that does well in Hawaii may not work so well in the Bronx. Feel free to specify in your recommendations.

- It needs to get you AND the audience pumped for the event at hand, whatever it may be.

Those that enter and are selected as finalists will receive exactly one bagel + cream cheese from me via the bagel place across the street from my office. The winner will be invited to a special viewing of Arrested Development at a point to be determined. Also, they will from then on only be referred to as the Hermano.

Let the games begin!

music in the campaigns

Republicans:
Van Hagar
Rudy Soundtrack

Democrats:
Sharyl Crow

I just slipped and fell and landed in a pile of not-platinum...

Thanks universe! Real nice of you! I didn't spit in your water bowl. Why did you have to go and let this bit of embarrassment happen? For those of you who don't know me, I do tend to shame my own expectations on a regular basis, but that aside this was unnecessary.

So the team and I were putting some good ideating to use in one of the small conference rooms (i.e. the old intern's room, one for my dead hommies) and we were bashfully taking a moment or two from time to time to shoot hoops on one of those stick-um basketball hoops that most offices have as corny give-aways. Yes we have quite a few, and yes I am getting quite good at miniature basketball. Bring it! When all of a sudden there came a shinny demon, and she said!! "Could you guys keep it down in here, every time you throw that basketball it echoes through our office..." she was, of course, referring to my bosses office. With our tail between our legs we all of course blamed Jen, who had no part in the basketball shenanigans.

Not-platinum successfully avoided. With a lie? Yes. But mean platinum was maintained...

Be it platinum or not-platinum, I leave it up to you.

Mr Rogers' moment... Platinum or not?

So I was packing up to leave today and I brought along my aforementioned new shoes.  Then it dawned on me... 

I sat myself down to switched out of those burdensome work-loafers and slipped myself into some trendy street kicks as some awesome techno music came on in the background.  Best thing is I left my loafers in a drawer at work.  Here's to you neighbor!! 

I'm really excited to be here...

Is that platinum?

self-confessed less than platinum

I wrote about this event on Craig's List...
kind of embarrassing...
check it out...

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/mis/811514221.html

Last but not least...

I'd like to cap off the weekend and finally make my debut on Keepin' It Platinum. Unlike Licoln and Raph, I currently bear no official title--add that to the list of not platinum things.

You may have heard in the news recently that the debate over lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 has once again been stirred up. And this time, it's not the usual collegiate opinion writers with no new material on the subject. Instead, more than 100 university and college leaders have signed the Amethyst Initiative petition to lawmakers to reconsider the legal drinking age--and it's about time. Not even a petition of 10,000 college students would carry as much weight or gain as much media attention as the current list of petitioners.

College-age young adults who drink realize two things: 1) the law is still relatively new because their parents had the right to drink beer at 18, and 2) 18 year olds (and younger) in nearly all other countries can to do so legally. Will the real "land of the free" please stand up? Kudos to college leaders who voiced their concern: they realized that government isn't better at preventing adults from making potentially stupid or irresponsible choices, like binge drinking. Now there's just millions of responsible and irresponsible "criminals" attending colleges and universities nationwide.

I propose that the states take the initiative to decentralize government control by lowering their drinking ages--no more federal funding for highways. Even if you increase state-level sin tax on alcohol by small percent (just think of Nevada!), states could potentially recover the portion lost from federal funds. Also, the cost to enforce MIPs would fall, and that money could be reallocated to a more useful purpose: enforcing DUI offenses. If that fails and the highways deteriorate, at least kids won't be out on the highways driving drunk. In the meantime, MADD should be thankful for the recent surge in gas prices.

Yet another illusion of platinumdom...

What about the esteemed "thought-to-be good act of less than platinum" that turns out to be more like plastic.  It's like fools platinum.  I feel what your laying down my brother from another post.  And I feel like it needs to be drawn out a little.  

The thought-to-be-good act of less than platinum ....

is an honest card someone plays in a social situation: usually small group.  Most times the person in subject (call him subject A) is completely oblivious to their act of less-than-platinum.  They force themselves onto conversation without taking into consideration the finer details of social cues and awkward interaction.  It's just tough, because you know they don't even know that everything they do drives the social herd bonkers.  They just slide on through it.  

example:

I experienced an individual portraying these characteristics with some zeal.  After politely pointing out that his belligerent approach to social interaction was less than constructive (at this point it is appropriate to point out that I am the Deputy to the Director of Constructive Feedback, or something close)  he had the audacity to enlighten me on his supposed norms of human behavior and how he didn't give a flying fudgesickle what other people thought about him and he wasn't going to let anyone tell him what to do or how to be.  

Basically, my point is to pose a question to the greater platinum community. How do you deal with people who don't recognize they are not acting with platinum?  How do we stay platinum around plastic when the plastic thinks it's platinum?

oh yea and we invented a word this weekend: "outmazing"   

use it wisely...

 

Things that are not platinum...

As much as we'd like for everyone in the world to keep it platinum on a consistent basis, we recognize that there are times when it's difficult for everyone. A good example would include being given an ultimatum by female friends regarding shaving facial freedom beards you may or may not be attached to (no pun intended). You have feelings for both, but at the end of the day, freedom sometimes rides bitch so that your friends can take shotgun. We also recognize that some people are just simply not interested in keepin' it platinum. Examples include Osama Bin Laden, the Chinese Government, and Soulja Boy.

Personally, what I find more offensive than the first two categories is when people do something they know is not platinum, just so they can obtain a little bit of personal benefit at the expense of the rest of the platinum loving populace. Whereas the first two categories are a mix of difficult situations and complete disregard for others, the latter is just people ignoring platinum rules when it is semi-convenient for them. Below are a list of a couple things that happened this weekend that were definitely NOT platinum:

1. People bringing their 3-4 month old babies to an IMAX screening of The Dark Knight. So what if I've seen the movie twice already? That is poor parenting and they didn't even take the baby out of the theater when it started screeching. I envision delinquent children 12 - 13 years down the line.

2. Being forced to interact with annoying people while out with real friends. I understand my own lack of social skills, but seriously, it's 2008 and there's a War on Terror. Step your game up people.

I am certain this list will continue to grow over time. Don't worry, we are here to help slow the tide as best we can and will work overtime if need be.

Today in keeping it platinum

Being my first post I feel as if I should introduce myself.  My name is Lincoln J. McLain, Assistant to the Deputy Director of Constructive Feedback.  (It's just a title.) 

I was watching a movie you may have heard of called "Transformers." (it's just a movie)  and they had a scene where a couple of the human fleshies lock themselves in a library-esk room in the secret layer of the Hoover Dam after being chased by a small but dangerous little chub-chub transformer.  There just so happened to be a set of shot guns on display.  which they used initially to fight off the chub-chub robot unsuccessfully.  At first we thought it would be out-of-the-ordinary that there would be shot guns on display just when you needed them but then we realized with a quick gesture/flex of our arms that there are always shot guns on display... platinum moment number one of the night. 

Oh yea and I got some new shoes today, which I thought were gorgeous. 

School Choice

While our(and my) goal on this blog is to keep things relatively apolitical, we realize that much of what we talk about in the context of KeepinItPlatinum(KIP) is informed by our political beliefs. It is for that reason that sometimes we'll be delving into some topics you may hear about in the news at times. One that is near and dear to my heart is the idea of school choice. Those that know me know that I will argue for it until I(or the other person I am talking with) is blue in the face. I'm that passionate about it .

The video below is probably the best articulation of the argument for school choice I've ever seen. It's witty, direct, and it doesn't sugar coat what are the end goals of true school choice. It is definitely platinum viewing....

Buzzwords are Underrated

As a rule, my friends and I believe that buzzwords are a very unappreciated part of the American English language(I can't speak to their usage in other peoples' languages). Why, you ask? In my mind, buzzwords, like most of language, are only as serious as the people using them and the seriousness of the context in which they are being used. The name of this blog comes quite directly from buzzwords used in the context of my current job, yet we have no problem taking the words that are used inside the office and applying them to things in our daily lives such as movies, food, event planning, and even the occasional consumption of alcohol. In an odd way, our tongue-in-cheek references to buzzwords like decision rights, liberty, transaction costs, and comparative advantage help us to better understand the true meaning of the words.

Language, like all good spontaneous orders, has no one individual in charge of it. It evolves as it needs to in order to fit the society it is in. One classic example you may have heard of is that Eskimos have over thirty words they use to describe snow. While there is no one person in control of Eskimo language(I wouldn't even pretend to act as if I know what it's called) the language has evolved in a starkly different way than my own to reflect the needs/values of the society and individuals where it exists. For my own part, I'm pretty happy with the 4-5 different words that I know of to describe different kinds of snow.

So how do Eskimos relate to buzzwords? I'm going to say the connection lies in the idea of language being evolutionary. By removing buzzwords from their original context and placing them in a new one, my friends and I are exploring what the underlying meaning of the word really is. We mean no harm. In fact we think that by using the word out of context we allow for it's broader consumption. How many people really have a deep theoretical understanding of the phrase transaction costs? Yet when I use the phrase transaction costs in relation to me not wanting to move my party location on a Friday night from Clarendon to Adams Morgan, it provides a very clear example to someone who may not have that all-important undergraduate degree in Economics. For me, the most effective writers, teachers, speakers, and public figures have always been those who could take a very important yet complicated idea and bring it "home" into a context the average person could understand. In short, by removing buzzwords from their usual domains and messing around with them as we see fit, my friends and I are trying to make a small contribution to this evolutionary process that we call society.