I am Keith Hernandez

Today, I stumbled upon this: a Bleacher Reports user Id with the name Keith Hernandez. Interesting. Wasn’t entirely sure if it really is another dude with the same name or one of the many peeps who have decided to take on the personality of someone famous and write in that style, a trend that has made Twitter kind of embarrassing to be a part of. So I decided to read some of Mr. Hernandez’s work. Yep, its somebody writing in the spirit of Keith Hernandez. Bummer.
I understand the kitsch in the ballplayers personality and can see why it is fun, so I really didn’t take offense to his using the pseudonym. What irked me was after reading a couple of his posts, I found a link to his actual website and his website’s name is almost identical to mine. Double bummer. And it seems home pickle might have a following. How did I fall so low as to not even being able to carve out a web presence for myself, an actual person named Keith Hernandez? How unmotivated am I that someone can just come along, use almost the same website name as me and write sports columns in the same vain as Deadspin articles and get decent traction? Before, my motivations for this website were abstract and undefinable and that’s probably why, for the most part it is has sucked. Now, I think I have found something that will truly motivate me to actually, finally write. And not just write the typical aging frat-boy shit that gets pushed around the internets these days as writing. Thanks http://imkeithhernandez.wordpress.com/ for putting a little fire under my ass. Seeing you post pictures of strippers and make fun of atheletes in the most cliche of ways has gotten me extra pissed that I haven’t done more with my site before.

Went to the Mets unveiling of Citi Field tonight and will probably write about it tomorrow if I can figure out how to get the pictures off of my phone, but tonight I read a great review of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s “Sugar” and had to post the link. So excited for the potential of this movie to finally bring to light some of the darker aspects of the baseball business and the ambigious morals of it all.

It’s a story about a young Dominican pitcher who makes it to a minor league team in Iowa and has to adjust to life outside of his country. From the review it looks like much more than that. I doubt I can do justice to where this movie is going and Scott does an amazing job enticing one to go see it. So check out the review below and watch the trailer. We might finally get a baseball movie that deals with the realities of the game.

Diamond in the Rough by A.O. Scott

Alright, so I decided on my next 30 day habit and it’s going to be writing at least one post on this here website. I’ve tried multiple times to get this rolling on a daily basis and failed. What makes me think that this time will be different is the success of this little 30 day habit thing that I started in mid-January.
In january, I read a blog posting on Tim Ferriss’ website talking about another blogger who had a simple way to add productive habits to his life. After reading it, I decided that I wanted to be healthier and running would be a good option. The initial goal was simple: run at least 10 minutes a day, everyday. When I told people about it, most thought that was too easy and I wouldn’t see any advances. They were right about it being easy, that was the point, to make the goal manageable. At first, the dilemma was getting to the gym, once there I would usually push to 15 to 20 minutes, but there were times when I thought of skipping it and heading home. What kept me on track? Mant times it was the negotiation in ny head that 10 minutes was nothing, little over a mile and that if I did it the wine or beer I had later would taste that much better. Often, these days were my best runs. Now, maybe my experience is different, as I took to running and started running longer distances. The 10 minutes became 10K and eventually,over time a half marathon. The two things that kept me moving were not wanting to break the streak and the attainable goal of only 10 minutes. With this as my routine, I have gone from 204lbs to 180lbs in about 12 weeks. Running is now a happy part of my daily routine, like taking a shower or brushing my teeth. And that’s the key; it is now a habit, something that arrives naturally during the day. I find time for it, enjoy it and welcome its inclusion in the day.
Hot off the heels of that success, I decided that writing would be the next thing that I wanted to include in my life. With a couple of co-workers, I am reading The Artist Way, a book that helps one release their creativity. One of the activities is the book is to write three pages of thoughts, notes or whatever first thing in the morning, everyday. This aligned with exactly the same time that I was thinking about starting a new habit. Or what the book calls syncronocity. It was easy for me to jump in, I would usually write whatever came into my head while on the subway, commuting to work everyday. Sure it looks a bit silly writing in a journal on a train,but I am used to it now and love it. The writing is a great exercise in free thought, scrambling down whatever comes to mind. Its a great way to air out things that are aggravating and just flow. Now, I want to step it up a notch. Looking for this next habit to kick into high gear the formal writing that I used to love. The idea will be to post at least one original, creative story a day. Video, quick links and two sentence blurbs don’t count. The story should have some beneficial aspect. Besides that, I am free to write. Excited to add this to my list of habits, the 30 days begins now…

Last night I finished up Haruki Murakami’s “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running” with a feverish late night sprint to the end. Haven’t pulled the look at the clock, know I should be going to be and saying ah fuck it, I NEED to finish this book tonight move in a long time. Was really happy I did it with this book.
Reading it came at a perfect time for me. I have gotten more serious about my running, so serious that on a day like today, where I was feeling like absolute shit and not in any mood at all do to anything besides pound wine and watch TV, I was compelled to run 5K. Running is now officially part of my life. It’s something as routine as brushing my teeth or washing my face, a daily activity I do not question anymore. The book helped rationalize the honor I feel in running long distances, not something that I brag about or boast at company parties, but an internal fight I take with me each time I go out there and try to run my best. Murakami’s book is rather straightforward, and if you are not a runner, might be considered bland, as most of the book is a detailed look at some of his longer or more prolific runs. If you were to gloss over these entries, you would miss some of the absolute astonishing philosophies he has on life and seeking happiness.
One that stuck with me was written with what seemed like little intention for it to be a big aha moment for him, but I still remember the line well into the next day. He was talking about his first and last foray into ultra marathon running, how he was past the 40 mile mark and he could not see anything, could barely move and could barely keep going. The only thing that prodded him along, to keep up even in the uncertainty was to “concentrate on the next foot forward”. Such a minor thought, something only focused in the now transformed him from almost quiting to concentrating on the next foot forward for 20 more miles and finishing the race.
I have now said that mantra a few times when I get lacklaster or tired of doing the work in front of me. Just concentrate on the next foot forward. Keep going, focus on the next step ahead and eventually you will get to the goal.

After writing this, I searched the phrase that motivated me so much and found this article on one of my favorite tech sites: What Start Ups Can Learn From Haruki Murakami

Such a subtle wisdom that seeps through and makes you want to do more.

At this point, I pretty much have a 10K on lock down. Running at a decent clip, this is now my norm for a weekend run, which is cool but I want to step up the pace a bit. What I love about running is that you can take it a couple of ways: 1) run further or 2) run faster. Right now, my body can barely handle getting to the half marathon mark and I am thinking that maybe its time to step up the pace rather than coninuing the longest run steez that I have been working with for the past few months. That is the beauty of running, there are always ways to improve, always new goals to conquer. You can never master running. There is no high score or ultimate distance that you can run. Someone (maybe even you) can go out there the next day and beat it. It’s a beautiful struggle, an enduring battle within yourself to see how far you can go.

Today was a rather shabby 10K, my stomach ached and my time wasn’t anything to be proud of. But it is the strength that I gain from plodding through the crappy runs that will eventually lead me to a new best time. Even after the worst of runs, the sense of accomplishment is gratifying and the yearning to push harder grows.

Clay’s Shirkey’s blog post “Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable” was linked to by a few different people I follow on Twitter, so I was compelled to give it a go and check out what he was saying. The piece is probably the most thoughtful and put together assessment of what went wrong with the newspaper industry during the internet revolution. He argues that they did see the coming change come, but attempted tired models that would continue to the old thinking and that new ideas were shunned. Its a great read on the revolution that we are in right now. Here is an excerpt:

And so it is today. When someone demands to know how we are going to replace newspapers, they are really demanding to be told that we are not living through a revolution. They are demanding to be told that old systems won’t break before new systems are in place. They are demanding to be told that ancient social bargains aren’t in peril, that core institutions will be spared, that new methods of spreading information will improve previous practice rather than upending it. They are demanding to be lied to.

There are fewer and fewer people who can convincingly tell such a lie.

For the full post: Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable