A Friday wrap... #6

The late night edition...

Slightly past midnight, missed Friday, but like 5 o’clock, it’s there somewhere.

I decided to play with ChatGPT. Yes, another great rabbit hole to fall down. My first inquiry is one I prefer not to put into print because it is filled with profanity. But it did settle an important philosophical debated over the correct use of three different variations of the same curse that is uttered. My second inquiry was just as interesting, and safe for readers.

What I asked ChatGPT to do was this: Write a supportive argument that the game of soccer should be the only sport allowed to use the name "Football" and that American Football should have to be renamed.

(I ask this because I am tired of people confusing the two.)

ChatGPT: Soccer, also known as association football, is the most popular sport in the world with an estimated 4 billion fans worldwide. Given its global reach, it is only fitting that the name "Football" should be reserved exclusively for this sport.

American Football, on the other hand, is a sport that primarily involves carrying and throwing a ball, with only occasional use of the feet to kick. This limited use of the feet does not justify the use of the name "Football." Instead, it would be more appropriate to rename the sport to something more accurate, such as "Handball" or "Gridiron."

Furthermore, the name "Football" is deeply ingrained in the culture and history of soccer, dating back to the sport's origins in England in the mid-19th century. The name "Football" reflects the fact that the game is played primarily with the feet, emphasizing the skill and technique required to control and manipulate the ball.

By allowing American Football to continue using the name "Football," it not only creates confusion, but it also undermines the rich history and tradition of soccer. It sends a message that American Football is on par with soccer, when in reality, the two sports are vastly different in terms of gameplay, rules, and culture.

In conclusion, it is only fair and appropriate that soccer retains the exclusive use of the name "Football." This will not only honour the history and tradition of the sport but also reduce confusion and accurately reflect the gameplay of each respective sport. American Football should be renamed to something more accurate, thus allowing both sports to stand on their own and flourish independently.

Ya - What ChatGPT said!

Another rabbit hole I end up going down is iTunes. Usually Monday nights I play catch up on all the work-related writing I need to get done for my Tuesday deadline. That starts with opening iTunes to play something out of my music collection. Most evenings I click on iTunes store to check out any of the deals on music, or to add into my collection something that had been stuck in my head. Before too long, I’ve bought four or five songs – some new, some filler from years previous. Sometimes I find gems, other times I impulse buy songs that I never listen to again. Did I really need to buy a “It Takes Two” by Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock? No. Have I listened to it since? Maybe twice. But that copy of “Ocean Pearl” by 54-40 has been played 50 times according to iTunes. Each time takes me back to when I saw them play at The Warehouse in Toronto in 1996 or 1997.

Of course the other music rabbit hole is YouTube. Sometimes iTunes and YouTube work together to distract me. (It’s a conspiracy, really.) But without these, I wouldn’t have expanded my musical interests beyond what they were before (diverse).

One such place on YouTube I check out is the channel for 90.9 The Bridge. The station is based in Kansas City and has great shows and performances. Without the station I wouldn’t probably wouldn’t have learned of the group Lake Street Dive.

An impressive cover of ‘Lola’ by The Kinks. But wait, there’s more. I knew of the musician Michael Franti from listening to Jimmy Buffett’s Radio Margaritaville, but this performance of ‘The Sound of Sunshine’ would have been un-found.

I’ve also been a fan of blues musician Samantha Fish for a number of years. First stumbling on a performance of ‘Bitch on the Run’ at Don Odell’s Legends, I’ve downloaded 3-4 of her albums. What I liked about the 90.9 The Bridge performance was this song Jim Lee Blues, Part 1. The song was originally by Charley Patton and well… has some racist overtones (think Don Imus.) Fish rewrote the song and made it her own, removing the racist stuff. Pretty cool.

And for added fun, here’s the performance from Don Odell’s:

Lastly, I am not ashamed to say I like mashups. But they have to be good mashups. Leaving the YouTube up and running, sometimes a random song will pop into the feed. When that happens, my music world gets broader again. That is how I learned about Pomplamoose, which did this cool mashup of ‘Seven Nation Army’ by the White Stripes and ‘Sweet Dreams’ by The Eurythmics.

What am I reading this week? ‘Light and Shadow’ by Michael Freeman. One my favourite photographers wrote this masterclass book which is a part of a series by him.

More writing due this week. A column, an editorial, and bunch of other stuff. Hopefully I avoid the music rabbit holes for a while.