I haven't yet. It reminds me a little bit of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. The whole idea of a post-bombing London reminds me of Vonnegut's experiences in Dresden after the firebombing.


I wasn't sure if I would like it ,as I don't care for Slaughterhouse Five. Maybe I will see if I can find Demetri Martin's palindrome poem instead.


That sounds pretty interesting. As poetry goes, I am a fan of Edgar Allen Poe's creepy stuff. Did you know he only got paid $9 for the publication of "The Raven," arguably his most famous work?


That's insane, even counting for inflation. I read somewhere that an Icelandic poem is the inspiration for almost all of the Hobbit's character's names. That's pretty cool.


There's a lot of lore in Tolkein. I was just thinking how a lot of those old stories would make great radio dramas. Apparently there is a website you can go to to listen to old ones. I wonder if The Lord of the Rings and The Raven were ever adapted. Old time radio fascinates me so much.


My neighbor is able to pick up the radio storms from Jupitor, he's a HAM, and has all of the am radio equipment. I think that is so cool, and wonder if it can be achieved with a standard car radio.


I would imagine you sometimes get atmospheric skip or interference from space, but without heavy modification I dont think you'd pick them up. Radio is such a simple yet precise technology. Hard to believe WW2 soldiers built their own foxhole radios out of razorblades and pencils!


That is hard to believe. I would like to find the Finnish station that broadcasts a weekly program exclusively in latin.


That's crazy! Latin is a dead language, or so you'd think. Thinking of Radio just makes me think of Canada, where federal law makes it mandatory for 40% of the artists to be Canadian. I'd rather listen to latin news than have some random law be responsible for Nickleback's popularity :-P


lol. I actually like a few of their songs, and don't understand why they get hated on so much. I was reading that there are blood drives for dogs, and that the dogs themselves are the donors. I would love to find one in my area, just so I could pet all the dogs.


I used to be more of a cat person. My ex made me get a dog. Now I am on equal grounds. Did you know dogs and elephants are the only animals that instinctively understand pointing? No wonder I can't get my cat to find her treats that I hid.


I think cats can understand, they just choose to not obey. I like the vending machines that Istanbul has. It dispenses food and water for the stray dogs in exchange for recycling a plastic bottle. I would be at that machine all day.


That's a pretty solid deal. It's weird that a place like Turkey has such conveniences but so much strife. I wonder what blood type my dog is, anyway? There are 12 types.. Sorta like humans.


I wonder if we can donate to dogs? Some of the things that are available in old European cities are amazing. I have to wonder why they aren't available here. I've always thought dogs were color blind I guess they can see just like we can.


Europe has an interesting history. Such a mix of old and new. We've never really had war here in the US where we had to completely rebuild old cities like what Ondaatje write about London.


Very true. Have you heard of the depressing poem that when read backwards, is inspiring? It's called Our Generation, wrote by a 14 year old boy.


That's pretty clever for a 14 year old. Pretty good use of word play if you ask me. Did you know the Japanese alphabet, recited in order, forms a poem? Poetry is all around us, I guess.


I did know that, a guide in Tokyo told us that, when we were at a temple. I keep reminding my son that the Homer epics are poetry as well.


A lot of the ancient greek epics are like that. Aristotle made efforts to define poetry, but it's probably too abstract to give a universal list of rules to.


There are some in Africa as well, that date back to the prehistoric times. Naturally, they have to do with hunting.


It's funny that some of it probably predates writing, or at least formal language. Written examples of African poetry date to the 25th century BCE which is super ancient.


Thank you for chatting with me this morning, I've got to get ready for work. Have a wonderful day.


No. I don't to be honest but I do like drama.


Thats cool..still a lot interesting things about horror films though,  if you watch a horror movie before viewing abstract art you will enjoy it more.


I didn't know this very interesting. Also is very interesting to note that Danny the boy from the shining didn't know that he was acting in a horror film until many years later.


That is probably a good thing lol that movie is terrifying.


I personally didn't watch this movie and I'm glad I didn't.


another interesting fact,  watching horror movies can burn 180 calories!


Wow!!! That is something that I didn't know. Do you happen to know why would that be the case?


Maybe flexing of muscles when you are scared,  or being tense is alctually flexing muscles as well. That would be my guess.


That is a very good guess. I will have to agree with you on this one. Do you watch Netflix at all?


I do watch it on occasion. Do you know where is Netflix headquartered by any chance?


Oh! Thanks. I knew they were in California but I didn't where exactly. Do you know who the founders were?


Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph.  Did you not read it?


No. I didn't know the founders from Netflix. Is Netflix available worldwide or not?


No.  Not in china, syria, north korea, and crimea


Thanks. Do you happen to know when did Netflix expanded its business?


Thank you so much. I read somewhere that Blockbuster declined multiple offers to buy Netflix for $50 million. Is this true?


That is too bad for Blockbuster because Netflix now is worth $2 billion.


Yeah I know right,  what a bad business move.  Its been good chatting, thanks.


well the poem is designed that way. it's inspiring when read backwards but depressing in the regular direction


wow, interesting. have you heard about a javanese alphabet?


It's like a poem i hear. maybe someone should put it to music and play it on the radio


That would be interesting. Have you heard of the icelanding poem 'dvergatal'?


That's for hobbits I'm told. We need one for dogs. They are very instinctual


That is very true. Did you know there are 12 different blood types a dog can have?


I did not know that. I should google it, especially since Alphabet is a dog company


And dogs can even donate blood at blood drives


Very cool. In Instanbull they have vending machines for dogs.


THe ones that dispense food when you feed it plastic bottles?


Yeah those. See, there's a lot to write about when it comes to dogs. I'm reading Warlight by Ondaatje. But I think its more of a cat person novel


Nice. Did you kmnow google says that they are a cat company?


I heard they prefer dogs to cats. It's in their code of conduct


So cool, good for them. Dogs contrary to popular belief are not colorblind


I wonder if google is. Either way, sometimes i like the old tech, like radio..


yeah me too. did you know you can catch Jupiter's storm in the am radio


I am not sure about that. In Canada you might catch canadian songs and singers 40% of the time


Well, if Canada colonizes Jupiter then we will definitely be able to hear the storms


Are you a big horror fan? It's starting to make a comeback.


I really am not. I don't like things jumping out at me. How about you?


Me neither but Netflix has a show The Haunting of Hill House that is suppose to be decent.


I do like a good series. Maybe I will have to binge watch it.


It's based off a 1959 gothic horror novel by Shirley Jackson.


Maybe extremely an extremely scary version of This Is Us. HAHA... Its ten episodes.


And it seems the main character becomes somewhat of a ghost whisperer. Interesting.


I guess he buys a mansion and plans on flipping it.. Then things start to go down hill from there... Pun intended.


Haha. Apparently the ending isn't that great though.


I can't imagine.. They call the last episode tragically dumb!


That makes me not want to watch it at all, since I don't like horror in the first place.


How funny is this... Stephen King said the scariest movie he ever saw was Bambi!!


I watched Bambi when I was a child and I remember it being pretty scary! Apparently you can burn calories when watching scary movies though.


Maybe that will be my workout regimen for 2019!


Funny! I guess we just can't eat too much buttery popcorn while watching.


That's the best part. Heck imagine how mad BlockBuster is for not buying Netflix.


Right. I remember going to Blockbuster, and then getting DVDs from netflix in the mail. How things have changed!


It sure will. In the nighttime, Netflix accounts for 33% of bandwidth in North America. That is insane!


Reed Hastings had the right idea by creating Netflix.


I am, I'm currently in my hotel room traveling for work.


Well, if you happen to be in the Nederlands, check out their commuter bus that can travel at 160 mph!


Sadly I'm not, I would like traveling a lot better then. At least I'm not in Japan either. All their highways have tolls and it cost more than $300 to travel across the country!


Hey, wouldn't it be funny if they had trolley cars that went 160 mph?  Now tha would be a quick commute!  Contrast that with Mackinac island, where motorized vehicles are banned.  Pace of living a little slower there...


I bet it is nice there. The pollution probably isn't anywhere close to bad as it is in most places. Did you know who the first king to travel around the world was?


King Kalakaua. I think he used a tricycle. I could be wrong. I wonder if he traveled through Iceland?


That would be neat. Iceland seems like it would be difficult to travel through. There's no rail service, and I don't think there's too many major roads there. I wonder how many people there have never left their hometowns because they're afraid to fly?


Dodge sells a nice dog sled. You know, the Norwegians donated $1 billion to help save the rain forest.  Maybe they should have considered diverting some to the "Pave the Iceland" campaign.


Yeah they should have! Atleast they didn't attempt to try to buy the Eiffel Tower from a Frenchman who impersonated a government official.


I wish our government had done that rather than choose to own 86% of Nevada. That's our savvy government at work!


Yep! Did you know that Wikileaks published the governments plans to destroy Wikileaks? I'm guessing that plan failed.


Yeah, but how is it that Wikileaks knows what the goverment is up to, when government employees don't even know?


Exactly! If they went to war with Wikileaks they could actually violate The Geneva Convention since in 2006 legislation was passed to protect government employees from being prosecuted for violating it.


I think the only part of the government that works well is the Judiciary, and they play hard too!  They have a basketball court on top of the supreme court building that they call "the highest court in the Land"


I wonder if they ever have pickup games? I'd like to see that.


Sure!  I would love to see Ruth Bader Ginsberg take one to the rim over top of the "Tall Blacks" from New Zealand. Headlines would read, "The black robes crush the Tall Blacks "


Haha! They could have beaten James Naismith's teams. Even though he invented the game he is still the only losing coach in University of Kansas history. I guess you can say he got beat at his own game.....alot!


Haha... I gues he never had a Kareem Abdul Jabbar on his team to dominate opponents with his outlawed dunking skills!


I guess not. That was also probably before coaches got paid so much. Now in 39 out of the 50 states the highest paid state employee is either a college football or college basketball coach. I know in my state it's the college football coach.


Our states most valued employee: a person who watches other people play with their balls for a living. That is why governments are so good with the money we give them.  Nice chatting with you!


Did you know that a man in France tried to impersonate a government official, and sold the Eiffel Tower...not once, but TWICE!?


In 2008, the government of Norway donated a BILLION dollars to help save the Amazon Rainforest.  Way cool of them.


The Dutch are building a bus that travels at 160 mph. Why would anyone want to go that fast on a bus. The Norwegians are very concerned about the earth.


Wikileaks apparently published the government's plans to destroy, well, wikileaks. That didn't work out too well...


Wikileaks is good. The government is scared of them.


Follow sports? I didn't realize that in 39 of the 50 states, the highest paid state employee is either a college football or a basketball coach.


I am not really into sports but that does impress me. I hope they are worth it.


I also did not know until recently that the US Supreme court has a basketball court on the top floor, known as the "highest court in the land"


That's funny. Given the age of a lot of those Supremes, I wonder how often it gets used?


The inventor of basketball, James Naismith, is the only losing coach in the history of the University of Kansas. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction!


I wonder what prompted him to invent basketball and how he came up with all of the rules. He must have had some help.


One rule that was banned for over a decade was the dunk because of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's dominant use of it.


I did not know that. Head coach Joanne Boyle led the University of Virginia quit her job to go to Senegal to finalize her daughter's adoption. I think that is really brave.


I believe her daughter attends kindergarten at the Charlottesville Day School, dances ballet and hip-hop, and plays the violin.


It's too bad that they have to travel back to Africa for this and that she lost her job. They may be there for a long time.


Boyle has kept her daughter in Virginia because she has feared for her daughter's health. As a parent, I totally get and understand that.


She's lucky she has her own family to help out. But I don't know what they will do if the adoption is stalled.


This is why she resigned as coach once her team got knocked out of the NCAA Division I Tournament.


Thankfully, she has support - her 82 year old mother and 5 siblings (4 brothers & a sister) as well as a very supportive community.


Hey have you heard about head coach Joanne Boyle?


Hi.  Yeah, looks like she quit to finalize an adoption.


Yes that's how it appears. And she was actually a really good coach for the University of Virginia Women's Basketball team, so I wonder who they got to replace her


She got her team to the second round of the tournament. Looks like she might be in Senegal for awhile, too.  Whoever they got is going to have quite a legacy to live up to


Yep it sounds like it. It's crazy that adoption fees can total almost $30,000, that's as much as a car!


No doubt.  Its way too much.  Plus all the wait time involved.  Seems like its almost not worth it.  Why make it so hard?


If you think you would want the kids in a better home instead of in foster care. I guess Boyle said she spent more than $100,000 for the adoption, that's insane


Yep, that's insane for sure.  I wonder if its easy to adopt in New Zealand.  They have a basketball team named the "Tall Blacks"


Yeah I don't think that name would fly here haha. have you heard of the basketball court that is located on top of the Supreme Court Building?


Yep, its the highest court in the land! Looks like that James Naismith wasn't such a great coach...


No he was actually losing coach for his university, he should have invented the game differently so that he could win all the time LOL


Right LOL, looks like he messed that up.  I didn't know the dunk was banned from college b-ball for awhile.  Must have been boring to watch!


Yeah Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was just too good at it haha. What do you think about the highest paid employee in Most states being that of the college or football coach?


That seems a little crazy.  But that's sports for you.  Nothing I can do about it.  Seems like people with the most important jobs should be the highest paid...but oh well


Yep you would think that. What do you think about the government? It seems very wasteful in my opinion to be paying coaches that much money


I guess they justify it because the sports programs bring in a ton of cash.  I don't know though.  I guess they could always try to sell the Eiffel Tower to pay for it


Haha you should see how that guy did it! He sold it not once but twice, I wonder how much he got for it


And who would buy it? Who would think they could own the Eiffel Tower lol


LOL I know right! I just like knowing that there is good in the world, like how Norway gave 1 billion dollars to help save the rain forest


That is super cool!  Wish our government would do more good stuff like that.


Yep I agree. Do you ever travel by the way? I just got back from Florida personally


Hi, do you like to travel? If you do what is your favorite method?


Used to love to travel abroad. Plane travel is much faster (time inflight) today than 40 years ago! How about you?


Yes, I prefer planes too. Traveling by train seems like a good idea but then it ends up taking so long to get where you are going.


Yes. Passenger trains in the US suck! $$$ is earned by freight, not passenger fares. UK trains are nice, though.


Yes, the distance between places in Europe is much smaller and their tracks and trains for that matter are much better. In North America forget about it though. I was surprised in Iceland they don't have rail though, but flights are dirt cheap.


Iceland? Is rough terrain the reason there are no rail lines? Wonder if they have people there who'll let you crash on their couches if you can't get around?


It's pretty friendly but I'm not sure I'd want to crash on someone's couch. I prefer at least a decent hotel. Sometimes though, it's fun to just go on an old fashion road trip. This summer I plan on heading to Mackinac Island.


Great location, I hear. When you've got basketball? Some other sport?


There are no cars on the Island! You have to take a ferry and then you get around by horse drawn carriages or by riding bikes! I do like basketball too.


Heard a story about a NCAA women's coach recently. She retired because she had to travel back to Senegal 4000 miles away to finalize adoption of her 6 year old daughter, Ngoty. Is that travel with a purpose or what?


Wow! Long journey but nice story. I wonder what the conditions in Senegal are like? I take it the orphanage is not state of the art?


Don't know, but I guess poorly equipped. Did you know international adoptions have plummeted, partly because the US charges hefty fees?


I did not. Are they just citizenship fees for the kids?


I think adoption fees. Fed. gov't has tightened controls from Russia, China - partly to prevent human trafficking and fraud, they say...The college coach was told she may have to wait months - or years - to bring child back to the US. Do these delays seem fair?


I understand they have to take certain precautions but there should be ways to screen would be parents that are faster and less expensive. Sometimes the government is too strict. Did you see when Wikileaks published government plans to destroy them?


Saw that Wikileaks says the US fed. gov't. intends to shut Wikileaks down. Wouldn't bother me if they did. How about you?


It would. I don't think they have the right to just shut them down, regardless of how they feel about them.


That's a good point, a thoughtful point, thanks. On a lighter note, are you ready for college basketball's March Madness? Do you support a college team?


I am ready! I don't really have a favorite team, but I enjoy the craziness of march madness, hard to believe it's almost here.


We support Villanova, but they may be underdogs this year. Agree it's crazy, a bit like watching the Harlem Globetrotters, but not funny to the kids playing, of course!


Hope they do well this year. I just remembered I need to take care of something. it was interesting chatting with you. Have a great night.


Yes I do. DO you know who Kareem Jabbar is?


Yes the guy that used the dunk shot way too much


Yes so much that it got banned for over a decade


Yeah. Do you know who invented the sport?


Yes a coach at U of Kansas, James Naismith


Yes and he was also the only losing coach there


Ironically yes. Coaches are the highest paid employees in many states though


That us true. Have you heard of the highest court in the land?


Yes that is on the top floor of the US Supreme Court Building


Yes. Do you know what the NZ basketball team are called?


Yes the website that published government secrets


Yes and once published documents that showed how the government is trying to destroy them


Yeah Did you know the government owns most of the land in Nevada?


Yes about 86% of it but most of it is desert anyways


True. Did you know a guy sold the Eiffel Tower twice ?


Yes he was good at impersonating state officials


Yes smart guy . It was nice chatting with you


Do you like snakes? I had a pet corn snake once. Mostly I see them in my garden, or see my cats trotting along with them in their mouths, LOL.


Cool!  I am curious about them for sure. Since I'm from the US, I should be able to see my fair share unlike the people in New Zealand where there aren't any!


That seems to be true of a lot of islands. I have a friend from Hawaii who says there aren't any snakes there, and the same is supposed to be true of Ireland.


That's a good point.  Wherever they are, though, I'd like to steer clear of the snakes that essentially fly in an effort to catch their prey.


That sounds pretty scary. The ones I've seen aren't quite that mobile, LOL. I found a snake skin under my bathroom sink, so apparantly one found its way in there during molting season.


It's a good thing you are a fan, most of us would be moving.  I wonder how legless lizards differ from snakes?


Parallel evolution, I guess. I have a lot of lizards here too -- skinks all over the place in hot weather. I find them sometimes where my cats have killed them.


How about crocodiles?  Apparently they are closer relatives than birds than snakes or lizards.  May it's like that one odd Uncle that we have who doesn't seem to fit the genetic makeup of the rest of the family.


I just saw an article where some biologist was planning to genetically reengineer birds into dinosaurs by reactivating the junk DNA a bit at a time.


That should be must-see tv if it works!  Could you imagine if it worked the amount of viewers something like a real dinosaur would get?


I think the scientist was the same guy who originally worked as a consultant for Jurassic Park, LOL.


Are you a fan of the Simpson's?  I can recall an episode when Homer went back in time to the Jurrasic age, but I think he sneezed and completely changed the course of history.  Of course Bart played some role, because there is only one episode that he wasn't in or even mentioned.


I loved that episode. I remember he came back and everything seemed the same again, until Marge said "what are donuts" and he screamed in horror.


That's right!  LOL.  Never got as much into South Park or Family Guy, but I know the Simpson's people sent flowers to them after a finale was aired.  That was cool.


Yeah, I didn't care as much for South Park or Family Guy either. But I loved The Simpsons. I think I stopped watching them around 2002 when it seemed like they jumped the shark.


With kids, all of those can be dangerous.  It's much easier to pop in Thomas the Tank Engine.  Do you know about some of the famous narrators that show has had?


I knew about Ringo Starr and George Carlin, but not Alec Baldwin. I should check out that show.


They all will give you 52 episodes of enjoyment!  If you get finished with that, Pokemon has like 750 episodes to keep you occupied for pretty much ever!


I've never been much of a Pokemon fan. Do you like them?


Not really, but it's been an impressive run of shows!  Unlike when they tried doing a UK version of That 70s Show and it only lasted 10 episodes.


I guess it didn't translate very well to their culture. Nice chatting with you!


Well I don't have cable. I do have Netflix that I watch sometimes. What about you?


Nice yes me too. Did you ever see the SImpsons?


I have seen The Simpson apparently there's only one episode where Bart is not seen nor mentioned. have you seen that one?


I am not even sure which one that is, but I watch them almost regularly


Do you watch South Park at all? Did you see when South Park made fun of Family Guy?


I watch it sometimes. I know the Simpsons sent them flowers on that occassion, well, the cast


Yep they did! It's a really good episode. Have you ever seen the TV show Thomas the Tank Engine?


Yeah I have. I hear there were quite a few celebrities involved in the voice, like ALec Baldwin


Yep Alec Baldwin ,George Carlin, and Ringo Starr. I like George Carlin the best though. I wonder if he was never able to put any dirty jokes on that show lol


Hahaha that would be too much considering it is a kids show but you never know


Haha there must be some outtakes somewhere lol. Have you ever seen the show Pokemon?


I have but not the whole 750 episodes. that is crazy


No I'll never be able to catch up haha. That's just too many. have you seen the TV show That 70s Show?


I have and I find it funny sometime but I guess it failed badly in the UK


It did. It was canceled after only 10 episodes! It probably didn't help that the name is really stupid."days like these"


Yeah, I guess that helped a lot there. Do you fancy snakes?


No I don't like snakes! Maybe I should move to New Zealand. They have zero snakes there haha


Yeah that is a good place to be for sure. There is a genius that can actually fly and catch the prey


That scares me! Whatever country that's in I'm not going there haha. Do you like crocodiles? Theyre more related to birds than snakes or Lizards somehow


Yeah that is a little strange. Nice chatting with you :)


Yes, sometimes. I mostly watch youtube. What about you? I really like comedy, cooking, and gardening shows.


Oh nice. Yeah me too I like the shows like the Simpsons


I hear Lodge 49 is going to be a good television show, but I'm not sure how funny it will be...I think more drama. I love the Simpsons!


Yeah they are funny. Bart was apparently missing in one of the episodes and was not even mentioned


I heard of that and have tried to remember which episode and can't. One of the best scenes is when Fladers makes Bart the hot cocoa.


I cannot remember it actually. How about That 70s Show, ever watch ut?


Flanders wants Bart to come inside ad makes this hot cocoa with all the extras...even a toasted marshmallow. I want one! I love that 70's Show. My Dad loved it, too.


Nice, apparently it worked very well in the UK


What happened there? I randomly like this British comedy show called "Keeping Up Appearances." If you've ever been annoyed by anyone trying to climb social ranks, you might laugh at it.


I am not sure maybe the fact that it was remade verbatim. Only 10 episodes


Did it have a British cast? British comedy is very different from American, it seems. So are the Asian comedy TV shows.


Yeah that is true. Did you ever watch Pokemon?


I've only seen a few Pokemon episodes. The game seemed really interesting to me but I haven't tried it. I heard someone stepped on a snake playing the app once.


Oh no, I guess that did not happen in New Zealand, they do not have snakes


Wow, I didn't know that! Seems like an area snakes would like, too. I think a snake bite can so all sorts of things to you apart from being poisoned to death.


Yeah they can be potent for sure. There is a genius of them that fly and catch prey


Remind me to never travel there. I know crocodiles are less closely related to snakes or lizards than birds. I get them confused with alligators, though.


Yeah that is a little strange. Even monkeys are afraid of snakes


I wonder if a monkey has ever made friends with a snake like a pet. That would be a good comedy television show!


Hahah true, interesting to see. Nice chat :)


I love to read! Have you ever read Starship Troopers? I didn't realize it was a book before it was a terrible movie.


I saw the movie but didnt know it was a book either, Enders game was a pretty good book


It is a good book. I wonder if it's just given out in the Marine Corps along with their gear?


I bet it is, I think that its full with valuable lessons.


I agree. It's been an age since I've read it, but I remember it being very good. I suppose it's not caused a 'moral panic' like novels in the 18th century did.


I wonder why that happen maybe people werent ready for them


One cannot live on nonfiction alone. Do you like poetry?


I  like Poetry, I like to go to the library and learn about poetry.


Have you read some terrible poetry? The kind that CS Lewis and Tolkien would have a 'you laugh, you lose' competition over?


I have and find it really interesting, why?


Curiosity, I suppose.  I don't know that I've ever been in the poetry section of my library. But I have borrowed art from there. It's amazing what you can get at a library.


It is and there are many libraries more than McDonads so plenty of places to go.


It kind of feels like a relief, doesn't it? I used to love to check out albums at mine. Now you can get ebooks, which is quite cool.


It is, knowing you have access to information almost anywhere and if not you have your cellphone as well.


Right! I kind of want to move to Norway and publish a book. That way, I'll at least sell 1000 copies to the government, and those will be given to libraries.


Really? thats a great idea,I bet theres a lot of writters there, afterall its a no loss scenario


Exactly. I wonder if that goes for self published books, or just things published by major publishing houses? Still, if you write a children's book, they buy 1500!


Imagine selling the book at 15 a pop, that would definetely inspire me to write. they must have a lot of libraries though.


I'd guess that they have at least 1500! I wonder how many Norwegians have library cards? Over half adult Americans have them.


Wow so a lot of americans then, you know the record for reading is 4700 words per minute, that is insanely fast.


Nice to meet you, Basketball is one of my favorite sports. Are you a Kansas Basketball fan?


hi. i do like basketball but i live in new york. i am a knicks fan.


Who is your favorites player on the Knicks?


I really like Tim Duncan! Can you believe he stayed in school to finish and held off on the NBA?


I only knew that because of the article haha.


Me as well! I didnt know that jordans were banned. did you


No, and that's pretty incredible. He had enough money to not even care.


Yeah it must be great! I bet allen iverson is making a lot money off of rebok


i thought so too! now i do think that they should start shooting granny style!


I actually had to look that up to see what that meant. I wouldn't shoot that way either you look ridiculous.


I agree it looks awful! I think that Shaq should have shot that way! His free throw stats were awful!


yea he was the worst at that and he knew it. they had a video game commercial about how bad he was at free throws.


hahah thats great! I do like that the heat wear MSD on their jerseys to honor the school shooting victims


yes. if you've lived in one area for that long or played for the team long enough its always good to give back to that community.


I agree! It sets a great example for sports players who are role models to the younger community


I agree! His comments to the Sentinel were great!


I like to watch when I can. I like basketball themed movies too, like Space Jam.


I've never seen it. Did you know that the inventor of basketball was the only losing coach at Univ of Kansas? So sad!


Haha, I would totally have changed the rules in my favor.


I know right? The US Supreme Court has a basketball court on the top floor that they call the "highest court in the land."


I would love to see that! So both volleyball and basketball were invented at the YMCA. I wonder, did the inventor of basketball start out there?


Not sure but I love that physicists have proven that shooting "granny style" is the best technique to consistently score points on the line. That is awesome!


Haha, I would totally watch more basketball if they did that. Maybe Shaq would have better luck if he tried that. He only has one recorded 3 point score throughout his whole basketball career.


Poor guy! I like Kareem's dunk a lot too though.


I like the Harlem Globetrotter's tricks. The Washington Generals have played against them 13000 times but have only won 6 games.


Whoa that's a lot of playing time. I wonder how much money they make? NBA players are the best paid athletes by average annual salary.


Unfortunately, five years after retiring, 60 percent of players are broke. They do not manage their money well.


Really? Wow. In 39 of 50 states the highest paid state employee is either a college basketball or football coach.


NFL players also have the same issue. 78 percent of nfl players are bankrupt or under some kind of financial stress five years after retiring.


I guess that's why they do endorsements with different brands. Allen Iverson signed a lifetime contract with Reebok.


NBA legend Spencer Haywood was offered a stake in Nike but chose $100,000 instead. If he took the stake, he would have 8.62 billion!


Yikes! I think it's absolutely nuts that air jordans were banned by the nba but Jordan wears them anyway and Nike just pays the fine each game.


Haha, well, Jordans are pretty cool. Did they ever get unbanned?


I don't think so. Banned since their introduction. The NBA don't play! LOL


Haha, they fine for some interesting things. One coach was fined for sayig the NBA shouldn't be playing games on Christmas.


That's odd but I guess they can do what they want. Hey nice chatting with you. Have a great night!


Hey hows it goin?  Do you like basketball?


Hey there! I do but don't really follow it, pretty interesting The Nba was founded in 1946! Been around a long time!


I know right!  I like watching some basketball,  like if the Warriors are on,  but other than that I do not keep up with it.


That's cool, great team! I like a few team on the NBA  but don't get to watch often.


Me either the Warriors are too expensive.


Right? Air jordans were banned by the NBA but Jordan wore them anyway lol


Yeah,  Nike sure does want it's advertising,  I can't imagine how many fines he got while wearing them!


Exactly haha...I was reading about the universe, did you know the sun is actually white? it only appears yellow to us because of the atmosphere...very interesting.


I did,  I saw it on some show on Netflix.  Very fun fact!  I can;t believe how much energy the sun produces,  everyone should switch to solar asap!


Right!  The sun accounts for about 99.86% of the total mass of the solar system! We may as well use it!


That is huge!  Literally,  1 sec from the sun and we will be set for 500 k years


I heard that too, amazing! but the sun is only 1 billionth the size of the largest star in our Galaxy! I want to know what star that is!


I also readd somewhere that Neptune just completed its orbit in 2011!


Oh wow, that hasn't happened since 1846...awesome!


I think it was discovered in 1846 actually.


Oh that could be hahaha...well a lightening bolt is 5 times hotter than the Sun! That is crazy to think people survive getting hit sometimes.


I know,  puts a different perspective on peoples situation.  It's surprising that people can survive an event like that.


Most don't but the few who do have crazy marks on their body from it, in the news I heard a lady was hit while holding an umbrella and she walked away with no physical injury....probably scared her to death though!


I know! I cannot imagine how scary that was. I have had lightening hit close to me and my hair actually stood on end! No joke my friend told me....from the electricity.


Omg,  lucky you did't get hit!  It's been fun chatting!


I do like basketball, have you ever played? I used to play back in high school


Me too, I played a bit while I was in high school, did you know the dunk shot got banned in college for some years


oh yes, Kareem abdul-jabbar used it so much it got banned, seems dumb to ban such a classic move though


I agree, its one of my favorite moves and it gives the sport a special flavor so it seems kind of dumb to ban it, its a good thing it isnt banned anymore


Yeah I agree, pretty funny that the inventor of basketball is the only losing coach in his teams history though


Thats crazy, I mean he invented the game so he can also bend the rules lol, a suprising fact is that basketball coaches are actually the highes paid state employees.


Yeah that is shocking, also shocking is the New Zealand basketball team is nick named the "tall blacks" definitely a name that wouldn't fly here.


I agree lol, that would certainly create racial tension. Basketball is a great game with a lot of fans, there are courts everywhere even on the supreme court building


ya I love the name of that place, the "highest court in the land" they should settle tied votes with a basketball game!


I agree its a good way to settle an argument, just beat the other team, they should learn how to shoot granny style lol


Yeah I think that since that is the best way to play, they should use it even if it does look stupid, did you hear the story behind Air Jordans?


ya apparently they were banned initially, but Nike just kept paying the fine so Michael could keep wearing them


I see, I guess Nike has the financial power to do that and more, I used to own a pair, they were really comfortable.


ya I never wore those I heard good things though, did you know the sun is actually white?


Its white!!! So my highschool teacher tricked me all this time!


haha they did, and yes its just that our atmosphere makes it appear yellow to us


I see that makes sense, Im going to have a talk with her lol, you know that the sun produces a lot of energy in a second, like enough to keep the planet alive for 500000 years


ya thats crazy, and our sun is only about 1 billionth the size of teh biggest star in our galaxy, imagine how much energy that thing has


It must be a lot and it must leave a nasty burn behind lol.


Not as much as I used to.  Have you read Ender's game?  It's suggested reading at the USMC.


No havent read that one, I hear Starship Troopers is another recommended book


Yes, it's recommended on 3 of the 5 branches of the military.  I  guess it's the branches that fight giant bugs.


I guess those books contain great strategies in them, do you like Cs Lewis and Tolkien?


I loved Tolkien's Hobbit books. Most of Lewis' stuff was for the theater?


Yeah, both are part of movies now, they used to be friends and had poetry competitions, they seem fun


Maybe it was an early form of rap?  I can't believe people were having a moral panic because people were reading novels in the 18th century.


Yeah that is crazy, I guess not everyone is prepared for knowledge and the 18th century is a clear example of that


New York's area code in 212 because it was easier to dial on a rotary phone.


Sounds random but it makes sense, it's the fastest number on the rotary phone. Have you ever owned an Iphone?


Yes.  It's scary to know that it had more computing power than the US nuclear ICBM deterrent.


I know right, either the Iphone is too powerfull or there is something really wrong with our nuclear deterrent


Cables that carry internet and phone communications are only 2.7 inches in diameter.  They must be fiber-optics...


They must be really strong in order to survive those conditions, can you imagine the consequences of them getting broken,


That would be a mess.  People would have to go back to libraries.  There are actually more libraries than McDonald's in the USA.


More than Mc Donalds no kidding, did you hear the story of that man who was falsely convicted?


Yeah, he studied law in the library until he could prove his innocence 10 years later.


He sure took avantage of his time in there, I think its great how he helps others now


Yeah.  It was cool that the PM of UK donated 32,000 books to found a public library -- he moved them on foot.


That sounds like a lot of hard work, I guess he had a big desire to share knowledge with others, he was 85 years old too so impressive and generous action.


No, but I hear it was made by the same creator who made Mad Men, is it any good?


I've seen one.  It was fairly good but long.  About an hour and a half, basically a movie.


Yeah, that is a long time, how many episodes are in one season?


Not sure, I'd assume six.  Not seen another as I never seem to have enough time.  We watched it because my wife loved Mad Men.


I watched a few seasons of Mad Men, but like all other shows I watch like that I lose interest after about the 3rd season.


I'm the same with most dramas on T.V., they lose ideas after a few seasons and become repetitive.  My wife still watches Walking Dead but I usually fall asleep about half way through.


Yeah, Me TOO! I stopped after season 2, it started getting pointless to me.


Do you still use cable, or do you have one of those streaming services like Amazon Prime, or Netflix?


I have amazon prime. I just canceled my Netflix. What about you?


Both, I'm happy with Prime but my wife wants certain shows on Netflix.  I'm glad I cut cable, saves a lot each month.


Nice, well apparently if you work in an Amazon warehouse, you walk between 7 and 15 miles each day!


That should keep someone slim.  Despite being high tech they still need people to just walk.  It's amazing to think they were just a book seller about 20 years back.


Yeah, it is crazy that the company has blown up like this. Were you a fan of the show House?


Same as with other shows, a couple of seasons and then I only watched it because my wife likes Hugh Laurie.


Yeah, I liked the first season of House, but it got repetitive to me. Did you know he made $700,000 per episode?


That's a good chunk of change.  I've seen him in a few things since but not that regularly.  Probably sitting at home counting his dollars.


Yeah, I think he still acts though. Did you know Michael Caine became an actor because he was chasing girls?


At least he's honest.  Speaking of honesty, I think my wife only like these shows because of the actors.  Mad Men and Jon Hamm,  House and Hugh Laurie, Walking Dead because of Andrew somebody, I forget.


Hilarious! Well, did you know all of the roads in Japan are tolls?


I guess I'd have to be like those Amazon workers and walk everywhere.


Yeah, me too. That seems absurd. Well nice chatting with you!


Do you travel much, I just returned from Paris two weeks ago. It's ironic that most Icelanders use domestic flights to get between major towns, I've done a couple layovers there and as you come into the airport the lava flows make it look like the moon.


Wow that sounds amazing. I've never traveled out of the country. I'm on a vacation now in Vegas.


Nice, if you can avoid big gambling losses it a pretty cheap place to eat, get a hotel room and see shows. Do you see shows, interesting drama comes from the Greek word for "action" which is derived from "I do". There is a lot of action round the clock there.


All action round the clock here, lol! Some shows blue man group and such, try to keep it wholesome. Did you know the Dutch created a bus that travels 160 mile an hour for the purposes of commuting?


No, not actually. I've read about high-speed trains in Japan and China, but never in the Netherlands, that is such a small country you'd think they be fine with regular speed trains. I see where all Japan highways are toll roads, that must save on gas tax or they're simply trying to give train and bus riders incentives to cut down on pollution, what do you think?


I think just like here it's just another way to stick it to it's citizens. You know the first King to actually travel around the world was Hawaiian? ?


That ironic to me, I think of Hawaii I think of the islanders meeting a boat in the canoes, I'm assuming that was on a large vessel like the Queen Mary, those islanders have big arms, but not that big. I got a package from Amazon on Sunday, you see where Jeff Bezos built a clock in the mountain that will run for 10,000 years, I'm assuming that atomic and not wound or battery.


Yeah that dude should run for president. Can you imagine having a building named after you for being the first purchaser?


I'd be honored, I'd like to know the guys name, that pretty amazing. I see where the Amazon warehouse workers get 7-15 miles of walking in a day, they wouldn't need a gym membership for that, though I've read it isn't the most relaxing working environment.


Yeah that does not sound one bit relaxing. Apparently they have a contract with USPS to deliver on Sundays.


Yes, I actually got a package last Sunday from Amazon. I'll bet they get a bulk discount. They also own IMDB, that makes sense with the movie and streaming service. That company is into to quite a few things.


I told you he should run for president he's already trying to take over the world through ecommerce. Now they bought IMDB when was this? I wasn't aware i use them to look up movies and shows.


They've owned them since 1996, a little behind the scene. I also have a Data Science Degree so I've used their cloud computing service AWS, they may own the planet and Mr. Bezos can be emperor of not just the US, but the globe as they're growing. Did you watch any of the Matthew Weiner show's, Mad Men or The Romanoffs?


I have heard of madmen but have not watch either. I know that taking Drama for Michael Caine was for the ladies.


Haha...yes, John Lennon got into music for the same reason. Speaking of Mad Men and the John Ham Character, did you see where early on when he taught drama in high school he had Ellie Kemper, Erinn from The Office. That was a high powered acting high school, I wonder what they preformed?


Your right, i'd like to know myself. You know for a time Mackinac Island in MI banned motorized vehicles for over a hundred years?


I think Catalina Island off the coast of California is like that too, but I didn't know about Mackinac Island having that rule too. Probably a sleepy, laid back atmosphere, unlike Vegas. I see where Jim Carrey doesn't make dramas anymore because they're not positive enough for his karma, that a rich man's problem. Most of us have to work for a living and can't refuse like that, a little ironic to me.


Me too and i didn't know that about Cali. However i just remembered that kings name that traveled around the world it was King Kalakaua.


Yes, that was news to me. In my mind those islanders will be paddling his canoe for a long time to circumnavigate the globe. Now you can probably ship a package on Amazon around the globe for the price of dinner, the world gotten a lot smaller the past 50 years. Funny that first customer who has the building named after him spent $27.95, as Amazon was mostly books in 1994 with inflation that must have been a big book.


Yeah and they are steadily growing in 2015 they surpassed walmart as the most valuable public company in the united states. only behind apple and microsoft.


What ironic to me is, early on they didn't make anything; just shipped packages. Quite a business model to got from there to where they are now. Thanks for the discussion I enjoyed it and have a lovely holiday in Las Vegas.


Thanks enjoy chatting with you as well. It incredibly amazing that all of that came from such humble beginnings.


Hello there , do you shop online at all?


I sure do, I love shopping on Amazon, and you?


Oh me too, it is so convenient. Did you know Jeff built a clock in a mountain somewhere?


Yeah and it is supposed to run for 10 000 years. I wonder why though


Yeah me too. They are delivering on Sundays now so that is convenient


It sure is , they can do that because of a deal they have with USPS.


Yeah that is it. And their workers walk up to 15 miles a day, they must really be busy.


Yeah I guess they are. Best Buy and Target match the prices of Amazon it seems


Wow that is a nice deal. Did you know Amazon owns IMDB?


No did not know that, they are everywhere really. An they also have the patent on 1-click buying so apple has to pay them for the license fee


Haha that is amazing actually. Did you know the their first customer has a building named after him?


Cool, that must be something for him. And they have a website where they sell the returned items a a reduced price


Nice I want to know how to get to that one. Do you watch dramas at all?


I do from time to time. Do you have a favorite one?


I love House MD with Hugh Laurie He was making $700 000 per episode there


Nice. Jon Hamm was a high school teach and taught Ellen Kemper, that is amazing


Haha I guess that is why she is so funny. Do you know why Jim Carrey does not do comedies anymore?


Hmm not I do not, why is that. Patrick Stewart teaches drama as well in the UK


Sorry meant to say dramas. He does not do them because they do not portray positivity.


Oh I see , interesting. Have you heard of Ikea Hights, the show?


I have not but I know that there is a radio that broadcasts free radio dramas


Neat. Ikea Heights  is a show shot in California but the store does not know about it


alot of the time, I like to shop on amazon and you?


me too. Have you ever shopped the Amazon Basics line?


I love it  too, I know they say it is not the best quality but I find it good enough


me too did you know jeff built a clock on a mountain somewhere?


Oh cool. Amazon holds the patent on the 1-click buying


Yes and it is supposed to run for 10 000 years. I bet they make money from the license


Yeah they do and among those who have to pay them is Apple also


Nice. Did you know their workers walk up to 15 miles a day


that is a lot. They have a website where they sell returned stuff


Nice must be good prices there. They are delivering on Sundays now through USPS


So convenient. Do you know what the arrow in their logo means?


Hmm I am not sure, what? THey also owns IMDB.


Nice. The logo means they have everything from A to Z


Oh that makes sense. They named a building after their first customer who spent less than $30


Nice. Best Buy and Target have this thing where they match their prices to Amazon


I like it. Do you know Jon Hamm was a drama teacher in a high school?


Hmm did now know that. DO you know how Michael Caine became an actor?


Yesh he was chasing the pretty girls who were in drama class


Hi,  I look forward to chatting with you!  Did you hear about Disney acquring Fox Television Group?


Yes,  I did.  Do you like Disney?  I love Disney,  but I never knew Minnie Mouse's name is short for Minerva.


Yes, I love Disney.  They are very creative and imaginative.


Absolutely,  I also did not know that Wall-e was based on Walt disneys name!


Wow, never knew that. That is interesting!  Bill Nye consulted in Disney's Flubber!  I love Bill Nye shows.  Have you watched him?


Yeah,  he's cool.  he looks like Steve Martin lol do you ever look for the " hidden mickeys"  when you go to the Disney theme parks?


I went this year and didn't see any.  Never heard of that.  Did you know Stephen King was afraid of Bambi and thought it was a horror?


Yeah,  they are hidden all over the park.  I have only seen like 3 or 4.  Its a fun game if you have to wait in line all the time.


Where are they hidden?  If Fox joins with Disney I wonder if they will have to put Mickey in the horror movie as Iger suggested may happen?


Hidden all over the theme park,  the one I can remember right now is while you are waiting in hyper space mountain ride line looking down at the ride is a mickey shape.  Horror mickey movie that would be scary lol


Speaking of animated characters, do you watch the simpsons?  They were a pretty funny family.  Only one episode didn't have Bart.


Yeah love the simpsons!  Thats kinda messed up Bart is like the star of the show!  I heard the simpsons crew gave flowers to the producers of south park!


That was a nice act.  If you watch horror movies, you can burn 180 calories.  I might do that instead of the gym this week.


haha nice!  The majority of creepy sounds in a scary movie are made by a waterphone.  I found out last year when I went on the WB tour that the zombie eating human sound is a guy who is eating fried chicken lol


Imagine being an actor in a horror movie, but not even knowing it was a horror movie. Perhaps without all the sound effects like the waterphone, the movie isn't so scary!


yeah probably!  They are quite talented in simulating scary sounds.  I never wouldve thought of eating chicken.  Yeah,  I guess it is common with child actors,  not knowing they are in a horror movie.


Did you see the Fox show 911?  It debuted this week


I don't know. I didn't see it, just heard about it.  Apparently, they also have a music competition show called "The Four."  I wonder how the talent is of that.


Oh I love watching music competitions especially the audition part in the beginning.


They are fun to see people make their breaks.


Yes,  or completely not have the talent expected lol been fun chatting.


Hey there I watch TV from time to time, what about you?


Not that much anymore, I was a fan of the simpsons when I was younger, were you?


Yeah I like the Simpsons a lot. I think all the earlier seasons were the best though, what about yourself?


Yeah, you mean when Conan was writing for them?


Was he? I never knew that. Maybe he was the magic key to the Simpsons being actually good haha. Have you seen the episode where Bart is not mentioned and doesn't appear in the whole episode?


No, but I heard there is an episode. Curious why that happened?


ya I wonder if they just forgot or if they did it on purpose, I really like the episodes with mr burns myself he's so ruthless haha


Yeah, he was hilarious. I thought all of the characters on the show were funny though.


Speaking of TV shows, have you ever seen South Park before?


I have, apparently they ran a special episode after receiving flowers from the simpsons crew.


Yes I did see that one. It's actually pretty funny, you should check it out if you haven't seen it. It involves manatees that pick the jokes out of a giant aquarium LOL


Hilarious. Is that the manatee episode then?


Haha yes it is. In that episode South Park really roasts Family Guy. They're spot-on with their humor and yeah, The Simpsons producers sent South Park the flowers after that episode aired


Yeah, that is funny. Did you know in the UK they tried to remake That 70s Show?


I heard about that. Actually likes the American show, I don't know how they messed it up in the UK though haha. You'd think the sense of humor would be about the same


Yeah, it sounds like it got cancelled after 10 episodes.


Yep. Also I bet it didn't help that the name was "days like these", that name doesn't exactly sound too good haha


No, it doesn't. Did you know the first horror movie Steve King saw was Bambi!


No I didn't. That's crazy. I guess it is a kind of horror movie, it's definitely very sad haha. It scared me when I was a kid, what about you?


Yeah, actually you have a good point! Well, nice chatting with you.


Hi, how are you? Do you like horror movies?


I actually don't, but I don't mind some thrillers. I might have to give one a chance though before I take my next trip to the museum


Oh, ok. I wonder if there is an improvement on looking at abstract art. It seems to have little there anyway.


Maybe horror movies are so terrible that watching one beforehand makes abstract art look better


I can't imagine it. I guess the horror movie is bad so the art looks good by comparison? That like wearing small shoes that feel good when you take them off.


The only benefit to horror movies are the 180 calories you can burn from watching them


I wonder if that's true. I don't remember feeling exhausted after a horror film. 160 calories is like a workout.


It might depend on the movie. Stephen King was scared when he saw Bambi as a child, but it must have inspired him to write the stories he did later in life


Speaking of his stories, when the Shining was filmed, the boy who played Danny didn't know at the time that he was in a horror film


I don't see how that's possible. What did he think it was? Did no one tell him?


They probably didn't want to give him the kind of nightmares Stephen King had after watching Bambi


That is fair. He was just a boy. No need to traumatize him, unless of course he wanted to grow up to be a horror writer.


He could instead become a writer for Disney and create movies like Bambi. That would brings things full circle


That is an excellent idea! Then all parties involved would get closure. That is very Disney thing to me!


Or he could dedicate his life to finding all the hidden Mickey images in Disney things with others who have joined that particular subculture


Sober or not, I have never seen a hidden Mickey anywhere.


I've never though to look for one, but I'm sure they're hidden in all the movies. Do you remember much about the movie Flubber?


I do not. I was probably intoxicated at the time if I saw it. Maybe I wasn't. I don't remember. Was it good?


All I remember about it is that Robin Williams is in it. There's a lot of science, enough that Bill Nye was the science consultant for the movie


He is a scientifical man. Anyway, thanks for the chat! Say goodbye, Bill Nye!


Are you familiar with J.R. Smith's celebration after the 2016 NBA Finals?


I think I saw a bit of that, he went shirtless in the celebration


Yes!  He went shirtless for days after winning.   Even President Obama told J.R. to "put on a shirt".


Thats funny lol, I didnt know about that, he posted a photo on social media thouh, he was shirtless in it


I think that J.R. Smith and Nick Young are friends.  In 2018, Nick Young was playing on the Warriors when they won the Championship.  He was so influenced by Smith that he walked around shirtless after winning.


Yeah I think they are, so do you follow a certain team on the NBA?


I generally will tune out until the playoffs.   The Warriors are my favorite team to watch.  I think he deserved the Larry O'Brien Trophy in last year's playoffs.


I think he deserved it too, the celebration was also expensive almost 400000 dollars in champagne bottles.


I wish I could just have a tenth of the money they spent on champagne.   I am sure J. R. wished that could have been him.  He didn't play well.


I didnt really follow JR this season but yeah I bet he wanted to be at the celebration, it must have been crazy and thats only what we saw on tv lol


I think the way he plays is similar to how he behaves off the court.  I still can't believe the moment where he grabbed a rebound in a playoff game, held onto the ball, and didn't pass.  Lebron was livid.


I didnt watch that game really, Tim Duncan from the spurs sacrificed money and became a pro after college I think thats admirable


Duncan is definitely someone to admire.  I think that Nick Young could learn a lot from him.  Young needs to cut out the drama in his personal life, like cheating on his ex-fiancee Iggy Azalea, I think his game would be better.


I agree, I think he needs to change that attitude, some decisions are really poor like the one Spencer Haywood made 30 years ago


It is crazy to think about all of the characters that have made it through the NBA.  It reminds me of Allen Iverson.  He signed a really good deal with Nike that secured his financial freedom.


It was with Reebok.  My mistake.  Basically, Reebok would pay him $800k a year until he is 55.  When he gets to 55, they will give him $32,000,000.


Oh I see, but thats a lot of money though, Iverson is sure a lucky man, I wish I could have that amount of mone.


Me too.  If you look at the average salary per NBA players, NBA players actually get paid the best out of all professional sports.


They do? I guess that makes it one of the most popular sports then, its curious how most players end up bankrupt or under financial stress after their careers are over


It is very curious.  That is why I think Allen Iverson's Reebok deal is so good.  It teaches players who may be wasteful to budget until they get older.


He should give some classes on how to invest money, I wonder how most players can spend that amount of money and become bankrupt.


How you been doing? Have you heard about Jim Dutcher and his wife who studied wolves?


Hello, I'm good thanks. I have never heard of them before, tell me more please.


Well Jim Dutcher lived amoung a pack of wolves for six years in Iowa and observed many things about them


I see that his wife eventually joined him in living in the wild.


Yea, they wrote about acts of wold devotion, compassion, and rivalry. It is very interesting stuff


Jim Dutcher built a 25 acre enclosure on the forest service land in 1990 to start rearing the wolf pups to create a pack.


That's awesome and nice of him to do. Him and his wife slept in an enclave with wolves


The actually built the enclave to live in inside the 25 acre enclosure, that is brave of them.


Yea, especially allowing Jamie to enter the birthing den, I'd be pretty scared to try that


That is so true! I see that in the state of Idaho, there is no area that is protected for wolves, in 2014 there was only 650 wolves living in the state. wow.


Yea, it is unfortunate that Iowa denied them permit renewals after six years


It is sad, something good though is that they were able to document what they experienced, making 6 books and 3 television documentaries. I would like to see them.


Me too, there isn't much interesting shows on tv anymore, just like 750 episodes of Pokemon


I'm really enjoying a lot of series that are on Netflix, Do you watch Netflix?


Yes, I watch a lot of reruns of that 70's show. They made a UK version called "Days like these"


Wow, I didn't know that, I will have to look for it.  I watch a lot of Netflix Original Series and Movies, they are getting pretty good at making the movies.


Yea. I don't watch it as much anymore as I use to although I prefer it over tv which is a mass medium for advertising


Wow you are right.  I use our DVR to record shows so I can fast forward through commercials, and the commercial breaks are 5 to 6 min long now.


Yea, a bunch of commercials and non-stop news


I'm getting to where I don't watch the news anymore.


No, sometimes I'll watch tv with my kids, they like thomas the tank, I find it great Ringo Starr did the voice for 52 episodes.


Hi! Have you ever ridden a motorcycle? Some people take cross country trips!


No not really, Im kind of afraid of them, dangerous machines


Yeah I agree. Very deadly and unsafe. What are your thoughts on guns in america? Some people are actually afraid!


I guess guns need to be better controlled, you cant take the guns away from people, thats a sure thing


Yeah that would never work!I think it would need to come from the president as they are considered the ultimate leader.


Yeah a president, dictator of authoritarian regimes leaders, I'm glad we have a democracy


Me too. There have been lots of rich presidents too. The top 3 in the past not including Trump I assume were JFK, Washington, and Jefferson.


I wonder if any of them are pop stars like the president of Indonesia,


Oh yeah the president who released 3 albums while in office! Obama would have been the closest to that because he was close with rappers and other famous people.


Can you imagine Obama in a rap album lets say with Snoop Dogg


That would be a funny listen, he should do it! His rap name should be renegade because that was his secret service codename.


Thats actually a cool codename The Regae ft Snoop Dog


Yeah I could see them being popular. Even if he was born in Kenya he could still have become president. But I don't think he was.


I dont think he was either, he vetoed 2 bills while in office, not sure if thats a good thing


Well compared to FDR it was way less. Specifically 633 less!


So FDR vetoed 635 bills? now that sounds like a lot


Yeah it does. One thing I want to try is to see if I can see Obama on google maps when I zoom into the whitehouse.


Thats funny, maybe they updated that picture already, but I have to take a look at that


Yeah! I love the internet for things like that. The world wide web was invented in 1989 by an english scientist working in Switzerland!


He is going to be remembered for ever, what a great invention. Scientists makes our lives better


Oh yeah very much so. The term scientist wasn't coined until the 19th century too!


Harvard scientist also made an amazing advance, they stored the DNA of bacteria in a GIF


hello how are you? do you prefer humans or fish?


Honestly, I love both! What about you? I do think it's cool that seahorses are the only fish that has necks... like we humans have. Ha!


I guess fish are quieter companions and good listeners, but not very warm. I prefer eating fish.


That is true. Speaking of eating, did you know black swallowers can eat prey ten times its weight and twice its length? It's like how is that possible?


i guess they practice. or they were designed to be gluttons. or both. if i could do that, i would bankrupt every buffet in town.


Ha! You and me both! Personally, I'd like to study this particular breed of immortal jellyfish to find out how and why they're immortal. I find that fascinating!


It is amazing that something could live forever when everything else seems destined to die.


So true! But obviously we're closer to the zebrafish since 84% of genes associated with our diseases have counterparts in zebrafish.


I expect that the creatures of the deep harbor secrets to our own disease-free immortality.


Agreed! At least I hope so! Humans have come so far in terms if evolution over the years. It surprises me we lost our body hair only 240,000 years ago!


some of us have managed to hold on to that body hair but lose that scalp hair.


Ha! No kidding! But then we'll regrow a rib that's just as strong as the original 2 to 3 months after having it surgically shortened. Now that's crazy!


we were designed to survive. i bet people broke ribs a lot in the past, and the strongest survived.


You are right about that! We are even adapted for persistence hunting pretty much making us the best distance runners of all animals that runs!


yes, we really were built to spread around the planet, then design tools to adapt to the new places.


So true. I also think it's cool that there's a certain sound frequency that can strike fear in humans. I'd probably be to scared to listen to it though!


I bet a really low pitch is close to the earth moving or a herd of animals coming or maybe bad weather. i wonder


I wonder as well. Maybe we can find a television show that can shed more light on the subject. Speaking of television shows, are you a fan of The Simpson's? I think it's cool that the Simpson's crew sent the South Park producers flowers after they aired the Family Guy episode! That was nice of them!


I think they were pleased that the SP guys made fun of FG for its bad story writing. LOL> Anyway, great chat!


I think so as well! But you know, there's one episode of The Simpson's where Bart never makes an appearance nor is even mentioned that I still want to see... Well it was great chatting with you as well! Have a nice evening, friend!


Have a nice evening! I'll take a look for that Simpsons episode.


I'll have to as well but I also wouldn't mind seeing all 750 episodes of Pokemon. Ha! That's an insane amount! Well, thanks friend! You take care and have a nice evening as well!


Hey there, did you know that the top riches presidents prior to Trump was Washington, Jefferson and jfk?


Yeah thats cool.  Did you know that the president guest house is bigger than the white house?


That is interesting to hedar. Why is that?


Oh I dont know,  maybe to cater to larger parties or entourages?


Maybe something to look up at a later time lol


have you ever looked at the white house on google maps?  apparently you can see barak obama lol


haha are you sure or is it just a black speck


I just read it recently I havent looked lol


Obamas secret service codename is renegade lol


Really, he couldnt pick a more fitting name? lol


That is pretty considerate of the people of india to remove the coconuts around obamas destinations, just in case lol


I didnt even know India had coconut trees lol


Maybe the Indians were afraid of him vetoing a bill concerning them so thats why they removed the coconuts


Maybe!!  lol Its been great chatting with you, have a good one.


I think I have seen the movies these people made about the wolf pack. They are really good.


Yeah, that's very interesting.  I have not.  For six years in the 1990s, documentary filmmaker Jim Dutcher lived among a pack of wolves in Idaho.


I fully believe that we should leave the wolves and the other animals alone. Animal packs and herds do not need to be culled by humans. They have biological ways of doing that themselves.


It's weird to think that the way the Dutchers see it, these wolves - the Sawtooth Pack - became their social partners.


Too bad humans don't seem to be able to accomplish that. We are always fighting with each other. Humans do not get along. We are basically killers and that is that.


No doubt, we could learn a lot from others.  On another note, did you know that Ringo starr, george carlin, and alec baldwin have all narrated thomas the tank engine for at least 52 episodes each?


Wow, they all have really good voices. My son used to watch that show.


Yes, they do.  My son did as well.  I didn't realize it.


Humans haven't had body hair for 240,000 years. I wonder what caused that.


Haha, man who knows.  It's cool that our bodies will regrow a rib equally as strong as the original within only 2 - 3 months of having it surgically shortened.


I wish I could regrow my 17 year old body. Now that would be something.


Haha, I want the metabolism and energy back.


Well, there is a breed of jellyfish that is immortal. I wonder how they feel after a few hundred years?


Haha, good question.  84 per cent of genes known to be associated with human diseases have counterparts in the zebrafish


Since fish are vertebrates also, they would naturally have a lot of the same genes that evolved when the vertebrate tree of life evolved.


A seahorse is the only fish to have a neck


Necks did not really evolve until tetrapods crawled out of the ocean and needed to be able to turn their heads to see where they were and what was sneaking up on them.


I disagreed with him a lot- at this point, I would prefer anyone over trump. Even his dogs. It's funny, you can see him on google maps.


Yeah I dont like Trump either and that is funny, sounds like something he would do on purpose but Im guessing its a stange coincidence.


You really can't stage a Google maps drive-by, since they drive around with cameras mounted to their cars.


Yeah I didnt think so, cool fact but when Obama visited India all of the coconuts trees were removed for safety reasons.


The first President of Zimbabwe is referred to as President Banana.


I've never heard of the name Banana before.


Maybe things got lost in translation? It's still funny. So is knowing trump isn't one of the top three wealthiest presients.


Can be, would be funny to learn more about president Banana, and that is kind of weird, who is in that list?


Washington, Jefferson, and JFK. Which probably drives him crazy, lol.


I bet it does, he wants to be #1 at everything. It would be cool to have a scientist as president one day.


The Emperor of Japan is a scientist, and he still publishes.


Woah that is impressive sounds like a smart leader. Did you hear about the achievement of those Harvard scientists?


Are those the ones who inserted the dna bacteria into a gif of a horse?


Yeah, I think thats really impressive, storing dna like that.


It is interesting. So is the fact that there was only one scientist to walk on the moon.


Only one really? he must be a really smart guy do you remember his name?


Harrison Schmitt. I always thought John Glenn was a scientist, I guess not.


I will Google him as soon as we finish this chat, there must be a lot more to Harrison Schmitt.


Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the creation of the internet. I wonder if they had a party at CERN?


I bet they did lol, the internet has been around 30 years, I am glad it has been in my life. it was great chatting with you by the way


I'm great, crazy how that couple ran with wolves for about 6 years


Right? That seems like 6 years more than I want to be around wolves for.


I know right, that must be scary I have to watch that documentary


I find it incredibly dumb when humans try to civilize wild animals and then get injured or killed by a wild animal.


I guess it worked out for them, Jim Dutcher and Jaimie, at first it was only him, how can you sleep with them


With one eye open... Did you ever see that alaskan bear documentary where the guy got eaten along with his girl friend?


No I didnt catch that one, seems like a terrible way to die


Yeah. Really sad. They were breaking up too. She was a casualty of bad timing.


I guess it was, a really bad and tragic casuality, according to Jim and Jamie wolves are misunderstood animals


I hope so... Are you a fan of south park?


I am a fan of the show, really like it, what about you? I also like the Simpsons


I am a fan of the simpsons but not really the south park. They did send flowers to the south park guys.


Seems like the crews are tight with each other, funny how Homer had 188 jobs in the first 400 episodes of the series


That is a lot of jobs. I always laugh when he gets a new job. Funny


It is funny, one of the best shows ever, how can he be in charge of a nuclear reactor lol and Flanders so funny how he treats him


Stupid flanders... I laugh every time. I feel like I am the only one of my friends who still watches.


Thats a classic lol, did you watch the parady of Twitlight on the show?


It was good, really funny, Daniel Radcliff voiced Edward Cullen.


Hey, I do like baseball, but don't really follow it.


I heard that, I also heard that The Expo's played 22 games in Puerto Rico in 03 and 04 that's a lot!


that sure is a lot. do you know what kickball is called in canada?


Really, that's interesting! I like how MLB coaches wera uniforms just in case they need to play!


yeah and super that there i rule that allows them to do that


Sorry, meant to say managers...not coaches....but yeah, pretty cool. I would live to have found those baseball cards that man found in his grandpa's attic, worth 3 million bucks!!!


yeah that was a great find. you know who did the scheduling for baseball leagues for over twenty years?


I believe it was a couple who were married, did it for 24 years! That is a long time! I think I heard that on the radio awhile back. Pretty crazy! over 2,000 games!


yeah good for them what a career and a job.


Exactly! I like to listen to Baseball on the radio in my car, do you still listen to the radio?


from time to time. have you managedto listen to jupiter's storms?


I have not, but would love to. I hear it plays on an A.M station....pretty creepy!


yeah it is . do you listen to canadian radios?


No, not really. I read that they have a law that they have to play at least 40% canadian music....


yeah in order to support national talent. good for them


Exactly! I like to go on the interenet and listen to the free classic radio drama's for free, pretty cool.


yeah that is cool. do you know how soldiers used to make radios during WWII?


No, have no idea? I was listening to the radio and did you know that Tom Hanks has earned over 8 billion dollars by being the highest paid box office star!


yeah and I am not surprised, he is so good. nice chat


How's it going? Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon? There was an unfortunate helicopter crash there recently involving tourists


I haven't ever been but it is on my bucket list.  I heard about the crash, it was pretty bad.


Unfortunately three people were killed on Hualapai Nation land, how sad


It is really sad, I heard another four were injured too.  Really puts a perspective on things to always appreciate those around you.


I wonder what the FAA and NTA will release the cause of the crash


I'm not sure, but it looks like some safety regulations were ignored.  I never realized how many deaths there were in crashes there, 128 since 1956.


I wonder if Papillon will end up getting sued because of the crash


I heard that they have worked to improve pilot qualifications, and make things a bit stricter.  It is just dangerous because of all the helicopters there.


Yea, that's what Gary C. Robb said, but does he work for Papillon or someone else?


He was a former critic and is a lawyer, but you never know if he has tried cases against Papillon.  Lawyers often will go with whoever pays them if they can.


I wonder if the sun light had anything to do with it, although it's white atmospheric scattering causes the yellow light, maybe it got into the pilots eyes


It happened around 5:20 - I don't know how close that is to sunset, or the position, but it is definitely a possibility.  But as a pilot you think they would be aware of that.


I guess so. Any chance are you until baseball? Apparently baseball managers are technically able to play in games, never knew that


I didn't know that they could.  I did hear that a 17 year old female pitcher was banned from professional baseball because she struck out  Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in a row.  Id be signing her, not banning her.


Wow, I never knew that, I wonder if she has a baseball card, a guy found 3 million dollars worth hidden in his grandfather's attic


$3 million?  That's crazy.  I always checked my grandparents old stuff to see if there were any treasures like that, but alas, none.


Yea, my dad use to have some old baseball cards his mom threw out, I wonder if he had any of the cards that the guy who found 3 million dollars worth had


My brother probably still has some of his.  Maybe he can cash in on it.


Maybe, I wonder how much Japanese baseball cards are worth, baseball is so popular there they don't even think of it as an american sport


That's surprising, it is called America's past time.  They even have a team in the minor leagues named after the team in the Simpsons - the Isotopes.


Hmm I wonder if soccer-baseball is Canada's pastime


That would be an interesting thing to watch.


Yes it would, well I have to go, have a nice day


I prefer to play baseball over watching it, but I went to a game a few years ago. Do you watch it?


I do like it, im not a big fan but I think its great the plan the MLB has to expand, its a game that has a lot of fans not only in the US


Having 32 teams wouldn't be a bad thing. I think that's the same number of teams in the NFL currently


Yeah, more games as well, that would be a nice addition, I think the expansion is inebitable and agree with Tony Batista


And Montreal has teams in the NHL and MLS already, so it wouldn't be a huge deal to start there


I agree, it would be easy in terms of logistics as well, I like MLB better than the NHL so I bet it will be a success


There are other cities they're looking at though, in the US, Canada, and Mexico


Its a good idea to start in North American and then go south, I also heard the sport is popular in Japan, it has many fans.


They're so obsessed that they're surprised it has the nickname "America's pastime"


That is a suprising fact just like the man that found 3 million dollars worth of baseball cards, he is lucky, I mean what are the odds!


Probably the same odds as a manager actually playing in a game. I've never seen one have to step in


Ive never seen one either, maybe in a movie or two but never in real life, do you watch a lot of movie?


It depends, but I don't go to the theaters a lot. Have you seen Disney's Sleeping Beauty?


I have, its a classic, one of my favorite Disney movies


It was box office failure at the time it was released. Disney almost closed their animation studio because of it


For real? that doesnt sound about right, Disney had some failures over the years like the Treasure Planet, that was an expensive movie,


It was one of the most expensive flops of all time! And there's a lot of terrible movies out there


I agree like the movie Trojan Wars, it only made $309 in box office, that was a terrible and expensive movie


Tom Hanks seems to be in a lot of successful movies though. He is the highest all-time box office star


Tom Hanks is my favorite actor, he is so talented!


That would be scary to see the tourist helicopter crash at the Grand Canyon in February.


Yeah it must have been pretty horrific to see


Did they say what the cause was? Was the pilot blinded by the sun or something?


No one at the company responded to phone calls so I'm not sure


I would venture to guess that it might have been a mechanical problem or the pilot becoming disoriented from the sun.


Did you ever go on the Skywalk at Grand Canyon West?  It is a horeshoe shaped glass-bottomed projection where you can view through to the canyon floor.


I have not. Do many people get a chance to visit the area of the Grand Canyon you speak of?


I'm not sure but Papillon the world's largest aerial sightseeing company operates it along with helicopter tours


Oh then you must only be able to get there by helicopter. There is like a waiting list.


The Hualapai tribe which has 2300 members turned the landing zones on Hualapi lands into income for the tribe.


Ingenious. The FAA was created because of a crash at the Grand Canyon that killed over a 100 passengers


The helicopter noise must detract though from the beauty of the canyon.


Yes, very likely. Did someone call you on the telephone to tell you about the crash?


I was just asking. Most people get their news on their telephones from family or friends.


No, I just read it here in the article.  The sound of the crash was like a big boom though "like being hit in the head with a baseball bat" someone described.


That is an odd description but easy to imagine too. Do you watch baseball at all?


yes, some and you?  If you find some old baseball cards, don't throw them away because they could be worth millions.  One man found $3 million dollars worth in his grandfather's attic


Wow, that was a treasure for sure. I like how managers wear uniforms too just in case they need to play.


I like kickball a lot even as a grown-up.  In Canada kickball is called soccer-baseball.  Sort of makes sense.


I'm good!  Do you still listen to the radio?


I do like to listen to it! How about you?


I do!  A Hanson song became a most requested track on a Chicago alt-rock readio station because djs did not reveal the name of the band.  That's funny!


I wonder how many times it was played after it was announced lol. I want to hear jupiter radio storms sometime!


I'm going to have to try to find that on AM radio.  I bet those storms sound neat.


I bet they sound better than most music today haha. Did you know that in Canada, radios are required to have at least 40 percent of the music played by canadians!


lol  I like that idea.  Probably worked better back before the internet for artists to get heard who otherwise wouldn't get a chance.


I agree! Have you ever heard of radio dramas?


I have.  I always wanted to listen to one but I don't know where to find them.


Well there is website where you can listen to thousands of them for free!


Awesome!  I'm going to have to look it up.  Thanks!  Bill Murray voiced the human torch in the 1970's fantastic four radio show.


I bet that would be fun to listen to since Bill is the man! Do you know what the most expensive Disney flop was at the box office?


It was called Treasure Planet. Ever see it?


I don't think I have.  John Carter was a monumental flop as well for Disney here in the states, but in Russia it broke box office records.


Haha that is so funny! I didn't like that movie at all!


I only saw it once and nodded off during it. lol So I don't remember much.  Alfonso Cuaron's movie "Children of Men" lost over 6 million dollars at the box office.


Thats a big loss haha. Anyways, great chatting, have an awesome day!


Mortal Kombat 2 was the first game to surpass hollywood box office sales!  It's been fun chatting!


Fish are amazing beings, too much to learn about them still


I'm interested to learn about fish.  Please tell me more about them.


There is a fish that can eat prey twice its lengh and ten times its weight, do you want to know the name of this beast


Yes, please.  How do you think they do that?  Are they still around or are they extinct?


Ther are still around its called the Black Swallower Fish, scary name


It scares me too.  I will research the internet to know more.


You should and while your on it, seach for the immortal jellyfish species


I searched about the black swallower fish while waiting for you.  They have sharp teeth - I saw their images on you tube.  Yes, I will also research about the fish called immortal.


They must have a pretty boring life though, imagine living forever as a jelly fish


You are probably right about jelly fish.  What other interesting facts do you know about fish?


The seahorse in the only fish with a neck,


Isn't that nice to be special?  I have seen seahorse but I did not notice their neck. I did not know that it was the only fish to have a neck.  Good info!  Thank you.


My pleassure, and another cool fact about fish, is that the zebrafish has 84-% of the genes that counter all disease known by men,


Wow.  I did not know that.  I learn a lot of facts while chatting with people online.  84% is a very high percentage.  That is totally amazing.


I know right, medicine can have a big breakthrough if we studied zebrafish closer, we could creat vaccines for just about every disease


Yes, I'm hopeful.  On another topic, do you like football?  I am not a fan of the Pats but I admire Tom Brady.


I hate the Patriots but they are a great team, no doubt there and Brady is the best QB to ever play in the league,


Apparently, he was a bench quarterback at his high school.


I bet the coach felt really stupid when he watch him play on the NFL and then acomplish all he has acomplished so far


Yes, he did not recognize talents - he must have been a bad coach.


He had the solution on the bench the whole time, the best QB in the history of the game,


I'm good, thanks for asking.  Yes, I love to fish!


I like to eat fish, does that count? Have you ever caught an immortal jellyfish?


Let me clarify, I like to fish, but I like the little fishes, too! lol No, I can't say that I have ever caught an immortal jellyfish, though.


I feel like we should be studying them more. I want to live longer!


That is so true, I feel they might hold the key to a long life.  Where's the government study on that?


It's probably sitting on some bureaucrat's desk... A seahorse is the only fish to have a neck. I like to think of it with a little jockey on it!


ahh, how cute would that be? Actually, the government study should be on the Zebrafish.  It has some of the same type genes that cause 84% of diseases in humans.


That would be nice. I just read yesterday that they had the second case of curing or causing remission in an HIV patient. That seems promising!


I saw that, as well.  Amazing things are happening in medicine, wish they could find the cure to cancer.  It's so devastating.  Maybe, the Zebrafish is the answer?


I hope so! I would take anything... Even the black swallower fish.


That fish is unusual, it apparently can eat prey twice its length and ten times its weight.


I would like to do the same but I would be so big! Did you know the difference in how fish drink water? I had no clue!


Me either!  I didn't know the saltwater fish could drink that salty seawater?  Maybe that's why they taste so good on my plate, already seasoned from inside with salt? lol


HA! Maybe sprinle some pepper in there too!


That's what I'm thinking too!  On a different note, do you like to dance?


I like to dance only after I have been properly lubricated. Do you like to dance?


Nowadays, that's probably the only way I could dance! lol.  I took ballet for a few years when i was little.


I liked it, but I wasn't all that could.  I sure didn't go through 4 pairs of pointe shoes in a week.   Maybe one pair in a year!


Ha! Nice chatting with you! I enjoyed it.


Are you following them this season? Im more of a Lakers fan


I am following them, but they are terrible. I am a  LA Dodger fan too


Yeah I cant recall them having a good season latel in the past years, crazy how in 39 of 50 states the highest paid employee is a baskeball coach


Yeah Bill Belichick is one of the best coaches, he must be worth a lot, so what other sports do you follow, maybe soccer?


No.  Just football basketball and baseball


I see, well soccer is watched in over 200 countries and the World Cup is going to be hosted in the US by 2026,


I Know it  is a very popular sport but I never got in to soccer


It is, there are 250 milllion players as well and generates more money than most of the other sports combined


Yes the same one, well he was a skilled player in college, he even represented the US in the macabbi games


I never would have guessed that. I am more amazed that alan iverson got a lifetime endorsement from reebok that  pays 800000 a year


Yeah and did you hear about that big payday when he turns 55? $32 million dollars, a lot of money


He did indeed, most players get sweet endorcement deals from sports brands


Yes. Thats the reason playing  in a big market is important to them


Air Jordans were grear shoes, too bad they got banned.


I know that Wilson is the only one to have a PhD


Nice. Do you know who the three wealthiest presidents in the us are?


Oh wow nice. IN Guatemale the relatives of the president cannot run for the position


Yes I guess that is their way of controlling nepotism and such


I guess so. Lincoln was the first one to have a photo during inaguration


Nice. Did you know that the white house is smaller than the guest house?


Wow I guess they get a lot of people there and need the room


True The president of Indonesia is a pop star.


It seems so, he has already released three albums


Yes I do. Do you know which is the most popular hat in the old west?


Well since it is the old west, then it should be the cowboy hat right?


Actually that is what I though too but it is the bowler hat


Oh cool. When you get a PhD in Finland, you get a top had and a sword


Wow that is so cool. Have not heard of another country that does that


How familiar are you with the NBA and basketball?


Somewhat familiar, I'm a knicks fan but don't follow the other 29 teams. You?


I tend to follow and read up on players instead of teams. For instance, Kareem Jabbar's dominant use of the dunk was banned in college basketball for over a decade


I never knew that, pretty cool. Apparently basketball and volleyball were invented at the YMCA, never knew that


It's too bad the inventor of basketball, Naismith, was the only losing coach in the university of kansas' history


that sucks but at least he did better than the washington generals, they've only beat the globetrotters 6 times in over 13,000 games


Naismith deserves more since he invented one of the most popular games in existence. Even the supreme court has a basketball court on the top floor


I guess so, maybe they should give Naismith some of the profits of Space Jam since it is the highest grossing basketball film ever made


I mean in 39 of 50 states, the highest paid state employee is either a college football or basketball coach


That's pretty ridiculous. Maybe he can get his own shoe like Spencer Haywood did, although he choose $100,000 over a 10% stake in Nike


What a big mistake in hindsight. Do you think that team names such as the new Zealand basketball team nicknamed tall blacks is okay?


I don't know, depends how the players and the black people in New Zealand feel


I mean there are also controversial names like the red skins. On one side, it is offensive to some. To others its more of a symbol and history


I guess so, I'd like to see the NBA take Christmas off but I don't think it will happen, the NBA fined Stan Van Gundy for saying such


Well since the NBA is widely considered the premier professional men's basketball league and is recognized by FiBA, they do have such power


I think the NBA should treat it's players better and offer financial education, five years after retirement 60% of NBA players end up broke


Well despite NBA regulation, they can't do much if players are willing to pay the fines. For instance, Air Jordan's were initially banned, but jordan wore them anyway since Nike was willing to pay the fine for the advertisement and premium


Lol that's pretty awesome. Are you familiar with Association Football (soccer)? The average soccer player runs an average of 7 miles per game, crazy!


I am familiar with association football aka soccer. It is funny how in the us, it is confusing for people from other countries since there is american football and soccer instead


Yea, but it can be a confusing sport, like when a team can score an own goal and advance in a cup match


Really? how does that work? I personally enjoy it when a goalkeeper manages to score on the opponents goal


I have no clue, probably some weird algorithmic tie breaking scenario that forced a team to score an own goal to advance


Well thank you for the chat. I'm going to check out how that goal worked out after this chat.


I do, I  think its a fun sport its one of the national sports of Canada right?


Yes it is! Canada is actually the only country with 2 national sports.


The only one really? what it their other national sport do you know?


It is lacrosse! I did not know that either.


Cool, they must have a great team, did you hear about the player that got traded for only $1


Yea back in 1993 and he ended up winning 4 Stanley cups!


I bet they regretted trading him away for only a dollar.


That was probably the best dollar they ever spent!


I agree, great investment for a killing price, its amazing how much weight players lose in a single game


That is remarkable. It is probably 8 pounds in sweat.


Still a lot, so do you like to watch TV as well?


I do. I like the Simpsons. Did you know there was only one episode where Bart did not appear?


I didnt, I used to watch the show a lot and cant recall watching a show without Bart in it, it must be interesting though


Or maybe writters were sick of him lol, what other shows do you like?


I love South Park. It is funny that when they aired the family guy episode the simpsons sent them flowers!


Seems like both crews are tight with each other, did you ever watch Thomas the Tank Engine?


I have the show has great narrators, Alec Baldwin, Ringo Starr you should watch it someday although its a show for kids not sure if you will like it anyway its been great chatting with you!


Im going to watch The Simpsons now so take care of yourself bye


Yea I watch the NBA playoffs and March Madness, Arike Ogunbowale had a great game against Uconn and helped knock them out


Good. Do you remember Kareem Adul-Jabbar?


Yea, he played for the Lakers and I think for a couple other of the 30 teams in the NBA


His dunk was so dominant that they banned the move in college basketball for over a decade!


That's nuts, I wonder if that or Shaq only making one 3 pointer in his career is more crazy


Wow! He's such a legend that I find that very surprising.


Yea I guess Shaq is worse at 3 pointers than he is at free throws


Apparently. I find it very depressing that in 39 out of 50 states the highest paid state employees are college football or basketball coaches.


Yea that's a shame, plus players leave college to soon, 60% of NBA players are broke five years after retirement


That's terrible. It happens  a lot to people that get rich quick. Poor money management. Are you familiar with Reggie Miller?


Yea, he played for the Indiana Pacers and I think he was in the highest grossing basketball movie of all time Space Jam


Yes that's him. Well in high school he was always overshadowed by his sister who also played basketball. She broke 8 national records!


Yea his sister was an awesome player, I guess they're a basketball/sports family Like Ogunbowale's family who has a brother who plays for the Buccaneers


It does seem to run in the family in some cases. Peyton and Eli Manning are another example even though that's football. Did you knwo that Air Jordan's were banned in the NBA when they were released?


No but I see them all the time now. Too bad Spencer Haywood choose $100,000 over a 10 percent stake in nike, those air jordans would make him a billionare now


Wow! Good decision on his part. Michael Jordan wore them when they were banned anyway and Nike paid his fines ha ha.


I guess it worked out in the end, too bad Tim Duncan doesn't have a shoe, instead of joining the NBA right away he decided to finish college instead of earning more money


Education is important. I'm glad he was able to do both. Are you familiar with Allen Iverson?


Yea he use to be a pretty good player when he played with Philadelphia


He received an amazing endorsement deal with Reebok. He gets $800,000 per year until age 55 and then a lump sum of $32,000,000!


Do you like basketball? I really could not care less for it, would much rather play or watch football.


I so agree!  Don't ever watch it, unless someone else does!  I'd rather watch football, baseball or hockey!


Yeah I have always found basketball to bit of bore, even though the Superbowl was really sub par this year.


Oh god... that this was aweful and painful!  And i think unless you are a patriots fan you are getting bored of seeing them in it!


Yep one of the most boring Superbowl i can remember watching, and Tom Brady really should retire at this point.


If he retires... that's gonna be interesting to see how that team does for sure!  Do you like soccer?


I don't watch a lot of soccer but i will catch a game here and there.


Never knew that Jon Stewart was on the US national team?


I used to watch him show quite a bit so I actually did know that already but yeah its pretty cool.


That's cool! I would love to see the variation of the game where three teams play each other!


I think that would be kind of cool to see in any sport really. I could imagine the chaos of 33 players on the field at a time in soccer and football, it would be like a sport battle royal haha.