Best Nate Smith Ever! Part 6 - Revenge of the Smith

That's right gang! The world's greatest competition is back! No, I'm not talking about American Gladiators, but yes that is back too and it is AWESOME! I love watching semi-fit 30 somethings having knee injuries in front of a live studio audience. But the contest I'm talking about is BEST NATE SMITH EVER! Many of you are familiar with this contest, but for those of you who are not, you might want to read Parts 1 through Death, which you can find on the right side of my blog under my list of "Best Nate is a Blogs Ever!"

It has been a long time since the last BNSE! contest. The reason for that is simple. Ninja Nate Smith. My life was threatened, and in order to prove that my life as a Nate Smith is better than other Nate Smiths, I have to actually have a life. But I have been called out. This Nate Smith here has contacted me via email. Before I go on, I want to say that while email is still a valid way to contact me, I'd really prefer to be contacted via my very own Nate Signal.

Now...let the brutality begin! When this Nate Smith first contacted me, he started off by telling me that he writes for a newspaper, which was pretty exciting. But things are not always as exciting as they seem. In his email he said "I write for the Washington Times" and I was like, "Woah!" But I continued reading that sentence and realized it said, "I write for the Washington Times-Herald" and I was like, "Oh...but that's still cool. I wonder where it's located." So I continued reading. "I write for the Washington Times-Herald in Washington" and I was like, "Jackpot!" But then I finished the sentence. "I write for the Washington Times-Herald in Washington Indiana." WTF!?!?! Saying that you write for the Washington Times-Herald in Washington Indiana, is like saying you went to the University of Miami in Ohio, which in turn is like saying you are serving Chicken of the Sea Tuna. There's no chicken in the sea, there's no Miami in Ohio, and there's no Washington in Indiana. And sure, you can get technical and say that all of these things actually do exist, but don't try to pass them off like they are a big deal. You know what, I actually write for a pretty big news organization as well. That's right. I am a writer for CNN.com...in their blogs section...as a freelance commenter.  

And the deception continues. Big Shot Nate Smith goes on to say, "I have won one award." Ooh! Fancy! Wait, let's read the whole sentence. "I have won one award, a third place..." No, Big Shot Nate Smith, you did not win an award. You won a concession. He then goes on to say "I won a second place award..." Wait a minute! Which is it? Did you win one award or two awards? I guess this is the kind of journalistic integrity you can expect from a staff writer for an Indiana newspaper that tries to pretend it is the Washington Times.

That being said, I checked out Big Shot Nate Smith's newspaper at washtimesherald.com and it turns out they are pretty legit. The paper itself has a circulation of about 9,100 people on a daily basis, and just recently won first place for deadline news reporting for Division 4 Newspapers. Big Shot Nate Smith himself, won two more 2nd place awards for his writing this year. I on the other hand have this blog, which has a circulation of about 14 people on a weekly basis and has won no legitimate awards. When you look at it from that stand point, Big Shot Nate Smith seems like the clear choice for Best Nate Smith Ever! But...let's look at it from another stand point. Does he look as awesome as I do with a mustache?

No, clearly he does not. He looks ridiculous. Therefore, I am going to have to rule in favor of myself today. I am the Best Nate Smith Ever!

Now I realize there are about 9,100 in Indiana who might disagree with me. If you want to defend Big Shot Nate Smith's honor, I am willing to listen. Post a comment and state your case. There are two things you must do to catapult Big Shot Nate Smith to victory. One is present a picture of BSNS with a mustache that looks more awesome than I do. The other is for 1,000 Washington Times-Herald readers to visit this site.If you do both of these things, I will claim Big Shot Nate Smith as the Best Nate Smith Ever! Good luck!

For the 14 of you who are my regular readers, you can check out Big Shot Nate Smith's writing at this link here.

Best Nate Smith Ever! World Rankings

1. Ninja Nate Smith

2. Nate Smith Comedy

3. Big Shot Nate Smith

4. Banjo Nate Smith

5. High Nate Smith

X. Fire Pirate Nate Smith (Murdered by Ninja)

X. Crooked Hat Nate Smith (stabbed by Ninja in extremely large neck)

Lions, Tigers and Squares, Oh My!

According to this article (see here) Stephen Hawking is going on safari. He's traveling through South Africa in search of Africa's Einstein. I immediately had a flurry of ideas to write on this topic all of which seemed dead set on offending either Africans, or people in wheelchairs. So instead, here are the

Top 10 posts about Stephen Hawking going to Africa that I won't write.

1. Hawking does Circles of Life in his wheelchair.

2. Hawking receives standing ovation, the ultimate insult.

3. Genius gets sunburn. 

4. Hawking visits Africa, cures AIDS in 2 days.

5. Hawking has mosquito net installed on wheelchair.

6. Hawking changes theory to "African Holes."

7. Hawking studies Big Bang in Africa, returns with Jungle Fever.

8. Super Genius in wheelchair visits Africa, locals were hoping for Superman in wheelchair.

9. Hawking goes to Africa, wheelchair overheats.

10. Hawking searches for African Einstein...or Don King.

2nd Place, A Major Put Down

Sports history was made this week at the prestigious Kentucky Derby when the runner up horse, Eight Belles, was euthanized on the track. Now a lot of people are saying this is a tragedy, but I say one horse’s big sleep is another horse’s big wake up call. Finally winning is important again. As a child I grew up with a poster on my wall that said “I play to win,” but for years now I’ve had to listen to yuppies drone on about how doing your best is all that matters. They say things like “Everyone is a winner!” and “It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.” But not the folks at the Kentucky Derby. They say, “If you’re not a winner, you’re a goner.” And I applaud that mentality. Kids need to learn that it’s a tough world out there and that doing your best doesn’t matter unless it happens to be better than everyone else’s best.
I think we should institute a “Win or Die” policy in more competitive arenas. Now I’m not proposing we kill everyone who loses, just the competitors who come in second place. This would really up the intensity of all those championship games that end up being blow outs. For example, if the Colorado Rockies knew they were going to be euthanized when they lost to the Boston Red Sox in the 2007 World Series, they would have let the Arizona Diamondbacks play them instead. Then we might have had a much more interesting World Series to watch.
And I don’t think we should single out sports with this new policy. I think we should put down the runner up in any major contest.Take the Democratic Primaries for example. Once the Democratic Nominee is elected, the runner up should be shot. Of course if Barack Obama wins, we run a strong chance of them both being shot.
What I’m trying to say is, someday I hope to have a son of my own. And I hope that, just like me, he’ll grow up with an inspirational poster on his wall. But instead of it saying, “I play to win,” it will say, “I play to not die.”

Go BLANK Yourself!

Every now and then life hands you a moment in which the absolute perfect response is to yell "Go f@#k yourself!" But sometimes life hands you those moments while you are standing next to an impressionable child, running for public office, or devoting your life to being a monk. It is during these times that I suggest the following alternatives.

Top 10 non-foul-mouthed ways to fill in the blank for the phrase "Go BLANK yourself!"

1. Go punch Yourself! Especially effective if the intended receiver is a boxer.
2. Go delete yourself! Good for online banter.
3. Go know thyself! Great for outbursts during bible study.
4. Go suck yourself! Tell that vaccuum who's boss.
5. Go explode yourself! Should be shouted from a distance.
6. Go Britney Spears yourself! Because whatever she did to herself, it’s worse than what you want them to do to themselves.
7. Go fix yourself! Either a much more productive request, or a request for them to cut off their junk.
8. Go blog yourself! That’s the hip thing these days.
9. Go puncture yourself! Good for any occasion.
10. Go tell yourself to "Go f@#k yourself!"! It doesn't keep it clean, but it messes with their head.

iBGTD

Several weeks ago, I wrote about how I am in need of a new PDA (see iDGTD). The problem is, I am a bit of a slacker and need someone to keep me on task so that I can get things done. After doing quite a bit of research, I think I have finally found the perfect person to be my Personal Data Assistant. Dick Cheney. He just spent 8 years being the President’s PDA, and seeing as how he’s going to be out of a job soon I thought he’d like to do some work in the private sector for a while. And with Cheney as my PDA, my motto would be iBGTD, as in, “I Better Get Things Done...or Dick Cheney will shoot me in the face.” (I just wanted to get the quail hunting joke out of the way early)

Here are 10 reasons Dick Cheney would be the perfect Personal Data Assistant.

1.He doesn’t give in to peer pressure. And by peer pressure I mean 80% of the nation.
2.Every time he asks you to do something, you can assume it is probably his last dying wish.
3.If you don’t do what Dick Cheney says, the terrorists win.
4.Look at that picture. Do you have the balls to tell him no?
5.When he makes threats like, “if you don’t take out the trash I will eat your baby!” you know he means it.
6.You don’t want to mess with him because he probably still has access to a few nukes.
7.He’s proven that he can accomplish his goals no matter how many forms of government try to stop him.
8.When trying to get out of doing something, you can’t appeal to his good side, because he doesn’t have one.
9.He’ll do your dirty work for you.
10. If you don’t do what he says, he’ll shoot you in the face. (Okay, I ran out of reasons)

I Have Financial Aids

So my wife and I decided (okay, just my wife decided) that we should meet with a financial advisor to make sure we were on the right track fiscally. We’ve got a mortgage, and a car payment, and my undying addiction to Mt. Dew to deal with, and we want to invest our money wisely so that some day we can stop living paycheck to paycheck. So we signed up to meet a financial advisor. Now, in our relationship, Ashley is the brains of the operation. I am...well really I am the ass of the operation. I’m not that smart, I sit around a lot, and I kind of smell bad. So Ashley controls all of our finances and she knows what’s up. That being said, she is not a monetary master, and the last time she met with a financial advisor, he made her feel like an idiot. The worst part is, at the end of the meeting he asked her, “Now, will your husband be joining us next time?” As if to assume I would have a better grasp of the situation. This really offends me. Do I look like the kind of guy who would know a lot about money?So today I am going with Ashley to meet this guy, and it is my goal to make it abundantly clear that I am not in any way helpful when having a financial conversation.

Here are 10 questions I plan on asking during my Financial advisory meeting.

1. Can you give me advice on how to get my face on the dollar bill?
   
2. I’ve been told I should put my money in a CD, but don’t you think music is going to be completely digital soon?
   
3. Should I buy Boardwalk?
   
4. If have more money than I can hold in my wallet, what’s another good place to keep my money?
   
5. I’ve been told that the Lottery is for entertainment purposes only and should not be used for investment, but it seems like a pretty good investment to me.
   
6. My Grandpa knew how to pull quarters out of my ear. Can you do that?
   
7. Should I be taking more advantage of that whole “Give a penny take a penny” thing?
   
8. People often say, “You have to spend money to make money.” I’ve been spending money like crazy. When does the making money part happen?
   
9. If I had a vault of coins like Scrooge McDuck, would I really be able to swim through it?
   
10. How much should I pay someone to give me financial advice?
    

Hobophobia

I have a confession to make. I am hobophobic. Now, before you get all up in arms and start having parades all up and down my neighborhood, look closely. I didn’t say I’m homophobic, I said I am HOBOphobic. I have an intense fear of Hobos. And I’m not talking about homeless people. I’ve got no beef with them, nor do I fear them. I’m talking specifically about Hobos. Train riding, pie stealing, no-teeth having, Hobos.
Now, a lot of people might be thinking, “what’s wrong with Hobos? They’re harmless.” But that is a damn lie. When you think of Hobos what is the first thing you picture? A sack tied to the end of a stick, right? But have you ever wondered what they really carry in those sacks? Have you ever noticed the size of those sacks? They are the size of a human head! And that is exactly what those so-called harmless Hobos are carrying around all the time. The head of their most recent victim. Why else would they choose to live the lifestyle that they do? If you had lopped off someone’s head and were carrying it around in a sack tied to a stick, would you stay in one town for very long? No, you’d hop on the nearest train you could and ride it to the next town where you could find your next victim.

That’s why every time I hear the train near my house, I take my pies off the window sill and immediately lock up all the doors and windows. And if you don’t want to end up with your head in a sack, you should too.

He Was a Hanger of Cliffs

It might be a little late for me to be reviewing the movie Cliffhanger, starring Sylvester Stallone, but I watched it for the very first time today. Cliffhanger was just one of those movies that I didn’t get a chance to see in the theaters. So when I saw that I could watch it for free on my Comcast On Demand service, I took a leap of faith (hell yes that pun was intended).
Now, I’m not sure if this movie was good when it originally played in theaters, but it sure didn’t stand the test of time. You know how sometimes you don’t see a movie for a long time, and then you finally rent it and it was so good that you are like, “Man, I can’t believe I didn’t see that sooner. I’m an idiot!” Or other times you are like, “Man, that movie was horrible. No wonder I didn’t watch that in the first place. I’m an idiot!” I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m always an idiot, but this time I was the second kind.
For a movie titled Cliffhanger you’d think there’d be a lot of moments where you are like, “I wonder what’s going to happen next!” That really wasn’t the case, although there were a lot of times where I was like, “I wonder how bad it is going to get next!” And I have to say, I was consistently surprised at how bad it got at each turn.I guess now I know why this movie was one of the free options in On Demand. But maybe, in order to make the service a little more accurate, they should shorten the name and just simply call it On.

iDGTD

Staying on task has always been a bit of a problem for me. It’s not that I don’t want to get things done, it’s just that my brain doesn’t necessarily...work. You could say my mind is like a steel trap, except the hinge is completely broken. So really my mind is a big heavy sharp paper weight.
So when it comes to getting things done, or as the cyber community calls it, GTD, unless I have a really good system in place, I DGTD (don’t get things done). I’ve tried all the usual task management techniques and none of them seem to work for me. That’s why I’ve decided to get a Personal Data Assistant. No, I’m not getting a Palm Pilot or some other fancy schmancy electronic device. I am literally going to hire an assistant who’s sole job will be to manage all of my personal data. This of course won’t be an easy job by any means. Let’s just say I have a lot of personal data.

So how will I find the perfect PDA? What are my options? For starters, there’s my wife. I have to admit, having someone keep me organized and remind me of all those important dates that I can never seem to remember (like anniversaries) is a major part of why I got married in the first place. And my wife is amazing at remembering important information. If my mind is a paper weight, hers is a super computer. She can hold seemingly an infinite amount of information in her brain, and she remembers EVERYTHING! (Especially things involving me being wrong.) Unfortunately, while her mind is like a computer, I apparently don’t have administrative privileges. Rather than keeping me on task with all the things I want to get done, she seems to only be able to keep me on task with the things SHE wants me to get done. Things like doing the dishes, taking out the trash, and paying attention to her.

So maybe my wife isn’t the perfect PDA. I guess I’ll have to hold a series of official try outs to find the best Personal Data Assistant. Check back later to see the results.

I'm Not Leaving...On a Jet Plane!

Recently hundreds of thousands of Americans have been stranded in Airports as their flights have been cancelled. This is a serious problem and if it is not solved soon, the end result could be 300,000 Americans turning into Tom Hanks’ character from “The Terminal.”

The reason this crisis has occurred, according to airline officials, is that a majority of their planes have failed the Federal Aviation Administration safety inspections. BORING! If my flight is going to be delayed and I have to sit in an airport and eventually become a Hangar Hobo (I just coined that) then I want a better excuse than, “Sorry, we just don’t think our planes are very safe.” Give me an excuse with a little more...zazz!

Here are are 10 excuses I’d rather hear for why my flight has been cancelled.

1. “Literally there are snakes on the plane.”
   
2. “Sorry, your flight has been cancelled due to explosion.”
   
3. “Your plane is currently under attack by ninjas.”
   
4. “Turns out your plane was a decepticon, and it has murdered the pilot.”
   
5. “Your pilot is afraid of heights.”
   
6. “We are almost ready. We just had to make a minor repair to the plane but we ran out of duct tape.”
   
7. “We are just waiting for your pilot’s suicide medication to take effect.”
   
8. “We lost your plane.”
   
9. “Everything is ready to go, we just need a little more time to root through your luggage.”
   
10. “Global warming?”