Category: Greatness

Bo Jackson and Lauryn Hill: Legendary Even Without Longevity

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date March 9, 2023
No Comments on Bo Jackson and Lauryn Hill: Legendary Even Without Longevity

Some people are too talented to be confined to just one lane.

Vincent Edward “Bo” Jackson was the rare two-sport athlete. He could have been a Hall of Famer in both baseball and football.

Lauryn Hill was the rare two-discipline musical artist. She could have had the greatest career as both a rapper and a singer.

They also shared several other traits in common: reaching incredible heights; colleagues accusing them of being difficult; focusing on their families; and, above all, not being interested in living up to the outsized expectations created by their early acts of brilliance.

Tags Blunted on Reality, Bo Jackson, Family, Fatherhood, Fugees, Greatness, Hip-Hop, Lauryn Hill, MLB, Music, NFL, Rap, Tecmo Bowl, The Score

Greatness MLB NBA NFL Sports

G.O.T.E. Is the New G.O.A.T.

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date February 7, 2023
No Comments on G.O.T.E. Is the New G.O.A.T.

Comparing eras is futile, so let’s celebrate the Greatest Of Their Era

The great thing about sports is that results are objective. There are won-loss records, tournaments, playoffs, and championships. The winner is decided on the field of play.

Of course, that doesn’t mean there aren’t subjective debates. Quite the contrary. The never ending sports debates all come down to one question: Who is the best? Who’s the best player? What was the toughest era? What’s the best team? Could the best team from a prior era beat the top squad from today’s game?

Tags Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, MLB, NBA, NFL, Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Willie Mays

Greatness Health Lessons Life

Motivation Fades. Discipline Remains.

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date November 4, 2022
No Comments on Motivation Fades. Discipline Remains.

“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”
– Jim Rohn

Why don’t most New Year’s resolutions succeed?

Tags Discipline, Excellence, Greatness, Life, LIfe Lessons, Motivation

Greatness Hip-Hop I Was There Rap

I Was There: State Property & The LOX Live

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date October 14, 2022
No Comments on I Was There: State Property & The LOX Live

Cross another off the concert bucket list.

Tags Beanie Sigel, D-Block, Freeway, Hip-Hop, Jadakiss, Jay-Z, Live, Rap, Roc-A-Fella, Sheek Louch, State Property, Styles P., The LOX

Greatness Hip-Hop Rap

The LOX Have Some of the Best Hooks in Rap History

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date October 6, 2022
No Comments on The LOX Have Some of the Best Hooks in Rap History

“N—as rhymes be aight but they need hooks”
— Jadakiss

Rappers and hip-hop artists of a certain type value lyricism (“bars”) over pretty much everything else.

As a purist, I appreciate that, but I think it ignores a vital yet rare skill that only some MCs possess, even those that can fill notebooks: the ability to write and deliver a great chorus.

MC’s that can craft an intricate hook hold a higher spot in my personal rankings and the LOX have some of the best rap choruses in hip-hop history.

Tags Greatness, Hip-Hop, Hook, Rap, Songwriting, The LOX

Art Artist Films Greatness Music Pop Culture Wu-Tang Clan

Favorite vs. Best

What is the best film of all time?

Most film scholars (and wanna-be film scholars) proclaim that it’s Citizen Kane, Orson Welles’s 1941 masterpiece that inarguably changed filmmaking forever. Casablanca, Lawrence of Arabia, The Godfather, and Gone with the Wind are often in the conversation as well.

Excluding The Godfather, how many times have you heard someone mention one of those films as their absolute favorite? How many are populating a casual filmgoer’s top five? How many Lawrence of Arabia conversations have you experienced in your life?

Tags Best, Favorites, Films, Hip-Hop, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Rap, Wu-Tang Clan

Greatness Hip-Hop In Appreciation of

In Appreciation of: Kurupt

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date January 12, 2022
No Comments on In Appreciation of: Kurupt

What would happen if the lyricism of Rakim was combined with the vivid street tales of Kool G. Rap and the style of a young Snoop Doggy Dogg?

The outcome would be one Ricardo Brown, better known to the world as Kurupt.

Tags Death Row, Dr. Dre, Hip-Hop, Kurupt, Rap, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, West Coast

Craft Beer Greatness Rankings

My (Ongoing) Five Year Quest to Drink the “25 Beers You Need to Try Before You Die” [Updated]

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date October 16, 2020
No Comments on My (Ongoing) Five Year Quest to Drink the “25 Beers You Need to Try Before You Die” [Updated]

I used to be a bit of a beer snob, but even at my height I was never the snobbiest nor the most knowledgeable person around. I don’t brew my own beer. I don’t spend all of my money searching for that one special beer. And I don’t study the intricacies of it. It was mo re enjoyment than obsession.

But I do love a good beer and I know a decent amount about it, to the point that I know what I like and can have reasonably intelligent conversations about it, back when we used to gather around a table and have conversations.