Cup of Snarky

Pop singer, Katy Perry, feeling a little lonely on her tour in Japan thought it would be a good idea to invite her husband Russell Brand over to share some quality time in between concerts. Things didn’t exactly work out as planned though, as Brand was detained at the airport and denied entry into Japan. It seems as though Brand has a bit of a criminal history in Japan, which is unsurprising considering his history of wild behavior. Brand was once even public admonished by prime minister of England, Gordon Brown, for the obscene prank calls he made during his BBC radio show.  Brand was detained in regards to offenses he committed in the country 10 years ago.

Eventually Brand was deported from Japan all together, maybe because of his priors or maybe because they saw his remake of “Arthur”; either reason seems like a perfectly excuse to expel the star. Neither the Tokyo immigration department nor Brand has commented on exactly what those offenses are that he is accused of committing, but it’s safe to assume it wasn’t littering.   Congratulations Russell you’re one set closer to becoming your outrageous “Get Him to Greek”" character Aldous Snow. You can follow Brand on twitter here.

The French gave us the Statue of Liberty, and we’ve given them the gift of John McEnroe. I don’t know whether to apologetic or really proud. The 2011 Roland-Garros French Open kicked off this year yesterday on May 17th and runs until June 5th and promises to be a fierce event. Tennis is an entertaining sport, but I can’t help but wonder how different the French Open would be this year if infamous tennis pro John McEnroe were competing.  McEnroe’s performances on the court were legendary both in skill and attitude, and I would often just watch matches to see him erupt into one of his famous meltdowns. Surprisingly though, since retiring from tennis, McEnroe has transitioned into being an excellent tennis commentator. This year McEnroe will be resuming his duties as commentator and analyst for The Tennis Channel’s French Open coverage alongside newly hired analyst Mary Carillo. Although McEnroe’s not participating in the event we can at least look forward to some insightful commentary and maybe the occasional outburst.  There are few celebrities that realize how obnoxious they act like McEnroe appears to, who now plays off his famous bad behavior for laughs. I’ve actually really grown to like McEnroe as a commentator as too. Maybe we’ll get lucky and McEnroe will run onto to the court again to teach some arrogant young whelp a lesson like he did at the 2009 US Open. One can only hope.

Is Justin Bieber an obnoxious brat? That’s what long time cast member,Marg Helgenberger, of CSI seems to think. Helgenberger was of course speaking about Justin Bieber’s recent CSI guest appearances. She claims in an interview with Le Grand Direct des Medias, a French radio show that Bieber’s on set antics included locking a producer in closet and punching a cake that was on the set crew’s snack table. Brat or not, it doesn’t look like Helgenberger or the rest of the CSI crew will have to put up with Bieber any longer as his character on CSI was killed in a police shootout . Maybe they just weren’t ready for Bieber fever?

Paula Adbul was recently revealed to be the latest judge to join Simon Cowell’s X-Factor. The list of judges for the show now consists of Simon Cowell (of course), Paul Adbul, L.A. Reid, and Cheryl Cole. We’ve missed the dynamic between the obnoxious Simon and innocent Paula ever since the duo went their separate ways during the days of American Idol. There are sure to be plenty of insults flying and tears shed by both the judges and the contestants. Here’s hoping though that Simon just brings his dream-crushing King Kong sized ego along with him.

Tennis is a sport that has gained a lot of attention and increased in popularity in recent years. More people are interested in watching professional tennis now than ever before and there are also greater numbers of people playing the sport for their own pleasure as well as a form of exercise. On the professional level, fans are not only interested in the sport itself but have a particular fascination with the players. Professional tennis players are well known for their dynamic personalities and they have often been the subject of media exploitation. Famous personalities of the past like John McEnroe were well known for their turbulent emotions and temperamental natures.

During his career McEnroe made some famous, and impressive rivalries with other professional players. Of course this is a common aspect of sports and is always seen between teams and individual players. With McEnroe, the rivalries had the ingredients of media sensations. Some of this most prominent rivals included Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors.

McEnroe won seven different Grand Slam singles titles during his career and though he was internationally known for his on, and off, court behaviors, he was also internationally respected for his skill as a player. Unfortunately, for much of the mainstream, who were not specifically tennis fans or enthusiasts, it was his unconventional behaviors that gained him his greatest attention, and it wasn’t positive. However, the seven titles he won, four at the US Open and three at Wimbledon speak volumes about his talent and skill. In addition to the singles titles, McEnroe earned nine men’s doubles titles, yes he could find people to play with him, and one mixed double title. One of the most famous remarks from his Wimbledon highlights days, was his incredulous questioning of the umpire and his sarcastic implication that call was less than sincere. In 1999 he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Learning how to set reachable goals sounds like a very simple task, and one that’s rather complex in trying to put into practice. It’s not that goals become daunting when there’s a map, or that the process itself is difficult, but that there is a kind of simplicity that rules over them. The simplicity is what makes them unobtainable so often, because people are constantly telling themselves that it must be more complex.

There are certainly ways of getting around this, and heading into a healthier way of thinking about goals that can make them reachable. The Carnegie goal setting quiz helps to unpack some of the major and more common issues associated with behaviors that make goal-setting difficult. It’s never as daunting as it seemed, because the practice is one that is actually based on common sense.

When goal-oriented behaviors start to become second-nature, then they are truly revealed for the potent, simple forces that they are. The nature of Carnegie’s philosophy makes it possible to unlock the things that keep businesses and individuals from reaching their full potential. It’s no more complex than the underlying principles of cause and effect , and in many regards, it is as easy as that. Because of the training and habits that everyone acquires through the stages of becoming a full-fledged member of society, there are many basic ideas that tend to get lost through socialization .

That’s not a bad thing in itself, because it is necessary to learn and grow in the world, receiving ideas from many different sources. Some of the ideas are more useful than others when it comes to business practice. There are many different core courses available that can help one to move further along in their own practice, and in achieving their own goals. The result might be in an increase in sales or efficiency, but it also carries along a great helping of self-improvement, and that’s at the heart of it all.