Goings On

Big12 South Preview #3 - Baylor

2009-07-30T11:25:00.002-05:00

So you finally have a program getting national attention....

You have a QB that is arguably in the top 20 in the nation....

You even had a top 5 Draft Pick a few months ago....

Your reward? The worst yo-yo schedule EVER!!

This year's Baylor Bears are going to flip-flop their way to a bowl game. And if you think this is just a stunt, listen to the schedule.

At Wake Forest to begin the season before winning a few cupcake games en route to their Big12 schedule. So you're 3-1 going into a game with....OU, ouch.

Ok, but don't worry, next up is Iowa St!! So bam! You're 4-2 again and on a new roll...then there's Oklahoma State and Nebraska, ouch.

Ok, but don't worry, next up is Mizzou, so woohoo, back above .500 at 5-4 and everything is looking great again, and then you get....Texas, ouch.

But FEAR NOT!! Ending the season with A&M and Tech, two more wins leaves you at 7-5!!

Prediction:

Conference Record: 4-4
Overall Record: 7-5
Bowl Game: Alamo (win)

SIC EM BEARS

Big12 North Preview #3 - Kansas State

2009-07-28T13:46:00.001-05:00

See a mixture of Iowa State and Missouri----

The story here is the return of Bill Snyder, which actually means a couple wins, but as we've said before, it's not a good sign for a successful season.

Oh, and their schedule looks a lot like the Tigers...Wildcats...well, close enough. And as you can see below, they do get one more non-conference win in there than Mizzou.

Prediction:

Conference Record: 2-6
Overall Record: 5-7
Bowl Game: NONE

Big12 North Preview #2 - Missouri

2009-07-28T13:41:00.003-05:00

Ouch.

Listen, they're still a good team, but no Jeremy Maclin and Chase Daniel means that you are back to those "in between times" after Brad Smith and before the aforementioned Daniel.

Early on, they have a game AT Nevada. Oh, that's a few weeks after their opening week loss to Illinois and Juice Williams. No matter what the defensive line of the Tigers has to say.

After that, they enter the Big 12 schedule with fun games against Nebraska, Oklahoma State, and Texas. Are you kidding, they're already at 5 losses this year before they had even lost a SINGLE game last year.

After that, they get Colorado AWAY, then Baylor AWAY, and they end the season against Kansas in the Border War...oh, that's 3 more losses. Don't worry, the Cyclones are in there somewhere.

Have you done the math yet?

Prediction:

Conference Record: 2-6
Overall Record: 4-8
Bowl Game: NONE

Big12 South Preview #2 - Texas A&M

2009-07-28T13:36:00.003-05:00

The fightin' Aggies, in Aggieland, the Home of the 12th Man...

Well, Mike Sherman is entering his second season in control of the "wrecked crew." And much like Iowa State (see below), their biggest story going into this season is the COACH. This is NEVER a good thing in D1 College Football.

You still talk about Stoops, Brown, Carroll, Tressel, Meyer, etc - but those things are givens and then you move on to all the NFL Draft prospects, All-Americans, and the boatloads of talent on each team. In College Station, or Bryan for all you suburban people, the story is how hot the seat underneath Mike Sherman's butt is.

But should it be? So Texas thrashed you last year. So did OU. Do these things say ANYTHING about this coming year?

Yes.

This will be another rough one with A&M eking out a win versus Iowa State at home on Halloween.

Prediction:

Conference Record: 1-7
Overall Record: 4-8
Bowl Game: NONE

Big12 North Preview #1 - Iowa State

2009-07-28T13:32:00.002-05:00

So your head coach, who was only there for a few years, left to go back to Auburn.

Um, Seneca Wallace is still in the NFL...

Listen, I would love to pick a home upset against a top team, or say that the Cyclones have got some tricks up their sleeve, but bottom line, their players are simply not as good, their crowds are not as big, and their games don't matter at all.

Prediction:

Conference Record: 0-8
Overall Record: 2-10
Bowl Game: NONE

Big12 South Preview #1 - Texas Tech

2009-07-28T11:16:00.005-05:00

2009 Big 12 Football Media Preseason Poll North Division
1. Nebraska (17) 172
2. Kansas (12) 164
3. Missouri (3) 124
4. Colorado 100
5. Kansas State 81
6. Iowa State 33

South Division
1. Texas (17) 174
1. Oklahoma (15) 174
3. Oklahoma State 130
4. Texas Tech 89
5. Baylor 75
6. Texas A&M 33

So......what have we learned from this? Well, if you go 11-1 in a division including 2 BCS Bowl Teams, and another that went to the Holiday Bowl....and your only loss was to a National Championship Game team....(oh, this is Tech by the way), you will be seeded FOURTH the next year!! In your DIVISION?? Are you kidding me??

For all of the people out there that may have been disappointed about how often I spoke of the Big 12 South being the toughest division in the HISTORY of SPORTS...get ready for a slightly dialed-down version this coming fall and winter.

Bear in mind, that Oklahoma State went 9-3 in the regular season...their 3 losses? OU, UT, and Tech. Yeah. And the other three all beat each other. Those four teams had a combined record of 43-6. REALLY?!?!?! (And yes, insert the apology to Baylor and A&M for the worst luck ever)

So what is the hopes for this team? Well, the pirate-loving, advice-giving, show-hosting crazy man is still at the helm. Graham Harrell left, but c'mon! The next guy will be just as good (Cliff Kingsbury anyone?). Crabtree left...and the next guy will NOT be as good. Brandon Williams, the nasty DT, is now a Dallas Cowboy, which does not help anyone in Lubbock.

Look for Tech to drop a couple heart-breakers early.

PREDICTION:

Conference Record: 3-5
Overall Record: 6-6
Bowl Game: Texas Bowl (w)

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

2009-07-12T23:02:00.001-05:00

It's fantastic. Go see it. I will edit this and make it longer tomorrow when I'm bored at work. For now, here's a quick scene. And again, this is NOT MINE. It's the property of Warner Brothers, and if they want me to take it down, I will. I'm not trying to break any laws, make any money, or screw anything up.

Gotta love it...

2009-06-12T03:04:00.001-05:00

Top Ten Syndication

2009-06-04T00:01:00.002-05:00

Since there are only a few shows I like to watch when they're new, it's all about the re-runs, and we won't be referencing my insane ability to not need the guide or TiVo to remember them all...

Top Ten Syndicated Shows:

1) Law & Order - "The original is still the best"
2) CSI - some of the best character development and music
3) Scrubs - yeah
4) South Park - genius
5) House - Probably my favorite character on TV ever
6) Star Trek: Voyager - yes, I'm a geek
7) High Stakes Poker - cause I'm also a gambler
8) Comedy Central Presents - anyone figure out that I love stand up?
9) NCIS - it comes on before and after House, yeah, it just happened
10) Seinfeld - cause it HAS to be on the list

Top Ten Websites

2009-06-03T23:55:00.002-05:00

Ok, so obviously this is why we're doing now, and for this one, I'm sorry guys, but no porn.

Top Ten Sites:

1) www.google.com - obviously
2) www.wikipedia.org - cause there are drunk arguments that need to be WON!
3) www.espn.com - and all related entities
4) www.biblegateway.com - cause sometimes you need something positive
5) www.azlyrics.com - every artist, album, and song
6) www.theherdsword.com - Colin Cowherd is a genius
7) www.uspto.gov - in case you're an inventor
8) www.cooks.com - I hate recipes, but if you need one...MONEY
9) www.hulu.com - free tv that you may have missed or not TiVoed?
10) dallasbaker.blogspot.com - CLEARLY!!

Top Ten Apps

2009-06-03T23:49:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I'm definitely just gonna use this from now on as a way to get stuff out:

The first one will be:

iPhone Apps...

1) Shazam
2) Google
3) Facebook
4) SportsTap
5) Remote
6) Flixster
7) UrbanSpoon
8) AOL Radio
9) Mobile Pro
10) iFighter

If you don't have them, get to know them...of course there are others and they too are awesome, but seriously, why are you reading this? Go download

Suicide, Pete Yorn, and Coping

2009-04-08T15:35:00.002-05:00

If you don't watch House, I have some sympathy for you. Kutner (Kal Penn) has committed suicide...Most mourn at his funeral, his friend Taub (Peter Jacobson) remains at the hospital to work...and House, well, he needs to find out why, he needs to find the answer, and he needs to solve his puzzle.

Which of the people here will remain tormented? It should be clear....enjoy the Pete Yorn "Lose You" in the background

Random Quip

2009-03-08T22:58:00.002-05:00

Would you rather be honest, and surrounded by liars?
Or be completely passive, and consumed by the fires?
Maybe you're the babysitter, which too much to handle...
Trying to illuminate the darkness with only a candle?

Most of the decisions you make in this life will have BOTH positive and negative results. The question is: Are you going to make those decisions based on your own motivations? Or on the possible reactions of others?

Do you give gifts to people to make THEM happy? Or because they are your friend or loved one, and it makes YOU happy to give? Do you withhold a certain truth because you think you're protecting someone else? Is that even your call to make?

Focus on doing the RIGHT thing. Be HONEST. And if other people don't like what you have to say...

Lay-Offs

2009-02-27T16:54:00.002-06:00

So it was a moment that should have been a lot odder for me, but as so many things are, it wasn't at all.

My buddy comes up to me, and goes, "man, I'm getting wasted tomorrow night!"

"Why?" I replied.

"Because they're gonna lay-off a bunch of people at my job."

"You know you're getting fired?" I assumed that's why he would be getting drunk.

"No, if I get fired, I'm getting TRASHED! If I still have a job, I'm celebrating...by getting TRASHED!"

I laughed my ass off for awhile, but then realized I had done the same thing so many times before. If Texas loses a National Championship game, I'm gonna stay at the bar and "drown my sorrows." But if they WIN!!....I'm gonna stay at the bar and "toast my brethren."

People who drink don't drink for one specific purpose, even the Eagles note that "some dance to remember, some dance to forget..." In this case, dance = drink...

In the end, I don't really care. Either I'm tired, bored, pissed, etc. and I'm gonna go to sleep. Or I'm having fun, trying to find the courage to talk to a girl, taking care of my friends, etc. and I'm gonna stay at the bar.

And besides, no matter WHY you're out at a bar drinking, you never know what could be walking by you at any moment...

Cheers! And I'll catch you on the flipside of this weekend...

New Spot for HBP

2009-02-27T16:52:00.000-06:00

HOOK EM! You know it matters...

2009-02-23T15:56:00.003-06:00

2009 Prediction/Preview:
Hell yeah I'm gonna do this now. The college players have officially reported to the combine, and the rosters and schedules are set. So here we go...

Sept. 5th - HOME vs. Louisiana-Monroe
Scrimmage #1, nothing will be spoken of here. 52-10 sounds right.
Sept. 12th - AWAY vs. Wyoming
Scrimmage #2, see above. 52-10 sounds right.
Spet. 19th - HOME vs. Texas Tech
Last time these two teams got together, Texas was playing on the ROAD, the fourth game in a row against top 11 teams, with Orakpo, Cosby, and Irby all injured. Ironically, two of those players graduated. But Williams, Collins, Buckner, and co. rejoin Jordan Shipley. This game is in Austin. It's following two scrimmages (see above, and above that). No Crabtree? Can you name anyone else on the team? I'll do it for you...Harrell? Gone. Shannon Woods? Gone.
Spet. 26th - HOME vs. UTEP
Last year, the game was in El Paso, and there was a freakin' parade beforehand, because they had a NEW stadium, this was the game of their LIVES, and they lost.... 52-10. Expect more of the same.
Oct. 10th - HOME vs. Colorado
Again, we played the Buffs on the road last year, and it was kinda close in the first half...eh? anyone? Again, Scott will be wishing he had come to Austin and the most beautiful girls in the world instead of chasing heinous snow bunnies.
Oct. 17th - NEUT vs. Oklahoma
45-35? OU lost more people than Texas did. The venue didn't change, the rivalry is still the best (OSU/Mich and Florida/Georgia and USC/UCLA???? laughable). Nothing else will be said about this for the time being.
Oct. 24th - AWAY vs. Missouri
Ok, this one we had at home last year...No Chase Daniel? No Jeremy Maclin? The Tigers would be lucky to finish 3rd in the North, 35-0 in the first half again?
Oct. 31st - AWAY vs. Oklahoma St.
This one is the trap game. At Stillwater! Tons of returners! And Texas ALWAYS feels the need to make this game close, and even make 21-pt. comebacks in Austin...Longhorn fans...worry a little about this one.
Nov. 7th - HOME vs. Central Florida
Srimmage #3, see games 1 and 2, 52-10. Gotta love that non-conference game thrown in EXACTLY when Texas will need to get healthy.
Nov. 14th - AWAY vs. Baylor
Lucky we're getting this one at home. Last year, Baylor ended the year by taking Tech down to the wire in Lubbock. Robert Griffin III is one of the best QBs in the Big 12, and therefore, the nation. Losing Jason Smith will mean that he will meet the Texas LBs up close and personal, but still, not as bad as in past years.
Nov. 21st - HOME vs. Kansas
They will win the Big 12 North...and if that meant anything, I'd be worried. Be thankful that we got Nebraska LAST year and Kansas THIS year, perfect timing, perfect schedule, and this will be a perfect game in the beautiful November chill in Austin.
Nov. 26th - AWAY vs. Texas A&M
The Aggies are...in a word...DYING. They lost to all 5 other Big 12 South schools last year including a 20-pt. BEATDOWN by the Baylor Bears. Yeah, the 12th Man...yeah, it's Aggieland...yeah, they're flaming homose-----ok, maybe that was too much. Again, a SLAUGHTER
Dec. 5th - NEUT vs. BIG 12 North Champion
Now, Texas will have to meet up with Joe Ganz (the most underrated player in Div. 1 football) and the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Big 12 Championship game. I love it! These teams had a CLASSIC a decade ago, and it will be another one. Nebraska and the Big Red Machine, though not as good as OU, could pose an interesting obstacle for the 'Horns. Regardless, talent and coaching and experience still count for...um, everything. Texas rolls.
Jan. 7th - BCS Championship vs. #2 BCS team (hopefully Florida, so we can "beat"
OU again)
Who cares? As long as the BCS doesn't allow a weak USC team or a one-loss Ohio State or SEC team ahead of us...let's DO IT!

Oh, it's a 12-1 record, though. And no National Championship. Can anyone spot the loss?

HOOK 'EM, and hopefully Miss Roberts and Miss Moore will take a look at this, or at least that October 17th game.

Ah, the Stimulus....

2009-02-19T13:06:00.002-06:00

Shortly after class, an economics student approaches his professor and says, "I don't understand this stimulus bill. Can you explain it to me?"

The professor replied, "I don't have time to explain it at my office, but if you come over to my house on Saturday and help me with my weekend project, I'll be glad to explain it to you." The student agreed.

At the agreed-upon-time, the student showed up at the professor's house. The professor stated that the weekend project involved his backyard pool. They both went out back to the pool, and the professor handed the student a bucket.

Demonstrating with his own bucket, the professor said, "First, go over to the deep end, and fill your bucket with as much water as you can."

The student did as he was instructed. The professor then continued, "Follow me over to the shallow end, and then dump all the water from your bucket into it." The student was naturally confused, but did as he was told.

The professor then explained they were going to do this many more times, and began walking back to the deep end of the pool.

The confused student asked, "Excuse me, but why are we doing this?"

The professor matter-of-factly stated that he was trying to make the shallow end much deeper, thereby increasing the size of the pool.

The student didn't think the economics professor was serious, but figured that he would find out the real story soon enough.

However, after the 6th trip between the shallow end and the deep end, the student began to become worried that his economics professor had gone mad.

The student finally replied, "All we're doing is wasting valuable time and effort on unproductive pursuits. In fact, due to the water I've spilled, there is less water now than when we started. Even worse, when this process is all over, everything will be at the same or a lower level than it was before, so all you'll really have accomplished is the destruction of what could have been truly productive action!"

The professor put down his bucket and replied with a smile, "Congratulations. You now understand the stimulus bill."

===================================================

I will NOT blame everything on Obama, but this one is too good to pass up. A first-year Econ 101 Student can see the flaws in the Stimulus Package

If You've Ever Thought about Flying

2009-02-19T13:03:00.001-06:00

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1778399&server=vimeo.com&show

"The Quarter"

2009-02-10T15:22:00.002-06:00

500 years ago, that title would have been a phrase of surrender and mercy. And as the American public tuned into what NBC is calling "the most watched television broadcast in history," they did NOT surrender to the onslaught of advertising and the Boss's crotch.

Ironically, through 45 minutes of gameplay, it sucked. Pure and simple. It was 20-7, and the only time anyone really cheered (outside of the "porn break" in Tucson) was during James Harrison's record-setting 100 yd. INT return for a touchdown with no time left in the first half.

And then the 4th quarter began...

Up until that point, arguably the best player on the field (sorry Ben and Kurt) had been held to one catch for 12 yards. And then Larry Fitzgerald exploded. But not with anything down the field. Kurt Warner had ZERO, 0, none, no passes that traveled more than 15 yards in the air. But #11 took whatever he could get. A patented jump ball in the corner of the end zone for his first TD and an 8-yd slant pattern that he busted up the middle for more than 60 yards and another score. The Cards were now up 23-20. People were now on the edge of their seats...

Now, lost in the shuffle is the relentless, Dick LeBeau defense going into Prevent Mode (while all of Pittsburgh yelled at the decision). The Cards defense, meanwhile, forced a safety of its own. But as it happens so often in sports, none of that mattered...

The Steelers had more than 70 yards and less than two minutes, to either lose, tie, or win the game. And Mike Tomlin, the 2nd black head coach to ever participate in a Super Bowl, and the youngest EVER to boot, took a page out of Mike Leach's playbook. He wasn't going for a field goal...

They picked apart the Arizona zone (prevent again, sigh...) for one big play to put them inside the 20 with less than 30 seconds on the clock. A lot of coaches would run the football into the middle of the field to set up their kicker, call timeout, and play some OT, right?

How about Ben Roethlisberger forcing a ball perfectly into the corner of the end zone where Santonio Holmes (not Ted Ginn, haha) makes a catch that Berishnikoff would be proud of. The irony? Big Ben admitted later that he thought he had thrown a pick the second it left his hand.

So that's the recap which you can read on ANY sports website. But not many will admit that the game as a whole SUCKED! But that's the point. Even if 3 quarters of a Super Bowl, or 30 years of your life, are boring and shitty...the 4th Quarter, or ANY DAY of your life, can turn everything around...

Behind Obama like Bush?

2009-01-27T17:10:00.002-06:00

HEADLINES ON THIS DATE 4 YEARS AGO:

"Republicans spending $42 million on inauguration while troops die in unarmored Humvees."
"Bush extravagance exceeds any reason during tough economic times."
"Fat cats get their $42 million inauguration party, Ordinary Americans get the shaft."

HEADLINE TODAY:

"Historic Obama inauguration will cost only $120 million." (YES, they said ONLY, haha)
"Obama spends $120 million on inauguration; America Needs a Big Party"
"Everyman Obama shows America how to celebrate."
"Citibank executives contribute $8 million to Obama Inauguration."

GOTTA LOVE IT!! "Change? Yes, We Can!" I agree Barack, you're spending EVEN MORE than Bush did, haha, f@#$ing idiot liberals

Ann Coulter, will you marry me?

2009-01-20T15:52:00.001-06:00

MURDER SPREE BY PEOPLE WHO REFUSE TO ASK FOR DIRECTIONS
January 14, 2009

In a front-page article on Jan. 2 of this year, The New York Times took a brief respite from its ongoing canonization of Barack Obama and returned to its series on violent crimes committed by returning GIs, or as I call it: "U.S. Military, Psycho Killers."

The Treason Times' banner series about Iraq and Afghanistan veterans accused of murder began in January last year but was quickly discontinued as readers noticed that the Times doggedly refused to provide any statistics comparing veteran murders with murders in any other group.

So they waited a year, hoping readers wouldn't notice they were still including no relevant comparisons.

What, for example, is the percentage of murderers among veterans compared to the percentage of murderers in the population at large -- or, more germane, in the general population of young males, inasmuch as violent crime is committed almost exclusively by young men?

Any group composed primarily of young men will contain a seemingly mammoth number of murderers.

Consider the harmless fantasy game, Dungeons and Dragons -- which happens to be played almost exclusively by young males. When murders were committed in the '80s by (1) young men, who were (2) Dungeons and Dragons enthusiasts, some people concluded that factor (2), rather than factor (1), led to murderous tendencies.

Similarly, for its series about how America's bravest and finest young men are really a gang of psychopathic cutthroats, the Times triumphantly produced 121 homicides committed by veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in order to pin the blame for the murders on the U.S. military.

Perhaps the Times' next major expose could be on how a huge percentage of murderers are people who won't ask for directions or share the TV remote.

Let's compare murders by veterans to murders by other 18- to 35-year-olds in the U.S. population at large. From 1976 to 2005, 18- to 24-year-olds -- both male and more gentle females -- committed homicide at a rate of 29.9 per 100,000. Twenty-five- to 35-year-olds committed homicides at a rate of 15.8 per 100,000.

Since 9/11, about 1.6 million troops have served in either Iraq or Afghanistan. That makes the homicide rate among veterans of these wars 7.6 per 100,000 -- or about one-third the homicide rate for their age group (18 to 35) in the general population of both sexes.

But fewer than 200,000 of the 1.6 million troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have been women, and the murder rate for the general population includes both males and females. Inasmuch as males commit nearly 90 percent of all murders, the rate for males in those age groups is probably nearly double the male/female combined rates, which translates to about 30 to 55 murderers per 100,000 males aged 18 to 35.

So comparing the veterans' rate of murder to only their male counterparts in the general population, we see that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are about 10 times less likely to commit a murder than non-veterans of those wars.

But as long as the Times has such a burning interest in the root causes of murder, how about considering the one factor more likely to create a murderer than any other? That is the topic we're not allowed to discuss: single motherhood.

As I describe in my new book, "Guilty: Liberal 'Victims' and Their Assault on America," controlling for socioeconomic status, race and place of residence, the strongest predictor of whether a person will end up in prison is that he was raised by a single parent. (The second strongest factor is owning a Dennis Kucinich bumper sticker.)

By 1996, 70 percent of inmates in state juvenile detention centers serving long-term sentences were raised by single mothers. Seventy percent of teenage births, dropouts, suicides, runaways, juvenile delinquents and child murderers involve children raised by single mothers. Girls raised without fathers are more sexually promiscuous and more likely to end up divorced.

A 1990 study by the left-wing Progressive Policy Institute showed that, after controlling for single motherhood, the difference in black and white crime disappeared.

Various studies come up with slightly different numbers, but all the figures are grim. A study cited in the far left-wing Village Voice found that children brought up in single-mother homes "are five times more likely to commit suicide, nine times more likely to drop out of high school, 10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances, 14 times more likely to commit rape (for the boys), 20 times more likely to end up in prison, and 32 times more likely to run away from home."

With new children being born, running away, dropping out of high school and committing murder every year, it's not a static problem to analyze. But however the numbers are run, single motherhood is a societal nuclear bomb.

Many of these studies, for example, are from the '90s, when the percentage of teenagers raised by single parents was lower than it is today. In 1990, 28 percent of children under 18 were being raised in one-parent homes -- mother or father, divorced or never-married. By 2005, more than one-third of all babies born in the U.S. were illegitimate.

That's a lot of social problems in the pipeline.

Think I'm being cruel? Imagine an America with 60 to 70 percent fewer juvenile delinquents, teenage births, teenage suicides and runaways, and you will appreciate what the sainted "single mothers" have accomplished.

Even in liberals' fevered nightmares, predatory mortgage dealers, oil speculators and Ken Lay could never do as much harm to their fellow human beings as single mothers do to their own children, to say nothing of society at large.

But the Times won't run that series because liberals adore single motherhood and the dissolution of traditional marriage in America. They detest the military, so they cite a few anecdotal examples of veterans who have committed murder and hope that no one asks for details.

COPYRIGHT 2009 ANN COULTER
DISTRIBUTED BY UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
1130 Walnut, Kansas City, MO 64106

Super Bowl XLIII

2009-01-19T11:52:00.002-06:00

THIS WILL BE SHORT...I SWEAR!!

My head tells me to take the dominany defense and post-season experience of the Steelers in this game, like, in a BLOWOUT!

However, if Pittsburgh wins, then they will have their 6th Super Bowl, thereby passing the Cowboys (and 49ers, too, but who cares) with the most all-time.

Also, I hate the Steelers more than the Cardinals....

THEREFORE, and I can't believe I'm doing this...here's my pick:

Cardinals - 31
Steelers - 27

Yes, you read that correctly, and may God have mercy on my soul...

Music at a Chill Bar

2009-01-16T15:18:00.002-06:00

When you sit at a bar for a few hours, and it contains a customer-driven jukebox, many things can happen -- and most of them are awful.

From rap, to top40, to 80s, to shit you can't even hear...there are a lot of choices to assault the senses.

But every once in awhile, you randomly sit down next to a group of strangers who, like you, are just looking for some background music...and sometimes even the background music can provide exactly the chill atmosphere you're looking for.

Tonight's first batch of playlist included Radiohead, Death Cab, and Counting Crows...and yes, tons of piano. The second batch (writing an hour later now) included, well...Radiohead, but also Nirvana unplugged, MGMT, and Kings of Leon...the last batch (again, an hour later) actually sucked, haha.

A bunch of SMU kids (yes, I called them kids, man I'm old) came in an needed to have a dance party apparently. Now I'm not against dance music...you know...if YOU'RE AT A CLUB! Basically imagine Johnny Fratkeg and Mindy McBoobs walking into the Cheeres bar and playing TI...you get the picture.

Anyway, not exactly an earth-shattering post, but one that needed to be said. Dance in the clubs, party at the bars, but chill at the taverns...

Intimacy

2009-01-16T15:05:00.002-06:00

Definition: A close association with or detailed knowledge or deep understanding of a place, subject, person, etc.

In my travels, there are "those" moments, when you just KNOW. And it's never a kiss, or a hug, or even an amazing night with someone. It's a random moment where she says the EXACTLY right thing to an innocuous comment. When she smiles at something you never expect anyone to pick up on.

Now, that aside, back to the definition. I've said before if I agree, disagree, love, or hate the definitions provided for these terms, but in this case, it's not wrong, it's just not enough...

So what is intimacy? For the first time, I'll get straight to the point...kinda.

Intimacy is being completely and thankfully naked in every way, and ironically physical nakedness is not a requisite. Now, obviously, I should probably explain myself...

"It's a strange condition..." I quote that Pete Yorn song a lot because that's exactly what most big moments are. I wish and pray for a night when I need to give up my coat to keep her warm, grab her water to quench her thirst, or stroke her hair to ease the pain of work. But all those things are, though seemingly automatic, something my brain still has to process and then do.

So what about those moments you aren't thinking?

Ever started talking to someone, very quietly, very honestly, literally firing from the hip, about a subject you've NEVER thought about?

Yeah, I know, we all have.

Has the person you're talking to ever been the person with the opinion that matters the most to you? What is she might be "the one?" You still yapping without ANY fear? Without ANY concern? And is she, in return (though you don't realize it at the time), bearing her soul to you?

And THAT is what intimacy is.

When you, AND the other person, have completely let go of any fear, worry, doubt, or assumptions. And in that moment, it's just the two of you. The world, the sky, the sounds, the bed, and even your own body, simply disappear....

It's not love. Honestly, it's not. It's intimacy. It's trust. But not even trust. It's just the moment where every single care you have, about money and appearance and status and potential, all fade away.

And that's the point. Intimacy is not about love, it's about friendship.

Those intimate moments don't just happen with a boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife. There are times when you've cried to your parents about a mistake you've made. Or a time with your best friend where you broke down in front of them. That's what it is.

Being open and honest and vulnerable and true...without realizing what you're doing...or expecting ANYTHING in return. And clearly, I believe that if you experience that moment of shared intimacy, then you're in the midst of something amazing.

For me, it's happened twice.

Once with my dad, and once with my best friend. Ironically, it's never happened with "the one." But if you take these words as confirmation of a relationship or concern for a friend, then the point rings true.

Again, have a wonderful 2009, and I'll see ya next time...

Seven Pounds

2009-01-16T14:43:00.002-06:00

"One pound of flesh...no bone, no cartilege...only flesh."

Shylock's demand is in payment of a debt after he loans money to another man in Venice. And that's the best atonement he can come up with. If you can't pay up...then I want a part of your body!

Can you think of anything worse?

Now imagine that the only "debt" you have is with your own conscience? What if you couldn't live with the sins of your past? Even if it was just an accident and you are not an "evil" person? How could you repay your debt? If not to the people you harmed, then to society, your own mind, or God?

How do I atone for the taking of a life?

Some would say that you deserve to die, an eye for an eye, to absolve yourself. But what if no one holds you responsible? What if you simply need to do it for yourself?

"No greater love hath that than a man give up his life for another."

If you could die, so that another would live, wouldn't you do it? What if you could save 6? And that's where we find Will Smith's character Tim Thomas in this film.

He unselfishly gives a lung lobe to his brother to save him from cancer. He gives half his liver to a woman named Holly for the same reason. He gives a man named Stewart a bone marrow donation (trust me, a painful, painful procedure). But he doesn't stop there.

He finds a blind man, Woody Harrelson's character Ezra, who displays himself to be the most decent of men. He finds a hockey coach with failing kidneys, who helps inner-city youth get a fresh start. And then he finds Emily Posa, played by Rosario Dawson, a woman with a congential heart defect who will die in a month without a transplant.

In the middle of all his scheming to find and test these people, he also gives his beach house to a battered woman and her 2 kids to save them from an abusive ex and a horrible life.

But in order to donate his eyes, both kidneys, and his heart...Tim Thomas must first die. And not only that, his organs must go to specific people, and not just into the general pool. So his friend, played perfectly by Barry Pepper, knows his plan and sets the legal wheels in motion.

And therefore we come to the end (and beginning) of the story. Tim calls 9-1-1, to get the ambulance on its way, fills the bathtub with ice, and drops in a deadly jellyfish with him...

Visions of his ex-wife, killed in the accident, race through his mind, mingled with thoughts of the other 6 victims until finally his brain rests on the memory of lying with Emily Posa, seconds after they both said "I love you." He had fixed her printing machine (another powerful scene), made love literally hours before, and now he needed to save her life...

The doctors attempt to save him, but his friend lets them know what his wishes were, and finally, Emily is awoken by her pager (given to her to go off when a donor is found) only to roll over and see that Tim is gone from the bed they shared those mere hours ago.

7 were killed in the accident, including his wife.
7 were saved by his sacrifices, including Emily.

Shylock demanded one pound of flesh because of a signed, consented contract. Tim Thomas gave his body, and literally his heart, to a woman he grew to love. And with was without pressure from any man! He couldn't live with himself for what he had done...and this was his solution to make it right.

Many will hate how the idea of suicide has been romanticized in this film. Many will find his "payment" far-fetched. But does the message change? Oh, I forgot, we haven't gone over the message...

So what is it?

Love? Loss? Sacrifice? Redemption?

No.

It's a story about a power that most people see as a 'bad thing,' a negative emotion, and something that drives us to do thinkgs for the wrong reason...

It's about GUILT.

If you feel guilty about something, even when NO ONE has indicted you for what you've done, you have to make it right. Guilt is one of those emotions unique to humans (other animals still feel pleasure, pain, anger, happiness, sadness, etc) and it allows us to "pay" for mistakes we've made.

Again, many people will hate the means, and glorify the ends (a socialist idea). However, can you deny the strength of guilt? How it can drive someone to acts of redemption and love through loss and mourning?

Regardless, it moved me. It made me introspective. And in the end, isn't that the point of movies? Of stories? Of life?

It may be too late for some to have a new life, a new love, or a fresh start...But it is never, EVER, too late to try and make things right...

Championship Sunday

2009-01-16T14:40:00.002-06:00

They call it that for obvious reasons...the NFL has its AFC and NFC Conference Championship games this sunday.

But there are other attributes. For some strange reason, these games are almost always the best games of the year. Last year's Giants/Packers, two years ago it was Colts/Patriots, "The Drive" of Elway and "The Catch" by Dwight Clark didn't happen in super bowls, they happened on championship sunday. This is the day of football you cannot miss. And this year is proving to be more of the same. Perhaps they aren't the best 4 teams in the league, but the games themselves will be nail-biters.

Therefore: My picks.

Pittsburgh 17 - Baltimore 13
and
Philadelphia 34 - Arizona 33

There ya go, a freakin' all Pennsylvania super bowl...I weep along with any Cowboy fan reading this

Ambition

2009-01-05T14:06:00.003-06:00

Just a quick thought as I sit here feeling empathy for worker bees...

I realized that I don't have any ambition. Wow, huh? I want certain things for my life, and my Y-chromosome still urges me to be competitive and perfect, but in terms of actual ambition...that need to go higher and higher and higher...I don't think I have that.

I just wanna get to the points in my life that are important to me, and anything after that is just icing on the proverbial cake.

The difference between me and someone with NO ambition (just figured maybe I had a "little"), is that I will do everything I have to in order to achieve those things that are important to me. But once I climb my own personal Everest, I won't feel the need to go to Moon, or explore the Marianas Trench...

And I don't need to change the world, that job is better left to the heroes and defenders. I don't need to change anyone else. They will come to me as they are, and leave as they were. No, for me, it's about challenging yourself, but not against others, but against YOU. The irony, as it always seems to be in these posts, is that perhaps the most ambitious thing anyone can go through is sanctification. While I never wanna run a Fortune500 company, I do want to be more Christ-like...

Trust me, the former is just a little more likely...

I just want myself, my wife, my kids, and my grandkids to be happy, and I've got no problem climbing that mountain each and everyday...even if I never go higher than that...

~~~Welcome to '09~~~

New Year's Eve

2008-12-31T02:32:00.002-06:00

First of all, anyone know where the apostrophe goes...? Anyway, as we count down to the loneliest of all single holidays (V-Day #2, Xmas #3, Birthday #4, etc) it's as if every bar and house party are preparing for some massive speed dating free-for-all...

Me? I'll be that guy in the corner getting pictures of it all! I'll be drunk, too, trust me. But there are certain traditions that no longer appeal to me, if they ever did before...

I enjoy the idea of sharing that moment, that kiss, with someone that matters...speculating about others "first kiss"es, our friends with benefits, and even just our friends being silly. For me, when you're lonesly inside, you project social behavior, you surround yourself with loud noises and familiar voices...but nothing more.

"At a bar on the inside...
Waitin' for my ride on the outside..."

But of course, those are only my intentions. I will get drunk (see above) and likely a little sad. In fact, even as I wrote that, I had to take a sip of beer to compose myself for a couple minutes before continuing on...

"She stole my heart...
In a trailer park..."

So then it just becomes about not doing anything stupid. I will attempt to hang out by myself, entertained by others, and with my life (which does kick a little ass!)

But with a half-amazing and half-horrible year behind me, a 12-pack of beer inside me, a glass of champagne in my hand, and 'couples' all around, one of which implicitly should have been me, what will I do?

"So I jacked the keys to her fucking car,
And crashed that piece of shit..."

Obviously, I'm not doing anything that drastic, but you get the picture. The right mixture of alcohol, music, and tight clothing will at the very least mandate a few drunk text messages, or one in particular. And hopefully, it will end there...

"..and then I stepped away..."

With that depressing diatribe aside, let us return to the fun real fast...If you don't have someone special at midnight, or at least the dfrunk chick, you can take solace in two things:

1) I'll be at work at 9am on January 1st...and...
2) You're not as alone as you think you are...

Happy New Years! And I'll see you in '09

The Christmas Season

2008-12-31T02:19:00.002-06:00

As I've basically been reflecting on people, bars, relationships, and sports in each and every post...this may seem redundant.

But this is definitely a time for reflection and taking stock...

For me, it's been quite a year, as I'm sure it has been for you. Ups? Definitely! Downs? For sure! The middle? Actually, not really...

And that's what I think about most this time of year. Christmas, even more than Thanksgiving, is a chance to figure out what, and who, is important to you. You have the privilege of showering loved ones and friends with gifts. The problem? What if the past year was marked by fallings out and new beginnings? While not retaining any old friendships?

Besides my family, I can only give gifts to people I just met? Or those whom I can't really hang out with? And the best part? For the first time in my life, I'm ready to GIVE at Christmas time for all the right reasons! Even as I write this, I'm spending money by providing myself yet another gift of a lonely bar tab...The icing on the cake? It's Friday night!

Now this is not an essay on self-deprication and self-loathing. I love my life. It's just a strange feeling not to have that "normal" part of my life I covet so much. I make plans to go see Christmas lights with one of my best friends...it didn't happen. I go buy gifts for a few people I might be able to hang out with in a week...

And trust me, I'm just laughing at myself! I wasn't even gonna get to see my PM (yes, inside joke).

And now as I find myself rambling, I must stop. I love this time of year...whether surrounded by the world or utterly alone...because at the very least, there are examples of love all around me!

You can see it in a snow-covered man's coat draped over a frigid girl. The smiles on Christmas morning and parties remind you of the simple things, and of simpler times. Company "get-togethers" and friendlier drivers remind you of the decency of people you would normally only tolerate.

So raise a glass...
Give a hug...
And remember the source of all this love...

The reason, not only for the season, but for everything...
Wrap yourself in THAT love, and be still...
Find comfort in something bigger than yourself...

And be thankful!
And be gracious!
And be loved!

Hatred

2008-12-19T03:12:00.002-06:00

So I've done several of these and they've all been "positive" or at least contained a positive message. Now we will begin delving into, and indeed exploring, the Other side...

Definition: "to feel extreme aversion or hostility towards something." The operative word being......FEEL.

As we've discussed before, hate is NOT the opposite of love, because indifference is, and here is another piece of proof. To hate something, you have to FEEL something about the person/subject/idea...but that's not what this is about.

After realizing that you "feel aversion" towards many things like traffic, douche bags, sluts, and genocide...what about personal traits? If you were asked what attribute you truly hate in another human being...what would you say? Go ahead, think for a second...and come up with something before we continue...

...........

...........

...........

Got it? Ok. I'll go first. I detest hypocrisy.

Ok. We'll get back to that, too. But before we go any further, I have a theory (which I sometimes do) and we'll discuss that before getting back to you and I's aversions.

In the history of man, fictional or real, the most extreme villains (and therefore filled with the most hatred) have shunned, pushed away, and even murdered those that have striking similarities to themselves. Adolf Hitler wanted nothing more than an Aryan Race, full of blonde-haired and blue-eyed people...though he himself had brown eyes and brown hair...In the fictional world, Lord Voldemort wanted to rid the world of "half-bloods," or people without both a witch and wizard for parents. And yet, HIS FATHER WAS A NORMAL PERSON. So why would these men, from history or the imagination of a genius, attempt to kill, literally obliterate from the face of the earth, the VERY thing that they were?

Because when you find that trait that you hate more than anything, you will do your best, knowing that your own trait is flawed, to exterminate any mention or connection to that trait in your own life. Now obviously, we're not all about to go out and kill people who are the same color, same personality, or same heritage, however...we can still hate them.

SO...I hate hypocrisy...does that make me a hypocrite? (Irony? Is there an "Irony" in the building? Your appointment is next).

No.

However, education and intelligence and study of human behavior and diction and facial expressions have left me with an incredible capacity (which we all have) and ability (which fewer have) to lie extremely well.

Why am I telling you this? How do you believe a single word that I am speaking at this very moment? I've admitted to being a good liar!! But that's the point! I hate hypocrites and liars because they hide behind themselves somehow. And that is the fight, the constant struggle, that plagues my own life. It's the one thing I try to escape from on a daily basis.

The same way that a girl is annoyed by the ditsy, gold-digging, or flirtacious girls...anyone hates the thing that they struggle with...because there are enough of the "genuine article" out there to make us all look bad.

SO...if you wanna be a liar or a hypocrite, be my guest (this is a forum, not a lynch mob). It'd make me look better. But if you lie to ME, or hurt one of my best friends, well...just don't.

But all I'm saying is that we hate something about ourselves, and ironically, though we should all feel ultimate sympathy for that trait, it's what we can't stand in others.

If it shames you internally, it will pain you externally...
If something stirs up pride, you will idealize it...

That got positive for a second, but next time will definitely be talking about Hubris or Lust...

ALL 34 Bowl Games

2008-12-19T02:53:00.002-06:00

So if you bet the EXACT same amount on the team TO WIN, not cover the spread, here are the LOCKS that will make you money this Bowl Season...oh, and HOOK EM!!!

1) BYU over Arizona
2) TCU over Boise St.
3) MIZZOU over Northwestern
4) WAKE over Navy
5) FRESNO ST. over Colorado St.
6) SOUTH FLORIDA over Troy
7) NOTRE DAME over Hawaii
8) CENTRAL MICHIGAN over Florida Atlantic
9) UNC over West Virginia
10) FSU over Wisconsin
11) MIAMI over California
12) NORTHERN ILLINOIS over Louisiana Tech
13) NC STATE over Rutgers
14) MARYLAND over Nevada
15) OKLAHOMA ST over Oregon
16) RICE over Western Michigan
17) HOUSTON over Air Force
18) PITTSBURGH over Oregon St.
19) BOSTON COLLEGE over Vandy (my alma mater)
20) KANSAS over Minnesota
21) LSU over Georgia Tech
22) SOUTH CAROLINA over Iowa
23) GEORGIA over Michigan St.
24) NEBRASKA over Clemson
25) USC over Penn St.
26) CINCINNATI over Virginia Tech
27) TEXAS TECH over Ole Miss
28) KENTUCKY over East Carolina
29) ALABAMA over Utah
30) UCONN over Buffalo
31) TEXAS, TEXAS, TEXAS over ohio state.....haha
32) BALL STATE over Tulsa
33) FLORIDA over OU (NATIONAL CHAMPION...boomer WHAT?)
34) SOUTHERN MISS over Tulsa...(had to leave a random one til the end)

So there ya go...go make money, or at least root for the winning team every night for a couple weeks!!

NFL Playoff Picture

2008-12-19T02:46:00.002-06:00

Never too early to speculate...never too late to take advantage....

So there's only two weeks left in the season, but here are my picks and seeds for the playoffs, the games, and ultimately, the Super Bowl Champion.

AFC

1) Tennessee Titans
2) Pittsburgh Steelers
3) New England Patriots
4) Denver Broncos
5) Indianapolis Colts
6) Baltimore Ravens

Pats and Colts win their Wild Card Games. Then Colts and Titans win their Divisional Games. And then the Colts win the AFC championship...

NFC

1) New York Giants
2) Carolina Panthers
3) Minnesota Vikings
4) Arizona Cardinals
5) Dallas Cowboys
6) Atlanta Falcons

Cowboys and Falcons win their Wild Card Games. Then Cowboys and Panthers win their Divisional Games. And then the Cowboys win the NFC championship...

So Colts versus Cowboys....

As much as the HOMER in me wants to pick Romo and the 'Boys, I have to go with my gut and continue to pick Dungy's Colts....34-30 in a GREAT GAME!!

You heard it here first!

The Smoking Ban

2008-12-12T14:01:00.002-06:00

I am a smoker.
I say that because I won't lie and act like I am objective in this matter. However, as everything else I write about, I think this law affects something much bigger...
If you don't wanna go to a bar because of the smoke...then don't! Go to a non-smoking bar or a non-smoking section of an establishment. There are actually more locations that are non-smoking than smoking.
Smoking, though incredibly harmful to one's body, is legal. Like alcohol! Oh...was I not supposed to say that? "But it harms other people too!" People get drunk and KILL other people in drunk driving accidents, and that's not even including being obnoxious, belligerent, or unfaithful. But drinking is still allowed.
Why? Because it's a personal choice!
Recently, a school district here in Dallas banned a certain kind of glue from the classrooms because a few (out of thousands) kids were sniffing it. First of all, the kids can still go to a 7/11 and buy some whenever they want. And secondly, the other kids are now complaining because the glue they use now doesn't even hold things together! HAHAHA. And the school board's reasoning? They didn't want a parent suing the district because their kid was sniffing glue!

Are you kidding me?

If you wanna take the smoking ban to its furthest conclusion, it's actually facism. One day, someone will bring a lawsuit against a tobacco company for dying of secondhand smoke...OH WAIT!
One day, someone will try to put a gun manufacturer on trial because a thug shot their baby with one of their guns...OH WAIT!
One day someone will sue McDonald's for being fat...OH WAIT!
One day someone will sue Starbucks for their coffee being hot...OH WAIT!

What happened to PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY?

It doesn't "take a village" like Hillary would have you believe.

If you don't like a TV show, CHANGE THE CHANNEL.
If you don't like cuss words, DON'T GO TO RATED R MOVIES.
If you don't like smoke, DON'T GO TO A SMOKING BAR.

And the people who die of lung cancer, I may be one in the future (hopefully not), do not complain about cigarettes that YOU bought, YOU packed, YOU lit, and YOU smoked.

It's time for people to be held accountable for their actions, but also held responsible for the nonsensical comments they make because they can't get off their soapbox for two seconds and hang out down here with the rest of the mortals.

I'm getting riled up as I write this, so I'm going to stop. But seriously, banning smoking is not as far away from segregation as people would like to think...

Sports in Life #5

2008-12-12T13:45:00.002-06:00

Federer/Nadal

Moment #5 - The 2008 Championship at Wimbledon

While the All England Club was boiling in a betting scandal and a pidgeon-killing controversy, a classic was brewing. Over two weeks, the world's best were on an inevitable collision course.
The British went out early.
The Americans weren't far behind.
And it became clear that the 1 seed Roger Federer was headed back to the final. He was the 5-time defending champion and poised to win a record-tying 6th in a row. The last time that was done? 1881-1886...yeah! And the swiss technician had dominated, not just the grass, but the entire tennis world for 5 years, yielding only on the clay at Rolland Garros, to the young Spaniard.
Until 2008.
Nadal had taken over the #1 ranking in the world, though seeded here at #2, a feat NO ONE had achieved since '02 and the begin of Federer's reign. And so, there was the match, something that would overshadow everything ESPN had planned for that evening...

It was supposed to start at 2pm local time. A strictly gentlemen's affair, dressed all in white, on a sunday afternoon. Thankfully, only that last part wasn't true.

Needless to say, I wish I had been checking my phone throughout church, but alas, God had granted us Americans with a lengthy 6-4 first set that went to Nadal, followed by an equally long second set win for Nadal, though having trailed 4-1 at one point. The third set saw another rain delay and the first tiebreak of the final. Extending the match even further, and ending with a 7-6 (7-5) win for Federer. It was now 2-1. Could the grass master really come back from two sets down?
The fourth set? Epic!
Went to a tiebreak again, with Federer facing a championship point or two until finally prevailing 7-6 (10-8). And as night began to fall on the All England Club (a place without lights), there was actually no question whether or not to finish the match.
And so it began...
Wimbledon, unlike many tournaments, does not go to a tiebreak in the 5th. They keep playing until someone is up by two games.
6-5?
7-6?
8-7?
It continued until Federer had faced down more championship points in a single match than 99% of the world will face in their ENTIRE CAREERS! In fact, four hours and forty-eight minutes of match time later (and me getting up and leaving a family lunch to watch the TV at Houston's), the master finally fell. At 9:10 local time!
Nadal had won. He kissed Spanish royalty and his family.
And again, as it happens so often, the fans were rewarded for their time.
When's the last time you did ANYTHING for 4 hours and 48 minutes?
When's the last time you kissed royalty? of your own accord? for something YOU did?
And when's the last time that losing was seen with such chivalry and dignity?

Federer was not only a class act, but gracious about himself, optimistic about his sport, and humble about his own position. John McEnroe called it "the greatest match I've ever seen." (oh, see McEnroe vs. Connors for other inspiration) And his interview after the ceremony did not disappoint.

From the rain delays, to the saga of the two weeks, to the expected matchup, to the larger-than-life finish, to the beautiful post-match human behavior, was there a more chivalric 7 hours of sports this year?
Was there a more chivalric 7 hours of humanity?

It was clean and gentlemanly...
It was intense and nail biting...
It was sport...at its finest.

Sports in Life #4

2008-12-12T13:09:00.002-06:00

Ronaldo's Rollercoaster

Moment #4 - The UEFA Champions League Final

I even like the title! It sounds like a ride at EuroDisney. And nothing else would live up to, or even placate, a professional athlete with as much personality and bravado as Cristiano Ronaldo.

But I digress. In the worldwide sporting arena, and especially England, it hasn't gotten much bigger than earlier this year...Manchester United vs. Chelsea for the title of best club team in Europe (and therefore, the world) taking place in Moscow. The Chelsea owner is Russian, and had his team in its first ever Euro cup final. This was the furthest east the final had ever been held. Man U's sister club is Russian. It was the anniversaries (50th and 40th respectively) of the Munich Air Disaster and Man U's first ever cup title.

And so the stage was set. And after 120 minutes, nothing had been decided, except the fact that the tie score, 1-1, was partially due to a Ronaldo goal that made him an instant hero once again. And so the game would go to a shootout...The first 4 PKs were all makes, and since Man U had elected to shoot first, the next player up was Ronaldo.

When you step to that spot that is a mere 12 yards away from an 8-yard wide goal, physics and geometry go out the window. The keeper appears to take up half the goal, and sometimes it gets the best of you. Ronaldo, the hero and golden boy, was denied.

He walked that long walk back to his teammates in utter ruin. And that doesn't even begin to describe what he was feeling...
Shame...
Loss...
Loneliness...
Dread...
Death?
In the life of a soccer player, this was the end of the world.

He would watch helpelessly as the next four shots also went in, leaving the score at 4-4, United out of shots, and Chelsea captain John Terry stepping up. Apparently, the spirit of Roberto Baggio's infamous World Cup shot, which had hovered over Ronaldo only minutes before, was about to lodge itself in the plant foot of the would-be Chelsea hero.
His foot slipped. Van de Sar had guessed wrong, leaving about 160 sq. ft. of open net to Terry's shot. And the split second that it took for the ball to travel from Terry's foot to hitting the post lasted an eternity.
The camera immediately left his agony inside the 18 and switched to a newly jubilant Ronaldo. And by jubilant, I mean relieved. At least he was still standing.

Man U and Chelsea would both make there first sudden death shots and then Ryan Giggs, the consemate, record-setting, red devil buried his shot. It was 6-5 for the reds. And as fate, history, and the rollercoaster would have it, Anelka's shot was saved. Man U was saved. Ronaldo was saved.

As the entire organization, not just players, rushed towards Edwin van de Sar in a celebratory dogpile, only one man couldn't move.
Ronaldo, the goal scorer and hero in regular time, the only Man U miss and goat in PKs, had been saved.
He just laid there, clutching the grass, torn between that feeling of the Apocalypse and the Rapture, and the tears flowed. He was violently depressed and indescribably joyfoul simultaneously. At the HEIGHT of an athlete's career, all he could muster were tears.

And as sports do, it made me think. And all I could come up with was jealousy. Not that he was rich or a champion or a hero.

I was jealous of that wave of emotion that I had never felt. Hopefully, one day, I will have that kind of moment, just without a billion people watching...

Sports in Life #3

2008-12-12T13:00:00.002-06:00

Moment #3 - Michael Phelps, birth certificates, and "fireworks," oh my!

This one is probably not going to go as most readers would expect...

Recently, Michael Phelps was selected as SI's "Sportsman of the Year" and for good reason. I don't remember much from the Sydney, Athens, or Atlanta Olympiads except a terrorist bombing. He made the Geijing Olympics relevant. But one of his 8 gold medals was a little more talked about than the rest.
Did he even win?
And THAT is the story of the 2008 Summer Games.
What was real?
In a time where math majors fail to understand the BCS and it takes a biochemist to confirm MLB and NFL suspension policies, why wouldn't the global amateur competition fall under cheating's spell?
It began with the Opening Ceremonies. Though incredibly impressive, we all found out the next day that over 80% of the fireworks were computer generated, the girl was lip-synching because the real singer was ugly, and don't get me started about the communists forcing the drummers to wear diapers and crap themselves on international television.
After the Chinese gymnasts being 9-year-olds, the fake...well, everything...and even the botched Phelps ruling (push late is better than touch early), I was done. Congrats to Nastia Lukien and Shawn Johnson and Michael Phelps.
However, the "moment" that touches us here is that we feel cheated.
And that happens in sports (as in life), too.

Obviously, this was a weak post, but I don't even WANT to write about this subject, so we'll get to better things...

Bowls that SHOULD Exist

2008-12-05T17:33:00.000-06:00

Taking a break from serious matters for awhile, we are going to look at the Bowls that SHOULD exist for the fans viewing pleasure, and besides, the TV revenues (though not great) and exposure could be provided for those with a less than impressive showing. Also, with the addition of these bowls, we would raise the Bowl Eligibility to 7 wins, cutting out the RandomWebsite.Com Bowl and the Random State Bowl. Even though the school s would NEVER accept these bids, and therefore admit some atrocities from that season, it’s still a fun reminder of why we watch the games…For the Good, the Bad, and regrettably, the UGLY.

#1) The Charmin Ultra Toilet Bowl
Matchup: Washington vs. SMU
Concept: Pretty straightforward here. Take the two WORST teams in the nation, and trust me, there would be very little debate on this one, and pit them against each other in a dog – puppy fight – to settle once and for all, who is the worst team in the land!
Location: Toronto, Canada. First of all, we don’t want the game stinking up the US joint. Secondly, as I understand it, they have one of the better sewage systems in the world.
Trophy: The winning squad receives free Locker/Weight Room maintenance for a year courtesy of Charmin. The MVP receives the Golden Brush…

#2) The Kaplan Center SAT Bowl
Matchup: Stanford vs. Notre Dame
Concept: Where the BCS stumbles, this one will get it right. Take the US News & World Report yearly College Rankings, and select all Div-1 (yes, I’m NOT calling it the FBS) schools in the Top 20. This year, teams like Duke, Rice, Vanderbilt, and Northwestern had good seasons. Therefore, the academic leftovers for 2008? The Cardinal and Irish (ironically, two teams which mascots do not end in ‘s’ which any grad student would have been able to point out). Pontiac will not be making a donation to either schools’ general scholarship fund.
Location: Princeton, NJ. No thesis required to explain the choosing of this site.
Trophy: Free No.2 Pencils and pocket protectors for all!!!! No, but Jeff Sagarin gives the winning coach his secrets of the Computer System, with a non-disclosure agreement, and the Math Majors back home get to work!

#3) The Overstock.com Titanic Bowl
Matchup: Michigan vs. Tennessee
Concept: Once proud programs (even nationally ranked this very year) and coaches (Fulmer and Rodriguez), who have fallen from not only grace, but are joining Jack Dawson at the bottom of the North Atlantic. The Wolverines and Volunteers would put on a spectacle, that’s for sure, just not sure if it’s the one they had in mind. Over/Under 8.5 turnovers?
Location: South Bend, Indiana. The hometown Irish fans have the chance to watch an overrated SEC team play for a change….
Trophy: Each team receives a plaque, gloriously displaying their pre-season rank and final record.

#4) The Lockheed Martin Assault Bowl
Matchup: UTEP vs. Central Michigan
Concept: Pick two top-20 passing attacks (13th and 15th nationally in this case) whose teams also finished in the bottom-20 in pass defense (111th and 118th here) and LET ‘EM RIP! Graham Harrell and Sam Bradford will stop practicing to watch the game as both QBs explode for over 600 yards passing each!
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado. They could even have the old school prop planes doing their dog-fighting (no, Vick! Planes!) exercises over the game.
Trophy: The winning QB will receive Dr. James Andrews’ private line.

Sports in Life #2

2008-12-04T12:28:00.002-06:00

Golfers are NOT athletes...well, most of the time. For those of us who have hit a tee shot with a club head speed of 125 mph like Tiger Woods...oh wait. Well, we're all as strong and physically fit as him...oh wait.
The amazing thing is the amount of torque that man creates with his shots, long irons and drives especially. T=R*F It's actually math. To give you an idea of what he does to specifically his lower back and his knees, we'll take the equation and apply it. At the moment of impact, he is generating (much more than anyone on a bum knee should) the same torque as a standard V8 engine at 1500 rpm!
So take the US Open Championship, throw a couple torn ligaments and an inflamed meniscus, and you understand how Tiger felt EVERY HOLE for FOUR DAYS (ultimately, FIVE)!

PTI and Sportscenter mused everyday of the Open about how serious the injury was. Some even thought he was faking. His surgery and complete abscence from the game since put that to rest.

So we watched...
He winced after every drive...
He limped down off the tee boxes...

Shades of Willis Reed, Kirk Gibson, and Isaiah Thomas immediately came to my mind, and I couldn't believe it applied to a golfer!
As Sunday neared an end, it looked as though he wouldn't be able to survive the injury, or the fairy tale journey that was also going on right next to him. Rocco Mediate, the ONLY man who was worthy to play with him that day, held a 2-stroke lead with 4 to play.
And this guy was impossible to root against.
The "every man" who was out of shape, goofing around, and letting all of America soak in an instant classic...
Do you root for Tiger to pull off the amazing?
Do you root for the lovable "guy next door"?
And as fate would have it, Tiger sunk a putt on the 72nd hole, for birdie, that released so much adrenalin he stormed around the 18th, momentarily forgetting the pain that would return the next day...

Ah the next day....a Monday!
And so we watched...

Hundereds of thousands of people skipped work. Millions more left early, called their friends for updates, followed the match online, or had friends texting them every minute. Besides March Madness, never has a sporting event affected the daily work schedule like Tiger/Rocco.
In the end, we all knew Mediate wouldn't make that chip. We all knew Woods would sink that putt. But it didn't matter.
The damage had been done...
And Tiger had overcome it.
Most sports experts actually call it his "greatest major." And that is quite a statement. He was the youngest Masters winner. His dominance at Pebble in 2000 was legendary. And THIS was his greatest?
Of course it was.
As all great sports moments are, this one touched us as well. Even when we should have been cheering for Rocco (and we were), we couldn't take our eyes off the accomplishment that was unfolding before us.
I captained a division 1 soccer team with a stress fracture in my foot for four months...and that's not even in the same REALITY as what Tiger had to do. I simultaneously felt sorry for him and proud at the feat. I had heartfelt emotion for Rocco and yet envy at his proximity to history.
I felt.

And that's what sports is for!

Sports in Life #1

2008-12-03T12:53:00.003-06:00

Everyone growing up in sports has "dream moments" that drive them to excel. The possibility of being a part of, or driving, a singular act of excellence on the grandest of stages motivates any young player in any sport to become better.

Obvioulsy, scoring the winning PK in a World Cup final, a 7th game-bottom of the ninth-walk-off homer in the World Series, a Stanley Cup shootout goul to win, or the winning bucket in the NCAA tourney with 0.1 sec left on the clock are those moments that give you chills even when you're 10.

But what about the other moments? The ones where Lou Gehrig speaks to the world? Hearing the national anthem play at the Olympics because of you? Or Michael Jordan crying onto the Larry O'Brian trophy (and his hat askew)? Aren't those the bigger moments?

Euphoria and adrenalin flow through your body on those winning moments, but what about the ones that make you cry? The ones that move everyone watching, regardless of team affiliation or loyalty...In the coming weeks, we'll go through those moments in 2008 that touched the soul. And even if you're not into sports, these stories will touch yours as well.

Moment #1 - Josh Hamilton's Home Run Derby Performance

It was the last year of Yankee Stadium. Therefore, MLB gave the All-Star Game and all the corresponding festivities to the House that Ruth Built. And in a time of economic despair, political uncertainty, and global crises, sports brought all of us back to the human condition, and the ability to overcome the steepest of odds.

Josh Hamilton, the Rangers slugger, was a heroin addict. By his own admission, he still is. Even though he hasn't gotten a fix in years. One of his friends is by his side at all times as an accountability partner to keep Hamilton from reverting to his old ways, and so far, it has worked.

This year, he had an explosive first half of the regular season which earned him a spot in the Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium, and it was well-deserved. After the first nine participants hit anywhere from 2 to 8 homers in their first-round tries, it was finally Hamilton's turn, and ESPN would have to regrettably inform many of its advertisers, that their commercials would have to wait a half an hour...

Bomb after bomb were sent into the reaches of the Yankee Stadium bleachers where baseballs had never traveled before. The smile on his face was contagious. The rest of the All Stars, including many current and future Hall of Famers, were simply stunned at the exhibition going on before their eyes. When homer number 24 (the mark to beat was 8) sailed into deep right-center, the stadium ERUPTED! Milton Bradley, Hamilton's teammate, brought him a warm towel to dry off with, one of the kids brought him a gatorade to drink. And all of this while David Ortiz and Derek Jeter sat there in awed silence.

And then it happened....

"Hamilton! Hamilton! Hamilton!"

The stadium, in perfect unison, began screaming the name of a non-Yankee player. It has never happened before, and it will never happen again.

I get chills writing about it, even several months later. Anyone old enough to appreciate the moment even more than I did will be able to remember the chanting of "Mantle!" and "Reggie! Reggie!" and more recently, the worship of Jeter.

However, the moment was too much even for Hamilton to deal with. His eyes were welling up, a feeling he had to fight, as he stepped out of the batters box and waved his hand into the air, thanking the crowd for their support. Little did he know that millions around the US were doing the same thing.

He would go on to hit a few more that round, but ultimately lose to Justin Morneau in the final. Strangely, no one will remember who won the Derby. They will remember that first round.

They will remember a man, who had been homeless, addicted, and dying...
They'll remember the notoriously hateful New Yorkers screaming together...
I'll remember a singular moment where an entire nation supported one man. I can't imagine standing in the middle of the stadium, looking around, and hearing the roar of my own name, and I'm sure that Josh wouldn't trade that moment for an MVP award or a World Series championship. I wouldn't.

Ah, the BCS.....

2008-11-25T14:07:00.002-06:00

And here we go again....and ain't it grand.

As Mack Brown is fond of saying, "the BCS works...because we're talking about it."

However, as I sit here taking a few needed minutes' break from work, I begin to contemplate if my bias towards Texas is unfounded. The "On the Mark" column on Espn.com actually makes a resounding case FOR Texas. Most of the experts like Oklahoma. Everyone agrees that the SEC champ should be in the game regardless. What about mid-majors and Pac10/Big10 teams?

Still with me?

Let's go team by team, and at least look at what needs to happen for each:

#8 - Penn St. You need EVERYONE TO LOSE! And you need a few teams (both SEC teams and one Big12 team) to lose TWICE! So go ahead and pack your bags for Pasadena where you await the mighty Oregon St. Beavers to the Rose Bowl. Was that a shot at USC? Well, we'll get to them soon enough.
#7 - Texas Tech. Actually, even though you are only one spot ahead of PSU, you have a MUCH better shot at regaining your title game hopes. If Oklahoma St. beats OU this weekend, you would vault over them, and into the Big12 title game (having the head-to-head tiebreaker with Texas). Add another win versus Missouri in that game, and all you would need was a Texas loss to A&M. You would most certainly jump USC and Utah, leaving only the SEC champ left standing with you.
#6 - Utah. See Penn St.
#5 - USC. Though your loss to OSU still stings, and you swear, like MacArthur, never to return to Corvallis, you still have a shot. If the SEC champ can lose BEFORE that game, then you will likely jump at least one of those teams. However, the Big12 still stands in your way. You would need losses by Tech and OU this weekend and by Texas in the Big12 title game (having the head-to-head over OU) in order to leap frog enough to meet the other SEC school in the title game.
#4 - Florida. OU jumped you? Yeah, I'd be pissed, too. Especially since that jumping team is only .0084 points behind my beloved 'Horns. Anyway, win out and you're in. It seems unfair because BOTH Texas and OU can win out respectively, and since you're behind both of them, it seems strange that you would overtake them both, but alas, the SEC has many friends in the voting polls...Go 'Noles!!
#3 - OU. The polls love you. Even though you lost to Texas at a NEUTRAL site, they have you two spots ahead in one poll and one spot in the other. The computers have remedied this situation so far, but a win over OSU this weekend will vault you over Texas, into the Big 12 title game, and with a win, the national championship.
#2 - Texas. HOW MANY SCENARIOS Y'ALL GOT TIME FOR?
a) OU and Tech BOTH lose this weekend, the tie is unbroken, and the Big12 and SEC champs meet in the title game.
b) Somehow, OU doesn't jump us...yeah, right.
c) Tech loses this weekend, which gives Texas the tiebreaker over OU, adding another game to our LOADED schedule and re-vaulting us back over OU.
d) OU loses this weekend. We hold off the charging Red Raiders (who beat us, and who would have a Big12 championship game to add to their own cupcake schedule, ouch!).
e) The apocalypse occurs. Everyone loses, and somehow Texas and Penn St. are the only ones left standing?? Ok, fine.
#1 - Alabama. It seems unfair, being the only TRUE unbeaten left. But if y'all lose ONE game (and then have the same record as Texas, OU, UF, Tech, USC, PSU, etc, etc), you'll be OUT of the national championship picture. So beat Auburn and beat Florida, and you're good...haha, that's not happening. Have fun in the Sugar Bowl, you'll probably see Texas there. Oh, and that game is played really close to LSU.....so that will be a ROAD game with all the Saban-haters coming out to finish what they started two weeks ago.

AND BREATH!!!!

Ok, I'm good.

Did everyone catch that? Get it, got it, good? Ducks in a row? More bad metaphors? Regardless, this discussion and conjecture and speculation and wild imagining is exactly why the BCS WORKS! "...'Cause we're talking about it..."

God bless ya Mack, and God bless the Longhorns!

Classic!

2008-11-19T17:53:00.001-06:00

Thursday Night Shenanigans

2008-11-18T16:55:00.001-06:00

I'm still a dork

2008-11-16T12:48:00.001-06:00

The Election?

2008-11-12T14:40:00.003-06:00

It wasn't even close.
But I filled up today for $2/gallon.
The stock market plummeted in record fashion.
But my job is going better than ever.
It was history!
But blacks only make up 10% of the population.
We're in a recession.
But the malls are PACKED at 2pm on a Wednesday.

How do we reconcile all these facts?

The country is broken.
But does it need to be fixed?

In a poll on Espn.com, voters were asked if College Football Programs should have to do mandatory interviews of minority coaching candidates...
79% of the Country said NO.
Didn't half the country just vote for someone basically because he was half-white? I'm sorry, because he was black? (I always get that confused)
The point of the poll is that Americans simply don't want to be TOLD what to do. And yet many of Obama's platforms include the following quote, "...we will make Americans only pay/do/etc. __________ and in return, lower income families will receive/get a reprieve from/etc. __________..."

There are definitely people out there that are hurting in their mortgages (though it's good for first-time homebuyers such as myself). People are definitely struggling with credit card debt (shouldn't have maxed out daddy's card in college). And people will continue to be laid off from jobs that are no longer important in this CAPITALIST, survival-of-the-fittest, market that we ENJOY. So quit complaining about hard times.
And think about how you would feel if you were rich, had accomplished everything in these "tough times," and become a SELF-MADE success without government interference......Would you want to be taxed more so that a bunch of welfare, crack babies will live to be murdered at the age of 18 in a gang shootout instead of dying at 8 from starvation?

Ok, that was a bit much...But you get my point. When people are at the bottom, they want help from those above them. When people are at the top, they don't want to feed those at the bottom.

So what's the solution? LEAVE IT ALONE! Let people compete! That's what this country was founded on!

If you enjoy Canada's way of doing things, move there. You'll be paying a 65% Income Tax (yeah, a teensy bit higher than here), but hey, perhaps you'll stop bitching.
If you want the best health care in the world...know where that is? CUBA! I'm serious! It's free, it's good, and all you have to deal with are the crazy Castros and sitting there wondering why so many people are leaving Cuba to come to America, and not vice versa.

There's a reason the Statue of Liberty welcomes the "poor...tired...huddled masses." Because America is BETTER than other places. People COME HERE! We don't leave!

My hope, and honestly my prayer, is that Barack Obama and his new administration implement whatever policies they see fit...as long as those ideas do not go against the Constitution and everything that this country stands for. There's a reason I'm proud to be an American...and it's not because we're the friendliest nation (that's why I'm proud to be a Texan).

There's a reason I would never leave this land.

Because it isn't broken.
It doesn't need to be fixed.
There's a difference between creating stability and initiating change.

I'm all for the former, and completely opposed to the latter.

Weekly Football

2008-11-03T13:27:00.003-06:00

We all screamed!
We all doled out high fives!
We all celebrated the end of an entertaining game....

And then we turned back to the giant bigscreens hanging on the wall opposite our tables, strewn with pitchers and ash trays. Gideon dropped the deflected pass. Texas did not intercept it. Tech did score on the next play. We did not celebrate.

It was a shock, to say the least, but eventually, as things have a tendency to do, everything would work out for the best.

As previously discussed, this game merely supplements the overwhelming domination of the Big12 South (now with 4 teams, out of 6) in the top 9 in the BCS) and confirmed that no team will EVER beat 4 top-11 teams in a row as Texas had a chance to do. The amazing thing is that all the pollsters and all the computers were paying attention to the game. If Gideon catches the ball, these are all moot points, Texas wins, life goes on, etc, etc.

However, the BCS indeed had its "shakeup." Bama, Tech, and PSU are 1,2,3 as it should be. They are the three undefeated teams in the top 3 conferences. Howver, and I CAN'T BELIEVE that the voters got it right...Texas is still at #4!!

When you look at the other undefeated teams, Utah and Boise St., well....they're just not any good.

So then you have to look at the 1-loss teams: Texas, OU, Florida, Oklahoma St., and USC being the only viable contenders. Who has the "best loss?" USC and Florida both lost to UNRANKED OPPONENTS, and UF did it at HOME! OU AND OSU lost to Texas at a neutral site and on the road respectively. And Texas lost to the now #2 team in the nation ON THE ROAD.

It follows logic that the order, then, would be Texas, OU, OSU, UF, USC (as unintentionally listed above). And fear not, the order is close.

#1-Alabama
#2-Texas Tech
#3-Penn State
#4-Texas
#5-Florida
#6-OU
#7-USC
#8-Utah
#9-Oklahoma State
#10-Boise State

First of all, if you're an Alabama or Penn State fan...be afraid, be very afraid...there is NO WAY your team survives a loss when the Big12 Strength of Schedule is where it's at right now. USC fan? You need everyone to lose...TWICE. Utah and Boise St, and the rest of the BCS-busters?...quit crying and join a real conference (not the ACC...). However, for you Texas and Florida fans, FEAR NOT! Not only do both of your teams have an excellent shot for a national title berth, but overt= the course of the year, you will continue to have something that other teams only wish they could have once a year...

Celebrating the end of an entertaining game. Which I still did after the 'Horns went down. Of course, it didn't hurt to have a fun girl to console me, but that's a whole different discussion.

On a quick side note, though...if the season ended today, it's possible that Texas and USC could play in another Rose Bowl...would anyone really mind?

Hook 'Em!

Moving On

2008-10-29T02:37:00.002-05:00

This one is easy, but I felt it needed to be added. In order to "move on" from an old job, a mistake, or and old love...there is only one thing to do. Refill that hole with something new.

Lost a job? Get a new one!
Lost a friend? Get a new one!
Made a mistake? Fix it!
Lost a relationship? Start a new one!

What if you can't find a job you like?
What if you lost your best, irreplaceable, friend?
What if your mistake is unforgiveable? Like a Commandment?
What if your relationship left you unable to find a new one?

Ok, maybe "moving on" isn't that easy, haha. Some say that it's all about being happy and "ok" with yourself. But what if you're not?
"There are some wounds that go too deep..."
If you're in that position, then it all becomes about trust...like everything is.

You have to be able to trust a new employer, a new friend, or a new lover...and most importantly, you have to be able to trust yourself.

You have to trust yourself to make the right decisions.
If you do...God speed.
If you don't...welcome to the club.

Politics

2008-10-29T02:22:00.002-05:00

My inevitable "two cents" on the subject with the upcoming election that will change the NATION...
Oh wait.
No it won't.
And that's the point. America is BIGGER than one man. It's bigger than the idea of the "Office of the Presidency." Anyone who believes that Obama can change the country is wrong. Anyone who believes that McCain can change the country is wrong.
So then why are we voting? Because America doesn't need to CHANGE. But it's constantly needing to be FIXED. "Times change" and the country should adapt alongside. However, the fundamental ideals that have produced everything from the largest GDP in the world (though being a distant fourth in land area and population) to your own personal freedoms should not change.
EVER.
We've had 20 of 28 years of Republican presidents, and guess what? There have been UPS AND DOWNS. I know, shocking! Before that, we had a 75% Democratic Presidency for the same time period. Guess what...we had UPS AND DOWNS. I honestly didn't have a problem with my lifestlye and finances during the Clinton Administration...Or either Bush Administrations...Because NONE of them, regardless of competency or sexual indiscretions, did anything to undermine what they were SWORN TO PROTECT!!!!......

...THE CONSTITUTION!

NOT the American people. NOT the borders. NOT oil intersts. NOT even the economy of people on welfare.

THE CONSTITUTION!!

So we should elect a President, whether they be a Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, Conservative, or Liberal...if they uphold one thing.

Freedom!

This includes the freedom to fail. The freedom to CHOOSE your own economic path. The second that a candidate says, "...and to get these benefits, you HAVE TO..." we are politically butt-fucked.

There are MANY things wrong with both candidates (all three if you count Nader), but ultimately...McCain is a Capitalist. Obama is a Socialist. So who will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America?

Don't think about your own ideas, think about the ideas that have made America the greatest nation in modern civilization...and vote for the person, the Administration, the Cabinet, the appointed judges, and the country...that will continue to dominate for years to come...

...and GET OVER YOURSELF!

Beauty

2008-10-24T02:44:00.002-05:00

Definition: "The quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction of the mind." WOW!! Definitely my favorite definition so far. There are THREE operative parts, but we will focus on two for right now. First of all, it speaks of an affect on the MIND! Secondly, it defines a 'quality.' What is that quality that breeds beauty?? Even the description is amazing! 'Intense pleasure' and 'Deep satisfaction!' Where does that come from??

We all see "hot" women, "hot" cars, and grand houses on TV all the time. But all of those things only evoke the emotions of lust and greed. So where does true beauty come from?

Strangely enough, people find 'beauty' in things like the Mona Lisa and Jessica Simpson, but that's because they're FAMOUS, not beautiful.

Even Jessica is "hot," not beautiful.
Beauty comes from something else.
It comes from something personal.

Personally, I find beauty in a formula that made other people $millions. The guy that created the blueprints for the Empire State Building created something beautiful.

In the same way that 1's and 0's can be beautiful, the imperfections of my favorite butt are beautiful. Because it was THEIRS!!

It was beautiful because it wasn't like anything else! It was beautiful because it was UNIQUE!! That 'quality' that breeds beauty is uniqueness! Let's say, "you're different in an alluring way? Then you're beautiful!!"

I agree.

There are so many girls, so many paintings, and so many creative works that most of the world would consider as "beauty." But I don't. I find that person, that work of art, that equation, that defies belief...that defies understanding...that is simply...GORGEOUS to be the thing most worthy of glory, most worthy of attention, and most worthy of "beauty" because it is unique.

It is the most impressive thing in your life because it is ALONE in its magnifisence.

It is "Beautiful" because it is the ONE THING that changes you.

Beauty is found in the thing that makes you different...the thing that is unique...the thing that CHANGES your entire world view...

'Beauty' is found in the thing that makes you better!

Other People

2008-10-23T02:25:00.003-05:00

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA,

How many times have you laughed at something you eavesdopped on? How many times have you heard the dumbest thing ever uttered by mankind? Hopefully, many times...because there are more than enough opportunities if you just listen.

Once you hear these things, you automatically think about your own views on that subject, your own conclusions about something important, and your own place in this world. Tonight, like many other nights, this happened to me. But not in the way I would have thought at the time.

Without going into a long diatribe about politics, religion, mathematics, IQ, and other topics...I will say simply this:

I have been gifted with intelligence. God has granted me the ability to analyze and synthesize more than the average human. Most times that I voice my opinion in such a situation, it inevtiably backfires on me because I become the "bad guy." However, EVERY time, I find myself feeling sorry for those who are merely ignorant, arrogant, or too blind to hear their own words. (yes, "blind" to "hear" their own words)

Obviously, to anyone who has read this blog, I have undergone the kind of emotional journey that epics are made of. HOWEVER, I do not count myself among the Aragorns, Gullivers, and Dantes of the past. I am simply a man who has, not fallen victim, but been exposed to the dumbest, most irresponsible, and hastiest of all God has to offer.

And though I still hold on to something that anyone would have let go of a long time ago, I remain steadfast in my PERSONAL beliefs, my OWN feelings, and my CONFIRMED ideals.

There are certain things that "no man can tear assunder."

There exists a truth that "suffers the slings and arrows of this world."

There is a "peace that passes all understanding."

There is that "moment that only lasts a moment."

And when you put ALL OF THAT together, you are left with such a conviction, such a strong hold of the truth, that nothing can bring you down. You may hear someone speak who has no business reproducing. You may be turned down for a job whose occupant has no business sitting in your chair. And ultimately, you may lose that which is most important...

...BUT...

It doesn't change WHO you are, WHO you are going to become, and WHO you have the ability to be.

DO NOT LET ANYONE TELL YOU WHAT TO DO!! Figure it out for yourself...
DO NOT LET ANYONE SHOW YOU A DOOR!! That you're not willing to walk through...
...and...
DO NOT LET ANYONE CHANGE YOU!!

There are times when someone else helps you become better, but change for YOURSELF, not for someone else. Because if you change for someone else...If you listen to that stupid comment and let it affect you...If you give credence to what an insane person says about you...

You've already lost. And you will lose everything that is important to you.

Confidence is NEVER a bad thing (in moderation). And when you're right, YOU'RE RIGHT! Fuck everyone else.

I am too passive...to be called violent
I am too smart...to be called an idiot
I am too nice...to be called an asshole
I am too honest...to be called a liar
I am too faithful...

And that's my problem. Ironically enough, I trust where I shouldn't, and I am distrusted where I shouldn't be. One day, someone will TRULY trust me. My own family and others have failed where SOMEONE will succeed.

I hope she exists...

New Thoughts On God

2008-10-21T23:11:00.001-05:00

So I think way too much, as it must be painfully obvious by now, but tonight I came up with something that I may actually need to run by someone much wiser than me in the future.

God had his angels, He had choruses singing His name and worshiping Him on an hourly basis. Therefore, in the creation of the universe, and more specifically Man, I believe He simply wanted beings that would choose to not only worship His name, but also love him. The ideas and paradoxes of Free Will, Predestination, Election, and Salvation have eluded so many of the great minds for all of eternity, and they will continue to do so forever.

But, as it happens, I had an epiphany that may or may not be anything original…

God’s “brain” works on a level that we could never comprehend, but perhaps we can at least point towards our own technologies in order to puts parameters on the infinite, and therefore explain the finite in ultimate terms. The second, I mean the MOMENT, that God created the Earth, and more specifically Man, I believe that he knew EXACTLY what would happen for the rest of history.

Imagine a Game Theory tree that begins with a single node (create Man or not).
Then EVERY SECOND of EVERY DAY for EVERY HUMAN creates another node where a decision is made.
Now, God knew that Satan would try to deceive Eve, so He knew that sin would be introduced. He knew that sin would lead to Wars, Famine, and the change of so many leaders and nations they are beyond count. Therefore, the MOMENT that He created Adam, He KNEW where YOU would be, and all the circumstances that led to you, reading this post.

This is where the fine line is. This is where a difference of opinion will happen.

God doesn’t CONTROL you. He KNOWS what you will do.

Now, if He’s not controlling everything, why are we supposed to have so much faith that He will care for us, give us what we need, and ultimately send our souls to Heaven? Because He only controls those things that He NEEDS to.

He knows what the end of history looks like, and He knows which human beings have the capacity in their hearts to love Him. Imagine the Game Theory Tree again, but imagine it from the dawn of man to the present? I believe that God only “intervenes” like the fall of Jericho, the Flood, Christ’s life, and other miracles when the track of history needs to be corrected. On a more personal note, I believe God only intervenes in your own life, or more specifically, allows certain people to grow and affect you.

And that brings us back to the original point. God wants you to become what you are supposed to be, but YOU have to become it. He will guide you and provide you with exactly what you need, no more and no less. When you have “unanswered” prayers, it was ALWAYS going to be that way. When you think something is the right thing to do, but it turns out wrong, it was ALWAYS going to be that way.

God wants you to love Him. But you have to make it happen.
God wants you to love others. But you have to make it happen.
Take what happens to you every day as a GUIDE, not an answer. It’s a PATH, not a tightrope.

Fruitful Day

2008-10-20T20:50:00.002-05:00

So I added a movie clip and a new song today. First of all, they're my first posts in almost 3 weeks, which is pretty sad. Secondly, I will have to add a Football update tomorrow or the next day (Texas is #1 and the Cowboys are floundering...maybe I just did? haha). Anyway, it was nice to have a day to get some work done, get a nice workout, a couple postings, and sit down to flip back and forth between Star Wars V and Monday Night Football.

Then a weird thing happened, I realzed that my "fruitful day" was NOTHING compared to the days that I used to have, and NOT EVEN CLOSE to the days that others are having right now. Something is missing, and I'm determined to find it.

Saw V Pendulum Trap

2008-10-20T20:35:00.000-05:00

First Blues Song

2008-10-20T14:18:00.003-05:00

"Please tell her not to go...
Tell her something in your mind
Raises up from time to time.

Please tell her not to go...
Tell her everything you'll miss
In a solitary kiss.

Please tell her not to go...
Tell her smoke will fade away
Even rooted trees will sway

...You can see it everyday.

She'll tell you not to go...
Feel her whisper in your ear
Saying things you need to hear.

She'll tell you not to go...
Like the best bedtime story
And talk of wasting history.

She'll tell you not to go...
Bended knee and hallowed ground
Keeps you turning all around

...Love and loss are always bound.

So
Please tell me I have to go...
Tell me something that will last
Leave the beauties in the past.

Please tell me I have to go...
Before my leaves begin to fade
The loving winds will not abade.

Please tell me I have to go...
It's something she will have to do
Allowing room for someone new

...To save the memories of you.

We tell each other not to go...
Happening at different times
Creating sad and happy rhymes

Then we say we have to go...
Different people, different reasons
Changing views and changing seasons

So I say I have to go...
The game is over, whistle blown
Defeated, scorned, and even sewn

...All I am is all alone."

-JBB

Weekly Update

2008-09-30T12:30:00.003-05:00

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!?!?!?!

First off, for all of those baseball purists out there that think the "double-switch" and sacrifice bunt can get the collective juices of America flowing like a last-second Field Goal or bone-crushing hit......nevermind, I already made my point.

Anyway, things didn't work out exactly as I predicted, but the lessons remain the same:

The NFC East is NASTY. Still with a combined record of 11-4 (only ONE loss outside the division), an average playoff team's mark, and no one has ANY idea who the best team is!
The Cowboys remain the most talented, the Giants are still the defending Super Bowl Champs, the Zorn-era has officially taken off in Washington, and Philly is in LAST? The Eagles, when healthy, would wipe the floor with 80% of the league, and they won't even make the playoffs? Again, your Super Bowl champion this year WILL come out of that division.

In the College Ranks, did anyone remind Georgia that 'Bama was good? 31-0 at halftime, AT HOME, will not endear you to this fan. However, the point is once again made that the SEC (West or East, as LSU and 'Bama are two of the top 4 teams in the country) and the Big 12 are the places to be. The new polls have OU, LSU, 'Bama, Mizzou, and Texas taking up the top 5 spots, with Texas Tech at #7 behind BYU (we'll forgive the pollsters for their little joke). Subtracting BYU from the equation, which we all know they should be, that puts 3 of the top 6 teams in the country IN ONE DIVISION!!

As we all know, both the NFC East and the Big12 South will not have the same amount of teams atop their respective leagues come season's end. They all have to play each other. Philly plays Washington this weekend (the first of several division matchups left on the schedule) and UT, Tech, and OU all play a round-robin over the coming weeks. Any of those teams could finish 10-2, with their only losses being to the OTHER two schools. Oh, and for all you Texas fans out there...we have to play Mizzou in three weeks, also. That's um....the #1, #3, and #6 teams in the country ALL on our schedule...

That's it for now, peace.

Love

2008-09-25T02:32:00.004-05:00

Defintion: "A feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend." WOW! If you have ever loved another person, does that definition do it for ya? Hopefully, it goes way deeper into every recess of every emotion and feeling you've ever had. That aside, let's delve into the most powerful force on God's earth...First off, to inspect the concept of love, we need to define its opposite. And it's not hate. Love is caring. The opposite of caring is not caring. The opposite is indifference. When you don't care AT ALL, when's someone's sufferring doesn't evoke a response. That's the opposite. SO, is love just the feeling that you want to know every little thing about someone, regardless of its effect? Yes and no. Because that's only part of it. We'll get back to this. Some people think that love is a selfless desire for others to be happy. Is that love? Yes and no. I have a selfless desire for the people in Darfur to be happy, but I don't love a single human there. Because selflessness is only part of it. We'll get back to this. Is love the willingness to sacrifice, which we've discussed? Hell, I've sacrificed, in the truest sense, for my friends who I have never, and will never, love. But that's part of it. We'll get back to that. Hopefully, you're noticing a pattern.
My own belief coincides with 1 Corinthians 13, "love is..." so many things. I have seen much of hate and murder. I have also seen much of indifference and solitude. And I have seen much of love and tears. I say tears because I think that's what love is. Evanescence writes that, "when you'd cry, I'd wipe away all of your tears...when you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears..." That's providing love for another. But when you love someone else, you're willing to show those sides to them.
You wanna know what love is...?
...Love is being vulnerable
...Love is ultimate trust
...Love is comfort and strength in being honest and WEAK.
When you love someone else, it's nothing that YOU are doing. It's what you're allowing someone else to see, what you're supporting someone else to become, and finally, what you're believing that relationship can achieve.
"Love is patient, love is kind...it does not boast, it is not proud." It is so many things that we all know! But love, in its truest manifestation, is all the things we CAN'T see, CAN'T explain, and can NEVER know.
A husband would throw himself in front of a bullet for his wife. A parent would undergo painful, life-threatening surgery for their child. God would sacrifice His only Son, and do everything in His power to care for His people. But all of these things are conditional. They "would" do anything for those they love.
You know someone loves you because you have evidence, much like "hope." However, once that bond is created, love is simply this:
LOVE IS EVERYTHING...
It's patience, kindness, a rock, encouragement, faith, an ear, hope, laughter, a smile, refuge, strength, a shoulder, comfort, lust, a spoon, happiness and joy, sadness and grief, wishes and fulfillment, prayer and reality, and most importantly, "love is just...
...a look, and then you know." -Jeff Baker

May anyone who has read these messages rejoice in God's patience, importance, sacrifice, faith, hope, fear, loss, and love in every single human being on this planet...and hopefully yourself.

my end...

Redundancy...

2008-09-23T14:34:00.004-05:00

Here we go again...

As we approach another weekend of football, some things simply never change...

In the NFL, it's all about the NFC East:
The four teams have a combined 10-2 record. And the two losses are WITHIN the division! That is absurd! This Sunday, The Giants have a bye and Philly is playing Chicago. The only problem for the division? Another divisional game pitting, in one of the best rivalries in sports, the 'Skins and 'Boys in Big D. So, unfortunately, we're gonna have a 12-3 record after this week...the next closest division? The AFC East at 7-5. The Super Bowl Champion WILL come from the NFC East, with the division showing shades of the early 90's, where 3 different teams won 4 straight Lombardi Trophies.

In College Football, it's still all about the SEC and Big 12, but since I'm a Dallas boy, we'll focus on the Big 12 South (and this is gonna look a lot like the above paragraph):
The division is 16-4 going into conference play. (The SEC East is 17-4, Go Vandy! But we'll leave that aside for now as Tennessee has become a huge diappointment. OU (#2), Texas (#7), and Texas Tech (#10) are all potential BCS bowlers (even the National Championship game). As the Pac-10 has become the red-headed stepchild of the MWC, USC will not be able to defend itself from an undefeated OU and Florida. As the Big 12 South and the SEC East clearly supplant the rest of the nation, we can only hope that the teams don't beat each other up too much on the way to the bowl season. If an undefeated USC and BYU "play" for the national title, while OU, Texas, Florida, and LSU DESTROY the other four teams allowed into the mix, we will have been deprived of a true national champion once again...

The NFL has playoffs, but does anyone really think NY was the best team in the league last year (Dallas beat them twice!)? NCAA doesn't has a playoff, but does anyone really dispute LSU's claim last year as the nation's best? The point is, if you wanna bet on something this year, take an NFC East Team in the NFL, and Big12 South and SEC East teams in the NCAAs.

Hook 'Em Horns!
Go 'Dores!
...and How Bout Them Cowboys!?

"Today I consider myself..."

2008-09-21T22:52:00.005-05:00

There has been much ado about...well, not nothing, but certainly not the end of the world that most New Yorkers would have you believe. "The House that Ruth Built" held its last game tonight due to the fact that the Yanks will not be playing in the playoffs and then moving to their new home across the street next season. Stadiums close all the time, and this is just another one. I'm sure I will somehow feel affected when Texas Stadium closes at the end of this year, but more importantly, is how it affects the people that actually spent week after week in that building. When watching the ceremonies that were held after the New York/Baltimore game, it was strange to watch all the reactions of the players. The media and the city of New York has made such a big deal out of this, you would think it would affect everyone the same, but alas, and not too surprisingly, some people showed more emotion than others. The younger players, or at least less-experienced at Yankee Stadium, like A-Rod and Robinson Cano were walking around joyous like they were taking a victory lap after winning the Series. But one player in particular, Derek Jeter, really looked like he was losing something special to him. He spent more time there than anyone else wearing pin-stripes, and in fact, played in more important games and at-bats than most Yankees in history. He walked around the field one last time, toasting his cap to the fans, feeling both sad and incredibly thankful for his time. My first thought was Lou Gehrig's post-ALS speech in which he was losing his occupation, his love, and indeed, his life, and yet he felt "like the luckiest man on the face of the Earth." Jeter understands that, and now so do I. Even though you may lose something in life...be thankful that you had the experiences that you had that are WORTH the feeling of loss. We've discussed before the idea of loss, but here is an adendum to that. Utter Loss can only come from Utter Triumph. "A fall from the third floor hurts as much as a fall from the hundreth. If I fall, may it be from a high place." I have fallen hard. From a high place. Next time...I'm just not gonna fall...

First Full Weekend

2008-09-08T00:46:00.003-05:00

So the first Saturday/Sunday compilation of college football and NFL games took place this weekend (ok, the Monday Night game hasn't occurred yet) and there are a few simple thoughts...
The NFC East and SEC East are the nastiest divisions ever...
Injuries will kill the Patriots and many others...
It's always nice to see the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (no matter who you root for)...
And for the love of all things holy, can we PLEASE sleep through summer because NO ONE should watch baseball...EVER!

Big12 vs. SEC

2008-09-05T16:14:00.005-05:00

In this very young college football season, two conferences have put themselves head and shoulders above the rest. However, which is better? It's actually not even an argument that anyone can win. The Big12 possesses 5 of the top 13 teams in the nation. While the SEC has 5 of the top 11 teams. The more important aspect of this quick analysis is that both conferences combined have 10 of the top 13 teams in the nation! This is UNHEARD of in modern collegiate athletics. Now, during the year, these teams have to play, and therefore beat up on, each other, inevitably dropping several teams in the polls in favor of non-BCS schools such as Utah, BYU, and dare I say, ACC schools...just kidding. Regardless, every single week is sure to be filled with top-25 matchups in the SEC and Big 12, and will be one of the most entertaining years of College Football ever.

Texas Boy!

2008-09-05T12:41:00.003-05:00

CHORUS:

Around the world and....I,
Seen the best women's...eyes,
Got the best country....side,
Stay here my whole......life!
'Cause I'm a Te-Xas-Boy!
Too many Ex-Es-Hoy.
'Cause I'm a Te-Xas-Boy!
Always be a Te-Xas-Boy!

Let me welcome everybody to the Lone Star State
Pac knew the rhyme and Dre had the base
But they never made their way
Never could get away
Witness cities, not bays
See dem titties, not leis
And now allow me to introduce myself
No chains, no gats, no ice, just melts
Every woman from H-Town
To the 'Rillo and back down
See the West act like clowns
Leave 'em kissin' my ground.
Before they leave to return, they say, "Cya Bake."
Jealousy and envy are the only things, we make
Them fools wanna live here
To my girls they stay clear
Buy 'em shots, drinks, and beers
But never get too near...

CHORUS

Now I've been to the dirty, dirty South
Dixie and rednecks, small brains and big mouths
Talkin' like they everywherrrrr
Actin' like they ain't scerrrrred
Never knowin' where they errrrr
Even when they up in herrrr
Now don't get me wrong, I've sipped the syzurp
I do Tennessee and Bama like it's paid wizork.
A rundown of the things you do?
Dem Texas boys ball better than you.
We're the reason Jack still brew.
And why the 5-0 be all black and blue!
Gotta admit y'all got shit we don't got.
Inbreeding and racism just ain't that hot.
Welcome to the 21st Century
Confederate shit should be buried
KKK and Spurrier out in a hurry
And replace it with a...Texas Boy!

CHORUS

Interlude:

'Cause here we are...
Under a Lone Star...
In da club and bars...
You know who we are...
Don't need cash or cars...
When you got that star...

CHORUS

Last but not least, them Northeast boys wishin'
New York, Philly, Boston, and them bad politicians
Diddy and Jay never sold shit
To a Texas man ridin' whips
That jewelry and Crys
Compensate their tiny dicks
You wanna live in a place smaller than my airport?
Manhattan, not DFW, always comin' up way short!
No terrorists fuckin' wit us
Ain't blowing up no bus
Eevn spittin' while they cuss
They know we'd go there and bust!
You wanna bitch about a Texas President?
These are issues now without precedent!
So stay in yo puny-ass state
Hidin' out with your mate...oh!
Or is it life partner these days?
I don't give a what either way!

INTERLUDE

CHORUSX2

HAHA, I got a little tipsy months ago and had my notebook with me and literally all of this came out in one sitting, haha. Don't worry, I'm white!!

2008-09-04T18:06:00.002-05:00

Oh, I'm just a Harry Potter fan as well, figured I'd stick this up here...

2008-09-04T18:01:00.003-05:00

One of the best things about film is taking music and creating a feeling you would never have otherwise...whether it is a beautiful score behind a romantic scene on a windswept beach, a hard drumline to increase tension, or here with a haunting a capella rendtition of a hymnal, underpinning the disturbing motivations of the Jigsaw character.

Fear

2008-09-04T17:54:00.005-05:00

No definition necessary. However, what are REALLY scared of? Most of us don’t fear death on a daily basis because it’s not a threat (Navy SEALS and AIDS patients aside). So we’re afraid of personal problems…money, family, friends, and relationships. Ironically, the first seemingly fixes the others. Think if you won the lottery…yeah, you could do anything and shower people with gifts. Again, though, a rare occurrence, so let’s focus on fear in relationships. We all fear getting hurt…but what is that? “Getting hurt?” Emotional scars? It changes us for the better! So what are we afraid of? When we were young, we were all given toys, something that we grew attached to, but if we were separated from that toy, we’d get sad and angry. Thankfully, we were too young to realize the attachment (and another toy cured us), but now, we avoid the toy to begin with? Because we’re scared? Of what? Scared of losing it. Death is only scary because it means you’re losing everything in your life. Love is scary because you might lose it. Human beings, ALL OF US, are ultimately afraid of losing the things that are important to us. Again, it seems obvious, but that’s all fear is. And it drives us to do one of two things: 1) Flee from possibilities, or 2) force us to face the most human of all conditions…LOSS

Next time… LOSS

Loss

2008-09-04T17:54:00.004-05:00

Definition: “To be deprived of something one once had.” Now we’ve all dealt with this in some form. If you’ve lost a loved one to death, once it hit you, how long was it before you were able to move on? That’s the point of loss. It reveals something about you. It reveals what’s left behind after something is taken away. I bring up death, because it is final. It’s done. There is no changing it. But what about losing something that you could possibly find again? See “Patience.” You have to figure out what you can fix and what you cannot. First, let’s assume that you can’t fix it…then it’s gone, just like someone dying. If you can fix it, and fear (See “Fear”) isn’t the reason, then is it really lost? Pearl Jam wrote, “I know one day you’ll have a beautiful life, I know you’ll be a star…in somebody else’s sky, but why can’t it be mine?” It’s when you lose something, like love, that can physically be retrieved, but is denied to you by some other force. I believed that God had someone prepared for me, and it took over 25 years of waiting, believing, before a person came into my life that confirmed that belief. However, recently, I have found that this love will not last. And that is the moment when loss meets, and reveals, what was left behind. It is through loss, that our most powerful emotion is tested. For the moment, I am struggling with that power. In losing that love, I’m trying to keep what’s left. I’m trying not to lose my faith…

Next time…Faith

Interlude...What's Important

2008-09-04T17:53:00.001-05:00

A professor once took 100 students and had them watch a college basketball game. The assignment was to count exactly how many passes one team made throughout the whole game. Mid-way through the first half, a man in a gorilla suit ran across the entire floor in the middle of a play...When the students returned to class the next day, they delivered their reports on the number of passes. When the professor asked each student one-by-one what they thought of the man who ran across the floor, 56 replied....."What gorilla?" If people are focused on one thing about you, they won't see anything else...so don't worry about it. Haha, let them miss out on the gorilla suits and laughter in their own pursuit for the answers they already have.

On Patience

2008-09-04T17:52:00.003-05:00

To be patient is two-fold. 1) It is “calmly awaiting an outcome or result.” Or more specifically 2) Bearing or enduring pain. Let’s look at the first definition. It’s simple. You have the ability to wait for these to happen. You don’t force the issue. In the second definition, you have the ability to endure, literally to live through the pain with the faith and hope that it will one day subside. However, there is an inherent similarity (and negative component) to both definitions. They both depend on other people. Patience, true patience, is in waiting for someone else to change or achieve. You’re enduring pain because of someone else’s suffering or someone else causing you pain. Again, this all seems simple, but what about when we’re waiting for things in our own lives to change? Are we patient? Waiting around for God to sanctify us without action, waiting for our hearts to suddenly see the right path before us, and any other scenario you can think of…is that patience? No. You can’t wait for your own edification. You can’t wait for your own realizations. CS Lewis writes that experience is the most brutal of teachers. And he’s right. In order to grow, you have to act. Now, again, being patient and not forcing an issue in another human being is a virtue. But if you want to achieve something in your life, you have to act. Personally, I had to QUIT smoking, and others had to be patient WITH me. When we wait around for something to happen to us, it’s because we’re scared of the negative outcomes or results. That’s not patience, it’s fear.

Next time…fear