...But Seriously Folks

Headline: Panda bites man, man bites him back

2006-09-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060920/D8K8II2G3.html

Headline: Panda bites man, man bites him back

And no, it's not a fake headline.

Adding insult to injury

2006-07-18T01:20:00.000-07:00

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2517144

Ha ha ha ha.. Lipscomb we OWN you!

2006-06-29T00:32:00.000-07:00

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.07/murdoch_pr.html

An outstanding article recapping the phenomenon of MySpace and the far-reaching effects that News Corp's purchasing of MySpace will have for their future business model, why Viacom missed out big time, and many other issues relating to MySpace and how it's changing how Big Media is being forced to deal with the times.

And yes, Lefty choked big time.

Lefty eyes third in a row

2006-06-17T22:13:00.000-07:00

Even when some shots aren't going right, Phil Mickelson can do no wrong at the U.S. Open.

It was certainly fitting, then, that Lefty's opening tee shot on day three hooked far right of the fairway. What would have been disaster for most players ended up rosey for Phil, as the ball richoched back onto the middle of the fairway 187 yards from the pin.

Mickelson made par on that hole, as he did on so many others in this tournament.

After a so-so 1-over 36 front nine that saw Mickelson birdie 4 and 6 but bogey 3, 8, and 9, Mickelson caught fire on the back nine.

In all but the first hole of the final nine, Mickelson put himself in position where he had at least a putt for birdie, which he successfully converted on 14 and 16 to finish up his round with a dramatic 1-under 69.

If the storyline holds tomorrow afternoon, Lefty will collect his third straight major on a legendarily difficult course by playing it steady.

With Tiger long gone, and with nearly every other contender fading away by adding strokes to their final score, Phil has a chance to put this one away too.

Several of the lesser-known players began to buckle under the pressure yesterday.

The leader at the start of day three, Steve Stricker, by no means eliminated himself from contention, but with a 6-over 76, he erased his 1-under 139 and is now tied for fourth.

Englishman Kenneth Ferrie bogied 18 to drop himself into a tie with Mickelson, but has followed up oustanding front nines (an astounding 4-under 32 in round two, followed by an impressive 2-under 34 in round three) the past two days with weaker back nines (2 over 38 and 1 over 37) the last two rounds. As Mickelson can tell you, it is imperative to finish strong if you want to win.
Aussie Geoff Ogilvy righted what could have been a disasterous back nine by salvaging a 2 over 36, but clearly let a disagreement over shot selection with his caddie affect him. Although he is obviously close at one shot back, in the future he should either overrule his caddie or not let the disagreement bother him as it did.

All of which brings us back to Lefty. There are several reasons why he should be the favorite, but there are really three main ones:

No player is more prepared. Mickelson played nearly a dozen practice rounds at Winged Foot leading up to the Open, and keeps with him a notebook filled with invaluable tidbits on how to approach various situations. Phil's been slightly more aggressive with certain shots than other players, but proved time and time again (especially on the back nine) that he knew where to put the ball, and how to finish off holes the right way.

No other player has the crowd support. From the moment Phil appeared on his way to the opening tee, he was greeted with a roar of approval from the crowd that supported him every step of the way. It takes a special kind of athlete to thrive under that kind of pressure, but Phil seems to have figured out how, seemingly giving nods and tips of his hat to the gallery following every shot. If he is in the lead or close to it heading down the back stretch, the crowd may put him over.

No player has been more consistent. Only one player (4th place Ian Poulter, who is three shots back) has more pars (39) than Phil (38), while Colin Montgomerie (also in 4th place) has 38 as well. Mickelson is also tied for 2nd on putting average, an even 1.50 per hole. But most telling is that despite giving himself some pretty tough lies, Lefty has yet to make worse than bogey on any hole. Given the course conditions, that's pretty remarkable.

The leaderboard may be tied, but this is Phil's Open to lose.

(See? I can write about stuff besides hockey and politics :) )

A great day for freedom

2006-06-08T06:14:00.000-07:00

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060608/D8I41K780.html

Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi is dead.

This is a great day for freedom, a great day for Iraq, and a great day for America.

Consequently, it is a bad day for Democrats.

Don't be fooled into believing anything else.

New Weird Al track

2006-06-07T17:48:00.000-07:00

Holy crap!!

www.weirdal.com

Update: Record for college students to shoot for

2006-05-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/05/23/D8HPG6OG1.html

This guy apparently had TWICE the amount typically fatal in most humans in his system. I don't think that'll be broken for some time.

Especially funny is this line:

"Sungaila...told police he had been drinking the night before and tried to freshen up by downing a pint of beer for breakfast."

An oldie but a goodie

2006-05-20T11:17:00.000-07:00

http://www.comcast.net/news/strange/index.jsp?cat=STRANGE&fn=/2006/05/20/395980.html&cvqh=itn_girl10

Which once again proves my theory: Women can't drive.

How a liberal views the War on Terror

2006-05-04T17:53:00.000-07:00

It’s kind of like this:

If you took a bomb, lit its fuse, and held it in front of you, even a liberal has trouble denying the imminent danger it poses.

However, if you were to hold it behind you after lighting it, and only allow peeks of it every so often, a liberal, given their extraordinary short memory, would forget about it, deny it’s there, and insist that it’s not an immediate threat.

That’s kind of like how a liberal views the War on Terror, in terms even they can understand.

Two more

2006-05-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/business/coke/stories/bizbeverage_3.html

Is there any wonder Georgia is in trouble? This girl can't figure out how to use a vending machine.

Yikes.

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/0504metrapshooting.html?imw=Y

"T.I. Not Injured In Ohio Shootout"

Thank God! That almost ruined my entire day!

Because I just love you so much...

2006-05-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

Because I have three articles due very soon, I'm updating this, of course!

Here's a double dose today:

http://reuters.myway.com/article/20060503/2006-05-03T121624Z_01_L0381917_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-SCIENCE-OBESITY-DC.html

This gentleman is, um, large. Michael Moore is jealous.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/03/AR2006050300319_pf.html

Congratulations. The anti-freedom (not anti-obesity, as they claim) crowd has won a major battle.

Apparently elemantary and middle-school kids are too stupid to stop buying regular sodas, so that choice has now been taken away from them.

This line is particularly telling:

"Soda has been a particular target of those fighting obesity because of its caloric content and popularity among children." So because it's popular, they shut it down?

Apparently making Coca-Cola Zero and Pepsi One wasn't enough.

And besides, does anybody really think this will stop kids from having soda at school? Now, because somebody has decided "You can't buy that here" for some arbitrary reason, kids will simply bring it to school with them.

Your modern Democratic party hard at work.

This is yet another extension of this stupid "It takes a village" mentality.

No. It does not take a village. It takes two parents that are responsible. That's it.

If this "anti-freedom... I mean, anti-obesity" crowd actually cared about the root problem, they'd fight to teach more personal responsiblity to schoolkids, not take away their sodas.

The Season is over

2006-04-18T10:45:00.000-07:00

I guess I know what hockey heartbreak feels like.

It's kind of like being punched in the stomach, slapped in the face, and kicked in the crotch. Only not as much fun.

Vokoun out for playoffs

2006-04-10T09:59:00.000-07:00

http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/5491550

This is bad.. Really really bad..

Wonderful

2006-04-06T21:31:00.000-07:00

Boy, today's been wonderful.

First Atlanta loses to TAMPA BAY in the shootout.

Then I find out the night before my test I've lost my textbook. Lovely.

This job can be pretty cool...

2006-03-20T23:31:00.000-08:00

It's not everyday you get a chance to be a part of an official NHL conference call regarding Nashville goalie Tomas Vokoun's selection as the NHL's Defensive Player of the Week. That's precisely the chance I got this afternoon while at the post office.

Naturally, I speeded back to campus, and took part. Despite having my phone disconnect near the end for no apparent reason, I was still able to sneak a question in at the end of the conference (which, by the way, was a huge thrill)

Here is the transcript of my question and his response:

Q. Looking at last season, you guys were kind of having trouble picking up points at the end of the year, but this season, you guys got off to a red hot start and got a lot of points early, and now you've got a pretty comfortable position in terms of making the playoffs. How important is it going to be for you guys to finish strong this year heading into April?

TOMAS VOKOUN: Well, I think it's important for any team, you want to win and you feel a lot better when you win the game. But sometimes you don't play as well as you would like to and you still win the game. I think we are all realizing here, we want to improve our game, because once April comes, there's no second chances. You lose four games in the playoff round and you're out and the whole season is done.

I think everybody understands, you just never know what's going to come next year and where you're going to play or what the team is going to look like. I think we have a pretty good chance to be successful. I mean, we are a great team and we have I think a lot of skill and we are very well-fitted for the new style of play.

So for us, it's important to improve, because we all know we play almost 70 games and we all know what we are good at. If we do stuff we are not good at, we are not a good hockey team. So we just have to put our game together and make sure we are doing the right things so when we step on the ice for the first playoff game, whoever is our opponent, we feel it's more important, at least for me personally, and I strongly believe for the team, to feel good about your game than worrying who you are playing against. If you struggle, and there's no really one team you can pick and say, well, we should beat this team or they should beat us. I think if you look at Detroit, they have 100 points. But even if you make the playoffs in the eighth spot, I really wouldn't bet either way. So it's more about you and how you feel and what you did to prepare for the playoffs.

A most delightful revelation

2006-03-05T12:12:00.000-08:00

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/0305renteria.html

In this article praising Braves new shortstop Edgar Renteria, the writer eventually asks Terry Pendleton what he thought about Renteria when the two played on the 1997 Marlins. Pendleton's response is fantastic.

Here's the previous sentence:

It did not take long before the Braves future hitting coach realized the youngster was in the right place.

"About three ground balls," Pendleton. "Loved to play. Couldn't wait to play. Wanted to learn. Respectful."

I might have to keep an eye out for this as the season progresses. Apparently Terry manages to speak in complete sentences without using a subject. The writer also forgot the word "said" after Pendleton.

If that's true, that has some delightful possibilities.

"Terry, how come the team only had two hits today?"

"Ball too fast. Can't see strike zone. Too busy fishing and golfing. Need slapped around. Lazy."

Sportsline isn't the only one that was wrong..

2006-03-04T18:09:00.000-08:00

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/photos?photoId=1071325&gameId=260632057

The AP got it wrong here too..

Belmont's Justin Hare, right, drives against Lipscomb's Andy Wicke during the Atlantic Sun Conference championship basketball game Saturday, March 4, 2006 in Johnson City, Tenn. Hare scored 32 points in the 74-69 overtime win. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

Guess Andy was pulling double duty today :)

Come on now, little fella

2006-03-04T17:51:00.000-08:00

http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/gamecenter/recap/NCAAB_20060304_DAVLIP@BEL
Not only was Belmont's win over Lipscomb broadcast to a nationally televised audience, they also had Daniel E. Dobish blog during the game!!! Wow!!!

If you click on the "glog" link, one of the first entries is this:

"Keep an eye on Belmont's Justin Hare, as he is the heart and soul for the Bruins and Atlantic Sun coach of the year Scott Sanderson."

Major props on the first half of that statement... but you might want to do your homework a tad better on who coaches whom..

Also, although AP Style might say differently, they are indeed called the "Bisons."

I wish I'd known beforehand that Lipscomb coach Scott Sanderson's dad was named Wimp though. Good one..

And then he has to end with this:

"Good for the Bruins, although that is a tough loss for the Bruins in this latest version of the Battle of the Boulevard."

Apparently it was good for the Bruins to deal a tough loss to the Bruins. Who knew?

Maybe I'm being a little too hard on Danny boy. It's all in good fun.

Cheers, mate!

Quite possibly the dumbest woman alive

2006-03-03T16:16:00.000-08:00

http://www.wesh.com/news/7630418/detail.html

And no, it's not Hillary Clinton. Although I guarantee you this genius is a registered Democrat.

The best sentences come at the end of the story:

"The suspects in the alleged attacks were cooperative with the investigation from its onset to the point of providing a video tape of the incident, which helped corroborate their account of the incident.

"Sunde was booked into the Orange County jail Friday, and was was also in possession of a small amount of marijuana at the time of her arrest, and was subsequently charged with possession of marijuana."

That about says it all.

Man registers .345 blood alcohol level

2006-02-27T17:21:00.000-08:00

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0227endanger27-ON.html

Something for you college folks to shoot for.

Madonna Better After Horse Accident

2006-02-27T17:17:00.000-08:00

http://www.comcast.net/music/index.jsp?cat=MUSIC&fn=/2006/02/27/334666.html

Easily the most depressing headline I've read in a long, long time.

I punched someone today

2006-02-24T23:40:00.000-08:00

I punched someone today.

This happens quite rarely. In fact, I can probably count the number of people I've successfully punched on one hand (not that the list of people I've tried to punch and failed is that large either).

I could say I feel really sorry about it. But I don't. He had it coming.

It's one thing to antagonize somebody. I do it all the time. Perhaps too much.

It's another thing to continue antagonizing someone after they have repeatedly asked you to stop, and repeatedly threatened retribution if it doesn't stop.

It's still another thing to continue antagonizing someone, then when they start to make good on their promises, instead of backing down and stopping and/or laughing about it to lighten the mood, do something to intentionally make that person even madder.

When that happens, I stop feeling sorry.

As I approached, I got water thrown on me. Dirty water. That was a bad idea. He then more or less turtled at me, but I still snuck in a left.

It connected, but not too badly.

Needless to say, the situation wasn't worthy of Defcon 1, and ended immediately afterward.

But it still wasn't pretty.

The moral of the story is, it's not a good idea to continually antagonize someone about something they're testy and defensive about in the first place.

And if you're wondering why I'm willing to talk about this incident so publicly (albeit in a very vague manner), I figure that I'm writing about it where no one will ever read it: my blog.

From the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" Files...

2006-02-24T08:29:00.000-08:00

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,18260795%5E20322,00.html
Disgraced, impeached and disbarred former president Slick Willy was turned down at an Australian golf course, leading to the following quotation:

Ms Alley's regular golf partner, Lorraine Bramley, agreed: "We would have played with him -- golf, that is."

The story ends by saying Clinton, who has been known in the past to fudge (among other things) his score, did not want to reveal how he played at his replacement course.

For the record...

2006-02-23T15:55:00.000-08:00

http://www.belmontvision.com/news04.html

For the first time that I can remember, I was quoted for a newspaper story, instead of the other way around.

I have to say Alison did a good job with the story, but she did slightly take my comments out of context.

Here's what she wrote:

“This was a chance to see where I stacked up against some of the best. Seventh isn’t first, and third isn’t first. Next year I hope to do a little better,” Lowry said. (emphasis mine)

It's certainly true I said all that.

However, Alison didn't include what I said to preface those remarks.

Before the emphasized sentence, I said that I was certainly happy to win any kind of award, seeing as how I knew that many more people entered and did not win any kind of award. I also said I was proud of everyone else from Belmont for winning what they did.

That quote as is makes me sound slightly arrogant (and it probably was).

Personally, I am extremely competitive, perhaps too much so. When I go to compete in something, I go to win. I don't believe there is any other way to compete. Thus, it's always slightly disappointing when I don't win 1st place.

However, that doesn't mean that I can't be happy with getting something other than 1st. It just means there's room for improvement next time :)

To recap, I thought Alison did a great job, and I might be worrying just a bit too much. I just wanted to set the record straight.

Mystery blob eating Los Angeles

2006-02-21T10:30:00.000-08:00

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_3529716

Where are the Ghostbusters when we need them?

It's not cool to be a whore

2006-02-21T10:29:00.000-08:00

http://www.thisislondon.com/music/articles/21770588?source=Evening%20Standard

I don't know who Dame Anita Roddick is, but I think she's absolutely right.

Dominik Hasek discovers new area between legs

2006-02-16T13:52:00.000-08:00

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/winter06/hockey/columns/story?id=2331986&lpos=tv1&lid=tab1pos2

"It's not a groin," Hasek said. "It's somewhere between my legs.”

Apparently Dominik Hasek has something else besides his groin down there. Hmm...

While a startling degree of articles have written off the Czech's chances because of the injury, I think it might be the exact opposite.

All of those writers forgot that his backup is Tomas Vokoun, who proved he is big game at the international level by winning the 2005 World Championships. Surely he is jumping at the chance to prove himself at the Olympic stage.

He is also playing as well this year as he ever has. He may have even been the better goalie to start from the outset.

Remember also, the big, bad Canadians are in trouble. Their defense is injury-riddled and has been largely replaced. The media-created distraction surrounding Wayne Gretzky also isn't helping.

Lost their chance at the gold? Hasek's injury may have made the Czechs an even bigger favorite.

Tennessean pushing hard for racial discrimination

2006-02-13T20:02:00.000-08:00

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060213/NEWS03/602130354

From start to finish, this front page story on The Tennessean is a glittering example of activist journalism.

I guarantee you this writer never approached this article objectively, with an open mind.

She devotes all of two paragraphs to an opposing viewpoint. That's not balance.

The point of the article from the beginning was to cry foul on promotions based on race.

In case you don't see what I'm talking about, read these sentences:

some black officers are calling for a new promotion system that would give the chief more discretion to advance people of color who don't score the highest on tests.

It is at this subjective point of the process, critics say, that many minority officers lose momentum toward promotions. (hint: because the process is racist)

The creme de la creme: Metro officials say the goal is to make the department an accurate reflection of the community it serves. About 28% of Davidson County's population is black, Kimball said.

Bingo. That says it all. Because we all know we feel a lot better knowing precisely 28% of the police force is black, rather than knowing that 100% are qualified to do the job.

Why I cannot fully support the Olympics

2006-02-12T00:12:00.000-08:00

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/48-02112006-611284.html

Well, this being an even year, the Olympics have rolled around again, this time obviously being the winter version.

This time, the two weeks of non-stop coverage will actually average out to 24 1/2 hours of coverage per day. That's a lot.

Included this year will be lots of hockey, which will be fun.

This year, as with every Olympics, I am a bit hesitant to fully embrace them.

From an athletic standpoint, there's no question that those competing are the best in the world, and want to compete for their country.

However, I really hold back because of the political nature of the event. The Olympics are a big global anti-war kum-bay-ah. This year, along with at least 2004, they used John Lennon's "Imagine" in the opening ceremonies. That song epitomizes liberal wishful thinking, so that's a huge red flag.

IOC president Jacques Rogge has also made political statements at this current one, saying, "Our world today is in need of peace, tolerance and brotherhood. The values of the Olympic Games can deliver these to us. May the Games be held in peace and the athletes show us that sport unites by overcoming national, political, religious and language barriers.''

Statements like that are why while I will watch a little bit of it (mostly hockey), I'll be doing so half-heartedly.

Why no one takes Fox Sports seriously

2006-02-08T14:42:00.000-08:00

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5314622

Scroll 2/3 of the way down and read the caption.

It's 1992. TWO. NOT 1991.

It's a great photo and all but it does not apply to the 1991 Braves!

Lame protest sign NOT written by a Democrat!

2006-02-08T09:45:00.000-08:00

Check out that sign on the right. "How dare u" is the best they could come up with? Was that written by a six-year-old? I need answers...

Birds take a dump on Katie Couric

2006-02-08T09:30:00.000-08:00

The headline says it all.

Apparently the Turin/Torino Olympics are off to a great start.

Goodbye, MySpace!

2006-02-07T23:51:00.000-08:00

I posted this at my former MySpace site. Read further to discover why it's now a former MySpace site.

If you have been following the news, the easy news-of-the-month lately has been the story of Jacob Robida, who went into a gay bar in Massachusetts, attacked people with a hachet and gun, then went to Arkansas and killed two people before committing suicide. If you haven't heard it, you can read the story here.

Being curious, I found Jacob's purported MySpace site a few days ago before it was recently shut down. I won't go into detail about what he had on it, only to say he had some very creepy stuff on it, and his friends are in need of serious help from Christ.

However, that in itself is not what moved me to all but delete my MySpace profile.
What Tom decided to post in its place did.

After thousands, if not more people like me visited Jacob's MySpace site, Tom decided to shut it down. Fair enough; Facebook has been known to shut down deceased members' profiles as well.

However, Tom decided to post in its place a bit of propoganda, including an attack on the Bush administration.

Yet again, someone has used media publicity that had absolutely nothing to do with President Bush, and turned into an ignorant attack on the President.

You may remember a talentless moron named Kanye West pulling this crap a few months ago or read about the more recent example of it here. Either way, you're probably as sick of it as I am.

(And if you aren't and actually like that sort of thing, then I have some beachfront property in Iowa to sell you)

Either way, Tom posted this: "While the mainstream media is busy covering this tragic yet insignificant story, important things are going on in the world. The sad irony of the supposed “information age” is a noticeable absence of actual news from America’s most popular media outlets. House fires, car accidents, kidnappings—while all certainly important to the few people they immediately concern—are completely irrelevant to the human race as a whole, yet these such stories dominate the headlines. This is said to exclude stories of celebrity lifestyles, "human interest", and sports, all of which have positively no value to civic life. This standard of journalistic irresponsibility works in direct contrast with democracy, as citizens of America—a nation heralded as a supposed bastion of democracy—remain the most ill-informed citizens in the developed world. For example, a majority of Americans continue to believe that Saddam Hussein was directly responsible for the 11 September attacks, but know for certain that Lindsey Lohan has struggle with an eating disorder.

As such stories grip American audiences, the current administration in the White House is setting a course for American the democracy that could very well see it to its finish, much in the vein of Roman democracy’s defeat beneath the boot of militaristic dictatorship. At this crossroad of history, we find America much more concerned with stories which will never amount to as much as a sentence in any history book. Fascism, the face of which has begun to emerge in America, thrives on ignorance of this sort, relying upon a population sedated by inconsequential matters and willingly ignorant of issues central to the survival of their community and species.
Shame on the American media, and shame on the American public. You have shunned the gift of knowledge afforded to us by thousands of years of human progress, and have chosen rather the bliss of ignorance. The price could prove to be the freedom of the greatest democracy of all time."

(emphasis mine)

The bottom line is this: when Random Celebrity A or World Leader B says something like that, there is no reaction I can have other than laugh them off or say "screw him".

But when I have a choice where to waste my time on the Internet, I'll go to a site that doesn't use cheap publicity to take shots at the President.

So I'm deleting all but this post from my site, and keeping up a skeleton here, so I'm at least able to visit if I have to.

But otherwise, I'm done. Thanks Tom.

ESPN, I must take issue with thee

2006-02-07T23:13:00.000-08:00

I just finished watching a promo for ESPN's celebration of Black History Month.

In it, the announcer brought up a tremendous athletic achievement that had virtually nothing to do with race, and everything to do with the product of years and years of hard work and determination mixed with four days of out-of-this world golf.

I refer to Tiger Woods winning the 1997 Masters.

In case you don't remember, he won by 12 strokes. 12. That's three holes of golf.

Among other astonishing career achievements, he has since won three more Masters, tying the great Arnold Palmer and second only to Jack Nicklaus. You don't need me to tell you the guy can play.

Because this is Black History Month, there are more than the usual stories, commericials, what have you about black history and reminding us of this fact. That's not a problem.

(Unless you believe that going out of your way to focus an entire month on the history of a specific race is, at best, hyper-exclusionary)

Still, that doesn't excuse anyone from getting away with tired, worn-out shots like this:

"In 1997, Tiger Woods won the Masters, helping the sport confront its racist history."

What good does it do to bring up the sport's racist history? None! All it does is ruin the first half of that statement by (yet again) reminding us that the world and the United States has a racist history.

Here's the point:

Regardless of golf's history, you will never be able to move on from past racism unless you stop harping on it.

The past is the past is the past. Period. No matter how many public service announcements you run, you can't change the past. Period.

Constant demands to "confront" history are pointless. You can only learn from it and you move on. Period.

The fact of the matter is, Tiger Woods is a great golfer. He's not a great black golfer. He's a great golfer.

You notice what I did there? I did not look at his race, but rather looked at him as an athlete.

Guess what? When that happens, the racist history is rendered moot. Guess I just "confronted the sport's racist history."

Also, believe it or not, just because I'm white and male doesn't make me racist. I know, I know, I was shocked too when I learned that. But it's true.

So the next time Black History Month rolls around, ESPN, by all means remember Tiger's phenominal achievement. But don't take a Tiger-sized step backwards in the process.

All Because Of Cartoons...

2006-02-05T23:58:00.000-08:00

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/b90d681a-9685-11da-a5ba-0000779e2340.html

These people are getting this cracked up about some cartoons? And some people can't figure out why we think that region of the world is a threat to us...

Holy Cow!! Updates!!

2006-02-05T23:18:00.000-08:00

Yes, I've finally gotten around to linking to some of my favorite Web sites (as well as some I truly hate). They're all conveniently located to your right on that handy-dandy table.

Enjoy!

Random and utterly meaningless contest

2006-01-22T00:42:00.000-08:00

Which of the four should be the permanent description for my blog?

The winning entry...wins. The losing entries will all be burned. These are my terms.

Choices:

Because if you don't read it...who will?

Because if you don't read it...the terrorists win!

Dumbing the world down...one reader at a time.

Taking serious, real life problems and composing transparent, superficial and temporary solutions.

West Virginia Tragedy

2006-01-04T02:52:00.000-08:00

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/04/D8ETP0G0F.html

What an unbelievable, gut-wretching turn of events.

I would encourage all of you to pray for the family members, friends and loved ones of those connected with this tragedy, as well as the community of Tallmansville, West Virginia. They need it right now. They've been put through a emotional roller coaster the likes of which I pray nobody has to go through.

Let's not forget about Ben Hatfield, the CEO of the mining company involved. I feel terrible for him right now. Very likey he was operating on very little if any sleep the last 48 hours to begin with.

Finally today, he has to endure the joy of hearing that 12 of the 13 survived only to later get the news that it was innaccurate, then having the sole responsibility to face all of the family members, friends, and loved ones to tell them the people they thought had survived had actually passed away. Imagine having that feeling.

Then he had to face a never-ending stream of redundant, angry, and frequently insipid press questions, such as "How could you do such a thing?" and "How did the families feel?"

Considering he was never the one to spread the rumor, for example, I can't believe he didn't emotionally lose it in front of the cameras, and either weep or start yelling. The man must have superhuman patience.

Anderson Cooper of CNN seemed especially annoyed at the sudden 180 in developments, indignantly demanding to know how this could possibly happen. To me, this was extremely low, as Cooper seemed to be (if he wasn't really) more annoyed that he was given misinformation than sorry for the families who had to receive the news.

Once again, Hatfield somehow answered that comment with the truth as delicately as he could: Wishful thinking had gotten the better of someone, and that wishful thinking had spread like wildfire.

Besides, shouldn't the fact that only one ambulance was shown leaving the scene give someone a clue?

On a final note, please don't think I'm making light of the situation or anything, but since I'm sure I'm the absolute first to notice this, does anyone else think it's interesting that the CEO and survivor are named Hatfield and McCloy?

Moore's B.O.

2006-01-02T14:44:00.000-08:00

I have to say, I enjoy any article that manages to connect Michael Moore and the phrase "domestic B.O." together.

http://www.variety.com/VR1117935355.html

Bush takes every state but Texas!

2005-12-01T10:59:00.000-08:00

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/fp/flashPollResultsState?sportIndex=ncf&pollId=33912

Helpless

2005-11-23T21:05:00.000-08:00

You want to know what helpless is?

I have a friend who I have not heard from in about three weeks. He also happens to be the only guy I have kept in contact from high school with that I am good friends with.

A few weeks ago, when I was coming back in town, I called him to let him know I'd be in Atlanta. He answered and said he was busy working, but also said he might make some time.

Unfortunately, as it turns out, I was too busy to meet up with him.

That Monday, when I got back to Nashville, I called up his phone, intending to tell him some things came up and I got busy. His mom picked up the phone, and, just out of habit, I asked if it was him.

She told me he was out of town, and had forgotten his phone.

I suppose that should have been a red flag or something, since he always has his phone, but I didn't think much of it.

Well, that was the last time I heard from him, or his family.

He has not picked up his phone in the last three weeks. Now, I can have a quite active imagination at times, so this really got me worried, thinking maybe I had said something or done something that would make him cut me off.

I just found out today he's "in trouble."

How helpless a feeling is it knowing your friend (and, really, your only friend in all of high school), drops off the face of the earth, doesn't pick up his phone, whose parents give strange responses to his whereabouts, and is now apparently "in trouble", and that there is nothing I can do about it?

That's helpless.

You want busy? I'll give you busy..

2005-11-18T19:08:00.000-08:00

Try this:

9:00-10:00: review tape of class video for project
10:00-1:30: send tons of hockey-related e-mails, do some writing
1:30-3:30: volleyball game
3:30-5:00: prep for "live broadcast of bonfire"
5:00-6:30: frantic live non-broadcast of bonfire, but rather live call-in updates of bonfire, as well as recording new fight song and promos for the Voice
7:00-8:30: volleyball game
9:00-9:30: dinner, pack, get ready
9:30-1:00: drive down to Atlanta

Saturday:
8:00-whenever: hockey-related meeting at ice rink
whenever-before 1:00: drive back to Nashville
1:00-2:30: attend, shoot photos for, report on volleyball game
3:00-5:00 prep for tailgate party broadcast
5:00-6:30 live call-in updates of tailgate party
7:00-9:30 men's basketball home opener

No more comments about how I'm lazy, all right?

Fact or Fiction?

2005-11-18T11:04:00.000-08:00

Man bites snake
Hermaphrodite fish

Headlines taken from The National Enquirer or The Daily Star?

Nope. True, honest-to-goodness headlines from ESPN.com. See here or here for proof.

More Brian Wilson

2005-09-01T21:54:00.000-07:00

What makes Brian Wilson's songs so great?

They're simple.

They're timelessly optimistic.

That's all you need.

Brian Wilson

2005-08-25T22:59:00.000-07:00

I could write a lot about SMiLE, but suffice to say, I think it is one of the best albums I've ever heard in my life. This coming from someone that has virtually every Beatles song ever recorded, so that statement covers even Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper's.

So I was kicking myself for not seeing Brian in concert on his last leg of his SMiLE tour, which would have been in Atlanta.

When I saw that there would be a second U.S. swing of the tour in March, I immediately decided to get tickets to the closest town, no matter where that would be.

It turned out to be St. Louis. Not exactly next door.

Still, I didn't care how far I had to drive, I just knew I had to go.

Well, the concert was last night (Wednesday), or the same day as my first day of class as a junior.

I had my three (or two, thanks to the uppity art department) classes, then hopped in the car and went. As I usually do when rushed, I did leave a few things behind, but the important stuff, like the ticket, directions, etc came along.

St. Louis is right around 300 miles away from Nashville, which, according to Mapquest, takes five hours. Mapquest assumed I would go the speed limit. I didn't have time for the speed limit.

I had figured it was going to be about four and a half. I became quite worried when someone told me it had taken them six hours to get there, but that turned out not to apply to me.

Thankfully, I only saw one cop the entire way over, and he was on the other side of the highway (as were the only three I saw on my way back)

So had it not been for sporadic construction delays, I might have been able to break four hours. Technically, that's a reasonable possibility, because that would mean I'd have to average 75 the whole way. But I digress.

It was different once I got into eastern Illinois and farm country. I've ridden through it before (although never driven through it), and coming from the South where the roads constantly curve and bend and the sides of the highways are covered with trees. Not so in farm country. You can literally see for miles to either side of the car, which is amazing.

Finally seeing the arch in the distance as I grew nearer was a highlight.

As it turned out, I made it after about four and a half hours. Since I left right at 3, that gave me an even half hour to await the start of the concert. That wasn't so bad, as the warmup music was Brian Wilson stuff.

Even as I listen to it now in the background, it amazes me how gifted the guy is. He has the ability to craft songs that range from instantly catchy and optimistic to deep and thoughtful, but they are always a treat on the ears. His use of harmony is simply amazing. His music can be simple or incredibly complex, but it is never cheap.

As with his album, I could go about how talented he is, but suffice to say, all music collections should begin and end with his music.

All of this, and he's deaf in one ear.

Simply amazing.

I'll write a little more later.

2005-05-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

The Democratic party has sailed off into an abyss of lunacy.

Gone are the days of civilized discourse and serious intellectual discussion.

For years, the Democrats have been without new ideas and new ways to approach issues such as the War on Terror, the looming Social Security collapse, and immigration.

They’d rather whine and moan about one ambassador to a worthless, failed organization like the U.N.

Modern Democrats are now being defined by the open hatred spewed forth by the Howard Deans of their party.

It is no wonder the Democrats have gone from controlling every branch of the federal government 11 years ago to controlling just one (the judiciary) today.

Even that power is slowly being lost to them, as mainstream Americans are waking up to the ludicrous and harmful decisions being passed down by liberal judges.

It has taken the Democrats 11 years to move from absolute power to utter, complete collapse.

With the serious issues facing the country today, you could say this has happened not a moment too soon.

NY Times can't resist cheap shot

2005-02-06T23:58:00.000-08:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/07/business/media/07adcol.html

Once again, the New York Times can't resist taking shots at President Bush, this time sneaking in their puny pot-shot in their recap of this year's Super Bowl ads.

The Anheuser-Busch tribute ad which showed an airport crowd stopping to give a group of troops a standing ovation was one of the most memorable Super Bowl ads in years. The ad, which contained no dialogue and no actual product placement, proved to be too irresistible for an anti-Bush media organization to pass up a chance to, yet again, critize President Bush.

The ad can be located here, as the first link on the left:
http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/extra/superclips.html

Here is the New York Times' analysis of the ad:

A gauzy valentine to American troops, which ended with the Anheuser-Busch corporate logo superimposed on screen, was touching, but some viewers may have wondered whether "Busch" had been misspelled.

"Gauzy valentine"? I don't think anyone outside of Upper West Side liberals could have viewed the ad as such. In reality, it was a sincere thank you (courtesy of an eeeevil American corporation with the bankroll to afford the airtime) to those that serve this country with their lives.

In fact, I almost would have preferred it if Anheuser-Busch hadn't put their logo at the end of the ad, and had left it anonymous. The only drawback to that may have been that the public would demand to know who was behind the ad, and the company would probably have gotten what would have appeared to be "cheap" publicity.

"..but some viewers may have wondered whether 'Busch' had been misspelled."

What kind of smarmy cheap shot is that? Why can't liberals let perhaps the most poignant of Super Bowl ads in recent memory go without some sort of criticism?

For most Super Bowl ads this year at my viewing party, there was ususally some manner of conversation that took place during the ad, whether or not it was related to it. Sometimes, we laughed at an ad. Sometimes, we critized an ad. Sometimes, we just didn't care about the ad.

This ad was different. From the very beginning, with no fast-paced intro, catchy jingle, or booming voice-over, the ad caught our attention. Once the message of the ad became clear, all conversation immediately ceased. Everyone was hooked on it. The ad's content was too substantive to ignore. I can't imagine that most of the rest of the Super Bowl's audience felt too differently (especially those in the red states).

I'll admit that I got chills while watching the ad. It was brilliantly produced. The background noise set up the scene (a crowded airport) in such a way that our minds were able to project ourselves into the familiar territory. Then, the quick shot of the troops (which was almost too quick to catch) set the stage for the rest of the ad.

The background noise was then pierced by the sound of singular clapping, coupled with the shots of those in the crowd wanting to see what the fuss was about. The clapping then built upon itself, while at the same time the keyboard music was phased in.

When enough people were clapping, the sound was phased out (at exactly halfway through the ad), as our minds no longer needed to hear the noise being projected from the television screen, as it was being drowned out by the simultaneous applause in our own minds. The keyboard music kept the ad flowing, until the simple "Thank you" was phased onto the screen, before we finally found out who had decided to give just a small bit of thanks back to our troops.

And yet, even an ad this poignant wasn't immune to a partisan, liberal low blow. How sad.

Being a Christian

2005-01-25T23:56:00.000-08:00

Being a Christian means you voluntarily forgo the notion that the world revolves around you. It means you openly submit to an authority higher than yourself.

In doing so, you gain the ability to truly trust the will of God, and know that His reasons are for the best.

Still, anytime I see an obituary for someone my age, it makes me wonder what God's plans are for me.

While visiting the ACHA hockey Web site to begin writing my Center Ice article (please don't ask when it's due), I found this.

That serves as a reminder that we are not guaranteed another breath. However, we can take comfort knowing that God will take each one of us when it is our time.

A sad example of today's youth

2005-01-24T16:12:00.000-08:00

It's a little hard to see (click on it to enlarge the photo), but this picture is an illustration of a study done connecting the "romantic relationships" of teenagers at a public Midwestern high school. The blue dots represent males, while the pink dots represent females. Granted, the study was done ten years ago, but that pattern is most likely an accurate portrayal of sexual activity of teenagers of high school age today.

Can you imagine the emotional and spiritual distress that those souls are experiencing right now as a result of this? It's heartbreaking to think that this sort of thing is happening across the country at every high school.

I pray that every single one of those people come to Christ, and find healing from this disturbing trend.

The Peyton Pretense

2005-01-17T14:34:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, the much-ballyhooed opportunity for Peyton Manning to shake his Foxboro demons was exposed for the mega-hyped sham that it was.

Despite all of the air that was spent and ink that was spilled heaping praise upon Manning's record-breaking season, he still ultimately failed when it mattered most, falling flat against the Patriots, and throwing for just 163 meaningless yards.

To some, his performance was a surprise. To those that were paying attention, it was expected.

Anyone who has watched an Indianapolis Colts game should be able to spot the tell-tale signs. The ever-present flustered look. The frantic, waving hands before every snap. The happy feet on every pass. The sheer panic anytime he’s either pressured or his wide outs are covered.

Ask yourself, are those the attributes of a quarterback that you want in the playoffs?

Or would you rather have the opposite? Someone calm. Cool. Collected. The ability to lead his team under adverse conditions, or make something out of a broken play.

That is precisely how quarterbacks like Tom Brady look in every game.

Still, all season, NFL fans were led by the press to believe that Peyton Manning was Superman, putting up gaudy numbers and breaking records.

Did anyone stop and look at the schedule?

The Colts played a weak collection of teams that were easy for Manning to pick apart, like Houston and Chicago. In fact, the Colts played only two meaningful road games all year, losing to New England in Week One, and barely defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week Four. Excluding a close win over San Diego, their home schedule also featured teams that are on the decline, at best.

Because that schedule produced Manning’s 49 touchdowns, suddenly he was able to beat New England? Um, no.

Despite all of the hype, the Colts were still 12-4. They still were only a wild card in the postseason. Their defense still ranked near the bottom of the league. And Manning was still no better prepared to face a real NFL defense, like the Patriots, than he was last season.

Before I go too far, it’s important to say that Peyton Manning is surely a very good NFL quarterback. It takes a very good quarterback to do what he has done this year. But remember to keep everything in perspective.

He sits behind an offensive line that gives him all day to throw. When he wants, he can hand off to a very good running back in Edgerrin James. Or he has the option of throwing to one of the best wide receivers in NFL history in Marvin Harrison. Or, he can throw to two guys that would likely be number one wide outs on any other team in Reggie Wayne or Brandon Stokely. Even if all of that fails, he has two good tight ends in Dallas Clark and Marcus Pollard to dump the ball off to.

However, all of this is meaningless when he faces an NFL team that is the perfect blend of masterful preparation mixed with textbook execution.

The Patriots know how to defeat Peyton Manning: cover his wide receivers. Somehow, that memo doesn’t get passed down to the other 30 defensive coordinators in the league.

Opposing defenses usually look clueless, lost, and unprepared when facing Manning, simply because most of the time they use too many players trying to rush Manning to adequately cover the wide receivers when merely covering his options pressures him enough.

The Patriots used an extra man in coverage to ensure that nobody would break loose for a big play, yet were still able to create enough pressure on Manning to force him to make bad throws.

The bottom line is, no matter how much hype that is artificially built around Manning, he’s still not good enough to beat the New England Patriots.

Perhaps the press will remember that next year, when Manning is again heaping gobs of meaningless touchdowns upon weak opponents, and causing them to again proclaim that this is finally his year to “win the big one”.

I’m not holding my breath.

Music's Purpose

2005-01-07T01:46:00.000-08:00

Really, truly, what is the purpose of music if not to glorify something? Often, music glorifies a lifestyle, or at least conveys an emotion that the artist is experiencing, and wants to share with their audience.

But what beyond God is ultimately worth glorifying?

Nothing. No matter how catchy the music is and how much the lyrics might beg you to sing along, secular music ultimately is worthless.

Don't get me wrong, I think secular music has its place. I grew up on oldies. I'm a huge Beatles fan. I also happen to think that Brian Wilson is one of the most gifted songwriters in American history. I appreciate talented musicians as much as anyone. (I should; I go to a music school)

However, ultimately, music that does not glorify God eternally has no purpose.

Thus, worship music can be considered the truest form of music, as its songs are the only ones whose meaning is eternal.

Praise songs to God will be sung forever. "I Want To Hold Your Hand" will have no place in God's kingdom.

Adopt A Soldier

2005-01-05T20:30:00.000-08:00

With our men and women fighting abroad to defend our country in Afghanistan and Iraq, I felt that there was something I could do to help out.

After seeing an update of Operationac.com (about a Delaware housewife who has devoted much of her time since mid-2003 to sending air conditioners to soldiers in Iraq) on Rush's site, I decided that it was a worthy cause to be a part of.

The site still sends air conditioners (although it is winter there right now, and heaters are currently being sent), but it has also created an "adopt-a-soldier" facet to their Web site that allows people to adopt a particular soldier.

While I obviously can't reveal the name or contact info of the soldier, I believe it is a fantastic cause, and a great way to support the troops.

Although I'm no money tree, I'll find a way to afford what the troops want. After all, who deserves it more than them?

First post...or is it...

2005-01-01T01:01:00.000-08:00

Here's the deal. I have been partaking in this phenomenon known as "blogging" for about a year and a half now. I originally started on blogger.com, then moved to xanga a few months later, and have been there until now. Finally, I decided that xanga isn't user-friendly enough for me. (Actually, I used to do something similar on my late, great, old Web site, my first foray into the wonderful world of the web, located here)

Thus, I have a year and a half of posts floating around in more than one place on different topics. Most of them seem a tad dated now, but some of them are significant or are (in my opinion) funny enough to re-post.

So I'm back here, under a new name, the origins of which I shall explain later.

Basically, I'm going to collect all of the old posts I deem worth keeping and then continue on anew here.

That's why I'll have posts from more than a year ago on the site when it will have just been launched today.

Bruin Madness

2004-11-18T06:33:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday night, there were two events going on at 10 pm that I wanted to go to: ultimate frisbee practice, and Bruin Madness. Because there would be plenty more practices, and I knew someone on the dance team and someone on the cheerleading squard that were going to performing for the first time all year at Bruin Madness, I decided to go to that.

As I'm walking out of Wright/Maddox, Ryan Snellen, a buddy who is also Belmont's best cross country runner, calls me from behind, and I wait up for him. He tells me that Baker is going to make time in the program for Snell to get recognized for making nationals, which was going to be really cool, since I doubt a whole lot of people know about that.

So we get into Curb, and we're looking for a place to sit. I tell him it doesn't really matter to me, and that I was following him. He spots a section down near the floor where a lot of the women's cross country team are sitting, and we head down there. We sit in the fourth row, waiting for the show to start.

Soon, a couple of his friends show up, including one other cross country runnner. We scoot down to make room for them, even though we use up all of the seats in our row in the process.

Then Jacob Buckman, who is also on the team, showed up. Since there was an open seat in the row in front, and since he was better friends with Jacob, I decided to volunteer to move down, which wasn't so bad, because I was next to a lot of girls. I moved into Section 102, Row C, Seat 24. Remember that, as it will come back later.

So the performance starts, and there are a few musical acts. During one of them, I found myself by surrounded girls who were singing along to an Ashlee Simpson song (yikes). So I felt a tad
out of place.

Finally, we get to the point of the show where the basketball teams come out, and throw t-shirts into the stands. I caught one straight out from one of the girls, and another landed at my feet from one of the guys (which I gave away).

So I'm thinking, cool, I've got myself a t-shirt now. Awesome.

The two teams end up in a three-point shooting contest, which the guys won. (yay for masculinity!) The winner got a sash to wear, though, so I don't think he was too pleased with that. I'm sure he will catch a good bit of grief for that all year.

Another song performance had a huge group of people who said they were singing a Journey song, and tried to fire up the crowd by doing fist pumps. To Journey.

So during their song, I got pelted in the back of the head by another t-shirt, making it three on the night for me. Yay.

Finally, we got to the point of the show where they were giving away the 500 dollars in cash they were advertising in order to draw a bigger crowd to Madness.

The way they did it was, they randomly selected three seats, and the people in the seats got a shot at the money by taking a 5th/3rd bank brochure (terrible name, I know), and making it into a paper airplane, then throwing it at center court, with the closest winning the money.

And what seat would be chosen first but Section 102, Row C, Seat 24. Yep. Me.

Of course, I'm in shock that I was actually chosen, but I managed to mosey on down there, and am immediately blinded by the spotlight. Baker thrusts the mike into my face, and tells me to say my name.

"Darren," I replied, somewhat weakly, still taken by everything.

The other two people chosen were both girls, one of whom, Brittany Card, I knew, and I can say I'm friends with.

So we go over to an administrator, who tells us to sign a waiver form. I guess that was in case one of us threw out our arm when chucking the paper airplane. Whatever. So I go ahead and sign away.

During all of this was when Snellen and the cross country teams were being honored for their success, along with the volleyball team.

There's only one problem with all of this: I don't know how to make a paper airplane. At all.
So I frantically try to put something together, while the two girls manage to put together two picture perfect airplanes of their own.

It's about this time I'm thinking I'm totally screwed. But wait, it gets better.

So I get up to the line with the two, just hoping it glides along the ground and somehow stops closest.

I wind up, and threw -- and the damn thing immediately went left. In fact, it went backwards.

Yeah. I was very embarrassed. I've been told a couple of times that I threw it too hard, but basically, I was screwed no matter what.

Brittany ended up winning easily. I was able to pull myself together to congratulate her on the floor, and I was genuinely happy that she won, but I was obviously embarrassed and disappointed not to win.

So that was the story of my Bruin Madness. I went to cheer on Snellen so he would be recognized for his accomplishments, and watch my friends on the dance team and cheerleading squad. I got not one, not two, but actually three t-shirts all night, and left with two. Then, in a five minute span, I went from having a chance at winning 500 dollars to embarrassing myself in front of a few hundred people.

Oh well. I guess if that's the most embarrassing thing that happens to me in college, it'll be all
right.

Hope you enjoyed that story. I hope you did.

After all, it was worth 500 bucks to me.

Red Sox win World Series

2004-10-27T23:50:00.000-07:00

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20041028/D8606KCO0.html
The Boston Red Sox have won the World Series. Wow.

I honestly thought that the Red Sox would never win a World Series in my lifetime. I didn't. I thought the Red Sox would always choke in whatever World Series they'd make.

I thought the Red Sox were destined to always lose to the Yankees. I thought we'd forever have to put up with the smug, self-righteous Yankee fans, who, in order to satisfy some sort of deep-seeded inferiority complex, would always boast of their own superiority to Red Sox or other fans.

But no more. It's over. And I still can't believe it.

http://espnradio.espn.go.com/espnradio/story?storyId=1826718
Apparently, the Red Sox were inspired before ALCS Game 7 by watching "Miracle".

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2004/10/25/worlds_oldest_man_cheering_for_red_sox/
And also apparently, the supposed oldest man in the world is also a Red Sox fan. (Not that I think he's outright lying, but it's tough to definitively know for sure)

Ronald Reagan

2004-06-07T02:02:00.000-07:00

Optimism.

It was the way of life for Ronald Reagan. In many ways, it is the legacy he left behind after his death on June 5.

That personal optimism was often outwardly reflected as Reagan was seldom ever seen without a smile on his face, in public or in private. Even in the face of intense professional and especially personal criticism from critics, Reagan remained smiling and laughing through it all.

His optimism was infectious. With what he was faced with when he took office in 1981, it needed to be.

Before Reagan's election, America was headed down the wrong path.

Americans were being held hostage in Iran, and the government seemed powerless to stop it. Rising unemployment and inflation caused then-President Jimmy Carter to invent a "misery index" to measure the depth of negativity in society. The Soviet Union forebodingly loomed as a threat to America and its way of life.

Then, Reagan took office. After surviving an assassination attempt that very nearly took his life, he began to steer the country back to its former glory. The Iran hostages were freed immediately after the 1980 elections. Reagan jump-started America with income tax rate reductions that had been choking the life out of the American economy. Reagan also aggressively took on the Soviet Union, declaring it to be the "Evil Empire". Reagan also initiated the largest peacetime build-up of the U.S. military in America history. Two years after Reagan left office, the Soviet Union disintegrated, just as Reagan (and no one else) had predicted.

It is Reagan's optimism that was his source of his great personal strength and the lasting image his presidency left upon all Americans. His reference to America as "the shining city upon a hill" reflected his personal belief that America was the freest, greatest country in the world.

Reagan was precisely the right president at precisely the right time for America. He was an inspiration to those who were beginning to lose faith in our country. Without his hope, his guidance, and his leadership, one wonders where America would be today.

With the death of former President Ronald Reagan, America mourns the passing of a great man, and a supreme leader.

Ronald Reagan 1911-2004

Ryan Peebles

2004-04-25T01:25:00.000-07:00

Late Thursday night, I found out that one of the guys I graduated high school with, Ryan Peebles, committed suicide earlier in the week.

Obviously, along with everyone I've talked to from high school, I am shocked and saddened at the news. It seemed like Ryan always had a smile on his face, and always had something funny to say. I hadn't talked to him since graduation, but apparently he had turned his life around in his last few months, completely dedicating his life to Christ, making his death all the more tragic and confusing.

I've never really dealt with the death of anyone close to me before. Aside from a couple of pets and a handful of people who I had met but did not know that well, I've been blessed not to have anyone close to me pass away.

I drove down for the funeral the next morning. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I got to the service a couple of minutes late. It seemed eerie walking into my high school gymnasium in front of people I hadn't seen in months or years exactly the same way I used to every day for high school.

I didn't have time to let Ryan's death sink in until the service. I tried not to think about it Thursday night or while driving on Friday so I could make it to Georgia okay. However, one glance at the program Friday afternoon caused four years of memories to come flooding back, along with (yes, I'll say it) tears.

I found myself reflecting over my memories with Ryan. Although he and I were not terribly close, in a graduating class of 29, you get to know everyone pretty well. Many of the memories were of times in class or in track together, which were fun times.

Honestly, I'm still in shock. Suicide is one of those issues you hear about but aren't really touched by until it is painfully close. Like many, I thought it was something I'd hopefully never have to deal with. Not now. Not in my teen years.

But slowly, I'm realizing that yes, it's real, and yes, Ryan's really gone. In trying to move on from this, the saying that has risen to mind is "Don't be sad it's over, be happy that it happened."

Ryan Peebles 08/01/84-04/19/04

My Sitcom Life

2004-04-10T01:59:00.000-07:00

I play to an audience invisible to all but myself. For some reason, I often find myself acting in such a way that I am not responding directly to those around me, but instead responding in a way that I find most funny, and in so, playing for laughs that only I can hear. It's almost as if I'm living through a sitcom in my head.

Perhaps this has something to do with my affinity with Andy Kaufman. He likewise seemed to play to an unseen audience. However, I have always considered him to be utterly brilliant. He was always one step ahead of everybody. He was completely unafraid to try anything, despite the possible consequences. He was even so brilliant that there are still those who believe that Andy Kaufman faked his own death, and lives on today.

Again, I don't know why I sometimes act that way, but it seems to come naturally. I think it's a quirk that will probably stay with me my entire life.

Fantasy Baseball Draft

2004-03-11T01:31:00.000-08:00

You’re halfway through your first fantasy baseball draft of the year.

You’ve become hooked on the sport. You did okay last year, but couldn’t quite make it to the finals.

This year, however, you think you’ve got the hang of it, and believe you’re on your way to beating 11 other people to become your league champion.

That’s when you start worrying again about how injury-prone your number one pick is, knowing if he’s sunk, likely so is your season.

Remembering you have a hole in the outfield, you also cross your fingers knowing Scott Podsednik is still out there somewhere.

You then chuckle at your opponents, knowing that while some chump drafted Scott Rolen in the fourth round, you stole Morgan Ensberg in the tenth.

You grit your teeth as you watch one of your best sleepers go down early, sending you scrambling back to your cheat sheets for guidance. Some dope is hogging all of the pitching, forcing you to choose between Kyle Lohse and Jake Peavy for your starting rotation.

Suddenly, the guy before you makes his pick. You have a minute-thirty to frantically gaze into your crystal ball, past all of the future injuries, trades, and clubhouse problems, determine which offense is going to produce the most or which pitching staff is going to dominate the most, and choose from a list of guys you’ll never even watch this year.

Sweat begins to form on your forehead.

Do you shore up your outfield? Maybe take a chance on a starting pitcher? Draft a quality backup at shortstop? Perhaps nab that closer nobody else knows about?

After deciding that, you must consider:

What ballpark does he play at again? Who did they trade away in the off-season? Where does he hit in the batting order? How many runs did he give up last year?

What will you do?

That, my friend, is up to you. After all, it is only a game.

Spring Training

2004-02-21T02:09:00.000-08:00

It’s finally that time of year again.

You can spend all the time you want following the latest development in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. Fritter hours discussing which teams improved the most in the off-season. Endlessly debate who the favorite to win each division is.

Such things are fun, but they are not what make February and March so exciting for baseball fans.

Instead, you can enjoy how, for at least two months, all of those overpaid millionaire crybabies get together to play catch and run drills just like you did when you were in Little League.

Indeed, spring training is the one time of year when you can take your son or daughter (or yourself) to see their favorite players up close and personal, maybe get an autograph or two, possibly chat with a coach, or even see the star player of tomorrow, all without having to sell off a kidney or fight off some security guards in the process.

Baseball has seemingly isolated its fans from a game that is supposed to be America’s pastime. Many teams don’t hold open autograph sessions for their fans. Players and coaches seem off-limits during the year. Ticket prices are soaring and concession stand prices are outrageous. It’s no wonder attendance figures around the league are falling every season.

But, spring training is still a marvelous time when fans can connect to the game they love, but have been driven away from. Everyone, from the players to the fans to the coaches can’t seem to resist a smile. After all, who wouldn’t want to spend the last parts of winter in sunny, warm weather?

If you can, visit one of the spring training camps in Florida or Arizona. You’ll get to see professional baseball the way it was meant to be: just plain fun for all.

Cheer up though. Opening day is only a few weeks away.

A seed is planted..

2003-11-06T00:02:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, my birthday, I found myself asking the same questions.

What have I been living for in the last 18 years? Myself? God?

What am I living for now? What will I live for in the future?

I need to stop just wasting my days, and start to live for something.

I think the best way to start doing this would be to commit myself to try to grow physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually every day. I don't know how many breaths I have left. I know that I should make them worth living for.

Dan Snyder passes away

2003-10-05T23:27:00.000-07:00

You think Tuesday was bad?

Dan Snyder, one of the victims of the car wreck I talked about in my last blog, died tonight.

There is nothing to say other than I am praying for the Snyder family, and that I along with the city of Atlanta grieve his loss.

Black Tuesday

2003-09-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

Just call it Black Tuesday.

I got back from the library to see someone being loaded onto an ambulance from Heron. It didn't look like anything serious. What I was going to see next was.

I got back to my dorm, wanting to watch "Around the Horn."

Silly rabbit, it's playoff season.

The Giants and the Marlins were on ESPN. I flip to the general area of ESPN2. However, I go to CSS instead. CSS was broadcasting ESPNNEWS, which was showing a picture of Thrashers players Dany Heatley and Dan Synder.

Since the Thrashers get next to nothing in terms of national news coverage, I figured something was up.

The next picture was gut-wrenching. Heatley's brand-new Ferrari was split in half, as it had crashed into a wall. This is the link for a picture of what used to be Heatley's car.

Heatley, the driver, wasn't thrown from the car, but still broke his jaw, and suffered a few other injuries.

Snyder, however, wasn't so lucky. He was thrown 30 feet from the car, and suffered a fractured skull. He was taken unconscious to a local Atlanta hospital where he was rushed into surgery. He is now in a drug-induced coma, and will remain in one for the next few days. It's just an ugly situation.

As a sports fan, fall is the best season

2003-09-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

It is an exciting time for sports fans. While the temperatures might be going down, the professional sport seasons are just heating up.

The NFL season has been up and running for a few weeks now. Teams are fighting hard for every win they can get, since wins are as important now as they are in December.

The NHL season is just about to start.

And baseball playoffs start on Tuesday. The Braves will be playing their first game on Tuesday night, against the Cubs. I like our chances. but I always like our chances, so take that for what it is worth.

(Editor's note: This was posted before they got beaten by the Cubs that year, mind you)

Running Diary

2003-09-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

I simply must tell you about how my day before class went. I found it to be quite eventful. I think you will too. Here goes:

8:00: since Jeremy, my roommate has all morning classes, he gets up early. I have all afternoon classes to his all morning classes. Thus, I usually just roll over and go back to sleep when get does wake me. However, I remembered sometime last night that I had 2 new Basic Newswriting story ideas due today. Thus, I force myself to fall out of bed.
8:01: remember that our beds are bunked, and that I'm on the top bunk.
8:05: now partially recovered from injuries incurred while falling out of bed, I get up and turn on my computer.
8:07: computer now on, I start fixing two previous story ideas that needed fixing so they could be turned in for credit to be given.
8:10: both previous story ideas now in correct form, but still missing a few sources (at least three are required for credit). Since I couldn't think of any sources, I decide to put off the re-writes, as well as the real homework, and decide to goof off on the Internet.
10:00: notice time, decide it would be a good idea to begin working on homework.
10:01: give up on effort for homework, since new story ideas still aren't coming to me, and resume goofing off.
10:45: with class a little over an hour away from starting, I begin a frantic attempt to think up some sources for the old story ideas.
11:00: I consider using someone on my floor as a source for one of my story ideas. While getting their extension number, I notice Mitch writing something on Will's dry erase board. Since Mitch's drawing tend to be both funny and obscene, I walk over to see what he is drawing.
11:01: notice Mitch is drawing a picture of a flower in a flowerpot.
11:02: watch as Mitch writes the word "Pot", and then makes an arrow pointing to what he just finished drawing. Cute.
11:03: mention to Mitch that I was going to use President Fisher as one of my sources (not to actually contact), but that I couldn't find his extension number anywhere.
11:04: Mitch mentions that BIC has a faculty/staff directory. Suddenly, I get a few ideas. Thanking Mitch, I run back to my dorm. My homework may get done after all.
11:08: after running back to my dorm, I spend a few minutes browsing before coming upon President Fisher's extension number. I put that in to one of my older story ideas, giving it two sources. With the directory, things now seem to be looking up.
11:15: after digging for a little bit, I find a usable third source for my story idea. I'm starting to get pysched, but note that I still haven't eaten or showered by this point.
11:16: start digging on Belmont's calendar, trying to find two quick story ideas.
11:20: notice that Curb Cafe is accepting submissions for entertainers and bands to play in the cafe's coffeehouse. A story idea begins to brew...
11:25: after digging a bit more, three source names come up. I finally have a first new story idea for Newswriting.
11:30: the new story idea is written and in the proper form. Now I just need one more in order to receive credit.
11:31: more digging for ideas.
11:34: while trying to click "directories" on bic, I hit "administration" instead. I notice only one entry, "Plant Operations." Skeptical, although willing to try anything with class starting in less than half an hour, I click on it.
11:35: obviously, the link goes to a page detailing the mission statement of Belmont's Plant Operations department. While the thought of coming up with a story idea about daisies doesn't seem too promising at this point, I get another idea...
11:36: I decide to write about the Whitten soccer complex, and how the effort required in its upkeep.
11:40: with three sources and their extensions, I hurredly begin to write my second story idea.
11:45: with two new story ideas, and another re-write done, I plug computer into printer, knowing that I'll have to hurry in order to make class.
11:46: printer doesn't work. Begin to kick printer.
11:47: still kicking printer.
11:48: still kicking printer.
11:49: Decide to change ink cartridge.
11:50: note that printer suddenly works.
11:51: grab shower stuff, and run for shower.
11:54: my shower complete, I hurredly put on my clothes, knowing I only have a few minutes to make class. I see Eric Pittel in the bathroom. Eric, who is in my noon class, notes that I had better hurry if I was going to make it on time. I tell him not to worry.
11:55: I'm now in my dorm, frantically organizing the dozens of sheets of paper lying around.
11:57: with the school stuff all complete, I open up my refrigerator and grab a cold fried chicken leg and a chilled Yoohoo.
11:58: I hurry out of Pembroke, fried chicken leg in hand, and eat what would be my "breakfast." I receive numerous blank stares from people not used to seeing someone eating a chicken leg while walking to class.
12:00: walk into Speech class with wet hair, but with the Newswriting homework done, which is what matters.

Disaster was averted once again, as my homework got done at the very last minute. Exciting? Yes. Daring? Definitely. Welcome to college life.

Until next time, Hoo-ah!

Greg Maddux- 15 wins, 16 years running

2003-09-21T19:40:00.000-07:00

Greg Maddux finally won his 15th game of the season. This is significant because this the 16th year in a row he has done this. No other pitcher in history has won at least 15 games for so many consecutive seasons, not even the great Cy Young.

Due to the watered-down talent, five man rotations, emphasis on bullpen specialists, grooming techniques of pitchers that stress pitch counts over results, and the various injuries players suffer these days, it's easy to see why this record is one of the untouchables. Maddux is a sure-fire first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, and I count myself as fortunate to say I have seen him pitch in person.

That's all for now. Until next time, Hoo-ah!