We live in a fast paced and changing world. There are many things that help to speed up our regular lives. In this day and age we are able to have have our food hot almost instantly, have our food prepared and delivered with minimal wait time and without even having to leave the comfort of our cars. We can access information in just a few clicks with the internet and send letters, updates, jokes, junk and chain letters to people instantly with email. Instant messenger allows us to communicate with people in real time even when they are on the other side of the world. Add to this the fact that we also be reached just about anywhere and you realize that this is a different world.
Now one the thing that has taken over for instant communication is the text message. I'm sure that if you are reading this blog then you know what text messaging is and have most likely partaken in it. It is something that is becoming increasingly more popular and used in our culture. It has it's own language even. There is a texting world championship as well. Thankfully, many cell phone carriers offer plans with unlimited texts for a small monthly fee. That was a good thing for this dad and his daughter. That story amazes me and just shows you what kind of phenomenon texting is in today's culture, especially among young people.
I text. In fact sometimes I text a lot. But that is astounding. 14528 text messages in one month. What does it say about the mindset that we have? In some ways texting is like social networking on the internet. It keeps you connected, but in truth there is something that is missing in it. Rather than taking the time to have a conversation with someone we text them. I admit that at times it is easier to do...it doesn't require as much signal strength and doesnt' drain your battery life quite as fast. Yet there is something to be said for taking the time to actually call someone and hear their voice, or to meet face to face. It is my hope that we are able to rediscover these things. Because without a real connection to other people, this world is a very lonely and sad place to be...no matter how many LOLs and OMGs you can text in under a minute. Peace and Love y'all.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Tradition
One of my favorite things is sports. I like to play sports, watch sports, do fantasy sports (does that make me a fantasy athlete?), write about sports, read about sports and talk about sports. One of the things about sports that I like is the tradition that can be found there.
As a high school athlete, these traditions were important. In the middle of the varsity locker room floor in the field house in Greenwood, there is a circle of smooth painted concrete. It is Columbia blue and has a picture of a Ranger painted in it. Around the Ranger there are the names of all the senior football players from each year. My name is in that circle, and I'm proud of that; proud to have been a part of that tradition. The thing about tradition is that it carries over from one group, one year to the next.
When you look at sports at all levels, you find traditions. Whether it is things that teams do or things that players bring there is that sense of tradition. There are some that even transcend the level of participation and type of sport and find their way into the game. There is one that stands out to me in particular even. It is something that I have seen done at all levels of sport-from early morning pick-up basketball games and Rec League flag football, to professional athletes paid millions of dollars to run and catch and throw and shoot-and in all different sports from football to baseball and everything else. It is long standing.
I will say this about this particular tradition: even though I have taken part in it, I don't really understand where it started, how it started or even why it started. The tradition is that of the Butt-slap after a good effort or play.
What is it that causes these men-big, tough, muscular men (and why is it that it is typically only men)-to slap each other on the rump at the conclusion of an athletic sequence? How did it become that the sign that someone appreciated your effort was to slap them on their rear? And why is it that it is really only in the world of sports that this is acceptable? Every where else in our world it would be thought of as awkward and could even have the makings of legal trouble. Imagine if on Sunday morning as the congregation was filing past the pastor, rather than shaking his hand, they all slapped him on the butt and said something like "Good message, way to bring the Word" or to the ushers after the offering and were like "Way to hustle with the plates man." It just wouldn't really be the same.
I guess that is the joy of tradition in sport though. They don't have to carry over or even make sense in the "real" world. They are things that can be done and people look at them and rarely question it. Still, there are some traditions that should stay in sports. Peace and Love y'all.
As a high school athlete, these traditions were important. In the middle of the varsity locker room floor in the field house in Greenwood, there is a circle of smooth painted concrete. It is Columbia blue and has a picture of a Ranger painted in it. Around the Ranger there are the names of all the senior football players from each year. My name is in that circle, and I'm proud of that; proud to have been a part of that tradition. The thing about tradition is that it carries over from one group, one year to the next.
When you look at sports at all levels, you find traditions. Whether it is things that teams do or things that players bring there is that sense of tradition. There are some that even transcend the level of participation and type of sport and find their way into the game. There is one that stands out to me in particular even. It is something that I have seen done at all levels of sport-from early morning pick-up basketball games and Rec League flag football, to professional athletes paid millions of dollars to run and catch and throw and shoot-and in all different sports from football to baseball and everything else. It is long standing.
I will say this about this particular tradition: even though I have taken part in it, I don't really understand where it started, how it started or even why it started. The tradition is that of the Butt-slap after a good effort or play.
What is it that causes these men-big, tough, muscular men (and why is it that it is typically only men)-to slap each other on the rump at the conclusion of an athletic sequence? How did it become that the sign that someone appreciated your effort was to slap them on their rear? And why is it that it is really only in the world of sports that this is acceptable? Every where else in our world it would be thought of as awkward and could even have the makings of legal trouble. Imagine if on Sunday morning as the congregation was filing past the pastor, rather than shaking his hand, they all slapped him on the butt and said something like "Good message, way to bring the Word" or to the ushers after the offering and were like "Way to hustle with the plates man." It just wouldn't really be the same.
I guess that is the joy of tradition in sport though. They don't have to carry over or even make sense in the "real" world. They are things that can be done and people look at them and rarely question it. Still, there are some traditions that should stay in sports. Peace and Love y'all.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Pay Up
Don't you hate it when you have to deal with things like the phone company and they put you on hold forever, or they just don't deal with your problem? It's so frustrating to have to deal that. It's a waste of time and effort and even money. Well one man took matters into his own hands. He kept a log of the time he spent talking to the phone company and not getting results. You can read the story for yourself here.
In case you didn't read the story (or even if you did) here is a recap of what happened. The guy kept calling to have his phones fixed and all he was getting was apology after apology, but no action. He was promised credits and yet still nothing was done. Finally he took his story to the local paper and got something done about it. In the end, after his story ran in the paper, he took his notes that he had kept through the whole ordeal and sent a bill to the phone company for $5481.16...and they agreed to pay!! That is the most amazing part of the whole story. Makes you wonder what would happen if you did that with the DMV. Peace and Love y'all.
In case you didn't read the story (or even if you did) here is a recap of what happened. The guy kept calling to have his phones fixed and all he was getting was apology after apology, but no action. He was promised credits and yet still nothing was done. Finally he took his story to the local paper and got something done about it. In the end, after his story ran in the paper, he took his notes that he had kept through the whole ordeal and sent a bill to the phone company for $5481.16...and they agreed to pay!! That is the most amazing part of the whole story. Makes you wonder what would happen if you did that with the DMV. Peace and Love y'all.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Burn After Watching
Watched a movie the other night. It was one that I had been wanting to see for a while and I finally did. I watched it with some friends here at the house. The movie was Burn After Reading.
I really like Joel and Ethan Coen and the movies that they make. I really liked No Country for Old Men as well as Fargo and O Brother Where Art Thou? and Raising Arizona. This one wasn't horrible, it was just different.
The basic story is that of a woman who is unhappy with her body and is looking to have plastic surgery, yet her insurance won't pay for it. She has tried to figure out how she can get this all done since she doesn't just have the money for it. It seems hopeless for her. She has tried internet dating and finding that "perfect" someone. None of it is really filling that void for her. What she doesn't see is that there is someone right there who finds her to be perfect just as she is. She can't see that for him there is nothing that she has to do to herself cosmetically or to hide behind a virtual persona.
One of her co-workers finds a disc in the ladies locker room of the gym where she works and discovers that it is filled with CIA information. As it turns out the information is actually useless, but she refuses to see that and has found her way, she thinks, to finally pay for her procedures. This of course all goes awry. As far as the movie itself, it wasn't badly done. The acting was good I thought and the story was solid. It was pretty much typical Coen brothers. It was also a tale that fits very well into our culture.
Every where we look, we see the perceptions "ideal" beauty. We are bombarded by images of what we should look like and how we should dress. There are none of us who are really immune to this phenomenon. No matter what we do, there seems to be a part of us that wants to be like what we see on the magazine covers. I get a daily email (at least one) from Men's Health with information about how to lose my gut, and build my chest and my legs and arms. Tips for how to "get the girl" (don't need those tips seeing as I already got the girl) and what to eat to be healthier. It's all there, staring us in the face and filling our minds with ideas of what we should be...at least according to the world around us.
The problem is that none of that can ever really fulfill us. It might make us feel beeter and helo us to be healthier (that's a good thing) but in the end, it's not what really matters. What matters is our knowing who we are and being known. What can really make us happy is to be known for who we really are deep inside. We can only do that when we finally let down our gaurd with others and show the real us. It's not our adornments that make us who we are, but rather what we have to offer from our hearts. When people find the courage to be who they are and not who they want others to see, then we will begin to find what it means to be actually satisfied with ourselves. Peace and Love y'all.
I really like Joel and Ethan Coen and the movies that they make. I really liked No Country for Old Men as well as Fargo and O Brother Where Art Thou? and Raising Arizona. This one wasn't horrible, it was just different.
The basic story is that of a woman who is unhappy with her body and is looking to have plastic surgery, yet her insurance won't pay for it. She has tried to figure out how she can get this all done since she doesn't just have the money for it. It seems hopeless for her. She has tried internet dating and finding that "perfect" someone. None of it is really filling that void for her. What she doesn't see is that there is someone right there who finds her to be perfect just as she is. She can't see that for him there is nothing that she has to do to herself cosmetically or to hide behind a virtual persona.
One of her co-workers finds a disc in the ladies locker room of the gym where she works and discovers that it is filled with CIA information. As it turns out the information is actually useless, but she refuses to see that and has found her way, she thinks, to finally pay for her procedures. This of course all goes awry. As far as the movie itself, it wasn't badly done. The acting was good I thought and the story was solid. It was pretty much typical Coen brothers. It was also a tale that fits very well into our culture.
Every where we look, we see the perceptions "ideal" beauty. We are bombarded by images of what we should look like and how we should dress. There are none of us who are really immune to this phenomenon. No matter what we do, there seems to be a part of us that wants to be like what we see on the magazine covers. I get a daily email (at least one) from Men's Health with information about how to lose my gut, and build my chest and my legs and arms. Tips for how to "get the girl" (don't need those tips seeing as I already got the girl) and what to eat to be healthier. It's all there, staring us in the face and filling our minds with ideas of what we should be...at least according to the world around us.
The problem is that none of that can ever really fulfill us. It might make us feel beeter and helo us to be healthier (that's a good thing) but in the end, it's not what really matters. What matters is our knowing who we are and being known. What can really make us happy is to be known for who we really are deep inside. We can only do that when we finally let down our gaurd with others and show the real us. It's not our adornments that make us who we are, but rather what we have to offer from our hearts. When people find the courage to be who they are and not who they want others to see, then we will begin to find what it means to be actually satisfied with ourselves. Peace and Love y'all.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Fiesta Bowl Pick 'Em
Well I know that it has been a while since I've been on here to write anything. To be honest between having company and going to see family and there being two holidays, I haven't really had a whole lot of time (or desire) to write on a daily basis. I intend to rectify that though starting today.
I decided to do a Bowl Pick 'Em on Yahoo this year. Man I have got to say, I've done better. The bowls this year haven't really been kind to me. Out of the 31 bowls that I picked so far, I have gotten 13 correct. That's right 13. I do have 231 points though from those picks so that's good...at least I'm not in dead last.
There is something about this kind of thing that gets my attention. It's not only this, but March Madness, college football games and NFL games. It's just fun to see if I can guess right. Even when I don't do all that well (see the above paragraph) I like to see how it goes.
Tonight is the second from last bowl game of the season. It pits Texas against Ohio State. It's the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, AZ and it should be a good one. The teams have met twice in their histories and the series is split at one win apiece. Tonight, I'm gonna have to say that Texas is my pick to win it. I have faith that they will be my 14th correct pick of the bowl season. If you watch the game I hope it is a good one regardless, and I hope you enjoy it. Well I will be back tomorrow with a new blog, so until then, Peace and Love y'all.
I decided to do a Bowl Pick 'Em on Yahoo this year. Man I have got to say, I've done better. The bowls this year haven't really been kind to me. Out of the 31 bowls that I picked so far, I have gotten 13 correct. That's right 13. I do have 231 points though from those picks so that's good...at least I'm not in dead last.
There is something about this kind of thing that gets my attention. It's not only this, but March Madness, college football games and NFL games. It's just fun to see if I can guess right. Even when I don't do all that well (see the above paragraph) I like to see how it goes.
Tonight is the second from last bowl game of the season. It pits Texas against Ohio State. It's the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, AZ and it should be a good one. The teams have met twice in their histories and the series is split at one win apiece. Tonight, I'm gonna have to say that Texas is my pick to win it. I have faith that they will be my 14th correct pick of the bowl season. If you watch the game I hope it is a good one regardless, and I hope you enjoy it. Well I will be back tomorrow with a new blog, so until then, Peace and Love y'all.
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