Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!

And, lest anyone might think this not be a "Christian" Holiday ...


consider the following:

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Hope

They say it springs eternal.

They say it's one of the three things that remains (along with faith and love).

They say Obi-Wan Kenobi is the only.

And it's something I couldn't live without.


When Rachel and I made the decision to move to Columbus, there was faith involved, there was love involved, but most of all, there was hope involved. Hope that this painful decision would result in our ability to advance in live, and thrive, and find abundance.

I've yet to see evidence that our hope and faith were completely off the mark. Nothing of full fruition, yet, but enough to keep me going.

But, today, I write of hope of another kind.

Because, I have the hope that tonight is, honestly, the beginning of the end for the sports misery of my home town. For tonight, I honestly believe that the Cleveland Cavaliers will defeat the Boston Celtics, and march forward this year, ending with a parade in Cleveland to celebrate the winning of the NBA Finals.

I know, I know. I had a similar good feeling about the Indians this year. But, consider the following:

1) Unlike the Indians, the Cavaliers did something to upgrade their team in the offseason. And, the trade only cost them spare parts and junk.

2) Unlike just about any time in my memory, the Cavaliers, unlike every other team I root for, showcase the best player in the sport, and he's not even into his prime yet.

So, tonight, I return to the very place I sat and watched the Cavaliers lose game seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinals a few months ago. The Cavaliers also return to the exact spot where they lost game seven a few months ago.

This is the year. I can feel it. I believe it. I have hope.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Something of my own, to look forward to

I don't add a "must-see TV show" to my list very often, nor very easily. Truth be told, outside of sports, most of what I watch on a regular and must-see basis comes to be that way because Rachel really enjoys it, and I start to like certain aspects of the show, and it becomes a show "we" watch faithfully as must-see TV.

Gilmore Girls was like this.

Survivor was like this.

The Office is like this.

Well ... finally, there's something that I have as my own must-see TV show.



And ... I think I finally like it because I enjoy the show itself, and not just because it's Star Wars.

See ... the show premiered as a movie pilot of three episodes strung together. And, I enjoyed the movie, but I'm pretty sure I enjoyed it only because it was Star Wars. That is, if you remove all the Star Wars-stuff and replaced it with non-SW stuff and told the exact story with similar dialogue, plot, and jokes ... I don't think I would have enjoyed it at all.

But ... with the episodes, I think, *think*, it's growing past that. And I'm enjoying them for what they are, not just for being part of the larger Star Wars Universe.

So ... if you've ever enjoyed Star Wars ... if you loved the classic trilogy, but struggled through the Prequels, if you hate the Expanded Universe, if you loved the prequels ... whatever your classification is, I think you need to give this TV show a chance. It captures the feel of the original Star Wars, with the action of the new Star Wars, and it makes me feel like a kid again, where I can get wrapped up in the action and the (often predictable) story, and just have a good time enjoying myself for half an hour each week, with not worries about what's happening in real life.


And, perhaps best of all, in the three weeks of the show, I don't think I've seen a single political ad. Hope I didn't jinx it.

The State of the Union

It's no secret I'm a conservative. I've made that known in previous posts, and in my conversations to people who know me.

And so, when I read an article like this one in the WSJ about a democratic supermajority partnering with an Obama White House, the hair on my neck stands up, and I get a non-Star Wars "bad feeling about this". (By the way, read the article. It's a good one, and gives you something to think about no matter your political ideology).

Unions running amuck. Socialized heathcare to anyone who wants it. Out of control taxes. A bigger green movement.

All things that aren't out of the realm of possibility (or probability). All things that I really don't want to see.

And yet, despite that, I can't, and won't, bring myself to vote for John McCain for president.

Nor can I, or will I, bring myself to vote for a GOP candidate for Congress this year.

I'm sick of American politics. Completely sick of it.

I'm sick of two parties controlling the system, and both being controlled themselves by fringe, far-right and far-left groups. I'm sick of the NRA and the religious right having outrageous demands that have no place in actual Conservative America. I'm sick of MoveOn.org and the socialist left pushing for policies that have no place in common sense America. I'm sick of bloggers on both sides, whether it's defending poor choices, mocking a misquote, digging up thirty-year-old stores, or mocking a voter who happened to ask a question. I'm sick of "fair and balanced" being a euphemism for "spin in the other direction, and probably going further than the original spin'. I'm sick of debates that aren't debates, but rather are candidates sticking to a script of talking points.

I know I'm not the only one. I'm not the only one who wants to hear actual ideas. Details, and not just "I'm going to do this better".

A monkey can create a campaign platform that says "we need to better the country, make it safer, and make the economy stronger." A third-grade student could do that. Every person in America thinks that's a good idea.

I'm not the only one who wants the people we send to Washington to actually represent me. When an Ohio Senator tells the press he's getting thousands of calls and e-mails from people in Ohio with 95% of them against a bill, and then votes for the bill, I lose the last shred of faith I have in the system, at least in the system being run by the bums we're sending to Washington.

This has really turned into a rant on all of politics in America, and it wasn't intended that way. I really wanted to just rant against the GOP, the party that is supposed to come closest to my ideals. The party that claims it wants a smaller government, that it wants to fight wasteful spending, and that it wants to represent people like me.

And, yet, facing the possibility of what that article points to coming to pass, I'm turning my back completely on the GOP and voting for none of the bums that want to represent me in Washington.

Which is fair enough, because I feel like they've completely turned their back on me, too.



And, I don't feel a third-party vote is a thrown-away vote, but that's a blog/rant for another day.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Michigan Sucks (More Proof)

My favorite highlight of the NFL this weekend, and possibly all season:




This is, in comedic value, second only to the quadruple-penalty dropped-snap punt by the Browns in last years opener against the Steelers in recent memory.

My Eyes Must Deceive Me

So, I'm watching the end of the Cowboys-Cardinals game. And a commercial comes on television. For Natural Light.

Yeah. That's right. Natty Light. The Beer.

And ... it's not a parody. It's a real commercial. With a real attempt to create brand loyalty for Natty Light, with buzz words and hype and slogan and jingo and the such.

Are they seriously trying to convince me that anyone out there exists, let alone enough people to warrant the price of an advertisement, who can buy Natty light out of brand loyalty and advertising? Or, really, for any reason other than "it was the cheapest beer at the corner store"?