Catching Up With the World

After a two-month sabbatical, the blog returns, hopefully with a purpose and more posts.

It seems the pages of my calendar are flying off at break-neck speed.  College football is a quarter of the way through, President Obama has used up all of his political capital in less than a year, the Braves have a chance at the wild-card and summer has come and gone.

The weather is cool in Atlanta today and this type of weather reminds me of the beginning of the fall semesters at Furman.  Specifically it reminds me of standing in the student section of Paladin Stadium and cheering until my throat was raw.  It is fitting that I’ll be heading back to Furman for the Elon game this weekend.  It’s a huge game for either team since it’s the first big conference game of the year.  Whomever wins this match-up will be in the driver’s seat in the SoCon.  With that being said, maybe I should stay away.  The Paladins have been playing well without me there, so maybe I’ll be some sort of jinx.  Hopefully not, but I guess we’ll see.

This will be a brief post, but I do want to link to an article that sheds light onto the great shift that has occurred in the past 10 months.  A Wall Street Journal editorial speaks about France’s President Sarkozy and his stand on Iran’s nuclear attempt.  The editorial is here.  In short, President Sarkozy’s stand is much tougher than President Obama’s attempt at appeasement (see missile shield scrapped in Poland).  I wonder what President Obama’s next apology or appeasement will be.  I’m warily awaiting the drop of the other shoe.

 

The Bump Under the Rug

(Editor’s Note:  If you’d like to see the inspiration for this piece, please follow this link.  For more information search The Mysteries of Harris Burdick.)

After two weeks, it happened again.  I had just finished my run and entered the kitchen when I saw the bump.

Two weeks ago, I noticed a bump underneath the rug in our living room.  It was as if someone had rolled a Matchbox car about 1/3 of the way under the right side of the rug.  I had figured our dog had pushed something under there, so I went to retrieve it.  Shouldn’t that be the other way around?

Needless to say, I was surprised when I pulled the rug back.  There was no car, no dog toy, no nothing, but a small bump pushing up through the hardwood floor.  My first thought was water damage.  I had just replaced some leaky plumbing in the bathroom, so that had to be it.  But as I flipped open my cell phone to call the plumber, the bump quivered.  Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous, but it quivered and moved slightly to the left.

I called for my wife, but she was finished up her shower.  So I sat down on the couch and stared at the bump, willing it to move again.  Of course it didn’t and I was soon accompanied by our dog.  She walked by the spot, jumped on the couch, and crawled into my lap.  She stared in the same direction I did, but the bump did not concern her, so she was asleep in seconds.

After 10 minutes of staring at the unmoving bump, I had convinced myself it had been a long day and I had just imagined it.  My wife walked in about that time and I called her over to point out the bump, but there was nothing there.  Just the smooth hardwood floor, albeit a bit dusty, and the pulled back rug.  We both wrote if off as some sort of optical illusion or something about heat exhaustion due to my run.  The bump didn’t return until two weeks later.

Thankfully, maybe I should not be thankful for any of this, but thankfully, my wife found the bump underneath the rug, but on the opposite side of the trunk we used as a makeshift coffee table.  If someone had held a gun to my head, I would have blabbered to no end that the bump was slightly larger.  It looked somehow fuller to me, like a blister of sorts.  The wood was stretched to its extreme and small stress cracks were beginning to form.

With a bit more courage than last time, I reached out and touched the hardwood.  At first, I thought the bump was throbbing, but then common sense slipped to the forefront of my mind.  There was no throbbing from the floor, but there was a definite throbbing from me.  I was feeling my own pulse as my heart thundered within my chest.  Looking back, I have no idea why my heart was beating so quickly.  Maybe I had some sort of sixth sense or intuition that I should have recognized.  My pounding heart was thumping out a warning in Morse code that I wish I had heeded.

I palmed the bump, running my hand across the curvature.  The shape was eerily familiar.  The length was double to triple the width or vice versa.  I have no idea what was the length of the width, but the ratio was close enough for anyone to understand its dimensions.

Since the bump did not quiver or move or budge under the weight of my hand, I quickly stood up and slammed my right heel into the bump.  To no one’s surprise, the bump did not move.  After the fourth heel to the bump, my heel was aching.  I’m sure our downstairs’ neighbor loved the reproduction of Stomp, so I kicked it one last time for good measure.

The pain was instant.  It felt as if a needle had been shoved into the heel of my foot.  Tearing away my loafer, I noticed my blue sock had already turned almost black around the heel.  Stripping the wet sock off, I saw the tiny hole producing the steady stream of blood.  I looked back towards the bump as my wife ran to grab a towel and some bandages.

I had fallen directly beside the bump, but in the time it took for my wife to return and for us to keep my heel from completely ruining the rug, the small bump had grown several times larger and had moved several feet away.  Instead of being completely covered by the rug, the bump was on some metaphorical fence.  Half of it lay outside the rug and half of it inside.  It looked all tucked-in and ready for a nice winter’s sleep.

 

World Without End

As promised, the review of World Without End as well as a few other musings.  The book was great.  It completely immerses the reader into a medieval setting and doesn’t let you escape until the last word is read.  It is set 200 years after The Pillars of the Earth, but still is a narrative of the Kingsbridge Priory.  Without going into too much detail, the book is about the lives of the townspeople and the interactions between them all.

Overall it’s a very enjoyable book, though at over 1000 pages, some parts are tedious.  I have the severe habit of skimming over passages that bore me or drag on for too long, so the length usually doesn’t bother me.  If you like to read word-by-word, then I can certainly see this book bordering on boring during certain passages.  I will need to re-read Pillars, but I still think it is a better novel.  However, both should be read.

 

World Without End

After rambling on about Harry Potter the other day, I have actually not picked him up since then.  Instead, I have been reading Ken Follett’s World Without End.  It is the sequel to The Pillars of the Earth.  Similar to the 20 year span between the writing of the books, the books themselves are set 200 years apart.

I’m only about 200 pages into the book (book is right over 1000 pages), but I have already thoroughly enjoyed it.  I can certainly see myself falling in love with this narrative much like I did for the first novel.  Follett’s ability to describe a scene, person, etc., is beyond captivating.  There are few writers (Pat Conroy, Stephen King, Charles Dickens) that can make me forget about the outside world for a while.  I am instantly transported back to medieval Britain.  The range of emotions that Follett’s wrenches out of his readers in the first 50 pages is extraordinary.

Of course, I’ll give an update after I finish it.  If all goes well, by this time next week it should be up.  I would agree to something sooner, but a wedding shower this weekend is calling my name.

 

The Summer Slowdown

OK, maybe not exactly a slowdown.  Especially, as I mentioned yesterday, I don’t have another free weekend until the end of August.  I was mainly referring to summer television programming.  I don’t watch that much TV but it is nice to have something on in the background.  Thankfully the Braves are on most nights, and USA still has some great shows, but on the whole, the summer programs are severely lacking.  I do have to say thanks to Fox for giving us a preview of a fall show.  It was a good show, but I have revenge on my mind for them making me wait so long.

So the long and short of that is that it means more reading for me.  I just finished the Twilight Saga, so it’s time to start another children’s series.  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was just put away last night so onto Book 2.  I have to prepare for the movie right?

Other than those few books, I haven’t read that many new things.  I did read Wild at Heart which is a great book and Just After Sunset by Stephen King which was not bad.  It is a collection of his short-stories, and some are hit or miss.

I am beyond excited for Pat Conroy’s next novel, South of Broad.  Yes, if you know anything about Charleston, it is the same south of Broad.  If you have not read any of Conroy’s previous novels, please go and pick one up right now.  Or let me know if you want to borrow a copy.  I’m pretty sure I have about 2 of each of them.  Start with Beach Music and then to whatever tickles your fancy.

Ok, enough.  Back to the Braves and Mr. Potter.  Welcome to summer.

 

Ramblings From the Homefront

Well this is going to be the worst post to read ever.  It’s a nice little experiment for me, but I have no idea how it’ll turn out.  I have started writing these past few weeks and I feel like I’m progressing pretty well, but I need a jump-start, so that’s what this experiment is.  I’m giving myself 15 minutes to write about whatever comes to mind.  So please disregard any grammatical errors or random segways.  Here goes nothing…maybe something?

Atlanta Braves win today.  Tommy Hanson had a great first 3 innings, but the second time through the Brewers’ lineup, Milwaukee blasted him.  Somehow, the anemic Braves’ offense found some life, thanks in most part to Chipper Jones.  If he stays hot and McCann or McClouth can get a bit hotter, we should be alright.

The Peachtree Road Race is just a few weeks away.  Training has been going well, but my knee is still giving me fits.  I’ve focused more on strength training lately.  It’s amazing how quickly your body adapts to running conditions.  I thought I would still be gasping air after a mile, but after 5, I still feel good.

Speaking of the Peachtree, starting this upcoming weekend with a wedding shower, Lauren and I don’t have another free weekend until September or so.  And then in October and November, every weekend is slammed again.  I’m not complaining.  I’m actually pretty excited about everything that is going on.

Furman University picked up two big players for the football team.  Chris Forcier who was a backup QB at UCLA and Tyler Maples a receiver for the Tennessee Volunteers.  Both should make this team scary.  Speaking of Furman Football, the Atlanta Falcons signed CB William Middleton, a Furman ‘09 alum.

President Obama continues his mismanagement of life really.  The GM debacle is beyond words.  Every car I have ever owned has been a GM.  This will not be the case from now on.  I’ll look to Ford (maybe) but more likely an import.  I’d rather money go towards another country than to further financing this leviathan known as the Obama Administration.  However, I am excited for Roger Penske to take over Saturn.  If he can really import Renault cars to the Saturn line, I will be one of the first in line.  Those European cars are pretty incredible.

I’ll go ahead and throw this out there.  I have read the Twilight Saga and watched the movie last night.  These books are horribly written, but are thoroughly engaging.  Once you start reading, you really can’t stop.  I can’t explain it, but they are worth the read if you want something that’s easy to read.  A perfect read on the beach.

Right now, I’m watching J.J. Redick strip the ball from a Laker.  Yeah, I think I’m the only one excited to see Redick, but he’s playing well.  How many people can say they have played for an NBA team, much less get playing time in the NBA Finals.  I wish I had that resume.

Wow, GM commercial just aired about starting over.  I do like how they are getting rid of several brands, but keeping the most useless one.  How can anyone rectify keeping GMC?  A company the only produces trucks and SUVs.  The same trucks and SUVs that Chevrolet produces, but with a different logo.  Really, this is worse than a joke.

OK, just a few minutes remaining.  Let’s see here.  I have been tossing around writing ideas for the past several weeks and I think I have settled on one.  It came to me in a dream.  Actually, I wish it did.  I might post some excerpts soon, but I need to flesh it out a bit more.

And time…

 

Does God Like Sports?

On my running trips, I usually think of some pretty random stuff.  This question popped up a few weeks ago and I’ve been tossing this idea around.  I was positive that there had to be hundreds of articles written that said God enjoyed sporting events.  After a brief Google search, I realized the opposite was true.  Some authors write that God hates sports, He hates competition, and that sports were created by Satan.  I was beyond shocked at these responses.

I have no Biblical illustrations or examples for my reasoning, just simple logic.  Let’s assume God created everyone in his own image.  For the most part, the human body is quite athletic.  We were created to run and jump and swim and do just about whatever else we wanted.  Today, we are amazed at the feats performed by various athletes.  So why would God want us to hide and squander these human gifts we were given?  God constantly challenges us to learn and to expand our minds, not follow blindly.  Therefore, logically, we should expand and strengthen our bodies and sports are an incredible way to accomplish this goal. 

I truly don’t believe God cares who wins and loses.  Though I’m sure he doesn’t mind Dale Jr. putting Kyle Busch into the fence or the Braves winning on a walk-off homer by Chipper.  Just kidding.  Sorta. 

On a tangent, I believe God does not intervene in human affairs.  If he did, what’s the point of free will?  Although he does not care who wins, I do believe he finds humans amusing and watching a competitive match that brings out the best in our human bodies, something he was only able to experience through his son, has to be thoroughly entertaining.  I know what you are thinking.  He knows what’s going to happen, since he is omniscient.  If God is omniscient, omnipotent, etc., do you not think he has the will power, strength, or whatever to turn that off?  Does it really matter if he knows what’s going to happen to the Braves in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded?

What is so immoral about sports?  Nothing.  Of course there are awful instances of bad sportmanship, but athletics are designed for two entities to give everything they have in order to achieve a remarkable goal and then after the match, the entities shake hands.  Talk about  an ultimate show of respect that God would definitely promote. 

I think it’s very dangerous to think God does not want us to push ourselves.  Without this constant pushing, questioning, striving, what are we?  Just another mindless being?  Wait, I’ll stop there.  That’ll be another one post…yes I just gave a sneak peek.

 

Nicolas Cage Countdown

I have become incredibly mired down in this countdown, so I’ve just decided to throw it all out there in one fell swoop.  I am sure you are tired of reading my drivel anyway.  So watch the slide show below.  It illustrates movies #6-#1 and a bonus Bangkok Dangerous.  I haven’t been able to see this delightful little film, but from what I have heard, it should have won a few Oscars.  Enjoy and so long to Nicolas Cage, at least until his next award-winner premieres.
For those of you too lazy to watch:

#6-Windtalkers

#5-The Rock

#4-The Family Man

#3-Lord of War

#2-National Treasure

#1-Gone in 60 Seconds

 

#7 Nicolas Cage Countdown

After publishing this, I noticed a link on my facebook wall.  Thank you Vance for sharing this appropriate Nicolas Cage story. http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.reuters.com/nicolas-cage-car-stunt-goes-wrong-times-square-reuters

I am a crossroads here.  I never realized how much I really enjoyed Nicolas Cage until writing this countdown, so my countdown list is at a weird spot.  The next seven movies are actually good movies.  Well I think so, you definitely might not.  So here on out, you might actually find the movies enjoyable.  Even a movie that gave Cage his Oscar might appear.

With a bit of fanfare, #7 is Con Air.  Yes, the one, the only.  If you haven’t seen this movie, I don’t know what to tell you.  You are truly missing out on a fun watch.  Cage is an ex-Ranger/ex-con who is on a prisoner transport plane to be released.  Somehow, pretty miraculously, the prisoners overtake the plane.  Needless to say, Cage saves the day, nay the world through his heroic efforts.  

Several things make this movie pretty incredible.  First is Cage’s well-documented acting ability.  Second is the great supporting cast.  John Cusack is a U.S. Marshal and John Malkovich is the notorious Cyrus, “The Virus.”  The fact that Steve Buscemi is once again a psychopath is beyond rewarding.  His whole tea party scene still give me the creeps.  The final sticking point of the movie is another great Cage haircut.  There is nothing that says “badass” like long, stringy, greasy hair on an aging ex-con.  Who would really want to mess with a guy like that?  He could just stare would-be attackers down, fling his hair back, and they would turn tail and run screaming.  If I can have anyone else’s hair, it would definitely be Cameron Poe’s.  Well maybe not, but you get the picture.

The video with Con Air is priceless.  Set to Trisha Yearwood’s “How Do I Live,” the video embodies the love story behind the movie.   

 

Nicolas Cage Countdown–#8

After a week hiatus, the countdown returns.  Without further fanfare, #8 is Next.  Somehow the directors and producers managed to surround Cage with a decent cast and with a creative script.  With Julianne Moore and Jessica Biel, the movie does have some star firepower, but as usual Nicolas Cage steals the show.

Cage is a Las Vegas magician who is being recruited (stalked?) by the U.S. government.  Cage is able to see into the future.  Albeit, the future in two-minute increments.  The government wants Cage to help them in stopping a terrorist attack.  How seeing two minutes into the future would give anyone enough time to thwart terrorists is beyond me.  And no lie, that sums up the entire movie.  Biel is in their for the male audience and nothing else.  Her role is pretty insignificant.  

Of course Cage is the star again.  He has awesome, almost shoulder-length hair, and plays the part of a two-bit magician wonderfully.  Just wait until he asks you to pick a card.  It’ll raise the hair on the back of your neck. 

In all seriousness, it is a short movie and is actually pretty good.  The creativity of Cage “seeing” into the future is well done.  And as per the previous articles, a small clip below.  Enjoy!