Fall

What is it about Fall that is always so magical? Its the start of the school year. The trees, plants and grass begins to die. The hours of sunlight are less and less. It gets colder and colder; yet there is something special about this season. Everyone seems to enjoy it. Fall always seems to bring this sense of a new beginning with it. Maybe its the fact that the season coincides with the start of the school year, but for some reason there is a feeling that when Fall comes a new chance a new happening is beginning.


I personally love the Fall because of two things: football season and the cold weather. Most people hate the cold weather part but I love it. But as much as I love Fall there are also reasons why I hate it. There is less daylight, school begins and everything dies (though on a side note the leaves changing colors is beautiful and breathtaking).


But I find myself telling people that Fall is probably my favorite season of the year. Due to the two pros on my list outweigh my three cons. This could be true because for me football season equals about four or five pros on a list. But there is something still more to the this season. A hint of magic in the air, a chance for a fresh start. Maybe its because I have been in school the last 20 years of my life that I instantly associate Fall with the chance of a fresh start. But I think its more because others, who have not been in school for a significant period of time see this as a chance as a new start.

I feel that we love Fall because it illustrates for us a principle: people can only live, once they have died. This is what we get out of the colors of Fall as trees die and we marvel at the beauty, we know for a fact that the leaves will come back again in a few months. So it is the same for us. As we die to things from out past, from bad habits, from poor choices, and bad relationships, we get a chance to start over again. We have a chance at new life. So this Fall as you drink your warm apple cinder, as you wear your hoodie for the first time, and as you watch the days grow shorter and the leaves Fall, may you stop and ask yourself: What is it that you need to die to this year? And as you get your answer, have hope, because new life is right around the corner.

Remember When...Blockbuster

In the last month two times I have seen a Blockbuster video store that is still in operation. Seeing this store has amazed me more than any of the Seven Wonders of the World. I had no idea that Blockbusters still existed, much less any video store. The Internet, Netflix and Redbox have taken over the home video market. If we do not see a movie in theaters we either have it mailed to us, instantly download it (both legally and illegally) or get it out of a glorified vending machine. (I am not a prognosticator but I will say that I do not see Redbox lasting much longer either). Physically going to a video store and scouring the shelves for a video has become a lost art. It has become too much work. Now we do not have to get off of our couch to even get the movie on the screen if we have Netflix instant downloading. We can just push a button on our remote and the movie starts. This new wave of technology has caused me to envision this in the future.

My grandchild: Ugh...the download froze. Now I have to start all over again in order to watch the movie. Its going to take another minute.

Me: Well back in my day. We had to walk 5 miles in the snow and up a hill in order to rent a movie.

2011 NFL Predictions

AFC East
New England 13-3
New York 11-5 (wild card)
Miami 7-9
Buffalo 4-12

AFC North
Baltimore 12-4
Pittsburgh 11-5 (wild card)
Cleveland 7-9
Cincinnati 3-13

AFC South
Indianapolis 11-5
Houston 9-7
Jacksonville 7-9
Tennessee 5-11

AFC West
San Diego 10-6
Kansas City 8-8
Oakland 7-9
Denver 4-12

NFC East
Philadelphia 11-5
Dallas 10-6 (wild card)
New York 10-6
Washington 5-11

NFC North
Green Bay 11-5
Detroit 8-8
Chicago 7-9
Minnesota 6-10

NFC South
New Orleans 11-5
Atlanta 11-5 (wild card)
Tampa Bay 8-8
Carolina 2-14

NFC West
St. Louis 8-8
Arizona 7-9
San Francisco 6-10
Seattle 6-10

Playoff Results:
Wild-Card Round
(5) Jets over (4) Chargers
(3) Colts over (6) Steelers
(3) Eagles over (6) Cowboys
(5) Falcons over (4) Rams

Divisional Round
(1) Patriots over (5) Jets
(2) Ravens over (3) Colts
(3) Eagles over (2) Saints
(1) Packers over (5) Falcons

Conference Championships
(2) Ravens over (1) Patriots
(1) Packers over (3) Eagles

Super Bowl XLVI
Packers over Ravens

I'm Getting Old

So this week classes start back up at AU. Its a weird time because here at the Seminary the scheduling is a little bit different and we do not start our fall classes until the beginning of October. Since the new school year is beginning I am required to go to intramural sports training for the Rec Center on campus. At training today, the returning officials got to meet the new officials for the year. They were all freshmen of course. Meeting these new officials, I came to the realization that I am six years their senior. This realization gave me conflicting feelings. On what side, I felt good. I am accomplished, mature and wise in my old age. On the other side, I felt sad. I am getting older, slower and less cool. It also made me realize that this is truly my last year of a college type experience. Once June comes around I will have to be an official adult and make real adult decisions while trying to manage a career. I have run out of ideas to delay this from happening. Man, I feel old. Where has my life gone? God, could you please just slow down time a little bit?

Winning

The American society is fascinated with winning. In fact to be the best at anything is probably the goal of most Americans. It is what drives us. We have to be the best at our job. We have to be the best in our class. We have to have the best house, car, family, etc. We even have to root for the best sports teams. Charlie Sheen, our great American idol, has even made the phrase, "Winning" popular lately. I don't know what it is but each of us has to be the best. It is funny really because logic says that if one person or group of people wins, then someone has to lose.

Yet grown men and women throw fits when they see their child lose or they lose in an intramural game. Games that don't even matter. You could even say that at the end of the day a result of a professional or collegiate game doesn't even matter in the grand scheme of life. But yet our competitive nature takes over and causes us to become angry, hostile people. Do not get me wrong, I am a competitive person and will do whatever it takes to win a game, but at the end of the day, when the game is over, there is nothing more I can do to change the outcome. I have learned to be satisfied with whatever the outcome. Sure winning is fun, but losing can be just as fun if you have the right attitude.

But most of us don't. We are blinded by our desire to be the best. We feel that our identities are linked to whether we have won or lost. So in the process of the game we lose ourselves and become solely focused on the outcome. We become people we are not, yelling and screaming foul at anything that does not go our way. In the end these are the people who have lost, even if the scoreboard reads differently. "Why?" you ask. Because they missed out on the journey, the thing which is to be most enjoyed. This is how I have learned to have fun losing. I no longer have to be the best, I just enjoy the chance to become it.

Remember When...Pay Phones

I had a horrible dream the other night...I was 13. Basketball practice had ended but my parents weren't there to pick me up. I had no change and had to do the worst of all sins: call my parents collect. Then the dream flashes to a school dance and it has ended. The same thing happens, my parents fail to show and once again being short some change I had to call them collect.

Then it happened, there was the sound of thunder and the ceiling ripped open and down came an angel. He had something in his hand that was radiating with glory: a cell phone. He handed it to me and I was saved. Not only did I have a device which allowed me to call my parents for free, but I could send text messages to friends and take pictures while downloading my favorite songs to be ringtones. How has mankind survived 7,000 years without such a tool?

Cell phones have caused almost all pay phones to get replaced. I think I saw one in the subway system of NYC a few years ago, but that's it. Pay phones cease to exist. Cell phones have made them obsolete. People younger than me have lost the experience of finding change to put in a phone to call home and the anxiousness of waiting a parent's response or anyone else when you had to call them collect.

The thing I miss most about calling collect or long distance is the weird payment plans. Ninety-nine cents for the first minute and ten cents a minute after. Or it would be some other weird connection fee, followed by a per minute rate. Maybe gas stations should restore this same principle: $3.75 for the first gallon $1 per gallon after....any seconds to this motion?

2011 Indianapolis Colts Regular Season Predictions

So my favorite football team with the greatest quarterback in the NFL (yes, I am not hiding my bias) reported to training camp today. Therefore, I have decided to predict the outcome of their regular season games. Now I want to clarify that it is still early in the whole free agent/trades/signing draft pick situation due to the lockout so this is just tentative. My predictions might change depending on who the Colts sign or who other teams sign. Also in this post I am making no postseason predictions. Those will come at a later time in August when I will make predictions for the whole NFL and who will win this year's Super Bowl. So here is my rundown of the Colts' regular season.

@Houston (L, 31-28) Same result as last year. People will start questioning the defense again.
Cleveland (W, 27-20) The young and talented Browns are not quite ready yet
Pittsburgh (W, 24-23) Only win this because they are home and in primetime
@Tampa Bay (W, 27-21) Remember the last time the Colts were in Tampa? The Monday Night Miracle
Kansas City (W, 20-14) Like the Browns they just are not ready to beat a team like the Colts
@Cincinnati (W, 30-10) This team is a mess...Need I say anymore?
@New Orleans (L, 28-20) No revenge for the Colts. The Superdome is a tough place to play.
@Tennessee (W, 19-14) Hasselbeck is not the solution for the Titans.
Atlanta (W, 24-16) Expect the Falcons to come back down after last season.
Jacksonville (W, 35-27) Its great beating this team
Carolina (W, 31-14) Jimmy Clausen, Cam Newton, it will not matter
@New England (L, 27-24) A December game in Foxboro will not be good
@Baltimore (L, 20-14) Two straight losses will cause a ton of questions
Tennessee (W, 31-20) A nice rebound win at home
Houston (W, 28-24) A revenge win in the division
@ Jacksonville (W, 17-10) This could be a loss depending on whether or not this is the typical Colts resting starters game at the end of the season...so we will see

So I will do the math for you. My initial prediction is 12-4 but I wouldn't be surprised if its 11-5.

Remember When...Tecmo Super Bowl

My siblings and I didn't grow up with all the latest gadgets and toys, but we did have a Nintendo game console. My oldest brother was a video game fanatic always needing the latest system and the latest game. I was never a big gamer but there was one game that captured my heart on Nintendo and still has it to this day: Tecmo Super Bowl.

Tecmo Super Bowl was the NFL game for the 1991 season. The game had great colors and great music. Each game was played on the same field and each team had four running plays and four passing plays. And every defense played the 3-4 scheme. This game caused me to kick a lot of butt with the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers. I cannot tell you how many times I had 60 to 70 yard runs with Otis Anderson of the Giants. One season I had 40 sacks by Lawrence Taylor, yes 40. He was so quick and easy to get around the offensive line. As Joe Montana, I threw countless full-field bombs to John Taylor and Jerry Rice for touchdowns. And it was always nice to kick a 60-yard field goal from time to time.

This game had character. When players would get injured they would show the paramedics come on to the field and carry the player off on a stretcher. Then would player would return it would show him leaving the hospital and the nurses and doctors standing outside waiting for him. Only offensive players could get hurt and each position had only backup, so you never had to worry about the backup getting hurt. If you won the division, conference, or Super Bowl it would show a still frame photo of your team celebrating.

Eventually are Nintendo would no longer work and with it was the lost the privilege of playing Tecmo Super Bowl. One day I discovered through my brother the ability to download it on my computer and I started playing it again. Unfortunately, my computer crashed two years ago and I haven't been able to find a way to re-download it.

Sure, I play the newest Madden from time to time. But its so complicated. You have so many plays, which you can audible out of all them, that its hard to choose some times what to run. Players get hurt all the time with various injuries and then their backups can get hurt too. You have instant replay challenges and you can play franchise mode, where you play season after season, re-signing and drafting players to create your own roster.

I know that the point and the future of video games is to become as realistic as possible. This does have some merits and can be cool at times. But give me simple, give me fun, give me something that is not real, because in the end I deal with reality way too much.

Storytelling

My favorite television show is Lost. I have seen each season countless times and will probably forever re-watch the show. I am currently re-watching the show from the very beginning to the very end, which will be my first time ever doing this. What I have found most fascinating is that as I re-watch each episode, I can remember the very place I watched the episode for the very first time. I can picture the room I am in and the people around me. I can remember the very feelings I had as I watched the show for the first time. I believe that this is so because of the power a story has in connecting with people's hearts.

Isn't this why Jesus used story? He told parables to teach people the principles of the kingdom of God. This is why a majority of the Bible is in narrative format. This is why movies, novels and comic books are so popular. This is why as people we constantly tell other people stories that happen in our lives. There is something about stories that speak to us as human beings.

Through stories we can mourn when the characters morn and we can rejoice when they rejoice. We can understand their actions and decisions. Most important, through stories we learn a little something about our self. Stories are a foundational element to communicating our lives with the people who surround us. So what is your story? And what are others learning from it?

Spam

So today I made a Spam and cheese sandwich for lunch. I know, I know, I will pause so you can go to the bathroom and throw up. Now that you are back I will admit that it had been a long time since I have had Spam. Growing up, we used to have it often for lunch and I always thought it was great. Today though after eating it I have come to the decision that I might not ever eat Spam again. It didn't make me sick to my something but even after cooking it something just did not sit right with me after the consumption. But here are some of my thoughts from the great lunch today...

The easy open can is a great idea and one that all canned goods should go to. It would eliminate can openers but tabbed lids are so much easier. Spam is really greasy. I sprayed cooking spray in the pan but halfway through cooking the Spam I realized that there was no need for that, Spam generates enough grease on its own. I wonder what are the real ingredients of Spam. I know I could look on the can but that would take away all the fun in guessing and the mystery of the composition. Whatever the ingredients are, it looks like Spam has a long shelf life. So long that I feel that nuclear bombs could destroy every living creature on planet and radioactively contaminate all of our canned goods BUT Spam. Shoot...does this mean Spam will be served at the Great Banquet with Jesus? There goes my vow.

The Twilight Zone

One of my favorite 4th of July activities is watching The Twilight Zone marathon on ScyFy. I love this show for two main reasons: the plot twists and its in black and white. I know in a day in age where we have HD and 3D televisions its hard to watch something in black and white, but the lack of color adds to the mystery of the show.

The main thing driving The Twilight Zone is the mysteriousness of the universe around us. The Twilight Zone was written during the 50's. At this time we still lacked knowledge about the Universe that surrounds us. We had yet to land on the moon or send someone into outer space. There were hardly any telescopes or satellites at the time and the telescopes we did have were not as high powered as the ones today.

So in this show aliens come from Mars. There are astronauts who come back from space having gone nuts because sending them into space is such a bad idea. What it boils down to is during the time period of the show the Universe is so mysterious because we knew very little about it. There was much to discover and The Twilight Zone does a great job at capturing this mystique. It makes the world an exciting place to live.

And what I find is that this world with less knowledge and a lot to discover is a more exciting world and one that I am sad I missed out on.

Love Wins

So I finally finished reading Rob Bell's new book Love Wins. I know, I know three months behind the trend of writing book reviews about whether or not Rob Bell is a universalist and a heretic. I need to get with the times, but lets face it Seminary homework slows people down. But now that I have finished reading here are some of my thoughts.

Much to the contrary of thought Rob Bell does believe in heaven and he does believe in hell. However, Bell emphasizes heaven and hell here are on earth more than the future heaven and hell. I believe this is a good point and something that the Church needs to start re-emphasizing. We as the Church are called to eradicate hell from this earth and try to restore as much of heaven as possible on this planet.

Bell does have thoughts about heaven and hell after death. He teaches that heaven will be here on earth after death for humans and that the creation of the new earth will be our ultimate resting place. I agree. And really do not much more to say on this topic.

Hell is a different story. Bell believes that hell is only a temporary stop for people after death. He writes that it is a place of judgment and pruning. It is a place where God's love can still pursue people and they have the chance to accept this love and be redeemed from hell. Now he does leave open the possibility that while in hell people will still reject God. But at the same time he affirms that God's pursuit of people is relentless and if God is relentlessly pursuing people for eternity and if hell is a place of pruning then it seems logical to conclude that eventually all people while in hell will accept God's pursuit and be redeemed. This is not the traditional universalist approach when it comes to salvation (ex. all people when they die go to heaven). But it does fundamentally seem to be a universalistic approach.

As of right now, I do not agree with this view. However, in saying that, I hope that Bell's view is correct. As a Christian who has experienced the love of God I hope and pray that all people will experience the love of God even if this means that God pursues them after death in hell. After all, God is God and He can work outside any box or theological paradigm I try to place Him in; which means that if He wants to redeem people from hell after they have died then He can and I hope that He does because if not there will be a lot of people who are eternally punished and tormented.

There have been several people who have read this book and have been trying to brand Bell as a heretic. I cannot find any merits for those claims in this book. Bell still strongly affirms that all people will be saved through Jesus. He claims that some people will be saved through Jesus without even knowing that they were saved through Jesus, but yet He was still the one performing the work, He was still the Way. If Bell strongly holds to Jesus being the means by which everyone is saved, how can he be a heretic? Is it because he holds a different view on hell? Is it because he believes that God's love and grace are so big that He saves people after death? How is this such a bad perspective? How is this worthy of being deemed a heretical view? Why should we so harshly judge someone who has such a grand view of the One who created the Universe? If we can brand someone a heretic for holding a false view on hell then we need to start branding everyone a heretic who holds a false view on any theological doctrine. Therefore, I am a heretic because I know that I probably believe some false doctrine and so is anyone who reads this because no one has perfect theology. Therefore, I feel that it is too far based on the information presented in this book to say that Rob Bell is indeed a heretic.

Let me concluded with this, I feel that the main point of the book is that there is a God who loves us so deeply that He wants to redeem us from the hell here on earth and the hell that is to come. God will passionately pursue us all of our days both on this earth and in eternity. Why? Because God is a God of love and His love will always win.

And I am glad it does.

The Wild Thing

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6716984

Rick "The Wild Thing" Vaughan took steroids. Now I know most of you are probably thinking but he was a fictional character. Well don't go to downtown Cleveland and say that. I think most people hope and even wish that the players and story found in the movie Major League is true. Well now Charlie Sheen who played "The Wild Thing" in the movie claims that he took steroids for a six to eight week period while shooting the movie to help give him more juice on his fastball. You would think the Tiger's Blood would have been able to help him out with that, but I guess it failed him.

Question of the day: Will admitting to steroid use keep Rick Vaughan out of the baseball hall of fame?

Metta World Peace

Last week before the NBA draft I saw some news that made me did a double-take: Ron Artest legally changes name to Metta World Peace.

What?
Could you say that again?

Metta World Peace.

And we all thought Ochocinco was bad.

My first thought was: What does this even mean? I understand World, I understand Peace. What about Metta? So I did some research. The only definition dictionary.com has for Metta is this: lovingkindness, the Buddhist virtue of kindness. Okay, so Lovingkindness World Peace. Yeah this sounds like a guy who is ready to defend the top offensive threat of all 30 NBA teams any given night. Also does this mean Ron Artest is Buddhist?

Ron Artest at one point was one of my favorite Pacer players. He was a hot head but he was a great defender and can always slow down the top scorer of the other team. But Ron is going to be remembered for events like this. He is going to be remembered for going into Circuit City his rookie year with the Bulls and asking for a job application. He is going to be remembered for attacking that camera man in the hallway at Madison Square Garden. He is going to be remembered for quitting on the Pacers in 2005 and demanding a trade. Most importantly, he will be remembered for starting the Brawl in Detroit when he ran into the stands after fans and started punching them. Ron Artest will be remembered for destruction, never for lovingkindness or peace. What a shame.

P.S. Do you think He Hate Me is jealous right now or what?

Super 8

When I was younger, my summer was filled riding around on my bike with my friends throughout my hometown. We would ride all over the place and have great adventures. We would wrestle in backyards, build forts and play war, sometimes we would get a group together and play football or baseball. The nights were filled with games of tag and hide and seek well into dark. Summers were times of freedom and great memories.

Last night I went and saw the movie Super 8, which lived up to its hype (a rare compliment to Hollywood). Super 8 is takes place in a small-town in Ohio in the year 1979. A 13-year old boy and his friends are making their own movie for the summer on a super 8 camera. Filming one of their scenes they capture a train wreck in the background on their camera. The contents of the train belong to the US Air Force and soon the area of the wreck and the town are swarmed by military personnel.

Strange things begin to occur in the town. People and dogs are missing. Various things such as car engines and pieces of metal disappear. The power goes in and out all the time. Meanwhile the boy and his friends keep filming the movie while still trying to figure out the mystery.  I will not reveal the mystery for you, so go watch the movie, but the characters are great, the plot is great and the story behind the characters is great as well.

The dialogue between the friends is amazing and humorous as well. The movie has its moments that make you jump but it will have plenty of moments that make you laugh as well, while at the same time having a mystical and magical appeal similar to E.T. Overall, its a solid movie that I do not feel many people will be disappointed in.

The movie does a tremendous job of capturing the essence of spending your summer hanging out with your friends. It brought me back to my childhood memories of spending the summers with my friends and when I got back last night I was half-wishing that my bike would be in the drive way and I could go for a ride.

Tablets, Tablets, Everywhere Tablets

Today I went shopping for a new laptop and was taken aback by the mass marketing of the hottest gadget product: the Tablet. For the last three years we have gone from the Kindle, the Nook, the Ipad to every electronics company making their own cheap knock off. In fact if you casually look at one at Best Buy you will be swarmed by sales people trying to get you to buy it. Fortunately, I could push them away by saying I own a Kindle (which I was one of the first people to buy one, just saying). The marketing screams out you need to own a Tablet, its a necessity. In fact they have sales advertised like they are cutting you the greatest deal in the world since this product is a necessity. But then I thought about it, humans have been around for what...about 10,000 years. And they survived 9,997 years without a Tablet of any kind...How did those people make it?

Remember When...Ashtrays

Due to the great knee injury of 2011, I was laying down in the backseat of Quinn Wright's car today. I was looking at the doors and I noticed it...a small little compartment in the door that flips open, an ashtray. Remember when every car had one, two, or more ashtrays?

I do. My parents were smokers and so most of the ashtrays in the car were filled with ashes which we would have to dump out from time to time. Today, you cannot find a car with an ashtray, its a lost convenience of the new millennium. Because some person some where decided to make every effort to deny people the right to smoke and has so far been successful.

There also used to be cigarette lighters in the dashboard as well. However, sometime in the mid-90's we started using the lighter as an outlet for our CD players that would be attached to a cassette tape to play over our stereo system in the car. Or we would have adapters so we could charge our cell phones in the car by plugging them into the lighter. These have disappeared as well, but what is interesting is that car manufactures have still built an outlet into the dashboard for our Ipods now. So the outlets live on as a reminder that cars used to be filled with smoke.

Just thought I would throw you back in time...I think Remember When could become a nice weekly segment to this blog.

Canadians

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs/2011/news/story?id=6669115

So Boston beats Vancouver in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals and the Vancouver fans riot. 100 people are arrested and 150 people get hurt. Don't Canadians know that you riot when you when the championship not when you lose it? And they wonder why Americans make jokes about them.

Ryan Crundwell is you read this please don't take offense. Jon Rounsaville this is what you have to look forward to.

An Alternate Universe

I had a vision: Lebron James still wearing a Cleveland Cavaliers' uniform.

The Cavaliers lost to the Mavericks in game six of the NBA Finals. The city of Cleveland was shocked, disappointed and heartbroken. Another team, another season had fallen just short of a pro championship. The Holy Grail which the city never seems to be able to capture. But there was still hope. The Finals still meant a good season and the city still had its King with the promise of many more Finals to come and perhaps a parade.  But amidst the disappointment the city still had its King and the King still had his city.

Then I realized it was just a vision. Instead the Heat lost to the Mavericks in game six of the NBA Finals. Lebron's decision backfired and Cleveland was left rejoicing that its former king was fallen. The vision left me with a sense of hope. The reality only bitterness.

Wedding Rings

The Kingdom of God is like a man and his wedding ring.

When a man loses his wedding ring he searches through the whole house to find it. He will go through the garbage, look through his dirty clothes, even take apart the plumbing underneath the kitchen sink. When he finds the ring he will breathe a sigh of relief and swear that he will never lose it again.

Some men, when they can't find the ring will go to a jewler and get a cheap replacement. This way no one will know that they actually do not have the real ring.

Introduction

Once a long time ago I started a blog that is now lost in cyber space somewhere unfinished. I have tried to remember the website, user name and password for the blog but my 24-year-old brain has failed me and I simply cannot remember.

Therefore, I have decided to start a new blog, which will hopefully bring fresh words, thoughts, insights into the world we live in. I really have no particular focus for this blog and more than anything will probably be filled with ramblings from my brain that will only make sense to me.

The blog will probably feature posts about spirituality, politics, television, movies, news events and sports. My hope is that you will be entertained and hopefully laugh while reading. This blog will have a mix of both serious and humorous content, so feel free to laugh at anything I post.

Any feedback would be great whether on the blog or on facebook. If there is any particular topic that you think I am better at covering than another please let me know and if I get enough feedback I will make it the focus of the blog.

I hope you enjoy.