Shaved Heads, Goatees, And Other Misdirected Attempts At Reaching The World. . . .

There's nothing wrong with shaving your head. . . except maybe for me with my knobby skull. There's nothing wrong with complementing your bald head with a well-manicured goatee. But a few years ago, I noticed that as I would look out over rooms full of youth workers, it appeared that some kind of conspiracy was brewing and I had been left out. There were bald heads and goatees everywhere - on the men in the room that is. I was curious about this phenomena that was making it hard for me to tell people apart. In discussions with observant peers, some of us began to jokingly wonder if this wasn't some kind of attempt on the part of some (certainly not all) to increase their cool factor and somehow become more relevant. What was a initially a joke is in reality - I believe - true for some, not all.

Over the years, I've sometimes referenced these observations as a prelude to talking about cultural relevance. Because I study youth culture for the sake of effective cross-cultural work with kids, many people are surprised to find out that I oftentimes try to squelch our (the church) growing love affair and obsession with relevance. I think we need to stand back and take a long, hard objective look at ourselves and our ministries to see just what this pursuit of relevance might not only be doing to us, but doing to actually hinder the advance of the Gospel message . . . the noble desire and calling that has made us pursue relevance so passionately in the first place. A misdirected passion for relevance has fostered the increased use of the word "reinvent" when it comes to ourselves and our ministries. We run the risk of unintentionally allowing an obsession with style to eclipse what should be a passionate obsession with substance. Sadly, when we fall into it, we don't even know that this is what's happened. Eventually, our lives and ministries become a series of extreme makeovers, with the short time in between each filled not with more and more reflection on the substance of the message, but with trying to keep up with the styles so that we're ready to jump when the next change is need. . . something which is happening with increased frequently as time marches on.

It's for this reason that I've been speaking more and more about the seemingly subtle yet significant differences between pursuing lives and ministries marked by being culturally relevant, and lives and ministries marked by being culturally informed. Being culturally informed - regardless of my age, shape, size, or hairstyle - means that I have taken the time to listen to another and their context. It means that I know them. It means that when I open my mouth to speak - regardless of whether or not that mouth is framed by a goatee - the person I am speaking to will know that I have listened to and cared for them. Then, they will be more prone to listen to what I have to say. We call this "relationship."


Yesterday this issue came alive in new ways for me as I opened my Summer 2010 edition of Comment Magazine - a magazine every one of you should subscribe to by the way. I literally got chills as I read the first twenty or so lines of one of the absolute best and well-written articles I have read in many, many years.

Here's what Jedd Medefind writes in those first two paragraphs of his article, "What The World Needs Most Is Not Our Relevance":

"Perhaps more than any single attribute, today's Christians desire to be relevant: listened to, respected, wanted in the room. In contrast to those bunker-mentality Christians of yore, we yearn to swim in the currents of our time, converse in its tones, and thus help to shape its character. . . .

What the world needs most from us, however, is not mere relevance. Nor has it any age. The most vibrant moments of Christian history are those in which believers chose a prophetic role - even to the loss of perceived relevance. There's no need to don camel hair robes just yet, but it may be time to rethink our passion for relevance, and whether we'd be willing to trade it or something higher and bolder."

Later on, Medefind writes, "Love of relevance can blind us to things we ought to critique and numb us to things from which we ought to recoil. It can stand as our primary measure of success, often subconsciously, replacing the cultivation of deeper virtues. Its pursuit can consume vast time and resources that God may have given us for other purposes. And once possessed, relevance can prompt us to sacrifice almost anything rather than part with it. Because relevance tends to mirror the trends and values of its culture, it can rarely offer society anything that it doesn't already have - including its prejudices, excesses, and mistaken assumptions."

Medefind makes a strong and convincing case for us to embrace the polar opposite of relevance - the prophetic. It's the prophetic voice, he says, that offers the things society most lacks. Our number one ally in cultivating the prophetic? Medefind points to the right place - Scripture. He adds to that solitude, mentors from other eras, global accountability, and a few good friends.


I love the way Medefind ends his article: "In the long view of history, mere relevance - attractive as it may have looked in its own day - simply cannot compare. It is no more desirable that the feathered hair of a 1980s pop star. Eventually, we always come to see the remarkable truth: the prophetic voice is the only one that was truly relevant after all."

This article is timely, brilliant, and prophetic. You have to get it and read it. Now, think about you, your ministry, your church, the church in America. What needs to change?

The Reality Dysfunction

I forgot how much fun science fiction can be.  I just finished The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton and once it got going it was impossible to put down.  The book is almost 1100 pages long, so needless to say, it would be pretty difficult to write up a synopsis without going into way too much depth.

What I enjoyed about the book though was the multitude of characters and worlds.  So many well written characters.  My favorite by far was Joshua Calvert, and not just because he has an awesome name, but because of the way he is so cool and also such a jerk at times.

He basically has sex with tons of girls and becomes a completely badass starship captain.  He also has gut feelings which help him stay out of trouble. 

Aside from introducing a ton of characters, the book also sets up what the major problem will be in the series.  The dead are able to come back from some sort of nothingness and take possession of the living.  Once they have done this, they are virtually unstoppable.  The majority of the book deals with learning a little bit about them (even though the majority of the time is confused as an invasion by an old villain named Laton).

One of my favorite moments is after Laton is taken over and his body is used to take over an entire island (not going into much detail), he then proves he is a superior being by retaking control and helping destroy the island and the possessed.  It was a very cool moment.

I am looking forward to reading the next book.  Especially since the book is almost the same length, but will not have the problem of needing to explain the universe as much or the characters.  I am guessing the final two books will be jam packed with action (and probably more characters), which excites the hell out of me.

Anyways, I realize this book is older and some of you may have read it before, what did you think?

We'll Always Have Pretoria

As I've now had three days to cope with the U.S.'s untimely ouster in South Africa, I'm slowly coming to grips with once again dealing with this "The U.S. will never care as much about soccer" nonsense. I'm not naive enough to think that the United States is actually on par with teams like Brazil or Germany, but as I've tried to explain to people, they don't have to be. The toughest part of the World Cup for a non-elite team is getting out of its group. Once you're in the knockout phase, all bets are off and the best team either overall or just that day, doesn't always win.

Well, the U.S. did that. We got out of our group, winning it for the first time in decades, but in the end, two home run balls, an incorrectly played bounce and a slew of missed opportunities in the final minutes of regular time were enough to bounce the Yanks from the World's greatest sporting event in the round of 16 against Ghana Saturday.

This is a frustrating end to a Cup that started out with so much promise, gave the U.S. an oustandingly favorable draw in the knockout stage the likes of which we may never see again, and perhaps the single greatest moment in the history of U.S. Soccer. It is hard not to leave disappointed, but that disappointment may very well be a good sign for the future. The only comparable moment in my life for this came in the U.S.'s loss to Germany in the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals. That was indeed disappointing, but that disappointment came because they had come so close to achieving something so unexpected and special that we wished we could have had it.

That's not the case in 2010. This time we're disappointed because there was so much more available for the taking and we should have had it. That's not to say Ghana's victory was a fluke. Obviously, they are a strong side and the very fact that they eliminated the U.S. four years ago as well is evidence to their consistency -- albeit bitter evidence. Still, the United States were the prohibitive favorite going into Saturday's match, and with a relatively weak quarterfinal matchup laying ahead, the prospect of suddenly having as easy a walk as the U.S. could ever have it into the semifinals was staring Bob Bradley's men in the face.

They dropped the ball. And they know it. But this, too, is a good thing.

These are all good things because U.S. Soccer will never advance to the level where it can compete regularly with international powers until it realizes its own ability and demands more of itself. The miracle run in 2002 was a slight surprise and the American advance to the knockout stage in the U.S.-hosted 1994 World Cup was the quintessential "happy to be here" moment. This is something different.

In past World Cups, failure was reveled in for comic fodder -- a Conan O'Brien montage of the one goal the U.S. scored in the 1998 World Cup comes to mind -- as we mocked our own refusal to care for the game. Now the tabloid headlines bring to mind the stubborn anger of a child who cares, but doesn't want the world to know. We still have a ways to go before we bring in complicated, deeply wounding historical references like some countries, but we're starting to care more and more. ESPN's coverage has been nearly wall to wall, with most experts acknowledging the missed opportunity.

If the United States begins to care more, it is only a matter of time before the youth development program begins to develop the players that can take U.S. Soccer to a new level for 2014 and beyond, and with the World Cup possibly being hosted again by the United States in 2018 or 2022, the opportunities to make a splash, albeit far off, are certainly on the way. Unfortunately, this current group, likely the most talented in U.S. history, will be a question mark the next time we're on the global stage in Brazil four years from now.

Landon Donovan, the greatest player in U.S. history, Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard will all be up in years by the time that next World Cup rolls around. While we may not be the only ones in need of some changes, it's not unreasonable to suggest that Dempsey and Donovan will both make the squad despite being over 30 -- the fitness of the Americans has often set them apart -- but Howard, who will be 35 is unlikely to be around. And what of other key players like Steve Cherundolo or Carlos Bocanegra? Does Oguchi Onyewu come back and anchor the defense like he was unable to this time around? Does Jay Demerit take over as the main U.S. leader in the back four? Does Jozy Altidore continue to progress and learn how to finish the strikes his tremendous size creates in the opposition's penalty area?

Does Freddy Adu come back to life? He is only 21 after all.

There is a lot of uncertainty. This may have been the best chance the Yanks would have for quite some time to really make a run, but there are signs that we're advancing as a soccer nation. Public disappointment, the acknowledgment that we really care that we were ousted earlier than we could have been, goes to show that we're making strides.

There are some fundamental changes that will have to happen with our culture in the meantime of course. For one, we need to display a better understanding of the game. One talking head this weekend noted that our goal against Ghana, which came on a second-half penalty kick, was a sign that we weren't up to class because it wasn't a real goal. We need to understand that winning soccer games isn't about scoring goals. The goals themselves are often flukey occurrences brought on by strokes of luck or breakdowns in the opponent's defense. Winning soccer games isn't accomplished by scoring goals. It's accomplished by creating the opportunity to score goals. Produce chances in bunches and they will start to cash in in bunches. That is the key. And anyone who watched the second halves against Ghana, Slovenia and Algeria saw that the United States is certainly capable of that. Unfortunately, sometimes the bear eats you when you don't deserve it. And in a number of instances, that happened.

The other thing people need to understand is that this isn't a country that doesn't care about soccer. No, our country doesn't have the same soccer-centric culture that many have, but that doesn't mean we're incapable. As well, the argument that our best athletes play football, baseball and basketball doesn't hold water either. Hockey has an undoubtedly stronger intrinsic tie to national culture in Canada than it does in the United States, and while Canada managed to take the ultimate prize this year of Olympic goal at the U.S.'s expense, the Americans romped in World Juniors, taking the Gold in both the IIHF U18 and IIHF U20 World Championships. The latter, came in a stunning overtime upset of our neighbors to the north.

Soccer does not have to be any different, and in a country of 300 million people -- to say nothing of the vastly increasing immigrant population from south of the border that loves the sport -- we should be able to find an internationally elite Starting XI. Moreover, our "best athletes" is a completely fallacious concept. Jonathan Ogden was a tremendous athlete in his prime, but do we legitimately think he would have been a World class striker with the proper development? Lunacy. The skills don't translate from one playing surface to another. Lebron James is not guaranteed to be a national team-quality centre back with proper training. The key isn't forcing athletes into a position. It's identifying the ones capable and nurturing them on the right path.

The U.S. is capable. It has a large enough talent pool, and a solid enough development program that more Landon Donovans and Clint Dempseys can't be too far off. While we're certainly not among the international elite, our run to the Confederations Cup Final a year ago, during which we toppled No. 1 Spain and nearly knocked off Brazil, shows that we can clearly compete with the elite. The key is doing it consistently. It may not yet be consistent, but now that success is no longer a novelty.

And now we care. We really do.

That may be the biggest key to one day lifting the most hallowed sporting trophy in the world.

supper-ing

It's a little after six in the p.m. and I'm getting ready to head over to my friend Maria's for dinner. Since leaving work I haven't seen nearly enough of the friends I had there and I have no one to blame but myself. So Maria and I are remedy-ing that situation by making dinner tonight: she's making steak and salad, I'm bringing a bottle of red wine and portobello mushrooms sauteed with garlic, rosemary and balsamic vinegar... All to be eaten on her rooftop looking out over the city we've both made our home. 


In other news, while I have yet to hear back from Argyle Winery where I interviewed last week, I do have another interview with Erath Winery tomorrow afternoon. I love this winery and their wines and to work there, even for this part-time position, would be wonderful. So with any luck that will come through.


And now, off to my rooftop picnic!

Fantasy Baseball Week Twelve

This was a week I needed to win, or at least lose with some dignity.  I did neither and helped Offord leap frog into first place.  Always good to help a friend I suppose.  Offord beat me 8-3, sadly most of the week was crappy for both of us.  I am sure Offord would disagree, but my team sucked and it was still kind of close...

My team decided to only hit one day this week and that was Sunday.  My team hit four homers to tie it up on Sunday.  I think going into the day my team was only hitting about .195, but after that it jumped to .220.  If they would have hit at all during the week it would have been a better match up.

Pitching was pretty well even.  Tyler Clippard and some of my other relievers decided it was a good week to just suck it up.  Which is bound to happen at times, but really sucks when they all do it at the same time.

I made some changes, I dropped Happ and Starlin Castro.  I picked up Mike Aviles and Troy Tulowitzki.  Yes, I realize that Troy is on the DL, but someone dropped him.  He will be back at the end of July (I think) and he will be an immediate upgrade over the shitty shortstops I have been using.

My big player this week was Heath Bell, who had four saves and seven strikeouts with a 0.00 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP.  Nice job Heath.  Screw the rest of you guys.  This keeps me at fourth place (technically third place because Offord and Ryan are tied for first with Imler in second, but whatever) with a 73-61-10 record.  I need to beat the crap out of whoever I play this week in order to get back into the race.  Those three are like 10.5 games ahead of me.

Death. . . .

It's coming. . . I know it is. And no matter how much I might try to ignore it or convince myself otherwise, my own death will someday visit my life. I was reminded of this again this morning when I walked out to the end of the driveway to pick up the newspaper. There at the top of the front page was a large headline telling me that 5 motorcyclists were killed here yesterday after colliding with a van.

I mention this not to be morbid, but to be truthful. I also mention it because I have just finished reading John Stott's wonderful little book, The Radical Disciple: Some Neglected Aspects Of Our Calling. The book is the 88-year-old Stott's farewell address to the church he so dearly loves. It's the last book this great theologian and prolific writer will ever pen. He's aware that his earthly physical death is imminent. In the book, Stott masterfully outlines eight characteristics of Christian discipleship that are often neglected in the contemporary church, yet deserve to be taken seriously.



The first seven characteristics are for the most part things that we might expect to be on the list: nonconformity, Christlikeness, maturity, creation care, simplicity, balance, and dependence. But then there's the eighth: death. Death?!? Isn't Christianity about life. . . eternal life?

Once again, John Stott (my favorite living theologian) has challenged me to think about the things that really matter, to gain a Biblical perspective, and to live my life in light of the things that are good, true, right and honorable. It's no coincidence that the last few words penned by the man who has penned so many words about the faith would be reminders to himself of what is imminent in his own life. He writes, "Christianity offers life - eternal life, life to the full. But it makes it plain that the road to life is death. . . Life through death is one of the profoundest paradoxes in both the Christian faith and the Christian life."

Stott then goes on to describe six areas in which this is true.

There's death in our salvation. Christ died in our place so that we might have life.

There's death in discipleship. As Christ's followers, we are called to take up our cross and die to ourselves.

There's death in mission. "People receive life through the Gospel, and those who preach the Gospel faithfully suffer for it."

There's death in persecution. The history of the church is filled with accounts of physical persecution being the avenue to life.

There's death in martyrdom. Perhaps you are familiar with the story of Romanian pastor Josef Ton, who told in one of his sermons how the authorities threatened to kill him because of his faith. Ton responded, "Sir, your supreme weapon is killing. My supreme weapon is dying."

Finally, there's death in mortality. For the Christian - John Stott included - the best is yet to come.

These are the realities we must contemplate and communicate. They bring great joy, great hope, and great assurance. They prepare us for what is to come.

I have found Stott's The Radical Disciple to be a short, easy-to-read, and challenging reminder that in a world filled with distractions, has centered me back on to some of the things that really matter. With only a week gone in the summer, I would challenge you to give this little book your time and attention. It's the book I'm choosing to recommend as the "summer read for 2010." You can order your copy here.

Scary Weekend Video

Wow.  This is just creepy.  Notice how serious he seems around the 1:20 mark, especially when he starts singing the "let you go" part?  Thank you Filmdrunk for giving me nightmares.

Brad and the Rest of the New Buccos

As most of you know, the Pirates have called up a good bit of their prospects, and some of them are not doing so well.  The big two are Brad Lincoln and Pedro Alvarez.  Personally I felt that it was a bad idea to bring Pedro up at this point.  He could have used some more AAA work, but whatever.

I was talking baseball with an older gentleman the other day, and he happens to be a season ticket holder for the Altoona Curve.  He must not be a Pirates fan and asked me what happens to pitchers when the Pirates get them from Altoona.  The way he said it, made it sound like the Curve have a say in the matter, but that is beside the point.  I just shook my head and told him I had no clue.  I have learned not to argue baseball with old guys.  He then pointed out that Zach Duke was great at Altoona and then sucked for the Pirates.

I wish I would have informed that pretty much all starting pitchers in the majors had success in AA.  I decided to take a look at the Orioles pitcher David Hernandez, who was recently moved to the bullpen, and was what you would consider, a fifth starter.  He is 2-6 with a 4.64 ERA, not very good.  How was he in AA?

10-4, 2.68 ERA, 10.60 K/9

Duke's AA #'s:  5-1, 1.58 ERA, 6.30 K/9
Lincoln AA #'s: 1-5, 2.28 ERA, 7.80 K/9
Maholm AA #s: 6-2, 3.20 ERA, 8.30 K/9

These guys all pitched rather well at the AA level.  Like I said, there is a huge difference between AA and the majors.  I realize most of you know this, but sometimes I feel like people in the Altoona region do not get it.  Sorry for interrupting your weekend, enjoy the pictures of Jesse Jane below this post.

Girlfriend of the Week

This week's GOTW is another porn star.  This time it is Jesse Jane, who you can see in plenty of films with Riley Steele.  As I said a few weeks ago, porn stars are fun twitter adds, mainly because you get some funny stuff about work, but also you get random tidbits about their daily lives.  Jesse Jane usually talks about taking her kid to his baseball games, which is pretty cool.

I am posting this now because she will be in Pittsburgh tomorrow night (Friday) at the strip club, Cheerleaders.  I really wish I was off work because I would like to go down and check her out.  So for those of you in the area, head down for me. 

Another reason you should like her:  she is a huge fan of Sons of Anarchy.  Those of you that know me, also know that this is one of my favorite shows.  She is just a cool chick.

Donovan to the Rescue

I remember in the fall of 2006 when I attended a Northwestern football game and talked to an alum who had attended Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS. I asked him what the stadium was like after Endy Chavez's historic catch and he responded to me that dozens of people were hugging him and jumping on top of him, and he couldn't possibly have cared less about it. The euphoria of that moment was simply too strong for him to mind being violated.

I had never quite had a moment like that with complete strangers until Wednesday, when Bert and I saw Landon Donovan save U.S. Soccer in the 91st minute against Algeria to put the Americans through to the knockout stages of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. We were watching at a sports bar in Park Slope, Brooklyn called 200 Fifth, which was not overcrowded, but a decent, and involved crowd nonetheless. By the time Donovan, arguably the greatest American player ever, poked Clint Dempsey's rebound into the net, it was almost entirely full, and while I had begun to accept that the flurry of unconverted opportunities were about to leave us on the outside looking in, in that moment the bar erupted.

Strangers jumped on top of me and hugged me. I had no idea who they were. And I did not care.

This was one of those great moments that make sports worth watching, and while I did think it was a bit odd that one bar patron rubbed my tummy while I was standing on top of my chair screaming with my hands on my head, the excitement of Donovan's score was enough to get me to forget about being personally violated for a few seconds. As someone who follows the U.S. soccer team and has on more than one occasion had to defend his refusal to pick a European nation to support because the Yanks had no chance, this was a moment of joy and redemption when all seemed nearly lost. In short, it was what makes sports great, and when you take a minute to sit back and look at the tournament, that's not even the best part.

The future could be better.

The United States will face Ghana in the round of 16, and while we very nearly got a gift matchup of Australia, it also bears warning that we could have gotten Germany. Excited as I might be to have a shot at vengeance for the 2002 quarterfinals, when Oliver Kahn (and Torsten Frings' left arm...) single-handedly kept the U.S. from a date with the semifinals, Germany is a stiff opponent. Of course, I want to reiterate one thing. I am not looking past Ghana.

I AM NOT LOOKING PAST GHANA.

However, it is only natural to see how the bracket lays and what the path to a World Cup Final might have. At the point of the World Cup's knockout stages there is no such thing as an easy match. Each will be tight and contested and nervewracking for the participants and its supporters. However, if you're searching for as smooth or lucky a draw as you could ask for, the U.S. might have it. If you don't believe me or you just haven't seen the draw yet, maybe you should.

If the U.S. is fortunate enough to get past Ghana, they face the winner of Uruguay and South Korea for a spot in the final four of the tournament. Ghana won't be easy and neither will Uruguay or South Korea, but the first two potential matchups are bereft of the traditional powers. Brazil, Portugal, Chile or Spain can't possibly face the U.S. until the semifinals (and Spain may not make the knockout stages at all if the Swiss have their say), while England, Germany, Mexico and Argentina are all on the other side of the bracket, clear of the United States unless they some how wound up in the Final on July 11th, and at that point all bets are off.

Oh and apparently we won't have to worry about the Italians this time around.

So no, I'm not really ready to crown the U.S. for a deep run at the World's greatest sporting event, but as far as roads can go, this is clearly the best one we could have hoped for, particularly since either the U.S., Ghana, South Korea or Uruguay is guaranteed a berth in the semifinals and the Yanks happen to be the highest ranked of that group according to FIFA. Of course, rankings mean bupkis at this point considering that two top ten teams have already punched their tickets home with a third still possibly boarding its return flight.

But before any of that even begins to be considered, Donovan, Jozy Altidore, Tim Howard and crew still have handle the Black Stars, whom Bert feels a bizarrely conflicted yearning to root for. Evidently the volunteering he did in Ghana meant a lot to him. Or something. Regardless, I know whom I will be rooting for, and though I will be watching from my office, come Saturday afternoon I will be glued to the TV as I live and die with the red, white and blue for 90-plus minutes.

And since he's finally done playing tennis, maybe American John Isner will get to watch, too.

Quiz Time

Like I said yesterday, I would start posting a quiz from the silly game MindTrap.  I just randomly picked some cards and will see if you folks can get them right.  Do not cheat though.  Let us begin.

1.  If 3 plums are worth 2 apples, how many apples are 24 plums worth?
2.  Assuming that you are paying, is it cheaper to take one friend to the movies twice, or two friends to the movies at the same time?
3.  Hardy Pyle was washing windows on a high-rise office building when he slipped and fell off a sixty foot ladder onto the concrete sidewalk below.  Incredibly, he did not injure himself in any way.  How was this possible?
4.  A high speed electric train is traveling southeast at 90 kilometers per hour.  The wind is blowing westward at 30 kilometers per hour.  In what direction will the smoke from the engine blow?
5.  How far can a dog run into the woods?
6.  There is a certain crime, that if it is attempted, is punishable, but if it is committed, is not punishable.  What is the crime?
7.  What is the beginning of eternity, the end of time, the beginning of ever end, and the end of every place?
8.  Candy Barr has five bags of candies to give to her nieces.  Four of the bags have a total of 84 candies.  The fifth contains four candies less than the average of the five bags.  How many candies are in the fifth bag?

Give it a shot.  We shall see if you can escape the MindTrap!

Pretty Funny

This video is long, but it is definitely worth it.  Darth Vader's scenes redubbed with James Earl Jones lines from other movies.  It is hilarious how some of them fit quite well.  Or how silly some of them can be.  Trust me and watch it.  You will not be disappointed.

Pursuing The Depth Of The Skin. . . .

This is not only what we've come to, but where we're still going. . . and it's going to destroy us. While we've been made to pursue the deep things of God, we've somehow bought the lie that we're to pursue and tend to that which is on the surface, specifically, our appearance. Those who promote beauty and anti-aging products hardly have to work to catch our attention anymore. Instead, we're so obsessed with undoing the effects of time and gravity - a fruitless pursuit that nobody has ever succeeded at, by the way - that we are constantly looking for them.

Both immoral and ridiculously absurd, this pursuit and worship of all things culturally beautiful was on my mind again this morning as I read about something new from the folks at Beautifulpeople.com - a web community that if I joined, I'd be voted out of in no time. If you aren't already aware of this virtual meat-fest, it's a place where you are rated and voted off if your looks don't measure up. Now, the site's 600,000 members are able to search a virtual sperm and egg bank as part of the community's effort to populate the world with beautiful people. As an added bonus, even ugly people can sign up and make a withdrawal if they want to redeem and steer their own genetic tendencies away from the ugly and to the better-looking. One news outlet reports that the site's founder Robert Hintze said: "Initially, we hesitated to widen the offering to non-beautiful people. But everyone -- including ugly people -- would like to bring good looking children in to the world, and we can't be selfish with our attractive gene pool." Wow, that is so generous! Sadly, something about all this sounds eerily familiar to some stuff a horrible group of people in Europe were pursuing seventy to eighty years ago.

One of the greatest and least understood cultural threats to deep faith and true worship of God is the narcissistic tendency to focus on ourselves. . . and to focus at a level that's only skin-deep. It's epidemic in youth culture. It's epidemic in adult culture. Perhaps it's time to take a more serious look at a couple of things. . . first, a look into the Word for some accurate, proper, and right perspective, and then second, into our own faces and hearts to see where we've bought the lies. Yep, it's even in the church. . . big time. Perhaps a look at what we daydream about, what we spend our money on, and where we spend our time would yield some not-so-pleasant but oh-so-necessary revelations about who we really are. Our kids need to be taught these skills as well.

Could it be that "blessed are the ugly" . . . . ?

Treasure Hunting

The other day, Adam and I went up to our Dad's house in order to visit him for Father's Day.  Over the past about five years, he has asked us to come up and get the stuff from our youth.  As I have told him before, I really do not want any of it, unless there are some comics.  I have also said that I would take some of the baseball cards (mainly the complete sets) and Star Wars stuff.

Adam and I are taken into the old junk room, which is supposedly full of all this stuff.  Wow, talk about some ridiculous stuff to save.  We did not go through everything, in fact we grabbed two giant tubs which were full of stuff and brought them to my place where we went through them.  We only kept a few things, the rest we tossed in the dumpster.

The funny thing was how much idiotic stuff was saved in the room.  Like computer disks.  I am not talking CD-ROM, I am talking floppy disks.  Yes, 5.25" and 3.5" floppy disks.  I cannot even remember the last time I saw a computer with a floppy drive, especially a 5.25" drive.  Why would anyone save shit like that?

Another fun find:  a poster of Bob Dylan in concert, which we bought for Dad a few years ago.  Nice to see that he cared enough about our present to actually hang it up.  Also, Adam found a tap for a keg.  It looks like it is from 1975 and it is definitely from a local beer distributor.  I told him he should take it in and see if he can still get his deposit back.

This is the stuff I decided to keep:  some Anakin Skywalker collector thing, probably worth nothing.  My scrapbook from junior high wrestling (has a great description by me of one of my matches:  "I got decked."), a book that Adam read (Raptor Red), 1989 Upper Deck complete baseball card set (anyone want to buy? Has Griffey's rookie card...), and Mind Trap (some weird game that asks questions, which I might post on here occasionally for fun).

I also picked up my shotgun and my rifle.  I really have no idea what I will do with them.  I could take them out and shoot stuff.  I could sell them (again, any takers?  Mossberg 835 twelve gauge and a .243 Winchester Rifle), that is always a good possibility.  I thought about modifying the shotgun into a pistol grip and maybe sawing off the barrel...make it more mobile for the Zombie Apocalypse.  Never know when that shit will happen.

I will try to keep you folks abreast of any more cool findings while treasure hunting in the subbasement of my childhood home.

Welcome Back, Jason!

If you are a Devils fan there are a number of moments you cling to from the past 25 years of history. Clearly the three Stanley Cup Championships take primary placing, but other exciting ones such as John McLean's overtime winner that put New Jersey in the postseason for the first time, Patrik Elias' Game 7 winner against Philadelphia in 2000, Jeff Freisen's Conference clincher in 2003 against Ottawa, Martin Brodeur's goal in the 1997 playoffs and Brodeur's record-breaking win against the Blackhawks in 2009 are all up there.

But for someone who grew up in the 90's and watched an unheralded dynasty come to maturity (and fall short of true historic greatness by not sealing a title in 2001), the moment that rings loudest in the franchise annals is Jason Arnott dumping the puck top shelf past Ed Belfour in the second overtime of Game 6 in the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals. The goal sealed the Devils' second Stanley Cup Championship in outrageously dramatic fashion.

Fast-forward two years and Devils GM Lou Lamoreillo, seeking to shake up what he sees as a stale roster, ships Arnott and longtime Devil Randy McKay off to Dallas for Jamie Langenbrunner and Joe Nieuwendyk. While Nieuwendyk and Langenbrunner would be key pieces of the Devils' third title a year later, Arnott would eventually wind up in Nashville where he has fashioned a solid if unspectacular career.

While the Devils have still been a solid contender in the years since and Arnott has achieved success in Tennessee, there has always been something unfulfilling about seeing the man who fashioned the greatest goal in franchise history spend most of his career in another jersey.

But that all changed this weekend, when Lamoreillo, seeking improved strength down the middle as the Devils hunt one last title before Brodeur retires and the window closes, dealt a draft pick and Matt Halischuk to Nashville for the man who made the Devils champions for a second time.

And apparently Arnott couldn't be happier.

In an interview with the Fire & Ice blog, Arnott said that while New Jersey isn't generally the most sought after free agent destination, he was "devastated" when he was dealt to Dallas. Arnott had been part of a wildly productive unit with Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora known as "The A-Line", and while Sykora was in a hospital after a vicious hit at the time of Arnott's Cup-winner, the line's chemistry was still in place as Arnott potted the goal on an absolutely blind feed from Elias.



Ten years later, Elias has become the Devils' all-time leading scorer, Arnott has been one of the league's steadiest captains and Sykora has had his own set of big postseason moments, including the winner of a 5OT game with Anaheim in 2003 and a 3OT season-saver in Game 5 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Final for Pittsburgh. Sykora, however, appears to be at the end of his career -- a shame for me as he was the first Devil I saw score in person -- but with Arnott and Elias playing together, there is an old-timey feel to next season's Devils team that will bring fans memories if not another championship. Beyond the obvious strategic advantage to putting a big, sturdy, proven center in the lineup, Devils fans have to be excited to have a favored son back in the fold.

This year's champions are still making headlines, and rightfully so. The Chicago Blackhawks were one of the most complete teams in hockey all this year before they capped their season off with a deserved Stanley Cup Championship in Philadelphia, but today the team is also making headlines for what it plans to do with Stanley. And incidentally, it may not be so far-fetched to confuse this Stanley with this Stanley.

Why, you ask? Well, because the Chicago Blackhawks have responded to a request from the Chicago Gay Hockey Association to march the Cup through this weekend's Chicago Gay Pride Parade, and will indeed be bringing the Cup, along with defenseman Brent Sopel, to the celebration. Here is the official announcement from the CGHA. While I don't necessarily think it's appropriate for the Cup to be used as a political statement, I do acknowledge that sports and politics, particularly at the Olympics, often are intertwined. If there is a statement for the Stanley Cup to be a part of, I see the struggle for gay equality to be a fairly appropriate one. Professional sports often is wracked by the forced facade of machismo, in hockey as well as any other. But in the aftermath of the tragic passing of Toronto GM Brian Burke's son Brendan, and the elder Burke's vow to march in the Toronto Pride Parade in his honor, that facade is being stripped away.

As I said, I don't much like the idea of the Cup being used to make political statements, but as far as statements go, this is one that makes sense to me. Having an opinion on how the United States should manage trade or whom to go to war with is a real debate. Denying human equality has no argument for either side.

Last on my list of rambles today is that we are finally at the first day of elimination games at the World Cup. The knockout stage of 16 is yet to start, but France and the host nation South Africa have already gotten their walking papers from this year's tournament after failing to make up goal differential this morning. One more group will have its advancers settled this afternoon. While I'm still smarting from the U.S. being robbed of a remarkable comeback win against Slovenia last Friday, I'm as excited as can be for the Yanks' final group match tomorrow against Algeria, which, for the time being will decide their fate in the greatest of international sports tournaments.

I wish I could be there for the excitement, but it's good to know that some entrepreneurs have taken it upon themselves to at least make it feel like we're there when we browse the web, or at the very least, get appropriate updates just how one would hear them in South Africa.

What, you don't feel like blowing your vuvuzela? Don't worry. If the States can prevail tomorrow and play their way into the round of 16, you just might. I know I will.

Fantasy Baseball Week Eleven

I beat James 8-2, but did not make up any ground because Ryan, Jason, and Offord all won by almost the same margin.  I actually had a small scare at the beginning of the week.  I woke up late on Wednesday and did not have time to set my pitchers, so I missed out on two wins and a bunch of strikeouts.  Sadly, we tied in wins and James won the Ks.  Damn, I could have beat him 10-1...oh well though.

My hitting was a little off, but that was also my fault.  I kept debating who to start on certain days regarding Stanton/Vlad/Glaus.  Everyday I seemed to make the wrong choice.  I missed out on Stanton's grand slam, last week I missed Glaus' 4/5 day with 2 homers (I think that was his stat line)...oh well, you cannot be right all the time.

My big hitter was definitely Carlos Santana.  .471 average, .491 OBP, a home run, and 5 RBI?  Not a bad week at all.  I think Lincecum would have been my best pitcher, if I had started him.  Instead the honor goes to Colby Lewis for his one win and nine strikeouts.  Oh and Texas closer, Neftali Feliz for picking up four saves.  Damn impressive week for Texas pitchers.

This week I take on Offord, who is right ahead of me in the standings.  I must beat him.  That is all there is to it.

Other Baseball Stuff
Instead of boring everyone with a second baseball post this week, I figured I would mention this whole Pirates fire Pierogi runner because of facebook story.  In case you cannot read (what are you doing here?), the Pirates fired a kid (he is 24) who is one of their pierogi racers for posting some disparaging comments on facebook about the Pirates front office.

First of all, this should not be a story.  The newspapers would not run a story about this kid if he was fired for smoking weed in the bathroom, then why post this kind of story?  Well obviously there are reasons, mainly to fire up the angry fan base.  Whatever.

As you are well aware, I do not mention my place of work on here and that is because I was warned about saying anything negative about the company.  Write some negative comments on your facebook status about your boss and see how long you keep your job.

The part that cracks me up was how his mom made such a big deal about he was a lifelong fan and all that.  It reminded me of George Carlin's last stand-up.  Check it out about the 4:30 mark where he talks about Bobby...


This kid got warned for violating policy, then violated policy again.  He says it was because there was a miscommunication involving his schedule.  That sounds to me that he partied too much one night and then missed work.  I hear that crap all the time from my employees.

People need to realize this is not a violation of his rights, this is the world we live in.  If you choose to write a blog, have a facebook account, or use twitter, then you also have to realize that there can be consequences for your actions.

Divorce - Facebook Made Me Do It! . . . .

The other day I attended the wedding of a couple of young friends. One of our pastors, Troy, issued a wonderfully straightforward and realistic challenge to the pair as they were just minutes away from embarking on their life together. Troy talked about the covenant of marriage in the context of a future reality that on their wedding day this couple would find to be unimaginable. That reality that all married couples eventually experience is the reality that requires the very covenant Grant and Jenn were making before God, their family, and their friends. It's a reality that the inevitable dry spells, challenges, difficulties, and selfishness always bring to a marriage sooner or later. It's the reality that some day and over the course of some days, we are all tempted to forsake our covenants and follow our feelings (or "heart" as some like to say in today's world) into behaviors that are not only wrong, but destructive. When it comes to our marriages, we should never say "never," thinking that these are the things that only happen to other people and will never happen to me.

Instead, we need to realize that our tendency is to wander away from the rightness of God's will and way. We need also to realize that there are places of temptation and danger that to which we just can't and never should go because going there is like throwing gasoline on the smoldering coals of depravity that live in us all.

An article that someone passed on to me just a couple of days before Jenn and Grant's wedding pounds this reality home. It seems that lawyers in the U.K. are reporting that the growth and popularity of social networking sites like Facebook are being used by people to make online connections (new friends, former classmates, old romances) that oftentimes lead to cheating, adultery, and divorce. The problem isn't Facebook. The problem is how the fallen and broken human heart leaves us with a bent towards using Facebook in dangerous ways. Over the course of the last three or four years, I have seen the growth of social networking technologies paralleled by a growth of poor decisions and crossed boundaries by Christian brothers and sisters who should know better. I have sat across from many who have entered into emotional and/or physical extra-marital affairs that have led to tremendous amounts of pain and difficulty that reaches far beyond just the immediate participants, some of which has resulted in divorce. The lawyers in the U.K. are saying that now, one in five divorce petitions they're processing cite Facebook as either the way petitioners find out about their partner's infidelity, and/or how their partner began or pursued extra-marital relationships.

For those of us in youth ministry, there are three categories of relationships that I'm afraid we'll be seeing and hearing more and more about in regards to the abuse of social networking and marital breakdown. First, there will be the parents of our kids. You'll be called on to intervene not only with the children of brokenness, but with husbands and wives whose marriages are disintegrating due to this stuff. Second, there will be your kids. Most of them are several years away from being married themselves. Still, talking about these matters and issuing the necessary warnings shouldn't wait for premarital counseling sessions or post-wedding crisis intervention. Finally, there's us. There's not a single one of us in ministry who doesn't struggle with the temptations. When that one who claims he or she doesn't struggle with it proudly speaks up about the fact that they've been spared, we should be doubly concerned. We've got to be about the business of knowing our bent, knowing how our bent will lead us into temptation, and avoiding like the plague the places and practices that can so easily take us down. We should all be growing tired of hearing and reading about friends and others in ministry who have blown it. But we should never grow tired of reminding ourselves that we're only one bad decision away from the same thing.

The problem isn't Facebook or social networking. The problem is me and the problem is you. If we're about the proclamation of God's design for marriage and showing Jesus to the world through our own marriages, this is stuff that deserves our attention.

True Blood/Treme

It is Sunday night (technically Monday morning) and that means two great shows on HBO. 

True Blood
-So the werewolves are really no match for a vampire, unless they are hopped on vampire blood?  Bill pretty much killed the five he faced, or at least three of them.  He ripped an ear off one and did not face the one named Cooter.

-A war between Mississippi and Louisiana?  Really?  Would this be like a battle of the illiterate?  Do all vampires live in the moron states?  I am being mean to both states and I apologize to anyone from there who is reading this.

-Jason is still one of the coolest characters ever.  The stuff that comes out of his mouth cracks me up.  I really hope he decides to take the case of the missing Bill Compton.  He will not find him, but he will probably end up in Alaska fighting Santa Claus.

-Is Jessica's dead trucker going to turn into some kind of freaky zombie?  Like the doctor in Blade?  Jessica should have just talked to Pam, maybe just ask her for help.  Now this thing will be out killing everything and it will be up to Eric to kill it...

-Speaking of Eric, how cool is he?  "Stop crying, it makes me feel.........human."  Goes from being all honest and heartfelt to talking about having primal animalistic sex with Sookie.

-And it all comes back to Sookie, she is oh-so-special.  Oh, and she was Bill's assignment from the Queen?  Hmm, sound odd to anyone?  I know, I know, I should read the books. 

-Only complaint:  the stupid blood/food references.  "He only ate tangerines for a week."  Blood made into dessert, blood champagne.  It was dumb.  Knock it the hell off.

Treme
Tonight was the season finale, and let me say that it was a fantastic season.  It ended the way it started:  with a second line parade.  This time for the funeral of Daymo.

-Annie catches Sonnie being a scumbag and decides to ask Davis if she can stay with him.  This comes after Davis takes Janette out for her final day in New Orleans in an attempt to convince her to stay.  How the hell Davis gets girls is beyond me...

-The show then does a flashback of the characters making their decisions to leave/stay in New Orleans during Katrina.  It was such a cool scene.  Seeing how the characters got to where they are, and how Daymo got arrested. 

-The saddest part had to be when Cray's wife finds his note in his wallet.  She knows it was suicide.  The best part about it though, the way the police handled it.  Especially since she comes down hard on the New Orleans Police Department most of the series.  David Morse is such a good actor...

-The parade of Indians with Big Chief was actually pretty damn cool.  I loved how after it was done, you think that father and son will bond and be all buddy-buddy.  Then they start playing music together and you see that those fights and problems will always be there.

Before I go on to long and tell you all how great the show was, I am just going to recommend everyone start watching Treme.  And I also realize that there was no GOTW this week, so without further adieu:  I give you Kristin Bauer van Straten.  She plays Pam on True Blood.

 I think she is pretty hot and she is such a sassy bitch.  I love it.

Generation Porn - Where Will It End? . . . .

A couple of weeks ago I was in the car with my 17-year-old son Nate and one of his classmates. It was early on a Saturday morning and we were driving to a lacrosse tournament on a road north of Harrisburg here near our Central Pennsylvania home. At one point we hit a several mile stretch that serves as a window into a dark - yet increasingly acceptable and rapidly growing – part of our culture. Along the road stood a dozen or more “gentlemens’ clubs” and “adult” stores. I couldn’t help but look at the snoozing teenagers in my car and wonder how growing up in a world like this would shape them, their relationships, and their families during the course of their lives.

Perhaps you’ve heard me mention before that I wasn’t exposed to pornography until I was 12-years-old. A friend had found a magazine along the side of the road (or so he said) and we eagerly and secretly engaged in what was (without us even knowing it) a watershed moment in our lives, as our understanding of God’s good gift of sexuality was distorted in ways that we could never go back and erase. Growing up in today’s world is very different. Declining standards of morality, moral relativism, and the development of the Internet and other digital technologies have created a situation where curious kids and adults can willingly roam into this dark world to find things that will not only destroy their lives, but the lives of those around them. It’s also a world where even those who don’t go looking for it are “found” by it.

Because the dark world of Internet pornography is growing minute-by-minute, accurate up-to-date statistics are hard to find. But consider these facts on Internet pornography that were recently released by OnlineMBA (see the graphic below):

• 12% of all Internet websites are pornographic. That’s 24,644,172 sites.
• Every second, almost 30,000 Internet users are viewing pornography.
• 70% of all men ages 18 to 24 visit porn sites in a typical month.
• 1 in 3 porn viewers are women, and that number is steadily rising.
• 68 million daily search engine requests (that’s 25%) are pornography related.
• 34% of all Internet users have experienced unwanted exposure to pornography.
• The average age at which a child first sees pornography online is 11.
• The most popular day of the week for viewing pornography is Sunday.
• The overwhelming majority of children (90%) ages 11 to 16 have viewed pornography on the Internet.

As a follower of Jesus who studies youth culture, I’ve spent lots of time thinking about the cultural realities and circumstances that are fueling these trends, along with how the decisions people are making will effect both them and our society down the road. Because the digital/Internet generation hasn’t yet come of age, we can only speculate as to what the fall-out will be. But research has shown that exposure to pornography effects children and teens in the following ways:

• An exaggerated perception of sexual activity in society (or, the belief that “everyone’s doing it” and “this is normal.”)
• The abandonment of the hope of sexual monogamy.
• Belief that promiscuity is the natural state.
• Belief that abstinence and sexual inactivity are unhealthy.
• Belief that marriage is sexually confining.
• Lack of attraction to family and child-raising.
• Lasting negative or traumatic emotional responses.
• Earlier onset of first sexual intercourse.
• The commoditization of sex and the objectification of humans.
• Increased acceptance of sexual perversions including bestiality, group sex, etc.
(Jill Manning's testimony before the Senate, Nov. 10, 2005; Dolf Zillman in the Journal of Adolescent Health, August 2000)

I’m increasingly convinced that we can’t just sit back and do nothing. The proper God-glorifying response to these cultural realities must include the prophetic (proclaiming God’s liberating Word about all of life, including our sexuality), the preventive (developing strategies to prepare kids to respond to the sexual pressures they are bound to face in ways that are pleasing to God), and the redemptive (showing restorative grace as we lead the sexually-broken to hope and healing).

Over the past few months, God has been burdening me with the need for a response from CPYU. While I don’t know what form this will take, I do know that the time for it to happen is now. For this reason I’m asking you simply join with me in praying about what this all means for CPYU.

Finally, I know that these are not just problems occurring “out there.” All of us know people who are struggling with pornography issues. Some have been caught. Some have confessed. Some are still suffering in silence. For that reason, I’ve linked to a very helpful and straightforward article from Nicholas Black and our friends at Harvest USA, a ministry to the sexually-broken. The article is entitled “How and Why Pornography Hurts a Marriage.”

What are you doing to address these issues with the kids you know and love?


Via: Online MBA

at the moment ::music videos::

the fort wayne relocation project

For some reason, Portland has forgotten to set itself to the same seasonal clock as the rest of the world... It is mid-June and about 62 degrees and cloudy. Again. Last Saturday was our brief oasis of sun with the skies a brilliant blue and the temperature coming in at a high of 82. 


Indy was out at Lisa and helios' working on stripping their back decks, staining and waterproofing them all day, I was working on a) finding a job and b) making my way through yet another collection of Roald Dahl's short stories, and the day ended with all four of us sitting outside, drinking beer and eating ENORMOUS burritos at this little joint on the east side Helios had seen in passing one day. Perfection. 


But now? It may as well be autumn, just a little greener. Meh. I must have finally become a Portlander because I am getting sick of rain and am dying for some sun and 75 degree weather. 


On the upside, Mike's brother Jake gets here tonight and the guys' friend Shamu is already here! Last year when Jake came to visit at the end of July it was the first week of that god-awful heat wave we had so it will be great for him to see the city without a side of sweat. 


I can't believe it... Indy has succeeded in moving Mike, Dean, Robin, Shamu (providing he gets the job he's interviewing for on Monday) and his brother Dakota (once he graduates high school next year) out to Portland from Indiana and me? I can MAYBE get my friends to come visit. Ha. 


Oh well, in any case, life is still good. I'm looking for a new job (quit the old one after one too many straws) but keeping busy in the meantime.


Love to all and happy summer!

Another Life Update

I figured since I have nothing to really write about, I might as well bore everyone with some things going on in my life. Prepare for a lot of rambling...

Work
Since returning from vacation, The Place That Shall Not Be Named has not been that bad.  In fact, I have actually looked forward to going into work.  Pretty weird if you ask me.  Actually, I have a feeling it has more to do with my personal life at the moment.  Generally when things are off in that department, going to work is more of a relief.

Spartacus
I think at some point I mentioned how I watched the first episode of Spartacus:  Blood and Sand on Starz and I thought that it absolutely sucked donkey dong.  Well I watched the rest of the first season recently (thank you Starz marathon and OnDemand) and I must say that my opinion has greatly changed.  No, the show is not all that good, but it has some good qualities.

It is fun to watch the mindless violence and graphic sex.  Yes, I enjoy shit like that, I am a guy.  Andy Whitfield is pretty awesome as Spartacus.  He seems like the guy who could lead a slave revolt.  The plot of the show is decent, mainly because of all the backstabbing and maneuvering.  Every character has some kind of deal going on with someone or is trying to bribe someone.

Now, let me tell you what I do not like.  I hate the excessive use of language, especially the misuse of certain dirty words.  I know they are trying to go the Deadwood/Rome route, but those shows made the language fit, this show does not.  Sometimes guys will say things that make no sense:  "I will fuckin' cockcunt dick arrgh."  What?  That makes no sense.  Also, the violence gets to be a little much at times.  In fact, I would say there are scenes (especially some of the stuff when Spartacus fights in The Pits) that should be in the next Hostel. 

Oh and I also love that the emissary in 300 plays the guy training the gladiators.  And yes, this is just an excuse to post this video.


Shitty Westerns
I watched the movie Texas Rangers the other night.  This movie had the "greatest cast" ever.  I mean James Van Der Beek, Ashton Kutcher, and Usher as badass Rangers taking on Alfred Molina and the Mexicans?  Throw in Tom Skerrit and Robert Patrick with a little Rachel Leigh Cook and a bunch of Dylan McDermot and what do you get?  A terrible film. 

Also, has anyone seen the previews for Jonah Hex?  I know nothing about the comic book character, so do not think I know if the film is going to be like the comic.  But seriously, it is usually a bad sign when a western tries to have massive explosions.  I am sure someone will have some kind of mechanical horse.

Quitting

Okay, I know some of you are going to make a big deal about this next statement.  I am quitting smoking.  Before you ask how long it has been, let me tell you that I smoked my last Blackstone Cherry Cigar last night.  I will continue updating everyone on my progress.

I suppose I should explain why.  Mainly because I know they are bad for me.  Lately though, they have not been tasting all that good.  In fact, I have cut down on the amount I smoke because sometimes they make me want to gag.  Also, this habit is becoming way too expensive.

The hardest thing is going to be driving.  It makes the drive go by so much quicker while enjoying a smoke.  Usually I would say that when I go out drinking, but since most bars do not allow you to smoke, I do not think it will be that big of a deal.

So wish me luck on this endeavor...

Not That I Want To Jinx It But...

If you haven't noticed, the Mets are actually playing pretty good baseball these days. I know, I'm shocked, too, but the numbers don't lie. New York has won six straight games and jumped to a high-water mark of nine games over .500 for the season, leaving them just a half-game behind Atlanta and three ahead of the suddenly listless Phillies, whose offense seems to have come back to Earth after two outrageously productive seasons. Meanwhilst, New York, which had an offense that decided to take the day off every time its ace was on the mound, has suddenly been pounding the ball, including last night when the Amazins strung together four straight doubles in a five-run third inning of their 8-4 win over Cleveland, the first time they had turned that trick since matching the feat against the Dodgers on July 21, 1991.

Of course, while it is obviously exciting for Mets fans -- after all, the team is a Major-League best 17-5 since May 21st -- it has to be kept in at least some perspective. In this case, five straight wins, albeit on the road, against the Orioles (one of which I attended in Baltimore) and Indians, two of the worst teams in baseball, should be seen as less of an achievement than taking care of business. You can't blame the teams on your schedule, but at the same time, to be a contender you have to beat the teams you're supposed to beat. Right now, the Mets are doing just that, and with the bats and the rotation flourishing -- the starters are 16-3 with a 2.61 ERA in the last 27 games -- they are making quite a charge at contention.

The only question now is staying there, and while manager Jerry Manuel might be ludicrously putting his faith in Hisanori Takahashi and R.A. Dickey, Buster Olney is reporting that upper management isn't quite so optimistic. And thank goodness for that. After frustrating fans with their refusal to go after a potential big fish at the trading deadline, the Mets, as one of the few buyers on the market, are poised to bolster their starting rotation with some huge addition along the lines of Roy Oswalt, Ben Sheets or Cliff Lee. And all signs seem to imply that the Mets are going to get one of them.

And at that point, who knows what could happen.

It's foolish to start fitting the players for rings just yet, obviously, and this has been a notoriously streaky team for most of this year, but if the offense can keep the Mets hot into September, well, a top three of Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey and, say, Roy Oswalt, in that stadium, would be awfully nasty to go up against in a short series. Now, many sources are reporting that with concerns about the cost of his contract, Oswalt would be a less likely target than Lee or Sheets, but the Mets can handle the cost and taking all those dollars off Drayton McLane's books might mean surrendering less in the way of prospects, whereas Seattle might require John Niese's future to make the pieces fit for Lee, who is more than likely to test the free agent market this winter. Oswalt could be guaranteed to pitch at Citi through 2012.

Ben Sheets is a solid option, also, but either way, the Mets are at an exciting juncture of the season, and after last year's nightmare 70-92 campaign, you'll have to excuse us if we're getting bold enough to dream.

And here I thought the most outlandish dreams I was having these days was a deep run for the U.S. in South Africa. After Saturday's 1-1 tie against the Brits in the opening round, which I attempted to watch among the monstrous hordes at Dupont Circle this weekend, a win tomorrow against Slovenia could nearly assure the Yanks of getting through to the knockout stage.

Of course, Slovenia can't be underrated. After the Swiss turned the tournament upside down yesterday with an upset of Spain, it's clear any team can win any game, but the U.S. should be considered the favorite, and amidst signs that soccer fever just might be catching on around here, the buzz generated by a second-round berth could be pretty fun to see for football fans like myself.

It should also be noted that the with Argentina's 4-1 win this morning over South Korea, the scoring may finally be opening up in South Africa. While South Korea may be stinging from a brutal loss that could all but end its hopes of advancing to the knockout stage, at least the Taeguk Warriors can take solace in the fact that unlike some less fortuitous sabre-rattling neighbors, they can actually send their own fans to the tournament. It's not over and stranger things have happened in the World Cup, but South Korea seems unlikely to recover either in points or in goal differential. Then again, it's still early in the group stage. Who knows how it will all wind up.

As far as that other football is concerned, I've spent the last week sifting through the implications of what was nearly the destruction of the college football landscape as we know it, but instead is just a few moves that still leaves the shaky Big XII in tact with 10 teams while the Big Ten added Nebraska to give them 12.

Yep. Strange.

I don't know that I've gotten used to considering Nebraska a Big Ten team just yet, but I'm awfully curious to see if the schedules for the next three seasons that will now be thrown out put a wrinkle into my plans to see Northwestern visit BC in September of 2011. An impact on non-conference games seems unlikely, but the implementation of divisions will turn the typical Big Ten schedule unrecognizably upside down. I'm awfully curious to see how it all winds up.

Lastly, I've made note of how bizarre it is to see Giants Stadium disappearing piece by piece before, but as it stands -- or doesn't stand -- this morning, the final part of the building is ready to collapse, and the Giants and Jets have already begun practicing in their brand-spankin' new facilities, with disastrous results in some cases. Either way, while the new stadium is no doubt going to be beautiful, it will still seem eerie the first time I'm back in East Rutherford. Of course if they win, I won't really mind.

And now, back to the most exciting sport there is. Open wide, people.