Essays on God, music, life and their intersections
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So a Thai firefighter couldn’t convince an autistic kid to come down off the ledge, literally. But he knew the kid liked Spider-man, so he went and got his Spider-man suit (awesome in and of itself, that he would have that), and told the kid Spider-man was there to save him. The kid responded.
That man used the idea of a hero to become a real hero. Mega, super, ultra-props. Read the full story here
After years of being hip, cool, and new, China has finally realized what the rest of the world has: if you pour money in a hole, it’s not coming back out. This article from the International Herald Tribune says it best:
“The Chinese have changed their strategy,” said Ibrahima Sory Diallo, a senior economist in Guinea’s Ministry of Finance and an advocate for Chinese investment. “They are not going to inject $5 billion into an unstable country in an uncertain market climate.”
Wow. They’re become normal and logical economic players. Now we might actually have to worry.
Anticipation makes the world happen
“Then” is like a pencil, never sharpened
Two feet in today but my head in the next
Always in motion, I resist the rest.
The necessity of Voter ID is the topic of my latest column for the OU Daily. I wrote this column about two weeks ago, but it’s still pretty prescient, as it passed the House on Mar. 11. I have a pretty strong stance on this, because I like to take care of problems before they start. That’s why I change my oil regularly. That’s why I pay my bills on time. It’s responsible.
The greatest weekend in sports is over. Forty-eight basketball games have been played in ninety-six hours. I saw four of them live, caught fragments of dozens of them on TV, and listened to at least a dozen on radio.
So much action happened. Here’s a list of the ten most heart-stopping things I saw in first and second round play.
10. Wisconsin beats Florida State in overtime in a nail-biter. The entire game was tense, and Wisconsin pulled it out.
9. Marquette loses their last chance for victory by stepping over the foul line on an in-bounds play, causing Missouri to get the ball with the lead and 5.5 seconds left.
8. Louisville seals their thoroughly unimpressive win over Siena with a thoroughly impressive breakaway monster jam.
7. Sixteen seed Eastern Tennessee State takes Pittsburgh down to the wire, threatening to become the first sixteen seed ever to win a first-round game. They eventually gave it up, but it was exciting.
6. The Big 12 goes 6-0 in the first round, barely squeaking out the Big East (6-1) for best conference record. I was thoroughly surprised, as my Big 12 bias is usually unfounded. Unfortunately, they did not fare as well in the second round, sending only three.
5. Sherron Collins (Kansas) vs. Ben Woodside (North Dakota State) in the battle of the point guards created one of the most consistently entertaining games of the tourney so far.
4. Blake Griffin’s tomahawk jam late in the second half over two Michigan players seals the momentum for OU, which OU would not let go of for the rest of the game.
3. Gonzaga responds to a Western Kentucky shot that tied the game with four seconds left by sending a freshman scrambling the length of the court to hit a shot to win it at the buzzer.
2. Oklahoma State’s Byron Eaton rushes the lane with ten seconds left, hitting the shot and the subsequent foul shot to win the game after Tennessee misses the final three-point shot.
1. Siena hits a clutch three to send their game with Ohio State into overtime. They hit a second clutch three in second overtime to win the game.
I lost my voice screaming at the double overtime Siena game last night. I have Siena in my bracket, so I was completely out of control the entire game. Siena came from behind the entire game and pulled it out on two clutch threes. I was in a massive sports bar, watching all four games at once (Wis/FSU, Clev St/Wake, MSU/RMU, and Siena/OSU). It was incredibly exciting.
Today I’m heading out to the Sprint Center to watch Maryland/Memphis and Oklahoma/Michigan. I will have even less voice by the end of the night. I am thoroughly excited about this proposition.
Deaf and mute temporarily? I’ll be alright.
I’ve been working full days at work to make up for the hours I won’t be working on Thursday/Friday, when I’m in KCMO, watching basketball. There will be posting.
Oh yes, there will be posting.
But until then, I’m a bit harried. Sorry bout the radio silence.
I don’t really like compilation albums, because I am an obsessive iTunes archivist. I dislike having tracks that I don’t actually like in my iTunes, because when I set it on shuffle (or, the newest greatest thing, Genius), I may run across a song I don’t know. That’s not what I want to happen.
I come about this topic because I am going through and listening to the Paste compilation CDs. I usually pull them out and say that I will get to them eventually; I usually don’t. I like learning about artists in Paste, but if I see an artist that piques my interest, I’m just going to go to the myspace or buy the album. This is why I love Langhorne Slim (his myspace) and how I ended up with the Mates of States’ Re-arrange Us. Although, to be fair, I did listen to and fall in love with “My Only Offer” on one of their mixtapes. But I read about them there and it drove me to that track on the compilation album. Also my friend Brian drove me to buy it, because he likes them a bunch.
All this to say, I don’t like compilation albums that much, because I usually listen to them one time and then toss ‘em. I may burn the best tracks to my computer, but it’s not my preferred method of getting new music. I’d much rather have it recommended to me by a magazine and then search it out. Feels like I’m doin’ some work for my music. And I like that.
Although I am glad that this particular Paste CD (46) is giving me a free Bon Iver track. I really like Bon Iver; I should buy his album soon. I’ve heard it several times already and it’s good. My friend Daniel played it for me, along with William Fitzsimmons (and Dave Matthews, which kinda sucked; I’ve always disliked Dave, but that’s a differnt article altogether).
That’s another way I like hearing about music; from friends. Then we have (another) something in common, when they tell me or I tell them about an artist. It’s great.
Tags: Bon Iver, Dave Matthews, Langhorne Slim, Mates of State, Paste, william fitzsimmons
I’d like to give a huge props to Best Buy. I went in there to return a computer charger that only powered my computer instead of charging it. I expected a hassle, because the charger wasn’t completely broken and I didn’t have the original packaging.
Instead, the entire transaction was done in about two minutes. They credited me back the money to my credit card (so classy) without time-consuming hassle (classier) and red tape (classiest). Win, Best Buy. Straight win. No wonder your competitor Circuit City went bankrupt.
Our culture often deems being single as “the natural state” and being in a relationship as “advanced state.” Pro-romancers trot out all these arguments like “cuddling,” “God made us that way,” and “tax benefits” as proof that being in a relationship is way better than not being in one.
Hold on there, pardner. There are some serious benefits to being single that often go undiscussed. I feel it is my duty to remind of several joys of singleness that go away when you “become one with another person.”
The Perks of Singleness
Those on the cleanly end of things, enjoy neatly organizing all the stuff in your lives now. Your honey is probably going to get their messy stuff all up in your business. And don’t think that you’re going to be able to dress in front of the dryer forever; when you’re married, you’re actually going to have to take the clothes out of the dryer, dudes. Sucks, right? Enjoy it now.
The rest of your life’s eating decisions will look something like this:
Spouse 1: “Where do you want to eat?”
Spouse 2: “I don’t know, where do you want to eat?”
Spouse 1: “How about Taco Bell?”
Spouse 2: “We always eat there.”
Spouse 1: “Then where?”
Spouse 2: “I don’t know.”
(note: you will probably end up at Taco Bell, but Spouse 2 will be miffed)
Don’t feel like hanging out with a friend? Call and cancel. Don’t feel like hanging out with your wife? …not so simple.
Married person looking at a fast car: “What will my spouse think?”
Single person looking at a fast car: “Does this come in red?”
Friend: “Bro, let’s go do something.”
Single Person: “It’s two in the morning on a Thursday.”
Friend: “Yeah, so?”
Single Person: “…I’m getting my shoes on.”
It’s fun.
One hundred dollars to a single person equals three movies with popcorn, three CDs, and a concert with souvenir tee. A Benjamin to a married person is part of an insurance payment.
Spring break with the wife: chillin’.
Spring break with the bros: March Madness.
See the world! Bum around the country on bicycle! Live in a box on the South Oval to see if it would work! Go for your goals at full speed with all your energy! Be a poor, starving artist! Be a poor, starving med student!
So next time someone brings up talk of “sex,” “emotional intimacy,” and “really good back rubs,” remember that folding clothes is way overrated and might not be a good trade-off.