That's for you, Dodger fan.
Anybody who's been watching (which, incidentally, may be just me) has seen there have been some tight pitches in the first couple games of the NCLS. There's only one that I can imagine could have had any intent behind it, and only one guy knows for sure. Still, it wasn't completely surprising that a Dodger pitcher went after a Philly hitter tonight. Weak, but not surprising. What was even weaker, though, was Dodger fan's reaction.
The pitcher who's name I don't know and don't care enough to look up buzzed a fastball a foot over the head of Shane Victorino. An odd choice, since he's not one of the highest profile guys in the lineup and by all accounts is a bona-fide good guy who goes out and plays hard every game with a smile on his face. Then, in an emotionally charged moment in the playoffs after having to duck a 90 mph bullet that was aimed at his melon, he responds with understanding and grace, at least to a degree. When a lesser man would have charged the mound and brought it to blows (which would have been understandable!), he basically gives permission to throw at him, just not at his head! Wow, if that isn't the coolest thing a guy could possibly do in that situation. "I get it, do what you have to do," he says, "but keep it away from the head." He ends up grounding out and is minding his own when the pitcher starts yakking at him, and eventually the benches clear and people as oustide of the situation as Manny Ramirez come charging in from left field to have to be held back. The whole time, Victorino above all people conducts himself with the highest standard of thoughtfulness and understanding -- particularly for a guy who just dodged a heater to the head.
What does Dodger fan do the rest of the game? Boo Victorino.
BOOOOOOOOOOO!
That's for you, Dodger fan. Weak sauce.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Stick Your Nose In 'Em!!!
Due to the underwhelming response to my previous "favorite" post (see below, if you think you'll care more than other people), I've come to a conclusion -- you need more exposure. Sooner or later, you'll come to appreciate my perspectives and opinions. Or stop reading. Or, more than likely, you never started reading in the first place, so it doesn't matter. That said, here we go with the 10 (plus a couple) most insightful, helpful, and generally enjoyable books (Bible excluded) that I've been through. There are plenty of people who are much better read than I am, but based on the fact that you're on-line reading my blog, I'm guessing that you're not one of them. So:
Honorable Mention:
Courageous Leadership, Bill Hybels: I didn't want to have more than one book by a single author on the top 10, so this gets left off. Inspiring and courage-inducing ("encouraging" sounds to weak and sentimental to mean something similar to "courage-inducing," doesn't it?).
A Whole New Mind, Daniel H. Pink: Fascinating and legitimately helpful.
Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, John Piper: 31 day-sized nuggets of wisdom that prove eternally helpful in keeping the pastor centered.
And the winners:
10) Chasing Daylight, Erwin Raphael McManus: Inspiring and particularly influential in helping me to stop living in fear and make my life worth living.
9) Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl: You can skip the psychology part if you want and I don't think you'll miss a thing. But the section on experiences in a concentration camp will give the (even minimally) thoughtful reader a whole new outlook on how amazing their life really is and how little they have to whine about.
8) How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie: Hmmm, maybe if more Christ-followers read this and did what it said, less people would hate us. I mean, we'd be FOR that, right?
7) The Next Generation Leader, Andy Stanley: At a modest 160 pages, Stanley is twice as helpful as most leadership books that are twice the size.
6) The Purpose Driven Church, Rick Warren: It's sad, but more than 10 years after publishing, far too many churches show no evidence of having thought about what they're doing. It's ok if you disagree or don't take his articulation as gospel, but at least the dude thought about stuff.
5) Just Walk Across the Room, Bill Hybels: If you only read one book on personal evangelism, this should probably be the one.
4) Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller: The most readable, honest, attractive, non-threatening, and all together delightful account of Christ-following that I've come across. Plus, he made me laugh. PLUS, the "Christian Book Store" has a disclaimer on it.
3) Teaching to Change Lives, Howard Hendricks: If you teach anything, ever, on any level or in any way, read this book. You won't remember to thank me, but you'll have a great time and be much more effective if you listen to what Hendricks has to say.
2) Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis: I know it's a generic choice, but page for page, this book makes me smile more than anything I've probably ever read. Seriously, if you read my blog but haven't read this, you need to start reading better material. And you just might remember to thank me!
1) Good to Great, Jim Collins: Another generic choice, I know. And he's not a Christ-follower and isn't writing about churches per se, yada yada yada. Almost everything applies almost directly, though (and the Christian clone books have failed miserably, in my opinion), and if you're smart enough to read good books you should be smart enough to make the leap. Anyway, I don't think I've ever been as fascinated with any book ever as I was this one. And I know it doesn't make me right, but with millions of copies sold, I'm in good company.
Honorable Mention:
Courageous Leadership, Bill Hybels: I didn't want to have more than one book by a single author on the top 10, so this gets left off. Inspiring and courage-inducing ("encouraging" sounds to weak and sentimental to mean something similar to "courage-inducing," doesn't it?).
A Whole New Mind, Daniel H. Pink: Fascinating and legitimately helpful.
Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, John Piper: 31 day-sized nuggets of wisdom that prove eternally helpful in keeping the pastor centered.
And the winners:
10) Chasing Daylight, Erwin Raphael McManus: Inspiring and particularly influential in helping me to stop living in fear and make my life worth living.
9) Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl: You can skip the psychology part if you want and I don't think you'll miss a thing. But the section on experiences in a concentration camp will give the (even minimally) thoughtful reader a whole new outlook on how amazing their life really is and how little they have to whine about.
8) How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie: Hmmm, maybe if more Christ-followers read this and did what it said, less people would hate us. I mean, we'd be FOR that, right?
7) The Next Generation Leader, Andy Stanley: At a modest 160 pages, Stanley is twice as helpful as most leadership books that are twice the size.
6) The Purpose Driven Church, Rick Warren: It's sad, but more than 10 years after publishing, far too many churches show no evidence of having thought about what they're doing. It's ok if you disagree or don't take his articulation as gospel, but at least the dude thought about stuff.
5) Just Walk Across the Room, Bill Hybels: If you only read one book on personal evangelism, this should probably be the one.
4) Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller: The most readable, honest, attractive, non-threatening, and all together delightful account of Christ-following that I've come across. Plus, he made me laugh. PLUS, the "Christian Book Store" has a disclaimer on it.
3) Teaching to Change Lives, Howard Hendricks: If you teach anything, ever, on any level or in any way, read this book. You won't remember to thank me, but you'll have a great time and be much more effective if you listen to what Hendricks has to say.
2) Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis: I know it's a generic choice, but page for page, this book makes me smile more than anything I've probably ever read. Seriously, if you read my blog but haven't read this, you need to start reading better material. And you just might remember to thank me!
1) Good to Great, Jim Collins: Another generic choice, I know. And he's not a Christ-follower and isn't writing about churches per se, yada yada yada. Almost everything applies almost directly, though (and the Christian clone books have failed miserably, in my opinion), and if you're smart enough to read good books you should be smart enough to make the leap. Anyway, I don't think I've ever been as fascinated with any book ever as I was this one. And I know it doesn't make me right, but with millions of copies sold, I'm in good company.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Metal From Heaven, Redux
Early in the year, I posted my top ten albums for 2007, noting that there were a couple of notable releases that I'd missed and would have likely altered the list substantially. Now nearly into October, I think I've managed to check out most all of the important releases, and the list HAS changed somewhat. It's not timely, but in the interest of credit where it's due, here's something closer to a "final" best of for 2007, all IMHO, of course:
Honorable Mention:
Deborah -- Soteria: Honestly, this has some great moments but has no business on a "best of" list. That said, when a female, Christian, Mexican black metal band puts out an album that has any real merit (which it does), it seems to deserve honorable mention, no? Also, this should be notable because it ought to be required listening and the new benchmark. Do you have a band? Good, I hope you do. And I hope you're really excited about it. BUT -- if you can't top this, don't ask me to listen. Let me put it differently -- if you can't do better than Mexican Christian women, maybe black metal isn't your thing. If you still want to try, great. Keep working, keep practicing, and keep improving, but in the meantime, take down your band's myspace and stop spamming the message boards. When you can do this well or better, then we'll be very happy to listen.
Inhale/Exhale -- The Lost, The Sick, The Sacred: I never really worked to pick this up, because I was sure it was either more Solid State pseudo-metal or weak As I Lay Dying rip-offs. It's more melodic than I'd like, but it turns out to be a pretty solid effort.
Oh, Sleeper -- When I Am God: I had almost conciously ignored (if that's possible) this band untill a buddy loaned me the cd. I was shocked at how much I liked this. Sometimes I love being wrong!
Remove the Veil -- Another Way Home: "Southern metal" is burning itself out at record pace, but this is just one fun listen. "You're the devil chiiiiiiiiiiild!"
Dagon -- Paranormal Ichthyology: A fun album from a criminally overlooked band.
Seventh Star -- The Undisputed Truth: A great swan song from a top-shelf hardcore band.
Apostisy -- Famine of a Thousand Frozen Years: This band came from WAY off the radar to within a hair's breadth of cracking the list. If the entire album wasn't played at exactly the same tempo, it probably would have made it.
And the winners:
10) Deliverance -- As Above, So Below: A return to greatness from one of the scene's founding bands. It's the feel-good story of the year!
9) Nodes of Ranvier -- Defined By Struggle: South Dakota's finest make good even as they hang up their metaphorical cleats.
8) My Silent Wake -- The Anatomy of Melancholy: Dooooooming metal that's beautiful and epic and just plain wonderful.
7) Becoming the Archetype -- The Physics of Fire: When an album comes in as a disappointment at number seven, that speaks volumes for their previous work, right?
6) Feast Eternal -- With Fire: Sure, they made a splash in a quality-starved scene 8 years earlier, but the bar had been raised a long way since then, and to be honest I doubted that they'd be able to cut it. Once again, I LOVE being wrong!
5) Immortal Souls -- Winterreich: Wow. When an album THIS good comes in at number 5, it's a banner year.
4) August Burns Red -- Messengers: Jaw-dropping in precision and technicality.
3) A Plea for Purging -- A Critique of Mind and Thought: Brilliant high-end shredding metal(core) becomes the greatest new sound of the year and nearly takes over the world.
2) Common Yet Forbidden -- The Struggle: Blast-beating technical brutality that never slows down or sleeps. That's the recipe for giving me exactly what I want, kids!
1) As I Lay Dying -- An Ocean Between Us: I know, it's a generic choice, and I hate it for that. But I LOVE it for being a brilliantly amazing album. Brutal, catchy, melodic, memorable, and about as close to perfect as you could dare imagine. This is what happens when the rare combination of talent, passion, and professionalism come together.
Honorable Mention:
Deborah -- Soteria: Honestly, this has some great moments but has no business on a "best of" list. That said, when a female, Christian, Mexican black metal band puts out an album that has any real merit (which it does), it seems to deserve honorable mention, no? Also, this should be notable because it ought to be required listening and the new benchmark. Do you have a band? Good, I hope you do. And I hope you're really excited about it. BUT -- if you can't top this, don't ask me to listen. Let me put it differently -- if you can't do better than Mexican Christian women, maybe black metal isn't your thing. If you still want to try, great. Keep working, keep practicing, and keep improving, but in the meantime, take down your band's myspace and stop spamming the message boards. When you can do this well or better, then we'll be very happy to listen.
Inhale/Exhale -- The Lost, The Sick, The Sacred: I never really worked to pick this up, because I was sure it was either more Solid State pseudo-metal or weak As I Lay Dying rip-offs. It's more melodic than I'd like, but it turns out to be a pretty solid effort.
Oh, Sleeper -- When I Am God: I had almost conciously ignored (if that's possible) this band untill a buddy loaned me the cd. I was shocked at how much I liked this. Sometimes I love being wrong!
Remove the Veil -- Another Way Home: "Southern metal" is burning itself out at record pace, but this is just one fun listen. "You're the devil chiiiiiiiiiiild!"
Dagon -- Paranormal Ichthyology: A fun album from a criminally overlooked band.
Seventh Star -- The Undisputed Truth: A great swan song from a top-shelf hardcore band.
Apostisy -- Famine of a Thousand Frozen Years: This band came from WAY off the radar to within a hair's breadth of cracking the list. If the entire album wasn't played at exactly the same tempo, it probably would have made it.
And the winners:
10) Deliverance -- As Above, So Below: A return to greatness from one of the scene's founding bands. It's the feel-good story of the year!
9) Nodes of Ranvier -- Defined By Struggle: South Dakota's finest make good even as they hang up their metaphorical cleats.
8) My Silent Wake -- The Anatomy of Melancholy: Dooooooming metal that's beautiful and epic and just plain wonderful.
7) Becoming the Archetype -- The Physics of Fire: When an album comes in as a disappointment at number seven, that speaks volumes for their previous work, right?
6) Feast Eternal -- With Fire: Sure, they made a splash in a quality-starved scene 8 years earlier, but the bar had been raised a long way since then, and to be honest I doubted that they'd be able to cut it. Once again, I LOVE being wrong!
5) Immortal Souls -- Winterreich: Wow. When an album THIS good comes in at number 5, it's a banner year.
4) August Burns Red -- Messengers: Jaw-dropping in precision and technicality.
3) A Plea for Purging -- A Critique of Mind and Thought: Brilliant high-end shredding metal(core) becomes the greatest new sound of the year and nearly takes over the world.
2) Common Yet Forbidden -- The Struggle: Blast-beating technical brutality that never slows down or sleeps. That's the recipe for giving me exactly what I want, kids!
1) As I Lay Dying -- An Ocean Between Us: I know, it's a generic choice, and I hate it for that. But I LOVE it for being a brilliantly amazing album. Brutal, catchy, melodic, memorable, and about as close to perfect as you could dare imagine. This is what happens when the rare combination of talent, passion, and professionalism come together.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
What's It Going to Take?
Lions fans have been asking this for years, and finally we have the answer. What's it take for Matt Millen to be fired from the front office?
31-84. 53 games under .500. A record that would take over three seasons of perfect, 16-0 records just to get back to even. Too many botched draft picks to count, 3 different head coaches and innumerable co-ordinators fired (including Mike Martz, who was fired after last year and then beat us this Sunday in San Fransisco -- yep, he was what was keeping us down, all right!). Starting and re-starting and building and re-building only to remain firmly stuck in neutral, and in neutral at the back of the pack.
In fairness, it's not necessarily all his fault. There was some bad luck with things like promising draft pick Charles Rogers breaking his collar bone twice. There were picks that looked solid to everybody at the time but didn't turn out (see Joey Harrington, for example). And I do, to a certain degree, admire his unwillingness to quit even when the entire world could see that he was in over his head and not really making any progress.
But after 7+ years and failing to EVER field a team that could boast "average," the camel's back wasn't just broken by one straw too many -- it was broken, then preyed on by the carnivorous desert creatures, fully metabolized, and then excreted back into the desert itself.
And so the battle is half-way won. Millen is done, and there's hope. But we know the team's still a long way from being good, and there's going to have to be more re-building before a contending team can be on the field, and even that can only happen if -- and this is a BIG if -- we can get somebody in charge who's going to be able to get it done. And the person in charge of that? Well, if you didn't already know this, his last name is Ford, and his recent track record isn't a whole lot better.
31-84. 53 games under .500. A record that would take over three seasons of perfect, 16-0 records just to get back to even. Too many botched draft picks to count, 3 different head coaches and innumerable co-ordinators fired (including Mike Martz, who was fired after last year and then beat us this Sunday in San Fransisco -- yep, he was what was keeping us down, all right!). Starting and re-starting and building and re-building only to remain firmly stuck in neutral, and in neutral at the back of the pack.
In fairness, it's not necessarily all his fault. There was some bad luck with things like promising draft pick Charles Rogers breaking his collar bone twice. There were picks that looked solid to everybody at the time but didn't turn out (see Joey Harrington, for example). And I do, to a certain degree, admire his unwillingness to quit even when the entire world could see that he was in over his head and not really making any progress.
But after 7+ years and failing to EVER field a team that could boast "average," the camel's back wasn't just broken by one straw too many -- it was broken, then preyed on by the carnivorous desert creatures, fully metabolized, and then excreted back into the desert itself.
And so the battle is half-way won. Millen is done, and there's hope. But we know the team's still a long way from being good, and there's going to have to be more re-building before a contending team can be on the field, and even that can only happen if -- and this is a BIG if -- we can get somebody in charge who's going to be able to get it done. And the person in charge of that? Well, if you didn't already know this, his last name is Ford, and his recent track record isn't a whole lot better.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
An Open Letter to Football Commentators
I know it doesn't really matter, but after the first full football-watching weekend, there's one small item that I would like to bring to the attention of football commentators everywhere:
There's no 1/2 yard line.
Or 1 foot line.
Or 6 inch line.
Or, really, anything else without a line.
It's not that hard.
There's no 1/2 yard line.
Or 1 foot line.
Or 6 inch line.
Or, really, anything else without a line.
It's not that hard.
Friday, September 5, 2008
NFL Preview Edition!
Apparently it's the cool thing to do. And you know I'll do anything to be cool, so here it is! The lowdown on every single team, and for free! Of course, the premium subscription will cost you, but it doesn't exist. Trust me though -- if it did, it would be terribly hard-hitting and insightful.
Atlanta: They'll play 16 games.
Arizona: They're very likely to play 16 games.
Baltimore: Probably 16 games.
Buffalo: I guess they'll play 16 games, but it's going to get really cold.
Carolina: The Vegas over/under for them is 16 games. I wouldn't touch it.
Chicago: Chicago should be right around 16 games.
Cincinnati: They'll play 16 games, but they'll do it with cool stripes on their helmets.
Cleveland: Much like Cincinnati, except with no logo whatsoever on their helmets.
Dallas: 16 games, no prediction on arrests.
Denver: They'll keep playing all the way through a 16-game schedule.
Detroit: Their best player (S Rogers) is gone from the already questionable d-line, and although Darby should be a serviceable replacement, the defense will still miss it's one true game-changer. The secondary should be much better, but the linebackers (Sims aside) are below par and the aforementioned line is questionable. On offense, the only rookie to make his way into the starting lineup (K Smith) is replacing K Jones, who was apparently cut for being hurt too much. Smith (with new acquisition Rudi Johnson) should bring adequate (although certainly below top-tier) skill to the backfield, Kitna's a decent qb and the receivers should be good, but the line is the same. And that's not good. Bottom line -- some exciting pieces on both sides of the ball, but I'm desperately afraid that game in, game out, they're going to get beaten up in the trenches. They won't be able to run OR stop the run with consistency, and their opponents will likely be able to sustain much more pressure on the qb then they will. I hope I'm wrong (and I'm wrong a LOT), but it looks like somewhere around 6-10 to me.
Green Bay: Are they really going to play 16 games with no Brett Favre? Yes, yes they are.
Houston: Yeah, 16 games.
Indianapolis: Not only will they play 16 games, but half of them will be in their shiny new stadium. Which is great, because their last one was ghetto.
Jacksonville: They'll play 16 games, and a lot of people will misprounoucne "Jagaurs".
Kansas City: My crystal ball says 16 games. And I don't even have a crystal ball!
Miami: They'll play 16 games, give or take.
Minnesota: I guess they'll play 16 games, which is a good idea. But they'll do so wearing purple, which is a categorically bad idea for a football team.
New England: They'll play 16 games and their coach will look like they're losing every one of them.
New Orleans: Their schedule looks like a 16 gamer to me.
New York Giants: They're going to play 16 games and win at least one.
New York Jets: Hey, they got that Brett Favre guy, right?
Oakland: They should see the field for about 16 games, but their fans will still act like the league hosed them out of 15 of them.
Philadelphia: They also will play 16 games, but their fans will boo anyway.
Pittsburg: They get to play 16 games like everybody else, but they have to play 8 of them in a stadium named after a tomato condiment.
San Diego: 16 games? Gauranteed. Staying classy? We'll have to wait and see.
San Fransisco: They're looking a lot like about a 16-game team.
Seattle: They're looking at about 16 games and scattered showers.
St. Louis: After 16 games, we'll know what kind of season they're in for.
Tampa Bay: It's going to take around 10 games to make the playoffs, and they'll have 16 chances to get it done.
Tennessee: They'll be very, very close to 16 games.
Washington: 16 games, but no more than 15 wins. Seriously.
Atlanta: They'll play 16 games.
Arizona: They're very likely to play 16 games.
Baltimore: Probably 16 games.
Buffalo: I guess they'll play 16 games, but it's going to get really cold.
Carolina: The Vegas over/under for them is 16 games. I wouldn't touch it.
Chicago: Chicago should be right around 16 games.
Cincinnati: They'll play 16 games, but they'll do it with cool stripes on their helmets.
Cleveland: Much like Cincinnati, except with no logo whatsoever on their helmets.
Dallas: 16 games, no prediction on arrests.
Denver: They'll keep playing all the way through a 16-game schedule.
Detroit: Their best player (S Rogers) is gone from the already questionable d-line, and although Darby should be a serviceable replacement, the defense will still miss it's one true game-changer. The secondary should be much better, but the linebackers (Sims aside) are below par and the aforementioned line is questionable. On offense, the only rookie to make his way into the starting lineup (K Smith) is replacing K Jones, who was apparently cut for being hurt too much. Smith (with new acquisition Rudi Johnson) should bring adequate (although certainly below top-tier) skill to the backfield, Kitna's a decent qb and the receivers should be good, but the line is the same. And that's not good. Bottom line -- some exciting pieces on both sides of the ball, but I'm desperately afraid that game in, game out, they're going to get beaten up in the trenches. They won't be able to run OR stop the run with consistency, and their opponents will likely be able to sustain much more pressure on the qb then they will. I hope I'm wrong (and I'm wrong a LOT), but it looks like somewhere around 6-10 to me.
Green Bay: Are they really going to play 16 games with no Brett Favre? Yes, yes they are.
Houston: Yeah, 16 games.
Indianapolis: Not only will they play 16 games, but half of them will be in their shiny new stadium. Which is great, because their last one was ghetto.
Jacksonville: They'll play 16 games, and a lot of people will misprounoucne "Jagaurs".
Kansas City: My crystal ball says 16 games. And I don't even have a crystal ball!
Miami: They'll play 16 games, give or take.
Minnesota: I guess they'll play 16 games, which is a good idea. But they'll do so wearing purple, which is a categorically bad idea for a football team.
New England: They'll play 16 games and their coach will look like they're losing every one of them.
New Orleans: Their schedule looks like a 16 gamer to me.
New York Giants: They're going to play 16 games and win at least one.
New York Jets: Hey, they got that Brett Favre guy, right?
Oakland: They should see the field for about 16 games, but their fans will still act like the league hosed them out of 15 of them.
Philadelphia: They also will play 16 games, but their fans will boo anyway.
Pittsburg: They get to play 16 games like everybody else, but they have to play 8 of them in a stadium named after a tomato condiment.
San Diego: 16 games? Gauranteed. Staying classy? We'll have to wait and see.
San Fransisco: They're looking a lot like about a 16-game team.
Seattle: They're looking at about 16 games and scattered showers.
St. Louis: After 16 games, we'll know what kind of season they're in for.
Tampa Bay: It's going to take around 10 games to make the playoffs, and they'll have 16 chances to get it done.
Tennessee: They'll be very, very close to 16 games.
Washington: 16 games, but no more than 15 wins. Seriously.
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