Festivus

Happy Festivus. Enjoy your feat of strength and the airing of grievences.

Festivus Web Site explaining the holiday.

Christmas 1776

A Revolutionary Christmas Story - good read.

Cold

Just got in from walking back from a friend's house. It is 12 degrees outside. That is cold. Artic blast I believe is how they describe it.

Bush as Antichrist

Good article from Seattle Weekly News about Bush as the antichrist.

I have trouble buying into the whole Bush is an evil liar and we are entering a dark period in our country's history, but the article makes some good points. What is it to be a Christian? We are not called to judge one another. Without compassion the message of Christ falls apart. But, and this is where I think the Church is going down the wrong path, Christ calls us to change our sinful ways and follow him. So the Church should welcome all, we are all sinners, but call everyone to change their lifes and follow Christ. The Church can not accept sinful lifestyles, behavior as o.k. because it is politically correct to do so.

Also, Christians must help the poor and less fortunate. Our country is extremely wealthy and I think the biggest obsticle in an American's walk with Christ is money.

Another note, Christ did not come for a political kingdom, but a spiritual kingdom.

ROTC in the Ivy League

Outstanding article in the Wall Street Journal on the effort to bring ROTC back to the Ivy Leagues, specifically Havard, Yale, Brown and Columbia. The ROTC was banned from the campuses during Vietnam as a protest of the Vietnam War. The current reason to keep them off campus is related to the school's opposition to the don't ask don't tell policy the military has that bans gays from the ranks.

To Ivy League cadets, a return has historical resonance. Among the earliest students of King's College, the name under which Columbia was founded in 1754, was Alexander Hamilton, who rose to prominence as a Revolutionary War hero and aide de-camp to George Washington.

At Yale, freshmen dorms surround a statue of Nathan Hale (class of 1773), executed by the British and credited with the parting words: "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

Lt. Tuohey, the Army lieutenant in Baghdad who graduated from Harvard in 2001, draws inspiration from his great-uncle, a U.S. Army first lieutenant who died in France during World War II.

"I've learned more in Iraq than I learned during four years at Harvard," Lt. Tuohey says in a telephone interview. "There's no greater honor than leading men in defense of your country."

ROTC was established after World War I to provide the nation with a group of citzen soliders read to take up the defense of the nation when called. It is a shame that the most elite universities in the nation don't agree that this is a noble worthwhile cause and choose to ban the activity all together from their campuses.

World's Tallest Bridge

I thought this was interesting. The French have built the World's Tallest Bridge for automobile traffic. It was designed by a Brit though, Norman Foster, who is doing the Dallas Opera House with TT Structural Engineers.

World's Tallest Bridge on cnn.com

BBC's article

List Eater

Most know the story of the listeater at Texas A&M. The Aggies made the Cotton Bowl this year and the students were camping out for tickets. The way it has worked for decades at A&M is each window has a list they keep and they have a roll call every now and then to make sure you are still out there. If you don't answer, you are off the list. Well a girl showed up early the morning the tickets went on sale, stood by the window first in line and refused to go to the back of the line or the back of the list. She then ate the list. Yes, ate the list.

Well this story was first told on texags.com an A&M bullentin board. It then spread to the news channel in College Station KBTX and the Bryan-College Station Eagle, the newspaper in town. Now there are videos of the girl on the KBTX site. It is a classic example of the internet fueling the news cycle. Blogs are taking over the news cycle. Of course this is the most bizzare news I've heard in a long time.

Here are the links:

aggiesports.com story:

kbtx story with video: (apparently she went to the cops claiming she was assaulted.)

UPDATE:

10 minute documentary style movie on list eater, great to watch, follow the mirror directory

Vomit Man

For Ginny:

Thursday after work the wife and I went out for Tapas with our friends. We were there at 6:15, so we were the only people in the restaurant as New Yorkers like to eat late. Plus it was rainy weather, but that is beside the point. On our way home we got off the subway at our stop and were soon behind a man covered in vomit. I'm guessing his own vomit. He was stumbling around and had real trouble with the stairs. He had it in his hair, all down the front of his shirt, on his back, on his hands, everywhere. He was carrying a sport coat, covered in throw up. This was a nicely dressed man, not a bum. He seemed completely unaware of the fact he was covered in vomit as well. He was like a vomit zombie. We were maintaining a safe distance. We didn't want to touch him for obvious reasons, but I didn't want him to erupt again. One man behind us was a little irritated at the slow pace on the stairs and stormed past us as I tried to utter, "Watch out for the chunky monkey in front of us." At the gate my wife made a run for it and got around him and ahead of him on the stairs to the street. I stayed safely behind him. Finally at the street he wandered off in a different direction, spreading his holiday cheer. Just another day in the city.

Perhaps he ate a list.

Natalist's and more on "Exburbs"

David Brooks article in today's New York Times is about natalist's.

They are having three, four or more kids. Their personal identity is defined by parenthood. They are more spiritually, emotionally and physically invested in their homes than in any other sphere of life, having concluded that parenthood is the most enriching and elevating thing they can do. Very often they have sacrificed pleasures like sophisticated movies, restaurant dining and foreign travel, let alone competitive careers and disposable income, for the sake of their parental calling.

The article gets better after the initial condeming. He goes on to say that the natalist's see the exburbs as a good place to raise a family while others see it as a materialistic wasteland. Then he concludes his article by saying that natalist's are rejecting the material world and choosing to have a family.

This one will get lots of letters saying these people are escaping reality and not fullfilling their destiny. There is something in the left's message about accepting lifestyles that are different from yours but I forget. Maybe I'm just anticipating the reaction with a pessimistic mind.

Oh Canada...

So, glancing through cnn.com I see this article about a t-shirt company in Albuquerque, New Mexico selling shirts with the Canadian flag for American tourist traveling in Europe.

There's a Canadian flag T-shirt, a Canadian flag lapel pin and a Canadian patch for luggage or a backpack. There's also a quick reference guide -- "How to Speak Canadian, Eh?" -- on answering questions about Canada.

This is all fun and games, but we have heard about people doing this. It is wrong on several accounts. The first and most obivious, you should not be ashamed to be an American because your party is not in power. This country still is the best place in the world to live. While there may be actions the current administration is doing that you don't agree with you should still believe in our system and be proud of the fact that you can voice your alternative opinion.

The company selling the shirts say they are doing it because often people that vacation in Europe are bombarded by questions about US politics from the Europians. This brings me to the second wrong. I thought that the Americans were the rude ones when they traveled to Europe. If I'm on vacation in Germany, I do not represent the United States government, I may or may not have voted for the current administration, and it is really none of their damn business either way. I just find it rude that someone would accost me because they don't believe in the war in Iraq soley because I'm American.

A&M vs. Texas and 1 point safeties

There still exists some confusion on the 1 point safety award Texas in the annual Texas A&M vs. Texas matchup Friday after Thanksgiving. Texas was attempting an extra point and the kick was blocked. An A&M Defensive Lineman then scooped the ball up and took possession. He then fumbled into the end zone and an A&M Defensive Back fell on the ball for a safety. That is the way the TV commentators explained how the refs called it. The 1 point try became a 2 point try for A&M the other way when the DL picked up the ball. A safety in a 2 point try situation is a 1 point safety.

My ref friend Dave Taylor then told me how they should have called it. The kick was an illegal kick because it was a loose ball. You can not kick a lose ball. If you remember the holder was fumbling the ball (he did not have possession) when the kicker kicked it. The penalty is 15 yards and lose of down. Here is the rule from the rule book.

Illegally Kicking Ball
ARTICLE 4. A player shall not kick a loose ball, a forward pass or a ball being held for a place kick by an opponent. These illegal acts do not change the status of the loose ball or forward pass; but if the player holding the ball for a place kick loses possession during a scrimmage down, it is a fumble and a loose ball; if during a free kick, the ball remains dead (A.R. 8-7-2-VII).

PENALTY-15 yards from the basic spot and loss of down if the loss of down is not in conflict with other rules (Rules 10-2-2-c, d, e and f) [S31 and S9] (Exception: No loss of down if the foul occurs when a legal scrimmage kick is beyond the neutral zone).

Basket-Brawl

O.K. I'll finally weigh in on the NBA brawl. John Lopez from the Houston Chronicle has an interesting article today about how the fans treatment of the players has not changed, but the type of players in the league has changed. Apparently the treatment of players from fans used to be worse, but the players wouldn't react.

I don't think that any player should ever go after a fan in the stands. Artest should be done for the season for his failure to control his emotions. And the players that followed him into the stands should also receive stiff penalties, which they have.

I also think the fans should be held accountable. The mentality of some fans seems to be that there is a barrior between them in the stands and the players on the court. Because of this barrior they can say anything, throw anything and they are safe, behind the barrior. As the players were leaving the court, all the fans throwing things on them were only further inciting the situation. Any fan that comes onto the court gets what they deserve. I don't think a fan would come up to Ron Artest on the street and throw their beer at him.

X-Giving

Sitting at home, waiting on Katie to finish the Cornish Game Hens and watching the Colts vs. Lions. Took Mom and Dad out on a short walk through Riverside Park this morning when it was sunny. It is now raining again. We are having Cornish Game Hens because our apartment is too small to fit a turkey in. Tonight we start the Christmas Season off by going to the Radio City Christmas Show at Radio City Music Hall. Should be fun. They do 4 shows tonight. We go at 8:30 and there is another show after our show.

Tomorrow we are going to walk through Central Park and down 5th Avenue, then we are going to watch the Aggies beat the hell outta t.u. (That is what we call university of texas at A&M)

Saturday we are going to walk around downtown.

Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving.

Jumping Jacks, Ready, Begin

1-2-3-1
1-2-3-2
1-2-3-3
1-2-3-4

How come they count jumping jacks like this? 1 - hands up, 2 - hands down, 3 - hands up, 1 - hands down? You have to do 2 jumping jacks just to get one? Why?

Bonfire, We Shall Never Forget

Today marks the 5th anniversary of the Bonfire collapse at Texas A&M University. I was a graduating senior that fall semester. It doesn't seem like 5 years, but then again it seems like ages ago. We have graduated, gotten graduate degrees, married, and some of us have even had kids. Our lifes have changed so much in those 5 short years, but it still seems like yesterday. The University will dedicate the Bonfire Memorial tomorrow to commemorate the event.

My roommate at the time and I were awaken that morning with a call from his father informing us of the collapse. All day the news helicopters circled the campus trying to get the best shot. Signs reminding us to call home were posted on campus. As all know, 12 of our best and brightest students were lost forever in the tragedy. These students were valvictorians, Eagle Scouts, extraordinary men and women. They were doing something they loved, something for an institution they loved.

It was the hardest day in most of our young lifes. No one knew what to do. We just seemed to hold on to each other and keep going. It was the most incredible time in my life. As the afternoon went on, spontaneous prayer groups met. It is quite a site to see a prayer gathering at a secular unviersity where you can't see the ground for all the people kneeling in prayer. The the memorial service after the program was over I will never forget as we all spontaneously put our arms around each other and sang Amazing Grace. Truely amazing the way the campus came together in our worst moment.

The football game with our rivals, the University of Texas followed the day after Thanksgiving. We build Bonfire to demostrate our burning desire to beat the hell out of t.u. (as we call UT). I don't think anyone knew how to act. But again, we all just hung onto to each other and kept going, yelling our lungs out as A&M upset the Longhorns. I remember telling my mother before the game that I didn't think I could do it, but I did, we all did.

Bonfire, if it never comes back, in it's last hurrah took from us 12 of the greatest kids you would ever be pleased to know, and also it did what it has always done, united a diverse group of students and former students into one big family. I will never forget those 12, nor will I ever forget that terrible, yet remarkable time in my life. Softly call the Muster, let comrade answer "here"...

Miranda Adams

Christopher Breen

Michael Ebanks,

Jeremy Frampton

Jamie Hand

Christopher Heard

Timothy Kerlee, Jr.

Lucas Kimmel

Bryan McClain

Chad Powell

Jerry Self

Scott West

Enough with Reality

Ratings are down for reality shows, cnn is report. It is about time. The television networks have been getting away with entertaining America without having to write scripts or hire professional actors for too long. The result has been really bad television. Survivor was "cute" the first time around, but it has worn thin and watching people eat bugs has never appealed to me. Perhaps television producers will produce something worth watching now? I doubt it.

Live from the Upper West Side

Why is it that the local news these days always feels like they have to have someone live somewhere. They could be doing a report on airport security and they will go from the studio to a reporter, "Live at JFK airport." He will then introduce the report, then they run the tape filmed earlier in the day, then back to the reporter who will do his conclusion and back to the studio. Why does he have to be live? He could have done the exact same thing sitting next to the anchor at the desk. The viewer can see the airport in the background, that is it. Last night the news was "Live from Queens" to report on the threat letter that the Presbyterian Church, USA has received. The letter was sent from Queens, so they were there live. But the letter was sent to the Presbyterian Church headquarters in Kentucky. Shouldn't they have gone there?

I've seen them do reports about something in a neighborhood and they will have a reporter, "Live on the scene in University Park," and it is dark so you can't see anything but the reporter. This is almost as dumb as making the poor chump stand out in the hurricane to tell us it is really windy.

Does anyone know why this happens?

Exburbs - Utopia

On Nov 9. David Brooks of the New York Times wrote a column about the exburbs. Exburbs are communities that have been developed in isolated areas often around a corporate campus. It is a self sustaining community with low rise office complexes, homes, strip shopping centers and chain restaurants. Brooks article is about how Bush clean up in these communities. But he also seeks to explain why people move here.

On the one hand, people move to exurbs because they want some order in their lives. They leave places with arduous commutes, backbreaking mortgages, broken families and stressed social structures and they head for towns with ample living space, intact families, child-friendly public culture and intensely enforced social equality. That's bourgeois.

Today I'm back reading the letters to the editor and there were 5 on this article. Here are some samples.

There is nothing utopian about the exurbs. They are without public space save the shopping mall parking lot, their people do not saunter, the landscape is uninspiring, neighborhoods are often gated, and there is no place to assemble for protest. The exurbs are isolated from diversity, removed from the conversations of the world community and free from the sight of poverty, homelessness and class division. -Michael Oman-Reagan, New York, NY

So Republicans won in part because they courted voters who preferred to move away from society's problems rather than face and fix them? -Jonathan Carey Astoria, Queens

The responses are more interesting than the article. Both letters could be dismissed immediately because I doubt either writer has been to an exburb to see for themselves. Our experience with native New Yorkers is they have no clue what living anywhere else is like. This is interesting because living in New York City is different than living anywhere else in this country.

But lets dig deeper. First my experience. I grew up in Clear Lake City, a suburb of Houston, TX. But it could be argued that it was an exburb because we lived there because my dad worked at NASA and while I was growing up, most residents worked in Clear Lake for the space industry. As Clear Lake grew into a suburb, ie more commuters moving in, more subdivisions were built. All of these master planned communities included parks and public space. The assumption that there are no public spaces is absurd. I won't touch the "protest" arguement.

The assumption of people moving away from the problems of society is a bit of a reach. My wife and I live in the Upper West Side, but we have no kids. When we lived in Dallas, we also live close into the city center. Both locations we loved. But, when we want to have a family we can't afford to stay in the Upper West Side. It is easy to accuse me of moving away from problems of society when we move back out to the suburbs or back to Texas when we have kids, but it is not true. We would love to stay here with a baby, but can't afford it. I see nothing wrong with moving to a location that will provide an easier life to my family.

Just because you live in the city doesn't mean you are not escaping from the ills of society. This is classic city snobbery. It is just as easy to ignore the homeless man as to never see the homeless man. Mixing with different people of different social and economic backgrounds is only a positive if it changes the way you act. As far as diversity of thought, the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where I live, has less diversity of thought than I have ever experienced anywhere I have lived. The exburbs are probably more educated than any other area and I'm sure have very intellectual conversations about world events. I know in Texas we have to put up with liberal rich Yankees telling us how to do things, so why wouldn't this be the case in other exburbs? New Yorkes love to think they know everything about how one should live, but they don't necessarily practice what they preach, nor do they have a clue about what they are talking about.

College Football Run Amuck

Maurice Clarett is claiming that Ohio State University offered him perks that the normal college freshman does not receive. This includes fixing his grades so he can maintain his eligiblity, head coach Jim Tressel arranging for him to have cars, boosters giving him cash "incentives" as well as arranging bogus summer jobs, etc. Ohio State of course denies everything. According to Clarett he was covering for the Ohio State program and coach Jim Tressel during interview sessions he had with investigators in which he claimed he didn't know how he got the cars, money, etc.

Whichever side you tend to believe, this is another stain on college football. Anyone that knew a football player while attending college with a big time team, knows this stuff happens all the time. The NCAA is the one that turns the blind eye. Why? Because everyone is getting rich off these kids, colleges, NCAA, networks, the list goes on. I'm not advicating paying college players, in fact I'm strongly against that. What I want is for the NCAA to really come down on a program the size of Ohio State. They were willing to take football away from SMU which has all but ruined the entire athletic program, why aren't they willing to go after an Ohio State?

With the money involved now in college football, even the legitimate money, it is doomed to be plagued by scandal.

NYC Marathon - Victory for Democrats??

I'm entering the blogging world here with Bubba's Blog. I live in New York City with my wife, but both of us are from Texas. Yes, I am a Bubba, but probably not what you think. I hope to give y'all a Bubba's perspective of New York City. With the recent election, I have discovered alot about myself, or the New York Times has told me alot about myself. I'm not sure it is all true, but that is what we are going to discover with this blog.

One thing I love to read in the paper is the letters to the editor. (I now read them online as giving money to the Times is suddenly not that worthwhile for me.) I ran across this letter today.

To the Editor:
I was near the finish line of the New York City Marathon on Sunday afternoon. There was a huge TV monitor so people could see themselves coming into the home stretch and a band playing. Some of us were looking up in awe at a hawk perched on a lamppost.

A police officer was speaking into a bullhorn urging runners on, telling them they could do it, they could accomplish what they started. There were runners and onlookers from all over the world.

I had a similar feeling of community last week when everyone was out on the street at 10:30 one night gazing at the eclipse of the moon.

Those "red" states could do a lot worse than to take a page out of the "book" that is New York City. We New Yorkers have our differences and our difficulties, but we revel in opportunities that unite us - we crave them. This is in sharp contrast to those who sparked and promoted divisiveness in the recent election campaign.

New York City thrives on its diversity. It sets a great example!

Olivia Koppell
Bronx, Nov. 7, 2004

I hate to burst Olivia's bubble, but I was at the marathon on Sunday here in New York, and I've been to a marathon in a "red" state, and I can't say that the atmosphere was much different. It might also be worth noting that a great number of those people yelling encouragement might have been from "red" states too, or worse, gasp, voted for Bush right here in New York. What does politics have to do with the marathon? Why did the Times publish this?

I have failed to discover how the left hating Bush is Bush's fault, can someone explain it to me?

Bubba