Olympic Attitude

Peggy Fleming

One of my first Winter Olympics memories was watching a graceful and gracious Peggy Fleming glide across the ice to win the gold medal for the USA in the women's single event. Here is an excerpt from the wiki on her:

Her unusual style led to five U.S. titles, three World titles and the gold medal in the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble, France. Her award in Grenoble was singularly important for the American athletes and the nation as a whole, for this was the only gold medal that the U.S. Olympic team won in the 1968 Winter Games. It signaled a return to American dominance in the sport of women's figure skating following the unprecedented tragedy of the 1961 plane crash.

The crash they reference was the one that killed the entire United States Figure Skating team, who were en route to the 1961 World Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

Thinking about that tragedy in 1961 causes me to think about Nodar Kumaritashvili's death last Friday on the luge run in Vancouver. It is a sad and sobering thought to think about what happened to this young man. I feel for his family and teammates.

As I watched the Olympics this weekend I was struck by my partisan Team USA attitude.. I was happy to see Team USA march in the opening ceremony on Friday night..guess some of us are just wired to root for the "home" team.

But as I watched Chinese Pairs Skaters Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo skate a wonderful routine last night I began to experience something different. I listened to their story.. I started rooting for their success.. I began to see that the Olympics are so much more than the number of medals won for our country.. it is celebrating with young athletes.. even if they are not from your land.

Maybe that is what the Olympics are all about.. mourning losses and celebrating successes.. and cheering on young athletes.. regardless of the country that they represent.

The Absurdity of Dreams

I woke up this morning remembering the dream I dreamed during the night - LOL, I dreamed that I was running against Sam Brownback to be the next governor of Kansas.. not sure that it was in the GOP primary or if I was running as an Independent. Either way it was truly an absurd dream.. at least it seemed that way to me.

Do you dream much? Do you usually remember your dreams the next morning? I usually don't.. either that or I just don't dream all that much. When I was a pastor people would occasionally speak to me about reoccurring dreams and ask for my opinion on them.. sometimes there seemed to be a message hidden in the dream.. other times the dream just seemed a bit absurd.

The bible is full of dream stories. I think about the story in Genesis where Egypt's Pharaoh had a frightening recurring dream that no one could interpret but Joseph - that dream turned out to be prophetic of the coming years.. interesting how Joesph advised Pharaoh in such a way that led to Pharaoh becoming more powerful at the poor Egyptian's expense.. but I digress.

In the New Testament Jesus' adopted father Joseph dreamed two dreams.. first he was told by God that Mary's baby was divine.. second he was instructed to flee to Egypt to protect the baby Jesus from being slaughtered by King Herod's soldiers. Amazing how God sometimes uses the absurdity of a dream to reach out to us.

All that said I do not believe that God was communicating with me early this morning and calling me to enter the governor's race.. unless you all start sending me some big checks pretty soon.. email me and I will give you my mailing address 

How about you? Are you a dreamer? Any stories to tell about the absurdity of your dreams?

Valentine Memories

Fifteen years ago on Valentines Day Ann and I got engaged - today we celebrated and reminisced about that day over lunch.

How about you? Do you have any special memories that come to mind this time of year? Care to share a bit?

Pugilistic Wisdom

A champion is someone who gets up when he can't. -Jack Dempsey

Life doesn't run away from nobody. Life runs at people.
-Joe Frazier

Until you start believing in yourself, ya ain't gonna have
a life. -Rocky Balboa

Before I fight, I always pray that no one gets hurt. -Sugar Ray Leonard

Fear was absolutely necessary. Without it, I would have been scared to death.
-Floyd Patterson

A champion shows who he is by what he does when he's tested. When a person gets up and says 'I can still do it', he's a champion. -Evander Holyfield

A boxing match is like a cowboy movie. There's got to be good guys and there's got to be bad guys. And that's what people pay for -- to see the bad guys get beat. -Sonny Liston

I'm scared every time I go into the ring, but it's how you handle it. What you have to do is plant your feet, bite down on your mouthpiece and say, 'Let's go.' -Mike Tyson

"There are more pleasant things to do than beat up people." -Muhammad Ali

I don't even think about a retirement program because I'm working for the Lord, for the Almighty. And even thought the Lord's pay isn't very high, his retirement program is, you might say, out of this world. -George Foreman

Snowmageddon

Thinking about my family and friends on the east coast.. the snow has paralyzed activities out there.. of course some activities might need a bit of slowing down

Last real KC snow was last Friday. How is the weather where you are?

Indigenous Community

Smart Planet recently interviewed 34-year-old British investigative journalist Olly Steeds.. here is an excerpt from it:

You’ve spent a lot of time living with tribes, including one that practices cannibalism. What have you learned?

Where do you start? On a personal level—its’ so easy to take things for granted in our world—to complain about this and that. The indigenous people have no place for moaning and complaining; they just get on with it. They have an incredible generosity of spirit, which makes sense in that world–you have to be kind to your neighbor in case you ever need him. So it’s the kindness, generosity, hospitality, the need to look after your neighbor, the notions of community–it’s easier to see in their world because in some capacity they have a simpler life, compared to our modern world and the great sort of complexity we like to surround ourselves with.

Hmmm.. that makes me think about about the difference between my life in the heated and air-conditioned suburbs (where nobody really has to go outside and run into their neighbors) and the lives that these folks are living. Seems like America used to be like that.. before we had air conditioning my New York family used to spend summers outside having picnics and barbecues.. seems like we really knew our neighbors. But I am not so sure it was the same kind of community as the ones that Olly Steeds encounters in indigenous settings where people seem to really need each other.

Did you grow up in a community where you knew your neighbors? How about now?

Redneck Teleprompter

This is about the people, and it's bigger than any one king or queen of a Tea Party, and it's a lot bigger than any charismatic guy with a teleprompter.. -Sarah Palin speaking at the Tea Party Convention

Simple Things

Chris, over at Enchanted Oak has issued a challenge to all bloggers. For every blogger who posts a list of the simple things that make them happy, she will donate $2.00 to Heartline Ministries in Haiti. Here are the rules from her blog:

Post your piece this weekend and include a link to my blog. Then pop in here to say you’ve posted your “Simple Things.” Post by midnight, Pacific time, Sunday and don’t forget to link with me and notify me that you’ve posted. You can borrow the “Simple Things” photo. If you don’t have a blog, a comment on my blog will count too if you tell me so.

Here are some simple things that make me happy:

• Playing with my grandchildren - they are so full of life and joy.
• Eating a meal with my wife - there is nobody like Ann.
• Sharing my life with friends - they listen with their heart.
• Penning my thoughts here - you all are so very gracious.
• Singing along with a song - just something special about music.
• Watching NFL Football - even cheering for the Chiefs is fun.
• Enjoying a good movie with Ann - I am a sucker for flicks.
• My morning cup of coffee - the first one tastes the best.

Feel free to join in Chris' challenge if you read this on Sunday.. and let me know if you do.

There Will Be Blood | ★★★★

This movie lingered on my Netflix queue for a long time.. I wish I had deleted it before it showed up in my mailbox. Yes.. I know that it was an acclaimed movie with all sorts of "Best Picture" nominations.. and possibly I just didn't "get it".. that said I'll try to opine a bit about it.

Firstly I have to say that the acting was great - no surprise that Daniel Day-Lewis was spectacular in the role of a greedy mean-spirited silver miner turned oil well driller. I also enjoyed the movie's take on the beginnings of the oil industry. Thought that the costumes and cinematography were good as well.

All that said I have to say that I thought that the movie was self-indulgent and way too long.. it was filled with scenes that really went no where. And I think the main characters  revealed the screen writers penchant for cynicism. Both Lewis' character and his preacher adversary are written in the worst of terms revealing the writers' disdain for both Oil and Religion.

The movie was just a downer for me. The ending had no redemptive qualities to it and painted a sad picture of the depravity of both religious and nonreligious people. I came away from the movie feeling that I had wasted a night wading through the darkside of human behavior.

On a scale of 10 I give this movie ★★★★

The Essence of an Apology

A Facebook friend recommended this link dealing with the different ways that people apologize as listed in the book pictured below. Here is the list in brief:

“Expressing Regret” is the Apology Language that zeroes in on emotional hurt. It is an admission of guilt and shame for causing pain to another person.

Accept Responsibility: It is very difficult for some people to admit that they’re wrong. It makes them doubt their self-worth, and no one likes to be portrayed as a failure. However, as adults, we must all admit that we are sinners and that we will make mistakes.

Make Restitution: In our society, many people believe that wrong acts demand justice. The one who commits the crime should pay for their wrongdoing.

Genuinely Repent: For some individuals, repentance is the convincing factor in an apology. Some mates will doubt the sincerity of an apology if it is not accompanied by their partner’s desire to modify their behavior to avoid 
the situation in the future.

Request Forgiveness: In some relationships, a mate wants to hear their partner physically ask for forgiveness. They want assurance that their mate recognizes the need for forgiveness.

I liked this list.. you can check out more of it here. I can see myself in several of those apology explanations.. I tend to be a show-me-you-really-mean-it kind of guy.. although I am a soft-touch for an emotional apology. How about you? Do you resonate with any of these?

Bemoaning Commitment-Challenged Relationships

According to yesterday's AP article about South Carolinian first lady Jenny Sanford:

South Carolina's first lady says her wedding was a "leap of faith" because Gov. Mark Sanford, who famously cheated on her with a woman he described as his soul mate, did not want to include a vow of fidelity in their marriage ceremony.

The article also gives these insights from the governor's wife:

Not having a vow of faithfulness "bothered me to some extent, but ... we were very young, we were in love," Jenny Sanford tells Walters. "I questioned it, but I got past it."
...
"With the benefit of the knowledge I have about Mark now, I could point to this moment as a clear sign of things to come," she writes. But at the time, she found his honesty "brave and sweet" and thought he just had cold feet.

I am not sure what to make of this idea that what one says in the marriage vows are an indicator of things to come. I do think that the words "till death do us part" are difficult for some to say in this day of commitment-phobic individuals.

I think that, because of the prevalence and normalcy of divorce, many young people have difficulty embracing the idea of permanency and fidelity in marriage. Some might say that folks like this are simply being honest about their fears about the future while some might say that such people are not ready for marriage.

Of course there is another aspect to coupled-life these days.. many people do not marry but choose to live together.. this seems to be the an alternative that my generation normalized and ushered in to our culture. One could say that this temporary state of couple-hood is a bit more honest than someone who wants to say marriage vows that do not include words of fidelity or permanency.

Did I really say that? Of course I do not endorse living together before you are married. In the same sense I do not endorse entering into marriage with the idea that you can always divorce if things do not work out. I think that commitment is the word that is sadly lacking from each relationship scenario.

I have taken marriage vows twice.. the first vows ended when death did us part. I believe that marriage is a permanent relationship. Yet I do understand that divorce can happen even when the vows are filled with heartfelt fidelity and permanence. I just think that commitment to fidelity in times of difficulty and hardship is a good thing even if one does follow through on those vows. What do you think? Any stories to share?

The Prestige | ★★★★★★

Ann and I viewed this movie the other night on DVD and found it to be very entertaining.. frankly I liked it better than she did. It is somewhat of a suspense thriller type with a flare for the dramatic. I thought that it was packed with great actors in pretty good roles.. I am a huge fan of Michael Caine.. I thought that Christian Bale did a good job of playing a creepy sort.. Hugh Jackman was okay in a role that reminded me of his character in Kate and Leopold. Overall I thought that the acting was pretty good and the characters were developed in a pretty good and believable fashion.

The movie is about two magicians and their competition to be the best Illusionist in London.. but the movie is really all about revenge and how people carry grudges and often cannot forgive offenses. For this reason I found the movie to be a bit dark. There are plenty of turns in the movie and you have to pay attention (or rewind) to get the significance of what is transpiring.. a lot of twists and turns that you have to think about - Ann thought that she liked it better today than she did right after she saw it.

In retrospect I think that the movie was a tad too long and and dragged a bit in parts - it could have used more editing to bring a bit of focus to it. I did like it though and would recommend to anyone who enjoys a decent mystery.

On a scale of 10 I give this movie ★★★★★★

Are Geezers sleeping less than Whipper-Snappers?

According to an article titled Healthy Adults Can Get By With Less Sleep "older adults without sleep disorders can have a reduced “sleep need” and are less sleepy during the day than healthy young adults." Here are a few clips from the piece:

Researchers discovered that during a night of eight hours in bed, total sleep time decreased significantly and progressively with age.

Older adults slept about 20 minutes less than middle-aged adults, who slept 23 minutes less than young adults.


Doesn't it amaze you how many "studies" are going on these days? That said I don't know that I agree with the study. In my younger years I seem to remember staying up later and getting up way earlier than I do these days.. of course I am retired. What is your experience - are you sleeping less these days?

Cubicle Farms

This cartoon brought back many memories of my 20+ years of working in cubicle farms.
A few thoughts about the rules for working in a cube farm from the folks at Office Zen:

• If you have to sneeze, stand up and sneeze into the air so that you can make sure and give something back to the dimrod that came to work sick and gave it to you.
• Keep a picture of you and your sister/brother next to a picture of you and your wife/husband on your desk. Keep track of those people who ask the question because those people are detail oriented and will get stuff done.
• In the mess of sticky notes on your desk, intersperse some notes with themes like the names of diseases. In this case, those that ask the question are people who can't stay focused and did not have the guts to ask about the pictures.
• Everyone knows that if you stay in you cube and do it, not only will the smell be confined by the three and a half walls around you, but you are likely to destroy any productive conversation with one of your co-workers who always seem to show up when you need to flatulize. 
• If a co-worker has purposely left you high and dry at any point, leave a note on their computer that says "please call network security" without signing but with the extension. This will keep them worried the rest of the afternoon.

One of my earliest remembrances was sneezing too loudly and having gal in a cube close by always having to comment on my sneezes.. made me a bit hesitant to sneeze.

How about you? Have you worked in a cubicle? Any stories to tell?