Friday Musings

That Crazy Jamie
Pollard's at it again. ISU announced this week that the only way to get into the ISU-Iowa game this year is to buy season tickets. It's a gutsy move, but I think the guy knows what he's doing. Will there be 10,000 empty seats? I doubt it, given the demand for the game. But regardless of the outcome, JP has gotten people talking about ISU football in the middle of January. For a team coming off a 4-8 record, that's saying something.

Taming Your Inbox
I used to treat my email inbox at work like a to-do list. Emails would hang there, mocking me, until I finally got around to answering them or doing whatever I need to do. If you work in an office environment you probably know what I'm talking about. It's not the way to get things done. Check out this series called "Inbox Zero" for great ideas to keep the inbox shackles off.

Friday Musings

Blog Update
As I mentioned in my last post, this site has been pretty neglected lately. I dusted off my sidebar and added some folks that have been blogging and have already linked to me: Jenny, Marcie (& Seth), Voni, and Hope.

ISU Basketball Is Back
Coming into the year, my expectations (and excitement) for Cyclone basketball couldn't have been much lower. After all, McDermott wasn't left with much in the cupboard to work with and he would be coaching a group of guys who were just learning his system and playing together for the first time. The non-conference schedule went pretty much according to script with disappointing losses to Drake, UNI, and Iowa. So the 2-0 start in the Big 12 comes as a pleasant surprise. The comeback win on the road at Missouri seems to have been the jolt needed to get apathetic fans back on the bandwagon. I'm not going crazy here--an NIT berth would be a good accomplishment for this team. But it's nice to have a well-coached team that is fun to watch again.

The Illusionist
Newly released on DVD this week, The Illusionist is a fictional story set in early 20th century Vienna. Edward Norton plays the lead role of Eisenheim the magician, who unexpectedly finds his childhood sweetheart (Jessica Biel) after many years apart. A member of high-society, she is engaged against her will to the cruel crown prince when tragedy befalls her. The film deftly blends mystery and romance as we try to piece together the clues of her death and the key to Eisenheim's greatest trick. Even though I guessed the conclusion beforehand, the film still kept me engaged throughout. My rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

At Long Last...Friday Musings

Playstation 3 Mania
Lauren went to Target yesterday and told me about a group of disheveled guys sitting on lawn chairs outside the store. She thought they were protestors or something. Turns out they were just waiting in line for their Playstation 3, which went on sale at midnight last night. I guess it was a national phenomenon. One guy who spent three nights on the sidewalk in New York said: "It was totally worth it. I'm going to go home, shower, and then play." Weird. But I'm glad he's going to take a shower first.

Farewell to Dan
Tomorrow Dan McCarney will take the field for the last time as the Iowa State football coach. In his twelve years here, there have been some great moments and some forgettable ones. I think most Cyclone fans are grateful for what he did for the program and wish him the best. It's been a rough year, so a win over Missouri would be a fitting end to an era.

Blogger 2.0
I've migrated my blog to the new version of Blogger. It has some spiffy new features, like the ability to add labels to help categorize posts and trackbacks in case someone links to an entry. Another good job by the folks at Google.

Friday Musings

The Blizzard Fan Club
Lauren and I have been on a bit of a Dairy Queen binge lately. Blame it on the summer and the fact that we have two DQs within minutes of us. Well, if you like Blizzards, go join the Blizzard fan club. You'll get a two-for-the-price-of-one coupon and the satisfaction of knowing you are a part of something big. Or just becoming bigger.

The Return of College Football
I realized yesterday that Iowa State's first home game was a mere three weeks away. Sure, us Cyclone fans have had our guts ripped out time and time again--especially the last two years. And you would think, that after having season tickets for the past 8 years, I would have learned my lesson by now. If ever a group of people has had reason to feel jilted, it would be ISU fans. But like clockwork, August rolls around each year, and the excitement for college football returns. The tailgating. The marching band. The crowd. The thrills. The crisp fall days. So don't be surprised to see my coverage of ISU sports begin to ramp up again. At least until October or November when they once again throw the hearts of Clone fans down the garbage disposal again.

Tony Yelk: NFL Kicker???
One of the unchanging facts of Dan McCarney football over the past decade or so is the continual struggle with the kicking game. So you can imagine my utter shock and dismay when I found this article. It's baffling, but true. The Falcons have pegged our man Tony as their #1 kicker right now. Good for him. It would be a true irony to be unable to beat out Bret Culbertson for the job and then become a starter in the NFL.

Friday Musings (in less than 20 minutes)

Before I call it a day, here's my quick takes for the week.

Are you tired of getting 10 credit card offers every day?
I sure am. So you can imagine my excitement when, laying on the blood donation bed this morning, I spied the answer to this ongoing nuisance via a news clip on CNN. Go to OptOutPrescreen.com, fill out a quick online form, and you can be rid of such evil for 5 YEARS!!! I'm all over that offer like rice on white bread.

Alright, alright...enough about my crazy neighbors!
I only have one more post to write in the sad saga. I promise. Then this blog will resume its regularly-scheduled programming. If it ever has been regular.

Watch out. Tiger's back.
Eldred is looking pretty good, sitting at 12-under going into the weekend at the British Open. There are still 36 holes to play, but I don't see anyone catching him. He's showing shades of his old self--the golfer that won 4 majors in a row.

7 minutes left...
I can't think of anything else semi-interesting to say. But if you can get rid of credit-card-junk-mail, what else do you need? I'll be painting tomorrow, and it looks like it will be a beautiful day to do it. Have a good weekend.

Friday Musings

Still Glad You Left?
Curtis Stinson and Will Blalock should have stayed at ISU for another year. They should have come back and learned from a coach who really is going to coach instead of letting them run the team. But the allure of the NBA and the big bucks was too great. And where did it get them? Last pick in the draft for Blalock. Not even drafted for Stinson. Which isn't a huge surprise to me. Curtis' three-point shot is about as pretty as me pitching horse-shoes. He's a guy who can put his head down, go to the hoop, and make something happen. In college, anyways. That mentality won't get you far in the NBA. Blalock may stick, and it was fun watching his smooth ball-handling the past few years. The biggest hurdle for him is becoming a guy who is consistent, night-in and night-out, and who doesn't get taken out of his game when his shot isn't falling. So long boys--your time at ISU had some highlights, but ultimately will be remembered as a disappointment because of what could have been.




I Can't Help Myself
After Tristan broke the news to me that he was writing again, I told him he was going to have to earn his way back onto Friday Musings. "You can't just take 3 months off without a single post and expect people to jump back on the wagon again." Well, I stand corrected. If you write a post about softball like this, I can make an exception.

Lance Armstrong to Ride Ragbrai?
I wouldn't have believed it if wasn't on official site. Thanks to Keith Murphy for the heads up. He won't be doing the whole ride, but still. Pretty crazy. Said Lance: "My Julys are free now."

Friday Musings

It's a bird…it's a plane…it's another movie!
Those of you who know me well (as in family), know that I was a bit of a Superman nut as a little kid. The 1978 movie is one of the first that I can remember watching (on TV--not in the theaters). I loved it all--the flying, the laser vision, the rescuing, and the great music which I ran around humming, with a blanket-as-a-cape tucked into my t-shirt. Unfortunately, there are embarassing home movies to prove all this. I was a little overboard, but I was also 5 years old.

After the first couple movies, the franchise quickly went downhill. Thankfully I don't have any memories of films III and IV. I grew up and moved on. So when I heard they were coming out with a new Superman franchise, the skeptic in me quickly decided it wouldn't be any good. There's only one Christopher Reeve.

However I have discovered a couple pieces of info which have perked the interest of my inner child. Firstly, this movie is supposed to follow the original two films, and so it isn't trying to recreate everything from scratch (even though the scenery has been updated for the 21st century). From that standpoint, it sounds like both a tribute to the classic films and a continuation of the story. More importantly, it is getting very good reviews so far. So I have to admit: I'm excited to see it. But I promise to stay away from the capes this time.

How to find this blog from Google
It is interesting to discover the different ways people stumble upon this blog via Google. Here are few recent ones:

What are the goliaths in your life, sermon
The #2 result. Somehow, I don't think this guy found what he was looking for.

tristan guthrie
Page 3. It would be higher if he left more comments here.

steve deace des moines
#1 result. Steve: if you are reading this, leave me a comment. And good job on the new radio show as well.

"keith murphy" des moines
Page 1. Right below Keith's new blog.

Pretty cool, although I'm pretty sure that I haven't written much yet that is worthy of finding. Give me time.

Friday Musings

Murphy's Law
I have always been a fan of WHO TV-13 sports reporter Keith Murphy. He is a smart guy who usually has interesting things to say about the Iowa sports scene. If I read a blog more than a couple times, it is time to add it to the links. Murphy's Law is a shotgun, stream-of-consciousness read, but he has good things to say. Today he had a couple quick bits on Dan McCarney and Greg McDermott:

Athlon Sports names Dan McCarney one of the five most UNDERrated college football coaches. Something for Mac's critics to think about. Remember, before McCarney, no bowl games in memory and no wins over Iowa. Since McCarney, five bowls in six years, 6 wins over Iowa in 8 years. ISU needs to finish games, and not get so conservative, but Mac's in no danger. Shouldn't be either.

If you're a Cyclone fan concerned about Greg McDermott's ability to pull big recruits, worry about something else. Craig Brackins is just the beginning. McDermott will succeed at ISU.

I guess I agree on both counts, but Mac has got to start winning close games. It absolutely KILLS me to remember last year, when we lost 3 OVERTIME games and another close one to Baylor.

Modern Reformation Magazine
In addition to the article I'm currently posting on (Christ Centered Preaching), there are lots of interesting topics at this site. Interesting, thought-provoking articles are always appreciated, so I will have to spend more time there looking around.

Friday Musings

Cinco De Mayo
I don't have anything special to say about the Mexican Independence day, but I did hit El Rodeo with the guys for lunch. In my book, it is the best dollar-for-food value in Des Moines for Mexican food. Tough to beat the "Speedy Gonzalez" for under $5.00. Lauren and I are also going out tonight for the events at Valley Junction. Should be a good time, although I hope it warms up a little.

Evangelicals and the Movies
Shaun Groves has highlighted two interesting articles (1, 2) this week relating to how Christians in America relate to movies. The first is titled Evangelical Childlike Hysteria & The Da Vinci Code and expresses frustration at the "nanny state" mindset among some that would keep us from engaging and interacting with the movies. This perspective views films like "The Da Vinci Code" as dire threats which are about to sweep away the faith of millions who can't think critically for themselves. The second, The Passion Reloaded, reveals the failure of the same mindset when applied to movies that do promote a Christian message. There were those who hailed Mel Gibson's film as the greatest tool for evangelism in 2000 years. And though there were doubtlessly some who were reached, it failed to live up to the promise. George Barna found that less than one-tenth of one percent who saw the film made a profession of faith. To me, it points us back to the basic need for Christ to be shared person-by-person, relationship-by-relationship. Movies may sometimes facilitate that, but there are no shortcuts.

Friday Musings

More Kudos for the Flying Mango
I've talked about how the Flying Mango is one of my favorite restaurants before. I saw yesterday that the Des Moines Register's food critic released his review in the Datebook. The anonymous "W.E. Moranville" had high praise for the BBQ, calling it "Five-Star Food", and "arguably the best barbecue in town." You aren't going to get an argument with me. This is perhaps the most-overlooked spot in town in my book. If you haven't been you should give it a try.

United 93
The first movie about 9/11 is being released today, recounting the tragedy of flight 93 and the passengers who fought back. Unbelievably, it currently has a 95% "fresh rating" on Rotten Tomatoes, which is very impressive. Especially for a film dealing with this kind of weighty subject matter. In fact, some have been critical of the director for doing this project so soon after the tragedy. I can understand those for whom the film is too painful to watch. However, I also think it is time to tell the story of the heroes whose bravery against terrorists deserves to be remembered.

Friday Musings

Ahhh, Golf
Tomorrow I am going to try getting out on the golf course for the first time this year. It won't be pretty (really it never is). But I'm looking forward to it.

Yes! NBA Playoffs!
Can't you just feel the excitement in the air? Just kidding, I really could almost care less. Even though the Bulls are in it. I heard on the radio yesterday that the NBA set an attendance record this year, but I have no idea how. It has quickly become the least interesting of professional sports, even though I love basketball. If I had to rank the pro sports in the United States, they would be:

1. NFL
2. MLB
3. PGA
4. NBA

A New Link For Greek Geeks
This is for the couple readers out there who make use of online New Testament Greek tools. I found a much better site than the one I had linked to previously (www.greekbible.com). It is www.zhubert.com. Some of the niceties are: the ability to "hover" over words to see things like definition/case/tense, a parallel version of the NET Bible (with all translator notes!), word-usage charts, Strong's dictionary and MUCH more. I am just beginning to explore, but it appears to be the Swiss-army knife tool for those who use Greek on the web.

Mike's Top Ten Online Biblical Study Resources
When I went to school at Emmaus, one of the guys who I took Greek with was Mike. He is a keen intellect, avid reader, deep thinker and all-around good guy. Right now he and his wife live in the UK, where he is conducting a "literary-historical reading of John 21." Just don't ask me what that is. Anyways, I just found his blog, where he listed his favorite online study resources. That's where discovered the Zhubert site, and I am eager to explore more of his recommendations. Be forewarned: this isn't material for the faint-of-heart: it is geared more towards a seminary level. He also has a site for film reviews at imagefacts.blogspot.com

Friday Musings

Reinstalling My World
I took the plunge to Windows XP yesterday here at work, and so have spent the day watching progress meters and hunting for CDs to reinstall the necessary applications to get actual work done. Not a fun experience, especially when it seems I have to hunt down a bunch of prerequisites before I can even install Microsoft .NET. What fun. But look on the bright side: I have time to write Friday Musings!

Another Birthday
We celebrated my birthday by going to The Flying Mango this week. It is a cozy little Des Moines restaurant/caterer with great smoked meat (of course) and Cajun dishes. The BBQ is so good that I’ve never tried any of their other items, but that’s ok. I had the baby-back ribs this time and they were fall-off-the-bone tender. An added bonus was that it was our first time out to eat since Nora was born–quite the treat. Also, I received a NET Bible, which will be much-appreciated study-companion tool.

Another Blogger
Congrats to Jenica (and Andy), who just got their first blog off the ground. Be careful: it’s addicting. Nice pictures! You get extra credit if you can get Andy to write anything there.

The Masters
Nothing says spring like The Masters golf tournament, which stands alone in my mind as the best of the majors. Here are five reasons why:

1. It is always played at Augusta National, so the memories from the tournament are synonymous with the course itself.

2. It occurs in the spring, right at the point when you are dying to get out and play.

3. No commercials.

4. The silly tinkling music in the background which is strangely inspirational.

5. Watching the winner put on the dorky green jacket and still loving every minute of it.

Friday Musings

The Final Four
I am looking forward to the games tomorrow, and thinking that this year's edition of the Final Four has the potential to be a very memorable one. No one is going to be missing the #1 seeds. You gotta love a school like George Mason making it to Indy. It is the best underdog tourney run that I have seen in my years of watching the event, and their win over Uconn last weekend was one of the most exciting games I have watched in a long time. I would love to see a LSU vs. George Mason championship. If not, at least I can still look forward to "One Shining Moment" at the end of the game.

Who's Afraid of Blogging?
The two readers out there who may have been reading my reflections on the Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit? book might be wondering what has happened to the regular entries in that series. Rest assured, I haven't abandoned the book midway and will try to resume my reading, although I don't expect to be posting the remainder of the chapters with the same regularity as the previous posts. I know that Nate and Tristan are thinking to themselves "I told you so..." and they are right. If I can post one chapter per month "post-baby" I'll be happy.

Food, food, food...
An overlooked benefit of having a baby are all the great meals that people bring you the week afterwards. Each evening brings the anticipation about what new dish will be dropped off. Some of the highlights:

• Chicken casserole with stuffing and gravy on top. You can never go wrong with stuffing and gravy.


• "BBQ"-flavored chicken with a wonderful pasta-salad side.


• Mom's homemade pot-pie. This had a very flavorful and crispy crust.


• Brownie dessert with a chocolate, whipped cream and heath topping. A singularly exquisite dessert which we hope to obtain the recipe for soon.

Everything was delicious, and we are just coming back down to the reality of making our own dinner again. Which is fine, but I will look back fondly on "free homemade meals" week.

Friday Musings

Coaching Carousel
This past week has been quite an eventful one as far as basketball coaches in the state of Iowa are concerned. Last week brought the news that Morgan would be canned, on the heels of a disappointing season and his involvement with a shady scheduling outfit. I don't think he did anything wrong, it was just the scapegoat for a new AD to get his own guy in there. Curtis Stinson and Will Blalock announcing their departure may have done more to seal the deal as next year wasn't looking any brighter. My first reaction to McDermott wasn't overwhelming excitement--I was expecting maybe a higher-profile guy. But then again, he has taken UNI to three straight NCAA tournaments. There's no question he can coach, but whether he will be able to bring in the recruits to compete in the Big 12? That remains to be seen. Personally, I'll take a lesser-talent team that overachieves over what we had this past year. Good luck to the new Mac.

Marcus Fizer
Former ISU basketball player Marcus Fizer is one of my all-time favorites to don the cardinal-and-gold. A first-team All-American and Big 12 MVP in 1999-2000, he led ISU to perhaps its greatest season ever. He carried that team, leading them to a Big 12 regular season championship, Big 12 tourney championship, and within a breath of the Final Four (we were robbed). But as the third overall pick in the NBA draft, he has been a bust as a professional. But check out this article I stumbled across this week. It appears that Marcus has found the Lord. He thanks God for the humbling experience of being jilted from the NBA, and lists basketball, the Bible, and his babies as the most important things in his life right now. It is good to hear that Marcus has found what matters in life and I look forward to meeting him someday in glory.

March Madness?
Before Nora was born I was really hoping that the baby would come on the eve of the NCAA tournament. That way I could watch lots of games with my week off of work and all the time in the hospital. I pictured cradling our happy newborn and introducing her to the pinnacle of sporting events while she gazed on in trance-like wonder. All the parents out there are chuckling to themselves right now, and they are right. I did get part of my wish: Nora was born the day before the tournament began. Otherwise, I was waaaay off. There really was no way to understand how extremely tired I would be and that I would gladly choose sleep over watching basketball (I know, pretty crazy). The one exception was watching the Iowa and UNI games in the hospital, but I was still operating on adrenaline at that point. On that note, my condolences to the Hawks. That one hurt as much as Hampton.

Friday Musings

David Crowder & Third Day
Sunday night Lauren and I watched these two bands play in Ames. (Thanks for the tickets Nate!) Going into the show, I had a couple thoughts. I was excited to see David Crowder for the first time. And I wasn't quite sure how Third Day would be. Don't get me wrong--I like Third Day, especially the older stuff. But it seems they dropped off a bit on their more recent efforts and I haven't found myself listening to them for a while. Turns out there was nothing to worry about--it was an *awesome* concert from both of them. Third Day may be older, more mainstream, and less original than when I first saw them in 1996, but hearing them play favorites like "Consuming Fire" and "Thief" took me right back. The crowd was great, and singing "Blessed Assurance" with 2500+ people gave me goosebumps. You can read Mark's glowing summary of the night here, where he quotes Mac as saying: "This wasn't the biggest night of the tour, but it was definitely the best." More pictures here.

Hoosiers
My wife and I watched this classic last night. I've seen it many times, but it has been a while. It is the greatest sports movie ever made. And it makes me want to go out and play basketball immediately after viewing. Something else I appreciated last night were all the beautifully scenic, nostalgic shots of rural Indiana. Which reminds me of Iowa and how much I enjoyed growing up on a farm and shooting hoops against the side of the shed. I know, it's cheesy, but I don't care.

American Idol
This is the top search on Technorati.com right now. We saw it for the first time this season on Tuesday and didn't think the women were a very strong group of singers at all. And some were just flat-out annoying. Why do they keep singing old songs like "Wind Beneath My Wings"? Obviously Simon was dishing out the criticism pretty hard. I'm not a big fan of the show, just curious on how many hits this will get me.

Friday Musings

Google for Your Cell
I just found a cool use of Google for cell-phone users. Wondering about the forecast? Just text-message "weather" + your zip code to "GOOGL" (46645) and you'll get a message back with the 3-day weather prediction. Or maybe you want to know what time the latest movie is playing. Just send "glory road" (or whatever you want to watch) + your zip and get back a listing of theaters and showtimes. Click the link for more cool examples.

Waiting
We are now at T-minus 13 days and counting until the due date. You would think that after 9 months, a couple more weeks would be a breeze. Yet I still feel like a kid waiting for his birthday and asking his mom repeatedly "how much longer?". Lauren is growing more uncomfortable, but doing as well as could be expected for being ready to give birth.

Favorite Translation?
Over on the EBCAlumni.net website there is a poll going on now, namely "Which Bible translation do you prefer?". The current breakdown is shown at right.

The NAS has a commanding lead right now, probably due to its precise word-for-word rendering. Good choice, but I find it a bit clunky for general reading, and so my vote goes to the NIV. Of course when its time to do serious exegetical work, its time to pull out the Greek.

One version that I see missing from the list is the free NET Bible, which I have done some reading of online. From what I can see, the translators notes are awesome and provide a lot of very valuable insight on why a particular rendering was chosen. I think I need to order myself a hard-copy at some point, and it could become my version of choice.

There are also a couple inclusions in the list that I would not classify as translation, particularly "The Message" which is more of an interpretive work or loose commentary. I'm a little scared that it has 2 votes. Anyone care to chime in here on what their favorite version is, and why?

Friday Musings

Snow Day
After 63 degrees a couple days ago, we had real winter return to Iowa yesterday. With ice, snow, and cold. I decided to take the day off since it will probably be the closest thing we have to a "snow day" this year. It was nice to spend time with Lauren at home doing pretty much nothing.

A Good Day for Chili
We are having a chili-cookoff at work today, so I also spent the afternoon yesterday concocting my entry. I sampled a few bites, but the true test of a chili comes when you eat a whole bowl. My first impression was that it wasn't spicy enough, but settling overnight will change the taste also. If I'm happy with it, I may post the recipe here. One thing I am afraid of: work could be a dangerous place this afternoon due to so many partaking of the cold-weather cuisine.

Hero
Here's an overlooked DVD recommendation for you: Hero. It is a Chinese movie, and as such you have to live with either overdubbing or subtitles. But the effort is worthwhile and you will find an intriguing story, breathtaking scenery, stylized martial arts, and a wonderful score. For me to put a film into the highest tier (among my favorites), I have to watch it a couple times and still think it is great. This is one of those films for me. One thing to remember though: the story is a Chinese legend told through a narrative framework. As such, the martial arts scenes are idealized and not meant to be realistic. My rating: 5 stars.

Still a Hoosier at Heart?
It is telling that in spite of Alford's best season ever at Iowa, most Hawk fans still don't like the guy. And so here they sit, atop the Big 10 standings, and the talk is whether he will go to Indiana. This isn't unusual for successful coaches, but the twist is that most Iowa fans want him to go. With Davis stepping down yesterday, I think things are falling into place for that to happen. My prediction is that if Indiana offers him the job, he takes it. And Iowa fans won't be disappointed.

Another Loss at Hilton
Do we even need to talk about ISU anymore this year? I don't think so. They are imploding from within right now, with plenty of blame to go around. Blalock made news Wednesday by calling out the post players. And with 5 total rebounds they deserved it. But Will and the rest of the team have played lousy enough not to be pointing blame. Wayne has his work cut out for him, because right now this season is going down in flames.

Friday Musings

Pesky Wildcats
I don't know what happens to the Hawks when they play at Northwestern, but it happened again on Wednesday. At least they can take solace in the fact that they are still in first place. Meanwhile, the Clones lost to the "Mildcats" of Kansas State in a close one. Stinson is playing well right now, but apparently no one else can step up to give him a hand. Where's Will Blalock? Where's the toughness to finish close games? Where's the free-throw shooting? NIT here we come.

Are We Talking About a Cartoon?
Muslims worldwide erupted in violence over a cartoon depicting Allah as being portrayed as--get this--violent. Yet another example of how Islam is unpeaceful to its core. Yet the media usually bends over backwards trying to remind us that these are the just the "extremists" and that Islam is really a peace-loving religion. Right. And grizzly bears make great pets.

The Winter Olympics
It seems like I don't get excited for the Olympics like I used to. Maybe it's because the 2-year rotation between summer and winter is too close together. Maybe there are too many events that really aren't sports. Or maybe we are just missing the Tonya Harding / Nancy Kerrigan scandal.

Friday Musings

First Anniversary
Tomorrow will mark one year of marriage for my wife and me. What a quick 365 days! From the rehearsal dinner, bachelor party, wedding, honeymoon, summer trips, pregnancy(!), painting the house, and holidays to today. And all the amazing moments in between. In all these experiences, from the exciting to the ordinary, we have been more than blessed by the goodness of God. I truly couldn't ask for more, and look forward to all the years together ahead of us.

Super Bowl
Ok, I enjoy the big game as much as the next fellow. But does anyone else get a little sick of the hype? Do we need to count down every Super Bowl ever played on ESPN? Do we need all the newspaper articles previewing the commercials? Do we need to hear every person's opinion on who the winner will be? Especially clueless celebrities? No. And for the most part all the hype is just that. Rarely does the game live up to the billing. Sure, I still enjoy the food, the parties, and the (ahem) game. But let's not give "Super Sunday" holiday status yet. The best sporting event of the year is still the NCAA tournament. I'll post more on that when March rolls around.

Those Crazy Hawks
Speaking of "March Situations" -- Steve Alford is finally earning his coaching money this year. I've been waiting, waiting, waiting for the customary mid-year conference lull. But with the win over Purdue earlier this week, the Hawks made a statement that they're here to play. I'm not ready to anoint them regular-season Big 10 champs, but they're in the mix. That's more than I can say for my Clones right now.

Welcome Visitors
If this is your first stop to my blog, don't get your hopes up too high. You'll find anything from theology to sports to BBQ here. In other words, whatever I feel like writing. If you want to catch up on my review of Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit, here are the links to the previous posts. I try to post to the series on a weekly basis.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

If you're sick of wasting time at Blockbuster, read my review of Netflix.

If you want to read a blog that is funnier than mine, then read Tristan's article about couple dating.

Oh, and I almost forgot. I'm cheering for the Seahawks and Seneca Wallace, but I think the Steelers will win 20-17. Not that you needed another prediction or anything.

Friday Musings

Just a few thoughts in a spare moment at work...

Will Hilton Magic Return?
I'm going to watch ISU vs. Kansas tomorrow and I am PUMPED. Kansas games always bring out the best of the Hilton crowd and some of my best memories there are watching the Jayhawks come to town. Like in 1999 when Kansas visited on the last game of the season. Larry Eustachy was a new coach, Marcus Fizer was a sophomore, and our record was 14-15. But we had Hilton, and won the game 52-50 with a Fizer dunk to finish it out. I still have the poster of that dunk hanging on the wall in the basement.

More Ames Basketball
My brother Josh's homeschool team has a game tonight in Ames that I'm planning on seeing as well. I'm glad that he's getting that opportunity--playing competitive basketball in highschool is something I would've loved.

Finally
After heeding the many pleas to revive his site, Tristan is back. I had gotten so used to him not writing that I forgot how much I enjoyed pulling up his site when there was something new to read. My only beef? He needs to fix his link to my blog.

Discovering Hitchcock
My wife and I have been on an Alfred Hitchcock binge lately. It started with watching Notorious over Christmas break. Then came Shadow of a Doubt, To Catch a Thief, and Rear Window. After getting burned out on modern movies, it is refreshing to find out that such suspenseful, creative, and compelling films were made so long ago. It's also great to "discover" old stars like Carey Grant, Ingrid Bergman, and Grace Kelly. The next time you're at your local rental establishment, swing by the classics section and pick up a Hitchcock. I think you'll enjoy it.