“All men whilst they are awake are in one common world: but each of them, when he is asleep, is in a world of his own.” – Plutarch (Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist)
I haven’t just rambled incoherently in a blog in quite some time. Since I’m a little tired and unfocused, now is probably a good time to do that. I don’t know why I’m tired. I got a relatively good amount of sleep last night even though I really couldn’t convince myself to go to bed till almost 4 in the morning. Why is that? Well, I was having a stimulating conversation with a special lady friend of mine and we didn’t get off the phone until almost 2. I could have gone to bed, but I was watching the Colbert Report which I had taped earlier and wanted to finish it. Yes, I could have skipped it, but he was in the middle of one of his WORD segments, so I had to watch. Ok, it only took about fifteen minutes to finish watching that, but then I got a little hungry, so I ate some wafer-crème cookies (one of my dad’s favorites). While I was eating those I started watching Laws of Attraction, the movie with Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore. I’ve never seen it before, so I got wound up in watching it. What can I say? I’m a sucker for romantic comedies. I got about an hour and a half into it when I realized that it wasn’t that good a movie and decided to go to bed.
Like I said, I got plenty of sleep, by which I mean I got my normal amount of sleep. I haven’t been sleeping well the past few months. Sometimes I sleep like a rock, lights out minutes after my head hits the pillow and straight through till morning. But there have been nights where I haven’t slept well at all. I’d wake up constantly, being asleep for an hour or more, but then sort of shocking myself awake. I’ve even had some pretty terrible nightmares, about one a week for the past month or so. One involved a serial killer chasing me, one involved being attacked by a zombie-like goliath, and the last one involved being mugged and shot in the head (and surviving…with brain damage). I didn’t have any dreams or nightmares last night. I slept like a rock, waking up in almost the exact same position as I fell asleep. I’ve been told I don’t move much, if at all, while I sleep, but last night into this morning was the first time I have actually noticed it. I usually fall asleep flat on my back with my arms to my side (soldier style) or with my arms folded over/near my chest (corpse style). Mom said there were times when I was younger where she felt she needed to check to make sure I was still alive.
Why am I talking about all of this? Sometimes, I feel, a blogger needs to bare themselves completely to their audience in order to gain their trust, but also to humanize themselves. I am not standing in front of you telling you my conclusions, theories, and opinions, so it can become a case where you stop believing what you are reading is coming from a living person, but rather begin to expect it to come and either entertain or disgust you as if it materialized out of nowhere. So, yeah, I am real and I am writing these things every other day just for you (well, considering there are so few of you actually reading this, then maybe it is more for me). So, if you are reading this right now, know that I am really tired, I wanted to take a nap but was interrupted by a friend’s phone call, and now I am even more drowsy/tired and I have to leave for my night class in thirty minutes. I am a complex person…
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Babaganoush Sports Beat
Texas Rangers
The Rangers have gone out of their way to protect Joaquin Arias. When he couldn't break into the lineup at shortstop, they moved him around the diamond. When he couldn't throw for two years, they waited patiently. When he ran out of minor league options, they created injuries for him so they wouldn't have to risk losing him on waivers. One place they can't protect him: When he's on the field. As a late-game replacement Monday in a 6-4 loss to Tampa Bay, Arias once again demonstrated why he so perplexes management. He helped them get their first lead of the game at the plate, then promptly went into the field and opened the door for a four-run Tampa Bay eighth inning. It was enough to leave manager Ron Washington pacing his office and pinching his lip in frustration before tossing aside his hat and throwing his pack of Winstons on the desk.
We have got to get our heads out of our butts and play better baseball. We gave them too many outs. Cliff Lee should have faced only four hitters in the inning. We made too many mistakes. There were two in particular. Arias was smack-dab in the middle of both. In the field, Arias looked like an about-to-be-thrown bull rider. When B.J. Upton lifted a soft fly ball toward right, Arias wandered out after the ball in a tentative and circuitous route, but it was still shallow enough he came within six inches of catching it. Instead, Upton wound up at second with a double. After Jason Bartlett reached on a single, the next batter was Carl Crawford. He's kind of known for being fast. Word gets around when you average 50 stolen bases for the last seven years. But when Crawford dribbled a ball toward second, Arias stayed back on it, then tried to hurry a throw to second to start an impossible double play.
Asked if Arias played a role in the bizarre feeling of the inning, starter Cliff Lee declined to pass judgment. But if you were watching the game last night, you could see how Lee felt about the debacle. The heat merely appeared to be pouring out from inside of Lee as he seethed in the dugout. And this wasn't the first time the Texas defense let him down. Washington, however, did judge…righteously. He was far more direct and stinging in his assessment of the plays, quite out of character for a manager who loathes saying anything critical of a player. Then again, Washington has seen this before. Last August, with the Rangers trying to catch Los Angeles, Arias stepped in for a pair of starts at second while Ian Kinsler was on the DL. Arias bumbled through two games, both losses, and was promptly banished from the big league team. He was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, using up his last minor league option. This time, it only took one inning for a problem to surface. This time, if the Rangers decide he can't help them, they aren't going to be able to protect him. This time, that might not be a concern.
On a note dear to my heart, Rangers manager Ron Washington said the team will wait until Ian Kinsler (left groin) resumes baseball activities until making a decision on the second baseman. Washington and team officials will evaluate Kinsler in Baltimore during the Rangers' four-game series against the Orioles or when the team returns to Texas after the seven-game road trip. Kinsler, who was placed on the disabled list on July 29 and eligible to come off it Aug. 12, mentioned before Monday's game against the Rays that he feels healthy and is just waiting on the team's decision.
Dallas Cowboys
Now training in Oxnard, CA, the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive players walked off the field when practice ended Monday, a clear indication they received the message coaches sent the day before. The whole crew “stayed after school,” as team owner Jerry Jones put it, because of a sloppy workout Sunday. They recovered nicely on Monday, drawing plenty of “oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd, especially on touchdown catches from Jason Witten and Miles Austin during a 2-minute drill. Tony Romo was sick Monday, although not as much as he had been Sunday. Jones praised his quarterback for being out there anyway as did coach Wade Phillips.
Offensive worries have been a constant the past few weeks, from the ankle injury that’s sidelined Dez Bryant to right tackle Marc Colombo needing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Monday, from the offense failing to score a touchdown in the first two preseason games to the line allowing 11 sacks in those games. So when the offense got sloppy Sunday, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett reached his breaking point. Phillips said off days are bound to happen. The bothersome part was that players let it keep deteriorating. Jones said he’s not overly concerned. Tight end Jason Witten noted that the starters have only played 32 snaps. Another risk-reward issue is how much Romo will play Saturday since he’ll be missing his usual right tackle. Phillips said that probably won’t be much of a factor in the decision.
The Rangers have gone out of their way to protect Joaquin Arias. When he couldn't break into the lineup at shortstop, they moved him around the diamond. When he couldn't throw for two years, they waited patiently. When he ran out of minor league options, they created injuries for him so they wouldn't have to risk losing him on waivers. One place they can't protect him: When he's on the field. As a late-game replacement Monday in a 6-4 loss to Tampa Bay, Arias once again demonstrated why he so perplexes management. He helped them get their first lead of the game at the plate, then promptly went into the field and opened the door for a four-run Tampa Bay eighth inning. It was enough to leave manager Ron Washington pacing his office and pinching his lip in frustration before tossing aside his hat and throwing his pack of Winstons on the desk.
We have got to get our heads out of our butts and play better baseball. We gave them too many outs. Cliff Lee should have faced only four hitters in the inning. We made too many mistakes. There were two in particular. Arias was smack-dab in the middle of both. In the field, Arias looked like an about-to-be-thrown bull rider. When B.J. Upton lifted a soft fly ball toward right, Arias wandered out after the ball in a tentative and circuitous route, but it was still shallow enough he came within six inches of catching it. Instead, Upton wound up at second with a double. After Jason Bartlett reached on a single, the next batter was Carl Crawford. He's kind of known for being fast. Word gets around when you average 50 stolen bases for the last seven years. But when Crawford dribbled a ball toward second, Arias stayed back on it, then tried to hurry a throw to second to start an impossible double play.
Asked if Arias played a role in the bizarre feeling of the inning, starter Cliff Lee declined to pass judgment. But if you were watching the game last night, you could see how Lee felt about the debacle. The heat merely appeared to be pouring out from inside of Lee as he seethed in the dugout. And this wasn't the first time the Texas defense let him down. Washington, however, did judge…righteously. He was far more direct and stinging in his assessment of the plays, quite out of character for a manager who loathes saying anything critical of a player. Then again, Washington has seen this before. Last August, with the Rangers trying to catch Los Angeles, Arias stepped in for a pair of starts at second while Ian Kinsler was on the DL. Arias bumbled through two games, both losses, and was promptly banished from the big league team. He was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, using up his last minor league option. This time, it only took one inning for a problem to surface. This time, if the Rangers decide he can't help them, they aren't going to be able to protect him. This time, that might not be a concern.
On a note dear to my heart, Rangers manager Ron Washington said the team will wait until Ian Kinsler (left groin) resumes baseball activities until making a decision on the second baseman. Washington and team officials will evaluate Kinsler in Baltimore during the Rangers' four-game series against the Orioles or when the team returns to Texas after the seven-game road trip. Kinsler, who was placed on the disabled list on July 29 and eligible to come off it Aug. 12, mentioned before Monday's game against the Rays that he feels healthy and is just waiting on the team's decision.
Dallas Cowboys
Now training in Oxnard, CA, the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive players walked off the field when practice ended Monday, a clear indication they received the message coaches sent the day before. The whole crew “stayed after school,” as team owner Jerry Jones put it, because of a sloppy workout Sunday. They recovered nicely on Monday, drawing plenty of “oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd, especially on touchdown catches from Jason Witten and Miles Austin during a 2-minute drill. Tony Romo was sick Monday, although not as much as he had been Sunday. Jones praised his quarterback for being out there anyway as did coach Wade Phillips.
Offensive worries have been a constant the past few weeks, from the ankle injury that’s sidelined Dez Bryant to right tackle Marc Colombo needing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Monday, from the offense failing to score a touchdown in the first two preseason games to the line allowing 11 sacks in those games. So when the offense got sloppy Sunday, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett reached his breaking point. Phillips said off days are bound to happen. The bothersome part was that players let it keep deteriorating. Jones said he’s not overly concerned. Tight end Jason Witten noted that the starters have only played 32 snaps. Another risk-reward issue is how much Romo will play Saturday since he’ll be missing his usual right tackle. Phillips said that probably won’t be much of a factor in the decision.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Intercommunion: Interfaith Sharing of the Bread of Life
When Catholics from all the nations and cultures of the world gather for a Eucharistic Congress, like the one in Rome in June 2000, they celebrate a tremendous sign of unity. All who participate in this Eucharist are fed by the same life of Christ. At the same time the worldwide eucharistic celebration is a sign of unity it is also a source, or cause, of unity. We are nourished by the same body and blood of Christ, strengthened in unity. Yet there's a flip side of the coin. As remarkable a display of unity as eucharistic congresses are they also show us how far we are from unity among all Christians. A eucharistic congress makes us long for the day when all Christians can share in the one body of Christ: intercommunion. To what degree is intercommunion possible today? Are there ways we can hasten the day when all communions can participate in one Eucharist?
Different Christian Churches answer this question in various ways. Some Christians favor "open Communion." Open Communion is the position that holds that no one can stop a baptized person who believes in Jesus Christ from receiving Communion in any Church. They would say that open Communion is the preferred option because the Holy Supper is a source of unity—a means by which unity among Christians can be achieved. This, however, is not the official Roman Catholic position.
Other Christians believe that the condition for receiving Holy Communion in another Church is unity of faith in the Real Presence. Intercommunion will be possible when the Churches reach a doctrinal consensus regarding Eucharist. While much progress has been made regarding our common doctrinal understanding of Real Presence, the official Catholic position asks for more than common belief in the real presence. Some Christians—Catholics included—hold that sharing Holy Communion is only proper between Churches which have a historical succession of bishops and true priesthood. For real (valid) Eucharist, you need real priesthood. This is an important element of the Catholic position.
The official Catholic position holds that Holy Communion is not only a source of Christian unity, but it is also a sign of unity—real unity, existing now. "Strengthened in holy Communion by the body of Christ, [the faithful] manifest in a concrete way the unity of the people of God that this sacrament aptly signifies and wondrously causes" (Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 11).
We cannot put forth signs of unity when obvious division still exists. Receiving Communion at the same altar is not a sign of unity when we do so with the intention of separating afterwards to return to our various Churches. In short, the Catholic Church teaches that we should not pretend to have true unity if, in reality, we are separated from other Christian bodies. That separation is often seen now not so much over basic beliefs as it is over mutual recognition of the validity of Holy Orders.
The Eucharist is more than food for the individual Christian. When we come together to celebrate the Eucharist we express who we are as Church. The liturgy, especially the Eucharist, "is the outstanding means whereby the faithful may express in their lives and manifest to others the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church" (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 2).
The fundamental meaning of any sacrament can be found in the prayers which accompany the sacramental action. In each of the seven sacraments we invoke the Holy Spirit and petition the Spirit to make us holy and to build up the Body of Christ. This petition is the key to understanding the sacrament: The primary petition of the eucharistic prayer is for unity in Christ. We ask that the Spirit change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ so that we who eat and drink might be changed into the Body of Christ. "Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy, so that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ....May all of us who share in the body and blood of Christ be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit." (Eucharistic Prayer, 2) "Grant that we, who are nourished by his body and blood, may be filled with his Holy Spirit, and become one body, one spirit in Christ." (Eucharistic Prayer, 3) The other eucharistic prayers have similar invocations. This can be a foundation for future intercommunion and well as other communal acts between various Christian spiritualities.
Different Christian Churches answer this question in various ways. Some Christians favor "open Communion." Open Communion is the position that holds that no one can stop a baptized person who believes in Jesus Christ from receiving Communion in any Church. They would say that open Communion is the preferred option because the Holy Supper is a source of unity—a means by which unity among Christians can be achieved. This, however, is not the official Roman Catholic position.
Other Christians believe that the condition for receiving Holy Communion in another Church is unity of faith in the Real Presence. Intercommunion will be possible when the Churches reach a doctrinal consensus regarding Eucharist. While much progress has been made regarding our common doctrinal understanding of Real Presence, the official Catholic position asks for more than common belief in the real presence. Some Christians—Catholics included—hold that sharing Holy Communion is only proper between Churches which have a historical succession of bishops and true priesthood. For real (valid) Eucharist, you need real priesthood. This is an important element of the Catholic position.
The official Catholic position holds that Holy Communion is not only a source of Christian unity, but it is also a sign of unity—real unity, existing now. "Strengthened in holy Communion by the body of Christ, [the faithful] manifest in a concrete way the unity of the people of God that this sacrament aptly signifies and wondrously causes" (Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 11).
We cannot put forth signs of unity when obvious division still exists. Receiving Communion at the same altar is not a sign of unity when we do so with the intention of separating afterwards to return to our various Churches. In short, the Catholic Church teaches that we should not pretend to have true unity if, in reality, we are separated from other Christian bodies. That separation is often seen now not so much over basic beliefs as it is over mutual recognition of the validity of Holy Orders.
The Eucharist is more than food for the individual Christian. When we come together to celebrate the Eucharist we express who we are as Church. The liturgy, especially the Eucharist, "is the outstanding means whereby the faithful may express in their lives and manifest to others the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church" (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 2).
The fundamental meaning of any sacrament can be found in the prayers which accompany the sacramental action. In each of the seven sacraments we invoke the Holy Spirit and petition the Spirit to make us holy and to build up the Body of Christ. This petition is the key to understanding the sacrament: The primary petition of the eucharistic prayer is for unity in Christ. We ask that the Spirit change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ so that we who eat and drink might be changed into the Body of Christ. "Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy, so that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ....May all of us who share in the body and blood of Christ be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit." (Eucharistic Prayer, 2) "Grant that we, who are nourished by his body and blood, may be filled with his Holy Spirit, and become one body, one spirit in Christ." (Eucharistic Prayer, 3) The other eucharistic prayers have similar invocations. This can be a foundation for future intercommunion and well as other communal acts between various Christian spiritualities.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
So there are no beautiful managers of R&D
As I was sitting here watching a documentary about how people look affects how others react to them, I looked back over my life to how many times I’ve let a beautiful woman turn my head or convince me to do something incredibly stupid. I remember one time in college I let this all too attractive if not incredibly bitchy Chi Omega talk me into buying her and her friends drinks. Of course, I thought I was going to get somewhere with my superior generosity and fantastic charm. Wrong. I ended up with a $300 bar tab and that chick left with her friends and, you guessed it, three other guys. Am I bitter about beautiful people? No. I love beautiful people. But it just seems like they come out on top a lot. Well, apparently not all the time. Supposedly you can be too hot to be an engineer or prison guard if you are a woman.
Good looks can kill a woman's chances of snaring jobs considered "masculine," according to a study by the University of Colorado Denver Business School. Attractive women faced discrimination when they applied for jobs where appearance was not seen as important. These positions included job titles like manager of research and development, director of finance, mechanical engineer and construction supervisor. They were also overlooked for categories like director of security, hardware salesperson, prison guard and tow-truck driver as well.
"In these professions being attractive was highly detrimental to women," researcher Stefanie Johnson said in a statement, adding that attractive women tended to be sorted into positions like receptionist or secretary. "In every other kind of job, attractive women were preferred. This wasn't the case with men which shows that there is still a double standard when it comes to gender."
The study, published in the Journal of Social Psychology (I was a subscriber in college, but it is kind of pricey), was based on giving participants a list of jobs and photos of applicants and asking them to sort them according to their suitability for the role. They had a stack of 55 male and 55 female photos. While the researchers found good-looking women were ruled out for certain jobs, they found that attractive men did not face similar discrimination and were always at an advantage. But Johnson said beautiful people still enjoyed a significant edge when it came to the workplace. They tended to get higher salaries, better performance evaluations, higher levels of admission to college, better voter ratings when running for public office, and more favorable judgments in trials.
Good looks can kill a woman's chances of snaring jobs considered "masculine," according to a study by the University of Colorado Denver Business School. Attractive women faced discrimination when they applied for jobs where appearance was not seen as important. These positions included job titles like manager of research and development, director of finance, mechanical engineer and construction supervisor. They were also overlooked for categories like director of security, hardware salesperson, prison guard and tow-truck driver as well.
"In these professions being attractive was highly detrimental to women," researcher Stefanie Johnson said in a statement, adding that attractive women tended to be sorted into positions like receptionist or secretary. "In every other kind of job, attractive women were preferred. This wasn't the case with men which shows that there is still a double standard when it comes to gender."
The study, published in the Journal of Social Psychology (I was a subscriber in college, but it is kind of pricey), was based on giving participants a list of jobs and photos of applicants and asking them to sort them according to their suitability for the role. They had a stack of 55 male and 55 female photos. While the researchers found good-looking women were ruled out for certain jobs, they found that attractive men did not face similar discrimination and were always at an advantage. But Johnson said beautiful people still enjoyed a significant edge when it came to the workplace. They tended to get higher salaries, better performance evaluations, higher levels of admission to college, better voter ratings when running for public office, and more favorable judgments in trials.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
The Babaganoush Sports Beat
Texas Rangers
Playoff talk (positive and negative) is sweeping much of the Metroplex, thanks to the Texas Rangers' 8-game lead in the American League West. But there is a moratorium on the subject in the home dugout and clubhouse at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. It's not an official ban that has been imposed by, for instance, manager Ron Washington or third baseman Michael Young. Everyone in a Rangers uniform knows where his team stands, while also knowing that in early August plenty of baseball remains to be played. So, forget all talk about first-round playoff previews over the next eight games, beginning tonight when the New York Yankees come strutting to town for a two-game series. Boston visits this weekend to conclude a five-game homestand, and the Rangers head to Tampa Bay for the only time this season Monday. Despite all the current markers that point to a first-round matchup between the Rangers and one of those three AL East teams, the Rangers aren't biting.
The Rangers' thoughts are centered on righting the ship after an inconsistent nine-game road trip to the West Coast. The fact that they have to do it against the past three American League champions and two of the past three world champions isn't a major concern. Rangers players say they usually rise to the occasion when playing a quality opponent, but their focus will be on playing well instead of the name on the opponent's jersey. The Rangers' record is 6-7 this season against the Big Three, who entered Monday a combined 65 games over .500, but only three of those games have been at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. That will even out some over the next five games. The Rangers are a cool 36-21 at home this season, the second-best winning percentage in the league, and they lead the AL with a .292 home batting average. Their 3.60 home ERA is fifth in the league.
First up are the reigning world champions, who have the best record in baseball. The Yankees swept three games from the Rangers in New York back in April during a season-long six-game losing streak. Even though the Red Sox are without Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis, their pitching staff is healthy again. Boston, which qualified for the playoffs six of the past seven seasons, knows how to win down the stretch. Tampa Bay swapped first place with the Yankees last week but has fallen back into second place. The Rangers know a big test is ahead, a test that is part of the process of getting to the playoffs.
But wait, it's August, and with the summer heat beating down on the Texas landscape, the theory often has been advanced that the Rangers are somehow at a disadvantage, playing home games at the baseball venue most associated with the term "heat index." Isn't this Kryptonite Month for the Rangers? Shouldn't they be preparing for postgame ice baths and getting the pitching reinforcements ready for a 15-man staff? Aren't their helmets melting in the Texas sun yet? Um, no. Call it an urban legend, or call it a meteorological assumption, but August and September always seem to enter the conversation when it comes to the Rangers. This 2010 squad is prepared to leave that conversation in the past.
Really, the evidence doesn't support the myth that when the calendar flips to August, the Rangers start to fade. They were a non-disastrous 14-15 in August last year, losing just two games in the standings to the Angels, who got hot down the stretch to pull away. The last time the Rangers were really in the hunt was in 2004, and they went 16-12 in August that year, including 11-5 at home. Each of their division-title seasons included solid August marks (18-12 in '99, 16-13 in '98 and 16-12 in '96) but then those were quite a while ago. Something says the 2010 Rangers can stand the heat, regardless. Actually, almost everything does: This is a complete team…not perfect, but certainly capable of handling the heat of a division race, especially with the pitching depth it now possesses.
Dallas Cowboys
Preseason openers typically provide small sample sizes for the starters and incomplete grades for the fringe players fighting for roster spots, particularly in an additional (fifth) exhibition game like Sunday's Hall of Fame special. To that end, Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips's goals were clear against the Cincinnati Bengals: play to win, evaluate, and get back to Dallas relatively healthy. Injuries occurred, most notably to tight end John Phillips' right knee - officially termed a sprain but discussed to be a torn ACL during test on Monday. Overall, though, the team accomplished its goals in a 16-7 victory at sold out Fawcett Field, the culmination of former running back Emmitt Smith's weekend enshrinement into the Class of 2010.
As expected, the starters played only one series each and 22 total plays (14 offense, 8 defense). Quarterback Tony Romo's unit drove 70 yards to the Bengals' 2, overcoming a holding penalty near midfield, though they settled for a field goal after three straight incompletions near the goal line. Then Phillips' defense forced Cincinnati, led by quarterback Carson Palmer and ex-Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens, to punt in eight plays. That was it. The remaining 46:27 belonged to the backups - a critical audition for those hoping to fill out the eventual 53-man roster. That's weeks away. The next priority is returning home for Thursday's preseason game against Oakland at Cowboys Stadium, then traveling to Oxnard, Calif. on Friday for the remainder of their split training camp.
Playoff talk (positive and negative) is sweeping much of the Metroplex, thanks to the Texas Rangers' 8-game lead in the American League West. But there is a moratorium on the subject in the home dugout and clubhouse at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. It's not an official ban that has been imposed by, for instance, manager Ron Washington or third baseman Michael Young. Everyone in a Rangers uniform knows where his team stands, while also knowing that in early August plenty of baseball remains to be played. So, forget all talk about first-round playoff previews over the next eight games, beginning tonight when the New York Yankees come strutting to town for a two-game series. Boston visits this weekend to conclude a five-game homestand, and the Rangers head to Tampa Bay for the only time this season Monday. Despite all the current markers that point to a first-round matchup between the Rangers and one of those three AL East teams, the Rangers aren't biting.
The Rangers' thoughts are centered on righting the ship after an inconsistent nine-game road trip to the West Coast. The fact that they have to do it against the past three American League champions and two of the past three world champions isn't a major concern. Rangers players say they usually rise to the occasion when playing a quality opponent, but their focus will be on playing well instead of the name on the opponent's jersey. The Rangers' record is 6-7 this season against the Big Three, who entered Monday a combined 65 games over .500, but only three of those games have been at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. That will even out some over the next five games. The Rangers are a cool 36-21 at home this season, the second-best winning percentage in the league, and they lead the AL with a .292 home batting average. Their 3.60 home ERA is fifth in the league.
First up are the reigning world champions, who have the best record in baseball. The Yankees swept three games from the Rangers in New York back in April during a season-long six-game losing streak. Even though the Red Sox are without Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis, their pitching staff is healthy again. Boston, which qualified for the playoffs six of the past seven seasons, knows how to win down the stretch. Tampa Bay swapped first place with the Yankees last week but has fallen back into second place. The Rangers know a big test is ahead, a test that is part of the process of getting to the playoffs.
But wait, it's August, and with the summer heat beating down on the Texas landscape, the theory often has been advanced that the Rangers are somehow at a disadvantage, playing home games at the baseball venue most associated with the term "heat index." Isn't this Kryptonite Month for the Rangers? Shouldn't they be preparing for postgame ice baths and getting the pitching reinforcements ready for a 15-man staff? Aren't their helmets melting in the Texas sun yet? Um, no. Call it an urban legend, or call it a meteorological assumption, but August and September always seem to enter the conversation when it comes to the Rangers. This 2010 squad is prepared to leave that conversation in the past.
Really, the evidence doesn't support the myth that when the calendar flips to August, the Rangers start to fade. They were a non-disastrous 14-15 in August last year, losing just two games in the standings to the Angels, who got hot down the stretch to pull away. The last time the Rangers were really in the hunt was in 2004, and they went 16-12 in August that year, including 11-5 at home. Each of their division-title seasons included solid August marks (18-12 in '99, 16-13 in '98 and 16-12 in '96) but then those were quite a while ago. Something says the 2010 Rangers can stand the heat, regardless. Actually, almost everything does: This is a complete team…not perfect, but certainly capable of handling the heat of a division race, especially with the pitching depth it now possesses.
Dallas Cowboys
Preseason openers typically provide small sample sizes for the starters and incomplete grades for the fringe players fighting for roster spots, particularly in an additional (fifth) exhibition game like Sunday's Hall of Fame special. To that end, Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips's goals were clear against the Cincinnati Bengals: play to win, evaluate, and get back to Dallas relatively healthy. Injuries occurred, most notably to tight end John Phillips' right knee - officially termed a sprain but discussed to be a torn ACL during test on Monday. Overall, though, the team accomplished its goals in a 16-7 victory at sold out Fawcett Field, the culmination of former running back Emmitt Smith's weekend enshrinement into the Class of 2010.
As expected, the starters played only one series each and 22 total plays (14 offense, 8 defense). Quarterback Tony Romo's unit drove 70 yards to the Bengals' 2, overcoming a holding penalty near midfield, though they settled for a field goal after three straight incompletions near the goal line. Then Phillips' defense forced Cincinnati, led by quarterback Carson Palmer and ex-Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens, to punt in eight plays. That was it. The remaining 46:27 belonged to the backups - a critical audition for those hoping to fill out the eventual 53-man roster. That's weeks away. The next priority is returning home for Thursday's preseason game against Oakland at Cowboys Stadium, then traveling to Oxnard, Calif. on Friday for the remainder of their split training camp.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
The image of God through our ages
I went to church on Saturday with a friend and it was a different experience for me. I’m Catholic, and though I have sprinkled other religious services here and there in my life, I am a regular attendant at my church’s Sunday mass. The church that we went to, which I was already familiar with, has a huge congregation. In order to sustain this fellowship, they have a well oiled machine that deals with the children and youth including several rooms and programs. In the Catholic Church it is rare to have the children do a program or service than the rest of the church (Catholicism is big on family faith and community faith). This got me thinking about how I saw God as a child and how differently I see him now. It's true that children seem to have a natural openness to the existence of God. Yet as we grow older, our childlike understanding of God meets a lot of painful awareness.
Childhood images of God reflect a childhood faith. Fair enough; we all have to start somewhere. An adult faith, however, requires more adult images of God, that is, new mental pictures which can help adults better understand a God never fully captured in human language. Childhood images of God as judge and father can be complemented by other biblical images of God, such as those portraying God as potter and mother. Childhood images of God are not automatically upgraded to adult images. Childhood images of God may need to grow if we are to have a vibrant, adult faith. Often a childhood image combines something true (God is all-powerful) with a mistaken conclusion (God will never let anything bad happen to me). If we fail to see how our childhood images of God are incomplete, we risk stunting our growth toward an adult faith.
Most of us gravitate toward two or three images of God as long as they help us make sense of life around us, but those images are not necessarily the whole truth about God. For example, God is a loving creator who may not answer my selfish prayers (like winning the lottery), but God will certainly answer my prayers if it's more serious (like someone's life), or so I think. But what happens to that image of God when I pray for a very sick person who then dies?
Consider the analogy of outgrowing a pair of shoes. If I have a single image of God and this is decisively contradicted by a new and painful experience in my life (example: God will always protect me, but last week I was beaten and robbed), in a sense, it's like outgrowing our old favorite footwear. We are challenged to change our assessment of the shoes, even if they were our favorites. I can continue to wear the same shoes and complain that they do not fit (why is this good God punishing me?). Or, I can quit wearing shoes altogether (become an atheist or an agnostic). Perhaps I can find shoes that fit (find images which do justice to all of God's self-revelation and to all of life as I have experienced it).
A Christian who chooses the third option must reexamine the Scriptures and reconsider the lives of holy Christians to see if he or she has missed any key information. In fact, this third option is a commitment to continual growth regarding the person's images of God. Imagine that when you were five years old someone asked you to describe your parents. Perhaps you would have answered (or did!) that your mother was very loving (the world's best cook!), your father was very strong (more so than your friend's father) and that together your parents took very good care of you. Now imagine that at age 30 you were asked the same question. Would you simply repeat your earlier answers? Hardly. Although you might use many of the same words (strength, love, care), they would have a deeper meaning.
Which description of your parents would be the correct one: the one you gave at age five or at age 30? Is it possible that they are both correct and are simply reflections of your growing ability to appreciate your parents? It would be a mistake either to disregard the five-year-old's description of his or her parents or, on the other hand, to accept it as the last word. Important discoveries (positive and negative) await everyone willing to see the "whole picture" about another person. It is, of course, possible to remain frozen in our earliest impressions of our parents. As a result we may idealize them, never allowing them to become real people with their own difficulties and "shadows," or we may fail to see good qualities we didn't value properly when we were children. If we can act this way with our own parents, why should we be surprised to find that our childhood images of God are insufficient? Is God insulted that we did not understand everything correctly from childhood? Or does God regret, rather, that as adults we are content to rely exclusively on those childhood images?
We would do well therefore to seek deeper images of God which are in better harmony with our adult faith and experience. However, developing adult images of God can be challenging, enriching and scary. Shortly after John Henry Newman retired to Littlemore (near Oxford, England) to reconsider his position in the Church of England, he wrote, "In a higher world it is otherwise, but here below to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often."
Men and women become adults spiritually not with the simple passing of years but rather when they begin to recognize how much their images of God fall short of the reality and how much God stretches us to respect all men and women created in the divine image (Genesis 1:26-27). When we truly convert, we surrender our idols and accept life on God's terms. Only then can our images develop until we see God face-to-face, so to speak, at the eternal banquet.
Childhood images of God reflect a childhood faith. Fair enough; we all have to start somewhere. An adult faith, however, requires more adult images of God, that is, new mental pictures which can help adults better understand a God never fully captured in human language. Childhood images of God as judge and father can be complemented by other biblical images of God, such as those portraying God as potter and mother. Childhood images of God are not automatically upgraded to adult images. Childhood images of God may need to grow if we are to have a vibrant, adult faith. Often a childhood image combines something true (God is all-powerful) with a mistaken conclusion (God will never let anything bad happen to me). If we fail to see how our childhood images of God are incomplete, we risk stunting our growth toward an adult faith.
Most of us gravitate toward two or three images of God as long as they help us make sense of life around us, but those images are not necessarily the whole truth about God. For example, God is a loving creator who may not answer my selfish prayers (like winning the lottery), but God will certainly answer my prayers if it's more serious (like someone's life), or so I think. But what happens to that image of God when I pray for a very sick person who then dies?
Consider the analogy of outgrowing a pair of shoes. If I have a single image of God and this is decisively contradicted by a new and painful experience in my life (example: God will always protect me, but last week I was beaten and robbed), in a sense, it's like outgrowing our old favorite footwear. We are challenged to change our assessment of the shoes, even if they were our favorites. I can continue to wear the same shoes and complain that they do not fit (why is this good God punishing me?). Or, I can quit wearing shoes altogether (become an atheist or an agnostic). Perhaps I can find shoes that fit (find images which do justice to all of God's self-revelation and to all of life as I have experienced it).
A Christian who chooses the third option must reexamine the Scriptures and reconsider the lives of holy Christians to see if he or she has missed any key information. In fact, this third option is a commitment to continual growth regarding the person's images of God. Imagine that when you were five years old someone asked you to describe your parents. Perhaps you would have answered (or did!) that your mother was very loving (the world's best cook!), your father was very strong (more so than your friend's father) and that together your parents took very good care of you. Now imagine that at age 30 you were asked the same question. Would you simply repeat your earlier answers? Hardly. Although you might use many of the same words (strength, love, care), they would have a deeper meaning.
Which description of your parents would be the correct one: the one you gave at age five or at age 30? Is it possible that they are both correct and are simply reflections of your growing ability to appreciate your parents? It would be a mistake either to disregard the five-year-old's description of his or her parents or, on the other hand, to accept it as the last word. Important discoveries (positive and negative) await everyone willing to see the "whole picture" about another person. It is, of course, possible to remain frozen in our earliest impressions of our parents. As a result we may idealize them, never allowing them to become real people with their own difficulties and "shadows," or we may fail to see good qualities we didn't value properly when we were children. If we can act this way with our own parents, why should we be surprised to find that our childhood images of God are insufficient? Is God insulted that we did not understand everything correctly from childhood? Or does God regret, rather, that as adults we are content to rely exclusively on those childhood images?
We would do well therefore to seek deeper images of God which are in better harmony with our adult faith and experience. However, developing adult images of God can be challenging, enriching and scary. Shortly after John Henry Newman retired to Littlemore (near Oxford, England) to reconsider his position in the Church of England, he wrote, "In a higher world it is otherwise, but here below to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often."
Men and women become adults spiritually not with the simple passing of years but rather when they begin to recognize how much their images of God fall short of the reality and how much God stretches us to respect all men and women created in the divine image (Genesis 1:26-27). When we truly convert, we surrender our idols and accept life on God's terms. Only then can our images develop until we see God face-to-face, so to speak, at the eternal banquet.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
And you thought the Florida Marlins were bad
If you have read my blog before, then you know I enjoy getting outdoors for a few hours, putting my line in, and zoning out for a while i.e. fishing. But, though I am a terrible fisherman with marginal skills, I aspire for some of the greater opportunities in sport fishing. Well, if I ever get there then I can experience something awe inspiring and probably terrifying. The story comes from the week-long Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (yeah, there is one of those) is the enormous marlin that got away, but not before a wild struggle that included an attack on the press boat, providing the event photographer with the photo opportunity of a lifetime. Jon Schwartz was aboard the Chiripa off Kailua-Kona, waiting for one of the teams to hookup, when the marlin struck one of two lures his crew was trolling behind the boat. Now, yes, this does have to do with a photographer more than a fisherman, but it is still an interesting and bizarre story.
It was late afternoon and tournament action had slowed. Schwartz, according to his blog, "was sacked out on the couch, my four cameras strewn across the floor of the salon," when he awoke to the sound of line screaming from the reel. "We'd been pulling those things for the past two days with no hits, and I basically forgot they were there," he wrote, in reference to the lures. What he thought might be a tuna turned out to be a Pacific blue marlin estimated to weigh more than 550 pounds (it was this [----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------] big). It leaped and started "careening through the air in every conceivable direction, throwing massive walls of water with every move of its huge tail, and leaving car-size holes in the water when it came crashing down," Schwartz recalled. Crewman K.J. Robinson had taken the rod and was fighting the billfish. Schwartz clutched his cameras and ran out and began to shoot.
Not long afterward, the marlin charged the boat. "Now mind you, I am watching all of this through my 300-millimeter telephoto lens. I was so focused on getting the shot that I probably lost sense of what was really happening in terms of how the fish was behaving," Schwartz wrote. The marlin slammed with a thud into the side of the boat, but sped off and continued to fight for its freedom. Robinson, however, seemed close to winning the battle 20 minutes later. He had reeled the magnificent fish close enough to yell for the tagging stick, so the marlin could be tagged and released. But just then the line went slack. Robinson reeled in the lure and found that the hook had broken under the weight of the struggle.
The fight was over, but Schwartz had chronicled an episode that astonished even longtime HIBT (yeah, there’s an abbreviation for it) veterans who were nearby in other boats. "Many of them have been fishing for giant marlin their whole lives and said that they had never seen anything like it, and they'd never seen a fish act like that or move that fast," Schwartz wrote. "They also said they were worried about the guys in the boat!"
Now deep sea sport fishing is not without its “Old Man and the Sea” moments, but hardly do you ever hear about the fish getting so pissed off that it charges the boat before making a hasty break for open water. That’s what astonishes me about this story. It is an interesting look into the behavior of animals when confronted with a threat they are not familiar with. So I did some research about the Pacific blue marlin…magnificent specimen. Anyway, if you read your way all the way through this then you’ve probably realized that this is fluff and I am phoning it in on this one. Hope you enjoyed.
It was late afternoon and tournament action had slowed. Schwartz, according to his blog, "was sacked out on the couch, my four cameras strewn across the floor of the salon," when he awoke to the sound of line screaming from the reel. "We'd been pulling those things for the past two days with no hits, and I basically forgot they were there," he wrote, in reference to the lures. What he thought might be a tuna turned out to be a Pacific blue marlin estimated to weigh more than 550 pounds (it was this [----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------] big). It leaped and started "careening through the air in every conceivable direction, throwing massive walls of water with every move of its huge tail, and leaving car-size holes in the water when it came crashing down," Schwartz recalled. Crewman K.J. Robinson had taken the rod and was fighting the billfish. Schwartz clutched his cameras and ran out and began to shoot.
Not long afterward, the marlin charged the boat. "Now mind you, I am watching all of this through my 300-millimeter telephoto lens. I was so focused on getting the shot that I probably lost sense of what was really happening in terms of how the fish was behaving," Schwartz wrote. The marlin slammed with a thud into the side of the boat, but sped off and continued to fight for its freedom. Robinson, however, seemed close to winning the battle 20 minutes later. He had reeled the magnificent fish close enough to yell for the tagging stick, so the marlin could be tagged and released. But just then the line went slack. Robinson reeled in the lure and found that the hook had broken under the weight of the struggle.
The fight was over, but Schwartz had chronicled an episode that astonished even longtime HIBT (yeah, there’s an abbreviation for it) veterans who were nearby in other boats. "Many of them have been fishing for giant marlin their whole lives and said that they had never seen anything like it, and they'd never seen a fish act like that or move that fast," Schwartz wrote. "They also said they were worried about the guys in the boat!"
Now deep sea sport fishing is not without its “Old Man and the Sea” moments, but hardly do you ever hear about the fish getting so pissed off that it charges the boat before making a hasty break for open water. That’s what astonishes me about this story. It is an interesting look into the behavior of animals when confronted with a threat they are not familiar with. So I did some research about the Pacific blue marlin…magnificent specimen. Anyway, if you read your way all the way through this then you’ve probably realized that this is fluff and I am phoning it in on this one. Hope you enjoyed.
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