:: on dan mullen coaching in the national championship

mississippi state's newly hired head football coach, dan mullen, will be a busy man in the month of december and the early part of january. and i'm not just talking about the business that accompanies the christmas holidays and the advent of the new year. mullen has agreed to return to gainesville to help prepare his old team, the florida gators, win the bcs national championship game. that's on top of the work he's already been doing in the week or so that he's been at state (he's been racking up the cell phone minutes with recruits like crazy, as well as trying to assemble a staff). fortunately, the week brings the "dead period" in college football where coaches are not allowed to recruit and when most coaches who would be considered for staff positions would be focusing on bowl games of thier own.

this has actually caused some debate around the nation. some say that this situation is unfair to florida because thier offensive coordinator can't fully devote his time and concentration to helping florida win a championship. some say this situation is unfair to mississippi state because our new head coach cannot "strike while the iron is hot" so to speak, and drive in (and possibly improve upon) what was already looking like a pretty good recruiting class. others say this is a good thing for state because it gives mullen's hiring credibility and gives state fans a reason to brag, especcially the morning after mullen hoists the crystal ball over his head. it might even give state an edge in the recruiting department.

this exact discussion was had on one of my favorite sports shows, around the horn, today. i found myself going against my very nature and agreeing with bill plaschke over woody paige. here is the discussion...

Watch more ESPN videos on AOL Video

what are your thoughts on the issue?

more to come...

:: on the new mississippi state logos

one of the many changes being made a mississippi state is the creation of a somewhat different school logo. for as long as i've been at state we've had a myriad of different logos for different activities and organizations. the baseball team had their logo, the football team and basketball team had the same m-state banner logo, a lot of people (including me) are still attached to the interlocking msu logo that the football team used to have (the copyright is owned by nike, who isn't manufacturing our uniforms anymore), there was the walking- or more accurately described as "strutting"- bully, and there was the university seal. athletic director greg byrne commissioned the creation of a new logo, which looks pretty darn similar to the m-state banner logo, and along with it some cool new "spirit logos" like the ones bellow...
i'm pretty excited to see how we use these logos. i like the new depiction of bully, it gives him more of a bite. i also think it's awesome that we've incorporated the cowbell into a logo, especially since the sec banned those things at football games a few years back...

more to come...

:: the third day of christmas

the gift given on the third day of christmas, according to the song, is a trio of french hens. i've always wondered what made french hens more grandiose than the ordinary hen. do french hens have superiority over all hens? are french hens used because the french are generally perceived as lovers and this carries over to their poultry? does the person receiving the gift really care what nationality the hens are? and more importantly, where is the person receiving these gifts putting all the birds? we've already got turtle doves, now hens. and we're not even getting to the calling birds or the geese who are a' laying...

in any event, i give you ::

three french hens

:: the second day of christmas

the traditional gift given in the song "the twelve days of christmas" is a pair of turtle doves. if you've ever seen the movie home alone 2: lost in new york, you'll remember that the turtle dove is a sign of love and friendship. if you take each line of the song to mean that each day "my true love" gives you each gift mentioned in the song, you'd end up with 22 turtle doves. that's a lot of love. i think true love would be cleaning those bird cages as well...

so on this, the second day of christmas, i give you ::

two turtle doves

:: the first day of christmas

everyone knows the christmas song "the twelve days of christmas". it's been recorded by countless people, sung endlessly during this season, and even recreated for laughs when i was in high school (one of the good memories from high school).  but did you know that every year people add up the cost of the gifts found in that song and use it as an economical barometer, in jest of course.

so, here on the americanized first day of christmas, i give you this gift ::

a partridge in a pair tree.

:: quick facts for tuesday, december 2nd.

today is the last day of classes here on the campus of mississippi state university. it's a crazy thought. this semester is already over, and it really doesn't even feel like it's gotten under way yet. i'm finding that as i get older, time passes more quickly. that doesn't mean that some days just feel like they take forever. but weeks end in a blink, months come and go before you fully get adjusted, and years are starting to feel much shorter. 

is this happening to you?

i'm not sure how i feel about this strange passage of time. i think there is a part of me that wants to get out of college, to get married, to start seminary, and to see what god's got in store for me. but another part of me doesn't want to get too carried away with tomorrow and miss today. it's a catch-22.

luckily, this time of year usually serves as a nice re-focusing time for everyone, especially me.

with that in mind, let's look at things both factual and quick...

current time :: 11:20pm

current location :: the apartment chair (that's right. take that, corey!) 

currently watching :: "food detectives" on the food network

current atmospheric conditions :: 36°F, clear and cold.

recently listened too :: my christmas playlist, specifically "baby, it's cold outside" by dean martin.

fact :: i have a job interview at barnes and noble next week. it's just for a position at beginning of the semester, but hopefully it will lead to more. i've always wanted to work there. and i'm poor, i'll take any opportunity i can get...

fact :: i've been catching up on the shows in my hulu queue. that includes 30 rock, house, and fringe. all great shows. check them out.

fact :: there are 29 more days left in this year...

current cerebral flatulence :: "why do they call the last study day before the start of exams 'dead day'? i hope this is not foreboding..."

today in history :: 

• in 1930, president herbert hoover asked the united states congress for a $150 millon public works program to help generate jobs and stimulate the economy. the problems stay the same, the dollar figure just inflates...
  
• in 1939, la guardia airport opens. delays begin immediately.
• in 1942, enrico fermi initiates the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, eventually leading to the development of the atomic bomb. our current president still can't pronounce half the words in the previous sentence. "nukular!"
• in 1977, the first world series cricket "supertest" match is played between australia and west indies. and i'm positive that no one watched it...
• in 2001, enron files for chapter 11 bankruptcy. the people behind the enron fraud scandal join the list of the biggest corporate douchebags in history as more than 22,000 people are laid off.

born today in history ::

• georges seurat
• charles ringling
• otto dix
• lucy liu
• britney spears
• aaron rodgers

video of the day ::

as previously mentioned, i frequently enjoy the nbc comedy 30 rock, starring tina fey, tracy morgan, and alec baldwin. i think you might like it too. so, take some time and enjoy a great episode featuring funny man steve martin....

(a note for those reading this on facebook :: to get the daily video and other goodies, you'll have to head over to the blog...)

more to come...

:: let's catch up

over the holiday break, i missed a few days of posting here on the blog. during that time there were some notable news stories that i feel the need to address. so, let's do some catching up.

wednesday, november 26th ::

• being the first official day of my break, i took the opportunity to rest. i woke up at 12:30.
• i got to hang out with my brother and sister. i also get to hang out with roxanne and watched the simon pegg movie "run fatboy run". roxanne and my sister talk me into going to see the vampire love story "twilight" which i didn't hate as much as i anticipated.
• prior to seeing twilight, i get to eat some great mexican food at los tres amigos, the best place to get mexican food in slidell.
• terrorists carry out coordinated attacks in 10 locations in india's financial capital and largest city, mumbai.

thursday, november 27th ::

• thanksgiving day starts later than i expected. i missed a portion of the macy's thanksgiving day parade. i also missed the traditional biscuits and country gravy. but i did catch rick astley rick roll the nation...

• i went to my friend steph's house for thanksgiving lunch/dinner. lots of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and crescent rolls. oh, and pie.
• i watched a lot of "house" as there was a marathon on the usa network. 

friday, november 28th ::

• people everywhere wake up way to early and go shopping. we covered this in an entry on friday, but one man was trampled to death. two others were shot dead in a toys 'r us. that bring the death count to 3. wow.
• i slept in late. take that crazy early shoppers.
• i attempted to watch the egg bowl, the annual rivalry game between the football teams of my mississippi state bulldogs and the ole miss rebels. this didn't turn out too well. i stopped watching mid-way through the second quarter. my bulldogs lose the game 45-0. it's a sad day in starkville.
• my brother and i sit back and watch the new morgan spurlock documentary, "where in the world is osama bin laden". i thought it was pretty awesome, very eye-opening, and informative.
• later, my bulldogs basketball team plays washington state. the sporting news doesn't get any better for the dawgs, as they lose their first game, 63-52.
• my brother, dad, and i go see the newest james bond movie, "quantum of solace". it was my second time seeing it, but i still enjoyed it.

saturday, november 29th ::

• becca buys a cool new computer. it runs windows vista, unfortunately, and becca spend the rest of the day authorizing vista to carry out basic functions such as "open window", "look at clock", and "deactivate annoying authorization system"...
  
• news breaks that plaxico burress, wide-reciever the new york football giants, was shot in the leg at a night club the night before. upon closer inspection of the story, it's revealed that he accidentally shot himself in the leg. that's a major dive in street cred... then, it was revealed that he accidentally shot himself in the leg with a gun he was not licensed to carry. uh-oh.
• more news breaks, this time that mississippi state head football coach, sylvester croom, resigned. some people are happy, some are upset. i'm just glad it's basketball season again.
• unfortunately for me, my basketball edition of the mississippi state bulldogs are handed their second loss of the season by texas tech, 77-73. and my previous hatred for the texas tech basketball team grows...
• i fill up my gas tank. it cost $24. that's shocking. not getting my hopes up for things to stay this way.
• i go to a birthday party for my friend ryan, where i eat sushi for the fist time. it's actually pretty good. can't wait to get more.
• becca, my sister, and i watch the will smith movie "hancock". while most of my friends panned this movie, i liked it. it was an interesting take on the superhero genre and had a pretty nice script. the fact that it starred smith, jason bateman, and charlize theron helped too...
• the attacks in mumbai ended when indian security forces regained control of the attack sites. 172 people have been confirmed dead, and at least 293 people were injured.

sunday, november 30th ::

• i woke up early enough to get to sunday school on time, but still get there late after waiting for my brother and sister to get ready. i love them anyway...
• after church, i get to eat more great mexican food at los tres amigos.
• the saints lose to the tampa bay buccaneers 23-20, essentially ending their playoff hopes.
• becca and i drive back to starkville and listen to a lot of christmas music.

well, that was the recap. hope your week was as eventful and restful as mine.

more to come...

:: quick facts for monday, december 1st

it's the first day of the end of your year. it's also the first official day you can listen to christmas music. i know, some people started listening to christmas music before it was even thanksgiving. some people were able to hold off until the day after thanksgiving. i made it until yesterday. i actually listened to a whole heck of a lot of christmas music.

i'll post a guide to some good christmas music tomorrow or wednesday, in case you're having trouble finding some.

i'll let you in on a little secret. i love this time of year. it's now officially them christmas/hanukkah/kwanzaa/holiday season, and that makes me very happy. i love listening to christmas music. i love the cold weather, even though there is rarely any snow. i love the mood that the collective populous seems to get into. i know jesus probably wasn't born this time of year, but i'm glad we celebrate it now.

and because i love this time of year so much, i'll be posting stuff about christmas a lot. like the afore mentioned guide to christmas music, artist of the week christmas edition, a look at "the twelve days of christmas", fun stuff like that. stick around, it'll be fun.

now that we got that out of the way, let's get to the quick facts ::

current time :: 11:34pm

current location :: the apartment couch

currently watching :: nothing at the moment, just trying to find something mildly interesting.

current price for a gallon of gas in starkville :: $1.78

current price for a gallon of gas in slidell :: $1.66....

current rambling thought :: "man, i'm going to be driving/riding a lot this week."

current atmospheric conditions :: cloudy, cold, and windy. current outside temp. is 37°F

today in history ::

• in 1955, rosa parks refuses to give her bus seat to a white man and is arrested for violating the city's racial segregation laws.
• in 1981, the aids virus is officially recognized.
• in 1982, barney clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart.
• in 1988, benazir bhutto is appointed prime minister of pakistan.
• in 1998, the world's largest company is formed when exxon announced a $73.7 billion buyout of mobil.
  

born today in history ::

• woody allen
• joe quesada
• jared fogle

video of the day :: 

more to come...

:: gordon gekko was wrong...

the last few days of november are on a national scale somewhat like what those few days here in new orleans during the february or march months are on a local scale.

mardi gras is largely considered a time where people get all the debauchery out. people generally perceive that during mardi gras you go to new orleans and get hammered and do crazy crap that you'd usually never do.

traditionally, thanksgiving is considered a time for family to come together and enjoy company and a great meal. but commercially, it has become a time where americans give themselves over to gluttony. i'm not trying to sound judgmental. i've been guilty of that too. it's true. we eat way too much food in one day. it's unjustifiable.

the day after, black friday, is a day where american's give themselves over to greed. given the economic woes of the past couple months, many thought that this day would be less insane than usual. but there were still people lined up early in the morning to fight for the right to buy things they don't need at a discounted price. we don't need the excess. it can be tempting, especially with the price cut. but a lot of times we don't need it.

and this morning, in an act of mystifying greed, someone died. i'm sure it's not the first time this has happened. but every time this happens, you've got to stop and think.

the people waiting to get into the wal-mart broke the doors off of their track to get in and trampled a man to death. he was 34 years old. he probably had a family, and he was probably working the insane thanksgiving shift to help support his family. and people in line to buy things they probably didn't need trampled over him in an attempt to be the first one to the xbox 360 or that cool new cell phone. people placed junk over that guy's life.

what the hell is wrong with us? dear god, what have we become?


*friend of the blog (and mine) corey phillips also weighed in on this topic over on his blog. check it out at http://attemptatfaithful.wordpress.com/

:: now this is crazy...

in this day in sports, teams just seem to score more easily than in days past. football has seen games that have one team winning 56-3, or more (see last years patriots) and several games where both teams score 50+ points. basketball has seen teams score more and more points each year. it seems it's a rarity for an nba score to not feature both teams over the century mark. baseball saw the increase in the number of home runs hit, but that was largely linked with steroid use and those numbers are starting to trend downward as more people are aware of what's going on.

but i saw something that took place last night that blew away my preconceived notions of what a college basketball score should look like. 

last night, texas tech beat east central by the final score of 167-115. 

167 points by one team in one game.

282 total points in a game.

texas tech scored an average of 4.175 points per minute.

they scored 77 points by half time, and another 90 in the second half.

first off, this is unreal. no team should ever score that many points in a single game. were there not enough players for east central to play any semblance of a defense? even awful defenses should be able to stop this kind of madness.

secondly, texas tech's coach and team are all jerks. what the hell possesses you to score that many points on an opponent you clearly defeated? there is no excuse for scoring 90 points in the second half. maybe the first half. but in the second half, you've got to know you've got the game won when you've hit the, oh, 140 point mark. put in your bench. heck, put in 5 people from your student section. don't drive up the score. this was completely unsportsmanlike. competition is great. you should always try to beat your competition. but once that victory is in hand, you gain nothing from further humiliating your opponent. you've already won.

thirdly, if a team is awful-- so awful that you could score 167 points on them-- how in the world do you let them score 115 on you? this is clearly a lack in understanding of the basic fundamentals of basketball. you don't let bad teams score more than 100 on you. i don't care how much you're up by. play defense. this is embarrassing.

that is all.

more to come...

:: quick facts for friday, november 21st -- the procrastination edition

that's right, it's friday and i'm procrastinating. i've gotten a good bit of work done, but there is much more to do. i think i have a problem focusing on something for too long. that doesn't mean i have a problem focusing. i sat at this computer for about and hour and a half and read and summarized an article about the stress that combat exposure places on military personnel and how those individuals deal with the trauma in both health and unhealthy ways. that takes some focus. but i think my problem, and perhaps the problem of our generation, is that there seems to be too much fighting for my focus. it's hard to stay tuned into one thing. i noticed the other day that i constantly watch tv and browse the internet simultaneously. i listen to music and read. i think this has become more and more common as we've discovered the need to multi-task. we've gotten so busy that we need to do two things at once just to get everything done. we can't focus on one thing, because it seems so unnatural and like such a waste of time. 

i've commented to several people this week that i have this "spot" in the library where i have to sit because there is very little distraction there. it has windows, but you can't see much activity through them. there are very few people here now. if anything more interesting is presented, i'll be distracted from working. that's why i'm blogging. so, let's get this distraction out of the way and get to the quick facts...

current time :: 12:06pm

current location :: my "spot" in the library. 3rd floor reference section.

current atmospheric conditions :: from my window it looks deceptively warm. but i was just outside and i know better. the temp is 41°F, though it feels like 35°F with the 16mph shearing winds...

currently listening too :: the sound of silence (not the simon and garfunkel song, the actual silence. it sounds like my computer humming).

current rambling thought :: "i might have to write a whole 'things i don't understand...' article on beyonce and her crazy cyborg hand..."

current song stuck in my head :: "a kiss is not a contract" by flight of the conchords.

current price of a gallon of gas in starkville, ms :: $1.86

current number of days 'till thanksgiving :: 6

current number of day in the year :: 40

current number of days 'till pres. bush leaves office :: 59 (22 hours, 41 min, 40 sec)

today in history :: 

• judas maccabaeus restores the temple in jerusalem in 164 bc. now jewish kids everywhere get presents on 12 days instead of one...
• the plymouth colony settlers sign the mayflower compact in 1620. apparently they didn't read the fine print, where it outlined the freezing cold winters and how more than half of them would die within a few years...
• the dow jones industrial average closes above 5,000 for the first time in 1995. now, it looks like we're heading back there again...
  

born today in history ::

• voltaire 
• josiah bartlett
• steven curtis chapman
• björk
• troy aikman
• ken griffey, jr.
• michael strahan
• chris moneymaker (he's a poker player, not a porn star)

today's obscure holidays ::

• world hello day
• world television day 

(hmm, these two seem to be working against each other)

video of the day :: 


more to come...

:: quick facts for tuesday, november 18th

is it normal to be tired all the time? is this something that everyone is experiencing? because i'm always tired. i slept until noon today, and i was tired two hours later. i cannot explain this, so the best i can do is rationalize it. it seems like so much of life now is run on empty. i'm always tired. my gas tank is almost always barren.  my bank account is always low, and moths inhabit my wallet. if i didn't have friends, i'd be pretty depressed. 

don't worry, i'm not depressed. although i am keenly aware of my emptiness, i'm also aware of how full my life is too. to list all the good things might sound pompous. then again, i suppose listing the bad might sound emo.

with that in mind, let's get to the quick facts.

current time :: 11:47pm

current location :: the apartment couch

currently watching :: whose line is it anyway.

recently listened to :: sean lennon's album friendly fire

current price for a gallon of gas in starkville :: $1.86

current price for an amazing 16oz. up of hot chocolate from strange brew :: $4.02

current balance in my checking account :: somewhere south of $10.

currently thinking :: "why the heck does everyone think kentucky's basketball team is going to the ncaa tourney this year? they have been awful thus far. and alabama is picked to win the sec west? they lost to lowly mercer. why aren't my bulldogs getting any love?"

today in history ::

• william tell allegedly shoots an apple off of his son's head in 1307. what they don't tell you is that his son, who was obviously mortified by this event, later shot william tell's head off of his shoulders...
• sigma alpha rho, a jewish high school fraternity, is founded in philadelphia, pennsylvania in 1917. unlike the fraternities we discussed yesterday, this fraternity was devoted to singing the torah in hebrew and an embarrassing, pubescent pitch.
• george bernard shaw refuses to accept the money accompanying his nobel prize, saying "i can forgive alfred nobel for inventing dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the nobel prize". that's funny, when he won the oscar, all he said was "you like me! you really like me!"
• disney releases steamboat willie, the first fully synchronized sound cartoon, featuring the character that would later become mickey mouse. aren't we all glad they changed his name to mickey... "hey willie you're so fine..." (i think i might have just made myself throw up a bit in my mouth)
• the mad bomber of new york city places his first bomb at a manhattan office building used by consolidated edison in 1940. even though he was not born yet, it is believed that barack obama palled around with this guy (or would have if he were given the chance!)...
•  jim jones leads his cult, peoples temple, in a mass murder-suicide in 1978.

born today in history ::

• alan shepard (astronaut)
• ted stevens (former alaska senator, convicted felon)
• alan moore (comic book writer, graphic novelist)
• kevin nealon (comedian)
• owen wilson (actor)
• dustin kensrue (musician)
• jeffrey jordan (college basketball player, son of a legendary basketball player)

video of the day ::

 

more to come...

:: sinners in the hands of a gracious god

i like to read. there, i said it. this hasn't always been true. those who knew me best in high school might laugh at that first statement. indeed, it wasn't until i got to college that i really started to read. and not just books with pictures, real books, engaging books. and not just books. in college i discovered relevant magazine, a christian magazine for twentysomethings that delves into the intersections between god, life, and progressive culture. (if this sounds like something you might be interested in, go here and subscribe. i guarantee you'll enjoy it.). after reading my first issue, i was hooked. i decided to sign up for the weekly newsletter, 850 words of relevant. i say all of that to share this. last week's newsletter was especially awesome. it's written by adam smith, an editor/contributor to the magazine that i've come to admire through his writings. i thought it was something everyone should read. so, instead of sending this off chain-letter style, i thought i'd post it here on the blog. i hope this impacts you the same way it impacted me.

The Westboro Baptist Church announced last week that they would picket the funeral of President-elect Barack Obama’s grandmother. A solemn family memorial for a woman who will never get to see her grandson sworn in as the nation’s president will be beset by people waving angry and vulgar signs, spewing hate.

Sadly, the placard-waving street preacher is not an uncommon sight in America. They stand on corners, yelling at wide-eyed and innocent girls for being tawdry Jezebels. Shouting through bullhorns and brandishing angry and esoteric signs, they paint a grim picture of hell as the destination of everyone who happens to pass by.

Theirs is a brutal and atavistic god. A dark, old-world titan of blood and fire. It is a pagan deity born from the smallness of man. Such a god has its genesis in our own insecurities. Our own pride and hesitancy to accept unmitigated grace, believing on some level that there must be some Puritanical way we can earn it. This god doesn’t know grace. It demands perfection, knowing full well it will never get it—because that’s the game. It doesn’t want perfection. It wants to laugh at failure and then grind the accused to a paste between its stone molars.

Very few Christians identify with this kind of gospel, and most of us have a visceral reaction when we see the street-corner shouter, condemning strangers to hell. It seems more bad news than good. I often wonder, though, if on some bent level we can learn something from this. Surely, this message sacrifices the true message of the cross to revel in judgment. But how often do we try to be the counterpoint to that grotesque display, only to end up sacrificing the forth-telling of the Gospel at all? And how often do we cling to grace as a cheap catch-all to validate our own broken behavior?

One thing is certain: God’s grace is limitless. He loves us through our faults, forgives us any sin and never desires to see us cut off from His Kingdom. However, at what point do we use this to justify sin? When do we decide we will no longer languish in the same pitfalls over and over, and get down to the hard work of being more like Jesus?

The natural reaction would be to assume that we should tone down our rhetoric on grace and throw in some good, old-fashioned Jonathan Edwards brimstone. I think if anything, it’s not that we emphasize grace too much, it’s that we don’t take it seriously enough. You see, grace of this magnitude should inevitably motivate us toward the one who issues it. Not in the sense that we believe we can somehow pay God back for what He’s done. That’s impossible. Infinite grace can’t be repaid. Rather, we should be compelled to be molded into Christ’s image because grace is so beautiful as to lure us toward its author. It just so happens that, as we chase after this desire, it makes us more like God and less given to filling our lives with garbage. Grace is so stunningly gorgeous that the delights the world has to offer seem ugly and trivial by comparison. If people really understood the lavish depths of grace, the true breadth of God’s love for us, all the sinful acts the sign-wavers condemn would begin to lose their appeal.

This is why the street preachers rarely succeed in truly drawing people to Christ. At best, they make people over in their own perverted image. I once heard an evangelist defend hate-filled condemnation by saying that people don’t understand they need a savior until they understand the depth of their sin. I couldn’t disagree more. Perhaps some people do come to God as a result of recognizing their own depravity. But I tend to think that the beauty of God’s grace can draw people in of its own accord.

Certainly, rebuke has its place. After all, we see Paul engage in it a number of times. But that rebuke is, first of all, always born of prior relationship. Paul didn’t shout judgment upon people who had the unhappy coincidence of wandering by. He formed a deep, loving relationship with the churches he admonished. Secondly, true rebuke is not a slap in the face for screwing up. It’s a reminder that people have sacrificed something of greater fulfillment for something of paltry value. It points people back to grace and helps them recall how extravagantly good it is compared to the pursuits of the flesh. The crazy thing is this: The pursuits of the flesh also include trying to pridefully repay God for our own salvation.

I recall hearing a pastor say once, “If Paul could see the Church today, he wouldn’t even think we were Christians.” In the context of the message, he was insinuating that we had become too worldly to qualify for the term. I agree with the statement, but for entirely different reasons. I wonder sometimes if Paul would scratch his head in bewilderment at much of the modern Church, and then speak lovingly to us, saying:

“You foolish Galatians! Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort?” (Galatians 3:1, 3)

Our human effort always comes up short. When we view grace cheaply, it leads to our desires being drawn away to ultimately unfulfilling pursuits. It leads to arrogantly assuming we can accomplish holiness through our own strength, and we find ourselves repeatedly falling short.

And, if we’re not careful, it leads to waving signs and shouting at people.

good stuff.

more to come...

quick facts for "manic" monday, november 17th

if this week doesn't kill me, it will make me very tired. i've got a crazy week ahead of me, and things always look the bleakest on monday. without boring everyone to death, i'll just say that i've got a lot of work to complete this week. if you're a friend of mine in the starkville area, you might not see me very often this week, unless you are also confined to the library. (3rd floor is the quietest place i've found...).

with that in mind, let's quickly hit the quick facts ::

current time :: 10:34pm

current location :: the mitchell memorial library computer lab (desk #68, to be exact).

currently listening too :: okkervil river's album black sheep boy. (the song no key, no plan, again, for exactness sake)

the current price of a gallon of gas in starkville, ms :: $1.86

fact :: my mississippi state bulldogs basketball team defeated the university of louisiana - monroe warhawks by the final score of 78-49. the bulldogs are now 2-0 on the season.

today in history ::

• queen mary i of england dies and is succeeded by her half sister, cate blanchett, in 1558.
• the united states congress holds it first session in washington, d.c, in 1800. now, congress mostly takes vacations in aspen.
• the delta phi fraternity is founded at union college in schenectady, new york in 1827. essentially, they just decided since they all got drunk and ended up passing out at the same place, they'd make it a club.
• the national rifle association is granted a charter by the state of new york in 1871. this was primarily to combat the public drunkenness perpetrated by the delta phi fraternity.
• the omega psi ohi fraternity is founded in 1911 at howard university in washington, d.c. apparently, these guys liked what the delta phi guys were cooking and wanted to get in on the action.
• the united state recognizes the soviet union in 1933. this replaced the practice of covering that portion of the globe with the right hand and pretending that it didn't exist.
• president lyndon b. jonson states that the united states armed forces were "inflicting greater losses than [they were] taking" and that they were "making progress" in the vietnam war in 1967 (8 years after the war had begun). the war ended on april 30th, 1975. at least he didn't have a huge "mission accomplished" banner behind him...
• douglas engelbart recieves the patent for the first computer mouse in 1970. elderly people everywhere have trouble understanding how mice could possibly control the arrow on that electronic window.
• president richard nixon tells 400 ap editors that he is "not a crook" in 1973. he was probably lying, making him both a crook and a liar, or a good politician...

born this day in history ::

• rock hudson (actor)
• gordon lightfoot (musician)
• martin scorsese (director)
• danny devito (actor)
• lorne michaels (producer)
• butch davis (football coach)
• jeff buckley (musician)
• kimya dawson (musician)
• reggie wayne (football player)
• rachel mcadams (actress)
• brad bradley (wrestler, guy with the same first and last name)

video of the day ::

more to come...

:: quick facts for friday, november 14th

life can be beautifully awkward sometimes. that's something to celebrate every once in a while. today was a day for that. first off, i celebrated our collective awkwardness by watching two great shows: arrested development and the office.  the office is probably best known for it's awkward moments. seasons one and two were filled with them. some were actually turned off by just how awkwardly funny they were. i, personally, love the awkwardness. arrested development, while not as awkward, per se, as the office, is brilliant and does have some awkward story lines (george micheal's crush on his cousin maeby, lucile's relationship with her kids, buster's relationship with lucile two, virtually everything tobias says...). afterwards, i got the chance to experience some awkwardness myself. the professor of one of my pretty important classes gave us an extra credit assignment for today, stating that if we showed up for a "student affairs conference" and stayed for half an hour, we would get ten bonus points added to our final exam grade. since i didn't have anything to do this afternoon, i figured it would be foolish to pass up this opportunity. so i went. little did i know that this thing was (a) supposed to last for 3 hours and (b) it obviously hadn't been well publicized, as there weren't very many people there. i signed in, grabbed the complimentary pen and box of msu mints, and headed to one of the first breakoff sessions. each session lasted exactly (and conveniently)  half an hour. so i sat through the presentation on the housing department, and afterwards slipped back into the main hallway to sign out and get credit for being there the required time. then things got awkward. i notice that almost everyone else is moving to sign out as well. it turns out that a good number of people that actually came, did so for the same reasons i did. the people who were running the thing were a little confused and i'm sure a little upset to see people rushing out of their already under-attended conference. one lady even said, in my direction, "there are more sessions, you can stay if you want". i don't know if you've ever been confronted by a situation in which you cared what other people thought and felt about you-- enough to make up a story that somehow validated your behavior and got you off the hook-- but not enough to actually change your behavior, but i have. i felt bad for the people who were running the conference, and i didn't want them to think that i was ungrateful for the service they were providing, so i muttered to a friend who was near me, "i have a class to get to". this, however, was not technically true. but i wanted to get out of there, so i did (quickly).

that may not have been as awkward as an episode of the office and may make me look like an awful person. with that in mind, let's get to the quick facts...

current time :: 6:25 (exactly 3 hours from when i'll *hopefully* be sitting in a movie theatre watching  the new james bond flick quantum of solace)

current location :: the apartment couch

recently listened to :: radiohead's album hail to the theif

currently watching :: my roommate michael playing pac man. i just beat my roommate james' high score, now he is giving it a shot. he's good for his first time playing. freaking german, always good at everything...

current rambling thought :: "what is a 'quantum of solace' anyway?"

current atmospheric conditions :: it's raining proverbial cats, dogs and men (although i'm not as excited about it as the weather girls are. also, the temp is 64°F

number of days until thanksgiving :: 13 days

today in history :: 

• president abraham lincoln approves general ambrose burnside's plan to capture the confederate capital at richmond, virginia. now, most people approve of burnside's lesser know plan to grow hair all over their face.
• journalist nellie bly begins her journey around the world in eighty days in 1889. she completes the task in seventy-two days. my only question is, "why is eighty days always the goal? why eighty?"
• czechoslovakia becomes a republic in 1918. they aren't speaking now, and go by different names.
• the bbc begins radio service in the united kingdom 1922. parents started to worry that kids would go deaf by sitting too close to the radio. 
• nasa launches the second manned mission to the surface of the moon, apollo 12, in 1969. hollywood decides to make a movie about the next mission instead.
• southern airways flight 932 crashes near huntington, west virginia, killing 75, including members of the marshall university football team. hollywood decides to honor their memory with a super sad movie staring matthew mcconaghey. 
• the dow jones industrial average closes above 1,000 for the first time. now, it looks like things might be headed that way again.

born today in history ::

• leopold mozart (composer)
• claude monet (painter)
• julie manet (painter)
• sen. joseph mccarthy (paranoid)
• sherwood schwartz (writer/producer)
• condoleezza rice (secretary of state)
• patrick warburton (puddy)
• rev run (reverend, rapper)
• curt schilling (loud-mouth, baseball player)

strange holiday of the day ::

• world diabetes day
• the start of national children's book week

video of the day ::

more to come...

:: hypothetical situation of the week

i'm reading chuck klosterman iv by (you guessed it) chuck klosterman. in the second half of his book, he poses hypothetical situations before each of the chapters. each hypothetical in some way relates to what is discussed in the following article/chapter. i really like them. so, i figured it would be interesting to post them here and get a response from you, my friend the reader. i'll try to post one a week until we run out or people stop answering.

let's start with a hypothetical entitled the two motives, a precursor to chuck klosterman's article bonds vs. america.

think about your life.

think about the greatest thing you have ever done, and think about the worst thing you have ever done.

try to remember what motivated you to do the former, and try to remember what motivated you to do the latter.

how similar are these two motives?

so, what's your response?

more to come... from you hopefully.

:: quick facts for thursday, november 13th

i semi-dressed up today. nothing to fancy, but certainly better than i usually do. those who know me know that while i don't dress poorly, i don't dress-up too often. today, i just felt like trying out that oft seen fall look:: dress shirt under sweater, with the cuffs of the dress shirt rolled up a quarter length, jeans, brown shoes, some form of accessory (in this case my messenger bag), and a stoic look. i don't think i had the look down, but everything else was there. you should try it sometime. especially on days like this, and especially on a college campus.

let's get to quick facts ::

current time :: 8:03

current location :: strange brew coffee house. i think i'm the only one without a mac, and the only one not drinking coffee. they have great hot chocolate, though.

currently listening to :: the great music mix at strange brew. i'm not certain who's on now, but they had a string of greatness with r.e.m., wilco, john mayer, and radiohead just a second ago.

current atmospheric conditions :: clear with a temp of 54°F

current meandering thought :: "why have i never liked coffee? i'm in college. there is coffee. conditions are perfect."

on the schedule for tomorrow :: see quantum of solace. that's about it. friday's are good days.

songs currently stuck in my head :: justin timberlake's "cry me a river" and moosebutter's "star wars" (more on that below...)

video of the day ::

more to come...

:: quick facts for monday, october 27

today has been a long one, but not without a good portion of fun. after everyone got back from work, becca, michael, james and i went to wal-mart and found a huge pumpkin. this thing took up almost the entire shopping cart. we're bringing it to a pumpkin carving party on wednesday, and it is sure to get some attention. it's a good thing that both james and i have trucks, because i don't think that thing is fitting in a car. of course, having a truck does have it's disadvantages, most notably being confused as a receptacle for used beer cans.

let's get to the quick facts ::

days left in 2008 :: 65

days until the election :: almost 7

current location :: the usual.

current atmospheric conditions :: 37°F

currently watching :: the colbert report

recently viewed :: baby mama (tina fey and amy poehler are hilarious)

recently listened to :: snowbeast by luke temple

currently thinking :: "man, i need to go to sleep. i'm always tired" and it's true.

also, currently wondering :: "where the heck is my absentee ballot? mccain better not be screwing me." 

also, currently thinking "dang, i've got to start reading more if i'm going to finish the book list i've set out for."

today in history :: 

• philadelphia, pennsylvania is founded in 1682. 326 years later, the philadelphia phillies are one game away from winning the world series and becoming the first thing philly could be proud of since will smith.
• the first underground new york city subway line opens in 1904. primarily designed for transportation of humans, the subway lines have now been converted for the transportation of city rodents.
• stock markets around the world crash because of fears of a global economic meltdown. in america, the dow jones industrial average plummets 554.26 points. today, this is a regular occurrence...

born today in history ::

• theodore roosevelt
• emily post
• leif erickson
• dylan thomas
• roy lichtenstein
• john cleese
• kelly osbourne
• brady quinn
• andrew bynum

video of the day ::

more to come...

:: now that is scary

i like movies with a good story. i've said it a ton of times. explosions are great; cgi can be cool; but you've got to have a good story to get my attention. i've come to admire movies by a good crop of directors, like michel gondry, wes anderson, noah baumbach, the coen brothers, spike jonze, david fincher, and m. night shyamalan, because i think they hold the same view. it was while watching what is now one of my all-time favorite movies, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind (which was directed by gondry) that i was introduced to screenwriter charlie kaufman. kaufman is a brilliant writer. he goes about the concept of writing and story in a totally different way. i posted an interview that kaufman did with charlie rose a while ago, i might post it again, because it just shows you the mind of this masterful writer. he doesn't just drop characters into a situation and follow conventional, and all too predictable wa thinking. since watching eternal sunshine, i watched other great movies that he had written. movies like being john malkovich and adaptation (into which he writes himself in as the main character in both a very real characterization of himself and a very fictions one as well) and really enjoyed those as well. 

so, when i heard that kaufman was both writing and directing a movie, entitled synecdoche, new york, and had cast phillip seymour hoffman as the lead, i was more than intrigued. then i read this article, and was even more intrigued. in it, rotten tomatoes talks to kaufman about the concept of the movie. kaufman reveals ::

spike jonze and i were approached by sony to do a horro movie. we talked about things that were really scary in the world, as opposed to horror movie conventions. we talked about things like mortality and illness and time passing and loneliness and regret. we kinda went in with that, and we got assigned to go off and write it, and i spent a couple years trying to explore those notions, and that's what the movie is.

in another interview i heard, kaufman said that this movie was scary in that it dealt with a fear that we're "hurling towards death" and that it's something we all know is coming and are powerless to do anything about.

see what i mean. who would take the order to write a horror movie and turn it into something so complex and nothing like what i'm sure the studio intended, and yet make it exactly what the studio intended. that is a really scary thought. we're all going to die. time will pass no matter what we do to attempt the contrary. we will get sick. the people around us will get sick. chances are that they will die and we will be left alone. just picturing that future for myself is more frightening than any trailer for saw v.  

here is a trailer for synecdoche, new york ::

things essentially come down to this. i'm going to beg you. if you're going to go see a scary movie this holloween season, go see this one. don't go see another mindless scare-fest. this movie will have both a great, well written story and a great, and truly frightening premise. it will be the only "horror" movie i'll be seeing this fall (this is assuming that they'll show it here in starkville or in slidell). 

what do you think about charlie kaufman and/or his movies? what do you think about the concept behind the movie synecdoche, new york? what do you think about the importance of story? what are some of your favorite movies/directors/stories? 

the above in not a list of rhetorical questions...

more to come...

:: artist of the week :: u2 (pt. 1)

they are arguably one of the most recognizable bands of the past 30 years. their frontman is not only know by his vocals but also by his work with politicians around the world in the fight against aids and injustice. some people think bono is the greatest humanitarian since mother theresa, working with groups like the one campaign and founding the organization data. others think he is the biggest turd ever. while i suspect i will make a lot of references will be made of bono, but it's important to note that this band is made up of some great musicians, and all of them deserve credit for forming the direction of this band. love them or hate them, you have to respect a career that spans 32 years and has garnered such awards as :: 22 grammys (best band 7 times, best song, album and rock album each twice, among others), 7 brit awards, 14 meteor awards, 6 vma's, and 12 q awards.

the first song on their first album, boy, is titled i will follow. the last song on their latest release, how to dismantle the atomic bomb, is titled yahweh. in between are 11 studio albums and 126 songs filled with lyrics that seem, at least to this observer, to eerily correspond to the combination of those two song titles :: i will follow, yahweh.

or at least they resemble the heart of a guy trying to search for the best way to do that. bono has made no bones about the fact that he's not perfect, but a look at the lyrics reveals a wanderer and a searcher. his lyrics have led some to label the band a "christian" band early on. with songs like 40, where the streets have no names, and tomorrow it's easy to see things that way.

they are ::

larry mullen, jr. :: drums

adam clayton :: bass

the edge :: guitar

bono :: vocals

let's take a look at the albums they have released thus far ::

1. boy

released in 1980, the debut album from u2 showed signs of promise and a glimpse of what was to come. this album deals with themes of the frustration and apprehension of adolescence, something that we all deal with, also a period of time that was especially difficult for bono, as he lost his mother at the age of 14. u2 was young and enthusiastic, and people started to take notice of them across the globe.

songs i liked :: i will follow, an cat dubh, out of control, the electric co.

2. october

u2's sophomore release is generally one of the less popular records in their collection, but after listening to this one over, i'd put it among one of my favorites. the band boldly made religion the focus of their second album. songs like gloria, with a shout (jerusalem), and tomorrow and lyrics like ::

"open up, open up / to the lamb of god / to the love of he who made / the light to see you / he's coming back / i believe it / jesus is coming." (from tomorrow)

(and tons of other, more subtle references) it's easy to see how the record got mixed reactions. some fans hated the overtly religious tones to the record. others loved the direction and saw the album as a breakthrough in christian music, so much so that it was later ranked the #41 on ccm's greatest christian albums of all time. i like the album for the sound they had on this album, and it's good to see any artist attempt to articulate their faith through their art. 

songs i liked :: gloria, i threw a brick through a window, rejoice, tomorrow, stranger in a strange world.

3. war

the band's third album starts out with bang, the song sunday bloody sunday. one of the first "political" songs by the band, sunday bloody sunday speaks out against the injustices perpetrated in 1972's bloody sunday massacre in northern ireland. even in the midst of protest, bono interjects faith into the mix. in the same song, lyrics like ::

"broken bottles under children's feet / bodies strewn across the dead end street / but i won't head the battle call / it puts my back up / puts my back up against the wall."

comes lyrics about the resurrection of jesus ::

the real battle's just begun / to claim the victory that jesus won / on sunday, bloody sunday."

war is known as one of u2's more political albums. bono said of the album and it's title "war seemed to be a motif for 1982... everywhere you looked, from the falklands to the middle east and south africa, there was war. by calling the album war we're giving people a slap in the face and at the same time getting away from the cosy image a lot of people have of u2."

the album ends with another one of u2's most popular and blatantly christian songs, 40. adapted from psalm 40, the song echoes the pre-chorus from sunday bloody sunday and the main theme of the psalm ::

how long to sing this song?

the song is both a perfect ending to a great album, but another sign of bono's yearning for completion and for answers. 

songs i liked :: sunday bloody sunday, new year's day, drowning man, surrender, 40

4. the unforgettable fire

following up war, the unforgettable fire was a turning point for the band. war built the band's popularity to a high, and they were faced with the decision to either continue making the same brand of music and become a one trick pony or to experiment and evolve as a band. the band chose the later, marking a change in their sound for the rest of their career. the unforgettable fire introduced a more atmospheric, orchestrated sound.

this album features a notable tribute to martin luther king, jr. in the song pride (in the name of love). the song compares mlk and jesus, two figures that had an impact on the world and on bono especially. it's a touching, memorable song that manages to again mix bono's faith with his view of the world and politics.

songs i liked :: pride (in the name of love), wire, 4th of july, indian summer sky.

5. the joshua tree

this is probably my hands down favorite u2 album. sales would indicate that about 22 million other people agree with me. this album is loaded with hits. the first four tracks are perfect. the joshua tree earned u2 a grammy for best album of the year in 1987 and best rock performance. it's also been named #3 in rolling stone's greatest albums of the 80s and #26 in their greatest albums of all time. ccm named the album the #6 greatest "christian" album of all times (although, if you take a look at that list, i think you can just go ahead and say it's the greatest "christian" album of all time).  it sold more than 10 million copies in the united states alone, making the record certified diamond (i didn't even know they had that certification...).

the song where the streets have no name has always fascinated me. bono has stated that the song is about belfast, north ireland and how you can tell what religion a person follows and how much money they were making based off of the street they lived on. i've always found the song to be a great picture and dichotomy between heaven and earth. bono writes ::

i want to run / i want to hide / i want to tear down the walls / that hold me inside / i want to reach out / and touch the flame / where the streets have no name.

i want to feel sunlight on my face / i see the dust cloud disappear / without a trace / i want to take shelter from the poison rain / where the streets have no name.

this is another great example of bono yearning for answers and completion and security, and his yearning has a focus, he seems to know that everything will be made right in heaven (where the streets have no names). the third verse paints a pretty accurate picture of the world we live in today ::

the city's aflood / and our love turns to rust / we're beaten and blown by the wind / trampled in dust / i'll show you a place / high on a desert plain / where the streets have no name.

i could go down the track list and find lyrics like this, the album is packed with them. great, descriptive and honest lyrics. lyrics that unmask the despair we live in and the rescue that is awaiting. it's just a great album. if you haven't given u2 a listen, or you've been on the fence about them as a band, i have to recommend that you listen to this album all the way through. i think it'll give you a great perspective on the band and a much greater appreciation for them.

well, it looks like we're gonna have to split this one up into two parts. tomorrow, we'll look at rattle and hum and the shift into the 90s and beyond.

more to come...

:: quick facts for thursday, october 23

well, this one might go through after the final bell rings on this thursday. it's been the usual packed thursday here in starkvegas. i woke up at 9:30 and my day rapidly progressed until i found myself sitting here, in front of my keyboard, typing this. i honestly don't remember all that happened. i'll try to recap, quickly, so as not to bore. you can probably just skip over this...

• 12:00 :: quickly eat left-overs. pasta jambalaya. yum.
• 12:15 :: run out the door, trying to get to social psych. on time.
• 12:30 :: sitting in traffic, not in class on time.
• 12:40 :: arriving to hilbun, slip quietly into class.
• 1:30 :: emerging from class, hanging out with devin and sarah in the union. coveting devin's macbook.
• 2:00 :: heading to becca's apartment to hang out and print notes off for my behavior mod class.
• 2:50 :: realizing i'm probably going to be late for my behavior mod class.
• 3:01 :: late for my behavior mod class.
• 3:10 :: arrive at allen, slip into my conspicuous front row seat...
• 5:35 :: leave class, return to the apartment.
• 6:00 :: leave the apartment, head to the hump for a rick's rowdies meeting.
• 7:00 :: arrive back home. play some no more heroes.
• 8:00 :: flip over to cbs to watch csi.
• 9:00 :: play more no more heroes.
• 10:00 :: tune in to comedy central to watch the daily show and the colbert report.
• 11:15 :: head to the gym, run for a while.
• now :: blog. after a long day.

sorry about that.

i think that actually helped me remember that today did actually occur. hope your day was both more interesting and less hectic than mine was. 

let's get to the quick facts ::

the current price of a gallon of gas in starkville :: $3.55 outside my window.

currently listening to :: r.e.m.'s debut album murmur. you might remember that i went on a journey through the library of u2 recently. i've decided to do this with r.e.m. as well. i've also decided to blog about the u2 journey tomorrow and create a new weekly blog feature. every week, i'm going to declare an artist of the week (although, some weeks, i might have two. it depends) and that week i'm going to listen to that artist's entire sonic library and do some reporting to you. this will help me get to better know and appreciate the artists in my music compilation library and give you something better to read than the above, a boring summary of my day. if you've got an artist you think i'd like or would like to get my analysis on, let me know in the comments section.

current location :: a very quite, but warmly lit apartment.

currently reverberating off of the expanses of my brain :: "tgif" 

also currently wondering :: "when is my absentee ballot gonna get here? who will i vote for when it gets here?"

today in history ::

• abraham lincoln suspends habeas corpus in washington, d.c., for all military related cases in 1861. 147 years later, our current president asks "what's that? i guess we don't need it."
• 25-33,000 women march down fifth avenue in new york city to advocate their right to vote in 1915. thankfully, they are allowed to vote now, and some women can now march down fifth avenue to advocate their right to buy the most expensive clothes they can find.
• after a steady decline in stock market prices, the new york stock exchange begins to show signs of panic in 1929. now, things are great...
• the first miniature golf tournament was completed in chattanooga, tennessee in 1930. aparently, people were so panicked from the previous year's stock market crash that they had to resort to "not quite golf" in "not quite nashville". one can only imagine what fun games will emerge from our current economic situation. "i spy" with depressed or inebriated stock brokers?
• apple releases the ipod in 2001. millions of people either buy either the ipod or white headphones to try to fit in. others, like me, wait until 2006 to win one from their university.

born today in history ::

• john heisman
• gummo marx (poor gummo, never as popular as his brothers...)
• ang lee
• nancy grace (or, the devil woman)
• weird al yankovic
• doug flutie

fact :: today is mole day. no, not the furry little animals. no, we're talking avagadro's constant, 6.022×10^23.. in an incredibly nerdy turn of events, it's held between 6:02 am and 6:02 pm on the 23rd day of the 10th month, making the official holiday : 6:02 10/23.

no video of the day today, didn't watch many videos. i can say though, that the first segment of the daily show from tonight is can't miss. he gets onto everyone, and it's hilarious.

more to come, including your artist of the week look at u2.

:: quick facts for tuesday, october 21

not much going on today. i've been sitting around the apartment playing no more heroes on the wii. it's an interesting game. it's super-gory in that quentin tarantino style. you essentially travel around doing odd jobs to earn money, spend that money on new clothes and videos, and enter into fights with assassins, trying to work your way up the list of top assassins, slaying everyone in your way using a combination of lightsaber slashes and mexican lucha librador wrestling moves. yeah, it's interesting. and addicting. 

apart from that, i had a "wow, i'm dumb" moments. i only had one class to go to today. social psychology. i'm usually a few minutes late to this class, but i left at a time that i thought we actually get me to class a few minutes early. i hustled over to hilbun hall and opened the door, only to find the classroom empty. i thought that was odd. until i looked at my phone, noticed what time it was, thought about what was going on a bit, and came to the realization that the class i was trying to attend actually started at 12:30, not 1:30, which was the time at which i was currently living in. i'm dumb. but at least i didn't have to go to that class....

let's get to the quick facts ::

current time :: 5:30 pm

current atmospheric conditions :: 75°F

currently listening to :: the neue podcast, which is a pretty cool interview with rob bell. you should also check out the new brett dennen and of montreal albums.

the current price of a gallon of gas in starkville :: hovering around $2.70.

fact :: my team won again this week, pushing my record to 5-2, tied for first place.

current work load :: i've got some more articles to summarize and a citation page to re-do. i've been procrastinating again.

what to watch :: house and fringe on tonight. you can also catch the worship/social justice documentary with hearts as one over at the brand new relevant.tv (now in hd) from now till friday.

today in history ::

• ferdinand magellan discovers a strait and names it after himself. his crew get tired of him and his attitude and mutinied.
• thomas edison tests the first practical incandescent light bulb in 1879. it apparently takes quite a few ole miss fans to replace a light bulb.
• the solomon r. guggenheim museum, designed by frank lloyd wright, opens in new york city in 1959.
• fred dryer becomes the first player in nfl history to score two safeties in a single game in 1973. if only my bulldogs could have scored another safety against auburn, we might have won that game... oh well.

historic births ::

• alfred nobel
• keith green
• rich mullins
• carrie fisher
• ken watanabe
• josh ritter
• kim kardashian

historic obits ::

• jack kerouac 
• elliott smith

video of the day ::

heck, you should just watch that whole episode, plus all of yesterday's colbert report as well...





more to come...