We're still alive...

...in case you were wondering.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Anyone want to play Bocce Ball? (Greensburg, PA)

Screen Door on a Battleship

From a NYT article on freshman Republican efforts to cut the budget:

“There are consequences for our actions,” said Representative Paul Gosar, a freshman from Arizona. “We’re not here to shut the government down, but it is going to take everyone to tango.”

Doesn't he at least watch tv?

Listening

A couple of quick thoughts scripturally related:

I was struck by the two distinct ways of responding to information in a couple of versus in Helaman.

Helaman 9:39-10:1-- After hearing Nephi prophesy, the people come to many different conclusions, "insomuch that they divided hither and thither and went their ways, leaving Nephi alone."

Helaman 11:23-- The people begin to contend between themselves about different points of doctrine, but "Nephi and Lehi, and many of their brethren who knew concerning the true points of doctrine, having many revelations daily, therefore they did preach unto the people, insomuch that they did put an end to their strife in that same year"

Normally we focus in verse 23 on the spiritual greatness of Nephi and Lehi and the importance of receiving daily revelation and/or the importance of having a prophet on the earth who can receive direct revelation when points of contention and doctrinal disagreements take place. However, in both of these versus the prophet and his method are the same. The difference, in this case, is how the people listen or are willing to listen. In the first instance it seems to me that everyone is focused on speaking their own mind. They're presented with evidence and everyone comes to different conclusions and no one is willing to listen. In the second instance, even with a similar strife and disagreement about fundamental points of doctrine, the people are willing to listen, and what a difference it makes.

Listening, really listening, both to what others have to say and to what the spirit has to say brings people closer together.

End of an Era?

Joe Lieberman announced today that he would not seek re-election. That shouldn't come as a surprise given his continued alienation from the Democratic Party. He would have been hard pressed to withstand a Democratic Primary challenge, and would have likely ended up losing in a primary like he did in 2006. Unlike 2004, however, he probably would not be able to count on Republican support to lift him to victory in the general election running as an independent. After a Republican tidal wave in 2010, Republicans are going to have an easier time finding a better candidate than Alan "Gold" Schlesinger.

Though some may point to this as another step in the increasing polarization of American politics, to me this is more than that. It is the end of a personal era of politics. In 2000 I turned 18 just a day before election day. I like to think maybe it was that election cycle that spurred my interest in politics. I could vote. Not only that, but I could vote by just a day. Maine was a battleground state, or at least reasonably competitive. George W. came to the state in October, I went and watched. But Joe Lieberman, running for Vice-President came to Bangor on my birthday.

I skipped a soccer banquet to go. Soccer was not my passion in high school, but I think in many ways I identify it as one of my greatest accomplishments in high school. I had a miserable time with some of my teammates, I wasn't a star, but I worked to get into better shape than anyone the summer before my junior year to make the varsity team. I invested a lot into it. But I skipped this banquet to go see Joe Lieberman.

In 2000 he seemed more reasonable than either presidential nominee. I've admired him as he tried to work for what he thought was right and best in spite of party pressures. Those are qualities to be admired despite what one thinks of his politics.

For me, an era began on November 6, 2000. I was eligible to vote. Joe Lieberman arrived, as the Bangor Daily News described it, "at the dank airport hanger" at the Bangor International Airport to win the hearts and minds of Mainers in that 2000 election. He did, in a way, win mine and helped cement my interest in politics.

Joyous

Maybe we're not always as happy as this, but may the New Year bring you joy in some small shape or another.

Cliff Lee's "The Decision"

I originally posted this Philadelphia Inquirer story about the Phillies signing Cliff Lee on facebook. What caught my attention was the opening paragraph.

Well, this just doesn't happen. Highly coveted free-agent athletes take their talents to South Beach, or sign bank-busting contracts with the Washington Nationals. That's just how it is.

We think of the Cliff Lee signing as a repudiation of money and fame. In signing with the Phillies, Lee spurned the millions of dollars that the Yankees could have given him in order to return to a team with which he felt comfortable. In doing so, Lee isn't "taking his talents to South Beach" or is he?

In some ways, he's doing the exact same thing Lebron James did. By joining the Phillies he's becoming part of a team that no becomes the odd-on favorite to win the National League pennant and return to the World Series. With a rotation of Doc Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels and who ever Charlie Manual throws out there on the fifth day, the Phillies have one of the best rotations, since, well...there's been a lot of speculation about that.

What Cliff Lee is doing is EXACTLY what Lebron James did. He's going to the place where he thinks he has the best chance of winning and where he will feel comfortable. James wanted to play with his friends Chris Bosh and Dewayne Wade and Miami was the only place he could do that and also become an immediate NBA Finals contender. Remember, that because of NBA salary cap rules, James could have signed a bigger contract with the Cavaliers. Cliff Lee has friends on the Phillies and by joining that team, and turning down a larger and longer contract with the Yankees, the Phils easily become the favorite to return to the World Series and even win it.

The difference? Well, there was that botched ESPN hour long special, and the infamous quote "I'm taking my talents to South Beach." Sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut and just sign on the dotted line.

G.K. Chesterton

"An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered. An adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered."
-All Things Considered: On Running After One's Hat

I like the optimistic view. The entire essay can be found here.

In times of difficulty, or anger, or frustration, I hope we can take a different view of the situation and find sport, or excitement in our trials.

Coach, do you remember my name?

The Twins went out and acquired a decent left-handed pitcher after the rest of their lanzadoras siniestras went down with injury. Brian Fuentes who came over from the Angels is a decent pitcher, but it was this quote from Twins manager Ron Gardenhire regarding how he was going to use Fuentes that made me smile.

Manager Ron Gardenhire said before Friday's series opener at Seattle that he will use the now-former Angels closer as a set up man for closer Matt Capps, and "probably as an occasional closer if I use the other guy too much."

The other guy? I mean, I guess 25 people is a lot of names to remember.

Songs J Loves

Sometimes when little J is tired and fussy, he needs a song to cheer him up. A fussy complaining baby mañoso becomes bien tranquilo sentado in your lap.

The past couple of days it's been this one. The animation is kind of cute as well.

The Psychology of Penalty Kicks

You could write a lot, and I’m sure a lot will be written, about the Uruguay-Ghana quarterfinal match this afternoon.  I will remember Suarez’s not one, but two stops at the goal line in the waning seconds of extra time, the second being a handball, and Gyan’s subsequent miss of the penalty kick.  Interestingly, what struck me as intriguing at the time and stuck wandering around in my mind was the last penalty kick of the shootout.  Over time it will probably lost amid the celebration of Uruguay, the disappointment of Ghana, and the focus of the ire of ethics teachers on Luis Suarez.  However, my first reaction upon seeing Sebastian Abreu’s penalty kick that clinched Uruguay’s quarterfinal win against Ghana was that it was one of the gutsiest penalty kick I’ve seen. 

But as I think about it more, I’m not so sure.  Instead of admiring his stalwart confidence, I instead admire his logical thought process of the situation.  Let me try to explain.

Now, granted, I don’t watch nearly as much soccer as I do baseball, but watch below, and maybe I can explain what I was thinking.

Notice how he chips the ball as if he were passing it to a 4 year old who is standing at the back of the net.  If the keeper doesn’t move it would be the easiest of saves, but, as keeper’s are apt to do in a penalty kick situation, he dives to one side guessing that Abreu will attempt to smash a shot into the corner of the net and the ball floats gently over the keeper and lands in the back of the net.  Gutsy, I thought.

The more I think about it, however, I believe what is to be admired is not his nerves, but perhaps instead his thought process that led him to take the PK the way he did.  At the time of Abreu’s PK, the last of the set of 5, Uruguay had a 3-2 lead in Penalty kicks.  If he misses, Ghana still has to make their next penalty just to tie the shootout and send it to another round of 5.  He’s in a situation where he has nothing to lose if his shot is blocked, and can clinch it if he makes it. 

In addition he has just seen his teammate Pereira sky a PK into the 25th row.  Perhaps I am giving him more mental credit than he deserves, but by forcing the keeper to make the stop you’re allowing for a larger margin of error into the equation.

And lastly, he’s apparently been practicing this.

I really love this guy!

How can you not love that smile!

Godward

"And all true prayer is Godward. I have heard preachers who pray, so that one really wonders whether God is even allowed to overhear the prayer. It seems to be rather a roundabout way to instruct the congregation, especially when the prayer is introduced by the formula, ''Teach us, Oh Lord"—followed by a sermon in prayer format. But all true prayer is Godward, and it will never be anything else than Godward, especially when prayer moves toward meditation. As I leave for Sweden, I shall speak again that language, where the word for meditation is ''the act of looking at" (betraktelse). That is what meditation is. To look at an image of Jesus...when I look at Jesus, I see God."
-Krister Stendahl, Harvard Divinity School Convocation 1984

As I stumbled upon this, it made me pause to reconsider my own prayers. With a life full of academic pursuits, family responsibilities, and the pursuit of leisure, I find my own prayers short and very egocentric at times. They are focused on my own needs and wants and I forget the nature of my relationship with my Father in Heaven. While Stendahl warns about imposing our own teachings upon God, we can just as easily impose our own wants and needs on God. And yet in spite of our short comings our Father is willing to talk to us in any form. It is days like today where prayers have been answered and I have seen miracles in spite of my failure to follow the best patten of prayer, that I am reminded of the great power of prayer, and reminded again of my own need to better shape those prayers in a way that will bring me face to face with my Father.

Spring Training

First day with shoes (March, 2010)

The Title's Wrong

The title of this article really should be "A's impose contracts on 29 players." "Agree with" is really a terrible word for a part of the collective bargaining agreement by which the team can renew a player's previous year's contract in his first 3 years of being in the major-leagues without any sort of negotiation.

Then again, I'd readily "agree to" a $400,000+ contract just to play baseball for 6 months.

Nicknames

The Little Elf (La Jolla, CA)

It seems as if we're constantly being asked what we're going to call J, as if he's never going to survive his full name. The full name is too much of a mouthful for some it seems, but we like it. But in case you can't manage the entire Scandinavian verbiage, here are some of the names he has that are officially approved by one or both of his parents:

1. The Viking or El Vikingo (for his hairyness at birth) (h/t to Kahl for the link)
2. The Brave, usually used as a title (J the Brave)
3. George (used when he's being funny)
4. Jimmy (in case you don't like George)
5. The Monkey (because he crawls all over you when you try and burp him)
6. The lineman (for his manly grunts)

Just as long as he isn't your average Joe.

Grades Must Be Out

This would make grading much more fun if you knew you would get one of these mad-libs. But who knows, maybe it's already out there.

Dear (noun),

I just (verb) to what my grade was and I was (adjective) that my grade was a (letter grade). (Question word) did I (verb) (infinitive verb) such a grade? Can you please tell me how I (verb) such a grade?

Can I please have an A+?

Sincerely,

(noun)

We think he's cute

That's all that matters right?

Already flexing his non-existent muscles! (San Diego, CA)

What we should expect from public officials

If you haven't heard, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's recent veto message of a bill sponsored by a legislative detractor contained a four letter epitaph apparently aimed at that specific legislator. Here's NPR's report:



What drives my commentary on this, however, is the response written by Prof. Jack Pitney at Claremont McKenna College in the National Review. His conclusion is that,

Nobody should expect elected officials to be perfect in their private lives. But we can expect them to behave like adults in their public lives. By pulling a stunt that would land a junior-high-school kid in detention, the governor has flunked this standard.

I agree that this is a bad reflection on the Governor's character, and his ability to govern, but want to disagree with Pitney's argument that we should not expect elected officials to be exemplary in their private lives. While perhaps perfection is a high standard which none of us are able to attain, we should expect a standard from public officials that is higher than the average individual on the street. Because of their position of influence on governmental decisions and their role as examples for the rest of the citizenry, we should expect a higher standard of excellence from those we choose to represent us.

A person's private life may not be public business, but it is often a reflection of that individual's relationships with other leaders and officials, their honesty and integrity in holding public office and their dealings with others, as well as their ability to handle situations that may arise in the act of governance. Voters who have little information about the actions and decisions that a candidate for office would take can often use the behavior and character of that individual in their private affairs as relatively good indicators of the candidate's ability to govern. A candidate who lacks civility when dealing with his or her own family, friends, or even campaign staff will likely lack the civility and character necessary to interact with other public officials. In Minnesota in 2006 it was Democrat Mike Hatch's character and aggressive behavior in calling a reporter a "Republican Whore" that indicated to voters that he was not suited for the governor's office. Private character is still character and many of the same attributes displayed in private carry over into the public life and the public official's ability to accomplish legislative and executive roles.

A public official, however, is more than just a legislator, an executive, or a council member. He or she is also a representative and an example for the rest of the community. Edmund Burke described his qualifications for public office not in terms of his policy positions, but rather explained in his speech to the electors of Bristol that his election was a result of the voters' "good opinion [which] has carried me to this happy point of success." Even when representation is about representing views and opinions it is also about the type of example these leaders are setting for our families, our children, and our community.

A public official's private behavior is more than his or her own. It is both an indicator to the public of his or her ability to accomplish legislative or executive tasks in an efficient and positive manner and an example to the rest of the community. As a result, we should expect exemplary behavior from our public officials in their public and private lives.

Hey Hey You Say....

Check out around 2:12.

Update: Check out this link, the video above is out of sync, but the band won't let you embed the official video

Maybe you can't tell, but we were rehearsing just such choreographed moves as are seen in above music video. Little did we know back then that we were setting a trend in music video production. (Geneva, NY)

Interesting how music comes and goes, but this simple, I want to be noticed and slightly weird, but not over the top never seems to go away. Take this 1997's version (and forgive the slightly awkward video)

It's been a while and not a whole lot is new. Even in music it seems.

What endures...

"The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it."  -William James

(Eureka, UT July 2009)

My family is buried here, in a town which grows still smaller in the mountains of southern Utah.  The mines have dried up, and people have moved on with a few exceptions and even the town was officially disincorporated.  There's nothing left of the physical home they created except a few now wild roses which my great-grandmother planted. 

Yet as I look at this picture again, remembering the miserable heat, and the pestering flies that day, it is not the disappearance of the family home or the community, but rather the figures that walk around the places where their ancestors tread that stand out.  While the saloon my great-grandfather ran is gone, along with his house and farm, that family is what remains. 

My great-grandparents shaped both the town they lived in and the children they had but it is the latter that carries the stronger evidence of that influence.  While our professions and communal responsibilities are important, it is our families that will continue to bear our influence beyond our own time.