Lent: Sacrifices

Day 1 - It's been a tough twenty-four hours. I thought long and hard about it, and decided to go ahead and give up meat for forty days. Almost. It's allowed on Sundays. It's old school, but I figured that this is something that forces me to truly consider each and every meal, be thankful for what I do have, and remember the sacrifice that He made for man.

Can it be done? We shall see. I had a co-worker who actually did it in 1996. He did eat two porterhouses each Sunday, but the rest of the week was sans beef or chicken. Lots of grains and veggies. Now I have to plan on how to accomplish this without breaking the bank. $5 a day eating out is not something She Who Must Be Obeyed (SWMBO) would be down with.

Participating in Lenten traditions? Want to share? Leave a comment!

Upcoming: Thoughts and More & Sound and Fury

And so it has been chosen.

Yes, the next topic has been established. As Kris and I spoke last night for a few hours over, well, everything, we went ahead and decided on the next topic.

Anyone remotely familiar with US politics knows that 2008 is an election year. As the primaries roll on (we're about halfway through them now), the candidates present their issues/platforms and what s/he represent. Sometimes laughable, sometimes shameful; it is these issues that should help us choose our vote.

So often we choose to be "on the winning side" or the "cool side". What is that? So, in an effort to promote healthy and wise voting, Kris and I are going to write about what we feel are the most important issues. Obviously, everyone has their perspective on this; and, based upon an invidual's experience, you will very well could feel different.

So, as we began on our stances, feel free to take part in the vote. Let me know what you think. If you have an opinion, voice it. Vote and let democracy ring out. You don't even have to be 18!

Weekend of Sports

The New York Giants win the Super Bowl.

I liked it. A great game, no matter who you were rooting for. Obviously, bittersweet for the Pats as they were seeking an undefeated season. As Steve Hahn of local station 99.5 KISS put it, "The Giants are a team of destiny!" I was rooting for them, even though they beat my beloved Cowboys. Congrats to the Giants, and to Eli for his MVP effort. I truly thought he was sacked on that 3rd and long play. Wow.

Tiger continues his dominance at Dubai.

Yes, Tiger took care of business in dramatic fashion this weekend. Down four going into the final round, Tiger biridied five of the last seven holes to take the trophy. Niceness!

I didn't get to watch too much of this, but from what I did see, words cannot describe. Drama all the way. Keep it up, Tiger.

Rock On! It is announced...

"Rock Band Confirmed for Wii".

That's the caption for the brief article written by Shawn White over at a personal fav site of mine, The Wiire. I read this and just had to gather more evidence. I visit about every other day to update myself on our recent acquisition of a Wii. Love it. Read my review from earlier.

At this point, details are little, but it's appears as March get's closer, we'll have more news about it. I can only imagine the possibilities with the fully wireless Wiimote, guitars, drums, and mic. Whoo!

Now for those of you that don't know, Rock Band THE music game. If you are a Guitar Hero star, then this game will make you legendary. It's that good and more. A brief and quick intro.

The game (as I type this, I refer to the current 360 and PS3 versions) comes in a fairly large package, think double VCR box. In this comes the game, the current standard five-buttoned guitar, microphone, and a simplistic looking drum kit consisting of four head and a bass pedal.
I had the opportunity to play Rock Band over the holidays and it was quite an experience.

I had the chance to play with my two brothers and my second to youngest sister. I started off on the drums. A humbling experience to anyone without coordination, I fancy myself able to handle the challenge. Without intending to sound redundant, very humbling. My face hurt smiling so much. A raucous laughter broke through the house as my siblings would jam out with lighting accurate notes mixed with attrocious miskeys and warbled vocals.

Trying again, I took up the mic and this ended up being my forte. For whatever reason, I could really get into belting out song after song. My siblings and mother alike derived joy simply by watching me play out my Jon Bon Jovi fantasies of 1988 (Can you remember walking down the street singing "Shot through the heart, and your to blame; you give love a bad name!", eh Kris?). While the songs I knew presented little challenge, the songs I sort of knew but always mis-sang were more difficult, even amidst the karaoke-scrolling lyrics. There's even a meter to gauge your tone/key. It's rare that I've found a game to be so interactive, challenging, and simply fun for all that are simply present. Each player can even choose his/her own level to participate without messing up too often.

Playing with a group was my only opportunity, so I can only comment on group play. A friend chided me, "It can't be that fun alone." Perhaps not, but any game is more fun with a friend. Why would this be different? In fact, it's been argued that the drum portion, when set to Expert, would mimic that of an actual rock band's drummer. Not identical, but quite similar. The transition would be easily made.

I can't wait. You'll get a somewhat biased, but completely honest review here when it comes out. Rare do I say I'll buy it when it comes out, but this is one where I'll preorder and have it on Day

1.

Need more, check out G4's really informative article at The Feed.

Rudeness and Respect

Just thinking about a few things.

I talked with one of my players the other evening, helping him with a bit of homework. We talked about various things, particularly about attitudes. He mentioned a particular person and what he said to him, saying "You know, Coach has worked hard to get where he's at. You should respect what he does for us and the help that he gives." I had a difficult time keeping a steady voice the remainder of our conversation. Needless to say, I'm proud to see how much this young man has grown in the five-plus years I've known him.

That conversation made me remember a time when I lacked a great amount of respect to people beyond my scope of concern. I was about ten years old and visiting a friend's house across town . We were in his room and his "most annoying" sister came in and bugged us. Me, actually. It wasn't that she was doing anything wrong or truly annoying. It was simply a boys/no girls thing and I (yes, me) did not want her in the room. I was blatanly rude to her. What strikes me most about this whole incident was that her brother, my playmate, jumped my ass fierce about being rude to her. He poignantly pointed out, "She's my sister; you need to be nice to her or you have to leave." I'm sure his words weren't quite that eloquent, but no cussing or harsh tones. Just a straight forward demand for mutual respect. I remember that lesson quite well and it serves me in good stead.

Kim, sorry for being an ass to you then. I know I'm just beyond that line of not unlikeable now, but I never really got to apologize.

Cheers to you and your big brother.