Two Tin Cans (on a very long string)

Life: Saturday with Lillian

2008-02-23T13:25:00.000-08:00

Howdy from Kansas. Thought I'd drop in with a sample post from Hello, Lillian!

Today we went to two great events in Kansas City. The first was a drop-in on the February session of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Excellence in Public Service Series, a women's political education group that Kari is involved in. Lillian got to meet many of the wonderful women who are on the board of the group and in this year's class.

We didn't get to stay that long, because we also were attending our adoption agency (Holt International Children's Services) family support group's annual February luncheon in honor of Chinese New Year. Lillian got to dress up in her traditional dress again, and again she got to say a big "no" to posing in a group photo with other kids, just like in Guangzhou on the famous red couch.

It was a fun event and included a dragon dance by the Chinese School of Greater Kansas City, lunch catered by a Chinese restaurant (Kin Lin), and lots of fellowship with other Holt families (mostly with kids adopted from China, but some were families with kids from Korea, India, etc., as well as families still in the waiting process). We'd guess there probably 40 or 50 families in attendance. We think Lillian was the most recent arrival of all the kids there, and one of the youngest as well. The group has monthly gatherings, with the big events being this event and a summer picnic.

Life: One of the good parts of the internets

2008-02-22T18:40:00.000-08:00

There is definitely a lot of not so savory aspects to the internet.

But one huge plus is the ability to share photos and life stories so people can stay connected.

I'll be checking in on Hello, Lillian! every now and then.

Psalm 127

Unless the LORD builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain.

In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.

Children are a heritage from the LORD,
offspring a reward from him.

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one's youth.

Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their opponents in court.

Art: All Nature Sings, Jan 5 - Feb 2, 2008

2008-01-03T11:24:00.000-08:00

As a culture blog, wanted to post this item for those folks who enjoy contemporary art that is NOT on the "ick" side nor the "I could have done that" realm. There might be some "I'm not sure what it is" feelings but they are thoughtful objects and are always well crafted that encourage contemplation and wonder.

Lynn Aldrich is a friend of mine who works in that space.

The exhibit starts Jan 5 and runs until Feb 2, 2008 at the Carl Berg Gallery.

6018 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles CA 90036
tel: 323-931-6060

Travel: Kauai vacation photos from September 2007

2007-12-23T08:29:00.001-08:00

This post took a bit longer to get around to. But, at last, below are photos and travelogue of my most recent travels.

To see two YouTube videos about Kauai go here. One of the videos is mine. The other is put out by people on Kauai concerned about overdevelopment.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Arrived in Honolulu!

The last time I was in Honolulu was as a teenager many decades ago!

Sunday, September 16, 2007

My uncle took me to Pearl Harbor to see the Arizona Memorial. The lines were long so we didn't make the trip to the site.

Nonetheless, reading the various interpretive displays was very moving even though the attack occurred 66 years ago. I'm sure it really impacts some of the older visitors who have memories of the actual event or knew people who were there.

Our next stop was the Punchbowl Memorial Cemetery.

There are murals that recap the Battle for the Pacific during World War II. The number of battles is unimaginable.

The visiting side of the trip came to an end and I donned my "business" hat by attending the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research and participating in a poster session for the evening.

Monday, September 17, 2007

The ASBMR conference was held at the Honolulu Convention Center.

It was a good workout to make the trek between the Convention Center and the Princess Kaiulani hotel.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

One of the mornings I decided to walk on the sands of Waikiki en route to the Convention Center.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Figuring I don't know when I'd be back to this part of the world again, I planned for a short island hop to Kauai!

The view from the airplane window!

On the ground!

My rental car was obtained through Priceline which was somewhat below the published rates since it was "shoulder" season between the summer travelers and the late fall/early winter escapees from elsewhere's cold weather.

I stayed at the Kauai Sands which was the lowest priced hotel on Yahoo! Travel.

Beautiful beach at the Kauai Sands but a tad windy!

The Kauai Sands is next to the Coconut Marketplace shopping center.

Kauai Tourism Tip: There is pretty heavy traffic between Kapaa and Lihue during morning and late afternoon rush hour. Also, if you are on the road after sunset, be aware it is very dark as there are very few street lights on the roads between towns! I discovered this because I figured, oh, take a little drive around the island before calling it a night. The sun went down and it was dark!

I wound up driving all the way up to Hanalei but it was completely dark so I didn't get to see the beautiful views I would two days later. I ended up having dinner at Bubba's Burgers in Hanalei.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Good morning Kapaa!

I rolled out of bed to watch the sunrise over the ocean!

There were other guests at the hotel with the same idea.

For the day, I headed toward the west side of the island to get to Waimea Canyon.

Even with the late morning haze, it is still quite a view though I would imagine would have been very spectacular in the golden sunrise/sunset hours.

The windy road eventually reaches Kalalau Lookout.

What a view!

Weather changes quickly on the islands! The rain swept in yielding the gorgeous rainbow!

If you have time, be sure to check out Hanapepe. There are some neat art galleries there which I got to check out a few that were open. The Cafe in the town is a top destination that is only open limited hours and requires reservations.

I then headed off to the Spouting Horn.

For dinner, I went to Brennecke's Beach Broiler.

Did you like the view from my dining table?

I had Opah and Ono for dinner. I liked the Ono better.

To work off some calories, I walked around Poipu beach to wait for the sunset!

Friday, September 21, 2007

I had made a reservation while I was in Los Angeles for a Na Pali Coast Catamaran tour through Captain Sundown. However, they contacted me with news on Thursday that the swell conditions were too rough to sail so I had to change my plans. I booked a kayak trip for Friday with Kayak Wailua.

We paddled up to Uluwehi Falls. It was quite a workout but lots of fun!

The falls wasn't very spectacular because the amount of rainfall had been low lately.

Nonetheless, had to take a picture in the water. It is cold as the water runs down from the top of Kauai!

I showered off back at the Kauai Sands and then hit the road to the Kapaa local products fair.

I had driven up to Hanalai on my first evening and had no idea how beautiful it was!

Here is one of the lookout points on the side of the road.

As a photographer, the golden hours are right around sunrise and sunset. What a view in Hanalei bay!

Waikiki back in Honolulu is like Rodeo Drive but with lots of big hotels. It is a district that probably never sleeps. But I've never been much of a night life person and truth be told there probably isn't a lot of nightlife in Kauai. I heard there are a few bars with music and such.

However, when I can, I like to get a feel for the local flavor. I saw in the local paper that Waimea was playing Kapaa in high school football at Kapaa which is the town right next to the Kauai Sands.

I was pretty tired from the kayak tour and the drive up to Hanalai but I figured what the heck, I'll go see the football game after a hearty meal. I went the Wailua Family Restaurant which was across the street from where I had met up for the kayak tour. I'd agree with the description of this place being like a Sizzler. Fancy dining it is not. But a decent amount of food at a reasonable price is good enough for me. I had a steak and Mahi Mahi platter. But most importantly, I got information about the football game! The man behind the counter said his daughter would be one of the cheerleaders at the game. The woman at the cash register drew a simple map to the stadium.

In the white jersey's were the visiting Waimea Menehune. In the green was the home team the Kapaa Warriors!

In the first half, I was amidst some Kapaa fans. One lady with a video camera explained to me her son was one of the players and her daughter was one of the cheerleaders. She pointed out various other relatives in the stands. It truly is a family event.

In the second half, I was amidst some Waimea fans. A couple noticed I didn't seem like a local and asked me what my story was. I explained I was a mainlander on vacation after business. They seemed happy to see a tourist at the game. They pointed out various family members in the stands and told me their son was a running back on the Menehune. They explained to me that there are three high schools on the island. They also told me that the Menehune were the legendary miniature men of Hawaii.

In case you were curious: Menehune 21 Warriors 7.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

My last day on Kauai ...

One of the signature sights was Wailua Falls.

Since I had a few more hours before the flight back to Honolulu, I drove down toward the south side.

I stopped at Old Koloa Town. There are some cute little shops on the old historic street.

I had to visit beautiful Poipu beach one last time.

The sleeping Monk Seal got a lot of attention!

Flew back to Honolulu and had a get together with various relatives.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

I had a few hours before my flight back to LAX. My uncle drove me to a few more sights on Oahu.

We went to Pali Lookout ...

Went to one of the surfing spots to see if anyone was out there ...

Saw a rower ...

Had lunch at the Ala Moana Shopping Center and saw some Hulu dancing ...

Aloha!

Life: Maybe a new Christmas tradition for me

2007-12-20T06:46:00.000-08:00

There was the periodic rattling of carts as two young employees of Ralphs after rounding them up pushed them back to the store.

Airplanes came in for landings every minute or so.

Cars trundled up and down the parking lot.

There was the quiet tinkle of a bell.

Yup, it is Christmas in the city and I manned the kettle and rang the bell in front of the Ralphs for two hours this evening.

It was neat to see parents give their kids some change or a dollar bill to put into the kettle.

"Thanks for your contribution!"

I smiled inside myself contemplating the internal dialog of people who walked past the kettle, stopped, walked back and placed in a contribution. What might have prompted a change of heart? Perhaps a recognition that came from gratitude? Or maybe a memory of someone who got help from the Salvation Army or someone who didn't?

Whether people gave or not, I did try to give them a smile and offer some holiday cheer with a hearty, "Have a good Christmas holiday!"

A few chatted briefly with me about nothing in particular as they placed some coins or bills in the kettle.

Some people had a grim look about them set upon their grocery shopping task, I wonder what was on their minds and how they felt to hear someone say, "Have a great evening."

Some thanked me as I thanked them for making a donation.

I could see some choose a path to enter the Ralphs that kept them from making eye contact with me.

One mom told her kids a nursery rhyme:

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat
Please put a penny in the old man's hat ...

She said the kettle is the old man's hat ... and her two kids each dropped in a few coins.

Definitely made it a point to give a smile for the kids and a big "Thanks!" for each one who dropped in coins!

One lady walked past me going in and going out and came back and placed a dime in the kettle saying, that was all I could find in my car.

"Thank you every little bit helps!"

Another lady, looking a bit worn down from life dropped in a few coins and said, I'm sorry I can't give more, I'm just a poor old lady.

I had to say, "God bless you for her effort!"

Please consider making a contribution when you see a red kettle.

Or go ahead and contact your nearest Salvation Army and volunteer to be a bell ringer.

If I haven't convinced you, check out the web page for Salvation Army and see if Kelly Clarkson can encourage you to help out in some way.

Sports: game day USC vs. UCLA

2007-12-01T12:39:00.001-08:00

Can UCLA win?

If the special teams steals a TD and gives UCLA good field position and puts USC in bad field position.

If the defense comes up with an unbelievable game like last year.

If the offense can keep the QB from getting hit. Why did UCLA have their 2 QBs injured this season? The OL didn't protect them.

If all three happen then maybe UCLA is still in the game late in the fourth quarter with a miracle shot at pulling off the upset.

Otherwise, the game could be over like other years by half-time or sooner.

Go Bruins!

UPDATE: USC 24 UCLA 7. What can you say? No surprises today. Congratulations to USC for their 6th Pac10 title.

Sports: USC vs. UCLA, the day before game day

2007-11-30T07:45:00.000-08:00

Last year, I was there.

I had a 3-game mini-plan. There were probably 30% USC fans in our section as many UCLA fans sold their tickets rather than go watch the Bruins lose. I almost did the same.

Plaschke in today's LAT has the where is he now story of Eric McNeal who got the interception that preserved the Bruin victory by keeping USC out of the end-zone and thus out of the National Championship game.

Excerpt:

A week before the big game and the kitchen floor is sparkling.

"I do the mopping around here," Eric McNeal says.

A week before the big game and the bathrooms are shining.

"That's also my job," he says.

A week before the big game, and Eric McNeal is sitting at the dining-room table of the modest Carson home he shares with his parents, figuring out his work schedule.

Today, clean the house.

Tuesday through Friday, report to a nearby warehouse to drive a forklift.

"Maybe I'll add Saturday to my schedule," he says idly.

Saturday?

"Oh, wait," he says, smiling. "That's right."

Oh, wait. That's right.

Four words, two sentences, forever describing the author of one of the biggest moments in USC-UCLA football lore.

Only once in this rivalry's 76-game series has one man made one play to keep the other team out of the national championship game.

Only once has the winning play been made by a man who started one game in his college career.

Only once have circumstances so forgettable flared into something so memorable.

The man was McNeal. That play came last season when, with 1 minute 10 seconds remaining, the UCLA linebacker tipped and intercepted a John David Booty pass to seal a stunning 13-9 victory.
.........
A couple of months later, he was being ignored by the NFL, Arena League, every league.

"When you didn't play that much in college, it's hard," he says.

Today, out of uniform and out of scholarship, he is working as a forklift driver to help pay tuition for his final quarter of college.

To save money, he lives in his childhood home, his game ball wrapped in a plastic bag and buried under some clutter.
..........
Both of McNeal's parents are UCLA graduates.

He loved UCLA so much, he committed there during his junior year at Gardena Serra High.

He loved it so much, he didn't transfer when every coach who recruited him departed with Bob Toledo.

He loved it so much, even when he was forced to move from big safety to undersized linebacker, even when it became obvious that he would never start under Karl Dorrell, he refused to leave.

After not playing one down against Oklahoma two seasons ago, he wept.

Then he decided he would never say another word.

"I love the school and I wasn't going to do anything to hurt it," McNeal says. "I was going to keep my mouth shut and stick it out."

Even that didn't work. By the time he took the field for the final home game of his career against USC last fall, he was playing only in passing situations.

"You tell children to work hard and things will turn out all right . . . well, that's not always the case," says his mother.

And then, this being the USC-UCLA game, they did.

"He never complained, he never asked for more time," says linebackers coach Chuck Bullough. "Then he finally had his moment."
---
Go Bruins!

Sports: UCLA vs. USC in two days

2007-11-29T07:32:00.000-08:00

The game is at USC's home field and I'll not be trying to fetch the tickets.

The listed price at Stubhub ranges from $109 to $1200.

No one expected UCLA to win last year and last year's team was healthy!

This years team has been a MASH unit.

The latest news is that Olson who came in for the 2nd half of last weeks game has had knee trouble again. As such Cowan who has had knee trouble and is recovering from a collapsed lung has been taking the bulk of the snaps at practice. Rassan who started last weeks game but was pulled after going 0-7 passing with 1 int is the backup.

The LAT is running daily articles about the past rivalry games. Saw this one today.

Excerpt:

The year was 1992 and the Bruins had run through pretty much all of their quarterbacks, losing Wayne Cook, Rob Walker and Ryan Fien to injury. They were down to a fourth-string senior.

"He wasn't even on the team the previous year," Dellins said. "Coach [Terry] Donahue let him walk on."

Barnes responded with a magical night against the Trojans, throwing for 385 yards and three touchdowns. When 15th-ranked USC failed on a two-point conversion with less than a minute remaining, UCLA had a 38-37 upset victory.

Dellins loved that a no-name could, in the course of a few hours, become a star. He also liked the way Barnes responded afterward. The quarterback, known to live in a realm of his own, did not consider his Cinderella performance a big deal.

Interviewed on television after the game, he was asked what might have happened if USC had taken the lead on that conversion.

"Well," he responded plainly, "we'd have gone down the field and scored again."

---

On the current UCLA team, the 4th string QB would be McLeod Bethel-Thompson. The walk-on QB played in the dismal loss to Notre Dame after Olson got hurt. The Fighting Irish decided to stack the line to stop the running game and blitz like crazy. The result, the shell-shocked Bethel-Thompson got sacked 4 times and threw 4 interceptions.

Can history repeat itself with a surprise victory on the arm of a 4th string QB?

Go Bruins!

Sports: BCS forecasts

2007-11-25T17:07:00.000-08:00

Hey, that is the fun part about being a blogger! I can use this platform to express my opinion and you can take it for every cent you are paying for it!

My biases: am a UCLA alum so am a fan of the Pac10. Alas, this year, it doesn't look like the Pac10 is going to get 2 teams into the BCS. Just don't see ASU getting in.

Rose:
USC (pac10) - As a UCLA fan, I would love it if UCLA could knock USC out of the Rose Bowl game but I'd guess USC will be favored by 21 in the annual cross-town game next week. Of course, last year the Bruins weren't expected to win and they knocked USC out of the BCS championship game!
Hawaii (at large, wac) - A huge if is whether the Rainbow Warriors can beat the Washington Huskies. If they do, the Rose Bowl selection committee will see $$$ signs as the Hawaii fans will happily get on a plane to California to root for the Warriors. If Hawaii stumbles, my guess is that the Rose Bowlers will nab Missouri pitting USC's defense against the Tiger's spread offense.

Fiesta:
Oklahoma (big12) - Can the Sooners beat the Tigers twice? I think so!
Boston College (at large, ACC) - no way the Fiesta sets up Oklahoma versus Mizzou, round III.

Sugar:
LSU (sec) - Nice little home game for them!
Mizzou (at large, Big12) - The Sugar organizers are rooting for Hawaii so the Rose Bowl takes them to set up this game. If Hawaii stumbles, the Sugar will call up Illinois.

Orange:
Va Tech (acc) - They should beat BC!
Georgia (at large, SEC) - Right next door, no brainer!

BCS Championship:
Ohio State (big10) - Because everyone else around them gets beat, they slip back into the BCS championship game! Hugh Hewitt would love the wisdom of this forcast! 8-)
West Virginia (big east) - The Big East champs are in. Nobody below them in the BCS can jump over them. Of course, watch them lose to Pittsburgh! Hah!

You heard it here first!!

Life: Introducing Lillian

2007-11-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

Rene:

You have seen this before, but now that we have reached the next step in the adoption process, I thought it would be OK to post our announcement on Two Tin Cans.

We are thrilled to announce that we have been matched with a little girl in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. She was given the name Chang Wei He, and when we adopt her she will be known as Lillian Weihe Bruffett (we'll call her Lily).

We like the story behind the name Weihe. "Wei" means "mighty" -- an aspirational name for a small girl (she likely was born prematurely); the name symbolizes the hope of her caregivers at the Changzhou City Children's Welfare Institute that she would grow stronger. "He" is a common name for girls and means "lotus" -- a water lily.

She is nearly 2 (her birthday is November 18). The letter we received from her caregivers in China concluded with this, and we couldn't agree more: "She is as good as pie."

We just found out this week that we may be allowed to travel as early as mid-December, or possibly as late as late January. We will be in China for approximately two weeks -- possibly over Christmas.

I have created a blog for our trip; we hope to be able to post often while we are overseas so that family and friends can share the experience with us.

We are excited and bursting with anticipation.

Take care!
Kari

Travel: Kauai and Oahu, September 2007

2007-10-10T22:07:00.001-07:00

My first You Tube video!

Aloha!

Life: A cause to consider supporting

2007-08-28T10:16:00.000-07:00

Heard about this this morning on the radio while driving to work.

Here is the blurb on the fund-raising effort:

Homeless children learn to go without lots of things that most of us take for granted... but expecting them to go without school supplies is simply too much to expect. That's why talkradio 790 KABC has teamed up with the Feed the Children Foundation to make sure that thousands of homeless kids in the LA and Orange County area will have a backpack filled with school supplies.

Obviously, the problem is one with many factors but the choice is between doing nothing or trying to do something. Maybe by trying to do something, the forces will be set in motion to do more!

Please consider giving to this effort!

Technology: 911 and Cell Phones

2007-08-26T06:59:00.001-07:00

Saw this item in the Los Angeles Times.

The reporters studied the challenges of the 911 system having to field so many calls many of which come from cell phones.

I wonder how other parts of the USA are doing on this problem?

Sports: Bonds at bat on video phone

2007-08-16T06:49:00.000-07:00

Watch for the flashes as Barry Bonds is at bat!

I was at Dodger's Stadium to see the Giants play the Dodgers in the 2nd game of the series. LAPD was out in force and the Dodger blue security guys were quick to kick out unruly fans! Anyway, Bonds flied out, grounded out, flied out (a very dramatic catch by the CF Juan Pierre that had the crowd going crazy!) and his fourth a bat was an intentional walk. Dodgers were down 4-2 when I left and while walking to the car, the crowd went crazy as Gonzo drove in the tying 2 runs and then Garciaparra hit a two-run homer to get the lead. Saito closed it out for a 6-4 Dodger win!!!!

Opportunities to cheer for the Dodgers have been few and far between since. 8-(

Sports: 755, 756

2007-08-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

Well, the Giants go on the road to play the Dodgers and then the Padres.

If you are the manager of the Dodgers, do you pitch to Bonds?

If you are the manger of the Padres and the record has still not fallen, do you pitch to Bonds?

The Dodgers have the longer history of battles with the Giants.

As a Dodger fan who has been to a number of games in the last few year, there is no question the crowd is especially vocal when the Giants are in town.

The Padre fans seem to be a mellower crowd but they too are divisional rivals and would loath the idea of having Bonds break the record in their park.

Speaking of how riled up Dodger fans can get, the other week, I sat in the left field bleachers and heard some fans heckle Marlon Anderson. Marlon Anderson? Is he really deserving of heckling? So I would imagine the crowd will be in full voice heckling the far more famous or infamous left fielder Barry Bonds. Weisman wonders aloud what will happen at Dodger's stadium if the record falls there on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

So if you are Grady Little, do you order your pitchers to issue the walks or do they go after Bonds and let the chip fall where they fall?

We shall see!

TUESDAY 7/31 - Giants vs. Dodgers, game 1 of this home stand. Penny is penciled in to start but he will have to test his muscle strain and could be a late scratch. Plaschke has an item about the disdain for Bonds among Dodger fans. Excerpt:

It was Sept. 17. The Dodgers had arrived in San Francisco with a two-game lead over the Giants with 11 games remaining.

It was a traditional Dodgers team, filled with five rookies of the year and immersed deeply in Dodgers culture.

The general manager was Fred Claire. The manager was Bill Russell. The stars were the likes of Mike Piazza, Karros and Raul Mondesi.

They had made the playoffs the previous two seasons, losing in the first round each time, but were ready to go further. The kids had grown up. The manager was finding his niche. A return to greatness beckoned.

Four players finished the year with at least 30 homers. Five pitchers won at least 10 games.

"This was a very good team on the verge of something very special," Claire remembered.

All they needed to do was survive San Francisco.

Then, Bonds stepped up in the bottom of the first inning of the first game against a withering Chan Ho Park and changed everything.

With Darryl Hamilton on first base after a walk, Bonds crushed a Park fastball into the cheapest seats in right field for a two-run homer.

Just as the ball disappeared, Bonds' legendary tackiness appeared.

He dropped his bat and pirouetted in front of home plate.....

Post Script: Bonds hit 756 in front of Giant fans on Tuesday night August 7, 2007. Here is the press statement by Hank Aaron and message in his recorded video remarks:

I would like to offer my congratulations to Barry Bonds on becoming baseball's career home run leader. It is a great accomplishment which required skill, longevity and determination.

Throughout the past century, the home run has held a special place in baseball, and I have been privileged to hold this record for 33 of those years. I move over now and offer my best wishes to Barry and his family on this historic achievement.

My hope today, as it was on that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will inspire others to chase their own dreams.

Travel: Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit in San Diego

2007-07-21T10:25:00.000-07:00

What are the Dead Sea Scrolls?

The Dead Sea Scrolls were initially discovered by Bedouin herders and then by archaeologists between 1947 and 1956 in 11 caves near Khirbet Qumran, on the northwestern shores of the Dead Sea in Israel. Thousands of fragments were discovered and pieced together into over 900 separate documents including biblical books, hymns, prayers, and other important writings.

quote source: http://www.sdnhm.org/scrolls/history.html

How old are they?

Within a fairly short time after their discovery, historical, paleographic, and linguistic evidence, as well as carbon-14 dating, established that the scrolls and the Qumran ruin dated from the third century B.C.E. to 68 C.E. They were indeed ancient!

quote source: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/scrolls/intr.html

Who wrote them?

The word “Essene” is never distinctly mentioned in the scrolls. How, then, can we attribute either the writings or the sites of the Judaean Desert to the Essenes? The argument in favour of this ascription is supported by the tripartite division of Judaism referred to in Qumran writings (for example, in the Nahum Commentary), into Ephraim, Menasseh and Judah, corresponding to the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Essenes. As the Essenes refer to themselves in the scrolls as Judah, it is clear who they regarded themselves to be. Moreover, their religious concepts and beliefs as attested in the scrolls conform to those recorded in contemporary writings and stand in sharp contrast to those of the other known Jewish groups.

quote source: http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?sec_id=44&subj_id=195&id=461&module_id=#as

However, there is disagreement in the scholarly community over the extent the Essenes were responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Although this evidence is accepted by the majority of scholars in identifying the Essenes with the Qumran settlement and the manuscripts found in the surrounding caves, some scholars remain unconvinced. Some propose that the site was a military garrison or even a winter villa. The scrolls are viewed as an eclectic collection, neither necessarily inscribed in the Dead Sea area nor sectarian in nature, perhaps even the remains of the library of the Temple in Jerusalem. Other scholars view the texts as the writings of forerunners or even followers of Jesus – Jewish Christians – who still observed Jewish law.

quote source: http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?sec_id=44&subj_id=195&id=461&module_id=#as

The scholars at University of Chicago appear to be one center of thought investigating alternative views.

Their web page has several detailed articles of why they doubt the Qumran theory of authorship.

This item was their response to the exhibit of the DSS at Seattle's Pacific Science Center.

Yet in the past decade members of the reading public have become increasingly aware of a growing controversy over the nature and origin of the Scrolls. The new, opposing view, developed particularly in the wake of additional manuscript discoveries in that same Judaean Wilderness made in the 1950s and 1960s, is that the Scrolls reflect religious and social ideas of various groups within ancient Judaism, that Khirbet Qumran was not a religious site either of Essenes or others, and that the hiding of the Scrolls in the caves arose out of the need of the Jews of Jerusalem, circa 68/69 C.E., to sequester their manuscripts and other valued possessions when they became aware that the Romans intended to besiege and invade the city.

quote source: http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/is/deadseascrolls.html

Why are the Dead Sea Scrolls important?

The scrolls comprise, among other things, the oldest copies of the Bible in existence. The Qumran scrolls date from approximately 250 B.C. to about 65 A.D., and at some other locations to about 135 A.D. Before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest existing manuscripts of parts of the Hebrew Bible came from about 800-1,000 A.D. The oldest complete copy of the Hebrew Bible, the Leningrad Codex, dates to 1008 A.D. This means that the Dead Sea Scrolls give us texts of the Bible which were copied more than 1000 years earlier than any others now in existence!

The scrolls are also important because they have enabled scholars to gather an immense amount of information about how the Bible was written and how it was transmitted from generation to generation. In many cases the scrolls show a remarkable similarity to the text of the Hebrew Bible currently in use. In some cases differences between the scrolls and the traditional Hebrew text help explain difficulties in the present Hebrew Bible, and most modern translations of the Bible (such as the NIV) incorporate some of the new information from the scrolls.

Another crucial feature of the scrolls is the picture they portray of the Judaism of Jesus’ day. The scrolls show that Judaism in that period was more diverse than was once thought, and the literary parallels between the Gospels and the literature of Qumran demonstrate several instructive points of contact between Jesus’ teaching and the Judaism of his day.

quote source: http://www.deadseascrollsfoundation.com/about_the_scrolls.htm

Personal reflections

I do hope someday to visit Israel and the various places in the Middle East described in the Scriptures of the monotheistic religions. Until then, I have to be content with a pilgrimage to an exhibit like this.

My feelings about this exhibit grows from the fact that there is so much interest in them. The items themselves vary in their beauty. Some are in pretty decent shape and you can read the lovely script work of the scribe who wrote them. Others are quite hard to read as the wear and tear on the scrolls have made the lettering difficult to see. Some items are fairly intact while others are fragmentary. People are fascinated by them partly for what they are but mostly for what they represent.

No matter which theory of authorship you subscribe to, somebody 2000 years ago decided these things were worth making copies of and since their discovery in 1947, many scholars have painstakingly preserved them and studied them. The ideas embedded in the Hebrew Bible have stood the test of time such that today, I can sit and read an English translation of the text that is essentially the same as what the scribe worked on 2000 or so years ago!

At a personal level, I think the mystery of this connection through continuity hit home to me as I saw 11Q10 (the fifth scroll in the exhibit) which is an Aramaic translation of the Book of Job. The item is six small fragments that to be honest look like small pieces of burnt toast! But I thought about what it once was like... a whole scroll ... the delicate labor of love of a scribe. What must have been on his mind as his pen scratched those letters onto the parchment? I have been writing about Job in my "devotional thoughts" feature in this blog. I wrestle with the ideas in the book and its relationship to my life of faith. 2000 years ago, a scribe was at a table writing and probably thinking the same things.

Travel: Can you guess where I am?

2007-07-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

Recently took a road trip!

Can you guess where I am?

Lots of beautiful flowers there.

Its an old place. In fact, founded in 1776.

When I saw these flowers there, I had to say, "Morning glory, evening grace, Hugh Hewitt!"

My journey continued and I stopped at the pier shown below.

Check out this more colorful picture. And check out this more striking picture!

I had lunch here at a restaurant reported to be a favorite of President Richard Nixon. Upon more web surfing, I am questioning the accuracy of the report as this restaurant makes the same claim on its web page.

I parked my car here to catch this below.

After a forty-five minute ride, I went to buy tickets!

All of the above was the journey which I enjoyed to get to my destination!

What are the Dead Sea Scrolls?

The Dead Sea Scrolls were initially discovered by Bedouin herders and then by archaeologists between 1947 and 1956 in 11 caves near Khirbet Qumran, on the northwestern shores of the Dead Sea in Israel. Thousands of fragments were discovered and pieced together into over 900 separate documents including biblical books, hymns, prayers, and other important writings.

quote source: http://www.sdnhm.org/scrolls/history.html

How old are they?

Within a fairly short time after their discovery, historical, paleographic, and linguistic evidence, as well as carbon-14 dating, established that the scrolls and the Qumran ruin dated from the third century B.C.E. to 68 C.E. They were indeed ancient!

quote source: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/scrolls/intr.html

Who wrote them?

The word “Essene” is never distinctly mentioned in the scrolls. How, then, can we attribute either the writings or the sites of the Judaean Desert to the Essenes? The argument in favour of this ascription is supported by the tripartite division of Judaism referred to in Qumran writings (for example, in the Nahum Commentary), into Ephraim, Menasseh and Judah, corresponding to the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Essenes. As the Essenes refer to themselves in the scrolls as Judah, it is clear who they regarded themselves to be. Moreover, their religious concepts and beliefs as attested in the scrolls conform to those recorded in contemporary writings and stand in sharp contrast to those of the other known Jewish groups.

quote source: http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?sec_id=44&subj_id=195&id=461&module_id=#as

However, there is disagreement in the scholarly community over the extent the Essenes were responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Although this evidence is accepted by the majority of scholars in identifying the Essenes with the Qumran settlement and the manuscripts found in the surrounding caves, some scholars remain unconvinced. Some propose that the site was a military garrison or even a winter villa. The scrolls are viewed as an eclectic collection, neither necessarily inscribed in the Dead Sea area nor sectarian in nature, perhaps even the remains of the library of the Temple in Jerusalem. Other scholars view the texts as the writings of forerunners or even followers of Jesus – Jewish Christians – who still observed Jewish law.

quote source: http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?sec_id=44&subj_id=195&id=461&module_id=#as

The scholars at University of Chicago appear to be one center of thought investigating alternative views.

Their web page has several detailed articles of why they doubt the Qumran theory of authorship.

This item was their response to the exhibit of the DSS at Seattle's Pacific Science Center.

Yet in the past decade members of the reading public have become increasingly aware of a growing controversy over the nature and origin of the Scrolls. The new, opposing view, developed particularly in the wake of additional manuscript discoveries in that same Judaean Wilderness made in the 1950s and 1960s, is that the Scrolls reflect religious and social ideas of various groups within ancient Judaism, that Khirbet Qumran was not a religious site either of Essenes or others, and that the hiding of the Scrolls in the caves arose out of the need of the Jews of Jerusalem, circa 68/69 C.E., to sequester their manuscripts and other valued possessions when they became aware that the Romans intended to besiege and invade the city.

quote source: http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/is/deadseascrolls.html

Why are the Dead Sea Scrolls important?

The scrolls comprise, among other things, the oldest copies of the Bible in existence. The Qumran scrolls date from approximately 250 B.C. to about 65 A.D., and at some other locations to about 135 A.D. Before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest existing manuscripts of parts of the Hebrew Bible came from about 800-1,000 A.D. The oldest complete copy of the Hebrew Bible, the Leningrad Codex, dates to 1008 A.D. This means that the Dead Sea Scrolls give us texts of the Bible which were copied more than 1000 years earlier than any others now in existence!

The scrolls are also important because they have enabled scholars to gather an immense amount of information about how the Bible was written and how it was transmitted from generation to generation. In many cases the scrolls show a remarkable similarity to the text of the Hebrew Bible currently in use. In some cases differences between the scrolls and the traditional Hebrew text help explain difficulties in the present Hebrew Bible, and most modern translations of the Bible (such as the NIV) incorporate some of the new information from the scrolls.

Another crucial feature of the scrolls is the picture they portray of the Judaism of Jesus’ day. The scrolls show that Judaism in that period was more diverse than was once thought, and the literary parallels between the Gospels and the literature of Qumran demonstrate several instructive points of contact between Jesus’ teaching and the Judaism of his day.

quote source: http://www.deadseascrollsfoundation.com/about_the_scrolls.htm

Personal reflections

I do hope someday to visit Israel and the various places in the Middle East described in the Scriptures of the monotheistic religions. Until then, I have to be content with a pilgrimage to an exhibit like this.

My feelings about this exhibit grows from the fact that there is so much interest in them. The items themselves vary in their beauty. Some are in pretty decent shape and you can read the lovely script work of the scribe who wrote them. Others are quite hard to read as the wear and tear on the scrolls have made the lettering difficult to see. Some items are fairly intact while others are fragmentary. People are fascinated by them partly for what they are but mostly for what they represent.

No matter which theory of authorship you subscribe to, somebody 2000 years ago decided these things were worth making copies of and since their discovery in 1947, many scholars have painstakingly preserved them and studied them. The ideas embedded in the Hebrew Bible have stood the test of time such that today, I can sit and read an English translation of the text that is essentially the same as what the scribe worked on 2000 or so years ago!

At a personal level, I think the mystery of this connection through continuity hit home to me as I saw 11Q10 (the fifth scroll in the exhibit) which is an Aramaic translation of the Book of Job. The item is six small fragments that to be honest look like small pieces of burnt toast! But I thought about what it once was like... a whole scroll ... the delicate labor of love of a scribe. What must have been on his mind as his pen scratched those letters onto the parchment? I have been writing about Job in my "devotional thoughts" feature in this blog. I wrestle with the ideas in the book and its relationship to my life of faith. 2000 years ago, a scribe was at a table writing and probably thinking the same things.

Travel: Where am I?

2007-07-14T23:02:00.001-07:00

If the flowers don't give it away certainly the photos below will give it away as does this song.

Click for a larger image.

Added another ballpark to my list of visited ball parks!

What do you think these people are doing? 8-)

If you know this town, you will know where this is!?

This one should be easy to identify!

Click for a larger image.

The bridge is familiar! But where did I take the photo from?

The flower shots were taken at the same location. Do you know where it is?

To see the answers, go here.

Sports: AL 5 NL 4

2007-07-11T06:59:00.000-07:00

What can you say?

The AL usually wins the MLB Championship, more of the inter-league games and the recent All-Star Games.

La Russa is taking heat for not sending up Pujols to hit with the game on the line.

As it was, Rowand flied out for the last out.

La Russa said he needed to hold someone for extra innings.

Let the debate begin!

My opinion is you got to roll the dice and play for the win by sending in Pujols to hit. He either doubles in two runs to win the game or he strikes out. I can't imagine that if Pujols makes contact it is going to be a dying duck single that gets only one run. The only other scenario you get a tie game is that Rodriguez totally loses it and can't find the plate.

Politics: And the 2008 Democratic Party Presidential Nominee is ...

2007-07-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

... Al Gore?

I've now heard this scenario proposed by several people and am beginning to wonder if there is something to it?

The premise of an Al Gore nomination is as follows:
(1) Hillary Clinton has none of the rogue charm of Bill and all the negatives
(2) Barak Obama in the end is just too inexperienced to be the nominee for POTUS
(3) Neither candidate garners enough support to win the nomination outright
(4) Al Gore rides into the picture on the sentiment that he had won 2000 and
deserves the nomination to save the party.

What do you think?

Sports: ESPN.com headline - All They Can 'Eat

2007-06-20T07:49:00.000-07:00

Wooooooo Hooooooooo!!!!!

The Anteaters are stayin' alive with a 8-7 win in 10-innings!

Next up, Oregon State today.

Let's go Eaters, stomp, stomp, stomp-stomp-stomp! (repeat multiple times until you go crazy!)

UPDATE: Its a final Beavers defeat Anteaters 7-1. Congrats to the Anteaters for a good run in the post-season!

Youth: Parable of the Mustard Seed

2007-06-17T22:08:00.000-07:00

In youth group this morning, we discussed Matthew 13:31-32:

He put another parable before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.

To help spur the discussion, we also saw this music video ...

Many of us were quite moved by the video.

What do you think?

Sports: UCLA and UCI in College Baseball Championships!

2007-06-09T14:09:00.001-07:00

College Baseball is in its Sweet 16. Both that Anteaters and the Bruins are still in contention.

Here is the current bracket.

Go Bruins! Go Anteaters!

UPDATE: Anteaters with their backs to the wall. 6/18/2007 they face elimination against Cal State Fullerton!

UPDATE: The Anteaters live to play another day with a 5-4 win in 13-innings.

World: Dialog on Global Warming

2007-06-02T22:41:00.001-07:00

A few months ago, I went through a three-day training workshop with the Public Conversations Project.

This Sunday, our church will host a discussion about Global Warming. As part of our applying what we learned from PCP, our team that went through the training has drafted some questions for the dialog and will help facilitate the dialog tomorrow.

(1) The basis for your view on Global Warming ...
What in your personal experiences have shaped your views on Global Warming?

(2) The reason for your concern about the issue ...
Whatever your views on Global Warming, what values do you hold dear do you feel are at stake in the controversy?

(3) The permission to acknowledge uncertainty and doubt ...
What uncertainties do you hold regarding your personal views on the matter? What troubles you about the way the subject is discussed?

If so inclined, please pray for a meaningful time of sharing and listening to divergent opinions about a controversial subject!

To get a taste of the PCP approach, check out this 4-page printout on Reaching Out Across the Red-Blue Divide.

UPDATE: In the effort to be "fair and balanced" and a useful resource. Here are some web links you may want to check out...
IPCC - intergovernmental panel on climate change. This is the international organization that puts out reports you hear on the news periodically.
An Inconvient Truth web page - the movie page and advocacy page on Global Warming.
Competitive Enterprise Institute's response to An Inconvient Truth. CEI is a think tank skeptical of the claims of Global Warming activists.

I'm a Wesleyan

2007-05-25T08:15:00.000-07:00

The quiz has me fairly accurately pegged -- although I'm not sure how it's possible to get about the same score on "fundamentalist" as "postmodern." (Probably quiz-taker error!) I'm a little surprised to score so high in "reformed evangelical," which I take to mean Calvinist.

You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan, You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists.

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

82%

Reformed Evangelical

71%

Neo orthodox

64%

Fundamentalist

61%

Emergent/Postmodern

57%

Charismatic/Pentecostal

43%

Classical Liberal

36%

Modern Liberal

25%

Roman Catholic

14%

What's your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com

Theology: I'm Anselm???

2007-05-25T07:20:00.001-07:00

I have to say I have heard of the name but know nothing about him!

I guess I'll have to read up about him!!

You scored as Anselm, Anselm is the outstanding theologian of the medieval period.He sees man's primary problem as having failed to render unto God what we owe him, so God becomes man in Christ and gives God what he is due. You should read 'Cur Deus Homo?'

Anselm

100%

Jonathan Edwards

80%

Augustine

73%

Karl Barth

73%

Jürgen Moltmann

73%

John Calvin

67%

Friedrich Schleiermacher

67%

Martin Luther

53%

Charles Finney

53%

Paul Tillich

47%

Which theologian are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

HT: Reflecting.

Theology: I'm post-modern???

2007-05-25T07:19:00.001-07:00

Very interesting!

Actually, as I look at the numbers, it all kind of makes sense!

I scored 71% on the Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan scale.

This makes sense as I grew up in a Southern Baptist church with Armenian flavor in regards to salvation which I never fully bought the idea but felt it had a lot of good points. I spent four years in a non-denominational church that had several United Methodist trained ministers and was founded by United Methodists to serve the immigrant Chinese population.

I scored 68% on the Reformed Evangelical scale.

I'm currently at at Presbyterian church and as such I've read up a little bit on Calvin's TULIP which I don't fully buy into but believe it has some good points.

I scored 75% on the Emergent/Postmodern scale.

I suppose being a scientist by training and by personality leaning toward the rational side, I have come to see the value of reason but also the limits of reason. As such I tend to hold my beliefs with varying degrees of certainty. I'm not a relativist by any stretch of the imagination but I find dogmatism hard to defend. I also am currently involved with the youth group at my church and this whole emergent-postmodern thing is big among the young people even if they don't know to put that label on it.

You scored as Emergent/Postmodern, You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this.

Emergent/Postmodern

75%

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

71%

Reformed Evangelical

68%

Classical Liberal

64%

Neo orthodox

64%

Charismatic/Pentecostal

46%

Modern Liberal

46%

Roman Catholic

43%

Fundamentalist

39%

What's your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com

HT: Reflecting

Youth: 2 films from our youth group

2007-05-16T00:48:00.000-07:00

The idea is that the youth group in one evening comes up with a script for a short film based on a Bible story. They shoot it that night and edit and add music later.

Here are the first results ... has some laugh out loud funny moments and gets the point across.

The other film the youth group shot ...

The blogspot home for these and future films is here!!

Perhaps, the team will try out for the 168 hour film festival next year!

Enjoy!

Sports: Dodger Dogs to be struck out?

2007-05-15T20:07:00.000-07:00

Don't know if Camille Johnston expected to have to talk about hot dogs when she signed on to be Senior Vice President for Communications with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Alas, that is part of her job these days.

This morning, I was listening to KPCC and they reported that Farmer John, the supplier of hot dogs for Dodger Stadium was being sued for cruel treatment of animals used in the preparation of their hot dogs and other pork products. Additionally, the organization bringing the lawsuit, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, has written a letter to Dodger owner Frank McCourt requesting that the Dodgers end its lengthy relationship with Farmer John. The basic facts of the story were described in this story.

Meanwhile, on the field, the Dodgers are atop the NL West but fans are very nervous as the team isn't scoring many runs and the pitching is showing some signs of strain and it is only May. The question on the minds of followers of the team is whether or not manager Grady Little and GM Colletti will make some changes.

I haven't been to a game yet this year because parking is now $15 a car and prices of all sections have gone up.

One of the ways the Dodgers are trying to get more people to the ball park is the new all you can eat right field pavilion. I suppose I'd better hurry up and go before the Dodger Dogs are cut from the menu?

World: Tiananmen Square Massacre, June 4, 1989

2007-05-02T00:31:00.000-07:00

18 years ago.

As I saw all the young faces at Displace Me at the Pomona Fairplex, I couldn't help but remember the young people 18 years ago and 1/2 a world away.

It was the Beijing Spring of 1989 when students were joined by the masses in rallies in Tiananmen Square to demonstrate for reform. In between the Forbidden City and Mao's Mausoleum is Tiananmen Square. It was there that hopes for change were crushed when military units moved in from the east and the west to clear the square. To this day, there is no agreement on the number killed and wounded in and around the square.

The video above appears to have been edited clips from the various news broadcasts during those tumultuous days as well as smuggled videos of the slaughter. Unfortunately, there isn't any translations for the words you hear but the images are haunting.

Below is another music and image remembrance to what happened in Tiananmen Square using the same music but different video clips.

Click here to see the Guardian's report on the Massacre published on the 10th anniversary in 1999.

World: Displace Me in Solidarity with Uganda

2007-04-29T23:31:00.000-07:00

The Displace Me event seeks to raise awareness of the plight of children in Northern Uganda where a civil war has raged for 21 years.

Here is a background report on the civil war.

Here is an item from PBS Newshour on the latest diplomatic efforts to resolve the civil war.

Displace Me rallies occurred in 15 cities in the United States. I went to the one in the Los Angeles area at the Pomona Fairplex and met up with some people from my church's youth group. Here is the event description on the Fairplex web page:

On April 28, Invisible Children will host a nationwide event called “Displace Me” to raise awareness about the Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) camps and the effects of the 21-year war in Northern Uganda. Invisible Children is a media-based non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring and educating youth around the world, creating lasting social change. The Fairplex is one of 15 locations across the U.S. that will bring together thousands of youth to imagine for 24 hours what it’s like to be one of the millions in Uganda who have been displaced due to the war. Say “Displace Me," and leave your home to bring them home. Everyone who comes to “Displace Me” will be asked to bring the following: enough cardboard to build something the size of a small tent, a sleeping bag, a 1.5-liter bottle of water (with an airtight seal, to be collected upon entry,) a box of Saltine crackers (yes, they need to be Saltines, with sealed packaging, also to be collected upon entry, and a current photo of yourself wearing a white t-shirt with a red X. Event hours are 3 p.m. Saturday - 10 a.m. Sunday.

In regard to the cause and scale of the displacement camps, quoting from Resolve Uganda:

The toll of this crisis has been massive, not only on the people of northern Uganda, but also on the surrounding region. The LRA is currently wreaking havoc in three countries, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan, and causing widespread instability. The Ugandan government’s strategy of moving northerners into “protected villages” has turned into a displacement nightmare for 1.7 million people – over 80% of the region – who now live in squalid camps and lack access to basic resources. According to recent reports, 1,000 people are dying each week as a result of camp conditions. Again, children have been the primary victims. One-half of those displaced are under fifteen years of age and more than a third of boys and one-sixth of girls bear the scars of forced soldiering and sexual slavery in northern Uganda. For many years, upwards up 40,000 of these children “commuted” up to two hours every night to sleep on town streets to avoid abduction.

The Invisible Children movement of which Displace Me is one event was started by three young filmmakers from California who went to Uganda in 2003 and produced the documentary, Invisible Children: Rough Cut.

They decided to spread the story with modern media technologies and to mobilize people to take action by donating to relief work in Uganda and exerting political pressure for a resolution of the crisis. The rallies in 15 cities provided the organizers opportunities for speakers to share about what is happening in Uganda and to show videos to further educate and motivate the participants to take whatever action they can to bring relief and peace to the troubled region.

The large size of the events draw media coverage allowing the message to spread further. Here is a Kansas City Star feature story of the Displace Me rally in Kansas City.

The event even caught the attention of the White House as each of the 15 locations saw a video message from First Lady Laura Bush commending the activism of the youthful movement and describing some of the initiatives pertaining to Africa the Bush Administration has taken.

Probably one of the most moving moments at the event was the 21 minutes of silence to recognize that the civil war has raged for 21 years. The speaker encouraged the participants to be silent and reflect on the situation and what one wants to do about it and to pray for Uganda and all involved if they were inclined to prayer.

For me, during that time, the images of the suffering children from the videos would float in my mind and I would ask God to help people in the region and around the world to do whatever they can to bring peace, healing and justice to that trouble region. As I prayed, I could not help but think of other troubled places in the world where death and suffering is caused by war. Our hearts were both angered and saddened as we contemplated how much sorrow there is in those places and we resolved to do something about it.

Click on the image to see a larger version.

Here is a feature story on the event on the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

At the moment, there is a ceasefire in Uganda and negotiations are taking place. Camp residents are cautious but hopeful.

Wouldn't it be something if sometime over the year, the war came to an end and the people can go home to the countryside without fear and displacement camps will be no more?

Let's pray and work to make it so!

Music: How much money would Joshua Bell make playing in a Metro Station?

2007-04-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

A really fascinating article in the WaPo about what happened on January 12 when world renown violist Joshua Bell played music in the L'Enfant Plaza Metro station in Washington DC during the morning rush hour commute.

He played several of the most difficult and beautiful works for solo violin on his $3.5 million dollar 1713 Stradivari violin.

To read what happened, go here. There are also 4 video clips highlighting the story.

HT: Deceptively Simple.

Blogs writing about this article.

BTW: Joshua Bell made $32.17 in 43 minutes.

Here is the online chat with the writer of the story.

Culture: 60 years ago Jackie Robinson ...

2007-04-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

Image source:
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/modern/jb_modern_robinson_1_e.html

60 years ago, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball.

Over at Dodgers.com is a whole bunch of features about the celebration of that historic moment and about a life well led.

Ceremonies at all games played tomorrow, April 15, will be held in recognition of Robinson. Most notable will be the wearing of uniforms with the number 42 on them by players who wish to honor Robinson in that way. The number had been retired by the MLB with only players who already were using number 42 allowed to continue wearing it. As of today, only Mariano Rivera is in that group. Of the honor he said:

As a minority, I feel honored wearing the No. 42 and carrying the legacy that Jackie Robinson left. I wear it with good pride. That's the way it goes. All the guys retired or left, and I'm still carrying the number. I feel blessed for that.

The idea of wearing 42 came from Ken Griffey, Jr.

It's just my way of giving that man his due respect. I just called Bud (commissioner of baseball Selig) and asked him if I could do it. He made a couple of phone calls and said, Yeah. We had a good conversation. It was about me wearing it on that day, and only that day.

Each jersey used in the remembrance will be auctioned and the proceeds donated to the Jackie Robinson Foundation. Quoting from their "about the foundation page:"

The Jackie Robinson Foundation (JRF) is a public, not-for-profit national organization founded by Rachel Robinson in 1973 as a vehicle to perpetuate the memory of Jackie Robinson and his achievements. Serving as an advocate for young people with the greatest need, the Foundation assists increasing numbers of minority youths through the granting of four-year scholarships for higher education.

The Jackie Robinson Foundation provides much more than financial support. While each Jackie Robinson Scholar receives up to $7,200 a year in financial support, they also become an active member in the Foundation’s unique Education and Leadership Development Program, which is an extensive mentoring program that includes attendance at workshops, assignment of a peer and a professional mentor and placement into summer internships and permanent employment.

Culture: Who am I?

2007-04-10T06:59:00.001-07:00

Recently, one of the games we played at our youth group involved putting the name of someone in the pop-culture on the forehead such that the wearer can't see the name. One then asks yes/no questions to gain clues to the identity.

Can you guess who I am?

Am I a man? No.
Am I a real person? Yes.
Am I in the news? Yes.
Am I a political figure? No.
Am I a sports figure? No.
Am I in the movies? Yes.
Am I pretty? Yes.
Am I funny? Yes.
Am I this person? Yes!

Did you guess correctly?

Art: Reflections on a Holy Saturday

2007-04-07T08:21:00.000-07:00

As I look over Handel's Messiah, I think track 31 is the place that sort of describes the Saturday between the the Crucifixion and Resurrection. It would fit in a Good Friday mediation. Track 32 belongs with Sunday and Resurrection

Isaiah 53:8b
he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of [Thy] people was He stricken.

Jesus was taken off the Cross and prepared and placed into the tomb.

One of the most iconic works of art is Mary, the mother of Jesus, holding the dead Jesus.

Michelangelo's Pieta (1499), St. Peter's Basilica
Image source: http://faculty.cua.edu/johnsong/hitchcock/pages/pieta.html

On Saturday, what did it feel like to be Mary?

Would she replay in her mind all she saw on Friday?

What did it feel like to be Peter?

He had promised to die for Jesus and he had denied Jesus and Jesus was dead.

What did it feel like to be any of the followers of Jesus?

Did they meet together and talk about what had just happened?

Did any of them think about the times Jesus talked about dying and rising from the dead?

On Saturday, their thoughts were on this: he was cut off out of the land of the living...

I wonder to what degree they thought about the second half: for the transgression of Thy people was He stricken?

I wonder to what degree they thought about what Jesus said in Mark 8:31 and in other places: He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.

Were they simply lost in grief and forgetting all Jesus taught about the bigger picture?

I could hardly blame them.

On Saturday, their thoughts may well have only been about the last images from Friday.

Image source: http://www.uga.edu/cc/stations/station14.html

Life: The Bright Side of Free Will

2007-04-07T07:22:00.000-07:00

So on Friday nights, I'm often with junior high students from my church.

It is an interesting age. Prior to that age, kids tend to be like sponges taking in everything they hear more or less without question. But something happens when kids hit 12-14! They begin to wonder a bit about what they hear. But then again their attention spans aren't real long so if the subject is complex they might follow for a a little bit and then like a gust of wind sweeps in and their minds are elsewhere.

So last night, somehow, we got on the subject of free will. And, just like most adults I've had conversations about this subject, the focus quickly went to the dark side of free will and the persistence of evil. One of our adult leaders tried and eventually got them to think about the other side of free will: love.

It was interesting to see how it took several tries to get the group to go down that road and see the logical consequences of the bright side of free will. For just for a few moments, they were grabbing onto it and that was exciting to see. Of course, shortly after that, their minds flew off in another direction. But for a few moments here and there they were on track and those are the teachable moments we pray for and live for!

It was a good Good Friday evening with the students.

Life: You can't fight city hall

2007-04-06T07:15:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

$70 please.

Yup, I had been good for a while. I had managed to go a number of weeks without a parking ticket but today, there it was issued at 7:05AM for $70.

I indirectly pay property tax by paying rent.

I pay another "property tax" of sorts with the parking tickets I get each year because I live in this zip code.

Speaking of taxes, April 15 is just around the corner and so a quick check of Youtube.com ...

While we are at it, might as well have everyone check out "PacMan" by "Weird Al" Yankovic.

Enjoy!

Sports: 5:47 PDT

2007-03-31T15:34:00.000-07:00

March Madness. Florida vs. UCLA, NCAA Men's National Semifinals. GeorgiaDome. CBS television.

Did this once before, and UCLA won!

So here we go again ...

With apologies to Russell Crowe (General Maximus Meridius), Ridley Scott and who ever else was associated with the film Gladiator:

Bruins!

Three weeks from now I will be potting my tomato plants.
Imagine where you will be, and it will be so.
Hold the line!
Stay with me!

If you find yourself alone,
walking in the beach with the sun on your face,
do not be troubled,
for you are on Spring Break
and you are at Santa Monica Beach!!

UPDATE: What can you say? Hats off to Florida. IN the end, basketball is a simple game: put ball in basket. And when one team has more ways to put the ball in the basket that team wins.

IN post game Bruintalk, the host said, Coach Howland had to pick his poison - play the Florida bigs one-on-one and get beat inside or double-down and hope you can pick off the pass going back out or they miss the outside shot. IN the first half, the double-downs worked with the exception of Brewer's 3 threes. But in the second half, the flood gates opened as Florida hit the threes and eventually also starting cleaning up inside as well - game over.

Hats off to Coach Howland, the staff and the 2006-2007 Bruins for getting this far. If you asked me after last year's Final Four that the Bruins would make the Final Four again after losing three starters from the 2005-2006 team, I would say that would be a remarkable achievement. Indeed, despite how miserable the Bruin team and staff and fans are feeling tonight, it is a huge accomplishment.

It says something about the winning formula when three of the four Final Four teams have a serious presence in the middle. UCLA was the only team without that benefit. They got there because they played team defense to cover up that weakness. That worked against Indiana, Pittsburgh and Kansas but Florida had too many options.

So for Bruin fans, we await the next season and as for Monday, Bruinsnation will become honorary Buckeye fans for a day! Go O-HI-O!!

Sports: Mountaineers Win 2007 NIT Championship

2007-03-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering, West Virginia defeated Clemson 78-73.

BTW, all four of the #1 seeds in the NIT got to the final four in MSG.

Sports: National Semifinals - Florida vs. UCLA

2007-03-29T17:21:00.000-07:00

The newspaper in LA is running an article or three each day in the run up to the Final Four. Fans are hoping for a win but the realists know that Florida is the favorite.

Las Vegas says Florida is the favorite by 3 points. BTW, they have GTown favored by 1 over the Buckeyes.

Last year, the Bruins starting line-up: Farmar, Afflalo, Bozeman, Mbah a Moute and Hollins. The Bruin bench was: Collison, Abboya, Mata and Roll.

This year, Collison has taken over the point for Farmar. Collison gives the Bruins more speed on both offense and defense. He will have a huge assignment covering Florida's point guard Green. Collison will need to force a few turnovers and disrupt the timing of the Florida offense in order for the Bruins to have a chance. If we see the Gators flying around in a dunkfest, we are looking at another blowout so getting back on defense will be a key. When in the half-court, Collison will need to pressure Green so the passes into the Florida bigs are a little bit off allowing UCLA's double teams to poke it away, steal it or leave the frontline with a less ideal shot causing a miss.

Afflalo is a year better and stronger and hopefully he will have a better game than 3 for 10 shooting he had last year in the game against the Gators. He was hitting so many shots against Kansas so hopefully his shooting touch is back and that it will carry over to this game!

Bozman was a senior and his spot is taken by Shipp. Shipp gives more offense but less defense. However, in recent games, Shipp seems to have stepped it up a notch. Hopefully, the extra offense that Shipp gives will give Collison and Afflalo some more room to work in the half-court sets.

Mbah a Moute has continued to develop. A bit bigger and stronger than last year when he was completely overwhelmed by Florida's frontline. We need him to play tough defense and grab those rebounds on defense and sneaking a few offensive rebounds.

Mata has been a valuable presence in the middle. Not as tall as Hollins but bulkier, he isn't afraid of mixing it up underneath. Horford and Noah are 1st round NBA picks and Mata isn't. But Mata with his grit might disrupt the Gator inside game. Kansas had it share of inside opportunities but they seemed to rush their shots just a tiny bit. Call it the Mata-effect!

UCLA's bench is a bit better than last year. Westbrook doesn't play as many minutes as Collison did as back-up point but Westbrook is key to keeping Collison fresh for the final push in the 2nd half and he has shown some ability to score. Roll brings some three-point shooting off the bench and his minutes to give Afflalo and Shipp a break will be important. He has gotten stronger and is more confident putting up the shot from last year. Abboya is bigger and stronger than last year. He isn't as tall as Florida's bigs and not much on offense but he has a nose for the ball on rebounds. A big part of UCLA's defense includes letting the other team know you are there! Abboya has to be careful if the refs have a fast whistle! But part of what Abboya does is put that body on the other team's star big guy so they get frustrated. If the pace of the game gets a little fast or there is foul trouble, we will see Wright and Keefe.

If any other Bruins wind up playing, it means the game is a blow out and fans in Westwood are heading for heartbreak hotel.

IN any case, Go Bruins!

Sports: Round 4 - Kansas vs. UCLA

2007-03-22T21:23:00.000-07:00

Sat. Jayhawks vs. Bruins. Western Regional Finals.

Looking at the scores of today's regional semi-finals, it was about DEFENSE. KU beat SIU 61-58. Memphis edged A&M 65-64. UCLA defeated Pittsburgh 64-55. Quite striking that these games were all in the 50s and 60s. The only game that showed some offensive fireworks was the Ohio State vs. Tennessee game with the Buckeyes rallying furiously from a 20-point deficit. It looks to be coming down to the final possession or maybe even into overtime!

UPDATE: Its a final, Ohio State 85 UT 84!

UPDATE: UCLA 68 KU 55! Interesting stats: UCLA 24 turnovers. KU 21 turnovers. UCLA 15 steals. KU 17 steals. Whoa!

UPDATE: Have started to watch my VCR copy of the game, seems to me the turnovers and steals aren't about sloppy play but incredible pressure defense by both sides!

Sports: Round Three - UCLA vs. Pittsburgh

2007-03-21T23:01:00.000-07:00

Am nervous as heck about the West Regional semi-final match up between UCLA and Pittsburgh. In LA, the stories about the ties between Coach Howland and Coach Dixon fill the papers. It will be UCLA's perimeter players versus Pittsburgh's bigs. It is about two coaches who like defense. We shall see!

Expectations in BruinsNation is way out of control. UCLA's history since the last Wooden-coached championship in 1975 doesn't justify the demands of the fans. To put some numbers on it, in the last 32 years, UCLA has made the Final Four just four times.

Since Wooden, fans have been dreaming of a return to glory. There have been two shining moments prior to Howland that prompted optimism but each time it turned to ashes for fans of the UCLA basketball program shortly afterward.

1980.

Larry Brown arrived on the scene to take over a program in disarray where demanding fans ran out of town two coaches in four years. The Bruins came in 4th in the Pac-10 that year and drew an invitation which many analysts thought was simply because of the name brand. Brown took that starting line-up of 3 freshmen and 2 seniors on a magic carpet ride that ended in the championship game with a narrow defeat to a Denny Crum (former Wooden assistant) coached Louisville.

The following year, 1981, with expectations rising again, the #3 seeded Bruins were ousted in their opening game against BYU and the shooting of Danny Ainge amidst coach Larry Brown's impending departure. Indeed, Brown resigned from UCLA, assistant Larry Farmer took over but the Bruins were hit with probation for NCAA violations and thus no-post season play in 1982.

Bruins in Ruins became the mantra from 1982-1988.
1982 - probation, no-post season
1983 - defeated in the first round to Utah
1984 - didn't make the NCAA and declined an NIT bid, Larry Farmer resigned
1985 - Walt Hazzard took over the coaching duties and got UCLA's only NIT championship
1986 - UCLA lost in the opening round of the NIT to UC Irvine!
1987 - won the first round against Central Michigan then lost in round two to Wyoming
1988 - didn't make the NCAA and Walt Hazzard was fired

Jim Harrick took over coaching at UCLA and became the unlikely receptacle of the hope and dreams of the fans for restoration. However, Harrick, despite fairly successful recruiting, was widely criticized for not being able to win the "big game" as UCLA consistently stumbled early in the NCAA.

1989 - lost in round 2
1990 - lost in the sweet-16
1991 - lost in round 1, victim of Penn State in a 4/13 upset
1992 - lost in the regional finals blown out by Bobby Knight's Indiana
1993 - lost in round 2
1994 - lost in round 1, victim of Tulsa in a 5/12 upset

Then came ...

1995

Edney's end-to-end drive to get the winning basket against Missouri in round 2. A high scoring affair with UConn in the Regional Finals. A knock down drag out with Ok State and Big Country Reeves in the National Semi-finals. And the magical game against Arkansas when Edney tried to play with an injured wrist but it became apparent that he couldn't continue so Cameron Dollar took over at point and Ed O'Bannon and Toby Bailey did the rest with strong contributions from Charles O'Bannon, J.R. Henderson and George Zedek. The 11th banner was put up!

But, in 1996, it was all ashes when UCLA lost to Princeton in arguable one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history. And then 1997 began with promise but a few games into the season Harrick was fired for lying about a recruiting expense report and Steve Lavin took over the team. Mike Gottfried and Lorenzo Romar were Harrick's top assistants on the 1995 championship run so they had since moved on to head coaching jobs of their own leaving Lavin as the senior assistant.

Lavin by all accounts was a decent guy but clearly in over his head.
1997 - lost in the regional semi-finals
1998 - lost in sweet-16
1999 - lost in round 1
2000 - lost in sweet-16
2001 - lost in sweet-16
2002 - lost in sweet-16
2003 - didn't make NCAA and was fired at the end of the season

Ben Howland took over a program that was in a ditch.
2004 - didn't make the NCAA and the fans understood the shelf was empty from the final Lavin years
2005 - UCLA was probably one of the last at-large teams that year and lost in the first round which the fans accepted because these were the last few Lavin recruits and just the first few Howland recruits.
2006 - a magic carpet ride for the Bruins! A victory over Alabama in round 2 that came down to the final possession with Alabama missing the winning shot. The improbable comeback against Gonzaga in the regional semi-finals. The grind it out win over Memphis in the regional finals. The shockingly easy win over LSU in the national semi-finals. The ride ended in defeat at the hands of the Florida Gators.

The Bruins restored?

2006

Will the hope kindled by that incredible run in that incredible year turn to ashes as two other false starts in the return to glory?

2007 - In round 3, UCLA versus Pittsburgh might look like that football game in round 2 versus Indiana.

Expectations are high but fan is short for fanatic and even the love that Coach Howland has won already is fraying and will be sorely tested if the Bruins fall short tonight.

I've been listening to the Bruins on radio all season long. I've seen one game live and a few on TV. They are a solid team but they don't have the talent to blow people out. The Bruins have lost 5 games this season. One was to a speedy team like Oregon (two near losses were to speedy USC). Two were to hot shooting teams in West Virginia and California. Two were to teams with big guys inside (Stanford and Washington). To be honest, they could have lost many more if it were not for their defense that wears people out. Coach Howland deserves a ton of credit for getting this team to play as a team and to be far more than the sum of its parts.

Here's hoping the Bruins will find a way to win tomorrow to survive and advance.

Go Bruins!

Sports: Time out Ohio State!

2007-03-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

Oh, my!

Xavier is up 6 on Ohio State, 47-41, 9:53 to play. Oden has three fouls!

Without question this would be the biggest upset of the day.

Michigan State beating UNC would be an upset but much more plausible!

UPDATE: OVER-TIME!! Ohio State hits the three with 4 seconds left to tie the game up and send it into overtime! Oden has fouled out. Gus Johnson is doing the play-by-play for CBS and his emotion is reminding me of the Gonzaga-UCLA game in the regional finals last year!

UPDATE: OSU goes on a 7-2 run to start the OT. Has Xavier hit the wall?

UPDATE: Its a final OSU 78 Xavier 71. Almost every National Championship team has the gut check game, is this the one for the Buckeyes?

Sports: Round Two - UCLA vs. Indiana

2007-03-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

Am nervous about UCLA vs. IU.

Indiana has a big guy in D.J. White. UCLA relies on Collison, Shipp and Afflalo on the perimeter. Mata, Mbah a Moute and Abboya are serviceable interior players on offense and with their value in their pretty solid defense. Clearly Coach Howland and Bruin fans are hoping they will step up and contain D.J. White.

It would also be nice to get some offensive contributions from the inside (only 11 points out of 70 in the Weber State game) to give the perimeter guys a little extra space to work with. All season long, UCLA faced zones and when the outside shooting was cold, they were in trouble.

Meanwhile, in the rest of the field, I was surprised to see only two double-digit seeds make it to round two. There were no 5/12 upsets. Three of the four 9s won in the 8/9 match-up but those really aren't "upsets" like the wins by VCU and Winthrop which were 11s over 6s.

We shall see if the seeds hold form on Saturday and Sunday.

Games that I think could be really interesting: Michigan State vs. UNC (two top coaches battling it out) and Texas vs. USC (as a UCLA fan and Pac-10 partisan, I have seen USC's athleticism. They have been flying under the radar nationally but this could be their showcase game).

In any case, Go Bruins!

UPDATE: Whew, survive and advance! With a 20-13 half-time score you would think it was a football game. UCLA's bigs came up big with Mbah a Moute snagging 12 rebounds of which 5 were at the offense end. Mata got 8 rebounds and a few key baskets. Westbrook wasn't in much but that fast break dunk was huge! His 4 minutes may not seem like much but that gives Collison some rest so he would have the fresh legs for the frantic finish which included a steal by Collison that sealed the game.

Indiana's D.J. White was a force with 14 rebounds and 4 blocked shots and who knows how many altered shots. But the supporting cast didn't hit some threes until late in the game when Indiana came from double digits down to tying the game.

Religion: Did we get the right Jesus?

2007-03-17T10:20:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, I went to Biola University to hear a free public lecture. The speaker was Prof. Fred Sanders (click and scroll down for bio) and the event was part of the Christian Apologetics program at the school.

Sanders is far from a stuffy humanities professor. He was hilarious! He worked in comic strip images to make some of his points. He also showed some paintings from Art History to give us a flavor for the life and times he was describing.

The premise of his talk was: if you walked into "the Hall of Putative Jesi" how would you know which Jesus is the right one of the dozen or so individuals walking around in that hall claiming to be Jesus?

He mentioned that one approach is to examine the historical reliablity of the Gospel records and that much valuable scholarship is in that realm.

However, for this evening's presentation, he said he would focus on the historical development of our understanding of Jesus.

He said there were seven ancient church councils that met to discuss "who was Jesus?" In the fast paced presentation, he sketched out five of the councils in terms of what was the issue being debated, some of the players on both sides and other historical factors surrounding the council.

To summarize, he described the results of these councils as the "Chalcedonian Box." He believed the "box" provides the fundamental catagories to discuss Jesus and the identifies boundaries for describing what we know about Jesus from the Scriptures.

Sanders described the Council of Nicea (325 AD). The debate was whether Arian, a priest in Alexandria, was right in questioning whether Jesus was fully God, the position long held by the church. Athanasius critiqued Arian's arguements. As a result of this council, the Nicene Creed was drafted with its famous passage that affirmed the divinity of Jesus:

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.

The next council Prof. Sanders summarized was Constantinople I (381 AD) which addressed Apollinarianism that questioned whether Jesus was fully human. The problem with this view is that would salvation by Jesus' life, death and resurrection be meaningful if he were not fully human?

The third council discussed in the presentation was at Ephesus (431 AD). There the question on the table was Nestorianism which said Jesus was two persons, a divine one and a human one. The council addressed the question and in particular, Cyril of Alexandria described Jesus as the union of two natures in one person.

The fourth council Dr. Sanders explained to the audience was Chalcedon which occurred in 451 AD. The council addressed the issue of Eutychianism held that Jesus had two natures but the human nature was so trivial that it was essentially absorbed within the divine nature. As a non-specialist, this sounded like a subtle variation on Apollinarianism mixed with Nestorianism?

The fifth council Sander's talked about was Constantinople II in 553 AD.

This council pretty summed up all the other councils in affirming there is one God with three persons (Trinity) and that the 2nd person of the Trinity is Jesus Christ who was one person with both a divine and human nature which the Son took on at the Incarnation.

Sanders was refreshingly honest about the fact that it is pretty hard to wrap our minds around all these things. The Incarnation is a statement of faith. It is much easier for us to have simple categories. But what we know from Scriptures points to a Jesus who defies simple categories and that Jesus was fully God, fully human, one person with two natures. We also know from the Bible that Jesus is the Son, the second person of the Trinity. How that actually "works" we don't know but we can attempt to describe it:

The Father is not the Son.
The Father is not the Holy Spirit.
The Son is not the Holy Spirit.
The Father is God.
The Son is God.
The Holy Spirit is God.
3 persons, 1 God.

image source: http://www.christian-apologetics.org/html/The_Trinity.htm

All in all a very mind blowing but informative evening.

It is really great to know that there are some theology professors who are energetic, humorous, creative and honest about how mind-blowing somethings are! If I had $1200 laying around, I'd consider taking a theology class with Prof. Sanders!

Sports: Round One - UCLA vs. Weber State

2007-03-15T07:13:00.000-07:00

UCLA fans are nervous. AP has Collison saying he is ready to go despite the ankle injury. Brave talk or is he truly ready to go? We shall see later today!

Bruinsnation is experiencing the emotional whiplash all fans feel about their teams: riding high with unrealistic expectations and brought low thinking all is lost at the slightest bit of bad news.

Clearly, Collison is an important piece to UCLA's chances. Westbrook doesn't appear to be ready to step in like the way Cameron Dollar did in the 1995 championship game against Arkansas but I'm sure he will get many more minutes than usual as long as the game remains under UCLA's control. Additionally, Shipp and Afflalo can handle the ball to some extent. Collison gives the Bruins speed on the break, dribble penetration and quick hands for a steal or two.

Against Weber State the Bruins *should* be able to win even if Collison isn't 100%. But as a Bruin fan, we have seen some spectacular first round collapses by the Bruins so I'm not counting these chicken's before they are hatched. I'll be parked in front of the TV after work hopefully catching the second half of the game.

For those who want to know this page has the history of who UCLA has played in the NCAA basketball tournament.

UCLA was the victim in the 5/12 upset in 1994 and 1999. UCLA lost in the 4/13 upset in 1991 and 1996.

Sports: Its that time of year - March Madness TTC pick'em contest

2007-03-13T21:58:00.000-07:00

Dear Two Tin Can Readers:

Okay, I've created a TwoTinCans Yahoo! Pick'em group contest.

Group ID# 107781
Password: ttc2007

This year's contest with Yahoo! gives you the option of participating to win prizes from HP (including $1,000,000 grand prize) in exchange for your contact information (of course). As an incentive for TTC readers, winner of our group contest wins a small token item from Rene's prize drawer ... woo-hoo!? Don't worry, it won't be a lump of coal?!

As a UCLA alum, I'm picking them to win the whole thing. But when I put on my hard headed analyst hat, I don't think they will win. Florida and Ohio State are looking awfully good right now and UCLA can self-destruct at any moment.

In any case, please feel free to join this group contest and enjoy the next 3 weeks of college basektball along with other TTC readers and all the other group contests you are joining!

Rene

UPDATE: Taking a closer look ... the East looks like a monster with (1) UNC (2) GTown (3) Washington State (4) Texas (5) USC. That has to be the strongest 1-5 of any region.

With my West coast bias, I have to go to the South regional and pick (12) Long Beach to beat (5) Tennessee in the annual 5/12 upset. The 49ers can jack up the threes like crazy and so if they get hot, an upset is alway possible.

In the West you got to wonder if the NCAA selection committee wanted the story lines of Ben Howland's UCLA playing the college he played ball at in Weber State. Additionally, if they win that game they could face in the 2nd round (10) Gonzaga which provided one of the most frantic finishes last year. And if UCLA survives that they might meet Pittsburgh in the regional semis which is a team Howland coached before going to UCLA and where Howland's friend and former assistant now is the head coach.

Florida being the #1 seed overall has the easiest path in the Midwestern region. Does anybody really think anybody in this group is going to stop them? Ironically, if I had to pick one team to pull off the upset of the millenium, it would have to be (8) Arizona. If Arizona can get their mind on the game and give 40 minutes they have the right mix of athletes to give Florida a real game. But they have been so inconsistent there is no certainty they will even win their first game against (9) Purdue. In any case, right now the money has to be on Florida.

UPDATE: Dohn reports Collison sprained an ankle in practice today. He is listed as probable for Thursday's game. DRATS!!!!

Sports: Big West Tournament 2007, day 3 and day 4

2007-03-09T06:59:00.000-08:00

In the opening game, the Anteaters face Long Beach State. The teams split their regular season meetings in close games. Mark Kelley scored 24 in the last meeting against Long Beach State. Darren Fells left the game against UCSB with an injury but it wasn't clear how serious it was. Also watch for Michael Hunter, the freshman guard from UCI who has been coming on strong as the season progressed. Last year, UCI was the #2 seed facing Long Beach State in the semi-finals and came from behind to take a one-point lead but Long Beach had the final possession and Aaron Nixon hit a three as time expired. Should be an close one again tonight!

UPDATE: Long Beach 77 UCI 63.

In game two, Cal State Fullerton the #3 seed meets up with Cal Poly the #2 seed. The teams split their regular season meetings in high scoring affairs. However, Cal Poly has been on a roll winning 9 of their last 10. Cal Poly is lead in scoring by Derek Stockalper. Whiten and McGinn also average in double digits for the Mustangs. The Titans are a high scoring run and gun team lead by Bobby Brown. Cutley and Robinson grab rebounds and can score as well. Will the Titans be weary from their double-overtime win on Thursday night? Since I'm rooting for the underdog in game #1 tonight, I'll also root for the Titans to pull off the mild upset in game #2.

UPDATE: Cal Poly 81 CSUF 56.

UPDATE: LBSU 94 CP 83. Long Beach faces Tennessee in the NCAA!

UPDATE: Whelliston comments on ESPN.com about the Big West:

What's not surprising in the Big West has been the superb play of preseason favorite Long Beach State, with its balanced scoring attack led by Big West POY Aaron Nixon (18.4 ppg). What has been a surprise has been the rise of Cal Poly, which has won 18 games for the first time since arriving in Division I 13 years ago. The Mustangs fling 3s on one end and pack it defensively on the other, and are led by Derek Stockalper (14.5 ppg), a senior who makes 50 percent of his threebies.

Cal Poly lost their 2 regular season meetings with Long Beach. But in their last meeting, it was a close game with the final score being 80-77. Since that loss, the Mustangs have won 8 in a row. Should be a good game between two teams that aren't afraid to shoot the three.

Sports: Big West Tournament 2007, day 2

2007-03-08T10:51:00.000-08:00

In the opening game tonight, Cal State Fullerton faces UOP. Basketball is often about which team can force the game into the style they like. Fullerton is a run and gun style team (82.4 pts/game and 1832 shots attempted this season) while Pacific is more deliberate (67.8 pts/game and 1537 shots attempted this season). I'm picking Pacific to pull off the upset tonight.

UPDATE: Titans 100 Tigers 92 (2OT)!!

UC Irvine faces UC Santa Barbara. Neither team is an offensive powerhouse with both teams in the bottom half of the conference in offense. Both teams have the lowest points against as well. Anteaters need to contain Alex Harris and hit their threes to have a chance to win. I've attended three UCI games in the past few years and each time they lost close contests that went into the final minute of the game. I'll be checking the internet tonight to see how they do. Toss up game, but since I went to UCI, I have to pick the Anteaters. What can I say, doh, Homer pick!

UPDATE: UCI 28 UCSB 18 at the half. Anteaters cruise to a surprisingly easy win 70-52. Alex Harris of UCSB got 22 points but many came when UCI had built a huge lead. No one else on the Gauchos scored in double figures.

Life: Life in the Big City

2007-03-07T21:11:00.000-08:00

Went to a neighborhood meeting to discuss crime.

image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragnet_(drama)

Our guest was one of the lead officers from the LAPD division that covers our area. The approximate coverage area: Santa Monica Freeway to the south, Beverly Blvd. to the north, La Cienega Blvd to the west and Normandie Ave. to the east. The population in this patrol area is probably larger than many cities in the rest of the USA.

He acknowledged there is the planned number of cops to cover that beat and the reality of being short-handed. As such, good coordination between ground units and the helicopters is crucial. He also mentioned their careful observation of crime trends so they can deploy their limited resources to regions within the division area.

Another problem is that most police officers in our part of Los Angeles do not live there because they can't afford to. Thus, most commute in great distances and do 12-hour shifts three days a week. Ideally in community policing approaches, the cops would be on the beat most days of the week and become known individuals to the neighborhood.

I also found out that when you use the cell phone to call 911 in our neighborhood it will likely be routed to the California Highway Patrol! Thus, one has to clearly state what city before going any further in stating the nature of the emergency so they can connect the caller to the right place.

He reminded us that 911 is often overloaded on weekends when crime is highest. If that is the case, he advised we call the LAPD division office directly.

Sports: Big West Tournament 2007, day 1

2007-03-07T21:07:00.000-08:00

#5 seed UC Irvine Anteaters rallied from 18 down to avoid the upset by #8 seed UC Riverside Highlanders and win 53-52! UC Irvine faces UC Santa Barbara tomorrow night! Go 'Eaters, zot, zot, zot!

Cal State Northridge Matadors (6) played University of Pacific Tigers (7) in the 2nd game of day one at the Big West Tournament. Pacific easily won 71-54.

Sports: Big West Tournament 2007, preview

2007-03-06T23:35:00.000-08:00

Image source: http://www.bigwest.org/sports/mbball/info/champs/

The BWT starts Wednesday.

Last year, I blogged quite a bit about it because I went to a number of the games. Alas, I'm not going this year as the prospects for my Anteaters are poor compared to last year. I will still follow along via the internet!

Kyle Whelliston covers the mid-majors for ESPN.com. Perhaps, he will have a preview for the Big West Tournament in the next day or two.

In the meantime, I hope this little summary will tide you over until Whelliston puts something out there and while you continue to scour basketball boards for any tidbit about the Big West.

#1 Seed - Long Beach
The clear favorites. They clinched the regular season title before the final weekend and finished with a 12-2 record in conference well ahead of Cal Poly's 9-5 mark. The key players to watch on the 49ers are Aaron Nixon (Big West Player of the Year) and Kejuan Johnson. The team is not shy about putting up the three-pointer. The team averages 10.3 made 3-pts per game and 86.4 pts per game.

#2 Seed - Cal Poly
They too aren't shy about putting up the three making 10 per game. The Mustangs are on a seven-game winning streak. Will they get to face the 49ers on Saturday for the NCAA bid? They lost both regular season meetings against Long Beach. Player to watch: Derek Stockalper.

#3 Seed - Cal State Fullerton
A run and gun team that I saw give UCLA trouble for about 2/3 of the game. The Titan's star is Bobby Brown averaging 20 points a game. They started the season off strong but have been slumping having lost 5 of their last 8.

#4 Seed - UC Santa Barbara
The Gauchos are on a three-game winning streak and have the conference stingiest defense giving up only 68.6 points a game. Their star is conference scoring champ Alex Harris who averaged 21 points a game.

#5 Seed - UC Irvine
The Anteaters have been erratic all season. Their longest win streak was only three games. Yet, they are one of two teams in conference to beat #1 seed Long Beach. In their second meeting against the 49ers, they got the lead then gave it up and then almost made the comeback. This same team struggled in two wins over #8 seed UC Riverside. Darren Fells gives them some inside presence and Adam Templeton and Nic Campbell launch the threes.

#6 Seed Cal State Northridge
The Matadors are the other team besides the Anteaters to beat Long Beach. But they too have been erratic all season managing just two three-game win streaks. They have played .500 ball in their last eight games after a mid-season 4-game losing streak. They split the regular season meetings against #7 seed Pacific. Player to watch: Jonathan Heard.

#7 Seed - University of Pacific
The UOP Tigers have had a terrible season after dominating the Big West the last few years. They are currently on a 4-game losing streak. Player to watch: forward Anthony Brown.

#8 Seed - UC Riverside
The Highlanders have had a difficult season. One of their players was killed in an auto accident before the season and their coach took a medical leave of absence. They went 1-13 in conference and 7-23 overall. They did play the Anteaters very close in their two regular season meetings. Player to watch: Larry Cunningham.

News: The Jesus Family Tomb Documentary

2007-03-05T12:44:00.000-08:00

Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason has written a piece you should check out if you really want a very quick overview of the controversy. In particular, he calls to task some of the head-in-the-sand, knee-jerk (am I using contradictory mixed-metaphors here?) responses from some in Christian circles. He then uses his usual "Dragnet" "nothing but the facts" approach.

Sports: Rip 'Em Eaters Zot Zot Zot

2007-03-01T19:48:00.000-08:00

image source: http://www.longbeachstate.com/local/facilities/pyramid.html

No, it isn't the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas. It is the Walter Pyramid, the sports arena in Long Beach.

I'm using the internet (streaming audio via KUCI 88.9FM) to keep track of UC Irvine vs. Long Beach State!

Long Beach State has clinched the regular season title for the Big West so they have a ticket to the NIT but their dreams are larger.

I'll be curious to see if the coach plays more of his backups to give their stars some rest.
UPDATE: Nope, Aaron Nixon is lighting it up. Long Beach is up 7 with 2 minutes to go.
UPDATE: UCI hits the 3 to cut the lead to three. Long Beach has the ball with just 35 seconds left.
UPDATE: UCI presses the inbound pass but they get it in and UCI fouls. LBSU gets both free throws and UCI turns it over taking it into the front court. That might be all she wrote. UCI fouls and sends LBSU to the line with a 5 point lead.
UPDATE: Its a final... LBSU 85 UCI 80.

The Anteater's goal is to improve so they can pull off the inside straight of winning 4 games in the conference tourney to get their first NCAA ticket. They would also like win so they can finish 5th in the Big West so they can face the hapless #8 seed UC Riverside.

Meanwhile, I'll also check the radio to see how UCLA is faring against WSU.
UPDATE: It is nervous time ... UCLA 49 WSU 45 with 2:27 left!
UPDATE: 1:30, UCLA running down the clock... they don't get a good shot with the shot clock gone ... Ick!
UPDATE: WSU shoot and miss. WSU has to foul. Shipp to the line in the 1 and 1.
UPDATE: Shipp gets them both, UCLA 51 WSU 45, 28 seconds left.
UPDATE: Shipp fouled again. UCLA 53 WSU 45, 13 seconds left.
UPDATE: WSU missed and UCLA rebounds and WSU opts not to foul.
Its a final UCLA 53 WSU 45.
UCLA is the Pac10 regular season champs!!

Culture: Countdown to Tannhauser - The LA Times Review

2007-02-26T17:05:00.000-08:00

I haven't seen it yet but the LA Opera opening night premier of Tannhauser took place this past Saturday and LA Times critic Mark Swed has his report. Excerpt:

In "Tannhauser," the second of his 10 mature operas and presented for the first time by Los Angeles Opera Saturday night, Wagner finds no sanction between love and lust. For sex, Tannhauser, a troubadour, sinks into the arms of the goddess of love, Venus, in her 24/7 orgy realm. For salvation, he returns to strait-laced society of the virginal Elizabeth and seeks the pope's forgiveness.
........
For its new production by Ian Judge, Los Angeles Opera - ever eager to seem an adjunct of Hollywood - advertises raunchiness, not redemption. Nudity is promised and delivered in quantity onto the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion stage.
.........
After half an hour of silly sex, a lot of redemption is required. Amazingly, the makeshift production achieves it.

.... it is Schnitzer's Elizabeth who, by supplying the warmth and ardor missing from Venus, illuminates this production. Martin Gantner is an appealing Wolfram, the one knight who doesn't turn against Tannhäuser, and his song to the evening star, given a slow and stately tempo by Conlon, is moving. Rodrick Dixon makes Walther von der Vogelwiede the most fervent troubadour. Franz Josef Selig is a capably rigid Heinrich, Elizabeth's uncle.
........
"Tannhauser," which usually starts wonderfully and ends drearily, did just the opposite Saturday night. Forget the ads. Los Angeles Opera's "Tannhauser" redeems itself Wagner's way, not Hollywood's. Whether you consider that triumph or tragedy may depend upon which side of town you live.

So I guess Swed has given it a sort of a thumbs up?

My review will be up when I see the opera toward the end of its production run in a few weeks.

Movies: HB Buttercup is at it again!

2007-02-23T07:42:00.000-08:00

They are at it again!

Customers who spend between $2000 - $10,000 can get their furniture for free if they can correctly pick the winners in the 7 categories.
1. Best Feature Film of the Year
2. Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
3. Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
4. Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
5. Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
6. Best Original Screenplay
7. Best Art Direction

As usual, I have seen very few of the films nominated!

But that doesn't stop me from guessing!

1. Picture - Babel
UPDATE: Departed wins it!
2. Actor - Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
UPDATE: No surprise!
3. Supporting Actor - Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine
UPDATE: You heard it here and I was right. Murphy was considered a lock by many.
4. Actress - Helen Mirren - The Queen
UPDATE: As sure a lock as sure can be in these things.
5. Supporting Actress - Jennifer Hudson – Dreamgirls
UPDATE: She wins it!
6. Screenplay - Little Miss Sunshine
UPDATE: Got it!
7. Art direction - Dream Girls
UPDATE: Pan's Labyrinth.

Bonus pick:
Director - Martin Scorsese – The Departed (essentially a lifetime achievement award)
UPDATE: He wins it.

Sports: 2007 NIT Bracketology

2007-02-21T00:44:00.000-08:00

Thanks for making 2007 NIT Bracketology so much fun with all the interest and willingness to comment!

Check out the bracket at NIT.org

How did I do? I got 26 of 32 correct. Thus, I missed on six picks.

I had Syracuse and Missouri State in the NCAA but they had their bubbles burst landing them in the NIT. I had Stanford and Arkansas in the NIT but they wound up in the NCAA. I had LSU, Akron, Missouri and Washington in the NIT but they missed the cut. Replacing the four I missed outright: Utah State, NC State, Fresno State, Hofstra.

Enjoy the NCAA and the NIT and hope to see you again in 2008 NIT Bracketology!

UPDATED as of March 10, 2007

UPDATE: Welcome Iowa Hawkeye fans! I just checked their RPI and it was 96 which puts them in a cluster of teams in that range vying for the last few spots in the NIT. Pros: finished 4th in Big Ten. Cons: weak SOS and poor performance in non-conference games.

UPDATE: Welcome University of Northern Iowa fans! It is NIT bubble time with UNI's 86 RPI. Pro: better RPI than say Iowa and beat Iowa. Cons: 3-7 in last 10 while Iowa was 6-4.

UPDATE: Welcome University of Central Florida fans! Championship week will be exciting for the Knights as the #2 seed in the CUSA tournament. 3 wins and they get to the NCAA! A win over UTEP/Rice (Thursday), a win over Houston (Friday) and a competitive game with Memphis (Saturday) would mean they go 7-3 over their last 10 which might get them a look by the NIT. However, if more regular season mid-major champions fall, they will get those final spots in the NIT. Stay tuned. Alas, UCF lost to Rice on 3/8/07 which drops their RPI > 100 which pretty much ends their chances at the NIT.

UPDATE: Welcome Western Kentucky fans! Unfortunately, their early exit in the Sun Belt leaves them at a 97 RPI and poor SOS numbers which is probably not enough to garner an at-large NIT bid.

UPDATE: Enjoy the picks over at NITOLOGY 2007. The 1 through 4 and 7 through 8 lines are pretty much in agreement. It is those spots in the 5 and 6 lines where there are divergent views.

The NIT takes 32 teams after the NCAA picks 65.

Regular season champions who do not win their post-season tournaments and do not get an NCAA invitation get an automatic NIT bid. The rest of the field is filled out by the NIT selection committee taking the best of the rest.

NCAA bubble teams just barely in so could wind up out:
Missouri State
Purdue
Illinois
Old Dominion

NIT teams that could sneak into the NCAA:
1 seed: West Virginia, Florida State, Kansas State, Ark (playing Florida for SEC auto bid on Sunday)

Solid NIT teams:
2 seed: Clemson, Air Force, Bama, Georgia
3 seed: Miss St, Bradley, UMass, Mich
4 seed: Akron, Stanford, DePaul, Washington
5 seed: Drexel, App State, Ok State, Miss
6 seed: LSU, San Diego State, Providence, Mizzou/SOUTHLAND - Texas AMCC

Auto-bids from regular season champs not going to NCAA:
7 seed:
MID-EASTERN - Delaware State
SOUTHWESTERN- Miss Valley State
MID-AMERICAN - Toledo
AMERICA EAST - Vermont

8 seed:
ATLANTIC SUN - East Tennessee State
METRO ATLANTIC - Marist
OHIO VALLEY - Austin Peay
SUN BELT - South Alabama

Just out of NIT:
Cal
Northern Iowa
Santa Clara
wichita state
Iowa
okla
Nebraska
UConn
Auburn

The following conferences are sending only their conference champions to the NCAA so if their regular season champ doesn't get into the NCAA, they get an automatic bid to the NIT.
AMERICA EAST - Vermont to NIT as Albany wins championship game on Sat
ATLANTIC SUN - East Tennessee State goes to the NIT after losing to Belmont who gets to go to the NCAA!
ATLANTIC 10 - Xavier an at large for the NCAA? They lose in semis; GW wins championship game on Sat
BIG SKY- Weber St. wins championship game on Wed
BIG SOUTH – Winthrop wins and are going to the NCAA!
BIG WEST - Long Beach State wins championship game on Sat
CONFERENCE USA – Memphis win championship Sat
IVY LEAGUE - UPenn - I forgot that the regular season winner goes to the NCAA as they have no conference tournament.
METRO ATLANTIC - Marist lost in semi-finals and goes to NIT; Niagara goes to NCAA
MID-AMERICAN - Toledo lost in semis and wind up in NIT; Miami (OH) to NCAA
MID-CONTINENT - Oral Roberts goes to the NCAA
MID-EASTERN - Delaware State goes to NIT; Florida A&M goes to NCAA
NORTHEAST - Central Conn wins championship game on Wed
OHIO VALLEY - Austin Peay lost in finals and goes to NIT and E. Kentucky goes to NCAA
PATRIOT - Holy Cross wins their championship game on Fri and go to NCAA!
SOUTHERN - Davidson wins championship
SOUTHLAND - Texas AMCC; championship game on Sun
SOUTHWESTERN- Miss Valley State to NIT; Jackson State to NCAA
SUN BELT - South Alabama lost in quarter-finals, goes to NIT; North Texas goes to NCAA
WEST COAST - Gonzaga goes to NCAA
WESTERN ATHLETIC – Nevada will get in as at-large even thought they lost in the semis; New Mexico State wins championship Sat

Sports: Bracket Buster Saturday - Big West Busted

2007-02-18T20:33:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday was the annual bracket buster weekend where teams from the mid-major conferences square off against each other to raise their profiles for the NCAA tournament. The Big West went 3-5 this past Saturday. My Anteaters got beat up by USF.

For Big West partisans, it was discouraging to see the top three teams (Long Beach, Cal State Fullerton and UCSB) go down to defeat.

The Big West tournament champion will get the NCAA bid. If the tournament champion is also the regular season champion then that will be it for this year in terms of post-season play. If the Big West tournament champion is not the regular season champion, then the tournament champion goes to the NCAA and the regular season champion gets an automatic bid to the NIT.

If the Big West had done better in the bracket buster, then one at-large bid might have been offered to the NIT but as it stands they flopped when they had the chance to show their stuff.

UPDATE: Here is Whelliston's recap of some of the interesting match-ups from the Bracket Buster weekend.

As for the Pac-10, the other conference I follow, I'd say four teams are virtual locks (UCLA, WSU, USC, Stanford) for the NCAA. If the season ended now, I'd say Oregon and Arizona are in but they have been struggling of late and could play themselves out of the tournament. Washington and California look NIT-bound.

Culture: Countdown to Tannhauser ... oh my!

2007-02-17T12:21:00.000-08:00

I previously blogged about my plans to go to an annual opera event.

I went to the Los Angeles Opera web page and saw the following notation to the Tannhauser ad banner -- "Viewer Discretion advised: nudity, adult language, strong sexual content."

Oh, my!

Is the libretto R (X-rated?) -- gasp!???

Or is it this production's interpretation of the opera?!

Okay, opera fan readers, what's the scoop?

Enquiring minds want to know!

UPDATE: Decided to check out Amazon.com to see what DVDs of Tannhauser look like. The NY Metropolitan Opera has the top selling DVD. Excerpt:

Under the artistic leadership of conductor James Levine, the production team of director Otto Schenk and designer Günther Schneider-Siemssen has adhered strictly to the composer's wishes. These are not hard to fathom; they were clearly articulated in his lifetime and rigorously enforced at Bayreuth long after his death. But in the last half-century they have been frequently violated by his descendants and heirs, among others. The temptation to plumb these music dramas for symbols and allegories is almost irresistible. In this production, like the later Met edition of the Ring cycle, the artists sensibly allow each audience member to develop a personal interpretation without undue interference.

There is a DVD for a production filmed at Bayreuth. Excerpt:

The staging is classic Wolfgang Wagner with the round moving stage in Act I, the round Hall of Song in Act II (a particularly lovely setting, I felt), and in Act III's minimalist mound in the valley of the Wartburg. Costumes are suitably minimalist and in muted colors but with interesting detailing.

Here is the production by the National Theatre of Munich. Excerpt:

In Richard Wagner's obsessive drama, with its themes of sin and repentance, cultural inhibition and artistic spontaneity, sexual excess and lost innocence, symbols sprout as profusely as dandelions on summer lawns. A lot of the symbols were put there by the composer (who also wrote the libretto), but for this production director David Alden has decided to add many more--notably in the first scene: an orgy in the love nest of the goddess Venus. The sadomasochistic visuals, reminiscent of the feverish inventions of Hieronymus Bosch, may help to explain Tannhäuser's decision that he wants to go home. Like the scenery, the costumes are eclectic, ranging from modern, formal evening gowns to medieval suits of armor and even, in a few choice instances, nothing at all.

Hmmm, I suppose this LA premier production will follow the Munich approach?!

The LA Opera has posted a video of some of the rehearsals. They repeat the viewer discretion is advised. From the music I heard on the video and from what I read from this Wikipedia synopsis of the opera, it would appear that after the overture is the ballet/bacchanalian orgy scene at the Venusberg. It would also appear that some productions (including LA's) of this opera have opted to leave little to the imagination.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Politics: House Resolution 63 Passes 246-182

2007-02-16T15:06:00.000-08:00

See the roll call on the vote.

The italic names appear to be the Democrats while the regular typeface are the Republicans.

17 Republicans crossed over to vote yes. 2 Democrats voted no. I wonder who are Marshall and Taylor? Definitely profiles in courage for those two!

6 didn't vote. I didn't recognize their names except for Hastert! Is that the former Speaker of the House Hastert? I wonder why he didn't vote? In my mind, it would not be a profile in courage to duck the vote. Now, if they are in the hospital or something then I could understand. Anyone knows the House rules? Do they have to be physically present to vote?

Sports: Almost time for March Madness!

2007-02-15T19:29:00.000-08:00

My poor Anteaters. At best they will finish in conference 7-7. Alas, their final game in the Big West is against the top team Long Beach State.

In the Big West, the higher you finish in the regular season, the fewer games you need to play to win the post-season tournament. If the Eaters finish sixth, where they are now, they would have to win four games in the tournament to get to the NCAA tournament.

It is a pretty good year for the Big West. In the Mid-Major Top 25 (as of 2/12/07), Long Beach State is ranked 18 and Cal State Fullerton is rated 15. Usually, it has only been the top team in the Big West that might show up in the poll.

Meanwhile, in the Pac-10, it is probably going to come down to the final weekend to determine the regular season champion.

UCLA beats ASU tonight but it was a struggle. When I turned on the radio, they were down 10 in the middle of the 2nd half!

The Bruins are a gutty little team that is more than the sum of its parts. They have a number of deficiencies that could sink them in the NCAA tournament: they have trouble attacking zones, they miss a lot of free throws, they are vulnerable to athletic guard play that mixes in good three-point shooting (when the UCLA guards get too aggressive they get beat off the dribble and when they back off, three-point sharpshooters have caused trouble) and the Bruins front line just isn't big nor deep (Mbah a Moute, Aboya and Mata get the lion shares of the minutes and nobody is thinking any of these guys are going to go early to the NBA).

But the team plays pretty good defense and have just enough offense to eek out wins. They simply believe that they can win despite what everyone else says!

@ the movies: Amazing Grace

2007-02-09T10:57:00.001-08:00

Am looking forward to seeing this film!

Culture: Coaching the Lord's Way

2007-02-05T09:30:00.001-08:00

Congrats to the Colts, Coach Dungy, Peyton Manning and their whole team and organization.

But what is wonderful is that the two head coaches are such decent and honorable men.

To read about their Christian commitment check out this web page.
HT: HH.

Money: Bulls on Wall Street say, "Go Bears!"

2007-02-02T12:23:00.000-08:00

I clipped this item from Yahoo! Finance:

For subscribers of theories about the stock market, one of the more interesting ones is the Super Bowl stock indicator.

Albeit purely coincidental, it has accurately predicted a bull market 80% of the time, at least when a team from the NFC emerges victorious. If an AFC team wins, the theory is right about half the time, so that's a push. However, this year presents an interesting win-win situation for the bulls since the theory also cites a victory by an original, pre-1970 merger NFL team (i.e. the Colts) as bullish for stocks. Go Bears!

My forecast Colts 23 Bears 21, thus I'm taking the under as it is 48 and for the Bears to beat the point-spread which has the Colts favored by 7.

UPDATE: It is Indy 16 Bears 14 at the half. Who would have guessed there would be 5 fumbles, 1 interception, a muffed extra-point attempt and a missed field goal by Vinatieri and it is *only* the first half! Indy has 257 total yards compared to Chicago's 95. The Bears have to be happy to be down only two. The Colts will receive the kickoff in the 2nd half and if the Bears force them into a punt, you have to like the Bears chances to win this game. It would be ironic if in the end, the Colts win because of their defense? Looking forward to an interesting second half. I have a feeling this thing could come down to the final possession!

UPDATE: Congrats to the Colts, Coach Dungy, Peyton Manning and the whole team for their 29-17 victory over the Bears.

Some key stats and moments:

7 minutes 26 seconds - the length of the Colts opening drive in the second half. Even though it only yielded 3 points, it increased the Colt's confidence and probably began to gnaw at the Bear's confidence.

22-17, the score when Chicago still had a chance at the beginning of the 4th quarter. But the Colts read the Bears pass play perfectly and the INT yielded a TD making it 29-17 and thus essentially ending the Bears hopes.

430 versus 265 total yards - it was the Colt defense that was the story.

191 versus 111 rushing yards - it was the Colts running game that was the story.

LA Scene: Where am I?

2007-01-31T20:42:00.000-08:00

I wouldn't say that pelicans are beautiful birds... but they sure are distinctive looking!

So for those of you who know LA, where did I take this photo?

To see the answer, click on the comments link just below.

Sports: Woo hoo for the Anteaters!

2007-01-25T21:55:00.000-08:00

Alright Anteaters!!

UC Irvine upsets the Beach, the top dog of the Big West!

Travel: A few days on the central coast of California

2007-01-24T23:10:00.001-08:00

I recently had the chance to take a few days off and decided to escape from the city!

Day 1

Me and my buddy left LA after work and settled into the Quality Inn in Lompoc.

Day 2

The next morning, we headed off to Gainey Vineyard which was recommended by Professor Bainbridge.

The winery offers a guided tour of the grounds and some of the facilities. It is a nice little boutique winery.

We then went to Los Olivos. It is a cute little town with a one street commercial area. We had lunch at Panino. The more famous locale is Los Olivos Cafe popularized by the movie Sideways. However, we weren't quite willing to part with that much cash just for lunch. Panino offers up good but affordable salads and sandwiches.

We then headed up to the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail and visited Zaca Mesa. Their wine tasting facility was a bit larger than Gainey. Zaca Mesa was recommended by Bainbridge as well as two of my co-workers.

To finish off our wine tour, we decided to visit one of the big corporate wineries. We stopped at Fess Parker. I passed on getting any of their wines but inside the bag was some chocolate covered fruit I bought at their store!

We drove back toward Lompoc and decided to stop off at the La Purisma Mission. There were 21 missions established by the Spanish when they controlled California. Each mission was a self-sustaining community. La Purisma was restored during a depression era work project and is now maintained as a state historic park. It was great to wander around and see the buildings inside and outside and the animals that would have been part of their daily lives.

We got back to the hotel room to rest a bit before we headed off for dinner.

If you are going to eat dinner at the Hitching Post in Buellton, get reservations. We didn't and they said the wait would be two hours! Thus, we went next door to A. J. Spurs where I had a filet mignon and my buddy had a rib eye! Yummy!!

Day 3

We drove up to Montana De Oro State Park which is south of Morro Bay.

After looking around there, we drove to the famous Morro Rock. I snapped this photo of one of the gulls in flight. There was a birder at the parking lot explaining to people that he had his binoculars trained on a pair of Peregrine Falcons which are the world's fastest birds. They were much too far away for me to photograph. Even with the birder's binoculars, they were pretty small and not easily seen as they blend into the color of the Morro Bay Rock.

Here is part of the Morro Rock!

Had dinner at Great American Fish Company. We had a bucket of clams, I had the sole and my buddy had the shark! Terrific!!

We stayed the evening at the Morro Bay Econolodge. The Quality Inn of Lompoc would be a high two star hotel while the Econo Lodge in Morro Bay would be a low two star hotel. In both cases, the affordable options!

Day 4

Walked over to Shoreline Calvary Chapel for Sunday worship. It is friendly little church that I'd visit again should I be in Morro Bay again.

Had a nice big breakfast at Carla's Country Kitchen.

Properly fueled up, we went kayaking! It was my first time. Lots of fun even if it was a tad windy that day. Being inside the bay, the water is pretty calm.

We then visited the Morro Bay aquarium where they have a few seals. They are kept because they were injured and nursed back to health but probably wouldn't survive if returned to the wild. This one was a showman barking a lot to get people to toss some fish. Talking about singing for your meal!

We then went to the Monarch Butterfly Grove in Pismo Beach.

They cling together and hang amidst the branches of the trees!

Before they become butterflies munching on milkweed ...

Went to the Pismo Beach pier.

Had dinner at Splash Cafe, clam chowder, of course! BTW, you can find their clam chowder at Costco.

Day 5

Drove back to LA with a stop in Santa Barbara for lunch.

Went to Santa Barbara Shellfish Company on Stearns Wharf. We went for this restaurant because it was profiled on Rachael Ray $40 a Day.

Had a mess of mussels and a crab sandwich. Delish!

Culture: Countdown to Tannhauser

2007-01-23T13:13:00.000-08:00

Opera is one the most compelling and captivating of all the performing arts. It is essentially a dramatic work that is primarily sung, is accompanied by an orchestra, and is presented on the stage. Opera, however, with its lavish spectacle, high drama and visual and aural treasures, is much more than that. No other art form combines such disparate elements – singing, acting, lighting, design, orchestra, movement and dance into such a seamless whole. It engages our minds, captures our hearts and releases our imaginations.

The combination of words and music can, at its best, let us experience things about human character, feelings, moods and motivations that music and words, on their own, are powerless to express. It is like a window into the soul of a character. It is no wonder that no other art form inspires such passion in its audience and participants.

The above item is from the Opera Basics tab of the LA Opera web page.

A few years back, I set the goal of attending one opera per season.

I've always been a fan of classical music.

However, classical music mixed with the performing arts has been a little harder for me to grab onto.

I've seen a few ballets here and there. The Nutcracker is always a pleasure because the music is so interesting and the costumes are so colorful. Midsummer Night's Dream has soothing music and its comedic elements manage to come through even with no words. Romeo and Juliet is the classic tragedy and since we all know the story so well I find it remarkable how the story is still so riveting as we head to the inevitable tragic ending.

As for opera, what can I say?

It is probably the most over-the-top performing art style there is!

For an overview of opera, check out this web page from the famous New York Metropolitan Opera.

The four operas I've seen were with the Los Angeles Opera. For the story synosis, I've linked to various opera company web pages. In 2003, I saw Turandot, for 2003, Madama Butterfly, Aida in 2005 and last year, 2006, I saw Marriage of Figaro.

For 2007, I'll be seeing Tannhauser.

Am planning to blog occasionally in the countdown to seeing it and of course will do a post after I see the opera.

Anyway, a part of me laughs at the whole idea of opera. As I say, it is way over-the-top and the price of the ticket means it (attending live performances) would never be a regular part of the average person's life.

However, I remain intrigued. Part of it is simply the fun experience of attending an event and the corresponding people watching of the people watching the opera. But another part of my interest is my need to grapple with the most primal issues of human existence. I wrestle in my private prayers and meditations. I contemplate through converstions with good friends. And, indeed, I struggle by experiencing the arts. Philosophy professor John Mark Reynolds (many others have said - I just happened to hear it first from him) has said we learn about life both by "logos" and "pathos."

Opera would definitely be in the "pathos" mode of communication!

UPDATE: I suppose the "pathos" of the four operas I have seen highlight the power of love as motivation. In Turandot, the lead character risks his life to answer the three riddles to win the woman of the story. Madama Butterfly is terribly tragic as the lead character holds a love that can only lead to grief. If you have seen Miss Saigon, you have seen essentially the same story. Aida also comes to a tragic end but at least the two lovers are together in their death. Marriage of Figaro is a comedy of mis-understandings but in the end the lovers all find there way back to each other and all ends well. I've read the summary for Tannhauser and yet again, the story is about love with its joys and despair. More to come as the opera approaches!

Culture: Remembering United 93

2007-01-21T23:23:00.000-08:00

In youth group this morning, our speaker shared about the intersection of remembering, forgetting and anticipation.

We need to remember the past because we need to be grateful for the good that has happened.

We need to forget the past not in the sense we deny it ever happened but some aspects of our past need to be forgotten because we don't want those things to define who we are today and into the future.

We need to anticipate the future because a life with nothing to look forward to is a sad life.

No doubt about it, it was a message we all needed to hear given some of the things that have happened in our church.

If life is to have meaning beyond mere existence, then one must reflect. In Christ, we have the benefit of a God whose blessings inspire our gratitude and whose grace can make sadness meaningful.

For the afternoon, my mind took a turn toward remembering a national moment, I watched the DVD of United 93.

When the film came out, many people said it was too soon.

I went to see the film on the first weekend it came out. I went alone. I didn't have the heart to ask any friends to join me for fear they would not want to see the film or to impose on them to see the film out of obligation to tag along with me.

I confessed to wondering what motivated my fellow movie goers that night.

Did they know someone on the flight? Or someone who died on 9/11?

I did not.

I went to see the film because I felt the need to remember the horrors of that day but also the heroism.

The advertising tag line for the film was: On September 11th, one of the darkest days in our nation, 40 ordinary people sat down as strangers and stood up as one.

That resonated with me.

Like most people, I read the various profiles about the passengers of that flight, saw the interviews about the final phone calls, felt the anger and outrage at the incomprehensibility of such blind hatred and wept at the lost lives many cut down in the prime of life.

In support of remembering, I'm making a contribution to the Flight 93 National Memorial Fund.

On the home page, it succinctly explains why:

The story of Flight 93 is a national treasure -- a story of hope in human courage and cooperation. When confronted with the gravity of their situation, the passengers and crew of Flight 93 chose to act heroically and sacrifice their lives for their country. These 40 heroes made a democratic decision to fight back against terrorism and thereby thwarted a planned attack on our nation’s capital, saving countless numbers of lives.

I encourage you to donate if you haven't already. I also urge you to see United 93 if you haven't already.

Sports: Anteater basketball watch

2007-01-15T15:50:00.000-08:00

As a left-coaster, it has been great to see that the Pac-10 looks to be having an exciting year.

I never bought into the UCLA as #1 hoopla.

The reality is that the Bruins had to replace three key starters from last year's magical team. The fact that they are doing so well is a tribute to the team concept defense Coach Howland has the team buying into.

On the offense side, does anyone think anybody on UCLA is a lottery pick? For that matter, anybody think anybody on this team is a middle-to-late first rounder? Maybe Afflalo.

But the other starting four? Don't see any of them going NBA unless they get drastically better than they are now.

In any case, go Bruins!

But the title of my post is about the Anteaters!

It looks to be a so-so year for the Anteaters with them likely to finish in the middle of the pack of the Big West.

Whelliston has this analysis at ESPN.com from January 5, 2007 ...

Big West: Long Beach State
Three-time defending champ Pacific might have finally fallen off (considering its 5-9 record). So who's poised to take the throne? Well, preseason surprise UC Santa Barbara has won 10 games and ranks league-best in field goal shooting (49.5 percent) and offensive efficiency (1.046 points per possession) -- and strangled the offense of a very good Fresno State team on Dec. 6 in a 70-42 Gaucho gouging.

But when there's one bid to the Dance at stake, matchups are everything, and it's impossible to ignore Long Beach State's 101-65 slap-around of UCSB on Jan. 4, the 49ers' seventh straight win and a showcase for LBSU's superior toughness as well as the team's main man, 6-1 senior guard Aaron Nixon (35 points against UCSB, 17.1 ppg overall). Granted, there's so much trouble in the LBC on the offensive end -- Long Beach barely broaches the 40 percent mark on field goals -- but the defense (a low .951 points allowed per possession) and rebounding (35.8 rpg, 35th-best in D-I) should help the Niners carry the Big West in the end.

UCI recently stunned Pacific at Pacific in a huge way.

Big West fans are also keeping an eye on the Titans. They play up tempo basketball which should be an interesting match up against Long Beach State. That game will take place this Thursday and could set the mark for the team to beat going into the Big West Post-Season Tournament.

Irvine faces the Fullerton Titans this Saturday and will be a good test to see if the Anteaters will be in the upper-half of the league or not.

Go 'Eaters, zot, zot, zot!

UPDATE: UCI took care of business against the Highlanders setting up a big game for them against Fullerton on Saturday. Long Beach State outscored Fullerton thus taking the mantle of team to beat in the Big West.

UPDATE: Fullerton hit a buzzer beater 3-pointer against the Eaters on Saturday night. 8-(

World: Stick a fork in Iraq? Not yet ...

2007-01-11T15:21:00.000-08:00

Saw this item by Dean Barnett giving an angle I hadn't heard so far. If he is correct, maybe there is a little more beef to President Bush's plan.

Excerpt:

The current troop level in Baghdad is only 13,000. Most of the 20,000 new troops are going to be headed to Baghdad. That means we’re going to increase our troop complement in Baghdad by roughly 150%. In other words, as regards the Battle of Baghdad, this is an enormous tactical adjustment, not a symbolic gesture.

World: Stick a fork in Iraq?

2007-01-11T11:23:00.000-08:00

I caught part of the speech by President Bush.

The post-speech analysis on Newshour was not hopeful. Only David Brooks managed to sound a partially optimistic note and when he said, maybe we have a slightly less than 50-50 chance that this will work.

The other analysts pretty much threw in the towel and felt this was the last moves in the endgame before the US tips the king over in resignation.

One can't fault Bush for faintheartedness.

It would have been politically a lot easier to not invade Iraq and once having done so, to pull out pronto once things started going downhill.

As I see it, there were a number of scenarios:

(1) We could have left Hussein in place but with sanctions falling apart, he would have eventually reconstituted chemical weapons manufacturing. Perhaps, he would have sank money into biological weapons but they are actually pretty hard to get to work properly. As for nuclear ambitions, he might have developed them because the neighboring Iranians want them also.

With the Iraq invasion this scenario didn't happen.

(1A) We could have left Hussein in place and worked for a coup. What kind of Iraq would have arisen from this scenario? Perhaps scenario (2) below minus the invasion part.

(2) After the invasion, civil war breaks out between the three major factions destroying the country.

We are probably just a few steps removed from this outcome.

(2A) After the invasion, civil war breaks out between the three major factions but somehow, the three sides realize they have to stop.

This is the result we are all hoping for. Whether the addition of 21,500 troops can get us to scenario (2A) I don't know.

Sports: If you were part of the AP how would you vote?

2007-01-08T23:11:00.000-08:00

All the bowl games except for the BCS championship have been played.

If I had to cast my vote in the AP poll tonight, this would be my top-10.

1. Ohio State - if Florida beats them you have to wonder if the Big-10 was overrated
2. Florida - a blowout loss to Ohio State could drop them pretty far down
3. LSU - demolished ND in more impressive fashion than USC
4. USC - losses to Oregon State and UCLA were "worse" losses than LSU's losses
5. Boise State - the win over Oklahoma was amazing
6. Louisville - solid win over Wake
7. Wisconsin - win over Arkansas suggests they are pretty good
8. Michigan - only quality wins were early wins over Wisconsin and ND
9. Oklahoma - tough loss to Boise State
10. Auburn - tough call on whether the #3 SEC team is better than the #1 Big12 team

UPDATE: What can you say? The Big-10 turned out to be a BIG BUST. Chants of over-RATED are raining down on Big-10 fans. They went 2-5 this bowl season with their top two representatives blown out on the national stage.

My rankings:

1. Florida - a blowout win over Ohio State leaves no doubt that speed kills the slow footed Big10
2. LSU
3. USC - they have to be kicking themselves for inexplicable losses to Oregon State and UCLA
4. Ohio State - Florida beats them like a drum, if the loss was narrow, I'd place them #2 but there is no way a team that gets crushed like that deserves the #2 spot
5. Boise State
6. Louisville
7. Wisconsin
8. Michigan
9. Oklahoma
10. Auburn

The polls are out:
AP says ...
1. Florida (64) 13-1 1,624
2. Ohio State 12-1 1,492
3. LSU 11-2 1,452
4. USC 11-2 1,389
5. Boise State (1) 13-0 1,383
6. Louisville 12-1 1,338
7. Wisconsin 12-1 1,288
8. Michigan 11-2 1,145
9. Auburn 11-2 1,112
10. West Virginia 11-2 1,035

USA Today says ...
1. Florida (63) 13-1 1,575
2. Ohio State 12-1 1,435
3. LSU 11-2 1,418
4. USC 11-2 1,345
5. Wisconsin 12-1 1,328
6. Boise State 13-0 1,275
7. Louisville 12-1 1,270
8. Auburn 11-2 1,119
9. Michigan 11-2 1,092
10. West Virginia 11-2 1,012

Sports: Fiesta Bowl BSU 43 OU 42

2007-01-01T21:54:00.000-08:00

Unbelievable!

If you wrote that as a movie script they would have laughed!

Hats off to the Broncos for picking themselves off the mat after a near knockout blow on the INT-TD for Oklahoma late in the game. Amazing play calling on the game tying TD at the end of regulation, the TD in overtime and then the winning 2-point conversion in OT.

One of the most improbable games I've ever seen on TV!

UPDATE: ESPN.com has the headline "Fiesta Fireworks." SI.com called it "No Small Potatoes." Fox Sports described it "Razzle Dazzle."

UPATE: Pat Forde described it this way:

At the end of a game unlike any college football has ever witnessed, two of the great female icons in American culture staged a harmonic, hypnotic, borderline hallucinogenic convergence.

Boise State introduced Cinderella to Lady Liberty.

A head-to-toe, shining-beacon-to-glass-slipper miracle ensued.
.........
Reality was further challenged when Johnson followed his winning run with an on-field wedding proposal to his flabbergasted cheerleader girlfriend. But, please, one blockbuster story at a time.
.........
The last of the 21 points scored in the final 86 seconds of regulation came on a preposterous play: a 50-yard hook-and-lateral pass from Zabransky to Drisan James to Jerard Rabb -- a combination that will be the Tinker to Evers to Chance of Boise State lore for the next century or so.
.........
Zabransky went in motion to the left. Perretta, at quarterback, took the shotgun snap and rolled right, then lofted a lovely spiral toward the right corner of the end zone. Tight end Derek Schouman cradled it for the touchdown.
.........
Zabransky took the snap and feigned a throw in the right flat to Boise's three-man bunch formation. As the Sooners flew in that direction, Zabransky calmly stuck the ball behind his back with his left hand -- a twist on the conventional handoff he'd convinced Harsin would work earlier in the season.

Johnson then crisply reversed course, circled behind Zabransky and lifted the ball from his grasp. Virtually unimpeded by a bamboozled defense, the nation's touchdown leader crossed the goal line one final time in this dream season.

Bedlam, commingled with outright shock at the audacity of the call, ensued.

Culture: Who cares?

2006-12-28T10:32:00.000-08:00

Prager's guest on the radio today is Arthur Brooks, a professor of public administration at Syracuse University, who has writtten the book Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism.

His research indicates the best indicator of charitable giving and other forms of compassion (for instance blood donation and volunteer hours) are:
1 - religious commitment, the more religious generally give more
2 - political perspective, those who believe it is the responsibility of government to redistribute income generally give less.

Sports: An exciting time to be a UCLA sports fan

2006-12-27T08:17:00.000-08:00

Tonight is the Emerald Bowl.

The Emerald Bowl is a third tier bowl game. It will be carried only on cable and on local radio. UCLA usually is on 570AM but since the Lakers are playing tonight, the UCLA game moves over to 1150. The signal strength of 1150 is so low such that my car radio sometimes has trouble picking it up. My radio at home is able to bring it in. I suppose I might have to wander over to a a sports bar to see the ESPN coverage as I don't have cable at home. It costs a fortune to have cable in Los Angeles!

UCLA is supposed to win but they were supposed to win in 2003 in the Silicon Valley Bowl and showed no heart in a dismal loss. In 2004, they were supposed to win in the Las Vegas Bowl but they couldn't hold on and lost the game in the final minute. In 2005, they did win in the Sun Bowl but not before digging themselves into a 21-0 deficit!

The Pac-10 is having a down year and it showed with Oregon getting beat up by BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl and Hawaii shredding Arizona State in the Hawaii Bowl.

Normally, I'd be offering a friendly wager to a certain Big-12 fan friend but I'm not too optimistic about the Pac-10's chances in the Holiday Bowl between Cal and Texas A&M nor the Sun Bowl contest between Missouri and Oregon State.

The Pac-10 might go 0-6 this bowl season. I'm hoping for at least 1-5 with UCLA being the lone win. If we go 2-4, I wouldn't mind if the second win is USC over Michigan as long as the first win is UCLA over FSU!

In any case, Dorrell needs this victory just as much as he needed the win against USC to improve recruitment prospects for the years ahead. 2007 isn't expected to be a big recruiting year as they have only a small number of seniors leaving the program but UCLA still wants to get some good prospects.

Recruitment is so much about momentum. Once it became clear that the UCLA basketball program was on the downhill side under Lavin it became harder and harder to get top level players. Likewise, when Howland came aboard, recruits began to reconsider UCLA. A solid win over FSU would help assure recruits that signing up with UCLA means signing onto a rising football program.

Meanwhile, in basketball, UCLA is #1 but Arizona, Washington and Oregon are in the top-25. Arizona and Washington has some big guys who could wreck havoc on the undersized front-line of UCLA.

My impression is that UCLA's success has been truly a team effort. I don't know if any of the current starting five at UCLA is considered a lottery pick for the NBA. I'm not even sure how many of the starting five would be first round draft material! However, they play tough defense and share the ball on offense.

Go Bruins!

UPDATE: 6:50 PM PST, at the half, UCLA 20 FSU 13. The total yards stat has it essentially even: 256 vs. 245 with the slight edge to UCLA. The difference, at the moment, was the interception by the UCLA defense on FSU's first drive. The Seminoles were moving the ball easily and threatening to score when Horton picked off the pass.
7:09 PM PST, FSU gets a field goal cutting the UCLA lead down to 20-16. UCLA fans are nervous as the defense which is supposed to be the team's strong point has been getting beat badly.
7:16 PM PST, NOT GOOD 3 and out and then a blocked punt for a FSU TD. FSU leads 23-20.
7:32: PM PST, UCLA gets the lead back on the back of the running backs! UCLA 27 FSU 23. C'mon UCLA defense! Gotta to stuff these guys on the next possession!
7:36 PM PST, 3 and out but FSU gets a good punt.
7:51 PM PST, after 3 quarters, the score stands UCLA 27 FSU 23. UCLA has the ball as the teams switch sides for the final quarter.
7:58 PM PST, UCLA can't do anything with the ball and has to punt. FSU is moving the ball. They got a good running back in Booker. They also got some tall wide-outs. But the QB isn't delivering the ball to them consistently.
8:11 PM PST, FSU's QB is inconsistent but he hits his big wide-out and FSU takes the lead 30-27. Can UCLA's offense get off the deck?
8:23 PM PST, UCLA goes 3 and out and FSU is moving and is about to score again.
8:25 PM PST, only 6 minutes left and FSU now leads 37-27. It might be over.
8:33 PM PST, it is over. INT-TD for FSU. The score is now 44-27. You can stick a fork in the Bruins.

What can you say?

UCLA came to play but the difference between victory and defeat can be so small. That 4th quarter .... everything fell apart and that was all she wrote. The Fire Dorrell crowd will be burning up the sports talk shows and the internets.

Bruins fans are in mourning once again. The defense that came up big against USC couldn't stop FSU.

The brain trust at FSU recognized that if you can give the QB a little bit more time, the UCLA secondary is vulnerable. Oregon, Washington State and the Cal Bears exploited it. Shockingly, USC didn't.

The FSU QB isn't the greatest passer but he had enough time for his wide-outs to get open so he could deliver the ball to them.

Also, big plays all went against UCLA... the fumble that turned into an FSU TD on the next play, the blocked punt that turned into an FSU TD and the INT for TD gave FSU the third big play of the game. 21 points on BIG PLAYS. The margin of victory is erased if those big plays are erased.

Both Dorrell and Walker go from on the hot seat to heros to on the hot seat once again.

Money: How rich are you?

2006-12-19T07:37:00.000-08:00

I'm loaded.
It's official.
I'm the 55,146,441 richest person on earth!

How rich are you? >>

Check it out, pretty thought provoking, eh?

HT: YSMarko.com.

Sports: Clips from the 2006 UCLA vs. USC game

2006-12-14T07:28:00.000-08:00

Since I was at the Rose Bowl and I didn't bring a little television set, I've been curious to see how the game looked from that point of view.

UCLA fans were in the wilderness for eight long years and so with the victory, many fans have posted little YouTube clips and have assembled highlight mini films. Most of the YouTube screen capture films are pretty low-resolution. Here is one hosted at someone's personal site that is medium-resolution and he has edited it with some dramatic music. HT: BruinsNation where there is a link to the lower resolution YouTube version.

There is also a very high resolution video that is 600 MB described at BruinsNation.

Suffice to say, I've enjoyed watching both of them several times!

Below is a picture of the item I have on my wall to help me remember the game! Does this make me a totally crazed fan?

Space: Mars Humor on You Tube

2006-12-07T23:19:00.000-08:00

This blog began in August of 2003 and the very first post was about Mars.

Mars exploration gets into the news now and then and the increasing pace of that exploration leads to this item on YouTube.com ...

HT: Robby at periapsis.org.

Sports: Call me crazy but I bought 2007 season tickets to UCLA football

2006-12-06T13:19:00.000-08:00

What can I say?

The Bruins went from bums to being maybe just maybe a legit rival again.

So I plunked down the deposit on season tickets for the 2007 season.

As a perk, they gave me two tickets to the Emerald Bowl.

Alas, I've already filed for my PTO at work and the Emerald Bowl doesn't fall on the right days. However, I instructed the athletic department to donate my two tickets to military personnel.

World: Nothing But Nets, an update

2006-12-04T07:19:00.000-08:00

A little while ago, I posted on the Nothing But Nets campaign to collect money to buy mosquito nets to send to Africa.

Rick Reilly wrote a follow up to the column he first wrote back in April.

The idea is simple: $10 allows a net to be bought and sent to Africa to save a life or two. These bed nets allow someone to sleep inside it at night and keeps the mosquitos that spread malaria away.

Here is an excerpt from Reilly's first article:

I've never asked for anything before, right? Well, sorry, I'm asking now.

We need nets. Not hoop nets, soccer nets or lacrosse nets. Not New Jersey Nets or dot-nets or clarinets. Mosquito nets.

See, nearly 3,000 kids die every day in Africa from malaria. And according to the World Health Organization, transmission of the disease would be reduced by 60% with the use of mosquito nets and prompt treatment for the infected.

Three thousand kids! That's a 9/11 every day!
..........
We gotta get these nets. They're coated with an insecticide and cost between $4 and $6. You need about $10, all told, to get them shipped and installed. Some nets can cover a family of four. And they last four years. If we can cut the spread of disease, 10 bucks means a kid might get to live. Make it $20 and more kids are saved.

Here is an excerpt from his recent follow up column:

It was the alltime no-brainer. Skip lunch; save a life. Buy the Top-Flites instead of the Titleists; save a life. Don't bet on the Redskins; save a life. Nothing to research. No government to topple. No warlords to fight.

Bless your little hearts, all 17,000-plus of you who chipped in more than $1.2 million -- enough to buy 150,000 nets, which the United Nations Foundation and the World Health Organization started hanging all over Nigeria, where kids younger than five are getting murdered by mosquitoes that come out only at night.

I know, because I saw the nets. Just got back. Feel a little bad about going without you. After all, it was your money. So let's pretend it was you who made the trip, not me.
............
And they'd play a soccer game in your honor that featured nine-year-olds who played like 14-year-olds in the U.S., on fields full of weeds and trash, with goals made of tree branches. In three games the closest thing you saw to a boy with shoes was a set of brothers who wore one sock each.

And they'd hand you the mike, and you'd try to say how blown away you were and how you wished you could raise 100 times more in donations, because already one hospital in Nigeria is saying that since the nets went up, outpatient cases of malaria have dropped from 80 a month to 50. But they'd all put their hands to their ears and go, "What?"

When you bribed the drummers into taking a union break, you finally met the people you'll never forget: the mothers. Turns out they're nothing but nuts about the nets. In fact, so many mothers want the nets that to get one, the World Health Organization requires them to bring their kids in for a measles vaccination. How often do you get two for one on diseases?

You met a mother who walked half a day to get a net. You met a woman who sleeps with her four kids under her net, maybe because she knows that three out of every 10 child deaths in Nigeria are from malaria.

Sports: UCLA vs. USC Aftermath - HD Buttercup Tallying Up the Cost

2006-12-03T22:56:00.000-08:00

Here is an item on the HD Buttercup deal on furniture should the Bruins win. Excerpt:

"Thanks for the furniture," UCLA graduate Stewart, 30, said as he readied to load his loot Sunday into a rented truck.

Last week, H.D. Buttercup on Venice Boulevard announced that anyone who spent $2,000 or more on merchandise between Thursday and Saturday's 1:30 p.m. kickoff could keep the furniture but get their money back if UCLA won.

Sunday the store began tallying up the damage, and it will be days before the total amount is known, said Mila Becker, the store's director of public relations.

Winners like Stewart wasted no time. Customers were lined up before the doors opened Sunday morning to sign up for the refunds and pick up their furniture. News vans filmed the action.

Sports: UCLA 13 USC 9

2006-12-02T22:23:00.000-08:00

Woo hoo!!!

To think a few days ago, I almost sold the tickets!

Game ball to Dwayne Walker, the UCLA defensive coordinator for coming up with the plan and motivating the defense to a bend but don't break performance. If you saw a 9 on the scoreboard, you would have assumed it was UCLA. However, today, the defense allowed only 7 points (the other 2 was from a safety) and shut out USC in the second half. There were many key 3rd down and 4th down stops by the Bruins!

Game ball to Pat Cowan for using his feet to defeat USC. Cowan gained 55 yards scrambling and with rollouts bought himself time to make some completions. He showed the heart of a fierce competitor on a 3 and 15 scramble that netted only 7 yards but he took a monster hit that the fans in our section heard and gasped. Cowan bounced right up and trotted off the field.

Game ball to Eric McNeal who got his hand on the pass to deflect it and kept after it to gain the interception. It was 3rd down and 4 when he made the interception. If he had only batted it down, USC would have one more shot to get the first down and would have had one more minute left to score while in the red zone.

Game ball to Justin Medlock who got 7 points: 6 by field goal and 1 by PAT.

Game ball to Aaron Perez who punted. Not all of them were very good but good enough. On the last punt, he got 63 yards!

Other key items:

Penalties! USC with 9 for 56 yards compared to 3 by UCLA costing 21 yards. Some of the USC penalties were drive killers.

Rushing yards: USC got only 55 compared to UCLA's 121. Without Reggie Bush, the USC ground game didn't have a big play threat which allowed UCLA's defense to watch the wide-outs and pressure the quarterback.

Just like 24 years ago, I was on the north side end zone where the final moments of the drama unfolded. 24 years ago, USC got the ball at the far end of the field and marched down toward our seats. They got the TD but was sacked on the 2-point conversion preserving the 20-19 UCLA victory. Today, USC got the ball at their 20 with nearly 6 minutes left and marched down the field assuming they were going to win.

From Yahoo! Sports:

1st-10, USC29 5:52 J. Booty sacked by B. Davis
2nd-14, USC25 5:10 J. Booty incomplete pass to the right
3rd-14, USC25 4:42 J. Booty passed to S. Smith to the left for 13 yard gain
4th-1, USC38 4:31 J. Booty rushed up the middle for 1 yard gain
1st-10, USC39 4:05 J. Booty incomplete pass to the left
2nd-10, USC39 3:59 J. Booty passed to C. Gable down the middle for 7 yard gain
3rd-3, USC46 3:25 J. Booty passed to F. Davis to the right for 5 yard gain
1st-10, UCLA49 3:10 J. Booty passed to S. Smith down the middle for 7 yard gain
2nd-3, UCLA42 2:50 C. Gable rushed up the middle for no gain
3rd-3, UCLA42 2:01 J. Booty passed to S. Smith to the right for 17 yard gain
1st-10, UCLA25 1:50 J. Booty passed to C. McFoy to the left for 6 yard gain
2nd-4, UCLA18 1:50 J. Booty incomplete pass down the middle

3rd-4, UCLA18 1:15 E. McNeal intercepted J. Booty for no gain

We were on our feet the last 5 minutes screaming like crazy hoping against hope that the defense would keep them out of the end zone to seal the victory.

All fans were up hollering and jumping up and down, USC fans urging their team forward for the last minute victory and UCLA fans urging their team for a dramatic defensive stand. When the interception happened, it was like slow motion as I saw the UCLA fans continuing to jump up and down and screaming and hollering and the USC fans looking down silent in disbelief immobile.

UCLA 13 USC 9.

Unbelievable.

Sports: USC vs. UCLA

2006-12-02T09:41:00.000-08:00

With apologies to Tolkien, Jackson and Mortensen ...

I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me! A day may come, when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of Fellowship, but it is not this day!

This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you, stand, Bruins of Westwood!

Sports: D-day U$C vs. UCLA

2006-12-02T09:12:00.000-08:00

I'm going to the game. A few days ago, my devotion to the Bruins was wavering but after talking to a Cal Bear alum friend who said she went to every home game in a 1-10 season, I knew I had to hang my head in shame for even thinking of selling my tickets and not going to the game.

Check out this item to get a feeling for the intensity of this rivalry. The blogger quotes from the LA Times, a fellow blogger and makes a few terse remarks. Okay, it is way over the top but you get the picture of what this rivalry is about.

Here is the excerpt from the LA Times:

How best to put this?

You are not a real UCLA fan unless the thought of knocking USC out of the national title game today makes you giggle out loud in an empty room.

This nexus of neurons got you through a half-day of work Friday before you feigned a scratchy throat, went home, turned out the lights and tried to channel Tommy Prothro.

Like breathing, this is a basic, involuntary, primal, rivalry instinct.

Your season stinks, you're trying to justify the tanks of gas it'll take to get you to the Emerald Bowl, you hurt in your solar plexus and relief will come only when you see rivulets of mascara dripping down the faces of anguished Trojans cheerleaders at the end of today's joy-filled UCLA conquest.

He quotes from another blogger ...

Coach, YOU OWE THIS TO YOUR TEAM. You are leading a group of kids who have NEVER felt the pride of beating their cross-town rival. These young men have worked, sweated, endured injuries, and will gladly leave everything on the field tomorrow if YOU can find it within yourself to inspire them. Can you?

When warriors have prevailed against overwhelming odds, they didn't accomplish their miracles by being cold, calculating, and reserved. They did it by summoning every part of their souls to defeat the enemy.

Go Bruins!

Sports: D-1 until UCLA vs. U$C

2006-12-01T08:19:00.000-08:00

UCLA has not won this game since 1998. The games have been blowouts with the exception of 2004 (29-24) and 2000 (38-35) and 1999 (17-7) where it was a low scoring affair.

My earliest memories of the rivalry was 1975. UCLA with a victory could go to the Rose Bowl and the Bruins actually won the game against USC, 25-22! Coach Dick Vermeil would use that victory and a Rose Bowl victory to make the jump to the NFL.

Terry Donahue took over as coach of UCLA and lost in 1976, 1977 (on a last second field goal), 1978, 1979. One wonders if he had lost in 1980 would he have been fired. In 1980, the Donahue led Bruins finally won 20-17.

In 1981, the Bruins were down 22-21 and were moving into field goal range. Norm Johnson was the star field goal kicker for the Bruins who went onto a decent NFL career. We can win this thing. The field goal unit went out there and ... it got blocked. Another heart breaking loss for the Bruins.

The one and only time I saw a game live was 1982.

The Bruins were leading 20-13 when USC started to march down the field. As a student, I was in the upper stratosphere of the student section in the end zone. It seemed like most of the game was played at the other end of the field. But on this drive, USC started at the opposite end and was moving down toward us. We watched in horror as they got first down after first down. Memories of past defeats were haunting us. We had a bad feeling about this: they were going to get the TD and go for the 2 point conversion.

They scored the TD on the final play of the game making it UCLA 20 USC 19.

There was no time on the clock.

USC called a time out to set up the play.

They came onto the field.

UCLA called a time out.

Both teams gathered around their coaches and the fans were all on their feet waiting.

The teams came back onto the field. The UCLA pep squad exhorted the fans to make noise. The Rose Bowl with 100,000 stood as one screaming at the top of their lungs either as Trojan fans wanting to steal a win or Bruin fans wanting to hold on for a rare win.

The snap. The sack. The crowd goes wild.

@ the movies: The Nativity Story

2006-11-30T23:56:00.000-08:00

Mary, Joseph and their faithful donkey taking a break on their long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census. 100 miles is nothing for us today but 2000 years ago that meant a trip by foot!

The Nativity Story opens in theaters on Friday, December 1, 2006.

I had the opportunity to see the film in a pre-release screening as a guest of Grace Hill Media. I recommend it highly.

For those who believe, the film will be a devotional experience amidst the busyness of the Christmas season reminding us what Christmas is truly about. For those who are skeptics, I hope they will still nonetheless the film and grasp the earthiness of the Christian story: God came to earth in the form of a baby to parents and people with dirty feet and rough hands.

Mary and Joseph growing closer while on the journey to Bethlehem.

The Bible account of the Nativity is very brief. The part the film covers can be found in Matthew and Luke.

The film has to engage in some speculation as to what the story was beyond what we have in the Gospel records.

For instance, what was the relationship between Mary and Joseph like?

How would Mary react to hearing: "You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

How would Joseph react to Mary telling him this?

I was very moved to watch how Michael Rich (screenwriter) and Catherine Hardwicke (director) unfold and develop the relationship between Mary and Joseph with humor and sensitivity.

The second thing that impressed me was the effort the film makers took to create an authentic look and feel to make the culture and history of the era come alive.

Particularly potent was the oppressiveness of the Roman Empire. Seeing the film helps me to understand why in the Gospel records, the followers of Jesus had such a hard time with him being the suffering Savior and not the revolutionary who would overthrow the Romans they so desperately wanted.

Finally, I loved the the usage of the Magi as comic relief. The film makers worked in all the relevant material from the Bible regarding the Magi and some of the speculation regarding what the astronomical phenomena they saw that drew them to Bethlehem. But they cleverly went beyond that and put in some humor through their bantering with each other.

Take the time out to go into a movie house to see this film. You'll be glad you did.

Images were obtained from the Yahoo! Movies Production Photos Page for The Nativity Story

UPDATE: The KPCC movie review radio show gave the film mixed reviews. One of the reviewers felt the film was a somewhat conventional telling of the story. He mentioned that the film was probably more ethnically real in that many of the actors cast for the film are of the right skin color for that region of the world. He also praised the production design that gave the film an authentic and gritty feel consistent with that time in history. The other reviewer liked the script and story details beyond the Biblical text but felt the director's visual style was poor and sense of pacing was not up to par. It was quite fascinating to hear that reviewer say, though I'm not a religious person I find the whole idea of what the Nativity means to be such a powerful concept. Both felt the 3 Magi's performances and use of humor to be a breath of fresh air.

Sports: D-2 until U$C vs. UCLA - H.D. Buttercup's Wager

2006-11-30T15:07:00.000-08:00

I don't know if I heard it right but I think there was a radio commercial by H.D. Buttercup that said if UCLA wins the game, you can buy furniture for FREE at their store!

UPDATE: I heard the ad on the radio again so maybe it is for real... I think they said if you buy furniture up to $2000 worth and UCLA then wins on Saturday, you can get your money back.

UPDATE: The bet was if you buy $2000 or more and then if UCLA wins, you get a refund. This LA Times item says they are indeed tallying up the cost of the promotional as people came to the store on Sunday morning to get their refunds!

Sports: D-2 until UCLA vs. U$C

2006-11-30T00:44:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: Pat Cowan will start at QB for UCLA in the big game on Saturday.

UCLA has received and accepted a bid to a third tier bowl, the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco.

The Emerald Bowl PR machine went into best face forward spin mode to make the game sound more dramatic than the two ~0.500 team bowl it actually is. Excerpt:

UCLA becomes the first Pacific-10 Conference team to play in the Emerald Bowl.

Florida State has never before played a game in Northern California. The Seminoles' last West Coast appearance was a 14-7 victory over USC in 1997. This season marks the 25th consecutive year Florida State has been invited to a bowl game.

The two teams have never met.
........
We're thrilled to bring Bobby Bowden, the winningest coach in college football history.... The Bruins bring great tradition and the nation's second-largest media market. To be able to match UCLA against Florida State in the first year of our ACC vs. Pac-10 match-up is a dream come true for our game.

It goes on and on like that trying to pump up the game. Gotta give credit to their public relations writer!

This is a family friendly blog so I am a little hesitant to provide this link but for those who want to understand a little bit of the intensity of the USC vs. UCLA rivalry, you can check out this R-rated (for foul language) video blog post.

The rivalry extends to other sports and Lexus has capitalized on it for marketing purposes by awarding the Gauntlet Trophy to the school that fares better in a variety of sports.

Sports: D-3 until U$C vs. UCLA

2006-11-29T08:31:00.000-08:00

You can find a list of the final score of the game over the years here.

USC has won 41, UCLA has 27 wins and there have been 7 ties.

In a previous post, I mentioned the only way for UCLA to win would be to apply pressure on the USC QB. Given too much time, USC will shred the UCLA secondary with their speedy receivers.

Lonnie White of the LA Times agrees:

If the Trojans linemen have an Achilles' heel, it's that they're not known for their agility and quick feet. At times this season, they have struggled against speed rushers such as Hickman and Davis. That was the case in the first half of USC's loss at Oregon State, when ends Jeff Van Orsow and Victor Butler were able to harass Booty.

Final call: UCLA's defense has been strong most of the season because of the play of Hickman and Davis, who have done well under the tutelage of first-year defensive line coach Todd Howard. But the Bruins' defense has problems when it has to stay on the field for extended periods, which happened a lot during the team's midseason four-game losing streak.

That will be a key for UCLA, which has to be able to move the ball against the Trojans. The more the Bruins can keep USC's offense off the field, the fresher Hickman and Davis will be to get after Booty.

Sports: D-4 until U$C vs. UCLA - to sell or not to sell that is the question ...

2006-11-28T10:54:00.000-08:00

I had bought two tickets for this game earlier in the year when prospects were still good for the Bruins. Alas, now, it is hard to find a UCLA alum football fan who wants to go to see what amounts to be a ritual sacrifice: USC to earn the favor of the BCS gods will kill the Bruins.

My guess is that "style" points will not be needed but since this is a rivalry game, nothing less than total demolition of the opposition is demanded by the faithful. I threw out a 56-0 score as a possibility in one of my prior posts.

Thus, the question before me, do I sell the tickets?

They are selling above face value. It is highly likely that USC fans are buying up tickets UCLA fans are unloading.

I have not attended a UCLA vs. USC contest live in 24 years. Would I desire to see a blowout? Or would I achieve some sense of liberterian satisfaction making money on my tickets selling them to a USC fan?

I mean they would be happy to sit in the UCLA section in their red sweaters and make noise as there team steamrolls down the field.

I'd make some money out of it.

I'd be spared attending a game with little to cheer for.

As a good libertarian, that is about as good as it gets: making some money out of a bad situation.

But as a UCLA alum, would that be a denial of faith? A failure of devotion? What if a miracle occurs and the Bruins pull off the greatest upset in the history of NCAA football and I wouldn't be there? Or would I feel quietly satisfied with my money in the bank and USC fans sitting in the UCLA section watching the horror of their team fumbling away a shot at the National Title?

Indeed, the existential question remains: to sell or not to sell...

What do you think Dear TTC Readers?

Help me decide what to do. I still have time to post my tickets on StubHub!

ed. note - I'm only 1/4 serious when I wrote this! I hope people realize I'm being melodramatic to be entertaining as part of the hype in the run up to the game. 8-)

Sports: D-4 until UCLA vs. U$C

2006-11-28T00:28:00.000-08:00

What would you do if you were the athletic director?

You hire a promising young coach to try to turn around your division I football program.

In the first year, the team finished 6-7 with a 25 point loss to your rival and a loss at a third tier bowl game.

You probably chalk that one up to it being a rebuilding year.

In the second year, the team finished 6-6 with a 5 point loss to your rival and a loss at a third tier bowl game.

The fans are getting restless.

In the third year, the team finished 10-2 but suffered a 47 point loss to your rival but win a second tier bowl game.

Expectations have risen but skeptics abound because the 10-2 record could have easily been 6-6 as many games were close.

In the fourth year, the team stands at 6-5 and are a 2 TD underdog to your rival and a bid to a third tier bowl game is uncertain.

What does the athletic director put down in the notebook as factors in deciding whether to stick with the coach or look for someone new?

That is the situation athletic Dan Guerrero faces regarding UCLA coach Karl Dorrell.

Dorrell is regarding as a person of good character but restlessness is rising among the fans that he might be in over his head. Fans might not come right out and say it but some are thinking if UCLA gets blown out by USC for the third time in four years of his tenure then maybe he will get fired.

Isn't it a sad state of affairs when some of your fans might be wishing for a horrible defeat?

The situation is similar to the UCLA basketball program under Steve Lavin.

Go Bruins?

Sports: D-5 until UCLA vs. U$C

2006-11-27T12:58:00.000-08:00

The Las Vegas Odds are out. UCLA is a 13.5 point underdog.

I'm shocked.

ND got beat by 20.

USC has been on a roll since their wake-up call loss to Oregon State. They have beaten their last 4 opponents 144-43 and 3 of those 4 opponents were top 25 ranked.

UCLA (6-5) is a shell of last year's team that went 10-2.

UCLA can win only if USC has turnovers, more turnovers and still more turnovers. They have to hope the UCLA pass rush can force JDB into bad passes. Give him and their WRs too much time and it will be 56-0.

Culture: What Divides Americans?

2006-11-27T10:06:00.000-08:00

Why do we feel that America is getting more polarized?

We all have that vague or not so vague sense that that is true.

What is at the core of this?

(1) Faith in God - one part of America believes that God (of the Judeo-Christian variety) places moral obligations upon us while another part of America believes that religious belief is, at best, non-sense and, at worst, the source of all sorts of evil in the world.

(2) America's role in the world - one part of America believes that the United States is the new Roman Empire and the source of all sorts of evil in the world while another part still gets misty eyed when they sing The Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America and believes Americans though far from perfect do a lot of good in the world.

I heard this analysis this morning on Prager's radio show.

Sports: D-6 until U$C vs. UCLA

2006-11-26T17:34:00.000-08:00

How do the BCS bowls get filled?

Any questions?! 8-)

Here is the projections by CBS Sportsline.

UCLA could throw everything into chaos with the upset of the century over U$C. If so ...
BCS bowl: Ohio State vs. Michigan
Rose bowl: USC vs. LSU
Sugar bowl: Florida vs. Notre Dame
Orange bowl: Wake Forest vs. Louisville
Fiesta bowl: Oklahoma vs. Boise State

Bruin and Wolverine fans are rooting for this scenario!

The victor of the UCLA vs. U$C game gets the "Victory Bell" which according to this UCLA alumni site became part of the rivarly's tradition in 1942.

Sports: D-7 until U$C vs. UCLA

2006-11-25T22:13:00.000-08:00

UCLA lost to ND 20-17. It was a classic case of UCLA playing prevent defense that prevented them from winning. The soft coverage was supposed to allow the receiver to catch the ball but not be able to run making a modest gain into a big gain. Alas, a couple of missed tackles and UCLA missed its chance for a huge upset win.

Thus, since UCLA played ND close, I had little doubt that USC would crush ND and they did.

UCLA is now the last speed bump on USC's road to the BCS championship game.

What will the odds makers put for the game?

USC by 30? Higher or lower?

UCLA is vulnerable to speedy passing teams and can get pushed around by bigger front lines.

Here are the dismal numbers:
3 TD passes by Oregon along with 276 ground yards
3 TD passes by Washington State and 405 passing yards
3 TD passes by California and 266 passing yards.

How many people believe UCLA can win next Saturday?

Karl Dorrell has his hands up but it is his job to believe they can win.

As a UCLA alum, I want to believe. However, as a realistic sports fan, I know, as Chick Hearn used to say, there are only two chances: slim and none.

UCLA has to have the game of the millennium and USC has to cough up the ball which is what cost them against Oregon State.

I'll be blogging up the hype of the UCLA vs. U$C game all this week.

If UCLA wins, it will be the upset of the Century!

Go Bruins!

Life: Happy Thanksgiving Where Ever You Are!

2006-11-22T23:11:00.000-08:00

Philippians 4:4-9

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Culture: Conservatives - kinder and sexier!

2006-11-21T07:25:00.000-08:00

Saw this item by David Frum. Excerpts:

You'll never know who will turn up in Washington to talk politics. On Wednesday, the city was graced by actress Eva Longoria, the sultry star of ABC's Desperate Housewives. Addressing an audience of Latino business leaders, she explained the wide appeal of her show: "Everyone on Wisteria Lane has the money of a Republican, but the sex life of a Democrat."

It's a pretty good joke -- but very poor sociology.

Frum then proceeds to mention various studies that show that the various stereotypes are actually the opposite of what people perceive. He concludes:

If we must have stereotypes, let's at least have accurate ones. Not only are conservatives sexier than liberals -- they are kinder too.

Check out the whole thing.

Sports: Ohio State vs. Michigan

2006-11-17T18:12:00.000-08:00

That is the huge game on Saturday. Much of local sports radio even in Los Angeles is talking about it.

The odds-makers have Ohio State favored to win by 7 and most of the radio-talking-heads are picking the Buckeyes.

As a follower of college football in California and as a UCLA alum, many of my memories are of the U$C vs. UCLA game which this year won't occur until December 2. Unfortunately, for most of my life, UCLA came out on the losing end of these affairs.

The most memorable college football sports moment in California doesn't involve USC nor UCLA. Rather it was "the play" from the 1982 California-Stanford game. John Elway drove the Stanford team down field in the final minute to take a 20-19 lead on a field goal. Unfortunately, there were still FOUR seconds left on the clock and the team was penalized 15 yards for excessive celebration. Thus, the kickoff was at the Stanford 25 yard line. It was a squibb kick and the rest was history.

To see the (in)famous play, check the Berkely alumni page and click on the links to see the video.

Wikipedia has an entry for the renown episode and recounts it also from the Stanford and the referee perspective.

Obligatory prediction worth every cent you are paying for it: OSU 20 UM 17.

update: Stewart Mandel of SI.com thinks UM defense will win the game for them.

Update: It is not even half time and the score is already OSU 21 UM 14. Unless the second half turns into a defensive struggle, they will blow past my 37 point over/under forecast!

Sport: Anteaters 67 Gamecocks 52

2006-11-14T23:56:00.000-08:00

Just love it when one of the mid-majors beats a team from one of the power conferences!