Here is the Intro to Homestar Runner as suggested by Justin...
My kids just love the Homestar Runner site. It's bascially a site full of silly cartoon shorts. One of their favorites is the Fluffypuff Marshmallow commercial. I had to admit, it's pretty darn funny.
Michelle and the kids are getting ready to go to California for a couple of weeks. They are looking forward to the sunny weather and to seeing family and friends. I am hoping that it will be a productive couple of weeks. I do not have a great track record for writing success when my family leaves. Still, time is precious right now, and I DO have more time when my family is not here. I just hate doing life stuff by myself. Roy is good company, but he's not very verbal (at least in a way that I understand).
I took some time off from my revising tonight to start loading my IPod. Holy smokes! 15 GBs is a whole heck of a lot of music! I bought some tunes last night, and tonight I am loading from my own CD collection. So far the music is concentrated in the 80s and 90s. Figures!
I was reading in the Tribune off-shoot, the Red Eye, that a priest from A Little Village stopped someone who was trying to rob St. Agnes Church’s donation box. Father Matt Foley said that he chased down the suspect “just like I used to on the rugby field.” Foley caught the would be thief and held him until police arrived. Little did our students know that playing for the Seabury Saints NU intramural football team would provide them with necessary skills for their future ministry.
It's graduation time at NU. Graduations are making me sigh this year (I know, "poor me"). At Princeton Seminary's graduation, one of my good friends, Matt Stith, who walked this year, took a picture of his wrist. On it, he had put my initials in bold black ink as a sign of support and solidarity. He's so great. There was supposed to be three members of our championship Princeton intramural football team graduating with their doctorates this year, including me. We were all going to wear our Dexy's Midnight Runners shirts (Dexy's was our team name). Both Matt and Brent Driggers donned their Dexy's black under their newly purchased academic garb last May. It looked like a great day.
Here ends the pity party...back to my revisions.
I just got a new 15 GB Ipod as a late birthday present. I had saved some of my birthday money, and my dad recently sent Michelle and me some of his Vegas earnings. To use a good ole Californian colloquialism: "I am stoked!"
I think this could be it Lakers' fans. The so-called dream team with four future hall of famers and a hall of fame coach will be dismantled in the upcoming months.
Now I know what Dallas Cowboy fans felt (not bandwagon fans, but REAL fans from Dallas). The Cowboys of the 90s were the team that everyone loved to hate. I have been a Laker fan ever since I was old enough to remember liking basketball (I grew up 40 minutes outside of L.A.). Now that the Pistons have won the NBA championship, crushing the Lakers in five games, I know that there are many people rejoicing--not just Piston fans, but also those people who love to hate the Lakers. Everyone else celebrates, while you lick your wounds.
Don't get me wrong, if you love to hate the Lakers, there was a lot to love in this series. As a Laker fan I see any one of the following reasons contributing to their demise:
1) Karl Malone's reinjured knee
2) Gary Payton's selfish ball-handling
3) the Ref's deciding that the Lakers don't deserve as many fouls called, and simultaneously deciding that the Pistons deserve every, small hint of contact (and for those of you who think this is sour grapes, the stats don't lie, and it's not all because of the Pistons Defense, which was very, very good...the Lakers were the most fouled team during the regular season, and suddenly for one seven game series, a team who doesn't go to the foul line that much doubles them up every single game in free throw attempts and fouls called...as much as I AM a Laker fan, those stats are just plain weird, odd, and DID affect the way that L.A. played defense against Detroit).
4) Kobe's untimely cold streak
5) the inability of anyone not named Shaq or Kobe to score
6) YES, the Pistons awesome defense and hustle
7) the Lakers loss of game one at home (bigger than you think)
8) the lack of another player on the bench who could provide a solid rebounding presence (beyond Shaq and Karl Malone)
9) old age (Karl and Gary aren't young pups anymore)
10) the play of Devon George on both offense and defense
11) see #10 above for Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Gary Payton, etc.
That's all I can think of right now. SIGH. Well at least now I don't have to be distracted from my revisions.
Granted that the Pistons play good defense. But if the Lakers would just show up, they would win this series. Maybe they would win with more difficulty than people thought prior to game one, but they would win. They drive me crazy!
Adam has decided that we celebrate his birthday at Dave and Buster's. Is it just me or is D and B's Las Vegas for children? I don't find it strange that our laws say that you must be 18 or older to gamble your money away, but I DO think that it is odd that we have no problem allowing children to shovel $20 into Vegas-type games when their only reward are $2 prizes.
Still, this is what he wants. If I'm honest with myself the games are pretty darn fun! How's that for contradiction?
The Lakers won an amazing game last night!
To foul or not to foul? That is the question that is buzzing in the sports world today. The Lakers were facing the possibility of going down 2-0 in the NBA finals last night. There were just over 12 second left in the game. The score was 89-86 Detroit, and the Lakers had the ball. The inbound pass went to Shaq (a horrible free-throw shooter), who quickly dished to Luke Walton. Walton got the ball to Kobe, the man that everyone knew was going to take the last shot. Kobe dribbled around and with 2 seconds left hit a long threek-point shot to tie the game. The Lakers eventually won in overtime.
Commentators everywhere are asking whether or not the Pistons should have fouled Kobe. Larry Brown, the Pistons' coach, has been criticized for giving Bryant the opportunity to tie the game. I completely disagree. I think Brown made the right call in not fouling Bryant. If Richard Hamilton fouls Kobe beyond the three-point arc, Kobe is a good enough player to know when he is going to get fouled. He also is quick enough to launch a quick shot that would get him at least three free throws. If he makes the desperation three, the Lakers win the game in regulation. It was the right call not to foul Kobe.
The possible mistake that Brown and the Pistons made was not to foul Shaq when the inbound pass went to him. Even if Shaq makes his two free throws (which is not likely), the Pistons are still up by one point with 10 seconds left in the game. The Lakers would have had to make a quick foul. Detroit would have had the opportunity to make its free throws, and L.A., who had already spent its last time out, would have had to go the length of the floor with probably around 5-7 seconds left. Even in this scenario, however, I think Brown was justified in thinking that they should not foul. When you have a lead late in the game, it is usually the best strategy to not extend the game any longer than you have to (if you are behind, the exact opposite philosophy is true). The only way that the Lakers stay in last night's game is if someone hits a three-point shot, something that most players will fail at 70% of the time. Even if a Laker hits a miracle three-point shot, which Kobe did, the worst thing that happens at the end of regulation is that your team goes into overtime.
Brown and the Pistons are only being second-guessed today because Bryant made the shot. If Kobe would have missed, the sports reporters again would be praising Brown and the Pistons for their upset of the Lakers. There are always too many Monday morning quarterbacks.
That's right! There is fluffy white stuff floating to the ground, and the temp. is 80 degrees! Every June the cottonwood in our back yard lives up to its name.
I'm home today grading and catching up on my laundry. Ah, the two things that I love the most (NOT!).
Adam's birthday is right around the corner. This will officially eliminate single-digit aged people from our household (except for Roy, who DOES consider himself to be a person).
I just found out that most of the junior class has stayed in the Chicago area for their CPE. This should mean many BBQs this summer. It also makes me think of my two advisees who are out of state. Sending out good thoughts toward Hope and Siobhan!
Well, the Lakers won, which means I won my little challenge with Trevor. So if you see me asking him to unzip his gown at graduation... :)
Met Howard Anderson, the prospective dean. He seems like a good guy. He's saying the right things. He interviews well (I will refrain from saying, "but" since I really don't know how things will turn out).
My last class for Genesis was today. What a smart class. I learned much from them.
I heard from my advisor via email. The pressure is mounting.
Michelle and I watched Eddie Izzard this weekend. This is one funny man. I would recommend his "Dressed to Kill" to anyone familiar with Anglicanism. Absolutely hilarious!
That's about it for now.