Does anyone else find it funny how we turn a form of exercise and entertainment into a “science” every March? I think it is simply silly. But I love it.
My version of “science” has typically included things like uniform colors, mascots, handsome men . . . with a little smattering of looking at their season records and offensive/defensive strengths. Also – loyalty plays into my science. I typically pick Utah schools to win at least one game – especially BYU since it is my alma mater.
HOWEVER, they (BYU) fail me (and more importantly, ruin my bracket) EVERY YEAR!! Last year, I vowed NEVER AGAIN to pick them to win one single game; but, this year I was talked into one more year of loyalty. Predictably, they let me down and messed up my bracket AGAIN!!! Aaaagggh!
“Science” or not, they are OFF THE LIST. I am finished with them forever.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
The evil men do lives after them
One of my favorite Shakespeare quotes is from Julius Caeser:
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them,
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar
These words are meant to be a parody – calling attention to an injustice. As with many other lines penned by Shakespeare, these contain a truism for life: the bad things we do are often more memorable to people than are the good.
I ran into a friend from high school recently who was surprised to discover that I didn’t remember something silly he did 20 years ago that others frequently remind him of. I wonder if they still remember any of the good things he did. Hope so.
This happens on a shorter time span too. For example, someone might be labeled as a perpetual late-comer because they arrive late a few times – while the times they arrive early are completely forgotten.
This reflection has caused me to think about the times I have in a subtle and, sometimes, a not so subtle manner recalled for someone the ways they have wronged me. By maintaining my “victim” status, I am inadvertently victimizing them; as if my opinion is all important and more binding than their repentance.
Thankfully, the One, whose opinion truly matters, actually does forgive us our shortcomings – and they are remembered no more. This is obviously the pattern we are meant to follow. There is something very powerful in focusing on and remembering the good in someone.
The trick, I suppose, is to let it be so.
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them,
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar
These words are meant to be a parody – calling attention to an injustice. As with many other lines penned by Shakespeare, these contain a truism for life: the bad things we do are often more memorable to people than are the good.
I ran into a friend from high school recently who was surprised to discover that I didn’t remember something silly he did 20 years ago that others frequently remind him of. I wonder if they still remember any of the good things he did. Hope so.
This happens on a shorter time span too. For example, someone might be labeled as a perpetual late-comer because they arrive late a few times – while the times they arrive early are completely forgotten.
This reflection has caused me to think about the times I have in a subtle and, sometimes, a not so subtle manner recalled for someone the ways they have wronged me. By maintaining my “victim” status, I am inadvertently victimizing them; as if my opinion is all important and more binding than their repentance.
Thankfully, the One, whose opinion truly matters, actually does forgive us our shortcomings – and they are remembered no more. This is obviously the pattern we are meant to follow. There is something very powerful in focusing on and remembering the good in someone.
The trick, I suppose, is to let it be so.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days
Have you seen this movie? The basic premise is that there are some key things women do that cause men to run the other way; and, if a woman does these things, the break-up is inevitable.
I seem to have figured these things out quite nicely all on my own; but, I’ve been doing some research to see if there are remedies, or alternative approaches I can adopt, so as to obtain the opposite effect from the one I’ve been getting.
I found a website where a guy, who is evidently very experienced in what women should not do, tries to help fix girls like me. I signed up to get e-mails 3-4 times a week explaining all the scenarios where women go wrong and detailing how we should think/act/feel, etc., instead of how we normally (and erroneously) think/act/feel.
The e-mails are so long that I scan them and file them for some future time when I have a huge chunk of free time to “study” them in more detail. At this point, it would take months to get through them all – and they keep coming. I’ve begun to think it’s a fluke when it actually works because there are so many things that could and do go wrong.
Whatever happened to boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl (and vice versa) and they live happily ever after?? Dating used to be simpler, didn’t it?
So – what are some key things you did right?
I seem to have figured these things out quite nicely all on my own; but, I’ve been doing some research to see if there are remedies, or alternative approaches I can adopt, so as to obtain the opposite effect from the one I’ve been getting.
I found a website where a guy, who is evidently very experienced in what women should not do, tries to help fix girls like me. I signed up to get e-mails 3-4 times a week explaining all the scenarios where women go wrong and detailing how we should think/act/feel, etc., instead of how we normally (and erroneously) think/act/feel.
The e-mails are so long that I scan them and file them for some future time when I have a huge chunk of free time to “study” them in more detail. At this point, it would take months to get through them all – and they keep coming. I’ve begun to think it’s a fluke when it actually works because there are so many things that could and do go wrong.
Whatever happened to boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl (and vice versa) and they live happily ever after?? Dating used to be simpler, didn’t it?
So – what are some key things you did right?
Monday, March 2, 2009
The Dance
Ok, all you ever so silent readers – here’s your chance to comment.
Do you think Garth Brooks was right?
In case you haven’t a clue what I’m talking about, here are some of the lyrics:
Looking back on the memory of
The dance we shared beneath the stars above
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye
And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end
The way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance
Some days I think ol’ Garth was off his rocker – but, maybe some dances ARE worth it; and, maybe the pain isn’t so pesky once you’re dancing again . . .
So – what do you think?
Do you think Garth Brooks was right?
In case you haven’t a clue what I’m talking about, here are some of the lyrics:
Looking back on the memory of
The dance we shared beneath the stars above
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye
And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end
The way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance
Some days I think ol’ Garth was off his rocker – but, maybe some dances ARE worth it; and, maybe the pain isn’t so pesky once you’re dancing again . . .
So – what do you think?
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