January 2007 Archives

Al- 8-2
Nenie- 7-3
Charlie- 7-3
CK- 7-3
Cody- 6-2
Kevin- 1-1

Well, barring Charlie or CK going against their birthrights, looks like Al won this thing again.

Crazy. Oh well, looks like Manning screwed me again. Someday I'll get over him snapping my 2004 Perfect Streak. That'll probably be the day that I remember that McNabb cost me too.

This came into my inbox yesterday. It was a forward with a list of 41 things that were different when Da Bears last played in the Super Bowl. Only, I didn't like the formatting and some of the editorializing, so I've altered it a bit and added wikipedia links to help people figure out what's going on.

Also, yesterday I posted an embedded copy of the Super Bowl Shuffle from YouTube. Sadly...well, we all know what happened. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

Anyway, on January 26, 1986...

Well, my Payton throwback is out for delivery according to UPS.com. Da Bears have arrived in South Beach. And today NFL.com sent me an email offering to sell me a Bears Super Bowl Champions tshirt.

Seriously, do they not grasp how much bad mojo they're encouraging by trying to sell that thing to me right now? Sure, the email said they'd only ship/charge if my team won, but how can they be this karmically irresponsible? I firmly believe that the team that wins this Sunday will be the team who sold fewer of those shirts this week.

Plus, they're ugly...

And now, as part of our Super Bowl Week festivities and preparations, a golden classic.

I woke up this morning in one of the best moods I've awakened to in some time.

If nothing else, it confirms that I'm a fat guy and I'm going to be so for a very long time.

Right before I woke up this morning, I was having a dream, a great dream. I dreamt I was back at IMSA and with very few exceptions, it was an IMSA unaltered in any substantive way. I was with Gunder and we were walking through the Old Cafeteria where one of my Minuteman coworkers was counseling one of his math students on their latest problem set.

OK, so that's the only realy difference, this guy really didn't belong there.

Anyway, I'm walking through the doors into the cafeteria when I run into Millicent and Jing.

Faith is hard.

We're taught from a very young age that leaps of faith are difficult because there's no evidence that your efforts will be ultimately rewarded. Faith, as we know it, hinges on belief in the unknown and to a large extent, the unknowable. And while this does seemingly explain the largest and perhaps most powerful exhibition of faith that humanity has, I believe that the accepting that there is a God, or as atheist 12-Steppers would say a Good Orderly Direction, is the exception not the rule to faith. No, I firmly believe that true tests of faith come when you begin to see evidence proving you're right.

Logic dictates that it only takes one exception, one failure, to disprove a theory. Since we don't expect down to be up anytime soon we accept this seemingly harmless piece of logic as truth, never really expending any energy thinking about how big a deal this really is when applied to articles of faith. Think about it, the more evidence you have proving that your faith is well founded, the higher the stakes become. The more you believe, the more you have reason to believe, the bigger fool you'll be when that one exception that disproves your rule comes up and pulls out the superstring that's holding your life together.

This is what being a Chicago sports fan is like.

I dunno guys, I have a really, really good feeling about this game.

Bear down, yo. Bear down.

Today was my first day off since a week ago last Monday.

I'm not actually complaining about pulling the ten day marathon, I actually kinda dig it. I hadn't pulled a stretch like this since I lived in Missouri all those many years ago. There's something cleansing about ten on/four off stint, like I told The Captain yesterday- the sense of continuity is amazing. I have a completely different view of The Minuteman after spending so much time there this past week and a half.

The best part of this stunt when I was in Missouri is that they opened a four day weekend for me to drive the five hours to The Minny to see my peeps and eventually spend some quality time with Nena. This time, the weather has killed off a road trip to Chicago so all we have is LilZee's Bday party tomorrow, Da Bears on Sunday and recovery on Monday. Yup, should be a good time.

Today, today was pretty sweet. Ran a bunch of errands,got Beto his first oil change...then, the package came.

Nena ordered me two pizzas from Lou Malnati's and had them UPSed to the house. That's right, this Sunday we'll be watching Da Bears in Santa Fe with Lou. Seriously, I have the best wife ever. EVER.

I was cleaning out the archives tonight when I ran across this meme from a little over a year ago. I thought I'd do it again just to see what's changed.

Open iTunes/iPod or Windows Media Player to answer the following. Go to your library. Answer, no matter how embarrasing it is.

How many songs: 10718

Making these picks is really hard this week.

On one hand, I can't pick against my boys because, well, it would suck to have my lack of faith exposed like that and then have them decide to screw me and win.

On the other hand, it's going to be a close one and this pool could hinge on this week...

Shit, how did this happen?

Al- 6-2
Charlie- 6-2
Cody- 6-2
CK- 6-2
Nenie- 6-2

All tied up going into Conference Championship Weekend. This makes my picks even harder. But before I do those I have to talk about this weekend's games...not Da Bears game, that's getting its own post that might be ready tonight, maybe tomorrow...but soon. This week's picks might also not come out until Thursday, so people, be ready, K?

K.

I hold these three football truths to be self-evident.
1) All teams from Missouri are overrated
2) Never bet on a Manning brother. It's kinda like sleeping with your sister; it seemed like a good idea at the time but in the morning you're a loser who just feels dirty.
3) Any team coached by Marty Schottenheimer is like a supermodel infront of a 24oz. Porterhouse. That shit's just not getting finished.

Thing is, sometimes you have to bet against the truths, the rough part is to know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. Like in our first game...

Whenever I am asked my opinion of the current state of the civil rights movement, I am forced to to pause; it is not easy to describe a crisis so profound that it has caused the most powerful nation in the world to stagger in confusion and bewilderment. Today's problems are so acute because the tragic evasions and defaults of several centuries have accumulated to disaster proportions. The luxury of a leisurely approach to urgent solutions -the ease of gradualism- was forfeited by ignoring the issues for too long. The nation waited until the black man was explosive with fury before stirring itself even to partial concern. Confronted now with the interrelated problems of war, inflation,urban decay, white backlash and a climate of violence, it is now forced to address itself to race relations and poverty, and it is tragically unprepared. What might once have been a series of separate problems now merge into a social crisis of almost stupefying complexity...

...A voice out Bethlehem two thousand years ago said that all men are equal. It said right would triumph. Jesus of Nazareth wrote no books; he owned no property to endow him with influence. He had no friends in the courts of the powerful. But he changed the course of mankind with only the poor and despised. Naive and unsophisticated though we may be, the poor and despised of the twentieth century will revolutionize this era. In our "arrogance, lawlessness and ingratitude," we will fight for human justice, brotherhood, secure peace and abundance for all. When we have won those -in a spirit of unshakable nonviolence- then, in luminous splendor,the Christian era will truly begin.

-A Testament to Hope
-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This essay was published 38 years ago, eight months after Dr. King's death. In the decades that have followed the problems Dr. King discussed have not only compounded but they've spread beyond our borders to a point where there appears to be no way out.

But, there is a way. If we are guided in our journey by hope and vigilance, we will make it through the long, dark night that we and our forebears have carved out for us. The key is to remember to honor the principles of people like Dr. King and to live as best we can by their example. I believe that it is possible and that every day we grow closer to living in a world we all deserve, one that Dr. King helped dream for us.

What the hell was that?

That was Bears fandom in a nutshell.

Ugly, but we'll take it.

I don't normally do a whole lot of celebrity news here, but I read something today that gave me pause.

Here's an article about James Brown's estate and the fact that he didn't include his youngest son (age 5) in his will.

OK, big deal, right? Well, the interesting thing is that apparently James Brown's estate is being overseen by attorney Strom Thurmond Jr.

Huh? The Godfather of Soul's estate is being overseen by the son of the Godfather of Jim Crow?

Say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud...I wanna tell you there aren't enough troops to make us integrate?

Strange world kids. Strange world.

Sure, you could see it coming a mile away. Yes, bloggers more (in)famous (it means they're more than famous) called this as well. But, well...

...Remember back in September when I said I knew what was going to go down in For Better or For Worse? Well, I was (Paul W)right.

Man, sometimes it sucks to be so right about something.

Well, it's that time of year again....time for me to put my 4-0 start on the line and see if Cody and Charlie can catch up.

The sad part is I have to work again on Saturday and Sunday so I'm going to have to watch the games on TiVo delay yet again. Big fun, yo. Big fun.

The upside is I'm off on Conference Championship Weekend...so I'll be able to watch those games f'real...now to get some days off for the Super Bowl...I normally have Sundays off, but I need to make sure.

OK, time for the picks.

As mentioned over on Nena's LJ, it's been a big few days out here and since she left it to me to give in the details...I guess I will.

The Good:
Nena's mom had a cancer scare.
A routine test came back sketchy, so the alerted everyone and we all did our best to stay calm. In the end, MamaNena's body is just sketchy, not a receptical for cancer cells. This is seriously good news.

Without further adieu, this week's standings.

Nenie- 4-0
Al- 4-0
Charlie- 3-1
Cody- 3-1
CK- 2-2

I've decided to let Al's late posting stand because, upon further review, she did actually have a life and it didn't involve watching the early games and pretending like she didn't. However, in case of a tie, she loses cuz she was late posting on day one. In the future, don't be late kidz.

Anyway, time to recap.

When you're of a certain age, it's not all that uncommon for you and your spouse to start talking about having kids.

No, Nena's not pregnant. But we are thinking about having kids sooner rather than later.

Anyway, when you're thinking about the whole having babies thing, all sorts of bizarre things pop into your head. "Will they love me?" "Will I love them?" "If we name them after Nenie's grandfather will that cause them to have big ears?" And then there's this morning's thought, courtesy, of course, of Nena.

"So what are we going to tell our kids they have to be when they grow up?"

"They'll be whatever they want to be," I say, thinking I've just squashed the conversation.

"Of course they will baby, but, like, what will we pressure them into thinking they have to be so that they get all screwed up? Cuz, we're going to fuck up our kids no matter what we do, so why not try and figure out how beforehand?"

Two real winners up at the registers today.

The first was a woman who was hacking and coughing all over me.

"I'm sorry, I'm not as well as I thought I was. I really should just go home. Don't worry, I'm not contagious anymore. I don't think."

I smile and tell her that it's OK, that I used to be a teacher so I have so much Vitamin C and company in my bloodstream, I'm a quarter orange, genetically speaking.

"OH, A TEACHER! HOW WONDERFUL! Do you miss it?"

This, is the stock response whenever someone discovers that I used to teach. Thing is...well.

As promised to Xay, here is a picture of my brother with Tim Gunn taken this summer when my brother was working in the same building where they tape the show that he's on...what's it called? Top Designer of Stuff People Wear? I dunno. Anyway, here's the pic.

In other news there are a half dozen unfinished posts sitting in my queue. There are the posts where I say something fabulous about the various commenters to this site, there's the one about why I'm a weirdo, the list of ways to be a better person by treating retail workers like they're human, a few about race, my long-promised essay on why living in this town is like living at EPCOT, the timeline of the snowstorm last weekend and another essay on race. I'll get to them, I promise. But today, a story about The Minuteman. Cuz Alphasarah's been missing them.

Dude. How come when Nena reads Slaughterhouse Five, I get the funky dreams about coming unstuck in time?

Seriously, I had this strange dream where I kept bouncing around the same day across parallel universes. It was really, really disorienting. Then, I was half-awake the rest of the night trying to process the oncept into a novel that didn't look like a ripoff of either Vonnegut or Groundhog Day. Yeah, you know you're playing at a high level when you're worried about ripping off Kurt Vonnegut, Bill Murray and Harold Ramis. Vern Bailey'd be proud.

It's a yearly tradition that's back. My NFL Playoff picks. Remember, leave your pics in the comments section, all picks must be in by 11a MST on Saturday. Best overall record might get a shiny prize. Funny is always a plus.

Before I start, I'd like to weigh in on this Grossman v. Griese non-story. The solution is simple. You call in John Cusack to Halas Hall. You have him sit down in a room with Grossman and have him shout. "CHILL! YOU! MUST! CHILL!" Done.

Why? Because Brian Griese is a quarterback so physically and mentally gifted, his fans one clamored for Jake the Snake Plummer.

Go.

Gunder was the first to point out to me that I'd posted pictures of what my house looked like under two feet of snow, but that I'd neglected to post any pictures of what the house actually looks like.

Right, m'bad.

And since it's the dawn of a new year, I figure I'd start by posting pics I'd meant to post in October...right, better late than never, yo.

So without further adieu, pics of our house.