The Good Fight

There have been so many times I have been upset about something and wanted to do something about it only to be halted by someone telling me to "Pick your battles". That is not really what they mean. What they mean is: "Don't rock the boat". This advice is not concern for me; it is the lack of interest of a shipmate to grab a paddle and help fight the rapids. Or worse, advice from the calm sea.
I hate not fighting. It is hard to tell though because, at the time, everything is so calm and "peaceful". But I feel like a puss. Maybe I am even turning into the lazy shipmate. And as I grow older, the calm sea. Things are wrong and people should stand up and say: "Things are wrong". What justifies the port-starboard oscillations does not come from the height of the waves, the depth of the water or the size of the ship. It is the heading of the crew.
There are Lighthouses and there are Sirens in life. Both call to the crew but only one leads to safe harbor. A little "left-right left-right" might shake a few loose but even a zig-zag heading toward the light still leads home. And this crew needs to come home.

"It's my birthday; I have to kill today."

Zodiac: Very good movie. Me and the Mrs say it last night. WOW. This is a beautifully constructed movie. So many things were right about it: dialog, interesting characters, cinematography, acting. The movie is full of actors that you think:"Geez, I know that guy, he played a creepy guy or got killed or something before, but now he is doing really good" which brings a new dimension of "credibility" to the film.
Zodiac is a movie based on the killer in Calf. in the late 60's to late 70's. He was the one who donned that black outfit with the red target sign on it to kill his victims. The movie is also about the cartoonist who wrote the book about titled "Zodiac". The Zodiac liked to make puzzles about his crimes and send them to the San Francisco Chronicle to publish and the cartoonist got caught up in it all.
This movie creeped me out like "Silence of the Lambs", intrigued me like "Dead Man Walking" and at times made me laugh like "Stranger Than Fiction" (enter Robert Downey Jr.) Robert does such a good job creating such a messed up and interesting character. It makes you remember how much you liked him in the past and look forward to seeing him in the future.
This is not an action flick but it must be seen in the theater. The way it is was shot is one of the best supporting characters. It goes from looking like "Grease" (in look only) to the "Paper" to the Rockford Files" to "Silence of the Lambs" to "The Usual Suspects". Do not miss this film. It should be remembered next March for O S C A R.

How to spot a Christian

They look like everybody else: the white collars, the blue; the freaks, deadbeats, African, African-American, American-American, Jewish (wait...no, that's right)... Christians look like all of them because they ARE all of them. The saints, the pedophiles, murderers, New York firemen... So then how do we know? How do we know who is on our team?
Wait, God said something about knowing them by their works.
Pastors? Nuns? Televangelists? Or was it by their fruit? Or was that the stuff that was sewn in heaven?
I feel like a Christian, but I know better. Or maybe I should know better. I consider myself Protestant (loosely translated into back-sliden Christian). I have always been told that no matter how far you back-slide, it is always only one step back. I think it is a little different then that. It may be one step back, but it is a step onto a balance beam.
Isn't it easier just to walk on the mat? It is soft and forgiving and does not have high expectations like the 4" apparatus above it. I watch people do flips and spins on the balance beam. I used to be on the beam. I did not flip or spin but I did patronize the mat people. Now I am on the mat leaning against the 4" beam. It is a tough act, harder then the balance maybe. But it is better then the icecapades.

Pride goeth after the fall

I just got back from a wrestling tournament my 8 year old nephew was in. Just so you know, he is really good. He had beaten three guys straight and was tied with about 10 seconds to go in his fourth match. He and his opponent had each other in a head-lock which Chase (the nephew) used to take the other kid down. It was a great take move worth 2 points except one thing, it was and illegal move. His opponent was awarded one point as a penalty. He lost.
One caveat, the ref called it wrong, he should have stopped the match during the lock-up instead of letting it go until my nephew ended up with a penalty. Standing in the middle of the mat, he realized, he got screwed.
He shook the hand of his opponent and opposing coaches hands as he should and walked off with his first loss in a two fall tournament. It did not take much encouragement from his dad and family to get him to realize he did great.
I was proud when he got third out of 21, I was proud when he qualified for state competition but those paled in comparison to his fifth match; on the same mat, with the same ref: Chase and the other kid where on their feet near our-of-bounds and fell across the line with Chase underneath the other kid. They felt Chase should have stated down. The ref started them both up. Chase won ...by one point. The other kid came un-glued. Stomping around the mat, flailing his arms yelling "No, No. No." It was quite a scene. He shook Chases' hand like he was trying to dislocated his shoulder and slapped my brother's hand like he was trying to hurt him.
Chase lost like a gentleman in the exact same situation. I am convinced it was the influence of his uncle.