Happiness For Blessing

Representative Williams, The government shutdown is costing us $300 million per day, according to the IHS. It is time for the House of Representatives to stop the political grandstanding and vote for a clean funding bill to end the government shutdown. I happen to be a supporter of the Affordable Care Act. I have friends and family that have pre-existing conditions and can now purchase insurance just as you and I have been able to do in the past. I understand that you and most of your constituents disagree with me. However, it's time to stop fighting this law, which was passed by a democratically elected Congress, signed by a democratically elected President, and upheld by the Supreme Court. The House has now voted 41 times to repeal this law. How many more times will be enough? The 113th Congress is on track to be the least productive Congress in modern history based on measures passed, according to the Pew Research Center. You ran on a platform of ending political gridlock, but it appears that you are intent on continuing your party's obstructionist agenda. Twenty-one House Republicans have now said publicly that they would vote for a clean funding bill, which is enough to get one passed. As one of your constituents, I would appreciate it very much if you joined that number. Thank you for your time. Robert L. Bishop Burleson, TX

The Office series finale airs tonight, and I'm celebrating by counting down my 25 favorite episodes from the show's run. #25-11 can be found here.

10. Traveling Salesmen

The Office was often at its best when it paired characters up that don't normally interact with each other, just to see what happens. Though a huge part of this episode's bright spot is the chemistry between Jim and Dwight, what really puts it over the top is the forced pairings of Karen and Phyllis, Ryan and Stanley, and Michael and Andy (still a new transfer trying to make his way up the office food chain). The pairs are forced to go on sales calls together, and the lengths the couples go to in order to close the deal are creative and funny. Phyllis illustrates to Karen why knowing one's client (and his family) is important, Ryan tries to take the lead with some of Stanley's established contacts, Andy screws up a sure thing for Michael, and Jim and Dwight dust off a well-worked phone routine that underlines the importance of DM's customer service abilities. The episode ends with Dwight resigning in order to protect Angela, but the move never felt like anything more than a footnote. It's an episode that proved that the writers of this show had chops - they even made selling paper interesting.

Quotes

Dwight: "One of my life goals was to die right in my desk chair. And today, that dream shattered."

Andy: "Oompa loompa, doopadee dawesome, Dwight is now gone, which is totally awesome. Why was he gone, he was such a nice guy? No, he was not, he was a total douche. Doopadee doo."

Michael: "I want you to think about your future at this company. I want you to think about it long and hard."
Dwight: "That's what she said."
Michael: "Don't...don't you dare."

Dwight: "Here's my card. It's got my cell number, my pager number, my home number, and my other pager number. I never take vacations, I never get sick, and I don't celebrate any major holidays."


9. Niagara

The Jim and Pam wedding episode probably should have been a half-hour show, but it was an anticipated television EVENT, so it got the one hour treatment. The result was that we got a lot of extraneous material (Michael not reserving a hotel room, Andy injuring himself dancing) that would have been entirely forgettable otherwise. The meat of the episode carried it, however. Jim and Pam have always been the heart and soul of the show, and given the office's track record with other weddings, it was a foregone conclusion that someone (probably Michael) was going to ruin everything. As it turned out, it was Jim himself who caused the discomfort with his rehearsal speech gaffe ("To waiting!" was such a beautiful line reading), and it appeared that Pam was on the verge of melting down. The runaway bride sitcom staple didn't materialize, thankfully, and what happened at the end was exactly what the show needed in terms of giving those who watch for the office romance the beautiful wedding they needed while keeping everything light-hearted for everyone else. Anticipating that the bridal party was probably going to do the most Scranton thing ever and copy a popular internet video from months before, Jim books a trip to Niagara Falls so they can get secretly married (another sitcom staple, but genuinely earned here) while the guests fight over which of the wedding gifts they'll get to take home after the whole thing falls through. The payoff with the Chris Brown song is great because we know the pressure is off of the Halperts to have a storybook wedding, and we get to see some hilarious dancing at the same time.



Quotes

Michael: "Meemaw, I think you just need to chill out."

Pam: "She the 80 year-old woman with no smile wrinkles."

Michael: "I have another [painting] of them in the nude, but that one's for me."

Pam: "Are you pushing me off the phone?"
Jim: "No, let's talk for a long time."

Jim: "Is there something about being a manager that makes you say stupid things?"
Michael: "I have not found that to be the case."

Jim: "I bought those boat tickets the day I saw that video."

Kevin: "My dogs are BARKING."

The Office will bring its 9 year run to an end tomorrow night. It's been a while since the show was particularly relevant, but in its heyday, it was absolutely one of the best comedies on the air. I've used the series finale as an excuse to go back and revisit some of my favorite episodes. Below are numbers 25 through 11. I will post my top ten tomorrow morning.

25. Prince Family Paper

Michael, as a favor to David Wallace, goes to do some reconnaissance work on one of Dunder Mifflin's tiny competitors a county over from the Scranton branch, and he brings Dwight along to help. The story is funny enough, as Michael and Dwight interacting with each other on the road is usually enough to fill an episode. They decide to divide and conquer, with Michael posing as a potential customer while Dwight applies for a job at the same time. Their not-so-subtle attempts to gather information are hardly noticed by the naive Prince family, and the patriarch ends up actually handing Michael a list of their top clients, then fixing his bumper in the parking lot after a botched getaway. What really makes the episode sing in my eyes is what goes on back at the office. The Dunder Mifflin-ites are always looking for ways to distract themselves, especially when the boss is out, and an argument about the attractiveness - no, hotness - of actress Hilary Swank turns into a full-on debate, complete with PowerPoint presentations and a hilariously impassioned speech from Stanley, of all people. In the end, the group remains split, Michael inadvertently breaks the tie, and Oscar gets philosophical. "That's the thing about debating. People just get entrenched in the views they already had."



24. Safety Training

Michael has always had an inferiority complex when it comes to the warehouse, so when the entire office is forced to undergo safety training downstairs because of a forklift incident involving Michael, he doesn't take kindly to the suggestion that the blue collar workers face inherently more dangerous conditions than the office workers on a daily basis. It was only natural, then, that after reading up on depression in the workplace, he would fake a suicide attempt in view of all the employees. What follows is a highly scripted exchange between he and Dwight from the rooftop - so good it had to be done twice. Michael's plan, of course, was poorly thought out, as it turned out he was planning on landing on a bouncehouse after jumping from the roof. ("I'm going to need you to acquire an inflatable house or castle." "Do you want a drawbridge?") He thinks about jumping anyway, but Darrell finally manages to answer the question "What do I have to live for?" to Michael's satisfaction. "Uh...a lot."

So it's 2012 - almost 2013.  Surely racism is dead now, right?

Nope.

Supporters of Russian football (soccer) team Zenit St. Petersburg recently published an open letter of sorts where they demanded that the team not add or select players that make up racial or sexual minorities. 

Pay attention to the language and arguments used in the letter.  For starters, when you have to begin your argument with "I'm not racist, but..." you might want to back up and rethink your position.  The more important point is that the group argues that their identity is in jeopardy.  Many other teams in other nations do this, albeit with more stealth and acceptable language.  In England, for example, the FA requires that teams carry a certain amount of "homegrown" players on their active roster.  Without going into too much detail, a homegrown player is basically defined as a player who has spent a certain amount of years in the club's academy (think minor leagues, but for even younger players) before their 21st birthday.  There's no language in the rule that players have to be a certain nationality, but because of the way the system already works, the rule basically ensures that English clubs will have a certain quota of English players.  Racist?  Eh.  Xenophobic?  Oh yes.  Such is the nature of international sport. 

In both cases (that of Zenit and of England), the fear is that "others" will come along and ruin the identity of the organization.  As members of a melting pot (or is it salad bowl?) society, we Americans have certainly seen this attitude.  Perhaps we have even espoused it.  The problem with this kind of thinking is that it is inherently exclusionary.  The Zenit supporters have defined their identity using external factors, and therefore the best way to preserve it is through exclusion of people who are externally different.  Let's go back to the original point: they think they're not racist, even though it's apparent to all on the outside that that's clearly not the case.  It's very easy to convince yourself that you're not prejudiced or biased against a certain person or type of person, but that doesn't make it true.  Rather than simply shaking our heads about the state of the world in 2012 and looking down at our noses at those silly Russians, let's examine ourselves.  What excuses are we making in order to exclude others?

Over the last several days, I've seen the following pattern repeated several times on Facebook: Person complains about politicization of tragedy, then immediately offers their own political views.  The message seems to be that offering views we disagree with in the wake of terrible news is unwelcome, but as long as we are Right, we can say whatever we want. 

Have we always shown such blatant disregard for the views of others that we immediately dismiss "their" opinions as exploitative, while our own poignant words of wisdom are so essential that they must be shared with the world immediately?  Or have social networking sites like Facebook simply revealed how narcissistic we can be?

It saddens me, because people I know and respect and would love to dialogue with are more and more staying away from Facebook and the like because it can be divisive and ugly.  More than that, I'm saddened because I see this trait (blatant disrespect for others and their thoughts) in myself. 

Is social networking redeemable?

Today I experienced a moment of extreme discomfort.  I was listening to the radio, as I do while I work, and the guy doing the sports news said, in reference to Thursday's football game between Washington and Dallas, "The Redskins will be coming over for Thanksgiving."

I don't think the gentleman meant to conjure images of smallpox-infested blankets and genocide, but there it was.  Isn't it time we got the offensive name of this franchise changed?

Political correctness can sometimes go overboard.  Another D.C.-based sports team bowed to pressure to change their name from the Bullets to the Wizards some time back, and the move struck me as silly.  Kids won't know that bullets exist now that we've changed the name? 

But you know what?  The name change didn't hurt anybody.  With the Redskins, we're dealing with institutional racism.  There's no upside to retaining a constant reminder of the terrible way settlers treated the natives when they arrived on this continent, and there's no downside to erasing this embarassment.  Sometimes being politically correct is just plain correct, and this is one of those cases.

Tomorrow, Americans will go to the polls.  In nearly every race, there will be one winner and one or more losers.  In many of these cases, a little more than half of the people will be happy, and almost as many will be disappointed (or worse).

It's a byproduct of democracy.  The most lopsided victory (in terms of the popular vote) in U.S. history happened in 1920, when Warren G. Harding defeated James M. Cox, 60.3-34.1.  Thirty-four percent is not a small number - over 9 million people voted for Cox!  There were certain counties in South Carolina where every single person that voted cast their ballot for him.  I imagine that if Facebook existed in 1920, November 2 would have been a busy night, what with 9 million people threatening to move to Canada while 16 million others yelled at them to get in line and support the President.


Take a look at the concession speeches given by John McCain (2008) and John Kerry (2004).  Here's what jumps out to me: both candidates are gracious to the point of being almost unrecognizable.  I can't help but think that both men would have done better if they had displayed this side of themselves before the votes were tallied, but when you're behind in the polls, the political playbook says you must go on the offensive to motivate your base.  These men failed, so they each gave speeches about the need for unity and cooperation.  These speeches were promptly ignored by the respective parties, with one audience even booing the speaker. 

Either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney will be probably declared a loser tomorrow night.  Roughly half of the country will be upset about this news.  The same goes for the many Senate, School Board, Railroad Commissioner, and Justice of the Peace races going on everywhere.  I'm personally most worried about the Senate race in Texas, where it looks like my preferred candidate will lose, but there are other races where I'm happy about where the polls currently stand.  There's a chance that I will be disappointed and perhaps even depressed about the results tomorrow night.  If I don't set standards for myself on how I'll behave when that happens, I may say or do something I regret.  So I'm making the following campaign promises.  You can consider this my preemptive concession speech, in bullet form.

• I will not suggest that people in my country or state or polling district are mentally or morally deficient because my candidate lost.
• I will not direct anger, no matter how righteous I believe it to be, at politicians or voters.
• I will not launch a scorched earth campaign against the winning politician simply because I disagree with him.
• I will continue to strive to think critically about issues, and place my reasoning above party loyalty.

Will you join me?

"Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels." - II Timothy 2:23

We who say we love God: why are we not as anxious to be as perfect in our art as we pretend we want to be in our service of God? If we do not try to be perfect in what we write, perhaps it is because we are not writing for God after all. In any case it is depressing that those who serve God and love Him sometimes write so badly, when those who do not believe in Him take pains to write so well…

The fact that your subject may be important in itself does not necessarily mean that what you have written about it is important. A bad book about the love of God remains a bad book, even though it may be about the love of God. There are many who think that because they have written about God, they have written good books. Then men pick up these books and say: If the ones who say they believe in God cannot find anything better than this to say about it, their religion cannot be worth much.

- Thomas Merton, from a meditation set down on 14 August 1947

(with thanks to Jeff Childers)

This is a sermon I preached this morning at New Life Church of Christ in Cleburne, Texas. Feedback is welcome and appreciated.

Words are important. Everybody sitting in this room knows the power of words, whether you realize it or not. You can lift somebody up with words, whether you tell them that they look nice today…or you could be bringing good news – “You’re hired!” “You’re going to be grandparents!” “I’m happy to say that the tumor is not cancerous.” “I’m proud of you.” “I love you.” “You look nice today.” Words can lift us up. It’s why we answer the telephone when it rings, or get happy when we receive a hand-written letter, or yes, even a text. When I was a young person I couldn’t understand why the old people wanted to sit around at the table after eating and talk. I didn’t want to talk; I wanted to go play. But now I know that growing up doesn’t mean you no longer enjoy playing – it means you enjoy talking to people that you love that much more. Words are important, and we know that in the church. It’s why we don’t just sing tunes (although I think that might be nice to do now and then), we sing songs that glorify God and encourage one another. We dedicate 20 minutes OR MORE (but not much more, right?) to a sermon – again, something I wasn’t quite on board with as a kid – because we think it’s important to hear a word from God.

I have a ministry mentor that I have learned a lot from, both about life in church and about making my way through this world, and he loved to say that words create worlds, that preaching and teaching and just talking to people about Jesus is way more than just a casual conversation, but that we all take the place of the prophets when speak a word from God. Have you ever stopped to think about what that means? We dare to say that we speak God’s word. It makes me nervous just thinking about it. I get nervous every week that I preach as I prepare my sermon, not because I’m afraid of speaking in front of people, though that still grips me sometimes, but because I’m speaking on behalf of the God who created a world through his own speech. And I know that you know by now that ministry is not just done by those who wear the title, it’s done by every one of you, and I encourage you once in a while just to have a sense of wonder and awe about speaking about God. This God who was hovering over the waters and spoke and all of a sudden things began to happen and matter came into being all because of a word.

Words can hurt, too. James reminds us of that when he tells us that the tongue is like a rudder on the ship, controlling the whole thing. He says that words are sparks that can ignite an entire forest fire, that’s how important words are. “I’m sorry, we think you were a very qualified candidate, but we decided to go in a different direction. We’ll keep your resume on file.” “I have bad news. The cancer is very advanced.” “I have bad news. You are unable to have children.” “Did you see what she’s wearing? There’s no way she can pull that off.” “I think maybe we should just be friends.” “Your mother and I love you very much, but we’re not going to be living together anymore.” Words can hurt. Sometimes, we don’t want to answer the phone, because it could be bad news. Sometimes, all it takes is one or two words to bring us down – maybe for a long time. Maybe forever.

It’s good to be reminded of this as well in the church, isn’t it? Not only are we responsible for comforting those who are hurting, but beyond that, sometimes we forget that we are the ones bringing others down. We gossip about each other – it’s one of those things that we all say that we hate, but we all do it anyway, every single one of us. Your words could be hurting somebody, even if they don’t hear what you say. I think it’s very important for all of us to stop once in a while and realize what kind of power we have. It’s the kind of power that once we notice it, it’s very tempting to use for our own selfish purposes. Just like words have power to create worlds, they have power to bring them crashing right back down. I’d like to believe that we’re the kind of people that would interpret that power as a responsibility.

I believe I’ve made my case. Words are important. They have power, they have weight. If you can speak, you have the power to life people up and tear people down. Let’s read some more about words.

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. 26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

[James 1:22-27; 2:14-19, 26]

Okay, everything I just said about words? Words are useless if they’re not backed up. James spells it out real simple for us right here. If somebody has no clothes and no food, and you tell them, “God be with you, I hope you find your clothes and food that you need”…what have you done for them? Absolutely nothing. Your words are empty and useless and void if they’re not accompanied by some sort of action. If I say that I’m going to give you something, and then I keep it for myself, I’ve done you no favor. In fact, I might have actually hurt you a little bit, because you were counting on me and I let you down. It doesn’t just have to be about giving. If I say that you can call me any time of day if you need to talk, and then whenever you call, I let it go to voicemail because I don’t want to talk to you, what good has that done? There are a million examples. If I say out loud that Christianity has called me to live a better life, but the only difference between me and any other person out there is that I have someplace to be on Sundays and Wednesdays, what have I done? I pointed out just a little bit ago that we do a lot of talking here…and that’s a GOOD THING. When it turns into a bad thing is when we let it be all talk and no action. Did you know that the original word for church implies action? It means that we have a mission, and it’s not just to go into all the world and invite people to our thrice-weekly services. We go and make disciples, people who follow Jesus and do and act and speak as he did, helping the widows and orphans and hungry and needy and thirsty and imprisoned, standing up for those who can’t stand for themselves, giving hope to the hopeless, doing acts of justice and mercy. Faith is not just about words. It’s about giving up on ourselves for the sake of others, and it’s something we talk about a lot, but I bet if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit we never actually get around to doing a lot of it.

I guess you’re wondering how I’m going to tie this into New Year’s. This is the third year in a row I’ve preached here on or around New Year’s Day, and that’s mostly just a coincidence. Last year I got up and I said, all of these resolutions that we do, it’s all about ourselves. I want to lose weight. I want to be in better control of our finances. And so on and so on. But the Gospel isn’t about self-improvement, and it’s not a self-help manual. I said those things last year, and I had a couple of people say to me, “I can’t believe you’re against New Year’s resolutions.” Well, that wasn’t really the point. Of course it’s great that you want to get your life in order, and if New Year’s is the motivation you need to get into gear, then that’s fantastic. I do get a little bothered, though, that some of the resolutions we spend our time and energy on don’t really reflect what we’re all about. I hear people say things like, “I need to get my relationship with God right,” and what they really mean is that they should spend more time praying and reading their Bible. That’s great – please don’t hear me say it’s not. I happen to know that there are more than a few people in here that spend hours every day reading Scripture and praying, and you know what? We could probably all still stand to do that even more. There’s a little tiny part of me, though, that wonders if that’s really the point. Are we really called to do more reading and praying? I would argue that’s the part we don’t have a lot of trouble with. With the amount of time we spend reading God’s Word, you would think that we would get the message, which is to get out and be a part of our Father’s business in this world, but we’re so focused on our objective, whether that’s spending an hour on it every day or finding new insights we’ve never noticed before or reading the whole book in 365 days, that we forget that the very words we are reading are telling us to GO. BE. JESUS. IN. THE. WORLD. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

I want to play you some audio. This is a story about a man who is mugged, and instead of fighting back, gives up his coat. You may be surprised to hear where the story goes. It’s a beautiful tale.



I don’t know if Julio Diaz is a Christian. He doesn’t say. I do know that on that day he acted like Christ. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us this instruction:

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

[Matthew 5:38-42]

Most of us are familiar with these words, and honestly, we treat them like hyperbole. Jesus doesn’t really mean to give up your coat or to walk two miles. Let me tell you something. In Jesus’ day, in Roman occupied Jerusalem, it was a law that a Roman soldier could force any citizen to carry his gear and equipment for a mile if he so chose. And the Jews in that day, proud as they were, thought that it was within their right to refuse, especially on the Sabbath. After all, this was Jerusalem, the land founded on YHWH’s principles (sound familiar?). Jesus goes the other way with it. Don’t just walk that begrudgingly, plotting or imagining your revenge the entire way. Be gracious. Go an extra mile, and in so doing, you will reveal yourself to be a Christ-follower.

That is my New Year’s resolution. I want to be like Julio Diaz, or more specifically, I want to be like Christ. Maybe you’re at a point in your spiritual journey where what you need is more time spent in God’s Word. God be with you. We want to walk alongside you if that’s what it takes. I’ve been putting together some Bible reading plans for our kids as they work on their LTC projects, and I’m happy to share those with you as well. However, I suspect that there are some of you who need to be challenged. If you’re reading God’s Word already, then you know what it says to do. Maybe you just haven’t gone out and actually done it yet. Make that your resolution. You know, a popular resolution is lose weight, and that’s a noble goal for sure.

It’s a long story about why Jodi and I watch this show, it has to do with one of our old neighbors, but we watch The Biggest Loser every week. I don’t necessarily recommend it. It’s trash TV. Manufactured drama, the challenges each week are exactly the same, sometimes the whole show is just a huge advertisement for a certain brand of turkey or treadmill. But I found some truth in it. They were showing one of the contestant’s before videos, where they basically talk about why they’re overweight and what their favorite foods are and all of that. Well, this man loved double cheeseburgers, and he would regularly eat 2 or 3 of these big huge burgers with grease falling off and everything, and he stopped eating for a second, looked at the camera, and he said, “I know this is bad for me, and I know I should be healthy, but I don’t want to start working out because I’m afraid that I’ll lose the taste for this burger, and that’s not something that I want.” The man didn’t want to let go of his cheeseburgers, even though he had diabetes and heart problems and he was way too overweight, and the thing is, he knew in his head that it was bad for him, but he wasn’t willing to give it up. Have you ever felt that way with sin? You know, the reason sin exists and is so prevalent is basically because it’s fun. You’re supposed to want to sin; that’s how The Accuser works. Maybe you’ve got a favorite sin, and sometimes you say to yourself, “I know this isn’t right, and I know I should stop, but I don’t want to because I’m not willing to let go of this.” Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

[INVITATION]

Here is a sermon I preached on Sunday on Matthew 7:24-29, based on the premise that Jesus' impossible teachings in the Sermon on the Mount can only mean that the solid foundation he asks us to build on is grace. (I actually accomplished this without making the obvious reference to a certain Caedmon's Call song in the process.) Comments welcome.

The Sermon on the Mount by happinessforblessing

This is the third year that I've reviewed all of the movies nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, but the first that I haven't dedicated a separate blog post to each one. I'm rather busy, what with the job and the upcoming baby and all. Oh, and did I mention that I now blog for a real website?

In any case, I did watch all 1o movies again and I've provided a short (in most cases) review for each one. In my opinion, this is one of the strongest years for nominees in recent memory, and I honestly liked all of them. The reviews, therefore, can sometimes take a negative tone, but that's because I'm nitpicking. I've ranked them all from #10 to #1 below. All you have to do is follow the jump.

A sermon I preached this morning on Revelation 13:1-4:

Stockholm Syndrome - Revelation 13:1-4 by happinessforblessing

So many "um"s!

Every year, I do my best to present what the MLB All-Star rosters should look like. Let me know what you think in the comments.

NL

Catcher
Miguel Olivo, Rockies

Brian McCann, Braves

First Base
Albert Pujols, Cardinals

Prince Fielder, Brewers
Joey Votto, Reds
Adrian Gonzalez, Padres

Second Base
Chase Utley, Phillies

Martin Prado, Braves
Kelly Johnson, Diamondbacks

Third Base
Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals

David Wright, Mets

Shortstop
Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies

Hanley Ramirez, Marlins

Outfield
Marlon Byrd, Cubs
Andres Torres, Giants
Josh Willingham, Nationals

Andre Ethier, Dodgers
Andrew McCutchen, Pirates
Colby Rasmus, Cardinals
Ryan Ludwick, Cardinals
Michael Bourn, Astros

Starters
Roy Halladay, Phillies
Josh Johnson, Marlins
Ubaldo Jimenez, Rockies
Adam Wainwright, Cardinals
Tim Lincecum, Giants
Matt Cain, Giants

Relievers
Jonathan Broxton, Dodgers
Luke Gregerson, Padres
Sean Marshall, Cubs
Brian Wilson, Giants
Tyler Clippard, Nationals
Carlos Marmol, Cubs
Heath Bell, Padres

AL

Catcher
Joe Mauer, Twins

Victor Martinez, Red Sox

First Base
Justin Morneau, Twins

Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox
Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
Daric Barton, Athletics

Second Base
Robinson Cano, Yankees

Orlando Hudson, Twins

Third Base
Evan Longoria, Rays

Adrian Beltre, Red Sox

Shortstop
Derek Jeter, Yankees

Alex Gonzalez, Blue Jays

Outfield
Alex Rios, White Sox
Carl Crawford, Rays
Magglio Ordonez, Tigers

Shin-Soo Choo, Indians
Josh Hamilton, Rangers
Nick Markakis, Orioles
David DeJesus, Royals

Designated Hitter
Vladimir Guerrero

Starters
Francisco Liriano, Twins
Cliff Lee, Mariners
Jon Lester, Red Sox
Ricky Romero, Blue Jays
Jered Weaver, Angels
Phil Hughes, Yankees
Justin Verlander, Tigers

Relievers
Joel Zumaya, Tigers
Matt Thornton, White Sox
Darren Oliver, Rangers
Joba Chamberlain, Yankees
Grant Balfour, Rays
Frank Francisco, Rangers
Rafael Soriano, Rays

I posted this a couple of weeks ago (right before the Rangers vs. Cubs series in Arlington) on a message board where a couple of friends could see. I now offer it up to you.

Let's talk about Milton Bradley, shall we?

You will all remember that he spent the 2008 season in a Rangers uniform. He had a great season. He got a well-deserved invite to the All-Star Game. He was even well-behaved, something that has been attributed to Ron Washington's superior clubhouse mojo, or some other spectacular lie like that. (Separate rant: I want Wash out as manager. He has the in-game management skills of celery, to borrow a quote from Dave Barry. The thing that's got him holding on is that he is a players' manager. Players just love playing for the guy, which is worth something I guess, but not really a whole lot when he orders his leadoff man who has an OBP of .420 to sacrifice bunt IN THE FIFTH INNING. Anyway, I blame Milton Bradley that he's still around. He behaved here, then continued to act a fool when he left. So of course that's got to be Washington's influence, and so now he can do a line of coke if he wants and still hold on to his job, despite the fact that he is literally losing us games out there. Okay, separate rant over, at least for now.)

Anyway, that 2008 season was nice (at least for Bradley; it's pretty sad that the one thing people remember about the 2008 Rangers season happened during All-Star Weekend), but for whatever reason, Bradley walked. I'm not complaining about that; we got Tanner Scheppers with his compensation pick. What's important in this story is that Bradley went and signed with the team we begin a series against tonight: The Chicago Cubs.

If you know me, you know that I have a history with this team. I wrote a post last time the Cubs were in town trying to explain my sports bigamy. Well, a funny thing happened when Uncle Milton landed in Chicago: he turned back into himself. In an interview he gave after arriving in Seattle, Bradley attributed his behavior problems to the city of Chicago, which is of course laughable. Maybe, though, this is closer to the truth than it seems.

Most people who don't follow the Cubs very closely think that Bradley's problems began after that game when he threw the ball into the stands after miscounting how many outs there were. (Sorry for the crappy video quality in the link, blame MLB's outdated policies on sharing video) The fact is, his problems came long before that. You see, what I wasn't fully aware of was the reputation of the Bleacher Bums at Wrigley Field. Sure, I knew they were bad. Put a bunch of drunks out in the sun and crude stuff is going to happen. What I didn't know was all of the racist stuff that went down, even against Cubs players themselves. When I read that article (seriously, click on the link) last April, I was blindsided. It was like the air was let out of my little balloon. Do you realize that Torii Hunter has the Cubs on his no-trade list because of that nonsense? I told myself that the article referenced isolated incidences, and I moved on. However, I found myself caring a little less about the team. I probably wouldn't have even noticed, but being a fan of two teams you start to realize that one team's wins and losses mean more than the others. Not a huge deal, but I wasn't exactly switching between FSN and WGN on Sunday afternoons like I used to. Yet, I hung on to my Official Cubs Fan Card (I don't actually have one of those). Then, this happened. It probably wouldn't be a big deal in my mind, because after all, it was just one guy throwing a beer - there's an idiot in every crowd. But when I got home and watched the game back, I realized something - the rest of the fans cheered after that happened. Not cool. So I did what any good fan would do - I tried to put it out of my mind.

It's not the team, it's the fanbase. But you know what? We're all cheering for laundry out there. The second Vladimir Guerrero put a Rangers uniform on, I was in love. I hate Mark Teixeira now. It's not just about the players. Our love for team transcends players, and if the rest of the fans really really suck, I think you eventually have to give up.

Besides, isn't it true that being a fan isn't just about rationality? I mean sure, hate the Yankees and the Red Sox because of who they are, but I didn't root for the Cubs because I wanted to root for a team that hasn't won a title in 100 years, it's because there's an emotional attachment there. But that attachment for me is gone. If I flip over to WGN and see the Cubs playing, I get excited because there's Wrigley Field and the 7th inning stretch is awesome, but I don't really care that much whether or not they lose, and you can't rationalize yourself into caring.

So, I'm making it official. It's a breakup. I am renouncing my fanship of the Chicago Cubs. It's actually been this way for a while, I just haven't been able to admit it. I still think Wrigley Field is the greatest venue in all of sports. It's just the drunks in the bleachers that I'm renouncing. I'll still keep my Wrigley Field poster on my wall, and I'll still jump at every chance to go visit. If I had to do it again, I'd still name my dog Wrigley. Lots of other things will stay with me, too, like my affinity for the late, great Harry Caray and my fanship of individual players, like Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee. And you know what? If the Cubs were to go to the World Series and they played someone besides the Rangers, I'd probably still cheer for them, just not the same way. Oh, and one more thing: I'll always hate the Brewers and the Astros. That will never change.

"You're criticizing me for not living up to your tagline. And you dismiss any criticism as further evidence of how the rest of the media persecute you. You like to pretend, Bernie Goldberg and Fox News, that the relentless conservative activism of Fox News is the equivalent of the disorganized liberal influence you find on ABC, NBC, and CBS. You may be able to detect a liberal pathogen in their bloodstream, however faint, but Fox News is such a crazy overreaction to that perceived threat. You're like an autoimmune disorder. I'm not saying the virus doesn't exist in some small quantity, but you're producing way too many antibodies. Fox News, you are the lupus of news." - Jon Stewart

A sermon I preached on March 21, 2010 on Mark 4:35-41:

Master of the Sea - Mark 4:35-41 by happinessforblessing

Sorry for the poor quality. This is a recording of a recording and will have to do for now. Feedback (both positive and negative) welcomed and encouraged!

This concludes my review of all the movies nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards this year. Click here to view my final ranking.

If I had to sum up my criticism of The Blind Side in one word, it would be this: Caricature. Everything is overdone. Teachers at Michael Oher's teachers dismiss him for no apparent reason, save for one brave soul who dares to do her job. Leigh Anne Tuohy's rich lunch buddies have zero depth. Their racism stops just short of being rally-worthy. The football coach is horribly portrayed as a gutless idiot. Sandra Bullock's Southern accent is atrocious. There's a comically bad recruiting montage, complete with juvenile-level acting from actual college coaches. (By the way, why is Nick Saban shown recruiting Oher to Alabama? He was actually head coach of the Miami Dolphins at the time.) There's a scene (shown in all the previews and on the late night shows) where Mrs. Tuohy interrupts practice to inspire Michael to pretend the quarterback is her and he is to protect him as he would her. The scene is praised because it captures the psyche of the Southern woman so well. It does, but are we really supposed to believe that Michael is so dense that this is what inspires him to play great football?

There were positives. I don't mean to imply that there are not. While I do believe that Sandra Bullock's accent was over the top, she absolutely nailed the mannerisms of a Southern woman, as I noted above. Jae Head was absolutely great as the adoptive little brother SJ. The framing of the story was fine. Overall, though, TBS suffers from campiness.

It's really a shame, because the true story that lies behind the movie is inspiring and deserved better treatment. I heard many people, especially Christians (there are many references to "Christian duty" in the story, and Michael is placed in a Christian high school), lauding The Blind Side as a quality family-friendly movie. I hate the false barrier that many try to place between the "Christian world" and the "secular world," but if it exists, I don't think we're doing ourselves any favors when we try to sell mediocrity to secular society as quality. The main reason The Blind Side fails, in my opinion, is that there is virtually no ambiguity contained in the story. There is a tendency in the mainstream Christian movement to avoid shades of gray, and this is where our credibility is in question, because there is gray everywhere. 2.5/5

The Hurt Locker is a rare war movie in that it doesn't seem to have an agenda. Its primary message, "War is a drug," is explicitly stated at the beginning and hammered home throughout the entire film.

I see this primarily as a good thing, by the way. Most recent war movies delve too heavily into the "Should we be there?" question, rather than acknowledging that we are there and dealing with the issues at hand. THL wastes no time. One of the bigger name actors in the movie is cast into the role of a soldier that dies in the first 10 minutes. I imagine that some people weren't fazed by this, but it rattled me. From that point on, it seemed that no character was guaranteed to make it to the end of the movie, making the already well-shot and focused bomb-defusing scenes even more tense. There are plenty of memorable scenes, the best one being at the end where the protagonist stands in the grocery store looking at a wall of cereal boxes. How is it possible that this world and the world the rest of the movie is set in are compatible?

I have seen the tight cinematography listed in reviews as the major strength of The Hurt Locker, but to me it is the cat-and-mouse game that is played between the bomb makers and the bomb defusers. Each bomb is more complex than the last, and the interesting thing is the Iraqis will stick around to see whether or not they win. This exploration of the tactical game is rare in war movies.

I think where THL goes awry, though, is when Sgt. James reaches his breaking point. It's hard enough to believe that a three-man explosives team like this exists in the first place, but I was willing to overlook this until James makes his bad decision, and then the whole thing fell apart as unbelievable to me. There is absolutely no way that there is no CO that he reports to. The only consequence of his action was that the affected party cursed at him a little. In the large scheme of things, this inexcusable scene bumps this movie down from an all-time Top 10 war movie to merely an above-average one. It's that big of a deal for me. 4/5

I haven't posted my reviews for The Hurt Locker or The Blind Side yet. I have seen them; I just need to write them up. They will be posted later tonight or tomorrow. I wanted to get my rankings up before the actual ceremony, though. This the order that I personally rank them, not a prediction.

1. Inglourious Basterds
2. Up
3. A Serious Man
4. Avatar
5. Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
6. The Hurt Locker
7. An Education
8. Up in the Air
9. District 9
10. The Blind Side