Friends, we are living in dangerous times.
Lebron James, arguably the most amazing person not named Tressel to walk the earth since the fall of the Roman Empire, is becoming a free agent tonight in less than an hour.
This means that LeBron could potentially leave Cleveland.
If this happens, Cleveland is done for. Not just the team...the city. It is quite possible that the entire city will pack up and move away.
This is a REAL NEWS ARTICLE that I did not write, or find in the onion.
Friends, this is it. If I wasn't getting married this would have the potential to be the worst summer of my life.
We could potentially be on the verge of the biggest national disaster to befall Ohio since Michigan was admitted to the Union.
Watch and pray friends. It's all we can do.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
quick and random
Hey friends
A few quick thoughts.
1) Remember how great I said Texas was? Last night the air conditioning quit in the house I'm staying in. I kid you not, 92 degrees inside the house while I was trying to go to sleep. Was it 92 degrees in YOUR house last night you lucky Midwesterners?
2) In case something TERRIBLE happens I want to be proactive and make myself very clear. I am NOT a bandwagon Cavs fan. I am a dedicated LeBron fan. If he trades to the bulls or the heat I am gonna be buying their merchandise so fast it's gonna make your head spin. I want LeBron to have the greatest Career in NBA history, because no matter where he plays, he is an Akron boy. (He has my zip code, 330, tattooed on his arm). I might even put Miami back on my map of the united states.
3) I made fun of twitter in a previous post. AJ in Nashville pointed out that I was knocking it before I tried it. Friends have recently encouraged me to start "tweeting." Is this a good idea? let me get some feedback. I don't want to view it as a way to "stay in touch" I want to view it as a way to export my humor in bite sized chunklets to people who want it. Maybe it's a bad idea...I don't know
A few quick thoughts.
1) Remember how great I said Texas was? Last night the air conditioning quit in the house I'm staying in. I kid you not, 92 degrees inside the house while I was trying to go to sleep. Was it 92 degrees in YOUR house last night you lucky Midwesterners?
2) In case something TERRIBLE happens I want to be proactive and make myself very clear. I am NOT a bandwagon Cavs fan. I am a dedicated LeBron fan. If he trades to the bulls or the heat I am gonna be buying their merchandise so fast it's gonna make your head spin. I want LeBron to have the greatest Career in NBA history, because no matter where he plays, he is an Akron boy. (He has my zip code, 330, tattooed on his arm). I might even put Miami back on my map of the united states.
3) I made fun of twitter in a previous post. AJ in Nashville pointed out that I was knocking it before I tried it. Friends have recently encouraged me to start "tweeting." Is this a good idea? let me get some feedback. I don't want to view it as a way to "stay in touch" I want to view it as a way to export my humor in bite sized chunklets to people who want it. Maybe it's a bad idea...I don't know
Sunday, June 27, 2010
A New Home
Greetings again from the Great Nation of Texas! I want you all to know that if the sun goes out in the next few years, don't worry, Texas is hot enough to heat all of your homes for the next decade until we get the situation figured out.
Many of you have been asking, "Steve, you seem to really be taking to Texas. How does that coincide with your love for Ohio? Do you think that you will love Texas more than Ohio? Will you become a Longhorns fan or root for Texas A&M? Will you forget how to read if you move to the "south?" Are you getting enough liquids?"
All these are good questions. And I must admit, I do like it down here. I think that the Nation of Texas has wooed me like so few other semi-independent city states could. I mean, don't you think I would fall in love with a state whose state food was Chili?*
Also The Constitution of 1845, which was the resolution that allowed Texas into the Union, stated that Texas had the right to divide into 4 states in addition to the original Texas. That legal right still remains true.** If you have been paying any attention to the reorganization of college football these past few weeks you would realize that Texas might actually take advantage of this state right so it can be represented 5 times in the "big" 12. Or as it will then be known the "Texas Twelve"
But even though I am really beginning to love this quasi-Mexican playground for guns and pick-up trucks I cannot ever give up my love for the one and only. Ohio will always remain number one in my heart. It will also always remain number two in my heart, just so Texas doesn't get cocky. The general area that is called the Midwest comes in at a close 3rd because it contains the birthplaces of Cortney, both my sisters, both my parents, as well Taylor University, and of course, most importantly Ohio.
As you can see below, I have recolored this collection of states to more clearly represent how I now understand America.
(click to enlarge, seriously)
As you can see I am most concerned with Ohio and Texas (as should you be) and the other 46 states*** I consider "other" because all though I am sure they are all great, in their own way, well...you know how I feel.
Texas Fact: Texas is home to more presidents named George Bush than any other State (Two).
Ohio "Fact": Ohio invented Democracy, electricity, chocolate, paid vacations, seafaring, animal husbandry, the civil rights act of 1957, and shamwow
If you are new to my blog and would like to know more about my thoughts on Ohio, just click the "ohio" tag on the bottom of this post.
*I am not making this up
**I'm not making this up either
***You heard me
Many of you have been asking, "Steve, you seem to really be taking to Texas. How does that coincide with your love for Ohio? Do you think that you will love Texas more than Ohio? Will you become a Longhorns fan or root for Texas A&M? Will you forget how to read if you move to the "south?" Are you getting enough liquids?"
All these are good questions. And I must admit, I do like it down here. I think that the Nation of Texas has wooed me like so few other semi-independent city states could. I mean, don't you think I would fall in love with a state whose state food was Chili?*
Also The Constitution of 1845, which was the resolution that allowed Texas into the Union, stated that Texas had the right to divide into 4 states in addition to the original Texas. That legal right still remains true.** If you have been paying any attention to the reorganization of college football these past few weeks you would realize that Texas might actually take advantage of this state right so it can be represented 5 times in the "big" 12. Or as it will then be known the "Texas Twelve"
But even though I am really beginning to love this quasi-Mexican playground for guns and pick-up trucks I cannot ever give up my love for the one and only. Ohio will always remain number one in my heart. It will also always remain number two in my heart, just so Texas doesn't get cocky. The general area that is called the Midwest comes in at a close 3rd because it contains the birthplaces of Cortney, both my sisters, both my parents, as well Taylor University, and of course, most importantly Ohio.
As you can see below, I have recolored this collection of states to more clearly represent how I now understand America.
(click to enlarge, seriously)
As you can see I am most concerned with Ohio and Texas (as should you be) and the other 46 states*** I consider "other" because all though I am sure they are all great, in their own way, well...you know how I feel.
Texas Fact: Texas is home to more presidents named George Bush than any other State (Two).
Ohio "Fact": Ohio invented Democracy, electricity, chocolate, paid vacations, seafaring, animal husbandry, the civil rights act of 1957, and shamwow
If you are new to my blog and would like to know more about my thoughts on Ohio, just click the "ohio" tag on the bottom of this post.
*I am not making this up
**I'm not making this up either
***You heard me
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Nevin Street Give Away
Hello faithful followers. My friend Cristi has been requesting that I have a give-away on my blog, and my corporate sponsor has been trying to attract new business. So here's what I've decided to do:
When I was an undergrad I had a goofy friend by the name of Ben Blake. He was a good friend, and a silly man. He loved coffee, old books, and doodling. One of my good friends. But then one day something terrible happened. He fell in love. To make a long story short, Ben left our home at Taylor University to be with his girlfriend. (Normally I would get mad at something like this but like I said, I made a long story short, and I actually think it was a good decision.)
Ben realized that his new school was awful compared to Taylor. (Every school is awful compared to Taylor, so I don't find this surprising.) So Ben decided he was just going to drink coffee for the next year. And Nevin Street Coffee was born.*
Now Ben is married to said girlfriend and he and a buddy run an online business selling fresh coffee grounds. But not only that, the president of said inferior school told Ben, "you should open a coffee shop on campus" so let it be written, so let it be done. Ben is now in the process of opening a physical coffee "spot."
Anyway, the moral of this story is: click the picture of the Nevin Street logo on the right side of my blog, it will take you to his website. If you by a pound of coffee and write in the "special notes" section that you were referred from the Dangerzone, you will be in a drawing for a free Nevin Street mug. I already bought two...they are really cool. And since there about 4 people who read my blog, you have to realize that your odds of winning this drawing are pretty cool.
This "Contest" starts today and goes through August 1st.
Enjoy
*I realize that doesn't really make sense but I liked the way it sounded
When I was an undergrad I had a goofy friend by the name of Ben Blake. He was a good friend, and a silly man. He loved coffee, old books, and doodling. One of my good friends. But then one day something terrible happened. He fell in love. To make a long story short, Ben left our home at Taylor University to be with his girlfriend. (Normally I would get mad at something like this but like I said, I made a long story short, and I actually think it was a good decision.)
Ben realized that his new school was awful compared to Taylor. (Every school is awful compared to Taylor, so I don't find this surprising.) So Ben decided he was just going to drink coffee for the next year. And Nevin Street Coffee was born.*
Now Ben is married to said girlfriend and he and a buddy run an online business selling fresh coffee grounds. But not only that, the president of said inferior school told Ben, "you should open a coffee shop on campus" so let it be written, so let it be done. Ben is now in the process of opening a physical coffee "spot."
Anyway, the moral of this story is: click the picture of the Nevin Street logo on the right side of my blog, it will take you to his website. If you by a pound of coffee and write in the "special notes" section that you were referred from the Dangerzone, you will be in a drawing for a free Nevin Street mug. I already bought two...they are really cool. And since there about 4 people who read my blog, you have to realize that your odds of winning this drawing are pretty cool.
This "Contest" starts today and goes through August 1st.
Enjoy
*I realize that doesn't really make sense but I liked the way it sounded
Monday, June 21, 2010
It's the thought that counts
If anyone thinks too much and doesn't understand his/her faith, I hope this is an encouragement to you.
Sometimes I struggle with or question things about the Christian faith that we seem to commonly accept here in this little place I like to call 21st century, white, middle-class, evangelical America*. I think by now you all know that I struggle with the idea of "calling."
Well here's another one that keeps me up at night. Prayer. Good night, I do not understand this thing. Using the best of my logic I have decided that God deciding to supernaturally intervene in the affairs of man because I asked him to doesn't really make sense. What happens when two different people pray for opposing outcomes? (Michigan Wolverines pray they will beat the Buckeyes, I pray that their bus catches on fire on the way to the game). God cannot grant mutually exclusive requests,** so who gets to have their prayer answered? And if the bus did catch fire, and police realized it was because a brave patriot doused it in gasoline the night before, did GOD make the bus catch fire, or did some man (who is my hero) really do the work? In that case, who gets the credit? One might say that God "used" that man, but if the man had decided differently, could he have then thwarted God's plan? Or does the man not have free-will? oops. Didn't mean to get into that conversation. But then again if you don't really have free-will then prayer is kind of a moot point anyway because God has already done what he is going to do.
what? Wait, does this stack up with what I read in the Bible? I can't even tell anymore.
I get skeptical when people tell me stories. A girl at Taylor had a spontaneous remission of Cancer. There were people who would be quick to tell you that God performed a miracle. Why? Because of prayer. A lot of people who pray still die, and a lot of people who don't pray live. So what gives? Instead of getting all excited and praising God....I get curious.
And sometimes I dislike that. Sometimes I think it means that I have a weak faith are that I am doubting God. But I am not really doubting. I am just questioning. And then I came across this little verse-nugget
Proverbs 25:2--It is the glory of god to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.
We will never be like Christ, but the effort to be Christ-like is honoring to God. We emphasize the journey, because we know we are traveling towards a destination we know we cannot reach this side of Heaven...so the journey is king. In the same way, I will never understand God, but I hope that these endless circular patterns of thought are honoring to God. Because I am searching after him with my brain. My intellectual journey, is hopefully in it's own way, as much of a praise as the person who shouts hallelujah. Because we are both saying the same thing.
"Lord, I want more of you"
*Located in the Mid-West
**But God can do ANYTHING...yeah, but not stuff that just doesn't even make sense. I guess maybe He could, but that would mean suspending the boundaries of reality as we know them...which maybe He does...but if He does that we might as well give up trying to understand anything because at that point anything and everything is fair game. In which case, I am going to stop writing blogs and concentrate more on video games.
Sometimes I struggle with or question things about the Christian faith that we seem to commonly accept here in this little place I like to call 21st century, white, middle-class, evangelical America*. I think by now you all know that I struggle with the idea of "calling."
Well here's another one that keeps me up at night. Prayer. Good night, I do not understand this thing. Using the best of my logic I have decided that God deciding to supernaturally intervene in the affairs of man because I asked him to doesn't really make sense. What happens when two different people pray for opposing outcomes? (Michigan Wolverines pray they will beat the Buckeyes, I pray that their bus catches on fire on the way to the game). God cannot grant mutually exclusive requests,** so who gets to have their prayer answered? And if the bus did catch fire, and police realized it was because a brave patriot doused it in gasoline the night before, did GOD make the bus catch fire, or did some man (who is my hero) really do the work? In that case, who gets the credit? One might say that God "used" that man, but if the man had decided differently, could he have then thwarted God's plan? Or does the man not have free-will? oops. Didn't mean to get into that conversation. But then again if you don't really have free-will then prayer is kind of a moot point anyway because God has already done what he is going to do.
what? Wait, does this stack up with what I read in the Bible? I can't even tell anymore.
I get skeptical when people tell me stories. A girl at Taylor had a spontaneous remission of Cancer. There were people who would be quick to tell you that God performed a miracle. Why? Because of prayer. A lot of people who pray still die, and a lot of people who don't pray live. So what gives? Instead of getting all excited and praising God....I get curious.
And sometimes I dislike that. Sometimes I think it means that I have a weak faith are that I am doubting God. But I am not really doubting. I am just questioning. And then I came across this little verse-nugget
Proverbs 25:2--It is the glory of god to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.
We will never be like Christ, but the effort to be Christ-like is honoring to God. We emphasize the journey, because we know we are traveling towards a destination we know we cannot reach this side of Heaven...so the journey is king. In the same way, I will never understand God, but I hope that these endless circular patterns of thought are honoring to God. Because I am searching after him with my brain. My intellectual journey, is hopefully in it's own way, as much of a praise as the person who shouts hallelujah. Because we are both saying the same thing.
"Lord, I want more of you"
*Located in the Mid-West
**But God can do ANYTHING...yeah, but not stuff that just doesn't even make sense. I guess maybe He could, but that would mean suspending the boundaries of reality as we know them...which maybe He does...but if He does that we might as well give up trying to understand anything because at that point anything and everything is fair game. In which case, I am going to stop writing blogs and concentrate more on video games.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Goin' South
Howdy Y'all
Today is my first of many blog-post from the great Nation of Texas.
Quiz: Six different nations claimed Texas at some point in history. This does not count indigenous peoples or native tribes. Can you name all six? (The answers will be given at the end of this post)
For those of you who I haven't told (or who haven't gone to ACSD) I got a job at LeTourneau University in Longview Texas. "Wow," you might say "How did you ever find yourself down there Steve?" Well, I legitimately do like the place. I honestly and truly do. I think it will be a good fit for me and I already KNOW that it is a good fit for Cortney, and she is really excited to move down here and hang out with all the hispanos. But why here out of all the schools in the CCCU? Mainly because they were the only school that returned my E-mail.*
And so I loaded my trusty Honda with a variety of goods and possessions and struck out due South with a song in my heart and a pocket full of dreams.
It took about seventy billion hours to drive to Longview, and I learned that by using an precise mathematical formula developed by MIT students, you can actually calculate your current geographic latitude in America based on the number of Country Music stations playing on your car radio.
Also, I stopped at a motel six that was straight out of a B-list horror movie. It was seedy and smelly and possibly on an Indian burial ground. I believe that no fewer than 4.7 murders took place while I slept there. Expect this story to be made into a movie and coming to a Redbox near you.
I've never really been a fan of the "South" but I think that Texas is a world onto itself. Actually it's big enough to be several worlds unto themselves. Everyone in East Texas (which is now where I live) wants you to know that they aren't from South Texas or West Texas, as these places are apparently less desirable. I don't know which part of Texas is the one that supports Cowboy hats but I hope it's the East.
I start my new job tomorrow! Further updates will follow I'm sure.
Check the comments on this post for the answer to the Trivia question
*I had two phone interviews, and got one job. So that's a 50% success rate. Pretty impressive I think. What happened to the other job you ask? Barry Walsh took it...
Today is my first of many blog-post from the great Nation of Texas.
Quiz: Six different nations claimed Texas at some point in history. This does not count indigenous peoples or native tribes. Can you name all six? (The answers will be given at the end of this post)
For those of you who I haven't told (or who haven't gone to ACSD) I got a job at LeTourneau University in Longview Texas. "Wow," you might say "How did you ever find yourself down there Steve?" Well, I legitimately do like the place. I honestly and truly do. I think it will be a good fit for me and I already KNOW that it is a good fit for Cortney, and she is really excited to move down here and hang out with all the hispanos. But why here out of all the schools in the CCCU? Mainly because they were the only school that returned my E-mail.*
And so I loaded my trusty Honda with a variety of goods and possessions and struck out due South with a song in my heart and a pocket full of dreams.
It took about seventy billion hours to drive to Longview, and I learned that by using an precise mathematical formula developed by MIT students, you can actually calculate your current geographic latitude in America based on the number of Country Music stations playing on your car radio.
Also, I stopped at a motel six that was straight out of a B-list horror movie. It was seedy and smelly and possibly on an Indian burial ground. I believe that no fewer than 4.7 murders took place while I slept there. Expect this story to be made into a movie and coming to a Redbox near you.
I've never really been a fan of the "South" but I think that Texas is a world onto itself. Actually it's big enough to be several worlds unto themselves. Everyone in East Texas (which is now where I live) wants you to know that they aren't from South Texas or West Texas, as these places are apparently less desirable. I don't know which part of Texas is the one that supports Cowboy hats but I hope it's the East.
I start my new job tomorrow! Further updates will follow I'm sure.
Check the comments on this post for the answer to the Trivia question
*I had two phone interviews, and got one job. So that's a 50% success rate. Pretty impressive I think. What happened to the other job you ask? Barry Walsh took it...
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Maslow
For those of you who didn't know, I was a psychology major in undergrad. Having a bachelors degree in psychology means that I am an expert in all things psychological and that if I ever offer you advice it is as if a licensed clinical counselor just gave you treatment. And most of the time I don't even charge.
As an authority in the psychological realm I would like to educate you on a little something called "Maslow's hierarchy of needs." This is a model proposed by Abe Maslow, that pretty much says that some needs are more important, and more urgent than other needs. He ranked these needs and put them in a little pyramid so it would be easier for the freshmen to memorize.
As you can see, the basic stuff is on the bottom, and the stuff we student development professionals focus on are at the top. The theory is that people need to have their needs met in order. So trying to bolster the self esteem of a person who is quite literally starving to death will be ineffective and is pretty much just going to make you look like a jerk.*
Well, since I am a specialist, I would like to make an important addition to this model, and I am completely qualified to do so, so look for it in the new textbooks coming out this fall**
I've been walking around in Washington D.C. the last few days and I have determined that "going to the bathroom" is the most basic (and important) need there is.
Why is that you ask? Because when you need to go, there is NOTHING in the world that matters. My house could be on fire and if I really needed to use the restroom I would probably stop to do my business before I ran out. And you would too. Conversely, if you have really had to go to the bathroom and you get the chance to, nothing can get you down for at least a minute. A man seeing an oasis in a desert is not as happy as a girl on a bus who sees a rest area.
So next time you are in a major city, where none of the businesses have customer rest-rooms and you have to walk 7 miles to get to the train to take you to a place where you can walk 2 miles back the way you came... think about Maslow, and how he apparently has never been in your shoes.
*Christian missionaries are getting better at this. People's hearts are more receptive to the gospel when they aren't worried about whether or not they will eat that week.
**It's the only thing they changed in the old textbook, except the pages are in a different order and they are glossier...also there are more pictures of ethnic minorities. The new text is $119 and required for class.
As an authority in the psychological realm I would like to educate you on a little something called "Maslow's hierarchy of needs." This is a model proposed by Abe Maslow, that pretty much says that some needs are more important, and more urgent than other needs. He ranked these needs and put them in a little pyramid so it would be easier for the freshmen to memorize.
As you can see, the basic stuff is on the bottom, and the stuff we student development professionals focus on are at the top. The theory is that people need to have their needs met in order. So trying to bolster the self esteem of a person who is quite literally starving to death will be ineffective and is pretty much just going to make you look like a jerk.*
Well, since I am a specialist, I would like to make an important addition to this model, and I am completely qualified to do so, so look for it in the new textbooks coming out this fall**
I've been walking around in Washington D.C. the last few days and I have determined that "going to the bathroom" is the most basic (and important) need there is.
Why is that you ask? Because when you need to go, there is NOTHING in the world that matters. My house could be on fire and if I really needed to use the restroom I would probably stop to do my business before I ran out. And you would too. Conversely, if you have really had to go to the bathroom and you get the chance to, nothing can get you down for at least a minute. A man seeing an oasis in a desert is not as happy as a girl on a bus who sees a rest area.
So next time you are in a major city, where none of the businesses have customer rest-rooms and you have to walk 7 miles to get to the train to take you to a place where you can walk 2 miles back the way you came... think about Maslow, and how he apparently has never been in your shoes.
*Christian missionaries are getting better at this. People's hearts are more receptive to the gospel when they aren't worried about whether or not they will eat that week.
**It's the only thing they changed in the old textbook, except the pages are in a different order and they are glossier...also there are more pictures of ethnic minorities. The new text is $119 and required for class.
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