Thoughts from the Other Side

BCS Tyranny

So its official, the BCS is not going to allow a playoff-style chamionship season. Not that I had any hope for it to actually happen, but it was nice to dream. According to ESPN, the BCS presidents committee has asked 6 conference commissioners to come up with a BCS format which does not involve a playoff system, but which will be more open to non-BCS teams.

I for one would really enjoy seeing college football go to the same type of scheme that college basketball utilizes so well. Pick the top 40 or so teams, and have them duke it out over a period of several weeks or so. That way, it would become VERY obvious who the best team actually is and there would no longer be instances like the 1998 Tulane team which went 11-0 and could only play in the Liberty Bowl due to non-BCS affiliations. Obviously this would be very trying on both players and coaches, but the victor would emerge undisputed and with a great sense of accomplishment.

Thoughts anyone?

Covenant Consumerism

I was reading Lobsters in a Bucket earlier and came across Matt's blog on the encouraging effects of labor in service (specifically hourly-wage grunt jobs) and I stopped to think about my job. I work at the customer service desk at Covenant College for the summer. I've worked at Covenant every summer for the last 5 years doing everything from housekeeping to dining hall to kitchen to grounds (basically I've done my share of grunt-work) trying to assure the comfort and enjoyment of our conference guests (predominantly made up of children ages 12-17). What I have found is that, contrary to what Matt says, customer service can be an extremely frustrating thing. Just this afternoon I had to deal with 5 immature young men who, after having a hot sauce-chugging contest proceeded to vomit all over the floor in the men's bathroom in Carter. When confronted with their actions and told to clean up their mess their response was, "That's not fair!" Last week Zach Todd and I had to respond to an incident in which human fecal matter was placed in a bathroom sink and smeared around liberally.

Now, I like to think that I am a reasonable person, I am actually criticized for my apparent inability to "lash out" at people. However, I have encountered more instances of rage this one summer than I can ever remember having in a 6 month period. Who are these people that make up the majority of the generation coming after me? There will always be phrases like "Kids will be kids" and "That's just what kids do," but this is an extreme. These are Christian kids (supposedly anyways), kids who are supposed to be setting examples. Instead, they manage to effectively destroy a campus which somehow manages to survive year after year of abuse from older and messier students who occupy the campus for a much longer term.

Ironically, the conference guests who are the most demanding (read: adults and senior citizens) are the only ones who show any kind of gratitude for the work done at this college during the summer. With those people, I can sort of see the spiritual and mental encouragement that Matt speaks of. But even then it is just a thin layer of icing on a cake full of malcontent.

I'm not sure what exactly I'm trying to say in this post. As I reread I am realizing just how bitter it sounds, but its stuff I need to say to get it off my chest (its been a long summer). What does all this say about our society? I'm not sure. . .maybe someone else can shed some light on it for me.

The Truth About Charlie

Word has come down the pike that Tim Burton, famed director of Edward Scissorhands, Batman and Batman Returns, Sleepy Hollow, and Beetlejuice is directing a remake of the classic Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. As with many other Burton films (many of which I enjoy) I imagine this is going to be rather different from the original. Anyways, there are currently some well-founded rumours which state that Johnny Depp is slated to play Willie Wonka and that Christopher Walken may be Charlie's grandfather. Now, with the understanding that there is no way Depp could duplicate Gene Wilder's performance as Wonka, I would be very interested as to what new face Depp and Burton could provide to the character.

I'll post updates about the movie as I come across them.

Senseless Blathering v 1.1

Well once again its been quite a while since I last blogged. A bunch of stuff has happened since then so its time for another miscellaneous crap blog.

1) I turned 20 last Saturday. I'm kind of scared not to be a teenager anymore, but hey, it had to happen sometime. Katie made me this AWESOME dinner Friday night. New England pot roast with apple pie. . .it was incredibly delicious. She also gave me the Band of Brothers DVD set which I am still working my way through. The show is amazing. Its the most realistic, well-acted/directed TV show I've ever seen (this includes The Sopranos by the way). Its completely enthralling and based entirely on real events. Great stuff. Then, on Saturday I invited Katie, Zach Todd, Jared Leonard, and P-nut (all hallmates) over to my house for a barbecue sponsored by my family. Mom made some lemon-pepper chicken and dad grilled burgers. It was great fun with some rousing games of Scattergories and Family tossed in there. I got a really nice Eddie Bauer hiking backpack from my parents for when I head to Scotland this fall. They also gave me some travel guides for Scotland and Great Britain as a whole. I had a blast all weekend.

2) As of this afternoon, my grandmother has moved back to Southport, North Carolina. For the last 4 years or so she had been living with, or next to my family here on the mountain. However, due to certain recent events she has felt called back to Southport where she and my grandfather lived until he passed away. I spent most of the day helping my dad load up the moving van and now he and my mom and sisters (minus Melissa) are heading off to NC with Nana and Muffy (her dog).

3) Finally, and rather strangely it looks like I've gotten my first Google referral. Someone queried movies about Arabian horse races and got my short blog about the upcoming Viggo Mortensen movie Hidalgo. Weird. . .

Blah

I really hate being sick. Its just not a fun feeling at all. I was up until 5 in the morning last night because I couldn't fall asleep and now I have to work 12 hours today.

I think I'm really going to enjoy having tomorrow off. . .

Speechless. . .

I'm not really sure how to react to this. . .

Reaquainting myself

So I think I'm finally getting used to some of this HTML again. I used to know it pretty well, but haven't used it in a long time. Anyways, I think I've finally settled on a decent color scheme for a while. Now I just need to find some other fonts to mess around with.

The big kahuna

This week at Covenant marks a special occasion in Conference Services' history. We currently have, on campus, over 860 teenagers and youth leaders for this week's Student Life camp (that does not include actual SL staff as well). Having worked at Covenant in some shape or form in each of the last 5 summers I can say with good reason that this is the most people that Covenant has ever had stay on campus at any given period of time. That includes Covenant students as there are not more than 800 students residing on-campus during the school year.

And yes. . .I get the wonderful honor of taking care of said kids. . .oh joy.

Leavin', on a jet plane. . .

Zach and I bought our plane tickets to London tonight. We got a really good deal at STA Travel (they put out he International Student Identity Card) and ended up getting round-trip from Atlanta to London and back on the dates we wanted for just $460. Now we just have to figure out how to get from London to Glasgow. Most likely it will be by bus. . .a long trip, but MUCH cheaper than the train.

So drink up me hearties, Yo-Ho!

I saw Pirates of the Caribbean again last night with Zach and Katie. I have to say, I really like that movie. I didn't have very high hopes for it going into the first viewing, but Johnny Depp won me over almost immediately. Both Orlando Bloom and Geoffry Rush gave admirable performances as well, but Depp is the real reason to watch the movie.

Also, (we actually made to the theater in time for previews this time) I saw a preview for a new movie with Viggo Mortensen called Hidalgo. Its something about a western "cowboy" legend who goes for one last race in the desert in Arabia. I don't know if its going to be just another cheezy blockbuster gone bad or if it might actually have some potential, but it caught my interest. I'll have to investigate further. . .

Senseless Blathering v 1.0

So yeah, its been a while since I last blogged. Figured I better get back on the ball before Josiah bugs me about it :).

I had a pretty eventful weekend last week. My friends Zach, Spoon, and I went down to Atlanta for the Summer Sanitarium rock concert featuring Metallica, Limp Bizkit, and Linkin Park, with Deftones and Mudvayne opening for them. It was an eight hour concert at Turner Field and it was LOUD. So loud in fact, that after Linkin Park got off the stage Spoon and I went back into the stands (we had floor tickets originally) to sit down and I could still feel my ribcage vibrating. Even though I risk catching a little flack for saying this, Linkin Park was amazing live. Their one of my favorite bands to listen to and if possible they were even better in person. Limp Bizkit also put on a good show, but I have a hard time saying they're music shows talent. Metallica was just raw sound, good for the most part, but not my era of music. Anyways, good concert all around.

After we left Turner Field (sometime around 11) we decided to try and catch the midnight showing of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Got to the theater 30 minutes early and decided to try and grab some fast food before the show. I started the car (momentarily forgetting that it was already in gear) which lurched forward once I popped the clutch and tapped (I stress the "tapped" part) into the car in front of us. I backed up to see what happened to discover that the lug nut which holds the license plate in had bumped the car in front of us leaving a marble-sized dent underneath the ridge of the bumper. No other denting or scratching, just a small dent the size of a dime. We were going to leave a note and a phone number, but some guy comes up to us and threatens to call the cops and report a hit and run if we leave. So we stick around as the security guard for the parking lot calls the cops (the anonymous idiot is gone by now without leaving any kind of ID). An hour and a half, two 911 calls and a police report later the owner of the car, a female college student, arrived and after a momentary panic dismissed all worry by saying it looked like nothing. Jumping ahead three days, I got a call from her yesterday saying the Toyota dealership wanted to replace her bumper for $400 and that I could send her the money or go through insurance. I'm not really sure what exactly is going on right now, but I know that I am NOT going to pay $400 dollars to replace a bumper that has a purely cosmetical ding in it. I'll post an update when things have become a little more sane.

They might by giants

I have vague memories from when I was four. I know that I liked Legos and G.I. Joes and riding my tricycle. With that in mind, take a look at this.

That's just extremely depressing.

Brando or Lewis?

I just saw Gangs of New York the other night and, despite having heard some very negative things about it, was rather impressed. I was rather taken aback at just how bloody it actually was, but I think Scorcese presented the story rather convincingly even in light of that. At the very least it was by far the best performance I've seen by Leonardo DiCaprio and, of course Daniel Day Lewis was impressive as always.

However, the real question which was lurking in my mind as I watched was whether Lewis's performance as a verbally impaired mob boss could be considered to be in the same league as Marlon Brando's godfather performance. I'm not really sure what to think about the matter. . .I'd like to hear what Todd, Josiah, and Mesh (in particular) have to say. . .

Patriotic Aftermath

Well, I've found a new best way to spend the 4th of July and I find it fitting that it should be America's favorite pasttime. As I mentioned previously, Katie and I were at a Braves game this past Independence Day and it was an amazing experience. From the moment we got out of the car and were greeted with a fly-by of F-18 Super Hornets to the entrance of star closer John Smoltz (the place was going WILD) to the explosive and quite patriotic conclusion of fireworks it was the best time I'd had in a long while (and of course, having Katie there also helped :) ). If any of you ever get a chance to attend a game on the 4th you should definitely take advantage of the opportunity.

Happy 4th!

Happy Independence Day to all. . .as my friend Josiah posts, we should all take the time to realize how blessed we are to live in this wonderful country of ours.

Don't have any big plans for the day, but Katie and I are off to a Braves game tonight with a big fireworks show to follow the game. My friend and former hall-mate Ben Spooner happened across a pair of tickets which he couldn't use and which are apparently in great field position so. . .

Have a great day, drive safe, and God bless.

Wake up sir. . .

I imagine we've all had the nightmare, but not many of us have LIVED it. Imagine being in the shoes of this Berlin man when he woke up.

Movie Thoughts

These days I find it rather difficult to watch a movie which then ends up on my list of favorite flicks. However, in the past week and a half I've stumbled across two which could both arguably be placed on that list.

1) Equilibrium

Sadly, this movie is almost completely unknown to most people. It was released last year amidst rather disappointing reviews and only lasted about a month in theatres. With Christian Bale in the lead and other guys like Sean Bean and Taye Diggs backing him up (in addition to some feminine persuasion from Emily Watson), this movie is what I believe The Matrix could have been if it weren't dragged down by the theatrical wasteland we all know to be Keannu Reeves. The plot is remarkably similar to George Orwell's 1984 with a strong "big brother" influence and complete with some Fahrenheit 451 flavor. Basically, the story takes place after a third world war (whoa, there's a new one) with the leaders of the human race deciding that the real enemy of man is emotion. A drug is developed which prevents humans from feeling any kind of emotion. A group of "policemen" called Grammaton Clerics are created and these officers of the law take advantage of a new fighting technique called 'gun-kata.' Gun-kata is based on the logistics of the average gunfighter and enables the user to actually dodge bullets by anticipating where traditional zones of gunfire will be. The story revolves around Christian Bale's character, the first in the order of clerics, his realization of what true emotion is, and his battle against those who oppose it. Its a very cool, very polished movie which features some of the most amazing action sequences I've ever watched. If you enjoyed The Matrix at all, see this movie.

Speaking of The Matrix. . .

2) The Animatrix

Not as much to say here. Only that even though this really isn't a single movie, but more like a supplemental collage of history, this movie still rocked my world. Watching these short films made me instantly want to watch The Matrix and Reloaded again (especially after Final Flight of the Osiris). Of the nine shorts, I'd have to pick Final Flight. . . and The Second Renaissance Parts I & II as my favorites with honorable mention going to Beyond and Detective Story.

Commanding Expansion

Its official, the ACC has expanded its ranks by welcoming two of its primary opponents with open arms. The University of Miami (FL) and Virginia Tech University jumped the Big East's ship and joined what is now, arguably, the most powerful conference in college sports.

Personally I have mixed feelings about the move. Florida State is my favorite college sports team and as such I look forward to the increase in conference competition. However, adding both Miami and V-tech might be biting off more than they can chew. Regardless, it will make for some very fun football this year.

Off the Launchpad

So here it is. . .my first real blog post. Thanks to Josiah for setting me up with this place and for the tutorial you sent over also. Can't really think of a good way to kick things off so I think I'm going to borrow a page from my friend Todd Willison's blog and throw out a couple of things I am looking forward to. So, without furthur ado, here are two things I am most looking forward to over the course of the remainder of this year:

1) Glasgow, Scotland

For those of you who don't know, I will be attending the University of Glasgow in Scotland for the entirety of this coming fall semester (accompanied of course by my comrade in arms Zach Todd). This will be my first extended trip out of the country (and by extended I mean more than two days) so I'm rather excited. Zach and I should be leaving around the first of September and will be gone until around Christmas.

2) The Return of the King

Unless you've been the sole inhabitant of a hole in the ground somewhere in the Siberian wilderness you've heard and most likely even seen at least one of the first two installments of Peter Jackson's film rendition of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Having been a fanatic of the books my entire life, I await the third and final act of the trilogy with anticipation bordering on insanity. Unfortunately being in Glasgow all semester means that I will most likely not be able to see the movie until I get back. . .its going to be rough.

Obviously the first of the two encompasses quite a bit. I can't wait to experience the sights, smells (haggis, anyone?), and tastes (mmm. . .Guinness) of the UK. So, keeping in mind that I will be in a foreign land for the majority of the rest of this year, here is a short list of other things I'd like to see:

Summer Sanitarium - large concert headlined by Metallica and Linkin Park
Terminator 3 - Not much thought behind it, but its going to be fun
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - see above
The Matrix Revolutions - I'm dying to know how they're going to pull this one off