athanasius2k4's Xanga

Just Shut Up: Salahis

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:31:31 GMT

A weekly segment of the Mike and Mike sports talk show (daily on ESPN Radio), the “Just Shut Up” award is given to those human beings in the sports media who exude such selfish, self-adulatory behavior that deserves to be told to just shut up!

Today, the award definitely goes to that husband and wife team—Michaele and Tareq Salahi—and their continuing attempt to become celebrities. Really, do you think this ongoing drama is anything but? They win the award (probably for the decade) for sneaking into a White House formal dinner with a visiting head of state all for the sake of media attention in order to get onto a reality TV show. And now they have the gall to claim on national television that the police have to wait for their explanation?! Seriously, folks, just shut up!

First of all, it was trespassing! I’m sorry, but any black man (or other minority, if you will) who trespasses on anyone’s property—forget the fact that it was the White House—would probably be arrested on the spot! No one has the opportunity to go days without being arrested....or on national TV to explain their stories only to say that the police and the public can wait for their explanation. Are you kidding me?

What they are probably trying to do (with their lawyers’ (face it, they probably have a team of them) help) is trying to come up with ways to explain their actions and keep them out of jail. But, why are they given this time? Why haven’t they been arrested already and just made to shut up! They deserve a reality TV show alright: the federal penitentiary! Time to throw away the trash, people!

And...a true sign of how desperate NBC is for ratings is the fact that NBC gave the Salahis the forum to speak on this morning’s Today Show. The worst example of a breach of contract between journalists and the public came with Matt Lauer’s complete kowtowing to corporate pressure and terribly representing journalist everywhere by simply avoiding any pressuring questions on the Salahis. What an absolute disgrace and just pathetic: shame on you, Mr. Lauer and NBC!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:08:15 GMT

Just a New York shout-out of Happy Thanksgiving to you all out there with a very, very New York view.

The Heisman!

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:20:11 GMT

Our little footballer is down this weekend. She started running a fever Saturday afternoon and has been completely out of it since. Poor dear. Like bigger kids (and adults, I guess), this is the most TV she has ever watched. I hope she doesn’t get addicted. Pray for her quick recovery please. Thank you!

Days

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:38:32 GMT

Ledger & a Guinness | The Gardeners Arms, Oxford, UK | October 26, 2009

It is no secret that I’ve been looking forward to the DVD release of Star Trek since, well, the film opened early this summer. But when the wife and I were randomly flipping through channels last night and the usual pre-release commercial for the DVD ran with the tagline “Own it this Tuesday,” I immediately thought, “wow....that’s tomorrow,” thinking that it was Monday night, November 16.

Today is not the 17th, nor last night the 16th. Since the onslaught of the day-after-day feeling of drowning in work and to-do lists that never end or never get finished—beginning when the acquisition occurred and which continues to snowball exponentially—I have slowly lost track of days. For a person who used to be able tell you the time of day—to the minute—if you asked hours into the day and hours since I last checked the time, this is quite troubling. Forget minutes, I’ve lost track of days.

What will I be losing next?

I miss a pint (or two) of Guinness after work each day. LOL!

EDIT: 24 November 2009 @ 9:54am — Star Trek was more awesome (yeah, that awesome) than I (and Simone) ever expected! The extras in a separate BD disc were equally filled with awesomeness!

Fool

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:47:10 GMT

Remember this entry: “Convictions” from 2007 March? Who’s the fool indeed? Indeed, in the last 1.5 years, the project I had been working 3 yrs to get approved...well, got approved. And since then, I’ve been toiling away—on weekends, into the weeknights—to get the work done to meet the deadlines which we’ve set (although seriously, what did I have to say in the deadline/timelines).

What was the alternative? Especially in this economy, does one such as myself say “no more!” I would surely have been let go, replaced by someone who would get the job done. What would you do? Does being a Christian change your answer?

A different world

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:31:03 GMT

Looking westward on 35th St at Madison Ave in 1911
New York Public Library Collection | Flickr Commons

I know now that I know very little, if at all. What years and years of education I have had, what degrees I have listed, what papers I have scrawled, what tests I have finished (or not finished), what objects I have handled and learned, and what images my eyes have seen: all means nothing.

As one works and works and works, sacrificing hours and minutes and even days of quality time spent with family and friends because the work requires it—deadlines have been set (often without your input and sometimes even over your objections), money has been budgeted, etc.—there is some understanding that you will be recognized at least (if not rewarded) for such dedication, for such sacrifices. Right?

As I “grow” in life, I am learning that there is no such thing. It is a lesson, I suppose, I’ve learned before and constantly must be taught again and again and again. At what point, I wonder, will I learn? At what point will I accept that there is no mutually beneficial relationship in employer and employee? As a lawyer, I suppose, I should know that the very existence of a corporation is to shield itself from legal responsibilities: and perhaps also to moral, ethical and humane considerations, as well.

What I am craving

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:08:23 GMT

ACE (Adult Christian Education) is a ministry of Grace Redeemer Church aimed at equipping our people to participate in Spirit-empowered, Gospel-driven transformation of hearts, relationships & culture. Please join us each Sunday at 10AM for either Bible Basics 201 or Spiritual Formation 201.
Grace Redeemer Church website | retrieved October 3, 2009 | emphasis added

It has become increasingly important that those two highlighted elements are first and foremost in any “program” for me, for Simone and for Isabelle, in this life and for eternity. The focus on the Gospel driven nature and transformative power of the Holy Spirit should be the nature of every Christian church, and the requirement of teaching that to its congregants should be the paramount concern of any church leader.

Joy

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:10:54 GMT

Joy is watching your child play quietly, intently, innocently—without a care in the world—immersed in her own complacent and complete joy of “simply being,” infinitely oblivious to the worries, dangers, obstacles and evil of this world.

And, then jumping in and playing some too...forgetting, if only for a little bit of a weekend, the chores and other “work” which inundate our busy (does it necessarily have to be?), busy, busy lives.

On the sick days...

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:11:09 GMT

I spent 3 days last week in bed, feverish and riddled with body aches all over. No congestion, sniffles, runny-nose or coughing. Just a blaring headache and all kinds of joint and muscle pain. It was like having been run over by a truck the week before.

In bed, listening to my 4th generation iPod...I couldn’t help but feel that all that work I’m not getting done in the office is going to be hell to pay when I return. And no one cares in a company whether you’re late because you’ve been working without adequate sleep for 6+ months and your body finally said STOP...because we’re dying in here!

. . . under pressure . . .

Adrift

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 07:51:46 GMT

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/sam_and_ian/ | CC BY-NC 2.0

My eyes are tired. Legs are achy. Back doesn’t feel right. Wrists are numb. Fingers crack more. I am barely peeling back my eyelids every morning at 2 or 3:00 a.m., trying to drag myself up to finish the “to-do” list from yesterday. At the end of the day, the list only grows...and grows...and grows.

Still, as I collect resumes for intern interviews, I know just how bad the job market is. Law school graduates from this year and last, top 10% of their class, lining up for unpaid internships just to get in somewhere, anywhere.

Recession? Depression? You betcha.