Survival

From Ferguson, Missouri, to Staten Island, New York, to Kobani, Syria, to Kabul and Yemen, and Sierra Leone and Liberia (don't forget oft-forgotten Guinea), people are concerned about surviving.

This is our way. Life finds a a way. We all want to survive...then thrive. But first things first.

On Mazlo's hierarchy, you gotta have the basics. Air. Shelter. Food. Protection. Health. In 2014, here is a slight look around the world as to some people's fundamental concerns.








Someone on my computer put the above image in my post. 
Nice!

      Anyway, back to the topic of survival. There are many Americans in our country protesting now about the treatment of individuals who have paid with their lives. Many of these US citizens (and probably a few abroad) feel that people are not getting fair treatment when they are confronted and arrested. Michael Brown of greater Saint Louis, and the Eric Garner gentleman who died of asphyxiation in New York City, where in both cases the law enforcement professionals who killed them were not indicted on charges of misconduct. Many black Americans and others feel aggrieved. If whole populations of the United States feel that their lives count less, that they are not truly safe because of threats to their lives through the legal process (before, during and after arrests and legal proceedings), then they feel a need to protest. I think many Americans have never felt this threat from the law that is meant to protect them, but enough have to where these protests have become valid and must be addressed. Our law enforcement and legal system must improvement for the benefit of all, for the survival of all our populations. 

I learned that the city of Kobani, Syria, was named after a combination of German words. Basically meaning "Company Road" or " Company Way". It has been under a lot of sturm and drang lately, the Sunni ISIS fighters going against their opponents, be they Shia or Kurds, or the Syrian median, Ismailis. Meanwhile, Turkey and the US and others have attempted to help the local populations of Syria to fight back, mostly from air support and missile launches and drops.

Yes, survival. Violent and brutal. The Near and Middle East has been a "hot spot", code word for awful place of murder and mayhem for decades. For those of my generation growing up since Vietnam, all our lives. You could say it has been bad from Algeria to Pakistan (and sometimes beyond) ever since World War II. But it goes further back than that, of course.

Kabul, the capital of that war-ravaged nation has been bad lately.

Survival.

People are doing things that they think will ensure their survival. I suppose even the extremist suicide bombers believe in their causes for the "greater good", right?

In Yemen an American and a South African are killed after trying to practice some journalism. The free press can be that messy. And a Romanian born American is killed for being Western in Qatar, a western leaning Arab state of the Persian/Arab Gulf.

And UAVS, drones, have killed a few more Al Qaida leaders in such places as Pakistan. And we lost a special forces soldier from my home state of Indiana.

Then there is this Ebola mess in the corner elbow of Africa, a three country area where the deaths have been rampant. How to survive?

Health care is a part of it.

And there is politics. Sometimes it is not easy to survive.

But we will. Right?

Blog it, EMC.

BYU Football Program Chugging Along, Making History

Earlier in the season I wrote how disappointed many of us fans were with the BYU Football team's fall from grace in October of this year, 2014. We had high expectations even though in a few early season wins I saw some defensive chinks in the armor that meant that even had QB Taysom Hill stayed healthy all year, they might not have been ready for 12-0. A season ending injury and a loss that turned into four (0 for October, 0-4!) made us pout. But at this juncture in early December, BYU did no more losing after that "O"wful month, and the Cougar grid ironers await their bowl opponent from the recently formed American Athletic Conference. Their final match could be the second team they lost to in that miserable month, the University of Central Florida. That was in over time, after BYU had a two touch down lead in the 3rd quarter! Or it could be a rematch with Houston. They proved last year and this one that they can score on BYU. Or it could be Memphis, Cinncinnati or East Carolina. Whomever they wind up playing, it will continue to be BYU's march into history. And hopefully successful.

I will show how the last two seasons of BYU's successes and failures will continue to put the unique program of Provo, Utah, among college football's winners, chugging towards "Notre Dame good". That is the goal, really. Just be a Mormon Notre Dame, and us Brigham Young fans go home happy. We are almost there. (Maybe another 10 years will make it more likely.)

2014 Schedule                                                      2013 Schedule

Aug.29: @ UConn Huskies:    W: 35-10         Aug.31: @ Virginia Cavaliers   L:16-19

Sept.6: @ Texas Longhorns:   W: 42-7           Sept.7: Texas Longhorns       W:40-21 

Sept.11: Houston Cougars       W: 33-25         Sept.21: Utah Utes                  L:13-20

Sept.20: Virginia Cavaliers      W: 41-33         Sept.27:  MTSU Raiders          W:37-10

Oct.3: Utah St. Aggies                 L: 20-35          Oct.4: @ Utah St. Aggies         W:31-14

Oct.9: @ UC Florida Knights      L: 24-31 OT  Oct.12: Georgia Tech Jackets    W:38-20

Oct.18: Nevada Wolfpack           L: 35-42         Oct.19: @ Houston Cougars     W:47-46

Oct.24: @ Boise St. Broncos        L:30-55         Oct.25: Boise St. Broncos         W:37-20

Nov.1: @ MTenn.St Raiders       W: 27-7          Nov.9: @ Wisconsin Badgers    L:17-27

Nov.15: UNLV Rebels                W:42-23         Nov.16: Idaho St. Vandals        W:59-13

Nov.23: Savannah St.  Tigers      W: 64-0           Nov.23: @ Notre Dame Irish    L:13-23

Nov.29: at California Bears         W:42-35          No.30: @ Nevada Wolf Pack    W: 28-23

Miami Beach Bowl, Miami FL '14                      Fight Hunger Bowl, San Francisco, CA '13Dec.22: at Miami---?                       ??????             Dec.27: Washington Huskies L:16-31

Both of the last years BYU managed to win 8, and possibly 9 games this season, its bowl withstanding. Not great but not bad. About as good as Notre Dame has been doing lately, although in 2012 the Irish had a magical regular season, including a serendipitous victory over BYU.

The following 17 points will show how BYU has either A) Moved up (+1) in college respectability or B) Digressed/moved back (-1) in achieving elite status or  C) (+/0.5) will go to neutral wins.

1) The Connecticut Huskies had never played BYU before this fall; now they trail 1-0.They are relatively new in the FBS (D-1) game; a member of a mid-level conference, the American Athletic Conference. They also had a bad season overall this year, maybe worse than the year before (2013). No worries about them upstaging BYU and its march to national recognition and glory. This was a chance for an easier East Coast win than years previous (like at Boston College in 2005, or last year's debacle in Charlottesville), for some northeast fans to see the Cougs warm up for their first game of what was such a hopeful campaign. This was a neutral win, nothing great gained, but nothing lost. Except an injury or two? And a bone to a few of us on this side of the country. +0.5

2) Ahh, Texas. We have hooked the 'Horns the last two years, and I believe other than having winning seasons overall in 2013 and 2014 and keeping up the bowls since Bronco took the reigns in 2005, despite some disappointing losses to teams we could of or should have beat, nailing this historic program has been fantastic. BYU now has them pinned 4-1 in the all time series, dating back to 1987. Nice! Moving up! +1/+1

3) The Cougars of Houston. Lucky to win there in 2013; the chinks in the BYU defense evident this year, even though winning at home. Overall, this is a positive win, but only slightly. These two programs have only played these two, so BYU owns them 2-0. They may have a rematch with them right before Xmas; I hope that they don't. This was slightly good, but it could have been more convincing both times. And they are not considered a major program. Neutral good. On a side note, BYU's only other opponent in their history starting with an "H" is Hawai'i, which apparently reneged this fall, pulling in the lowly Tigers to be named later.... +1/+1

4) Virginia Cavaliers. I saw the craziness in Charlottesville a year ago (2013). Dumb mistakes, a lot of rain, some lightning and a two plus hour delay. BYU gave the game away with silliness and the newness, and the fates of the elements. At least we got back at this improved 2014 Cavalier team this year, in Lavell Edwards Stadium. But the defense showed its proclivity to chinks and injuries, like Houston the week before. Good win, move ahead win over an Atlantic Coast Conference team, the so called Power Conference team, who beat respectable teams like Louisville this year. Plus BYU has gone 2-3 against UVA now, also dating back to 1987. More work necessary. Larry King's son-in-law had an incredible comeback against the Wahoos back in 2000, back when UVA was a bigger upgrade series for the Y. Good step this year towards higher status, despite the flub up over a year ago. +1/-1

5) The Utah State Aggies ruined the Y's dream season in a few ways, mostly by breaking Taysom Hill's leg, but they were aggressive and scoring before that happened. Some dumb mistakes (Jordan Johnson on a FG attempt) and the roughed up D for BYU put Taysom in that position of more pressure; consequently all-everything QB Taysom bit off too much on the very run he went down for the season on. Bad loss to an instate rival; first in Provo since 1978, and to non-power team. Overall history still favors BYU, 45-36. Move back. But a necessary team to play. -1/+1

6) The University of Central Florida gave Christian Stewart his first full loss as a starter in over time, and the dream season continued to crumble. A non-power conference loss; it would have marked BYU's first win ever in the state of Florida in about 6 tries going back to the 1980s. Now they can rectify that fact this holiday season this month...Against an opponent from the aforementioned AAC. Another move back. But the series now stands at 1-1, started in 2011, and must be improved upon for BYU to be a serious program such as Notre Dame. UCF is not Miami, Florida or Florida State---those squads are to be beaten on occasion but USF and UCF, and lesser teams like FIU and FAU have to be handled more easily. -1

7) The Wolfpack handed it to the Cougars after being down two touch downs in the 3rd quarter. Ouch! I fell asleep during a late game on the tube and the lead had changed for the worse when I awoke. I blogged about it. The BYU defense was not as strong this year as previous times with high 2013 and 2014 NFL draft picks Ezekiel Ansah and Kyle Van Noy. Plus some serious injuries plagued the defense, as mentioned. Since winning a close one in Reno the season before ('13), the Cougars lead the overall series 5-3, which began way back in 1929. That series count has to improve. BYU will continue to play Mountain West teams, regardless of future conference affiliation. I still remember tracking a shocking loss to Nevada-Reno in 2002, the beginning of the end of the Crowton era. Was the receiver Nate Burleson the one who kept killing us? Nevada struck again this fall. At home, a third straight loss and significant move back. This was in the Cougars' hands. -1/+1

8) The nemesis of the BYU Cougars, the Boise State Broncos. The Smurf Turf! And the Broncos busted the Cougs the worst all season. Not only was it the fourth loss in a row but it was by the most. Not much of a chance in this game, unlike the previous three. As a Mountain West opponent and new constant rival, this was a bad one. But...BYU finally beat them in 2013, and after a close and frustrating loss (7-6, yes, that low scoring) in 2012, which also led to a season ending Taysom Hill injury, BYU's overall record with this risen small school power is now 1-4. But things seem to be changing...we hope. Move back, but the most respectable loss. BSU is now in the top 15-20 nationally. -1/+1

9) Middle Tennessee State Raiders. Finally, the losing streak ended (but by then it was November). And a respectably scoring small school was stopped by some Cougar defense, revived as if from yesteryear. Huge victory from a tactical and morale standpoint. There were as many Cougar fans in Franklin, or wherever they play, than Raider fans. That is always good. And single digit scoring? That is almost always good and enough for the win. Move ahead. You have to beat the minor teams, even when they are good in their own small conferences. BYU, like UConn, now has a 2-0 all time record versus these Blue Raiders in the heartland. +0.5/+0.5

10) UNLV Rebels. Gotta beat 'em, run 'em down and out. Check. Neutral progress ahead for BYU, but a necessary win. Overall series lead for the Cougs 17-3. I have personally witnessed 3 of them in Vegas. Good times. 2001 was a nail biter, 2003 went OT.  The series began in 1978, maybe about the time they had revolutionary speedster Randall Cunningham. +1

11) Savannah. State. Tigers. WHO? Yes, one of the worst 2014 Football Championship Series teams, formerly D-1AA. There are  many of them and very few of them are known to do much against any FBS schools. BYU had played lower tier teams before, but never this bad. First and hopefully only meeting with them ever, at least BYU accomplished a defensive record in yards allowed. And a shut out, and few injuries. Probably prepped them well for the next team... Neutral move ahead, considering circumstances. Former long time coach of the offense at BYU Norm Chow pulled out, leaving this desperate gap in the schedule. Chow should have taken over as Cougar head coach in 2001. Maybe some of us learned our lessons from success and loyalty in what transpired since. Don't get me wrong: Bronco is the right guy now. But Coach Chow deserved to succeed Lavell. We'll never know. +0.5

12) California Bears! Yay! Clutch high scoring win, 42-35, and some payback for Bronco's first bowl loss in 2005 at the Las Vegas Bowl. 3 for 3 against Power Conferences this year, those being the ACC, the Big 12, and the PAC-12. Not bad. A little redemption for poor performances (see numbers 5 through 8 above) against smaller conferences and programs in that woeful October middle of the season. Move ahead. +1

13) University of Utah, last year loss (20-13 in 2013, in September). Painful to lose to the hated rivals that BYU would not see for a few more years. No wins since...2008? Max Hall's senior win tirade? Awww, the memory shouldn't have to work that long to recall a victory against the Utes. This was close enough to be a Cougar win but the Provo boys came out flat. Jamal Williams, BYU's best running back was hurt... Overall series for the Utes, 55-31-4. A long history, but BYU has been gaining since Lavell the legend took the helm in the 1970s. They will renew the rivalry in 2016...And Utah finally had a winning top 25 bowl season this year, while getting whipped in the PAC-12 the previous two seasons. Possibly better not to play them this year. Unnecessary loss last year to a slightly inferior team. Utah has had their number for a few years, even when down. Move back. -1

14) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Big win last year in 2013. The Wreck of Tech are much better this year, but they were still bowl good last year and from the vaunted power conference, the ACC. Overall history is now 3-1 Cougars since 2002. Move ahead. +1

15) Wisconsin Badgers in Madison. Tough loss, move back. Overall series now at 1-1 after a Cougar victory in 1980. A couple of bounces and calls could have changed it in 2013, but this was a team you need to beat to be like... -1

16) Notre Dame. Overall series now at 2-6, beginning in 1992. The late 80s marked when BYU was really trying to turn the corner to be an elite squad and program. We scheduled the Fightin' Irish, and we can only beat them one third of the time. Move back, but 2012 was one dropped pass away from an undefeated regular season for the Irish, plus their best player was a Mormon linebacker from Hawai'i, Manti Teo. He almost committed to the Y, as he was swayed by USC as well. -1

17) Whoops, almost forgot Idaho State Bengals. Easy win, series for Cougs, 5-0 since 1932. They are FCS. Neutral move ahead. +0.5

18) Washington Huskies. Tough bowl loss, overpowered. Offense came up short like Virginia, Wisconsin, Notre Dame. Story of the 2013 season. Underwhelming, but had a few good wins. Move back, but an accomplishment just to be in a bowl for the 9th year in a row. Way to go, Bronco Mendenhall! We love you. We will get them next time, overall series stands at 4-5, since 1985. Almost good enough to be a big program beater, as the Huskies, to me and Kent Preston and a few others, is one of the most consistently good programs in the PAC-12, a top conference the last few years and traditionally, arguably as good as the SEC. -0.5

So in review, these last two years, without the last bowl in some two odd weeks... BYU has 13 plusses, 8.5 negatives. If BYU can beat that AAC team on December 22 of this year in Miami, be it rematches with UCF or Houston, a prelude to later games with the UC Bearcats, or East Carolina or Memphis, then Brigham Young University should be a solid 14 plusses to minus 8.5, a five and a half excellence differential, which in the way of Notre Dame-like status will put the the Cougars in better standing for the future as a national college football elite, making us all sleep better at night and on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. Not so fast Ute fans... Or Trojans! See you opponents soon enough, and the West Virginia Mountaineers among others, in the years to come. (Shout out to Showalter, that crazy bleeping Mountaineer booster). BSU Broncos? You have been warned.

Blog it, EMC.

Israelites Are Not Necessarily Who They Think They Are

(Begun a few weeks/months ago but only had written the first 8-10 lines. Ongoing...)


Of all the belief systems in the world, one of them may be right. Is that possible? Yes.

Perhaps many of them could be true simultaneously, or as a few religions or philosophies posit, they could progressively be part of the same trajectory, fate or destiny of humanity, all combining over history to create the "way" the human family will play out on our planet, and maybe other planets as well.

Are we all correct? That does not seem to make that much sense, because of contradictions of so many beliefs. But many beliefs and possibilities could be right. At the same time.

The universe is, after all, a pretty big place. Room enough for multiple realities.

The biggest organized religions in the 21st century (just here on the planet Earth, the ones we empirically track) are the monotheistic traditional ones combined: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, which all have connections to each other historically and contextually. Because of their outreach to other foreign cultures like the Hindu, Buddhist and others, like worldwide animists, the monotheistic faiths have covered the planet. The biggest belief-system in the world?

In the 21st century it is secularism. Or no? It is hard to gauge.

Secular beliefs---the belief in only the tangibly empirically known. Hmmm...

Could be.

Within the Judeo-Christian tradition, which some believe will still sweep China and other places in the near to distant future, there are many different ideas on "Israel".

Is is a political state? Is it a people? Is it an idea? A movement?

Many different takes on this word, Israel.

I will give you the one that one organization and most of its believers go by:

Abraham, some 2500 or so years ago, begat many children, and of the son Isaac (among others like Ishmael) there was the grandson Jacob who was the father of 12 sons, each getting their own tribe.

Hence, the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

According to Judeo-Christian beliefs, which vary in many aspects, these twelve tribes and their descendants figure into the history and end game, culmination of times, as it were, for the people of God.

Christians, Jews and Muslims believe in different aspects of this prophesy and belief.

Some religious people believe that the modern state of Israel, surrounded by the Arab nations to each side, is the embodiment of the spiritual prophecies of the Bible. They may be right in part, but according to some, they are missing a bigger picture, there are many more pieces and people at play.

Who is the tribe of Judah? Yes, primarily the Jewish people in and around modern Israel and scattered across the nations of the world in 2014. But, what of the other eleven tribes?

Judah is ONE of the Twelve. Who accounts for the others? Where, or who, or how do they fit in the prophecies of the Bible and other world events?

One faith, belief system, or organization claims to know a bit more.

Whether that which it posits remains to be seen.

But the belief is that the 12 tribes, including 10 that were lost primarily dating back to 721 BC, are out and about around the world.

By name, they are...not Ruben, the eldest of Jacob/Israel, because he lost his inheritance through lack of faith. That is why Joseph's two sons Ephraim and Manasseh fill that void, turning the leadership upside down, as it were.

Here is how Wikipedia chronicles them, in tiel below:

The mothers of Jacob's sons are:

• Leah: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun
• Rachel: Joseph, Benjamin
• Bilhah (Rachel's maid): Dan, Naphtali
• Zilpah (Leah's maid): Gad, Asher (Genesis 35:22–26

So you see where the two sons of Joseph fit in, more or less.

Although, according to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ephraim and Manasseh are taking the lead based on modern day revelation, also contained in the Book of Mormon.

Most LDS in North and South America, and perhaps the rest of the world are descended from Joseph, from these two sons., spoken of in special terms of leadership and presence in the last days.

The tribe of Judah is also represented within some Mormon faithful, but more of the present day 21st century tribe of Judah is amassed within the worldwide Jewish community, as they have been for millenia. There may be a substantial numbers of the tribe of Benjamin as well.

The Hebrews, as they are known due to the lineage through Eber or Heber, an ancestor of the great patriarch Abraham, and their ethnic bloodlines, who still speak the anciently derived language Hebrew, are primarily descended through Leah. Although Joseph's mother Rachel is also a likely progenitor of the Jewish people, as explained because of her other son Benjamin, who remained with southern Judah (becoming known as Israel) when the 10 northern tribes were scattered by the Assyrians and others.

The tribes have all had their struggles for survival, but we recognize that the tribe of Judah, the Jewish people have gone through possibly the most existential threats in the last 2500 years. The Babylonians, the Romans, the Seleucids, Ottoman-Turks, Spanish, Russians, Germans and today's Arabs are the famous and not exclusive antagonist of peaceful Jewish life. Some would say that the same Jews have brought some of this pressure on themselves, but surely conventional wisdom does not agree with Hitler's Mein Kampf, or that the Jewish people posed a special threat to Europe or the greater world, let alone Germany in the time of the Third Reich.

But the twelve shall be led by the Messiah one day, as the Bible has promised.

How will it fit? No one knows all the answers. But there are some puzzle pieces all around.

Who may fit them together?

Blog on, EMC

From the Other Side of the Earth: July 21, 2014 - Just some musingsDear Family,I w...

From the Other Side of the Earth: July 21, 2014 - Just some musings
Dear Family,
I w...: July 21, 2014 - Just some musings Dear Family, I was looking at the world using the Temple Finder option on LDS.org- it

IU versus Purdue

They both have losing records.

They both have some good players; some will make a lot of money playing football professionally.

They both are at the bottom of the Big Ten standings this year, 2014.

They both are trying to build up from being so far down for so long.

No chance of bowls this winter.

I wrote all this before the game this morning.

I watched it on the Big Ten Network this afternoon.

Hoosiers 23, Boilers 16.

First two-year win streak for IU in the Old Bucket series since 1993-94.

About time.

Go IU. Some tough breaks this past year and season, but IU is still building.

Like the system. Keep it going.

Hoosiers: see you next year! 2015 will be a bowl year...we continually hope.

Will 2,000 yard running back Tevin Coleman be back as a junior? Doesn't matter.

IU will be back. Coach Kevin Wilson is doing his job.

Blog on, EMC.

Basketball: the Dance of the Streets and Small Towns

I grew up in a suburban existence, as many Americans do. I was exposed to a fair share of basketball- but it was not a passion in my neighborhood. Not a passion to my friends or their parents. Who was most interested in basketball besides my own parents, they who could miss huge local college games for other normal life matters? Probably my friend across the other side of Bryan Park, Patrick, whose dad was a huge Purdue Boilermaker fan of all things! Did people play heated games in the warm months outdoors nearby Pat's house at the park? I did not really play there until I was 17 and 18, so I wouldn't know.

Do you know where there are places, courts and neighborhoods, where basketball is part of the culture? Places where people live to get on the court and shoot and pass and block and rebound and dribble, and above all score, by jump shot or dunk, beating the opponent? In the United States there are easily hundreds, more possibly thousands of such places. In my hometown, a college town, a few places would qualify. On the IU campus there was the HPER building. I suppose the YMCA had its own charm for certain players, but the IU campus at that center with its multiple courts had real players and real athletes with real attitudes. You need that beyond the skill and technique, to have the passion.

In my church community there were a few guys that basketball, playing or watching, made them a bit passionate about, but it did not overlap into my neighborhood or household directly. So basketball passion came across to me in smaller but eventually unrelenting waves. And it took a while. Did I ever truly achieve it? As a player, maybe not, but likely as a fan, yes. Nevertheless, in all honesty, I have had a few fits of boiling moments of what seemed like passionate play in courts from Indiana to Utah to California to Virginia.

Basketball can be like dancing for some, or jazz for others. It is a type of art; a sport and a science. Almost a martial art or transcendental yoga, like tai chi. It is a dance, even though some do not recognize it as such. Some people love dance. I get it. Do it, watch it, analyze it, teach it, enjoy it. Dance is for those who do and for many others to observe. It is a beautiful thing.

When I was 14 or 15 my church basketball team went to a country community gymnasium in rural Smithville (not far south of Bloomington, Indiana) and we witnessed a passion from the folks down there. I knew some of them from my schooling. They stomped us. And they got loud. They killed us because it meant more to more of them than it meant for more of us. It was not just height, weight, age and speed. There was time invested. And they had put more energy and zeal into the game. The dance.

They seemed pretty passionate. But not all are. However, there is something about the state between Lake Michigan and the Ohio River, bounded by the Wabash and the Midwest Compromise, and the sport of the peach baskets, the netted hoops.

The main dance of my home state of Indiana. It is very much alive and well many, many other places and also now in many other lands. Have you heard of the passion in Lithuania? No joke. Spain is great at soccer (futbol), but they have multiple all-stars in the NBA. Greece has players. Italy. Croatia. Argentina. Brazil. Russia, Ukraine, even China. It has grown across the planet. Like jazz. Like dance.

A sportswriter was recently interviewed on Charlie Rose who wrote the book "Scribe". His name I since found out is Bob Ryan. He described the NBA as "steak" and college basketball as "really good hamburger". Fair enough, many would disagree. But running that analogy a little further, in Indiana the high school game is comparable to hot dogs. Cheap mixed pork meat in buns.

But the thing is, Hoosiers generally really love hot dogs, i.e., high school basketball. More than anywhere else.

In the 1980s, for example, the small state of Indiana had 18 of the top 20 sized basketball gyms in the country. Why? We love hot dogs/the high school game.

That can be the New York steak or Los Angeles hamburger. Delicious. Whatever the occasion or taste, they both hit the spot for basketball fans.

In dance, we talk of high-brow ballet, medium-rung ball room, and then what: tap or hip hop?

Well, Hoosiers like them all really. But the youngest and the lowest form can often be the most entertaining. Why? Because it is accessible, and it belongs to them.

Small town teams led by Larry Bird or Damon Bailey (from the other side of Lake Monroe as aforementioned Smithville) versus the big city mammoths like Eric Gordon and Greg Oden. Or the tweener teams like Jay Edwards from Marion or Jon Holmes from Bloomington.

Ciy, suburb, or rural village, the dance is what is prized.

Pass. Dribble. Rebound. Block. Shoot. Score. Win.

Just keep dancing on a cold Friday night.

Blog on, EMC.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Every killing rampage has a psychological or rational explanation for it. Sometimes it can be tacked up to irrationality (madness), but sometimes rational reasons can explain it in ways that seem rational, or justified.

Wars are sustained rampages.

So, what about Word War I, for example?

The Germans were feeling their oats as a young united and strong nation, wanting the iron-rich parts of Alsace-Lorraine that the former empire France was owner of. Oua la! A terrible war to "end all wars". We wish.

The Ottomons and Austro-Hungarians wanted more lebensrauhm; the three "empires" thought that this would work for their good. It didn't. They combined alliances to take over or hold at bay other rich or historically powerful cultures: France, Italy, Russia, parts of the Middle-East and Asia.

And the massacres across the continents occurred in this, the Great War. And sowed more hate and antipathy. For later wars.

Long time rivals France and England joined forces to keep the central European forces from overrunning them. And the US jumped in to finish the bloodletting. For then, 1918.

A lot has happened since. Massacres happen in small doses and waves. Human nature is the same, the tricks and toys change and adapt. But massacres continue. Bosnia, Rwanda, Congo, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, Syria...

Within each culture there is a belief, call it ethno-centrism at its worst, that they are the norm and the blueprint, the mold to be emulated upon others.

Surely the United States is guilty of this. Take it for good or bad. Are we too belligerent with these beliefs? Many times we can achieve cultural predominance through soft power, no military forces needed to "take over". Money and entertainment can go a long way. So we, as powerful Americans, are always challenged and perplexed how and when to intervene.

Hence, we got into Europe in 1917 to help end things there. We were in the Philipines actively not long before that. And then all the other overt and covert actions over the years in the last 100 years. Very much an issue. Do we meddle too much? Do we get others and ourselves killed when there are not good enough justified reasons?

Some people say, simply and forcefully: "Let everybody else deal with their own problems!" or "We are not the world police!"

But there are killers in the world.

And we must make up our minds, constantly: is it worth it?

Is it worth losing our G.I.s, our sons and husbands, our brothers and sisters?

Some would let sleeping killer dogs lie.

The US may be blamed of aiding some of those dogs.

But some are obvious...or not.

And thus, the debates of politics, military moves, and history...

It may never end in our life time.

Blog it. EMC

My Favorite Football Player

I have never had one overwhelming football player in the NFL that was my favorite.

I do now. Kyle Van Noy. Played his first game yesterday and got two tackles, after being hurt all season, his rookie year.

Go Lions! You and former BYU Cougar Ezekiel Ansah are very cool.

They are living in the world but living high standards of conduct. Exemplary.

Blog it. EMC.

Orson Scott Card-- Writer of a People...Or Not?

Orson Scott Card is a phenomenal science fiction writer, both in his own prolific production and in the audience who buys and reads him. He has been a giant on the scene for decades.

One of the biggest sci-fi authors of all time, doing fine in 2014.

He is not constrained to producing science fiction only, but also stretches his works into fantasy, religious novels, thriller-type mysteries, opinion essays and other non-fiction. He does a lot. He is read a ton, as mentioned. He is unabashedly Mormon, which means something to a lot of people that read him and hold him up as a standard. A little bit like the more recently huge writer Stephanie Meyer, these Latter-day Saint writers have proven that they can sell and capture the greater worldly attention of the masses. Not bad.

It makes me feel good as a Mormon, for sure. And it must be good that their works are so popular, right? But is there something missing... perhaps for me...and others.

So be it. I really like Chaim Potok, for example, and for me he speaks for Judaism (and let me posit that any "religious" writer is writing in some ways for all faiths, all people); I think that Potok has opened up avenues to the Jewish psyche and culture and belief-system like few other writers that I can imagine, which is usually through the vehicle of fiction, albeit realistic. And thus he does a fair share in his writing for all of humanity. Bravo for him and us. Like John Steinbeck, a more secular but definitely humanizing and powerful author. One of my personal favorites. These masterful writers do the whole human race a favor, not just "the poor" or the "Americans of the Depression", or "Mexican immigrants" or "post Holocaust Jews", but for all of us. That is great writing. Great literature.

Perhaps Orson Scott Card, or Scotty, as a few people I am friends with call him on a personal basis, is this type of writer for the LDS. Perhaps. But I have some reservations.

Like any person, any artist or craftsman, there are chinks in the armor. It is obviously impossible for anyone to be all things to all people. There is no such thing as universal acceptance or appreciation without caveats, especially when it comes to the masses . We Christians believe that Jesus is the Lord of all, and welcomes all, yet there are many who reject Him or those who purport to represent Him for different bases of criticism. Understandable. Some simply think of him as another historical figure, not much different than others. Messiah to mankind or another ins a series of martyrs in the Roman Empire? Or somewhere in between.

We can all judge for ourselves. Like with books.

I have not read all of Mr. Card's works. That is a tall order. The books and stories and articles that I have read of his I tend to enjoy and get pleasure and enlightenment from. My wife has read four of his books which I have not; she thoroughly enjoyed them and was engrossed. Nicely done. She also, to my liking, gets engrossed in the works of the aforementioned Potok. My daughter also read "Ender's Game", usually considered the seminal work of Card, which I think is appropriate for those far enough through middle school to read and contemplate. My wife and I enjoyed the movie a year ago (November 2013). Of course, the book is always better.

But speaking of better, perhaps I am too critical of things; perhaps I have little room to speak, but I think Mormons as a people can do better. Fiction or not, we LDS can produce even better works.

Will we?

If there is ever a Latter-day Saint writer, be it Stephanie Meyer or about 10 thousand others of the faith who hope to become popularly successful and meaningful in their craft of fiction or non-fiction, I do have hope that it will bring all of us, young and old, bond and free (LDS humor there, sort of) closer to where we need to be.

And where, pray tell, is that? Along with the greatness of the rest of humanity in art and literature.

And admittedly, like Card's character Ender Wiggins, we do await that day of success and accomplishment with some trepidation, but also with an undying hope and faith.

Keep writing everybody. And thanks, if any of the other writers ever read this, for sharing your gifts and talents. Humanity does not exist in a bubble. We are in this together, even the most spectacular "singular" feats are not islands unto themselves.

Tolstoy did not write "War and Peace" by himself. He got a lot of help. Possibly, from God above? I believe so.

And so we hope with our current and future books.

To bring the lowly pen and ink closer to a heavenly clime. It should happen.

Blog it. EMC

Click and Clack: Farewell

I did not know his name was Tom Magliozzi until the day he died. That was yesterday (Monday 3 November).

Sigh. He was 77.

But I did know him, to a degree. Yeah, it feels like a loss. I was accompanied by his voice for the last two decades, almost.

I guess he and his brother, younger by 7 years, Ray, had already retired a couple of years ago (2012). I did not know that until I looked it up today. The magic of media and a long career of work made that possible. Good job, NPR! (National Public Radio, in case you didn't know.)

Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers. I thought their last name was Tappet. But no, that was a play on words. Typical of their show. Ha ha. Cue the guffaws. Lots of laughs, fun conversation. Friendliness and silliness. Like my mom. Who had a similar Boston/New England accent. And sadly reminded by this passing, that she also passed this year, 2014. She was 73.

Ahh, the lifetime of memories.

I didn't really pay attention to Click and Clack until around 1996 or 97. They had been big for years. Welcome to the bigger world, Eddie. Bigger and smaller. Every year we either expand our mind or regress in our mental abilities, right? I never was that interested in cars, but I was always interested in people. These guys were real people. They embraced their loves.

Click and Clack were good at both people and vehicles. They were friends. And, owning a car myself, we cannot help but wonder what is going on under the hood, between the wheels. How do others deal with these problems? And then there is so many hours by ourselves in the car, often they, these car guy jokers, were the accompaniment. They helped cheer me up many lonely hours. And they fed the mind.

For me, my first major car problem was a bad alternator. Okay, I had to pay for a used alternator. Aw, a lifetime of additional car expenses! Never ends.

The cost of living. I got a good deal on it, that used alternator from a parts store in Orem, Utah. Especially a good bargain considering a friend helped me install it in his garage. Frugality. Kindliness. Making do. That was a good friend. I never met Tom, nor talked to him by phone, but I consider him a friend.

And those funny Boston accents. Another reminder of home. Parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins. Childhood.

It's part of my life, New England and Massachusetts. With this attachment to these people and places is the real fact that there is the ever present death. The pilgrims and Puritans are history. And so are these New Englanders.

We celebrate life after a good person has died. Another has joined the ranks of history! Well done, Tom.

And now in the dying time of fall, we celebrate life in its fullest and cheeriest.

Tom Magliozzi. Thanks for your personality, your brotherliness, and intellect.

Through talking about an area I have marginal interest, you made my life more complete. By being an avuncular brother on air. By really living bigger than just inside yourself.

I will miss you. Funny thing, radio. Media. Books. Art. We make friends with vicarious people across the years and climes.

And you were a welcome voice, Click, or Clack. I hope you meet my mom really soon. She is silly and loves to laugh. How many hours have I spent in a vehicle with her? Not enough. Thanks for bringing me closer to her.

We'll all take a ride later. And have some good laughs.

So, don't drive like my brother, Tom. Thanks for being one.

Blog on, EMC.

Alcohol Schmalcohol

Why Do Humans Drink? I don't like the Reasons

I have to get something off my chest.

I do not like booze! It makes me mad, sometimes.

I do not drink it, full disclosure, you should know. I do not see the overall good in it. I do use some mouth wash, which uses some alcohol for mouth cleanliness purposes. Occasionally my very good cook of a wife, or some posh restaurant where I dine may use some alcohol based drink (wine, rum, beer) to cook or bake for seasoning, but the fermented libation part is left out. No booze, just the remaining flavor. Understandable.

The thing that has brought this to the fore recently is another alcohol violation by a college basketball player at my school, Indiana University. Yes, my pleasure and displeasure derived from the fates of the Hoosiers may not be exactly rational a lot of the time, but Indiana basketball is a part of who I am. When they hurt, I hurt too. And they are hurting now, because of stupid reasons of alcohol consumption. And it is not the first time this year!

This is the third time it is affecting the team since February. 2014. Let's check ourselves, people.

IU players? Yes, and everybody else.

Do we need alcohol consumption to enjoy ourselves, to cope? No, I hope not.

I tell you: an emphatic NO. Live your life in a way that you don't rely on it, ok? Especially when it harms those around you. But my thing is, it never helps...

Last school year (2013-14 season), a second year Indiana player (who was underage) got caught drinking and driving after a particular sad loss to arch rival Purdue. This guy, Hanner Mosquera-Perea, was one of the few Indiana big men that could have helped their team perform on the floor better, more consistently. And then he missed games mid-season, thus leading to further team problems, and the squad finished the season 17-15, not even invited to the second tier NIT. Not even the smaller dance; Indiana was seeded 1st in the top tourney the year before! (To top it off, IU administrators decided to not accept even smaller dances i.e. post season tourneys like the CIT or CBI, which is a different bugaboo of mine...I digress).

Hanner drank irresponsibly and illegally, and did not kill or physically harm anyone, as some drunk drivers are wont to do... No harm, no foul, lesson learned. Right?

WRONG! After the underwhelming and disappointing season (returning PG Yogi Ferrell as a freshman had helped the Hoosiers to win the Big Ten title for the first time in years, 2012-2013), just referenced sophomore Point Guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell and new freshman largely contributing SG Stanford Robinson were arrested for underage drinking and forgery of IDs. What?!? Merely two months after Hanner's dopey move? At least it was not during the season, and at least it did not involve a vehicle that becomes a potentially deadly weapon every time operated. But these guys put themselves and their program in jeopardy. Do mistakes lead to a reputation for the team, and thus affect recruiting, which is near everything in college sports? Okay, two strikes, we're still up at bat.

IU got two good recruits in the last few months, the team (minus Hanner for visa problems) go up to Canada in August and gel more as a team. Sober and strong, right? Hope so.

But then comes the post Halloween debacle, the coup de grace-- and it involves two big men, a deadly weapon (a Jeep), illegal consumption of a minor, or two. Indiana cannot afford to lose any tall dudes, because they are short of them in the first place. One last minute recruit for this season (2014-15) that IU pulled in was Emmitt Holt, a 6'7" banger who was thinking of going to prep school this fall instead of a division 1 school like Indiana. But it worked out, hopefully for the benefit of all, despite his youth... Emmitt was another big body meant to shore up an already depleted and weakened front line.

Thought we were progressing in that department,until self-said youngling big recruit Holt, drove his Jeep under the influence of alcohol, then accidentally (how do accidents happen after you drive inebriated? Can a 6th grader answer this for me?) struck other big returning sophomore PF Devin Davis, whom he had just dropped off! Davis, who may or not have been under the influence (also underaged) laid unconscious on the ground after the mishap, apparently suffering a concussion.

The good news? Devin is okay and recovering. Emmitt seems to be okay, legal and school discipline ramifications withstanding. But I reiterate: can we stop "partying", Indiana Hoosiers? Is the alcohol and booze worth sacrificing the goals of your own life, that of playing basketball and succeeding at a great school, and be a student as well?

Have we learned, young students with tremendous athletic gifts?

A. Don't break the law. It exists for a reason, or many reasons.
B. Don't put yourself or others in harm's way.
C. Don't put your immediate desires or weaknesses ahead of your long term goals. And by the way, you only get 4 or 5 years to achieve team and individual goals while in college. Don't blow that away. You are part of a puzzle that literally millions of people are pulling for. Please do not squander that off the court.
D. Don't harm your associates and those who sacrifice and support you by doing foolish things that will harm them, bringing down a whole group, or series of associations and groups (which a major basketball team does).
E. Don't drink booze. And if you do, don't over-do it. And if you over-do it, please have a guard around who will prevent you from making some of the biggest mistakes of your life.

Years ago I was doing CQ (Charge of Quarters) Duty at a US Army barracks. It was the overnight shift which was usually uneventful. Me and another soldier would do routine checks of the barracks and the outside perimeter, which was not in a war zone and no one had weapons issued.

Easy, right? Not when one of our battle buddies was drinking and driving 20 minutes away. So he got busted, did not kill anyone, but we (particularly me) spoke to him as he sobered up and thought about the consequences while waiting for the First Sergeant to come in very unhappily extra early that morning. Leadership in these cases get calls at all times: 2:00 am, 3:00 am, 4:00 am, sometimes all of the above. That night it may have happened that way. By the time the First Sergeant finally did arrive (which I was hoping had been sooner), said busted soldier had left our barracks despite our protests to keep vigil on him, sauntering back to a barracks some half mile away.

Jerk. Jerk for driving drunk, jerk for making First Sergeant's night/morning/day miserable, jerk for making me and my cohort stress and scramble and run around after a full night awake and alert doing extra duty, just to finish before a twenty minute drive home to climb hill and dale to get the guy who continued to flaunt orders.

Jerk. Boozed up loser.

Now, I was friends with this guy, but part of my point is that he, as a friend and colleague, did not need this. We didn't. The police didn't. The US Army and tax paying citizen didn't. First Sergeant and his family did not need that. The community nearby did not need this extra threat to their well being. Soldiers exist to protect us, right?

Athletes on scholarship to gain glory and worldly success exist to represent us, and some of that requires good behavior off the court as well as stepping up on the hard wood. There are many parts of the equation of successful student athletes. That is how you get the chance to play in college sports and the school foots the bill. We long time graduates pay in tickets, TV rights and contracts and charitable donations to make this happen. We are part of the whole process.

Learn from mistakes.

And maybe learn this lesson from me:

You, I, they, we, do not need alcohol to have a good time.

And yes, it kills. My high school friend Kelly Chambers did not make it past her freshman year (happened before Christmas, first semester) at IU because a drunk driver smashed her and her mom on the highway. Drunk as a skunk, I hear. Mother and daughter gone in one fateful collision.

Thank goodness Emmitt and Devin did not have anything worse  befall them. For obvious personal reasons of theirs, but there is more to just them involved here. Alumni count on you.

Don't drink to have a good time, this Hoosier alumni pleads.

Sports athlete or not, you do not need it.

Alter your mind? Your senses? You are better than that.

I could give many other experiences against alcohol consumption, from parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, etc.

Bottom line?

It stinks and I am fed up with those who think they need it, or thinking unrealistically that it does no harm.

Every sip harms you. And it ends up harming a lot of others.

Don't believe me?

You're wrong then. Get used to it. But please, get over it. Be better and happier without it.

Join the happy sober club. Having a lot of fun here. Go Hoosiers. Stay safe.

Blog on, EMC.

Old Short Story Called Abe

Abe

     Abraham Abrawomitz was the first of nine children. Sometimes he felt obliged to be a fine, mature example to all his little brothers and sisters, especially since they were the Chosen among the most chosen Elect of God’s creatures. Sometimes he wished he could be the stealthy gollum, and ignore all of the cares of a good Hebrew life and sneak around the sewers of Brooklyn, or maybe even Queens.

     According to his parents, all of them must help usher in the messiah and if one of them were to fall short, that one child could prove responsible for delaying God’s eternal plan and be a destroyer to the entire movement that had been in process for close to 6,000 years. Most people think they have a lot of responsibility being only the eldest of nine children. Not the Abrawomitzes!

     Yes, Abe was a Jewish boy—er, man technically, since he had bar mitzvahed almost a year ago. It was hard to be so elect, but somebody had to do it.

     Why this was, only God knew. God knew many mysteries of the planet and universe that were not only beyond the comprehension of Abraham and his family but of all the elders as well. And the elders knew quite a bit.

     Their community was very strong and self-sustaining; they were taught this from birth. Part of the teaching in all their own yeshivas and schools within their neighborhoods of lower Brooklyn was that they must all contribute to the once and future Zion. With this charge was the knowledge that many would oppose them, just as the Germans years ago, or as did the terrible czars and later Supreme Commanders in Russia or the Arabs today. Life was bad for Jews in much of the world, but life was blessed here in America. The Christian goyim were misled but decent at letting live and let live. Maybe Jesus had learned enough of the Torah to create a faith that wouldn’t hurt the Jews too much.

Many times the real enemies in America, Europe, and in Israel were the so-called Jews who were known as Reform or Conservative. Even some of the alleged orthodox Jews could vary so far from the Law that they, too, would oppose the true Elect like his community. Obviously most of the Jews worldwide had not honored their Most High Rebbe, who passed away in 1994 but would soon return by the grace of God. This made it all the more vital that he as well as all his siblings stood up for the Law of Moses and be the best believers they could be.

     Abe felt very alone at times. He felt like he was singled out for God’s work and this made life a lonesome venture. There were times in synagogue and yeshiva that he felt totally included into the mystical realm of God, and there were other moments even more addictive when he felt so united with his fellow students and worshippers of the chabad. This would occur a lot at funerals, or memorials of the Holocaust or pogroms, oddly enough. He didn’t feel it so much at the death or subsequent memorials of the Rebbe, and he feared this was a grave sin. He had told no one. This further caused him more loneliness, especially when even the small children touted his constant guidance and companionship in their daily lives.

      Like most of the Jews in his neighborhood he had relatives in Israel. He liked going there to a certain degree, but when certain relatives got too excited about killing in revenge he felt very uncomfortable. Despite what many elders said about the Philistines, he knew that they were not at fault for wanting to keep their land. He had been all over Israel, and although it was small compared to America there was still enough room for everyone there, Jew and Arab. He felt like certain extreme or confused Jews caused the majority of the problems, not to mention the support of millions of Arabs who seemed to hate as unfairly as the bloodthirsty Israelis. New York and its crime seemed very tame in comparison.

He remembered a conversation that he had with a cousin named Levi Bokarsky last summer.

     “This land was only meant for the people of Israel, those descended by our blessed forefather Jacov. Everyone else should get out.”

    “What should all the Palestinians do then?” Abe followed.

     “Is that my concern? Well, we have been commanded to inherit the land and they have to understand this. It is not an open debate to be discussed like parliament,” replied Levi.

     “Are you saying that we are not a democracy? Israel was built on democratic principles and that is how things are decided, not just by one small minority.”

    “For one thing, we ultra-orthodox are not a small minority, we are a majority of the Elect of God. We are the reason why this place has been alive since 1948 and before. We are the reason why Hebrew is a language spoken in the world again. We are the reason why people like you in America can look forward to Meshiach. If it weren’t for us, the Torah would be an idle piece of text like the Dead Sea Scrolls, being touted around the world for all the incredulous Gentiles and atheists to gape at.”

     “You think they don’t serve as a great witness of the faithful of God?”

     “Well, all I know is that atheistic scientists use the texts of Qumran to prove their own godless conclusions, while people like Zionistic Christians use it for their own devilish purposes. Not much of it has done us good except to prove we as Jews belong here and no one else.”

      Abe thought about his cousin’s statements. They seemed pretty crude, and wondered which Rebbe he had heard them from. But Abe thought better than to ask. It was probably his father, Abe’s mother’s brother, who was not recognized as venerable.

     “Why can’t some Palestinians live in Israel?” Abe asked.

     “You see it in the news everyday! They kill themselves and us and don’t even know how to rule themselves! They lie, cheat, and steal, and then accuse us of doing the same! They have proven that they cannot be trusted.”

     “And Israelis can,” ventured Abe.

    “Oh, Abe, now you are treading on thin and sacred ground. Abraham Abrawomitz, you know we are the Chosen people of God meant to live here. This is as simple as the Torah! I’m afraid you Jews abroad do not appreciate our commitments or sacrifices…”

     “I’m sorry Levi, it is not the same for me to speak on these things as you. I live in Brooklyn, I do not know the fear and hate as you do.”

      It was good Abe said this at this point, because Levi was getting so revved up at these baseless accusations that he was not only going to personally excoriate his younger cousin but was also going to state how Jews outside of Israel were really not Jews at all. His father, Schlemiel, had specifically asked all his children of their settlement not to share this information with their cousins or aunts or uncles from New York. The idea was to get them to immigrate to the West Bank, or Judea or Samaria as they called it in good Hebrew, and then break the truth to them. Enlightening them before the move would probably be counterproductive.

     “And you do not know the love and glory of it as I do. This is the Promised Land where we are promised eternal salvation! There is no other place. Moses died trying to come here. Millions have died trying. We are some of the most blessed Jews of all creation to be here now.”

    “Yes, I see your point.”

     That’s how most of the conversations ended with his cousins like Levi. They could not be convinced otherwise. Thankfully, his own family desired to stay back in Brooklyn because they felt the Rebbe would soon resurrect from the dead and would accompany them by plane or simply floating in the air to Jerusalem, City of David. Maybe they would have to land in Tel Aviv at first.

     The next day after this distant yet poignant memory of this discussion at his cousin’s settlement near Nablus there was an ugly reminder and perhaps afterthought underscoring this whole matter: eight Palestinians were killed by gunship missiles; apparently at least two of them were terrorists from Hamas. Three Jewish settlers, all non-soldiers, were slain by knife attacks a few miles from the first incident.

Back on Ditma Street, Abe was thankful that Brooklyn was where the Rebbe was buried. He felt like many more funerals, including his own, would be much more pleasant among the crowded streets of these American boroughs of New York than the lonely stony escarpments of Samaria or Judea. Even the sewers smelled sweeter here in New York.

FIN

Last modified in 2006. Written possibly in 2003-2004 in San Bernardino. (Re-read in January 2014). The Y in York was underscored near the end, suggesting the period of the bad keyboard.

Jorge Luis Borges and I...and Me...Inside my Brain (Part 1)

[I meant to publish this a while ago with more discussion. Now it is Part 1 to be followed up later.)

Have you heard of Jorge Luis Borges? If not, maybe you should.

By some he is considered one of the best writers of all time. Whether that is true or not, he certainly is one of the most imaginative writers of all time.

In and around Latin America, which may be under-populated compared to other parts of the planet, (like Asia, Europe, Africa), he is definitely considered a high power of literature and thought.

I first read him in high school in the 1980s. In both English and Spanish, I think. My high school Spanish teacher was smart, and it would be a crime to get that far in Spanish (3rd and 4th years) to not be exposed to Borges. The Borges. It is pronounced in English like BOAR- HASE. With emphasis on the BOAR.

I may have even read him as a sophomore with the same smart teacher in Gifted and Talented Humanities. Ahh, "Gifted and Talented". Once you think you are in that club, you might be marked and cursed for life. Borges was "cursed" with blindness, but perhaps that ended up blessing his imagination and writing abilities. Or his desires and efforts to compensate for a lacking gift.

Sight is a gift, and Borges had an extra endowment of it, beyond his physical eyes.

Living in the neighboring country of Chile in the early 90s was a part of me understanding the realm, the world, the universe and the cultures of this intellectual giant.

Was he a giant? I think so. Read him. Maybe he is more a giant psycho than an intellectual; maybe the line is thin...

Argentina is a close country to Chile for many reasons...culture blends through geography, and obviously language.

So, I think that living in, breathing in the Latino airs of the southern cone helped me understand a bit more of the magic, the mystery, the poetry, the flair, or elan. Is that a word? Yes, it has so many more synonyms. We looked it up.

Yes, Borges has flair.

Talking and reading and joking and eating and sleeping around, rubbing shoulders with real live people named Miguel, Manuel, Andres, Pablo, Patricio, and yes, Jorge, helped me see a different world. Which is what reading Borges does for his readers. You explore other universes, alternate realities.

Prepare to take some trips, some fancies of the mind and imagination with this Jorge.

Get ready.

When I read him for a class in Chile in 1994 with esteemed Profesora Hilda Rojas, I explained to her and my class that reading one of his works "lefted me different". It changed me somehow.

His reading may alter you, be warned.

But then again, talking and reading and joking and eating and sleeping around and rubbing shoulders with real live people named Hilda and Paula and Eduvigis and Miriam and a host of others may do that to you. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Ugh. BYU Football 2014 ... Ugh.

Some sports and their teams represent more than just the people and places of its constituent parts.

After the World Trade Center attacks in 2001, the New York Yankees transcended into something more than their traditional original fan base. They represented all of America. Even in defeat to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Yanks were glorious in amazing comebacks in Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. They defended their homeland in dramatic fashion while the ruins of south Manhattan were still smoldering, while lists of people were still being vetted to figure out who died and who had escaped those huge skyscrapers and their mind numbing demise. And the rest of America could not help but be moved. If you were not there, if you were not alive then or quite aware, you have to believe me about this.

Last year (2013), when the Boston Red Sox went on to win the Fall Classic after a terrible Boston Marathon bomb attack earlier in the season, killing and dismembering dozens, the people of Massachusetts and many others saw it as fitting the beloved hometown heroes went out champs, defying the odds and uniting with the victims of the sports tragedy in a witness of will and courage. The people may be struck and hurt and even mortally wounded, but the warriors of a good cause would not quit. Boston did not quit. Innocents died, peoples' lives irrevocably altered forever, but the team symbolizing their hopes and perseverance would not stop. Not till victory was theirs. Or at least some symbolic stand for fortitude.

For many Brigham Young University fans, the football team fights for a lot of things beyond the gridiron. It plays and fights for the Honor Code of this school owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It plays for glory of principles that it tries to adhere to, which include a dress code of modesty, speech that reflects non-profane utterances, morals that transcend the 21st century secular world. It espouses and enforces even, the rather radical and at times unpopular practice of no smoking and drinking, even eschewing caffeine and coffee. Is that normal or right?

Whether one believes or respects the correctness of these principles and practices, the school does stand for a few things that make it unique. Especially in major college sports.

Some think that the mission of BYU's success, both academically and athletically, is to bring more attention and acclaim to its overall church mission of bringing people to Christ, to help others see the good in the school, the sports program, the church and its membership. To bring people a positive light to all of the above. To show that God does indeed have a hand in our lives and that competition is to be celebrated and honored. To fight the good fight, as Paul might have said. That the mission of this faith is a fight for all that is good.

Of course there are many people, including tons of folk within the state of Utah itself that think that prospect is not true at all.

Nevertheless, there are BYU people, Latter-day Saints and a few others that believe that the BYU underdogs and chasers of the morally principled dream are striving for something beyond sheer sports glory.

As I had shared in a previous post, BYU Football: Surviving September 11, Looking at Future SOS, there were big hopes in and beyond Provo this year.

Potential Heisman winning quarterback Taysom Hill. A possible undefeated team. Making a run for the first playoffs as an outsider independent.

But none of that was meant to be be.

There were signs that the team overall was not good enough even before Hill went down in game number five, in the second quarter, with a bad leg break. The defense was not stellar against Virginia or Houston previously. Fissures were evident in the overall team. In game five, that cemented it when his replacement came in after the sudden loss of its nationally recognized leader and he, back up QB Christian Stewart, could not rally the troops to the win against its state rival. First lost to Utah State at home since 1993.

The next game would prove tantalizingly close but futile as well, the Cougs bending and hanging tough but breaking in overtime to Central Florida, in Orlando. BYU was not unblemished nor did it have the Heisman hero, but the team had a chance to still have an exceptional season. And now the somewhat crushing loss (third) to Nevada-Reno, again at home in Lavell Edwards Stadium. First back-to-back home losses for the football Cougars since 2004, a year that ended the short lived career of the former head coach Gary Crowton.

Ahhh...

Cougar fans lament what might have been.

An undefeated season. A Heisman candidate. A lot of controversy, hailing the memories of the original ruckus makers of 1984. Lots of college football fans are still mad about that one. But BYU wears it with pride. They beat the big boys, they beat the system.

A second undefeated team would validate the 1980s and its glories, the legacy of Hall of Fame Coach Edwards. Validate or justify that Brigham Young is as legitimate as Notre Dame, or at least other religious schools like TCU or Baylor.

But the visions and dreams of glory was not meant to be. This year.

Nonetheless, Taysom should come back next year, 2015, his last. He may be as fast and strong as ever, and he may learn to tuck in his body and avoid the big season ending hit and injury. And his arm may be more accurate, and his receivers more sure-handed, and his blockers even better... And maybe, just maybe, like we always think, the young ones on defense now and the rest will be ready for the big time spotlight. Glory. Success. Acclaim. The big time, even bigger than 1984.

A statement that BYU is as good as it wants to be because of a bigger reason: it has Providence looking on its big picture. It just might be that it is meant to be.

But not this year. Small steps and progress...despite the rash of bad ankles.

Mormons, too, shall overcome. Someday.

Sound preposterous or arrogant? Maybe.

There is a Book of Mormon scripture of a prophet who says he does not feel wrong to boast of His God. To some BYU faithful, the teams' success on the field bespeaks the greatness of the system, the beliefs behind the players and administrators and fans. No drinking, no smoking, no cursing, no unlawful sex, keeping the Sabbath day holy leads to something real. Consciously trying to put God's kingdom first leads to a powerful outcome.

Winning. Rising above the fallen world we live in. Being the best. Reaching the divine.

Go Cougars.

Blog on. EMC

October Again, and Again

[Written on paper the 1st of October, 2014, finalized 13 Oct.'14)  

     How many Octobers will there be? Not as many for you as there will be for me. You may live longer, many more years, but I have lived Octobers long gone. Before the rise of the dawn of humanity. Some will tell you, tell me, tell us, do not live in the past! Live for now! Live for then! Live for the future in some wonderful expectant date.

      That is someday, and I can and will comply to the here and now, the next and upcoming test. But if you tell me I cannot roam through the past, imagine, re-create and live past ages and times, I must tell you I cannot not. I can't not do it. I cannot forget or ignore the past; it is a long chain that has me fast. Passed years, passed centuries, are part of our DNA. It is who we are now, whether recognized, realized, exemplified, rectified, revivified. Or ignored.

     There are some historians and scientists who trace our back stories tens of thousands, hundreds of millions, even billions of years. Before there were Octobers. Barely equinoxes. Most of those practically incomprehensible, or perhaps difficult to fathom epochs and eras do not include humanity. Easy enough. Humans, homo sapiens, homo erectus, us hominids have been crafting our way way about the earth, the stone three times removed from our sun for many generations. Almost too difficult to count, but not really. We can account for our human history. Do we?

    Some of us try. Some do it by writing what they imagine, piecing together what is known, then inserting conjecture, guesses and stories into what has been the near or distant past. They call this: historical fiction. Others uses philosophical or religious systems or principles to guide their structures, theologies, world-views, paradigms, the way that life and history enfolds. To some, there is a plan that is being enfolded. There is a beginning, middle, and an end to all we know. (Teology).
   
     Less than a hundred years ago (now 2014) there was a revolution of sorts in Moscow, Russia. Its purpose was to liberate the masses. Did it succeed? Most feel it has failed grandly, sadly, tragically. And yet, that revolution impacted the human population greatly. It did set in motion a million or a billion smaller stories in reaction to it. Do we fight in the Marxist way? Do we aspire to topple our current governments? Do we fight against socialists and communists, sacrificing our lives and stakes and military egos, fighting for democracies underpinned by entrenched corporate oligarchs and capitalist systems? Apparently we do.
     And what of religious and separatist movements? Are they all rebels and fanatics, terrorists and criminals? Whose definition do we use to determine an actor's criminality? The "winners", as pointed out to me by an educated and intelligent German trooper, a trusted cohort. He and his country were the losers (twice) of huge wars, the world wars of the 20th century. Therefore, he cannot argue that the answer that he disagreed with in his history class is incorrect truly, because his US professor made his point about winners. They define what is right. The US being so, the US (American) professor asserted his supremacy. His correctness, defined by the winners. Obviously there are many world viewpoints, most of them not from the United States, but it does seem to dominate the sphere of popular consensus. Winners? Mightiest? Perhaps.

    Octobers past, like in Moscow, did change the world. It polarized priorities; it gave legitimacy to millions of people with the accompanying idealistic ideologues who believed this socio-economic political revolution would change, inextricably, the world into a better, more fair and just, more equitable place.Egalitarian. But it brought a lot of contention. The haves, particularly of the the Western wealthy capitalist nations, stood geometrically opposed. For differences apart from the economic changes, such as the the revolution of political economists like Engels and Trotsky, Germany (once known as Prussia) found itself craving old claims of its perceived grandeur. And the world paid, and paid again a short generation later. It was contained, this Darwinistic nationalism, and now (60 plus years later) each country deals with its power struggles and aims more diplomatically, commercially, in spheres of cultural authority. Of course, due to sea trade and empire, other powers like the United States, Britain, France and others staked their parts of all hemispheres. Let us not forget Japan or China, and India and other Eastern powers.

    The dance of the first world capitalists, largely industrial, or now in the cyber age post industrial, versus and simultaneously domineering, in relation to the the world survivalists, the peoples of perpetual subsistence. Those peoples and nations who do not control their fates as much as those waiting or hoping, praying, cringing that they are not be the next puppet tragedy of present or future Octobers to come.
   

Nationals Postmortem Update, 2014

It was a good year, but it ended disappointingly.

Yep, the Nats came up short against their NLDS opponent this year, similar to 2012. Although perhaps this year was worse because there were higher expectations and they lost in four games instead of 5 like two years ago.

Hmmmph.

The offense stalled in the almost all the post season games this fall, especially the second game where the teams went a record 18 innings, the Nats losing after 6 hours of play. Low scoring. 2-1? I think so.

The regular season ended up being very satisfying, despite some notable injuries.

Now we are afraid that they might have the Atlanta Braves syndrome, which is to win their division but not do much in the playoffs. We shall see.

As always.

Bryce is Harper is as done as Mike Trout now.

Talk on the radio says Adam LaRoche (who had great stuff in regular season) will be replaced at 1st place by long time National and traditional favorite Ryan Zimmerman, who was perhaps the most injured and affected player on the team this year. He only pinch hit in the National League Division Series.

And the Nats could not score enough. Simply put. Werth and LaRoche and others, even RBI producers Ian Desmond and Wilson Ramos could not.

The Giants are now on to putting the hurt on recent World Series victors Cardinals.

Both of the National League teams have won it recently, as in 2010 (Giants), 2011 (Cards), 2012 (Giants again!), and last year's outliers, the Boston Red Sox. Good for a city that took an iconic terrorist attack by Chechen ner' do-wells. And Big Papi threw in his two cents.

Good for the Boston faithful; they got three championships in the last 10 years.

Now on the American League side it boils down to the Kansas City Royals and the Baltimore Orioles. After last night's second game it appears it will be Kansas. I will root for them or Baltimore, regardless of the NL outcome.

Go underdogs.

And go Nats, finish better next year. They have the talent and the experience to do a good trick on the diamond.

And as I wrote in the bracketed preface of this post:Nats Update: Postseason--Bryce Alive and Well, Mike Trout...

Baseball may not be meaningful or matter much to many around the world. But it does mean something to millions of Americans, as in US citizens. But also, there are probably a good dose of Canadians who care, Mexicans, millions of the Caribbean, Central America, and Northern South America. Heck, I even know a hard core fan in Angol, Chile. Where they play baseball a lot less than US people play crickett. (There are those who play that sport here, I have seen it played on both coasts and within a mile of my current house, not to mention other places in this American county.)

And then there is the East Asian baseball zone, and growing parts of Australia, Europe...There is even a slight indentation into the great subcontinent, India.

So, maybe baseball will matter more and more to more parts of the earth. It seems to grow.

And some people may care to read my impressions of the Nationals, the season in 2014, and how baseball poetically captures a tiny part of our worldly matters.

Play on.

And go Nats. We will not give up on you. You are too good to disregard.

And this fall? Go Royals! Kansas City has not had a winner for a while.

Blog it. EMC