Cousy Knows Basketball

Have you ever heard of Bob Cousy? He led what was one of the most remarkable runs of excellence ever accomplished in professional sports—ten championships in 12 years with the NBA’s Boston Celtics. He did have a little help though, ever heard of Bill Russell?

But for a skinny, little white kid who was actually cut three times from his high school basketball team to persist and strive and never-give-up, it’s truly a wondrous story. Now you can read it all in his new book, Cousy : His Life, Career, and the Birth of Big-Time Basketball.

Fighting Spam on WordPress

I must slap myself on occassion. *whack*

Found this cool spam-fighter plug-in for WP and forgot to post on it. John Sinteur is the author and you can find the plug-in via the icon below:

We the People, Not the Media

Does it help you or hurt you to know that the media doesn’t represent the true views of our country?

On a Mississippi radio show, a recently returning Marine had this to say:

“I thank God that the troops that are there don’t see the news coverage. I thank God every day, because there’d be ten times the number getting killed, just because it would so un-motivate [sic] them.”

It gets better from there as the soldiers on that returning flight received a true heroes welcome from the people at the airport.

The Internet has been a critical improvement in our nation’s media because it distributes power out to more people rather then letting a few network news chiefs dictate what we can or can’t see and hear.

‘Frank’ The Tumor Is Dead

Creative marketing helped save this boy’s life. Diagnosed with a grapefruit-sized malignant brain tumor, David called it “Frank” after Frankenstein, his mother used her brain to sell bumper stickers on eBay that read, “Frank Must Die.”

Great to hear about David’s clean bill of health. His Mom should be receiving a job offer from one of Washington’s advertising firms shortly.

Movie: Constantine

Thanks to the good folks at Grace Hill Media (atrocious site alert); I was given free entrance to a private screening of Constantine. Well, me and 200 raving lunatics who won radio contests. Thank you, KDGE, the new rock alternative.

Being wedged between a shoeless guy and a kindly senior who loved to chat, the experience was off to a rocky start. And here I am with high hopes for this film. Actually, I should know better. First off, Keanu Reeves is in this film. That alone should cause me to downgrade my estimates. Secondly, the trailer portrayed an over-eagerness to emulate The Matrix. Hopefully, these points can be forgotten because I’m truly rooting for this movie.

Setting the Stage
It’s especially important for any work of fiction to establish the “rules of the game” that exist in their particular universe. This is doubly true for pieces that are set in never-before-seen scenarios. The only stories that come to mind depicting spiritual warfare on the material plane are the wonderful books by Frank Peretti, This Present Darkness being the leadoff tale. (I recommend these books highly.)

So perhaps it’s my existing understanding of Peritti’s rules, but it seemed that Constantine broke it’s own rules throughout the film. Either that, or I never understood them in the first place.

John Constantine claims that God has a cosmic bet with the Devil for the souls of mankind. He believes that there is not supposed to be any intervention, only influence, by either party.

So where does influence end and “cheating” begin? It’s never quite clear because it seems that the bad guys are playing fast-and-loose with the rules while God is never seen.

The Soul of One Man
The parallel story line is John’s own desire to enter heaven, or receive absolution. I’m by no means a specialist on catholic doctrine, which varies by divisions and geography, but the idea that when someone commits suicide they can never receive absolution makes for a dreary movie. Where’s the hope that our hero can win in the end? All we’re left with is killing as many of the baddies before we end up in hell ourselves.

Even such, this Keanu trades his standard repertoire of lost expressions for angry ones. Another easy character-type that he actually pulls off well.

Exacting Standards
The film has a high production value, as CGI becomes a staple in today’s movie fare. Camera angles and transitions are sharp, though falling off as the film progresses. Dialog, while not first-rate was adequate although each character was such an extreme stereotype that believability was lost early on. Then again, the goal seemed to be more comic books than real life so I’m fine with this.

Observations
Expectations are huge. And because I’m extremely drawn to films that delve into spiritual matters I probably had unrealistic expectations. I was hoping that an intriguing story could be crafted and everyone would abide by whatever rules the movie established at the outset. It turns out that Constantine’s story was contrived and the rules were often broken. Only the pretty pictures and fast-paced action held my attention.

6 out of 10

Duke: Sponsored by ESPN

Here at the 21st Century Paladin, we fight injustice. All we’re looking for is an even playing field where everyone gets the same opportunity and is judged by their performance. So how is it that on today’s ESPN College Basketball homepage media darling Duke gets highlighted in 4-out-of-4 feature stories?

Oops Mr. Bilas, your bias is showing.

Not So Sweet

In the beginning, there was sugar. And it was sweet.

Then, some scientist invented saccharin. Thus Sweet’N Low came into existence. And for a while, it was good. Then it wasn’t. To health-conscious consumers, one study showing cancer results should be enough for anyone to pass on this sweetner.

Next came aspartame. It is the primary ingredient in NutraSweet. Good luck trying to find a diet product without it. But be aware, groups have found significant problems with this man-made molecule, even as other groups say there are none. Chances are, it’s not the evil that critics claim nor completely harmless. In cases like this, it’s wise to follow the money-trail.

Today, laboratories have given us the latest miracle of science, sucrolose. Giving it the up-beat, catchy name Splenda. It’s made from sugar, so what’s the problem? The Truth About Splenda wants to tell you. This campaign has hidden their identity behind their web agency, but the battle is raging because sucrolose is made by chlorinating sucrose. That’s right, chlorine.

If you’re confused about the maze of artificial sweetners, do what I do. Use sugar and reduce portion size. Tastes pretty good to me.

When Did Google Become a Cult?

Now, if I’m not mistaken the country was evenly divided in last November’s election with Republican George W. Bush pulling out a narrow victory. So, why is it that Google employees gave 98% of their contribution dollars to the Democrats? I’m all for each citizen’s right to support whomever they choose, but to go from a national average of 50-50 to 98-2, there’s got to be some “direction” from on high. Kinda scary if you ask me.

WordPress: Web App of ’04

Perhaps the geekier among you might have heard of arstechnica.com, but they gave WordPress the award for Web Application of the Year. I really do love WP, although the transition costs me years of posts, because MoveableType had that whole “rebuilding” nonsense. Then MT goes and corrects it! Oi.

Fish on Fire

Back in the Big D, or the Metroplex as they like to call it, and I’m pounding the pavement for some new taste sensations. Today I’m driving by a place call Fish on Fire. I like fish. I like fire. This should work.

As is my custom, I asked the clerk, “What do most people order?”
She responds with, “Fish tacos.”
“Where do I sign?”

Now, considering the name of the store, I expected, perhaps more than I should given my penchant for all-things-spicy, a bit more life to the meal. It came with a zesty marinated cabbage and some bland rice to go along with the grilled fish in the taco shells. Tasty yes, but I can’t recommend it. Twas nice but shant return. There are just too many other stops on this cuisine superhighway they call Addison. (Just shy of 40 restaurants per square mile!)

The Triumph Over Slavery

Here’s a great link from the Presurfer, Lest We Forget, The Triumph Over Slavery. Nicely done, albeit brief, site that highlights one of history’s great evils then commemorates it’s demise.

It should be noted that faith in God played a pivotal role in sustaining hope among the enslaved. It also spurred leaders like Abraham Lincoln to work, with thousands of others, to abolish this horrible practice.

Kanye Rewarded for Controversy

Now this might be just a slightly different tack, but after hearing Kanye perform Jesus Walks at the Grammy’s last night I was enthralled during his acceptance speech. He was so emotionally caught up in it. Up to that minute, I hadn’t heard of the guy.

So naturally, I went online to learn.

It turns out that his CD—College Dropout—was a huge success and Jesus Walks, a strong call to God for help and direction, was its biggest hit. But here’s where the waters get muddied.

College Dropout has some very, how should we put it, profane messages on it as well. So much so that it was bestowed with the “explicit lyrics” badge that marketers have learned sells so well. So before you go out and buy this CD for your sunday school kids, listen to the song samples on Amazon while you check his message. It’s only responsible.

So where do I stand with regard to Mr. West? Like anyone in the spotlight I’m leary of the dangers that fame and fortune bring. Too many get snared. It’s a tough road to travel but some have ridden it and maintained integrity. I’m sincerely hoping that he’s taking his own advice and looking to “God show me the way.”

Jenga Defies Gravity

Despite what you might have heard, physical laws aren’t always. As you can note from this picture, gravity clearly isn’t paying attention.

But seriously, playing with our 9- and 6-year-olds, we went 5 rounds past what I thought was possible. Once you go into that kind of rarified air, you don’t want to be the adult that brings the tower down. Luckily, I was able to forego the shakes and retain the (undeserved) respect of my offspring. *shew*

Move Over James, Here Comes Mayo

We all thought LeBron-mania was big, O. J. Mayo may bring about total hysteria. Certainly in his hometown of Huntington, West Virginia is enthralled. Opposing players don’t even warm up, they watch Mayo warm up. One thing is almost certain, he won’t be spending time on any college campuses this fall.

Another Suicide Attempt Prevented

Received this email in a group I’m a part of:

ANOTHER SUICIDE ATTEMPT PREVENTED – Mother Blames a Mormon Bishop

Kissimmee, FL – February 10, 2005

The Internet based church, Talk 2 a Pastor, and quick action by its founding Pastor, prevented a suicide attempt from being successful, on Thursday morning, February 10th.

At about 7 am a suicide note was sent by the almost victim to her Mother, her sister and Pastor Art of Talk 2 a Pastor.

Pastor Art was the first to see the note and responded by notifying the Brigham Young University police who after much prodding finally located a pregnant 20 year old, dressed in her best dress. They lived in married student housing at BYU in Provo, Utah.

Her husband is a graduate student at BYU. The couple moved to Provo, Utah around the Christmas Holidays.

The mother and sister of the almost victim, called me last night to thank me for saving her life.

The mother also commented that she believed a Mormon Bishop was the one who drove her daughter to make this attempt, of not only killing herself but her unborn babies.

Previously the almost victim had told Pastor Art she is carrying twins.

All I can say is “Praise be to God that Internet ministry works!” I have lost track of how many suicide attempts have been thwarted since the founding of Talk 2 a Pastor.

The Internet is largely a cold place. But there are warm lights to be found.