(Insert Cheesy Christmas Title Here)

There has been an increasing void of activity in our blogging world for the last few weeks and none more vast than in my own domain. Sorry guys, homework comes first; that stupid, awful, grisly homework. Don't let me forget to tell all of you that your all pathetic. I left up my last post for what, 3 weeks, and y'all still can't answer one freaking question. Two halfhearted high-fives for the two Jonathan's for actually giving a crap. (The correct answer was Abraham Lincoln)

Other than that, I'll catch you up on the last few weeks, namely the Thanksgiving break. (Sigh... those were the days) We had our cousins down from Tuesday night to Saturday afternoon and as Jonny noted, the week was filled with football. Madden tournaments, (although Jonny hates them, he's actually is eerily very good at them. He had a three game win streak until he opted out of his game with me, might I say that he was very wise in doing so...) 2-Hand Touch games in the front yard, (They were classics by the way) and the endless games from across the nation, including "that" game, the one I'd like to forget. A solid week of fun and family with the thought of school in another galaxy far far away. (Where's that Calculus homework Luke?)

My oldest cousin Matt sadly skedaddled Thursday night so he could participate in that appalling "Black Friday." Why anyone would camp-out at 4 in the morning on the day after Thanksgiving only to wrestle past thousands of other crazed psychos to shop for obscure paraphernalia while you could be relaxing at home and watching football is beyond me. I don't understand it and I never will, although I shouldn't dog on it to much cause it got me my Christmas present to myself. (I'm so selfish)

Besides the fact that they found Call of Duty 2 for like $15, they were gracious enough to snag me an Ipod video, which also came with a FM transmitter. This solved my previous quandary with the Mercury's lack of a CD player. So, in a way my entire wish list was fulfilled and I couldn't be happier. The Ipod is the last reason why I haven't Blogged in an eternity since I spent my spare time stuffing the pod with as many videos as I could find. (can you believe it, I still have like 20 gigs left to fill; that's why I didn't get a PSP Baker...)

But enough with that, it's time for me to give my opinion on that certain upcoming holiday. This post isn't belated, I give my observations precisely when I intend to. I'm not falling into the flow of other's blogs as the Christmas season doesn't begin for me until School is over.

Much like Sean and Jason I am a Christmas Grinch, simply stated. Something about this time of year has always rubbed me the wrong way. And I can never quite understand the personalities of those like say... Jake Box, who seem to fully embrace every facet of the season. Now it seems as if my fellow Grinch's have already voiced my general feelings, but there are some things that I'd like to highlight.

First of all, I'd agree with the blogger (I think it was Faith) who theorised that your experiences with Christmas as a child influences how much of that childlike giddiness you have today. Take for instance how our family prepared for Christmas when I was younger. I was old enough to take on those "big boy jobs," specifically, hanging the lights and although it started out as a "family affair," I soon found myself alone on the slippery rooftop while everyone had migrated back indoors. I'm not a big fan of "traditions" and the root of this discontentment probably stems from a revelation I had years ago.

Like every tiny tot, I loved Christmas because when came down to it, it meant more stuff for me. But after a few years of selfish enthusiasm, something finally clicked, actually something stopped clicking. I'd heard the "Christmas Story" a thousand times and eventually figured out that it was the "reason for the season" So what's with everything else? It seems like a pretty simple story, why do we need all this other stuff? What's with the decorations, the lights, the trees, the stockings, the shopping, the TV specials, the God-awful movies, the cheesy music, and the endless culture of fictitious Christmas characters all telling us the same old, sappy, and overused "true meaning of Christmas." All this holiday pork that piles up more and more, adding to your ever expanding fiscal and emotional debt until you can no longer find the point. I didn't get it and being the young rebellious teenager that I was, I began to hate everything about Christmas. Basically, if you think I'm a Grinch now, you should have seen me about three years ago. I was wound up so tight, with so much animosity towards anything festive that it made the whole season incredibly depressing for me.

Now let me stop here and challenge a complaint that some of my kind have had. Without fully thinking, a few weeks ago I blamed this Christmas pork on the Capitalism and Commercialism of today and I officially retract that statement. Its easy to blame Wal Mart, Target and every metropolitan mall in the tri-state area for the endless flow of watered-down holiday crap, but that's not the problem. (Excuse while I go on a pro-capitalistic rant; I'm very much a capitalist) The central principal of Capitalism is satisfying the consumer and ultimately giving him what he wants. Although it might seem like it sometimes, the titans of retail are not cramming this stuff down your throats, your buying it! The cute Norman Rockwell Christmas scene of old with the tree and Santa masks was the precursor to what we see today. They kept offering more, and you kept buying it and the result is the super-sized materialism-fest, but you still keep buying. The fault isn't the stores or those "conniving higher-ups," of Corporate America, its the consumers, Christians and non-Christians alike. There just giving you what you want.

So yes, I don't like the fluff, the pointless traditions, the songs, even the yearly Peanuts Special, and especially the movies. But I don't hate the holiday itself. The story of Christmas is very simple and yet profound and whenever I start to get that feeling of hostility, I take a few breaths and remind myself of why I celebrate Christmas, not what others have made it into and thus regain the true joy of the season. Of all the traditions I hate there are some that I love, time with family, a break from school, showing love to others and sleeping in, even on Christmas day. (my siblings can't stand that last one) So am I really a Grinch? I guess that's up to you to decide.

That Christmas Video I Swore I'd Find- I don't particularly like the Peanuts Christmas special (a tear makes it's way down Jake Box's cheek) but I have to give it it's due for getting Christmas right. There was a great segment on SNL a few years ago that I think illustrated this perfectly and I promised my high school group that I would find it. Now keep in mind that this was made by a secular media outlet and it pokes fun at many Christians today. Some of you may find it offencive, but I think there's a lot of truth in it and the ending is great. I could only find it on a website stream and this site does have some mildly objectionable ads and such. Its nothing serious, I just want to warn you before hand. I've talked enough enjoy>

http://thetravisty.com/Saturday_Night_Live/mov/Real_Audio_-_Jesus_Today.htm

A Few Things I Think I Think-

>I've talked enough today, I'll check back next week.

Sports Center-
Wow, I haven't felt so enthused in quite some time. I can't remember a better Sunday full of games that were more incredible than last weekend. 3 Blockbusters, simply amazing. First of all, I was already to take a break as I had already spent most of the weekend working outside clearing brush and fixing PBC pipe for the pool. The first game was the Titans vs. Texans. I had confidently picked the Tennessee and Vince Young to win a close one and I knew #10 was on a streak, but his performance on Sun. was spectacular and don't forget that stingy Titans defence, they're a big reason why this team is red hot. Next was the Chargers vs. Broncos and the score fest via LT. It was great cause Denver made a serious run at the beginning of the second half and I was thinking it might be a meltdown, but LT is just a force. Its hard for me not to pick them for the AFC champs right now.

Lastly, the Cowbungles declined to show up against America's new team and my prediction finally surfaced. Romo-mania is finally over; bought time, I love how Parcells looks like a grumpy old man who only wants to go to bed when he's loosing. I still don't know what direction the Boys will take next, but at least the hype has died down for awhile.

My pickoff record (22-24) Why is it that once I don't post my picks, they are right on the money?

San Francisco 23 Seattle 20-Resurgence of an old dynasty?

Dallas 31 Atlanta 21-This is just because I think Mike Vick is overrated, that's it!

Houston 10 New England 21-Sigh, why can't the Pats just die and go away?

Jacksonville 19 Tennessee 24-Any more room on the Vince bandwagon?

Cincinnati 28 Indy 24-Great time to hit a slump right Peyton?

Video of the Week-Rudolf's Red Nose, classic holiday humor

The Greatest Problem Ever

In case you haven't noticed, my site is busting at the seems with delightful little goodies for you to toy with. Just don't get lost and play responsibly. Its just like drugs right? I mean what's the harm? Really? (Ohh great, now I'm comparing my site to drugs. Someone please dig me out of this hole. And while your at that, please help my brother, he's crying out for attention and its not his blog either)

Tonight (since I'm writing this at 1 in the morning for some reason that I'll think up latter) I will come to you with probably the greatest problem in the history of man's existence. I have more money than I know what to do with. Please don't line up helping me resolve this quandary; this is a burden I must carry myself. I had been saving up for the last year for a much needed new and snazzy laptop, entirely due to the fact that the device I owned at that time genuinely belonged in a museum. Can you believe it was upgraded to windows 98? (Jee-whizzers Batman that's ancient!)

But as this school year kicked off "mis podres" bought me the slickest laptop west of Jake Box's swimsuit. (Don't ask me where that came from, I have no idea) Needless to say, I was suddenly stuck with predicament of abundant cash in the upwards of about $400. So I bring this problem and it's possible solutions to you and humbly ask your opinion. (Now I know that everyone will suggest that I just distribute my cabbage to all you needy people, but the only way that's happening is if you have a worthy charity you'd graciously give it to. So get inventive with those obscure charity names!)

Option #1: Video Ipod $250
Up until the last few months, the Ipod has been the essence of the latest pointless whims of our generation, but I have been swayed. I think the Ipod (or mp3 in general, Ipods are just superior) have become less of a fashion trend and more of a generally cool appliance. Besides, I'm sick of lugging around a CD case everywhere and what could be better than a portable video player?

Option #2: Car CD Player $100+installation
One thing about my beloved Mercury (besides the fact that it has no air conditioning) is that it only has a stupid cassette tape deck and unless I want to go completely retro, I can't rock to by tunes. Grrrr... Whats worse is that any use of an adapter produces mostly irritable static. The solution is one of the many sleek new car stereos at Best Buy. The downside is the need for installation and no knowledge of how long the Mercury will be in my possession.

Option #3: Office Chair $75-150
I spend most of my time in my room, diligently working away at my computer and I feel I need more than a moldy rejected dinner table chair to place my posterior. Leather? Plastic? Duct Tape? I don't care; as long as its soft, comfy and can somehow accommodate my 6'4" frame. (I think Roger will agree with me that movie theaters and airplanes are nightmares for us vertical abnormalities)

Option #4: Call of Duty 2 for PC $30
COD 3 for 360 and PS3 looks absolutely amazing,(check it out yourself http://www.callofduty.com/) but it unfortunately doesn't come out for PC. So I must resort to the second edition of my favorite computer game franchise ever. I love how cheap things get when their successors are already out. By the way, does anyone play the original Call of Duty online? I'm on a lot and I sometimes get lonely.

Option #5: PS3 $600
This really isn't an option since, for one, I don't have the cash, and I also have made a point of never buying a console right when it comes out. So this option is really more of a "keep saving up and get this lovely system in the near future" option. I won't hop on the debate wagon and be just another whiny voice in a crowd of nerds at heart. I'll leave that up to someone else. All I know is that this system looks like its worth the price and then some. (But it is like Sony to nickle and dime you everywhere else)

So there it is. What do you think? You have like three ways to let me know so get cracking.

A Few Things I Think I Think-
>I think I'll go ahead and go off on a "foods I don't understand" tirade. I've already gone off on the stupidity of salads so allow me to just let loose. Those Marie Calendar pies aren't that good! (He hath broken the 11th commandment "Thou shalt salivate in the presence of thine holy pies") Sorry Sean, but they aren't that good. The only one I would want to eat is their Key Lime, but I can still get a better one at Sam's. I also can't stand the fact that Turkey is the official meat of the holidays. Its just so... blah! What I'd give for a good Thanksgiving Brisket, or a Christmas Steak. Now I know that the Pilgrims didn't have beef back in their day, but they would have if they could have! Okay, I'm sick of this tirade.

>I think we need to make the official Jake Box Dictionary for all of the Box-isms we know and love. I've got 4 good entries and wood love for y'all to add to it. Think we could get a website going Jason?

"Nekid"-being without clothing or covering. English word-"Naked"
"Wells"-large marine mammals. English word-"Whales"
"Jest"-exactly or precisely. English word-"Just"
"Tail"-to announce or proclaim. English word-"Tell"

Sports Center-
I have now discovered that when I disagree with Ruben Sosa on an upcoming game's outcome, he will always be right. I quite comfortably picked the Colts to slap the Cowboys silly last Sunday and Ruben assured me that the Boys would pull off a big win. What do you know; this is like the third time he's done this to me. Ruben, your undying faith in your team amazes me.

Dallas has a little run going and I'm not very surprised. They, along with the Jaguars are the most unpredictable team in the league. Still doesn't mean I have to like them. (can't you just smell the animosity?) Dallas 27 Tampa Bay 17

There are a few teams that I do like this year and none more than... "da Bears." Their offence is horrible, but that defence is unbelievable. I like this team, I like them a lot. Another team would be the San Diego Chargers, who have come out of nowhere and look like they have all the cylinders firing. And what about those late risers, the Dolphins and 49's? Too late for a playoff run? I don't know; I think my pickoff record shows that.

I'll get to the Lone Star Showdown real quick and its no surprise that I'll pick the Horns over those lovable Aggies. I have officially given up on that Texas Secondary, but luckily for us, the A&M playbook comes right out of the 1960's. They'll stay in the game with some trick plays, but Colt leads his team to victory and on to Kansas City. Texas 31 Texas A&M 22

My pickoff record (17-19) This is getting ridiculous, Sean your Hawks are killing me! I'm gonna start picking those completely obscure games cause I get those right.

Houston 17 New York 24-Proof once again that the Texans have no defence.

Chicago 13 New England 6-One boring game here.

Philadelphia 14 Indy 38-Go back to your precious RCA Dome Indy and stop making me look like an idiot.

Green Bay 17 Seattle 16-This is what happens when you kill my picks Seattle.

LSU 21 Arkansas 16-I love a team with a head coach named Nutt

Florida 24 Florida State 27-There's no justification for this, I just want to see a shakeup

Oklahoma 20 Oklahoma St. 34-Bedlam in OK, fun, fun, fun...

Notre Dame 31 USC 35-That's a quandary, I loathe them both.

Video of the Week-Real Men of Genius: Really Bad Toupee Wearer


Have a great Thanksgiving with Friends and Family; I know I will. Ohh and before you go, let me give y'all a one question Thanksgiving quiz since I'm such a big trivia guy. The first to give me the answer to this question gets a high five the next time I see them. (Isn't that a great prize?) Please don't Wikipedia this, I'd like it to be straight from your head or a complete guess. There's no way to enforce this so I must rely on the honor system. Good luck.

Which President officially instated Thanksgiving as a holiday?

Later guys

Why Am I Telling This Story? I Don't Know

I know, I know everyone voted for a post on what I want for Christmas. But there are still so many days till Christmas so I'll get to that later. (thus, further diminishing any trust you had in the poll) Instead, just for irony's sake, I'm going to tell you a story. A story that has no point in being told since a certain story competition passed it up weeks ago. Dare I say, this story rivals any before it and I would challenge the current winner to seriously consider delivering the prize to me... Colin, the ball is in your court. This story is an instant classic mostly because its incredibly embarrassing for me. I know Box has about 100 of these, but luckily for you, this will be my story's world premier. So, with out further to do, I give you...

My First Fill-Up

It was the first weekend of October and the weekend of the Junior High retreat. Something about faith; don't know, don't care. My parents were off for a getaway weekend and had left me and my newly acquired drivers licence to run the household; what fun. Jonathan needed a ride that Friday afternoon and I saw it as the best time to fill up the Mercury. The needle was suspended at the 1/8th mark and, to say the least, I was not going to live out Box's little gas gauge escapade. But that's another story, isn't it Jake? As I assisted Jonny with his things, which included the largest sleeping bag in existence, Jonny suddenly insisted that his things go in the trunk. I informed him that there was more than enough space in the back seat, but he didn't care and I didn't either. I was more than ready to get rid of him for the weekend. So his possessions were placed in the trunk and even with the abnormally large sleeping bag, his stuff filled up maybe a sixth of my awe-inspiring trunk.

As we swung into the parking lot, me and Box met eyes and we greeted each other with a nonchalant nod. "Yes," I said to myself, "I am the definition of cool." Jonny sprang out of the car and made his way to the back, where he waited attentively for the trunk door to magically open while I searched the interior of the vehicle for said magical lever. As I pulled what I thought was the correct switch, Jonny quickly informed that the magic wasn't happening. "It's an old car" I thought, "I told him he should have put it in the backseat." No matter, I swiftly opened the trunk and struck up a quick conversation with Gordan as Jonny ran his things into the church in true Junior High fashion.

But I was ready to split and soon cruised out of the parking lot to complete my last objective. The traffic on westbound 290 was worse than usual so I quickly compensated and rolled into the Citgo across the highway and thus sealed my fate. Now you ladies might not no this, but us guys have a certain code of conduct when we are alone and that's to act "cool." You may say that not every guy acts this way, but, believe me, all the cool ones do. This behavior includes keeping conversation with strangers at a minimum, a relaxed and laid back composer and most likely, a heightened sense of infallibility. Up to this point in my life, I had only witnessed the payment method at stations and the vast majority was with those lovely little credit cards. To bad all I had was cash and although the idea of paying before pumping was not completely foreign to me, I had never made the connection that it was pretty much universal.

So as I coolly removed the nozzle, pressed pay with cash, and began to wait I had no idea that I was messing with the system. As the little screen continued to flash "processing," I began to sense that something was wrong, but hey, above all else, keep your "cool." However, as the fellow customers finished their business and left be standing there awkwardly with nozzle in hand, I got that little voice in my head telling me to ask for help. Now again ladies, this voice is much more prominent in your minds than in us men and for the sake of keeping "cool," we continue to try to suppress it for as long as possible. And that's just what I did, God knows being clueless is far better than drawing any kind of attention.

Unfortunately for me, both occurred that day as one of the "Apu's" from inside the station ran outside, arms flailing and screaming at me in a very heavy Pakistani accent that "You need to pay inside sir!" (I hate to use stereotypes, but why is that one so true?) Needless to say, I was soon at the desk handing the cashier some green and mumbling "20 on #5 please." It didn't help that the cashier then told me "Now you can pump you gas." Now my only objective was to fill up and get out ASAP while still somehow keeping my "cool." Of course, at that time I finally noticed that my hood was gawkily detached and at a 15 degree angle no less. (So that's what I opened back in the church parking lot) Yes, the loud thud produced from my closing of of the hood, ended any hope of my slipping away unnoticed.

This time the process was smoother up until I attempted to loosen the gas cap. I must have stood there for 2 minutes trying to finagle that thing open, when I once again got that inkling to look for directions. This time however, I just wanted to leave and all I needed to do was, God forbid, actually look at the gas cap for those little arrows. I was indeed turning the right direction and all it needed was a swift twist. But I slipped back into my car thoroughly defeated and pondering on how idiotic I had looked for the duration of what I'd call a train wreck. Yes, what was supposed to be a 2 min. pit stop mutated its way into 20 min. shame fest.

It was at this time that the state of cool shows it's better side as I shrugged it off, cranked up the radio and cruised on down the road never to return. (I hate Citgo)

A Few Things I Think I Think-

>I don't think I understand salads. I was at Texas Land and Cattle last week and passed, as I always have, on the salad and pondered to myself why people eat them. I honestly can't stand them and its not that I hate vegetables. I love me some tomatoes, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, green peas, black olives, black eyed peas, and buttered carrots, but I hate salads. Mostly because its almost all lettuce, which is really just glorified green paper, and although most others like to choke them down with a bottle full of ranch dressing, I'd rather do without. (Would you like some salad to go with that ranch?) And its worse because most every restaurant caters only salads and when I pass, I get that snobby look like "Ohh, you don't eat salads, your such a pig." Nope, sorry. You can go on thinking that stuff is the highest beacon of health foods while I eat something good and has a texture that doesn't resemble flimsy plastic. Pass that steak please.

>I think Box hates my comments on his blog. I wrote an elongated comment on his latest post and as of now, it has yet to make it onto the site. This isn't the first time. I don't believe he ever posted my retort to his criticism of my sports picks. Hmmm...

Sports Center-

I've defended and given the benefit of the doubt to the Texas defence for this entire season and I'm done with it. Coming into this year, I assumed their secondary would be their strong point as they would be returning 3 seasoned veterans including probably one of the best CB's in the country in Aaron Ross along with 2 of the most highly touted CB recruits. But no, they suck and although our offence was less than efficient without Colt McCoy, they are solely to blame for the loss to a team that was killed by Baylor. (BTW, I don't like to make excuses for my picks, but when your starting QB is knocked out in the first quarter and your backup actually acts like a Freshman, all bets are off) The streak had to end sometime, too bad it had to happen last week. Looking forward to your visit A&M. Ohh and stop messing with our campus and get a job.

My pickoff record (14-12)

Dallas 24 Indy 42-Peyton rips the Boys to shreds.

Houston 22 Buffalo 20-Gritty to the end, Carr leads the comeback.

Maryland 31 Boston College 27-Basically I like Maryland's unies better.

V Tech 26 Wake Forrest 20-Say goodbye to this Cinderella story.

Rutgers 13 Cincinnati 17-Aren't I a stinker.

Cal 35 USC 34-No BCS for you USC!

Ohio State 34 Michigan 19-I really hate Michigan, that's why I always want Loyd Carr there.

Cincinnati 24 New Orleans 27-N.O. staying alive.

Seattle 31 San Francisco 13-Sean, these are boring games to pick, better start commenting or I'm dumping your team.

San Diego 30 Denver 32-Since when are the Chargers 7-2?

Video of the Week-Asian Trix, probably my favorite Family Guy clip I didn't repeat to my GA team. This is for you Jonny, you whining brat.

Life Generally Gets Sucky

Wow, three weeks in and I've already killed my weekly routine, but it seems like I'm on par with everyone else. Guess everyone was as busy as me. Oh and by the way... school generally sucks right now. I try, much like Box, to get a post up on Monday each week. Which is really the start of the week, not Sunday. (If only I were God or some such thing as that) This week was the accumulation of all that is wrong with the world. (Not really I'm in the pity party mood; who wants an invitation?) It was really more of the accumulation of of a bunch a homework deadlines that make me feel warm inside, which, in turn, causes me to sweat profusely.

The first round of college applications swung around this week and I spent the majority of Monday and Tuesday throwing together forms, transcripts and essays... sigh. This in turn, thoroughly screwed up the rest of the week as I desperately tried to play catch up. One thing led to the next and I soon found myself burning both ends of the candle last Thursday night/Friday morning in a desperate attempt to leave Saturday open for relaxation with friends and a night of partying/murdering.

Of course Saturday afternoon I got word that my friend, who was quite exited about coming, had been gotten the best of by a wave of allergies and couldn't even tell me in person that he couldn't attend. Once again... sigh... I still had a speech to prep for on Monday and to say the least, I staggered into this week with quite a limp along with slight feeling of defeat.

So what? Every once and a while, life gives ya a solid roundhouse kick to the face and I'll take the liberty of saying that we usually don't like it too much. Life's tough enough in the first place, so why spend all your time worrying about the future. I learned this in my Junior year, where I was gasping for air every week with no end in sight. I was sick of it, I spent so much time trying to control everything that I accomplished nothing, which, in turn, brought on the wicked side effect of depression. I hate to say it but I told God to go suck an egg and leave me alone! I can handle my own... I can't tell you how many times I've tried to shove God out. I do it without even thinking, it's almost subconscious, as if there's a part of me that wants to glorify myself. Hey what da ya know...

I've gotten better at catching myself and crawling back to God with the look of a 5 year old with his hand stuck in the cookie jar. It's not a great feeling, but its so short lived and the after affect is what I've been missing. I still give my best effort and learn from my mistakes but I let God worry about the future. (Since he's the only one that can really do anything about it) The work is still there, but there's a joy along side it because I know it will work out regardless of my efforts. So simple, but so profound. (by the way, this weekend was great. I still got to catch a movie with a friend and attend a killer party [cheesy goodness!] and at least I wasn't stuck at home with allergies)

A Few Things I Think I Think-
>I think Monday should be considered the start of the week. None of the Sunday stuff. Everyone knows that the week starts on the dreary Monday morning and doesn't get good until that liberating Friday afternoon. The same should be said for the new year. It should start in August when all that drudgery starts. I shouldn't complain too much though, all that drudgery is hopefully getting me to college.

>I don't think I understand why TV networks start shows in the middle of seasons. Where did the OC come from? Here I go thinking that these series's are rightfully gone for good and they make a entrance from out of nowhere. Then again, why should I care. I've only seen like half an episode, which is the same for about every other series out there except the Office.

>I think its getting pretty stupid how these animated kids movies are copying each other. From my count there have been 3 ant movies, 2 mouse movies, 2 zoo animal movies, and 2 penguin movies. The stories are tweaked a bit, but its beyond a coincidence anymore. These movies are cash cows and I guess the studios don't think they need much originality. The kids will drag their parents to the theaters regardless. Cha-ching.

Sports Center-
I can remember the days when I would literally cry when the Cowboys would loose a regular season game by a late field goal. But today, something deep inside me wants it to happen. I know, I know Jake I'm the worst fan ever, but for the last 3-4 years the Boys have pretty much sucked. They have talent, but they have developed the uncanny ability to loose games they should win in the most amazing ways possible. No example could be better than last weeks loss to the Washington Redskins. (hooray for Phil and his clan; why isn't Taylor ever online by the way?) I won't dabble in the specifics, but Dallas gave away that game in so many ways. When the final kick passed through the uprights, I couldn't stop laughing; they had done it again. The best explanation for my sick little obsession is that I dislike the team; the players, the coaches, THE OWNER! There are a few guys like Julius Jones, Roy Williams and Terry Glenn that I generally like, but ever since the exodus of the big three long ago, I haven't liked the team. So some part of me always likes to see them eat it good.

As for this week I'm still not going to analyze this train wreck; Just make a blind prediction. Dallas 34 Arizona 12

The Horns finally got a good thumping out of their conference schedule. I see them doing the same against the formerly great KSU. Texas 38 Kansas State 17

Welcome back to earth Aggies. Have fun thinking you were a good team? You've had spurts of greatness but need I remind you of your incomparable coach. Good thing y'all are hosting Nebraska, a team that also has spurts of greatness amongst a wasteland of mediocrity. What the heck, the 12th mam will pull through in this one.
Texas A&M 19 Nebraska 16

(don't go bonkers just yet, you won't be winning any championships anytime soon) Speaking of Championships, guess what I stumbled upon on YouTube. Probably one of the craziest sports videos ever. Yup, it's the Aggies winning. Box and Baker can enjoy this for its sports value, but I love this video because of the insane announcer's call. This guy's a psycho and from what I can tell, he must suffer from extreme mood swings and a impeccably small vocabulary. I've never heard such a change in emotion as he crosses the goal line. It's a classic. In fact, lets just make it the vid of the week.

Video of the Week-A&M Big 12 Champs (Ohh Doctor! I've just been injected with pure sugar and it's kicking in!)


My pickoff record (9-7) If you want to mock me Jake, then make some picks of your own.

Louisville 27 Rutgers 29-Just because I want it doesn't it make it so?

Tennessee 14 Arkansas 17-I guess it's the worse of two evils.

USC 31 Oregon 32-Replay help or no, go Ducks!

Houston 13 Jacksonville 28-Can I hype Super Mario any more?

San Diego 28 Cincinnati 31-Two underachieving teams here.

St. Louis 20 Seattle 24-Yes I do believe in Seneca Wallace

Chicago 19 New York 15-This'll be a good one.

Hope your life doesn't suck too much lately -Later

The Perks of Being "Legal"

So its week two in our little blogging escapade and my site continues to take shape. As you can see I've added a counter, wonderful little poll, and as of last night, a streaming media player. I've also tweaked the parameters of the text and formatting. In doing so, I've learned more about html formatting in the last week than in my previous 18 years of existence. Nothing was more enjoyable than spending hours of labor to find out just how easy the beta version of blogger is. This revelation shattered the belief that I know everything there is to know about web-design. Pfffft... Reality is so depressing. Some of you have pointed out that I had too much sports in my first post. To that, I say "thank you Faith, you are so perceptive." I am sports minded, like most other guys. Its going to be on my mind! That's why I put each subject in its own dandy little segment. So when you start drooling on your keyboard, just move on. And that's just what we'll do.

As you might have caught from Jake's announcement, it was my 18th birthday last Sunday, hence the little honor points competition during the service, lesson, talk... (what do you call it anyway?) After church my family took me out to Texas Land and Cattle and threw me probably the last gift opening "session" I'll have at home. By the way, I got two books, a car emblem, mini fridge, and a boat load of candy. (that's what happens when you don't ask for much) However, as my 17th year has come to it's end, I've noticed just how many gifts I've been given and how many perks come with adulthood, purely in terms of legality mind you.

There are lots of little things that show me things are changing. Like having to register to for Selective Services just in case someone decides to inundate the draft soon; I don't think I'll have to worry too much. Then there's voter registration, which I'm probably most excited about, but I'll get to that later. I even got a free new razor and shaving gel from Gillette for my birthday. You know, one of those new fusion blades; those commercials almost make me ashamed to be a man, they're so cheesy. But I must confess, they're telling the truth when they say it has less irritation. Snazzy...

However, as I look back at my... "development" I come to appreciate all the freedoms I've piled up and, all of a sudden, its like "dang, I'm all grown up... kind of." The most obvious example of this would be my 1991 Mercury Grand Marquis and licence to kill. (did I say kill? I meant drive) I'll take this time to highlight my ultra sweet ride. Jake Box has been quoted as saying "The thing's a tank!" I couldn't agree more. The thing's got an engine too, and its not shy about letting you know either. And, if you don't mind me saying, you can fit like 5 bodies in the trunk. That's like 20 Jr. highers so you guys better watch it. Now that I'm 18 and have sheded my permitual boundaries, I can literally go where I want, with who I want, whenever I want. Thusly, I have dedicated this weeks page audio to the bliss of driving with Rascal Flatts greatest song ever, but you already knew that. Never mind that it has no air conditioning or cup holders. Its pretty much the greatest vehicle in the history of mankind.

And the best part is that I didn't pay a dime for it, with the exception of my first fill-up, which was a nightmare. But that's another story; it sure would have been good for that story competition. Anyway, yes, my parents own the car and let me drive it. For all the talk they gave me as a child that I was going to have to pay for a car, college and life in general, they're really dishing it out for me. And its not just the car, This year they have graciously given me a cell phone, and incredibly sweet laptop. The amount of freedom and independence I have acquired recently has snuck up on me. I can only assume that, for one, my parents are very gracious and trust me, and that I must have earned it someway along my life. All that pointless work and responsibility payed off after all. I'm nothing but perfect, but guess I've done pretty well. As my two younger siblings argued at Texas Land and Cattle, my mother wished out loud that they would act more like me and Lydia. So... what can you take from my little rant? I guess you younger folk can understand that working hard, getting good grades, obeying your parents, and developing and upholding your convictions has its benefits. You may not see it right away, or even for a while, but as we learned in Jake's series on authority a few months back, embracing your authorities instead of rebelling against them increases your freedom. (and its freaking awesome to drive too!)
A Few Things I Think I Think-

>I think Jake should relinquish his two honor points, or retry the challenge with much more effort. I GAVE two of my newly acquired honor points to Jake for singing the lovely intro to the skit last Sunday and I'm sure you'd agree with me that his performance was lackluster. We all know you can't sing, but you can't take advantage of my lack of experience in the game. I'm waiting...

>I think Apple should make their own video game console and cell phone service. Based on their prior performance, they'll probably make great products. And besides, they'll automatically make a killing on anything with "i" in the name. Then they come out with a new version every month.

>I think I haven't spent enough time thinking on what to put in my things I think I think segment.

Sports Center-

When I first looked at the cover of the latest SI sporting, what they claimed were the three "next gen" players, I couldn't believe they would put Carmelo Anthony in the center and Dwayne Wade and Lebron James on the outside. Then I realised it was based on geographic location and the Carmelo cover was for the entire western half of the country. It couldn't tick me off more because I don't think Anthony is at the same level as James or Wade in the slightest. Ever since those three were drafted, I thought they were over-hyped by the press, but as their carers have progressed, James and Wade have shown just how much of a force they can be. Anthony has not. Maybe its because I've mostly seen him playing the Spurs and he is shut down by Bruce Bowen, but the guy's just mediocre. He has his spurts of greatness, but when the Nuggets need a lift, it seems like the supporting cast steps up and "Melo" is well, melo. I'd pick Wade or James over Anthony in a heartbeat. All of them have talent, but Wade and James take over games and are the true leaders of their team.
With the NBA season just around the corner I'll make some quick predictions and then move on because no one cares till February.

Under the radar teams:

East-Bulls, Bobcats. Both are climbing the ladder and adding talent

West-Clippers, Jazz. Although I hate them, they are getting good

So Overrated Teams:

East-Nets, Pistons. Look for these teams to slide

West-Rockets, Grizzlies. They already suck and they aren't getting any better

There are so many things that scare me to death about the Horn's performance last week against Nebraska. Kicker consistency, the lack of the run game and that darn secondary are causing me to question how good this team is. However, Colt McCoy has continued to step up and lead the team when the running game and defence fall short and the defence still comes through when they have to. Now that I've got that out of the way, that was a classic game last week. I think this rivalry will start to heat up as the children of the corn continue to improve. As Texas heads to lovely Lubbock to play a very underachieving Texas Tech, I really want to see them dominate with the run and keep the ball out of Tech's hands. The Baylor game showed how a Tech style offence can expose the Texas secondary, but this is not the same Tech team that we have seen in years past. The Horns role in this one. Texas 42 Texas Tech 20

As the 7-1 Aggies start finally play pretty good teams, this "not play very well but still eek out a win at the end by taking out their QB and blocking a kick in overtime" strategy isn't going to work. The Aggies will be playing on the road against a clone of Tech with a better defence. Texas A&M 27 Baylor 36

I don't know what to think about the Cowboys anymore and frankly, I really don't want to try to analyze them. Each week there's a new problem or scapegoat. The defence, the offensive line, TO, Drew Bledsoe, Bill Parcels. I have no idea where they are going to go now. I wouldn't be surprised if they go 3-0 or 0-3 in the next few weeks. This team is so hard to dissect: I'm sick of it. That doesn't matter in the end though, the soap opera roles on. Dallas 13 Carolina 30

My pickoff record (3-3) I didn't make any risky picks last week, which was great for college and horrible for pro football. For some reason every ranked team came close to loosing in college but didn't, and this was upset week for every pro game. I've added a few more picks this week, including the Seahawks just for Sean.

My picks for this week:

Houston 17 Tennesee 19-Vince gets even.

Seattle 27 Kansas City 20-KC Baby! They seriously need some D.

Indy 35 Denver 27-This is such a great rivalry cause the Colts always win.

Tampa Bay 17 New York 24-Giants are looking good, who isn't against the Boys?

Florida 31 Georgia 15-I've never liked that ketchup-red color.

Oklahoma 21 Missouri 20-Two teams on a downward slide.

Georgia Tech 24 Miami 27-Miami should pay, but they won't.

Office Update-

Aww, isn't that cute, Jim and Pam are talking again. That relationship is going nowhere for this entire season. However, the show is still great as Dwight and Micheal continue to... well, do what they do. I love Pretzel Day!

Politics As Usual-

After the resent scandal/cover-up concerning Sen. Foley and his relationships with former pages, there has been a call from some highly respected conservative leaders to abstain from voting for Republicans in this election in order to send the message that there current behavior is unacceptable. The media has aided this campaign and there is now a debate within republican voters on whether to participate this time around. Their anger is not related to the Foley "scandal" as much as it is for the continued government spending and lack of action in terms of immigration. I have been engaged in politics since I was 14 and couldn't wait till I was 18 and I could finally participate in the system. The call to not vote Republican this year really ticks me off. In my first opportunity to vote your telling me to wait another 2 years before I give my input? I don't agree with every policy they have, but the Republicans have a direction and "teaching them a lesson" in my opinion, jeopardizes the country. In other words I can't wait to vote Republican in November. (Bye the way, does anyone care?)

Video of the Week-"Football in the Office"

Sweet Seats and a Crappy Camera

Now that I have a blog, let me give you an idea of how this is gonna work and just how i'm gonna make this the best blog around. (Sorry Box, but your time has past) I'll try to have a main topic, but only if I feel like it. I'm not going to bog myself down into one stupid editorial. The heart and soul of this blog will be my little weekly segments. I'm thinking I'll get more out of these than focusing on one meager topic. And of course, you can always skip past it if it bores you to death. As always, I'm perfectly open to any suggestions or comments you have to make my blog more enjoyable for you. Just as long as it helps me somehow, as i've been crooning in church, it is "all about me."

Now for the main event. Last Saturday, my family treated me to some sweet tickets to the Texas game for my fast approaching birthday. (Anybody care to take a guess at the date?) They were lucky enough to acquire some of the sweetest tickets ever. I'm talking 40 yard line, 9 rows up. That's like "I throw a bunch of money at the Longhorn foundation" kind of sweet. These things only show up only about once in a lifetime, so I was determined to make it extra-special. Luck continued to shine as low and behold, our neighbor dumped 5 more tickets in our lap and we were able to invite my cousins down for the game. That would be the same cousin that has been leaving comments and making fun of my blog. (He better cut out, cause his is atrocious) Everything was going great, me and Lydia got to our seats just as the Texas band made its entrance. So I figured I'd snap a few pics for evidence of just how great our seats were. I got two off before the battery died, none with us in the shot or of the game itself. Devastation. And of course, it didn't help that we were down 10-0 at the end of the first quarter.

One of the two pictures I got off before the battery died

But, the Horns finally got on track and started scoring like they were playing... well... Baylor. One thing I couldn't get over was the fact the I was the only one in the entire section standing for the duration of the game. My family from across the stadium could pick me out in seconds cause I was the only one standing and cheering. Oh well, I guess having so much money in their pockets forced them to sit, lest they seriously injure their spines. I guess they didn't want their money to get wet either, cause once it started sprinkling, they headed for the exits. With all the spare seats, we were able to sneak everyone over from their endzone seats (where everyone had been standing) and I got to hang out with everyone. I still wanted at least one picture of us at the game, so we kept trying to turn on the camera while taking a picture at the same time. As you can see, it worked once and we were out of frame, but hey, it was still a great Birthday present and did I mention they were great seats.

The one powerless picture we got off of me and my cousin Matt. (what is my dad eating by the way?)

A Few Things I Think I Think-random musings through the week, straight from me, which could easily be completely contradicted the next week, and probably will be.

>I think the current rules in College Football are stupid. I don't understand how when a fumble is caused and the offence is the last to touch the ball before it goes out of the back of the endzone the defence gets the ball on the 20. The offence should get it where the fumble occurred. Even if the defence gets the ball, they should get it on the where the ball came out, not on the 20 yard line. Why is the sideline so different when its in the endzone?

>I think its rather contradictory for Sam and Steph to use a blog to argue the fact that "blogs are wack." I always just said they were stupid when people asked me to start one. If you want to bash blogs, use another method please.

>I think its foolish to claim that if Texas were to play Ohio State now they could beat them. We could have beaten them when we played them in September! If Billy Pittman wouldn't reach for the goaline like an idiot. We were beat fare and square, by a very good football team, probably best in the nation. If we were to play them next week, I still think they would beat us, just not by 17.

>I think that Drew Bledsoe is a bad quarterback. (allow me to jump on the bandwagon) When Parcels first signed the "nasal mucus machine" (if you don't get it, you don't get it) I wasn't to confident that we had found our man. He'll only be around for another 2-3 years so he's not going to solve the QB problem in the long term. He's got good players around him, but he just can't get the job done when he's needed. So, due to my pessimism on the rest of this year, its time to look for next year's big QB acquisition. And yes, that means Tony Romo should not be starting. Its time to look for a long time solution, so no looking at quickly aging Brett Farve or Kerry Collins. There are budding stars in the free agency like Atlanta's Matt Schaub, or the Jag's backup David Garrard. Or how bought a high draft pick like OSU's Troy Smith, Iowa's Drew Tate, or even Florida's Chris Leak? What to y'all think? (Specifically Jake and Sean because everyone else has long since fallen asleep)

Since I seem to be so sports oriented today, let's move on to Sports Center-time for me to analyze lasts weeks games and make some picks and predictions for the fallowing week.

Texas Quarterback Colt McCoy had a career day last Sat. even though he was less than spectacular. (his recievers did most of the work) The D also forced 5 turnovers, 2 of which were taken back for scores, but they gave up 350 offencive yards and 31 points. This could be a worry as the Horns head in to Lincoln to play the 17th ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers. With one of the toughest schedules heading into this game the Huskers have played well and will give Texas and McCoy their first big test on the road. (sorry Rice, you don't count) Many considered Nebraska to be a trap game for Texas and will call this game closely. However, I think the sometimes suspect Texas D can step up and shut down offences when needed (OU 2nd half) and as long as they establish the run, that offence can score in so many ways. Watch for the Horns to pull away in the 4th quarter. Texas 31 Nebraska 17

When we left Fuddruckers Sun afternoon, Dallas was up 10-6 over the Houston and I thought the Texans could pull the big upset. But after a long sidetrack at the cingular store, I got home and discovered that the final was 34-6 Boys. What happened to that spectacular Texans D led by Super Mario the defensive MVP? The Boys host the Giants, a game which they should win. But I wouldn't bet money, the Cowboys are experts at finding a way to loose. Dallas 20 New York 17

More Picks for this Week:

Houston 16 Jacksonville 31-Super Mario does it again!

Texas A&M 30 Oklahoma St. 24-Every game is a trap game with coach Fran.

Michigan 34 Iowa 24-The Wolverines are overrated, but so is Iowa.

Carolina 35 Cincinnati 24-Panthers are getting things going finally.

All right, I really need to get to some homework. I know everyone is going to complain that everything was sports and y'all would be correct. So here are some lovely little segments you can be looking for in future posts:

Office Update-In case you haven't noticed, this is the best show on TV currently. (for more mature audiences) Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3PJnhGn6-Q to catch up on this seasons episodes while I comment on this delightful program.

Politics As Usual-If anyone cares, my thoughts on the latest political banter.

In the News-What I think about recent news big, or small.

Video of the Week-A segment I think y'all will really enjoy. Some of my favorite vids from YouTube. This Week: Weird Al's "White and Nerdy" (Just for you, James and Josh)

That's It! I'm Done! Good bye loyal following.

To Blog Or Not To Blog?

So I was hanging with all the fellow homeschoolers at our recent get together at Chick-fil-a with the legendary Jake Box. As the others were all discussing their blogging, I was in between a few nuggets when Jake asked me why I don't have one? My answer was nothing new. I told him that it's just like Myspace; a black hole of time that can waste your life away completely and unless I have a following then it's really not worth it at all.

Of course this feeling resonates from my deep hatred for being part of a fad. Whether it be Ipods, Myspace, Starbucks, or Xbox 360, I (usually) can't stand doing something just because everyone else does. For the longest time, blogs have fallen into that category because frankly, unless someone else is actually listening, I'd much rather do something else that fritters my life away completely. But lately I've been having a change of heart on this whole blogging business. Jake promptly responded to my little speech by saying that I would have a following and after taking some time to look it over, I agree with him. We've got our own little blogging community here at TWO-14 and after a few long late night squabbles with myself, I've concluded that I want in. I've got opinions just like everyone else, but I tend to hold back in conversation and I'd like to provide an outlet for others to get to know me better, or at least for me to get to know myself.

I have a feeling that once I get into it, I'll find it very rewarding and honestly, I'll easily make it the best blog of TWO-14. But here's where you come in, as you will be crucial to the success of this little endeavor. If you want me to go through with this, I need you to let me hear it. I want some backing before I commit to this grunt* "hobby." (Don't you love how I started this blog on Friday the 13th) So lets hear it, how much do you want this? It's all up to you now. If I don't feel the love, this blog might unexpectedly find a toaster in its bathtub and alas, I will once again become an online introvert.