A Few Things I Don't Get

As finals are beginning to wind down and I'm met with some genuine free time, I am compelling myself to post more than once every month. It may be delusional but I'm going to try to get back to a weekly pattern. So I have been mulling around a bit while not working on those final school projects attempting to find a subject to post on. I've considered a post on the death penalty... oh, you fell asleep too? Or something on my past thanksgiving experiences, or even something on the fast approaching Christmas holiday, but I've already beat that to death.

Then it hit me, I've already done it plenty of times before, so why not dedicate an entire post to it? From salads to Marie Calender's pies; from holiday shopping to the week staring on Sunday; from baseball to Romo-mania; from college life to our societies view of love, I've filled this blog with my riffs on pop culture. I've already ripped the BCS. Let's keep this thing going. Who knows, maybe this could become a regular end of the year tradition. (Oh yeah, traditions and the year ending in December... I hate those too)

A Few Things I Just Don't Get:

-World of Warcraft (WOW)
I believe I've already dogged on the multitude of "fantasy" fanatics out there. Ahh yes, shall I revisit my words verbatim?

"I've never been a big fan of the whole mythology craze and I've had a hard time understanding why some people can get so infatuated with it. None of it is real; it is all completely made up and based on nothing of actuality. Where the heck did "elves" come from and why do some people seem to act as if they are real? I've come to theorize that the reason why so many love the supernatural is that it gives them a world in which they can at least fantasize about extra-ordinary power. In some extreme cases, it can be down right silly, but all of us are attracted to it to some extent. I see that the concept comes from God and his incredible power, but as always, the fascination can lead to the desire for self-empowerment."

A little preachy I know; I get that way sometimes. Regardless of the deeper spiritual correlations, I simply don't get the infatuation with the fundamentally fictional. Sure I'm like most everyone else, I like some good fiction in movies and books, but it still has to be believable for me. I can respect Tolkien as classic and genuinely good literature but as far as that whole genre, it really doesn't appeal to me at all. I guess I just despise supernatural storytelling because it can often negatively affect the writing, especially in terms of creativity. Oh no, our heroes are in a seemingly impossible situation, lets just overlook all those commonly held physical laws of nature and make up some quick fix out of nowhere and call it magic.

I don't get it and I don't particularly like it. It's probably the biggest reason why reacted so differently to the first two installments of Pirates of the Caribbean. I understand the allure of the unbelievable in entertainment; I call it the "Die Hard syndrome." However, I guess I find most of them to be believable to a point and the rest just appeals to the adrenalin factor. The ever increasing fantasy genre takes it too far for me all to often. It's probably why I simply don't enjoy the SciFi channel... at all.

Anyway, back to the game at hand. I don't even like the game classification; the whole role playing thing seems pretty stupid to me. Why would I want to spend hours "upgrading" some online character while engaging in less than enthralling combat? (Oh yeah, and they're all characters of fantasy; we all know how I feel about that) Am I the only one (and I know I'm not) who remembers the original Warcraft (or my favorite and slightly more believable Starcraft)? Those games were alright; I didn't mind playing them. I'm sorry, I enjoy real time strategy and first person shooters but I draw the line at role playing; it's down right boring.


And am I the only one who thinks that the game just looks absolutely retarded? I'm sorry, but for a game that involves itself in "epic" battles of fantasy with brutish and monsterish races it looks ridiculously bad and down right childish and comical. I swear, the first time I saw it being played I thought it was one of those late 90's educational games that teaches children basic math and grammar. If I have 3 elves and you give me 4 more elves...

What really bothers me is the prevalence of addiction right now. I'll admit it, on some weeks in the summer months I've spent 6 hours straight playing some ridiculously trivial game like Civ or Sim City, but after I pry loose my fingers from the sweaty mouse and let my eyes readjust to reality's light, I kick myself for wasting countless hours and promise myself to never play the game again. Admitting is the first step people. Honestly, I can understand the whole addiction to upgrading in gaming. By far my most favorite gaming activity would be Madden's franchise mode or NCAA's dynasty mode. I absolutely love turning the worst team in the league into a juggernaut in just 3-5 years and then moving on to the next cream puff. Now that is fun; but enough of that, I'm supposed to be on a tirade.

-The Religious Hullabaloo Over The Golden Compass
Keeping on the subject of fantasy, I'm getting pretty sick of "my" contingent's constant boycotting and whining over "anti-Christian" content. I can see where the movement is coming from and I don't have a problem with warning parents about the Golden Compass series' apparent anti-God undertones, but as always, people take it too far. Younger children are highly impressionable and I strongly support parents who screen what their kids see and hear. However, all the conspiracy theories on how Hollywood is plotting to jam atheism down our collective throats are getting kind of old. There are no grand conspiracies and even if there were, it shouldn't be that big of a surprise. Christ himself warned us that his own name would be persecuted.


I'm not challenging the fact that this series doesn't contain an agenda, I just don't understand the frenzy over an all-out boycott. Do you really expect to go through your entire life without ever facing a differing opinion than your own? This Christian isolationism really pisses me off. Apparently they don't really want to reach the world with the gospel that much. As I've said, I understand parental discretion, but if I'm not mistaken, this movie targets tweens and teens who, in my opinion are old enough to not be swayed by every little dissenting world view. The teenage years are an important time for an individual to begin to witness differing opinions while still under guidance of parental figures. In other words, by the time their children are teenagers, parents should move beyond simply telling their offspring what to believe, but instead tell them why they believe what they do and answer questions about everything else out there. Some believers attempt to construct a complete "Christian culture" to dwell in, the Ned Flanders bubble as I call it. That's a bubble I'd like to pop.

-Trial News Coverage
Micheal Vick is the latest in a long string of celebrity and non-celebrity trial frenzies that frustrate the hell out of me. I don't mind so much the occasional story on an IMPORTANT happening, but all to often the media flock to the courthouses and fill the waves with nonstop headlines about nothing. It doesn't matter if there's ever actually any progress in the trial, the coverage never stops. Every aspect of the proceedings is talked to death and I really don't care about the entire thing. I didn't care about OJ, I didn't care about Robert Blake, I didn't care about Paris Hilton, I didn't care about the yogurt shop murderers (that may just be an Austin thing) and I don't care about Micheal Vick. Maybe I'm in the extreme minority cause it seems as if everyone cares, but who knows, that may just be more media hype. Give me something of meaning, give me something not so continually morbid.

Disclaimer: There, I'm done for know. For those who do enjoy WOW and trial proceedings or really don't want to see Golden Compass, hey that's your thing. I don't understand it but to each his own. I'm sure most people would lift an eye at many of my habits. Please don't take it personally, I just don't understand you!

Tell Me Where I'm Wrong

The Bowl Championship Series has been a lightning rod for criticism ever since its inception 9 years ago. The bowl selection system, which combines human polls with computer ratings, matches up the "theoretical" ten best teams in the nation including the two best who meet at the official BCS National Championship game. Every year has been mired in controversy and this year is no different.

• 1998-99: In both '98 and '99 seasons the Kansas State Wildcats were excluded from any BCS bowl despite their respective #3 and #6 rankings.

• 2000: The 2000 season found itself in a three way race for #2 as Florida State, Miami and Washington all accumulated only one loss. Oklahoma easily beat Florida State for the Championship, however both Washington and Miami also won their bowl games handily, which would forever taint the Sooner's title.

• 2001: Nebraska beat out the higher ranked Colorado Buffalos and Oregon Ducks for the #2 spot in the championship game at the end of the '01 season despite not winning or even playing for the Big 12 title. The Huskers would end up being routed by Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.

• 2003: The '03 season found itself with 3 BCS conference one loss teams and despite its #1 human ranking USC was knocked out of the championship game by LSU and an Oklahoma team that lost in the Big 12 title game. 2003 would be the first season in the BCS era where two champions where crowed due to a technicality.

• 2004: Five teams entered the bowl '04 season undefeated, of which Auburn, Utah, and Boise State all were excluded from the championship game between USC and Oklahoma. All three would end up winning their respective bowl games.

• 2005: Due to an obscure clause, Notre Dame was chosen over the higher ranked Oregon Ducks for the last BSC at large bid.

• 2006: Florida beat out Michigan, Louisville, Wisconsin and undefeated Boise State for a chance to play undefeated Ohio State for the championship. Florida would end up beating the Buckeyes and claiming the title even though Boise State had beaten Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl to claim the only undefeated record of the '06 season.

• 2007: ...

As of Saturday night there is only one undefeated team (Hawaii) in the nation and only two one loss teams. (Ohio State and Kansas) In a season littered with top 10 upsets and ranking confusion the BCS system is now responsible for choosing just two teams to play for the championship game in New Orleans. Never has there such uncertainty in who are the two best teams in the country; never have there been so many who have valid claims to the top spots. Below are are list of teams from last weeks BCS rankings who have a compelling entitlement.

• Missouri- Their 11-2 record and two losses, both to Oklahoma will hurt them but their #1 ranking just one week ago confuses the issue. Despite being a solid team, Mizzou will most likely not receive a BCS bid at all due to highly ranked Kansas and Oklahoma.

• West Virginia- Both of Mountaineers losses came to unranked South Florida and Pittsburgh teams. Regardless of this, West Virginia backs into the Big East title due to a tie breaker, their only real claim to the title game.

• Ohio State- The Buckeyes won the Big Ten title handedly and claim a rare one loss record. However, OSU's one loss was to an unranked Illinois team and the Big Ten has been a notoriously lackluster conference as of late.

• Georgia- The Bulldogs are riding a a six game win streak but were excluded from the SEC title game and lost to unranked Tennessee and South Carolina.

• Kansas- The Jayhawks have been solid throughout the season and have only recorded one loss, however they were excluded from the Big 12 title game and their only loss to Missouri was their only game against a top ranked team.

• Virginia Tech- The Hokies haven't drawn a lot of attention through the season as their consistency has been in doubt. However their only were to top ranked LSU and a Boston Collage team which they beat last week to win the ACC.

• LSU- The Tigers only losses were to Kentucky and Arkansas, both in overtime. They have conquered the feared SEC and are likely to meet Ohio State in the title game.

• USC- The consensus number one coming into the season, the Trojans lost their composure to quality Oregon and Arizona State teams. Recently though, Southern California has been on a tear and have rapped up their sixth straight BCS berth.

• Oklahoma- Their losses to unranked Colorado and Texas Tech will hurt their cause, otherwise they have beaten top ranked Texas and Missouri and won the Big 12 title.

• Hawaii- Boise State's undefeated season last year has legitimatized mid major teams for a chance for the title.

• Arizona State- Although a long shot for the title game the Sun Devil's only losses are to top ranked Oregon and USC.

As of mere minuets ago, LSU will play Ohio State for the BCS title game in the Louisiana Superdome. If anything this year's race for the title proves that a 8 or 16 team playoff is desperately needed. Each of the teams on this long list deserve at least a shot, especially Hawaii. The BCS can still be used as the selection system for the playoff and the traditional bowl games can still exist outside of the playoff or serve as games themselves. However, randomly picking the apparent two best team belittles the trophy that we give. Why can't the gridiron be the deciding factor instead of a computer? They act as if a playoff is completely foreign to sporting.

Birthdays and Those Nagging Halloweens

I find myself wondering when I'll get a weekend. The two or so weeks that made up the Drama production of "Dead Man Walking" caused quite a lot of late nights and tried patience. I didn't have much time for homework or really much of anything outside of Jackson Auditorium. Through all the exhaustion was a good experience, but I'm glad for it to be over. Too bad "Rally" opens in less than a week and I probably wont have much of a life this week.

Anyway, wedged in the middle of the strenuous schedule a few weeks ago was my 19th. birthday; a fact that didn't stir up a whole lot of emotional stimulation. It's nothing new, true excitement over my approaching birthday quickly faded after about age 10. Sure, its still something to enjoy, but I discovered that I had better things to do than to emotionally writhe in anticipation. Looking back, this transformation my have had causation deeper than simple mental maturation.

Growing up in that homeschool environment that inevitably dooms all who enter to a limited social circle may have opened my eye's up to the sad truths regarding early adolescents before most others around me. My birthdays were a perfect example of this. Although I never really looked forward to the simple date of birth, for a period of 4-5 years, I highly anticipated the party that would bring all my closest friends together. So I would plan months in ahead and perfect ever aspect of the get-together, which I moved from late October to the Holiday break for the College Football National Championship game or to late January for the Super Bowl.

I hated hearing the excuses of too much school work, or not knowing in time so I made sure to give months of lead time and constantly remind my friends to run it through their parents. (a concept that never seemed to sink in) Some years were great and and really fulfilled the expectations I had for the party, but for the most part, my ego took a hit every year. Most everyone I would invite couldn't or didn't make time for one evening and for someone who doesn't attend a school everyday and has constant exposure to his peers it was a shot right to the heart. Much like the many end of school parties that haunt my memories, it was a vivid reminder that the majority of those who I thought enjoyed my company, in reality, couldn't have cared less.

My birthday parties were one of the many events that scarred my social growth and for a time caused my to give up on interaction completely. That phase didn't last long, but it's all part of my maturation in terms of interaction with others. God made us to be relational beings, but the majority of our associations are dominated by selfish cravings, which inevitably lead to heartache and bitterness. I've become accustom to it, it's just who we are as humans. I still need to remind myself often; I have the phrase "people will always fail to fulfill my expectations" on my cell phone welcome screen. I try my best to always selflessly interact with others while at the same time not throw a pity fit when others don't return the favor.

Another thing that sours my birth season is its proximity to Halloween. That's right, I'm not a fan. It's not that I hate the prevalence of "evil" like some hopped up religious nut. (although I've never quite understood the fascination) I've just never liked how commercialized it is, and that goes for most every holiday. I love spending time with friends and family during some time off, but as for the mass commercial festivities, I'd rather do without. I've never been one for dressing up, why do you think that day would be any different? I've also never understood why Halloween magically gives many "ladies" that right to dress up like, how should I say it... deviant little sluts? For some reason, we see Halloween as the day of the year to embrace "evil" as something to be celebrated, something that will forever bewilder me.

What's next? Thanksgiving and the dreaded Black Friday; yet another concept that grinds my gears. No matter, while some materialistic psychos spend hours grappling with other sleep deprived nut-jobs for inanimate objects I'll be relaxing with family and friends; giving thanks for life and its true joys.