Smurfiness

So earlier today I was looking down at my blue jeans, blue hoodie, blue jacket, and blue mittens, thinking, 'Wow. My shoes are brown.'

That's all.

Beverage Review: Mountain Dew Throwback

I love my Mountain Dew. Since I started working at 5:30am every day, it has become my sole mode of survival. (Well, not quite, because there is tea.) So Mountain Dew Throwback, with real sugar, sounded like it would be worth a shot.

And it is. I almost feel like it's better for me, since sugar is natural and high-fructose corn syrup isn't. It's not as fizzy, but doesn't taste flat, and tastes perhaps a little more citrus-y.

The one thing I'm not too sure about is the after-taste. The pop feels like it coats the throat a little bit, and the taste stays there.

But the cans are cute, with a hillbilly on them (though apparently there are some out there that just look like cans from Piggly-Wiggly), and it's nice to have a little different flavor once in awhile. I'd say you should try it.

Gotta love Johnny Cash - pt. 1

I just started reading "Man in White: A Novel About the Apostle Paul," by Johnny Cash. Johnny did extensive research into the life of Paul, taking classes, reading commentaries and articles, and all that, but he also "discovered that the Bible can shed a lot of light on commentaries."
The book took him many years to write, and he got many different reactions when he told people he was writing it. For one:

A reporter asked me, "What is this about a new book you're writing?"
"It's called Man in White," I replied.
"Neat idea. Man in White by the man in black."
I nodded, waiting.
"What's it about?" he asked.
"The apostle Paul's conversion, before and after," I explained. "It's a novel."
"Nothing about yourself?"
"No, it happens in the first century AD."
"Really, a novel? Anything about prisons?" he laughed.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, Paul sang in prison. He sang a jail-breaking song."
"Really. What was the song?"
"I don't know," I said. "He and a guy named Silas sang a duet, but they never recorded it."

Happy 50th Birthday, Bubble Wrap!!!

Game show questions

*Why do people clap when a contestant finds the Daily Double on Jeopardy? It's not like they've gotten the question right.
*Why, on Family Feud, does everybody read the answers that remain on the board?
*What would happen if the wheel landed on bankrupt on the Final Spin on Wheel of Fortune?

Questions that plague me.

Success vs. Significance

When Outliers finally came for me at the library, I was in the middle of reading Uncommon, by Tony Dungy. I then finished Outliers, and went back to Uncommon, but it took me awhile to finally getting around to doing my Outliers review. So I finally did the review, and promptly picked up Uncommon to finish it. (Good book, by the way. It's written for young men, but anyone can get something out of it. In fact, Dungy's coauthor dedicated it to his daughters, "that they might hold out for someday spending their lives with uncommon men.")
Anyway...
So right after slamming Gladwell for saying that the man had made no impact on the world, I read this, "I believe that the imprint you are meant to leave on this world is not accidental or coincidental. Your life has been intentionally designed by God to have a uniquely significant and eternal impact on the world around you. Think about that for a moment - your life has been intentionally designed by God to have a unique and significant impact on everyone you meet, and many you may never meet."
There is such a difference between how Christians think and how the world thinks (or at least there should be). I'm so thankful for that. Dungy goes on to say, "What if we all lived our lives embracing that idea as true - what would our lives begin to look like? What would we attempt to do that we never would have attempted otherwise? What difference would we begin to make in the lives of those around us?"
Have I mentioned that I like Tony Dungy? Cuz I do.

Yahoo greeting of the day

Hi, Lucy Eleanor!
Now's a great time to yodel!

Book Review: Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell

This was an extremely interesting book. It was recommended awhile ago when I was looking for different types of books to read, and finally, after months on the waiting list, it finally came in for me at the library.

Success is often assumed to be the result of ambition and hard work. In this book, however, Gladwell makes the case that it has more to do with opportunity and the people who came before you. He has some very compelling points and backs them up quite well. The areas he chooses to address are varied (from professional hockey to computer geniuses to rice paddies), yet all seem to be well researched. I disagreed with him as far as his take on education, but had little problem with the rest of what he said.

Except for one particular instance. He was talking about a genius who had missed out on college for various reasons, and ended up doing a variety of jobs such as being a bouncer or farming. In his spare time he read academic journals and was working on a project involving physics and whatnot, knowing he'll never be published because he doesn't have letters after his name. Gladwell states, “Here he was, a man with a one-in-a-million mind, and he had yet to have any impact on the world.”

I found that offensive. If he wanted to say, "on the science world" or "on the academic world," fine. But to say he's never had "any impact on the world," is terribly wrong. Has Gladwell never seen "It's a Wonderful Life"? Everyone has an impact on the world. And there's a good chance it's for good. Maybe he bounced a guy who was giving a girl a hard time at a bar, who otherwise would have stayed until she left and then attacked her. Maybe he called a cab for a drunk who otherwise would've tried to drive home and killed someone on the way. We don't know. Saying that the man's never had an impact on the world comes across as judgemental.

Other than that, I liked the book and found it fascinating. I highly recommend it.

I need to do another post

I can still see that scary picture when I come here, and it scares me. I need to quick post something new so he'll go away.

Thank heaven for Elvis

#1 song 1955 was this

#1 song 1956 was this

Thank you, sir.

And happy birthday!

Scelerophobia

I am scared to death of Mike Lowell. Absolutely terrifed. I'm sure there are many things he can think of that he would rather do with a baseball bat than hit a ball. (But I mean this, sir, with the utmost respect. Please do not get angry with me.)
So imagine my horror when, last night, I apparently was involved in some relay obstacle course and my team was up against his team. There was a chance that I would meet up with him in the tunnel we had to crawl through. I was scared for my life. My teammates assured me, though, that since I was going second for my team and he was going seventh for his team, there was little chance of my meeting up with him.
Apparently they were right, and I didn't run into him. Casey Blake, on the other hand, his own teammate, didn't quite get so lucky. Lowell kinda worked him over a little. (Or at least it appeared that way when they came up the stairs from the subway.) I was very scared for him.
Then, somebody did my laundry and dried all the things I don't dry so all my clothes shrunk. It was horrible. The end.