February 26, 2013

 1. With colleges and universities emphasizing online courses more and more, I think my grandchildren will be much better writers than those of us educated in colleges and universities in the last half of the 20^th century. By definition, online courses require more writing from students. More writing means more practice writing. More practice writing means better writing. Better writing means better writers. And come to think of it, better writers means less cheesy repetition that the readers will be forced to endure.

2. Last Wednesday night, somebody in Bible class mentioned they had read that Saturday Night Live had a skit portraying Jesus in a sacrilegious way. People everywhere were talking about it, so I decided to check it out. The skit was filmed and depicted Jesus coming out of the tomb, with guns-a-blazing, shooting up the bad guys. It was sacrilegious. And unfortunately, it revealed the way many in the world view American Christians who claim to be followers of Jesus. Consequently, they view Jesus as being somewhat like those who claim to be his followers.

3. I think the cover story in this week’s Time magazine is worth reading. It is a detailed and understandable look at why health care in the United States is so expensive. To me, the two most eye popping sentences were these: “We may be shocked at the $60 billion price tag for cleaning up after Hurricane Sandy. We spent almost that much last week on health care.”

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/20/bitter-pill-why-medical-bills-are-killing-us/#ixzz2M3jhA4ea

4. I was surprised but not shocked that Lincoln lost best picture to Argo. Personally, I cannot imagine anyone doing a better job than Spielberg taking an essentially dry, factual story and making it compelling—not to mention coaxing academy award caliber performances from his cast. Then again, Hollywood seems to want to keep him in check.

5. Here are my sports thoughts for the week:

            A. I pray that like Manti Te’o, Oscar Pistorius is proven innocent. I heard that Te’o has impressed many NFL scouts at the NFL Combine with his character and personality. Some say that after interviewing him they understand why he was “catfished.” They found him to be one of the most trusting human beings they have ever met.

            B. Tom Brady may have solidified his legacy by agreeing to a contract extension for far less money than he is worth on the market. He wants to win, so he left $10 million per year (or more) on the table so the team can sign more players of excellence.

         C. Something I had forgotten, Alex Rodriguez was willing to walk away from his historic $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers and sign with the Boston Red Sox in an arranged trade, but the players’ union nullified the deal. A-Rod wanted to win and make less… and the union stopped him. That says a lot about baseball a decade ago.

             *Thanks to Peter King for the inspiration for this title.