January 22, 2013

1. I think first lady Michelle Obama was correct in affirming Walmart’s decision to offer jobs to all veterans who receive honorable discharges, “We all believe that no one who serves our country should have to fight for a job once they return home.” Kudos to Walmart, and I hope more corporations and businesses follow their cue.

2. I read in this week’s Time that humans throw away 50% of the world’s total food production—about 1.2 billion tons of food. Wow! You would think we could figure out a way not to waste so much.

3. Today marks the 40^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. I tweeted and Facebooked this morning about the irony of the national conversation concerning the ban of assault weapons, while legalizing them when it comes to the tiniest of human creatures. Having said that, I want to say something more positive. I am encouraged by the small but growing trend for the Pro-life cause. Technology has changed the national conversation. It is much more emotional to destroy a living person, whom you can see so clearly in the womb. I predict someday civilization will view abortion the same way it views slavery.

4. RIP Abigail Van Buren. I’ve collected various columns (“Dear Abby”) she has written through the years. I’ll add another thanks to SI’s Peter King. He noted, “Abby was a woman-empowerer and common-sense-maker. I remember one of her responses, when a woman bemoaned how old she would be if she went back to school in her late '30s to get a college degree, and Abby wrote: ‘Well, how old will you be in five years if you don't go back to school?’” Wise words.

5. RIP as well, Stan Musial. I did not have an affection for him as a boy like I did Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle, or that I later had for Ted Williams. However, in my adult years, I’ve grown to admire and appreciate Musial more. He had great baseball numbers—especially his batting average—and and from all accounts he was an amazing human being.

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

January 15, 2013

1. E-cigs, anyone? I read this week in Time that electronic cigarettes are projected to generate $1 billion in sales this year. Targeting smokers who desire to quit, an E-cig works by using a sensor, microprocessor, battery, LED, heater, and nicotine cartridge to "atomize the cartridge’s liquid and produce a nicotine vapor." Wow! That is a sci-fi concept that even The Jetsons missed. So effective is the product, more and more smokers are dropping cigarettes and smoking E-cigs–without any intention to stop. Some marketers are forecasting a commercial success similar to the energy drink explosion. Still, I’ll pass on investing.

2. If you like business, can I recommend a book to you? I am not a Ted Turner fan, and I never have been. However, I found an unabridged audio version of his autobiography Call My Ted…

and loved it! It’s the story of his risk taking, adventurous, and visionary life. (Historian Harold 

Evans called Turner one of the most important innovators in American history.) What 

fascinated me was the fact that Turner spent the first 20 years of his adult life borrowing 

money for his new business endeavors. Every time his ideas came close to paying off, 

he would have a new vision, borrow more money, a place himself on the precipice of disaster. Finally, in the 90s when CNN and his other networks became financial and critical successes, 

he began to slow down. A few years later, he found deep disappointment in his merger with 

Time Warner and AOL. Turner reads the book himself, which lends itself to humor and 

authenticity. He also has associates, friends, and even enemies share stories along the way. 

Find yourself a copy of this book, and listen or read it.

3. I was saddened to read that two deaf brothers, living in Belgium, asked to be euthanized after discovering they were gradually growing blind. The brothers were only 45, yet doctors complied with their wish. Here is a link: http://news.yahoo.com/deaf-twins-going-blind-euthanized-165500992--abc-news-topstories.html;_ylt=ArESHGDvd538mN4GMaQDZW7yWed_;_ylu=X3oDMTUwYXZzYWZlBGNjb2RlA2N0LmMEbWl0A0FydGljbGUgTW9zdCBQb3B1bGFyBHBrZwMzNGRkMzA5Ni1jNjc1LTM0ZTgtYWRkZS1kN2IyOWQ1Y2Q3MDEEcG9zAzMEc2VjA01lZGlhQkxpc3RNaXhlZE1vc3RQb3B1bGFyQ0FUZW1wBHZlcgNkNzFiYmJjMy01ZTgwLTExZTItYmNmZi03MjRkYmRlNjBkNmQ-;_ylg=X3oDMTJ0ZDJucHEyBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDNDZmY2VhNTQtZTFhMC0zYTQ3LTgwZGMtMGIzNjI5ZjdkMzA5BHBzdGNhdAN3b3JsZHxhc2lhBHB0A3N0b3J5cGFnZQ--;_ylv=3

4. I was also saddened to read that ESPN veteran Stuart Scott’s cancer has returned. My prayers have gone out for him.

5. RG3, Russell Wilson, and Colin Kaepernick are living the life Tim Tebow dreamed of. Unfortunately for Tim, they all throw better than he does. I hope he takes solace knowing he helped pave the way for their success. We are seeing what experts said would never happen—pro offenses in the NFL dominated by running quarterbacks who can throw well. A new era in pro football has arrived.

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

January 8, 2013

1. I think this week’s TIME magazine cover is remarkable: “40 YEARS AGO, ABORTION –RIGHTS ACTIVISTS WON AN EPIC VICTORY WITH ROE V. WADE… THEY’VE BEEN LOSING EVER SINCE.”

2. I think Pink, more than any other artist today, captures the essence of what lies inside the hearts of teenage girls. Let me explain.

            My opinion is based upon reading the most intimate thoughts of high school seniors and college freshmen–as expressed in their spiritual autobiographies and reflection papers for the past 12 years. Reading how some of these of these girls saw themselves, and reading about their wounds, makes you feel for them profoundly.

            As for Pink, here is a warning: warning: she can at times be profane and crude. Still, she is speaking to these girls. Her songs express their battles with low self-esteem, eating disorders, and reveal the pain they feel in their hearts. Here are some examples of her lyrics from a song her recording company cleaned up for radio:

You're so mean when you talk

About yourself, you are wrong

Change the voices in your head

Make them like you instead

Done looking for the critics 'cause they're everywhere

They don't like my genes, they don't get my hair

Strange ourselves and we do it all the time

Why do we do that? Why do I do that? Why do I do that?

Ooh, pretty, pretty, pretty

Pretty, pretty please, don't you ever, ever feel

Like you're less than, less than perfect

Pretty, pretty please, if you ever, ever feel

Like you're nothing, you are perfect to me

You are perfect to me

            Everything is spiritual. I hope Pink can someday know the Lord.

3. Last week, I was drinking coffee in a Dallas Half Price bookstore when a funky song came on that haunted me. It must have been stuck in my subconscious mind. Fortunately, I pulled my handy iPhone out, which I stuck next to the speaker. The app identified the song as “Time to Pretend.” The group MGMT released it in 2008.

            The song is a masterpiece in that it critiques the 1960s psychedelic drug culture. The band performed the song on Letterman in 2008, ending it with a riff from Jim Morrison's “Light My Fire.” There was a reason for this. No one epitomized the decadent lifestyle of the sixties more than the Doors’ lead singer, Jim Morrison. Listen to these lyrics:

This is our decision, to live fast and die young.

We've got the vision, now let's have some fun.

Yeah, it's overwhelming, but what else can we do.

Get jobs in offices, and wake up for the morning commute.

Forget about our mothers and our friends

We're fated to pretend…

I'll miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms

I'll miss the comfort of my mother and the weight of the world

I'll miss my sister, miss my father, miss my dog and my home

Yeah, I'll miss the boredom and the freedom and the time spent alone.

There's really nothing, nothing we can do

Love must be forgotten, life can always start up anew.

The models will have children, we'll get a divorce

We'll find some more models, everything must run it's course.

We'll choke on our vomit and that will be the end

We were fated to pretend

To pretend

We're fated to pretend

            You may know that Jim Morrison traveled to Paris, dated models, shot up drugs, and died in a hotel bathtub in 1971, choking on his own vomit, after injecting himself with heroin. He was 27.

            If you care about these things, Rolling Stone lists the song as number 493 of their 500 greatest songs of all time.

            The video of the song is on YouTube. The one crude word in the song is silenced. Remember these are young rockers, they are not Christians. That is what makes the song’s critique so compelling to me. Incidentally, if you watch the video, you will see psychedelic artwork that evokes memories of the sixties. What I like, though, is their reference to the classic novel “Lord of the Flies”—probably a fitting symbol of the sixties. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/user/MGMTVEVO

4. I'm sticking with my preseason prediction of Houston and San Francisco facing each other in the Super Bowl. However, I must admit my confidence is lagging. I'm also the guy who predicted halfway through the season that Dallas would make the playoffs and play well. Obviously, I was wrong there. Having said that, I thought the Cowboys played amazingly during the stretch drive. They had a terrible toll of injuries, and in spite of this Tony Romo was magnificent—interceptions against Washington notwithstanding. Wait until next year!

5. Alabama, you have my respect. Especially, you, Nick Saban.

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

 

December 18, 2012

1. I was very pleased by the beginning of President Obama’s speech on Sunday to the people of Newtown, Conn. In the face of that horrific tragedy, the president referred to and quoted from Scripture extensively. In a time of unspeakable tragedy, it was significant that our president took us to our greatest potential source of comfort. One YouTube post cut that part out—a sure sign that the Judeo-Christian worldview came through.

2. Saturday night, Judy and I took in the Robert E. Lee production of the musical WHITE CHRISTMAS. As a chaser, we watched the Bing Crosby/Danny Kay movie last night. I was surprised that the stage version is so different than the movie version. For example, in the movie, General Waverly leaves the WWII European front because he is being demoted. In the stage version, he has to return to the states to receive an operation on his wounded leg. I liked both, but the movie version lasts only two hours, compared to the stage version’s duration of three hours. If I must vote, therefore, I vote for the stage version.

3. I think the Texas Rangers did the right thing in letting Josh Hamilton go. There is no way the team’s income can support signing him to a contract like the Angels. Having said that, I fear that we will look back on Hamilton’s time with the team as the golden years. I wish they would have won at least one World Series during that time—the window of opportunity has closed.

4. If you want to read a book to help you emotionally understand that beautiful actresses do not have it made, read Portia De Rossi’s book Unbearable Lightness. Tormented by her homosexual feelings and her physical self-loathing, she does a tremendously effective job of communicating her insecurity and fear. Those twin evils fueled her eating disorders and self-destruction. At one point, her weight dropped below 90lbs. (Photos from that time in her life break your heart.) I bet most females in the country reading the book think to themselves, “I’m glad I’m not her.” Remarkable.

5. I know I wrote on this yesterday (http://markedgeremarks.blogspot.com/), but the more I think about Lev. 25 and Deut. 15, the more I am challenged by those two passages.

*Thanks to Peter King for the inspiration for this blog's title.

December 11, 2012

1. I think LeBron James is a lot better guy than I had previously thought. Sports Illustrated

has a terrific article on him in this week’s issue where he is named SPORTSMAN THE YEAR.

 Not only has he financially helped a lot of people, he has given them the gift of his time.

 In addition, he is an extremely intelligent ballplayer; some of his coaches all him a genius.

 Here is a link to the article: http://www.sportsillustratedeverywhere.com/issues/protected/com.timeinc.si.web.inapp.12102012/index.html

2. I avoided reading His Excellency George Washington for several years. Recently, I made the decision to give it a shot, and was thoroughly impressed. The historian, Joseph Ellis, author of the Pulitzer prize-winning book Founding Brothers, also wrote this biography. It is short, it holds your attention, and it gives you an effective global view of Washington's life and career. Ellis produces the most balanced view of Washington. He shows him to be a great man, but a man who has weaknesses like all others.

            I have read other books on Washington, including James Thomas Flexner's four-volume biography. However, this work by Ellis is definitely the most enjoyable. If you can only read one book on George Washington, read this one.           

3. I have no desire to see the new movie musical Les Miserables, but I hear the singing is very good. Also, I read that is an unusual film in that the singing was recorded on-location rather than in the studio. I do respect that.

4. I was disappointed in the documentary on former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara. It was called The Fog Of War. I had heard about it for several years. In the film, McNamara recounted some of the reasons why he made the decisions that he made in the Vietnam War. The movie does not offer much new information.

5. That was a gutty win Sunday, Cowboys.

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

December 4, 2012

1. I think I want to see the Steven Jobs biopic when it arrives at theaters. Here is a link to the photo released by the studio of Ashton Kutcher as Jobs:

http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/04/photo-ashton-kutcher-as-steve-jobs-in-jobs/?hpt=hp_bn9

2. I think if you have a high tolerance for secular culture, the movie BLUE LIKE JAZZ gives an accurate portrayal of what you can expect to see in our nation’s future.

3. I am sad to see that Frankie Muniz, the actor who played Malcom in “Malcom in the Middle” suffered a mini-stroke last week. He is only 26.

4.  A couple of weeks ago, I finished Evan Thomas' new book Ike’s Bluff President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World. Thomas wrote this for popular consumption, and he succeeded in producing a work that the public will like.            

            Thomas’ premise is that President Eisenhower drew from his poker playing skill to bluff China and the Soviet Union into restraining themselves from engaging in nuclear war. Thomas, from the beginning, makes a strong case for his central point; however, I found the last half of the book repetitive. It was as if he had to stretch his material in order to write a full book. Do not let that discourage you though; it is still a very good read.

            Through the years, I've been blessed with the opportunity to read a number of books about Dwight Eisenhower, and Thomas has some information, due to recently declassified documents, that is fresh and new. Moreover, access to the diary of Eisenhower’s personal physician offers dramatic insight to the delicate balance the president had to maintain between stress and health. Thomas’ narration shows a close correlation between the stress of the presidency and Eisenhower's various health problems. These included a heart attack, various stomach ailments, and a stroke. Eisenhower's physician recorded his need to give Eisenhower a sleeping pill during the middle of the night to help him go back to sleep.

            All of this makes sense. Eisenhower is the first human being in history who has to cultivate a strategy for the hydrogen bomb. Nothing in history compared to this exercise. Furthermore, Eisenhower potentially faced unspeakable consequences. He had to manage thermonuclear bombs, address the reality that other nations on the planet had atomic weapons that could destroy his country, all the while knowing that any combination of moves could conceivably destroy life on this planet. I think I would have health issues as well were I to make these decisions.

            The book's best quote was this, “Lincoln went to war to save the Union. Eisenhower avoided war to save the world.” That one line describes the burden and the glory of Eisenhower presidency.

            The 20th century birthed a man who organized the greatest military invasion in human history. It also birthed a man who had to address the possibility that hostile nations could have literally wiped his nation from the planet. It just so happened that both men resided in the body of Dwight Eisenhower.

            Who knows? Maybe he should be designated the man of the century.

5. When you say a prayer tonight, pray for one of our elders, David Smith. He is fighting for his life.

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

November 27, 2012

1. I think you don't build sons simply in the house; rather, you build sons hunting on the creek, working in the yard, or playing on the football field. Likewise, you don't build disciples simply in the "House of God." No, you build disciples hunting on the Creek, at the work place, playing on the football field, or in YOUR house.

2. Sorry to see last week that we lost actor Larry Hagman; I guess this was no shock considering he cheated death a couple of times before. While acutely aware of the DALLAS spectacle, I must admit I have never seen an episode in my life.

3. While I’m no fan of Notre Dame, I’ve got to salute the Fighting Irish on their season—really remarkable. I think they have a chance to defeat either Alabama or Georgia in the BCS title game.

4. My daughter, Haleigh, and I saw the movie LINCOLN last week. We both enjoyed it very much.

         I found it different from what I expected it to be. Steven Spielberg so often directs movies that generate a lot of emotion: think E.T., or SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. Emotion was what I was expecting with LINCOLN. Instead, it was a much more analytical movie. The plot focused on Lincoln’s intense effort to get the 13th amendment passed by Congress. That was thought provoking, but not very emotional. Nevertheless, there were some very poignant moments.

         For example, scenes of Lincoln walking around the White House during the middle of the night… pondering his next move in a chess match in which he appears to be beaten.

         Also, I found the portrayal of the intense personal atmosphere of the White House of the 1860s to be touching. People flocked in constantly. There were very few places the First Family could go for respite. You have the sense that the whole world was closing in on the Lincolns. (I’m sure that was a big reason Lincoln would often retreat to the Soldiers Home—outside Washington—during the summer.)

         Daniel Day Lewis does an incredible job as Abraham Lincoln. I would not be surprised to see him garner his third best actor Oscar. Furthermore, Spielberg would be no surprise as best director and LINCOLN would be no surprise to win best picture.

         I think you should go see the movie.

5. I think that if you like popular music, the song “Little Talk”, by the Icelandic band, OF MONSTERS AND MEN is a whole lot of fun.

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