Fists of Fury

Since it everyone else has commented on it, I thought that I would add my two cents. The event of course was the brawl and subsequent melee that took place last Friday at the Detroit-Indiana game. It would be pretty hard to avoid this one, since the event has been broadcast on every media outlet and commented on by every commentator incessantly since it took place.
I agree with the harsh penalty meted out to Artest. Granted the fans were lame but you should be able to control your own reactions. You may not be able to control anything else, so only worry about what you can control...your actions. Players have been pelted with batteries, beers, and everything else since the birth of organized sports, that's just the way it's been. If you are an athlete you know and prepare for this, you tune it out.
I also feel like the fans should pay some of the penalty. They fanned the flames and acted despicably. It becomes a lot more difficult, however, to exercise justice on the 10-15 semi anonymous people who committed these acts. Maybe you can revoke beer sales at future Detroit games. Maybe you can have Detroit forfeit a few home games. Something needs to be done to nip this kind of activity early.
Like they say, Sports is a reflection of society. It doesn't take a sociologist to point out that society is becoming more violent, more self centered, and less responsible. This didn't happen in a vacuum and we can't think that it did.

Book Learning

Ever since I have left the hallowed halls and ivory towers of academia I have sought to maintain a continual thirst for learning. It was in that spirit last week that I decided to browse amazon.com in search of some good reading. I had already created a list of books that I have always wanted to read so I naturally went to the title at the top of the list, "The Art of War".
My delight at finding the aforementioned title for only $4.99 was turned into sheer bliss when I was notified that I could get that book and book #7 on my list, "The Prince", for only $4 more. My mind raced with anticipation as I looked forward to wonderful evenings spent learning about very pertinent subjects from civilization's finest minds. No more evenings spent gloomily watching reruns on the history channel.
The next Friday I rushed home to claim my new prize, the books had arrived in the mail. I went inside and hurriedly opened up the package. I quickly pulled the copy of "The Prince" and some pocket sized pamphlet and turned the package upside down waiting for "The Art of War" to fall out. When nothing came out I reexamined the fallen contents. the pocket sized pamphlet was indeed the book! This great piece of literature had been reduced down to a 2" by 2" booklet with about 300 words. Didn't Sun Tzu write more then this? My disappointment and amazement were released in a loud chortle. I didn't decide whether this was really funny or if I had just been robbed of $5. I opted for laughter and decided to buy the book again, this time paying very close attention to the reader reviews supplied by amazon.com.
Since I don't know any Lilliputians I suppose that I will keep the book and use it as a conversation piece. Maybe I will keep it on my coffee table. Or maybe it can be kept and used by future children for usage in their doll collections. There are so many things that can be done with miniature books.

Randomizer (Volume I Series IV)

- The other day I heard a law official on TV declare that they were going to come down on a criminal with the "full weight of the law." If I were to ever commit a crime I hope that the person prosecuting me only uses 1/4th to a 1/3rd of the law, I don't think I could handle everything.

- Last night we hosted a house warming party. It was quite stressful because we invited a very diverse and eclectic set of guests, ranging from Shelley's flamboyant gay coworker to my conservative church friends. Suprisingly the experiment worked and by the end of the evening most groups had done an admirable job socializing with one another. It almost felt like we were conducting a sociological experiment measuring the conversational results of mixing up very different people.

Uncertainty 2004

I, like everyone else in the U.S., is following the presidential results as they trickle in....are exit polls really this accurate? Shelley and I voted this morning. Things ran very smoothly and the whole process took 20 minutes. I am very anxious to see this day end. One, because I am sick and tired of all of the political mud that has dirtied up my living room and. Two, because I really am nervous about the outcome.
While I strongly support Bush, I am tentatively getting myself ready to accept Kerry. He just doesn't seem decisive or charismatic and he bases his stances according to the breeze. But, I would rather accept a clean defeat then have to endure two months of uncertainty. I really hope that our nation can recover from the division that has been created through this campaign.