Thursday Thirteen #9

Thirteen Things about Erin 13 Quotes from The Office 1. “I am a great interviewee. Why? Because I have something no one else has. My brain. Which I use to my advantage, when advantageous.” Andy Bernard 2. “That’s what she said.” Michael Scott 3. “Once I’m officially regional manager, my first order of business will be to demote Jim Halpert. So I will need a new number two. My ideal choice? Jack Bauer. But he is unavailable. Fictional. And overqualified.” Dwight Schrute 4. "Yes. It is true. I, Michael Scott, am signing up with an online dating service. Thousands of people have done it, and I am going to do it. I need a username, and... I have a great one. [types something] 'Little Kid Lover'. That way people will know exactly where my priorities are at." Michael Scott 5. “I swore to myself if I ever got to walk around the room as manager, people would laugh as they saw me coming, and they'd applaud as I walked away.” Michael Scott 6. “Guess what? I have flaws. What are they? Oh I don't know... I sing in the shower. Sometimes I spend too much time volunteering. Occasionally I'll hit somebody with my car. So sue me. No, don't sue me... that's the opposite of the point I'm trying to make.” Michael Scott 7. “In general, they do not give me much responsibility. But they do let me shred the company documents. And that is really all I need.” Kevin Malone 8. “So Ryan got promoted to corporate, where he is a little fish in a big pond. Whereas back here in Scranton I am still top dog in a fairly large pond. So who is the real boss? The dog or a fish?” Michael Scott 9. “I love inside jokes. I'd like to be a part of one some day.” Michael Scott 10. “You'll notice I didn't have anybody being Arab. I thought that would be too explosive...no pun intended. But I just thought, 'too soon' for Arabs. Maybe next year. The ball's in their court.” Michael Scott (after role-playing exercise in “Diversity Day” episode) 11. Okay, just so I understand it, in your wildest fantasy, you are in hell, and you are co-running a bed and breakfast with the devil.” Jim Halpert (to Dwight) 12. “A lot of people think that magic camp is just for kids, and that's why so many other people in my class were kids. Self-fulfilling prophesy. It's umm, really for anybody with a dream, and a belief in magic, and a little extra time after school.” Michael Scott 13. “Yes I have acted before. I was in a production of "Oklahoma!" in the 7th grade. I played the part of Mutey the Mailman. They had too many kids so they made up roles like that. I was good.” Dwight Schrute Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Nicholas 2. Amy 3. Nap Warden 4. Penelope Anne 5. Nicole 6. Sharon

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Wednesday SPLOG

Congrats to the Red Sox for winning the Series this year. Only 19 more championships to go to catch the Yanks, and 3 more to go to catch the Cards.

A-Rod opted out of his contract with the Yanks and will be moving on to another team. I'm thinking he lands with the Angels. They have money to spend, a hole at 3rd, and have wanted a big bat to pair alongside Vlad for a while. They should make the playoffs... and lose in the 1st round.

Continuing the Yankee theme, there was a changing of Joes at manager, from Torre to Girardi. It will be interesting to see what they do next year, with some young kids coming up, and no A-Rod disruption. I'm thinking they'll have one of the best years they've had for some time.

The NBA season got underway last night. My Finals pick? Spurs over Nets.

I had a rough week picking games last week. My buddy Mikey was spot on with those west coast games involving Oregon and Arizona State. I was looking for some upsets, and ended up getting burned. There were a couple of close games and a couple of overtime games that did me in. 3-7 last week, 9-11 overall. Let's hope for better results this go-round.

NCAAF
(1)Arkansas over South Carolina - Should be a tight SEC matchup. SC is coming off a couple of losses. The Razorbacks are at home, and McFadden should run roughshod over the Gamecocks.
(2)Florida over Vandy - I anticipate this to be a very close game as Vandy has played Florida very closely the past couple of years. I think the Gators can stave off the attack of the Commodores and Tebow, hopefully healthier than last week, will continue his Heisman quest.
(3)Oregon over Arizona St. - 2 top 10 teams going at it. The Devils' QB is ailing, and the Ducks' QB is aiming for a Heisman. Dixon carries the Ducks to victory, with hopes of a national title dancing in his head.
(4)Rutgers over UConn - Slight upset here. UConn's luck finally runs out as the Knights top the Huskies.
(5)Alabama over LSU - Think Saban'll be geared to go against his former team? Throw in the bye week they had to prepare and the fact that they'll be playing in front of a crimson crowd, the Tide roll over the Tigers.
NFL
(6)Kansas City over Green Bay - KC's coming off a bye week and playing at home. GB's coming off a short week and an emotional victory. The surprising Chiefs take one from the Pack.
(7)New Orleans over Jacksonville - The Saints have won 3 straight and appear to be among the NFC contenders once again. The Jags are without their starting QB. The Saints march.
(8)Oakland over Houston - Each team is winless in their last 3 games. Houston has some injury concerns. Raiders get the W.
(9)Detroit over Denver - In case no one's noticed, the Lions are 5-2. Denver is coming off short rest and the Lions are solid. Kitna leads the Lions to victory.
(10)New England over Indianapolis - And then there's only the regular season game of the year. I could rant about this game for a while, but I'll keep it short and sweet. I like the Colts better, but I think the Pats will win. This is the one game I hope I get wrong.

Weekly Poll

It seems that the last poll ended in a tie, with Diet Coke and Cherry Coke both receiving four votes. Since Cherry Coke is my favorite, I'm declaring it the winner. Just kidding! We'll just call it a tie, I suppose.

As you may have noticed from the countdown, there are 56 days until Christmas! Thoughts of Christmas got me thinking about holidays in general, so I thought it appropriate to make this week's poll about favorite holidays.

Which holiday is you favorite? Cast your vote, then comment here, telling us why you love that particular holiday.

HymnSunday - 10/28/07

Chris Tomlin - Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

What we've been watching

WATCHING
MOVIES
3:10 to Yuma: Erin and I saw this movie a few weeks ago and both agreed that it is our favorite movie of the year. Good chemistry between Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, a well-told story that will give you a jolt at the end.

TV
Aliens in America: This TV show is definitely the funniest of the new shows, and my personal favorite new show of the year. It has a Wonder Years feel to it, with the narration of a high school student who is struggling to fit in. The Alien part (if you didn't know) refers to a foreign exchange student (Raja from Pakistan) who is the narrator's tag-along.

Pushing Daisies: This was the most highly touted show going into the new Fall season. Personally, after giving it several episodes, I don't love it. It is definitely unique and quirky, but I find it a bit over-narrated and I don't feel a real attachment to the lead character, Ned. I was willing to give it a shot, but I'm about to give it the axe. The only other new show I watch regularly other than Aliens, is Chuck, and my interest in that show is beginning to wane as well.

Next Great American Band: This will fill my American Idol fix until AI returns in January. It is basically a battle of the bands, different styles, to see who gets the crown. I find it reasonably enjoyable for its niche of show. My pick to win: a country/rock band called Sixwire.

Have a groovy weekend.

Substitute Thursday Thirteener

Erin is busy grading papers and doing teacher-type duties, so I'm going to fill in and do a Thursday Thirteen. I'm not going to put up the cool graphic or anything, but here's my list of 13 favorite candy bars:

1) 100 Grand
2) Baby Ruth
3) Butterfinger
4) Carmello
5) Heath
6) Hershey's Cookies 'n Cream
7) Hershey's Extra Dark
8) Hershey's Symphony with Almonds and Toffee
9) Kit Kat
10) Milky Way
11) Reese's Peanut Butter Cup
12) Snickers
13) Twix (Caramel)

What're yours?

SPLOG Wednesday

The World Series is about to begin, the Rox vs. the Sox. I doubt I'll watch a great deal of it, but I'll tune in to hear the scores every once and again. As for my pick, my heart is with the Rockies, but my head is with the Red Sox. I'm a National League guy, and I have a general distaste for nor'eastern sports teams. I suppose I'll reluctantly pick the Sox in six since they've been there, and the Rox have had 8 days to cool off.

At first, I was slightly disappointed that Tony La Russa (aka TLR) returned to manage the Cardinals. Now that I've had a couple days to process it, I'm actually ok with it. It's nice to have a manager and team display this kind of loyalty. TLR is the Cardinals' all time winningest manager. He's been the manager for more than a third of my lifetime, and I welcome him back with open arms. Next step for the Cards, CHRIS ANTONETTI FOR GM. He'd be a perfect fit.

The Dolphins are trying to steal the #1 pick away from my Rams. Miami's starting QB is out for the year with a "concussion", and now their starting RB has a "torn ACL" and is done for the year. Maybe if the Rams work a little harder (or maybe less hard, as the case may be), they can attain the #1 pick, and stave off those pesky Dolphins.

On last week's predictions, I ended up 6-4 (3-2 in each college and the NFL). I'll take that. The plan is to make 10 picks every week between the college games and the pro games until college is over, then I'll figure something else out. But here's the thing, you aren't getting any fluff picks from the SPLOG. These picks will be the Lexus of picks, the créme de la créme. On to this week's picks:

NCAAF
California over Arizona St.
*Looking to get back on the winning track, and disrupt Az. St.'s thusfar perfect season.
Penn State over Ohio State
*#1 goes down at one of the toughest venues for opponents to play to an in-conference rival.
USC over Oregon
*The once highly touted USC still has title hopes. They just have to contain Heisman hopeful Dixon.
Connecticut over South Florida
*No more #2 ranking for USF. No more perfect season. No more magic.
Florida over Georgia
*I know aren't supposed to play connect the dots in College Football, but Tennessee stomped the Bulldogs, and Florida stomped TN.
South Carolina over Tennessee
*Spurrier looks to recover from his bad loss to Vandy. TN gets walked over again.
NFL
Denver over Green Bay
*GB is solid, but Denver's a tough place to play, as I said last week.
Buffalo over NY Jets
*Jets are reeling. Buffalo's due for a couple of wins after those close losses.
Chicago over Detroit
*Bears out to prove they're still among the NFC elite.
Philadelphia over Minnesota
*Battle of the 2-4s. The Iggles can outgun the Vikes. Who is Tavaris Jackson, anyway?

I've created a system for ranking my Heisman candidates, which I've dubbed the SSS (Stephen Scoring System). It takes into account Total TDs, Total Yards, Comp. %, Comp./400 ATT, Yards/400 ATT, TD/400 ATT, INT/400 ATT, opponent win%. Part of the thinking behind it is:
*Some teams throw a lot more than others, so making the stats per 400 tells what each candidate would do if they threw the same amount.
*Some schools have a significantly weaker schedule than others, so that should be taken into consideration.
*I've plugged in total yards and TDs to include throwing and rushing stats to show an all around depiction of their impact on the game.
*The reason for only QBs... I honestly believe the top 6 candidates are QBs. Hart and McFadden are next on my list and they're not having Heisman-caliber years, in my opinion.

I'm sure it's a far from perfect gage on ranking players, but here're the scores that I've given each player. The lower the number the better the score, you know, like golf:
1. Tim Tebow, FL, 2177
2. Graham Harrell, TT, +165
3. Andre' Woodson, KY, +484
4. Dennis Dixon, OR, +583
5. Colt Brennan, HI, +1615
6. Matt Ryan, BC, +2023

Weekly Poll

Great response on this week's poll question. Giraffe and the infamous "other" animal (sounds like something straight from the TV show Lost) each have 4 votes. I can only gather that 2 of the "other" votes were for the white tiger, 2 are a mystery, ergo, making Toys-R-Us very proud, the giraffe (one of the few animals we did not see at the zoo when we went) wins the hotly contested match-up of most popular zoo animal.

This week's poll. Soda. The delicious sugary, carbonationy, caffeiney beverage we all love to drink by the liter. I'm wondering, fair reader, which is your favorite kind of soda? To narrow it down, I'm limiting it to Coke products that you could typically find at a soda fountain in a restaurant, so Coke, Diet Coke, Cherry Coke, Sprite, Mr. Pibb, Mellow Yellow. I could name a couple more, but I'll limit it to 6.

You know what time it is? It's votin' time!

Happy Birthday!

9496 days ago, a child was born in Memphis, TN. That child would be named Erin Nicole Hetzel.

Fast forward slightly more than a quarter of a century, you will now find her with a new last name and a ring on her finger, you will find her an English professor at a university, and you will find her an intelligent, good, Godly woman who will someday make a great mother.

I use this day, Erin, on your 26th birthday, to give my appreciation to you as a wife and as a person. I love you and am so happy you married me. I can't wait to spend many more birthdays with you celebrating your life.


I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. Phil. 1:3

Now, a little diddy from a couple of my friends...

Zoo Time and Pre-Birthday Fun

Since we did not have a Pic O' the Week-O on Friday as we were busy having fun, I thought I'd post some pictures from our day at the zoo.

I don't know if you can see the little guy or not, but there's a baby burrowing underneath his mommy. The mommy could even carry the baby around with him hanging onto her belly.

The meerkats were very entertaining. I've never seen Meerkat Manor, but I'm tempted to check it out now.

Aww, so cute. I'm not sure which panda this is (there are 2 at the zoo).

We got to see the sea lion show, and it was so much fun! The male, Malibu, is in the foreground, and Chloe and Callie are in the back. Malibu definitely had the shortest attention span, as he often just jumped off the rock and went for a swim while the girls stood alert.

All in all, it was a very nice visit, despite there being about 3 million small children there on field trips. The weather couldn't have been more perfect, and the zoo has been improved so much since I was little. It used to be quite horrific, but whoever manages the zoo has really taken strides to provide a quality zoo experience.

After our trip to the zoo on Friday, Stephen and I made our way to Borders in the East Memphis/Germantown area. This may not sound like anything special, but ever since I moved back to Jackson, I've been depressed about the lack of quality bookstores here. All we have is Books A Million, and I can't even adequately express my dislike of that cement warehouse. I was spoiled in Knoxville by having a Borders, a Barnes and Noble, and TWO fabulous used bookstores, so living in Jackson is living in book poverty. The Borders in Memphis is really lovely, and I aquired two new books, Ann Patchett's Run, her newest novel, and George MacDonald's Phantastes, which I've been wanting to read ever since I read The Light Princess in children's lit. last semester. I've started reading Run, and it's fantastic so far.

On Saturday my mom and I went shopping for my birthday, and I found some really great clothes and had a good time just being with my mom. The great thing about my birthday is that there are always all kinds of fall sales going on, so everything I got, with the exception of one shirt, was at least 40% off. I love a good bargain. That night my grandparents, my brother and sister-in-law all came to my parent's house for dinner, and my mom made carrot cake from scratch, my absolute favorite.

Today Stephen surprised me with part 1 of my birthday present, beautiful red roses:

I can't wait until tomorrow!

Thursday Thirteen #8

Thirteen Things about Erin 13 Events of 1981, my year of birth My birthday is on Monday, so I thought I'd commemorate it by exploring important happenings in 1981. 1. Ronald Regan was inaugurated as the 40th President on Jan. 20 2. That very same day, the Iran Hostage Crisis ended. 3. On March 30, President Regan is shot by John Hinckley. 4. Apparently it's the year for assassination attempts, as Pope John Paul II was shot in St. Peter's Square. 5. The highest grossing film of 1981 is Raiders of the Lost Ark (love that movie!). 6. Chariots of Fire won the Academy Award for Best Picture (I've never seen that movie). 7. Sandra Day O'Connor becomes the first female Supreme Court Justice. 8. On July 29, Prince Charles married Diana. 9. On August 1, MTV Network debuted. They might have actually played some music videos then... 10. On September 12, Smurfs premiered. 11. Toni Morrison's Tar Baby was published. 12. On October 22, I entered the world. It was a good day. 13. The number one song on the day of my birth was, "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" by Christopher Cross. (To find out what your song is, click here.) Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Sassy 2. No Nonsense Girl 3. Lynn 4. Ellen B 5. Nicholas 6. The Gal Herself 7. L^2 8. Mama Pajama 9. Amy 10. Mitchypoo

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

SPLOG WEDNESDAY

The votes are coming in great on the zoo question. Keep 'em coming.

Slight change to the blogging schedule; on Wednesdays, I'll be writing a SPLOG, a sports blog, if you will. We'll bump reading/watching/hearing, or whatever it's called, to Fridays to platoon with Pic o' the Week-o... whichever Erin and I feel inspired to do. Or maybe there'll even be a double header. You'll just have to check in to find out. (How do you like that for a teaser?)

A splog warning: you'll get an overdose of St. Louis Cardinal, Florida Gator, and Orlando Magic news here, mixed in with the big headlines and my predictions. With that out of the way, let's get the first splog underway.

Headlines
The Rockies simply cannot lose no matter how hard they try. September 28th, they lost 4-2 to the Arizona Diamondbacks. That was the last time that they've tasted defeat. Since, they have won 10 consecutive games, 21 out of their last 22. In other words, they are 21-1 in their last 22 games, a 95.5% winning percentage. It's simply unheard of. They'll have an 8 day layoff before they face their AL opponent in the World Series. It's looking like that opponent will be the Indians. I picked Cleveland in the pre-season to win the whole kit and caboodle. The Rockies would be a great story, good Christian Manager Clint Hurdle, and the win streak. I generally root for NL teams, so I'll be happy whichever team unseats the Cardinals as World Champions.

Speaking of the Cardinals, (segue), they are still looking for a GM, and thus waiting to decide the fate of Manager Tony La Russa. Here's the solution plain and simple, : sign Chris Antonetti from Cleveland as the GM. Hire Terry Pendleton, former Cardinal player, and current hitting coach for the Braves, as manager. With his Atlanta ties, he can bring in Leo Mazzone as pitching coach. Bring back some of the old Redbirds to put on staff to increase morale among nostalgic fans like myself. Voila. Was that so hard?

My NCAA football prediction looks to be in peril. LSU lost last week to the upstart Kentucky Wildcats. They only dropped a few spots, however, and if they win out, should be able to get back into contention for the championship. It's been a wild and crazy year in college football with so many top teams losing. Looks like all the one loss teams who previously thought their seasons were over are back in contention. Maybe even one of the 2 loss teams. Who knows?

The New England Patriots are dominant. Barring injuries to key players, it looks like their focused to have an incredible year. Tom Brady is on an unbelievable pace. I'd obviously take them to win the Super Bowl if I had to pick now. I don't think they'll go undefeated. I'll say 1 loss, last day of the year when everyone sits, or possibly when they play at Indy. My Super Bowl pick, the San Diego Super Chargers, are getting better every week. They just acquired Chris Chambers from the Dolphins. He's a very solid receiver, which should help take some pressure off LT, and give Phillip Rivers a receiving threat other than Gates and Jackson. They've won a couple in a row and play in a weak division, so hopefully they peak at the right time.

Predictions
Cleveland will finish off the Red Sox. They'll have a nice rest before the World Series, where they'll beat the Rockies. The 8 day layoff hurts the Rocks' momentum. That takes nothing away from their marvelous run; one that I have never seen in my lifetime.

5 NFL Games
1. Detroit over Tampa Bay
*Lack of running game hurts the Bucs. Kitna and Co. will air it out enough to pull it out.
2. Houston over Tennessee
*André Johnson comes back this week. This team is really very solid.
3. Kansas City over Oakland
*Possible return of Priest Holmes brings emotion to the Chiefs. KC is better than I thought they'd be, even with a struggling LJ.
4. Denver over Pittsburgh
*Very hard to win in Denver. Shanahan figures out a way to win.
5. Jacksonville over Indianapolis
*Big upset in Florida. They'll run the daylights out of the ball and upset Peyton and his herd of Colts.

5 NCAAF Games
1. Tennessee over Alabama
*Vols playing fairly well of late, 'Bama is barely winning games they should be dominating.
2. Florida over Kentucky
*The Wildcats have to be worn out and beat up after the 3OT win vs. LSU. Florida's coming off a bye and 2 losses, so they'll be motivated.
3. Missouri over Texas Tech
*Bigtime shootout, but Mizzou's just a better team. The team that gets a stop wins.
4. Cal over UCLA
*Cal is better, but is coming off a hard loss, and in-conference games are always close. Cal rebounds.
5. Michigan over Illinois
*Being from Illinois, I'd love to pick my boys, but I just can't. Hart is back for the Wolverines, and Henne is more seasoned than Juice at QB. Maybe next year.

Weekly Poll

Very interesting poll results from last week. I continue to be enlightened by this information you're giving me. The results, 11/11 people have a blog only, 9/11 people are on Facebook, 4/11 people have a MySpace. I could have guessed that the blog onlys would lead the pack, but I figured more people would be on MySpace than the poll indicated. I wonder if that particular vehicle is more geared toward younger social networkers? Any thoughts?

This weekend, Erin and I are going to the zoo, not to be admitted into the zoo, but to view the beautiful array of God's creatures. We are going as part of my birthday present to Erin (the actual date is Monday the 22nd, so everyone wish her a happy birthday).

I use that preface to segue into the weekly poll. I know that whenever you go to the zoo, you look forward to seeing one particular animal. I'm picking 9 animals that are pretty common to zoos, plus an "other" category. If your favorite isn't included, pick the "other" option and comment as to what I failed to include.

Tune in this time next week to find which was voted the most popular zoo animal.

Poem of the Week: Sonnet XXXVIII

I love reading Sonnets of the Portuguese. Robert and Elizabeth had such passion for one another. When I first read this poem many years ago, the romantic in me sighed at the thought of my first kiss being a kiss upon my hand. :)

XXXVIII

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

First time he kissed me, he but only kissed
The fingers of this hand wherewith I write;
And ever since, it grew more clean and white,
Slow to world-greetings, quick with its Oh, list,
When the angels speak. A ring of amethyst
I could not wear here, plainer to my sight,
Than that first kiss. The second passed in height
The first, and sought the forehead, and half missed,
Half falling on the hair. O beyond meed!
That was the chrism of love, which love's own crown,
With sanctifying sweetness, did precede.
The third upon my lips was folded down
In perfect, purple state; since when, indeed,
I have been proud and said, My love, my own.

HymnSunday - I Am Resolved

“Christ hath made us free.” Galatians 5:1

Music: James H. Fillmore, Sr., 1896. Fill­more orig­in­al­ly wrote the song for use at the con­ven­tion of Christ­ian En­dea­vor in San Fran­cis­co. Four­teen trains of peo­ple sang the song on the way from Ohio to the con­ven­tion. Af­ter­ward, Fill­more asked Hart­sough, a writ­er on the staff of Fill­more’s mu­sic pub­lish­ing house, to write new words so the song could be of more wide­spread use.

***

I am resolved no longer to linger,
Charmed by the world’s delight,
Things that are higher, things that are nobler,
These have allured my sight.

Refrain

I will hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free;
Jesus, greatest, highest, I will come to Thee.
I will hasten, hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free;
Jesus, Jesus, greatest, highest, I will come to Thee.

I am resolved to go to the Savior,
Leaving my sin and strife;
He is the true One, He is the just One,
He hath the words of life.

Refrain

I am resolved to follow the Savior,
Faithful and true each day;
Heed what He sayeth, do what He willeth,
He is the living Way.

Refrain

I am resolved to enter the kingdom
Leaving the paths of sin;
Friends may oppose me, foes may beset me,
Still will I enter in.

Refrain

I am resolved, and who will go with me?
Come, friends, without delay,
Taught by the Bible, led by the Spirit,
We’ll walk the heav’nly way.

Refrain

Pic o' the Week-o

Apparently not everyone in the world is on board with Mr. Peace Prize himself, Algore, and his Inconvenient Truth. This isn't as much a "Pic" so much as it a list of errors in the King of Global Warming's junkumentary, saved as a picture file. It's ties in perfectly with Erin post from earlier.

Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize? I want one, too!

Thursday Thirteen #7

Thirteen Things about ErinThirteen of My Favorite Comedies (in no particular order) 1. Elf 2. The Princess Bride 3. Airplane 4. Monty Python and the Holy Grail 5. Big 6. Groundhog Day 7. Napoleon Dynamite 8. Legally Blonde 9. Office Space 10. Ferris Bueller's Day Off 11. The Money Pit 12. Monsters Inc. 13. Finding Nemo Runners-up: My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Back to the Future, and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure What are your favorites? Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Poll of the Week

There is a virtual cornucopia of options on the web for social communication and blogging. Blogs only include, but are not limited to, Blogger, Wordpress, Xanga, LiveJournal, etc. Other sites which may have a blogging feature but also include aspects of social networking include Facebook and MySpace. Even within blogs only, different sites provide different features and levels of user friendliness.

So this is my inquiry, fair reader, which of these particular sites are you involved in the most? The poll is set up for you to select multiple options if that best suits you. In the comment section, I'd like to know why you chose the venue of blogging/social networking that you chose. What about it do you like? What about the others do you dislike? If you use multiple sites, which one of them occupies the majority of your time?

The poll is open... now!

P.S. There are 8 straw users as opposed to 3 non-straw users. I'm fine with being in the minority.

You Are On Our Side

I interrupt this week's scheduled poem of the week to bring you a song by Bethany Dillon. Bethany is rather young, but she has extraordinary insight which finds its way into her songs. I love her because she doesn't write the typical Christian pop songs but writes songs that are challenging and soul-stirring, songs that often speak of a Christianity that is not easy but is absolutely vital. Her newest album is called Waking Up, and I'm posting the lyrics to the album's last song, "You Are On Our Side." (I haven't found an audio version yet, but if I do I'll post it as well.)

The orphan clings to Your hand
Singing the song of how he was found
The widow rejoices
For her oppressors are silenced now

You sit at the table with the wounded and the poor
You laugh and share stories with the thief and the whore
When You could just be silent and leave us here to die
Still, You sent Your Son for us
You are on our side

The runaway falls at Your feet
You are what he has searched for
The rich man is broken
When he stands beneath a sky full of stars

You sit at the table with the wounded and the poor
You laugh and share stories with the thief and the whore
When You could just be silent and leave us here to die
Still, You sent Your Son for us
You are on our side

Still, You sent Your Son for us
You are on our side

Thursday Thirteen #6

Thirteen Things about Erin Thirteen Things I'd Rather Do Instead of Grade Papers 1. Watch TV with Hubby. (Has anybody watched Chuck? It's my favorite new show.) 2. Cuddle with Hubby. 3. Eat meals with Hubby. 4. Pretty much anything with Hubby. 5. Admire the stargazer lilies Hubby got me for our four month anniversary. 6. Update my facebook profile. 7. Read feeds on Google Reader. 8. Play online Sudoku. 9. Catch up on spoilers. 10. Manage my Project Playlist. 11. Watch the shows I've recorded with DVR (The Ellen DeGeneres Show is a great relaxer.) 12. Play Monkey Kick Off. (My personal best is 4508. Can you beat me?) 13. Post my Thursday Thirteen (of course!). Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Amy 2. The Gal Herself 3. Lori 4. Journeywoman 5. Thomma Lyn 6. Susan Helene Gottfried 7. Nap Warden 8. Damozel 9. Secret Agent Mama 10. Robin 11. Nicholas

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Also feel free to vote in this week's poll, located on the left sidebar!

Poll of the Week

Erin wrote a tribute to straws a while back. We are on opposing sides of this issue. She loves straws, I only use one when necessary, e.g. when in the car, otherwise, no way, José. I want to know, I need to know, I must know... What is your drinking preference, straw or no straw?

Why do you prefer to use/not use a straw? What about it makes it preferable or not? Comment.

One week to vote, as always.

Vote your conscience.

P.S. People would rather be eaten by ravenous lions than burnt alive. Good choice, I say.

Pinch Blogger

Erin is allowing me to post a sports blog today in lieu of her poem blog. So here's a little something to tide you over until next week, a poem from the book Moxie Day and Family by Robert Pottle.

Grammar Lesson

Oh teacher, I fear that I misunderstood
whether I should use well, or if I should use good.
If roses had noses then how would they smell?
Would they smell good or would they smell well?

An Autumnal Fall

In a collapse of epic proportions, the New York Mets gave the NL East to the Phillies. Early Christmas gift, maybe. The Mets gave up a 7 game lead in 17 games, a span of games in which they went 5-12. Early prediction, Tony La Russa... next coach of the New York Mets. The playoff matchups: Yankees/Indians, Red Sox/Angels, Cubs/Diamondbacks, Phillies/Rockies or Padres. The Rockies deserve a lot of praise for going 13-1 in their final 14 games to give themselves a chance. A team that hot could potentially run right through the playoffs.

Now, don't confuse the following statement for bragging, but take a look at the prediction I made March 28th, Indians over Phillies in the World Series. Granted, I only picked about 2 teams per league correctly, but I'm sticking with my preseason picks. The round by round picks sure to be wrong... Indians over Yanks, Sox over Angels, Indians over Sox in the AL; D-Backs over Cubs, Phillies over the Pockies/Radres, Phillies over D-Backs in the NL, and Indians over Phillies in the Series.

NFL = Nobody (can) Figure (it out) League
And when I say nobody, I'm talking about myself. My Super Bowl teams (San Diego and New Orleans) have a combined record of 1-6, and my surprise team of the year (the St. Louis Rams) are well on their way to the top pick in the draft (Glenn Dorsey?). At least in the NFL, it's better to be horrible than mediocre (because of the draft), so here's to hoping for a 2-14 year from the Rams. Here's my first quarter of the season Super Bowl re-pick: Patriots and Cowboys. I'm nothing if not a bandwagon jumper. I love what the Packers and Lions are doing in the NFC, but Dallas is the best all around team in that conference. The Patriots just look completely dominant and consistent, scoring 38 points in each of their first 3 games.

Tigers and Bears, Oh my!
It was a week chock full of upsets. #3 Oklahoma, #4 Florida, #5 West Virginia, #7 Texas, #10 Rutgers, #11 Oregon, and #13 Clemson all fell from the ranks of the unbeaten. I didn't expect Florida to be as good as they were, so I'm not all that upset about them losing (watch out next year). I was disappointed by West Virginia's loss since I had them in the championship game with LSU. I have no idea who to put in their spot. It might very well be the team with the best record in the state of Florida. Not Miami, UF, or FSU, but the Bulls of South Florida. If they can go undefeated the rest of the way (big if), and the rest of the top 10 teams have at least 1 loss, which is probable, they make a strong case. Tough games among the top 10:

1. LSU: Florida, Kentucky
2. USC: Arizona, Oregon, Cal, Arizona St., UCLA
3. Cal: UCLA, Arizona St., USC, Washington
4. Ohio St.: Michigan St., Penn St., Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan
5. Wisconsin: Illinois, Penn St., Ohio St., Michigan
6. South Florida: Rutgers, Cincinnati
7. BC: Virginia Tech, FSU, Clemson
8. Kentucky: South Carolina, LSU, Florida, Georgia
9. Florida: LSU, Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina
10. Oklahoma: Texas, Missouri

Ok, let's play it out. LSU wins both of their tough games giving Florida 2 losses, and knocking them out of contention. Kentucky receives their first loss, but will lose to LSU again in the SEC championship game. Two losses and goodbye to KY. I'll say USC loses to Cal and UCLA thus knocking them out. Ohio St. loses to Wisconsin and Wisconsin loses to Illinois this weekend, S. Florida will win out, BC loses one to FSU, and Oklahoma should win out. That leaves the current top 10 undefeateds at LSU, Cal, and S. Florida. Give Cal the edge to go against LSU in the BCS Title game. How confident do I feel with that pick? About a 2 on a 1-10 scale. What's your pick?