It may not work, but...

TebowDontGo.com is a website created by a Gator alum in order to convince Mr. Tim Tebow to stay in school for one more year. If you think that Tim another year of "academics" under his belt, you should sign the petition.

More Propaganda

A good video about economic stimulus packages and its detrimental effect on the economy.

Also, I have three hours of the softest rock on my computer. Get ready to live! If you are going to be in Gainesville Friday night, be sure to stop by.

"I know that's true. I've seen it. I'm living it."

If you know me, you know I am a big Pete Carroll fan.  In fact, that is where I got the phrase "jacked and pumped." It is a Carroll-ism. He is a super positive coach who is running one of the country's premier college football programs. However, that is not why I like him so much. I read an article about him in LA Magazine last year about the man off the football field. 60 Minutes decided to run a piece very similar to it. It is worth the 12 minutes.

Watch CBS Videos Online

I love it when people use their status to better the world around them.

Topsy-Turvy Gators

The Gators are losing Dan Mullen and there is a lot of talk about his replacements. There was a great piece in Saurian Sagacity* about potential replacements.

Some interesting names are being bantered around as replacements on the offensive staff, including Kerwin Bell. The idea of bringing Kerwin back to the University sounds great to me, especially when you consider his relationship with John Brantley – the next great QB at Florida. Kerwin was also be an excellent asset in recruiting the middle and northern parts of Florida (remember Mullen wasn’t big in recruiting). If Tim decides to stay, you would like to think Kerwin could help Tim in the passing game. If Kerwin isn’t the man, I would like to see Greg Brandon get the call. For those of you that don’t know, Brandon was Meyer’s OC at Bowling Green and got the job when Meyer left for Utah. Meyer and Brandon developed Meyer’s version of the spread-option. In my opinion, this would be the fit with regards to continuity.

I think both of those options would be very positive for the Gators. It would be interesting to see these develop further because, to be honest, I was never really too keen on Mullen in the first place. Granted, I was being a spoiled Gator fan a lot of the time that I criticized him. But I was not the only one baffled by some of his decisions. How many times over the past couple years have we been dumbfounded by our offenses inability to perform despite the level of talent? I'm not saying we are going to be better off or that Mullen is a bad coach--the OC for a team that has been to the BCS championship game 2 of the past 3 years-- but that we are not in as dire straits as a lot of people think.

* As a footnote, Saurian Sagacity is a great blog! I would suggest it to any Gator fan or college football enthusiast. The writer does a great job of creating stats that better represent the state of the game. Also, he is a UF alum...which is fine.

Why I Love Percy

Anyone who does not think Percy Harvin is one of the best players in the country is stupid or crazy or both. I think that he will prove that when he is drafted this coming April in the first round. Despite being one of the most dynamic players in the country, Percy is not at all frustrated about lack of touches.

“If I was with another team, I would be putting up way bigger numbers. But I’ll take a championship over a Heisman any day...This team, we have a lot of playmakers that I don’t even care (about touches). Like Tim said, if I need to take over a game, I feel I can do that. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. You can take all my numbers away.”

Maturity is playing a big part in the Gators success as of late. It is great to see a junior come out and say this because it really makes a statement. Big egos have no place on the Gators. Only players who work hard and do their job. 

A great example of this is David Nelson. Over the past three seasons, David Nelson has found his only playing time comes about during blowouts or on blocking assignments.  But it seems all that hard work has paid off because he is on Urban's good side as of late. Nelson had his best game of his career with 3 catches and a touchdown against 'Bama. I have to say, I am pumped about Nelson contributing as a senior next year.

Go Gators!

Shout Out

My computer is officially broken. Hard Drive = Death. The good news is my good friend Andrew has come to the rescue. Not only can he fix it, but he let me borrow his Powerbook so I could do my school work. So this post is for you A-Coch. You are great.

Finding the Words

I have been posted a lot about my beliefs in reformed theology. I have talked about the total inability of humanity and the perseverance of the saints in regard to their salvation. These beliefs are not really of much controversy; that is why I led with them. However, I would like to begin discussing the doctrine of election aka predestination. 

J.I. Packer defines it here:

The biblical doctrine of election is that before Creation God selected out of the human race, foreseen as fallen, those whom he would redeem, bring to faith, justify, and glorify in and through Jesus Christ.

The Westminster Confession of Faith talks about it here:

III. By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life; and others foreordained to everlasting death.

John Calvin----says it here:

Let us rest ourselves upon our Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that He hath not deceived us, when He caused it to be preached that He gave Himself for us, and witnessed it by the Holy Ghost. For faith is an undoubted token that God taketh us for His children; and thereby we are led to the everlasting election, according as He had chosen us before.

Personally, I'm a fan of St. Augustine because he predates most theologians:
God elected believers; but He chose them that they might be so, not because they were already so...Neither are we called because we believed, but that we may believe; and by that calling which is without repentance it is effected and carried through that we should believe. 

Now that's dropping some 5th century knowledge on ya, lawya. But in all seriousness, I'll throw down on some biblical in a later post. 

About Some Posts

As a former history major, you have to cite your work to the max. I realized that I haven't really cited where I get most of my religious information from. MONERGISM.COM . It is pretty much the be all, end all of reformed theology. It basically provides a map to where you can find information on a ton of stuff. It is a really great resource. So check it. 

About the Perseverance of the Saints

The perseverance of the saints means that all those who are truly born again will be kept by God’s power and will persevere as Christians until the end of their lives, and that only those who persevere until the end have been truly born again.

- Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (pg. 788)

If our religion be of our own getting or making, it will perish; and the sooner it goes, the better; but if our religion is a matter of God's giving, we know that He shall never take back what He gives, and that, if He has commenced to work in us by His grace, He will never leave it unfinished.

- C.H. Spurgeon

For non-reformed theologies..."at the end of the day, the security of the believer finally rests with the believer. For those in the opposite camp [Reformed], the security of the believer finally rests with God -- and that, I suggest, rightly taught, draws the believer back to God himself, to trust in God, to a renewed faith that is of a piece with trusting him in the first place."

- D.A. Carson

When we speak of “once saved, always saved,” we are not taking into account the full scope of salvation. We have been saved (justification), was/are being saved (sanctified), and we will one day be saved (glorified). You cannot claim to have been “saved” (justified) unless you are being sanctified. Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord.

- Michael Horton from Putting the Amazing Back into Grace (pg. 171)

The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is something that resonates deep inside my soul. It is true comfort. It destroys doubt. It liberates the believer. The truth of this doctrine is like coming up for air. Beyond that, it is coughing up the water in your lungs. For some reason, I'm trying to swim in concrete shoes. Enough with the analogy. Here's some biblical.

What God begins, he finishes

Psa 138:8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Ecc 3:14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.

Isa 46:4 even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.

Jer 32:40 I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.

Rom 11:29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

Phi 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

2Ti 4:18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safety into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 

Of all whom he has called and brought to Christ, none will be lost

Joh 6:39-40 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

Joh 10:27-29 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

Rom 8:28-31 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Rom 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Heb 7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Heb 10:14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

God's preservation of the saints is not irrespective of their continuance in the faith

1Co 6:9-10 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will

inherit the kingdom of God.

Gal 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Eph 5:5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Heb 3:14 For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

Heb 6:4-6 For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they then fall away, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

Heb 10:26-27 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

Heb 12:14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

Rev 21:7-8 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.

Rev 22:14-15 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

However, it is God who sanctifies us and causes us to persevere

Joh 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

1Co 1:30-31 He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

1Co 6:11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

1Co 12:3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit.

1Co 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

Gal 3:1-6 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain - if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith - just as Abraham "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"?

Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Phi 2:12-13 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

1Th 5:23-24 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

Heb 13:20-21 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

1Jo 2:29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

Jud 1:24-25 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Saturday

Two years ago, the Gators blocked THREE kicks in the Swamp to keep our national championship hopes alive. It probably won't be any easier this Saturday.

Comments on Total Depravity

I find that total depravity is one of the least debated points concerning reformed theology. It seems that everyone goes along with the idea. However, I think this is because people do not understand the full ramifications of accepting this belief. 

People want to agree that they are not perfect. No Christian thinks they receive salvation because they are so awesome(if you do think this, you may have missed the point). After all, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick...For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners(Matt. 9-11-13)."

Packer describes total depravity in this manner:
"Total depravity entails total inability, that is, the state of not having it in oneself to respond to God and his Word in a sincere and wholehearted way (John 6:44; Rom. 8:7-8 cited below). Paul calls this unresponsiveness of the fallen heart a state of death (Eph. 2:1, 5; Col. 2:13)..."

Jesus states in John 6:44:

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day."

Paul states in Romans 7-8
"...the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God."

The implications of a belief in the total depravity/inability opens the door to other beliefs such as the doctrine of election or predestination. I would like to explore these connections in future blogs. For now, I'll leave it short and sweet. 

Note: Total depravity should not be confused with the theological concept of utter depravity which R.C. Sproul describes as "to be as wicked as one could possibly be." I believe the doctrine of utter depravity to be wrong and non-biblical.

The New Posts - Total Depravity

This is my first post in my attempt to discuss some of my religious convictions. I was going to try to display some of these ideas in my own words but I think so many people have already said it better. This particular section is written by J.I. Packer from his book Concise Theology.

"Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me" (Ps. 51:5)

Scripture diagnoses sin as a universal deformity of human nature, found at every point in every person (1 Kings 8:46; Rom. 3:9-23; 7:18; 1 John 1:8-10)...This moral deformity is dynamic: sin stands revealed as an energy of irrational, negative, and rebellious reaction to God's call and command, a spirit of fighting God in order to play God. The root of sin is pride and enmity against God, the spirit seen in Adam's first transgression; and sinful acts always have behind them thoughts, motives, and desires that one way or another express the willful opposition of the fallen heart to God's claims on our lives.

Sin may be comprehensively defined as lack of conformity to the law of God in act, habit, attitude, outlook, disposition, motivation, and mode of existence. Scriptures that illustrate different aspects of sin include Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 12:30-37; Mark 7:20-23; Romans 1:18-3:20; 7:7-25; 8:5-8; 14:23 (Luther said that Paul wrote Romans to "magnify sin"); Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-19; Hebrews 3:12; James 2:10-11; 1 John 3:4; 5:17. Flesh in Paul usually means a human being driven by sinful desire; the NIV renders these instances of the word as "sinful nature." The particular faults and vices (i.e., forms and expression of sin) that Scripture detects and denounces are too numerous to list here.

Original sin, meaning sin derived from our origin, is not a biblical phrase (Augustine coined it), but it is one that brings into fruitful focus the reality of sin in our spiritual system. The assertion of original sin means not that sin belongs to human nature as God made it (God made mankind upright, Eccles. 7:29), nor that sin is involved in the processes of reproduction and birth (the uncleanness connected with menstruation, semen, and childbirth in Leviticus 12 and 15 was typical and ceremonial only, not moral and real), but that (a) sinfulness marks everyone from birth, and is there in the form of a motivationally twisted heart, prior to any actual sins; (b) this inner sinfulness is the root and source of all actual sins; (c) it derives to us in a real though mysterious way from Adam, our first representative before God. The assertion of original sin makes the point that we are not sinners because we sin, but rather we sin because we are sinners, born with a nature enslaved to sin.

The phrase total depravity is commonly used to make explicit the implications of original sin. It signifies a corruption of our moral and spiritual nature that is total not in degree (for no one is as bad as he or she might be) but in extent. It declares that no part of us is untouched by sin, and therefore no action of ours is as good as it should be, and consequently nothing in us or about us ever appears meritorious in God's eyes. We cannot earn God's favor, no matter what we do; unless grace saves us, we are lost.

Total depravity entails total inability, that is, the state of not having it in oneself to respond to God and his Word in a sincere and wholehearted way (John 6:44; Rom. 8:7-8). Paul calls this unresponsiveness of the fallen heart a state of death (Eph. 2:1, 5; Col. 2:13), and the Westminster Confession says: "Man by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation; so as a natural man, being altogether averse from that good, and dead in sin, is not able by his own strength to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto" (IX. 3)

Genetic Lottery Winner

A good article about Myron Rolle. You may know him has a defensive back for the Florida State Seminoles. However, he is so much more than that.

Rolle is a finalist for one of 32 Rhodes Scholarships, which would provide an all-expenses paid two or three years of study at Oxford in England. It's a remarkable achievement for a Division I football player, but not a surprise if you know Rolle. The junior graduated in just over two years and is studying to become a doctor. In between, he has started 30 straight games since his freshman season.

Not only is Myron Rolle a potential first-round draft pick but he is a potential Rhodes Scholar. I am absolutely baffled at how someone can be so disciplined. Does he have any free time? How do you finish your undergrad in two years, move onto a doctoral program, excel enough to be considered a Rhodes scholar, and commit yourself to playing Division I-A football? Do you ever sleep? Are you a robot? Some student-athletes can barely make grades. 

My favorite part is how deals with it among friends and teammates.

"Yeah, some of my friends and fraternity brothers, they're like, 'Man, you can get drafted in the first round or whatever, man you'd get all this money, what would pass that up for?'" he said. "I'm like, 'You just don't understand. This is big time...This is a lifetime of learning and a lifetime experience I'll be able to partake in if granted the award."

Kudos to you Mr. Rolle. You are both a gentleman and a scholar.

Permissible, Not Beneficial

I have been struggling a lot lately with politics--which is a stupid and fruitless endeavor. Most of my Gainesville friends adhere to some sort of liberalism as their primary political philosophy. I do not understand this. After reading this article, I have a better understanding.  

"What do liberals and libertarians have in common? The fundamental value of liberty. What do liberals and libertarians disagree about? What liberty means." Liberals...see threats to liberty from concentrations of private power and will continue to defend government as a means of combating those threats.

It makes sense. I still do not agree with it but at least I have new perspective. Life is all about gaining perspective for me. Sometimes, I am just too shortsighted. 

In the end, it isn't that important. It's not like liberal ideals compromise the sovereignty of God or something. That brings me to my next point. I am going to try to use this blog more to talk about my religious convictions--specifically reformed theology-- and how I deal with them.

The Free Market Is Not Your Enemy

A response to Alan Greenspan blaming deregulation for the housing boom:

Greenspan Has No Free Market Philosophy

Opponents of the free market are giddy at Alan Greenspan's declaration that the financial crisis has exposed a "flaw" in his "free market ideology." Greenspan says he is "in a state of shocked disbelief" because he "looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholder's equity"--and it didn't.

But according to Dr. Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights, “any belief Greenspan ever had in truly free markets was abandoned long ago. While Greenspan long ago wrote in favor of a truly free market in banking, including the gold standard that such markets always adopt, he then proceeded to work for two decades as leader and chief advocate of the Federal Reserve, which continually inflates the money supply and manipulates interest rates. Advocates of free banking understand that when the government inflates the currency, it artificially increases prices and causes booms in certain sectors of the economy, followed by inevitable busts. But not only did Greenspan lead the inflation behind the dot-com bubble and the real estate boom, he blamed the market for their treacherous collapses. Greenspan should have recognized that what he wrote in 1966 of the boom preceding the 1929 crash applied here: ‘The excess credit which the Fed pumped into the economy spilled over into the stock market--triggering a fantastic speculative boom.’ Instead, he superficially blamed ‘infectious greed.’

“Should it be any shock that Greenspan now blames the free market for today's meltdown--rather than the Fed's policies, which fueled an inflationary housing boom, which rewarded reckless lenders and borrowers from Wall Street to Main Street? Greenspan didn't mention the word ‘inflation’ once in his testimony.

“Whatever Greenspan's economic philosophy is, it is not anything resembling a free market.”

In case you forgot...

Colt McCoy wears assless chaps to gay bars.

Great Site!

SteepAndCheap.com is my new favorite website. It posts a product at an extremely discounted price(usually over 50%) and sells there supply until it is gone. After the product is gone, they bring in a new product. It is great. Best of all, the stuff is usually hiking-related or eco-friendly.

Right now, the Origo Rendezvous Peak Series Altimeter Watch, usually $170, is going for $68. 

The products change about every 2 hours. It is a fun thing to check on when you are surfing the Internet waves of boredom.

Buying What They're Selling

This is an excerpt from an article refuting the woes of middle class and the "recession." The whole article can be viewed here:

Terry Fitzgerald, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, says...(f)ar from declining..."the economic compensation for work for middle Americans has risen significantly over the past 30 years."

The mistake made...is looking only at wages, narrowly defined. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers, adjusted for inflation, fell by 4 percent between 1975 and 2005. But those figures deceive because they omit fringe benefits like health insurance, pensions and paid leave, which make up a bigger share of total compensation than before. The numbers also rely on a mismeasure of inflation.

When those flaws are corrected, a very different trend leaps off the page. Median wages, says Fitzgerald, rose 28 percent between 1975 and 2005. Nor were the gains restricted to Bill Gates and Hannah Montana: Significant gains occurred in the middle as well.

The same pattern holds for households. The figures that suggest families are struggling to stay even overlook some types of income, and they don't account for the fact that households have gotten smaller on average. After accounting for such things, Fitzgerald found that "inflation-adjusted median household income for most household types increased by roughly 44 percent to 62 percent from 1976 to 2006."

None of this alters the fact that some people have done worse. Domestic and global competition, which raise living standards, also spell trouble for many companies and workers. A 50-year-old who loses a $30-an-hour job on the Chevy assembly line may never find anything comparable. But the steady, broad rise in living standards makes it clear that—at least until recent months—our economy consistently spawns more good jobs than it destroys.

Thanks to American capitalism, ordinary workers and families are better off today than they were a decade or a generation ago. In the midst of scary economic times, that's a heartening fact to keep in mind."

Boredom!

The Neverending Fun Page

This website is awesome and a great way to kill time. 

Mr. Two Bits

George Edmundson

Thank You

Pre-K for All!

An interesting piece about universal pre-kindergarten:

With Obama most likely being our next president, there is a high possibility of universal pre-kindergarten being a part of America's future. This video discusses how UPre-K would be a bad idea.

O-Line

I love offensive linemen. They are my favorite players on the field because they make everything happen. Good protection leads to a good passing game. Good run blocking leads to a good ground game. However, these unsung heroes are usually overlooked by the media unless they are a Jake Long or Orlando Pace.
That is why I am giving LG Carl Johnson some love this week in my blog. Johnson got the job after Jim Tartt went down a couple of weeks ago. The Gator line looked pretty darn good in his 1 start vs. LSU. Here are Johnson's comments after the LSU game:

Referring to Ricky Jean-Francois's comments:
"Somebody calls you out in your own house, what are you going to do? Barbecue or mildew? You pick."

Referring to grade A beef's superiority over Louisiana fried chicken:
"Either you eat steak or you eat Popeye's Chicken. Me personally, I love steak. I don't want no Popeye's Chicken."

Greatness.

Vote or Die!

I am not using this clip as a statement to promote one party over another. I just thought it was funny.

The McCreadys

"Marriage is the death of hope."

-Woody Allen

I tried to find the most depressing thing I could say about marriage. I think I won. Either way, two friends of mine are getting married today. I think it is the tops. I met Mary and Steve at Thursday Night Frisbee when I first moved to Gainesville. Steve thought I was Max and I body slammed Mary for no good reason. Three years later, they are getting hitched! 

PS Woody Allen has been married three times, not including his 12-year relationship with Mia Farrow. 

Lew Alcindor

I decided to change my blog name. I thought it would be a good idea to change it because I spend very little time training Maggie or subbing. I hope this helps my blog become Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 

Or at least World B. Free. 

This also serves as a nice introduction to basketball season. The NBA has already started their preseason. The Gators will start soon enough. I can't even explain how pumped I am about this season. For the Heat, it is seeing if some players(Beasley, Quinn, Anthony, Blount) can perform. For the Gators, it seeing if we got any heart and inside presence(both closely related to Mo Speights).

Almost National Champions

If you know me, you know I do not care for the bailout. Not one bit. It goes against all the things I believe about government and the market. I think it sets a dangerous precedent. I have been thinking about the bailout and the Great Depression because the media seems to think they are one in the same. Either way, I found an interesting article out of UCLA about the Depression and government intervention. 

"The fact that the Depression dragged on for years convinced generations of economists and policy-makers that capitalism could not be trusted to recover from depressions and that significant government intervention was required to achieve good outcomes," Cole said. "Ironically, our work shows that the recovery would have been very rapid had the government not intervened."

Final Four losers

George Mason University economist and author Russell Roberts, who blogs at the always interesting Cafe Hayek, sat down with reason.tv to talk about the nation's shakey economy and the government's bailout plan. Watch this six-minute interview to learn where the problems came from, why the bailout won't address them, and what sort of hurt we're in for over the next several weeks, months, and years. "The real cost of this," warns Roberts, "is that we have said to people, 'Risk taking is not as risky as it used to be.' That's a mistake. It's a horrible mistake and it will lead to a lower standard of living down the road because investment will be more cavalier and less prudent."

The Doctor is In

The video clip is of Lou Holtz defending his choice of Tim Tebow being a better quarterback than Colt McCoy. Holtz "loses" the argument to Mark May--McCoy supporter--and assumes the cameras are off. You can watch the rest for yourself.

The Fountainhead

I started reading some Ayn Rand this week. It is all apart of this focus I have on politics as of late. It has happened during the last two presidential elections. Last election, I voted for John Kerry. The vote was cast for two reasons: opposition to George W. Bush and ostentatiousness. Since 2004, I have come to realize that the role of the government, as set forth in the Constitution, is to protect the personal and property rights of every American. I believe that this is at the heart of the Republican message. However, the last 70 years have seen this message change a dramatic amount. 

That is why in 2008, I am voting for Bob Barr, the presidential candidate of the Libertarian party. If you value the importance of the Constitution, your rights, and the free market, I suggest you do too. Otherwise, we will have another four years of legislating morals, foreign occupation, and economic clusterf*cks.

A wise and frugal government which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government.

- Thomas Jefferson

Conan O'Brien

The new Ben Folds song is featuring Regina Spector and is called "You Don't Know Me." It is directed by the wonderfully funny Tim and Eric. It is a pretty good video. I saw the live version on Consy last night. 

Gators are on today! Redemption will be sweet in Fayetteville.

Comedy

Bone Crusher is a judge on Iron Chef America. That's right. Bone Crusher. The rapper. If you don't know who he is, you might know it from this song.

Anyway, this is his profile on FoodNetwork.com

Bone Crusher

From: Atlanta

Profession: Rapper/Rock Star/Actor/Cook

Interests: Food/Music/Good Times

Ideal secret ingredient: Garlic

Culinary inspirations: Grandparents

Favorite restaurant: Busy B's

Favorite food: Healthy soul food 

Food you won't go near: Pork

Weirdest thing you've ever eaten: Jalapeño ice cream 

Favorite food destination: Germany because it tastes like the 80's

Alternative dream job: I got it!

Sarah Silverman and Jonah Hill make this the most amazing voting PSA ever.

"Who cares the economy's in the toilet? Who gives a shit? I don't care. I have so much money."

"I've never fought a war on drugs. I've never done shit on drugs besides played Halo 2."

"Darfur? I don't even know what the fuck that is. That sounds like a t-shirt company to me."

"You can literally register to vote while pooping...if you have a laptop."

"I'll wait too...I'm gonna take my bra off under my shirt."

"Rampant like herpes but for positive."

Vasco Da Gama

Gasoline Heart

They are a great band. I got into them because the frontman used to sing for a good band called The Kick. So when I heard he was in a new band, I checked them out. I listened to them a lot last summer when I was driving the Nashville, Cincinnati, and Cleveland triangle. Now, I'm hooked again this week. They are also a product of the 27th state. 

I smell like chlorine all the time. Which is fine.

The Get Up Kids

I don't like that many things. Here's a list of some things I do like.

Sex Monster

Legal Pads

Open Water Swimming

Piebald

Fall and Spring

Miami Heat

Full Sleeve Tattoos

Grey's Anatomy

Short Stories

Tim Keller

Groomsmen

Mix CDs

Iced Coffee

Library East

Sandals

New Underwear

Crosswords

Pandora

Confederate Jasmine

Wilco

Mountains

Frisbee

Friendship

By no means is this list complete. Just some things. I might write a short story soon. 

I don't really try to succeed in school. I try to not fail. 

Bob Barr is a good guy. I think people should give third parties a chance. First and second parties are just so silver and gold.

Sailor Jerry and Swedish Vodka

Seriously, the Gators should never lose to Ole Miss again. That is all. But there is a ton of football to be played. An SEC championship is not out of the picture. We just need to win some ballgames. Also, Tebow needs to be in the open field and treat everyone like he treated Laron Landry.

The Marlins season is over. They had a great year considering the expectations. If you told me that the Marlins would have been in the playoff picture until the last month of the season, I would have been thought you were crazy. We got some good young players. We could use a quality closer. Next year...

Gator basketball starts soon. The Heat are also close to starting up. I love basketball! Dwyane Wade is one of my favorite athletes of all-time. He is also a gold medalist and an American.

The Redskins are playing pretty good football. I don't want to jinx anything. Jim Zorn is great for Jason Campbell.

To Ethan and Travis: it is good to have the blogs back.

To Valerie: Welcome to the community.

The Jon Voight car is no more.

I studied in the Grand Reading Room at Library East today. It is a beautiful spot. Great windows, great light, great atmosphere. I suggest it to anyone looking for a quiet spot. 

Blogging has been good lately. I don't even think I am saying anything important. It is just nice to write.

Thought of the Day

You always do what you want to do. Think about it. Even if you say you would rather do something else, in actuality, you are already doing what you would rather do. Whether it is homework or eating brussels sprouts, your will is always achieved. There is no choice; you just do it. 

Home Improvement

Tim Allen is the greatest American actor of the late 20th century.  I am continually impressed with his ability to use jocularity to address some of the most important issues of our time. Although "Home Improvement" has been off the air for almost a decade, his art will echo through the generations much like the works of Shakespeare or Hawthorne.

Daytime Television

TV is such a huge waste of time. I'm losing my day to Grey's Anatomy and Oprah. I am a middle-aged woman. I have a van and drive my kids to soccer practice. Do we have any flour? I need to get dinner on the table.

I came to realization this week that I would not mind moving out of Gainesville. I like it here. It's nice. But it changes every year. I might be trying to hold on to something that doesn't really exist anymore. I have some great friends here. They would be why I stay. At the same time, those friends are changing. Everything is changing too fast for my liking.

Passion tea. It comes in a purple bag. It is red like Kool-Aid. Megan brings it home from work. I need a tea to remind me about passion.

About the Blog

Last night, I thought about my post after I put it up. Sometimes, I am immediately regretful of what I do. Rarely do I publicly admit these regrets. But what is wrong with me posting what I was thinking at the time? It was my best attempt at being honest. 

Well, I'm watching "The Dark Knight." Good movie. My back hurts from laying down. I should go to bed.

Late Night Ramblin' Gamblin' Man

I get the urge to do lots of things. 

Things that I will never do. 

It is human of me to experience these urges. 

The times when your stomach wells up some choking need inside your body. 

The need to run. 

Not run away. 

It is not the urge to abandon. 

It is the urge to experience. 

Something tells you that life is not all you have made it out to be. 

Life is not reading blogs. 

Life is not studying history. 

It is not categorizing books. 

Life is something else. 

But what is it? 

What is it? Find it. Search for it. Look hard. Like you lost your keys. Pursue it. Empty. You end up empty. These romantics urging leave you empty. 

Life is not found in thick nostalgia. 

Life is not found in the urgings of your gut. 

That is where bile is found. That is the truth of the flesh. Pursue the world.  Chase after the fleeting. Long for the empty dreams. 

"You have helped me rekindle the joy of my salvation." 

Copycat

I was not married the last time I wrote anything. In my break from blogging, I have realized that I am not as into this scene as I originally wanted to be. It is kind of sad. But whatever. So I'm not saying goodbye forever but probably a good long while.

Where's Jack McCoy when you need him?

From the first time I heard "Seven Curses" by Bob Dylan, I was drawn to it. There is so much depth to the story in only 9 verse. It is quite an incredible feat of songwriting. Though the idea for the song is based on an older folk song and the credit should not be granted entirely to Dylan, the message conveyed is undeniable. 

Old Reilly stole a stallion
But they caught him and they brought him back
And they laid him down on the jailhouse ground
With an iron chain around his neck.

Old Reilly's daughter got a message
That her father was goin' to hang.
She rode by night and came by morning
With gold and silver in her hand.

When the judge he saw Reilly's daughter
His old eyes deepened in his head,
Sayin', "Gold will never free your father,
The price, my dear, is you instead."

"Oh I'm as good as dead," cried Reilly,
"It's only you that he does crave
And my skin will surely crawl if he touches you at all.
Get on your horse and ride away."

"Oh father you will surely die
If I don't take the chance to try
And pay the price and not take your advice.
For that reason I will have to stay."

The gallows shadows shook the evening,
In the night a hound dog bayed,
In the night the grounds were groanin',
In the night the price was paid.

The next mornin' she had awoken
To know that the judge had never spoken.
She saw that hangin' branch a-bendin',
She saw her father's body broken.

These be seven curses on a judge so cruel:
That one doctor will not save him,
That two healers will not heal him,
That three eyes will not see him.
That four ears will not hear him,
That five walls will not hide him,
That six diggers will not bury him
And that seven deaths shall never kill him.

There is something about the brevity of a well-constructed short story that provides the reader with the opportunity to peel back the layers in search of the truth behind the story. 

Anyway, it is mos def bedtime for bonzo.

"Where you going?" "I don't know."

Every now and again, I come across these moments of sobriety where I am more capable of reflecting on my life(life being my goals, dreams, ideals, faith, etc). It is in these times that I get my best(and mostly only) journaling done. During this weekend, I realized that my life is out of line. 

-My goals are based around money. 

-My dreams hinge on possessions. 

-My ideals revolve around my desires. 

-My faith is stagnant. 

I suppose getting to somewhere that growth is possible needs to become the destination. However, growth is more elusive than it needs to be in my life. Instead of craving spiritual milk, I crave self-sufficiency. The last thing I want is help and help is the first thing I need.  

So how do I squash my pride? Is it really possible? The answer is no. Pride is unavoidable because humanity is totally depraved. Now, does this mean that God is incapable of working through me and sanctifying me? Can God purge me of my pride ever so slowly? Yes. He most definitely can. Will it happen during my lifetime? No. 

Fatalism is a word that comes to mind. Foresight is another. I cling to the former and have very little of the latter. This is the crux of my life's problems.

"I see, in one place, God in providence presiding over all, and yet I see, and I cannot help seeing, that man acts as he pleases, and that God has left his actions, in a great measure, to his own free-will. Now, if I were to declare that man was so free to act that there was no control of God over his actions, I should be driven very near to atheism; and if, on the other hand, I should declare that God so over-rules all things that man is not free enough to be responsible, I should be driven at once into Antinomianism or fatalism.That God predestines, and yet that man is responsible, are two facts that few can see clearly. They are believed to be inconsistent and contradictory to each other. If, then, I find taught in one part of the Bible that everything is foreordained, that is true; and if I find, in another Scripture, that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true; and it is only my folly that leads me to imagine that these two truths can ever contradict each other. I do not believe they can ever be welded into one upon any earthly anvil, but they certainly shall be one in eternity. They are two lines that are so nearly parallel, that the human mind which pursues them farthest will never discover that they converge, but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring." - Charles Spurgeon

I cannot help but pursue the lines to their end. 

2-2 Top of the Sixth

Women's softball has never been my sport of choice. However, I find myself getting worked up in the middle of Game 1 of the Women's College World Series(The inner Gator fan does not discriminate based on sport). The University of Florida must be better than everyone at everything. Sometimes, my dedication to team sports baffles me. For those of you who are not sports fans, I am sure it baffles you as well. But for the avid sports fan, you might not understand my conviction. 

The moral of the story is everything is permissible but not beneficial. 

Jack McCoy

My brain shuts off every time I come home from work. I always have the best intentions of blogging/journalling and doing something productive with my afternoon. However, Law and Order has a different plan for my afternoon. Well, that's it. Maybe something later.

GRE and FSU Application

I am taking the GRE on Wednesday. My graduate school application is due at the end of the month. I really don't know if this is the right decision for my life. The main motivation is doing something that I find remotely interesting that will allow me to provide for my future wife and the eventual family. So that is my life right now. Booooooring!

Jack London

I haven't had a whole lot to say lately. I think my brain isn't functioning on its proper level.  It's probably from all the Moe's and White Fang. 

Please Baby Please

I returned from Nashville, TN yesterday. The trip was made in order that I may visit my good friend Ryan Meyer and see his band's CD release show(Sophia). I came to figure some things out though during the trip. I'll use bullets to display them.

1. My goal in life is to be safe

2. I am more than capable of scarring people with my words

3. If it were not for Jesus Christ, nothing good would ever come from me.

1. Safety is a fatal goal. It is the destroyer of life. It is also my most worshipped idol. In fact, as I write this, I am debating with myself whether or not it is safe for me to write this. I am weighing the pros and cons. Is it okay to be this honest and open with everyone? What will people think of me if they read this? Regardless, while attending the Anchor Fellowship, I realized that I am pursuing safety to its unavoidable end - death. 

2. I do not think the ability to harm people with words is unique to me by any means. However, I forget the incredible power of speech on most occasions and say things that are neither good nor uplifting. My tongue is my rudder and it has been steering me in circles.

3. It is hard to use words to encompass the emotion behind this realization. Only if you have come to this same conclusion can you possibly understand what I am talking about. God has rescued me from the doldrums. 

My First Blog

I am continually trying to do something that will garner respect from the masses. This is my most recent attempt. My previous blog imploded after the Nashville Incident. So let us start over. 

I'm Sam.