Oh! Heck Yeah!!!

GEEK ALERT! GEEK ALERT! GEEK ALERT! With the Rockets' postseason failings and the Yankees' increasingly alarming season, THIS certainly comes as exciting news... The main challenge now is how am I ever gonna find the time to play with two kiddoes!?! Then again, knowing Blizzard and their history of notorious release delays, maybe the kids will be in college and out of the house by the time it comes out.

Back to the trivial...

Trivial in the grand scheme of things, that is. But, nonetheless still meaningful to me... What am I talking about? Rockets, Yankees, Texans, oh my!

Admittedly, I'm not a huge Texans fans, but I do want them to succeed b/c they're a Houston team, so I hope they do well in the upcoming draft. A successful Texans team is good for Houston in general, I think - in a trickle-down economics sorta way.

Rockets up 2-0 against the Jazz in the playoffs... can't really complain about that even though they haven't been at their best. I'm so glad I was wrong about my early season prediction when Yao went down. Hopefully, this two game lead won't be like the two game lead they had against Dallas two years ago. If I believed in jinxes I wouldn't have said that. It's a good thing I don't believe in such things. Besides, I prayed that Jesus would grant the Rockets success against the Jazz (and you know how Jesus feels about Utah... all those Mor... um, never mind... heh heh), and if it be his will, a championship, so there you have it - the 2007 NBA champions, your Houston Rockets!

<Sigh... and double sigh> It's early in the MLB season, but my venom for the Chowdah-heads is already at it's peak, then again, I don't think my feelings fluctuate much during the off-season. What can I say about my Yanks??? They put up a good fight against the enemy with their diluted starting pitching, but alas, they got swept, and to add insult to injury, they lost to the perenially pathetic D-Rays the next day. Hopefully, they'll return the favor when the enemy visits this coming weekend. There are some positives though - Pettite is pitching surprisingly and remarkably well (sorry 'Stros fans); the Yanks were able to score 6 runs off Matsuzaka (normally, I root for all Asian professional ballplayers, but the fact that Dice-K plays for the team-that-must-not-be-named is too much for me to bear); and finally...

A-Rod... HOLY COW!!! He's on pace to hit like a million home runs this year! That would be like $27 per dinger, which would make his salary an absolute bargain... speaking of which, I just can't fathom how the Yanks could even entertain the idea of letting him leave the team after this season, regardless of how much money he wants. Even more, I can't fathom how anyone could or would possibly pay him more than what the Yanks would be able to match! A-Rod has every prerogative to leave, especially considering how so many "fans" and the media have treated him, so I wouldn't blame him if he did. But, that would be a dark day indeed for the 26-time world champs... It would almost be like trading away Babe Ruth to your most hated rival.     

Columbine Part II?

As more information regarding the background of the Virgina Tech killer surfaces, should it be any surprise that this is turning out to be the story of a tormented soul that found its release in the murder of others? Once again, as it was with Columbine, a community and our nation is faced with the question of "what if" something had been done earlier? Could the horror have been prevented? As reported in the media, it would appear that even hospitalization and counseling during the college years was too late for Cho. We may never know exactly what started the chain of events that led to the taking of so many lives, but it appears that, like the Columbine killers, Cho was a victim of bullying by his peers earlier in his life.

Many don't seem to realize how serious and pervasive bullying is - at school, among family and friends, in the fellowship of Christ followers - it occurs practically everywhere. Bullying is NOT a rite of passage and is NOT something kids just need to tolerate or grow out of. Bullying is repeated and intentional violence, be it physical aggression, verbal intimidation, insults, even social exclusion and rumor spreading, which often leaves deep emotional wounds in its victims. Mix all this in with a lack of social support (which, as an immigrant and a child of immigrants who probably worked all the time, was likely the case with Cho) and the tumults of being an adolescent, and you get a potentially lethal combination.

One wonders how differently Cho's life could have been if perhaps a teacher intervened when he was ridiculed and picked on by his classmates, or if someone, anyone, just befriended him or showed him that he need not be alone. Ideally, his parents should've filled that role to a large degree, but many of us, who are children of immigrants ourselves, know that our folks were often not available in that way.

What can you do if your child is being bullied (or if you know of a child who's being bullied)? Make sure that you encourage your child to report these matters to you so that you, as the parent (or adult), can act to resolve the situation. If your child is being bullied at school, the matter should be voiced to teachers and the administration. When your child is at school, the school has a responsibility to keep him/her safe. The school can dole out consequences to the offender, and it's these consequences, along with parental intervention, which can put an end to the bullying. Here's an excellent site for more info.

Certainly, the experiences of being bullied weren't the only factors that contributed to Cho's homicidal behavior. He was responsible for his crimes, just as those who came before him were responsible for similar atrocities that they committed. However, as each of us are part of some community, an imperfect system, we need to adopt the attitude that we all have some responsibility to the events that occur around us. We aren't responsible for each other, but we are responsible TO each other.  

Currently Watching Blood Diamond (Widescreen Edition) By Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly, Kagiso Kuypers, Benu Mabhena, Anointing Lukola, Antony Coleman, Arnold Vosloo, David Harewood, Basil Wallace, Jimi Mistry, Michael Sheen, Marius Weyers, Stephen Collins, Karen Haacke, Ntare Mwine, Bouba Badiane, Ato Essandoh, Percy Matsemela, Ronnie Nyakale see related

Awesome movie! My respect for Leonardo Dicaprio's acting has only grown since the delivery of his cheesy Titanic lines... For those who are in the market for a diamond engagement ring or anything with diamonds, I think a good moral case can be made for buying a cubic zirconia or moissonite approximation. To the extent that the film portrayed the diamond cartel accurately, I really can't see how I could bring myself to buying anything with diamonds ever again. Yes, I'm aware that there are legit stones out there that were mined by individuals supporting their families, but how can anyone truly know?... Unfortunately (depending on one's perspective), my wife won't be getting an upgrade on her puny ring anytime soon (or ever perhaps), but I really never could comprehend the significance of a diamond engagement/wedding ring anyway, let alone saving "three months" pay to get one - I think DeBeers, cultural expectations, and sadly, peer pressure are the main driving forces behind this pursuit of vanity.

The wife and I tried Mickey D's southern style chicken sandwich tonight (had buy-one, get-one free coupons, of course). If you don't know what it is (the commercial is hilarious btw), it's basically a complete knock-off of Chick-Fil-A's sandwich... except for the taste, that is. Chick-Fil-A shouldn't have anything to worry about from the fast food giant.

Finally, we don't know what's gotten into baby girl, but she just decided to stop sleeping and start crying really loudly. Man! It's been rough the last few nights.

Simply Irresistible...