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It's terrible to have to say that game three of a 16 game season is a must win, but for both playoff teams currently 0-2, one of them is staring at 0-3 . Rarely can a team overcome an 0-3 start, especially when either Atlanta or New Orleans, who play each other Monday night, will be 3-0. It's almost impossible to overcome a six-game deficit as that.
So, the Bucs play at home, which should be to their advantage, but they have played so badly I don't know if it will matter. The defense suddenly looks slow and old and the offense looks anemic.
The Bucs follow up this game with a bye week. If they enter the bye with a third straight loss, tensions will only fester and a quarterback change could be in the works, which means throwing this season away. If they enter the bye with a win, they can try to catapult that victory into saving the season.
For a long, three month season, the Bucs success this year may all come down to this third game in the first month of the season.
Spike Lee's Inside Man, written by Russell Gewirtz, is a modern spin on the classic heist genre. We open with Dalton Russell, played by the charming Clive Owen, speaking directly to the camera explaining his perfect heist. We then see him and his team, dressed in painter's outfits, take over a bank and secure almost fifty hostages.
Will this be another Dog Day Afternoon? Not at all. This is when the standard heist film takes a completely different turn. Denzel Washington, playing negotiator Detective Keith Frazier, enters the storyline to follow the hostage situation playbook only to find that he's being played. We have Jodi Foster, an expense, elite problem solver hired by bank owner, played by Christopher Plummer, to somehow infiltrate the hostage situation to secure some of Plummer's belongings hidden in a safe deposit box.
The way the story unfolds is very intriguing because you quickly realize this film is not going to follow the standard heist clichés, but we are unsure of how the clever storyline will unfold. The cast is extraordinary and each of the name actors are at the top of their game. Lee's direction keeps the pace of the film moving and Gewirtz's script is every bit the mystery that one would hope for in such a film.
The only downside was the music, by Terence Blanchard, which seemed inappropriate and, at times, distracting. Other than that, this is a fun little thriller that follows a path not yet traveled in a heist flick. Good, mainstream, intelligent fun. Check it out.
"I forgive, I forgive" were the last words of Sister Leonella Sgorbati spoke as she was gunned down on the way to work at a hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia. Her murder was in retaliation of the mis-interpretation of Pope Benedict's comments on Islam.
This is a perfect example of the polar opposites of the two religions.
- The Christian nun responds to her own death by forgiving her enemies, like Christ.
- The radical Islamic's response to the Pope quoting a 14th-Century discussion between a Byzantine emperor and a learned Persian, which included the phrases "evil and inhuman" was to fulfill the evil and inhuman view by killing an innocent nun.
How will these two theologies ever find peace? They've been battling for centuries. I hope God intervenes to find some common ground.
You can read the entire article about the bravery of Sister Sgorbati in her last moments HERE on Catholic Online.
I hope the Pope demands an apology from those responsible for the innocent Christian lives taken from this world.
Thérèse: The Story of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux is a family film about St. Therese who, as a child, longed to be nun and to serve Jesus to the point that she actually went to the Pope and asked for special permission. After some time she was able to enter the convent at 15 years old. She learned to focus on being saintly in little things, helping others, being positive to those who were mean to her, etc. Her positive faithful acts eventually touched all of those with which she came in contact. She ended up dying at an early age due to tuberculosis and was later made a saint.
Unfortunately, the film itself is rather forgettable. The directing is novice at times and the film moves at a snails pace with little insight into her life. Sure, we watch her mother die and her older siblings leave the house as they grow older, but what the film does not capture very well at all is the magic that made this special girl a saint. Being nice to a mean nun makes you a saint? Helping an older nun walk to dinner makes you a saint? Surely she did more than this. From watching this film, we will never know.
The film was good for the kids to watch as it shows how strong faith can lead to a great religious life, but the filmmakers missed the mark badly on creating a memorable tribute to a beloved and adored saint.
A great, great article called Papal Power over at the Weekly Standard about the many levels the Pope was using when quoting older sources to show the difference between a Christian God and a Muslim God... the outcome of which has been a great amount of anger from the world Muslim community.
The author of the article, Lee Smith, illuminates the mutilple levels on which the Pope was trying to get his message across to Europe, not an anti-Muslim message, but a pro-Christian one, to get them to remember their spiritual roots.
You can read it all HERE.
As I was skimming through my blog, looking at feedback left and such, it occurred to me that my picture from 1988 in New York was almost identical to the one my law-enforcing nephew Paul had taken of me with Kristi at my Mom's 80th birthday party. Now 18 years have passed, my hair is substantially more gray and more thin and I'm wearing contacts.
1988-NY and 2006-NC
In another odd way, I'm amazed at how little has changed as well.
Thanks Mom and Dad for the genes!
I'm not someone who believes that sexual education should not be taught in schools. I remember when I got to college, during my freshman year, I took my first sex ed class. I was offended that I had not had any exposure to the science behind reproduction. I knew about my heart, my liver, my lungs, etc., but I had no scientific understanding as to the functioning and health of reproductive organs. Give me the facts and I can handle it. Knowing how sperm and eggs get together isn't going to make more promiscuous. It's only going to educate me on what happens during a sexual act.
Modern sex ed, however, has turned into a political agenda which has ended up creating a completely dysfunctional education plan that is in direct opposition to similar approaches for other critical areas of our children's lives.
The basic and fatal flaw of today's sex ed is that it is provided under the assumption that the base instincts to sex are uncontrollable. Since our children are going to have sex anyway, why teach abstinence when we should be teaching safe sex. To show how ludicrous that approach is, let's replicate that train of thought with other important topics.
Healthy eating. Eating is a fundamental, base instinct. So, instead of teaching our kids about nutrition and proper diets and eating right, why don't we follow the sex ed model and assume our kids are going to eat badly anyway. They're unable to actually control their eating habits, so let's forget the whole "eating right and exercising" facade and teach them how to eat bad, but safely. Sure there are consequence to bad eating habits... obesity, dental issues, diabetes... but instead of teaching you how to eat right, we'll teach you how to eat badly, then vomit to avoid obesity. Don't call it bulimia, call it a dietary abortion. Or how to eat badly and have your teeth replaced with porcelain veneers. Or how to eat badly and then inject yourself with insulin.
Drug use. No sense in teaching kids not to use drugs, after all, they're going to use drugs anyway. Instead, let's teach them how to use crack cocaine safely. Let's teach them about not sharing needles and what a twelve step program is about. Let's teach them how to smoke marijuana without burning yourself. Let's teach them how to snort cocaine and how to drive safely while high.
Smoking. Kids are going to smoke anyway, so let's instead teach them how to smoke a pack of day and still keep their clothes smelling clean. Teach them to go ahead and smoke, but use teeth whiteners to get rid of those pesky tar stains. Let them smoke and make sure and teach them about all of the new improvements they've made in cancer research.
Drinking. Since kids are going to participate in under age drinking anyway, let's teach them how to drink socially, but not get drunk. Or, if you get drunk, how not to drink and drive. Or, if you get really drunk, how to get rid of a hangover. And if you drink for a long time, tell them about all of the new advancements in alcoholic treatments available.
Isn't it obvious just how despicable the sexual education approach is in our country when you compare it to other areas of teen concerns? The sexual education in place today is not about teaching the science of sexual education, but to validate all types of sexuality. I'm not commenting on sexual preferences, I'm commenting on how politicizing this educational subject has undermined our children's views on responsibility, consequences and making hard choices.
The other fallacy of our current sexual education is that the education system somehow knows when kids should be made aware of some of the social aspects of sexuality. Again, I'm not saying fourth graders can't understand the science of sexuality, but the social aspect of sexuality should be initially discussed in the home. Why do I think this?
Well, why, in youth sports, do they separate kids by weight rather than by age? Why shouldn't 150 pound Johnny be able to tackle 90 pound Jimmy? Because Johnny is obviously more physically mature than Jimmy. Kids mature physically at different ages. You only have to walk through a middle school to see that. Well, the same holds true for sexual maturity, emotional maturity and spiritual maturity. Not all kids in fourth grade are able to digest and comprehend social sexual descriptions with the same understanding. It could confuse some of the children, perhaps even skew an otherwise healthy view of sexuality.
Parents know their kids better than any teacher. They know when something as important as sex should be approached to their children. They know what information they can comprehend and what they can't. They know what is healthy and what is risky. Parents spend more time with their children than any other people in the world... who else would know better?
The sad part is the politics have severely damaged the important educational subject of sexuality. And, more and more, the schools are not letting the parents decide what is best for their children.
The reality is that one in four teens will develop a sexually transmitted disease. Under any other scientific reasoning, the solution to this epidemic is so blatantly simple… abstinence and control. We could get rid of most STDs within one to two generations by doing two simple things… don’t have sex before marriage and stay monogamous after marriage. This isn’t a right wing religious opinion; this is simple, quantifiable, proven scientific methodology that is being ignored because of politics.
Our sexual mis-education will end up having long term and devastating effects on our country.
But our congressmen will get re-elected and the teacher's union will keep their control, so I guess it’s worth it.
Per Lifesite News, a law enacted by the Nazi's was used to arrest a mother for homeschooling her children because she felt the government education was in contradiction to her Christian beliefs. The father and children escaped to Austria and the mother had to serve a small jail sentence.
You can read the whole article HERE.
Amazing that parents are not allowed to be the primary educator of their children. Our country was founded on "homeschoolers." That's the scary part about government controlling things. When they control the education system, they control what your children will learn, even if it is opposite of your religious beliefs... sounds like breaking the free exercise of religion to me. If the government ever controls health care, they'll use that as leverage as well. A pro-life demonstrator in Canada, who was over 70 years old, had his critical health care postponed after he was arrested for sending pro-life literature to hospitals that permit abortion.
When in doubt, the goverment should stay the hell out of our lives... for our own good.
It's terrible to have to say that game three of a 16 game season is a must win, but for both playoff teams currently 0-2, one of them is staring at 0-3 . Rarely can a team overcome an 0-3 start, especially when either Atlanta or New Orleans, who play each other Monday night, will be 3-0. It's almost impossible to overcome a six-game deficit as that.
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