Year / 2010

by Greg

The Hours – Ali In The Jungle

The Hours: Ali in the Jungle EPI posted a video here a few days ago of a Nike commercial that we really liked. (Still do, in fact.) But, the song that we bought from the video—Ali in the Jungle – The Hours—needs to not be missed. (Just in case you did.)

The song was picked up by Nike for use in that commercial because of it’s inspiring lyrics, and it’s true, they are. I mentioned that in the previous post. But then we got to hear the rest of the song, and it’s equally cool. The chorus of the song mentions seven people (well, one might be a boat)* who overcame extraordinary odds to accomplish some incredible task or goal. I’ve linked each name in the lyrics below to a page that tells their story, so be sure to click the links in this post!

Just how are you gonna get up?

It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish
And it’s not where you’re from, it’s where you’re at

Everybody gets knocked down
Everybody gets knocked down
How quick are you gonna get up?
How quick are you gonna get up?
Everybody gets knocked down
Everybody gets knocked down
How quick are you gonna get up?
Just how are you gonna get up?

Like Ali in the Jungle…
Like Nelson in jail…
Like Simpson on the mountain…
Well with odds like that, they were bound to fail
Like Keller in the darkness…
Like Adams in the dock*…
Like Ludwig Van, how I love that man,
Well the guy went deaf and didn’t give a damn, no

It’s not where you are, it’s where you’re going
Where are you going?
And it’s not about the things you’ve done, it’s what you’re doing now
What are you doing now?

Everybody gets knocked down
Everybody gets knocked down
How quick are you gonna get up?
How quick are you gonna get up?
Everybody gets knocked down
Everybody gets knocked down
How quick are you gonna get up?
Just how are you gonna get up?

It’s the greatest comeback since Lazarus,
The greatest comeback since Lazarus
It’s the greatest comeback since Lazarus,
The greatest comeback, the greatest comeback

audio clip from the “rumble in the jungle”:
This is the most joyous scene ever seen in the history of boxing! This is an incredible scene! The place is going wild! Muhammad Ali has won! Muhammad Ali has won! By a knockdown! By a knockdown! The thing they said was impossible, he’s done!

* – not actually sure first what they are saying on this line, second which “Adams” they are referring to. Could it also be this ship? Maybe a member of The Hours will see this post and leave a comment… 🙂

by Greg

There’s a Swamp in our Basement!

Thankfully, we have been here before. But, sadly… we’ve been here before.

We discovered yesterday morning that our basement once again has about an inch of standing water. This time it’s coming in from every side of the house (usually it comes in from one, or maybe two.) Strangely, the water is actually entering from the side of the house that it has never entered from before. (So, that side was less protected from such an aquatic invasion…)

But basically, there’s an inch of standing water in our basement.

Because of the strange source of the water, I did a little investigating yesterday. I was exploring outside when I noticed that the front sidewalk was full of water. That could have been bad enough, but there was more. As I looked up the small pond where our sidewalk used to be, I noticed that the water was flowing—fairly rapidly—toward our house. Yes, toward.

It would seem that our house is the lowest spot on our block, and that our front sidewalk provides a nice, easy path for the water flowing from the top of the hill a few hundred feet to our south, now apparently ending right at our front porch, our piece of property, and eventually… our basement.

Ah, the joys of home ownership…

So, our basement of two centuries ago clearly needs some help. When it’s flooding in the winter time (this is the second flood this winter) I suppose that’s a sign something needs to be done.

Any suggestions would be quite welcome.

Until then, we have boots.

by Greg

It’s Not Where You’re From, It’s Where You’re At

Nike: The Human Chain

I’m not 100% sure of the title of this commercial, but I saw it several times during the Olympics and really liked it. The commercial is very visually creative (and cool) and I like the song. Especially the line, “It’s not where you’re from, it’s where you’re at.”

We just started reading Oliver Twist tonight (the boys and I) and the first chapter describes how he was born into pretty bleak circumstances. Mom died at birth. No dad. No idea where Mum was from. And to top it off, he was born at a “workhouse” (amongst those at the bottom rung of the social ladder.)

So I remembered that line from this song. It’s not where you’re from, it’s where you’re at. I told the boys of the line from the Bible, “Man looks on the outside, but God looks at the heart.” It’s pretty easy for us to decide who someone is by their appearance, or their life circumstances. It’s easy, but it’s wrong. And often incorrect.

Enjoy the commercial video… it’s cool. And remember, it’s not where you’re from, it’s where you’re at.

Music: Ali in the Jungle – The Hours

by Greg

Last Night in Pittsburgh…

Sidney Crosby (Canada) scores the winning goal vs Ryan Miller (USA)Last night the Buffalo Sabres were the visiting opponent of the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, PA … USA. (The country is important here.)

Prior to the game, the hosting team apparently showed a video replay of the overtime goal scored by—Pittsburgh Penguin superstar, Sidney Crosby—and, though I’m certain they anticipated a loud cheer for the hometown hero, instead the crowd booed! Ha! They BOOED!

Meanwhile, they also introduced the MVP of the Olympic tournament—Buffalo Sabres superstar goalie, Ryan Miller, who was not playing that night—to a standing ovation! What??! How great is that! The visiting goalie got a standing ovation, while the hometown superstar—arguably the most recognizable NHL player in the world?—was booed in his own building???

That is flat-out awesome.

Four more years, and the gold medal could very likely go to the United States.

Now if the Sabres could somehow manage to make a run at the Cup…

by Greg

Campbell: Supports The Government

Campbell of Argyll TartanI am a Campbell. My lineage traces back to Scotland, and Clan Campbell of Argyll. We have use Gaelic names for some of our kids. I used to own some bagpipes. I even have a kilt, I think.

Plenty of good Scottish heritage here!

So today, a friend (who, coincidentally, usually only refers to me as “Campbell”) told me that she and her daughter were studying Scotland this week, and not only did they find Clan Campbell in there, they found an interesting paragraph as they were reading the history of the tartans.

“While the recruits were drawn from all parts of the Highlands, in the main they tended to come from clans that supported the government, in particular the Campbells, Munros, and Grants.” [emphasis mine]

(If you know me, and/or read this blog, you’ll likely find that quite ironic as well.)

by Greg

Dealing With Frustrations In Kid Training

As I went downstairs to help catch up on our family’s laundry backlog today, I was shocked (and yet, not surprised at all) to find it in complete disarray. Various articles of clothing strewn everywhere from the steps to the washer and dryer, and then all around both of those.

“Alex!!” I thought to myself, angered and frustrated… and exasperated.

Alex is our now 8-year-old laundry helper. For some reason when he was about 5 years old he volunteered for laundry duty, and so, Mom was happy to employ his services! But, also for some reason—believe me, we’ve asked, but without success thus far—he can not do some very simple parts of it (even with clear instruction).

Now, there are many more important things we want Alex to learn. To consider others better than himself. To know that he is loved more than he can imagine by his Creator. To know that Creator. And plenty of other things we are building into his character, as with all our kids.

But at what point is this a character issue? My dad always taught me, “Do it right the first time!” I still remember it today, and I think I live it. So, I’ve been saying that with Alex on this, too, since we have had to re-wash loads of laundry more times than I can count.

The real character issue is that he seems to try to cover up his “forgetfulness” (when he doesn’t do what he tells Mom that he did do). When is it just a tiny eight-year-old boy learning to do a job that may be beyond his physical abilities right now, and when is it an issue of disobedience and even lying to cover up the disobedience. That’s what we’re trying to figure out.

Anyone reading this have any similar experience, and perhaps a solution or two that worked for you? Everyone is different, so who knows if it would work for Alex, but so far, we have not found any method of correction that has. And at this point the frustration is not just Mom & Dad’s, but also little Alex’s, too. And that’s no good.

So we keep plugging away at this parenting thing. Sometimes we learn a lesson from parents who’ve gone before us. Sometimes we learn from how our Father teaches and trains us. Sometimes we just learn “by accident”. 🙂 (We have a lot of practice!) But, we keep going, because even through any frustrations, there are not any cooler people on the planet than these six that God has entrusted to our care.

(Probably a slightly biased view, but 100% true from my vantage point.) 🙂

by Greg

Fan Boy?

Get a Mac Ads

On the half-hour drive home from celebrating our daughter’s 6th birthday, we somehow remembered the famous Get A Mac ads that Apple has so brilliantly done for the past several years. I think it started with our oldest son and I quoting from one of them. Well, from there we remembered that the complete library of those ads is in fact stored on our iPod, so when the kids were asked if they’d like to watch them there was a resounding, “YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

So they did. All the way home!

Does that make us the ultimate “Fan boys?” I think it might.

by Greg

Parking Ticket

My dad sends me a lot of email forwards. (Does your dad do that, too?) I get a lot of email so, often I won’t have time to read all of them. If they are shorter I will scan quickly (or if he sends just to me, not a group) and there are a few that are definitely entertaining or intriguing or otherwise worth the time.

The following was from this morning’s forwarded email, and political jabs aside, I just thought it was a funny story. Don’t know if it’s true, but it’s funny anyway. 🙂 Enjoy!

Parking Ticket

Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting. Well, for example, the other day my wife and I went into town and went into a shop. We were only in there for about 5 minutes. When we came out, there was a cop writing out a parking ticket. We went up to him and said, “Come on man, how about giving a senior citizen a break?”

He ignored us and continued writing the ticket. I called him a Nazi turd. He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn tires. So my wife called him a poophead. He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he started writing a third ticket. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more we abused him, the more tickets he wrote…

Personally, we didn’t care. We came into town by bus and saw the car had an Obama sticker… We try to have a little fun each day now that we’re retired.. It’s important at our age.

—author unknown
by Greg

(Over) Ambitious Reading List

Many Books to ReadI seem to read books in spurts. I’ll go a long time without making time to read anything more than email and the daily news. But then, I’ll hear of or see a book or two… and get inspired to make the time to read them.

Now is such a time!

Between books I want to read for my web business and a few personal interests, I have been busy searching our library catalog and, well, check out this stack of books currently next to my reading chair…

Guess I better get reading! 🙂

by Greg

Feeling Loved, and Lovable

I got to spend the evening with our oldest son, Ian. We try hard to get each of our kids one night with Dad and nobody else. They’re called “OK Nights” (for “One Kid” Nights) and they usually happen once a week, if we’re on a good pace. So, doing the math, each kid gets their OK Night about once every 5 or 6 weeks.

Tonight was Ian’s turn.

What was fun and different about tonight is that Ian is getting older. He really is. He’s more of a person, which… feels weird to say. Of course he’s always been a person, and actually, it’s really cool to see the “person” that our one year old daughter is, too. But it’s just a little different with Ian. I think maybe it’s the struggles. They’re just different. He’s learning who he is, too. And he’s tender-hearted, compassionate, and sensitive to begin with, so when he gets swept away in the deluge of needy tiny people each day… well it’s just harder to actually get to learn who you are!

So after a great night of just being together, with no schedule, no demands, and no distractions from my attention, I asked him this:

“Ian, I know you’ve heard me say that I think God is teaching me that the greatest thing we can know is that we are loved, and especially that we are lovable. And since you know that… I just wondered, how can I help you feel that? How can I help you feel loved, and especially lovable?”

What I love is that there was only a slight hesitation and then he very openly told me. That was fantastic. I love the openness that we have engendered in our family!

We talked about what it means to know you are loved, to feel loved, and to feel lovable. They are similar, but different. He had some pretty cool answers, too. First was of course, any time we can do an OK Night he feels loved and lovable! 🙂 But there was more, and since it was an open and personal conversation … the details will not be shared here. 🙂

I will say this: I hope you feel lovable. I’m really not sure how you get there. I can quote some scriptures… “We love because he first loved us,” and, “[adopting us as his children] gave [God] great pleasure,” and, “[God] will rejoice over you with singing,” and plenty more. We know it, but… it doesn’t matter until we know it.

So do you? If not, what is it about you that you don’t think is lovable? What part of you is beyond anyone’s love? We’re all pretty good at being selfish. Some of us are good at loving, really loving, but mostly we’re better at protecting ourselves from real or perceived hurt. And we don’t really live because of that.

“[Jesus] came to give you life, and life to the full.”

“God is love.”

“… and the greatest of [faith, hope and love] is love.”

Love completely transforms us, and even the world we know around us. To be loved. To love. To know we are lovable.

May you know that right now today, and every tomorrow.