Welcome to the 2007 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, people.
Where dreams come true, and smaller teams- think George Mason last season, and of course, the ever venerable Gonzaga University (out of the nutsville town known as Spokane, Washington)- get their time in the spotlight.
Where a field of 64- have that eye on that holy grail of college basketball- the Siemens Trophy.
The road to Atlanta starts Tuesday, in the Nutter Center (on the campus of Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio), two teams will play for that 16th spot in the West Regionals. Florida A&M Rattlers face off against the Purple Eagles of Niagara.
Then, on Thursday, the real fun starts.
The number one seeds- Ohio State in the South Regional; North Carolina Tar Heels in the East; Florida in the Midwest: and Kansas in the West face off against the #16 teams (Central Connecticut against the Buckeyes: Eastern Kentucky against the Tar Heels: Jackson State against the Gators; and the winner of Tuesday's game against the Jayhawks). For the next several weeks, the drama! The excitement! The glory of the Men's Division I championship! All live on cable, CBS-TV; and more! You can log on to http://ncaasports.com to get live coverage of almost every game (if a game in on TV in your city, you won't get to see it online. Better stock up on the popcorn; pretzels; and beer, junior...).
Join in the fun! It's THE ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR, BABY!
Copyright 2007, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.
CNN.com
ESPN: The Worldwide Leader In Sports Widget
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Friday, March 09, 2007
2007 Apple World Wide Developers Conference Dates Released
You can count on Apple to release new products- and likely updates, as well- at least two times a year: January and June. Of course, in January, Apple gave us the iPhone, which we'll see in our grubby little hands in June (we do have to sign up with AT&T's Cingular to get one...why can't they also go with MY service provider, Cricket? Oh, well...one thing we can count on, however, is the fact that Microsoft's Steve Ballmer's eyes will get get greener when he sees one. Of course, being a bald-headed knucklehead from Seattle, he'll hide his iPhone from one William Henry Gates III...poor Steve...).
Sorry, got off track for a sec. Anyway, Apple releases products at least two times a year- January and June. We've already been through the 2007 Macworld Expo and Conference. Now get mark June 11-15, 2007 on the calendars. Those are the dates for the 2007 Apple World Wide Developers Conference, and as always, it's at the Moscone Center- Apple's official convention center, it seems (well, it IS close to Cupertino).
I'll, of course, have the news of what Apple releases in June. But you can count on something (besides Steve Ballmer's impending aneurysm), it will most definitely be very exciting! I can't wait!
Copyright 2007, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.
Sorry, got off track for a sec. Anyway, Apple releases products at least two times a year- January and June. We've already been through the 2007 Macworld Expo and Conference. Now get mark June 11-15, 2007 on the calendars. Those are the dates for the 2007 Apple World Wide Developers Conference, and as always, it's at the Moscone Center- Apple's official convention center, it seems (well, it IS close to Cupertino).
I'll, of course, have the news of what Apple releases in June. But you can count on something (besides Steve Ballmer's impending aneurysm), it will most definitely be very exciting! I can't wait!
Copyright 2007, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.
Herouxville, Quebec- Canada's Hayden Lake
Okay, so maybe I'm going a bit too far on the title, but apparently, many folks of the Muslim proclivity are not very happy about some new laws they see as stifling their beliefs.
On the website, Moonbattery, the authors praise the town's fathers for 'standing up' for the town's values and sovergnity (http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/2007/01/herouxville_que.html ), while another group, Religious Freaks, say that what's going on in Herouxville is nothing unlike what Hitler did before the Holocaust and subsequently World War II. (read their blog at http://www.religiousfreaks.com/2007/01/31/avoid-herouxville-quebec-if-youre-muslim/ ).
What this stems from is the move by the Herouxville town council to protect women from stoning; not wearing the traditional female abaya- the name of that robe escapes me right now- and allows female officers to arrest men; etc. As we all know, in many Muslim countries, women are treated like second class citizens, with no rights or protections, and Herouxville felt that what applies in, say, Saudi Arabia, doesn't apply in this town about 125 miles outside of Montreal.
Here in America, we respect all kinds of beliefs, no matter how seemingly troubling sometimes. We can agree to disagree, but in a civilized manner. I cannot play judge, or executioner on the Herouxville laws. But I do feel that perhaps some of the bylaws need another look- like the wearing of the abaya. If the Muslim female feels that wearing the abaya brings more connection to her faith, so be it. If she feels that she can be a Muslim without one, again, so be it.
The decision must be up to the individual, not the government.
Copyright 2007, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.
On the website, Moonbattery, the authors praise the town's fathers for 'standing up' for the town's values and sovergnity (http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/2007/01/herouxville_que.html ), while another group, Religious Freaks, say that what's going on in Herouxville is nothing unlike what Hitler did before the Holocaust and subsequently World War II. (read their blog at http://www.religiousfreaks.com/2007/01/31/avoid-herouxville-quebec-if-youre-muslim/ ).
What this stems from is the move by the Herouxville town council to protect women from stoning; not wearing the traditional female abaya- the name of that robe escapes me right now- and allows female officers to arrest men; etc. As we all know, in many Muslim countries, women are treated like second class citizens, with no rights or protections, and Herouxville felt that what applies in, say, Saudi Arabia, doesn't apply in this town about 125 miles outside of Montreal.
Here in America, we respect all kinds of beliefs, no matter how seemingly troubling sometimes. We can agree to disagree, but in a civilized manner. I cannot play judge, or executioner on the Herouxville laws. But I do feel that perhaps some of the bylaws need another look- like the wearing of the abaya. If the Muslim female feels that wearing the abaya brings more connection to her faith, so be it. If she feels that she can be a Muslim without one, again, so be it.
The decision must be up to the individual, not the government.
Copyright 2007, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
I, Sodom, Take Thee, Gomorrah: Americans Get an 'F' in Religion
Genesis 19:14 says that Sodom looked Gomorrah in the eye, and lifted Gomorrah's veil. Then, in verse 15 says"... Gomorrah took Sodom by the hand, and kissed her- or is it his- husband, and they went back to their home and began having (sexual) relations."
Of course, if you believe the above Bible passage, then you're probably not alone. According to a new book, Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know- and Doesn't, by Boston University religion chair Stephen Prothero, sixty percent of Americans can't name half of the Ten Commandments, and 50 percent of high school seniors think that Sodom married Gomorrah. Come to think of the story of two wicked cities as something written by Shakespeare, something like Romeo and Juliet.
For those who don't know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, it is the account of the two cities, Sodom and Gomorrah. Now, Sodom, in the days after the Great Flood, resembled, say today's Castro (San Francisco); Christopher Street/Greenwich Village (New York); or even Southwest Stark between 10th and 13th Avenues here in Moscow on the Willy (Portland, Oregon. 'Willy', of course, is the Willamette River). Picture Fire Island, Long Island, New York, if you will. Now, two hot and gorgeous angels happened to visit Lot, a faithful servant of the Lord. Now, back before the Lord put a moratorium on angels being visible (unless otherwise ordered to), angels appeared in the flesh. Not too long after their arrival, every man in Sodom salivated over the sight of angels. So, they surrounded Lot's home and demanded that the old goat surface those hotties so they could take them to Sodom's equivalent to a gay orgy. But Lot told them, "no way, Joses. Here, take my daughters. Do what you want." (unfortunately, the option included rape/sexual assault). But the men of Sodom told Lot that they didn't want pussy. THEY WANTED DICK! So, to keep the story short, the angels told Lot- in verse 14 of Genesis 19- that Sodom, and the nearby city of Gomorrah, were going to be destroyed. So God threw fire and sulfur onto the cities, and the inhabitants of those two cities were lost. Lot's wife, who probably had affairs on the side (was she bisexual? Hmmm...) was turned into a pillar of salt.
Okay, so I'm no Bible scholar- hell, I don't read my Bible over half of the time, so I'm in good company here. But the point here is that we Americans are apparently Bible-illiterate (I'm listening to Justin Timberlake's Cry Me a River, which is probably what you're telling me right now...). And every conservative theologian probably sees this Bible illiteracy as proof that America is headed straight to hell.
Prothero goes on to point out that many folks think that the Shia and Sunni factions are one and the same, because both are Muslim, and that Islam is the religion of peace- just look at the Iraq conflict and al-Qaida. If those are two examples of peace, I'd hate to see the riots and wars. He suggests that a middle schoolers be required to take a Bible course in world religions, and high schoolers take one on the Bible, and college undergrads to take one course in religious studies.
Yes, that'll make the ACLU and the People for the American Way (the latter founded by legendary TV producer Norman Lear) very happy.
Of course, if we are going straight to hell, at least let me die in a bevy of hot lesbians.
(click on the title for the link to the USA Today article).
Copyright 2007, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.
Of course, if you believe the above Bible passage, then you're probably not alone. According to a new book, Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know- and Doesn't, by Boston University religion chair Stephen Prothero, sixty percent of Americans can't name half of the Ten Commandments, and 50 percent of high school seniors think that Sodom married Gomorrah. Come to think of the story of two wicked cities as something written by Shakespeare, something like Romeo and Juliet.
For those who don't know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, it is the account of the two cities, Sodom and Gomorrah. Now, Sodom, in the days after the Great Flood, resembled, say today's Castro (San Francisco); Christopher Street/Greenwich Village (New York); or even Southwest Stark between 10th and 13th Avenues here in Moscow on the Willy (Portland, Oregon. 'Willy', of course, is the Willamette River). Picture Fire Island, Long Island, New York, if you will. Now, two hot and gorgeous angels happened to visit Lot, a faithful servant of the Lord. Now, back before the Lord put a moratorium on angels being visible (unless otherwise ordered to), angels appeared in the flesh. Not too long after their arrival, every man in Sodom salivated over the sight of angels. So, they surrounded Lot's home and demanded that the old goat surface those hotties so they could take them to Sodom's equivalent to a gay orgy. But Lot told them, "no way, Joses. Here, take my daughters. Do what you want." (unfortunately, the option included rape/sexual assault). But the men of Sodom told Lot that they didn't want pussy. THEY WANTED DICK! So, to keep the story short, the angels told Lot- in verse 14 of Genesis 19- that Sodom, and the nearby city of Gomorrah, were going to be destroyed. So God threw fire and sulfur onto the cities, and the inhabitants of those two cities were lost. Lot's wife, who probably had affairs on the side (was she bisexual? Hmmm...) was turned into a pillar of salt.
Okay, so I'm no Bible scholar- hell, I don't read my Bible over half of the time, so I'm in good company here. But the point here is that we Americans are apparently Bible-illiterate (I'm listening to Justin Timberlake's Cry Me a River, which is probably what you're telling me right now...). And every conservative theologian probably sees this Bible illiteracy as proof that America is headed straight to hell.
Prothero goes on to point out that many folks think that the Shia and Sunni factions are one and the same, because both are Muslim, and that Islam is the religion of peace- just look at the Iraq conflict and al-Qaida. If those are two examples of peace, I'd hate to see the riots and wars. He suggests that a middle schoolers be required to take a Bible course in world religions, and high schoolers take one on the Bible, and college undergrads to take one course in religious studies.
Yes, that'll make the ACLU and the People for the American Way (the latter founded by legendary TV producer Norman Lear) very happy.
Of course, if we are going straight to hell, at least let me die in a bevy of hot lesbians.
(click on the title for the link to the USA Today article).
Copyright 2007, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.
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