link-o-matic
while ignoring the daily grind of life here at lifeway i stumbled across a couple of links that i thought you might enjoy.

the first is metacritic. this site provides a fairly comprehensive overview of the recent reviews for books, movies and dvds. i have a sneaking suspicion that uncle cade would give it his stamp of approval.

the second is montage-a-google. this engine creates montages of google images. thus you can type in a search term like cardinals, salinger or feces and it will automatically create a montage. i trust that you will use this resource for good instead of evil.

the third is not so much a link as it is an encouragement to click on the thomas kinkade link in my previous post. doing so will not drop you into john malkovich's head or anything, but it will provide you with a little bit of fun.

do enjoy these links, dear readers.

overheard

"start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly, you are doing the impossible." ~st. francis of assisi

"the rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of contemporary violence. to allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is to succumb to violence." ~thomas merton

"my dear child, you must believe in God in spite of what the clergy tell you." ~benjamin jowett

i'd love to tell you that these quotations arose from my reading, but they did not. instead, (yes, i am almost ashamed to admit this) i found them while preparing an excerpt for jan karon's a continual feast. i am afraid that if i find illumination in the works of jan karon i'll soon be finding spiritual significance in the masterpieces of thomas kinkade. i think i just threw up in my mouth.

happy haiku friday!

come, let us conspire

to kill reciprocity

and give birth to grace

brushback pitches

• the cardinals are 18-8, 10 games over .500 and sporting their best record at this point since 1948. and yes, i'm enjoying every minute of it.


• i've been devouring 3 nights in august by buzz bissinger. the book chronicles a cubs/cardinals series in 2003 and provides an inside view to tony la russa's approach to the game. bissinger provides: a good profile of tony (far superior to the picture george will provides in men at work), a few interesting bits about strategy (including a discussion of the merits of the hit-and-run) and clear, compelling prose. however, i am a little annoyed by the traditionalist bent of the book. on a number of occasions bissinger stops just short of condemning the moneyball/sabr analysis of and approach to the game and, misty eyed, constantly holds a torch for the idealized "baseball man" of the past. i think it is possible to appreciate baseball's past (in fact, i consider myself a bit of a traditionalist), while still appreciating and incorporating more innovative approaches to the game. at several points, bissinger seems to ask "what hath walt jocketty to do with billy beane?" "everything," is my terse response.


• for real: the cardinals, braves, marlins and twinkies. not: the orioles (still a year away), white sox (pitching!) and texas (ibid).


• the yankees are as bad as they look. here's to hoping that george's horse loses at the derby and the boss suffers a minor coronary before midseason.


• jeff brantley is the new joe morgan


• this just in from the big surprise department: kerry wood is on the dl. i've asked it before and i'll ask it again: has any team ever done so little with so much talent? 37 is nothing. try 97!


• bon voyage dave mccarty. he's a helluva nice guy who had no place on a major league team.


• the cardinals were robbed in atlanta last weekend by an umpire who is too timid to set his head over the inside corner and an odd interference play. unbelievable! that being said, it doesn't get much better than watching cox and la russa try to out-fox one another for three games. thanks tbs!


• write it down: i'm getting mlb all access next year. not being able to watch the redbirds is killing me. of course if you, dear reader, want to send a $168 check in a s.a.s.e. to the home office, i'll be happy to order it this year.


• i am not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet, but i wouldn't be surprised if there is a little headhunting, and perhaps a little brawl, down in tampa bay tonight.


• as much as i dislike the guy, i would love to see clemens return to the red sox before the trading deadline. can you imagine him making one final run with the sox? that would be quite a ride! of course, he'll probably sign with the yankees. bastard.

musing

i'm still here. i haven't had much to say lately, so i've kept my mouth shut.

cade slipped me ben folds' songs for silverman last week and i'm really digging it. it's melancholic, introspective and, at many points, right on. the first track on the album, appropriately titled bastard, raised a question that i've been wrestling with for days.

"So why you gotta act like you know when you don't know?
It's okay if you don't know everything
Why you gotta act like you know when you don't know?
It's okay
If you don't know everything"

contrary to the opinion of some, i have always been more aware of my ignorance than enamored by my knowledge. anyway...here's hard evidence of my ignorance.

things i don't know:

• what evangelism looks like for our church in our current context


• whether the cardinals will win a world series in my lifetime


• why i failed to fully experience some of the places i've lived (chief on this list: newtown, ct and waukesha, wi)


• whether i'll be able to steer clear of universalism in my latter days


• if i'll ever escape the clutches of .com


• why ankiel contracted steve blass disease


• why i've never been able to fast


• why my brother won't return my calls


• where the last ten years went


• why i joined a fraternity


• why i seem destined to be an amateur everything rather than a professional something


• whether dizzy will ever stop destroying my shit


• why i have always made a percentage of people, especially christians, incredibly uncomfortable


• the cause of my hypochondria


• how to multiply fractions


• why i'm afraid of death


• why i stopped visiting daybreak


• why my boss is pleased with my relative lack of productivity


• how to reconcile appearance and reality


• why i am so judgmental

a fitting melancholic response to an introspective album. rest assured that i am not depressed and please refrain from stroking my ego or prescribing xanax.

brushback pitch

the cardinals just scored 7 runs in the top of the ninth to beat the reds. baseball is the screwiest game ever...

i love this cardinals team.