After fighting the temptation (yes I mean sin!) to join MySpace for the better part of the last 3 months, I recognized that since I am such a community oriented fella, it would be a sin not to!
If you wish to check out My Space click here and save it to your favorites. I hope to add you to my network of friends if you have a MySpace account. My URL name is westwardwolf in case you want to do a search at MySpace.
August 29, 2006
Return to the Desert
It is well known by now (especially among college football fans), that my Ohio State Buckeyes are ranked as the pre-season #1! I am not a college football analyst by any means and this post will not appear to be anything other than my apparent bias as a Buckeye!
Ohio State looks great on offense with returning starters and Heisman candidates Troy Smith at QB, Antonio Pittman at RB and Ted Ginn, Jr. at WR/KR. I think that Coach Tressel (who usually opts for a more conservative style offense) will not be afraid to use his big 3 on offense to put some big numbers up on the scoreboard.
The question for Ohio State is on their defense who lost 9 starters from last year. But if there is anything that Ohio State has been known for it is their defense and I think that it may take a game or two for the defense to really get its footing, once that happens watch out! For the first time in decades Ohio State could be known for their defense AND offense and that my friends is the combination for a return to the desert for a National Championship showdown. Now the picks:
I believe that we will see a rematch this year at the Fiesta Bowl with Ohio State taking on Notre Dame. Either team could be #1 or #2 at the end of the season. My prediction is that the game will not resemble last year's game in which Ohio State compiled over 600 yards of total offense shutting down the Irish 34-20. The difference then was that OSU had the #1 ranked defense in the nation. So this years game will be much closer and an offensive battle.
My prediction: Ohio State 35 Notre Dame 31
August 25, 2006
Turning a corner
After completing my first week of classes here at IPFW, I believe that I can say that I have learned one more thing about myself. If my major does end up being Anthropology (right now it is more like Anthropology 75% Sociology 25%) I believe that my area of interest within the discipline of Anthropology would be Cultural Anthropology. Here are the 4 areas of academic study within Anthropology:
Archeology
Biological
Cultural
Linguistic
Archeology
Biological
Cultural
Linguistic
The Need for Elders
This past weekend Brenda and I had an opportunity to spend some time with one of her old professors from college as well as the prof's husband, 17 lb. cat and two Siberian Huskies. We have been blessed to get to spend time with them (especially since we only see them twice a year), but this time was different.
Aside from the typical intellectual conversation that happens around a wonderful lunch, I began to have this sense that I was relating to them in a way that I had not previously. Any other time we got together I viewed them more as Brendas friends than mine.
Yet here I found myself after nearly 5 hours of visiting; connecting with Ed (the husband, who also has a Ph.D.) on a completely different level than before. Here is a man who was raised Jewish yet identifies himself more as a Unitarian. He shared with me stories of when he was living in Arizona, how he did a week-long Vision Quest to be initiated into the Hopi tradition and is the only Caucasian to have ever been allowed to join the Bear clan (a prominent group of Hopi that live on a pueblo in the shadow of the Navajo Mountain). How his border collie once saved his life one night when he was in the desert as it protected him from a coyote. Not only did the dog protect him, but it killed the coyote. We talked religion, politics, interspecies communication, string theory and how it all interweaves into our life journey. Even though he teaches Macroeconomics at a local college his deep sense of spirit, intellect and intention transcends his profession. It was almost as if I was sitting at the feet of the Elder that I never had. I know that I will make more of an attempt to spend time with him in the future. We share a lot of the same interests and I feel as though when we converse we are equals (even though I regard him more as an Elder). I could go on and on but I am still in awe and need days to really process all this.
Maybe that is what I have been missing. I have had many mentors and still do. But I have not had a lot of Elders. By that I mean a man who has been wounded and rather than transmitting the wound to others he allows it to transform him for the sake of himself and others around him. I mean a man who carries in his being the essence of life: adventure, purpose and wisdom. A man who holds in tension the masculine and the feminine.
When we got in the car to head back home Sunday afternoon, I told Brenda that if God should be gracious and give me as many years to live as Ed (guesstimating that he is around 70) I want my life to resemble his. Full of adventure, grace, discovery and wisdom.
Aside from the typical intellectual conversation that happens around a wonderful lunch, I began to have this sense that I was relating to them in a way that I had not previously. Any other time we got together I viewed them more as Brendas friends than mine.
Yet here I found myself after nearly 5 hours of visiting; connecting with Ed (the husband, who also has a Ph.D.) on a completely different level than before. Here is a man who was raised Jewish yet identifies himself more as a Unitarian. He shared with me stories of when he was living in Arizona, how he did a week-long Vision Quest to be initiated into the Hopi tradition and is the only Caucasian to have ever been allowed to join the Bear clan (a prominent group of Hopi that live on a pueblo in the shadow of the Navajo Mountain). How his border collie once saved his life one night when he was in the desert as it protected him from a coyote. Not only did the dog protect him, but it killed the coyote. We talked religion, politics, interspecies communication, string theory and how it all interweaves into our life journey. Even though he teaches Macroeconomics at a local college his deep sense of spirit, intellect and intention transcends his profession. It was almost as if I was sitting at the feet of the Elder that I never had. I know that I will make more of an attempt to spend time with him in the future. We share a lot of the same interests and I feel as though when we converse we are equals (even though I regard him more as an Elder). I could go on and on but I am still in awe and need days to really process all this.
Maybe that is what I have been missing. I have had many mentors and still do. But I have not had a lot of Elders. By that I mean a man who has been wounded and rather than transmitting the wound to others he allows it to transform him for the sake of himself and others around him. I mean a man who carries in his being the essence of life: adventure, purpose and wisdom. A man who holds in tension the masculine and the feminine.
When we got in the car to head back home Sunday afternoon, I told Brenda that if God should be gracious and give me as many years to live as Ed (guesstimating that he is around 70) I want my life to resemble his. Full of adventure, grace, discovery and wisdom.