Mark Twain

Ever since I found a copy of The Complete Essays of Mark Twain in my parents' basement, I have been intrigued to read it... I can't say that I had ever read anything by him with the exception of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but he is one of those Americans that it just seems like we should know about... (Actually he has some quote where he says that he is not 'an' American, he says that he is 'the' American.)

It was enlightening. I guess part of me thought that it would just be this big joke book, but it was so much more than that. There are numerous essays that don't have a single lick of humor in it... nevertheless his wit, intellect and astute observations carry you through. It is a pretty hefty read, though. I am a slow reader, but it took me since before Christmas or so to complete (reading only an article or two per night). Some of my favorite articles dealt with Shakespeare, religion, taxes, health spas in Europe and traveling down the Rhone river. Maybe if you have time (and energy) you can check it out...

of the Unbelievable and Perspective

I will admit it, last night I went to bed. I gave up on the Buckeyes. They were down by 20 before half, and 17 at the break... I thought they had no chance of coming back... so I went home and went to bed... and they won. Here is a link for a video that may be available for a few days... Ron Lewis is amazing... big shot after big shot fell for him and Michael Connelly (not my favorite contemporary novelist Michael Connelly), and they won. Absolutely unbelievable. Greg Oden was essentially a non factor. I was amazed he was even able to block the last shot of the game... when he had three fouls in the first half, I didn't think he would even be playing at the end of the game, but he did and came up big 'when it counted'...

All that being said... how much does it really matter? It is easy for me to be detached about basketball because it is not something I am really passionate about. If it was the football team, I would be ecstatic, but... anyway, the reason I bring it up is because I need a change of heart. I need to be more satisfied and charged up by the Lord than I am by a basketball game... it all has it's place, and I am not condemning having a good time and cheering on a team... I am all for that, but I need to keep in mind that God is my ultimate satisfaction, desire and pleasure... not a sports victory... I hope that I can watch their next game, but I do hope more than that I look more and more like Christ, and not so much like a Buckeye 'when it counts'.

An Irish Blessing for you...

May the most you wish for be the least you get.
May the best times you've ever had be the worst you'll ever see.

Nothing to think about (2)

I just saw a sign that said... "Room for rent, Pool and Ping Pong Table". So does this mean that there is a pool to go swimming in, and also a pool table, or does that mean that there is a pool table AND a ping pong table... your guess is as good as mine.

More pictures of the Renaissance

Here are some more pictures of The Blue Flame Jazz Band peforming at the Renaissance Theater. Click here...

Nothing to think about...

Is 'superfluous' a necessary word?

Jazz Concert at the Renaissance Theater

Wednesday night, we had a jazz band concert at the Renaissance Theater that featured four jazz bands from Mansfield area schools. Our group, the Blue Flame Jazz Band performed Chuck Mangione's Children of Sanchez, Duke Ellington's Satin Doll, the original chart Function at the Junction, the standard Night Train, and featured our Sinatra vocalist on How deep is the Ocean? (How High is the Sky?).

The kids did a GREAT job.

Is Shakespeare Dead?

I have been a pretty avid fan of Shakespeare since I first saw Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet a number of years back. It helped me to dive head first into the text and find out what was really meant by "To be or not to be..." I have been a big fan ever since. My time has not allowed me to read all of the poems and plays, but I can say that I have been exposed to more than the average bear... read at least half of the plays,... made a trip to Stratford (Canada), have watched numerous film versions of the plays... so when I first heard about the controversy over whether or not William actually wrote the plays that are credited to him, I scoffed and thought, 'Whatever...' HOWEVER, I have been reading the article "Is Shakespeare Dead?" by Mark Twain, and major doubts have begun to rise in my mind... I know that more research has been done since the time S. Clemens, but he makes a tremendous case for William Shakespeare NOT being the writer of the plays and poems given his name. I have not finished reading it, but to summarize Twain, "I don't know if Francis Bacon wrote the works, but William Shakespeare certainly did not..." not my own 'authoritative' opinion, but one that has considerable merit after reading the article by Mark Twain. Even though it is a bit long, if you are interested, you should take the time to read it...

The finish line inches closer...

Wow. So I just finished my oral comprehensive final for my Master's Degree... and passed. But I am unsure by how much... I guess that when it is pass/fail, there is no percentage that you pass by, but I sure feel like my feet were held to the fire for a solid hour... I have never felt so scrutinized in my professional career... I must have pretty thin skin... maybe I am too close to it (only ended about three hours ago), but I still feel really uncomfortable... glad to have it over and be moving on toward the finish line. I still have to complete a course this semester (as well as a 15 page research paper), but at least mentally it is good to know that I am done with this MAJOR part...

Phase II

Well, the oral comprehensive final is on Monday for my Master's Degree... I'd appreciate your prayers... it is only an hour (compared with the four hour written), but it is still important...

Ah, Thai (tie?) humor...

Part of me still wonders what I was thinking... but I just kept my eyes glued on the boa's head... not that I could have stopped him (her?) if I wanted to...

Words that speak for themselves...

"My mother was always afraid that I would overwork myself, but I never did." - Mark Twain

Murder in Mesopotamia

Partially due to the studying I have been doing for my grad work and partially due to a busy schedule I have not finished a book this year... so I set about to remedy that and read Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie... I had already seen the David Suchet movie, so I knew the outcome going into it, but I still really enjoyed it... here is a summary from the back cover... Dame Agatha shows herself to be a genius of the human personality again as Hercule Poirot looks into the hearts and motives of everyone involved...

"At the request of archaeologist Dr. Eric Leidener, Amy Leatheren has accepted a position as companion to his wife, Louise, a woman prone to 'nervous terrors' - and in need of a confidant. She's found one in Amy. But what is the young nurse to make of Mrs. Leidner's bizarre stories of her first husband, a dead German spy, who has returned in a rage to destroy her new marriage? Stories that everyone attributes to a vivid - and disturbed - imagination? Yet it's more than a flight of fancy that bludgeons poor Mrs. Leidner to death. And it's going to take the brilliant imagination of of Hercule Poirot to unravel the strange facts in a dead woman's fantasy."

What over a day on a plane will do to you...

What am I???

Do you remember the game, 'King of the mountain'? Well, in this picture, I feel more like the mountain, and not so much like the king with these Thai kids...

Many thanks....

A very grateful 'Thank you' to all of you who prayed for me as I took my written comprehensive exam for my Master's degree two and half weeks ago... I found out today that I did indeed pass it! Great news. Also, I have been able to schedule my oral exam with the same three professors for next month... hopefully February 19. I'd appreciate your prayers there as well. It keeps me on the path for graduating in May.

Random words that have caught my ear lately...

There's a dark cloud rising from the desert floor
I packed my bags and I'm heading straight into the storm
Gonna be a twister to blow everything down
That ain't got the faith to stand its ground
Blow away the dreams that tear you apart
Blow away the dreams that break your heart
Blow away the lies that leave you nothing but lost and brokenhearted

- Bruce Springsteen in the song The Promised Land
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"There is no use trying," Said Alice. "One can not believe impossible things."

"I dare say that you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

-Lewis Carroll, from Alice in Wonderland

Weekend at Siem Reap

Some of my friends took a weekend trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia to see the Angkor Wat temples two weekends ago... here are some pictures of them... I hope that you all had a great time my friends!

One big step for Graham-kind...

I want to thank all of your for your prayers yesterday when I was taking my Master's Comprehensive Final. There were a number of things that made me feel pretty confident with how I did. I did not do so well on the composing music component, but I hope that I did well enough to pass. I should find out in about two weeks what the final grade is. If I pass this one, I will be set to take a one hour oral final with the same three professors that submitted questions for the written one. I am also taking three semester hours this spring, and that will get me to the point of graduation in May... pretty exciting. I have been at this thing for 5 or so years now, and I am ready to finish. It is a big weight off of my mind to get this part completed. Thanks again for your prayers, and Thank You Lord for sustaining my feeble memory.

Not much to say...

I am not sure that I know the origin of the phrase, "they just got their head handed to them". However, I know it when I see it. Last night, Ohio State got their head handed to them by Florida. As with many Buckeye fans, this morning I woke with a variety of questions in my mind... "Did Tressel's game plan so revolve around Ted Ginn that when he went down, there was no Plan B?"; "Antonio Pittman was working, why did we not run the ball?"; "Could that much rust have accumulated?"; "Where was the O-line?"; "Where was the D-line?"; "What in the world happened to Troy Smith?". Ultimately, you give credit to Florida and you move on, but it sure was unfortunate to see such a fun and exciting season end like that. But I have never seen a Tressel team so unprepared. Earl Bruce, yes. John Cooper, most definitely. Tressel? That was the biggest egg he has laid since coming to Columbus. To end a season like that is almost unexcusable. Even though there are a variety of things that really frustrated me about this game (the biggest thing obviously being the loss itself), one of the most frustrating to me is the fact that that for all time this Ohio State team will be listed in the 'Pretender' column next to all of the other D-I teams instead of the only 'Contender' when they had so much potential for winning it all... it truly was a sad day to be a Buckeye fan. Nevertheless, it is over... we all still know that we bleed Sacrlet and Grey, and that if it comes down to it, we want Tressel over anyone else on the sideline, and next fall, we will be aching for those heroic plays by Troy... All I can say for myself is that I still wore my Ohio State shirt to bed last night.