This is us

They take their youth sports seriously here in OK.

This week's Tulsa Urban Weekly, the local equivalent to the Chicago Reader, ran an article describing just how insane some folks around here are about youth sports, specifically football. You can find the article here. The article details the youth programs around the two most dominant football powerhouses in the state. It is fiercely competitive, even though these kids are six and seven.

On a personal note, I experienced some of the same dedication, but luckily without all of the driven competitiveness. Today, I signed Nick up for soccer at the Sapulpa Soccer Club. The club itself is part of USYouth Soccer. The club has some decent facilities, including some dedicated soccer fields and a bunker. We ordered his uniform, and once Nick gets on a team we just need to call in to the uniform store with his number. They'll put it on his jersey and shorts. Pretty cool.

When Nick played in Berwyn, we were lucky to get a t-shirt and we had to shoo the softball teams off the field. And if we stayed too long, baseball teams then shooed us off. So this level of interest and support is quite new to us.

Wish I could have done that

I have tore through few books as quickly as I went through, A.J. Jacob's The Year of Living Biblically. It is quite a good read. Jacob, who self describes himself as Jewish the way the Olive Garden is Italian, set out to follow every law set down in the Bible. He does this partially out of curiosity, partially out of showing how next to impossible that sort of thing is.

In doing so Jacob, an admitted agnostic, has a very interesting social commentary. The rituals seem to connect him more to the faith of his past, in a more direct way than he anticipated. By focusing on not lying or the Sabbath, he is forced to confront the very shallow nature of modern society.

Another great facet of the book is that, even when it would work for an easy joke, he refused to simply use those who's faith and practices are way out of the mainstream be the needless butt of the joke. He goes and takes the time and effort to get to know creationists, the Amish, those who slaughter chickens and snake handlers. In doing so he makes them much more like us and less foreign.

And as interesting, he shows his own struggles for faith and spirituality. Jacob realizes this and assembles his own faith council. A diverse body of religious tutors and mentors which help guide him. These guides help keep Jacob grounded to the fact that this more than just a set of rituals for him to pretend in. Which helps the book transcend the travelogue.

But unfortunately, the ride slows considerably when he sets his sight on Christianity. And it is in this very aspect where it slows. When he is in his own faith, Judaism, he seems to get more out of the rituals as a link to the past and he is able to internalize them into himself.

Unfortunately, one of the major aspects of Christianity is the removal of many of the rituals which he is now engaged in. This since there are almost no new acts to do, and since he barely believes the message in Judaism, he does not seem to get nearly as much out of his time with Christian Bible thumpers.

To somewhat counter the effect of his unbelief in Christianity, we learn more about his wife and their attempt at invetro. This begining of new life sets the course for the last part of the book. And while it was interesting, it brings up the question, just how has this challenge changed him in the long run? I really would like to know if he still follows the Sabbath or, as he shows in the book, how easy it is to go back. As he admits that he Google searches himself sometimes, A.J. go ahead and drop a note.

My apartment encourages reading

This Christmas I received a nice gift card for Amazon and used it to purchase 4 books. And I've already read through 2 of them. (I've also used the Designing Great Beers book as well, but there's a lot more in that one.) And I was wondering just why I was able to get through these books as quickly as I did. And then I realized what it was. My apt makes me read more.

Well one fact about my apartment in particular. The computer is in the master bedroom. This small fact truely redefines my late night activities. Since Sarah cannot get to sleep with the monitor on, I've almost entirely abandoned my late night web surfing habit. And since I refuse to go to bed before midnight, I have more time do do some reading while I drink my beer. (See I'm getting some use out of that book.)

But both books, A year of living Biblically and Heat while starting great ended a little flat. I'm sure I'll blog about both of these soon, cause there is a lot to say. But right now Sarah is about to kick me out of here. I think I'll start on the last book now.

No more metal

Today I finally got the last remnants of my surgery removed. The doc took out the 12 staples in my gut. However, I'm not quite up to full speed yet as he applied some glue and bandages to the same spots. But it's a lot better than the staples.