Whataburger, you are awesome.
Whataburger, you are incredible.
Whataburger, you fill my stomach.
Whataburger, you do it well.
Your hamburgers are unlike any others.
The buttered bun is buttered and toasted just right.
The pickles and onions are placed perfectly, with awesomeness right in the middle.
And the meat, wow.
Your french fries are a perfect complement to any meal.
The crispyness is a little crisp but not too crisp
The flavor is just right because the salt is just right (not like McDonald's, with too much salt)
And when you dip the fry in the ketchup, wow. Speaking of ketchup . . .
Your ketchup is out of this world.
The ingredients are a mystery.
The little carrier you are in is so cool.
And when you go onto a hamburger, wow.
Your milkshake is unlike any others.
The ice cream has just the right flavors.
The wait for it to unthicken seems to last forever.
And if I drink you too fast, I get an ice cream headache.
Whataburger, you are awesome.
Whataburger, you are incredible.
Whataburger, you fill my stomach.
Whataburger, you do it well.
(And don't even get me started about your breakfast.)
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Some Mistakes Are Bigger Than Others
I know virtually nothing about water polo. But I do know that a mistake with one second left in an Olympic semifinal match that leads to overtime when your time was about to win is big. Huge. Bigger than probably any other mistake imaginable.
I turned the U.S. Women's seminfinal match on this morning just in time to see the Americans win it . . . almost. I turned the TV on with about two minutes left in the match, with the match tied. The Americans score a goal to go up by one. The Australians later shoot and miss with one second left in the game. The U.S. coach calls a timeout. The only problem is the Americans don't have the ball, possession.
That creates a situation in which the Australians get a free shot at the goal, with one Australian and our goalie. Sort of like a technical foul in basketball. Chris Webber, anyone?
The Australian player makes the goal; and the match goes to overtime.
Wow. What a mistake. Mistakes were made all throughout the match . . . and all throughout the Olympics. But none bigger than that one.
So it is with life. We make mistakes all day-long (or at least those of us who admit to them). But some mistakes are bigger than others.
What we need is people around us like the U.S. coach had around him. As soon as the foul/penalty was assessed, his players rallied around him and encouraged him to shake it off. The players all knew the enormity of it. But they also knew that it could have just as easily been them to make a huge mistake. And I would imagine they all realized the good things their coach had done for them.
Who do you have around you that encourages you to shake it off, to move on, to keep on going, even after you mess up worse than you could ever possibly imagine?
I turned the U.S. Women's seminfinal match on this morning just in time to see the Americans win it . . . almost. I turned the TV on with about two minutes left in the match, with the match tied. The Americans score a goal to go up by one. The Australians later shoot and miss with one second left in the game. The U.S. coach calls a timeout. The only problem is the Americans don't have the ball, possession.
That creates a situation in which the Australians get a free shot at the goal, with one Australian and our goalie. Sort of like a technical foul in basketball. Chris Webber, anyone?
The Australian player makes the goal; and the match goes to overtime.
Wow. What a mistake. Mistakes were made all throughout the match . . . and all throughout the Olympics. But none bigger than that one.
So it is with life. We make mistakes all day-long (or at least those of us who admit to them). But some mistakes are bigger than others.
What we need is people around us like the U.S. coach had around him. As soon as the foul/penalty was assessed, his players rallied around him and encouraged him to shake it off. The players all knew the enormity of it. But they also knew that it could have just as easily been them to make a huge mistake. And I would imagine they all realized the good things their coach had done for them.
Who do you have around you that encourages you to shake it off, to move on, to keep on going, even after you mess up worse than you could ever possibly imagine?
Monday, August 6, 2012
Enough is Enough
After yet another staged shooting at a large gathering of people, I ask the question: When is enough enough?
Admittedly, I do not understand the motives and reasoning of people clamoring for all types of guns to be available to the general public. I do not own a gun. I do not plan on owning a gun in the near future. But it seems to me that the only types of guns that should be available are ones for recreational purposes. Why are guns that help perpetrate things like the mass killings in Aurora, Colorado at the movie premiere allowed to be available to people?
I really do ask that question wanting to know honest answers. Because I do not have any.
Admittedly, I do not understand the motives and reasoning of people clamoring for all types of guns to be available to the general public. I do not own a gun. I do not plan on owning a gun in the near future. But it seems to me that the only types of guns that should be available are ones for recreational purposes. Why are guns that help perpetrate things like the mass killings in Aurora, Colorado at the movie premiere allowed to be available to people?
I really do ask that question wanting to know honest answers. Because I do not have any.
We Report, We Decide
I have finally found it. Well, sort of.
I have been on a search for real news for a long time. Over the past few years, any semblance of news among our media has dissipated, dissolved, faded, gone away. Now sure, I was not around when the so-called Giants of News were among us. When it was Walter Cronkite and others doing news for the network news outlets and when cable news was not even a figment in people's imaginations, I wasn't here yet. So I can't say for sure if the good ol' days really were all that good.
But I can say that over the past decade-plus, the desire for so-called news organizations to report the news has gone by the way-side. Out with unbiased reporting, in with partisan politics over the airwaves. It's a sign of the times. And it simply is what it is. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.
Things are to the point where I really do not care about watching or listening to the news because I am simply going to get one side of the news. That's why some of the slogans of the cable news outlets are funny to me. "We report, you decide." Bull corn. You report & you decide for me. Or: "Lean Forward." More like, lean forward in the direction and way that we tell you to.
There really is no unbiased news. That is one thing we can be thankful for learning as news has blended into entertainment in the decade of the 2000s and into the 2010s. We have definitely learned that. All news organizations can do is try to take themselves out of the story and report it as best they can. But that's not 100% possible.
This is why I am glad to have come across two new news outlets: 92.1 FM news talk radio in Houston & the CBS Morning Show. The latter is not exactly new, just a new format. Both of these organizations have attempted a new or re-branding effort at simply reporting the news and not trying to be flashy about it or overly-partisan about it. They seem to realize that they cannot completely take their human biases out of the news reporting. But they're sure giving it their best shot.
If you haven't come across them, I would encourage you to give them a try. You just might find some news out there.
I have been on a search for real news for a long time. Over the past few years, any semblance of news among our media has dissipated, dissolved, faded, gone away. Now sure, I was not around when the so-called Giants of News were among us. When it was Walter Cronkite and others doing news for the network news outlets and when cable news was not even a figment in people's imaginations, I wasn't here yet. So I can't say for sure if the good ol' days really were all that good.
But I can say that over the past decade-plus, the desire for so-called news organizations to report the news has gone by the way-side. Out with unbiased reporting, in with partisan politics over the airwaves. It's a sign of the times. And it simply is what it is. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.
Things are to the point where I really do not care about watching or listening to the news because I am simply going to get one side of the news. That's why some of the slogans of the cable news outlets are funny to me. "We report, you decide." Bull corn. You report & you decide for me. Or: "Lean Forward." More like, lean forward in the direction and way that we tell you to.
There really is no unbiased news. That is one thing we can be thankful for learning as news has blended into entertainment in the decade of the 2000s and into the 2010s. We have definitely learned that. All news organizations can do is try to take themselves out of the story and report it as best they can. But that's not 100% possible.
This is why I am glad to have come across two new news outlets: 92.1 FM news talk radio in Houston & the CBS Morning Show. The latter is not exactly new, just a new format. Both of these organizations have attempted a new or re-branding effort at simply reporting the news and not trying to be flashy about it or overly-partisan about it. They seem to realize that they cannot completely take their human biases out of the news reporting. But they're sure giving it their best shot.
If you haven't come across them, I would encourage you to give them a try. You just might find some news out there.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
"He's a Boy. He Doesn't Need to Be Creative."
Leave it to philosopher, Hank Hill, to put it in just the right way. I thought I had seen just about every King of the Hill episode. But an episode came on yesterday that I don't think I had seen.
In this particular episode, Hank decides to send Bobby to a class on learning how to be a clown. He was having a difficult time dealing with Bobby and his imagination. Bobby had been acting up everywhere, at school, at church, at home, trying to be the funny guy. Peggy noted that Bobby needed a better outlet to be creative and use his imagination, at which point Hank shot back: "He's a boy. He doesn't need to be creative."
Mike Judge and the other creators of King of the Hill do a great job with the show, particularly in somewhat over-exaggerating different belief systems and thought patterns of people living in small town Texas (and all across the southern U.S. for that matter). Whether it's showing that the fictional town of Arlen puts way too much stock and importance in their football team or showing how children are expecting to grow up in that town, they really hit at some important facets and values of small town life.
The idea, of course, in this episode is that Hank believes that Bobby should grow up like him: enjoying sports, working on trucks, and not being creative or artistic, or using his imagination (which perfectly describes Bobby). It's too bad that Hank, and so many people, tries to pigeon-hole his child into his own image . . . rather than allowing him to mature and flourish into his own person.
We do that with children. I, for one, have seen plenty of it. Maybe not always shaping children into parents' exact images, but definitely plenty of shaping into who parents think their children should be. (It must be noted, though, that having thoughts and wishes for children is not always a bad thing. It becomes bad when we allow that to shape who they are becoming.)
But we also do that with adults . . . and with everyone, really. At the least, in our heads, we try to make others be who we think they should be. At worst, we allow that to influence how we treat other people.
We are at our best when we try to be who we truly are . . . not who we think others think we should be.
In this particular episode, Hank decides to send Bobby to a class on learning how to be a clown. He was having a difficult time dealing with Bobby and his imagination. Bobby had been acting up everywhere, at school, at church, at home, trying to be the funny guy. Peggy noted that Bobby needed a better outlet to be creative and use his imagination, at which point Hank shot back: "He's a boy. He doesn't need to be creative."
Mike Judge and the other creators of King of the Hill do a great job with the show, particularly in somewhat over-exaggerating different belief systems and thought patterns of people living in small town Texas (and all across the southern U.S. for that matter). Whether it's showing that the fictional town of Arlen puts way too much stock and importance in their football team or showing how children are expecting to grow up in that town, they really hit at some important facets and values of small town life.
The idea, of course, in this episode is that Hank believes that Bobby should grow up like him: enjoying sports, working on trucks, and not being creative or artistic, or using his imagination (which perfectly describes Bobby). It's too bad that Hank, and so many people, tries to pigeon-hole his child into his own image . . . rather than allowing him to mature and flourish into his own person.
We do that with children. I, for one, have seen plenty of it. Maybe not always shaping children into parents' exact images, but definitely plenty of shaping into who parents think their children should be. (It must be noted, though, that having thoughts and wishes for children is not always a bad thing. It becomes bad when we allow that to shape who they are becoming.)
But we also do that with adults . . . and with everyone, really. At the least, in our heads, we try to make others be who we think they should be. At worst, we allow that to influence how we treat other people.
We are at our best when we try to be who we truly are . . . not who we think others think we should be.
Friday, August 3, 2012
It's All About People
As I think back over the past year of being at a new place, what strikes me the most is people, relationships. We have struck up a number of new, meaningful friendships and relationships, have maintained friendships, and have been able to continue and re-kindle past relationships.
I am by no means mature in my years . . . or all that wise . . . but it seems to me that what is, or should be, very important in our lives is people, relationships.
The Jewish and Christian scriptures start off that way. The first two chapters of the first book of the Bible describe, in detail, the importance of relationships, of our being in relation to one another . . . and to God. So many other wisdom and religious literature speak of life being about deep, meaningful relationships, or friends, if you will.
My years of vocational church ministry have taught me the importance of people. I was taught, early on, that if I had to choose between working on some type of church program/activity/event or spending time with someone(s), always choose spending time. And that has proven to be true. What has made the most impact over the years, both in my life and in the lives of others, is relationships, spending time with others, doing life with people.
What relationships do we need to devote more time and energy to? What relationships do we need to strike up . . . or begin new again? How do we need to use our imagination and creativity to re-invigorate old or maybe somewhat stale relationships?
I am by no means mature in my years . . . or all that wise . . . but it seems to me that what is, or should be, very important in our lives is people, relationships.
The Jewish and Christian scriptures start off that way. The first two chapters of the first book of the Bible describe, in detail, the importance of relationships, of our being in relation to one another . . . and to God. So many other wisdom and religious literature speak of life being about deep, meaningful relationships, or friends, if you will.
My years of vocational church ministry have taught me the importance of people. I was taught, early on, that if I had to choose between working on some type of church program/activity/event or spending time with someone(s), always choose spending time. And that has proven to be true. What has made the most impact over the years, both in my life and in the lives of others, is relationships, spending time with others, doing life with people.
What relationships do we need to devote more time and energy to? What relationships do we need to strike up . . . or begin new again? How do we need to use our imagination and creativity to re-invigorate old or maybe somewhat stale relationships?
What a Difference a Year Makes
One year ago today, we moved, somewhat across the country. I can still remember many particulars of the day. The overwhelming sense or feeling I remember most was is wondering what kinds of changes that particular move would make upon our lives.
What a difference a year makes. When we look back, it's always difficult to say exactly how we have changed or matured . . . because we are different people today than we were before. But I am a different person, with different attitudes, different hopes, different outlooks on life.
Completely different? Probably not. At least I hope not. Because what we were before, minus whatever changes needed to be made, is still good, very good. But a changed and hopefully somewhat more mature person. I hope so.
We need to celebrate, or at least recognize, markers in life. Be they birthdays, anniversaries, or significant days in our journeys--these things mark who we are. These markers help us recognize the kinds of people we are becoming. And they help point us to and towards the people we hope to become.
What a difference a year makes. When we look back, it's always difficult to say exactly how we have changed or matured . . . because we are different people today than we were before. But I am a different person, with different attitudes, different hopes, different outlooks on life.
Completely different? Probably not. At least I hope not. Because what we were before, minus whatever changes needed to be made, is still good, very good. But a changed and hopefully somewhat more mature person. I hope so.
We need to celebrate, or at least recognize, markers in life. Be they birthdays, anniversaries, or significant days in our journeys--these things mark who we are. These markers help us recognize the kinds of people we are becoming. And they help point us to and towards the people we hope to become.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Left Lane: A Right & A Responsibility
Seems to me that if we would all view the left lane as a right AND a responsibility, things would all move just a little more smoothly.
You know what I mean. You've been there. You're driving down a multi-lane road, like an interstate or a freeway. Traffic is moving a little too slowly for you. So you move over to the left lane, the fast lane, to get around. Once you get there, you seem to be stuck. Not really going slower than traffic . . . but definitely not going faster than traffic, either.
This is mostly due to that car who gets in the left lane to just cruise. They see the left lane as their right. Their tax dollars help pay for that left lane; and they have every right to drive in it. Absolutely.
But the left lane is also a responsibility. That's what the sign on the side of the road means when it says: "Left Lane For Passing Only." When we get in the left lane, we need to remember that we have a right to be there. But if we are there, it's also our responsibility to do something with it.
There's probably a life lesson in there somewhere.
You know what I mean. You've been there. You're driving down a multi-lane road, like an interstate or a freeway. Traffic is moving a little too slowly for you. So you move over to the left lane, the fast lane, to get around. Once you get there, you seem to be stuck. Not really going slower than traffic . . . but definitely not going faster than traffic, either.
This is mostly due to that car who gets in the left lane to just cruise. They see the left lane as their right. Their tax dollars help pay for that left lane; and they have every right to drive in it. Absolutely.
But the left lane is also a responsibility. That's what the sign on the side of the road means when it says: "Left Lane For Passing Only." When we get in the left lane, we need to remember that we have a right to be there. But if we are there, it's also our responsibility to do something with it.
There's probably a life lesson in there somewhere.
Video Game Mentality
In a comment on my post yesterday, my man, Yi-Fu, used a really neat phrase: "video game mentality." He was referring to how he wants to just get through the Rangers regular season to get to the playoffs, in a way that you just breeze through a season in a video game to get to the end. I'm right there with him. I just want to close my eyes and boom, it's playoff time. But as he noted, we have to endure and live through all the highs and lows that a baseball season can bring us.
I can remember doing that with video games, growing up. In particular, I remember a friend and I would play a football video game and just let the game simulate a season so that we could get to the playoffs and begin there. Doing that sort of took the fun out of it. That made winning it all sort of lackluster, took some joy out of it.
It's the same with life. If we try to simulate life to get around the hard times, we rob ourselves from much of what life has to offer us.
Doing a baseball season in video game mentality means that we want to steer around the difficult times . . . like the past month for the Rangers. I'm to the point where I just turn it when the Rangers are stinking the joint up . . . like the third inning last night. Had I stuck with it, it would have been an incredible feeling to watch what eventually happened in the tenth inning.
In the same way, when we try to steer around life's obstacles, we miss the incredible feelings that come with getting through the difficult times to the not-so-difficult times. We're better off to try to get through the difficult times. If we try to go around hard things just to get to the good stuff, the good stuff doesn't mean nearly as much . . . and it isn't nearly as enjoyable and worthwhile.
I can remember doing that with video games, growing up. In particular, I remember a friend and I would play a football video game and just let the game simulate a season so that we could get to the playoffs and begin there. Doing that sort of took the fun out of it. That made winning it all sort of lackluster, took some joy out of it.
It's the same with life. If we try to simulate life to get around the hard times, we rob ourselves from much of what life has to offer us.
Doing a baseball season in video game mentality means that we want to steer around the difficult times . . . like the past month for the Rangers. I'm to the point where I just turn it when the Rangers are stinking the joint up . . . like the third inning last night. Had I stuck with it, it would have been an incredible feeling to watch what eventually happened in the tenth inning.
In the same way, when we try to steer around life's obstacles, we miss the incredible feelings that come with getting through the difficult times to the not-so-difficult times. We're better off to try to get through the difficult times. If we try to go around hard things just to get to the good stuff, the good stuff doesn't mean nearly as much . . . and it isn't nearly as enjoyable and worthwhile.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Okay, the Rangers Stink
I posted a little while back that the Rangers are not impressing us because they are not over-achieving. At this point, I am wrong. They are now under-achieving.
This team stinks, as of late. Can't blame it on Jon Daniels or anyone in the front office. Can only blame Wash some. He has finally pulled some strings and messed with the batting order, with great results following. Perhaps he could have done some other things along the way.
But the blame falls all at the players' feet, particularly the lack of offensive production. Proven veterans making tons of money simply aren't producing. Until they do, we can expect more of the same . . . and a slip out of first place soon to follow.
This team stinks, as of late. Can't blame it on Jon Daniels or anyone in the front office. Can only blame Wash some. He has finally pulled some strings and messed with the batting order, with great results following. Perhaps he could have done some other things along the way.
But the blame falls all at the players' feet, particularly the lack of offensive production. Proven veterans making tons of money simply aren't producing. Until they do, we can expect more of the same . . . and a slip out of first place soon to follow.
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