I hate Reality TV!!!!!

Okay, I have to get this off my chest. I am so sick and tired of Reality TV!!!! At what point did we as a country decide that we wanted entertainment options that cater to the “lowest common denominator” mindset? I just heard a commercial on the radio for the latest of these mind-numbing, intelligence-insulting, headache-inducing pieces of digitized trash – a show called “Farmer Takes a Wife.” Apparently the premise is a group of “city” women head to the “country” where a “farmer” will put them through the motions of “daily farm living” to pick a suitable mate. Just the radio commercial made me want to bang my head on my desk!

Is it any wonder that we as a nation are getting dumber and dumber with each passing year and generation? We tune into this garbage – mostly because it’s almost impossible to avoid anymore – and we call it entertainment.

Don’t misunderstand me on one very important point. My rant is aimed solely at the staggering number of staged “Reality TV” shows such as “Big Brother,” “Survivor,” “The Bachelor,” “Top Model,” “Beauty and the Geek,” anything on MTV or VH-1, even “American Idol” (from articles I’ve read recently). I’m not referring to shows like “Dirty Jobs,” “Mythbusters,” or “Deadliest Catch” – shows that are not (or at the very least, not as obviously) staged for ratings and the shock factor. And – gasp – you might actually learn something when you watch these shows.

I know Reality TV shows are produced for practically nothing in comparison to the hour long dramas they’re often competing with, which makes them appealing to the money-hungry television networks in their quest to constantly out-do each other. But at what point do we say ‘Enough!’? I’m still angry that shows like “Sports Night” and “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” can’t stay on the air, but “Rock of Love” (starring none other than one of Mechanicsburg’s finest – Bret Michaels) is headed for its 3rd season. I understand that as a rule, most Americans don’t want to have to think when they watch TV, and the vast majority of Americans have no idea what constitutes intelligent comedy when there’s no laugh-track included to inform the mindless drones when to laugh. But, seriously, how do any of these shows qualify as entertainment. What’s next, televised public drunkenness? Oh, wait, that was “Cops.”

Well, enough ranting. I was hoping to go watch an episode of “Heroes,” but I see there’s a 2-hour “Deal or no Deal” on. I guess America just can’t get enough of those stupid silver briefcases…

1 Down, 17 to go

Okay, Game 1...start of a new season...team ready to go...trucking along at full speed...

And the wheels come of...again!

I've come to the conclusion that we're like a stock car that blows an engine on the last lap after leading the whole way. In the first game We played 6 nearly perfect innings of softball. Unfortunately, there were 7 innings to the game. I really want to say it's okay, because we had fun and it's only the first night. But it's so frustrating to blow a 5 run lead in the last inning, only to come up a run short, especially when we played such a good game up to that point. It brought back a whole lot of memories...and stomach ulcers...of last season.

Game 2? Well, we never got going and, I suspect, we were letting the frustration of the first game eat as us a little too much. This is not to downplay the fact that our opponent played a great game in Game 2. They beat us soundly. But not nearly as soundly as we beat ourselves in Game 1.

It was only the first night, and there's a lot of softball to be played. A discouraging evening, to be sure, but I'm confident we'll turn it around and shake the monkey off our back tomorrow night!

And if we can't shake it off, I'm bringing a crowbar and some dynamite. That should do the trick!

And so it begins...

The 2008 softball season officially kicks off for Immanuel Church this evening with a game against Daybreak. If the weather report from last evening holds true, there is no rain in the forecast and we should be able to get the game in.

Check back tomorrow for highlights of the game, in-depth analysis and commentary from softball pundits and beat writers across the country. I'm sure you won't want to miss a beat as the season unfolds. :)

In all seriousness, I will try to put up some highlights and thoughts about the game for the three of you who are actually reading this so far.

Country Music?!?!?!

I’ve mentioned this before, but in addition to my passion for softball & baseball, I have an almost equal love of music. I’m one of those people who can hear a few measures of a song on the radio and know the song (for the most part). I have an appreciation for most styles of music, the notable exceptions being hardcore ‘gangsta’ rap (you can’t spell crap without rap), and some classical music.

Notice that I did not include country music in my exceptions. If I had written this blog 5 years ago, I would have. I used to think that country music was strictly for the hicks of the world (i.e. Rednecks). And most of the people I knew who listened to country music – and admitted it – fit that bill. But something strange happened. Rednecks became cool (thank you Mr. Foxworthy), and country music started taking up more and more of the airwaves. It’s to a point where it’s almost impossible not to listen to it in some areas. Country songs are even popping up on Top-40 stations and Adult Contemporary stations as well, so eventually, you’re bound to hear a country song.

I started to ‘learn to appreciate’ country music about 5 years ago. I’m one of those people who needs to have a radio on at work – sometimes to act as background noise, sometimes to drown out the background noise. At one of my previous employment locations, the only station I could get in on my radio was a country station. I didn’t want to bring in a CD player, because the position was temporary, so my choices were to turn the radio off, or listen to the country station. I chose the latter, and before I knew it, I was humming along to the music. Shortly thereafter, I found I knew the words to the songs. It was only a short time after that where I was able to admit that I was actually enjoying the music. (somewhere, my sister has just cringed painfully).

Truth is, the more I listen to it, the more I like it. Not because I consider myself a redneck or a hick, but because there is some phenomenal music being written and performed in the country world. If you listen to enough Pop or Rock music, every third song is a remake of another song, or a cover of another artist, or just plain nonsense in terms of lyrics and music. There’s very little in the Pop/Rock world that is original anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I still listen to Pop and Rock (Bon Jovi’s currently playing on my iPod as I write this), but when I’m looking for something new and original - or when I need a good laugh - I’m punching up a country station.

But don’t worry. I promise I’m not buying a pickup truck anytime soon.

Factoid that may only interest me:
- Over the last 10 years, the only genres of music to increase each year in sales were Country and Christian. That should tell you something...

Softball Pitchers

I just read Jeff’s blog from Saturday, and I’m still laughing over his comment that the opening tournament on Saturday was the softball equivalent of “Who’s Line Is It Anyway?” Excellent comparison, my friend! If you’re curious, please check out his blog (the link is to the right).

I’ve also come to the following conclusion about slow-pitch softball pitchers: We are either the bravest players on the team, or the dumbest! What other explanation is there for a man to voluntarily stand 55 feet away from another guy, toss him the easiest thing in the world to hit, and give him the opportunity to smack the snot out of the ball back at you at speeds exceeding 100 miles an hour? When the ball leaves my hand at 5 m.p.h, and comes back at me with a 2000% increase in speed (don’t question the math) – something’s not quite right with that picture. So I’d appreciate your prayers on behalf of Jeff, Brian, Rod and myself this season!

But I digress. The truth is I pitch for three reasons: 1) because I’m too slow to play pretty much anywhere else, 2) because I’m actually pretty decent at it, and 3) because I trust my instinctual need for self-preservation. My reflexes are still quick enough to at least deflect the ball before it does any significant damage – or to dive out of the way!

I can’t speak for the others, but I do believe psych evaluations are in order.

Let the games begin...kinda

Today was the unofficial start to our softball season, with our annual pre-season 'tournament'. It's not really a tournament in the truest sense, because there are no ultimate winners, and you only play teams that are in your arbitrary bracket. But, it does usually serve as a good barometer of where the team stands as the season draws near. And today, we had probably the best weather I've ever experienced at this tourney in the 12 years I've been playing in this league.

(Whoa! I've been playing in this league for 12 years. I can't possible be that old. Although it would explain the gray hair...)

Sorry, random thought there. But the day was definitely beautiful - sunny, mid 80's, gentle breeze - perfect softball weather. Of course, as the coach, I have to be paying attention to more than the weather, right? Well, I have to admit, it was tough being the coach today. Not because of anything that happened, but because there are a great group of guys playing on our team this year, and it makes it all that much harder to decide who plays and who doesn't. Fortunately, I had the gift of two games to get everyone in (should have been three games, but life intervened). I did come away with some interesting thoughts for the season and our team...

- I mentioned this already, but these guys really are something special this year.
- when everyone is playing their A game, we are a force to be reckoned with.
- as much as we like to argue with umpires, playing without one kinda sucks.
- have I mentioned that I have a great group of guys playing this year?
- Home Runs are cool, but singles and doubles win softball games.
- I like to coach and to teach guys how to play the game, but there are time I just want to play and not worry about the coaching part.
- and in case I haven't mentioned it, I thing the guys on our squad are fantastic!

We ended up 1-1 today, and I'm proud of that. We played two of the tougher teams in our league today, and we played well against them. I have to admit, I was concerned when I learned we had been bumped up to the upper division of our league - we were 2-14 against those teams last year, yikes! - but today, I think we proved to ourselves that we belong with these guys. And we had 4 or 5 guys missing today, so if I get a full squad out, we are going to be powerful!

One more practice before we start the season. Just hope the weather holds up on Thursday.

Where's Your Mission Field?

On Sunday, we were privileged to have a Soueth and Syna Lao, a husband & wife missionary team share with us during our morning service. Both Soueth and Syna are Cambodian, and they are currently serving in Poipet, Cambodia. Take a moment to review that last sentence. Both the husband and wife are Cambodian, and they have been sent by God to serve in the very country they were born in. How awesome is that!

They had a phenomenal testimony. Both Soueth and Syna survived the Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge in the 70’s. They were both separated from their families for years while in Cambodia, and they were both able to eventually escape to America while in their early teens. In fact, although they later came to learn that they lived relatively close to each other in Cambodia, they did not meet until God brought them together in New York City. While in NYC, they were able to learn English, get an education, and even graduate college. After some years of ministry in the city, the Lao’s felt called to return to Cambodia, and were able to assist with a medical missionary team in Poipet. As it happens, the medical missionary team was led by Kent and Chrissy Copeland, who happen to be from Immanuel Church. Kent cares for the body, Soueth cares of the soul, and together, they show the Cambodian people the love of Christ in very tangible and practical ways.

However, the whole time they were talking, I couldn’t help but think about the fact that they were, in essence, called back home to serve. To me, that is the most incredible part of the story. These two people witnessed first hand one of the most atrocious acts of the 20th century, and even upon their return were still considered state enemies by some of the remaining factions of the Khmer Rouge. Yet they went, never once questioning God. And they are having a powerful effect for God in their ministry. A lot of it has to do with the fact that they are preaching to their own. The people of Cambodia are not listening to foreigners talk about a God they’ve never heard of. They are listening to the first hand experience of people just like them, and that had to lend a whole new level of meaning to the message.

Can you imagine if we here in America had the same passion and fire for our own people? Keith Green once said that God calls everyone to be missionaries. I believe that to be true. Those of us who are believers are blessed with the most amazing gift the world has every known – the saving grace of Christ Jesus. How can we possibly not want to share that with others? Being a missionary does not mean you have to drop everything and head to the other side of the world. If your neighbor doesn’t know the Lord, your mission field is mere yards away. While I strongly support those who are called to go to ‘the ends of the earth’ to share the love and saving grace of Christ, I also feel strongly that we do those folks no favors if we are not reaching our local community at the same time.

Remember, it’s the bottom of the ninth (had to relate this all back to baseball somehow!), and there are runners on base that we need to get home!

What's a weekend?

I walked into work this morning, and was asked the traditional question of “How was your weekend?” I paused for a moment, and suddenly realized that the blur of the last 48 hours was indeed the weekend.

Actually, when I take a look back into the Tivo of my mind, I can pause things long enough to realize that the weekend was actually pretty good. Anita and I slept in on Saturday (much too long, for certain, but it was needed), and went out to enjoy a nice brunch and run some small errands. Saturday night, we had some of the college students from Messiah over to watch a movie. We watched “Keeping the Faith,” which is one of my favorite movies. I’ve seen the movie a number of times, and I still laugh out loud at different parts of it. And I’m also constantly struck by some of the very thought-provoking dialogue scattered throughout the movie. Eventually, we kicked the kids out (around 11:30 or so – do college kids ever get tired?).

Sundays for us are not always the ‘day of rest’ that I wish them to be. This Sunday was a prime example. We were at the church by 8:30. for our worship team warm-up/rehearsal. By the time church was over, and we eventually made our way out of the parking lot, it was 12:30. The service was fantastic on Sunday (more on that later, I promise), and we always enjoy being able to socialize with our friends and family after the service as well.

After church, we went to lunch, and then a trip to Target, which at least saved me from having to deal with Wal-Mart’s parking lot. After spending more time at Target than anticipated, we made our way home, pulling in around 2:15 or so, finally able to rest, right?

Oh, no, because we had to leave again at 2:40 for a concert at 3:00. Messiah College Concert Choir was performing at a local church in Mechanicsburg, having been kicked off campus due to the Compassion Forum. We went, and were pleasantly surprised to find the church was packed tight. As alumni of Messiah, and of the Concert Choir, I was impressed. The choir did a phenomenal job. Although, they apparently forgot to tell the old man sitting behind me what songs they were singing, because whatever he was humming along with – loudly – was not quite what the choir was singing.

The concert ended around 4:45, and we headed home to pick up Antia’s car, only to head back to the church for choir practice at 5:30. We did get to spend another 15 minutes at home before we had to turn around again. The reason we both needed cars at the church for Choir practice was because I had a Trustees meeting after the evening service, which ran about 25 minutes later than normal. Not a complaint, just an acknowledgement of the timeline.

The Trustees meeting began at 8:30, with the chair stating “I want to keep this short.” If you’ve ever been on a church committee, you know that this statement is usually the kiss of death. I have never been in a meeting that began with “I want to keep this short” that ended up being short, and this was no exception.

Two hours later, I found myself on my way home, with a quick stop at Sheetz for a sandwich and an Iced Tea. Finally, I got home at 10:50. So, between 8:30 in the morning and 11:00 at night, I spent a whopping 50 minutes at home.

Gotta love Sunday’s!

Finally, a practice!

Finally got a softball practice under my belt, and it was a perfect night for it. Pleasantly mild (about 68 degrees), gentle wind, enough cloud cover to keep the sun out of your eyes – perfect softball weather. And I think the thing that made it most worthwhile was that there were 11 other guys who had come out for our second team practice. In past years, we’d get 13 or 14 for the first practice, then 5 or 6 for the next three practices, which is kinda useless. So far, we’ve seen 18 different guys come out. The season’s looking bright (or was that the reflection of the sun off of a windshield of a car in the parking lot?).

Personally, I was excited that I was able to chase down some fly balls on a dead sprint. Now, keep in mind that a dead sprint for me is somewhere between power walking and a brisk jog. The last few years I’ve been dealing with some knee issues and a variety of other aches and pains, so it was good to go to practice, play hard, and wake up this morning not feeling like I’d gotten hit by a bus. If I can keep it up all season, maybe I’ll even leg out a few extra base hits this year!

So bring on the season, ‘cause the Immanuel Men’s Softball Team is ready to roll…or something like that.

Symphony over, Bring on Softball!

Well, I survived the symphony weekend. Gotta tell you, while I enjoyed the opportunity to sing with the symphony, and to sing under the direction of Stuart Malina, I am sooooo glad it’s over! I’ll be honest, if we were getting paid for it, I wouldn’t have minded it so much. But the last week or two was just ridiculous…4+ hours of rehearsal 5 times in the last couple of weeks. That, of course, is on top of the 3 months of weekly 2½ -hour rehearsals that took place before hand. I did make a couple of observations during the weekend…

- Stuart Malina is incredibly talented, immensely passionate, and refreshingly humble.

- Choral singers are the illegitimate children of the music world (ask me to explain some other time).

- Diva attitudes drive me nuts

- As much as I enjoy singing, I’m an instrumentalist at heart. I approach singing as a trumpet player, not a singer. This is not a problem, but I found I tend to focus more on the technical aspects of the music than the text.

- The Harrisburg area, by and large, has no idea how rich an Arts Culture it has.

So, now that it’s done, it’s time to move on to bigger and better things. Softball season is underway, and I’m actually excited about the season for the first time in a few years. I cannot wait to get out on the field, take a few swings and shag some fly balls. I missed our first practice (because of my obligation to the choir), but this week, it’s supposed to be sunny and 70-degrees…perfect softball weather!

And did anyone else notice that after the first week of the season, the Pirates are at .500? Okay, not the most stellar of statistics, but for the Pirates, that’s an accomplishment of colossal proportions.

I close with facts that may interest only me.
- the Pirates won yesterday with the 4 highest paid players riding the pine (of course, those four players combined don’t equal A-Rod’s salary this year, but I digress…)

More to me than Softball

Okay, so besides baseball/softball, I do have a few other areas in my life that I like to participate in when I can. One of those is my love of music. Music has always been an integral part of my life. I grew up playing trumpet and singing in school and church. Music is directly responsible for Anita and I meeting, as we were placed on the same Music Ministry Team our first year at Messiah College. And it’s still a large part of my life in my role as co-Music/Worship Director at Immanuel Church.

For a number of years, Anita and I have had the opportunity to sing with the Messiah College Choral Arts Society. The group is under the direction of Linda Tedford, who is also the director of the Susquehanna Chorale, one of the top choirs in the country. Actually, Anita and I also had the opportunity to sing under Linda while students at Messiah, so it’s been a privilege to continue to sit in one of her choirs.

Now, I will admit that I’m not a huge fan of classical music - especially when you have to sing it in Latin or German, which I’m terrible at - but I do enjoy being part of this superb choir. But it’s worth it this year because we have the unique opportunity to sing with the Harrisburg Symphony. We will be joining 3 other choirs (the Susquehanna Chorale, the Messiah College Concert Choir and the Lebanon Valley College Alumni Choir) in this coming weekend’s performances. While this in itself is pretty cool, the best part for me is the chance to sing under the direction of Stuart Malina. While this may interest only those in the Harrisburg area, or those who are extremely passionate about symphonies, what intrigues me the most is that Mr. Malina is a Tony Award winner, having helped compose the orchestration for the Broadway show “Movin’ Out” with Billy Joel (I’m a huge Billy Joel fan!).

So assuming anyone reads this prior to April 5th and 6th of this year, and you’re in the Harrisburg area, do yourself a favor and bring some culture into your life by attending one of the performances of the Harrisburg Symphony this weekend. It promises to be an event you won’t soon forget.