Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Notre Dame Alumnus
The link above connects to an article about a Notre Dame alumnus making remarks that ND needs to lighten their admission standards in order to get the "black athlete". At the end of the article, NCAA statistics are provided that compared to the average of Division 1 schools, Notre Dame has a higher percentage of black athletes on their football team than the average calculated. Rightfully so, the school has said the alumnus does not speak for them.
The alumnus's comments make my blood boil. The undercurrent of racism irks me to no end. It almost sounds like the alumnus thinks black athletes aren't smart enough to get into ND. Maybe they don't want to go to ND, but enough obviously do if the football team has more black players than comparable schools.
Some people really need to think before they speak.
The link above connects to an article about a Notre Dame alumnus making remarks that ND needs to lighten their admission standards in order to get the "black athlete". At the end of the article, NCAA statistics are provided that compared to the average of Division 1 schools, Notre Dame has a higher percentage of black athletes on their football team than the average calculated. Rightfully so, the school has said the alumnus does not speak for them.
The alumnus's comments make my blood boil. The undercurrent of racism irks me to no end. It almost sounds like the alumnus thinks black athletes aren't smart enough to get into ND. Maybe they don't want to go to ND, but enough obviously do if the football team has more black players than comparable schools.
Some people really need to think before they speak.
Thursday, March 25, 2004
Today March Madness continues. There are 9 brackets the Ragger Group has submitted for tracking. I have 2 of those. My longshot bracket is some kind of freak coming in 2nd overall. My other bracket is coming in 2nd to last. The Terror is in 1st place. I need him to lose Georgia Tech during this next round of play. If that happens, I have a chance at passing him.
In the grand scheme of things, the Raggers is one of the best thing this family has come up with in many years. The Raggers are basically all the male members of my dad's generation and my generation with a couple of exceptions. The Raggers started last Spring/Summer when the Cubs were racing towards the World Series. We all threw our comments in about the Cubs and anything else on our mind. While the group is more sports focused, I'm more the current events commentator. Sports and I just don't get along. I can play many of them, but to sit and watch for hours...yawn. There have been some great emails, but overall I enjoy the coming together it has brought my family. I'd nominate this as one of the best uses of the Internet / e-Mail.
Now nail biting time. Who will win todays games and how much further can my bracket sink?
In the grand scheme of things, the Raggers is one of the best thing this family has come up with in many years. The Raggers are basically all the male members of my dad's generation and my generation with a couple of exceptions. The Raggers started last Spring/Summer when the Cubs were racing towards the World Series. We all threw our comments in about the Cubs and anything else on our mind. While the group is more sports focused, I'm more the current events commentator. Sports and I just don't get along. I can play many of them, but to sit and watch for hours...yawn. There have been some great emails, but overall I enjoy the coming together it has brought my family. I'd nominate this as one of the best uses of the Internet / e-Mail.
Now nail biting time. Who will win todays games and how much further can my bracket sink?
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Tulips
Okay, I haven't posted for a few days and I was feeling guilty. I was lurking around some other peoples blogs and found an entry about tulips and how the writer was excited about the tulips starting to sprout. Well I decided I could write about tulips too.
Okay, I LOVE Tulips. So much so my backyard garden has 120 tulip bulbs. 60 of those are from my last trip to Europe when I got to spend a weekend in Amsterdam. I lugged the bulbs with me for 2 weeks while traveling through England. When I got home at the beginning of October I planted them and mine are now starting to sprout. I figure around mid April my garden will be tulip lush.
I can't explain why I love them. Maybe its their simplicity. Maybe its because they are truly a spring flower and I have a spring birthday which is causing some connection. Maybe its just the beautiful colors. (I have Blue, Black, Yellow/Orange, Red/White and others in my garden. The black ones are a deep purple. Very nice.) Whatever the cause, Tulips are for me.
In another Tulip related moment, last week I went to a fund raiser for a friend who is a performance artist. Joseph's new show is based around tulips. The press images were beautiful. I went to his website, but unfortunately they're not up yet. :( Here's his website I don't see as many of his shows as I should, but hopefully a little free press will make up for it.
Okay, I haven't posted for a few days and I was feeling guilty. I was lurking around some other peoples blogs and found an entry about tulips and how the writer was excited about the tulips starting to sprout. Well I decided I could write about tulips too.
Okay, I LOVE Tulips. So much so my backyard garden has 120 tulip bulbs. 60 of those are from my last trip to Europe when I got to spend a weekend in Amsterdam. I lugged the bulbs with me for 2 weeks while traveling through England. When I got home at the beginning of October I planted them and mine are now starting to sprout. I figure around mid April my garden will be tulip lush.
I can't explain why I love them. Maybe its their simplicity. Maybe its because they are truly a spring flower and I have a spring birthday which is causing some connection. Maybe its just the beautiful colors. (I have Blue, Black, Yellow/Orange, Red/White and others in my garden. The black ones are a deep purple. Very nice.) Whatever the cause, Tulips are for me.
In another Tulip related moment, last week I went to a fund raiser for a friend who is a performance artist. Joseph's new show is based around tulips. The press images were beautiful. I went to his website, but unfortunately they're not up yet. :( Here's his website I don't see as many of his shows as I should, but hopefully a little free press will make up for it.
Friday, March 19, 2004
I'm participating in my first March Madness Tournament Bracket Competition. After Day 1, I've made 14 of 16 correct picks. In my group only 1 person has done better, my brother (I'll call him Terror. Yes eventually everyone will have a nickname. Not everyone wants to be fully identified, plus I'd hate for someone to Google a family member or friend and end up here. Too much dirt could be discussed.) Well let's see how Day 2 ends.
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
Well after having spent the past 2 months lurking around a few other people's blogs, I've decided now is the time for me to have my own. Don't know what I'm going to talk about, but it'll probably involve politics, comic books, sex, life, kids and anything else that strikes my fancy. Thanks for reading.
