Fragile Empire

A provocative Op/Ed from the LA Times this weekend..
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-ferguson28-2010feb28,0,2697391.story

Friday Thoughts...

Again, I've waited until Friday to say anything at all on my blog, but I've been active on Twitter all week (drwilliamsisin and workthecloud).  Here are some news and notes from the week...

• Madison made some delicious cupcakes this week.  Yum!
• The big news is Matt's big show is this week.  Opening night was last night and it was a blast!  We enjoyed the show a lot and Matt was terrific.  Mimi is coming to town tomorrow to see it.  We're all looking forward to seeing her...it's been nearly a year.
• Tonight we're hosting the youth group for Matt's show and then a party at our house after.  Should be a kick.
• I wrapped up the first half of the semester this week.  I had my students over for lunch on Wednesday and we had a wonderful time enjoying some burritos and getting to know one another a bit better.
• I'm on "spring break" next week with no classes again for ten days. :-)
• I finally was able to catch up with JA this week.  We got together one night after everyone was in bed and watch thy Olympics and caught up on about a year's worth of news. 
  
• ACU announced their new President...and he's my age!  Holy moly!
  
• Big news this week is that Google released "Buzz" and promptly received a class-action lawsuit from a Harvard Law student for privacy invasion.

• We are LOVING the Olympics!  Vonn, White, Mancuso, Teeter...what a fun group of athletes.  The highlight so far has been that almost every sport we've seen Madison has said "I could do that!"  She really believes it too. :-).  So yesterday on our way up from the gym we tried some "speed skating training" that we had seen on the Olympics.  It wore her out in about 5 minutes!  She responded..."Well, I said I could be a speed skater, not that I could do those silly exercises!". :-)
  

I love the olympics!

It's hard to say how much I love the Olympics...especially the Winter Olympics.  I have such fond memories of the Miracle on Ice, Eric Heiden, Bonnie Blair, Picabo Street, and so many others.  There is something magical about watching these incredible athletes doing things we could never do (short-track, speed skating) or WOULD never do (luge/skeleton). 
I've so enjoyed watching each nights' events with the kids.  Our highlights so far were...

• sadness and sympathy for the two Korean skaters who fell in the final turn of the final lap of the 1500 Meter finals allowing two US Skaters to medal. 
  
• Amazement at the speed and courage of those freakin' downhill skiiers.  Holy moly...why would a person do that?
• I'd never seen the Snowboard Cross event before...how fun!  What a wonderful addition to the games.
• The moguls freestyle is simply amazing.  That anyone can do that without killing themselves defies imagination.
• Do you know any human who could complete (not compete, but merely complete!) the Nordic combined?  Holy moly...to XC ski that far at full speed?  Wow.

If you've not watched any of this so far...tune in!  Take an hour or two and just see what's going on.  But please...use TiVO.  The commercials are awfully frequent and long.

Random Friday (on Tuesday!)

Sorry for the delay.  Last week was quite busy so my regular Friday column kept getting postponed until it became a Monday column. :-)

Why?  Why you ask? 

Well, of course, the big thing was Valentine's Day.  We've got a wonderful tradition going back about 12 years.  The tradition is to invite a couple of others to join us for a Valentine's Celebration.  We get a sitter, send the ladies out for a trip to the salon and the guys prepare a wonderful meal and evening at home.  We usually choose a couple of couples to celebrate with and over the years we've shared these evenings with some of our dearest friends. 

Highlights this year include...

• a gourmet italian feast with asparagus wrapped in crisp prosciutto, home made foccaccia, shrimp scampi, chopped salad, butternut squash soup, chicken parmiagiana, fresh marinara sauce, and chocolate mouse.
• A-Wall practically burned the house down while reaching for some Shrimp caused his napkin to go a bit too close to the flame...SHAZAM!!!  There was smoke, there was fire, there was stamping and screaming!  Finally the fire was put out and we all had a good laugh.
• The kids all slept over at a friend's house.  Next year, we may try to do Valentines with the friends who hosted the kids this year...
  

In other news...

• The Pepperdine community is saddened by the loss of Judge Kenneth Starr.  Kenn today announced that he is taking the presidency of Baylor University.  He will do very well there, and we will miss him here.  It's funny...when I tell people that I'm at Pepperdine they usually know only two things about it...1) it's got an amazingly beautiful campus, and 2) Ken Starr is here.  While his politics have been controversial over the past twenty years, his leadership as a dean has been truly impressive.  Our rankings, reputation, and funding at the law school have all improved considerably under his leadership. 
  

While my family is totally snowed in MD, we're enjoying a heat wave here in SoCal.  This weekend it was in the mid-70's and a perfect weekend for a long ride.  I rode up to Port Heuneme and enjoyed a few hours in the saddle.  Ahhh..  This photo is from a parking lot right out on the beach.  What a great day. 

• I've been shopping for a year or so for a new bike.  I'm planning on getting a new bike as a reward if I receive tenure this year.  If I don't receive tenure, I promise NOT to go postal like the lady at University of Alabama did this weekend.  I think I'm going to get a Kawi Versys if things go well.
  
• Gong Hay Fat Choy! (that's happy Chinese new year)!  
• Sunday we took breakfast in bed to Matt & Madison (Marcus woke up too early).  Such a fun day...

• I'm teaching the Jr. High at church and loving it.  I'm doing a series on the gospel.  Its a lot of fun.
• OK..that's all for this week.  I'll update again on Friday.
  

Be observant of children and pets...

I just received the following email from my employer (who also happens to be my neighborhood association).

Dear Residents,

Public Safety has asked that we pass on the following information to you.

A local biologist that tracks collared mountain lions, has tracked one to the general area of the Baxter water tank. Mountain lions in the area are not an unusual occurrence, as they frequent the entire Santa Monica mountains.

Please be observant of children and pets.

Thank you.

Assistant Real Estate Manager

Pepperdine University Real Estate Operations

I love the last line... I don't know about you, but I read it as "You can observe this 300lb mountain lion consume the children and pets!  The show starts at dusk!  Don't miss it!"  :-)

Father-Daughter Dance at Malibu Pres

Madison and I had an absolute blast at the Malibu Pres Father-Daughter Dance.  We danced until we were exhausted.  She taught me the swing, the meringe (sp?), and another one I didn't know the name of.  We had so much fun. 

Before we left I made two promises to her:

1. I would try my best to do the dances she taught me.
2. I would not embarrass her (she made me promise this one!)

Well, after those two promises you can imagine my surprise when the DJ asked for "four fathers with great moves to come up to the stage" and Madison forced my hand up.  I said, "Madi!  I don't have great moves... this will be embarrassing!", but she wanted me up there.  Of course, the DJ chose me and 3 other hopeless looking dads to come up and get our groove on.

Our challenge?

The Chicken Dance.

Oh man, was it fun.  I clucked and got down as well as I could and came in a solid second-place.  Madi was so proud!  It was one of the best nights I can remember in a long time.  Truly magical.  You can see a few photos on my flickr page (see the photos on the right side of this page).

I love my little girl.  She is really a sweet, kind, intelligent, and funny person.  I'm very proud.

4-Days and Counting

Valentines is one of my favorite holidays.  For the past 12 years or so I've coordinated a Valentines event with friends where the guys put on a lovely dinner and entertainment for our wives.  Last year we had a Greek-themed blowout with friends who had grown up in Greece.  This year we're having a repeat with the same friends, but with an Italian theme.  The rules are

1. Nothing canned or bottled.
2. Nothing frozen.
3. Nothing purchased pre-made.

 Any suggestions for the menu?