Capitalist or Socialist?

What's best for the "little" little leaguer's....keeping score or not? Is no score wimpy? Does it overprotect? Is competition a good thing for these young egos? Or does it damage them by creating winners and losers, haves and have-nots? Is it fair that some kids are blessed with great athletic skills and others are not? What about good looks, smarts? We aren't all equal are we. I've been thinking a lot about capitalism, socialism, etc. I can see good and bad in both. What if you have a job that is constantly open to competition (starting quarterback, most sales positions, small business owners, etc)? It can be uncertain, stressful, downright tough....but it does bring out everything we have..we must give our all to survive. On the other hand think of other kinds of secure jobs without competition (tenured teachers, lots of government agency positions, monopolies)....people can become lazy and too secure so that the end product isn't so good. But the stress of constant competition could undermine some of these positions so that no one would take the job. I guess the answer depends on many factors. Perhaps combinations of both theories work best.

I guess one of the reasons I love competitive golf is that is pure capitalism...shoot a good score or you're out and it's all on me. It drives me to practice and achieve things that I wouldn't do otherwise. On the other hand, I would hate it if my wife decided who her husband would be weekly, based on the prior week's performance. Makes you think doesn't it?

"V" and "Z"

Well, it's over. The Masters. See my picture...my favorite place. So all last week I was there. Pretty cold Saturday late. We followed Vaughn Taylor aka "V" and Zack Johnson aka "Z" on Sunday. Vaughn is a friend who many of us in the area have competed with or played golf with over the years. Great guy. Quiet. Real. It was fun to walk around the course with friends and his family. His putting wasn't what we hoped for, but when it was all over he finished tied for 10th...not bad. As a big bonus we were following the eventually winner "Z".

Strange thing happened early Sunday. While talking golf trivia Sunday morning, we were challenged to name the 8 major winners with a least one "z" in their name. It tooks us several hours to figure it out...all of this before the leaders teed off. de Vicenzo, Mize, Olazabal, Janzen, Zoeller, Ghezzi, Azinger, and Sarazen. But,strangely enough, by the end of the day that number changed to 9.....add Zach Johnson!

Toilet Paper

OK, here is the question. Should the paper roll out from the top or from underneath? Sure it doesn't matter. But I bet there are seminars on this for hotel people. I guess I should notice next time I am in a nice hotel. I just had to put a new roll out and I was wondering. Speaking of hotels, what is the difference in a hotel and a motel? The motel is setup for a car to drive near the room and enter from outside, and for the hotel you park and enter inside and use elevators. Let me know if there is something else to it. You love me and I love you. Later

Soccer Mom Me

I both hate and love buying a car. I hate the games you have to play bargaining for a deal. But I love the thrill of the process and where the deal will end up. Negotiations. Love them. OK, I am the most uncool car person ever. I have driven minivans for 19 years. I have driven a low end beat up minivan for 7 years. I wrecked the front end...kicked the hood back down at the scene, and spray painted the hood myself with a Walmart spray paint can. I just don't have the time to deal with it. But last week I broke down and left the minivan world for something that actually makes sense for me....a small SUV..a Ford Escape with bells and whistles. My kids can't believe I am a real person. All weekend McKenna was dissing my minivan (she was so happy I bought a real car). Then unfortunately she was in a fender bender this morning. She is OK, but her car is not. Guess what? She just came over to borrow my old minivan. She better be careful....there are bad genes in there. She might be continuing the tradition she hates. Maybe she can repaint the hood a classier color!

I Feel Good

If live music is happening, I'm listening. It's just the way it is. Growing up, my parents drug me around to a lot of live concerts....which means old crooners like Johnny Mathis. The truth is I loved it. Because of my parents, I developed a deep love for live music and a pretty decent ear. So now I am a gray headed sound guy without a ponytail (real sound guys always have a ponytail). So anyway, it was with great pleasure that I watched the grammies. Politics aside, I was amazed by the diversity and quality of talent. And, yes, it was all live...real music. The highlight for me was the tribute to James Brown. Especially when they brought out his cape and draped it on the microphone to a standing ovation. Say what you will regarding James, but for sure he was one of the greatest live entertainers of all time. Michael Jackson, Usher, Chris Brown, Justin malfunction, and all the hip-hop world can give thanks to The Godfather of Soul. Without him their genre would not exist. We will miss JB, but I think we can all look back on his contribution and say "I feel good". Just make sure you let out a loud grunt after you say it.

A Day In Awe

This is dedicated to my late great blogger friend Chuck. By posting this i am fighting off blogger death and also simplifying.

Room 203

Make a way to go see "Freedom Writers." It is a great movie about a class of LA high school kids who are brought together by a fantastic beginning teacher. She was determined that these kids could learn and overcome their racial prejudices. One of the great lines was when her father told her she had been "Blessed with a burden." Great choice of words. The movie reminds us of the horror of the holocaust and how that situation relates to LA gangs. We can all make a difference from Room 203. It's a must see.

First Move

Lately I have been watching a lot of great bowl games and old boxing matches during football commercials. The same question keeps popping up as I watch. Who will make the first move? In boxing, who will throw the first flurry of punches? In the bowl game, who will score first or make the first big push. I starting thinking about 2007. I am not much of a resolution person...I think more about executing. What will be my first move in 2007 and how will it change the path I'm on? What do I want to accomplish? Where do I want to go? What about you? I hope 2007 brings great success. It's time to move.

Not So Silent Night

If you had to pick an "all around" Christmas favorite, my guess is that "Silent Night" would be near the top of the list. It is a great traditional Christmas song.

But I suspect that first Christmas night was filled with noise, not silence. Animals crying out, a scared young mother screaming out in the pain of childbirth, and a baby that was much like all others....wailing out a loud hello to the world. There were no modern comforts. Yes, it was bloody and painful. Bethlehem's version of diapers to wash out. No handy wipes. And no room in the inn. God in FLESH, not spiritual idealism.

Think about it. Mary was pregnant. She had never had sex. How could that happen? All this for trying to live a decent life. She endured morning sickness. She was alone and afraid. She could have been stoned to death. So much for the health and wealth gospel.

"You will give birth to God's Son," Gabriel had said. "Push!" Joseph yelled. "The Messiah. Christ the Lord. Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior." "Push!"

That night an angel chorus sang to the shepherds, but their notes were drowned out by the screams of a young woman, a baby having a baby. Somewhere in the night Jesus communicated with sinful mankind for the first time. He cried out.

Mary wiped off the bloody baby, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger.

Thirty-three years later, this child would again cry out for sinful mankind, his bloody body wiped off, wrapped in burial clothes, and laid in a tomb. The Gospel according to Jesus is bathed in the real world.

Hollywood likes it's glassy-eyed Jesus that stares down evil and weirds his way into miracles. We all want to sleep in heavenly peace.

But Jesus came to live as we live...a good laugh with friends,hunger pains, tired feet, and a sore back sometimes...to be one of us. And to take our place.

Just as the impossible happened with Mary becoming pregnant, so it was in that tomb. Sin defeated. Death overcome. A way out for you and me. Welcome to the real world Jesus. And Merry Christmas.

(Thanks to David Sisler for inspiration and some quotes.)

Kel Varnson

Who is Kel Varnson?

He is the guy you are when you need to fake your identity. Origin Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David. Isn't it a great name? "No, Lance isn't here. Kel Varnson speaking."

"Who said that?" I think it was Kel. "Who forgot to put the trash out?" You guessed it...Kel.

What about the picture of the guy that comes with the new picture frame? It's Kel again. We had a picture of Kel on our refrig for many years...he became part of the family. My wife thought he was cute. I think she liked him better than me. Maybe that's why I am Kel sometimes.

If you Google good ole' Kel, you will find a movie producer and a baseball team owner (or maybe the baseball team...not real clear).

Maybe you will see me walking down the street with my best friend, Art Vandelay......you know the importer/exporter/architect.

So, did you like this blog? If you checked yes box, thank you...written by Lance
If you checked no, written by that weird jerk Kel Varnson.

Number Three

If I decide to blog quarterly, I am done. Have you done your 2007 Christmas shopping yet?

Enin Rebmun

Mih Ssim, Mih Ssim. Nam Daed A Si Luap.

Number Two

Like most things, bloggers get fired up for a while and then disappear. I was thinking about doing all my blogging for 2007 today so i could get it over with. What do you think?

Number One

If someone blogs about nothing and tells no one, can one hear a tree fall in the forest? This dilemma has plagued the great philosphers since the beginning. If black is the absence of light, then what is nothing? Does it include ringing in the ears? What about the background refrigerator compressor noise, or those things you see floating across your eyes when they are closed? See, this blog about nothing is something. It depends on what the meaning of is is and what side of the bed Matt sleeps on.

Number One is not to be confused with Number Nine which is about backward things. Later, lj