Well there go the 2008 playoff dreams. Last night the Suns lost and are out of the playoffs. Freakin' Spurs. It was looking so possible, but we let it slip - too many fatal flaws there at the end of the game. It's just a little overwhelming to think of going through another season, of starting all over again - I mean our guys are not getting any younger, and now who knows if D'Antoni is going to be booted - I sincerely hope not. I know it's just a game, but I do get quite invested. Poor guys. If one little fan feels this way, I can only imagine how the team is feeling today. I still love my Suns, though - it was a fun season, they worked hard. Sorry, Suns.
Why? Why are you trying to screw everything up, Rev. Wright? Things were going so well. I would hope the American people would get over it, but we all know Americans and the media love to blow things out of proportion and obsess. I'm sure Hillary and the Republicans are thanking their lucky stars for Rev. Wright, but I hope people will judge Barrack on his own merits, his policies, his words. This morning on the Today show a Reverend Eugene F Rivers III was on discussing this mess and his quote was good and made me laugh: "Rev. Wright was overtaken by his own need for attention. The sad spectacle was simply an extended ego trip that had no practical, political, policy or programmatic utility, that was pointless rhetoric, which was ultimately narcissistic and just based on him trippin'." Right on.
There's really nothing particularly special about this clip - it's just Hugh Laurie on Leno from last Friday night - but I guess that's what's special, because Hugh is special. He's the best, that's all.
It's the first round of the 2008 NBA playoffs and it's been hard. Obviously, I'm a fan of the Phoenix Suns and I so want them to get to the finals, it hurts, but who were we pitted against for the first round? The Spurs. I loathe the Spurs. They (along with the help of crappy officiating and bad luck) defeated us last year - why, oh why did we have to face them of all teams for this first series? All the odds are against the Suns coming from being down 3-0, but yesterday we won a game and now it's 3-1. It's an up hill battle, but there is still a spark of hope that we can defy all the odds and win this series, I know it is unlikely, but it aint over 'till it's over. There is talk that if the Suns lose after this first round that Coach Mike D'Antoni might be out - which I think would be so sad. So sad. I love D'Antoni. I think he is a decent, honorable, guy and a great coach - and he is a big reason why the Suns are a decent, honorable, hard-working group of guys. As a fan of the team I often get so emotionally invested. After a hard loss, I can be feeling crushed but when I hear Coach D'Antoni reflecting on a game, everything is put into perspective - things aren't so horrible, it was one game, it's not the end of the world, and they have a plan for the next game. Coach stays calm, he keeps his sense of humor and inspires hope for the future of the team. If he can do that for a fan of the team, I'm sure he instills this same positive attitude to the players. A final thought on the finals up to this point: Jeff Van Gundy has joined the commentators for the finals and he's great. He is certainly entertaining. He is blunt, not afraid to say what he really thinks, he's funny and he shakes things up. It's just been a little more fun with him. For example, yesterday the commentators were talking about Boris Diaw's basketball camp and its rewards and Van Gundy compared it to Willy Wonka's golden ticket - he threw out a Violet Beauregard reference, I mean how many NBA commentators are going to do that? A few minutes after this, after an Extreme Home Makeover promo, he said something like, "is there anything better than when they say 'move that bus'?" I don't know, he just makes me laugh. So, good job, ABC.
There are my playoff thoughts for now. Game 5 is on Tuesday night. Please, please let the Suns defy the odds and make a little playoff history.
Today is William Shakespeare's birthday (or at least the generally accepted date of his birth). Strangely, this morning I was thinking all about a Shakespeare class I took in high school and then I got into work and saw that it is actually his birthday. I love Shakespeare - I love reading his work, I love studying his life and work and I love acting in his plays. I'm very excited to be able to play Viola in Twelfth Night this Summer - it's a wonderful role, a marvelous play and will hopefully be a great production. It's also Administrative Professionals Day, which, sadly, I am. Shakespeare and Admin. are at odds within me. Here I sit at my desk while longing to be with a Shakespearean company. Oh, well, every experience teaches us something different and I am still young. At least my boss is buying us lunch today.
The remarkable thing about Shakespeare is that he is really very good - in spite of all the people who say he is very good. Robert Graves Quote (1895 - 1985)
He was not of an age, but for all time! Ben Jonson Quote (1573 - 1637)
We live in an amazingly beautiful world - sometimes we forget that amidst the cinderblock and litter around us, but the natural state of this earth is beauty. Take the time today to look around and appreciate this earth we've been given and resolve to make changes in your lifestyle to contribute to the fight to keep the earth alive. If we all resolve to continually try to make positive changes we can do some good. Walk instead of drive. Get reusable shopping bags - nix the paper and plastic. Unplug your appliances. Buy all natural cleaning products. Anything. All right - I hope I don't sound douchey. Happy Earth Day. I love this video, featuring the quintessential earth song:
On Friday we went to a beautiful, funny, documentary called Young@Heart. It's about a group of senior citizens, average age 81, who are members of the Young at Heart Chorus. It isn't a typical chorus (not your Grandma's chorus?), they sing unexpected songs from bands like Sonic Youth, The Clash, and Coldplay. The film documents their rehearsals for a show in their hometown and in the process you get to know the members - their humor and sorrow. I hadn't cried that hard in a while. It's really lovely and full of hope in the midst of some heartbreaking events. I highly recommend it.
This afternoon I have been immersed in the Twelfth Night text. I was tranferring a call to the President of the company I work for and instead of saying, "I have Benita for you", I said, "I have Benita for Thee". It just came out as naturally as anything. Is my boss now going to expect me to only address him by thee, thou and thine? Crap. Maybe I'll just start answering all the phone calls using my best made-up Shakespearean verbiage.
It is the long afternoon stretch at work right now so in an effort to keep my eyes open I've been taking some quizes. This one made me chuckle, because anyone who knows me, or at least anyone who has walked anywhere with me, knows that I have a super hard time slowing down. I don't consciously try to walk fast, but that is just the constant mode I'm in, it's very difficult for me to walk slowly. I know I must just seem rude when I am walking out front of a group, but my slow walk still tends to be faster than most people's normal pace. All I can figure is that I started walking fast as a kid to compensate for my short legs. The first time I visited New York City I felt so at home, finally I was surrounded by speedy walkers. I have had it pointed out to me that I do other activities at a frenetic pace as well: washing dishes, cleaning, speaking, typing. So, good job, quiz, at gettin' it right.
Your Superpower Should Be Super Speed
You're quick witted and fast to act.
You're mind works at warp speed. From your perspective, everyone else is living in slow motion.
You get so much done, people have accused you of not sleeping.
Definitely not a couch potato, you feel a bit crazy if you're not busy doing something.
Why you would be a good superhero: You're be the first on the scene... and likely to finish the job before anyone else shows up
Your biggest problem as a superhero: Being bored by everyone else. Including other superheroes!
The older I get the more I appreciate my German heritage. When I was younger I would sometimes wish that I was English or Scottish with my own family tartan, but now I enjoy the dierndels, umlauts and abendbrot. I still think Germans are strange, but now I embrace the fact that my blood runs with that strange blood. My father is as German as it gets. He didn't come to America until he was 40 or so years old, so his accent stayed strong. My Mother is American, but her father was Austrian and her mother's side is Swiss and she served a mission in Germany - so it's all Germanic for me. My German (language) is, however, dreadful now, I think. I took classes in school and grew up around it, but I know my grammar is crap. I really want to either take classes again or get some books and get my German up to speed. Again, when I was younger I wanted to learn Italian, so I took a night class (way over my head) or I wanted to learn French (listened to French tapes), but I love the German language now, it's not as romantic as those other languages, but it's funny and I find myself using more odd little German phrases as I go along. I love "du alte junge" - it's so weird, it just means "you old young", hmm doesn't really translate, but I guess that's what's funny, it's doesn't make sense, but I like using it as a term of endearment. I started thinking about this today as I listened to Dieter F. Uchtdorf. It's really great to have a German representin' in the first presidency of the LDS church. He's super cool and my affection for him is instantaneous as I listen to his accent and hear him speak about flying (my dad also loves planes). I guess it's just nice to have a member of the Master Race in charge - Deutschland Deutschland uber alles - just kidding. I married into an English family, which is great, though, because I am an anglophile but Heidi Roslein Klein will live on forever. Alles gute. Tschus.
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