Video compilation

After wrapping up the month of November, and taking the time to remember the things to be thankful for in my life i wanted to resurrect this blog - sort of.  I mean, since it is not an actually living being, it never really dies.  Well... at least not in this world... but obviously in the world of TRON it would be derezzed eventually.
 

Well, over the course of time i had saved a few videos i absolutely found fun and wanted to share them somehow.  Well, sure, Facebook is the normal way to go, but hey, i never claimed to be normal, so, i thought, why not share them here.

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The first one i want to share is an NFL Play60 promo.  I first saw it while watching the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins play on Thanksgiving Day.  First, as any regular reader of this blog knows, i am a fan of the Carolina Panthers, and this one features Cam Newton, their 'prodigal quarterback'.  In his first year he set all kind of rookie records.  I was able to see him break 4 records last year, in person:

• First rookie quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a season.
• Most total touchdowns by a rookie NFL player: 35 (21 pass, 14 rush).
• Most rushing yards by a rookie quarterback: 706
• Most rushing touchdowns in a single season by a quarterback: 14

As well as a few Panther Franchise Records:

• Longest offensive scoring play (91) to Brandon LaFell, December 24, 2011 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• And longest Quarterback scramble for a touchdown (49)

I am liking that he is growing a sense of humor. He just seems to be growing into a really nice young man. A well rounded team leader, on and off the field.  I completely agree that a Rookie, and even a second year player - even one as talented as Cam is - should not be a team captain.  There are just too many other things on their shoulders to take on that role and responsibilities.  Let them mature and grow as a football player, and let them learn from the veterans around the locker room.

Anyway, i love this commercial.  It has a great message about kids eating right and exercising, along with a great tongue in cheek humor.  I am snickering even as i type this and think about the video.

The kid is priceless.

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The next one a friend shared.  I really laughed hard enough to have ice tea come out my nose when i first saw it.  It's just so NOT me and my family in style, but in content it was spot on.

There are so many times as a parent, and you are up to your eyebrows in insanity and you just snap.  There is nothing even remotely funny...not until you can put some distance of time between the present and the event.  There are quite a few things that happened around my 'dojo' that i was truly peeved... but now, it brings a smile to my face, and a laugh with the family.  The key is, don't take things too seriously.  Be honest with yourself, that you are not perfect -- and then just learn from the mistakes, and enjoy life.

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The last video in this blog entry for todayis titled, "How Bad do You Want IT!".  It is straight up a motivational deal.  There are some people that think i am like this, that i drive and drive and drive, but the truth is, there are a lot of times i take my eyes of the prize and look at the 'storm' that is surrounding me.

In one of my 'Being thankful' blog posts, i mentioned how i ran on my High School's Cross Country team two years in a row, and both years the team went to the state championships, and both years i dropped off the team - just stopped showing up to practices and everything.  Fortunately for the team, i was not one of the top runners, and this really didn't impact their performance at the finals (if memory serves they one both years).  This was not the only time i had done something like this.  In the sixth grade i had the role in a class play, and i think i was pretty good, but on the day of the play, i refused to go on.  The teacher had to get the understudy.  In many ways... i feel like i let everyone down, over and over again.  I see this video, and i want to charge right out and never let anyone down again, but i know i can't go about it that way.  But, what this video does, partnered with the grace of God i experience everyday, gives me incredible motivation to pick myself up.  To begin again, to do what i can, then get up the next day and do it again, and when i trip and fall - to get up and get on again. 

Right now, i am not there mentally... but one has to have an objective to aim for.  In driving you do not stare at the road right in front of the vehicle, you look up the road so you can anticipate the corrections needed.  When i was taught to perform land navigation in the Army, i was taught to not stare at the compass, but to use the compass to get a direction and then to look out and find an objective along that line, and then aim and head towards that objective - all the while navigating the obstacles of the terrain as needed.  I am working on this, but i have formed a saying that helps at times. 

"If you aim at nothing, you will hit it everytime."

There is, i believe, something in each of us, that want to make a difference, to make our mark in some way, but unless we actually get up and do something... we will fulfill that saying above.

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."  ~ Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt ~ "Citizenship in a Republic," Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910 

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Well, that is all i have for today.  If so inclined, please pray for me as i too strive to "take no days off", all the while, keeping a proper balance in my life with my relationship with God, with my family, and with my career.  Thank you for reading.

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Despite my statements to the contrary... this blog has fallen into disuse... that has not been intentional.  I am in a new season of life.  I changed my position at work, the kids are growing older so there are changes there.  Both Thing 1, and Thing 3 are on soccer teams, and Thing 2 we continue to grow with and learn from.  All the while my Beloved and i continue to grow together.  Life never seems to slow down... and my own father says that it just speeds up!  *sigh*  But i don't want it to speed up.  Well, since it has been a 'coons age since my last update, i guess i will just bring things up to date about me...

Let's see - Soccer, or futbol as it is known elsewhere in the world, takes up a lot of my time.  DS1 plays for his High School team and my DD3 plays on a traveling team.  They both love to play, but it is a serious commitment to their parents in getting them to and from practices and games.  Well, not as much for the H.S. level, but the traveling team has 3 practices a week, and some times games on both days of a weekend.  One thing i have noticed is that both of them are not... a part of the "in" clique of their teams, or in school.  I am OK with that personally, but sometimes i worry about them.  I guess that stems from my own experiences at their age.

The driving all over God's creation has been a big contributor to less free time, which directly impacts my writing time.  Not just blog writing, but my short stories as well.  While i have written a few chapters, i am not near as prolific as i used to be, obviously.  I have been able to keep up with some reading though.  I am still in the middle of about 4 different books though.  I finally finished the "Path of the Eldar" series.  Very well done.  I enjoyed each and every page, and i read just this morning that Gav Thorpe is looking in to an Audio book as well.  Very cool.

I am not sure if i mentioned this in the few blog posts i had late last year, and (much) earlier this year, but i am a fan of Cam Newton.  He came on strong last year and set all kind of NFL rookie records, etc.  This year he has struggled some, but i think that is somewhat normal.  He is finding his niche within the game and still feel he will settle in to be the best quarterback the Carolina Panthers have ever had.  Only time will tell.  Despite a 6-10 record last year, and what very well could be worse this season, i think the team is on the right track overall.  Basically, i have been a fan of the Panthers since the league announced the franchise being awarded to Charlotte, i have stayed with the team through a 1-15 season... and i will stay with them through these trying times as well. A side note/observation - no team named after a predatory cat (Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars) has ever won the Super Bowl.  As a matter of fact, only two of them have ever played in the Super Bowl (the Bengals and Panthers), so, while i will remain a die hard Carolina Panthers fan - i will now be rooting for each and everyone of the Big Cat teams!  Unless they are playing the Panthers that is.

With the plethora of time i have, i restarted fallout 3 with a brand new character.  I can't stand not finishing things, and i hate starting things in the middle, so... I am also going to try and journal my 'journey'.  Why?  Well, i really like the game, even after having it for four years now, and i like to write.

Since i last blogged dear reader, i have found two new TV shows that i like, and an "old" one i have finally discovered.  The "old" one is 'The Big Bang Theory'.  I have several people tell me that they couldn't believe i was not already watching it.  But, i did give it a try once and i found it too in my face regarding things about boys and girls "hooking up".  Maybe i am just getting calloused to it, but i really enjoy it now.  I especially like how Stuart is becoming a regular on the show this season.  The two new shows are 'Arrow' on The CW, and 'Revolution' on NBC.  'Arrow' because it is based on the DC Comics character, the Green Arrow.  'Revolution', well, because it was a post-apocalyptic scenario where the power goes out all across the world.  Both of these shows are less than ten episodes on, but i am interested enough to record them and watch them as i can... usually in 10-15 minute intervals.  I am like them both quite a bit.

OK, i am not sure if these are decent updates or not, but it's what i've got for now.  Oh, and i'd like to thank Tulip for her help in making new banners for my blogs.  The one here has been around for a while, but there is a new one for the Fallout 3 blog.  8)  I am slowly trying to spruce things up.

May this find each of you enjoying God's perfect peace and grace as you read this.  No matter how disjointed it comes across.

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