Category: General

All Eyes Are On Alabama, And It Feels So Right

Bama washingtonIf you’re going to stand in line in subfreezing temperatures in order to enter the holy of holies of college basketball, then you’d better know your stuff because every other Cameron Crazie wannabe standing in line with you sure will.

Well, mostly anyway.

When it comes to football, we were a motley crew, united only in our love for Duke basketball. Clemson, LSU, Georgia, Alabama, Penn State and Rutgers were just a few of the schools represented in our little knot of frozen fandom near the front of the line.

Kid Clemson, the guy in the Tiger hoodie in front of me, was a veritable walking encyclopedia of sports statistics.… Read the rest

I Don’t Hate UT, But Bama Man Does

The Third (or thereabouts) Saturday in October is upon us, and if you’re a true Crimson-blooded Tide fan, that means one thing: Tennessee Hate Week.

The problem is, I’m just not feeling it. The hate, that is. No, I am full of love for all mankind–even, and perhaps most especially, my many friends, neighbors, co-workers and dear, dear family who are loyal Volunteers. You see, it’s been quite a year for our family, and frankly, football is just not that high on my priority list anymore. I’ve grappled with some enormous challenges, and the raging, blind forces of fate have compelled me to consider once again, What are The True First Things of Life?… Read the rest

25 Random Things About The Eyeguy

Arrrrgh!

Why am I resorting to pirate talk so early in the morning? Because I’ve been tagged about a gazillion times in yet another internet meme, this time on Facebook: 25 Random Things About Me.

Not that I mind that much, it’s just that it has that whole cheesy, chain-letter feel. When I was a kid, my mother would always make a big production about ripping those up and throwing them in the trashcan whenever we received one, so it’s probably just one of those weird Baby Boomer childhood psychological baggage flashback things. Don’t sweat it if you tagged me; I’ll deal with it like I always do.… Read the rest

Abileners–Be On the Lookout For This Man

I’m taking time out from our regular Olympic programming for a special bulletin to my Abilene readers. Please be on the lookout for this man:

col_doug_mendenhall.gif

He was last spotted headed west “on the road to Abilene” with his wife Janet and a van full of kids. But don’t worry, he’s not dangerous; he’s just a little wordy sometimes.

You see, Doug is headed there to fulfill a lifetime dream of teaching in the journalism department at his alma mater, Abilene Christian University. For years, he’s been working at The Huntsville Times and writing a regular column “Soul Food,” which he also turned into a book, How Jesus Ended Up in the Food Court: Seventy-seven Devotional Thoughts You Never Thought About Before.… Read the rest

A Few Final Four Thoughts

A few Final Four thoughts:

  • The Davidson bubble was bound to burst at some point, but wasn’t that some kind of run?
  • There was something delightfully retro about watching Stephen Curry and his band of undersized, underappreciated major conference reject brothers taking it the big boys. It reminded me of the ACC and Southern Conference basketball of my 1960s-70s youth before everything got oh-so-complicated and fancy.
  • I loved getting reacquainted with Dell Curry and his lovely wife Sonya this weekend. What a class act. And Christian to boot. It’s not hard to see why their sons are turning out so good.
… Read the rest

Breakfast, Seagrove Beach

breakfast-seagrove-beach.jpg

purchase phentermine onlinephentermine free shippingtramadol 100 mgtramadolclomid prescriptionbuy clomidindocin prescriptionindocinprednisone free shippingdiscount prednisonefemara pricesfemara onlinediscount effexorcheap effexorviagra super active pricecheap viagra super activeorder generic cialischeap generic cialisgeneric viagra free shippingcheap generic viagrafemale viagracheap vpxldiscount viagra jellycheap viagra jellycialis jelly discount pricesbuy cialis jellyorder kamagracheap kamagraviagra cialis pricebuy viagra cialisdiscount levitralevitra onlineorder cialis professionalcialis professional free shippingviagra professionalbuy viagra professionalorder cialis soft tabsbuy cialis soft tabsorder viagra soft tabsviagra soft tabs free shippingcialis free shippingcialisviagra discount pricesbuy viagrabuy viagra next day deliverybest price viagra official drug storebest price viagrabest deal viagraorder viagra reliable drugstoredeal online price viagrapropecia onlinecheap propeciadiscount ventolinventolin onlineorder xenicalxenicalrevatio pricerevatio onlinebuy female viagraorder female viagratake viagra cialis togetherviagra prescriptionorder vpxlvpxllevitra professional pricebuy levitra professionallevitra free shippingorder levitrabuy levitracialis jelly pricebuy cialis jellycialis tabscialis softcialis super active pricebuy cialis super activediscount generic cialisbuy generic cialisorder cialis professionalbuy cialis professionalbuy cialis prescriptioncialis onlinecheap cialisorder brand viagrabuy brand viagraorder viagra jellybuy viagra jellycheap viagra soft tabsviagra soft tabs priceorder viagra super activebuy viagra super activegeneric viagra pricegeneric viagra onlineorder viagra professionalbuy viagra professionalbuy viagra prescriptionorder viagraviagra onlineorder vpxlbuy vpxltake viagra cialis togetherorder viagra cialis onlinelevitra professional pricecheap levitra professionallevitrabuy levitracialis jelly pricecheap cialis jellyorder cialis soft tabsbuy cialis soft tabscialis super active pricecheap cialis super activediscount generic cialisbuy generic cialiscialis professionalcialis professional onlinecialis pricebuy cialisorder brand viagrabuy brand viagraviagra jelly onlineviagra jellyorder viagra soft tabsviagra soft tabs priceviagra super active pricebuy viagra super activegeneric viagra pricecheap generic viagraviagra professional onlinebuy viagra professionalorder viagraviagra onlineorder busparbuspar onlineorder lotrisonebuy lotrisoneorder betnovatecheap betnovateorder clonidinecheap clonidinenexiumnexium onlineorder levaquinbuy levaquinprevacid pricepurchase prevacidpurchase bentylbentyl onlinediscount prednisonecheap prednisonediscount differindifferin onlinestromectol pricestromectol onlineavalide priceavalide onlinediscount proventilpurchase proventildiscount noroxinnoroxin onlineorder ciprocheap ciproorder omnicefbuy omnicefaugmentin priceaugmentin onlinediscount zoloftbuy zoloftprednisolone priceprednisoloneorder ventolincheap ventolinelavil free shippingbuy elavilorder nolvadexbuy nolvadexcytotec discountcytotecavodartavodart onlinesoma priceorder somaultram onlinecheap ultrampropecia onlineorder propeciaorder acompliaacomplia onlineorder xenicalcheap xenicalrimonabant pricerimonabant onlinecheap revatiorevatioorder cialis super activecialis super active onlinefemale viagra deliveryfemale viagravpxl shippingvpxlcheap levitra professional
… Read the rest

Playing Dead

Sometimes I feel a little dead at the end of the day, but I’ve never had the opportunity to become a middle-aged cadaver.

But my friend and outdoor adventurer Ed has.

Be sure to read his delightful story on his recent time spent “playing the stiff” for a team of training Search and Rescue Dogs (SAR K9) at the 2008 Airscent Seminar near Rogersville, Alabama.

And Ed, glad to have you back in the land of the living. Jake must give pretty good spit baths. Or was it the nose bite that did the trick?

… Read the rest

Bad Number

Okay, so I’ve written my March column for The Huntsville Times, and I do a word count and find out that I’m pushing the maximum limit of 680 words.

No problem. I relentlessly self-edit (a skill that all of you–some more than others–should practice each and every day), and I whittle it down. I redo the word count. I stare in horror:

666.

I’m thinking: better add a few words.… Read the rest

My Top Ten Anti-Resolutions for 2008

Why start off 2008 with a laundry list of resolutions that I know I won’t keep? No, no, better to make anti-resolutions, things that I know, absolutely without a doubt, I will never, ever do this year…

1) Serve on another committee. I wasn’t just any committee member. I was a bona fide read-all-the-emails, attend-all-the-meetings, believed-I-could-actually-make-a-difference kind of committee member. I was determined to overcome my natural cynicism and play well with others. Ha! What was I thinking? Eyegal kept telling me: “Careful, Mike, you’re gonna get burned.”

I hate it the way she’s right all the time. Bureaucracies, whether they be at work or church (and sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference), suck.… Read the rest

She’s No Lumberjack’s Wife

All you Fusioneers who are waiting around with bated breath for the reincarnation resurrection of Ocular Fusion into whatever-the-heck-it’s-gonna-become are no doubt starving for something good to read in my absence.

Well, never fear, my friend Jason is here. Jason, former youth minister and now associate minister and right hand man to the Big Kahuna, would be the first to tell you that he’s not afraid to explore the feminine side of things, and of course, these days, there’s no shame in that. So it was no surprise, really, that he freely admits to reading this.

He got one thing wrong, though–she’s no lumberjack’s wife.… Read the rest

Registration, Please

policestop1.jpgI hate to do it, but I’m going to have to ask for registration prior to any future comments. I’ve had some malicious spam that has slipped through my Super-Duper Askimet Spam Zapper the past two days, both times apparently resulting in some corruption of my WordPress files.

For you 35 or so regular commenters, it’s really no big deal. You just do a one-time registration (no one besides me will see your name or email), then you’ll receive a password. When you log back in you’ll have the option to change the password to one of your choice, and then all you have to do is ask your browser to remember the password when it prompts you.… Read the rest

Uh, Hey Vols

Uh, hey Vols. Uh, hey Vols. Uh, hey Vols.

We just beat the, well, you know, crap out of you.

Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer, give’em, well, you know, heck Alabama!

Roll Tide, Roll!

UPDATE 10/22: For those of you from other parts of the country and world who may be unsure of what I’m talking about, here’s the Full Monty version of the “Rammer Jammer” from field level. This is what it sounded like to Phil Fulmer.

Take a good listen, Tommy–you’re next.

… Read the rest

Persona Non Bloggus

There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven:

…a time to be silent, and a time to speak.

Ecclesiastes 3, v.1 and v.7

Two years ago yesterday, I launched out onto the “bloggy cybersea.” Somehow I managed to survive the use of that horrible turn of phrase and go on to write 526 other posts in 64 categories which generated 4,195 comments. Some of those comments came from me, a good deal of them from pesky spammers hawking everything from cheap, cheesy porn to counterfeit Nike shoes (those have been fried for the most part by my Super-Duper Askimet Spam Zapper and don’t figure into the total count), but most came from the likes of you, my beloved Fusioneers, whom I have come to appreciate very much.… Read the rest