This weekend's picks

So here we go. I've made my guesses:

Falcons over the Cards
Cowboys over the Titans
Colts over the Jets
Dolphins over the Texans
Bills over the Vikings
Saints over the Panthers
Ravens over the Chargers
Niners over the Chiefs
Lions over the Rams
Browns over the Raiders (they need at least one win)
Jags over the Redskins (this one hurts, but beating the Texans didn't prove much)
Palmer over Brady
Bears over the Seahawks
Eagles over the Pack.

As of today, I'm in second place in the pool, but I'm not feeling too confident this week. Hopefully I can stay top five.

I've seen the enemy

And it's initials are HFCS. I am speaking of that sweet thing known as high fructose corn syrup. HFCS is a sweetener that is used in everything from soda to ketchup to yogurt. And it's not natural. But it does come from corn. There's lots of questions about HFCS (you can read a pretty good article here), but it seems that the only people sticking up for HFCS are the corn people.

So my latest endeavor is to try to eat foods that do not contain HFCS. And that can be tough. It means laying off the Turkey Hill iced tea (I don't know if I can give that up completely though..). Instead of soda like Coke or Pepsi (gasp), I'm drinking soda that only contains cane sugar. Last night while eating waffles, I discovered that my Log Cabin syrup contained HFCS. So I'm going to try to see if I can switch that up. Perhaps a switch to actual syrup is in order here.

And some people are going to say, what's the big deal? And that's a question that will be answered in various ways depending on who you are. If you're concerned about eating natural, then it may be a bigger deal. If you're not so much concerned with what you're eating, as long as it's not toxic, then maybe not. I'm just here to inform you. And invite you over to my house for HFCS-free beverages.

My shirt has buttons

So my picks were a little off this week. I was about 76% accurate this past week. I didn't think the Broncos could beat Tom Brady and I didn't think the Saints would be as fired up as they were. And the Bills, well, they know how to win. They just didn't do it.

Watched both 42nd Street and Top Hat over the weekend. They were both okay, but nothing special. I think I'll try to tackle Singin' in the Rain next.

I can't believe October will be here next week already. U'm voting for September as "fastest month ever."

Be well!

Jimmy the Greek's back!

No, actually it's just me. But I thought that since I'm in a pool this year and I have friends who would be interested, I'd give you my picks for this weekend. So here ya go:

Panthers over the Bucs
Bears over the Vikes
Bungals over the Steelers
Pack over the Lions
Colts over the Jags
Bills over the Jets
Fish over the Titans
Skins over the Texans
Ravens over the Brownies
Seahawks over the Giants
Eagles over the Niners
Cards over the Rams
Pats over the Broncos
Falcons over the Saints

Catch me I'm falling

Everybody be sure to say hello to Autumn Equinox tomorrow (she'll be getting in pretty late tonight). She's back and is good enough to stay with us for the next three months or so. It's always nice to have her back in town. She's real good about making the leaves change colors and also dropping the temperature to a nice level (nice = not too hot + not too cold). Unfortunately, she's not very good at picking up the leaves he seems to drop everywhere. May have to speak to Mother Nature about that.

But she's a lot better than her brother Vern.

I'm a rambling man..

First, read an opinion column about the new passports that will have that silly computer chip in them. Paranoid?

Then think about all the privacy that we've already given up. Is this really that bad of a problem? We use our credit cards online. Those of us who have Google Desktop loaded have shared the contents of our hard drives with Google. Your local grocery store knows what type of juice you like to buy and how often you like to buy it if you use their "discount card." We blog about personal issues.

So at what point do we say, "that's none of your business?"

AFI Update

For those keeping notes, I've watched the following since posting the list:

An American in Paris

My Fair Lady

On The Town

Of those three, I thought On The Town was the best. It had the benefits of Frank Sinatra and Ms. Turnstile.

Up next on the list is Top Hat and 42nd Street.

Iron Chef

So awhile back, I got a recipe from Ellie for a buffalo chicken dip. While visiting my local Damon's last month, I noticed that they had added a Buffalo Chicken Pasta entree to their menu. I started to wonder how I could make my own Buffalo Chicken sauce. And so I made one. Feel free to try this recipe yourself.

Buffalo Cream Sauce
1/3 C. Frank's Hot Sauce
1/2 C. Cream (Light Cream is okay)
2 T Ranch Dressing
Pinch of Salt and Pepper

Heat hot sauce and dressing in small saucepan on medium heat. When sauce starts to bubble, add cream. Stir constantly until well blended. Add salt and pepper and continue to stir until bubbles start to form. Remove from heat and serve. If you want your sauce a little thicker, consider adding one tablespoon of corn starch, after you've added the cream. Makes enough for two servings.

New Blog Added

I added Paul Lukas' Uni-Watch blog to my blog list. For those of you unfamiliar with Mr. Lukas, he's all about aesthetics in sports. If you have an interest in sports and fonts, stirrups, and the University of Oregon's 700+ uniform options, you may want to check it out.

The red-headed girl

Thursday night a friend and I had the opportunity to go see Kendall Payne play at Messiah College. I've seen her three times now and I've enjoyed each show.

She intro'd one of her songs with an anecdote she heard. It was about a man who was unclear as to what God's calling was in his life. He decided that he wanted to ask Mother Theresa to pray for direction for him. So he went to India to find her. He found her and asked her to pray for him. She refused. But she gave him some advice. She suggested that the next time he prayed, that he ask God to help him trust in Him.

And that really resonated with me. I blogged earlier about the carefree life, and trust is a big component of that. How often do we find ourselves praying and hoping for a specific outcome that we feel is best? And how often do we just let it go and trust God that he'll work it out for us?

Just somethin' to think about it..

Hey you local-yokels.

Just a heads-up that solo artist Kendall Payne is playing at Messiah tomorrow (Wednesday) evening at 10:00p in the student union. The show is free.

Today

Today is the five year anniversary of yesterday. Five days ago yesterday was a big deal for this country. Big deal. I was thinking about where I was on that day, and how I heard about it and what people were thinking that day.

And I've been thinking about how that day was so significant for many people. And how it doesn't feel significant for me. I won't deny that the people of our country were attacked. And I can't even begin to fathom what it would be like to have lost a loved one in those attacks.

But I've been trying to figure out how that day changed me. Personally, I can't think of any ways that I have been affected. Is that wrong? Should I be feeling something that I'm not?

Maybe there's something there that I just don't realize.

Are you ready for some football?

My Redskins open their season tonight at home against the Vikings. They lost every pre-season game and looked absolutely horrendous. But pre-season doesn't count for anything now. We're all equal. And even if we do lose tonight, we're still tied for second place in the NFC East.

Here's an article about one of the Redskins off-season acquisitions. I am firmly convinced that Joe Gibbs is just as concerned with a player's character as he is with their playing skills.

Also, I don't believe that Giant Blue looks good on Lavar Arrington at all. He looks much better in burgundy and gold. Oh well.

The Carefree Life

So "the carefree life" came up in discussion last night. One of the things that I have been trying to process is what it actually means to live a carefree life. I Peter 5.7 sums it up quite nicely:

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

It sounds so simple and easy, doesn't it? But then you try to live it. And you realize that it's not as easy as it sounds.

It's easy in some situations do give things over to God. Like perhaps an exam or a situation with a friend. But what about when it comes to finances or a job, or medical problems? I mentioned last night that I think a majority of society identifies itself not by who they are inside (brave, kind, merciful, etc..), but who they are outside (doctor, architect, professional athlete). And when we identify ourselves by our external appearance and our accessories, they take on an increasingly higher level of importance. And we become rather concerned about maintaining our good standing. Keeping up appearances, if you will.

I talked about how I used to find my worth in who I was professionally. And how disappointed I would be when I compared myself to others. From there, I started to understand that my career aspirations maybe weren't high on God's priority list. Maybe He's more concerned with who I am in Him and how He can use me for His glory. So I no longer aspire to work as a human resources generalist for the Walt Disney World Resort by 2007. I don't care.

That's just me talking about my job. But when I think about other aspects of my life, I realize how much time and energy I spend on worry. And how detrimental that can be to my relationship with Christ. It's definitely an area that could use some improvement.

I'll end today with the lyrics to a song that I often sing for myself and others when I find that the anxiety is building.

I will cast all my cares upon You
I lay all of my burdens, down at Your feet
Anytime, I don't know what to do
I will cast all my cares upon You.

Top of the Pops

The American Film Institute (AFI) has released their top 25 movie musicals of all time. I've decided to make it a goal to see them all (I've actually seen some of them and I've bolded those).

1. Singin’ In The Rain
2. West Side Story
3. The Wizard Of Oz
4. The Sound Of Music
5. Cabaret
6. Mary Poppins
7. A Star Is Born
8. My Fair Lady
9. An American In Paris
10. Meet Me In St Louis
11. The King & I
12. Chicago
13. 42nd Street
14. All That Jazz
15. Top Hat
16. Funny Girl
17. The Band Wagon
18. Yankee Doodle Dandy
19. On The Town
20. Grease
21. Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (I've actually seen probably 50% of this)
22. Beauty And The Beast (Disney version)
23. Guys And Dolls
24. Showboat
25. Moulin Rouge

Good Monsters

New Jars of Clay album is out today. Listen to the entire album online this week here.

Any ideas?

I'm looking for a part-time job to help boost my income. And I'm looking for some ideas. Here's the hitch: I would prefer a job that offered flexibility so that I would be available for church-related stuff during the week. Maybe something that didn't have a set schedule where I could work whenever I had the time. I'd be interested in hearing any thoughts that you might have.

Conversely, if you know of any full-time human resources positions that are open, I'm also looking for a new full-time opportunity.

Cheers!