Monday, November 24, 2008

when less is more

The 2004 documentary, Super Size Me, followed producer and director Morgan Spurlock as he ate at the same fast food restaurant three times a day for 30 days. Every time he was asked if he would like to "supersize" a meal, he said yes. During that time he put on 24.5 pounds and reported mood swings, sexual dysfunction, and liver damage. I took him more than a year to lose the weight he put on.


Folks, Spurlock was a professional film producer, so do not try that stunt at home!

His exaggerated foray into the world of too much of the wrong kind of food is a great reminder that less really can qualitatively be more.

Just as less fat, sugar, and processed wheats often adds up to better health, there are countless other "lesses" that would help you experience significant "mores" in life.

Imagine a departure from partaking of too much escapist entertainment ... holding grudges and harboring resentments ... filling in too many blanks in the calendar ... overspending ... overeating ... gossiping too much.

Just think of how much more health and peace is available when you pursue a path that Robert Frost described as "less travelled"!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

broke for the holidays

You might be broke for the holidays if ...

1. you think Ebeneazor Scrooge is a great role model

2. the cashier at Wal-Mart begins to laugh hysterically after you swipe a credit card that you thought might have a little credit left on it to pay for your purchase

3. you decide that friends and family members really would prefer a homemade present from you even though you've never made anything homemade in your life

4. you ignore the Salvation Army bell ringer and use your pocket change to play the lottery

5. you raid your closet to find unused gifts from last year that you can wrap as presents this year

6. you undercut prices of the kid down the street to grab market share in the snow shoveling business in your neighborhood

7. you show up at your rich cousin's house for Thanksgiving and stay through New Year's Day

8. you volunteer to help at a soup kitchen so you can take your spouse out for dinner

9. you go Christmas caroling in your neighborhood and carry a very large tip jar

10. you head downtown to look for beggars you can borrow money from

11. you decide on a fresh cut Christmas tree this year ... and it's the tree that used to be in your next door neighbor's backyard

12. you announce that hors d' oeuvres for the party at your house will be served in the food section at Sam's Club

Okay, being broke for the holidays really isn't funny and is certainly no laughing matter if you are the one impacted by it. On the other hand, everyone knows that Americans are too materialistic in general and put way too much emphasis on spending money to make the holidays jolly. We also suspect this is going to be a much leaner holiday season for millions.

So this might be the year a number of individuals and families change their priorities and spending habits for the Christmas season out of necessity - and find themselves richer for the experience. That same individual or family will hopefully be reminded of the importance of generosity and giving in future years when they have plenty because they'll remember what it feels like to be without and be much more aware of the needy around them.

Whether broke or rolling dough this year. just remember that the ho ho ho that springs from a generous always sounds better than bah humbug heard from a miserly heart!

So how do you plan to spend the holidays?

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

no more mr. weis guy?

No one wants to see someone lose their job. Though in the case of Charlie Weis, head football coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, I am almost willing to make an exception.

Now, before you think I'm an uncaring ogre, let me point out that if Charlie Weis were to be fired as Notre Dame's head football coach at the end of this season, he would get a buyout in the neighborhood of $15 to $20 million dollars. Another way of looking at that would be to say he just won the lottery. So he and his family would not go hungry.

I'm not alone in keeping an eye on this situation. There are several reasons this is a huge point of scrutiny and discussion right now - even by college football coaching standards, where serial hiring and firing comes with the territory. I'll hit the political reason last and start with how the Golden Domers are playing. On the field, over the last two seasons, after a successful 9-3 record in Weis's first season, Charlie's Notre Dame football team has -
*lost 13 of their last 21 games
*been shut out 3 times, including this past Saturday to Catholic rival, Boston College
*lost to Navy after 43 straight wins over the Naval Academy (think this Saturday's game in Baltimore is a big deal to Charlie?)
*had the first ever 9-loss season, which was the worst season in the 120-year history of the program
*scored 13 points in the first three games of last year
*accumulated a 1-15 record in their last 16 games against teams with a winning record


Even the leprechaun mascot looks shell shocked - and a little smaller. He traditionally does a push up for each point on the scoreboard every time Notre Dame scores. Not a real grueling workout for him these days and it shows. Can you blame alumni, fans, and even the priests for getting a little hot under the collar? (Yuk yuk.) After all, Notre Dame is the second winningest team in the history of college football with 829 wins and 42 ties in 1,139 games played.

The scoring woes of the Irish are amazing in light that they are coached by an "offensive genius" who boldly declared upon being hired to his first head coaching position that Notre Dame would have a strategic advantage over every team they played based on his tenure as offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. The Patriots have fared much better on offense than have the Irish since Charlie's move to South Bend.

The reason so many rival fans are rubbing their hands together in undisguised glee over Weis being on the hot seat is his record of perceived arrogance, which many feel has rivaled the arrogance of the fan base. (Yuk yuk yuk!)

Now to the politics. Off field, the reason this has become such a big deal is that an African American was elected president of the United States of America.

Huh? Obama is in charge of college football, too?

Nope but there's a connection. The man he replaced, Ty Willingham, is African American and many thought Notre Dame gave him the shaft when they suddenly dumped him with two years left on his contract, something the school had never done, not even in the tumultuous Gerry Faust era. Now the coach at University of Washington, Willingham is just one of just six African American head coaches in college football - a number that could very well be cut in half at season's end when he, Ron Prince at Kansas State, and Sylvester Croom at Mississippi State possibly get the axe and lose their jobs as expected.

What's brought on the renewed scrutiny is that Willingham was fired by the Golden Domers after three seasons with a 21-15 record. With three games to play in his third season, including an almost certain loss coming up against USC, Charlie Weis is 22-15. Since there is such little difference in their records, groups like the Black Coaches Association and fans and commentators of all colors are watching closely to see if the two men will be treated the same by Notre Dame's administration.

Even if their records are nearly identical it doesn't mean their situations are the same and I am loathe to interpret Notre Dame's action against Ty Willingham and possible inaction against Charlie Weis in racial terms, though on face value, the facts look more than a bit damning. One need not be self-consciously racist to behave in a racist manner.

But there are factors besides race, most notably simple economics, by which Weis could survive another season as head coach. Sure, Notre Dame with its own television network contract can afford to buy Weis out of his contract. But will they be willing to write that kind of check in the midst of a national financial crisis? That would generate a whole other set of questions. Stewardship by a Christian institution comes to mind.

Under coaches like Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy it became popular to talk about the Luck of the Irish. What we're about to discover in the next month in regard to the running of the Notre Dame football machine has much more to do with the Pluck of the Irish!

That leaves just one conclusion.

Go Navy!