Unwanted Commentary

So I've been told that the big fund raising shindig for Haiti pulled in a record $58 million dollars, and I applaud that because I'm going to guess that most of it came from regular work-a-day folks throwing in their $10 and $25 donations. The report also mentioned that over 100 entertainers pitched in to shake their proverbial money-makers for the show, and that's when I started thinking that $58 million, while impressive, seems a paltry amount. From the stand point of the unwashed masses that's an amazing accomplishment and a real testament to the generosity of the common person, but if I was a celebrity looking at that number would make me cringe a little. Hell, if each celebrity/entertainer/whatever had given a bit over $500,000 then they could have easily matched the telethon. How can you go out and cajole people to give money when you've given so little yourself. I guess I'm speaking a bit out of turn though, as I'm sure many celebrities have given graciously, and some have, but I know they all haven't. Madonna herself only gave out $250K, and that just seems a little insulting.

In a certain light you shouldn't complain I guess. Any generosity is good generosity, but I think this puts a big spot light on a fundamental problem with our society.

Posted by Jeff at 09:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thoughts on the Texas and Alabama game last night. No doubt about it, this was a hard game to watch. Now I don’t bleed burnt orange or anything, but I was pulling for Texas to win even though I would have been very pleased to have seen a well played game no matter who won.

It was disappointing to see Colt McCoy go down so early in the game. This was beyond a devastating blow for the Longhorns, and the chances of them winning without him were pretty low. Bottom line is he doesn’t go out of the game the game is very different. I don’t like to jump to conclusions and say that Texas wins with McCoy, because I have to imagine that Alabama had plans in place to contain him. The fact that Texas had to settle for that first field goal is a bit of an indication that Colt wouldn’t have his way with them.

Both coaches made some ridiculous calls. Alabama’s fake punt cost them only three points, and Mack Browns shuffle pass with 15 seconds left in the half cost them the game. Texas doesn’t make that mistake I think they win the ball game, but still hard to say. I think Alabama rested in the third, maybe thinking they’d already won, and not expecting Garrett Gilbert to get his legs so quickly.

And what can you say about Gilbert? I have to really applaud the boy’s spirit, after being put into an almost possible situation, getting knocked around and making some terrible mistakes he stepped up and made a game of it. It was a brave and admirable performance on his part, and watching him battle back was a real highlight of the evening. I think if the Texas receivers had stepped up their game a little bit and held on to some balls, because I saw a lot of dropped very catchable balls, then we get a different game. I think Texas hadn’t even thought about idea of McCoy getting injured, because they didn’t seem to know what to do with Gilbert in the game, and maybe with some different play calling he could have gotten his legs a little faster. But you can’t fault Texas too much, they lost the head of their team, and that had to put them all into a bit of shock that unfortunately took the rest of the half to recover from, and by that time they were down 24-6. That’s a long row to hoe no matter how you look at it.

I don’t think Texas has anything to be ashamed of, and they don’t need to make excuses. They took a knockout blow very early in the game and then hung around until the end, putting themselves awfully close to being able to win it.

Posted by Jeff at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been trying to catch up on some of my RSS feeds. The Rude Pundit has touched on some things in this entry that fuse with my experiences traveling to Mexico with very little ability to comprehend Spanish. All at once I'm immersed into a world that I can't understand, and doesn't understand me. I can't use my iPhone, I can't access the Internet, and the television has only three or four stations. And I find that you are forced to notice people a little bit more, even though you can't talk to them on a meaningful level. It's a good feeling, being disconnected that way, and you go looking for things to do, you go outside and enjoy the sunshine, or you watch baby goats be born. You make a decision to shovel goat crap into a trailer, then spread that goat crap on a field. You pick up hay for six hours. For the most part I find all of this liberating, and there's a certain freedom to thought and action that's addictive. The community becomes very immediate, and I see people walk up and down the street, they stop and talk to each other. They sit outside their doors and watch the world go by, talking with the passersby...

Posted by Jeff at 02:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I thought this was interesting.

Especially in light of the recent underpants bomber.

Something else to consider.

I especially like this comment:

Clearly, it will get to the point where eventually, only terrorists will be willing to submit themselves to the indignity of air travel.

Posted by Jeff at 01:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the repercussions of living in Mexico for two weeks is that I don't remember on which day I did what, and it all kind of blurs together. We didn't travel much this time around, though we did make it to Apaseo El Alto to finally get a good look at the Iglecia Sagrado Corazon which we were led to believe was a replica of the Sistine Chapel. After giving the church a good once over we decided it wasn't a replica of the Sistine Chapel, so we were a little bummed by that. Come to find out that it is a replica of St. Peter's Basilica, but I've only just found that out after a little research. We also made a quick jaunt over to Celaya's mercado so the girls could do some shopping, but the huge crowd made it a tiring experience and we didn't do much sight seeing. Our biggest trip was driving out to Penjamo to the Corralejo tequila distillery, and that was a lot of fun. Otherwise we hung around town and visited with Mitzy's grandparents and relatives. It was a more sedate visit, but a very fulfilling one.

On one day I had one of my best experiences in Mexico, and that was going out to work in the field with Israel, his dad, Mitzy's nephew and Mitzy's nephew's cousins. We picked up alfalfa that had been cut and put it into little piles before loading it into a trailer. The guys had been working most of the morning, and I decided to go back out with them after lunch. It wasn't difficult work, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I wasn't tired by the time we were done. When all was said and done Israel and I sat out at the ranch and enjoyed some Corralejo Reposado as the sun went down. It was a really nice moment, and the sunset was especially beautiful going down behind the mountains. Now I've rarely had to do hard work in my life, but it was an especially satisfying experience to sit quietly, enjoying a drink, and watching the sun go down with a little quiet fatigue. It made everything just a little sweeter.

The only downside was the slight sun burn, but that ended up being less of a problem than I initially thought it would be.

Posted by Jeff at 03:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have returned from Mexico. We left San Jose at 4:05 AM Monday and arrived at our front door around 1:00 AM Tuesday. Roughly a 21 hour trip, and not bad time with all things considered. After spending two weeks in Central Mexico, Dallas seems a little surreal to me right now, or that could be the fatigue. This was my third trip to San Jose and fourth overall to Mexico, and I think this was my best experience ever in that I go more out of this one than the others. It was definitely harder to leave this time.

Did make it to work today, but the exhaustion of the drive is still pretty overwhelming, and formulating thoughts is a little iffy at the moment. More later, maybe.

Posted by Jeff at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)