A Shaqtastic Career

My favorite basketball player, Shaquille O'Neal, announced his retirement yesterday.  After 19 seasons, 4 titles, 15 All-Star Appearances and about 200 different nicknames, "The Diesel" is done.  At 39 years old, his body just can't do it anymore. 

When Shaq broke into the league at 20 years old, I was in my middle school years.  Shaq was this larger than life center who broke backboards, ran the fast break, and did it all with a smile.  He quickly became my favorite player.  In an era when it was Jordan this and Jordan that, I liked what Shaq brought to the game.  He looked like he was having fun!  When he went to the Lakers in 1996, it was a dream come true for me...the Lakers were my favorite team.  These days, I root for players more than teams, but back then, I was a Lakers fan.  Shaq won 3 of his titles with the Lakers, and 3 NBA finals MVP awards.  He would pick up 1 more title with Dwayne Wade (my new favorite player) and the Miami Heat in 2006, but I'll always remember Shaq as a Laker first.

Some of his critics will say that Shaq underachieved, because he was injured a lot, often started the season overweight, and never led the league in rebounding.  Even as a fan, I have to agree with that, but that's Shaq.  Basketball was never the end all be all for Shaq, it was just a means and a forum for what he really wanted to do, which was entertain.  In an era when athletes often wear a scowl and look miserable, it was refreshing to see someone out there who realized he was playing a game for a living.

I'll miss Shaquille O'Neal, but I'm very glad I got to witness his entire career.  In tribute, here are the top 5 Shaq nicknames (most of which he gave himself).

5 - Superman
4 - The Big Shaqtus (when he was traded to Phoenix)
3 - Shaq Fu
2 - The Big Aristotle
1 - The Diesel

Some More Reviews

I've had a few reviews pile up here.  None of these deserve their own post, so I'll roll them all into one.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1":  I was actually somewhat let down by the first movie in the Harry Potter finale.  "Deathly Hallows" was my favorite book, and I was excited to hear that they were making 2 movies so as not to leave anything out.  What I hadn't counted on was how the first half of the book is really tough to make into a movie.  It ended up being long periods of boring, followed by a few moments of riveting excitement.  Whereas the book could tell the introspection going on inside the characters heads, the movie failed in that regard.  All the other Harry Potter movies have been 4 or 5 stars, but this one is only a 3 star movie.  I'm sure Part 2 is going to be excellent...and pretty much non-stop action. 

"Castle, Season 3": Sorry about the picture.  Netflix changed how it does TV series...it's highly annoying.  Anyway..."Castle" continues to rival "Psych" for being the best show on TV (that's right Nuke, I just said that).  In season 3, Richard Castle (Nathon Fillian) continues to help NYPD Detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) solve some more offbeat murders.  With playful banter, and just the right amount of "serious" episodes, "Castle" kept me interested all season long.  The season finale was one of the better cliff hangers I've ever seen, and I am really looking forward to next season.  Another 5 star season for the "Castle" crew. 

"The Event":  NBC's new show should have been kept to 1 season, and NBC realized that, but the producers and writers did not.  This series, which pits Americans in and out of the government against aliens from an unknown planet had so much potential, and sometimes it lived up to the hype and sometimes it did not.  What we ended up having was a 3 star TV series that would have been 4 stars if the show would have ended, rather than cliff hangered.  NBC has cancelled "The Event", so the producers are looking for someone to pick up the 2nd season.  I expect SyFy or USA or something to pick it up, but in my opinion, it could have just ended.  What's wrong with having a great 1 season run?  Oh well...if there is a season 2, I might tune in to see where things go, but I also may not.

The Real Story of Alyss in Wonderland

So, apparently Lewis Carroll totally botched it.  Luckily, Frank Beddor figured it out and now tells us the real story of Alyss Heart, heir to the Wonderland Throne, who ended up stranded on earth for a few years and told her story to Carroll, who twisted it into a children's story.

In "The Looking Glass Wars" we meet 7 year old Alyss, just before her evil aunt Redd takes control of Wonderland.  The women of the Heart family are gifted with a powerful imagination, so powerful that they are able to imagine objects into being.  As Redd is attacking, the Queen's bodyguard, Hatter Madigan, takes Alyss through the pool of tears to earth.  They become separated and Alyss is eventually adopted by the Liddell family and comes to think of her prior life in Wonderland as nothing more than a dream.  That is, until she reaches 20 and it is learned she is alive on Earth.  Queen Redd promptly sends assassins to kill her niece, but her allies in Wonderland save her, and they hatch a plot to retake Wonderland.

I won't give away much of the follow-on books, "Seeing Redd" and "Arch Enemy" except to say that "Seeing Redd" was the weakest of the 3 books.  Overall, I really enjoyed these books.  I found them to be a fairly light read and books that I could easily put down and come back to later.  This series isn't on the level of "Harry Potter" or "Percy Jackson", but is a good, quick, entertaining read, that you don't have to really focus on to enjoy.

One complaint I do have is that there seemed to be quite a few typos in "Arch Enemy", and I thought the editing in the final book was a little off.  Basically, things resolve themselves too quickly...almost as if they had to hit 370ish pages, so the author and editor made some weird choices to end it on time.  Still though, these books were worth the time I took to read them, and I'll never be able to look at "Alice in Wonderland" the same way again.

Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 2

For my son's 8th birthday, we went to see "Kung Fu Panda 2".  You all know my love of the original, so I was pretty geeked up for the sequel, so much so that I was worried that it would end up disappointing.  Luckily, it did not.

Dreamworks has really hit on something here with the lovable Po back at it again along with his teammates, the Furious Five.  This time, Po and the Five have to save China from a mysterious new enemy that seems to have a power that can defeat even Kung Fu.  When Po meets this new enemy, he begins to question who he is and where he came from.  Can our hero overcome these doubts, find inner peace and save China?  You'll have to watch to find out.

"Kung Fu Panda 2" brings back all the same vocal talents, with Jack Black as Po, Angelina Jolie as Tigris and Dustin Hoffman as Shifu.  We're also introduced to Shen, a diabolical peacock voiced by Gary Oldman.  The vocal talents are really top notch.

We saw this one in 3D...I wouldn't waste your time (or money) on the 3D.  It wasn't bad, but it didn't add anything either.  Plus, the movie theater charges an extra $3 a ticket if you go to 3D.

Overall, this is a 4.5 star movie.  Almost as good as the original, but not quite there.  The story is great, the villain is really well established, the humor is good, the final battle is brilliant and the ending will bring a tear to your eye.  Plus, they set this up perfectly for "Kung Fu Panda 3".  So, why the 0.5 drop from 5?  Well, it just wasn't as crisp as the original.  A few things felt forced, but that doesn't mean this isn't still a great movie.  I highly recommend it.

Why Does the Media Care So Much?

So, it's May 24th, and we're all still here.  The world did not end on May 21st, as predicted by Harold Camping and his small "Christian" group.  I put Christian in quotes there, because it is obviously not a Christian perspective to believe one can know the date of the second coming.  In fact, Matthew and Luke are pretty clear about this:

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” – Matthew 24:35-36

“You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” – Luke 12:40

Mark Hart writes an interesting post on a "Catholic Perspective" on the end of the world if you want to read more.  That's not actually the reason I'm writing this blog.  I'm writing this because of a conversation I had with Nuke today.  It was brief...we do actually work.

Anyway, Nuke was lamenting the fact that the mainstream media latched on to this one "out there" guy and used it to make all Christians look bad.  I responded by saying that the media wants to tear down Christianity because Christians have too much power in this country.  To which Nuke responded that this was because "deep down, they know we are right."

I initially objected to this, stating that the mainstream media follows the gospel according to Marx, but Nuke persisted, sending some scripture my way and using an example from his own life.  After thinking about this, and reading the scripture Nuke sent my way, I have to agree he's right.  Sorry, I can't remember the scripture he sent to me...perhaps he'll comment with the verses.  And Marx was just my joke...the media has actually accepted relativism as their "truth."  My definition of relativism is that whatever you have as morals is "right for you" and if someone else has a different set of morals, that's "right for them."  Basically, the truth is what you make of it.

The mainstream media does know, in the deepest recesses of their hearts, that Christians are right...we have the truth and it scares those in the mainstream media.  They have accepted the truth of relativism with their minds, but their hearts don't believe it.  Deep down, they know that what is right and what is wrong is not relative, but that there are indeed absolute truths in this world.  However, in their minds, they don't want this to be true, so any chance they get to lash out against Christians and against God they take it in an effort to change the truth.  But, the truth is the truth and nothing the mainstream media does will change that.

All we as Christians can do is pray for those in the mainstream media who would see us destroyed, and live our lives in a way that makes us different from what the world tells us we should be.  We need to be living the lives Christ taught us to live.  We don't need to "lash out" at the media.  In this instance, we need to turn the other cheek and remain confident in what we know to be true...that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that's all that matters.  It doesn't matter what the world or the mainstream media says about us...all that matters is what Jesus says about us when He comes again.

A Couple of Average Movies

I've seen a couple of 3 star movies on Netflix recently.  Neither of these movies will "rock your world", but if you want an evening of entertainment without much heavy thinking, then these 2 movies might be for you.

"City of Ember":  I haven't read the books, but I'm betting someone who has will say the books were better than the movie.  Well, the movie is slightly entertaining.  Ember is a city that was built underground by some super smart dudes to protect civilization after what we're left to believe is Nuclear War.  They intended for the population to live underground for 200 years, but due to an untimely death in the line of mayors, the 200 years came and went and nobody left. 

This is where the movie picks up.  A couple of kids find the secret to getting out, but the corrupt mayor, played by Bill Murray, wants to stop them.  What ensues is a light hearted "chase" sequence that results in some entertainment while still leaving a low stress evening of movie viewing.

"Tron Legacy":  I'm one of the few children of the 80's who never watched "Tron", but I was told by a friend that it wouldn't matter.  Well, it mattered a little bit, but I read up on what happened in "Tron" so I was good.  "Tron Legacy" has some really cool effects, and probably would have been great in 3D.  Overall, though, it fell short of a great movie, but was entertaining enough.

There was one thing that was a bit off putting, but I eventually got used to it.  There is a CGI version of Jeff Bridges that is 20 years younger than the real Jeff Bridges.  That was sort of creepy for a while.  But, once I got past that, I had an ok time.  Low expectations are key with this movie I think.  I had no expectations, and that helped.

Book Review: "Be a Man!"

Father Larry Richards' book, "Be a Man!: Becoming the Man God Created You to Be" was the handout at this year's Catholic Men's Conference for the Archdiocese of Dubuque.  Fr. Richards is the Keynote Speaker at the 2012 conference, and if his book is any indication, he is going to let us men have it!

"Be a Man" is a very challenging read.  All throughout the book Fr. Richards uses very straightforward language to get the reader to face the fact that he is most likely not living the life that God intended him to be living.  From a man's relationship to Jesus, to his role as spiritual leader of the family, to his duty to change the world, "Be a Man" covers it all.

I really enjoyed this book and was challenged by it.  Fr. Richards starts off the book by telling us that we're all going to die...it ends the same way for all of us.  When we die, we have 2 options for eternity, and the good news is, we get to choose where we spend it (unless you believe in Predestination, but that's a topic for Nuke's blog, not mine).  The problem is, too many men are leading lives that indicate that they are choosing the wrong option. 

Fr. Richards makes the case for Jesus being the ultimate man, and then spends the rest of the book providing ways to live out the life God intends for you.  Each chapter focuses on a new area to work on, and contains practical tips.  Some of the tips are very challenging, such as devoting 1 hour every day for the rest of your life to prayer...I find that one very challenging, but one that I'm also going to pray that I can someday commit to. 

At the end of each chapter, there are study questions, so I think this would be a great book for men's groups looking for something to study.  I highly recommend this book for all men, not just Catholic men.  I think it has the potential to change your life.  I look forward to hearing Fr. Richards speak more on the topics in "Be a Man!" and next year's conference.