June is My Month

WATCHING THE NUGGETS IN THE PLAYOFFS

AT JK GRADUATION

June is my month, and it bears repeating. Birthday, Father's Day and my Anniversary (12 years this year!). I get a special "June gift" for all the occasions and that gives me more leeway on price. Sweet!

So, generally, I like June. Some of my best memories were formed in June. I got married; walked the Normandy Beaches on my birthday (anniversary of D-Day!); set off for New York to live for a summer; traveled across Germany and France and visited Moscow (one does not travel across Russia... ask anyone with an army); and I've enjoyed many nice and warm days.

Today I became eligible to run for president. That means from here until I turn 67, I have only Social Security eligibility to attain with my age. Of course, by then I may have to wait until I'm 77. So, really, let's just say I'm not going to think too much about that.

I still have no complaints. All is pretty good for the most part. And although I now CAN run for president, that doesn't mean I will. I prefer to keep my options open. In other words, I won't be doing that.

I pretty much work, read and hang with the family. It's a pretty uneventful routine, actually. And, I'm reading some great books this year. With my birthday as an excuse, I bought four more books. I like my pace and I legitimately can't wait to start each one.

Jacob graduated from Junior Kindergarten. I then immediately had him start Kindergarten this month. He tested really well, so he's a go. Summer break? We both work so that's out. But, Summer break is actually way too long and encourages our laziest inclinations.

I toyed with the idea of holding him out of graduation because... well, he was going to graduate unless he were to have killed a few kids with scissors, so it's kinda like "congratulating" him for aging. And, since that's essentially what we celebrate with birthdays, why not? Actually, he would have had to sit out all their program practice and preparation and so he would have worked less if I held him out. See how evil I am?

I actually gave this subject a lot of thought. I don't remember "graduating" before I started Kindergarten and I do kinda have this problem with our overly-coddling society, but that's just my way. I'm surly like that.

My parenting philosophy may not be what one would call "widely accepted" or "considered healthy by most people," but that's OK because our "average" kid these days could do a lot better.

I was scared to death of disappointing my dad and it worked. But we were also close. I managed to figure out that he could both expect a lot and love me anyway. We too often don't expect enough from kids. They will surprise you if you let them. Jacob shocks me regularly.

As you can see above, he likes me. I figured out pretty quickly that I could cement a love of going to games with dad by letting him gorge himself on foods that are forbidden at home. So, he had candy, pop and a hot dog (the last one not so forbidden). Throw in a souvenir and I essentially bought him out on a lifetime contract to games with dad. I call that a win.

Now, he gets to keep going to those games so long as he makes with the 4.0. What? I keeeed, I keeeed! Well, I kind of kid.

Sunday, bloody Sunday

Sunday, May 1, 2011 was an interesting day.

A machine broke and I let out an audible yelp. I then sulked most of the day and felt generally lost until we met up with James. I later learned that about the same time we met James in Longmont, Navy SEALS killed the most dangerous man on the planet. That just made me feel dumb for mourning my Kindle.

I started the day writing a blog post about my thoughts on War & Peace (yes, seriously). I have a lot to say about the book and I missed the first meeting of the book club group. I wanted to get my thoughts down.

In the middle of my post, I wanted to quote from a passage I had highlighted that really illustrated why I thought the War scenes were necessary and enjoyable. (The movie Pear Harbor may or may not have been referenced).

I went to get my Kindle and found it laying awkwardly on my I-pod, screen down. Now, I never put it anywhere without the cover closed. But, I also have a five-year-old, so anything goes.

I let out an audible yelp when I picked it up and saw the distorted discombobulated screen. I tried to revive it, reboot it, shake it, then died a little inside before calling tech support. The techie all but told me to take it out back and shoot it.

The blog post had to wait.

For background, I can't live without my Kindle. I'm lost without it. I take it everywhere "just in case." I hate going anywhere only to discover it isn't with me and I have to wait more than one minute for anything. It actually makes me angry.

I went to the Library book sale, and felt like I was not honoring its memory. Surrounded by paper books. It sounds crazy, but this darkened my mood.

After a break, Dave and I went to see James. Meanwhile, somewhere in Abbotobad or About-a-boat Pakistan, Navy SEALS were kicking the hell out of casa-de-Osama.

We had a good time chatting with James and Jacob and Ian got to play together. It was a good time. I even managed to borrow James' copy of The Hobbit so I could continue to read while my poor dead Kindle mocked me with its blinking screen. (this mitigated my mood more than it should have).

I finished another chapter of The Hobbit and received the news from James that Obama was about to announce his inevitable re-election, er, uh... the killing of Osama Bin Laden.

I stopped reading and started listening... and surfing... and twittering... and facebooking... and, yes, I had a drink. (Topic of the night? Our President performed the walk-off of a major BADASS after his speech. My brother said he couldn't have improved it if he dropped the mic like Chris Rock.)

So, here's my story behind the Cognac. The best professor I ever had was Edward Rozek. He grew up in Poland until WWII forced him to fight for all he was worth. He then became a prominent politico and professor here in the USA. He taught all things Eastern bloc and was passionate in his hawkishness toward dictators who terrorized his home region.

Every story about a dictator brought to justice ended the same way. From Mussolini hanging from a lamp post to the picking-off of each Slavic bully and mass murderer, Professor Rozek would polish off an entire bottle of Cognac and celebrate a piece of liberation. He felt a unique joy at their demise that comes from having fought a war that failed to liberate his homeland. Every liberation was the righting of a wrong for him.

I tipped back a Cognac and Coke-a-cola in his honor and watched people singing on the White House lawn. I scoured for details and essentially forgot about my beloved Kindle. Gotta love perspective.

As a peace-loving person who opposes the death penalty, I thought long and hard about whether I could feel good about it. Well, there was no debate. It felt good. I just needed a reason. I guess Mark Twain said it best when he said:
"I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure."

So, for better or worse, Wars -- whether justified or not, big or small -- shape our world. War & Peace expresses that because war is the overriding factor of the world in which the characters live, and it provides the canvas for their lives (in this case: dinner parties).

I bought a new Kindle today. I'm back to comfort -- and that statement just struck me as interesting in light of all the relief one bullet brought. I don't feel safer, but I do feel relieved.

Jacob meets Darth Vader

Over the last week, I have introduced Jacob to the original Star Wars trilogy. And he loves it. But, it was a learning experience for me as well. For one, Star Wars can lead to some interesting moral dilemmas in the mind of a five year old.

Let's just say I failed to "foresee" certain things.

He has been asking about Star Wars since he got his Clone Wars Tag book. The problem was that he knew of Anakin as a good guy and the Clone Troops as good guys as well. That spin off takes place during the time when Anakin is a Jedi Knight and the Clone troops fought for the Republic.

So, I had my work cut out for me. My negligence allowed him to be corrupted by the new stuff early, which is like giving up a TD on the opening kickoff.

I decided to show him the movies in their original order so that he would not be too crushed by Anakin's turn to the Dark Side. He could know Vader as evil at first, see him redeemed, then learn the back story.

I was afraid he would be bored by New Hope, but he loved it. He was scared by the trash compactor scene a little, but not bad. On second viewing he said he didn't like that part.

He LOVES everything dealing with "Light Swords" (a term he picked up from the new Clone Wars book... which should not infuriate me quite as much as it does, yet... here we are).

He asked a lot of questions like "Does disappearing mean he died?" (he almost cried when Obi Wan died) and "why did the Storm Troopers kill them?" I wasn't ready for those questions.

Empire Strikes Back is my favorite of the bunch. I remember being terrified in the theater when the Wampa came at Luke. I figured Hoth would win him over, and it seemed to. But, the Middle of Empire just isn't real kid friendly. Jacob loved the light-saber duel (that's better) between Luke and Vader (although he didn't catch the lost hand).

But, it's clearly the most adult-themed of the movies and THIS movie led to a whole bunch of tough questions. Such as:

"I want Anakin to get out of Darth Vader's heart" (Not a question, but how do you respond to that?)

"He's his father? Why is his father dressed like Darth Vader?" (OK, that one was funny).

"Why was that a dream?" (This was when Luke "kills" Vader on Dagoba... we all wonder that one, kiddo. There is no answer).

Finally... "Is he really his father?" Yes, yes he is.

Jacob was clearly unnerved by the end of Empire, so I had to accelerate his viewing of Return of the Jedi to the next day so he would have some context. We explained that Luke was going to try to make his father good again.

Jacob loved Jedi. He loved the green light saber and really liked when Vader turned back to good. I think that was necessary for him, but I'm no longer certain it will make Episode III any easier.

Jacob is really excited to see Episode I because it will have Anakin as a kid. I have that one, but I'll need to borrow Episodes II and III. My effort to show Vader's redemption may have been for naught because he will definitely relate to young Anakin.

I guess there isn't a real easy way to do this. Either you let him start with Episode I and watch him struggle watching the good guy go bad... or you try to redeem Vader first, and... well, we'll see how this goes.

Now, if I can just get him to stop saying "light swords." My current tactic is to say "when you say that you hurt daddy." He seems unfazed. Yeah, making Vader sympathetic was probably a mistake.

Moonwalking with Einstein

I needed a break.

I am roughly half-way through about 3 books and I wasn't feeling the momentum. I knew I needed a jolt and that was provided by my wife's fascination with a book featured in Discovery magazine. We talked about it and it just seemed like a fascinating topic.

I purchased Moonwalking with Einstein and devoured it. It's a quick read and, most important to me, it adds something to my life.

Josh Foer was a journalist who covered the world memory championship only to discover that none of the mental athletes considered themselves to be savants or anything close. To test the theory that anyone could do what mental athletes could so with training, Foer trained and won the American memory title the very next year.

Most fascinating about this book is that Foer succeeds in walking the reader through some of the techniques. He walks the reader through the process of memorizing a 15-item grocery list and left a vivid picture of that list in my mind. It is very illustrative... to the point that I literally cannot forget this grocery list.

I have been left with images, at our old Virginia home, of the following;

... a man with a snorkel diving into the sink... salmon cooking on the vent of out television with smoking peat providing the heat... an elk screeching at the top of our stairs... socks dancing on the fireplace hearth and a she-male at a desk with Sophia Loren on his/her lap.

I couldn't forget that list if I wanted to. Jen and I ended up memorizing two of our credit card numbers to test the number formula... and it worked.

Although the book is not a self-help book, it gives any ambitious reader the tools to begin tinkering with his or her own brain. I will begin to work on this technique to memorize the presidents in order and my goal is to eventually memorize the Colorado Probate Code so I can work more efficiently.

There is a natural conflict between the ancient memory techniques documented in this book and our modern world and its many memory crutches (like i-phones, the Internet in general, etc.). I tend to believe that, although such tricks may no longer be necessary, there is nothing wrong with sharpening the saw, so to speak. Also, I like a good challenge.

Foer includes information about patients who represent the extremes of the memory spectrum - from the man who could not forget, to people who could not remember anything. He discusses the physiology of memory (what little is really understood) and the study of expertise.

Moonwalking with Einstein is a real feast. I loved it. I have a new leader on the early-season rankings.

Unlikely Disciple

I read, Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose, which was assigned to me by Book. As we have all said about our book challenge, the best part is horizon-expansion - and this book certainly probed new territory for me.

I struggled with this book, but not in a bad way. I struggled because this book will hold up a mirror to anyone on either side of the God divide.

Roose spent a semester at Liberty University, Jerry Falwell's evangelical university. He came away with a better understanding of what makes evangelicals tick. So, why was this a struggle? Two reasons. 1) It touches a blind-spot issue for me; 2) the author's undercover status.

I've always viewed Falwell and his ilk as being on the "wrong end of the fire hose" politically. In Jerry's case, this is a literal description because he fought the Civil Rights Act and was openly in favor of segregation. Although he repented later, its hard to know (and harder to convince myself) that the repentance was true rather than politically helpful.

Thus, I have always viewed his gay-bashing as particularly anger-inducing. It "smacks of the fire hose" from a person who held that political position before. Although I have debated the gay issue with close friends without animosity, I admit that it's a topic that requires regulation. And therein lies my struggle with this book.

I admit that I have a bit of a blind spot on this issue. And, many of the characters in this book have no problem saying what I would consider to be slurs on a daily basis. The author excuses it to a point by explaining the culture in which they live and were raised. I struggled with that justification. By the midpoint of this book I was very agitated and at times outright angry.

But, by the end, the whole picture came into better focus. I enjoyed the book overall and feel it had an impact. Any anger induced was a part of the greater experience. That experience led to a humanizing of a segment of our nation I don't get to see often. And, although humanizing does not equal agreement, it accomplished reflection on my part.

I also struggled with Roose's ruse. He had to mislead his classmates if this book was going to succeed. I get that. I understand that. But, every journalistic bone in my body is worn out waving red flags about it.

By the end, I understood why he had to go undercover, but that didn't mean it didn't feel awkward. Roose struggled with that ethical issue as well. Surprisingly, none of the students seemed bothered when he finally told them.

An impactful book leads to contemplation, and I don't think I'm done contemplating this one. I wont' be done for awhile.

Appreciation

The Nuggets became relevant again in 2003 when the unthinkable happened. It would have been typical for the Nuggets to get the third pick in a two-deep draft, and that's exactly what happened. And that's when rumors began that Detroit was prepared to pass over Carmelo Anthony with its second pick.

It was too good to be true. Melo took Syracuse to a national title and dominated the college game. If it were not for LeBron James, Melo would have been the consensus best player in the draft.

AND WE GOT HIM! And we got to watch plays like these below:



I first went to see Melo play as a rookie with Baggs in 2003-2004. We wanted to see the super rookie. He was immature, excitable and raw. He had braids and a slender frame. But, the talent just gushed. He took ill-advised shots and often forced the play. He was quick to temper and, once frustrated, his game would fall apart.

His shot was a work in progress for a few years, but his first step was untouchable and he could amaze in the blink of an eye. Baggs, Tom, Book and I would cringe when he forced the jumper, and implore him to drive to the hoop. Still, we knew what we had and we just loved watching him develop.

A rebuilding year ended in the playoffs that rookie year with a would-be temporary coach. It was a pleasant surprise and the creation of new expectations. From 2004 through 2007 we watched Melo tighten his game. We shared 10-game packages and went to as many games as possible, including playoffs.

The playoffs became regular, but our appetite was not satisfied with first-round losses. Still, beggars can't be choosers, and we were more than happy with the Melo-era Nuggets.

Meanwhile, Melo's game changed. His shot went from spotty to money. His drives became but one weapon in a growing arsenal. He became a master at drawing fouls and finishing at the hoop. But, best of all, he turned clutch... I'm talking "it's not if, but how" clutch. In a town used to John Elway magic, that's a trait we could get behind. See below.



Eventually, surprising playoff appearances became frustrating early exits. Frustrations grew and the organization gambled on pairing Melo with Allen Iverson after Melo threw a punch (OK, it was a slap) and ruined Dave's trip to Florida in the process. It was a forced marriage with AI and it brought out all of his old habits. But only temporarily.

That all changed in 2009 when Chauncey Billups brought the final piece to the puzzle. Pepsi Center rocked. Something felt different. Then, this happened:



Jon and I were at the game and experienced Pepsi Center at its pinnacle. A game 1 blowout was duplicated in game 2. Game 4 in New Orleans ended with a 58-point demolition. Something felt right.

The Dallas series featured Melo at his clutch best when he managed to leave an arena full of Texans stone-cold silent. His dagger 3 shut the whole lot of them up with authority. Texans. Silent. I mean, c'mon, that's a feat!

Although Denver lost to the eventual-champion Lakers in 6 games, no team fought them harder. They fought hard and made us proud. Mike, a die-hard Laker fan, said Denver scared him more than any other team that year.

It felt like 2009 was the beginning. We all settled in for a few more years of knocking on the door.

Injuries, cancer and bad timing derailed the 2010 campaign. Another first-round exit seemed like a bump in the road until all the drama began leading to this year. Without rehashing the drama of 2010-2011, I'll just say this season never had a chance. The team is splintered by the Melo drama and none of us can bring ourselves to follow. Playoff seed? I'm supposed to care about that? If he's gone it's over! There won't be any playoffs.

Will they start over? Will he stay? (No). It's been so frustrating.

This week, Baggs and I completed the circle and likely watched our last game of the Melo era in Denver. It was so fitting. Melo was brilliant in scoring 50 while Billups nursed an injury, Nene was out sick and the team played as dispirited as advertised.

We shot hoops on the Pepsi Center floor and walked out into a blizzard. It was so fitting. So much fun, but it just didn't end well. The 50 points seemed detached of emotion as the trade rumors wore the team down to nothing. The frustration seemed shared by team and fans. It felt like a funeral.

So, I decided to focus on the appreciation part. It seems like time to say good-bye. If not by the trade deadline then by next season at the latest, the Melo-era Nuggets will be no more. In any event, it's not going to be easy watching him go. I love basketball so much, and its been a real pleasure.

We've seen a deep playoff run, great performances, guts and heart on the court and we experienced the best string of winning seasons in team history. For all of that I say "Thank you" to the Melo man. I wish he would stay, but I understand. I hate it, but I do understand. Damn it all, but I do.

So, thanks for the nearly 14,000 points; for realizing your rebounding potential; for learning to try on defense; for making your game so complete; for never giving up on a game; for revitalizing Pepsi Center; and for turning into a star before our eyes. Its been fun. I just wish it didn't have to end like this.

News?

I spent time searching for the right word to describe my current disillusionment with the media. The word I settled on is "nugatory." It is defined as follows: "of no real value; trifling; worthless."

Obviously, not all journalists produce a product that falls into this category, but the most widely-available sources disproportionately render their own product nugatory.

This post has been simmering in me for awhile. I cannot say how many headlines have made me think of writing this post - there are too many to count. The one that finally pushed me to start writing?

"Jones-Drew: Apology to Cutler isn't coming." You can find this gem of breaking news at espn.com.

Ironically, I have been following sports news almost exclusively lately because political news had rendered my patience nugatory. At the center of my frustration with political news is its intense focus on petty arguments. I found no relief in the realm of sports news.

Sarah Palin caused my "tipping point" on CNN. I was once a regular reader of the "CNN Political Ticker" until its incessant fishing for clicks with Palin as the worm became so blatant as to render its credibility nugatory.

Headlines for the ticker would indicate which candidate declared for what district, what political appointment was set for confirmation hearings and such other relevant news. Sarah Palin was mentioned occasionally, but not too often. Then one day I noticed a pattern had developed: An equal number of pro- and con- Palin teasers on the main page attempted to lure lovers and haters of the most over-exposed would-be candidate in history.

I felt manipulated. I even indulged in some of the early anti-Palin headlines like "Poll shows bad news for Palin." But then I noticed the pattern. For every "bad news for Palin" teaser, an equal and opposite "good news for Sarah" teaser was sure to follow.

The rest of the ticker began to follow suit. And the reporting of childish spats began in earnest. Headlines like "X slams Y," "X jabbed Y," and "X chastises Y" became the norm. The headliner was always Palin, but the "meat" of the Ticker began to take on the same petty pandering to both sides of any number of grade-school type name-calling. Here's an example of what is currently on the CNN Political Ticker as I type this:

"Gore and O'Reilly trade jabs." (Wait, am I reading CNN or TMZ?)

"Limbaugh surprises Elton John." (He asked that John perform for him for an event rather than, oh, I don't know, try to kill him for being gay.)

"Snooki gushes over Dubya." (That's right, a @#&%ing reality star's opinion!)

"Boehner: Not sorry for tears." (Apparently Republicans are supposed to apologize for their emotions. On second thought, that makes sense.)

"Bush daughter breaks with dad on big issue." (The answer: Gay marriage. Its the only issue Republican family members seem to disagree on).

"Obama no longer the same?" (WTF? Seriously... WTF? It turns out he's now focusing on promises he can keep. Again, WTF? They make is sound like he took up drinking.)

"Gore says snow does not disprove global warming." (Um... do people think it does? And if they do, aren't those people too busy staring at their padded walls to read the ticker?)

To be fair, there are still a number of relevant posts and I cherry-picked the most egregious. But, still, I didn't even have to dig deep to find those turds. It's about 50-50 on ridiculous vs. relevant. The only shocker was that Palin was not as prominent today as usual (although there was a post that "Romney is up on Palin.")

That is the phenomenon that chased me to ESPN. To reward my decision, ESPN incessantly reported the various twitter comments made about Jay Cutler's inability to finish the NFC title game. And, that, ladies and gentlemen, led to a headline that Maurice Jones-Drew will not apologize.

I give up. Then I realized that I probably shouldn't expect more from a medium that became mainstream only because it offered porn on demand. Once I remembered that, this all made perfect sense.