Kickin' it Old School

In the mid 90's this is what it was all about. Notice the impressive decor the London House was best known for. That pie was awesome, that I can tell you. Also, notice in the background of the third pic a certain couple snuggling on the "oh so comfy" couch.

RIP Fish tank.

Thanks to Brian for the pics.

Dominican Republic

The DR was an amazing experience. I had never been in a place of such abject poverty.

SCORE Intl. handled the trip and our lodging and meals. We brought two boy's basketball teams, the varsity girl's team, a baseball team and a soccer team. The basic format was we would play games and then give the Gospel in between games or at the the end of the day. It was the first time that the school had ever brought girls and our girls were great both on the court and while interacting with the locals.

The pic. above was taken in a sugar cane village. The occupants were mostly Haitian refugees.We brought them food and clothing but we had to leave without giving out everything when the crowd got too rowdy. The boy in the picture's named Alejandro. Thanks to my wife and in-laws I spoke enough Spanish to get by.

The trip really helped me get my priorities straight and to appreciate what I have and where I live. I could be riding a scooter through the crowded streets of Santo Domingo with my wife and child on the back wondering what we are going to eat for our one meal of the day.

I definitely see my life differently since I got back.

June

Summer is finally here. Tomorrow will be the first day back at home after a week or so of vacation.

Michigan was very nice. It is always good to see my family and spend some time with those that I only get to see once a year. The weather was colder than I expected getting down into the 40's at night. I don't remember June being that cold growing up but I have become acclimated to Florida and so maybe it was and I was just used to it.

I am currently reading "Too Late the Phalarope" by Alan Paton and I just finished "Demons Don't Dream" by Piers Anthony. Wildly different books, I know. "Demons Don't Dream" may be Phils and not mine. Phil, please let me know if it is yours so that I can return it.

I think my summer schedule will look something like this:

1-Get up, breakfast, work out

2-Chores and errands

3-Writing and/or editing

4-Lunch

5-Write

6-Run

7-Dinner

8-Write and/or edit

9-Read

10-Bed

Of course that is all subject to change. My posts have become info-dumps as of late. But at the moment I am tired and can't think of anything witty and/or interesting to say.

Goodnight for now.

May is Here

-This is the month of transition for me where the school year ends and the summer begins. I have approximately 12 days left of school. The trick at this time of year is not to close up shop mentally.

-I've gotten more good reviews of the new manuscript then I expected. Currently I am only revealing the first 11 pages, but the positive input has been really encouraging.

-When I write something and then I show people what I've done and they like it I always get a little bit scared that I won't be able to duplicate the quality on the next page. This can lead to over-analyzing, but I determined just to write and not to worry. Just write.

-Someone asked me if I was going to pursue an advanced degree at any time. "If I need to," was my reply. School was really tough my last year as I was working 40+ hours a week and taking 21 credit hours and writing my senior paper on the Silmarillion of all things. Yes, I was too ambitious in my choice of topic.

-I am listening to Pandora right now. Cool site, check it out.

-Yes, I am on Twitter. No, I'm not one of "those" people.

-I can't wait to go home to Michigan in three weeks. It's way to hot here and it's only May.

-I wish I had something profound to say.

-End

NBA Playoffs: Pistons

It's time for my second annual Pistons Playoff Preview (3P) But first let me address the regular season.

I told myself to hold off, not to pass judgement to soon. "Wait until after the All-Star break," I said. So I did. And here's what I learned.

1-The Iverson trade was a complete debacle for Detroit. Let me tell you, I had high hopes even though I was skeptical about trading away Billups (a great pg and leader)for ANOTHER shooting guard when we were already starting an All-Star, Rip Hamilton. But I jumped on the "We've got a bonafide superstar now too" bandwagon. Plus, it seemed like Joe Dumars had a plan for the future and like him or not Joe Dumars is a big reason I'm a Pistons fan. Good management is key to any sports franchise (see the Detroit Lions). And let's be honest here, the real value of the Billups/Iverson trade will not be realized until this summer. So, again, I have to reserve judgement. Best wishes to AI. Take care of that back my friend.

2-The Pistons look exactly how they should look right now: A group of aging vets, young, less experienced players, a largely underachieving bench (I got you Will Bynum), and a rook head coach. Nobody seems to know what to do in the 4th when Chauncey used to put the game away with timely passes, 3's and free-throws all-day. Now it's misreads, turnovers and HOW CAN WE STOP DRIBBLE PENETRATION moments.

Bigs: Their frontcourt is anchored by two aging vets who can still play (see McDyess) but logging heavy minutes wears them down quickly.

Kwame has been a pleasant surprise as of late, but he's still Kwame.

Maxiell and Amir Johnson have not improved as quickly as expected and 'Sheed is really starting to show his age.

Forwards: I like Tay, sue me. He's versatile offensively, doesn't complain and plays defense.

I also like what Walter Hermann brings to the game when he is hitting his shots and being active on D.

Tayshaun really needs to go at LeBron on Saturday. Forget the fouls, LeBron's gonna get calls anyway at least make him work on defense.

Guards: The brightest spot on the team. Richard Hamilton can still fill it up. He is an absolute nightmare when he is coming off picks and he has looked a lot better going to the basket this year.

Will Bynum has been a pleasant surprise though in the last couple games teams have been keying on him and he has struggled a little with his offense. Still, he was a great pickup.

I like Afflalo too. He is a versatile defender, hard worker and his offense is starting to pick up. He just needs time to get better.

Which leads us to Rodney Stuckey. I'm not going to lie, Stuck is the first name I look for in the box score after the game. I love this guy. People need to remember he is in his second year and is surround mostly with guys who have been in the playoffs since my house was worth what I paid for it. Just wait until he develops a consistent outside shot, then it will be pick your poison for opposing defenses. Like Afflalo, he just needs time to mature.

Playoff Prediction: Cavs in 5. I'm gonna go ahead and say the Pistons get a home win in this series. Believe me I feel like I'm going out on a limb saying it but the roster is loaded with guys with Conference and NBA Finals experience.

But you know, it's not even the talent level of the Cavs that will ultimately decide the series. It's the Pistons lack of cohesion. They look lost sometimes and you can't look lost in the NBA playoffs. The weird thing is, they seem to know it, but they can't figure out how to solve the problem.

This year has to be about patience and belief. Belief that the players and Coach Curry can solve the puzzle and patience for the future.

The Back of a Book

Doesn't this sound like something you'd read on the back of a novel?

His mind wandered across hundreds of worlds, across thousands of battlefields. Worlds of air, wind, clouds and tempests, great cities rising from the backs of colossal flying creatures endlessly feeding as they soared through the trackless sky.

Worlds of fire where ash fell from the sky like rain, molten rock ran in steaming rivers and armies of scaled horrors battled each another across fields of writhing flame.

Green realms, like Aris, worlds that housed millions of life forms each more fantastic than the last.

He had brought the order of the Telek Confederacy to them all. Those who did not willingly submit were annihilated, their worlds remade to suit the needs of their conquerors. Some worlds, those who resisted too long or too bravely, were made examples. Purged of all life, stripped of their resources and consigned as refuse worlds, trash heaps, mass graves, prisons.

He had had a hand in it all. A mighty captain of House Erion; murderer of innocents.

Back from Break

Spring break was great but now it's back to work.

I can't help but think the economy will rebound if we continue to throw unthinkable amounts of money at it. A trillion is a thousand billions. A thousand billions.

Number Three-I think Dwayne Wade is a great player and seems to be a good person, but the calls he got against the Pistons last game reminded me of why I hate the NBA sometimes and why I continue to support a Pistons team who won the title in 2004 WITHOUT a bonafide NBA superstar. That may never happen again. How would a team get to the free throw line?

Wade fell on Arron Afflalo and rode Stuckey like a rodeo bull. Ok I'm done. But nobody better breathe on D-Wizzle. Ok, for real, I'm done.

Michigan Basketball will continue its return to relevance next year with a great recruiting class and the return of Manny Harris and (hopefully) DeShawn Sims.

On the home front my car was so covered in pollen today I had to hose it off when I got home from school. It's probably because I have to park in an oak forest at the end of winding trail at work. I'm pretty sure I saw a bobcat the other day. It may have been a regular cat, but I don't think so.

-Goodnight