The Secret of Alchemy

For the last year or so, my mother has been trying to get me to The Secret, which I have steadfastly refused to do. I am not very big on inspirational fare and do not quite buy into the idea of authors repacking philosophical ideas in the name of profit. A couple of weeks back, we had a lengthy conversation about why people read these types of books, and my position weakened a bit. This is not to say that I will pick up The Secret tomorrow, but I figured that there must be something to the genre if it is so successful. Well, last week I was browsing a bookshelf in my classroom and came across such a book titled The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. After reading the jacket, I decided to give it a whirl to see if I would be “inspired.”

The Alchemist is the story of a young man, Santiago, in pursuit of his “Personal Legend.” A Personal Legend is the idea that everyone has a preordained mission that will guide him or her through life. Not everyone will come to realize their Personal Legend, but Santiago is told about his Personal Legend by an old wise king and a gypsy. These chance occurrences persuade the young man to sell his herd of sheep and pursue his Personal Legend. Mixed in with this journey are important lessons that teach Santiago the meaning of life. The book itself ended up being relatively harmless, but I am still not sold on the impact of the inspirational novel. Now, I understand that certain people will look at this as a very heartless view from a hardened individual, but hear me out.

As most people know, I witnessed my brother get hit by a car when I was eleven years old, and he came within an inch of losing his life. This incident is the single most important event in my life. I will not go into all the details (if you are interested, just give me a call sometime), but the domino effect that followed made me the person that I am today. I totally understand that not every has an event like that to draw inspiration from, but I find it hard to believe that true life does not give people to opportunity to rise up. I know that sounds cheesy, but I feel that “inspirational” writers often times poach on people that may not have the strength to realize that they are victims of a multi-billion dollar industry. Once again, I know this makes me sound like some kind of jaded individual, but I truly believe that inspiration lies in the world around us, not in some gift wrapped special edition version of the latest fade.

NPR

Over the last few months it has become official: I am a National Public Radio junky. My local affiliate is Chicago Public Radio station WBEZ, which is 91.5 on the FM dial. I used to split my time between WXRT and WBBM during my morning commute, but I found those outlets to be lacking something that I couldn't put my finger on. That something is substance and diverse topics that NPR covers on a daily basis. Morning Edition is what I listen to on my way to work and All Things Considered informs me on the way home. These are both excellent news programs that take journalism back to it core, offering an unfiltered look into the world that surrounds us. One thing that I really appreciate about NPR's approach is it's penchant for covering international stories. All to often, I find that our traditional news outlets ignore the world around us, and NPR does a great job at keeping it's listeners aware of what is happening on all seven continents (yes, there are even stories about how the Greenhouse Effect is impacting Antarctica).

Those of us that are looking for entertainment on the weekend should check out Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me! This is an impromptu news quiz show that features comedians and actors as they play games that are about the news of the past week (big ups to Brian for turning me onto this program). All of these programs can be downloaded as daily podcasts if you want to listen to them on your own time, which I highly recommend.

Wuther or Not

I loved, loved, loved, loved this book. If you cannot tell by the title, I am speaking of Wuthering Heights, the classic novel by Emily Bronte. As most of us know, I support students at a local high school, and in order to do my job to the fullest, I need to make sure that I know the material they are studying. Well, several of them were reading the Heights, as I affectionately call it, and I decided to pick it up in order to know what they were talking about when they asked me questions. I will wholly admit that about fifty pages into the book, I hated it. Well, I'm glad I stuck with it, because as the story progressed, the words jumped off the pages.

This novel is pitched as a story about jilted love, but I would not necessarily agree. In my opinion, love is not about hate and anger, which is bountiful amongst the lively characters that inhabit this story. It centers around two families, the Lintons and the Earnshaws, who are tangled in a wicked web of deceit and drama as different members compete to bring misery upon each other. Our "hero" is Heathcliff, a member of the Earnshaws, who lives quit possibly, the most miserable existence in the history of literature. Heathcliff is a completely loathsome individual that is hell bent on ruining the lives of the people who have crossed him, no matter what their relation. His dastardly actions are what drives the novel as his actions are narrated by his lifetime servant Nelly Dean. As Ms. Dean describes the conflict between the families, the reader cannot help but wonder what will happen next as characters parish and Heathcliff strives to feel wanted.

Perhaps what I appreciated the most about this novel is the fact that it challenged me to fight through something that I initially despised. I am by no means trying to put myself on a pedestal, but this was a definite challenge for me, and I was richly rewarded. Bronte was a master of the written word and while she can be long winded at times, her handle on the English language makes every sentence seem smooth as silk. This is not only a novel but it is truly a piece of literature. Everyone should read this book if they want a challenge that will reward them for their effort with a timeless story.

An Ode To The Troughs

Those of us gentlemen that have been to Wrigley Field know the dirty secret of the men's bathroom, they contain troughs instead of urinals. While some guys love the trough, I don't care from them. Nonetheless, the trough is one of those "experiences" that everyone comes to know after visiting the Shrine. A little while back, our "friend" Andrew, and I only use the term friend because I cannot thing of something more appropriate shared this video with me (WARNING: PLEASE DO NOT VIEW IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH, THIS IS GROSS):



While the thought of doing this turns my stomach, it is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I understand that this will probably only appeal to us gentlemen that have experienced the troughs, so I apologize to those of us find who no entertainment in this video. You can simply blame Andrew.

Run, Don't Walk

We had the pleasure last night of watching Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox, a comedy starring John C. Reilly. This hilarious film was made by Judd Apoatow's crew and is a parody of all the biographical movies about musicians that have been made lately. Now I will warn you, the comedy is a rated R, and may not be for the feint of heart if you are opposed to coarse language. That being said, there were several very funny cameos (keep your eyes open for the famous faces that play the Beatles) and laugh out loud moments throughout the whole flick. I give this pitch perfect comedy a solid three and a half stars.

Reunited and It Feels So Good

I attended my first game at the Shrine a week ago Sunday, and I must say that it was fantastic. There is nothing like being at Wrigley Field. I can honestly say that it is on of my favorite places in the world. The game was against the Houston Astros and thankfully, it was a victory. Zambrano pitched seven solid innings, followed by Marmol in the eighth and Woody in the ninth. D-Rock and Soriano homered and that solidified the 3-2 victory. I went with my buddy Ben, who is one of the only people than I can honestly say is as die hard as me when it comes to loving the Cubs. We were lucky enough to have glorious weather that included cloudless skies and a gentle wind blowing out to left field. Another highlight was the seventh inning stretch, which was sung by the guys who sing the "Real Me of Genius" songs for Bud Light. They also sang a special version of the song before the game, which was really funny. That was hopefully the first of many to come this year as I continue my unwavering support of the real boys in blue. GO CUBS GO!!

About Frakkin' Time

That's right folks, tonight is the season premiere of Battlestar Galactica. So, if you are not doing anything this evening at 9 o'clock (CST), make sure you are tuned in to the SciFi channel. If not, set your DVR.