What is the World Coming to?

It seems like all we're hearing about lately, with exception of the occasional heroism, is bad news.
Gas keeps going up. The national average has gone up more than thirty cents in the past month, and yet many companies including ExxonMobil are reporting record profits. This company in particular has also refused to explore alternative fuels, which is getting them sued by late founder John D. Rockefeller's heirs. Hopefully some good comes of it. Because of gas though, many people are trying to sell family heirlooms that are priceless to these families, but aren't fetching high prices online. We all need the extra money for gas. Whenever most people get their stimulus check, it should be a little better, but in the meantime, our economy sucks.

And then there's the Syncrude Canada Ltd. company, whose dumping of toxic waste is killing off poor duckies. Not only was it caused by the company dumping toxic waste into the pond nearby and not attempting to keep ducks away from it, but the company didn't report it at all. Only five out of 500 of the ducks survived, when normally only about two dozen die.

There have been like 344 earthquakes in Reno in the past WEEK?!?!? Most of them are small aftershocks, but the most recent quake was a 4.7, which wasn't strong enough to demolish houses, but definitely enough to shake everything up a lot. Store owners had to clean up hundreds of bottles of wine and other groceries.

And apparently Japan has one of the highest suicide rates? I guess there has been a surge in suicide websites, with people posting - similar to craigslist personals - "Let's die together," "Anyone else ready to die?" and the ever so popular "Email me if serious." The latest craze is to mix laundry detergent and cleaning solutions, creating hydrogen sulfide gas. Being a former chem major, I can tell you first hand that this stuff smells about ten times worse than running over a skunk. Why in the world anyone would want to smell that during their last precious moments on Earth, even if they are trying to kill themselves, is completely beyond me. On top of that, many of these people live in apartment buildings. These people want to die 'honorably' but they're taking out their neighbors too, or at least causing terrible brain damage due to suffocation and the chemicals themselves. Seriously, there are much better and 'honorable' ways to get rid of yourself, so maybe invest in those? Kthxbai.

Josef Fritzl just scares the crap out of me. How can someone keep their own daughter locked in the cellar and rape her repeatedly for 24 years and father seven children with her? And how in the hell did the mother NOT know this was going on? What, she didn't go down in to the cellar for 24 years? Are you shitting me? I don't go into my basement all that much, but seriously, 24 years? I'd want to know what was down there, especially since it seems like he spent most of his time down there anyhow. I don't care if my husband told me I wasn't allowed to go down there. Actually, that would probably make me want to look more. And she just believed that her crazy 'deadbeat' daughter would come back and drop these three kids on their doorstep? And none of them knew where their family was? I'm thinking that there's more to be said about this family than meets the eye. I think it's interesting to note though that one of the children died - probably because s/he needed medical attention - but when 19 year old Kerstin starts having convulsions, Fritzl decides she should go to the hospital.

Seriously, what is the world coming to? Is the capitalist mindset so embedded into our souls that we can't even be human anymore? Do we even remember how to help people out? I know I'm a liberal free-spirited hippie chick, but really people, get on the ball.

If you're Buddhist, there are a myriad of great quotes from all of the wonderful teachers we've had in the past, especially Siddartha Gautama: "The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.” Don't we all know that we must help others? "Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little.” "Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.” We have been charged to help others, and it happened around 2500 years ago. This is not a new concept at all.

I don't believe in God, but if you do, you should probably pay more attention to this section.

I apologize if you're Jewish, because I haven't studied the Torah or the Tanakh very closely, so I hope you don't feel too left out.

If you're Christian, you know about Jesus and all the things that he said to do, like "love thy neighbor" and "What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul.” Oh and surely every kid who went to Kindergarten knows the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

If you're Muslim, you know about similar quotes from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Not only do you agree with most of Jesus' sayings, but you have some parallel sayings of your own: "Do not say, that if the people do good to us, we will do good to them; and if the people oppress us, we will oppress them; but determine that if people do you good, you will do good to them; and if they oppress you, you will not oppress them," and one of my favorites to compare, "Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.” Or one especially nice for today's world to see - "Especially if you are well-to-do, see that no one goes hungry or naked.” And just one more for good measure: "Shall I not inform you of a better act than fasting, alms, and prayers? Making peace between one another: enmity and malice tear up heavenly rewards by the roots.”

So why not live like the good [insert your religion here] and help other people out? A smile counts, because that becomes infectious.

Beavers and Ducks

Ever watch that movie Bandits? Yea? Well, this isn't about that awesome quote... although it is quite hilarious.

Over the weekend, the Beavers and Ducks played the 111th Civil War game. Like is the usual trend, the Beavers defeated the Ducks in a close game (38-31).

This game took two overtimes to finish.

At the official end of the game, the Beavers and Ducks had tied it up. By the end of the first overtime, they had each scored another goal.



Towards the end of the last overtime, however, wide receiver James Rodgers (a freshman on the team) rushed 25 yards for the winning touchdown. This gave him a total of 45 yards rushing in 5 attempts. With the exception of the Cincinnati game, in which he did not play, and the UCLA game, in which he failed to gain yards, he is a consistent and promising player. Consistently he rushed the ball 30+ yards a game. In the game against Stanford, he gained 60 yards in 3 attempts. His greatest contribution was in the Washington game, where in 8 attempts he gained 85 yards. If his playing continues to be consistent, he is going to be a great NFL candidate out of college.

Justin Roper, a red-shirt freshman and the fill-in-QB, pretty much summed up the feeling of the whole town of Eugene after a loss to the Beavers:

"It's kind of bittersweet. I'm glad I got to play and contribute, but a loss to Oregon State is the worst you can have."

With Dixon out of the game, most Duck fans had hopes of a good game, but knew in reality that they would probably get beat good. Roper, after all, is no Dennis Dixon, and has only played in 3 games thus far. Dixon, in the fashion of Joey Harrington before him, has become an amazing QB. I think the saddest thing is that he got hurt towards the end of his senior season. Nonetheless, he's sure to get some good NFL offers.

Another sub proved to be helpful - for the Beavers. Senior running back Matt Sieverson, in for an injured senior running back Yvenson Bernard, gained 142 yards in 27 carries - obviously an integral part of the win.

So, what does this mean bowl-wise for the two rivalry Pac-10 teams?
This means OSU (8-4) will take on Maryland (6-6) in the Emerald Bowl on Friday, December 28th. Kickoff at 5:30pst.
And for beloved Oregon? They're bowl-ing too. The 8-4 team will take on South Florida (9-3) in the Sun Bowl, set for December 31st at noon.

In other fun news, this is the first time in nearly 50 years that the platypus trophy will be awarded to the Beavers (for the win, of course).



Tune in and watch my home-state teams battle for their respective Bowl-titles! :)