Bloggy Quickhits

Olympic Thought:

Before I continue this blog I want you to know that I have nothing but the highest respect for gymnasts as athletes. There can be no denying that. They are some of the greatest athletes on the planet, but can what they do be called a sport? I have trouble assigning sports status to any competition that is "judged." This becomes an artistic competition not a sport. This is why I can't call the X-games sports. They have judges. This is way too subjective. To me, sports is objective, there is a goal and there are ways to accomplish the goals be that scoring runs, winning points/sets/matches in tennis, taking the least amount of strokes, sinking baskets, scoring touchdowns, running faster, jumping higher, lifting more. When you involve a judge, then you do not have sport, you have art.

Once again, gymnasts are greater athletes than golfers, there is more athletic ability involved, but when a winner is determined by subjective means, that is art, not sport. This could be applied to divers as well, great athletes, but I don’t think what they are doing is a sport.

Interesting Day

Rode my bike from my home in sw Columbia to “The District” (downtown). I usually try to go once a week, sit at a coffee shop, study and pray for the nearby campus and for God to put me in contact with a “student of peace” to dvelop a new kind of ministry at Mizzou. Today, I rode through campus and saw they were having a blood drive. I’m game and gave blood. On my way out, ran into Brother Jed Smock. What do you do with this guy? He is your blowhard, fire and brimstone preacher who preaches at the students (and they yuk it up and shout things back to him). Today he had a protégé preaching a message against alcohol, premarital sex, debauchery, etc. I wanted to ask him how many real conversations has he had with students who were truly seeking or hurting, but he probably would have thought I was being a smart aleck, so I rode home. Jed is like “the bullhorn guy” from Rob Bell’s nooma video. He is annoying, but at least he is doing something, which is more than I can say for myself sometimes.

Stuart Scott has recently started referring to St. Louis as “Saint Boogie.” Is this a “hip hop” thing or is he just an idiot (not necessarily an either/or question).

Anybody else find Jack Johnson painfully dull? I realize he has talent, but his music I find all blends together into that surfer, stoner, laid back, chill music. Its just too blah.