Houseguests in an Agatha Chrisite novel

I'm not sure if I am ever going to watch an NBA game again. DWade won two consecutive games on the free throws from questionable fouls called on Dirk Nowitski. Wade also made more free throws than the rest of the team combined attempted. Dallas had every opportunity to tie the game in the final seconds, and one of their best three point shooters bricked the game winner. Props to DWade, but the whole series just felt sloppy. Sloppy and inconsistent. For the teams and the officials.

I am going to help ESPN save Monday Night Football. My plan is simple. Replace Al Michaels, John Madden, or whoever the crap they have as announcers with British guys. Seriously. The British announcers are one of the main reasons I love watching soccer on TV. They have funny accents and they are actually literate, unlike 90% of American sports announcers. Perfect example--during the beginning of today's match between Ivory Coast and Serbia/Montenegro, the announcer said that these teams were like "houseguests in an Agatha Christie novel--disposed of right away."

So I don't know if anybody really caught where I was going with the apple tree question. I actually wasn't just saying something random and weird. It had a real point. Why do apple trees produce apples? Because they are apple trees. They don't have to do anything different than be what they are. And it shows.

We talk about actions all the time. We talk about actions that are sinful, or innappropriate, or just wrong. But the actions don't have anything to do with what's actually going on. They are really an unrelated byproduct of what is going on inside. Jesus talks about this in the sermon on the mount. He talks about how the law makes specific prohibitions about murder, adultery, divorce, honesty, and retaliation. And his point is that all of these things are not the issue. Abiding by the law doesn't make you righteous in God's eyes. Controlling actions is like trying to make pears grow on an apple tree.

Good night and good luck

I am watching the NBA Finals, and I'm pretty sure that the apocalypse is imminent. One of the NBA's "premier" players has missed 14 of 16 free throws and only scored a total of 22 points in the first seven quarters of the finals, and Pat Riley is being out-coached by a guy who was a mediocre point guard just two or three years ago. Unbelievable.

Just to let everybody know, I am no longer being a worthless drain on society. I have a job. I am working at Roundy's in Oconomowoc. So if the posts slow down a little, bite me. More importantly, Jess landed a job at Lake Mills High School teaching English. She was one of over 125 applicants, and was the unanimous choice of the hiring committee. So, yeah, she is officially awesome.

Check out this video on YouTube. It is of the ending of the Mrs. World pageant. It is actually really funny.

Think about this for a minute--why do apple trees produce apples?

Let me know what you think.