Hell Freezing Over

There's a joke in South Louisiana that goes like this:

Boudreaux and Thibodaux both died and ended up in hell. The devil greets them and welcomes them to their everlasting torture.

"Is it too hot for you," asks Satan.

"Brah, we from South Luzianna. We used to da heat," Boudreaux told him. So, Satan cranks up the heat in hell.

"How about now? Is it too hot for you," he asks the cajuns. They both laugh.

"It jus' 'bout as hot as my gumbo wit da Tabasco sauce. Dis ain't hot," Thibodaux told him.

Frustrated, Satan gets an idea and turns the temperature down so low it starts snowing in Hell.

Boudreaux and Thibodaux start jumping up and down, screaming and hollering with glee. Satan doesn't understand their reaction, so he says, "I cranked the heat up and you loved it, so I froze the place and now your celebrating?!? What gives?"

They, continuing their celebration, replied, "THE SAINTS JUST WON THE SUPER BOWL!!!"

It took 43 years for the New Orleans Saints to reach this point, but they are finally here. And, the son of their most beloved icon stands in their way. That's pretty much how the Saints have rolled through out their franchise history. One disappointment after another.

For example, when Hartley lined up to kick the field goal that would ultimately send them to Miami, I can guaranty there was not one Saints fan who thought he would make it. After 43 years of, "Really, WTF?" we Saints fans are used to being let down. So, when Hartley split the uprights, before the raucous cheering, there was a brief half-second of silence. We had to make sure what we saw actually happened and we weren't dreaming.

This is what Saints fans are used to. A few years ago, we were playing the Jaguars and the playoffs were on the line. Win and get in, lose and no playoffs. Down 20-13 with :07 seconds left...

That's right. They pull off an incredible hook-n-ladder-esque finale only to have the kicker shank the PAT and lose. We haven't trusted a kicker since. How we missed ol' Morten Andersen, aka: The Saints Franchise all-time scoring leader... a field gold kicker is our all-time scoring leader. He last kicked for the Saints in 1994.

But that's the past and the future is now. And the Black and Gold boys are heading to the Super Bowl to face the Colts.

Growing up around New Orleans and now calling Indianapolis home, I perhaps have one of most unique perspectives on the Super Bowl XLIV. So, people are wondering who I am rooting for... Fair question.

In all honesty, I am going to happy no matter who wins. Though, my level of elation will be 1000x higher if the Saints win. Heck, I'll probably cry if they win. But,to be perfectly frank, while I will be rooting for the Saints, I expect the Colts will win. Here's why:

From where I sit, these are the two best teams in the NFL today. They are both #1 seeds. They both have a great quarterback. They both have outstanding O-Lines and D-Lines. They are so evenly matched, in my opinion, that you have to look at the unknowns.

The game is going to come down the following:
1. Quarterback protection - which ever team can get to the quarterback early and often is going to be in the great position to win. Sacks don't matter so much as rushing the QB into mistakes. As quickly as Drew Brees gets rid of the ball and as nasty as the Saints have been getting to the QB, I have to give the edge to the Saints here. ADVANTAGE: SAINTS

2. Turnovers - which ever team wins the turnover battle will have an edge. There's a reason why the Vikings had fumblitis. It's because the Saints don't just tackle the man with the ball, they swing their arm back and punch the ball out of the runners hand. The Vikings had 6 fumbles and only 1 was not caused by the Saints. That was the awkward hand-off between Favre and Peterson. The Colts caused 30 takeaways compared to the Saints 46 (regular and post-season combined). ADVANTAGE: SAINTS

3. Special Teams - Field position is everything. Percy Harvin never got a chance to run one back on the Saints for one reason - the ball was always unreturnable. The Saints kicked it out of the end zone most of night and the Vikings started alot of their drives with a long field. Reggie Bush is always a threat to at least put the Saints in good field position... unless he tries to be a hero and doesn't call a fair catch. Still... ADVANTAGE: SAINTS

4. Luck - Which way the ball bounces, how the refs call penalties, who wins the coin flip... I think the teams are so evenly matched that luck will be a big factor. ADVANTAGE: Hard to say since luck comes in the game. But, is there a more blessed team than the SAINTS?

So, there you have it. Colts are going to win. Wait, you say? Didn't you just explain why the Saints have many advantages against the Colts, you say?

Yep. I sure did. You see, as I said, I'm a Saints fan. I'm used to heart-wrenching disappointment. While I will be rooting for the Saints to win, I completely expect the Colts to break New Orleans' hearts... Probably involving a last second field goal.

But until then, WHO DAT? WHO DAT? WHO DAY SAY GONNA BEAT DEM SAINTS? WHO DAT? GEAUX SAINTS!

Resolution Broken

So, yeah... That cooking resolution really didn't go as planned. In fact, unless I count bacon and eggs on the griddle, I'm not sure I've cooked since then. Though, I guess having to deal with a car being in the shop twice in 3 weeks for the same reason has much to do with it. And, the sad news of a good friend from college passing away. So, yeah... haven't really felt much up to it.

Still, I'm not giving up. I'm going to do this... Really, at some point... Soon.

And now for some random thoughts that have nothing to do with each other and probably nothing you are thinking they are related to:

- GEAUX SAINTS!
- Haven't been to church in a few months. I haven't been clicking with the congregation. Still very much a Christian in my beliefs, though I do need to participate with God more.
- Discipline. Discipline. Discipline.

Resolutions

Funny thing about New Year's Resolutions... Sometime after Christmas and before New Years' Eve, I thought of a really good resolution. Something that I could do without worrying about breaking it. Then, I promptly forgot what it was... Still don't know.

So, over the weekend, I thought of a new one. Lately, I have really been into cooking. Not just cooking, but learning what flavors go well with other flavors. What foods taste good together. So, I figure my resolution is to cook a brand new, never before tried recipe once a week. The goal is to learn more about food, cooking and creating recipes. I firmly believe that a recipe is only a guide and not something to be followed to a tea. So, I think this will be a fun experience.

Over the weekend, I made a marinade for some t-bone steaks. Click here for the recipe.

Now, right of the bat, you should know a few things about my experience with this recipe. First, I thought we had lemon juice, but we were out. So, I substituted lime juice. Also, substituted olive oil for the vegetable juice. Second, I didn't use flank steaks, but T-bones. They marinaded for nearly 24 hours. Third, when it came time to grill these suckers, it was about 5 or 6 degrees outside, which was fun. I think the cold affected the charcoal's heat. The grill only got up to about 225F. Lastly, Scooby was not looking like himself all day. When it came time to grill the steaks, I had to pull them off earlier than I wanted and bring him to the Vet ER. He is feeling better. Not sure what they problem was. Likely a combination of overweight and a viral bug that zapped his energy. When we got back, we finished the steaks on a griddle in the kitchen.

Despite all of the above, the steaks were very tender and flavorful. The substitution of lime didn't have an adverse effect on the flavor. For me, the unfortunate part was the too-cold charcoal and the vet trip made it difficult to sear the meat properly. That led to an under-colored finished product, yet still was tasty.

Overall, it was enjoyed by all. So, in that respect, it was a success.

Don't know what my next recipe is going to be. But, I have lots of source materials: from Gordon Ramsey to Betty Crocker cookbooks and the plentiful internet. I'm sure I'll find something fun. The trick for this is to plan ahead and shop for the right ingredients. If I can do that, I'll be able to keep this resolution.

Thoughts on teh Gay

A friend on Facebook posted a note about a conversation she had with her dad about homosexuality. That's her story, so I won't recap it, but it probably went how you'd expect a conversation with a DE-VOUT fundamentalist Christian to go. I left a comment on that note that I now wish to expand on and clarify. This was my comment:

Ask him if it's ok for heteros to have anal sex and watch his head spin. It's one of my favorite questions to ask my Christian friends.

Reading over that now, I think a person can assume a lot about that statement that isn't there.

First a bit of background. On Facebook, I list myself as a "Thinking Christian" which, to me, means that I believe in God, Jesus Christ and His Resurrection, but I also don't blindly trust everything religious leaders have tried to teach me. My brand of Christianity is deeply rooted in questioning my faith and beliefs. I like to talk to God, ask Him questions, and learn from the messages He has for me. It's a very personal relationship that does not fall inline with "mass organized religion" or that thinking. In other words, I like to think for myself. And while I admittedly don't always get it right, I have no doubt that God accepts my questioning Him. I also have no doubt that this kind of questioning is what God wants from our relationship - regardless of whether we get the "right" answer. I think He is more concerned with our journey to get the answer. By the way, this is my journey and I don't expect others to have the same journey.

So, getting back to the whole homosexuality and Christianity thing. A few years ago a good friend and I had an email conversation on the subject. He was curious as to my thoughts on the subject, as I was relatively new to the Christianity thing at the time.

I told him of my Catholic upbringing and how, as a teen, I never felt connected to the religion. I specifically remember reading from a Bible given to me as a Catechism student Leviticus 18:22 (yes, THAT verse). In that Bible, it said, "Do not have sex with other men. God HATES that." Note, the emphasis on HATE is from that particular version (it wasn't NIV, that's for sure). And I remember thinking, "Wait... God hates?" I have never understood how God can hate. That goes against everything anyone has ever tried to teach me about God. Further, it goes against everything I have ever learned from God about Himself.

Here's the crux of the problem for me: How can a loving God create a group of people (homosexuals) that are automatically excluded from entering the Kingdom at Heaven at birth? I do not accept that homosexuality is a choice. I have too many gay friends and have watched them come out to know that it is not a choice. Plus, looking around nature, you'll find plenty of examples of homosexuality in animals (the neighbor's male dog tried to hump Scooby the other day). Did Fido choose to be gay? I don't think so. If homosexuality is not a choice, then why would a loving God create a person He hates the moment the breath of life enters that human? It makes no sense to me that the God I love and follow would condemn a person to a life of lying about who they are. Which by the way, wouldn't the lying about who they are kind of screw their chances of seeing the Pearly Gates? I don't think a truly loving God would do that.

At the time of that email conversation, I stated that I don't know if homosexuality is a sin. I get the feeling that it's not, despite Leviticus 18:22. Either way, it's not a sin I have to worry about committing. So, I don't. And it's not my place to judge those that do have to worry about whether or not it's a sin. It's between God and that person. Just like my own failings are between God and myself.

Now when it comes to gay marriage, the way I see it, I think people of the same sex should be allowed to file their taxes jointly. The government has no business excluding people from stuff that like. If they really want to be as miserable as the rest of us... J/K.

Religiously, if two gay people find a priest, rabbi, minister, whatever, to perform the ceremony before God, then who am I to say that God doesn't acknowledge their unity? It doesn't affect my marriage.

Later in the conversation, my friend wanted to my thoughts on a more... ahem... probing question - namely my thoughts on gay sex being a sin. Which brings us back to the Facebook note and my comment. I was thinking of this reply from the email convo when I commented:

Is it a sin for a guy and a girl in a committed, monogamous relationship to have anal or oral sex? If it is, then I have to think it would be the same for a homosexual couple... But, I don't think it is. One of the gifts God gave us was sexual intimacy. Again, if homosexuality isn't a choice, then I don't think a just, fair, loving God would exclude a segment of His people from the love that sexual intimacy in a monogamous relationship provides.

My point: I don't think God cares who we have sex with, so long as it happens with a person we've built a relationship with based on love. Outside of that context, then perhaps, that's where we get into a lot of trouble.

Considering...

For the, like, 2 people who might actually care, I am considering picking this back up again... Note, I don't have a strong feeling about it either way. But, I might have things to say still... That is all.