Frustration

Percy Harvin. I spent this man's entire college career rooting against him. Mainly because he happened to play on the same team as Tim Tebow. But I won't turn this into a bash Tebow post, as it could easily become. I'll just say that I don't like him and leave it at that. However, rooting for Harvin will take some adjustment. I'm very excited for our upcoming Seahawks season this fall even so. There are a bevy of new players (pending draft picks as well) to welcome to the team, as well as all our favorite Hawks. It's a very exciting time in Seattle Sports, especially with our Sonics coming back soon. Our former Sonics, in OKC, had an empty stadium at the end of a nine point loss to Denver. Best fans in the NBA? They should stay the whole game when they have a title contender. They don't even have the excuse of a bad team to be leaving early. How much traffic is there in Oklahoma City anyway? Anyway, I think that I'm going to actually say what I think today. Slowly but surely, BYU is starting to integrate its sports teams. What I mean by that is that the proportion of black athletes on the sports teams, particularly the football team, is considerably greater than the corresponding proportion of students on campus (.5%ish). This is a huge thing for BYU Alumni of color. I argued earlier this year that Jabari Parker would not have found BYU an agreeable place to go to school. Black athletes, even LDS ones, have found a rough go of it. The administration itself seems to have some kind of vendetta, but that's neither here nor there. We are seeing more faces of color in the skill positions and on the basketball court, and despite what some of the BYU old timers believe, that's a good thing. Young black students are more likely to enroll if they see faces like theirs in places other than the independent study website. This brings me to my second point. Why does it seem that when black men or women share information about white racism still existing, a white man has to come in and vehemently deny that it's him. I know it's not you, if it was you, we wouldn't be friends. What you are doing, however, is perpetuating a culture in which black men and women must have their views endorsed by white voices. You think that you are doing us a service by pointing out the fact that racism as a belief paradigm is in the minority, but the way you are treating us is racism in action. Our opinions are no less valid than yours because we have darker skin than you, and yes, it takes generations for us to "get over" the types of abuses that were systematically and ubiquitously forced upon our people. So, forgive us if we let ourselves get emotional over such things. I know that you, young white man, do not feel that you are better than anyone because of the color of your skin, but you reserve the right to treat those who think, look, and believe differently than you with disrespect if they don't show you the proper deference. Our views and opinions should be able to stand on their own without your validation. If you are not one of the racist voices, why does it bother you when we point them out? DL

Wedding Cakes and Football

Being married is definitely hard work. Celia (The girl from my previous posts) and I have gone through a lot of ups and downs in our first year as a happily married couple, but thankfully, we are still happily married. I credit our marital happiness to our beloved Seattle Seahawks. There are plenty of things that we do not see eye to eye on. I'm progressive, she's more traditionalist. I am impulsive, she likes to plan things. I LOVE sports, and she loves reality television. However, one thing that helped us through was a tradition that we started when we were dating, about a week before the proposal, in August of 2011. We got tickets to the Seahawks training camp at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center (VMAC) and we enjoyed the entire day watching the team practice.

A year later, we returned to the VMAC, where we first noticed a rather short quarterback slinging the ball all over the field. Of course, this was not the first time that we'd seen Russell Wilson. We did see him at the Mariners/Giants game a few months earlier, and he is every bit as short as advertised. His diminutive stature aside, Wilson turned out to be a fantastic leader and field general for the team this year, taking the Hawks to a 12-6 record and a divisional playoff run for the second time in Pete Carroll's three year tenure. My wife and I bonded over this team in a way we hadn't before, and Russell Wilson, Richard Sherman, Marshawn Lynch and company became a fixture on our television. They grow on you, and a love of the town, and the team, has helped us to greater appreciate our own love for each other. Go Hawks!

denim, football and chicken

Today is an interesting day to post. It's a Sunday, my wife isn't feeling well so we aren't at church today, and I am sitting here at my computer watching the London Olympics. I'm contemplating getting rid of some of my prized denim collection. This is serious business, if you know me. I am very serious about the fifty-odd pairs of jeans sitting in my closet. I am a pretty poor Marxist, after all, given how completely I have given myself over to consumerism and wearing fine apparel. I wish such were not the case, but I am definitely a sucker for a nice pair of denim woven on a shuttle loom. I've tried to get my wife as into it as I am, but it's not working as quickly as I'd hope. I honestly probably hope it never works. It's been quite a while since the last time that I wrote, but I need to get myself back into the habit. I would like to try and share some of my thoughts with you every day, if I can remind myself to do this. Yesterday, my wife and I went to the Seattle Seahawks first day of training camp. It was quite a bit of fun. It was nice watching the new players. The defense looks miles ahead of the offense right now. The defensive backfield looks fast and the pass rush with the addition of Bruce Irvin looks lethal. I was shocked how quickly he was able to get to the quarterback against the first team. I know that our offensive line needs work, but Irvin was averaging 1.5 seconds to get to the quarterback from the snap. That's insane. He's fast enough to go outside of a tackle, avoiding him completely, and get to the quarterback right as he's settling in to his three step drop. The quarterbacks looked shaky. Tarvaris had the best grasp of the offense, but Flynn's check-downs and release were much faster. If I had to make a call, once Flynn grasps the offense, he will be the definite starter. After all, the knock on Jackson was never his talent or ability, it was his decision making. I'm really excited to see how my team does this year. That defense is going to be giving anyone that comes up against it some serious problems. After the practice, my wife and I went to Ezell Stephens' new restaurant: Heaven Sent Fried Chicken. The moniker fits. The chicken is soft and melts in your mouth, the batter is crispy and pops with just the right amount of spice. If you want to try this succulent deliciousness, I suggest that you order either a two piece dark meal, or an order of strips, in the spicy, of course. I've been a huge fan of Ezell's Famous Chicken for years, but Ezell has definitely outdone himself with this latest venture. That's it for the update, but I do have some updates with regard to some other things that I'd like to post here in the future. Have a great day!

special

So, I haven't had a post in a while, and that's a shame. I should really write more of my thoughts down. I've recently been dating someone who's become very special to me. I care very deeply for her and I find that the thought of losing her terrifies me. Which, in and of itself, is terrifying. I think the moment that you realize that you care more about someone else than your self makes you very vulnerable. That vulnerability is an anathema to me. I'm not used to it. I'm used to sharing my feelings, but I am not used to my happiness depending so fully on someone else being happy. It's a very strange feeling.

Why I'm Bad at Relationships

I realized recently, that I am not good at dating. I'm good at flirting, and sealing the deal and what not. But I'm bad at being a boyfriend, or even knowing how to go about becoming a boyfriend. Habits go with you. When you tailor your approach and your techniques for dating to only last a couple weeks, when you meet a girl you actually want to date, these methods can be particularly overwhelming. Slow is the key. Yeah, I've kissed every girl I've really liked on the first date, but then again, has that gotten me anywhere I wanted with those girls? At the moment it did, but I sit here today with no girls to steal my hoodies back from. So, I think it's safe to say, that maybe some coaching on how to get past 5 dates would be a good thing. Because I'm pretty sure, it's fast enough that any girl who'd want to stay with me after the intensity of my approach clearly has issues.

Black History

So, I almost meant to do this post yesterday, but I figured that by doing it today I could protest against feeling like there's only one month where we can focus on black history. We shouldn't have to take a particular month to focus on the history of any particular ethnicity. I should be able to learn about George Washington Carver, and other great African American pioneers in history class, rather than at a diorama at the Festival Sundiata, which is actually being held in June this year. And for all of you who feel that we should have a White History Month and a White Entertainment Television, just go to a history class, or turn on CBS.

Freedom

So, there's a series of revolutions going around in the Arab world at the moment. It's rather exciting. It means that we don't have to go into every Arab nation to bring them "American Democracy" in the Middle East. Given the proper catalyst, they can do it themselves. We no longer need to make enemies by "policing" the world. and that's a good thing.