Ultimate Zeal

This last weekend I made a trip to Tulsa, the gem of the Southern Midwest, with a group of people who play this sport with me called Ultimate Frisbee. We composed a team to participate in what we in the biz like to call…a Frisbee Tournament. Let me explain the premise of the game just in case there are some recreational noobs out there. Most people will try and tell you that the game is kind of like football, rugby, soccer, kickball, water polo, curling, golf, and clay shooting all rolled into one, but this is simply not the case. To put it very simply (every sport is bogged down with rules and regulations and Ultimate Frisbee is no exception) a team scores by catching a frisbee in the opposing team’s end zone, a player can’t move once they have caught it, and the frisbee must be thrown within ten seconds when it is not caught in the end zone. If the frisbee hits the ground or is intercepted then it is a turnover. Now I know that by most people’s standards the word “competition” does not come to mind when one thinks of Frisbee. But I’d say that I’ve been to around 30 ultimate tournaments and each one has had its ups and downs, but every single one of them has been viciously competitive. Usually by the end of the tournament I’m dead tired, covered with scrapes and bruises, and disheartened by our defeats. But one thing that I do love about the game is that it reminds me how easy it can be to find passion in one’s life whether it’s frisbee, baseball, video games, comic books, or the Dewey Decimal System. Some teams that come to tournaments drive for days and sometimes only in one car (that means at least 7 people). There have been some people who I’ve met that basically live their lives around the calendar of Ultimate Frisbee events without a steady job or residence. It is simply all they care about. Now I’m sure to most people this sounds ridiculous. And I’m sure that most of the people that play ultimate would think the idea ridiculous before they ever touched a frisbee. It makes me think that we rarely ever choose our passions, but more often than not our passions choose us. And when they do we have no choice but to submit to them.

A Slap in the Face of Facebook

It is interesting to hear that Facebook is really nowhere near as exclusive as most people assume it is. Although most facebook purists scoff at myspace's universal acceptance policy (and sigh as facebook slowly imitates it), there is little disparity between the two. Recently, facebook has made moves that will allow basically anyone free access to facebook in which case there is no disparity whatsoever. The only difference is that people on facebook operate under the assumption that there is more privacy than myspace and that the only people who are granted access to their profiles are college students. This is certainly not the case. Myspace members are at least aware that their profiles are being scattered wholesale on the sidewalks of Stalker City, which is why they have little cause for alarm when they hear that an employer or faculty member has viewed it. More and more often I hear of stories where some sort of disciplinary action is founded upon evidence taken from facebook. Some universities, apparently, are pushing for a Facebook task force to hunt down these people more efficiently and report any questionable behavior posted on facebook. This, however, is a little out of hand. But do these people have any right to complain? Not really, considering that both facebook and myspace have the same built-in privacy settings. I am not what you would call a "facebook veteran" which might be the only reason why I'm able to take this cynical approach. People who have been in the trenches for longer may feel like facebook's privacy is crucial for keeping its social networks intact and must be restored in order to maintain its integrity. The only thing I have to say to these people is, "Umm... seriously?"

Wisdom in Stupidity

Well, for those of you who live on campus, Dumb and Dumber was playing on the BBC, the Billiken* Broadcasting Channel, a couple days ago. Apart from being hysterical and the only Farrelly Bros. movie that isn’t disgusting, I also think there are some valuable life lessons to be found in the plot itself. It’s obviously not going to be as profound a movie as, say, Point Break or Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey or Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure for that matter, but it stands to reason that practically any movie is going to be hard-pressed to accomplish that. At any rate, let me give a brief summation for those cultural noobs out there. Lloyd, played by Jim Carrey, is a limo-driver and an idiot. He picks up this beautiful woman played by that chick from Down Periscope and Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story to take her to the airport. He sees her leave behind her briefcase in the terminal and tries to return it to her after breaking a huge number of airport security codes we have today. Afterwards, he decides to drive more than halfway across the country in a gas-guzzling, dog-shaped van to return the briefcase to a woman he barely even talked to with hardly any money leaving behind his apartment, all of his possessions, and all his hopes of opening up a new pet worm store. Once I thought about it, I realized how courageous his actions truly were and I was astounded that he was able to risk so much on a flimsy whim. Sure, he had just recently been fired from his job and had been mugged by a 90-year old, wheelchair-bound lady and his pet parakeet’s head had just fallen off, but I still think Lloyd’s actions were praiseworthy, if not legendary. It made me realize that it is truly impossible to accomplish anything spectacular without taking risks. But the best part of it all, the part that basically clinches it for me, is that when his trip is over and he has succeeded in his quest, he doesn’t even have the nerve to go up and talk to her. Women are terrifying after all.

*A Note on Billikens: A Billiken is a mysterious, elf-like creature who is given to mischief and all around creepiness. If a genie and a jinn were brothers, then the Billiken would be their second, once-removed cousin’s domesticated monster. The Billiken was adopted by Saint Louis University as its patron and mascot. Only the Jesuits and, arguably, God know why. If someone rubs a Billiken’s belly, its most salient feature, it supposedly brings good luck. However, almost every student on SLU’s campus knows that the only thing this will bring is a good case of Hepatitis A through J.

1st week Assignment: Technology in Education

I suppose the article was able to clearly point something out that
everyone already knew.  That society and technology is changing so
people and students are changing along with it.  As a student I can say
that I have observed firsthand the new methods that have been made
possible through the use of technology in the classroom.  And it is no
difficult task to see this change across the board.  Students are going
through their college studies with technology hand in hand.  And why
should the "millenial" generation be the first in history to turn their
backs on the infinite possibilities that progress has offered?
Multi-tasking is for better or worse a side effect of the overwhelming
presence technology has in our lives.  The example that the article gave
of a student listening to music, chatting online, etc. while doing their
homework is fairly obvious.  I personally don't believe that
multi-tasking equates with a poor work ethic but the point is certainly
up for debate.  What is important is that teachers and curriculums
remain vigilant in challenging students appropriately so that the
standards and discipline that the educational system twenty years ago
was founded upon can coalesce into our own culture.  And if the
educational system fails in challenging students of the 21st century it
will be because of that system, not because of technological change.