Seeking Sundays: Trying to Come Back

Tough exam week, then a week off, and now I'm trying to make a come back... we'll see, med school just got real.

http://faiththroughthefire.blogspot.com/2013/02/darkness.html

Sports Saturdays: The Best FSU Basketball Finishes EVER

It seems like for years FSU was always on the wrong end of game winning buzzer beaters in basketball. For the longest period of time, the only difference between an NIT-bound Noles basketball team and the NCAA tournament was a handful of last second losses. Then, a couple years ago, the worm turned and since that time, FSU has returned the favor with dividends. Here are a couple of the most exciting last second finishes FSU has had in recent history:

  

2013: Florida State 60-57 Clemson, Tallahassee FL

Thursday night was another example, when after trailing by as much as 12 points to Clemson the entire game, FSU pulled within range in the closing minutes and Michael Snaer hit a game winning 3pt shot with just 0.2 seconds. It was his 3rd game winning 3 in just a year and a half.

2012: ACC Championship Florida State 85-82 North Carolina, Greensboro, NC

After leading practically the entire game, including a double digit lead midway into the 2nd half, FSU could only watch helplessly as UNC chipped away bit by bit and FSU's hope of their first ever ACC basketball championship began to slip away. Up by just 1 point with seconds left, the Nole defense held and a couple of critical free throws by Dulkys sealed the deal. A desperation 3 by UNC just barely missed, and FSU took home the hardware! The last minute of the game took about 13 minutes of real time, but it's worth reliving:

2012: Florida State 63-60 Virginia, Charlottesville VA

Another 3pt buzzer beater shot from last season, this one taken by Ian Miller. I'm not entirely sure, but I think this was another game that FSU was losing up until the very end.

2012: Florida State 48-47 Virginia Tech, Tallahassee FL

I have a confession to make about this game. Last season I went to practically ever home game and always sat in the very front row of the student section next to the band. (I was even fortunate enough to get one of only 2 front row student seats at the Duke game.) I was at this game... and I left with about a minute left. That's right, I left. It was one of the most annoying, frustrating games I have ever been to. FSU was in first place in the ACC, which was unbelievable. We had just come off a last second victory against Duke (coming up soon on the list) and we were playing like one of the best teams in the country... until this game. It was horrible. We couldn't score, we turned the ball over, it was just a nasty, low scoring game, and I was mad. FSU was down by double digits with about a minute left, and I figured that was just too much. To put that into perspective, that's like being down 21 points with 2 minutes left in a football game. What transpired next was unbelievable. After walking several blocks to my car and driving about 15 minutes towards my house, I decided to turn on the radio to listen to the post game and see how much we ultimately lost by. THE GAME WAS STILL GOING ON. And as I sat at a red light, I listened to Michael Snaer drain the game winning 3 at the buzzer. I went crazy. VT hadn't been able to make a free throw to save their life and we ended up scoring the last 11pts of the game, to pull off one of the most improbable victories I've ever heard of. Do I wish I had staid? Of course. I don't regret my decision though. No matter how rabid a fan I am, it's important to remember that sports above all else is entertainment, and when it's making you're upset or your not enjoying yourself, it's best to walk away. And besides, who knows... had I been there ragging on their shooters like I always did in the front row, maybe they would've made the shots!

2012: Florida State 76-73 Duke, Durham NC

One of the most exciting, back and forth games I have ever watched. FSU led late, but with seconds remaining Duke managed to tie the game. It looked like we were headed to OT for sure, when Luke Loucks made an amazing pass to a wide open Michael Snaer, who hit his first ever game winning, buzzer beater, 3pt shot. The Cameron Crazies went silent.

2009: Old Spice Classic Championship Florida State 57-56 Marquette, Orlando FL

I distinctly recall watching this game at my grandparent's house down in Miami. Why do I say that? I don't know, but it does illustrate how much it stuck with me. This is one of the most exciting last couple of minutes to a basketball game I've ever seen. Back and forth back and forth. Up until the 1:20ish mark, FSU's only lead of the game was when it was 2-0. The last minute though, the lead would change several times but FSU came out on top. Side note: How long has Joey Moreau been here????

 

2009: ACC Tournament Florida State 73-70 North Carolina, Atlanta GA

Another back and forth game, this win garnered FSU its first ever trip to the ACC Championship Game. The fact it came against UNC and Tyler Hansbrough was only a bonus. 

2009: ACC Tournament Florida State 64-62 Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA

Dewin Kitchen saved the day in FSU's first round ACC tournament game in 2009. It was a close game as GT was the upset underdog playing in front of a home crowd.

2002: Florida State 77-76 Duke, Tallahassee FL

We go WAYYYYYYYY back for this one. Before regular NCAA tournament appearances, before almost annual NBA draft picks, before Leonard Hamilton... there was this. It was the first time FSU beat a #1 ranked Duke team, something that has happened two more times since. Of those 3 mega victories... I was at all three. Enjoy!

So what did you think? Which victory do you think was the most exciting? Which do you think was ultimately the most important? Leave your comments below or on facebook!

-JT

Free For All Fridays: Why Woodchuck?

Q. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a wouldchuck could chuck wood?

A. Considering that woodchucks were invented by Chuck Norris and given his name, it shouldn't be surprising that they can actually chuck and astronomical amount wood in a very short period of time. The true rate of their chucking ability is impossible to calculate unfortunately, because Chuck Norris has placed restrictions on studying this magical creatures.

Q. Why is the last day of the work week called Friday and not Tuesday?

A. Friday is the end of the work week because it is only legal to consume fries after work has been concluded. Tuesday is named such because it is day "two" of the work work week. Other days of the week include: Monday, when everyone is supposed to speak in a Jamaican accent; Wednesday, when people are supposed to get married; Thursday, originally called "Herday" but women took that meaning literally and forced their husbands to do everything they wanted that day so it had to be changed; Saturday, the day you're supposed to sit; and Sunday, the day you are required by law to consume a frozen treat. It all makes perfect sense really.

If you want to accept the boring, more widely accepted reasons for the days of the week, here they are, briefly:

Sunday: Sun's Day
Monday: Moon's Day
Tuesday: Tiw's Day, Tiw was a Norse god of combat and pledges.
Wednesday: Wodan's Day, i.e. "Odin", prominent god of Norse mythology
Thursday: Thor's Day, Thor the Norse god of thunder
Friday: Frige's Day, Norse name for the goddess associated with love and beauty (like Venus)
Saturday: Saturn's Day, Roman patriarchal god

All of the days of the week come from Old English, except for Saturday which is of latin origin.

Q. Why?

A. Because we ran out of ABC's. :P

Q. Babies... where do they come from?

A. This one is much easier to answer with a picture:

 

Well, that's all I got folks! Thanks for the questions and be sure to ask me more next week! It seems they get more challenging every time!

-JT

Literary Thursdays: Monthly Poetry Contest!

Today I want to make the exciting announcement that I'm starting a monthly poetry contest that YOU can enter! It's simple, send in a poem that you wrote (it can be any style, rhyming, non-rhyming, short, long, whatever) by either replying to this post or by posting it on the Blog Intersect page. (Be sure to title it!) At the end of each month, I'll pick a winner from that month's entries and that person and their poem will be recognized the rest of the year on my blog! At the end of the year, I'll then select one grand winner who will then forever be enshrined on my blog with their winning piece of prose. So send in your submission for January today! There's only a week left!

-JT

Wild Card Wednesdays: Meatballs

I don't remember who suggested this topic, but meat must play a large role in their lives. I'm kind of tired today, so instead of a super long post, I'm just going to insert a couple of images and add my own commentary. Hopefully you find it entertaining and to whoever submitted this topic, keep on meatballing.

Stuffed meatballs... this looks so, so good. I've never had one, but my gosh, whoever invented these must have been a genius.

 I'm not even exactly sure what this is, other than it came up on my meatball google image search. It looks good though.

 

This doesn't even make sense to me.

 

This guy looks overly excited about cooking the world's largest meatball. I have a twofold question: first off, who would want to eat just a dry meatball and secondly, who would really want to trust that thing's cooked properly?

 

Seems like there's a capital for just about everything. A store in Columbus, OH claims this one.

 That's right, just look the other way from this post...

Have I stooped to a new low in blog posts? Well, don't blame me! Every Wednesday I randomly pick a topic that you suggested. If you don't suggest a topic, well then, random suggestions like meatballs may take over!

-JT

Toss Up Tuesdays: That Lives Here?

If you know me, you know I'm proud of my town (Tallahassee) and I'm proud of my state (Florida). Now don't get me wrong, I know there are several problems with both (the crime rate for starters) but I always enjoy learning more about the history and natural aspects which make this small part of the world so interesting and unique. A couple weeks ago I examined the cultural geography of the Florida, if you missed that post, you can find it HERE.

Today I'm going to take a look a couple unique animals you may have had no idea resided in the Sunshine State, and trust me, some of these will blow your mind. So let's begin my countdown of The Top 15 Animals You Didn't Know Lived Here:

15. Burmese Pythons

Florida Range: South Florida (mainly the Everglades) with some sporadic reports in North Florida and the coastal Panhandle

Presence: Introduced, Invasive

Status: Increasingly Common

Ok, if you live in Florida, you probably do actually know about the python endemic that's currently plaguing the natural fauna of South Florida and the Everglades. The story has made national headlines with pictures and tales of missing pets, alligators swallowed whole, and now the recent state sponsored safari-like hunt which is offering rewards for dead pythons. So far this year, 27 pythons have been killed, but estimations of the population range from the thousands to hundreds of thousands, so I'm not sure that would be considered a success... As for how the invasive, non-native slithering snake got established in the Florida wild, you can largely blame Hurricane Andrew for that one (with some help from exotic pet owners). The storm damaged several reptile enclosures which let the nasty things loose and they've been on the run (or the slide I should say) ever since. The state's doing a good thing by attempting to wipe out the vermin which can grow to be 13 feet or longer and threaten our native animal species, but honestly, I'm not sure who's going to win this one: man or snake.

 14. Green Iguanas

Florida Range: The Keys and South Florida, both coasts

Presence: Introduced, Invasive

Status: Increasingly Common

If you're from South Florida, you're probably already aware of these giant reptiles as well. Unlike their python relatives, however, Iguanas have quite a long and extensive history in the Sunshine State, originally stowing away aboard ships carrying fruit from South America bound for Key West. However, just like pythons they pose a threat to the native fauna, most critically an endangered species of butterfly and the Florida Burrowing Owl (gosh darn you Hoot!!!!).

13. North American Beavers

Florida Range: North Florida and the Panhandle

Presence: Native

Status: Common, by I've yet to see a live one here

Many people are surprised to learn that North Florida has an extensive, native, beaver population probably because beavers are so often associated with cooler climates. They're here though, and they build their characteristic dams amongst the small streams and pine forests.

12. American Crocodiles

Florida Range: South Florida

Presence: Native

Status: Uncommon to Rare

When many people think of Florida, they think of the state's most notable reptilian inhabitant: the American Alligator. What most don't realize though is that Florida is also within the natural range of the only crocodile species present in the Americas. The American Crocodile is native to Central and South America and the Caribbean and is able to swim great lengths across the sea. What's even more surprising is that they can grow to be up to 20 feet in length, with average male in Florida being around 14 feet. Currently in Florida, there are an estimated 2,000 crocodiles, almost exclusively living from the Everglades, south.

11. Black-tailed Jackrabbits

Florida Range: South Florida

Presence: Introduced

Status: Locally Common

While they may be a common site in the Western States, the presence of jackrabbits in Florida isn't exactly widespread knowledge. They and their long, furry ears are here though, mostly around the Homestead area south of Miami where they live amongst the grasslands.

10. Sambar Deer

Florida Range: St. Vincent Island

Presence: Introduced

Status: Common amongst limited range

Sambar Deer are among the largest deer in the world, oftentimes weighing more than 1,000 lbs. Native to Southeast Asia, they were introduced on St. Vincent in 1908 by the owner at the time who enjoyed exotic game hunting. Today St. Vincent Island is a National Wildlife Refuge, but 3 days a year hunting permits are still issued to help thin the population, which stands at 70-100 individuals.

9. Caiman

Florida Range: South Florida and the St. John's river basin

Presence: Introduced, Invasive

Status: Uncommon

The Caiman is a smaller member of the crocodile family native to Central and South American and the Caribbean which typically measures about 5 feet. Unlike its counterpart, the American Crocodile, which is native to Florida, however, the Caiman is a non-native species which established a foothold in the state when brilliant pet owners released them into the wild over the years.

8. Southern Flying Squirrels

Florida Range: Statewide, minus the Keys

Presence: Native

Status: Common (I've never seen one)

Who knew that there were flying squirrels in Florida? Besides being extremely cute, these critters are skilled gliders and highly sociable, living in families which often exceed 30 individuals.

7. Texas Horned Lizards

Florida Range: Statewide, sporadic and largely along the coasts

Presence: Introduced

Status: Uncommon

Another example of pet owners messing around with nature when they release animals into the wild. These harmless, albeit odd looking, reptiles occupy sandy spots across the state and provide a thrill for any vacationing TCU grad who happens to stumble upon one.

6. Capybaras

Florida Range: North Central Florida

Presence: Prehistorically Native, Introduced, Invasive

Status: Uncommon

These South American rodents escaped from a research facility in the Gainesville area (I have my suspicions from where) and currently reside amongst the forests and swamps of the sparsely populated counties west of I-75. They grow to be the size of a sheep and resemble a giant guinea pig (to me anyways), which leads me to wonder if this could be the next great American pet.

5. Common Seals

Florida Range: Atlantic Coast as far south as Central Florida

Presence: Native

Status: Rare

This probably comes as a surprise, but Florida was once a haven for a flourishing seal population before Europeans arrived and nearly (or in some cases) hunted them to extinction. As the species lost territory, they retreated further and further north into the arctic regions where refuge was easier to find. Fortunately, due to greater regulation in modern times, the seal population is once again thriving and slowly creeping further and further south. Seal sightings along the Florida coast were once an unheard of event, but now are becoming increasingly common, although they're still a pretty rare occurrence.

4. Rhesus Monkeys

Florida Range: Central Florida centering around Ocala

Presence: Introduced

Status: Common

If you've never been to Silver Springs, then this almost certainly is a surprise to you: Florida has wild monkeys. Of course they're not native in any respect, but they have been here since the 1930's. The true story of their origins may never be fully revealed but a commonly accepted story is that a tour boat operator at the park, Colonel Tooey, released the monkeys on an island in the middle of the river to enhance his Jungle Cruise ride. It's obvious that Mr. Tooey didn't realize that rhesus monkeys are excellent swimmers because no sooner did he release them, than they swim across and escaped out into the surrounding forests. To this day, there are still wild monkeys on the island, but they're also along the surrounding shore, in the surrounding national forest, and now all across Central Florida. In fact, there are so many rhesus monkeys that they've actually formed their own little tribes over the years and stage battles for territory from time to time. So if you're itching to see our primate friends out in the natural environment, there's no need to fly to Africa or Asia anymore, just hop in a car and drive a couple hours down the road!

3. Jaguarundi

Florida Range: Unknown

Presence: Introduced

Status: Extremely Rare

I have to admit, when I began this topic the presence of a third large cat in Florida came as a complete shock to me. Ironically, it helped explain a big mystery which had been plaguing me the past couple of weeks. Over the course of our many conversations, Miranda mentioned to me that her brother Dakota had once seen a panther near their home in North Central Florida. Naturally, I wanted to believe this but my knowledge of the Florida Panther species told me otherwise. After research I confirmed what I believed to be true: the panther population is far too small and monitored too well to have ever ventured that far north. The Florida Panther, which resides almost exclusively amongst the Everglades has never been reported north of Tampa. I told this to Miranda and commented that it must have been a bobcat, but she insisted otherwise, so I just left it at that. A couple weeks later we went to the Seacrest Wolf Preserve and the managers there told of a panther that had been sited recurrently on their property. I was at lost. I mean, here are more people who I would considered qualified to differentiate a panther from a bobcat, and yet, they made the same assertions. I didn't know what to think, but I knew it couldn't have been a Florida Panther. Fast forward to today. While researching for this post, I come across the Jaguarundi: a close relative to the panther, which as it turns out, was introduced at some point to Florida. No one is exactly sure where they came from or when they were released, but they've been here (and are very well documented) since at least the early 1900's. It's said that a writer released them near his home in Chiefland... which is coincidentally very close to Miranda's hometown. Jaguarundi are about 3-4 feet long and nocturnal, making them extremely allusive. In fact, to date, there has never been one photographed or captured in Florida, although the frequency of their sightings and documentation make it nearly a certainty that they're out there. So if you ever see a strange looking cat that you think might be a panther... take a picture!

2. Plains Bison

 

The bison grazing on Payne's Prairie.

Florida Range: Payne's Prairie near Gainesville

Presence: Originally Native, Reintroduced

Status: Common amongst limited range

That's right. Bison. In Florida. Just let that sink in for a second while I explain their history. A largely unknown fact is that at that prior to the arrival of Europeans, bison roamed wild amongst the peninsular prairies which were at that time much more extensive than they are today. Of course they were wiped out and for several hundred years were absent from the Florida fauna, that is, until they were reintroduced in 1970 in Payne's Prairie. By 2011, the population had ballooned from the original male and eight females to over 70 individuals. To my disappointment however, last year the state culled the vast majority of the herd to be sold off to farms around the state. Their target is to have just 8-10 bison roaming the prairie wild, which I think is a shame. Nevertheless, they're still there and what a sight to see!

1. Red Wolves

 

This picture was actually taken on St. Vincent Island.

Florida Range: St. Vincent Island

Presence: Originally Native, Reintroduced

Status: Rare even amongst limited range

Wolves are in Florida. It shouldn't come as a surprise that I, a wolf-lover, would list this as the biggest surprise Florida species, but think about it. WOLVES ARE IN FLORIDA. Isn't that just crazy? Nowadays, outside Yellowstone National Park and the Canadian border, wolves of any species are virtually nonexistent in the United States. We did too good a job of wiping them from existence. The Red Wolf, which is slightly smaller than the Grey Wolf and appears similar in some respects to a Coyote, once roamed all across the Eastern and Southeastern United States. As I alluded to, with the arrival of the Europeans, they were all but wiped out of existence. So few remained, only a handful in the Louisiana bayou, that in order to save the species, they were all taken into captivity and for several decades were declared extinct in the wild. About 25 years ago, the federal government began a breeding program to reintroduce the species back into the wild. Through this program, Red Wolves are bred at various zoos and museum sites (including our very own Tallahassee Museum) and then shipped up to eastern coastal North Carolina where a small population of about 100 wolves has been established. But it's not the captive Tallahassee wolves this post is about, after all, the topic is surprising wild species in Florida. So where can they be found out in nature then? Well, it just happens that that same St. Vincent Island which houses the Sambar Deer also participates in the breeding program. The National Wildlife Refuge maintains a breeding pair, wild and free, on the island to produce offspring which are then rotated off to the North Carolina population. So next time you find yourself along the Forgotten Coast, don't howl too loudly or else you might just get a reply!

I hope you enjoyed today's topic and let me know if you found it to be interesting. As always, if you have any comments or questions, leave them in the comment section below (if you're registered) or on Facebook! Happy Tuesday!

-JT

Movie Mondays: Here & Gone

Ok, ok, I know it says "Movie Mondays" but aren't I allowed to expand that to include tv shows as well?

Random fact of the day: I am a huge TV fan. Well, by the number of different shows I watch, not by the amount of time I spend watching the tube I should say. I estimate I watch on average, 3 hours of television a day, but I probably have 6-7 different shows that I follow at any given time. That shouldn't be a surprise: like anything in life, I like variety. From The Amazing Race to The Mentalist, to Being Human and Grimm, I have my reality shows, westerns, fantasy shows, and so forth. I guess the common denominator is that I enjoy shows that force me to think or expose me to new things I've never seen before. I like creativity and originality. Unfortunately, it's oftentimes the most original and most thought provoking shows which are cut the fastest, and so, I've had my long list of shows that made it just 1 or 2 seasons before being cancelled and tossed on the heap.

Interestingly, almost all of these shows aired on either ABC or NBC, so I'm not sure what to make of that... either these channels are the most cutting edge with their development of television shows, or they're too quick to pull the plug. I'll let you decide as I count down my eight favorite Here & Gone TV shows:

8. Pan Am (ABC, 1 season)

 

 Too bad we still don't have service like this on flights nowadays...

 

As suggested by it's title, Pan Am was set aboard the namesake airline during the mid 1960's, a time when air travel was still viewed as being unique and exciting. It largely followed one crew in particular, with an emphasis on the stewardesses which worked on board. Naturally it went heavy on the romance and scandal, but it had potential as the nature of the series provided for ever changing scenery and a seemingly infinite possibility with the script. There was even a recurrent spy under-plot which was intriguing. Unfortunately, after a strong start, the second half of the season began to slide a bit too far into the activist narrative and rapidly lost interest as it went from developing a well constructed plot to more of a "what boundaries can we push this week?" sort of deal. Don't get me wrong, television, movies, and books are natural galleries to explore the many issues of human society, but I'm just saying that filling the entire second half of a premier season with episodes on socialism, women's rights, race relations, gay rights, and of course lots and lots of sex, might not be the best strategy ever for getting a brand new show renewed. I'm not saying any of that should or shouldn't be aired over time, but doing all that in such a small time frame wasn't smart. It was too bad, but when it got cancelled it wasn't a surprise to me and by that point it probably deserved to be.

7. The Cape (NBC, 1 season)

 

So much potential hides in this epic picture... and yet, the show never lived up to any of it.

 

Brilliant concept, terrible, terrible, terrible execution. The superhero plot-line, in my opinion, is a HUGE untapped genre when it comes to television. People enjoy the classic idea of good versus evil, and there's no reason that couldn't be turned into a one hour weekly TV series. The only catch is, it actually needs to be a good show. NBC first explored the genre with their series Heroes, which had some success but perhaps outran its life expectancy. Encouraged by this, they launched The Cape, in which they essentially created their own superhero: a police officer thought to be killed who was rescued and came in possession of an enchanted cape which he was able to use to fight bad guys. Not a great premise for a hero, but not horrible either. Where it really messed up was in its production. The villains were quirky and unbelievable, the main character was lacking, and the continuity of the show as a whole was sporadic at best. I mean, who would ever believe in a circus of clown-misfits aiding a superhero and a disfigured mafia lizard man? I don't know what else to say, other than at least 'Arrow' on the CW has finally gotten it right.

6. The River (ABC, 1 season)

 

The River was just as creepy as its promotional picture suggested, but it was cool.

 

This might just be the epitome of 'unique' and 'interesting' to me. The premise of the series was that a mother and son travel to the Amazon River and join a small expedition that's searching for their father: a world renowned TV naturalist (think Steve Erwin) who has recently gone missing down there. As they sail along the mysterious and dark tributaries of the river, they come across increasingly disturbing and shocking sights, ranging from killer water-demon spirits to ghost ships to murderous shaman tribes to even a secret government research facility which has unwittingly created a zombie plague. It was a truly fascinating, if not sometimes terrifying, series. Even though I'm not a fan of scary shows or movies, I really enjoyed it because of its uniqueness and the fact that the entire thing was shot as if it were a documentary. It was a good show and it really did deserve at least one more season (it was set up perfectly for another).

Steven Spielberg + Paranormal Activity = The River

5. Crusoe (NBC, 1 season)

 

 It made getting stranded on a deserted isle look like fun.

 

Loosely based on the famous book by Daniel Defoe, Crusoe combined elements of that classic tale with other narratives such as The Swiss Family Robinson and Pirates of the Caribbean. All together, it proved to be a highly engaging, if not escapist, adventure which I loved from the get go. It never caught on I suppose, as it was cancelled and no one but me seemed to take notice. It wasn't all for waste however, as it did inspire me to purchase a copy of the namesake story and read it cover to cover.

4. Awake (NBC, 1 season)

 

Like this image, Awake used distinct color patterns to indicate which reality was being shown.

 

Awake was one of the more original television series I've seen to date. At first glance it appeared to be just your typical investigative drama about catching bad guys, until you added the fact that each episode had two different cases being solved concurrently by the main character who was simultaneously living in two different realities. You see, ever after a mysterious car crash the main character (a policeman) began flipping between two realities: the switch coming the moment he loses consciousness (whether sleeping or for other reasons). In one reality his son survived the car crash and his wife died, and in the other, the roles were reversed. What was more interesting was that clues from one reality would help solve the case in the other and vice versa. It was an intriguing plot and the writers did a great job at hinting at a more sinister cause behind it all. Like so many truly thought provoking shows, however, it fell victim to what I suspect was a viewership disinterested with complex story lines. Let's face it, if you turned on the show halfway through the season, what are you going to do, spend days researching what's going on, or just watch a crime show on some other channel? The only bit of good news is that the writers must have had some inkling the show wasn't going to make it, because they closed the season with one of those perfect episodes which harks on ambiguity like the ending of Castaway or Inception. My personal opinion is that he was in a coma and that neither reality was in fact the correct one, but we'll never know. And maybe that's how it should be.

3. PitchMen (Discovery Channel, 2 seasons)

 

RIP Billy Mays, we will miss your loud commercials... and your beard.

 

A bit different than the other series on this list, PitchMen was in fact a documentary which followed infomercial kings Billy Mays (OxyClean) and Anthony Sullivan. It was a really interesting and entertaining show because it tracked the whole process of someone trying to sell their invention or product to the commercial production company to eventually having the commercial filmed. Naturally there was a little humour, but mostly I just found the entire thing to be fascinating, especially since some of these commercials I had actually seen on TV (it was neat seeing the backstory). Also unlike the other shows on this list, PitchMen was not cancelled due to lack of viewership but rather due to a much more tragic circumstance: the death of Billy Mays. While I personally enjoyed hearing Anthony Sullivan's expertise and critiques more, there is no doubt that Mays was the life of the show, and when he passed away, the show passed away with him.

2. V (ABC, 2 seasons)

 

No honest clue what to say about this promotional picture... it's kind of boring actually.

 

'V' was the remake of a 1980's series that itself was based off an old episode of the Twilight Zone. Basically, it was about an alien invasion, but what made it unique amongst the science fiction genre was that in V, the aliens were not conquering Earth by means of fighting and warfare, but rather through peace and propaganda. The first season started off a little slow as you could tell the writers were finding their ground, but by the second season the show was in full swing and bordering on brilliant in my opinion. The special effects were phenomenal (light years ahead of even current shows like Once Upon a Time which sometimes appear a little cheesy) and the acting got better and better. Unfortunately, I feel the show just never got over that first mediocre season as probably too many viewers turned away. Despite an extremely loyal following, the show got canned after two years. The really annoying bit too, was that in an obvious ploy to attempt to get renewed, the writers left what was ultimately the series finale, with a major cliffhanger, so we never found out what happened. We're all still here, so I guess we won?

Just look at the CGI! Dang, that's pretty impressive.

1. Journeyman (NBC, 1 season)

 

Truly a great show cut down before its prime.

 

My all-time favorite television series to be cut down before it could even begin to soar. The best way I could describe the show would be to say that it was like if you took two other old shows: Early Edition and Quantum Leap, and combined them together. The premise of Journeyman was that there's a newspaper reporter who inexplicably starts flashing back in time. Each episode he would uncontrollably travel back in time to different dates, following the life of some individual whom he quickly realized he had to affect in some way: perhaps it was to keep that person from committing suicide or saving a bus of children from crashing off a bridge, or whatever. What made it truly enthralling was the backstory that the writers were developing, that there was some mysterious reason this was occurring to him and even hinting as much that there was a benevolent or malevolent force behind it all. There even was another "time flasher" who made sporadic appearances in the later episodes. It was just all together an amazingly well thought out and original series, but honestly, it was too intellectually demanding I feel for most people. Time travel is always a difficult subject to follow and if you're just watching TV to rest your mind, most people don't want to think about that. It's a real shame, because it had such great potential.

So there you have my list of shows that I liked to watch when they made their brief debuts. What are a couple shows you really liked but were quickly destined for the television graveyard? Hopefully most of yours have fared better than mine!

-JT

Seeking Sundays: Staying Open to Change

Today on Faith Through the Fire, I discuss some recent changes that have been going on in my church and how God uses change in our lives to draw us closer to His purpose. Read the full post here: Staying Open to Change or by clicking the navigation tab above.

Sports Saturdays: 2012 Football Wrap Up Part 2

Last week I posted Part 1 of my football wrap up by running down the first part of my list of high school football games I attended. To see the start of the list (including the worst games), click here. This week I conclude that list with the top 8 high school game, as well as the list of college games I went to, and my final top 25 poll.

My Top 8 High School Games of 2012

8. Nov. 2: Lincoln 35 Ocala Forest 28, Forest Stadium (Ocala, FL)

This game was notable to me for a couple different reasons: 1. With the victory Lincoln clinched its 14th consecutive district championship. 2. It was the first time I had ever been to Forest's stadium and it was a very beautiful facility and an enjoyable atmosphere. 3. Lincoln played the entire game without TEN defensive starters which were all left back in Tallahassee due to disciplinary action. As a result of having so few upperclassmen playing defense, the game ended up being much closer than it should have been. Normally that would be a frustrating situation, and certainly at times during the game it was, but ultimately it did nothing but display the tenacity of our team as our exhausted 2nd/3rd string defense made a critical stand in the closing seconds of the game to prevent Forest from scoring to tie or win.

7. Jan. 12: Florida HS All Stars 21 Georgia HS All Stars 14, Mack Thorpe Stadium (Moultire, GA)

Every January there's a series of high school football showcases in the area which pit North Florida high school seniors against their South Georgia counterparts, providing them one more opportunity to show off their skills and potentially get recruited by colleges. "The Border Wars" as they are known are always intriguing due to the rivalry between the Peach and Sunshine states. While the actual play and cohesiveness is often a little lacking (the players only have a couple of practices with each other), it's always entertaining given the sheer number of teams represented. This year's game was probably the best I've been to yet, as it was a good game all along. After Georgia jumped out to a 2nd quarter lead of 14-0, Florida responded by scoring 14 points of their own to tie the game. With time running down, inside of 2 minutes, and the game still tied, Florida held Georgia to a punting situation on about their own 10 yard line. That's when the Florida defense blocked the punt and recovered it in the endzone for the game winning TD. It was very exciting, especially given that the game was played in Georgia territory.

The only thing that really subtracted from the game was that the Florida head coach, Coe of Madison County, played his boys the entire game and as a result, several other hardworking players got little or no playing time. It was very frustrating and made me angry, especially given how hard these guys worked. It's one of those rare instances where the significance of the game is less about who wins and who loses and rather giving these seniors the opportunity to play and go to college. I was very disappointed about this situation and a couple of our Lincoln guys who were there. After the game I talked with parents of two family members of players from different teams: one drove 200+ miles and his grandson played one snap, the other flew in all the way from Houston, TX and his son never was even put in the game! That's terrible in my opinion.

6. Dec. 14: St. Thomas Aquinas 41-25 Lincoln, Orlando Citrus Bowl

 The Class 7A State Championship Game: obviously it makes the upper portion of my list because of the fact that Lincoln made it. If the Trojans had won, there's no doubt that it would have been #1. While the result was a little disappointing, the game was not. Many predicted Lincoln to get blown out in this one (STA is the largest private school in the state and recruits players all over from Pennsylvania to California and everywhere in between, it's completely legal), but the Trojans fought hard from the opening kick off which they ran back for a touchdown. Midway through the 4th quarter, and despite some huge blown coverage plays, Lincoln was right in the game, only down 5 points. But fate was not on their side as STA wore the defense down and ultimately cashed in on a couple late scores to close out the game. Still, it was an excellent experience and the Trojan faithful made the trip worthwhile!

5. Aug. 31: Taylor County 20 Dixie County 19, Bulldog Stadium (Perry, FL)

This game was all about firsts: it was the first time I'd ever seen Dixie County, it was the first time I'd ever seen a game in Perry, and it was the first game I'd ever gone two with Miranda. If that weren't enough of a reason for it to make my top 5, I also got to watch her Dakota play (really well I might add), and oh yeah, it was a pretty good game too! Early on it was looking like Dixie County was going to run away with this one, but Taylor County came storming back, scoring 20 unanswered points to take the lead. Even then, Dixie had a chance with about a minute left and the ball on about the 15 yard line to either score a touchdown or kick a field goal to win the game, but unfortunately for the Bears, the QB scrambled out of the pocket on 2nd down and threw an interception in the back of the endzone. Even though it was a touch loss, Dixie played really well and impressed me. They've certainly got a lot of talent down there.

4. Nov. 16: Lincoln 27 Fleming Island 17, Gene Cox

The first round of the state playoffs and a rematch of last year's first round game in which Fleming Island caught a high-riding Lincoln completely off guard to end their season in the first round for the first time in over a decade. This year the Trojans were coming of their only loss of the regular season (to Godby) and did not take their Eagle foes as lightly. As the score suggests, the game was very close and exciting throughout, with Lincoln clinching revenge in the end. The result was only made sweeter by the fact that it was announced that Buchholz had pulled a massive upset over First Coast and the Trojans would get to play at home for one more game.

3. Nov. 9: Colquitt County 13 Camden County 12, Mack Tharpe Stadium (Moultrie, GA)
One of the best games I've ever seen (which tells you just how good the next two were). Camden County came into the game ranked #3 in the country. Much of the game was extremely defensive, and quite frankly, boring but what made this game so good was the last 5 minutes which saw a flurry of scoring culminated by a late touchdown by Colquitt to take the lead and a drive by Camden that put them into position to attempt a 55 yard field goal for the win. The ball ended up missing wide left but maybe six inches and the Packers claimed the biggest upset that week in the country.

2. Dec. 15: Apopka 53 Cypress Bay 50, Orlando Citrus Bowl
Class 8A State Championship Game: Just look at the score. What else can be said? In  front of a crowd of some 8,000 people both teams led drive after drive in one of the most high scoring affairs I have ever seen. The really impressive statistic behind the numbers is that every single post-scoring possession began on the 20 (each kickoff was a touchback) and up until the very last minute, there was not a single turnover in the game. So basically, each team would get the ball, march down the field, and score. Some people hate games like that, but being a fan of scoring and whacky things, I found it to be quite entertaining. Ultimately, the game ended when Cypress Bay drove all the way down the field in less than a minute, to the 5 yard line. With a tying field goal a certainty and a good possibility of winning the game with a couple seconds left, the quarterback threw a pass into the endzone. It was broken up and appeared to fall straight down to the ground. What I didn't initially see however was that an Apopka player happened to be lying there and the ball fell right in his lap for an interception. It was fitting given how cleanly the whole game had been played, even though overtime would have been even better.

1. Nov. 30: Lincoln 35 Oviedo 29, Oviedo Field (Oviedo, FL)
 The best high school game I attended this year took place in the regional finals of the state playoffs. The game started off rough for the Trojans who quickly found themselves behind the eight ball when following a very impressive goal line stand halted Oviedo at the 1, they promptly got tackled in the endzone on their first offensive play of the game for a safety. This was quickly followed by an Oviedo touchdown and Lincoln was down 9-0 just like that. The Trojans responded, however, like they did all season, scoring a couple times to take the lead. The rest of the game was back and forth back and forth. Lincoln score a touchdown to take the lead with about 2 minutes left, but Oviedo responded very quickly, scoring a touchdown to put them up with about a minute left. Back up against the wall, Lincoln returned the kickoff about 30 yards and then on the very first play from scrimmage, tossed a 50 yard touchdown pass in what would be the final score of the game. A couple of plays later, an interception would seal the deal as Lincoln advance to the State semis and ultimately the State Championship. If the awesome game itself wasn't enough to place this as #1, the amazing turnout of Green and Gold fans (there were several hundred) coupled with time spent visiting with my very good KYX-DAX friends Kevin and Laura Patterson put it over the top.

2012 College Games I Saw in Order of Worst to Best

8. Sept. 8: Florida State 55 Savannah State 0, Doak Campbell

The single worst game I've ever seen in my life. Period. The end. Savannah State would lose to JPII High School, they were that incompetent. If that weren't embarrassing enough, I had to endure a two hour rain delay only to have the game called after the weather finally cleared and play had resumed. I never even knew it was legal to play a shortened game in college. Embarrassing and an utter waste of money and time.

7. Sept. 1: Florida State 69 Murray State, Doak Campbell

Typical for an FBS-FCS opponent. No real complaints, it was fun finally getting to see FSU in action after a long summer.

6. Oct. 13: Florida State 51 Boston College 7, Doak Campbell

I actually enjoy watching FSU beat down conference opponents, but this won was a little 'eh' because it was just a week after the Noles dropped the huge NC State game in terrible fashion.

5. Nov. 24: Florida 37 Florida State 26, Doak Campbell

Really entertaining game both ways. My biggest disappointment is not that FSU lost, but rather that they played as poorly as they did at the end and the score does not reflect the true nature of the game. FSU was actually winning in the 4th quarter with an opportunity to put the game away, but a terrible performance by EJ doomed that. Still, it was an entertaining game.

4. Oct. 27: Florida State 48 Duke 7, Doak Campbell

There were actually Duke fans that thought they'd win. Considering that Duke was better than usual and we dominated them in every phase of the game, I'd say they were wrong.

3. Sept. 15: Florida State 52 Wake Forest 0, Doak Campbell

I always love getting revenge on Wake Forest for the times they've beaten us in recent years. This one was satisfying.

2. Nov. 10: Troy 41 Navy 31, Veterans Memorial Stadium (Troy, AL)

My first time ever seeing a game up at Troy and my first time ever seeing a service academy. Watching Navy play on Veterans Day was simply amazing. There were several regiments of soldiers from Ft. Rucker present as well as several navy officers and veterans. It was just an overall awesome experience with lots of pageantry. Let me say that Troy has an awesome band also. As for the game, it was very competitive up until the very end. Navy has such a strange triple option offense...

1. Sept. 22: Florida State 49 Clemson 37, Doak Campbell

A match up of top 10's. ACC division on the line. First major game of the season. College Gameday. Epic back and forth offensive score fest. I think that sums it up.

Final 2012 National Collegiate Football Poll

The NCF is a poll that I've been coordinating for the past 6 seasons. It consists of weekly top 25 ballots that are completely by 3 independent college football fans which is then combined. Below is the final results from this season:

for immediate release:

1. Alabama 75 (3)

2. Oregon 72

3. Georgia 68

4. Ohio State 65

5. Notre Dame 60

5. Stanford 60

7. Texas A&M 58

8. Florida State 56

9. South Carolina 49

10. Clemson 48

11. Kansas State 47

12. Florida 39

13. LSU 35

14. Louisville 33

14. Utah State 33

16. Northwestern 31

17. Oklahoma 28

18. Texas 20

19. Boise State 17

19. San Jose State 17

21. Oklahoma State 15

22. Nebraska 12

23. Oregon State 11

24. Tulsa 9

25. Northern Illinois 6

Others Receiving Votes: Michigan 5, Vanderbilt 4, UCLA 2.

Free For All Fridays: The Sky, Teeth, and Other Things

Now that high school and college football seasons are over, Football Fridays have officially given way to Free For All Fridays! Every Friday I'll field questions that you, my AWESOME readers, ask me throughout the week. With that said, let's start our first ever Q&A:

Q: Why is the sky blue?

The long scientific answer involves the scattering and reflection of various wavelengths of light from the sun, but I personally think it's because we're all really in the Matrix.

Q: Approximately how many minutes does it take you to brush your teeth in the morning?

A: Kind of a creepy question, but everything's fair game. I'd say it takes me 1-2 minutes, although I'm not timing myself. I brush my teeth twice a day: once after breakfast and once before bed. I've never had cavities, so I guess that works well!

Q: Who is your favorite power ranger?
I never actually watched the power rangers, so I really don't know! On the subject though, a couple of my friends and I had to make a video once for AP Stat in high school and we each voiced over a power ranger. I'll never forget Levon's voice for the Pink Ranger till the day I die. Let me just say it wasn't how you'd expect it to be.

And now my questions for you, the reader!

What is your favorite weekly theme on my blog?

What is something I could do to encourage more dialogue and discussion amongst my readers?

If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

Well, kind of a light load of questions this week, hopefully that picks up next week! Remember, without you, there isn't anything to talk about, so be sure to submit questions you'd like me to answer any time you want!

-JT

Literary Thursdays: My WORST of the WORST

Last week for Literary Thursday I posted one of my favorite poems (if you missed that, you can check it out here: Last Week). This week I decided to shake things up by exploring the other end of the spectrum.

As you all know, I like to read a lot. While this has slowed down somewhat during medical school (instead of reading maybe 6-7 books a year, I'm down to reading just 3 or so), it's still an important part of my life. A while back I compiled a list of every book I've ever read (some multiple times) and by my estimation, I've read upwards of 120 different titles. Of those, some of them I truly fell in love with and consider to be some of the best pieces of literature I have ever read, while others I honestly wouldn't touch again with a ten-foot-pole. Now I'm sure in the weeks, months, and years to come I'll talk enough about the novels I laud, but today I wanted to focus instead on the bottom of that list.

Here are the 10 worst books I ever (had to) read:

*a 'P' next to the title means I only read part of the book, in most cases I stopped more than halfway through

10. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

Ok, maybe it's not "fair" for me to place this book on the list as it's really more of a 'How To' book for Italian autocrats than a true narrative, but I had to read it in high school and I found it about as interesting as I would some some geeky post-doc's treatise on the procedural order of interplanetary space trade debate in the intergalactic senate in the Star Wars universe. Let me also note that I actually like history and even went through a brief phase in middle school where I daydreamed about world domination. If there was ever anyone who would've actually enjoyed the book, it was me. But I didn't.

9. As I Lay Dying (P) by William Faulkner

Another book I was forced to read in high school, although I only made it halfway before giving up. I'm sorry but an entire book about transporting a dead body in a coffin from the perspective of several different people just isn't interesting to me.

8. The Divine Comedy (P) by Daunte

We only had to read part of this massive piece of Renaissance literature (thank heavens) for 10th grade English. I can't say I'm a fan of 14th century Italian writing, I really can't. I will say though that the project we had to do afterwards where we designed our own 'hells' with multiple layers of punishment based on the book was kind of cool.

7. The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Dull, boring, and dry. I'm sorry, I just don't find plays about early American Puritan settlers to be all that exciting... even if there are trials and executions involved. Too dark for me.

6. Hoot by Carl Hiassen

Heaven help me I hate this book. I hate it! Now you know we're getting to the "good" part of the list when we reach the single book that convinced me to review my ten least favorite reads instead of just five since it ended up coming in at number six... Gosh, this is such a terrible, stupid, idiotic book. I really don't even care if you liked it. Back in high school there were always two "categories" of books for summer reading: the books that our specific classes required (so mostly AP after sophomore year for me) and the books the entire grade had to read (right down through remedial-whatever). I'll let you figure out which category this book fell in. The gist of the story is that there's a chain restaurant (pretty much an IHOP) that's going to be built on an abandoned city block that somehow happens a perfect habitat (even though it's in the middle the city) for an endangered specie of owl. Of course the pancake chain is big and evil and wants to kill everything cute and cuddly and nice, so they're bent on destroying the owls... since it's so much easier to do that than find somewhere else to build. Oh, and of course some conveniently high school-aged kid (which also happens to be the target audience) steps in to prevent it all from happening by protesting. So pretty much it should have been called: Occupy IHOP Construction Site.

Oh, and they made a movie.

5. Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The only two things I can remember about this book are: it was so dull I forgot what was happening halfway through but continued to read it until I finished (and still didn't know what was going on) and, it made me never want to read Crime and Punishment.

4. Silmarillian (P) by JRR Tolkein

This might be the only book on this whole list that could possibly get a second shot someday. For anyone who doesn't know what the Silmarillian is, it basically was a prequel written after the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy by Tolkein which was meant to serve as a history of Middle Earth up until said adventures. I had read the Hobbit in middle school and I really enjoyed the LOTR movies, so freshman year in high school I decided to pick up the Silmarilian and see how it all started. Bad move. From what I recall it was pretty much like reading a Roman history textbook written in the 1950's with the additional bonus of a bunch of names and places that were impossible to pronounce or differentiate for that matter. I only made it about a third of the way through before all the levels of gods and floating tree islands and whatnot confused the heck out of me and I gave up. Now that I understand a bit more of Tolkein's mythology and with the current Hobbit trilogy, I may give this one a retry at some point. Who knows, maybe my college-edemecated mined can figgur dis one owt better duh seqund tiem. Hey, and if not, I've always got Hoot I can read!

3. A Hope in the Unseen (P) by Ron Suskind

Ok, where to begin with this gem, where to begin... Anyone who happened to be a freshman honors student at Florida State in the fall of 2007 will remember this book. Someone that year had the bright idea of forcing all the incoming freshman honors students to read this book over the summer before they started classes. You could think of it as a summer reading project that middle schools and high schools assign... only, college isn't middle or high school, and universities don't do that. I suppose the idea was that by reading this book somehow it would promote discussion amongst new students and "unity" amongst an incoming class. It was a commendable initiative, really, but considering that it had never been done before and has never been done since, you can see how it turned out.

Here's where it gets funny. Not only did all the freshman honors students have to read the book (and maybe write a paper, I can't recall if we had to do that too), but as part of the Honors Colloquium we all had to take our first semester, they actually had the author come and speak. Now it was pretty obvious that they expected a big crowd for this event (who knows how much they paid for him to come) as the powers that be arranged for the event to take place in Ruby Diamond auditorium instead of our normal location. For weeks they reminded us about it and built it up to a monumental degree. The only problem? For the class we were allowed to skip whichever two presentations we wanted. Apparently I wasn't the only person who didn't like the book, as almost nobody went. Let me put it into perspective: this wasn't the first presentation of the year people could skip, nor was it one of the last two (when anyone that hadn't skipped would've used their remaining absences). No, this was dead in the middle of the semester. The day after I was curious to find out how it went (I hadn't gone obviously) and I struggled all day until I finally found someone who had actually showed up. He told me there were maybe ten or fifteen people there. Wow. So what made this book so bad anyways?

Well, first off it was a semi-autobiographic novel (which leads me to believe the author must be a real you-know-what, as you'll see). The story follows this poor kid (really the author) who lives in the ghettos of Washington DC and attends a really bad intercity school where almost no one graduates and nobody goes to college. He's not like the rest, of course, and dreams of going to college. So he works really hard and makes good grades, all the while dealing with adversity. Not too bad of a book eh? Well, I agreed with you... up until about two thirds of the way through. You see, eventually there comes this critical point in the story where the kid gets the admissions letters from the colleges he applies to. As it turns out, he gets into two of the universities, but not just any universities, Georgetown and Maryland! Woo hoo! That's pretty awesome! He's going to be the only person in his class to go to college! The first person in his family to go to college and not just to any college, I mean, those are excellent opportunities! He even got scholarships! He should totally be super excited, right? WRONG. Happiness is not the word that describes his emotional reaction; nor is joy or thankfulness or any other positive expression. Instead he's angry. That's right. He's bitter and angry and resentful that he didn't get into an Ivy League school. Say whaaaaaaaat? Come on man, I just read over two hundred pages of this inspirational story for THAT? Oh man, and he gets worse the next couple of chapters, pretty much revealing himself to be a self absorbed pompous, well, you catch my drift. I literally dropped that book with less than thirty pages left. Eventually I think he got into Brown, kudos to him, but what a terrible book. (Geez, the next two must be really bad!)

2. Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

Another assigned high school reading that I did not enjoy (don't worry, there were others I loved including my all-time favorite book, The Great Gatsby). Catcher in the Rye seems to be pretty divisive: you either love it or you hate it. I obviously hated it. For one, I'm not a fan of books with strong language. I mean, I can tolerate some language and I can just ignore things like that, but to me it was just too much in this instance. Combine that with the really strange tense the entire story is written in and the disturbing subject matter (abuse, the main character's affections for his sister...) and I just did not like it one bit. It gave me this really weird nauseous feeling the entire time I was reading. On the positive side though, it inspired me to write a short story about an impoverished middle school aged kid who found a couple dollars lying around at the fair, spent it on a goldfish, and was later beat to death by his drug-addict mother when she discovered what he had done.

1. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

I honestly don't even know what to say. I really don't. I'm a fan of the distopian genre. I enjoy movies like I, Robot and Logan's Run and the Terminator series which portray a far less than perfect future. I found the very distopian and ultra-depressing Nineteen Eighty-Four to be thought provoking and impossible to put down, but this thing, this was just unspeakably bad. Forget the nausea I experienced with Catcher in the Rye, Brave New World made me want to flat out vomit. From the subject matter (hallucinogens, genetic breeding of different "levels" of humans, etc) to the writing style to the story, I hated literally everything. It makes me sick just to think about it. I respect anyone who has a different opinion, but to me, this will always be the worst of the worst.

So what do you think? Disagree about anything? What are the worst books you've ever read? Let me know in the comments or on the new Blog Intersect page!

-JT