We Are The Champions

Congratulations to Michaela and myself!  We were the members of the winning team this morning at the Chatterbox Trivial Pursuit Sunday Morning (and Afternoon) Challenge.  In a display of trivia gamesmanship that surpassed anything yet seen at game night, the pairing of Maine and Massachusetts proved too much for the other three teams to handle.  After a mere three hours of game time we emerged victorious to the wild cheers of absolutely no one but ourselves.  Due to the domination we displayed today, it was proposed that we play the “pop culture” edition next time to level the playing field.  All I can say is… BRING IT ON!

Things I Like #27: The English Sports Media

I was reading an article about a potential transfer on the Sky Sports website (sort of like ESPN in England) the other day, and it ended like this:

“Official confirmation of the deal is expected in the none to distant future.”

I thought that was great.

Over here it would have said something lame like “soon” or “in the next couple of days.”

Good work Sky Sports!

Another Peaceful Transfer of Power

Tomorrow is inauguration day.  It is very easy, especially with an inauguration as historic as this one, to take everything that happens tomorrow for granted and forget what it all represents.  Inaugurations represent the peaceful transfer of power from one president to the next.  That is a truly remarkable thing if it happens once, but it is staggering that we have had peaceful transfers of power for more than 200 years.  What is especially striking about this is that the President is also the Commander in Chief of the armed forces.  Not once in our history has our military violently opposed the political will of the people.  It is a testament to the political system that our founders gave us.  For all the flaws we point to in our system today, it’s greatest achievement is the very fact that we take the peaceful transfers of power for granted – that we don’t consider anything else as an option.  No matter how bitter an election was, the outcome is accepted peacefully.  Certainly, there can be objections, but they are heard in court or expressed with words – in the press – and not with bullets.

So, while you are celebrating the inauguration of Obama tomorrow (and you damn well better celebrate!) make sure that you also celebrate America.  Not just because someone like Obama can be elected, but because we live in a country where two opposing political factions can trade power without violence erupting.

The Messinger-Szymaszek Family: A Primer

Before I begin making posts about what I’ve uncovered from researching my family, I thought I’d give just a quick introduction to the two largest branches of my family tree.

My Mom’s family is 100% Polish, even after being in the United States for a generation or two.  The majority of the family is from a relatively small region in southern Poland, in the part of the country that was called Galicia when it was ruled by the Austrian (later Austro-Hungarian) Empire.  There is also one branch that comes from the far northeastern corner of the country (the part ruled by the Russian Empire).  In America they all settled in Connecticut, and eventually all the families ended up in Meriden (a city just south of Hartford).  The earliest immigrant on my Mother’s side arrived in the United States in 1888.

My Father’s family, while probably about 90% German, includes branches of Scottish, Irish, and Dutch heritage.  Most of the German families that make up my Dad’s side come from southeastern Germany and the regions along the Rhine.  The family’s American roots are in the Allentown, PA area – Northampton, Lehigh, Berks and Carbon counties.  The latest immigrant on my Father’s side arrived in the United States in the mid 1850s.  The vast majority of his ancestors arrived before the United States existed – with the earliest arriving in the mid 1600s.

Two pretty different families, aren’t they?

I’ll Be Here All Week

I saw a preview on TPT2 last weekend for their show about comedy.  It featured Jim Lehrer telling some jokes.  I have to admit it was pretty funny, and since I seem to be in the joking mood this frigid Friday morning I figure I’d share the best one:  “Three guys walk into a bar.  The fourth one ducks.”  Ok, it’s not terribly original, but hearing Jim Lehrer say it with a straight face made me laugh.

A Jew, a Hindu, and a Scouser…

For those who don’t know, a Scouser is someone from Liverpool, and the term is used to refer to supporters of Liverpool Football Club.  They are not looked upon favorably by most of the rest of us football fans, and they are hated by the host of World Soccer Daily.  I heard a joke on the show earlier this week and liked it, because I love hating on Liverpool.  This is basically how it goes:

 

A Jew, a Hindu, and a Scouser were wandering around, looking for a place to stay.  They came to a farmhouse, knocked on the door, and asked if they have any room.  The man who lived there said they are welcome to stay, but he only had room for two of them in his house.  One of them was going to need to sleep in the barn.  The three stared at each other for a while.  Finally, the Jew said, “Alright, I’ll go to the barn.  The Hindu and the Scouser went into the house.  Just as they were about to fall asleep, there was a knock on the door.  It was the Jew.  “There’s a pig in the barn, guys, and I’m not comfortable staying in there tonight.”  “Ok,” the Hindu said.  “I’ll sleep in the barn.”  Just as the Jew and the Scouser were about to fall sleep, there was another knock at the door.  It was the Hindu.  “There’s a cow in the barn.  I’m not comfortable spending the night in there, either.”  “Fine,” said the Scouser.  “I guess I’ll take the barn.”  Just as the Jew and the Hindu were about to fall asleep there was another knock at the door.  It was the pig and the cow.

Utah Should Be #1

I read a piece yesterday advocating that people should vote for Utah as the #1 team in college football.  Having listened to tall the talking heads debate this week, I’ve decided that I too believe Utah should be #1.  They are the ONLY team that will finish the season without a loss.  They beat every team they were allowed to play, and in their last game absolutely demolished a team that had been ranked #1 for much of the season and was with a few minutes of playing in the national championship.  I don’t think you can hold a flawed system against them.  They deserve to share the championship. 

Additionally, Utah should be voted #1 to show just how flawed the system is.  As long as people continue to go along with this BCS system and play the game, nothing will change.  While I honestly believe that Utah deserves to be #1, I also believe in a playoff system.  In order to get that, we need to prove how ludicrous the system is and start stirring up some controversy.

So, rank Utah first.  They’re worthy – it is easy to justify ranking them #1 – and it would stir up some much needed controversy.

The Ongoing Minnesota Senate Saga

Last night John Stewart expressed frustration about our Senate saga and wondered how hard it was to count to 3,000,000 in Minnesota.  Yes, the process has been long, but up until now I’ve accepted it as necessary, but now I’m frustrated too.  Honestly, when the recount began I thought that Coleman would still end up the winner, but I’ve been proven wrong over the last few weeks.  With Franken now ahead, I wish Coleman would do what he urged Franken to do after election day and step aside.  I am not naive enough to think that if the roles were reversed Franken would not be doing the same thing… because he would be challenging the results in court just like Coleman is now… but at this point the time has come to move on.  This delay in providing an election certificate upsets me as a citizen of the state of Minnesota for two reasons.  First, because of the legal challenge we currently have only one senator in Washington, meaning we are being deprived of representation in congress.  Second, there has already been a recount, and a certified winner to the election.  I know that anyone has the legal right to challenge election results, so I’m not saying Coleman has no right to do this.  But I am much more open to accepting such actions when they lead to a recount – not after the recount is already over.  I’m no fan of Coleman, but I wouldn’t stand by Franken if the roles were reversed.  Hopefully we’ll get this thing will be over before too long.

Fiesta Bowl

The Fiesta Bowl just ended.  What a game.  I never thought Ohio State would be in the game at all, but all credit to them.  They hung tough, dominated the Texas defense on the ground, and held the lead into the final minute of the game against a team that probably deserves to be playing in the National Championship Game.  And what a play by Texas to score the winning touchdown.  Great read by McCoy.  This was the most exciting bowl game I’ve seen this year.  Hopefully the game Thursday will be just as good.

People have been on the Big Ten’s case all year about how much it sucks, but Ohio State did the conference proud tonight despite their loss.  They showed that they could hang with a high-powered high-octane offense.

I don’t think Texas did enough in the eyes of the voters to be voted #1.  Personally, I think they are just as deserving of the #1 ranking as either Florida or Oklahoma, but in the flawed system they have, they’ll be left out in the cold without a real chance to prove themselves.

Also, for the record, I absolutely LOVE the sweater vest and tie that Jim Tressel wears on the sidelines.  A stellar outfit.

Two-ish Weeks in New England

When I got home, I generally fall off the face of the earth in a majoryly good kind of way.  My life consists of watching TV, playing video games with my brother, and generally chilling out.  I also use the time to catch up on projects and things that I haven’t had time or energy to do while I’m in Minnesota.  This year that meant transcribing several newspaper articles and church records found while researching my family’s history that will soon be posted here.  Unfortunately falling off the face of the earth means that I don’t really update my blog.  So, here are 10 highlights (and a lowlight) from my holiday season in MA:

 

1. On the drive home from the airport, a deer ran across the road in front of us about 25 yds from my driveway.  We saw it early enough so we didn’t come close to hitting it, and it was very beautiful and a great start to my time at home.

 

2. The great start did not last long, for as I was getting out of the car I practically bit my tongue off.  Perhaps that is a bit dramatic, but my tongue was not happy for a couple of days.  I guess that’s what I get for chewing gum while getting out of a car.

 

3. My house is gorgeous during the winter.  Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.  After I was done maiming my tongue I turned around and saw that my house was covered in snow and had icicles hanging from every ledge around the roof and windows.  It was very very pretty.

 

4. I love my puppy.  She is getting old, but she’s still a great dog, remains quite hilarious, and has maintained her rather strong personality.  When she was younger she used to go crazy when we came home – jumping up from the couch and running to the door and such.  As she got a little older she started to just look up from the couch, see it was us, and slowly get up and walk towards us.  Now she doesn’t even wake up from sleeping on the couch when we get home.  We leave, run some errands, and come back and she has no idea we even left.  She’s also cute as all heck.  I miss my puppy when I’m out here in MN!

 

5. I saw Valkyrie with my family.  Pretty good movie.  Would have been nice if they could have spoken in German accents instead of British and American ones, but oh well.  My parents got me a history book about the plot for Christmas, and I’m looking forward to reading it.  It is a fascinating episode in the history of Nazi Germany and World War Two.

 

6. I got to hang out with Rachel!  She’s one of my absolute BEST friends from growing up and she lives in Ireland now so I rarely get to see her.

 

7. I actually had a pretty good New Years.  Maybe that’s because I fell asleep around 11:15.  Earlier in the evening I went downtown to First Night with Rachel, the highlight of which was seeing “The Dadz” perform.  The Dadz is a “band” that consists of the fathers of three of our friends.  They’re actually pretty good, despite of the way they make fun of themselves.  And they are funny.  Really funny.  It’s basically a stand up comedy routine in between songs.

 

8. I had an awesome Christmas.  Santa was very good to me.  I got a lot of super duper history books, covering subjects like the Norman Invasion, the Knights Templar in America, the possible bloodline of Jesus, the Valkyrie Plot, the history of Poland, the history of Prussia, Yankee stadium, major league baseball and how the states got the shapes they have today.  I also got a bunch of other stuff, including a sweet last game at Yankee Stadium Derek Jeter commemorative.

 

9. Amazing food.  My mom’s homemade babka bread (made using a recipe handed down through the family from Poland).  Sweet potatoes.  Turkey.  Scrambled eggs.  Pumpkin pie.  Homemade apple pie.  Homemade stuffed shells.  That’s just the tip of the iceberg.  Home has gooooooood eats.

 

10. Spending time with my brother.  The Christmas season is when I take my longest break to go home, and it also coincides with my brother’s winter break from his basketball season.  That means we get to spend a lot of time hanging out, playing video games, and watching TV.  It is the most time we get to spend with each other, since my trips home generally tend to be shorter.  We had an incredible amount of fun.  I love that kid.

 

That was my time at in MA in a nutshell.

 

I love home.