My Favorite Seinfelds

I'm bored, so I'm blogging about my favorite episodes of Seinfeld. OK, I love this show a whole, whole lot. With the exception of only about 5 episodes (and pretty much all of season 1), I can watch any episode, any time. I started with a list of my favorite 40 episodes, and whittled it down to these five ... Enjoy!

5. The Abstinence, Season 8, episode 9

Don't tell Sarah Palin or George W. Bush, but abstinence didn't work for George either ... but it did for a bit! George's girlfriend can't have sex because of some medical thing, so he needs a new hobby. He takes up reading and becomes a super-genius! It turns out that he has used so much of his brain thinking about scoring with women that he has dumbed himself down. Hilarious and has a good crossover point for all of us when you think about it!

4. The Conversion, Season 5, episode 11

George Costanza is a simple man - he likes to eat, he likes women, he likes Monk's coffee shop. When he gets dumped because his girlfriend is Latvian Orthodox and has to marry someone of the same faith, he decides to convert. As he puts it, "What do I care?" Of course, the girl moves to Latvia and George alienates his parents and friends, typical George stuff.

3. The Switch, Season 6, episode 10

Jerry's girlfriend has no sense of humor, but her roommate does. Jerry decides he really wishes that he was dating the other woman, but he and George decide that trying to pull off the roommate switch is impossible and unprecedented. The great part of the whole thing is about a minute and a half of the whole show when Jerry and George gameplan the attempt in a silent montage over dramatic music. It's a spoof of serious movies and all of the junk they do - it's just brilliant (You have to see it to get it).

2. The Marine Biologist, Season 5, episode 13

Again, to impress a woman, George pretends that he is a marine biologist. She's into it and George sweeps her off her feet. It's just a ridiculous, sublime Costanza episode, culminating with a wonderful ending of George dramatically telling how he saved a whale and got dumped for admitting he wasn't a marine biologist in one fell swoop. "The sea was angry that day, my friends.."

1. The Opposite, Season 5, episode 22

George's line says it all: "If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right." He goes with it and life turns out great. However, since Jerry is Even Steven, Elaine pays the price, her life bottoming out. Another great quote: "I had so mush promise. I was personable, I was bright. Oh, maybe not academically speaking, but ... I was perceptive. I always know when someone's uncomfortable at a party. It became very clear to me sitting out there today, that every decision I've ever made, in my entire life, has been wrong. My life is the opposite of everything I want it to be."

By the way, this was written while I "watched" the most horrible movie I've ever seen: "The Happening." What the heck happened to m. Night Shamylan?

News From NOLA

I am winding down a quick weekend trip to NOLA, for my cousin's wedding and a few odds and ends to get ready for future trips. It's pretty weird being here by myself today (my mom left yesterday night and after watching the Chargers TROUNCE the Patriots, today is an alone day so far). I'm used to having the lobby at the Country Inn buzzing with activity, but right now I'm sitting in the breakfast area and there isn't even one other person around ... weird.

Mr. Good is Mr. Gone. I asked some guys about him and they said they haven't seen him since July (which is when we were here). I'm thinking there's a pretty good chance that Mike's efforts with him paid off? i hope so.

I went to the Riverwalk for a few hours today and saw Scott (on the right), he seemed like he was doing well (he doesn't know me, so that was as much as I could get). I talked to some guys and asked if they knew some of our friends - Mac, Ronnie, etc.

They didn't, but I'm hopeful that I can still run into them. I'm going down to Bridge House in a few hours when Bob-Rob gets here. I'm making him walk to see me because I didn't rent a car. I feel like a jerk, but I'll buy him some good food to make up for it.

I love this city, like I know many of you do. The staff at the Country Inn welcomed me by name and gave me an awesome room, so it's pretty cool to see how much they like us. I am going to watch some more sports and relax on one of the few times in my life that I get quiet! But I miss my friends at home and especially my sweet wife and my little monkey-monster!

Walking Down a Dead-End Street and Looking for a Place to Turn

Do you have those days when the world closes in a little bit on you? When an event or a series of events makes you question everything? These can be good events or bad events, but for me they are usually negative.

I start to question everything, and I wonder what the heck I'm doing and where I want to go. Sometimes I process out loud, and that doesn't help anybody.

But this week's one of those times for me. It may lead to nothing, or it might change everything.

I've been battering Philippians 3 around in my head a lot ... all else is garbage compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ. I believe that it is true, and I want to know what it really means to live my life as if I do. I want to be bothered by the right things, torn by the right things, challenged and energized and devastated all by the right things.

I don't know if that is a challenging concept for others - I think if we were to truly grasp the enormity of that statement from Paul it would be. But, myself included, most of the time we just shrug off things and go about regular life.

Would you join me in being challenged by the idea that we must truly find a way to live as if knowing Jesus is really the only thing that matters. Everything else - even my car, my house, my jersey collection, is trash.