Here goes nothing

My friend Mike says that he always thought MySpace was for "pervs and weirdos." So he promptly went over to the Dark Side and put down roots.

I guess I'll have to see this for myself. Come visit.

http://www.myspace.com/theworldaccordingtojon

Seriously...Is It Me?

Thought I was going to have a great run of seeing some big time ball games in person.

Then I travel to Dallas for a special experience with tickets on the 20-yard-line, only to see the Cowboys get spanked by the Saints 42-17.

So on Saturday, as an early Christmas present, I took the family to Alltel Arena in North Little Rock to see the Arkansas basketball Razorbacks take on legendary (or infamous) Coach Bobby Knight and his Texas Tech Red Raiders. It was a large and responsive crowd. The seats, in the upper deck, had a good view. It was closer than it seems from my camera phone picture (at left). Alli, wearing her Razorbacks cheerleader outfit, and Lucas both called the Hogs. Then the game started.

After jumping out 3-0... the Hogs stopped. And the Red Raiders went on an 18-0 run. And it was never closer than an 8-point deficit down the stretch. The Hogs ended up losing by 15. It was a rotten game, Hog-wise. No consistent offense, nobody stepping up and putting the team on their back (Charles Thomas looked good inside, but they really needed more than some good post play).

The story on this team was that after depending on Ronnie Brewer so much the last 2 years, this team had a bunch of good players. The lack a playmaker, though, and still have no consistent outside shooter that can knock down a couple of 3s when playing catch up. The defense was shaky and they kept turning the ball over. Lucas, as you can see from the picture, was bummed like the rest of us. Can't blame the crowd. They were loud - when there was something to get loud about - and in the game until nearly the bitter end.

Then I started thinking...when was the last win I saw...took me a bit. Saw the Hogs lose to Tech; saw the Cowboys lose to the Saints; saw the football Hogs lose to LSU; saw the Malvern Leopards lose to Bauxite...ahhh...I guess it was this summer, when we saw the Cardinals beat the Indians in St. Louis. THAT was an exciting game, with a 9th inning rally.

Wait...did I use up all my big game mojo then??? I hope not. We still have the Hogs bowl game. At least - for the Hogs sake - I'll only be watching on TV. And I'm not wearing the Hogs T-shirt I bought to wear to the LSU game (loss) then wore to the watch party for the SEC Championship (loss)...then wore to the basketball game on Saturday (loss). Not that I'm superstitious. :)

Cowboys: What Have You Done for Me Lately?

I've been a fan of the Dallas Cowboys since I really discovered football, back at age 7 or 8. My earliest Cowboys memory is watching Super Bowl XII, when they beat the Broncos. I was already a fan by that point, but that's the earliest I remember.

I came by it honestly. In central Arkansas back in those pre-cable days, the Cowboys were shown most every Sunday since they were probably the closest pro team. I grew up a fan of QB Roger Staubach (who now has his own blog) and RB Tony Dorsett...and that Doomsday Defense. I remember my heart breaking as I watched "The Catch." I slogged through that 1-15 season along with rookie QB Troy Aikman.

Anyway, flash forward, I finally got to see the Cowboys in person...after all these years...back in 1999. In the final game of the season, they beat the NY Giants in what ended up being Chan Gailey's last regular season game as coach. Since that time, I've seen 3 more games, including last Sunday's supposedly big time matchup against the hot New Orleans Saints (see camera phone image above).

In 2000, I saw the Boys lose to the Jags in OT. Last season, I was there on Monday night - with temps in the upper 90s and me bathed in sweat - as the Cowboys blew a 4th quarter lead and lost to the hated Redskins.

And now this...after an 80-yard TD run by Julius Jones early in the Saints game, the blow out is on. The Saints roll to a 42-17 win as I watch from the best seats I've ever had, there on the 20 yd line. Oh, it was awful. I guess it was an exciting game. There was lots of scoring. And Reggie Bush is pretty awesome. But sheesh!

C'mon Cowboys. What have I got to do? I've put in the time as a fan. And this is the reward I get. 3 straight loses?!?! Sheesh.

Pearl Harbor 2006

Today's the 65th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which brought the U.S. into World War II. It means more to me this year after getting the chance to travel to Hawaii and Pearl Harbor back in August.

After getting up that morning about 4, getting to Pearl Harbor by bus at around 6:30 a.m. to find a HUGE line of people already there to the 7 a.m. opening...then waiting almost 2 hours through the huge line to get into the Pearl Harbor memorial, I stood on the USS Arizona Memorial and looked across the water and tried to imagine what it would've been like that fateful morning.

I looked down and saw the drops of oil that still leak up from the wreckage of he battleship ("the ship's tears") that also is the final resting place for hundreds of sailors. I could see parts of the ship just below the surface.

They ask you to be quiet while on the memorial to honor the site. So the noise you heard was tourist cameras clicking or whiring, the wind whipping and the whispers of folks around you as they looked over the memorial. You can look over the distant mountains and think about seeing the hundreds of warplanes appearing on the horizon on that Sunday morning in 1941.

In the course of the tour, you read and hear about all of the coincidences and instances where the attack might've been discovered before it happened. I wondered how differently it all might've been had operators of that early radar system not mistaken the attack force for a group of U.S. bombers due on the island that day.

I also kept thinking about how history and the war played out after that devastating attack.

The U.S. rose up and led the Allies to victory and assumed its role as a world superpower. The atomic bomb. The U.S. as a check to the rise of communism. Did the attack have to happen as it did...did all those sailors have to die on the Arizona and around Pearl Harbor in order for American history to play out exactly as it did?

It's a sobering thought and being there was a reminder of the sacrifices made by those in uniform. And how fortunate we Americans were that the war turned out as it did.

UPDATE: Poignant story here from the AP about the last meeting today of Pearl Harbor survivors.

The survivors have met here every five years for four decades, but they're now in their 80s or 90s and are not counting on a 70th reunion. They have made every effort to report for one final roll call.

"We're like the dodo bird. We're almost extinct," said Mal Middlesworth, now an 83-year-old retiree from Upland, Calif., but then — on Dec. 7, 1941 — an 18-year-old Marine on the USS San Francisco.

Pearl Harbor Survivors Meet for the Last Time [AP via Yahoo]

Hey, I'm on TV

I was just minding my own business yesterday, trying to work, and end up on TV. Not the first time. I remember being in the background of shots every once in a while while a newspaper reporter.

Anyway, I was on assignment, writing a Web story for UAMS about middleweight champion Jermain Taylor's visit to the UAMS-UALR Stuttering Research and Treatment Center. The TV folks were there as Taylor talked with some of the center's students about his own problem with stuttering.

It was a nice gesture on his part. He talked to the students, ranging from adult to as young as 4, for a while, answering questions. Then he posed for some pictures before doing some TV interviews.

He struggled with stuttering as a child. Made fun of. Scared of being called on to read in class. But as he said, he didn't let that problem hold him back. The kids in the audience were in awe.

But anyway, check out this video and you can see me and my navy and plaid shirt in the background of the first shot, taking notes and looking on as Taylor talks.

Jermain Taylor Inspires Kids at Speech Clinic [Fox16]
Jermain Taylor Speaks at UAMS-UALR Stuttering Clinic [KATV]
Boxing Champ Encourages Kids Who Stutter [KTHV]

Friends?!?

Mentioned yesterday how some friends were encouraging me to jump into MySpace. Buddy Lance, on his day job blog (or dayblog), The Ladder, says that I could buy me some hot MySpace friends now, if I want.

Bloggers Blog shows you how to buy friends for your MySpace page. 99 cents gets you the hottie of your choice.

Like I said yesterday, MySpace reminds me too much of junior high.

Back for the Attack

Hullo. It seems I've been horribly busy and inattentive to Jonworld.

Plus, I decided I probably should've blog at work, lest the good folks in IT decide that wasn't what I should do with my spare time there. So whenever I think of something or see something I want to blog, there's usually a delay until I get home or get the kids to bed. By that time I've either: a) Forgotten it in the first place, b) See that it's been done already, or c) All of the above. The answer, usually, is "c."

And so here we are. I'll make another run at this. Perhaps its blog envy that goaded me back in. I love reading my buddy Mike's blog - and now MySpace page. They say I should go the MySpace route. Heather says I should...apparently I read that "everyone is doing it." ...but I just can't get excited about trying to get people to "add" me or vice versa. A little too junior high for me (and I did NOT really care for junior high). No offense, though, guys. That's just the way it seems from the outside looking in (once again, too much like junior high for me).

Maybe my buddy Scott could get inspired and write a sonnet about the irregular blogger. He's got some great ones in his "Sonnet Project."

So goodbye for now. Gotta go make some kid lunches and get started on another day. I assure you I'll try to get back again soon.

JP