NFL 2012 Q3 Report: Luck and Sanchez Cause Quarterback Confusion

Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson. Courtesy ESPN

Notes from the three-quarters mark of the 2012 NFL season:

1] Win or lose, the New York Giants always seem to blow big leads. It's like they get bored. Win or lose, the New Orleans Saints seem to always come back from double-digit deficits; it's like they get angry.

2] The comparisons between rookie QBs is full-blown already: Fans are split between Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, with a significant wedge for Seattle's Russell Wilson. Can't go wrong with any of them so far.

Some Luck supporters need to (subtly and nearly innocently) put Griffin down, in order to build their case. That shotgun-Wildcat-option-playaction hybrid is not built for longterm use... Luck has to throw more because he has fewer weapons than Griffin; hence, all the interceptions... These people are not really Luck guys or RGIII haters. They are establishment guys.

The Redskins are smart to use Griffin's skill set, instead of forcing him into a Luck mold. Break down the film and stats a million ways, and it adds up to two solid young QBs that are fun to watch. RGIII appears to be the type to play any style. Including the traditional drop-back quarterback that is the NFL's gold standard. He better be, or he'll be injured a quarter of every season. Defensive players of all sizes are just too strong and fast. Every play is a potential career-ender, for any player.

3] Tim Tebow would know about these things. Not one of the thirty-two teams pursued him to be a starting quarterback, even after leading the Denver Broncos to a playoff win. No one's going to risk millions, in additional to whatever job they hold, in order to build a franchise around Tebow Time. Everyone is adamant that his style would never work, but we may never know. Too many families are at stake.

New York Jets coach Rex Ryan has such a distaste for Tebow, he waited until TT was injured to pull the struggling Mark Sanchez. It's a harsh world. What happened to San-chise, anyway? Or was it San-chize? Whoever he is, that person needs a change of scenery. The Jets have a weird spirit hanging over the organization. But that's been true for a long time.

4] Was thinking the other week: Aside from a few exceptions, play-by-play guys and commentators get in the way. Why can't there be an "announcer mute" option on NFL's TV games, similar to the Madden series? It would be sweet to watch football with just the sounds of the crowd and players in high-def. I don't want the booth people fired or eliminated--just the option...

Children's Lit: Glen Wit, The Wizard

 

Notice the lightning bolt in the book's title. Lightning images can be used in the occult. Remember the mark on Harry Potter's forehead.. and that Jesus beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. (Luke 10:18 KJV)

This children's book introduces young readers to a wizard named Glen Wit. It's amazing that the Bible and Christian prayer was removed from public schools in the 1960s, yet nearly anything else is acceptable. Parents and administrators probably pat themselves on their own backs for shielding kids from the most violent and sexual media. The Bible says that this witch stuff is just as dangerous. (Galatians 5:20, Deuteronomy 18:11)

 

Glen Wit has an enchanted scarf with Masonic checks. He also has lots of rhymes, used to cast his spells. Are these young readers almost ready to cast their own? Do they have the proper vocal cadence yet?

Fireworks are thought to affect the lower spirits that surround us. From Occult View, a site that explores the paranormal:

 

Maybe there are many types of astral flora and fauna. If the natural world has so many forms of life, why not the astral world? The danger with these astral forms is if a human contacts them. And assumes astral wildlife are equal with humanity. Imagine channeling a lesser, animalistic astral entity. A good reason to avoiding channeling with just anything out there. With this idea we can see why firecrackers just might scare away lowly negative spirits.



..and it's all back to normal. Glen is all light and no heat..

Signs of the Times: Veiled Big Brother Terms

Check out the bottom feed during Hurricane Sandy's northeast rampage. This was on the Weather Channel's coverage. Notice the vaguely ominous wording of President Obama's public messages. Unfortunately I was not quick enough with the camera to capture the first message, which said, in effect: OBEY ALL AUTHORITIES.

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg stated the obvious:

 

New Jersey governor Chris Christie always ups his own ante:

"Federal Government shut down in DC".. wasn't it already?

The meteorologists who walk into ninety-mile-per-hour wind and rain are entertaining. This must be the only reason that these men and women go outside to stand at forty-five degree angles--they are entertaining us.

Online Romance: Warning Signs For The Reasonable Man

There are probably tens of thousands of web pages documenting the romantic mistakes of men. This is about things that some women do online in the name of "love." It is a brief warning for grown and mature men who are serious about finding a good woman, whether she is online or in the world. This piece may just keep men from getting pickpocketed long-distance.

It is not for the players, who don't need my help with anything.

Go here for more perspective on computer love.

courtesy of Just Deon

Date site scammers normally fall into established categories. Here are a few characters you may come across, though this list isn't exhaustive. It is similar to comedian Jeff Foxworthy's "you might be a redneck" routine.. but not as funny.

The Vagabond. If a woman invites you out of the dating site in her very first message to you, be cautious. Some are even more bold: Watch for the women who put something like "let me hear from you at penny (at) smiley man face" in the body of their profiles. Ask yourself why she's trying to get you away from the date site moderators, who don't welcome scammers. They're trying to run businesses.

Did her profile disappear after you followed her over to Yahoo! or Skype? Ask her why. Don't listen to any "I deleted my profile because you're the one" nonsense. No one reasonable would do that. Tip: Use your dating site's email  for a few weeks. The "true" women usually will write you there as long as you like.

The Honeypot. If the photos she sends at the start include lots of bikini-wearing poses, keep your cool. See a lot of vacation, lounging by the pool, and girls' night out fashionista pics? Unless money is no object to you, this is a potential danger zone. Don't count on having found a sugar mama; more likely, she'll be looking to you to fund further explorations.

Also, consider that this woman may need a lot of attention. She's gorgeous, outgoing, a head-turner, the kind of lady that even little boys and old men crush on? Then ask yourself if you can give her attention in the precise measurements she will need. Tip: Those flush with cash or who adventure-seek will adore a Honeypot. The rest of the reasonable men should tread with caution.

The Damsel. If she's always ill or having problems, and she asks for your help, you should need little reason to back away. Specifically, your financial aid. She wants medicine, passport, rent, etc.. the possibilities are endless. Even if she's genuine about her issues, you may not want to take them on.

Think about it: anyone who appears on a dating/marriage site, and dumps her problems on someone she doesn't really know, should be viewed with suspicion. Even a request for small amounts need to be refused. The first time you Western Union money to that sweetheart of a Ukranian, after two weeks of contact, you have opened a door to hell. Tip: Anyone who requests you send her funds, sight unseen, should be left behind like a house on fire. When you do find the One, the two of you will need that money. So save it now.

When you feel a connection, whether through texts, phone, video, or real life, it can be difficult to let go. Some men have a "If I lose her, I'll never find another one" mentality. But it's dangerous to think that way when the woman is hundreds or thousands of miles away. This is one area where the player-dog type can teach the honest man a lesson: don't get attached too quickly. Because you never know who that person is, on the other end.

How to Meet Your Digital Sweetheart in Person

Signs of the Times: Green Potato Cowgirl

 

Weird box at my local Food Lion.

 

This potato box illustration is vaguely unsettling and I have no good reason why that is..

NFL 2012 Q1 Report

As usual, the people who are paid to prognosticate started making concrete judgements on the NFL, minutes after Week 1. Football teams were "who we thought they were".. the rest were huge surprises or disappointments. Remember: Week 1 had just ended.

On one sports radio show, the co-hosts joked about our amnesia-riddled, kneejerk society.. and within two minutes were rethinking their preseason predictions because of the first game's results.

Like every specialty channel, ESPN has twenty-four hours per day to fill, on multiple platforms. So there is simply no time to let things lie. Talking heads have to be definitive at all times, and perspective is useless (until time forces it on us). Pump out enough information/trivial tidbits to drown us, and we either won't remember or won't care how many times you were wrong. Numb us in the cool waters of River Terabyte.

This is the name of the game from CNN and FoxNews, on down the line. ESPN is only following the lead.

Random flashes on the 2012 National Football League campaign:

• Watching Tom Brady toss the pigskin around to Gronkowski, Woodhead, Edelman and Welker nearly always gives me the giggles. The N.E. Patriot offense makes me think of a big brother, or the older neighborhood cat who was simply cooler and more athletic than any kid around. The guy all the other guys are copying. I always have the impression Brady's out there playing with midget versions of himself. (Yea, Gronk is physically larger, but it's all about their collective body language.).. why are the Pats funny to me? Maybe it's because Welker and company are like Mini Coopers out there, zigzagging around, their drumsticks spinning like cartoon character legs. The opposing three-hundred-pound defensive players look like they are trying to grab speedy toddlers.
• For a long time, the AFC seemed deeper, top to bottom, than the NFC. That's clearly shifted over the last few seasons, and the switchover looks to be complete after the first four weeks. Every NFC team is dangerous on any given week. The AFC has a few dogs: the Jets, the Browns, three-quarters of the AFC South.
• I don't understand the surprise at the NFC West's rise. This league is all about complete flips in stature. There are a handful of perenially-good teams that benefit from good owners and management; otherwise, terrible teams are constantly struggling to their feet before sinking back to the floor. Did people really think the NFC Worst West would collectively stink for decades?

• Washington Redskins rookie Robert Griffin III has been around just long enough for the scrutiny to worm into him. He's almost too engaged with the media and the public--too open with them/us. Meanwhile, fans and 'heads are dividing into underrated/overrated camps already.. I was thinking Griffin is so savvy, and then he got jumped for criticizing things like the opposing teams' style. At some point, everyone in the public eye seems to get swallowed up. Truly, no one is immune: you are caught between being honest, true, 100%, and realizing that the honest and true you is bound to be crushed by the cwuel cwuel world. And as intelligent as RG seems to be, he doesn't appear to understand how delicious his every word and deed have become. This is why the Bradys and Derek Jeters are who they are. They are normally silent, or they're slippery when they must speak. Athletes try to emulate their play, when it may be their off-the-field persona that needs copying.
• Back to the NFC West: specifically, the St. Louis Rams. For years I've thought it a shame that running back Steven Jackson be wasted on this team. RBs only have about four or five peak years, sandwiched between a few seasons on each side. Jackson has a few eye-popping stats, like 2,334 from scrimmage back in '06. He tends to rush for over 1,000 even when missing games because of injury. But the Rams seem to be milking this man's talent.

Dupes and Traitors: Slashing Pennies From the War Budget

On today's episode of The Situation Room, CNN's Wolf Blitzer introduced a story about the Pentagon's budget potentially being slashed by $500 billion over the next decade. Apparently this worries some of our warmongering traitor political and military leaders. For perspective, keep in mind that our nation's 2010 military budget was nearly $700 billion!

Another jaw-dropper from the Center for Defense Information's Winslow Wheeler: "Various media reports cite a per-unit cost from $4 million to $5 million. They are quite incorrect," Wheeler wrote. Using the example of the MQ-9 Reaper drone, which entered service in 2007, he estimated the true cost of the aircraft at a stunning $120.8 million dollars. Part of the reason for the gap, according to Wheeler, is that other estimates ignore the support costs required to keep drones flying.

Lockheed Martin Corp bigwig Robert Stevens made a point of telling media about cutbacks the company has already made. Stevens told the Wall Street Journal:  "the additional cuts would be a "blunt force trauma" to the industry." What did you expect the Pentagon's most lucrative client to say?

Better question: Why is this made into a crybaby story about "tens of thousands and perhaps hundreds of thousands of pink slips," as Republican Mike Rogers said on Blitzer's panel, being handed out to defense contractors and weapons builders? Every other sector of our economy has been hatcheted into splinters, and the Pentagon, other military, et al has been largely immune. On an individual basis, it's a shame that anyone loses a job.

But it's difficult to muster sympathy. This is made into a simple economic downer, instead of what it is--a plea to keep us at war in perpetuity. Just as some doctors and pharmaceutical companies would never want true cures for HIV, cancers, etc., you know Stevens and his ilk profit from death too much to want an end to America's war machine. Therefore, any crocodile tears about the business Lockheed may lose are lost on anyone who doesn't fall for the lie.

All is not lost for the contractors. Congress may overturn the budget cuts, even in an election year. Even if our military is already spread paper thin and is eyeballing Syria and Iran. Even though our constant fighting and globetrotting has ground the American populace into powder. We are already sliding toward Armageddon. So the war profiteers need not worry. They're going to get their blood money sooner, not later. 

LeBron James is Heating Up

The position of LeBron James's head, with both the halo and flames framing him, is no accident. Ever consider that his white headband has the same effect?

These images are from an ESPN3 story about LeBron's "Q" rating, or his likeability to the general public.

That team name, "Heat", always was a little too convenient. I mean, a flaming basketball. Yea. Let's play some 21 in Hell. Make-it-take-it.

"Heat" is only a little better than the name it beat out in a contest: The Miami Vice. Imagine those headlines:

Vice On A Winning Streak.

Vice Win it All.

"The Vice" would have eventually been reconsidered and changed. Maybe. At one time, people got vocally righteous about removing the old Washington, D.C. franchise name: The Bullets. And what did they change it to? THE WIZARDS! So we are okay with warlocks? Yes, we are. That's old news.

<sup>10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.

11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
(Deuteronomy 18:10-12, KJV)</sup>

There is a small movement to change the Wizards name, back to the Bullets. That may well be for the best. We now watch so many murders, and listen to such depraved music, that "Bullets" won't offend people anymore. Especially when the team plays in the White House's shadow.

Signs of the Times: T-Shirts

Saw a couple minutes of BET's 106 & Park this week. Had to laugh at what this co-host was wearing. Because nothing says "Stay Humble" like a t-shirt that says...

courtesy Black Entertainment Television

Freelance Writer Life: Year One

The online freelance writer seems to have peaked a few years ago, around the time President Obama was just getting comfortable in his first term. Jobs got scarce. I finally decided to augment my income with online writing assignments in May of 2011. Apparently the bubble had just burst. I charged in anyway.

One year later, the dozen or so sites I registered to write with has shrunk to several main pillars: Suite101, Associated Content (Yahoo!), and Examiner . And then, there is this very blog.

What have I learned?
That it takes a LOT of articles to make this worth your time, if you're in it for the money.

If you want to get your name out there, or just love to write, you will love the nature of freelance writing. You can be as casual or focused as you want. Serious freelancers who want to make a real living should find clients who offer contracts. But if you have no writing portfolio, one of the sites mentioned above can help build some credibility.
Most viewed/read articles:
On Waffle's Shaddai, the "quarterback Sam Bradford v. entertainer Seth MacFarlane" doppelganger post has pulled a lot of people. Probably lots of Family Guy fans. "Is Kobe a Vampire?" was the top attention-getter for a while, but Sam & Seth passed it in spring on 2012.

Associated Content must have temporarily spotlit my "best actor-athlete of the modern era" article. It leads second place, about underrated films, by a 5-to-1 margin.

On Suite, a news item about Eurobasket 2011 spawned several high-ranking articles. A story about Macedonia's upset over host Lithuania actually beat ESPN's comparable stories, in the days after the game. Suite has reset the entire site and erased all of the social network approvals, but Facebook and Twitter really pushed that article... As for long-term articles, an article about the children of the rich and famous continues to draw readers months after publication.

Examiner has been a time-eater, as I am covering a local minor league baseball team. Too much competition from news outlets with more access. This was a gig I didn't think through very well. I could just quit and lose the few dollars I have queued in their till. Or try to switch over to video game reviewer, which is not dependent on other people's time. We shall see. Probably one of my most popular articles there was a short history of the Salem Red Sox franchise. The editors there liked it, anyway.

Have I made any money?
Not really. Let's check the numbers:

About fifty-five weeks.

Maybe fifty articles/posts across all platforms.

Total from pennies-per-view and other assorted ways to get paid: $15. (Doesn't include interested surfers who checked out Alexandr or the fiction. Still nothing to write home about.)

Not bad for the first year, considering I didn't take the freelance commitment as anything more than a tool for brand exposure. Name recognition was the original goal and it proceeds....

Signs of the Times: Baphomet in the School (hand sign)

The first thing I thought when I saw this illustration on an elementary school wall: WHY?

Why did the artist portray the uplifted hand on the left, in this particular way?

Lots of people still believe that this satanic hand signal means "I love you". (The deception was intentional.) Some of us think that because of Helen Keller, a known occultist.

The "El Diablo" hand sign often is confused with the deaf hand signal of the phrase, "I love you."  While at first this appears an odd resemblance, we register an "ahh, I get it!" emotion when we discover that the person who invented, or created, the hand sign system for the deaf, Helen Keller, was herself an occultist and Theosophist. Did Keller purposely design the deaf's "I love you" sign to be such a remarkable imitation of the classic sign of Satan? Was Keller saying, basically, "I love you, Devil?"

SOURCE: Texe Marrs, CODEX MAGICA

The Theosophical Society was officially formed in New York City, United States, on 17 November 1875 by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge, and others. It was self-described as "... an unsecterian body of seekers after Truth, who endeavour to promote Brotherhood and strive to serve humanity." --Wikipedia

Blavatsky was a witch. By that we mean, she practiced actual witchcraft, and there are accounts of wonders she performed before the eyes of others. Theosophy: That's the name of the group Helen Keller was linked with.

Keller helped a lot of people, and her admirers don't want to hear anything negative. (Always true of our 'heroes.') But is it a coincidence that her universally accepted sign for love matches the representation of Satan? Of course not.

This sign is everywhere in our pop culture today. All you have to do is keep saying or doing something over and over, and eventually it becomes reality. It becomes tradition and harmless, acceptable to children that don't know any other 'reality.'

Many of those children have grown up to display the Baphomet hand sign at concerts and in other situations to show approval. They have no idea that they are paying homage to a being that hates humankind.

If you know Satan exists, you know he delights in capturing our kids. Their minds are like sponges...everyone acknowledges that.

But what are they soaking up?

Horned Hand or The Mano Cornuto:

This gesture is the Satanic salute, a sign of recognition between and allegiance of members of Satanism or other unholy groups. 

Notice the winged female's hands. Not only is she performing this salute to the devil, but doing an "as above, so below" with her arms. 

This issue was part of a story run in the comic book, X-Men, in 2001. Now the main writer was a man named Grant Morrison, a proud occultist/witch. Check for yourself.

Some of you don't think that stuff is real. You don't believe in Satan, witches, nor magic. You are deceived. Are all of these admitted sorcerers just having you on? Or are they onto something?

Further reading:
Symbology in advertising

Hello, Durwood: Adventures in Name-spelling

My given first name is Darryl. Over the years people have spelled it in any number of entertaining ways. I've seen too many to spread here. The most-used include Daryl, Darrel, Derrell, Dirrl, and of course Durwood (for those who remember the TV show Bewitched).

One of my favorites was Darrly, as if I am an adverb.
But this is by far the most unique spelling I have seen. DARRYRL. Don't injure yourself trying to speak it aloud.

Tim Tebow Sates the Lions... for Now

The presser was full of grace. The incoming backup quarterback smiled as usual and said the 'right' things. Tim Tebow has signed with the New York Jets.

Starting QB Mark Sanchez says, I'm not worried. No one believes Mark.

Why do so many assume that Tebow is going to get eaten alive by the NYC media and fan pressure? It's understandable, but not likely. Tebow has, in a sense, thrown himself to the lions. Since he purposely came to New York, when Jacksonville was interested, means one thing: Tim ain't skurred.

Maybe Tebow doesn't care for the 'safe' option.

He puts the lie to that aw-shucks image. There is a perception that Tim, and by proxy any athlete who pays more than lip service to Christianity, are basically soft. Too soft to keep a steady head in the heat of New York's kitchen. Too soft to succeed at the most elite levels of sport.

Christian athletes who are tough enough... A.C. Green and David Robinson spring to mind. So do George Foreman, Albert Pujols, Kurt Warner, and Mariano Rivera--all top-notch sportsmen who publicly profess. It's an impressive list. And a short one.

Doppelgänger, NCAA Tourney '12 Edition: Kanye West v. Darius Johnson-Odom

Random rifle shots on the 2012 NCAA men's tournament:

• Doppelgänger--Marquette's Darius Johnson-Odom and entertainer Kanye West. Darius is like a younger, harder-headed version. Kanye is softer, but his head is much larger. They have the same underbite-prominent smile.

• The field has been whittled to 30 as these words are written. The obligatory upsets have splashed down. Duke and Missouri were #2 seeds that went down to #15's. Lehigh played out of their mind, and for a school like that, beating a perennial power is amazing. But it's no longer surprising when the Blue Devils go out early in the tourney. They live and die by the three. When they are hot in March, Duke is always capable of making the title game, but trey consistency only happens once in a while.
• For some reason, no one else asks why Coach K's game plan has shifted to three-point bombs in the last six seasons or so. Duke has a solid big man legacy, and that's changed since the turn of the century.

• As usual the referees are catching some heat. When the best image-capturing technology on the planet is replaying fractions of a second, sometimes the human eye will seem second-rate. The zebras should get the benefit of the doubt, unless the error was ridiculous.

• Ohio State's Jared Sullinger is the most easily-frustrated college player in recent memory. The mini tantrums are a sign of bad judgment, and it's a sure thing that NBA teams have taken notice. At least one team won't care, because Sullinger is very good. He's not transcendent on any level, however. He lost weight before this season, but his legs and feet are simply heavy. That points to a very average professional player--one who will likely spend a lot of time clenching his fists on the bench.

Super Bowl 2012: Predictions and Notes

Just a quickie prediction, two hours before the Super Bowl kickoff:

New England 27, New York 23.

From the moment these teams were set, everyone jumped on the Giants bandwagon. There were all of these gasps over New York's three-point underdog status. Top to bottom, the Giants have more talent, I kept hearing.

But the Patriots have Tom Brady.

Belichick is an all-time coach, and maybe it seems the Pats have an advantage there, too. Except Tom Coughlin, who like Philly's Andy Reid is about to lose his gig every single season, is a very good coach as well. Call it a push in that area.

I predicted that, after almost 14 days of "Giants are great" talk, the betting trends and general backlash would have people flip-flopping. ESPN Radio host Colin Cowherd, who was absolutely aghast when the SB lines debuted, had changed his tune just before the weekend. Being contrarian can be sweet. It's true.

Brady has had this expression of contained fury since the last weeks of the regular season. Reminds me of Kobe's face during the Laker-Magic Final of '09. As in, I will not lose. Eli Manning's been "hotter" recently, but this is a one-shot situation. Brady comes through in those situations. He will again tonight.

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post-game:

Giants win, 21-17. I thought New York's defense was a bit overrated. They shut me up.

Brady wasn't as in the zone as I expected, but he played well enough. It is Eli Manning who was inspired and, in a commentator's opinion, "brilliant".

And now, we turn to his brother...