Milwaukee Bucks 2009 Season – D-O-N-E

Heard today that Michael Redd tore his MCL and ACL in the Bucks Saturday win over Sacramento….I’m no expert, but when your best player and on-court leader goes down for the season, there is not much hope that you’ll make that up.  I’m hoping that the Charlie V’s, Andrew Bogut’s and Richard Jefferson’s of the world will step up their games (along with ALL of the roll players) and make this a magical season, but honestly it’s just that – HOPE!

Theocracies….Who Needs ‘em?

I don’t normally comment on religious issues, as I already am towing the line on political discussion, but this most recent article coming out of Indonesia really annoyed me.  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090126/ap_on_re_as/as_indonesia_yoga_ban  Looks like the ever tolerant and educated clerics in the Ulema Council have banned the use of Hindu rituals, like chanting, while doing yoga, stating concerns that it would corrupt their faith.  HUH?  (Side Note: the decision was made after hundreds of theological “experts” met at a weekend conference – EXPERTS?!?!?  That’s a decision that EXPERTS came up with?!?!?  Just saying….)  How weak in your faith do you have to be to take a yoga class, chant a bit and then walk out and say to yourself, “WOW, with all of that chanting and such, I’m going to completely throw all of my beliefs out the window and become a Hindu.”?

Now the good news to this idiotic ban is that it’s not “legally binding”.  Whew, I would hate to have to go in front of  judge (who probably marches to the beat of the Ulema Council’s drum) and defend myself against…..CHANTING.  It sounds sarcastic, but I am serious.  I actually would HATE to have to defend myself against such moronic accusations.  Sorry for the inflammatory wording, but to pass down this edict/fatwa tells me many things (of which I’m not going to comment on because it’s slightly more politically incorrect). 

I’ve done yoga.  I never really got into the chanting or “spiritual” part of yoga, but if I did, you can be rest assured that my Christianity wouldn’t suffer.  I think I’m a little too smart and cemented in my faith to haphazardly jump off the Christianity bandwagon and start worshiping Vishnu.  Which leads me to my last point.  In the article, they touched on the fact that there are some Christian fundamentalists and secularists that are challenging the use of yoga in schools around the U.S..  Again I say, HUH?  They say the roots of yoga (Hindu) conflicts with Christian beliefs  So what?  Yoga classes, I would imagine, take place in a gym, with mats, while you are wearing a T-shirt and shorts; not in some church with a pastor handing out sermons and following a liturgy.  Bottom line is, people (all over the world) need to lighten up about things such as whether or not you chant during your yoga EXERCISE and worry about things that are important.  As Sgt Hulka told Psycho in the movie Stripes:  ”Lighten up Francis!”