Gone Wanderin'

Lottery Time!!!!!

Imagine that the company that you work for is coming up to the end of its’ fiscal year. Everyone in the organization, as well as others in your industry, know that this year has not gone as well as anyone had hoped and that the company was in position to fall $500,000 short of their projected revenues. Now imagine that as the pressure mounted – as stockholders got ready to sell and you began to fear for your job – your boss came to you and declared that he or she had developed a plan that would save the company! Now imagine that your boss’s plan was to take what little money the company had left and board a plane to Las Vegas, where they would proceed to wager the cash reserves at the roulette table. Now even if they won, and your boss came back, slapped you on the back, showed you a million dollars and said, “ See, I told you everything would be alright,” would you feel particularly secure with your organization?

What makes this whole hypothetical situation so great is that this has literally been the business plan of at least 5 or 6 NBA teams this past season. Take a look at Boston and Memphis, two teams who went on what can only be described as a “tank job for the ages” in the hopes of acquiring either Greg Oden or Kevin Durant in the coming NBA draft. Let’s look at this from a logical standpoint. Let’s imagine these teams do “win the lottery” and both end up with the services of either young man next season. Would you feel secure as a fan that it got that close? Would you feel right knowing stupidity was rewarded? I mean for the sake of argument (as well as for the sake of the general rules of probability and statistics) lets imagine one of these two teams fail in their endeavor and end up with say the 4th pick where Durant and Oden are no longer available. This would mean that for the draft rights to Joakim Noah (a 6’10” version of Justin Guarini) the team would have: a) alienated ticket holders b) injected a “culture of losing” into the locker room c) disgraced the notion of competition d) and made poor Joakim Noah the symbol of the failure of the organization (think Sam Bowie to the Portland Trailblazers).

It gets worse for organizations like the Kings - who got stuck in “Lottery Limbo” - and attempted to tank some nights and compete others. Now you have a situation where you share all four results mentioned above – and you have almost no chance at any form of payout. This has certainly been the most pertinent problem the NBA has faced (ironically because of Stern’s age requirement rule – none of this would have happened last year had Oden been coming out of high school…) and the truth is that there is little than can be done. The NBA is a business they say, and as in any industry there will always be business leaders who would rather rest on dumb luck than hard work or smarts. I suppose it is always easier to justify your inadequacies on the premise of bad luck as opposed to your limited natural aptitude. Nonetheless this has proven to be an unfortunate theme of the 2006/2007 NBA season. Unfortunately, as life often teaches us, dumb luck does seem to happen to those who don’t always deserve it; which would imply that tanking is a phenomena that we are going to have to get used to. Unless Mr. Stern can deliver a solution that would limit its’ effectiveness. I can think of at least one way to accomplish that, and I promise I will write about it next time…

QoD: “We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don’t like?” –Jean Cocteau

Hello......Again.

Well, a million apologies for my lack of recent postings but this time I have an excuse - sort of. After closing my eyes, opening a career guide, and picking a profession at random, I have decided to attempt to attend law school in the fall of 2008. Oddly enough, this means a lot of work now as I prepare for the June 11 LSAT exam and attempt to get my resume correctly exaggerated for applications this coming fall. So my excuse is that I have been studying for the LSATs and have been unable to write lately. However, I think it is important I keep up with my writing so I am making a goal of posting one blog a week in the coming months. Hopefully I will keep up with this but I make no promises.......

Time To Squeeze Into The Speedo

Yes, it is that time again. Over the last year or so I have let myself fall far too out of shape for my liking. Unfortunately for me, I am the type that works well with my back to the wall, you know a little pressure. Some call it procrastination, I call it my zen nature. Words aside I threw myself into the fire yesterday and submitted my entrance form for the La Jolla Rough Water Swim this coming September. This gives me six months or so to not die a sad and lonely death somewhere in the Pacific. I will hopefully get a few more open water swims in before but I will attempt to keep you updated with my training accomplishments.

QoD: "Money is the most envied, but the least enjoyed. Health is the most enjoyed, but the least envied." - Charles Caleb Colton

Check Out Sladed

I know I made a promise to my reader (s?) that I would refrain from discussing politics.  While I plan on living up to that promise I never promised I would not link to other discussions of political issues. So for my first loophole, I point you to Sladed for his nicely articulated stance on the current events at the Walter Reed Hospital. Check it out when you get a chance.

QoD: "The perfect bureaucrat everywhere is the man who manages to make no decisions and escape all reponsibility." - Brooks Atkinson

Oh Ron Ron

So it looks as if Ron Artest will be receiving yet another unplanned vacation in which he will be able to work on his rap career. Considering the number of vacation days Artest has had over the past few years it is amazing that to date he has released only one cd that is nearly impossible to find. Over the next few days there are going to be a number of columns and comments that declare Artest the poster child for what is wrong with the NBA and that will call for the heads of the Maloof brothers for their decision to bring this “monster” into our community. This may or may not lead to the end of his career here in Sacramento but it is fair to say that over the next few months his every action will be scrutinized and we will all read many words that attempt to either deconstruct the man or simply brush him off as another “thug” that we should all blame for the escalation of violence and ignorance that both Sacramento and the US is witnessing. I am not going to write about this. I do agree with many of the opinions out there, specifically with those who believe that Artest can be a symbol for what is wrong with the world of professional sports. But I am not going to waste words or time on a subject that is going to be obsessively written about over the next few months. Furthermore, Ron Artest to me is not the issue here. The question I would rather look at is why so many of us look for salvation in the form of professional athletes.

You may all remember that this subject was really discussed publicly for the first time by Charles Barkley in his “I am not a role model” campaign, which by the way was solely possible because kids around the country did lookup to him – hopefully enough to buy his shoes. Since then it has become sort of this dirty little secret that we all know we should address but only comes up when something drastic enough occurs to reset our twisted priorities (i.e. 9/11). After that tragic day we all heard the call. That while we waste our time rooting for delinquents, real heroes like firemen and policemen risk their lives everyday to protect us. While some of this was certainly exaggerated in response to the magnitude of the tragedy (if we are being honest, as much respect as we all may have for these people, we all have our stories and experiences of crooked cops who are certainly not fulfilling any type of noble role) there was clearly a valid point being made here. Are men who are able to play a game exceptionally really worthy of essentially the highest honor we have? Assuming money is an accurate barometer of the amount of prestige and respect given to a particular profession, is there anyway to justify the unbelievable discrepancy in salary between an NBA player (around $4 million) and a head ER nurse (around $79,000)? Read those salaries again. Now I get a lot of joy from watching basketball played at a high level, but if I ever end up in the ER as the result of a car accident I sure hope my nurse is not tired from the second job she has taken to make ends meat. There is a huge part of me that is angered by this situation, a part that is certainly inflamed whenever you hear of a player like Rasheed Wallace make a comment that NBA players are the modern day slave. I cannot begin to imagine what it would feel like to be given a fortune to play a game that you love. I understand the pressures that come with that; pressures to produce, to be professional, to have passion etc. But last time I checked those same pressures applied to me when I worked at a shoe store and I was paid $7.75 an hour.

As frustrated as I may get, the reality is that despite their ignorance and lack of gratitude, it is a stretch to place the blame for the current state of affairs on the players. Instead of asking why an individual like Ron Artest would risk everything over an argument with his wife or because some jackass threw a beer at him, maybe we need to ask ourselves why he has anything to risk in the first place. When Artest was traded to the Kings, the overwhelming majority of Sacramentoans seemed to be optimistic about the trade. For some reason fans, as well as the King’s organization, seemed to think that all of the prior problems would disappear when he donned the purple and white. There were the naysayers, the people who pointed out the obvious: that this was a man who had burned every bridge he had crossed and his behavior in no way suggested he would change along with his address. But too many people wanted to believe, and I guess this is my point. What is missing in our culture that pushes so many people to look for hope and inspiration from men like Ron?

I remember the 1994-95 NBA season. Both casual and diehard fans will remember this as the season that was marked by Michael Jordan’s press release of “I’m Back.” I remember well that two-week period where his status was in jeopardy but that the collective fan base of the NBA willed him back to the spotlight. It was like we needed a hero. We needed that person to remind us that sometimes the impossible was in fact possible. In a weird way he validated a lot of the ideas we all hold towards the world. He was the good guy (well unless it was your team he was up against) and in his world the good guy always won. We were inundated with the stories of his inability to make his high school basketball team and of his legendary work ethic (my favorite was always the story of him spending New Years Eve shooting free throws in the gym). In the end his success seemed righteous. We all want to live in a world where the hero recognizes his talent and he ultimately wins because he worked harder than anyone else. Every society in history has always created role models and put members of their own on pedestals. Most religions were started this way (and no I won’t inundate you here with a comparison of Jesus walking on water and the whole “Air” Jordan, but it is funny how the collective mind of society functions) and most societies picked members of certain groups that became their idols. The Aztecs had their warrior class, Indians had Siddhartha, and the English had the Royal Family etc. History here would suggest then that there is something about the human condition that needs idolatry. There is some form of common denominator among men that explains why so many hard working and decent people were (and are) willing to look up to a man with a criminal past like Artest.

Now if this is the case, and presumably will be the case forever, what kind of cultural malaise are we in that directs our collective interest towards athletes and actors? What would it take to create a shift in priorities so that true role models like teachers and parents and mother and fathers become our heroes? I am too young to remember a time where politicians were revered in this manner and my education in history leads me to believe that this trend sort of slowed down on June 6, 1968 when Robert Kennedy was killed. I can also pick up a history book and read that once upon a time men with last names of Rockefeller and Carnegie were looked at as men who were worthy of being kept up on a pedestal. The sixties saw the rise of civil rights leaders who in certain circles once again became those individuals that were looked up too as leaders and role models. Does anyone else find it funny that none of these types of people currently remain on that pedestal? Politicians are seen as crooked, businessmen are seen as cheats, and civil rights leaders are seen as opportunists. Maybe that is the circle of life then. That soon our interest in these individuals will wane and our attention will be placed on the correct members of societies. Doctors, teachers, firemen, etc. Think of it this way. Look at the groups of people I have discussed and think of the amazing things that they have achieved underneath the spotlight. It is impossible to know how the attention showered upon him pushed Michael Jordan. Using this idea though, is it inconceivable to imagine that should doctors be given similar levels of attention that we may begin to see major medical advances?

The point of this rant is more or less to remind people that while Ron Artest is an unfortunate individual who apparently needs a good deal of help, we need to ask ourselves why it took so long to reach this conclusion. Maybe King’s fans will take a step back and realize that their attention and adulation should possibly be placed elsewhere then that old building in Natomas. People have never been led to freedom from a bouncing ball and no one has been cured from cancer from a game-winning jumper. There is a lot of talk about the decline of morality within professional sports (which really picked up after the Artest vs. Detroit brawl a few years ago). Let’s take this opportunity to see what else is out there, who knows what may come out of it.

QoD: "Society has always seemed to demand a little more from human beings than it will get in practice." - George Orwell

Bon Voyage Laz

Before I can get to any serious business at hand I need to first apologize for my lack of postings over the last week or so. The combination of being a little busy with work and feeling under the weather has left me with little motivation to write. I will try to never let it happen again…

Although it took me a while to get to it, I need to share some melancholy news in the blogosphere regarding Lazlo and his Lament. Recently, Laz has decided to hang up his spurs indefinitely to refocus his literary efforts on his soon to be best selling novel. I will miss his writing and musings and am bracing myself to see a sharp drop in traffic to my own blog as his generous link probably gave me my best chance at attracting an audience that does not share my last name.

Laz started the blog while he and I were out of the country as an attempt to stay close to his family and friends and I think in large part to satisfy his literary jones and exercise his tremendous intellect. In the process his site became a daily destination for probably far more people than he is aware of and stimulated a great deal of conversation over a variety of topics. While I didn’t always agree with the opinions and views he shared, he was always well researched and highly knowledgeable on whatever subject it may have been. I think this is why he so many people in his life that have far different beliefs than his own; he gives them the (rare) opportunity to debate with an intelligent and educated person from “the other side”. It is no fun debating with a moron (as John Kerry found out in 04) and although our debates sometimes got testy we always respected one another.

Laz was also able to use his lament to stay close with his two friends Sladed and Italiphil, which has been a wonderful byproduct of his efforts. Sladed eulogized the Lament himself here and I encourage you to read his words as they certainly address our loss well. I am glad that the three of them remain close and I am still trying to figure out how my goofy father has two best friends that are as cool as they are.

While we will all miss our daily laments, I for one am proud of my dad and his decision to pursue the completion of his novel. I do think he is a wonderful writer and that a far larger audience deserves to discover that. So I wish him the best of luck and look forward to being the first in line at Barnes and Noble the day his story is finally told. For those of you who are new to his blog I do urge you to check out his archives so you can one day say that you read his words way back when…

QoD: “A dream becomes a goal when action is taken toward its achievement.” – Bo Bennett

Happy Valentines/Birthday!!!!!

Just wanted to wish a quick Happy Birthday to JKR today! As my last post would attest, I am so thankful to JKR for most of my happiness in life and also so happy to have her in my life. She is a wonderful mother and always fun to be around, whether we are at the lake or watching a movie at home. She deserves nothing but the best today and in this coming year and I look forward to celebrating with her tonight! Happy Birthday!!!!!!!

I also wanted to give a quick Valentines shout out to the lovely KB. Happy Valentines Day Baby! Love you and am so happy to have another day to celebrate!

QoD: "Birthdays are just nature's way of telling us to eat more cake." - Anonymous

A Birthday Blog

Dates, and the relative importance we place on them has always been an interesting subject to me. I always feel a little funny every April 3rd, which my Family, some friends and I know as my birthday, because as important of a day as it may feel to me, in reality it is just another spring day to 99% of the rest of the people walking the earth. My parents celebrate their anniversary every year on September 16th. Before they met I doubt they could think of one significant thing surrounding that day, but now it is a day to celebrate one another and to reflect on the past, present, and future of their relationship. For 23 years February 8th was just another cold February day where I was probably wishing that I lived somewhere in Hawaii so I could avoid the inevitable rain of Sacramento. But about a year and a half ago my life - and my February 8ths - changed forever when I met the most important person in my world.

Twenty-Seven years ago today she was brought in to this world and while I celebrate this always, having that one day ascribed to making her feel special sounds pretty good to me. Most of my loyal readers have some degree of a relationship with her, so my words should come as no surprise. But I did want to take some time today to celebrate the amazing person she is and share with anyone who would like to read just how special and truly unique she is to me.

I never in my lifetime could have imagined that I would have ever deserved to meet someone as loyal, loving, and supportive as her. As many may know, I met her during a particularly difficult time in my life, a point that had recently seen tragedy and found me questioning humanity in a way I never had before. Life seemed a little sadder to me and I guess I had lost some faith in the way that the world seemed to work. From the day I met her I seemed to smile a little more, to notice the simpler things that give us pleasure, and to generally feel more at peace with the world. The weird cynical part of me expected this to wear off. I guess I figured this was the “honeymoon phase” of our relationship and that as the days turned to weeks and months that feelings would wane. Yet each day that passed the sun seemed to be a little brighter and I seemed to reconnect with the optimistic person I once was. I caught myself laughing, trusting, and smiling for no reason. I had that extra oomph in my step that seems to come when you know that someone out there loves you for being you. I used to foolishly believe that there was a limit to how happy you could be; that at a certain point the heart just could not find any more room. But as our relationship developed I learned to completely re-evaluate what is possible and was shown that you can become a happier person every day. And as the “honeymoon phase” began to be measured in years as opposed to days I learned that true love does not fade with time. Today, many days, weeks, and months later I can truly say that each minute that passes I fall in love with her more and more and that my day cannot start without a smile from her.

Those of you who know me well are aware that I can be a moody and sometimes cynical person that is not always fun to be around. (Sorry about that by the way.) As long as I can remember I have had difficulty in enjoying the journey. In school an A or B meant it was a good assignment, anything less was bad. In sports a win was a success, a loss a failure. As I have since discovered this is a maddening way to go through life, a fact that I never would have discovered without her presence in my life. She has become such inspiration to me because more than anyone I have ever known she understands life. She understands that family, friends, and love always need to come first and that often an experience can be as much about the experience as it is about the end goal. She continues to amaze me with the positivity that she approaches each day with, an amazing attitude that inspires anyone around them to feel better about who they are and what they are doing. I have learned how to laugh away a bad day, to find humor in frustration, and find inspiration in the mundane. How rare is it to find a person that begins and ends each day with a smile? I know she is the first that I have ever met and I cannot begin to explain the impact her happiness has on me and others around her. I think she makes us all feel like better people.

Watching her approach to life I have become not only inspired to be a happier person but have also learned to be a better friend, brother, and son. The loyalty, support, and concern that she has showed to all those important in her life has truly amazed me. How many people do we see in this world that seem so nice only for you to find out later that in reality they are dishonest or manipulative or holding an agenda? With her, who you see is truly who she is. She loves her friends and family unconditionally and spends more time than you could all imagine finding ways that she can make those important to her happier. Whether it is a small gift from Walgreen’s, a random phone call, or flying to surprise a friend for her engagement party, she is constantly making sure that others are happy and have everything that they need. Her selflessness inspires me to put others first and ultimately reminds me of why we work so hard to keep people in our lives – so that we can be there for them and they for us. Her type of love is becoming harder and harder to find in today’s world and I am so proud and thankful to have her in my life so that I could discover its power.

Our relationship has been the biggest blessing in my life. She has given me so many wonderful memories and I cannot wait to create more and more. She fills my life with excitement, laughter, love, and most importantly constant fun. I remember the excitement I had as a kid when a friend came home from school with me on a Friday to spend the night. I remember those first few moments when we got home and it seemed like we had an eternity to have fun and nothing else. My whole life seems like that now. Like I am at a perpetual sleepover and the only measurement of a successful day is how much fun I was able to squeeze in. It is a wonderful way to spend your life and I wish that kind of happiness on everyone and am so thankful to her for such a unique and magical gift.

I am also thankful that February 8th has become a day of celebration in my life. I am so thankful that our lives have run parallel these past couple of years and I only hope that I have given her a fraction of the happiness that she has given me. I want to wish my wonderful Bear a very Happy Birthday and I want to say thank you for being who you are. The world is a better place because you are in it. You have created more happiness for me than I could have ever asked for and I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life attempting to create happiness for you. You are my inspiration, my rock, and a constant reminder of what the purpose of life actually is. I love you in every way the word implies….

QoD: "I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightfowardingly, without complexeties or pride. So I love you because I know no other way than this..." –Pablo Neruda

Quotes!

As the reader may have gathered from previous posts I am a huge fan of sports. I, like so many others throughout the world, tune in to see dramatic events unfold and to witness competitive achivement at its highest levels. Today’s professional athletes have become revered to the point of deification and can often be a country’s greatest export (see Steve Nash, Didier Drogba, and David Ortiz as an example). But while today’s stars keep us in awe over their athletic exploits, the constant microphones and tape recorders shoved in their faces has increased the role that sports can play in all of our lives. If you have ever asked yourself what would ensue if you pulled aside a young and immature kid from the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, gave him/her no education whatsoever and then turned them into a millionaire overnight, than today’s world of professional sports is for you. It is almost as if today’s General Managers are simultaneously finishing their graduate thesis in sociology. So in honor of some of the greatest cinversationalists the world will ever see, I present the first installment of the Greatest Quotes From Professional Athletes……

The Greatest “Wow, I Live In Sacramento” Moment Produced By An Athlete:
"I think I'll get along real well with Brad. I can see us really going at it in practice every day, then going out and killing something to eat."
-- Greg Ostertag on new Kings teammate Brad Miller

The Greatest Example Of Skewed Reality:
"It's one of those scenarios you feel will never happen to you. Nobody thinks they're going to be the one, whatever, to get in a car wreck to have their, you know, their kids killed in a plane crash, whatever, you don't think those things are going to happen to you. And I didn't think that I'd be traded. So."
-- Bronson Arroyo on being traded to the Reds

The Best Deduction From A Real Life Application:
"What comes out of the microwave hot doesn't always stay hot. I know, because I eat bagels in the morning."
-- Shaquille O'Neal, following the Heat's comeback win over the Celtics

The Best Argument In Favor Of Fact Checking:
"You didn't write a story about my Hall of Fame induction. You guys never report the good stuff that I do."
-- Albert Belle, who has never been inducted into the Hall, on his recent stalking charge

The Greatest New Years Resolution Ever:
"Teach math classes in elementary schools throughout the country."
-- Ron Artest on his New Year's resolution

The Greatest Example Of The Professional Athlete Mindset:
"They should have focused more on me."
-- Sebastian Telfair of the Portland Trailblazers, giving his opinion of the ESPN documentary "Through the Fire" about ... him

The Funniest And At The Same Time Saddest Quote Ever:
"Honestly, this is probably going to strike a nerve with a lot of people. But my most memorable Christmas memory was having all of my uncles and aunties out of prison for one Christmas, and that includes me. We had a lot of run-ins with the law, and to have us all out at one time was great."
-- Wizards forward Caron Butler

The Greatest Bet To Replace Chris Farley On The Chris Farley Show:
"He invited me into the house for a little bit. There he was with his tight little shorts, no shirt and his little red hat. He was doing some farming or something. He was covered in dirt. It was awesome."
-- JP Losman on meeting Brett Favre

The Greatest Display Of Academic Proficiency:
"The sun has been there for 500, 600 years ... "
-- Mets outfielder Mike Cameron, after teammate Carlos Beltran lost a ball in the sun against the Dodgers

The Greatest Understanding Of History:
"I've taken a lot of crap from a lot of people. Probably more than anybody in the history of this sport. I know Hank [Aaron] and Jackie [Robinson] took a good deal of crap, but I guarantee it wasn't for six years. I just keep thinking: How much am I supposed to take?"
-- John Rocker

The Jalen Rose Lifetime Achievement Section:
"There's always going to be criticism when your name is Jalen. You have to wear a bulletproof vest and be ready for it."
-- Jalen Rose

"He probably was a little tired from All-Star weekend. While he was running up and down the court throwing it off the backboard, I was laying on the beach drinking a fruity drink with an umbrella. So I probably gave myself an unfair advantage on that one."
-- Jalen Rose explaining why he outplayed Vince Carter two days after the All-Star Game

The Saddest Quote That Makes You Smile A Little On The Inside:
"Doug is distraught. He's still not over the trade, and it's not even the basketball part of it. It's the feel of Sacramento, the fans, the community. Sometimes he gets so down. We have a farewell video that the Kings gave us before we left, and I'll find him sitting there watching it, and he gets all choked up. I'll tell him, 'Doug, you have to stop.' But everything was so special there."
-- Jackie Christie

The Greatest Subtitle For An Autobiography Ever. Seriously. Try it. Put your name in front of those quotes and picture it on a dust jacket:
"When you're rich, you don't write checks. Straight cash, homey."
-- Randy Moss

The “If I Could Go Back And Change My Yearbook Quote” Award:
"I'm hunting for little Mexican girls."
-- Karl Malone's response at a Lakers-Bucks game three weeks, after Kobe Bryant's wife noticed his cowboy boots and asked him, "Hey, Cowboy, what are you hunting for?"

The Most Insane Quote Of All Time When You Consider The Circumstances:
"Having a record company and putting out my own CD. There's clothes and shoes. There's also an upcoming book deal that I'm trying to do. I'm trying to be positive. I'm a big fan of the Nobel Peace Prize."
-- Ron Artest on how he's dealing with life after his suspension

The Wisest Quote Ever Spoken By An Athlete:
"There are two ways to argue with a woman, and neither of them work."
-- Carlos Boozer after cancelling an interview with a Sports Illustrated reporter because his wife was expecting him home.

The Greatest Explanation Of Hatred For Another Person:
"I hate him. Everybody says I'm supposed to be polite when I talk to you all, but I hate him. He talks too much, he doesn't make sense, he's fat, he's sloppy, he acts like he's the best thing since sliced bread. He's ugly, he stinks, his mouth stinks, his breath stinks, and basically his soul stinks, too. Not too many people have personalities like that and survive in life. I don't know how he does it."
-- Panthers DT Kris Jenkins on Warren Sapp

The Greatest Explanation Of Athletic Excellence:
"That was just instinct. Kind of like running from the cops, I guess you could say."
-- Virginia's Marquis Weeks after returning a 100-yard kickoff against UNC on Saturday

My New Personal Motto:
"I make love to pressure."
-- Stephen Jackson

Feel free to put forth any nominations you may have..... Stay tuned for a second installment and see what happens when we allow celebrities of all forms to believe that people care what they say.

Resurrection

Update: Apparently the size of the fight in the dog was what mattered as Mutley has seemingly made a comeback. Check out The Lament for a deeper synopsis of the events. The Don has already made arrangements to have a meeting of all the heads of all of the families at an undisclosed location. He is a superstitous dog......

QoD: "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." - John 11:25