Things to Mull Over

What honor looks like: The flash mob at Gate 38 of Reagan National Airport

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Honor is a hard term to describe. It doesn’t have a color or weight or shape. If someone were to ask me what honor looked like, I’d probably struggle with what to say.

But something happened on May 23, 2012 at 9:31 a.m. at Gate 38 of Reagan National Airport that might change that.  A flash mob of sorts broke out. But not like you’ve seen on YouTube with highly choreographed dance numbers or people singing a song in unison.  In fact, virtually all of the participants of this “flash mob” didn’t know they would be participating until moments before it happened. Read more »

Will a satellite fall on your head this week? Hey, you never know.

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Despite the mounting national debt, unstable economy, earthquakes, and hurricanes, you might be inclined to believe the government when they say the sky isn’t falling.  Unfortunately – we now know that the sky is,  in fact,  falling.  Or at least a giant, 6.5 ton, bus-sized satellite is falling through the sky in 26 separate pieces. 

For years, scientists have known the satellite, called the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, would fall back to earth, but weren’t exactly sure when.  Well, NASA has a better idea now.  And it’s this late week.  But – not to worry – according to NASA, there’s only a one in 3,200 chance that someone will be killed by it.

Wait wait – what?

Here’s why this is concerning.  For decades, the state government has encouraged the public to not really understand probability. For instance, despite the astronomic odds of the New York State lottery, their catchy advertisements told us, “Hey, you never know.”  The government was pretty sure that one in 45 million was pretty good odds, regardless of what your math teacher told you in high school. Read more »

Cricket Matches, Iowa Straw Polls, and other things that make no sense

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This was a week that had us scratching our heads.  Fortunately, we found a good dandruff shampoo and that’s not a problem anymore.  But also, there was odd happenings that proved the world often doesn’t make a lot of sense.  At the same time, it can also be wildly entertaining.
Cricket:  Popular Sport or Media Hoax?
It’s all over the news: England beat India by 242 runs and took over the coveted #1 Cricket Ranking in the world. If you were to read the media coverage, it’s almost like there are words strung together that make absolutely no sense together.  Let me show you.  As a MullerOver quiz, which of the following statements is completely made up and not an actual quote from an NBC Sports article:

A Cricket Player awkwardly trying to figure out what he's supposed to do with a paddle

  • “Swann bowled the first over, a maiden“
  • “… after sprinting back to the crease he lasted just two balls before he was caught behind off an Anderson outswinger.”
  • “… the bowler cleverly diverted the ball onto the stumps at Tendulkar’s end.”
  • “… Ishant Sharma was lbw to Broad for a duck and the victory.”
OK – they all are supposedly true statements. I’m starting to think this is a big practical joke over at NBC making up a fictional sport.  In London, frustration made young students take to the streets. Most commentators think it’s pointless violence. We think it’s a natural reaction to being exposed to Cricket. Read more »

Congressional Super Committee members should wear tights and cape

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It’s been quite a week on the American financial front. Debt ceilings and national credit ratings.  Things that most people only had a vague notion that even existed. Like the grilled chicken salad at McDonalds. But, on closer examination, this week has brought new levels of absurdity, even by Capitol standards.

Where’s the cape?

Congressional Super Committee Self Portrait

As part of the debt limit negotiations, Congress formed a “Super Committee”.  Yes, you heard that right – the Super Committee. If you aren’t exactly sure what the Super Committee is, think of it as the “Anti-Democracy Task Force”.  Come to think of it, my marketing degree is telling me “Super Committee” sounds better.

So here’s how it works.  Each of four congressional leaders will choose three of their favorite congresspeople (or ones that have legs that would look good in superhero tights) to find cuts in the budget. Then here’s the anti-democratic part – there are triggers to automatically slash the budget indiscriminately if the Regular Congress (aka Mortal Congress) doesn’t quickly rubber stamp the Super Committee decisions. So, if you aren’t lucky enough to have your representative on the Super Committee, your voice in Congress just got much, much smaller. Read more »

Two Superheros Named Abby and Wendi (and a Little Girl named Arnold)

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For years I wondered if superheros were real or just in the comic books.  This week, we found out the answer:  Wonder Woman and Cat Woman do in fact exist.  And made appearances this week, leaving millions around the world cheering.

From the U.S. World Cup Soccer Team, Abby Wambach (aka Wonder Woman) used her head in conquering country after country like Napoleon.  No – she really used her head with repeated headers into the goal.  Her cranial aptitude led some to wonder if she knows she’s allowed to use her feet.  Legend has it that on her first soccer team as a child, Abby scored 27 goals in her first three games, causing league officials to immediately move her to the boys team.  And she’s continued her domination from Pittsford, NY to a global scale, with a header in the final seconds of the semi-finals to propel the team to the Championship.

Then, there was Cat Woman, Wendi Deng Murdoch, who smelled danger.  And danger probably smelled like a cream pie.  During testimony by her media mogul husband Rupert Murdoch before Parliament, a “comedian” tried to make headlines and boost his career by throwing a pie at the octogenarian Murdoch.  Comedian is in quotes because typically that title is reserved for people who are funny.  Anyway, straight out of something from Gotham City, Wendi Murdoch leaped to her feet like a crouching tiger and slapped the attacker down like a champion whack-a-mole player.  As someone posted on Twitter, I wonder when Rupert Murdoch was 38 years old if he knew there was a newborn baby in China who would one day save his life.  Or his suit. Read more »

The Case Against Father’s Day (and for Dad’s Day)

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Every June, the fine people at the greeting card companies encourage us to celebrate Father’s Day. According to the dictionary, a father is “a man who has begotten a child”.  Hmm – I’m not sure if that is a noble accomplishment worth dedicating and entire day of the year.  Frankly, a chimpanzee can meet that definition.

But – there is something far more important that we don’t talk about enough.  It’s dads.  I also looked up the definition of “dad” in the dictionary, and with respect to Mr. Merriam and Mr. Webster, it’s woefully inadequate.  So, in order to help out the dictionary industry, here’s how I think a “dad” should be defined. Read more »

At What Moment did Facebook Jump the Shark?

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It’s become part of the lexicon of modern culture:  Jumping the Shark.  Everything has a lifecycle and jumping the shark is roughly the point when a show reaches it’s maximum entertainment value.  And every single moment beyond the shark is just another memory of the good old days.

The moment when Fonzie lost his mojo

You see, the phrase started when Fonzie on the show Happy Days decided to jump the shark while the Cunninghams were on vacation.   Upon careful examination years later, some believe that was the particular episode when the show started to become plain silly.  [Editors note:  the actual moment when Happy Days went downhill was when Mork was introduced, but "Befriending the Alien" doesn't have the same ring to it]

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Hashtags Aren’t Just for Breakfast Anymore

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As a young kid, I closely examined a touch tone phone and noticed a symbol which I immediately recognized as odd. It was a tic tac toe grid or sometimes called a pound sign. I asked my dad about this  intriguing but apparently useless key, and he assured me that someday, the powers that be had big plans for that symbol. It was going to be great, but neither of us had any idea what it could be.  

Thirty years later, that magic symbol finally has a purpose. #FacebookKiller It’s cooler and more amazing than anyone could have ever imagined. #LikeAngryBirds And it could completely change how the world communicates. Read more »

How the Grinch Stole Our Freedom

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It’s Memorial Day ten years after the two numbers that are instantly recognizable by the world – nine eleven. Bin Laden is dead and stadiums are chanting “U – S – A!”. We won, and that’s that. The whole country is chest bumping one another in victory.  And for years, I’ve had holes in my socks and no one ever knew.

But here’s the thing. Look at this from a terrorist perspective. The average, pre-9/11 run-of-the-mill terrorist hated the United States. Hated our freedom, the Golden Globes, baseball’s seventh inning stretch, Thursday night must-see TV, and Fourth of July parades. It’s not that they didn’t like the Twin Towers or the people of New York City, but they despised the American culture.

Remember “The Grinch that Stole Christmas”? Think of the Grinch looking down on Who-ville with all the people singing in unison. That was Bin Laden and his minions looking down at the United States singing our brand of freedom. A country ruled by its people.  The greatest and most  successful political experiment in the history of the planet. They hated that singing and resolved to stop it.

And just like the Grinch, they snuck in and stole our stuff when we weren’t looking. Read more »

What if Rob Bell doesn’t exist

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[Editors note – this is written in the style of Rob Bell’s book Love Wins. Just wanted to make that clear.]

There’s a new book called Love Wins by the Michigan mega-church pastor, Rob Bell, that everyone is talking about. In it, Bell asks question after question increasingly showing that the whole concept of hell is just a big misunderstanding by billions of people.

Jonathan Edwards was mistaken. Charles Spurgeon was ill informed. Martin Luther was simplistic. The apostle Peter just didn’t get it. Jesus Himself didn’t understand.

Really? And Rob Bell knows this for sure?

And what if he’s wrong?

Rather than an edgy pastor asking edgy questions, this could be the biggest attack on Christianity since the Roman Coliseum days. Historic Christianity is being thrown to the lions. And Bell is in the emperor’s seat motioning for the execution to begin. Read more »