Monday July 14th 2008
here are, quite naturally, some things that I do in my free time for which I might feel guilty later, because I can say that I wasted time: for example, playing Half Life for a couple hours straight or watching a full two hours of America's Got Talent. But then there are activities after which I do no feel guilty, one of my more common such activities being running, getting exercise. Today I spent a few hours watching the Home Run Derby, and while watching the first seven out of eight contestants seemed like a waste of time, that all changed when Josh Hamilton's turn came.Josh Hamilton, who grew up in Raleigh, was drafted first overall in 2003 by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and was touted as someone who would be a great baseball player. But right away he fell into heroin addiction and poverty, leaving baseball behind and losing millions of dollars that he was guaranteed if he stayed clean and played the game. Then in 2005 he started to turn his life around. He became a Christian, fought his drug addiction, and returned from idleness to baseball. Last season was his first in the Major Leagues, and his return was impressive as he hit well and displayed the natural skills that earned him his accolades coming into the 2003 draft. His off-field life was impressive too as he retained accountability in guarding himself from returning to his previous lifestyle, and while he shared his story with struggling kids in America.
Now he has emerged as a great baseball player, and he set a record tonight at Yankee Stadium with 28 home runs in the first round of the home run derby (pitched to by a 71 year old who used to pitch batting practice to Josh when he was a teenager, and to whom Josh promised that he would take with him to the Home Run Derby if he ever made it there). The next closest competitor hit 8.
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n Wednesday I saw something really lame on tv. It was a commercial for this summer's America's Got Talent show on NBC. Last season in Britain's Got Talent, the winner was 
eavenly Father, today we remember with pride and with sorrow our soldiers whose blood was spilled in distant hostile lands. We are thankful for their sacrifice, and the loss endured by their wives, parents, children, and comrades, so that we can continue our quality of life in our free and beautiful nation. There is no greater love than that a man should give his life for his friends, and yet more for friends unknown. We beg of you that you found these soldiers before they gave their lives, and promoted them into your celestial army. Forgive their sins, and comfort their friends and families here at home. Do not let their deaths be in vain: the sands of Arabia are dry and parched and cannot receive their fill of blood, but we pray for the day when those wildernesses are transformed into a garden. Amen.
find 
atching two Philly games live on my computer, both games tied. One team is fighting to wrap up a playoff series victory (Spoiler: they win)
ood news for 
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