The Title

When I first got this thing started a couple weeks ago, Mandi asked me what I was getting at with the title. I told her that it was kind of a double meaning. Since I'm in grad school, I'm seeing stars in the cartoon sense of someone who gets whacked in the head with a bat or other hard object and doesn't really know what's happening. I'm also seeing stars in the sense that I work as an astronomy TA and we get the cool job of playing with telescopes and taking pictures of the night sky with the fancy camera/computer combo and seeing things that you wouldn't think were visible from downtown Knoxville.

You know, it really is amazing how much is out there if we look past our little section of Earth. We're such an insignificant part of what this whole universe is. If you've ever been out to the Rockies, or way up north and away from the cities, to see how many stars are in the night sky really is awe-inspiring. I would imagine that the Murphy's down in AS probably have some pretty impressive views at night. Maybe I'm wrong about that. All that to say that all you really have to do is look up to see the splendor of God's creation. And to think that He can create things that are so magnificent and vast and still think about us as an individual and care more about us than anything else. And if you need any other reason to think that there is a God that created the universe, I would think that seeing something as complex and huge as a galaxy would give you reason to think that everything is all just down to chance and a big explosion.

I can't say that the big bang isn't how God brought everything in to being. You know, I find it strange how so many things appear to need to be argued over when comparing things in religious views and science. From a personal viewpoint, I think that there is a complete harmony in them. Now, there is no way to know how God went about doing everything. But from what we do know, I find it very hard to believe that it's all just chance and probabilities and we're all just lucky to be around because the genes and evolution just happened to spit us out. I would recommend reading the book "The Case for the Creator" by Lee Strobel if you would like a look in to these issues. Strobel is a former atheist who is a reporter, and he writes his books is this manner. He simply goes to leaders in the fields of science (biologists, cosmologists, astronomers, chemists, etc.) and asks them questions regarding why there is proof in these fields of God. It really is a well-written, clear and concise book that covers a lot of ground. He has a number of other books that follow in this vein if you would like to check them out as well.

This is a good week for TV. There are 4 Champions League games on tap from ESPN2/ESPN Classic on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. Before my next section, I will apologize specifically to Luke Dockery since he is the only true baseball fan that I know of that reads this.

Personally, I'm tired of hearing about baseball. Who wouldn't be after 162 games. Is it really necessary to play that many games? I guess I hate baseball for the fact that they call it the World Series and it's just a bunch of North American teams. If this wasn't such a self-serving country they might try playing someone from another part of the world before they call themselves world champions. I mean, at least get Central and South America in on it and call it the American Series or Western Hemisphere Series or something. Plus, they never sprint to first base. They just jog regardless of how close a play it will be, or that perhaps from running hard they might force the fielder in to making a mistake. It's just 90 feet people, I think you can attempt to out-run a throw for the amount of money you make. Soccer, on the other hand really is a World Cup with a true World Champion since there are 2 years of qualifying games from essentially every country in the world who play their way in to the tournament that they must win over the course of a month in order to be the champion. Maybe I'd respect the sports in NA that call themselves world champions if they switched it to something that's an actual representation of what goes on. Therefore, the return of "House" on Fox (Tuesday @ 9/8 Central) is most welcome after a month of boring baseball action (or is that inaction?). Can you tell how much I despise baseball? Now, I'm sure the people that like baseball will tell me that I just don't understand the intricacies of what goes on in the game and don't really see the great duel between the pitcher and batter. That's ok. I'm sure people who don't like soccer don't see the skill in the touches, the ability to pass a ball 50 yards with your feet, the intelligence of the runs off the ball, or the difficulty in shooting the ball in to the goal when you've got 4 people kicking at you, pulling you down, and a goalie sliding in to your feet. Oh well, I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion.