Do babies dream? If so, what, exactly, do babies dream about? After doing extensive research (none, actually), I have developed the following educated conjecture:
Yes, babies dream. Someone with a baby-brain-scanner thing-a-ma-jig may be able to prove me wrong, but my guess is that only evil mad scientists have baby-brain-scanner thing-a-ma-jigs anyway, so I pretty much rule their opinions out. Unless, of course, the mad scientists with the baby-brain-scanner thing-a-ma-jig happens to agree with me. Then perhaps the title 'mad' scientist doesn't apply. Maybe something more like 'somewhat-irked' scientist, or 'looney-tunes' scientist, is more applicable.
Back to baby dreams ...
A sleeping baby appears to exhibit the same signs of dreaming and REM (Random Eye Movement) sleep that we adults do. Their eyes twitch. They make hilarious and adorable facial expressions while asleep. Sometimes even 'Zoolander-esque' poses; you know, with the lips puckered and the eyebrows raised? Great movie, by the way. Except you may not find it particularly funny until the second viewing. Unless your first viewing is with a crowd that's memorized the funniest lines, and then you may find the first viewing to be funnier than I thought it was. My second viewing ... stellar.
Back to baby dreams ...
So then, given that babies dream, what can they possibly dream about? All my dreams have to do with jumbled up things in my memory, like vampire vacuums, or me as Michael Knight in an Embassy Suites hotel with KITT driving down the hallway on two wheels only ... those kind of dreams. But babies don't have memories of vacuums, or cheesy 1980's television shows starring David Hasselhoff. Their only memories are of floating in a salty balloon, getting shoved through a tunnel, sucking down milk and pooping it out. Not a whole lot to jumble up to make entertaining dreams, is there? I sure hope my boy isn't dreaming about being propelled by poop through a tunnel filled with salty milk. That's just nasty.
Maybe there's another option. Maybe God uses our dreams to talk to us, and maybe the only thing about dreams we remember are the parts that somehow relate to our previous wacky memories. Thus, when God speaks to us adults in dreams, we remember talking cars or how we're afraid of heights, as we plummet off a cliff. But when babies dream, they don't have memories to foul things up, and maybe they simply hear what God is saying. Maybe. Or maybe I just dreamt this up.
21 November 2006
20 November 2006
Thanksgiving Tradition
The Back-Story Behind the Michigan-OSU Game:
Thanksgiving Day, 1978. Birthday to this little sack of potatoes. Yep, it's me, fuzzy hair and all. First-born child to my parents. So what does any of this have to do with the Michigan-OSU game? Well, back in 1978, the big game was the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Also, back then it was customary for new mothers to stay in the hospital for 3 or more days. Consequently, I sat in the palm of my dad's hand (as he tells the story) in the Hospital room and together we watched Michigan beat OSU, in Columbus, 14-3. I remember hearing that story told and retold throughout my childhood. And you wonder why I went to Michigan?
Fast-forward 28 years. It is now 2006, and my 9-day old first-born child is in the palm of my hand as together we watch #2 Michigan travel to Columbus to take on #1 Ohio State University. Guess which story I'd love to tell my son throughout his childhood? What an awesome tradition that would have been: 'Son, just days after you were born you sat in my hands and watched Michigan beat OSU, just as I sat your Grandpa's hands and watched Michigan beat OSU just days after I was born!'
Well, God must be trying to show me what I should really be thankful for, or perhaps He's trying to teach me something about humility, because Michigan didn't win this time around. As Robert Burns said, 'the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.' The game was just a game, and a entertaining game at that. Granted, Michigan football is a big deal in our home (well, a huge deal, really), but the loss to OSU and the squelching of a would-be perfect season really aren't the reasons I'm bummin'. I'm bummin' because I don't get to tell the story. The thrill of victory is fleeting; the story of the victory is forever.
Well, as I said last tiem, maybe Michigan will play OSU in Glendale, AZ in the BCS Championship Game. And maybe Michigan will win. Then the story I'll tell Tommy will be, 'I held you in the palm of my hand and watched Michigan beat OSU for the National Title!' If not, I still know what I'm really thankful for this Thanksgiving.
P.S. Happy Birthday shout-outs to Tommy's Grandma Campbell and Great-Grandma Koons!
Thanksgiving Day, 1978. Birthday to this little sack of potatoes. Yep, it's me, fuzzy hair and all. First-born child to my parents. So what does any of this have to do with the Michigan-OSU game? Well, back in 1978, the big game was the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Also, back then it was customary for new mothers to stay in the hospital for 3 or more days. Consequently, I sat in the palm of my dad's hand (as he tells the story) in the Hospital room and together we watched Michigan beat OSU, in Columbus, 14-3. I remember hearing that story told and retold throughout my childhood. And you wonder why I went to Michigan? Fast-forward 28 years. It is now 2006, and my 9-day old first-born child is in the palm of my hand as together we watch #2 Michigan travel to Columbus to take on #1 Ohio State University. Guess which story I'd love to tell my son throughout his childhood? What an awesome tradition that would have been: 'Son, just days after you were born you sat in my hands and watched Michigan beat OSU, just as I sat your Grandpa's hands and watched Michigan beat OSU just days after I was born!'
Well, God must be trying to show me what I should really be thankful for, or perhaps He's trying to teach me something about humility, because Michigan didn't win this time around. As Robert Burns said, 'the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.' The game was just a game, and a entertaining game at that. Granted, Michigan football is a big deal in our home (well, a huge deal, really), but the loss to OSU and the squelching of a would-be perfect season really aren't the reasons I'm bummin'. I'm bummin' because I don't get to tell the story. The thrill of victory is fleeting; the story of the victory is forever.
Well, as I said last tiem, maybe Michigan will play OSU in Glendale, AZ in the BCS Championship Game. And maybe Michigan will win. Then the story I'll tell Tommy will be, 'I held you in the palm of my hand and watched Michigan beat OSU for the National Title!' If not, I still know what I'm really thankful for this Thanksgiving.
P.S. Happy Birthday shout-outs to Tommy's Grandma Campbell and Great-Grandma Koons!
19 November 2006
They Say 'Use Your Head,' but Oh, What a Headache!
I'm major bummin', but at least they made it close ...
Well, yesterday's 'Game of the Millennium' turned out to be a heart-breaker, and OSU walked away with a 42-39 victory over The Victors. Michigan certainly played well, but not well enough to win. OSU certainly showed why they're #1, but in my humble opinion, here's the real reasons why the Michigan Wolverine's lost to those OSU Buckeyes.
1. Michigan lost 5th-year Senior Strong Safety #19 Willis Barringer to an injury. Consequently, and not once, but TWICE, when Ohio State running backs were able bust through a blitz-packed Michigan Defensive Line, Barringer wasn't in center-field to help prevent both 60-yard touchdowns. 14 easy points for OSU. Also, perhaps Barringer would have helped slow Troy Smith's 5-wide onslaught.
2. Crable's helmet crushing hit in the 4th quarter. On a 3rd and 15 scramble (outside of fieldgoal range, btw, and with Michigan only behind by 4), OSU's Troy Smith was flushed out of the pocket and forced to lob an incompletion. Well, the play would have been a incompletion if Shawn Crable hadn't used his own helmet to come crashing into Troy Smith's helmet as Smith was forced out-of-bounds. The result? A personal foul, 15-yard penalty, automatic 1st down for OSU, and a subsequent OSU touchdown, put OSU two scores and 11 points ahead of Michigan. Michigan was able to recover 8 of those points, but without any time-outs and a failed on-side kick, all the Wolverine's could do was watch. I can't blame Crable too much; he was simply playing tough football and had noplace else to go. Still, it may have been the event that cost Michigan the game.
3. On Michigan's 2nd possession, early in the game Chad Henne over-threw Mario Manningham for what would have been a touchdown. The first possessions for both teams resulted in touchdowns. Michigan had a fantastic opportunity to score 7 on it's second when Mario Manningham BLEW past the defending OSU Corner. Henne's pass sailed 5-10 yards past Manningham, and the great opportunity to put another early nail into OSU was lost.
4. OSU's lousy turf. In some way or another, I'm sure I can blame the above three reasons on OSU's loose turf. Barringer's injury, Crable's bone-headed foul and Manningham not running as fast as Henne expected. I'm not the usual conspiracy theorist type, but if there were to be a conspiracy theory this year, I might predict people will point to the turf. It seems almost too convenient that Michigan slipped and slid much more than OSU appeared to.
I'm not happy with the outcome, but none-the-less, it was a great game. OSU's offense certainly trounced Michigan's supposed impenetrable defense. The BCS rankings show Michigan still at #2 today, so maybe they'll play again in Glendale, AZ for all the marbles. Wouldn't that be a riot if they were to play again ... and Michigan were to win. Sure, OSU can have the Big Ten title. We'll take the National Title.
Go BLUE!
Well, yesterday's 'Game of the Millennium' turned out to be a heart-breaker, and OSU walked away with a 42-39 victory over The Victors. Michigan certainly played well, but not well enough to win. OSU certainly showed why they're #1, but in my humble opinion, here's the real reasons why the Michigan Wolverine's lost to those OSU Buckeyes.
1. Michigan lost 5th-year Senior Strong Safety #19 Willis Barringer to an injury. Consequently, and not once, but TWICE, when Ohio State running backs were able bust through a blitz-packed Michigan Defensive Line, Barringer wasn't in center-field to help prevent both 60-yard touchdowns. 14 easy points for OSU. Also, perhaps Barringer would have helped slow Troy Smith's 5-wide onslaught.
2. Crable's helmet crushing hit in the 4th quarter. On a 3rd and 15 scramble (outside of fieldgoal range, btw, and with Michigan only behind by 4), OSU's Troy Smith was flushed out of the pocket and forced to lob an incompletion. Well, the play would have been a incompletion if Shawn Crable hadn't used his own helmet to come crashing into Troy Smith's helmet as Smith was forced out-of-bounds. The result? A personal foul, 15-yard penalty, automatic 1st down for OSU, and a subsequent OSU touchdown, put OSU two scores and 11 points ahead of Michigan. Michigan was able to recover 8 of those points, but without any time-outs and a failed on-side kick, all the Wolverine's could do was watch. I can't blame Crable too much; he was simply playing tough football and had noplace else to go. Still, it may have been the event that cost Michigan the game.
3. On Michigan's 2nd possession, early in the game Chad Henne over-threw Mario Manningham for what would have been a touchdown. The first possessions for both teams resulted in touchdowns. Michigan had a fantastic opportunity to score 7 on it's second when Mario Manningham BLEW past the defending OSU Corner. Henne's pass sailed 5-10 yards past Manningham, and the great opportunity to put another early nail into OSU was lost.
4. OSU's lousy turf. In some way or another, I'm sure I can blame the above three reasons on OSU's loose turf. Barringer's injury, Crable's bone-headed foul and Manningham not running as fast as Henne expected. I'm not the usual conspiracy theorist type, but if there were to be a conspiracy theory this year, I might predict people will point to the turf. It seems almost too convenient that Michigan slipped and slid much more than OSU appeared to.
I'm not happy with the outcome, but none-the-less, it was a great game. OSU's offense certainly trounced Michigan's supposed impenetrable defense. The BCS rankings show Michigan still at #2 today, so maybe they'll play again in Glendale, AZ for all the marbles. Wouldn't that be a riot if they were to play again ... and Michigan were to win. Sure, OSU can have the Big Ten title. We'll take the National Title.
Go BLUE!
17 November 2006
Best Week Ever ...
Holy cow, what a baker's week! For some it was the best week ever. Others, the worst week ever. And for at least one, it was the only week ever.
Side note: Do I really have to expalin that a baker's week is 7+1 days? Sheesh! I know you all eat doughnuts, or at least those frilly bagels, so you obviously know what a baker's dozen is ... also, you should probably have guessed that I wanted to pretend that I am witty.
So why was it such a week? Well...
Eight days ago, my first son (and child) was born! Thomas Jeremiah came out at 6 lbs. 1 oz. at 6:53 A.M. on Thursday 09 November 2006. Marisa, my wife, did a terrific job of pushing him out, entirely without medication. I'm sure some of you ladies are saying 'She did what?!?!' Yep, med free. She's pretty much super awesome. Anyhow, now that we've had him for more than a week, we're pretty sure he's a keeper.
Today was Tommy's, um, 'snip-snip' surgery. EEK! He wasn't to happy during the ordeal, but is doing great now. In a weird and sad coincidence, at almost exactly the time Tommy was under the knife, Bo Schembechler, Michigan's winningest football coach, collapsed and died of heart failure. All this with the 'Game of the Millenium' tomorrow, No. 2 Michigan at No. 1 Ohio State! Crazy! Tragic. So, if you're doing anything but watching this game tomorrow, you're pretty much spitting on Bo Schembechler's grave. That'd be pretty rude.
So for us, pretty much the best week ever. Not a whole lot of sleep, but awesome nonetheless.
For Bo's family, pretty much the worst week ever. At least he'll have the best seat at the game tomorrow.
And for Tommy ... his best week ever, his worst week ever, his only week ever!
Side note: Do I really have to expalin that a baker's week is 7+1 days? Sheesh! I know you all eat doughnuts, or at least those frilly bagels, so you obviously know what a baker's dozen is ... also, you should probably have guessed that I wanted to pretend that I am witty.
So why was it such a week? Well...
Eight days ago, my first son (and child) was born! Thomas Jeremiah came out at 6 lbs. 1 oz. at 6:53 A.M. on Thursday 09 November 2006. Marisa, my wife, did a terrific job of pushing him out, entirely without medication. I'm sure some of you ladies are saying 'She did what?!?!' Yep, med free. She's pretty much super awesome. Anyhow, now that we've had him for more than a week, we're pretty sure he's a keeper.
Today was Tommy's, um, 'snip-snip' surgery. EEK! He wasn't to happy during the ordeal, but is doing great now. In a weird and sad coincidence, at almost exactly the time Tommy was under the knife, Bo Schembechler, Michigan's winningest football coach, collapsed and died of heart failure. All this with the 'Game of the Millenium' tomorrow, No. 2 Michigan at No. 1 Ohio State! Crazy! Tragic. So, if you're doing anything but watching this game tomorrow, you're pretty much spitting on Bo Schembechler's grave. That'd be pretty rude.
So for us, pretty much the best week ever. Not a whole lot of sleep, but awesome nonetheless.
For Bo's family, pretty much the worst week ever. At least he'll have the best seat at the game tomorrow.
And for Tommy ... his best week ever, his worst week ever, his only week ever!
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