RIP HUGH

So today I found out that one of my professors at Trin, Hugh Ogden died on Dec 31st. Now, you wont find an over sympathtic entry or one dribbling of how he changed my life, becuase in a lot of ways he didn't. Truth be told, he was one of my least favorite proffs and I never really liked the guy in the first place.

But that doesn't change the fact that he was still a decent guy and it was clear that he loved poetry. While he didn't inspire me to be a poet, his love of words was evident. While I didn't like the fact that he constantly ripped my poetry to shreds(and I have not written a poem since his class), I really believe that he thought he was doing the right thing. As a professor i thought he was lousy, unfocused, and compleltey disorganized. As a man, I thought he was pretty decent.


He was an old hippie in every sense of the word. I am not going to speculate if he showed up to class high or not, but his views on marijunana were pretty straightforward as seen in a conversation he had with one classmate of mine.

Hugh: have you ever smoked before?
student: yeah, yeah when i was visiting my cousin last year.
Hugh: so what did you do?
Student:not much man, we smoked the weed, then sat around and watched some tv.
Hugh: ohh. Im so sorry for you. You smoked and then just sat around and watched TV. Im sorry that ytou didnt get a chance to really explore nature or yourself. Maybe next time.

As a man he was pretty much straightforward. It wasn't hard to figure out his views on anything, and he didnt hide them. He was an genuine person who wouldnt say one thing to your face and another to your back. If he thought your work was crappy he told you. If he didnt like your attitude he told you. If he didnt like your major he told you(I know).

But in a world of people who pay lip service and those who are overly politically correct Hugh was who he was. A old, dirty hippy, who wore flannel shirts, red bandannas, and suspenders. He knew who he was and what he wanted out of his life. In that, he retained a sort of "quiet dignity'. Hugh talked about "The great spirit" and that one day he hoped to see what was out there. He believed that that which was out there would have some of the most beautful scenes of nature that are out there.
Well Hugh, hope you found the perfect scene for you...

WWMLKD?

So today is Martin Luther King day. 39 years ago Dr. King was murdered in Memphis, Tennessee. I will not go into the details of his life, but I will ask one fundamental question:would he be happy with what he sees today.

A controversial cartoon The BoonDocks explored that very question. It was a thought provoking epeisode and I encourage everyone out there to take a look at it when you get the oppertunity.




I wonder what Martin Luther King would say about the state of Black America today? One of King's beliefs was integration and the idea that a man would not be "judged by the color of his skin". Yet that happens all the time in America today. Part of that is based on the deep seated racism in the country and part of it is due to the severe state of political correctness. In America we are not supposed to say Black, but African American. But how do you know the person is even an American to begin with? Thats a suppsoition that you are nto compleltey aware. If a person was from The Virgin Islands, how much would they like being called an American? Probably as much as I want to be called a Frenchman!

What about the needless and senseless violence on America's streets. Do you know who Darrent Williams is? He was the Denver Broncos Cornerback that was murdered hours after the last Bronco game of the season. While it is not compleltey sure the reason, one thing is certain a young man's life was ended way too quickly. Some have suggested that this is another example of black on black violence. What about the gang warfare, drug dealing, and degradation of women in music and music videos? I believe MLK would be quite dissapointed with all of this.


What is interesting is some of the things his speeches and his movement led to.
For example a law prohibiting racial discrimination in employment was somethign he not only championed but was something that became law. Yet we see the practice a live and well on college campuses in the form of "affirimative action". If he was truly a man of his word(and I believe him to be)and in favor of equality for all, he should be strongly against this measure.

Now while Dr. Martin Luther King was a great man, he was still a man and not without folly. He had several extramarital affairs, was known for spending SCLC(Southern Christian Leadership Conference)on hookers and prostitutes. Furthermore he was a supporter of Marx and and fairly anticapitalist. He also plagarized his doctoral thesis at Boston University. That being said, his vision of equality was one that will put him in a special class of people. Sadly, 32 years later his dream his not alive for a varitey of reasons.

On the episode of the Boondocks I referenced, Dr. King watched TV and is throughly disgusted with what has happened to Black Culture. He then utters the line, "Where did we go wrong Huey". And the word that coems to mind is dissapointment. Thats how I really believe he would feel if he saw the world 32 years after his death.

Back Again

As I type this I have moved my computer out to my balcony and I am sitting out here looking west towards the rockies. It is a cloudy day that us supposedly going to have more snow this evening and then plenty more tomorrow and possibly into saturday. Estimates for total snowfall are somewhere betweeen 2 inches(on the light side)to a bit over a foot on the heavy side. So, while it should not be as bad as the previous three fridays, it will still be felt.

What is interesting to me is that just about everyone I know here(who has been here for awhile) has remarked how this was the most amount of snow they have seen in Denver in almost 20+ years. Many people have talked baout how it would snow one day, then the temperature would hit 60 for a few days and melt all the snow. But this much snow is seemingly unheard of in this part of the country.

On other fronts I have started a new group at the Juvenile Detention Center. This group has 6 kids and is entitled VIOLENT OFFENDERS GROUP. One of the things which we try to teach is the use of better choices. All the kids in the facility are guilty of different types of crimes but also have some psychological issues. Now,having a psychological issue does not excuse their behavior as everyone must be held accountable for all their actions.




Instead, what we offer is an oppertunity to change your life. An oppertunity to keep doing the same old thing and end up here or a chance to change your life and end up as a contributing member of society. The Violent offenders group is going to touch a lot of issues such as ways to avoid escalation of anger, who are the victims of crimes, and what you can do to avoid being brought into a violent situation. And the kids will need to listen, learn what I am teaching, and then apply it. The fact is that each one of these kids is undr 18 years old and should have a long life to live. But the fact is they have a choice where they wish to live and what they want to see.

They can choose this


or this

Welcome to the Jungle

So I am back in school and Denver is recovering from the two big snowfalls in the last couple of weeks. In case you are not aware, a few days before Christmas a massive blizzard diumped snow all over Denver and essentially closed the sirport(soemthing unheard of in this part of the country). And then as thr city was diging its way out a few days before new years more snow came and dumped over Denver. Many people saw this out of their window.



Fortunatly, the snow is now melting and everything sees back to the way it should be. The roads are plowed, the sun is shining and it is a crisp 45 outside today. However there is more snow tomorrow, but it is not supposed to be too bad. It just means I will have to get up early and get out the door earlier than usual in order to get to work on time.

And school has also restarted. First day was yesterday and the professors seem pretty nice. I think it will be a lot of work but the courses seem pretty interesting so far. I had 3 classes yesterday and will have 2 more on Tuesday. I am still working out which two as I am not sure which course I want to cut out(of three I signed up for).

I also played in my very first poker tournamnt a few nights ago. While I have played a little bit with friends, this was the first time I ever played in a tournament. While the tournament was free, it did nto take away from the fact that this was my first time playing poker with so many people. Most of the small games I have played have had maybe 5-7 people at most. In this tournament, there were 10 people at my table and 50 people in the entire tournamnt. Now, I know the World Series of Poker has a massive field, but playing with 9 other people was tough. First of all hands that were once pretty good are no longer as strong.

The best play I made was when I was given 2 Queens. I called the bet and then waited. oOne other person decided to play and he called the bet too. The first three cards were 2H-QC-8S. I now had 3 Queens and a very good hand, so I decided to make a big bet, and my opponent called it. The next card was the JH. This time I checked to my opponent. My oponnent made a very big bet. I looked at the cards on the table and tried to figure out what he had. I figured the best he could have were 3 Jacks, but I had him beat at this point in the hand. So I pushed all my remaining chips into the middle and loudly declard that I was willing to risk all of my chips. My opponent looked at me and then decided that his hand was better. He confidently showed me his cards: an A-7. In essence he had nothing. I then turned over the 2 Queens in my hand to accompany the one on the table to show three queens. The final card came out(though there was no way he could win) and it was the 8H turning my hand into a Queen high Full House. Here is a picture:



That hand gave me a lot of chips to play with but alas it was not enough. I did not win the tournamnt but I did finish 11th out of 50, I figure thats pretty good for a first time in a tourny. Maybe next time I can do a little better.