A Wicked curse

This weekend Melissa and I went to see the Broadway musical "Wicked" downtown Chicago. The show was incredible and probably one of the best musicals I have ever seen. The music was fantastic, as was the story and the acting. Ana Gasteyer of SNL fame played the Wicked Witch of the West, but the rest of the cast was relatively unknown. While we were glorying in the post-show exuberance, we were reminded of a nasty curse that has plagued us since freshman year of college. Those who have been to LCC know exactly what I'm talking about when I say that the IDS 101 curse hit us like a wave. For those of you who never attended LCC, the IDS 101 curse basically consists of the worldview analysis of all popular culture mainly manifested in books, movies, plays, etc. Despite my negative portrayal of this curse, I do feel there are times when it becomes very helpful. For example, "Wicked" was a purely postmodern play in that it devoted an entire song to moral relativity in addition to the plot being an instance of moral relativity in itself. I appreciate my "worldview eyes" when it comes to discerning how to accept and process the material presented. Before I go much further however, I want to clarify that I don't use my "worldview eyes" to condemn a piece of art that might portray something contrary to what I believe. I still enjoy many films, plays, etc. despite not agreeing with everything said or displayed. That said, I still was able to enjoy "Wicked" for its artistic value and its incredibly unique and entertaining storyline, and then constructively evaluate it without ruining the entire musical. (caution: spoilers ahead)So really, the "wicked" curse of IDS 101 isn't so wicked at all....hmmm, that sounds just a little bit familiar to the Wicked Witch of the West. Maybe it is all relative....

The table tennis scene

I recently started my last quarter of classes at Wheaton College, and I have a new class although you probably couldn't really even call it a "class." This class is table tennis (not ping pong because there are copyright issues with that name apparently). It's my last class of the day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so it makes for a nice relaxing end to a day of real classes. What really makes the class interesting, however, is the teacher. Let me give you a brief background. You know that person who always thinks they're own jokes are hilarious and then stares everyone down expecting them all to laugh as well. That's my teacher in a nutshell. The first day of class was the most awkward experience ever because she would just start laughing at something completely random and then just take a trip around the class with her eyes, picking out certain people to stare at longer and all the while still laughing. Crazy. In addition to this, she is the most intense athlete I think I have ever met. She hates to lose and often likes to pick out the athletic boys in the crowd and make fools of them in public. Oh, and did I mention she dressed up as a uterus for halloween one year because she loves anatomy! Anyway, as you can probably tell, it's going to be an interesting quarter of table tennis playing, and who knows, maybe I'll actually learn something. At least I don't have to write any papers, and I get to listen to good (according to the teacher) table tennis music which consists of rap and dance techno. Who knew?

Baseball fever in Chicago

The playoffs have come to Chicago, and it is quite exciting. The White Sox handily beat the Bosox in three no-competition games and prepare to meet the Angels (hopefully). Unfortunately, the success of the White Sox has caused a dilemma in my fan allegiances. Both sides of my family, my side and Melissa's side, have unbreakable bonds to the Cubs. I, on the other hand, have no such debilitating strong ties. Thus, with the White Sox playing well in the playoffs, I find it a pleasure and a duty to root for them based on the fact that I live in the Chicago area. However, I know that as soon as I make even an indication of my team choices to a family member, namely my in-laws, I will probably be roasted and eaten for dinner. This whole issue poses a serious question in my mind. Why is it that Chicago Cub fans can be so completely devoted to one team and loathe another team if both teams are from the same city? If the Cubs and the Sox were both in the same league, I could understand the animosity, but they're not! They are in completely different leagues. I am completely baffled by this question because I feel that as a baseball fan in general I can root for both the Cubs and the Sox and feel good about myself. I do know, however, that if I said this in any sports bar in the city of Chicago, I would also get roasted and eaten alive. So here I am in a ridiculous conundrum, trying to give credit to whom credit is due (namely, the Sox) and ending up on somebody's plate no matter what I say. Oh, the politics of Chicago (and the rest of Illinois really) baseball fans.