Texas

This is a good reminder for me. When I'm having a hard day, it is sometimes difficult to rise above it, but I never give in. How about you, what do you do when a day is rough? Karin Here is your Friday story, The Perspective Song One day, not long ago, I decided to re-send the attitude-changing philosophy in "A Course in Miracles." Three years before, in its simple to follow lesson-a-day, the Course had helped me cultivate new levels of inner peace. I figured I could use more of the same. Within the first few weeks, I came upon a lesson that showed me I'd figured well. The lesson was: "There is another way of looking at this." The idea is to apply the lesson as often as possible throughout the day, to whatever situation is before you. Okay, I thought. Simple enough. I'll go apply "There is another way of looking at this," to my day. No problem. The trouble with this was that every situation I faced that day was challenging. And there was not another darn way to look at things. Thank you very much. From a crashed computer to people not being available on the phone, to running out of shampoo in the middle of a shower, my day was filled with frustrations. It held little, if any, opportunity for me to look at things anew. And no New Age self-help affirmation was going to convince me otherwise! So I pulled on my panty hose, zipped up my dress, dried my un-shampooed wet hair, and left for an appointment that was only 20 minutes away. Or so I thought. Okay, the traffic is always crazy at the end of a workday. But I did not expect a bumper-to-bumper gridlock in the middle of the afternoon. Sitting there in my car, I did my best to repeat the day's lesson to myself, hoping that I could find "another way of looking at this" freeway parking lot. After an eternity, I decided there was no way out and that I'd be better off letting go of my plans and forgetting about making the appointment on time. One cell phone call later, assuring my colleague that I'd meet her the following day instead, I sat back in the car to wait things out. As I did, something caught my attention at the side of the road. Pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway was an old, yellow, Ford pickup truck. It was lopsided. When I looked closer, I could see that the front tire was as flat as the plains of Texas. Since I wasn't moving anywhere, I had plenty of time to stare. The driver of the truck was sitting on the rusted and beat up tailgate. He was a young man with a ponytail, wore well-splattered painter's pants and a matching, torn t-shirt. While waiting for a tow truck, or perhaps some divine intervention, he had pulled out his guitar and looked to be moving his mouth as if in song. I rolled down my window. He was singing at the top of his lungs. My mouth hung open as I saw the peace on his face. He'd found "another way of looking at this." His music made me smile. His attitude cleared the traffic jam in my head. I think he understood the lesson for the day. And finally, so did I. Erica Ross-Krieger For more than 20 years, Erica Ross-Krieger has inspired people throughout the world to come to life more fully. She is an author, a successful entrepreneur and founder of several businesses. In her work and her writing, Erica teaches her clients and readers how to cultivate the attitudes that will lead them to live more joyful and meaningful lives. Visit her website at: www.EricaRossKrieger.com from Insight of the Day Originally posted 2008-02-22 09:19:25.

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Hallelujah! The Rangers finally earned a W on Monday night, and they scored some runs in the process. Here’s a roundup of all our coverage Monday: Cruz’s crushes two homers, Rangers finally snap skid The Rangers’ exceptionally frustrating losing streak finally came to an end Monday night, … [visit site to read more]

Senator Lindsey Graham Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) went on Meet the Press in order to discuss the slow implosion of the Republican Party, how demographics are turning against them, and how immigration reform was necessary. Perhaps, Senator Graham would like to woo Hispanic voters with humor. After all, that is what some Republicans are saying the Party needs even though they seem to have a lack of understanding as to what humor is. Graham told MtP host David Gregory “I think we’re going to have a political breakthrough, the Congress is going to pass immigration reform. I think we’re going to get plus 70 [votes in the Senate], I’ve never been more optimistic about it.” He could try talking to Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, or Senator Marco Rubio of Florida or Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky about their efforts to scuttle the bill, and it seems unlikely that the bill will pass the House as they have it, and the House version is unlikely to get passed the Democrats in the Senate. Gregory also asked about the recent meeting between New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former President Bill Clinton, and whether or not this might boost Christie’s chances in 2016. Graham countered that “Bill Clinton doesn’t have a whole lot of sway, but he’s a popular figure. The faith based groups were courted by leading candidates… I would suggest a guy like Jeb Bush would have a really good chance in 2016, a former governor or a governor. But you’ve got Marco [Rubio], you’ve got Paul Ryan. The good news is we’ve got a deep bench, and after eight years of President Obama’s economic policies and, quite frankly, foreign policy, people are going to be looking around.” We aren’t all that sure why Gregory would believe that Clinton would have much of a positive effect on Christie as he will still have to go through the primary gauntlet which is likely to result in him being severely handicapped with Republican voters who see President Clinton as just a little less vile than Satan. They will likely also hold Christie’s association with President Barack Obama as being a real problem. Graham also noted that “But if we don’t pass immigration reform, if we don’t get it off the table and in a reasonable, practical way, it doesn’t matter who you run in 2016. We’re in a demographic death spiral as a party. And the only way we can get back in good graces with the Hispanic community, in my view, is pass comprehensive immigration reform. If you don’t do that, it really doesn’t matter who we run in my view.” Actually, unless the GOP stops pushing tired refrains, the same old ideas, and being tone deaf to the American people’s wants, immigration reform’s passage won’t matter very much at all. Here is the segment from MtP:

The Texans have several famous fans. One of the most vocal among them is Texas rap legend Bun B, half of the rap duo UGK.

The A's squandered a three-run lead to fall to the Rangers, 8-7, on Monday at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington in the opener of a four-game series between the division rivals.

Jose Quintana (3-2, 3.86) vs Bud Norris (5-6, 3.47) One bad pitch. One bad pitch by Bud Norris was all it took to make the difference between Houston's fourth straight one-run win, and a streak-snapping, sweep-stopping defeat. Five solid innings by Bud were wiped out by a shaky 6th that went one pitch too long, and with it went the Astros' four-game winning streak. White Sox take the series finale 4-2, and Houston drops to 26-45 on the season. On the Mound: *Bud was indeed outstanding through the first five innings, allowing only three hits and no runs, but all of that went wrong in the 6th. 4 ER on 5 H in that frame made Bud a loser, with this line: 6 IP / 8 H / 4 R / 4 ER / 0 BB / 4 K. *Josh Fields made a rare appearance (his first since June 7), and delivered 2 IP of 1 H, 0 R ball. *Wade LeBlanc got his second outing as an Astro and turned in a perfect 9th. At the Plate: *The Astros once more added one to the previous night's hit total (7 H Sunday, 8 H today), and it would have once again been just enough, but for Bud's bad 6th. *7 of Houston's 8 hits tonight went to the first three hitters in the Astros' order. Brandon Barnes had the most of those, leading off and going 3 for 5 with 2 SB, a K, and a run scored. *Jason Castro didn't homer again, but he narrowly missed it twice, instead delivering a pair of RBI doubles to go 2 for 4 with a K. *Jose Altuve wouldn't be outdone, going 2 for 5 with a SB, a R, and 2 K. *Ronny Cedeno was the only other Astro with a hit, going 1 for 4 with a SB and 2 K. Turning Point: All was going swimmingly for Studly Cuddly Budly until Alejandro De Aza led off the 6th with a single, but even then two straight line outs had the inning almost over and Houston's 2-0 lead intact. Back-to-back-to-back singles followed, driving in De Aza and loading the bases for Dayan Viciedo. Bud worked Viciedo to a 2-2 count, but instead of delivering a third strike to escape the inning, he hung a slider up in the zone, which Vicideo knocked over a diving Brandon Barnes on Tal's Hill for a bases-clearing triple. Man of the Match: Jason Castro. Campaigning hard for that Astros All-Star spot. Goat of the Game: Bud Norris. He didn't pitch terribly, but with Houston's weak offense of late, a hanging slider with the bases loaded was a mistake they couldn't afford.

NEXT  vs. Oakland, 7:05 p.m. today Rangers RHP Yu Darvish (7-2, 2.64 ERA) last won a game on May 16 when he beat Detroit’s Justin Verlander in the pitching duel that never materialized. Since then, he’s been a victim mostly of poor run support. He has a 2.08 ERA in the five-game winless stretch, but the Rangers have scored an average of only 1.82 runs per start. Since allowing a game-tying homer in the eighth inning of the second game of a doubleheader … [visit site to read more]

In a move that should shock no one who's been following the team, the Houston Astros activated center fielder Justin Maxwell from the disabled list after Monday's loss to the White Sox. To make room for him on the roster, Houston optioned outfielder Jimmy Paredes to Oklahoma City. Maxwell was hitting .234/.289/.390 with one home run in 83 plate appearances when he was hit on the hand by a pitch on April 23. Maxwell missed about five weeks with the injury and has been on two different rehab assignments since, with Oklahoma City and with Corpus Christi. Paredes, 24, hit .190/.242/.274 in 31 games and 93 plate appearances this season. The former top prospect was hitting .366 with OKC before being recalled the first time, but struggled to find his groove at the plate in the majors. Couple that with his defensive lapses in right field and Paredes had lost playing time before Monday, making the decision to send him down very likely. The question that the Astros must answer going forward is whether Maxwell retains his full-time starter status in center field now. Brandon Barnes played more and more at the spot, especially after another top prospect, Robbie Grossman, failed in his first big-league experience. Barnes has hit well, plays excellent defense and seems to be a favorite of manager Bo Porter. How will the Astros handle the playing time going forward? Expect Maxwell to receive plenty of at-bats, since Houston has few players with his kind of power on the roster. However, where will those at-bats come from? Will he be playing right field or will Houston shift Barnes over there, given he's got a much stronger arm than Maxwell, according to the (early) defensive metrics?

Kendrick Lamar stopped by K104 out in Texas & spit a few bars with a few topics that was thrown his way.