remember when all my updates were this long?
Simon Wiesenthal passed away today. For some reason, many people barely knew who he was or that it happened. This was a man who lost 89 members of his family during the holocaust and somehow didn't give up. Following the war, Wiesenthal is credited with helping to bring more than 1,100 Nazi war criminals to justice. To me, Wiesenthal is as much of a hero as anyone I've ever followed. unfortunately he is not the same kind of celebrity that is celebrated in our society because he wasn't an entertainer, athlete or tremendously rich. make no doubt about it though, he made some of the most important contributions of the past century. Wiesenthal became the face of the holocaust by speaking out for those who were silenced before their time. He said he quickly realized "There is no freedom without justice," and decided to dedicate "a few years" to seeking justice. It became decades and I think we are allforever indebted to Simon Wiesenthal for all he's done. He was indeed a hero in the truest meaning of the word. for more information, I highly suggest you read the AP article on the subject because I can barely skim the surface. on a personal note, I believe his passing marks a critical point in the field of holocaust education and the fight against anti-semitism, hate and genocides in general. He is one of the last prominent survivors. I'd say that since he was 96, he was probably in the final 1 or 2 percent of all survivors. This means that the torch is waiting for someone to pick it up and run with it. As I'm sure anyone who is reading this knows I am very passionate about the subject. If I could achieve a fraction of the success Wiesenthal had in his career, I would be ecstatic. at the risk of being oversentimental about his death, I would honestly put him at the absolute top of my list of heroes/role models.
On a different note, Ben Harper has written a song about the response to Hurricane Katrina and the whole New Orleans ordeal. You can stream it or download it for free. it's well worth it, so go take a look.
I've really been enjoying the MLB races lately... every division in the AL is still up for grabs, the MVP and wild card races are also anyone's for the taking. I guess this is where I should make some picks/predictions...
AL MVP: Ortiz edges out A-Rod. Ortiz has just been too clutch. the A's walked him in extra innings to load the bases for Manny Ramirez last week... anytime you walk a guy and take your chances against Manny Ramirez (one of the hottest bats in the league), you know the person you put on base for free had to be absolutely viscious.
AL Cy Young: Bartolo Colon. the most consistent arm on the most consistent team
AL East: I like the yankee's pitching but I don't know if they can overtake boston's hitting... I'll go with a little yankee revenge
AL Central: I don't think Cleveland can keep up this ridiculous pace up for the rest of the year. I can see them winning the wild card but at some point they have to cool off or Chicago has to get their touch back. I like Chicago
AL West: Angels. I think the A's are too streaky and have used up all their energy coming back
AL Wild Card: Cleveland or Yanks/Red Sox loser
NL MVP: Pujols has carried the Cardinals all year through numerous team injuries to be by FAR the best team in the NL. he hasn't put up the power numbers of Lee or Andruw and won't get as many september games in the limelight but he shouldn't be penalized for taking his team to such a huge lead. The only reason he hasn't won an MVP yet is because his name is not Barry Bonds. he is the best all-around player in the game
NL Cy Young: I'd love to give it to Clemens. he's gone through so much and I look beyong the lack of Ws. his ERA, Ks and WHIP are outstanding, nearly what they were when he won an AL MVP award back in the day. something tells me Chris Carpenter is going to get the award though. that being said, I think this further proves that Clemens is the best pitcher of his generation and belongs right up there in the argument of what pitcher is the best of all time
NL East: Braves are on their way to a 14th straight division title. no question
NL Central: Cards already clinched
NL West: I think the Padres have too much of a lead for Bonds to help the giants overcome
NL Wild-Card: I can't believe how this race is still so wide-open. I say flip a coin between Florida and Houston. I would love to see them in a playoff game for the rights to be the wild card winner. one game take all. especially if it was a Clemens-Dontrelle matchup
I had a little cold last weekend so aside from going to the football home opener saturday and watching football all day sunday w/ Mike (he's a good kid), I didn't do too much. I'm feeling a lot better now though... so much better in fact that I beat Dan in racquetball today 5 games to nothing
Finally, I get to the "school" portion. Classes have been mixed so far. I love my Tue/Thur classes but I could do without my M/W and F classes. I haven't really had to do too much work yet. just some stupid short essays and quizes so far. The cool thing is that I have a regular feature in the Herald (school paper). it's called Campus Connection. twice a week, I go around and interview 7 or 8 students at random and ask a few questions mainly based on current events. I take their picture and we put a line or two from them into the paper with their picture. It's nice because I get paid as both the journalist and photographer for the story and it's a twice a week thing so it fits quite nicely into my routine.