For Update's Sake!

--It's been a while. It has been, a while. Muffin Matters is back and ready to go. First off, congratulations to the UNC basketball team on making it to the Final Four. I am ready to party on Franklin Street; make it happen Heels.
--Now. To business. Let's get right to it. First off, I still hate hippies. John Wayne is still my hero. Next, America would be better off without Alex Rodriguez, Brittney Spears, Keith Olberman, AND Bill O'Reilly. The NCAA tournament is more American than you may realize. It teaches us that there are winners and losers in this great land. Someone must fail. If nobody fails, no one will succeed. Three cheers to the NCAA basketball tournament.
--I feel bad for Barack Obama. Something tells me he's up in the Oval office all by himself analyzing everything there is to analyze with the economy, foreign policy, health care, etc. Something also tells me he's distracted by a recurring thought about being president: "Well, this blows."
--Eric Church is the best thing to hit the country music landscape since Chris Ledoux and Dwight Yokam. He's a North Carolina native, and he's the best songwriter around. Get his new album, 'Carolina' ASAP. He's also a Tar Heel fan (deal with it Wolfies).
--Lastly, I am more discouraged than ever about the perceptions of the vertically challenged. Ladies, when talking about a man below 5'10" tall it is inaccurate and irritating to use terms such as 'adorable,' 'awwwwww!,' 'Oh, he is so cute' (like a Teddy Bear), or 'he's like a little brother.' One girl recently told me that her friend wanted her to pass a message along to me. The message was, "Tell him I think is soooo adorable." The message I sent back was, "Tell her I want to kick her in the back of the head."
--That brings me to a not so bad misconception of small people. Consider first what would happen if a tall and bulky man were to tell a girl, "I want to kick you in the back of the head." Everyone would say that the large guy is just a jerk or an a-hole with a big macho-man attitude. Now, consider what happens if someone my size or smaller tells a girl that he wants to kick a girl in the back of the head. The girl involved or the messenger will likely think and say something along these lines: "He's a psycho! He is absolutely crazy." That's right my short friends, there might actually be something cool about our size...You can freak people out.
--Until next time everyone. Thanks for reading.

UNC/Duke: Half

Duke is shooting lights out. UNC not making free throws like they did in Durham. Intense and exciting. Wish you were here. Tyler Hansbrough.

UNC/Duke-First Half

--9:44: Lot’s going on. It’s hard to keep up. Awesome game, awesome crowd. Wish you were here. Tyler Hansbrough.

--As my good friend and co-worker just said, I’m exhausted, and I’m not even cheering. Now, you must understand that we want to cheer, but it’s something you don’t do on press row. It’s an age-old tradition that stinks of the most horrid poop. 3:33 left, Duke is shooting lights out. UNC’s defense doesn’t look THAT bad to me.

Muffin Press Pass-UNC/Duke: Pre-Game

--As always, first things first; the pre-game meal. We were once again treated to Bullock's Barbeque which was amazing. No surprise that they go all out for this one. Lots of big names here already: Larry Brown (taking a day-off from the Slobcats), Clark Kellog, Andy Katz, and Jim Nance. They won't forget Bullock's anytime soone. Pork and chicken barbeque, baked beans, grean beans, creamed corn, chicken tenders, fried chicken, slaw, hush puppies, sweet tea. Awesome.
--To the game: I've got bad news. Ty Lawson is not partaking in the pre-game warm-ups. This changes everything. I'm not prepared to make a prediction until I know one way or the other that he's going to play.

This Chinese/American Flag

--This evening I write with a heavy heart. Some may see the issue at hand as trivial or silly, but an event stopped me in my tracks and made me shake my head in sadness today.

--Local snowfall lead to a day off from landscaping and counseling at the YMCA, so I was free to take care of some other business. One thing on the agenda was adding some decor to the Muffin Matters office space. After a mid-afternoon workout, I stopped by Roses to look for an American flag. I didn't have to look any farther than the registers at the front of the store. They had racks set up with flags, flag stands, and other flag accessories to help one properly display their American pride. For a brief moment I thought that $1.50 was just low for an American flag that was 60 inches long and about 34 inches wide, but I quickly brushed the notion aside. The transition was quick and painless, and I quickly made it back to the office to hang up my bargain-priced wall decor.

--As I removed the flag from its package I was paralyzed by what I read on the back. "MADE IN CHINA" Slowly, I came out of my state of shock and continued doing what I intended all along. I hung the flag above my office desk and took a seat to get to work.

--But no work could be done. I was and still am confused. This Chinese/American flag makes me sad; it makes me mad; it makes me hurt. This evening, I'm not here to discuss all the social, political, and economic happenings that have led to moments like this occurring. All I know is that it's not right. You're not suppose burn American flags. You're not suppose to let the Flag hit the ground. You're not suppose to hang the Flag upside down, even for a moment. But why do we allow China to produce OUR flag?

--A Muffin Matters employee caught me at my desk actually wondering about these very things. At this very moment, I'm at that same desk, with that same posture, trying to figure things out. Am I wrong for buying this flag that was produced in China? Should I have checked the label before purchase. And if I would have, should I have put it back and gone somewhere else to find an American/American flag? This American/American flag would have undoubtedly been more expensive. That creates more questions. With money tighter than ever, should one suck up the extra cost to buy American? Is this even feasible? If not, isn't the Flag maybe one thing you should stick to your morals on? I almost took the Flag off my wall, but it's still there. It has 50 stars. It has 13 stripes. 7 stripes are red. 6 stripes are white. It's absolutely an American flag. But. It's absolutely Chinese.

--It's been a sad day in the Muffin Matters office. Moral is low. Of all things "MADE IN CHINA" this one just isn't easy to come to terms with.