At my newest assignment with Conception my journalism work will mainly be photography. These photos will be posted on Facebook and the Conception Web site.
My newest set of photos was published here on Conception’s Facebook Fan page. They are a set of photos of the Basic Design Class taught at Conception.
I’m not 100% sure, but I believe you will need access to Facebook in order to view the photos, I’m not sure exactly how the privacy settings are set up for the page.
This weekend was the first time I was able to see the 2009 Tigers in person. The Tigers got an expected, and convincing 52-12 victory over Furman.
I sent one of my best friends, who happens to be spending his semester abroad, some of my thoughts. He and I were roommates and talked about the state of Mizzou football all the time.
Here are some quick, initial, gut reactions to what I saw. They are certainly far from comprehensive but just some quick impressions. They are broken down by unit and position.
Offense:
First of all, Gabbert has a freaking canon, no other way to put it. There were times where he just rifled the ball out so hard, i was just in total awe, its filthy, he’s pretty accurate now, but give him so more time and it could be scary
In terms of the freshman, Kendial “showtime” Lawrence….is gonna be pretty awesome too, he’s got a really nice quick burst through the hole. When there are holes, you blink, and then bam he’s got 8 yards. He’s gotten some decent playing time too…
D Wash has been struggling, he has moments that are great, but too many runs where he stutters up to the line, then uses his strength to get 1 or 2 yards…which isn’t enough
The O line is doing a pretty good job with pass protection, although run blocking needs to be improved…the biggest run of the game on saturday was when Gabbert took an option 40 yards for a TD, but that was mostly him just getting to the outside, and then turning on the jets (which are pretty good, especially for a QB his size)…too many 1 or two yard gains where Washington basically got back to the line and fell forward
Jared Perry and Denario have improved a lot and are a nasty pair, with Wes Kemp as the third option they make a pretty good trio. all with different skill sets. which is nice. my biggest fear is that if one of them were to go down, I’m not sure how good the depth is there…i mean there were a bunch of other guys who got in and made some nice catches but i didn’t see any big time playmakers like those three…however last time Denario went down some dude named Jeremy Maclin came off the bench…
Defense:
All the stuff you read about the DE’s is true…Aldon Smith, Jacquies Smith and Brian Coulter are all filthy…Aldon is the best, he has freakishly long arms, he swatted two passes and terrorized their qb all game…jaquis smith got a 50 yard int return, it was sick he just picked it off and went rumbling down the field…linemans dream
The LB’s are another strong point for the defense…spoon is sooo good, and Gachkar got in on a lot of plays, including a sack
The DB’s were decent, they seemed to be communicating really well, because i was looking for blown coverage deep like they did all season last year…and never saw it, and i was looking. they do need to work on wrapping up….too many 7 yard outs became 11 yard gains because they couldn’t tackle on the first hit
The new kicker has a boot, he got a touchback for a majority of the kickoffs and there wasn’t a lot of wind to help him…
Again those are just some quick observations on the team from my perspective.
I had a pretty good first off-campus weekend. I went back to Columbia and spent time visiting with friends. The adventures included a corn maze, tailgating, Mizzou football, dinner, ice cream and more.
I wouldn’t describe it as relaxing, because I was quite busy, however it was a lot of fun. I was very happy to see so many friends again.
At the same time I am happy to be back at Conception as I am really enjoying my time here.
While I’m having a really wonderful time here at Conception, I’m really looking forward going back to Columbia this weekend for our first “off-campus” weekend.
Friday night I plan on visiting Shyrocks Farm Corn Maze. I went there the last two years with the Newman Center. This year I’ll be organizing a group of friends to go. I have had a blast there the last two years and it should be fun to go back.
A look at the design for this year's corn maze.
Saturday will be awesome because I’ll be able to see my beloved Mizzou Tigers play some football. I can’t wait for the game even if it is against Furman.
I remember after the MU-KU basketball game last year, thinking to myself, am I willing to give this up? At the time I said sure, I can do it.
After having been here for only a month I would still agree, it is totally worth it. As much as I would love to be able to go to every game, the rewards here greatly outweigh not being able to go to Mizzou games. At the same time, I will still go to games every chance I can.
GO TIGERS!!!
M-I-Z…
One of my biggest role models is John Cardinal Foley, of Philadelphia. He has had a great impact on journalism and the Church. I could talk about his work for hours.
In February 2008 I had the opportunity to spend a majority of 5 days with him. Those were some of the happiest days of my life.
Today, I was reading The Deacon’s Bench, and came across this quote from a homily Cardinal Foley delivered on September 11, 2005.
“On this day, we pray that the hearts of those who wish us evil may be converted — and we hope to have the power and the will to forgive them….On this day, we remember the survivors, those who still suffer the effects of 9/11 and other terrorist acts…On this day, we remember the victims — the thousands who died in the attack on the twin towers and the Pentagon and the attempted attack on another target which finished in a plane crash in a field in Pennsylvania; we remember their victims of terrorism in other nations — and we remember the as yet unnumbered thousands who have perished in the terrible destruction along the Gulf Coast. May they rest in God’s peace!On this day, we pray for ourselves, that we may have the strength to bear whatever may happen to us, remembering that we are God’s, and we pray that we may have the will and strength to help those who cry out to us in their need — not only for assistance, but for a sense of meaning and purpose.“Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”This may sound like our limitation; it is in reality our strength.”
You can read the full text of his homily here. Maybe I’m slightly biased but I really liked the entire homily as well.
Take a moment today to pray for those who died and those who lost loved ones and friends on 9/11.
Three weeks ago today I started a new phase in my life…seminary.
So far it has been an amazing experience. Similar to what I expected but even better in many ways as well. Even with the countless meetings that I’ve had to get fully oriented to the seminary life.
The daily foundation of prayer has been amazing, and even overwhelming at times. Everyday during Morning/Evening Prayer, Mass, meditation or private prayer than has been at least one moment where I have felt particularly moved by the spirit.
As those who know me already know, I love to talk. Fortunately this is something I get to do a lot at the seminary. I have loved the opportunity to talk openly with so many fellow seminarians, especially my “DBs” or Diocesan Brothers.
As you may have noticed posting has been much less frequent the last couple of weeks, this is due to several factors. First of all I am still adjusting to the schedule, daily and weekly routine. Our internet here is cut off between 11 pm and 8 am every day, and when we do have internet the connection can be slow at times. Lastly, I am trying to fully immerse myself in this experience which requires attention to be placed in other areas. It’s not that the internet is bad, it’s that there are other more important things I need to be focusing on right now.
