Federer

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Speaking of dreams, Mom and I got to watch one come true Sunday morning. Until then, Swiss tennis phenom Roger Federer had won 13 major titles, one short of Pete Sampras’s record, and every major at least once except for the French, the only major played on the slower surface of clay. For the last 4 years, Spanish tennis phenom Rafael Nadal, possibly the greater clay-courter ever, had beaten him at the French. The first year Nadal knocked him out in the semis followed by three consecutive years in the finals. Sportswriters and tennis fans routinely suggested Roger as the best tennis player ever, but his lack of a French Open title always added a question mark to that coronation. Without it, one could argue that any of the five players who had won all four majors deserved the “best ever” crown. The French was the thorn in Federer’s side, the victory he wanted more than any other. Last year when Nadal beat him for the third time in the French final, Federer wept.

This year, thanks to a shocking fourth-round exit by Nadal and typically brilliant and consistent play by Federer, the Swiss legend had what we thought was his best opportunity to win the one title he lacked – by beating the man who had stopped Nadal. Perhaps no one in the world was rooting for the other guy, except maybe his own mother. Although I worked until 7am and the match started at 8am, I drank some coffee and stayed up to (I hoped) witness history with Mom. Federer started off hot and never looked back, giving outclassed Swede Robin Soderling a memorable lesson on how to win a major final. We cheered. Roger cried. I posted the happy news on Facebook.

Especially a day after seeing Up, Federer’s amazing feat and career got me thinking about the whole realm of human endeavor. On one hand, I know that our lives here are just a blink in eternity, a “mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). The most important goals of our lives should be to love God and love people (Mark 12:29-31), not to win games or money or titles. So why do I scream until hoarse and jump up and down at a Stars game Saturday night, only to find myself too self-conscious to stand alone, sing too loudly, or raise my hands in worship at church on Sunday night?

On the other hand, God intentionally gave us our abilities and opportunities, and I believe he is pleased when we use them. As Olympic gold medal sprinter Eric Liddell said in Chariots of Fire, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure”.

Collectively the human race, despite all its many varieties of darkness, wields a tremendous amount of God-given talent. Athletes like Federer, musicians like Pavarotti, artists like Da Vinci, businessmen like Buffett, and inventors like Edison have used their gifts to enrich us all. Although we regrettably have a tendency to idolize the people who possess great gifts rather than the God who provided them, I am truly grateful to share this planet with such amazing talents as Roger Federer.

UP

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For Date Night on Saturday, Jenny’s parents watched Brenden while we watched Pixar’s new movie Up in 3D. Going into it, I only knew it was an animated Pixar film about a guy who attaches balloons to his house and flies away, unknowingly carrying a boy and later meeting a talking dog.

Instead I got a deeply moving, heartwarming, funny, and creative work of art. Up was everything you’ve come to expect from Pixar – incredible animation from facial expressions to lush backgrounds, talking critters, perfectly chosen music that supports the story without distracting from it. The filmmakers used the 3D effect brilliantly, adding incredible realism without making it the star of the film.

But for me the true star was the story and character development. The star of the film is a 78-year-old man named Carl whose wife Ellie has died recently. All their lives they dreamed about going to Paradise Falls in South America for adventure, but as the saying goes, life is what happens while you’re making other plans. The morning he’s supposed to move out of their lifelong home into a retirement home, he ties 22,000 balloons to his house and heads south. Early in the film a montage tells the story of Carl and Ellie’s marriage. It was one of the most touching few minutes of film I have ever seen. A cartoon made me cry, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Throughout the film I was alternately laughing at the gags and tearing up along with Carl as he finished the journey to Paradise Falls with his memories of Ellie still intact.

Being animated, Up seems to be a kids’ movie, but it also touches on a variety of deep questions: If you never reach your dreams, is your life still worthwhile? Is accomplishing something still satisfying if you can’t share it with anyone? Should we even bother dreaming big, or is the real beauty of life in the mundane? Do I really make a difference in anyone’s life? Jenny and I had a nice discussion afterward at dinner about some of these issues.

Whether you are young or old, a fan or hater of animation, whoever you are, I urge you to go see Up. Drop the extra $3 for the 3D version, too. It’s worth it.

Off the Ground

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One of my hobbies is home theater. Is that a strange hobby? Is it even a real hobby rather than simply a project? I don’t know. I just enjoy listening to my home theater – music, movies, or games. As the budget allows and our interests change, I also enjoy upgrading it from time to time. My latest upgrade combines sound and minor construction. To raise my surround speakers off the ground (or the CD stand and a dining chair, as it were) and prevent people from tripping over or playing with the speaker cables, I finally bought some wall mounts for them. As usual I researched them extensively before finally finding some on Amazon.

I finally installed them today. They are rated up to 55lbs. I don’t know why on earth you would mount a 55lb speaker with these, but they are plenty strong for my 16-pounders. Unfortunately I had to drill holes in the wall, which I HATE doing. And not just a couple, but four holes each, followed by drywall anchors and mounting screws to make sure they are secure. After that I slid the speakers in and clamped them down. They actually look pretty good to me, and Jenny doesn’t mind too much, either. I married well.

Now all I need to do is fix the speaker cables, and I’ll be back in business. Both my cables ended up too short after the mounting (poor planning on my part), so I had to splice in some extra cable for one speaker, and I haven’t decided what to do for the second. Either way I’ll have the cables out of the walkways, which was my primary goal. When I hooked up the first speaker, I was a bit surprised to find that it actually sounded better when mounted on the wall. Perhaps it’s because more of the sound gets to move throughout the room instead of getting blocked by the couch and carpet like before. I am very pleased and feel like I’ve accomplished something, but you know what this means – time to find another home theater project. =)

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