Just want to send out some BetterthanBlank thanks to all those who’ve served to protect the lives we enjoy here in the good ol USofA. My Dad, My Uncle Rick, Chris Stout, Mike Charney, Josh Phillips, My father enlaw’s sons - those are some guys that I’m close to. And there’s a bunch more at our church, and then all of you I don’t know. Thank You today.

Anyway, there was this guy who was at all the games, his name was Alex Beaton. And I can still hear his voice and his acoustic guitar. He has some very funny songs, some beautiful ballads, and some very sad songs. He’s a true folk singer and the history he preserves is pretty incredible. It’s amazing to thing how much history is passed down through song. Well, here’s a master storyteller, and another Clan MacLean.

This one’s my favorite, The Scottsman. Here’s a line from the song, …they lifted up his kilt about an inch so they could see, and there behold for them to view beneath his Scottish skirt, was nothing more than God had graced him with upon his birth.

Bonnie Dundee. Read more about it here. About 1:38 into the song is a typical Scotsman moment: “I was brought up on that stuff, I was told it was apple juice”.

Massacre of Glencoe. This is one of the sad ones, read more about the story here.

Can’t wait till my mom sees this post. I’m sure she’ll have a comment or two, as well as dad.

What song is stuck in your head today?

Here for your listening & viewing pleasure:

This one’s from the Edinburgh Military Tattoo (no not bloody ink!)

Of course the infamous Amazing Grace on bagpipes (this from the movie Amazing Grace)

And lastly, Scotland the Brave, the other unofficial Scottish National Anthem

These guys are not Scottish, they’re Swiss. This one’s for my buddy Peter, proving that the Swiss don’t just make watches, chocolate, & cheese.

And now a funny Scottish family story. My Grandpa George McLean (rip) was known for his, er, shall we say, temper. As he got older things used to annoy him, especially younger people who would blast their rock & roll and rap music. So he used to say that he would pull up next to them, roll down his windows, and blast the pipes & drums as loud as his stereo would go! Cheers.

Flower of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Flùr na h-Alba) is an unofficial national anthem of Scotland, a role for which it competes against the older Scotland the Brave. In common with England among the Home Nations, Scotland has no official national anthem. Flower of Scotland was written by Roy Williamson of the folk group The Corries and presented in 1967^[1]. The song refers to the victory of the Scots, led by King Robert the Bruce over the King of England, Edward II, at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

The song is a particular favourite of Scottish national rugby union team fans, who first adopted it for the Lions tour of South Africa in 1974. The last two lines of each verse are generally sung with particular ferocity, especially before games against England. Although not officially part of the anthem, after the line “and stood against him”, it is customary to chant “against who?” or “England!” after which follows the line “Proud Edward’s army” in the official part of the anthem. The Scottish Football Association adopted Flower of Scotland as its official pre-game anthem in 1997 although it was first used by them in 1993, following the Scottish Rugby Union’s example. Usually only the first and third verses are sung.

The introduction of Flower of Scotland was partly due to hostility amongst rugby and football fans toward the British national anthem God Save the Queen being used to represent Scotland, there being no other suitable anthem at the time. The song was popular amongst rugby supporters and was finally brought in as an unofficial anthem in response to God Save the Queen being continually drowned out by the ferocious booing and whistling of some of the Scotland supporters.

A public petition was presented to the Scottish Parliament in 2004 calling for another song to be selected instead.^[2]

One snag with Flower of Scotland is that it is difficult to play on the bagpipes. The third last note is a flattened seventh, which is not considered to be part of the standard pipe scale. In order to hit the correct note, a ‘forked fingering’ must be used which less experienced players are unlikely to be familiar with. The tune was originally composed on the Northumbrian smallpipes, which play in F and have the benefit of keys on the chanter to achieve a greater range of notes.

And now a great example of some Scottish passion:

Makes me want to play rugby, or soccer, or just go to a pub and watch some! Speaking of which, February 14-15 of 2009 there’s gonna be a European rumble in the jungle! The 2009 USA Sevens Rugby Tournament is going to be held at Petco Park in San Diego. I’m going, who’s in?

We have a piper down, I repeat a piper is down

A tribute to Sean Connery, who happens to be a Clan MacLean. And for a little more trivia, our family Castle Duart on the island of Mull was used in the filming of his movie “Entrapment“.

I can’t show any fat bastard clips (Austin Powers) here cuz they’re just a tad to raunchy, but there’s something absolutely hilarious about a 400lb man in a kilt with a nasty disposition for eating babies… Also, I couldn’t find any “All Things Scottish” clips, or “Soccer Hooligans”, a sad day.

The Joy’s. Wade, Ferris, and their two twin girls, Adleigh & Liana. Quick version: these twins were born prematurely and have some serious health issues. Read more here.
Wade & his wife both have specific prayer requests. And here’s a powerful quote from Wade:

So I am praying that through this process Jesus would shape my character and heart to be a man who is not shaken by what He sees, as I so often can be, and that He would give me the grace to have an unwavering and dangerous faith.

The Estrada’s. Victor, his wife, their newborn, Emily, and the rest of the rugrats. Quick version: they had to rush Emily to the hospital with an extreme temperature. They’ve been there ever since, and the doctors have no answers for them. Pray for Emily, and the entire family as they are apart and without clear answers. Read more.

Here’s yet another story of a family in need of prayer. And I’ll leave you with a praise of God working in this situation. We don’t pray in order to make God do something, we pray to be amazed of what he is already doing.

So in honor of my family heritage all this week is “Scottish Week” at BetterthanBlank. We’ll be talking about everything Scottish, because EVERYTHING ELSE IS CRAP! (sorry if you don’t recognize that line…). Basically everyday this week I’ll do a new post on something Scottish - sound fun? I think so.

I thought I’d start off by showing you what a day at the Scottish Games looks like, let’s go. (warning: this post has lots of pictures and a video - if you’re not into that, well then, just stop here I guess).

Let’s kick things right off with a video. This is a quick overview of the experience:

Me and Miles. Mom was working out of town. We missed her a ton.

Me and Macy. She was stoked to go do something fun after being cooped up in the house with her cast all week.

You can pretty much sum up the games with this picture: kilts, drums, beer - and not necessarily in that order.

The row of Clans. Each tent represents a different Scottish Clan, or family name.

And this be our Clan tent, the MacLeans!

These guys just look awesome.

Miles tried on some armor.

Macy got a ring (which is now lost somewhere in the car).

Meat Pies - it’s whats for dinner.

Yes you can sit like that as long as you’ve got your wallet hanging there…

You might be Scottish if this is your license plate…

You might be Scottish if you have a shirt that shows a guy with a decapitated head on the end of his sword…

Miles got spoiled.

The best part about the Scottish Games? The ride home…

OK, not really, but it sure is nice and quiet.

It was a great day, lots of fun. I have to give a shout out to my parents who hooked us all up on this trip - Thanks mom & dad. There’s a few more pictures here if your interested. I’m looking forward to “Scottish Week” at the ol blog - I hope you are too!