Super Ferrell Bros.

2009-11-26T21:14:00.000-08:00

Suffering from echo sickness tonight. Good thing for echo sickness is to sleep it off.

"God's Communication" Study: Genesis 1-3

2009-05-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

I need to know more about how God communicates. So I'm going to be taking a closer look at the things he says in the Bible. Today I read Genesis 1-3.

In Genesis 1:28-30, God issues a command and makes a gift.

God's command is life-affirming. It encourages humans to reproduce and make more of their kind.

God's command also affirms the value of responsibility. Humans are to be good stewards of the creation, to exercise authority over it.

God's gift provides for his creation: both the humans in charge and the animals to be ruled over. What does the gift communicate?

In Genesis 2:16 God gives another command.

God's command creates boundaries for our protection. Some knowledge is healthy for man, and he should pursue that knowledge. God's boundaries are intended to protect us from the knowledge that will break us.

I am reminded of John 16:12-13, in which Jesus says, "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear." In time, Jesus explains, the Spirit will reveal what the disciples need to know, as they learn to trust God. Perhaps eating from the tree in the garden is a sin not because it is pursuing forbidden knowledge, but because it seeks to obtain that knowledge outside of a relationship with God, from a source other than God. It's just a hypothesis, but it could be the case.

In Genesis 3:8-13, God asks several questions.

Human beings ask questions in order to gather knowledge. However, God is omniscient and already possesses knowledge of everything. Why does God ask questions?

Music to nap to

2008-04-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

I've got this Winamp playlist of about 50 or so songs, all of them slow stuff, a lot of instrumental video game remixes. Lots of piano pieces. And I like to put on this playlist when I take a nap. It's good to have music that I can fall asleep to.

Joe Loves Crappy Movies

2008-04-09T05:51:00.000-07:00

"I want to be funny at no one's expense": that attitude is the reason why I enjoy Joe Dunn's comics as much as I do. He really is a stand-up guy.

Article about standards in creativity

2008-04-07T07:52:00.001-07:00

"On Editorialization And The Lack Thereof"

Wisdom for artists.

Article on Faith

2008-03-18T09:34:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share this. This short, informative essay is the most accessible, sensible, and fair discussion of religious belief that I have read online in a long time. I am so sick of the shrill atheistic insistence that religion is bad and terrible on the one hand, and the Christian refusal to even acknowledge the existence of doubt. This, on the other hand? This is good stuff. It's refreshing.

3:54 PM at Work on a Friday Afternoon

2008-02-15T12:54:00.001-08:00

Want nap

One more hour

Today on the Internet

2008-02-14T06:04:00.000-08:00

This article from the Onion is a veritable carnival of solar puns.

Borderline Boy

2008-01-26T15:28:00.000-08:00

I have no idea of who actually reads this crazy thing regularly (probably no one, since we don't actually post with any regularity or predictability whatsoever), but I have started doing this new webcomic, in case you haven't heard. Borderline Boy, the adventures of an early-twentysomething guy learning to cope with his life and himself. It updates Mondays through Saturdays, so go give it a look.

Shortpacked

2008-01-03T11:58:00.001-08:00

I like Shortpacked. Sometimes I even love Shortpacked. And it is comics like these that are one of the things I love about Shortpacked.

Bus Stop, #1
Bus Stop, #2

Note how longsuffering Aslan is. He just sort of endures all this silliness with dignity and wit. It would be easy for David Willis to make these strips into mere "Christians-are-such-nutjobs" gags, but I think Aslan's demeanor adds a lot to them, both in terms of humor and substance.

All right, I'm done talkin' about webcomics for now.

Racquetball

2007-11-30T20:22:00.000-08:00

David and I played racquetball today. Played about an hour and fifteen minutes, then spent fifteen more minutes on the treadmills. I'm feeling really good right now, good and tired and ready for bed. It just feels so nice to be exhausted and all set to sleep.

2007-10-03T09:58:00.000-07:00

Katamari Shortpacked Damashii.

Linkin' to the Webcomics

2007-09-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to take a moment to link to some webcomics I have come across and enjoyed. I don't check these daily, but they're worth a look. Some of 'em I keep coming back to, and some I only recently found.

Basic Wage Kids
The Perry Bible Fellowship
A Softer World
Pictures for Sad Children
White Ninja
Lil' Formers
Kid Radd
The Makeshift Miracle
EDIT: oops, forgot Piled Higher and Deeper.

Help yourself, and enjoy.
I really need to read more of the Makeshift Miracle...that's some seriously good stuff.

Seriously, This Guy is Everywhere

2007-09-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

Man. What is this, Ryan Estrada guest strip day?
I mean, come on. Geez Louise.

Internet People

2007-09-07T08:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, guys. Check this video out.

How about that? Internet people. It makes me think about all the time I've spent watching internet memes and the latest "hilarious" thing on the web, and how it all just got reduced to a three-minute music video. I could have saved so much time by just watching the video, and used all those wasted hours drawing fan art for RPG's no one has played in years. The regret is nigh-overwhelming! But at least the video is pretty amusing.

Reflections: Brave New World, ch. 1-4

2007-08-17T08:03:00.000-07:00

I've started reading Brave New World again. At this point I'm halfway through the fourth chapter, re-entering a projected future where human life is controlled, stable, and regulated from its very inception. Biological socialization.

Of course the complete reversal of sexual mores is meant to be a wake-up slap to the face. But this time around something else particularly struck me. Remember the early scene where they use shock treatments to inculcate Delta infants with an aversion to books and botany? Apart from the...insitutionalized violence of the scene, I found something else disturbing about it. The folks in charge were creating a hatred of flora in the infants in order to regulate consumption of transport. Taught to hate the beauty of nature, just to fulfill the specifics of the world-state's economic plan.

That's what's striking me on this second read. State-controlled consumerism. Athletics that require elaborate courts, to encourage consumption of sports equipment. The hypnopaedia maxim: "Ending is better than mending." The initial "conscription of consumption," when the world government in its nascence attempted to impose by force (p.51). Everyone owns a helicopter. Buy, take, break, throw it away! Not only are these people stripped of their free will, but the "values" that are drummed into them are vacuous and cheap, devoid of significance, devoid of Shakespeare, all instilled just to meet some government-established quotas and achieve a stable social state.

Good thing we don't have an authoritarian state controlling our purchases and consumption, right?

We don't need one. The advertisers and media do it directly. Cut out the middleman!

Think about it. Turn on your TV, but don't turn off your brain. Really think about what you're seeing on the screen, particularly during the commercials. You think the advertisers aren't trying to control you? They want to cause you to purchase things, and moreover they want you to think that you are deciding for yourself to purchase them. It's not even just the commercials. In BNW, the state drills a consumerist consciousness into its citizens all through your childhood, and in the real world, cartoons like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh serve as little more than thirty-minute advertisements enticing kids to consume the related paraphenalia. T-shirts, figurines, video games, trading cards. Here's your Feelies for the 21st century. Here's your Centrifugal Bumble-Puppy.

Who needs a totalitarian state to control your desires and reduce you all to mere consumers, when you've got marketing?

The Last Question

2007-07-19T06:15:00.001-07:00

Here is a science fiction story by Isaac Asimov which makes me feel sick to my stomach, yet confronts the serious questions that the majority of people overlook and neglect to ask every day. It will make you think about where we're headed. It will make you think about eternity.
Maybe you're in the mood for that today.

For If You Like Jonathan Coulton

2007-06-21T11:53:00.001-07:00

Or, you know, if you just like entertaining music videos for songs about taking prescription medication for everything under the sun.

http://popsci.typepad.com/popsci/2007/06/announcing_the_.html

Wizard Still Needs Food Badly

2007-06-11T08:02:00.001-07:00

You can see the rest of that video right here

Five Iron Frenzy fans rejoice!

2007-05-31T12:45:00.001-07:00

Your music video to "Wizard Needs Food Badly," featuring original animation and a giant robot, has arrived!

Agent Smith

2007-05-21T11:28:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to plug this guy. He's an experimental hip-hop artist whose music I recommend to you. Listen to him. He's saying good things.

2007-05-09T21:48:00.000-07:00

I gave blood on Tuesday. Yeah...that's pretty much it right now.

Awesome Haircut Times

2007-04-28T12:19:00.001-07:00

Man, I just had the best haircut ever!
See, I brought along my sketchpad and a folder of comic templates, to work on Pungirls strips if there was any wait before I got my haircut. It was pretty busy, but I'd just gotten out a comic in progress when they called my name, so I put up my stuff and went back. The haircut chick and I get to talking, turns out she usually works at a store some fifteen minutes away but she got called in today because they're pretty busy over here in Landen, and then she asks me what I was working on with my folder etc..
So I tell her I've got this online comic strip where every comic contains a pun. Turns out she's an artist too. Back in high school, she'd spend like all her time over in the art wing doing artstuff. She likes to do it all: drawing, painting, 3D stuff, flash tattoo art. But especially the drawing and the ceramics. She likes to do abstract stuff rather than representational, she did this one wall-mounted ceramic piece with 5 interlocking puzzle-style parts to it, it sounded pretty cool. Does a little oil painting too. So we talk art, we talk about post-high-school experiences, she's studying to be a cosmetology teacher.
She gets done with my haircut, and it's a pretty good haircut. I give her a two-dollar tip and scrawl down the URL of my webcomic on the back of the haircut place's business card. She'll like the most recent one, I tell her; it's about haircutting. I grab my folders and head back home, reflecting on how that haircut was a lot of fun.
Art is all about sharing, and art is awesome when it's shared. A lot of things are awesome when they're shared.

For Science

2007-04-28T06:04:00.000-07:00

Last night I dreamed about a presentation. The speaker was a scientist and a Christian, and I believe he was involved in the human genome project, maybe. He gave a talk and displayed some powerpoint slides.
One of these slides contained a diagram, with a big yellow section labeled "Nature" and then an orange section labeled "human knowledge." The orange section was long and narrow and had a chain stretching through its length. In successive slides, little chunks of "nature" broke off and became links in the "human knowledge" chain. The speaker told us, the audience, that as a Christian he considered it our mandate to endeavor to realize that goal through science, and that perhaps one day we would reach it.
I asked him a question, but he failed to adequately address it in his response, so afterwards I came up to him and talked to him. "See," I explained, "what I'm saying is that once (hypothetically) we comes to a full knowledge of the universe, our theory of the universe is also within the universe. So we must then alter our theory to take our theory into account when accounting for the universe. But then it's not the same theory anymore!"
He gave a response to this, that was basically that science had demonstrated remarkable progress in the realm of human understanding so far, and that he hoped that the trend would continue and eventually explain the whole of the universe, even if it took millions and millions of generations. He seemed to have misunderstood my objection, so I tried again. I wasn't saying that how could we ever know everything about the universe given that the universe is so huge and enormous. My point was that in order to be truly comprehensive, science must always be trying to explain itself in relation to the rest of the universe, and that sort of meta-knowledge couldn't be reached by his simple acquisitive scientific process represented with the chain links.
Here I was in essence arguing against scientism. My case was loosely related to an argument against scientism that J.P. Moreland employs several times in his various books. The essence of Moreland's argument is that the proposition "Science is the only possible source of knowledge" is self-contradictory, as it is not a testable hypothesis, cannot be empirically observed with the senses, etc.. When I woke up, I was rather pleased for recalling these things in my subconsciousness.
There was also a bit in my dream about starting a role-playing game in which Nick Padgett wanted his character to be a six-foot tall ambulatory hot dog with mustard, but that is another story entirely.

Jaxxon Taix a Kwizz

2007-03-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Literature Nerd Does sitting by a nice cozy fire, with a cup of hot tea/chocolate, and a book you can read for hours even when your eyes grow red and dry and you look sort of scary sitting there with your insomniac appearance? Then you fit this category perfectly! You love the power of the written word and it's eloquence; and you may like to read/write poetry or novels. You contribute to the smart people of today's society, however you can probably be overly-critical of works. It's okay. I understand.
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Anime Nerd
Musician
Artistic Nerd
Drama Nerd
Science/Math Nerd
Social Nerd
What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace

Song!

2007-03-28T15:05:00.001-07:00

Kristi, Dwight, anyone else who's a photographer or has a Flickr account--or has even just perused Flickr ever--this is for you guys. I came across this guy Jonathan Coulton who is a musician, and he wrote a song about Flickr. There is a video to go with it too. Here it is. Check it out, I think you will find it entertaining.

Reign of Fire

2007-01-21T11:17:00.000-08:00

I was watching Reign of Fire today, and I just watched the scene where Van Zan starts recruiting people from Quinn's crew for dragon-hunting, and Quinn goes into a rage and charges him. I watched them brawling, wailing on each other, and I watched Van Zan get the upper hand and smash his fist into Quinn again and again. They pulled him off, and I saw the bloodstain running down from his--Van Zan's--nose. I cried then, and I don't know why.

Band

2006-12-15T09:11:00.000-08:00

There should totally be a band called "The Dewey Decibel System."

Here's a figure

2006-12-04T15:43:00.000-08:00

"according to a Johns Hopkins study – no joke – the average mascot loses 8.6 pounds per performance, roughly a gallon of salty, sticky sweat."

From an article about professional sports mascots. here's a link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hruby/061204&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab3pos1

GURPS Wild ARMS

2006-11-16T19:39:00.000-08:00

Tonight's roleplaying game went well. Sam was missing, but that was okay, as his character was pretty hurt from the last gunfight the crew had been in. So the other three guys got to visit some ancient ruins, solve a few puzzles, duke it out with a giant hovering orb-robot, and retrieve the Vessel of Four Moons for a Baskar tribe. Next session: consulting the dreams of the Guardian.

2006-11-14T20:01:00.000-08:00

"I know this place will chew you up
And spit you out before you go,
And when they drag you kickin' and screamin'
From the scene you know,
Then it's time to go."

-Less Than Jake, "Scott Farcus Takes It on the Chin"

Man!

2006-11-03T06:14:00.000-08:00

Real Life today is hilarious! The punchline is so awesome that I'm not going to spoil it for you.

2006-10-10T14:03:00.000-07:00

Karen.
If you would like to post your response here, feel free.

Adventures in Epistemology: a Scientifical Investigation

2006-10-06T10:57:00.000-07:00

So these days at work I'm working with this study done by HCRC on sleep deprivation. Spread out across twelve CD's are six sets of thirty-nine dialogues, recorded from sessions where subjects were put in pairs of giver and follower and asked to give directions to each other based on simple maps. The subjects went upwards of 48 hours without sleep, becoming increasingly . While working with this material, I have been conducting my own experiments in sleep deprivation, varying the amount of sleep that the subject, Jackson Ferrell, receives each night, ranging anywhere from two to eight hours.
At the end of a two-week period, the subject's work performance was evaluated. The subject was asked to, from the CD materials provided, the structure of the HCRC experiment, determine the chronological order of the dialogue transcripts and audio files, and to determine at what points throughout the experiment the HCRC experiment subjects were instructed to read word lists consisting of the names of landmarks from the maps. The subject catalogued the files by CD, then ordered them chronologically, citing the name and number of each pair, noting which took the role of giver or follower, and the CD and subdirectory where the requisite files could be found, as well as the day and time of each session.
Double-checking the subject's catalog yielded surprising results. Subjects were frequently misidentified as giver or follower, subject ID numbers were transposed, and file locations often referred to files and directories that were not on the designated CD. Sometimes files were double-cited for additional incorrect pairs as well as the correct giver/follower pair. The subject, when asked, reported that he had felt "reasonably confident" in the accuracy of his notes, and that he approached the task with what he considered a sufficient level of attention to detail. Even while aware that he was operating under sleep-deprived conditions, the subject considered force of will and increased effort toward accuracy sufficient to overcome the effects of fatigue on cognitive function.
These findings suggest that those in a condition of error or increased susceptibility to error are generally unaware of their state, and consider themselves competent to accurately perceive and convey information at a normal level of functionality. Further studies would investigate the applicability of this hypothesis beyond the particular condition of sleep deprivation.

Gridiron Gang

2006-09-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

This is why I like ESPN. This is a movie review for Gridiron Gang. Even those who aren't big sports fans, I'd recommend checking it out. For one, it's a very good piece of writing, but there's more in it than just a movie review. he's got some good thoughts, so check it out. hope you enjoy.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/060920&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab4pos1

I wonder what my grandma would think

2006-09-19T11:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.gatewaygrizzlies.com/news/?id=2723

Bionic Arm

2006-09-14T13:26:00.000-07:00

Dude. This guy has a bionic arm. This is cool.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/09/14/bionic.arm.ap/index.html

ESPN 2

2006-09-07T15:46:00.000-07:00

so here's another cool thing. ESPN used Madden 07 to simulate the first week of games for the upcoming NFL season. pretty cool:

http://sports.espn.go.com/videogames/simulation/nfl?id=2568071

ESPN

2006-09-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

So I like sports pretty well. Most sports, however, I really don't have a team, and the way most professional sports are going these days (the turnover rate I think is much higher in recent years), I find it hard to get attached. But, in general I like it, and so it's kinda fun to have at least some idea what's going on (if nothing else it's useful for conversation. I can rag on Steeler fans and then get politely reminded that they won the Super Bowl last year). This is why I go to ESPN. A lot of the coolness about the site, however, is not the sports themselves, but some of the excellent sportswriters they have there. There's really a lot more to talk about too than just sports, and inevitably they end up getting on some pretty interesting topics. And sometimes rather odd and amusing ones, like this:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hruby/060906&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab4pos1

this Albright dude sounds pretty cool. anywho, I recommend checking them out.

Spurious Etymological Connotation Argument of the Day

2006-09-04T07:54:00.000-07:00

suburbia = soberbia

From "The River"

2006-08-15T09:34:00.000-07:00

A segment from "The River" by Flannery O'Conner. It's coming from the perspective of a 5 year old.

It occured to him that he was lucky this time that they had found Mrs. Connin who would take you away for the day instead of an ordinary sitter who only sat where you lived went to the park. You found out more when you left where you lived. He had found out already this morning that he had been made by a carpenter named Jesus Christ. Before he had thought it had been a doctor named Sladewell, a fat man with a yellow mustache who gave him shots and thought his name was Herbert, but this must have been a joke.

A $2 million comma splice

2006-08-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

I'm amused. This just goes to show the importance of grammar and a proper understanding of the English language.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060807.RROGERS07/TPStory/Business

2006-08-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

so I had this really strange string of dreams last night. It started with a dream about Harry Potter. I think that one came up cause I ran across Alan Rickman on imdb last night, but still, I'm not a Harry Potter person. So then I woke up in the middle of the night, but I went back to sleep. After this I had a flashback dream about highschool soccer practice. At the end I remembered I wasn't in highschool anymore. Then I dreamed I was a sharpshooter in the union army during the civil war. For some reason, I think we were using red beans and rice for either wadding or powder in our rifles. Next I dreamed I was running down rival gang members in a shopping mall with an expensive red sports car. Then I think I dreamed I was playing the part of a tooth or something in a toothpaste commercial. Then I woke up. So yeah. Have fun with that one.

a quote

2006-07-31T19:13:00.000-07:00

Nothing produces silence like experience.
-Flannery O'Conner

Blood

2006-07-13T16:48:00.000-07:00

I gave blood on Tuesday. It had been a while. I usually try to give double reds; I've done it 4 or 5 times now. Those who have done it will probably have an idea what I'm talking about, but it is one of the strangest sensations I've ever experienced.
With a double red donation, they basically extract two pints of blood but extract the plasma and pump it back into you. They do it one pint at a time, probably so you aren't sitting there down two pints of blood. But anywho, once the blood leaves your body it moves into the holding containers and extractor which are sitting at room temp. Thus, when they pump it back in, they're pumping 70-75 degree blood into a 98 degree body. You feel cold on the inside. I'll be honest, it's not exactly a pleasant experience, but I think it's worth it, at least once. Plus, you get to trade two pints of blood for juice and cookies, which I think is a pretty swell deal.

World Cup 2006

2006-07-09T15:14:00.000-07:00

Honestly, this has probably been between 4th and 5th on the "current most important things in my life" list for the last month. I don't watch a whole lot of soccer, but every four years, the cup comes on, and I'm growing to love it. So, you get to hear my thoughts.
First, the cup in general. There is a reason they call the soccer "The Beautiful Game". I believe that, at it's best, it indeed is beautiful. I don't care that much for teams in particular. I'll root for the US (more on them in a bit); my dad roots for the underdogs, and I've been that way in the past, but this year I really leaned toward the teams playing good soccer. Cause I wanted to see good games. I like to see teams play hard and well, and if they do, and they win, I'm for it.
Regarding the draw, it was pretty screwy. The fact that Ukraine got to the quarters the performance it had testified to this, I thought. I was also disappointed that the two African powerhouses got stuck in the "groups of death" (how those two groups got put together is beyond me).
The cards, I'm not gonna talk about. I do think the officiating in the last 5-6 games or so was very good.
Something I noticed in this cup. A lot of the underdog teams played well, and often better than the more reputable teams. But constantly the more reputable teams proved that when it came down to it, they knew how to get the ball in the back of the net. They knew how to come from behind as well. Perhaps that's just cup experience. I dunno.
I think it was the Croatia/Brazil match, but we got a bit of a taste of crazy soccer fans. I think the fans spend the entire game on their feet singing and dancing and banging on big drums. Somehow one of the fans wearing a Croatian jersey snuck out of the stands and managed to get onto the field. He ran around down there for a couple of seconds before anyone realized what had happened. Then later, flares got lit up in two seperate parts of the stands. How people got flares past security, you got me. But yeah, soccer fans can be kinda wacky. They showed footage of some of the qualifying games in south america, and most of those stadiums have cages between the fields and the stands and the fans will climb on them.
Anywho, I've been telling everyone how much I love my job. And indeed the work is great. The second best thing about my job is that my boss is also a soccer nut. There were several days when he sent me home early so I could catch the 3:00 matchs. Extremely cool, that.
So. Second day of the cup was pretty cool, one of my favorite matches. Trinidad pulled a draw against Sweden, and I was flipping out the whole game. Now granted, it was pretty one sided with Sweden shelling the goal almost nonstop for the last 25 minutes, but Trinidad played some amazing defense and their keeper was great. And Sweden largely didn't impressed me, so I was quite happy to see Germany take them to the cleaners in the round of 16.
Ecuador played well, especially for their first cup. Poland did not.
Germany I liked. They had some young guys, but they played hard, and they played as a team. I was very impressed with Klose, who not only scored some great goals, but set up two really nice ones against Sweden, proving he could work the ball and play strategically. I also liked Argentina. Very talented. They could really work the ball. I saw one of their goals against Serbia, in which they got off about 7 passes inside the box before actually taking a shot. I would have liked to see them meet later, because I do think they were two of the best teams in the cup, but Germany v Argentina was a great match. Both goals in that were beautiful, textbook goals off set pieces, and that's the kind of stuff you like to see. Funny story, but Dwight and I had to tape the game, because it came on at the same time as LT and MJ's wedding rehearsal. We didn't get to finish it until about 11 or so that night. The game went into PKs, but the tape cut out after the second kick. Similar thing happened to my dad in the semis of the 1990 cup, I think Argentina v England. Tape cut out on him after the second kick, but that was because my mom had turned off the cup so Jackson and I could watch Mr. Rogers. The similarity amuses me.
So...the US. The US did not deliver, and I really don't care that they got stuck in the Group of Death 2. Their performance against the Czechs was one of the worst I have seen, and after all their talk before the cup, I don't feel bad that they got knocked out. US v Italy was wild though, really rough game. South Korea was a bit of a disappointment too. They were one of the funnest teams to watch in 2002, but they didn't do much this time around.
I like Spain. Exciting team to watch. I did not like France in the first round, but they woke up against Spain, and if they hadn' t they wouldn't have won. That was a good match. I liked Portugal as well, but they seemed to lack discipline, which came out in their later matches. They got in trouble for a lot of stupid fouls, and I think that cost them. Their match against the Netherlands was one of the saddest I've seen. The ref lost control of the match, and the beautiful game was not so beautiful that day.
Ivory Coast. I like them too. I thought it extremely cool that their qualification to the cup catalized a cease fire to the civil war that had been going on in their country. Again, it was a shame they got the draw they had, because there were probably four or five groups they easily would have advanced from. Which brings me to Ukraine, who managed to get to the quarters with a very lackluster performance. I was very disappointed with their match against the Swiss too. The Swiss, who gave up no regulation goals the entire cup, easily outplayed them. But they went into PKs, and Ukraine came out on top. Not much else to say, except my heart was with Switzerland.
I liked Ghana. They played tough, exciting ball. In their match against Brazil, I think they outplayed Brazil, but Brazil demonstrated the principle I mentioned about experienced teams scoring goals. It would have been interesting to see what things would have been like if Ghana had had Essein. But that was one of the scary things about Brazil. Mediocre soccer from Brazil easily beat most of the teams out there, but that was really all they gave. So I was quite happy to hear that France had taken them out. After their match with Spain, France woke up and decided to play. Brazil did not, and I shed no tears for them.
Players. I liked Klose and Podolski. I thought Ballack played pretty well. I liked Tenorio. I liked the Trinidad keeper, Hislop I think. Kingson with Ghana was quite good too. Jan Koller was frighteningly tall, especially next to the Americans. I liked Leo Messi, and for how well he played, working the ball and making dangerous attacks, I was surprised Argentina didn't use more of him. I liked Crespo too. Controversial comments aside, I liked Eddie Robinson. He was the one US player who I think really came out and played. He wasn't on much though. Was not impressed with Totti. I liked Fernando Torres. Buffon was indeed impressive in goal, and I liked Camoranesi. He played hard D, and really worked the ball well. I really liked Frank Ribery. He played hard all the time, and when Zidane, Henry, and the others woke up, it was fun to watch them work it together. I liked Fred. I think everyone liked Fred.
So the final four. I badly wanted Germany to get to the final. I think they controlled the ball better than Italy in that match, but Italy managed to pull it out in the last two minutes. I do think the Germans would have won in PKs. France v Portugal. Again, France really came out to play, and Portugals lack of discipline game through. I liked France in their last 3 games there. So I was pulling for them in final.
Third place match was great. The final was even better, and France really outplayed Italy. I had not been terribly impressed with the Italians anyway, especially when they were paired against Australia then Ukraine in the elemination rounds, and they just didn't seem to control or dominate their games.
But.
About 20 minutes into overtime, Zidane, who had really carried the team in their last three matches, after a really top notch game, headbutts one of the Italian defenders in the chest. He got a red card, and got ejected. I was very disappointed, and honestly, I think that cost France the game. The Italian defense played well. The Italians handled the shootout very well. Gattuso did not handle the post game celebration well.
So yeah. That's my thoughts on the cup. And that's what I've been doing for much of the last month. It's been a great month indeed, and I will eagerly await the next cup. South Africa is hosting. It will be the first time andAfrican nation has hosted. It might be fun to go. Who knows, we'll see. Good times.

2006-06-15T10:59:00.000-07:00

hey, you know what just occurred to me? "Sagas" is a palindrome!

Role-Playing

2006-06-04T00:18:00.000-07:00

Last summer, I ran a roleplaying game set in the world of Yrth from the GURPS Fantasy book. Throughout our five or six meetings that summer, the crew fought pirates and explored the strange and magical ring islands, cataloguing their findings to report to the Aralaise government. Tonight we had the finale, which was a lot of fun, and very satisfying for all of us, as it concluded the campaign and gave everyone an opportunity to be awesome.
I was going to write at greater length about the awesome things that the players did, but then I had to take Sean home. At one point ended up driving on the wrong side of the road just as a policeman turned onto that road. Once he realized I hadn't been drinking he ended up letting me go with a warning to be more careful and not do anything stupid, like going drinking. I dropped Sean off at his house and got onto the highway, but following the highway back home proved to be an adventure in itself, burning a quarter-tank of gas and finding myself halfway to Cincinnati on two occasions.
My life feels meaningful right now. God made it feel meaningful in much the same way that He makes tables feel hard or water feel wet. He made it feel meaningful by giving it meaning.

2006-05-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

in response to Dwight's inquiry, I did not win the Sophie Kerr prize, but perhaps at some point I will put some of my sonnets up here or something. and if anyone wishes to read some of my short stories or something like that, I'm sure I can email them to them.

The Resurrection Sonnets: a Cycle in Three Parts

2006-05-22T19:08:00.000-07:00

I won the Dean's Award for Poetry. Here is the poem I submitted. Hope y'all enjoy.

XX
Can words express the feelings of the day?
Can thoughts relate a heart’s unspoken pleas?
And can our memories put on display
The scope and measure of this man’s disease?
This man is cursed, as all men. He was born
Into a dying world and he’ll die soon.
And when he dies his scant words will adorn
The flowering of his mind, an unmarked tomb.
But in that bower long bereft of thought
Or clarity, though time and curse may bind
This poor man to his fate, his heart’s been bought,
And to death’s end this man’s no more consigned.
Though thought and man may die, the Word lives on
That man may rise again and curse be gone.

XXII
As desert heats scorch flesh and parch the tongue
And Heaven’s fiery wrath burns all but sand,
Beneath the gaze of which all lives among
The waste are turned to dust, we see a man
Who stands beneath the sun. They call him mad
And draw their life from mud and lie in shade.
“Don’t call down Heaven’s Wrath upon your head.
They say, ‘All that you do shall be repaid.’ ”
Indeed, yet still this man endures the strife
Of Heaven’s gaze that burns down from the sky.
For He knows Heaven’s tears gave mud its life
And in both shade and sun all men will die.
Those tears will come, when this man’s work is done
In life’s cruel desert walking towards the Son.

XXIII
The poets write of leaving leaves in fall,
Allude to trees stripped bare ‘neath winter’s chill.
They speak of spring and new life to recall
A world, once dead, in Resurrection’s thrill.
Like poets, season’s cycles soon return
To times, days, subjects they have seen and known.
And as man’s sense time’s turns fails to discern,
Our winters freeze thoughts that spring will atone
For wintry death. But all will be made new
When spring arrives. This promise still remains
In seasons, and as poets pens put to
Paper the hope of Resurrection’s gains.
The hand of Providence has put in place
The seasons to remind us of His grace.

Free Cone Day

2006-04-25T15:34:00.000-07:00

So today was free cone day. Several of us went down earlier this afternoon, and I wanted another cone so I went again after dinner. I had a New York somethingorother Chunk the first time, and Coconut with almonds the second. It was good stuff. It's been sunny all day, and I went running. All in all, it's been a pretty good day.
Free Cone Day is a lot like grace, I think. Grace and God's love. For starters, it's free. And you can go back as many times as you want and it will still be there. And you didn't do anything to earn it or deserve it. It's just there. God does things like that for us all the time; give us 'free cone days'. It's something I've had trouble remembering in the past. It's hard to be constantly aware of God's love all the time, and to embrace it for what it is. I think that's why I started writing poems about the resurrection. God repeatedly gives us things to remind us of his love, and writing and thinking on the resurrection helped me be mindful of that when I couldn't see it as directly. Christ died, but he rose again. Though you might feel dead now, it won't be like that for long, and there will come a day when things will never be dark again. That's not so bad.
So yeah, today's been a good day, and it's good to know why. God really does love us. Let us listen when he tells us so. Let us eat our free cones. Hooray for free cone day.

My Oral Part 2

2006-04-23T07:22:00.000-07:00

I never really know how my oral went until I hear about it in my Don Rag. I enjoyed it, which is good. On the other hand, the only oral I enjoyed in the past, my tutors weren't impressed with. I felt like I had a solid grasp of the material such that I think we were able to talk about ideas not touched on in the paper. At the end though, I got to say a few things about divine revelation and testimony that I had mentioned at the end of my paper. I had really been hoping to get to that point. They cut me off after that, so I don't know what they thought on that matter. So yeah, I find these things really hard to gauge, but I guess I can say it went well for me.

My Oral

2006-04-19T12:16:00.000-07:00

So my oral is tomorrow, 10:30 right after math. I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to it or not. I had a lot of fun writing my paper, and I thought it turned out well. Also, at the end of the paper, I got to say some stuff about divine revelation and testimony, which, if it came up in my oral, would make for a nice opportunity for me to talk about my faith.
On the other hand, it is an oral. I have mentioned my thoughts on orals before.
So yeah. My oral is tomorrow. Prayers would be appriciated. I'll keep y'all posted.

Planz

2006-04-14T08:43:00.000-07:00

Dwight has requested to know what I am doing after graduation. Well, I am going back to Ohio to work for Dr. Boyce at the University of Cincinnati, doing my usual job with the computer work in the sound lab. In the meantime, I will be continuing to write, and also looking for a job more in line with the sort of career I'd like to pursue. You know, something in publishing or editing or maybe journalism. Also, there will be summertime gaming!
Our parents will be away for much of the summer. Dad is still working in Birmingham and Mom is going to spend some time with him. So those are the plans.

ToothpasteForDinner.com: On Childhood

2006-04-07T22:57:00.000-07:00

1. crushing spirits like it's their job
2. you know we all did this as children
3. it's a mythical far-off land that exists only in our minds

2006-04-05T18:30:00.000-07:00

So.
I finished my essay and turned it in on Monday. And the spring soccer tournament starts this Friday. Croquet is in about three weeks. I do love springtime in Annapolis.

2006-03-12T13:34:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite games is Tactics Ogre. I used to own a copy, but at some point I lent it out or lost it or something. In hopes of not having to buy another copy, I finally went to the trouble over break and got a working PSX emulator together. Unfortunately, PSX ISOs are hard to find and usually aren't worth the trouble. Most sites require sifting through all kinds of advertisements and stuff, have poor selection, or don't actually have working files for download. So I haven't found a copy of it yet. If anyone has any ideas where I might find it or knows of any working rom sites that might carry it, do let me know.

Poetry

2006-03-11T08:57:00.000-08:00

you know what would be a good poetic phrase to use in some poem sometime? "kevlar skies." or, you know, anything that's not normally anything like body armor. kevlar oceans, kevlar breeze. kevlar heartbeats.

Beer and Tacos

2006-02-20T12:47:00.000-08:00

So imagine this: you buy a beer. You pay half price for it. You get all the free tacos you can eat.
I discovered earlier this semester that Ram's Head has this happy hour special. You buy a beer. You pay half price. You get all the free tacos you can eat. It's amazing.

A quote from Terry Pratchett

2006-02-16T12:49:00.000-08:00

"Barbarism? Hah! When we kills people we do it there and then, lookin' 'em in the eye, and we'd be happy to by 'em a drink in the next world, no harm done. I never knew a barbarian who cut up people slowly in little rooms, or tortured women to make 'em look pretty, or put poison in people's grub. Civilization? If that's civilization, you can shove it where the sun don't shine."
-Ghenghiz Cohen, Interesting Times

2006-02-13T19:33:00.000-08:00

Tonight Martin was playing that space pinball game on the computer.
My freshman year at St. John's, on my laptop in the library while turning out paragraphs of my lab papers, I played a lot of that game.

2006-02-02T07:26:00.000-08:00

A while ago, I was having morning sunshine problems, with the sun coming through my window and shining on my face and waking me up. Dwight suggested that I duct-tape a curtainy thing over my window. Last night I actually decided to give it a shot, hung up a bedsheet with duct tape, but when I woke up (7 or so) the curtain had fallen down. So I hung it back up, went back to sleep until about 9. I woke up at 9 with the sun shining through onto my face, because in the space of less than two hours, the curtain had fallen back down again.
Duct tape has failed me. :(

What will the Dadaists think of next?

2006-01-31T11:30:00.000-08:00

I read this article about a dude who tried to smash Charles Duchamp's found toilet with a hammer. (You can read it here.)
He got arrested. Personally, I think the guy actually has a point, although letting him off could potentially open up doors to things not so good, such as people doing things like the dude did who took a hammer to Michelangelo's David (which is not cool) in the name of art.
But in this case, I think I agree with him: Duchamp would have approved. I also find it funny, as the article mentions, that the original urinal was actually lost. The thing they have is only a replica. I'm amused. I hope he succeeds.

Oh my.

2006-01-25T12:19:00.000-08:00

I'm applying for this journalism internship this summer. Here are two of the three essay prompts from the application. The first could be answered in one sentence. Hopefully I will find a way to elaborate more on that statement, beyond simply defining their terms for them. The second is strange as well, particularly because they leave out the last part of the quote (I went and dug it up off the internet, because I wanted some more context). I've included my response for that one. I know what they're looking for with these prompts, but this is pretty sloppy.

Essay #1 *
Write a statement of no more than 500 words on the role of individual liberty and economic freedom in a free society.

Essay #2
Thomas Jefferson observed that if he had to choose between a free press and a free government, he would choose a free press: "The basis of our government being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." What do you think of Jefferson's statement? Write a response of no more than 250 words.

Jefferson’s statement is rather odd. Government exists fundamentally to limit human actions primarily for the sake of preserving human life. Newspapers, or “free press”, exist to disseminate information and opinions.
Jefferson presents the choice of having newspapers or a government. He claims he would unhesitatingly choose newspapers without a government. Now, in Jefferson’s chosen scenario, the government, which exists to limit human actions to preserve human life, does not exist, but newspapers, representing the means and the capacity to express or disseminate information and opinions, do exist. One would be perfectly free then, having no limitations on one’s actions, to express any ideas one desired. Likewise, one would be perfectly free to be killed by someone, who was perfectly free to act as he pleased in response to those opinions…in which case one, being dead and thus unable to act, would no longer be free.
Jefferson foresees the difficulties of a lack of government, as he continues “But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable of reading them”. The choice of press without government receives the qualifiers of possessing the means to distribute these newspapers and those receiving them being literate. Both literacy and the distribution of newspapers are functions of an organized society. Elements of organized society, such as these, are necessarily subsequent to the limitations on human action brought about by government. Thus, if the qualifications of literacy and distribution are to be fulfilled the existence of a government is first required.

My new favorite song of the day

2006-01-20T06:32:00.000-08:00

In Excelsis Deo
Roper

This wooden soul of mine
it cannot ever climb
to places it has fallen from
in between where light can shine.
It never falls in line.
It barely has a spine
like branches severed from the vine
like it was faulty by design.
But now your mercy
lights up my dark eyes.
Your brilliant hope now
lifts my falling skies,
and I'm the object of your affection.
you love me still in my imperfection.
The sun will shine on winter snow,
and shadows fade in excelsis deo.

This wooden soul is old.
Its lies are growing cold
its knotted trunk is straightening
its roots are loosening their hold.
So cluttered with debris
this inefficient melody
I'll keep waiting patiently
if the world will ever release me.
You love me even though I am untrue
if I were perfect, I wouldn't need you.
I am the object of your affection
you love me still in my imperfection.
The sun will shine on winter snow
And shadows fade in excelsis deo.

Gloria in excelsis deo.
Not so far, not so far to go.

The sun will shine on winter snow
And shadows fade in excelsis deo.
The sun will shine forever.

Penny Arcade

2006-01-17T12:20:00.000-08:00

Check out penny-arcade.com
Ignoring the day's comic (they treat everything that way, not just Christianity, and they admit it), they talk about an interesting new trend in the gaming world: Christians creating online gaming groups with the purpose of fostering Christian community and for use as an evangelistic platform. Gaming for the glory of God (or something like that). That's pretty cool, especially with how insular the gaming community can be. Anywho, they've got a link to an interesting article about the movement as well. As the founder of one of these online gaming clans says "What could be better than spreading the Good News and playing videogames?"

Thought of the Day

2006-01-14T16:50:00.000-08:00

The world really needs love.
And when it comes to love, Jesus delivers.

Supertones, Yo!

2006-01-07T08:09:00.000-08:00

My new album, "The Revenge of the O.C. Supertones," is pretty awesome. Honestly, most albums I get, there's a weak song or two in there, but there are no weak songs on this one. Additionally, I think it may be the 'Tones most gospel-focused album to date. It is decidedly an album about Jesus, which is something you don't see every day.
I think my favorite song on it is "Transmission" because it's seriously like a trip back to late 1970's England, listening to that dancey edgy two-tone ska pumping through your radio. And what's the message of the music coming through that radio? It's simple and clean; it's good news about salvation.
I think Jesus is whipping up something good inside of me.

Saints and Soldiers

2005-12-23T12:07:00.000-08:00

I just finished watching a the movie Saints and Soldiers. It's about five guys stuck behind German lines during WWII. They have information that they need to get back to the Allied forces about a German offensive. If I remember correctly, it received the award for best picture at 14 different film festivals. It's somewhat low budget, and there aren't any big name actors or producers in it either, though the performances are quality.
Overall I thought the movie was quite good. It reminded me a lot of To End All Wars, also very good. It dealt with themes of redemption and sacrifice from a biblical perspective, which I thought were done well. I don't think the gospel was presented as directly as it was in To End All Wars, but I think with what they did present, they were very consistent in demonstrating it. I would not say it was overtly Christian, but it did not shy away from serious questions, and I think the characters responded well when faced with those questions (as opposed to freaking out or giving up because the answers aren't forthcoming). I also liked how they seemed to indicate in the soldiers' circumstances that God rewarded their faith and perserverence. There are a few instances which at first might seem contrived, but, in the context of the other themes in the story, I beleive the writers were trying to indicate Divine Providence. It's nice to see people recognize things like that for what they are as opposed to ignoring it or writing it off as mere chance. It's not always easy, but God rewards faith and perserverence, and in a sense I think this movie shows that well.
I would definately recommend it. There were a few things at the beginning which seemed odd; there are a few scenes in which one of the characters starts halucinating, but they shot it in the style of your typical supernatural horror/thriller movie. This threw me off a little bit at first, as I was expecting to watch a war film, not dudes hunted by demon children or something like that. Once they explain it, it all makes sense, and it works in retrospect, but I'm not particularly fond of cheep scares, so for those who might feel the same, they don't push them throughout the whole movie. That was probably my biggest qualm. Other than that, I say give it try, and I hope you enjoy it.

North Dakota?

2005-12-23T12:03:00.000-08:00

Apparently North Dakota got nailed by a cat 5 snowstorm recently. 44 inches of snow, and 90mph winds, and lots of trees knocked over and people stranded and things like that. And apparently almost no media coverage or federal response or anything. I hadn't even heard about it til I got an email from my uncle. From what I hear, the people up there seem to be doing all right taking care of themselves.

Calvinism vs. Arminianism

2005-12-14T13:43:00.000-08:00

First, it strikes me that within the Protestant church, the debate between these two positions has become relatively prevalent, and at times rather heated. Now, before I say anything, I don't actually really know what the debate is about. If I racked my brains I could probably remember what those words refered to, but I don't really care to do so, and I don't think I understand the ideas involved well enough to say anything substantial anyway. If my perceptions are incorrect, then all the better.
But what really bothers me is the names. I really hate it how the different sides have given themselves these names, and identify themselves with these names, saying "I'm a Calvinist" or "I'm an Arminian". Maybe it's just me, but that sounds a lot like people saying "I'm a follower of Paul" or "I'm a follower of Apollus". This freaks me out.
That's one reason I don't associate myself any particular denomination. It also makes me wonder about the value and goodness of formal church membership (though I'm sure there are good reasons to practice that. I'd be interested to hear some).

2005-12-14T12:24:00.000-08:00

By the way, "whug" is a very good word.

Don Rag

2005-12-14T09:57:00.000-08:00

yup. had my don rag today. same story. I write good papers. I don't talk enough, or loudly enough. At least this time they said I appear well prepared. My french tutor actually thinks I'm good at translating.
I hate these things. I had a feeling something like this would happen, but it seems it's always worse than I expect. I thought it had been getting better, but apparently not. I'm not a presence in seminar. My oral wasn't that great. Mr. Cohen called me an enigma, which seemed to resonate with most of my other tutors, and honestly, I feel that way too sometimes. They know that I can do well, I understand the material well, and when I do participate, I can make strong contributions to the discussions. And yet I don't, and it makes no sense to them. And then they ask me what's going on, and I have no idea how to respond, cause I don't know either. I've really been trying hard this semester, and honestly I'm happier right now than I've been in a long time. I'm consistantly writing again, which I think is a good indicator of my mind's capacity to function. But in class, it's the same way it's been the last two years, and though I don't think I'm at a risk of getting kicked out, I would have hoped things would have gotten better this time.
Whug. I gotta go write my precept paper.

2005-12-03T10:19:00.000-08:00

think I'm overdue for some exercise. I'm gonna go running now and maybe lift some weights too.

A conversation between Dwight and me

2005-11-29T17:18:00.000-08:00

Dwight: I don't know if it weren't for tradition if I'd ever come up with the idea of sacraments
David: sacraments
Dwight: a formal religious act conferrring a specific grace on those who receive it
no
David: that seems reasonable
Dwight: I think baptism would be around
lords supper?
not so sure
I'm not anti-eucharist, but... it seems that tradition is where you begin arguing from
Jesus said do this in rememberance of me
sure
but making that "confer grace"?
David: well, both baptism and lords supper were things we were directly instructed to participate in
Dwight: and discipling all nations
and confessing our faith
are those sacraments?
confessing and baptism seem to be on the same level at least
David: oh yeah, that whole go forth and make disciples
hmmm
Dwight: which is better translated "as you go"
rather than "go forth"
"as you go, disciple all nations"
(the go is not imperative)
David: hmmm
are any of these things necessary for recieving grace though?
Dwight: I think there are 2 kinds of people in the world... those that have been forgiven and those who know they have been forgiven
David: those who accept forgiveness?
and those who don't?
Dwight: I think that Jesus died and rose and all sin was dealt with then
some people know it
some don't
some hear about it and reject it
but then they just flow into the don't know it
David: you speak of know then in an experiencial sense?
Dwight: or something
?
know it as in have heard the gospel and believe
I'm not a decision theologist
David: I think we're talking about the same two types of people
Dwight: those who accept forgiveness=?
and those who don't=??
I'm saying those who don't reject what they have heard and everyone else
David: Ah
I see the distinction
in the end though, ignorance is no excuse
Dwight: yeah, I'm not sure about the end
I think some people say "ignorance is no excuse" to comfort themselves that they never proclaim the gospel
David: this is also true
I'm willing to operate under your distinction
Dwight: so then proclaiming and baptism seem to be obviously from scripture "sacraments"
except some people add "visible element" so proclaiming is out
David: explain again. what is a sacrament?
Dwight: Eucharist has a visible element, but what conclusively says "this confers grace"?
a formal religious act conferring a specific grace on those who receive it
is from dictionary.com
David: what does it mean to "confer grace"? does that equate with salvation?
Dwight: I dunno
In most other Western Christian churches, the two rites, Baptism and the Eucharist, that were instituted by Jesus to confer sanctifying grace.
(another b) definition
)
sanctifying grace
so not salvific?
David: the necessity of such things would seem to go against the whole, grace through faith alone thing
Dwight: right...
although I'm not too worried about bare necessity...
David: I don't think one would be damned if one's circumstances prohibited partaking of the eucharist or baptism
Dwight: yeah...
David: I'm not sure circumstance could prohibit proclaiming the gospel, unless one maybe lost one's tongue or something, but even then ones presence itself would bear witness (i.e. as one persecuted for the sake of the gospel)
and there are other ways beyond speaking
the definition did say "specific grace", so maybe there's something else
that its refering to
Dwight: yeah, salvific vs sanctifying?
or something
David: salvific being the "you're not going to hell" bit, and sanctifying being the "making you clean" bit?
Dwight: yeah
but that is from a dictionary, not form the bible
David: so are the sacraments necessary for a man to be purified?
Dwight: I dunno?
David: Job was a righteous man, and he did not have the sacraments
Dwight: but is righteous the same as sanctified
David: maybe righteousness is the end of sanctification?
Dwight: not justification?
David: so righteousness and purity would be different things. righteousness being the end of justification and purity being the end of sanctification
salvation is that by which a man is justified, thus making him righteous.
Dwight: was job justified?
David: "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
but then in what sense was he "righteous"
Dwight: faith?
David: like Abraham?
Dwight: sure
Abraham was definately not works righteous
why would job be?
David: and we say that Job wasn't either?
Dwight: you did
"all have sinned"
David: that would, by necessity, include Job, correct?
Dwight: pretty sure
David: then why is it problematic that God allows all those bad things to happen to him?
Dwight: is it?
wait?
would it be a problem if he was righteous and bad things happened to him?
because I think he was faith righteous
was
was
(not focusing on the past tense, but on the being)
David: I don't find it problematic. frustrating, maybe. sad, and unfortunate, but I don't think theologically problematic

Article I wrote for the Collegian (school publication)

2005-11-25T20:25:00.000-08:00

"Christmas Shopping, Crucifixion, and God in a Meatsuit"

Last year my brother and I made a travesty of Christmas shopping. We hadn’t planned it that way, but it just sort of happened. We headed out in our ponderous tank of a van, and we both wanted Relient K’s new album “Mmhmm,” so we went to Best Buy and David bought it for me. “My gift to you,” he explained, “is that you can just give me this and not have to shop for me this year.” We got our mom—together—a board game that we both would enjoy, and by the time we got our friend Jason the Cliff’s Notes to John Gardner’s Grendel, wishing him a “very postmodern Christmas”, there was no going back.
Incidentally, my mom had already gotten us the Relient K album.
But Christmas gift-giving has always been kind of weird for me, and not just deliberately like last year. If you’re more distantly related to me than “grandparent,” I’m not likely to have the means to get you a gift, and it’s always been like that. I remember in sixth grade there was a “Santa’s Workshop” where we kids could purchase gifts, and my mom gave me $10 for it. It didn’t go very far.
Every year my parents gave me a handful of cash to buy presents for them. I’d get them some useless thing like a tiny pewter dragon or Beanie Baby—I don’t know what I was thinking with that, my dad is not a Beanie Baby person, but the darn things were in vogue and I needed to get him something—that they’d never get themselves. It was like they were getting their own Christmas gifts through some impoverished extraneous middleman, but I’d do it anyway, because that’s how you tell people you love them at Christmastime. I don’t really speak this gift-giving language, but I try anyway, like a foreign exchange student or something. Every year I basically study abroad in the mall, trying to find a gift that says “I loves to you.”
But I really do like the season, even though I don’t speak Consumerism. I like the time off from school. I like just being around my family, sitting on the sofa playing video games or scrawling up the rules for some crazy card game while my mom is reading for fun. I like the lights. I like the Christmas songs.
So I guess Christmas for me has never really been about the gifts. No, wait, actually it has.
See, Christmas for me is about the birth of Jesus Christ: when God gave the gift of Himself to us. God is omnipresent, so it’s not like He’s never around or anything, but at Christmas, I feel His presence in a special way—His Christmas presence. Sorry, couldn’t resist. But sometimes I forget, and the season is God’s reminder for me of when He put on a meatsuit, just like all us humans wear when we’re not wearing anything else. He sent Himself to Earth to let us know what He’s all about.
But this means more to me than just God identifying with humanity, expressing Himself in a way we can understand. Jesus came with a purpose in mind; He wasn’t born merely for the sake of being born.
You’ve got to know a little background to grasp this. At the time of Jesus’ birth, mankind was in dire straits. Ever since God had brought all of Creation into existence and granted man the gift of life, man had been selfishly trampling his fellow man to fulfill his own desires without a thought to even thank his Creator for giving him life.
By all rights God should have killed us for the mess we made of His Creation. Imagine if you were making a painting and you let it paint part of itself, but instead it went out drinking and got beer stains all over the canvas. You’d be perfectly justified in throwing out the painting, and it would be a fair punishment. That’s man’s situation when Jesus was born: guilty of offense against his Artist.
Jesus came on the scene with a purpose: his birth was God’s plan to pay the price for our offense. He arrived on Earth to serve our death sentence on a Roman cross. He was crucified, rose again on the third day, and offers eternal life—freedom from the death penalty that we all deserve—to anyone who will trust Him to give it.
That’s the gift that Christmas is all about to me: eternal life. You don’t earn your way into heaven with good deeds. Fact is, we’re all on the naughty list, and God isn’t going to sacrifice His justice to cross us off for free. Instead, He sacrificed Himself and crossed us off literally (can you tell I like puns?).
The gift’s yours for the opening. Do you want to live your life no longer as a criminal convicted of marring yourself, God’s artistry? Do you want to get free of performance requirements, free to do good things not out of some desperate need to do good, but just because you want to? If you trust Jesus to give you eternal life and free you from your past mistakes, He’ll deliver.
And just to bring it full circle, if you do your good deeds to show God your appreciation for His gift, you’re just giving God back the free will that He gave you—pretty much the same as when I use my parents’ money to buy them matching Christmas mugs.

2005-11-21T08:17:00.000-08:00

Last night I finally figured out how to do the Charleston.

2005-11-11T06:27:00.000-08:00

good news! the raging-ache sore on my lower lip has all but healed. it hurts me no longer. woot.

2005-11-08T06:46:00.000-08:00

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Does Coach Z have a "blorg?"

2005-11-05T02:14:00.000-08:00

Last week I bit my lip. It opened a tiny gash on the inside of my lip, and it hurts whenever something touches it. It's right up against my teeth, so something touches it almost nostop. It's my raging ache. It hurts, and I hate it. I feel so sad.
Someone just threw up out in the hall.

Sonnet by David Ferrell

2005-11-03T15:45:00.000-08:00

As desert heats scorch flesh and parch the tongue
And Heaven’s fiery wrath burns all but sand,
Beneath the gaze of which all lives among
The waste are turned to dust, we see a man

Who stands beneath the sun. They call him mad
And draw their life from mud and lie in shade.
“Don’t call down Heaven’s Wrath upon your head,”
They say. “All that you do shall be repaid.”

Indeed, yet still the man endures the strife
Of Heaven’s gaze that burns down from the sky.
For He knows Heaven’s tears gave mud its life
And in both shade and sun all men will die.

Those tears will come, when this man’s work is done
In life’s cruel desert walking towards the Son.

Sonnet by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

2005-10-30T21:33:00.000-08:00

EXPERIENCE, like a pale musician, holds
A dulcimer of patience in his hand,
Whence harmonies, we cannot understand,
Of God; will in his worlds, the strain unfolds
In sad-perplexed minors: deathly colds
Fall on us while we hear, and countermand
Our sanguine heart back from the fancyland
With nightingales in visionary wolds.
We murmur 'Where is any certain tune
Or measured music in such notes as these?'
But angels, leaning from the golden seat,
Are not so minded their fine ear hath won
The issue of completed cadences,
And, smiling down the stars, they whisper--SWEET.

Malaisagne

2005-10-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

Astros 5, Cardinals 1

2005-10-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

So how about them Texans, eh Dwight?

2005-10-13T09:33:00.000-07:00

So, I had my oral yesterday. At the end we were talking about Don Quixote, and I said something to the effect of "if all of us decided that these windwills were giants, what would it matter if they were actually giants? Why would we care if there were an objective reality outside our imagination?"
At this point Mr. Cohen had stopped talking. Mr. Smith gave me something of a strange look and said. "well, we care about truth, and whether there is an objective reality or not."
And I said "But why should we. Taking Don Quixote, even with something as seemingly objective as getting beaten silly, he doesn't care. It has no bearing on what he thinks or believes. And in fact, sometimes he even convinces himself that it he didn't actually get beaten up, but rather that he won the combat. It seems to him that objective reality has no bearing on him whatsoever. And if he is able to convince of such things, why should it?"
At which point the oral ended. I think my tutors thought I was serious. This is exactly why I hate orals.

2005-10-12T05:28:00.000-07:00

Fall Break begins after my classes are done today. I will be visiting St. John's from then until Sunday, when Fall Break ends. I'm hungry now and will eat breakfast.

Newton vs. Dave

2005-10-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

So I finished my Newton paper, but oh man was that ever a bout. Got five pages out of it. The first round Newton and I were really going at it, but towards the end I had got him pinned down in the corner. Though he didn't quite roll over, I had him pretty well under wraps for the next three rounds, especially 3 and 4. Then in round five, oh man. It just got ugly. Straight out of the corner, he clocked me hard in the nose, and after that I was on the ropes. Fortunately the bell rang (I managed to get the full five pages) before he could go all the way for a KO, but I was feeling it.
I think we'll have to rule that one a draw.
Next fight: Dave faces off back to back with two opponnents to be announced, as he tries to write up his possible oral topics for seminar.

ugh....again

2005-10-02T19:19:00.000-07:00

So now I'm writing this paper on Newton's Lemmas, mostly Lemmas I and II. You know when you start thinking about the infinite and the finite, and how the finite approaches the infinite but never reaches it if you keep adding finite divisions to the finite. Yeah, that's how I feel right now writing my paper: like I'm trying to approach the infinite by adding finite divisions to it.
Oh man does my brain hurt.
I know continuous motion over a finite space has something to do with reconciling it. I think there's a certain way Newton wants us to look at it too. I think he wants us to see something regarding the approach to and the actual limit.
I'm still not there yet.
Good thing this isn't due till Thursday.

ugh

2005-10-01T19:11:00.000-07:00

so yeah. I'm grumpy. It's one of those Saturday Nights where there's not a whole lot to do, and you missed doing most of the stuff that was going on, so you're sitting in your room with things you could do and some things you probably should do, and nothing really appeals to you, and even if you do try to do something, it doesn't really hold your attention, and you get bored and restless and....yeah you get the idea. There's a waltz tonight, but it's homecoming weekend, so there will be alumns which will make the thing a zoo. I'll probably have to wait until 12 or so for it to be worth going down for. Even then though, I dunno, I don't really like dancing with just anybody. I know it's stupid. I probably shouldn't care, but every time a waltz comes up I want to go and dance, but then I don't really feel like going cause I don't want to dance with anybody. It makes me wish I had a girlfriend, so we could go dancing together. I also wish I could go down to the woodshop to cut the blocks to raise my bed with, but it isn't open now.
ugh. Ok. maybe I'll read some Hobbes....later.
I at least I'll stop griping.

Let's hope these don't appear totally huge and wreck the formatting

2005-09-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

Maybe I'm the chance of rain

2005-09-24T21:56:00.000-07:00

and so, at about 1 AM, the party upstairs above my room finally began dying down. The music was turned off and the conversation dropped from f-bomb-punctuated shouting to a normal volume, to the point that my earplugs could block out the remaining noise. and I was happy.
no, I wasn't. because I was tired enough to go to bed at 7 PM, and their stupid party kept me up until 1. I agreed to go in early to help set up for church. The party above me doesn't have to leave at 7:30 in the morning. The party above me can sleep until noon. They can drink alcohol until they have no choice but to sleep until noon if not later.
Did I mention how much I love college? No? Oh, right, it's because I don't.

50 Word Stories

2005-09-24T15:34:00.000-07:00

And the Earth was formless and Void
A brilliant sunset over the ocean burned away into the stillness of the twilight. John and Marie listened to the waves as the stars illuminated the night sky. They were in love. The aliens who created that sunset from a $20 terraforming kit looked down on their work with pride.

2005-09-20T11:34:00.000-07:00

I think, brother, that your experience of not having hair would be much more endurable if you sent me pictures.

Saved

2005-09-20T05:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Real Live Preacher talked about the movie "Saved." I saw this movie this past summer, with my brother and Cris Pennington. Did you see it? What did you think of it?

My new favorite song of the day

2005-09-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

The Shadow Proves the Sunshine
Switchfoot

Sunshine won't you be my mother
Sunshine come and help me sing
My heart is darker than these oceans
My heart is frozen underneath
Crooked soul trying to stay up straight
Dry eyes in the pouring rain
The shadow proves the sunshine
Two scared little runaways
Hold fast till the break of daylight
When the shadow proves the sunshine
Oh Lord why did you forsake me
Oh Lord don't be far away, away
Storm clouds gathering beside me
Please Lord don't look the other way
I'm a crooked soul trying to stay up straight
Shine on me
Let my shadows prove the sunshine

2005-09-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

And now, for a moment of silence.

comments

2005-09-09T05:30:00.000-07:00

this morning I wanted to post a comment on Dwight's blog, but one must log into one's WordPress account to post comments on Dwight's blog. I do not have a WordPress account. Now I am sad. :(

Donald Miller

2005-09-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

They gave us copies of Blue Like Jazz at the Christian Fellowship meeting last week (and some other stuff like a water bottle, stuff that you can't read), and I've been reading it, and all I've got to say is that this guy is really honest. When a guy is even honest about his dishonesty, you can tell he's being really honest. This is a good book for me to read right now.

Galileo

2005-09-06T16:53:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading some Galileo. I feel the same way reading him as I felt reading Dante. The best way I can describe it is "delicious". I have no idea why.
I love physics.

uh...so I'm "blogging"

2005-09-04T14:31:00.000-07:00

So, I finally went to the trouble to reactivate my account and whatnot. So I can post again, at least until I forget my username and password. I know I'm lame. So yeah. I've been in school for a week now. It's going ok. I like French class cause it's extremely easy. I also like lab, cause we're doing physics with Galileo, and physics is extremely cool. Lab on friday was exciting, cause we got some really great numbers from our experiments.
So what am I doing. I'm trying to write more. I've been doing 50 word stories. They're fun. here's one I wrote recently:

The Price of Summer
James placed the metal can on the counter, digging in his pocket for change.
“$17.50” the clerk said.
“No way,” James gaped. “I could get this stuff at Foodland for two bucks.”
“How bad you want it?” the clerk asked.
James shrugged. Were the last three months worth $17.50? Yeah.

So yeah. That's what I'm up to right now.