Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Infinite

So I walked out of the computer lab that I was in doing my homework tonight onto the second floor balcony of our campus center, which lies on the side of a hill.  From this vantage point you can see most all of the city and it was about 45 degrees and perfectly still, so you could hear a whole lot as well.  Everything on campus was silent and all that you could hear were the cars in the distance and an occasional siren and, while it doesn't even compare to the silence of nature I experienced in Colorado two summers ago, it is a beautiful thing.  It is one of those times that just makes you feel infinite.  As Stephen Chbosky says in his book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, "In that moment, I swear we were infinite."  I never really quite understood what that meant, but I'm pretty sure that I do now.  I will leave it up to you to define it for yourself, but it's pretty sweet.  I was standing there, and it was just one of those times where I just want to scream and shout and sing, just for the heck of it.  So I thought about throwing out a line from a gnarly break-down, but I decided that it would be somewhat awkward to be throwing out a death growl as loud as I could looking over the valley all by myself and having somebody walk by.  This is why I like the silence of nature better, because you can do that and, while somebody can hear you, they probably won't see you.  Anyway, I just thought I would share that.

In other news, I really need to hit the German again.  I have been falling super behind on that, and that isn't good.  So we shall see if I can pick it up!

In other other news, which is really the same new as the first news, which isn't really news at all, I am pumped to see The Perks of Being a Wallflower!  I still haven't, but I will get the opportunity next week!




In the same vein, while searching for above .gif, I stumbled upon this Calvin & Hobbes clipping.  Another feeling I get when I feel infinite.


Tuesday, December 25, 2012

The Hobbit Review

If you have read the book then you will like it.  If you haven't read the book and are expecting a movie like the 3 LOTR movies then you will possibly be disappointed.  If you haven't read the book and are not expecting a movie like the other 3, you will like it. 

The reason you may not like it is because it has a different flavor than the other movies.  If you have read the books then you will understand that The Hobbit was written for kids, pretty much.  It is a very lighthearted book while the LOTR are very much not quite like that. 

With my limited knowledge of the book I was scared about how they were going to drag it out into 3 movies; being afraid that they were just making it into a blockbuster film for the money.  I was very pleasantly surprised and found that the reason that it is 3 movies is because of all the detail they put into it.  In my experience, it followed the book more closely than any other movie that follows a book.  It was incredible, there were so many quotes that I knew just because I knew the book.  And the song, "Misty Mountains," is phenomenal.  The editing was also pretty sweet, I super enjoy that.  I also enjoyed the 3D.  The only other 3D movies I have seen were UP and The Green Lantern, and both of them were horrible 3D.  So it surpassed my expectations.
Well, the real reason that I wanted to put this up was to share this picture I found on imgur.
It's a LOTR Calvin & Hobbes!  The best thing ever!!!

Monday, December 24, 2012

Obligatory Bucket List

1. Record 8 seconds a day for a month and compile it into a single video. Video here.
2. Record 5 seconds a day for two months and compile into a single video. Video here.
3. Record 1 second a day for a year and compile into a single video.
4. Take a picture of myself in the same position every day for a year.
5. Write a song that I really enjoy.
6. Be able to do sweeps on the guitar.
7. Be the vocalist in a hardcore band.
8. Start a church.
9. Start a youth program.
10. Have people read this blog.
11. Move to Germany.
12. Change a kid's life.
13. Own a house.
14. Become engaged.
15. Become married.
16. Become a father.
17. Become a grandfather.
18. Become buried.
19. Get to heaven.
20. Get some of my thoughts published.
21. Work in a coffee shop.
22. Own a coffee shop.
23. Finish college. http://on.fb.me/1PQqDyX
24. Finish college with at least a 3.5.
25. Get hired as a youth pastor.
26. Become a member of AICP (American Institute of Certified Planners).
27. Move twice.
28. Run a half-marathon. http://bit.ly/1cCiluQ
29. Run a marathon.
30. Be able to wake up at 6 or earlier without wanting to sleep all day.
31. Hike the Appalachian Trail.
32. Camp outside in the winter, in the woods, by myself.
33. Own a well-behaved dog.
32. Climb a 14'er besides Pikes Peak.  Democrat, Cameron, and Lincoln http://bit.ly/1WMAihp
33. Land a backroll on the wakeboard.
34. Land a 360 on the wakeboard.
35. Take up biking. http://bit.ly/1Wrnklx
36. Do a triathlon.
37. Read through the whole Bible.
38. Make friends in Europe to visit.
39. Don't get overweight (or become not overweight if overweight has been becomst).
40. Make up a new word. Becomst.
41. Learn German.  To the fluential maximum.
42. Bike trip- HVA -> Bay Port, MI -> Hopedale, IL -> HVA
... (to be continued)

Places I have been, things I have done:

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Some Thoughts On Dec. 14, 2012



*Keep in mind these are the thoughts and beliefs of a junior in college, not a theologian*


What do we do about this?
How could we have prevented it?

These are the questions that have been asked since the moment that the shooter entered Sandy Hook Elementary School last Friday. 

I have heard a lot of good ideas and a lot of bad ideas.  There are those that say that gun control should be increased because then the shooter never would have had the guns (in this case it may be correct, seeing as the shooter seems to have a mental disorder as described in this article, take that for what you will).  Others say that gun control should be lessened so that those with concealed permits may have the lawful right to carry in schools, thus protecting themselves and the students.  Not that I desire to delve too deeply into this, but I will simply say that I am not against hunting but I am definitely against the availability of assault rifles to citizens, even with background checks.  I believe WV Senator, Joe Manchin sums that up pretty well.  Now, I happen to be one who also believes that killing is wrong in any sense of the word, which means to me that concealed weapons are not the solution.  I believe it is possible to prevent situations such as the shooting with no death required on either part.  One of these solutions being what Marylin Manson said about the Columbine shooters, that he "would listen to them, which no one else did." Now this wouldn't work in every situation, of course, but many of those other situations can be addressed by John Howard Yoder's book, What Would You Do? (Great book, great read, great discussion, great thoughts, great feels, etc) Death will happen in this world no matter how much we push for peace; but dang-it, we can try!  And we are called to try (as Christians, that is).  End of that subject.

Now, I've heard a lot of people say that the reason this happened is because we took God out of our schools.  Shut up!  This pains me so much.  If you are naive enough to think that God isn't in schools just because public prayer isn't allowed then you don't know much about how God works (not that I know much either, I guess it would be better to say you don't know much about the beliefs of true Christianity...) and you shouldn't be throwing those words about carelessly.  God isn't in legislature, God isn't in laws, God isn't in the government, God doesn't stay within little boundaries that man has put on Him (He proved this with the healing of Naaman, and sending Elijah to the widow in Zarephath, and countless other ways).  God is in each and everyone of us (Luke 17:21).  He is in the people who run the government, He is in the people who enact the laws against them, He is in the atheist principle that cracks down when they see a student praying.  He goes where He pleases and, as is accepted by most all God-fearing people, this means that He is everywhere.

Ok, that little rant done, I (almost) apologize if my words were too brash for anyone.

Now, in all honesty, I believe that God (and Christianity) will flourish in atmospheres where He is limited by man's vain conceit, by laws enacted against Him, and in environments where people try and push their reasoning over His.  Examples from the past include the Anabaptist's in Europe in the 1500's, the early church (you know, the one that Jesus started, was persecuted by the Roman Empire, yeah, that one), and now this school in Connecticut.  God flourished within the likes of Vicki Soto, who hid her students in a closet and took the bullets herself, leaving all of her students unharmed.  God flourished within the community and country that surrounded the families of those who lost loved ones.  God flourished within Robbie Parker as he extended his love towards the shooter and the shooter's family.  And I guess you could say that God flourished when Obama quoted the Scripture, and all these people calling for God to be brought back into schools.  (Here is a video of Mike Huckabee talking about this, I was sort of wary of it at first, but take it for what you will (sorry about all the links)) Leave God out of public schools, but put God back in our personal lives.  Public education should probably be unbiased in any way, no matter what we think.  There are private schools for our Christianity to be taught, if that is so desired.  That isn't what the public school system was made for.  Once Christianity is taught in the public schools, then every other religion needs to be taught as well. 

But these people that state that the reason for the shooting was God not being allowed in school are off-base.  Now, I am going to proceed with a short discussion on free-will and what I believe it is.  I have seen many posts from those against the Christian faith who find this a very weak statement about why we believe that God "allowed" this to happen.  Well, if this is our faith, then how is that weak?  That is the way that it is, that is how God created us.  It is something that we do not understand fully and debate about within Christianity and we (should) understand how these debates make those outside of Christianity think it is a fallacy.  But this is what I believe, and I believe strongly in it.  There isn't anything weak about it.  But I digress incoherently.
So, this free will thing.  My belief is as follows.  I guess the best way to describe this is to use the word "destiny." In this sense it is sort of predestination, but it differs.  I believe that God has a "destiny" that he has for each of us, yet it is up to us to decide whether we want to fulfill that "destiny" fully, partly, not at all, or fight that "destiny." In the case of atrocities such as this, it would be fighting.

Now back to the original thoughts.  Just one more.  I saw a quote that "Morgan Freeman" said, (I use quotations because I don't know if he really said it) he said that we shouldn't remember the shooter because that is what can encourage people to want to commit these atrocities in the future, for the recognition.  He said, rather, that we should remember at least one name of the victims.  Honour those victims, the families deserve that.  Vicki Soto is the name that rings in my head, namely because of her selfless act.  Another is Jack Pinto.  It doesn't matter who you remember, just remember the victims.

That's about all I have.  I really just wanted to write these down to organize them better.  Feedback is appreciated.  I expressed my opinions here, and that is that.




*Disclaimer: This link contains strong language*  Chris Rock on gun control.  Not my exact thoughts, I just laughed.  Because Chris Rock.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

La Dispute - "Nine" Live Violitionist Session

La Dispute - "Nine" Live Violitionist session

Video of song. ^  Right der.


"I recall once on the church steps,
When I moved to kiss your chest,
How we paid such close attention
To each sweet and stuttered breath,
I should've stopped to paint our picture,
Captured honest pure affection,
Just to document the difference
between attraction and connection.

I can see all of my friends and
I break into empty buildings,
When the coast was clear,
With backpacks full of beer,
We'd throw our bottles from the rooftops
At this city-it looked endless.
Guess I still don't see the difference
between real purpose and that urgent adolescence.

And I remember in a basement sharing sweat
With all these stranger boys and girls,
“We'll change the world!” We sang,
“We'll change the world!” But,
Nothing seems to change and
They say none of them will listen,
But I still see much more power in that basement
than in worthless politicians.

And if we get beaten by this winter,
If we get strangled by regret, just
Let our love of life and tension
Gasp in sweet and stuttered breaths, and
Have them throw us in a basement,
Smash some bottles on the ground, and
Say we never knew the difference
between the feeling and the sound.

Remember not our faulty pieces,
Remember not our rusted parts,
It's not the petty imperfections that define us but
The way we hold our hearts,
And the way we hold our heads,
I hope they write your name beside mine
on my gravestone when I'm dead.
And when we are dead let our voices carry on
To find a better song.
To find a better song and sing along."

There are many parts of this song I would like to write about.
Each stanza has something powerful in it, which is a reason I like this band a lot.

In the first stanza, he talks about the difference between attraction and connection and how he wants to paint a picture of it.  Don't we all?  When we are in that moment where we feel truly connected to someone and not just physically attracted to them, we just want to capture it.  Because nothing can or has captured it. 

Second stanza he says he doesn't see the difference between real purpose and urgent adolescence.  I love this line, because when is purpose better defined than when in your youth?  Your dreams are endless, just like the city he is looking down on.  You feel like you can accomplish anything, and whatever God has put you here to do, you feel as though you will accomplish it.  But when you get older and get your "real purpose" it is often so much different and less fulfilling.  But your true purpose you found in adolescence.  Youth have the power to change the world.

Third stanza he talks about the powerful energy of a group of strangers that come together (this sounds like he is at a sweet concert or something) and have a huge desire to change the world and he sees more potential in them to change the world than in "worthless" politicians.  Hah, that's awesome.  Because dang it, it it's true.  I see so much more change happening through those who see an injustice and bring it to light and do something about it than I see our government doing.  The only way they seem to be able to handle problems is with the army, and our political system is corrupted by these democrats and republicans who are more loyal to their parties than to the interests of the nation in general or their ethics.  Gah.

Fourth stanza he says love of life and tension and the feeling and sound of shattered bottles.  There needs to be tension in our life because we should be fighting for what we believe.  This will bring on pain, verbally (the sound of bottles) and sometimes physically (the feeling of bottles) and emotionally (both).  I guess.  This one makes sense in my mind, but not quite written out...

Last stanza "It's not the petty imperfections that define us but the way we hold our hearts and the way we hold our heads."  Don't remember my mistakes, my rusty parts, but remember how I fought through those mistakes and how I fought through my imperfections to achieve that which I one day achieve.  And for you, if you have these imperfections and faults and rusty pieces, don't let them define you.  Become more than that, hold your head and heart up high, fight through it, and do what God has you here to do.  Like the second stanza.
Word.
Great song, even though a little different, still great.

I other news, my cast is off and I now have a brace, but here is my arm!
Also, I have been saving these gifs up for a new blog, but I haven't blogged in awhile so here they are all at once.
Ibrohimovic is a beast.

Gazelle gets owned.

Yup