Likes and Retweets

There is a saying: "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." Over the years, I've found that I prefer another saying, "Absence sharpens love, but presence strengthens it." Love, friendships, relationships in general are easier to establish and maintain when you are actually with the person in question. Seeing someone face to face, having a conversation, being able to see and interpret body language, all of these play key parts in strengthening a relationship. My generation has removed itself from this level of personal connection, instead choosing to rely upon a variety of other social media interactions.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love texting, Facebook, Skype, and Twitter as much as the next guy. But there is still something more... corporeal, solid, something more elemental about being about sit down across from someone and simply talk to them one on one. The advent of the internet and wireless, instantaneous communication has created a generation of youth desperately searching for fulfillment, for interaction. Yet our relationships, whether online or physical, tend to lean toward the impersonal. We have become a quantitative, rather than qualitative, culture. We can have a person's vital statistics at our very fingertips: age, gender, interests, dislikes, hobbies, friends, organizations they belong to, their taste in music, clothing, literature. We can view countless photos of them, see how they live their life, who they hang out with, what they do. We can read Facebook status updates and Tweets to get a feel for someone's emotional state. We can do all this... and yet never really know this person. They become a nonentity.

To put a different spin on this whole situation, let's take a look back at this beginning of this post. In it, I mentioned a need for contact in a relationship. I've had several relationships suffer (and die) because either I or the other person involved have simply not had contact for a long while. This same is true for our spiritual relationships. If we don't talk to God, if we don't communicate with Him, spend time with Him or in His Word, then we can't really get to know Him. And likewise, He suffers a disconnect from us as well. We need to constantly be with Him in order to foster a solid relationship. It's not simply tagging Him in a status update, or mentioning Him on Twitter, we need to sit down and have an active, engaging dialogue with Him. Otherwise, God to us becomes a nonentity. Worse yet, a nondeity. We forget about Him, and continue to live our lives, shallower and for the worse off because of it. The relationship suffers.

"Absence sharpens love, but presence strengthens it." This rings true in all relationships, whether material or spiritual. A good relationship needs to be relational. It's simple and cliche, yet true. I'm trying to put these words to action in my own life, and I'd encourage you to do the same.

Grey Day

I love days such as these.

Where grey skies meet grey earth and
Clash, against a backdrop of autumn's last dying embers

Where the hollow groans of a wistful bagpipe
Echo softly throughout the world

Where light, diffused and cold,
Trickles through the ash-laden clouds, quietly,
Onto the hardened ground below.

It is a day for strong words and cold acts.
It is a cigarette day, a rusted steel day.
It is another day in this broken cycle of the machine we call our lives.

I love days such as these.

Space Goats

I've begun doing a little research on an interesting internet phenomenon known as "predictive linguistics", run by a group known as "Half Past Human". (Kudos to Jon for introducing me to this whole thing, by the way) What I learned about the project immensely intrigued me. Now, the concept of how this works is a little complicated, so bear with me.

Simply put, this technology searches the internet for specific kinds of words, usually posted on discussion blogs, forums, news sites, etc. Incredibly large amounts (we're talking terabytes of information, here) of these words are collected by programs known as "web bots", along with a snippet of their surrounding text. They are reduced to series of numbers and plotted on graphic charts as dots. These dots tend to cluster in specific areas around certain words.

Now, every word in every possible language has a meaning (barring some random, obscure, or relatively unknown dead language). In order to define meanings, one has to essentially boil a word down to its essence, what the word conveys. When broken down in such a way, we can cluster words together under common conveyances or meanings.

Okay, now that we've gotten past the "simple" parts, here comes the creepy stuff.

What the people running this project have discovered, is that for whatever reason (more detail later) certain groups of words or phrases repeat themselves in a kind of pattern over time, based on the change in the word's meaning. These patterns tend to develop around a specific event or occurrence, in the future. That's right. Using this web-searching and filtering technology, these researchers can isolate specific traumatic events in the future, based off of web chatter occurring previously to said catastrophes.

To break all of this down into a few sentences, here's a quote seen here, "It's like changes in language precede large emotional events. The larger the emotional impact of the event, the more advance notice the bots seem to give."

They use the example of a rock being dropped into a pond, creating ripples. If you approached where the rock was dropped, you would get stronger and stronger ripples the closer you came. These events tend to create "ripples" in web chatter before and (obviously) after the events occur.

Now the problem arises in that in this day and age, there is a LOT going on in the world. To continue the analogy, it's like pouring a dump truck full of gravel into a pond, then sorting through the ripples to find the biggest rocks. Not exactly an easy task.

The wonderful folks over at HPH have also separated the data into different categories, such as "terra" (ie, anything involving the earth, ground, life, biosphere, etc) "globalpop" (world population sans U.S.) "USofA" (specifically the United States) and a host of others, including "SpaceGoatFarts".

...yeah. Basically this category is for anything involving... well anything we don't understand. Things from space, the unpredictable, things we have never heard of or seen before, aliens, etc. ...and apparently, Space Goat Farts. As you can see, even the creators of this project treat it with a certain level of humor; they don't take everything they learn as the absolute word of God Himself. Yet, while their predictions are by no means completely accurate and all-encompassing, many of the timing and indicators given seem to align with real-world events fairly accurately. Here's a quote from Half Past Human's affiliates, Urban Survival:

"We have friends who have developed a groundbreaking predictive technology which we simply call "web bot" technology... The technology, which samples large portions of the public internet with an eye toward "sensing the future" based on subtle changes in language, seems to have given indications before-the-fact of a large number of major news events, including but not limited to our reports before the fact on things like:

• 9/11

• Sumatra/ Banda Aceh quakes

• New Orleans Katrina/Rita

• Cheney and his "accident"

• Degrading of Iraqi's and Iraqi youth rebellion against US

• Silver (prices) exploding, followed by Gold

• Pakistan earthquake

• Climate change (the life-changing event)

• The multiple extraordinary hurricanes (with another season coming like the last)

• The increasing unpopularity of the Bush Administration leading up to the inevitable meltdown

• Space Shuttle explosion

• The unfolding disaster in Iraq

• Commodity shortages with more coming this summer (2006)

• Emerging and ongoing, oil price increases

• Then there's the more recent China Quake warning 72-hours before events, and the forecast of a major economic crisis to arrive around October 7, 2008..."

Makes you shiver, eh? Kinda creepy. Now, by no means is this an exact science. Even the founders of the project advise people not to base decisions off of their technology. But still, the fact remains that many of their predictions have come true.

Now, how is this possible? Is there such a thing as a collective human consciousness, as some would suggest? Is it mere coincidence? Or something bigger than us? The evidence is controversial at best. Dean Radin (PhD, Senior Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences) has conducted tests determining that human beings have the apparent capacity to see or sense a few seconds into the future (see pages 6-15). Interesting.

Oh, and by the way, apparently there's a large "tipping point" scheduled to occur on November 14th. That's this Sunday.

I leave the conclusion up to you, dear readers.

One Fist in Ten Thousand

I've been experimenting a lot musically lately, trying to broaden my horizons and sample a wide variety of sounds. Now, as a general rule, my tastes in music are widely varied. There are very few bands I genuinely dislike, and I'm always open to new genres or styles. I love music in all of its aspects (See The Trichotomy of Music for more). My music library has several days worth of listening in almost every genre imaginable. From Swedish techno to Southern rock, from Bach to the Beatles and beyond, I have a LOT of music. Yet there are a few select songs that always, without fail, get my head bobbing and my toes tapping. Here's a few:

"Supermassive Black Hole" -Muse
"Skin" -Breaking Benjamin
"The War" -Angels and Airwaves
"Holiday" -Green Day
"I Don't Care" -Apocalyptica
"Hey Jude" -The Beatles
"Sonne" -Rammstein
"Coming Undone" -KoRn
"Mr. Jones" -Counting Crows
"Bring Me To Life" -Evanescence
"Swing Life Away" -Rise Against
"Soldier" -Eminem
"Dota" -Basshunter
"Witchcraft" -Pendulum
"Blood Red Summer" -Coheed and Cambria
"Higher" -Creed
"Parallels" -As I Lay Dying
"Grace Like Rain" -Todd Agnew
"Last Resort" -Papa Roach


That's just a sampling, there are many, many more. Generally when I listen to an album from a band I like, I'll enjoy most of the songs except for one or two that just don't click with me for some reason. Without fail, every album I've ever heard has had one or two, sometimes even four or five songs that I just don't really connect with, except one: Ten Thousands Fists by a band called Disturbed.

I recently rediscovered my love for Disturbed after rifling through my CD collection and listening to this album in its entirety for the first time in a few years. Now, I've always been a huge fan of Disturbed, from about ninth grade onward. Their gritty yet smooth style, powerful vocals and complex, driving beats have eternally marked them as unique in mind. Their lyrics are strong and often emotional, compelling the listener to break free and empower themselves. The band is very outspoken against the government and the injustice and corruption inherent within, yet they support the US military with a passion that surprises even me.

I think I connected with Disturbed's music so well because I started listening to it at a really hard time in my life. Entering ninth grade with few friends and a shy personality was a tough experience for me, even though the school I attended was pretty small. I carpooled to and from school with several families in my area. The twenty minute ride to school and back gave me ample opportunity to relax and listen to music.

(Side note: now, at the time, my music tastes were heavily influenced by my brother Jon, who introduced me to such bands as Creed, Trapt, Breaking Benjamin, and Sevendust. As a result, I ended up listening to a lot of hard rock and metal, and still do to this day.)

Flash back to the carpooling for a second. I had bought Disturbed's (then) latest album Ten Thousand Fists during summer 2007 and was instantly enraptured by it. David Draiman's coarse vocals and caustic lyrics, combined with Dan Donegan's incredible guitar skills and Mike Wengren's syncopated, rhythmic drumming formed a perfect combination in my mind. Every day, without fail, when I saw the parking lot of my school approaching, I would switch to the song "Deify" by Disturbed and crank the volume as loud as possible, jamming out the whole way into school. It gave me the strength to face the day and imbued me with a sense of authority that I previously had felt I'd lacked. Disturbed was my life jacket in the turbulence of entering high school.

For that reason, to this day, I can listen to any track off that album and completely lose myself in the music. It's the type of thing that no matter where I am, whenever I hear a Disturbed song off that album, it instantly gets to me and I just want to let loose and start headbanging. I love it.

My Life As A Fish Hook

It's not every day a fish hook falls into your shoe.

Let me rewind a bit.

The night is young, a crisp autumn's eve; and there he sits, quiet and still, on a lonely park bench. Staring up into the starless skies above, thinking idly to himself, to God, to no one, really. A small wooden rod lays at his feet. Intrigued, he picks up it, notices the nails stuck into the wood at either end. Curiouser and curiouser, he thinks to himself. He begins the short walk back to his home, swinging the stick by his side. Suddenly, the sensation of cold, slippery.... something... slides its way into his shoe. Violently he throws off the offending article of fashionable footwear and checks it for whatever produced this decidedly slug-like sensation. There! On the ground! A glint of light reflecting off the shape of a.... fish hook?

That's right. A fish hook fell into my shoe. Not even like a wussy, three-pronged baby one. No, this was a serious, not-to-be-screwed-with fish hook. I'm talking serious serious hookageness, here. This thing was fearsome. Now, for me, sharp metal objects materializing inside my comfy, well-worn DC's is not something that happens every day. So here's the deal (non-sappy story-like). I was sitting on a bench this evening, when I noticed a long wooden rod by my feet. It had nails sticking out of both ends. Naturally, being the adventurous type that I am, I decide to keep it as a walking stick for the hike back to my dorm. After the fish hook fell into my shoe, I took a closer look at the piece of wood. It was a homemade fishing rod, either from some kid or an entrepreneurial (albeit non-artistic) college student. Wrapped around the nail at one end was a bit of fishing wire, which somehow had snapped, loosing the fish hook which then fell into my shoe. Like I said, not something that happens every day.

Yet this odd occurrence struck a chord with me. My personal belief is that everything happens for a reason, that it's all part of God's plan for me and everyone else on this planet. I take incredible comfort in the concept of predestination. But... that's a story for another blog post. Anyways, I was wondering why something this random and weird would happen to me, maybe it was just unimportant, maybe God was having a laugh on my part, I don't know. Yet in the end, it gave me an idea for a blog post and a funny story, so I guess it had some meaning after all.

Here's what popped into my head as a walked slowly back to home sweet Sparrowk, idly caressing this large metal fish hook.

Let's look at this as an analogy. Say there is a man fishing in a pond with this homemade fishing rod. A simple piece of wood (with nails stuck in at either end), fishing wire, and a hook. He cocks it back, then with an expert flick of the wrist sends it skimming over the water to the exact spot where he wants it to sink.

Now let's pretend that fish hook is us, and the fisherman is God. He throws us into this stream, these waters of life. Once we hit, we immediately sink (this line doesn't have a bobber, it's pretty low-tech). That would be the effects of our inherent sin, dragging us deeper into the dimly-lit depths below. As we drift through the murky waters of this life, we get swayed back and forth by the currents running just under the surface. We are influenced by a variety of sources; friends, family, the media, our culture in general. We are tossed around, not knowing where to turn or where to go. Sometimes, we get caught on a log or a some reeds, anything from sex or drugs to simply making bad decisions. We get mired down, caught in this snare. It takes a little tugging and prodding from the fisherman to get us out. Sometimes it's painful, it is almost never easy. Yet gently, surely, He pulls us out of our entanglements and drags us back to shore. Now let's take this one step deeper. If we are the fish hook, then suppose the line is our life and our faith, and the rod in the hands of our fisher God is Jesus Christ. We are connected to Christ through our faith and actions in this life. God sent His son to be used as a tool to guide us and teach us and ultimately to die for us, saving us and keeping us on track in the waters of this life. We are able to connect with God directly through his son. God uses the rod to direct our life (and therefore us) in this world. Many times we get snatched away by the current, but He always has the ability to reel us back in. To continue the analogy, if we are a fish hook, then the rest of the world are the fish. They're worse off than we are in many ways. They don't have the benefit of the fisherman's direction; they simply wander up and down the stream aimlessly. Our job is to catch them. There is a reason that Jesus calls for his disciples to be "fishers of men". Our purpose in this life is to first, glorify our Lord in all we do, and second, bring others to Him. Now, this process is not always pretty. Many times it's hard, even painful. It's not easy to surrender control of your life to someone else. It's not easy to completely open yourself to anyone, even your Creator. I find it slightly ironic that we try to hide things from God, like He doesn't know us better than anyone else in existence. (But I digress). Many people will try to fight God, like a fish on a line. But slowly, surely, He reels them in, a bit at a time. And, sooner or later, through us, the fish is reunited with the fisher. Now, this is where the analogy kind of breaks down... seeing as a real-life fisherman would probably gut and then cook the fish. But you get my point.

I thought that was an interesting analogy, and especially so because the real-life homemade fishing rod that I found had nails stuck into it... just like a cross. Hmm. Maybe everything does happen for a reason.

The Trichotomy of Music

Ever have a sudden flash of insight or inspiration in the middle of a completely otherwise mundane situation? That happened to me in class today. There I was, sitting in my chair, semi-following the discussion (something about Lady Gaga, jazz and Jesus... or something) when it hit me. Someone mentioned music, and that single word sparked off a concept in my mind that ignited and spread like wildfire... for all of a minute. But after it had burned itself out, I was left with the embers of a singularly thought-provoking idea: why do I listen to music?

Now, I love music. I mean, I LOVE music. Playing, writing, listening, recording, experimenting, I enjoy every aspect of music. I think it's one of God's greatest gifts to mankind. I listen to pretty much every genre or style of music, and if there's one that I haven't heard yet I am more than willing to try it out. I listen to screamo, hip hop, hardcore, classical, country, pop, rock, gangsta rap, opera, techno, industrial, foreign, indie, acoustic... you get the picture. That said, with this idea in my head blazing away, I took a step back and asked myself, "Why do I listen to this? What am I getting out of this?"

Having the incredibly analytical and logical mind that I do (thanks, Mom!), naturally I broke music down into three separate categories, each with specific requirements and characteristics. So here's why I listen to music.

1. Emotion
I listen to music because certain songs, bands, and genres make me feel a certain way. If I listen to upbeat pop or punk rock, it'll make me feel happy, alive, and energetic. If I listen to classical and techno, it makes me feel sophisticated and smart. If I listen to screamo (not even good screamo, like just complete aural garbage), it's probably because I'm in a bad mood. One of music's strongest qualities is that it has the power to move our hearts and make us feel. Another sub-genre that ties into this segment is entertainment. I listen to some music because it's entertaining, that is, it keeps my attention and makes me feel a certain way. A lot of songs and artists in today's culture play off the concept of shock value. For example, check out these people. Or this person. Or this one. . See what I'm getting at? These artists all play off the idea that they are crazy, quirky, dangerously original people. They play off their fans emotions.

2. Meaning

The second reason I listen to music is for it's meaning. One of the biggest problems that I have with a lot of our culture's artists today is that while their music is sound, well-made, even catchy, it has no meaning. So much music today is so shallow and pointless. I enjoy listening to music that makes me think. I like my music to be thought-provoking, to question and even break societal, cultural, or religious boundaries. On the flip side, I also find meaning in the complexity of music, in figuring out how a particular artist created a particular sound. Meaning can be found not only in lyrical content, but also in the musical quality of a song as well.

3. Worship
Last, but certainly not least, I listen to (and perform) music in order to praise, glorify, and reflect upon my God. One of the most endearing aspects of music for me is it's ability to bring us as mere humans a step closer to God. Music has the innate quality of being just a little bit otherworldly... it's almost magical at times. And in that magic, in that otherworldliness, I find God.

So, there you have it. The Trichotomy of Music, according to me, your humble host. Hope you enjoyed it.

Veritable Quotage (A College Update)

College life seems to consist mainly of late nights, early mornings, epic quotes, and lots of coffee and music. I could totally live the rest of my life like that. Unfortunately, that's not ALL of college. Classes, work, relationships, these all also play an important role in maintaining a healthy life. I think I've adapted here pretty well, I've made a few good friends and a lot of acquaintances, and I actually kind of love dorm life. My friends are solid, classes aren't overwhelming, and I'm remembering to do my laundry. All in all, even though I miss my family and friends in CT, I'm actually liking it here. Thank you for all the prayers everybody! I'm going to leave you with some veritable quotage that made me laugh... though out of context, it probably won't make sense to most of you. :P

"I have that book by the old dead German guy!"
"My cousin sent me a dinosaur egg!"
"I feel like I'm being smothered to death by kittens!" "It's an adorable, fur-filled death!"
"George Washington hates skinny jeans!"

...that's all, folks!

College Life...

Hey everybody, I just wanted to post a quick promo message/update about what's going on in my life (COLLEGE). So, I am officially a student at Eastern University. It's been an insane couple of days, to be honest. I'm physically exhausted, and even though I've only been here for two days, I truly realize that it's where God wants me to be. The community, the teachers, the staff, this place is truly amazing. I'm almost overwhelmed. I feel welcome, accepted, and even loved here, and I've only been here a couple of days. I'm blessed to have two honest, chill roommates, and my dorm is pretty much fantastic (GO SPARROWK!). To be completely honest, my brain is entirely fried right now so I don't even know how much of this is making sense. The point here is, I am proud and very very blessed to be here. It's a God thing. And I want to thank everybody who helped me get here, my parents (I love you guys! Miss you!), Jon and Angie (you guys are the best), and all the support from my friends. I love you all, thank you.

Definition and Declaration of Faith

I just listened to a pretty amazing sermon by the Reverend Dr. Abraham Waya on the issue of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. As I've never truly discussed this, and as it's a fairly important topic to me, I've decided to post an account of my definition and declaration of faith.

I am a Christian, in the sense that I am a follower of Christ and His teachings. I dislike labels, but I'd rather be called a follower of Christ than a follower of Christian religion. I believe that Jesus Christ died, for my sins and the sins of the world, and was raised back to life. I believe that Jesus was the son of God, and as such, wholly mortal and wholly divine. My life is dedicated to learning, serving, and spreading the Word of God in as much depth and in as many ways possible. This is what I believe and it is who I am.

I am a scholar, in the sense that I am actively interested in learning and exploring God's Word.

I am a follower, in the sense that I willingly submit to and obey my God's commands, directives, and teachings.

I am a teacher in that I believe it is my duty and my calling as a follower of Christ to spread my testimony and the news of God's gifts of salvation and love to the world.

I am a leader, in the sense that I try to the best of my ability to lead and assist others in their walk with God.

I am a musician, in that I attempt to bring others into the presence of God through musical worship.

I am a warrior, because believe it or not, every human being on this planet is knowingly or unknowingly engaged in active spiritual warfare every minute of every day.

I am a servant, in the sense that I serve others out of a love for them and for God.

But more than all these things, I am a man. A simple, fragile human being, easily shaken and easily distracted. My wish and my fervent hope is that this declaration will not only aid me in further strengthening my roots in my own faith, but help bring others to a more complete knowledge of Christ.

If you have questions, I'm always more than ready to share how God has impacted my life, and I'm always up for honest, open dialogue and discussion.

The Big 150

I just wanted to write a quick blog post about the community in which I live, the Willimantic Camp Meeting Association, or WCMA. Today is 'Opening Sunday' here, which traditionally is the first Sunday of what is known as 'Camp Meeting Week', a 7-day series of prayer meetings, Bible studies, and sermons, punctuated by pot-lucks and times of fellowship. It's something that many people here look forward to all year round. This Sunday however, holds special meaning as it is the WCMA's 150th anniversary. That's truly an astonishing achievement. Not only is the Campgrounds an amazing Christian organization, it's a wonderful community and a truly beautiful place to live. I've lived here my entire life and I've come to feel very blessed to have been so privileged to be able to reside in such an unique community of believers. So, to everyone at the WCMA, thank you and congratulations on 150 years of fellowship, faith and service. And if you're in the Windham/Willimantic area (or even if you aren't) please stop by sometime this week and help us celebrate our 150th anniversary! Details are right here.

From Pleasure to Pain

In C.S. Lewis' book, "The Problem of Pain" he writes, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." I know, growing up in a Christian school environment, I heard this quote a lot (especially in Mr. Dietrich's class). But it never really hit me until a little while ago. Here are a few thoughts on this topic.

"God whispers to us in our pleasures": God delights in what gives us joy, (within reason. God has designed certain things to give us pleasure, such as music, food, sex, etc. But taken outside of the boundaries of God's law, they become a perversion, and He doesn't enjoy that. But that's a post for another time). When we follow Him and take joy in our world and each other, we can hear a dim echo of God's voice in us.

"(God) ...speaks to us in our conscience": if God is whispering to us when we are pleased and obeying Him, he raises His voice a little when we're not listening very well. When we stray off the path, when we begin to swerve away from what God has planned for us, He uses our conscience, (an inner moral guide) to speak to us and say "This is wrong, don't do that." Yet if we continue off this path, eventually we will encounter pain.

Now, pain is not necessarily a bad thing. It's your body's natural reaction to an intrusion or injury. Physical pain can be helpful in determining what's going wrong with your body. For example, if you accidentally cut yourself, you'll begin to feel pain, telling you that you've hurt a certain part of your body. Yet there are many kinds of pain, physical, emotional, even spiritual anguish. Pain is a reminder that things are not as they should be. An angry break-up, watching a friend destroy their life, even a broken arm: all these different kinds of pain are warnings that something is wrong, that things are out of the natural order of life and need to be put back to the way God desires them to be. God shouts to us in our pain. He's trying to tell us, "Hey! I love you! Come back to me." And we need to listen to that.

Twitteriffic!

Hey, guess who's now on Twitter? Hit me up!

Snatches of poetry... "A Midsummer's Day Dream"

The neighbors must think me insane.

Seeing this boy of a man stretching his inelegant frame upon the dusty ground,
Savoring the sweet summer scent
Of freshly mown grass.
Arms spread wide, embracing the earth and sky,
Eyes open, soaring into that same ocean of endless azure
Framed only by the eternal evergeens now freed from their long winter solstice.
A few wisps of cotton seek asylum together, drifting lazily along cool blue streams as I
lay,
Fingers dug deep into the arid earth, juxtaposed 'twixt verdant blades and miniscule
remnants of some long forgotten mountain.
Headphones blaring,
A tuneless cacophony of white noise, accentuated only by the quiet chirping of a few downy sparrows.
The hot dirt and gentle breezes vie for my sensory attention as I
rest
uncaring
While snatches of poetry and verse run rampant through my mind.

Vampires Beware

Here's an interesting article about today, the summer solstice. Check it out.

Jesus Struck By Lightning

While cruising the internets this morning, I came across this very interesting article. Apparently, the 62 foot tall statue of Jesus, commonly known as the "Touchdown Jesus", was hit by lightning and burned to the ground. Now, would you call this an act of God? Or just random chance? Let me hear what you think.

Campfire Musings

Just a quick thought to kick off the summer. Last night I went camping with a good friend of mine (cough cough Joel Harris cough cough), and it made me come to an interesting conclusion. I've come to realize that some of the most beautiful things in the world aren't man made. Granted, there are absolutely stunning works of art, literature, and architecture that man has created, but nothing, absolutely nothing, compares to genuine, complex, unhindered beauty of God's creation. Spending a night out under the stars, with nothing but a canopy of evergreens above your head is an experience that, in my opinion, everyone should experience. It's breathtaking. So, next time you find yourself with a little free time, I would encourage you to go and get lost (literally or figuratively) in nature. It's truly amazing what you'll discover, both about the wonder of God's creation and about yourself.

Rantingness.

So...it's just about time for a new blog post rant. And by rant, I mean RANT. This particular thread is about a topic near and dear to my heart: my school. The Master's School. Now, don't get me wrong, I love this school. I've attended for three years and it has literally changed my life. I've enjoyed my time there (for the most part) and, given the choice, I would rather attend TMS than any other private school in the area. That said, I have an almost personal vendetta not against Master's, but with an issue that seems to plague private schools, and private Christian schools, especially. This is a topic I've discussed with both my mentor and several others, and I've come to the same conclusion every time. And here we go.

To begin, one of the strengths of private schools is their personal dedication to their students. In most private Christian schools, the teachers are far more dedicated to helping and being involved with their students than in public school. I say this as a general rule, by the way. Obviously this isn't the case with every single teacher. This isn't a bad thing, on the contrary, if only more teachers were so involved with their students! The problem occurs when they take it too far.

On the flip side of this is the negative aspect. In my opinion, and in my experience, parents send their children to private schools for one of three reasons. A: they want them to get a good education, B: they have a lot of money, and not a lot of time for their children, or C: they want to be extremely and actively involved in their child's education, and that cannot be accomplished through public school.

Option A: ....I have no problem with. Every kid should get a good education. Nothing wrong with that.

Option B results in said parents dumping their kids at school and expecting the school to raise them, instead of the parents raising them. This then results in the school, specifically the teachers, being dumped with the responsibility of taking care of the kids. This means that they are not only in charge of teaching the students, but in handling their discipline as well. This lends more stress on teachers, which doesn't help anyone.

Option C: results in what I believe has occured at The Master's School. Extreme involvement, to the point of handing off discipline to the school. Now, in and of itself, this isn't a bad thing. Parents should want to be actively involved in their child's education. That's a good thing, and I am not disputing that. Rather, the problem results in when the parents expect the school to solve problems and perform discipline that should be under the parent's responsibility, not the school's. Take this case: a student caught smoking off-campus is caught by a parent. The parent calls the school, not the student's parents, and asks the school to discipline the student. This is not the school's problem, it is the responsibility of the parents to take care of their kid. Or here's another example. Several students at Master's decide to take a hike into the woods to go exploring, or whatever. The venture down to a local reservoir, not knowing that it is private property. Upon returning, they are found by a teacher. They explain themselves, and where they've been, and as a result, each student is given a two day suspension. Now to me, that seems a little harsh. Yes, perhaps the students should not have been wandering around in the woods. But the incident occured after school hours, on property that did not belong to the school. The property owner gave no complaint, no injury or misdeed occured, so why is the school involved in this at all? Yes, technically, if things had gone differently, the kids might have been caught and found trespassing, and there could be potential legal repercussions of that. But at the same time, it's still the parent's responsibility to discipline their child. Look at the situation this way: a student from TMS leaves campus after school, and is found wandering on someone else's property. Who would the property owner call in this scenario? The kid's parents. But the real-life situation wasn't even that bad. The property owner didn't find the students, the kids weren't causing serious trouble, and they didn't even know that they had gone off of Master's property! The penalty for this incident seems a little harsh. I think that the teacher who found the students, after talking to them and discovering that they didn't know they were trespassing, should give the students a warning not to venture onto the private property again. But a two-day suspension? Come on.

Thoughts?

Memories of a Shining Star

Today was my last official day of classes for high school. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, about school, college, the future, etc. My time at Master's is filled with good and bad memories, friendships made and lost, and countless, countless inside jokes. :) But more than anything, I think I'll miss the people the most. My friends, classmates, fellow seniors, underclassmen, even teachers. Many of the teachers at TMS have made a big impact in my life. Mr Dietrich with his "golden apples" and stories about his college days...Mr. DeCesare, with his carefree yet authentic and open attitude...Mrs. Deckert with her fierce defense of the Christian faith. Everyone you meet, everyone you know, makes a little difference in your life whether you realize it or not. I think, I hope, that my time at Master's was well spent. I enjoyed most of it, even the countless hours of homework and classes. :) My wish is that as my class separates and moves off to their respective colleges, jobs, and lives, that we will never forget where we came from, and the people who helped us to become who we are today.

Test of Faith

This is a link for a CNN article about the last Jew in Afghanistan.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/05/09/afghanistan.last.jew/index.html?iref=allsearch

I find it interesting and slightly disturbing that there is only one professing Jew left in the entire country of Afghanistan. In the interview he talks about persecution under the Taliban... I find it amazing that this man is willing to leave behind his children and his family in order to serve God. I see that as the kind of faith that Abraham had. True faith.

Oh Those Crazy Cubans...What'll They Think Of Next?

I've heard of someone having a forked tongue, but a forked nose?

This, in case you didn't know or weren't entirely sure what it was, is a picture of a Cuban man apparently inserting a fork into his nose. Now, I'm not sure why he would ever want a sharp metal object in his sinus cavity, but there it is. What do you think is happening here? Is this man insane? Is there a pea jammed up in there that he's trying to get out? What's going on?

Truth, Justice, and the American Way

My apologies, loyal readers. I took a vacation this week and didn't post anything. To make up for it, A Day In The Life Of An Average Guy (henceforth known as ADITLOAAG) will have not one, but two posts today. The first is serious, the second... not so much.

Let's begin.

One of my all-time favorite bands is Coheed and Cambria. They're an extremely interesting and talented group, and I highly recommend them. I enjoy their music for a variety of reasons; the backstory behind it, their distinctive sound, the melodies and rhythms. I was recently listening to a Coheed song called "When Skeletons Live", when one line of the lyrics struck me. It said, "The truth is relevant, but not for long." It really got me thinking a lot about truth, what we see as true, and what actually is true. Think about that statement a little bit. On the one hand, there are certain physical, inherent truths. Take gravity for instance. What comes up, must come down. It is the way that things are. It is true. Yet on the other hand, there are things that people have long believed to be true that turned out to be false (the concept of the Sun revolving around the Earth, for example). Now to bring it closer to home, in this day and age we are surrounded, permeated by, and bombarded with all sorts of "truths". Some are true, some are partly true, some are blatantly false. Think about the world of advertising. If every single ad that you saw on television or in a magazine portrayed the truth, companies would lose a ton of money on their products. Why? Because we as Americans don't want the truth. We'd rather have the "great American Dream". You know what I'm talking about: nice job, fast car, beautiful wife/handsome husband, two and a half kids, suburban house with a white picket fence. It's what everybody wants, right? We deserve it.

Or do we? Let me float a rather radical idea past you. We don't deserve much of anything. Actually, according to Bible, what we do deserve is death. So I think we should be thankful for not getting what we deserve. (but that's a different story).

Back to the main idea: life is not always handed to us on a silver platter. In order to discover what is true and what is false in this world, we have to have a standard to compare it to. Do you know how banks train tellers to find counterfeit money? They have them handle the real thing, over and over, until they can almost instantly tell the difference between a true bill and a false one. I propose that we take the same approach to life. In a world filled with half-truths and even outright lies, it can sometimes be a little hard to tell what is good and pure, and what isn't. Fortunately, we have a standard to compare everything to. God's Word. If you are a Christian, then you believe that every word printed in the Bible is inherently and unfailingly true. If that is correct, then we can take what we learn and read, and apply it to our daily lives. In order to find our way to the truth in this world, we need to spend time in God's Word. Read it. Pray about it. Think about it. Talk to people about it. The more time you spend in the truth, the easier it will become to spot what is false.

Good Morning, Yesterday

So I've been in a melancholy, musical mood lately, and it got me thinking. If you could go back and relive one day, any day in your entire life, with no consequences, which day would it be? What would you do? What would you do different? Think about it.

Sunlight and Marbles

So...this past week has been absolutely GORGEOUS. Heat, sun, no humidity, just clear blue skies and lots of warmth. There is almost nothing more beautiful than watching the sun come up on a warm spring morning...I love it. The other day I took a walk through the woods while listening to U2's "Beautiful Day" and it was amazing. I recommend that everyone get out there and enjoy this awesome weather while it lasts.

I was reading a book today, and it told a story called "A Thousand Marbles". It was about a guy was worked a lot, took too much time and didn't really enjoy life. One day, a family member of his gave him two jars filled with about 1,600 marbles. He said, "These are for every Saturday for pretty much the rest of your life. I want you to take one marble out of the jar every Saturday, and think about whether you spent that Saturday well, instead of wasting your time." I was kinda inspired by this idea, and I decided to spend more days out with my friends and family, just enjoying what God has given us. So get out there, and use your marbles wisely! You are only given a set amount of Saturdays...use them well.

Poeticness

I recently discovered a pretty interesting poem that I thought I'd share. It's by Elizabeth Bishop and it is called Anaphora. Enjoy.


Each day with so much ceremony
begins, with birds, with bells,
with whistles from a factory;
such white-gold skies our eyes
first open on, such brilliant walls
that for a moment we wonder
"Where is the music coming from, the
energy?"
The day was meant for what ineffable
creature
we must have missed? Oh promptly he
appears and takes his earthly nature
instantly, instantly falls
victim of a long intrigue,
assuming memory and mortal
mortal fatigue.

More slowly falling into sight
and showering onto stippled faces,
darkening, condensing all his light;
in spite of all the dreaming
squandered upon him with that look,
suffers our uses and abuses,
sinks through the drift of bodies,
sinks through the drift of classes
to evening to the beggar in the park
who, weary, without lamp or book
prepares stupendous studies:
the fiery event
of every day in endless
endless assent.

Twitch, Much?

Today's post is not going to be a ramble about social injustice or some deep metaphysical concepts... to be honest, I'm tired so I decided to keep it simple. Today's post is about one of the most adorable things on Earth: puppies. I was cruising the internets when I came across this hilarious video of a cute lil' puppy, and I thought I'd share it with you. The camera's a little shaky but just bear with it, it's worth it. :D

Hollywood Hash: The Facade of the Film Industry

I've noticed a slightly disturbing trend in the film industry lately. There seems to be a huge recurrence of re-makes and movie adaptations, and a certain lack of "new" or original movies. Here's a look at the top 15 best-grossing movies of 2009:

1. Avatar

2. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

4. The Twilight Saga: New Moon

5. Up

6. The Hangover

7. Star Trek

8. The Blind Side

9. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

10. Sherlock Holmes

11. Monsters vs. Aliens

12. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

13. X-Men Origins: Wolverine

14. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

15. 2012

Now, look at these popular films. 7 out of 15 are remakes: Transformers, Harry Potter, Twilight, Star Trek, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Sherlock Holmes, and X-Men Origins. Each of these films was adapted either from a book, comic, or TV show. None of them are original, in the sense that someone sat down and wrote a screenplay with completely new characters and concepts. What does that say about Hollywood?

Now, don't get me wrong. I LOVE going to the movies. I've seen almost all of the films on the list, and I enjoyed almost every one (barring G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.....terrible, terrible movie. Almost as bad as The Haunting of Molly Hartley. And that's saying something).

What I'm wondering is this: why can't Hollywood come out with anything truly original anymore? (Granted, Avatar certainly is quite unique, but then again, it's James Cameron. Come on.) What's wrong with just making a good movie? Why are so many directors and producers being compelled to rewrite old material? I recently saw Repo Men in theater, and while it was a fairly good movie, I couldn't help flashing back to the original, Repo: The Genetic Opera. Even Tim Burton's latest film, Alice in Wonderland is a remake. I'm a little disappointed. Burton is indelibly etched in my mind as an original thinker. His movies, while a little freaky at times, are (for the most part) uniquely his.

So what's the point? Is there really such a draw for remade or re-written films? I grant that there is a certain appeal for older viewers (example: fans of the original Transformers TV series would probably be drawn to see the new movies). And obviously the movie version of a hugely popular book (Twilight, Harry Potter, anyone?) would attract the book's considerable fan base. On a side note: I can empathize with that. Many movie-book adaptations turn out to be absolute bombs (Eragon stands out in my mind) yet many can be done and done well, such as the Narnia and Lord of the Ring series.

Back on the main train of thought here: why the obsession with remakes? Is it simply to attract more moviegoers (and therefore more money)? If I had any say in the matter (which I don't), I would challenge filmmakers to create new movies. Original, untainted, unique works all their own. Look at Taken. Or Wall-E. Or Star Wars!!! Come on, people!

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Today's food for thought is on a topic near and dear to my heart-music. Music has the unique and uncompromising ability to affect life (my life at least) in so many different areas. For example, how many people have had the urge to pump your fists in the air when you hear that unforgettable song on a hot summer's day? Or perhaps your whole day has been crushed after hearing a few stanzas of a simple tune, just because it reminds you of someone or something you'd rather not think about? On a brighter note, maybe you've felt your heart soar along with the lyrics of that one special song you shared with someone long ago. From a musician's standpoint, maybe you've felt that incredible sense of accomplishment and strength when you perfectly nail that really hard song that you've been trying to figure how to play for just about forever? Or perhaps the nervous butterflies-in-the-stomach right before you play or sing at your very first show.

Think about it. What is music? A collection of notes organized into a specific pattern, coordinating with other instruments and vocals? Is it a primeval urge to express ourselves? Simply a means of artistic endeavour? What is music?

To me, music is several things. Music is when I stand in front of a crowd, and simply let myself go. When I can feel the bass reverberate from my toes up my spine into my very brain. When I can see my hands playing, but I don't even know what notes or chords they're forming. When all I am is pure, joyous sound.

Maybe you've never experienced that. Maybe you've felt it, just the barest glimmerings on the edge of consciousness, the merest glimpse of something unspoken and unknown.

To me, music is when I realize that the song is over, when my fingers are chapped, or perhaps even bleeding, when my back is aching from the weight of the guitar, or when my wrists are numb from crashing cymbals. When I realize that I have no recollection of the past ten minutes, twenty minutes, two hours. When I acknowledge that there is no more music, no more sound, that I have to return to the real world of cars and politics and arguments and deadlines.

Music to me is something special, something unique. It's different for all of us. I've known people who have felt the hand of God through music. I know people who have wanted to end their life because of a song. Music is powerful, more so than most people realize. It has a strength and an intelligence all it's own. Regardless of genre, band, instrument, or record label, music has retained an indelible, yet almost invisible mark on all of us, whether in a large way or small. To me, there is no difference between a multi-million dollar rock concert and an eight-year old boy banging on a drum. Music is music.

Music is beautiful, and deadly. How many lives have been taken to a dark and lonely tune? How many children have been conceived to another? How many soldiers have listened to its ebb and flow before going to war? How many babies have fallen asleep to their mother's lullabies?

Music is a force, a power all its own. It can change things, for good or for worse. It can help heal, and it can be used to open existing wounds even further. It has the unique, and uncompromising ability to affect the very fabric of life itself.

How has music affected your life?

I Fought The Law And The Law Won

Today's post is another interesting news article.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62N52L20100324

A man named Sylvester Jiles broke back into prison, after being released on probation from manslaughter. Now he's been sentenced to another 15 years in the slammer. Hmm. See, I would think that you would want to stay out of prison once you were released. Apparently the food was just too good to pass up. :D

Thoughts?

Random Poetry

“Winter Song”

Moonlight glimmers on white birch,
Blanketing the world in a soft white glow.
A clear sky speckled with stars,
Illuminates the forest below.
The trees bend and whisper into the wind,
Haunting melodies floating all around,
Their rasping branches reach for the night sky,
As the moon bends and listens to the sound.
Snow scattered in heaps and mounds,
Reflecting the moon’s silvery sheen,
Lies dormant under the birches,
Players on a stage awaiting their scene.
The wind carries the tree’s quiet song,
Over white ribbons of water and sky,
And as I listen to its chilling chorus,
The stars reflected in my eyes,
I shiver, shrug, and go inside.

Only in Belarus

Hello everyone!! Today's post is about this ...interesting...picture. It was taken at a Belarussian Interior Ministry ceremony. Take a good look. This isn't edited in any way. What do you think is going on here?!?


It appears to me that a man with his head on fire is apparently trying to quench it in a block of dry ice. Little does he know that dry ice actually burns when it touches your skin for a long period of time. To put it simply, FAIL. Apparently the military is attempting to show new recruits that dry ice is NOT the best way douse yourself if your head is on fire. (note to readers, this is merely my merest of interpretations, not what is actually happening. Just so ya know.)

What in the name of tarnation do you think is going on here? Chime in!

Back to the Ben and Jerry's

Today's topic of discussion: if you had a time machine, when (and where) would you go with it?

This is spawned in part by my recent (first-time!!) viewing of Back to the Future. (Yeah, yeah, I know. Gimme a break, it wasn't high on my "must-see movies" list.)

Personally, I would like to travel back to London, 1718, in order to meet Mrs. Mary Eales. Mrs. Mary Eales was the (supposed) confectioner to her late Majesty Queen Anne, and she is the woman who first published a recipe for ICE CREAM. I would shake the hand of this wonderful woman and congratulate her on her imagination, innovation, and ingenuity in creating this most delicious and divine of dairy delights.

As a matter of fact, I'm about to go enjoy a bowl of some right now.

So, when would you go? The Jurassic Period? 18th century England? Colonial America? The Future? Chime in, and go get some ice cream while you're at it!

Act One, Scene One

Welcome to A Day In The Life Of An Average Guy! You have taken your first step on the path towards true enlightenment!

...not really. But thanks for checking out the blog. *insert cheesy smiley face here*

Now down to the nitty-gritty stuff.

The purpose of this blog is primarily to spark conversations, about anything from politics to peaches, from temporal anomalies to terminal illnesses, from music to magic. I welcome open discussion, and each week I will post some new threads to discuss and check out, along with interesting little tidbits and snapshots from my own life. Sound good? Well if it doesn't you can always just exit this tab and go back to searching for car insurance on Google....or you could maybe just maybe check out a little bit more of the blog! Your decision! No pressure...but I can guarantee that this week's topic will be a little more interesting than an animated talking gecko. And that's saying something.