A couple weeks ago I was at the library trying to find some cds to put on my laptop but the library I was at doesn’t have such a great collection. One I did pick up is the soundtrack to the movie The Piano which I’ve never seen or heard about. But I saw that the music was by Michael Nyman who I know is a great composer. It turned out ot be quite an excellent find and I’ve been listening to it a bunch.
On another note, today the family went up to Geneva Lake in Wisconsin for a good 6 mile walk. The area is sort of the Hamptons of the Midwest with rich Chicago families buying houses around the lake since the 1800s. There is a trail around the edge of the lake that all the way is about 21 miles, but with Susannah there was no way we were going that far. It was quite strange just walking in people’s backyards though. Some peeps had made a good trail for us to walk through and others kind of neglected the path. You could really feel a little bit of a class difference with these huge million-plus dollar homes on the lake. Some were extremely ostentatious, but others were more subtle. I kind of wonder if someday that’ll be me, but then I hope I wouldn’t leave more important things behind for it all.
yep that’s right, I’m starting to miss some things about school.
Seeing my friends anytime
Talking to profs, lunchladies, other various people
Not having to make my own food
Chapel
Political/religious debates with my own generation
Fast (though limited) internet
Volleyball, tennis, soccer, etc anyone?
No annoying siblings!
I don’t have to mow or do other chores
On another note we went to a friend’s wedding yesterday and had a pretty good time. Yesterday, after finishing Homer’s Odyssey I got to the halfway point in the 100 books list. Here are some of my finds (in no particular order) thus far:
grrrr, I’m pretty annoyed right now since the US mens national soccer team just lost 2-3 to Brazil in the Confederation Cup. We totally rocked the first half against the football powerhouse with two goals but in the second it was all depression. This is the best that the US has done in an official tournament. It was a big surprise that we even got here especially since we beat Spain who were undefeated since November 2006. Soccer in the US isn’t nearly as big as everywhere else, but peeps are trying and the national team sure is helping through this tournament to gain popularity. Next year at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa (where this Confed Cup was held) may provide just the opportunity that the US can use to spring to the top, let’s just hope they will.
On another note Joe and Dana surprised the family today by turning up late last night. Joe had told me they were coming last night but for mom getting up this morning and and finding them here it was pretty funny to see. The little kids were staying at a friend’s house and were pretty surprised at church. Don’t you just love being in on a secret?
Well here I am on my new computer! On another note. . .
If you haven’t heard yet, the word on the street is that Michael Jackson died today at age 50. 25 years ago he released the best selling album of all time here it is.
Over the web and around the house i hear some people’s sadness for the musical icon. Sure his pop music is alright, but I honestly don’t care for it too much. Many more peeps, at least in my circle, seem to be rejoicing in MJ’s death. Society in general seems to hate the idea of hatred. Sure “tolerance” is important, though I think it’s better to not be bias (positively or negatively) for any reason. But that doesn’t stop hatred from happening. The other night I watched the movie Seven Pounds a nice movie about a man that feels that he should give up his wealth, power, body, and even life to help those he deems worthy. I find this strange though that he helps those that are “good” (as judged by him) rather than the “bad” ones. A few months ago a friend was saying she wanted such and such bad things to happen to some person that annoyed her and I asked how it is possible to desire harm and detain help from somebody that you hate. Sure Michael Jackson might be a child mollestor (I don’t care if the court didn’t think so) and Will Smith’s character had a decent reason for not aiding a corrupt man and my friend may have had decent reasons for wishing harm on somebody. . . but that doesn’t make any of it excusable.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Sound familiar? (Matthew 5:2-11). Looking at God’s words and example he didn’t destroy the evil, or we’re so screwed, but he purified instead. So should we wish harm on those that differ from us or do we endure instead? For me it is harder to tell somebody that I was wrong then it is to be wrong and know it. Although it might be easier to be, or at least have the conviction that you are right and have the other person continue to be wrong. Wouldn’t it ultimately be best for the other person to not continue living in thier incorrection but to convert to that which is right?
For example if you were talking to a child and they asked you what 2+2 is and you said it is “4″ and they said “nah-ah it’s 5″. You could just walk away with the excuse that you tried to tell them but they didn’t believe you. Or you could continue to state your argument (using much reasoning hopefully). Which is ultimately better? Sure you might waste some of your precious time and they may never fully understand but unchecked incorrection is more lamentable then loss of good. I would much rather a Christian die then and non-Christian because one has a mansion waiting the other still needs to hear the infite love of God.
I think this is why it really bothers me when I hear somebody say “damn you”. Sure people probably don’t know or at least think much about what it really means, but honestly you’re asking God to sever himself from them for eternity, what sort or demon in you would want that for somebody else?
Well that was my final time for running the 5K Kolache Days fun run last week. I finished just behind my dad and several minutes before mom. Naturally I would’ve like to do better but considering its the first actual race I’ve run I was glad to run the whole thing. And in the words of all Cubs fans, “There’s always next year!”
The week of travel from one relatives to the next did get tiring as longerish vacations do, but I really did have a blast. As Rebekah blogged about we led a romp (clan slang for a hike) instead of just following. We really are the next generation which is both scary and exciting! Whenever I head out to the “mountains” around G&G’s house I’m always amazed at just how beautiful it is. Of course I always wonder what I would do to the land if I could.
Right here I would put in a picture, but the internet here is stupid so that’s why my 365 really hasn’t been too active. Oh, I ordered a laptop finally! It should be here in a couple weeks and I’m hoping it’ll really help get me organized because my current computer:
Has only 1/4th the RAM my new one will
Has only 1/3 the hard drive my new one will
I don’t even want to think about the processor differences
College students really need small things and a laptop<desktop
Microsoft word on my current one doesn’t work well, as in I every couple sentences I have to wait for a few minutes before it lets me type again.
New is always better right! ok, maybe not. . .
I’ll have a webcam!
Sorry for the extreme ramdomness (I don’t care what you think about my useage of this word) of the post, but it’s something.
Most of y’all that know me know that I’m a fairly hefty guy. I don’t know exactly when I started packing on the lbs, but I was extremely chubby until high school when I shot upwards but not really inwards. I’m pretty much the only nonathletic person in my family. It’s not like we’re a sportsy family, but we’re usually pretty good at running long distances anyway. In the past I’ve tried to get into an exercise routine, but it’s never really worked (yes Rebekah I know that diet is important too). But I think this summer I’ll really be able to get into a good routine. I honestly don’t care how much I weigh I’m not overweight at all I just want to get rid of all the excess fat and most importantly be healthy and feel good. I really don’t know much about how somebody should go about losing body fat and gaining muscles because frankly it doesn’t interest me. I figure I’ll just try to eat well and do my best to be pretty active in exercising. So far I’ve done pretty well this summer with the latter not so much the former though. I’ve been doing most of the mowing of the yard which is decently sizeable and the impressive thing is that I’ve been running! Running 4 miles is nothing to my older siblings and its only a minor accomplishment for my younger brothers but for me it actually brings a good feeling of accomplishment that I can do it. Lately I’ve been going up to Marengo Ridge when Liz goes up to run. Usually I’d just run a 1.2 mile route with Leah and try to get roughly 10:00. Then the other day I randomly (I did use that word correctly so be quiet Mom) decided to run the 4 route and somehow Leah and I survived it. At the very end we actually walked so technically it was just about 3.5 but whatever. And today I did it again sure my body hurts a bit and Leah and I were both dead tired but we did it! Running with a short dog probably doesn’t help me too much physically with her initially going slow and other places going much faster and me having to adjust depending on if she sees a squirrel or is running into my heels, but psychologically it really helps me to have somebody (that also needs exercise) to run with me. I think next week I’ll attempt the 3 mile fun run at Kolache Days in Verdigre. I’ll just have to try and ignore what competitiveness there is in me and just do my best, wish me luck!
Joe Hisaishi is a Japanese composer that has done a bunch of work with anime director Hayao Miyazaki (who makes about the only anime that I like). Here’s a wonderful version of his song “Summer” the orchestra version is also quite nice.
Yesterday George Tiller was fatally shot outside his local Lutheran church in Wichita Kansas. If you’ve been following the news then you’ve probably heard that Mr. Tiller was a doctor that performed late-term abortions for women. This isn’t the first time that violence has been used against abortion advocates or against Mr. Tiller, but it has seemed to stir up emotions. Some reports seem to indicate that this instance of violence is just how radical many conservative groups are and the extreme-right will stop at nothing to have their agenda dictated on the general populace. Many pro-life institutions have, rightly so, backed away from the murder and condemned the act as wrong. Much of the press seems to be taking the murder and its condemnation by pro-life groups as sharp step forward for pro-choice peeps. This doesn’t exactly seem to be the case. So in all of this what is a Christian’s response to such a situation where a person is clearly disregarding the sanctity of life and the government allows and protects them?
Well in looking at this whole situation I think it starts with Mr. Tiller. Was it right for him to perform abortions? NO. From the moment of conception a human is a human regardless of where on the biological time line they are. Should the government have allowed Tiller to perform abortions? NO. Just as the government protects the natural rights of a 47 year-old black male or a 6 year old white girl they should also defend the life of a unborn child. Should somebody have taken steps beyond the government to murder a murderer? I don’t think so, but it can be hard to say. Tens of millions of lives have been destroyed by the presence of abortion but does that give permission to the born to kill? We know that murder is wrong (which is why abortion is too) but should it be allowed in order to protect a greater number of people? Was it ok for small groups to try and assassinate Hitler in order to save the larger numbers of Jews? Essentially the question seems to be if citizens have the ethical obligation to surpass the government when a situation arises that runs contrary to their beliefs?
If the answer is yes then doesn’t that give full permission for crusades and jihads and all other manner of social anarchy merely dependant on what somebody’s code of ethics are?
But if the answer is no then does that leave people only trusting and being passive rather than active in making a politically better world? Over the past several months I have seemed to be running into the separation of church and state (or lack thereof) debate quite frequently and I still haven’t figured out whether it is a Christian’s responsibility to do everything possible to stop sin from happening or to allow somethings and not other or to allow everything. In a perfect world everybody would do everything right and we’d have a theocracy but what are the rules when there’s a single person that disobeys? Do we stamp them out? I think it’s best if we follow the model Jesus tells us in Matthew 18 or trying to convince them of their wrong but what do we do if they still don’t turn? What if what they’re doing directly threatens us then do we have the responsibility to stop them forcefully? Historically we look at the Roman days and see Rome persecuting the Christians but we look at the Crusades and see Christians persecuting others were the Christians not pushing their faith enough or pushing too hard? If as citizens we shouldn’t go beyond the boundaries of the law then what as Christians are we to do in the face of venomous governments that are part of a fallen society that compose this dying world? The only thing that I’ve really resolved on in this debate of Christian ethics in politics is that we must Trust. Trust entirely on God’s power and will for us and for the world. No matter what there will be problems with ourselves and people around us and so we can only depend on the mercy of God. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t vote to protect life or we should all go and become abortion doctors, but it does mean that as Christ suffered the weight of the world so should we bear our burden of a lack of trust and bury it in the tomb.
Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir also known as Yohanna is the Icelandic representative to the Eurovision competition that I mentioned last week. Since hearing that song I became a bit interested and her other songs are quite wonderful. Yohanna has a beautiful vocal tone and a command of her range that you wouldn’t expect from an 18 year old singer. Of course it doesn’t exactly hurt that she’s quite beautiful herself, but still. I just wish they’d release her CD “Butterflies and Elvis” in the US. Here’s her song, “Is It True” that she put into the contest but you should check out some of her other stuff on YouTube as well:
Posted by boyerling3 
Posted by boyerling3 
Posted by boyerling3 
