A Fortunate Event

I went to the theater to see the movie "Leminy Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" expecting to not like it very much. I could not imagine sitting through two hours of things going wrong absolutely all the time, but went anyway just to see what it was like. Thankfully, this experience was not the torture that I had predicted, and I actually ended up enjoying the movie much more than I expected. I loved the two eldest children, Violet and Klaus, and felt that I could identify more with Klaus than I have with most other characters in the many movies that I have seen. He loved to read books and glean knowledge from them, not because he was forced to by those in authority over him, but because he really enjoyed it. Normally, this type of character would be painted as being an outcast nerd whom nobody likes and nobody wants to get to know. This time, however, his "nerdiness" was shown as being something really cool that helped the children get out of their difficult situations. It was not as though his sister Violet just sat back and watched while Klaus rescued them, though. Instead, her inventiveness saved the day probably more often than Klaus' knowledge. The characters were not the only reasons why this movie appealled to me, but also the main theme that ran throughout the movie. The children never complained about how bad their situation was and how everything just seemed to go wrong for them, many times becoming even worse than it was. They always looked out for each other, risking their own lives to save those of their siblings. They learned that there is always a way out of the trouble that they were in and that going through difficult situations would, in the end, make them better people. In the end, I did not find the movie very depressing at all, as I thought I would, but found hope and encouragement from the three Baudelaire children and their series of unfortunate events.

I've Only Just Begun

It seems strange to be staring at the end of a year with the new one less than eleven hours away. What does one say at a time like this? Sometimes I think that all of this hype about the "New Year" is a bunch of nonsense since, when we wake up tomorrow, not much will have changed. Nevertheless, at the same time, there is the feeling of being able to start again with a clean slate and become more of the person that one has always wanted to be. Then, once again, reality hits and the prospect of staying up late tonight so that I won't be able to function until at least noon tommorrow stares me in the face. The dream of change and newness is still there, however, and I will stay up late as I do every New Years Eve to welcome the change of the calendar.

A lot has happened in the past year. The nailbiting excitement of national elections, the horrorific destruction of tsunamis and hurricanes, the pain of family deaths, the hurt from the loss of friends, and much more have impacted me and changed the way in which I view the world around me. I myself have also changed and continue to grow in my faith in God, which, in turn, makes me grow as a person. I have discovered a love for Russian literature that, a year ago, I never dreamed that I would have and have also become part of the extremely wide and diverse world of the blogosphere. I have no idea what is in store for me throughout the coming twelve months, but I do know that there will be many surprises and changes in my life, and I look forward to finding out what they are and how I will face them. My life will never be the same again and I am on an exciting journey that I've only just begun.

Humbling Facts

The death toll from the earthquake and tsunamis in the countries in and around the Indian Ocean has now reached almost 80,000 people, and there are speculations that it may even reach 100,000. These numbers are completely mindboggling for me. Last night, as I was driving around, I saw a sign that was supposed to say "Merry Christmas," but the last half of the first word were unlit. Instead, it proclaimed the phrase, "Me Christmas," which I am afraid is what it has become of late. We get the presents, we get to eat lots of good food made just for us, we want snow to make it beautiful for us, and we fail to grasp the fact that the season is ultimately about love for others and not about our selfish wants. This tragedy on the other side of the world has reminded me of the fact that there are so many people besides me in this world whom I should be putting before myself and my many unneccessary wants, which is a very humbling experience.

Wow 2

The death toll has gone up to almost 24,000 people dead in the wake of the giant earthquake in the Indian Ocean. Those people are more than a number and a statistic, though, they are fellow human beings with lives of their own. They had families and friends who cared about them. They loved, worked, cried, and laughed. They were just like you and I, but they are now gone. Every disaster that we have had here in the United States pales in comparison to what those in southern Asia have experienced and it is difficult to fathom. Even the destruction of the multiple hurricanes that slammed into the southeastern United States earlier this year was nothing compared to the disasterous earthquake and tsunamis that the Asian people have experienced. May God be with them.

Wow

Wow. I found out this morning that around 10,000 people have been killed in an 8.9 magnitude earthquake in the midst of the Indian Ocean and its ensuing tidal waves, with almost no warning. This is a devastating piece of news and my mouth literally dropped open when I heard about it this morning and my eyes are starting to water even as I write. There are almost no words to say about something like this, but I pray that God will use this for His glory and will bring some good out of this disaster. My heart goes out to those people affected by the earthquake and I will be praying for them, as I urge you to do the same. The only word I can think of to aptly describe this disaster is "wow."

Dreams Do Come True

We had a lovely, white Christmas yesterday. I was convinced that this year we would have to do without snow, but when I woke up yesterday morning and looked out the window, I saw wonderfully white snow drifting down onto our lawn. It continued to snow on and off throughout the day, and yesterday night it looked beautiful slowly falling through the air lit up by the lights of the house. Unfortunately, the ground is not completely covered and the tips of the grass are still peeping through, but I am thankful for the snow that we did receive. It never seems quite like Christmas without snow.

Separation of Church and State

A school in Missouri has pulled one of the greatest works of literature out off a reading program in their school. Although it is a list of books that the students only read if they want to, the school felt that this book because they thought that it may be "an excessive entanglement of church and state." What book was this? As one can probably guess from the previous statement, it was the Bible. This really bugs me for a couple of reasons.

First of all, the Bible is one of the greatest works of literature of all times. It has influenced society and civilizations more than any other book in history and continues to have a great impact. Even if one is not a Christian and does not believe that the Bible is true, it is an important book that people should read in order to really understand the world that they live in. There are also great moral lessons that can benefit anyone who cares to read it, even those who believe in atheism.

Secondly, the "separation of church and state" is used completely out of context. Thomas Jefferson originally used the phrase in a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in which he said that:

" I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church and State. "

The "wall of separation" that he spoke of was not for the church to stay out of the government, but instead for the government not to interfere with the church. Many of the original colonists were fleeing the state established church in England and thus would not want one put in place over here in America. Therefore, as is stated in the 1st ammendment of the US Constitution, the government is restricted from establishing a state religion, thus allowing each citizen to worship as they please. The church is still allowed to influence the government, but the government should not control the church. A couple of good articles on subject can be found here and here.

The Missouri school needs to study their history a little more before making the decision to pull the Bible from its reading list. They are robbing their students of the opportunity to better themselves and their society.

"Science" Saves Lives

I am amazed that no one thought of anything similar to this before. They now have parachutes that attach to small airplanes to aid in the case of a crash. Like those that humans wear when skydiving, these slow the planes when they start to free fall. Instead of crashing hard into the ground, airplanes drift gently to the ground, potentially saving people's lives. This article from the Associated Press says that, in 2003, there were 626 deaths reported from general avation crashes as opposed to "only" 81 resulting from crashes of commercial airplanes. It is amazing that such a simple thing as a parachute could most likely cut the number of deaths dramatically.

The Enigma of Freedom

What is "freedom" and how much of it should be allowed? This is a question that has plagued me for a while now as I read books, magazines, watch television, and listen to people tell me all sorts of things about it that, in many ways, contradict eachother. Some say that freedom is the complete lack of restrictions, others say that freedom is the ability to do what one wants within certain limitations, while still others say that people can be truly free only when they have their lives controlled by others (i.e. the government) and thus do not have to worry about much of anything. I am of the belief that there will never be a perfectly "free" society that operates smoothly in a way that allows everyone to be happy or content, but if there was such a place, what would it look like?

A History of the English Language

While browsing the internet, I came across this "History of the English Language". Being a history fanatic, I found it hilarious. It reminds of the "Just So Stories" by Rudyard Kipling in which he tells short stories explaining how many of the things that we have to day came to be in their present form (i.e. animals). I've been searching for something that is not too expensive or technical on the history of English, but I do not think that this is quite what I am looking for.

Happiness Arrives

Good news! The extended edition of The Return of the King arrived in the mail today. Now I have only to wait for the chance to put it into the DVD player and watch it! Yaayyyyy!

Hollywood Meets Real Life

It looks as though real life has started imitating "art" instead of the other way around. The movie "The Terminal" came out earlier this year staring Tom Hanks as a man who is stuck living at an airport due to the fact that he can not enter into a country because of legal reasons. Now, just a few months later, it has happened to a real man who has been refused admission into Great Britain. But, unlike Tom Hank's character in the movie, this man has made the choice to stay in the airport, even though he is free to leave it and enter Kenya, where the airport is located. According to this article, the original movie was based upon a similar incident that happened to an Iranian in a French airport. I wonder if this incident concerning the man in Kenya is being based upon the movie.

Double Double

Check out this article! I wonder if there is an entry in the Guiness Book of World Records about things like this. It is not everyday that a pair of twins deliver a couple more pairs of twins on the exact same day!

Oh, the Irony!

How ironic that people who would probably be petitioning for the removal of nativity scenes would fight to keep a statue of a nude woman to be displayed. Their arguement that it would teach visiting children about history and the constitution is quite absurd since it would do more to teach kids about parts of human anatomy that they do not need to see more than anything about our past. A nativity scene would do much more in the way of teaching about important events in history and give the children greater benefits, and yet this type of display is considered "politically incorrect". How ironic.

"Lost" has Gained

The televsion show "Lost" has been nominated for best Television Drama for the Golden Globe Awards! In my opinion, it should win hands down. After what happened in the last episode, I can't wait to see the next one. Unfortunately (or fortunately for those have not yet seen it), they are going to show a rerun of the pilot episode tommorrow instead of a new installment in the series. They sure like to leave you on the edge of your seat for quite a while!

Return of the King!

This is exactly how I feel waiting for my copy of the "Return of the King" to be delivered. Usually I would be rushing out today to buy it, but we preordered it from Amazon.com and it won't arrive until around the 23rd. Ahhhhhhh! It comes out in the stores today, and everyone else will be buying it and watching it, while I wait to be the last person to see it. C-c-can't s-s-survive (gasp!).

Disturbingly Weird Biogenetics

With the great advances having been made in science during the past several years, even greater and more thought-provoking questions have been brought out concerning bioethics. One is how far is too far when combining humans genetically with animals? Is even just putting some human blood into their bodies wrong, or does it become wrong once they have been changed dramatically into basically human beings with animal origins? Where does one draw the line? Is it okay to even do it for medical reasons in order to save peoples' lives? This article explores some of the new advances being made in the field of biogenetics, but it fails to answer one question that I have: At what point do mammals become human beings with souls? If a person whose beginnings were in a petri dish grows up and has a soul, do those animals implanted with human parts, even human brains, have souls as well?

Comments

I have just enabled the comments, so they should work now.

The Loss of Christmas

A disturbing trend has come to my attention of late. It seems as though Chrismas is facing a downhill trend that may continue for many years. One of the only things that may be able to "save" this holiday is the fact that all of the presents that people purchase provide a lot of revenue to stores and other businesses. Christmas is no longer celebrated by the masses as the advent of our savior's birth, but is instead a time of the year to receive lots of "stuff", gather with family, sing songs, play in the snow, and feel the "holiday spirit". But all of this celebrating comes up empty and unfulfilling when it is not backed by the deeper meaning of Jesus.

Materialism is not the only killer of Christmas, though, but also the multiculturalism and preaching of "acceptance" in today's society. Jews, Muslims, Buddists, and other religions that do not recognize Jesus' divinity have their own holidays around this time of the year. It has become taboo to say the phrase "Merry Christmas" for fear of offending someone who may not celebrate it. Instead, the terms "Happy Holidays" and "Season's Greetings" are the politically correct salutations to use. But, this takes the meaning out of the season and is aiding in the decline of the recoginition of Jesus' birth. I, for one, plan to continue celebrating the holiday for what it is and will greet people with "Merry Christmas" every chance I get.

Will Christmas ever come to an end? How long will people continue to celebrate it?

My First Post

Exciting, isn't it!!!! My first post on my very own blog. This is the type of thing that dreams are made of--spreading one's thoughts, ideas, and strange musings to the world at large and slowly taking it over. Brahahahahah!