The 2008 elections are on there way and the candidates are beginning to campaign. When the candidates speak, it's important that they know what to and what not to do with their hands. Some candidates point with their index finger. Bill Clinton for example made the letter A in sign language then turned so the thumb was on top and would wave his hand on the left side, then the right side and settled in the center with the thumb point. Hitler had his entire right arm extended. That one's pretty much off limits to American candidates...same with the mustache.
So, here's the contest: Either pick a hand guesture that will be most popular regardless of candidate or if you're feeling really ambitious you can pick what candidate is prone to do which guesture.
Mine...Barak Obama will have the thumb and index signal. When he pounds on his podium he'll do so with his pointer and thumb extended over a fist. He wont point it directly at anything. It will often look like he's measuring something or in honor of Seinfeld, squishing someone's head.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Tickets to the gun show anyone?
I know this is a little morbid that I would get a kick out of it, but rarely do I get episodes like the following.
I pulled up to the house where I lead a middle school youth group (WyldLife) tonight. I was fine tuning the talk I was to give and looked up for a moment of thought. Right then, a car that had just passed by jammed his brakes. As the tires half rolled and half skid, I saw a creature come out from under the right front tire. I know... it's sad.
So, the guy sits in his car for a second. Puts the car in reverse, backs up to where he had hit his brakes as if he could rewind time. He sits a little longer. Then he finally gets out of his car. He looks around to see if anyone saw what happened. He was probably hoping he could just get in his car and drive away. Then he spots me. He looks at me. I just shrug. By this time, the cat had run from under the car with an interesting sideways limp, like it just had it's ass skid accross by a car. The guys starts to go to where the cat is, then decides it's not worth his time. He starts to walk to the house on the other side of the street, then stops and turns back to his car. Then the cat ran across the road again toward the house he had started to walk to. Then he looked at me. I shrug. He stands there for a few seconds trying to figure out what to do. He looks at me. I shrug. Then he gets in his car and leaves.
During the whole thing, I just had a fun feeling that this whole thing was like a show for my enjoyment only. I know there's nothing fun about a cat getting run over...as my mom puts it, "Oh no, somebody's baby!"
Thanks God, thanks for that little bit of morbid joy.
I pulled up to the house where I lead a middle school youth group (WyldLife) tonight. I was fine tuning the talk I was to give and looked up for a moment of thought. Right then, a car that had just passed by jammed his brakes. As the tires half rolled and half skid, I saw a creature come out from under the right front tire. I know... it's sad.
So, the guy sits in his car for a second. Puts the car in reverse, backs up to where he had hit his brakes as if he could rewind time. He sits a little longer. Then he finally gets out of his car. He looks around to see if anyone saw what happened. He was probably hoping he could just get in his car and drive away. Then he spots me. He looks at me. I just shrug. By this time, the cat had run from under the car with an interesting sideways limp, like it just had it's ass skid accross by a car. The guys starts to go to where the cat is, then decides it's not worth his time. He starts to walk to the house on the other side of the street, then stops and turns back to his car. Then the cat ran across the road again toward the house he had started to walk to. Then he looked at me. I shrug. He stands there for a few seconds trying to figure out what to do. He looks at me. I shrug. Then he gets in his car and leaves.
During the whole thing, I just had a fun feeling that this whole thing was like a show for my enjoyment only. I know there's nothing fun about a cat getting run over...as my mom puts it, "Oh no, somebody's baby!"
Thanks God, thanks for that little bit of morbid joy.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
When the wind blows, it spooks the horses!
The subject line is the comment I made to my roommate yesterday. I went on to explain that 'the horses' are me. For some reason, when the wind blows I get all wierded out, don't want to leave the house, and I get anxious. And it's not because there are any trees that might fall on my house. I've been this way for as long as I can remember. Just thought I'd let you all know that fun little Rob fact (all 1 of you who read my blog). Thanks for your time, and good night!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
F#@k the kids!
The title here is just to get your attention. Post number two in a single day...wow, this is a record for me.
It's really exciting to see what's going on with kids today. On March 18th the NY Times reported about a student whose case has made it to the Supreme Court. The student was forced by a school administrator to take down a sign that that read BONG HITS FOR JESUS . The students case is an example of a violation of free speech. Another case is that of a California girl who, with the help of a SF law firm and the California ACLU, is filing a case against her school district because she has been held to dress code violations such as wearing knee high socks of Whinnie the Pooh and once being sent home for wearing a drug prevention shirt! My guess it was a DARE shirt and since it has the color red on it, was considered gang paraphernalia. Another example is of Zach Hunter who, as far as I know, was somewhat the inspiration behind the making of the recent documentary "Amazing Grace".
ADULTS!! Take notice of how effective kids can be...don't be lazy! Good job kids, good job!
It's really exciting to see what's going on with kids today. On March 18th the NY Times reported about a student whose case has made it to the Supreme Court. The student was forced by a school administrator to take down a sign that that read BONG HITS FOR JESUS . The students case is an example of a violation of free speech. Another case is that of a California girl who, with the help of a SF law firm and the California ACLU, is filing a case against her school district because she has been held to dress code violations such as wearing knee high socks of Whinnie the Pooh and once being sent home for wearing a drug prevention shirt! My guess it was a DARE shirt and since it has the color red on it, was considered gang paraphernalia. Another example is of Zach Hunter who, as far as I know, was somewhat the inspiration behind the making of the recent documentary "Amazing Grace".
ADULTS!! Take notice of how effective kids can be...don't be lazy! Good job kids, good job!
Congress v. the People
In yesterday's post, I put link to make it easier for anyone who stumbles onto my blog to write a quick letter to their representatives in Congress voicing their opinion. Sometimes it feels like that's about all I can do, so it's a little comforting to write a little email and send it on its way. Rousseau write a lot about 'collective consciousness' (as do many western philosphers) an idea we base our representative democracy on...republic. We elect leaders who in theory vote the conscience of their constituency. I'm not sure if congresspeople have ever really voted based on what their district wants, but they sure don't seem to now. The more I pay attention to Congress i realize that our elected officials take the role of protectors...that meaning, they know what the people think they want, but it's up to the representative to choose what is actually best. Why? Because they are smarter or better educated? I don't know if it really matters. What matters is that our representatives need to represent the consciousness of the people.
Reading an article in the NY Times today, this becomes clear that there's a good chance we may not have full representation of our beliefs from our Congressmen. The article by Jeff Zeleny is about the struggle between Democrats and Republicans on the issue of creating a deadline for funding, essentially for withdrawl, of our troops in Iraq. In the article it discusses two representatives specifically who have changed their vote from supporting withdrawl to now not supporting it. Dan Boren (D-OK) and Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH). Both originally followed their party line but after trips to Iraq to witness, first hand, the absolute mess it is, they changed their mind. So maybe they see something that we don't. Maybe they had some experience that softened them and that sympathy caused them to decide that we need to stay and help these poor people. Does that mean that we're wrong here in the states? Is it wrong that we sit in our comfortable living rooms and have the ability to detach ourselves from the reality of what's going on in Iraq? And if so, is our being wrong an excuse for the representatives of our will to vote different than what we feel?
I'm going to say no, it's not fine for them to choose their own vote just because they've seen something first hand that we haven't had the chance to. Some of us are morally opposed to war and violence under any circumstances...is our voice then obsolete? Some people may not understand the whole concept of how pulling our troops out of Iraq may effect the stability there. Does their opinion not count? I don't know what official polls say about the American public's stance on Iraq, but as Dennis Kucinich is quoted in today's article, "we used the war to help us [Democrats] win control of Congress." This tells me that the American people want our troops home and want to stop spending money on something that we think is futile.
Things are already in utter chaos. There is already immense instability in Iraq. There are already signs of genocidal tendencies on the part of religious sects. Things are falling apart regardless of our presence there. If we are to continue in Iraq, we would need political support from the majority of countries in the region and worldwide. Until we pull our troops out and let things fall apart, we wont be able to achieve the political solution that needs to take place for stability in Iraq because everyone is pissed off at us. If that's what the public thinks, then that's how our Congress needs to vote. It's our consciousness, not there's. And, if they do think that our minds need changing, then come to our towns and our districts and present your case, instead of to an empty chamber on C-Span.
Reading an article in the NY Times today, this becomes clear that there's a good chance we may not have full representation of our beliefs from our Congressmen. The article by Jeff Zeleny is about the struggle between Democrats and Republicans on the issue of creating a deadline for funding, essentially for withdrawl, of our troops in Iraq. In the article it discusses two representatives specifically who have changed their vote from supporting withdrawl to now not supporting it. Dan Boren (D-OK) and Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH). Both originally followed their party line but after trips to Iraq to witness, first hand, the absolute mess it is, they changed their mind. So maybe they see something that we don't. Maybe they had some experience that softened them and that sympathy caused them to decide that we need to stay and help these poor people. Does that mean that we're wrong here in the states? Is it wrong that we sit in our comfortable living rooms and have the ability to detach ourselves from the reality of what's going on in Iraq? And if so, is our being wrong an excuse for the representatives of our will to vote different than what we feel?
I'm going to say no, it's not fine for them to choose their own vote just because they've seen something first hand that we haven't had the chance to. Some of us are morally opposed to war and violence under any circumstances...is our voice then obsolete? Some people may not understand the whole concept of how pulling our troops out of Iraq may effect the stability there. Does their opinion not count? I don't know what official polls say about the American public's stance on Iraq, but as Dennis Kucinich is quoted in today's article, "we used the war to help us [Democrats] win control of Congress." This tells me that the American people want our troops home and want to stop spending money on something that we think is futile.
Things are already in utter chaos. There is already immense instability in Iraq. There are already signs of genocidal tendencies on the part of religious sects. Things are falling apart regardless of our presence there. If we are to continue in Iraq, we would need political support from the majority of countries in the region and worldwide. Until we pull our troops out and let things fall apart, we wont be able to achieve the political solution that needs to take place for stability in Iraq because everyone is pissed off at us. If that's what the public thinks, then that's how our Congress needs to vote. It's our consciousness, not there's. And, if they do think that our minds need changing, then come to our towns and our districts and present your case, instead of to an empty chamber on C-Span.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
DAMN YOU BLOGGER!!
I spent the last half hour typing out a new post in which I discussed the impersonal replies from my Congressional representatives to letters I had written to them at the beginning of last month. Somehow in the process of posting it, an error occurred and my post was gone forever. Here was my concluding point in fewer words... go to the text of Senate Joint Resolution 3 of the 110th Congress read it over. If you agree that it should be revised for more immediate action and also reworded to specify the use of remaining troops in Iraq after the withdrawl mandated by Congress, write a letter to your Senators and let them know your opinion. You'll probably just be as frustrated as I was when it took one of them 38 days to get back to me but it might make you feel a little better.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Sometimes I really hate church!!!
Today at my church, we had a guest speaker. He was a man from the higher up part of Covenant denomination who has been involved with helping our congregation coordinate a property renovation project. The campaign is called Generation to Generation (G2G) and is going to update the facilities we currently have as well as build new ones and improve our property overall. It has been stressed throughout the whole process of introducing the project to the congregation that the project itself is meant to expand our ministry and that part of the funds that we raise for the project will go towards a church plant. A church plant in the Watsonville area sounds like a really great idea as does the concept of being responsible with what the church has been given, along the lines of property and buildings.
First of all, I have to admit that when a sermon (or speech in this case) on giving to the church happens, I turn cynical and shut down. I say this so no one will think I'm trying to hide any bias I have. I think it comes mainly from the fact that I don't support the church as an official institution. I like supporting my community of believers but once the concept of that as an institution arises I am immediately resentful.
Our Guest Speaker
He dives right in to the fact that he's going to be talking about giving. Good...at least he's not trying to hide it. His point was that God calls us to give. He was using an example of the lady who dropped in two coins after all the rich people had dropped a lot of money into the offering plate. He presented the notion of equal sacrifice, not to be confused with equal giving. I like that...it's fair. I believe he is right here. God calls us to sacrifice ourselves and some have more, so they should give of themselves what is due to God's Kingdom.
In much detail he explained exactly how God is putting it on our hearts to give. He had a lot of backing from scripture, but I couldn't help but think that anyone who is asking for money in a church would pull those scriptures out of context to support their claim. Then he says, "Some of you need to grow in the grace of giving" in reference to people who may not want to give to this project. If I'm not mistaken he even pointed his finger. He then proceeded to say something along the lines of 'after you write that $30 check, you have communicated with God...'. What I heard here and other times in his speech was that giving money is the best way to communicate with God. There were a number of times that I couldn't help but cringe or even laugh at some of the things he said.
I was waiting for him to bring Satan, the Devil, the dark force of sin into the lecture. Sure enough, it came is the form of "the adversary"...that, in this coming week 'the adversary' would be working in our lives to keep us from giving 'over and above'. He would break our car, ruin some relationship, or various other things so we don't help grow the Kingdom. I personally do believe in a spiritual struggle between God and the Devil in whatever form they exist in that struggle. To be fair, he did say that he wasn't saying this to scare anyone, only to point out how real the threat is and not to be discouraged. But now, anything that happens in the next week is going to be blamed on the adversary. The reason I have an issue with this, is that people now have a tool to take the blame off of themselves. This is a free ticket to take personal responsibility in one's problems off of themself and blame it on a dark force...then to feel better, give money to prove their resistence to that dark force. Also, when something bad happens this week they'll say it's the devils work. Then they'll instantly remember what our speaker said and be coerced by this well crafted logic sequence into giving money to this G2G campaign...not out of desire to give to God or desire for this campaign to be successful, but because they think that what they experienced is truly the work of the devil and that this guy was right.
Last week at church, it was announced that this guy was going to come speak to us. I was under the impression that he was going to be talking about how part of our money from the church plant proposal in Pajaro/Watsonville and how awesome that is. It was barely mentioned. I was excited that he was going to talk about this because I like the idea that we are going to do something with our money that helps a less fortunate community. My roommate put it well when he said that $25 will go a lot farther in Pajaro than it would in Scotts Valley. Our help there is much needed and is truly something to celebrate. Instead of speaking at length about this or other church plants, he explained that it is our duty as part of "the face of the Covenant" to give money to grow this demonination.
In conclusion, I saw a number of new faces in the crowd today and was thouroughly embarrassed that visitors would be welcomed to our community on a Sunday like this. Hopefully these new people have actually been going to our church for a while and I just haven't noticed them. Though this would speak poorly of my welcoming newcomers, it would make me feel better knowing that their first impression of our church was something other than this impersonal speech on stewardship.
For the record, I am in support of our church doing this remodel and expansion thing. It's great that we want to make our facilities better serve the community as a long term goal and it's great to see that in raising the money for this we are essentially raising money that will directly benefit our community. There are some aspects that I think are unnecessary, like the outdoor theater, but the congregation approved it so it must be part of the collective conscience. With that said, I need to say that I am very unimpressed with this recent portion of the fund raising aspect of the project. To have such a impersonal approach to such a personal subject was not a good idea. If he was going to talk about the benefit in regards to planting a church and getting people excited about that idea, that would have been great. I don't know what I expect out of writing this, I just needed to voice my opinion, and probably what is the opinion of any new people who were at the church today as well as other people who think the same as me but wouldn't take the time to write it out like this. There's a lot more that I could add, but I wouldn't be able to make a very good case unless I could hear the audio...maybe my roommate Mike will do a better job when the audio of the speech is posted on the church website.
First of all, I have to admit that when a sermon (or speech in this case) on giving to the church happens, I turn cynical and shut down. I say this so no one will think I'm trying to hide any bias I have. I think it comes mainly from the fact that I don't support the church as an official institution. I like supporting my community of believers but once the concept of that as an institution arises I am immediately resentful.
Our Guest Speaker
He dives right in to the fact that he's going to be talking about giving. Good...at least he's not trying to hide it. His point was that God calls us to give. He was using an example of the lady who dropped in two coins after all the rich people had dropped a lot of money into the offering plate. He presented the notion of equal sacrifice, not to be confused with equal giving. I like that...it's fair. I believe he is right here. God calls us to sacrifice ourselves and some have more, so they should give of themselves what is due to God's Kingdom.
In much detail he explained exactly how God is putting it on our hearts to give. He had a lot of backing from scripture, but I couldn't help but think that anyone who is asking for money in a church would pull those scriptures out of context to support their claim. Then he says, "Some of you need to grow in the grace of giving" in reference to people who may not want to give to this project. If I'm not mistaken he even pointed his finger. He then proceeded to say something along the lines of 'after you write that $30 check, you have communicated with God...'. What I heard here and other times in his speech was that giving money is the best way to communicate with God. There were a number of times that I couldn't help but cringe or even laugh at some of the things he said.
I was waiting for him to bring Satan, the Devil, the dark force of sin into the lecture. Sure enough, it came is the form of "the adversary"...that, in this coming week 'the adversary' would be working in our lives to keep us from giving 'over and above'. He would break our car, ruin some relationship, or various other things so we don't help grow the Kingdom. I personally do believe in a spiritual struggle between God and the Devil in whatever form they exist in that struggle. To be fair, he did say that he wasn't saying this to scare anyone, only to point out how real the threat is and not to be discouraged. But now, anything that happens in the next week is going to be blamed on the adversary. The reason I have an issue with this, is that people now have a tool to take the blame off of themselves. This is a free ticket to take personal responsibility in one's problems off of themself and blame it on a dark force...then to feel better, give money to prove their resistence to that dark force. Also, when something bad happens this week they'll say it's the devils work. Then they'll instantly remember what our speaker said and be coerced by this well crafted logic sequence into giving money to this G2G campaign...not out of desire to give to God or desire for this campaign to be successful, but because they think that what they experienced is truly the work of the devil and that this guy was right.
Last week at church, it was announced that this guy was going to come speak to us. I was under the impression that he was going to be talking about how part of our money from the church plant proposal in Pajaro/Watsonville and how awesome that is. It was barely mentioned. I was excited that he was going to talk about this because I like the idea that we are going to do something with our money that helps a less fortunate community. My roommate put it well when he said that $25 will go a lot farther in Pajaro than it would in Scotts Valley. Our help there is much needed and is truly something to celebrate. Instead of speaking at length about this or other church plants, he explained that it is our duty as part of "the face of the Covenant" to give money to grow this demonination.
In conclusion, I saw a number of new faces in the crowd today and was thouroughly embarrassed that visitors would be welcomed to our community on a Sunday like this. Hopefully these new people have actually been going to our church for a while and I just haven't noticed them. Though this would speak poorly of my welcoming newcomers, it would make me feel better knowing that their first impression of our church was something other than this impersonal speech on stewardship.
For the record, I am in support of our church doing this remodel and expansion thing. It's great that we want to make our facilities better serve the community as a long term goal and it's great to see that in raising the money for this we are essentially raising money that will directly benefit our community. There are some aspects that I think are unnecessary, like the outdoor theater, but the congregation approved it so it must be part of the collective conscience. With that said, I need to say that I am very unimpressed with this recent portion of the fund raising aspect of the project. To have such a impersonal approach to such a personal subject was not a good idea. If he was going to talk about the benefit in regards to planting a church and getting people excited about that idea, that would have been great. I don't know what I expect out of writing this, I just needed to voice my opinion, and probably what is the opinion of any new people who were at the church today as well as other people who think the same as me but wouldn't take the time to write it out like this. There's a lot more that I could add, but I wouldn't be able to make a very good case unless I could hear the audio...maybe my roommate Mike will do a better job when the audio of the speech is posted on the church website.
Friday, March 16, 2007
God of Rob or God of Chistendom?
I know this sounds pretty damn self righteous, but here it goes...I am becoming more and more convinced that I believe in a different god than most Christians. I do call myself a Christian because my belief is that Jesus died for my sins and created a new world in which his example is the model way of life, so I feel that I shouldn't be bashful about proclaiming my faith in his work. Many Christians now days say, "I'm not a Christian, I'm a follower of Christ", or ,"I'm not religious but I am highly spiritual". Here's how I explain this... too many people confuse Christianity with Christendom, which is where that shame of being labelled as a Christian comes from. Most people will probably say that Christendom died with the Roman Empire (which brings up a whole other issue of how much of the "Roman Empire" still exists...as far as ideology goes), but I think it's safe to say that Christendom is alive and well, and continues to be as much of a threat to the Kingdom of God and teachings of Christ as it was during the time when it was controlled and constructed by tyrannical emperors and popes.
There's more to come as far as my case for what Christendom is and how it is still with us today...it'll be a short comparisson between the history of the old church with today's church. I just thought this would be a good start.
There's more to come as far as my case for what Christendom is and how it is still with us today...it'll be a short comparisson between the history of the old church with today's church. I just thought this would be a good start.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Amazing News Story!!
There was a short news brief in the NY Times today that described a 50-50 divorce to the extreme. A man in Germany measured his house, then proceeded to cut it in half with a chain saw. When he was done with that, he picked his house up with a forklift and drove away. HOLY CRAP THAT IS FUNNY!!! The man's comment was that he was "just taking his due."
Friday, March 09, 2007
If you hate masturbation then you hate hands!!
I was watching a news program that was talking about the growth of Muslims in Europe. A Scotish Muslim leader was on T.V. saying that he is sad about the Muslims of South Western Asia hating Europe. He explained that for him, Europe is his homeland and "if you hate my homeland then you hate me". STOP SAYING SHIT LIKE THIS!!! It's too easy to use language like that. It can be used by any dumb asshole. It takes no level of creativity and it doesn't get a point across. The guy could have said something like, "Europe is my homeland and I am proud of that. For people to hate Europe as a whole is saddening for me because these people who say this are my brothers in faith, and it's not my continent that is doing harm to them, but the ideology of the modern west." To me, it's a sign of a simple (or dishonest) mind in people who use rhetoric like that.
I'd imagine that members of PETA might not agree with the use of cow leather for wallets. With the same logic that this man used, a cow might say, "if you hate leather wallets then you hate me". It doesn't make a damn bit of sense. First of all, in this case, it's better for the cow that people don't like leather wallets...that's ovbvious, I know. Second, PETA would hate the leather wallet because of what it stands for. In the same way, the Muslims of South Western Asia probably just hate the "western ideology" of Europe, not necessarily everything or everyone in it.
The other part, is that any statement like this carries with it at least a little bit of hypocrisy. It's just a matter of exploring the claim and who's making it in order find the hypocrisy. This same rationale President Bush used at the beginning of the war on terror. The President laid down the doctrine 'if you're not with us, you're against us' as a basis for all policy domestic and abroad. He said at one point that any states that harbors terrorists are terrorists themselves. Here's the hypocrisy... a man named Luis Posada and another named Orlando Bosch are well known terrorists among the conflict with past few decades of conflict with Latin America. They were both involved with a bombing of a passenger plane that killed 73 people, among other attrocities in Central and South America. Orlando Bosch, by request of Jeb Bush was granted a presidential pardon by George H.W. Bush. Luis Posada, who has been officially convicted in more than one country of terrorist acts, is being held in a U.S. jail for an immegration violation. Despite the request of one country, I believe Columbia, in which he was responsible for many deaths, we continue to hold him essentially granting him asylum. As further display of hypocrisy, the U.S. House of Representatives will be deciding soon on a piece of legislation that states what the U.S. will only begin to consider relations with Cuba if they release William Morales who was involved in some of the same activities as Bosch and Posada.
Here's the point. Be better than people who use this kinds of rhetoric and logic. Do this by stating the real problem and not by using feelings of nationalism, patriotism, or loyalty of any kind to manipulate other ignorant people!!!
I'd imagine that members of PETA might not agree with the use of cow leather for wallets. With the same logic that this man used, a cow might say, "if you hate leather wallets then you hate me". It doesn't make a damn bit of sense. First of all, in this case, it's better for the cow that people don't like leather wallets...that's ovbvious, I know. Second, PETA would hate the leather wallet because of what it stands for. In the same way, the Muslims of South Western Asia probably just hate the "western ideology" of Europe, not necessarily everything or everyone in it.
The other part, is that any statement like this carries with it at least a little bit of hypocrisy. It's just a matter of exploring the claim and who's making it in order find the hypocrisy. This same rationale President Bush used at the beginning of the war on terror. The President laid down the doctrine 'if you're not with us, you're against us' as a basis for all policy domestic and abroad. He said at one point that any states that harbors terrorists are terrorists themselves. Here's the hypocrisy... a man named Luis Posada and another named Orlando Bosch are well known terrorists among the conflict with past few decades of conflict with Latin America. They were both involved with a bombing of a passenger plane that killed 73 people, among other attrocities in Central and South America. Orlando Bosch, by request of Jeb Bush was granted a presidential pardon by George H.W. Bush. Luis Posada, who has been officially convicted in more than one country of terrorist acts, is being held in a U.S. jail for an immegration violation. Despite the request of one country, I believe Columbia, in which he was responsible for many deaths, we continue to hold him essentially granting him asylum. As further display of hypocrisy, the U.S. House of Representatives will be deciding soon on a piece of legislation that states what the U.S. will only begin to consider relations with Cuba if they release William Morales who was involved in some of the same activities as Bosch and Posada.
Here's the point. Be better than people who use this kinds of rhetoric and logic. Do this by stating the real problem and not by using feelings of nationalism, patriotism, or loyalty of any kind to manipulate other ignorant people!!!
Sunday, March 26, 2006
I LOVE FAMILY GUY!!!
WOW!!! Quote of the night from Family Guy.
Scene: Two incredibly butch dikes walk in to a sperm clinic.
Dike 1:
"Me and my partner want to have a baby, and we want an applicator that looks like Jodie Foster's nuckles."
Scene: Two incredibly butch dikes walk in to a sperm clinic.
Dike 1:
"Me and my partner want to have a baby, and we want an applicator that looks like Jodie Foster's nuckles."
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Marketing for Christ - I'm sure he wont mind
I remember this scene from the bible where Jesus goes into the temple and turns over a bunch of tables and drives out all the vendors. I'm no pastor or theologian but I'm pretty sure at least one of the points of that story is that God doesn't want people making ass loads of money by using his name. So I went to Borders today and took a picture of some books by Lee Strobel that are titled A Case for Creation, A Case for Christ, A Case for Faith, and even A Case for Easter!!! Sure, these books may have some great info and insights, but if that's not a marketing device I don't know what is. Man what a douche bag. This seems to happen a lot now days among Christian writers. Click here for another example...If you scroll down enough you'll realize that you can get two books because they're "better together" for the low low price of only $20.78. I think it's retarded. That's it.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Bad Words
I scared myself yesterday. I'll preface it with this: I was in deep thought about a conversation I had with a roommate of mine. The conversation was of a political nature and it had to do with war. I was absolutely dumbfounded that he would not or could not begin to accept the possibility of a nation not using violence...he believes that in order to keep things going economically and politically speaking, violent things have to happen. Quoting from a Zinn book here, "In 1972, the general who was head of the U.S. Strategic Air Command told an interviewer, "I've been asked often about my moral scruples if I had to send the planes out with hydrogen bombs. My answer is always the same. I would be concerned only with my professional responsibility.'" This man leaves no room for moral judgement in is line of work.
I was having such a hard time accepting that some people are incapable of contemplating a world that isn't run by greed, capitalism, and war. The thought crossed my mind "it's easy for me to make decisions about things like this because my own fundamental values are simply that I don't have any loyalty to the government or any authority figure other than Christ." WHOA, there it is!! That word fundamental. I know it's not necessarily a negative word, but i've never associated that word with my own beliefs. Just like when the word popped into my mind yesterday, I'm speechless. I can't come up with any words to describe how that scared me. This is a wierd feeling. Well, at least I'm not the militant type.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
PACIFISM...A CONVERSATION FOR FRIENDS
There's an old man, an old folk singer/political activist named U. Utah Phillips. He was an enlisted soldier in the Korean War who became an opponent to war in general. More often than not, I don't sympathize with enlisted men who complain about the battles they were in and the friends they lost, only because I figure if you're dumb enough to enlist you have to man up to the consequences you brought on yourself.
After the war, Utah spent years as a drunken vagabond traveling on trains throughout the country trying to forget as best he could the things that happened in the war. After years of this he finally settled down in a recovery house in SLC founded by Joe Hill, the old legend from the Catholic Workers Movement. This man's name was Edmond Hennessey as I remember the story going. He was one of the old Catholic/Anarchist/Pacifist men sprouting from the ministry of Dorthy Day (or however you spell her name).
Utah, being a drunk with violent tendencies and all that jive, was confronted by Edmond one day. Edmond said something to the effect of, "You need to be a pacifist"
"What's a pacisfist," says Utah.
"Well, it's kinda like being an alcoholic. You have to sit down with people who will really listen and instead of saying 'my name's Chuck, I'm and alcoholic', you say, 'I'm Chuck, and I admit and accept that I have a capacity for violence'."
If we claim to be pacifists, we need to be able to sit down and admit our violent tendencies, no matter how small they are. We need to get ourselves to a place where we at least realize that even killing an ant may have the possibility to make some species of life bitter at humanity, thus making the circle of "KARMA" keep rotating. It's not easy, as far as I know, only Jesus has been able to do it, but instead of copping out and being defeated by it, we can try. I suppose that's step one...TO GENUINELY CARE!!
Hiding The Sun
I wrote this poem during a period when I wasn't drinking. I was actually drunk when I wrote it. I was talking on the phone with someone who thought that I was sober when I wrote it. Ironic I suppose. Whatever, suck my balls!!
I know the truth
I know that you'd pay any price to have it
I know you'd choose
Who'd be the one to have
The one to hold on to
The lies you keep so close
And hold as their your own
Nobody knows
Nobody sees
You Crumbling
But I know the truth
I've seen it too
I've seen it in your eyes but I can't help it
I've seen in you
Things that you tried to hid
The things that keep you
Down in a place no one can find
You hold it as your own
Nobody knows
Nobody sees
You shuddering
But I've seen it too
I hide it too
I hide the sun so I can make sense of it
I hide for you
The things you bring to light
The things that kill you too
And I've never been so cold
But when I'm here all alone
Nobody knows
Nobody hears
Me whispering
'Cause I hide it too
I know the truth
I know that you'd pay any price to have it
I know you'd choose
Who'd be the one to have
The one to hold on to
The lies you keep so close
And hold as their your own
Nobody knows
Nobody sees
You Crumbling
But I know the truth
I've seen it too
I've seen it in your eyes but I can't help it
I've seen in you
Things that you tried to hid
The things that keep you
Down in a place no one can find
You hold it as your own
Nobody knows
Nobody sees
You shuddering
But I've seen it too
I hide it too
I hide the sun so I can make sense of it
I hide for you
The things you bring to light
The things that kill you too
And I've never been so cold
But when I'm here all alone
Nobody knows
Nobody hears
Me whispering
'Cause I hide it too
Friday, March 10, 2006
Faith in your government?
I had a friend mention today that one of his most recent struggles is putting faith in our government, that he has trouble trusting our leaders because it seems like all they do now days is lie. For some reason this struck me as an incredibly ignorant statement. But all too often is expressed in one way or another. The reason it seems so dumb to me is that he feels as though he is supposed to have faith in our government. For some reason I've never been a person that felt like I am obligated to be loyal to things. I never cared about my school colors or mascot or alma mater, from the time I was young I thought that the idea of enlistingin the armed servicves was a ridiculous idea, and from the beginning of my interest in politics I've never felt that I should support someone just because they are republican or democrat.
Mark Twain, in the midst of high political tension due to a war in the Philipenes, was called unpatriotic because he, as merely a writer, an artist, felt that it was okay to speak out against the war and against the government. He replied by saying something to the effect of: Loyalty to one's country does not mean loyalty to it's institutions. The country is the eternal thing, the living thing, the substantial thing. The country is the people and what they stand for. The institutions are simply clothing. Clothing can be tattered and worn by harsh conditions, it can cease to protect us from the winter cold, from disease, and from death. To have worship rags, to have loyalty for rags, is a loyalty of unreason.
I like that. It's simple point made on a rather complex issue. I read a quote at my office the other day by C.W. Ceram that said, "Genius is the ability to reduce complicated to the simple." Good job Mark Twain.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Angel in the outfield
When I was in elementary school tetherball was the most popular sport to play during recess. Kids would stand in line the entire lunch recess just to play one round of tether ball. At one point there was a formal tetherball tournament organized.
I was in the group of kids that didn't like tether ball. There were two reasons i didn't like it:1) I've always had bad circulation so when it got cold hitting the ball would hurt my hands. 2) I couldn't even it a baseball off of a tee in teeball. The bat ball coordination was just not there.
Ok, while this tournament was going on the group that didn't like tetherball played different games. On the last day of the tournament the big game was down to Angel Cornejo and Corey Frank. It was the most intense game I ever halfway paid attention to. The only part I really paid attention to was after the game was over. Angel has risen victorious, then the entire school (that was out on recess at that point), excluding the group of us who didn't play the sport, chased Angel around the school field.
Just imagine a giant fat mexican kid being chased by about 70 small skinny white kids. To this day, me and the friends who still remember this don't know why they chased him around. They didn't beat him up, they didn't hoist him on their soldiers, they didn't even dogpile. The way it ended was that the bell rang and everyone had to freeze until the yard duty ladies blew their whistles. I feel like I re-live that scene in my head everyday and it never makes sense. I think maybe this is what is keeping me from greatness. Can you offer any suggestions to help me in my life quest?
I was in the group of kids that didn't like tether ball. There were two reasons i didn't like it:1) I've always had bad circulation so when it got cold hitting the ball would hurt my hands. 2) I couldn't even it a baseball off of a tee in teeball. The bat ball coordination was just not there.
Ok, while this tournament was going on the group that didn't like tetherball played different games. On the last day of the tournament the big game was down to Angel Cornejo and Corey Frank. It was the most intense game I ever halfway paid attention to. The only part I really paid attention to was after the game was over. Angel has risen victorious, then the entire school (that was out on recess at that point), excluding the group of us who didn't play the sport, chased Angel around the school field.
Just imagine a giant fat mexican kid being chased by about 70 small skinny white kids. To this day, me and the friends who still remember this don't know why they chased him around. They didn't beat him up, they didn't hoist him on their soldiers, they didn't even dogpile. The way it ended was that the bell rang and everyone had to freeze until the yard duty ladies blew their whistles. I feel like I re-live that scene in my head everyday and it never makes sense. I think maybe this is what is keeping me from greatness. Can you offer any suggestions to help me in my life quest?
Monday, December 19, 2005
Siren Song of the Counter Culture
So here I sit, Monday night waiting to go to dinner with a friend. I've been watching C-SPAN2 for about 4 hours now, and finally come across something that is interesting. It's a presentation by the National Institute on Drugs and Alcohol on the current drug and alcohol usage trends among the population as a whole, but mainly focusing on youth. They're reporting that the decline in usage among kids who were surveyed four years ago is on average 40%. So why I wonder, are many kids deciding not to use drugs anymore and many choosing to never try drugs.
I have a few thories: 1) Kids have begun to use drugs at such and early age, that the age at which it becomes a problem and they realize they need to stop (or are forced into a situation where stopping is not an option) is in the high school years 2) The most recent pop-culture superstars, who come from a genre that historically has been associated with drugs and the stereotypical "rock'n'roll" scene, are now the main supporters of the "straight edge" (no drugs/alcohol/tobacco use) movement sweeping our young people. I'd like to think that the latter is the only true of the two, but the sad part is that both are probably equally true. Unfortuantely I think these are pretty much the only two options that there are...there are a few other theories I'm sure, dealing with national drug control policies and such, which may be somewhat effective, but the one we can for sure rule out is that parents are making a difference. For the most part, parents in the U.S.A. and probably all the other elite countries of the world are worthless. They're too busy buying shit and looking fancy to give a rip about their kids.
So, option one. The first time I smoked weed was in the 6th grade. The first time I did any hard drugs was in the 6th grade. I got expelled from school and arrested in the 7th grade for selling pot. At this time, other than the small handful of "bad kids" at school, I was one of the only kids at school who did drugs. Nobody liked me because of all this. In high school, when I didn't do that stuff as much, it seemed like the cool thing to do. Most kids in the school smoked weed, did drugs, drank, etc, etc. Now that I work with junior high kids, I notice the increasing amount of interest in drugs and alcohol at their age, along with the alarming number of kids who have tried or currently use drugs or smoke weed. I think kids are being exposed to these things at such a young age (those reasons take up a whole new essay) that they get hooked early. Often times in high school, kids are in recovery. On this report i was watching, it said that 12% of folks age 18-25 are recovering alchololic/addicts. What I'm concluding, is that the reason for the decrease in the use of drugs among young people is that we're becoming addicted earlier thus recovering earlier...no more drug/alcohol use.
Now, the one that I like. This one is less disturbing. In the 1970's punk rock was born. In the 1980's punk rock took on an image of extreme drug use, partying, and reckless behavior. In that same decade metal arose and had developed the same image. Finally, in the late 90's and early 21st century, the two genres have merged. Bands like, My Chemical Romance, Atreyu, Trice, and countless other who have become our youth's idols, are promoting and living the straight edge lifestyle. You see all those kids who dress in black, paint blood streaming from their eyes, and wear makeup...yeah, those are the kids who like these bands. Here's the thing, these kids don't just dress and listen to these guys, they think they are God. These kids will do anything that these guys do. Of course there are always exceptions, but by and large these kids are following they're straight edge and anti-sexist ways.
I just think it's rad that something that only a generation ago was considered satanic and problematic has now evolved into something that is beneficial for our kids today. Kids are getting and staying off drugs because of loud angry music. I think it's a sign of a generation that even though we seem stupid and irresponsible, we're learning. And no thanks to all those fuckin parents out there working their six figure jobs who didn't want these kids in the first place. Alright, I'm done...stick that in your smoke pipe and peace it.
I have a few thories: 1) Kids have begun to use drugs at such and early age, that the age at which it becomes a problem and they realize they need to stop (or are forced into a situation where stopping is not an option) is in the high school years 2) The most recent pop-culture superstars, who come from a genre that historically has been associated with drugs and the stereotypical "rock'n'roll" scene, are now the main supporters of the "straight edge" (no drugs/alcohol/tobacco use) movement sweeping our young people. I'd like to think that the latter is the only true of the two, but the sad part is that both are probably equally true. Unfortuantely I think these are pretty much the only two options that there are...there are a few other theories I'm sure, dealing with national drug control policies and such, which may be somewhat effective, but the one we can for sure rule out is that parents are making a difference. For the most part, parents in the U.S.A. and probably all the other elite countries of the world are worthless. They're too busy buying shit and looking fancy to give a rip about their kids.
So, option one. The first time I smoked weed was in the 6th grade. The first time I did any hard drugs was in the 6th grade. I got expelled from school and arrested in the 7th grade for selling pot. At this time, other than the small handful of "bad kids" at school, I was one of the only kids at school who did drugs. Nobody liked me because of all this. In high school, when I didn't do that stuff as much, it seemed like the cool thing to do. Most kids in the school smoked weed, did drugs, drank, etc, etc. Now that I work with junior high kids, I notice the increasing amount of interest in drugs and alcohol at their age, along with the alarming number of kids who have tried or currently use drugs or smoke weed. I think kids are being exposed to these things at such a young age (those reasons take up a whole new essay) that they get hooked early. Often times in high school, kids are in recovery. On this report i was watching, it said that 12% of folks age 18-25 are recovering alchololic/addicts. What I'm concluding, is that the reason for the decrease in the use of drugs among young people is that we're becoming addicted earlier thus recovering earlier...no more drug/alcohol use.
Now, the one that I like. This one is less disturbing. In the 1970's punk rock was born. In the 1980's punk rock took on an image of extreme drug use, partying, and reckless behavior. In that same decade metal arose and had developed the same image. Finally, in the late 90's and early 21st century, the two genres have merged. Bands like, My Chemical Romance, Atreyu, Trice, and countless other who have become our youth's idols, are promoting and living the straight edge lifestyle. You see all those kids who dress in black, paint blood streaming from their eyes, and wear makeup...yeah, those are the kids who like these bands. Here's the thing, these kids don't just dress and listen to these guys, they think they are God. These kids will do anything that these guys do. Of course there are always exceptions, but by and large these kids are following they're straight edge and anti-sexist ways.
I just think it's rad that something that only a generation ago was considered satanic and problematic has now evolved into something that is beneficial for our kids today. Kids are getting and staying off drugs because of loud angry music. I think it's a sign of a generation that even though we seem stupid and irresponsible, we're learning. And no thanks to all those fuckin parents out there working their six figure jobs who didn't want these kids in the first place. Alright, I'm done...stick that in your smoke pipe and peace it.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Gold Dome
So I finally decided today to go to a church that I've meant for a long time to visit. It's the orthodox christian church in B-Lo. First things first, I get there right as the service is supposed to start and there are only four other cars there. The friend who I was supposed to meet there, one of the regular attenders, wasn't there yet. I stood outside for a few minutes and waited for him to show up. As I stood there, I kept seeing people walk out of this door on the side up the building, look in the window to the sanctuary, then walk around back and go up a set of stairs to and alternate entrance. Now, my assumption is that everything at this church is symbolic of something...every action, every word spoken, everything. If you don't do these things by the book, their God will strike you down with lightning. While I don't agree with religious traditions, I don't want to be disrespectful to what these folks do. So, I'm way confused at this point as so why these people are going through another entrance. I thought maybe only the priest and deacons or something were allowed to walk through the front doors...only people chosen by God. So finally, my friend shows up and says, "I gotta do this candle holding thing, I'll see you after the service." Now, not only do I not know what is going on, but my guide just ditched me. Fortunately his little brother walks around the corner and shows me in through the front doors.
Now I come to the conclusion that it's not only divine people who get to walk through the doors. When I got inside, I heard a very bland, monotone voice, half singing half speaking words that seemed to be english, but were so fast and echoey that you couldn't make them out. As soon as he got done with a sentence, a choir of people would recite some other thing. It turns out, all those people walking to that back door were in the choir...now, I'm a little more at ease. The first thing I do is try to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing, do I sit or stand? Do I pretend like I know what the choir is singing and try to hum along with them? Am I supposed to be praying? Some people are sitting, some are standing maybe the people standing have already done something like a traditional prayer to allow them to stand, but then again maybe the people sitting have done something to allow them to sit. I chose to sit because I figured if sitting was wrong, someone would correct me and I'd know what to do. I also chose not to pretend like I knew what in the world was going on. But I did pray really quick just for God to let me meet some people and learn something about this church that made me a little less skeptical. I had a funny feeling that these people might actually be human beings underneath all that religious bull shit so I wanted to give them a chance.
Finally my friends mom walks in and hands me a guide to the litergy. I haven't ever heard of a litergy before so I assumed it was just this written ceremony they do every service. I thumbed through it to figure out where we were and tried to follow along. They didn't go through the litergy page by page, they would skip around a little bit. Also, every now and then what the people were singing didn't come from the litergy booklet at all, it came from a second hymn book that I later found. It was hard to figure out where to look, because all the people who were there knew this service like the back of their hand so i couldn't just look at someone else's book to see what page they were on.*
Finally I stopped looking around and looked forward to see three men in fancy robes with their backs to the congregation huddling around a shrine of sorts. As I was reading the litergy, I noticed notes of what these men up front were doing. They were reciting little prayers and every few minuites, the one in the middle would hand something to the guys on the side and they would kiss his hand, kiss the thing, pick it up kiss it again and hand it off to someone else who as far as I knew, with all the kissing and what not, took it in the back room and fucked the shit out of it.
The little men up front started taking turns facing the congregation and singing something that would get a reply song. At one point as the congregation went into a hymn, the priest, Father Andrew came out began talking to all the paintings of saints on the walls. The look of pure boredom** on his face mixed with his noiseless talking made him look like one the the craziest guys I've ever seen. Words can't even describe how insane this guy looked...it was as if some demon was about to pop out of his mouth and swallow the whole church.
After a while I figured out that we were about to take communion. Three boys in white robes(one of which was holding a really tall cross) followed by the men in the fancy robes began to walk around the church. everybody walked to the edge of the pews as is they were getting ready to follow out behind them. I was stoked that we were going on a field trip. Then, I saw a lady bend down, touch Father Andrew's robe, kiss her hand and do the father, son, holy spirit cross on the chest*** thing. Then a small girl ran up and did the same thing. People kept doing this as if they were getting some holy healing power from his robe, like that bleeding lady in the bible. It seemed to me that these people thought the robe the priest was wearing was dipped in a holy sauce and kept in God's personal closet. Seems like a little to large a pedestal this priest guy is put on.
After the service, my friends mom walked me around the sanctuary and introduced me to the deacons and priests, they all offered to have a sit down question/answer time with me if I wanted to. Then we went into a room where there was good and drinks and lots of people standing around talking. I was the guest of the day, everyone wanted a chance to talk to me. The only person in that room who didn't talk to me was a man who stared at me when I first walked in and occasionally turned around and stared at me during the service, and each time he did this I made eye contact with him and held it until he looked away. I'm not sure why he was staring at me, but I didn't like it, so I figured I'd piss him off in a sort of passive agressive way by not backing down. I think he's an asshole. Eventually one of the priests came up to me and kept asking questions trying to figure out what I thought of their religion. Finally I started asking him questions like, where does the whole relationship with God and Jesus thing come into play? Who wrote the litergy and why do they think it's important to hold strictly to it since it came from hand of a man, not God? It felt like I was talking to one of those Jahovahs witness people who basically just recite some bullshit they memorized out of the pamphlet.
It seemed like everyone who talked to me was like this, except for one lady who was telling me about her daughter coming home from Young Life (and outreach organization I work with) asking questions comparing our protestant views versus her Orthodox views on God. She said that the girl was in San Diego at a protestant college then joked that they dissowned her only two weeks ago. She seemed to see right through me, it was like she knew exactly what I was thinking about here church...that they thought they were right about everything and didn't accept any other view. She made me feel a little bit better that there was some humanity to these people.
* When people recite things year after year, especially things of this length, there is no way they think about them anymore. That they think about the importance of what they are really saying. At least that's how it seems to me. Maybe that's just a cop out, maybe I'm just lazy and don't want to have to remember anything.
** As I looked around the church, I noticed a few things about the physical appearance of everybody. First of all, all of the age groups looked exactly the same...the old men were fat and wore glasses, the old women looked like dykes, all of the young adult types looked really pissed off and kind of creepy, all of the high school kids didn't give a rip, and all of the kids just wanted to be kids. Second, everyone looked bored out of their mind. Even the priests. It's like they were doing all of this in a zombie like state. Third, every person over the age of about 18 looked very tired, dark around the eyes, and that part just underneath the eyes is all puffy.
*** Everytime the words "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" were uttered, the whole congregation would do that cross thing on their chest. It seemed to happen every two minutes or so. Sometimes folks would do it for what seems to me some completley random reason. It's as if this is one of the ways they convince everyone that they are a good follower of Christ.
There's a lot I'm leaving out I'm sure, but I plan on attending a few more times so can add more later.
Now I come to the conclusion that it's not only divine people who get to walk through the doors. When I got inside, I heard a very bland, monotone voice, half singing half speaking words that seemed to be english, but were so fast and echoey that you couldn't make them out. As soon as he got done with a sentence, a choir of people would recite some other thing. It turns out, all those people walking to that back door were in the choir...now, I'm a little more at ease. The first thing I do is try to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing, do I sit or stand? Do I pretend like I know what the choir is singing and try to hum along with them? Am I supposed to be praying? Some people are sitting, some are standing maybe the people standing have already done something like a traditional prayer to allow them to stand, but then again maybe the people sitting have done something to allow them to sit. I chose to sit because I figured if sitting was wrong, someone would correct me and I'd know what to do. I also chose not to pretend like I knew what in the world was going on. But I did pray really quick just for God to let me meet some people and learn something about this church that made me a little less skeptical. I had a funny feeling that these people might actually be human beings underneath all that religious bull shit so I wanted to give them a chance.
Finally my friends mom walks in and hands me a guide to the litergy. I haven't ever heard of a litergy before so I assumed it was just this written ceremony they do every service. I thumbed through it to figure out where we were and tried to follow along. They didn't go through the litergy page by page, they would skip around a little bit. Also, every now and then what the people were singing didn't come from the litergy booklet at all, it came from a second hymn book that I later found. It was hard to figure out where to look, because all the people who were there knew this service like the back of their hand so i couldn't just look at someone else's book to see what page they were on.*
Finally I stopped looking around and looked forward to see three men in fancy robes with their backs to the congregation huddling around a shrine of sorts. As I was reading the litergy, I noticed notes of what these men up front were doing. They were reciting little prayers and every few minuites, the one in the middle would hand something to the guys on the side and they would kiss his hand, kiss the thing, pick it up kiss it again and hand it off to someone else who as far as I knew, with all the kissing and what not, took it in the back room and fucked the shit out of it.
The little men up front started taking turns facing the congregation and singing something that would get a reply song. At one point as the congregation went into a hymn, the priest, Father Andrew came out began talking to all the paintings of saints on the walls. The look of pure boredom** on his face mixed with his noiseless talking made him look like one the the craziest guys I've ever seen. Words can't even describe how insane this guy looked...it was as if some demon was about to pop out of his mouth and swallow the whole church.
After a while I figured out that we were about to take communion. Three boys in white robes(one of which was holding a really tall cross) followed by the men in the fancy robes began to walk around the church. everybody walked to the edge of the pews as is they were getting ready to follow out behind them. I was stoked that we were going on a field trip. Then, I saw a lady bend down, touch Father Andrew's robe, kiss her hand and do the father, son, holy spirit cross on the chest*** thing. Then a small girl ran up and did the same thing. People kept doing this as if they were getting some holy healing power from his robe, like that bleeding lady in the bible. It seemed to me that these people thought the robe the priest was wearing was dipped in a holy sauce and kept in God's personal closet. Seems like a little to large a pedestal this priest guy is put on.
After the service, my friends mom walked me around the sanctuary and introduced me to the deacons and priests, they all offered to have a sit down question/answer time with me if I wanted to. Then we went into a room where there was good and drinks and lots of people standing around talking. I was the guest of the day, everyone wanted a chance to talk to me. The only person in that room who didn't talk to me was a man who stared at me when I first walked in and occasionally turned around and stared at me during the service, and each time he did this I made eye contact with him and held it until he looked away. I'm not sure why he was staring at me, but I didn't like it, so I figured I'd piss him off in a sort of passive agressive way by not backing down. I think he's an asshole. Eventually one of the priests came up to me and kept asking questions trying to figure out what I thought of their religion. Finally I started asking him questions like, where does the whole relationship with God and Jesus thing come into play? Who wrote the litergy and why do they think it's important to hold strictly to it since it came from hand of a man, not God? It felt like I was talking to one of those Jahovahs witness people who basically just recite some bullshit they memorized out of the pamphlet.
It seemed like everyone who talked to me was like this, except for one lady who was telling me about her daughter coming home from Young Life (and outreach organization I work with) asking questions comparing our protestant views versus her Orthodox views on God. She said that the girl was in San Diego at a protestant college then joked that they dissowned her only two weeks ago. She seemed to see right through me, it was like she knew exactly what I was thinking about here church...that they thought they were right about everything and didn't accept any other view. She made me feel a little bit better that there was some humanity to these people.
* When people recite things year after year, especially things of this length, there is no way they think about them anymore. That they think about the importance of what they are really saying. At least that's how it seems to me. Maybe that's just a cop out, maybe I'm just lazy and don't want to have to remember anything.
** As I looked around the church, I noticed a few things about the physical appearance of everybody. First of all, all of the age groups looked exactly the same...the old men were fat and wore glasses, the old women looked like dykes, all of the young adult types looked really pissed off and kind of creepy, all of the high school kids didn't give a rip, and all of the kids just wanted to be kids. Second, everyone looked bored out of their mind. Even the priests. It's like they were doing all of this in a zombie like state. Third, every person over the age of about 18 looked very tired, dark around the eyes, and that part just underneath the eyes is all puffy.
*** Everytime the words "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" were uttered, the whole congregation would do that cross thing on their chest. It seemed to happen every two minutes or so. Sometimes folks would do it for what seems to me some completley random reason. It's as if this is one of the ways they convince everyone that they are a good follower of Christ.
There's a lot I'm leaving out I'm sure, but I plan on attending a few more times so can add more later.
Sunday, August 14, 2005
This is gay
I think blogs are stupid but a friend reccommended I get one...I didn't spell reccomend right. Dammit, there we go again. Curse you Mike, curse you!!!
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