The ghost of Christmas bleh

I don't know what's wrong with me. For some reason, Christmas just hasn't hit me in the heart yet. It hasn't really been a gradual thing either; for some reason, this is the first year that something awful like this has happened.
What did I do wrong? Even earlier this year I would put on some Christmas music in anticipation of what I thought would be a wonderful time. But now that the holiday is so close on my horizon, Christmas is starting to annoy me. I haven't been a very positive person these days, and I guess that could be what's corrupting my Christmas spirit.
I'm scared to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" - what if I don't even enjoy the movie I've loved so much before? That would be a sign of my total descent into the depths of cynicism. Christmas lights still look pretty to me, they just don't look like Christmas anymore.
If this is all just me maturing, I want it to stop. I want to be a kid again. I want to appreciate magic. I'm so jaded. I keep trying to keep myself from being a Scrooge, but so far it isn't working out very well.

Grrrr, I'm a crippled tiger

Tiger Woods had sixty million affairs, crashed his escalade, and got beat up by his wife from what I can gather. Apparently, everyone in the entire world has been following the scandal. In lesser news, there are two wars going on. The question is why does the media follow the celebrity gossip more than the stuff that matters and affects people?
Really, I think it's just easier to laugh and joke at other people's problems. People die in war, so people take wars seriously. SNL isn't going to do a skit mocking a soldier being tortured by Iraqi terrorists. It makes us feel big to see the ones who've risen to the top fall. We don't want them to die, though. As long as Tiger doesn't die, he is fair game for our scrutiny. No one laid off Michael Jackson until he died.
Society is screwed up, but in the grand scheme of things it isn't really a big deal. Society has always been corrupt and it always will be. Nothing we say or do will make a difference. However, I'm not recommending conforming to celebrity stalking. Focusing on what matters might not fix society, but it's good for your feeling of mental superiority.

At least there will be turkey

Next week is Thanksgiving, which, all in all, is a beautiful holiday. The day before happens to be the 17th anniversary of my first contact with light. I would like to thank my mother and my father for bringing me into this world, and the rest of you should also thank them, because without them you'd all be without me.
Did you know that Disney World gives you a free ticket on your birthday? Funny enough, my birthday happens to intersect with my family's staying in Orlando. So now me, mom, dad, and brother 1, 3, and 4 are all going to hit up that magical land of wonders. I've never been there, so I'm a bit skeptical about the whole thing.
First off, I'm having trouble getting excited about the rides. According to ye olde Wikipedia, they have this one ride that features every president ever, but in robot form. My initial reaction is that it sounds like a great historical experience, but on second consideration it sounds like the best way to launch robot world domination. The brightest and the most popular men in history, robo-fied? The last thing earth needs is Jefferson, Jackson, JFK, and Obama working together against mankind.
Moving on, what's all this "It's a small world" business? Isn't that that song that the toucan in The Lion King randomly started singing? Now there's a ride based off of that one moment? Sounds like a painfully mundane, forgettable experience. The song's not even catchy!
In conclusion, these two waste-of-space rides probably bring the rest of the experience down. How can you enjoy Space Mountain when you know you are right next to a crazed, murderous Abraham Lincoln cyborg? How can you scream on the Tower of Terror when a bunch of mini people are lying about the size of the world? You can't.
I will hate Disney, sadly. I will try to like it, but I just don't see that happening.

*****!

A teacher, Ashley Payne, got fired for posting an expletive, that word that rhymes with kitsch, on her facebook. Also, she was holding wine in a picture. The school district forced her to resign because her conduct was "unacceptable."
This is flipping ridiculous. Is there a list of words you are not allowed to post online? Is the school district condoning or even, dare I say it, supporting censorship? Okay, I can understand pushing for a little discretion, but what she posted certainly wasn't against the law and I don't even think it was unethical.
The reaction is even worse. Maybe they could kindly ask her to take the "objectionable" content down - but no, they force her to resign. They have the right to fire her, but shouldn't they have a legitimate reason?
Now, she is suing the school district. Good luck!

My life is no longer mine

I am scared easily by a lot of things. The other day, I was just innocently driving home, blasting my music, singing along. I pulled into the driveway and turned off the car. I opened my front door and sat there for a few seconds with the door hanging open. Finally, I got out, shut the door and started to walk up to my house, humming. Then I looked up.

Standing in front of my house was a big black dog. A very big black dog. So, of course, I was a bit shocked. I froze: maybe dogs work like Tyrannosaurus Rexes and only see movement. Everything was going fine and the dog wasn't attacking me or anything, but we really weren't making any progress, because the dog still wasn't moving.

All of the sudden, it started howling at me! Loudly. By the way, this dog was big. My impulsive self ordered me to walk towards it. So I did, and the dog backed up, and I was able to make it inside.

This was not my only encounter with the neighborhood demon. I spied the evil beast standing in the darkness at the end of my driveway, staring into my soul just last night. I'm beginning to think it is an escaped criminal disguised as a dog, just like in Harry Potter.

There is no escape. It is always watching. My life is no longer mine. It belongs to a big black dog.

God doesn't need the support of the government

When the school district in a small Georgia town decided the cheerleaders at the local public high school could no longer display Bible verses on their signs, the entire town went into an enraged uproar. Local churches held protest rallies, thousands of t-shirts were printed, signs proclaiming "You Can't Silence Us" were posted locally and beyond.
I think the town was kind of missing the point here. One girl quoted in the article said "We have the right to believe whatever religion we want," as if she was not being allowed to follow her religion. The right to proclaim her beliefs was not even threatened, much less the right to believe. Students could still pray together and fans could still bring those "John 3:16" signs to games.
The problem was the context of the display. If the members of the swim team meditate together between classes no one would complain, but if the swim team decides to put a picture of Buddha on their Speedos, it gets a little murky.
Christianity at the football games was not suppressed, it was sparked. The predominantly Christian town had something to rally against, and they got to champion freedom of speech in the process.
But no one was in the wrong. The school district did the right thing in putting a stop to the lawsuit-worthy brand of religion, without trying to actually muzzle religion itself.

Freedom to be a pain

The first amendment guarantees the freedom to be obnoxious, but how far is too far? Local radio talk show host Chris Krok mocks Warner Robins Mayor Donald Walker's recent suicide. Does being unethical disqualify him from being a journalist?
People are drawn to controversy. Newspapers thrive on controversy. All Krok is doing is drawing attention. He's not trying to get people to like him; he's trying to get people to enjoy him. The average person is respectful - you have to be a jerk to really stand out. The human race doesn't want to watch people get along. Every piece of successful entertainment ever has to have a conflict.
Journalism at it's heart is a very interpretable field. There is a place for personal opinion. When the White House condemns Fox News as being too biased to take seriously, cries of censorship and communism ring from conservatives and scattered liberals. Chris Krok and Fox News have a lot in common: they are both offending people, and they both have a large sphere of influence.
As long as they aren't flat out lying, anyone has the right to voice their opinions however skewed from popular thought they are. There is nothing wrong with Fox News criticizing the Obama administration, and there is nothing wrong with a local columnist criticizing Fox News.
I don't agree with Chris Krok, but I don't want to censor him.

Get out of my head

Man, I'm annoyed. I've got that Shakira song stuck in my brain. You know, that one that goes "Ooh baby when you talk like that, you make a woman go mad", the one that was popular a year or so ago. I don't even know most of the words - the two lines of the song that I do know are torturing my soul. Ack. Stop.
I just don't have the willpower to expel this Shakira woman from my thoughts. It's not even a good song, it's just catchy. So flipping catchy. The lyrics are as dumb as the people who don't read my blog. "My hips don't lie"? What is that supposed to mean? Oh man, just shut up. Shut up and get out of my head.
You don't make me want to speak Spanish. You are capitalizing on people's stupidity and your infectiousness. You are a virus. You lodge yourself in the mind and force unluckily exposed people to want you and your music. It's like addiction. You are a drug.
For my sake, become a female hermit and go bother the forest animals with your pop junk food. Leave us humans alone, Shakira.

Seals!

Seals are great. On the cute scale, they are up at the top. Except for those fat ones.

Yeah. That's a seal. On the other hand, seals can be fat AND cute.

All these pictures are directly from my google image search for "seal". Half of the pictures were of some random guy. Can anyone tell me who this guy is?

This picture better not be real. What kind of human being could find it in themselves to kill a baby seal? I wouldn't do it for money.

When I was a kid I had a little white seal (not a real seal) that I named "Sparky". He probably didn't like his name because he wasn't a dalmation. One time, somebody came to my school talking about fire safety and he told horror stories about what could happen in a fire and all the things you could lose. After that, I always slept with Sparky beside me so if there was ever a fire I would be able to grab Sparky easily when I was escaping the building. I would lie awake at night and cry about what life would be like without my soft little gem.

This blog is for you, Sparky.

Qu. A live-action commentary.

Usually, it takes a little bit of time to decide I really like a band. With Sherwood, it took about five seconds. I just loaded up their myspace page and hit play, not knowing what to expect.
I am now soaking up the entirety of Qu. The first song is only one minute long, and it is a minute of Beach Boys-esque love. Almost pure triple layered vocals.
Now, I'm listening to "Ground Beneath My Feet" and I am being stunned. This band is so good. Beautiful. It builds from being light and sung by one guy to a transcendent sweeping harmonic masterpiece.
Instrumentation is powerful and diverse, with a laid back drumbeat, a xylophone, and a techno-synth driving "Around You". Wow, now there's an electric guitar solo. Gang vocal echoes on the bridge? Check. This song rocks.

"What Are You Waiting For?" sounds like stereotypical "let's go to California" pop-punk. It is. Still, it's very catchy and better than other bands with this sound.
(minutes later)
Alright, I've made it to the last song. It's starting out slow, I'm predicting that this is going to get epic. "So this is how every family ends...a black cloud hangs over our house...so give up and let it rain down." This is sad. And it's not getting epic, it's staying sad. The album ends on a downer... "No Better" will make people cry. I guess a lot of the best music out there is depressing...
Anyways, amazon.com is selling this album for $2.99 tomorrow, and I know they will be getting my three dollars. It's so worth it.
Recommended if you like: Relient K, The Beach Boys, Yellowcard, crying

Colby

It was raining. Colby had this shiny comic book that she borrowed from a friend. Of course I volunteered to help her get it safely to the car. So then we ran through the tsunami, umbrellaless, all the way to her car. "OPEN THE DOOR COLBY!!!" "AHHH I'M TRYING!!!" Finally, we got inside, soaked. My sweater vest fused to my tie, my hair got a slick new style. Thanks, Colby, thanks.

Colby is not boring. She said "I'm boring" and I was like "No way! You are so not boring." Today, she is wearing these really cool earrings that are pink and blue - they match her shirt quite nicely. Right now, we are both blogging at the same time - imagine that. She is a very nice person, and she pretends to care about what you are talking about even when she doesn't know what you are talking about. She comes to all these concerts with me - pretty soon we're going to see Relient K and Copeland. She sticks it out just to show she cares. A great listener, Colby is always someone you can tell anything. She laughs at my jokes, and she has awesome hair every single day.

Album art

I am a cd person. When a favorite band puts out a new cd, you can find me on the Walmart music aisle disappointed by Walmart's decision not to stock it.
However, I am also a downloads person. It would be wrong for me to ignore the cornucopia of free or cheap (and legal!) music on the internet. So what decides if I buy the hard copy or the download? Generally, the art.

Every single person on the face of the earth recognizes The Beatles' Abbey Road. And it is so simple - just four guys crossing the street on, of all places, the crosswalk. They aren't even edgy enough to jaywalk. This picture is why so many people list Abbey Road as their favorite Beatles' album, despite it being easily inferior to others like Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's. Good art + good music = classic picture.
One time, I almost bought Joy Electric's The Otherly Opus, just because I fell in love in the art. The color scheme is perfect, the idea is commendable. But then I realized I wasn't even that into the music, which should be the whole point of buying the cd in the first place. I wish they'd just put that design on a shirt.
Sometimes, the art is so bad (or weird), it stops me from buying the cd. Welcome to the Masquerade is supposedly the best Thousand Foot Krutch album yet, far above the two cds that I already have...but why would I want to have that picture sitting out in my room?
I didn't buy Copeland's Eat, Sleep, Repeat for this same reason.

I chose to download The Killers' Day & Age, even though I really did like the artwork. There was an Amazon deal...
Sometimes, like in Matisyahu's case, the art can tell you exactly what is on the cd...

...but other times you have no idea what is going on.

A few upcoming albums I already like just based on their art:

Try imagining yourself in space, walking down a giant mosaic tunnel. The picture gets more epic when you put yourself in the little man's position.

The White Album is the Times New Roman of album covers. I went to Barnes & Noble once and saw they were selling puzzles of this. I laughed.

I am not much of an artist, and neither am I a photographer, but I think coming up with creative art for your cd could be one of the best parts of the whole process.

In other news, Weezer's next is the opposite of The White Album.

Let's go exploring.

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Calvin and Hobbes is the best comic strip ever to hit newspapers. Nothing of today even compares. It is optimistic, but realistic. And it's funny.

The characters are so fresh. The dad is the perfect caricature of a typical "let's go camping"-type father; probably my favorite supporting character. The simple-minded bully, the little girl, the frustrated mother...every person (and tiger) jumps out of the page and into your life.

Calvin himself is quite the interesting six-year old. He has a huge vocabulary, and he sincerely believes his stuffed tiger is real. With his imagination, there is no reason to believe Hobbes isn't real. One time, Calvin and Hobbes get into a transmogrifier fight and Calvin ends up stuck as a tiger. Another time, Calvin visits his dad at work on a flying carpet. Often, he just pretends to be an airplane and flies around the yard for extended periods of time.

If I was imaginitive like Calvin, I wouldn't really need real life. Calvin sure doesn't. In his mind, his teacher is a space worm and he is a lone-ranger spaceman. If you can create a dream-like world for yourself, maybe you have found a better life.

But Calvin is always brought back to real life. When he tries to ditch home for the Yukon, he realizes he's better off with his parents. His love-hate relationship with Suzie Jenkins always swings back to the love side no matter how hard he tries to convince himself he hates girls.

For every heavy wagon-careening-down-a-hill philosophy discussion, there is a hilarious Calvin-running-naked-around-the-house-to-avoid-his- bath. Buy a collection and be engrossed in Calvin's world. You might like it even more than your own.

You make me grouchy.

I have a problem. Actually, somebody else has a problem. Every morning, my dad brings me to school in his shiny car and drops me off up in the soccer parking lot. Then, I start the long trek down to the highschool building. About halfway there, I run into a crosswalk. On some days I am able to walk right across but on most days I run into my problem. Some parents think a good place to drop off their kids is at this crosswalk. Like, right on top of the crosswalk. Like, right in my way. Now I have to walk around their car and onto the grass, the muddy, wet grass, because somebody thought it was a good idea to have a sprinkler system. I have to then trudge into school with my slippery when wet fake converses. Squeak, squeak, squeak... I feel like a mouse. Sometimes I want to get right up in the driver's face and say "HEY! Why not park NOT on the crosswalk?" But no, I'm a nice, polite kid and I do not want to offend. So I keep the anger inside, growl a little, stomp my feet, but don't audibly complain. I've considered other alternatives to walking around the car... maybe I could climb over the car or open the door and walk right through it - that would sure get my message across baby.

Here is what you, humble student of FPD, can do to help this situation. If you are a little middle school kid who gets dropped off by mom every day (or a big high school kid like me who gets dropped off by dad every day), tell your guardian to stop right before this crosswalk. If they refuse, beg them or bribe them. Do the right thing, make my life easier. For the love of all that is good in this world.

Adriana

I might say that Adriana was a cool person, but I won't. She can sing; I remember one time I was in this play called Starmites and she sang a duet with Anne Strickland and it was really something beautiful. She is short, and she used to have braces on her bottom teeth. A very encouraging person, she'll come up to me in the hallway just to tell me to have a good day. One time, she gave me a flower and I ate it. She can play that Panic! At The Disco song on the piano and she loves the music from the Windwaker. Her spanglish is hysterical, but walking to her house might give you pneuomonia.

David Darnell says I should explain all the these inside jokes, so I will. One time, Adriana had braces on her bottom teeth and I made fun of her, and now if I make fun of her I say "at least you don't have braces on your bottom teeth." The flower thing is a true story. The Windwaker is a video game and the Panic! song is called "I Write Sins Not Tragedies". Oh, and, on the phone with her mom she mixes Spanish and English together in a truly hilarious way. Also, this girl named Colby got pneumonia just because she walked to Adriana's house. Thanks, Adriana. At least you don't have braces on your bottom teeth.

Satanism in Christian music?

The sun won't rise, my spirit dies, All hope has withdrawn,
So here I lay because either way I know we'll all be dead by dawn.
A chainsaw can remove a limb or act as a replacement,
Smell the gas as hours pass, contrary to my statement,
The corpses wish to cover me with kisses,
So just maybe I'll cover this cabin with their blood,
Hail to the king baby.

You wait for me, a wretch of a man, no record of wrongs do You keep
You are comfort when I mourn, You are strength when I am weak
Jesus Christ, the king of kings
Though we ache, though we cry, never break, never die
We sing of His great love again and again
And His love reigns forever, and forevermore
Forever and ever, Amen

Believe it or not, both the above verses were penned by the same Jesus claiming hard rock band. In the conservative Christian community, Showbread is a hot topic of controversy. In response to their lyrics from songs such as "Dead by Dawn" (the first song above), as well as their affection for lip piercings and skull tattoos, an article from Worldview Weekend entitled “Christian Gore: Death Enthusiasts for Jesus?” condemns Showbread as “clearly in utter rebellion to God's Word” and asks “why would a band like Showbread be allowed on church property unless it was for purposes of evangelizing the band members?” After reading the article, most of the complaints do not seem too unfounded. What does seem unfounded is describing the band as "satanic". Hmm... there must be two sides to this story.

After an intense thirty second combing of the internet, I stumbled upon a blog post that Josh Dies, the lead singer/screamer for the band, had written in response to the alleged offensive content in Showbread’s work. But what first popped out to me from the blog was an unrelated post about how Satanism is simply the philosophy of “you are your own God, do whatever you want.” Well, by that definition of Satanism, Showbread certainly could fall into that category…(funny that the party on trial would be the one to explain the accusation). Anyways, the post I was looking for was at the very bottom of the page. Dies clarifies that the song “Dead by Dawn” is about a campy, low-budget, cult classic horror film called “Evil Dead” (where, get this, the main character has a chainsaw for an arm)... Now why would Christians write about such a violent topic? Dies argues that merely the depicting violence is not evil, unlike the glorification of violence. Even some passages in the Bible are gruesomely violent, such as Jesus’ death on the cross or the story of Cain and Abel. Just a bit of violence doesn't qualify you for Satanism.

But this doesn’t change the fact that a “Christian rock” band sing songs about violence and not about God. Is a band like Showbread allowed to write a fun, pointless song like “Dead by Dawn”? Or does every song have to be an “I love you, Jesus” style worship song? Chris Tomlin is all well and good, but I don't think anyone really sits down and listens to “How Great is Our God/Holy is the Lord/Jesus Messiah” all day long*. Enjoying some simple, shallow entertainment doesn't make one wholly worldly. Christianity has never been and will never be about what you can and can’t do. Is there anything sinful about a group of friends watching a cheesy horror movie, laughing and screaming and enjoying the company and growing closer together? That was all this band was trying to accomplish with their song.

Despite Showbread's a passion for meaningless, fun songs, they know when to keep it serious, and they have a passion for Jesus. “Matthias Replaces Judas” and more recently “The Fear of God” (the second song at the top) begin as simple prayers but morph into raw, obvious worship songs overflowing with respect and awe. I doubt Ingrid Schlueter (author of the anti-Showbread article) has heard either of these tracks.

What’s really inspiring about a band like Showbread is how they can go into a totally secular venue and still proclaim their faith like it’s the greatest part of them, even when the bands immediately before them are over-the-top profane and proud of it, or the crowd is violent and drunk. They don’t share in a forceful “accept my faith or go to hell” type of way, it’s more of a “don't believe anything because someone tells you to, and don't not believe anything because someone tells you to. Discover the truth yourself. I personally believe the truth is Jesus Christ, and in that truth I find my comfort.” (jumping, screaming, and guitar-ing ensue)

So should a band’s love of horror b-movies turn you away from them? (I don’t even like horror flicks myself…I scare easily…) Their unique style, enthralling lyrics, genuine charisma, and love for God all combine to make me a fan. They are Christians having a good time.

Peace

*Chris Tomlin is awesome. I am all for worship music in the right setting.

What is a blog?

What is a blog supposed to be? A diary? Should I just tell stories about my life and write about my day or my feelings for my friends and enemies? No, that can't be it. I don't think a blog really has to have a theme or any sort of guidelines. I could write about how much I hated a recent hit movie. And then fans of that movie could comment about how wrong I am, and then an intelligent argument on the merits and flaws of the movie could develop. Or if I'm feeling particularly happy, I could describe the beauty of the world. How every bird resting on a tree limb and every summer thunderstorm was meant to be. Color and shape and sound combine to create natural art, like the spray of a waterfall blasting the rocks below. And from there I could move onto the beauty of humanity. How every person driving down the highway has a different story to tell and a different obstacle to overcome ... their dreams and loves, as well as their opinions and complaints. And I could write about about how humans are a species destined to create. Whether it is creating a story in song form, or building a beautiful bridge, humans gain pleasure from making something new. Being in the image of God the creator, that must be where this desire comes from. I might throw in a political blog every now and then, and rudely bash your favorite party. Yes, since a blog can be about anything, and I am going to have many posts in the future, I felt it necessary to have some sort of rambling introduction. The meaningful, pointed blogs can come later.