On marriage.

What we call 'being in love' is a glorious state, and, in several ways, good for us. It helps to make us generous and courageous, it opens our eyes not only to the beauty of the beloved but to all beauty, and it subordinates (especially at first) our merely animal sexuality; in that sense, love is the great conqueror of lust. No one in his senses would deny that being in love is far better than either common sensuality or cold self-centredness. But, as I said before, 'the most dangerous thing you can do is to take any one impulse of our own nature and set it up as the thing you ought to follow at all costs'. Being in love is a good thing, but it is not the best thing. There are many things below it, but there are also things above it. You cannot make it the basis of a whole life. It is a noble feeling, but it is still a feeling. Now no feeling can be relied on to last in its full intensity, or even to last at all. Knowledge can last, principles can last, habits can last; but feelings come and go. And in fact, whatever people say, the state called 'being in love' usually does not last. If the old fairy-tale ending 'They lived happily ever after' is taken to mean 'They felt for the next fifty years exactly as they felt the day before they were married', then it says what probably never was nor ever would be true, and would be highly undesirable if it were. Who could bear to live in that excitement for even five years? What would become of your work, your appetite, your sleep, your friendships? But, of course, ceasing to be 'in love' need not mean ceasing to love. Love in this second sense - love as distinct from 'being in love' - is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from God. They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other; as you love yourself even when you do not like yourself. They can retain this love even when each would easily, if they allowed themselves, be 'in love' with someone else. 'Being in love' first moved them to promise fidelity: this quieter love enables them to keep the promise. It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it.

-from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Phil and Alisha, I hope that you guys have the greatest of marriages, and may you always love each other through thick and thin. In all the years that I've known you, you two have amazed me in everything that you have been through as a couple. I sincerely hope that my relationship with my girlfriend (God willing) will be at least a hint of what your relationship has been. God bless you both! Though C.S. Lewis may not have been married at the time he wrote that bit, I think he has a good view of what marriage should be like.

I love you guys with all my heart.

I'm a material boy in this material world.

Actually, not really...though I do enjoy getting free stuff. Christmas was terrific! I got a few nice and good gifts (including the Goo Goo Dolls new live cd), but the greatest coolio thing I got was a guitar for my very own. After years of borrowing and holding other people's guitars, I can say that this Fender acoustic guitar is mine. MINE! The guitar was from all those who contributed to the present, as I'm told. So thank you, family and friends, for the thing! It will be used often.




Okay, everything else about yesterday was good too. Great Filipino food, a nice little service in the household, and great fellowship with all the loved ones. No karaoke, though. That was a bit of a letdown.

Happy Boxing Day!

90 minutes left!

Christmas is just around the corner! I'm so excited I could chew my own tongue into vapor! Amazing!

My family minus Tim, Chesney, and Caleb went to a church for the Christmas Eve evening service. Nothing against the church, but it was the worst Christmas service I've ever attended. We sang Dreaming of a White Christmas instead of Angels We Have Heard on High and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer instead of The First Noel...while we had thick hymnal books right in front of us. Snowy evergreen trees were displayed on stage and the quartet wore Santa hats and reindeer antlers while the cross was hidden behind the giant white sheet to show the lyrics to the songs.

Joseph apparently took Mary for his wife because he was a loving, forgiving, and merciful man instead of the fact that he was told by an angel that Mary is carrying the Son of God. Jesus' reason to come to earth as a baby was so people wouldn't be afraid of him. After all this time, I thought it was to show that He is a humble God...not to mention all the prophecies. Silly me!

Anyhow, we went to a family friend's place for dinner, which was fun, and we opened a present each tonight. Rachel was excited to get her Oregon Trail. The Christmas season is still all around. Despite all the pagan traditions we have come to love, I'm glad that people around the nation still haven't forgotten we still need to remember Jesus' birth...even if the sermon sucks. Still bitter about the music, though. Rudolph...bah!

On another note: Luke Shackelford has a blog! Hurrah!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Preparation.

I find that Christmas shopping is one difficult thing. But maybe that's because I haven't done much shopping and just thinking about what would be a good gift. I should just go out and buy stuff and figure out who to give it to later.

I have done some shopping, so I'm good. Mostly for my immediate family, which is what really matters. Everything else is just fun gifts. It's nice not having a girlfriend because at these times, it's just extra money I get to keep. Maybe I can get one of those anti-consumer ladies who thinks that materal possessions are terrible.

Oh wait, there's no such thing.

It's fun to get gifts, though, because it's fun to give! Yeah!

"It starts with..."

Alright, the majority of the weekend was spent driving. It felt that way, at least. Tim Machlan, Oli, and I drove up to the Bay Area (mostly Tim driving...heh, thanks Tim!) around 2 am Friday morning, and then back down around 3:30 pm on Sunday afternoon.

The reason was for the long awaited hockey tournament that our cousins and I joined. The result: We got freakin' rocked! And by "rocked," I mean rocked like a virgin with a prostitute for the first time. That's alright, though, because we had fun. We all knew we wouldn't do well, but we wanted to know where we stood.

Actually, to defend ourselves a little, I found out the day of the tourney that out of all the three or four leagues within the tournament, only four teams joined. So it didn't matter that we joined the second to worst league because they just had all of us play 'round robin. So, really, we were playing guys way more advanced than we planned.

But that's alright, none of us complained really. We all knew we sucked, and the other teams knew we sucked, and the refs knew we sucked, and everyone who was watching us knew we sucked. We took it so well that we became the well-loved underdogs that everyone cheered for. Danny was able to score in our last game, becoming the only player to get our only goal! We went so crazy, Caleb started to grow hair! All in all, we freakin' got schooled, but we enjoyed playing other people and we learned a ton. I know I did. Amazing how much you learn about a sport by just playing four games.

Good, bad, and funny things that happened this weekend:

-My front bumper practically fell off on our trip up to the Bay Area. It's okay now, we nailed it back onto the car.

-We watched half of 24: Season Tree. Awesome.

-Phil: "It starts with 'porn.'"

-Punching, slapping, and backhanding Tim in the face whenever we wanted.

-Phil: "And ends with 'ography.'"

-Nathan insulting random people on Star Wars Galaxies.

-Lisa: "I'm so glad you guys aren't planning my wedding...I mean [turning to Daniel], our wedding. Sorry."

Mac: [to Lisa] "No, it's your wedding...'cuz Guys just don't care."

[very brief silence]

Nathan: "He just wants to tap that."

[looks over at Chuck]

"Chuck knows what I'm talking about."

Chuck: "Always."

Oliver then grins happily.

David: "Yeah, that's why guys get married."

Lem: "Man, you don't need to get married for that."

"Heeeere's Johnny!"

I decided to give one of the classics a chance and visited a horror classic The Shining. Now I know where all the great quotes come from ("Red rum!"). The movie is great; I can see why it's a classic. It gets unexplainably weird at the end, and that's my only complaint. But then again, I never read the book, so maybe some of the things that happened in the movie have to do with the contents only presented in the book.

Also, orange juice and vodka is really good.

Really, it only looks like I'm a chain smoker.

I look so sexy in this picture. 


This cigar actually didn't taste that good. That's okay, it was only three dollars. 


I didn't actually smoke that cigarette (minus a puff for the picture). Why? Because cigars are better. 

Robert Zimmerman.

Yesterday I watched the interview with Bob Dylan on 60 Minutes. It was interesting watching and listening to Dylan's view on his life back then and today. I'm not an avid fan of his, though I do like his music when I hear it here and there. He spoke of how it was his "destiny" to become a musician.

He isn't particularly thrilled about performing and song writing today, though he still believes that it's his destiny to keep on doing the music thing. He's just pulling his end of the deal. What was his answer when he was asked who he made the deal with? I recall him saying something along the lines of the "Chief Commander" of this world and beyond. Very cool, Dylan.

And you're right, "Bob Dylan" is a better name than "Robert Zimmerman." Good call.


Bob Dylan's The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan 

Blowin' in the Wind

How many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

On another note: Our hockey team will be playing in a San Jose tourney this Friday. Here's our official website. Wish us luck!

The ideal.

I finally finished 24: Season Two. I must say, it took me long enough! Great ending, though the cliffhanger was kind of weird seeing that the end of each season for this series doesn't really connect to the start of the next. Ah, well.

I can't help but think that President Palmer is the writers' way of telling President Bush how he should have handled going to war with Iraq. Sort of a slap in the face for the real president. But then again, this season came out before we went to war with Iraq. At least, I believe it came out before then.

Onto The Shield: Season Two!

Christmas mindsets.

The best way I get into the Christmas spirit is receiving all the wonderful gifts from family, friends, and family friends. You could help me get into the Christmas spirit. Simply check out my wish list on Amazon.com and buy something from it for me. With Christmas just around the corner, and Kuya giving the good idea of making wish lists, I was inspired to list all the current materialistic items I would like to have to help develop my love for earthly things. Thanks, world!

I went to the Philips' Christmas party last night. That was fun. Friends young and old, from church and school, and quiet and loud joined together under one roof to create one diversified group. We had a lot of fun. I ate lots of snacks because I was hoping they'd serve some kind of light dinner, but it ended up being home-baked sweets with apple juice. My body ran purely on sugar that night, and my restlessness proved it.

The best part was when the party was in its last hours and all of us young, hip lads busted out the bongo and acoustic, electric, and bass guitars to jam out. It mostly consisted of worship songs, and it was kind of silly having three guitarists strumming the exact same thing, but it was still fun. Todd, Tim, Josh, and I recorded a song we made up earlier in the night about Taylor, which was fun. It's repetitive, not to well recorded, not greatly sung, and long, but at 1 am after a big get together, it sounded cool.

We also made a quick video for it, which is even more trippy. No, there was no drug use involved before the making of the video. We're just naturally weird and foolish.

The other day, I watched the classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on tv. I loved it. I remember watching that when I was a little child. I loved it just as much then too. "Why am I such a misfit!?"

More Christmas things to come in later posts, I'm sure. For now, I'm done.

Awake, my dreamy state!

What do I want to dream about tonight?
I desire to soar through silver clouds;
Watch as majestic eagles take flight,
In the sun where there's no darkened shroud.

I'd like to see me in a different world
Where creatures only exist in folklore tales,
And I am mighty with my courage unfurled;
And I'd battle great evil yet prevail.

Perhaps I could find a true love there
On a beach of golden sand.
With sapphire eyes and silken hair,
She and I together on a distant land.

Alright, that's enough of that. It is clear that my poetry gets pretty trippy at 2:30 in the morning. I was much better off watching the last episodes of 24: Season Two. I debated whether to finish off the last couple episodes, but I decided to blog instead. What do I end up doing? I end up writing a poem...a poem!

Ah, well. Chrissy gave me the idea to write about what I would like to dream about tonight, so it's partly her fault. I won't give her the glory of thinking of writing a poem, though. No way, Jose! That was all me!

Anyhow, this is what I really want to dream about tonight: I want to dream about being some kind of cool special agent. One who isn't recognized by any government; one who technically doesn't exist. I'd do freelance special missions for the U.S. that would better the common good of its citizens. And I'd kill lots of people (bad people, of course) in really cool, stylish ways like Jason Bourne or James Bond would. But most of importantly, I would like to remember my dreams, for goodness' sake!

Yeah, that'd be a rockin' dream. Happy sleeping everyone! Oh, wait...the majority of everyone is already doing that. I'll take that as a hint. Goodbye, goodnight.

ADDED AT 3:09 AM

Speaking of poems, I went through my back up files and found a poem that I'm actually quite proud of. And given the U.S.'s state with Iraq, I thought this may be fitting.

I Know Why the Soldier Weeps (3/19/02)

I know why the soldier weeps
When he returns from a hard-fought battle
And finds a life-long friend is now asleep
When on the boat before they leap
See the others slaughtered like cattle
When he prays the Lord his soul to keep
I know why the soldier weeps

I know why the soldier fears
Witnessing the destruction of war
When screams of pain is all he hears
And feels abandoned by the great Overseer
When he sees missiles and bombs soar
And the toughest of men shed a tear
I know why the soldier fears

But I know why the soldier shoots the gun
When kills enemies with all his might
And when surrounded he mustn’t run
To pave a future for his loving son
For his country he protects and fights
So death in his land will not become
I know why the soldier shoots the gun

They've done it again.

U2 and their new album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb is brilliant. I can't say that it's their best album or anything close to it, but that doesn't mean it isn't any good. I still like the old school U2 like Joshua Tree better; however, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb is quality music. They have some intelligent words that not too many bands have. Collective Soul is intelligent music as well. Moreover, this newest album is the most spiritual and religious of U2's collection.


U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 

Yahweh

Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I'm waiting for the dawn

Take this city
A city should be shining on a hill
Take this city
If it be your will
What no man can own, no man can take
Take this heart
Take this heart
Take this heart
And make it break

Only U2 can write such music and still get away with it in the secular music department. Good on you, U2!

She Gathers Rain

Collective Soul's self-titled album 

She Gathers Rain

Today she dresses
For the change she's facing now
And the storm that's raging
A safe haven she has found

She doesn't care
What the prophets say anymore
For the love she had
She has no more

So she gathers rain
She gathers rain
To rinse away all her guilt and pain
She gathers rain
She gathers rain
To wash and cleanse and make her whole again

To what?

I'm trading my sorrows, I'm trading my pain
I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord

I'm trading my sickness, I'm trading my shame
I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord

Singing...

Yes, Lord, yes, Lord, yes yes Lord, yes, Lord, yes, Lord, yes yes Lord, yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord. Amen.

Okay, any song that says "yes" that many times within ten seconds needs to be taken out of the worship song book. I don't care if the rhythm and tune is catchy. Trash it. It doesn't even say what the lyrics are chanting yes about!

Things that happened during the four-day weekend.

1. I drank a pint of Arrogant Bastard Ale last Thursday. I drank it all within an hour's time. I felt it for the next three hours until I fell asleep. I didn't feel it when I woke up, though.

2. The Incredibles for the third time. Still a great movie. Oscars to this Pixar flick.

3. I saw Alexander. Simply, do not watch it!

4. Saved! It was great for the first 30-45 minutes. I enjoyed all the mockery and jokes about high school Christians and everything that is involved with them. It doesn't have anything to do really with Christianity, but more to do with the Christians. The movie did throw in some theology and philosophy and insight for us to think about. It wasn't anything good, though - in fact, it sucked. The rest of the movie moved a little slow since they had to stop commiting to the constant mockery and actually had to develop the story, which wasn't spectacular. The story wasn't terrible, but I've seen better high school teen movies. The acting was fine for the most part. I had no problems with Mandy Moore or Macaulay Culkin, and I loved Jena Malone...but that's because I think she's totally cute, so I'm bias. Terrible views on Christianity, though. Idiot. Overall, it was an entertaining watch. I laughed at all the bagging on Christians, but I questioned if I should be laughing. Oh, well. I won't go into that since it can get messy. I laughed a lot at the part where Mary started saying profanities out loud in a very tabboo manner. Super funny.

5. Hockey was fun, and I realized this weekend that I'll be back in the Bay Area in two weeks. Ew.

6. I'll say it again: Do not watch Alexander! Yes, not even at the dollar theatre!

I play catch up.

The moment my cell phone alarm went off at 3:30 am Wednesday morning, I groaned within my thoughts as I reached over to stop the rhythmic, but anything other than soothing, beeping. I thought about the day ahead while I threw my clothes on, mostly about how I had to drive from La Mirada to Santa Cruz.

I picked up Oli and Nem from Biola and headed through LA to Ventura, where we stopped at my place to rest some. I mainly wanted to drive early in the morning to beat the morning rush; I knew there wouldn't be any traffic the rest of the way up. The trip took about six driving hours. Adding up all the stops and the resting in Ventura, we arrived at Kuya and Chesney's house at around 2:45 pm. Not too shabby, eh?

Ahhhhhhh...Thanksgiving weekend! This is what all the hassle of traveling was all about. The five days consisted of two moves in the theatres, a couple dvd viewings, a lot of SWG and HL2, two different Thanksgiving feasts, roller hockey, and old home vidoes. A ton of family, as well. I found the break very relaxing and enjoyable for the most part. Even though most of the day was spent sitting around, I found that sitting around was what I needed. To sit around and not worry about tomorrow is perhaps one of the best freedoms from regular everyday life I can find.

I realized how fortunate some of us are that we can gather on certain days and have a dining table just blanketed with so many provisions from God. There are many who do not have the blessing from God to be given such luxuries like eating to our hearts' desires. There are many who do not have the comfort to worship the true God in places where everyone can hear our voices of praise to Him. There is much to be thankful for, and I'm glad that I live in a country where I can be openly express my gratitude to God for all He's given me.

Before Oli, Nem, Anne Marie, and I made our way down to So Cal, we witnessed and celebrated Caleb's dedication. That was entertaining, and very good way to end the Thanksgiving weekend 2004. Here's a picture of my excitement for Caleb.

Old obsession returned!

I have it. It's MINE!


Oh, such beauty! 

For those caught in the CS craze back at Biola three years ago, this post is for you.

Half-life 2 must be one of the most beautifully made games for its time. Nothing compares. Well, except maybe the lighting effects in Doom 3. Half-life doesn't quite cut it as far as that goes. Even so, Half-life 2 has lived up to its hype and even more. In my book, at least.

Okay, okay. I haven't actually finished the game yet, but it looks very promising. I tried out the Counter-Strike: Source game as well, which is basically CS completely re-done in the HL2 engine. It looks amazingly awesome, seeing that the original CS just looked horrid. It still plays the same way, and I'm caught in the CS rave once again. Heh.

Many nights will be spent with this new game. I have found my WarCraft III replacement. I am just a gamer it makes me sick sometimes. But only until I stop thinking and start playing again. Mwah hah hah hah!

Fight for your land.

So ends the World of WarCraft open beta. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the game, and it was different than any online rpg I've ever played. I tend to like it better than Star Wars Galaxies, but I think that's because I like the medieval, magical setting of it all rather than the sci-fi environment of SWG. It's a personal preference.

Anyhow, running around areas becoming a stronger Tauren Druid was very entertaining. There was an epic battle between the Alliance and the Horde before I logged off, and that was glorious fun! Nothing better than defending your lands from the invading enemy. My character sucked, though, so I died a lot. Enjoy the retail version, you WoW obssessers. It is indeed a good game to invest into. If you have the time, that is. :)

Speaking of people who defend their land, I was watching 24 tonight. Jack Bauer is a freakin' amazing person. If there is a man like him in real life, he should be named Man of the Year (given there is such a title). Sure he seems to only go through one day of hell every few years, but what he puts up with and does to serve his country for that 24-hour period is enough to respect him for a life time. Jack Bauer is the man. He sacrifices everything for the sake of the greater good of his country, and that is something we should all look up to.

By golly, it's late!

I bought the new album by Collective Soul (see previous post), and it's pretty good from what I've heard so far. There are two songs on there that are of the Collective Soul greatness, and that's almost worth the buy.

I watched The Beach tonight. It's a pretty good movie. I can't say that it's amazing because it just gets too crazy in the end. I have never read the book, and I'm sure it's wonderful; however, the movie just didn't follow through to the end. The setting was awesome, though. I really miss the tropics now, and maybe that's why I liked the movie some. I had a soft spot for the environment that I've been missing for a while now. DiCaprio did a good job as an actor, though. The French girl was cute. Definite points to add to my viewing pleasure. The French girl, that is.

Here are a couple links to some interesting reads from the daily blogs I visit:

Examining the Job Narrative from Andrew Nichol's blog Philosophical Poetry. A good commentary and summary on the book of Job. It's a bit of a read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks, Andrew.

A.J.'s most recent post on his website. A.J. has one of the most unique and best sense of humor that I know. It's just so different that it's enjoyable.

Youth.

Collective Soul came out with a new album today! I'm so psyched that I may go out and buy it tonight. Maybe.

Beautiful Letdown

Switchfoot's The Beautiful Letdown 

Beautiful Letdown

In a world full of bitter pain and bitter doubt
I was trying so hard to fit in
Until i found out
I don't belong here
I will carry Your cross and Your song
But I don't belong

Two lines.

"Nyssa, it was nice having you [at the Bible study] tonight." -Lem

"Thank you. It was nice being had." -Nyssa.

Then followed a strange silence, and an uneasy laugh from Nyssa as she realized what she just said.

Sunday.

Okay, so I didn't go to church today, and I feel terrible for not doing so; nevertheless, God's plans for my day was somewhat unexpected.

I didn't really do much today except call artists for a project due Tuesday. I never got call backs from them, so I came out with no results today. The evening had much more in store for me, and it got better as it went on.

Chrissy, Nyssa, and I went to Bible study tonight, and it was very good. I can't say that the study was anything new or incredibly stimulating, but it's just a Bible study, so I'll let it fly. :) The life application lessons were all there, and it served as a strong Bible study.

I almost got brave enough to speak out and put in my two cents, but I hesitated, and the moment passed. I need to work on that, for I believe it will make me better as a person and it will make the other students better as people. Anyawy, here is the passage that we studied.

Philippians 3:12-16 (NIV)

12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

15All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

I wanted to write down what I would have spoke up on since I didn't at the house. It was on the last verse. The NIV isn't the best version for this verse, for it doesn't emphasize the right word that I felt was very important. The word in this translation is "only," but the word in other versions are "however (NASB)," "but (NLT)," and "nevertheless (KJV)."

Paul was pressing the idea to the Philippians to reach the goal that God has set for us. He says to not look back at our past lives and forgetting the sins and mistakes we have done before and to look forward and reach for the perfection that is Jesus. Yet in the last verse in this passage, he says, "However, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained" (NASB). After the encouragement of looking and going forward, he directs us to not forget what we have learned so far in our faith in God. We shouldn't lose sight of our past lessons and teachings, yet focus on the goal set in front of us. He tells us to look back only for God and nothing else, and thus we see God in our past and our pressing future.

I think that point was missed in the Bible study, but that's alright. We still benefitted greatly for tonight, and I am encouraged. After I got back home, I talked with Jane for two and a half hours about systematic theology and the Reformed doctrines. After the talk, I went to my room and chatted with Chrissy more about Reformed theology and God. Actually, I'm still chatting with her as I write this.

So ends this journal. I hope that I'm not far off on my point, and if I am, please correct me. I am still a young Christian learning as I go.

On Ocean's 11.

"While watching [Ocean's 11], I almost had to walk out of the theatre because there was so much hotness going on!"

-Julie Sullivan during Business class.

I'm so torn!

Halo 2 comes out on Nov. 9 (tomorrow).

Half-life 2 comes out on Nov. 16.

World of WarCraft comes out on Nov 23.

U2's new album and the Goo Goo Dolls's new album comes out on Nov. 23 too.

This is very tragic for me as I cannot buy all this stuff. I am left with the decision of what to get, and it kills me!

Oh, what the crap! I'll get them all!!! Mwah hah hah hah!!!

Getting Halo 2 will require me to also get an X-box with four controllers. I'll also need a 5.1 sound system to enhance the gaming experience, and I'll have to get a bigger, better tv.

Getting Half-life 2 demands a better graphics card.

World of WarCraft will need a monthly fee to play online.

I'll break $1000 easy for all my new material possessions! It will be a good month.

Impossible.

This post has some spoilers to The Ring.

A couple years ago, Dustin pointed out to me this: While the girl was in the well, the mother pushed the round stone over it to cover and trap the girl. But if the girl saw a ring-like shape because of the light seeping through the cracks, that means that light was coming in from all sides of that cylindrical object. Wouldn't that mean that the stone slab was too small to cover the well, and in result would have just fallen through and crushed the girl?

I'm inclined to agree with Dustin. Heh. However, who cares about the physics of it all? The movie is made to scare people, not entirely fit with the law of physics.

That's it. For memories sake, remember when I posted this? Good times.

Movie Time.

So I watched a couple new movies this past week, and I thought I'd let people know what I thought about them. So here it goes:

The Grudge: Hollywood has found another Japanese movie to remake for the American audience. I had some high hopes going into this movie because I loved The Ring so much. The story was new; the story was unique from all the rest. The Japanese do have the talent to create pretty wacko stories, and Hollywood's version of The Ring was actually a little toned down compared to the insaneness in the Japanese version Ringu. The remake was done much better in my opinion.

Anyway, onto The Grudge. The Grudge did its main purpose: It scared the pee out of me. In that area, it blasted The Ring out of the water! It had much better tense moments which actually did lead further into a jump scene or just something nasty. The Ring lacked the follow through. I felt tense throughout the movie, but left me hanging after each scene. It was nice to have The Grudge tempt me to close my eyes or look away at some parts. Very well done. However, the story was incredibly lacking. Character development was also lacking. I didn't feel attached or sympathetic for Sarah Michelle Gellar. Actually, I felt more attached to the Japanese detective than I did with Sarah, and his role is only minor. Though I did like Bill Pullman's character. Anyhow, whatever. The story and character development was more to be desired. The Ring had better structure.

I guess it's a bit silly to compare the two movies since they don't really have anything in common. If you're looking for a great scare, go watch The Grudge, but don't expect no loop holes or flawless explanations to the curse. The best thing I loved about this movie is that it took every spot you would go to feel secure, private, and safe and completely destroyed it. I didn't want to go in my bed, shower, or upstairs to my room for a couple nights after watching this movie. It sucked.

The Incredibles: Ray Edison said it best: "And they've done it again." Short and simple, Pixar has lived up to Toy Story and Monster's Inc. in its new box office hit The Incredibles. I didn't expect anything less from Pixar. The movie is fun, adventurous, and, of course, contains all those family values and important lessons in life that every kid movie must have. It's not a bad thing. In fact, it's better. Disney and Pixar always do a great job of creating movies enjoyable for all ages. Though there were a few scenes that were a bit tense for some small children, most of the time the kids were cheering and oooh-ing and ahhhh-ing at all the COOL SUPER POWERS! The older aged people just laughed at the silliness, subtle humor, and the reaction of the kids. Good stuff.

The story is well done. It's not terribly intricate since it is a kid's movie, but it wasn't anything lame. Pretty predictable, but like I said, it's a kid's movie. The characters in the movie were portrayed awesomely. The superheroes still acted like regular people even when they were out on a job. The parents argued which way to go and the kids complained about long car trips. It was all cleverly meshed together, and the audience loved it all.

Go see this movie. Pixar still has it in them. It's not until they break their groove by making a movie like Pocahontas was for Disney will they start to head down hill, but I don't think that will be anytime soon.

The end.

P.S. One more thing. I also caught Spider-man 2 at the dollar theatre last night. It was interesting seeing the differences between that movie and The Grudge. I hadn't seen a horror movie done by Sam Raimi (I don't entirely count the Evil Dead series as horror, sorry guys) until The Grudge, so comparing the differences between the Spider-man movies and The Grudge was fun. I can see where the intense and scary moments of Spider-man 2 came from now. Anyway, I found it interesting at least.

Now ends my movie dorkiness.

It's gonna get interesting.

Four more years of Bush. I can't say that I absolutely think Bush is an amazing president, but I am relieved that he is president over Kerry. He is the better choice, and boo on everyone who voted for Kerry for the sole purpose of getting Bush out of office...regardless of you thought Kerry would make a better president or not.

I watched Bush's acceptance speech, and it was good. I felt patriotic and hopeful of the next four years, but only time can really tell. He seemed a little different in his approach, and perhaps he won't be so aggressive this next term.

"Reaching these goals will require the broad support of Americans, so today I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust. A new term is a new opportunity to reach out to the whole nation. We have one country, one Constitution, and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."

Let's all hope that we can all unify for the sake of our country. This quote was one of my favorite parts of his speech.

Onto other news, my new session has started. Joe Gosen is one creative and fun teacher, and Picture Editing looks very promising under his leadership. Basic Business feels like every other GE class here at Brooks - boring and in not very high caliber. Good thing we don't pay for them. Or maybe we should so we can start getting better teachers for these classes.

I still yet to see Luke. I should start searching for him or something. I'm tired, though. I think I'll go take a nap first.

SnFrncsco

SFO is one cool city. I made a couple trips there in the past two days to take pictures with the lensbaby. I can't say that the photographs are great, but they were a lot of fun to take. The lensbaby is a challenge to use well; I had trouble focusing right and making pictures look good with it. The pictures are more artsy than journalistic, but that's how it is with the lensbaby. There's just no way to pull off a journalistic shot with it. Here are some pictures that I took:

sf1.jpg

sf2.jpg

sf3.jpg

sf4.jpg

The fourth one is of Gwyn Roberts. Her and I partnered up as we tackled the task of photographing the beautiful city. She is one cool fish.

There is something about SFO that I am drawn to so strongly. I love the city in a way that I don't understand because I don't love LA the same way. In fact, I'm not fond of LA at all. I think SFO beats the crap out of LA, but maybe because it's right next to the coast that I love SFO so much. There is much more life there that I feel closer to because of my history with the Bay Area. I have a connection with SFO that is unmatched by any other connection between me and another city in the US. I feel more safe there, too.

I shot Kuya's game today as well. It was a fun watch; very close.


Tim dribbles the puck down the court. Sorry about the soft focus. I suck. 

Kuya's team won 5-4, and the goalie from the opposing team pulled their goalie in the last minute. A hockey game is always great when a team pulls their goalie.

Love SFO. Love hockey. My break is 3/4 done. Darn.

Feedback.

This is a response to Oli's True vs. Inerrancy post in Where Am I Going? Read that before this.

I think Granite is arguing too different things: 1) The Bible is true but not inerrant, and 2) the early men of the church don't have the authority to choose which books are "holy" and which ones are not - it should be left to the individual. I think these two arguments are pretty different, and you can't really use one to defend the other too well.

Anyhow, I think the truth of the Bible and its inerrancy are totally and completely dependant on each other. Saying the Bible is completely true but still with errors is an oxymoron. Likewise it can't be inerrant yet have no truth. In this context where Christianity depends so strongly on the Bible, claiming the book to have errors would be a destruction of its truth. The Bible being false is an error in itself, and then we would all be fools to believe in it with such devotion.

As with the fellows who decided which books to be and not to be regarded as "Scripture," these people were great scholars, historians, etc. during the early years of the Christian church. The Canon went through a ton of people to get the books approved, and theologians today have this combination of books in the Bible to thank for their studies. Moreover, I find the books to have been in the Canon for so long, that they must be God-ordained. If someone were to find one of these books heretical today could possibly mean the death of many souls in the past who believed that this was the true Word of God. That is disasterous! Plus, as Oli pointed out, to have people just pick and choose what books they think is holy and what is not welcomes the idea of relativism, which is what Christianity is completely against. There are absolutes; we can't just pick and choose what we think is right and wrong. It was done once in the beginning of the Christian church, so there is no need to do it again.

This is my Christian rant for the night.

First Google hit for "Canon of Scripture."

Randomness.

I'm watching Family Guy. What an awesomely random show! Everyone should watch how stupid Peter Griffin can be.

Kuya took me to the local roller hockey rink on Sunday for practice. We were a good half an hour late, but we ended up doing a few drills with the other guys and doing a small scrimmage. It was a lot of fun, and it was very tiring. I hadn't sweated that long in quite a while. My lower back is really sore now. Fun, though. I miss playing daily sports.

Star Wars Galaxies is a dope online RPG! Very well made. I enjoy it.

Blessed are the forgetful...

From Eloise to Abelard

How happy is the blameless Vestal’s lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sun-shine of the spotless mind!
Each pray’r accepted, and each wish resigned.

by Alexander Pope

One time.

A.J., Mac, and Tim at IHOP in Vallejo. 

I decided to actually drive up to Nor Cal yesterday once I talked to my brother and he said he'd cover me for gas. I'm not really a big moocher when it comes to money (except for my parents...heh heh), but all my cousins and my brother really insisted that I come and practice hockey with them. I really wanted to go up as well, and I was really bummed that I wasn't able to come because of lack of money; so I really appreciated that Kuya and Chesny were willing to help me in this are just so I could visit.

Even more, when I posted in the hockey forum to let everyone know I wasn't coming, Ryan replied saying that he would be willing to pay for gas too. The thread is actually quite entertaining. Extended family rocks; I love my cousins.

As yet another anti-climactic ending to a hopeful story, it started to rain at around 6 am and didn't stop, so we had to cancel the game. Weather forecasts called for rain later in the day, not in the morning. We were all disappointed, and I was pretty upset considering I drove five hours just for hockey. Ah, well.

We went to IHOP for breakfast instead. Belgain waffles, man. Awesome. I'm hoping that the rest of the week turns out better than the past few days. Things just don't go my way, or they seem to go my way for a little while and then end horribly. We did play PS2 and Gamecube the whole morning since we had nothing else to do. If we don't play hockey on Saturday mornings, we are boggled about what to do with our lives. Ha! We're such dorks.

Into the four digits.

Today my StatCounter broke 1000 hits. It hasn't even been a month since I've put that thing up.

My site is so cool.

U2 and iTunes

Here's the new ad by iTunes of U2's Vertigo. These ads rock!

Jehovahjireh

I will tell you a story:

I drove through La Mirada and La Habra to various places to find some matte photo paper to print my final project on. This was last Thursday. I didn't find what I was looking for, but I did find my back left tire completely flat and completel irrepairable according the the tire shop I took my car to after I realized the damage. So I had to buy a new tire, and I figure I get an oil change as well since it was due a few weeks back anyway. $110.

Last Saturday afternoon when Oli, Uncle Gani, Auntie Leah, and I arrived back at Mom and Dad's place from Point Loma Nazarene University attending the Ligonier Ministries Conferences, Dad told me that someone broke into my car the night before. The back left window was shattered into pieces. For one reason or another, nothing was taken, but a bottle of beer was left behind. Perhaps someone was walking by and the thief had to bail? The window had to be replaced. $140.

The next several days my battery light would flicker on and off and my rpm would slow down and almost stall, so my Dad told me that it could be an electrical problem like low battery, or a bad voltage regulator or alternator. I took it in to get it looked at, and it was a bad alternator. $345.

Within a week I spent close to $600 on my car, and I am completely and utterly broke. Today I was despairing on how I could get this money. I was chatting with a friend from the old Faith Academy days, Amber Larson, and she was a real encourager. She said a prayer for me, and not a minute after she prayed I got a phone call from Brooks telling me I have some grant checks in for me to pick up. I know this because I asked her right after I got off the phone, and she told me she just prayed. It was rather amusing and incredibly powerful how it all worked out like that. I know that God doesn't completely plan out how everything falls together based on if we pray for something or not. That would make His actions totally dependant on our actions. But He does like to show how powerful communication between His children and Him can become.

Anyhow, God really taught me not to worry about such things. He will provide one way or another.

As a terrible anti-climactic ending, the check ended up to be only $100, so I'm still in a pretty pickle. However, I have faith that Jehovahjireh will pull through. He has done so in the past; I should not lose hope in Him. Pray for me as I go through the next few weeks with only $50. Brooks said I have another check coming in on Monday. Let's just hope that it's for more than $100.

New trinkets.

I took this photo yesterday.


Julie Peters in the digital labs at Brooks. Julie is one of my classmates, and she's very cool. One of those I've been everywhere types and really has a good understand about the world. Rock on, Julie.

I used a lens I've never seen before until this month called a lensbaby. A lens I've never even thought would exist out there, but you can point the lens in different ways while its mounted on your camera. It makes for very cool blurry effects without all that photoshop deception.

I think it's cool. I may go up to San Francisco this weekend and do a large shoot with a group of classmates. Sort of a day in San Francisco type thing. We'll see. I'm short on cash, so I may play it safe and not go. However, I was never known for being reserved on my money.

Artists with too much time on their hands.

I went to Blizzard tonight and looked at all the fan art that was put up. There is some amazing stuff on there like this one. Though there are some serious, realistic looking art in there, there is also fun light-hearted stuff like this to balance out the variety of the pieces. Most of it is WarCraft III art, but there are some StarCraft and Diablo in there too. Not as good, though. WarCraft rules.

Phil the politician.

I read a post on Phil's blog about the third Presidential Debate. Check it out here, it made me laugh so much. Poor arguments worded and delivered on tv beautfully are still poor. Reading it 30 minutes later after it was over was refreshingly humorous. Thanks, Phil!

Poor kid.

I was going through a lot of Achewood today, and I came across this one.

It made me laugh for a while.

Rain!

It's been very rainy and wet the past couple days, and it makes me happy...Except for the fact that So Cal drivers do not know how to drive in it. Not getting that much rain is no excuse. I drove from La Mirada to Ventura on the 5 and the 101 early Sunday morning (6 am), and I swear I passed more than eight bad accidents in the two hour drive - normally it takes an hour and a half, but considering the weather I had to drive about 2/3 of my regular speed. I feel all the sympathy for you victims of the accident, I really do. But there really shouldn't be that many accidents in a 100 mile span. It wasn't raining THAT bad, and if it is, just slow down or get off the road!

As for me personally, I love driving through the rain. It sounds great as all that water hits your car. The weather isn't scorching hot. I get a free car wash from God, and anyone who has ridden in my car can testify that my car was in dire need of a car wash. Not anymore! Woo hoo! Except the inside needs to be cleaned up a bit, that's a bummer.

Nintendo DS: This new product by Nintendo looks awesome! It's a shame it's all in Japan (including the website). The website design, though, is one of a kind and very fun to browse through...even if you don't know Japanese.

Photoshop Jedi

Phil showed me Jason Ackerman's blog. Jason is an old friend of mine from Biola. We don't talk much anymore, but when I actually attended the blasted university, him and I would chit chat every so often. Good man, and his pictures are fun to look at. He knows what he's doing.

Joe mentioned tonight about how he'll try to go to the fitness center and workout daily like he used to. I miss physical activity. Not so much the idea of keeping in shape, but just the sports and games that I used to play so often. Wrestling, basketball, soccer, rugby. I was such a sportsy type of chap back in the day. College screwed that all up. Ah, well. I guess it's why I joined the hockey team the cousins formed. I just need to be involved in an organized game again.

...of your love to me.

I heard the Goo Goo Dolls new released single "Give a Little Bit" on the radio as I drove to school this morning. It's catchy and fun. I enjoyed the good listen, and it got me very excited to know that they have some new stuff coming out soon. I did a little research today and found out they have a live album coming out this late November. I may have to pick it up. Goo Goo Dolls rock.

Kryponite!

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Christopher Reeves/the true Clark Kent/the only Superman...may you rest in peace.

Alright. Look here, kids...

I cannot post every single day anymore because 1) I've done it for two months and I'm worn out everything I need to said initially, 2) my days just aren't that interesting to post everyday, and 3) I found out that it's a loserish thing to do. So stop your fussing, ya dum dums!

Plus I've been either gone or working hard with school. Want a taste of what I'v been writing for my work? Here is something:

"The life I live is one of witnessing. It is a life that has seen many places, experienced a number of diverse cultures, and walked among different peoples. Twenty-one years. I lived in eight different cities across the Pacific Hemisphere, but it created a feeling of displacement; however, this displacement has now become my mounting desire. Living without a solid home, I only know the longing for unfamiliar places. Traveling to other countries, I am only passionate for the excitement of adventure.

"Therefore, my life is indeed a life of witnessing. My medium in which I witness what I see? Photography. The camera has become a mediator between the things I've seen and the way I tell the world about them. Photography for me is about recording history today for the people of today. It is my way to contribute to art, culture, and society of the world.

"Photography helps me better understand humanity."

I just found out an awesome link while I wrote this blog. Go here So cool.

Yo.

Ahaha! It has been over a week since I posted in here. Apologies for my laziness; the lack of posting has no solid reasons to stand upon. The events that have been occurring in the past days are somewhat dull and same old same old.

Oli and I have decided to join our cousins into a hockey league in San Jose. It's taking our game to a higher level. After playing hacker hockey for 10+ years, we've decided to join up with some competition. Our game will probably still be hacker hockey, but we'll have fun. I love the attitude we give on the floor, and I appreciate and enjoy the times we play hockey together. The body checking adds to the fun; I like to hit people and have no strings attached.

You can find out more about our plans, jerseys, players, and line ups here. The jerseys are groovy looking.

This post is dedicated to Jon, who has been persistent in pushing me to post again. Jon is a true friend, but what Dustin in his blog is completely untrue. I don't know what came over him, but he should delete that post.

Happenings.

So the trip to Joshua Tree was nothing short of spectacular. Beautiful scenery, fun hiking trails, cool boulders to climb, awesome wildlife to watch. We actually came across a rattlesnake during our day hike, and we spent a good hour just watching it do its thing. A rat did come around, so we hoped for some SNAKE ATTACK action. Nothing happened, which made me sad.


Here we are resting on some giant rocks and boulders enjoying the beautiful scenery that Joshua Tree National Park has to offer. 


These are the same rocks than in the picture, but it's a better shot to show the overall look of the formation. Pretty gradual slope that made it quite easy to conquer. 

The Z boys are cool fellows. It was fun hanging out with a bunch of guys doing a bunch of guy things. We were crazy.

Bought Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind yesterday like I said I would a while back. It was my first thing on my to do list that day. Heh. The movie is just how I remembered it, amazing and rewatchable. Awesome.

I'm out.

Desert Heat

To Joshua Tree! To Joshua Tree! This is where I will be spending most of my weekend with my boys. It'll be a fun time out. We'll spend a lot of time together doing the bonding thing, and I'm excited for that. It's also a good chance to spend some time in solitude, which you can't really get here in So Cal. Some good self-reflection time. Some good God time. Yeah, it'll be a blast.

No, really, I'm looking forward to the trip, and I can't wait to pay the old place a visit again. Though we hear it'll go up to 90+ degrees, we're ready to hack it. Except maybe Phil, who's a big baby and would rather spend the time under some shady trees. Boo!

The link to the title is awesome. Yeah, cousins! That's what I'm talkin' about!

Speaking of Joshua Tree, I heard U2's new single Vertigo on the radio last night. It's pretty good; I'm excited to see what other stuff they got on their new album coming out in November. Go here to read more about it.

Keep on rockin'.

Nerd for God

Dustin Guenter has joined the blog world! It is nice to know he finally gave in. His first post is nice and sweet, he's such a touching fellow.

Added at 1:31 am: Alright, it seems Dustin has gotten a little crazy on his blog. He's posted 5+ posts within the last couple hours. That's just insane. Down, boy. Down.

It grows in bunches!

"I got this feeling, so appealing, that we should all sing 'banana phone!'"

Me and my buddies totally boogied out to Banana Phone tonight. It was going crazy in the Manor. The movie is really dope too, so give it a visit if you can handle the language.

The lyrics are posted up on Phil's blog if you're curious. This song will be exhausted in the house within the next week, and then we'll never hear of it again. We go through phases like that. Remember when we used to rock out to Avril, guys? Oh, wait...no...that wasn't us.

Choices...choices...

After learning that Mean Girls is out on dvd, I was very tempted to add it to my movie collection; however, I thought waiting for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to come out on dvd in a week would ultimately be the better purchase. I've been waiting for this movie to come out on dvd since it hit theatres in March.

Nature takes its toll.

Eddie Adams, an icon photographer in this modern age, died today at 71. Rest in peace, Eddie.

Complete! (again)

Pictures are done on For Miles and Miles, so pay it one more visit. Heh.

Gun Face.

I could play this over and over again.

Hurt

Johnny Cash's American IV: The Man Comes Around 

Hurt

What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

Mad crazy posting.

As I write this, Phil and I are listening to Ween's 12 Golden Country Greats. Phil just said, "The best part about it is that there's only ten songs on here!" Ween is one funky band, but I appreciate them. They can create some great sounding music, but they have a good sense of non-seriousness to make you smile. It's nothing to take to heart, but it's fun music to listen to with friends. Mind you that it's explicit stuff, so watch which friends you listen with. Heh...

I drove down to The Manor soon after class to attend the meeting this evening. It was much better this time, and I felt a lot more connected with the guys. I think it was just initial business stuff that needed to get out of the way last time that wasn't neccessary to discuss this time. Tim Carroll has joined our group. Welcome, Tim.

Later tonight four of us went to Denny's. Phil decided that talking to his fiance on the phone was much better than hanging out with the guys. Blasted Alisha...I still won't forgive her for stealing Phil away. I shake my fist. My fist!!!

Anyhow, the trip to Denny's was great. Here are some pictures to tell the highlights of our late night dining.


These are the three dorkiest people I have come to know in my 21 years of living.



Jon appreciating the Denny's menu in unusual ways.



Dustin got adventurous and asked for a lemonade with a shot of vanila added to the drink. We all thought it was a wonderful idea...but then again, we were not the ones who would be drinking it. Even the waitress decided to stick around and witness the first taste. The picture is after the initial sip. I don't think Dustin knows quite how to react to the beverage yet...



When we were paying for our meals at the counter, Joe thought that taking a picture while the camera was slung over my shoulder would be funny. I guess he thought it more funny to put his beautiful face in the frame as well. Hmmmm.

The pictures contain no color for the simple reason of me feeling like converting it to grayscale. I thought B&W was a nice change from all the colored stuff I've been doing.

No need for context.

"Right now we're a linear equation; let's go quadratic, baby!" -Phil

Complete!

Hi, kids! I sat down tonight and just wrote all the blasted entries for my other blog for about five hours. I just needed to get it done. So if you're curious and don't mind a lot of reading, go through that. The two weeks written down there have been very impactful in my life, so it's fun to see what has happened in the large gap when I wasn't posting. All I plan to do now is add the pictures according to the entry, but that won't take that long. All the text is there, so don't expect much to be added as far as that's concerned. Btw, if you want to start from the beginning, you'll need to scroll all the way down to the bottom to get the first entry. I couldn't figure out how to list tne entry from oldest to newest rather than the other way around. Oh, well.

Peace out!

Kill Star Trek?

What do you guys think? Should Star Trek die or take a long break, or should they keep going?

http://www.gamespy.com/articles/547/547429p1.html

I'm no preacher, but...

Yesterday night I went to a Bible study with Chrissy. This is probably the wrong way of approaching a Bible study, but my main intentions were to meet new people around my age group who are in love with Christ like myself. Finding that common ground among people is priceless, as I've come to know going to a secular school. It has become true in my life, but perhaps that is only true because I didn't work hard enough in finding them.

Anyway, that's a tangent that I don't want to elaborate on right now. The Bible study focused on the "two Trees" found in the beginning of Genesis and the end of Revelation. We watched a short dvd on some dude (Rob something, I believe) who talked about how God created the Tree of Life at the beginning of creation and will create another Tree of Life sometime in the future and how we live in between these two trees...so to speak. Personally, I found the message intriguing in its own sense, for it is a perspective I've never seen before. It wasn't enough to captivate me, though. It seemed rather stale.

The message does go more in depth than just living between these two trees. He continued to explain how we should live our lives for God. What does that entail? For some reason, that part dodged me. What really struck me is how he said that life as a Christian is more than spreading the Gospel. If our purpose in life as a Christian was that, then we'd ultimately be a bunch of people "hanging out" waiting for Christ to return.

I had a little trouble agreeing with this. I believe spreading the Gospel is a very important factor in our lives as Christians. Through missions, Christians find a strong sense of who they are as Godly people. Preaching the Word to people who never heard of God, witnessing to people on the street or in your home, and discussing Christianity with people is very much who we are. It goes farther into how our beliefs and faith in God reflect into how we live our everyday lives among those who do not share our faith, and this puts a lasting impression on people and how they see us. It could ultimately bring a person to salvation. It's not that Christians "hang out" waiting for Christ's return and trying to get others to become Christians to hang out with us, we tell people about Christ and invite them to share in the goodness of God by living life according to His Word.

Missions and witnessing goes a longer way than just telling people about God, for it brings everything in ourselves to successfully show how God dwells in His people. The very soul of who we are radiates the Spirit of God if we are His children, and that gives us a lot more credit than being a bunch of followers of Jesus chilling on Earth waiting for His second coming.

Movie goings.

I watched Collateral on Saturday and Garden State tonight. I saw Collateral for the second time, but I love the movie. It has great action and is somewhat insightful. I wouldn't say it's an intellectual movie, but Tom Cruise's character says a lot of true stuff about our society today that I have to agree with...despite the fact that's a sick insight. Tom Cruise's character is very cynical about life and indifferent to people around him, but he lacks the idea of hope, which was a crucial flaw. Anyway, go see the movie for the action if nothing else. Tom Cruise is a very convincing villain; anyone who doesn't like him as an actor can just kiss my muscular butt.

Garden State is also worth the movie ticket. A movie ticket from the dollar theatre if not from the "real" theatre. In fact, you can probably wait for it because there is nothing in the movie that demands amazing sound or picture, but the content of the movie is amazing. The movie has a very clear message of living life to the fullest, but does it with very dark humor...so it's right up my alley. The whole "sieze the moment" and "make the most out of everything" seemed to be continually pounded in every single scene in the movie, and it was a little annoying; however, it wasn't enough of a drawback to bring the movie down. I loved it. Plus Zach Braff and Natalie Portman made an awesome performance; they click very well together. And I love Natalie. She will be my future wife.

May it never be.

I just realized a couple minutes ago that it is September 11, 2004. So here is my entry to remember the tragedy that happened three years ago to this day, and may we always remember everyone who was unnecesarily lost in this event.

We just get quirckier by the year.

Mac was brilliant in posting this of, as Kuya put it, "my cousins summed up in a picture."

The cousins are cool, and perhaps the most consistent people in my life. Family should always be treasured; I've come to learn this value through my own life. Throughout all the years we've lived in our same Filipino community, we still hang out and enjoy our company like no other. Rock on, family!

Okay, seriously...

There's way too many freakin' ants in Z's house. Guys, fix it!!!

Out of the loop.

Built-in alarms in my cellphone went off at 5:30 am this morning. No worries; it was intentional. I woke up finding myself one the couch at Z's house. By 6 am, I was able to merge onto the 5 to head back to Ventura for my 8:30 am class.

After my first class of the session, a two hour nap, and a couple b-ball games with Gwyn, I was merging onto the 101 to head back to Z's house. There aren't many scenes in my day today: Z's house, Brooks, the park, and my apartment. It's a shame that Z's house was where most of my day was spent because it's the only scene that is 80 miles away from the rest.

Z is a group of peers that I've come to know and love for the past three years...one (of five) for the past nine years. When I was at Biola, I would meet with them every week, but ever since I came to Brooks, that is not so. My absense wears at me, so this is why I try to make the effort this session to see these guys; for they create a sense of accountability in my life - something that I failed to do at Brooks for the past year.

Listening to these men talk about life and issues they face today was quite refreshing; however, the events their lives have experienced I have not been able to experience with them. I feel a little out of place sitting in the living room listening to their problems. Not being able to make any effective input made me feel...unnecessary in the group. Admittingly, I felt somewhat uninterested in their discussions. Nothing is wrong in their topic of conversation; I just couldn't connect with them.

It's the second meeting of the semester, so maybe it was just this week that it felt this way. I'll see what happens in the next weeks ahead.

My spin-off.

Hey, kids. I decided to write a journal type blog for the past two weeks I've been gone. You can view the entries there as they slowly come up, but I'll try to be consistent in completing it along with posting about regular day life in this blog. Sorry again for the lack of posting, but it's hard when you're not at home and only have dial-up connection (I'm at my parent's place in Escondido).

Blog address: http://819049304.blogspot.com

Out of state.

I apologize for the long gap between this post and the previous ones. I have been traveling around California, Ohio, and Minnesota the past couple of weeks. I plan to write up something for those days once I get back from the trips. All in all, it has been a fun and dandy time. I will return to Ventura by or around the end of this next weekend.

Awesome!

Yes, that is the title of Oli's new blog. My cool persuasion skills got him to make his own blog. Just doing my part to sharing the gospel of Blogger. Mwah hah hah.

Alexey

Hosting Journal

Adoption Journal

Ventura County Star article

International Christian Adoptions

Read about how one family is making all the difference in a young Russian child's life. We should all strive to make a difference in people's lives.

Balance life.

In Picture Story today, we watched a documentary on W. Eugene Smith. We also handed in our book reports; I wrote mine on Looking for the Light, a biography on Marion Post Wolcott. Both were monumental contributors in the world of photojournalism, and both were significant historians in America's documentation. However, both lived in almost completely different ways.

W. Eugene Smith is considered the father of picture stories. The very idea of focusing a story to a single subject was a concoction of Smith. This alone is such a grand influence on photojournalism today. Picture stories have become common techniques to portray life in America. Moreover, Smith's photographs were intensely intimate. The pictures captured the emotions of every subject, and the viewer was brought into the frame as if he/she was present in the situation the image presented. Smith's photographs were near perfect. Perhaps this is where Smith was flawed. I perceive Smith as a tragic character. He spent too much time on his work, and not nearly enough time with his family. In fact, his perfectionist attribute led to family neglect. His finances also suffered, for he spent too much time perfecting his prints that he never sold enough to keep a consistent income. There were times when his family would be without money or food. Smith's heart was in his work. He was a lousy family man, but he became a famous photographer.

Marion Post Wolcott had a high career in photojournalism through her work with the Farm Security Administration (FSA), a photo project in the 1930s created to support the New Deal policies. The FSA changed the course of American history and became one of the greatest photo projects ever developed. Wolcott's contribution of images were fantastic in content and composition. In her third year of the high-life in photojournalism, she met Leon Wolcott (she was only known as Marion Post at the time) and fell deeply in love with the man. They married the same year. Several months after, Marion resigned her position as a photographer of the FSA to devote most of her time to her family. Leon had two sons from his previous wife, who passed away before he met Marion, and she was pregnant with another child. She sacrificed her successfully photojournalistic career for her family. To Marion, photography reduced to nothing but a strong hobby.

Which is better, do you think? Marking a historic point in your country and inspiring hundreds of people to take up photojournalism in order to document American life as it happens, or to commit to your loved ones and do your best to impact a much smaller community? I'm sure everyone faces this dilemma in any career field they choose. In my perspective, the family will always come before the job. If I were to marry, my priorities would shift to my wife and family. Fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters - these are the people that make up a country. Our jobs should ultimately impact their lives in one way or another, and this should be the drive that makes us pursue jobs. I guess people would argue to seek happiness for themselves first, and if it's through their job, so be it. I disagree, but that is my opinion.

This was something that got my mind turning a bit; I thought I'd share with you. Of course, all this comes second to God. In fact, our lives should always look to God in the end. He is everything, and the Christian life should reflect on all things that we live through everyday.

Motorcycle Drive By

Third Eye Blind's self-titled album

Motorcycle Drive By

And I don't know what I'm doing in this city
The sun is always in my eyes
It crashes through the windows
And I'm sleeping on the couch
When I came to visit you
That's when I knew
I could never have you

One night of Hepburn.

Watching Breakfast at Tiffany's. Audrey Hepburn is truly an amazing beauty. One of the most beautiful actresses I've seen in the movies. That's my opinion, at least. Even cooler, she's born on May 4 (that's when I was born too...different years of course). I thought that was spiffy.

Spent the weekend helping a friend make his movie. I never participated in any acting type of activities (plays, musicals, films, etc.), but it was all a lot of fun. A group of us buddies just had a good time making it, which probably means it has a lot of cheesy acting. Something that was expected. My part was to play a hitman; how could I have turned down such a role? Heh heh...

Time to finish off the movie. There's nothing like a classic chick flick to end a Monday night.

Grazed Knees

Snow Patrol's Final Straw

Grazed Knees

It's easier to lie and be safe
Time and time again I'm half stalled
One giant leap of faith is easy
When everyone you ask is so sure

The early excellence.

I learned a very interesting and inspiring fact today in my morning English class. Maya Lin, the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, was a undergraduate student at Yale University when she submitted her design to the national competition. She was only 21 at the time. This simply amazes me. We were watching a documentary on Maya Lin, and it went further than her experiences with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to show other architectural accomplishments she designed. Honestly, I don't know how she can come up with these ideas, but they're brilliant, insightful, and moving. Kudos to you, Maya.

Welcome to my domain!

I have a new domain name for Lems Pics! It's no longer hosted by Kuya's website, and is now located at this new place: http://www.lemphotography.com

It's still going under a little more construction. Kuya, still the designer for the page, is making a few changes to make it look more pro.

To the box office!

Three movies in the span of 24 hours:

I, Robot - It was pretty good. Awesome action sequences! Will Smith was great. Not that great of a story, though, but who needs one with special effects like that!

A Cinderella Story - Please help me...The only thing I got to say about this is that Rachel owes me big time.

The Bourne Supremacy - Excellent movie! I don't know if it's better than the first, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Go see this.

The summer movie line up this year is doing really well. I'm happy.

Oh, life!

F is the letter of the day.

Say goodnight.

I felt like writing something or quoting some song tonight, but my body is just too tired; nevertheless, a small note tonight would be nice to write down. Just wanted to say that things in life right now could look a lot better. On the other hand, they could look a lot worse. I wish the things could stay better for a long period of time without a new problem arising. New trials come everyday, I suppose, to test and strengthen our faith in God with each passing moment.

Goodbye, goodbye.

Walk away; it's time to say, "Goodbye."

Capture and relive; read and reread

The wedding was beautiful; I expected nothing less. The pictures turned out much better than I expected, and now I must edit down 750+ images to...well, less than that number.

There was five minutes between a friend of mine and me where we acknowledged C.S. Lewis and his books. I have not read very many of his work, though the two books I have read (Mere Christianity and The Great Divorce), it has opened my mind to many new sights and intriguing thoughts. The Great Divorce was a magnificent work to read. The ideas and imagery in this book were so intense, it felt a bit overwhelming. I will have to give the book another go later. C.S. Lewis' mind works so much more intricately than others, and I'm glad that God gave him the gift to write them on paper so successfully.

The Valley Song (Sing of Your Mercy)

Jars of Clay's Furthermore 

The Valley Song (Sing of Your Mercy)

When death like a gypsy
Comes to steal what I love
I will still look to the heavens
I will still seek Your face

But I fear you aren't listening
Because there are no words
Just the stillness and the hunger
For a faith that assures

I will sing of Your mercy
That leads me through valleys of sorrow
To rivers of joy

Fill in the gaps.

It's been a while since I've posted on this; the high thrill of blogging has finally worn off. I still love to blog, my friends, so don't get me wrong. For all the people who have been terribly disappointed in my lack of entries - which is probably no one- I am sorry. I won't guarantee that it'll be the last time, though.

I actually wanted to keep off the blog for a bit, so the entry about Jon Barr would stay at the top for a while. Not intending it to go for one week, I thought it was nice to remember Jon everytime I cycled through my friends' blogs through my site's links. Remember Jon Barr.

Through a couple phone calls and chats, I learned of Jon's funeral and the impact that he made on all his friends and loved ones. I want to have such a strong effect on my friends the way he had on his friends. I'm thankful that God has granted me more time to make that happen. Jon's life and purpose on earth was complete, so God came and took him home. Out of any reward for living a righteous and humble life, going to heaven is the greatest. No doubt.

Looked at Sarah Palmer's blog earlier tonight, and I read about her most memorable times at Biola. It made me miss those days I had there, but I have no regrets. I thought I did for a while, but I don't. That's a comforting realization. I was stoked that Sarah put me up as one of her memories. It made me feel special. Heh. Except it was so long; I couldn't believe I read that whole thing.

Will be shooting Andrew and Britney's wedding tomorrow. Pray for me. Most importantly, pray for Andrew and Britney as they make one of the most life-changing commitments in their entire lives; nevertheless, congrats to both of them! It'll be a splendid day.

The Irish are great people. At least, the ones I met today. Andrew is Irish; hence why I met Irish people today. Rock on, Irish.

J.B.R.I.P. 07-07-2004 @ 22:10

To Jon Barr:

Rest in peace, my old friend. We all love you and grieve of your death. However, we rejoice even more for your early arrival to the one place we all long to be. We will continue to pray for your family and everyone who has grown to love you through every year of your life. Enjoy bathing in eternal happiness with our LORD.

Say hi to God for me.

My Cinematography Side.

Alright, kids. Everyone has a top ten movie list; whether or not they want it known to others is their choice. I'm posting mine on my blog. They're not in any real particular order, they're just the top ten that I consider better than the rest. Except the first one. I love that movie.

01. Saving Private Ryan
02. Braveheart
03. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (yes, I consider them all one movie)
04. Seven
05. Schindler's List
06. Fight Club
07. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
08. Gladiator
09. Kill Bill
10. The Shawshank Redemption

There's no real criteria to justify why those are my top ten, they just do it for me for either its entertainment value, artistic value, or both. I do hold other movies in very high esteem for the kind of movie they are. I decided to list those off as well.

Best animated movie: Disney's Beauty and the Beast

Best chick flick: Love Actually

Best comedy: Garden State

Best musical: Singing in the Rain

Best scary movie: The Ring

Best sports movie: Friday Night Lights

Best comic book movie: Spider-man 2

Obviously, this post will be updated as I see more movies.

(Last updated: 2/8/05)