"When I in awesome wonder..." (Weekly picture #9)

The family went camping with old Davao friends at Yosemite. Unfortunately, Kuya couldn't make it, but that didn't get stop us from going. The trip was awesome, though a bit rushed. Because of all the moving Mom and Dad were doing the day before we headed out to Yosemite, we got to the National Park at the end of the second day of the trip. That only left us with a day and a half of camping there.

Nevertheless, we enjoyed relaxing and sight-seeing the beauty of Yosemite Valley. Uncle Lloyd, Uncle Roger, Robert Sheldon, Joe, Janel, Clint, and I hiked to the top of Half Dome on Friday. We got up real early at 5:30 am to head out on the 8.5 mile hike to the top. I was pretty reluctant to go the night before since I haven't hiked in a good two years and a 17 mile hike sounded like sure death considering my physical state.

I was almost right.

Due to lack of some kind of nutrient, both my thighs began to cramp a little under half way into the hike. I think it was just because I didn't drink enough water before the hike, and I was trying to conserve water in the in the middle of the hike. So I slowly but surely made my way to the top of the dome, though it took me five freakin' hours to do it. Uncle Lloyd stayed with me the whole way, which was very nice of him. The rest got to the top 45 minutes before we got there. Man, those cramps blew.

Getting to the top of Half Dome made the hike well worth the pains I endured. The view was amazing and magnificent. God simply has a creative mind! Going on trips to the Grand Canyon or Zion or Yosemite really brings you back to love and adore and fear God's power and Creation. Though Joe did bring up a good point later: People are God's greatest creation, and we shouldn't forget about praising God for making Man and making them in His own image. How special are we!? We are be seen so highly and differently to the rest of creation.

The rest of the camping trip was pretty chill. We just hung out at the campgrounds and caught up with old friends we hadn't seen in a long time. Being a photographer, I took pictures...naturally. I didn't go for that whole "I'm going to go hardcore and take shots like Ansel Adams!" approach. I just took pictures, and they're mostly of people. I did do some landscape stuff but nothing amazing. I would like to go back someday for the sole purpose of photography. This time, however, I wanted to just appreciate Yosemite as it is.

I posted the pictures on Flickr. By the way, apologies for missing a week in the Weekly Pictures. I was really busy that week, and I didn't take a picture that week anyway.

I end with a hymn that we sung the night before the last day of camp.

How Great Thou Art

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

Happy birthday, America. (updated)

Update: We did go to that party, which turned out to be like a mini bbq restaurant that Rachel and her girl friends set up. It was nice to have waitresses bring us our drinks and cheeseburgers and "mega ultimate chili cheese dogs." Good stuff. The girls had fun, and it was convenient for us. Everyone wins!

We also did play X-box. Groovy!

-11:39 pm, Monday, July 4, 2005

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Happy Fourth of July to all! What will you do to celebrate?

I believe our family will be going to some party at a friend's place down here in Escondido. Oli and I are not particular friends of the family since there's no kids around our age there, but they do have an X-box along with Halo. We'll enjoy ourselves just fine.

To keep in spirit of Independence Day, I'm going to talk about War of the Worlds, which Oli, David Youngman (he's in town for an internship, so he came to visit this weekend), and I went and saw last Friday. Okay, it doesn't really have anything to do with the Fourth of July, but it reminded me a lot of the movie Independence Day, which had a lot to do with the Fourth of July. By the way, I liked that movie. I love its cheese and overrated special effects.

Anywho, I liked War of the Worlds for the most part. The special effects were phenomenal...I couldn't see anything that looked obviously CGI throughout the movie. The acting was great. I'm a big fan of Tom Cruise as an actor, though, so I may be biased. It's not Oscar-worthy stuff, but he is convincing as a regular chum who is a lousy father. Even Dakota Fanning was great in the movie.

A lot of people complain about the ending, but I don't know what they expect considering it's based off a book and there already was a different movie made back in 1953. (Dude, that is an awesomely bad sci-fi flick if I've ever seen one.) Spielberg couldn't really change the ending of the whole story. I do think that there are some odd parts in the movie, and I thought the ending for the characters was wrapped up a little too fast for any real satisfaction. I do like the whole idea that it followed a few normal people merely trying to survive rather than following a scientist trying to find a way to stop the aliens.

All in all, it's worth a watch in the theatre simply because of the special effects. If you wait for this on dvd, it won't have the same effect. I personally liked the story of Tom Cruise's character and his two kids, but I've heard a lot of people say they hated it, so that's just me. As far as the cinematography, Spielberg continues to amaze me with his directorial skillz.

Oh, yeah...Batman Begins is awesome. Go see that movie too. Awesome.

DK (updated!)

Update: The pictures are now uploaded for all to see. So sorry that it took me so long to finally get them on the web. The combination of laziness and computer difficulties (both hardware and software) don't make for convenient situations. Anyway, I used Flickr to upload the pictures, so go HERE to view them. Sorry if some pictures are out of focus or motion blurred or off color, but I didn't try so hard on this event photo-wise. It wasn't like I was getting paid to do it. :)

For the most part, it was fun to look through them. If you guys want higher-res shots of any of these pictures, just e-mail me with a list of the filenames of the pictures (ex: DSC3485 or DSC3251) I didn't think you guys wanted all 91 pictures, and if you do...too bad. There are also pictures that I didn't upload, like the extra 15 of Libby Moothart (I don't want to hear it, Jon). So if there's a picture you want that's not on Flickr that you remember being taken on my camera, mention it to me.

Gerry Fisher also posted some pics on the web, so you can take a look at those as well. Go HERE.

Enjoy!

-3:56 am, Saturday, July 2, 2005

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Hurray for Dustin and Katie! They are married! Congrats to you kids. Have fun in Hawaii.

The wedding was quite fun. I was one of the groomsmen, so I got to dress in a tux and look slick and more attractive than I already am. It was AWEsome!

No, really. It was a great time, and I always enjoy weddings of my friends and family. It is one of the most beautiful things to see two people become one before God, family, friends, and the church. Marriage is such a beautiful example and wonderful imagery between the marriage between Christ and the church, and it reminds me so much of the unity of God and His Three Persons. I am sad to see this country degrade the idea of marriage to something so dull and simplistic. Marriage is so much more than promising each to be life partners; it is disgusting to watch the view of marriage become so shallow.

Dustin and Katie's wedding was one of beauty, and no one could define "beauty" better than Katie did yesterday. It is always that way. The bride is always beautiful; I don't know what it is about that.

The best part of the wedding was when I pulled out my liquor flask and spiked my punch with some whiskey. Sorry, Dustin: "No alcohol" rule or not, I'm drinking. Heh. After the reception, some of us went to BJ's and hung out for a while, which is where the weekly picture is from. More pics will come up soon.

Weekly picture #8.

Lifehouse, baby!

I went and saw Lifehouse in concert yesterday. Excellent show. Their music live is much better than any of their recorded stuff, and they know how to rock out for us fans. Their song line-up was great starting with Spin and "ending" (meaning a pause between their last song and their encore) with Everything. They played a good balance of songs from all three of their albums, but naturally most of the songs were from their third. Take Me Away, Come Back Down, and Sick Cycle Carousel are just a few of their hits, and they also played a new song which hasn't been recorded. They returned to the stage for their expected encore to end with Hanging By a Moment and some slow, beautiful song that isn't on any of their albums. I think someone told me it was written even before their Lifehouse days, but I'm not sure.

Lifehouse has some very good songs, and their lyrics speaks volumes of their Christian beliefs. References like "You make me walk on water/And you will catch me when I fall" and lines like "I got nothing else to lose/I lost it all when I found you/But I wouldn't change a thing" really can't be about anything else but God. That's my interpretation of their songs, though. Maybe I reach too far, and some anti-religious kid would reject any of those thoughts as being remotely true.

While we're talking about music, Coldplay's new album X&Y is an excellent buy. I like their other two better, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a bad cd. Not at all! X&Y is still top notch stuff. Dave wrote a good review on the album. Give it a read, and give X&Y a listen.

Weekly picture #7.

Completely and totally!

Guess what, guys...Michael's innocent! I find it quite amazing that the jury found him not guilty on all counts. I thought he was gonna get it on the alcohol charges, but alas! he came out on top. Honestly, I'm quite relieved about it all. I would like to think that Michael Jackson isn't a sick freak - he's just plainly a freak.

I went up to Santa Maria on Monday to photograph the happenings of the trial as the jury was still deciding their verdict. Little did I know, along with two other of my friends I went along with, that they would actually come to a decision that very day. We had a good guess it would happen, but as the day went on without anything really happening, we started to lose hope that the day would be even remotely interesting.

When the announcement that the jury came to a decision, everything started to speed up. It's nice when actual news happens, at least from a media standpoint. We like news. That is usually not the case for me because I don't like to wish newsworthy events upon people. Newsworthy events, by our country's definition, seems to be on the misfortunes of people. However, the deciding of the verdict is not a misfortune; the verdict is more of a relief for everyone. This trial has gone on for a long time, and the end is finally here. It didn't matter what the verdict was, everyone was glad that it was ending. Everyone was especially glad that Michael was innocent because it means that Michael didn't molest a poor little boy and scar him for life. It also means that the fans were happy, and the media was happy because the fans were happy. I think we would have all died that day if Michael was found guilty. The media had a good guess that the fans from all over the world would have jumped us. With good reason too. The media hasn't been making a good image of Michael lately. The media can be real jerks sometimes...most of the time.

It was a good experience taking photographs like this again. Very refreshing, and I missed doing this sort of thing. As crazy and freaky as Michael's hardcore fans are, it was cool to see so many happy people celebrating together. I'll a few pictures later.

Sorry about no weekly picture for last week. I just didn't go out and shoot anything or find anything I thought would be worth posting as a weekly picture. But you can look at this! (It's a tadpole!)

Marker.

"I am a year old."

-Lem's blog

Oh, that silly Kenobi!

I forgot to mention this:

*WARNING! This post contains movie spoilers regarding Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

As I watched Episode 3 of Star Wars, I was puzzled with Obi-Wan's phrase "Only the Sith deal in absolutes," but didn't think too much of it until I noticed that it really got to some people. Maybe not "really," but people gave it more thought that I did. Some people think it was Lucas' way of stating that the Star Wars philosophy is morally relativistic. Others made a parallel of this scene with Jesus. Others, like my buddies Jon and Phil, think it's just crap like other lines written into the script.

The whole Jesus comparison was rather shocking to me, but I guess it shouldn't be since anyone will take a jab at God and Jesus when they can...even if it's a incredibly weak and scrawny one. The comparison is terribly put out of context, though. Context, people! Context! The verse, if you're wondering, is Matthew 12:30.

I decided that the whole "absolute" line is just poorly dialogue line because it doesn't have any backbone to it. Ten minutes into the lightsaber duel, Obi-Wan is yelling, "Anakin! Palpatine is evil!" I wonder what Lucas was trying to pull with the whole thing.

I like Phil's comment about this: "Clearly you can't have a good movie that is morally relativistic, but you can try."

Just things...

A real post hasn't been written in a couple weeks. My bad.

I just watched Requiem for a Dream, and now I want to go kill myself. Well, it's not that depressing, but it was a very effective movie. I haven't seen such a strong, intense movie about drug use since Traffic. City of God is a very good movie as well. Staying on track, Requiem for a Dream is a great movie; however, I don't want to see that movie ever again. I also don't want to ever touch drugs.

Moving on, there are other things in my life that I neglected to post about, namely my parents' graduations. Congrats to them both! I'm truly and honestly proud of both of them. Kuya and Oli wrote more about these events.

I also saw Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith again with Chrissy because I liked it so much the first time. It was just as enjoyable the second time around, except it did seem to drag a little at the end. Since it was mostly fixing up plot holes and inconsistencies between the first and second trilogies, it was kind of dull seeing it again the second time. I did, however, appreciate the acting more now movie since I focused more on watching the actors act this time around. Obviously, they did a much better job than the first two episodes, but I kind noticed more the relation between the behaviors of the first movies leading up to this one. In that way, I understand why Anakin was so child-like in the second and why Obi-Wan looked like a jerk in the same episode. Nevertheless, I'm still not that impressed with Hayden Christensen's acting abilities. I need to see some of his other work.

I'm such a movie dork.

Oh yeah, I forgot to write that I might join up with the youth band at the church I attend here in Ventura. That's pretty exciting for me because I always prayed to get involved with the church community somehow, and this may be the opporunity that God has presented. I say that I "might" join up because a lot of the members are leaving this Fall to go to college (just graduated from high school this year), so the band might just end if it can't stay on it's feet. We'll see how it goes. It's in God's hands.

I think that will be it for now. It's kind of late.

Weekly picture #6.

Weekly picture #5.

Weekly picture #4.

STAR WARS! STAR WARS! STAR WARS! STAR WARS! STAR WARS! STAR WARS! STAR WARS! STAR WARS!

Turns out that Anakin is Darth Vader in the episodes 4-6! That's crazy!

I was surprised that I really liked every bit of this movie. Well done, Lucas. There were some bits and pieces that were just painful like cliche dialogue or cheesy camera shots, but all in all it was great. The story to this prequel trilogy couldn't have ended better. Everything (story-wise) was tied up in a very strong, tight knot. Bravo, Georgey-boy. You didn't screw up this time.

With that said, go see the movie. It's great to see how everything unfolded, and it was truly a tragic story. The character development in this one is the best out of episodes 1-3. Even though you know what happens with Anakin, you feel the emotional pain he's going through in the whole process. Obi-Wan Kenobi is a sad character to watch in this movie as well.

Yup, Padme's "You're breaking my heart" line from the trailer is just as good in the movie as it was in the preview. Probably even better.

It's true.

P.S. I really is 5:06 am right now. Time to end my Wednesday. Good night/morning everyone.

Man-made rainbow.

School right now is pretty cool. I'm only taking one class, and it's quite laid back. The class is Visual Thinking, and it goes more into the essence of photography rather than studying one branch of it (landscape, still-life, photojournalism, portraits, etc.). That being said, what we photograph is a lot of fun because it's what we want to photograph rather than what the "editor" wants us to photograph or how they want it to be photographed. Assigmnments are intentionally vague in its description to help us think about how we want to take the picture. Things like photograph "light" or "focus" instead of a sunset or what have you.

Anyway, so for the heck of it, the teacher assigned us (on a whim) to take a picture of the Chromatic Gate in Santa Barbara. Personally, I think it's hideous. I've talked to other students, and, apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks that about it. Take a look for yourself.

However, the assignment was to have the artistic piece of work in the frame somehow, but it didn't matter where or how. The teacher just wanted to see how we would take the picture and how we saw the darn thing. It was fun to look at everyone's stuff and their approach to it. Like I said before, the thing is pretty ugly where it is. Nevertheless, you can make it look pretty sweet like Scott London or Steve Weixel did.

Here is the picture I turned in for class.

Weekly picture #3.

Got it back! (Weekly Picture #2.)

The hard drive (along with a pair of my shoes) came in the mail today. Hurrah!

As promised, here's last week's picture.

Movies!

These are a few movies I've seen in the past few weeks. Some I saw for the first time, some I saw again just for kicks, some are recently made, and some are classics. I just thought I'd write them down.

12 Angry Men: Excellent movie! Go see it. That's it.

Kingdom of Heaven: Not as bad as I thought it would be. It's better than the other epic movies that have come out in the last couple years (ahem...Troy, King Arthur...), so at least Ridley Scott still knows how to make those sword-clashing movies right. I enjoyed the setting, and the story was, I learned later, not too badly twisted from its historical reference...except that whole "Christian and Muslims are the same!" message they had throughout the movie. Well, I guess in context of the Crusades, both the Christians and the Muslims did fight for Jerusalem, so they were pretty similar in that regard. I won't get into all that, though. Such an interesting part of history! Anyway, I thought it was a pretty good movie. Oh yeah, and Orlando Bloom isn't a pretty boy in the movie either, which is cool. He needs to play different types of characters, though.

Red Dragon: I always thought it was funny that Hollywood would decide to remake Manhunter just so they could make a trilogy with Anthony Hopkins being Hannibal Lecter in all three movies. On the other hand, Red Dragon was awesome and much better than the original. It's nice to have remakes do well, I just wish it happened more often. Red Dragon reminded me how great Edward Norton and Hopkins are as actors. Although, I didn't realize that Brian Cox was the original Hannibal Lecter till now (good ol' IMDb!). That's pretty cool.

Runaway Jury: I've been wanting to see this movie for a while now because it looked interesting to me. The movie is based off of a John Grisham novel, which I didn't know until I popped the dvd in. I really didn't know what to expect from the film, but was pleasantly surprised with it at the end. It was better than I expected, and the story was pretty good. Go see it sometime if you don't have anything else to do.

I think I'm going to start watching some more classic movies. I borrowed 12 Angry Men from the Brooks library and watched it tonight. It was awesome! I also borrowed Citizen Kane from the library since I've been told it could be the best movie that was ever made.

Watching The Godfather series won't be a bad idea either. I want to see a Marlon Brando film. However, Jon believes that On the Waterfront is probably his best performance, so I'll have to watch that first.

On top of that, I still need to watch all five Star Wars episodes before the lastest installment to the story hits the big screen.

I'm sorry that I haven't posted a weekly picture yet, but I left my hard drive at Mom and Dad's apartment. I've been in Ventura all this time without my computer, so I haven't been able to upload any pictures. Do not worry, though, for my hard drive is in the mail! Yes! I could upload the picture from Brooks, I suppose, but that's a long way to drive just to add something to my blog. I'm not that desperate.

Done!

Hooah! (pt. 2)

My day wasn't very birthday-ish. I spent most of it in the apartment writing e-mails or chatting. Heh. I love break. Actually, I spent some time with my sister and her friend...but not that much.

So yeah, nothing really happened to honor my birthday most of the day. Except this evening while Dad and I were sitting on the couch with our own laptops and sucking up wireless bandwidth from the guys upstairs, Rachel runs up to Dad and asks, "Dad, what kind of cake is Mom bringing home?"

Dad responded with a inaudible "shhh" gesture, to which Rachel audibly sounded an "oh."

I love it when the element of surprise is completely destroyed.

Mom didn't come with a cake, but Dad went out to take out the trash that took about 15 minutes. He returned with a chocolate cake with German chocolate icing and coconut in the middle. What a sneaky old man!

So the five of us (Mom, Dad, Rachel, Rachel's friend, and me) got around the table and we had the traditional birthday song and cake eating. With video and pictures and everything! The video is pretty funny, mainly because of the oddness of it. The cake was really hard, and the candle was really huge (see picture).

On another note: I finished reading all of Ctrl Alt Delete today. That was a rather tiresome, yet pleasing, task. I especially like this one.

Hooah!

Keeping up.

I've been thinking...

Since a lot of my closest friends that I hang out with are Torrey students, their level of intellect and conversation is way above mine. The best thing I could think of to solve this problem would be to try to improve my reading habits and actually dive into some real worthwhile books. Of course, that is a lot to do for someone like me: a product of pop culture of today's society where material, celebrity, and shallow entertainment is everything.

I feel it necessary, however, to spend time with some quality reading. From just analyzing myself, I realize how much time I don't spend filling my brain with useful information about Christianity, religion, science, history, philosophy, etc. Well, I could probably stay away from a lot of philosophy because there's just way too much to go through. I'd rather spend more time in theology.

Theology rocks!

Also! I started this blog with a much stronger writing sense and style because I originally wanted this blog to be a place I could practice my writing skills. Going through the first entries, I can see now that my blog has reduced to "teeny bopper" style. Movies, music, and the occasional emotional post about how my life is so pathetic or a rant on something along the lines of romantic sap.

How depressing.

Weekly picture #1.

Luke told me his idea of doing a weekly comic of his own, and it inspired me. But since I can't draw, I decided to do a weekly picture of something from this week. So here goes my first picture:

Liquid

Jars of Clay's self-titled album.

Liquid

Blood-stained brow,
He wasn't broken for nothing.
Arms nailed down,
He didn't die for nothing.

This is the one thing,
The one thing that I know.

You tell me...

There's something terribly wrong with this, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Hm....

Third and sixth.

I listened through the third album by Lifehouse on my way down to my parents' from Biola. It's a pretty good listen, though I think I like the second one better (Stanley Climbfall), but they still haven't topped their first one (No Name Face). Like always, their first few songs on their (self-titled) album were really strong, though it seemed to sort of drone through the rest. I'll have to give it a few more listens, but from what I heard, it's pretty good.

I also noticed that this album is more upbeat and has a lighter mood in its sound. Is it just me, or is Lifehouse progressing as a band? Their first album was so depressing and a terrible downer, their second seemed to give off some kind of "I'm searching for something" type of message, and they found that hope they've been looking for in their third album. Maybe I'm just being way to analytical, but I appreciated that in their third album. Not that I didn't like their first at all; in fact, their first is probably their best.

I just got done watching Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. It's still as good as it used to be. I will probably say that this movie was the best Star Trek movie ever made. The story was incredibly well-written. Nothing over the top like time-traveling (IV and VIII), but nothing mediocre in the grand scheme of things (II and IX). Plus it had all that conspiracy stuff that can be great if done well. This movie did it well, especially for a sci-fi set film.

It's awesome that the original series' cast could go out with such a bang. I'm so sad that the TNG cast didn't have that fortune. Boo on Star Trek: Nemesis!

Sigh.

Life can really kick you in the arse at times, and then rip your balls off while you're still trying to recover. Ain't that just dandy?

Random things.

Referring to Kelly Clarkson's video Since U Been Gone: "Maybe her boyfriend broke up with her because she wore slutty clothes on stage." -Eric Holloway

On a different subject, did you ever get into the game Minesweeper (usually found in Windows)? Jon and I were talking about the times when we were into the game as kids, and we would pretend to be sweeping the "mine field" to clear it from one end to the other so the soldiers could get across. This way, we were finding and marking the mines for a greater cause rather than just mere entertainment. It was a great victory to clear on side and then another and create a pathway for the troops, though it was such a tragedy to die when clearing out the rest of them (I never beat Expert). A sacrifice I was willing to take for my brothers in arms. March on, soldiers! Win that battle for our country!

P.S. Sorry, Phil, that I linked to Microsoft in this post. Oops! I did it again! Doh!

In the musical sense.

A friend once asked me in a random conversation what song would best describe my life. Great. You know how that goes. One song, eh? The first song that came to my mind was She Gathers Rain by Collective Soul. I thought of this song because, firstly, I love Collective Soul and I listen to them quite a lot. Secondly, the song is about someone needing to adjust to a completely new life that she has chosen - a life that is much better. I interpret it as a song of one finding salvation, and that person has a new found hope to live. To me, it speaks volumes for how I live and how I need to keep in perspective the life I need, and was called, to live.

She Gathers Rain by Collective Soul

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

Her imagination
Has started stretching wide
And her new conviction
No longer will she hide
She's not branded
When prophets speak words of fire
The same love she gives
She requires

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

Also, I believe that the lead singer and his brother (another member of the band) were raised as Christians, which would explain a lot of the religious overtones in their music. Except they aren't "Christian," they're "spriritual." Heh. Whatever. Anywho, I find them much better than a lot of Christian bands out there, sort of like how Mac feels with U2 and other Christian bands. (On his blog, the post is titled "Another U2 post" dated Wednesday, April 13, 2005.)

Latter.

You would think they would choose a new pope who would last longer. But then again, maybe that's exactly what they didn't want.

You need variety.

C'mon, Orlando! Can't you do anything else besides medieval type, sword fighting movies?

Assorted things.

My lack of blog posting may be a sign that this whole "blog excitement" thing is beginning to fade from me. However, I will hold on to this web journal with weakened hands hoping that something will come around to give me strength to blog on a more regular, more consistent basis. Inspiration, where are you?

Gas prices are at an all time high it seems, and there is no sign that they will drop any time soon. In fact, there are stronger signs that they will rise! Why is this happening? I can't see any valid reason why gas has to be charged at this rate. Corporate greed is what I see happening here, not to mention a loss in people's earnings when the day's over. Buying a small cot and camping out in the computer labs at school doesn't sound like a bad idea anymore.

My D string on my guitar broke again just a couple minutes ago. That's frustrating because I changed it fairly recently, and my other strings are doing fine.

The weekend was eventful. It has been a pretty good run of weekends so far with the family get together a couple weeks ago and then this last weekend as well.Friday was Randy's birthday party, and that was a good time. It's one of those parties when about three families get together and bring along the kids, so it was a full house. Dinner was really good (By golly! Food sounds good right now), and the presents were really funny from what I observed. I've never seen so many adults laugh so incredibly hard. Heads were on tables, eyes were watering, and faces were quivering from smiling too much. We also played Twister, and I found out how to play dirty and screw everyone up. Twister on a competative level is a lot of fun! I also wrestled Tim a couple times, which reminded me of good times at Faith wrestling. I even ended up pulling out the old photo album and watching my high school graduation. I looked really young, and Oli looked a lot smaller.

Saturday, The Peckhams went to Irvine Regional Park to celebrate Joe and Uncle Lloyd's birthdays (they were born on the same day). It was just a nice hang out time with friends. It was a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky. Because of the day before, I was all wrestled up and ended up wrestling Luke, Dustin, and Eric. By the time Eric and I were done wrestling, dying did not seem like such a bad idea.

I didn't die, though.

In Sunday school on Sunday, Brent taught on the incommunicable attributes of God. I think that what the terms were, though my memory is fuzzy on "incommunicable"...it could be different word, but it was basically on the attributes of God that Man does not even partially possess. Infinite, eternal, omnipresent, etc. These things that God possesses that we, mere creatures, do not posssess. It is awesome to study this aspect of God, and makes me want to fall on my face praising Him. Praise God!

Pictures will come later. Sleeping time now.

"...and you can find anything."

This is a strange follow up after my previous post, but whatever.

I went and saw Sin City last Friday night. Saying this movie is rated R isn't say much compared to what the movie really contains. The movie is definitely not for anyone under 18, and I wouldn't even consider taking a kid to this movie no matter how big a Bruce Willis fan he is. It is extrememly violent in its most brutal form, and there is a good amount of nudity.

That said, I really enjoyed the movie. Given its content, I walked out of the movie first not knowing what I really thought about it. It seems like a movie I'm morally obligated to not like, but I have to admit that I was really satisfied with the show. The casting was superb! I don't think there was a bad move on any of the casting choices, and I loved Willis and Rourke. I never read the graphic novels, so I can't say much to compare the books from the movie, though I've heard that the movie is very well done in this area. I'll be reading them throughout the next week. The story and plot isn't anything really epic or of anything along the lines of something being a national threat. The stories don't really travel outside of Sin City, so don't expect anything on a huge scale. It's about a city and the people who live there.



Anyway, I found it extremely well done, and I was very pleased that the huge casting wasn't the only thing the movie dudes focusec on.

Jessica Alba is hot.

Alexis Bledel is cute.

Matthew 28:5-6

Sorry I didn't post anything for Easter. I'll just leave these words for you to read.
-----------
Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!

Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!

-Christ the Lord is Risen Today, words by Charles Wesley

School in and school out.

I have been working my big butt off the last week or two trying to get grade A stuff into my classes. I'm taking a class on Flash, which is a great excuse to finally update, and be consistent with updating, my website. Last night was the highest point, hopefully, of intensity as far as work loads go. I didn't sleep a wink, and I worked on Flash assignments all night. It was mainly on a slideshow I need to make for class, ideally of potential pictures I will put up on my newly designed website. It'll be fully done by the end of April since that will be the same time classes end, and since the final project is a full-blown website published in the internet, I would think that is when my site will be done.

Today, we were taught how Dreamweaver and FTP works, so now I actually know what I'm doing when I upload my stuff on my site. I put up a test page on my site, so lemphotography.com isn't displaying the design it had before, but just a basic page. I did put my slideshow up on the site, though, so you can watch it if you like. Sorry that the flash movie is a large file, I haven't figured out how to compress the movies yet to make them smaller.

Even though it's a ton of work, it's a ton of welcomed work. At least I'm getting my site "refurbished" and getting more of my work out there; much of my pictures on the slideshow are of more recent work. In the end, my labors are actually heading somewhere.

Every New Day

Five Iron Frenzy's Our Newest Album Ever!

Every New Day

Healing hands of God have mercy on our unclean souls once again.
Jesus Christ, light of the world burning bright within our hearts forever.
Freedom means love without condition,
without a beginning or an end.
Here's my heart, let it be forever Your's,
Only You can make every new day seem so new.

Screwy cycles.

I've been very messed up lately. I don't go to bed till after 2 am, skip breakfast, take noon-ish naps, catch a late lunch, and pass up dinner. My sleeping habits and eating cycles are all wrong. I think it's just laziness for the most part. I end up not wanting to spend time and energy to go eat, and I don't like to sleep when I'm not tired. I'm more tired at noon than in the late night; I guess it goes with being such a night owl. Glad that Luke had to pull an all-nighter tonight. He's keeping me company when I take breaks from watching The Shield and writing blog entries.

Note that my laziness really only goes as far as eating and sleeping. That sounds pretty stupid, but it's sort of true. I will work my butt off on concept designs for my website, or sit for hours on Flash to make a good animation for class. Church is good to go to, and I'll spend time at Bible study and talk theology with my friends. It's strange not giving in to your most basic needs just to go on living. Don't worry, I get by.

Compliment

Collective Soul's Dosage. 

Compliment

And there it goes my innocence
While gathering up a compliment
And here I lie with words to swear
There's something more than
The world out there

No. 1

This is cool. You can look up what the number one song was on the day you were born. Here is a list of people that told me their hit song on their birthday so far. E-mail me to get on this list.

Alisha Hagelberg: Total Eclipse Of The Heart - Bonnie Tyler
Daniel Peckham: Reunited - Peaches & Herb
David Malabuyo: You Haven't Done Nothin' - Stevie Wonder
Dustin Guenther: Every Breath You Take - The Police
Evelyn Malabuyo: The Letter - The Box Tops
Janel Hanna: A View To A Kill - Duran Duran
Joseph Peckham: I Love Rock ‘n Roll - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
Jon Rowley: Down Under - Men at Work
Julia Olson: Physical - Olivia Newton-John
Lem Malabuyo: Beat It - Michael Jackson
Libby Moothart: Every Breath You Take - The Police
Luke Shackelford: Up Where We Belong - Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes
Nollie Malabuyo: Honey - Bobby Goldsboro
Oli Malabuyo: Out Of Touch - Daryl Hall & John Oates
Phil Hagelberg: Every Breath You Take - The Police
Rachel Grady: Total Eclipse of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler
Rachel Malabuyo: I Swear - All 4 One
Randy Bozarth: The Ballard Of Davy Crocket - Bill Hayes
Stacy Mader: Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) - Eurythmics
Tim Malabuyo: Sad Eyes - Robert John

Walk down the right back alley...

The new movie Sin City, based off of Frank Miller's comic of the same title, looks SOOOOO freakin' rad! Everytime I see the trailer, I want to build a time machine to just fast forward one month. Seriously, this could be the best comic book movie made ever.

And no, my excitement for the movie isn't just because of Jessica Alba. Go watch the TRAILER.

P.S. The cast for this movie is amazing!

Eh.

Since I only saw one movie in the Best Picture race (Ray), I couldn't really judge who really should have won Best Actor/Actress, Best Supporting Actor/Actress, Best Director, or even Best Picture. I do have to say that Ray was done very well, and I wouldn't be surprised of the Academy's decision to give him Best Actor was well-picked.

Good moments that I was happy about:

-Best Animated Feature Film went to The Incredibles, screw Shrek 2. (I do think it was a great movie, but not as good as The Incredibles.)

-Best Original Screenplay went to Eternal Sunshine. Hurrah!

-Seeing Dustin Hoffman a little loose on stage.

-Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz together on stage.

Happenings.

Matt flew in from Indiana Friday, so Jane and I went to pick him up at LAX. We then went to Biola because Jane wanted to see what the campus was like, plus she just wanted to get out of the house. That's totally understandable.

So Oli came and hung out with us for a while and gave the two a tour. They met a number of our MK friends, and one of them (Erik Floyd) knew of their friends they knew as missionaries from Peru. Small world, eh? All in all, the Biola visit was pretty laid back, but it was fun. We also went to Glendale to visit Jane's parents, which was enjoyable.

Yesterday I learned the skills and tactics from Super Smash Brothers from the N64 does NOT carry over into Super Smash Brothers Melee from the Ninendo Gamecube. Throwing people is really dumbed down, and jumping has really been sped up. At least for Starfox and Pikachu, you can't rely on throwing. It's all about smash moves now, and Link is freakin' strong. That made me sad. I still did pretty well with my friend as we teamed against level 9 computer enemies. I got the most KOs, but my friend thought he rocked because he got the "wreath" on his name at the victory screen sicne he had the most lives left. I guess that's a legitimate strategy, but they do have a name for that kind of player: Dishonorable wuss. Ha! Take that Daniel.

Finalize.

I was up till 5:30 am this morning working and finishing up my last paper and photo essay. Both are, honestly, works of crap, but that's what happens when you try to think critically at 3 in the morning. I love college life.

Then I woke up at 7:45 to go to class where we had our class debate on whether or not the media is responsible for the moral decline of American society. The teacher called it a draw in the end, which was suprising because I thought we totally got destroyed (we had to defend the media saying that they are not responsible). It's hard to take a side you don't believe in.

But there were some good points brought up like the responsibility of media control is strongly leaned on the parents. Parenting is a very important role in society, and bad parenting leads to destructive effects in the long run. I think that parents must keep in touch with their children and teach them the moral values and the difference between in what is presented on tv, played on the radio, and simulated in video games and how it really is in real life. Of course, it is an ideal situation to have perfectly raised children who will always see the wrong in media entertainment and never act upon them in real life. No doubt there have been situations where children have mimicked what they see on tv.

My teacher did ask a very good question: Since media has such a strong impact on society today (whether negative or positive), shouldn't the media take some responsibility in what they show? Clearly there is a lot of violence and sex on tv and in games. I believe that the media must take some responsibility in what they present to the open public in entertainment (news is a whole different issue), but it is also within the family to keep a steady and good upbringing of children. It is one thing to enter a fantasy world in a tv show where there is violence, but it is another thing to take it to heart and bring it into the real world. Besides, there are shows out there that do not glorify violence, yet depicts how wrong it is to resort to such things. Crime shows like CSI is a good example where homocide takes place and there is serious consequences for it. Shows like 24 fight terrorism for the preservation of innocents and maintain peace and order in our nation.

Anywho, this is really long. It was a hard debate, and there is a lot of research out there that proves media's negative effect on soceity. It was hard to find solid info on its positives. Except they brought up video games in their argument. I hate that because I love video games, but it's so hard to defend it in this context.

After class I went to sleep around 2:30 pm and didn't wake up until 7:30 pm. I woke up in the dark and really confused. I almost went back to sleep thinking I was waiting for the next morning.

Coolio.

In response to Jon.

Matthew 20:16

Yah.

Just finished watching Fargo, which is a pretty good movie. It's a little sick in that there is a lot senseless killing, but hey! it's a murder movie, what do you expect? Although it's done in a rather light-hearted way (it's written and directed by the Coen brothers), so I can see why people have a problem with the flick. To me, it was shot and written and acted very well, though the story is a bit depressing. I guess that's what they were aiming for as well.

I also found it funny that the movie really isn't based on a true story. The Coens just put the "based on a true story" message at the start for effect and to keep audiences in their seats, but the documentary on the film found on the dvd says it really isn't a true story. How funny is that!

One last thing: Hmmm...interesting...

Alright!

I discovered HoldTheButton.com on bubbs, and I decided to push myself to personal glory. I set the record to show how amazing I am at patience and finger strength. Give it a try, but you won't beat my time. I'm the best.

Update: Right after I posted this, I checked again to see if my time was still up there, but some CHUMP decided to work on this six days ago and ended his streak just now. Freaker.

Sound.

So the past weekend was pretty chill. I spent it at Tim and Todd's house playing Halo 2 late into Friday night. I ended up sleeping there and then hanging out all day on Saturday and then spending another night. I felt like a total bum.

But it was so rad because they set up all their electric guitars and bass and hooked up mics and we all jammed. I got to practice bass and learned how to keep a steady beat on the drums. I'm now a decently well-rounded musician. The girls cannot resist me now!

Of course, then I realized that I spent my whole weekend really not doing anything truly productive. Now I only have a week to do my final project that was assigned two months ago. I'm screwed.

I was sad to hear that Maroon 5 got best new artist at the Grammys. Catchy tunes, but man are they overplayed!

A new dynasty.

The 80's belongs to the 49ers, the 90's went to the Cowboys, and the first decade of 2000 belongs to the Patriots. However, I did root for the Eagles since they were the underdog. Much to my astonishment, they didn't play like the underdogs. The Superbowl this year was actually good to watch, and it beat out the commercials. I wasn't impressed with those very much, except maybe the ad for the remake of War of the Worlds, the Diet Pepsi truck, and the one with Brad Pitt running from the media.

Anyhow, it was a great game all the way down to the last minute as the Eagles desperately try to make a comeback. Good stuff. After that I watched Friday Night Lights again, which confirmed my previous thought of the movie being the best sports film of 2004. It was just football galore yesterday! Woo hoo!

Oh yeah, church was good too.

I'm jobless...and they don't care!

One thing I don't like about Brooks (among a number of things) is that they throw a ton of work in our face. I wouldn't mind all the work if it let me commit to other things...like a part-time job. It seems that they don't factor in the time us students need to actually work, unless you work a night shift. I would love to get a job to get some extra cash, but I know I need to use that time shooting or finding things to shoot later. It's a lot of work, and when you're not actually working, you should be researching.

Okay, so I don't really do work nonstop, it's just getting a consistent job would be a huge obstacle if you want to shoot. I may have to find a late night part-time job if I want to actually get some extra money. Otherwise, I will completely live off loan money for the rest of my college education. That sucks.

Healthy -> Necessity

So this morning I went to Economics and watched Super Size Me. Wow. This documentary blows Moore out of the water. Well, to me it does. (Hi, David.) If you haven't seen this movie yet, you really should. It makes you think twice when eating fast food.

In response to this film, I took it upon myself to do exactly what everyone else didn't do after watching it. I drove straight to a McDonald's and ordered a Big Mac meal and enjoyed its "McDonald's goodness" at home while watching Clear and Present Danger. By the way, that was the first time I watched the whole thing all the way through, and that is an awesome movie. Ford is a much better Jack Ryan; Affleck can eat my droppings.

Anyhow, Super Size Me is filled with very useful information. It really does have a lot to do with the economy as well, so that's why we watched it. Obese people really need to get their act together. I don't care how hard it is or if you don't have time. Suck it up and run that mile, and make time you over-worked dum dum. Really, are you that busy?

What shocked me the most was the extra short on McDonald's french fries they put in the special features. Left out for ten weeks and it didn't mold or break down at all. It's so unhealthy and full of bad chemicals that even bacteria and microorganisms don't want to touch it. Oh, well. I still love fries, and I like fast food. We have to admit, eating it once in a while isn't bad. Fast food actually does taste good if you don't have it three times a day. Just make sure you exercise daily...which I'm not doing.

I'm going to run tomorrow.

2004

I finally got on my butt and wrote up my Top 10 movies of 2004. Realize that these are the movies that only I saw last year. Sorry for all the true movie buffs out there who saw the real quality movies that weren’t put out in the box office]. You know…all those indie movies that 75% of Americans never hear about because it was advertised on TV. I love that. Anyhow, here it is:


10. The Terminal – Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks come together again to make a wonderful movie. It’s all taken place in an airport, yet it is entertaining and light-hearted throughout the two hours or whatever it was. I found it interesting the idea of learning all about America through an airport. Brilliant!

09. Friday Night Lights – Amazing sports movie! It was a toss up between this and Miracle for the best sports movie of 2004, and I went with this one. I just like football better than hockey (sorry cousins!), plus this movie seemed to be more than winning for your country or town or state. It had that feeling that life was more than the sport, and it was fun to see a whole town to come to that realization in the movie.

08. The Bourne Supremacy – Yeah, the editing really sucked, but I couldn’t get over the awesome story about a super cool government assassin who wants out. Conspiracies, great fights, and the best car chase ever!

07. Spider-man 2 – So far, this is the best comic movie I’ve seen. The comic feel was truly brought onto the big screen in Spider-man 2. The action was dopeness to the third level, doood. As much as I liked it, I could only put it at No. 7 because, when it comes down to it, the movie is just a comic book movie. Nothing much else to it.

06. Ray – This is the only movie I saw that got the Best Picture nomination in the Academy Awards. That’s too bad, but this movie does deserve it. Jamie Foxx is amazing, and it is a good biography of Ray’s life. The impact he made in our country through his music is extraordinary, and it was done well in this movie.

05. Garden State – I’m glad Natalie Portman totally redeemed herself in this movie after doing those abominations to the Star Wars series. Call me strange, but I really loved this movie. Very eccentric humor - the way I like it! Plus the message of the movie made me want to get off my arse and do something meaningful. Kind of ironic that I’m writing that while I sit here writing up this post.

04. Kill Bill Vol. 2 – Quentin Taratino is an amazing writer and filmographer. I love both these movies, but since the first came out in 2003, I’ll go with this one for 2004. Though the story as a whole is pretty terrible (glorifying bloody revenge and all), it was told extremely well. A very artistic film with action, cool.

03. The Incredibles – The whole Pixar collection is pure gold, The Incredibles does not come short for their newest installment. I watched this movie in the theatres three times. Yes, it’s that good! If Shrek 2 beats out this movie in the Academy Awards, I’m going to murder someone.

02. Collateral – I just realized…I have a lot of movies on this list about trained contract killers. Awesome. Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx was a great match up for this movie, and this movie took action to another level. The world does seem to look as hypocritical as Vincent says; it scares me sometimes.

01. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – This is my favorite movie of 2004 for its brilliance and cleverness. The acting was superb, the story telling was amazing, and the filmography was nothing short of artistic genius. There is nothing wrong with this movie. It is flawless. FLAWLESS!!!!!


So there you have it. For David’s list, go here. Here is a list of the rest of the movies I saw, just to show you how much money I spent in the theatres. What a waste.

50 First Dates, The Alamo, Alexander, Along Came Polly, Around the World in 80 Days, Cinderella Story, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hellboy, Hidalgo, I, Robot, Ju-on: The Grudge, King Arthur, Ladder 49, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Man on Fire, Mean Girls, Miracle, The Passion of the Christ, Saved!, Shark Tale, Shrek 2, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Spartan, Starsky and Hutch, Taking Lives, Troy, Van Helsing, Vanity Fair, Walking Tall, White Chicks, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!

Happy.

This post is a response to David's post on Dobson and his attack on Spongebob Squarepants. I advise you to read that first (along with the article) before tackling this overreaction to what he said. I felt like trying to sound smart today...it goes with the sleep deprivation.

-----------

Though I do understand what you're saying, I also understand why Dobson addressed the issue of SpongeBob. I think targeting Nickelodeon for that show instead of ABC for Desperate Housewives was a smarter move. The age group of kids who love Spongebob wouldn't be interested in wives looking to get some hanky panky, so they wouldn't go out of their way to watch it. Flipping through channels, kids would stop at cartoons, not drama about middle-aged women. They wouldn't get it.

On the other hand, I read the article, and Sponge Bob is probably not the best show to make this point on homosexuality. I don't know much about the story (and I didn't see the video), but it didn't seem like he had strong support to back him up. If I were him, I would have brought up the movie Shark Tale where there is a shark who is different than the rest and doesn't want to eat/kill other fishies. The way it was portrayed had that whole Tolerance Pledge idea in it. Obviously, it never referred to the Tolerance Pledge exactly, but the message was totally thrown in the kids' faces. That's insanely manipulative to tell kids that hey! just because people are wired differently doesn’t mean their bad people…period. It may be somewhat true, but to say that all people who are different are not bad is false. Me being someone from a standpoint of Christian morals and values, that statement is terrible. The movie puts Christians in the wrong. Call me sensitive or paranoid, but the movie was almost an attack on anyone with Christian beliefs on homosexuality.

I think the main point that Dobson was trying to make is that we need to defend our children from such ideas like the Tolerance Pledge makes in the area of homosexuality. Why? Children are our future. Our society and culture is handed down to these people, and it is up to us to teach them and make them understand what is right and what is wrong from God’s perspective; for God’s idea of right and wrong is the absolute. This is a very important issue indeed! Dobson was trying to make the point that cartoons having messages to tell children to accept homosexuality is spiritually degrading for our children.

We shouldn’t tolerate beliefs that support homosexuality. That doesn’t mean that I will avoid gays or spit in their faces when they pass me by, but respectfully help them understand where they are at fault. As Christians, we must try our best to lovingly show them the Way. if we get ridiculed or hated for it, so be it. I would rather know I tried by best discussing this issue with a homosexual and failing than to ignore him and condemn him to hell. I’ll leave the condemning to God.

That’s my two cents.

P.S. Disney owns everything.

Santa Maria.

I am here in a Holiday Inn hanging out with Kuya, Chesney, Daniel, Shawn, and Caleb. I don't really know why we all decided to drive to Santa Maria to hang out with each other, but it's been a fun evening. Applebee's is a good place to eat. Heh.

Also, happy birthday Jon! Twenty-two and going strong. Last night was rockin', and I'm happy that I beat you a couple times in Super Smash Brothers. I'll kick your big, yellow Pickachu ass anyday!

Real World is such a great class! I love it...for the most part. The only drawback are the news quizzes and the fact that I need to go to school tomorrow morning for our make up class. Ewwww! Oh, well. At least I can still go to church right after it's over. Otherwise, I'd be even more upset.

So anyway, things have been good. Good family, good friends, and school is good. God is good. Now I'll just wait for when a bad thing happens and completely destroys my foundations.

kuya tim is so awesome.

But I'm awesomer.

The aftermath.

As anyone living in So Cal knows, it rained here the past week. Not only rained but stormed...bad. Ventura County got it really heavy as well. Major flooding on highways and homes, overflowing of rivers, and a major landslide. It is nice to know that the worst of it is over...I think. I want to give out my sympathy to those who were involved in someway in the La Conchita landslide. You are in my prayers.

Here is a picture of Brooks after the major rains were done.


Totally insane. 

I don't want to sound cold-hearted or anything, but this is just a small nibble of what people are going through in Southeast Asia right now with the tsunami disaster. We can't forget those on the other side of the Pacific, and must encourage those who are helping (both there and here at home) with the tragedies.

I learned on the news just 10 minutes ago about a father and husband helping to search for survivors in La Conchita including his wife and three daughters. I'm unable to even imagine the stress and pressure he is under right now, but I hope that he will accept everyone's deepest love and concern for him and his family.

Prayers to all. God is with us.

Identity.

You Are Beer!

You don't need to get totally wasted when you hit the bars. More of a social drinker, you just like to have fun with your friends. And as long as the beer keeps flowing, you're a happy camper. But don't mix things up: "Beer Before Liquor, Never Been Sicker!"

What alcoholic drink are you?

On Dawson's Creek.

"Our brain's aren't deteriorating, they're slowly losing response to outside stimuli. They're becoming caked with layers and layers of cheese that it's hard to get to them."

-Tim Machlan

Can't...stop...must...stop...

Run Like Mad sung by Jann Arden

My heart is in my hands
My head is in the clouds
My feet have left the ground
My life is turning around and round.
Every voice inside my head is telling me to run like mad
Oh bows and arrows
Stars and sunsets
Hey hey hey yeah
Hey hey hey yeah.
Every heartbeat every kiss just
Makes me wonder what all this is
Suits of armour
Hearts and arrows
Hey hey yeah.

What an insane song! But then again, it's the Dawson's Creek theme song on the fourth season dvd set. Tim and I have proudly memorized it. Even before I looked up the lyrics!

Also, we've had a ton of one thing today. Cheese! It's amazing how much we can have. We've had so much, my brain is slowly deteriorating. In fact, we're still having it. Tim and I have been watching Dawson's Creek all night. Cheese! Pure cheese! We are about to finish the third dvd, which means six more episodes and I have finished the whole season within a span of three days!

Vegetable.

Guess what I did today? I spent most of the day watching dvds of tv shows. Tim and I managed to watch half of the fourth season of DAWSON'S CREEK! Mmmmhmm! Yessir!

We did take a break, though. We had to pick up Rachel from school. On the way there, Tim and I tried to talk like they do in Dawson's Creek. I must say, it's was quite difficult. Amazing that this show was so hot on tv. Over-aged casting, way too intelligent dialogue, terribly unbelievable drama for high school kids. Yet it's so strangely addicting.

I also finished 24: Season Three with my parents. Great show. The most depressing ending out of the three seasons. It's still great, though. Probably the most intense part of the story surpassed anything in the previous seasons. A good watch.

Season Four looks interesting, and I'm glad Dawson's Creek is over. And yet...I can't stop watching the show! It's like heroine without the needles.

First post of the year!

So I gotta make it good!

I think I'll just post a video.

It's dedicated too all the drunks who were pulled over last night. May you never drink and drive ever again.

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