5.31.2005

Reflections of a Weekend IV

Thoughts about Memorial Day weekend 2005.

1. I like camping.
2. We need to honor those who defend our country.
3. Thank you.
4. Sleeping is not conducive to cold and wet weather.
5. It is not a good thing when a tent leaks.
6. We split our softball games on friday night.
7. I didn't do so well.
8. It is fun to surprise people.
9. It is nice to see family.
10. Babies grow a lot in two months.
11. I love campfires.
12. I love playing my guitar around a campfire.
13. Mountain pies and smores.
14. It's all good.
15. The sun is warm.
16. Some people are poor losers.
17. I like spring and fall.
18. Not as much as winter, but I really like them.
19. Going on hikes is fun.
20. Psalm 23 says 'I will not be in want'.
21. It does not say 'I will not want'.
22. Garden State is a good movie and I shall review it sometime.
23. I hate packing to leave.
24. I don't understand relationships.
25. I don't understand women.
26. Thank God for number 25, it's safer that way.
27. Subway's BMT is not as good as many say it is.
28. I need a job.
29. God provides.

5.27.2005

Let God invade you

The title has nothing to do with the post. I just heard it and thought it was a different way to think.

Anyway, to the post at hand. I am here today to review a cd.
The band: Travis
The cd: Singles

Travis is a Scottish band that has been around for about 10 years. Although they have been fairly popular on the other side of the pond, over here in the states, they have only enjoyed moderate success. They have released popular songs like 'Sing', 'Why Does it Always Rain on Me?', and 'Turn'. These have given them the most attention over here. They have released three LPs with 'The Invisible Band' being their biggest. This album is a very good sum of their parts. They have some rockiness to them but mostly just go for acoustic emo rock. Songs like 'Sing', 'Driftwood', 'Flowers in the Winow' show their acoustic side while 'All I wanna do is Rock' and 'Re Offender' show the rocky side. This album is sure to touch up on all sides of their sound.

So if you don't feel like going out and buying three albums of theirs this is a good option. They picked the most popular of their songs, yet made sure to keep a good album going. Props to them and may the United Kingdom again rule the US music world and get rid of all this stupid crap the pop is putting out nowadays.

5.26.2005

American Idol is such a joke

Yes, I am blogging about American Idol. I know very surprising especially for those of you who know my annoyance with it. The reason I am talking about it is that an injustice occurred. I know, it's Idol, who cares. Well here is my issue, Bo Bice was done and Carrie Underwood had won when they were told to sing the same song on Tuesday. I did not watch either of these episodes, but saw clips and read about it.

On Tuesday, both Bo and Carrie were asked to sing the same song "Inside Your Heaven". This was very unfair and a blatant effort to make Carrie the winner over Bo. Songs in general fit different types of voices. There were two big differences between the two contestants: one was gender and two was that Carrie was a country crooner as opposed to Bo's rocker feel. This song was made for a female and a crooner to sing. This was right down Carrie's line and outside of Bo's. While Carrie just had to sing in her comfort zone for this song, Bo had to try to make a song sound great that was opposite of his confort zone. See a problem?

Although I have only watched a couple of episodes of the show ever and probably won't buy a cd of an American Idolist, I wanted to talk about this. They should at least make it fair. I am big for fairness and this was way outside of the realm of fairness. Boo on you, American Idol, boo on you.

5.25.2005

What is the purpose of the church?

Well, last night while dodging rain showers (okay so it didn't rain at all during the games) we played our next games. We lost the first game in extra innings with some atrocious glove play. If yours truly hadn't played one of the worst games of his career in the field we could have won the game. I made at least 5 mistakes. UGGGHHH! The second game we came back and won quite handily. Good stuff. At least we split. At the bat I didn't do too bad going 4 for 7 with a sac fly. I am continuing my play of hitting around .500. That is much better than the .100 I started the season with.

Now for a complete switch, what is the purpose of the church? Is it to bring unbelievers in to show them the awesome message of Jesus Christ's sacrifice? Is it to feed believers by delving into the Word and helping them grow in their faith? Which should the church be going for? You can't do both because they are polar opposites. You can't plunge deep into the Bible and stay on the surface at the same time. So how does it work. I don't know. But it makes a difference when individual churches decide whether or not to be relevant to the world around. It is something to think about.

What is the church about? for? Is it about me? Is it about people? Is it about God? Is it for me? People? God? A combination (for me, about God)? Many thoughts to mull over. I don't know the answers. I have ideas, but don't know.

5.24.2005

The neglected generation

I am going to use this post to respond to a couple of comments from my relfections post. It was about my statement about my genereation being neglected by the church. The better way of putting it would be a neglected stage of life. The stage of life would be young adults, and even more specifically single young adults. The comment came from the fact that my church is currently doing an 8 week series called Family Matters. While this is great for middle age people that are married with kids, it means absolutely nothing to me. The usual argument is that I get to learn for the future. What if God never intends for me to marry? This argument is just an excuse to pacify me anyway. Why not teach on things that every person deals with not certain groups. I don't need to know how to raise my child or love my wife. I am not there yet. I do need to know how to love my fellow man, fight sin, spread God's word, etc. These are things that everyone needs to know.

My age group needs to know other things. How can we most efficiently make the transition from school into the working world where we will be the rest of our lives? How can we be most effectively used by God now in our twenties? But no, we have to listen to messages about loving our children. Everything in most churches is designed for middle age people: the music, the design of the building, the messages, the lack of media being used in the service. Then we have a Sunday School given to us to pacify us. So we get to go to church and be bored and then be perfectly content that we have a sunday school for us.

So you ask, what are the solutions? Well, there are a couple of things. First, churches could think about ceasing to ignore us and try to at least make us feel like a part of the church. But if this doesn't work, we should probably just try to start our own service to meet our needs. A great example of this is a service started by Mclean Bible Church called Frontline. A service deveolped by young adults for young adults. It's more than a sunday school which is awesome.

So, I will continue to be involved in my church and try to change it from the inside to accept young adults. If I can't, maybe I will see if a service can be started and if that doesn't work, maybe I'll start a church with other people that feel the same way. Who knows. I just know this: I want to follow God to the best of my abilities, but the modern church is not helping.

5.23.2005

Reflections of a Weekend III

This past weekend of events:

1. Beautiful weather should be taken advantage of. I didn't as much as I should.
2. StormRunner is a bit of a shock when you haven't been on it in a while.
3. R2D2 kicking droid butt is awesome.
4. You might as well sleep when your dead.
5. Laundry takes too much time.
6. Naps are wonderful, but can waste away beautiful days.
7. The Belmont leg of the Triple Crown is pointless if a horse doesn't win the first two legs.
8. Teenage girls can be really annoying. (No, I am not talking about my sister)
9. The front seat of a roller coaster is better than any other seat.
10. Sometimes it is better to give somebody the thing they really want even if it means creating annoyance for you.
11. I don't care how to really love a child. I don't have any.
12. I am sick of being part of the neglected generation in the church.
13. I may even have to say something to my pastor.
14. I don't like interleague play.
15. As I said before, Star Wars Episode III was a good movie, not a great movie, and certainly not close to the original trilogy.

The problems with Star Wars

I lost my stupid post. Netscape decided to crash on me. GRRRRRR!!!

I was almost done with the review too. Here we go again. Before reading, this review does give away some plot for those who haven't see the movie. You may not want to read further. Many people have talked about how great the movie was. People that participate in this little blog ring that we have even have jumped on the bandwagon with comments like 'within a hairsbreadth of the original trilogy' and "9.5 out of 10'. These people need to rethink especially that second one who was clearly on something when he rated the movie like that.

Here are is my review. My first problem: the storyline was horrible. Lucas had you jumping back and forth everywhere. You never stayed in one place long enough to care. He tried to stuff so many things into the movie that it was too packed. Example: General Grievous. Was he really needed? While he was very cool, he really didn't add anything to the movie plot and took away from other storylines that needed help. He also died quick to imply that he wasn't at all vital to the story. You jumped so much that the characters couldn't be developed full enough.

The dialogue was horrible. Does Lucas know how normal human beings talk to one another? This movie didn't show it. Anakin and Padme? Obi-wan and Anakin? Could it be the acting? Maybe, but even good actors can't do anything with bad lines.

Now a couple of issues with the plot itself. First Padme dying in childbirth. That is completely inconsistent with the original trilogy when Leia talks about remember her mother as a young child. If your mom dies in childbirth, you aren't going to remember her.

Next one. Anakin going to the dark side. Scene: Anakin to Mace Windu. 'Palpatine is the dark Sith lord we are looking for. We need to go get him'. Very next scene. Anakin prevents Windu from killing Palpatine because he now favors Palpatine over Windu. When did this happen? Completely unbelievable. Horrible writing and plot development.

And how about Anaking choking Padme. If he so badly loves her and wants to save here that he is willing to go to the dark side, he wouldn't try to kill her. It makes no sense. The reason he wanted to learn these things, he now will kill? Please.

I have said a lot of bad things about the movie. Let me say some good things. The wookies were awesome. Too bad we couldn't have had them in Episode 6. The effects were very cool and the scenery was done well. The battles and one-on-one fights were awesome. R2D2 kicking some droid butt was rad, man. The one sequence where they switched back and forth in between two fights was awesome. The action in general was very well done. The movie also did not feel like it was long. That is a good thing for a two and a half hour movie. Although I ripped it apart pretty good, I did not think it was a horrible movie. It was a good movie, just not as great as everyone was making it out to be.

I look forward to the comments that will surely rip my review apart. Let it begin...

5.20.2005

Jazz and Coffee

It has been a bit rainy today. It has slowed up in the afternoon but was coming down pretty hard this morning. Even though it has stopped this afternoon, it is still cool and windy. It would be the nicest day to sit next to a nice fire inside with a blanket and read a book. (or doze into napland) I have about five books which I am currently reading although I haven't really read in a while. I need to get better at that.

Since I am at work and have not taken the day off to nap and read, I will go for the next best thing. Jazz and Coffee. I have enjoyed listening to jazz all day. Many of you may know that I have a very eclectic taste in music. One of my loves outside of Brit-rock is jazz. I like the older stuff. Give me Davis, Monk and Coltrane anyday. Jazz is awesome.

As for the coffee side of the title, I also took the chance to get a cup of coffee. I don't eat lunch on my lunch break since I pack. So, many times I run errands or other things on my break. Today after running to the bank, I decided to get some coffee. I went over to Juice & Java (a favorite) and got myself a nice blend. Then I sat down and read my Bible for a bit. It was very nice and relaxing. Now I am just working away and waiting for this time of day to end.

Tonight I get to see Star Wars. I am happy about this and I am sure that it will be in my relfections on Monday. Maybe there will even be a special weekend update. We shall see.

God bless.

5.19.2005

Do you HATE sin?

Think about the things that you don't like. If it's a food, you don't eat it. If it's a person, you stay away from them. If it's a sports team, you root against them. If it's a politician, you do everything thing you can to keep them out of office. The stronger the negative feeling, the more passionate your response.

Do we have this same response to sin? We should do more than just not like sin. We should hate it. I don't know if I do. If you asked me, I would say I do, but do my actions confirm it? I doubt it. We should for ourselves stay away from sin like it is the plague. What do we do? We hang around to see if it will bite us. We see how close we can get to the fire without getting burned. Maybe our reaction should be a little more passionate against sin. We should do everything that we can to root it out of our lives.

Just something to think about. I know I am.

I hate computers

Why can't computers work like they are supposed to? Did I do something to them in my former life? I guess I am more annoyed at the internet. I was trying to order some cds online through BMG. Their website has not been working correctly over the past couple of days. I finally got my order through today and went to look at my order history. I found out that the order I made had been made two days ago. I never had gotten a confirmation page or order. Due to the lovely internet, nobody wants to talk to you anymore. There are no phone numbers listed on the bmg website. That is really annoying. I emailed them through their fill out page. Who knows if they will do anything. Right now I have eight cds coming to me and four are duplicates. So annoying.

Another annoying thing. Why do websites think that they can install anything on your computer without telling you. Then you get those stupid search bars and ad destroyers. Then they just slowly degrade your computer to pure crap. These people that run the sites are pure scum.

As you can tell, I have been a bit annoyed today. I should get off my soapbox before I talk about more stuff.

5.18.2005

2-6 can still be fun

Last night the dear softball team, West Shore Blue played again. We lost both games although they were very close. We have some players out for the first bit of the season and they seem, from what I hear, to be some of our best. Hopefully that will help us to turn this around. We are losing close ones which is encouraging. We just need to start winning them. Yours truly has continued to hit better, but not fantastically yet. I am still waiting for my first multi-base hit. I also am tired of playing catcher. I am glad I get to play but would enjoy myself much more in the field. Oh well. I shall count my blessings.

In other news, I wanted to remind everyone that Baltimore is still in first place in the American League East Division. This is a surprise to me, but they are proving that they can actually play and may keep the good play up for a bit longer.

Where is your heart? Are you too distracted or busy to concentrate on Jesus? Matthew 15 says, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” Do you think that because you are busy doing things for God that you don't have to spend as much time with Him? I know that I do sometimes. Just something to think about.


5.17.2005

Reflections of a Weekend II

Last weekend was an extremely busy weekend. So busy that it continued right into Monday. So here are some reflections.

1. German food is good.
2. Being busy makes one tired.
3. God is good.
4. Our church finally opened a year after it was supposed to. Refer to number 3.
5. We need to be willing to let God use us however He wants to.
6. Stuart Scott is awesome
7. Carrots do not suffice for lunch. Pizza does.
8. 'Kingdom of Heaven' is a good movie, not a great movie, but still a good movie.
9. Orlando Bloom isn't always a fairy.
10. The turnpike is nice to drive.
11. I love my family.
12. The Macaroni Grill kicks the Olive Garden's butt. Now that we have one in the 'burg, I don't care if I ever go to Olive Garden again.
13. Chic-Fil-A rocks.
14. I am a procrastinator.
15. I don't like getting up early.
16. I like Monty Python.
17. Pizza suffices for dinner too.
18. God, please bless our new building and help us use it to make a real impact for You in our community and around the world.
19. It is cool to hear older people talk about their life experiences, especially their childhood.
20. I wanted to see if I could make it to this number. Now I am completed.

5.13.2005

We Won!!

Well the softball team is out of the losing column now. We won both of our games last night for a wonderful time. We didn't even have to go the full games as we ten-runned the other team in both games. Yours truly took the game as an opportunity to break out of his slump. I went 4 for 7 last night. That brought my average up from a lowly .100 to .294. WOOHOO! I still need much work, but is was nice to do better. All in all a very enjoyable time. Next game Tuesday.

I want to add to my comments yesterday. Although I am not a fan of Man U, the cool thing about them is that they are publicly traded. That means that fans can own stock in their favorite club. Mr. Glazer intends to take the team off the market and solely own them. The cool thing about the Green Bay Packers over here in the states is that they are owned by the fans. Somebody correctly commented that my team, Chelsea, is owned by a Russian. So it does seem a bit hypocritical to want Man U owned by Brits. First off, props to whomever made that comment. You showed yourself to be very educated and put a very valid hole in my opinion. I guess my frustration was more out of the fact that Mr. Glazer just wants to make money and doesn't care about the team. It's the American greed that bothers me. Not that it isn't anywhere else in the world, it just seems more prevalent in the US. For more information on this topic, check out BBC Sports.

5.12.2005

American ego at work

I am not an expert, but shouldn't a Brit own a British soccer team? Well due to the American capitalistic way, Malcolm Glazer who owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is trying to take control of Manchester United. Read more here. There is just something wrong about this.

5.11.2005

I got wrecked

Last night I was playing a game with some friends. Due to less than honorable actions of a certain person to remain nameless, I got crashed out of the race. Evidently the ruling authorities are looking into this incident and thinking about levying some fines to the individual and his team. They are even talking about suspension. Nonetheless, I hope the dude gets his due. Meanwhile, I am plotting my revenge.

Do we act in love to everyone? As Christians, we are called to act like Jesus. He showed love to everybody. Do we? I think we can tend to judge before we love. I know I do sometimes. This is not the way I should act. Just something to think about. If anybody reads this that does not know me, the two paragraphs are not related. The first paragraph is just some fun between friends. The second paragraph is serious.

5.10.2005

This could be a loooooooooooooong season

So here is your softball update for last evening. This game was against West Shore's other 'A' division team: West Shore Red. After last night's events we are now 0-4. 16-6 and 13-7. And yours truly. I really stink. I can't hit the barn side of a broad. Oh well. I need to learn how to just have fun. I have a distinct problem with being way too competitive. It comes out in me being very hard on myself and getting ticked off at myself. Not good. I just need to enjoy myself no matter how bad I am. And believe me I am. Does .100 mean anything to you? Yup 1-10. I have gotten on base a couple times each game, but that is through errors or fielder's choice. Not hits. I guess softball is just not my gifting.

What is? (another time, another blog)

5.09.2005

Reflections of a Weekend

Since I don't usually blog over the weekend, this may become a repeating feature. I haven't decided yet, but maybe. So here we go.

1. Hersheypark open and StormRunner down. Surprise, Surprise.

2. Friends are good things. Especially on weekends when you stay up way too late hanging out with them.

3. Family is even better. I spent Saturday and Sunday with my family. I always want to stay with my family a bit longer.

4. Mothers are incredible people. I am amazed how much my mom gave up for me. The closest thing to unconditional on this earth. Mother's day caused me to reflect on this.

5. I am a Gen Xer. I don't really know what this means but I am.

6. I am glad that I am not a woman.

7. Traffic jams are different in Lancaster County, PA than anywhere else. I ran into two on Saturday. One, for a garbage dump. Two, because of Amish buggies.

8. I like coffee. I don't like Starbucks coffee.

9. I always want the weekend to last longer than it does. Oh well.

10. Hiking in sandles does not necessarily work very well. I suggest actual shoes that won't fall off of your feet.

11. You ever noticed that most comedy skits involving a couple have two things. A stupid man and an always-right woman. Man am I glad that the world isn't that way.

5.05.2005

Maybe Al Gore DID invent the internet

Check it out.

Cinco de Mayo

First off, Hersheypark opens tomorrow. And I am going. WOOHOO! As like last year, I got my season pass again. What a deal. For $100 I can go whenever I want and pay no admission or parking. That is basically the price of 2 admissions and parking.

Congrats to them Mexcians for winning on this grand day and giving everyone another excuse to get drunk. THIS BLOG DOES NOT SUGGEST THAT ANYONE GET DRUNIK. ONLY AT THE LUDICROUSOSITY OF PEOPLE USING ANY REASON THEY CAN TO GET DRUNK.

I need to respond to some comments so here we go.
1. the Vols suck. There I feel better now.

2. If liking Gordon is jumping on a bandwagon, than why does everybody else dislike him. If he was a bandwagon guy, then people wouldn't be throwing beer cans onto tracks just because he won a race. And their poor little daddy's boy, dale jr. lost. Legitimately I might add. Also if he was a bandwagon guy, I wouldn't get harassed every time I admit to liking him. Did he used to be a bandwagon guy? Yes. Is he now? No.

If any of you did not like those reponses, then I have a good one for you.
YOUR MOM!!

5.04.2005

My Allegiances

I figured that for this post I would list out who has my loyalty for a plethora of sports. Not pinatas, sports. So here we go.

NFL
Baltimore Ravens
MLB
Baltimore Orioles
NBA
Philadelphia 76ers
NHL
Philadelphia Flyers
MLS
DC United
NASCAR
Jeff Gordon
College Football
Penn State University Nittany Lions
Men's College Basketball
Univerity of Maryland Terrapins
Women's College Basketball
University of Connecticut Huskies
English Premier League
Chelsea FC
UEFA Champions League
Bayern Munich

I don't believe I forgot any. Let the heckling begin.

5.03.2005

0-2 is not a good start

Well, greetings. For the next three months, you will get to hear about the highs and lows of the West Shore E-Free Blue softball team. That is because I am on that such team. No, I am not the water boy. Last night was the start of the season. We started against CLA gray. We lost the first game pretty good. The second game we should have won, but alas could not hold our lead. We lost by one run in the dark. Yours truly had a couple of hits, but cannot remember exactly how many that was. Either way, a paltry batting average right now. To follow the blue team and other WSEFC teams, go here.

The AIDS issue in Africa is huge. Being over here in the USA may make it feel like we can't really do anything. Well, here is a local organization that is affecting the problem in Zimbabwe. If you called to get involved, here is a great chance. For future reference check them out under my links.

5.02.2005

In the world or of the world

Friday night I went and saw a play at Messiah called 'Summertree'. It was about a soldier who dies during the Vietnam War. The play itself was okay, but I had one very big problem with it. It had a good bit of language. It had the 'f' word, the 's' word and many 'G-d's. Is it appropriate for a Messiah college production to contain such things. I would say 'no'. This was a play that was done by Messiah students. Messiah was promoting this content in promoting the play. The college should promote clean productions and not allow such things to be performed and sanctioned by a 'Christian' college. They won't allow students that are of the age of 21 to drink off-campus, but they allow this. Where is the consistency? There was not even a warning that the play would contain this content. One alumni even remarked that an actor got to swear at Messiah and get applauded for it. Isn't that a dangerous line of thinking, yet what is promoted by Messiah. Just some thoughts.