Endless Beauty.

I used to think it was possible to define beauty, to look at it and experience it, in a picture, a book or a painting, but... do we really feel it?

True beauty is felt and experienced, it invokes something that is much more refined, and purer than our coarse means of obtaining it.

Have you ever seen pictures of fireworks?

No matter how high in quality a photo is, no matter how many explosions it captures, no matter how many colours, it can't capture the essence of the moment... The whining siren-like noises upon the firework's assent, the large pop followed by lights radiating from a single focal point, enlarging in shape and beauty before its inevitable demise. Such is life.

I don't know what's more futile, to try to capture these moments and label it as beautiful or to chase beauty to the end's of the earth without realizing the beauty around us. Just remember, you and me, we all contribute to this picture of endless beauty.

Daily Planet

I learned two things from Daily Planet on Discovery Channel today. One of them is awkward and the other is intriguing. The first segment was about elephants. So we all know that elephants are an endangered species, but there's this one area in Africa where the Bull Elephants were causing major damage. So they invented a new technique to quell them. No.. they didn't shoot them, they did something much worse. They invented the elephant vasectomy! First thing.. I would never want to see the nads of a gigantic elephant, second I wouldn't want to snip another fellow male.

The second one was about a bit of research about yawning. Have you ever had a yawn come on after someone else in the room just finished theirs? There have been a chunk of theories about why we yawn, spawning from... empathy of the species, an indication for the group to gather energy for a big move, or indicate time to sleep to the tribe. Whatever the case is, it's shown that not only do humans experience the yawn reciprocation but that dogs yawn also! Next time you have an urge to yawn try it out!! Yawn @ a dog and in a few minutes they'll yawn back. Or so the research said... 21 out of 25 dogs did in their trial. You tell me how many times it takes you. haha have fun!

Turbulent Times

It's times like these I like to know that no one really reads this blog. Things are more personal this way and the things I write I know will only be read by close friends or people I'd confide in.

This weekend I was told firsthand about the state of affairs in china. There are these children there, called left-behind children, who tend to their daily affairs themselves because their parents are off in another province working. Uncle Patrick told me about this, if you don't know who he is then it doesn't matter. What matters is the life of these children. They are malnourished. When asked what they eat, they reply "noodles and sweet potatoes". There was this one child living in a one room house with his younger brother. He is severely malnourished and as a result suffers from stunted growth. Him and his brother are both in grade 4, but they are not of the same age. This older brother shoulders the burden of taking care of his younger sibling, cooking, cleaning and acting as a stand-in parent. The poverty is so severe that the parents are reluctant to pay 10 yuan ($1.75) bus fare needed to visit their children, instead only sparing this amount once a month. Such is the degree of our world.

Just today my friend's friend died. He fell of a bridge while drunk. I know... wtf. I really don't know how to make sense of what happens in this world. Must we face death to feel alive? Must we grieve to feel human? It feels like being retched from my automaton studying life and thrust back into real life, with real problems. This detachment, and helplessness. When I really want to be there for someone why is it done through the internet. How I want to make things right in the world.

Enough of my rants... I just feel empty.

Assuming too much

Sometimes you just think that people are smarter then you imagine them to be. More on top of things and can handle themselves on their own. Then you're pleasantly surprised when you need to drag their hides out of the fire after they burn the town down...

O the joys of people... you love them and then you want to bash their brains outs

The Place with No Name

you gotta give it to the man with the lyrical wit
his rhymes so tight every time that he spit
it's legit so right he don't talk about tits
cuz it's the stuff in his mind that makes him famous
and all ya'll out there seem to be grasping @ straws,
take a moment, listen the stuff he's rasping so raw
is it on sex, on drugs, on money and fears? nah
it's about life and hope on wisdom and tears
it's about spending the life scrapping on by
but listening to the ppl telling ya aim for the sky,
hearing them tell you to follow your dreams
but turn around and tell you your dreams are obscene
and there's no way you can do what you set out to do
you wish you got the ability to make that come true
but keep your head about you, without a doubt,
cuz it's trusting that everything will work itself out
it's nose to the grindstone but just for today
work for the money that'll you get paid,
but look to the dreams of your later days,
cuz it ain't worth working just to be paid
but it's payment to do your God given work,
you love what you do and the fulfillment's berzerk


and so now,
your mind's inspired and your losing your breath
your brains enlightened, the clouds have left
and you sit back and ya think now how can this be
why can't no-body see what i see
what don't someone else aim where i aim
far past the reaches of sky where the place has no name
cuz aiming for the sky seems dandy but plain
i'm gonna soar past the sky, past them aeroplanes
Aim past the sky, friend, do your research
know that you're more than you think that you're worth
And once you get there and established your fame
put your name in lights in the place with no name.

Back Up 'n' Running!

Hey y'all I'm back. And for all those that didn't know I didn't have the time to write in this thing this summer cuz of all the busy busy I've been doing. Interning @ church is mad crazy y'all. They got me planning a whole load of stuff but in the end it was awesome. People had my back and things turned out pretty dandy. Can't remember jack about it but I know it was good. I could list a few things I did. It started with:

- Remix
- Datings Ins and Outs (http://datinginsandouts.com/)
- Teens Camp
- Worship Team
- CCSA softball
- Men's Camp
- Men's Small Group
- Small Group
- Urban Promise
- University BBQ
- Gideon

Yea.. the order is wrong but that was a chunk of what I had to do. There were other things on top of this but I can't remember it now.

Interesting fact: the hypothalamus governs the stress receptors as well and also has some function over memory. Therefore as the stress levels increase and you're coping with the stress your memory levels decrease due to the lack of resources in your hypothalamus.

Now that the science lesson is done. I was going to talk about my first week of school. But all it'd account for is me complaining about falling asleep and waking up hitting my head on a metal corner or having to resort to a pen to prop my head up (a seriously hurtful process).

I'd like to open up another can of gripe and interesting observations but I got me some science articles to read :) GOOOOOoo SCIENCE!!

Orange

When I grow older and have enough power and sway to invent words, I will coin a word that rhymes with orange. So that when my child (or children everywhere) is/are playing rhyming games they won't get stuck when someone ends a sentence with orange, thanks to me! :)

What can you do?

What can you do if:

- you're walking around and your shoelace snaps?
- you get splashed by a bus
- you step in poo
- your alarm clock fails
- you hurt someone really bad, but can't make up because they won't talk to you anymore


... I think you learn a little from each experience...

but if I had it all back I'd bring extra laces, have waterproof pants, odour-proof shoes, a failsafe alarm and a lotta bit more love.

Unfulfilled Dreams

I was going to be selfish today and write about my own unfulfilled dreams. But I though about it and hell I ain't dead and buried yet, so it ain't over for me.

So I'll write about a dude that wanted to become a famous painter, but never really became one. I'm pretty sure he wanted to have his paintings huge in an art gallery or an exhibit. Or maybe he didn't... and just painted for himself. Heck if I know.

What I do know is dude never became famous as a painter though.

Isn't it sad?

If only we all could achieve the dreams and ambitions of our youth.

So if you haven't yet, take a look @ the lower left-hand corner. Then remember to encourage the dreams of others, instead of focusing on progress, production and work.

Sesame

In our daily likes we can come into encounter with a lot of seeds: apple seeds, watermelon seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds, tomato seeds etc. I know what poppies are, I know what sunflowers are, I know what tomatoes are. But what the heck are sesames? I decided today that I would pay the sesames the respect of knowing what they are before I ingest their un-sprouted children, maybe you should do the same.

Bible Verse

Exodus 19:3b-6

"This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you ^[a] will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."

This passage speaks to me. God himself declared that out of all the people in the world he specifically picked Israel to be his designated nation. He provided for them and called them his treasured possession. He granted everything to them, everywhere, touched or untouched by human contact, was offered to them.

God personally guided this nation out of Egypt, granted his deliverance on them, fastened his all seeing eyes upon them. He carried them on His back and dealt with all the opposition the little nomadic tribe encountered. God was the pillar for those who traveled and wandered with the wind.

Follow your nose!

I don't know if it's just me, but it seems that girls smell a whole lot nicer when I'm hungry.

hahaha I know it sounds strange but I got no beef with it (pun intended).

Which leads me to wonder if it's the same way for girls, or anyone else for that matter?