The Ranting Robot

Preview of My Book

2011-12-06T12:42:00.001-08:00

Remember this moment, the moment you read the first chapter of my failed novel titled:

The Duck with the Gun in the Room of How the Moon Exploded

Chapter 1

As i look out my window, swarms of star fish fly past me in a flurry of green and white. I hate star fish, they look like something you leave in a toilet after you’ve had a bad burrito at some Mexican joint with a rat as a mascot. That reminds me, i need to take a dump.

I hate having to hold it in during flights. They don’t want us getting up and walking around while the rockets blast us at 17,580 miles an hour, stupid rule if you ask me. They don’t know what its like to be dropping crap-bombs everywhere as you try to squirm in your chair holding back the prairie dog itching to be free as it pokes its little head out; reminds me of the mines. I hate the mines even more than i hate star fish and i really hate starfish.

Buddy died in the mines. Buddy was good to me. We had lunch together a couple times. He even lent me a smoke once. God knows how impossible it is to smuggle smokes to the moon with their “clean air laws” crap. He never spoke much to me, the best kind of friend a man could ask for. I wish i knew his real name.

That was the final straw for me. Buddy was the only thing keeping me going on that God-forsaken rock. I hate that rock. I hate it almost as much as i hate home. But i have to go home now, it’s the only way i can stand to live another day. I haven’t been back in ages, feels like forever, but my passport says 10 years. I took advantage of Buddy kicking the bucket to take a personal leave of absence. I had to get out of there. Even a little while back on earth is worth it, no matter how much i hate it.

I still can’t get over the last thing Buddy said to me before he croaked.
“You’re on my foot”
Kinda makes me wonder if he was trying to tell me something.

As i squirm in my seat to contain the beast in my belly from escaping I hear someone give an announcement over the loudspeaker. That’s strange. They never use the loudspeaker system unless there is an extreme emergency. I normally ignore anything loud or directed towards me, but this seems important so I’ll give it a chance.
“...we are not sure of the details of how it happened and we will be sure to inform you as soon as we hear anything else but for now all we know is that the moon HAS been destroyed.”
Great... there goes my job.

Something for the Bucket list

2011-11-01T08:26:00.000-07:00

I'm doing it! I'm going to try and write a 50,000 word novel (that's around 200 pages for those of you keeping track) by the end of the month of November!

All in response to a challenge.
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

for those of you who don't like being tricked into clicking on links go here and read all about the challenge:
www.nanowrimo.org/

Search for my username: wwnormando
and read the synopsis to my novel

Adventure is...

2010-04-08T21:15:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 16:9 (New International Version)

In his heart a man plans his course,
but the LORD determines his steps.

In light of this verse we can come to 2 conclusions (that i see):
1. Man must dream, desire, then set personal goals in life.
2. No matter what the dreams, desires, and goals man sets, God will ultimately decide the path man will take.

A man can plan for every detail on the way to his goals, but God will get him there His way in His timing

I recently had this revelation about goals:

Adventure is the path we take while on our way to our goals and dreams.

Thus we can come to the conclusion that life is an adventure when we are heading towards our goals/dreams and God is in control of our adventure.

Live it up.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADVENTURE!!!

Think About It

2010-04-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

"An illiterate society can survive, but a thoroughly antisocial society cannot. Until recently the family was the principal school of socialization for the new-born human animals, rendering them fit for social life. At present this vital mission is performed less and less by the family."
-Pitirim A. Sorokin, Harvard sociologist

He stated this in 1948 when he saw the divorce rate in America sharply increase to 25%. I think he would have fainted to see this: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/peo_div_rat-people-divorce-rate

My Favorite Movies

2010-03-12T13:06:00.000-08:00

There are movies that hit us hard, they grab our insides and shake us from our core.
There are movies that make us laugh so hard tears begin to stream down our face.
There are movies that are so deep we find ourselves quoting their lines for the rest of our lives.
There are movies that make us cringe and bring back childhood nightmares.
There are movies that are so stupid we can literally track the downwards spiral of our IQ as we sit there in disbelief.
There are movies that inspire us to be greater and dream.
There are movies that inspire us to shy away from an evil world.
There are movies that will have you rooting for the good guy only to find out they turn into the bad guy.
There are movies you will hate.
There are movies you will love.
There are movies you can't decide whether to hate or love.
There are movies you feel a deep connection to because they bring back memories of a lost friend or family member.
There are movies that make you smile as your remember your first date.

There are all kinds of movies and I thought I would share some of my favorites. I have attempted to place them in an order which places my all time favorites at the top but it is turning out to be impossible. Enjoy!

Norman's Top Ten Greatest Movies of All Time: (and the other ones because I couldn't keep the list to just 10)

1. Lord of the Rings (Return of the King, Fellowship of the Ring, then Two Towers)
2. Cast Away
3. The Count of Monte Cristo
4. The Dark Knight
5. Gladiator
6. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
7. Up (Hats off to Pixar. They have yet to fail to make a top notch movie)
8. Star Wars (IV: A New Hope, V: The Empire Strikes Back, VI: Return of the Jedi, I: The Phantom Menace, III: Revenge of the Sith, II: Attack of the Clones)
9. Equilibrium
10. *(Everything with an asterisk belongs on this position)
* Robin Hood (the classic Disney one)
* The Shawshank Redemption
* Identity
* The Truman Show
* Elf
* Fantastic Mr. Fox
* The Princess Bride
* Les Miserables
* Cinderella Man
* I Am Legend
* Saving Private Ryan
* Toy Story (The entire series is amazing. I can't wait for number 3!)
* Water World (I get made fun of for liking this one but I don't care. I think the concept is great)
* The Sandlot
* Forrest Gump
* It's a Wonderful Life
* Meet Joe Black
* The Good Son (Macaulay Culkin at his best. This movie reminded me a lot of one of my favorite books: Ender's Game)
* Milo and Otis (a classic for anyone who has ever had pets)
* The Spanish Prisoner (If you have not seen this movie, you must watch it!)
* Memento
* The Incredibles
* The Pianist
* Peter Pan
* The Book of Eli

* Braveheart

* Batman Begins

* Wallace and Gromit (All of them. You have to love awesome claymation)

* The Last Samurai

* The Matrix (only the first one because the rest sucked)

* 3:10 to Yuma
* Gattica
* Monty Python and the Holy Grail
* Space Balls
* Pirates of the Caribbean The Curse of the Black Pearl (The other ones sucked)
* Napoleon Dynomite (an example of something stupid, yet funny)
* Free Willy (the only reason this is on the list is because I was obsessed with it as a kid)

If you have not seen any movie on this list I highly recommend that you do, you will not be disappointed. If you notice there is a trend on the list that goes: Adventure movies, Westerns, and Christian Bale.

What did you think of the list? What are your favorite movies? Comment.

Father and son

2009-12-01T18:50:00.000-08:00

I was listening to itunes on shuffle and found a song that I had no idea was in my library. Funny how that happens a lot... But I thought the lyrics were funny so I decided to look it up. Turns out its not so funny, its deep. Read on:

Father and Son Lyrics
Artist(Band):Cat Stevens

Father
It's not time to make a change,
Just relax, take it easy.
You're still young, that's your fault,
There's so much you have to know.
Find a girl, settle down,
If you want you can marry.
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy.

I was once like you are now, and I know that it's not easy,
To be calm when you've found something going on.
But take your time, think a lot,
Why, think of everything you've got.
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not.

Son
How can I try to explain, when I do he turns away again.
It's always been the same, same old story.
From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen.
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.

Father
It's not time to make a change,
Just sit down, take it slowly.
You're still young, that's your fault,
There's so much you have to go through.
Find a girl, settle down,
if you want you can marry.
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy.
(Son-- Away Away Away, I know I have to
Make this decision alone - no)
Son
All the times that I cried, keeping all the things I knew inside,
It's hard, but it's harder to ignore it.
If they were right, I'd agree, but it's them They know not me.
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.
(Father-- Stay Stay Stay, Why must you go and
make this decision alone?)

Use Your Head Dummy

2009-11-14T11:12:00.000-08:00

"Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow."
Colossians 2:18-19

What's that? The Bible says to use your head!? Why do so many Christians forget this?

Spam Art

2009-09-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

I used to visit a website that made me laugh a lot. The creator, Steven Frank, came up with the idea of creating artwork based off of the subject lines of spam messages he received in his email. He called it: "Poorly-drawn cartoons inspired by actual spam subject lines!" It was creative, unique, and funny all at the same time.

I was inspired to create my own a while ago and i recently found the picture again. I wanted to share them because I think they are funny. Its a good idea and i think more people should do it.

Just so you know, i used paint because thats all i know how to use. Enjoy!

FLIRT ALERT

SOMETIMES ITS BETTER TO SAY NO

NEWS DET RUCK

I'M WINKING BACK AT YOU (i don't know if you can see it but that turtle is winking)

HEY

TICKET MONSTER

San Diego Comic-Con 2009 Pictures and Stories

2009-07-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

There is a question that begs to be answered...
It is a decision we must all face in life...
Your answer defines your role in society, it solidifies your place in history, and it determines your living legend. That question is:
"Hey, are you going to comic-con this year?"
My answer was, "eh... sure!"

Thus began our journey. Derrick, David, Jason, Kyle and I all packed into a car and drove out to San Diego to experience our first Comic-con ever. We had never been before so we had no idea what to expect. I had seen pictures from Comic-cons before so the whole way there I was expecting to walk into nerd heaven, and in a way, I did.

By the time we hopped on the tram to the convention center we knew something was going to be different... Probably seeing this guy on the tram gave that away

While walking towards the convention center we saw a lot more people in costume and each one made us laugh a little harder. (You can click on each picture to view it in a larger format)

But by the end of the day we had seen so many different costumes it became harder to notice people NOT in costume.

Some were really good:
Mr. Freeze

From Batman the Animated Adventures

The Monarch

From Venture Brothers

Brobe

From Yo Gabba Gabba

Katamari Damacy

From the game Katamari Damacy

Ratchet, who looks like he is checking out that kid in front of him

from Ratchet and Clank the video game series

Darth Maul

And a ton of other Star Wars characters:

There were a lot of celebrities walking around the convention floor but if you didn't recognize their faces you missed out.

Thomas Jane was there

Who has done numerous movies but my favorite is the Punisher

Lou Ferrigno was there

from the Hulk TV series

A lot of the costumes were terrible... stuff that would give you nightmares if you saw them... I didn't take any pictures of those ones for obvious reasons, but I did take pictures of some pretty funny stuff:

Practicing my peda-smile

I love the guy's horns on the right

We were making fun of these Star Wars models for the longest time. It just looks so unlike Darth Vader to be posing like that. "Hey guys, lets win this one okay? Go TEAAAAAAM!"

This was my favorite picture. These two ladies were posing as they were "coming out of the stargate" and I just happened to capture this magical moment that will live on forever as one of my fondest memories of comic-con

An Adam West version of Batman

You know you've got it bad when you can't even take off your mask to eat

Kratos looks like he rolled around in chalk

From god of war video game series

Nite Owl

From Watchmen

Wario and Mario

Starbuck's Cylons

From Battlestar Galactica

Klingons

Superman

I had to get a picture of this kid. I especially love his pose. The blood-stained apron is a nice touch. This guy is my hero

This is one of my favorites, not for the girl in the costume, but for the creepy guy in the back right. Take a chance to look at his face and you will laugh. Guaranteed.

All in all it was a very interesting experience. It was fun but I don't think I'll be going back next year. I've had my fill of blistered feet and costumed people to last a long time...

Hero

2009-06-17T01:59:00.000-07:00

I found this definition of what a hero is by John McCain and I had to post it. It is probably the best definition of a hero that I have ever heard. Enjoy:

Sen. John McCain
Vietnam war veteran

What is a hero to me? As memorable as such things are it’s not heroic to hit a two run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, when your team is down a run. Heroism is another, rarer order of human endeavor than the most storied achievements of skill, fortitude and intelligence; rarer even than a show of courage. For heroism must have as its object something other than success, reward, renown. It must, at least for a moment, overcome the strongest instincts of human nature and value someone or some virtue more than self-interest. Heroism risks self-interest for the sake of that other value. Even the instinct for self-preservation cannot constrain it. We are born with one nature, selfish and acquisitive, and we build our second nature, our character. Selflessness is the highest quality of a well built character. Heroism is its purest expression. And love is its cause.

Big News

2009-06-12T03:06:00.000-07:00

In the course of these past two years I have gone through a lot: jobless, bankrupt, in debt, out of debt, working a graveyard shift, lost weight, got pale, became depressed from lack of sun, gained weight, then caught hold of a dream and never let go. Through this entire process God has sustained me and given me the hope and will to endure. If there is one word that I have come to better understand through the course of these two years, it is the word endurance. I have endured and now I can triumphantly say I have conquered this mountain.

After two years of waiting and praying, today I am officially accepted into the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers). I am now an apprentice in the Electrician's Union!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

I can't tell you how happy and blessed I am to have this opportunity. It still all seems surreal to me. It is as if a man who has been starving in a desert, parched and desperate for food and water, finally stumbles upon a feast and his brain cannot fully process how wonderful the food which lays before his eyes truly is. There is a feast before me and I am very happy!

Thank you to all the friends and family who have supported me through the years with prayers and words of encouragement. They will not be forgotten. I love you all very much.

May we not lose sight of our hopes and dreams, even when they seem hopeless. Let us run with ENDURANCE the race that is set before us!

Hotel Tips From a Hotel Employee

2009-05-16T01:39:00.000-07:00

At least everyone has stayed in a hotel at some point in their lives. Whether it was a five star hotel or a roach motel, everyone can gain from some helpful hints to make their stay more enjoyable. My goal is to inform you, the hotel guest, about some of the "secret" tips and benefits every hotel offers.

I am an employee of the world's largest hotel chain, I'm not going to tell you what company or which location because I don't want to get in trouble (Best Western in Anaheim but don't tell anyone). And in case you are wondering, No, the hotel in the picture is not the one I work at so I can't hook you up. Sorry. Now that we have that out of the way, we can get straight to the good stuff:

1. Every hotel accepts some sort of third party rate.
It doesn't matter if it is the worst hotel in the world or the best, they all accept a third party rate. AAA, Costco, AARP, Military, Government, Senior, etc... They will almost always accept these. When making your reservation, remember this and make sure you ask about AAA or Costco or any other membership you have. Some memberships give you a better discount so make sure you are asking about which one gives you the best deal. I can't tell you how many times I have had people forget to ask this and not receive a discount for it. YOU have to ask about it, they won't mention it to you so you will have to ask about it.

2. Ask about special deals for entertainment around the hotel's location.
Local businesses love it when a lot of people stay at a hotel in the area because that means they will get more customers. It is a mutually beneficial relationship to everyone. Local businesses love it so much that they even give the hotel a bunch of coupons and free stuff to give out to their guests. Did you hear that!? Free stuff for you! All you have to do is ask for it. We have a drawer full of coupons and junk that we hand out to people whenever they ask about it. Free appetizers, VIP cards, discounts, coupons, etc... You'd be surprised at some of the cool stuff you can get when you just ask for it.
Also, some hotels offer deals only over the phone. We were selling Disney tickets to adults at the children's price as a special promotion for a while, but it was only when they asked about it over the phone. Don't be afraid to ask questions about deals.

3. You can usually check in to your room early and check out late FOR FREE!
Say your check in time is at 3pm, no problem, hotels usually allow you to check into your hotel room when it is ready which can be as early as 11am! 4 hours early! Or even earlier in some cases. The key to this lies in 3 very important things: your timing, your attitude, and your persistance. Don't expect to get a room at 7am. That will almost never happen. (I say almost because you might be lucky and get some idiot working at the front desk who is new and has no idea about the hotel's policies) Remember that checking into a room early is only possible because the person you are talking to in the front desk is doing you a favor. They don't have to do this for you, in fact, they are usually told not to do this, but they will stick their neck out for you if you remember the three important rules.
I once had a lady trying to check in at 8am and when she was informed that check in was at 3pm (just like every hotel around) she proceeded to cuss out the front desk clerk and cause a scene. No way was this lady checking in early! All she needed to do was change her attitude and she probably would have been able to check in early. This is what the situation would have looked like: "Is there any way I can get an early check in?" "No, I'm sorry Ma'am. Check in is at 3pm but I can pre-register you if you like." "Alright" (30 minutes later) "Can I check in now? Is the room ready?" "Yes it is!" wow.... that easy. Just come back 15 to 30 minutes later and ask the same question politely and I can practically guarantee you will get the room. As far as getting a late check out free of charge, simply as the front desk about it and they will give it to you.

4. How to get a room even when the hotel is "sold out"
If you try to make a reservation for a specific date and those dates happen to be full, give up trying to make the reservation over the phone. Hotel companies don't like telling their customer's that there is nothing available, so they have come up with an ingenious method of making the customer happy while giving them bad news at the same time. It is called "The Waiting List". RING RING "Hello?" "Yes, I'd like to make a reservation for February 12th" "I'm sorry, we are currently all sold out on those dates, but if you like, I can place you on the waiting list." "Oh sure! I'd love that!" Fool! There is no such thing! Don't expect a call anytime soon because it won't happen. I have yet to find a hotel that has a real waiting list. Don't worry about not getting your dates over the phone though, there are ways around this. There are only 3 possibilities of getting a room when you are told that everything is sold out for those dates:
1. Someone cancels
2. You go through a travel agency (or third party)
3. You walk into the hotel on that date (preferably at night time)
If someone cancels, you have no way of knowing this unless you are constantly calling the hotel every 5 minutes. This option is very, very rare and I don't recommend it. Option number 2 is just as unlikely to happen which brings us to number 3. Hotels sell a certain amount of rooms online, over the phone, through walk ins, and through third party travel agencies. My fictional hotel, the Awesome Hotel, has 200 rooms. travel agencies are only allowed to sell 100 of my rooms. The other 100 is split 50/50 with phone calls and online reservations. This explains why sometimes you can book a room online and not over the phone and vice versa. But here is why walking into a hotel room on your desired reservation date is the best option: Hotels always save some rooms for emergencies. Say a toilet explodes in Room 145, now those guests have to be moved to Room 146. Stuff like this happens all the time at a hotel so they always need to keep some rooms open "just in case". These rooms are reserved for emergencies, but at night time, they start selling them off because everything has settled down. This is the perfect time to get a room. Not only can you barter your rate down (its late and you aren't paying a full day's rate), but you can also get a room from a "sold out" hotel.
There are a lot of risks in you not getting a room this way, but it is by far the best option you have. If you absolutely must stay at a certain hotel on a certain date but it is all "sold out", this is your best option.

There are so many good things out there waiting for you, all you have to do is be nice and ask about them. Hopefully this small list has helped you in some way.

Have any questions? Comments? Well comment away!

"The Manga Bible" Review

2009-05-10T04:01:00.000-07:00

When I initially bought the Manga Bible off of Amazon, I did it out of curiosity, but after waiting days for it to come in the mail, I realized that I was secretly hoping to discover a spectacular blend of amazing artwork and powerful scripture culminated into a beautiful explosion of epic proportions. Maybe my expectations were a little too high, but either way, I was deeply disappointed to find nothing short of dull.

The Bible is a gold mine for artists to draw their inspiration from. (pun intended) Almost every famous artist in history has used the Bible as inspiration for some of their artwork. Some of the most enduring artworks of all time are taken straight from the pages of the Bible so it is hard to imagine the Bible as a "dead end" for an artist. But that is exactly what the Manga Bible feels like, a "dead end" in the sense that the reader wishes they were dead and this terrible book would just end.

Contrary to the popular saying, sometimes the best way to judge a book IS by its cover. Take the Manga Bible's cover for example. On it, we see someone in the foreground we can only assume is Jesus (I assume its Jesus but I still have no clue who it is) and His disciples. Jesus is drawn very stylish and sharp with His robe and hair flowing in the wind; it evokes emotions and looks great at the same time. But look behind Him and... What the heck!? Is that a mop? A twig with hair? A long lost Beatle? What happened to the stylistic drawing in the foreground? Its as if the artist drew the foreground with his right hand and the background with his feet. This is exactly how the Manga Bible reads. It looks impressive at first, but in reality it lacks the qualities most required in modern Bible translations: Genuine respect, heart, excellence, professionalism, and everything else that sets apart trends from instant classics.

The drawings are actually enjoyable in comparison to the dialogue forced upon the reader. All the author had to do was copy and paste text directly from the Bible and they would have had it made, but instead they chose to "modernize" the text to match their equally "modern" artwork. The following is a direct quote from the Manga Bible in which there are three Hebrew midwives giving their thoughts about King Herod's decree to kill all infant males:

Girl #1 says: "Hell no! I 'aint killin no babies!" To which girl #2 replies: "You said it sista!"

I was completely unaware that ancient Egyptians spoke Ebonics. I guess I need to brush up on my history.

I understand the push to bring the language of the Bible up to date to make it relevant to modern readers and I have seen many successful attempts at this, The Message by Eugene H. Peterson as an example, but the Manga Bible does not even come close to capturing the correct balance between modern yet still true to the original.

Comic's Worth Reading did a review on the book and said: "The narrative reads like the scriptwriter is strip-mining scripture. He bulldozes over details and nuances in the Biblical text to move the plot along."

I feel guilty every time I call it the "Manga Bible" because I don't see it as a Bible at all. Call it "Siku's Manga Interpretation of the Bible", not "Manga Bible" as if it is the definitive manga version of the Bible.

The New York Times did a review of the book and this is what they had to say about it: "The medium shapes the message. Manga often focuses on action and epic. Much of the Bible, as a result, ends up on the cutting room floor, and what remains is darker."
That is exactly why this book should not be called a Bible! No one can ever successfully attempt to make Jesus "cool" because He isn't. That is just the way Christians like Him. I don't want a "cool" God, I want an awesome God that can save me.

Anime News Network had this to say about it: Now here's where the "manga" part will be most contentious: how is the artwork? While it does capture the dynamic imagery of manga with sharp lines, stylized characters and dramatic staging, things are much less effective when it comes to actually stringing pictures together. All too often, the layouts are just random arrangements of facial close-ups, superhero poses and fancy landscapes, overlaid with text narration. Whatever happened to "Show, don't tell?"

On the website, I found some artwork from the book:

Keep in mind that these are some of the best prints used to promote the book. Both of these pictures aren't the final versions which include text covering half of both pages. The first one is pretty cool, but the second one is confusing, it looks like a mesh of lines intersecting and it is very hard to make out what exactly you are looking at.

I think this quote from About.com captures it best: Just like how wearing a cross doesn't make you a Christian, simply drawing women with big eyes does not automatically make a graphic novel "manga." But no matter how you label it, The Manga Bible commits the worst sin that an author/artist can inflict upon a reader: It offers mediocre visual storytelling that is just not all that interesting or entertaining.

No matter how you look at it, this book is NOT a Bible. It even falls short of being considered manga. What exactly is it then? Definitely not worth your time.

Have you read the Manga Bible? Tell me what you think. Comment.

It's Not so Cool to Define Cool

2009-05-02T03:04:00.000-07:00

What is cool?

The definition of cool according to Urban Dictionary is:

The best way to say something is neat-o, awesome, or swell. The phrase "cool" is very relaxed, never goes out of style, and people will never laugh at you for using it, very convenient for people like me who don't care about what's "in."
Homestar is cool.
The Red Sox are cool.
Twinkies are cool.

What makes something cool? I will attempt, in this very scientific blog, to try and postulate the ingredients of "cool". After studying "cool" for the past 12 years I have finally come up with the common denominator of all "cool" things. Just like a cake, everything has its ingredients so here are the ingredients for cool.

The Common Rule For Cool is:

1. Anything your parents don't think is cool is actually cool.

There you have it, the essence of cool in a bottle. The one and only rule of cool.

Some of you may be asking, "Well what if I have cool parents?" My answer to that is: YOUR PARENTS ARE NOT COOL. Anyone who thinks their parents are cool are either too old to understand cool any longer or too young to know what cool is. Cool has an age limit. (Cool also has a height limit. No short person has ever been cool. EVER.)

This universal definition of cool describes why so many people find different things cool. My parents hated dinosaurs when I was growing up and that's why dinosaurs will always be cool. I had a friend who wasn't allowed to ride a bike without a helmet because his parents said that wasn't cool, now he rides his bike without a helmet and without a shirt, he is cool.

To better understand this definition we must first comprehend that in order for something to be cool a parent has to hate the noun in question. My parents kinda don't like cheese doesn't cut it (pun intended), my parents hate cheese is where the cool meter begins beep loudly warning future cool kids what to do when they get older. Cheese is cool. (No its not, too many parents like cheese)

Let me give you some all time classic examples of cool stuff to support my scientific research:

-James Dean
-Cigarettes
-Guns
-Zombies
-Dinosaurs
-Harry Potter (Has yet to reach the classic cool status but future looks good)
-Mr. T
-Batman (NOT Superman. Too many parents think he is cool)
-Video Games
-Robots
-Darth Vader (Star Wars is still too popular with parents to be cool but Darth Vader cooly slides under the parent radar)
-Playing With Fire
-Eating With Your Mouth Full
-Running With Scissors
-Staying Up Late
etc...

If this scientific data has still not convinced you, allow me to create a scenario to further prove my research:

Think about the coolest thing. Not something that you like or something that is very interesting, but something that is without a doubt; COOL. Something that defines the word. Now image that you are having a great time admiring this very cool thing. The next thing you know, both your parents walk into the room and ask you "What are you looking at?" You proceed to point to this object of extreme and utter coolness that you have been so proud of admiring for so long. Your parent then look at the object you have pointed to and proclaim in a very loud voice: "WOW! THAT IS SO COOL! CAN I TRY THAT (use that, play with that, etc...) I'M GOING TO TELL ALL MY FRIENDS ABOUT THIS!" Your heart drops into your stomach and you feel as if someone has punched you in the chest repeatedly. Your once "cool" object has become soiled and can never be cool again.

Thus my scientific theory on "cool" is concluded. (Science isn't cool)

Comment Away!

A Hardened Heart and The Unpardonable Sin

2009-04-27T05:54:00.001-07:00

There are a lot of verses in the Bible that are taken out of context and used in an improper way. I was reading one of those verses today and I thought it was a good time to clarify to anyone who wants to learn what these verses are really saying.

Now on to the study:

If you know the story of Moses and the ten plagues; great! If you don't know about it let me sum it up for you: God sends Moses to rescue His people (the Hebrews) out of Egypt. Pharaoh says, "no", so God sends plagues and all this other stuff against him until he finally says, "go". (Exodus Chapters 7-11) Very, very simplified but it gets the point across.

I'm not going into detail with the story because that is not what were are focusing on. We are going to focus on this verse where God is speaking to Moses about Pharaoh and His people:
"Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them." Exodus 10:1

A common misconception is that "God hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials" just so that He could show off how great He is so that everyone watching would go "Ooooo! Wow! I want to join that side!" Seems like a pretty messed up thing to do. Why would God harden somebody's heart and turn him into an "enemy" just to make Himself look good? That's a valid question and after reading that verse, one might come to the conclusion that God doesn't actually give us free will and that He only uses us like puppets in the grand show called "Life".

But that is not the case. In Exodus 8:15, 8:32, and 9:34 it states: “Pharaoh hardened his heart.” These are three instances of his heart being hardened before we come to 10:1 where it says:
“Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them”

Before God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, Pharaoh had already hardened his own heart three times as is recorded in Scripture. In Hally’s Bible Handbook, Dr. Henry Hally states concerning these verses: “Pharaoh hardened his heart. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Both did. God’s purpose was to make Pharaoh repent. But when a man sets himself against God, even God’s mercies result in further hardening.”

God is love (1 John 4:8), and we know that He does not manipulate people against their own free will to further His glory. That is not a loving God. That sounds more like the devil. God does use all things for His glory (Romans 8:28), including a rebellious heart, but that does not mean that He first made that heart turn rebellious against Him. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and God used that hardened heart to display miraculous signs and wonders.

At what point does God actually begin to harden a heart? In Matthew 12:31-32 (and also found in Mark 3:28-30) Jesus says:
“And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”

This is similar to the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart in regard to how it is considered the “Unpardonable Sin” as some people call it. This verse, just like the hardened heart one, can be a stumbling block to people if they do not look at it in the correct light. Jesus is not saying that He can’t forgive the unpardonable sin; He is saying that the unpardonable sin “will not be forgiven.” It is important to make this clear because an omnipotent God is not omnipotent if He can’t do something. God can forgive any sin, but He will not forgive a sin that is not asked to be forgiven.

Dr. Henry Hally gives a great example of the unpardonable sin:
“The essence of the fatal sin, whether by a Christian or by one outside, is the deliberate and final rejection of Christ. It is as if a person in the bottom of a well, to whom a rope is let down, slashes the rope above his reach, thus cutting off his only hope of escape. For those who reject Christ, there will never be another sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 10:26-31).”

Pharaoh essentially wrote his own death wish by hardening his heart to the point that he could not turn to God. It was not a single instance of a hardened heart, it was the deliberate rejection of God (three times that we know of) until God finally hardened his heart and the rest is history…

In Hebrews 6:4-6 we read a similar example of the unpardonable sin:
“It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”

This verse talks of a person who has been in the church, has had a deep and intimate relationship with God, has seen God’s power, and has experienced all that the Christian walk has to offer in this world yet still deliberately chooses to follow some other “god” in place of the One True God. This is an example of the unpardonable sin. Jesus was already crucified once and that is all it took. He does not need to be crucified again.

I hope this has clarified any confusion you might have and hopefully you understand what the unpardonable sin is and why it is unpardonable.

Questions? Comments? Comment away!

The Significance of Twitter

2009-04-17T02:12:00.000-07:00

A lot of people have no clue what Twitter is. Some of you reading this now may be thinking to yourself "Did he just use a curse word?" I'm sorry to inform you that I did not.

Twitter (as defined on tweeternet.com) is described as: "a social networking and microblogging service that allows you to answer the question, "What are you doing?" by sending short text messages 140 characters in length, called "tweets", to your friends, or "followers."

To put that in layman's terms: Twitter is your way of discovering the world's pulse. It is the news YOU want to hear and it is entirely up to you to choose what to do with that information.

If the Internet is an infinite source of information, then twitter can be likened to an infinite "what I think is cool" filter. Let me give a personal example to explain why.

I first opened a twitter account out of curiosity but never really did anything with it. Now, I'm checking the thing every day to find out what is going on in the world and to laugh at random stories people have. It all started one fateful day... CNN breaking news just had reported how Lance Armstrong had injured his shoulder while riding his bike and the next tweet was Lance Armstrong himself telling everyone what had happened and showing pictures of the injury. I WAS HOOKED... Where else can I get news straight from the horses' mouth? It was amazing. I could actually hear the whole story straight from Lance Armstrong as if he was talking to me (no, I'm not delusional, I know he wasn't really talking to ME, but I was included in his audience).

After that, I started checking the thing every day and found that Twitter became part of my daily routine. Not only was I getting "unfiltered" news, but I was also up to date about almost anything! I knew about the "Where the Wild Things Are" movie a long time before the general population grew excited about it. I knew about a lot of interesting news and I still do thanks to Twitter. I'm actually taking a more personal interest in what my friends are doing every day because sometimes our days overlap. I've had numerous occasions where I saw a friend tweet where they were at and since I was in the neighborhood I dropped by and spent some time with them. A lot of Disneyland and Starbucks tweets... It's a treasure hunt! It's like writing an invitation to your friends "I'm eating at (insert restaurant here), if any of my friends reading this are nearby would you like to join me?"

The significance of Twitter is far reaching. But one of my most favorite aspects of Twitter is how personal it feels. No one can see what I see when I log on (unless you are following the exact same people I am, no more and no less) and so it gives me the freedom to select what I want to hear about. I got tired of hearing about new deals on Amazon, so I stopped following them, I really wanted to see what the Dark Lord of the Sith did daily, so I followed Darth Vader. It's that easy.

We live in an ever changing world and Twitter is how we keep up with the changes. There is no way we could read the millions and millions of newspaper articles that are published daily, but we can keep ourselves informed of whatever we want (as long as it is under 140 characters). We have become the news station, the reporter, the producer, the camera man, the anchorman/anchorwoman, all in one.

A new dawn in how we receive our information has arrived. Will you join the revolution?

Follow me into the future!

Once Upon a Time, Not So Long Ago...

2009-04-16T03:18:00.000-07:00

I love a good story. Don't you?

One of my favorite stories of all time is the Princess Bride. I loved the movie and I'm loving the book even more. Its so good that it scares me sometimes. I can't understand at all why my girlfriend hates it... Please, someone explain this to me because I'm loosing sleep every night over this.

The author, William Goldman, writes the book in such a way that the reader is trapped within a story that is trapped within another story. Not only is the story fun to read and enthralling in every way, it also forces you to fall in love with each of the characters (maybe this is why my girlfriend hates it).

William Goldman starts off the book by writing a fake "introduction" as if this story was really written by another author and the version you are reading now is really just an abridged version that his grandfather read to him when he was a little boy sick in bed. Its funny on so many levels that I get lost trying to grasp the comedic genius in my mind.

If you are a fan of "Hitchiker's Guide to The Galaxy" and other comedy/adventure novels, then check this book out for sure. You can't borrow my copy because I still have to return it to my brother when I'm done.

Why did this post turn into a book review that looks like it belongs in Oprah's magazine? I'm not sure... good books do that to you sometimes...

NEW Crimson Dawn Trailer

2009-04-13T15:30:00.000-07:00

For those of you that don't know, for the past couple of weeks I have been working on a movie with a couple of friends.

It all started when a mutual friend of ours passed away. He was a film major and had worked on a lot of short films with us that we used for church. Of course we were incredibly sad to see him go, but we are overjoyed with the prospect of seeing him in heaven; pain free. In his honor, we started this movie project and have been working on it off and on ever since. He was a huge fan of the zombie movie genre (we are too) so it was only natural to make a zombie film.

The movie started off with the title "Red Dawn" but we found out that movie had already been made (its a movie about communists trying to take over the United States... Go figure!). We agreed on Crimson Dawn and have been fine tuning the machine we call a movie ever since.

There is a new trailer out for the movie so please go check it out on youtube and feel free to rate and comment!

Enjoy:

Fake Post... but don't tell anyone!

2009-04-08T05:07:00.000-07:00

I really don't have anything to say. I just want everyone to read my girlfriend's latest post because it was really deep. Check it out!

http://randomphotosandthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/04/satisfied.html

Don't forget to comment on her page.

What Band?

2009-03-31T02:26:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you put together a Nintendo DS, a Ukulele, and a Trumpet?

If someone can figure this out please tell me because we are still looking for a band name....

Chris, Danny, and I decided to start jamming together recently and we aren't using your traditional "3 piece rock band" instruments. Danny plays the Ukulele (Guitar and bass at times), Chris plays trumpet, and I play whatever needs to be heard at any given moment which could be anything from a shoe pounding a tambourine to beats on the Nintendo DS.

I am looking forward to many fun and interesting jamming sessions and hopefully someday soon some open mic night gigs.

Right now, we are doing cover songs and we are looking for some more. Does anyone have any good ukulele/trumpet songs they would like to share?

Powersliding... again!

2009-03-28T18:03:00.001-07:00

I got another email from the guys who do powersliding. I couldn't pass up this opportunity to show another one of their videos. If you haven't seen the first one, look through the archives and you'll find it.

Here is the copy & paste description of their video from youtube: Pro-slider Ian Ivy hits up the Crusty Biscuit rail to show us how to pull off the Rusty Rose without busting any teeth! Props granted

"Pro-slider"? Really? You actually name these rails? It gets better:

Once again... Powersliders prove that they hold the key to true thug life

What Are You?

2009-03-24T15:23:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been asked, "Where are you from?" and not know how to respond? Welcome to the club...

Whenever someone wants to get past the "stranger" to "friend" status, they follow a strict line of questioning that they would ask anyone they want to get to know. These questions range typically from: "What's your name?" to: "How old are you?" My typical response to these questions are: "Norman" and "Why?"

I'm not paranoid, I just honestly want to know why you care about my age. Do you plan on kidnapping me and are adjusting your asking price to how old you think I am? Are you planning on hitting on me and want to make sure I'm not a minor? Are you going to compare your age to mine and say how much older or younger you are than me? Is this all just small talk? I hate small talk...

It's questions like these that confuse me.

The age question is not a big deal, but the questions that follow always make me feel like I'm that one puzzle piece that is from another set that doesn't quite belong in the puzzle you are currently doing and no matter how much you try to jam it in the empty space it just refuses to comply and eventually you toss it aside with a sigh.

Let me give you an example of what this line of questioning looks like when applied to me. For this example I am going to use the name Kate as the stranger who wants to get to know me. We are co-workers and we occasionally say "Hi" to each other or ask about our day, but today we are going to start the "I want to get to know you a little bit better than I would a stranger" questioning. (This is based on real life events except for the girl's name):

Kate: "So what kind of music do you like? Don't say everything because no one can like EVERYTHING"

Me: "Everything." (I'm not being smart, I really do appreciate all styles of music)

Kate: "Everything?"

Me: "Yeah, it really just depends what mood I'm in."

Kate: "Oh... So what's your favorite band?"

Me: "It just depends what mood I'm in." (Right now I'm just repeating myself hoping to get the fact that I'm okay with everything across to her. Sometimes I start naming off any band that comes to mind.)

Kate: "So where were you born?"

Me: "New York." (I wait to see their faces light up because they think its going to be an interesting story but then I follow it up with...) "Upstate New York. It's all countryside. I've never seen the Statue of Liberty or anything like that"

Kate: "Oh... Where did you learn to speak Spanish? Are you Mexican?" (No matter where I work, I find that speaking Spanish is always necessary. People are always confused when they see a white kid speaking Spanish so they have to ask)

Me: "No, my mom is from Argentina."

Kate: "So your Argentinian?"

Me: "No, I'm not Argentine" (notice the subtle correction to a common mistake)

Kate: "Where are you from? What's your ethnicity?"

Me: "My mom is from Argentina and my dad was born in Indonesia. My Grandparents were missionaries on both sides of the family. My sister was born in Paraguay, I was born in New York, and my brother was born in California." (I'm not white, I'm not Mexican, I'm not Hispanic. What am I?)

Kate: "Oh" (Usually, they give up and don't ask anything more about me but if they do decide to continue it gets even more interesting)

Kate: "So your mom taught you Spanish?"

Me: "Yeah, and I also go to a Spanish speaking church. I can't speak it well but I can understand fine."

Kate: "Oh okay. What church do you go to?"

Me: "The Ark Christian Fellowship" (I love seeing people's faces when I say my church's name because I know that no one will ever say "Oh I know that church! I've been there!" They usually just ask about where it is)

Kate: "Where is that located?"

Me: "In Orange next to the Arrowhead Pond." (I always say Arrowhead Pond out of habit, but then I have to correct myself and call it the Honda Center)

Kate: "So what are you?"

Me: "Norman" (I'm being smart. Ha ha. But I always want to say, "Human". What kind of a question is "What are you?" It feels like I'm from another planet and I need to explain my alien orgins.)

Kate: "I mean what religion are you" (I don't fully understand this question either. It always seems worded strangely to me. I don't represent an entire religion and I certainly didn't start any. What are you really asking when you say "What religion are you?" I'm Buddha!)

Me: "Christian"

Kate: "Oh cool me too! I go to [insert well known church name here]" (People who get this far in the line of questioning are 9 times out of 10 a member of a popular church organization. Otherwise they wouldn't bother to keep asking me about church stuff)

Me: "Oh I know that church. Cool."

Kate: "How big is your church?" (The dreaded "size" of your church question. Since when did Jesus ever say "Your church must be at least this big to make me happy or I won't bless you!" Seriously... look it up. I always want to bring this up to the person asking me but I don't want to be a jerk. They made the effort to try and get to know me so I'm not going to argue with them in the first 5 minutes they ask me these questions)

Me: "About 100. It's a small church"

Kate: "Oh that's still good!" (I don't need your pity lady! They always feel bad AFTER they ask the dumb question...)

Me: "How big is yours?" (I ask because it is only polite to follow up a dumb question with a second dumb question so as not to make the person look dumb)

Kate: "[insert ridiculously large number]" (I can tell they always feel a little bad when they say this number because they realize that they have started comparing church sizes which is something no Christian should do but they all end up doing anyways)

silence...

From there it goes to small talk with someone else or just complete silence while we wait for something to happen so we can pretend we are busy.

Does this ever happen to other people? Am I the only one who doesn't really know what to say? Tell me your funny stories, I enjoy reading all your comments.

Irony with a capital "i"

2009-03-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

Who is more foolish?

A man who lives his entire life believing in a "fairy tale" or a man who spends his entire life trying to disprove a "fairy tale" he doesn't believe in?

Powersliding = True Thug Life

2009-03-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

When I first saw this I honestly thought it was a joke, but to my delight I soon realized these guys actually think they are cool.

Nothing says cool more than Powersliding. Enjoy:

It's so great to know that there are people out there in the world today sliding on their butts on handrails and other objects for a "cool" sport which they feel the need to keep OG. West Coast is all tech but out in New York its all about style! This is how we do it!

Your Space Station is Showing!

2009-03-09T05:17:00.000-07:00

This is probably one of the coolest things you will ever see in your lifetime.

Apparently the International Space Station is going to be orbiting over Orange County this week because Boeing is going to add some stuff to it. It can be seen on these following dates at these times:

Sunday, March 8: Look 17 degrees above the north, starting at 5:35 a.m. The station will be visible for 2 minutes at it moves to the northeast.

Monday, March 9: Look 27 degrees above the northwest, starting at 6:02 a.m. The station will be visible for 4 minutes as it moves to the southeast.

Tuesday, March 10: Look 12 degrees above the west at 6:28 a.m. The station will be visible for 4 minutes as it moves to the south.

Wednesday, March 11: Look 19 degrees above the southeast at 5:24 a.m. The station will be visible for about 1 minute as it continues southeast.

Thursday, March 12: Look 11 degrees above the southwest at 8:37 p.m. The station will be visible for about 1 minute as it continues to move southwest.

Friday, March 13: Look 10 degrees above the south at 7:30 p.m. The station will be visible for 3 minutes as it moves to the east.

Saturday, March 14: Look 11 degrees above the northwest 7:56 p.m. The station will be visible for 5 miles as it travels to the northeast.

Sunday, March 15: Look 21 degrees above the northwest 8:25 p.m. The station will be visible for 2 minutes as it travels to the north.

If you are in the Orange County area this is something you definitely won't want to miss.

Right now I am up and it is 5:22 in the morning on Monday, March 9th. I'm just getting ready to see this and in a couple of minutes I'm going to be waking up my brother so he can see it too.

I say lets make a viewing party on Friday, March 13th at 6pm so we can all see it together. Comment on this post if you would like to do it. If enough people show interest I'll organize a party.

Even if you don't want to make this a social event, please take the time to watch a once-in-a-lifetime event. Many years from now you are going to be telling your kids, "Yup... Your father saw the first International Space Station orbiting around his neighborhood! Of course that was before we started building that space elevator in Canada..." One day... Hahaha.

Comment!

Every Recession Has a Silver Lining...

2009-03-05T06:18:00.001-08:00

This recession has affected everyone in a negative way, and if it hasn't affected you yet, it will. I have heard countless stories of dreams shattered, hopes crushed, plans decimated, and a future without light. I see it on the faces of people walking by. Their eyes speak pain and their wrinkles show how many tears they have shed. How quick their dreams seems to be escaping them, like trying to grasp water in your hands, it seems to slip away and dissolve on the hot, harsh cement floor. The question floating on everyone's lips: "Why?"

I can't give you the why, so many people are already trying to figure that out already, but what I can give you is a silver lining.

What is the silver lining of a recession?

A light-hearted answer would be that shark attacks have greatly decreased due to the fact that the amount of tourists visiting vacations spots has significantly decreased.

Or I can give you an honest answer about how gas prices are down. Or how people are spending more time with their families now, companies that were being run shoddily are reaping what they sowed, homes are cheaper to buy now, every store seems to be having a sale, and etc...

Yes, the economy is in a recession and it will hurt us all negatively if it has not already, but will that stop you from looking for a silver lining? Will that stop you from laughing, from enjoying life, from looking for a smile in a world that seems to be frowning?

Tell me, what is your silver lining in this recession? I want to hear your stories. Write a comment about your silver lining in this recession. Lets find our lighthouse in this storm.

Tell me your story! :)

God

2009-03-02T09:07:00.000-08:00

I recently had a conversation with a friend about God. His point was that I can't claim to know God entirely which I, to his surprise, agreed to.

I think we, as Christians, far too often have a know-it-all attitude. We don't know it all. We don't have all the answers. We aren't God.

I'm not saying that we can't have a personal relationship with God, I wholeheartedly believe that we can have a personal relationship with God and I'm living it as proof. My point is we can't claim to know God in His entire essence.

God is omnipotent and omnipresent. How can I claim to know Him as an equal? Sure, I can have a relationship with Him but I am a man, He is God. I think Solomon, in all his wisdom, got it right: "God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few." Ecclesiastes 5:2

God is all powerful, I can barely power up a car let alone understand how each detail works. God is infinite, one thing I can be sure of is that I will die, not when, where, or how, simply that it will happen. God is all-knowing, I can spend my entire life learning about the year 1986 yet I will still not even scratch the surface let alone comprehend the concept of infinity. I can't even comprehend everything about God in my mind!

God created time and space as we know it, yet He is not subjected to it. How can I even begin to understand God being outside the laws of the universe? Sure, we are created in His image, but so are legos. We create legos in our image yet they are not nearly as complicated as us. We don't even fully understand our own bodies let alone a God who created us. How can we ever claim to have all the answers?

Doubt isn't always a bad thing, and in this case I think it is healthy. I don't know God in his entirety so I'm not going to try and rationalize everything in the Bible like so many Christians do. Sure, some stuff is hard to swallow, but who am I to question God's decisions?

Something that has completely backfired on Christians is the Day-Age Creationism theory in response to the age of the earth. It basically states that when God created the earth in 6 days it really wasn't days, but rather thousands or millions of years. This theory was created in response to the discovery of the earth being much older than we initially thought it was. This theory is absolutely stupid. It is an attempt to rationalize God and fails in the face of logic. This is what happens when people try to fit God in a neat little box.

We don't know everything, but we know who does. That's a start. Christians, let's start realizing that we are sinful fallen failures and we need a God who is so much bigger than us. Let's stop playing perfect, we all know we mess up and mess up horribly from time to time. Be open about messing up! Be honest with each other about our struggles. Nobody is perfect and you aren't fooling anyone trying to live otherwise. Church is probably the one place where you can find all the world's worst people anyways. We need God the most!

What do you think? Can we know God in His entirety?

Why I Hate Prop 8

2009-02-28T05:35:00.000-08:00

I know I am going to get a lot of crap about this from both sides of the argument, but here it goes anyways:

Prop 8 is right, but in the wrong way.

I do not ever expect there to be a middle ground with the gay marriage issue. If you claim to be a Christian, or any other religious group that bases its religion off the Bible, there is no way you can claim to be gay without being in direct contrast with your Holy Scripture; the Bible. The Bible clearly states that any form of homosexual activity is a sin. There is no way that a true Christian and a gay rights activist could meet over a cup of tea and discuss how they are both right in their own ways. There is no grey area.

I voted yes on Prop 8. The main reason I cast my ballot in favor of Prop 8 was not because of my fundamental faith and belief in marriage being defined as a union between a man and a woman, but rather my belief that if marriage was not defined as such, the church would face immense legal reprisal by the law. My motivation for voting yes on Prop 8 was for protecting the church.

Protecting the church? Really!? Does that sound too far fetched? Not at all, let me give you some examples of this already happening in the news:

In this article two lesbian women sue a church for not allowing them to perform a "ceremony" in their building. They claim that the church was violating their "equal" status that was determined by the state.

In this article, it reports how a pastor in Sweden was arrested and sent to jail for a month for "preaching against homosexuality and other sexual sin".

If a pastor can be arrested for preaching what he believes, and a church can be in trouble with the law for not compromising its beliefs, something is definitely wrong. Prop 8 is protection for the church. The reason why I think Prop 8 is the right thing, but executed in the wrong way, lies entirely on my belief that the state should not decide church decisions. Yes, I'm talking about separation of church and state. The state should not interfere with the church as long as they are operating inside their legal boundaries and vise versa.

Someone asked on Yahoo answers if marriage was a right and here was the response:

"If by marriage, you mean a religious ceremony, then it is up to the individual religion to approve or disapprove it.

If you're talking about something that bestows civil rights and responsibilities, then yes, it is a right.

That's the problem with gay 'marriage' - or marriage in general. It's a mixture of both religion and government which should be separated.
Source(s):
If heterosexuals want civil rights when 'wed' then they should get a civil union - and so should homosexuals. If they want a religious blessing on that union, then they should go to the religion of their choice and ask for that blessing - which is optional for the religion to do it or not."

Proposition 8 states the right thing, but in the wrong way. I do believe marriage should be between one man and one woman, but I don't want the state to decide that. My role as a Christian is not to impose my beliefs on everyone else, but rather to love God and to love my neighbor as myself (Matthew 22:37)But I will support Prop 8 to the death because it has been proven that if a clear definition of marriage is not upheld by the law, the church will face immense legal repercussion.

What do you think? Comment! Subscribe! :)

New Look, New Content

2009-02-27T06:09:00.001-08:00

I love to write; it is fun to me. I may not do it all that well but I like to do it anyways.

Recently, I have been thinking about discussions I would love to have with certain people but can't because of time and scheduling issues. Lets talk about Prop 8, lets talk about the economy, lets talk about the state of the church, etc... That is where the magic of the internet comes into play. I can write a post and have people (you) respond whenever they can with a heartfelt and intelligent (or unintelligent) response. The possiblities are endless...

With this in mind, I have decided to change the target audience of this blog. I originally started this blog to write and only write about whatever I wanted to, whenever I could, and whoever I saw fit. The target audience was me and anyone else who would like to peer into my world could do so at any time, but now that will change. I'll still be the one writing, but I'm writing for you (yes, you!).

So let the conversation begin!

What i Have Discovered

2009-02-24T15:52:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone (all 2 of you ha ha) for their helpful suggestions about what i should do when I'm bored at work. It's much better now, I'm not dying out of boredom. This is what i currently do at work to entertain myself:

www.digg.com

Surprisingly, there are a lot of very good articles here and whenever i watch the news the next day i already know what they are going to talk about because i read it the night before. It's very liberal and a lot of atheists are on the site but its good to see someone else's point of view.

World of Warcraft

I know this game gets a lot of crap and has a negative reputation from everyone who doesn't play it because its sucks all your time and is easily addictive, but I'm still playing it anyways. Very fun, very addictive, and yes sucks a lot of time without you noticing, but thats what I'm looking for during these shifts anyways.

Thats all! :)

Bored...

2009-02-12T04:15:00.000-08:00

The time is now 4:19 in the morning, and yes, i am awake.

Welcome to the life of a graveyard shift worker. It really wouldn't be that bad if i had something to do...

All these computers don't have sound so i can't watch movies.
I can't read books because they put me to sleep (I'm not allowed to sleep).
I can't work out because I'm wearing a suit (my uniform).
I can't run around outside because i have to stay behind this desk.
I can't work because i already finished it all (it only takes about 2 hours to do all my work).
I can't paint because i don't want to mess up the suit (remember the suit?).
I can't play games because these computers don't allow you to download anything without a pasword. (Don't know the password)
I can't use the internet every night (Tonight i got lucky, but this is soon to be blocked like all the other ones).
I can't talk to anyone because everyone is asleep.
I CAN'T KEEP ENTERTAINING MYSELF!

I've run out of ideas. After 4 months i can't think of anything else to do.

Any ideas? Anyone? Will anyone even read this? Alone...... echo echo echo echo...... Hello?.... echo echo echo echo....

I hate you graveyard shift!

Sun Music Feeds the Soul

2009-02-02T11:25:00.000-08:00

I was kinda feeling "blah" today but then i stepped outside, took in some sun, then sat down on my computer to listen to some music then the strangest thing happened to me:

I became happy!

Vitamin D + Music= Happy!

try it

My Daily Online Routine

2009-01-22T03:34:00.000-08:00

Every time that i get on my computer i have a general routine i go through which usually involves checking out some of my favorite sites. All these sites are bookmarked and i just check them out in order. Here is my routine:

gmail.com= check my email

woot.com= to check out all the new daily deals

shirt.woot.com= to check out the daily shirt deal

onemorelevel.com= my daily game fix

onemanga.com= i check this even though "One Piece" only comes out on Fridays (sometimes it comes out early) "Bakuman" is another good one i read. Stopped reading "Eyeshield 21" for a while but will get back into it soon. Started "Dragonball" series.

cnn.com= check out the news. i love cnn, it's my favorite news station.

youtube.com= i look to see if any of my subscriptions are updated

wikipedia.org= i check out the "Today's Featured Article" and glance at what is going on in the news around the world. Also it shows you what happened in history on this day.

pointlesssites.com= very interesting to see what is on here sometimes

rantingrobot.blogspot.com= hmmm sounds familiar...

newegg.com= i check out the daily deal

musiciansfriend.com= same thing, i check out the daily deal

And that is it! I'm pretty sure there are some other sites i look up during my routine but i can't seem to remember them now (i'm not on my usual computer so i can't just look at the bookmarks). So everytime i get on the computer thats what i do. How about you guys? anyone else care to share their internet routine?

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

2009-01-15T18:05:00.000-08:00

The most pointless game of all time:

Here

Now i see why kids seem to be getting dumber; all their cartoon shows suck!

Triathlon, Here I Come!

2009-01-07T10:51:00.000-08:00

There are things that i have always wanted to do before i die. One of those things is to compete in a triathlon. How epic would that be!? So i signed up and now I'm doing it:

the site

DATE: Sunday, June 28, 2009
START: 7:15 a.m.
PLACE: San Buenaventura State Beach, Ventura, CA

If any of you happen to be in the neighborhood come show your support. I signed up for the Olympic Relay so i will be doing the swimming, Derrick the bicycling, and Cody the running. Its going to be great...

It is worth noting that Derrick doesn't have the right bike and i don't have the right wetsuit, but we are still going to give it our all and we will hopefully do good. I want to finish the race strong and be able to say i did my best and be proud of my results. I don't care if we are wearing the same stuff as everyone else or using crappier equipment, as long as we kick their butts at the finish line then we will be the ones laughing and we'll be laughing that much harder...

In the meantime i am trying to train for it with my personal trainer David who is world-renouned for training athletes and actors alike such as: David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Cody Holton, and so many more...

GO TEAM NODECO!!!!

Scarry Spam Messages

2009-01-03T15:00:00.001-08:00

Have you ever just casually glanced at your spam topic line right before you erased them all? I just did and now i am terrified. This was the ominous message of doom that awaited me:

The Skinny You is Waiting For You.

It seems that the skinny me is lurking in dark corners waiting until i am most vulnerable. Then, without warning, he will attack me. Will he be attacking with cupcakes? I'm not sure with what but all i know is that it is scary enough to have to worry about all of life's concerns without having to worry about a skinny me waiting for me....

Stupid Spam...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2008-12-31T18:49:00.000-08:00

My New Year's Resolution:

Get in shape

Have a Happy New Year! Enjoy life and laugh often! Let me help you out by convincing you to watch something that made me laugh:

watch this

Good Idea, Bad Idea

2008-12-29T10:17:00.000-08:00

Good Idea:

Watching the movie "I am Legend"

Bad Idea:

Watching the movie "I am Legend" while working a graveyard shift alone at a hotel

lesson learned...

Run With Endurance

2008-12-27T04:09:00.000-08:00

Never Give Up!

Never back down

Never lose hope

Never look back

Destiny calls your name and beckons you to bear the torch of greatness.

Life screams from your pores.

Death tears at your legs and pounces on your heart at every opportunity it gets.

Never Give Up!

Never stop growing

Never stop seeking

Never stop dreaming

Time smashes your limbs with its fists.

Money never stops scraping at the doorpost of your mind.

People will never stop telling you, "You Can't!"

Never Give Up!

Never give in

Never quit

Never accept less than 100%

Best friends become worst enemies

Family abandons you

Loneliness waits at your back with a crooked knife in hand

Never Give Up!

Never stop fighting

Never lose hope

Never crash and burn

The devil pierces your liver with fiery darts

Disasters beat upon the false pretentions of your will

You cannot trust anyone

Never Give Up!

Never back down from a challenge

Never shy away in fear

Never stop believing

Never... Ever... Give Up!

Jesus Never Did.

Awkward Moments...

2008-12-24T03:00:00.000-08:00

Have you ever asked someone how their boyfriend or girlfriend is doing only to find out that they recently broke up in a heart-wrenching tale? Awkward silence...

Have you ever waved back to a stranger whom you thought was waving at you only to realize that he was waving at someone else? Awkward embarrassment...

Have you ever ran into a pole and looked around to make sure nobody was laughing at you? Awkward shame...

One of my friends in high school lost his mom to cancer, it was very sad. We were at his aunt's house a couple of weeks later for his birthday party and he makes some smart remark to one of his friends, and she, being the dummy she is, responded with: "Your mom! Oh wait! I'm so sorry!" and proceeded to apologize the rest of the night. Awkward "i shouldn't laugh at this"...

I found this picture and that's why i decided to write about awkward moments:

What are some of your funny awkward moments?

Global Warming

2008-12-19T01:56:00.000-08:00

It has been so cold lately i can only wonder; what happened to global warming?

It Truly is a Wonderful Life...

2008-12-14T03:21:00.000-08:00

If you have not already seen It's a Wonderful Life, please, for the love of all that is good, watch it. It has such a powerful message...

Clarence: You see George, you've really had a wonderful life. Don't you see what a mistake it would be to just throw it away?

I recently had a friend attempt suicide and it was so devastating to see him lose all hope. It was like seeing a shell of a man walking around with downcast eyes and a broken spirit; there was nothing inside him. Thank God he is recovering and doing much better, but it was a harsh reminder of how easily we fall into the devil's lies and believe that we would be better off dead.

This Christmas season, along with all the other traditions you have with your family and friends, please take the time to watch this movie with your family. Even if you have seen it a hundred times before, just watch it for the hundred and first time again. Your life is important, so important in fact, that the Creator of the entire universe sent His only Son to save you. Now don't you feel special? :)

God loves you; so start acting like it!
Life truly is... wonderful...

Editor's Note: I don't care if you don't like this movie (I'm looking at you chuck!) watch it anyways... you won't be disappointed.

Stupid...

2008-12-09T14:36:00.000-08:00

You know what i hate?

I hate it when i write a huge long post on a forum and then right when i click the "Publish Post" button and i think to myself "Hmm... i wonder if i should have copied that just in case something happens" then right after i think that, something terrible happens and i have no way of taking back that time, energy, and effort. I wasted few precious minutes of my life!!!! WHY!!?? WHY DO I CONSTANTLY NEED TO LONG IN?!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I HATE YOU INTERNET!!!!

Editor's Note: Remember to copy whatever you write just before you post it. Just in case something happens.... grmmsd ffmmm rrndtmmm... (muttering curses under my breath)

I am Ashamed

2008-12-05T01:53:00.000-08:00

What possesses a man to take a life?
What demon drives him to destroy a human being?
What gives him the right to smash a precious face over and over and over and over again? What blood runs through the veins of a man who strangles an innocent neck?
What color are the eyes of hate?
What causes man to experiment in unnameable horrors?

When is enough enough?
When will it stop?
When will it end?
When will my people stop killing their own?

I am a human being, and it is because of this that i am ashamed.

Editor's Note: i just finished watching "Scream Bloody Murder" on CNN. Please forgive us God...

The Single Most Important Person in the History of the World

2008-12-03T15:59:00.001-08:00

If there is one person that every living man woman and child should know about solely due to the fact that this person was the most powerful, the most influential, the most important person in mankind's entire history, that one person would be Jesus Christ.

Jesus singlehandedly changed the course of human history for all of mankind to bear witness. His life has had such a tremendous impact on our history that the earth's timeline is separated into "BC" (Before Christ) and "AD" (Anno Domini, or, the Year of our Lord).

Some of the world's most "famous" people have even admitted to it:

“I am a historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.”

“Christ is the most unique person of history. No man can write a history of the human race without giving first and foremost place to the penniless teacher of Nazareth.”

-H. G. Wells, British writer, 1866-1946

“Jesus is not one of the group of world’s great. Talk about Alexander the Great and Charles the Great and Napoleon the Great if you will…Jesus is apart. He is not the Great – He is the only.”

-Carnegie Simpson

"You speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their conquests and of the enthusiasm which they enkindled in the hearts of their soldiers; but can you conceive of a dead man making conquests, with an army faithful and entirely devoted to his memory? My armies have forgotten me even while living, as the Carthaginian army forgot Hannibal. Such is our power.”
“I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.”
“I search in vain history to find similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel. Neither history nor humanity, nor ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary.”
-Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French

"Christ alone... has affirmed as a principal certainty, eternal life, the infinity of time, the nothingness of death, the necessity and the raison d'être of serenity and devotion. He lived serenely, as a greater artist than all other artists, despising marble and clay as well as color, working in living flesh. That is to say, this matchless artist... made neither statues nor pictures nor books; he loudly proclaimed that he made... living men, immortals."
-Vincent Van Gogh

“As the centuries pass by, the evidence is accumulating that measured by its effect on history, Jesus is the most influential life ever lived on this planet. The influence appears to be mounting.”

“No other life lived on this planet has so widely and deeply affected mankind.”
-Kenneth Scott Latourette, former President of American Historic Society

Don't you think that you should be studying the most important person in history? Don't you think that He deserves a moment of your time? Open up a Bible and look at what He did, what He was, and what His legacy continues to do in the hearts of his followers. You will see why this One Man was able to affect history, and if you really get to know me, you will see why He changed my life forever.

It's The Truth...

2008-12-01T04:05:00.001-08:00

There are two types of people in this world; the ones who place people into categories, and the ones who don't.

The Year is 2030: Myspace Has Destroyed All Communication Between Human Life

2008-11-26T02:36:00.000-08:00

The other day i got an email from a friend who had just recently closed his myspace account. In the email he stated:

has myspace killed email? i have sent many requets via email and i get no responses.

i used to get them pretty quick via myspace..... i guess i'll find out if myspac has killed email by your responses.

I'm sorry to say he got no responses by email and died of depression the following day. Look what you have done myspace. Aren't you ashamed?

This question sparked another question in the mind of another rebel to the myspace empire. This is what she had to say:

what i want to know is what happen to good old fashion phone calls or even better in person chats?

that is a better question i think email and myspace and text has killed any real human connection !

I'm sorry to say this brave, sad soul lost her life to a tragic texting accident as a result of her thumbs typing on a tiny cell phone at such a rapid rate that her hands caught on fire. But she does bring up a good point. Has texting, myspace, facebook, and every other form of communication that doesn't involve personal interaction truly killed our basic need for human connection? Are we becoming colder as a race of humans and turning living souls into compact faces on our phones or numbers we can write to? Is this all actually a bad thing? I actually don't think so.

Think back to the last time you got snail mail. (For those of you who forgot what mail is: The white rectangle with a stamp on it. AKA: those paper things from companies you don't recognize selling products you don't want at prices you can't afford. Those things you always throw out). Getting snail mail is actually very exciting! Try it! Write to a friend about absolutely nothing and they will still be very excited to read it. Write that same message as an email and it'll get trashed as soon as they look at the subject line.

Because myspace, facebook, text messaging, and all those other forms of communication are so popular we do feel a sense of numbness whenever we receive emails or calls or texts from anyone. But, if we actually see that person face to face, send them snail mail, or visit their house, we somehow get re-energized and excited about humans. It is as if our brains were to shout: "Human! Me like human! Talk! Me talk now!" Don't laugh, because thats the current level of communication.

By creating a lack of human connection, these forms of communication actually make the older forms of communicating much more valuable. Think of a diamond (i heard some girls' ears perk up just now) and how the only reason it is so valuable is the fact that it is rare. Things that are rare are valuable. Having an intimite conversation with someone is valuable because it is rare. I think that is a good thing. We would think long and hard about who we would like to spend our precious face time with and choose our words carefully.

Communication isn't dead! Its just going back to its roots and bringing us with it. Long live text messaging!!

Editor's Note: This entire Post was created by Myspace. GO TO MYSPACE NOW!!!!! MYSPACE GOOD!

Mud Wrestling... in Manure!

2008-11-25T12:20:00.000-08:00

I had been meaning to make this video for the longest time. The footage is from our most recent Youth Camp (2008) and i just loved every second of it. Instead of matching the footage with a typical fast/hard song, i decided to go with the complete opposite of an intense song and put something soothing and relaxing. The result is something i hope you all will find entertaining.

Enjoy watching people getting their faces stuffed with manure as you listen to "Theme From a Summer Place" by Percy Faith. It has the intensity of a bee hive and the tranquility of a butterfly and it is all smashed into a compact blue popsicle for your enjoyment. Bon Apetit! :)

Editor's Note: See if you can spot my brother in there wrestling.

Return of the Eurodancer Madness

2008-11-24T02:34:00.000-08:00

This is one of the older videos i have made but i like it

anyways. I started off really artsy and creative with the layering of different sound bytes and visual candy at the same time, but then it just turned into

randomness... enjoy

Editor's Note: If you listen to the beginning very carefully you can actually hear me on the phone with Adriana :)

The Death of Compact Disks (Good Riddance!)

2008-11-22T01:42:00.000-08:00

Do you remember back when we had those old floppy disks? How about zip drives? They all died and faded away just like other failed products in history such as garlic cake and edible deodorant.

Something i cannot understand is why the heck we still have Compact Disks. Compact Disks, or CDs, came out back in March of 1979. 1979! Did you know that? Well it certainly was a great product once it came out and it has been faithful to us for many years but i think its about time we said goodbye to CDs forever. Wal-Mart is already predicting the death of CDs for goodness sakes.

Let me give you a couple of reasons why i think CDs should be retired forever:

1. CD-Recordable disks become unreadable in 20 months. Did you ever want to save stuff for later only to show it to your future spouse or kids or friends? Well forget about using a CD because they don't last! Dutch scientists tested them out and found that CD-Rs begin to deteriorate and become unreadable in less than 2 years. Maybe you're thinking its because they had them out in the blazing hot sun. Nope! They had them stored in a closed cabinet for two years in their original packing. Even old vinyl records still work after all these years. The lifetime of a CD-R is pitiful.

2. Scratches. Oh how i hate scratches... CDs seem to be scratch magnets. It seems as if they have a conference every year and call all their little scratch buddies from all over the world and have them wreak havoc on our stinkin' CDs. Its terrible and i hate it. I once bought a brand new CD and, i kid you not, when i opened the case it was already scratched. Some of the little plastic things that are supposed to hold it in place broke off and ruined the CD. There was no way to return it. I hate scratches. I hate CDs because they ALWAYS get scratched somehow, no matter how much you try to take care of them.

3. Burning CDs. Once you burn them you can't go back. Its done! No more chances for you! Forgot to add something? Too bad! Do a Google search on issues with CD burning and you'll see what i mean.

4. Flash drives, ipods, and other portable hard drives do a much better job of storing your stuff. Not only do they last longer than 2 years, but they also hold more information. They can't be scratched, (well technically an ipod can be scratched but that doesn't affect the music that is stored within it) they don't fade, they don't break easily, they are much smaller, and best of all, they aren't CDs! CDs use optical drives to transfer data (there are so many problems with this) but flash drives use USB which is much safer and faster than an optical drive.

And that is just some of the many reasons why i believe CDs should be put on the shelf; permanently. When was the last time you bought a CD? Did you keep it within your grasp or just upload it into your computer and toss it into that 100 CD case carrier? Exactly.

Lets see companies putting more things online (Digital Distribution). Not only is it cheaper for them, it is cheaper for us too. There are already a lot of companies that do this and it seems to be working very well. Take a look at itunes or Steam for example. There a still a lot of industries that are very hesitant to take this option (i'm looking at you music industry!) because they are actually making more money screwing over artists. Did you know that the top/elite/greatest music artists only get around $1 dollar for every CD sold?! That's crazy! I'm going to talk more about this topic in a later post so keep subscribing.

CDs have had a great run, they did their job and they did it well. But now its time for CDs to move over and let the new medium emerge. Digital distribution and portable hard drives deserve all the attention they are getting and hopefully people will come around to the light and start tossing those old CDs in the trash because chances are they probably don't even work properly anymore. Death To CDs!!

Editor's Note: I thought this was a pretty interesting fact about CDs you might want to check out. Don't forget to subscribe! :)

Links to Links

2008-11-21T08:23:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you have noticed or not, but i have a wonderful girlfriend who is an amazing photographer. On the bottom of this blog i have her pictures going on as a slide show. Pretty good stuff huh. Here is a link to her site. Check it out. The picture above was taken by her while we were in a subway in DC.

Also my brother is writing some articles on instructables that are actually very interesting. He has made a couple of different articles such as: How to Geocache without a GPS, Buying Cheap Books, and Making a Progressive Comic. Very cool stuff.

So check them all out and don't forget to subscribe to my blog. Thanks! :)

In the Beginning, Norman created Blog

2008-11-21T02:02:00.000-08:00

It's my first official Blog! That was my first official sentence of my first official Blog! This is the first post of my first official Blog! You get the point...

Now that i have that out of the way i can start. Ever since i can remember, i have had writing engraved into my heart. Since my first pencil strokes on a piece of paper until now i have found that God has blessed me with a gift in writing. I'm not saying that it's great, it just doesn't suck as much as this...

I like to write and i can express myself much easier through writing so it was only obvious that the next step was to write a blog and hopefully you, my audience of one, can enjoy this and subscribe and make me feel like my ranting actually make a difference in this world. Making a difference or not, i'm still going to write!

Editor's Note: Just in case you are wondering, i never capitalize the letter "i" for reasons i don't fully understand yet always obey. That is all. Now subscribe!