Random Thoughts from a College Kid

It's a Newt! (Gingrich that is)

2011-08-29T05:49:00.001-07:00

This is mostly to test my awesome new app. Please hold and behold Newt's awesomeness. You're welcome.

A revival of the blog?!?!

2011-08-29T05:08:00.001-07:00

Well, I am going to give this thing another go! I just got an app for my phone to help me blog on the go even! Hooray! So, new blog post coming soon. Like a real one. This one is mostly just a fake test one. Yeah. Hooray progress!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My Life at this point.

2011-02-16T20:56:00.000-08:00

Well everybody, wasn't that fun? I thought so, it was a good diversion from the norm of what I will general do. It allowed me to flex my creative muscle and just cut loose on here. But I am ecstatic that it is over. This may become a rambling blog, look out!

I just started an internship. I am pretty excited about and am currently doing some work for it

You can check out the church (Northbridge Church in Springfield, MO) online! Watch them live! It will be fun!
Seriously though it is an awesome church from everything I have seen so far and really have enjoyed my experience thus far.
It has been a short time thus far, but I like it a lot.
Did I mention that you can and should watch the services at 9:30 and 11:00 central standard times every Sunday at their online campus? It is true! Check it out, it is super awesome.

I just read Radical by David Platt. It rocked my world. It is rocking my world. My world is shattered. Blog devoted to it coming soon.
My house smells of chicken. Yuck.
Uncooked chicken.
BASEBALL SEASON IS SOOOO HERE!

I am slightly excited. Also, Pujols didn't sign. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

I have a lot of blog ideas that have been blocked by the awesome story. It got kind of annoying to be honest.
Now I am not thinking through any of them for some reason, thus the rambling blog.
Though the rambling blog maybe a product of my generation as well

Everything comes with 140 characters or less
We cannot nor do we want to read through a lengthy thing, we would rather read a bit, go do something else, read a bit more, facebook it up, read a bit more, skype, read a bit more ect.
The same thing goes for writing papers and other such things
I am literally in the middle of a facebook conversation as I write this.
I am so Postmodern.

I may be teaching a class at Youth Camp this summer!

Yay teaching other postmoderns!
That is right kiddos, Impact University camp.
It is about Bible and American Culture
I will be drawing from the class I just took of the same name
Preview: We look at Cultural texts and discuss what they mean and why they say what they say and how the say it.
Youth preview: We are gonna watch movies and listen to music!

Did I mention my world has been rocked? Cause it has tremendously.
I am running Mac OS X on an old PC.

Yes it is weird.
Yes it has glitches.
Yes it is awesome to have a computer again and it is just awesome in general.

My. House. Smells. Like. CHICKEN.

I am breathing Salmonella.

I am trying to think of more points, but I am getting distracted.

I suffer from infobesity.
Apparently it is a new word that means we have INFORMATION EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME GAH!!!

A Lawyer ad is currently making a horrible analogy. I love ads for their misinformation!
That was sarcasm.
I am thirsty, but I do not think I have anything to drink really, other than water.
If I did, it is in the kitchen anyway.
Why not go in that you may ask?
Think of where the chicken smell is coming from, and just how much worse it is in that area. Yeah.
Eyepatches are awesome.
I still root for the Ninja's though. I mean, they can do things fast and secretly.
Yes, I just brought in the oldest most cliched thing on the internet.
I am done now, so how awesome is that? Pretty awesome. Questions? Comments? Anything else? New blogs soon!

The Snowpacolypse: Chapter Three

2011-02-10T14:26:00.000-08:00

The third chilling part in this epic tale of courage and survival based on true life events! Read on as we explore...

Chapter Three: Parties of Old... and SNOW ZOMBIES!!!

Their faces were pale, whiter than even the German's pallid tones. As White as the snow that encompassed them. Their speech was mumbled and incoherent, none of our brave and dashing heroes could make out a word they were saying. This is when when the realization dawned on them what they where witnessing, and what the German's girl had experienced when she went back to her own place the night before. They had all turned into SNOW ZOMBIES!

The phenomenon was one they had all heard of before, but none had actually experienced. It was said that when SBU cancelled class due to inclement weather, that the temperatures and conditions were so bad, that anyone trapped outside for an extended period of time would be frozen solid all the way to the core, and that their lifeless bodies would be transformed into the walking frigid undead. It was the stuff of legend, nay of myth, but here standing before them were the lifeless animated corpses of people they had once hung out with and had classes with. These people were once their friends. The only uninfected WOB explained it as thus.

   "It was horrible. As we were walking back last night I noticed a change in my
   friends, I ignored it thinking maybe the cold just made them a little loopy. I
   had no idea the changes that were soon in store for them or the horrors I would
   soon see with my eyes. The next morning they seemed cold and unresponsive,
   but we went on out anyway. It was then that I saw them doing horrible things. They
   were eating the snow! And playing in it! WITHOUT PROPER SNOW ATTIRE!
   It was horrible. I ran here thinking it was a safe place, I didn't think they would follow!"

She explained all this while shaking violently in fear. Our heroes soon realized that it was not her that lead them here, no, it was their instinctual nature that made them come to this place of refuge, it was where they always came on Tuesday and Thursday nights. This is when Bearded and Wonderfully Wise Man had an idea, what if all these Snow Zombies needed was some hot tea and coffee? It was worth a shot they all decided, so they proceeded to give them the homemade remedy, and it WORKED! The Snow Zombies were saved! So then they sat around as they did most every Tuesday and Thursday talking and enjoying each others company while watching music videos on multiple screens.

The night ended however and they all left for fear of breaking several fire codes. They were never heard from again. Until classes started up the next day anyway.

So there you have it folks, Chapter Three. Will it be the last Chapter? Or will there be one more? Perhaps and Epilogue is in place? Stay Tuned folks, and find out just how bored and/or lazy the author is!

The Snowpacolypse: Chapter Two

2011-02-10T14:04:00.000-08:00

Due to unforseen circumstances beyond our control we hit a bit of a snag with keeping you up to date on the horrors our heroes are set in the face of certain death. We now pick up where we left off, with only a few continuity errors as the writer was so frozen he forgot some of the details. He was also delayed in writting this, and has forgotten what he ~~lied~~ wrote about earlier.

Chapter Two: Two Days before the Day After Tomorrow

Holy-stolen-blog-title Batman, that's ~~today~~ last tuesday! Right when I am writing this!

The Iowan, also known as The Bearded and Wonderfully Wise Man and his two friends, the Irishman and German awoke the next morning and opened the door, only to see nothing but snow covering the earth, three feet high at its most shallow. The three men knew their was only one thing they could do. Play Mario-Kart. They did so and watched movies with renewed fervor, hoping that the snow would soon melt so they could leave this snowy abyss of a house, for the WOB Girls had left the door open in their haste to make it back to their house, and an estimated three tons of snow had swept in through the doorway into the room where the Irishman was sleeping. After a rescue mission had been mounted and the room cleared of snow their was a knock. One of the woman had survived and made it back. Whispers of a horror that she faced circled, but no one was quite sure what it could be. Instead they first had to face their current situation. They had not listened to the wise words of The Mighty Wal-Mart and had thus not stocked up food supplies. Three of the four had no food sources whatsoever apart from coffee and tea. The Bearded and Wonderfully Wise Man was the soul exception to this, he had planned ahead, he had food supplies to feed them all for the months that they might be kept separated from the rest of the world. But would he share?

Of course he would, otherwise they would just kill him and eat him anyway, so he would share their food, gaining their trust and commitment to him in case he ever needed them on down the road. That and he figured if he gave them food now he would be the last one to be eaten once the inevitable cannibalism began. For he knew the secret, that all good survival stories in the snow had cannibalism. They waited there, watching The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and other movies, until late at night. Then there was a knock at the door.

BOOM BOOM

"Who is it?" They called out. There is no response.

BOOM BOOM BOOM
"Who is it?" They call out again, their voice breaking a little in fear, who could possibly survive in this weather they thought to themselves. Still, if it is survivors they should go and let them in. They open the door to see the rest of the WOB Girls from next door along with men formerly Lords of some far off Land of On they had once known. But something was different about these people. Something had changed.

Something had gone horribly wrong.

What had gone horribly wrong? Will our doomed heroes survive? what do these WOB and Lords of the Land of On want? Why are they changed and how? The answers to all these questions and many more that you do not care about or asked in next week's edition of Tim's Blog! Or in about ten minutes when I write it because I am sick and tired of it. Stay Tuned loyal readers!

Snowpacolypse: Chapter One

2011-02-01T15:34:00.000-08:00

We continue the harrowing true life look into the events that are occurring in the ongoing snowpacolypse. Your patience in this matter is still appreciated.

Chapter One: Late Nights and Early Mornings

The festivities that occurred at The Wal-Mart were now a thing of the past as this ragtag group of people go to The Plex to bunker down for the night, armed with the warmth of the DVD's and popcorn, this ragtag group of people began to brave the coming storm, still unaware of the tragedy that will soon befall them. Their happy friends made the trek to the city, hoping that they would find some solace and warmth their. They have not been heard from since.

Fivel Goes West kept them warm through the first part of the night, as they continued to huddle together for warmth. They made it through Fivel, which they received from the two Giants of Plaster, and continued to laugh as the weather came down upon their houses. Up next was a gender bending tale of adventure and excitement in the form of Mrs. Doubtfire. Their laughter kept them warm and spirits lifted through the night into the early hours of the morning. The females had to cross the frozen tundra to get to their own house to avoid the stigma that would befall them for spending the night there.

They appeared to have made it, though only one would return the following morning. It was in that morning that they discovered the horror of their predicament, they woke to find... The Snowpacolypse!!!

Snowpacolypse: Prologue

2011-02-01T14:57:00.000-08:00

We interrupt the normal output of this blog to bring you this urgent story coming through the pipe lines. We thank you for your patience.

The day started as any other day, classes and the like, no one suspected a thing. Then the reports started to pour in, ten inches, twenty, all conflicting, all pointing toward one thing, the Snowpacolypse.

The Iowan and his friends, the German and the Irishman, paid no head to the warnings. Them and their "happy" friends ignored the reports of impending doom and gloom. Then it happened, something that had not happened in a millennium. SBU cancelled all classes. It should have been a warning that signaled the end. Instead, they went to The Wal-Mart with the Colorado woman and her friends. There was much rejoicing and celebration at The Wal-Mart as the SBU students made The Wal-Mart a place of partying. They mocked the people stocking up on food stuffs. They mocked their own demise.

The end was coming.

The Ten-Year Rule

2011-01-29T11:45:00.000-08:00

Welcome back friends and loyal readers! I bet you guys thought this was dead or I was going to break my New Year's resolution, didn't ya? Well I didn't! so take that skeptics! I actually have quite a few ideas kicking around in my old head for some decent blog posts, so I may just get crazy this week, who knows!

Ok, today friends and only readers, I will be discussing the ten-year rule. This is something I picked up off the Art of Manliness e-mail list. First a side note, I love The Art of Manliness webpage and e-mail list, if you are a male, you should sign up for it, it is packed full of goodies. Secondly, the e-mail guy was mostly talking about vacations, but I think it is a fantastic idea that can be translated into the whole life. But more on that after the jump!
Now, the ten-year rule basically goes as follows: Any decision you are faced with, just think, which will I want to look back on more in ten years time? Now this is certainly applicable as it relates to vacation as the guy in the e-mail said. I mean think about it, vacation is about relaxing and stuff yes, but it is also about exploring and finding new places and experiences! Which would you rather look back on and reminisce about in ten years, sleeping in all the time, or getting up and exploring X place? This of course is also very applicable to our daily lives. Any major decision you can think, which would I rather be doing in X amount of years?

Not only that, but think about it in a spiritual sense, which would I rather look back in heaven and remember? I think that this can really help to get people (myself included) out of their shells, and to ease in the decision making process. Furthermore, it can help everyone, once again, myself included, live not so much concerned with little things in the here and now that do not really matter! That and it can help us not be so freaking selfish all the time. Think about it, if you are caring about what you will be reflecting on in ten years, is (insert random pointless activity or toy that we concern ourselves with) really going to matter as much? I think not.

Now, this is not to say that we should all be future focused and ignore the present, because then we would all just be planning and not doing I think, or something else somewhat ludicrous. I am just saying that we should be more focused on what our actions of today have on the world of tomorrow and asking whether or not the things that we are doing are making any difference in the world outside of our own area of me me me. Aka, are we living a life of significance? Or are we living a life of repetition, triteness, and focusing on the insignificant? Just some food for thought...

Well, that is all for now folks, so, up next I may have a blog about remembering the past! Or I may do an album review, you know, cause there is no place for that elsewhere on the web. Or possibly a deeply personal blog! I have two of those in the works! I even have an update blog on my resolutions! Is this madness?! No! It is my blog! So now is the time that you guys can comment. Tell me what I did wrong, or how you agree with me or maybe what you want to hear from me next? I live to serve!

Movies... and my class!

2011-01-16T22:01:00.000-08:00

So for this Jan-Term, I am taking Bible and American Culture. In this class we take "Cultural Texts" and dissect them though a Biblical lens. This is a hard thing to do! On the one level, it is interesting and fun. You look at a film and figure out what it is trying to say on multiple levels. This is the fun part. Then it goes into what this means about our culture and ourselves. This part sucks, some of it is easy, but we need to just keep going deeper and deeper and my mind is like AHHH!!!!

I really just needed to blog.

I am tired and there are people around. So there is that.

Yay.

The Traditions of This Time of Year... and Other Unrelated Ramblings

2011-01-05T09:52:00.000-08:00

So, first real post of the new year. I think I am going to just list and ramble. So, away we go!

I love me some New Year's traditions
I can eat all day on New Year's Day and it is perfectly fine and normal
Parades!

Ok, so only one but I do enjoy parades
The bands are fun to watch, the floats are beautiful artwork, and who doesn't like horses?
Announcers can be annoying, why isn't there a single arena with good announcers?

Football!

Ok, the amount of Bowl games is getting ridiculous, I like some minor ones leading up to New Years, All day on the big day, then maybe a week until the championship, maybe one or two of the big ones during that week.
I want a playoff

I am taking a class in January for the first time since High School, it is a little weird
I love the class
First thing you do when you leave a movie, gotta talk about the movie, first thing you do when you leave the church...?
I am in my own house for the first time ever
It is a little disconcerting thinking of the bills I am about to pay
I hate bills
I do like Bill Murray

I wonder if Ghost Busters III will ever get made and if it will be good
I do not know if I want Bill Murray to be a ghost

I do want the Coen Brothers to keep making movies

True Grit, awesome

This is a horrible blog post, I may never do this again
The Cubs have a good farm system, now Hendry wants to trade it for a pitcher for two years... really?
Engagements have gotten ridiculous over the past few years, that and the proposal

Guys have a lot of pressure to perform, that is all I am saying

I am done here, this is not working out like I thought it might... real blog posts ahead later!

New Year, New lists and resolutions

2011-01-01T00:47:00.000-08:00

Well, it is that time of year again, the time for lists and resolutions. Do you like how I just repeated my title in my first sentence? Yeah, me neither, my English teachers probably wouldn't as well. Any who, let's get started shall we?

So, New Years Resolutions, everyone makes them, some people even intend to keep them from time to time! This year it is different. I am actually going to keep it as much as possible, and therefore, I am making it public! That's right, you anonymous public can help me keep them, aren't you excited? First I will break it down into various groups of goals, and then list them with some details. Away we go!

Part One: Physical

1. I am fat. This is a fact. I need to lose weight. 20 pounds over the course of the year sounds good. That's 1.6 pounds a month, I got this.

2. I am going to die of heart disease. It kind of runs in the family. Therefore I need to start running. Eventually I
need to get up to 20 minutes a day, five days a week, but I am going to start at three days a week. Hey, I am fat, remember?

Part Two: Academics

1. I really really need to graduate on time, to do that I need some good grades. This is self-explanatory. To do this, I am going to set out some time that is only for studying. Three hours a week minimum.

Part Three: Mental

1. I am going to read more this year, both for fun and otherwise, therefore I am going to read a minimum of a book a month. I have some ideas, but am more then welcome to suggestions. Anything goes, fiction, non-fiction, comic books, dictionary, thesaurus, biographies, poetry books, etc. Comment if you have a good one I should read.

2. Puzzles. I am going to try my hand at some puzzles this year, like crossword or sudoku, something like that, not of the jigsaw variety. One a month though this could go higher.

Part Four: Social

1. Play more games. Not just video games, I do that enough already (side note, we just got a third controlled for the computer, garage, it is on in Mario Cart) but other things as well, like card games and board games. I love them and do not play them enough with my friends. Don't worry Leon, this doesn't necessarily mean The Game of Things.

2. Blogging. That's right my dear readers, I am actually going to use this blog and blog. I enjoy it, and need to get more consistent in it, therefore a guaranteed one a week for all of 2011! To infinity and beyond! Some may be short, and some may be stupid, and some maybe just rants in a list form. I saw one guy did that occasionally and it was humorous and effective. Therefore I am stealing the format since it is the internet! I am thinking of doing some reviews of some movies and/or music I enjoy, because if there is one thing the world needs it is another critic.

Part Five: Spiritual

1. Have a much more consistent quite time. Daily, at least ten minutes every morning with God and a Bible, that is it. It is good for a pastor in training to try and get closer to God, right?

2. Be more open with my faith and share it more openly and just more in general. I do not bring it up as much as maybe I should in regular conversation.

Part Six: Miscellaneous Junk I Cannot Fit Under Any other Title. Also Wrap-up.

1. Live life. I want to squeeze every drop out of life. You know, the whole live life to the full thing Jesus was talking about. Live spontaneously and not waste as much time as I already do. This is my most generic resolution and thus easiest to break, but I think the not wasting time part is huge.

2. Be more awesome. I have ~~a couple~~ a lot of ways I as a person suck horribly at and fail miserably on. Being nicer to ~~some~~ all of my friends would definitely be a good place to start (you know who you are...). That and not being so lazy about everything ever. I do not know, my bad habit list is huge, but I cannot think of another one at this exact moment in time. Basically I need to work on a lot of things to make me into the man that God wants me to be. So here goes nothing.

Well there you have it loyal readers and friends. A few of the specific ways I hope to better myself this year. Feel free to keep me accountable through out the year, and I will even blog about some of them as my year goes on. What are some of your resolutions?

Can't sleep, let's bash the fundamentalists!

2010-10-31T01:19:00.000-07:00

Well, it is almost three o'clock in the morning, and I cannot sleep. Seems like a GREAT time to blog! I think I will do my first serious blog now, and also my first religious one! Let's start the controversy now.

Down in Springfield, Mo there are some fine folks who stand on the corner of downtown every Friday night and hold up signs that are meant to save the world. I guess. These signs say things such as "Woman should be covered and silent" and "The Party Ends in Hell" and other such goodness. Now, as a Christian, I somehow feel offended by these "religious" signs and have thought a lot about them. Especially at three in the morning it would seem. Let me break this down into a pros and cons list to sort through my feelings about such a delicate issue.

Pros
Well, they start dialog about spirituality, so that is always good. The people who read the signs talk with the sign holders and I am assuming sometimes just between themselves. Most of it is negative I have a feeling, but some good things have come out of it I am sure.

It does get the Word of God out there... kind of... It is a bit of bad interpretation and application, but at least they are being bold in their faith and stepping out to do something, I think that is something more of the rest of us Christians should do. How many times a day do Christians, myself included, sometimes shy away from being bold in our faith? These guys are at least trying, even if they are misguided.

It causes people to think. This is pretty much the same as the first one. This is mainly more for the Christians though, because the non-Christians are going to go by, see some crazy people and just bash them, the Christians will be forced to, prepare yourselves now, actually take out their Bibles and study it critically! Shocking I know. These guys are pretty well read and know what they believe, can the same be said about you? or me even?

Cons
There are none, best approach to evangelism I have ever seen.

Ok, you caught me, that was a lie. Well, first of all, it is abrasive without a point. Jesus was abrasive for a reason, he could point out people's flaws in a creative way, without being a jerk about it, and they would still change. I would somewhat doubt many people are changed by the signs that these guys are holding up.

It is not very loving. Seriously, just talking with these guys it sounds more like hatred than love. In addition, they sound like they have given up on everyone in the world that is not a part of their specific church. Ouch. First of all, what is the point of the signs then, and secondly, that is not showing a lot of faith in God's power if you do not believe He can save people now. Look at David, that man after God's own heart was pretty messed up at times. Also, Jesus loved the sinners and ate with them, not held up signs that talked about how sinful they were or yelled and screamed at them. That last part probably has bad verb subject agreement, correct me if it does, it is after three now, so I do care not grammar about. See what I did there?

It gives people a bad taste in their mouth when they think of Christianity. Now instead of Mother Theressa, or the mission relief after Hurricane Catrina or something like that, people think of the angry people on the street corners. Combine that with the Spanish Inquisition and Christianity sounds like it has the greatest army in the world. Not bad for a guy that rode on an ass' foal and preached turning the other cheek.

I give props to them for their spirit and boldness. However it somewhat comes down to just being a jerk. It is really in your face and not going to win anyone over. If it has or does than it is all worth it, unless of course it has only won one person to Christ and turned of hundred's more that would have been otherwise. This goes for shirts and things to, some things I have seen people wear or heard people say just screams to me I AM BETTER THAN YOU BECAUSE I AM A CHRISTIAN AND YOU'RE NOT FOOL! and I just do not see that anywhere in the New Testament. Ok, maybe Paul to some extent, but not like that. And he wrote half the New Testament and helped poor people, so he gets a little more of a pass. I should write a better summary, but I really want to go to sleep.

Love God, Love others, Take time to listen. And comment. Let me hear your thoughts?

Rants

2010-10-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

So, ranting. I am pretty good at it if I must say. This is probably what this blog will constantly fall to, is me ranting and raving on various topics. The problem with this is of course, rants suck, and that everyone in the entire world rants on youtube and their own blogs. Therefore, I have official become a clone of the internet

I am ok with this.

People get rich this way.

The biggest problem, is when I am trying to be funny, I never am. My wit is entirely based on spur of the moment jokes. So what does this mean for the blog? It means that this will be the most boring thing you will ever read and you should probably stop reading now.

Seriously.

Just stop.

Just kidding, I would love you to read all my thoughts, I am egocentric that way. It makes me feel important about myself and gives me a source of identity.

Anyway, rants are a good way for people to express themselves. Rants are also a good way to make fools of themselves. In addition, it shows just how self-centered people are, and how most the rants are making fun of people, criticizes them (all of which makes the rantee feel better about themselves), or talks about what bugs them.

This bugs me.

Yes, I realize the irony in this.

Yes, it was mostly intentional.

Yes, I am completely unfunny.

Unfunny is a word, Google Chrome says it is, and Google knows all. So there. Rantee however is not. But this is the internet, I can make-up whatever words I want. You don't have to read it or like it, though I would prefer if you do. See above.

Questions? Comments? Leave a comment and make me feel like a real human person! I read all comments... because I am not a famous person and still have time for all you normal folks out there. Don't you want to talk to me before I get so big I hire someone to filter through my comments for me? I thought so.

My first Blog post ever

2010-10-26T13:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my first ever Blog post. I can tell you are pretty excited. So what am I going to do with this blog? I have absolutely no idea whatsoever. Thus the title of random thoughts! I know, just what you needed, another college kid trying to be funny and relevant on the internet. You can expect some complaining, some super deep thoughts, and so on from this blog. So, exactly what the title says. If I ever update that is.