My Self "Check-Up" With My Faith Using The Soularium OR The Closest Thing I Can Do For An Art Project

Ok so this post certainly background info. So back in the summer of 2008 I went on a summer project with Campus Crusade for Christ to North Myrtle Beach, SC, to see more on that, watch this short documentary I made about it by clicking here, but the point I bring that up is because during the project we were shown a way of sharing our faith to people using a tool called the Soularium. The Soularium is a collection of 50 photos that you show to people and ask them questions about which picture best represents things in life. We were shown this but I never used it, but still thought it was a cool idea. At the end of the summer they were emptying out the project's office and giving out all the Soularium's they had, I nabbed one before they were all gone. Until tonight I never used it, though I never got rid of it.

So today I meet with a friend who is raising financial support to go do a year of missions and we were catching up, I sadly couldn't help her because I am unemployed but after that we just discussed each others walk with God and for some odd reason somewhere in the conversation I thought how great of a “check-up” in my walk would it be to go through the Soularium myself. So I popped on some Nine Inch Nails (one of my favorite bands and also their music is really good reflecting music) dug the Soularium out of my closet and took all the photos and placed on the floor and went through the questions. Here goes...

Pick 3 images to describe your life right now and explain each one

I feel it shows a woman doing her own thing on her own and totally independent of the world around her. That is very much my life right now. I am going my own path, God is apart of it, but to most people it seems I am doing my own thing and really enjoy it. I am very independent and on my own right now in my life now, there is good and bad. Good because its good to be less social after 4 years of being a social butterfly its good to have a “quieter” life for a little bit. Bad because I have less interaction with friends and people in general.

I feel this represents me looking forward to the future and how unknown it is to me. I want answers on what the future holds for me but I have to wait.

I picked this photo because my life is in a transition phase right now. Moving from college life and into a more professional/adult type of lifestyle. I feel this phase taking longer than I would want it to.

Pick 3 images of what you wish your life was like

I picked this because in terms of life situation and location I wish I was somewhere else. I have loved Minneapolis for the past 5 years but I feel strongly that it is time to move on to somewhere else, I love the friends I have here but there is so much more to experience out there and I want to make sure I do before I have to settle down in years down the road.

I picked this one because I wish my life was going somewhere, because being unemployed from a boring data entry job is nowhere to me. I have aspirations of working in radio and being on the air, whether in music or sports talk, I still don't know, I prayed about it for awhile this last month and feel its where God wants me to go career wise, and I feel that is going somewhere.

Its a bit of an odd pick but I wish my life had more order, I feel it has very little, its not necessarily a mess but its definitely crazy. I know God has a plan and I trust it but life is just crazy too much sometimes that I'm glad I am not the one planning because clearly if I was the only one planning, I would fail at it.

Which Image describes God? Why? What does it about God to you?

This pick took awhile to decide on, because a lot of them were close but when I thought about none of them perfectly fit what I think of God until I noticed this one. God certainly is an anchor in my life, He is always “attached” to me but the thing that works so well with this photo is doesn't necessarily look like its being used and sometimes I don't feel God is being used as my anchor in my life. Sometimes He is just there but not being used to be the focus of my life.

Think about life so far. Which Image best describes what you've experienced spiritually? Why? What does that image represent?

I notice this one quickly and really liked that it was an escalator. Because on an escalator you have a choice of going up the steps or just ride along. My spiritual life goes between the two. Sometimes I am going up the steps myself and actively pursuing God. But sadly I feel a lot of the time in the last year I have just been riding along. Lately I feel I have taken steps to seek God by spending time in the word, so it not riding along as much as of recently.

When you think about your spiritual life or journey, which image best represents what you wish were true? Why? What does that image represent?

Funny this image has the number right after where my spiritual life is currently. But out of all the pictures this is the only one that made sense to me. I wish I was taking my spiritual life and running with it. Or in another sense that works with the photo in that I want to seek/chase after God with all I have, but honestly that is very difficult. I can't constantly have God on my mind, I have responsibilities to take care that take time away from Him.

So Where Do I Go From Here?

I really don't know, I mean I am not in serious trouble with my walk with Christ but obviously its not where I want to be. I need to just go after it, read the word and pray often. The rest should fall into place over time.

If you want more info about The Soularium, go to www.mysoularium.com sadly the site doesn't let you do The Soularium online

Until next time...stay safe...so you can read my next blog post :P

Why The Simpsons Have Such A Bad Rap These Days

So I wanted to write this down before I started my day because I got a theory fleshed out on why The Simpsons have such a bad wrap for not being as good as it was in its first 10 years.

I thought of this because on this weeks the episode they did a special opening that was a huge animated sequence involving a lot of the characters to the song “Tik Tok” by Ke$ha. This is topical in my mind but looking at Facebook and Twitter I noticed that it made a lot of people mad and I felt that flac was undeserved, when at the same time if South Park did something as topical it would be praised for it.

The early of The Simpsons saw it get very popular because there was nothing like it on Television. Animation for grown-ups? The baby boomers had no idea how to deal with it and thus tried as hard as they could to keep their kids from watching it, this was very much my experience, as my mom didn't want me watching it, but shortly overtime grew to see it was a show I cared a lot about.

From a kids standpoint growing up seeing the Simpsons grow from its start in Christmas of '89 it was a fun show to see. Kids wishing they could do what Bart does on TV, imitating Homer sayings on the playground, and singing those catchy songs they did from time to time. At the same time their plots were topical and relevant at times and dealt with issues people faced in America, and at other times causing controversey when it made fun of the city of New Orleans, in the early 90s, the Fox affiliate in New Orleans refused to air the A Street Named Marge episode because of the few jokes at the cities at expense.

But now in an age where the adult animation field is so saturated, the Simpsons is now in a world where the field is spread thin of cartoons for grown up, yet its all on cable, the broadcast networks that aren't FOX can't find any good adult animation to air on their networks, its kind of funny when you think about it, thats a point for another day.

Anyway if you watch the Simpsons today, it looks a lot different, its in Hi-Def and widescreen, but the plots are not much different. They are still well written and usually contain a B and sometimes C plot and they all come together in the end, just like they did in the old days. But back in the old days we had nothing to compare it to, so we thought it was amazing. Nowadays people compare The Simpsons to Family Guy and South Park, which is odd because The Simpsons paved the way for these shows to even be considered to be aired. Some would say the pupils have become the masters now but I argue that point because obviously The Simpsons is still a successful show, otherwise Fox would cancel it, TV is a business and when something isn't making money its done away with. The Simpsons still finds ways to sell DVDs, t-shirts, and toys. If people really thought it wasn't that good, they would not invest in these items, instead ratings are doing well, not great, but still profitable enough to keep it on the air, merchandise sells like crazy, and Homer keeps finding more trouble.'


So stop dissing The Simpsons, its just as good as South Park or Family Guy, but no one wants to admit it.

Until next time, do stay safe

The Console Wars

PS3 Vs Xbox 360

So for a random reason tonight I thought I should highlight the pros and cons of the video gaming consoles. I am not really in the market for one I just thought I would give my opinion about them. If you are wondering why the Wii is not on this comparison, its because its not a game system on the same level as

Playstation 3

So first I am going to go into the pros and cons and then anything personal I feel about the system.

PROS

The biggest draw to buying a PS3 is that it doubles as a Blu-Ray player, that pretty big as the home video market is slowly upgrading to Blu-Ray. Most people are going to upgrade to a Blu-Ray player soon enough anyway might as well kill two birds with one stone with this one.

Playing online is free with PS3 no Playstation Network subscription fee, it will work fine with your internet connection, unlike other consoles (more on that later).

Most people are already used to the controller as it is the same design since 1998 when the Dual Shock controller came out for the PS1.

CONS

The game selection isn't as diverse and of my tastes as it is on the 360.

When downloading a game or demo you have to wait for it to download, the system pauses the download if you pop in a movie while it downloads something, I've seen this happen on a friends PS3 while downloading a demo and its a pain to learn after watching a blu ray for 45 minutes and see the download make no progress

It does malfunction, rate is unknown and not as publicized so probably not as much as the 360 but thats a risky assumption.

Personally...

Personally the PS3 is a great system and the blu ray is a definite bonus. But the game selection is not up to par as to what the 360 offers, in terms of exclusive titles. I am a fan of shooters and 360 defintely excels in this category over PS3. Yes I should be used to the control design because I've played it a lot through the years but I like the 360s a bit better.

I didn't include this because I don't know if its a pro or a con but the controllers have some kind of motion control like sensor in it, that isn't used and now they are getting ready to release motion sensor wands to compete with the Wii and the 360's Project Natal.

Also back in the early 2000's, so long ago now it seems, Sony was responsible for bumping off Sega out of the console market with the PS2, and ever since then I have held a grudge against Sony in the gaming industry. The Dreamcast was an awesome console but Sony with its “we double as a DVD player” sales speech helped kill the Dreamcast fast. It makes it hard to break down and buy a Sony gaming product while I have a Sega fan boy inside of me what won't have anything to do with Sony gaming, it doesn't effect anyone really but certainly has an effect on my buying habits.

Xbox 360

PROS

As stated above the console exclusives are better and are more interesting for me overall.

The controller is top notch made ergonmically for shooting gamers like myself in mind.

The integration with Windows computers is flawless and makes streaming music and video content much simpler for those with Windows PCs. There is also some integration features with Windows Mobile, but I am an Android man myself so I have no use for that.

Project Natal is rumored to be out this Christmas season and it going to be a killer add-on for the console and I am very excited to get the chance to try it out at some point, certainly tips the scale over the motion wands Sony has coming out for PS3.

CONS

RROD aka Red Ring Of Death most of us have heard about it very few of us have experienced it first hand. Its a fear that all of us have, the game console malfunctioning and in this day in age of faster and better inside parts they tend to overheat so as long as you keep the ventilation holes unblocked the console should be fine.

Paying for Xbox Live has gotten to be a joke. It is bad enough Internet bills are ridiculously high enough but the fact that PSN is free to their users, Xbox Live needs to stop with this subscription service BS.

No Blu-Ray is a shame because it is the one thing that keeps me from buying this console, and to add more insult to injury there is a probably now rare, HD DVD add-on for the system. Didn't manufacturers learn from the early 90s from Sega that most addons dont work out that well. While the Sega CD was initally successful it failed to have a few great games, instead most were terrible full motion video games and the addon soon had a worse looking cousin, the Sega 32X, those are topics for another day.

Personally...

I like the 360 game selection its awesome and massive and totally fits for me. Project Natal looks too awesome in terms of what the possibilites are with it, which seem endless and I cannot wait to try it out at a store or demo somewhere.

In Summary...

This is a tough decision because neither system out performs the other, but I have to side with the 360 with Natal coming out it slightly makes me want it more than the PS3.

The Devolution of Comedy in American Culture or Why You Tube Makes Me Sad

So today I saw one of my more favorite You Tubers, Slyth66, post a Q&A video and at the end he makes a joke about masturbation. I was kind of appalled at this because thats not typically his type of humor, but I can see why he did it, he is almost at 20,000 subscribers and still doesn't have a partnership, mind you most people get a partnership at 2,000 subscribers. So then I reflect and think about the big names on You Tube, the Shane Dawsons and Phillip Defrancos of the top of the You Tube charts all have way too much sexual humor and I think its led me to be kind of bored of most You Tube videos recently. It used to be I would look forward to everyones videoes when I got big into You Tube over the summer, now I stay subscribed to a lot of the same people but I don't watch their videos because it is usually the same old thing, its like watch more than 5 episodes of Grey's Anatomy.

I then think about the rest of entertainment culture in America specifically comedy and how it is on the same page as that of what is big on You Tube. Sex comedies are what dominate the box office these days, last year alone the best non kids comedies were The Hangover and Bruno and sadly they have gratitutious amounts of sexual humor, yet American audiences seem to like it more than other types of humor.

It just makes me sad that the era of well written comedy is dying to make for comedy that has to deal with sex. I just watched the movie today called It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, and wow what a great comedic movie from 1963, just really well put together overall, more on that movie some other time, but it makes me sad to compare that to comedies of today which arent as worthwhile, yes people enjoy them, but they are not the movies people put at the top of their lists of movies that NEED to see in the year. As comedies even on Television lessen in quality, i.e. The Office, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Two and A Half Men, it makes me wonder if the art of comedy in America is dying almost as fast as film criticism is because of how low brow it has to be to appeal to a mass audience.

It just makes me sad overall because I have learned to fully appreciate comedies of yester-year but most people really don't care cuz most of their comedic interests have to depend on subtle innuendos.

I could keep ranting but it would get redundant.

Until next time...

Does God want us to be an agent of Chaos?

So today I heard a screenwriting podcast about The Dark Knight and later on in the evening I watched half of the movie and thinking ahead to some dialogue later in the movie, I wondered if an agent of chaos. Chaos being a state of extreme confusion and disorder, or rather that is what it would seem to us humans, but God has everything according to His plan and a lot of the time we have no idea what that plan is and it would be to us, simply chaos. I know some of you dont like religious talk but try to hear me out on this.

Many times in my life I thought I had everything figured out God steps in and says no and sends my life in an entire different direction. Take for example when I thought I was meant to be a missionary with Campus Crusade in Miami, FL. I noticed early on what I thought was clear signs to go. Did all the paper work and was ready to go just needed to do a summer of support raising and believed if I was meant to go God would find a way to provide. Well it seemed he didn't want me to go because he put many obstacles in my way to ensure support raising went as awful and as lackluster as it did and all I was left with was a huge credit card debt, that I am still paying off, and huge wonder as to where I am to go next in life with where I am supposed to move to and pursue as a vocation.

Now lets look at the other side of the coin (oh man too many Dark Knight references) what if we were to live for God as an agent of chaos, never planning too far ahead in fear that it isnt according to what God wants for our lives. We expect the unexpected all the time from what He has in store for our lives. Of course we would have to plan somewhat for simple things but for bigger things we would just do life and prey God leads us in His will. That seems a lot more fun and enjoyable but does its flaws in working out perfectly and is a theory I plan to keep developing.

I can see how this doesnt make much sense, which is legit as its midnight and ive been up since 6:30 AM. But I have to think there is some validity to this thought, that and the fact it just sounds cool to be an agent of chaos for God.

Having a plan can always lead to disappiontment when things dont go perfectly according to the plan. Being an agent of chaos can only lead to enjoyment, you would expect nothing, and anything you get, is everything.

Think about it and hit me up with your thoughts.

Laters

Reflecting On Almost Lost Memories- Anita and Her Two Boys

For some odd reason when Erin was driving me home this evening I got to thinking about people I haven't talked to in ages and truly lost touch with even though they were huge influences on me when I was growing up. For some reason I was reflecting on some really early memories of a babysitter I had before I was the age of 5, her name was anita and she had two sons who were in high school named kurt and for the life of me I can't remember the other ones name cuz I never saw him when I got older. Anita and her two boys spoiled me, according to my mother. I don't remember how they spoiled me but for some reason I think some of my He-Man toys come from that family. The only memories I have are watching Alf (OMG I loved Alf when I was little) in Anita's big living room, it probably was normal size but I was little so a lot of rooms were huge, and the two boys heading off somewhere wearing their Oakridge football jerseys either school or to a game, not sure which.
Years later I would get re-acquainted with Kurt as he substitute taught when I was in high school. And years later I would see him from time to time, and though I don't remember much he said to me when I was real little I will always remember that whenever see him now he asks how I am doing as well as how my mom is doing, I always like that of old family friends when they ask that, to me it shows they truly care its one of the disadvantages of living so from home, I don't really have any family friends anymore except relatives who live in the area, I usually don't see them though.

Anyway, I like these reflecting it helps me capture memories that are distant and fading and preserving to reflect on later in life. Ever since character actor Stephen Tobolowsky started his podcast, The Tobolowsky Files, I have really been meaning to write down stories and memories from my life before the memory fades too far into the past, checkout the podcast they are quite enjoyable and inspiring, I hope my reflection blogs can do the same. Until next time, have a great day.

Link to The Tobolowsky Files http://tobolowskyfiles.com/

Paradise

Paradise

So today I was thinking what a lovely day it was at least from my point of view with the snow coming ever so gently I couldn't help but think, “What a lovely day in paradise.” And then my random mind thought back to when I was in North Myrtle Beach, SC in 2008 and my boss at the time, named Cameron, thought NMB was paradise.

When people think of paradise they probably first think of a tropical environment of some kind, but I think it comes down to a state of mind. If I can think that below freezing snowy Minnesota as paradise, paradise is a place wherever you can find happiness. For example, my boss in NMB has a family and successful business in a climate he enjoys. For me I am loving life right now living on my own, seeking God, and enjoying the job I am blessed to have. Its truly paradise, even better if my student debt would just disappear, but I digress.

So I guess what you can take from my short blog today, is what is paradise for you? Have you found it or have any idea what it is. I have found it, and its not perfect but it puts a smile on my face to know how good my life is right now, and too most it isnt glamorous or the “American Dream” but I don't want that, I am not complacent in where I am in life but I am just happy where I am in life and wouldn't be sad if it was taken away from me because I have found joy in it for the time being and God never fails to bless me.

I hope this finds you well and have a great night/morning/afternoon/whenever this finds you.