This is it…

Yeah, very shortly, I will be attending classes at Saint Louis University, “officially” making me feel like a graduate student (the summer thus far hasn’t been much besides a “job,” of sorts…now I actually have to study and such…). This is both exciting and rather scary, the former due to the fact that I get to finally delve in to my chosen profession…the latter because…well…it’s graduate school… Likely this will be my largest challenge to date. The really odd parts follow:

    — I am going to school at a new place with new people and new professors.
    — I am at the bottom of the food chain again, much like I was five years ago at Truman.
    — I don’t have as many friends/bar buddies in this town, so I won’t be as socially active as in recent years.
    — Along with that, I’m married now, so my roommate won’t be able to help me in my classes as in recent years…on the other hand, it’s easier now that I don’t have to make time to go to my girlfriend’s place to hang out with her once and awhile…she’s conveniently at my place all the time now… 😛
    — I no longer have “responsibilities,” such as attending AXE meetings, Wesley House functions, or working for ITS. It’s school and home. That’s it.
    — I have to drive to class every morning. Snow or not. And fight for parking.

So yeah, completely new shenanigans to deal with. Really, I’m the same old person in a completely new environment…making me wonder how I’ll deal with the situation. Will I study as much as I should? Will I make it to class on time? Or at all? Will I be able to manage money better now that I’m married and on my own? Will my personality remain the same, or should I expect another paradigm shift as what occurred in college? …or will I wake up tomorrow and still be in my bed at the old apartment in Kirksville?

…as Spock once said: “Life…is not a dream.” And as he also said, in a different movie, I “will perform as according to one’s gifts.” Hopefully I’m as prepared as I can be for the flames I am to be thrust in to….’cause it’s going to be close to five years that I’m roasting in them…

“Sounds like fun.” (…that was Kirk, this time…)

Review: Wedding Crashers

For the record, I’m very much enjoying Brooke having the job at the movie theater…since that means we get free movies every week… 😛

Anyway, we saw “Wedding Crashers” last night and I think I’ll have to agree with Andy S.’s review on this one. For the most part, it’s a very funny and entertaining flick…but, at the same time, it’s just about the same thing as every other movie that these actors (Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, etc.) have ever been in…

Yet, again, it’s a funny movie and worth seeing. While most of the movie was completely predictable, there were definitely a few parts that I didn’t see coming… Brooke even pointed out that the movie had more of a plot to it than she expected… The whole “crashing weddings” gig really only lasted for a 5 minute music video of sorts toward the beginning until the two main characters, Vaughn and Wilson, made it to Christopher Walken’s daughter’s wedding. There were many “laugh out loud” moments throughout the movie, which was the reason we went to see it in the first place (well…why I went…Brooke wanted to see what the heck John McCain was doing in the movie…).

But at the same time, I already bought “Old School,” so I’m not sure I’m going to have to buy this one when it comes out…since it’s practically the same movie…

Stoopid the Pat Robertson…

“Brooke…well, I checked the news tonight…Pat Robertson wasn’t killed…”
— Andy Linsenbardt

So yeah, this guy has been pissing me off lately… First of all, John Stewart (“The Daily Show”) did a little news bit (click on the “Prayback Time” link on this page) showing Robertson on “The 700 Club” praying that more Supreme Court justices are “removed” from office so that more conservative forces can take over…saying that the Supreme Court justices as they stand today are the “number one threat to America today.” Secondly, I was watching “Today” on NBC this morning and they mention that Robertson yesterday called for the assassination of the Venezuelan president because he’s looking to allow Communism into his country.

The actual quote:

“You know, I don’t know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it,” Robertson said. “It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war … and I don’t think any oil shipments will stop.”

Seriously…what the heck… The man was praying for the deaths, ailment or retirement of Supreme Court justices on national television. This doesn’t really send a good message about prayer, no? …and suggesting that we knock off someone in another country that is (currently) not even threatening ours? Is he going to call for the assassinations of the leaders in India and China because they are Hindu/Buddhist instead of Christian? Obviously they’re terrible people because they don’t believe the same things we do, I guess… Good thing Pat Robertson is around to make these suggestions. I don’t know what we’d do without him around.

Here’s a great site about him… 😉

Review: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

So Brooke and I got to see “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” last night, finally… Overall, I thought it was a pretty damned good movie.

First of all, I don’t remember ever reading the book… Secondly, I think I’ve only seen “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” once or twice…so I don’t remember it, either. Therefore, my opinion of this movie is almost solely based on whether it’s a good one or a bad one…not its comparison to the book or anything else…

So, in light of this fact, I liked the movie. It was definitely “odd” at many parts and Johnny Depp did a great Michael Jackson impersonation throughout, but it was a very entertaining, humorous, and touching story throughout. Tim Burton was very successful in depicting the plight of Charlie’s family, as compared to the well-off and misguided other families who won a trip through the infamous chocolate factory. I particularly like Burton’s films because they’re so visually attractive. You can’t help but get immersed in the scenes and environments being depicted, taking advantage of the differences in color (i.e. dreary and bland outside the factory, yet very colorful and vibrant inside).

So yeah, I liked it. I thought it was funny, entertaining, visually stimulating, and honest about the human condition…helping to convey Roald Dahl’s initial vision for the book (as I understand it)…and also that spoiled children are evil, yet innocent, poor children are really cool… 😛

A link, poker table, and AoE II

So yeah, in the same vein as all the evolution posts from the past week or so, Andy S. sent me this link…which is rather amusing… 😛 It’s an open letter to the Kansas state school board…and is very, very sarcastic…

I approve whole-heartedly… 😉

In other news, I think I’m going to wait to build my poker table until I’ve paid some more bills and get my paycheck next week… I haven’t quite decided whether to build a table-top (i.e. fit it on top of our card table) or build an actual table (you can buy folding legs at Home Depot for, like, $20…). I think I’d be happier with a separate table, but we’ll see…

…in other news, I am getting in practice for our AoE II playing this weekend…I can take on a single “hard”-rated computer character and win…sometimes it takes me awhile, though… Back in my prime, I would take on 2 “hardest”-rated computers…but that was Sophomore year…been awhile……

Updates and shenanigans…

Well, Kristen left this morning after visiting for a few days. A good visit, in all, yet seemed somewhat rushed at times. Apparently, certain museums in this town are closed on certain days and some don’t open until certain times, so that threw a kink in things…however, we did make it to the zoo, the Missouri History Museum, got some shopping done, went to Union Station and made a valiant attempt at going to a Cardinal’s game…but the game was so full, there was only standing room available…and I wasn’t about to pay to stand there and watch a game… 😛 Hopefully we’ll get to see a game sometime soon, though…

Anyway, I’ve got some errands to run over the next few days…nothing terribly important, but errands nonetheless… I’ll be heading to Kirksville this weekend to get some AoE II action on, so I’m looking forward to that. Regardless, I guess I’m looking forward to classes starting in a few weeks…although, it’s gonna get pretty hard, I’m afraid…

But on the plus side, I decided that I want to build a poker table… 😉

From the files of Police Squad…

“It’s like taking a spoonful of Drain-O: sure, it’ll clean you out, but it’ll leave you hollow inside.”
— Lt. Frank Drebin; The Naked Gun

What a great movie… 😉

Well, the little sister is visiting for a few days in St. Louis, so I’ll be busy entertaining her for a bit, hopefully getting to see things here that I haven’t gotten to yet this summer, such as the Zoo, Contemporary Art Museum, City Museum, Card’s game, etc. Sadly, those two museums aren’t even open until Tuesday/Wednesday…for some odd reason, they aren’t open on Mondays…shenanigans…

Any other suggestions on things to do between now and Wednesday?

sigh…

Yup, they’ve done it…the conservatives are at it again… This time, they’re in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), of which I am a member, and they are approving a measure to continue supporting a ban on homosexual clergy members

Here’s the quote that really got me out of this whole article:

“Louis Hesse of the Eastern Washington-Idaho Synod said those arguing for gay ordination had not made a convincing theological or scientific argument on why they were right. ‘The case has not been made. I’ve heard a lot of talk about the Gospel here today and I’m beginning to wonder if I’m in the right church,’ Hesse said. ‘A Gospel of full acceptance, accepting everyone the way they are, what does that say about sinfulness?'”

…an intriguing question, actually… What does it say about sinfulness? What does one classify as a “sin?” How far are we, as Christians, supposed to allow folks to go as far as what is considered “acceptable?” What is “acceptable,” anyway? And who decided this?

Personally, I’m somewhat ashamed of this, being a member of the ELCA, although unfortunately this seems to be the direction of many “liberal” churches and denominations in today’s world. I don’t really see why, though… The Bible doesn’t really say anything about gays, unless you’re speaking completely literally…and we all know that taking the Bible completely literally is somewhat dangerous (i.e. Adam was made of mud…seriously, people…or that women should be submissive to their husbands…or that women shouldn’t be leaders in the church…). Here is one link (quite biased, I realize, but brings up a few verses that seem to mention homosexuality). …and as that article points out, the word “homosexual” is a combination of Greek and Latin, therefore meaning that the original Bible translation could not have possibly used that word…as there was no such word in the original language of the Bible (i.e. Greek).

Sooooooooooooooo…what the heck… There are Catholic priests who have done way worse than many homosexuals… Why are we worried about them leading our churches? Because they have different values than “the rest of us?” Because they don’t believe in God the same way?” Nope. Because they’re different. Because they can’t be understood by those who have been attending church for years. Because the same people who oppose homosexuality as being “abnormal” also think that contemporary Christian music is just as “abnormal.” Because the people filling the coffers every Sunday morning won’t tolerate it, therefore we can’t minister to them the same way as everyone else.

Know what? I’m just as worthy to go to Heaven as any of them. Honestly, there are many of them who live better, less sinful lives than I ever will. But that doesn’t matter for many, unfortunately. But…”we just want to set a good example for the church-goers and their children!” How about setting a better example: one of tolerance. One of having people to live their lives without murder, stealing, adultery, idolotry…and the other Ten Commandments…the ones that don’t say anything at all about homosexuality. How about setting an example instead of telling everyone else how to live their lives, since telling them doesn’t work as well… Living by example works quite a bit better, and this intolerance of people who are “different” from those in control sends a message to young people that it’s okay to segregate, to say that it’s alright to say that some people are more worthy than others to act in certain capacities in our churches, governments, etc.

Sure, homosexuals are allowed and “welcomed” in the church, according to the Presiding Bishop. Doesn’t sound like they’re very welcomed to me, though… Sounds like their presence is allowed, but not necessarily “welcomed.”

Depressing, indeed…

Fascinating…

So yeah, as a few of you have noticed, there’s actually been a good and lengthy discussion on my “Lee Strobel is an Idiot” posting on August 3rd, which I find rather fascinating. I’m very much enjoying the stimulating conversation that’s going on there between very diverse people with different backgrounds and understanding. I hope it continues since I’m learning a decent amount from it!

…which brings me to another subject… I’ve been thinking recently about why all these articles and such are coming up about Intelligent Design Theory versus Evolution, or more importantly, why I seem to be making a relatively big deal about it. Yesterday, I noticed that this week’s Time Magazine is publishing a few articles on the subject and even has it on the cover for the week. I guess it represents a crossroads in my life, perhaps. I’ve been going to church for many years; I’m already entrenched at one in St. Louis where I get to play drums every week (score… ;-)). But at the same time, I’m continuing with my graduate school education. I now have a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and in Biology, so I’ve lived and breathed science for the past 5 years (if not longer), while at the same time attending the Wesley House regularly and hearing the “other side” of the story. I don’t know that I’m making decisions or life plans or anything around this “crossroads,” yet I think I am making progress toward the “truth,” or however close to it one can get.

The ID vs Evolution debate is a difficult one that will never be fully completed. I posted an article yesterday that is written by a proponent of the ID side of things. I don’t agree with a few things out of his article, but I do agree that the problem needs to be resolved with healthy debate, much like we are doing in the “Lee Strobel” posting. There are severe problems with the way ID is presented to young school kids. On the other hand, Evolution is still a theory (although, a very well-supported one…) and should be treated as such. Neither is truly “right” as they are being taught today. I guess more time is needed to come to a clear consensus. The issue needs good, healthy discussion before anyone will waver and listen to the other side’s argument…and I certainly find myself leaning toward one side, unable to listen to the other.

The problem is: which one?

Review: March of the Penguins

So Brooke and I saw “March of the Penguins” on Saturday night and I think we both agree that it was a good movie. What can I say? Penguins are cute. It’s hard not to like watching them. And seriously, it’s incredible what these guys/girls do every year.

The movie begins with the trek from the edge of Antarctica and follows penguins travelling (i.e. “waddling”) toward a more centralized, safer location where they will breed. The males and females will mate and the male will sit there for months without eating…just standing there…with an egg on its feet under a flap of skin to keep it warm. The females will go back to the ocean and then return again with food for the young after they’ve hatched. This is a 70 mi trip each way, keep in mind. This is all happening during a winter in Antarctica which, needless to say, is only slightly worse than a winter in Kirksville.

Anyway, it’s 1.5 hours long and very easy and entertaining to watch. Morgan Freeman does an excellent job narrating, of course, and the penguins are interesting to learn about. If you can see it, I’d recommend doing it. If anything, rent it sometime and watch it, if anything, just to learn more about these incredible creatures. No wonder the penguin is the mascot of Linux… 😛