Lulz, I am a mink.

I am almost finished with my college applications, which is quite handy. I don't know what I'd do without online applications. They save my life. I've only got to turn in my UT application and then complete the UT Plan II Liberal Arts honours program application. That looks like a pretty good program, so I'm hoping to get accepted into that. 

Well, today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day. I am not sure what I am supposed to do with this so-called holiday. Is there a certain way in which one should celebrate MLK day? It's kind of like President's Day. It doesn't have any sort of express purpose, but we still cancel classes, close stores and what have you. Also, January 21st is supposedly the most depressing day of the year. I call shenanigans on that, 'cos I wasn't depressed at all today.

 

I am looking forward to seeing Cloverfield. I've kind of gotten into the entire backstory and all of the online clues and things of that nature, so I'll be interested to see the actual movie. It is definitely a unique film experience, from what I have heard. I suppose the whole project is unique, but the film-making style of this particular movie seems to be especially unique.

In which Andrew has a conversation with the Math Eagle.

I procured the textbook for my Trigonometry class a couple days ago.  This is the cover:

Apparently, the majestic eagle on the front of the book is meant to inspire me to greater heights of mathematical excellence. Math Eagle says: "Soh Cah Toa!" The textbook cost us 91 red, white and blue American dollars. That's a lot of dollars. Math Eagle, I am expecting a lot from you. For $91, I had better be getting something out of this deal. Don't let me down, Math Eagle. America needs you.

I have a new desk. I love it. I practically live here, now. Pictures shall be posted once I find a proper camera. The only one I have access to at the moment it attached to my MacBook, and it's not incredibly useful for taking normal pictures of things. I've also got my new Moleskine notebooks, which I am very pleased with. I'll post pictures of those, as well. They should prove to be useful tools in the coming semester. 

My college application essays are complete! I am glad about that. Although, it's kind of a hollow victory. This sums it up quite nicely: 

toothpastefordinner.com

But it's done at any rate. 

That is all. Dre... OUT.

The Antithesis of Joy

An excerpt from Angels in the Architecture:

"We have many Christians who embrace the truth about predestination simply because it still makes other people made, and it provides them with the opportunity to move on to other issues which make other people mad. Soon the regulative principle is wound tight around their axle; they are so full of scruples that they are standing in the slop of the overflow. They insist, for example, that we have a bounden duty to sing the psalms; we must sing the psalms; gotta sing psalms; in sin if you don't sing psalms. In attitude, this is the antithesis of joy. "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms' (Jas. 5:13)."

It would seem that divisiveness and concern for pinpoint doctrinal accuracy often get in the way of Christian fellowship and joy. Pretty counter-productive, if you ask me. I've been a distant witness to some denominational squabbling within the cloisters of Presbyterianism in the form of the Federal Vision controversy. As a young Christian, it is more than a little disconcerting to see Christian leaders behaving in such a manner. I am sure this has been said before, but shouldn't the primary focus of the church be the joy of the gospel? I cannot say this with complete confidence, because I do not know the specific points of contention in the debate, but I would expect that the unity of the church would come before theological differences. That is most definitely one of the problems with denominations in the first place. From what I can tell, there are rumblings of a possible split in the PCA. From what I have heard and read, the concept of "brothers dwelling together in unity" is not always at the forefront of the PCA's considerations and discussions. Again, I do not know everything about the issue, nor can I claim to know what should be done about it. I do, however, expect Christ-like conduct from the church's leaders, something which is not always present. I could be wrong, but those are my impressions. No denomination should be above stepping back and examining itself.

"Man, you really freak me out..."

I think some of the reactions in this video are a bit extreme. Do people seriously get upset over fast food? Apparently so. Unless you're just blatantly argumentative or mean person, the service at any fast food institution shouldn't get you worked up. There's my unwarranted two cents. It is rather humorous to observe this phenomenon, though. Personally, I couldn't possibly imagine getting flustered by something so trivial, but apparently, some people REALLY like the Whopper, low quality convenience food though it may be.

"We'll always have Minas Tirith..."

I had the distinct non-pleasure of watching Pirates of the Caribbean 3 last night. The plot was terribly incohesive and consisted of one adventure movie cliché after another. We had three-way stand-offs, lack-lustre inspirational speeches, predictable characters, so-so fight scenes and bad dialogue. Sounds like your average, run of the mill adventure movie. The production quality was great, though and the movie was visually interesting, but the storyline just didn't back up the visuals. I hadn't seen the second installment of Pirates, so I was a little confused at first, but even so, the plot was very strange. The ending left me saying to myself, "Well, that was stupid." 

In the end, the movie was mediocre and generally unsatisfying. The first Pirates movie paved the way for a really great franchise, but it seems that PotC has become yet another gear in the Disney money-making machine. Hopefully, the standards for the Chronicles of Narnia films will be a bit higher. Personally, I am still on the fence about that. I wasn't quite as enamoured with the first movie as some others were, but I will be interested to see where the series goes. I will say one thing: Thank goodness they didn't screw up the Lord of the Rings. 

I thought technology was supposed to make life easier.

Well, I am considering revamping my organisation system for the coming year. Up until this point, I have used(very inconsistently, mind you) a Tungsten E2 Palm handheld for planning and organising purposes. 

I recently tried to resume use of this device for the coming semester, only to find that using it with my MacBook is somewhat of a hassle. The Mac version of the Palm desktop software is not to my liking. The design is rather inefficient and not as good as the Windows version, in my opinion. It still contains the same functions, but the design is different. When organising things, ease of use is very important. So, I have decided to go analogue. I'm just going to use a small planner notebook to take care of my organising. I haven't got all that much to organise, so it shouldn't be a huge deal. Also, since we are starting a new year, this is the perfect time to start such a system. I may still use my Palm for certain things, such as storing phone numbers and the like, but now that I have a laptop, its usefulness has somewhat diminished. Also, there is a certain appeal to good old-fashioned pen and paper. Between my laptop and the notebook, I should be able to keep all of my scholastic ducks in an oh-so-scholarly row.

Much to my chagrin, there's been a mishap with my registration for next semester. I subsequently lost my spot in the trigonometry class I wanted, so I had to register for the course at a different time and at a different campus. This is quite the annoyance for me, as it will make my Tuesday and Thursday mornings slightly inconvenient. But, this is certainly not the last time something like this will happen, so it's not a big deal. I'm just glad I'll still be able to get that trigonometry course out of the way.  

I was reading through the December archives of Dr. George Grant's blog and found a post that I thought was worth a look. Then again, I think that anything discussing the workings of the Christian worldview is worth a look. Link: The Terms of the Debate.

Interesting note:  I seem to have a slight habit of posting very near, if not on the hour of 12:15. Take a look at the timestamp on my last post.  Weird...

Photographs...

I just thought I'd share a couple photos which I was recently able to retrieve off of my PDA. This first one is a photo I took in downtown New York. I saw a building with the number 1251 on it, and "12:51" is one of my favourite songs by the Strokes, who are from New York. It just seemed like a good idea.

The next one is a picture taken from the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa.  

These pictures may not be terribly interesting(especially that first one), but I hadn't looked at them in a while and felt like posting them somewhere, so... whaddaya gonna do? Just call it a photo blog post and have done with it, eh?

Here's something which also may/may not interest you. If you read my previous post, then you know that I am currently reading "Angels in the Architecture" by Jones and Wilson. This is an excerpt from my reading journal, written after reading a chapter of this book. It's not especially deep, but it may interest you.

There is one aspect of Christianity that the modern mind will often skim over.  Actually, not one aspect, but many aspects.  Many fail to grasp the concept that the Christian religion is truly all-encompassing in its scope.  Religion isn’t even the right word for it, it’s better and more simply described as life.  Many times, the out-workings of our faith are simply passed over or ignored in our lives.  Douglas Jones reminds us that “such a fleshing out of the Christian gospel is terribly central for day-to-day Christian living.  Nothing should hold our attention more.  Nothing is more practical.”  A practical gospel?  GASP.  Are you sure?  Indeed, mere religion doesn’t cover it, or, if you’d rather adopt a phrase from Lewis, mere Christianity.  The height and breadth of the Christian gospel are too often unexplored and the richness of its out-workings are sometimes ignored by its most ardent advocates.  “We lead half-lives and die with less.  God has given us so much more, and we slight Him in our meager living.”  (p. 17-24)

My, I think that is enough blogging for one night.

Rhythm and Blues, Version 4.0

Upon surveying the "Yearbook 2007" issue of Rolling Stone, I must admit that I felt a tinge of dismay at who was presented upon the cover.  I saw Jay-Z, Fall Out Boy, Kid Rock, Amy Winehouse, 50 Cent and Kanye West.  Bleh. The list of the magazine's 100 Top Songs of 2007 was pitiful.  I guess it's a sign that the music I enjoy listening to is more or less not mainstream. But, I wasn't really expecting much from that list, because a widely read magazine can't be expected to have, oh, I don't know, good taste, I guess.  It seems to me that quality rock music is increasingly underground.  Hip-hop is now the new norm.  Or at least, that's the vibe I get from these lists. This doesn't affect me very much, because the popularity of a band has no effect upon my enjoyment of their music, but it is disappointing to see that the most popular music in our country has so little quality and artistic integrity.  

EDIT: Here are the links for both lists, if you'd like to examine them for yourself.  

100 Best Songs of 2007

Top 50 Albums of 2007

Another disappointing event is the end of Brotherhood 2.0, one of my favourite video blogs on YouTube.  Two brothers, John and Hank Green, communicated with each other via video blog for one year, taking turns posting daily videos on YouTube.  The series was very entertaining and I quite enjoyed it.  Even though the Brotherhood 2.0 project proper is now over, John and Hank will continue to post videos every week, which is good.  These guys are funny and intelligent and have actually gathered quite a large following.  If you have time, I recommend checking out some of their older videos.  It'll make much more sense if you start at the beginning.  Here is their YouTube channel:  vlogbrothers.

While I'm at it, another internet series which I enjoy is ichannel.  It's about a young man, referred to as "I," who suddenly finds his life being watched by people on the internet, sort of being vlogged against his will.  It's pretty entertaining.  Part of the show is that the viewers can actually comment on the videos, as with a real vlog, and the comments and opinions of the viewers are then integrated into the story.  It's a very interesting concept.  The website for the project: connectwithi.com.  Again, I'd recommend starting from the beginning of the series.  

I am currently reading "Angels in the Architecture" by Douglas Jones and Douglas Wilson.  So far, I quite like it. It's an excellent window into what Christian culture is and how it should be carried out.  After I finish reading, I might post some of my thoughts about the book.  On a side note, I think it would be very amusing to co-write a book with someone who shares your name. I can see it now: "Hmmm, what do you think of this paragraph, Douglas?"  "Well, I think it's not bad, Douglas.  You may want to reword some of your phrases at the end there, but otherwise, it looks good."  "Ah, well, thank you for that suggestion, Douglas."  "You're welcome, Douglas." "Shall we break for lunch, Douglas?"  "Yes, we shall, Douglas."  "All right, Douglas."  As I said, it would be amusing. In a very unrealistic sort of way, of course.  But amusing, nonetheless.

Cheers!

"Do you spell that with one L, or two, Mrs. President?"

Well, it is January the first, in the Year of Our Lord, two-thousand and eight.  I haven't much to say about that. For me, 2008 screams one thing: Hillary.  Let's think about that for a moment. Allow it to sink in. 11 months from now, Hillary Clinton could very well be our President-elect. Lord have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. For miserable we shall be and miserable we shall remain if this thing comes to pass. Things look grim, friends. There aren't any strong candidates who clearly rise above the rest.  I can't think of an individual candidate that I could seriously get behind and support.  I hope this will change as the campaign progresses.

But enough about that.  Because it is now the new year, I'd like to do a post concerning Rolling Stone's list of top albums from 2007, because I think it's an interesting indicator of where modern American music is heading. But, because I am rather sleepy at the moment, I shall restrain myself.  

Again, Happy New Year.

Cheers!