Bono is an Evil Bastard

Here's something amusing that I found:

I knew Bono held a lot of influence, but I didn't think he had *that* much power.

Grrr, technology.

Given the fact that I am once again a Mac user, I have attempted to use the Mac mail program. It's a nice little program, and it'd be great if I could use it. Only problem is that I use Yahoo for my primary email address, and Yahoo doesn't let its normal users have POP servers, that's only for paying clients. This is really annoying, especially since Gmail offers this exact same service to their users for FREE. Whyyyy? Why does Yahoo have to be so stupid? I had heard that Yahoo users in the UK had access to POP servers, so I actually went over there and created a UK account, but to no avail. I'm really tempted to switch my main email address to Gmail, but I don't know if it's worth it. But, I suppose that if there was ever a good time to do such a thing, it'd be now. Perhaps. We shall see... The Gmail online interface isn't really to my liking, whereas I've been accustomed to the Yahoo layout, but that's probably not terribly important. 

Ok, forget it, I'm switching. It'll make for better consolidation, I think.

On a side note, I like the new Weezer song/video. I wish they would've left the train wreck that is Chris Crocker out of it. It's kind of weird seeing all of those internet personalities in the same place, but it's an ingenious idea, nonetheless.

He's a one-man dynasty...

I just thought this picture was incredibly amusing. It's vintage Billary...

"21st century kid..."

Well, I'm all done with graduation and such, which is really, really nice. I'm starting to become more and more comfortable with the notion of going to university. That's not to say that I was in any way uncomfortable about it before, but it starts to sink in a bit more once one is officially done with the high school experience. 

On another note, I've got a new computer, which is rather exciting. It's a brand new MacBook Pro, which may be seen here:

It's a really useful piece of machinery, to say the least. I'm especially enjoying the 512 MB graphics card and OS X Leopard. Good stuff. I've got another new gadget, a Panasonic GS320 camcorder:

As of yet, I am unable to import video from the camera, since I haven't got the right cable, but I shall fix that sometime in the future. (Of course, Panasonic couldn't be bothered to include the right cable, that would be expecting far too much.) 

On another topic, it seems that I can't even turn around these days without seeing something about Indiana Jones. He's even on my Dr. Pepper... I haven't seen the new movie, but from what I've heard, it's rather strange. Perhaps I'll get around to seeing it sometime. On the other hand, I thought the new Narnia movie was pretty good. Of course, being a literary sort, there were things I didn't like, but overall, it was an entertaining film which got the basic aspects of the story, so I won't complain. Besides, Prince Caspian is a very difficult story to put onto film, so perfection cannot be expected. 

I'm sure I'll be posting some more videos once I get this camera business sorted, so keep an eye out for that.

Cheers!

"I'm walking on sunshine, and don't it feel... God?"

Well, I was watching television earlier this evening, when I happened to view a certain advertisement for a Christian program on a local network. The title of the program was "The Gospel Truth," I believe. At any rate, the advert featured a man telling me something to the effect of the following: "God loves you and wants you to be well. Believe in him, and he will bless you with good health!" Of course, that is a loose paraphrase, but you get the idea. I, of course, have some issues with this. First of all, Christianity is not a promise of good health and well-being. In fact, some Christians are among the most afflicted people on earth. If you really wish me to delve into the Bible for an example, I would undoubtedly surface with the testimony of Job, who, though a faithful follower of Yahweh, was beset upon all sides by a myriad of worldly ills. Certainly this man, a steadfast believer was loved by God. Following Christ is not a call to become a sort holy happy lemming, sauntering through life unhindered by the effects of the Curse. On the contrary, Christians are called to die. It is certainly not the most comfortable group that one could join. 

I also take issue with people like Pat Robertson of "The 700 Club." On this television program, Robertson and his colleagues will pray for members of their audience who have sent in prayer requests, and these requests will almost invariably include illness. Mr. Robertson will begin to pray for a diseased or injured individual and say something like this: "Lord, we ask you to just heal this man. *insert name here*, you will now feel the power of God inside you, the warmth of the Holy Spirit, healing you, taking away your injury..." Something like that, I think. Anyways, Robertson has the gall to declare that God is healing someone simply because he said that God would heal them. I find this incredibly presumptuous of him, to make things up like that. Unless Robertson is privy to God's healing roster, it's rather inappropriate of him to make that sort of statement. And it's not just Robertson, this is certainly not an unheard of thing. Many evangelical preachers, Joel Osteen, for example, like to use Christianity as sort of a self-help clinic. But the thing we must remember is that God's definition of happiness and what is good for our lives is very different from our own. Christianity isn't a quick 5-step solution for more money, a perfect marriage and a clean bill of health, though that's how some like to look at it. Yes, God loves us and wants what is best for us, but more often than not, that will involve a lot of pain, something which doesn't often fit into the Evanjellyfish way of doing things.

As I finish writing this, I wonder if my eagerness to point out the "pain and suffering" bits of Christianity is a bad thing. Perhaps. Ah, well.