Well that just about does it for 2011. It's been a great year and I hope you have all done at least one thing you wanted to before the year ended. I want to take a moment to thank God and everyone else for everything, especially NKrew, the world would be a bitter place without you guys so thank you =]. This will be the first year in a couple years where we wont be seeing a couple faces on New Years, Just wishing you guys a happy new year and a very safe trip, don't go getting kidnapped now you hear?!
2012! Here we come! I can't wait to kick 2012 in the face!! Here's something you can look forward to in 2012 ;)
Expendables 2
Remember how I said the first movie was missing Chuck Norris and Van Damme? they're finally here! WOOOOO
Hopefully if there's a third movie, they can add Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. I heart those two guys <3
Hopefully if there's a third movie, they can add Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. I heart those two guys <3
GmG and CMcN - Kids and Technology
First off I just want to mention that writing for BiA feels like writing for a TV show, because it takes a week for my material to get aired lol.
Anyway, going to the many recent holiday parties has revealed something to me. Many kids are secluded in groups of three at most while playing Nintendo DS or iPod games. What happened to yelling and socializing and playing hide and seek? This is where I am very grateful for people like Vincent who have an unlimited supply of circle social games.
Being at yesterday's TN (December 18th) was fun seeing all the kids play board games. Heck even Khoa Vianney Andrew and I had a short game of Twister in the hallway. Board games are great icebreakers for kids and allow them to get to know others better than just playing games like tag. But at least even tag allows more socializing than playing Angry Birds etc.
Another thing that is ironic, with so much technology available, kids are actually losing some computer basics. I've already mentioned that its sad that none of the boys in HS/NS knows how to build a computer. When I was in 9th grade I knew how to set up networks and run command promps and build computers and overclock them. Do you guys remember how hard it was to connect a computer to a workgroup on Windows 98 or Windows ME? It was a Pain. Nothing was automatic, one wrong setting on the router or computer effed up everything. Kids were connecting to the router on Man Lan Day with their magicical Windows 7 telling me "I'm not connected, there's no internet". *facepalm*
Anyway, going to the many recent holiday parties has revealed something to me. Many kids are secluded in groups of three at most while playing Nintendo DS or iPod games. What happened to yelling and socializing and playing hide and seek? This is where I am very grateful for people like Vincent who have an unlimited supply of circle social games.
Being at yesterday's TN (December 18th) was fun seeing all the kids play board games. Heck even Khoa Vianney Andrew and I had a short game of Twister in the hallway. Board games are great icebreakers for kids and allow them to get to know others better than just playing games like tag. But at least even tag allows more socializing than playing Angry Birds etc.
Another thing that is ironic, with so much technology available, kids are actually losing some computer basics. I've already mentioned that its sad that none of the boys in HS/NS knows how to build a computer. When I was in 9th grade I knew how to set up networks and run command promps and build computers and overclock them. Do you guys remember how hard it was to connect a computer to a workgroup on Windows 98 or Windows ME? It was a Pain. Nothing was automatic, one wrong setting on the router or computer effed up everything. Kids were connecting to the router on Man Lan Day with their magicical Windows 7 telling me "I'm not connected, there's no internet". *facepalm*
No L No L No L No L!
First off let me just say,
& Now!
CAN YOU SMELL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKIN'! & HELLO BRUCE!
Have a holly jolly Christmas yall!
& Now!
CAN YOU SMELL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKIN'! & HELLO BRUCE!
Have a holly jolly Christmas yall!
The Answer is here!
The wood chuck would chuck as much wood as a wood chuck could chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood.
Hope everyone is ready for the dance, cause i know i'm not! =P
Hope everyone is ready for the dance, cause i know i'm not! =P
Childhood MacNugget: Commercials
Some products inherently sucked, so no one bought it... but we all knew that product because of genius advertisement. They had such memorable songs! Here are two examples.
Justin Bieber on a CSI episode
here's a clip of Justin Bieber getting shot on CSI for ten hours straight. I think this is the new Robocop "I hate cops and cops hate me .... na-na-na-na" scene of the decade.
Basketball Politics
Now that Shaq has retired, he has joined the crew at TNT (Shaq, Barkley, and Miller? YES!) and wrote a book about life in the NBA. Here's a little part I read in an article.
--------------------------------------------
BOSTON-Shaquille O’Neal has blamed President Barack Obama for Boston Celtics’ point guard, Rajon Rondo’s shooting troubles and confidence.
O’Neal claims that Obama made fun of his shooting ability during a fund raiser where they met the President in his book “Shaq UnCut.”
The Huffington Post reports:
The President turns to Ray, points at Rondo, and says, “Hey, Ray, why don’t you teach this kid how to shoot?” Everyone starts laughing.
KG told me he saw the look on Rondo’s face and the kid was devastated, embarrassed. Dissed by the President, even though I’m sure Obama didn’t mean any harm. Rondo smiled and went along with all of it, but KG told me he could see it in his eyes. It bothered Rondo. It killed him.
Shaq went on to write that Rondo “shot the ball horribly” the next day and he “stopped taking shots after that.”
Rondo is my second favorite point guard after Steve Nash, and probably the most electrifying passer since Magic Johnson. Unfortunately he'll never be a superstar because of his lack of confidence. Forget the bad economy, if I don't vote for Obama in 2012, THIS is why I won't vote for him. (that and the fact that he killed Osama. Now I won't get to see Osama in Family Guy anymore... COME ON!!!! )
GmG - rating things too extremely
Prepare to shake your fists because it's another edition of "What Really Grind my Gears"
Did you notice when youtube changed from a 1-10 rating system to a thumbs up/down system? There's a good reason why. Things that were good got scores of 7, 8, 9, or 10. So it averaged out to 8.5ish. Things that kinda sucked, while really deserving a 4 or 5, got scores of 1. So youtube had videos with ratings of 8-10 and 1-2. The 3-7 range was non-existent.
Here's another example. If you look at
it shows you the combined average ratings of games from different review companies. But the interesting score that I always pay attention to is the user rating. This can be a bit unfair because people bring in expectations, but that's a good way for me to know if these games satisfied the fan base. If you looked at that page, I'm sure the thing that jumped out at you is MW3's fan score of 2.9. Why? Because tons of people were giving it 0 when it probably is at least a 5. But like I said, scores in the middle never exist in internet ratings.
Real or Fake?
He is either the world's coolest priest or a jerk for pretending to be a priest.
I would like to dedicate this post Thuy Anh and Khoa whom we will miss very much at An Phong! Merry Christmas!
Hungry Hungry Hip OH!
silly hippo, too bad we didn't get a show like this when we went to the zoo =P
Brand Loyalty
This video made me crack up because it reminds me of my dad. Park-Ing thinks all women are attracted to Mercedes Benzuh and Rolexuh. What a coincidence that my dad has only two brand loyalties: Rolex and Mercedes. Verry Naiiice Father!
What brands do you have loyalty too?
For me it's:
Nvidia (never owned an ATI videocard)
Tmobile (never used anything else, its not the best anywhere, but it works almost everywhere)
....
Before i show you the feature film, i must first show you this:
The soflam really does help, too bad no one happens to be using a javelin when someone is using the soflam and vice versa =P
Now onto the feature presentation!
EPIC HAXOR!
The soflam really does help, too bad no one happens to be using a javelin when someone is using the soflam and vice versa =P
Now onto the feature presentation!
EPIC HAXOR!
Things That I Like Alot
This isn't about personality or traits or abstract things, this is about physical possessions. There are some things that I really enjoy window shopping. I think about it in my head and while not envying them, think about it alot because I think they are beautiful.
4. shoes (basketball or casual)
3. cars (sports cars and SUV crossovers)
2. short bunnies (so much more beautiful than long bunnies)
1. watches
Man I cannot get over looking at watches when I walk pass them. Currently I am infatuated with complicated dial watches (military style) with dark bands. I do think things like Rolexes are nice, but it's not worth the money to me. Anyone that spends over 300 for a watch is just paying for precious metals (gold) or brand name. But I do believe that nice watches are worth the price up to 300. As for the other items, I would say shoes are worth the quality up to 100, then it's diminishing returns. For cars I'd say the border is at 40,000. For the bunnies, it's at 800.
Are there any items you really like? And at what price is it worth up to before returns are diminished?
Comrades! Lend me your time!
Reminds me of a certain someone who sends unnecessary emails saying just "thanks" or "good idea."
Remember, comrades, Joshep's friend will be sleeping on a colt next to Christ with a frog machine on in the background. *ribbit ribbit
For more goodies, that aren't so appropriate for kids, click here.
New "Dynamic View" Layout
Trying out a new layout, gives it a clean look with a lot of stuff to mess around with. Let me know what you guys think of it please.
Time Lapse of Ho Chi Minh City aka Saigon
Amazing! Making me want to go back to VN.
-KHORN-
Traffic in Frenetic HCMC, Vietnam from Rob Whitworth on Vimeo.
-KHORN-
human side of NBA "business"
The Celtics would be my #1 team if I wasn't born in LA. Who wouldn't appreciate their chemistry and how hard they work? They play the game the right way. This is a video from last year that shows how a team can struggle after a trade. If Kendrick Perkins took this hard, you know Lamar "soft" Odom would take the current trade talks even harder. It's sad. The saddest part to me is Kobe's reaction. The Celtics big three are solid guys who care for others. I don't mean this as a demerit to Kobe, but he just wants to win. It's all business to him. Kobe wants to win... but does he realize what he's losing along the way? I hope Kobe doesn't end up empty like MJ at his Hall of Fame speech.
GmG - flushing the toilet
I went to Home Depot last week and I guess being around so much lumber gave me the call of nature. Anyway I went into the first stall and I smelled bad but not that bad. I noticed that there was a waste basket beside the toilet and there was toilet paper with "striped markings" on it. I left that stall and went over to the next one. Same thing, a basket with soiled paper in it. I went over to the third stall and there was also a basket, but luckily no paper in it.
It was while I was thinking deeply while relieving myself that I realized why there was soiled toiletries in the baskets. While traveling to Vietnam AND Mexico, I learned that third world countries have weak toilets to conserve water. All public restrooms have waste baskets in the stalls and I learned from the locals that you're supposed to throw the paper in the basket so it doesn't clog the toilet.
Well this is America where our toilets are strong. And this wasn't at home, this was at the Home Depot where they have INDUSTRIAL toilets. Why do these immigrants still insist on the old ways? This is America, land of the free and home of the brave. Freely waste your water and brave the slight chances that your toilet will be clogged. You can do it immigrants, you now have the liberty to flush the paper down the toilet!
Bro bro bro! check this out!
Something RNFrosty passed along to me
GIRLS REALLY NEEDA READ THIS: We guys don't care if you talk to other guys. We don't care if you're friends with other guys. But when you're sitting next to us, and some random guy walks into the room and you jump up and tackle him, without even introducing us, yeah, it pisses us off. It doesn't help if you sit there and talk to him for ten minutes without even acknowledging the fact that we're still there. We don't care if a guy calls>OR TEXTS< you, but at 2 in the morning we do get a little concerned. Nothing is that important at 2 a.m. That it can't wait till the morning. Also, when we tell you you're pretty/beautiful/ gorgeous/cute/stunning, we freaking mean it. Don't tell us we're wrong. We'll stop trying to convince you. The sexiest thing about a girl is confidence. Yeah, you can quote me.
Don't be mad when we hold the door open. Take Advantage of the mood im in. Let us pay for you! dont 'feel bad' We enjoy doing it. It's expected. Smile and say 'thank you. Kiss us when no one's watching. If you kiss us when you know somebody's looking, we'll be more impressed. You don't have to get dressed up for us. If we're going out with you in the first place, you don't have to feel the need to wear the shortest skirt you have or put on every kind of makeup you own. We like you for who you are and not what you are. Honestly, i think a girl looks more beautiful when she's just in her pj's. or my tshirt and boxers, not all dolled up. Don't take everything we say seriously. Sarcasm is a beautiful thing. See the beauty in it. Don't get angry easily.
Stop using magazines/media as your bible. Don't talk about how hott Chris Brown, Brad Pitt, or Jesse McCartney is in front of us. It's boring, and we don't care. You have girlfriends for that. Whatever happened to the word 'handsome'/'beautiful' i'd be utterly stunned by a girl who greeted me with 'Hey handsome!' instead of 'Hey baby/ stud/cutie/ sexy' or whatever else you can think of. On the other hand im not sayin i woulndnt like it either ; ) Girls, I cannot stress this enough: if you aren't being treated right by a guy, dont wait for him to change!!!!!
Ditch his sorry butt, disgrace to the male population and find someone who will treat you with utter respect Someone who will honor your morals. Someone who will make you smile when you're at your lowest. Someone who will care for you even when you make mistakes. Someone who will love you, no matter how bad you make them feel. Someone who will stop what they're doing just to look you in the eyes....and say 'i love you' ..and actually mean it. Give the nice guys a chance. Guys repost this if you agree. Girls re post this if you think it's cute.. Every Guy who isn't a jerk will agree with this, so we hope that all the girls that read this will repost this. Life is too short to complain about everything that comes your way so stop and smell the roses in life because you might never have another time to take it, so take your time because they are all different in every way, so take chances in life, if it doesn't work out then fine, there are always more roses to smell
GIRLS REALLY NEEDA READ THIS: We guys don't care if you talk to other guys. We don't care if you're friends with other guys. But when you're sitting next to us, and some random guy walks into the room and you jump up and tackle him, without even introducing us, yeah, it pisses us off. It doesn't help if you sit there and talk to him for ten minutes without even acknowledging the fact that we're still there. We don't care if a guy calls>OR TEXTS< you, but at 2 in the morning we do get a little concerned. Nothing is that important at 2 a.m. That it can't wait till the morning. Also, when we tell you you're pretty/beautiful/ gorgeous/cute/stunning, we freaking mean it. Don't tell us we're wrong. We'll stop trying to convince you. The sexiest thing about a girl is confidence. Yeah, you can quote me.
Don't be mad when we hold the door open. Take Advantage of the mood im in. Let us pay for you! dont 'feel bad' We enjoy doing it. It's expected. Smile and say 'thank you. Kiss us when no one's watching. If you kiss us when you know somebody's looking, we'll be more impressed. You don't have to get dressed up for us. If we're going out with you in the first place, you don't have to feel the need to wear the shortest skirt you have or put on every kind of makeup you own. We like you for who you are and not what you are. Honestly, i think a girl looks more beautiful when she's just in her pj's. or my tshirt and boxers, not all dolled up. Don't take everything we say seriously. Sarcasm is a beautiful thing. See the beauty in it. Don't get angry easily.
Stop using magazines/media as your bible. Don't talk about how hott Chris Brown, Brad Pitt, or Jesse McCartney is in front of us. It's boring, and we don't care. You have girlfriends for that. Whatever happened to the word 'handsome'/'beautiful' i'd be utterly stunned by a girl who greeted me with 'Hey handsome!' instead of 'Hey baby/ stud/cutie/ sexy' or whatever else you can think of. On the other hand im not sayin i woulndnt like it either ; ) Girls, I cannot stress this enough: if you aren't being treated right by a guy, dont wait for him to change!!!!!
Ditch his sorry butt, disgrace to the male population and find someone who will treat you with utter respect Someone who will honor your morals. Someone who will make you smile when you're at your lowest. Someone who will care for you even when you make mistakes. Someone who will love you, no matter how bad you make them feel. Someone who will stop what they're doing just to look you in the eyes....and say 'i love you' ..and actually mean it. Give the nice guys a chance. Guys repost this if you agree. Girls re post this if you think it's cute.. Every Guy who isn't a jerk will agree with this, so we hope that all the girls that read this will repost this. Life is too short to complain about everything that comes your way so stop and smell the roses in life because you might never have another time to take it, so take your time because they are all different in every way, so take chances in life, if it doesn't work out then fine, there are always more roses to smell
Make sure your car's registration sticker is up to date
So I was driving home from playing airsoft and I was like 3 blocks from home. I was on Fullerton Rd turning left on Sordello when a cop turned on his siren lights. I didn't put on the new registration sticker so I was one month out of date. Then the cop saw the airsoft rifle bags in my backseat and asked if he could inspect it. I knew that I had a legal right to say no, but I also know that I had a chance to get away with a warning if I was cooperative. He looked at it and said they were nice. We got to talking about guns and I actually asked him what firearms he had at home lol. There was an awkward moment when I was shivering and he asked me why I was so nervous. I told him that it was 45 degrees outside and my windows were down and my shirt and jacket were soaked with sweat from playing airsoft. Anyway, the guy was nice and let me go without a ticket. Still though, such a pain in the ass for the fact that it started with the registration sticker.
Superior or Douche
I read today's Gospel on my email from www.dailygospel.org and I immediately thought of Jon's S or D segment.
When he saw their faith, he said, "As for you, your sins are forgiven."
Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who but God alone can forgive sins?"
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply, "What are you thinking in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'?
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins''--he said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home."
He stood up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God.
This is totally superior. Get owned, Pharisees! Get owned!
Feliz Navidad!
Four different languages and the back up dancers make this video the most memorable Feliz Navidad song ever!!
Spanish, English, Vietnamese, & French.
-KHORN-
Spanish, English, Vietnamese, & French.
-KHORN-
Animation Domination Throwdown
It's a deadly melee for top show!
I've wondered why some fans of certain shows dislike the other shows. It's really not about neutral critiquing but more of fanboy bashing. It's the PS vs 360 and MW vs BF debate. They're different but it doesn't make one more "superior" than the other since beauty is in the eye of the beholder. With that being said, I admit that I am bias (as we all are) but I'll try to be impartial.
Funniness: Family Guy (FG) > American Dad (AD) > Simpsons (SS) = Cleveland Show (CS)
FG is easier for new fans to pick up because you don't have to know the characters too well to get the jokes. If you're intelligent, there's political jokes. If you're not intelligent there's fart jokes. If you're a man, there's tons of violence. FG pretty much invented the cutaway joke gag. American Dad doesn't use cutaways but is still hilarious because of the great scene setups. Simpsons and Cleveland are legit family shows, laughter is a side benefit. I think people who watch those two shows just want to be entertained with stories.
Cast Lovability (averaged): AD > SS = CS > FG
Fathers:
I love American Dad, they actually have characters you care about. Stan is a macho man, alot of his jokes come from guns, politics, and manhood. I would rank Homer as the most lovable dad, because he's well rounded. He's not smart, but he isn't dumb either. Alot of people identify with Homer and his realistic story lines. Cleveland is a lovable black guy. He's nice and has really bad jokes, which make them funny. Peter is a dumbass. After a certain point Peter is more annoying than entertaining.
Mothers:
I'm gonna start by putting Marge and Donna at the bottom. Any episodes based on them are boring as hell, because they're too generic. Lois and Francine are tied here because you can base the episode's main plot on them and it's entertaining. Lois has crazy fighting skills, and Francine is a beach blonde with an interesting promiscuous past.
Sons:
I'm putting Steve first. He's tied with Bart for fan lovability, but since he's on a McFarlane show, he can have really funny storylines and more mature subjects than Bart would ever get to have. Cleveland Jr is third because he's the fat slow underdog that we like to root on. Chris is so boring. Let's just say I would want to be friends with any of the other three while growing up, but not Chris.
Daughters:
Lisa is first. Haley is second. Meg is third. Roberta is fourth. They are all so different, but I'm basing this on how well rounded their character is. I'd say Meg brings the most entertainment but honestly can you watch an entire episode about her? It's easy to do that with Lisa.
Babies of the family:
Stewie and Brian are number one without a doubt. My two favorite cartoon characters. Together they bring up the family's IQ to average. It seems like the best episodes are based on their adventures. Roger the alien, while not a baby, fits here because he's part of the family. His storylines are hilarious because he gets unfair revenge for small slights. Rallo is tied with Roger. Rallo is the only funny character on CS. Imagine a black straight Stewie that wants to conquer girls instead of the world and you've got Rallo. Unfortunately Maggie comes from an era in which babies are realistic, so she can't talk and has no personality.
Supporting Cast (neighborhood)
FG > SS > CS > AD
FG totally wins here. There's the obvious Quagmire, but I love random townspeople like Herbert, Bruce, Consuela, and Fouad. You cannot beat that. Simpsons isn't that funny, but I've grown to like Barney, Moe, Carl, Lenny, etc. AD has no neighborhood except for Stan's CIA coworkers.
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As you can see, It's hard to pick which show I like best because I like different family members more than others. For example I think FG is funny, but I dislike so many people in the family. Overall I would say I like American Dad the most. Steve is my favorite son character, and Roger and Klaus are close to Brian and Stewie. The storylines are constantly fresh. I can only take so many fart jokes and chicken fights.
Extreme Roadtrip to Vegas
I think a hurricane is defined when a tropical storm hits 70-80 mph. There's desert hurricanes now... EXTREEEEMEE!!!
In case I didn't mention it before, EXTREEEEMEE !
Best gifts for Mother Russia this holiday season
Director's Cut of "Top Comrade"
Special Anniversary Edition of Communopoly
PC: Radio
Radio oh radio why do you do me so dirty! I've recently begun listening to the radio more often and quickly remembered the reason why I used to not.
Pros of radio: Pretty good & up to date randomization of a playlist.
Cons of radio: Commercials...darn those darn commercials. & The worse part is when all the stations you listen to have their commercials at the same time. Commercial, Change station, commercial, change station, commercial, change station, gospel reading, DEATH!
But of course, you already know this ;P
Pros of radio: Pretty good & up to date randomization of a playlist.
Cons of radio: Commercials...darn those darn commercials. & The worse part is when all the stations you listen to have their commercials at the same time. Commercial, Change station, commercial, change station, commercial, change station, gospel reading, DEATH!
But of course, you already know this ;P
Keep your mp3s ready!
-JFrosty
Crazy Times at UCBerkeley
I feel like I've been living under a rock because I haven't heard of the "Occupy Berkeley protests" until today, even though they started a week ago. It's only come to my attention because someone brought a gun to campus and was shot by cops yesterday (more on that later).
Okay here's a quick summary if you haven't followed any of these news. Cal students are emulating the "Occupy X" movements. The school told them they are allowed to peacefully protest, but they are setting up tent camps on school property. I don't know all the details, but I assume the students were given some sort of deadline to get out. So cops come, and students form a human barrier. Cops start jabbing them with batons and hurl some kids to the ground.
The cops had every legal right to push people back. But I wouldn't have used batons, just use tear gas. Tear gassing is less barbaric than batons. The ironic thing is that I think tear gas might have caused more medical bills than mere baton jabbing (respiratory problems and such). Still, students should be happy that the school is saving money by not using tear gas, but mere sticks. The Occupy Cal movement is a success ! Oh Hoh! ... I'm just joking, I'm not that heartless. But those people that called this a "brutal beatdown" are kidding themselves. Sometimes Andrew and I jab each other just as hard. I don't condone force or violence, but these kids need to stop whining. These need to see some videos of the Tiananmen Square protests. In this documentary, some people were gunned down in the open. The people were bleeding to death, and one brave ambulance comes into no man's land, trying to save some people. Guess what, the soldiers shot the medics too. That ... is brutal. To to sum up how I feel: the kids were the breaking the law, they already had the right to freedom of speech, but not freedom of invading private property. The cops, while having the legal right to push people back, were not morally right. You shouldn't use force on someone peacefully resisting. That's why I say use the damn tear gas.
And then yesterday, the Cal UCPD shot and killed a student. Man talk about adding fuel to the fire. I remember UCLA students HATED on the police when they tazed a student repeatedly. So with this incident, alot of people are super angry... even though the guy brought a loaded gun to school. Looking at his personal story and his actions that day, it's pretty obvious that this was suicide by cop. He wanted to die. He showed the gun to a student, who called cops. When cops came, he pointed the gun straight at them. The only reason cops didn't shoot right away was because of students behind the guy would get hit. So cops told him to drop the gun, he didn't, and when one cop had an open shot he took it. The guy didn't fire once, so it probably is a pseudo suicide. But the cops that arrived on the scene didn't know this. All they knew was that there was someone pointing a gun at them. Some people just do what they can to demonize police. But I'd like to think that cops are good people. It's not fair to call police pigs, dicks, etc. There are always bad apples that make the whole bunch seem bad. Honestly, how many dicks are there in a typical office? Tons. Cops are just like us: some are dicks not because they are cops, but because a certain percentage of society are dicks.
Anyway... in other news... UCLA students are following suit and setting up tents at Wilson Plaza, although our campus is hardly known for being political. If anything, they just can't afford rent in Westwood anymore.
Click here for the link to the Daily Bruin live updates. It has a chance of getting interesting:
10:20 pm
The crowd is singing along to "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and clapping to guitar. Spoken word performers take to the mic.
12:03 am
University curfew now in place. No sign of UCPD.
Latte Break #1 Vol. 2
Can you name the truck with four wheel drive,
smells like a steak and seats thirty-five....
Canyonero! Canyonero!
Well, it goes real slow with the hammer down,
It's the country-fried truck endorsed by a clown!
Canyonero! (Yah!) Canyonero! Canyonero!
12 yards long, 2 lanes wide,
65 tons of American Pride!
Canyonero! Canyonero!
Top of the line in utility sports,
Unexplained fires are a matter for the courts!
Canyonero! Canyonero! (Yah!)
She blinds everybody with her super high beams,
She's a squirrel crushing, deer smacking, driving machine!
Canyonero!-oh woah, Canyonero! (Yah!)
Drive Canyonero!
Woah Canyonero!
Note: The Federal Highway Commission has ruled the Canyonero unsafe for highway or city driving.
Happy Veteran's Day
I know I'm late, but I wanted to share this video with people who haven't seen this yet. It's the intro to "The Pacific", which is the brother series of Band of Brothers. This is such a great analogy involving the charcoal drawings. The charcoal stick starts out as one unit, but as it is put down on paper, it breaks into hundreds of pieces. But the end result is beautiful and tranquil art. Likewise men from a squad start whole but become decimated in war. And like the charcoal that breaks, it is precisely through their sacrifices that we can achieve the beauty in life.
Some Stories From My Silent Retreat
I need a break from serious things so I'll save what I learned for later. For now, here's some fun things:
I got there on Thursday afternoon, and I wasn't able to rot so hai (drop the deuce) all of Friday. So by Saturday I'm worried. The bathrooms are totally clean, so I'm wondering why my mind is subconsciously holding back, after all this isn't LDRK camp. Saturday night was confessions, and I finally had the urge to release my demons right before confession. So I entered confession with a clear mind and BODY.
Story two: I had a dream in which I was a soldier, and another soldier runs out like a fool into the open and dies. And I pity him because he is like the passage I read in which Jesus pities "sheep without a shepherd". Of course when I wake up I laugh because this was obviously Andy in Battlefield 3.
Story three: You don't talk on a silent retreat, so at meal time we just sit without making eye contact and eat quietly. Well during one lunch, I wasn't too hungry because I had a big breakfast. But the girl at my table was on the "voluptuous" side, and went for seconds. I was getting ready to put away my plates and leave. But because I didn't want her to feel awkward, I also went for seconds. This is the heart of chivalry: being the bigger man, even when you aren't ... the bigger man.
Finishing a Promise I Made Two Years Ago
http://ballersinarms.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-era.html
On the first day of existence of BiA, I said I would provide a lesson on how to speak with a Vietnamese fob accent. Well here it is! I read a few pages of some random books, and wrote down every sound that is not used in Vietnamese phonetics. Here are some of them (because I know I probably didn't catch all of the "non-Viet English sounds")
"TH" The T sound in English is the "th" sound in Vietnamese. The fricative TH sound in English has no equivalent in Vietnamese. Therefore a Viet fob would say "thank you" as "tank you".
"R" sound at the end of a consonant. Vietnamese have R at the beginning of words, but not at the end. So what the Viet fob does when reading such words is ignore the "R" sound and end the word with the vowel sound. So anniversary is read as "anni-vuh-suh-ry"
"S" at the end of a word. I'm not sure what the convention is here: sometimes fobs drop the S sound and end with the vowel, but the funny thing is sometimes they add in a completely different sound. For example tennis is tennit. And they add in the dau sach (up tone) for the "nit" lol
S followed by a non-vowel. Examples are school, stamp, smart. A fob would call these "si-kool, si-tam, si-mart"
B at the end of word or P at the beginning of a word. I am pretty certain Viet words never end in B. As for never starting with P, I'm not so sure but I only see words start with PH but never P itself. This means that the Viet fob substitutes B for P and vice versa in different situations. Crab sounds like "crap" and paper sounds like "ba-buh"
There is no W sound. I looked at a Viet map once. Hawaii is spelled Ha-Oai.
------------------------
Anyway, those are just some sounds I can think of, there's gotta be many more. Here's some more advice on sounding like a Viet fob: make your tone vary as you speak each word. And for word ending sounds that Viet people can't speak, make alot of guttural sounds:
(skip to 1:00)
What if the US had mandatory military service?
The countries that have mandatory military service are those that have severe tensions with the countries next to them. For example there's Switzerland, Israel, South Korea, North Korea, and Taiwan. The huge downside is that the country can go full on nationalism like Hitler or the Spartans. But what if the country remained rational? In my opinion South Koreans and Taiwanese are pretty cool people. I know enough of their pop culture to see that they are happy and loving people. I really don't see any fascism popping up in either of those two countries.
I bring this up because although there are possible downsides, I think there's plenty of upside. There are three specific examples that come to my mind. 1) For one the amount of overweight and obese people will go down tremendously. Even though people won't be as fit after they leave the military, a two year service is enough to instill the right mindset to live healthily for life. 2) This can also reduce gang violence. Sure a huge downside is that some gangsters will return back to their gang with the ability to shoot straight, but many more gangsters will probably have their life turned around. After all, gangsters are soldiers at heart, they just want to find somewhere they belong. Military service can instill duty and morality. Many former gangsters will return as good citizens. 3) America will be less likely to go to war. It's easy now to let Congress vote to go to war, but what if all families had sons and nephews in the military? Do you think Congress would be on shorter leash? Hell yeah. The Iraq invasion probably would never have happened.
I was just curious about the idea, I don't have an opinion of whether I'm even in favor, I'm just saying there are definitely good consequences of such a system. The thing that made me interested is the Swiss model. They have mandatory service starting at 20 for one year and they are part of the military reserve until age 30. and are part of the reserve reserve until 50. While in reserve service they are each assigned an automatic SIG assault rifle which they keep in their own homes! Compare that to American soldiers, who cannot even keep sidearms with them while they are on BASE, (that's how the Fort Hood shooting was able to happen).
But I realize what works for one country won't always work as well for another country. What are your opinions on a mandatory military service?
A tribute to Kwame Brown
There are many people in the NBA who suck and fans love to have them on their team because they suck. Mark Madsen and Brian Scalabrine are some good examples. UCLA had this Asian guy named Kelvin Kim that we would always want to be put into the game in the 4th quater because it's like using a human as a victory cigar. But those guys are lucky because they aren't expected to contribute to a team's wins. Kwame Brown on the other hand was the number one pick. He actually did okay his first two years with the Wizards. But as expectations soared, his mind and testicular fortitude shriveled up. No one follows him anymore because now he plays for the scrubby Charlotte Bobcats. Now that nothing is expected of him, he's actually putting up decent numbers of 10/10 (some pretty good fantasy stats).
But anyway, I was looking through my favorited videos on my youtube account and I found some Kwame stuff. These two are his highest and lowest points that I remember watching live. Both of these videos are from the same season, because I remember watching both of these games with my friend Joseph in my 2nd year dorm room.
I wish they didn't edit this video, because he had the ball for four straight possessions and they were either missed layups or turnovers. I've never seen a player booed by their own fans ever! I don't know what's more dumb, the fact that Kwame keeps trying when he's off, or the fact that the Lakers keep feeding him the ball. Blame it on the triangle offense, the ball will find it's way to the open man -__-
My reaction: HOLYY... My friend's reaction: dude look how happy Kobe is!
0:20 "yee my butterfingers just slipped through yo defense son"
unbelievable shots
watch this 2 minute video of Euro basketball. The commentator is so bewildered he loses his voice.
An Outsider Experience of Lincoln Nebraska
A recent article in the Smithsonian magazine for the month of November 2011.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/Lincoln-Nebraska-Home-on-the-Prairie.html#ixzz1bhgYabTs
-KHORN-
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/Lincoln-Nebraska-Home-on-the-Prairie.html#ixzz1bhgYabTs
-KHORN-
Obama Visits Los Angeles
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/10/obama-roscoes-west-la.html
... and stops by Roscoes ... lol. Good choice Mister President!
Fashion & Lifestyle for Ballers: Tips, Tricks, & Discussion [3]
It only took me four months to post this continuation of Topic #2.
Topic #2 (2 of 2): The Engineering behind your Suits.
Last time we talk about what color of suits you should wear or at least keep in your closet for special occasion.
Part 2 will cover briefly:
1. Suit and Pant Sizes
2. Suit Vents
3. Lapel (What is a Lapel????)
4. Buttons and Zipper
5. Fabric
These different sub topics will assist you in buying your first suit(s) and/or add on to what you don't already know about your suit(s)
1. Suit sizes
So let's make this clear, suit coat comes in sizes and they are measured by the size of your chest in the US (inches), but in Europe the sizes reflect the value from shoulder to shoulder (centimeter). European sizes in my opinion is superior than how the US define the suit sizes. The reason why is because most of the time you look for a suit, the number one rule of thumb is that it should fit your shoulder snugly. This is because it is more difficult to change your shoulder size than your chest.
US: 36, 38, 40, 42, etc. (Even numbers are most common at your department store and odd number like size 37 are a little bit more difficult to find, but do exist.)
Europe: 46, 48, 50, 52, etc. (When American store goes by European measurement, to get the size your looking for add 10 to the US measurement. But this method is flawed since the measurement doesn't translate to inches very well. An example:
A size 46 in Europe will appear to be looser than a size 36 in America. Take 36 inches = 91.44 cm and divide by two, so 45.72 cm. So it is slightly smaller than what was marked on the suit tag. Reason why European clothes might be slimmer than American/China made clothes.
For suit pants, sizes are the same as any other pair of pants (jeans, khakis, etc.). I'm sure you know these sizes already, but for those who don't buy their own pants, they come in waist by inseam (measurement from your crotch to bottom side of your ankle) sizes. Some stores will just go by waist size and it is inferred that the inseam is 32 inches.
US: 28, 29, 30, 31, etc. (in inches for both waist and inseam)
Europe: 71, 76, 81, 86, etc. (in centimeters for both waist and inseam)
How to convert? Take US inches and multiply by 2.54 (cm/in) get your European size.
If you go to a tailor, they will do several measurements (arm length, shoulder to shoulder, chest, waist, inseam, to get you a more tailored suit. However, prices will be over 9000 more than suits you buy off a rack without extra tailoring. It's actually a couple hundred dollars more. Tailor will measure these values for your suit, won't go into detail.
What are R, S, and L next to suit sizes mean? R = Regular, S = Short, and L = Long. This is referring to the sleeve length of your suit. Usually these length are used by department store selling suit, a real tailored suit will have no such letter next to the size. Refer to image below for department store sizing:
2. Suit Vents
Several suit types to notice why looking for your first.
No Vent, Center Vent, or Double Vent
Double Vented style is common and preferred in Europe, Center Vent common and preferred in the United States, and No Vent is uncommon but do exist. Some good things regarding double vent, it allow the suit to stay straight and in shape when you put your hands in your pocket. But, some people hate the Double Vent, because when you sit your suit tail get all wrinkled up and in your way. This is a reason why American prefer the Center Vented suit over the Double Vented. With the Center Vented suit, when you sit down your suit is allowed to fall down your sides rather than being squeeze between the chair and your gluts. But a drawback is that when you put your hands in your pocket, the suit vent can open showing your bottom. The No Vented suit style, gets the worst of the two.
3. Lapel
A lapel is the folded flap on the front of your suit jacket that travel upward (in a V-shape) from the first button of your suit to your collar. There are three different type of lapels for your suit, notched, peaked (sharp pointed), or shawl, most suit coat are notched (standard). The trend nowaday is to go toward a slimmer more narrow lapel, roughly 2.5 inches versus 3.0 inches in width (some of course are >3.0 inches).
Some lapel do have a button hole on the left side, I'm not 100% what this is for, but I have used it to pin down a flower during weddings.
4. Buttons and Zipper
Usually suits come in either two or three buttons, unless you are getting a peacoat style suit jacket (4 or 6 buttons). Even then, half of the buttons are for decoration and not use to fasten the jacket together. One thing to note about buttons on your suit, often you don't button up the bottom most button. This is because if you do and try to sit down you can't spread your legs out comfortably enough or risk wrinkle your suit near the crotch location.
The buttons (usually 3 or 4) on the sleeve of your suit jacket are for decoration and serve no functional purpose. It was once useful by in the days, but fashion kept on changing and their purpose was forgotten and most people don't know or care to change what was already a part of the suit.
For buttons on your pants, most suit have two hooks and no buttons at all to secure your pants. Some suit will have a main button and a hook on the inside for extra support. The fastening varies with designer and stores.
For zipper, rule of thumb, if your zipper is plastic on your suit pant then you have a low quality suit. Look at the label, probably made in china. I notice this on my pant suit a year after I bought and got it tailored. Don't make this mistake.
5. Fabric
Usually most suits are made with wool, some retailer like to throw in summer fabric like cotton and linen, which are acceptable in today's trend. They also come in many patterns: pinstripe, plaid, floral, etc. (anything you name they have it). I believe they have a camo pattern...
Be aware of some retailer who jack up their prices because they claim that the fabric come from Italy and/or made in Italy. Usually designer brand will carry this Made in Italy, unknown brand that you see at 3 Suits for $129 will probably say Made in China. Just be careful at what you buy, suits are a big investment and I witness the power it has on my very own job interview this past September. Questions?
Topic #2 (2 of 2): The Engineering behind your Suits.
Last time we talk about what color of suits you should wear or at least keep in your closet for special occasion.
Part 2 will cover briefly:
1. Suit and Pant Sizes
2. Suit Vents
3. Lapel (What is a Lapel????)
4. Buttons and Zipper
5. Fabric
These different sub topics will assist you in buying your first suit(s) and/or add on to what you don't already know about your suit(s)
1. Suit sizes
So let's make this clear, suit coat comes in sizes and they are measured by the size of your chest in the US (inches), but in Europe the sizes reflect the value from shoulder to shoulder (centimeter). European sizes in my opinion is superior than how the US define the suit sizes. The reason why is because most of the time you look for a suit, the number one rule of thumb is that it should fit your shoulder snugly. This is because it is more difficult to change your shoulder size than your chest.
US: 36, 38, 40, 42, etc. (Even numbers are most common at your department store and odd number like size 37 are a little bit more difficult to find, but do exist.)
Europe: 46, 48, 50, 52, etc. (When American store goes by European measurement, to get the size your looking for add 10 to the US measurement. But this method is flawed since the measurement doesn't translate to inches very well. An example:
A size 46 in Europe will appear to be looser than a size 36 in America. Take 36 inches = 91.44 cm and divide by two, so 45.72 cm. So it is slightly smaller than what was marked on the suit tag. Reason why European clothes might be slimmer than American/China made clothes.
For suit pants, sizes are the same as any other pair of pants (jeans, khakis, etc.). I'm sure you know these sizes already, but for those who don't buy their own pants, they come in waist by inseam (measurement from your crotch to bottom side of your ankle) sizes. Some stores will just go by waist size and it is inferred that the inseam is 32 inches.
US: 28, 29, 30, 31, etc. (in inches for both waist and inseam)
Europe: 71, 76, 81, 86, etc. (in centimeters for both waist and inseam)
How to convert? Take US inches and multiply by 2.54 (cm/in) get your European size.
If you go to a tailor, they will do several measurements (arm length, shoulder to shoulder, chest, waist, inseam, to get you a more tailored suit. However, prices will be over 9000 more than suits you buy off a rack without extra tailoring. It's actually a couple hundred dollars more. Tailor will measure these values for your suit, won't go into detail.
What are R, S, and L next to suit sizes mean? R = Regular, S = Short, and L = Long. This is referring to the sleeve length of your suit. Usually these length are used by department store selling suit, a real tailored suit will have no such letter next to the size. Refer to image below for department store sizing:
2. Suit Vents
Several suit types to notice why looking for your first.
No Vent, Center Vent, or Double Vent
Double Vented style is common and preferred in Europe, Center Vent common and preferred in the United States, and No Vent is uncommon but do exist. Some good things regarding double vent, it allow the suit to stay straight and in shape when you put your hands in your pocket. But, some people hate the Double Vent, because when you sit your suit tail get all wrinkled up and in your way. This is a reason why American prefer the Center Vented suit over the Double Vented. With the Center Vented suit, when you sit down your suit is allowed to fall down your sides rather than being squeeze between the chair and your gluts. But a drawback is that when you put your hands in your pocket, the suit vent can open showing your bottom. The No Vented suit style, gets the worst of the two.
3. Lapel
A lapel is the folded flap on the front of your suit jacket that travel upward (in a V-shape) from the first button of your suit to your collar. There are three different type of lapels for your suit, notched, peaked (sharp pointed), or shawl, most suit coat are notched (standard). The trend nowaday is to go toward a slimmer more narrow lapel, roughly 2.5 inches versus 3.0 inches in width (some of course are >3.0 inches).
Some lapel do have a button hole on the left side, I'm not 100% what this is for, but I have used it to pin down a flower during weddings.
4. Buttons and Zipper
Usually suits come in either two or three buttons, unless you are getting a peacoat style suit jacket (4 or 6 buttons). Even then, half of the buttons are for decoration and not use to fasten the jacket together. One thing to note about buttons on your suit, often you don't button up the bottom most button. This is because if you do and try to sit down you can't spread your legs out comfortably enough or risk wrinkle your suit near the crotch location.
The buttons (usually 3 or 4) on the sleeve of your suit jacket are for decoration and serve no functional purpose. It was once useful by in the days, but fashion kept on changing and their purpose was forgotten and most people don't know or care to change what was already a part of the suit.
For buttons on your pants, most suit have two hooks and no buttons at all to secure your pants. Some suit will have a main button and a hook on the inside for extra support. The fastening varies with designer and stores.
For zipper, rule of thumb, if your zipper is plastic on your suit pant then you have a low quality suit. Look at the label, probably made in china. I notice this on my pant suit a year after I bought and got it tailored. Don't make this mistake.
5. Fabric
Usually most suits are made with wool, some retailer like to throw in summer fabric like cotton and linen, which are acceptable in today's trend. They also come in many patterns: pinstripe, plaid, floral, etc. (anything you name they have it). I believe they have a camo pattern...
Be aware of some retailer who jack up their prices because they claim that the fabric come from Italy and/or made in Italy. Usually designer brand will carry this Made in Italy, unknown brand that you see at 3 Suits for $129 will probably say Made in China. Just be careful at what you buy, suits are a big investment and I witness the power it has on my very own job interview this past September. Questions?
Sports Cars.
A thought just ran through my mind as was looking at pictures of my next car, I've got a pretty counter eco friendly taste in cars. For most people out there it'd probably be something along the lines of a hybrid or highly fuel efficient car, and even though i am guilty of wanting cars in these categories, nothing has really sparked my interest like a nice mid-size SUV. Gah, the mileage might not agree but dang, something about driving an SUV that makes life easier. Not just that, SUVs look pretty beast. GMC recently released a new model and oh my goodness do I want!
Don't be fooled by how badass it looks, this is a Mid Size SUV, Roughly the same size as the Infiniti Qx4 (which I drive). 3 Liter V6 260hp! VROOM VROOM VROOOOOM! It gets about 22city/34hwy with it's 4cylinder model so i'm guessing it'll be about 19city/30hwy on it's V6 model. Dang, there's something about it's design that just screams out my name, probably cause it looks like it's covered in armored. Built my own full package model using the GMC website and it'll cost me about $35,000 tax included. But of course, I'm not going to get a new car until my baby dies in another 160k miles!
The GMC Terrain.
 |
| yummy! |
Don't be fooled by how badass it looks, this is a Mid Size SUV, Roughly the same size as the Infiniti Qx4 (which I drive). 3 Liter V6 260hp! VROOM VROOM VROOOOOM! It gets about 22city/34hwy with it's 4cylinder model so i'm guessing it'll be about 19city/30hwy on it's V6 model. Dang, there's something about it's design that just screams out my name, probably cause it looks like it's covered in armored. Built my own full package model using the GMC website and it'll cost me about $35,000 tax included. But of course, I'm not going to get a new car until my baby dies in another 160k miles!
Power! More Power!
-j.Frosty
Yet Another Label
BiA has 464 posts. Actually a little less, since some are unpublished drafts. But only 58 of them belong to the category "Not Frosty or Mac". Looks like a small minority own a large chunk of the voice of BiA. And with this post the rich keep getting richer. Jon we need to get ready for "Occupy BiA" protests...
Some quotes from fiesta weekend
"For girls to do this fashion show, they need to have pride in themselves. For boys to be in this, they need to have NO pride."
"Those carnies have dark skin, but look how blue their eyes are! It's like they're Anastasia. They were born into royalty, what happened?!"
"Tootsie Roll?"
Where does the mind end and the soul begin?
I started wondering where does the soul begin (physically and temporally), and when does it end? I've found this topic to be very interesting to me. And it's something that's always been in the back of my mind as I've studied biology and religion. And after years of pondering, I think I have my answer.
One of my favorite passages from the Bible describes God molding us in the womb, like a potter with a clay masterpiece. And it says before we were formed, God knew us. It's such a beautiful message, and it leaves me with no doubt that the soul is created before we were physically made, and put into our human form at the moment of conception.
We don't have any memories as a baby, and I'd say that babies can't think rationally. Any actions are probably out of instinct, like crying when they need something. Does that mean that the soul inside us is worthless as a baby? I'd say no. Humans consist of two properties: the flesh and the spirit. Our soul is timeless and makes up our spirit. Our mind (and being able to think) is part of the flesh along with the body.
Here's how I define the difference between our mind and soul. The mind is part of the flesh and not the spirit because some are born with genetic deficiencies, and others have debilitating injuries. For example injuries to specific parts of the brain will cripple some specific aspect of rational ability such as long term memory, being able to recognize faces, being able to understand sounds as words, being able to understand written characters as words, etc. It's painfully clear to me that our ability to think is confined to the here (physical) and now (temporal). Some people want to believe that their memories and rationality are eternal; that their mind is more than their body. I used to want to believe that too, but I can't deny what I've learned in neuroscience. For example... sometimes you smell something and you get a random memory. It may not be a flashback, but you get a feeling of an emotion from some time in your life. Sometimes when I use Clearasil, the scent gives me emotions and excitement of being a teenager again. The reason this happens is because the area of your brain that processes smell is related to the amygdala, the part of your brain that is in charge of emotion and memory. Speaking of which... do you wonder why women have better memory of fights and "keeping points" than men in a relationship? They are more emotional, which hyperactivates this part of the brain. Almost anything we think or feel can be explained by neuroscience. Our minds are always changing, it can't be the eternal soul. Tomorrow you will be a different person physically and mentally than you are today. It's only the soul that is the same. Therefore I believe the soul, being eternal, is separate from our ability to reason.
I would define the soul as the part of us that chooses whether to sin or not. This leaves no excuses for our behavior. You can't say you aren't liable for beating up someone due to roid rage or PMS, you still have a choice. The mind allows us to weigh the factors on a decision, and the soul is the final decider. When we sin, we know it, and in that moment we would rather do the sin rather than follow God's rules. The idea of a "conscience" is the part of our soul that tells our mind whether something is right or wrong. Our soul gets judged by God at the end of our lives. God may be tough, but he is fair. God judges us on what we know, what we choose, and every little factor.
As an example to show the difference between mind and soul, what happens to a person that gets severely damaged in the head and loses most of their intelligence? Of course the "mind" takes a nosedive, but the soul is still there and still the same. Their ability to do great things in life is gone, but so is the ability to commit horrible evils. Their range of behavior is greatly restricted, but they can still choose to do good or bad within those restrictions.
This goes back to my earlier point that a soul is judged based on what a person knows and the conditions they are in. In math terms, it's not the absolute value but the relative value. Of course an adult can do more absolute good in the world than a child, but who loves God more? A child can glorify God by loving their parents and laughing. They are without sin. Their relative rate loving God is 100% and it can't go any higher. Whereas an adult could be a good Catholic but still only love God at 25% of what they are capable of. Who is greater? The child is. I think that's what Jesus meant when he said we must be like children to enter God's kingdom. The relative rate is what matters, the mental capability does not matter. For example, Saint Ignatius (founder of the Jesuits) was more intellectual than Saint John Vianney (who struggled through seminary). But they are both saints because they gave 100% in their own ways.
Some people say life isn't fair. I'd agree, but I would phrase it as life is random. We don't get to pick our physical bodies. But that doesn't mean you can't work out to be in as best shape as you can. In the same way, we aren't given equal intelligence and reasoning, but that doesn't mean we can't try our best to glorify God with our lives.
Our soul is the part of us that reaches out for God. It doesn't matter the state of our mind or reasoning, what we do with what we can do is all that matters. For example, Pope John Paul II spent the last years of his life mentally wasting away due to Alzheimer's Disease (and also Cha Nghiem). As their mental capabilities eroded, do you think they loved God any less? Of course not, if anything their love increased.
Another difference is that we can only attain faith through the soul, not the mind. Faith comes to the soul through the Holy Spirit as a grace. There's no way to find God through reason (aka science). In my opinion, years of philosophy and theology will never give the same happiness and inspired purpose as a simple sight at the beauty of nature. I will never argue with an atheist that God is in nature. I'm just saying that these are the little tidbits that God graces us with. It's these little things our souls tell us that God exists. And then we have the free will to follow God or not.
So when does our soul depart our body (and mind)? Some probably think when our mind is gone. But I think the soul stays there, even with mental degradation. It only leaves when we're dead, mentally and bodily. So even if someone transforms into a vegetable, their soul does not lose value. And since our souls are connected to bodies while we're alive, the value of a life is infinite no matter how bad it gets. We need to leave it to God to decide when a life starts and ends.
I'm not really trying to prove a point, I wrote this just because it was something of an "Ah hah!" moment for me, and I wanted to share my thoughts. But if you're looking for something to satisfy you after reading this long post, I would say I just made my case against abortion and euthanasia. But for someone who doesn't believe in God or souls, this argument wouldn't matter.
Here's something else that I'm curious about. If I have Alzheimer's and die and go to heaven, what state of mind will I have? Will I be at my most intelligent? Or will I be simple? To answer this, I bring up another common question that has a good answer. If a good man remarries after his first wife dies, who will he be with as his wife in heaven? The answer is neither. He will be see both of him, but heaven is about happiness due to being with God. Earthly things don't matter. All three will be infinitely happy, but not because of each other. Similarly I think when we die, we will be blessed with not only God's love but God's wisdom. We will understand everything. And so we'd probably be more knowledgeable and wiser than we ever were on earth.
Memiors of a [Man] Geisha 10/7-10/9 2011
Friday: Halloween Horror Night
Who: Phi, Eric, Bryan, Khoa, Ceci, & I.
When: 7pm Dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. 8:30pm Universal Studios Halloween Horror Night.
Where: Universal Studios.
Why: To have fun and pee our pants.
Summary: So much fun! Enjoyed my first burger at Hard Rock Cafe, yummy =]. & Then had fun going around Universal Studios getting surprised. So many memorable moments, "Noooooo! Mommy, Don't do it" I want a gillie suit now =P.
Khoa: "He's Real"
Bryan: *looks closely* "Ahhhhhhh, Oh hoh yes!" *as the zombie jumped up at him*
Saturday: Man's Lan Day
Who: Bryan, Andrew, Khoa, Tony, Aaron, Michael, Bao, Andy, Chris, & I
When: All day
Where: Bryan's House
Why: For the spirit of good competitive nerding out.
Summary: Booo Beep Beep Boo (R2D2). Had a lot of fun playing star craft brood war and counter strike 1.6. Twas a long overdue lan party. We learned many things that day such as Bao is the greatest sniper to ever play CS ;). You girls definitely need to have a Tea Party, don't make us throw it for you guys. Anyways, can't wait till our next lan party sometime over Christmas Break! Weeeeeeeee!
Sunday: Thieu Nhi & Fashion Show Practice
You know the who, when, where, and why.
Quick Summary: Made a massive amount of sandwiches for lunch. No white board ergo no Sunday thoughts. Found Tony's infamous rick james wig from so many years ago. Fun >=]
Things to come!
Friday: Chi Li's House for fashion show practice, dinner, and fiesta food preparation/help.
Saturday: Help at the Fiesta for several fun cultural hours.
Sunday: Thieu Nhi and shenanigans.
Financial News
Chase Credit Card: Apply for a card and receive $250 back when you spend at least $500 in the first three months as well as reward points if you link your credit card to a chase checking account.
Discover Card: Earn DOUBLE Cashback Bonus during the month of your Birthday!
Who: Phi, Eric, Bryan, Khoa, Ceci, & I.
When: 7pm Dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. 8:30pm Universal Studios Halloween Horror Night.
Where: Universal Studios.
Why: To have fun and pee our pants.
Summary: So much fun! Enjoyed my first burger at Hard Rock Cafe, yummy =]. & Then had fun going around Universal Studios getting surprised. So many memorable moments, "Noooooo! Mommy, Don't do it" I want a gillie suit now =P.
Khoa: "He's Real"
Bryan: *looks closely* "Ahhhhhhh, Oh hoh yes!" *as the zombie jumped up at him*
Saturday: Man's Lan Day
Who: Bryan, Andrew, Khoa, Tony, Aaron, Michael, Bao, Andy, Chris, & I
When: All day
Where: Bryan's House
Why: For the spirit of good competitive nerding out.
Summary: Booo Beep Beep Boo (R2D2). Had a lot of fun playing star craft brood war and counter strike 1.6. Twas a long overdue lan party. We learned many things that day such as Bao is the greatest sniper to ever play CS ;). You girls definitely need to have a Tea Party, don't make us throw it for you guys. Anyways, can't wait till our next lan party sometime over Christmas Break! Weeeeeeeee!
Sunday: Thieu Nhi & Fashion Show Practice
You know the who, when, where, and why.
Quick Summary: Made a massive amount of sandwiches for lunch. No white board ergo no Sunday thoughts. Found Tony's infamous rick james wig from so many years ago. Fun >=]
Things to come!
Friday: Chi Li's House for fashion show practice, dinner, and fiesta food preparation/help.
Saturday: Help at the Fiesta for several fun cultural hours.
Sunday: Thieu Nhi and shenanigans.
Financial News
Chase Credit Card: Apply for a card and receive $250 back when you spend at least $500 in the first three months as well as reward points if you link your credit card to a chase checking account.
Discover Card: Earn DOUBLE Cashback Bonus during the month of your Birthday!
I want a bullpup =[
-J.frosty
the adsearch is becoming intelligent
i always laugh when i see these types of ads on here:
On another note... I tend to see alot of gay advertisements on my facebook. Not stupid advertisements, but gay ads. As in Yes Homo. Does facebook know something I don't?
solar powered lights... literally
saw this on a friend's FB wall, I think this is awesome. Refraction, you've done it again!
Nasty, but funny?
Sunday Thoughts
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| WHAT IS IT!? By.JFrosty & Mac |
This one's for Jon
... but all of you guys should watch this video too. it's highlights of the 2nd half of the 2008 Olympic gold medal game between USA and Spain. I remember watching this live, I hadn't jumped and cheered like this since I was in middle school. The game had so much tension. This was the "redeem" team because in 2004 the US failed to win gold for the first time. And Spain was out there to prove that they weren't going to be bossed around by a big nation (and hearing how racist Spaniards are, the fans probably had a racial motivation for wining).
Spain definately had better screens and passing, but the US had KOBE. I swear, even if you hate Kobe, you will have to admit the US had a good chance of losing without Kobe in the 4th. The plays in this game are so amazing that I had to do a rewind on almost half of them. You really don't know how Gasol got alley-oops watching live. A replay shows that there was two screens to set it up! So beautiful!
This game did much to increase basketball's popularity around the world. The two teams were from the Americas and Europe, and the game was in Asia (and alot of the players were African - oh hoh hoh yess!) I hope this inspired some kids to pick up a basketball over a soccerball.
BiA Blog Stats
I don't know if you guys have access to the stats, or if it's admin only. But anyway, I found out some surprising stuff!
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Good job Khoa, you made up 6% of our views! lol
We have some viewers from other countries:
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And these are the posts with the top views:
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If you looked at the top search queries, this makes sense. Alot of people searched for western bacon burger (or other burgers), Snape and Lily, and long pinky nail.
Another announcement: I have earned $1.87 from the ads at the top left! Unfortunately I can't get a check until I hit $100. I don't think I'll still be alive -_-
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