So yeah, really sorry it's been so long. Work and then college kept me on my toes like crazy. I suppose I could have put in a couple of posts, but at the time I didn't think of it. I apologize.
I suppose the best thing at this particular moment would be to give some sort of summary of the past few months. I'll start at the beginning. Without any input of my own, I happened to get the room I was assigned back in freshman year, two years ago. Good ol' Medlin Third East, #322. Finally got a roomie from Kentucky, too. Stephen's pretty cool, with strong convictions and tastes similar to mine. It was great seeing my friends from the last couple of years, as well as meeting all the new freshmen. We have a surprisingly high concentration of awesome freshmen in Medlin this year, especially on third floor. Almost nightly we'll have a group of us hanging out in the lobby, chatting, Facebooking, or even playing chess. Granted, while every cloud has a silver lining, conversely some silver linings are inside clouds. There is a tiny contingent of a few freshmen who insist on being, in a word, unruly. I won't mention names... I'll just say that efforts have been taken to deal with these people both by students and dorm staff, and these efforts will continue next semester until the crap is stopped.
Classes have been pretty good. Those that I had are: anthropological thought and theory, physical anthropology, intercultural communication, human geography, benevolence, tae kwon do, and modern Western culture. I liked them all for the most part. Anthro theory was interesting; we read the essays of prominent writers in various schools of anthropological thought and then reflected upon them. On the two exams, we critically applied them to modern situations. TKD is new to me, since I have never taken steps to learn a martial art in the past. However, it's fun, and helping to keep me fit. I should be a green belt when I return to school. My favorite class overall was intercultural communication. It involved various aspects of communication between people and problems involved. Apart from the book and lecture, we learned also from the anecdotes of Dr. Kailing, who spent significant time overseas, and each other. I found out a bit into the break that I wound up with all A's. Thank goodness; this was the busiest semester of my life, lol.
I took up some new things outside of class as well this semester. Most significant is that I have begun to learn Arabic. My good friend Roseanna, a Christian Palestinian (no, pro-Israelis, this is NOT an oxymoron) from Ramallah, worked with me for most of the semester, and we've gotten through the alphabet, some grammar and vocabulary, and past tense verb forms. Unfortunately school got crazy at the end of October, and I was unable to continue. We'll resume next semester, though.
Another isn't entirely new, but I hadn't done it regularly... character sheet RPGs. Since my friend JD did a short-lived one last spring, I hadn't done anything more with it. However, my friend Shawn started a Star Wars RPG that went for a good few sessions. Shawn DMed (that is, he was the dungeon/game master); JD and two others, Caesar and Jonathan, and I actually played. I even went to Dicehead with them and got my own dice, d20 (20-sided die) and all! It went pretty well until JD had his RPG binder stolen with his supplies and Caesar was forced to leave due to idiocy on the part of certain... offices. However, our will to play wouldn't die. Shawn drew up a new Dungeons and Dragons campaign (my first time playing it) that has developed a party of about nine people spanning most of the D&D classes. JD started another Star Wars RPG soon after, and we began having our weekend p.m. hours packed with dice-rolling awesomeness. My current characters are a halfling rogue (D&D) and a Chiss scoundrel (Star Wars) with a huge emphasis on hacking. The backstory was just recently finished on the latter, but the game should be good when it really gets going.
Athletically, Lee's done well. The women's soccer team got their second consecutive NAIA national championship, and the volleyball team got to the Final Four, the furthest they'd ever been in the tournament, before falling to Georgetown College. And the few basketball games I saw before the semester was out were great and gave hope that we would do well this season.
I arrived home from Christmas break on the 9th of December, and got my wisdom teeth removed that Monday. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. They put me under and had everything done in an hour and a half or so. The first day out of surgery was awkward since the back of my jaw hurt every time I took a drink, and my lower lip felt an inch thick from the Novocaine. I was given Vicodin and penicillin to take; after about four days I barely needed any pain meds. Couldn't eat solid food for a while, but that just meant I could eat that much more yogurt (which I like, btw). I'm pretty much back to normal now though; just gotta keep the new vacancies in my mouth clean for a while, haha.
After all this, I'm pretty much ready to start work for a bit next week. The rest of this break should be good, followed by what looks like a great upcoming semester. I won't leave you hanging like I have the past few months... I'll actually keep you posted. :-P
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
A Refutation of the Legality of Abortion
Man, it's been a while...
A lot of controversy surrounds the issue legalized by Roe vs. Wade. One side, with which I agree, states that abortion, the elimination of a fetus from the womb (or killing of an unborn baby), is murder and should be illegal. On the other side, holds that it should be legal, a woman's right. Currently, this view is the prevalent one in the political mainstream, and it's legal thanks to the aforementioned Supreme Court case. However, with simple logic, it can be easily refuted and shown to be the senseless infanticidal bullcrap it really is by proving correct the pro-life case.
The primary argument for the pro-life crowd is short and sweet: "Abortion is murder." We must first examine what exactly murder is. According to Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary, murder is "the crime of unlawfully killing a person, especially with malice aforethought." Now we pause here because an abortion advocate will point out two things: the word "unlawfully" and the part regarding malice. However, there are two flaws. First, "unlawfully" does not only refer to being against law of the legal kind. The second definition of the word, according to Merriam-Webster, is "not morally right or conventional." So it can thus refer to either written or moral law, the latter of which is especially to be considered by those who claim to be people of faith. Secondly, murder does not require malice; while it often goes along with malice, it merely requires a killing illegal by legal or moral law to be considered murder.
Now that this is established, it must be established that the "fetus" being aborted is, indeed, a person. To pro-lifers this is obvious, but many abortion advocates argue that the fetus is not alive yet or even merely a blob of tissue. I shall address the second concern first. The most overarching proof is this: like produces like. A human being always reproduces another human being. If the fetus is not another human being growing in the womb, what the heck is it?
As for it not being alive yet, one needs only look at what happens inside the womb, at basic scientific principle, and at sheer obviousness. If a fetus is a baby when born and moving around and sucking its thumb outside the womb, what makes it NOT a baby when UNborn, moving around, and sucking its thumb INSIDE the womb?! Signs of human life go all the way back to six weeks of conception, when the two most basic, undeniable signs of life are both active: heartbeat and brain activity. This was one of the factors in the Terri Schiavo case, when her husband got a judge to take her off life support under the pretense of her being brain-dead and unresponsive (even though the videos showed she obviously wasn't). Still, Terri was still human, as is an embryo. Even when the heart and brain haven't fully formed yet, there is one scientific fact that people must keep in mind. Besides the aformentioned "like produces like," once the sperm and egg join, it forms a single-celled zygote ready to grow. Any science textbook will tell you that the cell is the basic unit of life, and it can thus be inferred that a human zygote is human life.
Now we know that abortion does indeed kill an unborn person. All that is left is to prove it unlawful morally, since it is currently legal according to American law. Most excuses for abortion are for medical reasons, whether it will affect the health of the mother negatively. Originally this was meant for serious health problems, but as time went on it was expanded to include minor health problems as well as emotional health. As far as serious health problems go, one can afford to get a Cesarean section before a health problem gets too bad and have the baby prematurely without affecting its health adversely. Past incidents have shown that an infant can survive being out of the womb after as early as six months after conception and earlier. Emotional ups and downs are perfectly normal for pregnancy; it's a little thing most people like to call "morning sickness." And even if a woman goes into a depression for a bit, that's no reason to kill an unborn live child, as it has previously been established that it is such. Apart from physical and emotional health, what's left? Convenience, whether someone is concerned about a career interruption, having to care for someone else, or merely about not wanting to bother with the annoyance of morning sickness or a baby pushing against abdominal organs. And convenience is the reason for the vast majority of abortions today.
What happens to someone who kills another person for making things inconvenient? They are convicted of murder.
You'll note I haven't used Scripture so far. This is because I wanted to show this from a non-Biblical standpoint so that those who do not believe the Bible can see it's more than just a God thing. However, those who claim to be Christians are even more obligated to be against abortion; for not only does logic refute the idea, but God Himself condemns it. Before we were born, He set us apart (Jer. 1:5). He knit us together inside our mothers (Ps. 139:13). Who are we to destroy that which God has created? And then there's the ever-popular phrase: THOU SHALT NOT MURDER (Ex. 20:13).
If you really don't want a child, either use protection (which sometimes fails) or don't have sex in the first place. Abstinence is the only 100% successful way to prevent a pregnancy, wanted or unwanted. If a man and a woman don't like the thought of parenting, they should respectively keep their fly and legs closed.
A lot of controversy surrounds the issue legalized by Roe vs. Wade. One side, with which I agree, states that abortion, the elimination of a fetus from the womb (or killing of an unborn baby), is murder and should be illegal. On the other side, holds that it should be legal, a woman's right. Currently, this view is the prevalent one in the political mainstream, and it's legal thanks to the aforementioned Supreme Court case. However, with simple logic, it can be easily refuted and shown to be the senseless infanticidal bullcrap it really is by proving correct the pro-life case.
The primary argument for the pro-life crowd is short and sweet: "Abortion is murder." We must first examine what exactly murder is. According to Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary, murder is "the crime of unlawfully killing a person, especially with malice aforethought." Now we pause here because an abortion advocate will point out two things: the word "unlawfully" and the part regarding malice. However, there are two flaws. First, "unlawfully" does not only refer to being against law of the legal kind. The second definition of the word, according to Merriam-Webster, is "not morally right or conventional." So it can thus refer to either written or moral law, the latter of which is especially to be considered by those who claim to be people of faith. Secondly, murder does not require malice; while it often goes along with malice, it merely requires a killing illegal by legal or moral law to be considered murder.
Now that this is established, it must be established that the "fetus" being aborted is, indeed, a person. To pro-lifers this is obvious, but many abortion advocates argue that the fetus is not alive yet or even merely a blob of tissue. I shall address the second concern first. The most overarching proof is this: like produces like. A human being always reproduces another human being. If the fetus is not another human being growing in the womb, what the heck is it?
As for it not being alive yet, one needs only look at what happens inside the womb, at basic scientific principle, and at sheer obviousness. If a fetus is a baby when born and moving around and sucking its thumb outside the womb, what makes it NOT a baby when UNborn, moving around, and sucking its thumb INSIDE the womb?! Signs of human life go all the way back to six weeks of conception, when the two most basic, undeniable signs of life are both active: heartbeat and brain activity. This was one of the factors in the Terri Schiavo case, when her husband got a judge to take her off life support under the pretense of her being brain-dead and unresponsive (even though the videos showed she obviously wasn't). Still, Terri was still human, as is an embryo. Even when the heart and brain haven't fully formed yet, there is one scientific fact that people must keep in mind. Besides the aformentioned "like produces like," once the sperm and egg join, it forms a single-celled zygote ready to grow. Any science textbook will tell you that the cell is the basic unit of life, and it can thus be inferred that a human zygote is human life.
Now we know that abortion does indeed kill an unborn person. All that is left is to prove it unlawful morally, since it is currently legal according to American law. Most excuses for abortion are for medical reasons, whether it will affect the health of the mother negatively. Originally this was meant for serious health problems, but as time went on it was expanded to include minor health problems as well as emotional health. As far as serious health problems go, one can afford to get a Cesarean section before a health problem gets too bad and have the baby prematurely without affecting its health adversely. Past incidents have shown that an infant can survive being out of the womb after as early as six months after conception and earlier. Emotional ups and downs are perfectly normal for pregnancy; it's a little thing most people like to call "morning sickness." And even if a woman goes into a depression for a bit, that's no reason to kill an unborn live child, as it has previously been established that it is such. Apart from physical and emotional health, what's left? Convenience, whether someone is concerned about a career interruption, having to care for someone else, or merely about not wanting to bother with the annoyance of morning sickness or a baby pushing against abdominal organs. And convenience is the reason for the vast majority of abortions today.
What happens to someone who kills another person for making things inconvenient? They are convicted of murder.
You'll note I haven't used Scripture so far. This is because I wanted to show this from a non-Biblical standpoint so that those who do not believe the Bible can see it's more than just a God thing. However, those who claim to be Christians are even more obligated to be against abortion; for not only does logic refute the idea, but God Himself condemns it. Before we were born, He set us apart (Jer. 1:5). He knit us together inside our mothers (Ps. 139:13). Who are we to destroy that which God has created? And then there's the ever-popular phrase: THOU SHALT NOT MURDER (Ex. 20:13).
If you really don't want a child, either use protection (which sometimes fails) or don't have sex in the first place. Abstinence is the only 100% successful way to prevent a pregnancy, wanted or unwanted. If a man and a woman don't like the thought of parenting, they should respectively keep their fly and legs closed.
Friday, May 29, 2009
It's not just Israel that we should pray for...
Been a while since my last post. Bad news is I haven't really thought of anything good to write. Good news: I've decided to reprise one of my better notes from Facebook. Many of my friends know me as one who is vehemently opposed to racism of all forms. I can refute it scripturally, and I probably will sometime in the future. This note is more focused on refuting racism against one specific group of people. While it was written during the conflict in the Gaza Strip back in the start of '09, it has equal relevance in principle today. Enjoy!WARNING: DUE TO THE SENSITIVE NATURE OF THE SUBJECT MATTER IN QUESTION, THIS NOTE MAY SHOCK, ANNOY OR ANGER SOME READERS. LET IT BE KNOWN THAT ANY SHOCK, ANNOYANCE, OR ANGER CAUSED BY THE AUTHOR WAS COMPLETELY UNINTENTIONAL AND THE CONTENT IN THIS NOTE IS MERELY TO POINT SOMETHING OUT.
It's amazing how one small group can etch an image of an entire nation or ethnic group in people's heads. In the mentality of many in America, Hispanics are illegal immigrants, blacks are thugs, Asians are either geniuses or stupid, and Arabs are bloodthirsty terrorists hell-bent on the destruction of Israel and the Western world. I'm sure you will agree that all four stereotypes are bunk.
However, I've seen much more common usage of the fourth stereotype nowadays than any other, especially among Christians when referring to what is known as either Palestine or West Bank and Gaza Strip. Often the word "Palestinian" when spoken aloud is met with reactions ranging from indifference to outright condemnation. In contrast, you hear “Israel” and almost imagine Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” playing in the background.
Today a conflict continues to rage after Israel recently responded to Hamas' rockets with a large ground assault on Gaza. The current death toll when last I checked was at least thirteen Israelis and over eleven hundred Palestinians. While death is a part of war, the losses from both sides are still sad indeed. However, there is an irony that I have noticed among my fellow Christians. Several in America cry foul even when a Qassam rocket hits Israeli soil without harming anyone, yet they cheer when an IDF missile kills in one blow several Arabs who might not have even been attempting to fight.
Now before people start getting up in arms, let me clarify. I am well aware of Hamas's prior aggression. I know that some of their operatives hide among normal citizens in an attempt to make Israel look worse whenever a missile misses by thirty feet. However, I think it is wrong to condemn the entire Palestinian people for the actions of a few. Is all of California guilty of sodomy because they have homosexuals? Is everybody in Kentucky incestuous because of a little inbreeding in a small part of the state? Of course not! Likewise, the Palestinian people aren't all guilty of terrorism just because some people in a militant political party launch explosives into the territory of "God's chosen people" (more on this later). But what do we do? We act like even the very term "Christian Palestinian" is an oxymoron (yes, I have encountered God-fearing adults from my hometown who acted shocked at there being Christian Palestinians at Lee).
We fall into the same trap with Israel. We exalt the Jews as God's chosen people, which is a fact for the most part. God DID choose the Jewish people as a people set apart for Him from the other tribes living around them in the Old Testament. He also chose them (more specifically the tribe of Judah) as the line by which Jesus would come into the world. Many also exalt Israel because that general region is where Jesus walked and ministered. However, today Israel is estimated to be the nineteenth most atheistic and agnostic country in the world. In addition, the Israel Democracy Institute has stated that only 65% of JEWS there even believe in God. Just because it’s “the Holy Land” doesn’t mean that everything in it is holy and awesome. A great many of the population are far from the “holy” stereotype that we Americans seem to implicitly give the country. And we know that if people don’t make Jesus their Lord and repent of their sins… well, you know. Anyway, the Christian percentages might surprise you: only 2.1% (around 150,000) of the Israeli population is Christian, and 80% of that amount is... Arab! Are not the Christians God’s people?
In contrast, there are about 10,400 Christians in the Gaza Strip and 187,600 in the West Bank. Do the math. We Christians have more brethren in Christ among the Palestinians we speak out against than among the Israelis we exalt.
Like I mentioned earlier, why are people so thrown back at the term "Christian Palestinian"? Are Arabs any less able to receive God's grace than we?
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. - John 3:16
And we should not discount our brethren in Christ for their nationality.
You are all sons of God through Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. - Galatians 3:26-29
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” – Romans 10: 12-13
Something to think about, isn't it? Then there are the hundreds of thousands of innocents in the Gaza Strip who aren't even actively participating in the conflict, those who are merely seeking safety from the fighting. Many have died already, most of whom were likely unsaved. And the West Bank isn’t even involved in the fighting; Hamas has been acting outside of the Palestinian National Authority for the past couple of years.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is that, just like most stereotyped groups, the majority of the Palestinians don’t fit their stereotype. It is the aggression of one faction that portrays the violent image, and we should not condemn an entire people group just because of that one faction. As for those not involved in the current conflict, we can pray for their safety and protection. And if you’re still one who is majorly against the Palestinians, did not Jesus say to love and pray for your enemies?
In conclusion, we should:
- Pray that any crimes committed on either side will be swiftly punished.
- Pray that any innocent civilian deaths will be kept to a minimum.
- Pray especially for the well-being of our Palestinian brothers and sisters in Christ, since their people are taking the brunt of the casualties.
We promote praying for Israel. Ever consider that some Palestinians might need prayer, too?
Salaam and shalom to you all.
- Written January 17, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
So ends the first full week of schoollessness
It's been a really fun first week after college. It started off with a bang; on the way home from Lee on Tuesday, the parents took a surprise detour to Cumberland Falls. It had rained for two days just before, so the river was swollen to a level not normally seen, resulting in a huge amount of water going over the falls. Seriously, it's not called "the Niagara of the South" for nothing! And if you go at the right time, when it's night and the weather's right, you can even see the only moonbow in the Western Hemisphere!
Went to youth group on Wednesday night. Wasn't bad; Pastor Rock talked about prayer. My only gripe was that attendance was rather sparse that night. Still, it was good to hear the Word and see some of my old friends again. Over the next few days I mowed the lawn and watched some movies with Dad, the most prominent of which were LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Bourne Identity, and Saving Private Ryan. Good stuff.
On the first, Mom turned 49. That, plus Mother's Day this past Sunday, resulted in good times for her.
I've been making up for lost time on my GameCube. I played a lot of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 over the past few days, and today I broke out Metroid Prime for the first time in a couple of years. Such an amazing game; I encourage you to play it. Nintendo and Retro Studios pushed the GameCube close to its graphical limit with the beautiful environments in here. I'm going to see how far I can get without using a guide. I doubt I'll get 100% completion, but it should be interesting.
I resume work tomorrow. It'll be good to see my old coworkers again. Later this week I'll probably go to the coffeehouse with a friend of mine. Haven't been there in a while...
I'll post something more orderly and serious later. Tired... need to go to bed...
It's been a good week. :-)
Went to youth group on Wednesday night. Wasn't bad; Pastor Rock talked about prayer. My only gripe was that attendance was rather sparse that night. Still, it was good to hear the Word and see some of my old friends again. Over the next few days I mowed the lawn and watched some movies with Dad, the most prominent of which were LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Bourne Identity, and Saving Private Ryan. Good stuff.
On the first, Mom turned 49. That, plus Mother's Day this past Sunday, resulted in good times for her.
I've been making up for lost time on my GameCube. I played a lot of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 over the past few days, and today I broke out Metroid Prime for the first time in a couple of years. Such an amazing game; I encourage you to play it. Nintendo and Retro Studios pushed the GameCube close to its graphical limit with the beautiful environments in here. I'm going to see how far I can get without using a guide. I doubt I'll get 100% completion, but it should be interesting.
I resume work tomorrow. It'll be good to see my old coworkers again. Later this week I'll probably go to the coffeehouse with a friend of mine. Haven't been there in a while...
I'll post something more orderly and serious later. Tired... need to go to bed...
It's been a good week. :-)
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Where has the time gone?
As of yesterday at 3:40, I finished my last final of the year and thus finished my sophomore year at Lee University.
Where has the time gone?
It wasn't that long ago when I first entered Medlin Hall as a freshman. I was 18 and fresh out of the high school life in small-town Kentucky. Then suddenly, BAM, I found myself going from a school of 242 to one of over 4,000 where there were more people from Lagos, Nigeria, than from my entire home state. Ironic, since Lee is just in the next state over from Kentucky...
I gotta pack, but here's all I've been through in a numerical nutshell:
Anyway, I need to finish packing. Leaving to go home for the summer at 1:30. Will post more of a college reminiscence later.
Where has the time gone?
It wasn't that long ago when I first entered Medlin Hall as a freshman. I was 18 and fresh out of the high school life in small-town Kentucky. Then suddenly, BAM, I found myself going from a school of 242 to one of over 4,000 where there were more people from Lagos, Nigeria, than from my entire home state. Ironic, since Lee is just in the next state over from Kentucky...
I gotta pack, but here's all I've been through in a numerical nutshell:
- 3 majors (math ed to intercultural studies to anthropology)
- 4 roommates (Maurice H., Sworup R., Matt B., Nate H.)
- Over 61 credit hours (would've been 65 had I not withdrawn from Calc II)
- 3 B's :-(
- Dozens of papers, tests, and quizzes
- Thousands of calories burned from schoolwork stress (LOL)
- 8 intramural tournaments (sand volleyball, soccer, 9-ball (twice), dbls. 8-ball, bowling (twice), spades)
- 1 intramural win (9-ball)
- Dozens of volleyball, basketball, and soccer matches
- 20-odd open dorms
- 2 Dorm Wars
- 1 Dorm Wars win (more like DOMINATION! GO MEDLIN!)
- Over 50 Nigerian friends
- Over 100 international friends
- HUNDREDS of friends in general (180 to 1,088 on Facebook in two years)
- 1 AMAZING college experience
Anyway, I need to finish packing. Leaving to go home for the summer at 1:30. Will post more of a college reminiscence later.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
La música internacional
I mentioned in my first post my love of international music. While I am a hardcore member of Lee U.'s International Student Fellowship (ISF), I have noticed that not nearly enough of my friends like to sit back and enjoy music from other countries. It seems an introduction is in order.
Remember those three favorite international singers/groups I mentioned earlier? Prepare to meet them.
First up is HB. HB is a Christian power metal band from Finland. For those of you wondering what the heck power metal is, it is basically a genre of metal that has predominantly clean vocals (sometimes from a female vocalist), and rock instrumentation combined with a keyboard/synthesizer (compared with symphonic metal using an orchestra). Anyway, HB has a very good instrumentation. The guitar, synthesizer, and drums go together so well, and the lead girl carries the tunes well. HB's primary strength is its Scriptural soundness. Every song is jam-packed full of praises to God, and one of their songs (Way) is geared specifically toward leading a person to Jesus. No joke, people, this is rock you can worship to. When my 55-year-old father heard it, he asked to hear the entire CD played again! Also, the group's being from Finland is a major plus, especially since this is one of the world capitals of metal. Almost all of HB's releases are in their native Finnish tongue, but they currently have one English release: Frozen Inside. Be sure to check it out on iTunes; this is one good group.
The next is DAM, a Palestinian rap/hip-hop group. Many Westerners often bash Palestinians for being against Israel and for Hamas' radical methods in the Gaza Strip. This is not the case with DAM. This trio of skilled musicians put their frustrations with the "Holy Land" not into bombs and murder, but into word and music. They call for justice for their people and for peace in their songs. Their sticking to their stance and not raising a finger in violence is admirable in today's world, and especially in the context of that area. Not only that, but their combination of rap and Middle Eastern instrumentation in songs like "Mali Huriye (I Don't Have Freedom)" and "Ya Sayidati (My Lady)" is an absolute pleasure to hear. No, I don't know what they're saying (though I'm gonna learn some Arabic next year), but my Palestinian friend assures me that they're clean. Look up their album Dedication.
Finally is Ivete Sangalo. She is a pop/samba singer from Brazil, and she also has a very large following in Portugal. The most unique feature of her music is her voice; for a female singer such as her, he voice is really rather low and strong (contralto, not bass, lol). My description doesn't do her voice justice though. Just get onto YouTube and type her name. Her voice is amazing. Anyway, she has such a wide variety in her musical repertoire: samba, pop, slow, fast, dance, easy listening... you name it, she probably has it. I have listened to her live CD, Multishow Ao Vivo a Maracanã on multiple occasions on my iPod, and I never am disppointed. "Sorte Grande (Poeira)" was the song that got me into her music. After listening further, I have alighted upon a new potential fave: "Bota Pra Ferver." This unique combination of electric rock guitar, samba, and Ivete's vocals results in ear candy that can and must not be directed. Check out the album I mentioned earlier.
I hope you enjoyed this intro to a few international muscians. As my eyes are now trying to slam shut, I should sign off. Have a good one!
Remember those three favorite international singers/groups I mentioned earlier? Prepare to meet them.
First up is HB. HB is a Christian power metal band from Finland. For those of you wondering what the heck power metal is, it is basically a genre of metal that has predominantly clean vocals (sometimes from a female vocalist), and rock instrumentation combined with a keyboard/synthesizer (compared with symphonic metal using an orchestra). Anyway, HB has a very good instrumentation. The guitar, synthesizer, and drums go together so well, and the lead girl carries the tunes well. HB's primary strength is its Scriptural soundness. Every song is jam-packed full of praises to God, and one of their songs (Way) is geared specifically toward leading a person to Jesus. No joke, people, this is rock you can worship to. When my 55-year-old father heard it, he asked to hear the entire CD played again! Also, the group's being from Finland is a major plus, especially since this is one of the world capitals of metal. Almost all of HB's releases are in their native Finnish tongue, but they currently have one English release: Frozen Inside. Be sure to check it out on iTunes; this is one good group.
The next is DAM, a Palestinian rap/hip-hop group. Many Westerners often bash Palestinians for being against Israel and for Hamas' radical methods in the Gaza Strip. This is not the case with DAM. This trio of skilled musicians put their frustrations with the "Holy Land" not into bombs and murder, but into word and music. They call for justice for their people and for peace in their songs. Their sticking to their stance and not raising a finger in violence is admirable in today's world, and especially in the context of that area. Not only that, but their combination of rap and Middle Eastern instrumentation in songs like "Mali Huriye (I Don't Have Freedom)" and "Ya Sayidati (My Lady)" is an absolute pleasure to hear. No, I don't know what they're saying (though I'm gonna learn some Arabic next year), but my Palestinian friend assures me that they're clean. Look up their album Dedication.
Finally is Ivete Sangalo. She is a pop/samba singer from Brazil, and she also has a very large following in Portugal. The most unique feature of her music is her voice; for a female singer such as her, he voice is really rather low and strong (contralto, not bass, lol). My description doesn't do her voice justice though. Just get onto YouTube and type her name. Her voice is amazing. Anyway, she has such a wide variety in her musical repertoire: samba, pop, slow, fast, dance, easy listening... you name it, she probably has it. I have listened to her live CD, Multishow Ao Vivo a Maracanã on multiple occasions on my iPod, and I never am disppointed. "Sorte Grande (Poeira)" was the song that got me into her music. After listening further, I have alighted upon a new potential fave: "Bota Pra Ferver." This unique combination of electric rock guitar, samba, and Ivete's vocals results in ear candy that can and must not be directed. Check out the album I mentioned earlier.
I hope you enjoyed this intro to a few international muscians. As my eyes are now trying to slam shut, I should sign off. Have a good one!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Welkermind: Origins
What do you know? My first real written blog.
I suppose I should christen this blog with an introduction of myself and this blog. My name is Daniel. *extends hand* Originally I'm from Kentucky, but I am currently finishing my sophomore year at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. So far, I'm loving college, and I can hardly believe I'm ALREADY less than two weeks from being halfway through. A chronicle of my college experience is not the purpose of this particular post, however, so I'll leave it for a later one.
I first started blogging in February of last year. It was a video blog titled "Welker Weekly," and it became relatively popular among some of my friends at college. Various topics were covered, ranging from trivial ones like the time when Greek club n00bs planted a (used) toilet under the clock tower on campus, to more serious ones like encouraging girls that they're beautiful as they are, or my refutation of racism. I started it on YouTube, but moved it to Veoh.com, the primary reason for which was that Veoh has a beautiful file size limit of ZERO! Before then, I could only do a max of ten minutes, but one of my final installments cleared seventeen on Veoh. Unfortunately, I wasn't the best at the "weekly" part. I'd keep the weekliness up over the course of a few months, but then schoolwork would take its toll and I'd have to postpone for anywhere from two weeks to a month. I heard a few humorous references to "Welker Every-Other-Weekly" early this semester; between (1) that sense that I was letting viewers down by not doing regular installments and (2) my insane school workload, I decided to take a sabbatical from the video blogs and focus on school.
Very recently I started reading a great blog on Blogspot by my friend Matt in my dorm (Medlin FTW). Ever heard of "Wordsmitherd"? Go read it. It's awesome. Anyway, as I read on various topics, I felt reinspired to get back into the blogging. After wrestling with my thoughts for some time, I decided to do a blog on this site as well and cancel Welker Weekly. On here it's so much easier to put up thoughts and issues more informally. Don't have to keep a schedule, ya know; I can do it as frequently or as rarely as I want (let's hope for the former, eh?). I find the weekly thing to be less and less compatible with the iron wills of the college professors who consistently try to choke out what little life outside of class we have left (though some profs have their merits). Also, written blogs take up no hard drive space. I was averaging just under half a gigabyte per video on the old blog. Last night I started a membership on Blogspot and gave my creation the name "Welkermind," for it is from the mind of Welker.
Thus, from this moment on, Welker Weekly on Veoh is done. Welkermind on Blogspot is born.
Glory be to the Smitherd. LOL.
OK, on to me.
First and foremost, I'm a Christian. Jesus is my Lord, and I do my best to live up to His standards.
I love my friends and family. Much of the time you'll find me playing video games with the guys in my dorm, having lunch with some girls from Nigeria, watching war movies with Dad on breaks (but Mom always enters the room during the bloody parts... ha ha), and a whole array of other things. My parents have brought me up well, and my friends are my family away from home. Don't know where I'd be without them.
Being from Kentucky, I love sports. Around my area, college basketball and American football are king, and you hear two words the most: KENTUCKY and LOUISVILLE. This is one of the greatest NCAA Division 1 in-state rivalries in the country, exceeded only by North Carolina-Duke, Alabama-Auburn, and perhaps a couple more. I always love watching a good Kentucky game, and even a Louisville game if my Wildcats aren't playing (I'm weird like that). I also enjoy watching the real football, a.k.a. soccer. I have come to accept this as the real football because feet are actually involved more than 5% of the time, ha ha. I got into it during the 2006 World Cup, and yes, I DID see the legendary Zidane headbutt. After a drought of no games, I got hooked again during the 2008 Euro Cup. Now, if I see a game on, I'll often sit down with some friends in the student union and watch a few minutes of it. I don't really have a favorite team here, but I just like watching it. There's a reason it's called "the beautiful game," after all.
As far as playing sports goes, one word resounds with me: BOWLING!!! I mean, just look at my pic at the top of the page. My friend Josh got me into it back in sixth grade, and there was no going back from there. I was in the same youth league for seven years in Frankfort, KY, before graduating from high school with a 170 average and a 276 high game. I haven't had nearly as much time in college, but I take advantage of every intramural opportunity I get. I've been to the ACUI Regional Tournament for the past two years, and I'm looking forward to hopefully qualifying again next year. I also like playing basketball, baseball, and soccer. I played basketball a bit in middle school, and mainly pickup games in high school, but I still had fun. My school started its baseball team in 2004; as a freshman at the time, I was one of the founding members. In three years of playing, I had settled into the positions of starting right fielder and, occasionally, closeout pitcher. Fun times. Baseball is so much better when you actually play it. I played soccer at age six, but never played outside of PE in school until my second semester of freshman year at Lee. I played some intramural matches on the team from the International Student Fellowship that I'm in. Very fun; I want to play again sometime when I get the chance.
Another passion of mine is gaming. I never really got started on it until I went to my best friend's house in 4th grade and played Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64. While I still didn't get my own system, I played N64 and Playstation games on many occasions when I was chilling with my friends from school. On November 18, 2001, I was one of the 30-odd people in Shelbyville, KY, to get a Nintendo GameCube at launch. I'd done my research, saved up for it with my own money, and started playing Star Wars Rogue Squadron II (amazing game) on it that very day. This settled me into the vein of console gaming; I stayed true to this even after buying a Nintendo DS Lite after 11th grade.
Soon after starting college, I really got into PC gaming when I bought F.E.A.R. for my laptop. I got so into it that I played through the single player five times, twice on the extreme difficulty. I later got into the online multiplayer and eventually became one of the first new administrators on the MPDnorte Slow-Mo Team Deathmatch clan. While schoolwork has gotten in the way, I plan to get back into it on breaks. My favorite games would have to be the Super Smash Bros. trilogy, the Halo trilogy, F.E.A.R., Assassin's Creed, Mario Kart DS, and Phantasy Star Online: Episode I & II. I usually play one or more of these alone or with friends when I get the chance.
Finally, I absolutely love listening to music. Give me any genre and any song that is clean (minimal to no swearing, no defamation of women, no violent/sexual overtones), and I will probably listen to it and like it. However, I especially like three types of music. The first is Christian rock. Electric guitars and good drum beats are cooler, and adding Jesus just makes it that much more awesome. It is within this genre that my favorite bands are; Relient K, Brave Saint Saturn, Haste the Day, and HB make my top four. Christian rap is number two. I love a good beat, and groups/rappers like Lecrae, Cross Movement, T-Bone, and KJ-52 have some of the most amazing, beautiful lyrics in the music industry. Finally, I started getting into international music from, interestingly enough, a video game: FIFA Soccer 2005. I started listening to the songs I liked from the soundtrack online on MySpace. After a few months of this, I expanded to the other songs that they had, and now I have at least forty or fifty songs from other nations on my computer. My current favorites are HB (Finland), Ivete Sangalo (Brazil), and DAM (Palestine). Now you'll notice I mentioned HB before. This is a Finnish CHRISTIAN POWER METAL band!!! OMG w00tw00tw00t! :-D
More on bands in a later blog.
Well, it seems I have written enough. This first post alone could encompass a 5+ page paper easily, and it wouldn't be prudent to add any more overkill. I hope you like this, and you can look forward to other posts later in the future.
I now declare the blog Welkermind OPEN!!!
*cuts ribbon*
*chugs nonalcoholic champagne*
Ah. Things are looking up.
I suppose I should christen this blog with an introduction of myself and this blog. My name is Daniel. *extends hand* Originally I'm from Kentucky, but I am currently finishing my sophomore year at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. So far, I'm loving college, and I can hardly believe I'm ALREADY less than two weeks from being halfway through. A chronicle of my college experience is not the purpose of this particular post, however, so I'll leave it for a later one.
I first started blogging in February of last year. It was a video blog titled "Welker Weekly," and it became relatively popular among some of my friends at college. Various topics were covered, ranging from trivial ones like the time when Greek club n00bs planted a (used) toilet under the clock tower on campus, to more serious ones like encouraging girls that they're beautiful as they are, or my refutation of racism. I started it on YouTube, but moved it to Veoh.com, the primary reason for which was that Veoh has a beautiful file size limit of ZERO! Before then, I could only do a max of ten minutes, but one of my final installments cleared seventeen on Veoh. Unfortunately, I wasn't the best at the "weekly" part. I'd keep the weekliness up over the course of a few months, but then schoolwork would take its toll and I'd have to postpone for anywhere from two weeks to a month. I heard a few humorous references to "Welker Every-Other-Weekly" early this semester; between (1) that sense that I was letting viewers down by not doing regular installments and (2) my insane school workload, I decided to take a sabbatical from the video blogs and focus on school.
Very recently I started reading a great blog on Blogspot by my friend Matt in my dorm (Medlin FTW). Ever heard of "Wordsmitherd"? Go read it. It's awesome. Anyway, as I read on various topics, I felt reinspired to get back into the blogging. After wrestling with my thoughts for some time, I decided to do a blog on this site as well and cancel Welker Weekly. On here it's so much easier to put up thoughts and issues more informally. Don't have to keep a schedule, ya know; I can do it as frequently or as rarely as I want (let's hope for the former, eh?). I find the weekly thing to be less and less compatible with the iron wills of the college professors who consistently try to choke out what little life outside of class we have left (though some profs have their merits). Also, written blogs take up no hard drive space. I was averaging just under half a gigabyte per video on the old blog. Last night I started a membership on Blogspot and gave my creation the name "Welkermind," for it is from the mind of Welker.
Thus, from this moment on, Welker Weekly on Veoh is done. Welkermind on Blogspot is born.
Glory be to the Smitherd. LOL.
OK, on to me.
First and foremost, I'm a Christian. Jesus is my Lord, and I do my best to live up to His standards.
I love my friends and family. Much of the time you'll find me playing video games with the guys in my dorm, having lunch with some girls from Nigeria, watching war movies with Dad on breaks (but Mom always enters the room during the bloody parts... ha ha), and a whole array of other things. My parents have brought me up well, and my friends are my family away from home. Don't know where I'd be without them.
Being from Kentucky, I love sports. Around my area, college basketball and American football are king, and you hear two words the most: KENTUCKY and LOUISVILLE. This is one of the greatest NCAA Division 1 in-state rivalries in the country, exceeded only by North Carolina-Duke, Alabama-Auburn, and perhaps a couple more. I always love watching a good Kentucky game, and even a Louisville game if my Wildcats aren't playing (I'm weird like that). I also enjoy watching the real football, a.k.a. soccer. I have come to accept this as the real football because feet are actually involved more than 5% of the time, ha ha. I got into it during the 2006 World Cup, and yes, I DID see the legendary Zidane headbutt. After a drought of no games, I got hooked again during the 2008 Euro Cup. Now, if I see a game on, I'll often sit down with some friends in the student union and watch a few minutes of it. I don't really have a favorite team here, but I just like watching it. There's a reason it's called "the beautiful game," after all.
As far as playing sports goes, one word resounds with me: BOWLING!!! I mean, just look at my pic at the top of the page. My friend Josh got me into it back in sixth grade, and there was no going back from there. I was in the same youth league for seven years in Frankfort, KY, before graduating from high school with a 170 average and a 276 high game. I haven't had nearly as much time in college, but I take advantage of every intramural opportunity I get. I've been to the ACUI Regional Tournament for the past two years, and I'm looking forward to hopefully qualifying again next year. I also like playing basketball, baseball, and soccer. I played basketball a bit in middle school, and mainly pickup games in high school, but I still had fun. My school started its baseball team in 2004; as a freshman at the time, I was one of the founding members. In three years of playing, I had settled into the positions of starting right fielder and, occasionally, closeout pitcher. Fun times. Baseball is so much better when you actually play it. I played soccer at age six, but never played outside of PE in school until my second semester of freshman year at Lee. I played some intramural matches on the team from the International Student Fellowship that I'm in. Very fun; I want to play again sometime when I get the chance.
Another passion of mine is gaming. I never really got started on it until I went to my best friend's house in 4th grade and played Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64. While I still didn't get my own system, I played N64 and Playstation games on many occasions when I was chilling with my friends from school. On November 18, 2001, I was one of the 30-odd people in Shelbyville, KY, to get a Nintendo GameCube at launch. I'd done my research, saved up for it with my own money, and started playing Star Wars Rogue Squadron II (amazing game) on it that very day. This settled me into the vein of console gaming; I stayed true to this even after buying a Nintendo DS Lite after 11th grade.
Soon after starting college, I really got into PC gaming when I bought F.E.A.R. for my laptop. I got so into it that I played through the single player five times, twice on the extreme difficulty. I later got into the online multiplayer and eventually became one of the first new administrators on the MPDnorte Slow-Mo Team Deathmatch clan. While schoolwork has gotten in the way, I plan to get back into it on breaks. My favorite games would have to be the Super Smash Bros. trilogy, the Halo trilogy, F.E.A.R., Assassin's Creed, Mario Kart DS, and Phantasy Star Online: Episode I & II. I usually play one or more of these alone or with friends when I get the chance.
Finally, I absolutely love listening to music. Give me any genre and any song that is clean (minimal to no swearing, no defamation of women, no violent/sexual overtones), and I will probably listen to it and like it. However, I especially like three types of music. The first is Christian rock. Electric guitars and good drum beats are cooler, and adding Jesus just makes it that much more awesome. It is within this genre that my favorite bands are; Relient K, Brave Saint Saturn, Haste the Day, and HB make my top four. Christian rap is number two. I love a good beat, and groups/rappers like Lecrae, Cross Movement, T-Bone, and KJ-52 have some of the most amazing, beautiful lyrics in the music industry. Finally, I started getting into international music from, interestingly enough, a video game: FIFA Soccer 2005. I started listening to the songs I liked from the soundtrack online on MySpace. After a few months of this, I expanded to the other songs that they had, and now I have at least forty or fifty songs from other nations on my computer. My current favorites are HB (Finland), Ivete Sangalo (Brazil), and DAM (Palestine). Now you'll notice I mentioned HB before. This is a Finnish CHRISTIAN POWER METAL band!!! OMG w00tw00tw00t! :-D
More on bands in a later blog.
Well, it seems I have written enough. This first post alone could encompass a 5+ page paper easily, and it wouldn't be prudent to add any more overkill. I hope you like this, and you can look forward to other posts later in the future.
I now declare the blog Welkermind OPEN!!!
*cuts ribbon*
*chugs nonalcoholic champagne*
Ah. Things are looking up.
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