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Thursday, August 16, 2007

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 00:19:11 GMT

Some lyrics that have inspired thought in my mind and my soul...

In the middle my head is spinning

Now I don’t want to loose my mind

Caught in the middle is my mind

-Project 86



There's a little black spot on the sun today

That's my soul up there

It's the same old thing as yesterday

That's my soul up there

There's a black hat caught on a high tree top

That's my soul up there

There's a flag pole rag and the wind won't stop

That's my soul up there

I have stood here before inside the pouring rain

With the world turning circles, running 'round my brain

I guess I always thought that you could end this reign

But it's my destiny to be the king of pain

-The Police



A cat came drifting onto a porch from the outside cold

And with eyes closed, drinking warm milk from my bowl,

Thought:

"Nobody hears me (nobody hears me)

I crept in so soft!

And nobody sees me (nobody sees me)

As I watched six steps off."


Like the peacocks wandering the walkways of the zoo

Who have twice the autonomy the giraffes and tigers do

Saying:

"No one can stop me (no one stop me)

No one clips my claws!

now everyone watches me (everyone watches me)

Scale these outside walls!"


you took the puous and profane,

turned around the praise and blame,

said "A glass can only spill what it contains!"

To the perpetually plain and the incurably inane

A glass can only spill what it contains!


What new mystery is this?

what blessed backwardness??

the Immeasurable one is held and does not resist!

struck by wicked words and foolish fists of senseless men

the Almighty One does not defend!

-Mewithoutyou



It's a backwards attraction to your forward eyes

But you're so far-sighted that you can't place trust

In what or who you recognize

We sped the plymouth cross the banks of the mississippi river

Mary timony was smaller then a super ball...

Chitter-chatter all these secrets started giving me the shivers

Plain and simply broken down near olympia

I think your bruise was understanded,

'cause you can't feel this anymore

It's getting bluer and you can't keep faking

That you can't feel this anymore

-Death Cab For Cutie




And here I dreamt I was a soldier 

And I marched the streets of birkenau 

And I recall in spring 

The perfume that the air would bring 

To the indolent town 

Where the barkers call the moon down 

The carnival was ringing loudly now 

And just to lay with you 

There's nothing that I wouldn't do 

Save lay my rifle down 



And try one, and try two 

Guess it always comes down to 

Alright, it's okay, guess it's better to turn this way 



And I am nothing of a builder 

But here I dreamt I was an architect 

And I built this balustrade 

To keep you home, to keep you safe 

From the outside world 

But the angles and the corners 

Even though my work is unparalleled 

They never seemed to meet 

This structure fell about our feet 

And we were free to go 

-The Decemberists


You were conceived on a storyboard
In an uptown high-rise
Where your celebrity was born

The grins of your puppeteers are beaming
Because the quotas will be made
Or your time in the spotlight will fade
At the hands of the same pigs that made you

So speak of movements
To move more units
And invent brand name for your “believers”
Like brands on slaves

We’ll still be waiting for something stimulating
Because in the end all you sold us was boredom

From umbilical obscurity

-Project 86

ART!

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 19:41:17 GMT

I recently have created some artwork that you might enjoy seeing....

This one is oil on canvas... it's not for sale (like I could get money for it) because it is a late house-warming gift for a cool girl named Sarah.

This one is much smaller, it's acrylics on canvas. I might end up giving this one to the mom.

These next pics are from the week that I spent at home, house-sitting.

(The second painting was based off of this pic)

Yeah, lots of art... it's good times.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 23:44:39 GMT

Hey, this is some video of the protest on Saturday. I am in it for like 4 seconds at about the 1:17 time.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=sVR9gWErlGE

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Sat, 21 Apr 2007 02:03:00 GMT

I went to the anti-war protest today at East Grand Rapids High. (President Bush was speaking there on the war in Iraq) I really liked it and loved excersizing my right to free speech and free assembly.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 14:26:46 GMT

Time for an update...

I was going to post a super contraversial post having to do with a falsehood about my own life for April fools day yesterday, but then I forgot... so, regular readers, consider yourselves lucky.

I have been seriously lacking motavation in school. What's funny is that I am doing steadilly well in my two hardest classes (Phil. 225 and Phil. 371) but not as well in my easiest classes. (Math 100 and Intro. to Psych.) I believe it is because I love (or at least don't mind) going to Philosophy classes (because philosophy rocks my socks off) but I can't stand going to the easier classes, one of which is at 9 AM. Although, I did get a good night of sleep last night, and then went to my 9 AM class today, and I felt pretty good (thanks coffee) so maybe it's time to turn a new leaf.

I also haven't written anything new in the philosophy field in a while. I believe it stems to not having any profound ideas or revelations in my head large enough to write on. I did reformat and revise my Modern Church papers, while on the train, and that was good.

Spring break was real fun! Went out to Cali and amoung the places visited were San Jose, Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Fran. and (best of all, for me) YOSEMITE National Park. If someone came up to me today and asked, "what is the best place in the US that you know of to see God's glory and beauty?" I would reply, "That's easy, brohan, it's Yosemite." It is a beautiful place and will forever be in my heart. We climbed on a mountain path to the top of the Yosemite Falls (2700 vertical feet from Yosemite valley, and 6700 vertical feet above sea level) and it was glorious, but very cold and wet. We also went to San Fran. which was also very awesome.... I think I may end up living there someday. There are some pics below...

Yosemite....

I also got two new tattoos. Sorry Mom and Dad if you read this, because I haven't told you yet, I was waiting until next weekend to tell you and show you. I got Daniel and lions on my left bicep and a four left clover (opposite of the text tattoo) on the front of my right bicep. The shading still has to be done on the Daniel tattoo, but that will happen next Tuesday.

I think that's pretty much it.... I am very excited for the end of this school year, and to move into a house. Time is moving far to slow at the moment.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 19:23:56 GMT

ROCK N' ROLL...

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 18:23:54 GMT

It's been awhile and for that, I apologize.

Went to Florida in one weekend. That was a really good time. (Pics below)

I've realized that the goal (or at least an effect) of Calvin College may be to make school work so difficult that it is hard for the student to imagine any kind of life outside of Calvin College. This may be great for some people, but it's depressing for me. Some angry statements below:
- I don't know why any college professor, in the middle of class, would want to single out a student that is obviously trying and simply not getting it (me) and tell that student that the reason he is not getting it is because he is not listening.
- It sucks when you're a philosophy major and you don't even have the time or energy to read philosophical books that interest you or write you're own philosophical ideas. It especially sucks, when these activities are quite therapeutic and fulfilling for you.
- Philosophy seems to have lost all of its creativity. It is so caught up in scholastic weight and critique, that there is no longer room for the Kierkagaards or Zizeks, because they are simply too stylistic and creative.
- SCHOOL IS KILLING MY SOUL! (this is somewhat a joke, with some truth to it)

I really don't understand women at all, and the funny thing (to me at least) is that they don't even seem to understand themselves at all. The awesome girls, it seems, are either (a) not interested in a relationship in the slightest or (b) were at one exact moment, and now have a boyfriend (that isn't me). It's really getting me down, lately.

On a brighter note, I moved into an apartment on campus with three awesome dudes. It's been a great time, and it seems to be the emotional and intellectual support that I need. I also started painting, which has been wonderful and I've been enjoying it a lot.

Before we entered the Gem of our journey...the beach.

I love the sand...

Look at these young studs....

My first painting..."The Lone Cowboy"

Monday, January 29, 2007

Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:53:38 GMT

For those of you who think that a difference can't be made in animal rights...

http://www.peta.org/feat-pom-victory.asp

http://www.farmsanctuary.org/actionalerts/alert_Smithfield_GestationCrateBan.htm

A VERY VERY LONG POST ON ANIMAL RIGHTS

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 22:50:55 GMT

I am posting on animal rights and the consumption of meat, not for my own glory or to seem more like a virtuous person, but simply to use my blog as a tool for raising awareness. Bear in mind, as well, that this is not the extent of what I believe; it seems, though, that I don't have hours and hours to form a completely iron-clad, well-written, completely illogical statement. I don't want to throw everything at you, I simply want to present some things to you; let your gears get going; then pray that you'll do the research for yourself. If someone reads this, does the research, thinks logically on that research and then says to me, "I still feel that it is ok to eat meat," then I have absolutely no problem with that.

I decided to start with the nutricianal significance of switching to a vegan or vegetarian diet, because it seems to be one that people cannot really disagree with, because proven science is pretty irrefutable, and there is quite a bit of proven science pointing to healthier lifestyles through eating a plant-based diet.

Vegetarian/vegan diets and why they are far more sound for one's body than an omnivore diet. Meat (in the factory farmed fashion of today's world is primarilly responsible for many of the diseases that are killing Amricans at an alarming rate; heart disease, diabetes, high cholestoral, various types of cancers, (prostate, ovarian - just to name a few) and many more. It seems, as well, to be a long standing myth that protein is best ingested into the body through the consumption of meat and dairy, when actually there is far more protein to be gained from certain kinds of plants. When one eats a piece of meat and recieves the protein from that animal, he/she is simply consuming a smaller percentage of the protein that the animal already recieved from the plants that IT ate. Not to mention, animals (biologically were never meant to drink any milk that didn't come from its own species, and in fact 70% of the world is lactose intolerant. It has been shown that when calfs were given the processed hemoginized milk of adult cows, they would in fact die in the immediate future. Not to mention that the factory farmed meat (and vegetables, thoguh to a lesser extent) that we eat today is so pumped full of unnatural substances (growth hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, etc.) that you may think you're eating (for the most part) a "real" piece of meat, but you are far from it. If you want to challenge me on these or doubt the credibility, look for yourself. Simply look to nutricianists (who are not sponsored by factory farming businesses) or there is also a group that I happen to like. They are a group of trained, experienced, medical scientists and practitioners that have realized that many of the American consumption practices are far more harmful than beneficial. http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vegetarian_foods.html

I want to then draw your attention to the gluttony and cruel practices that our country condones and supports through its government, consumption, consumerism, and naivity.

I find the slippery slope of animal cruelty and mass murder awful and disgusting. I can’t believe some of the pictures seen in these videos. The massive misuse and disrespect against the idea of being civil and humane as a whole, I think, has been gravely damaged and probably scarred by (a) technology and (b) the don’t ask-don’t tell mentality.

One observation that I have had is that technology, generally, has developed to a point that human beings in cultures where technology is at its peak cannot develop a modern moral standpoint on the changes as fast as they happen. This has the capability to foster into a very naïve and gullible society. The media and the government can choose to spin, change or even choose not to speak of anything they do not agree with or have been persuaded (sometimes monetarily) to hide, and the American public, for the most part, will believe (or at least not look into) basically anything it encounters. Big businesses persuade the media and government; these then change or spin stories to please big business; big business then makes money off of the people. In the end, it seems to me, the majority of the people are being led away from certain issues, then paying more money for more of this manipulation and they don’t even realize it. This, in turn, fosters don’t ask-don’t tell mentalities by not training people to do otherwise, and the cycle can easily repeat itself. The majority of the people don’t realize that what they are seeing or hearing on the news or in a politician’s speech may not be the whole story. They don’t realize that to get the whole story involves far more research, or even if they do realize this they are simply to lazy to do anything about it.

Pets

The mistreatment of animals that are so closely tied to our society in such an obvious way really sickens me and gives me little hope for the morality of the masses. Not seeing or choosing not to see that the food on your plate may have been mistreated is one thing, but doing this to a group of animals that we encounter in our everyday lives as a living and thinking group seems show a very degrading and damaging image of our society as a whole. My biggest problem with the animal cruelty of pets may not have anything to do with the public’s actions, but rather the mentality of chosen ignorance that causes the public not to take action.

Food

We have let the consumption of meat and the technology as well as mentalities toward it spiral so far out of control. I even say to myself, when looking at those scenes and farms, “Yeah, I can make a difference, but this probably won’t change significantly for a long time; decades or maybe even a century.” And this really bothers me, being young and reckless and wanting to be a part of a sudden revolution rather than a slow one. Again, I watch these clips and I just can’t imagine how it has gotten this ridiculous and this extreme. http://mercyforanimals.org/

Clothing

The idea of animals being killed for fur makes me very sad and disgusted in that it is not even close to a necessity for someone. To say, “I have always enjoyed meat, so I am not going to take a stand against factory farms,” is one thing, but for one to say that he/she needs or even has a legitimate want for it that can trump what these animals go through seems quite ludicrous to me.

Entertainment

Entertainment uses of animals seem to me to be much like the fur uses of animals in that there doesn’t seem to be a need or even a legitimate want that is worth the abuse and unnatural conditions that the entertaining animals have to endure. I also find it a little sick when people watching animal entertainment such as bull fighting don’t want to think about how the animal is dying (a slow and agonizing death) and on top of that are highly entertained and fascinated by it.

Research

My opinion about research on animals is much like what we talked about in class, where I believe that when there is an obvious observation that the experimentation on animals is very beneficial for human benefits it is ok to do, but things like cosmetics that are not necessary for human flourishing and may not even be viable experiments cause me to be slightly disgusted. http://www.pcrm.org/resch/anexp/index.html

Finally, there is the Christian view behind the ideas of animal rights, and since I know some (if not most) of you reading this are Christians, you will probably be interested in reading this and perhaps challenging yourself. Below is a how I felt about these issues as they were presented to me, and it is followed by some points that I have been led to see by God (and my reasonable interpretation of God) and fellow Christian animal rights activists.

I did not realize that one could see so much evidence of meat eating (or not eating meat) in the Bible or from as much of a Christian standpoint. Recently, I was pretty sure that I was going to change my eating style based on the industrial farming of animals in our country and I was going to do so mainly because I did not want to condone or support these exploitations on a personal level. I have come to realize that it may be more of a grounded Christian idea, whereas before I thought that it was more of a personal choice. So, my ideas have not changed, but I would say that they have simply multiplied and manifested themselves more clearly.

I see it as a very valid idea that perhaps God is not against the consumption of meat, but it may not be the best way of reaching the harmony and stability among His creatures that He wants. He is not necessarily happy about it, but he is willing to let humans do it. Even if this view is true though, it seems to me, we have definitely abused what is perhaps meant to be an occasional or seldom consumption of meat. The mass gluttony and consumption of meat in America seems to me to be a very good indicator of the decay of the world, and also seems to support the way that humans can be a strong catalyst for this decay.

I think that many good things can be achieved by getting more and more Christians involved in this. One must be conscious of what one is saying so as not to offend the character of the person being informed, but if one is respectful and understanding, I do not see why this shouldn’t be yet another Christian idea that may have been forgotten (and shouldn’t have been) and may need some revival by those who are truly passionate about it.

II.

My mind wasn’t necessarily changed, but simply reinforced and expanded. I have always felt in my heart and my soul that animals have some intelligence and feelings, but I haven’t always known for sure in my mind that they do, so it was nice to hear about and see some more iron-clad and elaborate cases and information showing these attributes. I guess the types of information that I found most persuasive would have to be a mix of many. I feel as though one of the reasons why I love philosophy as much as I do is because one can take many things into account and look very logically and thoroughly at many sides and ideas. I guess the philosophical grounds would be the most persuasive grounds in my mind, but mainly because I have been, and am always attempting to, think about things in a philosophical mindset.

I believe that if one looks at the larger picture (from a Christian standpoint) of what God intends for the world and what God’s ideas of harmony and peace are in creation, the ideas of emotions should not play into the equation hardly at all. Animals were obviously given a far greater intrinsic value than instrumental, and I think one sees this logic would say that they deserve far better treatment and respect than they actually receive and it makes little difference whether they have strong emotions or not. Personally, just by observing and learning about animals throughout my life, I have developed an idea that animals, while not having the conscious mind or strong emotions that human beings have, still have a good amount of feelings and emotions.

As far the emotions of the person go when deciding what they believe on these issues, I think that it is very legitimate for one to have a heart or a passion for animals, as long as it does not cloud judgment or discernment. There are many issues that Christians have a stronger passion for and they are never persecuted for it; why should this be any different from those.

- Animals were created by God to have an intrinsic value, (meaning that they are worth something by their own right) and this intrinsic value appears to be far more important than their instrumental value. (the value they have in regards to what they can do for humans)

- Human beings were given (by God) a dominion over animals, but perhaps this dominion was meant to be far more respectful and considerate than the domination we see today.

- If Christians regard the Garden of Eden as a place of perfect harmony and, perhaps, the way that God meant the world to be, does it not follow from this that we should strive to create or preserve a more garden-esque world? Furthermore, there is not mention in the garden of Eden of man (people) killing or eating any animals, and it seems that man's relationship with animals in Eden is at its peak when man is told to name the animals.

The bottom line is that the way that humans have abused, misused and overused the resources God gave us is simply obscene to me. We have gotten so out of control, and completely lost sight of the fact that the meat on our plate came from a God-created, concious, and beautiful creature. If you have gotten this far, I thank you, and I consider you an awesome person for hearing me out. I also challenge you to do the research for yourself with an open mind. I don't want to convert anyone into a vegan/vegetarian, I simply want people to become aware of what is happening and decide for themsleves.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 19:35:48 GMT

Hey, guess what? it's time for a new entry.

Not much happenin... just got back into the dorms, so just catching up with old friends.

I have many new books.. and I have many things to read and not nearly enough time to do so.

Gonzo, Judge and I began house shopping and we have three candidates, and they all look pretty high quality.

My resolution for the New Year is to rock n' roll way more than I did last year, and to start it off, I think I'm gonna go to the Flatfoot 56 show this thurs.

Not much else to say, not a whole lot happening.

-yours truly-