Eclipse

Right, So

2010-11-17T10:41:00.000-05:00

Here's the deal. I'm trying to get back into writing and posting and stuff. I have an idea of what I would like to do, but I want to break from the format/ content which I have already posted here. THEREFORE! I have started a new blog: The Librariad which shall, from here on in, serve as my collection of thoughts and comments, mostly pursuant to media I have taken in. Web videos, music, books, articles; presented with (or without) comment. My media library. So check your feed readers and look me up!

PS. Eclipse will remain up for the time being, I am rather proud of some of my stuff.

Technically, Is This Today or Tomorrow? (I'm Pretty Sure Its the Latter)

2009-12-01T03:40:00.002-05:00

Note to self: when you are not accustomed to having caffeine, a mocha latte is a bad idea at nine o'clock at night. A really bad idea.

---------------

Best wasted 17 seconds of my life.

---------------

I have discovered that I have subjected myself to a great time waster: Google Reader. Somehow my thirst for random knowledge, current events, tech, and podcasting has caused me to load up my reader with feeds that update at a frenetic pace. And while some if it I can probably do without, some merit more attention than others. Currently my favourite time wasters are BoingBoing and io9. BoingBoing is a fun site, highlighting current events, talking literature (which makes sense since one if its contributors is sf author Cory Doctorow), and just gets points in general for being highly interesting and thought provoking. If there is one site I could suggest subscribing to, it would be BoingBoing.

On the other hand there is io9, which seems to fulfil some kind of geekish need in my soul. io9 is dedicated to science fiction, and talks movies, tv shows, literature, current scientific breakthroughs and general geeky awesomeness. Some of their tags may throw you off a little; they seem to be applying some variation of Rule 34 to their tags as many of them are often followed by the word "porn", but fear not! there is none of that to be found without the safety of an NSFW label. So check out their awesome collection of #spaceporn and objectify the amazing images from space.

---------------

Aha, it seems that sleep is finally overtaking me. This is almost as bad as that one time in Fort Mac... mmmm, when will I learn that caffeine + late night = bad?

Off to the field of dreams with me

Of the Approaching Cold and the Death of Heat; Also, of Life

2009-11-17T18:50:00.008-05:00

I have a strange relationship with this time of the year. First, I hate the cold. I can stand it to a certain degree by ignoring it, but there is a limit to how much I can stand the cold as it slowly seeps into my bones. And yet I also love this time of year because of the beautiful changes it brings about. This is the time when snow reappears to recapture our imaginations (and hate, but that is not the point). The beauty of snowflakes, of the ice flowing down the river, of trees laden with snow... I love it all. And Christmas! Lights and decorations, people expressing themselves through colours in ways only seen for this one brief period of time. I feel oddly content with it all.

---------------

Switchfoot's new album is out. <insert>Girlish squeal of delight</insert>

---------------

Life has been a funny thing lately. Not bad per se, just funny. As if everything was blue-shifted just a bit. The last couple of months have been full of so many changes and I'm still trying to figure them all out. Right now I'm just trying to figure out how to balance all the things I have going on: school, work, church, Seana, Family, Friends, and me time to close all the open loops in my head. I think I'm still trying to figure out who I am and what my place is in the world. What my purpose is. I have hints and clues to follow, but it is a process and not one that I think will end any time soon. I don't think this kinds of journey ever really end, but it would be nice to at least find myself at a waypoint to rest for a while. And so I go on...

---------------

I discovered Owl City through the single "Fireflies". Love this guy. Check out trax 5, 9, and 10 especially.

---------------

"You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can't possibly live long enough to make them all yourself."
-Sam Levenson

The Wearing Off of Shiny New-ness

2009-07-15T23:40:00.004-04:00

I don't want to say that I am burned out; that would be melodramatic to say the least. I will say, however, that Canadian Tire is starting to get to me. Its not so much that I find the work disagreeable, it is more that I find the job itself is encroaching on areas of my life it should have no part in. I'm sorry, but I cannot possibly stand thinking about Canadian Tire 24/7. And with recent change-ups in the store, and the mysterious audit around the corner, things are a little bit tense and a little bit nuts at work.

To be honest, I think that part of my problem lies in my mindset about my work. I really don't think I will ever find great satisfaction in my work at CT, for the simple reason that I have no interest in retail other than using it as the means to an end. I applaud the tenacity of the lifers simply because I could never do it. I don't think I could ever have a career in retail because it is just way too boring for my tastes. Sure, you can get some pretty cool co-workers, engage (briefly) with interesting (demanding, funny, appreciative, contrary... and a whole litany of other adjectives I really don't care to copy here) customers, even get a good work out from all sorts of heavy lifting. But the truth is that my passions, no matter how elusive they may be at the moment, lie elsewhere; and that while Canadian Tire is nice, I don't for a second believe that I will find or realize or develop those passions in that kind of an environment. It is, as I have already stated, merely the means to a monetary end.

---------------

How's it going? I know I had all but abandoned this space, but I've been going a little crazy lately and writing, blogging, and journaling seem to be the only way to defrag my thoughts. So, I'm back again. Heck, blogger has even gone back to being my home page so I am more likely to put something up. Sure, I'm never going to be perfect at blogging, and probably will never be a consistent poster... but I'm not really sure if anyone truly cares. This is more about me getting my thoughts out and trying to make sense of it all. If someone is out there reading along, I can only hope you're getting something out of this as well. But if not, my narcissism will keep me company ;D

Mike

... falling back into old posting habits

2009-06-01T20:54:00.008-04:00

Well, today is June 1st which means that it has been a full month since I last posted. Laaaaammmmeeee! I've just had no/little time for the internet of late (other than the passive workings of µTorrent) as I have been crazy busy of late. WITH A JOB! Exciting, I know. I have officially left the club of un-employed slobs (sorry Morgan) and have moved into the bright, shiny world of Canadian Tire! I've been working there for about three weeks now, and all I have to say is that training in the seasonal department is more of a trial by fire than anything else. Crazy customers, getting swamped with stock, getting a good workout from all the heavy lifting I am responsible for... yup, life is good. A bit painful, but good. I'm even getting tonnes of hours there, which is really nice. In the North Peterborough area? Drop by and say hi!

---------------

I do this.

---------------

I can't believe I missed this! Must have something to do with playing Chrono Trigger with the sound off or really low, but we have been getting Rick Roll'd for 14 years!

---------------

Helped Seana and her room mates move into their apartment today. It went fairly smoothly, with the exception of the bunk bed for Seana and Ailin. Ailin and I started putting it together and managed to finish the bottom part no problem. Three hours, three college students and three black belts later, the top part was together. It seems that someone in the manufacturing plant where the bunk bed came from decided that all the top bunk rails needed to be 1/8" longer than the slots they were to fit into. Of course it took us over an hour to figure this out seeing as there were other obstructions as well, however it has now been decided that a hack saw and a filer should not be necessary tools to build an IKEA-esque bunk bed. Adventures galore!

---------------

And now it is time for bed. I have an evily early morning tomorrow and have not been getting as much sleep as I require to function properly. Thus shall I leave things here. Hopefully I can get back into the game, but we shall see!

April Showers...

2009-05-01T23:44:00.002-04:00

It appears as if spring is finally upon us. April is now behind us, and with it we leave the snow and cold that surprised us for a tick. Now, I am greeted every morning and sent off every night to the sound of frogs croaking, brought by the gentle breeze coming in through my window. And the sights! Trees starting to get leaves, flowers starting to bloom, the verdant grass... yes, spring is well and truly in the air.

---------------

Went to go see my sister preform at the Youth for Youth concert today. It was your regular mix of acts that were simple amazing or just plain awesome and acts that you could, well, do without. Luckily, acts falling in the latter category were very few. It was really neat though - the drummer for one of the bands that played got up and did some hand drumming... on an empty propane tank. It was a bizare sight, but the tone! The timbre! It held a haunting beauty not unlike that of steel drums, and yet different at the same time. It is really something you would have to hear for yourself to appreciate.

I'm tired.

Off to bed.

Simple... Beautiful... Stunning

2009-04-27T21:44:00.021-04:00

Has it been mentioned that the weather has been beautiful? Today was a great day; the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and I was able to finally put on my summer gear: shorts, tee-shirt and flip-flops. Although, technically I didn't actually wear my flip-flops as I couldn't find them, and my shorts are actually more like man-Capri's... but those are just details.

This weekend was pretty fabulous too. Saturday was pretty much the greatest day - weather wise - I could have asked for. Same as today, sun bright and shining and the temperature up... for the first bit at least. Then it turned to rain, wonderful rain. But not just, to use Seana's phrase, "piddly" rain, but an old-fashioned thunderstorm. Mmmmmmm, if there is one thing that I really don't like about winter storms, its the lack of thunder and lightning.

Speaking of Seana, I had the privilege of attending her (2nd) graduation from KLBC on Saturday. Don't worry though; the ceremony, pictures and reception were all over by the time the storm hit. It was a great event and I have to say that Seana was quite stunning indeed. Sure everyone else looked great as well, but I have a rather large bias in my opinion. But now it is officially on to summer with everyone, leaving behind all the stresses of the school year and filling the void, at least partially, with the stresses of summer school/job hunting. WILL THIS MADNESS NEVER END???!?

---------------
Spot the Differences!

Ever gone to Wikipedia to learn something that has a technical aspect to it, and been completely dumbfounded by the nomanclature? Well, some bright light on the Wikipedia team decided to make Simple Wikipedia; Wikipedia in natural, easy to undertand language. It's like Wikipedia with kiddie gloves on. Well, kiddie *language* gloves - content is still fair game.

Its interesting though; since the authors of the articles are trying to put the information in the most accessable language possible, grammar structure goes right out the window, leading to some rather ambiguous statements. Which my friend Brock would take immediate advantage of, much like in this comic:

Still, I admit that Simple Wikipedia will make my hunt for random information much more beneficial, especially if I want to get a rough handle on quantum mechanics or the general theory of relativity. Or other scientific-type topics. Which, for anyone who knows me, is quite likely.

---------------

Awkward, fun diversion. Laughed to tears many times.

Also, I found this article on the future of email interesting.

And for anyone up for a good, old-fashioned game of Calvinball, I've started a game over on Facebook. Unfortunate though, it seems like no one is quite sure how to play... use your imaginations people! And if you need an idea on where to start, check out the game being played on the xkcd forums

---------------

Watched the season finale of Chuck tonight. I will admit to being a little confused about some parts, but that is only because I've actually missed most of the season. So now I must play catch-up. Here's hoping that Chuck survives the summer and makes it back into the fall line-up; the season finale was, in a word, EPIC.

But I have once again stayed up too late. My circadian rhythm is officially messed up and I am attempting to reset it. Whether this is a good idea or not is another question, but four o'clock in the morning is not a friendly time for me to be falling asleep. And as much as I would like to watch the latest Doctor Who episode I am currently downloading as soon as it is finished, my body will soon be crying out for rest. Thus am I off to bed.

Sweet Freedom!

2009-04-24T00:23:00.002-04:00

Yes ladies and gentlemen, I am finished my exams. I am really happy that everything is done now and out of the way, and am looking forward to starting again with a clean slate. I'l be honest, first semester sucked for me, and my grades weren't all that hot. But I have learned from my mistakes, have put some new habits in place, and am equipping myself to deal with next year's challenges. Oh, and I'm doing summer school as well, but that isn't a huge issue.

But I am approaching this summer with some enthusiasm. This will be the firsst summer in a few years that I will actually be home for; not off at camp, in Quebec, or Alberta. Nope, I'm going to be home, taking summer courses, and (hopefully) working - *gasp! shock! horror!*

As for any plans this summer... well, none yet. I'm still not used to finishing in April and I am always slow to make plans. I will just have to go as things progress I guess... ;D which is a bit of a cop-out for me!

---------------

Cool things I have discovered recently, media edition.

Xbox Media Center:
So this isn't actually new - I've been playing with it for a little while now - but I think I have a fair enough grasp on it to actually put something in writing. XBMC is a neat application that basically becomes your one-stop shop for all the media on your computer/xbox. It works similar to the way Windows Media Player and iTunes handles music, video, and photo libraries. There are a few noticable differences between these apps: 1) XBMC is an open source, extandable program, and 2) it looks a whole lot nicer, especially when you throw the Aeon or MediaStream skin over top.

Fun, good looking, and usful, XBMC has become my default media player - except when I'm online. Then I turn to GrooveShark.

I recently became very frustrated with previous favourite Deezer for the growing number of tracks in their library which are not playable. So while doing some adventuring online yesterday I sumbled across GrooveShark and swiftly fell in love with it. It is a really nice web-app with a clean interface and and huge selection of music to listen to in full for free. Plus, they also have a system where artists featured on the site actually get paid. My favourite part in the nice collection of obscure (at least in North America) artists they have in their library. I also enjoy their widgets, one of which has found its way into the sidebar. Harry Connick Jr. anybody?

---------------

Well, it is rather late now, and I really should be getting to bed. I have been finding that I am staying up later now, which actually gives me less of a reason not to update this thing on a regular basis. Anywho, my pillows beckon. Good night!

Of Rainy Days...

2009-04-20T23:25:00.006-04:00

Rain. Both a blessing and a curse I suppose. Blessing because it is on a mission to help the land throw off the shackles of winter's killer touch and paint the world in colour again. Curse because, well, it becomes very wet to go outside. Not that I have a problem with getting wet mind you, it is just that there is some kind of psychological blocker preventing me from enjoying the out of doors during rain. On the other hand, I have no problems at all with going puddle jumping after it has stopped raining. In fact that is a rather fun activity, and if it were not for the lateness of the hour now I would go jump in some puddles now.

The nicest thing about rain I would have to say is rainbows. And I think it would be really cool if we could have moon-rainbows.

---------------

Rain did help my weekend of study become more of an adventure though. I suppose it would be more classified as a misadventure more than anything, and it wasn't really that fun or exciting of an even, however it is my turn to tell a story.

So Saturday is this gloomy day with dark coulds promising rain all day and nothing ahead of me for the day aside for some major studying for my exams Monday (today?) and Tuesday. The air and the need to focus on studying was oppressive enough that I only came out of my room maybe four times all day: to eat, to use the lavatory, and to take my brother into town. This is where the adventure begins. You see, I was driving Chris in to a friend's house for the evening when the van beins to pull to the right as I am driving. Stupidly not thinking much of it, I continue on my to merry way thinking that I can just check out the tire and maybe put some air in it after I drop Chris off. Fat chance. I get to the Shell across from Chapters and take a look at the tire and can tell fairly quickly that it is a) flat, and b) probably destroyed due to the ammount of driving I must have done on it.

Up to this point the clouds had refrained from releasing their harvest. However, as soon as I make a phone call and my dad made his way over to supervise my changing of the tire, they decided that they'd had enough and it began to rain. Having rushed out of the house and forgotten my jacket along with my cell phone, I proceeded to get very wet and muddy from the dirt on my hands becoming wet with rain. It was not a pleasant experience. Nor was it pleasant to discover that the spare tire on the van was flat as well. To cut a long story short(er), we were not able to resolve the issue completely that day, but we were able to patch it temporarily. There was a silver lining to the rain clouds of being stuck in town for a couple of hours; I got to spend some quality time with my parent, which was nice.

---------------

On another personal note, tomorrow I write my last exam for this semester. As much as I would like to say that it shall be my last exam of first year, it is not to be; I shall be attending summer school to make up for a credit I dropped in the fall. Hopefully I should be working around the same time as well. Speaking of work, I got a nice text today from my significant other (no, we are not married or engaged - seemingly to the astonishment of some around us - however I would like to point out that it is still a correct form to use for a girlfriend. That would be you Seana XD ) letting me know that she now has a job just in time for summer, which is good news indeed. Hopefully I can join this group soon as well...

And now it is late. Much too late for me to be up seeing as I have an exam tomorrow. Sleep time!

Marshmallows and Chocolate Galore!

2009-04-17T21:00:00.004-04:00

Beautiful day in the pdot today. The sun was shining and it felt like summer with the warm temperature and me walking around in a tee shirt. Just wonderful. I was just happy to get out and enjoy some of it.

Meanwhile, the quest of the day with the search for the mysterious "JOB". Put in applications here, there and everywhere; though it looks as if my dream work location is not doing any summer hiring, which once again crushes my dream of ever working in a locale surrounded completely by books. The upside is that during my questing I ran into Seana and crew before her interview at Canadian Tire and found out all sorts of good news... which I would have found out anyways as we were going to be spending some old fashioned couple time together later (in the form of continuing out steady plod through the Doctor Who episodes). However, hearing all this good news earlier gave me one more reason over a longer period of time to enjoy the day.

---------------

Found this while reading through the comments on an NPR article on willpower. Its an interesting look at temptation and willpower, and the preacher in the video makes some pretty good connections as well. RadioLab has an interesting programme on this where they speak with the psychologist who originally carried out the study. They also highlight some further, unforeseen relationships between the initial results and how the kids grow up. NPR also has another nice text/radio programme on this.

---------------

... *sigh*
It's too bad I was in this writing funk, because I missed out on a pretty cool opportunity. I was listening to CBC the other day and only then heard about the "Canada Writes" competition that they were holding on Go!, which is a shame because while I probably would not have made it on the actual show I could have at least participated in the online competition they were holding as well... I'm just going to have to spend the time I have now practicing for next year ;D

Parlez-vous le Francais?

2009-04-16T22:22:00.004-04:00

Well, today was an adventure: I wrote my French exam. I realize that may not seem like much of an adventure - though I suppose that it might be for someone who doesn't speak French - however I classify it as an adventure not so much because of what it was but more so because of what was on it. Or, to be more specific, the confusion I and many in my class felt at not having a clue as to what we needed to study for. For sure, I had some idea, after all I was at every lecture this year in French (with the exception of the lecture the day after I had my health incident), however parts of the exam remained one big question mark. So it was with some apprehension that I went into the exam. And it turned out to be pretty ok, for the first part anyway. The second part, well, lets just say that my essay for the long answer question was epic in the amount of BS I got in there.

But that is in the past now and nothing can be done about it. It is all in the hands of the markers now. Deep breaths... and launch into studying for my last two exams.

---------------

Some more interesting things found on the interwebs:

New webcomic! I got bored of studying and then OS fanboys on LifeHacker and after a long series of jumping between various web pages by following links I ended up on the webcomic xkcd and then due to its insane funniness and geekiness spent WAY too much time there.

What xkcd Means
Online Communities
Listen to Yourself
Regarding Mussolini

For those not in the know, Godwin's Law aka Godwin's Rule of Nazi Analogies deals with reductio ad Hitlerum arguments, basically saying that the longer an online discussion gets the probability of a comparison involving Hitler pr Nazis approaches 1. I can personally testify to the truth of that...

Anonymous Exposed

Came across this. Brought back good memories of grade 12 and learning about Scientology and the Anonymous protests... oh Tom Cruise; you and your silly, harmful beliefs make such good fodder on the interwebs when you take yourself so seriously. Its too bad the the Anonymous counter site anonymousexposed.org isn't up anymore because it was a great rickroll... but I digress. For a frame of reference, wiki Project Chanology.

---------------

Operation JobFind is on for tomorrow, right after I drop by and say hi to my placement class. And now, I think my pillow is beckoning.

Two Posts in One Day?! *Gasp!

2009-04-15T20:59:00.005-04:00

I was perusing the interwebs today in between studying for my French exam tomorrow and in the process of reading one of my webcomics came across Tweenbots: a neat little social experiment involving cute little robots.

And now that we have finished with this distraction, its time to get back to studying!

Voila!

2009-04-15T16:56:00.002-04:00

Got bored while studying for exams today and decided to take the time to change the blog layout. FUN! I'm a fan of it. Bright colours and a nifty background (which also happens to be my wallpaper). Also put together the logo up top. The name "Eclipse" doesn't really mean anything deep, I was just playing around with the graphic (which I made myself) and the word eclipse just came to mind as a description.

So there you go.

Oh, and the wallpaper is Skywards by Dennern. I poked around and didn't find anything to say I couldn't use it here, so I'm giving credit where credit is due and if the artist want me to take it down, just ask!

It's been a while...

2009-04-08T20:41:00.008-04:00

Its been a while since I last put up a half-decent post. To tell the truth, the lack of posting is partially due to laziness, partially due to business with school and partially because I've been in a writing funk for a while now. While I'm only trying to get back into writing, I have at least found some new-ness to amuse myself with. I have discovered a love of web comics and believe that they are far superior to their print cousins. I've read Ctrl+Alt+Del for a while now, but have recently come across or have had suggested to me some other wonderful comics:

Hark! A Vagrant
Instant Classic
Genrezvous Point
Thinkin' Lincoln

------------------

Some other interesting things:

While I haven't been updating my blog, that doesn't mean that my blog life has been totally dead. I check LifeHacker pretty religiously for my techy goodness, and I have started following Neil Gaiman's blog as well. Neil is one of my favourite authors and the writer of Stardust, Anansi Boys, Coraline, et al. He's also been blogging pretty much for as long as blogging has been around, which is pretty neat. Add to that the fact that he is writer and you have a pretty good formula for some interesting and informative posts.

I'm also on Twitter now (@vydramike). I'm still working on making regular posts there as well, but I'm also trying to figure out how to make interesting posts fit in 140 characters, and when I can't even post here regularly you can see why that may be a challenge. You'd think that since I can post to Twitter from my cell phone that this wouldn't be as much of an issue, but meh.

------------------

School is almost done for the year (with the exception of some summer courses) and I really couldn't be happier. Two exams down, and three to go. Yays! Now, to get a job...

Edit: I've also taken a look at the blog's current layout and decided that there are some issues with it, some things I don't like, so I'll probably make some changes to it, to make it a little more light in its colouring... when I find the time ;D

Species at Risk!

2009-02-02T10:29:00.002-05:00

A species vital to our survival is disappearing at an alarming rate, and only you can help! Yes, every year hundreds of WORDS disappear from the dictionary from under-use. But you can change that! Simply head over to SaveTheWords.org where you can find an at risk word, or pick one of your old favourites, and pledge to keep that word alive!

I've made my pledge, how about you?

Mike

Fun Times in Psych

2009-01-13T19:11:00.003-05:00

I'm going to try - and actually try this time - to get back into a more normal pattern of updating, ie. every day. For now, tide yourself over with another amusing clip. (Edit: Apparently it is only a link to the deviant art site, though I bet you all figured that out, lol)

Animator vs. Animation by *alanbecker on deviant ART

Mike

Please! This is supposed to be a happy occasion!

2008-11-19T17:15:00.000-05:00

MONTY PYTHON!!!!

ON YOUTUBE!!!!

JOY!

Mike

Driving... continued

2008-11-18T12:18:00.000-05:00

Ok so here's the low down, according to the latest from the Canadian Press.

The laws will affect all drivers under 21 as well as new drivers of any age in their first year of driving - regardless of their level in the Graduated Licensing System. The new rules are as follows:

Zero tolerance for drinking and driving. This means that as long as you are under 21 your blood-alcohol content has to be zero. So far I have not found anyone major opposition to this restriction - though some older drivers getting their license for the first time would like a little leeway - and I personally believe that it makes sense given the number of alcohol and drug related accidents there are every year involving teens.
Zero tolerance for speeding. This is where things start to get dicey. Currently drivers of all ages and ranks receive fines and demerit points based on how far they are over the limit. The way things are looking right now in terms of this law, drivers under 21 caught speeding - regardless of the amount over the limit - will face a severe series of penalties, starting with a 30 day suspension. Young drivers are calling foul on this play and playing the age discrimination card. The argument is that anyone is capable of speeding and that your ability to react at high speeds is actually lessened as you get older. Yes, teens speed; but so do adults and some seniors. So why don't these rules extend to them?
Drivers aged 16-19 can only have ONE teenage passenger. This one is wrong on so many levels. Yes, research has shown that have more teens in a vehicle can increase distraction and increase the likelihood of a accident. However, stop for a moment and consider the implications of this law, because they are far reaching. The most important place to begin is with car pooling. In this day and age car pooling is an important part of life, especially for rural dwellers. Car pooling is an important link for groups of young people living outside of town and in areas not serviced by buses, cabs or trains to travel together to school, to go shopping or to visit family or friends in other cities. With the advent of this law, an important tool is being torn away from those youth, forcing them to rely on older drivers who may not be as willing or able to drive such distances, or putting more cars on the road. What ever happened to going Green? Environmentalists should be just as outraged at this law as young drivers are! Furthermore, this is somewhat counterproductive for MADD, the organization pushing this bill, as it spells the death of designated drivers. Because the reality is that teens, following in the footsteps of adults over the years, will drink and party. That isn't going to change. This just leads to three possible scenarios:
- there are going to be more designated drivers, a job that very few people really want,
- there will be teens having their licenses suspended for doing the right thing in being a designated driver for their friends, or
- there will be more teens on the road after drinking
I really can see no other alternative. Which do you think teens are going to resort to? Certainly not the first option.

So, it is a nice thought. But I cannot seriously believe that it will really make a huge impact in lessening the number of driving-related teen fatalities. The truth is that laws cannot make better drivers. Better instruction and better enforcement of current laws, on the other hand, can make a huge difference. Because the truth is that as long as there are rules, people will break them. And if youth and children are learning from their parent, and their parents are breaking those rules, the vicious cycle will continue and the face of youth driving will not change.

Mike

Taking Driving to the Next Level

2008-11-18T11:30:00.001-05:00

... of frustration.

A proposal is going before the Ontario Legeslature today which will add and change some driving laws in regards to young drivers. Whereas previous changes were applied to the graduated licencing system and the G-level of drivers, these new laws will affect drivers based on age; namely, those under the age of twenty one. The proposed changes include stiffer penalties for speeding, drinking and driving, as well as affecting the age and number of passengers young drivers can carry.

The exact limitations and penalties are somewhat disputed at the moment, with different news agencies reporting differences in who these laws will affect. However, the Minister of Transportation is set to make an announcement at 12:30, so we should find out more then.

Now, I'm not saying that this is all bad, but some of it - especially the part about the number of passengers young drivers can carry - will be plain frustrating depending on how it is acted out. Either way, we will know for sure soon.

Mike

School & Life

2008-10-01T18:42:00.002-04:00

... at this moment.

So basically I'm in a place right now where I really have zero time. Or, at the very least, I'm not leaving myself any time. Let me explain:

First off, school is way more spread out here than in high school. Sure, I only do 18-ish hours a week (down from the approximate 30 in HS). But that 18 hours is distributed on a 8-5-4-1-0 week. Monday is ridiculous. And then Friday I have my practicum for the edumication portion of my schooling, and thus is really about a 6-7 hour day. Then factor in hour gaps leaving me at Trent from 9am to 9pm AND assignments and it is a wonder that I am not burned out already. Probably because I get to use some of that downtime to use my oh-so-convenient bus pass to head up to KLBC to chill. YAYS! The ammount of computer time I can get is pretty nifty too.

All that said however, I really like the atmosphere here. Surrounded on all sides by nature; affiliated with the prettier side of campus (aka, the West Bank); amusing profs... things are pretty good. Going to get hectic is a little while, but still good.

Meanwhile, I have also been working on framing my thoughts on the Human Rights Comissions. I read an article recently on them that brought up a lot of interesting questions about how they relate to religion. Cool stuff. I'll tell you more about it later.

I think that is a sufficient update for now...
Cheers!

Mike

Mike used a revive on his blog!

2008-09-10T16:44:00.002-04:00

... here is the problem with not updating in... well, lets just say a long time: you want to catch up on everything that you missed in the last three-ish months. But it is just too much darned work. So, here is what is going to happen. I'm going to make this nice little, short post today and then start posting regularily again after that. If you want to know what the big silence was all about, you will go check out the Fort McMurray blog and read up on it there. Deal? If I decide to remark on anything in particular that happened out there - or I get requests (which isn't going to happen) - then you will be the first to know. Read. Whatever. But as it stands, I'm starting fresh with the beginning of my year here at Trent. Capish?

Love you all.

Mike

Changing the World... and Other Small Things: Part 2

2008-06-21T11:23:00.003-04:00

The Leader

"He is greatest whose strength carries up the most hearts by the attraction of his own."
- Henry Ward Beecher

You’ve all seen them. Walking around, usually with a group of followers. It doesn’t matter if the group is large or small. Or if the members are young, old, or about the same age as whomever it is they are following. Leaders usually stick out. But what is that magic spark that they have which allows them to lead?

That spark which is within us all, just waiting to be fanned into flame.

I like to call that spark influence. The ability to affect what people think, how they act, what they say and do not say… influenced by what you do, what you say and how you say it. Or what leverage you have on them, as the case may be. Everyone has some sort of influence, whether great or small, over something else. Ever changed a friend’s mind about something? That is influence.

“The humblest individual exerts some influence, either for good or evil, upon others.”
- Beecher

Influence is what makes a leader. Have you ever seen one without it? And the degree of influence is directly tied to your capacity as a leader. The more influence you have, the more you can lead. The more challenging it is to lead as well. Leadership also depends on the kind of influence you hold. If you can only influence people because you are holding an axe over their head, that is not true leadership. If you get your influence through bullying, that is not true leadership either. It may be a form of leadership, but it is a negative one and only fakery.

So then, what is real leadership?

A couple thousand years ago, there was a philosopher who had a pretty good idea of what makes a true leader. And true influence. He suggested that a true leader was one who served the people. That influence was not given to someone because of what or who they knew, but earned through good service. Leading not by what you say, but by what you do. Servant leadership. Leadership based on stepping back from your own ambitions and leading in a way which benefits others. A pretty decent philosophy. And seeing that Jesus is who He is… well, I think He would know a thing or two about the world.

“Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary use words”
-attributed to St. Francis Assisi

Influence is subtle at its best. Leadership is subtle in its truest form. And what is the best way to be subtle? To say nothing at all. Words can say a lot, but, as many a mother has pointed out, actions speak louder than words. We gain more influence through how others observe us - our interactions with other people, how we live our day to day lives - than through the things we tell them. It doesn’t matter what we say to people if our actions, our lifestyle, doesn’t endorse it. “Do as I say, not as I do” doesn’t pan out for a leader. To truly lead, your words must match your actions. And your actions should be such that others want what you have, and they will follow you to get it.

It may sound as if I am saying that only Christians can be leaders. That is not true. At all. Gandhi certainly led by his actions, and though he was not a Christian, he held up peace in through his lifestyle and people followed him for it. People still follow him for it. And I am sure that you can think of people surrounding you who are not Christian and have the same effect. What I am saying though for Christians is that it is necessary to fan that leadership spark into flame. Otherwise you are not fulfilling your purpose here. Evangelism depends heavily on leadership.

Now, I think, would be a good time to make a distinction. There is a difference between leading and being called into a leadership role. Not everyone is called to a leadership role. To be that public figure from the get-to-know-you game. Everyone who has influence, which means… everyone, is a leader capable of leading. End of story.

So what is a leader? Someone who allows their actions to speak for themselves and who others follow because of that example. A Servant Leader.

Someone who has taken the first step to changing the world.

Part 1/ Part 2/ Part 3

Michael
___________________________________________

=Annwas Adeniawc=

The Open Door - FortMac'08

Changing the World... and Other Small Things: Part 1

2008-06-19T13:36:00.008-04:00

The “Get-to-Know-You” Game

Who are the people we look up to in this world? When asked – as is almost inevitable in ice-breaker/get-to-know-you games – who you would have lunch with if you could lunch with anyone in the world, what kinds of people are chosen? One answer suffices for both questions: leaders. Influencers. People who have an impact on the world around us.

What do Martin Luther, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Lester B. Pearson and Barrack Obama have in common? They all, in their own way, changed and challenged the world as they know it. Luther challenged religious practices, and so the Christian faith was revolutionized. Einstein gave us a new way to look at the world. Obama has already, and is continuing to, alter centuries of American politics. And the list of people who do the same continues ad infinatum. These are the people who are commonly chosen in that get-to-know-you game; these are all examples of great leaders and world changers.

Aren’t they amazing?

The short answer: no.
The long answer: still no, because they aren’t supermen. Because for every public figure chosen in this game, someone else will bring up a parent. Or a grandparent. Some other relative. A friend. Someone (usually) out of the public mind. Definitely not a great leader or someone who can change the world.

Or are they?

This, then, leads to two possible conclusions about my “sufficient” answer. Either a) I’m wrong and it is completely chance, the person picking the first person to come to their heads, or b) I’m right and there is something about this whole changing-the-world thing that we are missing.

Guess what: I’m not wrong.

Think about it for a moment. From the time you were young, who changed your world? Who lead you through your trials? Whose actions influenced the decisions which molded your life into what it is today? Who had the greatest impact - for good or bad – on your microcosm of a world?

Parents. Peers. Friends and family.

I am suggesting – and am personally convicted – that everyone, no matter their personality type,is a leader. I really, truly believe that. And, by extension, I also believe that everyone has the potential to change the world.

A rather challenging thought to live up to.

Part 1/ Part 2/ Part 3

Michael
___________________________________________

=Annwas Adeniawc=

The Open Door - FortMac'08

Winning the Internet

2008-06-13T15:46:00.001-04:00

Ah! The Internet! That Oh, so beautiful place! That oh, so dangerous tool! Oh double-edged sword!

I’ve spent a lot of time online lately, working on my comp.sci. culminating task. It has been a good run, and I’ve learned a tonne of html/css programming. Hence the coolness of my blog now. Yay customization!

But I digress. There are a lot of really cool websites and web tools that out there and I thought I would share some of my most favourite recent finds with you! In Top Ten format, of course!

10. Firefox: Ok, not really a new find. But it feels as if I am constantly rediscovering it and all of its awesome, I’m-better-than-IE-ness. Hooray for open-source freeware!

9. Picnicface: I haven’t had time to check the whole thing out yet, and I don’t think I will, however it is a must go to just because of Powerthirst, Powerthirst2 and Superbingo. Absolutely hilarious, and Canadian. I will warn, however, that there is some language and it is not for everyone.

8. N: An absolutely amusing game that requires ninja skills and some patience to overcome. Collect gold! Avoid rockets, lasers and falling death-trap thumpers! Beat the clock! Follow the way of the ninja!

7: Flickriver: I StumbledUpon this site earlier… the pics are sooooo cool!!! I <3>

6. E. F. P.: Ok, time to plug my cousin’s site. E. Foster Photography is a photo blog with some ama-za-zing content on it. She has an awesome gift with a camera. Some of her stuff looks better than pro. work! Stunning is one of the only words I can use to describe it.

5. BlueLaguna: This is where we found all our music for our culminating task. There are tonnes of trax here from all the greatest videogames with Official Soundtracks. I was drooling for about five minutes before I could even start downloading. GAH! Bookmarked!!!!

4. Gimp: Free image editing software. I used it to create all the images here, as well as some of the images for my GSU. Dead easy to use, and pretty powerful too. I love using it.

3. PMOG: Passive Multiplayer Online Game. Turns the entire Internet into a game. Sign up for an account and you can lay mines for other players to trip, create links from one cool page to another, link common websites together and accumulate points for every site you visit! AND using items automatically allies you with forces of both Order and Chaos! While not particularly action-packed, it is still inventive. For FIREFOX!

2. Ctrl+Alt+Del: Gaming sweetness. CAD is essentially focused around the comic, which follows the lives of a group of friends/gamers. Sounds lame, but is actually really sweet, and the author has dealt with some pretty crazy (read: non-gamer-comic-ish) themes. It is both light, and deep. Poignant and silly. With a pretty good cult following to boot. YAY GAMERS!

1. StumbleUpon:Be still my beating heart. Ok, not actually. That is reserved elsewhere. But it is still really, really cool. StumbleUpon is a toolbar for IE and Firefox (FIREFOX!!! YEAH!!!) which allows you to view random websites based on you interests. Just pick the categories (and there are many to choose from, and fairly specific too) you are interested in and hit STUMBLE to reach realms of the internet previously unknown! Many of the things on this list were found this way! Boredom be gone! StumbleUpon is here!

Michael
___________________________________________

=Annwas Adeniawc=

The Open Door - FortMac'08

Operation Splashy-splash

2008-06-10T12:22:00.000-04:00

... and others

An Update

What has happened in the last while...

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere...
Cutting the clear water in constant, clean strokes. Fighting the wind, fighting mosquitoes, fighting... POWERTHIRST!!! Not actually, though. Soaking each other with canoe paddles, and when I say soaking, I mean 3rd degree soaking. Your eyeballs are soggy. Campfires, 90's songs and a bonding between the vets. and the n00bs. A passing of the torch.

These are just a few highlights of this years Ramblers canoe trip. And yes, Holy Cross' outdoors group is called the Ramblers. And no, it is not lame... it keeps those who could not truly be dedicated to the group out. We are the elite adventurers. And we can rock out.

It all started on the 29th... thirteen students, three leaders. Loads of fun. The group was more or less equally split: Peter, Brock, Ethan, Emily, Lisa and I representing the grade 12 class and the remaining seven (Hillary, Heather, Kari, Jon, Aiden, Taylor and Nick) representing the grade 9's. Perhaps in any other group the age difference may have been detrimental, but for us, it was a plus. A morale booster with all the hilarity we could cook up in this strangely close-knit group.

And boy, would we need it.

The weather was supposed to suck, rain on Friday, thunderstorms on Saturday. Not optimal weather for a portage. But with a little fire, imagination, a huge sing-along of TV show themes and old-school music - not to mention POWERTHIRST!!! and a sun dance - we not only managed to keep spirits up, but freakily banished the rain with our sun dance.

It was wet, but it was fun.

On the Holy Cross Lawn...

... Operation Splashy-splash is in full swing.

It is Fun in the Sun. Probably the best I have been to in my four years at HC. Not to mention the last. FitS usually degenerates into a huge water fight, but this time around... we are going to start it with one. 100+ water balloons. Two dozen water guns. Hundreds of water bottles.

CHAOS!

Overall, it was amazing. Amazingly wet, amazingly sweaty, amazingly fon. GAH!

At school...
... culminating tasks are being worked on. I've completed two of three: Music and English. Music was a recital; I had to preform three songs, come up with my own programme and all the other things that make up a recital. I did one baroque piece (Sicilian & Minuet by Bach), one contemporary classical piece (Abstraccion by some Argentinean composer), and composed a medley of Nintendo themes for my last piece. It want pretty well overall. As for my English... well, one thousand words on the timelessness of archetypes using the Odyssey, Beowulf and the Silmarillion was never written in less time or better. Not that I've found anyway, lol.

At home...
... everything is about status quo. Missing Seana out in Fort McMurray, but I'll be out there in 19 days... I think I'll be able to make it 'till then.

I'm done high school in two and a half weeks. Yikes!

May your day be full of joy,

Michael
___________________________________________

=Annwas Adeniawc=

The Open Door - FortMac'08

Pirates, Ninjas & Dragons: Living in a World of Imagination

2008-06-02T17:21:00.002-04:00

Crossing blades with pirates on the high seas. Going hand to hand against ninja Jônin in the forests of Japan. Wreaking havoc on hordes of horrid wer-creatures astride a fiery dragon. Alas, the days have long past that such thrilling events could pass in any realm but the imaginary. Yet imagine we can.

We have been obsessed with the imaginary and fantastic from the time the first child asked their parent for a bed-time story. And as that first parent spun for their child a tale of unknown wonder, so too does the tradition of fashioning fantastical tales from nothing continue today. I am sure that everyone can think of a favourite tale from their childhood: a tale of princes and princesses perhaps, or of a troll under a bridge or boogiemen under a bed. We are, from a very young age, immersed in a world of imagination.

Take the entertainment industry. It feeds, and is fed by, the imaginations of the writers, singers, painters and spectators who immerse themselves in its many branches. Television programs and films create and display for us the marvellous images in the heads of their creators. Novels and plays allow us to see what is unseen; that is, use our minds to fill the gaps of what is not shown. It is easy while reading a novel or watching a play, to imagine yourself taking part in the events and become completely immersed in this land of the mind. And still there is art - the physical manifestation of imagination - and music, which harkens back to the oldest forms of storytelling and the bards who wandered Tara with their tales.

What is it that attracts us to the imaginary? There is so much to see, so much our world is filled with. Why, then, do we come up with tales of things outside of what we know?

The answer lies in the question itself. We create stories and fiction because of the Unkown. Where did the trees come from? What are stars? What lies *just* beyond that horizon? A thousand, indeed thousand upon thousands, of tales of imagination have sprung from those questions and others like them. It is inevitable, as anyone who has observed small children will tell you; we are curious beings and, especially in small children, even the smallest unknown can beget the greatest of tales.

And it is by observing children that we can discover the greatest truth about imagination; that it is, in fact, their domain and kingdom. Children are the kings and queens of that amazing, marvellous realm called imagination. That is not to say, however, that adults have no place in this world. No, even though we may grow up on the outside, inside that undeniable force - manifested outwardly in the form of a look of childlike innocence or in a glint of mischief in the eye - called the Inner Child reserves for us our place in the halls of the imaginary. Imagination is, in its deepest essence, the much sought-after Fountain of Youth.

So although we may grow old and our swash-buckling skills may decay, we may still conquer that beastly giant. Or rescue a beautiful princess. Or simply take a stroll with Nyads in a quiet wood.

For we do, after all, live in a world of imagination.

Michael
___________________________________________

=Annwas Adeniawc=

The Open Door - FortMac'08

Thinking About...

2008-05-21T20:49:00.002-04:00

… nothing. Any yet, everything.

I've been having some trouble lately with thinking. I have so many thoughts running through my head – fragmented, scattered, disorganized – that I just am not sure how to express them. I feel like Arthur Dent in the beginning of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: bulldozer and yellow are just floating through my head looking for something to connect to. I know they will eventually. Hopefully.

There are so many things I want to get down here. Things about the new theme. As in, a central focus perhaps? I have a rough idea of where that is going… I'm just having trouble expressing it.

Currently reading: Microserfs by Douglas Coupland.

Mmm… here is another thing I could just write on. This guy is a brilliant writer… and Canadian! Had I read jPod and Microserfs months ago, I might have used them for my English culminating task. Then again, I think I like these books too much to psychoanalyze them that much. I still could write an essay on them though. For fun. On geek culture. Or just culture in general… these books are so loaded with cultural analysis (ok, that phrasing is totally spooging what I want to say) that there is so much which can be taken away. You have to get through a little junk to get there, but the junk is very rare and almost negligible. It's getting harder to find books without junk I'm finding.

I am such a geek. And I am OK with that. Interesting: in Microserfs they say that the thing which divides the geeks from the nerds (other than the fact that girls can't be nerds… or maybe as a by-product?) is that geeks are more marketable, more chic, than nerds. For me that is important because it settles the question as to which I am in my mind. At least, I hope I'm marketable… whatever that means…

But as to my geeky-ness… well, I actually enjoy writing essays. Strange, no? Now that I have kinda moved beyond the clear-cut, this-leads-to-this-leads-to-this method of essay writing, I actually enjoy them. I had to write an essay on Tuesday for my English class about… anything. So I wrote about imagination. And, in my opinion, it was pretty darn good. I was even learning from what I was writing. It was a little scary seeing what was stored in my sub-conscious come out that way… so, when I get it back I'll post it and see where we go. Hopefully somewhere good.

I've also been agonizing lately over my blog… I don't know if you noticed, but I'm having some layout issues with my sidebar… there is some messed up code in my last post somewhere, I just haven't found it yet. Hopefully I can get that cleared, but mebbe getting this up will work in lieu of going through all that code *fingers crossed*.

So, the primary Ft. Mac (not the accurate spelling, but meh…) team leaves next week. Mmmm… mebbe I should talk about that a little here, since I don't think I have mentioned it yet. KAOS Radio has put together a team – mostly of college and university students with the exception of high-schoolers such as my sister and I – to go up to Ft. McMurray Alberta to work with at-risk youth and young adults. As I mentioned, the primary team of ten is going up next week. The second team of four is going up June 20^th. Because I still have to graduate, I am gong to be the last one up. I'm a mixture of emotions over this… excitement, apprehension, and everything in between. All for the same reason: because it is gong to be new and unusual. Outside of the box. Outside of my comfort zone. WAY outside of my comfort zone – though not into the panic zone, I hope. This summer is going to be a huge learning curve for me. I am going to see and experience things I have never seen and experienced before.

So, I am thus not going to see Seana for about a month- since she is headed up with the primary team. But one of the more exciting things, for me at least, is that when I do get up, we are going to be able to work together – for the first time since Hope Valley – and experience these things together. And hopefully it will help us grow – not only individually, but also as a couple. And that is, as the ninth Doctor would say, fantastic!

(Seana, ps. 8 days... lol)

I wonder if this is what posting is going to be like for me from now on… discovering what is on my mind by just talking and typing as thoughts come to my head…

Who knows? It could be good for me.

Either way, I've rambled on for a while here, and if you have made it this far, I applaud you. You should probably comment so that I know exactly who I am applauding though. I don't particularly want to be applauding a spider-bot.

May this day – whichever day you read this on – be filled with joy and wonder.

Michael
___________________________________________

=Annwas Adeniawc=

The Open Door

2008-05-16T12:14:00.000-04:00

There are lots of doors in this world.

Doors to childhood, to adulthood.

To memory and experience.
Doors to our past and to our future.

Through these doors we can bear our inner being to the world...

...or shut it out.

There are doors we open, doors we close.

Gateways to our heart and soul.

Open and shut.

A new door has opened, and another shut.
Area314 is no more: life has moved on and left it in ashes.
And yet…
… a new door is opened.

It is The Open Door.

Welcome to the Open Door: a gateway to my heart and mind. Here shall we venture together, crossing thresholds as the LORD opens doors before us… doors to the light.

Michael
___________________________________________

=Annwas Adeniawc=

A Challenge

2008-05-13T11:15:00.005-04:00

Every once in a while it seems to be that I get an email - usually a forward - that speaks to me in some way. I posted one previously, but it was... not in an even remotely comparative category to this one. Mostly because this one wasn't made as a forward. It just ended up that way. Anyways, it was written by a guy who goes to my church who was a pastor, and is an all around cool guy. He calls me Benji or Gabriel for some reason... anyways, I'll shut up and let you read this.

Michael
___________________________________________

=Annwas Adeniawc=

My heart is heavy because I am seeing so many people and hearing so many people who are trying to work out where God is calling them to be used by Him and seem so disatisfied and confused and hurting.

May I say that most of the times I am disatisfied, confused and hurting, the root is not what is going on around me but my own personal life. When I don't seem to have control of my life and am not obedient to God and am so busy making plans for Him and not spending "MUCH TIME IN LISTENING" to His wee small voice, I fail Him miserably. I forget that I am a part of the BODY OF CHRIST . . . I forget that I was not created to live out a solo life in isolation from the rest of the Body, I forget that the Holy Spirit has been deposited in my life to give me wisdom and discernment if I am willing to spend time with Him . . . lots and lots of time . . .and truly listen. I was not called to make all decisions on my own. The hand, the foot, the arm, the leg . . .yes, even the toenails, fingernails and hairs in the armpits have a reason for being . . .there is no part that is not important . . .thus it is with the Body of Christ . . . there is no insignificant part or person . . .each has a "special mission" that only he or she can fulfill when in harmony and obedient to Him. My message at our Men's Breakfast at Calvary yesterday morning had the theme, "USE ME!!!"

My point is, and drawing from the theme of a Ladies' conference that my wife went to in 1975, we need to "Bloom Where You are Planted" . . . which means to me, where you are at any given time, God calls you to minister there.

I NEVER saw, what I am about to share, in Haliburton or Caledonia where I pastored, but I sure see it in Peterborough . . George Street United Church, Edmison Heights Baptist Church where I pastored and of course with people of other churches in our city. There is a greater disatisfaction or groaning among members of the "Organized Church Institution", and so much of it is within the individual lives of those people as they try to figure out, many way back to the original question, "Why am I here?!" I see people shuffling from one congregation to another trying to figure out where they fit in . . often being upset what seems to them as the essence of their faith. It is like a giant spiritual smorgasbord and people are looking for bargain spirituality where they can be scratched where it itches. We seem to be more concerned about being the scratchee rather than the scratcher.

The early Christian Church and right up today . . .the greatest mission field has not been so much within our congregation on Sunday mornings or during the week in our institutional churches . . . that is were we go to strengthen our faith, to fellowship with other believers, to get charged up, to confess with one another our sins, to lift each other in prayer, to strenghthen one another in the Lord.; it is where we go to participate in Christ's love and regeneration, not to be a spectator.. . . it is no different than when the early Christians worshipped in homes. The greatest MISSION FIELD, is what is happening outside the church building structure. God is waiting for the thousands of people who claim to be Christian in our city, to serve Him . . .truly serve Him . . to say to Him, "Use Me" and walk out into the "real world where the rubber hits the road."

Before we can begin to look at the individual congregations of our city and ask, what are "they" doing for the cause of Christ, we need to be asking ourselves, what are we, as individuals, doing for the cause of Christ. I am now 63 years old and I have fewer years ahead of me than I do behind me. How much am I doing as an individual that really counts for Christ's Kingdom? How much is merely "Doing Church" and how much is "being Church--the Body of Christ"? I attend Calvary Church in Peterborough . . but am I merely attending or am I participating? . . . am I a part of the problem or am I a part of the solution? As Norman Vincent Peal once said, "How do we turn crosses into plus signs"? Well, I need to stop playing God and wanting to be the "Divine Orchestrator" and controlling what is going on around me. I need to be obedient to Him. . . . I need to listen more and talk less and yes, it may be listening to the wee small voice of God which means there are times I need to be so silent I can hear a pin drop . . . and it means that I need to listen to the voices of others around me whom I know have a very close walk with God. We pastors don't have it all . . . God doesn't only speak through pastors . . .what a revelation, eh?? I need to spend more time in prayer, and again if prayer is communication with Him, it is a two way street . . . I need to LISTEN.

Here is an exerp from my thesis of 1994. . .a parable by Howard Clinebell. Even if you have seen it before, please don't just speed read it and gloss over it. It is very poignant!!! Ask yourselves: what stage are you in corporately as a congregation and individually as part of the Body of Christ?

Read on . . . and blessings . . . Don Nicholson.

"The Parable Of The Lifesaving Station"
On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur there was once a crude little lifesaving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves, they went out day or night tirelessly searching for the lost.

Many lives were saved by this wonderful little station, so that it became famous. Some of those who were saved, and various others in the surrounding areas, wanted to become associated with the station and give of their time and money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought and new crews were trained. The little lifesaving station grew.

Some of the new members of the lifesaving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and so poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea.

They replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in an enlarged building. Now the lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they redecorated it beautifully and furnished it as a sort of club.

Less of the members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work.

The mission of lifesaving was still given lip-service but most were too busy or lacked the necessary commitment to take part in the lifesaving activities personally.

About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boat loads of cold, wet and half-drowned people.

They were dirty and sick, some had skin of a different color, some spoke a strange language, and the beautiful new club was considerably messed up. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside.

At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club's lifesaving activities as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal pattern of the club.

But some members insisted that lifesaving was their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a lifesaving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the life of all various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast.

They did.

As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. They evolved into a club and yet another lifesaving station was founded.

If you visit the seacoast today you will find a number of exclusive clubs along that shore. Shipwrecks are still frequent in those waters, but now most of the people drown!

ps. As an aside, I have my new vision pretty much hammered out, so now it is just a matter of putting it into practice. Look for changes in the next few weeks!

Hawk Nelson - Friend Like That

2008-05-01T13:12:00.003-04:00

I really wouldn't have put this up, but the video is like Hawk Nelson with Foster's House for Imaginary Friends and that amused me greatly.

Mike

Afterthought

2008-04-29T12:11:00.004-04:00

Mmmm... if you start seeing changes to the blog layout et al., I'm playing with the code to create a truly personalized experience.... and just because I can.

Go CSS!!!

Cheers!

Mike

Babes, Teens and "Do Hard Things"

2008-04-29T12:08:00.001-04:00

Bought Do Hard Things. Read Do Hard Things. Re-read Do Hard Things. LOVED Do Hard Things.

Waiting a year for this book to come out was totally worth it. Amazingly and clearly written, inspiring, convicting, challenging. I am SO making all my friends read it.

Reading it has made me re-evaluate some of my personality traits and how… good they actually are. Like procrastination. If I didn’t procrastinate and got work completed early, how could the time spent doing meaningless things – too much recreational reading, vidja games, internet browsing in excess (all staple diet for the procrastinator) – be spent in pursuing other meaningful, even big, things?

Babes and Teens

One of the most convicting parts of the book came nice and early in chapter 3 where Alex and Brett are outlining what they refer to as the “Myth of Adolescence.” In it they state that:

It has almost gotten to the point that people expect less of teenagers than they do of toddlers. Think about it. Why do babies… experience nearly 100 percent success in overcoming difficult challenges, while teens often falter? Well, one is expected, and the other is not.

(Do Hard Things, p. 39)

That just blew me away. To think, I’m not living up to the same standards as my year-and-a-bit cousin Isaac! Holy crap! Talk about a paradigm shift! I can’t go away from that idea without changing something… so my challenge to myself, and to you, is to expect to overcome difficult challenges and work my tail of to get there.

Are you in?

Mike
________________________________

=Annwas Adeniawc=

[Insert Subject Line]

2008-04-23T22:05:00.001-04:00

Blah. School ends in 38 days... school days that is. mmm... that's about... 7 weeks? and then I am out of here! Only to come back here! Yay Trent!! Yay canoe trip! Yay formal! Yay getting this all over with.

Or something like that.

...

I started this with the intention of saying something... I just forget what.

...

Huston we have a problem. Failing to launch... and done.

Well, this was productive.
Michael

___________________________________________

=Annwas Adeniawc=

Mr. Microphone's Nonsensical Journey Into Dreamland Upon A Lethargic Elephant Cloud (AKA Cloud Spotting While Drowsy)

2008-04-15T13:10:00.003-04:00

A great expanse of black
    A field smattered with stars
Quiet...
    Comfortable...
Falling through lights
    As diving through water
...
    ...
To neon dancing
    ...
Silky smooth
    the jelly waterfall
As I spread my wings
    and soar through...
The violet-pumpkin sky
    ...
The moogles frolic playfully
    in a candy apple meadow
and the sun a merry jig
    dances to green the moon
Sleep by a chocolate river
    ... but no, sleep not in a dream
For then the pigs on high will fly
    and pearls the swine excrete
...
    ...
Mutter murmur mother
    makes many meadow meats
From dandy-lion tails
    a salad green and sweet
and Mufasa stares on sadly
    Pan a tick defeats
...
    snore
A boar bores boredom
    as a giraffe loudly lectures
Pirates eating salad
    and ninjas play hide 'n' seek
A zither zather zuzzzzz
    ...
A zither zoo zooms
    through Dr. Seuss' land
As umbrella trees shelter me
    from gumdrops a-fallin' on my head
A bowler bowls me over
    and sends me swimming through the sky
Then I started drowning,
    hit yellow with my head
...
    ...
Put me in a coma
    and dreams into my head
Bring me from my home
    in rainbows
To a soft...
    and comfy...
        b...bed.......

ELMO!

2008-04-08T10:50:00.002-04:00

Now, I know that I promised to share my thoughts about Africa - and I still am - but I saw this in my computer science class and had to share... enjoy.

Goo Goo Dolls & Elmo - Pride

Jambo!

2008-04-01T12:48:00.006-04:00

Well, we made it back safely from Africa... and man was it an adventure! So many new experience, people, sights, sounds, tastes... almost too much for the senses to handle.

Anyways, I'm planning a rather large and involved post using things culled from my journal (which I miraculously managed to keep!) later, but for the moment I'll leave you with a few pics I shot while there...

Michael
________________________________

=Annwas Adeniawc=

(Seana, I thought you would get a kick out of this... lol)

w00000000t!!!!!

2008-03-06T17:38:00.001-05:00

GAH! SO-MANY-BIG-THINGS!

Its MARCH--FREAKING--BREAK!!!!
And in approximately 13 hours I'm going to be boogying my way on down to Detroit to catch a flight to Tanzania, Which for those who are geographically challenged (or American... sorry, I just couldn't help myself... for the record, some of my family is American... so no real hard feelings)... now I've lost my train of thought...

... oh yeah!

!!!!ITS IN AFRICA!!!!

GAH! TOO EXCITED!!!

We're going to be spending three awesome weeks with my uncle and his family in Africa hanging out... doing some camping on the Serengeti... chillaxin' on the beaches of Zanzibar (where I apparently have to bring back some sand from... o_0;) as well as some other schweet stuff. Gah! exciting.

Ohohoh! AND in related news... MY CAMERA HAS SURFACED FROM ITS HIDING PLACE!!!!!!!! YAYS!!!!! That means.... PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (many thanks to my brother for that)

mmmm.... so in other news...

Hansen just did this... so in honour of the great internet art of mimicry...
Michael needs...

1. Mum (???!?!)
2. a life without... something
3. one crisp story
4. a girlfriend (not!)
5. toilet paper
6. his weed
7. a light-razoring?
8. help... now
9. to find his place again
10. YOU! (I find this amusing...)

I've noticed that my writing here is a little... random. To put it lightly. Cool.
I'll try to fix that. Maybe.

Anyways, I actually have to get back to packing. So I'll leave it here.

Catch y'all on the flip side!
=Mike=

God and Tetris

2008-02-26T21:54:00.004-05:00

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
-Philippians 2:12-13

How often have I let things get between myself and God? Too often have I let myself slip into a mindset where I think that I can do things without God or keep Him out of my day to day life. Too often have I put things of this world - video games, books, school, friends - above my relationship with my Saviour and Redeemer. Far too often have I let these things fill up my life like so many coloured blocks.

Our relationship with God is like a game of Tetris: life throw us distractions and we have to consciously work to clear them and keep our field of focus clear so that we can keep our eyes on Christ. We have to work continually to persevere, mature and grow in out walk with Christ. And like in Tetris, the further we grow in our walk, the more difficult life's distractions become to ignore and yet the more we are enabled to deal with what is thrown at us: in Tetris because we become more accustomed to the rhythm of the game and in our walk because we are empowered by God.

So may you persevere in your walk and keep those coloured blocks at bay
Michael
________________________________

Brother in Arms
Proverbs.17.17

Catchup, a Launch and What is on My Mind

2008-02-21T12:41:00.001-05:00

So, two months later... lol

So what has happened in the last while?
Let's do a quick run through.

December:
Christmas, obviously. A kind of hectic period of time... driving down to London, driving up to Ajax, driving back to the Pdot, driving back to Ajax... followed by a drive back to the Pdot... whew. However, Christmas with my family is always exciting... and I think Seana was excited that she wasn't the only non-Foster at the huge family blowout. It was fun. And crazy.

January:
Exams. Those were fun... not. But I'm glad to see French gone... its not that I don't like French, I just disliked the teacher. A lot.
January was also turn 18 time. Yes, that's right; I'm now legal. w00t! I can... vote??!? There are other things I can do too... but I really don't want/need to.
Another anniversary was in January: Seana et moi have been going our for one year now (well actually, more than that now now, but meh... close enough). I haven't really talked about Seana much here... so there you go, now you exist on my blog ;o).

Other than that... I've just been making it through school, trying to get homework done... get my University stuff all finished (I hate PSEs, officially). Ohh... and I launched another blog... yesterday... so now I have to work twice as hard to keep up to date, lol. Not actually. My other one is where I am putting on display some pictures of what I get up to and any schweet graphics I feel like designing. So, I present to you Ma Vie en Photo (in French, just because I can).

And now for some things that I have been following lately.

CoS vs. Anonymous.

This hasn't really been making a huge splash in mainstream news coverage, but in the online community, the war between the Church of Scientology and the (so called) hacker group Anonymous has been really interesting to follow. You may or may not have heard about the protests that were held world-wide in front of CoS centres, but this whole thing really threatens to shut down the CoS, or at least change the way it operates today. If you want to know what is going down, check out Search Engine (CBC Radio).

Fifth Business.

I usually don't enjoy books that I have to do for English class (Shakespeare excepted). However, this book is just so fantastic that I can't help but like it. If you haven't read it yet, you have to. Though I may just like it because I identify myself as Fifth Business... but you will have to Google it, Wiki it or read the book to find out what I am talking about ;o).

Do Hard Things

The Rebelution book comes out in APRIL. YAYS!!!! I am so psyched for this book... they have an excerpt available on the Rebelution website and it reads absolutely fantastic thus far. If you haven't heard about the Rebelution, I highly recommend checking it out.

Umm, so I think that's about it for now.

Have a very awesome day
Michael
________________________________

Brother in Arms
Proverbs.17.17

More Comikz

2007-12-13T13:34:00.001-05:00

I love snowmen. And I love Calvin & Hobbes. Put them together...?

For the Winter Season

2007-12-11T14:20:00.000-05:00

Concert tonight. YAYS! Playing in a quintet. Clarinet, alto and tenor sax, bass and keys. As well as the concert band. It should be... interesting to say the least. And hopefully playing-in-the-snow-full... :o) I heart snow.

A Christmas Tale

2007-12-07T10:17:00.001-05:00

All is quiet on a hill
The wind whispers, blowing where it will
Long sighs fill the night
Sleeping herds make quite a sight

Suddenly, they're bathed in light
Sheep and shephers stand in fright
Swirling stars descend from high
Fiery angels fill the sky

singing a chorus of "Gloria!"
The shepherds fill with euphoria
Then with sudden vigour they run
to Bethlehem, to meet the Son

Running through the pre-dawn street
Yelling to everyone they meet
Coming to the stable-cave
And Jesus Christ who's come to save

Michael
________________________________

Brother in Arms
Proverbs.17.17

White

2007-12-02T14:10:00.001-05:00

White blanketing the ground
blanketing trees, roofs
as smoke curls
from the gaping mouths of chimneys.

Dark clouds part
like curtains after the night,
after a deluge of chips
of heav'nly frost.

I wake in the morning -
As the sun begins its lazy ascent –
to light glancing off the white;
a kaleidoscope of colour.

Beauty everywhere.

Out my window lies a tree,
dwarfed by the powder encircling.
It's green a promise of life

vibrant and full in spite of chill.
A survivor in the winter kill.
A time of joy and not of sad,
there is much in white to be had.

Michael
________________________________

Brother in Arms
Proverbs.17.17

Star-lit

2007-10-21T14:05:00.001-04:00

Cloudless. Perfect.
The moon reborn
Perfet darkness
Pierced by a milky band

Biting cold
The crunch of snow
A well trod path
Marking where to go

Stars in their flight
Twinkling. Dancing.
Look up in the sky!
They're filling the black
with heavenly light

Stand on a hill
Watching heroes of old
A testament to their Creator
In each ancient form

Andromeda, Hercules
Orion the great
Cassiopeia, the Bears
And Boötes to shepherd them all

Under a canopy of lights
Shooting stars as they fall
Standing there in awe
In wonder of it all

Michael
________________________________

Brother in Arms
Proverbs.17.17

Lights and Sounds

2007-10-03T08:31:00.001-04:00

Colours play against a blank face
Red and blue and green and white
Chain him where he sits

Captured by lights and sounds

Drama's twists and soap opera sleaze
Captivate a dead imagination
As she rests, a slave to fantasy

Captured by lights and sounds

Tin-canned laughter,
Moans, jeers and groans
Bend a will to emotions not felt

Captured by lights and sounds

An Orwellian reality defined by whims
Of moguls who laugh as the world
Pays homage to a glowing oracle

Captured by lights and sounds

Michael
________________________________

Brother in Arms
Proverbs.17.17

Sunshower

2007-08-06T22:40:00.001-04:00

The storm breaks
Rain pours down, drenching to the bone
Lightning flash and thunder roar
Darkness rolls in
Piercing the sky like the keenest knife
This is the darkest moment of my life

But then the sun breaks through
Scattering light through the dark
Then sun brakes through
And the sky blooms to life

This life breaks
Pain pours down, drenching the soul
Mocking jeers and laughter roar
Darkness rolls in
Piercing my heart like the keenest knife
This is the darkest moment of my life

But then the Son breaks through
Scattering light through the dark
The Son breaks through
And my soul blooms to life

Michael
________________________________

Brother in Arms
Proverbs.17.17

An Update

2007-06-29T15:53:00.001-04:00

I'm not actually supposed to be posting this.

Really I should be on a train (or at least, getting off the train by now...) to Montreal. I am supposed to be spending the next six weeks in Quebec working at a camp (I'm still not sure what I'm going to be doing...) and learning french. FON. I am actually excited for it, however it has been delayed by the Aboriginal Day of Protest and the fun time of having the railways blockaded. Sweet, eh? So, I'm leaving sometime tomorrow, but I don't know when.

Exams are over (obviously) and therefore the school year is finished for yet another year. While that is exciting, there is a bit of a bitter pill that goes along with it. My music tearcher, who is also my absolute favourite teacher, has taken a job at another school in Bowmanville. The band didn't find out 'till yesterday at our band breakfast. There were lots of tears on her part and on the part of others in the band. The school isn't going to be the same without her. However, we are getting a new teacher/conductor and that will be an adventure.

Its long weekend time. I'm going to be in Quebec for Canada Day, which the sepratists will surely make interesting...

I'm out,
Michael
________________________________

Brother in Arms
Proverbs.17.17

flOw

2007-06-21T14:09:00.000-04:00

So, after writing my french exam (which took all of a half an hour to do...) I had nothing to do and found this on the computer. FON! And mildly addictive...

Play flOw

Psalm 23

2007-06-12T08:19:00.001-04:00

A little different from the version you're probably used to...

Psalm 23 in Jamaican

The Lord ah mi one boss, an mi nuh fi want nutt'n.
Ah Him ah prevent mi from tell off people everyday.
Ah Him ah gimme peace, when so-so madness a gwan roun' mi.
Ah Him ah remine mi fi pray an fi do everyting widout complain, murmur nor kiss mi teet.
Ah Him ah remine mi dat ah Him, noh mi job, ah mi source, aldough lickle more pay woulda nice.
Ah Him ah stap mi from mad a daytime, an' ah guide mi decision dem, so mi can honor Him inna hev'ryting.
Him ah prevent mi from shoot up di whole place, an' tun' all mi supervisor dem inna some duppy, so mi no haffi go ah prison, an' live mongst ah bag ah battyman nor get heng.
Even dough mi get one hole heap a e-mail, fool fool deadline fi work wid, have some co-worker dem whey a chat mi behine mi back!, some big heediat fi supervisor, an' ah ol' body dat kyaan' mek it a morning time, mi nah give up because Him deh wid mi!
Him presence, Him peace, an' Him power ah go si mi throu.
Ah Him ah raise mi up, even when di heediat dem nah promote mi hard working self, dough mi ave tree set a degree an' diploma.
Ah Him claim mi as fi Him own, even when di company ah threaten fi fiah mi, an' me ah threaten fi light wan fiah an' bun di hole place ah grung.
Fi Him faitfulness an' love betta dan any bonus check (but yu si mi, a check woulda elp out some time).
Fi Him retirement plan betta dan every pension plan outta road, but mek anybady try rob dis place yah an yuh see wha 'appen out yah tiday.
When unnu done talk; Ah Him mi ah go wuk fah fi wan long time
So Tank Yuh Lord

-Michael
________________________________

Brother in Arms
Proverbs.17.17

STAY OFF THE SIDEWALKS!!!!

2007-06-06T16:26:00.001-04:00

So, exciting news in the land of Mike... I went to take my test for my G2 yesterday (after only, what... 17 months??) and passed!! w00t!!! So I can now drive on my own... look out pedestrians, here I come! jk...

In other news, there is only 9 (or is it 8...) more school days remaining before exam-scariness and then... SUMMER!!! As to what I am doing this summer, well that is still up in the air. The Summer Work Exchange people have yet to get to me, and thus all my summer plans or any summer plans I might make are on hold. Blah. I'm thinking I will give up on them soon and just do my own thing, get a summer job or what-not. I could go back to HV (4 Life!!!) but the parentals are not so hot on that as I am now driving and there are all sorts of nice expences which go with that. FON.

Anyway, today is the Junior High pool party for the grade fives, which should be fun, except for the slight wind-chill which is not so much. But it will all be good.

Waiting for summer,
Michael
________________________________

Brother in Arms
Proverbs.17.17

Soooo...

2007-05-31T19:21:00.000-04:00

So, I've decided that I can at least post *once* this month... lol, I have been both too busy and lazy to post for over a month, but FUN! I'm doing it now.

What have I been so busy with you ask? Band mostly. From going around doing fundraisers to delivering the goods to going to New York, yes ladies and gentlemen band has been crazy. Not anymore as it is now over (*tear*) but it was crazy...

New York you say??? Yes, New York. The Big Apple. Metropolis. Gotham City. The hometown of many a superhero and many a villan's evil plots. No worries, nothing went down while I was there. From 6:30 wake up calls to 11:30 nights, it was an amazing 5 day whirlwind adventure in the big city. And so much to do! The Empire State building is pretty sweet and gives you a nice view of the entire Manhattan area (on a good, non-smog-y day of course...). Time's Square with the hustle and bustle of THOUSANDS of people. The fact that the number of people in the city at almost any given time is higher than the population of our fair country (mind boggling that...). The Statue of Liberty, the Time Warner building, Radio City Music Hall, Juliard, Carnegie Hall, the Met Opera House in the Lincoln Center, The Met Museum of Art, BB King's Blues Club, STOMP!!!!, Chinatown, Little Italy, SoHo... so much to see and do in so little time. We of course went to Ground Zero and my personal favourite place, Central Park. AHHH!!! It was amazing!

What else... oh yes, coming back to school and being unloaded upon in terms of homework (which I really should be doing now...lol), that was fun too. Trig Identities... w00t... ;D

So much, so much... and summer just around the corner.

I was thinking about making some changes here, and probably will be doing so as soon as I figure out the code for them, lol.

Anywho, I'm off to do homework...
Toodlez!
Mike

Awakening

2007-04-11T20:46:00.000-04:00

Check out the newest vid. from Switchfoot... sweet...

When Life Gives You Lemons...

2007-04-04T20:52:00.001-04:00

Sometimes life is tough. Everything can be going well and then suddenly... BAM!... a family member is really sick, a friend had been in an accident, you're struggling with something huge, or some other major tragedy has happened. And you're sitting there thinking, where's God??

Why is it that we always jump to blame God for everything bad that happens in life? I guess it seems so easy... we can't see Him, and therefore we believe that there will be no retaliation for using Him as a scapegoat.

It is a really strange phenomenon. The Bible is full of examples of how much God loves us, how he knows how when a sparrow falls and that we are far more precious than any sparrow. He knows what is in our future and has a plan for us, no matter how dark things seem right now. I love the hymn

YAY!

2007-03-30T08:23:00.000-04:00

I don't know how many of you have taken Drivers Ed. but I can tell you this... the in class is so BORING it is hardly to be imagined. I mean, it is seriously time consuming and, depending on who you get in your class, a loud and waste of said time.

But it is over!!! YAY!!!!

Only thing is... I now have to wait about two weeks to start the in car.... yech

Anyways, that has pretty much been my whole life for the last while... not a whole lot interesting...

Blah.

Mike

Designs

2007-03-12T10:10:00.000-04:00

So yeah, I was basically bored at home all week due to a loss of wisdom (teeth, lol) and so I made this. Enjoy. Oh, and I am feeling quite rosey with their removal and am once again chewing, though not chomping yet... alas for my apples! Or at least my stomach...

Mike

PS

2007-03-07T17:35:00.001-05:00

Sorry, a thought ocurred to me... if you want to check out the first seven songs which Switchfoot played at that concert (the ones on the LEGAL bootleg CD they were selling) or at any of the concerts they have played/ will play (as soon as the tracks become available) check out http://switchfootbootlegs.com. They are all there.

Cheers!

Michael
________________________________

Brother in Arms
Proverbs.17.17

Some Switch and Wisdom

2007-03-06T20:18:00.000-05:00

Long time, no post...

But I have been busy.

For those of you who live on another planet, Switchfoot played in Toronto last Wednesday at the Koolhaus. And I was one of the privileged who got to go see them. OH YEAH! Switchfoot is pretty much my fav band, and really the first band I listened to (I don't count solo artists as bands...). They are great on CD. They are ama-za-zing live! The warm up band being really terrible made them seem even better than they would have been anyway (Copeland is terrible live... very boring, very stiff) I really can't describe how great it was. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll put up some pics instead.

Jon Forman pointing out at the swirling, screaming masses...

Various shots of the band, the last of which was taken as they finished performing Only Hope and launched into Dare You to Move, pretty much my two fav songs by them...

In other news, I'm pretty much in a bit of pain right now... y'know having my wisdom teeth removed and all... I've heard stories about how bad it could be, but I wasn't quite ready for this... in a word OWWWWWWWWWWW!!! So I have been refraining from opening my mouth and stuff like that. But I will survive... what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger and all that jazz... :D

All for now

Mike

...Lightning!

2007-02-25T17:18:00.000-05:00

Rain patters on the rooftop
Hypnotic in rhythm
Like a corps of drummers
Softly tapping out their beats

The soil churns
Lightning's heavenly light show
Seared into the retinas
Of awed spectators

The drums resound,
Angels rolling out thunder
The earth trembles
As the sound waves across the plains

And in an instant, all is still
Light and sound as mere memory
Stillness reigns in the quiet place
Except for the pitter patter of rain

Michael
________________________________

Brother in ArmsProverbs.17.17

Snowflakes

2007-02-23T10:41:00.001-05:00

Walking through the powder snow
Its falling everywhere I go
Snowflakes coming from the sky
On to the mitts of passers-by

This gift from heaven falling thro the week
The beautiful patterns, each one unique
Catching on lashes like little hooks
Beauty everywhere one looks

Michael
________________________________

Brother in Arms
Proverbs.17.17

SIC

2007-02-21T21:14:00.000-05:00

Soo, I just found this like 3 minutes ago... ergo I want to post it.
Flute playing to the extreme... this guy is cutting edge stuff...

m!ke

ps. I actually posted a poem like and hour ago and it was lost in e-mail cyberspace. NOT COOL

Solitude

2007-02-11T18:16:00.001-05:00

There is a quiet place I know
Where naught but a silent wind blows
Betwixt the trees and blades of grass
And over playful structures pass

In that place no distractions come
Not cars, not birds, or bees that hum
But only gentle whisps of cloud
Which wrap the sun as in a shroud

In solitude comes many thoughts
Which grow like plants from earthen pots
And pray'rs which stretch out to the sky
And to the heart where I'll ne'er die

In that space comes reality,
Like a fierce whirlwind none can see
Which buffet fact and fiction 'round
And make the knees to hit the ground

Yet in that place comes also peace
That in this life there is release
The greater one is yet to come
The joy of which will strike you dumb

Solitude's such a lovely place
To sit and think upon God's grace
And lift His praises up on high,
To whisper prayers to him by

which to let Him know of your cares
That deep down in His heart HE shares
Pray'rs of sorrow and pray'rs of love
Find their way up to God above

In the stillness He'll answer back
And touch the heart that has a lack
And in that weakness shall I boast
In solitude which I love most

Michael

________________________________

Brother in Arms Proverbs.17.17

Welcome to My Life

2007-01-30T18:51:00.001-05:00

So, I thougt about it and then I realized, for all the talking I do about faith-like stuff (and that it is sooo ensconced in my poetry...), I have never actually talked about my faith before. My "testimony" as it is called in Christian-ese.

Christian-ese: What is almost a seperate language spoken by many old or long-time Christians which often confuse non-Christians or just plain-old everyone. (Or nobody, depending on the company/word...)

Mine is pretty much like most other people who grew up in a Christian home. Family who goes to church every sunday, family and friends of family who are involved in ministry, et al. A kind of ghetto some may say.

(Ghetto: While the word has many different implications for different people, the word is generally used to describe a segregated place)

Anyway, I became a Christian at the ripe-old age of four (...or mebbe it was five?) and that was it. In hindsight I realize that at that age I really didn't understand all that made up being a Christian. More than that, I also think that at the time my motivation for taking that step was more to please my parents than any real belief. In any case, my spiritual life remained more or less stagnent for a long time. Sure, I went to sunday school and all the mid-week classes and stuff, and I could talk the talk just as well as anyone else, but in my heart nothing really changed. I didn't get it, and I wouldn't get it until I hit the ground hard.

Ahh, yes. The Dark Ages (not the medieval ones, I just like the play on words). The dark years of my life. The years where I learned to wear masks and hats. Following the usual path for someone like me, I pretty much crashed and burned coming into adolesence. Grade six to grade eight, I was one messed up kid. But as bad as it was, it wasn't as bad as it could have been and it was definetly a place for God to start working in my life. In hindsight, it really is only by His grace that I am who and where I am today. If I had tried to do things on my own, who knows where I woud be? It is not as if I just decided that God suddenly wasn't there, just that I really didn't want to do things His way at the time.

So He decided to give me a smack upside the head. I don't know when it happened, but I just know that somehow I was turned in my path and started heading the other way, towards God. I was still pretty weak, but God knew how to help me get back to health. Somehow I managed to get on staff at Hope Valley, and God used that tremendously. He gave me a great trainer and great senior staff to work with. He also gave me most of the people I count as my best friends, people who are just so amazing. I'm not going to embarass anyone with names, but y'all know who you are. Thanx.

It was at camp that God showed me so much of where I was going wrong. During one of the devos., the guy who was speaking said something to the effect of "Sometimes people who were 'saved' at a really young age really aren't. They may not really understand what it is all about, what the cross is all about, and so are missing what being a Christian is all about." While I'm not sure I agree with all of that, it had a huge impact on how I thought and where I was. At that point I think something that was missing finally clicked. I don't know if that means that at that point I was actually saved or whatever, but I do know that at that point I really started to get it.

So where does that leave me now? At this blog, or at least the idea behind it. Philippians 3:14, from which comes the name of this blog etc, says, "I press onward towards to goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (NIV). I'm pressing forward, never being satisfied with where I am, and taking you along for the ride.

Michael
________________________________

Brother in Arms
Proverbs.17.17

As Long As There Are Exams...

2007-01-24T11:17:00.001-05:00

...there will be prayer in school. At least, that is what several posters and bumper stickers I have seen claim.

I for one believe it.

With exams two days away (unless you are doing what I am supposed to be doing now and have to do in-class exams... o_0") prayer is definetly on the minds of many of the students at my school. Praying that they will get good grades on their exam, culmiating tasks, etc. Getting their priests to pray for their exams. Their is so much prayer in the air that we could be in Vatican City for all I know.

But in some ways it makes me sad.

Sad to think that we only reach out to God when we want something. When it serves our interests to reach out to Him. When we just want that little extra to supplement the studying we (*didn't as is often the case) do. How much more self serving can we get?
But at the same time, I can't be too condemning of that. That would be hypocritical. I know that I do the same some times, that I let my own selfishness come before God, and that it is something I will always struggle with. It is just a part of being human. But that doesn't give me excuse to do it knowingly.

So, where am I going with this? I have no clue, I really just rambled on.
Good luck with exams. I'll be praying for you, \o/.

Michael
________________________________

Brother in Arms
Proverbs.17.17

Tools pt.1

2007-01-17T19:01:00.000-05:00

So, I have The Rebeultion as one of my quick links in the side bar there, but I don't think I have actually ever mentioned it. Oversight on my part.

I found The Rebelution recently while surfing then net, checked it out, delved deeper, do my usual checking for credibility thing. And since then it has become (or at least the forum has become) a primo spiritual resource for me.

Alex and Brett, 18, define a "rebelution" as being a "teen rebellion against the low expectations of an ungodly world" (paraphrase, I think...). One of the best articles I have read recently is titled My First Shower Nearly Killed Me and it outlines the idea much better than I possibly could. They area also currently doing a "Modesty Survey," which I have a nice picture for, where girls ask questions about modesty and guys answer. The asking part is over, but if any guys still want to participate the option is still open.

If it seems that I am pushing this site, it is because I am. It is just a really great resource that I think everybody should check out at least once. So, go ahead and give it a shot ;)

Cheers!
Michael
________________________________
By the grace of GodJob.33.23-28

Interesting

2007-01-10T20:17:00.000-05:00

Not life.

(╥_─)
School is really annoying right now... exams and stuff. Culminating tasks. Blah. English.
Blahx2.

However, as this is my first post of the new year, I shall look to the positive. As in, I had an awesome-possum holiday, full of friends, food, fun, food, friends, fire, friends, strangers, et al..
:D

EMOTICONS.

So, during my meanderings on the internet I came across a rather impressive article on emoticons and a rather impressive list OF emoticons. Including an emo EMOticon. I was happy. XD.

(///_V)

Anywho, I'm bored and procrastinating (which, concequently, is also a good song by Stellar Kart) so I had better actually get to work. Or listen to my mp3 player. Whichever comes first.

Cheers!

Michael

By the Grace of God
JOB.33.23-28

Happy New Year!

2006-12-31T13:41:00.001-05:00

Here we are: a brand new year. The old year dies and a new one is born from its ashes. The rollercoaster ride of 2006 is slowly pulling into the station and preparing for a new run in '07. Looking back, 2006 has been characterized for me by something my friend Pam said, "Failure is just a messy way of learning." Not to say that '06 was bad, I just learned a lot of hard lessons. I grew and changed so much over the last year. And I expect no less from '07. Learn and grow always.

May your new year be a blessed one, one of growth (even in the painful moments), of joy, of change.

Cheers!
Michael
________________________________

By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

Happy (Belated) Christmas!!!

2006-12-27T18:09:00.001-05:00

"On the Twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me/Twelve drummers drumming/Eleven pipers piping... [and all the rest]"

We are finally (past) there! I hope everyone had a holly, jolly Christmas; I certainly did. Anywho, let me finish this off so we can be done with it. Eleven pipers piping... aka the eleven FAITHFUL (12 - Judas) apostles. And twelve? The twelve points of doctorine in the Apostles Creed.

This year I didn't ask for many gifts. Getting gifts is something that is slowly waning in my life... it is really tough now to come up with things to ask for... But over my lifetime I have recieved so many gifts it is not even funny. But most important to me are the gifts that I have that are not material. Like my family. What can I say about my crazy family? I swear, every Foster has inherited some sort of gene that makes them crazy and wierd and however else you want to describe it. But no matter how zany my family is, when we get together we always have a good time. They are so special to me, and are the greatest gift I have recieved.

And then there are my friends...and what can I say about them? Guys, you have made such a huge impact on my life in so many different ways... and I thank God every day for blessing me with your friendship. Even when the F-gene comes out and I go off the wall. ESPECIALLY when that happens, lol. I don't have words to say how much you guys mean to me.

So, now comes the end. Unless something huge comes up, I'm probably not going to update 'till the New Year. So, until then, God Bless and I'll cya on MSN.

Michael
________________________________

By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

The 10th Day...

2006-12-22T17:41:00.001-05:00

"On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me/Ten lords a leaping/Nine ladies dancing/Eight maids a milking..."

Don't hate me because I miscounted again... I should actually be on day nine, but seeing as I probably won't be updating for a good while yet, this will work. Man is it annoying when this happens... lol.

Catchup mode: The eight maids a milking are a reference to something which Catholics take great pains to teach in grade nine religion, but apparently get a wrong/incomplete meaning out of... the Beatitudes. The nine ladies dancing... hmm, for any of you who have team led at or been to a camp where they sing "The Banana Song," you should be able to get this one. For the rest of you, you're missing out. The Banana song rocks. However, the line of particular concern for this post goes something like "The Fruit of the Spirit/ From love to self control...". Yes folks, the nine ladies dancing are the nine parts of the Fruit of the Spirit. Numeros dix, the ten lords a leaping have to do with a bearded old man standing on a mountain and talking to God. Though that really doesn't help much I suppose... that could have been a couple other people as well. However, everyone should be able to guess what ten has to do with. The Ten Commandments. Fun fun.

Merry Christmas!

Michael
________________________________

By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

Wherefore on the Day of the Seventh...

2006-12-19T17:39:00.000-05:00

"On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me/Seven swans a swimming..."

Day number seven...we seem to be going through these very swiftly.... Seven swans a swimming is not as obvious as many of the others have been. It makes reference to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. But I have no clue what those are exactly because there are over 20 odd listed in various places in the New Testament. FUN!

In other news, life right now is really lazy. Things are winding down before Christmas. There are three more school days before we go on break, and one is a write off (Christmas assembly, one of the major highlights of the school year). Actually, today was a write off as well. My school ran Participaction, a day where we (the school populace) get out and do some good physical activity, or in the case of many students, go Christmas shopping. *shakes head* I suppose some might consider that physical activity, BUT... I went skating for the first tome this year/in a year. I get a massive blister, but other than that it was ama-za-zing fun!!! Skating rocks!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow... I white Christmases ROCK!

Michael
________________________________

By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

Day the 6th

2006-12-18T17:56:00.000-05:00

"On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me/ Six geese a layin'..."

Six geese a layin'... bet you would have never guessed what this represents (unless you are a cheater and looked it up...lol). The six geese are the six days of creation. Not seven, six. Before you say I'm wacko, think about it. What did God do on the seventh day? He rested. SO, He only created for six days. Eh, eh... isn't that clever???

Only seven more days...

Mike

Day 5/War of the Words

2006-12-17T19:05:00.001-05:00

"On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me/ Five golden rings.../four calling birds/ three French hens/ two turtle doves..."

So, if you do the math, you may be thinking to yourself "But wait, Mike started his count 6 days ago...why are we only on day five??" If you are thinking that, my head is screwed on properly, I just started my count a day early (and no one told me!!). So, today is actually the fifth day (depending on how you count...).

The gifts (in catch-up order): Two turtle doves are the old and new testaments; Three French hens are the three "Theological Values" (Faith, Hope and Charity), which I really don't understand... mebbe I'll Wiki it...; Four calling birds are the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; aaaaand the five golden rings are, to use some Christian terminology, the "Pentateuch," or for us normal people the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy).

So things have been kinda crazy lately. I've really been struck by how much damage we do with our words. I know a couple of people who are practically at war with each other over a whole "he said, she said" issue. And it is driving me nuts, partially because it is over something totally meaningless and partially because there is nothing I can do about it. I find that when I get frustrated like that, writing helps. I actually wrote this a little while ago, but it really has a lot of meaning now. And yes, the title is a play on "The War of the Worlds." But no fear, Tom Cruise isn't in it ;D.

Oh the discord of argument
A bitter melody, cold fire
The breaking of the world
On the tongue of humanity
A scourge on the soul,
A deep bite forced by unruly emotion
Fighting as a release
Deep pain, shallow irritation
Personalities clashing
The battlefield erupts in flame
Bullets whizz overhead
Spit off the tongues of the spiteful
Dear Jesus, what have we done?
You tell us to love
To act as we would have on us
Instead we dig trenches
Lines in our brows that mar our face
We cry out to You "Holy!"
And tell You of our love
We cry to our brothers curses
And flail them with our words
This is our hipocracy
We need to find Your love

Michael
________________________________

By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

1st Day

2006-12-12T12:45:00.001-05:00

"On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me/ A partridge in a pear tree..."

Did you know that The Twelve Days of Christmas was created by Catholics to remind them of certain parts of their faith? Each number of gifts represents a different thing (note: the actual gift has nothing to do with it... just the number). So, as it IS only 12 days till Christmas, I'm going to feature a different gift from the song, as well as any other random thoughts/poems that come to mind :D.

(Note note: I am aware that this is in many ways considered to be mere legend. HOWEVER, the arguements against are not enough to dissuade the persuit of this topic.)

In the song, the part "my true love" refers to God the father. The first gift ("A partridge in a pear tree...") refers to Jesus. This is the easy one... :D

Ciao for now!
Michael
________________________________

By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

Exegit Monumentum Aere Perennius

2006-12-05T16:07:00.001-05:00

Exegit Monumentum Aere Perennius

It stands tall and bright
Gleaming in the sun
A true testament
To all that they've done

It stands on a hill
For all to see
The e'er lasting monument
So great and free

But not of gold so bright
Nor iron thats strong
Is this statue made
But what lasts long

For the things of this world
Will perish in time
But what lives on is
More precious than rhyme

The love that was shown
Led a soul to the Lamb
And for that great act
So thankful I am

And 'tis in that thought
This tower is meant
A monument of souls
Lasting longer than time spent

Michael
________________________________

By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

Weekend(ers)

2006-12-03T14:56:00.000-05:00

So, this weekend was the weekend of birthday parties. I went to two of them, back to back. It was fun, albeit sometimes random... I love parties. I can't lie. There is something in the infectious-ly energetic and excited atmosphere that just makes me go nuts. I THRIVE on that kind of energy... but it is also that I just love hanging out with my friends. They are really one of the most important groups in my life.

Party no. 1: HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY!!!

So I was very excited for this birthday party, esp. seeing as I hadn’t seen/hung out with Emily in, oh, almost a year (if you don’t count maybe five minutes in the summer…). Note: it isn’t such a hot idea to not hang with people for that long. So it was very fun, tho a bit chaotic… and I showed up on time (aka a half hour late…). We made cookies, which was über fun and watched Tomb Raider (avert your eyes boys!!! lol Sarah). Certain people played “connect-the-freckles” on my arms (*cough cough Seana and Bethany, cough cough*), WHICH by the way took 20 minutes to get off… and I saved Seana from bigger people (again lol). It was just overall a blast. I love these guys and it is always fun to hang with them.

Party no. 2: HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETER!!!

I knew even before I showed up that this party was going to be a riot. And I wasn’t disappointed. From playing keep-it-up with a balloon (200 odd hits, and there were some intense saves due to challenging obstacles…) to punching bags (and punching Brocks) to some very cool conversations with Brock, it was F-U-N. And we played that most Canadian game in the most Canadian way possible: Road hockey in the dark with three hockey sticks, two goalie sticks, a broom and a rake. Oh yeah, is that dedication to the game or what?? That was quickly followed up with a game of basket ball (in which the Holy Cross bwoyz were flattened…lol) and then hot chocolate and marshmallows by the fire. We had some neat conversation there on the topic of religion. Brock was the only one there who wasn’t a Christian, but he had some very interesting things to say. It was good, and most importantly, it wasn’t a hostile, shove-our-faith-down-your-throat kind of talk. I can only hope that we in some way managed to plant some kind of seed.

I would post pics, but my camera is severely lacking in the department of batteries, so I don’t have any.

Ciao for now!

Michael
________________________________

By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

Drowning

2006-11-28T18:36:00.000-05:00

Pain hidden behind a mask of mirth
Unable to convey emotion
The truth behind the façade
Masked by twin mirrors that darken the view

Going through life like a zombie
Shallow relationships digging short in the well of life
Conditioned to hold back
Never trusting, never trusted

Consumed by a dream
The dream becomes reality
Reality the desire of the dreamer
A mind in chaos tortured by the dream

Succumbing to its pressure
Collapsing to its control
Reality calls, but the dreamer hears not
And turns to destructive friend the dream

Laboring through the vicious circle
Mind and emotions burned
The dreamer cries out for escape and healing
As he drowns under the dream

But suddenly loving arms enfold him
Pulling him up from the deadly waters
And in those arms release is found
As his Savior whispers “I love you”

And in that promise new ground is broken
A desert heart cracked
Revealing founts of life
Which flood the thirsty garden of the soul

And in that garden the dreamer walks
Hand in hand with those he loves
Forever in the embrace
Of the one who redeemed his life.

Michael
________________________________

By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

I Have A Dream...

2006-11-23T17:48:00.000-05:00

Four simple words started a speech that changed the world. Said by a man that was out to change the world as he knew it. Changing the world is a goal often attributed to people who did great things, people who defied the box they lived in, who fought for freedom, truth, and the like. They are great people, Met by cheering crowds and adoring followers.

However, therein lies a problem. By putting these people up on a pedestal, we begin to think that there is no way we (the "normal" populace) can do the same. But when you really start to think about it, these people are "normal" to (note: normal is in quotes because who can say what normal really is?) I mean, who was Oprah way back when? A nobody. Bill Gates? He was (no offence Bill) just a tech geek with bad hygene. - (I would use Nelson Mandela, but he's special...) - Albert Einstein, George Washington, Chris Columbus, Lester Pearson, even Hitler in his own sick and twisted way... none of them were born any greater than any of us. They just took hold of a vision and ran with it. Some changed the world accidentally, some on purpose, and some in a way they weren’t aiming for. At the same time, the things they did were big enough to launch them into the limelight.

These well known “world changers” and their deeds aren’t unique. The world is changed every day, on a constant basis, but most of the time in ways that wouldn’t register on the Richter scale of world events. But those actions are like ripples on the water, or the beginning of a run of dominoes. Events can be set in motion that can get bigger and bigger as time goes on.

I heard a great example of this on The Rest of The Story with Paul Harvey a little while ago. Bear with me, as my memory is a little sketchy about all the details, but I’ll give you the rough outline. The story was about a young adult in the States who basically played chaperone for his friends. More importantly, he was a Christian. It came to pass that there was a tent revival in a nearby town (thus dating the story) and this guy (I forget his name, so I’ll call him Demetrius) decides to invite some of his friends to go. After much coercing, he manages to convince some of his friends to go. Well, one guy in particular goes and is totally affected and transformed by what he hears. Even in that, Demetrius has totally changed the world. But here is where the ripples come in to play. The guy’s name? You may recognize it, because it is the name of one of the biggest evangelists in Christendom today. Billy Graham. You want to talk world changing or what??!? And it was kicked off by the small action of Demetrius inviting his friend out. Wow.

All this leads up to one question: How? How do we actually go about changing the world? I think in the end it all comes back to leadership. I’ve already written about leadership, so I won’t beat a dead horse (or bet on one…lol, Relient K). But I will say that leadership can really be broken down into setting an example and the kind of example you set. So, how do you change the world? Through the actions you make and the example you set. After that, the ripples are in God’s hands.

On Doctor Who the other night the Doctor stated that “every man has the ability to change the world. I totally believe that. I have a dream… to change the world.

Are you in?

Michael

By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

CHRISTMAS!!!

2006-11-06T16:26:00.000-05:00

Who loves Christmas? I love Christmas!!! And as long as my computer avoids blowing up again, I'll get to keep talking about it! Snow seems to have this exciting Christmas-y affect on me (xcept for after Christmas, when it seems to have this very exciting snowboarding-y (lol) affect on me), and we have just recently had lots of SNWO!!! I'm so excited I can't even spell straight!!! YAY! Relient K's Relient Christmas has become a permanent part of my music playlist, tho I have to be careful who I play it around, aka "LOOK OUT! NON CHRISTMAS-Y FEELING PEOPLE APPROACHING!!!" Hehe... I'm actually so stoked, altho my wishlist is quite short... just some CD's actually. BUT SOME FREAKING SWEET CD's. aka, new Newsboys, Skillet, and a plethora of others. (I really like that word...plethora...). AND, Switchfoot's new CD come out on Boxing Day!!! *excited*
But I must remember to keep it all in context... losing sight of the real reason behind Christmas would be total anathema (I like that word too...). So, as we get closer, don't get so wrapped up in the decorations and trees and tinsel (I love it so) and lights and Santa that you forget about a little baby. In the words of Dr. Seuss's Grinch, "Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

Michael

Computer woes

2006-11-04T20:20:00.000-05:00

"If you ask me, the worst thing about PCs is that things go wrong more often than Ben Affleck makes bad career choices" - Kirk Steers, PC World

Ain't that the truth...

Michael
________________________________

By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

What's in a name?

2006-10-23T18:30:00.000-04:00

There are two types of crisis that we tend to go through as humans, an identity crisis usually when we are in our teens and a mid-life crisis when we reach middle age. I never expected to go through either, but that could well have been a part of my teenage arrogance…lol. So maybe that is why my identity crisis took me by surprise. My anthropology (etc.) textbook says that an identity crisis has two questions attached to it: “Who am I?” and “What is my purpose in life?” Tough questions to answer indeed.

I have many names, depending on who you are. No, that does not mean that I change how I act depending on the company I am in, it just means that I have been introduced to certain people by different names. If you have grown up with me, I am most often called Michael or Mike. At camp, I am Flippy. Depending on my friends, you may get different names. I have a short list of people that can call me one particular name, but I won’t get into that…

But the point is, none of that makes me me. If I wrap myself up in my name, what happens when I get a label I don’t like? Do I let my labels control me? Does that make sense? If I move past that, who I am becomes based on my relationships, especially my greatest relationship, the one I have with Christ. Then, who I am becomes what He wants me to be.

Following that thread, figuring out my purpose becomes a little easier. If I let Christ direct who I am, then I already have several purposes to fulfill. The next step is figuring out how to work at these.

Michael

By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

Terry Fox Run

2006-10-13T16:39:00.000-04:00

DO IT FOR TERRY!!!
Ahh, how that rings in my ears...a day later. Yes, yesterday was the Terry Fox Run and IT WAS AWESOME!!! I had a blast of a time! It was great, our school raised $19,150 for the Run and the James Fund for Neuroblastoma. It's great... we are staying fairly consistent as a school, we raised about the same amount last year. Just another example of how a little goes a long way, how every bit we add can make a world of a difference.

It was also a great time to hang out with my friends from other schools. I love when I can get together with them and just hang out. It was funny, me and P-Biddy were just wandering around trying to find people when I got a brilliant idea: "Hey, if I yell out MARCO do you think they'll yell back POLO?" It was really just a stupid idea, I mean what are the odds, but we gave it a try and... shock! horror! People showed up!! I laughed about that for at least five minutes... :D. Anyway, it was a truly great time... friends find fun fast.

Michael
By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

Emo Me...

2006-10-10T17:28:00.000-04:00

EMO ME!!!!
My school is getting to me...

This picture makes me laugh.

Summer

2006-10-07T16:13:00.000-04:00

The golden sun in the morning
A warm breeze
An early morning walk
Fade like the mist

Camp with its kids
Golden laughter
The song of bannas
Memories mere echoes

Brilliant sunsets
Time with friends
Discovery
Set as prematurely as the sun
With oncoming winter

And so it ends
As frost bites the flowers
Black clad in sorrow
We bid you adieu
Goodbye summer, we shall miss you

Michael
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

RE:Discover

2006-09-12T08:32:00.000-04:00

This summer was a time of real rediscovery of myself and who I really am. I went through periods where I was feeling ever emotion I think a person can possibly have. Fear, depression, happiness, sadness, joy, et. al. It was a really eye opening time, and I discovered that through all these emotions, God was there with me. It is really humbling to realise that as insignificant as I am on a universal scale, the Creator of everything cares about how I feel. Its simply amazing. It was also really interesting because I started writing poetry again. I love poetry and the freedom it gives to express how you feel, so much of the poetry I write now has been influenced by my summer. SO, if I start randomly posting poetry, you now know the reason :).

Walk good,
Michael
-----------------------
By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

(Non) Ignoring

2006-03-09T19:43:00.000-05:00

I have to apologise for not posting for a looooooong time. School has been hectic and my life after school even more so... I live a crazy life. Now that March Break is here I would try and catch up, but I'm going to Tennessee and I won't be able to get to a CPU (prob.) so the blog will be silent once again. But I will see what I can do when I get back.

Anyway, just a parting thought; the difference between a leader and a non-leader is that the non-leader will talk about something meaningful (ex. bullying) but will shy away when they can do something about it because they are afraid (of what others will think, about the self reprocussions, it's just scary, etc.). The leader will fight the fear and step up. Everyone has a little leadership in them... let it out! Make someone who always seems depressed smile, or hang out with the "losers". It's a world-changing idea. Go for it!

Michael

Hey!

2006-02-10T14:26:00.000-05:00

KK, I know I haven't updated in a while, but I've been quite busy. First there were exams, a free-time minefield filled with studying and the eventual writing of said exams... followed by a period of Sr. High Retreat. Which was awesome. Now we are into the season of Second Semester and the workload is already high... I think I'm dead.

Michael

Wierd Typing Habits

2006-01-25T11:35:00.000-05:00

Hi...

Ok, so I recently discovered that I have this kind of habit of going off in the little...little(looking for the term)...(not finding a good one) the tripple dot thing. It's like when I talk, I go off into my own little world sometimes and just trail off...... Like that..

Michael

Good things can come in forwards!

2006-01-18T14:20:00.000-05:00

Cool, so this is a forward that I got today (or so) among the mess of mail I had after being parted from the internet for a while... I thought it was pretty good... so I thought I would pass it on.

Michael

srry if it is a repeat if I already forwarded it to you!

Ask yourself the question if "you would run" after you read this!!!

Imagine this happening to you...
One Sunday morning during service, a 2,000 member congregation was surprised to see two men enter, both covered from head to toe in black and carrying submachine guns.

One of the men proclaimed, "Anyone willing to take a bullet for Christ remain where you are."

Immediately, the choir fled... (assuming we're all on retreat this weekend)

The deacons fled...

And most of the congregation fled....

Out of the 2,000 there only remained around 20.

The man who had spoken took off his hood...
He then looked at the priest and said "Okay Father,

I got rid of all the hypocrites...

Now you may begin Mass.
Have a nice day!"

And the two men turned and walked out.

TOO DEEP TO NOT PASS ON...

*Funny how simple it is for people to trash God, and then wonder why the world is in the condition it is today....

*Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says...

*Funny how everyone wants to go to heaven... provided they do not have to believe, think,
say, or do anything the Bible says.

Or is it scary?

*Funny how someone can say "I believe in
God"...

But still Follow Satan (who, by the way, also "believes" in God).

*Funny how you can send a thousand 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread
like wildfire...

But when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, you think twice about sharing.

*Funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene pass freely through
cyberspace...

But the public discussion of Jesus is suppressed in the school and work place.

*Funny, isn't it? Funny how someone can be so fired up
for Christ on Sunday...

But be an invisible Christian the rest of the week.

Are you laughing?

*Funny how when you go to forward this message...
you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure
what they believe... or what they will think of you for sending it.

*Funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me...
... than what God thinks of me.

Are you thinking?

Will you share this with people you care about?
Or not? I picked you. May the Lord bless you and keep you,
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you,
And be gracious to you; May the Lord lift up His favour upon you
And give you His peace

Think About It

2006-01-01T15:59:00.001-05:00

Showbread - "Matthias Replaces Judas"

It is so that my transgressions have born a withered fruit,
The sun has scorched the rising plans;
Alas they have no root, the bleached bones of animals bound by leather strips,
Dance through the air with laughter as I wield this wicked whip.

As you did warn me carpenter, this world has weakened my heart,
So easily I disparage, self-seeking the work of my art,
And there you have come to me at the moment I bathe in my sorrow,
So in love with myself, sought after avoiding tomorrow,
Where do you find the love to offer he who betrays you?
And offer to wash my feet as I offer to disobey you,
Your beauty does bereave me, and how my words do fail,
So faithfully and dutifully I award you with betrayal.

The weak and the down trodden fall on broken legs,
As I walk past a smile I cast, fervor in my stead,
But my bones like plastic, do buckle backward now,
I lay in this field by Judas and anticipate the plow,
I can not be forgiven; my wages will be paid,
For those more lovely and admirable is least among the saved,
And where would I fit Jesus?
What place is left for me?
The price of atonement is more than I've found to offer up as my plea.

Jesus my heart is all I have to give to you, so weak and so unworthy,
This simply will not do, no alabaster jar, no diamond in the rough,
For your body that was broken, how can this be enough?
By me you were abandoned, by me you were betrayed,
Yet in your arms and in your heart forever I have stayed
Your glory illuminates my life, and no darkness will descend,
For you have loved me forever, and your love will never end.

Michael

Happy New Year!

2005-12-31T19:48:00.000-05:00

What is up everybody? How was your Christmas? Excelent I do hope. For me, it was extremely insaneo hectic, what with visiting family and whatnot. Man, this year the usual family trip to Ajax for our big family get together took three days. It was crazy. Anyway, I just wanted to drop a line and wish y'all a happy New Year. Have fun, and if your of age (and want to), be sure you drink responsibly and have a designated driver. Just looking out for you!

Michael

Christmas is right around the corner

2005-12-22T11:56:00.000-05:00

Ok, so today is the 22nd, the eve of the eve of Christmas eve. The insanity is mounting as we struggle to finish whatever Christmas shopping we have left. (I personally am not finished...) Meanwhile, we who still are struggling to get through the long school hours are slowly counting the seconds. In the midst of all this chaos, please remember the real reason for the season. It is difficult, considering the ammount of junk around us, but we can do it.

Michael

3 days!!

To Xmas or not to Xmas, that is the question

2005-12-19T17:09:00.000-05:00

Ok, so at the top of the hill by my house there is a church. And beside that chuhrch is a rent-a-sign that the church puts little messages, advertising, on. The current message starts something like this. "No Xmas here." A short message, but one that packs a lot of meaning. They say that "Xmas" is supposed to be an abreviation on Xristos, which was the Greek word for Christ, and so on, but really it is a way of taking CHRIST out of CHRISTmas. Sure you could argue that it is politically correct (but is it really? I mean with all those other unpolitically correct things around...) but a lot of the religious holidays (I guess I can say that considering how secularized Christmas has become) are copying themes from Christmas. (Menorah tree anyone?). Anyway, taking Christ out of Christmas is like having Cookie Monster without a cookie. Unthinkable.

Merry christmas.

Michael

ps. somehow this took me over a week to write. srry!

Are You Excited?

2005-12-05T11:41:00.000-05:00

Hey oh!

'tis December 5th and the Christmas Season is upon us. The Advent candles are out and we are supposed to be reflecting on the meaning of the season. Helped out of course by the advertising moguls of our media saturated culture who are intent on getting us to buy their products. Its sad really. I wonder if the Magi thought that thi gifts would start a trend of saturating people with advertising to convince them to spend, spend, spend. Christ's selfless act of giving himself to His creation, while generally associated with Easter, can also be taken into account during the Christmas season. Christmas is a celebration of Christ's coming, one of the many things He did to save us. This season we should be giving of ouselves to do smething to help those around us. Whether it is shoveling your neighbour's driveways or giving o food drives, or even caroling, we can and need to change our perspective from the "me, me, me" season Christmas has become to the "you, you, you" season it should be. J.O.Y.

merry CHRISTmas

Michael

Took Me Long Enough

2005-11-23T11:40:00.000-05:00

O.k, so I have slight issues with keeping this thing going. I haven't updated in a while, but it I have been like megatotallyinsanely busy, so I haven't been able to update or get on to do anything. Such are the woes of a grade ten student......

However, I should have something to say.... I dunno....... how about ":Don't try to update your blog in the short ammout of time allotted for lunch break @ skool

I apologise to those (though most likely few) who have been waiting (pro. not) for me to update.

shoot! bell's gone. g2g;

Michael

2005-11-18T09:27:00.000-05:00

SNOW!!!!!! IT'S TERRIBLY, AWESOMELY EXCITING!!!!!! I'M SO HAPPY!!!!! SnOw!!! w00t!

I need to settle down.

Michael

From the Reaches of Science Boredom

2005-11-03T18:06:00.000-05:00

Currently reading: Philippians 2:12-18

I have had Philipians 2:14 stuck in my head for a couple of years now. 'Y know, something to remind myself when asked to do something I didn't necessarily want to do. But I neve really looked at the section as a whole... when I came across it I would be like "Whoa! Already know it," and move on. But today I stopped and took a good read. And it really got me thinking, in particular the beginning. The words Paul wrote over a thousand years ago are still totally true today. I mean, look around. We live in a world filled with murder, hate, war, all forms of abuse, witchcraft... and in a culture that glorifies substance abuse, premarital sex, adultery, rebellion... and the list goes on. Ours is a chaotic world and it just gets worse. I mean, take porn. Soon almost anyone will be able to access porn on their iPods and cell phones. (Check out www.battlecry.com and www.xxxchurch.com for more info.) And all the while the people of our generation are being told that it's ok and that the world is getting better for us.... almost unbelieveable.

This is where we come in. As Christians we are called to be different (Romans 12:2) to be "children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation,in which you shine like stars in the universe, "(Philippians 2:15). But none of us are good enough to do anything on our own. It would be like trying to get a mud stain out with oil. But with God's help... its a different story. If we fully rely on God, we can make a change and bring light into this dark world. It's tought to do sometimes. "'They will fight against you,'" says the first part of Jeremiah 1:19. But as the second part shows that "'[they] will not over come you, for I am with you and will rescue you,' declares the Lord." The enemies we face today are no different from the ones Paul and the early church faced, they just come in different packaging and use different methods. And as we plant the seeds in our peers and watch God work, we can rejoice with Paul as we watch the world change.

Michael

WOOT!WOOT!

2005-11-02T11:56:00.000-05:00

Hurray for first posting! I've put off doing this for sooooooo long. (Both the posting and the making of this bloggythinggy).

ohhh....man...... I'm so sore though....
*Why Mike?*
Some serious moshing in the pit of doom at the toronto stop of the Panic With a K tour of course. MxPx and Relient K. In a show together. Can you blame the crowd for going wild? My neck was killing me. I think I have whiplash..... mebbe not...

Area 314 is online. Awesome.

Michael