Friday, February 25, 2011

Midterms

Well, I just went through one of the longest weeks of any semester: midterms week, which also happened to be the week before Spring Break.

I wish I would have had this earlier in the week :p

But now I'll have more time to write stuff! :D I want to do a post about the Invisible Children Tony documentary I saw on Tuesday, but I don't feel like it at the moment. Perhaps tomorrow? I need sleeps.


I'll leave you with some Imogen Heap. My roommate got me in to her a few months ago and she's been growing on me ever since.


Until next time.......


zzzzzzzz.......

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Hello again, Invisible Children.

I don't particularly care how you want to interpret that title. Completely open to whatever emphases or anything you want to put into that ;P Anyways, sorry for not writing in so long. I thought I wouldn't have a very busy week last week, and it ended up being quite busy, although some of that was my own doing. Some of that business I will probably discuss later, but for now I'm in the mood to do a post on the Invisible Children, another of my favorite charity organizations. My college is showing the newest documentary from IC on Tuesday night and I'm super pumped to see it :D


Invisible Children was founded in 2003 when a group of people went to Africa in search of a story to tell. When they found the atrocities there (which I did mention before in my post about Falling Whistles) they realized they had to do something about it; and they decided to use the skills they already possessed to do so.  Their first film "The Rough Cut" began to get the word out about the plight of these child soldiers, who receive no new coverage ordinarily. They are slain, raped, tortured every day for and by Joseph Kony and his cronies and it needs to be put to an end. If we raise enough awareness and passion in the world, we can pass resolutions to help those suffering and hinder Kony.


Already progress has been made in such matters, but we still have a long way to go. The Invisible Children's blog (http://blog.invisiblechildren.com/) is both interesting and comprehensive in that it both depicts relevant and/or interesting pop culture news, but it also details IC's journey through Washington D.C. and such.

This is another charity that I love but have not yet been able to support. I very much hope to do so in the future- they have some fantastic merchandise! Purchasing many of their products not only directly helps the destitute in Africa, but it can also help anyone to spread IC's word better!



They have a number of documentaries detailing the lives of the children affected by the war in the Congo. Sharing these documentaries is another fantastic way of spreading the word. I have seen the documentary for Innocent, whose tragic life may soon be filled with hope and great prospects thanks to Invisible Children. The new one that I am looking forward to seeing on Tuesday is called Tony.

Thank you for reading, and please learn more about The Invisible Children at http://www.invisiblechildren.com/


Until next time...

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Switchfoot

is a truly amazing band. One of my absolute favorites, and not just for their--often subtle--Christian themes. Their music has always resonated with me even when I first heard them my freshman year of high school. I really don't know how to describe their uniqueness... it must be experienced :D


That's the first song of theirs I ever heard, and it's still one of my favorites by them. Its message is about how difficult it is to move on from an accident or tragedy in your life. Jesus dares us to move past our fears and anger, and to join Him in happiness :)

Not only does Switchfoot have amazing messages in their songs, but they're also just plain amazing people. They have canned food drives for at least some, if not all, of the cities they visit, and they're also freaking hilarious :D They release videos like this once in a while:


Well, I better get to bed.
Until next time.... :)

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Soylent Green

is a terrible movie. Don't watch it.


EVER!

:P

Until next time...

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Take-Home Tests


are a true blessing ^_^

And happy birthday to Jules Verne! I have never read anything by him, but he's on my reading list for sure :D


Until next time... seize the day!! :)

Friday, February 4, 2011

"Hope"

I see:
dirt everywhere, 
cleanliness nowhere,
people limping,
people crying,
people dying.

I see:
many hungry children,
few parents,
a lack of plumbing,
a lack of food,
a lack of hope. 

I see
my village
from under the old,
shady, knotted tree.

I hear a new voice.

I see
a new face;
a face full
of sadness, compassion,
hope, clarity, dreams.

She comes over,
speaks haltingly,
yet confidently
in my language.
Says, “I am a nun.
I brought friends 
to help you
and your village.”

The people gather.
They cheer, cry, sing
because of her inspiring words.

She shines, bringing light
for us.

I smile.
Now, I can see.



I wrote this a full two years ago now (WOW!) and I just thought I'd post it. I ended up winning a Diocesan contest with it through my high school, although I never thought it was very good. Even know I'm reading it and thinking of ways I would change it. But I'll keep it the way it is. It's a memory from that time. 


I always imagined the narrator as one of those wizened African tribal men who are really only 40 or 50 years old but look like they're about 100. Most people imagine it's a child though. I just thought it was a or the leader of the village, and he'd seen so much suffering that he almost couldn't bear it anymore. And I imagined him sitting under that same old tree at the same time every day for years and years, just watching his people. A child would not have experienced that much suffering, and a very young child would scarcely be able to imagine a better life, let alone desire it. 


Please feel free to comment your feelings about it or whatever. I love hearing what people have to say about it :) 


Until next time....

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Groundhog Day!

I'm glad I'm not Bill Murray today! ;)


I actually live fairly close to Punxsutawney (close enough to even know how to spell it ;D), and so a lot of people around here head over there to party. I don't really see what the big deal is, but whatever. "To each his own." I just think Phil is cute :D

"It's so fuzzy I'm gonna DIE!!"

My family and I actually used to have a groundhog that lived under our neighbor's porch. He or she was really fat. It probably was a girl haha. My dog would obsess over watching it, and every time we would say to her "Where's the groundhog?!" she would run over to our dining room window, which faces the backyard. She would often attack the window too, to try to get at him. That was always fun. She has scratched up the woodwork around the window in her desperate attempts to get at animals over the years. Do you want to see my dog? Sure ya do:

I loves her :D

She may be rambunctious, but she's the best dog ever! :D She's a Brittany, and her name is Liberty Belle, or Libby for short <3

Well I better go, I have to get some lunch and then head to class. Hope you have/ are having/ will have a lovely day! :)

Until next time....

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Two Hour Delay!

which I feel should have been a cancellation! We were hit by a rather significant ice and freezing rain laden winter storm last night, and the impacts are all over the place now, despite incredible amounts of ice melt and gravel. I've been walking like a penguin all day, and I've had at least 6 near-death experiences (not really).



My college is definitely notorious for not cancelling when it should. What gets me is even my professors, who I know do not live in the area, have not cancelled class either! Oh well, I guess I should be happy that my tuition dollars are still being used today :P haha

I didn't sleep in today because I wanted to go to breakfast with my roommate and our friend. That was when I had about 3 of my dramatic slides on the ice (aka, near death experiences), and so I walked in the snow next to the sidewalk. It's much better out now though.

Well, that's all I really have to say, I suppose. I'm off to dinner! :)

I'll leave you with this:


You may recognize Rhett and Link from one of my first posts. They're awesome! :D

Until next time... :D