The exquisite corpse

The Corpulent Pomegranite jumped the gorgeous Infant who was riding an amazing bicycle. The Infant then anthropomorphized the pretty tree for the blue boy who was running the ugly clock, so that the disastrous Economics would play the long coffee.

Julian's story was the best out of Navid's, Phil's and mine.

College so far

Well guys, it seems this semester is finally winding down. I say finally like it has dragged on. But honestly and truly it doesn't feel like its been going on at all. It seems just like yesterday that I was dreading having to start again. This year has really flown by though! But at the same time that it feels like it was yesterday that school started, it also seems so long ago. Time has become one of those things that is very relative and very out there. I have almost no concept of time anymore. I really don't understand how I always know which classes to go to and what days I work and have karate. Each day seems so long yet the weeks have been flying by. I don't understand it, but that's how life goes sometimes I guess.
I was so scared my first day of college. I really thought it was going to be incredibly tough, but it really hasn't been. There is a lot more freedom. No bells to tell you when to get to class. Most teachers don't give a crap whether or not you do homework, which is great, but sucks really bad too. Calculus isn't hard, but it would be a lot better if I would just study some. It is amazing though how the few times I've done homework that it takes forever to do one section when I don't have a test really soon, but when the test is in an hour, I can do three sections in thirty minutes, and actually grasp most of the concepts. That amazes me. I only wish I could harness that and use it every time.
I still dread history and lit. I think I am gonna hate both of them. All of the business courses seem like they will be pretty easy though. Or at least interesting. I'm kinda iffy about speech class though. It can be fun, but it can also suck. We'll see.

New Orleans, God, and missions

So, we're in college now, right? We're supposed to be figuring out what we're gonna do with our lives. I still have no freakin' clue what I want to do. As a Christian, I'm supposed to let God decide for me (or rather, wait on Him to tell me what He's already decided), which is easier said than done. I would absolutely love to be a missionary of some kind, though admittedly not all kinds of missions appeal to me. This past summer we went to New Orleans to help with Operation N.O.A.H Rebuild (N.O.A.H. stand for New Orleans Area Housing. Catchy name.) and I fell absolutely in love with it. I loved the work we were doing, I loved the city, I loved it! I felt so at home with it. (I just realized that this will also count as my "ah-ha moment" blog, too.) I just kind of felt like, you know, this is what I'm supposed to do with my life. It was amazing! It was awesome to be able to give of ourselves, our time, and our money to go down and help these people who are still in need. We didn't actually get to meet the couple who owned the first house that we worked on, but we did get to meet the owner of the second house. She was the sweetest lady I think I've ever met. She even bought us Pop-eye's, New Orleans style. And it was good. So was a lot of the food we had. We usually ate dinner with the other people who were working with the N.O.A.H. Project, and they would have New Orleans originals for dinner some of the nights, and it was all really good.
Anyway, I would absolutely love to do something like that. Also I wouldn't mind doing something like being a pastor or a youth minister. So right now, unless God changes my mind, which I'm trying to stay really open about, I'm gonna major in MIS (management information systems) and minor in math. I got the idea for MIS from an old manager of mine at Chick-fil-a; he said it would be real useful if I was seriously looking into ministry. He said that churches are a lot like non-profit organizations, and the business aspect of MIS would help a lot, as would the computers aspect of the degree. I wanna minor in math because I've always been really good at math, and if I pursued the ministry career, its possible that I might have to have a second job, and teaching high school math would be a lot of fun for me, or at least I think so right now. So that's me right now, pretty much. I'm still trying to stay open about what I'm doing and am trying to listen to God's voice about what He would have for my life.

Customers and their stupidity/annoyance

So, last night at work, I wasn't the manager in charge, but Hope, who was the CSM for the night, was on break, so I was stuck with answering the phone, which usually isn't all that bad of a thing. But this one lady, who I believe to be German (her last name is Meinbach, and she sounds German) calls and complains about food she got around lunchtime yesterday. She starts complaining about how she got a strip salad, and her chicken strips are all oily. She also said the box her strips came in was oily. I don't have a problem believing the box got oily, or even that the strips were slightly greasy (though that is highly unlikely as well, they are usually on the dry side whenever I get them), but she said that there was oil running down her hand when she picked them up. I have never heard of that happening at Chick-fil-a before. Our chicken is never oily or greasy that I know of. Or at least not to the point of it running down your hand. And then she started dogging our Mexicans that work for us in the kitchen (that's why it was important that I mentioned that I'm pretty sure she's German). I wanted to yell at her. Our Mexicans rock. She went on some rant about how people who aren't from the United States don't realize that we have health problems and about how they don't care about following the rules that we have. Then she mentioned something about I would probably recognize her because she comes up here a lot. Sadly I know exactly who she is, and I always hate having to help her. It takes like 15 minutes to finish helping her, and I've yet to figure out why. She always order's a couple of kid's meals with no salt on the fries, and then usually complains that something isn't warm enough, or something like that. I told her, "Yes ma'am, I recognize your...", then she starts talking over me, as if I don't matter any. I ended up spending 10 minutes on the phone with her. It drove me crazy! I wanted to go off on her when she started being racist against our Mexicans. Seriously, they're awesome. Oh well, that's my rant for today.

Random English stuff

Playing music is like drugs. Playing music is like drugs in that playing good music feels good, and so does doing drugs, or so I’m told, at least.

Interpretive Conclusion: My list of things I believe in and strongly like is evidence of my faith in Christ Jesus, and the talents and hobbies I have in Him, with just a hint of pride in the car I drive that I love.

5 causes 3

People who think that churches only need to have traditional music cause homosexuality because they get rebellious against the church, the church as a whole (or at least it should be) is against homosexuality, they become homosexuals in order to spite the church, so to speak.

2nd annual RBKI Championship

So, I had another karate tournament yesterday, this one being at my church, where I take karate. (We have a karate ministry at church. It might sound really strange to have a karate 'ministry'. We are required to memorize scripture for each belt, and we associate each belt with one of the Fruits of the Spirit, found in Gal 5:22-23. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control; against such things there is no law." We use are physical skills as an outreach to demonstrate what God has done in us. And if you're thinking we're a bunch of Bible-thumping pansy's who think we take karate, you're sadly mistaken. We have one of the most comprehensive systems around. ATA Tae Kwon Doe, unless I'm mistaken, learn nine forms by they time they're black belt. We learn twenty-two. Not to mention we have Robert Blackstone as an instructor. That name probably doesn't mean a whole lot to you, but he's one of the best around, if not the best.) We had some of the most intense competition that I've ever seen. A lot more than the last tournament I competed in. I brought home two 2nd place medals, in forms and weapons, and one 3rd place in sparring. Every division was decided with about 6 tenths of a point, from 1st place to 5th in some divisions. I was beaten for first both times by 2 tenths of a point. That's how good we all were. And though I toke 3rd out of three in sparring, that was the most fun I've had in sparring. Talk about hard-core fighting. We had one tie in the younger divisions (who are surprisingly good, I'm glad they weren't in my division), and both were extremely awesome. Overall we had an incredibly good time, and I believe God was glorified through our sportsmanship and friendship.

Reader Response Essay

Matt Williams

Wendy

English 1010

October 18, 2007

Reader Response Essay

In Sanders’ essay “Under the Influence”, he describes his childhood, and how it was ravaged by his father’s alcoholism. He tells us about how he and his family never mention to anyone about how his father was a drunk, but always remain silent about it. He tells us his father’s dry spells, which were when Sanders’ sister was born, and how “the shock of fatherhood sobered him.” (Sanders 741) and he stayed sober until they moved to Ohio in 1951. “There I turned six and started school and woke into a child’s flickering awareness, just in time to see my father begin sneaking swigs in the garage.” (Sanders 741) Sanders goes on to describe how his father almost dies, and is warned by the doctors to stop drinking or the next binge will kill him. He takes what they say to heart, and doesn’t touch the stuff for fifteen years. Then after he has retired, he is offered a beer by the people helping him move, and he gets back into drinking, and it eventually kills him.

Right off the bat Sanders gets my attentions as he talks about his father. “He drank as a gut-punched boxer gasps for breath, as a starving dog gobbles food—compulsively, secretly, in pain and trembling.” (Sanders 733) Here I see just how badly Sanders’ father drank. I see the boxer gasping for breath, and I also see that hungry dog, and his analogy makes a distinct point in my mind, that his father was as addicted to alcohol as I am to oxygen. I start to realize the pain Sanders went through as a child, and I start to sympathize and feel bad for him. I also get the impression that this is not going to be a particularly happy, joy-filled essay. I get the impression that Sanders is both hurt and angry: hurt from a father who was not always himself, who wasted both time and money to the drink, and angry that his father acted how he did towards him and his family.

Throughout his childhood, Sanders remembers when he and his siblings would watch their father get out of the car once he got home from work and stager up to the house and into his overstuffed chair and fall asleep. “All evening, until our bedtimes, we tiptoe past him, as past a snoring dragon.” (Sanders 733) Here I see their fear of waking him up and feeling his wrath. He awakens the image in my mind of Harry Potter flying around a dragon trying to steal an egg out from its nest in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. With such imagery even I get fearful for him, memory or not. Once Sanders’ father finally awakened, he and his wife would argue, ending in the wife fleeing to the bedroom weeping, which leaves the father to rummage through the house. “Whatever my brother and sister and mother may be thinking on their own rumpled pillows, I lie there hating him, loving him, fearing him, knowing I have failed him.” (Sanders 734) Here I imagine a confused little boy, not knowing quite what to think, quite what to feel, wishing that there was something that he could do to make his father better, and thinking it was his fault why his father drinks.

Throughout the essay, I get the feeling that Sanders is writing this essay with a feeling of sorrow. “In a matter of minutes, the contents of a bottle could transform a brave man into a coward, a buddy into a bully, a gifted athlete and skilled carpenter and shrewd businessman into a bumbler. No dictionary of synonyms for drunk would soften the anguish of watching our prince turn into a frog.” (Sanders 735) The word choice that Sanders uses here paints us the picture of someone becoming their opposite: the courageous man turn tail, friend turned enemy, the successful businessman turned into a bum, prince turned into frog. Here Sanders relates to us how he was deprived of his father throughout his childhood.

Throughout the essay I feel a sense of anger towards those who supply alcohol. “Because the Mom and Pop who ran the dump were neighbors of ours, living just down the tar-blistered road, I hated them all the more for poisoning my father. I wanted to sneak in their store and smash the bottles and set fire to the place. I also hated the Gallo brothers. . . I noted the Gallo brothers’ address . . . because I meant to go out there and tell Ernest and Julio what they were doing to my father, and then, if they showed no mercy, I would kill them.” (Sanders 737) I can definitely feel Sanders’ anger, and a lot of it. He uses a lot of passion while imagining how he wants to punish those who have caused his father to lose his right self. I can understand his anger, and I also understand his passion in his hatred, because he loves his father, but hates the drunken version of him.

Sanders lets us in on his religious views some, or at least how he was raised. “Our neighborhood was high on the Bible, and the Bible was hard on drunkards.” (Sanders 737) He lets us know here that he was raised in church, and was exposed to the Bible. “‘Wine and new wine take away the understanding.’ declared the prophet Hosea. We had also seen evidence of that in our father, who could multiply seven-digit numbers in his head when sober, but when drunk could not help us with fourth grade math.” (Sanders 738) I get the impression that Sanders believes this statement from the Bible, and I agree with him in that belief. “Bible and sermons and hymns combined to give us the impression that Moses should have brought down from the mountain another stone tablet, bearing the Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not drink.” (Sanders 738) I get the impression from this quote from Sanders’ essay that he cannot stand drunkards, and once again, I find myself and my values re-enforced by the essay.

Sanders goes on to talk about a story from the New Testament. “The scariest and most illuminating Bible story apropos of drunkards was the one about the lunatic and the swine.” (Sanders 738) The story he is referring to is about a demon-possessed man, who is possessed by multiple demons, who could not be bound by any chains, and who hurt himself with stones in the graveyard. When Christ sent the demons away, they asked permission to go into the swine. “But I thought of the redeemed lunatic, who bathed himself and put on clothes and calmly sat at the feet of Jesus, restored—so the Bible said—to ‘his right mind’” (Sanders 738) Sanders takes this Bible story and relates it to his father. While the man was not a drunk, but was demon-possessed, the same concept of being out of ‘his right mind’ applies. He even goes so as to believe that his father was possessed by demons. I can see from his thoughts that his father might be demon-possessed that he clearly thinks that alcohol is evil, and the drunkenness is a grievous evil.

Towards the end of the essay, Sanders lets us know how he feels about social drinking. “I still shy away from nightclubs, from bars, from parties where the solvent is alcohol.” (Sanders 744) I get the impression that he is against drinking for the sake of entertainment, for the sake of fun. He is afraid that he will become like his father, and he does not have any wish to do so. But he isn’t against drinking entirely, which confuses me. “I still do—once a week, perhaps, a glass of wine, a can of beer, nothing stronger, nothing more. I listen for the turning of a key in my brain.” (Sanders 744) Here Sanders admits to drinking, but I get the impression that it is almost as if drinking is compulsory for him, which is why I am confused. I do think part of why he drinks once a week is so that he will not be tempted to go on a binge if he is denied (whether or not he denies himself of it) alcohol. But he is cautious, which leads me to believe he is a very wise and cautious man. He always makes sure he doesn’t hear that key click which opens the door to his second version or self.

Throughout various places in the essay, I am affected emotionally. Sometimes I fell pity, sympathy and sorrow by the pain a young boy feels at the thought that it is his fault his father drinks (“I was flung back into boyhood, acting as though my father would not drink himself to death if only I were perfect” [Sanders 743] ). At other times I feel anger and hatred when Sanders describes how he would love to burn down the store and kill the Gallo brothers. Mainly I feel sorrow for this boy who had to go through life with only half a father.

Bottles

When I hear the word "bottles" I think of two things, typically: baby bottles and liquor bottles. I usually think of baby bottles more often, because my oldest brother has five kids and my cousin has five kids as well. But every now and then I think of liquor bottles, because I have a friend whose wife struggles with drinking, and I have some friends who drink as well.
Drinking (responsibly, at least) is not bad in and of itself. Unless you are out drinking uncontrollably and getting drunk all the time, drinking can be ok. But you have to be careful with it. you shouldn't drink around those who struggle with it as an addiction. Doing so would tempt and encourage said alcoholic to drink. But , as it does cause problems, it would be wise not to dink at all. It would be better not to risk getting drunk, getting addicted, or encouraging someone else to drink.
When I hear the word "bottles" I think of the time when one of my co-workers bought some liquor for one of out other co-workers, the buyer being twenty-one and the receiver being eighteen. I'm also reminded of when I was called naive and innocent at work because I did not know what some of drinks were that they were talking about. I'm reminded still fo the story of David and Bathsheeba. David gets Bathsheeba pregnant while Uriah, her husband, was at war. David then calls Uriah back so that Uriah will go home to his wife and David won't get caught. Uriah instead sleeps with the guards at the foot of the castle. David then decides to get Uriah drunk so that he will go home to his wife, but even when he's drunk he won't go home to his wife. He didn't think it was fair for him to go lay with his wife while his fellow country men were still out on the battlefield fighting. In the end, David has Uriah killed in battle and takes Bathsheeba as his own wife. He ends up grieving the whole 9 months of the pregnancy and loses the baby. Nathan the prophet rebukes David after all of this.

Abuse

The bedroom scene where David's sister is thrown against the wall hits somewhat close to home. There is a little girl and boy at church who are going through a similar situation. Their parents are divorced, and momma has a boyfriend, who is abusive. Yet there is silence. The mom will not report the boyfriend, most likely out of fear that no one else will "love" her, so she chooses the abuse over loneliness, even though it hurts her and her children.

Frustration

I can get so frustrated at times, whether it is with myself, objects or tools, or other people. When I clean the pool, and the vacuum decides it wants to stop working and mess up, I get angry and frustrated with it (though admittedly its human error a lot of the time) and want to just stop before I get even angrier and end up breaking it in my frustration.
At work, I can get frustrated with my co-workers. I don't care so much about them not working as their being in my way of working. If you're gonna stand around and talk, get out of my way!

Yard Work

As the only guy in my house, I typically (well, always) have to take care of the yard. I am the one who has to mow the lawn, weed-eat, etc. I don't typically edge the yard, though. Momma usually does that, because she does it better than anybody else.
I remember when I was younger and could never finish mowing the lawn in one day, whether or not it was because I was lazy or unskilled. I remember what should have taken about an hour and a half I always managed to stretch into three days. It felt like I was always mowing, and that I never got to do what I wanted because I was always mwoing. I remember those days when I didn't really know how to use a mower, and the days when I couldn't get it to start.

life

So, right now life is both really good and really hectic. I'm working four days out of the school week, which isn't too bad, i'm used to it. I've got a calculus test wednesday and I don't understand half of it. But this weekend is gonna rock! This is a karate tournament I'm competing in saturday, and I'm competing in forms, weapons, and sparring. I'll do really good in forms and weapons, but sparring is just for the fun of it. I'm not the best in the world, but I'm not too shabby. This will be my first open tournament, so I'm excited and nervous at the same time. We've also got our school tournament coming up on the 27th, which is going to be a lot of fun. I've actually got a good shot at making grand champion that day. Depends on how good I do at sparring. One guy I think I can beat, the other I will be really surprised to beat. I should do really good at forms and weapons. My friend Kayce thinks she's gonna beat me at weapons. I laughed at her. Haha. She is good though, so it won't be easy to beat her. But I'm not gonna tell her that. (Unless of course she's reading this. lol)
College isn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be. So far the only hard part is keeping up with the blogs. For the most part, you don't have to do homework. That's great and that stinks really bad. I really need to keep up with my calculus homework so I don't panic each time we have a test. Last test I didn't understand the stuff until the class before the test. Right now I only half understand the stuff. But I've got time to study a lot tomorrow. So I should be good.
Well, if you have made it this far (I know it isn't too far, but still...) congratulate you on not dieing of boredom.

Tragedy and how it Affects Us

Matt Williams

This weekend, Taylor Bradford was shot on campus, and died shortly thereafter. It hasn’t really affected me like it has some people. I didn’t actually know him. It is almost like some distant feeling of sorrow. I’m sad that one of my fellow students has died.

It has affected me, though, in that it has once again shown me just how quickly life can change, and in some cases, end. Most of us take life for granted. We tend to think there will always be a tomorrow. Well, that is not always so, as in Taylor’s case. Life can end, just as abruptly for us as that bug that hits your windshield. It has reminded me to live as if it were my last day, and it has reminded me to let the people I love know that I love them, just in case I don’t get to see them again this side of eternity.

Family, friends and God

So, this past weekend was pretty much amazing. I went up to Jackson, TN saturday to help my sister and husband unpack their stuff in the awesome new house. I mainly help put together bookshelves. I left around lunch time, though, to go hang out with a friend from middle school (I lived in Jackson from 4th grade to Halloween of 9th grade) with, and whom I haven't seen in almost a year. We do lunch at Chick-fil-a, stop by Toys R Us to pick up some gifts cards for some little kids, and walk around Union University (where she goes to school) until 2 so she can show me her dorm. The whole time we're together we're just talking about God and about missions (we both don't really know what God has in store for us as far as life goes, but we both have a heart for missions) and other cool stuff. After I got done hanging out with Shannon, I finished helping my brother-in-law put together the other bookshelves that they had (I actually left while him and my brother were putting together the first one). Throughout the time with Shannon, God just used her to remind me of some stuff that I needed reminding of.
On Sunday, in Sunday School, I was reminded of something else, something that is as awesome as anything else I know. As a Christian, I am an adopted son of God, co-heirs with Christ. According to Roman law, adopted children weren't considered second class, but equals with the other children, having full legal rights to inheritances and property. As an adopted son, I have full rights to everything the Father has. I had forgotten that I am able to tap into God's power, and by doing so overcome these temptations that like to haunt me, so to speak. God is amazing.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

personal evaluation essay

Matt Williams

Wendy

English 1010

October 1, 2007

Self-Evaluation Essay

My first paper was due on the 25 of September, and was a textual analysis essay, 2000 words. So, to start of my incredibly ingenious process, I chose the most interesting to me, Prime Directive, and read it through. A couple of days later, I start to write the essay, and I sit down and read through the essay again, this time with a pen. I underlined anything that I found interesting, cool, thought-provoking, or that I thought would be useful in explaining what I thought Griffith was trying to say in his essay. After I finished reading it, I started writing, and I wrote about the essay chronologically, as that seemed to me to be the easiest way, since I had underlined different quotes throughout the essay. I gave some explanation of the essay, and as I said what I thought Griffith was saying, I used most of the quotes I’d underlined to highlight what I had said.

I think as a writer I started learning to be more expressive of my own opinions. And I mean started. I doubt I am yet as good and expressive as I need to be. As a reader, I don’t know that I changed a whole lot. I think I have started reading assigned texts more analytically, but probably not a whole lot as of yet. I don’t believe that I changed any as a person, though I might be more aware and more disgusted by the things humans can come up with to torture other humans.

I’m not sure yet what I will do differently next time. I haven’t received my paper yet, so I’m not sure where my mistakes are. I might start a little earlier though. While I didn’t skip my other classes for the sole purpose of writing the essay, I would have had to stay up all night to be able to finish it. So, I won’t under estimate how long it will take me to finish a paper next time.

Matt Williams

Wendy

English 1010

September 30, 2007

Journey

So, I’m walking, out of Patterson, towards Central. I’m walking towards my favorite place on campus, the BCM.

I walk into the BCM, say “Hi” to Jeff, and go up into the loft upstairs. The environment immediately starts affecting me, just as it did the first time I came here. There is such a spirit of love in the building. Such a spirit of holiness. Not that any of us is perfect, but that most of us are Christians, believers in the One True God.

I sit and think of my place in the world, how it affects me, and vice versa. The world: it tempts me, tries me, seducing me to sin, again and again. Yet as I sit here, I’m reminded of my Savior’s love for me, and of how He told me “…fear not, I have overcome the world.” I’m reminded of my place in the world. My place is one of those lights in the darkness. I’m a Christian in a secular world, in a secular campus.

Where I’m going in the world, I don’t yet know. I could be a missionary, here in the States, or out in some country. I could be a pastor. I could be a high school math teacher. I have no freaking clue. So, for now, I’m going to go through life, enjoying it, trying to become less and less hypocritical, growing in Christ, searching for my place in this world.

final draft

Matt Williams

Wendy

English 1010

September 25, 2007

Textual Analysis Essay

David Griffith’s Prime Directive is an interesting essay, talking about a multitude of subjects, but bringing them all home to one main theme: human nature. He relates to us a true story of a night in his life: the night before Halloween. He opens up to us using a night in his life, and talks to us about politics and human nature. He uses imagery and familiar figures of speech to make his point and to win us over to his way of thinking.

The structure of Griffith’s essay is just that of a story. He tells the story chronologically. Yet his theme is still expressed strongly, and in an organized way. It is as if he himself is reminded and convinced in the order that he tells, reminds, and convinces us. It flows and makes sense. His tone and attitude throughout the essay is that of a character; a man trying to have a good time and trying to stay away from the house, which exemplifies loneliness. His voice throughout the essay is somewhat humorous, but is mainly serious, as he is bringing up a rather grave and touchy subject.

Griffith opens up on the night before Halloween, telling us about the start to his night. “…the world seems rife with omens.” (Griffith 125) Here he uses foreshadowing, warning us of the upcoming events and things to come. Throughout the essay, he informs us of his night, the parties he goes too, the conversations he participates in, informs of us what the Prime Directive is, and other various things. He appears down-to-earth by trying to relate to us, whether it is by use of cell phones to him mentioning names of popular music artists. “I flip open the cell phone and scroll through my list of contacts; I need company. That’s the genius of the thing—it cuts loneliness.” (Griffith 126) He relates to us, because a lot of us use our phones to keep us company, to find people to talk to, to text message, etc. “I flip open the cell phone; it makes a xylophonic noise; I arbitrarily push buttons to give the appearance that I have official business here.” (Griffith 126) He also uses his phone as a means of escape, showing that people don’t like being caught seemingly out of place; that they want to appear to be important.

Next he opens up some about his home life, letting us know where he’s coming from, while at the same time revealing his guilt and sorrow. “I should be in Indiana helping my wife hang pictures, or raking leaves…” (Griffith 126-7) This lets us know why he is out going to parties instead of being with his family. While he is at a party, discussion arises around Star Trek. They mention the Prime Directive. “The Prime Directive is the moral code that governs the conduct of all Space Federation members; it says that no Star Fleet personnel may interfere with the healthy development of alien life and culture.” (Griffith 127-8) He is still in story mode, but sets up the theme of the essay: politics and human nature. They’ve struck gold! The room erupts with excitement! Griffith uses this to bring home the idea of politics, and to introduce the war in Iraq. “The room erupts—we’ve hit upon something. Star Trek is a morality tale! Someone rattles off the different ethnic backgrounds of the characters—It’s like the United Nations… It’s like trying to introduce democracy to Iraq!” (Griffith 128) Now he has introduced part of his theme, and in a clever way. “There’s a feeling that the Prime Directive will help us to solve this crisis.” (Griffith 128) So, now we know Griffith’s stand on the war; leave them alone to deal with their own problems themselves. Why get involved?

He continues telling about the party, and they continue to talk about the war in Iraq. They mention some confirmed atrocities of the war: Iraqi casualties, no weapons of mass destruction, detainees being held without charge. “But nobody mentions Abu Ghraib.” (Griffith 128) Here he introduces the next theme, human nature.

He leaves this party to go to another party, so he doesn’t have to go home to loneliness. Here he runs into an old friend of his, dressed as none other than army specialist Charles Graner. Here Griffith tells the story of re-enacting the taking of the abominable pictures of the detainees of Abu Ghraib. “He has actually gone through with it, gone beyond the point where rational people turn back, chicken out, shake their heads and laugh it off. It is somehow exhilarating.” (Griffith 133) Griffith here starts talking about rationality and intelligence. He starts the process of stereotyping soldiers, and saying that we’ve all got cruelty inside us. “It was his way of showing that what went on in Abu Ghraib was not a case of ‘a few bad apples,’ but a case of what we’ve all become, what we’re all capable of.” (Griffith 134) Here he points out that we all are cruel on the inside, that we are all capable of being animals. “The still images we’d all seen on the news, on the internet, had become useless, inert, lifeless—they required work on our part, work to imagine the suffering of others, work to insert ourselves into their large, unspeakable silence.” (Griffith 135) With this quote he proves that we are truly all animals by making us realize that what he says is true. It is hard to imagine what those detainees went through. It requires work and effort on our part. Sure, we’ll be grossed out by the pictures we see, or at least the first time we see them, but after that it takes work, even with such gruesome images, to imagine what Graner and England put those poor people through. “But then it’s so easy to moralize the situation, become polemical about it. Those soldiers were hicks from the sticks; something in their environment made them this way. In those photos, they were acting out their sick fantasies of power on the poor detainees.” (Griffith 135) Here Griffith comes back to his stereotyping. “Have we come to expect nothing more from people like Graner and England, who we imagine to be from tacky trailer parks in dead-end hollers?” (Griffith 135) “Educated, metropolitan people could never do such things; we are too aware too aware of the ways in which we must respect one another’s differences; too aware that any amount of cruelty is uncivilized and culturally reprehensible. These kids from the sticks make perfect soldiers because they naturally hate what is foreign.” (Griffith 135) In these last couple of quotes, we get images in our minds. We picture trailer parks with families who have little to no intelligence; we see people out in the country farming, they can’t be intelligent at all. We see these people, or at least are talked into seeing them by Griffith, and think that they are capable of such atrocities. We also see people in big houses, with expensive cars and business suits, and we imagine, or, once again, are talked into imagining, that they could not possibly do such things. Griffith is very clever at winning us over to his side. He uses great imagery and figures of speech to create mental images, such as ‘hicks from the sticks’ and ‘educated, metropolitan people’, to win us over to his bias, his stereotyping, and his way of thinking.

Griffith also tries to convince us that even though re-enacting taking pictures of Abu Ghraib is cruel and grotesque, it also makes us mindful of them, allowing us to mourn them and sympathize with them. “I posed with Graner, and by doing so, humiliated those victims all over again. But didn’t I also commemorate them and mourn them? This was more than just post-modern satire. In that moment, Graner and his prisoner were alive, in front of me.” (Griffith 136) “This practice of recreating Christ’s Passion is not a metaphor. You actually participate in the condemning of the Lord, and by doing so, become mindful of the fact that man’s sin made his death inevitable. It’s this mindfulness that makes the difference.” (Griffith 136) Griffith uses religion to bring home a point, uses Christ’s Passion, something most people are at least vaguely familiar with, to convince us and make us understand something. To convince us that re-enacting things like Christ’s Passion and the atrocities of Abu Ghraib brings them close to home for us. Makes them seem more lifelike. Makes us feel guilty, and allows us to sympathize with them. “If I am not mindful of what I’ve done, I’m nothing but a ham, a pornographer. If I am mindful, the photo might become sacramental—a reminder of my fall from grace.” (Griffith 136) He makes the point that if we are mindful of the wrong that we have done, it allows us to sympathize with those the wrong was done towards. He uses the terms ‘ham’ and ‘pornographer’ to emphasize that point. When you see the term ham, you typically think of something dead and lifeless that is going to be devoured by something. When you see the term pornographer, it makes it seem like the person is trying to make fun of it, almost, or trying to use it for personal gain, perverting it. If we are mindful of the wrong that we have done, then we learn from those mistakes, strengthening us and giving us the courage to help stop such things from happening.

At the end of the essay, Griffith passes out candy with his neighbor. “Mel is a kind, loving man, even if we don’t see eye to eye on religion, so I agreed.” (Griffith 137) He describes a loving, nice, thoughtful man, but he then continues and describes him again: “They walked to the table and as the first dipped his hand into the bowl, Mel sat straight up and roared, ‘WHAT’RE YOU DOING?’ The two kids screamed and ran from the porch. Mel stood up and with his mask still on, laughed and laughed. The man was giddy—I mean scarily pleased with his ability to cause small children to hyperventilate.” (Griffith 137) Griffith uses this scenario as a ‘case in point’, to drive home his point that we humans can be incredibly kind, loving and sympathetic; and at the same time evil and heartless.

So, we now see what Griffith is saying. We see his views on the war in Iraq, along with his stereotypes and his views on Abu Ghraib, or more specifically, people like Graner. We see some of the ways he tries to convince us of his stand on things; he uses imagery and familiar figures of speech, along with chronologically structured story to get his points across. So, will the Prime Directive help us solve the war in Iraq? Griffith seems to think so.

Works Cited

Griffith, David. “Prime Directive” A Good War Is Hard to Find: the Art of Violence in America Brooklyn. Soft Skull Press. 2006.

Textual Analysis Essay

Matt Williams

Wendy

English 1010

September 25, 2007

Textual Analysis Essay

David Griffith’s Prime Directive is an interesting essay, talking about a multitude of subjects, but bringing them all home to one main theme: human nature. He relates to us a true story of a night in his life: the night before Halloween. He opens up to us using a night in his life, and talks to us about politics and human nature. He uses imagery and familiar figures of speech to make his point and to win us over to his way of thinking.

The structure of Griffith’s essay is just that of a story. He tells the story chronologically. Yet his theme is still expressed strongly, and in an organized way. It is as if he himself is reminded and convinced in the order that he tells, reminds, and convinces us. It flows and makes sense. His tone and attitude throughout the essay is that of a character; a man trying to have a good time and trying to stay away from the house, which exemplifies loneliness. His voice throughout the essay is somewhat humorous, but is mainly serious, as he is bringing up a rather grave and touchy subject.

Griffith opens up on the night before Halloween, telling us about the start to his night. “…the world seems rife with omens.” (Griffith 125) Here he uses foreshadowing, warning us of the upcoming events and things to come. Throughout the essay, he informs us of his night, the parties he goes too, the conversations he participates in, informs of us what the Prime Directive is, and other various things. He appears down-to-earth by trying to relate to us, whether it is by use of cell phones to him mentioning names of popular music artists. “I flip open the cell phone and scroll through my list of contacts; I need company. That’s the genius of the thing—it cuts loneliness.” (Griffith 126) Here he relates to us, because a lot of us use our phones to keep us company, to find people to talk to, to text message, etc. “I flip open the cell phone; it makes a xylophonic noise; I arbitrarily push buttons to give the appearance that I have official business here.” (Griffith 126) He also uses his phone as a means of escape, showing that people don’t like being caught seemingly out of place; that they want to appear to be important.

Next he opens up some about his home life, letting us know where he’s coming from, while at the same time revealing his guilt and sorrow. “I should be in Indiana helping my wife hang pictures, or raking leaves…” (Griffith 126-7) This lets us know why he is out going to parties instead of being with his family. While he is at a party, discussion arises around Star Trek. They mention the Prime Directive. “The Prime Directive is the moral code that governs the conduct of all Space Federation members; it says that no Star Fleet personnel may interfere with the healthy development of alien life and culture.” (Griffith 127-8) Here he is still in story mode, but sets up the theme of the essay: politics and human nature. They’ve struck gold! The room erupts with excitement! Griffith uses this to bring home the idea of politics, and to introduce the war in Iraq. “The room erupts—we’ve hit upon something. Star Trek is a morality tale! Someone rattles off the different ethnic backgrounds of the characters—It’s like the United Nations… It’s like trying to introduce democracy to Iraq!” (Griffith 128) Now he has introduced part of his theme, and in a clever way. “There’s a feeling that the Prime Directive will help us to solve this crisis.” (Griffith 128) So, now we know Griffith’s stand on the war; leave them alone to deal with their own problems themselves. Why get involved?

He continues telling about the party, and they continue to talk about the war in Iraq. They mention some confirmed atrocities of the war: Iraqi casualties, no weapons of mass destruction, detainees being held without charge. “But nobody mentions Abu Ghraib.” (Griffith 128) Here he introduces the next theme, human nature.

He leaves this party to go to another party, so he doesn’t have to go home to loneliness. Here he runs into an old friend of his, dressed as none other than army specialist Charles Graner. Here Griffith tells the story of re-enacting the taking of the abominable pictures of the detainees of Abu Ghraib. “He has actually gone through with it, gone beyond the point where rational people turn back, chicken out, shake their heads and laugh it off. It is somehow exhilarating.” (Griffith 133) Griffith here starts talking about rationality and intelligence. Here, he starts the process of stereotyping soldiers, and saying that we’ve all got cruelty inside us. “It was his way of showing that what went on in Abu Ghraib was not a case of ‘a few bad apples,’ but a case of what we’ve all become, what we’re all capable of.” (Griffith 134) Here he points out that we all are cruel on the inside, that we are all capable of being animals. “The still images we’d all seen on the news, on the internet, had become useless, inert, lifeless—they required work on our part, work to imagine the suffering of others, work to insert ourselves into their large, unspeakable silence.” (Griffith 135) Here he proves that we are truly all animals by making us realize that what he says is true. It is hard to imagine what those detainees went through. It requires work and effort on our part. Sure, we’ll be grossed out by the pictures we see, or at least the first time we see them, but after that it takes work, even with such gruesome images, to imagine what Graner and England put those poor people through. “But then it’s so easy to moralize the situation, become polemical about it. Those soldiers were hicks from the sticks; something in their environment made them this way. In those photos, they were acting out their sick fantasies of power on the poor detainees.” (Griffith 135) Here Griffith comes back to his stereotyping. “Have we come to expect nothing more from people like Graner and England, who we imagine to be from tacky trailer parks in dead-end hollers?” (Griffith 135) “Educated, metropolitan people could never do such things; we are too aware too aware of the ways in which we must respect one another’s differences; too aware that any amount of cruelty is uncivilized and culturally reprehensible. These kids from the sticks make perfect soldiers because they naturally hate what is foreign.” (Griffith 135) In these last couple of quotes, we get images in our minds. We picture trailer parks with families who have little to no intelligence; we see people out in the country farming, they can’t be intelligent at all. We see these people, or at least are talked into seeing them by Griffith, and think that they are capable of such atrocities. We also see people in big houses, with expensive cars and business suits, and we imagine, or, once again, are talked into imagining, that they could not possibly do such things. Griffith is very clever at winning us over to his side. He uses great imagery and figures of speech to create mental images, such as ‘hicks from the sticks’ and ‘educated, metropolitan people’, to win us over to his bias, his stereotyping, and his way of thinking.

Griffith also tries to convince us that even though re-enacting taking pictures of Abu Ghraib is cruel and grotesque, it also makes us mindful of them, allowing us to mourn them and sympathize with them. “I posed with Graner, and by doing so, humiliated those victims all over again. But didn’t I also commemorate them and mourn them? This was more than just post-modern satire. In that moment, Graner and his prisoner were alive, in front of me.” (Griffith 136) “This practice of recreating Christ’s Passion is not a metaphor. You actually participate in the condemning of the Lord, and by doing so, become mindful of the fact that man’s sin made his death inevitable. It’s this mindfulness that makes the difference.” (Griffith 136) Here Griffith uses religion to bring home a point, uses Christ’s Passion, something most people are at least vaguely familiar with, to convince us and make us understand something. To convince us that re-enacting things like Christ’s Passion and the atrocities of Abu Ghraib brings them close to home for us. Makes them seem more lifelike. Makes us feel guilty, and allows us to sympathize with them. “If I am not mindful of what I’ve done, I’m nothing but a ham, a pornographer. If I am mindful, the photo might become sacramental—a reminder of my fall from grace.” (Griffith 136) He makes the point that if we are mindful of the wrong that we have done, it allows us to sympathize with those the wrong was done towards. He uses the terms ‘ham’ and ‘pornographer’ to emphasize that point. When you see the term ham, you typically think of something dead and lifeless that is going to be devoured by something. When you see the term pornographer, it makes it seem like the person is trying to make fun of it, almost, or trying to use it for personal gain, perverting it.

At the end of the essay, Griffith passes out candy with his neighbor. “Mel is a kind, loving man, even if we don’t see eye to eye on religion, so I agreed.” (Griffith 137) Here he describes a loving, nice, thoughtful man, but he then continues and describes him again: “They walked to the table and as the first dipped his hand into the bowl, Mel sat straight up and roared, ‘WHAT’RE YOU DOING?’ The two kids screamed and ran from the porch. Mel stood up and with his mask still on, laughed and laughed. The man was giddy—I mean scarily pleased with his ability to cause small children to hyperventilate.” (Griffith 137) Griffith uses this scenario as a ‘case in point’, to drive home his point that we humans can be both incredibly kind, loving and sympathetic, and at the same time evil and heartless.

So, we now see what Griffith is saying. We see his views on the war in Iraq, along with his stereotypes and his views on Abu Ghraib, or more specifically, people like Graner. We see some of the ways he tries to convince us of his stand on things; he uses imagery and familiar figures of speech, along with chronologically structured story to get his points across. So, will the Prime Directive help us solve the war in Iraq? Griffith seems to think so.

Works Cited

Griffith, David. “Prime Directive” A Good War Is Hard to Find: the Art of Violence in America Brooklyn. Soft Skull Press. 2006.

Prime Directive

He mentions Star Trek some, assuming we know some about it. He mentions evening Mass, which lets us know where he is coming from religiously, Catholic. He mentions that he should be with his wife in Indiana, helping his wife with various chores. He feels guilty, that he should be with his family, instead enjoying himself at a Halloween party. He relates the Prime Directive to politics, mentioning that it is like the United Nation, while taking a swipe at Bush himself. It seems like they think America should take more of a “Prime Directive” view of the middle east and leave them be, to grow and advance as they see fit. I like how he makes connections and dissimilarities between himself and Captain Kirk. He mentions Abu Ghraib, which instantly sickens me. The horrible things we did to those prisoners. How inhumane can we get? How cruel? Apparently very. His use of the “f” word emphasizes the passion in which his cousin has when he says he can’t wait to bomb Iraq. I’m disgusted that someone would dress up like Graner and imitate his abominable acts against those prisoners. He mentions the pictures on the internet from Abu Ghraib and that they no longer disgust us as they should, but that we have to work to make them do so. That’s sick on our part, to look at these photos and not be disgusted. Men covered in excretion, hooked up to wires, being tortured, being paraded around nude like some mistreated dog. It sickens me to think that humans are capable of such acts of cruelty and indignity. His mention of recreating Christ’s death reminds me that man has always been this cruel; his cruelty just takes different shapes and forms. The Romans crucified, nailing you to a cross, causing extreme pain, and eventually, when you can’t stand the pain any longer, you suffocate because you can’t get air to your lungs, because breathing requires you to support your body on the nails driven through you, and I can’t (nor do I want too) imagine the pain it must cause. He mentions the bumper stickers that his neighbor has on his car, how they are anti-war and anti-religion. It makes me wonder why you would not support a war that supports the freedom of other humans, so they can have a shot at life, a decent one, based on what they make of themselves, just like you have. But, that’s just my own opinion on the matter. Other people have lost loved ones to the war, and I can see how that might make them anti-war. But it should make them proud of those lost ones, who stood up for a cause that is just.

The story of the scholarships

I never thought that in my life time I would be going to college for free. I mean for one my grades suck, I don’t go to class, and did I mention my grades suck? If I did not to have this check right here in front of me and someone were to tell me that I would be going to college for free I’d probably laugh right in their face. Heck, when I told my teacher she instantly looked up at me and gave me that face of utter shock. It wasn’t a bad face, it was actually very comforting; she knew exactly what this meant for me.
I mean I do not know how to say this without sounding stupid, but I really didn’t do anything to get to this point. Heck I didn’t even fill out any of the scholarship form, my mom did that while I sat my lazy ass on the couch and watched Drake and Josh. I didn’t even try when it came to the ACT I mean I took it and I got a 26 but I didn’t try, hell, I didn’t even use a calculator when it came to the math section. So after I graduated I had really no idea what I was going to do when I found out that I had been accepted at the University of Memphis. I don’t know how this happened because I never even applied; I guess my mom must have filled all that crap out. A few weeks later, I found out that I even got a half tuition scholarship from the school itself. To top it all off the State of Tennessee is even going to be giving me 4,000 dollars to go to school.
I still feel like I don’t deserve this when I look at two of my best friends like Matt and Daniel, and I think about all the crap that they went through to get their scholarship and it just doesn’t seem fair to me you know. I feel like I just skimmed by and got a lucky break. Does that make sense or am I just over analyzing this situation?
I remember all my life going to church with Matt and his whole life was about that church; he did all the extra stuff he could. I mean he taught Sunday school, he went on mission trips, he led prayer, and even organized countless fundraisers so we could go to cool places like Six Flags. Well our church gives out a scholarship every year to somebody going to college. I talked to Matt the day he turned in his application and he told me he thought he had no chance of getting the scholarship. When I asked him why he told me that it was just he never felt like anything he did at this church meant much and that it just made him feel really unappreciated. One day when we were going down to New Orleans for a mission trip I was talking to Matt and our youth minister came up him and told him that it looked like he was going to be the one to get the scholarship. The look on Matt’s face was priceless; you could just tell that he felt like what he did mattered.
Then there is my other friend Daniel, this kid is crazy. He’s one of the most amazing actors I've seen in a long time but if you ask him about it he’ll tell you differently. He’s always been one of those people to always be down on himself. He did speech and drama where he competed against people and always found ways of lowering his achievements. One day in class Matt, Daniel, and I were all sitting in class when another one of our friends came up and was filling out and application for the University of Memphis full tuition theatre and dance scholarship and when Daniel asked him about it Jordan (One of our friends and Daniel’s best friend) told Daniel about it and the next thing we knew Daniel had rushed out the door and was already talking to the theatre director and his speech coach about letters of recommendation.
Daniel was so excited when he made finalist for the scholarship and immediately began working on his monologues, practicing for us every moment he got. We were watching him perform for his speech coach when she told him to be “more manly” and I quote “Lead with your penis.” Well as it came time for the audition I remember talking to Daniel and he told me that I felt like if he didn’t get this scholarship then there would be no point for him to even be a theatre major and basically told me that if he didn’t get this scholarship he wasn’t going to even study theatre in college.
After Daniel got back all he could talk about was how his audition went and about how he thought he had done. He also told us that he would find out by the end of the week if he had gotten it. Unfortunately, a week went by and he didn’t hear anything about the scholarship but then one fateful day, while we were math class, I suddenly hear Daniel let out a scream and the next thing I knew Daniel was telling me that he was one of the three people selected for the scholarship.
It’s hard for me to put into words how I feel. I guess what i'm trying to say is this, I don’t think I deserve my scholarships, but I’m glad I got them. I mean I didn’t really work hard to get them but I got them. After the look of shock came off my teachers face she started to cry because she understood that this was my second chance. A chance for me to do what I should have done when I first stepped in to the walls of my high school. The same thing goes with Daniel and Matt. Matt getting that scholarship will probably change his life forever, because from now on he will know that what he does, does actually matter. And now Daniel will never feel like he isn’t talented at what he loves to do and has a new confidence in him that will carry him far in life. These changes that will help us shape who we are all came from the scholarship we got to help us go to college. While people can tell us that we don’t deserve them no one will be able to take them away but us. They have given us the resources to be who ever we strive to be.

story

"Matt, have you finished that application yet?"
"No, momma, not yet"
"Well, you need too. The deadline's soon, isn't it?"
"Todd said something about Mother's Day, but this sheet says June 30"
"Well, you still prolly need to get it done"
"Ok momma, I will"
As a senior in high school, I didn't have much money of my own. I typically spent most of it, and paid for my gas and car insurance. So, scholarships seemed really inviting. And there weren't many people who could apply for the church scholarship, so I figured I might have a shot at getting it. The prospect of an extra thousand bucks was really inviting. So I got an application from church. Of course, as a high school student, I was very adept at procrastination. So, it was a couple of months before I actually filled it out.
The application process itself is quite simple. We just had to fill about the form, and the Scholarship Committee looked over the applicants. Basic questions like high school, GPA, ACT score, college planning to attned, leadership positions, those kinds of questions. Most of it, though, is based off of churchmanship, or how much you've done with the church, how often you've come, stuff you've gone to. I figured I'd have a good shot. There were only like two other people who could have gotten it.
Well, on the way to New Orleans (we were going there to work with Operation N.O.A.H Rebuild) Todd (the youth minister) is talking to me about the scholarship, and how its looking like it'll be me, because the only other person to apply didn't fill it out correctly, and he rarely came to church.
So, last Sunday, Todd asks me to run projection, because he's preaching since our pastor was out of town, and he normally does the projection.
"Oh yeah, I'm gonna recognize you in the service today," Todd says.
"What for?"
"Winning the church scholarship."
"Oh, ok."
So, I received the scholarship, or at least a certificate. They are sending the money to the school, who will then give it to me.

my it lab

so, today, we have homework to do in the "my it lab" thingy for MIS intro to business micro computers. i spent like 15 minutes trying to do one step, one simple little step. now i feel so stupid. you had the ctrl+home. i thought it meant the home on the screen. it really meant the home key on the keyboard. wow. i feel really stupid now. once i figured that out, i was finally able to finish. and this is my declared major? wow. i've gotta get a lot better. wow. lol.

free-writing list thingy

• ACT
• need money
• getting a job
• doing good in school
• looking at schools
• college fair
• choosing u of m
• church
• parents not having money for me for school
• applying for church scholarship
• worried about keeping my grades up
• worried about always having an honors class
  

today

so, today, i get home and find an email from my friend aaron at church. i respond back. here's the convo as it is right now.

hey matt,

sorry for sending this to both of you emails, but i dont know which is your primary. lol

but ive been reading exodus for my quiet time for about a week now, and i found something

you might be interested in. you know how you came up with that "Zeus" thing? well check this out

and tell me what you think:

i believe it is exodus 23:13.

i dont want this to sound like im pickin at ya. i just know i would want someone to tell me something like this.

and if you find something that applies to me, dont think twice and dropping me an email, ok?

oh well hope this helps,

aaron

to be honest, i don't think it matters much, if at all. not that the word of God doesn't. (by the way, i'm in exodus too. ch 34-35 tomorrow) but there are several OT laws that we no longer follow, such as the end of lev. 19:19 "..., nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together." look at your tags and see how many shirts you have that follow that law. very few if any. i think the exodus verse is saying don't worship the pagan gods, its not speaking against actually using the name zeus or cupid or hades or anything like that. the bible itself uses the term hades over and over again. granted, it uses it as a place, not a god, but hades is the greek god of the underworld. and daniel and the other three we called by pagan god's names, if you remember from the daniel study. and they had to learn all of the babylonian (sp?) literature, which most likely included pagan god's, as most ancient literature does. in acts 17:23 paul uses the pagan gods to proclaim God. paul uses the "unknown god" that they serve to explain the true God that was unkown to them (this one might be a stretch, but i don't think so, honestly) not that it means a whole lot to you, but we're made to study greek mythology in school, somewhat like daniel, though i doubt on the same lever. i for one find mythology very interesting. so, bro, there you have my take. let me know what you think. i love you, have a good night at church.


matt


so, that's it right now. we'll see what he says back, and i'll update this accordingly. i know my last blog sucked, but oh well. this one might not be better as far as what we're supposed to actually be doing, but i want to see what you guys think (fellow christians, mainly, but anyone is welcome to join in) of the convo. do you guys think i'm mistaken in my stand? I guess i should explain what's going on. i was hanging out with my youth minister and a friend of our's, and we were talking about movie's based on greek battles and such, like troy (never seen it, but would like too). zack mentions that it doesn't use "Jesus Christ" (used as a curse word, usually called taking the Lord's Name in vain) because, historically, Christ hadn't been born yet. so we were joking around about saying "Zeus dangit!" instead of the "Gd" word. if you guys don't have Bibles and need me to cite the verses, just let me know. i'm interested in what you guys have to say on the matter.
ok guys, the rest of aaron and mine's convo.

hey matt,

thats cool i just thought you might find it interesting.

but yeah ive often thought about the clothes of mixed materials.

its some cool food for thought. you never know.

ive also thought of 2 others.

like in the new testament, it says men should uncover their head in prayer. that

we do still do. but in like the next verse it say women should have their heads covered.

the other i thought of is men shouldn't wear womens clothing and women shouldnt wear men's. but with our culture clothes a generic. i dont now though. but like i said, food for thought. any how, check ya later man.

aaron


very true. some women still do the whole cover the head thing. from what i've heard on facebook, some churches do that. there is so much like that that most ppl don't ever realize. and i struggle with the wearing a hat while i pray. i don't think God doesn't listen just cuz you have a hat on, cuz there are times that you might have to pray with a hat on. and then there is the whole pray without ceasing thing (pretty much why i don't think it matters, at least not all the time.) i think formal prayers you should uncover your head (you know, when you do the whole close your eyes bow your head thing) but the pray w/out ceasing i think its ok to wear a hat. idk. we won't have to worry about that eventually. love ya bro.


thanks for the input guys, i appreciate it.

Hungry Hearts

The article "Hungry Hearts", written by John Lahr in The New Yorker, is an overview of two plays: "Pen" and "A Safe Harbor for Elizabeth Bishop". "Pen" is about a child who leaves his parents, both of whom are trying to control his life. "A Safe Harbor for Elizabeth Bishop" is about a child whose parents "leave" her, one by dying, and the other by retreating into madness. A quote from the article that helps set the tone and voice of it is "Home is not always where the heart is... sometimes family members can't find their hearts with two hands and a map. " Here he's taking a serious matter and making it humorous.
The article is pretty well structured, he spends a little bit of time on the first play, and uses a quote, "I'm supposed to leave you...", from it to transition into the next play. He seems to assume an intellectual audience, and though he gives, some background information, he assumes you know some about what he's talking about.