Monday, May 7, 2007
Home
To me home means many different things. First off, home means where my family is, where I grew up. But recently I have been thinking. There is really nothing for me to go "home" too. I mean everyone asks, "Are you going home for the summer." The answer for me is no. There is no reason for me TO go home. I mean its good to be able to see my family, but to go back for four months just to see my family, it kind of seems extreme. Sure it's good to go back for a couple days for Thanksgiving or Easter or whatnot. But to me it just seems like there should be something to go back to. Something more than just "its home." I guess what I am getting at, is that I think people get too caught up with the term "home." For me now "home" is Alpha Gamma Rho. I find myself saying that more and more. People ask where I am going and I reply "home" and I am referring to AGR. I think "home" is simply where you want to be, or where you make it. "Home" isn't where anyone else says it is. Heck for me people would say that my "home" was in Lewistown, but I would say that it was AGR.
Brothers of Alpha Gamma Rho
We all are here,
As brothers, this is clear
All members of a fraternity
But there is more, wait and see
For we are brothers, not by force
We volunteer for this course
Together we stand as one
Through time of trial, and of fun
We watch the back of one another,
For each is our brother
We share a bond unspoken
One that won’t be broken
Not by trial, nor by foe
For we are the Brothers of Alpha Gamma Rho
As brothers, this is clear
All members of a fraternity
But there is more, wait and see
For we are brothers, not by force
We volunteer for this course
Together we stand as one
Through time of trial, and of fun
We watch the back of one another,
For each is our brother
We share a bond unspoken
One that won’t be broken
Not by trial, nor by foe
For we are the Brothers of Alpha Gamma Rho
Officers of the State
We travel aroun’
From town to town
To see all the members,
With passion like hot, fiery embers
We’ve had no sleep for days,
Delirious yes but we, it will not faze
For we are officers of the state
An’ we will make our speaking date,
It makes no difference where
The local chapter or the county fair,
You can bet that we’ll be there;
All adorned in official dress,
All in order, no signs of mess
For we are the officers of the state,
Chosen for our passion, not by fate
From town to town
To see all the members,
With passion like hot, fiery embers
We’ve had no sleep for days,
Delirious yes but we, it will not faze
For we are officers of the state
An’ we will make our speaking date,
It makes no difference where
The local chapter or the county fair,
You can bet that we’ll be there;
All adorned in official dress,
All in order, no signs of mess
For we are the officers of the state,
Chosen for our passion, not by fate
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Fuck it!
Over my life time I have learned many things. A few of these things include the fact that shit happens and there is nothing that a person can do about it. Some people seem to just whine and cry about the shit that happens. I used to be one of those people. I was the one that sat around trying to figure out what went wrong, why it all happened. But now I have come up with a new approach to life. Fuck it! Whatever happens, happens. I no longer really care. The girlfriend breaks up with me... Fuck it! There are more girls. I fail a test... Fuck it! Can't change the grade now. Hell even if my life gets more shitty... Fuck it! I can still have a good time. The general jist of this philosophy is not to care about the shit that can happen. Focus more on having a good time, and taking the results. Whether they be good or bad.
Asadel and Adara
Asadel and Adara
Background:
Once upon a time (year 2007), in a place far, far away (the middle east), lived one of the top ten most beautiful women in the world (as declared by Playboy’s magazine article, “The world’s Top Ten most beautiful women”). Her name was Adara, which in the English language means, “virgin.” Across the countries border lived a very strapping young lad, named Asadel, who according to People magazine, is number five on the world’s lists of “greatest, rich, single, good-looking, RICH males on planet Earth.”
Now being that the two lived in bordering countries, and the fact that both were offspring of the countries’ rulers, they knew each other; well, of each other anyhow. Asadel, a regular Playboy reader (I say reader because Asadel only views Playboy because he likes the written articles; at least that is his claim), knew of Adara (official Playboy ranking was listed as number 7) because of her appearance in the Top Ten article. Likewise Adara knew of Asadel because of his People magazine appearance. Of course they both knew that they were forbidden any contact with each other because of their parents hostile relationship.
This caused a great problem, because the instant that Asadel saw Adara, he fell in love with her; sure it was only a picture in a magazine, but she is in the top ten! For Adara it was very similar, only she loved Asadel even before she saw his picture, the words said it all. Here began Asadel’s quest; meet Adara, profess his love, and by doing so become greater than Hugh Hefner (for Hugh never got Adara to become his “in house playmate).
Part One: The journey
Asadel had to travel many miles on his camel Bruce; he could have very easily drove a car or flown a plane or helicopter, but Asadel really loved Bruce. Anyhow, he had to go many miles over a great span of days, in order to meet Adara. Now Asadel was very sneaky in his approach to entering Adara’s country. He first completely changed his facial appearance by using the same technology used by Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible: Two, (you know where he has the mask that makes him look and sound like someone else, but then he can just peel the fake face off). He also had to remove Bruce’s rectal GPS tracking chip (poor Bruce… I mean a RECTAL GPS chip?? Ouch!); this way Asadel’s parents would not know about his trip. After his preparations Asadel was ready to travel.
Part Two: The meeting
(Ten Days Later).
After passing through the 28 different levels of security, Ahab (this is Asadel’s secret identity) was allowed to enter the foyer of Adara’s palace. When Adara entered the room Ahab was introduced by the butler as a poor sand farmer who was in need of an autograph for his Playboy magazine. Once the introduction was stated, the butler let himself out, and the instant the door closed Asadel began his speech just like he had rehearsed…
“Adara, Playboy magazine’s 7th most beautiful woman in the world, I have traveled many days on my camel Bruce. I have come to profess my love for you, and by doing so I hope to become greater than Hugh Hefner because he never was able to make you his in house playmate. But before I do so, I must tell you the truth, (pulling off fake face) I am not Ahab the poor sand farmer, I am Asadel of Sahardia. I saw you in Playboy’s Top Ten article and I have fallen deeply in love with you.”
“Ahab, I mean Asadel, I…”
“Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye! Woman, let me finish! Uh-hmmm, hmmm, hm, hmmmm, uh-hmm, hmmmmm. I am here without my parents’ knowledge, for if they knew I was here, they would take the most important thing in my life away; they would take Bruce! (Awkward pause as Asadel looks extremely sad about the thought of losing Bruce). Anyhow, I am here to take you away, you will come with me!”
“But I…”
“Woman! I aint gonna tell you again! Let me finish! I am prepared to do anything it takes to be able to take you away, even if I must kill, I will do it for you! If I cannot have you, I will end my life before I will love another.”
“All right that is it! Shut the HELL up and let me say something to you, you blundering idiot!”
(Asadel taken aback, with a look of disbelief) “Yyyyess. What is it?”
“I am not Adara! I am an advanced robot, much like those in Will Smith’s movie I-Robot, disguised to look like Adara for security reasons.”
“Oh well, now do I look like complete jackass! I mean the best I could come up with was Mission Impossible! Hell, y’all got I-Robot, that’s impressive… Well now that I have made a fool of myself, I must leave with the shame of a foiled attempt at forbidden love. So long Ms. Robot thingy, err whatever your name is, if you even have a name.”
“Wait, Asadel! I may be a robot but I am controlled Adara.”
“What?”
“Yes, hold on one minute.”
(Suddenly from behind a nearby door the real Adara appears).
“Asadel, did you really mean what you said?”
“Yes I did!!”
“Good. Ever since I saw your bio in People magazine, I have known you were the one for me! We have only one problem…”
“What is that?”
“This room is monitored by a state-of-the-art security system. I am sure that my father has already been informed of our conversation.”
Part Three: ACTION!!!
(At this point a distinct, high-pitched rapid beeping can be heard).
“That’s the plastic explosives used to blow down doors! Get down!”
Asadel and Adara dive to the ground. At the same instant the door explodes with such great force, Adara is knocked unconscious. Without hesitation Asadel does as he stated he would, and begins killing all the guards as they begin to enter the room. He is using his Russian made AK-47, Iranian grenades, and 1:100 scale replicas of the North Korean nuclear missiles. A complete arsenal of small arms is being used against him, but Asadel has no fear and kicks some ass. During a brief pause in the action, Asadel sees Adara (still unconscious), he believes she had been killed in the cross-fire.
“Death lies on her like an untimely frost, upon the sweetest flower of all the field! If I cannot be with her, I will not be with any woman!” (Said as he turns his authentic German Lugar pistol to his head, and fires a fatal shot.)
Part Four: Irony at it’s best
Only moments after Asadel’s emotion stricken suicide, Adara becomes conscious again. At this point Adara’s eyes fall upon Asadel’s dead body. She knows that Asadel thought her unconsciousness was death.
“Wow! He wasn’t kidding when he said that would end his life before he would love another! How sweet! This is almost a Romeo and Juliet story! Although I am sure that William Shakespeare could have made this modern story much better than the yahoo who just wrote it! Well anyway, back to this mushy stuff.
Alas, my love is dead! I cannot bear the knowledge of his love for me, if I am unable to have his living self beside me! Good-bye cruel world!” (Adara’s last words, for at this point she picks up the last 1:100 scale North Korean missile, activates it, and plunges it deep into her heart, ending her life.)
Part Five: The Conclusion
Just as all the action subsides, the news media shows-up and the scene becomes a paparazzi field day. Security tapes revealing the situation in it’s entirety are shown on news stations such as, Al-Jazzera and CNN news (Fox news decided not to air the segment because they were unable to get Fair and Balanced shots of the ordeal. The producers stated that all the footage has been corrupted by Liberal Activists trying to get the world to accept a global policy that would institute a world wide “freedom to show drama” day and thus would not report).
This ends the story of Asadel and Adara.
Background:
Once upon a time (year 2007), in a place far, far away (the middle east), lived one of the top ten most beautiful women in the world (as declared by Playboy’s magazine article, “The world’s Top Ten most beautiful women”). Her name was Adara, which in the English language means, “virgin.” Across the countries border lived a very strapping young lad, named Asadel, who according to People magazine, is number five on the world’s lists of “greatest, rich, single, good-looking, RICH males on planet Earth.”
Now being that the two lived in bordering countries, and the fact that both were offspring of the countries’ rulers, they knew each other; well, of each other anyhow. Asadel, a regular Playboy reader (I say reader because Asadel only views Playboy because he likes the written articles; at least that is his claim), knew of Adara (official Playboy ranking was listed as number 7) because of her appearance in the Top Ten article. Likewise Adara knew of Asadel because of his People magazine appearance. Of course they both knew that they were forbidden any contact with each other because of their parents hostile relationship.
This caused a great problem, because the instant that Asadel saw Adara, he fell in love with her; sure it was only a picture in a magazine, but she is in the top ten! For Adara it was very similar, only she loved Asadel even before she saw his picture, the words said it all. Here began Asadel’s quest; meet Adara, profess his love, and by doing so become greater than Hugh Hefner (for Hugh never got Adara to become his “in house playmate).
Part One: The journey
Asadel had to travel many miles on his camel Bruce; he could have very easily drove a car or flown a plane or helicopter, but Asadel really loved Bruce. Anyhow, he had to go many miles over a great span of days, in order to meet Adara. Now Asadel was very sneaky in his approach to entering Adara’s country. He first completely changed his facial appearance by using the same technology used by Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible: Two, (you know where he has the mask that makes him look and sound like someone else, but then he can just peel the fake face off). He also had to remove Bruce’s rectal GPS tracking chip (poor Bruce… I mean a RECTAL GPS chip?? Ouch!); this way Asadel’s parents would not know about his trip. After his preparations Asadel was ready to travel.
Part Two: The meeting
(Ten Days Later).
After passing through the 28 different levels of security, Ahab (this is Asadel’s secret identity) was allowed to enter the foyer of Adara’s palace. When Adara entered the room Ahab was introduced by the butler as a poor sand farmer who was in need of an autograph for his Playboy magazine. Once the introduction was stated, the butler let himself out, and the instant the door closed Asadel began his speech just like he had rehearsed…
“Adara, Playboy magazine’s 7th most beautiful woman in the world, I have traveled many days on my camel Bruce. I have come to profess my love for you, and by doing so I hope to become greater than Hugh Hefner because he never was able to make you his in house playmate. But before I do so, I must tell you the truth, (pulling off fake face) I am not Ahab the poor sand farmer, I am Asadel of Sahardia. I saw you in Playboy’s Top Ten article and I have fallen deeply in love with you.”
“Ahab, I mean Asadel, I…”
“Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye! Woman, let me finish! Uh-hmmm, hmmm, hm, hmmmm, uh-hmm, hmmmmm. I am here without my parents’ knowledge, for if they knew I was here, they would take the most important thing in my life away; they would take Bruce! (Awkward pause as Asadel looks extremely sad about the thought of losing Bruce). Anyhow, I am here to take you away, you will come with me!”
“But I…”
“Woman! I aint gonna tell you again! Let me finish! I am prepared to do anything it takes to be able to take you away, even if I must kill, I will do it for you! If I cannot have you, I will end my life before I will love another.”
“All right that is it! Shut the HELL up and let me say something to you, you blundering idiot!”
(Asadel taken aback, with a look of disbelief) “Yyyyess. What is it?”
“I am not Adara! I am an advanced robot, much like those in Will Smith’s movie I-Robot, disguised to look like Adara for security reasons.”
“Oh well, now do I look like complete jackass! I mean the best I could come up with was Mission Impossible! Hell, y’all got I-Robot, that’s impressive… Well now that I have made a fool of myself, I must leave with the shame of a foiled attempt at forbidden love. So long Ms. Robot thingy, err whatever your name is, if you even have a name.”
“Wait, Asadel! I may be a robot but I am controlled Adara.”
“What?”
“Yes, hold on one minute.”
(Suddenly from behind a nearby door the real Adara appears).
“Asadel, did you really mean what you said?”
“Yes I did!!”
“Good. Ever since I saw your bio in People magazine, I have known you were the one for me! We have only one problem…”
“What is that?”
“This room is monitored by a state-of-the-art security system. I am sure that my father has already been informed of our conversation.”
Part Three: ACTION!!!
(At this point a distinct, high-pitched rapid beeping can be heard).
“That’s the plastic explosives used to blow down doors! Get down!”
Asadel and Adara dive to the ground. At the same instant the door explodes with such great force, Adara is knocked unconscious. Without hesitation Asadel does as he stated he would, and begins killing all the guards as they begin to enter the room. He is using his Russian made AK-47, Iranian grenades, and 1:100 scale replicas of the North Korean nuclear missiles. A complete arsenal of small arms is being used against him, but Asadel has no fear and kicks some ass. During a brief pause in the action, Asadel sees Adara (still unconscious), he believes she had been killed in the cross-fire.
“Death lies on her like an untimely frost, upon the sweetest flower of all the field! If I cannot be with her, I will not be with any woman!” (Said as he turns his authentic German Lugar pistol to his head, and fires a fatal shot.)
Part Four: Irony at it’s best
Only moments after Asadel’s emotion stricken suicide, Adara becomes conscious again. At this point Adara’s eyes fall upon Asadel’s dead body. She knows that Asadel thought her unconsciousness was death.
“Wow! He wasn’t kidding when he said that would end his life before he would love another! How sweet! This is almost a Romeo and Juliet story! Although I am sure that William Shakespeare could have made this modern story much better than the yahoo who just wrote it! Well anyway, back to this mushy stuff.
Alas, my love is dead! I cannot bear the knowledge of his love for me, if I am unable to have his living self beside me! Good-bye cruel world!” (Adara’s last words, for at this point she picks up the last 1:100 scale North Korean missile, activates it, and plunges it deep into her heart, ending her life.)
Part Five: The Conclusion
Just as all the action subsides, the news media shows-up and the scene becomes a paparazzi field day. Security tapes revealing the situation in it’s entirety are shown on news stations such as, Al-Jazzera and CNN news (Fox news decided not to air the segment because they were unable to get Fair and Balanced shots of the ordeal. The producers stated that all the footage has been corrupted by Liberal Activists trying to get the world to accept a global policy that would institute a world wide “freedom to show drama” day and thus would not report).
This ends the story of Asadel and Adara.
Personal Expression: a Mixture of Everything
Personal Expression: a Mixture of Everything
In today’s world there are many different religions, Christian, Islam, Buddhism, Native American, and many more. Yet even among these broad categories, each has it’s own internal division. I will mostly be focusing on the Christian religion to show the points of this topic. In the Christian religion there are many different sects of belief. For example, Catholicism, Mormonism, Lutheranism, Baptist, ect. In my life I have been two of these.
I was born and raised as a Catholic. During my high school years I began questioning my faith and what I truly believed in. I did not feel as comfortable in the Catholic Church as I had when I was a child. I began searching for a church in which I felt my beliefs were most in line with. After a couple years, I came in contact with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), better known as the Mormons. I was skeptical at first but after going for over a year, I decided that I felt the most comfortable at the LDS church, and that my own personal beliefs where, for the most part, in line with what the church was teaching. I converted to the LDS church and things were great, until I got to college.
Now I do not know what it is about college, but it changes people, some for the better and some for the worse. I cannot yet say as to if my change was good or bad. I have found that my personal beliefs about things have changed. Some would say that this is bad and that it is against God’s wishes for us. I know a lot of the things I have done have not made me the proudest person in the world; however, I also feel that I am not any worse of a person because of it. At this point I am beginning to contemplate as to whether the LDS church is in fact the best church for me.
I have been thinking a great deal about my life and how my religion is reflected through it. The longer I look, the more I discover that a person’s religion really has no bearing on his or her life. I have been finding that for many people they are part of a particular religion because that is how they were raised or it is where they feel the most comfortable. Yet when you ask them if they believe everything that the religion teaches, most will say, “well most of it, not all but the majority of it.” It seems that people tend to pick and choose what they believe, even though they call themselves, Catholics, Mormons, Baptists, Lutherans, Protestants. A person’s religion is nothing more than a way to categorize themselves.
This can also be seen in the movie, “Smoke Signals.” In the movie Victor and Thomas experience many different things. They are Native Americans, yet they are influenced greatly by the “white” world. This goes along with the, you pick and choose your beliefs. During parts of the movie, Victor and Thomas try their best to act Indian, while during other parts, you can definitely see the influences of life outside of the reservation.
No matter how little of an outside influence there might be, it is still there. Rarely does a person have beliefs that are strictly from one religion or from one group. We humans do in fact pick and choose everything to best fit ourselves, whether it is beliefs or teachings from different religions, or if it is our life style and our society.
This brings in another point about people expressing themselves through beliefs. The society a person lives in is a great example of this. In our own nation of the United States, we have such a diverse culture that our society varies from one area to another. For example, people from California believe that things should be run differently than the people in Montana think it should. We have liberals and conservatives, the Democrats and Republicans, members of these groups will agree on some of the basic things in our nation, yet they disagree so much. People in the U.S. pick which laws they like, and if they don’t like it, they try to change it. Some will try to get rid of the law and some will simply manipulate it. Yet, not matter what they are doing to the laws, they are still picking and choosing what they want to follow and believe. Many people believe that abortion is perfectly fine, but the death penalty is cruel and unjust. They are picking what they want to believe. These people are not seeing that both are killing another, but they are simply choosing what they want to believe.
No matter what religion or political party a person identifies himself or herself with; it is easy to see that normally people do not get their beliefs solely from one place. Rather in the case of both religion and politics, people will pick and choose the things they want to believe and follow. They will select a title, Democrat, Republican, Mormon, Catholic, whatever it may be. This title may not be exactly what they are. It is simply the closest category for who they are.
In today’s world there are many different religions, Christian, Islam, Buddhism, Native American, and many more. Yet even among these broad categories, each has it’s own internal division. I will mostly be focusing on the Christian religion to show the points of this topic. In the Christian religion there are many different sects of belief. For example, Catholicism, Mormonism, Lutheranism, Baptist, ect. In my life I have been two of these.
I was born and raised as a Catholic. During my high school years I began questioning my faith and what I truly believed in. I did not feel as comfortable in the Catholic Church as I had when I was a child. I began searching for a church in which I felt my beliefs were most in line with. After a couple years, I came in contact with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), better known as the Mormons. I was skeptical at first but after going for over a year, I decided that I felt the most comfortable at the LDS church, and that my own personal beliefs where, for the most part, in line with what the church was teaching. I converted to the LDS church and things were great, until I got to college.
Now I do not know what it is about college, but it changes people, some for the better and some for the worse. I cannot yet say as to if my change was good or bad. I have found that my personal beliefs about things have changed. Some would say that this is bad and that it is against God’s wishes for us. I know a lot of the things I have done have not made me the proudest person in the world; however, I also feel that I am not any worse of a person because of it. At this point I am beginning to contemplate as to whether the LDS church is in fact the best church for me.
I have been thinking a great deal about my life and how my religion is reflected through it. The longer I look, the more I discover that a person’s religion really has no bearing on his or her life. I have been finding that for many people they are part of a particular religion because that is how they were raised or it is where they feel the most comfortable. Yet when you ask them if they believe everything that the religion teaches, most will say, “well most of it, not all but the majority of it.” It seems that people tend to pick and choose what they believe, even though they call themselves, Catholics, Mormons, Baptists, Lutherans, Protestants. A person’s religion is nothing more than a way to categorize themselves.
This can also be seen in the movie, “Smoke Signals.” In the movie Victor and Thomas experience many different things. They are Native Americans, yet they are influenced greatly by the “white” world. This goes along with the, you pick and choose your beliefs. During parts of the movie, Victor and Thomas try their best to act Indian, while during other parts, you can definitely see the influences of life outside of the reservation.
No matter how little of an outside influence there might be, it is still there. Rarely does a person have beliefs that are strictly from one religion or from one group. We humans do in fact pick and choose everything to best fit ourselves, whether it is beliefs or teachings from different religions, or if it is our life style and our society.
This brings in another point about people expressing themselves through beliefs. The society a person lives in is a great example of this. In our own nation of the United States, we have such a diverse culture that our society varies from one area to another. For example, people from California believe that things should be run differently than the people in Montana think it should. We have liberals and conservatives, the Democrats and Republicans, members of these groups will agree on some of the basic things in our nation, yet they disagree so much. People in the U.S. pick which laws they like, and if they don’t like it, they try to change it. Some will try to get rid of the law and some will simply manipulate it. Yet, not matter what they are doing to the laws, they are still picking and choosing what they want to follow and believe. Many people believe that abortion is perfectly fine, but the death penalty is cruel and unjust. They are picking what they want to believe. These people are not seeing that both are killing another, but they are simply choosing what they want to believe.
No matter what religion or political party a person identifies himself or herself with; it is easy to see that normally people do not get their beliefs solely from one place. Rather in the case of both religion and politics, people will pick and choose the things they want to believe and follow. They will select a title, Democrat, Republican, Mormon, Catholic, whatever it may be. This title may not be exactly what they are. It is simply the closest category for who they are.
O'er The Mountain
O’er the mountain an’ cross the plain,
Through the wind and pourin’ rain,
A cowboy rides both day and night.
He tries and tries will all his might,
To o’ercome a daunting plight.
He’s drawn his gun an’ fired six,
Only to cause a scene too hard to fix.
The cowboy can try and try,
But the chance will only die,
So all he can do is sit and sigh.
For no matter where the cowboy goes,
He only finds his taunting foes;
Full of anger, gall, and hate,
Always there an’ willing to wait,
To ensure the cowboy’s dooming fate.
So he just saddles his horse,
An’ sets the course.
O’er the mountain an’ cross the plain,
Through the wind and pourin’ rain,
The cowboy rides away, again in vein.
Through the wind and pourin’ rain,
A cowboy rides both day and night.
He tries and tries will all his might,
To o’ercome a daunting plight.
He’s drawn his gun an’ fired six,
Only to cause a scene too hard to fix.
The cowboy can try and try,
But the chance will only die,
So all he can do is sit and sigh.
For no matter where the cowboy goes,
He only finds his taunting foes;
Full of anger, gall, and hate,
Always there an’ willing to wait,
To ensure the cowboy’s dooming fate.
So he just saddles his horse,
An’ sets the course.
O’er the mountain an’ cross the plain,
Through the wind and pourin’ rain,
The cowboy rides away, again in vein.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)