At the beginning of my second semester, senior year, I came up with the bright idea of doing the unthinkable; I chose to take twenty two credit hours to fulfill all my requirements for graduation.I was already behind, from a few dropped classes here and there, and not entirely eager to take a summer course. I was through with classes; the only thing I wanted at this point was an awesome internship at a publishing house( which I finally did get in the end).
Unlike most people, who often choose to take unfulfilled courses during the summer, I thought that this strategy would place me at the top of my game. With all the confidence of Barney Stinson, and all the idiocy of an undergrad, I shouted from the rooftops my defiant call- “challenge accepted!”. Little did I know how dangerous my academic choice would be.
It started out like any other semester, for the most part. My time was spent conveniently between chillin with friends, guitar playing, reading and(you guessed it) finishing my homework assignments. Needless to say, my senioritis was always at the back of my mind, taunting me to ignore the ridiculous amount of responsibilities that distracted me…..
“My main man, what’s goin on bru?
“Not right now pro…I gotta get this homework out the way.”
“Aight..ok..that’s cool. Wanna do it later?”
“You gotta be kiddin me, bro.”
“Nahh man. I’m serious. Wanna play some ping pong?”
In the end,the battle was won. My victory was hardly worth celebrating, however. Unlike most of my peers, the burden of 22 credit hours of homework did not hover their heads, like a storm cloud ready to burst.
As I trudged across the wasteland of my last weeks on campus, I couldn’t help but thirst for the victory of freedom. This freedom, if such a prize was attainable, real, or metaphorically accurate, was barely within the sight of my peripheral vision taunting me ( those laughs still haunt me in my dreams).
By the time I walked across the platform on graduation day, I was one among the walking dead( dun dun DUN!). My dead pan eyes, mindless stare, and snail-paced stride had taken over the mobility of my lifeless limbs.
Learn from my mistake, air breather, and remember to stick close with those who still have a life. If you don’t, you may become one of the day walkers, numb from countless hours of study.
(Later this week, i’ll release a reflective entry for Easter. For now, I hope you enjoy this awesome “news of magic” I wrote about for a Magazine segment).
The world of Hogwarts has just become a closer to reality. From a laboratory at the University of Texas is the invention that fulfills one of the greatest of our childhood memories: an invisibility cloak.
So how does this awesome device work? Comprised of a flexible plastic film known as a metascreen, this most recent model is able to cloak objects by bending waves of light around the object that is hidden. In effect, invisibility is achieved. For now, the invention is only functional within the environment of a laboratory setting.
Don’t be dismayed by this news, future wizards. Soon you will be able to stalk the corridors of your halls undetected.
* Later this week, I’ll release a reflective Easter entry. For now, enjoy this awesome news of magic. lol.
Now You See Me….
The world of Hogwarts has just become a closer to reality. From a laboratory at the University of Texas is the invention that fulfills one of the greatest of our childhood memories: an invisibility cloak.
So how does this awesome device work? Comprised of a flexible plastic film known as a metascreen, this most recent model is able to cloak objects by bending waves of light around the object that is hidden. In effect, invisibility is achieved. For now, the invention is only functional within the environment of a laboratory setting.
Don’t be dismayed by this news, future wizards. Soon you will be able to stalk the corridors of your halls undetected.
Possessing the capacity to search for national enemies, focus within scope, and methodically eliminate resides in the hands of a select few. In the name of homeland security, they determine friend from foe in an operation that is far from trustworthy, and altogether covert. Welcome to the new world of combat intelligence.
As an executioner without a face, the capabilities of drone technology have supposedly become the ideal combatant in the war for counter-terrorism. These unmanned aerial vehicles, otherwise known as UAV’s, are currently deployed in Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia in a campaign intent on targeting suspects affiliated with Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. Under the watchful eye of the CIA, the Obama Administration and civilian contractors, drones are implemented to cross borders in order to identify, tag and terminate those who are suspected of threatening national stability. From the surface, this covert process may appear to be ruthless, but highly more preferable. Cost efficiency and a supposedly “minimal” lack in casualties deem appropriate as a progressive alternative for direct combat. But is this utilization of virtual intelligence truly more suitable on an ethical approach?
Since the first initiation of the program eleven years ago, about 204 children have become casualties in the conflict. In addition to this staggering statistic, an estimate between 556 and 1,128 adult civilians have also been killed. For more information, check out this link: http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/category/projects/drones/
In recent months, the recent leak of a classified document, otherwise known as the “white” memo, has given the public an obscure glimpse into the loose regulations that operate the missions of UAV’s. According to the memo’s criteria, a civilian must be identified as a known affiliate of a terrorist organization before they are targeted and eliminated. From a constitutional standpoint, the precedent for execution is unsettling. Whereas constitutional law requires the testimony of two witnesses before the conviction of treason, the accusation of one is all that is necessary. Furthermore, there are no geographic limitations for operation. Theoretically, a drone mission is just as capable of operating abroad as well as on American soil.
If there is any doubt regarding the prevalent concerns surrounding this memo, a skeptic would only have to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of sixteen year old Abdulrahman al-Aulaqi. As the son of an American Islamic extremist, Anwar al-Awlaki, in Yemen, Abdulrahman did not possess any evidence to affiliate him with the anti-national rhetoric of his father or, even more so, a immoral involvement in a threat against national security . Any substantial proof of treasonous activity was obsolete. Despite all of this, Abdulrahman was killed by a drone two weeks after the death of his father. Both father and son were citizens; both of them were deprived of the judicial process afforded by the Constitution.
There is little doubt that accountability, at the very least, must be forced if regulation and supervision are to be implemented in the protection of both civil liberties and safety. From a personal conviction and perspective, I believe that Christian Americans should not only consider the threat against their own rights and liberties, but those abroad as well. By considering our neighbors, we become mindful of their own sanctity despite national boundaries. Though national security is vital in all regards, there can be no denial that the sacred preservation of all human rights, liberties and rights is a holy command for all who follow Christ.
For more information regarding the sources for this article and the controversy overall, I suggest you check out the following links:
25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
I Corinthians 12:25-26
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, “The Fellowship of the Ring”
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What was 2012? Was it year of joy or mourning, triumph or failure, celebration or mourning? To most of us, it was all of these things and much more. Respectively speaking, I see 2012 as a year from which we sought reconciliation, renewal and reflection were expressed in the midst of tragedy and wonder. Though I can hardly say what the next year will bring, I think its safe to say that panic, paranoia or apathy will hinder what’s to come next. This train of thought occurred to me after an unexpected text message: my brother and his friends had been hit in a devastating collision the night before.
Although everyone was safe and sound for the most part, the damage to the vehicle was devastating. The entire front end of his red Hundai Elantra had been completely totaled. It was as if the vehicle was smashed by a giant sledge hammer. Words couldn’t begin to express the gratitude that I felt for God’s presentation for my bro and friends from the imminent devastation.
After hearing about all of this, I couldn’t help but to ponder the significance of every breath, laugh, and mischievous smile we bring in the few moments that we have.
Needless to say, 2012 was a devastating year for all of us. The Aurora shootings, Chengping knife attacks in China, and the Sandy Hook shootings in Newton, Connecticut all helped remind us of the inevitable uncertainty of devastation around the corner. These tragedies, however, should never be moments of defeat, but of remembrance, prayer and support of the victims and their families. For the sincere disciple of Christ, such events should never render us detached, but intricately entwined in seeking a life of selflessness and love for all we encounter.
Whatever possess, wherever we are called, and whomever we meet are all a part of an intricate plan we can only see from a distance, or smeared perspective. Though this post is brief, I am compelled to ask: how should we spend our last days on Earth? It shouldn’t take devastation for us to live now, in the moment, unselfishly, and sacrificially. Let us cling to what is good, seek to die to ourselves, and strive for an existence beyond the temporary pleasures that are just as fleeting as a phantom of our own creation. This life is not our own.
I have to say; my dreams for the apocalypse have really been shattered. For those of you who thought you misheard me, let me reiterate; my dreams, my aspirations, and all my apocalyptic plans for fighting off hordes of zombies and aliens have..well…been a cataclysmic let down. Seriously. Who would resist the urgency to fight off hordes of zombies in an increasingly futile effort to save mankind? HORDES OF ZOMBIES. That was the promise of December 21st….the day the world would end. right? You can’t tell me that all of my mind numbing hours watching the “Walking Dead” were in vain?
Well..either they were( what am I going to do with my new “zombie hacking skills?)…or…the apocalypse happened right beneath our noses. Needless to say, if the second option did occur we were are all saved from the heroic actions of the few. How did this happened? Who knows. But I can think of a few scenarios that are ABSOLUTELY plausible.
SCENARIO 1: Dubstep repelled the alien invasion.
Love it or hate it, dubstep seems to be one of the most likely repellent that thwarted our extra terrestrial adversaries. With the youth blasting “Skrillex” beyond the tolerance of most carbon based life forms, it was impossible for Earth’s potential invaders to penetrate our atmosphere without in inner implosion from an epic bass drop. Never underestimate the power of dubstep.
SCENARIO 2: PSY saved humanity with his “Gangnam” Megatron.
A billion views was all PSY, Earth’s most stylish hero, needed to power his greatest creation: the “Gangnam” Megatron. Once a sea beast was awakened from the horrible radio frequencies American pop music, PSY’s catchy hit was humanity’s last hope in saving civilization as we know it. Once this prehistoric monstrosity reached the shores of South Korea, belching his own cover of Justin Bieber’s Baby, it was inevitable that the power of dance was the only way to save the day. Projecting all of his dance moves, via an inner dance floor, the Gangnam Megatron was able to shock the beast into awe, submission, and explosive incineration, literally, at the sheer of awesomeness of “Gangnam” style. Earth was free to dance once again.
Scenario 3: We have all been brain washed.
Seriously. Do you think any national government would allow the remembrance of Earth’s most epic apocalypse. Sure it may have lasted for a fewer hours, but the details of such an event, zombies, aliens, meteors,Giant Hamsters with lasers, would all be too devastating to allow any federal establishment to last after such events. Brain wash, probably through our mindless consumption of facebook, must have been accomplished without delay. All of our heroic feats, killing zombie hordes, fighting evil Mayan deities, destroying the death star, would have all been wiped away from the memory of history. Needless to say, our stories of heroism would have never reached the ears of sulking teenage descendants. for example.
2052
Sulking teenager: Do I have to have to clean your attic next Friday night? I have a “Cyborgs” concert to go to.
Geezer self: Stop complaining boy! Fend off the next horde off zombies with your awesome dance moves and we’ll talk about your special concert privileges. By the way, I know you don’t have any.
teen: Gramps, I seriously don’t have time for this.
Geezer self: Oooh…so you’re too chicken to take on all of “this” on the dance floor. pansy.
teen: That’s it Gramps! It’s on!
Geezer self: Skrillex! Drop me a sick bass!
wa wa wa wa wa……
Well..I guess we’ll never know for certain. To all of you wishful zombie killers, I wish you happy slaying, a wonderful Christmas, and the promises of next year( if there IS one at least).
