Brawl

I know many a fanboy...

Whether it be Apple, coffee, VW, Catholicism, or Gilmore Girls.
I know people that just eat certain things up. Everybody has a favorite brand that they can't get away from if they tried. It is what we are loyal to because it makes us happy and no matter the thick or the thin of it, we want to love them.

I am a Nintendo fanboy myself.
I stood in line for 6 hours to get a Wii at midnight on release, and now, nearly a year and a half after I got my Wii, I have finally gotten to another game I can't wait to own. After getting Wii Sports in the package, and buying The Twilight Princess right away (and enjoying its epicness), I had to wait until SSX Blur, which was fun but not deep. I played Metriod Prime 3, and I liked it, but shooters just get tedious to me, so I don't own it yet. I want Super Mario Galaxy, but the money is keeping me off of it until the summer (I soooo want it too). Guitar Hero 3 is a great idea, but I'm so bad and don't have the time to get better.

However, in a little over a week (or a WiiK if you're an uber-nerd) SSBB hits the shelves on this side of the Pacific Pond. That's right folks, Super Smash Brothers Brawl. I cannot wait. I will probably not be getting it upon release, but I do know that I'm super stoked. In my mind it should have been out a month ago (and a year ago if I want to get nitpicky), but I will trust that perfection was worth waiting for. It has such depth that I can't even get into it all. It looks to be similar to Family Guy in it's cultural references. There will be so many things from games of old to games of new that I will only recognize a fraction. There are about a bazillion modes, and I can finally play my friends or anybody who fancies, online. I guess I had to just let you know how excited about this game I was. I would love to play with you too on my nice tv in my house. It is gonna be incredible.

Grades, prepare to be challenged.

This is as political as I can get I think

Barack Obama getting some play all over the web

Mr. Bean and Spain

Maybe you've seen this, maybe you haven't. The Prime Minister of Spain (Zapatero) and Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) share a striking resemblance. It is at least a neat five second enjoyment for your day.

And check out the morphing video

Good or Evil...

Photo Credit: Milky Toast on Flickr (Mike Bordlemay)

I was doing a little studying of the Bible with some friends yesterday and we were in the book of Mark. I don't think I've ever been so struck by the following passage as I was last night

Mark 3

Doing Good on the Sabbath

Then he went back in the meeting place where he found a man with a crippled hand. The Pharisees had their eyes on Jesus to see if he would heal him, hoping to catch him in a Sabbath infraction. He said to the man with the crippled hand, "Stand here where we can see you." Then he spoke to the people: "What kind of action suits the Sabbath best? Doing good or doing evil? Helping people or leaving them helpless?" No one said a word. He looked them in the eye, one after another, angry now, furious at their hard-nosed religion. He said to the man, "Hold out your hand." He held it out—it was as good as new! The Pharisees got out as fast as they could, sputtering about how they would join forces with Herod's followers and ruin him. (Message)

The think that gets me about it is the quote, "What kind of action suits the Sabbath best? Doing good or doing evil? Helping people or leaving them helpless?" This kind of talk leaves no room for a middle ground. Either you are helping or you are hurting. Now I don't believe that means that in every situation we are only helping or hurting, but when we are presented with a situation, it is "doing evil" to leave them alone. This really struck. I've been convicted a lot lately about people asking for help or things. I know in the Christian realm, this idea comes up a lot. But still, what do we do? Does stewardship trump service, or does service trump stewardship? Or should we who are meant to live apart make more time in our schedules free so we are able to be there in these situations, so we may do good or evil.

Jesus highlights this service multiple times, another of which is the story of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25

The Sheep and the Goats

"When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why:
I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.'
"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'
"Then he will turn to the 'goats,' the ones on his left, and say, 'Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—
I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited me.
"Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?'
"He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.'
"Then those 'goats' will be herded to their eternal doom, but the 'sheep' to their eternal reward."

This concept has his me as well in the epistles of scripture, specifically the book of James, which I will leave you with (4:17)...

Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

NFL Combine

So the NFL combine was/is going on, and it's been a good weekend for the Illini's two invites to the combine.

Rashard Mendenhall (who I love sooooo much) helped solidify his first round status moving his way up to the 13th best player in the draft according to Mel Kiper and the second best running back behind McFadden out of Arkansas. He was consistently in the top performers in the combine events and his size/speed combo makes scouts drool.

J. Leman didn't wow statistically, but I still love the guy. He is considered a top ten linebacker, and hopefully his moxy will gain him a bit more credit.

LOLMendenhall #2

Not as funny I think. Still pretty wacky

Sledding Photos

Well, this could potentially be my last Facebook photo upload...maybe. I just got a Flickr Pro account for my birthday, so I'm uber-excited. But, until that is officially active, here are my pictures from my Facebook album of a glorious afternoon spent sledding.

Album Link

LOLmendenhall

OK, so I couldn't resist showing you my newest creation creation...sorry about posting twice in one day.

New Finskie

I figured I'd get my Friday post out of the way before I get to bed, cuz I feel like I'll just run out of time tomorrow. And what is it but a simple sharing of information. Nothing going on in my life, no Rose Bowl Roadtrip recap post.

Check out the new $5 bill yo.

So let us compare, right, as this is what we do when new things come out. Although does it really matter? What happens the majority of the time is we get used to it and it never bothers us again. It happens with uniforms, logos, and even laws. That's just the way the cookie crumbles right?

Anyway, open your wallet, and check out the old $5. Who am I kidding, you probably don't have one...

Here's one. Note the total difference. The new one has a lot of security features and the biggest shocker is on the back!!! I won't spoil it for you, but it's totally mind blowing. Lemme know what you think of this atrocity that has been committed against our currency. As if it'll matter later...

The Magical World of Tea

I must admit that I'm still awfully ignorant on the subject, but I love tea. A good glass of hot tea just fills me with joy. It is like a snack, a conversation piece, and a unique blend of flavors. Over the course of the past few months, I've started to learn about being more refined in my tastes. I pretty much will like anything, but to be able to pick out what it tastes like and the nuances in it have become a newer thing for me. This has included beers, pipe tobacco, and tea. Tea is my newest venture, as I bought a tea infuser recently. It is from Adagio Teas. If you're interested in any of their products, lemme know, cuz I can get you a five dollar gift certificate. I'm really excited by trying new teas and picking out the different flavor elements. It's been a real treat. I got the starter pack with the herbal teas. This includes my favorite of the bunch, Blood Orange. It smells like a potpourri and has a slight citrus taste to it. My buddy Matt and his brother Josh have been my inspiration for this wonderful venture. So what do you guys suggest I try?

Spiritual Adultery

The book of Hosea, which we discussed in Home Fellowship this week, calls Israel an adulterer to God. This imagery is used to say that Israel as a whole, and the individuals within it, at the time of Hosea, were for all practical purposes, whoring themselves out while still married to YHWH.

This imagery and thought process are still very applicable today, as we live in a society as believers in Jesus Christ who easily focus on anything but him. This love for and putting hope in so many other things is spiritual adultery. This seems like really strong language and imagery. Rarely have I done something that I would see on the same level as adultery.

However, I think that highlights one of the biggest struggles we Christians face. That struggle is really believing and understanding that our relationship with God is just that...a relationship. My buddy Matt brought forth that simple idea to my head, and I've been mulling over it, and the context of Hosea really brings it out more to me.

I think the top reason that we don't see our sin as spiritual adultery is because we don't see our interactions with God as a relationship. Instead, it can feel like God is Mr. Distant Rule Maker. But he has come to interact with us and love us. So when we cheat on him with our sinful nature, it is adultery, and it must hurt Him.

So let us believe in the power of our sin and how much damage it can cause, but let us truly live in and believe that God is in relationship with us. Perhaps this will help us to grasp the weight of our sin.

Lunar Eclipse

So there's a lunar eclipse tomorrow. Who knew? I'll tell you who...my buddy Wyatt from CoLT07. He informed me of this and I wanted to pass it along. Seems like it could be an interesting event to check out. I recall the days when space stuff really just interested me. Part of me really misses those days. Wouldn't it be great to speculate about the Millennium Falcon landing in my back yard again?

A Tom Brady Fantasy

Check out this ridiculous article on ESPN.com about the what could've beens of Tom Brady's career. He definitely got lucky with that Bledsoe injury...

PS, I love the hilarity of the last link in the article...

Sacrificing for Beauty

I was out shopping today with my roommate Jonathan, and we were talking, as people do while grocery shopping. While walking into Aldi, the topic of beauty came up. And we started to think about the stupid things we as humans do for beautiful things. A few ideas popped into my head about the things that are beautiful that we sacrifice for.

1. The opposite sex. I only speak as a man, but I know guys do really ridiculous things and sacrifice time, money, and any other number of resources just to meet, please, or get to know a girl.

2. Mountains/views. Again, I speak from only my experience, but I know we spend hours of miserable climbing and walking (not all of it is miserable) to be able to summit a peak and attain a beautiful biew. There's even potential for beauty along the hike, but I promise you there are some pretty boring sections as well.

3. Sunrises. We get our sorry butts up and out of bed for the incredible beauty of the sun peeking over the edge of the earth. The colors that appear at this time are so unique and the draw us to them.

4. Friendships. This might seem out there, but I think you could call a friendship a beautiful thing, and for sure we sacrifice a lot of time to cultivate and keep these relationships healthy. Without that time, a relationship can get ugly.

I think there are other things for sure, and clearly we enjoy them. So of course you could say, 'duh' why wouldn't we sacrifice for it. But in themselves, these things don't benefit us directly. So why do we do it? It seems like we consider some sort of benefit of giving up more essential life needs, for these things.

Photo Credit: Rob Bergman

Rose Bowl Road Trip: Post 4

Day 5: Las Vegas was our destination and goal for Day 5. The problem is of course that after this day, the days start to blur. We woke and were out of the hotel by about 10 am. This led us to a free parallel parking spot just off the strip that we would not return to until well after midnight. We walked up and down and up and down the strip, most likely putting in the neighborhood of 15 miles on our shoes (rough calculations done using Gmaps Pedometer). We got a chance to see a lot of impressive casinos and some fantastic architecture. It was all so very over the top. Especially the insides of some of these casinos. Little cities are built up inside of them. It all feels very fake though, like everybody is looking for something and can't quite find it, so they substitute the glitz. As for the casino's gambling areas, other than a couple pieces of decor, they are all very similar. Flashing lights, crazy people, and super expensive drinks. We spent so much time walking around and finally got a chance to chill as we waited for Mike to join us from his airport arrival, making our journey complete with four members. We then proceeded to sit outside of New York, New York to see a band play to count down to New Years...yea that's right, New Year's Eve in Las Vegas. So many people were in the streets, as the law enforcement closed them off (picture 4). We counted down to 2008, and then missed the fireworks because there were none behind the casino we were looking at, but there were some behind every other building it seems, so we got to hear them and see them on tv screens strewn around. This led to our scramble to the car, an intense trek up the strip dipping and diving through people trying to survive while getting to the car. We arrived at the car right around 1ish and were headed off to Pasadena from there, no sleep unfortunately.

My impressions of Vegas weren't all that unexpected. It looks like Mos Eisley Spaceport from a distance. It just sticks up in the middle of the desert. I just feel like it isn't my kind of town. But it was still a great experience to visit such a growing community. Of course, if you weren't aware, the glitz of Las Vegas Blvd. and The Strip extends about 2 blocks either way, and then you realize how much like other places this is. It seems like there are many hurting people there, just as any other place, but the juxtaposition between them and the glamour makes it all the more noticeable.

Please Pray

Northern Illinois University had a shooting on campus on Thursday at about 3 PM C.S.T. Please pray for those involved and those close to the victims. Details are still very sketchy at this moment, and you will probably know more by the time you read this, but please pray for the campus.

I'm just saying

I know this should be a dead issue for us Illinois fans, but c'mon Indiana, don't you think this is gonna get the rest of the league a bit fired up?

NCAA lists five major violations against Sampson, Indiana Staff

Practical Atheism

I am a practical atheist. I live my life as if God didn't actually exist. Doesn't that sound pretty bad? Why would I claim that God existed, write about it, read about it, speak up for it, but not live like it? Seems pretty silly...

This past week at SNG, Todd Daly from Urbana Theological Seminary came and gave us a sermon that truly met me in a fantastic place. He spoke on the topic of, "Does God Exist?" (I'll post a link when it gets put up on the website) which of course is super easy... Yea, anyway, he brought up specifically the idea of practical atheism. This concept sits in the realm of believers of the message of Jesus of Nazareth not living like his message is real or affecting their lives. Now, I think I can see myself 'living' like it matters. I lead a small group, I go to church, am involved with a Home Fellowship, and heck, I even read my Bible sometimes. But what does that matter? What about all the times my speech is unseasoned with Grace, or when I gossip, or belittle people? What about the times I ignore those in need because I've got such a busy agenda that includes going to play video games at home? Where are the times I need to rely on God?

Now this might seem kind of awkward, because I think it is. What is the critical mass that my life looks like one that trusts God, and anywhere below that, I look like it doesn't matter to me?
That quantification doesn't seem important. What does matter is how I live. It means living set apart. Unfortunately, there are so many walks of life and cultures that it is difficult to say what exactly that means. Is it evil for us to enjoy the culture of our world? I don't think so. I think it is a gift from God and many times the culture enriches my understanding of Him and His creation. However, there are some parts that we must distance ourselves from.

I also think this means social justice. I've really had that idea in my head for a long time, and I wish I could know how better to act on it. As a student, it seems like my top priority should be my classes so that I can get a job and start to serve when I've graduated. But that doesn't negate that I should be taking time aside and serving I think too many times we make excuses of our own busyness to get out there and love other people. That isn't set apart.

So, when we wake up, what is on our mind? How do we live our day? What follows us to our beds at night?



Micah 6:8 And this is what He requires of you: To do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

Just funny...

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Sorry about the choppiness of said comic. Click on it to go to the full sized and fully readable one.

New Video - LT Survivor Man

Moving Moments

You have these? These moments that move you to tears, smiles, rushes of emotion, or extreme joy. I think they are such fantastic moments. They come rather instantly and carry you for quite a time.

Perhaps it comes while driving down the highway and into a sunset.

Maybe it hits you while you are in a conversation with old friends.

Or what if it comes while at the greatest sporting event you've been to?

I think these moments become all the more powerful when paired with the iPod generation. When we walk down the street with music in our ears as a soundtrack to our life, I think it adds another moving dimension to the experiences.

Many a time have I been driving and felt another dimension of awesomeness as a song I was listening to struck me in the right way.

Recently I've had the pleasure of really enjoying these experiences. They are really a blessing and I think especially for a person such a myself that appreciates the beauty in music, I see God touching me in these times.

How about you?

Meme'd

OK, so Ben did this thing...

and I feel obliged to keep it going, mostly because I happened to have a book on hand...

Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more.
Find Page 123.
Skip the first 5 sentences.
Post the next 3 sentences.
Tag 5 people (if you want, I don’t care).

Documents of the Christian Church: Edited by Henry Bettenson & Chris Maunder

...We acknowledge, as we are bound, that the right and authority to elect a king (later to be elevated to the Imperial throne) belongs to those princes to whom it is known to belong by right and ancient custom; especially as this right and authority came to them from the Apostolic See, which transferred the Empire from the Greeks to the Germans in the person of Charles the Great. But the princes should recognize, and assuredly do recognize, that the right and authority to examine the person so elected king (to be elevated to the Empire) belongs to us who anoint, consecrate and crown him. For it is a generally observed rule that the examination of a person belongs to him who has the duty of the laying-on of hands.

A mouthful...

I think

a) My font is retarded and won't go back to what it was and I don't want to bother with it.

b) This is an odd section of the text. The entire book is a bunch of small sections of documents. This is part of a letter from Pope Innocent III to the Duke of Zahringen about his right to intercede in a matter as the Pope.

I love LOLcats

OK, so they're really stupid, but I can't help but laugh at a good majority of LOLcats. Such a strange internet phenom, so why not catch the fever for a while...


moar funny pictures

A New Season

(Not my Picture)

So today marks Ash Wednesday. Regardless of your faith tradition, this can still be considered an important day in my mind. This day starts the Lenten season which brings us right up against Holy Week and Easter. This 40 day long season of fasting is analogous to Jesus' own 40 days in the desert. While we aren't going to be in the desert, we can foster a spirit of fasting similar to that of a spiritual desert. This is a time period that will be great to use to focus on God and his providence. Now the idea of fasting may seem sad to some, but it is clearly laid out in the history of our churches that times of fasting come before feasting (Easter in this case). As well, Jesus said there would be a time that he would not be there and his followers would fast. That is now...

So, what are you fasting from? Or how are you preparing for the Glorious Resurrection of our Savior King Jesus.

Post Processing

As I have become more and more interested in photography, I have found that I love the entire process. If I just took a picture and left it at that, 80% of the time or so I would say it was totally incomplete. I love the post-processing steps. Drawing out the colors and contrasts that I desire just makes me so happy. I love being able to bring out something that can be considered moving. I really take joy in that. So, when I stumble upon software that can help me, I get super excited. I'm sure many photographer types have heard of Photomatix, but until today, I had not. I am totally sold on it and cannot wait to have the funds to be able to purchase this incredible software package. So basically yea, that's it. I'm totally on a photo kick right now.

Sunset Over the Grass

Sunset Over the Grass, originally uploaded by ahable2.

Bunches of new Flickr photos for me. Check em' out. Comment and tell me what you think. I'd love to get critiques on my pics. :)

Illini Life Videos:

Hey, I want to get YouTube traffic. Shameless YouTube traffic. OK, so actually, I want to just show you my videos that myself and my friends have made this year for iLife.

Night of Man: Myself and Jeff put this guy together to promote a men's night in the fall.



About You Card: Jonathan and I put this together to explain something new in our church.