ranDOMinion

Such is the Fickle Heart

2007-05-03T09:28:00.000-07:00

Looks like you finally made it
Caught up with the light skips?
Once burning yet the cool evening has a way
Of changing things

Some days I feel as though I'm missed something
Lost something that was promised to me
But who knows, it's only some days

And now all this is happening
To both of us
Although it seems the shoe has switched and it is I
who is now dragging my feet

Do you believe it possible for me to ever be happy?
Would that be an oxymoron?

I will remain just as I have, putting one foot in front of the other
You should remain just as you have, an enigma
And enigma for a different man

I have my own adventures to chronicle
And my own mysteries to solve
Such beautiful, full of life, mysteries
Come find me, as soon as you're free

Love is an interesting thing
Damn this fickle heart

Restore Me

2007-01-16T11:26:00.000-08:00

On the outside
You think I'm alright
There's a smile on my face
Everything's okay
But on the inside there's a different story
I've stumbled down this road
And I've got so for the go
I'm a broken man
On my knees again
Longing for a touch from you
I need you hand to

Restore me
I need your mercy
Take me
To the place I used to be
Use all the pain and the hurt
To do a greater work and
Restore me

I wore my mask
Running away from my past
Hiding all my scars
Thinking I'd gone too far
But he knew my pain
And He loved me just the same
He promised I'd be free
If I fell on my knees and cried

Chorus

Restore unto me the joy of my salvation
So I'll sing again the song you wrote for me
Give me a clean heart I want a brand new start
Like the moment when I first believed

Chorus

Anthony Evans Lyrics

Good bye, Good bye

2007-01-08T07:09:00.000-08:00

So long, farewell, thanks for all the fish, hope to see you soon....this means we have to actually start e-mail each other and talking on the phone...like normal people. right...? Later days

The Last Post

2006-12-28T10:39:00.000-08:00

If it were possible to have a lone trumpetter play the 'Remembrance Day' tune, it may very well be appropriate. Traditionally, it comes immediately after a moment of silence, a silence spent remembering and honouring those lost of a battle.

This Last Post comes before a silence--perhaps a silence lasting longer than a moment. This Last Post signifies a last chance. So really, it's not quite a last post, but the signal of last posts. But what last chance is this? It's a last chance to all ranDOMinion writers, long-time readers to offer their last input.

I am opening ranDOMinion to anyone who wants to say anything. Ask for an invite and I'll grant you a pass.

What will you write? I don't know. But it's your last chance.

Merry Christmas, all. Happy New Year.

For now, we let the sound of a single trumpet resonate into utter silence.

nostalgia

2006-12-12T18:36:00.000-08:00

so right now i'm listening to Frank Klepacki. man this music brings back tons of vague memories. i remember building walls and tanks and putting explosive devices on german shepherds to this groovy music. it's kind of like the Alien Youth cd in my first year. i lost a couple constructors to that one.

if you don't know what i'm talking about, then look up "all your base are belong to us" and you'll have a general idea . . . well, maybe.

Proud?

2006-12-02T17:27:00.000-08:00

It occured to me earlier today that I am doing something rather significant.

See, any unfortunate chap who has to go to school must learn Canadian history. Unless you're the type of unfortunate chap who studies French Canadian history, you might miss out on the countless battles fought between "Canada-Haut" and "Canada-Bas", the English and the French of Canada's early 1800's.

End of the long story: English conquer, but unlike any conquering as before, the French are allowed to keep their way of life...? How odd.

In any case, today, the French fight like cornered dogs to preserve their culture, their way of life, their language. Some of them are so persistent about who they are and their background that they insist on severing themselves from the Confederation. How unfortunate that some would be so inclined.

But it was this thought that occured to me: that I, in contact with any number of said individuals daily, play a small but perhaps relevant part in the bridging of a cultural gap. They come to me with a problem, and with a smile on my face and a burden on my mind, I am able to help them, in their own language. An anglophone, making the effort. They're all very pleasent, even the angry ones, when they're done with me on the phone, tell me, "You're quite nice" and "I thank you very, very much"--even the ones to whom I have to tell them that I can't help them.

They're growing on me, these strange people. Speaking to them in their language makes me feel like "them" become "us"--it makes me proud to be a Canadian. We are diversified, but we are together.

Brief

2006-12-01T05:50:00.000-08:00

This is a two line post.

You may now comment.

Darkness is not the Issue

2006-11-28T17:26:00.000-08:00

Ever try to remove darkness? Take a piece of darkness and remove it, displace it, move it's location. What is left behind? Does darkness leave behind an absence, a by-product? Does it leave behind more darkness?

Perhaps some of us know better: darkness is simply the absence of light.

How can we remove an absence? If there is nothing, how can we move it? We should probably ask more accurately, "How can we move not it" since that's what darkness is: it isn't.

If it is an absence, can we run away from it? Towards a source of life, sure. But if not towards light, then to another absence? The same absence? Is there a difference between one absence and another, or are they all the same; are they all the same not. I believe it to be so--How can we classify, how can we name something that isn't--it can't have a name if it doesn't exist.

Is the presence of darkness--which is actually quite an impossibility--simply a symptom, an indicator of a grander situation, of an absence of something that is normally there? Then, if it is an indication, is the presence of light normal, and the absence thereof abnormal?

It's odd that we would rather focus on the sympton, we would focus on the absence rather than the presence. We would rather move ourselves to another darkness than to move ourselves to the light. We would rather try to give up our darknesses instead of inviting the light.

I heard a pastor say, "This week, I challenge you to pray about one thing, one thing that is causing you trouble in coming to relationship with your Lord". Complete crock, it is. How can we give up that which does not physically exist? This trouble that keeps us away from Christ, away from the light, this darkness which blinds us to the mercy and grandeur of our Saviour, how can we give it up?

Perhaps God often has this perspective: that sin, evil, these kinds of things are simply the absence of Himeslf, and if he was only invited everywhere that these things would simply not exist. It must be a matter of nature for Him--and by principle should be for us too.

See, the only way to treat darkness is to invite the light. Not treating the darkness... There is nothing in the way of me and my Lord except my will to go there, to the Light. Don't ask me to do the impossible, I can't remove this darkness--I can't delete it, I can't replace it, I can't do anything to this absence of light. I can only move closer to the Light.

wowzers in my trowzersz?

2006-11-22T19:59:00.000-08:00

wow i haven't been here for such a long time. the last thing i posted was something about a bwap . . . hehehe . . . lame. anyways, i decided to not be as distracted from life anymore. you see, i was playing this online game that was really neato, but now the FBI have caused many servers to shut down. there are others i can go to but i really don't wanna. i'm pretty bored of it now. also, i decided that i will take up archery. i have a good idea of what i want in a bow now, so i'm just working myself up to shelling out for a really good one that i won't want to upgrade anytime soon. i guess i'm doing ok. i'm not that happy but things could be worse. things can always be worse just as they can always be better. i'm not content with where i am in life. i don't really know what content is like anymore. i feel like i'm waiting for something big to happen, but i don't know what. i think about making things happen but that has never worked out for me as far as i can recollect. it's as though i'm floating in the middle of the ocean on large rolling waves and i can't even tell if i'm drifting. the things i dream about seem impossible and i am forever fighting in my mind to stay grounded, yet i still find myself wanting to just be elsewhere. maybe going home for christmas will be a very healthy getaway from everything where i am now. it is still a few weeks away but it will come and go just as fast as the rest of my life when i look back. i'm struggling not to make this blog too long but at the same time i have to battle myself to care. so i'm blogging about blogging. go figure, eh? ah well, i hope all of you guys are doing very well.

God bless,

Adam

Home.

2006-11-10T14:38:00.000-08:00

so apparently i'm great but i don't say anything... well... i guess i can live with that... :)

random adventure! face and me are in the bush doing our tromping around thing when it started to rain... and wind... and rain and rain rain... so we went up this mountain... in the rain... and the we went down the mountain... which was a little tricky... because there was these couple cliffs... mmmm... never want to do THAT again... oh! the best part! we got to the road through the scenic route... and we had to wait for the chopper for about an hour... so to get out of the rain me and face camped out in this random rusty culvert... it was cold and round and metal but it was home... i was soaked to the bone and i was cold and almost miserable... almost... but i felt at home in that rusty cold environment... odd. what is home? what makes a home? odd.

Some things about Dave...

2006-11-10T05:20:00.000-08:00

He tromps through the bush.
He is a bush.
He wears a bathrobe. Everywhere.
His phrase: "You're full of crap".
He likes: RPG's, Coldplay, Jimmy Eat World, big computer screens, and long walks on the beach.
He is a bush.
He sometimes has this nightmare that I rule the world and that he is forgotten amidst my beautiful tyrrany.
He gets 70+ kilometres to the gallon... err... Drives a diesel and is really good on gas.
He is generally a really good guy.
But he can't make a blogger post.

Ferry ride

2006-11-04T12:07:00.000-08:00

26 hours on a ferry:
1.) find seat away from grumpy old guy who slammed you with car door
2.) in horror realize he is sitting behind you kicking the seat
3.) breathe a sigh of relief that his name has been called for one of the state rooms!
4.) eat dinner in the sad cafeteria
5.) watch " over the hedge" with the kids in the play area ( adult movie sucks)
6.) crawl into sleeping bag on floor and sleep until morning
7.) eat breakfast in sad cafeteria
8.) read one book until ship docks in Prince Rupert ( 19 hours)
9.) get off ferry drive to Tim hortons get lunch and donuts
10.) get back on ferry ( sigh)
11.) watch "over the hedge" yet again with the kids in the playroom
12.) eat dinner yet again in the sad cafeteria
13.) read next book until ferry docks in skidegate
14.) drive home for an hour
15.) kiss hubby and sleep

30 Days - No Direction

2006-10-30T08:17:00.000-08:00

Thirty single daily visits would have brought 30 single daily dissapointments.

There comes a time when every good thing must come to an end; friendships, jobs, school, life... blogs too. I'm not a seer of future events, but I am, however, a realist simply saying what I see.

The trick is that any good portion, any good "section" of one's existence will be defined as good simply by its direction. Once upon a time, ranDOMinion had direction, or atleast purpose. When we drive accross the country, it is only good because we know the direction to travel. When we think about our careers, they are only good because they provide direction.

And so, thirty days after having nothing to say, we find we are without direction.

Is this blog dead? For starters, a blog is referring to itself, which is usually a good sign of blogdeath. More importantly, it would seem that the momentum once built up by a pile of friends with nothing better to do than to say really dumb or really intelligent things has quickly dwindled into a pile of memories, some of which we would rather be forgotten.

Having lived in/near the forest, I have seen a very encouraging thing about death. That is this: every tree that dies provides decades of life to new plants, new tress, new forests.

All of this to say that, as I am yet undecided as to what to do, I am playing with a few options. We do not say goodbye, only "So long"... for now.

Nothing to Say

2006-10-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, how's it going?

Well, I am done training. Tomorrow I start work as a full-fledged, full-time technical support agent for Apple computers. In a couple weeks I will start training for the bilingual position. I'm stoked.

Also, in a couple weeks, I'm flying to BC! Yay! So that means time to visit! Briefly, although for yes sure.

So, that's all for now. See you guys soon!

Romance is Alive

2006-09-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

Romance is a life choice, a true to life story, no doubt usually full of exaggeration or fanciful invention. But that is why it is so powerful. Romance captures the imagination. It is a romantic spirit, sentiment, emotion or desire, a true to life fable if you will. A story or event that is too amazing to be true and thus cannot be real, but something only dreamed of. Women are romantics; they dream of a fable and pray it real. But.. the bills do come in, the debts do need to be paid off, works still happens, dinner needs to be cooked, and there might not be flowers, or candle light, champagne, or chocolates but those aren't the necessities of romance.

Romance is a look, it is a soft touch, it is a smile after a long days work. To some it can even look like diet coke, spaghetti and the TV. To others it can look like going to work everyday and paying the bills to support the family. To others it can look like cooking a meal. Flowers, candlelight, champagne and chocolate are nice treats but real romance is a life choice to love proactively.

Romance is dead

2006-09-23T20:22:00.000-07:00

Romance is a baseless, made up story, usually full of exaggeration or fanciful invention. It is a romantic spirit, sentiment, emotion or desire, a fable if you will. A story that is not real, something only dreamed of but never seen in real life. Women are romantics, we dream of a fable and pray it is real, but the bills come in, the debts need to be paid off, work still happens, dinner needs to be cooked, and there are no flowers, no candle light, no champagne, no chocolates. Just diet coke, spaghetti and the TV.

What the Heck Am I Doing??

2006-09-23T05:18:00.000-07:00

Ever have a day when you lose sight of your goals...

It's just the kind of day when you're minding your own business and it suddenly dawns on you that for a year, or any length of time is going to be spent doing blah. It's kinda scary. I don't want to be blahing for any length of time!

Scary for this reason: for a brief moment, in that day, we are incapable of seeing more than that span of time ahead of our own situations. We are incapable of suspending our own cultural and situational understandings; we become self-minded.

"God, what the hell am I doing here???" We forget. But we're human! Hopefully, it doesn't last long. Hopefully, shortly after praying such a prayer, that God is good to remind us: "This is a trial period of your life, a step necessary to grow you and learn you to get you to the place I want you to be so that you are most effective for my purposes."

Then, I discover the book of James. Turns out God is good to remind.

Trees Die like Rainclouds Cry

2006-09-09T06:18:00.000-07:00

Besides being a catch line for a top 40 song, it's true that even in the earliest phases of fall that leaves fall to the ground as if they were raindrops. They are diverse in size, shape, colour. Of course they are a trademark of wimpy trees, usually no bigger than a radius of 15cm.

In a world with priorities, deadlines, speeding and speeding tickets, worries and inhibitions, a young man with all of these to his own will go for a late friday evening stroll through downtown--only to find out that none of those things matter. At all. They come and go like the leaves; they grow on the lives of peoples who allow them, but it's not the leaves we see standing later. It's not the leaves that stand the test of time.

What does matter? What is it that leaves a lasting mark--what is it that we see standing after the leaves are gone?

Words spoken, actions witnessed, relationships maintained...these are all good. But the thing that matters most is easily witnessed in a brief moment on this young man's late evening stroll. There, on the most insignificant stretch of insignificant stores and amongst a collection of the most insignificant people, there sits another young man, who looks up and utters a few things--he needs money. Some, however, might understand that this sitting young man needs something bigger and better than money. He needs something that matters more than money, he needs something that amalgamates all of the best that more than this world has to offer.

He needs love.

And it's love that is what is standing when we go into winter. A tree with no leaves is not dead. A tree is the core of the being that makes the being function, from it leaves grow and leaves fall. It's love that matters. To love, to be loved. Love leaves a lasting mark; it scars when it hurts, it's the reason we cry at a funeral.

It's all that matters. Love, never like a leaf, never comes and goes. And so, peering out a window, I'm reminded of this universal, mathematical phenomenon that God created and called "Life". Everything is beautifully, perfectly related. Admire for yourself--I promise you, eventually you'll crack a smile.

Some Things I'll Never Do Again

2006-09-06T05:10:00.000-07:00

- housesit. F

- live in "group home" or house with lots of rooms rented. FF

- choose to bike to work. FFF (i may take this one back as the ride gets easier)

- HOUSESIT. WHAT THEF--

Some of Us Need to Hear it.

2006-08-27T09:47:00.000-07:00

A man walks up to a sculpter, after having admired his work, asks him, "How did you get the biblical character Job to form from a giant piece of marble?? It's fantastic!"

The sculpter responds to the man, "Everyday I simply chip away at everything that is not Job, and eventually over time, Job emerges."

Being chipped away at probably didn't feel very good, but submitting to the sculpter, as the rock did, allowed the rock to be transformed into the masterpiece the sculpter envisioned and planned for from the beginning.

Does it Ever End??

2006-08-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

BC: Your province is sooo polluted.
Ontario: Oh yea? Well your province is sooo in debt!

Ontario: Why don't you go home and eat granola?
BC: Thanks, I will. Atleast our choices are healthy.

BC: Which polititian is making a mochery of our system today?
Onatrio: Uhh... Who's on strike today?

Ontario: Why did the government appoint n candidates from BC? Clearly that is not proportoinal representation.
BC: Remind me again how Onatrio is "central" Canada.

As you can see, I take neither side. This provice has some perks that some people would say are exclusive to my own benefit. And so be it. Once then, that I and my perks are no longer contained within this province, perhaps my appreciation will shift again.

WEeeeeeEEEEeeE!

Freaky Deaky

2006-08-18T06:09:00.000-07:00

I start work at Minacs, bilingual technical support for Macintosh Computers of Peterborough, Ontario, Monday, August 18, 2006, at 9:00am.

I need a new tranny in my car, and a trailer hitch so I can rent a trailer to haul all my stuff. Anyone wanna buy a '97 Honda CBR 600?

I will for sure see all of you soon; I will definetly be at Summit September of '07.

...Whoa...

Enigma of Man

2006-08-15T15:18:00.000-07:00

You catch only but a glimpse of his behind high-tailing it. He is out.

You may have seen him, standing vulnerably in the spot light, under the street lamp. He may have been selling things, or handing out flyers, or taking a survey. He might have been friendly, or overbearing in someone's personal space, but didn't hurt anybody. He probably wasn't selling drugs.

But still he runs off, like a deer who hears the shot of a gun, tail up and into the thicket, or in this case, into the shadow. Is it more intriguing that he should continue his work from the privacy of the shaddow? Or is it more disturbing. You can't see his face anymore, nothing from him to reveal himself, his character, his intentions. Is he still the same vulnerable man he was before?

But in this exact moment, he is running, paused in a second of the mind; hair flopping, leg jiggling, shirt wind-flapping; running. From here, you can't see what's on his mind. You don't know what's startled him, what has caused this decision to move.

You do, however, know this: he is the same man, with inhibitions, dreams, worries, cares, fears and loves, all of his own. In this glimpse of running, you can't possibly know why he's running, or who he is. He's just running. Go and find out why, if you care so much.

Have You Ever..?

2006-08-10T09:20:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed that the letters of a keyboard are placed in a slightly strange manner? I mean, isn't it odd that they would seperate some letters, like A and B but not J, K or L. And why put Q, W, E, R, T, and Y together. I'll bet someone thought they were clever when they called it the "QWERTY keyboard". But I have news for you, they weren't. They were probably some jackass military type, always making wandering chatter about the war and never coming to his point. It's like a man with a club swinging at a bush because there's an animal in there, but he'll never go into the bush to hit the animal, and he won't go away to make the animal come out. Those military types need good wives to keep 'em in order. The kind of wives who are quick-witted and always seem to be one step ahead of him, making snappy retorts and usually have shrill voices. They might work at a Pharmasave or something, where the customers would come in and heckle for bargains, but it's not Bargain Basement, who do they think they are? You can tell them over and over and over again that you can't do anything about the price, and it's not your fault the store is out of stock, but they keep pestering. I'd like to shoot those with a gun, a 9mm perhaps. I imagine the best kind of gun though, for a crowd of these hecklin' folks is a gataling gun, lots of bullets very quickly and lots of screaming--that you can't hear because the gun is so loud. Speaking of loud, I should have my ears checked because I am hearing weird things, and not hearing other things. For example, I seem to always miss the pastor telling me to wash the windows.

Oh my, how I've rambled. I feel age comin' on.

Phenomenon Expository: the Echo

2006-08-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

"ech·o
n. pl. ech·oes

Repetition of a sound by reflection of sound waves from a surface.
The sound produced in this manner.
A repetition or an imitation: a fashion that is an echo of an earlier style.
A remnant or vestige: found echoes of past civilizations while examining artifacts in the Middle East.
One who imitates another, as in opinions, speech, or dress.
A sympathetic response: Their demand for justice found an echo in communities across the nation.
A consequence or repercussion: Her resignation had echoes throughout the department.
Repetition of certain sounds or syllables in poetry, as in echo verse.
Music. Soft repetition of a note or phrase.
Electronics. A reflected wave received by a radio or radar." source

" 'a duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why'
actually it does echo, but the sound wave for both the initial quack and the secondary sound caused by the echo are so close they can not be sorted out without the use of sophisticated audio equipment. (Thanks to Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel for wasted production time on this one!)" source

"University of Maryland scientists say echo-locating bats use a strategy to track and catch insects that's similar to a guided missile's tracking system." source

"The largest generation of young people since the '60s is beginning to come of age. They're called 'echo boomers' because they're the genetic offspring and demographic echo of their parents, the baby boomers.

Born between 1982 and 1995, there are nearly 80 million of them, and they're already having a huge impact on entire segments of the economy."source

"Filtering out useless information can help people increase their capacity to remember what is really important, researchers said on Wednesday." source

Thought of the day.

2006-08-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

If you send someone 'Styrofoam', how do you pack it?

Thirteen

2006-08-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

Today I received thirteen pieces of junk e-mail. They include one that says, "13 ways to increase your _____". On a scale of one to ten, that's a thirteen for making me angry.

On a totally seperate note, there are thirteen reasons why one should not be hasty to resolve at twelve, and not too slow to resolve at fourteen. I don't know what these reasons are, however, consider this: thirteen apes jump thirteen stories to thirteen bloody deaths.

Thirteen.

Thirteen, thirteen.

Roxanne, Don't Put on the Red Shorts

2006-07-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

There is only one thing worse than lying about an online IQ test in effort to masquerade an intelligence: wearing bright red short shorts...when you're 80.

Please. Please. Please don't. Just... go home and put some pants on.

Today

2006-07-28T13:42:00.000-07:00

Today is today just as yesterday was today and tomorrow will today at one point. All of these todays come and go and I am never living in them. Sadly I'm always living in the yesterday or the tomorrow. And then there is that whole thing about learning is doing. That's tough. I mean based upon that principle I probably have an IQ of 23. I know all this stuff about how to live and abide by Biblical conduct etc, but I have such a hard time doing it. And for some reason I never remember to call out to God to help me, again because my IQ is around 23! BAH.

How Not to Write a Bad Blog

2006-07-24T13:45:00.000-07:00

Reading blogs can be a lot of fun. Reading blogs can also be a great big bore. You know the kind?--Open the page, full of hope, that maybe there's even just some dirt on this person's life... But alas, none of it makes any sense and it's not even interesting. I suppose this is the reason for the success of Soap Operas: real life is often boring.

And so, not in any attempt to classify myself a calibur or even a veteran blog writer, I hereby present to you, my lovèd readers and perhaps fellow bloggers, a list of a few tips to help you in your quest to write a better blog.

1) You know you're reading a horrible blog when the word "life" is the subject of any phrase. Example: "Life is great" or "Life sucks" or "Life is an interesting journey" or "I have no life" (note, in the last phrase, "I" is the subject, and not life, but the example is as equally horrifying as any of the above). Avoid this at all costs.

2) Know the purpose of your blog. Is it a gathering place for people to say stupid things and make comment of said stupid things (perhaps ranDOMinion is such a place). Is it a medium for recording feelings, thoughts, anecdotes? Do you point fun at the world through a creative format (I love Stopfive).

3) Always, always consider your audience. Do you want so-and-so to read what you're writing? Well, if it's on the internet (really, I should say "when" and not "if" since every blog is on the internet), you've got a fat chance in hell that they're not reading it. If you want things to be kept private, don't write it. Also, perhaps many of your readers don't have a flipping clue of what you're talking about. Feel free to indulge, make us understand.

4) Don't substitute telling people about your issues for writing about your issues to satisfy peoples' curiosoty. I mean that to say this: blog all you want, but make sure that you actively pursue your friends and that they actively pursue you. A friend who passively seeks information as to your well-being is perhaps one who is not friend enough to see the pain in your eye. Once you have real conversations, you'll find you have different things to blog about... Unless ofcourse you want it that way.

5) This piece of advice is very personal for me, so feel free to disagree. However, grammar is huge. I mean you can't escape it. If you want people to read properly, then write properly. It's very difficult to read a blog when you have to re-learn to read before you can do it. I tend to skip these blogs.

6) Lastly, I give you the words of my grade 8, 10, and 12 English teacher: "Show, don't tell". This advice falls in the style by which you write, and goes to account for 478 posts here. You can say, "I went to bed," or you can say, "After I slept..." The difference is subtle, but the effect is enormous. Going to bed is rarely a highlight event, so why do you give it its own clause? Make it a semi-clause only to introduce your whole point; "After I slept, I found out etcetc." We still know you went to bed.

Anyways... I don't mean to discredit any blogs or any specific person in their writing, just that I have pet peeves about reading as much as I do about breathing. I suppose I'm irritable.

Who Would Win - Part 3!

2006-07-21T11:48:00.000-07:00

From days of old, there once was a thing called "Who Would Win?" It ran for a while, even had a Part 2.

But alas, the time has come. I pose you this question: A stampeding bull vs a stampeding Otto--who would win??

Cast your vote! Heck, even validate your vote with some reasoning or some scrupulous bantering.

My vote goes to the bull for this reason: what kind of a mythical creature refers to himself by his last name, and points folly at his peers for no reason? A losing mythical creature. Losing in a stampede, that is.

EAT IT OTTO.

I Like Cold Beverages

2006-07-21T09:14:00.000-07:00

whenever i hear this song (i never actually hear it... i just think about it sometimes) i am reminded of my big lovable teddy bear of a roomie JefftheStampede. in other news! i'm pregnant! or divorced! or in jail! mmmm... tasty rumours... in REAL other news my brains are leaking out my skull because of my work and it's death grip it has on my body... BUT YOU'LL NEVER HAVE MY FREEDOM!!! CURSE YOU STREAM!!! CURSE YOU!!!! I AM NOT A NUMBER!!! I AM A FREE MAN!!! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhh.......

insanity fades into silence...

A Function of Malice: Reasons Why Batman Sucks

2006-07-19T13:59:00.000-07:00

1. No super powers.
2. Mommy and Daddy die. Hah!
3. Batmobile? Full of himself much?
4. His butler does all the real work.
5. No super powers.

**Note: this is not a StopFiveRecord, but does borrow the format.

30

2006-07-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

Mowing grass 5' tall is not condusive to a relaxing night. No, instead, it's very good at making sure you're going to scratch yourself all night.

That's right. Perhaps in 30 different places, by 30 mosquito bites. Perhaps for 30 hours. Or until you're 30 years old. Camomile lotion (really good at making itches go away) costs about $29.99, depending on the brand and size of jar.

Thirty is it. Mosquitoes are not it. Ugh.

BWAP

2006-07-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

see title for details

Stranger in the Photo

2006-07-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

You, there. Staring back at me. Your gaze is unbroken, your smile ever-preserved. From within that golden frame, and from behind the glass to which you are contained, you are silent, and unwaivering. You don't smile, you don't frown. I may say something stupid or make a face, but you're cold--completely void of any reaction. You are not the person I knew...You are a stranger I have invited into my home.

It's easy to forget about their pleasent laughter, their irrational nervousness, the wrinkles from the corner of their eyes when all I have to see is you. You are but a poor substitute, a replica which fails to mimmick. There is no feeling to the back of your head, no sound to your voice, and you certainly don't ask for one more minute.

But if there is anything that you are not, it is unwelcome. I know it's likely I won't have to beg you to stay, but I think I would be even more crazy if you left. Please don't mistake my grumbling for ingratefulness.

I guess, deep down, all that I want is the day where I no longer have to speak to you, even the few words we share, because your presence, though appreciated, will no longer be functional, but simply decorational. You may dread it, stranger, but I will relish it.

Version 4?

2006-07-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

Well...

In brief: I was sick of looking at ranDOMinion through 4 scroll bars on low-resolution monitors. Also sick of: trying to make things work for both IE and Firefox. This should be fine. Also: sick of reading complaining about tagboard; note: fixed.

It's not quite finished. Some of the links on the side are goofy (meaning non-functional or are in nature silly). Since this is an early draft, and I'm actually posting a working, non-finished code (first time for ranDOMinion), I have opportunity to take requests or suggestions.

But alas, the heart of the matter: return of the ranDOMinion banner! Remember the good ol' days in ranDOMinion v.1 or v.2? They had those zaney, out-of-place, humourous, yet sad 800x200 pixel banners? I propose a contest: in paint, or in photoshop or in any drawing program you might have, draw up a banner that is 400 pixels wide and 100 pixels tall, save it in jpeg and e-mail it to me. All submissions will be posted and a vote will be had, to determine this ranDOMinion's first banner.

Anyways, tell me what you think. I'm sure most of you would, even if I hadn't beseeched you.

Ticks

2006-07-06T15:46:00.000-07:00

This guy ticks me off.

He makes $100,000 and complains that he has to pay for his older girlfriend's dates, since she is old-fashioned.

Gimme a freakin' break! You make $100,000!! Even with two kids in college (who should pay for themselves, but you're a nice guy anyways), unless they're going to Harvard or Princeton, they're probably spending less than $10,000 each per year, leaving you with over $80,000--which is still WAY above national average income.

So, buddy with too much money for brains, CRAM IT. It's people like you that make this world suck. Give everything you have to the poor and follow Jesus. Then, and only then, we can be friends...

Ok, so maybe, we can be friends--if we were ever to meet (heaven forbid!). But... really, crammez-le!

The Ongoing History of The Dave

2006-06-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

On a dreary night, one not for the faint of heart, there sailed a man and a woman. Their raft, recently crafted of the finest smelling pines of the British Columbian forests lay before them in its constructed glory. They pushed off of the shore and waved good bye.

"Finally, we can have the peace we were looking for," they said to each other.

Slowly but surely, the shore faded off into the distance, and they drifted out to sea. It wasn't long before they discovered their boredom, and that it would take some time for Coast Guards to come and rescue them, and so, The Dave was conceived, in international waters...

During The Dave's adolesence, there is only one story worth noting--six times that is, since that is the number of its occurance. See, The Dave is a cultured fellow. Some say he was even raised by a pack of gorillas, but as to how a pack of gorillas inhabited the forests of northernish BC, no one knows.

The one story is this: on a sunny afternoon, it is known that The Dave is proportionaly large and hairy as to appear like a bear. Perhaps it is the particular angle of the sunlight that projects such an image. One particular day (six times), The Dave had been caught walking in between a bear and its cub; a forestry no-no. When the bear and The Dave fought, the bear managed to put The Dave in a bear hug, but The Dave, being the resourceful, young lad he is, chomped down hard on the bear's neck, piercing its jugular and bleeding it to death.

It is this story, reported by dim-witted TV news anchor that landed then simply, "Dave", his new name, "The Dave" by which we all know and love him. This particular news anchoress, (we will call M. Buck...wait, that's too obvious, maybe Melissa B.) was quoted saying, "That's when The Dave bit bear... Uhh, I mean that's when Dave bit the bear".

Today, this mythical creature can be found slicing ice cream boxes and microwaving hampsters, but never without a headset--plastered by time--to his head.

The Mowing

2006-06-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, there is a strange storm that comes about our fort. We know it's coming when the grass around us is tall. We can hear it off in the distance as it approaches, but since it happens generationally, many forget to expect it, and even fewer prepare for its arrival.

Too many of us will be out and about, working for the greater good of the commune, when it hits. We'll scurry around when winds like blades of metal cut down our home, trying to protect our unborn young. They are our future. At the same time, the queen will recess to the bottomest depths that we have dug.

How do I know of it, you ask? I, like my father before me, and his father before him, are the Storm Watchers. Our family, generations ago, was selected to record and pass on information regarding this particular storm phenominon. However, since the selection is long forgotten amongst the others of the commune, they believe neither that we were selected for such a task, nor that such a storm exists.

We call it "The Mowing". It is due to the fact that all of our surroundings, our home, our environment, all of it is clear cut, it is all mowed down to a dramatically shorter height.

All of this is said to preface this: as my profession requires this of me, it is with the evidence of the observation of long grass and the absence of the Mowing for two whole complete generations, that it is my prediction that such a storm will pass through this area tomorrow.

We will suffer great losses.

Coldplay - Til Kingdom Come

2006-06-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

Steal my heart and hold my tongue.
I feel my time, my time has come.
Let me in, unlock the door.
I've never felt this way before.

The wheels just keep on turning,
The drummer begins to drum,
I don't know which way I'm going,
I don't know which way I've come.

Hold my hand inside your hands,
I need someone who understands.
I need someone, someone who hears,
For you, I've waited all these years.

For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come.
Until my day, my day is done.
And say you'll come, and set me free,
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.

In your tears and in your blood,
In your fire and in your flood,
I hear you laugh, I heard you say,
"I wouldn't change a single thing."

The wheels just keep on turning,
The drummers begin to drum,
I don't know which way I'm going,
I don't know what I've become.

For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come,
Until my days, my days are done.
Say you'll come and set me free,
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.

nospacebar...

2006-06-23T11:22:00.000-07:00

haveyoueverbeenatworkandthespacebardoesn'twork?it'soneofthemostannoyingthingsever...i'mnotafan...inanycaseidon'tknowifi'mgonnagotomyjobanymore...amigoingtoquityouask?no...i'mjustgonnastopgoing...wontigetfired?probably...butidon'treallylikemyjobsoi'mjustgonnastopgoing...whataboutbills?ineverlikedpayingbills...i'mgonnastopdoingthattoo...amiinsaneyouask?maybe...weshallsee!andiwantafrigginspacebar!!!isthatsohard?isit??gosh...

INsanity

2006-06-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

Sun, beach, tidal pools, fish, crab, sandy beach and 9 little three year olds in bathing suits....I get paid for this?

We Should Have Seen it Coming

2006-05-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

What is that? It's pungeant; it's the stench of death.

It is inescapable in this place--it fills your nostrils. You could drown in it. It is so thick, you could almost see its poofy green cloud. If you have the courage to stand it, even for a few seconds, you'd see that it rests on every part: every piece of furniture, every painting, every word that graces the air.

Death. It is imminent. It is cleansing. It is feverantly, passively taking over. It is the lull of activity, it is the ceasure of creativity.

It is promised to us, and it is delivered. What should we expect? Obedience and commitment failed is only the symptom. We should have seen it coming.

Carpet

2006-05-12T09:51:00.000-07:00

There is over 4 square kilometres of carpet in this church to vacuum. Wee!

Wow.

2006-05-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I just spent my first 9-5 day at the church. Exciting.

I did the following:
- devotions
- answered 5 phone calls (one was from erin!)
- went with youth coordinator guy to pick up plywood
- hosted a fire safety inspection with fireman Don
- helped some guy...err... John, I think, hang a "washrooms" sign, to only one washroom...
- tidied up the pews and stuff
- made a blog, a ministry blog, that i'm not done working on yet.
- phoned summit to see what the heck is up with internship package
- and wrote an outline to my testimony, which i'm going to share thursday

So, I still have an hour left, which I will use to make dinner plans, and tidy up downstairs, and prepare for tomorrow.

I've got a phone date with a pretty lady real soon... oh boy i'm excited! :D

All I Have to Say Is:

2006-05-04T17:48:00.000-07:00

"Oye."

Start address: Richmond, BC
Canada

End address: Creston, BC
Canada

Distance: 739 km (about 11 hours 37 mins)

Reverse directions

1. 1. Head north from Garden City Rd - go 0.2 km
2. 2. Bear right and head toward Garden City Rd - go 0.1 km
3. 3. Bear right at Garden City Rd - go 0.8 km
4. 4. Turn right at Westminster Hwy - go 2.6 km
5. 5. Bear right into the HWY-99 S entry ramp to Seattle - go 15 km
6. 6. Take exit 20 to North Delta/Surrey/Hope - go 0.5 km
7. 7. Turn left at Ladner Trunk Rd - go 6.0 km
8. 8. Continue on 58 Ave - go 4.4 km
9. 9. Bear left at 56 Ave - go 17 km
...
10. 10. Bear right and head toward 70 Ave/Springbrook Rd - go 0.1 km
11. 11. Bear right at HWY-10/HWY-10-BYP - go 2.6 km
12. 12. Bear right and head toward 72 Ave - go 0.1 km
13. 13. Bear right at 72 Ave - go 0.3 km
14. 14. Take the HWY-1 E ramp - go 104 km
...
15. 15. Bear right at HWY-3 E - go 6.5 km
16. 16. Take the HWY-3 E ramp to Princeton/Penticton/Osoyoos - go 0.7 km
17. 17. Continue on Crowsnest Hwy - go 193 km
...
18. 18. Bear right and head toward Crowsnest Hwy - go 0.1 km
19. 19. Bear right at Crowsnest Hwy - go 130 km
...
20. 20. Bear left at Crowsnest Hwy/S Copper Ave - go 252 km
...
21. 21. Bear right and head toward HWY-21 - go 0.1 km
22. 22. Bear right at HWY-21 - go 1.7 km
23. 23. Bear left - go 1.0 km
24. 24. Turn right at Crowsnest Hwy/Northwest Blvd - go 0.3 km
25. 25. Turn left at Hillside St - go 47 m
26. 26. Continue - go 0.5 km

Google Maps says so.

--official ranDOMinion statement--

2006-05-03T08:50:00.000-07:00

The architect, designer, creator, editor, maintainer, and king* of ranDOMinion and its subsidiaries hereby issues the following statements regarding ranDOMpoet's post at 12:45am, Tuesday, May 2nd, 2006:

(a) the family of ranDOMinion does not encourage the use of nor think it acceptable to subject its readers to a barrage of insult and mockery for the sake of reaction**
(b) the family of ranDOMinion does not stand behind ranDOMpoet in his opinion; it is his solely
(c) the family of ranDOMinion hereby issues the ranDOMpoet writer a warning: future escapades will not be tolerated.

On behalf of the ranDOMinion family, one who values its readers, we humbly appologize for this inevitable discourse from such a loose cannon. He will definetly refrain from expressing his frustration in such a death-worthy manner since nobody cares.***

We hope ranDOMpoet will burn in...
err... will realize the error in his ways and come around.

signed:
ranDOMandrew

*the title "king" may be subject to verification
**yes, it does, actually
***probably just kidding, but not likely!

--end official ranDOMinion statement--

7:55 AM

Disappointed and Angry

2006-05-02T00:45:00.000-07:00

Due to the fact that everyone minus 3 people are completely LAME! the First Annual ranDOMpoetries contest is cancelled. Thank you very much to the 3 people who participated. And thanx to those who voted. No wait! Nobody voted! So please do everyone a favor and NEVER EVER complain that people aren't posting anything on ranDOMinion or ranDOMpoetries. It is because of lame people like YOU that make these sites SUCK!

Thanx for coming out, now GO HOME!

**feel free to bash this post, maybe if I get you all angry then you'll pick your ass up and type something.**

Zombie

2006-04-25T22:25:00.000-07:00

Exams.
Almost over.
Smelling colours.
Who are you?
Eyes pinned open.
Injustifiable exhaustion.
The striving ceases.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow.
There is hope tomorrow.
Hangin' on for dear life.
Waiting for next week.
Surviving.
Just gettin' by.
Exams...
Oye.

Gloating

2006-04-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

Preface: Ok for real, I'm going to indulge in some serious sin.

I finished statistics exam today, and looks good: I'm gonna pass! This is partially due to not-so-kicked-in-face that I left the exam room with, but more to do with the fact that I got

100% on the survey report!!
that's two zeroes, following a one, incase you missed it.

Oh, and if all points are received for all points given, that makes it PERFECT!

WeeeEEeeEEee!
I toted the thing around all dinner long, and showed it to lots of people. I'm quite proud of it. You should ask to see it, if you want to know what the student body has to say about the cafeteria. You might be surprised...

Randominterestingness

2006-04-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

What is coolness? and why don't I have it? and where can I get it? Does it just appear at some point in a person's life? does it have to be aged like a fine wine? What is coolness?

Motionless

2006-04-16T01:39:00.000-07:00

Standing atop the cliff face, he looks out upon God's creation, admiring the shape of the hills, the life of the trees. The sun shines bright on his face, and a cool breeze blows through his hair. He is the image of independance; he emobodies solitude.

He knows his disposition, he stands atop that cliff and knows the image you now know. But he thinks it flawed. He instead imagines himself on the same cliff face, on a dark, cloudy, windy, rainy night, lightening flashing all around. His face is disfigured, wrinkled, scarred. The only thing keeping him standing is a friend standing next to him, holding him up. This friend knows no body, but is a presence unlike any other. To any other eye, he sits atop the cliff on a chair made of air; he is the image of dependace; he embodies neediness.

His hair is blown everywhere, his eyes are gazed out elsewhere, but seem to have lost all focus. He is motionless. In his mind, he recounts his shortcomings, over and over again. You can see the events take place on his iris. Look closely. He finds himself sinking deeper and deeper, slouching in his chair. He could very well fall off and down the cliff face.

Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole place where he was sitting. He is saved, he is. If instead of resenting his dependance and grew to love it, he could thrive, and once again find himself atop a cliff face, looking out at God's creation, in admiration of the shape of the hills, the life of the trees...

Full of Your Wonders

2006-04-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

How amazing is it, that accross the table from you is a set of dreams, a collection of chemicals, a series of bio-electric pulses, fearfully and wonderfully made, as free, complex, mysterious, as broad and deep as you imagine yourself to be?

There, accross from you is a mass, a volume of 60% water, organs, volountary and involountary functions, assembled for the purpose of God's glory. She exists, and you never thought it possible. How is it that twenty years apart have brought you to the same table, wired in strikingly similar ways, yet with differences that put you in worlds differenciating like black and white?

What a feat of function it is to share a glance--a pause in reality to cause bio-electric pulses of your own within her--to know that your thoughts are the same; that in that moment there exists nothing outside of the locked gaze. Recoveing from a momentary delay in time, only a smile, accross each of your faces confirms everything you thought you knew.

What a wonderful creation. Who could ever have doubted His wonders? This is no measure of miracle, no. This is the revelation of the Garden of Eden.

How fearfully and wonderfully You have made each of us. We are indeed full of your wonders.

Extrapsalmic Poetic Praise

2006-04-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

How comforting to know that those who select glorious preaching over humble ministry fail and do not last.

Praise the Lord that I would love to scrub toilets!

How comforting to know that Saul's prophesying was a sign to him and Israel of God's authentication of him.

Praise the Lord that I have been authenticated!

How comforting to know that though I struggle and question my calling to ministry, that through special revelation by means of logic and worship using the mind, God still calms the storm, and slays doubts beyond recognition.

Praise the Lord that my doubts are squandered!

Confliction

2006-04-03T02:41:00.000-07:00

How can be it that we are conflicted? It is ever so entertainig to watch the person's two characteristics play themselves out in their lives, fighting against each other. Who will win?

Some are ever so logical. Yet they are simultaneously a dramatic.
Some are scornfully pessimistic. They are so hopefully optimistic.
Some are daily troubled. At the same time they are overjoyed.

I observe these things in you, my friends. It is a beautiful thing, the human mind. How inadequate is the English language that we cannot perceive someone being logical and dramatic at the same time, all the while that thought being completely rational?

Le Weekend

2006-03-26T17:56:00.000-08:00

1) everyone is late getting to the van. they said, "10:30" were there at "11:00"

2) instead of being ready to leave at 11:00, they were arguing about Jenn who had locked herself out of her housesitting house

3) once we went to where jenn was and needed to turn around, some lady in a purple mini-van came within mere MILLIMETRES of striking us WHERE I WAS SITTING! stinkin' lady...

4) instead of picking up jenn, she needs her car dropped off somewhere else, so we're following her to drop it off. she gets into the van around 11:25

5) finally, we're on the highway. "what's that smell?" wouldn't you know, Jenn steppdin in dog sh...poo and brought it along with us.

6) it's my last trip EVER and i really want to eat chilli before getting in the van. psegga and marina are nearly crying because i'm talking about it. for lunch at the church (potluck), someone brings chilli and my moral dilemna strikes... the girls win. i didn't have chilli.

7) we're hauling derière on the way home, so much that a police officer doesn't like it, and we are momentarily delayed on the highway due to his escapades of authority.

oy!

2006-03-23T07:38:00.000-08:00

Joshua 23:14

This is also God's promise to me today.

Poetry Contest

2006-03-15T00:09:00.000-08:00

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

Welcome one and all to the first annual "ranDOMpoetries Poetry Contest". This next couple of weeks I will be receiving poetry from anyone willing to post an original piece of work. You may send it to randompoet@gmail.com I will post them on randompoetries.blogspot.com as I receive them. After which will be a three day voting period in which the winner will be chosen.

The prize for first place will be a note book in which to store poetry and other tidbits.
The runner up will receive some other diminutive prize.

To start the contest off I have posted three pieces of writing. "Bells", "From Prison", and "Sight". One, Two, all Three or None of the Above may possibly have been written by myself. You must guess which.

Good luck to you potential poetry champions

Prizes are subject to change without prior warning, due to lack of me not finding a cool note book or some other small thing.
All prizes will be delivered via a third party or a "drop point" due to the fact that ranDOMpoet must remain annonymous.
Contest only open to SPC students or affiliates. Others may enter poetry to be posted but are not eligible for the contest.

Heaven in a bowl...

2006-03-14T20:12:00.000-08:00

Chapman's " Dutch Chocolate" Icecream
+ Smucker's " magic shell: Turtle Delight" sauce
+ whipping cream
_________________________________
= heaven in a bowl....

I don't like ranDOMpoetries lately

2006-03-13T15:49:00.000-08:00

in a land of morphing walls
of three-thousand dollar bowties
of men in black suits
of Chuck-E-Cheeses and popcorn
where computers are returned to fashion stores
where bridges span from Vancouver to Halifax
I am invinsible
I am a sleeping genius

Only until I should wake...

Blog

2006-03-10T22:55:00.000-08:00

A man walks into a bank and yells "This is a stick up!"

A teenager playfully points out a "bomb" under his friends airplane seat.

The engineer on duty pulls the emergency handbrake, and the line of unfinished cars stops.

And so it is, a group of "writers" cease typing, and the productivity of a blog halts.

Random Vortex Memory!

2006-03-06T09:27:00.000-08:00

Back in my third year (yeah yeah when dinosaurs roamed the earth) i lived in the Morrison in room 201... The Vortex... sigh... some good memories... ANYWAYS... we had an event called 'Axe Wars' which was basically a conflict between ours and Monte's room... so we had these cans of Axe Bodyspray that we got for uber-cheap in some bargain bin at walmart... so we decide to make an 'axe grenade' and bomb their room... and it works... hehehe... they (monte) get's mad and decides to come lay down the law... now this is after me and zenon had gone to bed and adam was still up... so monte bursts into the room and starts spraying everything with the axe... adam takes exception to this and attacks monte, somehow wrestling the axe away from him, and they start fighting over this axe... meanwhile in the seperate bedroom all we can hear is CRASH!!! BANG!!! OW!!! (hissing sound) ARGH!!! MY EYES!!! GIVE IT HERE!!! zenon and i are laying in bed giggling our faces off because we hear the destruction through the paper thin wall... the fighting ends, monte leaves, and adam comes into the room reeking of axe... we almost die from laughing... or the smell... we werent' sure which...

Chris Rock's "Quote of the year"

2006-02-28T16:42:00.000-08:00

You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the
best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the
Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the US of arrogance,
Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in
America are named Bush, Dick and Colon. Need I say more?

i don't know about you but i'm glad i'm not american right now :P

Thank You...

2006-02-27T11:22:00.000-08:00

The Peanut Gallery is my hero.

Yes, thank you.

Formal publication of peace treaty terms

2006-02-23T06:28:00.000-08:00

To all whom it may concern,
My kingdom is scattered and meager beyond comparison. My people have left to other parts of the world North, South, East and West. My Honor is no long the issue as I feel that my person is completly safe since I am at the uttermost West. Let there be a truce between The kingdom of Pink and the Kingdom of Blue for the express purpose of peace and life. Perhaps another kingdom shall boast the throne of "bestness" but for the present moment The kingdom of Pink has been dissasmebled and is now asking for peace. Do you accept Kingdom of blue? Let there be no more talk of boys being the best or girls being the best...God has created all equal in his sight let us honor him instead of our petty differences in stature. Peace...oh kingdom of blue peace? Yes or no?

A Census

2006-02-20T20:59:00.000-08:00

By decree of the Grand Emperor of the Kingdom of Blue, I, the Inspector General of the Quality, hereby declare a census to all members of the Kingdom of Blue.

Bellow (in the comments section) you will sign your real name, your title in the kingdom, and your weapon of choice (if you have one already). Your weapon of choice should reflect an item that you are actively using to slay the enemies of the Kingdom of Blue (ie: Kingdom of Pink, Midterm and Final Exams), and the field does not need to be filled if you do not already wield a weapon.

Note: this is not an invitation to join the KoB. If you wish to join to the KoB, you should approach one elder of the KoB (either Dave of myself), and we will officiate you.

An example of what your census deposit should look like is as follows:

Andrew MacGregor
Inspector General of the Quality
who doth wieldeth the Battle Axe of Blasphemy

Any false, slanderous census entries or entires pertaining to kingdoms of other colours will result in the execution of the entry's author's private parts or tax bracket.

Normal

2006-02-17T16:48:00.000-08:00

That evening it was dark early, which was normal for the time of year. It was cold and windy, which was normal.
It started to rain, which was particularly normal.
A spacecraft landed, which was not.
There was nobody around to see it except for some spectactularly stupid quadrupeds who hadn't the faintest idea what to make of it, or whether they were meant to make anything out of it, or eat it, or what. So they did what they did to everything which was to run away from it and try to hide under each other, which never worked.

Seventeen

2006-02-16T21:17:00.000-08:00

i am the number of books on a shelf
i am her age when her daddy told her he loves her
i am the name of a pompous magazine
i am the number of years they've spent happily together
i am the number on the back of his jersey
i am the amount of times he has shushed them in the library
i am that many minutes past nine o'clock in the evening
i am one more than sixteen
i am the sum of hours he has slept today

Responsibility as a Leader

2006-02-15T09:29:00.000-08:00

How do you communicate to a group of imperfect people, being imperfect, that they are in the wrong, that they should shape up, that God calls us to a higher standard?

Take Moses for example. Moses did what was right in the image of God and the people complained--he spoke to Pharaoh to get them freed and Pharaoh only increased their burden. It was Moses' fault.

If you can't stand criticism, forget leadership. Pack your bags and go home. Stand up for what is right in his eye: servitude, worship, obediance, salvation, love. Measure up against Him, make right with Him, and step out into the world and speak to His people and those who are not "His people" the blessings he has made known to you.

Being a worker of God does not make you a hero in the eyes of His congregation, it makes you the object of criticism.

---

Thanks Roger. It's about time someone stood up.

Three Lessons this Weekend

2006-02-13T11:04:00.000-08:00

Worship God, not because we feel good but because he is good.
There are days that we would rather curl up and die than to go out and tell people how good God is. Things like, feeling unprepared as a band might translate to you, "Our ministry is insufficient", but it is on these days that we have to rely on God to pull through for us, and to use us.

Joking about homosexuality is not funny. In the slightest.
You wouldn't hold a knife to your friends throat and joke around with his life. You wouldn't put your hand on his wife's thigh and joke around with her sexuality. You wouldn't joke about robbing a bank while in a bank. So why do you grab other guys, make homosexually suggestive comments? You call it, "Secure in my sexuality", I call it, "Belonging to the world and leaving Christ at the door".

Don't dream your life, live your dream.
Why should we sit around and wonder about the what-if's? Take care of your responsibilities and have fun. Do the things that you want to do. Don't sell yourself out to crappy jobs. There are better jobs. Ride your motorcycle. Talk to those random people.

End of an Era, Beginning of the New

2006-02-11T00:46:00.000-08:00

thursday, february 9, 2006 is a landmark day. after years of service and sitting around, i finally realized that it was past it's bedtime so to speak. the yellow dart was parked to rest at Capt'n Crunch auto recycler's until it's appointment for recycling is come. it's gone now. rest easy, my yellow friend. many memories come to mind such as midnight barbecues, hauling my whole life (in the form of stuff) around at the beginning of the past few summers then helping my friends do the same, and parking it below the windows of morrison 201, standing a ricketty ladder in the back and pulling the window's open because the door was locked and i had no key (which was on the counter inside). i'm not "the yellow truck guy" anymore either. it's different when i arrive at my basement suite and do not see it parked there. i know it's for the best though. it was past due as it needed many repairs and i neither had the time, money, contact with anyone who would purchase it off my hands. so, $43 later it was just dave and i in the new green mazda B-series truck quietly reminiscing on the drive back about things we've done/shared involving the yellow dart. it's legacy lives on though: the original license plates i got when i insured it as the owner are now used on the new mazda. as well, i still have the fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror. my racing gloves, helmet, shades are now extinct but nevertheless the spirit of the yellow dart is far from it. so i propose a toast to things to never forget. grab your vanilla cokes and touch cans/bottles/etc and say something nice about the yellow dart. afterall, it's the grandfather to the green dart? bastard? goblin? goober? . . . suggestions?

if you have any stories regarding the yellow dart i would love to for you to share them with me :) . . . and pictures can be emailed to a_dam_kropf@hotmail.com

Encore en Francais?

2006-02-09T18:12:00.000-08:00

French is hot.

Everybody is going to watch "Amelie" (which is the anglisisme name for the movie, which is really called "Les Misaventures d'Amelie Poulin"). I have been watching it the last couple of nights and it's... :D It brings a smile to my face everytime.

SO YOU WILL ALL WATCH IT. and you will all love french. that's just how it's gonna be.

S'il y a meme un d'entre vous qui me resiste... je... ne ferais rien. Qui suis-je de te forcer regarder un film que peut-etre vous n'aimerais pas? Bah.

And aparently, if i use accents proper, .html rejects them. That's annoying.

When I Stand

2006-02-06T10:40:00.000-08:00

When I stand in your cathedral, that stands a hundred feet tall, whose walls light up in an explosion of colour and warmth, whose furniture remembers your people and all their struggles, your magnitude is incalcuable. The still, cold breeze that permiates the building may very well be your breath. How far beyond these hills, how far beyond everything I can see are you greater?

When I stand on your mountain, and look down upon your people, watch them scurry, and wonder at their struggles, I am amazed that minutes after marvelling your great size that I can feel the same way. How marvelous it is to be like you, made in your image, and feel like you. Down there are people who have depression, who are happy, who can't pay their bills, who are getting married, who are breaking up, who are relying on you, who are hating you; and you are so much bigger than them, so much bigger than their issues.

When I stand back and consider that you are so large, that I am like you, I can't help but believe that with you, I am so much bigger than these issues I let get me down.

The search for the garbage can lid...

2006-02-04T20:18:00.000-08:00

One Thursday morning: Get up in the morning, shower, eat, clean up after husband, put out garbage....wait a minute where is the garbage lid? So the hunt begins in the wee hours of the morning to find this lid. Why care about one single lid? because my friends there sits bob the seagull waiting until my back is turned to jump in my garbage can and find himself a nice nasty meal, and me not wanting to clean up after his little gorging wanted to find that lid! Just then the phone rings...can you come in to work tonight? yes...now where is that lid? Beep...Laundry is done...now where did that lid go? as Bob inches ever closer. Needless to say I found the lid buried by our new freezer that sits outside until a mud room is built to house it. What an eventful morning and it isn't even lunch yet.

Touchy Subject

2006-01-31T19:15:00.000-08:00

My friends, I need your help. Really, your prayers.

This morning's Spiritual Emphasis chapel was about depression. Jonanne spoke beautifully, though she raised within me things I thought were atleast well suppressed.

I may have been able to ignore it before, but I am depressed. I have been for a long, long time. I've attempted to deal with it in a myriad of ways, none of which seem to have been successful.

I've never considered medication, nor have I really seen a doctor about it. I really don't think that since Joanne had a chemical imbalance that I do, this is just illogical; though I have considered being chemically imbalanced before, and I can't simply strike the idea.

This depression has manifested itself physically a few ways, the most obvious being my immediate environment and my school work. Those of you closest to me know how disastrous both of these aspects of my life really are.

The biggest staple in my depression boils down to how little I trust God--for how long I haven't trusted Him. I need your prayers for strength and discipline, for as long as you can muster.

I thank you all for being sensitive and patient with me.

College Life

2006-01-29T00:17:00.000-08:00

it's the hump of life, as i see it... this part where we trudge through mud waist-deep, in hopes that there is infact greener grass on the other side...

Sleeping in my Shoes

2006-01-28T00:11:00.000-08:00

Tonight I will sleep with my shoes on. I will have no regard for the norm of removing my shoes. I will violate the sanctity of bed with the dirt of the street. I will wear the hood of my hoodie.

I will wrap my blanket around tight, and cuddle my pillow. I will blare music to occupy my mind.

I will sacrifice the innocence of sleep for the security of being.

And it will be great.

Wear shoes to bed.

Time of Her Life

2006-01-26T06:28:00.000-08:00

After an hour-and-so's drive, she arrives. Her long awaited visit to the beach is today! You can watch her face turn from gleeful anticipation to full blown rediculous joy.

She picked a good day to do it, middle of March, sun is shining after weeks of rain, no wind, school is of no concern. She might run in the sand, splash in the water, play volleyball, or maybe even lie down and do nothing.

Her foot is first to leave the car. All at the same time, her bare foot strikes the warm ground and her nostrils are invaded with that warm, full, ocean air. The warmth of the sun is on her face. She lingers a moment, who would have thought? She whispers to herself, It's only March.

Once collected, her and her friends run out, not a care in the world besides the bickering as to what they should do first. Opinions are many, but one thing remains true: there is little that can make this visit to the beach a displeasurable one, she will have the time of her life.

Hooray!

2006-01-25T00:15:00.000-08:00

Congratulations, readers and writers alike!

I draw attention to the milestone of 636 days of ranDOMination. I must say, having created this blog, so so long ago, a couple of friends goofing off, I could not have seen it going this far!

Over the years, ranDOMinion has seen many faces. Some were alright, some were hot. Others just needed to shower. The bottom line remains that with every facelift was another realization of the marriage between graphic designing and html coding, which became css coding, which is becoming xml coding...

Although I have taken a personal role to ownership of this website, it really doesn't belong to me. Infact this blog might celebrate part ownership with nearly ten members throughout its history. Their contributions have made this feat possible. Without them, we would have possibly made it to 592, but I just can't see it happening.

Low and behold, where would ranDOMinion be without its loyal fans and readers. It is for you that we strife. It is for you that we flick lint in aspiration of literary excellence. Without you, without your interaction, your responce, it's just not worth continuing.

I give you this gift: the pleasure of revisiting all of ranDOMinion's old banners. Thank you, friends, for what this has become.

sigh2

2006-01-22T21:39:00.000-08:00

Meridian Mail. Mailbox?

*beep boop boop*

Password?

*boop beep bleep*

Your mailbox is empty. Get some friends.

Goodbye.

*click*

Steward

2006-01-20T23:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I crafted a beautiful, blown glass vase. It is an intricate swirl of reds, oranges and yellows. The crafting wasn't difficult, much at all, since I am a professional. It's not the first vase I ever blew.

It was a special order for a young man, who had come into the shop a month ago. He wanted this fragile work of art for a myriad of reasons, I'm sure. I had seen him in the store before, eyeing other vases, though I knew him; I knew he would admire a vase for a while and move on. He didn't really know what he was looking for, until he came to me and put in his order.

He picked it up, earlier today. He looked me square in the eye and said, "I'm not sure how you've done it, but it's simply captivating. I promise you I will steward such a precious gift with the greatest might".

I try not to make my work too personal, but giving these things away brings a sentimental value to me! I mean, they are already paid for, so a customer can walk in with nothing and leave with half the store. His promise to me lightened my heart greatly, as it was and is a truly beautiful vase; a work to be proud of. It gladdens my heart to know it's appreciated by him, now its steward, as much as I had.

Uhh... Wow.

2006-01-18T16:27:00.000-08:00

Words... there are none.

Competion

2006-01-18T07:59:00.000-08:00

Okay guys here's my question of the day:
How does a girl compete with a computer( and all the games etc. it entails)?

Happy Birthday To Andrew!

2006-01-16T22:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday To You! (WOOO!!!!)
Happy Birthday To You! (WOOO!!!!)
Happy Birthday Dear Andrew! (we love you andrew!)
Happy Birthday To You! (WOOO!!!!)

you didn't get sung to in the caff but this is close enough... :) welcome to old age my friend!

Escapades at 5:30am

2006-01-15T05:41:00.000-08:00

Well, I am up at 5:30am for work. I will eat my Honey Bunches of Oats for breakfast, and make my way out the door for the 50minute commute to work.

Uhh.. wait, it's 5:30am at a Bible college?! Where the norm of people are getting up late for church? WHAT TIME DO THEY UNLOCK EVERYTHING?!

So, aparently, I will be sitting on my ass until 7:00am. Nobody's answering the phone at work. My Dad will likely be in bed far beyond 7:00am.

WHY IS IT SO HARD TO GET TO WORK. All I want to do is make some money! I am quickly drowning and need that special hand to pull me back up...

Do You See What I See?

2006-01-14T00:07:00.000-08:00

Society is a silencing thing. Watch what you say, fear what they think. They may deem you exhonourable, expendable. They may cast judgement down upon you.

The truth is that they are beyond your control. You only control yourself. Choose your words with serious heed. None too revealing, none too sensitive, none too provocative. Appear yourself to fit in. Silence the emotions and urges within you to burst out and scream the truth at the lot of them.

Exchange not a word, but perhaps a look. They may silence the language of the tongue, but can never silence the language of the body. You can hide nothing in the way you move, react, emote.

How fortunate it is, then, that they do not see what I see.

Stop Five is Back!

2006-01-13T15:08:00.000-08:00

YAY!

Blogging domination can continue.

And the angels rejoice.

sigh

2006-01-10T23:22:00.000-08:00

Stradle her at the stop light. She purrs and waits for you waiting for the light to change. There is no one around, no one to call you on your misbehaviour. Feel the satisfaction of immorality sink in, "It's O.K., it's great!"

In anticipation, the opposing light turns amber. Gears check: O.K. No traffic coming...

The world ceases to exist, and all that is exists in front of you: a yellow line, a spedometer ever-climbing, and miles of road beyond. If only the beat of the heart could keep up with the racing of the sound, but at this pace, nothing can keep up.

Throw your weight at the corner. Disregard concerns for the ability to keep upright. Objects in motion want to stay in motion, and so you will stay upright. Push it harder, and harder. Lean deeper. Drive faster.

You might decide, somewhere over that hill is a place worth visiting. There is a shop, or a restaurant, or a funny billboard--any place will do. Come to a stop, put both feet on the ground, and breathe. Really breathe. Take time to absorb the thrill, take time to consider the feat accomplished.

Somewhere between here and $10 for 300 kilometres of great riding, the understanding sinks in: life is short. Arrive safely, arrive in style. Enjoy the ride.

For a Week

2006-01-08T18:15:00.000-08:00

It was a cold December morning. The sky was clear and he lived off in the bush somewhere--somewhere obscure enough to make its name not worth mentioning, obscure enough to allow the night sky to shine as God intended. He observes one entity of light traveling empty space at a blistering 300 metres per second in an unwaivering straight line. It passes some planets, goes through some galaxies, escapes the no-escape radius of some black holes. He recorded his findings, closed his book, and went to bed.

The next night was just as beautiful. The observer, without difficulty found the entity of light he observed last night right where he had predicted to find it in the next-night's sky. Though, upon locating it, he gasped, saying, "It just can't be, the law's of physics don't allow for it!"

He recorded in his log book this:

"Two entities of light in a straight-line trajectory, though one is circrling the other." He drew a picture to help himself remember, it resembled in shape a sword being wrapped up by a snake, around and around, each entity of light depicted as bright balls, and their movements lines behind them.

He finally concluded, "This is going to change existence as we know it. New laws need to be written." He did not sleep for a week.

Playing Coy

2006-01-07T14:59:00.000-08:00

I have no idea what you're talking about. In fact, you're so bizzare and left field that I don't think anyone knows what you're talking about.

Holdcroft is big and empty.

I'm hungry.

People should come watch hocket tonight.

Friends come tomorrow??! :D

Dawning Effect

2006-01-01T21:30:00.000-08:00

It's a bit of a dawning effect. You would stare at the horizon, where the sky had become blue, stare and stare, and surely, inevitable as anything, the sun ri\ses. You can almost just as easily see it coming.

But it is not quite a warming effect. No, rather liken it to removing all the warmth from the entire world, even the warmth from good Grandma, bless her heart. With it, your heart sinks, the world slows. Suddenly the world, lacking warmth, contains meaninglessness. It's not that it didn't contain any before, now it is just so unavoidably obvious; it stares you in the face.

You would say to yourself, "I hope out there, somewhere out there I pray oh God, she thinks of me. If there was no one to be with, no one to see, would I be forgotten? Could I vanish?" What noise does a falling tree make when no one hears; of what existence is a man if no one thinks of him?

As if to confirm you invalidity, a voice begins to narrate your life to you. No longer do you use your own eyes, ears; no longer do you smell the scents of the world, someone instead reads them to you. You may as well be a vegetable somewhere else, and the subject of cruel and unusual punishment--the incapable listener of such a bland, horrid story.

With all the vim you can muster you sit and succumb to it. Why stand up and fight? It is still as inevitable as the rising sun.

Then, to finish it of, and to satiate the burn of everything and nothing, a name is applied and it all makes sense...

Alone.

the bubble

2005-12-31T11:35:00.000-08:00

ok, so i'm on the outside looking in. it's funny. if i want to take part in anything that's inside i have to go to it, look inside to see what's going on, then maybe i can tag along. many friends i have are inside it. they say they know it's a bubble but they really have no idea until they actually choose to move elsewhere. then it's amazing how exclusive it is. i think i had a phone call from a bubblian friend of mine once but i don't really remember. i kinda feel left out . . . forgotten almost unless i make myself known. sigh. it sucks because i miss my friends. there they are way up on the bubble hill. i can see them but can they see me? hmmm. i should get my own billboard and put it right in the middle of the road so they have to drive under it to off the hill. or maybe i should . . . . . . . . . do nothing? just let them fall away? i think my friends are slipping away slowly. it's nobody's fault really, but it isn't unavoidable. i can see how i forgot about people who live off campus while i lived on: sometimes i would think of them and then the thought would be quickly replaced by something that was closer, tangible at the time, easily distracting by the doins a-transpiring inside the bubble, everything being spontaneous/last-minute. so tell me, friends, when are you going to open your eyes fully instead of just cracking them every once in a while? real life awaits you outside anyways, so don't forget about it.

let's argue about anything

2005-12-30T18:50:00.000-08:00

in my head i'm the smoothest talker. it always comes out right and my tone of voice is just perfect. i should write screenplays because i think i could be successful. it's funny how i hardly ever lose an argument. if i'm pretending to tell somebody off they always react just the way i think they should and i express myself fully, perfectly, to the "T" each time. i'm so good at conversations, confrontations, etc because i am cool, collected, competent and confident. i am great.

then there's real life . . . let's not go there.

It is too quiet...

2005-12-30T13:07:00.001-08:00

Before 5:00am this morning I was awoken not by an alarm, phone or any such noise maker, but by the fact there was silence. Yes there was a power outage. So there I am walking around my house with a candle in the dark making sure that the pilot light on the hot water heater isn't out. Can you feel the excitement? what is creepy is that there are no lights on anywhere outside either, kinda like a wierd black hole effect. Needless I didn't go back to sleep until the noise started again about 10:00am...

Curious George + alcohol

2005-12-29T22:40:00.000-08:00

so i says to the guy, "he's your monkey, you buy him the beer!" and turned and watched wallace and grommit on tv.

Only In Port Clements

2005-12-29T11:34:00.000-08:00

So here we are making a family brunch consisting of bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, milk, pancakes, etc... oh no! we're out of milk and soon to be out of eggs! so mom gets in the car and rips down to bayview market, the only store in town... oh no! who left only one piece of bacon in the wrapping?!? what are we going to do?!?

Simple.

Dad busts out the phonebook, finds the number for bayview market, phones them up, requests to speak to his wife, and then puts in an order for more eggs and bacon... Only in Port Clements!

Did You All Disappear?

2005-12-28T18:51:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it's been like days since anyone has made any comment or post so uhh... what the crap?

I arrived safely in Vancouver earlier today. We picked out today to fly home since I am supposed to be at work for 6:00...well... it's 7:00 now and I'm not there! In fact, today is one the academy's scheduled no-lesson weeks. SO I LEFT FOR NOTHING.

It was an exciting 12 days. Lots of walking and lots of church and holy crap I musta met like 100+ new people (I wouldn't be entirely surprised if that was accurate). Definetly enjoyed the events of Christmas day, and was definetly blessed with a myriad of miracles on return day (being today), first being that my flight was delayed like an hour and so on and so excitedly forth.

Now, after I write paper, I have ten days to kick it. Literally. I will kick it. The bucket? Kick something. Point is I don't gotta do nothin. YOUPIE! Phone me and we hook up.

I'm...

2005-12-25T18:49:00.000-08:00

at a loss for words

a rabbit eating nuts
a squirrel digging up carrots

so brutally conflicted

overjoyed yet sorrowed
blessed but cursed

still a man in need of a Saviour

Gingerbread Church Pictures

2005-12-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

Hover mouse over photos for a short description. WHEEE!! If you save them you can see them bigger, but none of yas probably care to, which is fine.