It's My Birthday!!!

I don't care.

Why throw a party? I'm not good at throwing parties, and I never enjoy parties I throw because I'm always thinking about the details, and worrying if everyone is having a good time. I'd rather someone throw a party for me. But some people suck at throwing parties too and I don't want those people to throw a party for me, but how do I say, "hey don't throw a party for me, cause you suck at it."?

And I don't like opening presents in front of people. I never respond genuinely cause it's always awkward for me. I don't like it.

And even though I do like attention, I sorta don't like it. Yeah, it's an odd thing.

And now I feel old. I don't like feeling old.

Meh. Happy Birthday to me!

ps. it's not actually my birthday yet, but it's coming up. i didn't intend to mislead you...

My Latest Move

A couple weeks ago I learned about this incredible move you can do when cheering. It's called "Air-Punching". Why did I never think of it before??!? When I was at camp I took advantage of my new move and used it whenever appropriate. I will definitely be air-punching this Saturday at the Fireworks!!!

If you'd like to see an excellent example of air-punching, click here to see this article where I first discovered it.

Family Guy

I have never liked Family Guy. I've given it a shot on a number of occasions. There have been a few chuckles. But on the whole, I don't get why people think it's so funny.

There's something just empty about it. Maybe it goes for cheap laughs all the time. I think that's why I don't like it. So, I didn't like it very much and then I watched the South Park episode where they make fun of Family Guy and it really struck a chord for me.

Sorry, this is the best quality video I could find...



There's another part from that show where they explain how Family Guy episodes are created. Basically it's a manatee selecting random word balls in the water like a lottery. I couldn't find a clip for it, so trust me on this one ;)

The End.

p.s. Family Guy sucks!

Infallibility

Most Christians are quite adamant the Bible is infallible. However, I don't think most of them know what they're talking about.

Let's start with the definition (www.m-w.com):

1 : incapable of error : unerring infallible memory>
2 : not liable to mislead, deceive, or disappoint : certain infallible remedy>
3 : incapable of error in defining doctrines touching faith or morals

Okay, for starters I don't know how people can believe the Bible is incapable of error. There are numerous geographical and scientific errors. There are also numerous contradictory story elements, especially in the gospels. I'm not ashamed to label Biblical Inerrancy as a joke.

It's the last two that are tricky. Now, I'm sure you want to believe the Bible is not liable to mislead, deceive, or disappoint, but I'm sorry, it does all three things. I wish it wasn't the case, but the Bible is not explicit enough.

If it really were to be infallible in that sense it would read more like a legal document, but even legal documents are open for interpretation. The funny thing about human language is that it is fluid, it means different things to different people in different contexts. So it sure would be great if the Bible was more clear, but as we all know the Bible is confusing.

In order to understand the Bible, one must interpret it. And interpretation takes a lot of work. There are a lot of factors working against you. Language, context, ancient cultures and customs, time, copies, etc.. Egads, it's a wonder we even have a somewhat united church these days.

Did you know the language primarily used in writing the Old Testament has no vowels? No vowels! Imagine trying to decipher what that means. Here's a sentence I made up for you.

G dwnstrs nd gt m th ct.

So if you knew the context you might be able to figure it out, but did I ask you to get me the cat, coat, or cot? Oh and did you know they also didn't have spaces between words?

gdwnstrsndgtmthct

Good luck.

Thankfully somewhere in time a bunch of people got together and put the vowels in and added spaces.

But did you know we have zero original manuscripts? That's not too surprising seeing as how they would be 2000+ yrs old. So there were lots of copies made. Lots and lots of copies. Over long periods of time.

So these copies are what was used to make our Bible. But did you know that last century some older copies were found? And did you know that those older copies were slightly different than the ones we had been using? Yeah, turns out some people either added or took away words as they copied the text. Perhaps they made an honest mistake or perhaps they purposefully altered the text. We'll never know. Still, for over a thousand years the church has been using Bibles that said different things than the originals.

Hey, did you know the church still doesn't agree what books should be in the Bible? Protestants have 66 books while the Catholics have more. The Greek and Russian Orthodox churches have more than the Catholics. The Eastern Orthodox church has more than them. The Syriac Orthodox church has even more. And finally the Ethiopian Orthodox church has a couple more as well.

Wait, so if the Bible is infallible, what is the Bible? How do we determine what the Bible should consist of? Good question.

You see, the developments of both the Old and New Testament canon took a long time. Different guys met a long time ago to decide which would stay and which would go. Many were canned, while others were questioned heavily.

Did you know the book of Esther and the book of Hebrews are just two of the books in the Protestant canon that were so close to getting turfed? Can you imagine what our faith would be like without these two books?

So yeah, some guys met and decided what the canon would be, but as I've already mentioned, even today the canon is not agreed upon.

And then of course, new books are found or rediscovered and everyone gets their panties in a knot. What about the Gospel of Thomas or the Gospel of Judas?!? Woohoo...

So is the Bible infallible? How can we even answer that when we don't even have complete agreement on what the Bible is? Not to mention I'm sure if we could look back further to the original manuscripts we'd find even more discrepancies.

And even if by some miracle of God the Bible is in fact infallible, there's another slight problem...

The people who read and interpret the Bible are fallible. So even if it was without error, how do we know our interpretations are right?!? How can we know for certain?

It's not as black and white as you'd like it to be. The Bible is not as easy to understand as you claim it is.

So where am I going with all this? Am I saying the Bible is not credible? Is our faith a waste of time? Certainly not! Because you see, God is much bigger than the Bible, and the Spirit of God does in fact speak to us through the Scriptures (despite its failures).

Without the Bible we would have no direction for life. We need these writings to understand God and what he created us for. Sure the Bible may not be "perfect" in the sense we want it to be, but what is contained in the Bible added to the traditions passed down through the years added to the interpretations passed on from old plus plus plus the Holy Spirit connecting the dots for us in our world today equals a holy mystery that opens our eyes to the glory of God. The Bible cannot stand alone. It must be taken with all we know from history and with all the unwritten things passed down throughout the church's existence.

I love the Bible and am thankful everyday that God gave it to us the way he did. Without it we would be lost and aimless. I am thankful the Bible is organic and fluid like the Spirit who speaks through it.

Mac vs. PC

So, I hate it when people are like, "Oh, Macs are sooooo much better than PCs!" I don't know why people decide to make that part of their identity. They fight ruthlessly for the Mac and preach its greatness with great tenacity.

I've had a Mac now for a year, and in that time people ask me, "Is it better than a PC?" I would often reply it's pretty good, but I couldn't say it was better. I didn't want to be one of those guys who jumps on the bandwagon. Some like PC, some like Mac. So what?

This last week I left my computer at home and have been using other people's PCs. I have to now admit, I can't believe how frustrating using a PC is! Seriously, these things really are pieces of crap. Sluggish, complicated, and ugly. Today I gladly admit Macs are better than PCs.

The only thing that sucks about Mac that I've come across is the lack of software. PC still dominates the world and so there isn't a lot you can get for a Mac. Whatever, it's not like I need that many other programs anyways.

The Return

These last two weeks at camp have been exciting! What a great experience this has been overall. So much to think about my head is exploding!!! But I'm tired. I hope to fill you in on my thoughts in the near future, but I think I need a few days to re-orient myself.

Old Man Cooper

In the span of a year I have crossed a line. A year ago when I asked kids how old they thought I was, the typical response was 24-27. These last two weeks at two different camps I have gotten a different range of ages. Most say 30, but quite a few say 33-37. Last year I looked younger than I really am. This year I look like my age or possibly even older.

I am officially getting old.

And gray hairs have been discovered!

I'm Like a Bird

Well, I leave again today for Camp Luther! I will be making my return as cabin leader, it's been so long! I'm really excited plus a little why-in-the-world-am-i-doing-this?!?

So yes, that means once again this week you won't be getting any posts until the weekend. In my absence check out this video:

Temporary

So I'm back from camp!!! Yay, it was crazy, but fun...

So now, I will be posting the posts I promised, HOWEVER!!! I won't put them all up at the same time. They will come up one at a time, so you have to chance to read them carefully, haha.

Most of them are pretty silly, but whatever, I was tired when I did them!!!

Keep checking back to see the new one each day....

God is Good?

I was sitting at the table with some of the cooks from camp and one was telling us about her plans next week. She was going to go to some town and stay in a hotel, which she wasn't too excited about (due to the cost) when a friend suggested she borrow his RV and just stay in town. She was so excited by this plan she remarked, "God is good!"

Immediately something twitched inside me. God is good because you get to stay in an RV rather than pay for a hotel? My first thought was of all the people around the world who don't even have a home or who live in a shack. So according to her logic, God actually isn't good, because he gave you a nice place to stay for a week while leaving billions of others out in the cold.

What makes God good? How do we measure God's goodness?

I don't believe it's appropriate to say God is good, because we just got what we wanted. It only reinforces the mindset that God is like Santa Claus.

I believe that God is good, and that he does give us good things. However, sometimes we need to suffer, so God gives us pain. Sometimes the best thing for us is to take something away. And sometimes God just allows evil and good things to happen...

I Am Edward Cullen

When I was in grade 6 I wrote love letters to a girl in my class and signed them anonymously, "The Dark Avenger". In one of the poems I wrote something along the lines of "I watch over you while you're sleeping." Everyone ridicules me for writing that, BUT.....

When I read Twilight what did I discover??? Edward Cullen watches over Bella while she sleeps!!! So, why am I (an 11 yr old boy) creepy for writing that I do that while Edward (a 100 yr old vampire) gets away with actually watching a 16 year old girl sleep?

One of my youth watched Twilight a few weeks ago and even said to me, "Hey, Edward Cullen is just like you!" Yes, thank you! I knew I was being romantic. All the girls gush over Edward so why can't I get away with being creepy???

And then, this week at camp for crazy hair night I slicked my back and one of the campers told me, "You have Edward Cullen hair!"

I am Edward Cullen.

Anonymity

Anonymity makes one powerful. You can say what you want without fear of repercussion. You can be whoever you want to be without someone actually judging you. But it is a false power.

Because you are not really you. When you say things and do things without accountability, it is not actually you saying or doing those things. It is the false you, a person who does not exist. And so your words and your actions are meaningless and bear no weight. You cannot be challenged or corrected. You cannot be encouraged or strengthened.

You are a vapor.

And by remaining anonymous, you even become less of a person. If you willingly do or say things without basing them in reality, you lose part of yourself. We need full human interaction to blossom as individuals. If no one can challenge you, you will never grow. If no one can correct you, you will depreciate.

This is how people can commit murder. This is how people become sexual predators.

I hate it when people comment on my blog anonymously.

Derren Brown

I remember hearing about this British illusionist named Derren Brown awhile ago. I had seen a couple videos he had done and was impressed but skeptical.

Well, the last few days I've been going crazy watching videos of him on YouTube. I've watched most of his television show "Trick or Treat" and a couple of his specials. I wanted to embed some of the videos in this post, but it wouldn't let me. Check them out yourself by searching "Derren Brown". I think they're absolutely fascinating. But I'm left wondering what to believe.


Most of his tricks involve reading people's minds. He can tell if you are lying or he'll get you to think of something and then draw a picture of it. He says he's not using any actors and that all the people are strangers and aren't in on the trick. So I wonder, can he really tell if someone is lying or pick up on what you are thinking just by observing subtle changes in your behaviour?

Another thing he does is hypnotize people. I kinda believe that is possible to a certain extent, but sometimes he hypnotizes people so quickly, I just have a hard time swallowing it.

And perhaps the strangest thing he does, supposedly, is use subliminal messages to make his participants do what he wants. For example, in one performance he kept repeating the phrase Mail or Daily Mail subtly throughout the show so that later when it came time for a volunteer to choose one of ten papers, she chose the Daily Mail. Is that possible? My hunch is that he says that's why the volunteer choose the Daily Mail, but I think he's just saying that to misdirect the audience from seeing how he really does it. By saying he can use subliminal messages, he makes his performance appear more mysterious and foreboding.


All this had gotten me to think more and more of how we perceive the world, and we understand God. But that will be for another pst...

Patience

Over the next week I will be writing my required posts, but.....i don't think i'll be able to post them for awhile. So please be patient. You will get to read them in time.

Now for my thoughts on Transformers. I think the movies have been stupid. The thing that really grinds my gears is the movie is called "Transformers" but the Transformers have little to no personality. They have hardly any dialogue, and when they do talk it's just to further the plot.

I grew up loving the cartoon, so it is a disappointment for me. Especially when you watch this first episode and realize the Transformers had more depth in a cartoon from the 80's, than in a multi-million dollar movie.

The Ultimate Question?

Here are some of the comments I got and my thoughts. These are my thoughts and opinions. I am not refuting your questions now, you can argue what I say here.

Does it matter what the question is, as long as Jesus is the answer?

I'm going to say yes, it definitely matters what the question is. What if the question is: Where did evil come from? I'm not sure you'd be quick to answer Jesus. Maybe you would?

And also, I believe Jesus is too simple an answer. Everyone has a different understanding of who Jesus is (or was). There needs to be more context.

What is your ultimate question?

Very interesting! I like it, because everybody has something different that is nagging them. Or something unique that is holding them back. My top choice.

Although, thinking about it more...is the ultimate question relative or absolute?

What is worth doing?

For me I think there are questions before this that need to be answered. Before I can figure out what is worth doing, I have to ask myself what is "worth"? And doing is all about behaviour and action. What about character? What about being?

Hmm...I just realized each question you can unravel, and there are always questions that need to precede the one presented. Soooo, maybe that's how you answer the ultimate question, with another question...

Can I help you?

This question intrigues me, because it's not a question about a topic. Rather than focusing on something abstract, it focuses on something personal and practical. Rather than concern for oneself, the concern is for others. Rather than talking about answers, it answers itself by doing. Very intriguing...

Well done everyone!!! K, feedback or more questions.......

Someone...

What is the ultimate question?

I can't continue my blog until we have the next question...

The Ultimate Question

What is the meaning of life? I've been thinking about this on a fairly regular basis the last couple years. It really started when a friend asked me, "What do you want?" Could this be the primary question of every individual?

What do you want?

You see, I'm faced with a bit of a Catch-22. See if you can follow me...

When I read The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis, I was struck by his call for humility. Almost every section of that book is about lowering yourself, letting go of your pride, and putting to death everything within you that seeks to exalt yourself above others.

So I felt called to be humble to lower myself before others. But I soon realized, by lowering myself I can't raise other people up. If I want to help people, I have to teach them to be humble as well.

You see, so much of what we think is helping people, might in fact be raising their level of pride and enabling them to think of themselves as better than others. Rather than using our humility to teach humility, are we rather breeding more prideful people?

So how do we help people become humble? How do we serve others without reinforcing negative mindsets?

So I want to help people. I also want my life to have a purpose. I want to live a rich and full life (not in the sense of rich with possessions and power, but rich in the sense of depth and meaning).

Is it just me, or is it that when people have kids, they put so much focus on raising their family that it's almost like reaching out to other people doesn't even matter anymore? I think family is important, but who's going to help the families that aren't taking care of themselves?

Hmm, I feel like I've been random and all over the place in this post. This is all connected for me, but I'm not sure how to put it altogether so it makes sense outside my brain.

The first question that needs to be answered is "What is the meaning of life?" Do you agree? Is that the first question? Haha, actually the first question is, "What is the most important question?" Hey that's what Douglas Adams said in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!

The hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings created the supercomputer, Deep Thought, to answer for them the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. After 7.5 million years Deep Thought computed the answer to be....42!

"Forty-two!" yelled Loonquawl. "Is that all you've got to show for seven and a half million years' work?"

"I checked it very thoroughly." said the computer, "and that quite definitely is the answer. I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is." (p. 121)

So, now I leave it with you...
What is the ultimate question?

The Legend of Zelda (Geek Alert!!!)

As mentioned in my previous post, I won't be buying anymore video games. However that rule does not apply to Zelda games! At the beginning of June I made a goal to beat every one. I've still got 4 more to go, plus new ones will be coming out and I'd like to play those too. So what is it about these games???

In 1996 I was looking through my friend Greg's collection of Super Nintendo games. It was then that I came across one titled "The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past". Hmm, it looked interesting to me so I asked if I could borrow it. My life has not been the same since!

I absolutely love the Zelda series of video games. I love it so much, in fact, it's about time I finally beat them all! Let me tell you about each game...


The Legend of Zelda


Released: 1987
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System
The year I beat it: Unknown

I've owned this game for a long time, but only made it about 75% through. The cartridge I bought has a faulty battery so sometimes it'll erase everything I've done. One day I'll beat it though! The frustrating thing about this Zelda game is that you can't move or shoot diagonally. Other than that, it's really fun!


Zelda II: The Adventure of Link


Released: 1987
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System
The year I beat it: Unknown

I haven't played too much of this game. The strange thing is, it's mostly a side-scroller. I'm not a huge fan of Zelda II, but I haven't given it a fair shot yet.


The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past


Released: 1992
Platform: Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The year I beat it: 1996

The first Zelda game I played and finished. So original and so much fun! I loved the mix of action plus puzzles.


The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening


Released: 1993
Platform: Game Boy
The year I beat it: 1998

The second Zelda game I beat. I bought it when I worked at Walmart. Greg and I worked at Sherwin-Williams Paint Store together and would often take turns playing when we should have been working. Sometimes I would work with this lady named Janet and I would hide in the back and play it (there was nothing else to do, the store didn't get much business).


The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time


Released: 1998
Platform: Nintendo 64
The year I beat it: 1998

The third Zelda game I finished. I traded Goldeneye for this with a co-worker at Walmart. This game was epic for me. They translated Zelda to 3D in the most remarkable way. When we traded back I discovered Corey's younger brother had erased my Goldeneye file. I had completed everything. It took me forever to get that final cheat code. Now it was all gone...


The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask


Released: 2000
Platform: Nintendo 64
The year I beat it: 2000

The fourth Zelda game I finished. A lot different from the others, but still really cool. I loved the time travel and the moon slowly crashing to the planet. This game I bought from Rogers video for $10 and then sold it after I was finished for $8. I was quite proud of that.


The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages


Released: 2001
Platform: Game Boy Color
The year I beat it: 2009

The ninth Zelda game I finished. An interesting thing about this game is that it's linked with the next game on this list by passwords. So when I beat Oracle of Ages, it gave me a password to start Oracle of Seasons with some of my information already included. It also opens up the game a bit more. You also don't have to start with Ages, you can start with Seasons and finish the same way.

One thing I didn't really like about this game was a few parts are side-scrolling and are almost exactly like Super Mario Bros. Not sure why they felt the need to include those sections.


The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons


Released: 2001
Platform: Game Boy Color
The year I beat it: Unknown

Just started it today. It looks to be as fun as Oracle of Ages so I'm looking forward to it!


The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker


Released: 2002
Platform: GameCube
The year I beat it: 2002

The fifth Zelda game I finished. I bought a Gamecube just so I could play this game. The system cost me $100. I rented Wind Waker for a couple weeks and then sold the Gamecube to my cousin after I was done for $75. Dennis often makes fun of me because I pretty much locked myself in the house until I had beaten it.

This game had completely different animation than the previous games. I thought it was cool, but it was more cartoony and wasn't as epic.


The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures


Released: 2004
Platform: GameCube
The year I beat it: Unknown

In the near future I will be purchasing this game.


The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap


Released: 2004
Platform: Game Boy Advance
The year I beat it: 2009

The eighth Zelda game I finished. I actually bought this game a couple years ago when I was travelling to England but didn't get very far in it. In June I started playing it again and loved it! It didn't take very long to beat, but it was still fun.


The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess


Released: 2006
Platform: Wii
The year I beat it: 2007

The sixth Zelda game I finished. When I was housesitting for Pastor Dave a couple summers ago I had the privilege of playing this on his son's Wii. Probably my favorite game of all time. I would get up super early just to play it before I went in to work.


The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass


Released: 2007
Platform: Nintendo DS
The year I beat it: 2009

The seventh Zelda game I finished. I saw it in Costco and craved it, so I bought a Nintendo DS and this game from Willow Video Games for much cheaper. I'm not a fan of the DS. It's not easy to hold and my fingers go numb after awhile. The buttons are also not in the greatest places and it's really frustrating actually. At first I wasn't happy that this game almost solely uses the touch pad rather than the controls, but I actually got kinda used to it. I just found it really difficult using a second weapon.

The animation is the same style as Wind Waker and looked really good on the DS. I loved this game and had a lot of fun with it. I liked that sailing was more enjoyable in this game than in Wind Waker.


The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks


Released: 2009?
Platform: Nintendo DS
The year I beat it: Unknown

Not yet released. This one will have a train theme!

Losing

After I lost all my files off my external hard drive, I didn't really know how to feel. I was kinda numb, but then I began to realize it was probably for the best. Why was I collecting all those videos anyway? What was the point of all that time spent?

I don't know. I don't know what the heck I'm doing.

So to lose it all kind of made me realize it was a waste of time. I knew it was a waste, but I did it anyways. I don't know why I did it.

In the movie "Following" there's this character named Cobb. He's a thief and he's taken a young man under his wing to teach him about stealing. The first house they break into together, Cobb finds a box that contains memorable keepsakes (letters, photos, etc.). He explains to the young man that this box tells something intimate about these people and that they are very privileged to be seeing something so rare. At this point he empties the box on the floor and the young man exclaims, "What the hell did you do that for?" Cobb replies that this box is like a diary. The homeowner hid it, but secretly they wanted someone to find it. And that's what Cobb does, he comes in and flips it all over so that the people know someone has seen it.

"That's what it's all about - interrupting someone's life, making them see all the things they took for granted. Like when they go back and buy all this stuff from the shelves with the insurance money, they'll have to think for the first time in a long time...why they wanted all this stuff, what it's for. You take it away and you show them what they had. " - Cobb

For the first time in a long time, I'm wondering why I had all these video clips in the first place. And now for that matter, I wonder why I have all the movies I have. And why I have all the video games I have.

Years ago I knew I was obsessed with movies and video games so I got rid of all my stuff. It was really refreshing for me. As a result, I've never been into video games in the same way I was then. I still play them, but not nearly with the same obsession.

I'm losing my interest.

I'm ready to give up again.

I'm not going to collect videos off the internet anymore.

I'm not going to buy anymore dvds.

I'm not going to buy anymore video games (except Zelda games).


(i'm assuming thanks go to melissa for this cartoon)