The Curious Case of Sheldon and Matt

New site is up!

2010-01-04T17:58:00.001-06:00

www.creepywhitevan.wordpress.com .

Check it out!

New Directions

2009-12-29T12:31:00.002-06:00

This blog has seen its ups and downs. It has only been running for 8 months (I think), and during that time I've been without internet for almost 3 months (not consecutively) which makes writing difficult. There were times with many posts, and times with almost none.

As you've seen in my last post, that Matt has decided to quit, so I was left with the dubious task of coming up with a new title, a new domain name, and new information for this site and try to keep it going.
Instead I've decided to do something completely different. I'm starting a comedy website with some friends. We're going to be writing articles, one of my friend wants to do a webcomic, there was some talk of a podcast, and I really hope to start doing videos on there. They are both funny guys so I think this website is going to be fairly killer. And unlike this blog where you're lucky for an update once a month, we're trying to commit to something new everyday, or at the least every second day.

If that idea doesn't work out, I might start a different casual blog or something, I'm not sure. I just really enjoy writing, and I need an outlet to do that.

So for those of you who have been visiting this site(I can safely assume that's everyone who is visiting the site right now and reading this), I want to thank you for your visits and thank you for your comments!
This will probably be one of the last entries on here. I'll post the new website info on here once we've launched that. I've enjoyed writing on here, and I hope you've enjoyed reading!

Sad Day

2009-12-10T15:49:00.002-06:00

Well last week I learned some sad news. I've spent the last 5 or 6 days trying to figure out how to tell you all...

Matt has left "The Curious Case of Sheldon and Matt".

He's noticed (as we all have) that he hasn't blogged in months and decided that he would step down from the joint blog.

Obviously now the site needs to change to something not based on him and I working together seeing as that is no longer/never going to ever happen again ever. Not one more time in history of all mankind.

I'm super busy with work right now but after stupid Christmas time is over (bah humbug) I will figure out something awesome and go for it.

My Rant on the Internet RE: the internet.

2009-12-02T16:16:00.004-06:00

I don't know why, but I've had enough. The internet has made me mad today and I decided to tear a strip off of it to teach it who the boss is. Hopefully this will be sort of funny or you may share in some of my anger!

WARNING: I make up random website names in this rant. I have not checked any of them, nor do I plan on it. So in case they are bad sites (knowing the internet they will be) don't check them.

You know what I can't stand (what really grinds my gears), all of the stupid dating site ads, or webcam porn sites that advertise by adding you as a friend on twitter/facebook/msn and it'll be a cute girl (not unbelievably attractive but just very cute) and they'll say something like, "Hey I saw your profile online, and it says you're single and I'm new to the area so I just wanted to see if you wanted to chat."

A few years ago this always worked on me. In my internet naivete I would think "really? This girl wants to chat with me? What are the chances that out of every guy in my area that she would send me a message?".

Ignorance is truly bliss.

Now I know better. Cute girls don't go on the internet sending messages to random guys looking to meet people. Cute girls can meet people by going to a club or a coffee shop or well any where at all that guys happen to be. So while I no longer fall for the trick, it's started to make me unbelievably irritated everytime I receive one of these messages. It makes me not believe any one on the internet (probably a good thing, although I desperately wish it wasn't).

The internet is this amazing tool, which from a social networking point of view, has opened up incredible doors to stay in touch and potentially meet new people. The problem is that because spammers for sites take advantage of this so much, it's no longer viable to meet new people over the internet. It's really not. If you get a message, and actually reply then 10 bucks says the answer will be "lol ur really cute. You should come to my webcam site www.Ihavenoselfrespect.com" (I don't know if that's a real site, please no one check). And on the opposite end of the coin, because of creepy dudes on the net, you can't ever be the first one to send a message or else the person will assume you're a creep and not respond or else just ignore you.

Now the spammers are definitely annoying but one other thing that really upsets me is the dating site ads/porn site ads. I'm single. I am quite aware of this. I don't believe that "single-ness" is some awful disease and that I need to find a girlfriend to cure me. I'm generally very happy being single and think that one day if I meet the right girl, it will work out. But I'm not going to clutch my pillow praying that it will happen, and I'm not going to stalk every single girl I meet until it happens (pff doesn't work anyway). I'm happy and sometimes sort of proud that I am a bachelor so I mark clearly on my facebook that my status is "single".

Due to a wonderful technology called "Targeted Ads" (not sure that's the real name but that's what I call it), facebook will put ads targeted to what interests you the most! So say you wrote "comic books" under interests, you will receive possible ads for comic stores nearby. Say you wrote that you're a Christian or a pastor, you will receive ads for conferences or Christian concerts. When you write single you get three nearly identical ads every time saying "CUTE GIRLS ON www.desperatelosers.com" or "10% off signup fees for www.lonelypeople.com"

But those aren't the worst. The most annoying ones go something like this, "Tired of being single? Want to meet a nice Christian girl? Then check out www.coolpeoplehavegirlfriends.com". Or how about "Cute, single girls looking for husbands on www.tiredofwaiting.com. Meet the perfect girl for you and stop spending your life alone!"

And the pictures are always of some very cute, yet believable, girl which automatically attracts the attention of any guy's eye. So I log onto facebook and see some blonde punk girl with BRIGHT blue eyes and I'm like "wow" and then right under her face it'll say "SINGLE? YOU LOSER!" Somedays I'll sign on to facebook and in the span of about 45 seconds I'll go from being happy about my singleness to depressed.

I've even debated taking "single" off my profile just to avoid these ads. But I refuse. That would be letting the internet win. And that would be the real tragedy.

Porn ads are the worst. It'll be like "Cool singles on www.dontyoudareclickthislink.com" and with a really pretty girl and then on days when I'm bored I'll click the link (haha dumb right? it says don't click it!) and then it'll lead to this site with some topless chick and before you can even close the window(5-10 minutes depending on how hot... haha sorry I had to make the joke) you'll get 75 pop-ups all with disgusting porn stuff on each of them and they will each try to infect your computer with viruses.

This topic is very close to two other things that I wanted to talk about that will wait for a future blog. I'd like to hear more about this from other perspectives. For instance, if you're a girl or a married person, or a non-single guy, then what kind of ads have been polluting your internetz? Also if any of you have some internet horror stories (i.e. the random message creepers, spambots that would not leave you alone) then comment away my chickadees!

Birthday Blog

2009-11-27T10:26:00.003-06:00

Well happy birthday to me! It's that time of year again that marks the day of my birth which means I am officially another year older.

On my birthday I have a few time-honored traditions that I make sure to follow every year.

A) Supper with some friends - Every year, no matter where I'm living, it's become tradition to go out for supper with some of my friends. And for some reason the place has become Boston Pizza for my birthdays. Maybe it's because they don't do anything embarassing like "OH IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!? LET'S SING AND BRING YOU A TINY DESSERT FOR FREE!" . Maybe it's because the waitresses there are always good looking and make you feel like you have a chance so that they can get a better tip. I don't know but the supper at BP's has become a birthday tradition that I love.

B) Reflecting on the last year - I always ask myself, "What was I like this time last year?" And I'm always amazed at how far I've come. How different things truly are. I'm not going to get into the "gory" details but it's amazing how much things have changed between this year and last year. Last year I was getting over a break up, working at a retail job and putting in very little time at the church, and feeling kind of generally unhappy. This year however I am so happy. Things are going so good for me right now.

C) Use the Birthday money I get sent to buy presents for myself - Since I moved to Saskatoon 5 years ago, my family has been sending me cards with money. So on my birthday I generally head to Wal-mart or EB and spend my birthday money on video games/movies/ or whatever it is that catches my fickle little heart. This year I got Assassin's Creed 2 and 2 seasons of Heroes. I don't think I like AC2 as much as the first one so far, but that's beside the point.

D) The Phone Calls - Every birthday night I get about 20 phone calls from my friends and family. That's the general reason why I try not to plan an actual party on the night of my birthday.

I think thats it for my boring birthday traditions. Anyway, I need to go do something that is not blogging.

The Mega Blog

2009-11-05T08:44:00.003-06:00

It's been over a month since I blogged last. The last 5 or 6 weeks has seen many adventures and I've thought many of things (which I wanted to blog at the time but I haven't had an internet connection at home until now). So I thought I would come back strong for you today with this... MEGA BLOG.

5 Dogs, 5 Cats, and No Door

For a month a stayed with a sweet older couple from my church and the first week living with them was great! They cooked for me, I had my own space, and they watched the Game Show Network a lot... so I got to dream of what it would be like to marry one of the Deal or No Deal girls. The only real problems off the bat was that my bedroom had no door and they insisted on putting the food on my plate. I'm a fairly picky eater, and my stomache gives me issues with a lot of foods, so I hate feeling "forced" to eat something, especially when its everyday.
Then they got a phone call from this girl who had lived with them a while ago. She had run out of money and her and her mom needed a place to stay. They get there and they bring with them 3 cats and 5 dogs. The 3 cats they brought didn't really get along with the 2 that were already there, and for some reason they would choose my room as a sanctuary to hide from the other cats. The one cat was so loud (I've never heard a cat meow like that... it sounded like a girl getting hit by a bus "OOOOWWWWW") and this white cat went to the room I stored my stuff and went and shed on all my blankets and jackets. And the dogs...
The dogs were huge (except for the chihuahua). There was a rottweiler, a German shepherd, some big white dog, a golden lab, and the chihuahua. The rottie was very friendly but had this nasty habit of sneaking up on you and licking your arms while eating. Which was... weird. The German shepherd was missing an eye and looked awesome, and was most of the time friendly but a couple times I came home and he freaked out and kept barking and growling at me. And he was huge so I was a little scared. The white dog would come right up to you, but if you tried to pet it (or actually even just moved your hand at all) he would growl and try to bite you. The golden lab was nice but was in heat and was "spotting" everywhere. Disgusting. And the chihuahua was so terrified of me that it barked relentlessly every time it saw me. One morning at 7 am it came into my room, and when it saw me there sleeping it freaked out and started barking at me. Waking me up early on my day off which put me in a bad mood. And when I got out of bed, I saw that it pooped on my dress shirt which made it worst.

The Car Accident

So last week I was in a pretty serious car accident and walked away with minor injuries (the whole story is on my facebook profile, I might post it on here soon for those without facebook). I now believe that I have superpowers, or I am atleast semi-unbreakable. But man, all of the stuff that came up after this accident is ridiculous! First the police are questioning me, then doctors and nurses, then the police again, then every single person who knows what happened, then the insurance company starts phoning every day, then the licensing people, then different insurance people. The doctor told me to rest after the accident... well the first 3 days I was on the phone and trying to find information the whole time that eventually I decided to go back into work for a "break" from all that madness.

The Cable Guy

I'm in my new place now. It's pretty sweet, but for whatever reason, the guy I'm living with doesn't want to share his internet and insists that I get my own line run in. I'm ok with that. I go to the local phone/internet people and man! They wanted $50 a month and I would have to get a home phone with them as well. I was like "forget this!" and instead gave Shaw a call and got the extreme high speed for only $19 a month. They said that they'll be there the next day to install it, and I was so pumped. And then they said "Between the hours of 8 and 12" so I texted my boss and said that I would be late. At 12:30 I give Shaw a call to find out where he is... because he hadn't shown up yet. At 2, the guy comes and installs it and acts like no big deal. I was kind of like "You know I had to take time off work right?" and he was just like "Haha I'll try to make it quick."
So from 8-2:30 I had to miss work that day to hand out and wait for the cable guy. Do they just assume that everyone who needs cable internet/tv don't have jobs?

NEW TV!

I bought a new tv! There was a great deal and oh she is sooo soo pretty. It's a 50 inch High Def Plasma Samsung, and it is just wonderful. I love it so much. I might not marry it, but I would definitely make it the best man at my wedding. It is a wonderful technological device that has taken over my life for the past couple of days.

Twilight

I've recently read the first 3 books and seen most of the movie (haha I turned it off because I got bored) and I will share my feelings about that. I started a blog about it but it didn't feel right so I will do that again. Speaking of which... I've read quite a bit of books lately and I will be writing a blog talking about books very soon!

I have some movie review/book review blogs that I plan on writing right away! And for those of you regular readers who have felt sad in my month of being away, fear not! I am back and will be blogging regularly again!

Summer Movies - The quick review

2009-09-27T20:11:00.002-06:00

As the rarely-seen co-founder of this blog, I wanted to put in my 15 cents worth (because I have so much more wisdom to offer than 2 cents can buy) of movies I've watched over the spring/summer seasons so that you can heed my advice and enjoy good movies while avoiding the bad ones.

Also, to save time and space, they will be quite brief reviews (but still a solid 15 cents worth of review! Don't you worry accountants!)

I'll say in advance: "You're welcome."

X-men Origins: Wolverine

Didn't live up to the hype, but then again, most movies don't. I do enjoy comic books (surprise!) and thus am a big fan of anything Marvel Studies does (sidenote: Bought by Disney? Crazy!), but Wolverine left me wanting more.

Perhaps my biggest disappointment came from the fact that I am a big fan of Ryan Reynolds, and his character is basically in the movie for 12 seconds. Now they are looking at giving him his own movie based on the Deadpool character, so that softens the blow for me a little bit, but still... Ryan Reynolds!

All in all however, I do own the movie now and have watched it again. It is better the second time when you know what to expect.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

See above, but take out the name "Ryan Reynolds" and insert the name "Rainn Wilson".

GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra

I went to this movie expecting nothing more than a few cheap thrills and the chance to say "I saw the GI Joe movie."

Perhaps it is because of those low expectations, but I actually liked it!

The plot was predictable, but better than I expected, and I thought they had a good self-contained story that still leads into the sequel nicely.

District 9

There are a lot of aliens in District 9, and there is also a lot of swearing.

I'm not overly sensitive to foul language (working with youth means you here it every once in a while), but I will say that at several points the incessant cursing detracted from the plot.

And that is a shame, because the plot was FANTASTIC!

I know there are a lot of mixed reviews for this movie, but I thought that it was great! The character development by the end was subtle but moving, I was on the edge of my seat by the end wondering how it was going to wrap up, and I will definitely be lining up to see the inevitable sequel when it comes out!

There is quite a bit of gore ("exploding bodies" kind of gore) and the language I've already mentioned, but if you aren't sensitive to those things, then go see it as soon as you're done reading this!

Terminator Salvation

I have a confession to make. I am not that terribly familiar with the Terminator movies. I have only seen bits and pieces, not even in the right order.

However, I did like this movie. Again, I felt that it fell short of the hype it was given (a general theme, which is why I try not to get my hopes up for movies - or human beings!), but I was genuinely entertained.

I would choose Transformers or Wolverine over Terminator, but perhaps it is just because I am more familiar and attached to the characters.

Oh, and that whole "I try not to get my hopes up with humans" thing was a joke!

Star Trek

Even though I am quite public and straight-forward about my nerdiness, I am not a trekkie.

However, you do not need to be one to enjoy this movie! It starts right from the beginning and explains everything. They've even thrown in plot twists to change the "Star Trek universe" that annoyed a person who followed the old versions, but I thought was quite clever!

The only deterrent for this movie, is that every time Spock was on the screen I kept wanting to yell out "Don't trust him! He's Sylar and he just wants your powers!"

Up

This is the only animated movie (with the exception of Space Jam) that has come close to opening up my naturally-sealed-shut tear-ducts ("natural" because, after all, I am a man).

This movie is funny, touching, and has a great plot!

If District 9 isn't appealing to you, then this is what you should see!

And, if District 9 is appealing to you, then watch this one after!

The Taking of Pelham 123

This movie confused me. Not in the sense of having a confusing plot or not enough explanation, but rather in the sense that the characters weren't predictable like movie characters generally are.

John Travolta's character especially seemed to be like a real person, who contradicts himself and changes his mind, and you really are wondering what the heck is going on.

There is a lot of bad language in this movie too, so be warned about that, but I would definitely recommend it for someone to watch just so I can hear another opinion of it, because I really still don't know what I think about it (and I saw it months ago!).

Moving Time

2009-09-24T07:24:00.002-06:00

Well I'm currently in the process of moving! So I'm packing up stuff, hanging out with people here for what could be the last time in a while, and finishing up both my jobs here.

All that said, I probably should not be taking the time to write on here for the next little while. It's too bad I don't have like a red-haired sidekick that could write something but...

Anyway, go watch the Ignatius video (previous post) if you haven't yet. It's really funny. I'll try to write something next week if I get the chance, but I won't be settling into my new place until like the week after. And even then I don't know if I'll have internet there (I'm going to be staying with a couple who have graciously allowed me to stay in there house, but I'm probably only going to stay for a month or two).

I promise as soon as life gets settled I will write again!

What I Aspire To

2009-09-17T19:12:00.002-06:00

Ignatius from travis hawkins on Vimeo.

EDIT:

... Please know that this is a satire and I am of course joking. I just thought this was absolutely hilarious.

In Defense of Twitter

2009-09-10T13:35:00.003-06:00

For some time I have been a part of the web "phenomenon" known as twitter. It seem slike Twitter is becoming the big thing right now and I keep hearing comments such as "Why do people even use Twitter?" "Twitter is pointless! I don't get it!" and "lol I don't know, I got a twitter because everyone else is getting it."

So let me explain my twitter use and defend my position as a tweeter (haha I think that is the right term.)

Right off the bat let me say this. I would never do something just because "everyone else is doing it". I'm even one of those types where if I find out that "everybody" likes something, my natural choice is to dislike it. I signed up for facebook before it was "the big cultural thing that it is now" mainly due to a Barats and Bereta skit.

I really dislike it when I hear people are doing something just because everybody else is doing it. You know the old jump off a bridge argument? Don't jump into twitter just because everybody else is doing it. BUT here are some good reasons why you should give it a try!

You can update your status on the go on facebook! I like updating my facebook status from my phone. Sometimes I'll think of something funny or just something that I want to share with somebody! Or else I'll say where I am or what I'm doing in case one of my friends is like "Oh you're going to the city? I'm in the city let's hang out!" I used to have access to facebook from my phone but something messed up and now it doesn't work so to mobile-ly update my status I need to use TWITTER.

But I also love Twitter because on Twitter I can follow interesting people! My prime example is Rainn Wilson.

Rainn Wilson (the actor who plays Dwight on the Office) has a twitter. He's got some cool music taste, he's got some political-ish type stuff, and yeah he's got some pretty funny stuff. I really enjoy reading his little comments! It's cool too because he'll "re-tweet" lots of the comments that people make about him (usually making fun of him) and I enjoy them a lot. It's so fun.

Also I follow different things like "todays big thing" (www.todaysbigthing.com) and Barats and Bereta and stuff like that! So I can find out when my comedy sites add some new videos!

So that's why I use Twitter. Hopefully this will alleviate some of the persecution that I've been getting from my friends for using Twitter.

Movie Motivation: Yes Man!

2009-09-06T15:11:00.006-06:00

I like movies. I like watching them, I like... umm buying them, and I like... oh the classic "three-part list of what I like" was a bad idea for this. But anyway my point is that I enjoy movies! Sometimes I'll be sitting at home alone and think "Hey loser! Why don't you watch a movie?" (I'm really mean to myself) Or when I'm with friends I have lots of fun renting movies and making fun of them or laughing way too loud at them.

I also tend to take random life lessons out of the things around me. So it shouldn't surprise you to read that I learn many life lessons from movies. That's why I've decided to start a new category on this blog called "Movie Motivation", where I share the lessons that I learn from movies that I watch!

And the first one is... DRUM ROLL PLEASE... oh wait. I had it in the title so forget the suspense. It's Yes Man.

Now first off from a pastor standpoint let me just say that this movie was overall pretty clean. A couple of sex jokes(oh the creepy old lady...), not too many swears (one F word from what I remember), no nudity, and a couple of bar scenes but really nothing that would make you cover your children's eyes or write letters to the studio demanding an apology.

OH YEAH there's this self help group which seems a bit like a cult. And it's led by Zod from the Old Superman movies. KNEEL BEFORE THE POWER OF ZOOOOODDDDDD!!!!!

But on to what I learned!

1) Zooey Deschanel is the cutest girl in the world

Look at her! With all her cuteness!

She plays the love interest in the movie and she is this really cool Indie chick who is in a band that only has like 6 fans. Oh and she also has a jogging/photography class to help people take pictures while moving.

She's super spontaneous and as cute as a button... actually I don't understand that phrase. Buttons aren't that cute. I'd say she's more cute like a kitty. Or as cute as a water skiing squirrel. But not really a button.

Anyway I recently found out the actress is engaged or married or something to the lead singer from my favorite band "Death Cab For Cutie". Which scores major points on the cool scale!

Next Thing:

2) The best way to convince someone not to jump off a roof is the song "Jumper" by Third Eye Blind.

In what is probably the funniest scene of the movie... well second funniest. I think when he's hopped up on red bull at the girl's photography course is absolutely amazing. Funniest 6 seconds ever is when he sprints with his camera phone.

Anyway in this scene a man is about to jump and commit suicide and Jim Carrey talks him down using the song Jumper. I thought it was really funny. I tried to find a good clip but the best one couldn't be embedded so I couldn't include it on here.

But I definitely found it funny and I have started learning the chords just in case I'm ever faced with a situation.

3) Sometimes You Have to Say YES!

So the final lesson (and only serious one) was that sometimes you have to say Yes!

The movie starts with Jim Carrey as a "play-it-safe" kind of dude. His wife left him 5 years ago and he doesn't "feel" like going out and doing anything so all he does is sit alone at home and watch movies. Whenever his friends call him, whenever he's asked to take on extra responsibility at work, actually whenever anything comes up he turns them down. He's not taking any chances and he's miserable!

He runs into a guy who he used to work with, and this guy attended a self help seminar that encourages you to say YES to every thing! If someone asks you to go grab supper you say YES! If someone asks you for a ride you say YES! I could do like 50 more but well you can see the pattern I'm sure.

Jim Carrey goes and starts following it and everything changes for him. He meets a cute girl (who I've already gushed about!), he does a lot better at work, and his life becomes fun! Because he starts to say YES to people!

Now watching this I was inspired! I realized that there are so many times I'll turn people down to stay at home or "I just don't feel like it" or "that sounds kinda risky" and so many times I end up as a house hermit. I realized I had to stop overthinking every little decision, stop letting lame excuses hold me back, start taking chances and starting saying YES!

But I do believe in balance, so if you're reading this thinking "SHELDON WANT TO COME OVER AND DO SOME HEROINE!?" (Scott... we'll get you help buddy) I would still say No. I believe a person needs morals and limits. So I won't be saying YES to everything... ie I won't be converting to Mormonism anytime soon just because a guy on the street asked me. But what I'm saying is that... next time I get a chance to try something new, or see an old friend, I'm going to forget the lame excuses and go for it! I will say YES!

In conclusion of this blog entry I would like to say that you should definitely check out this movie! And maybe you'll be like me and realize you've been letting life pass you by because you've been afraid to take a chance. SAY YES!

Oops!

2009-09-05T08:33:00.002-06:00

So it looks like I may have left you guys hanging for a few weeks. This may have resulted in some of you nervously biting your nails while spending the whole night camped in front of your computer hitting refresh, hoping that maybe Sheldon or Matt (who seems to have completely disappeared from the blog world) will write something funny or inspirational that will get you through another week.

Apparently life is really busy sometimes. When I was working and going to school and doing ministry on the weekends I figured that life would somehow slow down after college. But surprisingly it didn't! So while "too busy to blog" is kind of a lame excuse... that's all you get so deal with it!

I've got some good ideas currently being manufactured in the Sheldon-Idea-Factory. I'll probably write a new one tonight after work or tomorrow. So you can sleep well tonight knowing that the blogosphere will go back to the way it should be.

Commenting Issues

2009-08-20T17:35:00.002-06:00

It's been brought to my attention that some people's comments are not being published! Matt and I have set the blog up so that comments need to be approved before being published (we want to maintain the integrity of this blog or something like that) and I noticed that I wasn't getting notifications of all the comments I had to approve.

There have only been two comments that we didn't approve. One was an anonymous saying "U r dum" and so I said "lolz no u r dum!!1" and didn't publish it (haha I said it out loud. It was weird). The other was an anonymous saying "gods not real" which we decided not to publish because the person had no arguments or anything. We don't mind if you disagree with us but give us an argument, give us something we can work with.

So anyway if you have been trying to post comments but they haven't been showing up on the blog than please try to comment on this one and send me a quick email (sfarough@gmail.com) and I'll see if I can figure out the problem! Thanks!

Blogging Patterns

2009-08-16T09:15:00.003-06:00

I consider myself an old pro at blogging (I also consider myself an old pro at tennis despite the fact I've only played it once and I wasn't very good, but that's a different story). You see I've had some form of blog around since 2005. So there are some patterns that I've noticed and I thought I'd share them with you because well.. I'm a giver.

1) Summer time = Dead Time
Every single summer my blog has gone dead completely or been reduced to about 1 post a week, where as in the fall/winter I'm generally up to about 3 or 4 a week. Spring sees a bit of a drop off (usually only about 2 a week) but summer just the blogging urge dies. And it's not just me! If any of your friends used to have a blog but then it mysteriously stopped go check it now (well when you're done reading this). Chances are it was either really busy in the spring, completely dead over summer, and then two or three final attempts made in the fall. Or else it is very regular in the fall, slowly dying in the spring months and then a complete disappearance in the summer.

It's not just writing, I've always had a site meter on my blogs and visits (and especially comments) really disappear during the summer. If you had 100 visits a week during the fall, guaranteed it's down to about 20 in the warm months.

Maybe it's because summer time is generally more busy(with jobs and vacations and stuff), or warmer so people would rather be outside than sitting at home blogging. I used to think it was just a college thing (easy to blog while at school but then when I'm home for the summer it stops), but now that I'm past that point in life I notice the same patterns have held true.

2) Good Ideas for Stories/Articles/Whatevers Come When You Can't Write Them
1 p.m. I come back to work from lunch. During the lunch hour I tried to blog but ran out of time or was just missing some good idea that was needed for the blog. I'll be working away at something when the best idea ever will pop into my head! I'll realize "No way! I should totally write a blog about Pirates! (first thing I could think of)"

During the next 4 hours at work I'll try to remember my good idea. I've tried running through it over and over until its memorized, I've tried writing it down, heck I've even tried twittering part of it from my phone so that I would be reminded when I got home and went online. Unfortunately, nothing in the world would be able to keep that thought fresh in my mind. So by the time I get home, I've either forgotten completely, forgotten what made it a good idea (the big joke or the main argument), or else just decided "Well it was kind of a stupid idea anyway."

I've also noticed that this is true for when you don't have a computer or internet around. When I'm at my mom's I have great blog ideas but she had dial up so it took too long for me to attempt. When I lived with Ty and we didn't have the internet for 2 months, I had the best blog ideas but again they would always disappear by the time I reached an internet connection.

3) Negative Anonymous Comments are the Worst Thing
You spend a long time writing something that you think is pretty funny or that is informative or something like that, and generally you're left with a small sense of accomplishment (like wow I wrote something that is actually being published on the INTERNET!). Although it is a ridiculous thought, part of you feels like what you wrote is going to change the way somebody views something (Hmm He's right, Dark Robed Figures are lame!) or that you'll have made somebody laugh so hard that they might have died, or atleast gone to the hospital.

And then the excitement of seeing "1 Comment" at the bottom that you haven't read yet! "Yes! Some shallow validation for what I wrote!" But then you open the comment and it says something like "that was stupid. u r dum". And the buzz is immediately killed.

On my previous blog I had an anonymous commenter attack me for using a slang that they thought was a swear word. They wrote a comment almost as long as this blog telling me that a real Christian man shouldn't be using those words and those words are causing the downfall of Christianity or something. They left details that made me know that I knew them in real life and that they went to my college. The most frustrating part? Totally anonymous. I started viewing everyone in my school with suspicion. It could be any of them who personally attacked me!

You see it takes absolutely zero courage to leave an anonymous comment. You may think that you're writing something helpful to the writer, or that you're doing your "christian duty"(for the Bible school situation) but if you leave no name at all, the comment will always come off as being hostile. So you see where it says "Name/URL" click that instead of anonymous and enter a first name.

I've started just not accepting negative anonymous comments. If you have something to say, say it to my internet face haha. Leaving a negative anonymous comment is the equivalent of an unsigned angry note. If you have some criticism or you believe that I'm wrong and you are right, then don't be afraid to tell me what your name is.

This blog is getting pretty long and I'm going to be late for church if I don't leave RIGHT NOW so let me just end by saying this.
If you're interested in starting a blog yourself, I say go for it! Power through the tough times (like summer), try to retain those good ideas you get throughout the day, and don't let the anonymous discourage you! Huzzah!

So Bad it's Good: Soccer Dog the Movie

2009-08-07T23:28:00.003-06:00

I'm the kind of person who likes to watch a terrible movie and just make fun of it. Some movies are so bad that they end up being incredible. Two genres do it best; Horror (the movie "Junior" has a 14 minute scene where 3 teenagers sit in a stalled car getting scared but not doing anything, It's ridiculous) and Kid's movies. A few years ago I found a real gem, and I thought I would share that with you. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you "Soccer Dog: The Movie"
Plot Summary:
A boy is brought up in an orphanage where life sucks but he learned to play soccer. He grows up and and him and his wife decide to adopt a kid from the same orphanage. MEANWHILE a young boy is playing fetch with his dog when he throws the ball too far. The dog chases the ball and gets kidnapped by the embodiment of evil... the Dog Catcher.
The newly adopted kid(Clay) doesn't like soccer as much as his new dad but the dad is forcing Clay to do it anyway, like any good parent. It cuts to the dog making a daring prison escape (the dog somehow tunnels his way out of his cell and covers the hole with a mat and his food dish. Oh yeah and the hole isn't dug out, it's a pipe. That dog has skills!). The Dog Catcher goes into a rage and runs in the direction he thinks the dog is. The dog somehow ends up meeting with Clay.
The dog shows up to a soccer practice and deaks out the goalie. Then during their next game, the star player (Vince... Oh man Vince) gets poisoned or something and can't play. And Little League soccer rules specifically state that you need exactly 9 players, and they can't play with less. LUCKILY the rules don't say that a dog can't play! So they decide to give the dog a bandana with the team colors and just get him to stand there so that they have enough players.
Or well that's what they say, but then when the game starts the kids immediately pass the ball to the dog. Who stands there and does nothing. But then he starts to chase after the ball and somehow nudges the ball into the net.
The dog becomes a super star. Clay gets benched and starts to resent the fact that his own dog replaced him. Leaves the dog outside where he gets kidnapped by the dog catcher. They save the dog in time for the final game of the season, the bully kid sends his dobermann after soccer dog and injures him blah blah typical sports cliches except well with a dog.

Why it's Bad:
Terrible acting, terrible script. There are some awful lines like the evil nun at the orphanage who says "LET'S COMPLETE THE PAPERWORK". They have the most ridiculous comic relief that I'm pretty sure the mentally insane wouldn't even enjoy. The worst part is well, ok you know the movie Air Bud (Golden Retriever who plays basketball)? Well picture that except instead of a well trained dog that can actually play the sport, they grabbed a really scrawny scraggly dog and then have it playing soccer with "special effects" (such as having the dog chasing after the ball being slowly dragged on string).

Why it's Spectacular:
I can't begin to describe my feelings for this movie but I'll try. Clay looks like a young Keanu Reeves (and acts about as well haha). The dad is not only a terrible parent but can't fake any emotions so he will randomly fly off the handle and scream at his kid then tell his wife it's a parenting strategy. The goalie is the son of an Italian mobster, who acts like a gangster. It's ridiculous. Actually you know what to save time, I might as well just say, every single extra in the movie is absolutely ridiculous. It's wow it's amazing.
Vince is supposed to be the cool kid hahaha but he keeps saying stuff like "Show some props to daddy baby! Oh so you like to kick it East side style? Daddy can dig that baby!" Then he talks about picking up chicks using the dog as a prop.
The Dog Catcher. Oh man. He is so evil. He wears a big skull ring. He has dead stuffed dogs on his desk. Once Soccer Dog escapes, the Dog Catcher is so incredibly upset that he burns his "Dog Catcher of the Year certificate". His street address is "666 Hades Lane" hahahaha The Dog Catcher is Satan himself. He outsmarts the bully kid by pulling his touque over his eyes. He even has an incredible 70's cop car chase... except he's chasing the dog in his van. Oh and instead of putting Soccer Dog to sleep, he tries to hang him. With a noose.

There's so much of the movie that I just can't explain it, you honestly need to come to my place and watch it.

Let me say this, the movie is pretty ridiculous (with the stuff I just described) but once Soccer Dog starts playing Soccer... the movie turns into something amazing. There's this ska music montage where the dog is playing and somehow demolishing the other team. The ball stays right in front of the dogs nose and other players DIVE out of the way. Including goalies. Some of soccer dog's goals are him walking casually up to the net while everyone runs out of the way. Other times the ball FLIES from his nose into the top corner of the net. He doesn't even move, it just flies.
I'm so not doing this awful movie justice. It's fantastic. So please if you get a chance check out "Soccer Dog: The Move" as opposed to "Soccer Dog: The animated Series" or "Soccer Dog: The breakfast cereal". But also make sure you don't rent the sequel "Soccer Dog European Cup" That movie is so bad that it well made me want to eat my own face.

Literal Eclipse of the Heart

2009-07-31T23:30:00.003-06:00

I saw this video yesterday and I thought it was so funny. They took the video (and music) from the 80's song "Total eclipse of the Heart" and they changed the lyrics to describe what's going on in the video.

Now some things I should warn you about.
A) This video is ridiculous. There are scary kids with glowing eyes and topless dudes dancing. Probably the reason why they did this to this video is that it is just so weird.
B) Ok well that's really all I need to warn you. Scary glowing eye kids.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

SPIN AROUND NINJAS!

It's a Beautiful World

2009-07-27T16:43:00.002-06:00

It's been over a week since this blog has been updated. I've got a few things going on in my life which has been making it quite hard to dedicate the necessary thought and time into writing a blog.

Today I just had a few thoughts that I thought I could share with you.
- First of all, I love this weather. It's not too hot (like 25 degrees here) and there's a really nice breeze blowing. The sky is semi-cloudy but not over cast. Really it's days like this that make me believe the world is a beautiful place. It also made me realize how much I had been missing in my life lately. While living in Winnipeg I only went outside to swim at the pool that was at the friend's house where I was staying. While living in Saskatoon I rarely spent time outside. I walked to London Drugs which was like 2 blocks away. When I lived in Neepawa I used to spend tons of time outside. And now that I'm in Davidson I really haven't gone out very much but yesterday they had church in the park, and then today I went back to the park to read a book and listen to my ipod and it was pretty much the best day ever. OH yeah and I drove through a small town that I had never been to before, just because. It was amazing. I love the world today.
- That being said I have decided to call out for your help. All of my dear readers, I need your help.
I sent this to some of my music buddies on facebook but I thought I would extend the invitation to you:

Hey I need your help.

Recently I've been hanging out outside enjoying the world with my iPod. Sitting in parks and reading and whatnot. Driving around aimlessly with my windows open. Walking places I don't need to go just to enjoy the world.

In order to enjoy this to the full potential, I am making a sort of "summer playlist". This is where you (READERS) come in.

I need suggestions of any song that sounds "summer-ish". Feel good songs with that like warm summery feelings. Summer lyrics aren't really necessary, I just need those songs that have that warm, bright sound that makes me feel like the world is a good place!

Anything along the lines of Hey Ocean, Pomegranates, Ponoka, heck even some Death Cab for Cutie songs.

So for all of you, if you could leave a comment about songs that remind you of summer that I could possibly add to my summer music that would be great!

DVDs

2009-07-19T09:23:00.013-06:00

EDIT: I've noticed some of the text on the pictures is hard to see, so you have to click on them to actually read them.
I've been wanting to write a blog for sometime and now something has frustrated me so much I need to bust out a bit of a rant.

So about ten years ago now this new form of home video was introduced to replace the classic VHS. It's much smaller than a VHS, can hold more information, and has better picture and sound quality than a VHS. These wonder devices are known as DVDs.
Now, I'm a man who loves movies and TV shows, I own a fairly extensive DVD library. I have 3 cd folders mostly full of DVD movies, I have atleast 20 different seasons of shows on DVD and it's a fairly safe bet that if I'm going into the city I will be picking up a DVD of some kind. The 5-10 dollar movie bins at WalMart used to be like my Kryptonite.

Lately though, every time I go to watch a DVD I get so mad that I want to puke all over my tv. Here are my reasons for hating DVD:

DVDs are already being replaced by Blu Ray.
It's been ten years and DVDs are already becoming obsolete. And now that we are in the transition stage I'm always stuck debating. "Do I spend the extra money to get it on Blu Ray? It'll be in high def, but then I can't watch it on my laptop. I can watch it on my ps3, oh but if I want to bring it to my friends I'll have to bring my whole system..." and it goes on like that.
Right now DVDs and Blu Rays are being sold and that's ok because Blu Ray players can play DVDs so either way for me I should be able to watch a movie. But the problem is that I have this theory that in a matter of time DVDs are going to be somewhat obsolete. Maybe Blu Ray players will stop being backwards compatible, I don't know. Maybe in a few years they'll come out with the next level of disc player and DVDs won't work on that. I'm really not sure but I just have this really bad feeling that all of these stupid movies I have aren't going to matter at all in a few years.
.

Sound Levels
For some reason, I don't know why, but DVD sound levels are always massively different. For instance you'll be watching an action movie and you have it just loud enough to hear the people talk, then there will be an explosion that is so loud it actually shakes your house. Your dog freaks out, and neighbors come over to see if you're ok because they heard the explosion too and they thought it really happened. Of course you can't hear a word they say because your ears are still ringing from the WWII explosion that just went off in your living room.
Or maybe you're watching a comedy. Oh good the voices are louder in this so I can actually hear them with the TV at a decent level! But wait what's this... oh no not a montage scene! Suddenly loud annoying music fills your entire apartment and you have neighbors coming over to yell at you because they are so tired of hearing "Wake me up before you Go-go" everytime you try to watch Zoolander.
The worst is in some movies, if they are playing "background" music while people are talking, sometimes it's hard to hear the talking over the music.
I've been told that this is because some DVDs are set for surround sound and if you don't have a surround sound system, then the sound is all messed up. Yet for some reason, I can never find the way to change it to just mono or stereo, they are generally permanently stuck as surround, making the "audio options" section nearly completely useless on most dvds.
DVD players mysteriously stop working
If you've owned a dvd player for more than say 3 years you've probably encountered this fun little problem. After having a dvd player for some time, the interior laser gets tired or something, I'm really not sure, but your dvds will start to skip. a lot. And if your disc has the slightest scratch (which I will rant about next) then you are hooped because your slightly older player won't be able to read it. Finally one day you'll insert a dvd and it will say "No disc" or "Disc read error" and then it's time to have a funeral for your once expensive player.
I guess that's not too much different than VHS's except the lifespan is a bit shorter. The VHS player we had when I was growing up laster like 10 years before it started eating tapes. Most dvd players get incredibly "picky" after about 2 years. and start destroying discs in about 3.

Flimsy

DVDs are small discs. Naturally they should be handled carefully and protected. But should you accidentally drop it, or slide it into the player when there is a particle of dirt on it, then you'll get a scratch on your disc. Sometimes you get lucky and the scratch is fairly harmless, maybe a little skip or two. But other times you'll be watching an episode of Scrubs (as I was 20 minutes ago) when 5 minutes into the episode it freezes then skips to the end credits. Now if I had accidentally stepped on my disc or set it down on the carpet or breathed on it funny then I could understand.BUT THESE ARE NEW DISCS! I seriously have watched them once and now they won't play! And I protect my DVDs much like a mother lion protects her cubs!

What I don't understand is that I have CDs I've listened to hundreds of times (my Death Cab for Cutie Plans album) and yet it's still fine. It might have a scuff or two on the bottom but none of the songs skip. I've had PS2 games that I've played countless times and they still work fine. How is it that they cannot make DVDs as strong as those discs?

Sorry for ranting. But honestly, some of these newer DVDs are almost like disposable razers. You use them a couple of times and then throw them out and get a new one. And I don't really want to have to buy a new season 2 of Scrubs every week to replace the one that wrecks before I even get it out of the case.

And now I'm going to go back to trying to watch Scrubs, maybe I can wash it off with a cloth or fast forward through the skippy part. Wish me luck!

Music Showcase - Pomegranates, Ponoka, Anberlin

2009-07-14T13:30:00.004-06:00

Here's some music that I've been getting into lately!

Pomegranates
Pomegranates are a (supposedly Christian, I don't actually know) indie band.
This video has two songs on it, the first one is called Sleepover and it's ok. The second one is Corriander and it's probably my favorite song right now.

Ponoka
Ponoka is a Dutch indie band. This song is called September and it's got this nice warm kind of summery feel to it. I dig it.

Anberlin
I've known of Anberlin for some time now but just recently I've started to get back into their music. They are a Christian Rock band and this song is called Paperthin Hymn. The video is kinda sad but yeah fantastic song.

America's Got Talent - Matt's Picks (Part five of five)

2009-07-06T20:02:00.018-06:00

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#1 - Voices of Glory - Singers

These three siblings have a story that could make even a guy who doesn't cry (i.e. a man) get a little misty-eyed.

They sang in the hospital to their crippled mother while she recovered from being hit by a drunk driver! Anyone who isn't moved by that alone needs to check their pulse.

Now combine that with their talent, and we have an act that I feel very confident in guaranteeing that they will not leave early.

The Hoff usually says it for great acts, and I'm surprised he didn't for these kids, but I'll say it for him:

Top 10. Easily, top 10.

For me, they are my pick to win it (since they're my pick, they'll come in second).

America's Got Talent - Matt's Picks (Part four of five)

2009-07-06T20:02:00.017-06:00

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#2 - Jay Mattioli - Magician

Even though the past two acts have been singing acts, I actually always hope to root for someone who isn't doing a music-related act, since so many shows are already devoted to them.

However, it's just hard to find someone to catch my attention that isn't an incredible musician.

Jay Mattioli catches my attention.

Both of the tricks he did for his audition blew me away, and I cannot fathom how he did either of them (besides obviously pointing to the occult).

...That's a joke, I'm pretty sure it's an illusion.

America's Got Talent - Matt's Picks (Part three of five)

2009-07-06T20:02:00.015-06:00

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#3 - Kevin Skinner - Singer/Guitar player

Kevin, during previews for the episode and even leading right up to when he starts singing, looks to be another horrible act that is mistaken in thinking he has any talent whatsoever.

But when he starts to pick that guitar and sing...wow.

Therefore, it's no secret that since I like country music, and Kevin seems like a humble, down-to-earth-chicken-catching kind of guy, I hope Kevin makes it far. He has obviously practiced hard and sings with not only talent, but emotion, and can suck you right into his performance.

America's Got Talent - Matt's Picks (Part two of five)

2009-07-06T20:02:00.013-06:00

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#4 - Thia Megia - Singer

Thia has an amazing voice for anyone, let alone for a teenage girl (who always manage to suck up the votes...probably from teenage boys). She will make it far.

America's Got Talent - Matt's Picks (Part one of five)

2009-07-06T19:46:00.005-06:00

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As you may or may not know, one of the only reality/competition shows worth watching (besides Last Comic Standing) is America's Got Talent.

American/Canadian Idol = Boo
America's Got Talent = Awesome

Therefore, I am going to share with you my top 4 picks (and one honorable mention), so that when one of them eventually wins, I will have bragging rights.

Actually, that's not true, because for the past two years, my choices have fallen in the "runner-up" category.

Two years ago I picked a man who walked out with an acoustic guitar and sang "Walking On The Moon" - Cas Haley, who came in second.

Last year, I chose a man by the name of Eli Mattson who playing "Walking In Memphis" on a keyboard - also came in second.

Therefore, with my track record at stake, I feel confident that one of these acts will make it into the second-place position.

But before we get to that, let's have our honorable mention spot:

Rockin' Rory was a very impressive act, and one of the best animal acts I've ever seen. However, he only gets honorable mention, because I think that his act will grow stale (since I can't imagine how he can do something fresh and different every week of the competition). Therefore, while he will continue to amaze friends and family that come over for barbeque's and pool parties, Rockin' Rory will not win one million dollars.

With Apologies

2009-06-30T09:14:00.002-06:00

It's been some time since my last blog. But because of my darn pride it was so hard to write what needed to be written. I need to say some apologies for my last blog.

- First off, I'm sorry to the person who was offended because you thought I was dissing blind people. I still meant what I said in the blog. I'm still afraid of going blind, because it would mean my entire life would change and while I'm sure one day I would learn to live with it and do well despite it (as many blind people that you know have done). Blind people themselves are impressive and kudos to you for working with them. But I still don't want to become one. Also, when I wrote this I wasn't afraid of offending them because, I was pretty sure none of them would read it.
- Secondly, sorry to Night Danger. I feel like I may have angered the great beast. A few days after the blog was written I saw some cars at the side of the road that were completely demolished. Like ripped in half (down the center of the vehicle splitting driver side and passenger side). They were strewn about in a way that seemed to say "You're next". So before I can be brutally murdered I want to say I'm sorry and hope it appeases Night Danger.
- Sorry to spiders. I have seen so many spiders in the last week. And they all look like they are getting ready to attack. I even saw this really big white spider, which was so creepy I almost had to change my pants.
- Sorry to Scott for making that bed wetting joke. Alright no I'm not that was so funny!
- Sorry to Robed-Figures everywhere, including the royal order of the moose. I understand that some people just like to wear long flowing robes and to keep their faces hidden from the public eye. Maybe next time instead of throat punching and running, I should say hello. Although if you are standing at the side of the road in the middle of the night... all bets are off.
- And a final apology to scorpions, fire, women, crab people, and David Hasselhof. You are all very very scary and I'm sorry I didn't include you in my list. I didn't mean to take away from your scariness.

I'll probably be back in a couple of days writing an apology for my apology blog. See you then!

Sheldon's Top 5 Fears

2009-06-21T21:57:00.013-06:00

WARNING: This was meant to be a fun blog, but it turned terrifying at the end. Children under the age of... 30 should not read this or they may wet the bed tonight (although for some readers I understand that is a fairly regular occurrence.... Scott)

#5) Churches at Night

Since I first started working in a church (3 years ago now I think), I noticed something bizarre. That while during the day the church is a generally cool place, at night it's really creepy. There have been so many times when I'll be working away on something, getting a powerpoint ready or maybe a late night music practice when all of the sudden, I'll notice that it's after 11 or 12 and I'm alone in the building.

I'm not the kind of guy who is afraid of the dark or is afraid of being alone. But whenever I'm in a church by myself and it's dark outside and the lights are shut off inside, it's terrifying. Even last night I had to stay after youth group for an hour or two preparing a powerpoint for this morning, and when I went to leave and I shut off all of the lights and left the building, I noticed I left the pastor's office light on. I didn't run or anything but I definitely took a quick step in and out of the building.

If you're ever in a church and it's late-ish, try shutting off the lights and hanging out for a bit. It's creepy.

#4) Going Blind
I personally think that out of all the senses to lose, vision would be the worst. Let's take a look at an average day in my life.

I get up, shower, brush my teeth, and put on my work clothes for the day. I drive to work where I work for 8 hours then I come home and either read a book, play guitar, play some video games, or watch a movie. Sometimes I prepare a message on my computer for youth group or write a blog.

Now let's take a look at the blind version (TAKE A LOOK? UNINTENTIONAL PUN ALERT)

I get up, shower, brush my teeth, and put on clothes. I couldn't drive to work so I'd have to take a seeing eye dog. Well I'd probably try to ride it, and then once that one inevitably dies, I'd have to get a new one. I couldn't work my current job because you need to be able to see, in fact I'm not sure what kind of job I would work. Once I get back home from whatever I do I could... not read, watch tv or play video games. I could learn braille I guess. And I could learn to play guitar again but it would be so much harder without seeing. My computer would become a fairly useless device. Unless I got some voice activated dealy.

I would be so terrified of walking into traffic or something. I wouldn't be able to trust my seeing eye dog, since it would probably hate me after I try to ride it like a horse. I don't know I think it would be pretty awful.

If you don't understand how scary this is, I want you to take a look at this.
This is all that a blind person can see. NOTHING.

#3) Spiders
Man, Spiders are creepy. Spiders are my one like actual phobia. If I see a spider, I'm ok. If I don't see it until it's on me or really close to getting on me, I freak out a little. But who wouldn't?

Honestly, spiders are little monsters. They've got these long creepy legs and they have these wierd little things in front of their mouth and like 8 eyes and some of them are hairy and yuck. And they move fast too.

I'm not a big fan of a lot of creepy little things. Like centipedes. Those things are weird.

Ha and the worst part is once I see one or especially when a spider or some insect is crawling on me, I can start to feel them everywhere. I believe the scientific term is "Heebie-Jeebies".

The only time I can pick up a spider or let them crawl on me without fear, is if I find out someone else is afraid of them and I'm trying to prank that person. Then spiders are cool. But at any other time they should just keep their 8 creepy legs away from me.

#2) The Robed Figure
For a long time now, I've believed that the absolute scariest thing to see at the side of the road or something would be just a person wearing a robe or a hood of some sort, just standing there. It actually creeps me out more than like a big guy with a knife.

Let me paint a mental picture for you.
You're driving home from a friend's home. It's pretty late, like 2 or 3 am. Up ahead, your headlights reveal a figure but you can't make out his face at all. He's just standing there looking down. You come closer and closer and start to slow down a little and he still doesn't take notice of you, he's just standing there staring into nowhere. Finally you get really close and he lifts up his head and stares directly at you.

Seriously if that ever happened to me, all I would think about for like months straight would be "Who was that guy!? Did he see me!? Does he know who I am!? Is he going to come after me!?"

Ok and even scarier would be if he was standing on the middle of the road and you had no choice but to stop. And he was just standing there staring at you.

If that really did happen to me, I would be forced to use my "go-to move". And that is sucker-punch him in the throat and then run for my life.

#1) Night Danger
I just learned of this threat, last weekend. Night Danger is a 12 foot tall, dark grey/black moose who roams the wilderness randomly attacking people. Driving through Ontario, Matt and I saw evidence of his attacks everywhere. There was were entire sections of forest that was destroyed. Dead deer left at the side of the road that were mutilated completely. Exploded semis even were left in his wake.

The people of Ontario know how scary he is.
They even warn you with helpful signs. Such as this one on the right.

Look how mad he looks!
On the "LOOK OUT FOR DEER" signs the deer are prancing and happy and are just stupid victims, but not NIGHT DANGER. He is charging on to the road spitefully. He wants to hurt you and whoever else is on the road.
Notice how the sign has blood from Night Danger's last victim smeared around his face?

There are measures set up to stop Night Danger. In the town of Dryden, Ontario, there is something called "The Royal Order of the Moose". Which I can only imagine are a bunch of creepy robed figures (who are probably mad at me for punching them in the throat) that try to appease Night Danger by offering him different sacrifices. This only amuses Night Danger slightly, who spares their town but hunts all travelers through the land.

Let me put it into perspective. Here is a moose:
Notice his calm, friendly demeanor.

Now here is Night Danger:
I would like to point out that this was only an artist rendition because no one who has seen Night Danger has lived to tell about it. Notice the black hair and glowing red eye, sharp horns, mis-shapen "angry" nose, and that horrible smirk he wears. He probably is happy because he just murdered a whole village.
Night Danger is like the Chuck Norris of the animal kingdom. In fact, our only hope for defeating Night Danger is Chuck Norris, but then we'd have a wild Chuck Norris roaming the wilderness and really, would that be any better?

They would have to change all the signs to this.

Book Review: The Unlikely Disciple

2009-06-19T13:22:00.002-06:00

The set up:

My friend Pastor Jordan recommended this book to my other friend Pastor Terrin, who then in turn recommended it to me via Facebook. I did a little bit of digging and visited the website set up for the author, and decided that it would go on my "to-read" list (that currently includes an immeasurable amount of books).

Then during the YC Manitoba weekend, I was in Chapters and was confronted by Pastor Jordan himself. And he insisted that I read it (he was very forceful, I was frightened).

So I caved and bought it on the spot.

The confession:

Now, let me explain something to you, I know that I am a brilliant mind, and will one-day go down as a theologian the likes of which the earth was not worthy of.

...

Oh, sorry, I forgot what my point was for a second.

Anyways, I am a very slow reader. It usually takes me months (if not years) to finish a book I've started. I get distracted, I get busy, I get lazy, I get knocked down and I get up again, etc.

There's so many excuses.

The surprise:

But when I started to read "The Unlikely Disciple" I couldn't put it down. I would turn off the computer and tv just so I could sit and read without interruptions.

When all was said and done, it took me about a week to finish it.

The premise:

Kevin Roose is a student at Brown University who came to the realization that he didn't know enough about Christians his age besides what he would see publically (like on the news).

And that thought didn't sit well with him, so he decided to take a leave of absense from Brown and attend Liberty Univerity for one semester.

He plays the part of a Christian for several months in order to see what makes them tick. He does everything you would expect him to: he prays, reads his Bible, does theology assignments, and joins a church choir.

"The Unlikely Disciple" is his memoir on this experience.

The pros:

Kevin writes this book in a way where you don't know what's going to happen inthe end. You get to see him grow from his uncomfortable first few days to getting into a routine with all of the things he wasn't used to doing.

Pastor Jordan told me that it's like you are sitting at a table with Kevin and he is sharing his experiences with you.

As a Christian of course my question was "will he get saved at the end?" And I won't tell you the answer to that question, but I will say that it keeps you guessing right up until the concluding chapter. Signs throughout the book show that it could go either way.

Another thing I enjoyed about the book was his fair treatment of Christianity. While I do not like that his experience was with some Christians I do not necessarily see eye-to-eye on, Kevin handles everything from a fair stance.

For instance, the issue of homosexuality comes across quite often, as all of his peers at Liberty are outspokenly against it, and Kevin is hiding the fact that he has two lesbian aunts.

Yet if anything, I found myself relating more to Kevin than his Bible-college roommates, and I was genuinely convicted by reading about certain attitudes that hit a little too close to home in my own life.

The cons:

In reading up on the book beforehand, a lot was said about how Kevin Roose was "bridging the God-divide" and seemed to promise to break new ground in that area.

Yet I found this to not be nearly as big of an emphasis as I was expecting. While Kevin mentions it a few times, I question the practicality of the words since he was pretending to be a Christian, and so the "God-divide" was bridged by that alone. He does make some great statements that show how maybe both sides see the other as being more different than they really are, but I still feel as though this area was lacking from what I was expecting.

Another con is that while the book had me hooked to a point where I would tell people "I'm busy tonight" just so I could read it, I was also expecting more from the ending.

Like I said, the main question for me was whether or not Kevin would become a Christian in the end, and I really wished that at the conclusion of the book he would have more thoroughly discussed why he ultimately made the decision he did.

It reminded me of watching the movie "Vantage Point" a while back, where I was just loving it and loving it, and then when I was on the edge of my seat...it ended.

When I closed the book after finishing it, I couldn't help but think to myself "It's over? Really?"

I've said before that I like a preacher who leaves their congregation wanting more, rather than droning on and on way past the point where anybody cares anymore (or were still willing to listen), because then they'll be hooked and want to catch "Part 2" the following week.

But in terms of books I take the opposite stance. I want resolution!

It's not like I can just go back to Chapters the following week and read "Part 2".

So Kevin left me wanting more, which for some may be a great feeling when reading a book, but for me just wound up leaving me unsatisfied.

The conclusion:

I would recommend this book to Christians and non-Christians alike. Kevin writes with humour and honesty. He touches serious subjects and lighter ones, and he does it all fairly and without a major bias dictating his stance on issues.

I also believe that something we can all gain from this book is that Christians and non-Christians need to see each other as human, and not as some distant culture that can never be understood.

Question for discussion (in comments):

- If you have read "The Unlikley Disciple" - What did you think of it?

- If you haven't - What is a book you have read recently (or are currently reading)?

She Belongs With Me.

2009-06-17T13:23:00.002-06:00

Haha wow that title is super creepy!

Anyway, I've been travelling for the last week and don't have time to write a new blog but instead of leaving you all hanging, I thought I would share a music video with you.

Somehow Taylor Swift manages to make one of those teen-romance movies fit into a 4 minute music video. Which really impresses me.
But my real reason for uploading is that Taylor Swift (as the nerdy blonde) is my dream girl in this video.

Soon I will write an entire blog dedicated to the only celebrity crush I've ever really had (not counting Logan from Veronica Mars... man he was dreamy) but for now I will just leave you with a video of her new single or something.

Driven

2009-06-05T12:38:00.009-06:00

A few days ago I went out for coffee with a girl who I just met a few weeks ago (it wasn't a date it was a friend's thing). She inspired me so much that it's all I can think about since then (Trista, if you end up reading this, then mad props to you). She was such a motivated and driven person. She seemed like she had her life together and she's my age! She had goals and plans. She wanted to move to California by a certain date and she had plans to retire at a young age, and while I personally thought some of the goals might be sort of unrealistic, I couldn't help but admire her drive and her focus.
It made me start to think about my own life and cause me to write a semi-serious blog. How often do we drift through life? You know we might have a big picture goal (like finish school, find a good job) but other than that, do we have goals and aims? Challenges to rise to? Lately I've had some other inspiration for me to work harder and let me share them with you!

Now, I think the show Scrubs is so funny ("eeeeaaagle!")
For those of you who have never seen it, I will do a quick summary. Scrubs is a medical comedy about JD who is just finished school and starting out. His best friend Turk is a surgeon also just starting, he meets a girl named Elliot who is a love interest/good friend. There's a nurse named Carla who dates Turk. There's Dr. Kelso, the semi-evil chief of medicine and then Dr. Cox, who is a huge jerk but JD looks up to him as a mentor. Also there's a mean janitor.
Anyway especially in Season 1 JD just has this amazing drive. This ability to work harder and harder. In one episode he's so into his work that he skips a date with this hot social worker from the hospital and the one line that sticks with me is Dr. Cox says "Hey wasn't your shift done two hours ago?" and JD says "Whatever, I'm with you!" He's so determined to work hard and get something done that he doesn't even care that he's not supposed to be there anymore. I want that kind of drive!

Lesson I learned: If there's something you've wanted all your life (for JD it was becoming a doctor) you have to be prepared to work hard and sacrifice some things. JD gave up a girl he wanted now for something he's wanted all his life.

Rock Lee

Now even though it's pretty nerdy to admit that I still enjoy anime, especially admitting that Naruto is one of my faves, I still have to bring up Rock Lee.
Naruto is a show about like teenagers training to be ninjas. In a place where instead of armies or like police, they just have ninjas everywhere. And these ninjas can learn special techniques or ninjutsu that is sort of like magic I guess.
Well Rock Lee can't use ninjutsu so he was basically told that he would never be a ninja. But this kid was "too dumb" to give up and so he spent basically all day every day just to become a decent ninja even though he couldn't use special techniques.
Even though things weren't in his favour, he didn't give up. At one point in the series he gets beat up so bad they think he's going to die. The medical people save his life but they're like "you'll probably never walk again, definitely never fight again" He forced himself to keep going and then within time he was a ninja again.

Lesson I learned: Don't let people's criticisms hold you back. If you want something, chase after it.

Now I know these two aren't real but they still inspire me. But I got a real life one for you nay-sayers!!

Nick Vujicic

He was born without arms and legs and instead of giving up he tried harder than anybody. Man. And he's a Christian!

Lesson I learned: I have no excuses at all. If he wouldn't let this hold him back, then I can't let my lesser problems hold me back.

Man. I don't want to be one of those guys who gives up when it gets hard. I don't want to live a mediocre life because I'm not willing to work hard for what I want. I'm gonna start working day and night for the things that I want.

I hope I can inspire you, like Trista, and these other people inspired me. Don't let your life be wasted because you're not willing to work for what you want.

What would you do if you had superpowers?

2009-05-30T17:04:00.002-06:00

I've been thinking about doing this question as a blog for a few days now. Honestly, I don't think very many people would actually choose the super hero life. And if they did there are so many little questions to work out. For instance, do you fight crime? Vigilanteism is actually a crime itself, so if you became a famous crime fighter (like Spider-man) you would be chased by both criminals and police. You could try working out something with the government (like Captain America or the Avengers or whatever) but then you're accountable, which might not be bad although the bureaucracy may hold back your super-hero ways.

Anyway, there are so many questions that I decided to ask you all the question, "What would you do if you had superpowers?"
Let's say you go for a walk tonight and you find a meteor that struck the earth and you go to pick it up (it's pretty small I guess) and as you pick it up you get hit by lightning, bit by a radioactive insect, and a nuclear waste truck crashes beside you and covers you in toxic slime. Combined with the meteorite, you get the superhero cocktail and wind up with powers. How would your life change?

I think if I got powers(let's say like Superman's powers), I would try the whole superhero gig. I do believe in the whole like Spider-man philosophy that with great power comes great responsibility, and that if I had the ability to save people from pain I would. But at the same time I have to admit that part of the reason would be for the excitement, the drama that comes with being a superhero. Sometimes I get depressed because I feel my problems are pretty trivial and I feel like my life is boring, but if I was a superhero then my problems would be ridiculous and exciting and would give my life that extra kick.
I would like to say that I wouldn't get into it for the fame. But I know that once my alter-ego became famous I would love it. I would eat it up. Oh and I would totally use my powers to try to impress/win over a famous country singer that I may or may not be crazy in love with. But all of that being said, I view those as added perks and not the actual reason behind my actions. Because I think really that the excitement and the feeling of responsibility would be enough and that even if everybody hated me, I would keep going on to do what's right.

I would try to keep a secret identity. Mainly because of something I think I learned from some comic book (Spider-man I'm pretty sure). Once a bad guy finds out who you really are, that paints a target on all of your loved ones. So I would try to keep a normal life and then a secret Sheldoman(that wouldn't be my actual superhero name) life. But the problem comes in when I start to get bored of my day job or like say that girl is ignoring Sheldon but loves Sheldoman. Plus I think the temptation to use my powers would overcome my good sense to keep secrets. I would fly if my feet got sore or if I had to reach something up high. I would superspeed run home to grab something I forgot instead of walking normally. So it would probably be really tough for me to keep the secret but I think to maintain my relationships with loved ones I would work at it.

I might try to make a deal with the police like Batman and Comissioner Gordon. Because then I wouldn't have to worry too much about the police and at the same time still have some personal freedom. So I would fight regular crime. If I couldn't work out a deal, I would still fight crime, but then I would guard my secret identity even harder so that I wouldn't get arrested and I could fly away if the police ever showed up to arrest me.

I wouldn't be one of those heroes who are like "wah I just to be normal" (cough Smallville). I would be more like Human Torch and be like "This is incredible!" and enjoy the gifts that I got.

I like to think that if a supervillain showed up, one who looked like he could potentially beat me, that I would have the guts to stand up to him. That I would have the backbone to keep fighting when it got tough. But I think also that if everybody hated Sheldoman and there were some super strong guys who could kill me, trying to kill Sheldoman, that I would be dangerously tempted to give it all up. I hope though that I would have the guts to keep going.

So! What would you do? Write a comment (or if you're Matt you should think about it and write a blog!). Would you just use your powers for personal gain? Would you hide your powers and instead fight to stay normal? Would you be a bad guy to make some quick money or whatever nefarious schemes you have? Would you try super hero life and what kind of things would you do?

haha I'm curious so go ahead and tell me!

Ambassador of God

2009-05-25T22:16:00.004-06:00

I haven't really written any serious blogs in here yet. I've been meaning to write something for a little while but haven't known what to write. Then today I started thinking about something.

As a Christian, I believe that God loves me, enough to send his own son to die for me. In the Bible it says that we are supposed to love others because Christ first loved us. It also says in the Bible that we are supposed to be "ambassadors of God". That we are God's hands and feet. So... follow my logic here... God is love... we are supposed to be God's "presence" on Earth... Let's be jerks to others. Wait, what?

I remember in Bible College and back in my church at home and well everywhere I've ever been, meeting some guy in a church who seems like the greatest guy. You know, a good upstanding Christian who seems like a real person you could look up to. Then you run into them out in the real world, and they are total jerks! They're rude, they're impatient, and well they're just beasts.

I haven't really had this problem here yet (if you're from Davidson and reading this, don't think this is aimed at you) other than this morning I met someone who is supposedly a prominent member of one of the churches in town, and he was such a jerk!

What kind of PR is that for the church? We're supposed to be happy people! We're supposed to show Christ's love to people, and if we can't even be decent to the guy at the hardware store, or the waitress at the restaurant then what is wrong with us?

This is probably one of my biggest pet peeves in the world. A person who claims to be a Christian but all of their actions point to them being a bad person.

This was sort of a rant but let me attempt to turn it around a bit. If you're a Christian and you're reading this, I want you to watch your own actions for the next few days and see how you treat people. The kid who pumps your gas, the idiot at Wal-Mart who really tests your patience, and the girl at McDonald's who doesn't speak English well and is making it very difficult. It's so easy to be nice. Honestly. A smile. A "No, it's not a big deal" if they make a mistake.
People's view of God, comes from how they view us. Uncaring, judgmental Christians perpetuate a view of an uncaring, judgmental God.

And if you are not a Christian (haha and you read this whole thing anyway) I want to beg you, not to judge all Christians based on those jerks that are out there that make me want to pull my hair out. Some of us are good people. I swear.

Not-So-Secret Identity

2009-05-17T21:58:00.003-06:00

You know how almost every super hero has their secret identity? And sometimes the identity is kept ridiculously secret, but other times they don't do the best job of hiding it. Like they'll be chatting on a cell phone to someone who knows their secret and they'll totally say something that gives it away but none of the people around them are paying attention. Or like in Spiderman when the Green Goblin attacks and he rips his shirt open as he runs exposing his costume.

Well this has inspired me to try something... I haven't done it yet but I'm planning it. I want to go to coffee with a friend and talk as if I was a superhero and not do a good job of hiding my identity. Or like walk through a store on my cell phone chatting fairly loudly about superhero-ish type stuff. You know like "Well what am I going to do? If I don't get my powers back soon, how will I stop Dr. Badguy?" or "We're lucky Ultros found the bomb or else the whole city would've went up!" or my personal favorite, "You mean we can't use any of our powers? I've been walking around these humans all day and I feel disgusted... ugh one of them is staring at me, I'll call you back"

That's my plan... if I get the initiative to do it one day I'll post results! Until then... commenters! What would you do if somebody was doing this while you were in the grocery store or something? (If a lot of people say "punch them in the crotch" I'll rethink my strategy)

Inspiration for the day

2009-05-12T08:45:00.003-06:00

Check this out:

Disabled Veteran Finishes London Marathon

Road Trip Mix!

2009-05-10T13:17:00.003-06:00

I drive quite a bit (especially lately with moving) and I'm just about to head to Manitoba for a week so I thought I'd leave you guys with my travelling music playlist. It's mostly classic rock, because it turns out that is the best travelling music. Now these songs are mostly lyrically about moving on, or travelling, or leaving somewhere, but they also have a certain "feel" to them that when you listen to them it makes you feel almost really happy to be on a road trip. It's really cool! Enjoy!

1) Death Cab for Cutie - I will Possess Your Heart - If you've seen the video, it's like a montage of a girl travelling. The lyrics aren't really about travelling but the beat of the song (especially the 4 minute long intro) really feels like you're going somewhere. Great song, check it out if you haven't heard it.
2) Supertramp - Goodbye Stranger - I really have enjoyed my stay, but I must be moving on.
3) Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird - Anyone who played Guitar Hero 2 should know this song. The lyrics are about a man who can't be tied down (sort of like Goodbye Stranger and well a bunch of songs in this mix) and plus that like 4 minute solo at the end is crazy.
4) Willie Nelson - On the Road Again - Kinda obvious?
5) The Allman Brothers - Ramblin Man - Again along the theme of being a man who won't settle down. This music makes me feel good about my gypsy ways!
6) Tom Cochrane (Rascal Flatts) - Life is a Highway - I believe in Tom Cochrane (and the original version, but the Rascal Flatts one does have a bit more kick to it.
7) Bright Eyes - Another Travellin' Song - LANGUAGE WARNING on this one (they swear once I think). But it's well a travellin' song!
8) Golden Earring - Radar Love - Driving all night my hands wet on the wheel, there's a voice in my head that drives my heel...
9) Led Zeppelin - Ramble On - Back to the theme of the travelling man thing. With some Lord of the Rings thrown in there at the end. Pretty rockin song anyway.
10) America - Horse With No Name - A song about a journey, and it works good.
11) Bright Eyes - Road to Joy - LANGUAGE WARNING again (for an F-bomb in this song). And the lyrics aren't really about travelling but the like beat and the flow of the song feels like you are travelling.
12) Led Zeppelin - Over the Hills and Far Away - Many times I've ga-azed along the open road.
13) Bob Seger - Turn the page - On a long and lonesome highway... it's basically about him while on tour with his band and what life on the road feels like for a rocker.
14) Journey - Faithfully - What life on the road does to a relationship. I found it much better travelling music when I had a long distance relationship on the go.
15) Staind - So Far Away - The lyrics aren't about travelling really. It's about a guy who has overcome a drug addiction I think. But it still works for when you are almost at your destination. Plus the song pretty much rocks.
16) City and Colour - Comin Home - It's about travelling, he even mentions Saskatoon and Highway 1 on there... I would be a fool not to include this song!

I really wanted to throw on some Christian music but I don't know any Christian songs that are about travelling or have that kind of "feel" to it.
Feel free to legally purchase these songs and listen to them while travelling. It has an amazing effect on me. And if you have any suggestions to add to the mix leave a comment!

My Unexplained Leave of Absence

2009-05-05T18:21:00.003-06:00

If you've looked at this blog in the last month and a half (or so) you would've noticed minimal updates and a severe lack of Sheldon in the blogosphere. Due to some mix-ups with my roommate and Sasktel, my internet has been disconnected for part of March and all of April. Over this last month I've had many issues come up that I wanted to blog about and now I will treat you all to a brief summary of those topics!

Pandemic/Pandemonium
I love how so many people are freaking out right now about the swine flu. At work we got an email from the head office telling us how to prepare ourselves for the "imminent outbreak". Part of these instructions including gathering several weeks of non-perishable foods and medicine in case we go in to lock down or something. Although not actually stated, it was definitely implied that we should also gather ammunition and fortify our houses in case the infected try to get in. I was at a restaurant last night and on the tv screens I couldn't hear what was being said but on the news was dozens of people wearing masks and tons of doctors running around. I could only assume they were talking about the swine flu. Through my investigations, I've been able to find out that swine flu causes a fever, tiredness and fatigue, and minor aches and pains. In the USA there were like 480 confirmed cases and only 1 death. Yet sensationalistic news reports has somehow turned this mild fatigue into the second plague.

Lipton Brisk Fruit Punch
It's delicious!

T.V.
I've been watching the show Scrubs a lot lately. It's so funny. JD's little fantasies and JD and Turk's joking around, Cox's rants, and well just everything about the show cracks me up. Honestly if you've never seen it, go check out the first season. I'm gonna buy the first season as soon as I find it. It's great.

Moving
I like moving. I feel like a gypsy or something. There's something cool about getting a new place and moving everything in and setting things up. I'm moving into a decent one-bedroom and I got a new job at the co-op. I'm getting pretty used to packing up all of my stuff and hopping in my car. But honestly I like it.

I feel like I have a lot more that I can write but some of them deserve entire blogs and not just a showcase in my "sorry that I was gone for so long blog". I'll have some constant internet access coming up which means blogs from me will become a regular thing once more.

The "Didn't Think That Through" Awards' First-Ever Recipient

2009-04-15T19:16:00.005-06:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce something that may become a semi-regular segment (or die off with my boredom).

The "Didn't Think That Through" Awards!

These awards are given to people or groups who do something that they obviously didn't think through!

Anyone can win one! How exciting!

Anyways, it is time for the first-ever recipient to be revealed:

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Roger Friedman come on down!

For those of you who don't know, an unfinished copy of Wolverine: Origins (set to debut in theatres at the beginning of May) was leaked online.

Not such a big deal. These things happen all the time.

But unfortunately for Mr. Friedman, an official columnist, he publicly reviewed the pirated copy of the movie he had illegally downloaded.

Didn't think that through.

---

(Taken from www.nydailynews.com)

Fox News columnist Roger Friedman is out after posting a review of a leaked full-length work print of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

Friedman had been an entertainment writer who has contributed to FoxNews.com for 10 years.

He wrote in his Fox 411 column Thursday that downloading the 20th Century Fox superhero prequel was "so much easier than going out in the rain" and that the movie "exceeds expectations at every turn."

The early review of the film, which 20th Century Fox described as a "stolen, incomplete and early version," was later removed from the Web site Friday.

---

Note: To make a nomination for the next "Didn't Think That Through" Award, send an e-mail to me with as much detail as possible (links to the story, pictures, etc).

Unleashing Potential

2009-03-31T19:11:00.004-06:00

I think that a lot of people misunderstand what pastors are supposed to do, particularly when you talk about what they are supposed to provide for believers.

...

Is it their responsibility to force an experience that brings someone to have an encounter with God?

Are they meant to single-handedly provide for everyone's needs that arise within the church?

Do they just preach and mow the lawn?

Or is there more?

...

I have a confession to make:

My name is Matthew Erickson, and I am a fan of Erwin McManus.

One of the reasons I enjoy his preaching and writing is because of the faith he has in the potential God has given humanity.

And I believe that one of the best things a pastor or spiritually mature person can do for another believer is to help them see the potential that God has given them.

One of the most powerful messages a person can hear is that they were created to make a difference.

They were created with a purpose, and mediocrity is not an option.

...

I think that some of us have a tendency to genuinely want to help someone, but what the end result winds up leaving you with is a savior-complex.

For example, when Person A wants to help Person B, they create a dependency that doesn't end up with God being the focal point, but rather Person A is given a middle-man position providing a link between Person B and God.

Some people in the church like it this way, not because they intentionally want to avoid God, but because it is easier to trust someone you can see and hear clearly.

...

But like I said, some people misunderstand what pastors are supposed to do.

It is my desire, not that anything I say or do would be particularly meaningful to you, but that God would speak to you in the midst of my life.

You do not need a "middle-man" between you and God. Jesus came to earth to bridge the gap between us (I'm sure most of us have seen the graphic in a tract where you are on one side, God is on the other, and the cross is in between).

God wants a relationship with you. And it doesn't count if you see your relationship with God as being evidenced by how often you attend church or talk/pray with a pastor.

...

But most importantly, you need to trust yourself and God within you, because there are specific places and people that God is calling you to.

Pastors and people you see as being "spiritually mature" are not in the same places you are in; they do not stand in the same situations, and therefore can not be as effective at reaching your friends, coworkers, and family.

You need to know that God has given you the capability of doing something great.

You were created to make a difference.

You were created with a purpose, and mediocrity is not an option.

*Poll: How can you help someone realize their God-given potential? (respond via comment)*

Shenanigans: Musical Idiot

2009-03-28T22:50:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. Due to some internet disconnection issue I have been unable to treat you all to the joys of my mind. But I've had this blog brewing in my soul for a little bit so here it is faithful readers.

I'm the kind of guy who sometimes gets bored with everyday life. I work two good jobs and I have hobbies but I like to partake in a certain practice to help me occupy my time. This is the ancient Irish art known as "Shenanigans". I don't want to get into the whole history of shenanigans but I believe it was started by leprechauns in the 15th century to alleviate some of the boredom from their little lives (well they don't need to work, they already have pots of gold).

I've decided to share some of my shenanigans with you and invite you to participate in the joys that it brings.

My latest shenanigans have been something I refer to as "The Musical Idiot". When I hear a song on the radio, I generally am very quick to know the song or at the very least the band. But I've also discovered that it's so fun to pretend I don't.

For instance someone at work had classic rock going in the warehouse and I was like "Oh wow is this Bon Jovi?" when it wasn't at all. Also Foo Fighters was playing in a different place and I said "Is this the new Nickelback?" and finally Katy Perry was on and I asked if it was the new Avril Lavigne. The reaction is the same every time. People seem to get morally offended by not knowing a band that they like. It's actually hilarious. You get treated like a real idiot! But it's so funny, I really have so much fun doing it.

Certain rules though I should mention. Don't be like "Is this the new Metallica?" If it's Britney Spears or something. Keep it in the same genre or else it's not even funny. Also whenever possible bring up a "lesser" band. Especially if it's a band that you know people hate. I enjoy using Nickelback for this purpose because I know a few people that dislike them.

So I want to encourage you all to try this out, have fun. It's better that people think you are an idiot when you're not, than to have people think you're sort of smart and find out you're not.

Movie Review: Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li

2009-03-22T15:56:00.003-06:00

Reviewed by Pastor Matt

Synopsis:

On the streets of Bangkok, crime boss Bison instigates a wave of violence in the slum districts, grabbing power and land no matter what the costs to its residents. His ruthless tactics are met by a team of heroes consisting of Chun-Li, a half-Caucasian/half-Asian beauty who gave up a life of privilege to become a street fighter, battling for those who cannot fight for themselves; her kung fu master, Gen, once a feared criminal, who now fights for the forces of good; Interpol cop Charlie Nash, who has tracked the crime boss all over the world, and Nash's partner, gangland homicide detective Maya Sunee...

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Review:

Save your money.

You're welcome.

Name for the Site

2009-03-20T12:51:00.005-06:00

I've been debating possible names for the blog for the last couple of days. At first it was just "Two Young Pastors" and I thought that was sort of weak. Needing a name, I quickly resorted to just "Pastor Matt and Pastor Sheldon". Matt then pointed out to me the incredible blandness of that name. I believe he said "The title is sort of... just our names".

Since then I've been brainstorming for a good title. I was thinking "Pastor Matt and Sheldon Fun time" but then I thought that was a bit too long, so I shortened it down. I was left with "PMS Fun Time." Deciding that name would be fun for no one, I've gone back on the search for a good name.

Right now it is "The Curious Case of Sheldon and Matt". You know because that sounds like "The Curious Case of Benjamin Bratt". EDIT: I've been corrected. Apparently It's Benjamin Button. Which shows once again my lack of concern for Brad Pitt or his movies. I've never seen the movie, but I kind of imagine it being lame. So we need a new title desperately.

So faithful readers, that is where you come in! Yes, You! I want you all to comment on this entry with your ideas for possible names! We want something that is unique, and suits Matt and I's personality. It can be a fun name (like "Sheldon and Matt's Wild Ride") or something more serious (like "A New Perspective"). Whatever you think would be good!

And since I am a "contest-oriented" person, let's make this into a contest. If you submit an awesome title and we go with that, you will be awarded 30 Sheldo-Points! That's right, you can win your very own collection of Sheldo-Points! You can use them however you choose! So comment your ideas, leave your name so I know who I should award the points to.

Act now, because this is a limited time offer! A chance of a life-time I'd say.

Who likes free CD's?

2009-03-18T18:04:00.003-06:00

I know I do!

If you are like me (which is a dream that only a few can accomplish), then I would suggest you go to http://philwickham.com/singalong

You can download Phil Wickham's "Singalong" CD (in case the URL didn't give it away). I would recommend giving it a listen!

More later!

Welcome!

2009-03-18T12:27:00.002-06:00

I have been blogging for a long time now. Lately I've been using a private blog with a reader's list where only close friends could read it. But I miss being creative and writing stuff that anyone in the world could read! So I talked to my good friend Matt, and we thought it would be cool if the two of us together started a blog where we wrote funny little articles and also some more serious blogs about God and other issues.

So we hope everyone enjoys it! We'll probably be updating about twice a week so if you want to learn more about God or just have a good laugh, then you should check back often! We'll be sharing movie/tv show/book/video game reviews from a young pastor's perspective, we'll be sharing funny stories from ministry and our second jobs and telling funny stories about Bible College and we'll be writing about God and spiritual issues as well!

I hope you enjoy it and check back often!