We came, we saw, we shopped.

Went shopping today in the City (Which, to us means Albany-Schenectady).
Saw Santa.
Seth: "Santa! I know him!"
"Make-A-Memory With Santa!", the sign read. "Deluxe Photo Package, $19.99."
I idly thought about popping up behind Santa's chair and including myself in all the photos. That would certainly give them a memory...
We, the family, ever looking for a bargain, have decided to sneak a camera and tripod of our own into Colonie Center Mall and take our family Christmas portrait in front of the large mall fireplace. Tee-hee.

Favorite story of the day:
Mom asking Dad why there was an extension cord stretched out on the front lawn.
Dad's response?
"Oh, I'm just letting all the electricity drain out so it doesn't freeze when I put it away for the Winter."
...
You know, it's a wonder I turned out to be so serious minded...

Noted Man Accepts Posthumous Award, is Speechless

The enemy of genius isn't idiocy, it is the average.
The main opposition to genius is often brought from people who are actually quite rational and intelligent, who's semi-knowledge is worse than no knowledge whatsoever. Their preconceived ideas, carefully regurgitated to them by the previous generation, comprise of the totality of their reality. Nothing else is possible, and that, my friends is what makes it so maddening. Any brilliant idea is almost always thought laughable by the status quo.
Just ask all the posthumously-recognized geniuses of the past 500 years...
Indeed, genius probably has more in common with insanity than anything. Where do you draw the line?

I do not know, go ask your Dad.

Poem, A

Upon Seeing A Woman Pushing A PULL Door

I smirk, I sneer, I look askance at her stupidity.

How could anyone be so dumb is far beyond me!

I laughingly walk to it, it easily opens,

Now through it, I glance behind as I go.

And with graceful step and blithe face

plant fully in unyielding second door.

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."

Proverbs 16:18

New: The Media Bible!

Exerpt from a conversation from any given movie or tv show when the Bible is discussed.

Hero Type: "Rev, I just don't get the Bible. With my keen intellect that is the product of our Utopian modern educational system, I know it to be scientifically false. It just doesn't make sense!"

Wise Father/Religious Type: "Son, it doesn't have to make sense. The Bible isn't about facts, it's about faith!" he says wisely. "You just have to believe..."

Yeeeaacchh. You might as well tell him to clap his hands, too...

Sorry, I just couldn't take it any more.

Be kind...

Some times it's hard.

When you're trying to reason with someone, and he ignores your obvious insight.
When she and her friends look at all the facts and still come to the wrong conclusion and you fantasize about grabbing them around their necks and shouting
"How on earth can you be such a nincompoop!" and
"The reason you don't see it that way is because you're an ignorant idiot with no capacity for rational thought in that tiny brain of yours!"

Don't do that. =)
One of the most persistently present verses lodged in my head from years of Sunday School says:
"Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."(Eph.4:32)
Whoa. Seems like I need a reminder every now and then.
You know, God didn't say "Be ye smarter then everybody else!".
Simplify.
Be ye kind.
You never know, maybe that person in your life has something to teach you...even if it's patience.

A Jolly Stroll Downtown

Or, How I Walked Around OTR For Hours With Conspicuous Valuables In My Backpack.

It all started with a trip to the CE. The internet in my apt was acting hinky, so I legged down to the land of the free wireless and beautiful coffee.

About closing time (6:00 post mortem) I decided to leave, because although I think I could’ve taken the barista, I’ve learned they tend to frown on that sort of thing, and call names.

Next, since I was roughly in the area, I trotted over to fountain square and snapped a few for later.

It was a beautiful night.

Next, some guy tried to (clumsily) filch my wallet out of my back pocket, but I, experienced world traveler that I am (Dublin, anyone?) had removed it to my hip to prevent just such an event from occurring. I affectionately advised him to “go play in traffic”, and continued on my way.

After stopping in on a few stores and art galleries, I decided it was time to wend my way homeward, and so started back up the Young St. steps. I had gotten as far as Milton St when looking ahead I espied what appeared to be some sort of negotiation on the next level of steps. Due to the lack of light and witnesses, and the presence of my laptop laden backpack, I decided to cut across Milton to Sycamore, and go home that way. On my way I met a lady who was trying to attract the attention of a stray cat, and who informed me in wistful tones that she “Never made it to Milton. They always stop me…”

Who?

The cats?

The infamous ghosts of Milton St.?

I never asked…

A Glowing Study on Lampyridae

(See, "glowing", get it?)

Fireflies are nifty.
I've never met anyone that doesn't like fireflies.
They are one of the select few that never have to pay their light bill, you know? Bioluminescence.
From Wikipedia:
The enzyme luciferase* acts on luciferin, in the presence of magnesium ions, ATP (adenosene triphosphate), and oxygen to produce light.
*Yes, as in Lucifer (light bringer)

"You would not believe your eyes, if ten million fireflies lit up the world..."
This song, entitled "Firefly" by the group Owl City, piqued my interest. How many fireflies would it take to REALLY light up the world? So, with the vast power of the internet gods at my disposal, I determined to find out. Turns out that 1 firefly weighs in at around 1/40 lumens. In other words, you'd need about 40 fireflies to equal the brightness of one candle. Woopee. In contrast the BIG YELLOW ONE which is the SUN, when measured in lumens,(which is a really dumb way of measurement by the way) trickles in at 6,840,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 lumens.

Soooo, if you were to light the world with fireflies, it would take(deep breath): 273,600,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 fireflies!

Better get those old Ball jars out and get busy, because if you catch an average of 1,000 a night it would take you forever-to-the-"nth" power, dude...

Later

On Music

One of the biggest problems I have with modern music is that I see it bludgeoning the cultural taste buds of this generation, overloading and rendering them incapable of distinguishing the much more refined flavors of emotion from, say, most music written before the 1900's.
One of the statements I've heard quite a lot from many of my peers is that they think classical music "all sounds the same"!
Their overstimulated senses are now rendered incapable of appreciating the music for what it is: Man's potential for genius realized through the art of sound.
It would be like having a exquisite meal prepared for you by a 5 star chef, and then turning it away because they don't have any ketchup with which to douse your pâté de foie gras...
Please, friends, do yourself a favor and don't criticize what you don't understand.

Whew.

Pause

A haiku for you:

The next street over
the sun is always shining
as I walk up it.

Resume.

Ike's Blog 2.5: The Blog Strikes Back

(Not the movie, still the book)

Sooo, I have decided to go back into the archives and pull out some unpublished drafts that never saw the light of your screen. Until now. I give you, in their somewhat incomplete yet unedited form; The Drafts.

Draft the Ist: If Wishes Were Horses...

>If wishes were horses, beggars would ride."

How many times have you heard that phrase, or have come across it in writing?
There are some inherent problems in this statement, however, and it is on these that I will be focusing on for the rest of this post.
From the information given it is impossible to know the time of the relation
(wishes=horses)
which might give us a clue as to the validity of the argument. In other words, at what point in time did this transmutation of non-corporeal thought into corporeal Equine occur, as it were.
Is this simply another question like "Hey, I wonder what this world would be like if we were all upside down?" and of course the answer is that philosophically there would be no difference if we were created that way. If that was all we had ever known, to us we would be right side up!
So if since the beginning of time
(wishes=horses),
pedestrian beggars would still be because wishes would not be wishes at all, they would be horses, or vice versa!
But then what if, say, this change happened over night, and all of a sudden wishes become horses. At first your average beggar might be pleased, although reasonably very startled. He could sell the horse and make some money. But soon, assuming the wish rate among beggars is rather high, the market would be flooded with horses, and the value would drop precipitously until they would be worthless. Not to mention the sophistication required for the waste removal system after the inundation of the streets... <

The Effects Of Caffeine On An Artist

Some people get jitters and shakes.

For me, it’s like everything slows down so I can process it.

After coffee, even walking down a street becomes a intoxicating rush of information.

With the caffeine loosing my brain, it’s as if a switch has been thrown-“click” as suddenly it begins to come alive with the river of patterns…

The words “ smooth flavor” flashes across my thoughts. I stop; mentally I backtrack, and realize the source was a piece of paper blowing in the wind past me, glimpsed by my eye for a fraction of a second as I hurried along.

An ant on the pavement who’s short one antennae…a girl with three earrings on her left ear, two on the right(I wonder if she feels off-balance?)…three blooms, two buds on that bush across the street(hmm, rather late in the season)…sounds, shapes, colors, all being processed and organized simultaneously at light speed. I get the feeling that if I really wanted to, I could think a great thought…

Or something.

=)

Attack of the Flavonoids

Sounds scary, right?
"Phasers have no effect, sir!"
"Keptin, we must-" *BZZZZZZZ (static)
"Billy? Billy!!"
"Curses upon you, Flavonoid!"

Or it sounds like some you need surgery to remove.
"What's the matter with him?"
*hushed tone "Oh, he's got flavonoids."
"Flavonoids? No way, man. That's rough..."

Turns out, Flavonoids are actually good things. Flavonoids are a polyphenolic compound and are found in most of the fruits and veggies that we eat, and are known for being high in- (Oh, pick me!) Antioxidants!
Go here, if you want to learn more.
Or go here, if you want to see a cool website that will help you do the stuff you do better, and give you some new ideas too.

And now, back to my tea.
Which contains flavonoids.

We all scream for art...

>

Aristotle wrote: “Experience produces art, but inexperience only luck. Art is produced when out of many ideas gained through experience we draw one general conclusion about some class of like cases.”

Hmmm…

Now, Aristotle and I don’t always see eye to eye, but on the philosophy of art I tend to agree with him, at least this far.

I could suddenly start painting a series of paintings of Africa, but chances are the resulting pieces would lack inspiration and originality, since my only experience of Africa is second hand, a trickled-down compressed myopic view from someone else’s experience of that country. The quality would suffer because of the dearth of inspiration. It would be dead to me.

Art, in my opinion, needs subjectivity. In order to be art, it needs to provoke a response, however subtle, in the viewer. There is some art that I really don’t like. Take “The Scream”, by Edvard Munch for example. Not my favorite piece. But I have to concede that it is still art. Creepy? Yes. But still art.

Whenever I paint I try to remember this principle, and strive to let my work speak…

That’s all.

Change

Hey!

My new video is uploaded, just not on here.
Growing tired of finishing my video only to shrink it down to microscopic proportions(from original file size of 2.2 gb down to a mere 30 mb), I decided to post it on facebook.
Here is the link:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/video/video.php?v=1198704691709&subj=1351277217

In other news, a shout out to the bold band of ...sisters who came and visited over the weekend, more on that later.

Ike's Summer Blog Ep. 103

Ike's Summer Blog-Episode 102

Ike-The Summer-Ep.101

Never mind the poet Pope, Jeeves...

I'm typing this from Iris Bookcafe, on Main.
The last light is shining down through the latticed driftwood in the courtyard and gathering in buttery pools on the concrete; the pools that were gray from the rain that was falling when we got out of our car to reach the cafe. Ryan and I sitting with intent to study, he with his Irish Breakfast tea (do they really drink that for breakfast in Ireland?) and I with my French Roast Uganda that I love so much. We exchange glances in reference to the strange pulsating rhythms of some undiscovered artist that the establishment has deemed sufficiently à la mode and "artsy", we reflecting that you know, mainstream isn't so bad, and perhaps there's a reason some artists never get "discovered"...
Here all the coffee mugs have eyes, though they do look glazed over.
Coffee from Coffee Emporium, soup from Mira's, ice cream from Aglamesis, all in one spot.
Iris Bookcafe, on Main St.
See you there!

Warning: Not a Serious Post

People twirling in slow-motion while flower petals are falling. You see it every day, right?



Yet more proof that I have the craziest, zaniest, most fun friends in the world.
Love you guys!

Reflections on Choir Tour

1. God is amazing.(duh)
2. The guys and gals that make up this choir are some of the best people in the world.
3. Really.
4. P.A. Crew is #1!!
5. I was on P.A. Crew.
6. It is well nigh impossible to sing and minister to a needy world when you are laughing hysterically because an elderly gentleman got blessed, ran the aisle, and sat down next to the wrong woman.
7. Boy, he sure did get up fast.
8. Sometimes, in a piano and violin duet, the piano goes very sharp.
9. Day becomes night and Jesus Christ now has a son?! What?
10. Testimonies get a little funny towards the end of tour.
11. Don't sear the angels.

The Opposite of God

Disclaimer: I am not a learned scholar, merely a curious schoolboy. I make little effort to define my terms- this is a blog, not a doctoral thesis. This is intended for an audience of people who are already familiar with the bible and basic Christian beliefs.

What is the opposite, or antithesis, of God?
I have been asking this question all day, and the most commonly presented answer, and perhaps the one on your mind, is Satan. So:
The antithesis of God is Satan.
So is Satan equal with God?
Well, no, we couldn’t say that.
Than how can he be the antithesis of God if he is not on the same level as God? For I can say the opposite of a bad apple is a good apple, but I can’t argue that the opposite of a good apple is say, a paper clip, for they do not inhabit the same plane.
All right, how about this:
Evil, which is represented by Satan, is the antithesis of God.
But even that doesn’t quite work, for from where did evil come?
God created Lucifer, who then became evil incarnate as he rejected God and His attributes. So, then, evil is the deviation of a created being from the Law of God. Since evil is from and pertaining to God’s creation, it cannot be the antithesis of God either.
So then let us refine our statement by changing it to:
The antithesis of God is no God, or un-God.
But that still doesn’t argue, for “by God were all things made, without Him was nothing made that was made.” so a “un-God” concept does not exist; there is only God and His creation.
So what is the answer?
Well, we know that God is all-powerful.
But God is also goodness, (in fact the goodness) and that He by his own nature limits Himself, which He alone has the power to do since He is self-existent.
So by God limiting Himself, he is in effect positioning Himself on the other side of the equation. Thus we have arrived at the conclusion that God is His own opposite!
Now, this does not mean that there is a “good God” and a “bad God” engaged in some super-cosmic battle, for this statement has nothing to do with good or evil. Nor is it that God is split in half with some kind of multiple personality, for we know that God is consistent with himself.
So, we now arrive at the final (at least for now, anyway) thesis statement:
The antithesis of God is God.

What do you think?
Feel free to debate.

And this is attractive how?

"and blue Irish eyes put there by a smutty finger..." (Taken at the Flood, by Agatha Christie)

Apparently this is preferable to eyes that were placed in their sockets with clean hands.

English is weird.

Take for example the word "weird". If memory serves the word comes from the Old English word wyrd, meaning fate, or destiny.
Oh, here's another one: because. That one's a little tricky to define without actually using the word "because", but I've done it...
You know where because came from?
Well, it's etymology is steeped-or may I say, shrouded- in thick clouds of mystery. No one really knows for sure, but I have read one account that attributes the origin of the word to a man in a Nordic tribe about to go a' viking.
Said man, one Svet Björnik by name, when asked why he left his faithful Nordic crow Bji behind, replied with these immortal words: "Bji caws."

Not really.
I made that up.
I think it's actually Elisabethen and is a contraction of "be the cause" or something. Which isn't nearly as interesting as my definition...

But there really was a Nordic crow, however. Unfortunately, they died off along time ago.
Couldn't keep up with the the whole sandwich demand.

I made that up, too.

You're very gullible today.

Episode #-17: The Polar Bear Run

Brrr...
-3 deg. Fahrenheit, wind chill -15...


It was cold.

My musings...

On the importance of positive thinking:
Very. But positive thinking isn't everything. Let me try to explain.
You're falling off of Carew Tower. Now, as you soar through the air with the greatest of ease, you can think "Wow! Look at me! I bet I'll beat everyone else to the bottom..." and be really positive about the whole experience, but all the positivity in the world is not going to change the impact you'll have on the street below. =) Positive thinking can make an unpleasant ordeal more bearable, but sometimes if you use common sense you wouldn't have been in that situation in the first place.
Therefore, I say a positive attitude WITH intelligent decisions is great gain.

On hype, cliches, etc:
I think many people use cliches and hype as an attempt to ease certain social situations because they really don't know how to comfortably express how they actually feel. However, to simply say "Never use cliches!" doesn't really reflect an accurate view of our social protocol. A cliche doesn't necessarily reflect the person's total opinion on the subject; it doesn't have to. It's just an easier, faster method of communication with less potential for awkwardness. So do I think cliches have their place in society? Yes. As long as you don't over use them. I think that just like knowing which fork to use, the art of cliche usage is valuable.
Now let loose the dogs of comment...

Self-Titled

An astonishing act
of LITerary limberance lies
as centER sagaciously
hidden half hAbily
in a diagonal direcTION.

you figure it out.

School is going great. I've been getting up around 4:30 every morning to study, vocalize, and have devotions before my 7:00 class. This practice has led to me turning in to a zombie around 9:00ish...
On a related note, there's Nigeria. Known for its oil reserves, poor taste in dictators, and susceptibility to deadly infectious diseases, now is branching out to the do-it-yourself safety gear niche with this innovative idea:
Can't afford a motorcycle helmet? No problem, says the resourceful Nigerians.
Simply slap a pumpkin on your head and call it good. All is not peaceful, however, as local officials are contesting the functionality of this avant garde in vegitable fashion accessories.

Microwaves: Are They Occult?

Okay guys, I know I just posted something, but I couldn't sleep.
So I got up and investigated the source of all that is good in this world: The refrigerator.
I perused its mysterious depths and soon emerged victorious with a broccoli/ cauliflower casserole and several thick slices of ham. The next question I had is a familiar one to fellow dorm guys;
Do I microwave this, or do I eat it cold?
Microwave ovens. They're spooky.
My microwave has all sorts of helpful buttons I could push. There's a pizza button, and a popcorn button, and a potato button, and a...
How does my microwave know that I'm putting a piece of pizza in instead of last nights pot roast?
I stood in front of this mad machine, pondering this.
I reach out my hand and twiddle with the knob as I think, inadvertently sending the microwave into a symphony of beeps as I do so. Not seeing a week-old-broccoli-and-cauliflower-casserole-with-ham button, I now am faced with a decision.
Do I just leave the setting on high, and risk the mutation of my ham into bacon?
(Incidentally, I'm on to you Canadians.) I remember when I was young(er), my Dad, my brother, and myself put a marshmallow in the microwave. That thing got as big as a softball, and about as hard, too.
Do I try my luck with the power settings, and attempt to manually gauge the correct time/power/weight set of variables?
Nowadays there's a third option.
Sensor Reheat.
I stare at those words illuminated in blue against the dark metallic skin of the oven face.
Sensor Reheat. What on earth does that do? How does it work? What is involved in the "sensor" part? (i'm picturing little french fries dressed in star trek uniforms going "kepten, we're being scanned! red alert!") I pause.
...
The moral implications hit me. Should I really be using something if I have no idea how it works? I go with yes, and taking it by faith I press the button.
My food came out great, by the way. Exactly the way I like it.
So are they of the occult? Well, lets just say that although this claims to explain it all away, I know better. Like I said:
Microwave ovens. They're spooky.

Anachronisms

The world's my oyster.

Yay.

(not a big fan of oysters)

I