Podcasting and the way things are

For those few people who read this blog but aren't on the Twitter bandwagon, you may not know that a couple of friends and I started up a new podcast about religion and the many questions we have therein. If you have a little time, head on over to our website and poke around for a bit, maybe even download a show or two.

Aside from this new podcasting venture, most of my life has been spent in classes or working on homework (read: playing games). I've got some ideas for updating the blog but I keep getting sidetracked too easily. Perhaps one day I'll finally write down all these ideas I've got.

Videos

I know it has been forever, but that's not the point right now. Some friends and I compiled a few videos wherein we asked different people some questions about the Christian faith just to see what everyone would say. Here is what we got.









What other questions would you ask? How would you answer those questions?

Working on it

Sorry it has been so long. I've been annoyed by the structure I created for myself and although I'm planning on continuing to update often throughout the summer and such, I don't know whether mondays will remain exclusively for movies and so on.

Plus, it will give me the opportunity to not rush books and to do more than one movie a week (within the past 10 days, I've seen Star Trek - for the third time, Angels and Demons, Terminator: Salvation, and Up!)

Anyway, that's what's going on right now. As work wraps up here in two weeks, I'll get some more time to write. Sorry for being so sloppy lately with my timing, hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things soon.

Movie Monday: The Devil's Backbone

Sorry it's getting late, so I'll make this short.

Pan's Labyrinth encouraged me to go check out The Devil's Backbone.

Very good movie. Pretty creepy, but still really great.

Watch it.

Gaming Thursday: Civ Rev

I don't play many strategy games, so when Civilization Revolution was suggested to me, I was pretty hesitant getting started.

It's definitely a game with a learning curve. You can easily pick it up and play through an entire game just by making random decisions (that's what I did), but what makes it so good is the amount of decisions available to you.

I began playing with a focus on winning the game through domination (conquering the other civilizations), but on subsequent plays, I've enjoyed working on a peaceful solution. Both paths are difficult in their own way. Maintaining peace with other civilizations that would prefer to attack you becomes more and more difficult as the game goes on because peace doesn't come cheap from the warmongers.

What makes the game so addicting to me is that every time I've played it, there has been a totally different outcome, no matter how similarly I've been playing my civilization the others do their absolute best to make me think differently. Plus, there is something to be said about a game where I can be beaten soundly and yet still come back to play the next day.

I guess the best recommendation I have for playing Civ Rev comes in the fact that I bought the 360 version, and wound up buying the DS version less than a week later, just so that I could play it more.

Movie Monday (Tuesday): Star Trek

I'm not much of a Star Trek fan, I've seen some of the older movies here and there throughout my life, but I never really sought out the story and I much preferred the galaxy far far away in the past over these stories of the future.

However, when Simon Pegg was cast as Scotty and J.J. Abrams was set to direct the reboot of the franchise, I decided to set aside my differences and go for it.

Turns out this was a good choice because it seems that Abrams would rather Star Trek be Star Wars too, and made this new movie as such. For those who doubt, go see it and you'll know what I'm talking about as soon as Kirk gets booted to Hoth.

Outside of all my baggage, it turned out to be a really fun movie. There was plenty of good one-liners and some fun action, although I do think that they could have slowed the movie down at a couple of points to give it some real time to delve into the characters. Not that they didn't do well enough establishing everyone in their positions on the U.S.S. Enterprise, but the movie was spent going at breakneck speed from one point to the next so that even at a two hour running time, I felt like I could have used more from the characters.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie a lot and it even got me interested in watching the old series (and subsequent movies), but I don't really know how long this interest will last considering it also made me really want to watch the Star Wars trilogy.

Religion Friday: Cop Out

Here for your consideration, are the lyrics to quite possibly my favorite song of all time. Take a moment to listen, read along, and relax today:

When I was young, the smallest trick of light, 
Could catch my eye, 
Then life was new and every new day, 
I thought that I could fly. 
I believed in what I hoped for, 
And I hoped for things unseen, 
I had wings and dreams could soar, 
I just don't feel like flying anymore. 
When the stars threw down their spears, 
Watered Heaven with their tears, 
Before words were spoken, 
Before eternity. 

Dear Father, I need you, 
Your strength my heart to mend. 
I want to fly higher, 
Every new day again. 

When I was small, the furthest I could reach, 
Was not so high, 
Then I thought the world was so much smaller, 
Feeling that I could fly. 
Through distant deeps and skies, 
Behind infinity, 
Below the face of Heaven, 
He stoops to create me. 

Dear Father, I need you, 
Your strength my heart to mend. 
I want to fly higher, 
Every new day again. 

Man versus himself. 
Man versus machine. 
Man versus the world. 
Mankind versus me. 
The struggles go on, 
The wisdom I lack, 
The burdens keep pilling 
Up on my back. 
So hard to breathe, 
To take the next step. 
The mountain is high, 
I wait in the depths. 
Yearning for grace, 
And hoping for peace. 
Dear God... 
Increase. 
Healing hands of God have mercy on our unclean souls once again. 
Jesus Christ, light of the world burning bright within our hearts forever. 
Freedom means love without condition,
without a beginning or an end. 
Here's my heart, let it be forever Your's, 
Only You can make every new day seem so new.