An Unfortunate Dose of Truth

It is easier to accept the Bible as historical for me. Why is that? Well, because of a recent sermon that I had the pleasure of attending.

Apparently, the worship of God in the Old Testament always required blood sacrifice. Something or someone had to die for an individual to be in the presence of God. As the Old Testament goes on, the Temple, or, location of God's presence evolved to become larger and more complex. This all lead up to Jesus Christ's death on the cross which is to be taken as the ultimate blood sacrifice because he is God's presence and without sin. With this step, the temple in which God's presence now visits no longer needs to be an actual temple. With this sacrifice, the temple now becomes man.

This is kind of an abridged rundown of the idea of the sermon.

So why do I, a skeptic, feel this helps the idea of truth in the Bible. Because man is barbaric. Man would require blood sacrifice. Man has killed many for religious ideals. I can believe that, in the past, religion was based on blood sacrifice. I feel that this shows the evolution of Christianity. This is a good thing for me because it shows the growth of we as a people. It also supports my cause in understanding and believing in the things that are said in the Bible.

However, the chilling fact, for me, is that I have always tried to believe that man is inherently good. I feel that, in general, we strive to be good people. With this particular revelation, it becomes a little harder to swallow the happy pill.

That is why this particular bit of truth becomes unfortunate.

An Epiphany...

Jack Bauer is a great guy.

How do I know?

He is not shallow. None of the women he dates are attractive. If so, they must have great personalities. Jack saves the world and dates for personality.

Jack Bauer is great.

Middlesex

I read this book a few months ago and it's been very hard for me to work up something to write up about it. It's the story of a hermaphrodite, but it's really a story about the generations of family that lead up to her story.

The historical background is quite interesting. It follows the origins of two immigrants who are from a small village in the Mediterranean. As the Turks invade their country, a brother and sister flee the country. However, they fall in love and this sparks the first genetic mutation that leads to their granddaughter's "birth defect".

What made the writing great is that you were emotionally drawn to each of the characters; though not necessarily in a positive fashion. However, the fact that you do feel something when you think upon the personality traits of the characters made me really like the book. Initially I did have problems because the story jumps from various generations of the family and can be difficult to follow. Also, the events and emotions that the characters feel can be intense at times which makes it a bit of a "heavy" read.

I actually found the history of Cal's (main character, the hermaphrodite) family more interesting than her life story. While she is a very dynamic character filled with complex emotions and challenges, the historical references due to the nature of the characters' origins make their surrounding characters and regions an attractive draw for me because I feel that historical culture is very interesting.

In the end, the thoughts I have about this book is that it shows both how harsh and delicate a human being can be. The type of emotional trauma and treatment Cal faces is something I could only imagine. Also, the recounts of the Turkish invasion, the riots in Detroit, the mafia... it's quite depressing. However, the story ends with hope as Cal finally finds a woman to love him for what she was.

Interesting indeed.

Overall Score: 8/10

Excommunication of Xanga

I am turning this blog into my all-encompassing blog of thoughts that I have on a second-to-second, minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour... well, you get the point. Why? Because I felt like in order to feel like an established Xangan, you had to pay lip service, or finger service (typing versus speaking, not what you think) to people on there who are "popular". Also, some of the folks I followed ended up getting a lot of racist and ignorant comments and it made me jaded to a point where I just didn't even want to write on that particular site because there were a lot of idiots there. There's only room for one idiot in my life and that's yours truly.

So unfortunately for anyone who is interested in reading what I have to say they'll also have to go through the painful process of seeing my thoughts about various pieces of literature, or fluff in some cases, that I have chosen to comment upon. Sorry about that. However, if you have missed my ramblings, then welcome to "Sanpei desu!".

What inspired me today? Well, it was actually reading. However, I do not wish to delve to much into breaking down the book I read but more into the thoughts I have now that I have finished reading it. The book in question is Common Sense: The Case Against an Out-of-Control Government by Glenn Beck. I'm generally not interested in political science reads but considering how much Thomas Paine (author of the original Common Sense) I had to read back in AP US History and AP Euro at Edison, it lept off the shelf at me. Unfortunately, it has left me emotionally drained and depressed about the US and considering relocating to Canada, Taiwan or Australia. However, while I was reading I discovered a very pleasant contempory classical musical ensemble by the name of Escala. So I'm currently listening to them as I write this so while socially I feel drained, I am very much musically inspired.

I hate reading non-fiction. Why? Because bad news and negativity are generally far more interesting than stories that have happy endings. It's just the way it is. I can read a good book with a happy ending but for some reason, news and social commentary aren't the same. Why is that? Probably because the reality is that if you are reading something positive, it's even more depressing than something critical or doomsday-esque because you realize how few and far between the positive stories come these days. So this particular commentary takes a good look at the economy and policies of the US and focuses on how the country has become a slave to debt and that the government is starting to have a far too active role in our daily lives. Some sobering thoughts are:

* We would not invite most of our elected officials over for dinner or trust them with the care of our children. However, we will allow them to control the future of the country we live in.

* The payments that our country has to make on our the interest of our debt alone would not be covered on a yearly basis if we were to tax even five of the most successful companies of the US for 100% of their profits. That's just the interest and NOT the principal of the debt.

* We live in a country that after imagining a man on the moon, accomplished this goal in eight years. They built a transcontinental railroad in seven years without the use of any power tools. However, they cannot make good on a promise to build a simple fence along the southern border of the country that they made in 2005.

There are many other depressing facts laid out and there are certainly some things I disagree with. For example, Mr. Beck is not at all interested in a plan for Universal Health Care (or maybe he is, just not the way it has been proposed). He also is a huge detractor of the gun control policies. But I do agree with some of his views of the economy. How can we spend money we don't have? What happens when China cashes in all the bonds that it has purchased? Why don't we care about the posterity of our nation?

I have been caught making snide remarks about my friends because their families have "mattress money" but seriously, why invest? I have taken painful consideration into making sure that I have as little revolving credit as possible because it is ridiculous to want to have more than your means allow. I agree that too many people want to work very little and receive very much. Hell, I went from working with a very successful Non-Profit Consultant company to serving froyo at the local Pinkberry. People have to do what they have to do in harsh times and the sad reality is that things are going to continue to get worse. The only consolation for me is that I have lived in this time and have made it my goal to make sure that my children do not deal with the same challenges that I have dealt with because of an inability of my own to save and make smart financial decisions.

Politically, the country is about as likely to escape bi-partisanship as Honda making a V8 engine to drop in its flagship sedan within the next two years. Zilch. So while I will make an effort to become more well-informed and not think "lesser of two evils", I know that unfortunately, we have been married to this concept for quite some time. However, I will do my best to take care of my future children by making smarter decisions for the future. It makes me sad to think that I've come to a point in my life where I actually find myself agreeing with some of the thoughts and opinions of someone as right-wing as Beck. I guess this is what the world has come to. He certainly does not appeal to the charitable side of me but as I get older there are issues that bring out my inner conservative. Sad day.

peace... luv... happiness...