OYAN Summer Workshop 2012

For those of you who remember, this past summer I had the opportunity to go to the OYAN (One Year Adventure Novel, a writing curriculum) Summer Workshop.  It was four full days of "epic epicness", definitely some of the best days of my life, where I learned about writing and fellowshipped and laughed and made evil plots with other writers.  And also played ninja.

And I'm scheming to go to Workshop 2012.  All I need is several thousand dollars. For what, you ask?

*ahem* Yeah.  I forgot about one thing:

AN INTERNATIONAL PLANE TICKET.

Other than that, I'm set.

(If you're trying to go to the Workshop, feel free to copy the image. XD)

--

Jake

[Poeticisms] Part III

It's that time again.  I've written some poems, so why not share them?

Eh?

Be warned...they're crazy. >_>

And it should be fairly obvious to you what inspired the first poem... ;)

--

To Isengard

'Cross the fields of Rohan, a cry can be heard

Repeating, repeating, the same constant word

Calling out, shouting out, words numbered six

Jumbled into a catchy, chaotic mix.

The words repeat, the listener chuckles

Turns it up 'til the whole room buckles

The song plays, like a parody-stricken bard

"They're taking the hobbits to Isengard!"

--

Dreamworks

I look up to the starry sky

And see a sickle there

A silver curve about to die

And be reborn anew.

I look up to the starry sky

And see a sickle there

And then, bemused, I wonder why

I look up and think of Dreamworks.

--

(This one doesn't have that great of a rhyme/meter scheme thing, but bear with it.)

I Am The Doctor

Armies run at the mention of his name

A lonely madman with a blue box

Every star, every planet, every time;

From anywhere to everywhere he walks.

Bright and shining are his companions

Until he loses them or they leave

The lonely madman with a blue box

Alone, all he can do is grieve.

The most deadly man in the universe

Angry, nothing in the world can stop him

And whose tears fall for those he loves

And in loss—he's dangerously grim.

The lonely madman, last of his kind

The last of the ancient Time Lords

Destroyed by one of their own people

And now all that is left is but words.

And this madman with a blue box

Told this by a foe both evil and grim

"Fear me, I've killed hundreds of Time Lords,"

says, "Fear me...I've killed all of them."

The lonely man and his blue box

Traveling through time and space.

In different guises, in different clothes

Eleven times, he's worn a different face.

He says, "Who am I? Don't you know?

If you value your life, your existence,

There's one thing you never put in a trap,"

And then enemy stops and listens.

"There is one thing you never put in a trap,

This world is protected, and I'm the protector

Don't you know who I am? Listen—

Here's who I am—I am the Doctor."

--

The Leap

Adventure awaits, across the horizon, to the map's edge

Into the unknown, to the craggy edge of the world

I look, my cloak blowing behind me, over the ledge

It bites me hard, the wind, with icy fingers of cold

But I stand aside.  I look around.  Behind me is past

The sky shines a burned red, the time is nigh

Nothing is behind, everything ahead, at last

It is time to leap, it's time to fly.

--

Jake

The Trenchcoat

Dun dun dun.

Fear me. 

Yes, that is me.  In a field.  At the farm.  In a trenchcoat.  And a battered fedora. 

Wow, choppy sentences...

--

Jake

The Difference

THIS is a TARDIS:

THIS....is a blue dumpster.

I need to learn the difference, instead of shouting, "Look, look, I see the TARDIS!"

Ah, the curse of a Whovian.  You see Doctor Who wherever you go...

--

Jake

A Doctor Who Trailer

Won't be a long post, folks, just wanted to share a Doctor Who trailer with you.  It's one of the best I've seen, and definitely covers it pretty well.  It shows clips from the old Doctor Who (60s-80s) as well as the new Doctor Who seasons.

Watch it.  It's epic.

And a little clarification: I'm not gone yet.  I'll post before we actually head to Africa. :)

EDIT: There's a few moments of silence and blackness at the beginning of the video, so just wait it through.

See ya!

--
Jake

Goodbyes

Some things are hard to describe. Hard to put on paper. Hard to write, even for a writer like me.

And some things need to be described anyway.

In this case, I felt I needed to put my thoughts into words. And to make things easier, I'm writing it to you, blog followers and friends. There's a reason I've never written a journal; every time I try to write to myself, or a nonspecific audience, it fails. It just doesn't work.

(And be warned, I shall be redundant and wandersome in my thoughts. My head isn't that organized.)

So here it goes.

While the move to Africa is fantastic, a new adventure that I'm excited to embark on, I also look on it with a bit of apprehension. It's not the I'm-nervous-I'm-moving-to-Africa-and-I'll-be-in-a-new-culture-and-probably-just-die-or-something sort of apprehension. It's not what's to come that bothers me the most about moving to Africa.

It's what I'll leave behind.

Sad isn't the right word for this feeling. Depressed isn't either. Vaguely sadly depressed doesn't work. Like I said, it's hard to describe.

There's a word in another language—I can't remember which—that describes this feeling. A strange emptiness, a lingering sad feeling—an ache of the heart—that you can't describe. They call it "toska".

Some part of me feels like I need to be nervous and be poetically depressed that I'm leaving all I know behind. But I'm not feeling that way either. At least, I'm not really feeling "toska" because I'm leaving my house and my church and those I know in real life behind.

In a word, I suppose, it's the goodbyes that will get to me the most. Especially the goodbyes that happen over the internet. Maybe that sounds strange, but read on.

Already I've experienced the first few tastes of what it might be like. We cut our internet earlier this month. Thus, I haven't chatted with friends on email or Facebook; I haven't talked to fellow Elves on the Underground forum; I haven't checked blogs or blogged myself. The toska sets in a little bit more.

It already feels like goodbye, even if I haven't jumped on a one-way-plane to Africa yet.

I have a lot of friends on the internet. I know fellow writers and Christ-followers who wield pens in the service of the King through the internet. They're scattered across the fifty states. Leaving the internet is like leaving them.

I'm having another hard-to-put-into-words-moment... *pauses, and then continues*

And then, I read the farewells people send me. It's actually more like a wow-that's-awesome-that-you're-going-to-Africa sort of thing, but it feels like a farewell nonetheless.

Last Friday (the ninth), I resigned from administration (the admins are called "Sentinels" there) on the Underground forum. I've been on the Sentinel team for almost a year. The posts Elves made were actually farewells this time. They encouraged me and saddened me at the same time.

....And now I feel like I'm making the whole post depressing...

Main thing is, the goodbyes are what are getting to me. I'm "leaving" friends I know really well. In many cases, I know some people over the internet alone better than others I know in real life. I've prayed for them, I've asked for prayer from them, I've debated with them, I've battled with them, I've eaten metaphorical pie with them. And I had hoped (and still hope) to one day eat real pie with them in real life.

The camaraderie that can be found over the internet alone is astounding.

However, I won't end this on a depressing note. Whisper the Spy posted a great quote in this blog post that feels very applicable here. I've been pondering and musing over it ever since I read it. Since I'm writing this without internet, I'll paraphrase it. I don't have the greatest memory, wot.

"For Christians, it's never goodbye. It's always 'see you later'." ~Anonymous

And so, to all of you out there who know me in some way or form; thank you. It's been a fantastic ride. I'm honored to know you, and I really do hope that I don't disappear off the internet entirely, for my sake at least. I might gain my sanity back if I leave. (OO) I shall miss you all.

You are all awesome. You're epic.

See you later.

--

Jake

Hebrews 11—No Description Needed

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.  Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.

By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.

By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them.

Another Look at Doctor Who

Well, it's been a while.  Seeing as I don't have a whole lot to blog about on this blog (and my Doctor Who semi-obsession continues), I thought I'd blog about Doctor Who....again.  It's non-Whovian friendly, don't worry.  You don't have to know anything more than what I'll tell you in the post to understand what I'll be saying.

This time, I'm going to take a look at the Doctors, their themes, and some Doctor Who soundtrack.  All from the new Doctor Who seasons, of course.  And my opinion on them.  If you don't have much time, just read through the descriptions.  There's a lot of videos. XD

First, here's the Doctor, in his various regenerations in the new Doctor Who seasons.  (For those of you who don't know, the Doctor is an alien from a race called the Time Lords, and he's the last of his kind.  They possess the ability to "regenerate" whenever their bodies are near death.  Every cell is rewritten until the Doctor becomes a new person, complete with a new actor.  He shares the same memories of the previous Doctors.  Thus, each Doctor is numbered according to their number of regenerations.)

THE NINTH DOCTOR

He's the Doctor with the second-shortest run acting as the Doctor; Christopher Eccleston, the Ninth regeneration of the Doctor.  He was in the new Doctor Who seasons (starting in 2005) for just one series.  However, he is my personal favorite; for his accent, his trademark leather jacket, and especially because he showed the darker side of the Doctor.  When he met his companion, Rose, he was a Doctor who was grim and sometimes merciless.  But he grew during the seasons until he would stop at nothing to rescue those who he loved and would never let evil walk away unpunished.  Here's a clip of him in "Bad Wolf"; this is one of my favorite Ninth Doctor scenes.

THE TENTH DOCTOR

David Tennant, the Tenth Doctor.  Some consider him to be the greatest Doctor of all time.  He's quirky and funny; he can be grim and terrible; he has the greatest emotion of all the Doctors.  

He sits as a very close second to Christopher Eccleston as my favorite Doctor.   Complete with a tan trench-coat, a tie, crazy hair, and an array of emotions, he's a brilliant Doctor.  He ran for three full seasons and several specials, including the End of Time, where he regenerated.  I consider the end of The End of Time to be one of the greatest Doctor Who scenes ever; bittersweet, emotional, and utterly poetic.  It's a masterpiece of writing.  However, there are too many spoilers to post it here, so I'll post two videos of Tennant; one showing his serious side and the other showing his quirky side.

It was really hard finding anything worth posting on David Tennant's run (he has so many good scenes, and a lot of them are short) so I'll settle for this one.  It has spoilers for the episode "The Doctor's Daughter", so beware.

THE ELEVENTH DOCTOR

Matt Smith is the Eleventh Doctor.  He's also the youngest, the silliest, and the newest Doctor.  His era is also marked by a change in head writers.  Steven Moffat takes over the role from Russell T. Davies; he's my favorite of the Doctor Who writers and is known for the clever and darker episodes like Silence in the Library and Blink.  (If you've never heard of him, he also wrote the script for the first Tintin movie, which has yet to be released.)

He's definitely a great Doctor, but of the three, he's my least favorite.  While he is certainly hilarious, he has few serious moments and has a strange lack of emotion in his role.  This doesn't prevent him from being epic, however.  

The following scene is right after his regeneration into the Eleventh Doctor.  New tastebuds, new rules, wot.

And for the record....

Fezzes are cool.  And bowties.  And Stetsons.

Also, the Eleventh Doctor's most fantastic speech (also in the episode after his regeneration).

SOUNDTRACK

The Doctor's Theme

This is the theme of the Doctor.  While it is not used in the Matt Smith episodes, it is often used in the earlier seasons.  Here's the one used in Series One with the Ninth Doctor—a lone voice singing the song of the last of the Time Lords.

I Am the Doctor

Also known as the Eleventh Doctor's theme or Every Star Every Planet, I Am the Doctor is used a lot in series 5-6.  It's epic. 

The Doctor's Theme/The Tenth Doctor's Theme

The first section of this song is the The Doctor's Theme used in series 2-4, the Tenth Doctor's era.  It's basically a redone version of the first Doctor's Theme.  The rest of the song is from the fourth series, and the end is similar to the soundtrack from Tennant's regeneration.  It makes me sad...

Doctor Who Theme 2005-2007

I originally posted the longer version of this song earlier.  This is my favorite of the Doctor Who themes (used in the beginning credits).  It's the perfect mixture of alien and orchestra.

Doctor Who Theme 2008-2009

Also a great theme, this brings in a different feel to the song.  It's more action than the previous one, with a strong beat.  I like it, but not quite as much.  This one, instead of plain soundtrack, actually has the opening credits (though the credits are played over and over to continue with the soundtrack).  The credits are in the Time Vortex, and you can see the TARDIS hurtling through.

Doctor Who Theme 2010-Present

With the change of Doctors, sonic screwdrivers, and head writers, it also came with a change of credits and music, and even the Doctor Who logo changed.  The new version isn't as good as the previous two, and it's much more alien than them as well.  However, it's still good stuff.

Well, that's all I'm going to gab for today.  If you had time to look through the videos, let me know what you thought.  And my next post won't be another Doctor Who rave, I promise. ;)

--

Jake

Doctor Who, More Soundtrack, and Saruman Singing

Well, where to begin? 

Life can be a fickle and flighty thing.  I can be sulking one moment, and then catapulted into epicness by a simple song.

Speaking of which, I find this song insanely epic.  Both versions.  ;)  It makes me laugh and bounce at the same time.  Check it out, and enjoy.

I'm blasting this in my ears as I write this post.

Anyway, back to subject.  If there is one.

I've also found this hilarious video called "Trolling Saruman" in which Saruman sings and gives me nightmares. It's another spoof, and one of the best ones—very well done.

Besides this, I've also been up to something else.

My sisters and I have recently discovered the BBC science-fiction TV show, Doctor Who.  I watched several episodes at the One Year Adventure Novel Writer's Workshop, and I decided it was interesting.  And when I saw it was play-it-now instant on Netflix, I thought, "Well, let's see if it's good."

And I was hooked.

Not much else to say.  We're all Whovians now, as they say.  We think Doctor Who is epic.  We're slowly making our way through the five season available on Netflix.

Has anyone out there watched Doctor Who?  If so, what'd you think?

And if you haven't watched Doctor Who, here's sort of an explanatory video for you.  I don't think it quite captures it (and the actor that is in question is the newest Doctor, Matt Smith, who I have yet to watch).  But it does a good job of telling you what Doctor Who is about.

LOOK AT ME, I'M A TARGET!

Oh, and one more video.  Last one, I promise. ;)  This one's the theme song of Doctor Who, one of my favorite soundtracks to listen to.

That's all for now.  Ta-ta, folks!

--

Jake

When is Jake NOT a Writer?

Never, I'd say.

And that's probably the reason why I've been disappearing from this blog.  If I have something writerly to say (and that's usually the thing I want to say), I post it on Teenage Writer.  Anything else, well, it ends up over here.

Like music.  Or videos.  Or randomness.

But those are often writer-related too.

Of late, I've been listening to the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack.  I've never seen the movies (shame on me and all that), but the soundtrack is fantastic for writing and piratical things.  And that's connected to writing too, y'know.  It's quite inspiring.  Which is one reason I've put it on my Writing Music station on "Pandora" (that site where you choose your own music and thumbs-up anything you like). For instance, here's a sample below.  Epicness.

But honestly, I can't help being a writer.  I can't get away from it.

Inspiration hit me in the shower again.  He used a bar of soap this time.

I was staring at the ceiling last night—again.  Story ideas brewing and all that.

I paced my room, my imagination whirring—again.

Can't get away from it.

What's some writerly habits you pick up, if you classify yourself as a writer?

So, we've established that soundtrack is awesome, and that I'm a writer.

O_o Okay, then.  I guess I'm out of ideas for this post. xD  Ta-ta, folks.  Make some conversation to make up for my inefficiency here.

--
Jake

Yes, I'm a Useless Blogger

....BUT, I think you'll find this amusing.

--

Jake

Mathe is Dead!

Mathe! 'tis the dastardly beast

A bloodthirsty creature for sure;

He stalks, he solves; you wonder

How much longer you might endure.

Mathe! himself, the one and only

Color, paper, binding and ink

A wall of mathematical death

'Tis a cup of poison to drink!

Day upon day, you try to solve

The riddles he weaves before you

Equations, squares, systems and more

And each day they weave anew.

Day upon day, the question is asked

How much longer? lingers the cry

Until Mathe is dead, finished, gone?

Any longer, and I shall die.

You struggle to last, your spirit weak

A lone soul with a failing sword

Until the fateful bugle call

Bears with it a single word.

"Dead!" rings the cry, and your soul lifts

A burden long carried is fled

Is conquered, defeated, finished!

Mathe! the dastardly beast is dead!

(Or, my math is finished for the year.  Either way.  But I prefer the above method of communicating.)

--

Jake

The Plains of Kansas

A few days back, my family traveled to the family farm, deep in the center of The-Middle-of-Nowhere Kansas.  Mom calls it her "Happy Place".  I call it epic.  Everyone else simply calls it the Farm.  

The scenery of Kansas never ceases to amaze me.  And I'm sure you're tired of my rantings, so I shall let the pictures speak for themselves.  All of these are our own pictures. :)  

Green wheat.  Wait 'til it turns golden—it's even more amazing then.

Some pasture land around ten minutes from the farm.

Some cows in one of the Farm's pastures.  They were really friendly folks. 

A snake we found when digging through an old, abandoned garden.  Anyone know if it's poisonous? ('Tis a little late now, though...)

My dad's old Datsun.  It's overgrown now, and there used to be a skunk living in the hood.  (He wasn't that happy about it.)

This one was taken just after a storm went through.  We got stuck on the Farm for a while because of a tornado watch and a severe thunderstorm warning with hail.

Another picture, this one from the window. (Taken by Yours Truly.)  Magnificent, no?

And the best was for last.  The storm clouds framed the sunset, and the view from Roxbury Hill (as we call it) was breathtaking.  The road races on from there, wet with the rain.  

All the pictures can be clicked for a bigger size.  

I love Kansas.  Not much more to say than that.  What did you all think of the pictures?

--

Jake

The Narnia Theme

Well, I haven't posted here in a while.  Things have been going crazy.  Today there was thirteen tornadoes sighted in Kansas.  And more in other states.

However, I came to post a video I've been listening to a lot lately.  I recently discovered it, and it never gets old. The epicness never dims.  It's the main Narnia theme from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Check it out. And turn the volume up.  This one is known as "The Battle", and it certainly fits.

I'm off again.  Farewell!

--

Jake

Randomness! 'Tis Thee Again!

*listens to 'They're Taking the Hobbits to Isengard'*

*looks up* Oh, hello!  How are you?  How's the family?

Once again, I've been left with the revelation that I have absolutely nothing useful to blog about.  I had plugged the headphones in my ears earlier and blasted TATTHTI in my ears (such a catchy tune!) and I saw someone I recognized.

"Randomness!" I almost shouted.  "'Tis Thee again!"

Yes, my old friend Randomness had stopped by.  It had been a long time since I've seen his true, blazing self.  I find he pops up a lot, but he's usually a bit shady.

But this time, he had that old gleam in his eye.

"Remember the Randomness Post to king all randomness posts?" he said with a grin.

"Like yesterday," I replied, and linked his post.

He listened to TATTHTI with me for a moment.  "Quite a random song," he said to me.  "Quite a worthy song! And the tune, the tune!  I could listen to that all day."  That's quite a compliment from Randomness himself.

SO, tell me, where is Gandalf? for I much desire to speak to him.

And where ARE they taking the hobbits?

Now, readers, what is your favorite memory of Randomness?  Does it have to do with Ninjas? Pie?  Turkeys?  Hobbits?!

Also, I have *ahem* composed another random poem.  Another Flow'st.

And as you read these words...remember.

This is for Random.

--

The Flow'st


Flow'st, 'tis me name, oddly grame
Snayed in the oddly blacked frame
I say, me lad, I say, that flame
Doesn't it look a bit a-kame?

I, Random, am the one you seek
The one kibbergah, nice and sleek
I slew the one thousandth gleek
Who yodeled 'cross the pleak.

I am the thousandth night (or Knight?)
Either way, I'm a nightmare fright
I gobbled down the snordy kite
And whittled on the flitting wight.

Harhar, 'tis me, the Flow'st, beware!
I could be here, there, blappabare
And die like a star-crossed applepear
The Flow'st, so Random, so bloppy fair.

Luckily, I ain't yet dead,
I'm still a-standing, my enemies fled!
Harhar, 'tis me, the Flow'st, a phed!
I'm still a-standing, my enemies dead!

Enemies, you say? Why, the bliperbop,
The sniggergnat, the flipping flop!
The incorrigible, flaky, flatfacefop
And the rabbits, those flickypop!

Aye, the rabbits, but they are yet alive
Buzzing about, in their little hive
Ah! Here they come!  Now they arrive!
Flee, little plop, flee to survive!

I shall stand here yet, the Flow'st, beware!
I shall stand fast, with really cool hair,
Waving on the wind, halla, hafaire!
Beware, O Rabbits bad, beware!

--

^^He has really cool hair.

When this post is published, the fate of the poor Flow'st may be up to speculation.  But, at any rate, all will agree: something must be done.  The rabbits are multiplying.  Tensions are high.

What shall be done?  Who will stand against them and defend the Flow'st?

Who will do it?

NOTE: This post was written under the influence of the heady TATTHTI song.  Writing under such influence may cause random splots and random poems, as well as bad grammar and senselessness.  You have been warned.

--

Jake

Another Interesting Verse

I was reading in Acts again, today, and I found another interesting verse I thought I'd share.  Acts is an awesome book, and the last six chapters read like a condensed suspense novel.  Ever noticed that?  Conspiracies, attempted assassination or murder, court hearings, unfairly imprisoned characters...

Anyway, here's the verse. Acts 21:37-38.

"As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, 'May I say something to you?'

'Do you speak Greek?' he replied. 'Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the desert some time ago?'"

Apparently the poor commander mistook Paul for an Egyptian terrorist.  Oops. ^_^

--
Jake

Teleportation?!

I found this verse the other day, and found it very interesting.  So, seeing as it was an...interesting verse, I thought I'd show it to you and see what you readers think. The passage is Acts 10:39-40.

"When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea."

Teleportation.

In the Bible.

Beam me up, Jesus.

(Note: I have very little idea what that Star Trek phrase means, as I've never seen Star Trek.  But it seems to fit.)

--
Jake

This Post is....Nameless

The breath of the cold wind breezed into the house, slithering to my toes and biting them with its chill.  My toes felt like they were freezing, and I realized why.

Someone had left the door open.

Again.

I wearily stood up, put my computer down, and closed the door, wishing my toes would warm back up.  But once they froze themselves, they didn't like to warm again.  Sometimes I wonder at things like this.  Why in the world would they not just warm up?

I had a couple pages pulled up on my computer.  The Underground.  Gmail.  Blogger.  I didn't really feel like clicking on any of them.  Nothing worthwhile was happening.  I had already checked all the blogs, read some threads, and read my email.

Chattering came in from the kitchen. There weren't any doors between there and the living room, so I could hear all the conversations.  We had guests over—Sunday house church. 

The blog post was published.  I stared blankly at the smudged computer screen.  Was I forgetting to do something?

Probably not.  I think.

The sun was hiding behind a couple of clouds, I noticed.  It had been rainy earlier, but I could see some stretches of bluer sky in between patchy grey clouds.  But I could only see some of the sky.  The neighbor's house and some of her trees were blocking the view.  The view out the window looked a little wavy though....The grill must be on, causing the heat.

I smelled the air appreciatively.  Food!  Chicken, I think.  Grilled chicken—that must be why the grill is on.  And tortilla chips in the kitchen.  I could hear Mom pouring them in a bowl.  There will probably be salsa to go with them—I hope Mom got out some homemade salsa.  It's hotter than the regular stuff.

I stared at the computer screen a moment more, absentmindedly wiping some dust off the screen.  Mom was calling me to come and eat.  Had I forgotten anything?

Oh, yeah.  I hadn't written a blog post for Pen in my Hand.  Oops.  I'll have to do it later.

I got up to eat. Dad brought the chicken in, so the smell was stronger.

A blast of cold air hit me.  Someone had left the door open.  


Again.

The Ultimate LOTR Spoof Collection

Well, these LOTR spoofs seem to be running rampant around the blogosphere, so I figured I ought to post some of the more popular ones to share with you all.  Check it out: it's in no particular order.  Enjoy!

They're Taking the Hobbits to Isengard!

One of the more popular ones.  And a catchy tune, eh?

Fellowship of the Vuvuzela

So funny that it has passed from "amusing" to "epic".  Same tune as the above video.

Lord of the Rings in Sixty Seconds

I just recently discovered this one, but it's one of my favorites.  Instant classic (which is a great oxymoron).

Gimli Destroys the Ring

Amusing.  It makes a very short movie, aye?

Lord of the Rings in 5 Seconds

Surprisingly accurate. ;)

Have you seen any not included in here? Share 'em! :)  This is the extent of my knowledge in LOTR spoofs, so I'd love to find some more.

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Jake

I'm Alive!

Hey all, greetings and hallucinations!  Jake of the Sadaar here, zeroing in from the green state of Kansas!  The wheat fields here are looking fantastic!  Being transfixed with patriotic zeal for my glorious state, I stole my dad's iPhone and took a couple pictures.

A wee bit of a glare in this one. ^_^

Ah, yes, a field of green!

^^ That one's my favorite.  :)  Some of them were so long you could barely make out the trees on the far end (which always marks the end of a field, sorta like a divider). O_o

The weekend has been eventful.  The following bullet list briefly summarizes the past few days:

• A vandal
• A run-in with a skunk
• A visit to the Hesston MB church
• Various fields of wheat as well as a batch of puppies
• A clear sky
• A cloudy sky
• Cool weather
• Warm weather
• An egg-hunt
• Copious amounts of mashed potatoes, burgers, and ham. :D
• Allegebra Mathe
• Procrastination
• Several surprising events...
• ....and another holiday in which we come back home with a puppy.

Yesyes, 'tis true!  The Sadaar Clan has come home with a brand new puppy by name of Beatrice.  She's a cross between a Border collie and a Great Pyrenees, I believe, which means she'll get massive.  Right now, she's lying like a good, sleepy puppy beneath a foot rest.  She looks like the Abominable Snowdog. O_o  See the pictures below! (Click for bigger size.)

^_^ Sleepy dog!

She's slowly getting used to us.  :)  She likes to nap under the foot rest, and chases people when she's outside.  To give some comparison, she's about the size of a large cat.  Playful, when she's not sleeping (though I suspect she's just sleeping off the effects of going away from her pen with all her siblings).

Well, that's about it for now.  Au revoir!

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Jake