28 August 2007
22 August 2007
Can we rock it? Yes, we can! 3:45 PM
Maybe you've heard rumors about there being a Wordstock-style teen camp happening here in Toronto. Well, I'm here to confirm them.
CanRock explodes (in a very Godly, organized way) between August 23-26. Special guests include Plan of Attack, Salt of Earth, and Haven. This event is made possible by the Woodbridge Home (and others, known and unknown), who have donated their time, resources, manpower, prayers, and property to make this all possible.
You can make this event a success, too. Just get down on your knees and shoot one up for us, yes?
CanRock explodes (in a very Godly, organized way) between August 23-26. Special guests include Plan of Attack, Salt of Earth, and Haven. This event is made possible by the Woodbridge Home (and others, known and unknown), who have donated their time, resources, manpower, prayers, and property to make this all possible.
You can make this event a success, too. Just get down on your knees and shoot one up for us, yes?
19 August 2007
Pretender 12:38 AM
How long! he'll cry
Must I endure this lack
And entertain vain imaginations.
Viewing from afar
In bittersweet vicariousness.
Holding tight
Stubborn grasp
Life itself
In an iron clasp.
While true joys
Slip past.
Forget yourself
Forget your past
Die today
And live at last.
Never! for preservations' sake
Our pride must remain intact.
We joy in continuity
And revel in gain
Don't bother
Just ignore the pain
Our image and dignity
Are worth more than your tears.
Our brave exteriors
Cannot comprehend your fears.
Oh, eroded soul
There is no hope in your plan.
Your castle is broken
Your sentries stand dead.
Stiff and wide-eyed
Their wan faces speak
We guarded a Pretender
Who died
Naked in his sleep
Must I endure this lack
And entertain vain imaginations.
Viewing from afar
In bittersweet vicariousness.
Holding tight
Stubborn grasp
Life itself
In an iron clasp.
While true joys
Slip past.
Forget yourself
Forget your past
Die today
And live at last.
Never! for preservations' sake
Our pride must remain intact.
We joy in continuity
And revel in gain
Don't bother
Just ignore the pain
Our image and dignity
Are worth more than your tears.
Our brave exteriors
Cannot comprehend your fears.
Oh, eroded soul
There is no hope in your plan.
Your castle is broken
Your sentries stand dead.
Stiff and wide-eyed
Their wan faces speak
We guarded a Pretender
Who died
Naked in his sleep
06 August 2007
A Better Ending 3:53 AM
The crunch of autumn leaves broken underfoot is mourned by the soft whistling of a gentle and cool breeze. A figure clad in a drab black suit wanders a small path that winds through a modest park. In his left hand he clutches a pitiful bouquet of what appears to be handpicked flowers, the soiled stems a testimony to a hasty gathering. In his eyes is numb pain, his eyelids twitching to conceal the witness his tears would bear against his pride.
A plain brown bench, warmed by the setting sun, promises comfort as two meticulously polished shoes stop in front of it. A hand reaches out to caress the firm, rough surface of the bench as the suns rays tickle trembling fingers. The man seats himself heavily on the bench and looks out on the tall trees, reaching to the sky as if in silent desperation. His fingers run up his neck and rub the stubble on his chin and cheeks.
He has no purpose other than to stare at the sun set, reminiscing on the little turns and twists in the road of his life. His heart skips a beat and then his head drops down; all the trivialities that keep one alive return to punish him for ignoring them. He lifts his head as his face contorts into a plaintive cry of desperation.
Then, the merciful wind blew her his way. He blinked in shock, then watched enthralled as her silky hair danced in the sweet scented breeze. Her lips curved upwards in a demure smile, while her dainty steps seemed to approach in slow motion. He shook his head and turned away, finding the beauty in front of him frightful, when in truth he vainly attempted to suppress his desire to feel.
A delicate hand brushed his shoulder as he screamed inwardly, fearing to face this being that seemed to exude forgiveness and another emotion he could remember from better days--love. Time stopped as he heard his heartbeat and rotated his head to view the being out of the corner of his eye. Her smile was gone, replaced by a furrowed brow that exuded concern and penetrated his protective mask.
He knew it was her.
His teeth chattered; he squinted at her as his eyelids spilled their bowl of tears onto his pale cheeks. Her response was to place her hands on the back of his head as his sobs shook her too. Her chin jutted upwards as her clear blue eyes became blurry with unshed tears. One diamond drop fell, and it sparkled like dew upon the rose petal of her soft pink cheek.
The world was silent. Not a creature breathed. Once he stopped his trembling, his eyes were drawn to hers, and in a wordless understanding, they both knew. A brave smile lighted his face and she sighed; an entrancing sound, music to his ears. She saw what she came to see.
She turned to leave, he leapt up and spoke her name. She turned quietly to see him mouth the words, to hear him whisper the phrase that she loved to hear. With one more smile for him to treasure, she faced away from him and vanished.
Suddenly, he was standing in front of a polished marble structure, reading her name. He bent down to deposit his bouquet, brushing the soil off the stems of the blue and purple flowers. He had not forgotten her favorite colors. Nor had he forgotten her sudden and undeserving demise. His head turned quickly away, his heart filling with regret and self-condemnation. If only he had, if only she had... Anger is a blinding thing.
He turned upward toward the sky, to let the orange sun wash it all away. All that mattered now was their reconciliation. He turned back to the gray stone, leaned over and kissed it. He felt light; he was just starting to live again. He trudged back to the path he was on earlier, and fixed his eye on the horizon. Winter was coming. It's a long way back home.
A plain brown bench, warmed by the setting sun, promises comfort as two meticulously polished shoes stop in front of it. A hand reaches out to caress the firm, rough surface of the bench as the suns rays tickle trembling fingers. The man seats himself heavily on the bench and looks out on the tall trees, reaching to the sky as if in silent desperation. His fingers run up his neck and rub the stubble on his chin and cheeks.
He has no purpose other than to stare at the sun set, reminiscing on the little turns and twists in the road of his life. His heart skips a beat and then his head drops down; all the trivialities that keep one alive return to punish him for ignoring them. He lifts his head as his face contorts into a plaintive cry of desperation.
Then, the merciful wind blew her his way. He blinked in shock, then watched enthralled as her silky hair danced in the sweet scented breeze. Her lips curved upwards in a demure smile, while her dainty steps seemed to approach in slow motion. He shook his head and turned away, finding the beauty in front of him frightful, when in truth he vainly attempted to suppress his desire to feel.
A delicate hand brushed his shoulder as he screamed inwardly, fearing to face this being that seemed to exude forgiveness and another emotion he could remember from better days--love. Time stopped as he heard his heartbeat and rotated his head to view the being out of the corner of his eye. Her smile was gone, replaced by a furrowed brow that exuded concern and penetrated his protective mask.
He knew it was her.
His teeth chattered; he squinted at her as his eyelids spilled their bowl of tears onto his pale cheeks. Her response was to place her hands on the back of his head as his sobs shook her too. Her chin jutted upwards as her clear blue eyes became blurry with unshed tears. One diamond drop fell, and it sparkled like dew upon the rose petal of her soft pink cheek.
The world was silent. Not a creature breathed. Once he stopped his trembling, his eyes were drawn to hers, and in a wordless understanding, they both knew. A brave smile lighted his face and she sighed; an entrancing sound, music to his ears. She saw what she came to see.
She turned to leave, he leapt up and spoke her name. She turned quietly to see him mouth the words, to hear him whisper the phrase that she loved to hear. With one more smile for him to treasure, she faced away from him and vanished.
Suddenly, he was standing in front of a polished marble structure, reading her name. He bent down to deposit his bouquet, brushing the soil off the stems of the blue and purple flowers. He had not forgotten her favorite colors. Nor had he forgotten her sudden and undeserving demise. His head turned quickly away, his heart filling with regret and self-condemnation. If only he had, if only she had... Anger is a blinding thing.
He turned upward toward the sky, to let the orange sun wash it all away. All that mattered now was their reconciliation. He turned back to the gray stone, leaned over and kissed it. He felt light; he was just starting to live again. He trudged back to the path he was on earlier, and fixed his eye on the horizon. Winter was coming. It's a long way back home.
04 August 2007
Color blind? No, you're just a little thoughtless 1:19 AM
I have just spent about five minutes browsing some friend's profiles on Hi5 (which, by the way, if you were thinking of getting one, DON'T DO IT. Stand strong in your convictions. And don't forget to add me.) It seems the new "in" thing is to make your background and text color the same darn color. This effectively makes it hard for well-meaning individuals such as myself to read your comments or even navigate your horrid little page.
So I've resorted to highlighting the text so I can see what sort of online gossip and display of teenage angst and melodrama is going on. This is really giving me trials, as every time I highlight the first few letters of any word my mind, which I have tried to drag out of the gutter, goes to work. I'm seeing words like "pee" instead of "peer", "gas" instead of "Pegasus", and "butt" instead of "buttocks".
Another moot point is sincerity. I've tried my best to appear like a normal teenager and post average-looking pictures of myself on Hi5, but every time I do so I get 50 comments from complete strangers about how good I look. This was administering to my pride until I discovered that all these strangers were part of a Hi5 group called "Let's Tell Everyone They're Good-Looking Group." With these wild flatters on the loose, I suggest that we up the ante and delete every comment that suggests that we're good-looking or smart. The next time your friend sends you a compliment, strike him or her off your list. That'll teach 'em.
I can't understand all these selfish people on Hi5. I got a message the other day by a very sweet girl I never met named Angel Candy, which read: "Hey there! I was just lookin' around Hi5 when I noticed your profile. You seem like a nice guy, and your definitely cute..." It was going so well until, "...so if you would like to, you can view ME at MY webcam (www.exploitprepubescentboys.com/angelcandy) where I do all sorts of fun things. Come and see ME now, what are you waiting for you horn...Handsome young man! See you there!" It was all a big ploy to get me to talk with her about the sort of thing a girl like her would be interested in: My Little Pony, nail polish, and mashups of the Carebears and Sailor Moon. I was so offended that I junked her message immediately.
I'm tired of getting 2 Gigs of glittery fairies and yapping puppy-dogs whenever I go to check on my friends pages. Tacky is not "in". Pet rocks are. Get yourself a pet rock and change your font color.
So I've resorted to highlighting the text so I can see what sort of online gossip and display of teenage angst and melodrama is going on. This is really giving me trials, as every time I highlight the first few letters of any word my mind, which I have tried to drag out of the gutter, goes to work. I'm seeing words like "pee" instead of "peer", "gas" instead of "Pegasus", and "butt" instead of "buttocks".
Another moot point is sincerity. I've tried my best to appear like a normal teenager and post average-looking pictures of myself on Hi5, but every time I do so I get 50 comments from complete strangers about how good I look. This was administering to my pride until I discovered that all these strangers were part of a Hi5 group called "Let's Tell Everyone They're Good-Looking Group." With these wild flatters on the loose, I suggest that we up the ante and delete every comment that suggests that we're good-looking or smart. The next time your friend sends you a compliment, strike him or her off your list. That'll teach 'em.
I can't understand all these selfish people on Hi5. I got a message the other day by a very sweet girl I never met named Angel Candy, which read: "Hey there! I was just lookin' around Hi5 when I noticed your profile. You seem like a nice guy, and your definitely cute..." It was going so well until, "...so if you would like to, you can view ME at MY webcam (www.exploitprepubescentboys.com/angelcandy) where I do all sorts of fun things. Come and see ME now, what are you waiting for you horn...Handsome young man! See you there!" It was all a big ploy to get me to talk with her about the sort of thing a girl like her would be interested in: My Little Pony, nail polish, and mashups of the Carebears and Sailor Moon. I was so offended that I junked her message immediately.
I'm tired of getting 2 Gigs of glittery fairies and yapping puppy-dogs whenever I go to check on my friends pages. Tacky is not "in". Pet rocks are. Get yourself a pet rock and change your font color.
01 August 2007
Victoire a la XD 10:45 PM
I have run the race, I have finished the XD course.
Of course, when I say the word "race", I'm using it in a purely figurative sense. I state this for those of you who wear the ear-to-ear grins that glow with the shine of one who has completed said course before me, even if you came in 10 milliseconds before me. Big deal, I once took a test on the book of Acts and won a calculator. Tremble before my feat.
The Pre XD was a real blessing and an inspiring course for me. I learned a lot and came to enjoy it immensely, even if it meant some personal sacrifice of free time, sleep, and admire-your-reflection-in-the-mirror-while-humming-the-Peter-and-Heidi-and-Grandpa-and-goats-song time.
I am grateful to any and all who made the XD online course a reality, I could hug and dance the can-can with you.
...
Well, maybe just hug you.
Of course, when I say the word "race", I'm using it in a purely figurative sense. I state this for those of you who wear the ear-to-ear grins that glow with the shine of one who has completed said course before me, even if you came in 10 milliseconds before me. Big deal, I once took a test on the book of Acts and won a calculator. Tremble before my feat.
The Pre XD was a real blessing and an inspiring course for me. I learned a lot and came to enjoy it immensely, even if it meant some personal sacrifice of free time, sleep, and admire-your-reflection-in-the-mirror-while-humming-the-Peter-and-Heidi-and-Grandpa-and-goats-song time.
I am grateful to any and all who made the XD online course a reality, I could hug and dance the can-can with you.
...
Well, maybe just hug you.