« November 2003 | Main | January 2004 »
December 24, 2003
News Flash
Paul Johnson has a Fiancé!
Posted by paul at 02:22 PM | Comments (8)
December 20, 2003
Wisconsin
I am usually not a very fearful person...
But, people in wisconsin that drive big rusted trucks that have stickers on the back that say: "Charlton Heston is my president" kinda scare me just a little.
Posted by paul at 10:10 AM | Comments (3)
December 19, 2003
Church vs. Radio
I woke up this morning to my clock radio blaring something a little different. The DJ was asking a women what she wanted for Christmas. She replied that her brother and his wife had just lost their baby a week before it was due. They had to go through 24 hrs of labor to deliver a dead child. She said that her brother had been really strong for all of them through this and she wanted something for him. She wanted the radio station (A secular alt-rock/pop station) to pay for the head stone and they did..
Humans want community. We desire to help one another through the darkest of times. But, often, these needs go overlooked simply because we do not ask. The church needs to start asking. And if the church doesn't the hurt people of the world will turn to other means.
I am encouraged that a radio station would come to someone's aid like that. I am sure that the headstone will not carry the logo of the radio station or a speaker playing its music. But where was the church? In a time that was ripe for showing true love God used a very secular institution. Now maybe there is someone at that station who will consol the family and show them the precious gift of grace offered by Christ and maybe not. God reveals himself to all in his timing.
So, therefore look around you for a chance to be God's love this holiday much the same way that this radio station was. Wash the dishes, vacuum the stairs, give lots of hugs, and tell them all that you love them.
Posted by paul at 09:45 AM | Comments (3)
December 18, 2003
Movie Reviews
So because I like movies and I have seen some good ones lately...
Pirates of the Caribbean
A fun and frivolous film about, you guessed it, pirates. Yes, it was fashioned after the ride in Disney World, but Johnny Depp really makes it fun as Cap’n Jack Sparrow. Good clean movie with comic action violence and some low cut dresses but that’s all.
The Last Samurai
A film about Tom Cruise’s retired Civil War captain and how he reforms his ways in learning the morals, honor, and code of the Samurai people in Japan. A little predictable but what from Hollywood isn’t. Rated R for violence. No sex or even hint of sex. There is half a kiss but it is cut off quickly and you can close your eyes through it if you want to. :J
Master and Commander
Another Captain. "Lucky" Jack Aubrey played by Russell Crowe chases a phantom French ship (we all like seeing the French lose) around the ocean while his doctor (Paul Bettany who you probably don’t know but played opposite Crowe in “A Beautiful Mind” as the prodigal roommate) tries to keep the sailors alive and discover a little more about our world. Good conflict between these two. Again no sex. You only see women for about 3 minutes and they are clothed. There is a boy who gets his arm amputated early in the film. They don’t show the cutting but they do show his face while it is happening.
The Pianist
Probably most of you have seen Adrian Brody in this WWII Holocaust movie but I just saw it last night. Every now and then you need to see a serious sobering movie like this. Love and loss, good stuff. There are some pretty shocking murders so if you are easily grossed out then avoid it, but again I think that we need to see at least a taste of the terrible reality of what happened. Finally there is also no sexual content that I saw. The DVD that I watched skipped several times so I missed small portions of the film but from what I have read and seen it is clean.
These are not the best movies that I have ever seen but I can in good conscious recommend them. They all have some violent aspects so if you are a young child or would be viewing them with a young child you might want to check out the web site I go to continuously and trust for my movie ratings Screenit.com
Also I watch a lot of previews so that I can avoid the stupid or trashy movies. Trailers.apple.com provides them in quicktime format that takes longer to download but doesn’t skip while playing. It is the site that I go to most often over windows media or realplayer.
Long post but I am sure that you didn’t read all of it. :J
Posted by paul at 01:05 PM | Comments (4)
December 17, 2003
Christie Gibson Again
So only eight days after my post I have claimed the number one result spot on google!!!
I am the premier web site to check for information about Christie Gibson.
(I want to see if they print that line)
Anyway, thats pretty cool...
Hmm... what should I tackle next? Micah Satren (oh wait Pat already has that one) maybe... ooh Angie Frerichs only returns 4 entries...
WOW! Tim Borseth claims 7 of his top 10 that is amazing!!!
Posted by paul at 08:07 PM | Comments (9)
December 16, 2003
So I got a lot of theories... so I keep'em in the couch...
So while studying in the library today and remarking aloud to my fellow "study-ers": "Wow, what a bunch of geeks." (Most of them didn't even look up.) I was reminded of my Geek theory.
It is amazing how much we avoid the term geek or nerd. It is definitely a derogatory term to describe someone with an unhealthy preoccupation with a specific subject of study. It also comes with geek-speak, a language that can only be spoken by fellow geeks of your particular discipline.
Now there are those out there who would happily claim the term geek (beat you to it matt) but for most it remains a term we attempt to escape.
But, in all reality we (those of us who have pursued a college education) are all seeking to attain the status of a geek. We all take classes so that we can learn the language, write papers, and pursue our "geekiness".
So the next time that you think to ridicule a geek for his lack of social skills or bad taste in bowties think about what you are paying the university for...
Posted by paul at 11:35 AM | Comments (12)
December 15, 2003
Short Memories
The sun shines golden through midsummer maple leaves. Clouds just sit still gently tinting the late sky with gray blues, and violet hues all on a sharp red background. The neighborhood is alive with action. Kids on bikes and skateboards roar through intersections with wild abandon. You can hear the rattle and hum of lawn mowers being dragged across crunchy yellow grass. A light hot breeze rushes in with a smile, tickling leaves and shuffling up dust.
My house is on Mesa Verde St., it is red and brick halfway down. It is a duplex and sometimes we hear the neighbors fight through the walls. The big English sheep dog that lives next door gets loose and wanders around the cul-de-sac chasing rabbits and getting teased by neighborhood gangs of elementary aged children.
I sit motionless on the front porch, my five-year old hands pressed between knobby knees. Navy sock clutch loosely at my ankles and my feet are strapped into cheap Velcro shoes. My shoulders are covered in a towel and my Mom sits behind me on a kitchen chair methodically trimming away sandy blond pieces of straw hair.
I shift anxiously and she nearly cuts my ear off. She puts her hand on the top of my head calming and offering M&M’s if I hold still for just five minutes longer. My siblings and friends trail by and my eyes follow but my head doesn’t move.
In what seems like years Mom finally finishes and dusts the hair off of my face, blowing it from the gap between the towel and my neck. Then I am off for an unending evening of races and forts celebrating youth and the lack of responsibility.
Posted by paul at 10:00 AM | Comments (2)
December 14, 2003
Another Weirdness
So in keeping with exploiting my oddities for your entertainment...
Like the above archive I was going to post on a second bathroom phobia but instead I want pull back to something a little less personal and talk about routine.
It is very difficult for me not to subconsiously slip into a meaningless routine.
Here is an example: (Ok I am going to use the bathroom.)
Men are faced with the choice of urinal when entering a public bathroom. Now there are certain rules that govern this when other men are present. (I'll let pat dig up the link finding them.) But when I am all alone and I frequent a bathroom (such as the one in the CS building on campus) I have that deep down pull to always pick the same one, or say pick on in sequence, or use some other algorythm to make the choice.
A choice cannot be meaningless, it must carry some weight. I must choose that specific urinal for this specific reason.
Maybe I am obsessive-complusive.
Maybe I am also a genius.
I doubt that either are true.
Posted by paul at 11:32 AM | Comments (3)
December 13, 2003
The Quandry
Each activity is a choice for me. This semester has been a constant battle between grades, ministry, being faithful with my finances, and being faithful to my relationships, all of them being responsibilities given to me by God.
This next semester the plan is to move some off of the grades and some off of the ministry and give them to finances and hopefully gain back some ground.
So this leads to the guilt part. I feel guilty when I spend money on expendable items because it is money that I don’t have. You guys know how it flows through your fingers.
It is hard for me to pay $4 to eat with my ministry team.
It is hard for me to pay $2 to go into C3. (I also would feel guilty if I don’t pay.)
It is even hard for me to pay $1.75 for a coffee to make the guy that I am sharing my faith with to feel more comfortable.
(BTY: Ryan whom I met on Hunt street and talked to for an hour and a half in Stomping Grounds, I am praying for you, I hope that you start looking for real answers and not just questions.)
The conflict says,
“It’s only a couple bucks, and it’s a good cause. God will bless you because of your sacrifice.”
vs.
“I have no money. NO MONEY AT ALL. Not even $2! I have negative money… and it is getting more negative.”
So help me with the balance here guys. I know that you were where I am. Every single dollar puts me that much farther in the hole.
When does my debt become too much? When does my debt become dishonoring to God? When should I start “eating only rice” to get out of it?
Posted by paul at 12:17 AM
December 10, 2003
Age descrimination
So I walk by an "elderly" person who is talking to themself.
I think:
"That person must be senile or something."
I walk by a "young" person who is talking to themself.
I think:
"That person must be on a cell phone with an ear piece."
The times they are a changin'
How's that for thought fodder?
Posted by paul at 10:59 PM | Comments (6)
December 09, 2003
Who are you?
I think that how we view ourselves is essential to how much God can do through us.
If you believe that you are simply an average joe, nothing special and you always will be; then you probably are not considering what God can do through you.
So who are you? If we see ourselves the same way that God sees us we will never have the self esteem problems that plague our generation.
So proclaim your identity!!!
Posted by paul at 11:19 AM | Comments (5)
December 08, 2003
Christie Gibson
So in the manner of many geeks of my time I readily use google for most if not all of my web searching needs.
But on occasion I also use it for more frivolous endeavors, such as search my own name as well as those of my friends. Just to see how they fare in the popularity contest that is the Internet.
So in keeping with this strange habit, I undertook the task of browsing through the supposed e-exploits of those with the same name as my girlfriend Christie Gibson. It seems that the Gibson family as a whole has tended again and again to posting their family tree online.
But I must note with a large degree of satisfaction that this very blog claims #4 on the google search charts on the heels of the SECOND ANNUAL PEACE EDUCATION CONFERENCE IN CANADA and with Play-by-Play the apparent results of a rugby game or something coming in at the number one spot.
So it is then the aim of this blog to hit the top of the list and make not only Christie Gibson famous for her tremendous heart warm, sense of humor, razor wit, unmistakable charm, classy beauty, wonderful singing voice, and all around cuteness, but also to induce random Gibsons who might be looking for their family tree or how their relatives are doing at rugby to drop by and see how the synthesis web project is coming.
Thank you for bearing with my longwindedness, run-on sentences, made-up words, and general sappyness towards a very sweet lil’ lady.
Posted by paul at 12:06 AM | Comments (4)
December 07, 2003
Mom
So recently I discovered that my Mom at times reads this blog. While this was a first a little unnerving because I supposed that only a few of my friends ever dared read this rather sloppy journal of thoughts and going-ons.
After the initial shock I was in fact pleased.
Welcome, Mom, browse and puruse at will. I think that everything that this site has to offer should be an informational and interesting view of how I converse with my friends.
Also, Mom, feel free to post a response to this or any other of my entries. Simply click the link at the bottom of this entry that says comments and that will lead you a form to fill out and post, so that you too can participate in this wonderful forum.
Posted by paul at 06:17 PM | Comments (1)
December 06, 2003
back again
So I am back but busier then ever... (tight-lipped-grimmace)
between projects/tests/ministry concerns/relational joys this proves to be the "fun season" of my life. (wry smile)
Have fun in the coming weeks as I let you in on my zany happenings.
Posted by paul at 06:11 PM | Comments (0)