Bible Verse Sunday #52 and the Black Belt Extravaganza VII

Today's installment of Bible Verse Sunday is very important for three reasons. Firstly, because it's the first edition of Bible Verse Sunday we've had in a long time that's on time. Secondly, because it's the fifty-second installment of this feature, and 52 is a very important number, as you DC fans know (for those of you who don't know, 52 is the number of alternate realities there are in the DC Universe). Thirdly and finally, today is the day that I received my second degree black belt in taekwondo, at the Black Belt Extravaganza VII (BBE7)! But I'll get to that in due time. In the meantime, today's verse is Numbers 12:3:

"Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth."

The ESV Study Bible has this to say about the verse:

"very meek. The Hebrew term here is translated "meek" (Hb. 'anaw) is more often translated "humble, poor." The focus is more on Moses' attitude than on his demeanor. Some have argued that Moses could not have written in this way about himself, thereby challenging Moses' authorship of Numbers. It is clear, however, that the inclusion of this description of Moses' character is both accurate and necessary for understanding the account. On the face of the earth indicates that Moses was highly respected, certainly by Pharaoh and the people of Egypt, but also when he encountered other people during the 40 years in the wilderness (e.g., the defeat of the Amorites, 21:21-35; and Balaam and the dread of the moabites, chs. 22-24). ..."

I only attended the full first service today, as I had to leave early to participate in the BBE7. In the main service, we finished up our series in the book of Colossians by studying God's divine design on how the family should work, including master/slave relations. This last part is applicable in a study of how we should approach work. I'm not sure what the sermon in the High Schools service was about, as I had to leave just before it began in order to go to the BBE7. If anyone would care to fill me in, leave a comment!

Now, the Black Belt Extravaganza VII was a momentous occasion. It wasn't a perfect event, as my experiences backstage can attest. Despite rehearsing, Murphy's Law ("If anything can go wrong, it will.") proved true on a few occasions. There were several instances of we testers not knowing when to go on stage, and it took me several clumsy tries to break my boards. But let's not dwell on the bad! After all, so many things went right! The poomse were well executed, the kicks and punches were top notch, the foam sword fighting was well done, featuring yours truly, by the way. Even the demo done by the Shobukai Kenjutsu guys went well. The crowd loved it! There was also Nick who broke multiple bricks. Smashing! Then it was time for the awarding of the belts and certificates to the bodans and first dans, including me! My friends Theo and Nick also received their second dans, and Angela, Mario, Kenny, and many others received their first dans. It was a truly momentous occasion for me when I was summoned to read my paper "The Black Belt Way" to the crowd. If you want to read it, click here. Anyhow, at long last I am a second dan, and I eagerly look forward to my next challenge. I heartily congratulate all of the people who participated in the test, as testers and helpers, and I thank the audience for coming to see the event. I also thank the Carco Theatre for renting their facility out to us! Yay yay, LMA!

Thanksgiving 2013 and Black Friday 2013

I've elected not to mark future belated posts (other than Bible Verse Sunday posts), including this one, as belated. This is because I now see that due to a crowded schedule, nearly all of my posts are becoming belated. In view of this, I find it ridiculous and unrealistic to have all of my posts commemorating significant occasions be posted on the exact same day as the said occasions occur. Therefore, this post (and future "belated" posts) will not be marked as "belated." Now, on to the main  event...

The first Thanksgiving was originally celebrated by the Pilgrims as a feast to celebrate their survival and bountiful harvest in 1621 (It was not, itself, a feast of literal giving of thanks, which would have been celebrated by fasting and prayer). Various Thanksgiving Days were proclaimed by church and political leaders throughout the years to come, to give thanks for various things. For example, President George Washington once proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving to give thanks to God for the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga. However, Thanksgiving wasn't made an official, federal holiday until President Abraham Lincoln made it so in 1863. Since then, it has been celebrated annually in the United States. Though various "harvest festivals" are celebrated in countries throughout the world, Thanksgiving is the only holiday specifically dedicated to giving thanks for our blessings from the Almighty. Thanksgiving is traditionally celebrated by gathering family members and eating a lot of food, watching the football game, and reflecting on what we're thankful for.

Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday, was celebrated by I and my family in a way I don't believe we ever had before. By this, I mean that most of the guests for the occasion weren't family members, but were but friends of the family. The Hilliards and the Rajaos were here, as well as my Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty and my grandparents on my dad's side, so that there were fifteen people in all. We had a wonderful time! I taught Ano, Mr. and Mrs. Rajao's son, how to play chess (he needs more practice), ate a huge amount of food, and generally had a good time filled with uplifting conversation. After everyone else left, I and my family watched "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving," still pretty funny and touching after all of these years. This year, I am thankful for my friends, my family, the roof over my head and the food I have to eat, and my wonderful, (still mostly) free country. I am also thankful for all of the material possessions that the Lord has seen fit to bequeath to me, for my good health, and for our safe travels. Most of all though, I am thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the many other blessings that I may have forgotten to mention.

And now for something completely different. That is to say, let's talk about Black Friday. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is a day of greed, chaos, and waste, ironically following what is supposed to be a day of gratitude, calm, and conservation. Contrary to popular belief, its name does not come from companies getting "in the black," but rather from a nickname coined by Philadelphia police who viewed the occasion with dread. The best sales of the year are on this day, resulting in shoppers flooding stores at all hours of the day, trying to beat each other (sometimes literally) to that great deal on that flat screen or what not. Contrary to popular belief, this nightmarish scenario is not a result of capitalism, but of materialistic commercialism. There is a significant difference, but that's a different post. This day is often made light of over at Retail (for more on the comic, click here), for good reason.

For Black Friday, my dad and I traditionally try to avoid the chaos at the big stores and go do something together, usually bowling and Christmas shopping at more low key locations, such as Barnes & Noble. This year, we went down to ACME Bowl down in South Center, and we bowled a good game. He won, but I'd like to think I acquitted myself well, with around 200 points (he had around 280). That said, I really, really need to work on my technique. I went stretches of getting four gutter balls in a row, multiple times! But it was still fun, despite my wrist aching a bit at the end. We then went over to Barnes & Noble and bought some stuff. I'm so glad I have all these gift cards! After that, we drove back to Renton, grabbed lunch at Burger Town, and teamed with a bunch of other people to decorate downtown Renton. We had a lot of High School helpers this year, and I stopped by the Comic Hut after we were done and picked up a copy of Azrael: Agent of the Bat #62. I then went down to LMA to help out at the Parent's Night Out event, in which a group of younger kids were entertained with games, pizza, and, because it was Instructor Driver's birthday today, cake! All of the attendees were treated to the opportunity to shove a whipped cream pie in Instructor Driver's face (also, happy birthday, Mr. Driver!)! I helped a lot, doing things like putting down boundary cones, and with helping get rid of leftover pizza. Man, those kids were loud. But hey, pizza! Plus, the proceeds from admission go to benefit the LMA Christmas party. In sum, this was a fine beginning of the Christmas season. Man, I love Christmastime. I like Thanksgiving better, but Christmastime is a close third, after Easter. It's just so festive!

Image courtesy allianceabroad.com

(Very Belated) Bible Verse Sunday #51

Woof... I've been so, so, busy lately, as my minimal output of posts can attest to. I was considering taking the week off from blogging for Thanksgiving, but that would mean no blog posts about Thanksgiving and Black Friday. They'd both be terribly belated. But anyhow, let's try getting to the basics.

Today's verse is 1 John 4:11:

"Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

The ESV Study Bible has this to say about the verse:

"Here and in v. 7 John uses a strong term of endearment, beloved (gk. agapetoi), evidence that he himself has been mastered by the love he calls for. He uses the same word also at 2:7; 3:2, 21; 4:1. See also note on 2:1, 'my little children.'"

In church two days ago, the pastor in the main service talked about how to be "a high impact servant for Jesus," drawing analogies from Russel Wilson of the Seahawks. He highlighted the people mentioned by Paul in the closing section of Colossians. This particular book, if I recall correctly, was the book we memorized (along with a small part of 1 Timothy) during my first year of Bible Quiz Team. Anyhow, in the High School service, we were given a lecture by a guest speaker, Ethan the former intern, who was subbing for Pastor Wes (Pastor Wes was in Nashville for a mission trip). This fellow gave a great sermon in part concerning the widespread misapplication of Romans 8:28 ("And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Verse courtesy biblehub.com). What with the busyness of the last two days and all, I can't quite place what the correct application of it was, but I'm sure I'd remember it if I had taken notes. Thusly, I will be sure to take notes at all future sermons.

Looking forward, I see that Thanksgiving will soon be upon us, and with it, the start of the Christmas season on Black Friday. I look forward to Thanksgiving eagerly, and the accompanying blog post. There will be food, family, friends, food, fellowship, and, you guessed it, more food. But let's not get ahead of ourselves...

(Belated) One Year Anniversay of First Post & An Important Announcment

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of The Life and Times of Levi Sweeney's first post. Looking back reviews, topical commentary, and the Bible Verse Sunday feature, among other things. I've re-formatted the blog twice in that year, its current version satisfying me greatly. I've written 185 posts, including this one. Those posts consist of 55 reviews, 50 installments of Bible Verse Sunday, and 80 other posts, which cover Life and Times, Holidays, Topical Commentary, and various other subjects. As of this post, I've had 11,245 page views, but very few comments. I crave feedback, it being crucial to my maintaining a good blog. That's one of reasons I started putting up polls, to gather information on my readers. This blog is made possible by readers like you! Looking back on the past year, I'd say that it's been a pretty good year. I've made it about 3/4 of the way through High School, I'm just beginning college, and I've got a lot of big plans. In the words of Frank Sinatra, "It was a very good year." And hopefully, 2014 will be a very good year as well.
on the past year, I realize that much has changed. I have gone from writing random posts about the day to day goings on of my life to writing mostly

I will continue blogging, trying to balance my crowded schedule, but there is one, important announcement related to the blog which I must make first. As of this post, I will be changing the blog's name to The Life and Legend of Levi Sweeney. Drastic, I know, right? I am adopting this new name for my blog as a symbol of my ever expanding horizons. From now on, I will strive to make my life nothing short of legendary.

Image courtesy of suffragio.org

Bible Verse Sunday #50, Teagan McGinnis Memorial, and Black Belt Test Rehearsal

Golly, another week with less than three posts? This is not good. Especially since we're coming up on the one year anniversary of my blog's first post, which just so happens to fall on the Friday before Thanksgiving, the day in question being November 22nd. Anyhow, let's get to another special occasion; the fiftieth Bible Verse Sunday ever! Fifty! What a number! Today's verse is Habakkuk 2:12:

"'Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity!"

The ESV Study Bible has this to say on the verse:

"Woe. Babylon is condemned for its violence and injustice."

Today at church was International Missions Week, an event which spotlighted the various missionaries our church has fielded around the globe. We had guest speakers in both the main service and the High School service. The guest speaker in the main service was a guy from India who gave a sermon on how seemingly futile efforts at evangelizing can turn out to be of great significance. In the High School service, the guest speaker there was a local fellow from Union Gospel Mission, and he talked about that we as Christians should "See, feel, do." 

Also held in conjunction with International Missions Week in the High School service was a small memorial for one of our attendees, Teagan McGinnis. This celebrated young man tragically died in a car accident a few days ago, and is sorely missed by my fellow parishioners. I must confess that I did not know him, but I know people who were close to him. My prayers are with his friends and family. We take comfort in the knowledge that he was a God-fearing, godly fellow who is now home with the Lord.

In other news, today was the Black Belt Extravaganza VII... rehearsal. Though not terribly exciting, the people participating in that upcoming event (December 1st at 2:00 P.M. at the Carco Theatre), including yours truly, got together to work out the particulars of the event. We went about how we would assemble on stage, who would do what first and in what order, and such and such. There was a bit of fumbling and bumbling, but we managed to get it all together, though we'll be having a few more rehearsals to perfect it. I decided on what board break I'll be doing (I'm testing for 2nd Degree Black Belt, and I also had to write a paper on what it means to be a black belt), and I hope that I'll be able to pull it off spectacularly. I'm no Michael Tzeng, but I'm sure I'm capable of performing the move that I've selected.

(Very Belated) Bible Verse Sunday #49, (Very Belated) Veterans Day, and the Mini-Vacation

Phew, another week with less than three posts? This is turning into an epidemic. With luck, I'll the next post up on Saturday. But anyhow, here is last Sunday's Bible verse, Luke 10:27:

"And he answered, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.'"

The ESV Study Bible has this to say about the verse:

"To love the Lord your God involves having faith in him and also delighting in him above all else. All the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) include the words heart (emotions, will, and deepest convictions), soul (the immaterial part of a person's being), and mind (reason; however, this term is lacking in Deut. 6:5). Matthew (22:37) alone lacks the term strength (how a person uses the abilities and powers that he has), an indication of the total devotion of one's entire being that is required. (See notes on Matt. 22:37-38 and Mark 12:28-31.)

As I was out of town on Sunday, I will not able to re-cap the sermons at church. There will be a re-cap next week.

Yesterday, November 11th, was Veteran's Day, a holiday celebrating veterans. It was first known as Armistice Day, established after the conclusion of World War 1, and was centered around the number eleven (eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month) to commemorate when the armistice was signed. During the Vietnam War in the 1970s, it was retooled as Veterans Day, as we know it today, and was signed into federal law as a national holiday, which is why I had the day off from Bellevue College yesterday. I didn't do anything in particular for Veteran's Day other than this woefully belated post and something else which I'll get to in the next paragraph. I did wish my father a happy birthday, as he used to be in the Navy, but next year I think a family dinner is order, what with his father, my grandfather, also being in the military. 

For the weekend, my buddy Nate (the one who thinks that Superman: The Movie is the greatest superhero film ever made) invited me to tag along with his family and some other friends on a sort of mini-vacation. We went to this rental house community down by the ocean and hung out for the weekend. We watched some movies, played games (I brought chess; Nate brought Risk), roasted marshmallows over a fire, and celebrated Nate's brother's birthday. We had a great time.

Bible Verse Sunday #48, (Belated) Halloween 2013, (Belated) Reformation Day 2013, (Belated) Mystery Dinner 2013, and Driving

Sorry for only posting one post this last week. I know, sacrilege, right? But in all seriousness, I have been extremely busy, what with a full schedule of homework, Driver's Ed, plus Bible Quiz Team. I will now publish a mega-post, with what is probably my longest title yet. 

Anyhow, today's verse is Lamentations 5:19, courtesy of biblehub.com. I've just finished Jeremiah and Lamentations in my One Year Bible, and have moved into Ezekiel, but I feel that Jeremiah, that long lived prophet, deserves some more spotlight:

"But you, O LORD, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations."

The ESV Study Bible has this to say about the verse:

"Unlike frail humanity, God reigns as king of the universe (Ps. 103:19) forever (Ps. 90:1-17; 102:12-13). Whatever forgiveness, renewal, and relief Jerusalem will receive must come from the one whose throne endures to all generations (Ps. 45:6-7; 93:1-2)."

Today in church, the pastor in the main service spoke about how we wear "masks," in that we all relate differently to different people, and that we "can courageously co-create the beauty of God's image" in ourselves. This is accomplished by repenting and "putting to death" sinful habits, and the pastor listed off a series of seriously serious sins. In the High School service, we talked about David and Bathsheba, and how the basic message of this story was that sinful decisions lead to trouble. I believe we got a preview of next week's sermon, which I think will talk about redemption.

Last Thursday was Halloween, one of the most commercialized holiday in America, second only to
Christmas. Also on Thursday (kudos to a friend of my buddy Caleb for pointing this out) was Reformation Day. After pulling my first all nighter, I had a rather lax day yesterday where I drove a car for the first time and went to rather strange dinner with the quiz team, before driving some more today.

The exact origins of Halloween are heavily debated among scholars, but long and short of it is that it was almost certainly a pagan Harvest festival from Ireland and Scotland (Samhain, pronounced sow in), marking a supposed blurring of the divide between the spiritual world and the physical world. The Celtic people celebrated it during the slaughtering animals for food in the winter. It was later "Christianized" by the Roman Catholic Church as All Hallow's Eve, during which many of the traditions currently associated with the holiday were established. "Trick-or-treating" originated as people going door to door threatening "tricks" (e.g., pranks or other mischief) in exchange for "treats," soul cakes in days of old and candy today. Dressing up in costumes came from people disguising themselves in order to hide from imaginary vengeful ghosts. Jack-o-lanterns were an Irish tradition which came from a theologically unsound story about a guy named Jack who conned the Devil into barring him from going to Hell. Due to having led a life of sin, Jack was barred from Heaven as well, and carved a lantern out of a turnip to hide a flaming coal the Devil had given him. Thus, he was condemned to walk the Earth with his lantern, forever looking for a place to rest. Apparently, costume wearers also tended to carry around their jack-o-lanterns in ye old days. Jack-o-lanterns were also handy in the days before lampposts for guiding trick-or-treaters to doors in the dark of night (as a side note, one of the "Lost Episodes"  of Adventures in Odyssey ("What Are We Gonna Do About Halloween?") deals with the touchy topic of Halloween in a much better way than they dealt with fantasy role-playing games).

Despite it's propensity for being celebrated as a festival of the macabre, Halloween's current name comes from the Scottish rendering of All Hallows Eve, or All Saints Day Eve, a Catholic feast day. This feast day quite obviously celebrates the lives of all Catholic saints, and in ye old days, people would be allowed to dress up as their favorite saints. It was brought over to America by Irish and Scottish immigrants in the 19th century, and its traditions were assimilated into American culture over time. At its most mild form, Halloween can be an innocent and fun holiday, in what is basically a national costume party. Others, however, choose to embrace the uglier side of it and watch horror flicks and play destructive, mean spirited pranks. But hey, free candy is always good.

For Halloween, my family has a long tradition of going to my friend Nate's family's neighborhood with another friend's family, and together our three families go trick or treating. This year, however, we went with different set of friends to another neighborhood, before attempting to go to another friend's family's neighborhood, getting lost, and then going home. I dressed up as Commissioner Gordon and mooched off my dear friend Ano's candy (he dressed up as Captain America, photos are on Facebook. My sisters dressed up as Dr. Horrible and a ninja princess, respectively). I was unable to secure grey hairspray or a police badge for my costume, but I did get a nice, secondhand trench coat out of the deal. Unfortunately, I now owe my dad forty bucks for the costume, for which I had to buy a second hand dress shirt and a fake mustache in addition to the second hand trench coat. Happily for me, I got a wonderful new coat out of the deal, and my costume looked great. Not quite as good as my Joker costume from a few years ago, but still pretty cool in a minimalist sort of way.

Also on Thursday was Reformation Day, a day dedicated to remembering the Protestant Reformation as started by Martin Luther. Understandably, it is mainly celebrated by Lutheran and Reformed churches, but as a Protestant Christian (technically non-denominational, but as a non-Catholic Christian, I also qualify as Protestant), I also appreciate the holiday's significance. Although considered a lesser festival by those groups, it is important in that it commemorates the day when Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of All Saints' Church, also known as Castle Church, in Wittenberg, Germany. This was the central catalyst of the Protestant Reformation, an event which drastically transformed Christianity into how it is today. Next year I will see about celebrating this important holiday as well.

On Saturday, I, mom, and my sister joined our fellow quizzers at an event at the house of one of our lady coaches. This "Mystery Dinner" as it was called involved us picking items with strange names from a menu, so that we had three courses of six items each. My first course was salad with no dressing, marshmallow cream, and sprinkles, with no fork, spoon, or plate, which were added later. Further courses involved taking the plate away and having to eat off of the table... without using our hands. I was lucky enough to get water that was actually in a cup (we were allowed to use our hands to handle the cup). There was also spaghetti, meatballs, ice cream, peas, ranch dressing, and bread with butter. Some unlucky souls got truly bizarre combinations, such as peas and spaghetti sauce mixed together, or ice cream and spaghetti. After all of this foolishness was done and the three courses were finished, we were allowed to have a real meal, with the full use of our hands, utensils, and cups, followed by ice cream. I'm telling you, that Tillamook stuff is good! All in all, it was a fun and filling night.

Today and yesterday my dad took me out practice driving in a couple of spots around Renton. They were ideal driving spots; wide open spaces, no other or very few cars around, and good spots to practice turning. I'm having a little difficulty on turns, staying in the right lane, and driving in reverse. I hope to improve steadily. So far, driving has been pretty fun. I just hope that I don't get any tickets or into any accidents, and that my plastic learner's permit arrives soon.

Bible Verse Sunday #47, Baptism, & New Primary Ignition Articles

Today's verse has to do with baptism, a very important topic today. Today's verse is Luke 3:16, not to be confused with John 3:16:

"John answered them all, saying, 'I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."

The ESV Study Bible has this to say about the verse:

"In the two phrases (1) he who is mightier than I is coming and (2) He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire, the Greek word order emphasizes the pronoun "he," pointing to Jesus (cf. John 3:30). John the Baptist's answer indicates that people will know that the Christ has come when he baptizes with the Holy Spirit- which took place at Pentecost in Acts 2. Whether being baptized "with the Holy Spirit and with fire" will be positive (involving the coming of the purifying fire of the Spirit at Pentecost; Acts 1:8; 2:3) or negative (involving the divine judgment of fire; Luke 9:54; 12:49; 17:29) depends on the response of the individual person. See notes on Matt. 3:11 and Acts 2:3."

Today was a momentous occasion for me, as today was the day I was baptized. My grandparents attended this happy event, and it happened near the end of the service. I was led onto the stage, with spare clothes and towels on standby, and waded into the baptismal tub on the stage. My youth pastor was there with me, and he gave a short speech on baptism, and introduced me to the audience. I told the audience why I wanted to be baptized, and what my life verse was. I wanted to be baptized because I had been thinking that, what with my eighteenth birthday coming up, I ought to start off my adult life with something big, a big step in my walk with Christ. My pastor then submerged me in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the deed was done. After the baptism, I was the man of the hour. Everyone, people I knew, people I didn't know, wanted to shake my hand and congratulate me. People who didn't know about the baptism until I told them were excited for me and extended their salutations. It was, in a word, a glorious time of day.

During the main service, before my baptism, the pastor spoke about how only God can justify us, and how He got rid of our old, sinful nature, so that we believers will appear with Christ. Later, after the baptism, during the High School service, the youth pastor there, the same youth pastor who performed my baptismal ceremony, conducted a quiz on candy ingredients. We were given a candy's list of ingredients, and we had to identify what candy it was. I got four out of twenty, and my buddy Nathan got seven out of twenty. The sermon was about David, Uzzah, and the Ark, and how they basically messed up because they weren't following God's plan, a common theme in the Bible. Just goes to show that even the most saintly Biblical superstars can go wrong sometimes. After church, we came home and, joined by some friends, had a lunch of grilled chicken Caesar salad. It was very tasty. I also devoted some time to filling out my first voting form. Funny how there was only one candidate for some of these positions. I spent a lot of time researching the issues and candidates, mostly rinky-dink position like Port Commissioner Position No. 2 or Sewage Commissioner or something, a couple of school district positions and a bunch of taxes. Honestly, I don't even know what half of these people's jobs are. If someone would like to clue me in, I'd be happy to listen.

In other news, I have three new articles up over at Primary Igntion. I have an article on the first issue of my pet character's first ongoing series in "A Look Back: Azrael #1", a review of Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Volume 1, and an expose on Black Mask, "Behind the Black Mask", meant to coincide with the release of the new Batman video game, Batman: Arkham Origins.

Tintin

The cast of The Castafiore Emerald. Tintin is front and center.

What is Tintin, you ask? A European person would be aghast that if you didn't know what Tintin was, The Adventures of Tintin being extremely popular in Europe. Fortunately for me (and my family, not to mention my buddy Mason), I know perfectly what Tintin is, or rather, who.

In 1929, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, better known by the pen name Hergé, developed the character of the boy journalist Tintin for a conservative Catholic newspaper in Brussels, Belgium. What started as a black-and-white propaganda series blossomed into a meticulously researched, wildly popular, full color comic strip. Thriving throughout the artist's life, The Adventures of Tintin spawned a celebrated animated television series, plus a highly successful feature film (both of the same name) directed by Steve Spielberg and produced by Peter Jackson. Beginning with Tintin in the Land of the Soviets and ending with Tintin and the Picaros (the last volume, Tintin and the Alph-Art, remains unfinished following Herge's death, as per his will), this series ran for 47 years, has been translated into some 70 languages, and over 200 million copies have been sold.

The Adventures of Tintin follows the adventures of an absurdly young "journalist" (we only see him covering a story once, in the first volume) known only as Tintin, his faithful dog Snowy, and later the cantankerous, hard drinking sailor, Captain Haddock (Tintin mentions in Tintin and the Picaros that he thinks Haddock's first name is "Archibald") and the eccentric Professor Cuthbert Calculus. Together, they go on incredible adventures around the world, from Scotland to America to Shanghai. These adventures involve unforgettable characters, both lifelong friends and diabolical villains, filled with fun, excitement, danger, humor, and all sorts of daring do. Anything but romance, really, unless you count Bianca Castafiore's cartoonish (really, what do you expect from a cartoon?) crush on him. One of the things about Tintin is that romance isn't really possible, in that one of the two protagonists is kind of a blank slate and that aside from the aforementioned Bianca Castafiore, there are no major female characters. But moving on...

This Belgian comic series is utterly awesome because of its attention to detail, clever plots, tongue-in-cheek humor, and audacity to just be as fun and cool as possible. Not fun in an overtly wacky way, though some plot lines do stretch the imagination, such as the Incas of the hidden Inca village in Prisoners of the Sun (it's a long story) speaking French (The Adventures of Tintin, being a Belgian publication, was originally published in French), but fun in a cool, adventurous way. Fun like Tintin going to a pun laden Middle Eastern country to fight terrorists who are funneling explosive oil to European countries (Land of Black Gold). Or another, earlier one, where Tintin goes to China, befriends a Chinese boy named Chang, and witnesses an act obviously inspired by the Mukden Incident, among other things (The Blue Lotus). There are literally dozens more such stories, which whisk the reader away on thrilling, joyous, and often humorous misadventures with Tintin, his dog, and friends.

Like I said, Tintin himself is kind of a blank slate. He has three defining traits; idealism, persistence, and nosiness. The latter two traits are less predominant in the adventures taking place after he meets Captain Haddock, where adventure (or trouble, as Captain Haddock would put it) tends to find him rather than the other way around. However, the first trait, idealism just short of naivete, is basically his whole personality. Let's face it; Tintin is a Mary Sue. For the uninitiated, the short answer to what a "Mary Sue" is (if you want the long answer, go to tvtropes.org and type "Mary Sue" into the search bar) is a character who is virtually perfect, ideal, with no real flaws. I myself have ran aground on this deadly reef in my own writing (just ask my creative writing teacher), but Hergé scuba dives in this reef. Tintin's only instance of messing up anything is when in Tintin and the Picaros he at first refuses to go to a hostile country where friends of his are being held captive, knowing that an invitation to go there is a trap. Even then, he soon changes his mind and goes anyway, after Haddock and Calculus have already gone.

Does being a Mary Sue make Tintin a bad character? Maybe. On the one hand, Tintin defies traditional definitions of a "good character." On the other hand, Tintin's aforementioned blank slate is what makes him so likeable, in that readers can simply project their own traits and selves onto him, painting their own picture with just enough of a prompt from Tintin's idealism to not realize that they're doing this. In some weird way, that's kind of how Jean-Paul Valley, a.k.a. Azrael, my favorite comic book superhero, kind of works. Maybe it's my own liking for Tintin that influenced by liking of good ol' Jean-Paul. I've actually read way more Tintin stuff than I have Azrael stuff, so maybe that is why I like Jean-Paul so much, even though they're completely different characters. Tintin is outgoing, adventurous, and emotionally stable. Jean-Paul is passive, directionless, and mentally ill, ironically relying on that same mental illness to barely function as a superhero. But that's another post.

I've come to know Tintin through my reading of the Tintin comics and my watching of the Tintin animated series, the Canadian one. The others were, as far as I know, short lived pieces of garbage which didn't deserve half a minute of air time, let alone half an hour. The animated series was, in a few words, a wholly excellent adaption, the voice acting in particular influencing how I viewed the characters in the comics. This series itself was my measuring stick in evaluating the 2011 film The Adventures of Tintin, but I'll get to that in due time. This animated series is available for instant streaming on Netflix and you should readily check it out. The comics themselves are nothing short of perfect. Hergé's attention to detail and research is an inspiration to my own efforts at research, showing my work, as it were. For without research, what foundation does an earnest writer have to build on? The art makes you admire it, the plots make you obsessed with it, the characters make you love it, and the gags make you want to clear out a wide swath on your bookshelf for it. Not that I'm suggesting you should go out and do that...

On the whole, I wholeheartedly recommend this series to any comic book fan, and any adventure fan. If you like Indiana Jones, you'll love Tintin. As Captain Haddock would say, "Blistering barnacles! Go buy our books, landlubbers!"

Fun fact: The script for what eventually became Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was born out of what was meant to be the script for a Tintin adaptation, written by, you guessed it, Steven Spielberg! Spielberg went on to direct the 2011 film adaptation of The Adventures of Tintin, titled The Adventures of Tintin.

Image courtesy of wikipedia.org

Driver's Ed

Today was the first day of Driver's Education, commonly known as Driver's Ed. This momentous occasion in my life had me and my sister being ferried with a friend a few blocks away to the local driving school. There, we had to fill out a form and complete a written test after reading some literature. Then we were lectured by the instructor on how licensing worked, and how to get our learners permit.

Driver's Ed, I think, is a wholly new experience for me. We were placed in a poorly supplied classroom with a handful of kids who we didn't know, being taught by a man with a foreign accent. This was not at all my idea of Driver's Ed, but I suppose I have to go through with it sooner or later. With luck, I will pass with flying colors, and when I finally acquire my license, I shall be able to go wherever I choose... with permission from mum and dad, of course.

Due to still having quiz verses to memorize, I decided to not go to taekwondo tonight, opting to stay home and memorize verses. Here's hoping I'll be able to quote now.

Bible Verse Sunday #46 & First Bible Quiz Invitational 2013-2014

Today's verse Jeremiah 20:11:

"But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten."

The ESV Study Bible has this to say about the verse:

"the Lord is with me. See note on 30:11. dread warrior. God fights for his people (Ex 15:1-18). not overcome me. See Jer. 1:17-19; 15:19-21."

In the main service at church today, the pastor gave a sermon about how certain religious rules are mere shadows of what Jesus is really all about. Therefore, he preached, we shouldn't be quick to judge others, "knowing that Christ is more than the mere appearance of wisdom." In the High School service, the youth pastor talked about how David became king of Israel. He somehow tied this into a metaphor involving the "bare essentials" of something, but I don't remember exactly how it worked.

My Aunt Naomi came over for dinner tonight, and we ate salmon, rice, and some kind of baked cabbage. Had a large cookie for dessert. Good meal. 

Addendum: When this post was originally written, I forgot to include a write up of the first Bible Quiz Team Invitational of this quizzing year. It took place over the course of a morning and an early afternoon last Saturday, at Alderwood Community Church. Our team was divided into two teams of three and one team of two. My team, composed of myself and two novices ("rookies" to borrow the terminology I used with them), did not win many quizzes, but we scored a lot of points. I made All Stars, as did many of my fellow quizzers, including Kellyn, Lizzey, my sister Rebekah, and many others. We all did very well, and engaged in good fellowship. For lunch, pasta and salad were served, though on the way home, as per tradition, we stopped by Dairy Queen to grab a bite to eat. While most of the others ordered ice cream, I decided to cut back on the sweets and order the heart healthy meal of a a Bacon Cheese Grillburger. Yum! All in all, it was a good invitational, and I heartily look forward to the next one.

Review: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia, Second Edition

I bought this book from Barnes & Noble a while back, and it finally came along in my list of books to read that I own. My original goal was to educate myself on the Mafia for research purposes. I had planned to feature them in my graphic novel, but after rethinking the issue, I decided to replace the Mafia with a different criminal enterprise whose presence made more sense in my chosen setting. But nevertheless, I learned a lot of interesting information in a fun format. I thus spent a large portion of Vacation 2013 and High School Camp reading through this book. I finished it on the way home from High School Camp, which was about a month ago, so here I am finally getting to reviewing it!

Written by organized crime expert Jeremy Capeci, The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia, Second Edition tells you all about the Mafia. Starting with the organization and structure of La Cosa Nostra, continuing on with a primer on the various American Mafia families,  followed by several chapters on how the mob makes money, and ending with the modern history of the mob (as of 2004 anyway; more on that later), plus some miscellaneous chapters on things like Whitey Bulger, the media and popular culture's perception of the Mafia, and the murder of Jimmy Hoffa.

I've got to say, this book is dense. With over thirty chapters and 464 pages, this thing rivals The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, another upcoming review (that door stopper clocked in at about 630 pages, with 92 chapters). Of course, being a non-fiction informational guide book, this book is naturally supposed to be long. I felt like I fully understood everything the book was trying to tell me, except maybe about how gambling rackets work. I also don't remember Capeci covering money laundering, but that's okay. Everything about this book gushes information on the Mafia. The author's engrossing writing style is a sight to behold, and I was thoroughly captivated by why the the Castellammarese War was fought, or who Joe Bonanno was, or what brought down John Gotti, the Dapper Don. I learned all sorts of neat little tidbits about the Mafia and the people of whom it consists. Like, for example, how one guy was made consigliore by his boss so that the boss would have an easier time of offing him.

This book also makes it quite clear that "the life" in La Cosa Nostra isn't something to look into. It's fraught with danger, lies, backstabbing, stupidity, murder, pettiness, and a whole lot of other negative nouns. If you're Italian, and you want a short and bloody life, then this is the job for you. It was in this instance that I was glad to be only one eighth or so Italian. It handily dispels the notion of the Mafia as a romantic, chivalrous organization when in reality it's nothing but a gang of greedy bullies who'd just as soon cut off your hand as shake it. That said, this book only fed my interest in the Mafia. A scholarly motivation, I assure you, gentle reader. I doubt I'll ever screw up the courage to watch Goodfellas, but I do have several books on the Mafia further down on my reading list.

Now for some downsides. I felt like Capeci overused certain phrases and words throughout the book, such as the verb "whacked." He also seemed to be rather cavalier in his coverage of the more minor Mafia families, such as the Detroit crime family or the Cleveland crime family, which a quick scan of Wikipedia shows are not quite defunct. He doesn't cover Seattle's crime family at all, which was apparently still active at the time of the book's writing. That in and of itself is an issue; this book is nearly ten years out of date. I don't know if much has changed in the crime world between now and 2004, but I figure that it's not exactly the same. In short, I would have appreciated more info on the smaller crime families, and I hope to one day find a book or something that gives a more up-to-date and comprehensive look at them.

In closing, I commend this book for presenting loads of information, both crucial and trivial, about the Mafia in an engaging manner. It helped to inform me on the accuracy of Son of the Mob, one of my earliest reviews, and helped me conclude that Vince's dad is either a capo, an underboss, or a boss. In light of my newly acquired knowledge about the Mafia, I am considering writing an addendum to that article on how accurate its portrayal of the Mafia was. For those of you who want such an addendum written, please comment below and let me know. Anyhow, I wholeheartedly recommend this book for any crime buffs out there, it being an essential addition to any such person's library. A marvelous reference and guide book if I ever saw one.

RATING: 9/10

Image courtesy of amazon.com

Music

One thing I really like to do is listen to music. It's one of my favorite pastimes, up there with reading and
writing. I have a wide range of tastes when it comes to music. I like listening to everyone from the Newsboys to Ray Charles, to every genre from alternative to soundtracks to classical (except for death metal). I don't know how I became interested in such a diverse range of music, but it probably had to do with watching a lot of musicals growing up. I just like music. Granted, I don't feel like I have the insight or ear to be a music critic, but I love listening to it. I have almost 24 hours of music in my collection, and I'm steadily adding more to it. I hope to finish someday.

The most pervasive genre in my collection is by far soundtracks. Soundtracks are a rather peculiar genre. They can range from anything from rock to classical, but still be counted under one category simply because they were released with a film or a video game. As such, soundtracks make for a diverse selection. In particular, I love Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori's soundtrack from the Halo franchise. It's so emotional, so heart-melting, so incredibly splendid. It really puts you in the mood for the story, and truly sets it apart from any other story. All of their stuff is brilliant, but some of my favorites include "Wake Me When You Need Me" and "Unforgotten." Ditto for the works of Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard on the Dark Knight Saga, Nick Arundel for Batman: Arkham City, John Williams for the Star Wars saga, Howard Shore for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Nathan Furst for the original three Bionicle movies, and Klaus Badelt for Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. Sometimes a movie's music is one of its few redeeming values, such as with the otherwise atrocious The Last Airbender (Howard Shore) and the cosmically overrated 1989 Batman film (Danny Elfman). "Flow Like Water" remains a favorite of mine to this day.

I also like other genres, such as Christian rock. My favorite band is the Newsboys, with their catchy tunes and clever lyrics. My two favorite songs from them are "Belly of the Whale" and "Born Again", for when they switched lead singers. Also of note is their cover of "In Christ Alone" and "Wherever We Go." The Newsboys are my only particular favorite Christian rock band, come to thing of it. I usually scrounge around for whatever is handy when selecting other Christian rock music for my collection. I've got chunks of Jeremy Camp, Joe Poppino, Jars of Clay, and a sprinkling of individual, one-off entries from various Christian artists like Mark Schultz and Jaci Velasquez. I am also a fan of ApoligetiX, a Christian rock group who describe themselves as a cross between Weird Al Yankovic (who I also like) and Billy Graham. Some of their songs include "The Devil Went Down to Jordan" and "YHWH".

One Christian artist that I have a lot of that's not rock is David Klinkenberg. My dad picked up a couple of his CDs when they were on sale at my church, and I've listened to his strings over and over again. He's a great artist and singer. His "Rich Mullins Medley" and "Immortal Invisible" are particularly good. Other non-Rock Christian artists that I have on in my collection are a series of covers done by Bill Anderson and Brenda Lee, plus a series of highlights from Handel's Messiah.

Other rock and alternative groups I like that aren't Christian rock groups are Cryoshell and Queen, though most of the songs from these genres are individual songs from different bands, with no long stretches of songs from specific bands. These songs have a good tune and memorable lyrics. Such songs included "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2, "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi, and "Short Change Hero" by the Heavy. I really love Cryoshell for the music they provided for the Bionicle saga.

Then there's music which appeals to my sentimental side, like R&B and pop singers like Ray Charles and Rick Astley. I love a good love song, and Ray Charles album Genius Loves Company provides just that. I really dig Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up," and I was given a disk of some of his pop songs (Portrait, to be specific) by my cousin Hudson, which I still enjoy. I currently have plans to purchase albums by Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra. I love Ray Charles' covers on "You Don't Know Me" and "Sweet Potato Pie" and Rick Astley's "What the World Needs Now."

In sum, my musical tastes are very diverse, reflecting my diverse interests. I love listening to music while I read, and am listening to music as a write this article. Most of all, I feel that music is a gift from God. Music is its own language, expressing emotions and feelings in a way that words cannot convey. Thusly, we are encouraged to use music in worship, and I feel that it is a valuable tool for that purpose. I myself have dabbled in making music in the past (I used to take piano lessons). Perhaps one day I will return to that. But for now, I am content to listen. And listen I shall.

Image courtesy of picsandsticksmusic.com

Bible Verse Sunday #45

Today's Bible verse is from today's main service sermon, 1 Corinthians 12:13:

"For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit."

The ESV Study Bible has this to say about the verse:

"Since the Spirit is one, he unites peoples across lines of ethnicity and social class that would otherwise divide them. (See Rom. 10:12; Gal. 3:27-28; Col. 3:11.) in one Spirit we were all baptized. The same Greek construction (the verb baptizo plus en ["in"] plus the dative of pneuma, "Spirit") is used here as in the other six "baptism in the Holy Spirit" passages in the NT (Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 1:5; 11:16), and here it seems clearly to refer to the cleansing and empowering work that the Holy Spirit does in a new convert at the point of conversion. Baptism is used metaphorically here to refer to the Spirit's work within the believer to united him or her to the body of Christ, which is also the corporate body of believers. Water baptism is an outward symbol of this reality (cf. Rom 6:4; Gal. 3:27). made to drink. Probably not a reference to the cup of the Lord's Supper but to the outpouring of God's Spirit on his people (cf. John 7:37-39; Rom. 5:5)."

Today's sermon in the main service was on how in Christ alone believers have solid ground, that spiritual growth occurs when you sink your heart and mind into Jesus. Also covered was how Jesus is fully God and has total authority; that believers are children of God with God's spiritual nature through faith in Christ alone; and how all believer's guilt is remove through faith alone in Christ's death on the cross. In the High School service, the youth pastor delivered a particularly powerful sermon on friendship, specifically on what makes a good friend. A good friend, said the pastor, is loyal, and in the same context loving, having the friend's best interests in mind, and that the two friends are accountable to one another. 

Today was largely uneventful, coming off of a busy week which is now being followed by a thankfully timely break from school. I hope to get some extra reading in in the coming week, both regular books, graphic novels, and internet articles. Also, chapter 7 of my fan fic The Misadventures of Nobody (and X-Ray) is up over at BZPower.com, in case you want to check it out.

An Explanation

A reenactment of my workday yesterday. Not a pretty sight, huh?

I haven't posted anything on this blog since my big birthday post on Sunday. For the entire week I have gone dark on my readers. I will now amend this. Why have I not been posting anything? To put it simply, I was really, really busy and really, really tired.

As you all know, I am currently attending college at Bellevue College as well as regular High School at my co-op. I have five classes at the co-op, one class at BC, plus, I'm on the Bible Quiz Team. This all makes for a very, very crowded schedule on my part. Can you believe it? Seven subjects! I just about wore myself out yesterday, trying to get everything done, not to mention sucking it all up and going to Master's Club at my Taekwondo school. We're learning Kenjutsu this month. In short, I'm one tired guy. I had an essay to write, questions to answer, chapters to read, tests to do, verses to memorize, vocabulary to study, brainstorming to do, and this blog to write a post for! Gaaaaahhh!

And now... I've got some time to myself. In addition to writing reviews and general updates about my everyday life, I am now contemplating writing on news. On what type of news, you ask? All kinds. International news, comic book news, movie news, local news, science news, the whole shebang. Of course, that is but a mere possibility at the moment. As soon as the current pole has expired, I will put one up asking whether or not I should cover news. Speaking of the pole, I haven't really said much on my blog's new look. In addition to the pole (and seriously guys, please answer it, I'm begging you!), we now have a list of my favorite links, a news feed, a section on popular articles, a device that allows you to follow this blog by email, an archive bar, and a blog post archive. The color scheme is also different, and the background is changed. It is, quite plainly, completely different.

I was going to write a review for Batman: The Black Mirror this week, which I started reading in April and finished a month or so ago. But I just haven't been able to get to it, what with the review backlog and schedule slips and all. I usually try to write a minimum of three posts per week, but with my current schedule, that goal has been all but impossible to meet. I've been stretching myself too thin, like too little butter over too big of a piece of toast. I was thus unable to meet my minimum goal of three posts per week, and have resorted to writing bookends of the week, like I am now. Therefore, from now on, when I am unable to write a minimum of three posts a week, I will writes two posts a week- one on Sunday and one on Saturday. I will also no longer be listing large swaths of specific upcoming reviews or topics, unless it is through a pole. I find that such publicly stated goals are more of a hindrance than a help to me.

But now, I finally have some time to work on stuff for the blog. Good stuff is coming, I'll say that much. And when it does come, I sincerely hope that you all will love it. Please pray for me, that I won't succumb to exhaustion and overwork. Most of all, I hope and pray that I may impact lives through my writing, both academic and creative, and reach as many people as possible, both reached and unreached, of every nation. Amen.

"A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might, for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory."
 -Proverbs 24:5-6, English Standard Version, from biblegateway.com

Bible Verse Sunday #44 & My Birthday

Today's verse on this very special day for me is Isaiah 44:8:

"Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”

The ESV Study Bible has this to say on the verse:

"you are my witnesses. God's people exist to be living proof of his all-sufficiency (cf. note on 43:10-13). Rock. See Deut. 32:4, 15, 18, 30, 31; Isa. 8:14; 17:10."

Today, the sermon in the main service was about how it is the duty of leaders in the church to raise up mature believers, and how we are to preach the message of Christ with clarity. A quote by desert missionary Mildred Cable used by the pastor was, "The greatest crime of the desert is to know where water is and ...not tell others." In the High School service, the youth pastor continued in our study of 1 Samuel, highlighting how Saul's jealousy of David led to great strife, paranoia, lies, backstabbing, and all sorts of nasty things. To combat jealousy, so said the pastor, we should instead celebrate others' successes and happiness, and be ourselves happy for them.

Today was my 18th birthday. In celebration of this momentous occasion, there was a lunch, a party, gifts, and pie. My (dear old) dad took me out to lunch at one of my favorite burger joints, which coincidentally shares the name of one of my favorite superheroes; Red Robin (blog post forthcoming). I had the Red Robin Gourmet Cheeseburger or whatever it was called, with my steak fries in barbeque sauce, which I tried for essentially the first time, and a "monster" Cookie Magic milkshake. It was very tasty and filling, and I felt so, so full and stuffed after I was done eating. My dad had a Red Taverns Burger and a beer. Then we did a little shopping at Fry's Electronics before heading home (quick stop at the shop, Safeway to get some stuff for the party and to go to the bank in between those two things). There, we prepared for the guests to arrive. As it turned out, there were eighteen people total. Those in attendance included Mrs. Hilliard and her daughter Sarah, my paternal grandparents, my maternal grandmother, my Aunt Amy, Uncle Steve, my brother Carl, his wife Maria, and their four children. Counting our family of five, that made eighteen. We talked, we laughed, we pigged out on tacos and pie, but most of all, we had a good time. The pie of was strawberry/rhubarb, by my request, and we also had apple crisp and vanilla ice cream. It was all very, very nice.

Besides being able to vote and drive, I now have one other privilege; being able to read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Several years ago, my mom told me that I could read that series of dubious repute "when you turn eighteen." So, now that day has come, and will I read it? No, not now. I have seriously less interest in it than when the movie came out. I enjoyed the movie, but watching it now would probably betray a different opinion. But whatever. I can read it if I want to, but maybe not for a while longer (Ironic, I know).

(Very Belated) Bible Verse Sunday #43 & Power Outage

Apologies for the very late posting, but due to a power outage over the weekend, our internet and WiFi was knocked out, and I wasn't able to get around to writing this post until today. Anyhow, the verse for last Sunday was Matthew 6:26:

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

The ESV Study Bible has this to say on the verse:

"Human beings are of more value than animals (cf. 10:31; 12:12) because only humans, out of all God's creatures, are created "in the image of God" (Gen. 1:27), because God gave the human race dominion over all the Earth and all its creatures (Gen. 1:28), and because God loved human beings so much "that he gave his only Son" to die for our sins (John 3:16)."

Sunday's sermon in the main service was on how spiritual leaders' authority should come from Christ, and how one's acceptance of Christ's autonomy should be evident in every aspect of one's life. The sermon in the High School service was about how David was chosen to be king because he was a man "after God's own heart."

The power outage was a result of the stormy weather we were having over last weekend. It lasted for a few hours, but it eventually came back on. Unfortunately, our internet didn't come back with it, and we had to wait until later on Monday for it all to be in full working order. In the mean time, I tried to get stuff which required the internet done at the Library, but their WiFi and internet was also down. Aggravating! I was thus forced to get that stuff done at the shop, where the internet worked just fine. Eventually the internet came back at home, but man, we were virtually helpless without it, in a word, lost. Thank goodness it's back though. Yay internet company! But in all seriousness, as I typed this article, it occurred to me that being without the internet is comparable to being without the guidance of Christ. You can get pretty lost when you don't have God to help you. Fortunately, unlike the internet, God will always be there for those who are on his side.

First Day of College

Today was my first day attending a class at Bellevue College. I had to get up very early in the morning in order to commute to that illustrious institution. Kudos to my dear old dad for driving me up there. I arrived about with a little under half-an-hour to spare. My first and only class this year, English 101, was all about orientation. I'm sure the next class will have a bigger assignment for me. I sat in the front row in a class filled with about 25 other people, mostly young men and women with one (comparatively) older gentlemen. The teacher guided us through the syllabus and explained how the online portion of the class would work. She seems pretty solid so far. I hope to get to know some of my classmates, but I am also looking forward to meeting up with some people I already know (you know who you are). Several of my friends go to BC, and I heartily request that we meet up sometime on campus, if possible, even if it's only to chat for a few minutes or so. In the meantime, despite my initial nervousness, I am psyched to continue my introductory collegiate experience at this marvelous place.

Bible Verse Sunday #42, Autumnal Equinox 2013, and New Primary Ignition Review

Today's verse is Jeremiah 17:9:

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"

The ESV Study Bible has this to say on the verse:

"heart. A metaphor for the human will and emotions (cf. vv.5-7). deceitful. Tortuous, uneven, and crooked like a bad road. desperately sick. Medically incurable (15:18; 30:12, 15; Job 34:6; Isa. 17:11; Mic. 1:9). who can understand it? A rhetorical questions expecting a negative answer. However, this strongly negative assessment of the human heart is not intended as a description of the heart of a a believer under the new covenant, where God promises to write his law on people's hearts (Jer. 3133; 32:40; cf. Ezek. 35:26; Rom. 5:5; 6:17; Heb. 10:22; 1 John 3:21)."

In church today, the pastor in the main service spoke about the difference between godly wisdom and earthly wisdom, and how to experience spiritual growth through Christ alone. We continued in our study in Colosians. In the High School service, the youth pastor taught from 1 Samuel, telling of the fall of the house of Eli, and how we should not make the mistake of the Israelites, who treated the Ark of the Covenant in a superstitious manner. 

Today was also the Autumnal Equinox. As of 1:45 P.M. or so, Summer is officially over, and we are now in the season of Autumn, more commonly known as Fall. In sync with this last day of summer, the first day of classes at Bellevue College is tomorrow, and I eagerly await my coming class. Many of my friends will be attending classes at the college (you know who you are), and I hope to see some of them tomorrow.

The final bit of news I have for today is a new review I recently published over at Primary Ignition. This time, I've reviewed Aquaman, Volume 2: The Others, and let me tell you, it was pretty sweet. It's the best thing I've yet to see come out of the New 52.

Image courtesy of crystalinks.com

Review: Star Wars: Knight Errant

One thousand years before Luke Skywalker, and a generation before Darth Bane, Star Wars: Knight Errant, written by John Jackson Miller, takes place in the turbulent years of the Old Republic. Jedi Knight Kerra Holt is trapped in Sith controlled space, having just helped several thousand oppressed people escape to the Republic. Now stuck on the capital planet of the Lord Daiman’s empire, Kerra plots and schemes to take down the tyrant and his evil brother, Lord Odion. But other Sith Lords come into play, along with a mercenary crew headed by Brigadier Jarrow Rusher at first working for Daiman, but enlisted by Kerra to save a group of students caught in the crossfire. Kerra will need all of her wits and all of her power to save every life she can and win the day.

This is quite possibly the best Star Wars novel I’ve ever read. What makes it work is that it’s got a very strong cast of characters. Every character is well rounded and individualized, from Kerra Holt herself to the Bothan spy Narsk to bumbling mercenary recruit Beadle Lubboon. The most interesting character in the novel is undoubtedly Rusher, a military history buff and experienced commander. Rusher is a classic anti-hero in the same vein as Han Solo. What differentiates him from Solo, however, is his dedication to his men and his admirable sense of duty, though he doesn’t mind the money. Naturally, he and Kerra don’t get along well at first, but it’s a testament to Miller’s handling of the character development that they’re fire forged friends by the end of the book. They’re both selfless in their own way, with Rusher being the pragmatist and Kerra being the idealist, thus being perfect foils to each other.

The book also has a lot of interesting settings, ranging from the dark police state of Darkknell, which is Lord Daiman’s capital, to the icy Syned, Arkadia’s headquarters. They’re all finely described, the author expertly transporting the reader’s mind to these imaginary places. In addition, the action is well plotted out, keeping you on the edge of your seat the whole time through. We have everything from speeder bike chases to pitched battles to the classic lightsaber duel. Then there’s the tone. This book can be serious when it needs to, but is overall a rather enjoyable and lighthearted read, a nice departure from more grim and serious Star Wars books like the Thrawn trilogy or even the barely readable Fate of the Jedi. In addition, I also liked how the writer focused on details in the lore, such as why the heroes can’t simply escape back to the Republic, or the difficulties of a bunch of different alien species living crammed together in Rusher’s ship, Diligence.

One downside to the book is that there are a lot of villains to keep track of. You’ve got seven named Sith Lords with varying roles, plus a bunch of backstory connecting them all. The sole chink in this book’s armor is that it doesn’t focus on one particular villain for the entire story. In the first half or so of the book, Daiman and Odion are the villains, and then it switches briefly to Calician, Quillian, and Dromika, before Arkadia takes center stage for the last third or so of the book, and in the background is someone manipulating everyone’s puppet strings. All of the Sith Lords seem to have their own unique philosophy when it comes to being a Sith Lord. Daiman imagines himself to be the creator of the universe, while Odion intends to destroy it. Arkadia relies on chaos to produce a semblance of order. But this approach, while unqiue, gets a bit tired after seeing it happen five or six times. Still, all of the Sith Lords are great villains, especially Arkadia, who is more of an anti-villain than anything.

On the whole, this book is worth reading, and is in fact superior to the comics on which it is based (the book serves as  an interquel between the story arcs “Aflame” and “Deluge” in the Star Wars: Knight Errant comic book). The plot and the cast are both excellently written, with superb action and an engaging writing style. It’s a fun, adventurous read which should be on the reading list of any Star Wars fan, or any fantasy or science fiction enthusiast for that matter. Mind you, it’s by no means a perfect book, but I’ll be a monkey’s uncle if it doesn’t come pretty close.

RATING: 8.5/10

Note: I originally wrote this review as an assignment for my Creative Writing for Publication class. For those who care, I got 95% on it.

Image courtesy starwars.wikia.com