Andrew Osenga Trashes Twilight

I was just casually browsing the web while devouring some pizza when I came upon this blog post that absolutely made my day:

http://www.andyosenga.com/2008/12/18/twilight-a-negative-rabbit-room-review/

What an awesome dude.

I'm a nerd

I read this today in my history text and thought it was pretty cool. It is about ancient and medieval architecture:

"Classical architecture reflected the belief that the world centered on the human being. A Greek temple, like Athens' Parthenon, was meant to assure people that the world was an intelligible place that affirmed human nature. The principles of its construction were not intended to be mysterious or awe-inspiring, but immediately obvious and comfortable. Vertical pillars supported horizontal lintels. Stone did what stone was expected to do.

"A Gothic church creates the opposite impression. To convey Christianity's faith in a transcendent reality quite different from our own, it offers an experience of a supernatural world. A Gothic church encloses a divine space where nature's laws appear to be transcended. The Gothic architect conceals the principles of his building's construction so that the logic of its design is hidden from those who enter it. Vertical lines dominate the interior and pull the eye upward. The ribs of the vault seem to converge at infinity, and far overhead tons of rock apparently float on walls of light. There are windows on every side. However, their tinted glass prevents the worshiper from connecting the interior with the ordinary world outside and fills the sanctuary with unnatural light. From the engineering point of view, a Gothic church is a supremely rational structure, but one that uses reason to create the experience of irrational space. It is a place where nature, by seeming to behave supernaturally, fulfills Suger's mandate and turns the intellect from the seen to the unseen. A Gothic church is not just a place to hear about God's transcendence; it is a place to experience it."

2009 AD

Today I woke up at 12 'o clock noon. I had set my alarm clock last night to go off at 9 am. I had ideas about getting up early and doing something productive or something like that, but when it came time for me to make good on those ideas, I said screw it. I turned the alarm off and went back to sleep. Justifiably so, because spring classes start tomorrow, and what could one more day of getting my required 10-12 hours of sleep hurt?

Christmas break went by very fast. That time of year gets so busy and we always complain about how hectic the holiday season is, but looking back I kind of miss the business that it brings. I made lots of good memories in the past 3 weeks or so, from eating a fruit pirate ship at Konomi's for my sister's birthday to the New Year's Guitar Hero blowout at Jeff and Jennifer's house, and so many other events in between.

That's why January is one of my least favorite months of the year. It's kind of like when you're a kid at Chuckie Cheese and you're having fun playing the games and watching the mechanical animals play songs, and then your mom makes you leave and go home because you have to go to school the next day. And in Christmas I get so much joy out of all the parties and spending time with friends, church services remembering the birth of Christ, and even the shopping when people are out looking for gifts for their loved ones. When that all ends, and we take down the tree and store it in the basement, it can be a little sad for me.

And so life goes on. New Year's comes and we turn our attention to the upcoming year. Some of us resolve to live better lives, take more care of ourselves, or strive to be something more than who we have been. The hope of starting fresh is enough to motivate me to let go of the Christmas spirit and move on into 2009. I have four new classes that I have to make A's in starting tomorrow. I'm taking speech and I hate making speeches. Maybe this year I can get over that. I have to get to UAH this fall, now is the time to work towards that.

Not to mention all of the good things that are coming: the Guitar Hero parties, good meals with friends, new music that will be coming out, books waiting to be read, trips to new places, my birthday, new episodes of The Office, summertime, heartfelt prayers, college football starting again, Halloween, and on and on and on...

Here's to the hope that a new year brings, and to the hope that we are moving toward something, and to the joy found in the moving...