Screen on the Green Well, its that time of the year that all of you have been eagerly anticipating. Yes my friends, its Screen on the Green time. It starts this June I believe (this thursday?) at sunset. Here is the schedule:

June 2 - Some Like it Hot
June 9 - To Kill a Mockingbird
June 16 - The Birds
June 23 - Mommie Dearest
June 30 - Grease

So start getting excited cause it looks like its going to be a good summer. I'm going to try and go so let me know if ur going to be there too. Its at Piedmont Park in the back (away from Piedmont Rd)... just follow the people with all the picnic baskets or call me on the cell. So remember piedmont park in Atlanta at sunset. I hope to see you all there!  ¶ 7:45 PM 0 comments

  victor: sometimes i wonder why we write things down. people have been drawing and writing for thousands and thousands of years... i mean representation, communication, and expression is important but i meant more on the lines of diaries and more personal prose. we dont write for others to read... we arnt making a social statement... for all we know, we are the only ones who will ever see it. so why? does it make us feel better to splurge our words out on paper? does it somehow relieve the thoughts and insecurities which we have within us? i have never been a diary writer myself... I suppose my blog is the only thing that would come close but even that is "public" domain. am i writing in hopes that someone out there might care, that someone might empathize (sp?) with my situation... even if that is not the case. its not that im lonely or feel that im being restricted... but something about writing out my thoughts relieves me. i guess maybe since its not in my nature its hard for me to comprehend but i still dont quite understand the need to us to get our thoughts out on paper. is it that we are afraid of being forgotten? is it our nature to share with those around us? or is it something else?  ¶ 12:58 AM 2 comments

  victor: This is for Steph and anyone else interested in going to Screen on the Green this summer. Clique ici ---> Screen on the Green 2005 I am going to try and go to all of them so if any of you decide to come along I'll be more than happy to have your company.  ¶ 12:58 PM 0 comments

  victor: Well well, it seems that there has been an absence as of late from the forum. With summer break setting in for those of us still in school I know the computer is the last thing most of us will turn to spend on with our new found free time. Its interesting how a simple shift from academia to the lazzaire-faire (sp?) existance of summer can shift our priorities so drastically. You no longer worry about that assignment or test due next week... you spend more time with your family... you work at Dairy Queen hoping you dont cut off your finger in the frozen yogurt machine... etc. Your former sanctuary of the computer during school has been left behind in pursuit of the outdoors, or was it sleep? its all topsy turvey (is that the right terminology? damn english vernacular). Summer is the time when our true natures come forth. We dont have professors dictating our priorities, no books to pay for, so we are finally masters of our own fate (if you chose to leave your fate in summer school then you are stronger than i). So anyways, what is everyone up to this summer? Anyone getting married? Going somewhere awesome? Working at Dairy Queen? I hope that the onset of summer will find you all in good places. Anyone up for 'Screen on the Green' at Piedmont when it starts up again?  ¶ 9:52 AM 0 comments

  Denominational Differences The following thoughts have been swirling in my brain for quite some time, but were recently resurrected by the denominational differences represented on this forum. What would it mean if Christians put aside their differences and focused on the beliefs common to all Christians at all points throughout history? Certainly there have been many changes in Christianity throughout the years, both positive and negative, but the core focus remains the same. Often, divisions between Christians are of little consequence in the end and serve only to pit brother against brother. It becomes all too easy to think of varying denominations as totally separate branches with "messed up" ideals. "Our way" becomes the only "right" way, and Christianity finds itself divided into independent sects. These independent islands do nothing to strengthen the Christian church as a whole. What’s more, our divisions do nothing to aid in bringing outsiders "into the fold."

Some may feel that my ramblings are merely an effort to skirt issues. Quite the contrary. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am nothing if not opinionated in matters of religion. But so many issues that are raised are superfluous to the overall aim and message of Christianity. I am certainly not radical enough to think that individuals should put aside preferences or personal convictions for the sake of unity. I do feel, however, that there should be a greater effort made to focus on the things we have in common. I can think of nothing that God would bless more than the joining of His people...Presbyterian, Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopal...to worship the one we ALL place our faith in, Christ.

As one of my favorite writers once stated in reference to such matters, "When you have reached your own room, be kind to those who have chosen different doors and to those who are still in the hall. ...That is one of the rules common to the whole house."  ¶ 12:57 AM 0 comments

  Victor: Ok I am MAD. If you havn't heard yet about this development in the world trade center development you should read it. Apparently they are SUSPENDING the design becase the freakin NYPD thinks the design has issues. Well arn't they about two years too late to be raising a fuss about this?? The prelimenary designs and master plans have been out in public for at least a year now and they wait until the 20 ton cornerstone is places to say that they dont think they like it?

Mayor Bloomberg has stated that he wants to suspend the project and relocate the towers... relocate my ass... this is going to put the project back another 2 or 3 years at least. Libeskind's master plan and original tower design (not the twisted mess that David Child's came up with later on) had concepts of sight lines to the statue of liberty... the memorial in the original footprint which was a competition project in itself... i mean the list goes on. Are we going to go ahead and hold yet ANOTHER competition to redesign the site based on the new guide-lines in order to have a cohesive and comprehensive response to these new concerns? I seriously doubt it... and they will probably let David Child create whatever the heck he wants with Freedom Tower? Most likely they will just demand these small changes assuming it wont make much of a difference. This is like telling Leonardo:

"Oh you know that last supper painting u did the otherday.... well I was thinking that you could switch up some of those disciples around... u know because i think simon and peter's outfits would look better in another place. its just a small change... wont make much of a difference right?"

You have changed the whole freakin concept of the piece. ::sigh:: I mean seriously... if you read the article it states that the beauracrats just want to move the towers a few hundred feet back and redesign the lower 200 feet of the tower. So what? they are just going to wrap a pretty skirt around the bottom part and keep the rest the same? Welcome to suburban architectural mediocrity NY... the WTC is going to be a big tall bastardized version of the original freedom tower... suburban McMansionites are taking over the world. They also want to change the shape of the tower itself away from a parallelogram to a square. "Umm... I dont like that the wedding band is circular even though it represents perfect love.. how about we make it into a triangle for kicks and giggles?"

This kind of thing goes on in all facates of our built environment. The area right outside your homes are so ridden with politics its almost impossible for anyone to design and create a meaningful and beautiful edifice anymore. Well thats enough from me... I hope they resolve this otherwise we are going to have one ungly and meaningless tribute to 911.  ¶ 10:17 AM 0 comments

  back to some crazy randomness <--- (at a loss for words?) click this  ¶ 11:37 PM 0 comments

  Pope, continued Johnathan - This is a continuation of all of the comments posted on this thread.

Okay... first of all, try paying attention to my original argument (I've reposted it as the first comment under this post). Let's take a look at why I called her ignorant, shall we?

Obviously, you've read her original post. She claimed that Catholics looked to the Pope as some sort of idol. I argued that this simply isn't true. Catholics look to the Pope as an inspiration and an example of good things to do in life, just as any other faith would look to their pastors/preachers for the same thing. Just as you may not agree with everything your minister teaches you, there are things most Catholics don't agree with that the Pope/cardinals/bishops/priests teach. This is especially true here in America. There were other things posted (i.e. the Pope being a problem in society, Catholics being less faithfull than other denominations, etc.) that I also refuted with evidence. So AGAIN (since you missed it in my previous comment), I only called her "ignorant" because she presented her argument as if it were fact WHEN IT IS NOT. I called her "ignorant" because she did not ask questions, but rather made false accusations. That, my anonymous friend, is uninformed and therefore ignorance. Don't believe me? Look it up.

Next... I'm on a high horse? How is that? Because I apologized numerous times for possibly causing any offense? Because I tried to stay informative rather than confrontational (and even offered to answer any questions anyone might have)? I even apologized for getting a little confrontational... But if you were accused of believing in things that you didn't actually believe in, wouldn't you get a little angry and defensive? Even so, I still apologized for it and explained my reasoning. Am I on a high horse because, in my first argument, I pointed out that all religions have their problems (not just Catholicism)? Am I on a high horse because I THANKED her for taking the time to read my argument? Or am I simply on a high horse because I called her "ignorant"? If that's the case, then anonymous, you need to re-read the first (main) paragraph of this post and my previous comments (and pay special attention to the apologies, this time).

Now on to your question. I agree; men do not have the power to judge and therefore do not have any real say over who's truly holy and who's not (this is even true when considering the Pope's holiness... I realize that in my first argument, I said that the Pope's actions determine his holiness... But I also pointed out that I believe it is God's place to decide and not mine; God will look upon the Pope's actions and faith and decide whether or not he was truly holy or not). I believe Saints are designated to be examples for how to live good, moral lives. Many Saints were martyrs. What better way to go out than to go out defending your faith to death? No, they were not infallible; they were still human... but I'm pretty sure there is something to be said for what can be learned by emulating their lives (or at least trying to). The Church is just saying, "Hey, look at these guys... they had good things to say or did great things... let's try to follow their example."

Could you do me a favor and inform me of what verse it is you're referring to about all Christians being God's saints? I'm not saying you're wrong on that; I'd just like to know where it is (because it's a big book and I don't have time to dig for it right now, haha).

And as always, sorry for any offense taken. Don't ignore the entire argument just because I said one thing you didn't like, though.  ¶ 11:16 PM 3 comments

  victor: i... i have no words for this.... so weird.....  ¶ 2:14 AM 1 comments