Thoughts of a Blessed Vagabond

OWUS PS 1

2010-12-07T18:45:00.001+01:00

What it feels like.

2008-11-30T06:32:00.003+01:00

Is this what it feels like
Nothing but regrets
No more and no less
And you lose your soul

I've lost what it feels like
Is it warm or is it cold
Feeling young, feeling old
Head down, miss the goal

When will I feel like
The fog in this heart
So bright and so dark
Doesn't cover the light

I hope for what it feels like
Correction back to one
Dead stop into a run
Daytime in the night

Take it

2008-11-15T04:51:00.005+01:00

So this is where it stands
That's fine, I can take it
Turn your back, shut the door
That's fine, I can take it

Hey, wait, you forgot something
I found this, you should take it
It's this secret part of you
I found this, you should take it

You're right, I don't understand
There are different ways to take it
But I really don't think like you do
There are different ways to take it

What happened since we last spoke
I want to know what your take is
Is this what you really think
I want to know what your take is

You say this is life as usual
But that's a risk to take ain't it
You're already subject to change
But that's a risk to take ain't it

Don't speak, just leave it at that
You don't know the risks I took
But you've trusted the right person
You don't know the risks I'll take

If this is it, if this is it
If you won't risk to take it
If you can't handle it, can't have it
I don't think I can take it

Hey, wait, you forgot something
I found this, you should take it
It's this secret part of you
I found this, you should take it.

The Weight of the World

2008-09-29T05:43:00.002+02:00

I broke down crying just now. I don't know why... Maybe the song I'm playing struck something, or the picture on my desktop, or what I've done, or something I thought. I cried for the second time since my parents left, since my friends left, since everyone left, since I left. For the first time, it just happened. No warning, no selfish reason, I started bawling, drooling, twisting, gasping.

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

Tears of sadness
Roll down my cheek
Bass pounds in my ears
Beginning of the week

Tears of fear
Fall to the floor
Soft guitar in empty space
No one around, closed door

Tears uncontrolled
Dots on my shirt
Explosions of water
Lost to parched dirt

Tears of shame
Burden of mass
The weight of the world
Doesn't simply pass

Tears of sorrow
Holding through the bridge
Overwhelming unworthiness
Enough to make me cringe

Tears of love
How can it be
That I could ever
Be so far from Thee

Tears of awe
How can it be
That you would bother
To care for me

Tears of helplessness
Where can I go
That I'm not fallen
A pathetic vertigo

Tears of joy
Coming with the lift
An unknown acquaintance
A most precious gift

Tears of resolve
It's my prayer
My efforts without You
Doomed to failure

Tears of grace
I don't deserve any
Pick me up Lord,
I'm scared oh God help me

Tears, wiped clear
Tempo subsides
Go on living
Hope picks sides.

May she be for me, may I of her be worthy,
may Your will be done, by my will undone.
Forgive me my debts, lest I fall to regrets,
the day is tomorrow anew, let it be to worship You.

So cool.

2008-09-14T00:51:00.002+02:00

Magic Flashlights from Mike Benson on Vimeo.

Behold the power of Adobe After Effects. I'm starting to try my hand at it, and the potential is limitless. Hopefully I can make something this cool down the road.

Wallie

2008-08-22T19:58:00.003+02:00

Pat wallie, originally uploaded by Grady Brannan.

Thanks to Grady Brannan for making me feel like I can actually skate.

Nature-Explosion

2008-08-22T19:57:00.002+02:00

Nature-Explosion, originally uploaded by pattyvonwebster.

Hey guys, It's been forever. I've been happily working at the Seymour Center all summer, hanging with the MS peeps, surfing, skating, lazing... Summer is almost over, and with that, time to procrastinate and avoid homework with blog entries.

I'll see you guys around. Until then, enjoy my photoshop of Ms. Blue.

This is why Barack Obama should be president.

2008-04-12T06:30:00.000+02:00

Long Time, here's some cool pics!

2008-04-08T08:52:00.005+02:00

Hey dudes. It's been forever.

I've been up to a lot. College is fun. I have a sweet job now. Check everything out on Facebook.

Here, though, is a new endeavor: HDR pics. It's three pics with different exposures put into one. Google them. Here are mine:

Skier

2008-01-01T20:41:00.001+01:00

Truth.

2007-12-24T19:08:00.001+01:00

Slightly Off Comics

2007-10-28T05:13:00.000+01:00

Check my new project out! T-Shirts to come!

LemonSquirrel Updates.

2007-10-13T02:07:00.000+02:00

Heyah, I've just made three new comics for the site, you all should go and check them out.

http://lemonsquirrel.blogspot.com

I was quoted at the university level, and it's not even the end of the second weel of class!

2007-10-12T20:01:00.000+02:00

Yeah, so I'm taking an Earth Science Class. The class is a huge lecture, everyone is completely anonymous, yeah, one of those. As I was reading the chapter for the class, I came upon a chapter about strata. Immediately, my pun factory went off, and I made a cute little photoshop about it. I then sent that image to my professor as a joke, commenting that it could be an interesting addition to the class.

Well, along came today's lecture, and he had in fact added the image to his presentation. That's it, I have made it to a university lecture!

Here is the e-mail and the image in question:

Hello Professor!

I was reading through the chapter and came upon a section about strata. It was in bold, so I started thinking about it. I don't know what you have planned in the upcoming lecture presentations about strata, or how you wish to introduce them, but I think I may have an interesting suggestion (even if slightly grammatically incorrect):

Use at your leisure. If you don't allow for attachments, here is a web link: http://media.newschoolers.com/uploads/cache/images/1192064479-538889-600x700-1192064479ThisisStrata.jpg

Thank you for your class! It has been very interesting thus far and I look forward to the rest!

Thanks again,
Patrick Webster

Hot dawg! Just when you thought I had topped out geek humor with my loop of Henle joke...

College Boy in T-minus too soon.

2007-09-18T07:25:00.000+02:00

Yep, in two days, I'm going off to college. Woooot!

I'll probably have some ranting stuff to do, so this puppy will get right back on track.

Meanwhile, I'll see you all on Facebook.

Macbook Pro...

2007-09-07T07:34:00.000+02:00

Ey guys.

Well, my e-life has pretty much switched over to Facebook, but I intend on keeping this puppy somewhat. I'll get on redesigning it a bit when i get my new computer.

And about that. I just now bought my new Macbook Pro. Stoked. Look at this thing:

It's got the specks to pay the bills too:

* 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1440 x 900 resolution
* 2GB memory
* 160GB hard drive1
* 8x double-layer SuperDrive
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics with 256MB SDRAM

Awwww yeah. I also have the (Product)Red 8 GB iPod nano (the older, better looking one). Im getting it for 50 bucks, and money is going to Africa to fight AIDS, so it's all good.

Otherwise, I've been up to a few things this summer, check the pics out at facebook, just click my studly self for the jump:

Peace out peeps!

Well hellooooooooo there!

2007-08-07T05:32:00.000+02:00

Hej, Salut and Hello to everyone out there, if you guys even bother checking this bad boy anymore.

This is the first occasion I have had to write anything on this here blog deal, please forgive my lackadaisical attitude this summer, it's been pretty rough in the computer business over here.

Just really writing to inform you all that I'm still alive and well. Well, I did just fall like a meter and a half to my hip at the skatepark, but otherwise I'm doing good.

I've got a nice California tan going, I've been working my butt off in housekeeping ("would you like mint on pillow?"), and cleaning toilets and whipping up vomit has never been better.

The summer crew has been really nice, UCSC looks amazing, I'm enrolled in 3 sweet courses for the fall: Earth Catastrophes, American Pop Culture and the Core Course.

I miss you all in Sweden immensely. I hope some of you guys can come out to the USA so I can show you around.

Check out Facebook for pictures and stuff. I'm gonna keep posting pics of me here once I get my computer, don't you all worry. :P

You guys keep on goin', I'll be seeing you sooner than you think.

Peace to everyone, Patty.

I got facebook...

2007-06-05T00:01:00.000+02:00

Here it is... Keeping hip i suppose.

Patty Facebook

Flight of the Conchords

2007-05-31T21:54:00.000+02:00

Absolutely hilarious.

France Trip 2007: Fare Thee Well Annecy, Until We Meet Again...

2007-05-30T22:57:00.000+02:00

Hey dudes.

This past week I was in Annecy for a final-ish trip to visit. If all goes according to the best possible plan, I may be back there soon enough, but for now, that was the last little "excursion" to see the place where I essentially grew up (though leaving was a blessing, more later), and meet up with some awesome people that I am definitely going to miss.

I would first of all like to thank my mom for saving the trip! Yep, SAS decided to strike the exact day that I would fly out from Arlanda. My mom scrambled unbeknowst to me to get a replacement ticket, and she ended up getting a ticket so that I wouldn't have to wait for my dad, who was flying in from Prague, for three hours in Geneva. Wicked!

The trip over was a breeze, but man was it sweltering in Vienna. It was really, REALLY warm there, and I was already preparing myself to be on the beach a ton in Annecy. When we got to Geneva, it was 31 degrees and awesome. Meg and Kim Glass picked us up at the airport, and we went over to their house to crash for the night. For those of you who may know the Glass family, you would know that James is now 12. What you may not know, is that the kid (read: freak :P) is basically half a head taller than me, and I'm 1m 85. Twice Laura. Insane.

The next day, Saturday, we had the pleasure of being at the TEAM barbecue

which is always a treat. Got to see all the peeps from TEAM, and in this case, say goodbye to Mike and Lilly Todd, who are great people, and who will be thoroughly missed.

Mark is also the most precious kid ever.

After the barbecue, my dad, Jon Hegner and I stayed behind a while (my dad decided to do laundry... go figure) and chatted with John Glass. He's going through a tough time at church, with a bunch of infighting and bored senile retirees thinking that drinking water after a sermon is somehow against church protocol. It's these anal libertarians that can really ruin a church, and they're really trying in this case. John's good people though, so he'll be fine.

After hearing John's secret plans (ooooohhh insider info!), we headed off with Jon Hegner to stay in his awesome flat in the dead CENTER of Annecy. After dropping our stuff off, we went around to some spots, like the famous lock

We went to a restaurant right next to le Palais de L'Île

where I had my long awaited tartiflette with red wine. Culinary sensation you ask? Most def! After that we strolled Annecy by night, with more nice pictures of le Palais in the rain

So after that day it was time to go ABBA church and meet up with whoever decided not to be lame and take a break from studying the BAC. Ended up only being a few of the youth, but eh. Service was good, but man, the singing and whole general vibe of the church is just sooo.... French. Steve Niles had a sweet message, with a ton of farm anecdotes. Always a pleasure.

Anyways, because there was basically no one there, we didn't get invited over to anyone's house for lunch, so we got a ride back to the train station with Jean Marc and Ben, then legged it all the way to the beach where we used to swim a lot for some lunch. To get there we walked along the scenic, touristy path in front of the lake. So nice.

Some swan action.

We then had a steak-frites, one of the finest meals known to man at La Trinquette,

which has the world's best fries. The meal was delicious, worth the entire trip. French beef just has sooooo much more flavor, and the fries were outta this world. Topped it off with a chocolat liègois, and there's a happy Patty.

Then we headed back to the beach, so that i could put my feet in the water, since at this point I didn't think I would be swimming, given the weather.

On the way back, we randomly ran into Godwin, a great friend of my dad's. He's a political analyst from Nigeria, and he had to run for his life because of what he was saying. Such a happy dude though.

After that, we headed back to Jon's place, only to find that we wasn't home yet from Bonneville where he was preaching, and where he will eventually move (good luck Jon!), so we figured we'd go back out. It was dry now, so we went over to the Bowl des Marquisats to get some skate on. Wasn't the best skate session i've ever had, partly because i didn't have the right wheels and trucks for the bowl, and partly because I'm not a bowl skater and am not what you would call good at it yet :P

Rock fakie

Backside boardslide pop out (nailed a few of them, I don't think this is the picture of one though...)

Frontside 50-50 frontside 180 out.

We were there for about 2 hour or so, and it was a lot of fun. By that time I had worked up a considerable sweat, and the air temperature wasn't all that bad, so we decided to just cross the street so I could take a dip in the Lake. Water was about 13 or so I was told. Perfect temperature for any alpine lake.

The next morning I went over to the Davis' to hang with Stephen. The trip over was sweet, because I had an iPod, so I could have my own soundtrack instead of France Info or NRJ or whatever else the driver decided, and also because over night it snowed like 20 cm in the mountains, so with the huge clouds and jagged peaks, everything was as dramatic and awesome as I remembered.

I had a great time at the Davis', so yeah. Sweet. Gonna miss them, for sure.

The next day we went over to visit Seynod, where I lived for 6 years and essentially grew up. I had mixed emotions about visiting, because I wanted to see people i liked from way back when, but I didn't want to see those who didn't like me. I wasn't all too popular, and the Seynod years are bittersweet because of it.
We went and saw my collège, le Semnoz

Then, on the way down to the center of town (which has been completely re-done), I met some old basketball and school buddies, Cédric, Thomas and Kevin. That was cool. Plus I'm taller than them now. Ha!

Happy Patty

We had some coffee at the new town center, which looks straight outta some Star Trek thing...

Then we went over to see Rémi and Sophie Léonetti. Those are awesome people, and his southern French accent is sweet.

We then went and had some pizza in Meythet, and got to see the whole mountain scape with fresh snow under the new moon. Sweeeeet. Dad wussed out of going to the top of the Semnoz to see it all under the moon. Eh well.

Next day it was time to come back to Stockholm.

A good farewell trip, and a good realization of the great friendships I've made here. The move was definitely a blessing, since I was able to start fresh, without the years of animosity built up hanging over my shoulder. Annecy was great, and I hope to be back there soon. Sweden is where I was really able to be me and thrive, and I'm gonna miss it thoroughly as well. But not to fear, who knows where the Lord will eventually take me? I think I'll be coming back to Europe sooner rather than later.

Peace dudes.

You can view the entire album and download the bigger res pics here.

Flip melee

2007-05-26T11:36:00.000+02:00

Here's The Tree and The Pools, combined!

Dove vs Slob Evolution

2007-05-21T22:34:00.000+02:00

These little featurettes are really, really cool.

First, we have a real ad, which i love, for Dove, about how our perception of beauty is skewed, how many girls want to attain what isn't even real, how our perception of perfection is merely a clever technologicaly illusion. I love the way this video is made...

Then, we have the response, with the evolution of the slob. "Thank God our perception of beauty is altered, because real life is rubbish". There is something to be said for illusion being important in entertaining and inspiring humans to do things differently. It's the whole reaosn films like "300" are so entertaining: a good dose of fiction is great for a distraction, and a perception of beauty stylized can inspire people to change who they are.

More cons in that part though. Still, awesome video.

Visit the site! http://www.campaignagainstreallife.com .

Ronson Lambert

2007-05-20T22:42:00.000+02:00

Amazing skater...

Check the last trick on that one... impossible.

Fyrishov

2007-05-19T10:35:00.000+02:00

Well, I finally did a gainer off the ten meter high dive! Woot!

Here's some video, and photo of the morning at Fyrishov:

The Landlord : 200th post.

2007-05-16T23:33:00.000+02:00

This is hilarious.

The Landlord

Sarkozy : Président

2007-05-12T22:53:00.000+02:00

Yeah, so as you guys have probably already seen, Sarkozy is now le Président de la République.

Personally, I think it's great. He was my pick all along, because he realizes that France NEEDS social reform, and he has the will power to push it through. He does have some shady, or at least hardline, policies on immigration, though that in and of itself is not a bad thing. France does a big illegal immigration problem. But his stance on bringing back competition to the work place to jump start the French people and the economy is exactly what France needs. Also, he's pro American, in the sense that he realizes that being antagonistic with the USA is not necessarily always the right way to go.

My older sister, Claire, has compared the other French candidate, Ségolène Royal, to cotton candy. She's pretty to look at, pretty sweet and appealing, but in the end, it's just air: no real content or substance. I agree completely, and I'm glad that the French people chose en masse to vote for the guy who will actually do something, rather than choose new window decorations and give France a manicure when it needs to get its hands dirty.

What is most surprising about the whole thing, is the reaction of the lefties to the DEMOCRATIC, UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE result. If you guys speak french, head over to my older sister's blog and read what she had to go through the night of the election.

To paraphrase, after the election, she strolled around Lyon, when a huge riot broke out, breaking stuff (a McDonald's was one of the targets. How... "symbolic". Way to go. Street cred for revolution +1!). My sister got tear gassed because she got a lil bit too close to the manif. She then had the pleasure of speaking to a woman so far up her own rectum that she didn't even realize the blatant irony and hypocrisy of her situation.

The lady essentially was harping on the anti-riot police about how these policemen represent the France that she doesn't believe in, not the France she voted for, as if, somehow, Sarkozy had already managed to make an executive order within hours of the election results to turn France into a military autocracy. The sheer stupidity of the woman appalls me. She was insulting the cops for them DOING THEIR JOBS! Mam', meet me in the next paragraph.

Seriously, what the heck do you have in your misconstrued, barely functioning brain? Allow me to point out to you, that those who voted Sarkozy, are NOT the ones burning, breaking, throwing and destroying France at that particular moment in time. YOUR political slant is the one destroying the country, claiming anarchy, too immature and too self righteous to accept the fact that a democratic election yielded a decision from the French population. If YOU can't handle that, go to China and enjoy your communist dream. What is democracy, simply accepting the will of the people when it suits you, burning stuff when it doesn't? If you even start arguing percentage points, I wonder where you got off on the intellectual thought train, my guess is you got hit by the train at the first station.

Now to another "rebelle". Look at this quotation from a rioter:

"C'est un truc global, lance Laura, une radicale. On est bien d'accord pour dire que la démocratie qui amène ce genre de catastrophe, on chie dessus !»"

(It's a global thing, throws Laura, a radical [ha!]. We're all agreed in saying that democracy that brings this type of catastrophe, we shit on it!)

THESE people are the ones claiming to represent the greater population, and the greater good. This is the most retarded thing ever. I sometimes fear for our entire generation, when did logic dissapear?

Don't you guys dare even bask in the glory when France becomes relevant again. It won't be your doing.

"La France, bastion de la démocratie!... Du moment qu'elle est d'accord avec moi!"

I SAW A FISH!

2007-05-07T21:55:00.000+02:00

Unites States of Monty Python

2007-05-01T14:27:00.000+02:00

Hilarious

"Picture This" By Mack Dawg Productions

2007-04-29T15:55:00.000+02:00

Sickest trailer I've seen. Absolutely amazing. Enjoy.

More here.

Berlin/Prague 2007

2007-04-19T20:44:00.000+02:00

Hey guys! I recently went on a trip to Berlin and Prague, and it was radsauce...

I'm going to write a thing with pictures here at some point, but if you're really impatient to see pics without context, here they are!

Pictures!

A Post-Modern Symptom

2007-04-18T19:09:00.000+02:00

I want to make a t-shirt of this.

Emilie Simon - Fleur de Saison

2007-04-18T18:26:00.002+02:00

Dailymotion blogged video
Emilie Simon - Fleur de Saison
Video sent by Twilight

I'm working on a website.

2007-03-27T23:05:00.000+02:00

Everyone go and check out my new internet endeavor.

It's supposed to be a place to organize random stuff i do. You can go to and from my blog from there, im gonna make a handy little icon so you go there from here easily, keeping with the same color scheme.

It's still a work in progress.

Peace,
Patty.

Landyachtz: Official Sponsor of Board Europe

2007-03-26T21:04:00.000+02:00

Yeah, so the dudes over at Landyachtz wanted some publicity from Board Europe on the Board Blog, so I made these little babies:

Yeah, i can see myself making a few more down the road...

Lofsdalen 07 : a messy wrap-up, full of pix and trix

2007-03-04T16:54:00.000+01:00

Here's my first rail

Here's another shot of it

Here is a video of the action from Lofsdalen! It's an "Awwww" sorta thing, enjoi!

Yeah, so basically, I need a filmer... I always film other peeps, and love doing it, but then it ends up that i get no good footy...

Anyways, here are three clips of me shredding the smaller park at Lofsdalen on the last day. No poles cos of a hyper-extended thumb...

A Classic

2007-02-22T19:52:00.001+01:00

New Skier

2007-02-22T18:27:00.000+01:00

Board Europe visits the Garage

2007-02-20T22:44:00.000+01:00

Väsjöbacken 2007 (updated w/video)

2007-02-17T15:55:00.000+01:00

I's ski at Väsjö 14/02/07. I's stoked:

I's ski wiff da gangsta steeze, n my pants they fall down:

I's do teh 360 over teh big jump at Väsjö today's, I's stoked.

Dis teh 270 moment.

And dis be teh laying down of teh landing gears moment

Dis teh "Oh Noes" moment

And dis is teh 360 opposite safety sweetness moment

This teh 360 progression

This teh whole session

Board Europe: Update

2007-02-15T20:52:00.000+01:00

(i made that :P)

Promo video is now up!

check out the madness at Board Europe!

Im stoked.

2007-02-04T22:12:00.000+01:00

IB predicted grade: 40-41. Without TOK/EE.

Stoked.

X Games!!!!

2007-01-31T22:39:00.000+01:00

Look at 21 minutes for some siiiiick riding.

Politically Realistic: On matters of Political Realism

2007-01-31T15:19:00.000+01:00

A week or so ago, I took part in a history class that annoyed me incredibly. Speaking about the Cold War and Vietnam, we received an article on the Irak War and its similarities to our past, and lost, war. This is far from what annoyed me, as I am extremely set on the obvious similarities between the two wars. In both, the reigning government completely disregarded or at least underestimated the importance of reaching to hearts of the civilians, the obvious denial of the fighting nature of the combatants, and the utter disillusion that superior force can defeat a guerrilla that blends into the population. The same mistakes, 30 years later. Unbelievable.

But this does not deal with that discussion. No, this deals with a more worrying state of ignorance about the way this world works.

The article mentioned that 30% of Europeans interviewed for this particular poll estimated that the USA represented the biggest threat to world stability, far ahead of Iran and North Korea.
This figure is utterly appalling, and I will explain why.

Since 9/11, the USA has tried to become more isolated form the world. The problem about this state of affairs is that the USA CANNOT, in the world today, do this. Due to our way of life and the current state of the world, the USA cannot be isolationist.
It is the world's police (not even by choice, by necessity), as the world's only (until China gets there) superpower. The USA must intervene in the world as the largest and richest nation. It is a moral, practical and economical obligation. However, because the US is trying to remain somewhat isolated, it is not intervening in the world on anyone else's terms than their own.
This attitude makes the USA look like an Evil Empire, a selfish, brutish nation. Because they are acting out of their own interests, and because of their size these interests involve the rest of the world, it looks like an immoral expansionist regime has been set upon the world.

But this is simply an illusion.

Our history class has been focusing on war of late. The World Wars, the Cold War, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, to name the main ones. As I have gone over these wars, it is all too apparent that, though the means of warfare may change, their reasons never have, and never will, change.

A war will always be wrapped up in ideology, in justification for the effort and sacrifice needed. But if you really understand war and its consequences, you will realize that the reason for any war lies in personal gain, be it that of a nation, or that of a single ruler.

Wars are fought for personal interest first, ideology second.

This is why the idea of an evil expansionist empire is an illusion. It is merely more obvious to people that the war was fought out of personal interest. What? Fighting war for the interest of a country? What a completely unheard of concept!

The ideology behind this present war, this whole "fight against terrorism", didn't fly well with the Irak situation because, since the change in the world on 9/11 and how the USA chose to go about protecting itself, everyone realized that the USA was fighting for its own interests. For some reason, everyone decided that this was inherently wrong, that this was not justified, that this was bad. Regardless of motivation, regardless of experience, regardless of knowledge about war.

The fact that people were shocked when they discovered that the USA was fighting a war for oil worries me. It shows that they have absolutely no conception about what war is about.

That people are shocked about the war in and of itself, I FULLY understand. It is simply those who are shocked about the premise behind it that I aim at.

The French, in the weeks leading up to the war, prided themselves on their completely anti-war stance. They called the war unjustified and wrong.

The latter, it most certainly is. The former, it hardly is. Saddam was in a situation to harm US interest in oil, and also in a position to cause harm to other nations in the region if push came to shove. In this sense, the war is absolutely justified. If the interests of a country are at stake, it is only normal to fight for them. All wars have followed this same exact premise. The fact that the government lied made the war immoral, but no less justified.

What is most ironic about the French involvement in the conflict, is that it was later discovered that the French and GINORMOUS amounts of interests in Irak, from oil infrastructure to weapons. The French opposed US intervention in Irak because it would harm THEIR interests.

This only goes to show: nobility, morality and honor in terms of political agenda are very often little more than a sad utopian disillusion.

The French, and the vast majority of Euros I have met, feel that the USA is not justified in its policing of the war. This is rather hypocritical, given their extreme criticism of the USA when they do not live up to their expectations.

"Hey, that is so wrong for you to invade Irak! What do you think you're doing? Oh hey, we have a situation in Darfur, why aren't you doing anything?"

Tell me, really, how is it that the USA is the biggest threat to world stability and security? Wait, don't answer that until you realize this simple, yet important fact: world stability DEPENDS on the stability of the USA. If the USA is unstable, if the USA is not ensured its needed resources, world stability is compromised.

Oh, but then you're right: the USA IS a threat to world security, because if it falls, then we all do. But that wasn't really what you were thinking, was it?

The USA acted out of self interest in Irak, and you all act shocked. That is how war works, that is hwo the world works. The USA, in going to war in Irak, was aiming to control and secure the resources it needs to stay stable, so that, in effect, the world may remain stable.

The USA is the single greatest reason for world stability. Get used to it.

So tell me, really, how is the USA more of a threat to world security than Iran? Their whole POINT in their nuclear aspirations is to obliterate Israel. If that isn't a threat to world security... What about North Korea? The UN has done such a bang up job in economic sanctions that everyone is dying, and Kim is unaffected. In fact, he could sell some nukes to people for the right price... That isn't a threat to world security...

Really, the only way that the statement that the USA is the leading threat to world security is that, so far, it has been a threat to itself, and hence the world.

Sorry, the fact that the USA is such an important part of the world makes it so that if there is a threat tot he USA, there is a threat to the world... Not exactly what you wanted to hear....

When people realized that the USA was acting out of self interest, they all seemed shocked.

How, I still wonder...

More thoughts here.

The Loop of Henlé

2007-01-26T17:50:00.000+01:00

Click here!

Demetri Martin. Person.

2007-01-22T18:47:00.000+01:00

New Skier

2007-01-17T22:44:00.000+01:00

On Matters of Truth...

2007-01-16T21:39:00.000+01:00

I was recently asked how i felt about politicians using Christianity as a basis for their decisions. Here is the answer:

"Hmmm...

Well, this deals with the concept of truth.

By logical necessity, there must exist a moral standard, an absolute truth that dictates what is and isn't ethical, and what is right and what is wrong. This necessity is found because two opposing truths cannot be true at the same time. If someone were to say that a rock is immovable, and someone else advances that this wind is irresistible, then there would be a direct contradiction in terms, and thus a logical conundrum, because these two concepts could not feasibly exist at the same time. Hence, someone is right, and someone is wrong. Thus, concluding that there must be an absolute truth, and not many varying, relative truths, everyone, politician or not, must follow this set of truth to be ethical, regardless of any outside opinion and motive. If two opposing concepts of what is ethical arise, then someone is right, and someone is wrong.

When it comes to the Bible, it claims to be THE Truth concerning the nature of the world, God, and ethics, and thus truth. The Bible does not have a way to be relativized, so it claims to be the absolute moral authority for mankind.

Thus, if someone opposes the supposed Truth stated in the Bible, then they are either right, or they are wrong. Remember that a person must follow the truth to be ethical in their decision making. Thus, if the Bible is in fact the truth, to follow it is to be ethical and moral. Reversely, if the Bible is wrong, it would be unethical to follow it.

If, then, a politician is convinced that the Bible is the truth, then to act following the Bible is not unethical, but quite the opposite, and if he were to act against the Bible and it is right, then that would be unethical and immoral.

Then, of course, it is up to establish what is the Truth, and if the Bible is right. THAT, is a debate both of us have no time for.

The problem arises when people think of separation of church and state as the separation of religious values and all things state, which is the false way to look at it. If morality and ethics are accurately stated and truth according tot he Bible, then one would hope that politicians follow this Truth. Separation of Church and State means no state church, and that the state does not intervene in the matters of the church, not that there are no religious values instilled in politics.

I suppose the aversion that many have for such a way of thinking is that it then seems that the Church is making the rules, But if you turn it around, and think about matters of Truth, then it makes sense that someone who is convinced of a certain truth acts accordingly.

the fact that the values are seemingly religious, though a matter of stigma, does not in any way make the statement on gay marriage, abortion etc any less true. Valid argument and deduction does, not the simple fact that it is instilled from a Christian view point.

If the Christians are right, then it is ethical and moral to act as the Bible says. If they are wrong, then it is the opposite. Just because you are Christian does not mean you cannot use Christian values in politics, because the validity of the truth is independent from the affiliation.

Thus, this becomes a matter of right versus wrong, truth versus non-truth, not a matter of secular thought versus Christian thought.

I believe that actions according to truth and logic are justified. If they happen to be Christian as well, then it's party time.

Then, the problem is establishing truth. So, you can criticize someone because you think they are wrong from a logical perspective, but you cannot criticize their opinion because it is religious, since the validity doesn't depend on the religion or person, but on logical necessity..."

Pondering "An Inconvenient Truth"...

2007-01-12T23:52:00.000+01:00

This film is probably one of the most important films of the past few years. It is definitely a must see, and it will definitely freak you out, like the above movie poster would imply.

This here, is some chilling stuff (ooooh, reversed play of words on global warming ! HUH!). But seriously, it really does give you plenty of justified cause for alarm.

The film is mainly aimed at the large proportion of American people who either do not believe that global warming is a threat, or who actually believe that there is no such thing as human interaction with the environment. The basic premise of the movie is that yes, humans are having an impact on the environment, and that this impact is huge and dangerous if left unadulterated like it is.

My first bit of critique on the movie lies within the fact that, for everyone who already IS convinced by this fact, which is the huge majority of people, the main point is already accepted. I personally have absolutely no doubt in my mind that we are much to blame for global warming, that we have an impact on nature, and that this impact is largely negative. The extent of how screwed we are is the part that I am not entirely convinced of yet, based on some scientific and personal unwillingness to think that the world is about to end with fire and gnashing of teeth. I'm in luck, because the movie then serves as a device to show examples of just how much we are affecting the climate.

With my self firmly convinced of the basic premise, I can proceed with the movie within the mind frame that Al would want. As the movie progressed, I had a few things that bugged me, either about presentation of fact, cinematic objectivity, or science. I will mention these later. When the movie ended however, I definitely knew that this was a good one... The science, though complicated, is presented clearly, matter of factly, and very interestingly. The movie is gripping, and the tempo and realization of the film is superb. At the end, you know that you don't want to keep polluting, and the credits give you instructions on what to do next.

Basically, the movie is great, you have to see it, it will either change your mind, or remind you of the urgency at hand about global warming. While I do not buy (though i want to believe) many of the inferences made, the movie is tidy not to stray too far from the fact and dwell on supposition and worst case scenarios.

Now, as I said I had a few bones to pick with the movie, here they are, in no particular order:

_ His original premise well established in my mind, I couldn't help but notice the political slant that Al has in the movie. It is obvious that to some extent, he is in it for the political message. There is nothing wrong with that, but we fall into a state where you can't help but wonder if what you're hearing is spun. Sort of like Michael Moore, only far more credible.

_ The theatrics, which are meant to shock you, work, but sometimes giving you a wrong impression.

Though he never does say it, you could gather from the film that Hurricane Katrina was directly caused by global warming, inferring that the current government is at fault. He is cautious in not directly stating this, the message being that Katrina is of the magnitude of storms that we will come to expect as the ocean temperatures go up, which is true. However, you cannot directly correlate a massive disaster with global warming. Hurricane Andrew in 1992 caused far more damage than Katrina. Katrina is far more effective for the film though, because it was such a disaster on a human scale. However, this disaster had to do with the fact of Katrina being as strong as it was, coupled with he fact that it hit New Orleans dead on. It was cumulative circumstances that caused the disaster, not the storm in and of itself. Gore does not say this, but you could gather that from the movie... Fact is that you cannot say that a freak thing happening is directly correlated with global warming. Proof of that is that this year, we had no large scale disasters like Katrina, and the hurricanes were relatively mild...

The other bit of cinema that I thought could be misleading was when he shows what would happen to the world with 20 extra feet to the water level. He shows the rapid disintegration of all of our coast. Most notably, he shows Holland being completely swallowed up. Besides the fact that the animations are misleading, because they happen quickly, when the level of the oceans would take 1000 years or so to rise to that level, it's kind of ridiculous to show Holland being obliterated due to water. Last I checked, Holland would be swallowed up by water if their sea barriers failed, with or without global warming. The Dutchies wouldn't just sit around for 1000 years, no, they'd build higher levies...

The point is clear, but the freak factor turned me off a bit...

_ My main beef with the film lies with Gore and the Ice Age. In the film, he shows that when the North American continent melted, it added immense amounts of fresh water to the North Atlantic Ocean. This region is home to the feature I have affectionately named The Big Huge Ocean Pump of Doom. This pump takes the warm water that has been circulated across the globe, and then makes it colder. the Colder, denser water sinks to the bottom, along with a lot of salt. When the North American ice cap melted, it diluted this water, causing the pump to effectively stop, which in turn caused Europe to experience another ice age. This is the exact same concept as "The Day After Tomorrow". Gore even says that from the moment the pump stopped to the European ice age could have been a period of barely 10 years. I believe him, after seeing what a huge iceberg did to the pump in early November, when we all got a freak snowstorm... He ends this segment dramatically when he says "Well, is there another place covered in ice that could melt? *Looks up at Greenland* Oh, yeah... We'll get back to that one".

And get back to that one he does, only not in the way I had hoped. See, the only thing he then says is that Greenland is melting extremely quickly, and that if it does melt, the ocean levels will go up 20 feet. But, no mention of any potential ice age... This bothers me, because this was part of his argument previously, but now, this fact does not even come into consideration. If Greenland DOES melt, then it would send a crap load of fresh water RIGHT at that pump, and that would stop it as well I would presume. But no mention of any ice age...
I got stuck on this point, because it seems that an ice age is the logical conclusion to all of this, according to his own data. We are accelerating the rise in C02 in the atmosphere as the cycle is making it rise, and this in a very rapid time. I want to think that this is simply accelerating the point to where the balance turns.

It takes a lot longer for the CO0 to build up in the atmosphere. This means that there is more C02 longer, melting ice and causing climate change over a longer period of time. Then, at some point, this stops and we have an ice age. Well, if we're speeding this up, then we're bringing about the ice age quicker, and to do this, you need a LOT more C02. Basically, in an analogy, what the Earth does is slow cook, increasing the temperature over time, and we are using a microwave. In the end, the effect is the same, the hot pocket is cooked boiling lava hot to the point that you throw it in the freezer and hope it gets diarrhea and not yourself.

So I guess what I am saying is that we CANNOT know, given our lack of evidence and lack of perspective, what will happen. We suppose that it is bad, and I am sure as heck for preserving the Earth. The fact is that at this point, an ICE AGE looks about as probable as a massive increase and frying of the Earth, and this all base don the same data.

WE cannot make such drastic inferences, which is why I don't buy into the catastrophic theories.

The movie's point is great, but we're all sold on it, at least in Europe.

At this point however, I'm all for a new ice age. I wanna ski man!

Some current affairs...

2007-01-11T22:36:00.000+01:00

Well, Bush has just had a little speecheroony about the future course to be taken in Irak. 20 000 more troops (to make the forces present in Irak the same amount as last year at the same time) are being sent in to help quench the civil war and sectarian violence... A few observations on how we got into this mess, and other random thoughts:

_ Why are we surprised? Islam is a religion that is completely incompatible with democracy.

_Why are the leaders of the USA surprised? Their failure to realize the above fact is what has gotten us into this situation, and they seem boggled by it...

_ Have we learned nothing? In Vietnam we thought that by crushing the Viet-Cong with superior fire power and force, we would win the conflict. We did not foresee the battle of sympathies that needed to be waged, and we did not foresee and enemy that would use the population as a cover, and fight sporadically and then vanish into the untouchable civilians. Does this sound familiar? We have made the same mistakes...

_ Why is the USA bing portrayed as the source of absolute evil in this conflict? The USA is obviously the cause of many thousands of civilian deaths, but for what reasons? If we overlook military error, a new picture is drawn. The insurgency hides amongst the people, making their HQ across from schools, hospitals, or heavily crowded areas... When the USA comes to oust them, they cross the street, or provide faulty information, or even blow themselves up, creating massive casualty amongst the civilian population. Their cowardice in differentiating themselves form the people they are meant to be fighting for shows their real commitment: to fight against the USA, and for no one but their leader who, if memory serves, really only wants power... Blowing yourself up in a market place, because of religious indoctrination and perversion, has become the object of pity by much of the population. This act is not one of extreme cruelty and idiocy, it is an act of desperation against an invading and occupying force. Suicide bombers who die as martyrs, have become martyrs for the opposition of the war. Braincheck: these people are evil. There is never any justification for taking yours and tens of others of innocent non-combatants with you. The moral perversion is not limited to the US army, do not forget this...

_ Why is it that Islam is never to be criticized in any sort of public forum for its religious doctrine, but to be accommodated whenever possible, when Christianity is spat and shat upon continually? I'm sorry, double standards anyone? Freedom of religion is now thus: Anyone who might blow their shit up and kill people when criticized is never to be criticized, and a religion that teaches to turn the other cheek and be loving to your enemy is always to be criticized for whatever interference it has in popular society? Did i get that?

_ Why do people say that 3000 deaths in Irak is an exorbitant amount, when the last war of duration we had in Vietnam cost almost 18 times more people? War is war, shit happens...

_ Why is it that in any other area of life, when you mess up, you are forced to deal with consequences, but when you deal with life, it's as easy as a-b-o-r-t-i-o-n to get rid of the problem? You readily acknowledge you aren't in any situation to have a child, which is a side effect of sex from time to time, yet you feel that it is your God (wait, nix that) given right to have sex... I'm sorry, but stuff happens, deal with it, don't whisk it away. By the way, you've never not had an abortion once you get one, have fun living with emotional baggage the rest of your life... Unless you're really morally corrupt, and you don't care, then you're a bad person.

_How can people say that everything we do in life is due to instinct and to perpetuate life and based on hormones and endorphins, yet live completely differently to that concept? If the condom breaks, and your first reaction is "Shit, I have to find the day after pill", then you've thoroughly discredited yourself.

In other news i have just seen "An Inconvenient Truth". Freaky stuff, though I do have some bones to pick with it...

I'll post them at some point...

Peace.

Tickle Me Emo

2007-01-10T23:53:00.000+01:00

Thanks Panda!

Women, know your limits!

2007-01-09T18:27:00.000+01:00

Women: Know your limits

Oh my, seems I've been pre-empted...

2006-12-29T22:37:00.000+01:00

Head presents Evolution

2006-12-23T19:25:00.000+01:00

Lemon Squirrel

2006-12-22T21:25:00.000+01:00

The combined efforts of Frida Jonsson's genius and friend's cynicism, you guys should check it out for a few laffs.

2006-12-14T21:56:00.000+01:00

2006-12-11T22:42:00.000+01:00

So Long Donald!

2006-11-21T21:55:00.000+01:00

Good-Bye Rumsfeld

First Skiing of the Year

2006-11-04T20:02:00.000+01:00

Your evidence contradicts your conclusion? What?

2006-10-28T20:11:00.000+02:00

Ahhh, another rant.

Ish.

So, we're learning about evolution in biology class. Great stuff, truly first class. It's actually quite interesting to see just how little actual, conclusive evidence there is. I mean, the whole clay molecule template stuff? Not even scientific. BY the way, scientific means that there has been an experiment replicating something observed and then observing further to see if the hypothesis fits reality. Wait, what? There's been no such experiment? So it's pulled from someones a.. and is therefore complete bull...? Ah ok ok.

What is awesome about these classes, are the questions that get no answers. "So, how did the amino acids [which were formed in water, the ocean presupposedly] get dry to form bonds [which wouldn't have happened, because amino acids kinda aren't active outta some sort of catalyst, oh yeah, and there wouldn't have been much land at that point] and then become wet again to form the loop to go into the clay?" "Oh, err... well, remember this is just a theory".

And there we have it. À propos, a scientific theory doesn't mean that something isn't proven, it just means that that is the thought. Gravitation is a theory, and we have a pretty good idea whether or not it's true. But, the acknowledgment, albeit involuntary, that the evolution theory isn't a proper scientific theory but rather a suggestion, with little actual proof [you know, that... proven, stuff], like the other meaning of the word "theory", is just precious.

It's almost funny. Something so believed to be scientific, factual, objective and concrete is little of any of those, just like what it seeks to destroy: faith.
It claims to not need divine intervention to be true, it claims to be shown as fact, yet has so many holes in its logic and evidence that any other theory would have been tossed ages ago.

So, what is proven? Well, we have natural selection and speciation covered. We have pretty well observed and shown that over time species change and adapt, and that animals are capable of many extensive variations within their kind.
One thing that we've also shown is that natural selection implies a loss of genetic information, not a gain, like would be implied by evolution. This is why we have zoos and environmental groups. If we lose a species, it ain't coming back, we know that. If you lose a strain of gene, it's gone from the gene pool, never to be recovered. If a species changes over time, its DNA loses variety, and does not gain any info to become anything else. This is also shown. Why does everyone forget it?
So what isn't proven? Well, the rest: that animals all come from one same ancestor. It's the supposed conclusion of the theory, that everything goes to back to one singular animal. But it ain't scientifically proven. Just supposed. You can't prove it empirically anyway, because it only happened once.

What, a creation/evolution stalemate?

Sadly, it's come to the point where no one even knows what the heck is actually proven and what has been discredited, and most notably, the teaching staff and curriculum have no bloody clue as to where the world is actually at in terms of knowledge.

We have received Ernst Haeckel's sketches of human embryos

that accompanied Von Baer's theory of embryonic similarity , which were thoroughly discredited in 1868 by his own contemporaries:

"Within months of the publication of Haeckel’s work in 1868, L. Rütimeyer, professor of zoology and comparative anatomy at the University of Basel, showed it to be fraudulent. William His Sr, professor of anatomy at the University of Leipzig, and a famous comparative embryologist, corroborated Rütimeyer’s criticisms.3 These scientists showed that Haeckel fraudulently modified his drawings of embryos to make them look more alike. " - W.H. Rusch Sr., Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny, Creation Research Society Quarterly 6(1):27–34, 1969.

It has been even more discredited when pictures of the embryos were taken at the various stages:

(Michael Richardson et al, Anatomy and Embryology, 196(2):91–106, 1997.)

I mean, come on, the dude even confessed to falsifying it. When confronted about his representation of these drawings:

whereby he drew these:

he had this to say:
"‘… a small portion of my embryo-pictures (possibly 6 or 8 in a hundred) are really (in Dr Brass’s [one of his critics] sense of the word) “falsified” — all those, namely, in which the disclosed material for inspection is so incomplete or insufficient that one is compelled in a restoration of a connected development series to fill up the gaps through hypotheses, and to reconstruct the missing members through comparative syntheses. What difficulties this task encounters, and how easily the draughts- man may blunder in it, the embryologist alone can judge.’"- Letter to Münchener Allegemeine Zeitung, ‘an international weekly for Science, Art and Technology’, published on January 9, 1909.

He's not directly saying that he did anything wrong, of course.

Come on peeps, 1909, that's a preeeeeeeeetty long time ago to still be using these pictures, even if his conclusions are now accepted as false. The images are falsified. This isn't a disproof of evolution or a proof for creation. It's just plain wrong, and shouldn't be used by anyone as evidence of anything.

Now, leaving the Peppered Moth thing, which i really don't have a problem with because it's a proof of natural selection, even if the pictures of them on the tree trunks are fake, as well...

Now, to the particular thing that started the rant...
When talking about human evolution, a diagram explaining the two theories of human decent came up. The two theories state that either there was one African ancestor that had three different branches that then went their separate ways to Asia, Europe and Africa, or that there was one African ancestor that spawned three different branches, two of which are no longer around, and the other one having spawned relatively recently all other types of human. The latter one is the one that is most accepted, due to a study in mitochondrial DNA.
All of your mitochondrial DNA comes form your mother, as a sperm call only gives 23 chromosomes and no organelles. The researchers have supposedly traced all mitochondrial DNA back to one female named, quaintly, "Eve", who lived 200 000 years ago in Africa.

Now, let's examine this evidence, logically. All mitochondrial DNA seems to originate from one point. Now, we all know that the evolution theory does not work in a way where you have a succession of evolutionary steps and then BAM! Human being. This is not how it works. The way it works, is untold masses of varying creatures that then, over time, gradually become a different animal. But there isn't a dramatic cut off stage, a sudden instant when the ancestors ceases to be the ancestor and become the THING. It's subtle, not sudden. So tell me, logically: does all mitochondrial DNA being able to be traced back to ONE SINGLE BEING prove that humans are the result of a long process of minute change, or does it suggest, oh i dunno, humans all of a sudden appearing out of no where, like say, being created as is? Mitochondrial DNA would have had to be present in many millions of "links" before this "Eve" by necessity int he evolution theory. It is absurd that mitochondrial DNA would all of a sudden appear in a single point by evolutionary necessity. Mitochondrial DNA would have had to have been present in many more animals than just one at a certain point in time... Human mitochondrial DNA don't just appear out of nowhere, suddenly, in evolution.

Are you getting this? It is impossible for it to be so by your own damn presuppositions. Your evidence is evidence for the opposite of your belief. And yet you've spun it to be proof for your own theory.

Your evidence contradicts your conclusion. What?

Board Europe!

2006-10-11T19:31:00.000+02:00

Board Europe is the adventure of two young souls and their longboards. Their goal? By train and board only, they will visit major European cities in a month, skating for whatever sponsor wishes to partake in this grand adventure, in a bid to cross frontiers and build cultural awareness through the lifestyle that is longboarding, all the while using ecologically sustainable modes of transport. Stay tuned...

It will be epic...

300

2006-10-08T18:10:00.000+02:00

Wowza, i haven't been so stoked for a movie in a while... Much thanks to Erik for linking me the trailer!

(Right click, Save Target/Link As if you would like to save to your computer, or just click up above to enjoy the trailer)

I've been reading all about the underlying history to the movie (THIS is what history is about! Witty retorts and obliterations of armies!), and it is fascinating. Sparta kicks butt!

Be sure to check out 300themovie.com for more info.

The Pool

2006-10-04T20:14:00.001+02:00

Also on YouTube

Oh noes!

No Comply fs 180

2006-09-30T16:22:00.000+02:00

Yeah baby!

I must warn you, im very good at backflips.

2006-09-28T18:41:00.000+02:00

Repost? eh.

Patty Apologetics

2006-09-23T17:04:00.000+02:00

Here is a discussion with a kid on NS, enjoy, maybe (text in italics his):

"dude, sorry for not responding in-thread, but the whole thing is spiraling into me versus everyone on anything Bible related, which isn't the point of the thread.

" and Moses gathered two (one male and one female) of each species of animal into one giant boat (built by him and his kids (not so sure in this one, patty correct me if I'm wrong)) with enough food and sweet water to keep them all alive for 40 days.

a mystical being (aka God) created the sun by saying "let there be light"

I find a lot of the stuff in the bible to be hard to believe"

Ok, this first part. What I don't get is the hypocrisy (not of you) but of that statement.
Do you believe you exist? Because on a scientific and evolutionary level, you are as much of a miracle as anything else. The probability of life created from nothing is 0. Scientists have you at about one chance in several trillion of ever having even been here, let alone in this current shape and form. That's preeeeeeetty dern miraculous.

Look, honestly, at what both sides offer. One side offers pure and random chance to have created over time, from nothing presupposedly, because we're dealing with ultimate origins, everything.
Then, the other side says that a being called God created the world as we know it.

Now, in terms of ultimate origins, both are equally valid from the get-go, because each needs a "thing" from the start, something eternal. For big bang theorists, mass and energy to react and form matter. For creationists, God. So, two "theories" reacted together to form matter, whereas an entity created everything. At this point, there is a stalemate.

Now, when it comes to what is more logical and more credible, it all depends on matters of faith and perception. I am hard-core into biology. I want to be a marine biologist. And trust me, in my many years learning how everything works, nothing has yet to convince me that it all happened by chance.

The evolution theory is fatally flawed, in that no one can reproduce the linkages between phyla of animals, nor is there any tangible proof for it today, as it happened only once. Empirically, it cannot be proven. Seems again, that God vs Evolution produces a stalemate.

Now, the evolution theory IS something proven, to the extent that we see speciation happening. In fact, the concept was developed by a Christian scientist. No one today believes in immutability of species. Creationists just don't buy that everything boils down to one organism, something not proven, but thought to be the conclusion of the theory, which is flawed, because of such problems as irreductible complexity and natural selection being a loss of information.

Evolution cannot be proved 100%. Get that notion out of your mind. Any honest scientist will tell you that educated guesses on the conclusion of the matter is what we have, not concrete proof.

Now, I'm sure you object to the idea of "incest" as it were for the population and subsequent re-population of the earth. The thing is that, creationist believe that evolution (by that I mean speciation) can occur rapidly (as proven time and time again by studies involving insects and other such observations in nature). The Flood occurred sometime around 4 500 years ago says creationists, and the Earth 6000 years old. At this point in human/natural history, there would not have been so much genetic change and mutations in the DNA of animals to cause any bad effects in interbreeding. Also, if you take God into account, anything is possible. It sounds crazy, but so is the alternative.

"And so what if they found some pools next to Jerusalem. They could have been there all along, that doesn't mean Jesus was there.
Someone could tell me that Jesus did a misty 7 to the handrail infront of my house. Just because there really is a handrail infront of my house doesn't mean that it really happened."

Besides the fact that I hate the condescending tone that you seemed to bring about, the question "so what" is a stupid one to ask.

The Bible says that Jesus went to these pools, where they were, and what he did. No one had found the pools, and thought that the Bible was mistaken, not historical, yadda yadda. But, lo and behold, the fountains were right where the Bible said they were. Now, whether or not Jesus healed anyone there is not the point: the fact that it was historically accurate is what I was saying.

Now, you say that if someone told you Jesus did a misty 7 on the handrail in front of the house, what would you use to see if that is true, if you were away getting shit-faced at a party or skiing? You'd see if the source of information is reliable. If it's one person who likes to pull pranks, you wouldn't trust a word he said. But what it were someone who has proven to be always accurate? And what if it were backed up by the fact that hundreds of other people were there at the time, and could easily have told you that no, that dude is full of shit, but didn't, and in fact praise the exploit? Now, I hope you see what I'm leading to.

The Bible is an eyewitness account, written by people from all different societal classes, talking of events where thousands of people were present and who could have EASILY proved he whole thing wrong but didn't, and who ALL AGREE about everything that happened, even if they lived many years and very far apart.

My conclusion, and you can take it as you will, but it's my final word on the matter: you accept the Bible and its teachings on FAITH. I cannot prove myself right beyond a shadow of a doubt, and I cannot convince you of anything. But you, likewise, cannot prove me wrong. That is the conundrum of the matter. However, I believe the Bible gives the most reasonable account for this world based on my own studies and knowledge. That you have a different opinion, so be it. However, the Bible is accepted on matters of faith and belief in what cannot be proven to those without it.

So respect that fact.

Thank you."

Response:

"wow, dude, I wasn't beibg that serious when I posted that, but thanks for taking to time to type that. Your arguments are solid but I found some stuff that confuses me a little.

The bible states (or atleast that's the thought I got from what you wrote:"and the Earth 6000 years old") that the earth is 6000 years old, but it has been sientificly prove that the earth is really billions of years old.
that shows that the bible can be wrong and if its wrong about onething it can be wrong about another.

about the big bang/beginning of time, I believe that there was something before it, maybe there were other planets and other skiers like us arguing about the gods, and so on. Just because the big bang was the first thing we know of doesn't mean it really is the first thing to ever ever happen anywhere in space. For all I know this universe might be a alien experiment and you can't prove that theory wrong.

but you are right that the bibles teachings can are accepted on faith, and everyone has the right to belive whatever he wants."

Response:
"The thing about radiometric dating is that no, it has not proven that the earth is billions of years old.

A while back, some scientists collected rock from the bottom of the grand canyon and sent them in to 3 different labs to get them dated. The rocks were from the same geological formation, and thus should have turned up relatively the same dates. They did not, by a factor of a few thousand. Some where a billion years old, others 10 000 years old, when the rocks came from the part of the canyon supposed to be dated at 3,5 billion years old.

You find carbon 14 in diamonds. Carbon 14s half life is 5760 years. Diamonds are supposed to have been formed billions of years ago. No one uses carbon 14 dating for diamonds because there shouldn't be any left after such a long time, but there is.

You're right, I can't prove that the other theories about this universe are wrong, but I can decide using logic and argument whether or not they are more probable in my eyes. You can and should do the same. If at the end your have a different conclusion than mine, at least we have both given our ideas the time of day to investigate them."

I'll keep you guys posted.

Tickle Me Elmo

2006-09-23T13:04:00.000+02:00

Oh. My. Goodness. An update? YES!

2006-09-18T21:04:00.000+02:00

Well hey everybody!

Man, has it ever been a while since i last updated!

School and computer problems are my excuse, but man, i have missed updating this thingy!

So what has been going on?

Well, school, and stuff. But probably most majorly, i have a new ski setup. It's insane. Thanks to sir Jacob Wester, i have officialy entered the pro ring of posers. I mean. i never thought i could ever indulge myself so much.

Thank you God, for providing.

I now have an Oakley Storm coat (retail: 400 bucks), Oakley Link pants (retail: 250 bucks), Armada AR6 skis + bindings (retail: 600 bucks, no bindings), Armada Instrument poles (retail: 60 bucks), Oakley Wisdom goggles (retail: 60 bucks) and Salomon 1080 Foil boots (bought retail price).... All for a fraction of the price.

This is insane:

So stoked on that.

Otherwise, on Saturday i went to a biking show. Was pretty sweet stuff:

That was pretty sweet indeed. One dude went tailwhip to face plant... he finished third still, but that was gnarly.

For everyone FYI, read what Paul has to say on this world:

Romans 1: 18-32

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Existentialist Donkey Poo

2006-08-28T20:30:00.000+02:00

What do you know, another post TOK class rant! "Hmmm, what ticked ol' Patty off THIS time?" you're not wondering because you don't exist (more on that later). Well, more of the same really, illogical arguments and frustrating discussions in the most useless class the whole IB can offer, Theory of Knowledge.

It all starts when we try to define what is knowledge, opinion and propaganda. The trouble with this is that "knowledge" has a double entendre; there is the definition of it as used in common speech and then the real definition which is what is being discussed in TOK. The real definition of knowledge is a justified true belief. This is what our group came up with: a truth, that is absolute, unadulterated, and that can be proven. That is what knowledge is. Example? The Earth is not flat but more of a sphere. This is an example of common knowledge, you can prove these things, they do not change over time and they are not exaggerated or demeaned statements with some ulterior political goal.

So the discussion veers off because people are not listening to the fact that they are using a different definition of knowledge than what the premise presupposes: that knowledge is truth. So people veer off on tangents about how people "knew" that the Earth was flat. Again, they may have thought they knew, but they were wrong. No matter how you turn it, they were wrong, thus what they had was not knowledge (or fact if you will), they had supposition and opinion. The Greeks proved the Earth was round via mathematics a loooong time ago, and also by simple observation. The middle ages were full of let's say... Retardation of the mind, and they didn't know much, they thought they knew.
To put it simply: they knew what they thought was knowledge, when the knowledge on the matter of the shape of the Earth was entirely different. Did you catch the difference? Good.

Now, we get to the juicy stuff. There's this guy in the class who believes "that there are no absolutes, and that there is no right or wrong, just what is right to the person and the culture". A girl in the class also claims "that you cannot know anything at all, any truth, because you can't prove it completely because there could be this hypothetical universe up my ass where nothing is the same and therefore the truth wouldn't be universal and therefore not truth, so you can't know anything".

So, first off: "There are no absolutes"
Well mon cher, that right there is an absolute statement. And so was that. And this. And this. And this. And this. And this. And this. To which he responds "yeah, it's a paradox". Yeah, a paradox that proves you wrong. Im sorry but if you're gonna claim there are no absolutes, you shouldn't have an absolute statement proving you wrong. Now I guess you can argue there are no absolutes beyond that one you just said, but good luck doing that, because you just let the fact that absolutes can exist slip. And last I checked, you're a moron that doesn't know everything there is to know, so you can't prove that there are no absolutes absolutely. Try getting around that absolute.

Now: "there is no right, there is no wrong, it depends on the person yadda yadda I almost threw up typing this".
Ok, so he states this. Now, let's see if this holds up. I will take all of his possessions, shoot him in the head and skull rape him with a dead baby I killed by suffocating with a cat down its throat. This is what I was taught was ok, and this is what I believe. This is my culture, and he has no room in hell to say anything to me about it, because it is right to me, there are no absolutes and there is no right or wrong. If he even so much as objects, then he has proven himself wrong. And if he contests that his way is right aswell, and mine and his are conflicting, then we have a logical problem: two opposing truths cannot be true at the same time. Oospie, logic in TOK class? Let's forget it all together then.

On to the "what if in another universe" etc bullpoop on a stick.
What if pigs flew? They don't, but what if? Maybe in some other universe they do?
Ahhh the hypothetical world. Humans are beautiful things, right? With such a vivid imagination, anything is possible.
Ah, but that's the point: the hypothetical does not trump the factual, ever. The table im typing at I know will support my weight if I lean on it to eat my taco. But wait, by this logic, I can't know that, because it isn't a truth, it isn't knowledge because it cannot be proven as absolute truth, because in a hypothetical universe filled of poo it may be different!
Ah, but I just leaned on the desk, and lo: it did exactly what I knew it would. The teacher at this point says "ah, but you only know that by experience" in a condescending tone, as if I was any less right. Oh no friggin CRAP I know this from experience. And that's the point: in this world, this is how it works. You can hypothesize all you want about what it COULD be, you are dealing with the abstract, which is not provable, ie an opinion founded on all of... Nothing. All your musing about the world leads you to think in a world where nothing and therefore everything goes.
The problem with this is that NO ONE, even if they say they think this, lives like it is true. When you step outside, you know that the earth will keep you and not crumble under your weight, and you live accordingly. You may doubt the existence of your desk, or of anything around you, but trust me, my foot halfway up your colon will seem very, very real and concrete. Why argue the hypothetical when the hypothetical is just as much in question as the hypothetical puts the claim to be! I can back my truths with logic, reason and scientific method. You CANNOT prove yourself, and I can't prove you wrong, therefore, it's a logical moot point: it doesn't matter. So stop thinking you're bad ass because you "think outside of the box". The box exists so you can live your life sanely, and I think you would find yourself a hypocrite to discover all you have is a room in the box with a window to a world of nothing and therefore everything.

"You can't know anything!"
Well, you can't know that you can't know anything then, which would be knowing that you know that you can't know anything, which would be knowing something. And once you know something, knowing is possible and lo! You now live in reality! Welcome! Where yah been?

Finally, the thing that erks me the most is that these people continue to live as if they are still right... This is the second time I have dealt with the "there are no absolutes" statement with this guy, and yet he still says it, when he's been logically disproved. I mean, if you are shown wrong, you change opinion, right, or at least concede you have more to learn!But no, here in Sweden, you are shown to be full of crap, and you keep going, thinking some consensus has been reached. Oopsie, nope, no such luck.

With that said, I will go back to not living and not existing and not enjoying my non existent ice cream that will not make me feel better about the plight of logical thinking in a secular post modern society where everything goes when really, it doesn't.

Some ski art

2006-08-24T17:18:00.000+02:00

Flat 3 Japan

Armada Mute

backflip

270 on

almost cheese and crackers

2006-08-22T22:06:00.000+02:00

Yarrr!!!

2006-08-16T16:16:00.000+02:00

I SO just won the DC contest!

2006-08-14T21:39:00.000+02:00

Well, as some of you may have known, there was a contest from the DC newsletter. If you were the first to answer the question, you would get D-Way stuff by the truckload. If you were part of the 10 after that lucky fool you would get a limited edition (10 of them total) poster of the el camino by d-way in mexico signed by the bard himself:

and a t-shirt.

Well, yours trully Patty Von Webster, right here, was one of those ten. If i had gotten up just 3 hours earlier, i would have been the first, because the email was sent really early in the morn USA time and i could have hit it.

But either way (haha, i make pun!) i won something!!!! yesss!!!!

The question was:
"What trick is danny way doing on the cover of the first "The Skateboard Mag"?:

My answer:

"Danny Way is doing a Gap to Noseblunt on the DC Mega Ramp at Point X."

Their reply:

"Congratulations!

You're one of our 10 winners from the El Camino Contest that ran in last week's DC Newsclip. Because you answered the question correctly you're going to score a poster from The Skateboard Mag featuring the cover of Issue 30, signed by Danny Way himself. There are only 10 of these in existence, so the poster is very limited edition! We're also going to hook you up with a tee shirt.

Here's what we need from you:

Reply to this email with your full name, age, mailing address and tee shirt size. As soon as we have all the info we'll get the goods in the mail.

We look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for you interest in DC and for reading the Newsclip!

Paul Brewer
DC Shoes, Inc."

my reply: "Firstly Paul, may i celebrate a bit? YEEEEAAAHHH WOOOO HOOOOOOO HUZZZAH BOOOYAKASHAAA!!!!!!!!

Full Name: Patrick Anders Webster
Age: 17 years
Mailing adress: 2560 Franks Court, 95382 Turlock, California, USA.
T-Shirt size: Large

Thank you oh so very much, cheers to Danny for being himself, thank you DC for making it possible and im going to disneyland!"

YEEESSS!!!

UPDATE!

"THE SKATEBOARD MAG / EL CAMINO CONTEST
HERE’S THE WINNERS!

Right before the X Games madness got underway we ran a contest in the Newsclip that offered up a prize package courtesy of Danny Way and The Skateboard Mag. Prizes included a Danny Way complete, t-shirts, DC shoes, and 10 posters specially made by The Skateboard Mag that feature the cover of Issue 30… on the cover Danny’s doing his now-infamous rocket backflip on the MegaRamp in Mexico City. Danny went a step further by signing each of limited edition prints- the Mag only made 10 total -and personalizing them to the winners!

The Danny Way/ The Skateboard Mag prize package belonged to the first 11 people that could answer this question correctly:
*** Danny was on the cover of the first issue of The Skateboard Mag. What trick is he doing on the cover of that premiere issue in 2004?

Issue 1.

The answer: Danny’s trick is a gap to nose bluntslide on the MegaRamp’s rainbow rail out at Point X. Thank you to everyone who responded, especially our 11 winners who replied with correct answers within just hours – we had all the winners by 7:30 the morning after the Newsclip was sent!

Manuel Pepin (Santa Margarita) responded 1st so he’ll score the complete (Plan B deck, wheels, Indy trucks, the works), a pair of DC Shoes, and a Skateboard Mag t-shirt. The following 10 people were also winners, scoring the limited edition signed poster and a Skateboard Mag t-shirt, both courtesy of The Skateboard Mag:

Alec Sim (Mount Sinai, NY); Simon Pitt (Queensland, Aus); Patrick Webster (Turlock, CA); Taylor Lindgren (Minneapolis, MN); Tom Meraw (Whistler, BC) Andrew Douglas (Western Aus); AJ Pagan (Stafford, Virginia); Ole Rauff (Denmark); Claudio Rodriguez, Jonathon Soucy

Congratulations to the winners!"

"Chucking"

2006-08-12T00:27:00.000+02:00

Ben: How much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood...
i need your answer..
wikipedia and google hadn't a clue...

Patty: Well, after much thought, i think that a woodchuck could chuck as much as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood...

Unless this wood chuck were a liberal teenage american, in which case he would deny the exitsence of the wood, call it a conspiracy from the government and proceed to post his discovery on his myspace group of fellow illuminati chucks who revel in their own pre-pubescent intellect, and who also praise their affiliation to Chuck Norris via their species (Chuck Norris of course the man whose tears cure cancer... too bad he has never cried).

wow.
I have never had such an epihany concerning a wood chuck.
I am personally a firm believe that if a wood chuck cood chuck wood he would opt out of it due to the immodesty in our post-modern culture to just 'chuck' in public. I think its quite rude honestly.

The chuck is on its way out of the mainstream. Public crackdowns in major cities such as Springfield, Nebraska and Turlock, California have imposed "Chucking zones" in public parks, as "chucking" is now completely banned in bars, restaurants, schools, internet cafés and chiropractic offices. These zones are surrouned by a 10 foot high and 3 foot thinck wall that is completely non chuckable, and many logs are there to be "chucked".

Many chucks however have decided to stop "chucking". One such chuck said:"I chucked when i was younger, we all did. We didn't know its dangers and we all did it to be cool. We have since opted out of chucking and turned our lives around. I will never go back to chucking."

However, the ever rebellious teenage population has decided to go on "chucking walks" around town, proclaiming their inalienable right as American citizens to chuck:
"It's in our constitution man, freedom of expression man! we're being seggregated against man, worse than the blacks man, worse than the gays even man! I love chucking man, it's a trip man, and freedom of expression man... yeah man!"
"It's all a conspiracy! first 9/11, then no chucking. They're all trying to keep us down, The Man is out there! But we know the government did it, me and my fellow bloggers have, even though we are all undergrads and have yet to get a manly voice, discovered the truth behind the no chucking law! It's the same as JFK!!!!"

When confronted about the immorality of chucking in public and the cancerous side effect of witnessing chucking, these liberal woodchucks have one thing to say "Morals? what's that?"

It seems as if chucking will be a thing of the past within the next few months. Law enforecment officials however say that the black market for woodchucks who thought they could chuck has blown up... "The problem won't go away instantly" warns Sgt McChuck "because where there is a woodchuck who can chuck as much as a woodchuck can chuck, there will be demand for chuck to be chucked. And we don't know how much one woodchuck can chuck".

Chilling words. Back to you Ben.

After reading the alarming reports concerning the "chucking epidemic" in the U.S. I've focused my studies into the nomadic regions of Sweden; the Stockholm area. An area where blood painted faces and spears still rule the dominant thrones their are incidents of chucking being reported. One nomadic tribe leader name $&#??: was quoting saying such, @#$ :{ @#$ :." Even I was surprised to realize that even the nomadic people are speaking up.

Continuing in my studies I went deeper into the pits of the world renowned Stockholm to get the low down from those dwelling the canibalic regions. I regret to inform you that no actual quotes were brought back to the tragic fact that my only camera guy, and text junkie "Clarence" was actually eaten alive during the interview. No conclusive evidence released concerning their thoughts on "chucking" in a post-modern culture.

The only true center of factual information was stumbled across by complete accident; a one, Stuart Webster; an American native with time spent in France and currently working in Stockholm as a part time cake-decorator and lead guitarist for Stockholm's own "senior center blues group" had this to say in response to our question (Why don't you go chuck yourself?)"Well...honestly I have to say I'm an anti-chucker. That's right. I said it! I have seen the drastic impacts 'chucking' has made in this culture. My neighbor Karl used to mow his yard every week, get his paper every morning, feed his kids every few days. But no...not anymore. Karl only has time for 'chucking', he bought a membership card to Chuckers-R-US just so he could 'chuck' whenever he felt the need. I lost my friends Karl to 'chucking' and I won't lose anyone else. I've started "NAKED" Neighbors against Karl's excessive (d) chucking (couldn't find a use for the d?). Our slogan is, "Friends don't let friends chuck..."

Well my friend Patrick...this is the news...this is the truth...and that's the way....the cookie crumbles...

back to you...

Thank you Ben for that great insight into the world of... Wait... I'm getting news that Homeland Security has just thwarted a major plot to smuggle "chuck" into the US of A via an underground tunnel system in southern New Mexico. We now go live to our senior correspondent on "chuck", Lord Von Webster. Lord you there?

-Yes Patrick, i can hear you liud and clear.

-Lord, give us the run down on the situtaion near El Taco Grande.

- With pleasure Patrick. You see, since the nation wide ban on "chuck", or as afficionados like to call it "that sweet pablo chucko", or "chucking bud that keeps on giving", or " el chuckomiendo", or "HM (How Much)", or...

- Yes yes, we see.

- Rhmh, yes, well as I was saying, since the nationwide ban on "Ze Chuque", many a woodchuck has defecated, im sorry, defected, to the Chucks Resistance Army based around Tortilla Mas Caliente, the Mexican side of El Taco Grande. The newest bust is the largest in this nations history, with over 25 tons of chuck, mainly spruce derived being captured. The bust also included a significant amount of chuck from the rare Norwegian Red Wood Of Death, estimated at a cost of over 2 billion dollars (pre tax) on the black Market. This chuck is called "Big Red", and it offers you quite an... enjoyable... high... it takes you to a nice place, covered in white lillies and...

- Lord, you're wandering again

-Sorry Pat. Anyways, Law enforcement officials are very happy to have uncovered this plot. As one senior investigator noted "We now know that the prairie dogs were in on this the whole time, and it's through their tunnels that these vile chuckies were smuggling this filth into the States". The President has since announced a war on the Great Plains. The members of Prairie Dogs Against Segregation (PDAS) are furious, but as a senior white house official noted "It so happens that all prairie dogs are not terrorists, but most terrorists are prairie dogs". The head of the Woodchuck Association of America Society (WAAS) has not been reached for comment. His secretary said something about him being in a meeting discussing Changing Human Conservative Knowldege In Non Goffers. Back to you Patrick.

-Shocking news. Just when we thought that chuck wa sbeing controlled. Reflections on the matter Ben?

Thanks for the insight.

I plan on doing a thorough investigation on the current occurances....

That was senior staff writer Ben Strizength. Thank you Ben.

The Tree

2006-08-08T00:11:00.000+02:00

Video Edit 1: The Tree

You can now view it on google video!
Higher Res Video on Google Video: Click here!

Video Edit 2: Matrix Steeze

You can now view it on google video!
Higher Res Video on Google Video: Click here!

Backflip

Gainer

Back Seq

Misty 5

Philip Back Seq

Pretty Boy

Kevin!

Synch Backs

Yeah, so I could have died...

2006-08-01T23:15:00.000+02:00

On Thursday the 27th of July, 2006, I very well could have been really, really screwed.

A few years back, i was mountain biking down this mountain (imagine that!), and i got stung by something. The venom was pretty localized, until a kid tried sucking it out with this weird sucking pen thing, at which point it spread in my arm and caused a massive swelling. It was very uncomfortable for a few days. So we decided to go to a clinic to get some tests done.

It ends up i had been stung by a type of wasp of which i forget the name (it has long spindly legs, V shaped wings and is really skinny). They then tested me for the common type of wasp, the vespula. They took a vial of wasp venom diluted by one part venom per billion/million, i forget, water and injected me with it. My shoulder swelled up. Now, regular wasp venom is a 4 times concentrate...

We get the results back. A normal person has an allergy of 2 on the scale for wasp stings, compared to 0 for bees, which is why wasp stings hurt more. For the type that stung me, i was a 500 something, which is pretty allergic, but nothing too bad really. Fir the vespula however, i was a 2598 or some obscene number close to that.

The doctor told me that in most cases, nothing would happen, except for a very painful localized reaction, for which he gave me some medicine that helps prevent the spread of the inflammation. However, he warned me that if the venom entered my blood stream directly, i would be in serious trouble. I would start swelling, have trouble breathing and probably pass out. It was a good idea to have a shot of adrenaline to get my heart going again to be sure to take the medicine as soon as i could. Also, i should go to the nearest hospital, because basically if Patty get venom in blood, Patty really screwed.

I have been in close proximity to wasps my whole life. At 6 Flags Holland they're everywhere, they're in trash cans all the time. So many years went bye without us ever knowing of the danger, and i didn't get stung. Praise the Lord. If you don't annoy the wasp, he won't sting you, so i tend to be the calmer one around them. I would rather them land on me and leave than me swat at them and make em mad... (Thanks to Ben for being my body guard o'er there :P).

So a week ago, i was playing volleyball barefoot, when i felt a sharp prick in my foot. The rest of this paragraph is a play by play in my mind, and the time frame is two heart beats (the time your blood takes to recirculate completely):
Ow, OW! What did i step on? One of those prickly weeds?
Oh crap, oh crap! I just friggin stepped on a wasp... Oh crap....
Holy whay the heck is he pumping so much venom in me??
He's gone... oh crap... oh crap.... Calm down, don't get excited, wait for it, sit down...
If you're gonna have a reaction, it's gonna happen soon or not at all, be ready... relax... OW!!!!!
Oh crap i could die...

After that, i lay down, squeezing my foot just above my second toe on my right foot, in the worst pain i have ever experienced. The wasp missed my blood stream. All the venom went under the skin but didn't hit any veins. I was gonna be ok. One millimeter decided if i would be in the hospital, maybe dead, or lying on the ground, in pain but well.

That, is a miracle.

If you have ever been stung by a wasp, you know the jabbing needle sensation you get from it. Because i am allergic, the pain is at the maximum that all my nerve cells can muster. Where the venom went, the most intense pain i have ever felt would come strong as a charging bull. It spread all throughout my toe, and a week later the inflammation is finally going down. My foot swelled up to double its size along the first half, and the pain didn't leave my toe until two days after. I took my meds, and the swelling went down the next day. In fact, the recovery was very quick, at least allowing me walk and run again. Thanks to everyone who prayed for me.

I was very lucky, and God protected me. Im glad to be here typing again.

If you see one of these guys:

be sure to salute it with whatever you have at your disposal.

Peace duders.

The Täby Dirt Park

2006-07-22T21:58:00.000+02:00

YAAARRRR!!! So the last two days I have been helping out with the Täby Dirt Park, and it is coming together very, very nicely. It once was two measly jumps and it looked quite pathetic, really. But since the summer broke, the boys from the MTB CRÜE of täby (not their real name) have built a 4 hit line, a medium table top to what will be a hip, and a big line hit that will follow into another and then a berm. Yesterday I helped out with the construction of the roll in which still needs a bit of work (mainly, a paint job), and today I helped with the construction of the Table to End All Tables (2 by 8 meters to meter drop, wall ride etc) AND, my proudest moment, i layed the framework and then was assisted by Philip in making Patty 'n Phil's Plateau, for filming of all sorts. So yay. Here is a pic from ye plateau:

Triples Action from my beautiful platform!

And some more pics of the day:

The Roll In!

Into the Sun

Last night, from the dozer:

Mats X-up booyah!

De Bron 2006: The Conference to End All Conferences

2006-07-17T13:54:00.000+02:00

Wowza.

Yeah, where to start?

At the beginning i guess. Seems good to me.

On Wednesday the 5th of July, 2006, the Webster family (ie, me, because the rest of them are just lame) departed from Slussbrovägen 62, Åkersberga, Sweden on a road trip spread over two days to De Bron, Holland for the All-Europe TEAM Conference 2006. That was a mouthful.
I had been looking forward to this conference for a while. They are always special, and always a high point of my summer, especially spiritually. Since my job for the summer fell through, I was waiting expectidely for this trip, it being the one thing I was going to do during the summer outside of hypothetical schoolwork. It was also going to be a time to kick back and relax with people I had not seen in years and soak up the common experience we have in serving as missionary kids (or is it teens?). Anyways, im running on.

As we departed, spirits were high:

However, driving southward, into the sun, with no AC, and with an outside temperature of 30 degrees the whole way, a smidgeon of uncomfortableness (uncomfortabilitude?) was to felt. Sweden went by in a breeze (of hot, scorching air):

We soon crossed over into Denmark thanks to ye huge bridge of doom:

After 2 hours of boring Denmark, with road signs saying things to the effect of "Meh, something this way, maybe", we took the ferry to Germania:

It was a welcome break, the cool see breeze bringing out the baywatch in me:

Driving through Germany towards Lübeck, I then saw a most horrific sight: the super giant is getting nearer and nearer to complete world domination:

After that scary encounter, we headed to the Etap Hotel in Lübeck to watch France move on to the final, and to rest up for the final push the next day.

Thursday, July 6th, we head out from Lübeck and head to De Bron. Spirits are again high:

We enter into Holland, home of... flat stuff:

And we finally arrive at De Bron:

De Bron is a wonderful conference center. It has typical dutch buildings, complete with thatch roof, and is so chalk full of memories and happenings it's unreal. We've been there since 1999, and it's always awesome:

This year they had done away with our beloved pool table, the playground and the pond. Getting there 2 days before the conference actually started, I thought it was going to be excruciatingly boring: all of our play stuff was kinda, well, gone. Upon further investigation though, we found a new basketball court, volleyball nets and the big ol' fields we loved so much.

My dad finally got to be where it was he needed to be, as the one in charge of the housing: in front of the café, rehearsing his jokes:

This year we also had some new arrivals. Four baby chicks, which would end up becoming strong and free, ready to be released unto the world by the end of the week, greeted us with their infant skeeks and chirps. A metaphor for the week? Naaaaaaaah:

Also new to the week was daily swims in the river Vecht, right by the center. It would become a welcome addition to the day, with its refreshing water and razor sharp rocks. Here, my dad and I innaugurate the waters:

Friday the 7th of July marked when the week died down when it came to media coverage. We were either too busy swimming at the best pool evah in Ommen (more on that later), or greeting the new arrivals. The first to arrive were the pre-teen workers from the USA, along with Christian Owen, conference junkie numero uno:

Twas cool to see her, as we have been to pretty much every conference together and basically grown up together. We helped with the children's deal, fixing up the rooms and making a sweet banner for the Kenya Lounge. Daniel Clifford was also there, and we went to the pool to do flippy spinny stuff. Lots of fun.

Saturday the 8th of July was when the conference actually started. People started pouring in. The Niemeyers were among the first ones there, and we played basketball and football until a bunch of TEAM Germany, Italy and... what am I saying, EVERYONE showed up. The opening night was awesome. We "only" had Benjie to lead the worship:

But that was definitvely enough. Thanks for taking care of the power point the rest of the week!

Germany beats Portugal for second best loser of the World Cup.

Sunday the 9th July. At this point, everything is kinda confused in my mind as to what happended each day. I believe that this was the day when John and Michelle showed up to help out in the worship:

(token maraca player there aswell).

This trio would end up being the youth leaders aswell. I was thinking about writing more on that laterm but i might aswell now: All three couldn't have been better chosen for the job. Their lives are so filled with powerful experiences and inspiring stories showing the power and grace of God, it was simply amazing to ahve them there, teaching us in theology roudtables, The Stranger talks, guy vs girls talks, media and culture talks... And nevermind they are such talented musicians and singers (Michelle makes up for our lack of tone on Friday for sure)... I could not imagine any better leaders for the week. Coupled with them the invaluable TEAM serve team and the man the legend Ben Strength... This week helped me and everyone gain better knowledge about God and enabled us to worship the Lord like only a conference can make you.

Anyways, back to the timeline. Sunday was also the day that most of the dudes went to the pool in Ommen. We had fun on the diving boards, but that wasn't the highlight. What was, was our TROUNCING of the dutchies at football. They played dirty, they played mean, and yet we owned them 5 to 3, with us scoring the golden goal. whilst we were ahead. It was amazing.

Sunday was also the world cup final. Long story short, France lost to not necessarily the best team in over time. Zidane went out with a bang:

Yeah, so a lot happended Sunday...

Monday the 10th.... eh forget it, i have no clue what we did each day after sunday. I'll "just kick it from my head you know what im saying, i can do that, no disrespect, but that's how i am".

Anyways, Monday and Tuesday i forget, but it was fun. If one of those days was when we watched High Scool Musical for the first time, then it has to be said that movie rockzorz my soxorz. Thank to Mike Zuch:

for that beauty of a movie.

The reason i forget most of it is prolly because Wednesday was the day we all went to 6 FLAGS BABAY! Ok, so now it's Walibi World, but yeah. That day was amazing. From messing with stupid employees (*looks right... looks left... looks right...* No. Good times Ben, great times), to riding all the most insane coasters ever, to driving some Go Karts, to basically just having afield day of fun with the coolest people in the world, Wednesday the 12th of July 2006 is one of my favorite days ever:

Thursday was the day some peeps went to Zwolle:

However, the smart people decided to stay behind and have Benjie walk us through the Bible in 4 and half hours with The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus:
.
Im still reading that book, and it's amazingly awesome. Thanks Benjie!
After the study, I managed to catch the third showing of HSM, and then the end of the Empire Strikes back. Great day. Oh, and we showed Stockholm Syndrome (check down this page). Twas a hit, so im happy about that. Jon Hegner's France field video rocked aswell.

The nights were awesome too. Joe Muckle, Stephen Davis, Myself and later Ian Strom would stay up till one every night just talking about stuff, with references to obscure comics:

and with with frequent interruptions by Ben:

so that we would cry ourselves to sleep (in a good, laughing way) :"Hey, did you guys order the half naked fat guy from the guys next door?" / "It was some other dude with wooden shoes, i swear!" Good times....

Friday the 14 of July was the final day of the conference. There was the traditional children's program. Amos Stott rules:

However, nothing was planned for the youth. So Ian, Josh Prince, Joe, Stephen and I decided to do "In the Jungle" and "Eye of the Tiger" a capella, with Josh Crooks accompanying on the beat box. We had 10 minutes of practice, we bombed it, but we ruled it aswell. It was amazing... Good times:

(The sound and video are way off... this is all i have of it so far.)

After that, the youth had a big time photoshoot. Ill try to put the main ones on here (email me for all of them):

Dudes

Gals

Spain

Italy

John being the definition of "That Other Guy"

Patty and Anna

What?

Spies (yes, this is a link!)

Six Flags Memories

Eye!

Grr!

Best Buds

Of course, we weren't happy at all. We were all emo:

Well, that's a plethaura of pics for you. The day ended with all of us singing worship songs, final goodbyes and in my case being lame and going to bed out of sheer exhaustion. The next morning, i said goodbye to everyone that was still there, we went over the week and promised to see each other again.

If we don't see each other before, it must be said that when i get a house, you guys are ALL invited over for a huge get together bash of sorts. Or until next time!

Saturday the 15th, we departed, the first to arrive and the last to leave on our voyage back home. We listened to the Wayside album, reminding ourselves of how blessed we had been that week.

Spirits were still high:

As we headed on the long road back home,

we couldn't help but feel light as the wind, turning the huge propellers of the many windmills along the road:

Ours was a renewed calling to be in the world to serve the Lord, providing the gentle push to put things into motion and produce the fruit this world desperately needs (man, being a HS senior helps when it comes to making up stuff like that... :P). With our renewed selves thanks to this wonderful conference, we could almost see Christ, right there with us on the road:

Epilogue and Reflections:

Going into the conference, I had a goal. Because the older generation, basically all of our older siblings, had made it a point, nay, an art form, to seggregate against us youngin's, who wanted nothing more than to hang out with the cool kids, i made it a point of mine to make sure that, even though some kids would like others more, no one would be left behind, alone and bored.
Having been excluded from the older and indeed cooler kids' group by these older kids and knowing how that felt, i decided to include everyone as much as possible. Why should the younger guys not be able to have fun with us? Why would they somehow not be worthy? The younger guys are the ones who are going to be the future of the field, they deserve a good example. And guess what? EVERYONE of us older dudes followed suite, subconsciously. We all knew what it was like to be the butt of the jokes, and we all did admirably well keeping the good times going for everyone. We had fun with the younger guys, we hung out with them and we all had fun together. When DJ:

came up on stage at the end of the week, telling us just how glad he was that he as a twelve year old was accepted with the up to 19 year olds, i had a silent fist pump. When David Blanchard:

thanked Joe and I for making him feel comfortable and included when we went to the pool, that was awesome. That's what it was about: sharing the awesomeness.

As you grow older, you don't realize it, but there is a following.The little dudes look up to you, they take their cues as to what is cool and fun from you. If they see you skate, they want to skate. If they see you playing football, they also want to play. They want you to hang out with them, because you're what they want to be to some degree. Likewise, if you treat them poorly, they feel abandonned, uncool, and ignored. This, unfortunately, is more lasting an impression than any good impression you may have had. Unfortunately, that is a major thing i remember about my sister: being treated like crud, not being allowed to hang out with her and her friends. It was great to know that we managed to be the group that reversed the dynamic the older generation was setting.

Getting the praise that we did from the adults was amazing, compared to the last conference when the youth were in huge trouble. I want to thank all of you teens for being the best group ever. You rule, we rule, we're awesome.

I want to thank the Wayside again for being awesome. I learned so much about... a bunch of stuff. From the Bible to theological debates to the Christian Clique, it was all around awesome. I feel spiritually replenished, and even though re-entry has been tough, i feel that i can change my pre-conference dynamic for the Lord.

Thanks to TEAM serve (Hannah, Brooke), Conference Junkies (Christina, Julia), our helpers (Ben... you rule)... You guys were great.

Thanks again to all you peeps keeping it real all across Europe and the best part of Canada! You guys are all amazing.

Im going to try to make a movie for you all with what i gots, so sit back and relax, it'll come. A taste of what is to come:

Thanks again. I'll leave you with our theme song (so say Ian and Josh). We are on the Front Line.
God Bless You.
Peace,
Patty.

Cannibal Chicken

2006-07-01T20:50:00.000+02:00

Ouch

2006-06-30T15:32:00.000+02:00

1 Corinthians 6:18-20
"Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

The Bunny Suicides

2006-06-26T18:08:00.000+02:00

Click here!

Paul Rodriguez

2006-06-26T15:52:00.000+02:00

Today

2006-06-22T17:05:00.000+02:00

Brokeback moment!

The Infamous Fakie Crail

Stockholm Syndrome

2006-06-17T18:47:00.000+02:00

Gnarls Barkley

2006-06-13T20:55:00.000+02:00

Skating

2006-06-11T20:32:00.000+02:00

Three stairs! Extreme!

A Nice and Long Read

2006-06-11T18:17:00.000+02:00

If you're bored:
Homology = Proof for Evolution?

Stockholm Marathon

2006-06-06T21:21:00.000+02:00

Yeh!

High Five!

He crosses the line!

Booyakasha

Another victor.

DVS Skate More

2006-06-03T21:14:00.000+02:00

Silly National Geographic!

2006-06-03T13:40:00.000+02:00

So im cruisin' through the National Geographic for June 2006. Looks pretty sweet you know, it's about why the world loves FOOTBALL (not soccer dudes, anyways...) and that's kinda cool.

Once again, in the little editorials though, the guys writing it are complete retards. Im sorry, but it's kinda true.

Anyways, the first little thing that erks me is in the "Fossils" part "Did Dinosaurs Have Day Care?". I don't care about whether or not they did, could be, it doesn't change my life, but there are a few things in there that erk me.
Mainly, it is the constant repetition of rapid burial :" Nobody knows what buried them so quickly. Their den might have collapsed or flooded, or drifts of volcanic ash could have suffocated them", "died suddenly", ""The near perfect preservation shows that they were buried very rapidly""; and this coupled with "125 million years ago" and other old age BS, i mean fact.

Here, let me clue you guys in as to why they seemed to have been buried rapidly, i highlighted it: Flooded. A lightning quick flash flood of epic proportions. Wait, lemme expand that more: ain't it screwy that all fossils are ever found in sedimentary rock? I mean, it's obvious it would have been that way, but isn't it lucky that all the animals we can now see were stupid enough to drown/get owned by volcanic ash? How often does this actually happen? Because we see a load of fossils being uncovered, often very far spread apart, across the whole world, and it's just lucky that all these poor animals were stupid enough to drown. LUCKY! Whereas a flood on a global scale isn't a possibility. Nope.

The second thing that annoys me is 2 pages after in the "Science" part "Mighty Flighty". Without going into too much detail, it is an article about how incredibly versatile and manoeuverable the common house fly and hover flies are, how they own anything humans could ever make, and how their feats are simply unbelievable for things that have a brain smaller than a sesame seed. After this exposé on how incredible they are..."Given that flies have evolved for hundreds of millions of years (and that they were the first animals to take to the air), we shouldn't be surprised that they're such good fliers".
Oh wait im sorry, i thought you had just told us all about how complex and inguenous these things are. Oh no, they simply evolved to this state in a really long time, meaning that they kinda sucked at flying way back when. Good thing nothing existed to eat them right?

Yes, good thing that flies are so incredible at flying, and developped this after millions of years. Irreductible complexity much? Morons.

This isn't the first time either. here is my other beef:
Hmmmm

Flips Session

2006-05-30T23:08:00.000+02:00

CAS log

2006-05-30T18:30:00.000+02:00

Kapellskär

4 hours action (soccer, trampolining, football), 4 hours creativity (planning with axel), 12-18 hours service (hanging with the kids, the games, making sure they were having fun...)

Movies
So far, im at 8. all have been uploaded, except for my ollie tutorial (39 MB).

here they are in all their glory, in order:

shove it session (3 hours editing/creating // 20 minutes action) 1/09/05
laura first ollie (5 minutes editing/creating) 5/09/05
the ollie tutorial (4 hours editing/creating // 1 hour filming) 5/09/05
boogie (10 minutes editing/creating)
conspiracy baby (20 minutes editing/creating //) 7/09/05
pwnage 1.0 (1 hour editing/creating) 15/09/05
still shots (20 minutes editing/creating) 22/09/05
Tranny (3 hours editing//creating) 18/10/05
Desperation (1 hour creating/editing) 25/12/05
Hare Dare (2 hours creating/editing) 26/12/05
Mosstorps (1 hour editing/creating) 29/01/06
Väsjö edit (1 hours editing/creating) 9/02/06
Stockholm Big Air 2006 2 hours creating, 2 hours filming with Viktor (4C) 21-22/03/06
Gazebo Skating 1 hour creating 01/04/06
Introduction for forum, thing... 2 hours creating 1/05/06
Flips Session! 2 hours creating/ 1 hour fliming 30/05/06
The Tree 1 Hour of Creative filming, 2h30 editing 3H30 C 7/08/06
The Tree: Matrix Steeze1 hour editing/creating 1C 7/08/06
The Pool 3 hours filming + editing 3C

heres to many more!

Skating Lessons/Skating

3 hours with matte/erik first week (2h S, 1h A) 26/08/05
2 hours with Erik 3/09/05 (1h S, 1 hour A)
5 hours skating with joel, dennis, krille 4/09/05 (learning new mini ramp and getting better at park skating, 5h A)
2 hours with Axel, Kevin, Erik, Matte and Åsa/Vicco (1h30h S, 30 min A) 7/09/05
2 hours with Krawe 8/09/05 (2hA)
2 hours with matte 9/09/05 (2h A)
3 hours with matte and danny 13/09/05 (3h A)
2 and a half hours with erik/matte 22/09/05 (2h 30 minutes A)
5 and a half hours with Axel 29/09/05 (5 hours 30 minutes A)
1 hour 4/10/05 (1 hour action)
1 hour with Erik 06/10/05 (1 hour action)
10 hours with mattias and Erik 14/10/05 (10 hours A, mattias 6 hours A, Erik 2 hours C)
2 hours with mattias (2 hours A) 20/10/05
DROP IN! ROCK FAKIE! PWNAGE!
2 hours with Joel (2 hours A) 27/11/05
1 hour A 01/04/06
1 hour 30 min A 24/04/06
3 hours A 26/08/06
7 hours A 28-29/10/06
see additional hours of action in movies, + 4 hours on my own before this log A.

Skiing:

1 hour jump building 20/11/05 C
1 hour 30 min skiing 21/11/05 A
2 hours with PiGGe 28/11/05
5 hours with Matte 2-3/12/05

first rail ever
3 hours with Viktor and Axel 27/12/05 2 hours creativity/1 hour action
1 hour creating a small animation 28/12/05 C
5 hours with Stephen 5 hours action 30/12/05
2 hours 8/01/06 1A 1 C
6 hours with Viktor and Father 21/01/06 6A
2 h 30 min with Viktor 28/01/06 2 h 30 min A
8 hours with Viktor, Axel, Michael and Nicole 8/02/06 3 hours S (teaching mike to ski) + 5 hours A
3 hours with Axel, Matte and Nicole 20/03/06 2 hours A + 1 hour C

Diving

6 hours A/ 1 C filming Oct-Nov 06

International Bastards: the IB movie:

1 hour video part editing 19/11/05 C

Red Cross:

1h30 hour planning C 1+8/12/05
30 minutes C 20/05/06 ?

French lessons:

5 hours total S

www.tejic.se

4 hours of demonstrating/distributing flyers/raising awareness 29/03/06 (4S)
3 hours of demonstrating/distributing flyers/raising awareness 08/04/06 (3S)

Stockholm Syndrome
10 hours of filming/6 hours of editing 16C

Dirt Täby
8 hours of building 21/07/06 8S
4 hours of building 22/07/06 4S

Inventory ICA

4 hours of inventory 31/08/06

I learned fakie flips...

2006-05-28T17:35:00.000+02:00

Here is proof!

"This... is awesome" : .gif files that rock my world

2006-05-27T21:00:00.000+02:00

Flowah Powah! Stockholm in the Spring

2006-05-14T16:26:00.000+02:00

flowahs!

Pissenlit

Reach for the Sky

Mwah!

Heyo!

Flowah Eclipse

Touch the Sky

Almost Famous + Almost Tour

2006-05-13T18:31:00.000+02:00

comments: half of what chris hslam does is plain impossible... HOW???!!!
WOW.

Behold! Nature!

2006-05-13T17:36:00.000+02:00

behold!

Tri

Pod

Ants

Pine Cone

flowah

Blue Skies

walkin

heyo!

My view of a relationship...

2006-05-13T14:25:00.000+02:00

From a convo with a friend from class:

it's hard to define, but I will tell you what it isn't

it isn't based on physical/sexual desires

it isn't based on selfish desires (what can I get out of it?), but on what you can do FOR the other person (how can I help her out and complement her life?)
it isn't based on your own emotional security but on a mutual support base (you're there for her, she's there for you)
it is also a search for someone that you love
the main question is how does her being with you help her, and not how it helps you
it's a selfless quest to make a special someone's life that much better
in the hopes of discovering someone that also complements you so that you can be as happy as possibly can be, together, in a couple, as one.

Relationship advice 101

2006-05-09T22:45:00.000+02:00

"just slay her, dude! "wheeeoooo, Patty, the virgin surgeon!"" -J

My Birffday!

2006-05-08T20:48:00.000+02:00

Yeah, so just to put it simply: my 17th birthday party on Saturday may 6th 2006 was the best birthday party i have ever had. So many friends, yet such a great time!

So sexy!

Erik 'n I

Youth group!

Danielle n Lara

Class!

Football!

Frida going for it, Panda... standing, Danielle poised, Vicco worried, Anna rearranging the hair and Lara hiding.

Booyakasha!

EMO!

Got em!

Lara, Bengter, Marcus (my adopted father/brother/dude combo) and David going JEA!

Peoples!

Lovin the cake!

My Posts Touching on Creation/The Bible

2006-05-08T20:03:00.000+02:00

just as a recap for me and others.

An Interesting Discussion

Featurettes on the Catholic Church

National Geographic Rant 1

Follow my Logic

Creationist Rants 1-3

Great Quote

A Good Read