Travel.

I am doing a little bit of reading before we head into lectures, so I thought I would just put up a few little thoughts until I can write a full post later. 

The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are. 

Samuel Johnson

All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.

Martin Buber

Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.

Seneca

Catch Up

Ok, so I've been a little remiss in my blogging concerning my current trip to Germany.  Ok, a lot remiss, but it seems as though whenever I sit down to it our internet decides to be ancient, and then I never get around to it again.  But enough excuses, I am here now, and I am writing now. 

Germany.  There is a lot to say about the past 10 or so days.  It has been an absolute whirlwind, to say the very least, but an enjoyable one at that.  First of all, I could not have asked for a better group to travel with.  Dr. Lahaie has been wonderful, and I have no idea where any of us would be if we had not had a professor that was a) German and/or b) completely fluent in the language...I do not care to think about that possibility, all I know is that I am incredibly thankful for her and her knowledge.  In addition, my fellow students are equally delightful, and even though some of them aren't well-versed in the arena of travel (one of our girls had never been on a plane, before our 8 hour flight here), they have proven to be open for adventure and full of excitement and joy to be here.  

How to catch you up?  This just might prove to be the most scattered blog post to date, but thus far we have spent about 2 1/2 days in Wittenberg, a day in Bad Wimpfen, and a day in Worms.  The other days have been filled with lectures, visits to museums, a castle, one very interesting theatre experience, and a few organ concerts.  I stood on the world's largest wine barrel that has ever actually held wine, walked through Medieval streets, climbed towers from the 12th. century, and have not been in a car in 10 days (of which I am thoroughly happy, until I look at some of the prospects here, and then I wish I was able to test drive them all!).  I have eaten white asparagus larger than my head, eaten a pretzel equally as large, and have walked more miles than I care to count, of that, however, I am thoroughly grateful, considering how good the food is.  

Well, that should be somewhat of a good start.  Tomorrow morning we are heading to Dachau and Munich, our taxi is coming at 5:30...I'm praying the alarm will go off, and that I will hear it for that matter. 

And so I begin...

Currently, I am sitting amongst all my worldly goods, deeming certain things necessary and unnecessary (even though I could, most assuredly, make a case for anything here to be "quite necessary"), to a 6 week adventure in Europe.  

My main dilemma always ends up being with shoes and books, in no particular order.  They are of equal issue to me when it comes to traveling.  I like to think that I will always have a wonderful assortment of footwear when on trips, and likewise I feel as though I must have a small library with me so that I can choose exactly what I feel like reading on any particular day.  I just do not find it appealing to lock myself into any particular "genre," in either my reading material or my foot covering.  Maybe it's an issue of commitment, and thus something I should work through, but I like to think that it is my "creative" side that wants to be sure that the whole world is her oyster, incessantly.  

I'm beginning to think it is a bit of both, but regardless this trip has stipulations...one bag and one backpack.  So however claustrophobic I might feel in having to pigeon hole each and every one of my outfits and decide (beforehand) what my whim and fancy might be in terms of books, I nevertheless must make decisions.  The boundaries of fascist airline baggage weight stipulations, combined with the fact that I am going to have to lug said baggage across a portion of Germany and the better part of England, dictates that I better make some very decisive, productive slashing of materials in the next few hours.  Thus, I better be off, but I am now beginning the series of blogging over the next 6 weeks, centered around my travels in Germany and England.  I have always had grandiose hopes of maintaining this blog in a timely fashion (and never really have), but this time around, I will.  

Word Spy

Finding new words or phrases, wordspy.com:

mindcasting pp. Posting a series of messages that reflect one's current thoughts, ideas, passions, observations, readings, and other intellectual interests.  

zombie bank n. A bank that cannot lend money because its liabilities are greater that its assets, but remains in business because of government support. 

kettle v. To maneuver protesters into a small area using a cordon of police personnel and vehicles.

Interesting, eh?

We Shall Build On

We shall build on. On through the cynic’s scorning, On through the coward’s warning, We shall build on. Firm on the rock of ages, City of saints and sages, Laugh when the tempest rages, We shall build on. Christ, though our hands be bleeding, Fears, though our flesh be pleading, Still let us see Thee leading, For we shall build on. 

-studdart kennedy

Thought.

O Christ my God, shine forth on me and on all who dwell in the darkness of sin; show me the glorious day of Thy Passion, that with all men I may cry: Arise, and have mercy!

Graduation...or?

The Voice of My Heart

Although I am not known for my lack of words, there are moments where I find myself just simply without them.  This may be as a result of my indifference to the subject in question, or really that I just don't feel the need to communicate.  Lately, I have been wanting to get back to blogging; however, I inevitably question my reasoning behind it.  Yet, last night I was reading Sir Philip Sidney for my Renaissance, non-Shakespeare, literature course and came across a line I found to be profound.   This one sentence comes from Sidney's sonnet sequence Astrophel & Stella, and states: 

Fool, said my Muse to me, looke in thy heart, and write.

Simple enough, but I believe Sidney touched on something profound for those of who are infatuated with words.  I say infatuated, because that is precisely what I mean.  There are some people that are just consumed, haunted, and fixated by words, I am one of them.  They fascinate me.  Their formation, their meanings, their structure, no matter what language, I love words.  And so, inevitably, if one looks in a heart or soul, like mine, you are bound to find nothing but those strange things we refer to as "words"

Thus, I have to write.  Not for anyone in particular, not to be published someday, not for anything other than it is the expression of my soul.  And even though that expression may not be polished, intellectual, or sophisticated, I really don't mind...the purpose of the words I may write is simply for them to be...

As Confucius said, "Words are the voice of my heart."

Books

A book is a fragile creature, it suffers the wear of time, it fears rodents, the elements and clumsy hands.  So the librarian protects the books not only against mankind but also against nature and devotes his life to this war with the forces of oblivions. 

-Umberto Eco

Words

"When words are scarce, they are seldom spent in vain."

-William Shakespeare

My words have been scarce as of late.  I have every hope of continuing the precedent of this blog, but one can never know what tomorrow brings...

The Party's Over...

Well, the electoral process has spoken, and once again we have a president.  I just hope that this country realizes that we need a lot more than the talk of change if we are going to move forward through the issues that confront us today. 

Boise State!

Boise State 38 - Louisiana Tech 3

4-0!!!  Go Broncos!!!

A Prayer

Lord, make me an instrument of Your Peace!

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console.

To be understood as to understand.

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.

It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

-St. Francis of Assisi 

Thought For the Day

If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches.  

For the creator, there is no poverty.

-Rainer Maria Rilke

Behold the Naked Chickens...

Well, sort of.  They are naked, in that they are featherless.  However, while one might think that this is some bizarre accident, some cruel twist of nature, this is not the case.  In fact, these chickens were bred to be this way...Yes, indeed.  

They were created by scientists at the Rehovot Agronomy Institute near Tel Aviv, Israel.  The idea behind the creation of this particular...well, bird...is that it is a more convenient and energy efficient way of providing chickens to warmer climates.  Without their feathers, they will be able to function in warmer countries and thus will make it easier to provide certain nations with more meat supply.  Whereas before, there was the need to provide cooled facilities to breed chickens, which is too expensive.  One plus is that the birds were not actually genetically modified, they come from a natural breed, whose characteristics have been known for at least 50 years.  

Well, as you can imagine there are critics who say everything from, it will make them more susceptible to parasites or sunburn, to it will hinder the male chickens ability to mate because they cannot flap their wings.  Joyce D'Silva, from Compassion in World Farming (yes, you read it correctly), says that the chickens are "disgusting" and "it's a prime example of sick science and the suggestion that it would be an improvement for developing countries is obscene."  

My thought...hmm, yes well, if we would only have half as much concern for other things, we might not be in the trouble we are in...BUT, there are always the critics, no matter what idea you present, someone will always have their own opinion.  That is part of the beauty of human nature, and yet in so many ways, its downfall.  

So, to all the featherless chickens in the world, though some may call you disgusting, we hope you find your purpose, like every small boy and girl.  

Current Tune

One song getting a lot of play on itunes these days.  It's  a beautiful song.

Come close listen to the story

About a love more faithful than the morning

The Father gave his only Son just to save us

The earth was shaking in the dark

All creation felt the Fathers broken heart

Tears were filling heavens eyes

The day that true love died, the day that true love died

When blood and water hit the ground

Walls we couldn't move came crashing down

We were free and made alive

The day that true love died, The day that true love died

Search your hearts you know you can't deny it

Lose your life just so you can find it

The Father gave his only son just to save us

Jesus is alive

He rose again

-Phil Wickham

In Memoriam

Michal Ann Goll

14 February 1956 - 15 September 2008

Always loved, never forgotten.  A woman who loved unconditionally, her Savior 

and everyone

 she met.  

Setting It Straight

Well, she certainly dispelled some doubts, did she not?  

It's kind of sad that the best the other side could do was take a potshot at her speech writer...really guys?  Come on!  I know you can do better than that!  

This election is shaping up to by quite an interesting journey....

Thought

Subtle is the Lord, but malicious He is not. 

-Albert Einstein-

7 for 7

HE DID IT!  

7 Olympic gold medals!  

Of course he did it in pure style, winning by the smallest margin possible!  Absolutely stunning!