Silent prayer

EVERYTHING
Lifehouse

find me here and speak to me
I want to feel You I need to hear You
You are the light that's leading me
to the place where I find peace again

You are the strength that keeps me walking
You are the hope that keeps me trusting
You are the life to my soul
You are my purpose
You're everything

and how can I stand here with You and not be moved by You?
would You tell me how could it be any better than this?

You calm the storms and You give me rest
You hold me in Your hands You won't let me fall
You still my heart and You take my breath away
would You take me in
take me deeper now

and how can I stand here with You and not be moved by You?
would You tell me how could it be any better than this?

cause You're all I want
You're all I need
You're everything
everything

and how can I stand here with You and not be moved by You?
would You tell me how could it be any better than this?

Muslim cartoon situation

I agree with this article...I think it's a little absurd that the West is apologizing for something we believe in so strongly...the freedom of speech. How many times has Christianity and Judaism been mocked in this country...and Judaism in Muslim countries...quite a few times. So why do we all of a sudden apologize for this one instance for Islam? I understand that they were offended...I've been offended by many things in this country...but I don't scream and shout and burn flags or embassy buildings because of it. Everyone is entitled to their opinion....it just seems kind of strange that they threaten and we succumb and say..."oh i'm so sorry" They still dislike us...if anything apologizing suggests that threats actually work and terrorizing nations, fear, and riots are the way to get what you want. Hmmm....great strategy.

Jewish World Review Feb. 8, 2006 / 10 Shevat, 5766

The end of civilization was a joke
By Kathleen Parker

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | What if the world went up in a mushroom cloud over a cartoon Â? or because of a photograph of some reveler dressed up like a pig?

Well, of course, that would be absurd, a comedy, a Clouseauean flick about a bumbling inspector, right? No, that would be a documentary about the end of civilization circa 2006 Â? unless we come to our senses.

The cartoon implosion now rocking the Muslim world Â? featuring embassy burnings, threats of 9-11 sequels and the Arab street equivalent of the Terrible Twos Â? is based on equal parts fake photographs and a default riot mode looking for an excuse. Extreme propaganda on one side and a lack of fortitude on the other have brought us near the brink of extinction through a global act of accidental self-mockery.

The world isn't mad over cartoons; the world IS a cartoon.

The dozen Danish drawings everyone by now has heard about Â? but not necessarily seen thanks to our own media's sanctimonious sensitivity to insanity Â? were mild by modern satirical standards. In brief, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten last September published 12 cartoons that depicted Muhammad in various poses. The worst of them showed the Prophet wearing a bomb-turban.

Naturally, the Muslim world has gone insane.

And unnaturally, much of the Western world has retreated into fetal repose. Only in Europe did a few newspapers republish the allegedly offensive cartoons, while most American papers have genuflected to the altar of multiculturalism.

One after another, editors have explained their decision not to run the images for fear of offending American Muslims. Never mind that the same papers, notably The Boston Globe, felt no such compunction in the past when they defended "Piss Christ," a photograph of crucifix submerged in urine. Or the Virgin Mary covered in feces.

Meanwhile, querulous Americans still reliant on traditional media are left in the kind of darkness admired by Islamic states. How are they to debate and make a judgment about the cartoons without seeing them?

They can go to the blogosphere, that's how.

The Internet is now the only place Americans can view the cartoons and, as a bonus, learn that much of the outrage now seething through the Middle East was stoked not by the cartoons in question, but by three bogus photographs circulated by the (peace-loving) Islamic Society of Denmark. A spokesman for the group said they circulated the photos to demonstrate Denmark's Islamophobia.

Except that the photographs weren't published in Denmark or elsewhere on terra firma. One of them, allegedly depicting Muhammad dressed like a pig, is in fact a photo of Frenchman Jacques Barrot as he participated in last August's annual French Pig-Squealing Championships in Trie-sur-Baise. And that's no joke.

The pig photograph, lifted from an MSNBC story, is posted at neanderNews.com, where other blogs (Gateway Pundit and Counter Terrorism Blog) also are credited with reporting the photoscam. The other photos (origins unknown), including one of a man dressed in Arab garb being mounted by a dog, are the sort of images bored college students Photoshop in dorm rooms late at night.

Whether Islamophobia inspired any of these images is a question for documentarians to explore. Meanwhile, fear for our future is an appropriate response to mass insanity. But potentially more dangerous than short-fused fanatics is our own cowardice in declining to treat this madness as anything but inexcusably barbaric.

Instead, we kneel in apology for our own hard-won principles. Newspapers especially deserve contempt for their spineless refusal to deal honestly with this controversy. Instead of publishing the cartoons and explaining why free expression is central to the West's survival, editors with few exceptions have swaddled themselves in the blankie of "sensitivity."

Kudos and curtseys to Philadelphia Inquirer editor Amanda Bennett, who published one of the cartoons along with a story about the controversy. For her trouble, she has been visited by Muslim protesters who promise to return if the paper doesn't apologize. Bennett deserves not just congratulations, but solidarity from other newspapers that have a fresh opportunity to prove their mettle.

Incensed Iranians are preparing to lob a few cartoon bombs of their own with a Holocaust cartoon competition. Fine. All comers are welcome to the free-speech fray. Far better that we wage the war of ideas with words and images than with bombs and bullets.

That's the beauty of free expression, in honor of which Â? and as an opportunity to teach Â? American newspapers surely will print the Iranian cartoons. Won't they?

Writing days...

Today is a writing day, a day in which I have completely devoted to writing a paper that is due on Thursday. A paper that scares me a little, but also is causing me a great deal of senior-itis and apathy towards school. It is interesting to note how on such 'writing days' everything else in my life somehow takes on a new form and becomes curiously distracting and alluring. For example, this blog, other blogs I read, the internet, the facebook, my email account, the world outside my room, even other people in the hallway become a distraction. Fascinating isn't it that they change in a split second from being mundane to completely interesting when I have a 6-8 page paper looming in the back of my world. Oh well...so much for delaying it any longer.

I will grab my Starbucks (vanilla, hazelnut latte), and with pen in hand spill out insightful words until my mind has turned to mush!

Happy Writing Day! :)

A break for Randomness!

46 of the most random things you probably never needed to know about someone.

1. Your name spelled backwards? eirrac, it sounds like the country we are at war with! :(
2. Last incoming call on your phone? Jaime! My 2nd roomie of the year! :)
3. What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer? 2 songs from i-Tunes
4. What's your favorite restaurant? in Tallahassee? Samarat Indian Restaurant
5. Last time you swam in a pool? probably last summer! ha.
6. Britney Spears is a skank. Agree or disagree? she is one confused individual...
7. How many kids do you want? 3 AT THE MOST!
8. Type of music you dislike most? when music in any genre gets too extreme...ex: jazz when it has absolutely no melody and is all improv, or country when it is completely twangy..etc.
9. What was the last thing you bought? those 2 Hillsong worship songs on i-Tunes
10. Have you ever ridden on a bike? yep!
11. Does someone have a crush on you? HA HA HA....no.
12. Ever made a prank phone call? yes
13. Listening to music? actually watching the Superbowl...sort of. So far the commercials this year are SO MUCH BETTER than last year.
14. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving? DEFINITELY NOT! How scary would that be! Plus my doctor won't let me bungee jump...considering most of my spine is all one piece it probably wouldn't hold up to well being stretched like a spring.
15. What shoes are you wearing right now? my fluffly, tourquoise slippers--a Christmas gift!
16. Do you have a garden? um sure right in the middle of my room in a sorority house...i have roses and peas growing here. In a few months the peas will be ready if you want to come over and eat them...NO I DON'T HAVE A GARDEN!!
17. What's your favorite comic strip? calvin and hobbes!!!
18. Do you really know all the words to your national anthem? yes i learned it from a WeSing AMERICA tape when I was overseas...every 4th of July we would pop that baby in!
19. Bath or Shower, morning or night? shower--night!! more sleep in the morning!
20. Hello or goodbye? well i'm workin on saying goodbye to people...seems as though I just leave! haha...sorry guys...
21. Favorite pizza toppings? mushrooms, pepperonni, green peppers, tomatoes, cheese...unless we are at California Pizza Kitchen in which case there is a great Thai pizza that is delicious!
22. Chips or popcorn? POPCORN!!! it's my comfort food!! especially made from scratch! :) ooo...now I want some...although chips and salsa come in at a close second...especially with Zandy's homemade salsa
23. Favorite color? My favorite colors are: green, blue, and purple
24. Have you ever been in a beauty pageant? when I played with Barbies...they would have one, does that count? My friend and I would make their clothes with old scraps of material and safety pins.
25. Orange Juice or apple? Apple if I'm eating cheerios and orange if it's good juice. But my fave is Cranberry Raspberry juice!
26. Who were the last people you went out to dinner with? Jessica and Jimmy
27. Lucky number? who said numbers are lucky? when i exaggerate i use any combination of 6...like "my psychotic teacher assigned about 6,000 pages for us to read this weekend" or "This class felt like 6 years!"
28. Last time you ate a homegrown tomato? I think at the Emenheiser's house over the summer
29. Have you ever won a trophy? do medals count? I won 1st place in the science fair in 4th grade! :) I was so proud....
30. Are you a good cook? I would like to think so!! I love cooking! yay for the Food Network!
31. Do you know how to pump your own gas? um yes. who doesn't? 14 year olds?
32. Do the chinese really use cats in their food? what?! no...that is an american freakout...anyway if they did who cares? I hate cats! ha. i know you're freaking out right now carly! ;)
33. Sprite or 7-Up? Sierra Mist
34. Have you ever had to wear a uniform to school? yes when i was in private school for P.E.
35. Last thing you ate? Qdoba naked chicken queso burrito with those yummy chips & salsa
36. Ever thrown up in public? sadly yes...in an airplane. i felt HORRIBLE for the woman next to me...luckly she was really nice about it. i think i would have freaked out if i was her! stupid Starbucks workers leaving the milk out of the fridge...
37. Would you rather find true love or be a millionaire? true love...money only causes problems--who wants to deal with all the drama associated with it? NOT ME!
38. Do you believe in love at first sight? no...that only happens in movies...which brings me to my favorite romantic movie quote: "you don't want to be in love, you want to be in-love in a movie!"-sleepless in seattle
39. Where will you be for Valentine's day? at school presenting in my class with my friend Katie...and then most likely working at Publix
40. Last time you laughed? last night on the phone with Jimmy!
41. What's your favorite animal? favorite meaning one I find humorous? 'cause that would be a squirrel...or a penguin...or a duck! haha...
42. What was the name of your first pet? Toby, unless you count fish, in which case it's probably like Goldy or Spot or something...i don't remember, we had quite a few of them...all dead now though.
43. Who is the second to last person to call you? my mother
44. Is there anything going on this weekend? OH YEAH! only the best superbowl party happenin' up in here! ...and homework...and working. :p
45. How are you feeling right now? pretty good...trying to pump myself up for writing another essay!
46. What do you think about the most? what i will do after graduation