Desire Armed

Like that graphic? I threw it together real quick for you all. I even figured out how to do watermarks in Gimp. Yep.

I want to write a piece about how Jesus became an American patriot. This probably means I should buy, "The American Patriot's Bible."

Here's the Video that plugs the stupid thing. (Note: I was only able to watch up until the point that the video quotes Andrew Jackson as saying, "That book is the rock upon which our republic rests." Now Jackson, he was a great Christian leader for the country, wasn't he?"

Death to Americanity, anyone?)

I promise I'll post something significant soon. I'm still adjusting to the eastside and work. Till then, enjoy me all dressed up in an Abercrombie shirt the former occupant of my room left me.

And my new hairstyle.

So I have moved out of the apartment with Justin (because he got married) and into an apartment with a couple of friends named Ray and Ted.

The new apartment is only a 5 minute walk to school as opposed to the 1 hour and 20ish minute commute. I like that.

I also like that the former occupant of the room I inherited left me a bed that doesn't sit on the floor (something new to me in the last couple of years), an umbrella, and several Abercrombie shirts.

Ray is a close friend since I started Multnomah. Ted came along shortly there after. I've had many an adventure with both, but I suppose the new ones that happen as I live here will be told to you.

Remember when I posted a link to a picture of Jesus on the butt of a dog?

Alex comments on that post.

What you're all forgetting is that the image cannot be an offensive rendition of Jesus not for the sake of humour or a lack thereof, or even for adam's witty and chuckle-worthy reminder of our general disposition towards offense. No my friends, it is because Jesus, in fact, was not white. I'm willing to go ahead and assume he didn't travel around Galilee in a nice Wool-ite whiteness protected white robe either. Wherefore, the dog picture can only be a just and amusing allegory for white jesus and all accompanying constantinian agendas.

=D Good night and good luck

They (that ominous they that knows everything) used to say that the quality of a government was dependent on the quality of the media.

In the future, will the quality of government be dependent on the quality of Internet access...especially access to sites like youtube and twitter?

Rosenberg was shot and killed while riding his bicycle on Sunday. He had been representing a financial expert named Khalil Musa who was himself murdered along with his daughter after accusing a state-owned bank of corruption. Rosenberg had publicly accused the government of conspiring the kill Musa. The video quickly went viral after Rosenberg's death, sparking anti-government demonstrations with thousands of angy protesters demanding Colom's resignation and calling for an international investigation.

(The YouTube video that could bring down Guatemala's government: Foreignpolicy.com)

The protest in Guatemala progressed online like this and came with the arrest of a Twitterer.

The release of Rosenberg’s written statement and video have led to street protests as well as a great deal of online organizing. Xeni Jardin - who’s covered this story very closely on BoingBoing - reports that these protests have been streamed live on the internet via Ustream.tv, with the broadcast periodically interrupted by police harrasment. Guatemalans and others following the situation are organizing groups on Facebook and tagging their posts on Twitter with the #escandalogt tag.

In one of her posts, Xeni notes that the young people organizing online to protest Rosenberg’s murder are taking a great deal of personal risk. That was a prescient warning on her part - today, Guatemalan police arrested Jean Ramses Anleu Fernández, who was twittering under the handle @jeanfer.

(The assassinated lawyer, the arrested Twitterer - corruption, whistleblowing and protest in Guatemala: ethanzuckerman.com)

Facebook, Youtube, Ustream.tv, and yes, even Twitter. I guess these things aren't a waste of time for everybody.

If the Rosenberg story is legit, I hope justice comes about somehow. Even if Twitter (which I still hate) is involved.

This last Saturday Multnomah held its end of the year party (as it does every year) in a park. Roger asked me to pick him up from his home. He brought a game of lawn darts, and he destroyed me 12 to 6.

At first, I wasn't trying much. But when I realized Roger was better than me, I fought to win to the bitter end.

Don't mind losing to this cutie though.

According to this models prediction, it will happen in 2021. Surprisingly, the model doesn't predict that it will be the last or second to last state to pass laws which allow gay marriage.

Not so surprisingly, are the variables this model pays the most attention to:

It turns out that you can build a very effective model by including just three variables:

1. The year in which the amendment was voted upon;
2. The percentage of adults in 2008 Gallup tracking surveys who said that religion was an important part of their daily lives;
3. The percentage of white evangelicals in the state.

I know media's (especially...blog media...can I call a blog media?) statistics and prediction reports are terrible to cite as authority. (Like all the kids at my school who talked about the latest gallup poll during the election. Yep, it certainly made you sound informed.)

But I just find it interesting to try and imagine what the future will be like concerning issues like Gay Marriage and the legalization of pot.

Who knows what cultural shift will be right around the corner. Maybe America will relax on the whole gay marriage taboo tomorrow, or maybe America will become an oppressive state like in the movie V for Vendetta. Hopefully the former. Hopefully.

P.S. If you are gay and you live in the OKC/Norman area, you might be interested in this group. Norman Queer Alliance. I've been friends with one of the organizers for a few years now, and he is pretty great.

Everyone is talking about Twitter these days. It was only a matter of time before they Christianized it. (Remember Godtube!)

P.S. I hope twitter is just a fad that goes away.

I took my last final today, so you can expect a feverish amount of posting to return soon.

This post, "Regarding The Jonas Brothers," is definitely worth a read.

The ubiquity of the Jonas Brothers is so enormous that parents are left with little choice but to submit or ostracise their child. The Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana and The Cheetah Girls (The Pussycat Dolls for tweens) are the only mainstream option for preteens to participate in rock culture and though I am focusing on the way this is damaging to young girls, let it be said that Disney's hyper-sexed musical offerings and the confusing sexual message they carry are no less dangerous to young boys.

Disney is selling sex to kids, pretending they're not, and making a fortune while forcing their audience into cultural bankruptcy. South Park covered it quite well: