Regret

Matthew 6:19-21
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Heaven is this earth in the future, when God returns and redeems this earth bringing it back to the way things were at the garden of Eden before the fall of humanity (not some place up in the clouds where we play harps, or even just a big worship service).  The idea of "being too heavenly focused to be any earthly good" is an idea that doesn't understand heaven and hasn't looked at the lives of history's most heavenly focused people.  If life in heaven is basically life in a redeemed earth, then many of the things we enjoy here and now we can enjoy there.  We don't need to waste our time getting as much pleasure today as we can.  There will be time for that in eternity.  Instead, seeing heaven ahead of us, we spend our time here doing the things we can't do in heaven; we rescue the world from sin, hopelessness, and brokenness.  Spending our time amassing wealth does us no good.  We leave it all behind.  Redeemed lives though come into the new heaven and new earth with us.  The stories of people who had clean water to drink because of our obedience to God will come to heaven with us.

In light of that, as our lives come towards their ends and we transition into eternity, will we regret the time wasted now on the eternally insignificant? (which things count as eternally significant would be another entire series of blog posts which I won't discuss right now).  This clip from the end of Schindler's List portrays the regret of a man who did so much but could have done more.  I don't know if he is right in reacting the way he does or not.  He seems to ignore the joy he could have from saving hundreds of people, to focus on the 12 he lost, but actually that sounds a lot like the good shepherd leaving his 99 sheep, to search out the one who was lost.

I don't believe God's goal is for us to live our lives in misery, but I also can't imagine him being thrilled when we let the lives of others slip by as insignificant in comparison to the pleasures we want to have fulfilled now.  I want to be able to justify spending money on me for things I like, but I'm struggling to put together any real argument that doesn't sound contrived, and just like an excuse to let me do what I want to do...  I could have sponsored a child for a month with the $19 I spent at lunch today.  There was value to my lunch with friends, but does it outweigh the alternative use of the money?  I am struggling to beat this question.

A Connecting Addicted Society

This summer has been an interesting time for me.  It was the first time living by myself with internet.  I had a lot of time on my own, and that meant a lot of time wasted on the internet.  The internet is amazing and valuable and often I have things I need to do or learn or share via the internet.  I think that's great.  I noticed a problem though; I was almost always up to date on everything facebook decided to send to my home page.  I'd get home from class and scroll down and down and down, until I realized I was reading the things I'd seen before I went to class.  Then I'd go over to blogspot to see if anyone had posted anything, then I'd go back to facebook, and see the 2 new entries on my home page.  Then I'd close my laptop and go eat some yogurt.  Then I'd pull up facebook, and see another new entry...  Wow, getting addicted.  I recently started turning off my laptop when I'm not using it, so I wouldn't be so tempted to "just pull up facebook real quick."  I still think facebook is an AMAZING tool, and I have no intention of deleting my account any time soon.  It's very effective for coordinating activities amongst friends, and sharing visually, what exciting thing happened recently.  People complain about it's narcissistic nature, but I don't think that's what it is (necessarily).  No, I don't care that you just made the best spaghetti ever, but I do care that you visited Letchworth State Park, and I think you can describe the beauty better by sharing photos than in a conversation.  I care about you, and want to know what you're experiencing.  That said, it should be a supplement to real life interactions, not a replacement.

On a related note; smartphones.

Before I go into this, I realize you probably own a smartphone.  I am not attacking you (necessarily). But if your life looks like this video, yes, I think you have a problem, and you need to figure out a solution.

So for me, the real hindrance in getting a smartphone is the price.  It would cost me an extra $40 a month adding up to $480 a year.  I'd rather buy this bicycle:

I could buy it in a new color every year.  Or I could save for retirement... less fun, but important.

But anyway, even if it were a financially viable option, I still like to think I wouldn't have one.  Since I don't need instant access to email for work, I think checking my personal email 3 times a day is more than enough (and I have a very nice laptop on which I can check it).  Facebook... well we've already decided that I don't need to check that more often.  GPS; that could be nice, but... still not worth it.  I'm moving to Boston, known to be difficult to navigate.  So, I just look up where I'm going before I go.  Once, when visiting my cousin, I made a mistake and couldn't figure out where to go, so I called him and we sorted it out quickly and easily.  I expect my first few weeks in Boston will be a little chaotic, but after cycling all the back roads by memory instead of GPS, I think I'll know the city better than anyone.  I think that will be really fun and I'm looking forward to that.

Smartphones do have their advantages, which is why so many people have them.  I basically had one for a few years in college (iPod touch and wifi everywhere), and it got me a note taking job (though ironically it also caused me to pay less attention in class), and when you are out on vacation exploring a new city, it can make things so much simpler.  If you need it for work, that totally makes sense.  These advantages just don't seem that great to me though, and I know I'd have a hard time not being addicted to it.  That video makes me sad, and I want to say thank you to those of you with smartphones and self-control.  For those of us with average self-control, think twice about whether you want to keep the internet in your pocket.  For that matter, I think we should think twice about most things.

Letchworth is Lovely

So there is this lovely Stat Park nearby called Letchworth.  This is my 5th year as an RIT student and I've never been there.  2 friends and I decided to take the hour drive over and run through the gorgeous terrain.  We did about 8 miles in a little over 1.5 hours because we kept having to stop for pictures.  There are 3 sets of waterfalls along the way that were super cool and they are all set in a deep gorge.  We decided to do the gorge trail (most of the photos) and then tacked on the Mary Jemison Trail (video 1).  Love it!  Sorry the videos are shaky!  Enjoy.

 

LED Snowboarder

Usually I don't just post random video, but this is sweet.  Snowboarding at night in an LED suit!

Easter Weirdness

Easter is coming.  The mall here always has fascinating decorations.  There are a lot of these scenes with bunnies now around the mall, some playing instruments, some in real rabbit cages, and then these ones painting easter eggs.  With their heads at such awkward angles I find they look quite creepy.  Real grass though makes the whole thing nice.  It’s hard to imagine how the resurrection of Jesus Christ inspired a scene like this.

Nike Flyknit

So I realize that I work at PUMA but I can't help but recognize genius when I see it, this time from Nike.


This shoe is knitted, which means they can put more fabric exactly where it is needed and take it out where it's not.  It doesn't need lining.  The laces are wired directly to the outsole.  I imagine the materials are super cheap but super quality, and since you are not cutting the shapes out of a roll of fabric there is practically no left over scraps aside from a few inches of string.  They are coming out in July in time for the London olympic games and I can't wait to try on a pair.

Go here for nike's version.  There is another video and more thorough comments.


On a side less important note, it also looks sweet so they will be integrating the technique into their lifestyle shoes too.

going once, twice, three times, sold!

So this weekend was the bike auction.  I had never seen a real auction except in movies so it was a cool experience.  The auctioneer spoke slightly slower than he was supposed to but otherwise it lived up to expectations.  It drove me nuts though that you only had to outbid by a euro at a time so sometimes it went really slow.  5€, 6, 7...then I would jump in and bump it up to 40€ so it could continue for real.  The bikes all ended up just outside my price range so I didn't manage to get one, but it's getting too cold anyway.  Oh well...


and I may have miss translated a few numbers at the end. 

Hey Look!

So I've been drawing a good bit of attention around Erlangen in the past month and thought I'd mention it here.  So longboards aren't particularly common here.  They have skateboards, but most people notice that mine is different as I cruise gracefully through the streets, quietly, quickly, and smoothly.  Little kids turn point and stare quite often, or sometimes the other way around, the parent points me out to their small child.  It makes me grin.  Longboarding is fun, and it looks fun.  That's how I got hooked myself.  Maybe I'm inspiring lot's of young Germans to pick up longboarding.
Make it through the first 30 seconds, turn on your speakers, sit back.  Enjoy it.  Pleasant. 

The Flying Steps

The flying steps.
Break dancing to Classical Music
from Berlin

Spinning IN Deutschland

a snippit of Bremen

Parisian Pigeons

So I'm not doing any real updates yet but I wanted show off this video of a pigeon climbing the steps up to Le Sacré Cœur in Paris. All is going well. More updates in a week I reckon!

Musik!

I had a lot of fun with this so I hope you enjoy. I had a classical guitar on hand and that's what happened. Also, I do not recommend to anyone else the use of iMovie for stop motion video.

Choir Singing (with live Orchestra accompaniment)

I found it rather amusing how long it took for the choir to stand up. You think they are all standing and then another person pops up for a good 30 seconds. They did sing beautifully though.

Desk as a state of Mind

Not related to Germany at all,

I thought this was excellent

Also, I still have not made a home for myself at my desk here in Germany sadly

Desk - Music and Sound Design from Aaron Trinder Film:Motion:Music on Vimeo.

Köln atmosphere

Plaza in front of Cathedral in Cologne. For more pictures from the days adventures, click here.

a delightful day I must say.

Be sure to have speakers on to hear the steel drums.

drunken fans or a revolution

Don't ask me what it was,

I just know it was loud by my window for a minute

12 bar blues - ukulele

Why

Here it is. I love music. I love expressing myself through it vocally and musically but it's always been with someone else's lyrics. I started working on this during Urbana '09 and it continued to develop as life went along up until this past week when I recorded it. It came out of a lot of frustration with sin. Not the sin like lying and murder, but the effects of sin that manifest in life being totally unfair. Everyone trying to do the right thing and hurting each other deeply in the process. I expect that in the world, but in the church? Christian to Christian? brother to brother? brother to sister? None of its right and it's all a confused mess. Everyone is hurting everyone. Here's the thing though, just because I don't understand what's going on or don't like what I see, just because I find myself mad at God doesn't change whether he exists or not. It doesn't change his character. He is still good. I still must live my life for him. God sees the world very differently than I do and all I can do is trust that he's making better decisions than I would make. Even the "undeserved" sicknesses, war, and starvation are the results of the fall, and while a lifetime of those things seems like forever, they are really only a drop next to the life after death. Obviously how I see different situations varies a lot over the course of 5 months. New things come up and other things fade so in the song we have some of those variations squeezed together in 5 minutes. In short, no I don't get it, yes I'm frustrated but there are things that I do know and I need to stand on those things even when I don't have the whole picture. I didn't realize that was ok until this year. God has come through again and again though. He cuts through the chaos and makes the right thing happen. It's just tough to not know the ending. The lyrics are below. I don't think there is much there that isn't straight forward and just saying clearly what I mean but hopefully this background gives you a better (though definitely not complete) picture of where this is coming from. By the way is a low quality video upload. The mp3 is much clearer (though still recorded by an amateur). Also the pic at the beginning of the video is from a church rooftop in Argentina. If I ever made a real album that would be the cover I'm thinking.


You are the answer
You are my answer
You are the one that I need
You are our answer
You are our king
you are the one that we need

I see the pain, I see the hurt, all around me
We search, we cry, we come short
This life is so unfair
We find, these broken pictures of your love,
but the distance, separating your love from the love that we see,
makes it hurt, tears our hearts, all the more

Where should we look
To whom can we turn

God this life, this confusion, is far beyond me
I give up
I give up
take my life
I won’t have it
I don’t want it anymore
but when the world was without form and void
you brought to order and you can do it again.
I need you I need you
Be my satisfaction

Towards you I will turn
To you My King I will turn

I want to, I need to understand
why God, I don’t see your plan
I cannot, go back on what I know
the pain doesn’t nullify the truth
I will live for you

Amazing Grace

Each and Every passing day is becomes clearer and clearer how faulty we are. We can't even walk confidently in our good intentions without royally messing something up. The king of the Heavens cared for me and made my life worth living. There is hope and love in him alone so I will give you all of my heart, soul, and strength.