Hey all, sorry i haven't blogged in awhile... Life is crazy like that sometimes. I fully intend on responding to the capital punishment discussion, as well as posting my NCUR paper on here (i need to work on it first).

Anyway, I wanted to bring up another issue. This is one I haven't really thought too much about because pot hasn't been a huge temptation for me. There was an editorial in today's NYTimes from Eric Schlosser (the author of Fast Food Nation) about marijuana legislation.

His argument sounds a lot like the "if you don't ban it, it won't be such a big deal to use it." But his argument seems to be substanciated so much more than the former, blank argument.

For example: "Those convicted of a marijuana felony, even if they are disabled, can be prohibited from receiving federal welfare payments or food stamps. Convicted murderers and rapists, however, are still eligible for those benefits."

Wow!

He is quick to claim that he doesn't think that ppl should go around smoking pot all the time, but here's his conclusion:

"Here's an idea: people who smoke too much marijuana should be treated the same way as people who drink too much alcohol. They need help, not the threat of arrest,
imprisonment and unemployment."

Sounds reasonable to me... What do you guys think?

-boo

here's the article link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/26/opinion/26 SCHL.html?ex=1084000198&ei=1&e n=3044d693870c6cc8" title="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/26/opinion/26 SCHL.html?ex=1084000198&ei=1&e n=3044d693870c6cc8" target="_blank"http://www.nytimes.com/2004/0...

Using Christian assumptions, morality, and economics, I think capital punishment is a practice we should discontine for the following reasons:

1. You shall not murder
2. Vengence belongs to the Lord
3. It generally costs more to execute someone than to keep them alive in prison for a life sentence. (http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.o...%20facts)
4. Out of the people sentenced with death, a majority of them are exhonerated before their sentence is carried through. In addition, many are found innocent after their death. Even one case like this is enough for me to say down with the death penalty.

See this article from today's NYTimes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/19/national/1 9DNA.html" title="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/19/national/1 9DNA.html" target="_blank"http://www.nytimes.com/2004/0...

anyone disagree?

-boo

I am on my friend Jason's laptop, taking advantage of some free wireless internet in our hotel here in Indy.

I could not wait to tell you guys about my weekend- not to dwell on myself, but to share with you some of the awesome ways in which God is working right now.

Now, I've always felt called to witness within IMPACT and I never feel so affective, but I tell myself that God works quietly and slowly sometimes -and I can't fit him in a box.

This weekend has totally changed me and encouraged me. If you don't know, I am at NCUR and I just gave my paper on Christianity today. The issue of my argument was: "Is Christianity humanity's placebo?"

My conclusion is "No. Actually Christianity is a challenge to one's thinking and an additional intellectual endevor and that the consumer mentality in today's church has totally led people away from a pursuit of intellectualism" I used some C.S. Lewis, J.P. Moreland, and William Beckham from the Christian camp. From the secular camp I used Derrida, Elaine Pagels, and a few others.

Anyway, I totally blew during my practice presentation for IMPACT two Wednesdays ago. Today, God kicked butt through me. I prayed that God would do big things this weekend, and it seems he has been. Normally presentations get 1 or 2 questions (and normally they are questions from the professors or people from the presenter's school). IMPACT tends to get a few more than 2 questions, but the thing is my question session lasted over 20 mins. and it would have kept going if the lady hadn't cut me off. People came up to me afterwards asking me more questions and gave me their emails so we could talk and I could give them my paper. My IMPACT commrads really liked my presentation and one of them even criticized me for not being more forceful with my argument.

There was this one guy that asked a question like this: "Well, what if the candy brings a lot of people into the church-- I remember when I went to church as a child I always wanted more and then I joined a church where there were lots of things to keep me interested (we were talking about the warm fuzzies in the church)." I said something like, well if that's what they are there for, then they really aren't there for the right reasons.

Kevin was like, "Holly, you were way too nice. You should have just been like: 'Isn't eternal salvation enough for you?" :)

Wow... Almost every conversation I've had this weekend has been about Christianity. Also, out of the blue, a hard core IMPACTer said they had a dream where God spoke to them. This person had so decidedly refused God and was like "I was so certain it was him, it was scary." WOW--praise God-- I am sooooo pumped right now.

Well, I will tell you more about the weekend when I get back. Hope all's quiet on the northeastern front.

-boo

Hola mi amigos,

Please be praying for two things:

1. 519

2. That I don't go crazy in the next two weeks (I have a ton of work as does everyone else, so I will be praying for you as well.)

That's all,

boo

Yeah... so this semester has been silly. I usually think back on a semester and realize how many cool ideas I've come in contact with, or how much my thinking has changed, etc. However, my classes this semester have been a real bummer. I haven't come in contact with many new ideas or haven't been as able to interact with texts I am reading. American Literature has been the closest stimulus in this area, but even in that class- our tests and class discussions test how well we can remember dates, authors, and texts. i.e. "Do you get the plot?"

In a sense, that is understandable- seeing as though our culture is centered around proving yourself and to test objectively meets that end. However, I am so tired of passive teaching and teachers that do not expect anything from me but that I show up to class, breathe, and regurgate information.

As I am nearing the end of the semester, I realize that I am going to be upchucking a lot of knowledge for little to no purpose. I am too rebellious for my britches-- I just want to rebel against the system. I don't want to study fruitless knowledge only to forget it. I don't want to memorize ideas an author presents, only to interact with myself.

I've known how to read for sometime... I wish educators would move past the obvious towards something that is worth discussing... err... well here I go to read and regurgate... to prove myself to the teacher (as if I needed to show another college professor that I can read).... Sorry... I am frustrated with the American educational system right now (and maybe I've noticed it more because we haven't been discussing much in IMPACT:).

Yes, blame anyone but myself:) Nah... I know if I would apply myself more that I might get more out of some of my classes and maybe others would follow. The truth is, that when I talk to my peers before class starts about the short story we read the night before- I get the "your wierd" eye (generally). And if I try to interact with an idea on a listproc or in class, a teacher smiles in delight but then realizes s/he must move on because s/he hasn't covered the birthplace of "author x."

We're all so busy-- too busy to interact with each other about things that really matter... we are too busy consuming, regurgatating, and purging to stop an think about things for awhile.

"Inaudible Melodies"

Brushfire fairytales
Itsy bitsy diamond wells
Big fat hurricanes
Yellow bellied given names
Well shortcuts can slow you down
And in the end we're bound
To rebound off of we

Well dust off your thinking caps
Solar powered plastic plants
Pretty pictures of things we ate
We are only what we hate
But in the long run we have found
Silent films are full of sound
Inaudibly free

Slow down everyone
You're moving too fast
Frames can't catch you when
You're moving like that

Inaudible melodies
Serve narrational strategies
Unobtrusive tones
Help to notice nothing but the zone
Of visual relevancy
Frame-lines tell me what to see
Chopping like an axe

Or maybe Eisenstein should just relax

Slow down everyone
You're moving too fast
Frames can't catch you when
You're moving like that

Well Plato's cave is full of freaks
Demanding refunds for the things they've seen
I wish they could believe
In all the things that never made the screen
And just slow down everyone
You're moving too fast
Frames can't catch you when
You're moving like that
Slow down everyone
You're moving too fast
Frames can't catch you when
You're moving like that
Moving Too.... -Jack Johnson

blah blah blah... a bunch of silly rantings...

-boo