A mighty pain to love it is, and 'tis a pain that pain to miss; but of all the pains, the greatest pain is to love, but love in vain.
(Abraham Crowley)

O Captain, My Captain
Walt Whitman

O Captain my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up--for you the flag is flung for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

Ok, this is the coolest beer ad I think I've ever seen, and definately the biggest...

Anyone remember The Muppet Show? Anyone remember the Swedish Chef? Of course you do. And now you can relive those magical television cooking moments...

I found this hilarious extension for FireFox the other day -- turn it on and all your web pages will be translated into his gibberish, semi-Swedish, "Børk! Børk! Børk!" language. It's funny stuff.

I get these Apple e-mail flyers every few days. It seems to me those guys spend too much time in their offices making things out of plastic and not enough in reality. Here's what they seem to think my Christmas list looks like, and what I should be buying:

Mom: iMac G5
Dad: iBook G4
Sister: iPod Nano
Friend: Airport Express

Yeah, so ok, this kid who has four people on his list and about $6, 000 to spend between them is...who? And how do I get on his list?

Batter My Heart
John Donne

Batter my heart, three-person'd God ; for you
As yet but knock ; breathe, shine, and seek to mend ;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy ;
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

Not being sure of what to do with one's life, this short span of time, can be somewhat worrisome. Yet, thankfully, things keep popping up here and there to encourage me, to challenge me to take chances and experiment and to try new things and generally just get a feel for life, rather than curl up in the corner where it's safe -- where I can make sure nothing sneaks up behind me.

Part of those "things" that have come up are, believe it or not, quotes. Words. Things in books and things people say and words of encouragement that are passed on to me. Sometimes I feel silly for quoting so much, as if I'm taking shortcuts in my thinking, but then I remember the ending of a movie (and I quote -- ironic isn't it?):

Derek says it's always good to end a paper with a quote. He says someone else has already said it best. So if you can't top it, steal from them and go out strong.
('Danny' of American History X)

So I don't feel too bad. If it's true at the end of an essay, it can be true for the rest of life also -- someone else has probably said it well enough.

First, I'd like to quote Ashley the Wise:

You cannot discover new oceans until you find courage to lose sight of the shore.

That's profound. The whole idea of 'risk' is that it may or may not work out. It might not feel great all the time. It's a chance. It's leaving security and safety and comfort, and putting yourself on the line for something uncertain. But you will never know what "could be" unless you are willing to leave behind "what is".

Another quote that really challenged me comes from Braveheart. Say what you will about the movie, but I love it. And there are so many good quotes/challenges in it. At one point in the movie, William Wallace has a dream about his dead father, who says this to him:

Your heart is free; have the courage to follow it.

I love that. Because it's true. Fear holds us back. At least, it's what has held me back from doing a lot of things, from taking certain 'risks'. Being uncertain about an outcome is enough to make me a little nervous. But I feed that fear, to the point where it cripples me. The power of the quote, to me, is intensified by the fact that, yeah, my heart is free -- Jesus has set me free. I am free from sin, but I am also free from fear.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
(John 8:36)

Finally, I quote Rick Warren, in A Purpose Driven Life:

God develops real peace within us, not by making things go the way we planned, but by allowing times of chaos and confusion. Anyone can be peaceful watching a beautiful sunset or relaxing on vacation. We learn real peace by choosing to trust God in circumstances in which we are tempted to worry or be afraid.
(Pg. 202)

There is a simplicity to that paragraph, but Truth is not always complicated. I won't, I can't, develop real peace, "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding" (Philippians 4:7), by playing it safe. That's not peace -- that's a coma.

So that's what I need to do. I gotta try to put that into practice -- get the little feet moving, take a few steps and see what happens. Life's too short to do otherwise.

Semi-NEWSFLASH: I just discovered that Bono is only 5'6" - 5'7". I'm taller than Bono? Great Scots.

(NOTE: You may be thinking, "So what?" And you'd be right. But I was suprised. So there.)

I admit, I was curious to find out how much I would sell out for. Apparently not much.

On Average, You Would Sell Out For

$284,274

I think what took me down a few dollars was this question: "For ten million dollars, would you spike everyone's drink with LSD at Thanksgiving?" Of course I would. C'mon -- it doesn't specify how much LSD. And besides, with ten million dollars I could make it up to them later...

(...And from now on, I will spend my Thanksgiving's alone.)

Crazy - just what I needed to hear today.

Worry not about the possible troubles of the future; for if they come, you are but anticipating and adding to their weight; and if they do not come, your worry is useless; and in either case it is weak and in vain, and a distrust of God's providence.

(Hugh Blair)

Now, if I could only get that into my heart...

If you haven't heard it, P.O.D.'s newest single, "Goodbye for Now", is up. Go listen. I'm liking it. I think their new CD is going to be amazing. I'm especially excited that Matisyahu is going to be singing guest vocals on one of their songs. That guy is rad. (You can hear some of his music here. Who'd a thought it - Jewish Reggae. Sheesh!)

This made me laugh -- Romance of the Jedi. Good times. Good times.
(It's amazing what a little bit of editing and some new music can do.)

This above all: to thine own self
be true,
And it must follow, as the night
the day;
Thou canst not then be false to
any man.

(Shakespeare)

I like poetry.
Believe it or not.
Well, some poetry.
I'm picky.

I think I'm going to start posting some of my favourites on here, every now and then. To get the ball rolling, I offer one of my most loved:

He Wishes For The Clothes of Heaven

Had I the heaven's embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,

I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

(W.B. Yeats)

They've got the new music video to Sigur Ros' song, "Glósóli" posted up on the Relevant TV site - it's at number 2 right now, but it moves alot. Go check it out. (Seriously, their music gives me goosebumps sometimes...)

Also, while you're there, watch the music video for Bloc Party's new song, "Two More Years". I like it.