Divine Divisions

Assignment8: Descriptive Portrait

Assignment8 --->
           <---Assignment 8

Grandpa

HDR Picture

Motion

depth of field

Post 101: Depth of Field Images

Link

https://mail.google.com/a/acu.edu/?ui=2&ik=f24c6ad7a1&realattid=f_fljovyor0&attid=0.1&disp=inline&view=att&th=11c9aaa9e75561dd

On The Prowl

On The Prowl

On The Prowl

On The Prowl

Candid Secrets

So I got a new camera. A Canon Digital Rebel XTi 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera to be exact.

Now I can take better looking pictures ...I hope.

Sometimes you look for a car for what type of gas it takes. Unleaded, Premium and so on.

Well ...I don't think this new camera stores pics on an SD card which is the card I use. Kinda like wanting to buy a car that takes unleaded gas. When you get a car that takes premium, it's not bad but you would have preferred a car that takes unleaded gasoline.

I would have preferred a camera that takes an SD card.

All is not lost, I just have to find a 'CF card.' 

rarr

err

I think permanently borrowing a CF card sounds good... 

some pics

Me, Myself & I

Photo Time

Here goes

...woo...

Bittersweet Business

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4vDUDiwiic

My revised video employment is not as intensive as I was expecting. Though it is rather pleasurable it is equally as taxing. This videography is draining as it is replaced with manipulative joy. True joy can be found where there is international travel, inner city ministries and interactive media pursuit.

The bitter work paid off to sweetness

Its result was jovial completeness

Refreshing strength now paves the way

To help guide me every step of the day

For whatever 2008 can culminate

Twenty-one years for a college student is what I'll take!

Honestly, I have been far too busy to keep up with this journal. I'm not quitting but simply giving reason; I may be using this blog for alternative motives.

Completed Intermission Pt. 2

I leave for ACU tomorrow.

Wordless emotions our faces convey

As tainted hands lead our actions astray

   Intermissions completed as midway ticks on

   Not enough though used wisely I've won

Invisible lengths that the clock has measured

Perseverance gave birth to character before I've matured

It wAs WorTH it to further build character

   

Completed Intermission Pt. 1

VBS has finished.

Groups of thoughts craze through my mind 

As many weeks complete, their time defined

    A still and quiet solace is my retreat

    Where jumbled and shuffled laws meet

Reflections of good and bad findings

Merely leave to pause, questioning:

Was it WorTh iT?

A Loving Jerk

That's what an intern should be: a loving jerk.

I'm supposed to love deeply while using stern discipline. I couldn't do that when VBS started. As I learn from doing that I know that I am doing the kids a favor even though it may not seem like I am at the time. Yeah, we have reading class and VBS rotations but the in between times are when my unrelenting jerk persona comes out. I really don't like my mean side. I find frustration when I get some kid hugs while I yell at others. 

I think it's good for me to develop a constant rigidness. It makes me very uncomfortable and I think I need that in many other areas of my life as well. I really have to be a jerk to some kids for them to obey me. Though I truly hate being like that, I learn from it at the end of the day. 

See, I really do like times like this in the picture.

Bittersweet Intensity

It was so cute what some girls wrote about me while in a reading group before VBS. I was sitting right next to these girls when they secretly wrote about me. Their prompt was to simply write about some good dreams and bad ones they had. They wrote about a bad dream of the last day of VBS; my last day with them, July 31. They wrote that they were sad in the dream. They also drew pictures of me and later covered it with stickers. Hey, they're kids.

Of course, that dream was fictional but I know I already have some big, little fans that will make it hard for me to leave here.

Some of my big, little kids on my van route are in a rough neighborhood with tough parents. One of the really good VBS kids has a mom who cusses at her while the kid walks out the door. Some of the kids on the van cuss though I don't hear them. This all happens in a van full of kids going through a neighborhood where some people carry around guns like they were their own offspring. That stuff is just part of the domestic intensity these precious children live around.

Seeing and experiencing that kind of stuff lets me know how much good I really am doing. I knew and believed that some kids here endured difficult home lives but seeing it, experiencing it simply renders the reality wretched. I sense that God is forming me into who He wants me to be.

Anywhere with Jesus, over land and sea,
Telling souls in darkness of salvation free;
Ready as He summons me to go or stay,
Anywhere with Jesus when He points the way.

So what if I pretty much stole that from Mickey?? Or rather, permanently borrowed that bold poem from her. We share some other insights from our summer with the Lord as we both worked (and are still working) with kids. One of the things we share is our appreciation for

FANS!

It doesn't matter what size the fan is but air circulation is paramount. 

Personally, my favorite kind are little, big fans.

Disturbed Danger

I was with someone I know here in Houston and I went to his office late yesterday afternoon. I commented on how nice the office was and he replied, "Yea, pretty comfortable."

Irresistible Revolution says "God comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable." I suppose I'm pretty disturbed here, if you want to say that. It's disturbing when you hear your name yelled by a bunch of kids saying everything between "he hit me" to "how old are you?" It's overwhelming and frustrating.

It's not really that frustrating and I suppose it is a bit overwhelming to be transformed. Our devotional this morning was about the theme of our VBS: transformed. I liked it because there was a movie reference in it. Basically, it was that Forrest Gump's run transformed him. He went some cool places and saw some cool things. I guess Christianity is like Forrest's run: simple but not easy. It's simple to run but it sure isn't easy to maintain the race. It's certainly not comfortable.

 Another comfortable quote I found nestled in the Irresistible Revolution is that

"Maybe the most dangerous place for a Christian to be is in safety and comfort." 

When The Going Gets Tough...

These pictures make things look like all is going very well here.

I wish things were going well. After this rough week with VBS, I know Romans says that we should rejoice in our sufferings. We also know that know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. 

The book of James says pretty much the same thing. I should consider it pure joy when I face trials of any kind. This testing develops perseverance so I can be mature in every way. 

I suppose I need more maturity even though I am tired of all these trials. 

I will pray as I want to be prayed for.

Enknightenment

When describing Jack Nicholson as the joker, Tim Burton said "Being hidden behind something lets your subconscious come out." 

Maybe that's how Heath Ledger was with the joker. Maybe I'm just considering the disturbed genius Tim Burton's words truth.

I've liked Tim Burton's 1989 'Batman' since I was a kid. Right along with Indiana Jones although this summer's Indiana Jones was a strange excitement.

Now, the music in Tim Burton's Batman was fabulous in my opinion. The music in Batman Begins was absolutely incredible as James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer collaborated to create a powerful score. These composers do it again in The Dark Knight.

The actors I most look forward to watching are amazing actors. In this order Heath Ledger (of course), Michael Caine and Gary Oldman are my top three favorite actors I anticipate watching for this movie.

Did I mention that I just plain anticipate this movie a lot? I've done my research, I've watched 'A Clockwork Orange' and I have my realistic, astronomical expectations set in stone.

Get ready.

Woo! 

Astronomical, Warm Expectations

Houston's heat, or warmth, contributes to my exhaustion. Walking around the zoo with kids today was relaxing yet draining physically and mentally. Sometimes my stroll turned into a near jog as the sun drained energy from my body while I was expected to uphold an amount of sternness with the kids. Difficulty lies in telling a child "no" to some simple questions though I am always willing to receive a hug from any kid. I was just expecting more of that this summer and less yelling (on my part).

I was just expecting for this summer to be more enjoyable.

Small parts have held amounts of joy as I hold a child but I thought a larger quantity of this summer would be more fun. Selfish complaints are known of as I type these words here. My expectations were just too high for this summer. I mean, Houston is at the bottom of our nation at sea level elevation. It's not high at all. Come on!

Now, my expectations are high for The Dark Knight. I have tickets for the 12:01 AM showing and that's about 5 hours from now. I do expect to be disappointed with: Aaron Eckhart's acting, the film's length as it drags on, the film's constant climax illusion and that this film doesn't quite live up to Heath Ledger's performance. I will be pleased if and when it meets my warm, astronomical expectations.

Concerning IMAX screens "We're seeing a record number of late-night showtimes selling out in advance, while theaters are adding new performances every day." -Time magazine

"Christopher Nolan's film is indeed an epic that will leave you staggering from the theater, stunned by its scope and complexity." – Associated Press

"As for [Gary]Oldman, he disappears into the role of Lt. Gordon and makes it look so effortless, he makes you forget he's acting." -Associated Press

Heath Ledger presents himself as The Joker in a role that defines a career. -Associated Press

And then there's Heath Ledger's Joker which is every bit as awesome as you've heard. -Slash Film 

I know what to expect. I know what I will be disappointed with. I know I have been ready to see this movie since October 2007.

Maybe it's just me but I see some small, black bats in the picture above.

And Now... Pictures

These are just some random but recent pictures:

...and a video