Crusades of Convenience

The Crusades. Possibly one of the greatest blunders in all of Christian history, a stain that still lingers even after centuries of washing. Not our proudest, but most certainly one of the biggest, event(s) in history. But why?

Why "In the name of God" did thousands of knights of Europe charge off into the middle east to cut down tens of thousands of stalks in Gods grain field? Why were they so convinced that these people were beyond God's reach to save? Was their blood not red? Did their skin tone turn them into unearthly monsters that didn't come under John 3:16, or 2 Peter 3:9?

There are no easy answers to why those people embarked on the Crusades. And there are a flurry of factors and reasons ranging all the way from kingdom politics to personal affairs. But I stumbled upon a hypothesis today, that the Crusades we spawned out of laziness. "What!?! How is that possible?" you ask thinking in a purely physical labor mindset. Although true, a Crusade required an extraordinary amount of physical labor, there was little mental work and absolutely no spiritual work.

My hypothesis is that the people of the Crusades were attempting to make the battle we fight against Satan into a physical battle. It is far faster and easier to cut someone down with a sword, sling or arrow then it is to learn their language, learn their customs/culture, become their friend, and explain that they need to come back to the God that they already believe they are following. It was simple, easy, and didn't require them to become better or more holy people. They could wipe all of God's enemies off the earth in a simple motion, and it was far faster than converting them. They could see that a mental battle would take lifetimes of dedicated work, and laziness won out.

Brain waves

So I was going to write a big blog post. But I don't have enough time left.

The basic gist though was that I have a song stuck in my head. But I've never heard the song before, it's one that my brain has composed to listen too. I've been trying all afternoon to write it, but a combination of poor musical equipment and difficulty determining the notes required have hindered my progress. If I ever manage to finish it I'll upload it for your listening convenience.

Lifeless

So the only major event since my last post was yesterday. Yesterday I went to a pre-release party for Worldwake, the next edition of Magic cards. Overall I had an awesome time, I built what actually wasn't a bad deck, unless I was playing against Black. Needless to say 4 of my 6 opponents were playing black, but I manged to win one round, and a total of 4 games. I was having so much fun though, I didn't realize I had been there for 8 hours until they said they were closing the shop. And I didn't come in last either, I came in 29th out of 37. That isn't bad for someone still relatively new to the game.

So as to the title it was just kinda a revelation I had while talking with John today. I actually don't really have a life yet. It was kinda sad, but it was kinda alright too because John doesn't have one either. Neither of us are employed, have girlfriends, or are in school. We have so much free time we get bored because we've done everything in/around the house at least twice that day already.

It's alright to be lifeless right now, it's not entirely our own fault that there are no jobs for us. But it kinda sucks that there isn't anything that we absolutely have to do either. We both are just hoping that it changes eventually.

Fantasmical land of idealism

Since the last time I posted my life has been blurred.

Mom and Dad came up on Thursday of last week and left on Tuesday. They were here to work with aunt Laura on a website/charity design for their new project in Africa (If you haven't heard click HERE). It was great to see them again, but it felt kind of weird too. Its been almost 3 months since I heard their voices, and it kept freaking me out. I thought I was going insane, hearing people who weren't there. Mom and Dad had a good time though. Friday we went out for Ethiopian, Saturday we went to Ikea in the morning, and out to Phil's in the evening, I'll tell you about Sunday in a minute, Monday I took them out for Bubble tea. They got to see the R.O.M. (Royal Ontario Museum). Overall they did quite a bit of stuff. I am glad they came, I think it was good for us all.

Sunday is actually the reason for the title. On Sunday we all went to the Imax theater to see Avatar in 3D. The screen was 6 stories high, and the volume was actually at a level that was not too hard on my ears. And Avatar is the best movie I've seen since the Dark Knight came out. The 3D, the story, the animation, the characters, it was all so beautiful and believable. If I had the money I would go see it again and again until they took it out of the theaters. But alas I do not have the funds or the time to do such a carefree and frivolous thing. Avatar will be my first DVD purchase for my own library though, I guarantee it. There is a down side to all this though, and I think RoosterTeeth can sum up how I feel the best. (YOU HAVE TO CLICK THIS OR THE REST OF THE BLOG WON'T MAKE SENSE!!!!)

Now to understand what is going on, they just finished a series of comics depicting Nathan (The tall person) as such an Avatar fan that he painted himself blue and was learning Na'Vi. In the comic right before this one they had finally rehabilitated him, and he had gone back to normal.

This is best and most accurate description of any video game based on a movie, and is exactly how I feel about Avatar. I've been searching for pirated sound tracks, fantasizing, dreaming, anything that puts me back on Pandora. The movie was so spectacular I hope for, and yet loath the idea of a sequel. I hope for it because Avatar was such a wonderful movie. But I worry because it is entirely possible the the sequel will turn out like the ones to The Matrix, or Pirates of the Caribbean, that the sequel ruins the magic that captured me in the first one. But, if worst comes to worst, I'll do what I did with the Matrix (and should've done with the pirates), and I'll let everybody see it first. And if they say it was bad and it ruined everything then I'll never watch it.

On a side note I've had Rise Against: Hero of war stuck in my head. (Click) What do you think?

"Magic"

So while I've been in Toronto I go to learn a game I've wanted to learn for years, Magic the Gathering.

It's a card game, not dissimilar to YuGiOh, or Pokemon, but much more complicated and way more fun. When I say complicated though I am more referring to actual sequence of events that transpire when the game is played. The rules themselves are quite simple, but the cards can be quite complicated. How can the cards be complicated?The Golden Rule in magic is that " When a card contradicts the rulebook, the card wins." An example is that you can't attack with a monster you have just summoned on to the battlefield, you

have to wait one turn to attack. The are monster cards that have the ability "Haste", which allows you to attack with the monster the same turn you summoned it. Like I said, the cards are complicated.

Apparently Uncle Roddie and aunt laura used to play back when it first came out, but they haven't been playing since 1995 (maybe 96, they can't remember) and because they haven't played in so long a few of the cards are actually rare and worth something (50-70 $ for the major ones), it was cool to find out I was playing with and against some of these hard to get and expensive cards.

I have a screen shot from the official FAQ on the Magic the Gathering website, I thought it was kind of enlightening, and rather funny.

And if you can't read it here is what it says.

"Q: Is Magic evil?
A: No. Magic is no more evil than Scrabble, Chess, or any other game. There is the occasional person who believes Magic is some sort of "gateway to the occult", (either because they want to denounce it or because they want to try to use it as such) but they're generally nutcases of some description who have difficulty separating "real life" from "pretend". Playing Magic will no more invoke the occult than reading Treasure Island will cause pirates to spring to life in your house or watching Godzilla movies will cause a giant radioactive monster to level Tokyo."

If you don't believe that this quote is actually from the FAQs, click this link, in the table of contents look under "General questions about Magic", then find "Is Magic evil?"

http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75842/19076534/The_Magic_General_FAQ

I think it's funny when the FAQ has to explain to people that it is just a card game.

It's not the best Manuel that I've ever read, but it is in my top 5 now.

Meaningless

So I haven't blogged in forever. That's because I'm lazy. And I guess I have to be in a "mood" to do it.

I've hit a meaningless stream today. (thats what I call it when this world feels futile and I get depressed)

I usually dodge the depression fairly well, but I finished a video game today. When I finish books, video games, see the last episode of a show, or watch the end of a movie I can't dodge the depression. I look at the happy endings and say "What now?" I look at the tragedies and say "That's it?" And I look at the incomplete stories and say "That's the end?"

It doesn't help that I tried and failed to apply to a collage today. Because when I look in the future I don't see long happy life, I see meaningless labor until I die or the world ends and then an age comes where it doesn't matter what I did for a career. The entire cycle of working for money to use it to live seems trivial.

But it did remind me of something,

Ecclesiastes 3:9-14

⁹What does the worker gain from his toil? ¹⁰I have seen the burden God has laid on men. ¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. ¹²I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. ¹³That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. ¹⁴I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.

Today I felt that eternity. I long for the day of restoration.