Religion Opinions

alright, i got the impression from a few individuals... ok mostly glen... that there MAY be some differing religious opinions in our lil group of trumpet playing friends. so i thought i might start a CIVILIZED conversation on said topic to see what you all think about religion.
for the record, im getting a minor in religious studies for this very reason; i like to know what people believe and why they believe it, such things are interesting to me.

fine print: debating is welcome, however i suggest that we try to keep it polite... i dont want to start a holy war here. also, using the phrase "thats just stupid" and similar statements, are unacceptable; we are perfectly capable of holding an intelligent conversation.

i myself was raised catholic and my family is fairly religious. i am currently not practicing as i have qualms with the contradictions and imperfections of the "perfect being" that is God.

GO!

Remediation in the Making

http://english106boilermaker.blogspot.com

SNL: GOOGLY-EYED GARDENER (Christopher Walden)

This is by far one of my favorite SNL scits, and especially since I brought politics into the site, which is never friendly, I thought I'd try lighten up the mood by posting something that should make you laugh a bit.

GOOGLY-EYED GARDENER:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/16417/saturday-night-live-googly-eyes-gardener

ALSO...check out another of my favorite SNL scits:

CPR CLASS:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/21873/saturday-night-live-cpr-class

AND...for while I'm at it, recall the classic:

COWBELL:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xnfyp_cowbell_fun

Life in a Googleplex

My Photo Essay:

http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/2006/inside_google/

Jerod Felton's photo essay:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/world/middleeast/18yemen.html?ref=middleeast

This is an interesting article in regards to the recent attack in the small country of Yemen in the middle east, yet I have a hard time seeing the url as a photo essay because the pictures the story contains do not tell the reader what's going on. You basically have to read the entire page to understand what occured, just looking at the page's three pictures does quite cut it. Though, the main photo does create enough interest for the reader to read the article, so I guess in that way, the shot was effective, and credit should be given for inserting the photo. It poses enough curiosity for the reader to want to see what happened in Yemen.

My view on the subject is that, as sad as it may sound, the event just sorta blends into all the other tragedy going on throughout the middle east at this time. The fact that Yemen is so small and relatively unheard of makes the bombing of the U.S. embassey pop out a little bit more, and the article's main photo further blends what just occured in Yemen into what's been going on throughout the area.

Comment by Sean to the PURDUE TRUMPETS: I'm not posting random blogs about politics & world events for fun, it's for my ENGL 106 class, which uses this blog website in order to publish projects. What's stinks is that I was already signed up for the site during the summer, for the purdue trumpets blog. In anyone could tell me how to create myself a new blog page I'd be really thankful so I no longer have to bombard you all with my seemingly random ramblings on odd topics. I hope no offence was taking from my JOHN MCCAIN blog. Boiler Up!

Presidential Debate 2008: John McCain

In this YouTube video, John McCain discusses his views on taxes and what "being rich" actually means.  He also speaks of privacy vs. security and the war in Iraq.  However, I'm mostly going to focus on what he talked about taxes and riches because it is something I can relate to a lot better than the other two issues.  McCain's argument is that in tough economic times, taxes should not be raised, that that is not the solution to the problem.  He also doesn't believe that taxing the "rich" more heavily would solve the problem either.  When asked to define "rich,"  McCain starts off by saying that some of the richest ($$$) people he's known have been some of the most unhappy  people he's known, that being rich is not everything in life.  He feels that "rich" is defined by a home, a good job, an education, and the ability to hand your children a better world than the one you lived in.  I agree with his definition.  Although having a lot of money is great, it can't buy you happiness, and in that sense, it cannot be the stat that defines you.  As far as taxes go, McCain doesn't want to take money from the rich, or start a class war with wealth redistribution, that won't solve anything.  Money is not the focus in life, it is simply a trade tool.  Peace of mind and who you are are what's important.  McCain wants everyone to be rich, and although $$$ it will probably never happen, the definition he gave for "rich" is reachable.  Let's give tax credits for n-number of children and health care.  Let's not classify this family as rich or that family as poor.  The point is, let's keep taxes low and increase revenue, because that is what people need, what our country needs.  I couldn't agree more with what John McCain wants to do regarding this subject and I believe that he has all the experience to be our next President.

-Sean Stevens