The Good Life... a weblog about life, technology, and the Opera Web browser

It's really discouraging to witness the strife my friends go through. I oft find myself asking God why there is so much suffering in the world, but I find my question answered before I finish asking. Tim, He says, I didn't want it to be this way. I wanted you to live and to love, but that's not how it worked out. People are suffering and it hurts Me more to see that then you could ever imagine. I cry, just as you are now, when I see My children hurting. Change is coming, but not soon enough for some. All you can do is show them the love that I have shown you... all you can do is give them something better to hope for. Help them off the ground from their stumbles and lift up their supplications when they can't or don't know how to form the words.

And so, I am reassured that I'm here to help to bring this to an end. It won't be like this forever. We can't keep this up... we are tearing each other down so much that there will come a time when there won't be anything left to tear down.

I write this mostly to bring attention to the fact that this happens. It's a part of our (I say our because I know I do these things too) everyday lives and something that we can change, if only we really want to. That's why Romans 8:5-11 is so important. Being a Christian means that we have the opportunity to choose between sinning and following God's desires for our lives. That's so empowering! And if you're not a Christian, I know you can still make changes in your life. We have to stop peer pressure, picking on people, boasting our egos, and being cruel to each other. It all just needs to be replaced by love.

I stand here a survivor of such actions by others. I had a horrible time in middle school because, regardless of my height, I was picked on every day. I grew up shy, starving for some loving attention, and not finding it until just over two years ago. It was a Christian that first showed me what love was really all about. You could be that person for someone in need of love. Heed the calling! Love, not hate. It's a simple and life-changing choice to make it. I pray that you make it.

Let's think of what things Tim has done in the name of peer pressure lately:

• Driven too fast
• Changed my physical appearance (read: gotten a hair cut)
• Listened to music I typically disagree with
• Lied

Isn't peer pressure a wonderful thing (note the sarcasm in my keystrokes)?

Calvin and Hobbes comic originally published on May 4, 1990 (Copyright ©1990 Universal Press Syndicate)

I'm quite prolific today. :)

Calvin and Hobbes rock.

I've already written part of this once, but I had an unfortunate browser crash....

I first came across invisible creatures on the rmt-a newsgroups. They had a creature named the Invisible Purple Unicorn. More recently, some of my friends and I have begun seeing Invisible <Insert Color> Punchbuggies (a short aside: is it wrong to hit a woman when it's for a punchbuggie?). Anyway, today I came across a reference to purple cows over at Neil Gaiman's Blog for his upcoming novel, American Gods (from the blog of April 16th, 2001).

Purple Cow is a poem by Gelett Burgess. It reads:

The Purple Cow's Projected Feast:
Reflections on a Mythic Beast,
Who's Quite Remarkable, at Least.
  I never saw a purple cow,
  I never hope to see one;
  But I can tell you, anyhow,
  I'd rather see than be one.

Apparently, Burgess became agitated when he found that he was known only for that work and wrote:

CONFESSION: and a Portrait, Too,
Upon a Background that I Rue!
  Ah, Yes! I Wrote the Purple Cow --
  I'm Sorry, now, I Wrote it!
  But I can Tell you Anyhow,
  I'll Kill you if you Quote it!

Parodies of the poem are available.

Soliloquy is a fun word.

The cesspool of Maryland times 11!

Said by Mike after passing 11 signs for the city of Bowie (inside joke).

How hard is it to find a slang dictionary with the word shpeel?!? I'm livid (well, not really)! I searched like 10 slang dictionaries with no luck (I'd link to one / some, but many of them were just foul, so that's gonna be avoided). It's not like it's a new word or something--I have a feeling that it's been around for a while. *sigh* They call the Internet the Information Super Highway. You would think someone would have a reference telling a person how to spell shpeel! Grrr.

Well, before I left yesterday, I found a penny heads down in Mike's room. However, I think everything really reached a climax when I found a dime heads up under my dresser. Since I've left school, I doubt I'll find much more random coinage lying around, but it would be cool.