Call to Action

I watched Hotel Rwanda again this weekend. I am now convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that something must be done. I am going to try to organize a massive campaign to raise awareness for the situation in Africa.

• Write your congressmen
• Write the president
• Give money

I plan on getting involved in the 30 Hour Famine. If you are interested, leave a comment.

"If I was brave, I'd write a letter to the President. Have him pass it to the leaders of our Parliament. But for now I won't say nothing. "
-Hawk Nelson
"Letters to the President"

Rock on.

Rocks A...sleep

First off, sorry I've been slacking on my blog. To my three loyal readers (two if you don't count my mum), I apologize. I'll get my act together.

Moving right along, last night's hockey game was great. We almost won. The final was 5-6 (I think. The point is, we lost by one point). And we would have won had Kurt shown up, but no. He had to watch his precious Panthers lose a play-off game.

I don't know why, but I slept for like an hour and a half after school. I just fell asleep on the couch. But I woke up just in time for dinner, which was cool.

My weekend, how boring are thee? My mother's cure for a boring Friday night? "Drew, we need some half & half. Why don't you drive down to Dillon's and pick some up? And while your at it, you can get yourself a soda or something." So the high light of my weekend came early. I walked into Dillon's and Alex yelled at me from the Deli. Then on Saturday, I ran around in the woods behind the school, then went down to Metro North. Sunday? Church and hockey.

I need a life. Or at least a friend with a life that I can live vicariously through.

Rock on.

A Dark Night in Hockey History

Wow. My hockey team is so bad...
How bad is it?
My hockey team is so bad we lost 10-2 last night.

Ok, so that's not funny. But it is sad. Incredibly, incredibly sad. I think this makes us 2-15.

Otherwise, it was a pretty good weekend. I bought four great CDs over on Saturday(mewithoutYou, Emery, As I Lay Dying, and Falling Up). Chapel was good on Sunday. And I didn't have school today. So I slept until 11, which is just fun.

And while writing this post, I just realized how incredibly dull my life really is.

Rock on.

Failure to Excommunicate

Romans 2:1-4

Prejudice is one of the great plagues of the modern world. People can and will find anything to judge people on. I must confess that I am guilty of this. It's easy, when you think about it. "He dresses this way and listens to this type of music, so he must be like this." "She drives this type of car and wears this brand of clothing, so she must make this much money."

It goes beyond that, though. We have moved beyond the level of judging a person to a point where we try to decide the status of their slavation. "Well, no one who comes form this background could possibly be a Christian." "No one who has made this mistake will ever be saved." But remember what Paul says: God is ultimate Judge. He will judge based on truth and the forgiveness that Christ brought to Earth.

"Jesus loved the outcasts. He loves the ones the world just loves to hate. And as long as there's a heaven, there'll be a failure to excommunicate."- Relient K

Rock on.

Lost in the Desert

The barren landscape
No life to support
I wander the land
Lost in the desert

Rock on.

Lessons Learned While Hitting the Slopes

The following are lessons learned while at Winter Park, Colorado. I hope they are as useful to you as they are to me.

• Never video-tape crazy, homeless people. It only leads to police involvement.
• When snowing, always use chains on the tires. Failure to do so will result in you being stuck on a pass for several hours.
• Altitude sickness can be nasty. Very, very nasty.
• Avalanches block mountain passes and roads.
• Always wear a helmet. Failure to do so leads to a concussion.
• Texas Hold'em is a great way to bring in the New Year.
• Trees - they hurt.
• $60 buys a lot of food. Even on the ski slopes.
• Cold wind is cold.
• Be weary of the path you choose.

Rock on.

What I Learned from Furby

The Christmas shopping season. What a time. You get to look at all the cool new toys that they have, while thinking to yourself, "I wish I had had something like that."

While walking around a local toy department, I was shocked to see Furbies. I remember when Furbies first came out, costing around $50, if you could find one. Every kid wanted one. That lasted about a year, maybe a year and a half. Then the bubble burst (my first lesson: bubble economies). But now they are back. Which means that bubble economies are cyclical.

But I also learned something far more valuable than economics from my Furby. I learned important life lessons that will stay with me forever.

1. If you find a hungry, wild animal, go ahead, stick your finger in its mouth. It won't be hungry anymore, and you'll come out of it ok, too.
2. If you throw anything against a wall hard enough, you can get it to be quiet.

My Furby has long since been sold, but they are coming back now, so many other kids can learn the very same valuable lessons that I will cherish forever.

Rock on.

A Brief History of a Quagmire

During the 1950s, as European colonialism was slowly but surely ending its reign, the Brittish government pulled out of an African nation called Sudan. And then things went to hell in a handbasket.

Mutliple militant governments have come and gone. The most recent one has faced multiple rebellions. So they called in the cavalry, an Arab militia known as the Janjaweed. This militia is directly responsible for the attempted, on-going genocide of thousands (180,000 lives lost). Despite "condemnations" (yet little action) on part of the UN and an African Union peacekeeping force, the attacks continue.

With international pressure mounting, you would expect that the government would call off the militia, and try to remove it by force, if necessary. However, they are sheltering rebels from neighboring Chad, in return for assistance to the Janjaweed.

Refugees from the region of Darfur, who flee to the country of Uganda, are forced to live in fear of being forced to fight in Ugandan rebel armies, also based in Sudan and sponsored by the Sudanese government.

The United States, who had been sponsoring the AU mission, pulled its funding. Despite protests from Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Congress rejected plees to re-instate the $50 million that had been going to the mission.

This is your chance to help out. World Vision and Invisible Children are fighting to bring aid to the refugees and those still in Sudan. Visit their websites. Make a donation. Write your Congressman. Try to convince him that the Sudan needs our help. Do something.

Rock on.

I Thought We Said, "Never Again"

After the Holocaust, "Never Again"
After Rwanda, "Never Again"
After Bosnia, "Never Again"

The list goes on. Every single time there is attempted genocide, the world cries, "Never Again". And yet it goes on.

This post is dedicated to all of the people who have lost their lives due to inaction. Especially to the people of Darfur, in the Sudan, who continue to suffer, and yet their stories don't even make it onto the news.

My challenge to the readers of this will hear the cry of the Sudanese people and not let it die into silence. Do not let this happen again. Evil will only thrive if the good men do nothing. It is time to do something. Write your congressman, donate money, do SOMETHING.

"I think if people see this footage, they'll say, "Oh, my God, that's horrible." And then they'll go on eating their dinners."-Hotel Rwanda

Rock on.

Decisions, Decisions

All I can say is, "Wow."

I've started re-reading the New Testament over again, and I'm just blown away. It's really inspiring. So inspiring, in fact, that I really don't know where to go with my blog. There are so many verses that I can comment on that I don't really know what to comment on.
Any ideas?

Rock on.