The Arts

I received a message (from a friend!?) in my inbox which said this:

Add as Friend
January 31 at 3:56pm
Reply Facebook is recently becoming very overpopulated,there have been many members
complaining that Facebook is becoming very slow. Records show that the reason is
that there are too many non-active Facebobok members and, on the other side, too
many new Facebook members.

We will be sending this message around to see if members are active or not. If
you are active please send to at least 15 other users using Copy+ Paste to show
that you are still active. Those who do not send this message within 2 weeks
will be deleted without hesitation to create more space.

Send this message to all your friends and to show me that your still active and
you will not be deleted.

Founder of Facebook,
Mark Zuckerbergg

DO NOT CLICK ON THIS LINK, REPLY TO IT, OR SEND IT TO ANYONE ELSE!

Thankfully I didn’t send this message to anyone else and checked the validity of it.  Facebook has actually reported on it.  Check out the links below for more information.

http://blog.schipul.com/facebook-users-attacked-by-trojan-virus/
http://www.facebook.com/security

The last link (from Facebook security) identifies what is happening here…

False Chain Letter

Recently, some users received a message claiming that Facebook is becoming overpopulated and suggesting that accounts will be deleted. This message is false and did not come from Mark Zuckerberg or Facebook. It can be safely disregarded and deleted.

Check out the last link if your Facebook account has been compromised.

At this point I want to recognize the root of these problems which is sin.  These people disregard the commandment given by Jesus Christ in Matthew 22 which states to “Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind.  And to love your neighbor as yourself.”  Clearly they are in direct disobedience to this command.  Ultimately we need to be praying that God would intensely convict these individuals of their sin against Him and others, for their repentance, and salvation through the Son of God (if they’re not believers).  I wish that they knew that there is a better life out there for them through Jesus Christ.  Jesus said that He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6) and that God offers eternal life and this life is in His Son-Jesus Christ (1 John 5:11).  As believers in Jesus Christ our desire should be to love them, share the Gospel of the glorious Son with them, pray for them, hold them accountable for their actions, to lavishly show mercy to them, and to completely forgive them.

[Slideshow]

 

Release Date: June 5th 1998

Director: Peter Weir

Writer: Andrew Niccol

Genre: Drama/Comedy

MPAA: Rated PG for thematic elements and mild language

Runtime: 102 min.

Language: English

Color: Color

Company: Paramount Pictures.  Scott Rudin Productions.

Filming Locations: Florida, USA.  Hollywood, CA.  Universal Studios, CA.

Awards: Nominated for 3 Oscars.  Won 3 Golden Globes.

Cast:

Jim Carrey: Truman Burbank

Laura Linney: Meryl Burbank

Noah Emmerich: Marlon

Natascha McElhone: Lauren/Sylvia

Ed Harris: Christof

Paul Giamatti: Control room director

Fun Facts

Mishaps

Quotes

Recommended Accompaniment Movie:

“Stranger Than Fiction”

Rental Localities for “The Truman Show”: Blockbuster and Netflix

Synopsis:

An intriguing look into determinism versus the free will of man.  Jim Carrey is a subject on display for the world to watch 24/7.  To Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) the world of Seahaven appears to be real but to those in his life it is a way of living.  The Truman Show explores the boundaries of ultimate reality and the power of choice.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

We live in a world of cause and effect.  Businessmen and women on wall street and elsewhere affected our word economically because they were greedy.  A teenage couple decide to have sex and the result is another teenage pregnancy.  Cause and effect are not always bad.  For instance when a student does well in high school, he or she, is then permitted into college or some other type of higher educational institution.  Human beings thrive and base their existence on cause and effect.  People base their schedules today on the presupposition that cause and effect will exist tomorrow.  Take a look outside.  Observe the stars above you that shine forth as beautiful gems and ponder upon their existence.  What caused the first stars to exist?  Some say that an act of nature and chance formed the matter which eventually formed the stars.  I in no way deny that an act took place but I do deny that it was an act of nature and that it was chance.

Consider the law of non-infinite regression which states that it is impossible to continue going back through time for infinity.  The law of non-infinite regression says that there must be a first cause or a starting point for all that is known.  The big bang theory and other scientific theories also presuppose that there is a first cause (a particle).  What ceases to occur is an investigation into what caused the first particle to exist.  Now one can not continue regressing back and back into time, that is one can not infinitely continue saying “this particle came from this particle which came from this particle which came from this particle and so on.”  Why can one not argue this way?  The reason is because time by nature has a point in which it begins thereby making it finite.  Today, January 30th, began at 12:01 am.  Time has a beginning.  If one says then the particle is outside of time and continues eternally and infinitely then one is making an “ultimate cause” statement.  Intellectually all must confess that there is some kind of particle or thing that has always existed which gave way to the existence of others.  So the first cause is independent in existence but all other things are dependent on the first cause for their existence.

If then there is one first cause or many first causes, based on the reasoning of the above argument, then all hold to a belief in some kind of eternal independent first cause.  Now if one were to come across a car abandoned in the middle of a desert and were to ask “who is the maker of this car?”  Would the logical answer be the desert itself? or would the more logical answer be a car plant operated by human beings?  For a car to be produced a level of intelligence, knowledge, and wisdom must be possessed and used.  The universe, with all of its complex laws, required an even higher intelligence, knowledge, and wisdom in order for its creation.  It’s not difficult for humans to acknowledge an intelligent creator (human being) behind the production of a car but why is it so difficult to acknowledge an intelligent creator behind the production of the universe?

All people hold to some kind of universal first cause.  For some it is an eternal independent particle, matter, or thing.  I happen to believe, based on sound rationale and evidence, that an eternal independent being caused the universe to exist.  This being is intelligent, full of knowledge and wisdom, and is creative.  The universe demonstrates or shows the existence of an intelligent creator.  Now you have the choice to believe what you may but logically you must hold to a universal independent first cause.  You can chose to believe that it is a particle or an intelligent being.  What is your choice?

Psalm 19:1 (ESV)

“The heavens declare the glory of God.  The skies above proclaims his handiwork.”

Genesis 1:1 (ESV)

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Romans 1:19-20 (ESV)

“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.  So they are without excuse.”
photo credit: virtual_lotus

No one is ever happy when they get scammed.  Just the other day I received an e-mail from a friend of mine who supposedly wrote on my facebook wall.  The message said something like this: “Did youu know that your default image is being displayyed on tabmodule.com?”  There was a link to the tabmodule “site.”  Now before you judge me, it seemed trustworthy because it came from facebook and was from a well trusted friend (even though I thought the spelling was striking).  Nonetheless I clicked on the link “tabmodule.com” and was brought to a site.  In the background of the site you could make out hazy pictures of people.  The site asked for various personal information which I didn’t provide and the various questions and ads went on and on.  Later I talked with a friend about this issue and was told that his myspace page was hacked into and that he had the same message as well.  Apparently these hackers break into your myspace/facebook account when you click on the e-mail link, and then uploads your contacts, and then sends them a phony message from you.  Each time someone clicks on the provided link their contacts are uploaded and the message is sent out to their friends.  Do not click on the link provided!  This seems to be an advertisement scam in hopes of making money but one never knows.  I changed my passwords the following day to secure my information.  I hope that your travels through the internet are more safe and that these culprits would learn that their skills and talents could be used for good rather than evil.

First off take a look at his name in pig Latin…pretty impressive.  Secondly he has a blog in which he posts about fascinating subjects such as “Why I am not Home schooled”.  Thirdly he mixes his own techno songs which are uniquely creative.  Fourth, this man has helped me to pursue blogging, recruited me for his wally ball team, and challenges me to live a life sold out for God.  Life is all about relationships and when those relationships deepen and turn into friendships then your world seems somewhat complete.  Christian friendships are even better!  Drew Maust has encouraged me to continue to think critically about the world around me from a Christian perspective and I thank him for that.  Many of you may never meet Drew but I would encourage you to read his blog because you will find many helpful insights and encouragements for daily living.  You can click on this link to visit Drew’s blog: “Kata Drew“.  My prayer is that more Christians will rise up and take a stand for Christ as Drew Maust has done.