This guy was in front of the student union at USC today. He was preaching about who is ready for Heaven and how none of us will get in. I have been two or more of the list at the same time.

If you can’t make out the sign it says:

I hope your New Year’s plans were/turn out as wonderful as mine. Greetings from the future, not really just Singapore. 2007 will be a formative year for me, graduation, finding a real job, and all that other grownup stuff.

Jess and i are in Singapore now. (Pictures to come) We spent yesterday walking around this fun island seeing the sights and at midnight we welcomed in the New Year lying on a beach, watching the fireworks. Today we are heading to the bird sanctuary, the zoo, and might go on a night safari. We will be in Cambodia this time next week. That is going to be another  amazing adventure. Jess is showing me Singapore from a native’s perspective now, the people are nice, the city is amazingly clean even in what would be considered the dirtier part, and the food is great but almost impossible for me to pronounce.

Some days I look back and wonder what I did to deserve the life I lead. I am humbled by the opportunities, acquaintances, and experiences I have been granted.

Here to a great New Year for all of us.

It was seven years ago. I still remember waking up at dad’s house, calling mom at the hospital, getting the news, Mr. McGreal giving his condolences, the wake, the funeral. It’s all still so vivid. His legacy lives on. He is still loved and remembered by his family. He didn’t make millions, cure cancer, or put a man on the moon, but he made sure everyone he cared about had enough. He served his country in time of need. He provided for his family and friends. I just wish I could have known him better.

Now I am 22, I have a lease, good credit, and a bar in my apartment. I have no clue where I will be this time next year but I am strangely ok with that. At this point, I know who I am, no clue what is happening, where I am going, or what the future may bring.  At camp Dennis said “The world is waiting for you.” It won’t wait forever.

I thank you all, the best is yet to come.

It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat

~TR

I heard this on the radio today, and well… MOP, MOP, MOP

Well listen here girls,
I’m telling you now.
They call me lovin’ Dan.
I’ll rock ‘em, roll ‘em all night long

I’m a 60 minute man.
And if you don’t believe I’m all I say,
Come up and take my hand.
As soon as I leave you go you’ll cry

“Oh Yeah, he’s a sixty Minute Man!”
There’ll be 15 minutes of kissin’,
And then you holler “Oh please don’t stop!”
There’ll be 15 minutes of teasin’

And 15 minutes of pleasin’
And 15 minutes of blowin’ my top! MOP MOP MOP!
Well if your man ain’t treatin’ you right
Come up and see your Dan.

I’ll rock ‘em, roll ‘em all night long
I’m a 60 minute man.
60 (Minute Man)
Well they call me (lovin’ Dan)

I’ll rock ‘em, roll ‘em all night long
I’m a 60 minute man.
60 (Minute Man)
There’ll be 15 minutes of kissin’

Well if your man ain’t treatin’ you right
Come up and see your Dan.
I’ll rock ‘em, roll ‘em all night long
I’m a 60 minute man.
Oh yeah! 60 Minute,
Rock’em, roll’em, rammin’, jammin’ all night long
I’m a 60 Minute Man.

I’m back at collge now. Since my last post I have been to Chicago and Camp Jorn. Too much insanity from camp to recall at this point.

Fun fact about Chinese culture: This year the festival of the hungry ghost will last for 2 months instead of 1. I think instead of having 2 months of hungry ghosts they should just have give a ghost a sandwich week, but I have been told that won’t work.

For more information about malnourished specters click here.

What’s wrong with being full of yourself? Who else would you be filled with? I don’t know about you but to me the thought of being full of someone is disgusting and disturbing.

I want one: http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/biztech/07/27/little.jets.ap/index.html

Looking at where I’ve been, what I have done, seen, heard, and experienced, I realize how vital perception can be. I am not talking about keeping up appearance, but rather using the way people think things are to your favor and how these difference can be simply astounding.

If you pitch an idea to change the structure of an entity and reshape the organizational structure those who want to keep the status quo will go apeshit. They will call the change poorly thought out, ask for detailed plans on the restructuring, and ask why again and again until they get an answer they can twist to suit their own purposes. In this type of change you are fighting an uphill battle against those who want to keep things the way they are and those that don’t see any problem with the current system. Obviously the latter category, which is often the larger category, is were you can find the swing voters. Once the plans for change come out, the race is on and whoever can get to the most first people will have the best chance. The first side to put out a propaganda campaign with a clear plan of action will most likely win its way. Even when reports are proven to be totally incorrect, the first believable thing people hear or read resonates with them. The fact there was a report from the Air Force about aliens in Roswell has kept the “controversy” alive for generations. In this type of PR dogfight, you have to quickly get a feasible story to as many people as possible and preemptively counter the oppositions plans. Sleeper agents often come into play in these situations. The more people you can plant in boardrooms, lunchrooms, meeting rooms, at the bar, and anywhere else people congregate to talk about issues the better off you will be.

I was going to go into a bit about mass media here but that’s been done 6 ways from Sunday already.

If you hear hoof beats think “I better go see what that is”

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