How we are meant to live

Switchfoot. Been listening to them more lately, and I still love their songs. The main reason I'm into them is because Jon Foreman has a way of expressing human emotions and spiritual hardship in such simplistic yet powerful lyrics. And they're pretty catchy.

Their song 'Gone' has gotten me thinking lately. The song tells a simple message: "Don't take any day for granted." The song is about how anyone who truly wants to live a fruitful and meaningful life must live every day like our time on Earth is very limited. Which in reality should be easy, because limited is exactly what our days on this Earth are.

The lyrics that get me are these ones:

Today will soon be gone
Like yesterday is gone
Like history is gone
Just try and prove me wrong
And pretend like you're immortal

The funny thing is that Biblical theology states that our souls are indeed immortal. Whether we choose the narrow path of truth or the wide path to destruction doesn't change the fact that after this life, we have another destination, where we shall be for eternity. But as for time on this Earth? 'Limited' is an understatement. Who knows what's going to happen tomorrow?

As lazy as I can be, even I end some days thinking, "Man. That day accomplished nothing at all for the big picture. What a waste of a whole day." This song illustrates that our stalling and procrastinating is dangerous. We are given our time on this Earth not to cruise and survive, but to flourish and live a full life that glorifies an eternal God.

Every day that we say "I'll just do it tomorrow", is such a big opportunity lost. We often don't see how huge that is, but I implore you, consider it. So much can be accomplished in one day. While nothing really worth doing could ever take only one day, taking each day as a step in the direction we are meant to is one of the most valuable skills you could ever learn. On the flip side, so much momentum could be lost in one day. Never ever underestimate the value of each day. And since we can never know for sure how much time we have left on this Earth, we can only take each day as a blessing that allows us to further glorify God's name, and hope that we don't waste it. You never know right.

Life is more than fame and rock and roll and thrills
All the riches of the kings end up in wills

He goes on to state the futility of living for money. While it is good to plan ahead and think about the future, living only to get more and more money is all a waste; after we die, where does it all go? We lose it all. We can't take our cash into the next life. It is all worthless. The implication is that living for riches is as useless as doing nothing at all. If you are going to devote your life to being wealthy, then you are looking only to the end of this life... but how about after that? What happens after the small tear drop of this universe ends and is lost in the ocean of eternity?

Those who put their faith in things that are temporary will find themselves, at the end of all things, empty and unsatisfied. Only eternal things can serve eternal purposes.

Don't say so long, you're not that far gone
Don't spend today away
Cause today will soon be gone

For those who do feel far gone, don't believe the lie. No one who wants to talk to God is far from God. Those who want God to renew that fire and passion to live every day for Him are only a prayer away. The time of wasted days without Him end as soon as you invite Him back. Not to live for riches or to relax, but to be fullfilled and to live and learn as God intended us to. While society continues to revel in it's own decadence, those willing to take up the call can live as lights in this dark world, showing God to others through living for Him every day.

The days that are gone remain gone, but the ones yet to be lived have the chance to be truly lived. Go hard.

Hey Bono, I'm glad you asked;
Life is still worth living.

One super power

"If you could have one super power for a day, what would it be?"

Some time in our lives, we've all asked this question, and we've all answered it. It is the ultimate boredom question. You know, no one asks this question when they are having a good time. Have you ever heard this question while out with your mates? Nope. You know why? Because you are actually having fun.

But then, in those desperate times where the conversation becomes dull and repetitive, humanity as a whole has concieved the best convo-saver. It spawns so many new questions and discussions, not to mention that people actually tend to think really hard about the answer. Which is funny isn't it. Society in general these days doesn't really care about most things. We like to pretend that we are too cool to care. But when we are asked about what super-power we would have for one day? Ooooh. That's snerious. We are nonchalant towards everything but the one-day-super-hero question.

It's almost like if that situation actually ever came up, and we actually got to have a super-power for a day, whatever we had picked during the last time we discussed it would become the automatic answer. So we hardout don't wanna get it wrong while we're talking about it. We feel reluctant to just toss out any answer. Or else in the future we'd be like, "Dammit, why did I pick THIS lame power? What a waste!!"

Think... Think.... Think...

Flight?

Invisibility?

X-Ray vision?

You know when it gets heated? When people start picking superheroes instead of superpowers. Like: "I wanna be like Superman." No no no. Don't even go there. I'm a firm believe in the one-power approach. Supes has super-strength, flight, heat vision, etc. You can't just be 'superman'. PICK ONE POWER! Don't be lame. It's like being the "If I had one wish I would wish for a million wishes" guy. And as we all know, no one likes that guy. That guy is what society refers to as "douchebag".

I know I don't have many commenters (you guys know who you are; you guys rule), but for readers who feel like commenting right now, hit me up in the comments section if you have an answer.

As for my answer?

Well...

It depends.

A movie geek's dream...

Wow. Edward Norton said in an interview that he would love to be in a Batman movie directed by Chris Nolan. Did you hear that Nolan?? Sign the man up now, please. I don't care who he plays, just make him prominent.

Bale and Norton squaring off in a Nolan-directed flick about my favourite superhero.

Yes.

Few thoughts 9

I'm considering cutting my hair and maintaining it. Like, seriously. Usually I cut it, skux it out for a few weeks, then descend back into the dark depths of boofy hair. Maybe this time I could cut it and keep it short and styled and whatnot all the time. Hmmm. Crazy ideas. Maybe I'm not thinking straight because I'm hungry.

On a related note, I remember that I used to really want an emo fringe type thing. What the ass Jesse.
__________________________________

Of all the various gameshows on TV, my favourite by far is The Weakest Link. Very quick, slightly strategic, awesome host; it has it all. The only thing I hate about it is when an obviously inferior player lucks out on heaps of easy questions and beats someone who had earned most of the prize money in the first place. Grrr.
__________________________________

I just realized why I like 2d cartoons more than 3d: It's because two dimensional movies look like moving paintings. There's so much beauty in the simplicity of it all, and the vivid colours that exaggerate themes add so much. When animated films shed the desire to look realistic, they reach a whole new level for me.
__________________________________

Things I will passionately start defending around haters:

-Christianity
-Lost
-Wrestling
-High School Musical
-Taylor Swift
-My friends who are getting backstabbed
__________________________________

How 'Lord Of The Rings' should have ended:

Awesomeness of tattoo sleeves based on profession

Wrestler: Awesome.




NRL player: Random and distracting

This... is... how... we... do.

That's my... that's my... that's my, that's my teeeeeam.

Dun dun duuunn

You think it's in the past but it's really set in the future!

They are actually brothers!

It was all just a dream!

The main character is crazy and she killed everyone!

Apes rule the world and you've just wasted 2 hours of your life watching this crap movie!

......

Sometimes twist endings annoy me. Because I've invested a lot into a particular character only to find out that they are actually the bad guy. Come on man. But other times, they make me jump and go "Ohhh!!" In a good way.

What follows is a (really short) list of my favourite twist endings to movies. The ones that really caught me off guard. The ones that made me want to watch the film again, just so that I could see everything again from a new perspective. The ones that make me happy that I was duped.

And even though it's common sense, I'll still put one up:


SPOILER ALERT
SPOILER ALERT
SPOILER ALERT


Let's do this.
__________________________________

Fight Club



First off, I was already enjoying the movie very much even before the twist. Then you find that our narrator is actually Tyler Durden? That's just straight crazy. It turns out that Brad Pitt's character is just a projection of how Edward Norton's character wants himself to be; an alter-ego that is more mean, aggresive, and charismatic.

So those fights they had against each other was just one man flailing around on the ground hitting himself? Awesome. Not to mention there is a girl who dates him, but he thinks that she is dating his friend- who is really him.

Following the revelation is the crazy part: Our main character must now battle against his men who are following his own orders.
__________________________________

The Prestige

This movie actually set up the twist the whole time. Unlike Fight Club, the audience knew that there was a secret and we were just waiting to hear it. Well, we did at the end.



In the film about magicians, Christian Bale's character Borden had an amazing trick that saw him disappear before re-appearing somewhere else, which would require the simple use of a double... except that the double looked exactly like him. That would be because Borden actually had an identical twin in secret, constantly dressed up as his bearded assistant. Both twins lived the same life, switching back and forth between being Borden and being the assistant. It was all worth it to them, because it meant they had the best magic trick.

A great scene that drives the point home is when one of the twins loses one of their fingers in an incident. So to keep up their secret, the other twin voluntarily cuts his matching finger off. That's just fanatic.
__________________________________

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back



I am your father.

Nuff said.
__________________________________

If you thought I missed any that deserve to be mentioned, hit me up in the comments, or else just "like" if you like it, and move on with your lives. Peace.

Compiling

Nice.

Those main brownie points

If you read my blog reguarly you'll see that I often mention someone named Amy. Amy is my girlfriend whom I love very much. (You know it.) Well, I think she's sick of me talking about her without her being able to do anything about it, because she now has her own blog.

Just... AGK.

Her sense of style is more existent than mine, so her blog actually looks cool, and she's into fashion girly stuff too. So fly over those ways if you think I don't post enough things to do with weird clothes that people don't actually wear in public. Oh, and her most recent post at the time that I'm writing this featured a Zac Efron poster, so that's a big plus too.

Man I seriously have to get off this Efron buzz. What the ass man. He's not THAT great.

Yes he is!

Stuck

A list of words/phrases I say when I:

a) Didn't hear you.
b) Have no idea how to respond.
c) Really really don't care about what you are saying.

- Aaaaye.
- This guy.

.... Okay this list turned out to be only two words. Wow. I honestly thought I had more stalling words than this.

Lets take it back yo

Me and Amy have been slowly going through old (not 'old' old, but you know, 10 years ago +) family movies that we loved as kids, watching them for the first time in years and introducing them to the other, full with running commentary on memories about them. Mostly cartoons. Good times.

So far, we've watched 'Fly Away Home', 'The Road To El Dorado', 'Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory', and 'Matilda'.

Movies that I'm really looking forward to watching again include 'The Great Mouse Detective', 'Land Before Time', and that one where Frankie Muniz has a dog. Can't remember what it's called, but I recall really liking it. Although I have a strong feeling that when I watch that one, I'll think "Why did I even like this crap...?"

Maybe I should use this occasion to trick Amy into watching 'Blade Runner'. That's an old movie right?

Trailer time

Finally, a trailer for 'The Fighter' has been released. Been waiting on this one for over a year, I even started to doubt it would ever get released, but here it is, featuring 3 of my favourite current actors on the scene right now (Bale, Wahlberg, and Adams). Looks good.




And wow, may I say that no one can shed and gain muscle or pounds like my man Christian Bale. Straight dedicated to the role yo.

Quid Pro Quo

When I was little, my least favourite Lion King song was Scar's 'Be Prepared'. Back then, it was boring to me, with non-sensical lyrics sung by my least favourite characters. Now that I'm older and I actually get how sarcastic and funny Scar's lyrics are, it's my favourite by far. Plus, Jeremy Irons has an awesome bad guy voice. My favourite lyrics in the song are:

"Of course, quid pro quo, you're expected
To take certain duties *slits throat* on board"

But this confuses me. As I understand it, the lions must surely speak the language of lion. Lions roar and grunt and whatnot. But for the sake of the human audience watching the film, their dialogue was translated into English. Which is fair enough, or else we wouldn't be able to understand the movie at all.

But then Scar speaks Latin in one line. He says "Quid pro quo." Which isn't English. So there's the English lion language... and then there's Latin lion? Which leads me to the conclusion that there must be other languages of lion for the lions that live in other places. For example, the lions in Asia must speak an Asian version of lion. So where did Scar learn Latin? And anyway, if lions have different languages that divide cultures and ethnicities, wouldn't that mean that the lions in 'Lion King' should be speaking African?

O_o

What the ass Jesse. Sorry for that random rant. I'm so tired. When I started this blog post, it was meant to be about how much I wish animated films were 2D again. I really veered off topic off there. Mabye another time aye.

Ponder time

"What we call human nature in actuality is human habit."

- Jewel Kilcher

Nice. On a side note, I did not know her birth name was actually Jewel.

Amazing if you think about it. Think about it.

It seems that every time I read the Bible these days, I find myself criticizing people who have encounters with God. I get frustrated when they don't listen. It's like "Oi, it's GOD speaking to you. How about actually taking advice from the one who, oh, I don't know, created this universe? He might know what He's talking about?"

- _ -

But then I realize that I'm assuming that the mind is always logical. That people always reason. Which of course, it isn't and we don't.

It's actually quite funny how easy it is to completely disregard logic. And by funny, I mean a stupid kind of funny. Which is also a sad kind of funny. A kind of funny that makes me stop and think about changing my life. Okay, maybe funny isn't the right word for this. But you know what I mean.

Take for example phobias. I don't like slugs. I really don't like slugs. But it goes past merely disliking them. It even goes past really really hating them. I'm actually scared of them. I can't pick them up. Or touch them. Or be near enough them that someone could push me over and I'll fall over near it. They scare me. It's a combination of how slimy they are and how they move so slowly, but then suddenly curl up when you touch them. It creeps me out so bad.

But in my mind I know that they can't do me any harm. I could squish it, throw it away, or do whatever to it, and it won't do anything that comes close to physically harming me. Yet this knowledge doesn't help at all. I still absolutely detest the thought of being in the same room as one.

I believe that God is intelligent. I believe that He knows all the possible outcomes to any and all situations. I believe that He knows all of my characteristics, all my flaws, all my fears, my strengths, my weaknesses; everything about me. Yet if He told me right now (and I absolutely knew in my heart that it was He who spoke) to move to a third world country to build a church... well, I wouldn't know what I would do, but something tells me that if I could, I would do all in my power to not go. Even if He said it was where I would be happiest, where I would make the biggest change, where I would impact the most lives for Christ.

Emotion can easily overpower reason. And reason dictates that the creator and ruler of this universe would know more than me. Therefore if said creator and I disagreed on what my ideal future is, chances are, he's the one who is right.

Emotion can easily overpower logic. And logic dictates that our emotions constantly change; therefore if we base our lives on our emotions, our opinions on any issue will fluctuate according to the situations that change and govern our emotions, which would make life just one big rollercoaster ride with no stability or foundation or direction.

Yet, knowing all this, I still have the nagging feeling that I would try and gap.

You'd think that it would be a lot easier than it actually is to obey an infinite being who loves us very much. The truth is, being brought up in this world makes it difficult to see beyond the immediate and obvious consequences of any given action. It's hard to see the big picture, and even harder to follow God when He gives us tasks that will fullfill the big picture. But I suppose if we always saw what was best, we would might not ever need faith, or trust, and therefore we would never truly believe with all our heart that God does love us as much as He does.

As for leaving you with a tip to help you live out this difficult aspect of the Christian walk... well, I'm afraid I have nothing more helpful to say than this: Listen and obey.

And yes, I did steal that line from someone.

'Manly Man' by Bradley Hathaway

Few thoughts 8

When people ask me who I would pick to play me in a movie, I always wonder: What would a movie based on me even be about? I mean, I'm not bored and I don't think I live a boring life, but from a viewer's point of view, there's not much plot so far. A movie based on me would have to be 30% true and 80% bullcrap to make it Hollywood worthy.

Yeah that's right my calculations just added up to 110%. And what?
__________________________________

Jokes that I am sick of:

-The implication that Justin Bieber is a girl/little boy/gay.
-Anything related to the earthquakes down in Christchurch.
-Facebook statuses of university students leaving their assignments to last minute.
__________________________________

I've found out recently that talking to atheists strengthens my faith and encourages me to gain more knowledge, while talking to christians affirms my faith and increases my knowledge. I must continue to do both more regularly. I'd rather face fierce adversity than to not think or talk about God at all.
__________________________________

Compliments rule. I used to find them awkward and unbelievable when directed at me, but now I take them in and let them lift me. They can pretty much change my whole day from suck to AWESOME.
__________________________________

It seems that I don't dislike the second and third Matrix movies as much as I thought I did. I recently watched Revolutions again, and it turned out that it was a much better film than I remembered it to be. I actually understand everything that happens. It's not amazing like the first one, but it's not bad either.

One thing that annoys me though: What's the point of reviving Trinity in such dramatic fashion at the end of the second film, only to have her killed off again a movie later? What the lame.

More XKCD goodness

Hehe.

Yes

It's better to have loved and perservered and kept loving, than to have given up and said that it's better than to have never loved at all.

What a mouthful. Don't know if that made any sense. But it's what I believe. Sorry for not being able to articulate exactly what it's in my heart readers.

For Frodo

I am FINALLY getting Amy to watch the 'Lord Of The Ring' films. It's a very exciting time in our relationship, letting her into this important part of my life. Happy to report that she's enjoying them so far. Yusss.

But when I think about it, it's a task that should never have been appointed to me in the first place. She should have already seen them. I mean, what kind of weird as New Zealander hasn't actually seen them yet? Must be Amy. Sigh. All good baby, I got you covered.

Being with Amy also has the reverse effect; me watching her shows. I know whats happening on 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians'. I'm following 'NZ Next Top Model' and I actually have a favourite that I'm backing to win. Not to mention I was clued up on 'The Hills' when it was on. Man. Without 'Lost' and 'Avatar' on TV, I got nothing to force upon her until her spirit breaks and she convinces herself that she actually likes them.

This world is so cruel.

But there is still the 4-hour extended edition of Return Of The King to take her through... Muahaha...

Blog Award

So I guess, since one person is reading "ok Laptop" and awarded me for writing it, it isn't COMPLETELY a waste of time. Only a little bit. Thanks Shaye for the award, keep going hard.

Here it is:



So, as I understand the rules, upon recieving this prestigious award, I must share 7 facts about myself and then pass on the award to blogs I think are awesome. Here goes:

Seven things about yours truly:

1. According to my friends, if I were an element bender in the Avatar world (not the Avatar that James Cameron created; the one that M. Night Shyamalan ruined), I would be an air bender.

2. My favourite Disney animated movie of all time is 'Tarzan'. Weird that it's not any of the old classics, but honestly, I loved Tarzan as a kid. Watched it again this year, still really love it. And the Phil Collins soundtrack is awesome.

3. The first time I got "slain in the Spirit", there was no catcher behind me. I just fell onto the person praying for someone else behind me. Good times.

4. My teams:

Intl rugby: Springboks
Super 14: Bulls
NRL: Roosters & Storm
Barclays league: Manchester United

5. When I go on the computer my usual order of sites to go on is: Facebook, Blogspot, Hotmail, XKCD, Inside Pulse Wrestling, Lords Of Pain, then IGN.

6. My favourite person in the Bible is Job. Far out man. That guy. Dear everyone who thinks they have problems: read Job, and look at his response. Then procede to open your eyes and realize that God is bigger than all the obstacles that you think are worth getting worried over.

7. My Samoan name is translated "tree in the valley".
__________________________________

And now, these are the blogs that I think are awesome. If you don't already, read and follow them. I award these following blogs:

Applez For Knowledge - For deep and often inspiring Christian posts that are even relevent if you aren't a Christian. I credit her for reviving my desire to blog.

Laura Toailoa - My little sister's blog. She rambles a lot, but in an entertaining and heartfelt way. Also, I think she's the only person who has her name as the blog title. Nice.

Anne She Was - The most visual and colourful blog I read. Her words are pictures and her pictures speak a thousand words.

Living Like Laree - Good music recommendations. Unedited and thought-out opinions. Fashion stuff that I don't care about but you might like.

These next blogs also deserve the award and I am giving it to them too, but they are blogs that don't have that much writing on them. While only a few posts are on there, I still enjoyed reading them very much. I hope they continue to get updated, as I really like the writing:

Analogue\\//Digital - My main man Joel. My songwriting partner (whenever I get my ass into gear and meet up with him). Good musician, sure to come up with good songs soon. Watch this space.

A little bit of cyber earth - The blog of singer/songwriter Ben Abraham. Good music knowledge and good humour.

Thorn in the Roses - Jono's blog. Good wise musing on here. He's a smart guy. If you can get past the massive picture of the yellow chicks. What the ass.

A little bit of Gin - A blog about living that I consider witty. The good wit, not the douchebag university student wit. My kind of blog.

Talia Design - Not a written blog, but more a visual website advertising her awesome graphic design skills. Nice stuff on here.

Green Lantern... I thought he was black?

The teaser posters for 'Green Lantern' actually look pretty good. I wasn't looking forward to it until quite recently. The poster is quite basic but there's something about it that I like. Good idea to hold back on revealing what the suit looks like too.



Comic book adaptations have really stepped up a notch in quality the past few years, with movies like 'Batman Begins' and 'Iron Man' really showing how a good an origin story could be, while still being an entertaining movie.

Plus, despite the fact that Amy immediately begins to ignore me as soon as she sees him, I do like Ryan Reynolds. He should make a good lead, and he has a good director in Martin Campbell leading the way.

As always, with these things, I'm way too excited way too early. The film doesn't get released until June next year. Oh yay.