December 2011
1 post
WatchParamore’s “In the Mourning” To me a song about letting go of things you can’t change & having courage to move forward.
November 2011
2 posts
8 tags
13MWAChronicles23:Where We Started
The above image is from Switzerland. I was lucky enough 9 years ago to be able to see this up close and personal. Believe me, you’d want to see this for yourself. This picture doesn’t do it justice. When you see the image of the massive lion carved in stone wall, you’ll be moved to tears & empathize with its weeping. It is as though the man made lake below is the result of...
October 2011
3 posts
The Tofu Years
I’ll brief coz I should be sleeping right now…
The Tofu Years describes how my first phase of life has become to be known as a piece of tofu, a bland food staple like a blank canvas that comes alive once colored by the flavors of other foods that it surrounds it. Lately, life has been that piece of tofu-a struggle to always having...
“I am filled with the spirit of God, in Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, &...”
– Exodus 31:3-4
13 Men Working Above:Intermission "God-Fact or...
THE FOLLOWING WAS WRITTEN DURING THE SUMMER OF MY “DISCONTENT” IF YOU WILL. THE TONE IS SOMBER & BITTER, COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT I FEEL NOW, FILLED WITH PROMISE & HOPE…I SHARE THE FOLLOWING ONLY TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE EACH HAVE OUR STORMY NIGHTS BUT WE MUST ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TO THE MORNING THAT PROMISES LIGHT & SHELTER….STAY TUNED FOR MORE DETAILS...
WatchThis song came both from a place of faith & doubt. If there’s a word for experiencing both, please let me know what that is & I might rename this song from its original title “Resisted”
Verse 1
When will I reap the rewards for believing/ But I have been told/ That’s not how it’s supposed to work/ Enter the desert/Carrying your cross/As the Spirit rains down...
7 tags
12 Men Currently On Hiatus When I Need Them Most
We are the same
We are both saved
Underneath the sycamore
We were both broken in our own ways
Sifting through the rubble for the wrong things…
(Death Cab for Cutie-“Underneath the Sycamore”; Codes & Keys)
If you have been following from the beginning, I christened my blog “13 Men Working Above”. To illustrate the meaning I correlate with these words,...
July 2011
1 post
Experiencing WW: "Wedding Withdrawal"
No, as the title suggests, I myself did not get married. However, a very good friend of mine did. All the preparation from fittings, bridal shower, bachelorette party, rehearsal dinner, to hair & make up, to the final ceremony & reception has led me exhausted in a positive way.
In the events leading up to the momentous occasion, I’d have to say I had my own “Bridesmaids”...
May 2011
3 posts
WatchNever 2 Late (2 Believe) - a.l. madde (c) -(pseudonym)
The FINAL version I believe. Please let me know what you think, okay?
Lyrics
VERSE 1
I’m throwing out the punches that we’ve thrown, with love love love love. Coz you & I don’t deserve to feel alone, no. If we aim to survive, we must try to grow the faith we possess inside!
IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO...
“”
– Oh, you’re in my veins, and I cannot get you out: I still haven’t found the person where my fingers intertwine perfectly with theirs. Come find me, soon?
WatchParamore Influence + Faith = “NeverTooLate”
You like?
April 2011
2 posts
13MWACHRONICLES22:Taking One's Word for It- or...
I’m gonna try to be brief with this one. The past “chronicle” entries have been rather lengthy because I felt passionate about what I was saying. I still am passionate about the following. However, I think for the sake of true effectiveness, brevity may be better.
Today I was driving down an expressway I normally don’t drive nor do I like to venture alone in bad weather....
13MWACHRONICLES21:What Do You Do When You Feel...
Okay, let me add a disclaimer: First, these are the musings of a sensitive soul, & I always embellish things others would not. Second, I too am guilty of the following of which I call MPS. No, MPS is not a typo for PMS though they are somewhat similar. However, MPS can affect both males & females, even some sarcastic teens & precocious toddlers with parents also affected by MPS. What...
March 2011
3 posts
WatchThis song is a cover of @paramore ‘s “MyHeart” Love you guys
“…fragility & impermanence of life…nothing is guaranteed…we...”
– Rosie O’ Donnell *tracing her family tree*
TV show: WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?
February 2011
3 posts
C'mon Philly Paramore Fans! Make THIS HAPPEN!
View all Philadelphia events on Eventful
January 2011
8 posts
An Atheist Professor of Philosophy was speaking to...
Professor: You are a Christian, aren’t you, son?
Student: Yes, sir.
Professor: So, you believe in God?
Student: Absolutely, sir.
Professor: Is God good?
Student: Sure.
Professor: My brother died of cancer, even though he prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn’t. How is God good, then? Hmm?
(Student was silent)
Professor: You can’t answer, can you? Let’s start again, young fella. Is God good?
Student: Yes.
Professor: Is Satan good?
Student: No.
Professor: Where does Satan come from?
Student: From.. God.
Professor: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?
Student: Yes.
Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it? And God did make everything. Correct?
Student: Yes.
Professor: So who created evil?
(Student didn’t answer)
Professor: Is there sickness? Immortality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?
Student: Yes, sir.
Professor: So, who created them?
(Student had no answer)
Professor: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son.. have you ever seen God?
Student: No, sir.
Professor: Tell us if you have ever heard your God.
Student: No, sir.
Professor: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God, for that matter?
Student: No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.
Professor: Yet you still believe in Him?
Student: Yes.
Professor: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, Science says your God doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student: Nothing. I only have my Faith.
Professor: Yes, Faith. And that is the problem Science has.
Student: Professor, is there such a thing as Heat?
Professor: Yes.
Student: And is there such a thing as Cold?
Professor: Yes.
Student: No, sir, there isn’t.
(The Lecture Theatre became very quiet with this turn of events)
Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 Degrees below Zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of Heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.
(There was a pon-drop silence in the Lecture Theatre)
Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Professor: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?
Student: You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have Low Light, Normal Light, Bright Light, Flashing Light… But if you have No Light constantly, you have nothing and it’s called Darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it is, You would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?
Professor: So what is the point you are making, young man?
Student: Sir, my point is, your Philosophical Premise is flawed.
Professor: Flawed? Can you explain how?
Student: Sir, you are working on the Premise of Duality. You argue there is Life and then there is Death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?
Professor: If you are referring to the Natural Evolutionary Process, yes of course, I do.
Student: Have you ever observed Evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument was going)
Student: Since no one has ever observed the Process of Evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a Scientist but a Preacher?
(The class was in uproar)
Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?
(The class broke out into laughter)
Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? .. No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established Rules of Empirical, Stable and Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures?
(The room was silent. The Professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable)
Professor: I guess you’ll have to take them on Faith, son.
Student: That is it, sir.. exactly! The link between man and God is Faith. That is all that keeps things alive and moving!
----------------------------------------------------
That student was Albert Einstein.
Brilliant.
Beautifully done.
----------------------------------------------------
wow, this was really albert einstein? had no idea he if believed in anything at all. when stories become about real people don't they hit so much harder?
WatchLyrics to follow shortly for clarification secondary to poor sound quality
13MWAChroniclesEpisode19: MisguidedGhosts
2010 - The Year of the Tiger
The Chinese zodiac states that the year of the tiger is one of great turbulence & even change. Personally, this year would be properly be renamed “The Year of Misguided Ghosts”
This entry was inspired as I was walking down the street towards the subway after work. Blame it on night shift hallucinations due to odd sleeping habits, but for a second...
“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I...”
– Douglas Adams (via herewecollide)
December 2010
2 posts
“A lie is just an upside down truth” - Donna”
– Cleveland Show
November 2010
11 posts
WatchThe above video came out of nowhere, but somehow spoke to a deeper subconscious that needed a voice. It’s akin to the lyrics of Tori Amos “Crucify
“and my heart is sick of being I say my heart is sick of being in chains”
In this case, my chains are my wings that have yet to be let loose so I can fly & see the landscape I was meant to see. Many of you have had better...
““Two important things all writers should never stop expanding:
1) Life...”
– Me, myself, & I :)
13MWAChroniclesEpisode18: It's Relative
How to relate to the world? You & I see the world through different lenses, real or symbolically. Some of us look through a microscope, analyzing every minutiae that is (and sometimes usually isn’t really there). Analytical thinking is good, too much, you can get yourself into trouble…(I have found myself at the crossroads with the latter. Still have yet to reach resolution, but I...
13MWAChroniclesEpisode17: How to Analyze Your Life...
******** DISCLAIMER: The first several paragraphs deal with ABC’s show LOST now since ended. If you’re not familiar with the show, try to google a synopsis first or go to the book store, or refer to the now released LOST encyclopedia now found in bookstores. ******
If you’re familiar with the now defunct television series LOST, you know about signs, coincidences, & fate...
13MWAChroniclesEpisode16: Harry Potter & Its Life...
AGain, to some of you Harry Potter is childish. To my more evangelical friends, you believe it is blasphemy. If anything, in looking back at the stories especially conceived in the films, I have gained more an understanding of my faith & its challenges. Witchcraft & wizards is not what this is about! Heck, even Lord of the Rings had the wizard Gandalf, a character written by J.R.R....
Watching Goblet of Fire
Fan: And so the scene begins...the names have been chosen...and so unexpected events play out...causing misunderstanding between good friends, threats to innocent lives, & resurrection of a Darkness unfathomable
October 2010
14 posts
TWLOHA exists for all people. Hope and help and...
Lyrics | Katy Perry lyrics - Who Am I Living For? lyrics
“A Prayer of Hope
Dear Loving God,
Help us to remember, when we lose hope,...”
– From the book City On Our Knees by Toby Mac
Prayer of Saint Patrick
I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through belief in the threeness, Through confession of the oneness Of the Creator of Creation.
I arise today Through the strength of Christ’s birth with his baptism, Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial, Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension, Through the strength of his...
“You are the bandaids to my cuts made inside my heart; you keep me from bleeding....”
13MWAChroniclesEpisode14: Citizen Pilgrim vs The...
This morning my eyes were treated with an odd sight. Many people dressed in black from different races, with a person carrying the image of the Virgin Mary reciting the rosary. This month of October marks the month of the rosary.
Many don’t and many do understand the history of Mary. Whatever your experiences, they are all unique. All I know is that when I saw this, I recalled my retreat...