The Real Matrix

Morpheus: What is the Matrix? Control. The Matrix is a computer-generated dream world built to keep us under control in order to change a human being into this.
[holds up a Duracell battery]
Neo: No, I don't believe it. It's not possible.
Morpheus: I didn't say it would be easy, Neo. I just said it would be the truth.

Although The Matrix has a more confused theology than Tom Cruise, it raises a very interesting point about life. Where The Matrix postulates that the real world is the illusion, I would use this famous quote to describe a different beast altogether. We know that reality is exactly that - real. The Matrix is entertaining fiction. Entertaining, but fiction. That world that was built to keep us under control - that isn't nearly as fictional as we would like to believe. There are no machines sucking our bodily fluids (unless you're recovering in a hospital), and there are no vicious programs trying to conquer humanity - but there is a virtual world that is trying to suck you into it.

If you don't know what I am referring to just yet, don't feel bad. Up until today, neither did I. Have you ever lost contact with a friend or family member because they don't use e-mail? I know that I have. I said to myself the slogan of progress, "If you're not online, you don't exist". The world gets smaller with every advancement of technology - and yet... something's missing.

I discovered why the world seems smaller now. It is. No, i'm not suggesting that the Earth is like a cotton shirt being washed for the first time - i'm suggesting that those of us that are not able to join the new world are left to die in the old one, making our new world nice and small. The virtual world is the Gentleman's club of the 21st Century. It is the Hall of Lords and the Order of the privileged. It is also an extremely ignorant and narrow view of a world largely unassociated with the rest of existence.

I am not suggesting that the internet is inherently evil. If I were anti-technology, I wouldn't be wasting my time typing blogs that nobody reads. I'm saying that we have to be extraordinarily careful not to loose touch with the world that matters - that vast world that hasn't grown smaller. That sea of faces that aren't able to access the world-within-a-world.

Surf, e-mail, poke, re:, Skype - but most of all, LIVE. Befriend the human beings that live around you, and don't worry so much about that dude that you met on MSN or AIM. mIRC, chat sites, Yahoo and MSN groups - all this is meaningless if you use them to replace what is real.

Today I unregister from my forums, and I delete my "hey", "hey" contacts. If you don't know what I mean by that, consider yourself blessed.

God bless you, and may He reveal his creation to you in a new and powerful way. There's a whole world to explore out there - don't just read about it!

ECW²

Long-time readers of the Truthy Report will recodnise the ECW as the Emerging Christian Writers, a writing group that I co-founded. Well, i'm sad to announce that that particular group is dwindling and is quietly waiting to die. This isn't an atmosphere that new visitors are going to want to join up with to promote their writing - therefore, my co-founder and I have decided to disband the current ECW.

I'm not so quick to give up, however. ECW2 is the temporary project name for the ECW's replacement-in-training. The following is my initial members-only release as announced on echristianwriters.com/phpBB. Please note that this cannot be viewed by non-members, which is why I post it below for you.

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ECW 2 : Let's Light This Candle!

Update:

ECW2 is starting to look like this, at least in it's initial stage:

New name - the ECW was a joint venture between Peter, Kevin & I - I don't want to drag the name around when only my vision drives it. The new name will reflect certain changes in mission and purpose:

Contemporary - where conservatism and political correctness defined everything that the ECW did, ECW2 will take a leap of artistic faith and try to embrace the freedom of the 21st century (that is, - no bland colors, and no formal speech) while still respecting biblical values.

Focussed - Instead of welcoming in members indiscriminately ECW2 will be designed to be more publicity and less community oriented. Targets must be met to achieve membership status and to maintain membership status. These may include staying active, being published (self-published or professionally), and being screened to avoid un-biblical theologies.

Website - The emphasis will be not so much on the forum, but on the website itself. For those of you that are concerned about what this new site will look like, I can assure you that it will utilize a template as its core, with custom material on top. Initial color schemes are looking like black baground with bright highlights, or white background with punchy highlights. Whatever it ends up being, it will look somewhat futuristic with a touch of artistry.

The mission of this new group will be push emerging Christian authors that aren't afraid to be punchy, write genre-stretching material (no bland rehashes of the classics), and to draw in a fanbase that will actually improve our authors' sales, as opposed to the ECW which unfortunately catered more to members than to generating new readers.

I'm still working on the details, but that's my preliminary vision. (Well, my secondary preliminary vision I suppose. A few people were already privy to my blunt and short primary preliminary. lol.)

What do you think? Is this something that you would be interested in following me with?

I'm always interested in everyone's comments, congratulations, and constructive criticisms, the 4 great C's of progress. Okay, I just made that up. Sounds catchy though...

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I can be reached at cmikeff@hotmail.com. I am accepting members even now, before this goes any farther, so let me know if you are interested. As I mentioned above, prospective members will be screened to insure that the ECW2 is free from bad theology and individuals of questionable character.

Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)

"And Jesus came and spoke to them saying, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I with you, even to the end of the age." Amen.

I post this here primarily because I have to memorise it for my evangelism class in thirty minutes, but secondly because i'm ticked off that we have to memorise it in NKJV. I wish my EVAN professor would speak to my BIBL professor, who's told us all about the problems with NKJV. They are extensive. I should devote a post to them sometime...

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It seems that it has been a very long time since I posted a non-word for your enjoyment, so here it is:
newkrappyjello version - "new-crap-ee-jell-oe" - a translation of the Bible that is based on innacurate texts that jiggles in the mouth when you try to read it aloud.

Hit or Miss?

Every once in a while I like to post a 'Hit or Miss' list, listing the top 10 (and/or worst 10) of something in my given category.

SONGS THAT I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO LATELY:

HIT
1. Don't Give Up - Sanctus Real
2. Beautiful Love - The Afters
3. Listen to Your Hear (Remix) - DHT, Jamie
4. Happy Birthday - Flypside
5. It's Dangerous Business Walking out Your Front Door - Underoath
6. Apparations of Melody - Kids in the Way
7. Frontline - Pillar
8. Piece of Heaven - Cascada
9. Dancing in September - Earth, Wind & Fire
10. The Thief - Relient K

Royal Insecurity

For years a silent debate has waded through Canada, from sea to sea. Every few years it resurfaces, but is quickly drowned out by a proud and traditional populace. We have, as a nation, been working for years to become an independent and sovereign nation. We pleaded with the British crown to give us rights beyond that of a Dominion of the Crown, we opened our doors to every culture and every people group in the world. We have become so determined to be our own self, set apart from those who’s shadow we cannot escape, that we even fly in the face of the world’s only superpower whenever it suits us.

For all of this flag waving and chest thumping, we have forgotten one key fact that holds us victim to another power’s will. Our head of state isn’t even a Canadian. Somewhere in a far away land, an elderly Queen sips her tea and sits on her British throne. In that far away land, five time-zones apart from our Nation’s capital, she holds the power to snoop or possibly even wield the internal workings of our government.

Some of us anti-crown-patriots may be merely irritated that a foreign dignitary’s head still covers our coined currency, but metal-silhouetted Royals should be the least of our worries. Australia has already recognized that they cannot truly be independent as long as Britain still has its gloved hands so deep into their power structure. So to is it with Canada. What secret powers does she have at her disposal? What sensitive information is she privy to? Finally, if a national security issue existed between Canada and the UK, where do you think her loyalties would lie? Heaven forbid that we should ever have to actively fight against our British ‘mother’.

What Canadians have to realize is, the Queen’s position as our head of state isn’t just a threat to our sovereign identity – it’s a threat to our national security.

-----------------

Notes:
1. Australia voted against leaving the commonwealth, although support was strong.
2. I do not at this time understand what information or powers the Queen has. This blog entry was written simply to get people thinking about how outrageous it is that our head of state is British.
3. I have nothing against the Royals, in my opinion they are no more relevant to our nation than Hollywood celebrities. In fact, that’s exactly what they have become – the British monarchy is now the Hollywood of the UK.

CALL FOR FEEDBACK:
Are you a Canadian? How do you feel about our Royal Insecurity?
Are you American, or from another truly independant country? What are your thoughts?

The Silent Weeks

Between the Old and New Testaments, there was a period of four-hundred years is not covered known as the 'Silent Years'. Whether it was insignificant, or merely insufficiently significant to warrant coveted space in the Book of Books, I have no idea.

The Truthy Report has gone through a silent period of it's own, I’m calling the 'Silent Weeks'. Not that this blog in any way compares to the Bible, but the term seems appropriate.

Unlike my theories on why the Bible ignores the 'Silent Years', my quiet time has more to do with being so completely busy that I haven't had time for any pleasantries or indulgences. Nearly one month ago, I underwent surgery to have my wisdom teeth removed. The next three weeks of my life involved a frightening balance of trying not to die from cellulitis (an infection in my neck), and preparing myself for University - a task that is never truly complete.

As I begin my third week of University, I finally have time to jot down just a few words - i.e. this post. I hope you feel better informed now! Also, hopefully not all of my readers have given up on me ever posting again. Future updates will be more frequent, although the days of weekly posts may be over. Who knows? Maybe the semester will get lighter as it goes on.

...

ya right.

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The Truthy Report is now syndicated on my FaceBook! www.facebook.com
Welcome to new FaceBook readers! For those of you that are unfamiliar with this blog, I highly recommend that you read my first-ever post. Cheers, and God bless!

...

(***omg! He said God bless!***)

Ya, that's right. I've discovered that 90%+ of my readers are Christians, and all of my new readers will also be Christians, so i'm dropping all pretense of subtlety. This is first and foremost a blog that glorifies God, and so it shall.

Truth. Like Hammer

Below is a launch announcement regarding a new website by Joshua Wood, "Truth. Like Hammer". Check it out!

TruthLikeHammer.com Launch Announcement:

"The Western church is dying. Slowly but surely, it is being overcome by false
prophets and supposed spiritual gurus spouting promises of walking in
divine blessing, happiness, and health. Despite the overwhelming
acceptance of feel-good lies, there is still a flicker of light.

As stated on their website, the goal of Truth. Like Hammer is clear: To
stand against the flow of cultures and social movements firmly planted
in the unchanging message of Christ is our mission. We accept it proudly.

Charles H. Spurgeon once said, "If the Lord does not speedily appear,
there will come another generation, and another, and all these
generations will be tainted and injured if we are not faithful to God
and to His truth today."

Truth. Like Hammer was founded in 2006 by Joshua Wood of
btfindustries.com and is co-authored by Jezreel Cohen, and Amy Michelle
Wiley. The site offers a range of articles, blog entries, a discussion
forum, and advice pertaining to the Truth of the Gospel."

The 10 Cent Difference

Greetings Truthy faithful,

As many of you know, I am currently saving my pennies for University this fall.

"But Mike," you might say, "University will cost you more than a few pennies!" If you are such a person, you would be correct! Congratulations. In fact, evening saving many thousands of nickels won't do it for me. University requires thousands of dollars, most of which I don't actually have at the moment.

"But Mike," you might say again, "haven't you been working hard and saving your money?" The answer is 'yes', I have. However, what I have been able to save is still insufficient. I've been teaching computers, designing websites, selling on eBay, as well as working on a friend's farm. After all of this, I still need more. That is why I have implemented a new University Fund store, where you can get great merchandise cheaply.

"But Mike," you might say yet again, causing great irritation to the rest of us, "I have no money. I'm poor and I make my own underpants out of plastic bags." I have a solution for even these people - in fact, this solution is great for everybody, even those who do shop at the store.

The great option? I call it the '10 Cent Difference'. Click here to see how you can contribute to my education without paying a sent!

Thank you very much for your support, and I look forward to posting a success story for you later this year!

---

'Duality' is still awaiting a topic - email me your ideas, or leave a comment!

Duality

Hey everybody, and welcome to the Truthy Report's first edition of our new feature - Duality. I know what you're thinking, and no, i'm not going to cut myself in half.

Duality is a unique oppurtunity for me to write two opposing viewpoints verses myself. Think like CNN's Crossfire with multiple personality disorder. Unlike Crossfire however, there will be no left wing. Being a middle-ish conservative, the sides will be Conservative and Facist - the extreme right side of the political spectrum. If I were a lefty, then that would be Liberal and Communist.

So, meet my two sides:

Copernicus is an intelligent, thoughtful man who is guided by his faith in God, and has a real compassion for people. He can keep his cool in all but the most heated of circumstances, and he holds to strong moral values. He believes that wrong is wrong all of the time, and there's no excuse for it.

Caesar is tactical, ambitious, and very big-picture oriented. He has little time for irritations or stupidities, and he would love to conquer the world someday so everyone could live properly. Ceasar believes in God, but he would rather think things through than call on the Almighty. He believes he is brilliant, and anyone would have a hard time proving him wrong.

I of course am neither of these men, that's what makes this entertaining. I'm sure we can all find elements in each of them that we can relate to. I'm likely a moderate middle - neither Copernicus nor Caesar, but more likely a healthy combination of the two.

Now, this feature thrives on your input - please suggest our first topic of discussion by leaving a comment on this post. After both sides are done duking it out, you can decide for yourself who won. Vote by showing your support in a comment!

*Awaiting your input*

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Your non-word of the day is springroast, (spring-roast) the melting of one's internal organs by unseasonably high temperatures during the first quarter of the year. ie. "Have you springroasted yet?" or "We had our springroast early this year".

Blistering Heat

May 30, and i'm already dying from the heat. It's insane! Sure, people love to tease us Canadians about our inhumanly cold weather and plentiful snow, but do you realise that the temperature outside is 36 degrees celcius!

No, you most likely wouldn' if you are American. 36 C = 96.8 ferenheit. How's that for the True North? Sure, you Southerners are used to it, but in a country where our temperature regularly goes more than 25-30 degrees below freezing, that's just intolerable.

To see current weather conditions at my house, click here.

I'm sure there are more severe weather changes in the world, but I haven't heard of one! Maybe international charities should be donating to the 'Poor Roasting Canucks Fund'.

The fact that i've managed to accomplish anything today is a credit to my poor, dying fan. - Yay Mr. Fan!

Cheers to you who dwell in comfort, and I hope I get to join you soon!

A Quick Update

The Truthy Report's special reports are now available via this blog's sidebar. Currently there is the ongoing feature - The Cyst List, as well as the one-time feature The DaVinci Report.

These special features will be few and far between, but as they occur they will be listed there as well.

From Porn to Ped - A Short Trip?

This blog entry is really for you if:
You've ever looked at pornography, on TV, the Internet, or a magazine.
or You don't think that porn depicting consenting adults is a problem.

If you're a man reading this, then odds are you fall into category #1 (above). I have yet to meet a guy that has not looked at porn at one time or another. Maybe they were young and curious, or maybe an experienced friend told them where to find it. The point is that we were fed it young.

As the years went on, a blessed few of us realized that we were heading down a dark path and veered off. Most didn't. Years later, many of us were still plagued by this disease of the mind. Are you on this path right now? Are you apathetic towards other people allowing their minds to go this way? Let me open a window to the future for you.

I have spoken with a number of guys and girls over the internet, who in anonymosity freely give out personal information about their lives - just not identifying information. Some of them just needed someone to listen, and some of them were trying to help others break from their chains. The consistant theme that I have gotten from these conversations is this - porn is a slippery slope. Everyone starts soft-core, but after a while that soft stuff just doesn't give you the same thrill. It's like alchohol - the more you drink, the more it takes to get that same buzz.

Once soft-core porn no longer does it for you, you turn to hardcore. This is a fast and likely unnoticed progression, as this is the most popular and most easily accesible form on the net today. Once a guy is into this, they likely are disgusted by seeing their own gender in the nude and will turn to lesbian porn so all they see is women. This horny mindset somehow ovverides your understanding of right and wrong, allowing you to lower your standards for a short time. Adding alchohol in the mix just makes this progression faster.

As sad as this progression is, it doesn't end here. Gay, orgie (groups), and strange fetishes (unusual sex) begin to pervade. This is the line that most people would agree publicly is quite disgusting. But you see, when you're hooked on porn, you'll never stay at one level - you keep getting sucked in deeper.

Abuse, control, rape, gang rape, and bestiality (sex with animals) is the second-last category of porn. This is inhumanly perverted, and no God-fearing man could possibly do any of these things. Not to say of course that they couldn't glance at them. They do. They shouldn't, but many do. To watch a sin and to take part in it are two seperate, and yet equal acts. God makes it clear in the Bible that thinking of sin and committing a sinful act bears the same penalty.

The most horrific and disgusting level of porn is child pornography, also know as kiddie porn. This vilest of evils is so disgusting that a conscience-driven man could kill himself before allowing his eyes to see it. Some have, i'm sure. The thing that we as society needs to realize is, not all people who look at this crap are perverts. God makes it clear that they are sinners, but they are also human beings who have been caught up in the lie that porn doesn't hurt anybody.

Watching a man and a woman having sex may seem like nothing more than a sexual charge, but it is really a beast in disguise.

I want to clarify something - I believe that a human being who has any grip on conscience could not possibly commit acts portrayed in child porn media. Such people should be locked away and held up to the glory of God, come fire or mercy. I do however pity those who have fallen into the imagery - those who watch but do not do. They are fathers, sons, teachers, pastors, and other trusted men that wouldn't dare commit such a sin, and yet are drawn into it just the same.

For these men - at any level of porn, whether it be soft or worse, GET HELP! Your mind is being changed by what you allow to enter your eyes, and every second you spend perverting your mind is another day of your future that you'll have to fight it.

For teens and young adults, I highly reccommend you buy and read Every Young Man's Battle.
This is the official website where you can buy the book,
or you can buy it here at Amazon.com.

For older men, as well as married men, read Every Man's Battle. Your fight isn't over - it's just beginning!
Official Website
Amazon.com

Also, you can visit Setting Captives Free for a free course on breaking the chains that porn has created in your life. They also provide a counsellor - very helpful!

You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery"; but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. - Matthew 5:27-28 (NASB)

The DaVinci Report

This blog entry can be found here:

http://www.mikelovdal.com/TruthyReport_DavinciCode.html

on it's own special page! Enjoy.

The Vibe of Verse

I don't have to explain to a music lover why song lyrics can be so powerful. For some reason, rhymed verse in combination with music just pierces your heart and connects at a deeper level than almost anything else can.

This post comes after I found, much to my amazement, that I had 48 songs that I had personally written available on my website. More amazing still, I suppose, is that I have another 20 songs just sitting on my computer - ready to be uploaded, or used elsewhere.

I don't claim to be a master songmaster. In fact, I can count my favorites on one hand. Still, I'm just happy that I found this outlet for my thoughts and emotions, when short stories or blog entries just don't cut it.

68 songs... hmm, that's almost enough to publish in a book...

* * *

The Cyst List has a new entry - colossal, Over-Packed Websites. Click here for the complete list.

This is the way I (would've done this)

This is the way I would have done things
Up against the wall
Up against the wall
You got me up against your wall
This is the way I would have done things
Up against the wall
Up against the wall
You've got me up against your wall

That quote is the chorus of one of my favorite songs of the year - "Reinventing Your Exit" by Underoath. It's creative, it's inspiring, it's punk-rocky. It also happens to be screamo.

*gasp!*

I confess, Underoath managed to do something to my musical tastes that I never thought possible. Here I am, enjoying a screamo song.

Screamo (screem-oh), a punk-rock music style variant involving lead vocals that are screamed from the throat or chest, generating an almost unnatural sound that is neither a scream nor a yell. Actually, when some bands do it it sounds like the gates of hell were opened for a minute. Quite disturbing, I assure you.

However, on a few odd occasions, with a few odd bands, it seems to actually work. I have to be in the right mood to listen to this kind of music mind you, but I generally enjoy it.

Now, i'm not saying that i'm a fan of screamo. As far as i'm concerned, if the lead vocalist sung his lines the song would have been better, as opposed to worse. It also would have made the emotion of the song more mild however... perhaps limiting the screamo to short sections like Relient K did in their song "Softer to Me" (from their self-titled debut album).

In any case, my allowance for such things seems to have widened. In my wilder moods, you can catch me listening to:

• Underoath
• Project 86
• Pillar
• Justified
• Dogwood
• 12 Stones
• Demon Hunter (limited)

Who knew..? Oh well, for my regular listening I'm sticking to the happier stuff. Hard music sounds great, but it can be a real downer. Curious what that entails?

• Relient K
• Sanctus Real
• Kutless
• Hawk Nelson
• Stellar Kart
• Falling Up
• 4th Avenue Jones
• SoulJahz

(Among many, many others! I love my music!)

Care to Explain?

"How are you?" asks a passing stranger on the street. A friendly person would answer with something slightly personal, but publicly appropriate. They must say "i'm doing well thank you, it's a beautiful day". Or perhaps they might say "i'm alright..." anticipating that the stranger cares enough to ask why they are only feeling "alright". Such a person would be sadly naive.

If I ask you how you are doing, I care. I care because it's the decent thing to do, and as God graces me with his love I begin to care more. However, I was pre-teen by the time that I discovered that for most people this is not so. Even caring people have a badtendencyy to ask you how you are doing and then keep walking without bothering to find out the answer. A gesture of caring has been stripped down thesignificancee of a "hello", or perhaps the even less ambitious, "hey".

The odd time when somebody actually sticks around for the answer I am refreshingly taken off guard. It doesn't happen very often, but it sure is cool when it does.

So then of course I get to Part Two of my tangent on "caring". Part One was all about people not caring enough to stick around, but this next part is all about a misuse of the word 'care'.

So you've had a lovely conversation with a friend, relative, (both if you are so-blessed), or even a friendly stranger waiting for whatever you are waiting for (bus, train, plane, etc.). You say "it was nice talking to you", and they say "take care".

Excuse me?

Take care? Take care of what? How lame is that.... people used to say bless you!

Take care:
- that you don't trip and die on your way home.
- so that I don't have to see you in the hospital.
- so I don't have to say anything nice to you.
- because no one else will.
- or don't, it's not like I care.

The phrase "take care" is so overused, and so bland and meaningless that you might as well just say nothing at all and grunt your intention to depart.

Gah... "take care" is definitely making my Cyst List!

* * *

Today's non-word is yofalt (yo-fault), when something is clearly your problem or responsibility - so deal with it! ;-)

The updated Cyst List is now available here! All future Cysts will be added there. I may also add a link to the Truthy Report's sidebar if I ever feel more ambitious...

Why Time Sucks

I'd liked to have written this blog yesterday, but I didn't have time. In fact, I don't really have time to write this right now. They say that everyone has the same amount of time, but I don't beleive them. I think that some of us have a unique ability to speed through time unabated, completely helpless to get a grip on the fourth dimension long enough to actually accomplish anything, or even feel like we've lived a full day.

You heard me right - they call time the fourth dimension. What the heck is with that? How is time a dimension? I can't write time on a ruler, or picture it in my head. That's a pretty lame dimension if you ask me. Even if it is a dimension, vandalize the thought, I bet it's a lot higher than number four. Number six perhaps...

Unconvinced that time sucks? How about this: I spent the first 18 years of my life trying to be an adult. I spent the next year trying to get bar-legal (not that i wanted to drink, but who likes being told what they can't do?), and then the next two years after that getting bar-legal for Virginia. (Not that I'm actually allowed to drink then either - as per University rules). I'll be spending the next four years trying to get out of university, and then the next two trying to enjoy myself and get financially grounded before Michael Jr. comes into the world and eats all my mushy-food. (Not that I prefer my food mushy...)

'Time' takes very little time to say, but more time to spell. It has only four letters, but uses twenty-four numbers (unless of course you'd prefer to argue that seconds put that number higher). Did that last comment confuse you? Well, I don't have time to explain myself further.

In fact, time is so inconvenient that it's making my Cyst List!

* * *

In case you're keeping track, the list is now: Osama Bin Laden (spit), Hamas (spit again, and then remove all foreign aid), Wal-Mart (spit and then try not to spend too much $), The Modern Media (just keep spitting... get a glass of water if you have to), McDonald's (tasy, yet some saliva neccisary to ingest anyway), the Six O' Clock news (watch out Eleven O' Clock news - you're next!), time (i'll explain later), asymmetry without complete chaos (because that's just sadistic to do that to an anal retentive person such as myself), and the non-word phat, because it's sick. No, I mean 'sick' as in 'stupid'.

The Cyst List

cyst
noun: a closed sac that develops abnormally in some body structure.

The Cyst List is a new irregular feature here at the Truthy Report. Whenever something or someone ticks me off or does something royally foolish, i'll be adding them to my Cyst List.

To start things off:

1. Osama Bin Laden
2. Hamas
3. Wal-Mart
4. The Modern Media
5. McDonald's
6. Six o' Clock News
7. Asymmetry without complete chaos
8. Phat

* * *

Your non-word of the day is decyst (dee-sist), to remove a flaw from the universe.

ASCII

Nothing has terribly outraged me over the past little while, so the Truthy Report has remained quiet.

Since that is the case, I think i'll continue my ascii craze. Below is this sweet flag I found made entirely out of keyboard characters (which is exactly what ascii is).

 _
(_)
 |_________________________________________
 |*%%*%%*%%*%%*%%###########################
 |%*%%*%%*%%*%%*%###########################
|*%%*%%*%%*%%*%%###########################
 |%*%%*%%*%%*%%*%###########################
|*%%*%%*%%*%%*%%###########################
 |%*%%*%%*%%*%%*%###########################
|*%%*%%*%%*%%*%%###########################
 |##########################################
|##########################################
 |##########################################
|##########################################
 |##########################################
|##########################################
 |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 |
|
|
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|
|
| 

Not that i'm American or anything... I just love ascii. I tried for a Canadian flag, but they just don't work on BlogSpot. See here for more cool ascii.

* * *

Today's non-word is gah (gagh), 1. Great frustration at one's situation, 2. An expression of surprise or pain, or 3. A live worm-like Klingon dish made famous on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Mmm... not convinced? Click here.

My Baby

No congratulations necessary. No, I'm not a father - yet. Whahaha.

No, seriously. My baby is my website. No other project has so consumed my adult life. I pour hours and hours into theme changes and content additions, working to beat the last cool thing that I did.

It's fun! Since it's creation late last year, MikeLovdal.com has grown from 1 or 2 users a month to over 300 users per month and growing! The average user spends between 15 and 30 minutes every time they visit, (excluding users that go direct to the forum), and at least 9 websites link back to me.

It's really rewarding to see your own virtual empire being built on the back of all the work you've put into something. Today I just spent an inhuman amount of hours doing a complete retrofit on my site, causing more broken links and graphic chinks than a 10-year-old fansite.
After all that effort, it's nice to know that users will be able to move about my site more freely, discover pages that they may not have otherwise, and just enjoy the site more in general.

This mega update will be published to the web right after Easter (or during if I get jumpy).

If you ever have any comments on my site, good bad or ugly, please email me at cmikeff@hotmail.com

Insensitive? Yes. Lucrative? Yes also.

On this fairest of weeks, the week of Easter, it is a time for families to celebrate and Christians and Jews alike to be thankful for Jesus' sacrifice some two-thousand years ago that even today changes lives. Click here for more information on the significance of Easter.

This also happens to be that lovely time of year that the media decides is a really good time to bring up old debates on the credibility of the Bible, the accuracy of the Christian faith, and the person of Jesus. Is it insensitive? Of course. You wouldn't catch major networks criticizing the Quran during Ramadan, or watch a documentary on the falseness of Muhammad during Rabi'ul awwal.

Why is it that the media feels that attacks on one faith is acceptable during their most holy hours, while for others it is not? Perhaps it is the long-outdated idea that Christians are among the majority in North American, or perhaps it is just that scenes of burning embassy's after a Muslim cartoon was printed in Europe still burn fresh in our eyes. They seem to believe that these shocking stories will boost their ratings and viewership. Where is journalistic integrity?

Whatever the reason, it is offensive. It should not just be offensive to Christians, but to anyone who claims faith in anything. Now don't get me wrong - freedom of speech is an essential part of what makes us truly free in our nation. We just need to show a little sensitivity when it comes to stepping on the toes of those bowing in respect to these holy days.

I won't draw swastikas during Holocaust Remembrance Day, so please don't publish Bible criticisms during Easter.

* * *

The following are the articles that prompted my outrage:
An anti-bible special feature on CBC (url unavailable), and
National Geographic's "The Gospel of Judas"

Note: Judas was one of Jesus' twelve apostles who betrayed Jesus, leading to his arrest and death before his resurrection three days later. Please note that although the above link calls this text a 'Christian' text, it has in fact been rejected by hundreds of years of Christians as heretic nonsense, and is believed to have been written as many as two hundred years after the Gospels that record events of the same time frame.

The Forgotten Music

If you are a resident of North America (odds are that you are), chances are you look back on dance music as a fad of the 80's and 90's, or perhaps more fondly as a symbol of youthful memories.

The rest of the world looks at this style quite differently however. Japan, Europe, and many other parts of the world are still generating top ten songs with a dance beat, and an electronic treat. From the melodic techno to the chaotic hardcore, dance music (often referred to as electronica) is a forgotten art form in North America. How sad for the few of us that play our old Eiffel 65, U96, and Cascada tracks over and over again just wishing the fad would come back.

Dance music seems to be the one style that you can truly loose yourself in, plunging into a lake of sound that surrounds you and comforts you. Even the most lyrically depressing dance songs carried within them the underlying tone of hope and happiness.

How sad for us. The modern radio station chooses urban and rock over trance and ambient, and the next generation of listeners is told that those other styles are just an inferior expression of the past.

Not so. As I write this, the echo of the dance boom rages on with my subwoofer still kickin' the beat. Dance music may have died in North America, but the throbbing booms of music still resound in my house...

* * *

Today's non-word is Exiplocajim (ex-zip-lock-a-jim), the indescribable force behind societal fads and trends.

The Phat, Gay Trend

"You're trying to be gay Batman, but I know you're just faking it."

I kid you not, this is an actual quote from a 40's Batman comic. Back in it's day, i'm sure it was quite socially acceptable that Batman was not in fact homosexual, but that he was acting happy. "Now we don our gay apparel" isn't a line about cross-dressing or anything kinky, it's about being joyous and celebrating.

We try not to laugh at these old references, but modern society has perverted this word. There are many more lesser examples, like how wicked, phat, and sick are supposed to be synonymous with good. In the forties, if someone were wicked, fat and sick, they were obviously a blubbery individual with some sort of criminal record for doing foul things.

Why is it that these words were morphed? Well, my later examples have to do more with creating a language barrier between generations and boredom than any kind of societal advancement, but what about gay? At what time did society deem it inappropriate to refer to such people as homosexual? Why is it that our politically correct world sees it fit to legitimize prostitution by calling prostitutes sex trade workers?

By the same token, be watching for these upcoming terms:

victims = unlucky recipients
thieves = tangible lifters
rapists = erotic intruders

It's not politically correct, but it's life.

Fight the tide, and call a spade a spade, before the media starts calling it a 'pointed personal shovel'...

* * *

Today's non-word is stoopidity (stoop-id-i-tee), the act of lowering oneself and one's personal standards to incorporate immoral or idiotic ideals.

Supers Among Us

Greetings fellow blog-readers,

I actually have nothing too profound to complain about today, so I'll just keep this short and sweet. I do however have some exciting news! I just finished my edit on my upcoming book "Fused #1". Not only that, but I have also decided to add an extra story to the book that is not currently available on my website - Rapido #2.

Work on Rapido #2 is going very well, and I can see being finished by the end of the week! Once completed, it will be added to the "Fused #1" manuscript and then edited once again.

The next step for me will be getting an ISBN number so that I can list my book on sites like Amazon.com. I'll release details on my book's official launch as soon as I have them for you.

* * *

Today I leave you with this:

Superheroes not as super as they used to be - corporations claim us all. lol

The Dark Side of Capitalism

Ever since Wal-Mart moved into town, a number of local stores have either shut down lost serious business. When Blockbuster entered our small town, three video stores bowed out. Who can compete with thousands of free stuff on the opening day?

McDonald's, Staples, Circuit City! The corporate invasion is in full gear, and the free world is under fire. It used to be that two geeks with an idea could get together and form Microsoft, but not anymore. Sure there is the odd entrepreneur that sticks it to the corporate 'man', but like Dell even their future is that of an empire.

"Mom & Pop's Video Store" just doesn't cut it anymore. They can't compete with 'no late fees', 'free rental coupons', and a bigger selection than the local library. There are some of us that try to fight back. Instead of saving money at Wal-Mart we grit our teeth and pay the difference at the local store. Instead of getting the Thursday McDeal, we stop off at "Restaurant", hoping desperately that the food won't ruin your constitution.

At least shoppers have the option of avoiding the Evil Empires. But what of us poor diploma-less grunt workers? Unless you're cutting grass or working a golf course, the odds are very high that you are a slave to an empire. In a small town like mine, it's not unusual to bounce from empire to empire, just hoping that the next job won't be quite as stressful, and the pay might be just a few cents more.

I told myself I would never work at McD's, it smelled funny, their mascot should be shot, and the pay was crap. Little did I know that i'd be working there for 9 months. I told myself that i'd never work at Wal-Mart. They do stupid cheers before every shift and have more double-standards than products. I was only a blue-jacket for 7 months, but I barely escaped with my sanity.

Where is democracy when you need it? Where is my free choice to boycott slave-working villians and thieves? This is the dark side of capitalism.

* * *

Today's non-word is "nazicultarianism" (nat-zee-cult-tare-ee-an-ism). The overly strict, and controlling way of thought prominent in modern businesses. Also, the way of thought that allows corporations to knowingly work their employees so hard as to 'burn them out' or exaust them in a short and unlasting timeframe, causing higher rates of turnover.

Special note: according to BlogSpot's spell check, 'unlasting' is also a non-word. Oh well. :-P

ADD ....... ...... ..... .... ... .. .

.
.
.
.
. Today's post is about ADD. I sat here wondering what the heck I
. was going to write about, but then I was distracted and made this
. lovely ASCII art of a meteor hitting the ground.
. Now i'm bored, so I'm going to go watch something faster.
.
o ___ Why is it they call us the ADD generation..? *Hands fidgeting*
/||
It looked better before, but BlogSpot edits out unneccisary spaces. Gah!

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Today's non-word is elemeno (el-i-men-o), as in ABCDEFGHIJK elemeno P...

Everybody Has a Story

Today's post breaks the trend by being in prose... hum along as you read it and you could even call it a song. I wrote this just after a long phone conversation with one poor soul with too much on their plate. I pray it brings comfort and mercy to you as well. It's so often that we think some rude person is a jerk, and then avoid them because they are nasty to us. When you get to know them and they open up about the life they live, and have lived, you really comes to see who and what they really are.

Everybody has a story
Some people read me a chapter, and some just ignore me
Everybody has a story
And some bring tears to my eyes
Everybody has a story
Somebody I know has a thousand volumes
Everybody has a story
And then there's that stanger that just ignores me

Everybody has a weakness
And everybody bears pain
Everybody has a weakness
And some walk in shame
Everybody has a weakness
Some scar that haunts their mind
Everybody has a weakness
Some are fresh and some left behind

And I know you judge them well
Their eyes burn with the pains of hell
And I know that they depress you
And I know that in their pain they just dismiss you
You're just another bump in their road
Just another misery so they've been told
And they believe it, can't you see that

Everybody has a story
Some people read me a chapter, and some just ignore me
Everybody has a story
And her's bring tears to my eyes
Everybody has a story
Somebody I know has a thousand volumes
Everybody has a story
And how they continue to live, it astounds me

And I know you judge them well
Their eyes burn with the pains of hell
And I know that they depress you
And I know that in their pain they just dismiss you
You're just another bump in their road
Just another misery so they've been told
And they believe it, can't you see that

Everybody bears a pain that they can't stomach
Mine is yours, but you can't bear it
Pain is not yours to bear alone
Pray on your knees and reach for the throne
And everybody hears a pain they can't stomach
Their's becomes yours and you can't overcome it
Take it to the throne

* * *

Today's non-word is Truthy (true-theey). Words or information that is presumed to be true, or at least to the extent that can be accomplished through a single perspective. (The writer's). As in, "Mike's blog is very truthy".

Thousands Drop Dead As She Smiles

Your national news anchor may have a gaping smile plastered on his or her face, but there's nothing happy about the news these days.

I like to stay informed - in fact, i'm almost horrified when people I know can't intelligently discuss current events. "What party are you voting for," I ask? After a few seconds of expression as thoroughly blank as space itself they respond, "oh, is there an election already?" Puh-leeze.

But even with such a rancor for staying on top of the world, even I am getting fed up with the news. What could make a news junkie so ticked off at his own hobby? The answer of course is the pessimism and "Entertainment Tonight" caliber reporting that makes me as ill as a hamster in a washing machine.

There was a day when new medicines and boy-saving-puppies made the headlines. Every once in a while you even hear about foreign aid workers. The trouble? I forgot to add that they've been kidnapped and are awaiting ransom. I don't mean to suggest that these horrors didn't occur before, but don't you find it sad that your news anchor's charming smile stays so wide as they describe the victims of hurricanes, tsunami, and earthquakes? Does it not make your heart cry out to see civilians executed on the news? Why do they feel we needed to see that? I appreciate their brief warning that "some images may be disturbing to some viewers", but that's just pushing things.

Is the world truly such an evil place that there is nothing better to report on, or have we as a society just been too molded by a shock-and-awe media that a good deed or accomplishment no longer warrants our precious attention? As for me, I'll still be keeping up on current events, but there isn't a network that will hold me nightly anymore.

* * *

To avoid complaining without actually doing something about this, i'm devoting today's feature to positive news. The sky is a bright, clear blue this afternoon. Clouds are scarcely visible on the horizon, and there's a cool breeze to keep you chipper.

In other news, this past March Break was a tremendous opportunity for many children to attend local camps. As I witnessed, there were many wide-eyed and joyful children at our local camp, and they learned many important values, skills, and the importance of caring. These children are now better human beings for having been exposed to this camp, and I pray that many more kids will have the opportunity to experience it.

Cheers, and have an optimistically fruitful day!

Sickness - when the world stops.

It happens to all of us at one time or another. Some of us get it regularly and in mild spurts, and then there are some of us who pray to God that we never get sick again because it hurts so badly. I seem to fall into the second category. Yesterday I was hit by a 24 hour bug - call it samonela or overnight flu, but whatever it was it hurt like heck. I will of course spare you the details, but it sucks.

It got me to thinking - isn't it amazing how life seems to stop when you get truly sick? I'm not talking about a sniffle and a tear now, I mean truly ill. Appointments are cancelled, you call in sick for work, your diet changes drastically (if you can stomach anything at all)... it's the one thing in the world that can bring this schedule-driven life to it's knees. Suddenly, nothing else is as important as relieving your discomfort and getting better.

What amazes me are people who live with pain every day of their lives. Sure i'm likely to have a pain or headache on any given day, but some people suffer with massive pain that makes my head-pounding sound like a musical. I would love to ask one such person how they deal with life, but then again I don't dare for the fear of making it any more at the forefront of their lives. How do they go on? The worst pain i've ever felt was having my overly-cemented braces ripped off in high school.

I just sit back and shake my head...

* * *

To leave you on a happier note, today's non-word is disconfoundiation (dis-con-found-ee-ay-shun). The state of being disconfounded, or no longer being clueless about something.

...but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. - Corinthians 13:11

"When I became a man I put aside childish things." It sounds simple enough. This saying got me to thinking... what exactly qualifies as 'childish things'? Dependance perhaps? Toys, games... the question is when do these things really need to go? Where is that magical line that we cross where we're suddenly someone else. An adult. Legally i've been an adult now for almost three years, but the conflict of what is and is not appropriate for an adult is raging as hard as ever.

Like many guys my age, I play video games. Is that childish? I know a lot of older adults that do that. I still live at home. I'll be moving out in time for university this fall, likely for good. I'll have to take over all the areas of my life that i'm used to having provided for me. And yet that question remains, how 'childish' should I be at my age? I'm certainly not supposed to be as a child, years of experience and teaching have progressed me past that point. Then again, i'm also not that adult with a family of his own and a secure future. My future is about as predictable as this summer's weather. (Just watch those experts be wrong again!)

So, as is my bloggish right, i'm excersizing the right to post this without any underlying complaint or point. I throw my thoughts out onto the open net...

* * *

"Bloggish" (blog-ish), one who writes a blog (as in, "he is bloggish"), or pertaining to blogs. See blogs. Read blogs. Eat eggs, they're good for you.

The Outdatedness of Text

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Your non-word is "outdatedness" (out-date-ed-ness), how patheticly old and outdated something is.

IMs - Can't Live With Them, Can't Live Without Them

Odds are if you're technically astute enough to be reading this blog in the first place, you likely also have an IM, or Instant Messenger.
Odds are even greater if you do have an IM that you carry with it a similar love/hate relationship that I do.

Hits: You can stay in constant contact with friends and family wherever you have internet access. You can share files and programs, you can send smilies and audio, and you can talk to a billion people at once. (That is of course if you're a skilled multitasker.)

Misses: You can stay in constant contact with friends and family wherever you have internet access - that means not a moments peace if you're trying to work, or you just feel anti-social. Sure you could set your status to 'away' or 'out to lunch', or even 'busy'. Do your contacts respect those settings? I know a lot of mine don't.

You'd think it would be obvious. I'm busy, therefore I don't want to have a "hey", "hey", conversation.

A desperate man might just turn the irritation off, so that no one can bother you. Oops... but that has a downside too. Now your significant other can't serenade you with textual pleasantness, your best friend can't arrange to come over, and you now have to check for email manually instead of getting that lovely message.

I was that desperate man... I shut off MSN, I shut off Yahoo, and I pulled Xfire clear off my auto-start list. So here I am, a man cut off of the world of IMing. I forgot all about them, and now people think that I blocked them. Well, long story short, I did. But hey, it wasn't personal - it was business.

Please respect the 'busy' setting, and let me get on with my online life. I'll be sure to do the same with you.

* * *

Your non-word is "irrination" (ear-ih-nation). A country that just likes to tick off the rest of the world, or stick it to world powers saying things like "We will now be continuing our nuclear weapons program, so what cha gonna do about it?" North Korea and Iran come to mind...

Welcome to the Truthy Report!

You hear about these things everywhere - everyone who's anyone has a blog! Newspapers and television stations are quoting them, and powerful people watch as opinions are swayed by them.

Wait just a second! I'm a somebody, and I don't have a blog!

Well, now I do.

In direct contradiction to my belief that blogs are a waist of the writers time and nobody gives a crap about what other people have to say, I post my thoughts to you here. The Truthy Report will be just that - the world as I see it, with no Hollywood spin, no shock & awe, and no liberal agenda. I don't want to save the pandas with this blog, and I frankly don't want to hear about Bob and Joe marrying in Toronto. This blog is about US. (No, not the USA, "us", as in human beings with real lives).

As I discover new and terrifying ways to bring you the truth as I see it, you will see many new shiny things to occupy your generationally ADD mind. Don't have ADD? My apologies, I assumed we all have it.

Peace, love, and nappiness!

* * *

Today's non-word is "nappiness" (nap-ee-ness). The state of feeling "nappy", or in need of a good nap.