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God. God is Everything. Every second, Every atom, everywhere, everytime. It's God. What is God? Who is God? This is something that we wish to know. A long time ago I once learned that there are two ways of knowing something; mentally and emotionally. For instance, many people know mentally that their parents love them. After all, when parents mention that fact as many times as they do, it tends to be true. But it might be that some don't know emotionally that their parents love them. Not until they see tears in their eyes when they see you stand at the altar, or when they are not in a bad mood when one of them changes your soiled diaper. So, when I say that there are two ways to know something, mentally and emotionally, you know that I'm right. Meaning that people can know of God's existence one way, but not the other. The two "Knowings" of God's existence are so distant from one another. One is knowing from the brain, the other from the heart.

This brings up a topic called Intelligent Design. I first became aware of Intelligent Design when I had read a book called "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Intelligent Design and Darwinism." In it, the author brings up facts about this world (and to an extent, this universe) that clearly suggest an intelligent creator. Take this for example. If a vehicle started driving in Cedar Falls, Iowa and managed to reach Los Angeles, California, chances are that there was someone in the vehicle directing the steering wheel, pushing on the accelerator the right amount, pushing on the brake the right amount, etc. Surely, there was a driver, and he/she was directing the car. I know, I know, I shouldn't call you Shirley. Anyways, the driver was intelligently directing the car to its destination, just like how, I believe, God directs anything and everything to its destination. There are elements in life that scientifically suggest Intelligent Design (ID). One huge component of ID is organisms that are irreducibly complex. This type of organism has multiple parts working together that if even one part is removed, the entire system falls apart. One common example used is a mouse trap with all of its parts that together make something useful, but without, make something useless. Another example that I came up with on my own is the bicycle. Take away the bike chain, the pedals, the tires, the handlebars, whatever and you don't really have much of anything useful. The reason why a bike is in fact so useful is because someone who knew what is necessary for a bike designed it....intelligently. A well-known irreducibly complex organism is the Flagellum. It has a built in "rotor" that it uses to propel its body through the water that it swims with. Now, Flagella are microscopic, so you can imagine that they don't move very fast. But what if a flagellum were say, as big as a boat? Well, then that flagellum would swim roughly 60,000 miles per hour!!!! Holy cow! The reason why, is because the flagellum has multiple protein parts working together as an irreducible complex system. The one and only Harvard Professor Dr. Berg has referred to the organism as the most efficient machine in the universe. This is just one of many signs of ID. The aforementioned book is a great read, and I hope, worth your time. And it could very well convince you (or just reaffirm the fact) that God exists. Meaning that now you mentally know that God exists. But what about emotionally? Remember, there's a big difference. And, to be honest with you, I don't know that God exists emotionally nearly as much as I know that God exists mentally. I just wish that I had some answers on how to solve that. I mean, it's a beautiful world and I'm glad that God is looking out for me so well, but it might be that I don't feel his presence as much as I should. Don't worry, I'm working on it. Until we meet again, God Bless.

A Great Film that I'm betting you haven't seen

This movie is one that has a deeper meaning to me than most. It is a film about people with Asperger's Syndrome. The movie is called Mozart and the Whale. It stars many actors/actresses, but the only recognizable one is the one and only Josh Hartnett. Yes, ladies, I know that you think he's cute. Anyways, the film addresses many issues that people with AS deal with. One fact is that people with AS are the way they are and they don't understand how other people perceive them. That is, until those people tell them. In the movie, there is a romance between the character Donald and the character Isabelle. These two have their difficulties concerning their condition. It is very difficult for any neurotypical person to understand people with AS, and it is very difficult for any person with AS to understand neurotypical people. But as people with AS progress over time, they are capable of fitting in to the society that they are a part of. And I am constantly doing that.

The Good: It is a very wholesome film. It demonstrates how we are.

The Bad: There is some heartbreak in the movie. There is some confrontation as well.

The Ugly: There are some really weird moments in this film. But, after about the first half hour, things are much better. There is some bizarre behavior, and it could be a turn off.

Overall, this movie had a really deep meaning for me. When God put me on planet Earth, he decided that I would be different. I have had a few challenges because of it, but I am getting there. When you finally finish the film, I truly hope that you will walk away feeling good about watching it. I know I did.

A Great Film that I'm betting you haven't seen

Well, here we go again. I will do my best to have this be monthly. This month goes to a film that made me think, and plays devil's advocate. How far would you be willing to go in order to stay in business at work? Are you willing to be drastic and absurd? Maybe even reckless? Will you lose your way with God when you do so? The movie that I'm referring to is called Network. It starts out with a news show that is going down the tubes because of its poor ratings. And then, the news anchor does something that is unthinkable. The movie delves into the issue of right and wrong. After watching the film, one must think about what's important in life.

The Good: The acting is superb, the storyline is just as great. And, best of all, it's a movie that you haven't seen.

The Bad: This film exposes some truth in showbiz. People love shock appeal in entertainment. The bad thing about this movie isn't what they show, it's that its partly true. The Saw movies, Hostel, Jerry Springer, etc. all demonstrate that people love shock appeal.

The Ugly: There is a large amount of foul language in the film. In fact, Jimmy Stewart turned down a role in the film because of that.

All in all, after you view this fine film I believe that you will have much to think about. Feel free to leave any comments.

The Big Five

This post has a different meaning than the other posts. I felt the need for some levity, so I decided to have a comedic, laugh-out loud post in this one. The question that you have is, WHAT IN THE WORLD IS The Big Five? For a brief amount of time, I have been thinking about the days when I was a kid. Of course, when people move on over time they change, but when you're a kid, you're a kid. Now, The Big Five are the "five things that I thought were cool as a kid that I think are dumb right now." Stop right there. Hopefully, there is some excitement running through your mind right now. Oh wow, I wonder what he has in store for this. Here's another question. Have you, the reader, ever pondered this thought yourself? Well, the qualifications for The Big Five were just things that I have recalled over time that in my younger years I adored, and presently I laugh at, uncontrollably. There are of course, some things that did not make the list. I will start off with The Honorable Mentions.

The Honorable Mentions are parts of my childhood that although there may be a sufficient amount of stupidity in them, I am not embarrased to say that they were a part of my life sometime ago. I don't know if these deserve a Silver or a Bronze Medal, but either way it probably doesn't matter. Now, I shall name them off, and I will choose one of them as the Grand Consolation Victor. Because March Madness is going on right now, I guess that this will be like the NIT. A bunch of characters not good enough for the thing that everybody REALLY cares about, but hey, the winner is after all the winner. So the nominees for the Grand Consolation Victor are..........

Power Rangers
"After ten thousand years I'm free! It's time to conquer earth!" Yep. Some of you probably remember hearing Rita say those words at the beginning of every single silly show in the intro. Maybe most of you only remember the constant, senseless fighting. Especially with those clay goober men who never spoke. What were those guys called? I'm going to look it up on Wikipedia right now.....(five minutes later).....Putty Patrollers?! That's what they were called? Seriously, I don't remember that. It's just been too long since I have watched that classical tv show. The reason why this is in the NIT, sorry The Honorable Mentions and not The Big Five is because I still love the Power Rangers. I have their theme song on my Ipod. And the truth is that for those of you in my age group, chances are you watched it too. And you liked it. Moving along.

The Spice Girls
"Yo, I'll tell you what I want what I really really want." Okay that's enough. I first feasted my eyes (and of course, my ears) on the Spice Girls when they performed on Saturday Night Live. I just looked online to find out that that was in 1997. Of course I bought their cd after watching them perform, and I have been a fan of their, uhh music ever since. I actually do still listen to wannabe and Say you'll be there. Should I feel guilty for listening to this team of vocal talent? I don't know. But since I don't feel too bad about it, it's only an Honorable Mention.

Stretch Arm Strong
I never actually owned one as a kid, I just thought they looked cool.

Tether Ball
During recess when I was a kid, this was an optional activity to do. Sometimes I did try it out. Here's my question. How do you win? This was a bad idea from the start.

The movie Robin Hood with Kevin Costner
If I recall, I did manage to see this film in theaters. You have to understand. I was OBSESSED with this movie as a kid. I probably watched it 100 times. I even remember one time when I had to go to bed, and my older brother didn't, I got mad because he was watching it because I was missing out.

And the winner is........(maestro).........


Power Rangers!!!!!
You know how in the Oscars when someone wins the award for whatever work they did for whatever movie it was, the orchestra ALWAYS plays the theme song for that movie as they walk towards the podium? I guess that if anyone who worked for the Power Rangers tv show is seeing this they should play the theme song over and over and over as they walk to Cedar Falls, IA to my apartment so that I can give them the award. Or, maybe not. Here's my question to you. Did you really expect it to be anything else? Now, remember, I am not embarrased to say that I liked Power Rangers as a kid. That's why it's not eligible for the Big Five. But I do admit that it's dumb. Now onto the Big Five!!!!!!!!!

All right, let's just get right to it. I'll mention them and then I'll select the winner. The nominees are.....

Bowl cuts
I have no doubt that you all remember these. The truth is that I saw kids with these EVERYWHERE!!! ALL THE TIME!!! They looked ridiculous. I don't remember ever getting one, but as a kid I was probably toying with the idea since they were so common. What a bunch of gangsters. One thing that comes to mind about this is the famous saying from the cop in the movie Dumb and Dumber. "Come on give me that booze you pumpkin pie hair cutted freak!" No, he did not have a bowl cut, but it's almost as bad. Moving along.

Pogs
These circular pieces of garbage (POG's) have the word DUMB written all over them. And I loved them as a kid. I remember they were referenced in the movie Jack with Robin Williams. He (a ten year old) is arrested and his pogs and slammer were confiscated. Unless if I'm mistaken the intent of this activity was to hit a stack of pogs with the slammer to cause as many of the pogs to do a one hundred eighty degree turn in mid air to land on the floor thereby those are yours. Definitely, a bad idea to start with, but it sure did sell. I feel like I should look in the mirror now and ask myself, WWHHYY!?!?!? Moving along.

The Macarena
Shoulder blades, neck, hips, hips, shake your hips, and then rotate your entire body ninety degrees to your left. I don't get it. I remember that I was first introduced to this dance in seventh grade. My Mom even warned me that this dance was not going to stay popular for too long. I asked myself why.

Jnco's
What else do I have to say? These things were dumb. Unless, for some reason you need to sneak a briefcase into school, you had no need to wear one of these. Here's the worst part about it. I was thinking about getting some, and I was actually thinking about working out so much as a kid that they were going to fit me, because my legs would be that big. I don't think that I could have made my legs that big if I had simultaneously poked every single artery in my legs with a pin. Do legs have arteries? Anyways, I thought that they were cool because it would be cool to have legs big enough to need to wear those gangster garments. I am ashamed.

Super Soakers
When I was a kid, I was always interested in what the highest Super Soaker there was available. Super Soaker 3000? Forget that, Super Soaker 5000 is there right next to it. I really did like those things as a kid. And, yes, they were dumb. They always ran out of water. I recall that one function that I did use them for was to water the trees. Kind of like how a cd of the Spice Girls would make a good coaster for drinks. Hey, they're good for something.

And the Winner is.........


Jnco's!!!!!
They were dumb. And I admired them as a kid. Shame on me. No, shame on the individual who Ryan Larson was at that time. Good grief.

Well, there you have it. For those of you who took the time to read all of this, you have a very important task ahead of you right now. You yourself must choose your own The Big Five as soon as possible. This has been a lot of fun for me to tell you what the Big Five are. Let me give you an idea of how much fun it has been. Let's say that there's this little kid named Edward. Edward is outside with a super soaker in his right hand. Of course, in his left hand he has a slammer with a stack of pogs. As you might have guessed, Edward has a bowl cut. Edward is also wearing Jnco's and yes, you'd better believe it, Edward is doing the Macarena!!! I guess that Edward is standing up while doing all of this. Man, this kid Edward is a good multi-tasker isn't he? So, let's recap. Edward has a bowl cut hairdo, a water gun in his right hand, a slammer in his left hand, and he's doing the macarena in his Jnco's. I have had more fun making this list than Edward. We all know that Edward is having a blast right now, but if you can trust me, yes I had more fun making this list than the amount of fun that Edward is having right now. Because what is the only thing more enjoyable than having The Big Five all at once as a kid? The answer to that is, of course, making fun of that kid. So, I ask that all of you go out, now, and choose your The Big Five. Enjoy.
Amen.

Asperger's Syndrome

One thing that I want to mention, and will likely mention a number of times is that I have a mental condition called Asperger's Syndrome (AS). It is a form of autism. Over the years, after being diagnosed, it has been my task to learn what it means, what it doesn't mean, so on and so forth. One of my favorite sources on the subject is www.aspergerssyndrome.org. On that website is a script of a speech that Lars Perner gave about AS. Dr. Perner is a professor of clinical marketing at USC. If I'm lucky, some day I could meet him. He himself has AS. When I read what he had to say, I did see myself in much that he said. The truth is that I do talk to myself sometimes. We have good conversations. Another fact is that it's harder for me to understand the people that I know, while it's hard for people to understand me. Why do I have the fact that the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second memorized? I don't know. In fact, I don't understand why it's surprising that I can do that. I didn't make the rules, and I'm progressively learning them. All that I can tell you is that the neurons in my brain work differently from the norm. And that's why I am who I am. There will be much more discussion on this later on.

A Great Film that I'm betting you haven't seen

All right, here's what's up. This post is meant to be dedicated to a movie of my choosing that is not very well known by any means, but was, I think, a fantastic film that you should not miss. I am considering how often I will try to post one of these. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to put them up monthly. And yes, you guessed it. To signify the fact that this is that kind of post, the font is in red. The first candidate is a very thought provoking film called The Lives of Others. It takes place in East Germany, right before the Cold War comes to a close. Here's how it goes.

The Good: the ending was my favorite thing about the film. To see the characters' reactions to everything that happens is VERY interesting. Another memorable moment is a joke that is told by a gentleman at lunch.

The Bad: the film is in subtitles because all of the dialogue is in German. If this automatically turns you off enough to know that you don't want to watch it, you're missing out. But I can understand that it's not what you wanted to hear.

The Ugly: It is rated R. There is one scene when a man is with a prostitute. But, I think that if you can handle those brief moments, it will be worth it.

I fully understand that you might be wondering why I have spoken so highly of this movie, yet not told you many specifics. And that's only because I want you to go see it. If you do, feel free to comment.

The Title

As you all should be able to see, I chose the title What A Wonderful World for my blog. Why did I choose this, over anything else? I wanted to relate the fact that I am perfectly allowed to discuss any topic that I darn well please. The title What A Wonderful World demonstrates the notion that I have the freedom of such widespread subject matter. In a more serious tone, I also once watched a Youtube video while the very famous song of the same title was played in the background. The video was footage of the absolutely unforgettable atrocities that occured during September 11th. Whoever made that video chose that song for irony. The last thought or feeling that anyone should have during the attacks on 9/11 should be What A Wonderful World. But maybe in times like those, we tend to not take things for granted.