Merry Christmas!!!

Two amazing Christmas videos - the techno Christmas light house and the Christmas Can-Can!

Have a very Merry Christmas as we celebrate the birth of Jesus! Joyeux Noël!

Vegreville: The Land of Opportunity

My town is very exciting :P

Faith does matter!

Randumb Photo

   Faith is everywhere. People put their faith in many things every day. Let's say that Average Joe is going to work one day - he puts his faith in the manufacturer of his car when he's driving - trusting that the car is safe. He has an amount of faith in other drivers on the road, that they're fairly non-terrible drivers. Otherwise he wouldn't drive! His buddy he carpools with, Mr. Normal, puts his faith in Joe by trusting him to drive safely. The road's a dangerous place, but Mr. Normal knows that Joe's a good driver. Many people die in car accidents, but Mr. Normal trusts Joe with his life.

   Average Joe sits down in a chair at work. He doesn't know the company that made the chair or how strong the chair is, but he sits down on it anyways. As you can see, faith is exercised every day. Faith matters very much and faith can also do very much - take for example Matthew 21:21-22. Jesus had just withered up a fig tree, and his disciples were amazed. Jesus told them, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." In the Gospels, many people came to Jesus with faith, and people were healed or even raised from the dead by Jesus just because of their simple faith.

   Not many people with argue with me on these points. People are always saying that faith can accomplish much (i.e. "believe in yourself"). There was even a whole chart-toping song about believing in yourself (think of "I'm not perfect, but I'm still trying," in a whiny voice).

   But our faith needs to be in the right things. Some people decide to believe in themselves, no matter how many times they get it wrong, and fail themselves and others. Some people, atheists, decide to put their faith in science. Hey, science is great - it gave us blogs! But science is also unreliable and has it's limits. If you put your faith in the wrong things, they will fail you. We must make sure we choose the right things to put our faith in!

   Faith is especially important when our eternal destination is at stake. It's easy to have faith in a chair - all that happens if it breaks is that you'll have a sore be-hind. People know that car manufacturers are generally reliable, so they have faith in cars, even though they may die if something goes wrong. But I'm talking about something even more important then when we die. Everyone will live and die - it's just a matter of when. But our eternal destination is the most important thing we could every think about - we'll be stuck there forever. And only One can calm the storm inside our souls. Only One has overcome the gates of Hell.

Toblerone

   I just got a wonderful box of "Toblerone One By One" at a $5 gift exchange. Probably the best possible gift for only $5! It's a selection of four types of Toblerone. There's milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and my favourite: Snowtopped!!! (on the far left of the picture) It's the delicious original Toblerone flavour topped with white chocolate!

   Actually, Toblerone Fruit and Nut is my favourite, but it isn't in the One By One package :( Wow, I could talk about Toblerone forever! Well, my next blog post will be about why faith is important! :D

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Hello! Bonjour! If you're new to my blog, I write about many topics - including Canadian federal politics, Christianity, Canada, and just life in general  :)

- Toblerone (the sk8er boy)

Rock and Roll

No more warm, fuzzy sweater for Harper! Canada's Prime Minister decides to rock and roll at a Conservative caucus Christmas party :)

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/12/08/harper-concert.html

Faith does matter!

Faith Matters: After Eden - Answers in Genesis

Oh, by the way, thanks to everyone who's reading my blog- I now have over two hundred page views!!

Music!

Secular Music

     Ah, secular music. It speaks to the soul, and tries to imagine that there is meaning to life, which is denied from the world by atheism... and some songs almost get it right! For example, Only Girl (by Rihanna), Firework (by Katy Perry), or Just the Way You Are (by Bruno Mars). To be honest, I am a big fan of many different types of music, regardless of which religion the musicians adhere to.

     Unfortunately, secular music is a mixed bag, and some of it gets downright filthy. For example, the song Take it Off  by Ke$ha practically sums up what's wrong with society. It has a great sound, it's catchy – hey, I even liked it at first! But the message is disgusting. Like everything sinful, this song looks exciting at first, but turns out to be vulgar.

Christian Contemporary Music

     I ♥ contemporary Christian music! Why? Because it's great modern-day music without the filth of sin attached. Instead of glorifying sexual immorality and crime, it glorifies God! Well, at least most of it does. I'm going to "profile" some artists.

     There's Tobymac, my favourite artist, who strives to let God shine through his work while at the same time producing outstanding music. He describes his music as a "blend of pop, hip hop & rock with Christ-centered lyrics."

     Jars of Clay, Newsboys, Brit Nicole, and many other artists featured in WOW albums explicitly proclaim Christ as King. The Newsboys in particular I find very good, because they blur the line between the Christian Contemporary and Praise and Worship genres.

     Stellar Kart is very straightforward about Christ. The result is sometimes inspirational and sometimes just cheesy.

     Manafest is a good Canadian rock-rap band. Their song Bounce is among my all-time favourite songs!!

     Thousand Foot Krutch (TFK) has some good hard rock, but sometimes they lose their Christian vision. Their line, "sometimes I feel like a monster, sometimes I feel like a saint," just about sums up their music. They have some good reflections, but they have also referred to God as a drug and a disease in their songs. The problem is that those words imply sin and decay, and are just disrespectful toward God. I still listen to them, but with caution because of their dubious theology. Oh, by the way, they're a Canadian band too!

     Skillet is perhaps one of the best rock bands of the century! Ya, I'm a panhead. Their experiments with symphonic rock have been a great success, giving their band a very cool, unique sound. However, their latest album Awake ventures away from Christian themes and sounds very much like a secular album – that can be good or bad, depending on your point of view. Personally, I wish they wouldn't abandon Christian themes.

     Some people say that rock music is evil, and thus there can't be Christian rock music. I completely disagree. Music is a method of communication – it all depends on what someone communicates through it. Most rock music does communicate evil stuff, but most Christian rock music does not!

Praise and Worship

Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. Psalm 33:2-3  NIV

     Praise and worship is music in it's purest form – in other words, it is what God designed music to be. The verse above tells us how to praise God. It says to make music with a harp and ten-stringed lyre. Well, Psalms was written thousands of years ago, and those were the modern instruments back then. If it was written now, it would probably say, "Praise the Lord with the electric guitar, drums, bass, and synthesizer!" And it also says to sing a new song – not just the same, boring old hymns and Gregorian chants ;)

     Imagine for a moment what it would be like if all music was made to glorify God... if Taio Cruz's song Dynamite was made to praise the Lord! It'd be dynamite! Or what about Maroon 5's Misery? That's a gr8 song – it would also become eternal.

Canadian Political Parties

This blog post was written before the 2011 election. To see the post-election Pros and Cons of the parties, click HERE.


Today I'm going to briefly talk about the political parties of Canada, for all you non-pundits out there ;)

Conservatives - The Conservative Party of Canada was formed in 2003 when the Progressive Conservatives (PCs) and the Canadian Alliance united to form one party. The Conservatives currently form a minority government, which means they have the most seats in Parliament out of all the parties but still don't have the majority of the seats. Their leader, Stephen Harper, is Prime Minister.

Liberals - The Conservatives and Liberals are long-time rivals. If one party says one thing, the other party will say the opposite. The Liberals are currently the official opposition, which means they have the second most seats in Parliament. They are led by Michael Ignatieff.

Bloc Québécois - No one outside of Quebec likes the Bloc Québécois, because they are separatists. Their main policy is to split Quebec from the rest of Canada. Apparently no one has told them that since they only run in Quebec, they'll never be able to get enough seats to form a government and split Canada in two. In my opinion, they shouldn't even be called a national political party since they only run in one province and their main purpose is to weaken the nation. Their leader is Gilles Duceppe.

New Democratic Party (NDP) - Their first leader was Tommy Douglas, the premier of Saskatchewan from 1944-61. The NDP is Canada's social democratic party, leading some people to label them communists or even terrorists. But they're not extremists, don't worry ;) They are led by Jack Layton. He has a cool mustache.

Green Party - The Green Party does not have any seats in Parliament, thank goodness. However, last election they did get about 10% of the popular vote, leading many to believe Canada's elections need to be reformed to reflect the percentage of votes a party has gotten nationwide. The Green Party's platform revolves around "green" policy. Their head tree-hugger is Elizabeth May.

Other Registered Canadian Parties

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Warning: Cookies can be hazardous to your job

If you don't know the story, click here for the Globe and Mail article

   The CEO of the Alberta healthcare system, Stephen Duckett, has gotten fired for eating a cookie?! Are you serious? This is officially the first time in history someone has gotten fired for eating a cookie. But I want to know where he got that cookie - it must've been really good!! Apparently it was an oatmeal and raisin. Well, I'm still not sure why he got fired... Premier Stelmach said his behaviour was quite offensive. This is probably also the first time someone has called the words "I'm eating my cookie" offensive. No one has to talk to the media every time they are approached - I think that Mr. Duckett just found a creative way of saying "no comment". The media should have just backed off when it was clear he didn't want to talk, instead of following him around for two blocks, harassing him.
   He even issued an apology for the "incident", saying, "We had made a decision earlier that Dr. Eagle would provide comments to the media after the session... regrettably, I did not convey what I deeply feel, which is the greatest respect for the difficult challenges our health care providers face every day". But it was to no avail, he still got sacked.

   Boy, am I glad I don't work for the Alberta government! On the bright side, Mr. Duckett's now in a warmer, more forgiving climate - Australia.

   Well, happy Thanksgiving to all you Americans, and Merry November 25th, everybody! Click "follow" or "subscribe" on da left, and feed the fish!

   Some links on "Cookiegate" below:

   Mr. Duckett's Blog

   The infamous cookie video
   Bob Layton's funny song about cookiegate

"Airport Security" - Sexual Assault?

   The latest "airport security" measures implemented by the Canadian and American governments have led to an uproar across North America. There are now nearly four hundred "naked body scanners" in the US, and Ottawa has ordered fourty-four of them. They cost up to $170,000 each! 

   John Tyner, just an average guy from California, has suddenly become a hero after videotaping his encounter with security guards at the San Diego International Airport. He was selected for a body scan but opted for the pat down instead having some random security guard look at his naked body in a scanner. Instead, another random security guard told Tyner that he would have to touch his groin area. Tyner refused, saying, "I don't understand how a sexual assault can be made a condition of my flying." He ended up having to leave the airport and obtain a refund for his ticket.

   The US Homeland Security Secretary defended the pat downs, saying, "We're doing it because we need to keep powders and gels and liquid off of planes that are unauthorized"

   That explains everything! They have to look at travelers in naked body scanners and conduct these invasive pat-downs so no one will bring shampoo onboard planes! Makes perfect sense.

   Wednesday, November 24, 2010 (the day before U.S. Thanksgiving, and thus the busiest day of the year for travel) has been declared National Opt-Out Day in protest. Travelers are being told by an online campaign to insist on time-consuming pat downs instead of submitting to naked body scanners on November 24, in an effort to slow down airport security and cause massive delays. A quote from optoutday.com - "It's the day ordinary citizens stand up for their rights, stand up for liberty, and protest the federal government's desire to virtually strip us naked or submit to an 'enhanced pat down' that touches people's breasts and genitals in an aggressive manner.  You should never have to explain to your children, 'Remember that no stranger can touch or see your private area, unless it's a government employee, then it's OK.' "

   Even U.S. President Barack Obama has been asking for less intrusive airport security, asking the "experts" if this is all absolutely necessary. They, of course, have said yes, and the US is expanding to a thousand naked body scanners by next year. Maybe all this money being spent on invading our privacy could be better spent on road safety, actually saving lives instead of just providing an illusion of safety.

   For more information, visit http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/11/16/body-scanner-backlash-air-travel.html

Being Zealous :)

   God matters more than we could ever imagine. Psalms 144:4 says that "Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow." God is trying to tell us to "store up treasures in heaven" instead of on earth, because we aren't going to be here on earth very long anyways, and the only things we can "take with us" to heaven are those things with eternal significance. The Bible says the earth and everything in it will soon pass away, and all we'll be left with is our spiritual treasures, not earthly treasures like money, fame, or popularity. Jesus Christ used the Parable of the Hidden Treasure to illustrate this. "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." Matthew 13:44. We need to realize how gr8 God is and give everything to follow Him.
   Death (and our eternal destination) is just around the corner! Every day we hear of people dying in tragic accidents, extreme weather, anything! But we never think anything like that will ever happen to us. I'm pretty sure those people who have died unexpectedly never thought it would happen to them either! (Thus the word "unexpectedly") Because death is unexpected, and it's also a very real, very close possibility. God could say our time is up any moment now... a sobering thought. Then BAM! suddenly we would realize how much God matters.
   So we need to do something about this! I don't mean to install more airbags in your vehicle, put some more smoke alarms in your house, and wear a helmet everywhere you go. Quite frankly, death will eventually come anyways. No point worrying about it! What I mean is that we need to live life to the fullest. Go party all day long, get drunk, and, uh... oh ya, treasures in heaven - eternal significance. Right. Instead of throwing up our hands and becoming hedonists, we should become completely transformed for the better- by being full of zeal for the one, true, amazing God. We interrupt our regular scheduled programing for a message from our sponsor:

~ Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

~ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Romans 12:11

   The definition of zeal: "great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or objective". Our cause and our objective as Christians is God. I would like to ask you a question: What is the most important thing in the world? Well, if God exists, the answer is obviously God Himself. Because He created us, because He's so awesome, perfect, all-powerful, and all-fulfilling. My pathetic little words can not even begin to describe God. And because He died for you, you can spend all eternity with Him, if you wish. So if you're not a Christian, ask yourself, "Does God exist?" It's the most important question that could ever be asked. Well, now back to zeal - our energy, our enthusiasm, should obviously be incredible because our cause, our objective is God himself.
   I've heard about this one minor soccer coach who said that the only difference between the Christian players and the non-Christian players on his team was that the Christian kids didn't swear as much. Not cool :P Not cool. The classic Christian song Shine by the Newsboys goes like this: "Shine! Make them wonder what you got, make them wish that they were not on the outside looking bored. Shine! Let it shine before all men, let them see good works and then let them glorify the Lord." Have you seen this Leeland album?

www.leelandonline.com

You and me are called by God to be that one arrow pointing the opposite direction. 179° doesn't cut it. Only 180° works. And people will notice, but that's okay, because that's what God wants. And this zeal of ours needs to be directed by God. For example, recently lots of people have become really enthusiastic about Jesus. That's a gr8 thing - hey, Jesus reigns!!! But some people have taken it too far - they've got all wrapped up in their own passion, their own zeal, that they have rejected the church. There are lots of people who think that "organized religion" is somehow evil. And because they didn't let God direct their zeal, they ended up rejecting Christ himself by rejecting His church.

~ It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way. Proverbs 19:2

So to summarize, we need to be on fire for God (that old-fashioned word "zeal") and make sure that it is God's fire, not our own. Oh, and I forgot something! Your age doesn't matter! If you're under 18 (like I am), this still applies!!

~ Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

And one of the best ways to express our zeal for Christ is through love! ♡

~ He [Jesus] answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength and with all your mind and love your neighbour as yourself." Luke 10:27

~ Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Romans 12:9

All verses are quoted from the NIV

Calvin Learns About Imaginary Numbers

Calvin and Hobbes - Imaginary Numbers

I ♥ Math!

   

   Hi! Today I'm going to tell you all about how much I ♥ math!!! I know some people hate math, but personally I find it fascinating! This week I learned that when the determinant of coefficients of a system of linear equations has a value of zero, the system does not have a unique solution! And did you know that when we translate the graph of a relation h units horizontally and k units vertically, the equation of the translated graph is the equation of the original graph where x is replaced by x - h and y is replaced by... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... oops, sorry, I fell asleep. Well, anyways, I love math because I get to memorize all sorts of cool stuff like the region of interest, normalized polynomial equations, matrix algebra (which sounds cool, but really all you do is try to find inverse matrices), double-angle identities, and my favourite - imaginary numbers!!! I like imaginary numbers so much because of their immense practical application to everyday life. Why, just the other day an imaginary unicorn pranced across my lawn and I had to use imaginary numbers to calculate it's height, surface area, and volume!

   *Sigh* Oh well, I guess I never will like math. But I'm in high school and even though I've been doing math for over a decade now, I am still required to get bored to death day by day until numbers and the letter x eventually take over my brain. On the bright side, though, I can make a squiggly line on a graph!

A Blog

I'm a sk8er boy from the giant metropolis of Vegreville, Alberta, Canada! This is our famous easter egg! ☟

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   What will I talk about in my blog? Well, I'm a pundit, so some politics is in order- Albertan, Canadian, and international politics! Am I left or right wing? Label me what you want! I'm a Christian ✟ so some stuff about that. Oh, of course I'll have to talk about sk8ing. As you can see, I've already posted a little bit on World War II. And I'll have to tell you all about how crazy it is to live in a tiny town famous only for it's perogies and giant pysanka (easter egg), especially since I'm not Ukrainian! Luckily, I'm a bit crazy ;)


Hang on for the ride, this is going 2B interesting! While you're waiting for my next post, feed the fish☟listen to some gr8 music ☞ or read a little about the biggest war in history ☝