The Candy Cane Tale

The story of the Candy Cane: -It’s solid because if you build your life on Christ you have a solid foundation -It’s white because of the virgin birth of Christ - The Thin red Stripes are for the beatings he took on the cross as well as symbolic of the trinity -The thick red stripe is for the blood he shed upon the cross. -Held up right it is a shepherd’s staff -Held upside-down it is a "J" for Jesus

My First Little League Game

It May 2nd a warm summer like day in Pennsylvania. It was the day after my cousin’s weeding. I was invited up to my first little league game. The weather was warm and perfect and the sunny was shinning down on us at a Wakefield Park. The Pirates were the visitors and they played host to the Astros. There were two teams of 7 year olds (or so) and they both seemed to be having fun. The Pirates in yellow came out on top of the Astros in red. Both teams got some timely hits but it seemed to be the pirates whom always had the bases loaded and this is the team that came out on top. One Coach says the score was 14-4. Drew C of the Pirates insisted they only won by 5. I will take his word over the coach since he is good with numbers and was actually playing the game. It was a fun day at the ballpark regardless. The aforementioned Drew C. had several members in attendance including his grandmother and two cousins. We all had fun and agreed to do it again in the future.

Why Superman and Batman are 20th Century Versions of Jesus Christ

I have a theory that many people especially many Christians, may find hard to accept: The characters Superman and Batman are modern day examples of Christ's teachings: I come up with this theory because of who I am. I am a writer and a Christian and my fondness for writing comes out of the strength of my vocabulary. This strong vocabulary is a direct result of reading comic books. Christ, Superman and Batman are about 33 years in age. All three are heroes to many people, and all three have strong, noble, Biblical values for none of them has ever taken a life. The struggles you see within the pages of the Superman and Batman comics are similar to the ones read about in the New Testament. I have been a Christian now for twenty years. I have been a comic book fan since birth. Those fun little magazines have been with me since I was a child. Both in my youth and as a young teen I was a regular at my local comic book store. The first comic book hero is Superman and he was created in 1938. He was brought forth to bring light and heroism into dark times, as he was created during Great Depression. Batman was first inked one year later in 1939. Batman was written as a darker version of Superman and both comic book heroes were created by DC Comics. Superman can fly, he is virtually invulnerable and bullets can bounce of his chest. He lives in Metropolis. His alter ego is named Clark Kent and Clark works a reporter for a fictional newspaper called The Daily Planet. Batman on the other hand is a vigilante. His alter ego is named Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne is a self-made millionaire who is spends his days running Wayne Industries and most of his night prowling his hometown of Gotham City. His mode of transportation is the Batmoble and he drives it in to the night. He wears his cape and cowl to bring fear and justice to the villains of Gotham city. Superman on the other hand prefers daylight to be his backdrop. His strength comes from the yellow sun and he wears no mask or disguise on his face but instead sheds the glasses he wears as Clark Kent. As a Christian there are times I feel like soaring over the bustling Metropolis of my life. On the other hand I also feel like a vigilante at times. I want to drive into Gotham City and don my cape and cowl, fighting fist to cuffs with the villains or demons in my life. The comic book pages of Superman and Batman can easily be shredded or torn. The bright reds, neon blues and hot pinks of comic book pages eventually fade. God's Light can never be diminished and the Rock Solid teachings of Jesus will crush any shredder.

Obama: A Man to Admire

I voted for Barack Obama in 2008. I liked the way he spoke. I found him to be both intelligent and well mannered. His acceptance speech solidified my way of thinking. In this speech, Mr. Obama is very professional as well as personal. He shows respect for all manners of people in different ways. This style of speech adds color to the black and white words on the page. In this acceptance speech, the newly crowned Head of State combines a good portion of personality and professionalism into his podium platform. A writer myself I admire this man. Our nation's president has written two books and writes speeches often. He also writes State of the Union speeches often. I may not always agree with what he says but I like his style. This speech is just one example of that style I admire. He has the intelligence to interweave both personality and professionalism into his style of writing. He does so from the very beginning. The opening paragraph of his speech is a healthily combination of both styles. In this first paragraph he eludes to the potential of all Americans. "Who doubts that America is a place where all things are possible...”? Mr. Obama keeps this manner of speaking consistent through out the first few paragraphs and later says. "We are, and always will be, the United States of America." It is not until the third page this speech does Mr. Obama first shows his personal side with gratitude when he speaks of his victory "I would not be standing here without the unyielding support of my best friend..." refereeing to his wife. (Michelle Obama) Here he is humble. Later Mr. Obama thanks the opposition. "I just received a very gracious call from Senator Mc Cain. " I congratulated him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved." He keeps this style of writing throughout the acceptance speech. I attempt to show such humility in my everyday walk as well as daily writings. I look up to our country's leader and support him, because Bible sayse to stand behind my leader.

How sad!

It was the night before the Messaih game and all through the lot. There was a long line of videogame geeks lined up to buy the next version of World Of War Craft. Okay, so here is the story. I was coming home from the Phillies games around midnight on Monday when I noticed a line of hoarders, or video game geeks rounding the corner of Suburban Square shopping center (or shopping center near my pad.) There was a teen named Shea (We defeted the Met’s that day by the way. ) controlling the crowd and wearing a uniform of the video game store I buy my used wii games at. I quickly surveyed the crowd, there were only two females in the lot and the rest were born in the nineties at the latest. I could assume that none of them have a life but we both know what happens when you do that. (Hi Clan) My only question to you the audience or reader(s) is what does this say about our country. Should we be afraid for the future of the youth represented in that line last night? There may be future or current politicians (Student Government counts) I realize at my ripe old age of 39. ( I won’t be 40 till December!) That I am becoming more cynical with every hour. I also realize that I am good at taking the have out of a situation and perceiving matters from an unbiased point of view. So let me ask you this question? Should I hover under the bed and look for World War III. Should I go out there and protest, protest, protest or should I simply close the article and see if there is any work to do at my job today.

Why boxing should not be considered a sport

I am for the most part a movie critic. I have written over 800 movie reviews. There for I know the cinema well, six of the movies I wrote critiques for had the word Rocky in the title. While the first film in this six film series may have on Best Picture in 1976 I feel, as a whole the film series is a total let down. By the sixth and hopefully final movie in the series I am not sure what Rocky was fighting for. His closing line in the first Oscar winning film was "Yo, Adrian I did it!" in the final film in the six film series he could not have been fighting for her. For Tilia Shire (Adrian) was not even on the cast list. To me boxing is simply a form of glamorized fighting. Two men stand in the middle of a ring (which is rectangular bye the way) and continue to jab and poke at each other till one is "knocked out" or simply falls to the ground for a total of ten seconds. The man left standing is considered the winner. The winner of six creaked ribs, two black eyes and a bloody left fist. I don’t see the prize here. The actual or extrinsic prize is a big gold belt that can never or should never be worn outside the secluded stadium. Mike Tyson him self admitted recently that unlike a Hall of Fame Line backer who said he would always help up the victim he tackled after “The Hit” that a boxer does not want his opponent to come back up. “You learn to keep puling your opponent till you see the life go out of his eyes” He told an undisclosed morning news show host that “you do not want your opponent to come back up!” He later went to inform the home viewing audience that when a boxer fights he doss not do show as an individual but as a ‘son’ or a ‘husband’ or some other beloved member of the family. This is ironic for I always beloved your were supposed to love your family and honor them with kindness and gentleness and respect not use them as foster to pummel the snot out of the person in front of you.

Christianity in Many Ways is Insulting

Is that title an attention grabber or what? Before I offend you let me first point out that I recently spent a little over one year, on staff on a newspaper at a local Christian university. I have been involved in many churches, in several states and have considered myself “saved’ since high school. I am now 39 years old. In my first paragraph alone you see controversy. The term ‘saved’ is extremely insulting. If Christians are humble, quiet, and non-reserved. The term saved therefore is outrageously insulting. I have found that certain beliefs that are devout to some churches are considered blasphemy to another church just down the street or perhaps right next door. This is sad! If God is the God of “all people great and small” then why are so many people offended by what is seen as “Gospel Truth” in one building, yet cursed, and ridiculed in another? For my next point let’s look at the two biggest holidays on the Christian / American pop culture calendar. These holidays are Easter and Christmas. Every pastor I know questions our church or society as to the date of the first. (aka Easter) They always say something along the line of… “Simply throw a dart at the calendar to determine when Easter is.” The date and celebration of the second and better known of these aforementioned holidays (aka Christmas) is even more absurd. It is thrown into the calendar to counter act Hanukah. If you ask most Jewish people Hanukah is not a major religious holiday. It is simple “recognized because of the fact that is around the same time of year a Christmas. December 25th to me is simply now the day after my birthday. If our (American) calendar starts off with the birth of Christ then how the yuck is Christmas (aka the birth of Christ) celebrated one the first day of the 52nd week of a 52 week calendar. Does not B.C. stand for Before Christ? I mentioned before I have been a part on many churches and they all point out that this is to counter acts an already existing “more evil” religious holiday that already existed at the time the date was appointed to the calendar. Is that not like the TV adds or commercials that are attempting to point out that they are they are “Better than the Leading Brand!” If your product so much better should that product not be the leading brand? It is just a thought. The last and perhaps biggest peeve I have about Christianity is that. Only Christians go to Heaven. How deplorable is this concept! If you take the terms “Heaven” and “Hell” out of the Bible or Church. The first is always a compliment the second is forever an insult. If Christians are supposed to be humble, considerate, and loving towards all then is this very concept not the biggest oxymoron in human history. In case you have not figured it out yet my mother brought me up to question authority. My sister to this day reinforces the concept of doing your own research and don’t simply take what you are told for granted. If you want to be an individual on to yourself then put your money where your mouth is and don’t take ANYTHING lying down.