The Evolution of the Spoon

This is taken from my response to the random question section of my profile. I could not fit my answer in the space provided, so I will give the answer in full here.

Do you believe that forks are evolved from spoons?
Yes, it would seem to be consistent with the theory of evolution by natural selection. The spoon by itself would not be very useful at stabbing and picking up things, but would instead have to just scoop. Therefore, because "poking" would help the spoon reproduce, it would slowly, over millions of years undoubtedly evolve more prong-like appendages to better "poke" things. Of course the transition species between the spoon and the fork would be the spork, a mixture of both the fork and the spoon. Eventually the spork would evolve into a fork and then a complete dining set (table, chairs, placemats, plates, bowls, all necessary silverware, glasses, pretty vase with flowers and a four course meal) within the next 246 millions years (give or take a couple hundred thousand years or so).

See here for an extremely interesting article about the spork and it's amazing history!

Onefest!

So I didnt think that I would be going to Onefest. We were supposed to be in Illinois a bit longer, but we got home early last night. Then there was the problem of not having a ticket and I was not about to spend 50 bucks on one at the door. I had just sat down to read some C.S. Lewis when someone called me and told me that they had an extra ticket that I could have!! So, of course I jumped up and said I would take it. I got to the Dome at about 7 pm. It was awesome to walk into the Dome and see that huge stage set up, with hundreds of people all scattered around the floor and in the stands! The first thing that caught my eye was the Onefest banner that had their slogan on it: "As one body we come." I really like that - it is a worthy reason for having a huge concert festival like Onefest. Coming together and worshipping God as one voice.
So Newsboys was there. They were awesome as usual. And then there were a bunch of smaller, less known bands who were all pretty good. Then I went swimming...played racquetball...played pingpong and a few other things (not necessarily in that order). Then after all that (at about 4 am I think) we went back into the Dome and played cards/slept for a while. At 6 am the main concert stage opened up again with Shattered Reality. These guys were awesome. The whole group is made up of about 20 drummers, all playing together. It was really cool and really loud!
So yeah, then I left at about 7 am, so I was there for about 12 hours. It was so cool!


Hey, Aaron here. I also went to Onefest. It was pretty sweet. I helped set up the day before, like the huge central stage, a secondary stage, and then moved a bunch of stuff around. I hung out wiith a few friends, like Matt, and we went swimming, and I schooled him in ping pong, and we played racquetball, and he schooled me at poker, and we listened to the Newsboys, and all in all had an awesome time. It was cool. Good times, good times. Well, peace out all, have a Happy New Year.

Join the Discussion!

Merry Christmas all! Like I have said about two thousand times in the past week, I love Christmas! It is the best holiday - no arguing!

So anyways, on to the real point of this post. I have just finished creating a new forum for W.C.2.M. It is where anyone can talk and discuss pretty much anything (if you can't find a good place for some topic, tell me and we'll make one). Forums are cool because they allow you to maintain multiple discussion about any number of topics all at once. Just sign up and you will get a screen name and then you can post on threads and share your thoughts and feelings. There is a section on Christianity (which contains a variety of sub-topics) and there is a Secular section (which also has a variety of sub-topics). Please come and join in our discussions at the W.C.2.M. forums today! It's a lot of fun and can actually be helpful too!

Hope to see you around and Merry Christmas!

Christmas Tree or Holiday Tree?

This issue came up recently at Sharper Iron and has been prevalent in our country for a while - Christmas and it's place in American society. Because of Christmas' obvious associations with Christianity (for all those who didn't know, it was started as a celebration of Jesus Christ's birth. See here.) many liberals (think ACLU) are fighting to get it out of the public sector. Many believe (or is it only some?) that any mention of Christmas is in violation of the sacred "separation of Church and State" doctrine (found no where in the Constitution I might add). If a town hall puts up a tree with lights on it and calls it a Christmas tree, they are "pushing" religion on the masses. Because of this growing political correctness, many business' have begun to ask their employees to stop saying "Merry Christmas" and start saying "Happy Holidays", as to not offend any Jew or Muslim or Hindu or whoever. Many business' have replaced "Merry Christmas" with "Happy Holidays" in their ads and flyers for the same reasons. Stores such as Target (see article here) have also denied groups like the Salvation Army for example, from ringing their bells in front of their stores because they say "Merry Christmas" and are a Christian organization.
Many Christians are decrying the "Happy Holidays" ads and signs, and the banning of the Salvation Army and the likes. While I agree that these actions by companies are stupid and sad, I do not feel that yelling at the companies is going to do much. Business has one goal: Make money. They will do whatever they can do to get as many people to come into their stores as possible. If this means that they stop saying "Merry Christmas" so they don't offend anyone, thinking this will draw more people into their stores, than that is what they will do. I am not convinced that these businesses hate Christianity - they just love money.
I think that the deeper problem is the growing political correctness that has gotten way out of control. This political correctness takes on the facade of trying to protect everyone's rights, but really it is a pointed and specific attack against religion and Christianity specifically. Groups such as the ACLU are to blame for the increasing appearance (not fact) that many people are offended by "Christmas break" as opposed to "Winter break" for example. I work at a retail store and try hard to say Merry Christmas to every customer when they leave the store. Not once have I ever seen anyone take offense at my comment and on several occasions people have stopped, turned around, and thanked me for saying "Merry Christmas" and not "Happy Holidays". I think that the "fact" pushed by the liberals that many people are offended by "Christmas" is not a fact but is just myth. They are making it up.
Of course there are some who will get offended when I say "Merry Christmas". However, people get offended by all sorts of things - I would say everything could offend someone. But you can't please everybody all the time, and for us Christians we are not called to. We are called only to please one Person, all the time. And that Person is our God. He is our sole audience and if we are doing what is right in His sight, it doesn't matter what the world thinks of us. In fact God says that the world will hate us if we follow Him. And be sure: the world does hate us. We stand for absolute truth, something that they cannot stand. They stand for "tolerance" (which just means acceptance of all people's beliefs - they are all equal) and relativity. However the Bible clearly denounces these viewpoints, giving us absolute truth that is not subjective. The Truth of the Gospel is light that exposes their sin; it judges them. Therefore they "hate the Light" and hate all those who proclaim the Truth.
So this whole issue is much deeper than just "Christmas vs Holiday trees". At the heart of this is an attack on Truth, or the very notion of absolute Truth.
So this season proudly proclaim "Merry Christmas!"....and then share the Truth of the Gospel because you are glorifying your God when you do so!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all. I am writing now because I'm pretty sure that I won't be writing anytime soon as I am leaving tomorrow to go skiing and stuff. I am completely enjoying my Christmas break and the end of the semester. I look forward to better classes and a better schedule next semester, but I will enjoy the wonderful here-and-now for as long as I can. At least until it becomes there-and-then. Hope you all enjoy your Christmas and New Year celebrations, and I hope you all have safe travels. See you next year.

Battle Me....

Yea, I dont really know what this is...I just found it. I know it's weird but whatever. LOL.

Matt Tully is a Collosal Lizard that Fears Nothing, has Heavy Metal Armour, and is Covered in Spines and Wreathed with Flames. Strength: 9 Agility: 1 Intelligence: 3 To see if your Giant Battle Monster can defeat Matt Tully, enter your name and choose an attack: fights Matt Tully using Strength Agility Intelligence

Sign the Guestmap!

Hey, so we got a new thing called a Guestmap. It is kinda like a guestbook except it is a map and you "sign it" by placing a mark on a map corresponding to where you are. So yea, everyone sign it...its cool! LOL! Unfortunatly you cant do a search for your town or city to automatically zoom there, so you will have to find your location manually. I recommend centering your approximate location and then zooming in a little, centering again, zoom etc. I went down to the street, but I dont think you have to get that precise if you dont want to. City would do just fine! So yea, sign it!

Aslan is on the Prowl... - Our 1st Co-Post!

Element O1O9: Hello, everyone and welcome to the first ever Matt and Aaron co-post. We figured that this was an appropriate time because of the release of the wonderful movie, The Lion, the Witch and the Warddrobe. So what one word would you pick to describe it Aaron?
asrgimli04: Well, Matt, if I only had one word to say, then it would have to be...."Outstanding"
Element O1O9: Ooo...good choice. I think I would say it was Powerful!
asrgimli04: Indeed. The depth of the writing the movies were able to incorporate onto the screen was simply amazing, and the Christian ties could not have been any clearer. This is a movie that everyone in the family can safely enjoy.
Element O1O9: Yea, totally! The producers didnt shy away from the strong Christian themes and analogies that are all throughout the movie. Andrew Adamson (the director) did a wonderful job bringing the book to the big screen!
asrgimli04: I don't think I have ever seen a movie so closely portray the book to the point that it practically does it justice quite like this one. In some ways, it was even better than my own imagination. This movie makes me wish that I had been one of the sons of Adam (if only I had another sister...). Oh well. Simply put, well done.
Element O1O9: I agree. Now lets go on to the visuals....and do I mean VISUALS! Was it just me or were you like completely stunned when you first saw Aslan?
asrgimli04: Absolutely. The giant figure of the lion was enough to make me both glad and sad that I wasn't there at that moment.
Element O1O9: Yep! He was fantastic and Liam Neeson did a great job as Aslan's voice. He was perfect for Aslan.
asrgimli04: The figure of the lion was intimidating, yet when He spoke, you knew there was nothing to fear. I don't believe anyone could have portrayed that kind of characteristic better than Liam Neeson.
Element O1O9: Yea so what did you think of the stone table scene? Was that powerful or what?! Especially when that minotaur hits Aslan on the head...I felt it myself!
asrgimli04: I don't think there are any words for the emotions I was feeling.
Element O1O9: That scene was really good, but they didnt have to show or gore...you knew what was going on and I felt that the moment that the White Witch plunged her sword into Aslan was very moving, even without showing it.
asrgimli04: Yeah. The point was evident, and they were able to keep the movie safe for any children watching.
Element O1O9: Yep. So what about that awesome battle at the end? That was spectacular!
asrgimli04: Yeah, I couldn't believe the amount of action that they were able to get into the movie and still keep it clean. I thought for sure that that moment would be when the movie was going to get a little ugly. But they didn't have to sacrifice any excitement while keeping it clean, so it was still good for everyone.
Element O1O9: So true. I think my favorite part was when the Pheonix flew down and lit the field on fire, stopping the Witch's advancing army. But then the witch (pulled in a sleigh by two huge polar bears!) like, blew out the wall of fire.....but it looked so much cooler than someone "blowing it out"...it was just awesome!
asrgimli04: I couldn't agree more. The monsters were surprisingly realistic, and some of them were definitely not what I would want to meet, especially not on a battlefield. The good army, on the other hand, would be way cool to be able to spend some time hanging around with, especially the centaur general, Oreius.
Element O1O9: Oh yea! He was great! Especially when he saw that Peter had fallen down, he valiently charged forward, going directly for the Witch's head. Unfortunatly, the Witch is one mean fighter and she did this awesome move and turned him to stone...
asrgimli04: But we shouldn't spoil everything for those who haven't seen it. Rest assured, however, that the battle scene is amazing.
Element O1O9: Yes it is!
asrgimli04: Overall, with the graphics superb, the acting decent, and the story practically picture perfect to the book, I don't think there is any question in anyone's mind that we will definately see the beloved Queen Lucy the Valiant, King Edmund the Just, Queen Susan the Gentle, and King Peter the Magnificent again soon.
Element O1O9: I sure hope so! It was a wonderful movie for the holiday season! Make sure you check it out sometime this Christmas - its not one to miss!

It's been a while...

Yea, yea, yea. I know you have all been waiting eagerly for my next post. Well here it is! The last week has been super busy. New job, finals, more new job, and more final stuff. Its been nuts and I'm glad its over.

So yea, last night I went to TWO Christmas parties! How cool is that? And I won 25 big ones at one of them! And then they drew for another name and they picked me again! (I'm going to buy a Lotto ticket!) Just Kidding!!!!! I dont wanna get any phone calls from parents saying "You play the Lottery!!??!?! You're supposed to be an example..." I'm kidding!

So anyways...Narnia came out last night. Definitly going to see it.

Well things over at Sharper Iron arent going so well. There is a raging alcohol thread. It is out of control...those Fundys.....but anyways! :)

Later

HALLELUJAH CHORUS!!!!!!!!!!!

Everyone, celebrate with me, for I am now done with classes until January. So sing, sacrifice the fattened calf, and do some barbeque, for I am extremely happy that I don't have to go to any more classes for the rest of the year. All I have left are my final exams. Well, I guess it's not all good news. Oh well. At least I only have to study for Biology, which happens to be my worst class right now. Enjoy the rest of your day. This is Aaron, signing out.

Dead week

Well everyone, this is my last week of school before the semester is over. Or, at least, the last week of classes. I have finals next week. Those suck. I'll be done on Thursday. Oh well, I'll live. Hope you all have a wonderful day, and I hope everyone in my hometown is enjoying this wonderful snow!!! Huh? Whaddya think? Pretty good, huh? Yeah, I thought so. It's wonderful. I enjoy it, anyway. Those are my thoughts tonight. I'm feeling kinda lazy, so, that's all folks!

Casting Crowns Concert!

Yea, it was awesome! By far the best concert I have been to. I liked Newsboys a lot when they were here, but Casting Crowns was better. They have some amazing songs! They opened with some unknown guy who was ok, then Building 429. They were ok....loud and hard to understand at times....but good. But then the "real" band came out! It was awesome!

I got to meet Mark Hall and Tony Nolan (who gave the Gospel in the middle of the concert) earlier before the concert. Tony is a GREAT speaker, and presented the Gospel sooo well last night. He didnt shy away from the Word and presented Jesus Christ unashamedly. It was great! And there were hundreds who stood up and said that they wanted to be saved. It was really cool!

But yea, anyways I would really recommend that people go out and buy Casting Crown's newest CD, Lifesong. It is a great CD!

Well, that was my Saturday night....

Osama Vs. Stewie

That's right. I, Aaron, contacted them both and invited them to a little get-together I was having. It was pretty fun. We had a few refreshments and a game of poker (which Stewie won, but I suspect some cheating. He somehow had a five-of-a-kind. Without wilds.) Needless to say, Osama did not like the outcome of the game and called me an infidel and went off with his body guards to make some "Death to America" tape. I didn't understand any of it though, cause it was all in Arabic stuttering. Anywho, Stewie didn't stay around long, though he did take my wallet. Anyways, you can see it all happen (except any part that included me). Enjoy.
Osama vs. Stewie

Narnia Mania!

Yea, so am I the only one who is excited about this movie coming out?! I have it as my buddy icon and people keep laughing at it! They wouldnt laugh if it was Lord of the Rings! I for one have high hopes for this movie, which could be just as good and true to the books as Lord of the Rings was.

I have read a few reviews of the movie by people who have seen it already and they are all great! The movie supposedly closely follows the book, making only a few minor changes to either keep up the pace or add a little tension. For example: The time period that the story takes place in is during World War 2. In the books, Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy go to live with their uncle to escape the b ombings of London. The books only refrence this event, not going into detail about what actually happened. However in the movie, the childrens escape from London is the first scene! While some diehards may freak out at this, I think that it is a good (and possibly necessary) addition that will open the movie with a bang!

So anyways...I just can't wait. Call me a nerd. Call me whatever you want, but when you see it this Christmas, and realize that it is awesome.....I'm just gonna smile and say "Told ya so."

More Winter!

My dog and a tree...