iTunes U

I stumbled upon one of the coolest ideas from iTunes yet - iTunes University. Now you can not only download thousands of podcasts, but you can also download lectures and documentaries from the top Universities in the world. And the best part is that it's completely FREE! If you are like me and enjoy learning, then you have to check this out. They have courses in history, science, literature and much more.

If you ever wanted to take classes from Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, or Harvard then you finally can get a taste for it. Check out this link and watch the video below if you want more info.

http://www.apple.com/itunes/whatson/itunesu.html

Medieval Christmas

First off, Merry Christmas! Hope everyone had a great day celebrating our Lord's birth.
I found this Medieval Christmas quiz and it was a fun little history lesson. I didn't do that well on it, but it was interesting. Check it out if you have some time.




Medieval Christmas Quiz




Also, Tim Hughes wrote a fantastic blog about adoration. He uses Gentile Da Fabriano's "Adoration of the Magi" painting (the picture above) to illustrate the great point that we need to love and serve Christ out of adoration, not duty. Check it out here

It's Coming!

I am super excited about the new X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie coming out May 1, 2009. The preview looks stinkin' cool! I am also excited that Gambit will be played by Taylor Kitsch from Friday Night Lights. Check out the trailer below and if you are interested I found a good blog site about the movie - http://wolverine-trailer.blogspot.com/

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE HD

Putting Right, What Once Went Wrong

For my birthday, I received the first season of Quantum Leap from a friend. As a kid I always loved watching Quantum Leap because you would never know whose body Sam Beckett would leap into next. Sam is a scientist who, through a botched experiment, leaps into the the bodies of different people all throughout history. His purpose in every leap is to find out what has gone wrong and set it right. He believes that God is in control of his leaps, sending him to different times and places to fix bad situations. Each shows starts off with Sam explaining how it all began:

"It all started when a time travel experiment I was conducting went... "a little caca". In the blink of a cosmic clock, I went from quantum physicist to Air force test-pilot. Which could have been fun... if I knew how to fly. Fortunately, I had help - an observer from the project named Al. Unfortunately Al's a hologram, so all he can lend is moral support. Anyway, here I am, bouncing around in time, putting things right that once went wrong, a sort of time traveling Lone Ranger, with Al as my Tonto. And I don't even need a mask..."

I like the show because Sam travels in throughout history, having to creatively solve problems so he can leap. Sam is not alone though. He does have a little help from Al, his holographic friend.

Sam leaps as a pilot, a college professor, a doctor, a hitman, a 15 year old high schooler, and even a woman :-). But Sam's real hope is that his next leap will be the leap back home.

The Sabbath

I had a chance to have some time of rest this weekend which was nice and much needed. I am definitely not a "go-go-go" type of person and when life gets busy I just need to slow down. Relax. Chill. Breathe in life and live in the moment. I started reading a book called The Sabbath, by the great Jewish scholar, Abraham Joshua Heschel. In the opening chapter he describes the Sabbath as being all about time rather than space. Humans tend to view spirituality through the realm of space, focusing on things. We even tend to view God as if He were a thing, rather than a spirit.

Here are some quotes that I found extremely interesting and insightful.

"To gain control of the world of space is certainly one of our tasks. The danger begins when in gaining power in the realm of space we forfeit all aspirations in the realm of time. There is a realm of time where the goal is not to have but to be, not to own but to give, not to control but to share, not to subdue but to be in accord. Life goes wrong when the control of space, the acquisition of things of space, becomes our sole concern."

"Indeed, we know what to do with space but do not know what to do about time, except to make it subservient to space. Most of us seem to labor for the sake of things of space. As a result we suffer from a deeply rooted dread of time and stand aghast when compelled to look into its face. Time to us is sarcasm, a slick treacherous monster with a jaw like a furnace incinerating every moment of our lives. Shrinking, therefore, from facing time, we escape for shelter to things of space."

"The higher goal of spiritual living is not to amass a wealth of information, but to face sacred moments."

"One of the most distinguished words in the Bible is the word quadosh, holy; a word which more than any other is representative of the mystery and majesty of the divine. Now what was the first holy object in the history of the world? Was it a mountain? Was it an altar?

It is, indeed, a unique occasion at which the distinguished word qadosh is used for the first time: in the Book of Genesis at the end of the story of creation. How extremely significant is the fact that it is applied to time: 'And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy.' There is no reference in the record of creation to any object in space that would be endowed with the quality of holiness."

"The meaning of the Sabbath is to celebrate time rather than space. Six days a week we live under the tyranny of things of space; on the Sabbath we try to become attuned to holiness in time. It is a day on which we are called upon to share in what is eternal in time, to turn from the results of creation to the mystery of creation; from the world of creation to the creation of the world."

Aaaaa....What's up Doc?

My favorite Looney Tune has always been Bugs Bunny. He always found a clever way to humiliate Elmer Fudd, Marvin the Martian, and Yosemite Sam. And he was always nibbling on a carrot. Before, I only liked them if they were accompanied with loads of Ranch dressing, but now I've learned that I actually like them without it.

I have been trying to eat healthier so I've ditched the potato chips, hostess cupcakes, etc, and instead I've been buying grapes, apples, bananas, and carrots. And now I love them! What is even better is that I found out some great nutritional facts about eating carrots:

- they help your immune system
- they help maintain healthy skin
- they help regulate metabolism
- they help maintain optimum health
- they have a high Vitamin A content
- they are loaded with fiber

No wonder why Bugs liked them so much. If you are looking for healthy alternatives to junk food, then I highly recommend carrots. They're great! And if you're a Bugs Bunny fan then enjoy the video below.

PS. Road Runner is also favorite, because he is so fast! :-)

Discipline Continued

I have recently made a huge life goal that has already tested my discipline in extreme ways. What is it, you say? I have decided to do a triathlon. Call me crazy, but as I have tried to be more physically active and stay in shape, I've found that it is difficult if there is not "something" to work towards. So that "something" will be an Olympic Triathlon at Lake Havasu on March 24th. With less than four months to train, I have already been swimming and running 3-5 times a week. Man, swimming is tough! I'm getting a bike for my birthday and will be putting that into the rotation this week.

The Olympic Triathlon consists of:

- a 1500 meter swim
- a 24.9 mile bike ride
- a 6.2 mile run

It takes anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to complete. Sometimes I think I am crazy for even thinking about doing this, but I believe it is the perfect thing to help me work on my physical discipline. I miss being athletic and competing in stuff. I have a lot of work to do!