Ramblings of a Writer

This is one post I will mass produce because I want as much feedback as possible, so if you read my other blogs then be forewarned. Anyways. I want to know do yu save your posts to the hard drive of your computer or do you just save them on the web? I used to save them to my hard drive, but it became a little time consuming so I stopped. I’m thinking of doing it again so that I can have a copy, but I want to know what everyone else does before I go to the trouble…

I can be a very passionate person, and to tell you the truth, the human rights in North Korea are nonexistent. The government starves their people, uses them as lab rats, and executes them for even the smallest of offenses. What’s worse is South Korea refuses to do anything about it and has even blocked U.N proposals to aid the citizens of N. Korea, simply because they do not want to strain relations between the two countries. North Korea claims that none of the allegations are true, yet there are numerous eyewitness testimonies which claim otherwise. Although I am not of Korean descent, I believe that these atrocities need to be pointed out as often as possible and in as many ways as possible, so I will be using this blog to spread this all over the web. I would ask that you send your friends and anyone else you can think of to this to this blog so that we can get the word out

I am asking all of my brothers and sister in the faith to pray for the Laurie family during this very difficult ordeal. For those of you who have not heard the tragic news, Greg Laurie’s oldest son Christopher died in a car accident this morning on the 91 freeway. He left behind a wife, a daughter, and another baby girl on the way. With the Harvest Crusades happening all summer long, I can only imagine what a spiritual battle this family is fighting right now, so if you could please pray that the Lord would make them strong during this extremely difficult time, I would really appreciate it, as I am sure they would as well. Please pass this on to all of your friends so that we can get an army of prayer going. For those of you in the Highland, Ca area tomorrow there will be a prayer vigil from 6-7:30pm. If you would like more info, please contact me by private message and I will send you the address. For those of you not in the area, I would ask that you please join in at that time (PST) by praying wherever you are. I know many do not agree with Greg Laurie on certain issues, but I ask that you set those issues aside as we pray for them during this extremely tragic time.

I think I’ve found my cause. As the title so aptly suggests, I will be focusing on Darfur, at least for the time being. What is Darfur you ask? It is a region in the Sudan that has been beseiged with political conflict since February of 2003. Recent estimates state that as many as 2.5 million people  have been displaced, and upwards of 400,000 have been killed. While the Sudanese government denies any involvement in the conflict, they have supported monetarily and even assisted in some attacks against militias such as the Sudan Liberation Movement. In the meantime, the region has backed beseiged by rape, lack of food, little to no water, and virtually no medical care. Crime is at an all time high as people struggle to feed their families.

Many of you may be wondering why this conflict started in the first place. According to an article on Wikipedia, the conflict started because of years of neglect by the Sudanese government to the people’s basic needs including food, water, shelter, and health care. The militia groups formed to try and force the government to take care of these needs, resulting in the now 4 1/2 year old conflict. Again the Sudanese government denies any involvement, but their action in supporting the Janjaweed and Sudanese military suggest otherwise. They also grossly underestimate the amount of people that have died as a result of this conflict. They currently are propogating that only 9,000 people have died because of the conflict, which has been debunked by numerous organizations across many mediums.

The next logical question would be why did I choose this particular cause? Mostly because I believe the world is not doing enough about it. Our government refuses to get involved. They say it is because their attempts to help have been rebuffed by the Sudanese government, which is probably altogether true. But they are reaching out to the wrong people. The Sudanese government has stated time and again that it does not consider this a problem and have used their ill-reached figures to come to this conclusion. It is to their benefit that this conflict continues so why would they want our help to stop it? The people we should be reaching out to are the people who are being displaced. They are the innocent victims in this conflict. For the most part, they did not ask for this, and have suffered the most because of it. Unfortunately, our government does not see any economic benefit in helping these people, so they refuse to go beyond what they have already done.

As a writer, I feel the need to be inspired in order to write, but right now all I’ve got going on is school and normal day to day life junk, which is probably the most inspiring and uninspiring junk on the face of the planet, all at the same time. I don’t want to reveal too much about myself. Lord knows I do that enough already. But I want to connect with the people who read my blog on a more personal level, one where I feel comfortable sharing with them and they with me. I want to inform my readers without boring them to death. I know these may sound like lofty goals, but they are attainable. I don’t have a lot of time on my hands, but I feel the Lord is calling me to connect with people. So what medium do I use? I post my daily bible studies on my revelife site. I complain about the day to day drama on my xanga blog. My Vox blog is devoted to topics the Lord reveals to me through my daily bible studies (more in-depth and less frequent updates). So that leaves this blog. What do I post here? I’m incredibly shy about my music. It would take an act of God to post that all over the web. I cringe at the thought and reach for the anti-anxiety meds I no longer use…

I’m not much of a fiction writer, though it is a talent I would love to develop. I think a versatile writer is necessary in today’s society. But I don’t want to publish something I’m not good at yet. I could review books, but to be honest, I haven’t had the time or the inclination to actually sit down and critique a book in like a year, so only the Lord knows how often I would update this blog with material like that. Maybe I just need to diversify and do a couple of different things with this blog. I could take the easy road and post recipes, but those get boring after a while. I don’t watch tv all that much anymore (its too depressing), so I’m not up on all the new tv shows. Movies are a luxury I only get to experience every once in a while. The social issues of the day have been debated to death, and reading too much about that bugs me, and all too often depresses me beyond belief.

I think the answer is I need to find a cause to feel passionate about, and constantly support them through my blog. Now its just choosing which cause. The environment? Not really my deal. I hate to sound crass, but its too much of a political hot issue to debate logically. Illegal immigration? Beaten to death by almost every other blogger out there, myself included. I will do some research and get back to you.

A friend of mine suggested posting recipes if I was having issues coming up with a post, and since I’m massively craving choc. chip cookies, I figured I would post my favorit recipe. All the numbers I use double the original recipe, which makes it good for bake sales, large parties, storing for later, a family with teenagers in it, etc. So here is the recipe:

4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups (4 sticks) butter, softened
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
1 1/2 cups golden brown sugar, packed
4 extra large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 12oz bags of nestle tollhouse semi sweet morsels

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine all ingredients, mixing with a wire whisk. Use a tablespoon to place drops of cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet, and allow to bake for 9-11 minutes. Pull tray from oven and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes. Remove from tray and enjoy!

Is of the devil. I normally don’t have problems coming up with something to talk about, but today my brain just does not want to work. Check back later for more.

Blogging is an interesting communication medium, to say the least. Some say bloggers are replacing journalists, but I doubt this is true. Some say blogging is revolutionizing the journalism industry, which I think is a definite possiblity. For me, blogging is a way to express my creativity in writing, and help spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. I’m not ashamed of my faith, and I am willing and ready to defend myself, so don’t think that you will change my mind. But that is beside the point. Why do people blog? I know I have multiple reasons for blogging including keeping friends and family up to date on my life, spreading God’s truth, and expressing my creativity. Some blog to get their work recognized. Other’s blog to express their opinion on what is going on in the world at large. Others to critisize our government, or to bring awareness to a social issue. Others blog for the sake of gossiping and defaming others, though I think this is disgusting and despicable if not based on fact. Still others blog to spread their beliefs, whether I agree with them or not is a completely different question. But these are only a sample of the reasons why people blog. Corporations hire writers simply to promote their business in the blogging world. Even some governments and government leaders blog to spread their ideals the world over. Others blog to vent about their personal lives or even view their blog as a journal, where they can record the thoughts and ideas of their day to day lives. I’ll save that for my journal, but others do not. So I want to know, why do you blog?