ridiculous

This is just funny. Really. Don't forget to hover over the picture for the alt text or whatever it's called (you'll have to right click to page source to read the whole thing if you're using mozilla).
I don't know why I thought it was so outstandingly amusing. I just did. Maybe it's just 'cuz the thing is completely ridiculous. What can I say? I'm a sucker for ridiculousness.
Speaking of which...
Does it say something about my mental state, or Bill's, that I very nearly believed this? I think it's a bit of both.
Nonetheless...
Warm double-clasp!

Addendum: This part two is also rather funny.

a prayer for Kenya

It’s absolutely horrific. Satanic. Chaos.

Evil exists in this world, and it can be seen clearly in recent pictures from Kenya. Insight Kenya is well stocked with many pictures of the horror occurring. As I look through the pictures, I think more and more. These aren’t just pictures. These are moments of real peoples’ lives. People like you and me who trusted in the democratic process. People with families, hobbies, loves, burdens… It looks to me like Kenyans are all connected now by hate, whether it be the effects of others’ hate, or their own.

I don’t much understand politics. I have no passion for studying it, and I don’t grasp it easily. Politics’ often self-contradictory and ambiguous nature confuses me. I won’t pretend I do understand it. Nor will I pretend to understand the intricacies of Kenyan politics.

There are some things, however, which are easy to comprehend (even if they are not easy to accept).

Tension. Disagreement. Accusations. Cheating. Hate. Selfishness. Collapsed. Terror. Subdued. Crippled. Degradation. Cruelty. Evil.

These are the tragedies which have taken Kenya- and its people- hostage.

It is not only Kenya that suffers- or will suffer, however. Evil is found everywhere. The roots for this sort of situation, this barbarous brand of behavior, lie all around us, all over this world.

Kenya must be helped. Its people deserve better just by their very existence.

This evil must be prevented from invading more peoples’ lives. It must be stopped- eradicated.

It’s horrible- beyond description. No amount of searching a thesaurus would supply me with words to describe what I have only read and seen in pictures. It is wrong, base, unforgivable, and evil. It makes me cry.

But what can I do? How insignificant I am compared to all this!

For now, I will pray. I will pray for Kenya to rise triumphant out of this mess. For peace to be restored, differences bridged, and leaders who care for the people given power to care for their people. I pray for those injured, that somehow, despite all that has happened and may yet happen, they will find peace. That they will be able to continue their lives- doing more than just “moving on”, but integrating this experience so as to change themselves, and their country, for the better. Most of all, I pray that Kenya will overcome, and bring hope to the rest of the world that it is possible to triumph over the evil that threatens every one of us.

some Kenya blogs and whatnot I have come across and found informative- Insight Kenya, Kenyan Pundit, Thinkersroom, Kenya and Africa, Funua, Ushahidi. Articles/news reports are easy enough to find via newspapers, google, and these blogs themselves, so I’ll leave such finding up to you.

genesis of a blog

"Ich" is German for "me"- this was on google chat and my gmail is set in German (left over from Deutscheklasse for practice).

Ian: Do you like to Blog?

Ich: er, yes, why?

Ian: well I'm working on starting an LDS Blog

Ich: how so?

and does elder ballard have anything to do w/ it?

Ian: put stuff about the church and what not

alittle

Ich: sounds like a good idea

Ian: wellI can add you as an author, I haven't done anything with it yet

Ich: if you want to, sure

are you doing it on blogger?

Ian: yea I already have a site thing

brb

ok I'm back

Ich: brb- g2 switch some laundry :P

oh, not dry :(

so... when did this lds blog idea happen?

Ian: I didn't do it!

Ich: i don't know if i beleive you...

Ian: it's already happening

the main thought for me about it is this...

I'd rather people hear about it from the people who live it than Joe Smoe

Ich: lol, very true

Ian: so anyone else LDS up there is welcome to join in as authors

I don't know what to write about on it but at least it's a start for now

Ich: hmm... you start by writing what your goals for it are- how you envision it being used by authors and readers- and why

and i'll definately talk to ppl up here about it :)

Ian: I just plan on mainly doing the web stuff

Ich: haha, well since you started it you should say something- first post wise. :) but, you're not much into the idea of writing yourself?

Ian: well I plan on starting it with that hear it from us sort of thing

So, a new blog is begun. Here is the link to what Elder Ballard said. Noteworthy excerpts:

“We cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches,”

“...all conversations have an impact on those who participate in them. Perceptions of the Church are established one conversation at a time.”

He said students should consider sharing their views on blogs, responding to online news reports and using the “new media” in other ways.

Even better, here's the video!!

I think this blog is a really good idea, and I feel privileged to be a part of it. However, it's kinda scary- what would I write about? How would I say it? The fact that people- who don't know me and probably never will- will be reading what I write about my church, that their perspectives on the Church could be swayed by what I (and the other blog authors that will invariably come) write... it's humbling. And a good bit scary, as well. However, I can't help but think that it's a good thing, and I think I may even be right about that.
So, here is the link to the blog. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Makes it sound official or something. Scary.
I hope I prove to be a worthwhile contributer to it.

something old, new, and blue

okay, maybe just new. i'm giving wordpress a try. just for the heck of it. cassadae.wordpress.com . if i stop posting here, that's where i've gone. :)

...worth it...

I wish I could put something insightful here. I feel like writing. I just don't know what to write about- while still having it mean something.
I've been thinking about "the future". 1) Where I'm going for school next year- tho I will probably stay home and finish off my AA. 2) If I will still be sick or not, and if (at least mostly) not, 3) Where I will work. I've been thinking I'd like to get trained as a CNA and find some sort of job as one (hopefully not in a nursing home- those places just kinda give me the heebie-jeebies), but I just recently started thinking about being a paraeducater. I think I would like being a para-ed, since that's almost what I was when I volunteered a lot in the spec. ed department last year. I have over 200 hours volunteering there, I think, and the teachers love me, so I think it wouldn't be too difficult to get a job as a para-ed for spec. ed at the local school district. Getting trained as an EMT is also an idea- one my step-dad finds particularly good (partly because he's currently being trained as one for his work in emergency management). I would like, possibly even love it. It would be great. However, getting trained to be an EMT is a lot more intensive and expensive than CNA training and passing the para-ed test combined. It would be great, but might be worth it putting off until I wouldn't have to worry so much about the cost.
We'll see how it all turns out. Heavenly Father will take care of me. I just have to keep reminding myself of that and also that trials are for my benefit. I can learn a lot from being sick, so I'd better take advantage of the opportunity. I guess that's the idea, for me, behind blogging. Sorting out what's going, what I think and feel about it, and- most importantly- what I can learn from it.
There are a lot of things I could complain about, but in the long run, complaining won't get me anywhere. That pretty much means I can't justify complaining. Dangit. (I'll probably still try and get away with it, though.)
So, what have I learned so far?
A good deal about health care, medicine, and my own body. I've learned what it's like to have people doubt your intentions. I've seen how wonderfully kind/compassionate/caring people can be, and thusly had wonderful experiences that I really wouldn't trade for anything. I've come to understand, at least a bit, how scary it is to be isolated from one's community. I'm learning how to take things as they come; to not try and micromanage every aspect of my life; to trust that Father has a plan for me. I'm learning about how to rely on other people for some things, and from that I hope to learn how to be reliable for others. I'm learning compassion and empathy. I've learned what it's like to have hopes dashed, plans changed. I'm learning a new system to evaluate a person's "worth". I'm learning to value the moment, and milk it for all I can- especially if it's a moment when I feel (comparatively) well. I'm learning how to be a realist, while still maintaining optimism. I'm learning how to smile when I feel like crap.
I'll come out of this a better person. The time that I can't serve or help others now will be more than made up for when I am well again and can use my new arsenal of knowledge to help people in ways I couldn't have without that "wealth of wisdom". Remembering that helps me, especially when I start to beat myself up about the things I'm not doing (can't do).
I just have to remember the thing that matters most about being sick- if this experience enables me to help/serve even one person, it will be worth it.