B.F.F. T-Shirt Reprint

I've been waiting for this t-shirt to reprint for about a year. I completely forgot about it until I got an email yesterday about their recent reprint. This picture tickles me every time mainly because I'll never see this happen in real life, well at least in my lifetime. Order your t-shirt today so that we can be B.F.F. for life!

How NOT to Explain 9/11 to Children

 Only in America can you turn a profit on a national tragedy and sell it to children. Presenting the We Shall Never Forget 9/11 Kids Coloring Book by Really Big Coloring Books, Inc. On their website the company states that the coloring book  "is designed to be a tool that parents can use to help teach children about the facts surrounding 9/11. This book also describes basic freedoms in America. We suggest parental guidance." They also state that this has been their fastest selling book in their company's history. I'm not sure if I should be more concerned that this was marketed by the publisher as a "coloring novel" with a PG rating or that these coloring novels are flying off the shelves. Now there are and has been a lot of commemorative 9/11 merchandise out there but a coloring book for kids? Not only does the book fail to make any distinction between Islamic radicals and peaceful Muslims there is this following image of a Navy Seal taking out Bin Laden. The publisher has stated in multiple interviews that they have presented all the facts and are presenting them in this "coloring novel" to teach future generations about these "facts". Oh did I forget to mention that kids can color in the smoldering Twin Towers before their collapse?

I believe we shouldn't guard our children from heavy issues but for a parent to use this as a instruction tool just doesn't cut it for me. What's worse is that in the minds of an impressionable child material like this is similar to the propaganda distributed by terrorist organization: They are the enemy, They have attacked us, They hate us. The connection that children would naturally make is that Muslims= bad guys. The publisher states the book is not about Islam but about 19 hijackers who happen to be Muslim. The parents who purchase the book are more than likely to reinforce the negative stereotype that the publisher states is trying to avoid. Luckily children are very inquisitive and may begin to ask the tough questions their parents may not have the courage to ask themselves.

Hiatus...Hello Sweetie!

So I've been out for awhile...a long while. I've been absent from the blogging world (reading and writing) due to minor health reasons and also because the Mrs. and I have been busy preparing for the arrival for our newest little bundle of joy. For the last month I've been busy painting and putting together the baby's furniture. Our kids are excited mainly because they now get to share a room with their new bunk beds. As a father of 2 kids I can honestly say that I can never get used to the anticipation of bringing new life into the world, and I'm sure my wife feels it 10 times more than I ever will. To be able to bring something new and unique into this beautiful, chaotic, and breath-taking universe is a blessing I will never take for granted. Which is why I can't understand why some people choose to abandon, abort, or even abuse their children. Now I'm not here to rally against abortion but simply stating that the anticipation and joy of bringing new life into the cosmos is so overwhelming that I can never imagine any other "options".

My wife is someone who is cutely impatient sometimes, and how can you blame her. I'd be the same way if I had to carry a life form which is constantly kicking and draining the life out of me. My wife is the type of person who can't wait to find out what happens in a book so she skips to the end or Googles the plot to see if the heroine of the story has a happy ending. This is why we're dishing out a few extra bucks to get the 4D ultrasound to see how River's face will look like. Yes, that's right, the Mrs. and I are HUGE Doctor Who fans and have named our new little girl after Riversong. I know it's not the most traditional of names but it is beautiful and of course my wife was also named after the witch from Bewitched. Nothing beats tradition. Now let's hope we don't run into a time traveling future version of River as we rush to the delivery room in December.

Spoilers!

Sing!

"For the love you bring won't mean a thing
Unless you sing, sing, sing, sing."

-Travis "Sing"

I know this song came out a decade ago but I find the lyrics heartwarming and appropriate to the spirit of this blog. So regardless of what religious beliefs you hold or background you come from let your heart sing. Be your best self and share your song with the rest of reality. From the song of our lives we bring new life into this world.

Seventh-Day Adventists: It Gets Better!

As a former SDA myself I found myself excited after viewing this It Gets Better video filmed by Seventh-day Adventist filmmakers and activists as a part of the It Gets Better campaign. You can read the full article here.


It Gets Better (for Adventists too) from Stephen Eyer on Vimeo.


I was surprised at my own ignorance of LGBT people within the SDA church but also of my views of the SDA church. Growing up in a SDA church I always found the church stuffy, filled with an aging congregation pushing their conservative, Bible based views on the younger folk (or at least what this particular group calls Bible-based). It wasn't until after graduating from my SDA boarding school that I first realized that even within our conservative community some people were "different" from the established norm (almost 1/8 of my graduating class came out shortly after graduation, one of them being a very dear friend of mine I had absolutely no clue was gay). No one talked about it on campus because we all knew anyone who openly contradicted the values of the SDA church was grounds for expulsion. I wouldn't call it an ingrained fear or indoctrination against any non Bible-based relationships but it was a view that stuck with me and took years to unravel.

Ryan Bell, author of the article, is right, this It Gets Better video is a step in the right direction for the SDA church. I once viewed the SDA church with their heels dug in so deep into their conservative evangelical roots that I thought they were beyond any form of reformation. I've forgotten there are individuals and groups within the Christian church that are pushing the envelope of what it means to be Christian. What gets me even more excited is not that there are those who are challenging the boundaries of religious group they identify with but that we (mankind) are continuing to push the envelope of what it means to be human and how we interact and love our neighbor.