Free Bible

Today has been a "broken" day... My dishwasher broke (Should get a new one tomorrow from the apartment people - so that's good). My Internet connection at home went down (I hope it's back up when I go home tonight). So I'm kinda in a funky mood today... what better time than to post a rant that has always bothered me.
Of all things that should be free in this world... The Bible. I don't mean the books themselves, but rather the text. One of today's most popular translation is the NIV translation (New International Version). Get ready for some acronyms... The NIV version was translated by a group called the CBT (Committee on Bible Translation), and this part gets a little fuzzy... The company that is doing all this is called IBS (International Bible Society). Here's a link that might explain all this a little better than I did as I was trying to simplify this.
Now to add one more level of who owns what... Zondervan is a company that is connected here somehow. My bible shows that both Zondervan and IBS hold the copyright (which I didn't know two different companies can hold the same copyright). Which brings me to my main point... Of all the books in the world that should be made freely available, I think the Bible is one of them. Yet due to copyright laws it is illegal to make copies (of more than 500 verses). There is a new movement called "creative commons" and I would hope someday a plain english translation makes it's way to a Creative Commons license. It's an interesting copyright twist that a translation can be copyrighted. There's no way to re-translate a text without it ending up similar to the NIV version, which would then be a violation. Yes, I understand a lot of work/time/money went into this new translation, but it seems like there could have been a better way to make the text freely available to the world, and still have them get paid.
I guess, the free version will have to remain the King James Version.
Ok, I'm done my rant now - stepping off my soapbox now.

Cyen

PS> I'm by no means a biblical scholar, so if I've made a mistake in this rant (or you know the connection of Zondervan to IBS) please let me know. Post in the Comment area - please dont use the comments area to debate religion, any post that doesn't pertain to this I will delete.

Movies

A few mini-reviews...
Last week I saw the movie "Jarhead". A story about one man's experience in the Marines during Desert Storm. I'm actually not sure if I liked this movie or not. The acting was great. I've been a fan of Jake Gyllenhaal since Donnie Darko. The movie was based the real life experiences of Anthony Swofford, and seemed to give a glimpse into the Marines, but I'm sure every story has two sides. I expected to come away from the movie with a feeling of a message, and I suppose the movie did not paint the war in the best of light, but a lot of the movie seemed like all the other war movies. Boot camp is tough, some guys are jerks, some guys are crazy and some guys are good buddies.

This weekend I saw "The Ice Harvest" with John Cusak and Billy Bob Thorton. The movie just really lacked something for me. Those two actors had a good chemistry in Pushing Tin, but in this movie it felt forced. Oliver Platt did a good job playing the drunk guy, and had some funny bits, but the movie just seemed to try to be a remake of Fargo. I also don't like how the movie is sort of being marketed as a holiday movie... yes, it takes place on Christmas eve, but it's about murder, strip joints, mobsters, and dysfunctional families... not exactly a "holiday movie".

Just thought I needed to mention this for some reason... The passing of Pat Morita (Nov 25) or as most people know him "Mr. Miyagi". I always did like his character, and some of his lines will live on as classics in movie trivia. He seemed to be the kind of actor that if you met him in real life I would imagine him to be a nice person.

Looking forward to:
Harry Potter
Syriana
Narnia (maybe - I'll wait for some reviews first)

Cyen

Thanksgiving a success

Well, Thanksgiving is just about over now as I head to bed. It was a good one... I cooked a 7lb Turkey Breast (way too much for just me! Tons of leftovers), Mashed Potatoes, Corn (Shupeg whatever that means - and yes I spelled it wrong probably), Gravy (powderd mix), Stove Top Stuffing, and I even made my own cranberry sauce with a few modifications (I cut back on some of the sugar, and added a little apple cider, and a very small amount of fresh ginger (didn't taste it really). I had one small injury trying to open a spice container, bent my thumbnail back trying to pry the lid off, it somehow drew blood!? Which now it hurts like a paper cut - I'll live. Turkey cooked up well, but I was still concerned with undercooking it... I used a thermometer, looked up the temperature on the internet and found a range of 161-180, and the thermometer said 190 for poultry. I took an average and went to 175. But... When I cut into it, there was a pinkness around the outside of the turkey of all places. Just under the skin really. I ate it anyway, as I cooked it for almost 2.5 hours! for only a 7lb breast - it had to be cooked. I think next year, I'm going to try something different and either slice it off the bones and stir-fry it, or maybe cut it into pieces and cook it in a baking dish (I did that one year and cooked it on top of my own homemade stuffing, and that really turned out good!
I watched a lot of TV today too... a lot of flipping of channels, but I watched mostly Nickelodeon's "Avatar - the last airbender". I really like the animation/art for this cartoon. Today's marathon also brought me up to speed on the story, as I never really watched a full episode. But it is a good show. I'm going to have to watch this more often.
I've started to get back into drawing a little, and plan on starting my own "parts factory" I started by drawing eyes today (in the computer - adobe illustrator). I plan on drawing my own pieces so that I can create some characters that use similar parts (eyes, noses, mouth, etc...) I've decided I need to persue a creative outlet with my art/doodles more.
And finally, ended up playing a new videogame - Starwars Battlefront 2 for the PS2. So far it's a pretty good game.
Well, heading to bed now with a full belly, and thankful for all that I have in my life... Family, friends, work, and all the opportunities I've had to make this a thankful day. AND I took tomorrow off too, so it's going to be a nice long weekend.

Cyen

PS> On an unrelated note... I'm reading buzz on the internet how the brand new xbox 360 is having overheating issues. Only 2 days after the big release and the trouble is brewing already for Micro$oft. I had a very small urge to get an xbox, not now, I'll probably just wait until the new PS3 comes out.

video link test

I found this blog today: http://gvod.blogspot.com/
It's a blog where Michael sorts through the various google videos and picks one of the best ones to post. I enjoyed several of his picks today, especially this one called "redneck rollercoaster" - which just the name itself cracks me up. He was also kind enough to post how he links to the videos directly, so I'm giving it a try on my blog here. If you click the picture, it should open a link for the google video page. (unless i did something wrong).
Enjoy and thanks to Michael Martine.

Cyen

image testing

this is a test,,, did you study?

Doc

Well, as much as i dislike going to the doctors, I finally went today because of a cough I just can't seem to get rid of. From my previous post where I mentioned I was sick about 4 weeks ago, this cough has hung on. So, off to the doctors today. It was the first time I used my Health Insurance program - as a friend reminded me... you're paying for it, you might as well use it! It was a smooth visit, except for one thing... They trashed - er um, I mean they put my previous records in "storage" since I had not been there in about 2 years. I've been going to this doctor for about 20 years, and he walked in and asked "is this the first time here?" I guess since I didn't have a chart. I explained the chart, and he just said "oh". I had thought there may have been some recognition since he treated me for so many years, and each of our families sort of knows one another. Oh well, I didn't go into it all. I just wanted the prescription for the antibiotics and then I was outta there. I always fear I'm going to pick up even worse germs than what I have when I go to the docs (which knock on wood is RARE).
All of this longwinded post just to say that I used my health insruance for the first time... and it felt kinda good.
Now... I just need to get rid of this cough and then everything will be well again!

Cyen

43 Things...

I found a neat website the other day. 43 things. (actually, I had bookmarked it some time ago as something to check out, but it quickly got lost in the shuffle... I have a lot of links like this). I'm not a big "list" person (a phobia I developed thanks to my mother writing a chore list for me when I was a kid). But I like this idea of keeping a big, broad "someday" list of things I'd like to accomplish. As one example... to build my own log cabin in the woods... Something I'll probably NEVER do, but who knows, maybe someday. And, it's kinda neat to see what other people are aspiring to do.
http://www.43things.com/

Items on my mind lately...
I would like to pay off my vehicle loan early (a few months).
I would like to buy a new TV.
I would like to buy a new mattress and pillow.
I would like to buy a new video game (starwars battelfront 2)
I would like to STOP thinking about buying things!
I would like to make something small with my hands.

Enjoy your day
Cyen

Sickly

Sorry no updates lately, been trying to fight off a cold that just won't quit. It's been 10 days today since I first started feeling ill. It started with a sore throat, then moved to a cough that just wouldn't leave me alone, and then turned into a plain old head and chest cold. I'm still not better, but today is the first day I am feeling energized. (maybe it was the caffiene in the tea I had this mornings?) On one of the worst nights of my coughing, I did not have any cough medicine in, I thought I had a mall botttle in the fridge, but when I went to look, it wasn't there... probably expired, and I threw it oout. I mixed up a home remedy of honey and lemon juice (which tastes really good, and works well!) But I wanted to keep something by my nightstand instead of having to get up every hour to go to the fridge. I ended up grabbing a bottle of maple syrup! It actually worked well, in getting the cough to subside, but it only lasted for about an hour. So it made for a long night, but I can't imagine not having it at all.
Hopefully, I'm on the mend now, and it's just a matter of time until I stop coughing. I hope I don't have to go to the doctors for a cough that won't go away.

books> I did get a lot of reading done while sick, so that was a good thing. I finished the book "The Traveller". I was really dissapointed by the ending. I liked the subject, but there was no payoff. I also finished a book called "The Codex" which I really enjoyed. It was an adventure style book, involving mayans, jungles, treasure hunting, etc... a fun read. I am not finally starting to read the latest Harry Potter book. I still have about 3-4 other books lined up after that waiting to read.

Music> Just bought the latest Depeche Mode CD. It's good, but a little too mello. There are two or three songs that I really like though, so I don't regret buying the whole album.

Science> Maybe not exactly science, and more in the fun catagory, but I found a really cool website called... http://www.sodaplay.com . basically you can build a two dimensional object using springs and muscles, to create a shape that will move. There is some really neat physics behind a small java script application, and I have lost several hours trying to build a new object. I wish I had something like this when I was a kid! The program is simple (after learning how to work it which took some time), but now I wish it could do more. I would pay for a more advanced application like this.

ok, better run
Cyen