12.30.2004

Relief Fund Donation Request

I have just talked to someone in Seattle about the affects of the Tsunami on Kerala. According to sources they have in the area, around 50 families lost their homes when the waters came in and swept them away. All the information that I have right now is that this happened near AAYIRUM THENGU, KOLLAM, KERALA. I will have more pictures and such available when I get them. For now here is the information directly copied and pasted from their site. IPA Seattle has decided to personalize the relief effort. Now they desperately need your help. Any sort of donations will help and they will provide you with a receipt for your trouble.

Here is the address information:

Please donate to

IPA SEATTLE

P. O BOX 23361, FEDERAL WAY,

WA 98093, U.S.A

PHONE (206) 242-6565

prayfor@ipaseattle.org

PLEASE MENTION THE GIFT AMOUNT DESIGNATION: KERALA EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND

ALL DONATIONS MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR US FEDERAL TAX EXEMPTION AND RECEIPTS WILL BE MAILED TO THE DONOR IMMEDIATELY.

If you need any more information- email me at decruzp@gmail.com or refer to the email given above.

IPA Seattle's post on this situation is right here.

I will have more updates as they are given. Thank you in advance for your efforts.

12.28.2004

Sober

I was planning on posting pictures from my past two days. But I just saw something very crazy. For those of you reading from Southeast Asia, I have to say that I feel your pain. And we mourn with you. The reason I am posting is that I am asking for a rise to action among the people who check my blogs regularly. We need to donate to the cause. The death toll after the earthquake two days ago is at around 50,000, and most people say it will hit 100,000. Those of us here in the West have to do all that we can. We need to dig into our pockets. Whatever money you can donate- I plead with you to donate it to the relief fund at Amazon.com.

I clicked on the donation link and then scrolled to the bottom to see the amount of donations. It is rising every second. I just saw the amount of money go from 120,000 to 426,000 dollars donated. If you are reading this right now. Go to amazon.com and donate. Lives and livliehoods may depend on it.

Peace.

12.22.2004

New Round of Pictures

Ok, went and hung out with the Indian crew tonight.. Or last night.. Took quite a few pictures, didnt come out very well. Still trying to learn about the digital camera and how to take better pictures. The best thing to do to view is to scroll down for a bit.. and then start with the picture that says.. Game night. Scroll up from there.

12.21.2004


After another win, Jerry gets congrats from the entire crew. The entire subcontinet was on your shoulders Jerry, and you pulled through. Good work! Posted by Hello


Here he is... showboating to the crowd! Posted by Hello


Game went back and forth until the Indian Sensation took over.. Posted by Hello


Jerry's beautiful fans, right before the game- posing for a picture... Posted by Hello


On hand to watch the event, every single Indian in Portland.. Posted by Hello


The night of the big game, Old Fogies vs the Whites. Star Player... Jerry from the Essence Posted by Hello

Yea, It's Fake but still...

Ok... so it's a fake, but still... wouldn't this be friggin hilarious?

So it's official.. hmm?

You are 7% geek
OK, so maybe you ain't a geek. You do, at least, show a bit of interest in the world around you. Either that, or you have enough of a sense of humor to pick some of the sillier answers on the test. Regardless, you're probably a pretty nifty, well-rounded person who gets along fine with people and can chat with just about anyone without fear of looking stupid or foolish or overly concerned with minutiae. God, I hate you.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com


I love this guy Posted by Hello

12.19.2004

Hmm.. Some people really need to read before they comment

What is up with people not reading through the entire post?

Some people just act dumb sometimes...

"At 8:18 AM, Anonymous said...
It may have been given only partial news coverage because this "recent" broadcast from Gordon Sinclair was actually broadcast in 1973:http://www.snopes.com/rumors/shame.htm"As to why the "Shame" article has been as widely circulated in e-mail as it has been, Americans are delighted by pats on the back issued by non-Americans, especially in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. In the fall of 2001, the 1973 Gordon Sinclair essay, "The Americans" found its way into the online world where many took it for a recent reaction by a Canadian journalist to the horror that had just taken place....America is all too aware it is hated abroad, thus international reactions whose gist is "No, we don't hate you -- you're actually wonderful, and we recognize your goodness and thank you for it" are going to be quickly seized upon and held up for others to see. ""


Well duh... Look at my post.. I posted the freaking link to the guy's website.. You people are beyond help..

12.18.2004

Words from a Canadian about America

Found this online, thought Ashish, Bobby, and Princy might like to read it. If you wanna hear the audio version, go to this website: http://www.canadianaconnection.com/cca/gordonsinclair.htm

Widespread, but only partial news coverage was given recently to a remarkable editorial broadcast from Toronto by Gordon Sinclair, a Canadian television commentator. What follows is the full text of his trenchant remarks as printed in the Congressional Record:

This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as most generous and possibly the least appreciated people on all the earth.

Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of these countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States.

When the franc was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the Americans who propped it up, and their reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. I was there. I saw it. When distant cities are hit by earthquakes, it is the United States that hurries in to help. This spring, 59 American communities were flattened by tornadoes. Nobody helped.

The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped billions of dollars into discouraged countries. Now newspapers in those countries are writing about the decadent, warmongering Americans. I'd like to see just one of those countries that is gloating over the erosion of the United States Dollar build its own airplane. Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tristar, or the Douglas 10? If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all the International lines except Russia fly American planes?

Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a man or woman on the moon? You talk about Japanese technocracy, and you get radios. You talk about German technocracy, and you get automobiles. You talk about American technocracy, and you find men on the moon — not once, but several times - and safely home again.

You talk about scandals, and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everybody to look at. Even their draft-dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They are here on our streets, and most of them, unless they are breaking Canadian laws, are getting American dollars from ma and pa at home to spend here.

When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down through age, it was the American who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both are still broke.

I can name you 5,000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble. Can you name me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake.

Our neighbors have faced it alone, and I'm one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them get kicked around. They will come out of this thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles. I hope Canada is not one of those.

Gordon Sinclair

How about them apples?

12.17.2004

Seem Familiar?

Just saw this at Transterrestrial.com- I wonder if Ashish can look at this and make a few connections... Read the excerpt and then go read the whole thing.

PARIS (Routers) Long-time critics of the Roosevelt administration declared themselves vindicated today, as the Germans began a renewed offensive yesterday in the Ardennes Forest, opening a huge hole in the "Allied" lines and throwing back troops for miles, with previously unimaginable US casualties

(Via Instapundit)

I'll have the second part up some time today.

12.16.2004

Why America is America

This is the first of a multi-part series I'm writing on America and why I love it so much. Leave comments if you'd like. Please keep it clean though. Thanks. Enjoy!

It's hard to explain why my family left everything and came to the United States. It's very easy to use the old cliche: "The American Dream" I suppose it was an dream for us, to leave what we had in India and get to a level of prosperity we thought we would recieve in America. But we never said that out loud, the fact that we were looking for prosperity or a land flowing with milk and honey. We, meaning my family, simply felt that America would be better than India. Sure, we had a pretty comfortable life and we were content with sporadic hot water in our two bedroom apartment, a trashy car, dirty transit system, a thousand cows every square mile, and and living in one of the most polluted parts of Old Delhi. The fact is, we were still better off than the majority of people there. So why leave all that behind and come to the United States?

It is a tough question and I think very hard to put into writing. But I guess it can be summed up as thus: We knew in the depths of our hearts that the United States was better. Everyone knew it. Sure, we all enjoyed bashing fat stupid Americans and rooting against Coke and Pepsi. But when it came right down to it, we drank Coke and hell, quite a few Indians could have used a lot of fat on their bodies. I remember being a child on a Delhi railway station and just seeing a skeleton on the platform. The issue was that this was not a skeleton at all, rather it was a human being, his or her skin seemingly being the only thing on the body. This poor creature's condition was just a small part of the masses of suffering flesh in the poverty stricken parts of India. I really don't remember how I felt about that sight, or what emotions were going through my head. I don't even know what the people who were with me did about that unfortunate soul's condition.

I mentioned Coke a few sentences ago. Here's the truth about Coke in India when I was growing up in Delhi:

I drank Coke maybe once a year. It was pretty dang expensive, and now, having tasted coke over here, it wasn't the greatest cola in the world. As a matter of fact, one thing I remember about the plane ride over to the U.S is the beautiful stewardesses and the wonderful Coke. I realized after about an hour of the 11 hour plane trip (11? Indians, correct me if I'm wrong) that the coke was unlimited, and it was free. About every half hour after that, during rerun episodes of the Golden Girls, I would get up and walk to the back and ask for a can of Coke. I always say that I got part of my gut because of all those calories on the plane ride. But here I was, a little kid who went along with my older friends in bashing America all the time, indulging in what I truly hated- America. Does it make sense? Sure it does, it was just plain better than anything else I had ever experienced.

I hear white Americans bashing this country all the time. I think it comes out of a sense of guilt. I think its the same sort of guilt that George Orwell talks about in "Shooting An Elephant". It should be Guilt with a capital 'G'. This is because almost all Westerners have it. "My ancestors raped your civilizations, so we'll destroy ours from the inside by eating away at it's soul." That sort of Guilt. I'm the sort of guy that lives in the present, so I don't get those types of people. Only those who have been here can really explain America, and even so we really dont get it right very often. America is a melting pot- or maybe a really diverse homemade pie. Different cultures come here and create for themselves a little corner to live in and to grow in. Take my culture for example; The Malayalees started coming here in the late fifties to sixties. Today, it is possible for a person of my native land to come to New York and live his entire life dealing with Malayalees for about 80 percent of the time.

But I digress, my real point is: Why do people come here? It's because they have taken so much crap wherever they were that they hope against hope that God above will give them solace here. America is everything that their home isnt. It's safe, the roads are actually going somewhere and there are signs on them that tell you where you are. You can go into the bathroom and turn on hot water. Or if you are really crazy, you can turn on cold water. And for those who are on the fence, both hot and cold water. You don't even have to open the door when you walk into a supermarket- they love you so much that they make sure the doors open for you. Heck, the fact that there is even a supermarket here is amazing in and of itself. You try looking for Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream in Aisle #9 at Abu Mohammed's Supermarket in downtown Oboto. Even better things about the supermarket await you; it has every imaginable thing you could want. Numerous amounts of Coke. And even various different kinds of food. You can bet money that you wont see any starving poor people here either.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I really could keep writing. But I want to give everyone a chance to read this. I'll have the second part for you tommorow. Until then, leave your comments and your own experiences.

Good day.

12.11.2004

What if this happend to you?


How important is your face to you? Ukrainian opposition candidate, Yuschencko before and after he was poisoned with Dioxin. Posted by Hello

12.10.2004


George, on a regular conversation with his mother- notice the love. Posted by Hello

Well, we all knew it was coming soon, and here it is. The first gay divorces are now happening all across Massachusetts-- they cant even keep track of it because its listed as husband and wife on the old divorce papers. Here's the CNN story- read the excerpt below- Gay people are funny.


The first gay divorce case in Suffolk County, which includes Boston, was filed Wednesday by a male couple who exchanged vows on May 22, five days after same-sex marriage was legalized.

One partner was a 33-year-old religious educator from Boston, the other a 39-year-old professor based in Washington. Since then, the couple said in their divorce filing, "our interests have grown in different directions." Each man signed a settlement attesting that the marriage had "irretrievably broken down."

The most difficult part of the settlement appeared to be custody of their three cats, who will live exclusively with the professor.

But "in recognition of the emotional hardship of such relinquishment," the settlement reads, the professor agreed to provide his ex "with periodic updates, photographs, and any health-related information pertaining" to the cats.

I refuse to speak on this matter. Leave comments....

12.07.2004

Free Ukraine

I have just put up a banner on the sidebar of my blog, you can see it on the bottom right. It's a little button in support of the Orange Revolution going on in Ukraine right now. If you would like to support it- go to Tulip Girl's cool website and find out how.

12.06.2004

Entering His Rest

If you live in Portland- listen to Dr. J. Vernon McGee on KPDQ 93.7 FM every weeknight at 10:30- It was an amazing message tonight. Here's what I took down on my notes.



He spoke from Hebrews 3:8 and on. Here's the verse-

"Today, if you will hear His
voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts
as in the rebellion,
In the day of trial in the
wilderness, "

Dr. McGee said that one of the biggest sins was disbelief in God. The Israelites spoken about by Paul had been liberated from Egypt by God. Yet they had to wander in the wilderness for decades before they could even enter Canaan. Out of everyone that came out of Egypt, two people made it into Canaan- Joshua and Caleb.

It's difficult to picture that. I guess the best way to explain it would be if you went to college for four years- there were 10,000 students in your college- and out of those students, only your friend and yourself graduated from college.

Imagine that staggering number.

2 people.

Why? Because Joshua and Caleb were the only ones who stood against the rebellion and believed in God to take them into the rest of Canaan.

Belief in God is important when we look forward to the rest that awaits us.

When you have unbelief, it leads to another sin-
Turning your back on God.

The Israelites were so deep in unbelief that they actually longed for slavery with the Egyptians rather than rest in Canaan under God.

Some Christians today still walk after the world- we have been freed from the bondage of sin- yet we long for the slavery of the world. We fail to see the rest that awaits us.

I've mentioned that twice now "the rest that awaits us."

Are you aware of the rest that awaits you?



Coming up soon, Dr. McGee talks about how Christ is superior to Moses and Joshua when he goes into Chapter 4 of Hebrews.

Leave your comments please.


12.05.2004

Yay for digital cameras!

Took a LOT of pictures again with my Olympus digital camera. Scroll down to see more of them. I apologize in advance, because I am having so much fun with my Camera, you're gonna be forced to see all my pictures! YAY!


My favorite Indian girl in the entire world, Jenny. Posted by Hello


Little John and myself- looking clean on Sunday afternoon after Church. Don't you just love that clean shaven face? Mine, of course. Posted by Hello

12.04.2004


Jerry holding on to me for a little too long. At the youth meeting Saturday night. Posted by Hello

12.03.2004

Funny Stuff Is Coming Slow

This is why I am so against having liberals secede from the Union and joining Canada. How then could we find entertainment? They are doing group therapy in Palm Beach County, Florida for Post Election Stress. Here is an excerpt:

The first of several free noontime therapy sessions at the American Health Association in Boca Raton was designed to treat what mental health counselors have dubbed Post Election Selection Trauma (PEST). “If I had a cardboard cutout of President Bush, and these people wanted to throw darts at it, I would let them do it,” Robert J. Gordon, AHA executive director, told the Boca News after the session. “It’s no joke. People with PEST were traumatized by the election. If you even mention religion, their faces turn blister-red as they shout at Bush.” Although the meeting was closed to the press, AHA therapists obtained permission from participants to provide an anonymous transcript to the Boca Raton News. “I’m scared,” said one man. “Democracy is at stake and nobody is rising to protest this president.” “I want to be a patriot, but it’s impossible to be a patriot in an immoral war,” said another participant, a woman. “Bush is breaking up marriages and dividing families by keeping our troops in Iraq.”
Go read the whole thing- you don't wanna miss it.