random pictures

just for fun

Also, Happy St. Patrick's day! And here I am wearing black and blue with a tinge of orange...such a horrible example am I. [edit]never mind! orange is in compliance with today's day. everything is remedied! so much for disproving the whole sheltered homeschooler image[/edit]


the taylor


our fan [cries of "ohh" and "ahh" sound forth]


thanksgiving time


twenty-five years and counting


certification


the controversial unnamed cat...i refuse to call him oreo...the terminator fits better


graduation pictures


awww...


another awww...


spring time! ...of last year


"what do you think you're doing with that camera?!? PUT IT AWAY!!"


target shooting


me dear mother reading


playing

theology ii...

...and what we learn in that class...

The demented opinions from the man known as Jean-Jacques Rousseau...

[background: "The General Will is the analogue of the human mind, and as such must remain as unified and undiversified as the mind itself. . . . [t]he General Will is indivisible, inalienable, and illimitable. It demands the unqualified obedience of every individual in the community and implies the obligation of each citizen to render to the State all that the State sees fit to demand."]

"A socially independent Church, like any form of non-political loyalty, would constitute an interference with the functioning of the General Will. It would represent a flaw in the spiritual unity Rousseau prized so highly in his political order. Yet it would not do to repress the religious propensities of man, for 'as soon as men come to live in civil society they must have a religion to keep them there. No nation has ever endured or ever will endure without religion.' But, argues Rousseau, it is not enough that a nation should have a religion. The religion must be identified, in the minds of the people, with the values of national life, else it will create disunity and violate the General Will. It is not enough that a religion should make good men; it must make good citizens. Religion has a responsibility toward civic or political ends before any others. It must reflect, above all, the essential unity of the State and find its justification in the measures it takes to promote that unity."

Gotta love those last two sentences.

Then this wacky piece of art:

"The family should not be granted the all-important duty of education, for too great a responsibility hangs in the balance. The traditional educative function should be transferred from the family to the State, so that, as Rousseau states it, the 'prejudices' of the father may not interfere with the development of citizens. However, the disintegration of this age-old basis of the family should in no wise create alarm. 'Should the public authority, in assuming the place of father and charging itself with this important function, acquire his rights in the discharge of his duties, he should have little cause to protest; for he would only be altering his title, and would have in common, under the name citizen, the same authority over his children, that he was exercising separately under the name of father, and would be no less obeyed when speaking in the name of the law than when he spoke in that nature.' In this almost incredible statement is to be observed what is surely the ultimate in the totalitarian absorption of society. Family relationship is transmuted subtly into political relationship; the molecule of the family is broken into the atoms of its individuals, who are coalesced afresh into the single unity of the state."

Followed by his reasoning behind this opinion...simply priceless...

"'If the children are reared in common in the bosom of equality, if they are imbued with the laws of the state and the precepts of the General Will, if they are taught to respect these above all other things, if they are surrounded by examples and objects which perpetually remind them of the tender mother [the State] who nourishes them, of the love she bears them, of the inestimable benefits they receive from her, and of the return they owe her, we cannot doubt that they will learn to cherish one another mutually as brothers ...'"

And the horrifying part about it? People actually believe in it and attempt to implement those principles into society.

California Case Involving Homeschooling

It's time to take some action.

Within recent weeks, something has been brewing over in California, something that could affect homeschoolers across that state and beyond if nothing is done to stop it. The negative impact involving families goes beyond the scope of understanding considering what type of power those elected could execute.

http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/ca/200803030.asp

Here's the gist:

"On February 28, 2008, the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District in Los Angeles handed down a very bad decision regarding a case involving a homeschool family. HSLDA was not involved with this case, and the family are not members. The opinion holds that homeschooling is not a legal option in California. HSLDA strongly disputes this interpretation of California law. We believe that the court made a mistake when it relied on a decision from 1953 in order to show that homeschooling is not a legal option.

If the opinion is followed then California will have the most regressive law in the nation and homeschooling will be effectively banned because the only legal way to homeschool will be for the parent to hold a teaching certificate." [emphasis mine]

Please sign the petition linked on the side of the page, because, like alluded to, this situation could get out of hand rather easily. But we have this one reminder: God is in control of it all. All are encouraged to sign, not only those associated with homeschooling; this could just be a stepping stone to include other areas such as public and private schools in imposing more restrictions.

And be in prayer for all those involved, that the Lord of all things may be glorified.

We've been through these types of things before, and we can pull through again unscathed with the Lord's help.

More information:

http://hslda.org

http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/ca/200803060.asp

a birthday party

Last night the Bandy family descended upon our favorite chinese restaurant located down south somewhere in particular to celebrate an uncle's birthday. Talk about a evening filled with cholesterol: the food is GREAT and results with enough heart burn to justify a bottle of Tums. Just look at this platter full of chinese goodness...




So yes, I like chinese food...it must be hereditary.

T'was a wonderful evening...






now you see them...



now you don't...kinda





worry spreads across Emil's face as he considers the possibility of me taking his crab rangoon











the birthday person himself



i always knew good things were in store for my future ;)



a priceless look from Emil

distance learning

What do we accomplish in our spare time?

Well now, I'm glad you asked...let me provide an answer.

lunar eclipse

The heavens declare the glory of the Lord...

Yesterday, those located in the western hemisphere were treated to a special sight: a lunar eclipse. It began around 7:45ish, continuing into the evening with the finale at 11:00 o'clock or so...don't quote me on that, I'm probably wrong. But! Despite the plague still hanging on, I braved the sub-freezing temps with a camera strapped around my neck. Initially I just stood near our dog cage/house/thing, sock-less with sandals as my standard footwear, taking a few pictures here and there. Of course, my toes and fingers began to feel the cold and I returned to the house after a little while. Seeing as it was so dark outside with the moon's light naturally waning, the pictures were a tad bit blurry (shutter speed at 1/2, for the camera-inclined). So I went back outside, took a few shots, then returned to the house. This process was done a few times, then the realization hit me. I was standing. By the dog cage/house/thing. And usually there's a stray metal pole waiting to be used as a camera stabilizer. So the next time I returned outside I employed the use of that facility with much better results for the pictures. Yet studying for a US history exam called my name around 9:00, so unfortunately I had to quit my short photoshoot, much to my personal consternation...

but to the joy of my numb toes.



ha! my camera can make another moon













In other news, today my brother and I were fitted each for a tux. Apparently the engagement bug caught my cousin and the responsibility has fallen unto the both of us to act as ushers at the wedding. The funny part is...I haven't worn a tux in 10-11 years. Yes, your math is correct. The last time I wore a tux was at the impressionable age of 8-9 years of age. Though I don't think that's when I had blonde hair...no, that was around 4-5 years old...yeah.

of speeches

So last night, with much silent fanfare and applause from my audience, I gave a speech unto the following...things.

1. That Moses doll from the Prince of Egypt movie
2. Some multi-colored turtle Beanie Baby thingy
3. A glass snowman that no longer lights up
4. And a video camera

They participated quite well during my ordeal, with little noise or interruption. Although the depressing part is that no one laughed at my ribbing towards Microsoft...ah well, such is life in the life of a Mac fan: sometimes jokes just go over the heads of those PC people and they just stare at you, wondering what the point was. *avoids the thrown tomatoes*

The basic outline of this assignment for rhetoric was to give us students a chance at revising/revisiting/correcting a speech. Being down with what we affectionately refer to as the plague, the whole thing became...hmmm... Let's just say I sounded like a cross between a sick whale and a hoarse politician at times. (don't worry, you can laugh ;) Or at least that's what I thought....you can decide for yourself.

(this wasn't the final version, btw)

Amazing Grace

...on guitar/harmonics.

here.

thoughts

In the past, I've always been a fan of the wintertime. Whether it be for the fact of being born in January, or just enjoying the temperatures without the need of sweat pouring forth, I don't really know. Yet as of late, it seems that spring time has become the favorable time of year for me. With everything seemingly dead, distraught, or plain ol' despondent during the winter, it becomes depressing viewing the lack of vibrant life outside. Given, there are natural blessings from the wintertime weather, such as the beauty of frigid icicles slowly forming along the edge of a rooftop, or snow-capped mountaintops, but those just aren't living and active. During the spring, new life is seen coming into the world...




...just as the transition of winter to spring, so our lives transform from without Christ to with Him...

the pace at which we run

From my gtalk status:

"it's good to hear Mom play piano again..."

After having such a busy year, for which 2007 probably tops the charts, it's good to start off at a relatively steady pace. With Mom being in the kitchen most of the day cooking for a million people plus one, it's such a blessing to see her just sit down at the piano playing upon the ivories like she's done in days past...

In other news, we received around 11 inches of snow the other day ago! Or at least the Springfield area did, I don't know the specifics for our place...the whole situation surrounding the weather change only could have been attested to Providence. During a time period of about nine hours on Tuesday, the weather dropped literally 52 degrees from 64*F to 12*F. Rain turned to snow, the snow drifted, drifts posed numerous problems to people, and people enjoyed playing in the snow (or at least we did ;). Today, however, the weather turned equally bizarre when sleet/snow/rain poured down with lightning strikes here, there, and everywhere. Dad already has a layer of ice on his car: around 1/3" from just sitting in the driveway. This is what we would call abnormal weather for the beginning of February.

The last time we remember weather happening like what was just mentioned?

19 years ago, the night before I was born. :P

Semestering

Last Wednesday signaled the start of another semester for PHC'ers and to continue what began fall of '07, here's the stack of textbooks for this spring:



(warning: technicalities follow concerning the courses ;)

On the list of classes for this semester, we've theo II, ush II, westlit II, and rhetoric. The middle two look to be largely the same as last semester with minimal changes in the schedule, while theo is vastly different. Not only are the quizzes solely based on supplementary readings (compared to the Grudem text only during theo I) and for the final, two essays are required from some unknown chapters within Grudem. I guess then the only reason for using Grudem is to discuss the chapters within the discussion forums (DF's) and apply stuff to the final. We'll see what happens. Rhetoric looks enjoyable and...interesting. There's no textbook for the course, with the main reading all on PHC's site. Also during the course, a couple of speeches are required, so watch out Providence church, you may become the audience at some point. ;)

Other than that, not much is happening besides replacing a broken latch on my Mac. And hunting last weekend...Emil says he's going to post on that...we'll see if he actually does. ;)

Words of wisdom: never ever ever break the latch on a PowerBook...the WHOLE bottom encasing needs replaced with a price tag of almost $300.

Also, iced white chocolate mocha's from Starbucks taste really good...buy one sometime. :D

Of being a temporary Candler...

As indicated by my last post, I stayed with the Candler family while working at SMI...

On Sunday, the 6th, I headed over there with a few of the Candlers (I believe Sierra told me she wished to see the rest of her family by the end of the day ;) and once we arrived, we hung out for awhile since the remaining family hadn't arrived as of yet. The evening was spent playing games (Scotland Yard, Dutch Blitz, anyone?), listening to Pastor Joe Morecraft, taking pictures, enjoying fellowship...oh yes, and eating dinner!


during a thorough examination of Emil's blog


behold...her Lady-ship


so this is what i look like in glasses... *shudders* but not to worry...i will survive!

While my days working remained largely the same with packing packets and folding envelops, the evenings were quite the contrast compared to during the day. On Monday, Anne King came over to spend the evening with us and later on that night we watched Lemony Snicket's A Serious of Unfortunate Events. I've probably never seen a movie quite like that before but Jim Carrey's (Count Olaf from the movie) impression of a velociraptor is downright hilarious. These two posts contain some of the information from the transpired events of Tuesday evening.

Wednesday, after dinner and cleaning up, a few of us headed over to Morton for a walk that turned out more to be like a race. ;) Nearing the end once the van came into sight, I just kept telling myself, "only a hundred yards left, Ashton...only a hundred yards left *pant pant*," after which my legs felt like rubber. Needless to say, it proved my lack of exercise in the area of jogging/walking/running. Overall, though, we had a great time together discussing things such as Mr. Candler's history in the Coast Guard, whether Underdog would be a good movie to watch, and my personal aims in the political arena.



Then...let's see...Thursday we loaned out Bourne Identity from the library to watch at the King's house. We all loaded up into the Candler's Excursion to head over there, and after spilling popcorn everywhere, everyone settled down for an evening of Bourne. Though it didn't end there. Once the movie finished and we traveled back to the house, some of us decided to stay up later with even more talking about some rather interesting subjects (example: "what'd you say about a mortgage?" and everyone bursts out laughing...inside joke about selective hearing *grin*). Sadly, Friday came and I headed back home after work. Not to say that I dislike home, mind you. :P

Yet, as Sunday approached, the time came again to become a Candler, yet with an addition: Grace came with us. Yes, two of the Bandy's stayed at the Candler home with no permanent damage done to their family as far as I can tell. ;) Over the weekend, apparently they also watched Bourne Supremacy, so Josiah called on Saturday to see if I could bring over the third one: The Bourne Ultimatum. Of course, I obliged. ;) So we watched it Sunday evening, marking their completion of the Bourne trilogy.


looking through the Providence church folder of pictures...laughter ensued after a few moments of silence


more picture-viewing


after the movie



When I returned to SMI that Monday, I decided to leave my camera and computer at the house; here are the results...rather good pictures, too:






Once work was complete, Mr. Candler, Josiah, and I headed back to the house. Grace and I then bid all a reluctant farewell, and we turned south, headed for home...

Well, actually we went west, north, west, north, west, then south. But yeah...south is the basic concept. ;)

Intrigue

Yes, the intriguing part. But I'll provide some background to it first so the reader may have a better understanding as to this surprise birthday party y'all may have caught wind of...

A few weeks ago, Mom and Dad went on this apple cider buying craze, whereupon they bought around maybe 15-20 bottles of that sparkling special stuff one might find at the grocery store, such as Aldi's or maybe Walmart, depending upon the brand. Naturally, I wondered as to the reasoning behind the whole thing, and Dad told me that Mom enjoyed the stuff so they were buying a ton since it only comes out around the Christmas/New Year's season. (I'm still doubtful about the seasonal part of it) It started out that we bought 3-4, then it accumulated more...then some more, and more after that. Naturally, I played the gullible person, because no one can really resist that stuff. ;) But did they stop there with the household items influx? Noo...definitely not. Apparently during the same time period, some wine glasses were purchased with my full knowledge of it being done, albeit me not knowing exactly how many. Grace said they showed me one box just to confirm any suspicions I might have at the time. And, not only that, but when I went to Dad's office with him last week, he intentionally drove to Sam's with me to look at the prices of some tables and chairs. He even asked me to tell Mom the prices!! Goodness, this is almost frustrating looking back on it all...all this information going over my head without me knowing a thing.

Also, after a week or two of arranging, the plan was for me to work at Samaritan Ministries International this past week, including next Monday. We talked with the Candler family and it was decided for me to stay with them while working (that'll be next week's post ;), and since my birthday fell on Tuesday, I was to drive home that evening right after I left SMI to spend the rest of the day with my family. Being the loving son that I am, I also stopped by Starbuck's on the way home and bought Mom and myself iced java chips, me to drink on the way home so as not to fall asleep and Mom to drink when I arrived at the homestead. Oh yes, and that reminds me. Dad, in addition to all the plotting, arranged with my supervisor to basically bar the door to keep me from leaving the building until 4:30 that evening. Yeah, I believe they enjoyed thinking things through beforehand. ;)

As I was driving, I realized that the time was ticking away a little too quickly considering my stop at Starbuck's, so I even brought the speedometer up to "xx" mph!! And in a 55 mph zone later on, to boot! Dad called me a few minutes before I arrived, asking something about me dawdling at Starbuck's and taking up too much time and the food was getting cold, etc., and the entire time he called I kept asking myself why on earth he was telling me all this. But, my unsuspecting self continued in its unsuspecting way. And the phone call didn't help with my speed, either...rather it made me go faster when I was already...er, anyway. The funny part is, I had it all planned out what topics I was to bring up during dinner: the overabundance of rain we received while I was gone, how I repeatedly flashed my brights so everyone would know I was about to turn into our street, and other things I currently forget. But those thoughts slipped my mind later on...

So I turned into our driveway, stopped the car, got out, examined all the stuff I had to bring in, decided to bring all the stuff in later, and walked in with my Mom's java chip, my keys, iPhone, and a W-4 in hand. I opened the door, strolled naturally into the kitchen like always, Dad came towards me saying "hi Ashton!" with a grin on his face, when suddenly from three separate rooms, a total of 38 people overall from the Bandy, Candler, McDonald, and Sanford families jumped out and screamed, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ASHTON!!!"

So you gotta imagine the picture. Here I am, shocked beyond belief, standing there giving a dumb grin with a java chip about to fall over in one hand and a nice ol' W-4 sticking out in the other. Garrison and Tiffany become the paparazzi and snap pictures like crazy, grinning all the while. Mr. McDonald calls out "speech! speech!" and I respond, "hi...um...I'm 19...um...thank you for coming..." and everyone bursts out laughing. They all sing "Happy Birthday," Dad prays over the meal, then everyone scatters to their assigned seating throughout the house. So the evening began. We ate food, played games, and enjoyed the fellowship together. It was quite the evening. ;)

Thank you all for such a wonderful birthday! It's a blessing to know each and every one of you... :)

An intriguing week...

taken a few minutes ago with an iPhone then edited within iPhoto followed by a successful attempt at uploading within Safari, despite a few technical problems because of blogger--an epitome of Mac-ness

More tomorrow...

[i apologize for any heart failure after seeing that picture]