These last weeks have been amazing to the max!! xD
This weekend we went to Rapid City, SD for The Hills Alive concert!!! It was probably the hottest weekend that i've had so far this summer, and not to mention their were 40,000 people there!! [: Over the course of the weekend 20 bands played. Of which i know all of them. I got 5 bands signatures, two shirts. And Most of all managed to survive in weather which was around 110 degrees.
Which concludes this weekend.
But wait, these were the bands that i saw
Sheltered Reality
NEEDTOBREATHE++
Sarah Kelly
Hawk Nelson++
Bebo Norman
Jeremy Camp++
Caleb Miller
The Send
Rex Lex
Lightswitch
Beautiful Ablaze++
Aaron Shust
Salvador
Rebecca St. James++
Mercy Me
Eleventyseven
Nevertheless
Falling Up
Disciple
It was definatly A tie between Jeremy Camp and Mercy Me. Rebecca St. James had a beautiful voice, and Hawk Nelson was amazing =]
On a lighter subject, i'm reading this flipping scary book. [not scary like horror, but stats horror]
From Reading this book... this is what i've found out--
Television today--MTV makes $6.84 billion off my friends and I in one year alone.
Nearly 61% of all television programming contains some sort of violence, with children's programming being the most brutal.
Between Movies and Televions you will view an estimated 10,000 acts of violence each year.
Children and Teens will also absorb over 15,000 sexual references this year.
If that isn't bad enough, 70% of all prime time programing depicted alchohol, tobacco, or illict drug use.
But it doesn't just stop there...
In addition to regular TV programming you are also subject to around 20,000 commercials each year, 2,000 of which will be push beer or wine.
Alchohol manufactures spend $2 billion each year just to get you to drink or see commercials.
Other--
93% seldom or never go to church.
97% believe in a womens right to abort;
16% agree that adultery is wrong;
99% believe that television should be "more critical" of Judeo- Christian values.
PROVEN FACT-- what we do in the next 5 years will determine the next 50-100 years of American History.
Music--
There has been a fair amount of disscussion over the last 50 years of what are called "subliminal messages" and their effect on our behaviors. One form of Subliminal messages are little flashes of information that happen to quickly for our conscious mind to register. But they get buried deep in our subconscious minds.
Example: one study showed that flashing a message such as "eat popcorn" as movie viewers awaited the start of the film increased popcorn sales by 58%.
If this is true, than how long do you think you can continue to keep putting music describing immoral sex and violence in your mind without it afffecting your attitudes and Behavior?
NOT LONG...
Video Games--
Video games are a $7 billion industry.
These 3-D animated extravaganzas have become a surreal world of raunch and gore that's intended to gut your imagination. In most cases, players are rewarded foracting our robberies, killings, and effective ways to solicit prostitutes. In "sims 2" you even get to play God. By playing God you get to control the life styles, movements, events from people's births till their deaths.
Most Games are rated M [for mature though children play them]
Examples: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, where people get to steal cars, kill people, and pick up prostitues- then go eat dinner.
The Internet--
Though the interned has some great benefits to us, there are also huge flaws as well.
Currently there are over 300,000 pornographic web sites for teens to explore on the net. You may think that you can just avoid these sites? Unfortunately, it's not that easy. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children found that 1 in 5 children ages 10-17, who regularly use the Internet, have reveived some sort of sexual solicitation online. 1 in 4 was inwillingly exposed to images of people in sexual situations.
Your probably thinking [taken from text in book]--
You may be thinking, "come on Ron, you are overracting, does it really have that much effect on us?" Often what we do is isolate one individual program, or video game , and dismiss its effects. But what we fail to understand is the cumulative effect of an invasive enviorment, an atmostphere that now overflows with sex and gore. Comsider the power or this unending stream of perversity: it gazes, hazes, and raises you.
It gazes you: Have you ever been so fized on the TV screen that you were rude to a loved one who dared interrupt? You just didn't want to miss a single word! Thats what they call an "alpha state" Many teens, maybe even you, live in this type of mediainduced trance day in and day out, Whether the source is movies, music, or the Internet, the addivtive nature of the media can make our "real" lives and relationships fade into the background.
Thre trap is that for many it seems so much easier to remain frozen in an escapist glaze that to face real problems, real people, or real boredom. There are many in this generation that have had hard circumstances and tough situations in their lives that just will not go away. These Challenges usually get worse when they are ignored. But the temptation from facing some of the difficulties of life sometimes seems too great. As a result of not fafving realy life, we continue to deteriorate. We become like ostriches, who, when they see danger comin, sticke their heads in the sand. The figure if they can't see it, it must have gone away!
Perhaps that's why more families own a television set than a telephone. THE AVERAGE TEENAGER TAKES IN OVER 18,000 HOURS OF TELEVISION BY THE TIME HE OR SHE GRADUATES FROM HIGH SCHOOL- THATS OVER 5,000 MORE HOURS THAN YOU WILL SPEND IN YOUR 12 YEATS OF CLASSES! In fact, American children spend more time watching television than they spend on any other activity except sleeping. Your generation averages 16-to-17 hours per week watching television. If you add video games and movies, the average teenage image- consumer spends as many as 35-55 hors per week in front of a screen. With this level of consumption, is it possible to think that you will be unaffected? In relity it is foolish to think that you can do anything for 35+ hours each week without it dramatically impacting your life.
It Hazes you:
After seeing and listening to so much bad stuff, here's what happens: what's right and what's wrong start to become a little more hazy. In fact research says that 83% of our generation believes that truth is relative to the situation! According to this way of thinking something can be true in one context, but not in another. Our generation's idea of what is true and important has been shaped primarily by those who believe that there are no absolutes.
Think about why so many in our generation wear tight, skimpy clothes that show way too much skin, or why profanity seems to be party of the normal vocabulary, or why so many argue that homosexuality really isn't wrong. You need to open your eyes. Do you think your friends at school all came to this conclusion on their own? Is it from their parents or the Bible? Or is it constant and consistent influence of those who continue to convince you about what's cooll and what to believe? Almost like a herd of cattle, so many just fall in line and allow themselves to be led into the fuzzy world or moral relativism.
It Raises you:
Research shows us we now have a generation that seems to reflect the values of the media more than it reflects the values of its parents. That is why research firms like Barna and Gallip find that it is hard to see difference between the lifestyles of other people and their religions as teens.
While this may seem shocking to you, [like it was to me] it shouldn't be. You have been trained to admire the same people that your friends around you look up to. You and friends other teens cheer for the same pop musicians and movie stars- no matter what those stars say or do. As long as these celebrities remain famous, we are told that tehy are deemed worthy of honor. Not because of who they are, but simply because of they are known by millions. This becomes a serious problem when we are asked to honor those who are underserving just because they are celebrities. You see, when we exalt someone we allow them to influence and give them authority in our lives. People whom we truly admire..
... we listen to, not wanting to miss a single word;
... we go out of our way to support and serve;
... we emulate, because we want to be just like them.
Think about it, when you find music you really like, don't you memorize the lyrics and read the musician's interviews? how many times have you or your friends gone out of the way to buy a concert ticket, even if it meant eaiting up all night or even camping out? Or how many at your scool do you see whose dress, and even mannerisms, are influenced by their faorite artists?
Ask yourself if a person is involved in illegal drug use, criminal activity or even rape or adultery- but they happen to be famous- should we honor them? Absolutely NOT! But this is not what the m edia tells us. You could probably name 3 or 4 famous people that do each of the things I mentioned above, and yet we are still told to hold them in high steem by the media. Think about what this does to you over time. It consisteently reinforces that character issues such as honor integrity, and purity are irrelivent. All that matters is social standing, popularity, and money.
What's even worse is that there are folks in churchs who are giving honor to theres immporal creeps. As a reult, both Christians and non- Christians are allowing hte same people to influence and shape them. No wonder so many Christian teens today look no different that those who do not profess to know Christ.
Enough of that. If your interested in more of this stats stuff. I really suggest you read this book.
Battle Cry For My Generation-- The fight to save our freinds.
By: Ron Luce with Mike Guzzardo.
If you have any comments that are bad and want to post them feel free, because I believe that most of this stuff is wrong. And its going to be our generation to make our country fall, and that makes me sicck.
Sue me. Hahaha. Like ya can.
I'm not racist, i'm not offending anyone, i'm just simply announcing what i believe, and the stats about what is happening today.
On a super lighter subject i'm heading to a family reunion this weekend.
I got my new desk and bookcase for my room and i'm so excited to put my desk together.
I saw Harry Potter the 5th last week and it was awesome!!! [ Yes I am Christian, but i do like Harry Potter]
Can't wait till the last book comes out, I wish that JK Rowling would tell us a little more about the book, other than the simple facts of saying how many people die.. and what type of character. Mostly i'm just concerned about what the back of hte book says.
Long long long rant enough!
Zero Lyrics--
Hawk Nelson..
Your life dreams are shattered, now you're gone away
We've cried here for hours, and the hours turn to days
We know you regret this, leaving us here
With portraits and memories that we've held so dear.
When I hear your name, It's not the same
No matter what they say
I'm not okay.
Chorus:
And we started at zero, and went different ways.
Now we're all out here wasting away
And if we started at zero, then how did things change?
It seems like just yesterday we were the same.
It's been 3 months since he left us.
So far nothings been the same
And my question without answer is
Am I the one to blame?
He was such a good description of a favored future man
He spoke well of other people
And they said the same for him
When I hear your name, It's not the same
No matter what they say
I'm not okay.
Chorus:
And we started at zero, and went different ways.
Now we're all out here wasting away
And if we started at zero, then how did things change?
It seems like just yesterday we were the same ,we were the same.
They say they're sorry
Well what are they sorry for?
How can they possibly know what I'm going through?
I feel like no one's ever had to deal with the pain that im dealing with right now
Just 6 months ago, everything was fine, or so it seemed
What turn of events caused him to do downhill?
his parents are devastated, his girlfriend's depressed, what was he thinking?!?!
And we started at zero, and went different ways.
Now we're all out here wasting away, wasting away, wasting away, wasting away.
Chorus:
And we started at zero, and went different ways.
Now we're all out here wasting away.
And if we started at zero, then how did things change?
It seems like just yesterday we were the same, we were the same, we were the same.
hola me gusta!
Tender
Delighted
Happy
Excited
