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iam2extreme
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Name: Zach
Country: United States
State: California
Metro: Berkeley
Gender: Male
Interests: Life, people, places.......oh yeah and other important stuff like debate, and sports (swimming, basketball), long theological conversations (on occasion) and and... well just ask me!
Expertise: I"m kind of a "jack of all trades" who trades nothing...see?
Occupation: Student
Message: message me
AIM:  z15h88
Member Since:
8/1/2005
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| TWO MORE WEEKS!
Yes, I can hardly believe it, but I'll be back home in no more than 14 days. Granted those days are going to be long and intense, filled with final exams, massive study sessions, and probably some serious snowfall. But who cares, its only two weeks!
Thanksgiving break embodied the
ideal. Great friends, amazing weather, new places, exciting traveling
experiences, and still some time to write papers, just lists a few of the
highlights, though the most important ones. Oh another one would be my
new favorite place to eat ribs - Texas Steakhouse! For all you
Californians thats a Midwestern chain restaurant that brings Texas style wherever it goes, including line
dancing – performed by the waiters and waitresses. Of course, the best part would have to be conversations with Adam (and Sarah), and enjoying Nathan's endless humor, not to mention the utterly perplexed expressions from Adam, Nathan, and Hannah when they learned the game Mao.
Well, here are some random pictures of a Trip to Lake Michigan Sarah, a couple good friends, and I took a few weeks ago. Of course the pictures complements go to Sarah - BUT actual editing (though certianly pretty insiginficant) are mine.
Syncronized handstanding...
This is the recently created sport of sand-dune-pretending-to-fly
 
Boyish activities inherently involve Constructive and Deconstructive aspects
 
The group of us, oh some good times.
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| Zach had a tolerably good weekend. Debate went well. Though I've discovered that NEDA (college league) is decidedly lopsided in terms of the quality of teams. If you hit a previous NCFCA debate time from such esteemed schools such as Patrick Henry College, or Bob Jones University, you know your in for some awesome rounds remenicent of NCFCA rounds. However, the sad part is that even in the varsity track you run against teams that just fail to understand the idea of CLASH (not in anyway a reference to the CA debate team) that is an intragal part of a successful debate.
In any case, it was awesome having a home tournament because many loyal (and mostly just interested) friends came and watched. Plus the fact that we didn't have to travel! Results: 6th place team and 4th place speaker.
Anyone else read "The Great Divorce"? I just started reading it last night. One of the few times this semester I've been able to pick up a non school related book.
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| FIRST COLLEGE DEBATE TOURNAMENT!
Yes indeed, this past weekend I was privileged to taste for the first time what college debate is like. We had a road trip to Anderson University in Indiana where we debated teams from, most notably, Patrick Henry College and Bob Jones University (among others). In any case, the National Education Debate Association (NEDA - www.neda.us) is not too much different than NCFCA, which is the homeschool league I debated in while in HS. The format is the same with the major difference that this semester its Value debate as opposed to policy, which was an interesting change to say the least.
Anyway, my partner and I took 5th place overall in the Open (i.e. Varisty) division, which was pretty exciting. Sarah and her partner also did really well in the Novice division taking 2nd place! So, I feel pretty good about the tournament, and had a wonderful time hanging out with my new debater teammates.
Below are some pictures from the tourney:
  
The whoe team Me speaking The ride back
ps. I'm really loving this new Jars of Clay CD! 
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| Just some quick thoughts…
I’m sure many of you heard the recent uproar over Pope
Benedicts’ speech outlining a bold agenda for the modern civilized world. The outcry over the Popes’ choice of an
example to illustrate one of his points is, I think, rather insignificant in
light of his message. Here is a quick
recap given in an article entitled “The Pope was Right” by George Weigel. (btw, the whole article is worth reading - http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-weigel20sep20,0,3015856.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail
“If the West's high culture keeps playing in the sandbox of
postmodern irrationalism — in which there is "your truth" and
"my truth" but nothing such as "the truth" — the West will
be unable to defend itself. Why? Because the West won't be able to give reasons
why its commitments to civility, tolerance, human rights and the rule of law
are worth defending. A Western world stripped of convictions about the truths
that make Western civilization possible cannot make a useful contribution to a
genuine dialogue of civilizations, for any such dialogue must be based on a
shared understanding that human beings can, however imperfectly, come to know
the truth of things.” I say amen to that!
But also, what are WE going to do about it? How can we alter and guide the direction that
western society has taken towards such an instable idea of “truth”? Well, I don’t know exactly – yet I think we
can diagnose. I think modern society has
for quite some time ignored the foundation it rest upon – a foundation that has
developed over centuries of western thought.
Our society has simply chosen to disregard the lessons of history. Calvin Coolidge in an address commemorating
the 4th of July said of American accomplishments, “…it is not results
and effects so much as sources and causes that I believe it is even more
necessary constantly to contemplate.”
That was 80 years ago. Do we do
that now? I hardly think so.
Anyway, the writers of antiquity had much to say about such
concepts as truth, justice, right/wrong, and the rule of law. That is why I have loved my Western Heritage class.
There is nothing better then reading the original works the great
thinkers (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, Cicero, etc.), and than
discussing them in depth.
I am full of contentment.
I know this is where I should be and I couldn’t ask for more. So, yes that was a mixed type of post I
guess. Kind of a stream of consciousness.
ps. Hopefully I will post some pictures of my dorm room and life on campus...soon.
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| LACKING TIME....
Yes, the monster has begun to take its toll......
Actually, life is pretty amazing right now. I wish I just had more time to share my current thoughts, experiences, and insights. I will make a promise to do so on the weekend, though.  For now let me just say, school is difficult, track practice is challenging, friends are incredible, God is real = life is good.
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