Fall Break at Moab, UT

Biking!

More biking!

Obscure rock formations!

Pretty scenery!

Moonrises!

On a lighter note...

...here are some pictures I took last Saturday at the impossibly crowded free day at the Denver Zoo. I was pretty impressed with how well my camera did with the difficult picture taking conditions encountered at zoos. Enjoy.


Lizard


Polar bear


Polar bear again.


Tiger


Hey, it's one of those things from the CSU emblem!


Penguins! Fun!

Beauty

Right now a group of three guys are sitting next to me playing a game of Halo 2 over the LAN with some guys in another room. I've seen R-rated movies with cleaner language than these guys are using right now. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the shear mind-numbing, repetitive nature of it. Hearing "f*ck" every five seconds wouldn't be quite so bad if there was some creativity involved. If you're going to curse, at least try to explore the boundaries and possibilities that come with it, rather than repeating the same trite curses over and over again. Try to explore some of the interesting textures and moods that can be created by a good, well though out string of cuss words. Like anything (if you'll excuse the trite phrase), if you're going to do it, do it well.

However, this post isn't simply an exhortation to more creative cursing. Rather, I think that this sort of behavior (that is, continuous, mind-numbing use of profanity), is just one symptom of a larger problem: most kids my age don't appreciate beauty. They appreciate (in a sense), the beauty inherent in the opposite sex, to be sure, but they don't really extend the concept beyond that. I have always enjoyed reading interesting books, getting outside and seeing nature, listening to good music, eating tasty food, and going to see fine visual art. I like to travel, see new places, get a feel for the place, and take in the sites and sounds. I like to ride my bike through the mountains, breath the crisp air, and enjoy the brilliant colors of fall. I like to think about God's grace, love, and the beauty of his character (of which all earthly beauty is merely a reflection). All these experiences are enjoyable because of one simple concept: beauty. Love, grace and beauty are greatest concepts of the human experience. In my opinion, it is the existence of the ideals of love, beauty and grace, more than anything else, that argues for the presence of God. What are these ideals but the reflection of God's image in ourselves?

Yet here I am, sitting next to a guy yelling "Sh!t f*ck" as loud as he can (note: Sorry, stacking two words and flipping their usual order doesn't meet my criteria for creativity in profanity as outlined in my first paragraph. Try harder next time.) No grace, no love, no beauty. Try talking with your average college student about art, music, or religion with any real depth, and enjoy the awkward silence before the conversation turns to the relative merits of various sports teams, or what kind of beer gets you drunk the fastest. Why is it that it's so hard to find people who will talk about the finer things of life? Does anyone care about these things, or are they too distracted to notice, or even unaware of their existence?

Of course, I'm not really being fair in my above statement. I myself spend more time talking about computers and gadgets than I do about any of the "beautiful things" I mentioned before, even though my thoughts my thoughts generally (and I'm truly being honest here) dwell on the "beautiful" side of things. Why is it so hard to have real conversation like this? Why do I always take the easy way out of a conversation rather than trying to really dig in deep and talk about things that really matter? I've been feeling pretty frustrated about this lately, and I have a tendency to blame those around me for the lack of depth in conversations. However, I realize that I myself am negligent in trying to steer conversations in the right direction. Having better conversations is one of my main goals for personal growth, but it's certainly not an easy one. I hope that with God's guidance I can grow more in this area, and help encourage others in the same way.