Facundo Cabral

So I was going to read today before going to sleep then a friend of mine posted a link on facebook and I went to read an article on this guy Facundo Cabral. I will leave a link to the whole article at the end if you want to check it out but there was a great quote and story at the start of the article that I just felt like passing on.

After walking for so long in this world, I’ve come to realize that there’s only one religion: love. There’s only one language: the one that comes from heart. There’s only one race: humanity. And there’s only one God, and he’s everywhere…

And here is the story,

One day, God decided to come down to a small town, so he incarnated in the body of a homeless man. He looked for the town shoe repairman and he asked him: “brother, I’m very poor and I don’t have a single coin in my pocket. These are my only sandals and they are old and torn up. Can you please help me fix them?

The shoe repairman said: “I’m tired of everyone coming in and asking for things without giving me anything in return.”

God then said: “I can give you something that you might need.”

Expressing doubt, the shoe repairman replied: “Can you give me a million Dollars that I need so I can be happy?”

God said: “Yes, I can give you ten times more, but I will need something of yours, like your legs.”

The shoe repairman asked: “But what could I do with $10 million if I won’t be able to walk?”

God then said: “Okay, I can give you $100 million in exchange for both of your arms.”

The shoe repairman asked: “But what could I do with $100 million if I won’t be able to eat on my own?”

Then, God gave him one more offer and said: “Well, I can give you $1 billion in exchange for both of your eyes.”

The shoe repairman asked: “But why would I need a $1 billion if I won’t be able see my wife, my children, and my friends?”

God replied by saying: “Oh, my brother! How fortunate you are and you don’t even know it!”

And here is the link to the rest of the article.

http://deadlinelive.info/2011/07/10/influential-antiwar-poet-and-songwriter-facundo-cabral-assassinated-in-guatemala/

Photoshoot

So this is just going to be a really short post. Although it always starts off that way in my mind but I just can't help but type out more words then are necessary to explain a situation.

Anyways, usually I have updated lately when I have finished a slough of books to report on I haven't finished any books lately but I have two on the run and they are 1984 by George Orwell (so far it's great) and also I am reading Love Wins by Rob Bell (so far it is great).

However the point of this post today is to tell you that the other night Janelle and I got some engagement photos taken and they have been posted on my Aunt's blog, because she was our photographer and she was awesome. So I just think that every single one of you should go to her blog look at the photos and maybe even make a comment on her site because you never know, you might want her to be your photographer one day and she would do great at it. So here is the site, I know some may have seen this on facebook already but that's fine because people love to read things twice these days.

www.obabyphotography.blogspot.com

Also in other news, the handshake is the new Hi-5, so next time you see someone and want to say hello with physical contact choose a handshake because it says, "I care about you enough to stop and shake your hand rather than slap it and keep walking."

Reading

So since I started working and I guess at the end of school I have started on my reading goal.. The goal is really just to read more and I can say that in the past month or so I have become a reading machine! I feel very proud because I used to be that person who would always say that he wanted to read but never did. Well now I have read some books which mean that I can recommend some books. Here is the list of the books that I have read/re-read.

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

The Time Machine - HG Wells

Animal Farm - George Orwell

About a Mountain - John D'agata

Stalin's Genocides - Norman Naimark (I still like history so some of the books I read are not your standard novels)

I must say that they were all very good but to pick my favorite is actually quite easy. Of Mice and Men was one of the best books I have read potentially ever. It's a short quick read that I would definitely recommend. I don't want to go into details about the book but it really captures the reader and I will honestly say that I became emotionally attached.

Anyways my stack of books is constantly growing because I have recently realized that I love yard sales and used books stores. The books on my shelf now include the following, although I will say many of them I know nothing about but they were in a deal of 10 books for $5.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce

Tom Jones - Henry Fielding

Demons - Fydor Dostoevsky

Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

Guns, Germs, and Steel - Jared Diamond

The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

The War of the Worlds - HG Wells

The Invisible Man - HG Wells

A Clergyman's Daughter - Gorge Orwell

The Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

That is just a snippet of what I plan to do this summer. Suggestions are always welcome, even though...(prepare yourself for big announcement) my now fiance!!! Does not necessarily understand my constantly growing book and reading addiction because it will be a lot of stuff to move. Stay tuned for more updates soon... and maybe even an engagement story sometime.

PS I also decided that I want to start a tagline for the end of every post like... Malech Out or Stay Classy or... really anything. Please recommend what you think I should make my sign-off.

Food for Though

I was just taking a brief break from studying to peruse the internet and I found my self at the Adbusters website. From there I found a link to a website called Kick it Over. And on that website I found a quote that I have been searching for. So I Just decided to share it so that I don't forget it.

"[We] are being persuaded to spend money we don't have, on things we don't need, to create impressions that won't last, on people we don't care about."
—Tim Jackson

Just something to think about.

Birthdays

So generally I am not one to make a big deal about my birthday so that is why I have waited until now (almost a week since turning 22) to tell you about the most amazing birthday that I had planned for me. Let me set the scene, Janelle tells me that she would like to celebrate my birthday with me, I obviously agree informing her that I don't want anything to big or special and it can just be treated like any other day. Ok thats enough background. The day begins...

I wake up Sunday morning and as per usual in keeping the day normal Janelle and I go to church, and "it was good" (I quote this because in church the topic of creation was mentioned, you understand the quotes now). After church Janelle tells me that we must go to her house before meeting up with my family for lunch so that I can receive gifts from her to tell my parents about. We go and I get the coolest gifts ever!!! First I must say I had received an earlier gift of the book Mein Kampf by Hitler (I'm not crazy I needed it for research, and it was given earlier because my paper I needed it for was due before my birthday). Then on that Sunday I have two more gifts awaiting me, first I open up a belt buckle, this is not just any belt buckle, on the buckle is a picture of Rocky and Clubber Lang! Please click the link to see. I'm so excited about this I have not even thought about the fact that there is another gift. I open it and to my amazement it was a picture of my favorite painting, The School of Athens, I can't explain why I like it so much but I just think it's a great representation of how cool it would be to go out and just talk and listen to people share their ideas. Two amazing gifts that show how cultured I have become.

Day goes on and we go out for brunch with my family to buccacinos! Excellent food. After this I still have no idea where we are going. After it seems like we had aimlessly driven around for a while we wind up in front of the Museum. I need to tell you that the Museum is so cool, if you haven't been since elementary school I urge you to go again and relive those field trips and to actually take in what you read. Janelle and I had a great time walking through the museum and playing with the games and experiments in the Science Museum area. After the museum we went to my parents place and had supper with the Malech family. It was eventful as always. After we played a round of Bohnanza with my family, and even though I still have never won at that game I enjoy it every time.

We left my parents and I thought that we were just going to get some cheesecake watch a movie and call it a night. But Janelle insists that we walk to Cousins where we had our first date to cap off the night at a memorable location. To my surprise I am greeted in Cousins by my close friends, it was a the perfect end to a perfect day. Thanks for making my 22'nd birthday incredible and definitely memorable.