iMac working!

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Posting this from the iLamp in the graduate computer lab. Yay, they resolved the performance issues. Now I can blog AND do my AfterEffects projects at the same time!

PBMA, the Rubenian Cult

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Text message received this morning: “I’d like to comment with regards to the PBMA, people keep saying that the PBMA is cult … no its NOT!”

No further theological insight was offered. Not that any theological insight into a cult like the PBMA is really feasible.

Cult: “a group of people, which claiming to be a Christian, embraces a particular doctrinal system taught by an individual leader, group of leaders, or organization, which (system) denies (either explicitly — definite — or implicitly — absolute) one or more of the central doctrines of the Christian faith as taught in the sixty-six books of the Bible.”

Let’s see… Ruben Ecleo was venerated as a “god” and “Divine Master” who could perform miracles, and his followers were fanatical even to the point of bloody violence.

Man claims to be God + violently fanatical followers + legalistic New Age interpretations of salvation = Cult.

Simple enough. Also see my entry on False Messiahs.

(I’d love to see what goes on in their email, since their home page has been down for a while.)

First Day of School

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What. A. Day.

Typography for Multimedia class would have been spent re-learning all my AfterEffects skills, if only the iLamp hadn’t kept crashing. And crashing. And crashing. And not just mine; half the class’ iLamps were going out. And you know where the power switch on this thing is? Back left, small and flush with the casing. Took me two minutes to find out just what to press to turn it on. Ha. Switch, my foot. Roll that up and smoke it, Ellen. (Paulo proceeds to duck from the hundreds of soapbar mice which will undoubtedly be thrown at him after this comment.)

Other than that, the first day of school was great. Campus is beautiful, teachers are wonderful, subject matter is amazing, classmates are all cool and friendly, and regardless of crashing hard disks, those iLamps are still way fun to work on.

The end of the day was spent at Friendly’s with Kyriosity, Barukatash, and WayneWhitmer. Fun night, capped off with a quick trip to GreenLeaf to get me an ESV.

And now I’m home. It’s been quite a day. And now, for the first time in over four years, I have to do some HOMEWORK. :P

Jasper the Cat

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“Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!”

jasper1

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Okay, I’ve gotten pictures of Jasper the Cat out of my system. Tomorrow, I’ll start a new photolog series from my wanderings through the Maryland State Fair: a fun, farm-y affair of cows and horses, sheep and llamas in a petting zoo, lots of carnival rides and games, and in one corner, a high school robot competition sponsored by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Going to the Fair

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Who in Baltimore wants to join me at the Maryland State Fair in Timonium? I’m planning to make a quick jaunt tomorrow morning (Labor Day, Sept 2). Drop me a line.

(Update, 9/2/2002: Okay, I’m back. It was a bit depressing being there all alone, *sniff*, but I got lots of pictures. And a nice pair of sunglasses, too.)

Govans Presbyterian

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I hopped on the 8 Bus this morning to try and get to FCF, but having forgotten to write down the church’s phone number and address, I instead managed to get myself marvelously lost after disembarking at York Ave and Cold Spring Lane. After half an hour of unsuccessful wandering through the area, the melodious bells of Govans Presbyterian finally drew me in to its old stone walls, where I found fellowship, warmth, and beautiful hymns.

I’ll try again next week.

The BWI Bus Trick

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Today I put on my sandals and ventured out to try the “BWI Bus Trick,” which is the only cheap way to get to Washington, DC from Baltimore by public transit on weekends (when the MARC train isn’t running and Amtrak is just too expensive). The route consists of taking the Light Rail to BWI, taking the B30 bus (leaves every 40 minutes) to Greenbelt Metro station, then taking the Metro to wherever you want to go in Washington. It takes two to three hours.

Along the way, I found another church in my immediate area: Old Otterbein, a UMC church. But for tomorrow, I think I’ll try braving an early morning bus ride to check out Kyriosity’s church, FCF.

Goodbye, Pula.ph?

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My Pula.ph domain is expiring in one more month, and I’m wondering whether it’s worth continuing. I just don’t have the time or money to maintain a full-blown investigative urban legends resource on my own, and I’m hardly in the proper location for it anyway. Should I just let it die, and relegate the archives to the subfolder they’re currently in now?

Or is anyone interested in updating the urban legends blog collaboratively? Well, I have a month to decide whether the $70 is worth the domain renewal, or if it’s better spent on an Ikea Poäng chair. ;)