smiley integration.

i passed this sign sitting out in front of a mcdonalds in manhattan this afternoon.
i was fortunate enough to get stuck at the red light long enough to pull out my cell phone and nab this picture.

what struck me as odd were the 4 smiley faces.

now this may be a 100% ignorant statement - but i wasn't aware that smiley faces came in a color other than yellow. perhaps i am uncultured and haven't realized it, but from what i've seen...smiley faces have always been yellow. i mean just look at everything walmart - check your emoticons online - check any balloon stand that sells smiley faces. heck i even had a yellow stress ball smiley once. (but i dont think that should necessarily count as a part of this list - i'm about 90% sure i got it from walmart.)

i will concede that angry faces or pouty faces or vomity faces can be colors other than yellow (red, blue, and green respectively), but smiley faces are yellow.

which leads me to assume that there is a reason for the non-yellow smileys - and i've decided it is because mcdonalds needs to address the fact that they will hire people of different races. browns and yellows both can get a job at mcdonalds. they're not colorists. they judge a smiley by their emotion, not the color of its face.

however, i did think it was a stroke of genius for them to avoid blue, red, and green faces. those colors are really not likely to get hired. they only hire smileys...which probably doesnt help the non-yellow emotional colors in the least. if i'm red or blue (angry, pouty) - i'm going to be redder and bluer the moment i see that they dont hire my kind.

but you can't blame mcdonalds for not wanting those colors. they really do have flaws that are deeper than the color of their face and mcdonalds is correct in their colorism.

call me a colorist, but thats the way it is.

-ap.

welcome to the good life.

you know its going to be a great day when you discover a dryer sheet in your tshirt in the morning.

what a treasure.

-ap.

jedi name generator.

Cast off your old name! Your Jedi name is COOAD CHOVE of the planet Aderol! Find your Jedi Name!

david sides - kanye west medley.

i was on youtube messing around just now and discovered david sides.

the guy plays everything by ear. he takes popular radio songs (of artists that ar conveniently some of my favorites - chris brown, kanye west, coldplay, justin timberlake, timbaland/one republic) and plays them to perfection on the piano.

here's his medley of kanye's last cd, graduation. it is pretty much unreal. all by ear and it sounds like i'm listening to the actual cd. i'm in awe really. i'm getting excited for it and moving around like i've got 'graduation' on right now in my earbuds. just give this a listen. if you dont follow kanye, or only recognize parts of this medley, i encourage you to check out his myspace.

actually. i'm going to throw this down...check out his myspace or ELSE.
yep. i said it.



www.myspace.com/davidsides

-ap.

reaching the less-unfortunate?

so christianity is exploding in south america, africa and asia.

this isn't news to me by any means, i've known this for a while and i've been excited about how the gospel is working globally. however, what i didn't realize (or chose to ignore at the time) was the fact that the parts of the world that are not included in this fact are relatively stagnant/floundering.

christianity is expected to decrease by 5% in europe by 2025.
north america is expected to show minimal growth by the same year.

i read these stats and can't help but think that there has to be more we can be doing to change north america and western europe.

now, i understand that the needs of different regions differ, and i this is the primary reason for the growth of these different areas. when you're broken down and hurting - that is where you find Jesus. so it makes perfect sense that missional success is greater in those less affluent areas. the less fortunate turn to Jesus in their time of need. the rich and comfortable don't feel like they have a need. their material needs are met and they're living perfectly comfortable lives - why would they need to think there is more to life?

i've always been encouraged to reach out to the hurting. feed the homeless. care for the sick. find the individuals who need Jesus and be an example to them. sit with the kid who sits by himself at lunch. and i agree with all of this.
but what about the popular kid at school with 300 friends? what if he needs Jesus? yeah, his needs aren't the same as the kid with no friends, but he still has a need that ought to be a concern to all christians - he still needs Jesus. or how about the CEO? what if he's living without Jesus? is that okay with us?

the best Biblical examples i can come up with so far are Zacchaeus and Matthew. Both were wealthy tax collecters and Jesus goes to them and calls them out individually and shows them what they're missing in life. i've gotten the "its easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven" argument, but here are two examples of it - and nothing is impossible with God. this actually strikes me as a lazy excuse. to act like we should ignore the upper class and focus on the needy based on this argument makes it seem like we need to aim for the easy converts first.

i guess in my mind there's nothing that says one man needs Jesus more than another. It's rather simple really, and if someone needs Jesus, i think it is our responsibility to address that.

but here is my big question: what does upper class ministry look like?

coming up with ways to reach those with needs is simple: fill those needs. they need food, water, shelter, clothing, a friend, and loads of prayer.

i wrote in an earlier post about my trip to the sprint center on tuesday night. during halftime nate and dan and i went to the concessions to purchase some food and the lady working there was just getting off work. She seemed stressed and angry about something, and while she was standing there waiting for my food to show up, i asked her "are you about done for the day?"

this was enough. she told me all about how she'd just gained custody of her grandchild because of some problems with this kid's dad and that she was getting off work at 10:30 and had to ride the bus over to pick the kid up...she went on for about 5 minutes. looking back i realize that she listed every possible thing this woman needed prayer for. i didnt even have to ask her what she needed. just listening was enough to make her feel better.

but ask a wealthy man directly what he would like prayer for, and he's likely to come up with nothing. so how do christians successfully display Jesus to those who aren't looking for Him?

how do we reach the kid with all the friends?*
how do we reach the CEO?
how can christians influence north america and europe like they're influencing elsewhere?

i guess just a lot of questions i wish i had answers to, and maybe it really is hopeless cause a lot of people i've talked to truly think it is. but i don't. if Jesus can take Zacchaeus aside and change his life in the course of one meal then so can we. i just wish i knew how to do it.

-ap.

* - most that read this probably don't think about middle school witnessing opportunities, but i tend to include them in my thoughts so that i can address them with the students in my life. you can ignore them if they're of no consequence to you, but they're of serious consequence to me. middle school minisrty is my passion - maybe you can replace it with a question that relates more directly to your life. but thats my mindset.

ku/mu.

first of all i would like to address two facts:

1. there are no z's in missouri.
2. mizzou fans look like bumble bees.

other than that - i'm perfectly happy with mu. anyone who can kick the jayhawks out of both the big xii championship game and the national championship is okay with me. at least for a day or two.

it is most unfortunate that the three good teams in big xii college football right now are my three least favorite. possibly in the entire nation: ku. mu. ou.

so far what i've wanted to have happen has happened. mu beat ku (i was hoping it was going to be more of a rout than it turned out to be, but ku lost, and that's good).
the next thing that needs to happen: ou beats mu. this will ensure that mu does not make the national championship and it will put the team that, i think, most deserves to be in a bcs game into one.

then, ou needs to be the victim in a hilariously terrific game like they were last year: boise state. greatest game ever.

some may scoff at my lack of support for the big xii, and i dont blame them. and i would like to show those critics the following lists:

teams that i...
like: kansas state, iowa state, oklahoma state, texas a&m.
could care less about: baylor, texas tech.
somewhat dislike: colorado, nebraska, texas.
dislike very much: missouri, oklahoma.
loathe entirely: kansas.

this begins to explain my lack of support for the big xii conference this year. missouri and oklahoma just rub me the wrong way, but i have my reasons for disliking ku.

being a fan of something is a conscious decision. it is the answer to a yes or no question: do i support [whatever]? it is simple.

that having been said - i'm a new england patriots fan. they're going to go undefeated this season and they're going to fly through the playoffs and win the superbowl. and when they do, i'm going to purchase one of those classy "super bowl champs" ball caps that the whole team wears immediately after the game. i'll wear it proudly with my new randy moss jersey - hopefully he stays with the pats for a while, cause i spent 40 bucks on it.

this is obviously not true. but i say it to illustrate my point.

i could be a patriots fan all of a sudden - which would be something i would like to do to be honest. they're the greatest team i've seen in a long time, and i really wish i was a fan of that team instead of the maybe-slightly-above-average-on-some-days kansas city chiefs (one of those days being today). but i could easily decide today that i'm going to be a patriots fan - it is a simple decision - yes or no.

i have nothing wrong with this. however frivolous it may seem to me, i don't have any problems with becoming a fan of a team. i do it myself - primarily with individuals: lebron james, vince young, kevin durant...the list is long. if you become a ku fan for some reason - that is not what i have a problem with.

what i do have a problem with is when someone takes that simple decision and begins to think they're better than other people because of that team's success. anyone can choose who they want to support and who they don't - i could decide right now to be a west virginia mountineers fan, or a boston red sox fan, or a boston celtics fan, or a patriots fan (boston. lovin their sports nowadays). however, that doesnt make me any different than the person i am rooting for k-state, the st. louis cardinals, the kansas city chiefs, the kansas city royals.

kansas fans do this. i honestly believe that a vast number of ku fans actually believe that because of their team's athletic performance they are better than other fans. they look down on fans of any other big xii school. and i guess i just dont understand how anyone can truly believe they're a cooler individual based off of which teams they select to support.

anyway. those are some of my thoughts i guess.

-ap.

happy thanksgiving.

happy thanksgiving.
to all five of you.


such a sad picture.

-ap.

thanksgiving eve in kansas city (we'll call it "wednesday")

interesting thought: thanksgiving eve is called "wednesday" every year.

11:00 am - oklahoma joes bbq. best bbq in the world - no lie, no exaggeration. say what you may about other establishments, i will fight for ok joes all my life. so i ate my z man sandwich (beef brisket, two onion rings) with spicy slaw on texas toast. with three adorable little pickles on the side. and a coca-cola classic to drink.

12:30 pm - Saver's, my favorite thrift store, is closed. i mean talk about heartbreak. how bad does an area have to be (in this case bannister mall) for a thrift store to not stay afloat? what a major bummer. i hadn't been there in a year...and before that another year...actually, come to think of it, i've only gone once each thanksgiving break for the last 4 years. but still, its definitely sad. maybe thats why they went out of business - cause their most beloved customers only came once a year or moved to wisconsin (david lueck).

1:30 pm - ended up at family thrift on johnson drive. which turned out to be okay because dan and i bought John Madden Football '93 for SEGA. and by bought, i mean went up to the register with two $1 bills prepared - and then the friendly gentleman, who i'll call Doug (looked like a Doug), said the following: "ah, you can just take it man." i, of course, said "ok."

2:00 pm - homer's coffee house. its like coming home. its kinda weird coming back and not knowing the baristas though. i expect people to greet me with a hug or something. it was strange. but they are still serving their soon-to-be-world-famous cinnamon rolls. at least they'll be world famous after i post about them on the internet - seeing that everyone reads my entries and everyone simply stives to be like me, they'll catch on soon. anyway, cream cheese frosting, moist bread, creamy cinnamony center, deliciously devoured with a fork because its one big gooey post-microwave mess. ah. i want another.

3:30 pm - Madden '93 in my basement. i was the Houston Oilers. dan was the Buffalo Bills. i dont want to talk much about the game - i was winning, then all of a sudden dan figured everything out. i'm putting all the blame on Thurman Thomas. way too fast.

3:45 pm - NBA JAM TE. best SEGA game ever invented. i like to mix up my team. in most games i have MY team - the one i always play with - but there are so many good choices in this game: Robinson/Rodman, Kemp/Payton, Drexler/Porter, Richmond/Webb. and i think the game is way better too since it came out the year Jordan played baseball - it makes all the teams equal for a change.

4:30 pm - Golden Tee at Buffalo Wild Wings. everyone needs to try out Golden Tee - more importantly, everyone needs to pay for GT with a credit card so that it loads your name for you off your card. and then you can proceed to win prizes by competing live with other players all over the nation - i won zero prizes however, because i ended at +17. rough game.

a few highlights. it seems a little weird that today feels like any other day - when in fact it is nothing like any day i've had in a long time. except it IS exatly like every single night i had BEFORE college. except i dont think i was ever given a video game like that before. except Pilot Wings 64 - which i got from dan for Christmas two years ago - best game ever.

with that, i'm leaving my sister's laptop and going downstairs to join in my parent's conversation. i dont know what they're talking about, but it sounds interesting.

-ap.

sprint center.

well i'm home for thanksgiving and it is the greatest feeling on earth.

i feel like i could put out about 4 blogs right now i feel so good.
but i wont. i'm only going to write one.

so i ended up at the sprint center tonight watching #1 UCLA play #11 Michigan State.

things like this occur randomly in kc. sometimes in manhattan i sit around and think about all the things i'd like to be doing. in my home town - things just come to me.

like tonight i was driving with my sisters and dad to get some smoothies after dinner around 7:15 and nate calls...

nate: want to go to the sprint center and see the #1 team in the nation play basketball tonight for free?
adam: um. yes.
nate: be at my house at 8.
adam: done. see you soon.

so off i go. the development of the sprint center and the area around it has intrigued me for quite some time now, and i've been beyond excited to actually get to go inside it. i'm going to see kstate play some patsy in mid-december too.
we get there around 8:30, park, and pick up free tickets outside the front doors. gotta know who to ask. (in this case it was easy - missouri fans has just seen their team play right before so they were all leaving with their tickets. piece of cake.)

number one reason for excellence: indoor quiktrip.

they dont have fountain drinks. or toquitos. or hot dogs.
but they do have all the standard freezoni choices (including rooster booster) as well as a krispy kreme donut selection. they also offer boxed and refrigerated deli sandwiches - and it is all at reasonable/normal price. freezonis = 99 cents. so awesome.

another reason this place is great - sprint cell phone service is phenomenal in this building. for those of you from kansas city, you know full well that the sprint campus in overland park is huge...and has crappy cell phone service for sprint phone owners. i've never had a problem losing signal anywhere in kansas city but on the sprint campus. so i had a similar fear tonight...i had FULL bars the entire time. text messages sent in the blink of an eye.

the building is also 360 degrees of glass. so as you walk around it, you get to look directly outside at downtown kansas city. beautiful. i love this city. never want to leave.

-ap.

lesson learned.

this song is too good to leave off of here any longer: listen to it here.

alicia keys feat. john mayer