Chicken Soup for the Mortal Soul

• Oct. 28, 2008 - Who do I Support?

Posted in Educational

Who do I support this election season?

I support freedom. I support free thought. I support hard work, and the rewards and benefits it brings. I support honest gain of money. I support our troops in Iraq. I support babies. I support life.

I support John McCain.

http://www.johnmccain.com
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© Copyright 2008 by Nicholas Joel.

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• Oct. 7, 2008 - Who?

Posted in Educational

As of recently, there have been many questions that I have heard. Whisperings. Wanderings. Ponderings. People asking. Asking the age old question; Who? Who? Who is the Antichrist? Who will be the one to oppose the Lord Jesus? The Antichrist is described in Revalations 13:1-8; "And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority... The whole world was astonished and worshiped the beast. Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, who is like the beast? ... The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies ... He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. ... All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast-all whose names have not been written in the book of life... Revalations 13:1-8 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Antichrist, obviously, is the beast referred to, and the Dragon who gave him authority, Satan (Rev. 12:3, NASV). The Antichrist himself has been portrayed many different ways throughout time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Then come the whisperings. Who? Who? Who is this Antichrist described? Who will be this intense and horrible ruler who will crush Christians under his grasp? Who? Who? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Then comes those who say they know who the Antichrist is. That the Antichrist IS alive and WILL take over the earth. But... I believe that the Antichrist is not the main point. I don't believe that when John wrote Revalations, that he was trying to warn us of an oppressive man who would attack Christians. Instead, as quoted in Revalations 22:12, John sums up the whole book of Revalations by saying "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone to what he has done. John did not write Revalations to scare us, to make us paranoid of the Antichrist, of earthquakes, dragons, falling stars, fire, and blood red moons. No. He didn't write it to scare us, but to tell us, 'One day Jesus will return. Be ready. He will reward you according to what you've done.' So many people focus on the Antichrist. But the truth is, he's not the main point. He's not the main purpose! The purpose of Revalations, the end times, John's revalations, are not to tell us who the Antichrist is, and when he's coming. No, they're written as a warning: a warning that Jesus is coming. Be ready for him. For he is coming soon. ~Nick © Copyright 2008 by Nick Joel

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• Aug. 19, 2008 - Majestic Neighbors (Living on Our Property)

Posted in Educational

Well, I must confess that our house has become home to many different 'neighbors'. We have a cat living here, with four kittens (born two days ago). We also have a couple of cats that hang around our house, trying to eat our cat's food.

I've seen an occasional rabbit, some squirrels, and some other creatures that live on our property.

But none of them are as majestic as Herb, the Eastern Cicada Killer, who lives inside a fence post that surrounds our garden area.

We discovered Herb a couple of weeks ago. Looking out the window, my family observed the giant-sized cousin to the wasp flying around our garden. After several days of observation, I discovered that he had made his home in one of the fence posts outside.

Every day, I can see him, buzzing around his fence-post, his home.

I guess that my family is forever in debt to Herb, for killing off the loud Cicadas, and feeding them to his kids.

Watch for Cicada Killers near your house. Their burrows are normally small holes near house foundations or in the ground. They live in the Eastern and Mid-West America, and also in Mexico (the Eastern Cicada Killer. There are lots of different types of these, but this specific type is in the above area.)

Believe me. Nothing beats seeing one of these beauties buzzing around your house. Nothing.

Well, maybe chocolate ice-cream. :-)

~Nick

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• Aug. 12, 2008 - Oh, NOW I get it...

Posted in Educational

Before I start this post, one of the things you should know is that I'm one of those kids who do not watch very many movies, and whose parents bought one of those boxes which bleep bad words out of movies.

I'm that kid who has not seen alot of the popular current movies.

And until now, that's really frustrated me.

For the longest time, I thought that it wasn't fair that everybody else got to go watch this movie, and I didn't.

It seemed to me that Mom and Dad just didn't want me to do anything fun.

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But just two days ago, I realized something.

Mom and Dad let me, and a couple of my siblings around my age, watch the first Spider-Man movie *.

I was really excited! To be able to watch an un-edited movie (well, the cursing was edited out)? Finally!

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As I watched the movie, I started to realize something. I noticed several things in it that would have bothered me, had I seen them when I was younger, but that I was able to deal with now that I was older.

Suddenly, it all made sense.

Mom and Dad didn't not let me watch movies because they didn't want me to have fun! They did it because they did not want me to see something that's too big for me!

At fourteen, I am able to handle some of the issues in the movie. But when I was younger, I wouldn't have been able to handle/understand these things!

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Now, you guys are probably saying right now, 'Duh, Nick, shouldn't you have figured this out years ago?'

My answer is: No.

It doesn't make sense when you're younger. It seems like your parents are being mean. It doesn't make sense why they always say no.

But as you get older, and more mature, things start to make sense. You get why you're not allowed to see certain things, and why you are allowed to see other things.

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Thank you, Mom and Dad, for protecting me. Though I know it would be nice to watch stuff like, 'Batman, the Dark Knight', I also know that you don't let me watch these things for a reason.

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Kids, I know it's hard when your parents don't let you do things that you want to do. But it's important to remember that your parents have a reason for what they say. Your parents do things for your own good, because they love you.

It might not make sense now.

It still might not make sense twenty years from now.

But realize that what your parents do for you is done out of their best interest for you. They do it because they love you, even though it seems unfair at the time.

~Nick

*I have seen the first Spider-Man before, but it had almost all of the bad content edited out.

© Copyright 2008 by Nick Joel.

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• May. 15, 2008 - Comments

Posted in Educational

Since in the past, I've specified my rule for friends, I will now attempt to post my ideas and thoughts on comments, what I think about them, and such things like that.

Please bear with me, as this won't be funny. But hey, it won't be gloomy, either!

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Well, first things first. What do I believe a comment is?

I believe that a comment can be a couple things. I think that first, it can be a way to tell someone you acknowledged that they did a post, and that their blog is actually being read.

It also can stand as a way to state your opinion on what someone posted on, whether good or bad.

It also (and this is mostly what I use it for) can be used to start/continue a conversation or a debate with someone.

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Overall, in my opinion, a comment is something that someone leaves on a blog, showing that they read your blog.

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Next question, when will I comment?

Normally, I will comment after someone has commented on my blog. If you never comment on my blog, the less of a chance I will comment on yours. I do not do this to be mean or vengeful, I just do that, because I don't have alot to talk with you, if you never comment.

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Another question, what is my opinion on comments?

I love comments! I love getting them, because it shows that people appreciate my efforts at blogging, and I love giving them too! I love being able to encourage new bloggers with too few comments, and commenting on bloggers who have way too many, to help them get more!

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If I could apply a saying to my belief on comments, what would it be?

Probably, it would be: No post should go without a comment. And that pretty much sums up my belief. If there is one thing that really makes me sad, is seeing a blog post without comments. I know what it's like to work hard on a post and get no comments. It stinks.

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What is your view on RSS Feeders?

My view on RSS feeders is that they don't really help a blogger. They might help a viewer, but certainly not the blogger. I mean... an RSS Feeder causes people to quickly read a post, without commenting. That's why alot of people experience big '0s' on their comment area for a post.

What do I think about RSS? I don't like it. But that doesn't mean I don't like the people who use them!

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To sum it all up, I will always comment on people's blog. Before the year is done, I want to have written a thousand comments, to show people how much I appreciate them!

If you've taken the time to read this, please comment, and tell me what you think.

~Nick

© Copyright 2008 by Nick Joel.

This means you can't copy my works without permission.

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• Dec. 25, 2007 - Art

Posted in Educational

Alright, here is art lesson #4:

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• Oct. 24, 2007 - Which is Which?

Posted in Educational

So many people get spiders mixed up. People call the Jumping Spider the Wolf Spider, and they call the Brown Recluse a House Spider. I am going to post some pictures to clarify which bug is which...

The back of a burrowing wolf spider

The silken tunnel of a burrowing wolf spider

Female wolf spider carrying an egg sac

Jumping spider salticus scenicus

Jumping spider Paraphidippus Aurantius

Female Phidippus jumping spider

Now that you can tell the difference between the Wolf Spider and the Jumping Spider... Let's move on to the House Spider and the Brown Recluse!

Brown Recluse spider