Calling all geeks, car buffs, and pretty much everyone else

The other day I was talking with some friends about what my ideal car would be. No, cars aren't a terribly spiritual topic, but joy, friendship and laughter are, and we had a good time joking about each other's dream machines. This was one of mine.

Check this bad boy out.


http://www.oxmonline.com/we-drove-warthog?page=0%252C0

This is WETA Workshop's re-creation of a vehicle from Microsoft's Halo video game series. WETA usually does movie props and such, and apparently there were plans for a movie based on the games.

Anyhow, for those not into sci-fi war games, this is called a Warthog, an out-of-this-world Jeep/Hummer hybrid built for the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) with independent suspension, 4 wheel drive, 4 wheel steering, and a legendary ruggedness, being able to take just about anything you can throw at it. And hey, if it rolls over, just press "X" to flip it! Well ok, so maybe the movie prop version isn't as packed with bonuses (and might be a little more difficult to turn over if flipped), but it is certainly a beast of a machine and I would drive one in a heartbeat, presuming that it became either affordable or street-legal... or had any semblance of gas mileage.

Even so, the attention to detail which WETA put into this thing is amazing.
A geek can dream...



Now it's your turn!

What's your dream car?
(feel free to comment... with pics if you can find them!)

The Unseen Superbowl

For those of you who watched the NFL Superbowl last night, I'd imagine there's a mix of emotions ranging from excitement/jubilation to an intense feeling of intestinal distress.

The Broncos might say something like, "It was a hard-fought game, lots of ups and downs. It was a real battle, but hey, any given team can win any given game on any given Sunday. It just wasn't our day." That's putting it lightly...

The Seahawks would then respond, "They played games and lost. We played football and we won. End of story."

Yet, amid the trash talk that follows, there's a hidden side to the Superbowl that you may not have heard about. Its a darker side, called human trafficking. Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking: "Now its time for the blogger to make us feel guilty for living our lives and watching football. What'd I ever do to you?!"

You have to understand, the world is filled with far more evil than you could ever imagine. In middle-class society, we are conveniently sheltered from a good deal of suffering, so we either assume that it's too negative to talk of such things or we pride ourselves that our friends and family are nice and safe and sheltered like we are. Perhaps instead we could all do our part to make a difference? 

I know for me, the issue isn't really, well, at-hand. I don't see it. I don't know what to do to combat it, and after I post this, I will go about my day as-usual. But perhaps someone reading this will be in a different position, perhaps a business leader or someone with connections, able to help. Perhaps if our society was overrun with vigilant people who know human trafficking is real and aren't afraid to blow whistles, then those who do such things wouldn't get away with it? I dunno. There's always the tried-and-true, "Keep your eyes open and call 911 if you see anything."
It's overwhelming and I hate that there are people suffering in this way under our noses. 
We can pray and ask God to show us our part in it. It's a group effort or nothing.
 

I'll leave the rest of this post to a friend of mine...:

"Right now, there are thousands upon thousands of men, women, and children in the world who are victims of human trafficking. They are slaves who are kidnapped and sold into labour or prostitution. In 2010, there were an estimated 10,000 women who were victims of human trafficking at the Super Bowl. Yes, here, in America. And the numbers continue to rise. Slavery is a worldwide epidemic, but here, in our own backyard, girls from ages 12 and up are being sold into prostitution on the streets of our cities.  More facts and stories related to this can be found here:

http://www.policymic.com/articles/79235/you-ll-never-see-this-side-of-the-super-bowl-on-tv

http://elitedaily.com/news/world/the-ugly-truth-behind-the-super-bowl-and-sex-trafficking/

This really bothers me. The Bible says in the book of Genesis chapter One that God created humanity in His image. What does that mean? It means that an artist's creativity comes from God, a soldier's courage comes from God, a father's discipline comes from God, and a mother's affection comes from God. It means that to be human is to reflect the Creator of the Universe (Note I said reflect, not be or be equal to). God has placed immense value on human life. 

If you are reading this and you're a Christian, the Bible calls us into action against this cheapening of human life. If you are not a Christian, I don't doubt  that this bothers you too. Stand up, be heard, be seen. If you are curious about ways to help fight human trafficking, then check out the End It Movement. Their sole purpose is to raise awareness and support efforts to end human trafficking. You can also check out the International Justice Mission, as they combat Human Trafficking and other Justice related issues. Check out the links below.

http://www.ijm.org 

http://enditmovement.com "