While Ron Paul has been in the political arena for years now and has run for the Presidential Office several times now, I have never really given him much thought. Until a friend asked me to simply view a video of his approach and thoughts on the affairs of the military, the role of government, and other pressing matters our nation faces.  What surprised me the most was that Dr. Paul simply “gets it”.  His thoughts and opinions are just common sense.  So many of the problems facing our nation in 2012 he warned up about as long ago as 1988. Much of the change we as a country would need to embrace in order to turn around out enormous national debt, foreign policy and domestic economy are ideas that he presents and would initiate if he was president.

However, the fact remains that he is not a polished politician.  He doesn’t have the grace and demeanor that the rest of the candidates in this election have.  I would call him the practical, common man’s political representative.  And that may be his downfall with regards to seeing enough people follow him and put him in the White House.

But that being said, after watching just a few of his videos, you may find yourself rooting for this underdog in the upcoming election. Who knows… maybe you will point others to view these videos.

Here are just some that highlights:

Unmatched Intellect

On January 30th, 2008, Ron Paul debated Mitt Romney, John McCain and Mike Huckabee at the Reagan Library. In the debate, he overwhelmingly demonstrated himself and his intellect as the right choice for the office of President of the United States. He was right then and he’s still right now.

30% of Those that View This Change their Vote

A fantastic look at the political views of this man and his uncanny views on government and the role it should really take…

Ron Paul’s Famous “What If” Speech

A very profound viewpoint…

Ron Paul’s Imagine Video

Not only another great speech by Ron Paul and very thought provoking, but this version is a beautifully executed kinetic typography video that really helps convey his message. Enjoy!….

Some church’s display such profound ways of communicating the Gospel of Jesus Christ…. in a way that is creative, that is artistic, that is relevant to today’s culture.  Such is this video by The Village Church out of Texas.

Not only is the cinematography simply amazing and utterly beautiful, but the rap-style talking and the music is profound, catchy, and memorable.

Even if you are not a believer, if you have the slightest bit of creativity or artistic side to you, please watch this.  Amazing!…..

Advent: God With Us from The Village Church on Vimeo.

Don’t get me wrong, the animated short film Big Buck Bunny has nothing to do with Pixar. It actually has to do with Blender, an open-source animation tool used mostly for creating grass, hair, leaves, etc.  Part of the Blender community, a small team (7) of the best 3D artists and developers in the Blender community have been invited to come together to work in Amsterdam from October 2007 until April 2008 on completing a short 3D animation movie.

What developed from their efforts, is an engaging, charming and hilarious short film.

What’s even better is that you can have a FREE copy of it for yourself.  Large, HD versions (in various file formats) or even an iPod Touch version for your mobile needs.  Go over to the Project’s website to grab a copy.

Yes, this movie is almost 4 years old, but I think you will find the animation was years ahead of itself for 2008 when it was made.

Enjoy!

Enjoy!

I recently came across a blog entry from designer Jon Klassen about his collaboration with Studio AKA on their Winter Olympics ad for the BBC.

What makes this ad truly remarkable and stand out is the approach.  Wonderfully dark and dangerous animation fills the screen in stark comparison to the usual colorful flare used to advertise the Olympic games.  The musical score, the storyboard, and the animation style all lend to give a strong marketing plug that takes a different and refreshing approach.

I just love stumbling across creative genius and letting it inspire me.

So along comes a video produced by the good folks at Fairwood Assembly of God Church in Renton, Washington.

This video was shown at our high school youth group the other night and we all got some belly laughs.  I not sure what is funnier… what the video has to say about our own cliches standards of what we consider to be Christian worship (and I am talking more about “corporate church” culture) or, more importantly, how the video was made.  The old-school film grain, the 1950′s style music and over-the-top voiceover makes this video just too fun to watch.  Enjoy and then go out and worship our Lord in whatever manner YOU feel is right.

I am not sure of as to the original creator and it is foreign with subtitles, but this video appears to be an advertisement for bringing religion back into our public schools.

While being a very controversial subject in itself, I thought that the content of the ad was very thought provoking. Very insightful and I can’t believe it was all directly quoted by Albert Einstein himself.

As the video states at the end, “Religion is Knowledge too.”

Okay, I need to get something off of my chest.  Here goes:

I don’t get Twitter. I don’t get tweeting and I certainly don’t understand people that do twitter.

There, I have said it.  Now I have a Facebook account and check it at least once a day.  There I can get caught up with friends and family, and particularly with the status, I can gain a bit of insight into how their day went or what was the most important comment of the day from them.

But even in the context of Facebook, there are those that seem to have the need to update their statuses every hour… when they have a bowel movement, what they are eating, or what errand they are current running.  This is of course thanks to the mobile updating one can do with their cell phone.

Now take that mindless banter and crank it up a notch and you have Twitter.  The only way I can best sum it up is to share a video I came across the other day. It feels my pain and my dissillusionment at the mass of people that have become Twitters.  My condolences to them.  Remember: Friends don’t let friends tweet.