Football and/or Fallout Fridays

It's Friday so it must be time to talk about Football or Fallout 3 right? Not necessarily. :) My last blog entry had a touch of the Panthers, so there is no need to go over that again. I will touch, briefly, on Fallout 3 a little bit later. Last night in my sleepy stupor i thought briefly about a "tale of two Christmases". In my life time i have seen a steady waning of the reason behind the holiday of Christmas - the celebration of the Christ child's birth. Over time is has become a holiday "season" - "Season's Greetings", or "Happy Holidays". Christmas trees are acceptable, but not manger scenes. Santa carrying presents, but not angels proclaiming the coming of the Savior of the world. Now, i don't go around like a crusader wishing everyone a Merry Christmas - no matter how it may offend someone. Unless i can tell that the recipient is of a Christian 'bent', i will usually wish them a Happy Holiday. It's not that i am ashamed of my Savior, but i am keen to not and try to push someone away either. There are times when we do need to be zealous about our faith and our God, Christ. But i imagine we also need to be careful in guarding our heart behind WHY we wish someone a Merry Christmas. Are we doing it to be spiteful, or are we truly wishing that the Holy Spirit would be upon them to spread the joy and wonder of the Savior's birth? I started this blog entry to express my concern about how much Christmas is no longer about Christ among the population in general. It is about good cheer, giving of gifts - which is spurred on by greed in general. To a large extent, when experience through the "world" it feels empty. It feels hollow - at least to me. With out Christ what exactly is the meaning behind this "holiday season"? A time to promote good will and generosity towards our fellow man? What is goodwill? What is generosity? good⋅will -noun - 1. friendly disposition; benevolence; kindness.; 2. cheerful acquiescence or consent. gen⋅er⋅os⋅i⋅ty -noun, pluralities - 1. readiness or liberality in giving.; 2. freedom from meanness or smallness of mind or character.; 3. a generous act.; 4. largeness or fullness; amplitude. I have serious doubts that mankind can achieve this on our own. Firstly, there are subjective definitions of both words. What is a friendly disposition? What is liberal giving? When one gets into quantitative definitions it can be left up to a person's interpretation. Anyway... I truly hope those few who stumble across this blog would take a moment to reflect on Christ - no matter your opinion. Think about the things he taught, and His life here on earth. Now, on to some more mundane and trivial things. Bethesda Software announced the release of their "editing" software humorously titled G.E.C.K. (Garden of Eden Creation Kit) and the upcoming release of Down Loadable Content (DLC). There are three expansions announced so far... one is apparently an in-game simulation of the battle for Anchorage Alaska (part of the game "history"), another titled "The Pitt" - i am not sure how this one will be added in, and then a final one that will truly expand the current game beyond it's current ending. I am looking forward to all three, but i am concerned about the cost. If it is in the $10 range i will most likely shell out the cost to expand the game beyond it's current setup. I have been blogging about my experiences in the Capital Wastelands on another blog. It's ver bland reading and i doubt there would be much value in reading it. I've been having trouble getting screen captures to share, but i'm sure it's just a layer 8 issue (ref: OSI model of computer networking). Suffice it to say that i have enjoyed my three hours of game play thus far (over the past three weeks). I can already tell it is going to take me a long, long time to get through it, but that's ok. Well, i am going to run. May God grant each of you a peace filled weekend, and may you all enjoy an overwhelming sense of peace. Geaux Panthers!