PaulPrins.net

A couple days ago I returned from my time in Florence, Italy with my parents. It was a lot of fun and got to see a lot of the things I had studied in my survey of art history courses. So unreal, to think that I was talking on the very street of Dante, and Raphael. Some of the greatest minds and skillful applicators of new technology came from that city. I didn’t meet any though, they have been dead for a while now. Not a surprise, but just don’t want to get your hopes up (and yes, I’m bored as I’m writing this).

We visited the Doma, Baptistery, Uffizi, and this famous covered bridge named Ponte Vecchio. I took a lot of photos (par usual) which you can see in my flickr album dedicated to the trip. Not as many self portraits this time as others. I might get ambitious and make a couple more posts with pictures in them for your viewing pleasure. So generous I know. It was a great time eating food, seeing art, walking streets from antiquity, and being touristy for a couple days.

I, however, am glad to be back home in France where I know what people are saying, and can say something intelligible. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Florence, go for it! Though we were told the whole city gets swamped with tourists come a little later in spring well through summer.

God bless!
~paul

I’ve never had one. It wasn’t that there weren’t people in my life who had admirable accomplishments, but they all had so many failures attached to them. Here is the other catch that is never realized. By defining a role model we are un-verbally deciding that the level of their achievement is un-attainable. No matter what I do, who I become, I will always be second to this person.

By looking up to and striving after anyone other then the Christ we are going to fall short of everything that we are possible of becoming. Since no-one can become Christ, we all fall short by our very nature, we are thus striving to the peak of everything possible. Until the day I die I will be running after my first love, the tender embrace that brought me life, the one who saved me from a life of routine, and for whose name I will scream with my last breath before the hush of the worlds.

Fall short of perfection, or fall short of imperfection. The choice is not mine.

It’s muses like this which are so rich in my life that cause me to wonder if I am truly the same as those around me. Things I’ve known since I before I can remember.

I wish I had some eloquent memory of Teddy Knape (1984-2006) that I could write here and help you all know him better. Honestly I don’t, I do know that he loved skiing and died doing what he loved best. I’m not so sure why this is hitting me so hard, or maybe I’m imposing on myself that it should be harder than it is? Either way, he’s now gone and I am left here wondering why. I know that he had a heart condition that played into his short lived life, but that doesn’t make it easier.

Just a while ago I was thinking about the last movie I edited and produced. As of now, half of the cinematographers are past on. When Jon died it was easy to make some sense of, he was older, not in the peak of physical condition, and the heart attack was a surprise but not unexpected. Teddy was much younger, my same age, and that is what makes it so hard. What happened to him could happen to me. I don’t really know what to say aside from the fact that Teddy was dedicated to something he loved so much, that it was infectious to others.

Heres to you teddy, wherever you are. I wish I knew.
~paul

Look around yourself and you see people, more noticeable then the majority of their characteristics is there confidence. It is something that people can just sense in others. So here is the base of confidence. It will always fail you, no one is perfect and we all struggle and falter. No one is exempt. Yes there are things one can do to improve his odds, to stumble and fail less, yet it is still there. False confidence is something else all together, the man who has given in to believe he’ll never be what he can and doesn’t have the courage to show the world.

Here is the clincher, God will never fail, and He is never wrong. Men run to the ends of the earth to build their confidence in themselves when God is just waiting. He waits for us to put our full confidence in the only confidence that will never fail. The plans of God are flawless from tomorrow’s provisions of food and love, the minor details of life all the way unto eternity in Heaven. So like really is just what the title states, confidence. The only determining factor is where we place ours. Where do you?

BBC Article 1, 2

For background on the strike please view the articles above from the BBC. It was a very different experience to be a part of. Really makes one wonder if anyone will listen as you walk past hundreds of adults standing nodding their heads. Almost as if they are glad to see the youth take interest in something, and at the same time not really participating. I feel like the photo above captures the general attitude of the strike well, below is a group of people taking advantage of an oppertunity to take out hurts against the government. Cutting down the French and EU flags from the City hall and then trying to raid the building before being repeled by the cops. I’m not completely sure, but believe that the end incident was actually an act by the communist party of France, and wasn’t associated with the CPE strike. See the photo below for the falling cut up french flag off of the capitole building.