Somehow, what happened on that tragic day in April just seems to be the perfect coda to this little corner of the internet. Perhaps that was my excuse or motivation for a lack of activity here since then. Regardless, it's now time to move on. If you'd like to keep up with me after this post, please drop by over here. And if not, take care!
Tribute.mpg. Please feel free to download and pass this on.
This is for you, Ross, Jamie, Brian, Ryan, Austin, Jocelyn, Daniel, and Kevin.
And you, Matthew, Caitlin, Jeremey, Rachael, Emily, Jarrett, Matt, and Henry.
You too, Liviu, G.V. Abang Mora, Lauren, Dan, Juan, Minal, and Erin.
And of course, for you as well, Michael, Julia, Mary, Reema, Waleed, Leslie, Maxine, and Nicole.
My gosh.....I never even knew any of you, and over the past few days, I'm finding out that I miss you guys. 
Thanks for everything you ever accomplished in your time here. Tears have been shed for sure, but I sure hope that lost in all the sensational aspects of what happened this week, nobody forgets to celebrate what your lives were.
Profiles
The faculty
The students
I have decided to collate these online articles and pictures to make my own semi-personal tribute to the lives of all the 32. I have heard it said in recent days that it has been such a waste to see these lives ended. It is interminably sad, but reading some of these profiles and testaments, I can definitely say that these were NOT wasted lives. Anyway, here you go:
For the faculty
And the students
I will also embed a video that I have made which is currently uploading.
Faculty:
Christopher James Bishop, Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, Kevin Granata.
Liviu Librescu, G.V. Loganathan.
Students:
Ross Abdallah Alameddine (20, Saugus MA), Brian Bluhm (25, Detroit MI)
Austin Cloyd (Champaign, IL), Ryan Clark (22, Martinez GA)
Caitlin Hammeren (19, Westtown NY), Jeremy Herbstritt (27, Bellefonte PA)
Rachael Hill (18, Richmond VA), Emily Hilscher (18, Woodville VA)
Matthew LaPorte (20, Dumont, NJ), Jarrett Lane (22, Narrows VA)
Henh "Henry" Lee (19, Roanoke VA),Partahi Lombantoruan (34, Jakarta, Indonesia)
Lauren McCain (20, Hampton VA), Minal Panchal (26, Mumbai, India)
Daniel O'neil (22, Lincoln RI), Juan Ortiz (26, San Juan, Puerto Rico)
Daniel Pérez Cueva (21, Callao, Peru), Erin Peterson (18, Centreville VA
Julia Pryde (23, Middletown NJ), Mary Read (19, Annandale VA)
Reema Samaha (18, Centreville VA), Mike Pohle (23, Flemington NJ)
Maxine Turner (21, Vienna VA), Nicole White (20, Hampton Roads VA)
Waleed Shaalan (32, Zagazig, Egypt), Leslie Sherman (20, Springfield VA)
Matthew Gwaltney (24, Chester VA)
BLACKSBURG, Virginia, April 17 (CNN) -- A year and a half before before Cho Seung-Hui went on a deadly shooting spree across the campus of Virginia Tech, a professor was concerned about his anger that she took him out of another teacher's creative writing class and taught him one-on-one.
The former chairwoman of Virginia Tech's English department, Lucinda Roy, said the anger Cho expressed was palpable if not explicit.
Cho, an English major, never wrote about guns, she said, or killing people -- but his writing was disturbing enough that she went to police and other university officials to seek help.
Chicago Tribune, April 17 -- Cho had shown recent signs of violent, aberrant behavior, according to an investigative source, including setting a fire in a dorm room and allegedly stalking some women.
A note believed to have been written by Cho was found in his dorm room that railed against "rich kids," "debauchery" and "deceitful charlatans" on campus.
A terrible incident like this is only further proof that we live in a broken world. People everywhere are walking around with some sort of burden falling heavily on their shoulders. Unfortunately, when something like this happens, we're more interested in assigning blame rather than addressing symptoms--it's video games, or tv shows, or movies, or song lyrics, or bullying from other kids, or parents who didn't pay enough attention, etc. etc. There's a weird paradox at work nowadays. On the one hand, kids are heavily coddled in so many areas of life. And on the other hand, situations exist where hurting kids and adults are left to simmer in their own world.
Trying to play a game of "Guess who could be the next mass murderer?" would be highly counterproductive. Just like you have cases where the warning signs were apparent and apparently ignored, there have also been cases where there was a surprised reaction once the perpetrator is identified. I have known many young people (myself included) who fit the "profile" of a troublemaker (thankfully none a murderer so far), and I have also known many kids who seem to have it all together on the outside, but once I got the chance to really get to know them, realized that it was all a facade put on for the sake of appearances to the world outside the privacy of their bedrooms. These circumstances manifest themselves in so many different ways: drug abuse, alcoholism, promiscuity, cutting, rebellious behavior, angst, and sadly and tragically, violence.
This is a hurting world, whether or not we care to admit it.
Where is the light? I asked myself that last night as I pondered the numerous news clips. Here, a weeping survivor recalling what he did to survive. There, another replay of gunshots fired through the crisp morning air. Everywhere, stark reminders of the scale of this tragedy.
There can be a silver lining out of this. A student body coming together. People who never knew each other before yesterday forming a bond to help each other grieve and recover together. An entire world reminded of just what's important and how quickly things can change.
Light?
It remains to be seen, but this is where we get to be proactive, rather than be stunned by news from a distant source.
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
Witness survives by pretending to be dead
Tonight, 33 families mourn the loss of a son or daughter, a brother or sister, a husband or wife, a teammate, a friend, a classmate, a roommate. An idyllic community touched by the beauty of God's creation has been stained with the blood of innocents.
And all for what? Will we ever know?
Probably not.
There will no doubt be the endless second-guessing, the kneejerk reactions, the political grandstanding, the "experts" coming forth. It's already started. I can see it unfolding on the tv screen in front of me as I type this.
As if we needed any more proof that this is a broken world we live in.
Where is God in all of this? The answer to that question will be known over the course of the next few days. There's a light at the end of the tunnel. It just got a little dimmer today, but it's there. It's going to be important to find a way to look through the fog and see it clearly again.
Cling to what is good. Overcome evil with good.
Several television interviews with students that I have heard today talk about how the student body is a caring one, and a closeknit one. That is how the light will be seen again.
RIP the 33. God bless all involved. The killer included.
Chief: At least 20 dead in campus shootings (CNN.com)
AP: Gunman kills 21 at Virginia Tech
FNC: Police: 22 Dead After Virginia Tech University Shooting
As a parent-to-be, this leaves me with a knot in my stomach. I have talked to two sets of parents of VT students today, and the relief in their voices is palpable.
Sure, there's going to be the further word on other victims, and the inquest, and the continuing debate about guns, but right now, words fail me. Just pray. For the students. For the faculty and staff. For the community. For the families of everyone involved.
EDIT: Death toll now 32......
My first roster is set, spring training is in full swing, and there's barely 2 weeks to go before the start of the Major League season.
In honor of the coming season:
Baseball's Best Sliders will come in a two-pack for $4. A cheese sauce on the side is $1 extra. So now what you've all been waiting for -- the calorie count. I didn't say this before but not only is it fried, but it's battered first. It's just an estimate, but it looks to be around 600 calories and 40 grams of fat for the two-pack. That's 90 percent of your daily recommended fat based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
This from the team which last year, came up with burgers topped with sharp cheddar, two slices of bacon and a sliced Krispy Kreme donut as a bun (click for picture), and the year before graced the sports-loving public of Sauget, Illinois with the Swiss Brat, a bratwurst with melted swiss and sauerkraut and in 2004, unleashed a black angus hot dog with bacon, onions and cheese sauce.
Now THAT's what I'm talking about!
Take me out to the ball game
Take me out to the park
Buy me some fried sliders and cheese on the side
I don't care if my innards explode
Cos it's root, root, root for the stomach
If I don't eat it's a shame
For it's ONE! TWO!
Three sliders you're out
At the ol' ballgame!
And people wonder why this country is reviled sometimes......
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