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Martin

I am here for Serious Relationships and Friends

About Me

I am a Social Studies major preparing for secondary education @ Pacific Union College in Angwin, California. I was born in England and lived there till i was 14. I am a citizen of both the United Kingdom and the United States. Most people know me for being English since i still have a distinct and loud north London accent, that becomes especially noticeable when i get passionate watching football (soccer) on tv. One day i would like to be a professional football (soccer) player, but when that fails, and it will, i hope to become a history or english teacher at an Adventist academy and maybe coach a little soccer or basketball. I believe strongly in human rights, true justice and socialist ideals. The world is a huge place and California is only one small corner, the United States, as large and populous as it may be, does not represent the majority of people on this earth. For every Iraqi citizen "liberated" from the clutches of tyrannical rule, there are a hundred more in other parts of the world that we don't hear about. The oppressed denizens of Burma, South Korea, Palestine, Pakistan, Sudan, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia are in greater need of our help than possibly anywhere else in the world, yet these countries fail to receive help from our nation for purely monetary reasons. Our country, that is slowly taking away our rights to fuel their defense of "freedom", is taking baby steps towards dictatorship. You think the patriot act will be abolished once the conflict in Iraq is over? When a nation goes to war against a word and an abstract concept (war on drugs, war on terror) total victory will never be achieved...I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4 .. .. .. .. ..

My Interests

Human Rights, True Justice, Amnesty International, National Politics, History and Geography, Foreign Policy, Underground Hiphop, Writing and Journalism, Cooking, English Football, PS2 Videogames, Playing Basketball and Soccer, Poker, Stand-up Comedy, Economics, Chess, Scrabble, Eating, Black and White Postcards, Photography, Backpacking, Fishing, Mountain Biking, Hiking, World travel, Reading the books and watching movies and tv shows mentioned below.

I'd like to meet:

People who take a stand for what they believe in. I'd like to meet people who risk their life so that others can be safe, free and alive. I'd like to meet revolutionaries who favor a non-violent approach to liberation, although there is time for self-defense there is very little in this world that cannot be accomplished through non-violent solutions, whether its through civil disobedience, negotiation or boycotts. I'd like to meet other people who believe in the power to change the world through voting, peaceful revolution and above all awareness and intelligent self-informing. I'd like to meet those individual workers on minimum wage who pay higher tax percentages than multi-billion dollar corporations. I'd like to meet revolutionaries who represent the people, who work to improve rights, their living conditions and their democratic representation. I'd like to meet the President of the United States and ask him why he cares more about two law abiding homosexuals wanting to get married than every impoverished citizen of New Orleans. I'd like to tell him that not all of us will sit by and let him destroy our democracy. Of course I'd also want to meet all my soccer heroes. Apart from the God, friends and family, the two things that mean the most to me in life is social justice/human rights and English Football especially Manchester United and my favorite the English national team. Nothing makes me prouder that seeing them win. Every boy in the country dreams of playing for them and I'm no different. Ever since i was a kid i've watched them lose in heartbreaking defeats. Theres nothing like blindly following a football team that have made you cry, laugh, scream and dance every year for your whole life, buying all the merchandise you can get your hands on and skipping the most classes you can get away with to watch all the live games on television from back home. For those of you who dont know me too well, these videos are a great way of finding out who i am and how English Football has been such a big part of my life and childhood.

Music:

I have a broad spectrum of musical interests, but nothing appeals to me more than politically influential soul music from the mid-20th century and underground socially concious hip hop especially from the Bay Area. Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, The Temptations, Otis Redding, The Delfonics. Before it was popular to do so these soul musicians took a strong stand to change the nation and influenced the lives of millions. Dead Prez, Immortal Technique, Zion-I, Binary Star, Common, Pharoahe Monche, MF Doom, Cunninlynguists, Jedi Mind Tricks, Wyclef Jean and the Fugees, Masta Ace, Del, Murs, Grouch, Black Thought, The Roots, Talib Kweli and Mos Def (Blackstar) and Brother Ali. These musicians rap about issues, current events, love and spirituality. I love Classic Rock like Zeppelin, Queen, Beatles, Aerosmith, Guns and Roses and all the one hit wonders you hear on classic rock stations. I also have a place for my favorite female singer-songwriters - Alicia Keyes, Norah Jones, Amy Winehouse, Feist, and Corine Bailey Rae.

Movies:

City of God, Goal, Bowling For Columbine, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Sicko, Forrest Gump, Brotherhood of the Wolf, Star Wars, Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai, The Godfather, City of God, Promises, The Godfather II, Green Street Hooligans, Farenheit 911, The Matrix, The Mummy, Dragonheart, Gladiator, Braveheart, Space Jam, Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Rocky, Training Day, Barbershop, Remember the Titans, the James Bond series, Old School, Wedding Crashers, Anchorman

Television:

History Channel, Discovery Channel, As much english football (soccer) as i can watch, Lost, NYPD Blue, Prison Break, Simpsons, Family Guy, American Idol, ESPN, G4TV, Star Trek, The Sopranos, Chapelle's Show, Mind of Mencia, Father Ted, Blackadder, The Young Ones, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and SOUTH PARK - You'd be suprised at how political and socially aware that show is!

Books:

Soccer Autobiographies, Non-Fiction History and Politics. Harry Potter, Star Wars Novels, Some classic Literature

Heroes:

*Revolutionary Heroes* MLK Jr. Mumia Abu Jamal, Angela Davis, Assata Shakur, Subcommadante Marcos, Malcom X, John Africa, John Brown, Aung San Suu Kyi, Frank Serpico, Morgan Tsvangirai, Che Guevara, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Nelson Mandela, The leaders of the 2006 Illegal Immigrant March, Robert Greenwald, Peter Benenson, Ralph Nader, Gandhi, Noam Chomsky and Cesar Chavez*Football (Soccer) Heroes* David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Eric Cantona, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Sol Campbell, Graeme Le Saux, Michael Owen, Paul Ince, Alan Shearer, Bobby Moore, John Barnes, Mark Hughes, Bryan Robson, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham, Bobby Charlton, George Best, Duncan Edwards and Gordon Banks.

My Blog

Poetry

Revelation 20:7-8When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earthGog and Magogto gather them for battl...
Posted by Martin on Sun, 16 Mar 2008 12:31:00 PST

Hip Hop Ain't Dead Just Yet

We've all, at one point or another, turned on the radio or TV and witnessed a rapper unashamedly rhyme about killing people or using women solely for sexual pleasure. What used to be a rallying cry fo...
Posted by Martin on Sun, 13 May 2007 11:01:00 PST

Elvis Presley  American Icon, Musical Legend & Personal Hero

There was a time - although it feels like another lifetime now - when our family would leave behind gray and dreary England to spend two weeks on holiday in the legendary United States of America. I s...
Posted by Martin on Sun, 13 May 2007 08:46:00 PST

Is God a Mathematician?

Is God a Mathematician? I might be a student dedicated to the study of literature and history, but during high school it was mathematics that really caught my attention. Here at PUC I regret that I wa...
Posted by Martin on Sat, 12 May 2007 01:55:00 PST

300 Reasons to Study Ancient Greece

300 Reasons to Study Ancient GreeceI sat, totally absorbed, as sword and spear combined majestically in some of the most memorable fight scenes in cinematic history. In the few respites from jaw-dropp...
Posted by Martin on Sat, 12 May 2007 01:52:00 PST

Healing Wounds With a Cricket Bat

Healing Wounds with a Cricket BatIn the past month, more than a few people in my dormitory have seen me lying on my couch, listening to two Indian voices on internet radio. The chatter over the airwav...
Posted by Martin on Sat, 20 Jan 2007 10:19:00 PST

Enough Killing - Time to Abolish the death penalty

  Enough Killing : Time to Abolish the Death Penalty By Martin Surridge   The recent UN measures and the growing public admiration of Senator John McCain (R  AZ) has seen a growing anti-tor...
Posted by Martin on Sun, 08 Oct 2006 06:46:00 PST

Story without the letter E

 This is a short story I wrote that does not feature a single letter 'E'A Dark Cold Night - By Martin SurridgeIt was a cold windy night in April. A short man, Frank, was standing in front of old ...
Posted by Martin on Thu, 10 Aug 2006 05:31:00 PST

World Cup Suffering

Crushing and Depressing as it was the World Cup was exciting but that last penalty will forever be etched in my mind and i will never forget that feeling of getting knocked out once again. I suffer et...
Posted by Martin on Tue, 04 Jul 2006 01:28:00 PST