Friday, April 28, 2006
Game: Ball Drop
An interesting puzzle game. There are only 5 levels, but once you beat them, you can go back and try to beat them again in less moves. They're pretty easy to beat, but it's a challenge to try to get them in as few moves as possible.
Marble Video
This is a pretty long video (15 min) doing those Rube Goldberg like puzzles using a marble and various objects. It's pretty cool to see them. Each run is only like a 30 seconds at most. What threw me was the intro. Just sit patiently and ignore the intro, which is an anime thing. Trust me, it has nothing to do wih the rest of the video.
Secret to Long Life
Now this is interesting. Apparently people who speak their minds not only get their way, but also live longer. Well that's according to this research done by zee Germans.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Role Models (Part 2)
And we’re back! Why is it so important for people to have role models? There are several reasons that I can think of from the top of my head. One is that a role model gives us something to aspire. For Americans in particular, a popular role model is the ones who grew up in a poor family and through blood, sweat and tears, despite all odds (cue inspiring music) he makes it big. And now, for a mere $500, you can find out how he did it! Most likely, he did it by selling tickets to gullible people who want to know how to get rich quickly. Cynicism aside, people want to know that their life can be better. If someone in even dire straits was able to make it, then anyone can make it. By following their footsteps, and finding out how these people made it, it might be possible for others to do it as well.
Another reason is they give us something to admire. As I had mentioned earlier, I had a friend who likes to root for Christians in sports. I suppose he wants to see the Christian being rewarded for his faithful service. Or maybe it’s that they share a common bond, that is, they are both Christians, so it’s easier to identify with the athlete. Or with all the athletes being self-righteous ego maniacs, it’s probably a relief to see a nice guy doing well. Of course, not every Christian is humble or nice, but chances are good that they are. They are what is known by experts as "positive role models" (as opposed to, you know, "negative role models" (another scientific term)).
The last reason I can think of is, some are role models because they inspire. (Wow, three reasons and they all rhyme! I’m good, oh yeah!) Seeing these people maintain their faith despite all the hardships they have, can help others keep their strong faith as well. One of the more famous role model of this type is Joni Erickson (?). When she was a girl, she dove into a pond and broke her neck, leaving her paralyzed. Despite that accident, she still believes in God, and gives motivational speeches to the public. Seeing her troubles, it makes our problems seem small. And learning about her great faith drives us to reexamine our own faith as well.
Those are all good reasons, but should we still have role models? On Tuesday, I mentioned buying my very first CD, which was Amy Grant, “The Collections”. What I didn’t say was where I bought it. It was in Baton Rouge, LA at a Jimmy Swaggart Revival. This was pre-Jimmy Fall, of course. For those of you who don’t know about him, he was a popular tele-evangelist in the 80’s. He had a multi-million dollar ministry with at least 2 television shows and many prime-time specials. He even had his own Seminary School. I still remember clearly the day when news of his fall broke. He was so popular, that the news was even broadcast on the radio. My mom was driving me to school in the morning, and we heard about how he was caught with a prostitute in a motel room. Apparently, it was staged, and the photographer knew where he was. After the news broke, at first he denied it, saying it was for “research”. However, eventually he publicly acknowledged it on national TV. He asked his wife and the Baptist Council for forgiveness. Though he didn’t commit a crime unlike others (*cough* Jim Baker *cough*), nevertheless his ministry fell apart almost overnight. He went through a year of penance, and afterward, he couldn’t fill a car, let alone a stadium like he used. My parents adored him, they bought all his tapes, even taped his shows, and obviously went to his conferences. Several years later, he was speaking at what is now the HP Pavilion, and he only filled the first 10 rows, about 100 people in total. How the mighty have fallen.
Even though he took it like a man and apologized, why didn’t he regain the fame and power he once had? If God can forgive him, why can’t we? I have 2 people I admire the most in the Bible (other than Jesus of course). One was John because of his humility. The second was David, also known as “The Man after God’s own heart”. I admire David, because all through his life he was a righteous man. Then he committed a host of sins all at once, for the love of a woman. He was rightfully punished, and he asked God for forgiveness. God gave it. Even during his punishment, David acted righteously. What God gives, he takes away. I read some books who talked about David and how his life was never as great after he sinned. And they used that as a cautionary tale about how we shouldn’t sin either. I disagree with that conclusion. I firmly believe that people can still do good despite their sins. They can still be role models. What about all those examples of drug addicts turned into Christians? They sinned too, and even after their sin, they still did God’s work. David was a man, with man’s desires. That shouldn’t drive us away, it should highlight the fact that even "The Man after God’s heart" still had to battle the same lusts, the same sins that we battle. It should draw us more sympathetically to him, not drive him away.
Ultimately, the only role model I have is the one who didn’t sin. Jesus. He is the ultimate paragon of who we should aspire, admire and inspire to be. He, too, experienced all the temptations that we did, but unlike us, he didn’t succumb to them. If you want someone to admire, admire Jesus, not another mortal. But if you do want to admire a mortal, admire someone from the Bible. There are so many better role models in there than in the world today.
Another reason is they give us something to admire. As I had mentioned earlier, I had a friend who likes to root for Christians in sports. I suppose he wants to see the Christian being rewarded for his faithful service. Or maybe it’s that they share a common bond, that is, they are both Christians, so it’s easier to identify with the athlete. Or with all the athletes being self-righteous ego maniacs, it’s probably a relief to see a nice guy doing well. Of course, not every Christian is humble or nice, but chances are good that they are. They are what is known by experts as "positive role models" (as opposed to, you know, "negative role models" (another scientific term)).
The last reason I can think of is, some are role models because they inspire. (Wow, three reasons and they all rhyme! I’m good, oh yeah!) Seeing these people maintain their faith despite all the hardships they have, can help others keep their strong faith as well. One of the more famous role model of this type is Joni Erickson (?). When she was a girl, she dove into a pond and broke her neck, leaving her paralyzed. Despite that accident, she still believes in God, and gives motivational speeches to the public. Seeing her troubles, it makes our problems seem small. And learning about her great faith drives us to reexamine our own faith as well.
Those are all good reasons, but should we still have role models? On Tuesday, I mentioned buying my very first CD, which was Amy Grant, “The Collections”. What I didn’t say was where I bought it. It was in Baton Rouge, LA at a Jimmy Swaggart Revival. This was pre-Jimmy Fall, of course. For those of you who don’t know about him, he was a popular tele-evangelist in the 80’s. He had a multi-million dollar ministry with at least 2 television shows and many prime-time specials. He even had his own Seminary School. I still remember clearly the day when news of his fall broke. He was so popular, that the news was even broadcast on the radio. My mom was driving me to school in the morning, and we heard about how he was caught with a prostitute in a motel room. Apparently, it was staged, and the photographer knew where he was. After the news broke, at first he denied it, saying it was for “research”. However, eventually he publicly acknowledged it on national TV. He asked his wife and the Baptist Council for forgiveness. Though he didn’t commit a crime unlike others (*cough* Jim Baker *cough*), nevertheless his ministry fell apart almost overnight. He went through a year of penance, and afterward, he couldn’t fill a car, let alone a stadium like he used. My parents adored him, they bought all his tapes, even taped his shows, and obviously went to his conferences. Several years later, he was speaking at what is now the HP Pavilion, and he only filled the first 10 rows, about 100 people in total. How the mighty have fallen.
Even though he took it like a man and apologized, why didn’t he regain the fame and power he once had? If God can forgive him, why can’t we? I have 2 people I admire the most in the Bible (other than Jesus of course). One was John because of his humility. The second was David, also known as “The Man after God’s own heart”. I admire David, because all through his life he was a righteous man. Then he committed a host of sins all at once, for the love of a woman. He was rightfully punished, and he asked God for forgiveness. God gave it. Even during his punishment, David acted righteously. What God gives, he takes away. I read some books who talked about David and how his life was never as great after he sinned. And they used that as a cautionary tale about how we shouldn’t sin either. I disagree with that conclusion. I firmly believe that people can still do good despite their sins. They can still be role models. What about all those examples of drug addicts turned into Christians? They sinned too, and even after their sin, they still did God’s work. David was a man, with man’s desires. That shouldn’t drive us away, it should highlight the fact that even "The Man after God’s heart" still had to battle the same lusts, the same sins that we battle. It should draw us more sympathetically to him, not drive him away.
Ultimately, the only role model I have is the one who didn’t sin. Jesus. He is the ultimate paragon of who we should aspire, admire and inspire to be. He, too, experienced all the temptations that we did, but unlike us, he didn’t succumb to them. If you want someone to admire, admire Jesus, not another mortal. But if you do want to admire a mortal, admire someone from the Bible. There are so many better role models in there than in the world today.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Why he got fired from apple
Here's an interesting video of a poet who was on "def jam poet". His poem basically got him fired from Apple. It's pretty funny, but it's hard to hear some of the verses.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Role Models (Part 1)
My all-time favorite Christian singer is Amy Grant. There, I’m not ashamed to say it. Part of the reason is she’s a good singer, another reason is I think she’s very pretty, and the most important reason (and the most sentimental) is that she was the first Contemporary Christian Artist I have ever heard. It’s actually a very funny story about how I first heard her. I remember it clearly, even though I was about 10 or 11 at the time. It was for my cousin’s (Cathy) wedding. I was there at the wedding practice because my sister was the flower girl. And during the practice, one lady sang a very beautiful song. However, my mom and I looked at each other, because we thought it was a very odd song to sing at a wedding. The song was called “I shall die”. Or at least, that’s what we thought the song was called. Why are they singing about death at a wedding? It’s kinda morbid, but I thought, maybe they really really liked the song. Only later did we find out, the real name of the song was “El Shaddai”. Hrm… it’s a lot funnier when I tell it.
Later on, at a Christmas party, I was snooping at their house, and I saw a tape (You remember those things? They’re about the same size of Treos sans antenna and with a long ribbon coiled around 2 loops) of Amy Grant. I thought she looked pretty (hey, remember my previous post about covers ;)) and I checked the back and to my surprise, “El Shaddai” was there. Cool! The very first CD I bought (remember those things before they destroyed your computers?!) was, you guessed it, an Amy Grant CD. The Collection, to be exact. It’s also interesting where I bought the CD, which I’ll explain later. Anyway, soon after that album, she moved into pop, and I could hear her on the radio! I must have played her “Heart In Motion” CD for at least 100 times. I’m pretty sure my family got sick of it, because I played it every day at breakfast. I have a high tolerance for repetition… I can play some things to death and never get tired of hearing it. Amy Grant is one, Lightning Crashes is another, and Freshman is the third. So, other than explaining my Amy Grant fetish with you, I actually brought this up for another reason. When she moved to pop, she lost some Christian fans, who felt that she sold out and/or lost her faith. I didn’t really care, to me she will always be a singer who is Christian, not the other way around. But then an even bigger tragedy happened that lost her A LOT of fans. In 1999, she got divorced from her longtime husband-producer.
Some say she had an affair, after reading countless articles, I’m not sure. All she really admitted was that she loved Vince Gill for a long time. But when the news came out, suddenly all the Christian radio stations stopped playing her music. It was as if “El Shaddai”, “I Have Decided”, and “Thy Word” had never existed. A year later, she married Vince. It all but fueled the fires of gossip about whether she had an affair with Vince, when they did a duet together. She was an outcast, condemned for being human. I never stopped liking her music. I still bought all her CDs even the hymns, which are not really my thing. I still admire her, but most important of all, I forgave her. I’m sure she didn’t ask for my forgiveness, and mine isn’t the most important. But from interviews I’ve read, I’m positive that she asked God for forgiveness, and if He, the perfect one who abhors all sin, can forgive her, I can too.
There are many Christian artists and athletes who have been elevated far above their status. Rather than calling them “idols” (I guess because it reminds Christians too much about the 2nd Commandment), they’re called “Role Models”. I’m not sure why people feel the need to “idolize” them, as it were. Many a times, I hear people who are not sports fans, cheer a particular team because they heard they have “team prayers” before a big game. Or, people will love and watch every movie an actor does just because he praised God in his Oscar acceptance speech. And just as quickly as people lift up these role models, they are just as quick to drop them when they fall. It’s as if the role models have failed them, and shattered their expectation of a “good Christian”. And because of that, they can never be revered again, no matter how apologetic they are. It’s happened to many athletes and singers, especially singers, although I don’t know why.
Kirk Franklin is another one. He was one of the foremost godly Christian rapper who blended rap and gospel together in a very energetic and fun manner. I normally don’t like rap songs, but even I enjoyed his music. So much so, that I wondered what happened to him. For several years, I have not heard a single Franklin song. And then, a friend of mine told me the reason. Yup, that old Temptation and Fall thing. Throughout his life, he has always struggled with pornography and a promiscuous lifestyle. And either the secret leaked out, or he told everyone. Then in an instant, he’s out.
Why are people so unforgiving when it comes to their role models? Is having a role model even a good thing?
Later on, at a Christmas party, I was snooping at their house, and I saw a tape (You remember those things? They’re about the same size of Treos sans antenna and with a long ribbon coiled around 2 loops) of Amy Grant. I thought she looked pretty (hey, remember my previous post about covers ;)) and I checked the back and to my surprise, “El Shaddai” was there. Cool! The very first CD I bought (remember those things before they destroyed your computers?!) was, you guessed it, an Amy Grant CD. The Collection, to be exact. It’s also interesting where I bought the CD, which I’ll explain later. Anyway, soon after that album, she moved into pop, and I could hear her on the radio! I must have played her “Heart In Motion” CD for at least 100 times. I’m pretty sure my family got sick of it, because I played it every day at breakfast. I have a high tolerance for repetition… I can play some things to death and never get tired of hearing it. Amy Grant is one, Lightning Crashes is another, and Freshman is the third. So, other than explaining my Amy Grant fetish with you, I actually brought this up for another reason. When she moved to pop, she lost some Christian fans, who felt that she sold out and/or lost her faith. I didn’t really care, to me she will always be a singer who is Christian, not the other way around. But then an even bigger tragedy happened that lost her A LOT of fans. In 1999, she got divorced from her longtime husband-producer.
Some say she had an affair, after reading countless articles, I’m not sure. All she really admitted was that she loved Vince Gill for a long time. But when the news came out, suddenly all the Christian radio stations stopped playing her music. It was as if “El Shaddai”, “I Have Decided”, and “Thy Word” had never existed. A year later, she married Vince. It all but fueled the fires of gossip about whether she had an affair with Vince, when they did a duet together. She was an outcast, condemned for being human. I never stopped liking her music. I still bought all her CDs even the hymns, which are not really my thing. I still admire her, but most important of all, I forgave her. I’m sure she didn’t ask for my forgiveness, and mine isn’t the most important. But from interviews I’ve read, I’m positive that she asked God for forgiveness, and if He, the perfect one who abhors all sin, can forgive her, I can too.
There are many Christian artists and athletes who have been elevated far above their status. Rather than calling them “idols” (I guess because it reminds Christians too much about the 2nd Commandment), they’re called “Role Models”. I’m not sure why people feel the need to “idolize” them, as it were. Many a times, I hear people who are not sports fans, cheer a particular team because they heard they have “team prayers” before a big game. Or, people will love and watch every movie an actor does just because he praised God in his Oscar acceptance speech. And just as quickly as people lift up these role models, they are just as quick to drop them when they fall. It’s as if the role models have failed them, and shattered their expectation of a “good Christian”. And because of that, they can never be revered again, no matter how apologetic they are. It’s happened to many athletes and singers, especially singers, although I don’t know why.
Kirk Franklin is another one. He was one of the foremost godly Christian rapper who blended rap and gospel together in a very energetic and fun manner. I normally don’t like rap songs, but even I enjoyed his music. So much so, that I wondered what happened to him. For several years, I have not heard a single Franklin song. And then, a friend of mine told me the reason. Yup, that old Temptation and Fall thing. Throughout his life, he has always struggled with pornography and a promiscuous lifestyle. And either the secret leaked out, or he told everyone. Then in an instant, he’s out.
Why are people so unforgiving when it comes to their role models? Is having a role model even a good thing?
Monday, April 24, 2006
Them's fighting words!
Have you ever heard that phrase before? Typically, it occurs in Westerns, and one guy says it right before the entire town erupts into a gunfight. Well, apparently, our actual US legal system has ruled on fighting words. Whether they are successful or not is up to you to decide. Be warned, the article is very dry and "legalese".
Interesting Survey!
Happy Monday. For those of you who are falling asleep at work, here's a survey guaranteed to interest you :)
Well, nothing is too gross under the sun--err I mean Internet. If you're bored, here's an amusing survey you can take. Don't worry, it's completely anonymous! (I hope). Anyway, at the end you can see the collected results. Be warned, some of the questions are very explicit. Take it now!
Well, nothing is too gross under the sun--err I mean Internet. If you're bored, here's an amusing survey you can take. Don't worry, it's completely anonymous! (I hope). Anyway, at the end you can see the collected results. Be warned, some of the questions are very explicit. Take it now!
Science confirms the obvious
Science, what is it good for? To misquote Gwar: Absolutely nothing. Well, that's not quite true, Science is usfeul for proving things that you already know. I'm still skeptical about one experiment that proved women like funny men. After all, I'm still single! Hrm... maybe that means I'm not funny? Or maybe I'm TOO funny... yeah. Actually some experiments even counteract some adages, like "Expect the worst and you won't be disapointed", is apparently untrue. Anyway, check it out.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Game: Bomb Wars
Well, here's something that will hopefully lighten the mood.
It's an interesting wire-game. Each player is on one end of the room, and there's a chasm in the middle. Hold down spacebar to power up your throw, and then throw the bomb at the other guy. You can bounce the bombs off walls as well. Use the arrow keys to move around. The aiming arrow is automatic, so you have to time the spacebar when the arrow reaches the correct orientation you want. It's pretty fun. And you can play against other people too. Go here to play.
It's an interesting wire-game. Each player is on one end of the room, and there's a chasm in the middle. Hold down spacebar to power up your throw, and then throw the bomb at the other guy. You can bounce the bombs off walls as well. Use the arrow keys to move around. The aiming arrow is automatic, so you have to time the spacebar when the arrow reaches the correct orientation you want. It's pretty fun. And you can play against other people too. Go here to play.
PBS Special: TankMan
Well, this has turned out to be a depressing day. My apologies. An event that hasn't been talked about much but affects all Chinese happened many years ago, around this time. I was actually very young when this happened, so I don't really know the full story. Anyway, PBS has a special site and I believe a program that you can watch online, that deals exclusively with Tiananmen Square and the after-effects. I strongly recommend that you click the link, at least to see how much democracy is worth.
Sex Offender Registry
Wow, this is very scary. But it's too dangerous to ignore. You can check out if there are any registered sex offenders living near you. The website is here. You will be surprised at the results.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Clothes (Pt 2)
Just in case people get the wrong idea, I was being sarcastic last week, concerning the meaning of Easter. Like all holidays that once started out with religious significance, Easter has changed into a secular event. Malls have huge Easter hunts on Saturdays. People line up their kids to have their pictures taken with the Easter Bunny. It’s all a song and dance now, another excuse to dress nicely, another excuse to have a huge sale to boost profits. Most likely if you are reading this, you know that this isn’t what Easter is all about. It’s all about the cross and the resurrection.
I’m not going to go into the main reason why the resurrection is so important. I’m sure that has been drilled into your heads since you first become a believer. I like to talk about another aspect of the resurrection, the application side of it. It was Paul who tells us clearly, what the resurrection means to us personally, and how we should apply it to our daily lives. The book of Colossians talks about it, mainly in chapters 2 and 3. I am aware that filling up this column with the Word of God is far better than my ramblings, nevertheless, I am going to pick out what I feel are the verses pertinent to my discussion. But I encourage and urge you to read the entire 2 chapters for yourself, so that you can understand the full meaning of what Paul is saying.
11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. (Col 2:11-12)
Paul says that Jesus died and rose again. And we, being Christians, have died and rose with Christ as well. We are one with Jesus. So whatever he did, we must do as well, if we are to say that we love Him. Just as Jesus was circumcised, we too are circumcised, but not with a scalpel or a really sharp rock, but a spiritual circumcision. We are to cut away the sins that are a part of our being, much like the foreskin is cut from the wee-wee (Yes, it’s a technical term). And just like Christ who died for our sins, we die through baptism, and just as He rose again, we rise again. But what exactly happens when we rise? Are we like Frankenstein, a monstrous body with a soul of a artist (I’m comparing the novel Frankenstein, not the movie Frankenstein. Go read a book!)?
Well luckily, Paul answers that for us later on. But first, some more talk about dying.
20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— 21 “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” 22 which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? (Col 2:20-22)
When we die, we are out of this world now. You know, just like dead people. You don’t see them coming out of the graves and ordering McDonalds. They aren’t concerned any more about pollution, the environment, Wars in the Middle-East, elections, family, what college to send their kids, and oh-my-who crashed the car! So, since we are one with Jesus, we too are dead, and as such should not consider ourselves living in the world. Now, re-reading this verse, I can see how someone can easily misinterpret the verse as saying we shouldn’t obey any of the laws of the world since they no longer apply to us zombies. But that’s not what he was referring to. He was talking mainly about the rules and regulations of the faith, where we can’t eat this or touch that. Anyway, moving on!
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. … 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, (Col 3:1-2,9-10)
But when we rise, we become new people. We are supposed to put off the old man, and put on the new. That’s where the clothes reference is coming from. Just like some of us put away the fashions that are now passé, we are supposed to put away the old man. Hang that skin up in the closet, and prepare to have your kids come back later to wear them again. Heh, just kidding! Seriously, this is the type of fashion you need to burn, along with Mohawks, leisure suits, and those clothes with the beads hanging down. Some things were never meant to have been invented, like fat guys in hot pink biker shorts. Yeah, you know who you are! Anyway, as that saying goes, “Clothes make the man.” In this case, literally it does. When we are resurrected, we are supposed to wear new clothes. We are supposed to put on love. And once we do, we are no longer separated by race, creed or position. We are all one body, in Christ.
Easter has come and gone, but I hope this lesson won’t. It’s hard to live what Paul has preached. In fact, I can say with certainty, that it is impossible. Look at churches today. Has there been any club or organization that is as racially segregated as churches? It’s getting better, there are more multi-cultural churches, but they are the exception rather than the norm. But anyway, we can only put on the new man with the help of the Holy Spirit and that’s all. So this is what Easter means to me. Peace out.
I’m not going to go into the main reason why the resurrection is so important. I’m sure that has been drilled into your heads since you first become a believer. I like to talk about another aspect of the resurrection, the application side of it. It was Paul who tells us clearly, what the resurrection means to us personally, and how we should apply it to our daily lives. The book of Colossians talks about it, mainly in chapters 2 and 3. I am aware that filling up this column with the Word of God is far better than my ramblings, nevertheless, I am going to pick out what I feel are the verses pertinent to my discussion. But I encourage and urge you to read the entire 2 chapters for yourself, so that you can understand the full meaning of what Paul is saying.
11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. (Col 2:11-12)
Paul says that Jesus died and rose again. And we, being Christians, have died and rose with Christ as well. We are one with Jesus. So whatever he did, we must do as well, if we are to say that we love Him. Just as Jesus was circumcised, we too are circumcised, but not with a scalpel or a really sharp rock, but a spiritual circumcision. We are to cut away the sins that are a part of our being, much like the foreskin is cut from the wee-wee (Yes, it’s a technical term). And just like Christ who died for our sins, we die through baptism, and just as He rose again, we rise again. But what exactly happens when we rise? Are we like Frankenstein, a monstrous body with a soul of a artist (I’m comparing the novel Frankenstein, not the movie Frankenstein. Go read a book!)?
Well luckily, Paul answers that for us later on. But first, some more talk about dying.
20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— 21 “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” 22 which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? (Col 2:20-22)
When we die, we are out of this world now. You know, just like dead people. You don’t see them coming out of the graves and ordering McDonalds. They aren’t concerned any more about pollution, the environment, Wars in the Middle-East, elections, family, what college to send their kids, and oh-my-who crashed the car! So, since we are one with Jesus, we too are dead, and as such should not consider ourselves living in the world. Now, re-reading this verse, I can see how someone can easily misinterpret the verse as saying we shouldn’t obey any of the laws of the world since they no longer apply to us zombies. But that’s not what he was referring to. He was talking mainly about the rules and regulations of the faith, where we can’t eat this or touch that. Anyway, moving on!
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. … 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, (Col 3:1-2,9-10)
But when we rise, we become new people. We are supposed to put off the old man, and put on the new. That’s where the clothes reference is coming from. Just like some of us put away the fashions that are now passé, we are supposed to put away the old man. Hang that skin up in the closet, and prepare to have your kids come back later to wear them again. Heh, just kidding! Seriously, this is the type of fashion you need to burn, along with Mohawks, leisure suits, and those clothes with the beads hanging down. Some things were never meant to have been invented, like fat guys in hot pink biker shorts. Yeah, you know who you are! Anyway, as that saying goes, “Clothes make the man.” In this case, literally it does. When we are resurrected, we are supposed to wear new clothes. We are supposed to put on love. And once we do, we are no longer separated by race, creed or position. We are all one body, in Christ.
Easter has come and gone, but I hope this lesson won’t. It’s hard to live what Paul has preached. In fact, I can say with certainty, that it is impossible. Look at churches today. Has there been any club or organization that is as racially segregated as churches? It’s getting better, there are more multi-cultural churches, but they are the exception rather than the norm. But anyway, we can only put on the new man with the help of the Holy Spirit and that’s all. So this is what Easter means to me. Peace out.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Clothes (Part 1)
“It’s the clothes that make the man”. If you have ever met me, you can be certain that I don’t ascribe to this idiom. I never really cared for fashion. I just wear whatever is comfortable for me. I’m so glad my company is so lax regarding company attire. I’ve gone there wearing shorts, t-shirt and sandals. I also don’t like to spend money on clothes either, which probably doesn’t help my fashion sense. Free t-shirts and old dad’s hand-me-downs, that’s how I get a new wardrobe. Oh, and concert shirts, which are mementos of the shows that I go to. So, if clothes do make the man, then I’m probably a comfortable, slightly hole-y person who has good taste in music and musicals.
Why do clothes make the person. What exactly does it mean? I think it goes hand in hand with another idiom, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, which is one idiom that most Americans, probably the whole world, doesn’t follow. People judge others by their outward appearance, by the clothes they wear, and by the way they conduct themselves. After all, it’s easy to do, and it’s the first thing people notice. It takes a lot more effort to get to know someone from the inside, and with all the people we meet everyday, it would be a very taxing job. Plus you wouldn’t be able to get work done. So, customers make snap judgements every day. Service people as well. Chinese do it especially. If they see a Chinese restaurant that isn’t crowded, they don’t go in either. Because, why else would there be no crowd unless the food is terrible? It’s the only explanation why any Chinese family would be willing to wait an hour to get into a Dim Sum restaurant, only to have to wait another 30 minutes as the carts slowly wind their way through the forest of tables. And when the cart finally gets to you, the food is all dried up and soggy from the constant steam. Either that, or you’re stuck in the farthest corner of the restaurant, and the dimsum girls ignore you until you throw a chopstick at them. But then of course, you’re are now short one chopstick and again, stuck in the corner, and no waiters to see you. So you throw the other chopstick to get their attention, and by that time, the food is all gone and now you’re hungry and have no utensils. Not that this has happened to me… I uh, saw a table do that once.
I’m also guilty of judging books by their covers….literally. I told my friend this while we were browsing the book store. It’s part of our usual mall tour when we went to Towson, in my college days. We had the route planned to a “T”. We park in the underground garage, right in front of mall entrance. We then always go down the escalator, hit the Software Etc. Then we round the corner to the Waldenbooks, up the escalator again and hit the Suncoast, then go to the comic book store, which is right across from the… yeah, you guessed it, arcade. After losing a couple bucks there, then we go grab the only good Chinese Food in all of Maryland, Panda Express. Then we go home. So… back to judging books by covers. My friend was getting into Sci-fi books, and I was imparting some of my wisdom to him, things I’ve picked up over the years. First rule, don’t buy any books written by females. I know that’s sexist, but in general, they usually involve homosexuals, convoluted love triangles, and/or rape/torture. It’s a gross generalization, but with so many books to choose from, why take that chance? Second rule, look at the cover of the book. If the cover is a boring, plain book, pass on by. If the book has a half-naked girl but also a strapping bare-chested hunk, no matter how hot the girl is, pass it by as well. Those are nothing more than thinly-veiled romance novels in the guise of science-fiction. “General Hospital” in space. Now, if the cover has a group of people fighting a dragon or hordes of bad guys, or the cover is done by Boris Vallejo, or Brothers Hildebrandt or Larry Elmore, or there’s a really hot chick, excuse me, girl and just a girl, then chances are it’ll be a book he and I would like to read.
It’s all about finding what you want quickly. Crowded restaurants=good food, especially in a street filled with restaurants. You don’t have time to try so many restaurants, unless you’re a hobbit. Same with books, you don’t have time to browse and read every summary on the book jacket. And same thing with girls and guys. With so many guys hitting on women, the ladies need a quick way to filter them out. Easiest way is appearance. If a guy dresses nicely, has good grooming it means several things. One, they have the cash to buy nice clothes, which means either a job, or trust-fund baby. Second, if they take care of themselves, they will take care of the girls as well. Hrm… well, I know that that isn’t always the case. Chances are the handsomer the guy, the more self-absorbed they are. Same with girls, the prettier the girl, the more self-centered they are. Ok, enough of the rambling. Next time I'll tell you why I'm talking about fashion in the first place.
Why do clothes make the person. What exactly does it mean? I think it goes hand in hand with another idiom, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, which is one idiom that most Americans, probably the whole world, doesn’t follow. People judge others by their outward appearance, by the clothes they wear, and by the way they conduct themselves. After all, it’s easy to do, and it’s the first thing people notice. It takes a lot more effort to get to know someone from the inside, and with all the people we meet everyday, it would be a very taxing job. Plus you wouldn’t be able to get work done. So, customers make snap judgements every day. Service people as well. Chinese do it especially. If they see a Chinese restaurant that isn’t crowded, they don’t go in either. Because, why else would there be no crowd unless the food is terrible? It’s the only explanation why any Chinese family would be willing to wait an hour to get into a Dim Sum restaurant, only to have to wait another 30 minutes as the carts slowly wind their way through the forest of tables. And when the cart finally gets to you, the food is all dried up and soggy from the constant steam. Either that, or you’re stuck in the farthest corner of the restaurant, and the dimsum girls ignore you until you throw a chopstick at them. But then of course, you’re are now short one chopstick and again, stuck in the corner, and no waiters to see you. So you throw the other chopstick to get their attention, and by that time, the food is all gone and now you’re hungry and have no utensils. Not that this has happened to me… I uh, saw a table do that once.
I’m also guilty of judging books by their covers….literally. I told my friend this while we were browsing the book store. It’s part of our usual mall tour when we went to Towson, in my college days. We had the route planned to a “T”. We park in the underground garage, right in front of mall entrance. We then always go down the escalator, hit the Software Etc. Then we round the corner to the Waldenbooks, up the escalator again and hit the Suncoast, then go to the comic book store, which is right across from the… yeah, you guessed it, arcade. After losing a couple bucks there, then we go grab the only good Chinese Food in all of Maryland, Panda Express. Then we go home. So… back to judging books by covers. My friend was getting into Sci-fi books, and I was imparting some of my wisdom to him, things I’ve picked up over the years. First rule, don’t buy any books written by females. I know that’s sexist, but in general, they usually involve homosexuals, convoluted love triangles, and/or rape/torture. It’s a gross generalization, but with so many books to choose from, why take that chance? Second rule, look at the cover of the book. If the cover is a boring, plain book, pass on by. If the book has a half-naked girl but also a strapping bare-chested hunk, no matter how hot the girl is, pass it by as well. Those are nothing more than thinly-veiled romance novels in the guise of science-fiction. “General Hospital” in space. Now, if the cover has a group of people fighting a dragon or hordes of bad guys, or the cover is done by Boris Vallejo, or Brothers Hildebrandt or Larry Elmore, or there’s a really hot chick, excuse me, girl and just a girl, then chances are it’ll be a book he and I would like to read.
It’s all about finding what you want quickly. Crowded restaurants=good food, especially in a street filled with restaurants. You don’t have time to try so many restaurants, unless you’re a hobbit. Same with books, you don’t have time to browse and read every summary on the book jacket. And same thing with girls and guys. With so many guys hitting on women, the ladies need a quick way to filter them out. Easiest way is appearance. If a guy dresses nicely, has good grooming it means several things. One, they have the cash to buy nice clothes, which means either a job, or trust-fund baby. Second, if they take care of themselves, they will take care of the girls as well. Hrm… well, I know that that isn’t always the case. Chances are the handsomer the guy, the more self-absorbed they are. Same with girls, the prettier the girl, the more self-centered they are. Ok, enough of the rambling. Next time I'll tell you why I'm talking about fashion in the first place.
Monday, April 17, 2006
Senses Challenge
First time I tried it, I got 11 out of 20. Some of them are completely random like the food combinations. Anyway, see how good you are and comment :) Take the Challenge!
Video: The Shining
OK, this is a very old video, which all of you must have seen before. But if you haven't, check it out. It's called
The Shining, a romantic comedy. Sounds like a great date movie.
The Shining, a romantic comedy. Sounds like a great date movie.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Sleep Deprivation
Woohoo! Found another article about sleep! Let's see how long I can continue this streak of sleep-related articles!
Game: Sobics School
Well it's Friday, and you know what that means. Your weekly game!
Wierd little Japanese game. You put 4 colored blocks touching each other in order for them to disappear. When you get rid of enough blocks, the level ends, and you get bonus depending on how high your stack is.
Wierd little Japanese game. You put 4 colored blocks touching each other in order for them to disappear. When you get rid of enough blocks, the level ends, and you get bonus depending on how high your stack is.
Best posters!
These are so awesome, I can't wait to share them with you. Usually, I save these links and I have such a backlog that I try to go in order. But I had to share this with you now!
Ok, if you work at a relatively stable company, you probably seen these posters. They're usually a really bright and nice picture, usually of nature or animals. And they have these inspiring motivating slogans about Trust, Loyalty and other crap like that. Social psychologists believe this will inspire people to do their best without having to pay bonuses or raises. Anyway, this site has a bunch of demotivators. They pretty much rock! Check it out: Demotivational Posters
The one that actually made me laugh out loud (yes LOL) is this one.
Ok, if you work at a relatively stable company, you probably seen these posters. They're usually a really bright and nice picture, usually of nature or animals. And they have these inspiring motivating slogans about Trust, Loyalty and other crap like that. Social psychologists believe this will inspire people to do their best without having to pay bonuses or raises. Anyway, this site has a bunch of demotivators. They pretty much rock! Check it out: Demotivational Posters
The one that actually made me laugh out loud (yes LOL) is this one.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
True Meaning of Easter (Part 2)
So in this part, we discuss the real reason why Easter is so important. But first, a little history behind the person that represents Easter. Really, he's the whole reason for Easter. When people say "Easter", they think of this guy...
The Easter Bunny. What’s up with him? Where did that come from? Who thought it was a good idea to have an Easter Bunny carry Easter Eggs? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to have an Easter Chicken? I can’t help but think about those funny Cadberry commercials where there were different animals auditioning as the Easter Bunny. But of course, no animal could be the original clucking Easter bunny. So again, using my vast powers of research (Google), here’s how the Easter bunny came to be.
So according to this site, Easter Bunnies, like most wierd icons, come from pagan lore. Back then, bunnies were considered the most fertile animal (Haven't you heard of the term, breeding like bunnies?). And around the time of spring, all the flowers start blooming, and trees start having leaves. All in all, it was a very fertile season in a festivy sort of way. So what better way to represent spring than, you guessed it, bunnies! Not only that, but they're cute and cuddly and best of all they don't make any sounds when you skin them. You know, to make Sunday Clothes. Anyway, since back then there wasn't any daycare center for the kids, the parents needed another way to get their kids to behave while they're out... paganing. Since it worked for Christmas, why not Spring time? So they told the kids if they behave, this magical bunny will give them presents. And what are those presents? You guessed it! Xbox360s! Oh, wait, no that's my wish. I mean, eggs of course! And now you know why kids didn't behave back then, I mean, who wants crappy eggs as a present? Well, eventually the German Protestant group, most likely the Quakers, brought this tradition to America. And now, we pay people to wear these very hot and uncomfortable bunny outfits and give out colored crap, err I mean eggs.
Growing up in a small non-denominational Church, we never celebrated Good Friday. I mean, every friday is good friday right? TGIF? Tis Good it's Friday, or something. When is there ever a bad Friday? Friday is basically the start of the weekend. At my old High School, everyone left School at 12:30 on Friday. I don't really work on Fridays now either. For that matter, our company has beer busts every Friday. And you have never lived until you try coding while drunk. People go out on Friday nights, that's the number one date night. So, when I first heard about Good Friday, I thought, big deal. Well... for some churches, it is a big deal. It wasn't until my college church that I learned it was the day of Jesus' crucifixition. It was basically another Sunday Morning Service, but on a Friday, and instead of morning, it was night. Hrm... so maybe it's not exactly like a Sunday Morning Service. Moving on... there weren't any plays or crucifixition reenactments, like we do for Christmas. We just filed in, sat in the pews and listened to the pastor talk about the meaning and importance of Good Friday. And where does it stop? There's also Maundy Thursday. Palm Sunday happens the Sunday before. Ash Wednesday. All we need now are 2 cool names for Monday and Tuesday and we got the whole thing covered! Oh wait, my research assistant just came with some news.... apparently there is something for Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday. C'mon people! Won't someone think of Monday? He's so alone and left out and people hate him anyway. Can't someone donate a name for him?
And if you are Catholic, boy, I feel sorry for you this week. It's Holy Week! Wait...that didn't sound right. Well, anyway, for most Catholics, during Holy Week, it's no meat or poultry for the entire week. During Lent, which starts on Ash Wednesday, 46 days prior (but Catholics call it 40 days, cause Sundays don't count for Lent... I dunno why, they just don't), Catholics can't eat any meat on Fridays, and they're required to sacrifice something during the season. I'm not going to talk about the spirit of things in this column, suffice to say, most Catholics don't really enjoy this season. Anyway, for the home stretch, they can't eat meat for the rest of this week until Easter Sunday, where all Catholics (okay, most) can be found at the nearest buffet with plates stacked high with roast beef and chicken. Makes me glad I'm Protestant. Ya know, I used to love tempting my Catholic college friends during Lent. Only one friend and I were non-Catholics out of my group of 6 and it just happened that we shared an apartment. And every Friday, the whole group would always hang out at our place, because we had the biggest TV and actual furniture and the only playstation. For dinner, before the group came to hang out, we would always have Meatloaf, or Hamburger Helper at our place, and the smell of cooked meat would pervade the whole apartment. Of course, we'd always offer them our leftovers, and it was quite fun watching them salivate. Ahh... good times...
So, what have we learned about Easter? Kids hate to wear their best clothes, and why bother cause they’re going to be dirty anyway. Kids don’t really care what you say during Sunday School. Easter eggs are nasty to eat, but fun to collect. Easter bunnies bring the Easter eggs, much like Santa Claus brings Christmas toys. Catholics become healthier but just for this season. Oh yeah, and I think this day has something having to do with a guy coming out of a cave or something. Resurrection? What’s that? =)
The Easter Bunny. What’s up with him? Where did that come from? Who thought it was a good idea to have an Easter Bunny carry Easter Eggs? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to have an Easter Chicken? I can’t help but think about those funny Cadberry commercials where there were different animals auditioning as the Easter Bunny. But of course, no animal could be the original clucking Easter bunny. So again, using my vast powers of research (Google), here’s how the Easter bunny came to be.
So according to this site, Easter Bunnies, like most wierd icons, come from pagan lore. Back then, bunnies were considered the most fertile animal (Haven't you heard of the term, breeding like bunnies?). And around the time of spring, all the flowers start blooming, and trees start having leaves. All in all, it was a very fertile season in a festivy sort of way. So what better way to represent spring than, you guessed it, bunnies! Not only that, but they're cute and cuddly and best of all they don't make any sounds when you skin them. You know, to make Sunday Clothes. Anyway, since back then there wasn't any daycare center for the kids, the parents needed another way to get their kids to behave while they're out... paganing. Since it worked for Christmas, why not Spring time? So they told the kids if they behave, this magical bunny will give them presents. And what are those presents? You guessed it! Xbox360s! Oh, wait, no that's my wish. I mean, eggs of course! And now you know why kids didn't behave back then, I mean, who wants crappy eggs as a present? Well, eventually the German Protestant group, most likely the Quakers, brought this tradition to America. And now, we pay people to wear these very hot and uncomfortable bunny outfits and give out colored crap, err I mean eggs.
Growing up in a small non-denominational Church, we never celebrated Good Friday. I mean, every friday is good friday right? TGIF? Tis Good it's Friday, or something. When is there ever a bad Friday? Friday is basically the start of the weekend. At my old High School, everyone left School at 12:30 on Friday. I don't really work on Fridays now either. For that matter, our company has beer busts every Friday. And you have never lived until you try coding while drunk. People go out on Friday nights, that's the number one date night. So, when I first heard about Good Friday, I thought, big deal. Well... for some churches, it is a big deal. It wasn't until my college church that I learned it was the day of Jesus' crucifixition. It was basically another Sunday Morning Service, but on a Friday, and instead of morning, it was night. Hrm... so maybe it's not exactly like a Sunday Morning Service. Moving on... there weren't any plays or crucifixition reenactments, like we do for Christmas. We just filed in, sat in the pews and listened to the pastor talk about the meaning and importance of Good Friday. And where does it stop? There's also Maundy Thursday. Palm Sunday happens the Sunday before. Ash Wednesday. All we need now are 2 cool names for Monday and Tuesday and we got the whole thing covered! Oh wait, my research assistant just came with some news.... apparently there is something for Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday. C'mon people! Won't someone think of Monday? He's so alone and left out and people hate him anyway. Can't someone donate a name for him?
And if you are Catholic, boy, I feel sorry for you this week. It's Holy Week! Wait...that didn't sound right. Well, anyway, for most Catholics, during Holy Week, it's no meat or poultry for the entire week. During Lent, which starts on Ash Wednesday, 46 days prior (but Catholics call it 40 days, cause Sundays don't count for Lent... I dunno why, they just don't), Catholics can't eat any meat on Fridays, and they're required to sacrifice something during the season. I'm not going to talk about the spirit of things in this column, suffice to say, most Catholics don't really enjoy this season. Anyway, for the home stretch, they can't eat meat for the rest of this week until Easter Sunday, where all Catholics (okay, most) can be found at the nearest buffet with plates stacked high with roast beef and chicken. Makes me glad I'm Protestant. Ya know, I used to love tempting my Catholic college friends during Lent. Only one friend and I were non-Catholics out of my group of 6 and it just happened that we shared an apartment. And every Friday, the whole group would always hang out at our place, because we had the biggest TV and actual furniture and the only playstation. For dinner, before the group came to hang out, we would always have Meatloaf, or Hamburger Helper at our place, and the smell of cooked meat would pervade the whole apartment. Of course, we'd always offer them our leftovers, and it was quite fun watching them salivate. Ahh... good times...
So, what have we learned about Easter? Kids hate to wear their best clothes, and why bother cause they’re going to be dirty anyway. Kids don’t really care what you say during Sunday School. Easter eggs are nasty to eat, but fun to collect. Easter bunnies bring the Easter eggs, much like Santa Claus brings Christmas toys. Catholics become healthier but just for this season. Oh yeah, and I think this day has something having to do with a guy coming out of a cave or something. Resurrection? What’s that? =)
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
The missing link
Well, I like to post controversial topics. And this one is a doozy. Scientists have found a fish with what looks like primitve hands. They're using this as further proof of evolution. Time to reexamine yourselves and ask, "What do I believe?"
Spelling Poetry
Hey, it's Wednesday already! Hard to believe this week is half over now. Here's some a little bit of culture for this week....
While my poetry well is slowly refilling, here are some cool poems about the absurdity of the English language. My favorite one is near the middle of the page: "Candidate for a pullet surprise".
While my poetry well is slowly refilling, here are some cool poems about the absurdity of the English language. My favorite one is near the middle of the page: "Candidate for a pullet surprise".
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
True Meaning of Easter (Part 1)
Throughout my life, I’ve always known that Easter falls on a Sunday. I always took that to be similar to how Labor Day, President’s Day, and Memorial Day always lands on a a Monday. However, I never realized that even though Easter is always on a Sunday, however, the Sunday could be different. For example, Memorial Day is always the last Monday of May. So the date may change, but you know you’ll always get that Monday off either from work or school. And if your school or company doesn’t have that day off, you should make a big stink about how they are unpatriotic and how the government should send the leaders to Gitmo. Ok, that might be taking a little bit too far. But not by much. However, Easter is not like that. Did you know that Easter can appear in March? I don’t remember that happening, but apparently it has: on March 26, 1989, March 31, 1991, March 30, 1997. So how do they figure out when is Easter? Do they know the exact date when Jesus died and came back from the grave? Did the benevolent and future-thinking Church leaders devise some pattern with which they could predict Easter until Christ comes back? Or did they just make it up as each year appears? Maybe some of the early church leaders like Peter marked on their calendar, Jesus died on this date. After all, don’t they need a date to put on his grave? If Jesus did have a tombstone, can you imagine what would be on his tombstone? Maybe something like: “Here lies the Son of Lord and Mary. Born: Christmas Day. Died: Good Friday”. Well of course, he didn’t die, so that’s probably why there’s no grave for him. But I’m sure the stone carver must have been really mad because he wasted this perfectly good tombstone. I mean how many other people named Jesus was born on Christmas Day? Not too many I can assure you.
Well fear not, I have spared you the effort of typing it in Google. Here’s how the algorithm that the Church uses to celebrate Easter. Easter Sunday is the Sunday following the Paschal Full Moon (PFM) date for the year. Typically the PFM is March 20. The purpose of this complex algorithm is to maintain, for each Easter Sunday, the same season of the year and the same relationship to the preceding astronomical full moon that occurred at the time of his resurrection in 30 A.D. Basically, they wanted to preserve the “mood” of that event, rather than a strict “time”. Most likely because seasons change, and it would have been weird to have Easter when there’s snow on the ground or something. Although based on the latest weather I’m having here in sunny ole, umm… Afghanistan…, it’s more like winter than spring. (That’s a joke, and to understand it look to the left sidebar under “About Me” -me).
So let’s say it’s Easter Sunday now. You are in your best-dressed outfit, because, you know, you want to look good for God on the day He rose. How would he feel when he made all this effort to come back to life and you’re there in your jeans and that ratty t-shirt that you just refuse to get rid of. I always wondered why people wear their best on the “special holidays” (Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving). If they ascribe to the belief that God cares about what they wear, then shouldn’t they be wearing nice clothes every Sunday? What does God TiVo all the other Sundays and sets them aside so he can “listen to them later”? Anyway, you arrive at Church wearing your best suit or pinkest and frilliest dress, and suddenly your usual spot is gone! Now there’s these strangers sitting there, that you’ve never seen before. And since you normally go to Church kinda late, there’s no more room for you and you’re stuck in the overfill room, with all the other late people. From what rock did all these people crawl from? Don’t know them? Well, let me introduce you to the holiday Christians. These are people who believe in God, but only on the special days. The other days are spent sleeping in, watching football, or doing that special hoity-toity champagne brunch (essentially a regular brunch but they serve crappy champagne and charge an extra 10 bucks for it). No I’m not bitter at all just because I had to sit in an uncomfortable chair, listening to the sermon through a tinny speaker while the fan is broken in the overfill room because no one sits there except during times when the main sanctuary is full, which only happens on holidays.
But this day is not about your discomfort. It’s about Easter Eggs! Well, that’s what I had always associated with Easter when I was a kid. That and those delicious Cadberry Chocolate Easter eggs. I much prefer those to the traditional hard-boiled chicken eggs. I mean, think about it. On one hand you get milky chocolate with a sweet creamy filling and on the other you have a cold, jello-like white substance with a chalky yellow filling. Which would you rather have after a 10 minute intensive search for eggs at breakneck speeds while competing with other youngsters? As a kid, that was the highlight of Easter service. Sitting impatiently through the singing and Sunday School, I’m sure the teacher ended mercifully early when she realized that we were only marginally paying attention to her as our eyes roam all over the backyard looking for the likely hiding spots of those eggs. And it was a big production too. We all had to start in the room behind the glass door. Then she would say, “Ok, GO!” And off we went, pulling each other’s jackets as we all tried to be the first into the garden to search for those nasty eggs that none of us ate anyway. But, you know it’s not about eating, it’s about bragging that you found more eggs than any other.
As I grew up, my role changed, and it was just as much fun finding good places to hide the eggs than it was to actually seek them. I would delight in torturing the kids by placing some eggs in plain sight, but way too high for them to reach. We’d also stuff the eggs in narrow deep crevices where the kids’ grubby hands couldn’t reach them. However, some of them were smarter and used sticks and tools to get the eggs. I think that’s unfair, it robs me of my amusement! But here’s a tip of you plan on hiding eggs inside the Church… make sure you write down every place where you hide the eggs, because believe me, come a month later, the pastor and the facilities director will not appreciate it when the break room suddenly develops this fragrant odor of rotten eggs. Trust me, it’s not that fragrant.
And what else is important about Easter? Well wait til Thursday to find out!
Well fear not, I have spared you the effort of typing it in Google. Here’s how the algorithm that the Church uses to celebrate Easter. Easter Sunday is the Sunday following the Paschal Full Moon (PFM) date for the year. Typically the PFM is March 20. The purpose of this complex algorithm is to maintain, for each Easter Sunday, the same season of the year and the same relationship to the preceding astronomical full moon that occurred at the time of his resurrection in 30 A.D. Basically, they wanted to preserve the “mood” of that event, rather than a strict “time”. Most likely because seasons change, and it would have been weird to have Easter when there’s snow on the ground or something. Although based on the latest weather I’m having here in sunny ole, umm… Afghanistan…, it’s more like winter than spring. (That’s a joke, and to understand it look to the left sidebar under “About Me” -me).
So let’s say it’s Easter Sunday now. You are in your best-dressed outfit, because, you know, you want to look good for God on the day He rose. How would he feel when he made all this effort to come back to life and you’re there in your jeans and that ratty t-shirt that you just refuse to get rid of. I always wondered why people wear their best on the “special holidays” (Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving). If they ascribe to the belief that God cares about what they wear, then shouldn’t they be wearing nice clothes every Sunday? What does God TiVo all the other Sundays and sets them aside so he can “listen to them later”? Anyway, you arrive at Church wearing your best suit or pinkest and frilliest dress, and suddenly your usual spot is gone! Now there’s these strangers sitting there, that you’ve never seen before. And since you normally go to Church kinda late, there’s no more room for you and you’re stuck in the overfill room, with all the other late people. From what rock did all these people crawl from? Don’t know them? Well, let me introduce you to the holiday Christians. These are people who believe in God, but only on the special days. The other days are spent sleeping in, watching football, or doing that special hoity-toity champagne brunch (essentially a regular brunch but they serve crappy champagne and charge an extra 10 bucks for it). No I’m not bitter at all just because I had to sit in an uncomfortable chair, listening to the sermon through a tinny speaker while the fan is broken in the overfill room because no one sits there except during times when the main sanctuary is full, which only happens on holidays.
But this day is not about your discomfort. It’s about Easter Eggs! Well, that’s what I had always associated with Easter when I was a kid. That and those delicious Cadberry Chocolate Easter eggs. I much prefer those to the traditional hard-boiled chicken eggs. I mean, think about it. On one hand you get milky chocolate with a sweet creamy filling and on the other you have a cold, jello-like white substance with a chalky yellow filling. Which would you rather have after a 10 minute intensive search for eggs at breakneck speeds while competing with other youngsters? As a kid, that was the highlight of Easter service. Sitting impatiently through the singing and Sunday School, I’m sure the teacher ended mercifully early when she realized that we were only marginally paying attention to her as our eyes roam all over the backyard looking for the likely hiding spots of those eggs. And it was a big production too. We all had to start in the room behind the glass door. Then she would say, “Ok, GO!” And off we went, pulling each other’s jackets as we all tried to be the first into the garden to search for those nasty eggs that none of us ate anyway. But, you know it’s not about eating, it’s about bragging that you found more eggs than any other.
As I grew up, my role changed, and it was just as much fun finding good places to hide the eggs than it was to actually seek them. I would delight in torturing the kids by placing some eggs in plain sight, but way too high for them to reach. We’d also stuff the eggs in narrow deep crevices where the kids’ grubby hands couldn’t reach them. However, some of them were smarter and used sticks and tools to get the eggs. I think that’s unfair, it robs me of my amusement! But here’s a tip of you plan on hiding eggs inside the Church… make sure you write down every place where you hide the eggs, because believe me, come a month later, the pastor and the facilities director will not appreciate it when the break room suddenly develops this fragrant odor of rotten eggs. Trust me, it’s not that fragrant.
And what else is important about Easter? Well wait til Thursday to find out!
Monday, April 10, 2006
Most Unpopular Jobs
And you thought you hate your job? Well, here's a list of the Top 5 most unpopular jobs. The way they judged is based on the deficit of workers needed for that profession. Check to see if you're in one! Personally, I don't think they're unpopular at all, just underpaid. I've always wanted to be a Truck driver!
Survival Challenge
Happy Monday! Yeah, start a work week. I'm sure you're like me and don't really want to do much work today. Well, then try this Ultimate Survival Quiz. It's a series of questions that ask what you would do if some natural disaster hit. Very informative. Apparently I got out alive, but maimed. I scored 12/17. I guess I need to watch more Survivor!
Friday, April 07, 2006
Dream Job
Yay! It's finally Friday! It's been a bad week for me, I think I'm still recovering from withdrawals. Anyway, going along with the theme of sleep for the past Fridays, here's my "dream" job. Get it? I made a pun!
This is my number two dream job, even though I'm not very good compared to other people. But to actually get paid very well to coach a team of professional game players... only in Korea... that's cool. Anyway not too long an article.
This is my number two dream job, even though I'm not very good compared to other people. But to actually get paid very well to coach a team of professional game players... only in Korea... that's cool. Anyway not too long an article.
Game: Music Game
This game is in Japanese, but here's what I figured out. Press the arrow keys in the pattern displayed. When you get to any kind of face, use the keyboard. When you reach a long bar, you have to keep pressing the same key. It's kinda fun to listen to the music, I guess.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Reason 10 - Crying
Well, this is the last essay about prayer. Next week, I’m going to start a new topic, and with this being April and all, it is a very important month for all Christians. Yes, it’s time I talked about taxes! Ok, just kidding. Well, taxes are definitely important, but well, there isn’t too much to say about them. You gotta do them, even Jesus paid his taxes. No, probably the most important event in all history, and definitely what our religion is founded on, is the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. I’m not sure what I will say about it that’s interesting, unique and something you haven’t heard before, but oh well, that’s what this weekend is for, right?
So, here is the last reason that I don’t go to Prayer Meetings, and this reason is probably unique to only certain types of prayer meetings.
Crying. I don’t know how to deal with crying. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’m an old-fashioned guy, who was told by my father that crying was for girls. For this reason, it was a very trying time for me this week, as someone close to me was very sad and needed comfort. And I’m not good at offering comfort. All I know, is that I’m not expected to solve people’s problems, just to empathize and give them a shoulder to cry on. I can do that. But I don’t cry. Even as a child, my mom and dad were found of telling people that I didn’t cry, even when I got hurt and needed stitches. And when a guy cries, I don’t deal well with that at all. Usually my first reaction is to make fun of them and call them “big babies”. Like when this Gonzaga kid was crying at the end of a heart-wrenching loss in the NCAA tournament. I was, well to be honest, I was laughing at him and making fun of him. He’s a baby. Go suck it up and make your millions of dollars next year when you go pro. I don’t really empathize well with whiners. Sure it’s a big game, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not that important, like the death of a loved one, or when a close relationship dies.
My family is very emotional when it comes to God. My dad, the one who told me crying was for girls, never really cried. He also rarely ever said, “I love you” to my mom either. He was the prototypical “John Wayne” type person, who never wears his heart on his sleeves. But, during prayers and during the few times he spoke on the pulpit, he’s a whole other person. He cries, and has no problem saying “I love you” to Jesus. I find that odd, don’t you? When preachers start crying in the middle of a sermon, I get really uncomfortable, and I tend to look away, at the ceiling, at my hands. And I wait, until they compose themselves and move on with the rest of their sermon. To me, crying is like what Paul was saying about speaking in tongues in the middle of church service. Sure it’s very spiritual and moving, but it doesn’t really help people understand the message. Have you ever heard people talk while crying? It’s really hard to understand what they’re saying, in between the sobs, sniffles, and their voices usually go up an octave higher.
Consequently, I don’t like when people cry in prayers either. There’s nothing wrong with it, and I’m sure the person really feels the emotions while praying. I just don’t like to hear it. And it’s not like you can comfort them, because you are stuck in your seat for the entire prayer meeting, I guess, ideally with your hands folded in a prayer-like pose. I dunno. So it’s very awkward, and when they get the dry heaves (you know when they’re gulping in too much air and they can’t talk), I just have to sit there and pray (ha ha! Pun quota filled!) that they can make it through the rest of the prayer without hyperventilating. I wonder what do they do if they do start hyperventilating? Pray through a bag?
I just finished reading what I wrote, and I really must apologize for this week’s crappy writing. I’d blame it on illness, but it’s not something that will go away after a good night’s sleep and aspirin. I’m really looking forward to the weekend to unwind, and hopefully get myself in the writing mood. Anyway, that’s the top ten list of things that bother me about group prayer.
An interesting thought that someone gave me last weekend: Is it a blog when no one reads it? Enjoy and discuss.
So, here is the last reason that I don’t go to Prayer Meetings, and this reason is probably unique to only certain types of prayer meetings.
Crying. I don’t know how to deal with crying. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’m an old-fashioned guy, who was told by my father that crying was for girls. For this reason, it was a very trying time for me this week, as someone close to me was very sad and needed comfort. And I’m not good at offering comfort. All I know, is that I’m not expected to solve people’s problems, just to empathize and give them a shoulder to cry on. I can do that. But I don’t cry. Even as a child, my mom and dad were found of telling people that I didn’t cry, even when I got hurt and needed stitches. And when a guy cries, I don’t deal well with that at all. Usually my first reaction is to make fun of them and call them “big babies”. Like when this Gonzaga kid was crying at the end of a heart-wrenching loss in the NCAA tournament. I was, well to be honest, I was laughing at him and making fun of him. He’s a baby. Go suck it up and make your millions of dollars next year when you go pro. I don’t really empathize well with whiners. Sure it’s a big game, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not that important, like the death of a loved one, or when a close relationship dies.
My family is very emotional when it comes to God. My dad, the one who told me crying was for girls, never really cried. He also rarely ever said, “I love you” to my mom either. He was the prototypical “John Wayne” type person, who never wears his heart on his sleeves. But, during prayers and during the few times he spoke on the pulpit, he’s a whole other person. He cries, and has no problem saying “I love you” to Jesus. I find that odd, don’t you? When preachers start crying in the middle of a sermon, I get really uncomfortable, and I tend to look away, at the ceiling, at my hands. And I wait, until they compose themselves and move on with the rest of their sermon. To me, crying is like what Paul was saying about speaking in tongues in the middle of church service. Sure it’s very spiritual and moving, but it doesn’t really help people understand the message. Have you ever heard people talk while crying? It’s really hard to understand what they’re saying, in between the sobs, sniffles, and their voices usually go up an octave higher.
Consequently, I don’t like when people cry in prayers either. There’s nothing wrong with it, and I’m sure the person really feels the emotions while praying. I just don’t like to hear it. And it’s not like you can comfort them, because you are stuck in your seat for the entire prayer meeting, I guess, ideally with your hands folded in a prayer-like pose. I dunno. So it’s very awkward, and when they get the dry heaves (you know when they’re gulping in too much air and they can’t talk), I just have to sit there and pray (ha ha! Pun quota filled!) that they can make it through the rest of the prayer without hyperventilating. I wonder what do they do if they do start hyperventilating? Pray through a bag?
I just finished reading what I wrote, and I really must apologize for this week’s crappy writing. I’d blame it on illness, but it’s not something that will go away after a good night’s sleep and aspirin. I’m really looking forward to the weekend to unwind, and hopefully get myself in the writing mood. Anyway, that’s the top ten list of things that bother me about group prayer.
An interesting thought that someone gave me last weekend: Is it a blog when no one reads it? Enjoy and discuss.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Reason 9 - Remembering prayers
Well, it's a new month, and unfortunately March doesn't have 5 weeks. So what to do... Well, since I already made up a list of 10, actually 11 things about prayer meetings, and I haven't prepared at all for this month's theme (I'll give you a hint, it rhymes with Measter), I'll just finish up this week with reasons 9 and 10 of the prayer thing. I'm sure the title gave it away. I can't pull anything over you, smart reader!
So... been to any prayer meetings lately? Even if you haven't, I'm sure by now, you've heard how people share about their troubles and things that they're going through. That's all fine and good, but do you know what the problem is? They actually expect you to remember their problems! And then pray about them! What's up with that? And you know what that means, right? I have to listen to these fine Christians, attentively. As in, hold on, and let me get my notebook out so I can take notes, kind of attentive.
Do you know that we retain at most 50% of the information in a lecture? According to research, an adult's attention span is at most 20 minutes, and students retain only 20% of the last 10 minutes of a lecture, while they can remember up to 70% of the first 10 minutes. The lesson learned? Keep your talking to 10 minutes. If you find yourself going longer than 10 minutes, pause to tell a joke or funny story, then talk for the next 10 minutes. What I like to do, especially while someone is relating their prayer request in tears, is to pointedly tap at my watch after 10 minutes, you know, just to let them know that time is up. Ok, I probably wouldn't do that, but it would be funny.
It's hard to listen carefully to other people, while at the same time, coming up with what you're going to talk about. Cause believe me, I've been there before, where someone has obviously not prepared their prayer request ahead of time, and then they start rambling. I mean, they'll talk about their serious problem first, and then maybe to fill the silence, they just start talking about whatever thoughts just flit through their mind, kind of like a stream of consciousness thing. When they start repeating themselves, that's when they lose my interest. I've actually been to prayer meetings, where the person actually forgot what their original point was. Their brain probably heard the words coming out and just said, "Ahh screw it!" and just shuts down. Then the mouth is on autopilot, and apparently it's rude to tell someone to "shut their pie hole because they're depriving me of oxygen." I don't know why that's rude.
Then, after 30-40 minutes of sharing (given of course, how many people there are), they expect you to remember what everyone's request is. Even the first guy who talked about something really boring. It's worse when they ask you to pray for the person on the right to speed up the prayer. Because then, you're put on the spot when you have to ask the person on the right what their prayer request is. It's like saying to them, "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying too close attention to your sharing. Can you give me the Cliff Notes version?"
So then we finally get to the praying. And I'm expected to pray for someone about a problem that I don't fully understand. Some people have told me to pray as specifically as possible. However, while praying, it's not a good idea to stop in the middle to ask the person on which hand is his rash. Therefore, I'm trying to pray for something I don't really know much about, while at the same time, keeping it general enough that I don't pray for the wrong thing. Because who knows, if I pray for the wrong hand, that rash may never get healed!
My solution? Bring a chalkboard or white board, and then designate someone (not me) to write down everyone's prayer request. Ideally, that someone should be able to pay attention and not drift off, and most importantly have neat handwriting. We don't want people to be squinting and concentrating more on deciphering someone's hieroglyphics than on how to pray for the other person. Also remember, keep your prayer requests to a 10 minute maximum, and oh, include a joke to start. Nothing like a good laugh to get people to pay attention to you.
So... been to any prayer meetings lately? Even if you haven't, I'm sure by now, you've heard how people share about their troubles and things that they're going through. That's all fine and good, but do you know what the problem is? They actually expect you to remember their problems! And then pray about them! What's up with that? And you know what that means, right? I have to listen to these fine Christians, attentively. As in, hold on, and let me get my notebook out so I can take notes, kind of attentive.
Do you know that we retain at most 50% of the information in a lecture? According to research, an adult's attention span is at most 20 minutes, and students retain only 20% of the last 10 minutes of a lecture, while they can remember up to 70% of the first 10 minutes. The lesson learned? Keep your talking to 10 minutes. If you find yourself going longer than 10 minutes, pause to tell a joke or funny story, then talk for the next 10 minutes. What I like to do, especially while someone is relating their prayer request in tears, is to pointedly tap at my watch after 10 minutes, you know, just to let them know that time is up. Ok, I probably wouldn't do that, but it would be funny.
It's hard to listen carefully to other people, while at the same time, coming up with what you're going to talk about. Cause believe me, I've been there before, where someone has obviously not prepared their prayer request ahead of time, and then they start rambling. I mean, they'll talk about their serious problem first, and then maybe to fill the silence, they just start talking about whatever thoughts just flit through their mind, kind of like a stream of consciousness thing. When they start repeating themselves, that's when they lose my interest. I've actually been to prayer meetings, where the person actually forgot what their original point was. Their brain probably heard the words coming out and just said, "Ahh screw it!" and just shuts down. Then the mouth is on autopilot, and apparently it's rude to tell someone to "shut their pie hole because they're depriving me of oxygen." I don't know why that's rude.
Then, after 30-40 minutes of sharing (given of course, how many people there are), they expect you to remember what everyone's request is. Even the first guy who talked about something really boring. It's worse when they ask you to pray for the person on the right to speed up the prayer. Because then, you're put on the spot when you have to ask the person on the right what their prayer request is. It's like saying to them, "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying too close attention to your sharing. Can you give me the Cliff Notes version?"
So then we finally get to the praying. And I'm expected to pray for someone about a problem that I don't fully understand. Some people have told me to pray as specifically as possible. However, while praying, it's not a good idea to stop in the middle to ask the person on which hand is his rash. Therefore, I'm trying to pray for something I don't really know much about, while at the same time, keeping it general enough that I don't pray for the wrong thing. Because who knows, if I pray for the wrong hand, that rash may never get healed!
My solution? Bring a chalkboard or white board, and then designate someone (not me) to write down everyone's prayer request. Ideally, that someone should be able to pay attention and not drift off, and most importantly have neat handwriting. We don't want people to be squinting and concentrating more on deciphering someone's hieroglyphics than on how to pray for the other person. Also remember, keep your prayer requests to a 10 minute maximum, and oh, include a joke to start. Nothing like a good laugh to get people to pay attention to you.
I/O Brush
I'm truly sorry, but there's been a lot going on in my life right now that I just didn't have time to write. Hopefully I can have time tonight to write and post it later. Again, I'm sorry for the inconvenience. In the meantime, enjoy some links.
This is crazy. It's a brush that lets you pick up colors and movements from your surroundings and allows you to use them to draw on a touchscreen. Check out the video.
And to prove this is real technology, here's the official website.
This is crazy. It's a brush that lets you pick up colors and movements from your surroundings and allows you to use them to draw on a touchscreen. Check out the video.
And to prove this is real technology, here's the official website.
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