It is all the more painful to see, among the VT victims, internationals who came to the U.S. only to meet such a horrific end. Some were the best and brightest. Some suffered and survived before coming to the U.S. That was a violation of what America strives to be: a sanctuary, a refuge, a beacon, a model. It may seems brazen for a young nation to be a model, but shouldn't all countries strive to be models?

Memory HoleJames Fallows of the Atlantic Monthly and Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post pointed out The Chicago Sun Times blundered in incorrectly "identifying" the VT shooter as a Chinese man (a 25-year-old student from Shanghai). Some media ports even went so far as to misdirect people to an innocent student. As another blog noted Google never forgets.

Google cache shows the scrubbing extends to other sites, here shown is NBC-5 Chicago, that took advantage of Sneed's poor journalism. Both versions of the above web post are noted as being [POSTED: 6:10 pm CDT April 16, 2007].

Ugh, I'm repulsed by the disturbingly blunted affect of that mug shown over all the media. I'm thankful that the Korean community was quick to condemn the act because in no way can that man represent them.

My hero: John "Doc" Bradley, one among many heroes given tribute in "Flags of our Fathers."
My hero: Ira Hayes, one among many heroes who deserved so much more.

I am so grateful to be an American, not in hubris or entitlement but in deep thankfulness. (Yet there are reasons to be proud–the dreams allowed, the ideals pursued, the education provided, freedom of religion–why else the draw?) Thanks to God who gives us such grace and the people in uniform who defend us.

In our present day what would it mean to have a scent of victory?

I should see Letters from Iwo Jima.

(image from Washington Post)

West Rises in China's Backyard
An article of the Washington Post describes how China's citizens have been constructing replicas of European and American towns to attract their high-end citizens, burgeoning with new found wealth. Two observations in this article stuck out in their distastefulness.

1. "These so-called theme cities give testament to the great power that has fueled China's economic boom and that the country has become infamous for: making copies." Sadly, there is truth to this. Just look at the U.S. efforts to curb Chinese piracy. But I want to say there was a time when this wasn't their notoriety. Ancient China was know for it's inventiveness (paper, kite, gunpowder, fireworks, compass, porcelain, silk, several martial arts forms, etc). They sell themselves short if they persist in copying. I am sure innovation is surfacing even now, given all the engineering know-how they have aggregated. This is promising but at the same time scary for the economies of other nations. [On a side note Chinese creativity at least is showing itself in the growing international interest in modern Chinese art.]

2. It is a shame to see so many succumb to the idea that Western styles are of somehow better while Eastern styles are inferior and thus expendable. Not only is this the case but shrewd Chinese are capitalizing on this idea to gouge their fellow citizens--consumers with an ignorant concept of the West. "it costs a lot and it's different--so it's good." They want it but they fail to fully appreciate it. It is another example of pearls before swine. But in counterpoint what does this say about the West's fascination/fetish with the East? Each calls the other exotic.

Recommended Reading
Sunday morning welcomed with a fine article Pearls Before Breakfast, a Washington Post social experiment involving violin prodigy Joshua Bell.

Korean Soap Parody
Enjoyable and funny comedy sketches are virtually nonexistent on TV but this had me ROTFL. Can someone translate what is actually being said?

Manchu - A Dying Language in China - at most there are 18 native speakers left, all >80 y/o. Here's the video as reported by New York Times.

Apple unveils online its new Mac Pro featuring a stunning set of eight-core processors consisting of two quad-core Intel Clovertown Xeon processors with speeds up to 3.0 GHz (Is the quad-core Clovertown name a reference to a shamrock?). Talk about high end. Tempting.

Why not throw in 3 terabytes of hard drive space, 16 gigabytes of RAM, two 30 inch cinema displays?

(images from Apple.com)

Via Crave: Nikon Universcale

I listened to This American Life episode "By Proxy." Act II focuses on a former Iraqi translator for the American army. The Iraqi translators need our support because they work under such suspicion by their fellow Iraqi's. I don't know how else to support them except in prayer; because any visible assistance from the Americans just makes them and those around them a target. Over 250 interpreters have been killed. Many Iraqi imams are calling people to kill translators. Even speaking an English word is grounds enough for murder. This particular translator said he does not regret working for the Americans, because Americans are there to show a better way than under Saddam–specifically citing how they treat prisoners with respect and how they deal with crowds without the use of force.

The New York Times article about Japan's wartime sex slaves (euphemistically called comfort women) notes that upon defeat in WWII, Japan destroyed many of its incriminating documents. Yet some had survived as evidence that through the 1930's & 40's it was an officially established operation by the military:
"Between 50,000 and 200,000 women from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Indonesia and elsewhere were tricked or coerced into sexual slavery."

Yet Japanese revisionist efforts continue to deny or hide this history from their educational system. Certainly this would not be condoned by modern Japan, but this is a history that should not be ignored.

"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but 'That’s funny . . . '" - Isaac Asimov

Let love be without hypocrisy Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. - Romans 12:9 (NASB)

No one is truly obedient to the command to hate evil if he only fears the consequence of evil. A truly good man hates evil because it is evil and he loves God. - John MacArthur

Every stimulus that can be shared or any group behavior is put forth as THE universal language. This goes for sports, music, photography, film, dance, food. If so many things are considered transcendent then are any of them really?

Song to look for: the spiritual "Amen" by Jester Hairston.

Things breaking down:
JBL stereo has stopped playing CD's. At first it was only some CD's and some skipping, but now it just makes that searching whirling sound. It must be song and sermoned out. Oh, those quality speakers not being used... though the radio & cassette player still work. The worst thing is the closest JBL repairer is in New York.

Analog camera spontaneously turns off and has white arc obscuring left side of photos.

Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the circumstances of this world that I forget eternity.

So often we don't see our need for God until we have no choice but to turn to God. Not that we don't recognize our need before then, but it doesn't grip us.

JAMA article on vitamin supplements concludes "Treatment with beta carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E may increase mortality."

A study shows college students are getting more narcissistic.

Yellow Account
Here we go again with media/entertainment sensationalizing threats against Christianity–Gnostics Gospels, Judas Gospel, and now we have the Talpiot ossuaries, which are billed by James Cameron as evidence of Jesus Christ's remains. All these where examined by archaeologists in the past but now wannabes once again adulterate history and vomit out their conjectures as fact. James Cameron even notes his motivation as, "I don't profess to be an archaeologist or a Biblical scholar. I'm a film producer. I found it compelling"– not that he bothered to personally investigate the facts, but still he means to garner the publicity.
Please, at least show some respect.

• If Jesus was still around Jerusalem, how can 500-plus witnesses attest to the resurrection of Jesus Christ?
• If the persecutors of Christians only had to point to this tomb or this ossuary sitting in Jerusalem, the Christian church wouldn't even have started.
• How could the poor carpenter family obtain a grand family tomb and why have it in Jerusalem when they were from Nazareth?
• Relatedness by DNA was only tested between the ossuaries with the name of Jesus and Mariamene (which is not even the name Mary Magdalene). The tests failed to also compare paternal relatedness. And even so, there is absolutely no proof of marriage here nor historically. Even if they are unrelated, this Mariamene could have married into the family via other males in the tomb.
  
• Joseph is not found among the ossuaries.
  
• The name of Jesus was extremely common. Consider that the name Jesus is the Greek form of the name Joshua. There were and are an abounding number of people named Joshua.

For Want of a ...
A friend stopped by and commented, "If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk." Anyone know that children's story?

If a hungry little traveler shows up at your house, you might want to give him a cookie. If you give him a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. He'll want to look in a mirror to make sure he doesn't have a milk mustache, and then he'll ask for a pair of scissors to give himself a trim...

I was thinking about this while I went to Bible study and came upon the thought, "For want of a blank, the kingdom was lost. For want of a what?! For want of ....? Was it the kingdom or the war that was lost? I think it has something to do with a horse. For want of a horse the kingdom was lost? That still doesn't sound right." Though almost no one recognized giving a mouse a cookie... more gears started turning for want of a something. Is it Shakespeare?

A friend at Bible study got on Google and first found.

A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!

which is from Shakespeare's Richard III. That is something but still I felt that was not it.
Then he found the elusive quote:

For want of a nail the kingdom was lost.

It is from a longer nursery rhyme–origin uncertain–likely English.

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

Saw Amazing Grace the movie about William Wilberforce and the abolition of slavery.

"Oh what thanks do I owe the Giver of all good for bringing me in His gracious providence to this great cause!"

It is well done. And I recommend it for all to see. This year is also the 200th anniversary of the abolition. The makers of the film also are pushing for abolition of present day slavery, directing people to International Justice Mission and World Vision.

An interesting character is Olauda Equiano a former slave.

Apple & Cisco have come to an agreement to both use the name iPhone, drop legal actions, work on interoperability (in future projects or with the iPhones?), plus some undisclosed agreements.

Personally it does not bode kindly for Apple's image. From unveiling, Apple appears to have muscled for a name knowingly owned by another. But Cisco wanted interoperability from the outset, so perhaps both parties got what they wanted. Apple could have avoided this by using their famous innovation to generate another name.

Similarly there is the hubub about Martha Stewart using Katonah trademark in her furniture line. Katonah says "No Thank You Martha," for fear of diluting the value of that name. I think Stewart has a better case since Katonah does not have trademark ownership and is already used by a variety businesses. On the flip side I don't know if she could protect the name from use by others.

Worthy Cause
Amazing Grace the movie coming out Friday, February 23, has teamed up with hundreds of churches across the US in a fight and put an end to slavery globally.

The chytrid fungus is eradicating frogs globally leading scientists to create the Amphibian Ark – an effort to preserve species in captivity (zoos). How can we stop this fungus?

Race Relations
Am I late recognize what is racism towards and even persecution of the ethnically Chinese residing in southeast Asian countries? This may not be systematic but more of an understanding of how the cultures just are – accepted as part of living there. Are there any efforts to reverse this process?

This may be why Chinese in Thailand change their names. And why else would people in Indonesia who look "too Chinese" have to hide during certain days?

golden pig
Originally uploaded by maycos60.

Happy Lunar New Year! I recently learned the animal associated with each year is also associated with some material (gold, sand, water, fire, wood) and this is the year of the golden boar, a sign the superstitious regard as lucky.

But today's headlines evince the reality of a world getting crazier.

• 28 Bombs Blast Thailand Muslim extremist may demand a separate state now, but if they're like the Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines who demand a separate state, their actual goal would be eventual Muslim domination of the nation and then the world.
• Pakistan-Bound Train Bombing
• H5N1 Avian Flu Continues Africa/Eurasia Spread
• N. Korea Holds Possible 2-8 Nuclear Bombs... What seems a victory earlier last week may be concessions to a little poker player bullying the disjointed field of countries.
  

And like Rio de Janeiro celebrating Carnival amidst ongoing violence, we at least need some escape and some little victories to keep going.

A Chinese Activist Lost in the System

North Korea has agreed to close down it's nuclear reactor. We all hope for a nuclear free Korea. I just hope it is carried out as well as neutralizing it's plutonium reserves. Let's pray that it is carried completely through and real trust may be built at least akin to the world's relations with China. I hope N. Korea doesn't violate it's agreements again; otherwise trust may never be had.

(image from Daily Herald)

Sad day, my high school world history teacher passed away.

Youtube Meet Hollywood
Noah K. Everyday with Celebs.

It seems as though everyone now presses for pullout of Iraq. Democrats & Republicans who initially pushed for war were not eager to go to war in Iraq then–we already were managing war in Afghanistan–but the majority still voted "yeah." Let's not obscure the fact that both the American & British governments had faulty intelligence, intelligence showing that Iraq was developing WMD's against the UN Security Council recommendations. It was only post hoc that no WMD's were found (though the facilities for developing WMD's were in place); and that the intelligence information was in error. Yet so many are ready to call foul or betrayal with our hindsight. So can we call it a mistake? That's hard to answer or perhaps I'm unwilling to because a preemptive attack by the U.S. is unprecedented.

NPR was in Bagdad before the U.S. announced it's declaration of war. They interviews the people and the response was surprising, "Saddam has thrown down the gauntlet. The U.S. must and will respond. It is inevitable."

What wasn't planned for was the resistance to restructuring, stability, and unity. If there was stability there wouldn't be such an outcry around the world. What effected unity and stability before war? Fear of the Bathist government. In part America saw it's work as liberation. And it was. The tyranny was real and cruel. Even retired military types, photojournalists and eyewitnesses say that the Iraqis suffered brutally under Saddam Hussein and welcomed the overthrow...but not the following instability...no one wanted that.

What can fill the void left by the departure of tyranny? Something an entire nation can hope for and rally behind. That is why there is such an emphasis on creating a viable democracy in the Middle East, but can the Iraqis grasp that? I don't know. There is a war of ideals. We cannot desert them and leave them to self destruct or be overtaken by a new hostile regime.

Sometimes it seems hopeless. I guess that's why people are calling for pull out, they doubt the cost will pay off.

Today I embark on learning to speed read. I hope it works. I should have done it earlier.

Mr. Underbrink
From the grapevine I hear that my high school world history teacher is hospitalized with pancreatic cancer. I need to confirm this. A real Indiana Jones. He's an anthropologist, archaeologist, professional photographer, teacher. His other job is a photojournalist for UNESCO & NATO. He travels the world photographing ancient ruins as part of the UN's preservation efforts. He is well loved for his stories, his camel call, his love of food ("If it comes out of the sea, I'll eat it"), his self-absorbed cat, his loathing of camels, his humor, his energy, his involvement in the local community. Someone needs to record his story.

The most memorable story was his climbing in the Himalayas(?) for a better view, only to fall down the mountains and have a rock pierce through his right forearm because he did what "any photographer would do–protect my camera." He was taken care of by indigenous people who wrapped his arm in a caste and rowed him down a river to civilization. The caste form was thought long gone to the endless fascination of the physicians who examined him. The muscles of his right arm had to be rearranged and attached. He learned to write with his left hand while his right healed (which it did).

It's hard to imagine him not living life grandly and sharing a bit of that with us students, but now he may be stricken with a terminal illness. I've never gotten tired of his stories. Because he's a part of so many of our pasts a bit of our own history is maligned. (But more so I suspect mortality calls each of us and we don't want to be reminded.)

Wow, teachers can impact so many people. They definitely need more respect in this society.

Sad, sad, saaaad Americans. This video makes me want to cry. Julian Morrow Reports. Why?! Ignorant adults. Of course this is not a statistical sample but selected to humiliate Americans. Still shows a definite sample of Americans who seem to care less about the world. In the least it speaks to a void of information and or interest among Americans.

"Close, but no cigar." Sounds funny. What is that from?

Suite 101 shows how to make an em-dash hold down Alt, type 0150, release Alt and you get – instead of using --.

Unity? Among Christians
Sacrificing truth for the sake of unity is an insidious trend among the majority of evangelical Christians in the United States. Truth is not targeted directly but treated with complete disregard—it's out of thought. It meshes perfectly with the celebration of ignorance by truthiness, post-modernism, and political correctness.

This is so prominently manifested as Christians court Catholics for the sake of unity i.e. ecumenism. This happens nationally in the wake of ECT (Evangelicals & Catholics Together), locally in colleges and churches trying to boost membership without offending.
However when critics cite the discernment and counsel of the Bible, the reaction ranges from confusion to outrage. "How dare you promote division among Christians! How could you be so unloving?" they counter the critics.

The critics return, "Have you even considered what a Christian is?" Since Evangelicals and Catholics differ in defining what a Christian is, can there be substance by which they put up a united "Christian" front? An objective measure is necessary to gauge any Christian's decision. That measure is Scripture. Follow the Berean example of examining not only if words are found in the Bible but if the ideas agrees with the Bible. Christians are Christians not by their church attendance, prayer, or happy singing; but in whom they believe and put all their trust.

Without the weight of Scripture to define Christians, Christians can be and are seduced by cults calling themselves Christian such as the Mormon church.

It's cold. 9°F, windchill of -7°F. But this is only the start.

World Cup of Bakery
I recently found out there is a world cup for baking that seems to be held every 3 years (?) [last competition was in 2005, next one is 2008]. The official name of the competition is Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie. Team USA is under The Bread Bakers Guild of America. Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, Team USA won 1st prize in the 2005 World Cup! France 2nd. Japan 3rd.
In fact there is a world of baking/cooking competitions beyond the advent of Iron Chef, The Next Food Network Star, Top Chef, Hell's Kitchen, Cooking Under Fire, etc. I thought Iron Chef is what inspired the professional circuits but I am mistaken. I thought until recently they were relegated to local fairs with competitions for pies, chili, ribs, and the likes.

Chicago Bears win NFC Championship!
(image from Bears homepage)

Today I visited the latest opening of Pete's Fresh Market. Pete's is for Mexican & livestock as H-Mart is to Korean & seafood. Prices are terrific and now I have two city options for cheap fruit & veggies (the other one being Stanley's Fruit & Vegetable).

The meat selection is huge! They have a super long butcher counter and many butchers on hand. I hope the prices stay cheap and the place maintains it's cleanliness.

Wow... check out Savant Syndrome. It features prodigious savants. What can I say? Genius! Absolutely amazing perceptions, memories, organizational skills, calculation, artistic expression yet often paired with "profound disability" (as Daniel Tammet noted. Tammet is unique as a high-functioning autistic prodigious savant and an acquired savant).

Saudis May Ban Letter 'X' because it resembles the cross. Is this an example of their hate for Christians? I'm not speaking of all Saudi's but the clergy.

What is with the buy-up of Internet Web 2.0 portals & social software?
eBay is buying Skype for $2.6b.
Yahoo is in discussion to buy Facebook... not far removed from Yahoo's acquisition of Flicker.
(Of course this is in the wake of Google's acquisition of YouTube.)

Correction: eBay bought Skype in 2005. Yahoo bought Facebook in 2006.

By radio I listened to the discourse between Sen. Barbara Boxer and Secretary Condoleezza Rice and honestly Boxer was hostile, attacking, and unhelpful towards addressing the Iraq war.

In reference to the plan to increase U.S. troop levels in Iraq, Boxer jabbed,

"Who pays the price? I'm not going to pay a personal price. My kids are too old, and my grandchild is too young. You're not going to pay a price, as I understand it, within immediate family. So who pays the price? The American military and their families."

Rice responded,

"I visit them. I know what they're going through. I talk to their families. I see it. I could never and I can never do anything to replace any of those lost men and women in uniform, or the diplomats, some of whom ..."

Cutting Rice off Boxer said,

"Madam Secretary, please. I know you feel terrible about it. That's not the point. I was making the case as to who pays the price for your decisions."

So politically motivated and lacking in professionalism or respect.

Later Boxer defended herself for "speaking truth to power" and trying "to draw us together, and not apart." It was anything but drawing together. Boxer's purpose was to provoke.

And Condi later said, "I thought it was okay to be single. I thought it was okay to not have children, and I thought you could still make good decisions on behalf of the country if you were single and didn't have children."

Come on Boxer, is the 1st 100 hrs of Democrats in Congressional power so precious as to foment bad blood? Don't make everyone's job harder.

I'm excited about this new year... must have resolve against complacency. Fight mediocrity — execute, execute.

Funny, through the grapevine, Wong Fu Productions. It's inspiring to see someone find and pursue what he truly loves doing.

Further browsing on the Apple website shows a new Airport with 802.11 n technology. First time I heard about n. I'm getting behind on the technology.

Cingular is Apple's exclusive carrier for the iPhone... must be Cingular's insistence on being exclusive (Has Cingular always been a unit of AT&T?). Other partners are Yahoo (mail, search) & Google (maps). Not surprisingly, Microsoft is missing from the party. That may smart given the layout of business land -- where is the document composition? Will I be able to install PDA software?

We will see by June 2007.

And what of this name iPhone... will it stick with Cisco's Linksys VOIP? Discussions are under way.

Update on Apple iPhone- it uses quad-band GSM on Cingular network, has Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g.

iPhone
The rumors were right. Apple confirms the existence of the iPhone at Macworld San Francisco. It is a smartphone: plays music & movies, displays photos; runs OS X - e-mailing, web browsing. It has a 2 MP camera. It has a patented touch screen that supposedly ignores unintended touch. I want to try this thing out.

Speculation gives way to more questions. Is the interface just as elegant? How much will it cost? When does it ship? It has headphone jack but does it have Bluetooth? Does it actually use cubic zirconium & ceramic materials? Who is the service carrier...Cingular (like the Motorola ROKR)? Will it self-compete with iPods sales as some predict? Will it survive the slew of phones competing out there?
Was timing strategy good for the unveiling, given the simultaneous CES conference going on in Las Vegas and all the hype leading up to this conference? Given the alternative of holding off there would have been a lot of disappointment. For Apple's sake it may overshadow the Apple TV, now released.

This new touchscreen makes me wonder if this is the future of iPods: retirement of the clickwheel?

I finally saw Crash. Great job, Michael Pena, for a powerful performance - the setup was great and he was deeper than the remaining cast of plot movers. It doesn't live up to the hype but there's something about the writing of Crash that just makes it work.

Saw Millions. Creative and well done except for one aspect. Imaginary"saints" visit the boy throughout the film. These saints have an irreverent bent that's unconvincingly force-juxtaposed on a boy with pure motives. (Or perhaps dead British have strange humor or irreverent bent.)

The Persuaders
Fascinating Frontline episode called "The Persuaders." It describes current advertising strategies for persuading people to consume or to vote. It ended with the quote: "The secret of all persuaders is to convince [the audience] to persuade themselves."

Some standout ideas:
-Getting through the clutter while adding to the clutter.
-Being so inundated with ads that culture itself is gone.
-Desensitization to superlatives (cleaner, brighter, stronger, faster)
-Creating iconic devotion by mimicking cult strategies of belonging and purpose.
-Madison & Vine = marriage between product & entertainers/entertainment (i.e. product placement) but it goes both ways.
-Narrowcasting = advertising tailored to the specific individual.
-Fragmenting of society -- as each person's focus is turned evermore to self fulfillment.
-Finding the elusive "buy button"
-Research groups still work but it has taken on more sophistication through psychology, information farming, etc.

So where are we? Strategic (time & place) use of words, images, sounds in a way that bypassing the intellect, so that people respond to it emotionally, positively, personally, and primally -- yet make the proper association. That's the catch.

Some brands that have succeeded in this: Nike, Apple, Coca-Cola, AT&T

One strategy not addressed in Frontline was viral marketing. As opposed to persuading self we now persuading each other to consume through reviews, blogs, casts, tubes, avatars, online communities -- self-deception by self-exalting through self-expression. I'm no exception. It's not quite perpetual motion. So advertisers now employ the patient zeros for such viral weapons. Our reaction to such zeros is quite violent given our mistrust of corporations, just look at the reaction to Lonelygirl.

Hot concepts this year are Green & Africa. Perhaps we're finally realizing the products are not making us happier, more attractive, etc. so purpose now turns towards saving the world.

Wow, Pursuit of Happyness was #1 at this weekend's box office. Unexpected. I was planning on possibly borrowing/rent ing DVD viewing when it is out of theaters and that's it. However, a good friend says it has become one of his favorite movies so I'm giving it a 2nd look.

Rocks are deaf and dumb as idols, but if we remain silent they can shout God's glory.

Recently read In the Presence of My Enemies. What a story. It honestly chronicles the time Martin and Gracia Burnham, missionaries who were kidnapped and held hostage by the Islamic terrorists Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines for over a year in 2001 (9-11 happened during their captivity). It is amazing how God sustained them as their faith was tested.
It was a lesson in prayer and thankfulness as that's where it often led me as I read.
It also provided insight into the Muslim extremist worldview (so fatalistic) and Filipino culture.

I've resisting but I've decided to add Google Desktop to my growing list of Google tools after seeing it's usefulness on other people's computers. Aaaahh can't resist further integrating with the Googopoly collective of information.

I attended the wonderful annual Christmas concert at the Moody Church. It was so uplifting and a chance to rest in the peace of God. God is the God of all comfort.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Ate dinner at O'Brien's Restaurant, a place for steak with the usual expected high steak prices. The meat was decent. The priciest menu item, rib eye steak ($41), was well seasoned. The prime rib ($26) had some flavor, but some cracked black pepper would have definitely helped. I'm not sure if I would return, but I'm not a big steak person. After dissecting all the fat off I was left with ~2/3 meat. My friends say Japanese like fatty meat. Wish they had sauteed mushrooms as a topping option, but it seems the selection of side consists mainly of potatoes. I can't complain about the service, though metromix.com reviewers repeatedly panned O'Brien's for horrendous service.

U.S. Quitting?
There has been a flurry of media regarding the Iraq Study group report, among which is the Washington Post. Near the bottom of the Post article is this paragraph:

Quang X. Pham, author of a memoir about his service in the U.S. Marine Corps and his father's time as a pilot for the South Vietnamese military, said he considers the troop plan a thinly disguised form of quitting. "In one year, during the 2008 election year, the United States will abandon and betray Iraq as it did South Vietnam," predicted Pham, who was a pilot during the Persian Gulf War.

This was in response to the report's recommendation for near complete withdraw of troops from Iraq by the start of 2008. Pham's comment reminds me of how in the 1st Gulf War the U.S. called the Iraqi's to rise up against Saddam Hussein's government; Iraqis did but the U.S. did not come to back them up, so those people were massacred by Hussein. Will the people again be left to the wolves - that influx of chaos into Iraq? With all this call for withdrawal, is the U.S. giving up on them? There was so much (bipartisan) celebration and hope at the start of the war to bring positive change to the region. Will the region be stabilized in a year? Let's hope so.

I'm restless!!

Found a weekly podcast of expats in Taiwan.

I'm looking forward to the movie Children of Men, starring Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, coming to theaters Dec. 25. Owen seems to always play cool.

Do people still use men or mankind as reference to the humanity's collective whole? It just does not have the same impact to say "Children of People," "Children of Human Beings," or even "Children of Humanity."

Curious. There is a God's blog.

Tight sounding band: You, Me & Iowa. Music majors definitely helps the sound and instrumentation.

• Lawyer : "Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?"
• Witness : "No."
• Lawyer : "Did you check for blood pressure?"
• Witness : "No."
• Lawyer : "Did you check for breathing?"
• Witness : "No."
• Lawyer : "So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?"
• Witness : "No."
• Lawyer : "How can you be so sure, Doctor?"
• Witness : "Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar."
• Lawyer : "But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless?"
• Witness : "Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere."

It's snowing! 

In my writings I have demonstrated impatience towards bad ideas. But I don't want that to shadow a heart for humanity. I need to remember how to love as Christ loved.

In a similar vein, working in the hospital one faces an emotional rawness that the world doesn't know how to take -- when or before that limit hits, people shut it out and handle caring as work (or as they say, "Treating the disease and not the patient") . It is so much easier that way since we are still so bad at dealing with fear, grief and anger. This may be why a hospital can be inhospitable.

But there's a better way. Bringing our cares before God through prayer provides a solace for many patients without ignoring the pains of life. In turn this provide care. I need to be intentional about it because it is becoming easier to just shut it out.

"Christians are often 'chief naval gazers' -- as in 'What can God do for me?'" - Pastor Steve Mason said concerning the tendency to forget the world nor recognize there is a spiritual war at hand. Spiritual war refers to the struggle between good and evil for the hearts of people.

I'm sick of subjective New Age pseudo-"super-spirituality" fed to the American public. These include proponents like Neale Donald Walsch and Wayne Dyer -- both whom take advantage of the American sentiments and longing for spirituality, and in the process milk them for millions of dollars. It is the same philosophical bent that Oprah has bought into and spreads as gospel. Sick, sick. New Age usually involves syncretism of Western ideas of God with Eastern philosophy to create a "find God within yourself," "you are one with God," "be the master of your life," and "think positive thoughts" mush. Gross!! Of course they spout proverbs of "respect others, be free, nature is good, expand your mind, feel those spiritual vibes" la di da.

PBS periodically features Wayne Dyer and once he asked, "Is it better to be kind or to be right?" and answered himself, "It is better to be kind," while the audience nods with rapt attention. Wayne calls to disregard truth. This is the very nonsense that Harry G. Frankfurt --Princeton philosophy professor emeritus-- reprimands when he writes "sincerity is bulls**t" as postmodernism ignores truth.

Neale Walsch is part of "New Spirituality" and Wayne Dyer part of "New Thought" movements but it's all old thought in disguise. Just want to slap these guys around to wake them up out of drunken self absorption.

But it's people's ignorance and gullibility that most appalls.
Doesn't an enemy multiply kisses?

Cranberry + apple = crapple.

Sorry, I'm on colorectal service right now. "All about pus and poo!"

Testing God
Our choices today.
How?
Put off living
Godward.
Say, "It is 'good,' "
but lack desire.
So
we plan that perhaps,
maybe,
later in life
-- when I hear the call of mortality --
I may "get right with God."
But many who "get right"
too late,
too late!
...lay in the wake of wasted lives
and have put off living,
as all along
we've tested God with tomorrow.

If I'm ever in Mississippi, I would like to visit the Pig Out Inn for some good BBQ.

A dream job - what Marty Stouffer does mainly as photographer/produce of Wild America. Whether it is my dream is another story.

It is official, Microsoft sets out to make Zune an iPod killer with Toshiba.

Checked out Garls Barkley "St. Elsewhere." Coming from a first impression: Cee-Lo has a great voice and the production is great. It's old school sound, good background vocals, richly hybridized with synth sound.

But what else is on this CD with a cover bearing the phrase 'Live Sex'? I'm wary.

Man, I'm in a serious mood.

Paramount (World Trade Center, Nacho Libre, Hustle & Flow, Mission Impossible III, Titanic) has purchased Dreamworks SKG (Transformers, War of the Worlds, Gladiator, Shrek, The Ring, Catch Me if You Can).

Hmmm... Dreakworks Animation SKG is working on a CG film called "Kung Fu Panda" slated for 2008. I assume comedy.

Fall 2006 will have a lineup of weighty movies:

• THINKflim --> Half Nelsion (Aug 11) - drama - teacher in urban school (S: Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps, Anthony Mackie)

• THINKflim --> 10th and Wolf (Aug 18) - drama, organized crime (S: James Marsden, Giovanni Ribisi, Brad Renfro)

• Yari Film Group --> The Illusionist (Aug 18) - period, drama- magic (S: Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel)

• Sony Pictures Classic --> Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (Sept 1) - foreign film, family drama, China, Japan (D: Zhang Yimou)

• Focus Feature --> Hollywoodland (Sept 8)--> period crime/mystery drama (S: Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Ben Affleck, Bob Hoskins)

• Universal Pictures --> The Black Dahlia (Sept 15) - period crime, mystery (S: Scarlet Johannson , Hilary Swank, Josh Hartnett)

• Dreamworks Pictures --> The Last Kiss (Sept 15) - drama - coming of age (S: Zach Braff, Jacinda Barrett, Casey Affleck, Rachel Bilson)
  

• Miramax --> Renaissance (Sept 22) - animation, sci-fi - crime, future Paris

• Rogue Pictures --> Jet Li's Fearless (Sept 22) - period, martial arts fighting

• Fox --> The Last King of Scotland (Sept 27) - drama - Ugandan President Idi Amin and his physician (S: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy)

• Universal Pictures --> Children of Men (Sept 29) - sci-fi, drama - hope in an infertile near-future (S: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore)

• Warner Brothers --> The Departed (Oct 6) - drama - cops & crooks (D: Martin Scorsese | S: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg)

• Warner Brothers --> The Fountain (Oct 13) - sci-fi - The Fountain of Youth, across time (S: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz)

• Touchstone/Hollywood Pictures --> The Prestige (Oct 20) - thriller, magic (S: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale)

• Paramount --> Babel (Oct 27) - drama - security in cross culture (D: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu | S: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael Garcia Bernal, Koji Yakusho)
• 
  
• Sony Pictures --> Casino Royale (Nov 16) - action - 007 film (S: Daniel Craig - the new James Bond, Eva Green, Madds Mikkelsen, Catarena Mureno)
  

Crutch
Alistair Begg asked, "Is Christianity a psychological crutch?" No. Why? Because Christianity is hard. It hard to swim against the current; whereas it's easy for dead fish to be carried by the flow.

Consider how more Christians were killed for their belief during the 20th century than the sum of all Christians murdered for their faith in all time before the 1900's. In fact such persecution has not waned and in many places they've intensified despite the reduced numbers of Communist nations.

In having such conviction to live for Jesus Christ, many lose their livelihood, family, and life. And some say crutch, hah! Not quite. If everyone is moving in the same direction, no one notices they head towards destruction. He who holds fast to the anchor of God sees the shifting currents and is buffeted.

Angry? Chicago
I'm told by some people from other U.S. cities that Chicagoan's are generally angry with an anger on par with New Yorkers, but New York throws it straight at you -- that proud bluntness.

Is Chicago really so? Is there this so-called undercurrent of anger in Chicago? One can argue for angry traffic but I don't think that's comparable to New York.

Rose
Played a short dice puzzle game called "Petals Around the Rose." It supposedly stumped Bill Gates for a while (but he eventually figured it out) as it's not a gauge of intelligence. To people it's either gimmicky or frustrating.

AMD & ATI are merging. Two chip powerhouses join forces to take on other chipmakers. Just in time as Intel releases Core 2 Duo. Woohoo more fireworks!

We happened upon the largest cross in the western hemisphere.











BBQ Texas.

In Texas we called it a night at Vega. "I love tech-no-lo-gy." Cell phones are useful since my friend's father tracked us periodically by Google Earth (awesome software if you have high speed connection). We never felt lost with the GPS. No only that, all the hotels we stayed at had wireless Internet.

Anyways, the clerk at the Comfort Inn welcomed us to the "edge of civilization" because we were on the border to New Mexico.

We stopped at a town named Amarillo which was along our route. This town has an airport and a rodeo. We ate at the Big Texan Steak Ranch which was interesting for the atmosphere but disappointing in terms of food. The outside had a huge sign, bright lightbulbs outlining the building (tacky but maybe it draws unsuspecting tourists). When we walked in we heard loud yee-hawing and a trio playing "You Are My Sunshine" on the guitar, fiddle, and bass. We saw cowboy hats and a plethora of mounted animal heads on all the walls. The restaurant's claim to fame is a 72 oz. steak that is free if you eat it within 1 hour. That's 4 pounds of meat. (Kobayashi where are you.) A newsarticle on the wall reported the record time as several seconds above 9 minutes.

We ate some steak, but taste was lacking. "Steak tomatoes" were just tomatoes cut in half with black pepper sprinkled on it. "Steak onions" were raw rings of red onion. "Steak fries" were fried from processed frozen stuff. My ribeye steak was decently grilled but my friends were quite disappointed with their sirloins. "You Are My Sunshine" played a few more times in the background. Overall: limited effort in preparation. (For the same price, Chicago steakhouses far surpass this place in taste.)

Near the end of our meal a couple got up and started dancing while the trio played away. The waiter was a nice fellow who sat down and chatted with us. We commented to ourselves that this is part of the southern hospitality where strangers readily strike up conversations with you.

We drove across Oklahoma today and stopped in Texas. Oklahoma is hilly and the soil is interesting because it is like red clay. When we hit Texas, I noticed 2 things: the price of gasoline going up and the landscape turning to shrubbery. The cheapest gas prices were in Missouri and Oklahoma. You would think Texas with all its oil refineries would have cheaper gas. Shrubbery stretches from Texas to California. You wouldn't have much use for a lawnmower and mowing shrubs would be difficult and if you removed the shrubs all you would have is dirt. Here are some interesting plants.

The first picture shows one of the weeds, they're like dark hairy fists.





"They came from pods!!!" Actually, I believe these are the fruit of the yucca.















Here is a plant with pink wisps and white flowers.

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis. I rode up the south side and down the north side in a 5-seater pod.

 

Bales of hay in Missouri. 

Blazing Cool Chip
IBM & Georgia Institute of Technology have created a silicon-germanium semiconductor chip that can run at 500 GHz when cooled to -268 degrees Celcius and 350 GHz at room temperature. Compare that to current computer chips that run at most at 3-4 GHz, it's a giant leap. They say that such technology would reach consumers in about 1-2 years and could potentially support near the frequency of a Terahertz at room temperature.

I attended a graduation ceremony today. Some observations from the graduation:
The guest speaker said his psychiatrist friend was asked why he went into psychiatry. His friend responded: "Surgery was not invasive enough." Delving into the mind is more invasive. Why? Because our thought betray our hearts. Such exposure is something people fear. The Bible says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9

Still, what a strange response from the psychiatrist... there must be more purpose to direction than the sake of being invasive. Is it then ultimately a grasp for power and control? So banal.

When nonmedical* people meet a psychiatrist, they often wonder if the psychiatrist is analyzing them -- as if psychiatrists can read minds (they can't). I'm told the punchline is the psychiatrist responds, "No, I could analyze you for a fee."

There was something uneasy about todays speaker, he seemed bored and nervous from the getgo: leaning on the podium, slouching to one side, unsure of where to place his hands - often placing his fingers together like Mr. Burns of the Simpsons. Perhaps he was jetlagged or came at short notice.


*Concerning the use of the word "nonmedical": In roles of service there is a distinction made between the service provider and others as in [Military/law enforcement vs. civilian], [clergy vs. laity]. However it is not quite encompassing to say medical vs. patient since not all people are patients. Is there a better word for nonmedical?

"Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." Philippians 2:4

I am selfish. Living alone it is easy to forget the interests of others.

Thanks to A/C, I slept fine.

I went to my first outdoor wedding yesterday. Daytime temperature was ~95°F. People were sweating. The local was scenic and everything was quite classy. Mike & Alice are honestly adorable. Pictures to come later if they come out alright (That's right, I use my trusty analog). As an aside, it seems my camera is getting bigger every year.

Pixar to Head Disney Animation
In a strange turn of events after Disney & Pixar separated "bitterly." Disney acquires Pixar with Pixar to helm Disney's animation studios. John Lasseter was once fired from Disney and now he will head Disney's animation department. Fortune Magazine likens this change in leadership to Nemo swallowing the whale.

It seems like everyone and their uncles have read Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, even my friends from Japan. Amazingly, because people are ignorant of history, they believe what they see in print even if it comes off the FICTION shelf. Many Christians are making a fuss about this because they are astounded by the gullibility of the masses. Those who are not Christian ask, "What's the big deal? The book is only fiction." Then why do you treat it as fact? Dan Brown created a mish-mash of facts, fiction, speculation, and outright lies.

Why are people so ready to receive Brown's message? If our hearts are already set against God, convincing doesn't come hard. Don't most people wish to live in a world without God --who holds them accountable for their actions, choices and thoughts?

My dog passed away, Sad. She was sick and I thought she was getting better.

My dog is old and sick :(

Curse of Comfort
Comfort makes you complacent and forget who you are and why you're here.

Newsweek 'warns' of how India and China (and South Korean and Singapore) are extremely driven and only getting started in their economic escalation, especially technologically. Contrast the United States where people are so use to being first and having the best, compounded with a general unawareness of shifts in the world; there is a lack of drive to grow or innovate. Though we have the best universities and best resources, our students lag behind in international rankings for math and science. Newsweek writes, while our students are playing video games, their counterparts in China are studying their forth books. The frontiers of future innovation will not be the U.S. unless we change.

More eternally affecting the U.S. is the oppressive spiritual complacency. Contrast this with India and China. In India, Hindus in conjunction with local police daily threaten Christians, imprison them, threaten their lives, destroy their churches; and children are disowned by their parents. In China the government-sanctioned "Three-Self Churches" was started by a Communist party member who claimed to be a Christian but did not believe Jesus did any miracles. When the Three-Self system was set up, all house churches were deemed illegal gatherings. Because so many Christians refuse to register with the Three-Self churches, refuse to stop gathering, and refuse to stop sharing the message of the Cross; they are continually persecuted, publically humiliated, imprisoned repeatedly, and tortured. Such trials have managed to keep those Christians sharp and remind them that their citizenship is not here but heaven. And in these nations, the kingdom of God is rapidly advancing as thousands turn from lives of sin, trust in Christ, train and go out themselves to reach the lost.

The United States has the most freedom of religion, Bibles coming out of our pores, the best seminaries, and a glut of great books and sermons; but what is that to us. We do not care about the souls of our neighbors or our own personal growth. I say this as admonishment to myself too.

What has happened to us in the U.S.? Do we still believe God acts? Or are our blinders on to God; as to our education/economy. Do we no longer hunger and thirst for righteousness, but instead just superficially live to enjoy this life?

Do we still believe God will one day call us to account for how we used the time He gave us? It scares me, and you?

Politics of Gems
My college fellowship staffworker got engaged a few days ago, not by a diamond ring but by an emerald. (I'm not sure if it's emerald, but most likely, since she noted that it was a green stone). Why emerald? She has cultivated a ministry of social justice and cultural diversity. In light of this, not getting a diamond is a protest and safeguard against the abuse in diamond mining practices.

A note to ponder: using diamonds as a gem for engagement ring has been much of an American phenomenon and not a global phenomenon historically. The use of other gems is not that unusual. Then again, in our age of proliferated American culture (80's culture especially, surprisingly) and heavy marketing by deBeers and such, diamonds could now be the default global engagement bobble. In fact, many gemologists estimate the value emeralds as more than diamonds. Although you should also investigate emeralds for potential abuse because much of the world's emeralds comes from the dangerous mines of the volatile nation of Columbia (and Venezuela? Are Venezuela's mines dangerous?).

A means of bypassing the diamond trade is to purchase man-made diamonds which are more pure, cheaper, and less blemished than mined diamonds. To build up the reputation of synthetic diamond, such gems are touted as "cultured diamonds" just as there are "cultured pearls." This fairly new diamond industry has been a growing threat to the conglomerate of diamond mining/monopolizing families. Such families have worked to develop machinery to distinguish mined diamonds from made diamonds; and the distinction is the cultured form is "too perfect" and splits a beam of light at a particular spectrum and diffraction. But does the populace care? Those families only want to protect their businesses. Would you want a diamond that was synthetic but pure or natural but possibly obtained through abusive practices or avoid diamonds altogether?

Why diamonds at all? I think they represent purity and strength, right?

Orphan Man
From a talk by William Lane Craig:
Loren Eisley said, "Man is the cosmic orphan. He's the only creature in the universe to ask, 'Why?' Other creatures rely upon instinct but man has learned to ask questions. 'Who am I?' he asks. 'Why am I here? Where am I going?'"
Ever since the Enlightenment, when modern man threw off the shackles of religion, he's tried to answer those questions without God. The answers that came back were not exhilarating but dark and terrible: "You are the accidental byproduct of matter + chance + time." "There is no reason for your existence." "All you face is death." "Your life is but a spark in the infinite darkness, a spark that appears, flickers, and dies forever."
Modern man thought that by divesting himself of God, he had freed himself from everything that stifled and oppressed him. Instead, he found that in "killing" God, he had only succeeded in orphaning himself.

Recently Fox Health & Science News reported:

U.S. President George W. Bush's administration stresses abstinence as the best way to avoid AIDS, but Myron Cohen of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and other experts said if the epidemic is to be stopped, people should make decisions based on science, rather than moral or emotional judgments.

There is obvious bias in at least how this article presents information. HIV is a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Abstinence is the most logical and intuitive means of preventing a STD, but it is derailed as moral and emotional.