iPod boycott

Half the reason behind the formation of the MySpace/iPod Resistance is my personal boycott of iPod's. Here's why: 1) I like buying CD's because I believe an artist's full expression of music incorporates the particular images, wordings and methods through which the music is delivered to people. Take that away, and you're left with titles, minutes and seconds. 2) I'm leery of any technology or trend that commands as much attention and popularity as these devices do. 3) I, too, believe iPod's "cater to our consumerist culture of instant gratification". Here are a few more quotes from this great article from Relevant Magazine: "The fact is that when technology is combined with art in a consumer society, art becomes just another commodity that can be collected, consumed and disposed. When this happens, music loses all its art, and is treated the opposite way it should be."
"Marshall McLuhan, a communication theorist from the 1960s and 70s, is most famous for his tagline “The medium is the message.” If there is any truth to this, and I believe there is, we need to carefully examine how this new medium of music changes the way we view, experience and consume (or not consume) the art form of popular music. Clearly, we can’t approach it in a black and white way. There are both benefits and concerns that iPods and mp3s bring to the picture of the already complex world of popular music and art. However, I encourage all music listeners to think through these issues and not become mindless consumers to whom corporations sell digital music in ways that disregard its art form."

Sic, yo!!!

It took me a few days but I finally finished setting up my blog categories on the sidebar. Not understanding html is a huge inconvenience especially when it comes to this sort of thing. There are a few other changes I would like to make but can't really because of my lack of html knowledge. Hopefully, I'll be able to continue to pick it up along the way like I have been. Copy and paste, copy and paste...

Happy 20th, Emiline! One more year until the big 2-1!

word association

I have always been enamored by words and the employment of language to shape the world, convey our ideas, and define who we are as individuals and people. I'm a bit of a stickler (for better or worse, I don't know) when it comes to linguistic expression because I firmly believe that the message behind what we mean to say and how we say it must always be the same. Too often, we use words and phrases to signify one thing when our tone or even selection of words do little to communicate our original intent. I find this discrepancy in vernacular particularly troublesome when it concerns the ministry of the church. There are a few terms or phrases used flippantly by the "Christian culture" that truly irk me: First, going to church is totally off the mark. Whenever I have brought this up, most people see the inherent problem with it; the fact that the church is not a place but the people, that we don't go to church but we are the church. (I think the designation of the church as a mere location has far more undermining consequences than most people think.) The common response I get is that its the easiest way to describe the activity on Sundays to which ask myself (rather sarcastically)," Oh really? When has our faith become a thing of convenience?" Second, the term Sunday morning service gives me a bad vibe, specifically the word service. When I hear service, I think of going to the car dealership and getting my car checked; the mechanics perform the necessary maintenance whereby I'm obligated to pay for the service after its all done. There are conditions of work and payment in exchanged for one another. How does that fit with what goes on during those times of worship when we gather together? How about this description from the 411 instead: "Hi-riser groups gather together weekly to worship God corporately. These congregational times of worship are called Celebrations. Our style of worship reflects our communities. We worship Jesus through praise, prayer, baptism, communion, scripture reading, proclamation, the arts, media, and technology. We strive for excellence in everything we do because God deserves our best...we realize worship is not limited to music. Real worship is meeting God." Third, with the understanding that worship is genuinely experiencing God, Worship Leader is a bit of a misnomer. This stems from the modern misuse of worship as being synonymous with music when, in fact, music is but an element of worship and not its entirety. Music Pastor or, even better, Lead Worshipper may be more accurate replacements. Last (for now) is the prevalent response after the sermon has been given," I didn't get anything out of it." Such an evaluation of God's message expresses an element of the current consumerist trend that has remarkably influenced the "Christian culture". Perhaps we are too used to being entertained by movies or television where we sit and demand to have our senses engaged that we forget, as we gather together, our King is in our midst; that we are called to be like Mary at the feet of Jesus, soaking in His words while being overwhelmed by His presence.
In "The Search to Belong", Joseph R. Myers writes," Language may be the key element for developing and nurturing community. We must discover the language that moves our definition of community forward while at the same time give our culture a lexicon people can use to express their community experience." Some may say that all this is just a matter of semantics and that it doesn't necessarily carry the magnitude of meaning that I suggest. Maybe, maybe not...but why risk it? Why not be as intentional and purposeful as we can when talking about our spiritual life and describing our faith? Who or what are we saving our breath and words for? We may know what we really mean but do others?

Happy Birthday Meg! (Sorry, its late.) Can't wait to see you in June.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man
is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a
Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse,
as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor
of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death
diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And
therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee. JOHN DONNE

"This was the greatest gift that he had, the talent that fitted him for war; that ability not to ignore but to despise whatever bad ending there could be. This quality was destroyed by too much responsibility for others or the necessity of undertaking something ill planned or badly conceived. For in such things the bad ending, failure, could not be ignored. He knew he himself was nothing, and he knew death was nothing. He knew that truly, as truly as he knew anything. In the last few days he had learned that he himself, with another person, could be everything. But inside himself he knew that this was the exception. That we have had, he thought. In that I have been most fortunate, That was given to me, perhaps, because I never asked for it. That cannot be taken away or lost."
Ernest Hemingway (page 393)

Even though I'm a pretty sharp guy (if I do say so myself... I'm just kidding, other people say it for me all the time) and a good test-taker, I've never particularly liked the foundational principles behind the SAT's and other "intelligence" measuring exams. These tests are very linear in what they are trying to determine and neglect the other various ways people operate. This piece in MSN has a great illustration: "After all, intelligence clearly isn't in the brain, it is the brain. It's less like the oil in the engine and more like the efficiency of the engine as a whole. Every aspect of the engine affects its efficiency, from how finely milled the surfaces are to the grade of oil in the block to the design of the engine."
Ever since I took a class called "How to Create a Meaningful Life" in college (don't laugh, I got actual credit for it), I've been a firm supporter of Multiple Intelligences: linguistic (word smart), logical-mathematical number/reasoning smart), spatial (picture smart), bodily-kinesthetic (body smart), musical (music smart), interpersonal (people smart), interpersonal (self smart), and naturalistic (nature smart). (I'm sure there are others but those were the ones we discussed.) The idea of various individuals exhibiting strengths in different human capacities makes sense to me. The practice of utilizing one standard to ascertain how "smart" a person really is based on one or two of those disciplines (namely linguistic and logical-mathematical) is so narrow-focused and unrealistic and does not makes sense to me; people are so diverse and multi-faceted that to determine the true "intelligence" of an individual takes a more encompassing approach and wider perspective. Now granted, these exams are used specifically for the purposes of determining mental aptitude, but it seems that as a society and government, the message being peddled is that success in school and, therefore, in life is predicated upon just how high one's score is. This results in additional pressure and emphasis to excel in areas that will bolster these scores (being Asian, I know first hand about this pressure) while alienating, to a certain degree, other areas which won't. When is success in personal relationships with your friends and family ever discussed in school? Or the notion of being comfortable with yourself encouraged? Now I'm not talking about a holistic approach to education; that's something different. I'm just asking if it would be advantageous to society as well as ourselves to elevate the different strengths of people instead of conforming them to a couple.

Its possible!

Since Aaron and I are the only people we know who don't possess both a MySpace and an Ipod, we've decided to join forces to form the "YouCanExistWithoutMySpaceAndIpods" resistance. The qualifications are pretty simple(yet somewhat difficult at the same time): 1) You don't have a MySpace and 2) You don't have an Ipod. If anyone out there discovers that he or she is in this extraordinary category and would like to partake in this noble effort, get a Yahoo ID and submit your request to Supreme High Potentate Danny for deliberation. Good luck!

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
What is unconditional love? How do you love people completely before even meeting them or, in some cases, after meeting them? Furthermore, how do you do so knowing full well that they won't reciprocate that love? How does both joy(for those who love Him back) and sorrow(for those who don't) co-exist simultaneously in God's heart? It blows me away to know that as the Lord looks upon me, my life brings Him honor as much as it brings Him pain; that I'm equally His masterpiece as well as His heartache.
If I were to know that the very thing I would create to love me would neglect me instead, I don't think I would go on creating it let alone die for it one day. But I guess that is why I cannot fathom such infinite love that washes over me, bringing me to my knees...my response? Humbly accepting His gift, living through Christ in a manner which, hopefully, brings Him more joy than sorrow.

I haven't cut my hair since I moved to New York. For those keeping score, its been six months and three days. This is the longest I've had it since I was 11! Before going East, the length of time between my haircuts was about 10 days and absolutely no more that 14. So you can imagine what an adjustment I've had to make with all this stuff on my head; I literally have no control over what it wants to do every day. I'm this close to getting rid of most of it and going back to my short look that I can actually manage properly. But the more I think about it, the more I find it to be a control issue. And so, since I like to think of myself as a recovering Type-A perfectionist, I'm tolerating the mess it creates on my head and on my patience a tad bit longer. But if the situation doesn't improve soon, see ya!

CNN compiled all the late night jokes about VP Dick Cheney's hunting accident over the weekend. I liked Leno's the best: "Although it is beautiful here in California, the weather back East has been atrocious. There was so much snow in Washington, D.C., Dick Cheney accidentally shot a fat guy thinking it was a polar bear."

Happy Fabricated Day of American Commercialism, everybody! What would we do today without touching Hallmark cards, fresh red roses or pink bunnies holding chocolate hearts? In honor of today's economic boost cleverly disguised as the national day of affection, here is BOP's top ten most romantic movies. Enjoy.

Snow Day!

Yesterday, New York had its biggest snow storm of the century. There was a recorded 26.9 inches in Central Park; how crazy is that? Airports and roads and businesses were closed. The 411 even cancelled their worship time due to the blizzard. Coming from California, where I don't see snow normally, it was pretty wild to see how much stuff was falling from the sky. When I first stepped out of the house in the morning, the snow came up to my knee! It was pretty rough at the start of the day but became much nicer towards the evening. It was beautiful today with the sun out and alot of snow still around. If only it can stay like this...

Extra! Extra!

On Saturday, I was in Studio 8H where they do SNL as an extra for the movie Man of the Year starring Robin Williams. I was a part of the studio audience for a segment of Weekend Update with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in which Robin Williams' character appears as a guest on the show. It was really fun especially with Robin Williams getting everyone to constantly laugh with non-stop jokes starting as soon as the directer yelled cut up until they would start the scene again. And these weren't nice jokes either; he ripped into alot of people as you can imagine and some of the stuff he said was downright disturbing(but in a comical way, of course). Chevy Chase was on set as well as Christopher Walken. We weren't paid anything but got a really delicious lunch( I'm all about free food.) The whole thing was pretty cool...I got to see a) how a movie is filmed and b) basically, a few hours of Robin Williams doing stand-up. Pretty sweet, huh?

So here are my thoughts on the Winter Olympics which just started: The countries who can really compete in these games are either wealthy or covered with mountains filled with snow. I, honestly, think that these snow and ice competitions are a luxury shared among nations who can afford to have 19 year-olds snowboard all day long or build a luge training facility or have enough spare time to conduct curling practices. (I just want to stop right here for a second; is it just me or does it seem like "curling" was the result of utter boredom? Seriously, who the heck came up with that thing? It looks flippin' ridiculous!) It isn't like the Summer Olympics where the a large portion of the sports can be played or practiced by just about anyone just about anywhere. For example, how many of the track competitions can be duplicated at the park? Anybody can walk outside and start running but its a little tougher to do downhill moguls on the neighborhood park slope. You see, it takes alot of money to travel to the snow and do all these things which leads me to my next point of contention: this whole thing about America sending the best team; of course we are but thats only because we're the richest country and, somehow, have that much time and resources and manpower to spend on such activities. Is it any wonder that there are fewer countries that compete in the winter games, not to mention some nations only being able to send one or two people to these competitions? I'm not saying these games are frivolous or anything but let's not get too proud here...but then again, I guess Team USA can be since it seems we can afford it. ( How does America afford it considering the ongoing war in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina recovery, the Social Security discrepancy, rising gas prices...? Is there something more worthwhile with wider ranging effects that we can do with the money and time and resources thats invested in winning metal donuts in the snow?)

The Haven had their Singer/Songwriter night last Wednesday at the Knitting Factory down in the West Village. It was the first time I've been there, and I gotta say, I was impressed by the whole thing from the venue to the people to the music. Ronnie played a great song, and I was glad I got to hear it. Its cool to see a community committed to not only encouraging creativity but also supporting it.

I would like to speak to the governing body that decides what "fortunes" go into fortune cookies. Some of the stuff aren't even fortunes but read more like general descriptions of personalities, behaviors or habits. If I was leading that committee, I would go all out and really give you something exciting that'll make you say either," No frickin' way!" or "Crap, thats gonna suck!" None of this bland stuff like "People around you find you affable." No way, not on my watch; its gonna be more like "People around you are gonna kill you after they discover that you will, unwittingly and single-handedly, destroy the entire penguin population during your trip to Antartica precluding any chance of making the "March of the Penguins" sequel." Now thats fortune tellin'!

I'm so out of shape, it's not even funny! I haven't really participated in any recreational activities since I moved out here...no weight-lifting, b-ball, running...its truly pathetic. Wanna know what triggered this realization? I had to race up two flights of stairs at the Lex/59th station the other day because I was late for work but before I made it all the way up, my heart was pounding so hard that I thought it was gonna burst! My legs were totally shot forcing me to sit down for a second...there was this strange buzzing in my ears too...sad, I know.

Can God's mind be changed? I've read through certain passages in the Bible that show both sides of that question. This was brought up in our small group the other day when when we were discussing prayer and Ric asked if persistent prayer on the behalf of someone truly influences God? (This, then, took us down the Free Will Vs. Election path which I don't want to get in...I'll save that for another time.) As I work through this issue, it seems apparent to me that the prayers/choices we make and God's response to them all have to do with the reference of time. When I make a choice to pray or do anything, the effects of such things are limited by time since I cannot see beyond that very moment. However, since God sees the whole scope of time instantaneously, the effects and consequences of my decisions are known to Him completely. I believe He sees the effects of both the choices I make and the ones I don't. Presently, I've settled on two thoughts: 1) God responds to all prayers. Whether we understand or welcome the answer are separate issues. 2) God works all things to bring Him the most glory.
You see, I've been praying for my dad for the longest time, seemingly without a response from the Lord. Whether or not my petitions and prayers of intercession do indeed play a factor in God's plan for him, I believe I''ll never know in this life. But I can't help but think that despite all that, He still desires to hear those words from me and see that I genuinely care for someone He loves dearly. If I knew for sure that God wouldn't change His mind, would I stop praying? That's a tough one to answer...but the more and more I think about my initial question, I ask myself, "How can a flawed and finite being like myself truly comprehend a perfect and infinite one like Him?" So since I don't know or, more accurately, won't know either way, I think I'll just continue to pray with my hands and leave the details in His...

The Suckey Bowl

So how bad was the Super Bowl? Sure, there were some questionable calls but the Seahawks looked bad. Thanks to Janet, all the half-time shows now are lame...the 100 year old Rolling Stones? Are you kidding me? They looked decrepit, like they were about to collapse any second and die. However, the one good thing about this overrated event are the commercials...there were about a handful of great ones to: FedEx, AmeriQuest, Sprint/Nextel, Michelob, Career Builders, and Burger King.

Do you wanna hear powerful words that truly inspire and catalyze change?
"Look, whatever thoughts you have about God, who He is or if He exists, most will agree that if there is a God, He has a special place for the poor. In fact, the poor are where God lives. Check Judaism. Check Islam. Check pretty much anyone. God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house… God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives… God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war… God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them. “If you remove the yolk from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom with become like midday and the Lord will continually guide you and satisfy your desire in scorched places.” It’s not a coincidence that in the Scriptures, poverty is mentioned more than 2,100 times. It’s not an accident. That’s a lot of air time, 2,100 mentions. [You know, the only time Christ is judgmental is on the subject of the poor.] ‘As you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me.’ (Matthew 25:40). As I say, good news to the poor."
"6,500 Africans are still dying every day of a preventable, treatable disease, for lack of drugs we can buy at any drug store. This is not about charity, this is about Justice and Equality. Because there's no way we can look at what’s happening in Africa and, if we're honest, conclude that deep down, we really accept that Africans are equal to us. Anywhere else in the world, we wouldn’t accept it. Look at what happened in South East Asia with the Tsunami. 150, 000 lives lost to that misnomer of all misnomers, “mother nature”. In Africa, 150,000 lives are lost every month. A tsunami every month. And it’s a completely avoidable catastrophe. There is a continent—Africa—being consumed by flames. I truly believe that when the history books are written, our age will be remembered for three things: the war on terror, the digital revolution, and what we did—or did not to—to put the fire out in Africa. History, like God, is watching what we do."

These were Bono's words in a speech he gave before President Bush and members of the Congress at the National Prayer Breakfast last week, asking for an additional 1 percent of the federal budget to be given to the world's poor. If you haven't yet already, check out data.org to see what Bono was talking about. I've said this before, Bono really impresses me...his desire to see this plan to end extreme poverty come to fruition is unbelievable.

You said,"Ask and I'll give the nations to you."

O Lord, that's the cry of my heart.

Distant shores and the islands will see

Your light as it rises on us.

"Janice, I apologize to you if I don't seem real eager to jump into a forced awkward intimate situation that people like to call dating. I don't like the feeling. You're sitting there, you're wondering do I have food on my face, am I eating, am I talking too much, are they talking enough, am I interested I'm not really interested, should I play like I'm interested but I'm not that interested but I think she might be interested but do I want to be interested but now she's not interested? So all of the sudden I'm getting, I'm starting to get interested... And when am I supposed to kiss her? Do I have to wait for the door cause then it's awkward, it's like well goodnight. Do you do like that ass-out hug? Where you like, you hug each other like this and your ass sticks out cause you're trying not to get too close or do you just go right in and kiss them on the lips or don't kiss them at all? It's very difficult trying to read the situation. And all the while you're just really wondering are we gonna get hopped up enough to make some bad decisions? Perhaps play a little game called "just the tip". Just for a second, just to see how it feels. Or, ouch, ouch you're on my hair."

One of the best and funniest dissertations by Vince Vaughn ever from my favorite comedy right now "Wedding Crashers". However, it was made even more hilarious but a recent experience. Let's just say I can totally relate especially to the stuff in italics...haha.

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Donovan McNabb finally lets loose on T.O. While still being classy and respectful, he blasts Owens by claiming that his antics were a result of a selfish pursuit of "money and power". Right on big guy, right on.

People used to say that one should never speak of religion and politics in public let alone mix the two. Nowadays, the boundary that separates those two establishments has been blurred especially with the Bush administration and emergence of the "Evangelical" majority. I regard politics the same way I regard taxes, as a necessary evil. But to ignore the political arena in this time and age would not only be neglectful but fool-hardy; I believe our generation cannot take on essential social issues that are both relevant and biblical without, at least, being aware of the political strings attached to such endeavors. If anyone is remotely interested to know where I stand politically, this post from last year will paint a pretty good picture. The LA Times just came out with a great article which echoes some of the sentiments that I share as well. Its nice to hear others think along the same lines as you do sometimes.