Well, before I start up with what will probably be a steady-ish stream economic/social/political/culture/fun links, I suppose I be transparent about the perspectives that I currently carry within me (subject to change), since they will undoubtedly influence what I post. (ed. These sound like really bad fortune cookie notes.)
- First and foremost, I am a follower of Christ.
- I am Chinese-American. More American than Chinese, though hopefully it will even out over time (unlikely.)
- I believe in the power of reason and strength of the irrational.
- I am idealistic regarding people (sing.) and cynical regarding populations, structures, and corporations.
- I am solution agnostic.
- The free market does not always know best. Nor does the government. Nor do the people.
- Nothing is as simple as it appears.
- The best is often the worst enemy of the better.
- Goals should be ideal, implementation pragmatic, and expectations realistic.
- Just because the ideal is unattainable doesn’t mean that the attempt shouldn’t be made.
- Just because something is worthwhile doesn’t mean that the cost should be paid.
- Equal opportunity leads to unequal outcomes leads to unequal opportunity.
- Both/and, not either/or. The trick lies in the balance.
- I am neither liberal nor conservative nor independent.
- I strive to seek truth. I wish to act boldly. I hope to live humbly. I struggle to be spirit led.
- I know little. I am learning.
- I am a work in progress
- I am a sinner.
- I am saved (by grace)
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. … And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” ~Revelations 21:1-4
The comments thread
Sunday, February 21st, 2010One of the reasons I migrated to wordpress was because I thought it’d be neat to actually have a functional comments system, as opposed to the xanga-crosspost-hack from before. But, what’s the point of leaving comments if they merely echo in the internet-void? So in horribly belated fashion, here are responses to all 13(!) of my comments. All future comments will be responded to in their original post. You should also take a gander at the new “latest comments” widgit in the sidebar, which will…have the latest comments. Thanks to everyone who has said Hi so far!
So, without further delay (in reverse chronological order):
Mac: Nice links, as always. How do you manage to read so much? (crossposted from facebook)
>>Thanks! I’m glad you enjoy them. I actually don’t “manage” my reading too well, since it tends to come at the expense of the rest of my life…but that’s a topic for another post.
Livia @ Livia Blackburne: Thanks for the plug. Proud to be the best (err, only) writing blog you know
>>No problem! You occupy a very special place in my blogroll. (That is, until one of my other grad-student-by-day/writer-by-night friends gets a blog as well)
Livia: I like these roundups. Can you release them more often? It’s alot of links to get through in one sitting.
>>I tried this time. I really did. Sometimes it’s hard to find time to post, so the links just start piling up…
Jen @ Tiny Urban Kitchen: This looks great! And your post was fun to read. Glad you and wyu had a good time. As for your photos, all you need is a little bit of post-processing (increase exposure & correct white balance) and they might actually look pretty good.
>>Wow, thanks! Coming from you, that means _a_lot_. Maybe next time I’ll try a recipe food post.
mmh: why are you not looking forward to anything in 2010? c’mon….
>>I was looking forward to things in 2010. It was just a lot easier to come up with 0 things than 10 things =b.
mmh: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I hope you’re celebrating today & not reading a million articles. (btw, there’s a ‘read more’ thing in wordpress that looks like this: )
>>Thanks. Uh…gosh…I don’t remember what I did on my birthday. (And no, my lack of memory is not alcohol related.)
Lillerz: Well on the bright side, at least you’re graduating.
>>eh…not yet. one. more. year. Speaking of which, do I get to call you Doctor yet?
becks: Brilliant links – your blog’s a treasure trove of good stuffs.
>>ty. We aim to please.
mmh: thanks bro! you forgot to mention that the band is awesome & the video is the best mariah carey cover you have ever heard! ever! ^_^
>>np. Everyone, Last Year’s Model is awesome, and this is the best Mariah Carey cover EVAR. rawr. And in case you didn’t watch the video, shame on you. Here it is again.
flav: Sounds good to me!
>>Glad it sounds good. Does it sound accurate?
Jess @ On Race, Privilege, and Medicine: I sooo appreciate this post. And I so appreciate you. I, too, often ponder this idea of “neighbor” though I suppose without christianity to guide me I use the word “community” instead. The repercussions of our individual actions on neighbors that we have never met. How to live with that. How to make other people recognize how connected we all really are…
sometimes i wonder if we’ve all just gotten too far ahead of ourselves. There’s this economist, Schumacher, who believes that humans weren’t wired or built to really comprehend things larger than our own physical neighborhoods. The effects of globalization have been/are so devastating in some ways because it doesn’t come naturally to humans to think on such a big scale. In a nutshell, it’s hard for humans to care about people they’ve never met, so maybe we shouldn’t have the power to effect people we haven’t met.
i guess that’s a more pessimistic take on your optimistic spin.
whoops
>>I see your pessimism and raise you a bitter dose of reality. It’s not just “hard for humans to care about people they’ve never met”, we’re terrible at caring for the person down the street. Also that “power to effect people we haven’t met” is pretty pernicious. Removing it might come at the expense of bringing down modern society.
mmh: yay! wordpress is so much better, really… & if you’re uploading lots of photos, there’s a picasa plugin & the flickr slideshow looks pretty nice too.
>>Yeah…photos…oh wait, here’s one!
Museum of Modern Art, NYC, 12.28.09
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