swhang's Xanga

Banff National Park

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:49:23 GMT

Don't have much time these days as I'm preparing for GREs and also coordinating Perspectives in Dallas this fall, but meanwhile, I wanted to just post up a few incredible pics of Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada - one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. There are so many incredible places, but wanted to just give a little glimpse. My wife will post many more when she finds enough time.

This is at Vermillion Lakes. The lake was as incredibly clear.

Lake Louise. Yes, the color of the lake is below - no tinkering with the color on software.

Hooray for Bollywood!

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:26:02 GMT

A few years ago, I showcased a Bollywood movie called "Veer Zaara" to some church friends. They laughed at it. Those punks. The dancing and singing were a little bit too much for them. But that's the whole point! You watch an action movie with a certain mindset. A Bollywood movie should be watched with a certain mindset as well. Now, go watch "Bride and Prejudice" (not Pride and Prejudice).

But all this is just the intro statement to this video from Britain's Got Talent. You watch and I dare you to mock Bollywood!!!

(it says it's 10 minutes long, but it's only 3 minutes... the editor added 7 minutes of blank buffer time to make the video a higher quality).

Why Facebook is growing...

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 00:54:59 GMT

It disturbs me that Facebook is growing so rapidly. And thus with this growth, people are using Xanga less and less... though I'm a victim myself as my last post was several months ago.

I think the reason why Facebook is growing so rapidly is because Facebook allows pictures to be uploaded so easily and the best feature yet, it allows the user to "tag" people on their photos. It's a well known fact that updated pictures are one of the best ways to drive a website. And so it is with Facebook, users get emails noting when they've been tagged in a photo. And therein lies the success of Facebook...

Vanity.

Yup. People's vanity is the reason why Facebook is so huge. People love to see pictures of themselves over and over again. They love getting tagged in photos (me too!).

But let content rule supreme.

Let Xanga rule!!!

Down with Facebook!!!

Fall Saturdays

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 00:00:18 GMT

Saturdays in the fall mean only one thing... college football. We have some crazy matchups tomorrow. Here's a joke a friend told me, and I have to share it...

"How many batteries does it take to shock the University of Michigan football team?"

Answer: "1 double-A"

Say What?

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 14:53:52 GMT

Who says men can't multitask?!?!

Godspeed

Mon, 28 May 2007 20:42:10 GMT

Godspeed Karis. Godspeed.

A Dream

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 11:44:16 GMT

Some people dream that they become professional baseball, basketball, or football players when they are young. I did dream those dreams when I was young. When I was in 7th grade, I remember the teacher told us to write down what we would like to be when we grew up. I wrote down, "to be a professional baseball, basketball, AND football player." Needless to say, those goals were derailed by the need to study. I remember in college when I was helping out with an after school program, I was playing basketball with some 3rd and 4th graders, and after TOTALLY dominating and swatting their shots, one of the kids asked SINCERELY, "do you play in the NBA?" I had to tell him the truth, "No, I can't because I have to study." Don't be laughing. Really, that actually happened. You should've seen me play that day. I was on fire shooting and dunking on those 8 foot goals.

But today, I saw this video, and saw that my dreams were actually weak. Now, to be a professional table tennis player, THAT is a dream. When the USA Dream Team played for the first time in the Olympics, it was almost impossible to get tickets. Guess what was the second hardest venue to get tickets for? Table Tennis.

You laugh? Start watching this clip and pay special attention to when there is about 2:13 left to play on the video.

A Picture Story

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 00:12:36 GMT

December 3, 2006 - San Franciso, CA. An Oyster Restaurant by the Ocean.

January 27, 2007 - Orlando, FL. Boston Lobster Feast.

February 14, 2007 - Atlanta, GA. Canoe Restaurant.

April 1, 2007 - Monterey, CA. The Fish House.

April 6, 2007 - San Francisco, CA. An amazing dessert restaurant in the city.

April 13, 2007 - San Jose, CA.

And if people don't know what these pictures mean, then you can check out a more literal telling of the story at Sandra's site.

http://www.xanga.com/sandrinhalee/585602110/a-special-announcement.html

Chrisitianity Lite

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 14:38:57 GMT

In these days of mega-churches, Christianity Lite is growing. Known as health and wealth gospel or propersity gospel, it's perfect for Americans (and also Korean immigrant families who come to America to seek the American Dream). It is Christianity without sin, without condemnation, without judgment, without any bite. Who wouldn't want to be rich and healthy but not really have any consequences. Sin and truth isn't preached and the Bible is used very lightly because of the "offensive" messages it can contain.

Watch these two videos below. Larry King of CNN interviewed Joel Osteen and John MacArthur. Joel is the poster child of Christianity Lite and author of "Your Best Life Now." John MacArthur is known for his dedication to the authority of Scripture and proclaims truth in all his books and not just what itching ears want to hear.

Part III - The Ending

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 11:46:17 GMT

So...

What happened to the couple? Several of you thought they would become these these spiritual heroes of some sort. Not quite.

This couple decided to drive out west to start a new life together. About 1/3 of the way there, they stopped by a motel to spend the night. Rachel got sick, and Dave went out to the drugstore to get her some medicine. While he was away, Rachel started to panic and decided right there and then that this wasn't right. She ran to the motel manager and asked if she could stay with him b/c she was so scared of the situation. She called her parents. Her parents flew to meet her immediately. They talked and paid for counseling for both Dave and Rachel out of their own pocket. Their relationship dissolved and they went back to their original spouses. They continued counseling, which was all paid by for Rachel's parents, who were not wealthy at all. But her parents believed in restoration and pursued it. The marriages for both Dave and Rachel have been restored.

Our instructor who had shared this story told us that Rachel was his sister. So it was a deeply personal and true story.

Final thoughts... yes, of course there was misuse of Scripture. Scripture in isolation (both in text and social isolation) can rationally justify an entire horde of sins. But I want to point out something that I think people (including myself) do even more often... that people justify the means by the end result.

For example. A guy likes a girl. But the girl is already dating someone. So against wisdom and advice of his other friends, he still pursues her. Relationships are strained, but in the end, the guy actually marries the girl. Because marriage is ordained by God, people will say that the guy actually ended up doing the right thing because they ended up getting married.

Another example. A girl dates a non-Christian. Then later, the non-Christian genuinely becomes a Christian. So now the couple is a Christian couple. The girl will say that it was ok for her to do what she did because the guy become a Christian.

Here's a dangerous motto...
"Carpe diem!"
"Seize the day!"
"Go for it!"

Do it despite it being unwise or not going along with the spirit of the Bible. If good happens out of it, then that was God's will. So you're covered.

This happens all the time. People look at the good that came out of whatever action, and use it to justify what they did in the past. The principle shouldn't be that God uses unwise decisions to bring good, but that God can bring good out of anything, even if it was sinful. A more concrete example... suppose two people have a child out of wedlock. Is the child a gift of God? Undoubtedly. Can the child be used to justify the sexual relations out of wedlock? No. But yet this kind of thinking continues to happen as evidenced by Dave and Rachel. It happens in moral decision making. It happens in strategy. It happens on many levels.