Archives for category: just grinning

Time To Burst This Bubble

May 13, 2008 //

If you’ve been part of the Christian subculture for long enough, you’ve probably noticed the staggering amount of oddball Jesus Junk we manage to produce. Take your pick: Testamints (a perennial favorite target of skeptics everywhere, and yet, strangely tasty), Jesus playing hockey figurines (but would He have brawled during the heyday of the Wings/Avs rivalry?), Bible snack bars or this must-have design statement for your home (magically painted in light, no less). If you’ve got some time on your hands, Marko has been handing out Jesus Junk awards for awhile now.

Most of the time, I can either enjoy or dismiss these Jesus junky items with ironic detachment — I mean, seriously, how can you not appreciate the irony of “armor of God” pajamas that look like Roman soldier outfits straight out of a Passion play?

However, what can we make of a board game called Missionary Conquest? It sounds like the derisive kind of satire that those outside the church use to criticize Christians:

The object of “Missionary Conquest” is to establish as many missions around the world as possible, while racking up blessing points. Along the way, you try to avoid temptation and bad stewardship. If you get kicked out of a country, you lose bonus points and if you’re martyred, you’re out of the game, but you gain 150 blessing points

While many followers of Christ seek to live out and participate in the mission of God in their everyday communities with humility, love and respect, a game like this painfully reinforces the misperception that our faith in Jesus is colonial, domineering and/or oppressive.

Categories church, faith, just grinning, sigh

Victory Celebrations

May 8, 2008 //

Apparently, they play the following video on the jumbotron at The Garden during the fourth quarter of games in which the Celtics are assured of victory. And, apparently, the fans at The Garden go nuts every time the man in the “Gino” t-shirt dances during this clip.

Can’t say that I’m a fan of the Celts — in fact, quite the opposite, given my allegiance to the Pistons — but I must admit that this is a truly bizarre and wonderful victory celebration.

Categories just grinning, sports

Thank You, Al Gore

April 1, 2008 //

… once again, for inventing the internets all those years ago.

Without your help, I would not have discovered the brilliant/detestable YouTube April Fool’s Rickrolling gag. If you visit YouTube today, you’ll find that the featured videos on their main page are never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down. I’m glad to see that Mr. Astley has a sense of humor about this odd sensation. I’d love to see a team come together around 80s-style, bite-your-lower-lip type dancing on America’s Best Dance Crew (big ups to Jabba for winning, by the way!). I could see the judging now: Yo, y’alls crew smashed it. When you locked your elbows to your hips and swayed your forearms back and forth, it was sick!

And, I wasn’t sure if this headline was an April Fool’s joke or not, but where else but on the glorious interweb can one find a headline like this: F1 President Caught In Nazi Sex Scandal. While the story itself, assuming that it is real, speaks to the brokenness of humanity, that headline is definitely one for the ages.

I knew that our Wii was good for us — and now I have proof! If we can get our hands on Wii Fit when it is released, good health is just over the horizon… I know it. I don’t know if I’ll be in Marko-territory in terms of weight loss/health gains (keep it up, man!), but the Wii Fit sure looks like fun.

Finally, I’ll send you on your way by coming full circle with 80s-related inter-news… NKOTB is back, so get ready to hang tough step by step with the OG boy band of the 80s. By the way, does anyone know what was up with one of the New Kids sporting that Bauhaus t-shirt in this video? I mean, the video has all the elements of greatness (the running after potential girlfriends in what appears to be a cemetery/mausoleum, the I’ma get’chu/fuggetaboudit expression of the guys when the youngest one steals the car and the hold-the-belt-buckle and prance-side-to-side dance steps), but all these years later I still don’t get the NKOTB-Bela Lugosi’s Dead connection. Please feel free to share your conspiracy theories here (again, one of the main purposes of the internet, no?).

Categories communication, just grinning

We Met On The Internet (Wait, That Sounds Wrong!)

March 27, 2008 //

At our last college ministry small group gathering, we talked about how isolation and loneliness are increasing despite the widespread popularity of various social networks. I shared with them how, during my first year in college, we received brochures on what this “electronic mail” thing was all about and how to use it.

After learning to navigate the worlds of elm and irc in college, I felt like some medieval clod during seminary as my students tried to explain instant messaging and the like to me. Right around that time (to me, it seems about seven or eight years ago), it seemed like shortcut acronyms were really popular: you know, LOL, BRB, etc.

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Categories asian american, communication, community, faith, family, health, hooray!, just grinning

There’s Small, And Then There’s The P50

March 18, 2008 //

Last year, Smart USA opened a dealership here in SD. Although our family is certainly interested in driving a car that leaves less of an impact on the environment, SD (like most of Southern California) is basically a jungle of oversized Gravedigger wannabes. In the midst of these ridiculous behemoths, a Smart Car just seems like a really bad accident waiting to happen.

We’ve always liked small, boxy cars. Take the Scion xB, for example — the delightful bread truck variety, not the we’ve come from the future bearing aesthetically displeasing vehicles variety. Not sure how I feel about the new Mini Clubman — kind of feels like it defeats the purpose of being mini by making an extended version; sort of a “jumbo shrimp” conundrum.

None of these wee cars, however, can out-small the Peel P50 I saw recently on Top Gear. Top Gear usually features bigger, louder, faster in the automotive world — for example, a Veyron racing a jet. While the P50 might have the loud department covered, it isn’t much bigger than this familiar playground icon. In fact, if you have time to watch the clip below, you’ll see one of the hosts drive his P50 onto the sidewalk, and then grab the handle in the back and bring it to the office with him (it fits into an elevator, with enough room for another person to stand alongside it as well). I think my favorite is the “sports car” iteration of the P50 (reminds me of Homer Simpson’s vision of the perfect car).

Here’s a clip from that episode of Top Gear:

Categories design, environment, family, hooray!, just grinning, travel