Won’t You Take Me To… Hockeytown

May 24, 2008 //

Hometown heroes, the Red Wings, are back in the Stanley Cup finals! Like the Pistons, though they have been consistently in the upper echelons of their league over the last several years, they have not managed to win a championship in quite a while. Is it worse to come close to winning or just plain stink (for example, like the hometown Lions)?

There are many reasons to love hockey: in addition to the vast array of glorious mullets, the flamboyant outfits and opinions of Don Cherry, and even the referees’ appreciation of a Kocur one punch haymaker, hockey combines intricate athleticism with brute force at breakneck speed.

Plus, town rivalries even carry over into the local fishmarkets!

However, given that the first two games are being broadcast on something called the Versus network (which seems like an imaginary network NHL execs made up so it doesn’t seem like they’re not broadcasting their championship series on TV) it remains to be seen whether anyone will even see this Stanley Cup finals or not.

Categories just grinning, sports

He’s Blogging In Korean

May 23, 2008 //

Awhile back, Stephen Colbert — America’s favorite faux pundit — feigned indignation over his second place finish to Korean pop star Rain in the 2007 Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People online poll. Like a good talking-head, Colbert launched a war of words:

According to Rain’s website, his motto is Endless Effort, Endless Endurance, Endless Modesty. Oh yeah? Well, my motto is Infinite Modesty! And, buddy, I will carve that on the face of the moon!

But Colbert took it to the next level by dueling Rain with his own Korean pop video (which begins around the 4 minute mark):

Rain took it to the streets recently with an after-hours dance battle with the Report star (They’re breakdance fighting! No, they’re Dance Dance Revolution fighting!). Watch as Rain brings the dancefloor heat and Colbert dances in Korean:

Hmm… how can I get Colbert to feud with me?

Categories just grinning

Any Great Fundraising Ideas?

May 22, 2008 //

And please, no Ponzi schemes! :)

This summer, our church will be sending a team of mostly college-aged people to Japan to partner with the ministry of a local church there. The prospect of raising $3000 each has been daunting for our team members.

As pastors, my wife and I have done our best to assure them that, in our experience, money is never the thing that prevents us from participating in God’s work around the world — but, at the same time, they must be willing to work really hard to raise the necessary support.

If you have any ideas that a small group of five or ten people can use for effective fundraising, please let me know. And, if you’d like to contribute, drop me a line!

Categories church, community, faith, outreach

That’s My Girl!

May 21, 2008 //

Ever since the drought in Georgia and the wildfires here in San Diego last October, our almost-five year old daughter has been very conscious about conserving water. In fact, since then our family has taken steps such as keeping a bucket in the shower, turning off the water while shampooing and generally taking shorter showers. We want to teach and model stewardship to our daughter, so that she will see that following Jesus is something we do with our whole lives.

Our daughter’s favorite water conservation technique is to collect water from the main tub faucet after switching off the shower head. She always makes sure to tell me, “It’s for the plants.”

Today, after her shower, I asked her why we should try to save water. She looked at me with a huge smile and said, “Because I want to take care of God’s Kingdom, Daddy!”

That’s my girl :)

Categories asian american, environment, faith, family, hooray!, ministry, stewardship

The Wii Fit Cometh

May 19, 2008 //

Couch potatoes nationwide are holding our collective breath in anticipation of the sculpted abs and mean physiques we will undoubtedly develop as a result of the Wii Fit, which is being released in the States today (May 19). The unit is selling like hotcakes (fitness hotcakes, mind you) in Japan and the UK and is expected to be a best-seller here in the States. And what would a highly anticipated release be without a massive marketing blitz, a high-profile advertising and some good old controversy?

[Edit]: I’m on my way to Best Buy to see if I can score a Wii Fit of our own. I went to Best Buy in hopes of picking up a Wii Fit, only to be told that the actual release date is May 21. Looks like I wasn’t the only one who was confused. And, to add insult to injury, they didn’t even have Mario Kart Wii to stave off my disappointment. Still hoping I’ll survive the stampede on Wednesday, though.

Being a font nerd, though, I couldn’t help notice how similar the Wii Fit logo is to the Honda Fit. Compare and contrast the two logos below for the real controversy…

Categories family, games, hooray!, just grinning