And more importantly, for those who still want to vote for Trump in November: keep in mind of the @#$%&! he’s been continuously pulling since January 20, 2017 (the very day he was inaugurated into federal office)…and then tell me if you still wanna support him this upcoming November.
At the time of this writing, it will already be Lunar New Year in East Asia. But apparently this year is going to be (and already is) very different than previous Lunar New Year celebrations because of two words circulating across social media and TV broadcasts.
Continue reading Chinese New Year 2020 and the Wuhan Coronavirus Epidemic
Hello there everyone,
Happy New Year! My sincerest apologies for being inactive on this blog for a little over a year. My last official “column” if you will, debuted back in December of 2018. Since then, I have been applying to jobs and taking online classes in order to 1UP my skill set in the meantime—and to show off my resume. 😉 Alas, after many months of continuous rejection and disappointment, I gradually experienced a combination of psycho-emotional burnout/fatigue, depression and “backsliding” in regards to what my original career goals were. In fact, I even started to forget what was my motivation for looking for work in the first place. Continue reading Updates (on my life) and Redefining the Blog
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit of antichrist, of which you heard that it was coming, and now it is in the world already.
~ 1 John 4:1‒3 (RSVCE)
Hello everyone,
It’s painful for me to even consider writing this piece—as I know it may be deemed heretical in the eyes of many of my most devout Protestant and Catholic friends and family alike—but over this past summer, I have been experiencing severe psychological, emotional and spiritual burnout. Although I will add that I have been mentally planning to write such an op-ed as this one for at least a year’s time now.
But just a few months prior, many were expecting me to take a magical leap of faith as I had finally decided to go to my very first Confession in a Roman Catholic setting—despite being raised a Pentecostal Protestant. Of course, if Confession wasn’t intimidating enough, then taking the Eucharist should be even more so. Because if there is one thing Catholics are doctrinally right about, it’s that they earnestly and honestly look at the Host (bread) and wine as more than mere symbols of Christ’s body and blood.
“If when I die, I am still a dictator, I will certainly go down into the oblivion of all dictators. If, on the other hand, I succeed in establishing a truly stable foundation for a democratic government, I will live forever in every home in China.”
~ Former KMT President and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek/蔣中正 (1887‒1975)
Though it’s nearly been a year since Trump and his administration have taken office—for those who know me very personally, including close friends and family, I rarely address Donald Trump as President because I see him as incredibly scandalous and unfit to hold the title, an incompetent strategist, a public liar, etc.—as 2017 dawned, media reports began to immediately flood the mainstream with stories of Trump’s ties to Russia and the mega-Tsarist Putin; the year that I have had to witness #AlternativeFacts and #MakeAmericaGreatAgain trend on Twitter and Facebook; and the year when Confederate flag-toting ignorant hillbillies militaristically marched through Charlottesville and chanted, “Blood and soil” (no need to give any news links to this last one).
On the other side of the ocean, however, we see a remarkably polar opposite movement of dissidents emerge in Taiwan: Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party won the popular vote by nearly 2-1, displacing the Kuomintang (國民黨) once again since 2008.[1] But two years have somehow tragically passed since the first woman has ascended the office of the Presidency of the Republic of China (or should I instead say Republic of Taiwan?)—and surprisingly, if y’all have been keeping score at home will realize an eerie parallel is emerging.
Disclaimer: I have not been endorsed by either Firaxis Games or 2K to write this game review. These are only my individual thoughts on my perceptions of the game, and solely my own. I do not intend to monetize or sell anything from posting this critique. Thank you, Happy Holidays and enjoy!
The government should help and guide the weak and small racial groups within its national boundaries toward self-determination and self-government. It should offer resistance to foreign aggression, and simultaneously, it should revise foreign treaties in order to restore our equality and independence among the nations.
Let me ask all of you, my fellow readers a simple question: Who in history do you think wrote or has spoken the following quotation above?
Former President Barack Obama? How about FDR during the WWII years?
Still stumped? Well, I’ll only reveal who this mystery man is near the end of this piece—so y’all are gonna have to patiently wait as you sit and read another geek’s long, monotonous blog review. (just kidding) 😉
As many of you may or may not know, I myself am a proud avid gamer—in addition to being a college student now at UC Berkeley. Video and computer games have been a fundamental part of my life as much as attending Sunday church services with my family (but especially as a child), summer camps, hanging out in Hawaii that one Winter Break back in 1995; and more.
The fact of the matter is, I have to thank my father and many of my schoolmates I’ve come to know over the past decade—perhaps even two—for introducing me to the world of online gaming. No, I’m not talking about Warcraft or League of Legends; though I am consciously aware these two titles have been huge hits for years as well.
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I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone. At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do….
Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…
~ Sir Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister, June 4, 1940
Hey fam,
Been well over a year since I have taken some time to post anything, but since last year’s elections still upset me even now, I’ve finally decided to roast Trump and his cabinet.
(Inspired by Spoken Word artists on YouTube and people I’ve met here in Berkeley) 🙂
Take a look: Continue reading A Rant Against the Trump Administration: A Spoken Word Poem (Slightly Explicit Edition)
I have come to the conclusion that the main difference between Conservatives and Liberals is how much fear we decide we are going to live in. Liberals don’t normally hoard guns and ammo, because we aren’t afraid of the world. We all live in the same world, and there are bad things out there to be afraid of. Liberals have just decided that fear is not the thing we are going to focus on and we aren’t going to allow it to control our lives. I’m beginning to think that this applies to all sorts of issues as well. I heard two conservative (white) friends talking today about the fact that in a few years, white people will be the minority. They were terrified of this possibility, while my reaction was “So what?”.
~ Daniel J. Roe, Facebook commenter
JULY 20, 2012 will perhaps be another day that will live in infamy in early 21st-century American history as everyone woke up to the startling reaction of yet another shooting incident—this time in a movie theater in a town called Aurora, Colorado.
As I got out of bed that afternoon, my mom was shocked to see the news reports flash on the TV: “at least 12 dead and another 51 or so injured.” What was even worse after hearing the announcers utter those words was the life story surrounding the alleged gunman, 24-year-old James Holmes.
In the past forty-eight hours, I have been following the stories—and the more I’ve uncovered, the more scary the situation gets. Turns out, Holmes graduated from what-could-have-been-my-alma-mater, the University of California at Riverside in the spring of 2010 with high honors with a B.S. degree in Neuroscience.
Despite my family’s worries and pleas, I am planning to pursue a Neuroscience-related degree perhaps several years down the road as well, since I also love to study the mind, and currently have selected my primary major in Psychology at a local community college I now attend in my time away from Riverside.
But my heart does sincerely go out to my Highlander family down there, as the nation now mourns for the families of the Aurora victims and as this recent tragedy now casts another spotlight on the rise in gun violence and firearm-related crimes.
While browsing my Facebook News Feed on Saturday afternoon, I spot an Internet meme-type picture posted on The Christian Left page (https://www.facebook.com/TheChristianLeft) that sports the label in large block letters “MEANWHILE, IN AMERICA.”
This meme portrays a white American male lying on his bed watching the primetime news broadcasts surrounded by what appears to be an arsenal of guns and ammo. A quick mouse scroll through the comments and I know the debate’s on between those individuals who support stricter gun control laws (such as myself) and those who claim such said laws will inhibit the rights of Americans to freely sport weapons, as established by the Second Amendment.
Coming across a paragraph also quoted in the preamble of this column, I have to say I fully agree with what Mr. Roe here has to say. For many years now, I have absorbed and reflected on the values, beliefs and morals of what many figures have taught me growing up…and the older I am getting, I realize that I continue to lean to Left-wing political views, simply because I cannot agree with what is going on with the GOP and the Tea Party.
Of course, I might as well apologize in advance if I may come across as being hateful of Republicans or something. I do not mean to directly insult or bash any individual who holds to conservative beliefs, for I should know better. I was also spiritually raised as a conservative Christian believer from a young age. But nevertheless, that does not mean I should not be able to think for myself and to be able to express my opinions on the InterWebs either. And so, I do.
I do express my heart, my mind and my soul—in every piece I compose and type. And I am glad my readers are able to see that part of me so genuinely as well.
Back to the matter at hand though, as Jefferson Bethke has stated so firmly in the opening lines—and rings so, so true to my heart—in his viral YouTube video Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus:
What if I told you JESUS came to ABOLISH RELIGION?
What if I told you VOTING REPUBLICAN really wasn’t His Mission?
What if I told you REPUBLICAN doesn’t automatically mean CHRISTIAN, and just because you call some people BLIND doesn’t automatically give you vision?
I mean, if religion is so great, why has it started so many wars?
Why does it build huge churches but fails to feed the poor?
Besides having a catchy, addicting rhyme to Jeff’s poem, I truly believe many non-Christians who troll on videos like these and intend to bash on them either to get a good laugh out of the whole ordeal for doing so or for merely getting attention—they just don’t understand the underlying message of his speech.
He isn’t trying to attack “religion” head-on and calling it bad. He’s saying, “Stop being so legalistic with the church and start being real. Be a real patron of Christ. Show mercy, show love, show compassion…and then say, ‘Hey, it isn’t necessarily me that’s showing you love. It’s Him.’ ”
See I spent my whole life building this facade of neatness,
But now that I know Jesus, I BOAST IN MY WEAKNESS.
Because if grace is water then the Church should be an ocean,
It’s not a museum for good people,
It’s a HOSPITAL FOR THE BROKEN.
What really touched me personally was when Jeff proclaims, “I don’t have to hide my failure. I don’t have to hide my sin.” Something I’ve been doing for my whole life, I’ve often wondered.
Like Severus Snape in the final Harry Potter movie, The Deathly Hallows Part Two, this theme of hidden shame and guilt does not just merely speak to me—it speaks to the whole wide world in its entirety.
And most people perhaps don’t know no matter how objective we all have to be in the business sector—no matter how many times you have to don a suit and tie and act “professionally”—I for one do believe that there is subjectivity in whatever people discuss. And more importantly, that there is a tragic hero side in all of us.
Pointing back to the Aurora shooting, perhaps most of us will simply remember the events being reported as the passing of grief—and for the families of the victims, an unfortunate deeply imprinted loss—but as the nation is again humbled in such a critical time, even President Obama is taking a stand to speak and share some of the pain, putting aside some of the heat he is still getting from the Right-wing and Romney’s campaigning.
Politics or not, we must not live in fear as Daniel Roe writes. Although we are aware of societal harm and the possible mass hysteria that could arise because of our fears of the unknown, I too realize we as a people must continue to push on through. Persevering and achieving. And while the general public may not completely begin to comprehend the inner workings in the mind of Mr. Holmes and what motivated him to dye his hair red, wear full body armor and open-fire into a crowded and packed movie theater, one thing we do know: Out of every tragedy we emerge stronger than before.
Amen?
J Chen the Columnist 