Who Killed the Electric Car?

I finally got around to watching a documentary that came out a few years back called Who Killed the Electric Car? I'm usually skeptical of conspiracy type films, but this one is really good. My response? Fascinated. Confused. Outraged. Angered. However, the movie also leaves me feeling inspired. After poking around on the internet looking for information about plug-in electric cars, I am now determined to own the soon-to-come-to-production Nissan Leaf. Check out the video below:

A Lesson of Honesty From an Unemployed Psychic

After some small talk and the mentioning of her struggles regarding unemployment, she handed me two twenty dollar bills (or so I thought!) to pay for her groceries. When I handed back her change she looked confused/concerned and said, "I only gave you a ten and a twenty." She was right, and I had given her too much change! After sorting out the mishap with my supervisor she said, "I never miss and opportunity to network," and handed me her card with the image above on one side, and on the other the word "Psychic."

Thanks Aria, for your honesty.

Baptism

Surfing can be a frustrating sport. Never mind if you have Saturday afternoon free, if the necessary ground swell isn't there, you're out of luck. So what makes a wave suitable for surfing? Typically, it's a tropical storm or hurricane that has formed hundreds of miles off shore. It's the churning of the seas miles and miles away that eventually create the waves ideal for surfing.

So what's this have to do with baptism? The waters of baptism are a physical sign of God's grace. Helpless and undeserving, we are cleansed and made righteous before God.
In the same way that surfers are dependent upon a great force outside of themselves, we who undergo the waters of baptism are dependent upon God to supply us with the grace that is unmerited and not of ourselves.

Think of the wave in the picture above as God's grace. It's huge, powerful, and a little scary...

America: The 'Good' and 'Just' Society

A couple of weeks ago I was summoned to meet with three representatives from a foundation that provides scholarships to Master of Divinity students committed to congregational ministry. The foundation’s president spoke about how the United States has historically been a “good” and “just” country, and that the enterprise of the foundation was about sustaining America’s standing as a good and just society. I would not have thought much about his comment a few months ago, but now with a greater sensitivity toward racial issues in America, I was quite disturbed by his statement. I thought to myself, Was is ‘good’ and ‘just’ when European immigrants stole land from the native Americans? Was the enslavement of Africans brought to America to work the cotton fields ‘good’ and ‘just’? Was it ‘good’ and ‘just’ for the African Americans who fought for this country to be refused equal housing opportunities? Was it ‘good’ and ‘just’ that women for so long were denied the right to vote? In all fairness, the foundation’s president was partially right in saying that America is “good” and “just”--for him and people like him with white skin.

10 Kinds of Soy Milk That all Taste the Same

I subliminally announced about a month ago that I got a job at Trader Joe's. I'm happy to report that I really like the job and that things are going well. As I'm learning more about the product line and TJ's ideal customer, I'm realizing what an odd and unique grocery store it is. I just watched this video and got a good laugh out of it. If you shop at TJ's on occasion, I hope you get a laugh out of it, too.

An Eagle in Chicago?

Alright, so maybe it wasn't an eagle... but I'm telling you, this thing was the largest bird of prey I've ever seen up close in the wild (if you can call Chicago "the wild"). I took this picture with my crappy point-and-shoot, so that should give you an idea of how close it was to my apartment. And don't forget to note the little mousy it's ripping to shreds with it's massive eagle talons (I still think it was an eagle).

Privilege

I've never given it much thought, but lately I've been learning just how privileged I am in my American context. I suppose I've just taken it all for granted, but now it just seems so clear to me that I am incredibly privileged. By virtue of my race, gender, education, citizenship, native language, etc., I have more privileges than I know what to do with...

This became very apparent to me today when I was in the DMV registering a new (10 year old) car (yup, I sold Subie Rojo) and acquiring an Illinois drivers license. The whole experience was rather dreadful. As I moved from line to line I could sense my anxiety level rising. To obtain the new drivers license I had to take a exam. Although I took drivers education and have since been confidently behind the wheel since age sixteen, I was surprised when I missed several of the answers.

The women of Asian decent next to me argued in her broken English with the exam proctor about failing the exam by one point. But he said that she would need to retake the exam.

I couldn't wait to get out of the DMV; I can only imagine what this Asia woman's experience was like. It just doesn't seem fair. Here I am, a confident English speaker who has lived in the U.S. for almost his entire life receiving a Master's level education taking the same test as this transplanted Asian women. Something doesn't add up.

On a lighter note, I got to stand on stage with the Rev. Jesse Jackson and get my picture taken. Don't know if I'll ever see that picture, but I can display a fuzzy one I took from my seat during the live TV broadcasting.