This past Sunday, I had a pretty long conversation with Pastor Matt at one of the tables outside Panera. Towards the end of our conversation, a girl sitting at the next table leaned over, looked at Pastor Matt, and asked "are you Peter Singer by any chance?"
Haha, freshmen are so funny. Anyway, Pastor Matt had to explain to her that no, he was quite the opposite. I'm sure he was flattered, regardless.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
income
Here's an interesting picture (taken from http://rodrik.typepad.com/dani_rodriks_weblog/2008/03/american-politi.html). Basically, under Republican presidents income disparity has a tendency to increase, and vice versa for Democratic presidents. And income increases more overall under Democratic presidents.
The book which the article references apparently goes to great lengths to demonstrate why this difference isn't a fluke. Pretty interesting (written by a Princeton professor, too).
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
words
It's amazing the words you learn while studying for standardized tests.
first comes love...
then comes marriage...
then comes the baby in the perambulator!
I'm so going to teach my kids that.
first comes love...
then comes marriage...
then comes the baby in the perambulator!
I'm so going to teach my kids that.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
translation error
From /.
"Preparing for English-speaking visitors, a restaurant in China recently ran its name through an online translator, took the result, then purchased and mounted a large sign displaying the English version of their name: Translate Server Error."
:P
"Preparing for English-speaking visitors, a restaurant in China recently ran its name through an online translator, took the result, then purchased and mounted a large sign displaying the English version of their name: Translate Server Error."
:P
Friday, August 1, 2008
circumstance
You never realize how much your parents take care of you until you start living on your own, huh? Well, this summer I feel like I must have missed at least a couple meals every week (either out of laziness or forgetfulness). And I realized, that after you eat, you can be a completely different person than who you were when you were hungry.
Being hungry (or tired) puts you in such a different mood. It's so much easier to be nice, happy, and generally good-natured after you eat. Isn't it interesting that so much of who we are depends on our physical circumstances (and others besides)? Then how can we boast in our own virtue when it is so often circumstantial? And how can we judge others without knowing their circumstance?
Anyway (no s this time :P), tomorrow I move. Moving is so much easier when you hardly own anything. My roommmate had to buy another suitcase for all the stuff he bought in NY :(
p.s. I sat next to Larry Summers at lunch about a week ago! You can find his signature on some of the dollar bills in circulation :)
Being hungry (or tired) puts you in such a different mood. It's so much easier to be nice, happy, and generally good-natured after you eat. Isn't it interesting that so much of who we are depends on our physical circumstances (and others besides)? Then how can we boast in our own virtue when it is so often circumstantial? And how can we judge others without knowing their circumstance?
Anyway (no s this time :P), tomorrow I move. Moving is so much easier when you hardly own anything. My roommmate had to buy another suitcase for all the stuff he bought in NY :(
p.s. I sat next to Larry Summers at lunch about a week ago! You can find his signature on some of the dollar bills in circulation :)
Monday, July 14, 2008
borrowed thought
So, the pastor at the church I go to in NJ has the same name as me. We started a sort of chain email with a few other people, and one email was set to "reply-all" but directed specifically at Pastor Matt.
A person happened to be reading the email over my shoulder (that's not allowed!), and exclaimed, "Whoa, you're a pastor now??" Hahaha, little kids are so funny.
Well nope, I'm not nearly as wise as Pastor Matt, but here's something he said that I thought was really interesting, not something we think about every day:
"How radical is this:
A person happened to be reading the email over my shoulder (that's not allowed!), and exclaimed, "Whoa, you're a pastor now??" Hahaha, little kids are so funny.
Well nope, I'm not nearly as wise as Pastor Matt, but here's something he said that I thought was really interesting, not something we think about every day:
"How radical is this:
"If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied."
A lot of Christian leaders have said the opposite over the years--that if it turns out there is no God and no resurrection, that living the Christian life still brings great fulfillment, etc. But the Bible says, no, it brings pain and suffering, and we are most to be pitied if we're deluded."
Saturday, July 5, 2008
beef imports
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-korea-protest.html
Hrmmm... I eat American beef, and I haven't gotten mad cow disease (I hope I didn't just jinx myself haha). But seriously, Americans find it safe to eat U.S. beef. I feel like the protests are almost a slap in the face.
I think it's more a matter of Korean farmers wanting to keep competition out. Or maybe it's just a front for Koreans to air other grievances. And I guess these are legitimate concerns that the government should consider.
But 50,000 protesters holding signs with references to mad cow disease? Protest against human trafficking, protest against world hunger... but protest against something worth protesting about?
Hrmmm... I eat American beef, and I haven't gotten mad cow disease (I hope I didn't just jinx myself haha). But seriously, Americans find it safe to eat U.S. beef. I feel like the protests are almost a slap in the face.
I think it's more a matter of Korean farmers wanting to keep competition out. Or maybe it's just a front for Koreans to air other grievances. And I guess these are legitimate concerns that the government should consider.
But 50,000 protesters holding signs with references to mad cow disease? Protest against human trafficking, protest against world hunger... but protest against something worth protesting about?