Near the start of the Olympics I saw a blog (it was on the Persecuted Church Weblog, but after a quick skim, I can't find the specific post) where the writer said if these Olympics become a train wreck, it might force some serious changes in the Chinese government, and maybe they'd show more respect for human rights. It sounded like he hoped for problems.
But the Beijing Olympics were a resounding success. Right after they ended, I read an Edmonton Journal article, which said, "Many China watchers feared that if the Olympics went badly for China, if terrorism or massive demonstrations grabbed the headlines, the country might climb back into its shell of paranoia and distrust. Successful Games, they argued, would give the leadership confidence to continue and expand the policy of openness it is cautiously embarked upon."
For the sake of everyone oppressed in China, I hope this Journal article was right. And if we look back at history, it seems like democracy and human rights tend to develop best gradually. I certainly don't want to hold back improvements, but it seems like when things change very fast, some of the oppressed become the oppressors, or society gets unstable and violent.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Olympics
The Olympics are over again. This is the most that I've watched the Olympics in years. For the first time in a long time I wasn't in school during the Olympics. Yes, I was even in school during the summer of 2004. (According to Wikipedia, those Olympics ran from August 13 to 29, so I guess my exams probably ended during that period. But then I was preparing for four months in Colorado, so I probably didn't see a lot of the games.)
I didn't sit down for hours at a time every day to watch the games, but I usually watched during breakfast and supper anyway, cutting into my normal newspaper reading time. I got to see plenty of sports that I almost never pay attention to, like swimming, diving, running, rowing, and the list goes on. I learned about a few of their athletes too.
Several years ago, I remember seeing an article saying they should stop having the Olympics. The writer thought they're too big and they've become corrupt (this was when the bribery scandal was going on). He pointed out that almost every major sport has its own world championships too.
But my experience this month is one reason why I want the Olympics to continue. As I said, I paid attention to sports and learned about athletes that I wouldn't see otherwise. Sure, we'd all pay a bit more attention to those other world championships if there were no Olympics, but not the way we watch the Olympics. Plus, those other championships are just too many, too often. When it's just two weeks every two years, it's not so hard to put some parts of life on hold to watch the Olympics.
Yes, they need to deal with their corruption, and yes, it probably is too big. But I don't think you need to cancel the whole event to fix these problems.
I didn't sit down for hours at a time every day to watch the games, but I usually watched during breakfast and supper anyway, cutting into my normal newspaper reading time. I got to see plenty of sports that I almost never pay attention to, like swimming, diving, running, rowing, and the list goes on. I learned about a few of their athletes too.
Several years ago, I remember seeing an article saying they should stop having the Olympics. The writer thought they're too big and they've become corrupt (this was when the bribery scandal was going on). He pointed out that almost every major sport has its own world championships too.
But my experience this month is one reason why I want the Olympics to continue. As I said, I paid attention to sports and learned about athletes that I wouldn't see otherwise. Sure, we'd all pay a bit more attention to those other world championships if there were no Olympics, but not the way we watch the Olympics. Plus, those other championships are just too many, too often. When it's just two weeks every two years, it's not so hard to put some parts of life on hold to watch the Olympics.
Yes, they need to deal with their corruption, and yes, it probably is too big. But I don't think you need to cancel the whole event to fix these problems.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Unpredictable construction
This month, a somewhat major road near my house (144 Avenue) is under construction. I use a 2-km section of this road every day to get to work and a bunch of other places.
When I've seen road construction before, the road is typically either open (with less lanes) or closed for quite a while, or maybe turning is restricted at an intersection. But on 144 Ave, it's unpredictable. So far I think it's always been open in the morning. But on my way home, sometimes it's open with one or two lanes in each direction, and sometimes at least one direction is closed. Sometimes the direction I want to go is closed. Today I could drive down the first more-than-half of that road, but for the last longish block before I wanted to turn, the road was down to one lane. That lane went west. I was going east. So I had to take a detour.
Is this unpredictability becoming more common? Did I just miss it in the past?
When I've seen road construction before, the road is typically either open (with less lanes) or closed for quite a while, or maybe turning is restricted at an intersection. But on 144 Ave, it's unpredictable. So far I think it's always been open in the morning. But on my way home, sometimes it's open with one or two lanes in each direction, and sometimes at least one direction is closed. Sometimes the direction I want to go is closed. Today I could drive down the first more-than-half of that road, but for the last longish block before I wanted to turn, the road was down to one lane. That lane went west. I was going east. So I had to take a detour.
Is this unpredictability becoming more common? Did I just miss it in the past?
Friday, August 08, 2008
Living biblically
If you've got 18 minutes to spare, I highly recommend this video: The Year of Living Biblically. In it, an agnostic talks about the year he spent trying to follow every rule in the Bible.
As one commenter pointed out, he totally misses the idea of living under God's grace. But he also learns to see the good in many biblical rules. I hope you enjoy it.
As one commenter pointed out, he totally misses the idea of living under God's grace. But he also learns to see the good in many biblical rules. I hope you enjoy it.
Song idea
Have you ever heard songs where people put Christian lyrics to popular songs, usually with cheesy (sometimes entertainingly cheesy) results? (Here's one example, complete with an amateur fan-produced video, complete with outtakes.)
Well, as much as I don't listen to that kind of music, I accidentally came up with an idea for a song like that. It's to the tune of Joy to the World (the "Jeremiah was a bullfrog" Joy to the World, not the "Let earth receive her king" Joy to the World). It's about the biblical prophet Jeremiah. Here it is:
But really, what are the odds that I'm the first person with this idea? Someone else has probably written the entire song already.
Well, as much as I don't listen to that kind of music, I accidentally came up with an idea for a song like that. It's to the tune of Joy to the World (the "Jeremiah was a bullfrog" Joy to the World, not the "Let earth receive her king" Joy to the World). It's about the biblical prophet Jeremiah. Here it is:
Jeremiah was a prophet.That's all I have so far. It needs a bit of work. For one thing, I'm not sure what to do with that "Joy to the world" line, because Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet. So I'm going to leave it to you, my loyal readers (yes, both of you!), to add more to the song. Any ideas? On the very very slim chance I get royalties from this, I'll split it with you, unless you submit the lyrics anonymously.
But really, what are the odds that I'm the first person with this idea? Someone else has probably written the entire song already.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Home again
I got back from my backpacking trip at Mount Robson a few days ago. It's a beautiful place, probably the best scenery of any place I've been backpacking. There were waterfalls, glaciers, the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies, lakes, rocks, trees, flowers, and real outhouses (not the roofless, doorless kind we had on last year's trip).
No matter how long or short a backpacking hike is, it seems like I'm ready for it to be over long before it's actually over, especially on the last day. I guess that means I could handle almost any length of backpacking trail if I had enough time. And somehow, it all seems worth it when I'm doing shorter hikes without a heavy pack, and eating, sleeping, and just hanging out in the middle of nowhere. Miles away from my job, my other responsibilities, and even the nearest car.
I've posted photos on Facebook from this trip, and you don't even have to be a Facebook member to see them. Here they are:
Part 1
Part 2
And here's one to look at even if you don't feel like looking at the albums:
No matter how long or short a backpacking hike is, it seems like I'm ready for it to be over long before it's actually over, especially on the last day. I guess that means I could handle almost any length of backpacking trail if I had enough time. And somehow, it all seems worth it when I'm doing shorter hikes without a heavy pack, and eating, sleeping, and just hanging out in the middle of nowhere. Miles away from my job, my other responsibilities, and even the nearest car.
I've posted photos on Facebook from this trip, and you don't even have to be a Facebook member to see them. Here they are:
Part 1
Part 2
And here's one to look at even if you don't feel like looking at the albums:
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