Author Archives: Raymond Yee

James Wood on the problem of evil

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I enjoyed reading James Wood's essay on the problem of evil in the New Yorker. He captured well at the end of the essay a question I've had for a long time, namely, why do we have go through life on earth when we have heaven as the ultimate destination? If it's the exercise of human free will that enables evil to take hold on earth, how will heaven not be earth redux in which freedom will lead again to a fall? And if heaven is some special place in which freedom is fully consonant with the impossibility of human evil, then why does God put us on earth in the first place? Or maybe we won't be truly free in heaven at all.

I've never seen a satisfactory answer to the question that Wood poses. The essay made me think that it would be a great idea for New College Berkeley or my church First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley to host a class -- or at least a talk -- on the topic.

Pittsburgh might shrink but it won’t disappear!

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As Deaths Outpace Births, Cities Adjust - New York Times:

    While natural decrease occurred in many Southern cities that were magnets for retirees, the overall population was replenished by the influx of younger migrants. But in Pittsburgh and other places outside the South, not only has the population aged in place, but also, to a lesser extent, the very old — often disabled and widowed — have returned to spend their last years with children and grandchildren and avail themselves of better medical treatment and transportation.

Hmmm....I don't think Pittsburgh will shrink to nothing though.

FRONTLINE on Darfur

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I enjoy watching online episodes of the PBS series FRONTLINE. Yesterday, I started viewing FRONTLINE: on our watch:

    The world vowed "never again" after the genocide in Rwanda and the atrocities in Srebrenica, Bosnia. Then came Darfur. Over the past four years, at least 200,000 people have been killed, 2.5 million driven from their homes, and mass rape has been used as a weapon in a brutal campaign supported by the Sudanese government. In On Our Watch, FRONTLINE asks why the United Nations and its members once again failed to stop the slaughter.

The program prompted me to revisit Save Darfur's Take Action section. I also discovered a source of analysis that I hadn't known about concerning Darfur and Sudan: sudanreeves.org :: Sudan Research, Analysis, and Advocacy by Eric Reeves, an English professor who has devoted the last nine years researching and writing about Sudan. I took a small action today by signing my name to an email urging President Bush to take some immediate action. I hope that it will make some difference, even a small one, in bringing justice and peace to the region.

Clouds from plane level

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Clouds from plane level, originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

On the plane ride back from Pittsburgh, I learned to literally stare off into the clouds. I struggled with some boring moments but quickly settled in watching some rather amazing patterns take shape. Wow -- clouds form and dissolve all the time all over the world, and I was barely aware of this process.

green beans and pot stickers

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green beans and pot stickers, originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

One of the great things about Trader Joe's food is how you get create (or maybe I should say assemble) a good tasting and nutritious meals in minutes. A few days ago, I microwaved the pre-washed green beans for five minutes and pan fried some Thai potstickers.

The Excitement of Super Tuesday

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What I wrote in the morning: As a Canadian, I can't vote in today's (Super Tuesday) elections. Nonetheless, I was deeply moved by Larry Lessig's 20 minutes or so on why I am 4Barack, Lessig's reminder of the deepest ideals that are at stake in politics, stuff that is all easy to lose sight of in the grime of politics.

At 10pm: I have felt the excitement in the air surrounding the vote today. I'm a bit disappointed that Obama seems to have lost to H. Clinton in California, but I remain hopeful, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the process.

Merry Christmas!

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I find Christmas Day to be an appropriate time to reflect on life.  In between the various feasts of a meal, I relish the food-induced slowdown that brings quiet to a house.  A chilly but sunny day helps with inducing this altered state of consciousness:  awareness, stillness, and repose.  I know such a moment does not last very long.  It's not that I don't have a choice either about when to slow down.   Savor it while it lasts, I say.

Tautologies That Tell Tales; The Pain of Writing

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I rarely post comments on other people's blogs, but an entry on "hidden tautologies" intrigued me: A Philosopher Teases Out Hidden Tautologies - Chronicle.com

It's nice to know I'm not alone. Rachel Toor writes in Chronicle Careers: 10/30/2007: Love to Write? Keep It to Yourself:

    Each time I'm in the throes of writing a book, I realize that I have somehow forgotten how exhausting it is, how much it hurts. After writing for a couple of hours, I have to go lie down, wrist thrown across an aching forehead. It helps only a little to remember that I am not alone, to think of George Orwell's comment that "writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness."