Author Archives: Raymond Yee

cheese @ Berkeley Bowl

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cheese @ Berkeley Bowl

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.


I used to live a block away from Berkeley Bowl. Now that I live in Albany with my lovely wife, I don't get to hang out at Berkeley Bowl so often. When I do get there once or twice a week now, I do make a point of sampling the cheese of the day -- both for old time's sake but also to live in the presence of tasting the darn good cheeses being hawked. It's really quite interesting to me how popular the cheese tasting is at Berkeley Bowl. One wouldn't think that people like me, who don't need any more food during the day, would be so into sampling the cheese. But that's not the point of the sampling, is it?

Writing is more important than being published

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Two days ago, I submitted a letter to the editors of the San Francisco Chronicle to bring more attention to the "ambiguous genocide"
in Darfur. Since I have yet to see the letter in press, I suspect that
it won't be published. I am trying to keep myself from speculating too
much on why my letter might not have make the cut.
I hope that others will be able to write punchier, wittier, catchier
letters that will make people pay attention to the dire situation in
Sudan.

For me, writing the letter is naturally much more important than
getting it published because it was the writing itself that forced me
to decide and commit to some action. I'm pleased that one of my usual
dear readers followed some of my links I posted, including the Darfur conflict - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Last night, by telling friends that I had submitted a letter to the
editor, I was granted the opportunity to explain the Darfur conflict
around a dinner table, prompting some thoughtful reflections on the
efficacy of divestments. This morning, remembering my promise to pray
for Darfur, I spent some time in quiet asking God to intervene, to
bring peace and justice to the region, to grant those in power wisdom
and courage. As I sit down to study the Wikipedia article so that I can
do a continually better job at telling others what is happening in
Sudan, I consulted the BBC New's "in depth" coverage on Sudan: A Nation Divided
to corroborate the Wikipedia. I also need to answer an email from the
Justice Task Force at my church on what actions we should take in the
coming months. One baby step at a time for me as I try to be faithful.

Letter to the editor on Darfur

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For a long time, I have wanted to write a letter to the editor of the
San Francisco Chronicle to raise awareness on Darfur. I wanted to write
a letter that was concise, moving, analytically flawless, and timely. I
couldn't do it because I was too wrapped up in my own process rather
than the very pressing issue at hand. Over the last few days, I have
worked on a simple letter, which I include (with some minor editing)
here:

    As an ordinary citizen
    of this world, I have felt helpless and hopeless as the global
    community has failed to stop the ongoing genocide in Darfur, in which
    at least 180,000 have died and 1.8 million have been displaced from
    their homes. The exact mechanisms by which we should use to stop the
    violence are up for debate. Though I reflexively disagree with many of
    Debra Saunders' columns, her call ("UC out of Sudan" -- Tues, Jan 24)
    to the Regents of the University of California to divest from funds
    tied to business in Sudan seems sensible to me. On the individual
    level, I have resolved to continue praying for the people of Darfur, to
    join in A Million Voices for Darfur (http://www.millionvoicesfordarfur.org/)
    and other efforts to put pressure on our leaders, to keep myself
    informed, and to tell friends about the situation. Let us work together
    with hope and determination to bring peace to Darfur.

After I sent the letter, I realized that I neglected to mention the role to be played by church groups such as the Justice Task Force at my own church, which has been instrumental in my knowing what little I know about Darfur.

Let me add links that are mentioned above or which support the letter:

Let's see whether my letter gets published.

Good stuff in the latest NYRB

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I'm pleased to see that the New York Review of Books decided to provide free access to a number of articles in the February 9, 2006 issue that I wanted to point out to friends:

  • Jimmy Carter & the Culture of Death is Gary Wills' review of Jimmy Carter's new book, Our Endangered Values : America's Moral Crisis.

  • The Passion of C.S. Lewis, which I found entertaining because unlike many of my friends, I have never liked the Narnia books or film(s). I've read only one of the seven books (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) and then only as a disenchanted adult. Alison Lurie offers plenty of insight into Narnia as children's literature. Unfortunately, she overreaches in the concluding paragraphs with:

    It is no surprise that
    conservative Christians admire these books. They teach us to accept
    authority; to love and follow our leaders instinctively, as the
    children in the Narnia books love and follow Aslan. By implication,
    they suggest that we should and will admire and fear and obey whatever
    impressive-looking and powerful male authority figures we come in
    contact with. They also suggest that without the help of Aslan (that
    is, of such powerful figures, or their representatives on earth) we are
    bound to fail. Alone, we are weak and ignorant and helpless. Individual
    initiative is limited—almost everything has already been planned out
    for us in advance, and we cannot know anything or achieve anything
    without the help of God.

    This is, of course, the kind of mindset that evangelical churches
    prefer and cultivate: the kind that makes people vote against their own
    economic and social interests, that makes successful, attractive, and
    apparently intelligent young men and women want to become the
    apprentices of Donald Trump, or of much worse rich and powerful
    figures. This mindset could even be called deluded, since in this world
    a giant lion does not usually appear to see that the right side wins
    and all the good people are happy. In Narnia faith in Aslan, who comes
    among his followers and speaks to them, may make sense: but here on
    earth, as the classic folk tales have told us for generations, it is
    better to depend on your own courage and wit and skill, and the good
    advice of less than omnipotent beings.

    Nice rhetorical flourishes here -- but associating The Apprentice
    with Narnia and conservative Christians?? Is Lurie saying that
    anyone who believes in a God who will ultimately set things right is "deluded"?
    Figuring out what authority is and what authority to follow are not easy
    tasks. Some of us do believe in ultimate authority that looks like neither
    Donald Trump or the "giant lion" that Lurie delights in poking fun at.

  • Genocide in Slow Motion is a review of two books on the genocide in Darfur. I miss reading Nicholas Kristof's columns in The New York Times (but not enough to pay for TimesSelect.
    It was through Kristof's writings that I first learned about Darfur.
    I'm grateful for writers such as Kristof who help to keep the Darfur conflict
    in front of people like me, who are so prone to forget. I've been
    meaning to write a letter to the editor about Darfur but have not been
    able to do so. A good starting place as I look to act is A Million Voices for Darfur.

Away from one home

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This morning, I took in the news of the new minority Canadian government to be led by Stephen Harper.
When trying to explain the results to Laura, I realized how out of
Canadian politics I've been. At best, I could parrot what I read on the
CBC website and New York Times (!). One interesting wrinkle for me is the speculation that Michael Ignatieff might contend for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Years ago, while I was a student at the University of Toronto, I went
to a book reading of Michael Ignatieff's. He was just a rising young
star at that time. I had since followed his career, primarily reading his articles in The New York Review of Books.
The jump from young writer to Harvard professor to
Canadian-bigshot-returned-from-USA professor at the University of
Toronto to MP was startling to take in this morning. Read what the CBC writes:

    Ignatieff has been called "the new Pierre Trudeau"
    and was labelled the "thinking woman's crumpet" when he served as a BBC
    commentator and arts program host in the 1990s. His decision to move
    back to Canada in the summer of 2005 was greeted by breathless profiles
    in national publications, with his future as leader of the Liberal
    Party of Canada taken for granted. However, Ignatieff has rejected
    suggestions that he was drafted to come home as part of "an anti-Martin
    leadership campaign," adding: "I would not have taken part in such
    activity."

Prairie Fire and Indigo Children

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Laura and I both read and discussed with great interest, "Prairie
Fire," an article by Eric Konigsberg in the Jan 16?? issue of the New Yorker.
(The article is not available online.) It is a terribly sad article
about Brandenn Bremmer, the super high IQ boy from Nebraska who
committed suicide at the age of 14. Have any one of my readers also
read the article? I'm thankful for the Web that allows one to read what
others have to say about magazine articles that we read:

The article was also the second mention for me of "indigo children." The first came from the New York Times:

    Are They Here to Save the World? - New York Times:
    If you have not been in an alternative bookstore lately, it is possible
    that you have missed the news about indigo children. They represent
    "perhaps the most exciting, albeit odd, change in basic human nature
    that has ever been observed and documented," Lee Carroll and Jan Tober
    write in "The Indigo Children: The New Kids Have Arrived" (Hay House).
    The book has sold 250,000 copies since 1999 and has spawned a cottage
    industry of books about indigo children.

sky and clouds over Berkeley

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sky and clouds over Berkeley

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.


I like to take walks in the afternoon to get away from my desk and to clear my head. Sometimes I feel down when I leave the building. I was reminded yesterday by these beautiful clouds and the winter light that there's a lot more going on in the world than my own preoccupations. I sigh at the recognition, delight in the view, and then head back to my office, re-energized.