The Complete Novels of Jane Austen

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

Though I've not actually read any of Jane Austen's novels, I almost gave into a strong and irrational impulse to borrow the 1200 page compilation of the complete novels of Austen. Kinda odd if I consider that if just one of her novels had been on the shelf, I would have passed over it without notice. My best understanding is that I fall easily for the easy prospect of completeness -- that holding all the novels in my hands was more important than actually reading any one novel.

I'm fortunate that I'm not such a dilettante in all areas of life, though it's a continuing challenge not to distract myself too much with indulging in the world's potentialities.

I hope that "Young, Restless, Reformed" in the current (September 2006) issue of Christianity Today will be available online so that you all can read it too. (Keep an eye out at Christianity Today Magazine - September 2006)
Collin Hansen writes about the resurgence of Calvinism among American
20 and 30 somethings. The article has stuck in my mind because I
couldn't quite sympathize with the heavy-duty emotional resonance that
new Calvinism was supposed to be generating among young folks -- even
though I have been a long-time Presbyterian (whose heritage is
Calvinism) and serious student of theology. When I read the
accompanying explanation of the TULIP acronymn that is often used to
summarize the essentials of Calvinism, I found myself questioning
whether the TULIP is what I actually believe. Is that what I'm supposed
to believe as an elder in the PCUSA?

This morning, I started down the road of investigating figuring out the precise relationship among Calvinism, TULIP, (aka The Five Points of Calvinism) , Arminianism, debates about TULIP (e.g., An Examination of Tulip), what the PCUSA has to say about sin and salvation, predestination, etc., etc. Of course, lot of this stuff is very complicated, as William Bouwsma wrote in Calvinism (Encyclopædia Britannica):

It is important to note
that the later history of Calvinism has often been obscured by a
failure to distinguish between Calvinism as the beliefs of Calvin
himself; the beliefs of his followers, who, though striving to be
faithful to Calvin, modified his teachings to meet their own needs;
and, more loosely, the beliefs of the Reformed tradition of Protestant
Christianity, in which Calvinism proper was only one, if historically
the most prominent, strand.

Does all this matter? I think some of this matters, even though I'm not clear on what matters and what doesn't.

Niagara Falls from Table Rock Point

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

Although there are at least several detailed lovely pictures of the drop off point of Niagara Falls (such as this one and others like it, I am rather partial to my modest camera phone picture of the same spot. The roar of the water, the heavy humidity of the air, the mist which was scaring me off from pulling out my nice camera, are all brought back in my memory by this shot. I realize, of course, that the photo won't have the same suggestive power to those who weren't there -- to whom I must say, "you had to be there."

When I saw Men Not Working, and Not Wanting Just Any Job - New York Times,
I wondered whether I'm part of a bigger trend by reducing my time to
write a book. The important difference between my situation and that
portrayed in the article is that the reduction in time is temporary and
that I'm working hard on projects during my time at home. Still, I was
unnerved to think that maybe I was a slow slide to indolence!

All that pain at Ikea was worth it...mostly

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

Laura and I made a trek to Ikea to buy this Galant Table. I didn't want to go, but the many months of having our laser printer' sitting on the floor had to come to an end. The afternoon was more stressful than I had anticipated. When we had to figure out whether a long shelf could fit in the back of our car, I panicked and declared that we most certainly needed to come back another day with a rental U-Haul. I was wrong; the shelf did fit snugly. I was happy to get away from the lines and the crowds.

Unfortunately, when we got home and began to assemble our table, we realized that we were missing a necessary frame. Argh! Injustice! I called the Ikea help line to complain that the woman who filled out our cash&carry order neglected to add a frame. I tried to get the clerk to send us the frame but to no avail -- of course. Fortunately, Laura had enough sense to get me off the phone. She just wanted the table.

We went back to Ikea to get the missing frame. Of course, we encountered another very long line. Why couldn't Ikea just take our order on the phone and have us swing by to pick it up directly? No, if you want to buy Ikea, you must submit to the unforgiving discipline of Ikea.

In the end, we were very happy to bring a bit more order to our apartment. But can I forgive Ikea? I'm sure I'll go crawling back to that den of just-good-enough furniture within the year's end.

Lychee season!

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

Living in California, I get so used to eating almost any food I want any time of the year. Lychees are an exception to the rule for me. When I see them at the market, I think of a few preciously short weeks in summer. There's no time like the present to (over-)indulge in them.

Since the beginning of July, I've dropped my time at the university to
60% so that I can have two full days a week to write a book. I
originally set out to write on the subject matter of the class I taught
in the spring, "Mixing and Remixing Information." That is, the book is
geared to teaching how to combine the varied sources of information on
the Web into a new and useful creation. After a couple of months of
sporadic hard labor, with a solid book outline in hand, I am currently
looking for a publisher. The conceptual framework for the book has held
up to the scrutiny of knowledgable reviewers. Finding a sufficient
market of buyers, on the other hand, remains a major hurdle. The book
in its current form is pitched at programmers and designers who enjoy
the process of creating programs and websites. In writing the book
proposal, I was already challenged to broaden my audience from hardcore
programmers to non-programmers who are nonetheless comfortable with the
Web. Now, I strive to reach a still wider audience. I can't imagine
many of my friends' reading the book as outlined, for instance. How can
I write a book that would captivate people such as my friends and
family who certainly use the Web but who don't program? That's the
question I'm now exploring.

I wish I were a more avid reader of novels and short fiction. When I
walk into bookstores, I gravitate towards the shelves of nonfiction
books, where I am able to dive into particular books and size them up
quickly for their content, style, and enjoyability. When I look at the
fiction section, I am lost. I've recently forced myself to take up
reading a novel or two. Some weeks ago, I borrowed Anansi Boys: A Novel
from the Berkeley Public Library. I forced myself through the first two
chapters but finally decided to return the book unfinished. I didn't
have to finish what I had started, Laura reminded me. Two weeks ago,
while browsing the new books at my church library, I decided to borrow Gilead: A Novel. Reading about Marilynne Robinson's book in The New York Review of Books
had made me receptive to picking the book up in the first place. At
about fifty pages into the novel, I've decided that I would like to
push towards the end. I can't say that I'm excited about the book;
rather, I've grown mildly affectionate for the narrator and now want to
see how the story turns out. As I read more fiction, maybe I'll turn
how to more quickly size up a work. So far, I have had to withhold my
judgement, giving myself over to the author more than I would usually
do for any work of nonfiction, just to decide whether to read the whole
book. Is this an issue of commitment?

Laura and I have been enjoying our Netflix subscription even though we've become minor couch potatoes. We've been watching lots of TV series (As Time Goes By, Numb3rs, The Dead Zone) but occasionally, some movies slip into our queue. Laura recently introduced me to Frederico Fellini's Nights of Cabiria. I want to see more Fellini; La Strada arrived several days ago and awaits our viewing pleasure.

a bowl of homemade carrot soup with lots o' carrots

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

A clear-brothed soup with large chunks of lightly cooked carrots is a childhood comfort food for me. I had never ventured to make it for myself until this past Sunday. The results were deeply satisfying.