Interstitiality

Soda, Pop, or Coke

As many of you have heard me say, I gave up soda for Lent. I've made it to the point that I no longer crave it, so I will continue to go with the ideal of 1-2 sodas per week tops.

In that vein, my friend Matt gave me this link to a site that breaks down geographically the different names that people use for soft drinks. It gives a whole new meaning to red and blue states! It also helps me to understand why I'm so messed up--my soda, I mean pop, I mean Coke identity is all over the map literally.

Personally, I still use "soda," which apparently is a California-ism.

Pork the other Biblical Meat?

So as I was eating our traditional Easter ham with homemade scalloped potates and mac cheese, I was struck with the irony of our traditions, our holiday hybridity. Pork on a Christian feast day that corresponds most closely with the Jewish Passover.

I have heard the usual about why tradtionally Americans eat ham for Easter. The practical reason--hogs were slaughtered in the fall, which meant that cured ham was ready about six to seven months later, just in time for Easter. The religious reason--that ham, along with easter eggs were originally part of pagan rituals. The "Christian freedom" reason--that ham is eaten as a sign that we are not Jewish. All a bunch of hogwash if you ask me. I appreciate all the over-layers of meaning, but, in the end, ham and all the fixins smells to me of home and tradition. These things I cherish as I remember the risen Christ.

(Me and Michelle and the Sunday brunch with Wes"

I'm So Blue

I have gone with the Blue Gown (see picture in previous entry). The final vote was 12-2 in favor of the blue gown, with the black, red-piped robe coming in a distant second. I chose for two reasons: 1) my academic context; and 2) my own and Michelle's preference. The community's votes confirmed that I have made the right choice for my graduation.

The total cost was up near $750. Donations are welcomed (of course I'm kidding). Seriously though, my mother and father in-law, and my own parents have graciously covered the cost of this pricey academic costume. What a graduation gift!

PS...P

My son Stephen, because he has the fortunate situation of being a babysitter for people in N. Evanston and Wilmette, has recently purchased a PSP handheld video game and media player. It is put out by Sony Playstation, and it is very cool. It actually has great graphics, unbelievable for a handheld.

I think he is tiring of my speeches, “Well, I remember when Pong came out, and the only other games that we had in the house were on boards or the original Atari system” (I realize that this last statement dates me). I cannot believe the stuff that is coming out for video gamers. It is unreal. I wouldn’t mind having one of these units. It could sure make a 4 hour plane ride go by a lot faster. Since, however, we recently purchased our post-graduation vacation package to Orlanda, our U2 tickets (Michelle’s Xmas and birthday present), and, of course, our plane tickets and hotel stay in Princeton for graduation, I don’t think anything costing over $5 will be coming my way any time soon.

Choices, choices, choices

OK, so I have to choose an academic outfit. In this photo, you see the basic choices (along with a couple of fellow PTS alums). So you know, the black robe on either side is identical to the D.Min. gown, and is more user friendly in the context of the church. The middle gown is more for an academic context. Since I AM in an academic context, and I preach enough in PCUSA churches, I could go either way.

Let me know your preferences. Your input is encouraged.

Thanks to my good friend Matt who allowed me to use his photo.

U2!

The Yamadas are going to U2 in September. I was unable to get tickets to the Chicago shows in September last week, so I went on to Ticketmaster this morning and got tickets to the show in Milwaukee (about an hour and a half away) at the Bradley Center.

Yeah are tickets are pretty much in the nose bleed section, but they are not too bad relative to the location of the stage. This will be Stephen and Adam's first concert. I'm glad that they get to see U2 for their first concert, because as far as I'm concerned, U2 does concerts, rather live performances right. Ticketmaster...well, that's another story.

We might be eating mac and cheese for the rest of the month, but U2 is worth it.

What Frank's Listenting To

I recently made a music mix. It is a fair representation of stuff that I have been listening to recently (beyond all the 80's music of which I never tire -- cf. Bowling for Soup's song below):

1. American Idiot (Green Day)
-- I played after Bush's inauguration
2. 1985 (Bowling for Soup)
-- for all of us who "know" that the 80's was the coolest
3. Meant to Live (Switchfoot)
4. Same Direction (Hoobastank)
5. Are You Gonna Be My Girl (Jet)
6. Extraordinary (Liz Phair)
-- Yeah, she sold out (and she's laughing all the way to the bank), but I still like the song
7. California (Phantom Planet)
8. Bend and Break (Keane)
--my new favorite keyboard/piano driven band
9. Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day)
10. I'm Still Here (Vertical Horizon)
11. The Reason (Hoobastank)*
12. Heaven (Live)
13. I Dare You to Move (Switchfoot)*
--great song from a "Xian" band, very cool video
14. Let Go (Frou Frou)
--on the Grammy award winning Garden State sound track
15. This is the Last Time (Keane)
16. Look What You've Done (Jet)*
17. Learning to Breath (Switchfoot)
18. Forever (Vertical Horizon)
19. Somewhere Only We Know (Keane)*

*Frank's Favorites (today)

The Chinatown Trunk Mystery

I am reading an interesting book right now for an Asian American reading group to which I belong. It is called The Chinatown Trunk Mystery by Mary Ting Yi Lui. It uses the true story of an unsolved mystery as its basis for constructing a social, racial, and gendered history of New York at the turn of the twentieth century. The mystery involved a Chinese man named Leon Ling, in whose apartment was found the murdered body of a young white woman, Elsie Sigel. Sigel’s body was found in a trunk within Leon Ling’s apartment, hence the title of the book.

The book traces the ways in which gender and race were policed within New York, a state in which there were no miscegenation laws. With the absence of a legal code for controlling the interaction between Chinese men and white women, cultural norms, social institutions, and popular opinion became driving factors.

On a personal note, it made me realize that I take many things for granted. There would have been many things within the social structure of early 20th C. N. America that would have made it difficult for Michelle and I to have the life that we do. The book details incident after incident of how men and women were treated with suspicions because of their interracial marriage. White women who were with Chinese men were assumed to be morally weak. They were assumed to be poverty stricken and drug dependent. Chinese men were seen as evil predators who would lure young white women into the vices of opium addiction. Japanese men were sometimes lumped together with Chinese men in this characterization (because, of course, all Asians look alike, ugh).

Needless to say, I am grateful to be in the interracial relationship that I have. Even if Michelle married me for my opium pipe!

Can't Teach a Middle-Aged Dog New Tricks

I learned something about myself this past weekend. I will never be a good soldier real or imagined. I went paintballing with my kids this weekend. It was fun ... for them. I really suck at it. I was shot early in each of our games, getting hit in my face mask three out of the five times that I was hit. I hit only a total of five players in five games (Adam hit five players in one game). I'm not good at using guns of any kind, and this weekend just confirmed that for me. And while I am not bummed out by this revelation--in fact, I am quite pleased in some ways--I must admit that I hate sucking at anything.

Funny Video

Ryan sent me this link to a hilarious video. Check it out!