Ryu2.mind

Just got back from SIGGRAPH last week -- as usual, it was hectic and yet exciting to see the forefront of computer graphics and its applications, both in academia and industry... not to mention meeting and interviewing with a bunch of companies large and small, and meeting up with various friends in SoCal.

One posting on the free-for-all job board got my attention -- a meeting for a group called "Christians in Animation" Unfortunately, my schedule didn't permit me to stick around in San Diego for the meeting, but I wonder -- how would such a group be like? And what would the purpose be?

Don't get me wrong -- I think that graphics and animation can indeed be a powerful medium to share the Gospel (witness Veggie Tales, for instance). And perhaps they have something as goal-oriented and purpose-driven as say, making the next Veggie Tales, in mind.

But if it's just a group labeled as "Christian" for the purpose of meeting seems to me as just promulgating the notion of the "Christian bubble" to non-Christians. Isn't that what the church is for anyhow? In much the same way as Desiree felt when she read that "Praise God" comment on Amazon.com, does slapping a "Christian" label on everything, and having "Christian" subcommunities within everything just for the purpose of gatherint together alienate us to others, or diminish the value of our faith?

I normally refrain from posting private emails, but this was just too amusing.

Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 23:19:51 -0700 (PDT) 
From: Random dude in Mongolia
Subject: Re:Hi 
To: mwang@CS.Stanford.EDU 


Dear pool monkey lesson to me carefully. I,m visit
your web site ( but it's very difficult to named veb
page) it's very bad pictures and very very pool
explanation and you trying to show mongolia from only
bad site. I hope may be you khow god don't like poeple
who like as you

I'm pretty sure I don't know him, from my previous visits to that country (although I did pass along his name to Tom to see if he knows him, or if he could even share the Gospel =) ). I was sort of surprised, because I certainly don't think that I'm disparaging Mongolia in any way in my site, certainly no more than I would for my "beloved" China, or the USA. Yes, not all the Mongolia pictures are of beautiful clean, lush cities filled with wealthy, happy, prosperous people, but then again, Mongolia doesn't have much of that to begin with.

I'm debating whether to ignore it, or write back a witty reply. Don't want to get into a flame war, or write anything inciteful, like "China 0wnZ j00! It's time to take you guys back!", but it made me more amused than anything, and I think I should return the favor somehow -- if only to capture the unintentional wit of the term "pool monkey".

Feel free to post your ideas. =)

When is it a good time just to give it all up? When you know you've done all that you can, and you realize that the direction you take from here on is really up to God, and not your own ways? To realize to "lean not on our own understanding" about what's best, and to view it not as defeat but acknowledgement of His sovereignity?

This has always been the greatest weakness of mine...

Eddie and Hanah's wedding, some GrX stuff, and Slim and Joe's pool party, mostly. Also, in a burst of nostalgia, I dug up some old scans of pictures I took during my high school years, if any of you want some glimpse into my sordid past. =) Enjoy!