Pan Asia

Posted 11:19 PM by Andy
I have some down time so I will jot down some thoughts on recent events and lessons. Oh, I'm in SF because I felt suffocated in LA or and also was dying a slow death of futility.

Thug Life. I got a glimpse into the gang culture over the summer. I hung out with a fex ex-Bamboo guys in LA and started to get a feel for their mentality and thought patterns. First, testerone is charged to the hilt when a group of them roll out together so fights start with nary an inhibition. Sometimes they would start a fracas because different guys give them a wrong glance. M, a huge guy by anyone's definition, would incite fights after drinking to relieve stress. One time three of the boys rolled to a guy's house and delivered a beatdown in front of his mom because they didn't like the way he fronted. Second, drugs are never far from the scene. The amphetamine of choice is marijuana which runs fairly rampant throughout the entertainment industry and is easily accessible by teenagers. It's a scary thing when the lingo is so familiar (slinging), grades of product (P-91), and the utter nonchalance with which hits are taken. "On the 8th day, God chilled." is the genius line a friend coined to explain his Monday routine. Third, hormones rage unchecked. Girls are never far from the topic of conversation. Fourth, scams are constantly being hatched. How do you defraud this bank or that institution? What are the risks of capture? There are a few things I cannot disclose because they are so heinous. It's no wonder their friends are locked up for racketeering and robberies. Why do I hang out with them? Honestly, initially it is fun because there is always the thrill of something about to go down. In my lucid moments I recognize the falsehood and hollowness of these pursuits, but the pathology of such a subgroup is fascinating. This leads to the question of which group is more powerful, the gangs or the Church? One operates on fear, while the other moves on and is motivated by love. One coerces you into complying with its wishes by force and intimidation; the other spurs you on towards love and good deeds by acts of sacrificial service. Which group would you choose to associate with?

Booty call vs. ball call. Some of my non-Christian friends have booty calls to satisfy their carnal desires, I have ball calls to satiate my craving to play bball. "Hey, you have a couple hours? I'm going to run at Lowell at 2 p.m. See you there."

Characters from life, past and present. Mussolini, known as Il Duce to his Italian subjects, was a man driven by his maniacal vision to create a Fascist state and new world worder. He was not nearly as horrendous as Hitler or Stalin, but was only a mildly terrible dictator if you can call genocide by the thousands mild. How did he start out on this tryst with destiny? He was an intellectual with very effective bureaucratic skills, enabling him to parlay small posts into positions of power. He was a journalist that became a publishing magnate. The potency of words to sway public opinion is amazing.

Conan O' Brien is a comic genius. A Harvard graduate who studied philosophy and now caters to the slap-happy masses with his irreverent and goofy wit. His commencement speech at Harvard in 2000 is also ingenius, still prompting strangers to congratulate him on the street to this day.

Johnny Chung is the notorious Chinese businessman indicted for illegal campaign finance contributions to Clinton. He came to Bread of Life in Torrance to speak. Unfortunately I only received a secondhand account of his talk because I was home nursing a cold but his life is intriguing. He invented a fax machine with simultaneous multicast capabilities that he sold to all 50 governors of the US, at which point he moved in the highest political circles. He befriended Clinton and frequently stayed at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, aka the White House. He witnessed all the events of the Lewinsky scandal and has a picture of her with Bill in her blue dress pre-stain. The kicker in all this is he is Christian and so he now focuses equally on evangelistic missions and his businesses. Besides his campaign finance blemish for which he served 400 hours of community service, he is a man of integrity (the FBI certified to his wife that he is faithful.) I wrote him but he hasn't granted my request for a meeting.

Andrew Cole is a master illusionist who is a consultant to David Copperfield and a full-time evangelist. In a week or so he will hold a rally at the Forum to preach the gospel. He weaves illusions with the presentation of the message of Jesus Christ in a compelling way such that a quarter of the non-Christians that hear him accept Jesus. It's awesome that he uses illusion as a hook to draw people to the Ultimate Reality.

Issac Fong is a brother who is starting law school at Hastings this fall. He spent a year studying at the Trinity Forum Academy which aims to equip lay leaders through studies in the classics and theology combined with service. He also worked at a conservative foundation and referred me to the Institute for Global Engagement. I couldn't believe an organization like this existed. Its mission to foster religious freedom in places where none exists and collaborates with industry, government and civil society groups to achieve its aims. The heart and mind are engaged as worship is transferred to the physical realm through the lens of religious freedom. "Live free or die." Indeed.

Friendster. The phenomen of Friendster has spawned some observations. First, it is ingenious. Dating services have been around for years and one of the first rituals two strangers undergo upon meeting is to list common acquaintances to establish rapport. To combine the two produces a monster of a viral tool. People divide into two groups, those that love its insights into other's lives and friendships and those that abhor its blatant "hook-up" possibilities. I like it as a way to broadcast recent changes to scattered friends. I have also been able to reconnect with old friends through the service like Melvyn L who is now a proprietary trader on Wall Street and Phill L, toiling away as a dental student in LA. Strangely enough, I have also used Friendster to evangelise. I promised Kelly, a daughter raised in an environment of pastors who has chosen not to conform so far to her family's faith, to pray that God would overwhelm her senses with His love that she cannot deny Him. I talked to Jane for an hour and a half last night, with 2/3 of the conversation on her views of religion. The basic problem she has with Christianity is the seemingly outrageous claims of the Bible like the creation of Eve from Adam's rib. I tried to convince her of the inerrancy of the Bible and the possibility of miracles. She doesn't believe miracles can be proved. I begged to differ and pointed her to the resurrection of Christ, the singular most important event in history next to the crucifixion of Christ. I defended my view of original sin at the root of the Holocaust, two World Wars, and countless ethnic cleansings. In the end she admitted she feels self-sufficient so she feels no need for God. Lord, help her to realize her need for you.

Career Options. Lately I have thought through different career paths in my eternal quest to find a vocation that excites me. On the other side of the law, bank heists are highly fascinating. They offer the safest and most efficient return on investment of any crime. Unfortunately they are like crack, absolutely addictive and leads to a life in the pen or death. From the gentleman robber to tunnel diggers to inside jobs, LA has seen them all as the capital of bank robberies or "211"s in police code. Then there was the case of David Mack, the guy Denzel's character is based on in Training Day. He was a undercover FBI agent working narcotics posing as a Mafia don who changed roles somewhere along the way and became a gangster working undercover as an agent.

Sports management. Nice gig if you can get it at the major league level. I love sports and I love business. Mixing the two is a powerful aphrodisiac. Imagine playing LeBron one-on-one or assembling a championship team and sitting courtside to watch your investment.

Screenwriting. To bring characters from a time and place in your head to life is a great challenge and very enticing as a way of life. Prerequisites to being a great screenwriter are being a superior story teller and knowing a subculture inside and out. The lingo of different groups inject the dialog with authenticity. I started reading scripts for the Gladiator, Boiler Room, and American President.

Ball. I played at a few different venues during the summer. Wooden Center. The rec center on the UCLA campus has decent runs most days with four courts. The first time I played there I was 0-4 losing on game point all four times even though I played well. The second time I played, I was 4-1, hitting all four game winners. The third time I went 3-4, the day I stayed at the gym from 3 to 8 p.m. That's the day I reconnected with Phill for the first time in over 5 years so I had to stay and play a game with him. Marina Del Rey community center. I played with a few Newsong guys and some neighborhood guys originally from Sierra Leone. I played with a rapper who busts Christian rhymes on some Sunday mornings. Jefferson middle school in Torrance. I play there with guys from Bread of Life but the games are of mixed quality because there are two centers, a pair of brothers that are very good point guards and a bunch of decent players. If the two centers and the brothers play on the same team, it is very difficult if not impossible to beat them. I like to play there to see the younger talent coming up. Fair Oaks park in Santa Clara. After Jason C left for China, the south bay guys could no longer play at National Semiconductor so the Monday night game was moved to a park. The one time I was there I waited four games to play two because everyone wanted to play on the middle court against the best guys. Not really worth my time unless the competition improves. Sunset Rec Center. The gym at 28th and Lawton features two short full courts. Usually there is one full court game and a half-court game occuring. I prefer not to play there because the courts are small and too crowded. Menlo Atherton. I play with Real World folks sometimes on dusty courts. Depending on the turnout, I can get a few good games in with my buddies from different churches. Lowell. This SF landmark is my sentimental favorite because on any given weekend you can find up to 4 games going on. I usually start with a game against strong competition, then either stay on or wind down my day with games against the Asians.

Next time: my time in the Bay area, San Diego calling, Taiwan & Shanghai visions, casino games.