Thoughts on Kindle

It is very thin and lightweight with high resolution.  The 3G is excellent and free but I would not use it for anything more than cursory checking of social networing services.  Mobile versions of Twitter Gmail and Facebook are optimal.  Typing is a pain due to keys... punctuation is also a pain.  I could develop a new writing style from typing on this device by eschewing the use of puncuation other than periods and ellipses.

Reading on this device is comfortable.  Annotations made are naturally brief in nature.  I am currently reading Ulysses.  I downloaded a free Bible from the Kindle store and a free copy of Ulysses from Project Gutenberg.  Free books are for the win.  I would recommend the Kindle 3 for reading purposes only. I use the browser frequently only because I have internet curfew.  Yes.  At age 23.

One last note.  Many books can be obtained for free that have entered the public domain.  Keep in mind that quality remains an issue.  Hopefully I have addressed the most salient of concerns you would raise concerning the purchase of this product.  If you have any further questions do not hesitate to post them below.

New Fragments Emerge

This class, English 2261, confronts me with a babushka doll.  On one level, I am confronting more directly the possibility of becoming a writer.  I can either give it my all, or pull back, doing instead something safe.  I am driven to write more, yet paralyzed by the pressure to give up.  At the root of this tension is the real issue with being a writer: is that incarnation of me worthy enough to come alive again for?  Or will this increasingly crippling depression consume hope for a fulfilling life?  And within even those questions is the more important issue of my faith.  I will either become stronger because of it or in spite of it.

Interlude A1, The Ones I Let Escape

(On the back of a photo postcard depicting the Great Wall, Summer of 2006).

I'm sorry I haven't been online much lately, I have computer access sporatically. The weather here in Beijing is horrendously oppressive, but apart from that, it's an interesting change from being in Naperville. I can't believe how much my siblings have grown; my brother has better aim than me throwing a ball and my sisters think Jay Chouis ugly, haha.

Besides playing with my sisters and brother, I haven't done anything notable (unless you count seeing parts of the World Cup on TV... but I get tired just watching them run =P). This is what I did on the plane ride over:

E nigmas are fuzzy, have no answer;

Z ebras are black/white, nothing else under;

R aven-haired chap who invites much wonder;

A iya, Hope I'll get to know him better!

I miss talking with you online. Hopefully I'll get a chance to see you before you leave for college. There are quite a few KFCs here, and I'm reminded of you whenever we pass near one. You look quite dapper in blue =) Enjoy the rest of your summer, and have a super-awesome time in New York!

Take care,

J

On the Future

I'm sure you've all been perceiving that the rest of our lives is about to begin, in some way. But for some reason, whereas some of you may feel it as the Spirit descending upon you invigoratingly, I see nothing but gloom and boredom. And maybe that's why I'm so reluctant to part ways with childhood - I see only nothingness in my future.

And it's not supposed to be like that, especially for one professing to be believe in Christ and His glory manifested through the Church. But perhaps I no longer truly believe in the power of such truth to effect change in us. In which case, it is no longer truth to me.

I'm just waiting for You to move me, God. I need something to aspire to.

I am a petty fool.  I find myself envious of the attention other people receive on their birthdays, and seethe at the injustice of it all.  My desire for others' well-regard is a weakness I must purge.