Hi, my name is Steven Wang. I've been an Irvine resident for 22 years, and I must say, I was shocked to open up Tuesday, July 22's issue of the Irvine World News and find that the newspaper I had once loved and trusted to get information about my community was completely run over by advertisements. I did a quick count of how much actual material was in the paper, and of the 32 pages of this issue (including the cover), only a third of the page space was dedicated news-related material! Now I don't know if this is something that's been going on for a while, and if it has, I haven't been around to notice since I just got back from graduating college. Regardless, how is it possible that you can fill a 32-page newspaper with nearly 20 pages of advertising? To say that there is not enough to write about would be a poor excuse, given that the few articles that are printed would hardly be considered an article, length-wise, in a junior high English class! A quick glance at your Staff on Page 2 shows us where your priority is: one Team Leader, three Editors, four Reporters, one Photographer, and FOUR people on Advertising. You have the same number of staff reporting news as there is taking care of advertising; I found your problem!

Need examples? How about your potentially-great cover story on Michelle Lynne Cook's amazing 109-day journey? I found the topic to be fascinating, and turned the page expecting the article to continue, only to find a small table of contents that gives away just about as much information as the articles themselves, and two oversized advertisements on a cooking class and ballet camp, and on the opposite side, a entire PAGE advertisement from Cox trying to sell us digital telephone and cable services! Another short-cut article is the one about the special event held at Wild Rivers for the Marines! Did you really think that we would rather stare at an orange-skied, dandelion-blowing advertisement from Comerica Bank than to learn more about the lives of our local heroes and their families during and after the war, and how our community is showing our appreciation? Three short paragraphs is all we get. Any time I read an article that seemed to be interesting, there was a severe deficit of information, usually followed by a "Want more? Check out ocregister.com/irvine." Where are the old day papers of Irvine World News that not only provided informative, thought-provoking articles on our community, but encouraged our readers to get involved? There are no editorials or opinion columns from Irvine residents, hardly anything about our schools, and there is even one page that seemed so desperate for news that you felt the need to include news from "Around O.C." Isn't that what the OC Register is for? Or, am I correct in guessing that there really is no such thing as the Irvine World News anymore, just a giant OC Register that sends out an obligatory "community-focused" paper every couple of days?

Irvine has already been taken over by strip mall after strip mall filled with same corporate businesses trying to make a buck off us. Nearly all traces of our proud history and local businesses have been stamped out by greedy businessmen trying to sell our community things we don't need. Irvine struggles to have anything unique to offer its residents. It's no wonder our high school kids are so bored that there is huge alcohol and marijuana problem plaguing our top-notch schools , or do we not address that in the public paper? Now answer this question: Who's supposed to stand up to all this? Where are Irvine residents supposed to voice their opinions and frustrations? Who can convince our city to ditch those 42-inch plasma TV's, Nintendo Wii's, private backyard pools and BBQ's, and come outside and enjoy each other's company as a community? Our newspaper. Or at least it used to be. The city's leadership has already sold us out for the big money (ahem-The"Great"Park), please don't do the same. You, my friends at the Irvine World News, are OUR newspaper, created to inform and represent US. We want our news, and our people, not a shopping catalog. Don't become one of them. Because if you do, someday Irvine won't have her own newspaper anymore. Just a card that shows up on people's driveways that says, "Want news about Irvine? Go find it yourself, it's somewhere on the Internet. By the way, buy something."

                             Sincerely,

                                Steven Wang

PS. Feel free to publish parts, or the entirety, of this letter in upcoming Irvine World papers. Sorry if the whole letter is a little too long to be an article, I know you're not used to it.

Just got back from an amazing weekend in Bishop. I'm really serious, the more and more I venture out into the unknown realms of the non-Los Angeles area, the more I'm realizing there is so much more to life than what we know. And no, this time its not about social injustice or poverty or the social pressures of the inner city (though still important). This weekend I met dozens of new people, from Canada to Tahoe to Italy to the Netherlands. All gathered in a half-mile wide dirt pit speckled with tents and 70's era RV's, huddled around a small campfire, sharing stories of climbing, travels, and for some, celebrating the abandonment of their former lives. Story after story came from young and old of how they have high-paying jobs waiting for them back at home, yet they choose to reduce their belongings to what can fit in a car, and trade their 5 bedroom home and fancy cars for a tent and a diesel pickup. But for what? E.T. could be making over $100k at his programming job, why would he sell his house and move into the dirt? There's a weekly late-night pilgrimage into town with a truck to collect old pallets for firewood. There are the week-long snow storms that shake canvas walls and winds that send staked tents soaring through the air. There's the sneer of sarcasm when the LA yuppy pulls into camp with his $40k SUV and 7-person tent (for 2). And then of course, there's the morning. Every morning, walking outside the tent, making a cup of coffee over the fire, scanning the dry desert tableland, and then letting your eyes rise up to the snow-covered Sierras. I'm serious, I've never seen happier people. The more and more I travel now, and the more time I spend in the money-strapped society of Southern California, the more I'm realizing that we don't need it all. It makes me sick. People trade their lives for the pursuit of things that mean nothing. High paying jobs. $600 cell phones. Gleaming cars. Houses that could fit 3 families. Even (yes, even) beautiful stainless steel kitchens fit for a professional cook, untouched by yups that hardly know how to boil water. They're some of the most cold, anti-human (different from anti-social), miserable, insecure people you'll ever see. I'm not telling you to sell everything out move into a tent outside Bishop like guys like E.T. and John and Carrie. But for the love of God, and yourself, find what you love to do and don't compromise. Find your passion, then live for it. That high you get driving around a new car or getting that promotion or getting that acceptance letter will fade quickly, and only be replaced by a desire for something else. Trim down your life to what really matters, throw away the things you don't need. Find that cause that breaks your heart, and dedicate yourself to it. Find that hobby that makes your heart explode with joy, and do it. Find the people that make you feel human again, and stick with them. Don't waste your time, don't waste your life. Just because you're breathing, doesn't mean you're living.

"I have sacrificed 101 modern conveniences, but gained 1,001 priceless experiences"- Cedar Wright

*EDIT: Added Pictures

 

Top to Bottom, Left to Right:
John working on Saigon, Hanging out at Dom's tent, The Buttermilks, Eric warming up,
Crash pads, Our camp, The newest couple in camp, Red and Chaco, Jack and Red,
Working Saigon, Dom watching the send, Andrew working Iron Man, The Sierras by moonlight

Went into the Disney Store at Tyler the other day hoping that they were still selling these (I saw them before the movie even came out, but decided to buy it later), and not only did they have them, they were on clearance (sad, i know) for like 60% off!!!!! Pretty much, I'm a happy guy...

Ratatouille Cork Screw and Bottle Stopper Set AND

w00t

Coffee + Jazz + Rain = A perfect day.

Maybe Seattle or Portland wouldn't be bad for me after all. =) On a not-so-different-but-still different note, the clouds were beautiful the other night, here at UCR:

I wish I had a tripod to get a high-res shot of this... but it was still such a treat, how can I even complain? Funny how even as stopped in the middle of the walkway, threw my backpack on the ground, and shot pictures of the sky, people kept walking by without even looking up. Such beauty and majesty right in front of you, and you walk by with eyes fixed on the ground! Reminds me of how we treat God sometimes...

PS. To Xanga stalkers from New Jersey, Virginia, D.C., Georgia, and New York, quit being such strangers! I know you're reading this so at least say hi or something! =)

Hey everyone (Happy Thanksgiving, btw!), I just wanted to share a cool article I found this morning. Like many of you, I've always asked the question, "What is the Christian view of dating?", and honestly, I've had no clue, besides knowing to have a "God-centered relationship". I've heard the word courtship being thrown around, and have always passed it off as some irrelevant, medieval ritual without really knowing what it was. The following is an excerpt from a series of online articles (link) written by Nathan Bailey regarding dating and courtship, and it's really opened by eyes to a solid, Biblical perspective of relationships. There's also another short excerpt at the bottom from another site that discusses Josh Harris' Boy Meets Girl. I've learned a lot from it, and hope you will too.

The youth of today are getting ripped off. Instead of enjoying their teen years as they build skills and character, they are getting distracted into the quagmire of relationships that they are not equipped to conduct. The teen years are those where they have the fewest responsibilities at the same time as having their greatest energy level. These should be fun times, exciting times. They should be an opportunity to develop a deep, intimate and personal walk with God, establishing themselves as young warriors who know the Father and have overcome the evil one (1 John 2:13). (...)

An overview of dating and Courtship:

Dating was invented in the early part of this century. Prior to that time, marriage always involved much more input from the parents, and "trial relationships" leading up to marriage were not conducted at all. Courtship, as discussed in more detail subsequently, seeks to emulate the Godly models described in the Bible that were conducted by God's people up until the invention of dating. My basic premise is that regardless of how we feel about things, we should follow God's model, because it will be the most effective and fulfilling. My intention is to convey that conviction, then to describe my current understanding of His model.

In overview, courting should only happen once and ends in a life-long covenant relationship. Dating happens lots of times, and ends in many hurts, heartbreaks, scars, and if you're lucky, a partner that just may stay with you for the next few years, or (if you're really lucky) the rest of your life.

• In the modern dating scene you usually hide all your faults to give a false impression about yourself, in order to keep your partner liking you. Recreational dating is about self-gratification -- you date to satisfy your own needs.
• Courtship is about open and honest exploration of each others lives and families leading up to engagement and marriage. Courtship is about marriage -- you court in order to see if there is any reason why you shouldn't get married. There is no romantic interaction until after the commitment to marriage.

What's wrong with dating?

There are many forms of dating, perhaps as many as there are people. Everyone has a different view of what is right and wrong. But there is a glaring fault in many of our models, a double-standard. Once we are married, we recognize that certain things are sacred to our partner. Things such as co-habitation, kissing, intimate hugging, sex and bringing up children. We recognize that not only our physical body, but our emotions, even our spirit are dedicated to that one partner, for the rest of our life (according to our vows).

The dichotomy is this: in dating, we presume to partake of many of these privileges of marriage. We would be shocked if a married man had an emotional attachment to another woman, and yet it's quite acceptable for singles to have a different emotional attachment every week. On the one hand, we save sex for our partners (and some even do that sparingly), but on the other, we engage in rampant emotional promiscuity, giving pieces of our hearts away until one wonders what will be left for that special, life-long partner.

Another really good excerpt from an online article (link):

But why is courtship better than dating? Dating has become a very self-centered pastime, driven by lust and greed. Courtship is centered not on any person, but on God. During a courtship, you are "dating for the glory of God", as Joshua Harris says. Instead of dating the other person for their physical appearance or their suave charms, you are dating them to establish a solid relationship and decide whether or not marriage is God’s will for you. In Boy Meets Girl, Joshua Harris divides the process of courtship into three neat steps: friendship, fellowship, and romance. He encourages us first to "deepen your friendship" before going forward in the relationship, ensuring that this person is someone you’re willing to spend a lifetime with. "Don’t rush or try to force your way into each other’s lives," he says. "The pace should be unhurried." The next important step is that of fellowship, growing closer together spiritually.

As your relationship unfolds, you want to make sure it has a spiritual foundation. For your relationship to be strong, love for God must be the common passion of your hearts…you can read Christian books together, talk about sermons after a service, and discuss how you’re going to apply what you learn…biblical fellowship means increasing your love and passion for God, not your emotional dependence on each other.

(Joshua Harris, Boy Meets Girl, chapter 5)

Good stuff, huh? This definitely changes how I see things... =)