I've been trying to read more lately.  I can never just read one book at a time, so right now I'm reading Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis, City of God by St. Augustine, and The Art of Behavior: A Study in Human Relations by Frederick Winsor. I'm particularly happy that the third is turning out to be so intriguing because I picked it up for $.50 in the basement of Harvard Bookstore (yes Jung, it's an old book).

Anyway, the author tries to discuss social ethics apart from religion (because it was written as a high-school textbook...can you imagine if our high-schools taught ethics?), and here's a great excerpt from the preface:

"People usually regard the moral law as a burden imposed on the present by the past. They think of it as having been drawn up by God and Mrs. Grundy, working in collaboration. The object of this book is to destroy that traditional conception of ethics, and to substitute for it the realization that if any intelligent group of men were to find themselves under the necessity of drawing up a completely new set of moral laws, the existing ones having been destroyed or forgotten, they would almost certainly work out, as a result of their deliberations, a code of morals substantially exactly like the one accepted by the world as we find it. They would go at their task expecting to create a new freedom, and they would therefore probably be dumbfounded at the end of their labours to discover that they had merely reforged the old "shackles"...the moral law is not a cruel jailer but a friendly guide, and far from taking away our liberty of action, it fact it makes men free."

Here's one more...although I haven't yet worked out the implications for Christians:

"The Law sets up the whole elaborate machinery of prosecution, defence, witnesses, judge, and jury in order to establish the facts and weigh the seriousness of the offence: Ethics has to leave the final judgment to the accused, for since it is the inner state of a aman's heart and soul which is the test of his moral soundness or obliquity, and since no one else but he can know what goes on within his own consciousness, he is necessarily the sole judge of his moral behaviour. Consequently, there rests on each one of us the fearful but inspiring responsibility for our own rectitude. We are the judges of our own conduct, and the keepers of our own souls."

Right on, brother Winsor!

And for those of you who couldn't read their Bible today, here's a cool verse:

"Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant--the Ten Commandments." (Exodus 34:28)

No food and no water for 40 days and 40 nights??!! And when he emerged from the tent, his face wasn't "sallow, pale, sickly"...it was "radiant because he has spoken with the Lord." Truly, His grace is sufficient for us. When your eyes are on the Lord, He will provide ALL your needs.

Something cool from my reading this morning (Psalm 62:11-12):
"One thing God has spoken,
two things have I heard:
that you, O God, are strong,
and that you, O Lord, are loving.
Surely you will reward each person
according to what he has done."

Initially, the last part seems kinda out of place, especially to my reformed mind. After all, as sinners, what "good works" can we really ever do? But then I think, maybe "what he has done" refers to the good things God does through us. So it's not about us trying to lead "good lives" or be "good people" in the world and God's eyes, because then we might think we actually deserve the "rewards" God gives. Maybe it's just about us obeying God because He is strong and loving.  In the end, what other reason do we really need to obey Him?

Changing the subject...

Last night, eager to get out of the house, I went to Friday's to hang out with a friend. As we were talking, the subject of aesthetics came up, and he said some interesting stuff. Apparently, in his psych class, he learned that attractiveness in men is often associated with "mature" features, which explains phenomena like Sean Connery and Harrison Ford actually being better looking now that they're older. But for women, as we all sadly know, it's the opposite. Grrr...:r

Luckily, there is a silver lining. Confidence and character are considered to be hands-down the most attractive qualities in both genders, and are two qualities that are usually fortified, not deteriorated, by age.  Also, it seems that Asian women reach their aesthetic peak later in life than other ethnicities do, usually peaking after college, which is really the first time you can, in good conscience, capitalize on your beauty anyway ;)

So EM, there's some encouragement in here for all of us :)

And for you ladies, here's some dessert...enjoy!

Ok so my computer has been hacked into for the second time. This weekend my computer was running really slow and the mouse was moving about randomly, so my bro checked it out. Turns out there are a bunch of crazy programs that I never installed, including one that allows an outside user to control my computer.

What the heck. It gets scarier. So my bro installs an anti-intruder program (to block hackers), and in about 15 minutes it blocks 20 attempts. We turn off the computer, and upon rebooting, the anti-intruder program won't start.

Freaky!!

I mean, why my computer?? Maybe they're using it to engage in some illicit activity? I don't know, man. It's just scary. And with my possessed mouse, I'm avoiding the computer a bit more...all you people out there, install ZoneAlarm ASAP.

Going back to possession...this weekend I was listening to one of my favorite CD's, "Suenos Liquidos" by Mana. It was on really loud (to block out the pounding rain) in the car, and as the last track ended, I heard something I'd never heard before. It was a faint mumble (at nearly maximum volume), so I turned it up, and all of a sudden just knew that it was Satanic. I couldn't understand what it was saying, but there was something distinctly diabolical about it. OH MY. So all those other times I'd listened to "silence" not knowing that really it was Satan!! Eek...heebie jeebies, man.

Maybe there is something to the idea that Satan's constantly moving in on us, and we have to be awake and alert lest we get caught off guard.

On another note, I heard something interesting the other day. According to a new comparison, Abraham Lincoln was declared to be the most effective American President in history. The interesting part is that his wife, Mary Todd, was declared the most ineffective First-Lady in history, and considered by some to have severe psychological/emotional problems. Hmm...now there's a guy who didn't let circumstances get him down. In today's world of blameshifting and hiding behind the shortcomings of others, Abe's a tall drink of water in a top hat.