Do Universities Discriminate against Asian-Americans?

Some like to joke that an A- is an “Asian Fail”.  And pretty much most of this attitude comes from the experience of going home proud with an A- to Mom & Dad, only to be greeted with a “How come not an A?”

Well, it turns out that Asian parents might not be as harsh as they are dealing with reality.  Some believe that when it comes to admissions into elite universities, Asian-Americans are at a disadvantage; when you compare to their test scores, there should be way more AA’s in these universities than there are presently.  And that, on the average, AA’s need to score an average of 140 pts higher on the SATs in order to be on par with similar non-AA applicants.

This is far from an open and shut case though.  I thought this debate was an interesting foray into the discussion.

Do Universities Discriminate against Asian-Americans?: Forum | KQED Public Media for Northern CA
http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R201003261000

What would I do if I had more time?

So I’ve been recently feeling way busier than I usually do.  A big reason is because now we have 3 kids and, really, I’m not gonna ignore them the moment I get home.  At the same time, despite our efforts, they love hanging out with us so much that they sleep pretty late.  I’m accustomed to working in the evenings, but since my wife now can’t handle all the kids alone (cus we’ve got 3), the whole working in the evening thing has been falling to the wayside.  It’s just the way it is.  (Okay, the fact that I’m getting older probably plays a hand in all this too, and my capacity/energy level is shrinking…)

But the question recently came to my mind…even if I had more time, what would I do with it?

I’ve been noticing through my FB feeds that a lot of church leaders are heading in a direction where they’re not only leading in their churches, but they’re leading movements that transcend the confines of the proverbial church walls.  Initiatives relating to poverty, sex trafficking, leadership development, church planting, etc.  My senior pastor’s the same way.

And so, being as self-absorbed as I am, it made me wonder:  What would I do?

No answer yet.

This Friday can seem distant in this Modern world

I should be the last person to poo-poo modern life. Far from being a naturalist, I’m a man of the great indoors. I enjoy a comfortable bed, functional indoor plumbing, a fast computer, and being to travel what used to be considered long distances because of cars.

But today, I feel the oppression of modern living. Although, as Christians, we call this Friday ‘good’, it is only good because we have seen the ending. It is only good because we have been given the privilege of seeing behind the curtain to what God saw. And so, on this Good Friday, I think the most meaningful response–before all the truly worthwhile celebration–is to pause. To pause to remember the pain, to remember the abandonment, to remember the sacrifice. And to let that pausing be our gratitude. To let that pausing be our worship. To let that pausing be our response to this mind-boggling act of love.

And the oppression I feel isn’t so much the evil that surrounds me, although that is always there. It is the unrelenting pace of this world. It is the constant demand to go-go-go. It is the whip of this world. But it is also an impulse that has been internalized into the very rhythm of our souls. The brand of modernity, seared into our insides.

Who has time to reflect when there’s so much work to be done? Who has time to pray when we have video games, TV shows, and Facebook walls to occupy our time? Who has time to remember when there never seems to be a convenient time anyways? Oh the oppression!

And if you think I’m poo-pooing others. Think again, because I am speaking about myself. But today isn’t a day of self-flagellation–I’m not into that anyways. It’s a day to pause to think about my Lord, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross and all the shame therein. To pause with all creation, to remember when all the world dimmed to its darkest at the murder of it’s Creator, even if few people noticed.

Cafe Nomad

I sometimes forget how odd my daily life must appear to people because I am, for lack of a better term, a cafe nomad.

The first difficult decision I have to make each morning is: Which cafe am I going to today? That may sound pretty stupid to most people because usually, it’s really about what you want to drink or where’s most convenient. But for nomads, in addition to those factors, we also think about where we feel we’d be most productive for that day, is it nearby where I want to eat for lunch, will it be crowded, has the wifi been reliable, etc.

This probably explains why I’ve pretty much given up on my anti-Starbucks posture. Because, frankly, in a suburb like ours, you can’t really be too nomadic if you aren’t willing to go into a Starbucks. And this is coming from someone who considers Safeway an acceptable place to work from (they have free wifi). But I will not go to Panera. You’ve gotta have some standards.

Even in my youth…

I think it’s fitting that these days, some of the most prominent faces we see in the media are faces that aren’t much older than mine. People used to say that we’re a culture that worships youth. Well, we’re now a culture where it seems like it takes youth to succeed. And I think this is all a lot more “in your face” here in Silicon Valley, where if you’re not a millionaire by the time you’re 30, you’re a failure (okay, that’s changed a bit over the last coupla years).

So most of my friends and I are in places that, probably in previous generations, were the privileged space of older folks. Not old, just older. VPs, Project Mgrs, Dept. Heads, Sr. Pastors, etc. And I think it’s great that we have these opportunities, while still in our youth, to make impacts that previous generations weren’t able to.

At the same time, I think there are times when I feel like youth can serve as much a liability as it is an asset. Over the last few years, I think I’ve come to realize that there are just some experiences that I just don’t have, stuff that I can’t just muster up through the masterful powers of my young mind and energy. I’ve come to realize that as someone who’s young(er), I’ve failed to have sufficient experience with, well, failure, for example.

One of the very prominent patterns in the Old Testament is when men show more charisma than they have wisdom.  This basically sums up much of the book of Judges.  But you also see it in King Solomon in his younger years.  And all of them ended in shambles.  What a terrible way to go.

So on this Friday, here’s three cheers to humility, wisdom and patience.  Three things that I wish I had.

Jumping back in

I used to blog all the time. As in at least daily. That was years ago. The reasons…well, I’m not sure it was a 100% conscious choice. But that’s another story.

But I’d like to jump back in, not because I miss the intellectual exhibitionism, but because I miss having the same level of creative conversation as I enjoyed years back when I was more e-prolific.

So with that somewhat unnecessary preface, the thing that’s been on my mind for a while is the changing cultural landscape of suburbia. And more specific to that, it makes me think of how that impacts how we envision what a follower of Jesus would like like in this emerging suburbia…as well as what does outreach/mission look like in this changing landscape?

I used to hear people bash suburbs all the time as this disgustingly vanilla mass of homogeneity, of settled boredom, and whatnot. And hey, there’s still some truth to that. But in my corner of suburbia, I’ve noticed an accelerating “urbanization”. First of all, in the Tri-City alone, 80-120 different languages are represented. There are very few good “American” restaurants, but we have amazing Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Mexican, Afghan, Filipino cuisine, among others. And within those cuisines, there is rather broad range of diversity. Second, there is a much greater mixture of low-income and high-income than most people realize. From my house, for example, a 1-minute drive will take me to both the most expensive as well as the most dilapidated low-income house in the city. My local Safeway plaza is quite literally every bit as diverse in every sense as any urban public space I’ve been in. Third, with a constant influx of new residents from other parts of the state, nation, and the world…and residents who are commuting to Silicon Valley, SF, and often times travelling abroad quite frequently, we have a population of people who have an increasingly larger worldview. Fourth, city planners are trying to re-craft suburban life more into high density centers, modeled after urban living. Near my house, for example, the plan is to create a city center that has four major public transit hubs, downtown-style retail, business space, apartments, lofts, parks, library, and other shopping stuff all together within walking distance of each other. I could go on, but you probably get the picture.

Back to my point, I think that there are challenges and opportunities in the life of a disciple that we don’t often explore. But I haven’t had that many people to think through this idea with, so I’m not really sure what those things are.

And I think that evangelism in this context is incredibly challenging. But, again, something that is rarely addressed because most talk on evangelism either assumes you’re a hip city-dwelling bohemian…or a boring clone in a homogeneous suburb.

Looking for more interesting conversation…

My turkey recipe

This is from 2005, reposted for anyone who’s in charge of turkey this year, but needs a recipe.  The only things I would add to this post:  (1) If it all possible, use a Foster Farm turkey.  It’s more expensive, but it’s worth it.  And this recipe won’t work for kosher turkeys, which have been salted already (or you can use a kosher turkey if you want to skip the brining, but what fun is that?).  I’ve never tried Butterball, which of course, claims to be the juiciest of the bunch.  Whatever you get, at a minimum, make sure its Grade A certified (most supermarket ones are).  (2)  I just saw that Safeway sells the “Poultry Bouquet” which is mentioned here.  Use 2 or 3 packs.  Grab an extra to use as an aromatic for the carcass while roasting; just soak it first.  These herbs are mild, so its okay to go a little overboard.  The most important herb in this recipe is sage.  (3)  Thermometer alarms are easily obtainable at Bed Bath & Beyond.  (4)  I learned from ATK that various brands of kosher salts vary in salinity (1/4 cup table salt = 1/2 cup Diamond Crystal kosher salt = 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Morton kosher salt).  I use Morton.

Here it is, from Nov 21, 2005:

I used to complain about two things about Thanksgiving turkey:  (1) it was too dry and (2) there was never enough gravy–Cantonese=lots of gravy.  Because my parents own a small business, every Thanksgiving we’d make several turkeys for a company lunch.  Like the “teacher who got tired of getting sick” who then formulated Airborne, I got tired of the dry turkey.  So after some FoodNetwork, internet research, and some trial and error, I’ve finally settled on doing turkey in a way that makes me happy.  I’m certain there are better methods out there (e.g., stuffing herbed butter in between the skin and breast!), but in my experience, this is the juiciest and most flavorful turkey I’ve had…and no basting!

People sometimes ask me what’s my “secret”.  I don’t really think there is a secret.  But I would highly recommend a roasting rack and a thermometer alarm.  The roasting rack allows for the heat to circulate over the entire turkey which helps it cook more evenly and gives a crispier skin.  Plus, it keeps the bottom from getting all soggy and soaking up all the drippings.  The thermometer alarm is a godsend.  It’ll notify you the moment you hit the target temperature.  Just make sure you follow the directions because it can give you an incorrect reading if used incorrectly.

Also, I used to think that it didn’t matter what brand of turkey you bought.  I usually just buy the cheapest I can get and it’s turned out great.  But I just made a turkey from Foster Farms that I bought from Costco.  It was amazing.  Very plump, fresh skin, just an overall very healthy turkey–no pizza in this turkey’s diet.  I’m sure if you bought organic it would be a completely different turkey in much the same way free range chicken has a totally different taste than even a Foster Farms chicken would have.  Anyways, here’s my recipe.

Ingredients:
1   turkey (14-16 lbs)
canola oil
For the brine:
1.5 cups kosher salt (iodized salt ok, just use a little less)
0.75 cup brown sugar, light preferred
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 gallon vegetable stock (or water)
1 gallon iced water
handful of thyme
handful of rosemary
handful of sage
handful of marjoram
(Or “Poultry Bouquet” has all of these herbs, available at some Albertson’s produce section)
For gravy:
4 tbsp butter
6 tbsp flour
2 cans chicken stock
1 cup red wine (optional)
2 bay leaves

Supplies:
baking pan with roasting rack
aluminum foil
whisk
a few pairs of disposable plastic gloves (reduces handwashing)
thermometer (electronic thermometer alarm even better!)
5 gallon bucket

Defrost the turkey.  A fully frozen turkey usually takes two days to defrost outside of fridge.  Another day or two to defrost in the fridge.  Don’t let the turkey defrost to room temperature, though.  You always want it cold–just not frozen.

The day before Thanksgiving, bring all the brine ingredients except for the iced water and herbs.  After boiling, take it off the stove, throw in the herbs and let them steep.  After the brine cools, place it in the refrigerator.  You want your brine ice cold.

Early on Thanksgiving (or late the night before), combine the brine and the iced water into the bucket.  Place the rinsed turkey in the brine for about 6 hours.  It’s okay to keep the neck and guts in there.  Cover the bucket and place it in a cool place–refrigerator if you have room.  Turn the turkey once through, halfway.

At roast off, preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  Take out the turkey, discard the brine, and rinse the the bird.  Pat dry and coat the turkey liberally with oil–this will give it a nice color and crispy skin.  Place the turkey in the roasting rack and pan and put it on the lowest rack of the oven.  Roast for 30 minutes.  This step kick starts the cooking, seals in the juices, and make the turkey look delicious.

In the meanwhile, heat the butter over medium-high heat.  After it’s heated, add in the flour and whisk until it becomes like clay.  This is the roux which will be used for the gravy.  Keep whisking until the roux until it has a slight roasted nutty smell, but don’t burn it!  After it’s done, cool to room temperature or below.

After roasting at 500 degrees for 30 minutes, take the turkey out and cover up the entire breast with a double layer of foil (coat the underside of the ‘foil bra’ with butter if you want!).  This is a modest turkey.  Wrap the tips of the wings too, if you want.  Insert the thermometer probe into the thickest part of the breast (but don’t touch any bone or other non-meaty thing).  Reduce the oven to 350 degrees and put the turkey back in.  Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees (just right) or 165 degrees (less red, but a little overcooked).

Unfortunately, I’ve had turkeys cook anywhere from 1 to 2.5 hours total.  It really depends on the quality of the bird, its temperature upon roasting, and how well calibrated your oven is.  On the average, it’s taken me about 1.5 hours.  After roasting, lightly cover the turkey with foil.  It’ll continue cooking and its internal temperature will rise for the next 15 minutes.  For carving a turkey, Food Network has the best video demo.  Just remember, this is a really juicy turkey, so cut it in something that can catch all the au jus.  Don’t let this Cantonese man catch you wasting all that au jus!

For the gravy, skim off all the oil from the pan drippings.  In a saucepan, heat up the drippings and excess juices, bay leaves, and red wine; reduce drippings by half over medium-high heat.  Whisk in the roux.  Add chicken stock to the desired thickness.  Most people like gravy when it coats the back of a spoon.  Remember that gravy thickens as it cools.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Happy Thanksgiving!