Kaptain Korea

Discount Tire and Blueprints

2011-08-03T22:09:00.002-04:00

Got new wheels today, but that wasn't the most exciting thing today. Well, it was, but how they came to be was actually very intriguing. I first went to Discount Tire in Mishawaka, IN about a week ago to get new tires since they had no treads on them what so ever, and I paid blah blah, and they were installing them. Then one of the guys came out and asked me to have a look at the wheels, they were bent and warped like no other. One of them was so badly damaged that it was leaking. Why? Pot holes in Lafayette.

Like seriously, anyone who's lived or visited knows how much neglected those roads are. So I had to get new wheels. I talked to a guy named Gary who I guess was one of the managers and he just told me to ride with the new tires for now and if I wanted, I could get new wheels. So I ordered them, a week later, they arrived.

Gary called me to let me know they arrived today and I made an appointment with him at 5:30pm and when I showed up, they promptly took my car into the bay, even though there were 10 other customers waiting. Instead of accepting all the business they can, they refused other business so they could serve the guy who made an appointment, which may or may not be special to some people, but to me, it's a rare business practice.

When they actually took it into the bay, they checked the wheel right out of the box, made sure it was defective free, made sure the tires fit snug, and they even checked the clearance for everything. Lots of extra work I wouldn't even have imagined. They were happy to offer any suggestions or opinions to make my wheels better. For instance, I wanted my Ford center caps instead of the aftermarket ones, but it didn't fit. So they came up with 50 different ways to put it on.

They didn't charge anything extra for using their other brand new tires for a week or anything.

Place might be called "Discount" Tire, but they sure do a damn good service. Check em out.

Question for my dark friends... why are you obsessed with Chrome Wheels? this guy wanted "something bigger than 20"" on his Dodge Nitro. When the tire guy asked what year his Nitro was

the guy said he didn't know. When the tire guy asked what model his Nitro was the guy said he didn't know. Quote "All I want is some 22" massive chrome wheels."

Why?

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So Jay Cutler, current Mr. Olympia, has a thing called "Blueprints" where he basically posts what kind of workout he did, and how he ate. He doesn't go into detail so that it's too much work for him, but he does put enough so you have a good idea what he does. I figured I would do the same.

So today is follows:

Milk with Optimum Nutrition whey, 4 egg whites, 2 eggs, half Lender's whole wheat bagel for the morning.

@ 9 am 1 scoop of ON Pro Complex

@noon, 1 5oz chicken breast, random mixed frozen vegi, and 1 Sante Fe whole wheat Tortilla with chicken hot sauce mmmmmmmmmmmm

@5pm 1 scoop of ON Pro Complex with 1/2 cup of Oatmeal

@workout 1.5 scoops of MuscleTech Whey, 2 servings of Gatoraid, 1 SuperPump Max

@Dinner, "Taste of Asia" in Mishawaka, IN. Awesome Thai food. I had the T10... which I forgot what the name was, but it's full of beef and vegis which spices.

@8pm, chicken, whole wheal tortilla and mixed leaf vegis.

@11pm, 1 cup of Greek Yogurt which I forgot the brand of, but it's really good.

For workout, I did 4x5 of squats, 4x5 of shoulder press, and 4x5 of dead lifts.

B to B

2011-07-28T09:20:00.001-04:00

B to B ratio? What does that mean for most people?

Boob to Belly Ratio.

Applies to both women and men. Scientists however have not come up with an optimal numerical number for such ratio, but are working with mice.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=B%20to%20B&defid=5445779

Yes, urbandictionary is the most legit, premier source for definitions. Is B to B a downgrading term to 'objectify' people? Perhaps. This is however one of the most important factors in your life. Yeah, one can argue looking good or 'hot' is something our society created to glorify a certain lifestyle etc, but in the end, there's a reason why society glorifies the good B to B ratio.

It's healthy.

A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine that looked at more than 350,000 people found that a large waist can nearly double your risk of dying prematurely -- even if your weight is "normal" (according to your body mass index, a measure of body fat based on height and weight).* Some people who don’t exercise but generally keep their overall body weight under control, for example, may have dangerous fat deposits around the abdomen.

An increasing body of evidence is now linking belly fat to other serious health risks, such as...

Cancer. Both men and women with higher percentages of belly fat are more likely to develop a variety of cancers, including malignancies of the colon, kidney and breast.

Dementia. In a study of 6,583 adults, the bigger the belly, the greater the risk for dementia.

Surprising finding: Among those of normal weight who had excess belly fat, dementia risk was 1.89 times higher than for those of normal weight who did not have excess belly fat.

Lung problems. Lung function is reduced in patients with higher stores of belly fat, possibly because of the higher secretion of lung-damaging inflammatory chemicals.

Diabetes. An apple-shaped fat distribution greatly increases the risk for insulin resistance (a condition in which the body’s cells don’t use insulin properly) and diabetes.

The risks are even higher in those who are sedentary. People who have lost muscle mass, as a result, take in less blood sugar (glucose), which is used as fuel -- further increasing diabetes risk.

Migraines. Researchers at Drexel University College of Medicine found that women with large amounts of belly fat were up to 30% more likely than lean women to suffer from migraine headaches.

So why not look good and not die in a hospital bed crying in pain at the same time? The thing that pisses me of the most is that people who comes up with excuses to not be healthy. Not because I care about your health, but if you get sick, you're just draining from society.

Regarding 6-Packs

2011-01-02T10:05:00.000-05:00

So while doing work, I keep hearing and reading about a great deal of misinformation being passed around. Even though I thought this was an obvious thing, apparently people believe everything on the internet, rather than simple logic.

You cannot gain 6 packs by "targeting" certain areas like a bodybuilder growing his left traps to compensate for his right side. Actually that isn't entirely true.

If you actually do a lot of good(keyword "good) ab workouts, then you actually will get a 6 pack (or 4 pack or 8 pack or etc depending on your genes), you just won't see it. Just like any other part of the body, if there is too much fat covering it, then it will be less visible. For instance, a man could have decently strong chest, but if he has too much body fat, he'll just look like he has moobs (man-breasts). This also applies to any part of the body, quads, biceps, shoulders, back, and etc.

The fact that ab muscles are one of the smaller muscles in the body doesn't help.

Also think about this, if you want to look "ripped," you actually do not need big muscles. You just need less fat. In fact, in any workout program, 70% to 80% of results come from your nutrition program. This doesn't mean you can neglect the other 25%, but it definitely makes it easier knowing how you can achieve your goals.

Here's another thing to consider which not many people may know, not even the so called personal trainers. If you want well defined abs, even without the fat, you need to do weighted ab workouts. Doing 100 crunches is the same thing as doing 100 bicep curls. It'll get you lean muscles and give you endurance, but it won't increase the size. Just like any other muscle, you will need to mix it up. It is however a smaller muscle, so doing more reps than other muscles will be easier on the growth of them.

So what does this mean? Forget about those 'articles' about doing particular activities to get those abs. There may be magical pills or magical surgeries, but without these risky methods, there is no natural way to get a "6 pack" easy. Doing 100 crunches is unpractical for any goal related to "showing" off the washboards. You need good nutrition, good weight losing workouts, and good ab specific activities to get the abs. A lot of work? Not really compared to some other body parts. If you're really wanting to get fit, you better be working just as hard on every other body part, otherwise, you'll look like those chickens(cause their legs are pathetic) with ILS(Imaginary lat syndrome) roaming around yelling "oh yeah, I'm a d-bag, oh yeah!"

New Years Resolutions

2011-01-01T12:20:00.000-05:00

First of all, if you have one involving workout, etc. Don't.

Screw you and stay out of my gym. Seriously. "Oh I'm doing it for my health" BS was a no go last year, the year before, during Christmas Dinner, during NYE boozefest last night, or this year.

The only REAL reason why any of you would ever stick going to the gym is if it's one of the following 10 reasons.

10. Swimsuit Season.
Just think of the first time you take your shirt off or put on a bikini this summer. Won't it feel great to know that everybody is looking at you? Won't it feel great I'm not calling you a fat sack?

9. Haters gonna hate.
Many of you know those people. You tell them that you are starting a workout program and they just roll their eyes. When people tell me they're going workout, eat healthier, or "want to look out for the future," I give them this genuine-looking face and tell them I will help them best of my abilities and then offer you some of my own and other's reading materials along with some maybe personal consultations all for free.
Why? Cause you're gonna give up, but you'll think I'm such an awesome guy for trying to help.
What if you proved me wrong? What if you me made feel like a douche for doing that? You probably won't.

8. I am Better than You.
Some of us were not born big. Some of us are actually pretty puny naturally. Don't you hate the fact that I can kick your ass? Yes, I know this is immature and doesn't really matter but let's be realistic. If you are a guy, this is one of the worst insults to your manhood.
We all know people who just act like they are better because they are buffer or more ripped. Why? It's cause they are buffer and more ripped. Imagine if you were the one walking around with ILS(Imaginary Lat Syndrome) or maybe even real lats. Maybe I won't call you a f... uh... small guy... everytime I saw you.

7. Being Strong!
One of the top reasons that people workout is to become strong. It just feels great when somebody asks you to open the bottle of ketchup instead her boyfriend.
Won't it be great to have people stare as you load the weight on for a heavy set of presses? Being able to smash weights onto bars and floors while looking like a jackass, but people won't say anything cause they can't even lift them up in the first place feels awesome. Also when you can actually lift yourself onto the monkey bars again after 15 years feels good when you can traverse them while at the same time kick 5 year olds off of it.

6. Feeling Good About Yourself.
We all know that you don't look much different after one week of working out. Isn't it weird though that you suddenly find yourself flexing in the mirror a lot more often?
You walk around just feeling better looking even if you haven't changed at all yet. This self confidence can extend itself to other parts of your life and make you an overall more successful person.

5. Feel Good When You Run Into Old Friends.
How many people can you name that gained a lot of fat almost immediately after high school or just last year? A lot. How many people can you name who are now in better shape? Not you. I know because I facebook stalked you.
We all love to gossip about how we ran into you and couldn't believe how fat you had become. His face was all pudgy and his body looked bloated.
Write down a few names of people you haven't seen in awhile who you will be happy to impress. A good list would include ex-girlfriends/boyfriends, people who used to look better than you and knew it, people from past sports teams that you were on... etc.

4. Succeed In Life.
If you have a job where you see new people often, this could be important. Better looking people have a better chance of getting the best jobs, getting promotions, making the sale and being respected.
This may not be morally right but it is true. We naturally trust good looking people. Many people also assume that fat and out of shape people are lazy, dumb, rude and untrustworthy. This is a reason why I don't look at you when I talk to you. Think about it.

3. Have The Dream Life!
Most people's idea of the perfect life would be to be rich, smart, good looking, buff, tan and happy. Obviously, you aren't, but bodybuilding can help you become better looking and muscular. Working out will help you have more energy and feel better about yourself.
These will naturally help you to be more successful in your career. Many people will assume you are smarter than others based on your healthy appearance. This can all bring you closer to living the life most people only dream about!

2. Going To The Gym Is Fun.
After you belong to a gym for awhile, you will get to know the people who work there or workout there. You will make friends with people who have your same interest. The gym becomes like a second home to many bodybuilders.
The feeling of lifting becomes an addiction to many bodybuilders. There is almost nothing better than squeezing out that last rep then walking around like you're the shit. The feeling of driving home afterwards knowing that you just ripped your muscles a new one is great. Your daily stress slowly fades away.

1. The Opposite Sex.
This is the number one reason most people start working out. They want to attract the best looking girls or guys. The first time a hot woman asks to feel your bulging bicep, you will know that every ounce of sweat and pain was worth it.

If the above 10 reasons aren't good enough reasons to get in shape and kick my butt, then I don't know how else you will.

Shit I hear from you.

2010-12-28T16:07:00.000-05:00

Stuff I hear from everyone from college students to everyone else. If you ever thought any of the below statement is valid, well, maybe you need to stay as a bag of lard. This is far from trying to explain to you no one is too busy to have a regular healthy life style. This is about mentality of laziness that plagues N. America.

"Why do you eat so healthy? You're not fat."

"All that protein stuff is gonna kill you."

People who load salads up with all kinds of dressing and say "This is healthy."

"Oh I would say lets go eat here, but that's probably too much calories for you."

"Oh it's ok, it's low fat/carb (while extremely heavy in the other)."

"Oh now I have to go the gym to work it off lol"

"There's so much fat in peanut butter, you shouldn't eat it."

"It's ok, olive oil is "good fat" and it won't make you fat"

"Pasta makes you fat."

"All you need is 50g of protein a day to build some "nice, lean muscle.""

"Whey is a steroid."

"Creatine is a steroid."

"Poptarts are healthy."

"It's ok, it's organic"

"I hate vegetables."

"There's sugar in fruit."

"Protein will give you Kidney Failure"

"Creatine will give you Kidney Failure"

"Stop taking that Protein Steroid powder."

"Man all that protein is going to make you fat"

"Dude did you know when you stop working out all your muscle turns into fat"

"I'm gonna start working out one day and turn this fat into muscle"

"It doesn't matter what and how much you eat, as long as you exercise"

"You have to live, you can't always deprive yourself of the good things in life!"

"I'm proud to be a 'big' woman."

"You might look better, but I'm just as healthy as you"

"I've tried dieting before and it doesn't work for me."

"I can't eat almonds that's too many points!"

"Don't eat too many carbs it will make you fat"

"I'm gonna do 50 reps with the 45 pound bar just too tone my muscle because, I don't want to get bulky. "

"Don't eat before you go to bed it will make you fat."

"I don't care that I'm overweight, I'm actually healthier than most skinny people."

"Dude, at your age you should only do cardio- all that muscle will turn into fat- look at Arnold now"

"You are going to do nothing but hurting yourself with that heavy of a weight- you should do more reps with lower weights and use machines to avoid injury"

"You eat too much protein."

"Your forearms are overdeveloped"

"You need a leg day, chest day, arm day, back day, shoulders day.

"You are wasting your time stretching."

"What are you trying to prove by working out so much?"

"Yeah, I don't feel like taking my preworkout so I'm not gonna workout."

"I have no motivation for this week, so I am not working out this week."

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What do I reply in kind always? "That's why you like you."

Whistling

2010-12-28T14:44:00.000-05:00

Let's talk about another thing college people may or may not do on a regular basis, or anyone else for that matter. As part of my series on active life style for college students, here's another contribution. More geared for the guys, rather than the gals.

Here are some of the questions that may pop in your head, but in the end, do it anyways.

"Whistling reduces your testosterone levels so you cant build muscle""Whistling depletes you protein reserves so you cant build muscle"
"Whistling will cause one arm to disproportionately large and muscular"
Sex drive is a result of testosterone, not the other way around so there is no reason why testosterone levels would ever go down. Yes, the excess from whistling may be mostly protein, but think about the amount of protein that leaves the body during whistling, maybe 5g, and compare that to the daily protein intake of a bodybuilder which is approx 200g. Another way to think about this, if this were true it would mean that no elite athletes would ever be allowed to have sex.

With all the money in pro sports, you can be sure that if there were any truth at all to this that coaches across the country would demand total abstinence from all their team members. The grain of truth that probably got these myths started comes from the fact that typically after release, the person is very relaxed/tired. High testosterone levels correspond with high fertility and increased sexual activity, it makes no evolutionary sense whatsoever that this sexual activity would weaken the body because the evolutionary goal is to produce as many strong offspring as possible.

Now what about this myth, "Whistling will cause one arm to disproportionately large and muscular". We all know how difficult it is to build muscle. If it were that easy to build arm muscles then everybody who wanted big Popeye-like arms would have them. If your arms are different sizes, whistling is not the reason. Very few people are symmetrical and it natural for their dominant arm to be larger, nothing you do for a few minutes a day will have any affect on the size of your arms.

Nutrition

2010-12-27T11:34:00.000-05:00

This is a write up which I wrote for a bunch of busy, lazy, frat guys who loves to drink, eat, and party. Hope this can apply to other college students and bums a like. I am a realist when it comes to weight management (note how I didn't use the word "loss.") People who write "drink more water, eat less sugar, walk more" are bunch of lazy bums who might as well hand out brochures from the local high school nursing station.

So here it is unedited:
I don't know who all in that room wanted to actually start on this thing, but I'm glad at least some of you guys wanted to live beyond 40 without a blood clot.

So basically I just went over basic nutrition and it follows a few simple rules.

-Nutrition is 60% to 70% of a healthy body, while 25% is working out, and rest are genes.
-Find out what you like (alcohol) and find out what you hate and make sure you account for them in your meal plan.
-Don't make a fixed plan or a short term goal, goal should be set for 6 months or longer. Preferably 1 to 2 years.
-Shit happens, but always stick to your goal. Having a long term goal allows for more flexibility for those 4 nights in a row binge drinking/eating.
-Socializing should not be associated with eating.
-Everybody is different, there's no single solution.
-It's a lifestyle change.

The more technical stuff:

1. Find out how many calories you need for your goal. Good website to calculate and keep track: http://caloriecount.about.com/ Kind of annoying to start up, but pays off in the long run. I use it whenever I want to get cut.

2. Vegetables - Low low low in calories, tastes like shit. I hate em, but your body needs them. All of you guys who said you have an energy problem. This is your solution. Remember, we're thinking long term, not short term spikes like coffee, soda, and energy drinks.

3. Whole wheat - Tons of fiber. Fills you up fast. Also lower in cholesterol.

4. Learn how to read nutrition labels. Look at what a serving is. Learn to compare.

5. When shopping, basic rule is just look at the fat content. Calories from fat should be 10% or less. Pretty easy rule. Why 10%? Cause when you freaking binge, the fat content from the other binge will be like 65%.

What do I eat?

6am: Cup of milk with 1 scoop (30g) protein powder.
7am: Workout / Protein Shake
9am: 1/2 Cup of Beans with salsa
12pm: Cup of Instant Oats, 1.5 scoop of protein powder with banana.
4-6pm: Dinner (More on this below)
9pm: Cup of Instant Oats, 1.5 scoop of protein powder.
12am: 6 eggs with salsa or 1/2 cup of cottage cheese or 2 cans of tuna with hot sauce and mustard.

Dinner Menu:

1) 1 Tilapia fillet, 1 cup frozen vegi, 1/4 brown rice, tons of salsa, spoonful of garlic pour all in pot, cook for 20 min.
2) 1 Medium Chicken Breast on Foreman G. 1 cup frozen vegi, 1/2 cup beans with salsa. Microwave vegi and beans.
3) 1/2 lb Beef Heart on Foreman G. 1 cup frozen vegi, 1/2 cup beans with salsa. Microwave vegi and beans.

So I end up having 6 to 7 meals a day. This is unrealistic for people who are just starting to change their meal plans. Do not attempt, rather start emulating.

Also, you do not need protein powder unless you have been weight lifting for a long time. My meals above are from years of evolution, but my point is, it is possible, even with a college life.

Not having time to change your meals or shit is BS. I cook once a day for my food, sometimes, I replace my dinner with another oats and protein combo. Cost? Look at the stuff I eat and think about the stuff you buy and eat out. Oatmeal is $6 for 6lbs. If you think about it, protein powder in the end isn't that expensive, but again, you don't need it unless you're lifting or want another convenient protein source.

Also, remember, I love drinking and I love eating bad food as much as you guys, but think about it this way. If you have bland, semi-okay tasting food for 6 days a week, imagine how awesome food will taste when you actually cheat.

I want you guys to check out this website: http://www.scoobysworkshop.com/index.htm

This guy is the guy that got me started on my journey from 280lbs to once 160lbs. (Now I'm 180, but I want to be 190lbs). Shitty website, but a ton of good info. Legit guy. Don't be intemidated by his body.

PLEASE PLEASE REMEMBER Nutrition is 60%to 70% of a healthy body, while 25% is working out, and rest are genes.

This doesn't mean you cannot workout. You still need the 25% to complete the picture.

Having muscles allows your body to function at a much higher energy level also.

If any of you want to learn your way around the gym, I would love to give you a tour of the gym to get you on a right start. Give me a call and I can start setting you guys up along with a full workout plan. This will require time dedication,

Give me an email back with all your questions and shit and I will try to help you guys individually if needed cause everyone's goals are different.

Feb 28/10 - Welcome to America

2010-03-01T00:59:00.000-05:00

Cici's. Now people are going to say this is why America is fat. Yes it's true, but for a guy like me who needs carbs for his workout, this place is freaking amazing.

$4.00 and you can have ALL the pizza you want. Only in America.

Feb 27/10 - Delight on a Dinner Plate

2010-03-01T00:57:00.000-05:00

6/7 Dinners a week. $11/10lbs frozen chicken - Foreman Grilled. Frozen Vegi - Microwaved. Secret Spicy Sauce. Drink.

459 Cals
5g Fat
50g Carbs
51g Protein

This costs what? $2.50 a meal I think? For a tight budget and a itchy PAY-WITH-VISA-NOW finger, it's what I live on. I'll post what my breakfast is, along with my lunch later.

Feb 26/10 - Future of Purdue

2010-03-01T00:56:00.000-05:00

EPOD, the future of Purdue and the future of me. It stands for Electric Purdue On Demand and it's basically a two to four man autonomous vehicle that will replace a lot of the public transportation infrastructure. I'm on the manufacturing team which basically puts together the whole thing. Right now we're done up to the chassis, but I think we might have to remodel the whole thing since the steering motor is very hard to access. That's my opinion.

Anyways, this thing is the way of the future, not only Purdue. Although it would be pretty hard to implement this on a non-campus environment, I think we're on to something big here.

Going to be unveiled at the 2012 Super Bowl.

Feb 25/10 - Spring?

2010-03-01T00:51:00.000-05:00

Lonely walk back from ECON... then the sun was out... for the first time in 3 months.

According to a friend, Calgary is warming up faster than Indiana. I'm not going to complain too much since it's not -30F like last year, but I think complaining makes me feel better.

Feb 24/10 - I hate Indiana:

2010-03-01T00:50:00.000-05:00

Even Canada doesn't put this sort of injustice on my lady.

For some reason even when it's 10 degrees Celsius warmer here, Indiana feels 10 degrees colder than Canada.

I haven't been updating my blog recently because I was extremely busy. Busy doing what? Procrastinating. That's what.

10000% Daily recommended B12

2010-02-23T01:12:00.000-05:00

Just got it in the mail along with my few new 'diet' supplements. Yeah, I'm trying to lose weight. Except this fucking chugging a fifth of rum a night isn't helping. Not that I chug a fifth of rum. Think of it more like a figure of speech. Anyways, this DynoPep claims to be 10x more power for 10 hours. I saw commercials for 5 hour energy which I thought was ridiculous, but then this stuff comes in the mail. Now from the people who take 5 hour energy, they said they don't feel any side effects. Is this true? How can something that keep you going for 5 hours not affect you in any way? I'm no M.D. or biomed, but from my engineering point of view, for anything, there's an equal and opposite reaction. My rule of thumb is, if it's 5 hour energy, you die 5 hours faster. I know what for sure because whenever I drink some energy drink, I don't go number 2 for 48 hours. Yeah, I feel a horrible pain in my stomach, but it never comes out.

This stuff that came in the mail today... am I going to take it? I don't know, probably. I'm Asian I don't waste stuff. I guess I'll find out after I get my second heart attack.

Tough Love

2010-02-22T22:20:00.000-05:00

Nothing much to mention here except what to define hazing as? Hazing in technical terms have it something someone or some group has to do except no one else. So if a pledge class wants to have their own dinner, that's probably hazing too? Yeah I get the point of the whole campaign against hazing, but sometimes it's to the point where there's no fun. I was a pledge just less than a year ago and I remember not being able to do by anything by ourselves. Another happy little double standard in our life.

2010-02-21T03:21:00.000-05:00

Here's the thing. I started doing a "PoD" on facebook which is basically a photo of the day where I take new photos with my new camera, Canon SD1200IS, and then post one... that I feel like. I feel like actually doing this will help me ideas for blogs too. I think daily blog entries start today.

So the above one is basically from the gym on the 'vag' machine. My friend David is actually on the machine using it, and Christian is spotting him. Yeah, a male entity shouldn't have touched it since the dawn of time, but I swear some guys just go on it just to rub against some 'residue.' I tried it and maxed it out. It just means I have strong muscles in there...

Now here's the thing about this. Girls will look at you weird, almost like if you were raping someone if you were to jump on this machine if you were male. If girls jump on a bench press or something, it's freaking hot. Yeah, girls that turn me on are fit, smart, and curious. Anyways, there's this whole thing about being inappropriate about jumping on a 'girls only' machine which bugs me. Just like everything else in life. Like for instance, this month is black history month. Okay that's nice, even though announcing diversity just makes people separate more. So there's a Latin history month, a Woman's month, and blah blah blah. Where's a the male Caucasian month? Don't get me wrong, I'm Asian and I've seen it all. I've lived in five different countries. Lived, not visited. This whole thing comes down to a trickle effect. A certain minority are given the spotlight, yet racism is denied. This gym machine has a certain vibe where only girls can be touch it. I complain about this quite often (not the gym equipment) and that's that. Racism is inevitable. Everyone is just plain racist. I'll more on this later.

1984

2009-08-23T02:08:00.000-04:00

Just a simple essay I wrote up in high school about the most dull, but most fascinating novel I've ever read.

“Freedom is Slavery” - Nineteen Eighty-Four

Life of mankind is all from the mistakes we have made. From the horrors of World War Two to the scientific theory of Darwin, it is proven that men are always bound to mistakes and to advance, men must make mistakes. Mistakes are what drives us and what warps us into the beings we are today. George Orwell with his novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, hits dead on the basic nature of human beings. The year 1949, when he wrote his novel, is the very year the Cold War and the Iron Curtain engulfed the world and a nuclear war was imminent. Even though the Second World War was a mere half a decade ago, it seems men once again did not fully learn the mistakes of war and aggression. Orwell on the other hand fully understood the concept of mistakes and how not to make them. He was able to penetrate into the future with the observations he had made and came up with this.

“Freedom is Slavery”

Though in his novel it is used as propaganda by the antagonist faction to reduce the population into thinking that having too much liberty is restraining, as of today, it is an irony. The freedom of thought, the freedom of speech, and the freedom of doing as one pleases is now destroying the very thing men practice and enjoy, freedom. Freedom of speech has created the opportunity for men to express themselves as they wish. On the other hand, men may now preach the speech of hate against another individual all under the name of freedom. It is very possible that Orwell knowingly made the very quote for an evil communist regime of his time and at the same time for a mostly democratic world of today. This means the idea of freedom, which millions of men and women had died trying to raise and protect, is self destructing. Men learn from their mistakes, but the rate of comprehension varies.

The Theory of Evolution of Darwin has shown again and again that men are not so different from other creatures even with all their morals and ethics. When an animal finds no need for a particular object, whether it be their fangs or the weakest of their kind, animals will abandon it: the survival of the most adaptable. Men also try to abandon the negative drag. When the world saw the horrors of genocide and war crimes, the United Nations was formed to fight it. When men saw the need for freedom for all individuals, they laid their lives down for it. However, there is a new generation who hasn’t seen the horrors of genocide, the horrors of war crimes, nor had to fight for their rights and freedom.

The new generation does not understand what had to be taken away to obtain the freedom. Abuse and rape of the concept is far and wide in the modern world. One protesting another’s idea turns violent and results in injury and death such as the ones at the G8 summits. Religious men and women show up at funerals of dead soldiers and picket, claiming they “died for fags.” Many politicians or even ordinary people will say and do anything to destroy the reputation, respect, and integrity of other honorable men just to feed off from the popularity. Freedom is no longer freedom. As Orwell said, “freedom is slavery.” Again, men have made the mistake of giving out freedom liberally to those who do not understand the value of it.

A novel, Starship Troopers by Robert Anson Heinlein, depicts the idea that voting is only reserved for the “citizens” in the future. To become a “citizen,” all one must do is to serve in the armed forces for a set period of time. Juxtaposing this idea to the modern world would sound like a military dictatorship, but because men seem to have made a mistake, in the future, it is very likely freedom won’t be so free. Heinlein states that although the freedom of speech and freedom of thought is mostly retained, only those who know the price of freedom may vote. Orwell would’ve agreed and I would agree no less.

Evolution changes men and men learn from change. Freedom is certainly an ideal which is glamorous and beautiful, but nothing is free in this world. The past has taught men that freedom is important equally to all of mankind, but at the same time, men had made more mistakes. The new generation who hasn’t seen the horrors and treachery must know the price it took or all the million of lives lost would count for nothing. There is no other reason why Nineteen Eighty-Four, though it’s one of the dullest novels I read, it’s my favorite. Like an engineer, Orwell has dissected and rebuilt the brains of not only men in his days and the men of today. One day, I hope I can be at least as half of him.

C. S. Lewis

2009-08-23T01:43:00.000-04:00

Below is an essay I wrote for my Engl 106 class in Purdue.

Basically, we read "Mere Christianity" and was told what we thought about it. After I handed in the essay, I was accused of cheating and engaging in plagiarizing. I asked the prof where she though I stole from... she said she had no clue. She also did not want to read my high school essays to compare.

She also said it was something a professional writer would write. =/

I think she was just angry cause I took some shots at religion... while if you read carefully, I was just attacking CS Lewis, not religion itself.

So here it is... take a look.

(It has grammar errors and such that I did not edit)

Jung Kim
Lewis Response Assignment
English 106
March 17, 2009

Summary:
The “Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe” remarks not only on the Law of Human Nature, Right and Wrong, and the Moral law, but also articulates how Materialists and the Religious interpret such ideals and how one should expect from each of them. As C.S. Lewis introduces each ideal, he is careful to build up a logical structure that humans do not invent the above ideals, but are rather driven by it. The driver in this case is a Director, a Guide, a Matter, or a God. Yet, God is not reflected in a favorable light; God in Christianity is propagated as quote, “hard as nails,” and “tells you the straight thing and it does not seem to care how painful, or dangerous, or difficult it is to do.”
However, C. S. Lewis does not want to present God in a “religious jaw.” The foundation for his argument for God and Christianity is built up from explaining how the Law of Human Nature functions. Law of Human Nature is explained as the sense of right and wrong which is an instinct that has been implanted, not something that needs to be learned. Yet, mankind is able to disobey these laws unlike the laws of nature which deals with hard science components. Lewis goes to say everybody has an opinion about everything. In the general public, the opinion may be right, may be wrong, but in the end, it’s the person who makes the call whether it is right or wrong. On the flip side, because there are no set terms on what the Laws are, people will bend it, braid it, and swivel it to make excuses as to why they did something wrong knowingly.
Likewise with the Law of Human Nature, C.S. Lewis uses the notion that the Moral Law is just another herd instinct. It is also another law where it does not have to be obeyed. He brings up the law of gravity where the stone will always fall, but everyone else other than the stone did not know of its real intent. The Moral Law is what one is ought to do not, what one had intended to do. This then translates into Lewis’ claim that science observes the after effects, not the intent. By observing from the outside, one is not able to identify such Moral Laws, however because we are men, we know.
The observations and interpretations of the Law of Human Nature, Right and Wrong, and the Moral law are divided into two factions. The Materialist and the Religious are introduced as two views that were held for a very long time and that the other hasn’t gradually taken its place. Whenever thinking men are involved both views are always brought up. Yet, science cannot prove or disprove God because of the fact that scientists are only noting the after effects. No matter how advanced science may become, even if it knew every single thing in the whole universe, the question of why would still exist. In the end, real scientists do not make either claim; rather it’s the journalists and popular novelists who instigate the debate.
The debate, according to Lewis, is settled by stating that quote, “a Something is which is directing the universe, and which appears in me as a law urging me to do right and making me feel responsible and uncomfortable when I do wrong.” The Something does not necessarily have to be alive, rather it could be just matter. He does not intentionally state the Something or Someone is from the Bible or the Churches. The two proofs of this Someone is based upon the creation of universe and the Moral Law which He has put into mankind.
Analysis and Evaluation:
C. S. Lewis makes a very structured sequence of arguments and logical expressions to prove his point, yet at times his logic skips over other possibilities. The logical structure of his writing also gives a very easy step by step understanding to the user while at the same time, Lewis is able to implant his ideas right to the point. He makes sure his ideas are not taken lightly by understanding a casual reader’s prejudice such as him pointing out the “Religious Jaws” of texts. However, he also abuses the idea that general population all thinks the same. In addition, he sets up situations where there is only one possible outcome out of a certain situation, even though it is very well possible if there was even a slight variation, the outcome would certainly be different.
The outcome of his five chapters is that God exists. He starts this conclusion off by commenting on the Law of Human Nature. How people define it, how people should define it, and how people respond to it. He first gives examples of how people define standards of human nature. “Leave him alone, he isn’t doing you any harm.” – “Come on, you promised.” The quotes that he uses in the very first paragraph give the reader an immediate understanding of the subject that C.S. Lewis dives into. Then he goes to explain what he exactly meant by the examples. As such in this case, these quotes were used to personify the expectation of standards of the educated, the uneducated, and the children as well as grown-ups. He then uses this as a foundation to build up to his argument that people expect others to have an agreement of what Right and Wrong are.
As his arguments are built up, he raises counter arguments for his own gain. Chapter two of C.S. Lewis’ work is even titled “Some Objections.” The objection to morality being instinct is encouraged yet, at the same time, Lewis states it’s actually not instinct; Moral Law is what judges which instinct is right. He creates his own tug-of-war in his writing, but in the end, all the kinks and wrinkles are smoothed out to expose the reader what his argument is and how it is fool proof.
Once his foundation is fully solidified, he goes on to build more and more on top of it. Yet, the foundations are shaky when he goes on to abuse certain prejudices. In his conclusion Lewis states the only thing mankind can do when they need to be let off, or made an exception, we would turn to God. This is not true, for example, a Materialist, one who does not believe in such religious ideals, would not turn to God because God simply does not exist. God is not the only answer for him. He also assumes all Materialist would have to believe in some sort of standard for human being, and there for they must believe in God. This is a nice step by step approach, but if a Materialist doesn’t believe in a standard, then what?
It is one thing to assume certain people believe in certain morality, it is another to declare everyone will fall under the same shelter. Despite his occasional pure assumptions based on his opinion, C.S. Lewis does use his writing skills amazingly to construct his arguments and wring out the counter arguments. He’s able to pick up what the general audience wants to hear and wants to think. In the end, to the general audience his arguments are entertainable and solid.
Response:
C.S. Lewis constructs excellent and what seems to be a fool proof argument for his idea that there is a power behind everything that humans do. Yet, there is a point in his argument where there seems to be fractures and splinters that he did not fill on. Although he does make a good brick by brick analysis of not only his argument, but also the counter arguments, at one point, he just fills an empty void with a truck load of cement.
The main argument he presents for the reader is that the Law of Human Nature, Right and Wrong, and the Moral Law are not identified by science, there for an external power, God is guiding mankind. Just like observing a stone falling, science can only conclude the stone fell to the ground but not what it ought to do. When others view mankind from the outside, they can only say what we did, not what we ought to do. When humans commit an act outside of their standard protocol, they will come up with an excuse. There for, Lewis concludes only God was able to enact such a ‘force’ behind the Law of Human Nature. He then brought up the materialists. Materialists “think that matter and space just happen to exist, and always have existed, nobody knows why; and that the matter, behaving in certain fixed ways, just happened, by a sort of a fluke, to produce creatures like ourselves who are able to think.” Why can’t the Law of Human Nature follow the exact path?
Why do we prosecute criminals? Why do we war and why do we hold peace? Why is the Nazi ideal so bad? Is this the result of a divine force? Even with Lewis’ logic, there is a deep flaw here. From a materialist point of view, a divine force would not be practical since science can neither prove nor disprove it. The Law of Human Nature could just be passed down from generation to generation of human mistakes their understanding of the consequences. It is as simple as that. Mankind in modern day tries to avoid war at all costs since the costs are extremely high. How do they know the cost is high? World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and any other conflict would show human lives have been lost, people felt sorrow, politicians lost power, and economies were devastated. Yet, mankind also battles and draws blood even with such past consequences. Economies are boosted, resources are gained, politicians gain power, religion is crushed, and people are converted.
The Law of Human Nature is whatever the human thinks is necessary to preserve themselves, just like any other animal who duels to the death for a mate, humans too duel others to better themselves. A student in a university gets a ‘C’ in a math exam and thinks to himself that he should study harder. Not because there is a divine intervention, but rather because he knows that if he doesn’t get a better grade, he won’t have a good GPA, resulting in less of a chance of getting a job. However, the student decides he’ll study later, puts it off, and goes out partying. He just violated the Law of Human Nature. Yet, at the same time, he probably learned earlier that parties were fun and that it stimulated his brain releasing his happy cells. He still followed the Law of Human Nature.
Lewis then brings up the Moral Law. A law that is given by the example of the question “Why ought I to be unselfish” and our reply is “Because it is good for society,” then a question is asked “Why should I care what’s good for society except when it happens to pay me personally?” and the supposed answer is “Because you ought to be unselfish,” which supposedly goes into a loop. The real answer to “why ought I to be unselfish” could be because it is good for society, but Lewis also asks what if it doesn’t necessarily affect you personally. From past events humans learned that cooperative work will advance mankind further, will protect itself as individuals and as groups. Men have seen the results of such cooperation and they will attempt to replicate it. They have seen that harming others will grow ill feelings towards them and when the tables have turned, there is a good chance they will not help them or even hinder them further. The word “selfish” is a negative word, but it’s only because humans have learned that others will return in favor. There is no “ought to be” something. It’s just what was done because they felt at that time it would benefit them the most.
Another case is such when the Nazi rule, along with their Nazi morality was taken down. The Allies did not attack Nazi Germany because they thought Jews being prosecuted were bad things. They didn’t agree with the Nazi’s policy with the Jews, but they attacked Germany simply because Germany attacked them first for land, not for morals. The United States did not enter a war against Germany; they entered a war against Japan, which the Germans at that time were an ally to the Japanese. The question of morality was not an issue. It was purely for land grabs, purely for political power, and purely for resources. Why did they then prosecute the remaining German leaders for crimes against humanity? The better question was why weren’t the Allies’ war leaders prosecuted for burning whole German and Japanese cities to the ground with women and children? Why wasn’t the United States prosecuted for nuking two major cities, destroying thousands of innocent lives in seconds, and hundreds more for tens of years after? The German leaders were prosecuted because first of all, the Allies could. They named crimes such as the acts committed in concentration camps. The Allies would not prosecute the United States because after the war, the United States was the sole remaining super power shortly before the U.S.S.R settled. You just don’t mess with the bigger guy unless you had something to gain.
The bigger guy, God, in Lewis’ writing, has no relevance to any of the above Laws of Human Nature. As he said, science can neither prove nor disprove the existence of God. There is no need for God, except in one particular case. When people fall in hard times, they want something to fall back to, something they can plead an excuse with, and something they can just turn their why into answers. This does not prove there is a God. It is something that particular people want, perhaps even need, but how does wanting something just appear? Once these humans follow the Law of Human Nature, it can only be accepted that God was created by man to please these needs and wants. C.S. Lewis is able to build what seems to be a solid foundation for his argument, but in the end, there are seams. He neglects to answer his own questions of why. Why people do the things they do. He puts out one situation with numerous constraints and expects one answer. Yet, the question of why will still remain as in the case of, “why is there a universe?” “Why does it go on as it does?” and “Has it any meaning?” Even if science is fully developed, those questions along with the existence of God will remain, but trying to prove the existence of God with the Law of Human Nature is silly at best.