The finest coffee in the land...well...another land..

...then imported here...actually...I had to go back to Florida to get it because I missed it so...

Ethiopian Yergacheffe from the Coffee Beanery

I can't find the franchise here in New Jersey, but I imagine it's here. This roast basically powered me through my graduate school application process. Don't ask me what I paid for it. I aspire to be a connoisseur of all the fine coffees of the world one day.

Voltaire drank 50 cups of coffee a day...

Back in Black

I'm back from my sojourn back to the motherland (Florida). I got my tan back and now I know that as long as my parents have Kairali and Surya, they won't even notice I'm gone.

God is Good!!!

Apparently I have been awarded the CAIT (Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation) Fellowship. My professor notified me via email on Monday morning. This means I should really work on my thesis (description forthcoming) this Summer and not just scrawl it out on a napkin the morning it's due. Check me out at my spiffy (but also hot and smelly) office in the Rutgers Civil Engineering Building, room 116.

Wedding fun!

So I'm in Florida right now and my internet access is off and on. The wedding this past weekend was great. Here's my fantabulous best man speech, which I happened to type up on my laptop at around 4:30am the morning of the wedding:

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Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

I'd like to introduce myself. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Steve Kurian. For those of you who do know me, well I apologize.

I wasn't really quite sure why Aju picked me to be his best man. There are five of us friends who grew up back in Tampa together, all of whom you could say were just as close to one another as any group of brothers, biological or otherwise. The best reason that I could think of for Aju choosing me to be his best man was that I'd be able to say the most about him while also doing the least amount of irreparable damage.

I grew up with Aju back in our hometown of Tampa, Florida. And, for one adventure-filled year, I was also his college room-mate.

When Aju first told me that he and Anu were getting married, my first reaction was...."Aju, that's terrible...ANU'S YOUR SISTER!!!"
And then after some more careful explanation, my second reaction was "Great, Aju, marry her quick...she's bound to get her eyesight back sooner or later."

I've known Anu for roughly two years now, and I'd like to say that Anu is an absolutely wonderful girl. She's beautiful and intelligent, not to mention an incredibly warm and friendly person. She is someone that is perfect for Aju, and, having known Aju since as far back as I can remember, I know Anu is the kind of girl Aju has always dreamed of.

Aju has been like a brother to me. Brothers don't always get along and brothers can be very competitive with one another. I can honestly say that Aju has always been such a runaway success in all that he's done, that he's always challenged me to push myself to acheive more and more beyond my own expectations of myself.

Aju has always been intelligent and articulate. He is always up for an in-depth conversation about politics, religion, philosophy, or just plain life in general. Aju is someone I find myself going to for advice quite frequently, and every now and then, some of that advice is actually good.

Today, Aju, I'd like to offer you some advice, on this your wedding day.

Now, I know that I'm an obnoxiously single guy, and I'm probably the WORST person in the world to offer advice on ANYTHING, much less the married life. But, I know you, Aju, and as far as I know, I'm the only person in this hall today other than Anu who actually VOLUNTEERED to live with you.

First of all, Aju, when I roomed with you, I found you on several occasions watching cartoons at 2 in the afternoon, while eating cereal in your boxer shorts. I found it a little disconcerting, and I'm sure Anu won't find it the least bit attractive.

Second of all, I bear witness to the intricasies of the Aju Jacob diet. Remember that, Man was not made to live on cereal, noodles, and dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets alone. Now that you're married, take Anu someplace nice and expensive to eat, once in a while.

And last of all, I'd to recall a short episode from my time living with Aju. I'm quite sure Aju has since forgotten this. The year I lived with Aju, I didn't have a car, and if I wanted to actually buy food for myself I had to wait for Aju to drive me to the grocery store when he was driving for himself. And I must say generally Aju was always very gracious in allowing me to tag along. However, one week, I must have ate too much or budgeted my supplies poorly, because all I had left in the fridge to call my own was a loaf of bread and a box of baking soda. So, I asked Aju, "hey buddy, do you think I might be able to borrow a spoon or two of that jar of peanut butter I see you have in the fridge?" And much to my chagrin, Aju's answer was "No Steve, that's MY peanut butter!!!" Perhaps I embellish a little bit. But Aju, I'd just like to let you know that, it's ok...you can share your peanut butter with Anu.

Now,

Aju and Anu, I wish you the happiest of days with one another. I speak for all of your friends, when I say that we expect nothing but greatness from the two of you. I love you both, and I pray that God blesses you both abundantly, so that, years from now, you can both look back and say that today, your wedding day, was the day you loved each other the least. Thank you.
---
Well...people actually did laugh at my jokes

Congrats to Aju and Anu!!!

and I'm gone to the wedding and wedding festivities for all the rest of the week...

holy cow, I finally finished it

It took me 15 months, hundreds of cups of coffee, and countless hours of sporadic reading, but I finally finished all 1207 pages of the "Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith. I guess you can say I learned a lot from it, but let's just for the sake of argument boil it all down to this:

empiricism=good
mercantilism=bad
free markets=good

Reasons why possibly forthcoming. Who wants a mini-bust of Adam Smith???

East vs. West

In response to this and this, I wrote this:

Enjoy!

---
Dear all,

Forgive me for not being able to understand some of the recent postings on this forum. It was said that Christianity had been "hijacked" by the West, by what I gather were Western "imperialists" (at least one person found it "nauseating"). Perhaps this is true. I do however have at least two concerns with the recent posts in the "Foreign Christian Terrorism..." thread. First, I am unclear as to what is defined as "Western" as opposed to "Eastern" Christianity and philosophy. From what I can ascertain, "Western" equals European white men, and "Eastern" is read as pretty much everyone else. Secondly, I don’t believe the solution to a perceived Western hijacking of Christianity is a reciprocal Eastern Christian ethnocentrism. "But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (I Corinth. 1:23-24). If there is indeed a true, un-corrupted Church, then it is not "ours" but Christ’s. All the philosophizing sophistry in the world, be it Eastern or Western, can not obscure Christ’s death on the Cross. Whether we are Indians or Americans, we must confront, painfully if it must be, that God became Himself a participant in our human history, took himself a particular mother to be born of, and a particular people to be born into, none of which are our own. We are not Hebrews; the Law and the Prophets did not come from within our tradition. Nonetheless we are "grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree [i.e. the Church]" (Romans 11:24).

When speaking of the "Western Tradition," exactly which Western tradition are we speaking of? There is a distinct Latin Christian tradition, some of which is in continuity with our own Faith. There is Northern European Lutheranism, Scottish Presbyterianism, British High and Low Church Anglicanism, Puritanism, and a slew of other "Western" Christianities. Conversely, what does it mean to be "Eastern?" For example, there is a Syriac Christianity, which can be sub-divided into Assyrian East Syrian, and Antiochian West Syrian. Both of these traditions, which can very well be both true and Orthodox expressions of the Faith, nevertheless different from the Byzantine, or Ethiopian expression of Orthodox Faith and doctrine. Within the Orthodox context, we can say that though these groupings (arbitrary?), all "Eastern," may be different as far as language and expression, yet equally capable of expressing the same fundamental Truth. Apart from Christianity, "Eastern," can encompass 3 billion people and countless religions and philosophies within it. It is easy to deny that complexity exists within systems we’d rather just genericize according to our preconceptions.

It was suggested also that Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism were indeed more Christian than modern Christianity. I would like to humbly submit though, that Christianity is, or was founded to be, more than just a morality or value system. Even before Christ, philosophers were speculating on how to be good and righteous people. In fact, inasmuch as they teach civility and moral uprightness, most religions can be characterized as more or less the same as one another. Christ though, and true Christianity, is something quite different. Christ offers unto mankind through His suffering on the Cross and triumph over death, a complete recapitulation of what man was intended to be as ordained by a very real and non-theoretical God. Christianity does not simply offer philosophies or behavior systems, but sacramentally the means to partake in the person of Christ. Therefore, while I’m sure Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism teach some extremely virtuous and noble ideals, Christianity is not strictly the pursuit of virtues. Rather obviously, there is no real Christianity without Christ.

Moreover, I do not quite understand this desperation to impose, or superimpose, a particular "Indian-ness" or "Eastern-ness" upon Christianity. I do not presume to be an expert on Hinduism or East Asian Religions. A very thorough explanation of a sort of Hindu Trinitarian doctrine was offered, as well as intimations of the Buddhist influence on Christ. These are very dangerous waters to swim in. Through revelation, as written in the Scriptures, God shows us what He is. That is to say, we have been specially instructed that God is loving, merciful, and so on. Outside of revelation, by way of reason, we can only say what God is not, thus un-dying (immortal), unchanging, unerring, indefinable, immeasurable, etc. Thus I will not concede that one religion’s dogmatic formulae on God are the same as ours without the most careful of consideration. "By Divine inspiration Philosophers sometimes hit upon the Truth...the poets also bear testimony" (2nd Apology of St. Justin Martyr). I will thus not exclude that parallels exist, or even that our doctrine can be expressed in authentically Christianized Hindu terminology, though perhaps I do not see a ministerial purpose as yet. What’s most important for us at this juncture, is to accept Jesus as He is, the Jew who lived "in the days of Pontius Pilate," in a historical, cultural context undeniably distinct from our own. We do not acculturate Him into our systems as much as He transfigures us.

Forgive me for the length of this letter, as well as for my inability to exhaustively address every issue I had intended to. Whatever wrongs are committed by Christians, even in the name of Christ, should not be an indictment on Christ Himself. Nor are we, the Christians released from our duty to take up the Cross and follow Him, and, perhaps even more scandalously, to "make disciples of all nations..." (Matthew 28:19). In doing so, I feel perhaps we may be able to reconcile our secondary affinities to culture and ethnicity with what should be our primary focus and grounding, which is Christ.

Steven Kurian

See...somebody here knows what I'm talking about

As I sat reading "A Conflict of Visions" waiting to get my haircut:

"I don't see many people reading Thomas Sowell around here!"

"Uhh...yeah...you've heard of him??"
"Oh yeahh...he's a very intelligent...great author"
"Cool...yeah...I read a lot of George Will and Charles Krauthammer too"
"Well we don't see many of YOU around this campus"

As it turns out the random lady and her husband were actually leading a Rutgers Campus Christian Ministry to International Students mostly from Mainland China. They help foreign nationals adjust to America as well as "expose them to Faith in Christ." For some people, this is immoral. I reserve my judgement for later (long week). In any case, I now know there are at least 2 conservatives here in New Jersey.

and the search continues....

Toading the Wet Sprocket

Sorry kids, I've had exams the past week and couldn't post anything. Here's something neat, though. Toad the Wet Sprocket's (sorry, they were popular in the early 90s...I'm old...real old) song "Fly from Heaven" is about Jesus from the point of view of James the brother (half brother, cousin....you know).






They took my brother
They ripped him from me
To twist his words
As they did his body
...
Will it be the end?
Or is he still ascending??

I had listened to this song for a year and never really guessed what it was about. I just knew it had a good tune and sounded sincere. So I guess I do like some Christian rock after all...

Affirmative Action Around the World-Thomas Sowell

Thomas Sowell, acclaimed conservative author and economist, in this book gives an in-depth report on racial set aside programs around the world. I was quite unaware that such programs existed outside the "Affirmative Action" programs here in the United States. In fact, the first such series of programs were initiated in no other than India with the aim of getting lower "scheduled" classes into the universities and occupations they were previously not represented within. Sowell's argument is that racial set aside programs generally do more harm then good, never help the particular people (generally the underclass poor) originally envisioned by the given legislation, and inevitabley exacerbate racial tensions rather than soothe them (in fact in some nations such as Sri Lanka, racial tensions came into being after set aside programs were put into place). Though affirmative action type programs sound good in legislation, and win votes and sympathy, they have rarely been shown to actually work. I do not intend on reproducing Sowell's entire work here. All of Sowell's claims are backed by hard economic and statistical evidence. As the quote from John Adams on the first page reads:

"Facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."

This, being the 2nd Thomas Sowell book I've read (The Quest for Cosmic Justice was the first), was a very straight forward read, and I do indeed recommend it to those politically and philosophically inclined. In fact, I am currently reading yet another Sowell book, "A Conflict of Visions." He is an excellent and clear voice for the conservative intellectual tradition existing throughout modern history; whatever that may mean for today.