The Smell of Spring Flowers

My faithful supporters (the few that remain) have been voicing complaint that I don't answer their questions. Sorry I've been pretty busy this week, ok? Patience is indeed a great virtue, and I hope this entry will satisfy your desire for instant gratification!

This question comes from the one and only Heather W, she wonders: "Why do we have a nose? We could totally breathe from our mouths and why do we need to smell things?"

I'm going to make some educated guesses here, so here I go. Hmm ... well you're right, we need the nose for breathing and also for smelling things. Here are some of my guesses:

1) The nose is much better equipped for breathing because you have natural filters with your NOSE HAIR! Yea, it's pretty disgusting, right? But you know they are doing their job every time you have boogers in your nose. You simply don't want to breathe in all the dirty stuff in the air, our nose hair is our first line of defense against germs, pollution, and other nasty stuff like flies.
2) If you only had your mouth to breathe with, how would you savor heavenly things like ice-cream or Rita's Italian ice in your mouth (like I'm doing right now). You would always have to gasp for air when you try to indulge with your taste buds.
3) In the sense of survival of the fittest, the sense of smell for mammals is quite important. Just imagine lions or dogs hunting without being able to detect scents. Plus, without the sense of smell, animals wouldn't be able to mark their territory with their urine ... that really takes the fun out of life for them.
4) According to some studies, our brain subconsciously analyze the scent of a person to see whether that person could be a potential mate. You know, those mysterious pheromones we're supposed to have ... attracting or repulsing people around us.
5) Life would be so boring without smell. I always like to smell things before I eat it ... I don't know why I do it, it's pure instinct.

Alright, those are my guesses for now, I hope you're satisfied. Do feel free to list some of your own.

Kimchi!

Some time ago my Korean bro Jonathan asked me this: "Why are Koreans smarter than the Chinese?" Since this is such a baseless question, I'm going to ignore it and pretend he asked this:

"What is Kimchi and why do Koreans eat it?"

It's a funny that you would ask that question since you are Korean and all. It's ok though, you probably have been traumatized since birth by Kimchi and now have nightmares about fermented pickled cabbage.

For those who actually have no idea what Kimchi is, it is a traditional Korean dish of fermented chili peppers and vegetables. Though the most common kinds are based on cabbage, there are actually many different styles. According to most sources, the Koreans have the Portuguese to thank for their vastly popular side dish. It was the Portuguese traders that spread the use of chili peppers globally in the early 16th century. Once the Koreans got their hands on the peppers, they invented a unique method of food preservation using the chili peppers, cabbage, and fish.

When my Korean friends taught me how to make Kimchi, they told me that normally they would put the pickled cabbage in large vats and bury them into the ground and leave them for months. Obviously no one does that these days, everyone buys Kimchi from the supermarket now, most of which are prepared and packaged in China!

Other than for food preservation's sake, the Koreans started eating Kimchi back in the day because it's supposed to be very healthy. The combination of cabbage, onions, garlic, and chili peppers is believed to have great health benefits. Some even claim that Kimchi prevented Korea from being infected with SARs. While I don't know how true that is, all this Kimchi talk is making me very hungry.

Must sleep the craving away ... good night!

Quote of the Day
Ryan : darn chinese...us koreans are always livign under the fear that you guys will wipe us out

Heaven!

This week has been pretty busy for me, so I haven't had the time to answer the many interesting questions I received. Luckily, I found out the my friend Glo has her own question answering service, so I posed this question to her:

"Will we ever sleep in heaven (New Jerusalem)? Is there going to be night? Are we ever going to play basketball again?"

Here's her response:

Thank you for asking such thought-provoking questions. As far I know, there are no passages in the Bible that talk directly about sleep and heaven. But there are passages that in heaven: "...He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!'" (Revelation 21:3-5) In that sense, there will be a way of life beyond our current comprehension and beyond our imagination. Whether this new way of life includes sleeping, I'm not sure. BUT, from my own personal opinion, I don't think there will be sleep in the sense that we experience it here on earth. I'm only saying this because I think we'll be more like God once we get to heaven, and He is known to "neither slumber nor sleep" (Ps. 121:3-4). Yet He is still a God who rested (Gen. 2:2). So, I'm guessing no sleep, but a form of rest.

As for the question about "night" in heaven... It mentions in Rev. 21:23 that, "The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp." Again, I think there won't be "night" in the sense that we understand it now...because there won't be a sun or moon. But who knows what light from "the glory of God" or "the Lamb" will be like?

Finally, with the question of basketball...there's nothing that talks about this sport in the Bible. But, its safe to assume that if basketball is the delight of your heart, something in heaven will far exceed the joys you gain from playing even your very best game. I'm sure that is hard for you to imagine. I love what this individual says about what heaven will be like:

"No one but God knows for sure. But obviously it will be a whole new way of life. And, if the current world is any indication, we can expect the next one to show even more of God's creativity. We're talking different dimensions of time and space, and new activities and recreations we never even dreamed of. And that's just the point: it's beyond our imagination.

Do you think you could have come up with the idea for the giraffe? Or the tiger? Or the zebra? Maybe. Okay, you're feeling pretty confident. What about the four seasons? What about having the earth spin on its own axis while it rotates around the sun? (That's a pretty good one, you have to admit.) Or having the moon effect the ocean tides here on Earth? What about the human eye? Okay, what about sex? (That got your attention.) Have you ever wondered if God has something better than sex planned for the next life? You say: "No way!" But what if he does?

The point: God is very creative. All we have to do is look around us. Our world is amazing. And yet, it could be that God hasn't even shown off yet. It's likely that he hasn't. But we can be confident of this: whatever heaven is, it will be much more than we ever imagined, or could imagine. We just have no idea." (Taken from http://www.everystudent.com/wires/heaven.html)

A pretty interesting answer ... thanks glo. I always wondered if we'll ever play competitive sports in our renewed body in heaven. How will that even work?

Art

My fiery bird friend, Amelia, asks, "What is art? And what is the purpose of art?"

Since this is such a broad question, I decided to do some empirical experimentation before I begin to wrap my head around the question. Here's my first attempt at drawing a cat on paint (I didn't even have to use the eraser!). Yea, I admit that my artistic skills is quite limited, and my eye-mouse coordination is pretty lacking too in terms of drawing, but I wonder ... is this art? What do you think?

Let's first look at the etymology of the word "Art." It is derived from the Latin word "Ars" which means skill or craft. So think phrases like "Ars Amoria" - Art of Love, or "Martial Arts." But since I know Amelia is more of an artist in the traditional sense, she must've been asking about fine arts or creative arts.

So here's the deal. With my very limited knowledge on art, I would say that Art is a form of self-expression where the artist purposes to create something compelled by personal desires, moods, creativity to communicate a message, thought, or idea to an audience. Practically, the artist usually attempts to capture a particular thought and delineates it in such a way to make it come alive to the audience.

Well, that's my blurb about art ... Amelia, you should tell me what you think because I know you already had an answer in mind when you asked the question.

How did Easter derive its name?

Excellent question considering that Easter Sunday is in two days.

Apparently someone asked this question more than a thousand years ago too, because all the sources I've found all say that Bede The Venerable, a late 7th century Christian historian and scholar from England has a good answer. Bede says that Easter's name comes from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre, associated with spring and fertility, and celebrated around the vernal equinox. So there you go. As Christmas was moved to coincide with (and supplant) the pagan celebration of winter, Easter was likely moved to coincide and replace the pagan celebration of spring. And while we're at it, the Easter Bunny comes from these pagan rites of spring as well, but more from pagan Germany than pagan Britain.

Honestly I never thought too much about why they named the day of Jesus' resurrection Easter until my good friend Matt (who hasn't returned my last 3 phone calls *ahem*) started greeting everyone with "Happy Resurrection Day!" during Easter season. Ever since then I've been saying that to everyone when they say "Happy Easter" to me. It's just a much better description of what the holiday represents. I know I wouldn't want to go around virtually saying to everyone "Happy Fertility Goddess Day!"

Floating Ducks

Steph asks: I guess since the topic of ducks has come about ... I'll follow up with the question ... if ducks float because of oil in their feathers, does that mean I can lather myself in oil and float?

NO NO NO NO NO!!! I have to give you credit for the creativity though, because I would never have arrived at that thought myself.

While it is true that the oil that coats the duck feathers enable them to float, that's not why they float. Ducks float because the waterproof feathers allow them to trap air in the inside, and the trapped air helps the ducks stay on top of the water. So please don't lather yourself with oil and try to jump into a pond, I don't think that'll be very fun. On second thought, why don't you try it? It would be fun for everyone else to watch .... mwahahaha

Here's a more detailed explanation:

The reason ducks stay afloat is complicated. There is a special gland that produces oil back near the duck's tail. As the duck preens itself, the oil is spread out over it's feathers and coats them making them waterproof. Because the feathers are waterproof, they can trap air and this also helps to keep the duck afloat. When the duck dives under for food, the air is squeezed from the feathers. Also, the duck has air sacs (lungs) that it empties before diving. When it has caught the fish or whatever it is after, it kicks back to the surface. As it's head breaks the surface, it takes a deep breath and as the lungs fill up, it is jerked to the surface. A quick ruffle of the feathers and it is back to normal, floating on the surface.

Where do ducks come from?

woohoo! Congratulations Henry, you are the first person to ask a question on this site! Now back to our very interesting question ...

To answer this simply, ducks come from mama ducks (quacks) and papa ducks (drakes). The males and females usually pair up in late fall and they make the nests for breeding in early Spring. During the right time, they start the breeding process. Yes Henry, contrary to what you might have thought before, ducks have sex too *gasp*. The male does not fertilize the egg after it is laid, but rather the mama and papa ducks engage in a mating ritual.

Here are some signs:
* Bobbing head up and down- This seems to say ...hey you're cute, how about a date ?
* Drake biting and/or pulling the back of the hens neck/feathers.
* Drake standing on hens back dunking the hens head in the water. This looks like he's trying to drowned her!

So after the couple finish mating, the female will lay eggs, which hopefully would be fertilized and then incubated to make little cute duckies. And that's where ducks come from!

Fun fact for the day:
Dolphins are the only species other than humans that have sex for pleasure.

Join the Team

Just as one soldier cannot fight a war by himself, I cannot answer all these questions by myself either. So come and join the team to answer mind boggling questions with me. Don't worry, your name doesn't have to be Ken in order to join the team, though you'll have to live with the fact that the site's name is a bit misleading.

So if you're up to the challenge, shoot me an email or submit it as a question on the site. It should be fun!

Who am I?

I'm just a normal guy, though more inquisitive and less gullible than most. I spend countless hours thinking, cranking my brain to see if I can make sense out of the latest thoughts and ideas I encounter. I live to pursue knowledge, to seek the truth in all things, to figure out how they all come together, to realize how everything points to the one God.

Does it really matter who I am?

The bottom line is that I love asking questions and finding the answers to them. Not because I find it comforting to know all the answers, but because I enjoy the pursuit of truth. Even though I realize that life's hardest questions often have no good answers or explanations, yet I believe in faith that there must be One out there who knows ... and in this I find my solace.

Rules and Disclaimer

Rules:
Well, there aren't any strict rules. You are free to ask anything and everything, but I reserve the right to choose which ones I will answer ... 99% of the time you'll get something back, unless the question is really out there.

Also know that I created this site mainly to provoke thought and to spring up discussion. I do not have all the answers, and I will never claim to know all the answers. So feel free to agree or object to what I say, after all, that's the essence of a discussion.

Disclaimer:
If you ask a philosophical question (which I hope you do), remember that I'm not the ultimate authority in anything, I'm just someone like you trying to figure out the answers. I am not a genius, so play nice!