Ask Zulehan stuff

[Zulehan]

Do you follow any religion, or are you agnostic? Or do you not believe in the existence of a God at all?

I refer to myself as an agnostic atheist. Part of my reasoning has to do with Thomas H. Huxley, coiner of the term agnosticism, saying it is not 'a creed but a method.' But even more, I talked about my spiritual beliefs with a friend, Karim Temple, and our discussion at one point fell upon definitions of religious labels. Karim fashioned himself an agnostic, while I fashioned myself an atheist, but we now both call ourselves agnostic atheists. And while he says I did the convincing, he was always the more eloquent between us:

... I chatted with Hyperion [Zulehan] on Live Messenger and he convinced me to take a different stance on the definition of atheist. I never stopped being agnostic. But I've only ever been agnostic in a purely logical sense. I don't believe there is a God, but logically I could never subscribe to spiritual dogma, for or against. Not at this point.

[...]

Agnosticism is usually a quality which modifies an overall belief. Some people believe that there is no god and that is final. They are atheists, and they are with dogma. Some people believe that there is no god, but it's just a feeling or a general estimation. They are agnostic atheists. You could also say atheist agnostic, but that would be nitpicking. Theists of all sorts can be agnostic as well. But without the agnosticism, they are dogmatic. The peculiar thing is that "pure" agnosticism, or what can only be described as just "Agnosticism," is dogmatic as well, in that there is no way to ever know for sure whether or not a god exists.

Source 1. Source 2.

On a totally different notice, do you enjoy drawing/doodling?

I do not draw. I imagine it would be enjoyable to draw, but I would have to work hard at it to advance beyond stick figures, and I lack the motivation. As a child, I drew a lot, though mostly the simplest depictions of cities at a distant, or space ship fleets which I would create special effects for with my pencil, as if there was a battle taking place. I believe the latter drawings (and imagined space battles acted out by scribbling out stuff with my pencil) were inspired by a concept art book I saw in the school library while in elementary.

I don't know where to go with this..so imma just change my subject.

Do you like the beetles?

You mean The Beatles? I do not seek out their music, but if I ever heard their songs playing, yes, I would enjoy listening to them. If you mean the members of the band, I know nothing about them except they were British and Americans love them.

Thank you for the questions, Delphine and Sparro!

 

[brownboy102]

I singing their song, "Imagine" in my choir. (Force join)

 

[TheBluRaichu]

What do you like most about Pippy the Peppy Rabbit? c:

 

[Zulehan]

I singing their song, "Imagine" in my choir. (Force join)

A relaxing song I would willingly sing.

What do you like most about Pippy the Peppy Rabbit? c:

I love the prominent ears, the dark blue and white, the freckles, and more generally that she is feminine without being exaggeratedly so. I also like the peppy personality, and that she was a 'starter' for my main town. In regards to the latter, since Animal Crossing: New Leaf was my Christmas introduction to the franchise, her being a starter meant she was going to leave a bigger impression on me than otherwise.

If I have to choose one, it would be feminine without being exaggeratedly so.

Thank you for the question, BluRaichu!

 

[Zulehan]

For the latest bump to this topic, here is trivia: I am watching a playthrough of BIT.TRIP Runner, an avoid-the-traps-while-in-motion side scroller game available for the Wii virtual console. What I like most about this game as how the music picks up and becomes more complex whenever you power up during a level, and relatedly how the sound effects are part of the song. Although easy at first, the game becomes quite challenging later on, starting with the boss of the first of three worlds (hardest boss of all).

 

[ellabella12345]

Do you like french toast?

 

[Zulehan]

Do you like french toast?

Oh, god, yes. I love to see a French toast thick, filled with Mascarpone, and topped with strawberries and peaches.

I saw two chefs compete to make a French toast in 45 minutes recently. The Georgia chef had an interesting take on French toast: she cut a loaf in half and stuffed the fruits (unpeeled) into the hollowed out half-loaf. She then covered the loaf in a mixture similar in consistency to pancake batter, and added that to the deep fryer to create the crust.

As for me, I am into the more traditional French toast described earlier, especially since I am not fond of the tendency for Southern cooks to deep fry and overload on the richness of the food.

Thank you for the question!

 

[Radda]

Do you like eating,petting,playing with chickens?

 

[Zulehan]

Do you like eating,petting,playing with chickens?

Certainly, a lot of food dishes I eat include chicken, or are centered on chicken. My favorite chicken dish is probably Tenola, a soup with boiled chicken, Chayote (a juicy vegetable with a texture similar to the honeydew melon), Chinese spinach, and ginger. Of course, those are not the set ingredients (except for the chicken), but it is not an unusual version of the food dish.

In regards to having chickens as pets, my mom grew up in a farm in the Philippines, so chickens were a big part of her life. So it is no surprise that she kept chicks as pets when I was growing up here in the States. Chickens as pets are not a good idea at this time since we live in a more developed part of the city and have taken in several stray cats.

Petting chickens: definitely.

Thank you for the questions!

 

[Radda]

Hopefully you won't mind me asking more,but what was your childhood like?You seem very fond of it

 

[Zulehan]

Hopefully you won't mind me asking more,but what was your childhood like?You seem very fond of it

I was not quite fond of it: my dad had his problems, and they negatively affected my outlook on life. As a poor immigrant my mom worked hard and could not be around quite as often as I would like. School had some bullying (most notably, a fellow student trying to choke me to death some time around the third grade, and another student not letting up in class with the jokes in middle school), but mostly I fit in. I was involved in sports, easily made friends (most of which were not 'geeky,' 'nerdy,' or 'introverted': my friends fit a spectrum of 'niche' groups), and kept to myself without being seen as particularly isolated.

Memories, however, are dominated by moments alone, whether eating a Popsicle on the steps of an apartment during a hot summer day; building a sandcastle in the evening at the school playground; wandering the second story corridor of a tree-lined apartment building while being babysat; or watching Event Horizon at way too young an age, peering frightfully behind the couch the whole time.

For most of grade school, I was an average to mediocre student. I was not motivated to make anything of myself, and most of my teachers shared that opinion. It would be in college and adulthood that I found my motivation, and began to look beyond myself.

Not fond of this answer either, but hope it is around what you were looking for.

Thank you for the question.

 

[Radda]

Sorry if I opened up your wounds,so uhh, I'll try to ask something more pleasant I guess,Who are your favorite authors?

 

[Zulehan]

Sorry if I opened up your wounds

Not at all: I have moved on. I understand that a lot of kids have gone through similarly less than stellar childhoods, and many more far worse childhoods in far less forgiving places.

so uhh, I'll try to ask something more pleasant I guess,Who are your favorite authors?

I would say Jhumpa Lahiri, since I have read her two novels and two sets of short stories. I am particularly fond of The Namesake, due to the tenderness with which she treats her characters, and because of the familiarity of their plight as first and second generation Asian Americans.

If time allows, I would love to get into the subsequent novels of the late Frank Herbert's Dune saga, as I love the politics and mysticism, but even more the 'thickness' of nuance and tension he can infuse in even the 'simplest' of scenes, or rather the most difficult scenes to infuse such aspects into. For example, Dune featured a dinner party scene where distinguished guests from various aristocratic families and institutions hold 'routine' conversations, yet it was so uncomfortable and gripping because the author managed to inject undertones of anger, disgust, manipulation, etc., into every word and gesture.

In short, I am always impressed by an author who can take a seemingly mundane scene and, without inner monologue or thinly veiled motive explaining dialog, make it feel as if you just saw Arnold Schwarzenegger take out an entire army camp with a poaching knife.

Mm... I would also love to read more by Yasunari Kawabata. His novel Snow Country was minimalism and poetry. I mean that his words were carefully chosen, and though his words are prose rather than verse, they feel like short seven to ten syllable lines packed with imagery. Kawabata evokes a romantic and dreamy, yet gritty Japan of yesteryear, and I expect his other novels would feel much the same.

As always, thank you for the question.

 

[brownboy102]

I just read a book called Freak. Heard of it?

 

[Zulehan]

I just read a book called Freak. Heard of it?

Not until you mentioned it. Is the author Jennifer Hillier? If yes, surprised Abby only got nine years for attempted murder on a police officer.

 

[brownboy102]

Nope. Wrong book.

Its by Marcella Pixley.

 

[Zulehan]

Hm, makes me wonder why the main protagonist was picked on. The common reason in stories seems to be introversion. In Dan Choan's You Remind Me of Me, however, one of the main protagonists, Nora, is picked on for her ethnicity: even her fellow Lakota make her feel like an outsider for choosing a 'white' boyfriend.

 

[brownboy102]

Yeah, I never understood why the main (Miriam Fisher) was always picked on. She liked to write, and she shared some personality traits with me as well.

 

[ellabella12345]

fav food of all time

 

[Zulehan]

fav food of all time

Impossible to select one, so I will name a few I would love right now. Tamales, whether pork, chicken, or beef. A carne asada sandwich on croissant. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a bagel. A soup with beef that melts as you chew, has thin noodles, bean sprouts, lime. Fried rice, the best of which I believe is made at a local restaurant called Orchid Thai here in Highland, CA.

Mm... clam chowder. I live only a few hours drive from San Francisco, the source of much of the clam chowder I buy at the store. That food dish goes great with baguettes, chocolate chip cookies, and orange juice.

I love ground pork with Shiitake, Bella, and oyster mushrooms with green peppers. I love saut?ed chicken with a thin glaze and green bell peppers. I love shrimp with Chinese spinach, okra, and eggplant.

The last goes on and on, and there is not one in particular that I can name the all time favorite.

Thank you for the question!