Hey everyone. I had planned to post about the vacation I went on this past week and some things I’ve been reading recently, but that has been put aside for now. This incident will be difficult for me to discuss, mainly due to the subject matter. If you’re not in a great spot right now, I suggest you not read this one. It deals with drunk driving and other sad stuff, things I usually don’t talk about. You have been warned.

So, this post is about Johnny Gaudreau. Some of you who know sports have known him as Johnny Hockey or JG13. But if you haven’t heard of him, I’ll give you a brief history lesson. Johnny was an excellent NHL player for the Calgary Flames for nine years. At the time he and his brother were both killed by a drunk driver in New Jersey on Thursday night, he was about to start his 3rd season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he signed after the Flames lost to the Edmonton Oilers back in the 2022 playoffs. Johnny was 31 years old, married, and had two young kids, and his brother Matthew, who was a former hockey player himself, was 29. Matthew was expecting his first child with his wife in a few months, and unfortunately, he won’t be there to raise him all due to the heinous actions of this moron, who I won’t even mention by name. All you need to know about this guy is that he was driving under the influence in a very reckless way, and when he learned that he was going to be remaining in jail for a bit longer while his case was sorted out, he then proceeded to sit back in his chair and pout about it. Nobody is perfect, and that man, indeed, isn’t. He will serve multiple years in jail, I’m sure.

Johnny and Matthew’s deaths aren’t the only upsetting thing about this whole event. The news was initially broken late Thursday evening by a reporter from Philadelphia who claimed that Johnny and a family member had been involved in a “freak accident” in Philadelphia and had died. He provided no sources for this story and mentioned at the beginning of his tweet that he “wasn’t 100% sure” about its legitimacy. He then deleted the tweet not long after. Still, several rumors began to spread about what was going on, and soon, people suspected that the two cyclists had recently died in an accident near Salem in New Jersey, which is where Johnny and said family member grew up. It was later confirmed the next morning that the two cyclists were indeed the Gaudreau brothers.

I don’t think I need to explain just how stupid that is. I’ve always cared immensely about journalistic integrity and the facts always being reported. Whenever these so-called reporters come out with big stories or alleged events and fail to give enough information or aren’t 100% confident in what they’re reporting. The reporter who initially broke the news did so in a very unprofessional way, and he also lost his job due to his actions. Many have already forgiven him, which is the right thing to do. I don’t think he meant to cause anything harmful, but he did, and I appreciate that he is taking accountability for his actions. I only hope and pray that the man charged with killing two men will eventually do that as well.

This news has, understandably, rocked the sports world. Tributes have come from all over the place, from the Gaudreaus’ former teammates to various MLB teams and even from Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and LeBron James. Being from Edmonton, which is just a few hours north of Calgary, this has also hit me pretty hard. Growing up, I always hated the Flames for obvious reasons (provincial rival and whatnot). I always hated it whenever we lost to them, especially after Gaudreau stormed into the league. He was excellent as a Flame and always seemed to play his best against us. That being said, I never resented him for it. He was just an excellent player on a team that I didn’t like. After hearing all the stories about him over the last couple of days, it sounded like he was a man with good character and values, as well. His loss will be felt for years to come, not only in the hockey world but for those who knew him well and who loved him. I really do hope his family can recover from this, no matter how long it takes. Processing grief and healing from tragedy are never linear experiences, which is something I know too well.

I’ll end by making a suggestion. Send a prayer to the Gaudreau family and to the Blue Jackets organization as a whole as well. This is the second time this decade that the Blue Jackets have lost a roster player to a tragic accident, and hopefully, it’ll be the very last time as well. It’s such a shame that Johnny, who chose to play in Columbus during a time in which they were seen as an undesirable destination for free agents and prospects, was taken from them almost as quickly as he arrived.

With that being said, goodbye Johnny Hockey. I’ll miss the battles between you and my Oilers and your clear and present passion for both the game and your family.

You were a heck of a player, man. Rest easy.

I may have mentioned this before in an earlier post, but in case I haven’t, I’ll say it now: I despise really hot weather. I always have, and after the outrageous heat wave we’ve been experiencing here in Alberta for the last couple weeks, I probably always will. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind some heat, but there comes a time, just like with cold weather, when it’s just too much to handle. I’m talking about the 30-35°C days with the humidex well into the high 30s. In case you’ve never really experienced that at a consistent rate like we have, I’ll describe it for you.

Imagine you step into one of those big steel refineries, and everything, including the equipment, is just burning. The railings, the air, your body, even your insides. Imagine that on repeat day after day after day. Sounds unpleasant, right? That’s because it is. I know some people who live for days like these, and sometimes I have to wonder whether their brains are functioning properly or not. Then again, those same people probably think the same way about me, given that I’ve always preferred the cold and that I like to sleep in the deep cold.

One of the saving graces of living where I do is that we do have air conditioning. I’m very fortunate because it had been pre-installed before we moved in a few years ago. Now yes, I know it may seem stupid of me to complain about the heat when I’ve got AC and I’ve been using it liberally for the past couple weeks, but that doesn’t mean I can’t feel the way I do. Even though I don’t have to go outside for lengthy periods of time like many I know, given that I do schoolwork at home and I work in a large, air-conditioned building, the times when I do have to leave the house are always difficult. My body has always responded poorly to high heat, and it can cause all sorts of issues for me, the most common ones being my usual migraines and this feeling of nausea that can be very hard to kick.

However, there is good news to be shared. It’s looking like this awful stretch of heat will be ending within the next couple of days, and the collapse of this weather system will likely bring lots of rain and maybe some pretty big thunderstorms. We could all use a good drenching right about now, so I’ll be welcoming that with open arms the first chance I get. 

At any rate, expect more posts soon. I have a few that I’ve been working on here and there, and I’m itching to get them done sooner rather than later. They would have been done earlier, but I’ve been too busy with other things to really think about them. Not that business has been a bad thing, however. Things have been going quite well for me lately, and I’m very thankful for that.

With that all being said, God bless, and I’ll see you later.

Hey, it’s been a while. This post was supposed to come out much earlier, but due to certain circumstances, some of which will be included here, it’s happening now instead of then. I will go into the other reasons why in a later post, as it concerns a topic that I’ve wanted to discuss for a while. But enough about that, I want to gush about the absolutely fantastic series of hockey I just watched. Even though the end result was personally tough for me to watch, it’s still probably the best Finals I’ve ever seen. The NHL did a really good job with this one. As usual, if hockey isn’t your cup of tea, then skip out on this one.

First off, allow me to boast a little. Back in April, I made an entire post about why I thought the Florida Panthers were going to win the Cup, and I did that because I just knew they were going to do it. In all my years of watching pro sports and hockey specifically, there has never been a time until this season when I had such a strong feeling about a certain team winning it all. The Panthers had this swagger about them that made them seem impenetrable, and a lot of it had to do with what I talked about in that post, their rugged style of play and their previous playoff success.

By the time they reached the playoffs, most had noticed how hungry they looked and how well-structured they were as a team, and more people started picking them to win the Cup. Most assumed they would just power through a weaker Eastern Conference and then handily beat whoever came out of the bloody and brutal West. For the most part, that’s exactly what happened. They smoked their former big brother in the Lightning in 5 games, then beat the mediocre Bruins in 6 when it realistically could’ve been in 5 as well, and then toyed with the President Trophy-winning Rangers for 6 games before deciding to put them out of their misery. In all 3 of these series, they were the better team at nearly every given point, and it was never really in question that they would at some point move onto the next round.

When it became clear that they were about to face my hometown team the Edmonton Oilers in the Finals, my first thought was this: how many games will it take for the Panthers to beat us? That’s right, I wasn’t even giving my team a chance against these guys. Sure, the Oilers have two of the best players in the world in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but what’s stopping the duo of Aleksander Barkov and Gustav Forsling from shutting them down as they have with every other superstar they’ve faced in these playoffs? When you compared the two teams on paper, it was immediately clear that Florida was the better team when it came down to defensive capabilities, goaltending, and overall team play. With the Panthers, you couldn’t shut down a few guys and begin to call it a day like you could with Edmonton. When you have balanced scoring throughout the lineup, plus a team committed to defense and a goalie who can steal games at a moment’s notice, your chances of winning are generally higher than not.

And for the first 3 games of this series, that was indeed the case. Game 1 was a very entertaining 3-0 shutout from Florida, highlighted by Sergei Bobrovsky going bananas in the net and pulling magic out of his rear end every few minutes. The Oilers had multiple chances to score and to even things up, but every time they nearly did it, Bobrovsky was there. As a hockey fan, it was impressive. As an Oiler fan, it was concerning. Florida didn’t play very well in that game despite the score, and given their track record of getting better as the series goes on, I was beginning to think that they were about to be in big trouble sooner rather than later.

By the time the Oilers were down 4-3 in game 3 and on the verge of going down 3-0 in the series, I knew that I was right to feel the way that I did. My thought was that if they wanted to make this series competitive, they had to win a game in Florida and go back to Edmonton with some measure of momentum. Considering game 2 went quite poorly for them (a 4-1 loss), it was beginning to look like wishful thinking that they’d be able to win even a single game in this series. When the final horn of game 3 sounded, there were already dozens of articles crowning the Panthers champions and the Oilers overmatched and just lucky to be there. Many more articles were made denouncing this final as “possibly the worst this century” and one of the most disappointing of all time. It was hard to argue against that, despite the overall quality of the games that had been played at that point. Nobody likes a sweep, especially not in the finals. The only ones enjoying themselves were Panthers fans and those who hate the Oilers, of which there are many for various reasons.

When game 4 started, I was hoping that the Oilers would at least force one more game. I knew they were screwed, and everyone else did as well. Needless to say, I was both shocked and amazed when the final score ended up being 8-1 for Edmonton. Yes, you’re reading that correctly; it was 8-1. You might be wondering how something like that could happen, and I’ll tell you: even though the Panthers were trying to finish the series that night, it was clear that it was getting to them on a mental level. They were disconnected, disorganized, and downright dreadful in every facet imaginable. I’ve seen performances like that before when a team has a chance to end things, but not quite like that, especially not in the Finals. You let your guard down, and that’s what you get. Many accused Florida of throwing the game to win the Cup on home ice, and all I could do was laugh. You’re telling me that the organization flew in the players’ families and friends to watch them clinch the Stanley Cup in the other team’s arena, but it was some elaborate ruse all along? It didn’t matter how you looked at it; that argument simply made zero sense.

Game 5 was even further proof of that. In what was an instant classic, the Oilers pulled out a 5-3 win by the skin of their teeth, with Connor McDavid having one of the best games of his entire career and much-maligned Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner similarly having one of his, despite giving up 3 goals. Florida started slow in that game but gradually began to take over as things went along. They nearly erased a 4-1 Oiler lead at the end of the game, but great team defense and McDavid with an iconic empty netter sealed the deal. The look on every Panthers’ face said it all: they were starting to lose confidence, and they knew that if there was anyone who could make this a series, it was Connor McDavid’s Oilers.

For some context, the Oilers went into this season as one of the favorites to win the Cup and then proceeded to get off to one of their worst starts in recent memory. 2-9-1 was their record after 12 games, and most had then written them off as a massive disappointment. After firing most of the coaching staff and bringing in rookie head coach Kris Knoblauch, the Oilers began to rise from the ashes dramatically, going on several key win streaks including one which came out to 16 straight games, which tied the NHL’s second-longest ever and which easily broke the franchise record of 9. This was a team that proved that it could pull off miracles, and it was beginning to look like they were on the verge of pulling off another one.

Game 6 wasn’t a contest. The Oilers dominated the Panthers throughout all 60 minutes of game time, and even though Florida did have some key chances, they lost their third straight game 5-1. Somehow, the Panthers had blown a 3-0 series lead and were staring down some dubious history. The last time (and only time) a team had been reverse swept in the Stanley Cup Finals was 1942 when the Maple Leafs had done so to the Red Wings. It was the first time in North American sports history a reverse sweep had happened, and it was the first of 4 successful reverse sweeps in the NHL’s history.

To say that game 7 was highly anticipated would be a massive understatement. When you have ESPN, infamous for their total lack of attention towards anything that isn’t LeBron James or the Dallas Cowboys, hyping up a hockey game and giving it specific attention, you know it’s a big deal. You had sports fans from around the world who typically didn’t follow hockey chiming in and predicting what would happen, and you just knew the NHL was loving every bit of it. As they should, mind you. Going into game 7, I was at peace with whatever result ended up happening. My gut had been telling me for months that the Panthers were winning the Cup, and even though they were on the verge of perhaps the greatest choke in sports history, that feeling never wavered. The Oilers also made such a ferocious effort to make it a competitive series, and in those moments, I couldn’t have been prouder of them.

As I’m sure you’ve already figured out, the Panthers won game 7. They scored the first goal within a few minutes, an incredible redirection from Carter Verhaeghe, who had been having a pretty terrible series. He’s become a household name in the last few years for his remarkable journey to the NHL and his penchant for scoring clutch goals, especially in overtime. The Oilers responded quickly afterward, with lethal depth forward Mattias Janmark tying it after he found himself on a breakaway. Afterward, the game couldn’t have been any closer. Florida may have been outplaying the Oilers in the areas where it mattered, but Edmonton just refused to go away. Closer to the end of the second period, the Oilers nearly took the lead, only for the puck to go the other way and into their net instead. That was the last goal scored this season, as despite several golden opportunities to tie the game again, the Panthers held on and won game 7 2-1. Connor McDavid became the first player since JS Giguere to win the Conn Smythe (playoff MVP) trophy despite being on the losing team since 2003, and that was all she wrote.

In the end, there was no reverse sweep. The Oilers came close, but they didn’t get it done. As an Oilers fan, it’s hard to stomach, especially considering this was probably their best shot to get it done. Everything had lined up perfectly for them to get to that moment, and even though I think they gave it their all, they just weren’t good enough when it came down to it. Despite that, I’m still very proud of the resilience they showed when they were down and defeated as badly as they were at 3-0. All I can say is that I hope they make the right moves this offseason so that they can get back to the Finals next season, even though I know it’s going to be much harder for them to do so with the big dogs like Dallas, Vegas, and Colorado looking to improve.

As for the Panthers, good job on winning the Cup. They took their miracle run last year and used it as motivation all year, and it ended up paying off in the end. It was a pleasure to watch them play in the playoffs this year, they’re one of the more impressive Cup-winning teams I’ve watched. More teams should emulate their style of play, and more young hockey fans should emulate how Aleksander Barkov plays the game. He is, for lack of a better term, incredible.

Well, that’s the end of that. This will be my last hockey post for a while, as the offseason is beginning and there are a lot of other things I’d like to write about. I’m just grateful that God has given us these sports to enjoy watching and playing, they’re great forms of entertainment and a great way to bond with friends and family. It’s never smooth sailing, but it’s almost always enjoyable even when your favorite team doesn’t win. In this case, it most certainly was. God bless, and I’ll see you later.

Apologies for the long gap in between posts; I’ve been preoccupied with a bunch of things. I am working on my degree, playing Witcher 3 for the first time (an excellent game; I highly recommend it), and watching the NHL playoffs. Speaking of the playoffs, I can confidently say that after tonight, I have seen almost everything this world has to offer. The Edmonton Oilers, my hometown team, are going to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 2006. Pigs have flown, gravity has been reversed, and hell has frozen over. To say I’m in shock would be an understatement, and to say I’m proud would be an even bigger one.

One of my last posts talked about my thoughts on the then-upcoming playoffs and why I thought the Florida Panthers were going to win the cup. Well, it turns out I may have been onto something, because that’s who the Oilers will be facing in the finals, which start this Saturday. While I still have the Panthers winning the cup, and while I do think they will ultimately beat the Oilers, I can’t say I’d be very disappointed if that happened. The Oilers made it farther than I initially expected them to, as I had them losing to the Dallas Stars (my other favorite team) in the conference finals. In what was another great series in this year’s fantastic playoffs, they upset Dallas in 6, which sort of breaks my bracket, but I don’t really care at the end of the day. At this point, they’re kind of playing with house money, and that’s something to treasure. We’ll see what happens; maybe the Oilers will be the first Canadian team to win the Cup since Montreal in 1993. I know I’d never shut up about it if it happened.

Now, onto what I really want to talk about. To start off, let’s travel back in time to a couple Saturdays ago, specifically May 25. That day, I went to the downtown watch party for the second game of the Oilers/Stars series with some friends. We had a pretty good time overall, even though our legs were hurting quite a bit after standing for as long as we did. After the game finished, a 3-1 win for Dallas, one of my friends and I met back up with another one in the parking lot near the venue that we used. We decided to go to one of the city’s more active places during the night to meet up with some other friends, talk about the game, and maybe grab a bite to eat. We settled on a popular pub on one of the street corners, which we then waited at for around an hour or so for our other friends to arrive. Long story short, they took way too long; it was getting really late, and we decided to ditch the pub, grab a few burgers, and head back to my friend’s house for church in the morning. 

I’m sure you’re probably wondering what the point of this story is, as it’s pretty detached from what I was talking about before. It’s simple: I want to talk about party culture, and this bar my friends and I went to was a perfect example of it. People were fooling around at their tables with each other, alcohol was everywhere, there were almost certainly a few people who were high on marijuana both outside and inside the place, and the general vibe of the place screamed that it was meant for you to unwind and let loose however you wanted to.

As a Christian, this type of behavior has always been something I’ve avoided, even when it was all around me during my junior high and high school days. While many students I knew were busy talking about the raves they went to the night before or the hard liquor they had with their friends at some downtown dive, I was minding my own business and talking about other things with my group of friends who were similarly put off by those kinds of things. I have many stories that I could tell regarding people I knew that got up to morally dubious things after school and at places they really shouldn’t have been in at the ages they were out, but I’ll save that for another time.

For the record, it’s not wrong for Christians to have a glass of wine or beer once in a while. Jesus didn’t turn water into wine for laughs. It’s drunkenness and debauchery that Christianity forbids, and for good reason. Excessive alcohol consumption, along with partaking in drug usage, both impair our judgment and our ability to function properly. Sexual immorality is also obviously a bad thing, and this, along with the other vices mentioned, are all propped up and embraced in party culture, which has in turn been embraced by countless young adults and millions of other souls across the planet. This obviously isn’t a new development, as similar things have been happening for virtually the entirety of the world’s existence. Humans love to have fun, and we love to relax and let loose, and so many of us drink and dance until we can’t see straight. 

The thing is, this sort of fun isn’t edifying at all. In fact, it’s downright stupid at times. The way I see it, it’s a flawed way for people to completely forget the responsibilities of life and, in some cases, to mask their issues with themselves or their circumstances. Society loves a good story about how people get drunk and do stupid things, when the reaction should instead be one of disdain and concern. Why do people treat these behaviors and actions as something good? Because it makes them feel better? Maybe so, but just because something makes you feel better doesn’t mean it’s right. Doing weed might make you feel less stressed out, but is that really the best way to combat anxiety or depression? Drinking games might be funny in the moment, but are they really a good way to use your time on this planet, which is always ticking down instead of up? 

As a Christian, I obviously recommend staying away from excessive partying and that which comes with it. Hard drinking, drug usage, fooling around, and the various consequences that come from doing these things are both unneeded and overall detrimental to a person’s well-being. That being said, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t go to any parties at all. The average birthday party, family reunion, and wedding are all generally tame and light on things that could be considered suspect. It’s the parties on the streets, in the bars, and on all floors of the clubs that I’m warning against. Instead of messing around in those places, go out for coffee with some friends. Go on a walk and check out nature. Read and study the Word of God. All of these things are far better for yourself as well as for those around you, and they’ll help to make you a more well-rounded and faithful individual. Or, don’t do any of these things. I can’t force you to do something I don’t want you to do. I’m just a guy behind a computer screen; all I can really do is give my opinion and advise people to be cautious. It’s your life; make your choices. I pray that they’re the right ones.

At any rate, thanks for reading. Time for me to wait with bated breath until Saturday. Hopefully the Oilers can do it; we’ll see. God bless.

Good day, I’ve got a new post to share. This is a subject I’ve wanted to talk about for a while, as manga is a big interest of mine. Be warned, this is going to be a pretty long read, so I’d recommend that you have something to eat or drink nearby. With that out of the way, let’s rock.

First off, let me start off with a story in two parts. Late last week, I said farewell to one of my favorite manga of all time: Land of the Lustrous by Haruko Ichikawa. After it debuted in 2012, it has become somewhat of a staple of seinen (meaning marketed towards young adults) manga for many in both Japan and around the world. There are various reasons for this, whether it be the unique artstyle, the themes which include the cycle of life and the longing for purpose in life, or the writing in general. Personally, it’s the writing that especially did it for me. Phos, the main character of the story, is one of the most interesting I’ve ever come across. Their journey of self-discovery, self-loathing and finally self-acceptance is quite compelling, and it makes for a fascinating read.

But before I turn this into a full-fledged review, let me tell the second part of this story. Last Sunday, I was in Sunday school and was taking notes for that day’s teaching. Further into the lesson, our teacher, a good friend of mine, began to talk about how many early-century Christians often avoided forms of entertainment like plays in a theater due to them viewing those plays as ungodly distractions. He then went on to talk about how many modern-day Christians seem to gloss over the content of many of their favorite TV shows and movies, and that the concerns of those who came before them in the Puritan and old Reformed communities appear to have been left in the dust. Other examples given were video games, music, and of course, manga.

This message was intended to be convicting, and while it didn’t fully do that to me, it did cause me to think for quite a while. I agreed with the overall idea that entertainment is generally fine for us to consume as long as it doesn’t cause us to stumble or to put God second or worse, but it also made me wonder about what kinds of entertainment we really should be consuming. Spoiler alert: I think manga is generally fine for Christians to check out. While most manga come from the perspective of those who follow Eastern religions or in many cases nothing at all, it’s still a medium in which some very fascinating ideas have been created and spread across the world. Some great stories have come from this spreading of ideas, and I think that’s something to be celebrated.

That being said, my endorsement doesn’t mean that it’s all good to read. There are certain types of manga that Christians should do their best to completely avoid, as they contain content that can be both crass and graphic. These are things to be mindful of, but how exactly do we differentiate what exactly is okay and not okay beyond the obvious subject matter within each manga? Glad you asked, because that’s the entire point of this post.

In this post, I’ll go over 3 different types of manga: what I think a Christian can read, may read, and shouldn’t read. Fair warning: this isn’t meant to be a list of recommendations, but if some of these series end up sounding appealing to you, then by all means, check them out. Except for the ones I think you shouldn’t read, try and stay away from those. Or don’t, your choice. Either way, let’s start with what I think Christians can read.

So, what is a can-read manga?

To put it simply, my definition of a can-read manga is one that’s largely devoid of graphic content (violent or sexual), has a story that is relatively easy to get into, and has things that could be considered Christian-like, such as defined moral standards and the promotion of certain values. These are manga that I think virtually any Christian can read, as there’s almost nothing that could seriously challenge their beliefs or make them stray away from the right path. Of course, it’s hard to find a fictional story nowadays that perfectly encapsulates all of these wants, but there are definitely some series out there that fit most, if not all, of these criteria.

An example I would give is Skip and Loafer, which is one of my favourite slice-of-life stories. It’s a coming-of-age story focusing on a young girl from rural Japan going to Tokyo for high school, where she meets many new friends, including her eventual on-and-off boyfriend. In this series, family values and healthy friendships are exalted, the story is wholesomely written and tackles realistic issues which many Japanese high school students face, and while there is romance, it is very tame and nothing sexually explicit happens.

While there are some questionable moments, the main one regarding the main character’s transgender aunt, these issues are only minor gripes overall, and I would still call this a good example of a manga that Christians can read. It obviously doesn’t meet every single criterion perfectly, but it’s one of the closest to doing so that I’ve read at the very least. Another can-read I’d recommend is Spy x Family, which is basically pro-family unit propaganda disguised as a spy comedy. It’s quite wholesome as well, and it’s genuinely very funny.

What about the may-reads?

Moving onto the may-read category of manga, which is easily the most common of the 3 types from my experience. Whereas can-reads are ones that I would recommend to virtually anyone at any point in their faith, may-reads are for those who are both more solidified in their beliefs and can stay steady when greeted by potential stumbling blocks. May-reads tend to contain more mature content and some questionable things such as violence, occasional sexual scenes, and worldviews/ideas that can sway those who aren’t fully committed to the Bible. What separates the may-reads and the don’t-reads is how these things are presented: may-reads carry this sort of content in a subdued and stomachable way, while don’t-reads are very liberal in showcasing the extreme sides of violence and sex, with many of it bordering on outright pornography. More on this later.

To give an example of a may-read, I’ll use the aforementioned Land of the Lustrous as an example. Despite my enjoyment of its story and the multi-layered characters and art, this is not a series I’d immediately recommend to anyone, especially not newer Christians. The story is largely a Buddhist allegory, with many of its ideas being shown from a Buddhist point of view. There are also a few moments which I wouldn’t hesitate to call disturbing: the psychological pain that the main character (Phos) goes through, the subtle grooming of another character by the main villain, and the escalating violence can all be challenging to read through, even though it’s far tamer than some of the other manga you can find out there. My advice for stories like this? Pray for discernment. Ephesians 5:6-10 states that we must watch for those who deceive with empty words, and that we also must try to discern what is pleasing to God.

May-reads are not for everyone, and if you recognize that God may be telling you that something isn’t for you, then you should listen and not read it. I try to do that with every story I read nowadays, especially after I came across what will be the main subject of the don’t-read section. From my experience, I did not sense this warning with manga like Vinland Saga and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, while I did with Goodnight Punpun and A Girl on the Shore (which are both by the same guy, funnily enough). Land of the Lustrous falls in the former boat, and in a way it was probably a good thing I did read it. I now know more about Buddhism than I did before picking it up, and I also now know that my earlier suspicions about Buddhism were right all along, and that would be that Buddhism is false. Now, onto don’t-read manga.

What makes a don’t-read a don’t-read?

Lucky for me, don’t-reads are the easiest for me to explain. If you’ve been following what I’ve been saying so far, you’ve probably figured out what constitutes a don’t-read: anything that has very disturbing content, whether it’s violent, sexual, or some gross combination of the two. Series with super crass humor and lowbrow values are also included here, as they typically aren’t very rewarding nor edifying. While you can make arguments for reading can-reads and may-reads, I would highly advise Christians stay away from don’t-reads of any sort, regardless of how appealing they may be on the surface.

Take Berserk, for example. It’s not only one of the most acclaimed manga of all time, but it’s also one of the most influential, having been the main inspiration for the Dark Souls series of video games. Want to know what it also is? One of the sickest, most depraved stories I’ve ever read. At least, the majority of it is. While I can handle extreme violence despite it generally being something we shouldn’t expose ourselves to, I found the over-usage of rape, sexual abuse, and borderline pornographic imagery to be both disgusting and hard to read. There was one moment in particular which made me physically ill, and I later dropped the series because of that. Many people defend the depiction of rape as “historically accurate”, given that it was quite common in the era in which Berserk is supposed to be set in, which is a fictional version of 15th-century Europe. The thing is, I don’t care. There is no reason to be looking at images that depict such disgusting things. You can imply it and not show it, but that obviously wasn’t the late author’s thought process when writing Berserk. This was the series that caused me to become far more alert of what’s on my radar for manga and books in general and to pray for discernment before I get into something, and in a way I have to thank it for that.

Of course, Berserk is not the only manga that has issues like what I’ve outlined above. Several other series contain content like this in spades. There are also thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of pornographic comics and animations across the internet and in several adult stores. Hentai, eroguro, lolicon, and every other kind of porn-related media that comes out of Japan are all hunks of garbage which drive people away from God and send them down the rabbit holes of addiction and depravity. There is nothing beneficial to reading don’t-read manga and looking at hentai (or pornography at all for that matter), so don’t get caught up in the hype. While 1 John 2:15-17 could arguably be applied to most of, if not all of the media we consume today, I think it’s especially relevant to this type of manga. The desires of our flesh and eyes aren’t from God but from the world. Stay away from these things.

So, now that I’ve covered all 3 types of manga, I’d like to add on a couple more things. For starters, you can also apply what I’d call the “3 types rule” to other forms of media, whether they be television shows or video games. I’d advise to still pray for discernment when thinking about watching or playing certain things as well, as you can get tangled up in all sorts of things you shouldn’t, just like how certain manga can cause some to stumble.

Secondly, even though I will defend the reading of manga or the consumption of most media, always remember that God must come first in everything you do. Don’t let your favorite books or shows distract you from him and especially don’t let them become your only sort of entertainment or nourishment. Set aside time for the Bible, for prayer, and for meditation. Colossians 3:2 and Philippians 4:8 both talk about the importance of focusing on what is above us in heaven, as well as whatever is true, honorable, and so on. And don’t just talk about it, do it. I only really started taking that seriously not too long ago, and I wish I had done something about it earlier.

To end off, I should mention how long it took me to write this. I had planned a couple months ago to have this be a post where I simply talk about some manga I’ve been reading and give my thoughts on them. I may still end up doing something like that in the near future, but I found this to be a better use of my time in the end. There are many Christians in the world right now who are either media illiterate or willingly ignorant of what they like, and I hope that this begins to rapidly change in the near future. Long story short, manga is generally alright, but always be careful.

If you made it this far, thanks. I hope what I’m trying to say got across in an understandable way. With that being said, God bless and I’ll see you later.

Let me ask you a question: if you’re reading this, and you’ve filled out a playoff bracket for your favorite sport before, how do you go about it? Do you pick all of the higher-seeded teams to advance just because they’re higher seeds? Do you make your picks based on gut feelings or vibes? Or do you scour the internet for various analytics that you can use to say why one team *should* win and the other team *should* lose? All of these are acceptable ways of doing it, but I find that #3 works the best, especially in hockey.

Hockey is inherently a very random sport, as we often see teams that should win games with ease on paper get completely embarrassed for little to no reason other than strange bounces of the puck or the other team catching them (and by association everyone watching) by surprise. However, despite this randomness, there are patterns which exist that tend to tell us how certain games or playoff series might go. Sometimes it’s underlying analytics like how well a team plays with or without the puck, or how sustainable their scoring is. Other times it’s up to team construction and the deployment of players by the coaches. Then, there’s my favorite of them all: recent history. I call that my favorite because it tends to be the most reliable out of all the methods you can use, from my experience at least.

That brings me to this year. The playoffs start today in a few hours, and after watching the entire season and seeing every team play through their respective seasons, I am now convinced more than ever that the Florida Panthers will be the ones to win the Stanley Cup in 2024. While many in the hockey world are picking the Rangers, Hurricanes and Stars, I’m sticking to what I’ve been thinking since January. The Panthers are not only the best team in their division, but I also think they are arguably better than the aforementioned Rangers and Hurricanes, who finished #1 and #2 in both their division and the eastern conference as a whole.

Now, why do I think so highly of this team? There are a few reasons why. For starters, the Panthers shocked the world last year by appearing in the Finals despite being the lowest-ranked team to make the playoffs. While they ultimately lost in 5 to Vegas, it wasn’t all that surprising they made it that far when you looked at the team as a whole. In the season before last year, they had gone into the playoffs with the best record in the entire league, and statistics have shown that several teams who have clinched the best record in the league over the last several years have typically won the Stanley Cup either the year they achieve said record or within the next couple years afterwards. That window is still open for the Panthers, and judging by their play this year, they are very eager to make it back to the Finals and to have the result go their way this time around.

Secondly, Florida plays a style of hockey that has been proven time and time again to be very effective in the playoffs. They are a rowdy, physical bunch who punish their opponents with big hits, suffocating defense, and lethal counter-attacks. They’ve adopted a bully mentality, which is absolutely vital. It’s very uncommon to see a team that is all skill and no grit go on to win the Stanley Cup, as hockey is inherently a very physical sport and is also quite demanding mentally. You need to have balls of steel to get the job done, and I feel that Florida has those in spades. It will be a nightmare for whoever plays them in the playoffs, and given that their first matchup is against their big brother in Tampa Bay, I’m sure that the Lightning will get a first-hand look at just how determined these guys are.

Thirdly and finally, the reason I have the Panthers winning over some of the teams I mentioned before is that I feel that while the Rangers, Stars and Hurricanes might be better on paper, they all have aspects to their game that I think the Panthers are just better at. It also helps that the eastern conference is quite weak this year and that I think the Hurricanes are really their only serious threat to getting back to the Finals. And even then, Florida proved that they could beat the Hurricanes last year by sweeping them. It was admittedly an extremely close series, but the Panthers got the clutch goals that the Hurricanes didn’t. That has been a problem for Carolina for quite a while now, and despite their great additions at the trade deadline, I expect that to continue this year. As for the Stars, I have them losing to Florida in the Finals in 6 games. The Stars are my second favorite team and I’d love to see them win it, but I’m just not feeling it this year. Florida will probably punch and suffocate their way to victory in that series, and I’ll have to respect it if it happens.

I’ve neglected to mention the elephant in the room for a bit now, so I’ll do it to wrap up. The thing with hockey is that while I think everything I’ve just said is a valid argument for why the Panthers could win the Stanley Cup, the truth is that hockey is super random and there’s truly no real way to know exactly how the playoffs are gonna go. Nobody picked the Panthers to beat the Bruins and go to the Finals last year, yet they did. Nobody thought the Lightning would get swept by the Blue Jackets in 2019, yet that happened as well. We just don’t know. Heck, the Panthers could get swept by the Lightning in the coming week despite everyone thinking the Lightning will lose. It’d kill my bracket, but it could happen. Stranger things have happened.

If everything I said in this post ends up being seriously wrong down the line, I’ll make a follow-up post in around a month or so. I’ll probably have to do one for Auston Matthews as well because he made me look like a fool this year by scoring 69 goals, which is simply silly. I still don’t think he’s a top 3 player in the league, but he deserves a lot of respect.

At any rate, long live playoff hockey, and I’ll see you later. God bless.

It’s been a little while since my last post, and this time it’s for good reason. The last few weeks have been pretty eventful, and while I wanted to talk about some of what I had been doing, I ended up getting pretty sick about a week ago. Some sort of bacterial infection found its way into my body, and I ended up having a pretty rough go of it for a bit there. I lost my voice for a few days, I had a horrible cough coupled with a seemingly never-ending headache, and I had practically negative energy. Thankfully I’m just getting out of it now, and I’m hoping to catch up on the various things I’ve neglected while I’d been resting. In the meantime, here’s a couple things I’ve been doing recently.

For starters, I’ll talk about what’s probably the more interesting of the two, and that’s the March Madness tournament. Before this year, I had never really cared much about college sports, let alone college basketball. For reasons I don’t fully remember, one of my good friends and I made a little wager to see who could produce the better bracket, and I ended up doing so pretty convincingly. While I’m on the topic, I’ll also say that I gained a lot of appreciation for college sports while following this tournament. There’s a soulful aspect to the games that you can’t always find in the major leagues. I’ll be watching next year’s edition. Finally, one more shoutout to Dan Hurley and UConn, they shredded everyone they played and were mesmerizing to watch as someone who loves team plays and good defense. Glad I picked them to win the championship, they were a very fun team.

Speaking of things that are fun to watch, Star Trek has always been one of my go-to shows, and I’ve been enjoying my rewatch of Deep Space Nine which, after reaching season 5, has been officially cemented as my favorite Trek by a mile. It had been around 7 years since I’d last watched the series from beginning to end, which means I’ve been sort of rediscovering the show. For example, I hadn’t remembered season 1 very well and was surprised by how dull it was at certain points. A lot of the storylines are retreads of old episodes from previous series, and they just felt dated.

Despite there being a fair amount of good episodes early on, the series doesn’t pick up until season 3, when they begin to introduce what will later become the main plot of the series in the Dominion War, which is one of the better snippets of TV you’ll find. I might do a separate post later on why I’m a big Trek fan despite my politics being at odds with some of the messages and the depiction of said messages, as they do tend to get a little too humanist for me at times.

Now, I do have more to say, but I feel that a lot of it would be better suited for separate posts, and I don’t want to make this one longer than it needs to be. I just wanted to get one out today because it has been a while since my last one, and it’s a good way for me to practice my writing, as I’ve been experimenting with short stories and working on assignments for my degree. My next one will be on the upcoming NHL playoffs and my quick thoughts on that, and then the one after that will be on manga from a Christian point of view. I’m looking forward to that one.

That’s all for now, God bless.

Around four years ago today, I was relaxing in my bedroom on a lawn chair I had built in construction class when I was in grade 10. Covid had come in like an angry housewife, and everything was beginning to shut down. At first, I was pretty indifferent about the whole thing. Not using my brain, I figured that after about a month, this whole thing would blow over. Using the opportunity, I hooked up all of my old consoles and began to replay some childhood games. Why not enjoy it while it lasts, right?

A few months later, I found myself tossing and turning in my new bed, having just moved while the pandemic continued to rage on. While it was partially due to the temperature outside, a lot of it had to do with the thoughts in my head. While I had been mostly enjoying myself by replaying old games and plowing through my to-read list, I had started to feel the need for something different. I needed a new hobby to keep me engaged and productive while I was off on summer break.

After reading a few articles, I settled on one: crossword puzzles. I had done some in the past while visiting my grandparents and had enjoyed them quite a bit. I saw it as a way to build up my vocabulary, as well as a way to train my brain in general. Sure, I could have decided on word searches or sudoku puzzles, but crosswords appealed to me the most. I downloaded a good app I saw on Google Play and went from there.

Fast forward to today, and I’ve made it a habit to do one crossword every day when I wake up every morning. I’m still using the same app I downloaded all those years ago, and I’ve gotten a lot of use out of it. Thousands of puzzles contained in various packs you can play at any time, with varying difficulties. Some contain more direct hints as to which word you’re looking for, while others challenge you to think outside of the box. If you get stuck, there’s a hint button you can press, which takes you to a website with different possibilities, the likeliest being at the top. I typically haven’t had to use it, but I appreciate its presence nonetheless. The sheer quantity of puzzles, along with the updates that bring even more in, ensure that I’ll probably never run out of them as long as I have the app.

Of course, crosswords aren’t for everyone. Some enjoy sudokus more for their abstractness and their emphasis on logical thinking. Word searches help to improve your concentration, as well as your memory. Even putting together a simple jigsaw puzzle helps the brain in numerous ways. The way I see it, there’s no wrong answer when choosing an activity like the ones mentioned above to challenge yourself. I chose crosswords because I feel they fit me the most. Some may disagree, and that’s fine. God made us human beings to have creativity, and that’s why we have so many options at our fingertips.

My advice to anyone reading this: start doing crosswords. Or any of the other games I’ve talked about. Challenge yourself, grow your brain, and have fun. It’s good for the mind, as well as the soul.

That’s all for now, see you around.

If you’re reading this and you haven’t seen Parasite, I encourage you to stop reading and find a way to do so immediately. There are very few films out there that not only manage to be endlessly rewatchable but can blend so many genres and ideas without over-complicating themselves. From top to bottom, it’s a masterpiece of not only South Korean cinema but cinema as a whole. I can’t say enough good things about it.

Despite that, this post isn’t meant to be a review of Parasite. There are many reviewers and analysts out there who have already said far more interesting things about this film than I will ever be able to. Instead, I’d like to talk about a recent incident involving one of the main actors featured in the film. I feel that it’s a story that deserved more attention than it got in the West, as well as another good example of how dangerous cancel culture is.

I don’t need to introduce cancel culture, so let me introduce the actor I’m referring to. Lee Sun-kyun was a well-known actor in South Korea, having starred in many acclaimed Korean dramas and movies, although most know him as Dong-ik from Parasite. His performance in the movie has always been underappreciated in my opinion, but that’s beside the point. Late last year, Lee was involved in a scandal involving alleged drug usage and an affair with a hostess in South Korea. Due to the high expectations placed on public figures by South Korean society, many were quick to judge him as a drug abuser and a cheater, despite no evidence being found for the former.

Unfortunately, Lee was found dead in a park at the end of December. He had committed suicide due to his public image and career being ruined, a fate that he shares with numerous other South Korean actors and influencers. Since his death, the media and police have come under heavy scrutiny, with Bong Joon-ho, Parasite’s director, demanding a full inquiry into the media’s role in Lee’s death. As he should, might I add.

Now, two things can be true at the same time. On one hand, Lee Sun-kyun may have indeed cheated on his wife, and that is something that he absolutely should not have done. It goes against the moral values of not only South Korea but the general world at large, not to mention the Bible. On the other hand, his suicide was a forced error due to the media declaring him guilty without a proper trial. We’ve seen this in North America, especially in Hollywood, over the last few years. While the MeToo movement did help out some powerful perverts like Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby, it also irreparably changed how society looks at allegations of improper behavior.

It’s not a stretch to say that the average internet user nowadays thinks with a “guilty until proven innocent” mindset whenever they see a scandal or an accusation levied towards someone. I don’t need to go into detail to tell you why that’s a bad thing. While our emotions are both valid and important, we as human beings need to keep them in check, and it’s not very smart of us to rush to conclusions whenever we hear that someone has allegedly done something bad. False accusations can and have happened, and we always need to be conscious of what we’re reading or seeing. It can have serious consequences, as Lee’s suicide has shown us. He never should have been put in that situation, and his story should serve as a lesson for all of us going forward.

While I could go on, I feel like I’ve said enough about this. Everyone knows that cancel culture is toxic for society and that we shouldn’t participate in it. We obviously can’t expect everyone to follow that rule, but we can do more to make sure that things like these don’t happen. Having a clear mind, and doing proper research will not only be better for society, but it’ll also be better for those accused of doing things they may or may not have done. If they did do them, then send them to where they need to go. If not, then they can walk free. Enough said.

That’s all for now.

A little over a month ago, one of the pastors at my church took a sudden leave of absence. At the time, we weren’t given much of a reason as to why, beyond the “need for rest”. After thinking about it, it made sense to me. The last couple of years had been quite strenuous for him, as he had been overseeing a bunch of new church projects, as well as doing what he could to get his children acclimated to our school system, given that they weren’t originally from here. It’s a big load for one man to carry, let alone the pastor of a growing church.

When I was told that he’d be coming back this past Sunday, I didn’t really know what to think. On one hand, I was excited about seeing him again. We have a good friendship and have confided in each other about various things. On the other hand, I couldn’t shake the sickly feeling I’d been having in my gut ever since I first heard about his break. Something was telling me there was a more serious reason why he took time off, yet I couldn’t figure out what it was.

After worship concluded at the end of our service, he took the stage after the service ended and he announced he was resigning at the end of this month. He cited poor health, as well as exhaustion. The room went from deathly silent to being filled with confused murmuring after we were dismissed. I managed to chat with him for a few minutes after the service, and I could see exactly what he was talking about. A typically confident and jovial man, he was visibly drained, his voice quieter, and his entire demeanor the total opposite of who he usually is. It was jarring, to say the least.

While this is a new experience for most of us, I feel compelled to reiterate the yoke a pastor carries. It’s not easy, and it’s nowhere near a light one. Pastors are counselors and caregivers for the congregation. They spell the words of the Word out for us in a way that makes sense, they minister to both saved and lost souls, and they are the leaders of the Christian community. On top of usually being family men and having the same financial responsibilities that us average folk have, it’s not always smooth sailing.

Seeing what happened to our pastor has made me really grow to understand the need for the congregation to support the pastor. It’s not a one-way street, and it never has been. The shepherds need to be ministered to as well, not just the flock. I’m not trying to say the elders and deacons at my church didn’t do their job in this situation, far from it. I’m just saying that more Christians need to realize how important being a pastor is. They’re not invincible statues of steel that can withstand being pelted with stones and acid rain. They’re imperfect human beings, just like us. Stumbling and struggling is not only natural, it should be expected. This is why we have elders and guides in place to assist when this happens.

I’m offering a challenge to every Christian who reads this: talk to your pastor and let him know that he has your support. Make him feel comfortable and welcome. It goes without saying, but prayer is also very important. Don’t just receive, give as well. Give your pastor the encouragement and comfort that he has given you. Trust me, it goes a long way.

That’s all for now, have a good rest of your day.