Author: Sunroot Liu

static

from on stage, the plage

08.25 static
they all needed you
to protect them from the flames
you–you, a lightning rod
but you’ve decided to go back
past the deep green seas
to wade in waters and waves
unknown

now the terror
strikes without warning
or discrimination
it looms over the land,
a silent menace
imposing
until
a flash of light
comes in the night
and brings with it
the ruin of a city

why did you choose me
then and not now
I may not be who I was
but I’ve always been who I am

3 Sports That Need Me To Fix Them

In the vein of Grantland’s Half-Baked Ideas, I have a few proposals for fixing some of the issues in sports. Keep in mind, these are cockamamie ideas that have no appreciation for reality or respect for these games. I have no right to criticize or act like I can fix things, but this is the internet and unwarranted, unrequested, unqualified criticism is what the internet is for.

Sport: Soccer a.k.a. “the beautiful game” a.k.a. futbol a.k.a. the other football

Problem: Low-Scoring
In addition to being low-scoring, a chief complaint about soccer is that it lacks variation throughout the game. It’s 90 minutes of guys on the pitch trying to make something happen. This year, watching the World Cup, I gained an appreciation for the nuances, the tension of a team who keeps the pressure on, the thrill of the buildup to a shot on goal, but with if you’re in a bar watching a soccer game, there aren’t too many reasons to stop a conversation and tune in to watch. Unless it’s a corner, or free kick it’s easy to miss a goal if you’re not glued to the TV set.

Solution: Power Play
Whenever a player receives a yellow-card, they also have to sit out for a 5 minutes without replacement. Exactly like hockey, the team being penalized now plays short-handed for the next five minutes, fighting an uphill battle to survive. This opens up opportunities for scoring, as well as bringing a highlight to what otherwise might be a match without hills or valleys. This past World Cup, there was an average of 2.92 yellow cards given per game, so the Power Plays wouldn’t be too common an occurrence.

Sport: WNBA a.k.a. Lady NBA a.k.a. “who watches that?” (I watch that)

Problem: It’s the Lady Version of the NBA
The problem with the WNBA is that it is just another version of the NBA. There are similar rules and the same game, but it is proportionally less athletic and flashy. While the WNBA is home to a lot of great stars (call me Maya, call me Shoni), there are very few in-game dunks and the other exciting plays. There is a lot of fundamentally sound basketball, but the WNBA lacks the thrilling moments that make basketball the sport of choice for the Twitter Generation.

Solution: Sudden Death Overtime
Every overtime is Sudden Death. As in, next point wins. There is no way that this isn’t an awesome idea. Sudden death produces some of the most exciting sport you can ask for. (see: 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Atlanta Hawks vs. D. League Select). Every sudden death jumper or lay-up will automatically make it’s way onto the SportsCenter Top 10. Seimone Augustus will become known as “Sue-Ellen Death” when she holds the record for most overtime game winners. Kirk Goldsberry will have to create new graphics to show where games are won. This idea rocks.

Baseball a.k.a. America’s Pastime a.k.a. Your Grandpa’s NBA

Problem: It’s Boring
If you’ve ever watched a baseball game, ~~you’re probably 60 years old~~ you probably learned a few things. First, they’re long. The average length of a baseball game has increased in the past half-decade from 3 hours to 3.5 hours. Second, they’re uneventful. Don’t get me wrong, a Clayton Kershaw fastball is a sight to behold, but since the end (not really) of the steroid era, it’s a pitcher’s league and what that means is low scoring, low hitting, low energy games.

Solution: Couches
I was doing a lot of research on how to fix baseball, but with every idea, you run into an inevitable roadblack: tradition. Baseball is build on tradition, and you know what? I like it. I don’t want to introduce rules to force pitcher’s to pitch quickly. I don’t want to limit innings, bring the back walls in or expand the batter’s box. Replay doesn’t take up as much time as you think. So let’s roll with the punches, man. I say introduce better seating in MLB stadiums. For this 2014 season, only 3 teams (San Francisco, St. Louis, Boston) sold more than 90% of their seats on average. I say, if we’re going to have long games, low attendance by old people, and low energy, let’s expand the seats. Let’s put in bigger seats, couches, La-Z-Boy recliners and do it like the Jaguars are doing, embrace mediocrity in style. If people are going to be sitting around for hours, let’s keep them warm and comfortable.

Next Week:
I’m going to post about my experience at my first U.S. Open game. Stay tuned and don’t forget to check out Haikummute and Seminaroot!

she’s a grown-ass man

from blue fields, black dress

she’s a grown ass man

her tears will stain
the sleeves of her sweater
between the cotton-fibers
but she smiles
as she cries
and tells me of a dream
she had before
and still has

when she tells me,
I believe her
because more than the rest,
she honors love

devastation rocks her
to the core,
stirring the molten soup of
the soul.
but her hope burns hot
and bright, casting shadows
on the shadows
and blinding all those
who would stare

11.04 a tree

from the dry season

11.04 a tree
there’s a tree in the park
where I run
that is stubborn as
blisters on your feet
or a bad song in your ears

I take notice
in the fall
when the others begin to wear
their orange coats with
velvet hues

the spruces and the pines
are supposed to stay green
but this one is neither spruce
nor pine

this one is obstinate
stiff-necked
and uncooperative,
refusing to admit to what he is
his nature is to buckle
and to bend
when the horizon
opens wide it’s gates
to the cold northern chill
and the elements
blow the life off his brothers

yet he stands without
temper or color
clothed in the palettes
of a bygone era
while the other trees sway
and wither

they whisper to each other
that it will soon be his turn
to succumb to modernity
and he too will fall in line with the fashions
they are right,
soon he will be stripped of his
proud verdant robes.
because none are immune to
Winter’s cool touch
and when she embraces

him with frosty bosom,
he too will be brought low.
skeletal and bare.

on that day,
I will run on,
with eyes that are blind to him
once again,
because he too
shall be like the rest.

A Soldier In Peacetime

“Nothing is over!”

In this season of my life, it’s been tricky to figure out what to do with my time and hands. If you know me, you know that I like projects. Win, Lose, or Draw, I’m all about big and little ideas that have the power to change to atmosphere and structures in the places I am. Usually, there’s an issue to address and I find a creative way to take it on.

Fortunately, I suppose, everything is awesome. The people at QTEC are growing and making me proud every single week. People are making drastic huge changes in their lives to follow God because they’ve decided that His will is more important than theirs. Lives are being radically, and subtly changed by scripture and teaching. As individuals and as a group we are growing in how we reach out to our community, whether geographic, cultural or socially in the places we work, live and study. There was a while where we weren’t praying much, and now we’re praying crazy amounts and God is answering those prayers.

Which leads me to my dilemma. What does a soldier do in the peacetime? I’m accustomed to identifying threats, managing crises and running full bore into figurative fire fights, but now everything is awesome and I’m super proud of everyone and I don’t know what to do with myself.

I would use all the free time to do some writing, except I’m probably happier than I’ve been in a while and learning how to write out of discipline instead of necessity isn’t as exciting as drawing from my deep well of sadness.

The problem may be that Solomon taught me to enjoy the toil. Qoholeth, aka the Teacher, aka the Preacher, aka Solomon (maybe), tells me “there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.” I journeyed through a continent and a half to find the peace that comes from enjoying the toil. But what happens when the work is, at least for the time being, finished. I have steeled myself for a long winter of journeying under overcast skies through thorn-bushes, but I find myself in a spring meadow, basking in sunshine.

Maybe it’s a brief respite from the struggle, a port in a storm, and maybe by the time I post this, new challenges will be be rumbling on the horizon. But in any case, I might need to learn how to be me in peacetime. What a Sunroot looks like that isn’t running into battles. Who knows!? The end.

the boatman

from on stage, the plague

Continue reading →

7 More Guys At The Park You Love To Play With

This week my buddy Jeff went down with an arm injury. This post is in honor of him. He’s the best teammate a guy can ask for, on and off the court. All of these characteristics describe his effort and skill on the court. Send him some love and prayers.

1. Hustler (Rondo on floor)

The Hustler has that perpetual motor. He lays himself out for loose balls, covers all of the team with help defense, is relentlessly active with screens, cuts, rebounds and the whole lot. What else is there to say, the dude hustles.

2. Magnetic Hands

As I play more pick-up basketball, I realize how important it is to pick up the guy with the magnetic hands — the guy who grabs all of the rebounds. For a lazy shooter like myself, I can appreciate how a rebounder gives me extra shot attempts on every possession and takes them away from the other team.

3. Cutter

Not Mo, actually. But you gotta love the guy who doesn’t hang out on the perimeter waiting for the ball. The Cutter makes moves towards the basket and makes everyone else look like Ricky Rubio. He can move without the ball and that’s awesome because I like having the ball.

4. Eyes Behind His Head

Some guys just know where you are all the time. Sometimes it’s a tipped outlet rebound, Tyson Chandler-style to you waiting on the free throw line for an open shot. Sometimes it’s a quick shovel pass out of a double team that he shouldn’t have been able to see. Either way, this guy has a knack for finding you at your spot.

5. Einstein

It’s always a good idea to pick up the smartest guy in the park. A high basketball I.Q. means that you get a guy who is always setting screens, cutting to the basket and being disruptive on defense. He takes the right shots and makes the right passes. He spaces the floor where you need it and fills in the gaps.

6. The Monk

The team can’t all be made with egos, so it’s nice to have a skilled player on your team who isn’t going to take every shot. He isn’t cocky or arrogant, he’s just there to do work. He’ll knock down a couple of shots and instead of a heat-check, he’ll pass it to an open shooter. Humility without passivity makes for a good teammate.

7. Shutdown Corner

There’s always that dude on the other team that no one wants to guard. Maybe he’s a big man, a knock-down shooter or that skinny kid who runs like he’s on speed. Well, the shutdown corner guards him. Every time. He doesn’t mind taking the tough defensive assignments and your legs and ego thank him for it.

All these traits and more sum up the playing style of my buddy Jeff. I’m wishing you a speedy recovery and we’ll come back better (but safer) than ever next season.

But, I love me most

So I’m almost done with my first semester.

There’s a lot of scraping by, a lot of missing out on information for the sake of getting the work done. So, you know, usual school stuff. A couple of lessons before I talk about other stuff.

1. Acts 16 taught me not to forget the mission when you think you’re working towards the mission. Paul and Silas didn’t forget that they were there to save souls, including the jailer. So, even when God helped to break them out, they didn’t jump the gun at the cost of the jailer’s life. They fulfilled what they were there to do. I went to seminary to serve QTEC better, it’d be silly if seminary became a reason I couldn’t serve well there.

2. Mentorship is a beautiful thing. It doesn’t always come formally and with commitments. Sometimes it comes over coffee and having a cabinet of dudes you can count on for advice about different topics, but it’s a good thing. Awkward to start, but well worth it.

Anyways,

I’ve been thinking about being above reproach for a while. As I aspire to serve, counsel and lead people, I realize that it’s important for me to a measure of righteousness for both conservative and liberal peoples. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 9 outlines what I think has become my focus lately. He says that he becomes all things to all people, that he might win some. I think that may be what I’m trying to do. I may have to lay down my rights for the benefit of the people around me.

In the past few weeks, I’ve given up:
Cigar Smoking (hopefully temporarily)
Coffee Drinking (definitely temporarily)
Tattoo Getting (possibly permanently)

I give these up for numbers of reasons, most recently, my true love–coffee, because I want to be exemplary in self-control and discipline. (Also, so when I say “I can quit anytime,” I have a shred of credibility)

I know that some of the people reading this may look at this attitude of Paul and think, “there goes that oppressive religion again, stifling the individuality and freedoms of another person.” I think at times, I fear that oppression and crushing of my individual spirit. But most times, I feel excited. I feel excited for my liberation from silly needs and want. I am excited about living a life that isn’t just about me.

It sounds scary to modern people that I would suppress my right to advocacy and many other rights, but I believe in a kingdom whose systems are reversed–where those who put others first and themselves last shall be first too. Where putting aside myself can be the most honest expression of myself.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love me. In fact, I love me most, and my preferences and desires generally outweigh all others. But maybe I don’t need to fight old chinese people about tattoos and health-conscious people about cigars. I can spend my time loving them instead. And who knows, I might find more freedom than I gave up.

First Things First

I’ve been in seminary a few weeks now. There have been a lot of things to talk about. I will get to them later.

The first thing I discovered about seminary is that nothing changes. Sure, I get busier, I learn things, I find new ways to study and techniques to interact with God, but in the end, I’m still me.

Seminary might help you know God better, but it won’t help you know God deeper. I’m still me. I still the guy who gets restless and wants to leave everything behind to drive across the country. I still sit and think that we’re running around chasing after the wind. I still get lonely and depressed and I ignore God for long stretches of time while I do what I assume He wants me to do. I’m still a prisoner to impure thoughts and constant distraction.

The past few weeks have been filled with the same sinking feeling and it continues to weigh heavier and heavier on me. I think God misses me. It feels like He’s almost nagging me. I miss him too. I miss him, but I’m distracting myself. Most of my waking moments are tuned to some kind of music, YouTube video or sports commentary, and I think it’s why the waning moments are void and alone. It’s strange how I can miss Him and still actively ignore Him.

I don’t think it is holy men that enter seminary and I don’t think that it is holy men that come out. As I skim a Tozer book to write a half-assed paper, I am reminded of a good thing. Tozer reminds me that before we can even think about pursuing God, He has first pursued us. I’m reminded of what that nagging feeling means. It means that God is chasing after me first. I don’t have a lot of answers, and I might not have them later either, but I know that my God is worthy to be pursued because He’s the kind of God who pursues first.

This is a cool journey, but it’s not different then the one I had before. It’s not different from the one I will have. It’s the same as all people, but it’s good. I’ve got a lot of work to do, and me and God have a lot to catch up on.

NY & LA Pt.4 – The Venue

The Venue
If every city is a living breathing being, then every city finds it’s heart in it’s premier sports venue.

New York City – Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden’s esteem and greatness easily goes beyond New York and makes it one of the premier venues in the world. Ali fought Frazier there. Sinatra sang there. It’s the home of the Knicks, the Rangers, the Johnnies, the Big East Tournament and countless other world class events. When you can trace a venue’s history back to before the invention of television, not only has it stood the test of time, it has become an icon.

Best Moment: The Guarantee

Mark Messier promises to win the Stanley Cup despite the Rangers being down 2-3. Then, in a triumph that has made Messier a hockey god in New York, they do it. Best of all? They beat Jersey to do it.
Honorable Mention: Yankee Stadium

Los Angeles – Staples Center

Taking the Lakers from the Fabulous Forum, Staples Center has risen in recent years to be Los Angeles’ premier venue and somewhat interesting/not interesting night-life area. Home of the Lakers, Clippers, Kings, and Sparks, the Staples Center has made it’s way to become the center of L.A. sports. It’s history may not have been around long, but they have been winning. Despite being opened in 1999, Staples Center has been home to 4 NBA Championships and a Stanley Cup. Not too shabby for a youngblood. (Also, the Kings beat Jersey to win too)

Best Moment: The Alley-Oop

Despite the rumblings of the impending feud, Kobe and Shaq connect on a transcendent ally-oop that caps off a comeback to win the Western Conference Finals on route to their first championship together.
Honorable Mention: The Rose Bowl, The Coliseum