Batkid Begins

Just got done watching a documentary about Batkid, the 5-year-old boy with leukemia who went through an epic day in San Francisco in November of 2013 as part of his Make-a-wish Foundation "wish." Great account of the events, and a reminder, as they repeat in the movie, of how batkid saved us adults by giving us hope in our lives for a better world in the face of all the angst and evil we see in the world today, like ISIS, terrorism, bullying, diseases, droughts, petty differences, etc., etc. It's so liberating sometimes to watch something that inspires the condition of the human race and make me feel good about being a human being. I could see some of the negative comments about the Batkid Day (saved San Francisco in a fictional arc from the Riddler, the Penguin) as "the City spent $105,000 for one kid's make-a-wish" and that "this whole thing was way too elaborate for one kid, what about all the kids out there who are suffering?" But sometimes the human race needs role models (our sports stars like Charles Barkley don't want to assume the role, so somebody has to do it) to inspire others. How many people saw or read about Batkid and started volunteering more in their local communities? How many more people started understanding what leukemia was? How many people looked into themselves and understood what it is that drives us, the desire to do good and make the world a better place, because of symbolic gestures like Batkid Day? I, for one, have always questioned whether my volunteer contributions actually do anything, whether they are just empty gestures that make me feel good about myself and having no net gain for society, whereas I would be better off just sending money instead. Well, I think Batkid Day is an example where the act itself might not in itself be that helpful to the individual child undergoing treatment (5-year-old Batkid probably won't even remember all the details of the events of that day), but it's the overall example we set, or the culture that we foster, that can influence other people to do the right things and help out others. I will continue to give my time to worthy endeavors such as those and continue volunteering for causes that I care about, like diseases affecting children.


There are little areas of Los Angeles that go underrated in my opinion even amongst the Angelenos that live here. Long Beach, for example, has a really nice port area with Queen Mary (which is bigger than the Titanic! I found out today) and hosts tons of cruise ships from its marinas, as well as the Aquarium of the Pacific and other parks.

Venice canals- ever hear of those? Wow a really nice little area, right next to Venice beach, with bridges and trails cut near the artificial canals to look like actual Venice, Italy. Helps that the residences along the canals are always very aesthetically pleasing and architecturally sound, and it's so nice ducks and other animals swim down the canals all the time! It must be nice!

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan