Other Interests

Because I have a life outside computers...

Catholicism

Here are some links related to my Catholic faith, which is less of an "other interest" and more of an "all-encompassing" one.

Vatican Website - Official website of the Holy See. I typically visit this website to read encyclicals, homilies, and letters written by popes.

Canadian Martyrs Prayer Community - I've been an active member of this prayer group since its inception in 2001, and I currently lead the parish's youth group. I programmed and designed the group's website, so once in a while, I get to sneak in my philosophical musings.

Word on Fire - Ministry started by Bishop Robert Barron, who is currently the bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester. Plenty of discussions about apologetics, faith and reason, and the intersection between religion and culture. The videos on their various YouTube channels are must-sees.

Star Wars

Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm a huge Star Wars fanatic. Lately, I've been interested in the way the nine Skywalker Saga films have used a form of parallelism (what I've coined as "visual typology") to communicate.

Star Wars - Official Star Wars website. It contains up-to-date Star Wars news and tons of other goodies like videos, photos, and a Star Wars databank/encyclopedia. Believe it or not, visiting this website on a regular basis fueled my interest in computer engineering and computer science.

TheForce.net - Probably the best (and certainly one of the oldest) Star Wars fansites out there.

Making Star Wars - Comparatively new Star Wars fansite, but reliable (at least content-wise...).

AllExperts - Do you have any burning questions about Star Wars? Ask me! (Update: after 16 years as an expert volunteer, the owners have decided to shut down the website)

Math

Yes, I do math in my spare time (although I contend that computer engineers and computer scientists are all mathematicians at heart anyways). The vast majority of mathematical resources I use consist of either physical books or journal papers, but here are a couple of fun websites to visit when you have time to spare.

Wolfram MathWorld - A nice online math encyclopedia

Elements - Classic book by Euclid. Particularly good for those who wish to get a good grasp of mathematical logic and mathematical proofs.

Movies

After watching Star Wars over 300 times in my youth (that is not an exaggeration), I decided to take a break and give other films a try. The result? I turned into a film buff.

Frolin's Favourite Films - A comprehensive list of my favourite movies of all time. I watch movies a lot so this list gets new entries added to it constantly. I've also written extensive analyses/essays for some (i.e., a very small percentage) of the films in this list, and you can find those in this page

Pixar - The Official website of Pixar Animation Studios. They make awesome movies.

TSPDT Top 1000 Films - Reception of film depends on focus, but from my own experience (and focus), TSPDT has the most stellar track record when it comes to introducing me to top-notch cinema. Lots of films by Ozu, Ford, Hitchcock, Bresson, Welles, Renoir, Fellini, Ray, Kurosawa, Tarkovsky, Kubrick, etc. You should definitely check this out if you're in the mood to watch anything ranging from Citizen Kane to Il Vangelo Secondo Matteo to The Godfather.

IMDb - The Internet Movie Database - the most comprehensive movie database online.

Music

I enjoy all kinds of music - classical, rock, rap, folk, country, jazz, and many others - no genre-bias whatsoever. The only prerequisite is that... well... it's good!

The Beatles - Favourite song of all time? "Hey Jude" by The Beatles. Favourite album of all time? "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by The Beatles. Favourite musical artists of all time? Use your powers of deduction to figure out the answer.

Radiohead - These guys are, in my opinion, the best artists of my generation. They recently got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but it's a big shame they weren't inducted in their first year of eligibility.

Rolling Stone - Official website of Rolling Stone magazine. This site includes the magazine's list of the Top 500 Songs and Top 500 Albums of all time. Again, reception of art depends on focus, but I highly recommend checking out these lists especially if you're just starting to get into music.

Books

I mostly read non-fiction, but I've recently taken an interest in reading classic literature. Some of my favourite books are "Jesus of Nazareth" and "Introduction to Christianity", both by Pope Benedict XVI; "Brainiac" and "Maphead" by Ken Jennings; "Fermat's Enigma" by Simon Singh; "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee; and "1984" by George Orwell. I've enjoyed plenty of others.

Richmond Public Library - Probably not relevant to you if you're not from the Vancouver area, but this is a place that I frequent.

Sports

I love watching and playing sports, despite the fact that PE wasn't exactly my favourite subject in high school.

Major League Baseball - I'm a huge fan of the Seattle Mariners, and I always root for them unless the other team's pitching a perfect game or a no-hitter.

NBA - Basketball used to be my main sport until baseball came along. Nonetheless, I still play basketball when I get the chance. I normally root for the Chicago Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA.

NHL - I usually only tune in to hockey during the playoffs when the Vancouver Canucks are still in the running, but I admit that it is an exciting sport to watch.

Other Hobbies

Jeopardy! - My favourite game show. I watch it everyday.

Geocaching - I started this hobby after reading about it in Ken Jennings' "Maphead", and I got hooked. Whenever I travel, I make it a personal goal of mine to find at least one geocache.