One of my fondest earliest memories is going to sleep in the back room of my grandparents' house in Fresno while in the living room the adults played mah jongg until deep into the night. The recurring sea of clatter from the shuffling tiles imprinted a preference for falling asleep not in silence, but near comforting noise.
Similarly, I remember falling asleep in my cubicle in Taipei Hostel during the 1996 Olympics, listening to people in the common room watching the live broadcasts of the sports that Asians really care about -- badminton, table tennis, soccer.
Right now there is nothing I'd rather fall asleep to than the ping-pong match between the U.S. Chinese woman and the Korean Korean woman. I hope there is a room in the afterlife where this is always on TV.
the beizhing mystique
As we move forward towards a new global paradigm of intercultural cross-pollination and information exchange between the modern superpowers, the Olympic coverage has this to offer:
OMG! Did you know that the Chinese people eat weird things? And they have pandas there! Also, all their music involves gongs. And you gotta be kidding me with this food. I mean, scorpions. Come on.
OMG! Did you know that the Chinese people eat weird things? And they have pandas there! Also, all their music involves gongs. And you gotta be kidding me with this food. I mean, scorpions. Come on.
10 excellent things said at 2008 ComicCon:
...by me as well as other people....
1) "Are you going to be here for a while? Can you watch our stuff while we dance? I totally trust you."
2) "Who invited the porn?"
3) At the "Starship Smackdown:" "The Babylon 5 White Star is a star, okay? White. Star. [versus a] Star Destroyer. I think that falls in the category of 'Duh.'"
4) A daughter to father: "Oh no, Daddy, don't get drawn in, you'll be looking at comic books for hours, don't get drawn in!"
5) "Hey do you guys have any free stuff? No? You guys are gay."
6) Jonathan Frakes (Will Riker), singing at the hotel piano bar: "Like Jack Horner/On the corner/Don't go nowhere/What do I care?/Your kisses are worth waiting for.....believe me."
7) "There's no way a movie can do justice to what Watchmen was about." "What was Watchmen about?"
8) Again, at the "Starship Smackdown:" "The Axiom needed corporate sponsors to exist. The Ajax rocket [from Flash Gordon], not so." "Well, it needed one." "What?" "Ajax."
9) "That was the textbook definition of a smattering of applause."
10) "Man, I just want to read my comics. Go away."
don't go soft
That Dark Knight movie was pretty good, I guess, enh, y'know, whateves. Wouldn't Two-Face start to know what he flipped by the texture of the coin's burnt side on his arm? Anyway. As a fan of The Original "The Dark Knight" I was pleased with the part where Joker has the cop by the throat and the cop says, "It's my own damn fault..." which obviously is a reference to the part of the graphic novel where the caged Mutants grab their guard and he says:
"Murray....it's my own damn fault....don't go soft...."
...imploring Murray, his fellow cop, to shoot these punk Mutants, and probably him in the process. Good moment. I was disappointed that no one in the whole movie said "Batman don't shiv." Because for me that phrase kind of summed up the whole experience.
"Murray....it's my own damn fault....don't go soft...."
...imploring Murray, his fellow cop, to shoot these punk Mutants, and probably him in the process. Good moment. I was disappointed that no one in the whole movie said "Batman don't shiv." Because for me that phrase kind of summed up the whole experience.
glow 08
You can't really tell, but this is two girls fighting with lightsabers next to the Santa Monica pier at 2 in the morning. And it's good that you can't tell, because I didn't ask to take their picture or anything. The "Glow" event turned out to be pretty great. I ran into Miguel, Luis, Susan, Taiho, Mark, and hecksa other fools who I would otherwise only see on Facebook. Thousands of people roaming the beach in the middle of night in Los Angeles....not a bad start.
168
So we had a big anniversary party for my folks last Sunday and my sister hooked it up with all The Food That Is Good To Eat. Here is the menu card, that is, my attempt at rendering The Food That Sounds Good To Eat:
** Sunday, January 29, 2008 **
Cucumber & Watercress Tea Sandwiches
Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches
Mah Family Potato Salad
Heirloom Tomato Mozzarella Salad
Arugula, Pear, & Goat Cheese Salad
Asian Noodle Salad with Shrimp
Carnitas Tostadas with Fresh Guacamole
Lemon Bars
Cherry Almond Bars
Chocolate Mozart Torte
Strawberry Tartlets
Berry Almond Shortcake
Sparkling Fruit Punch with Prosecco
I couldn't figure out how to sex up the Tea Sandwiches, but they were delectable. They should've been called the Ain't Nothing Wrong With Those Tea Sandwiches. My sister has a way of combining mild flavors with decadent ingredients to make food that you really could eat all day. I'm in the school that thinks all the Top Chef fine-dining culture is more a trick of marketing language than actual cookery. If I have to look at one more shellack-shined photo of some Asian-Fusion wok-tossed applewood-seared Napa Valley deconstruction of molecular gastronomy, my eyes will literally vomit. Happy Anniversary Folks!
** Sunday, January 29, 2008 **
Cucumber & Watercress Tea Sandwiches
Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches
Mah Family Potato Salad
Heirloom Tomato Mozzarella Salad
Arugula, Pear, & Goat Cheese Salad
Asian Noodle Salad with Shrimp
Carnitas Tostadas with Fresh Guacamole
Lemon Bars
Cherry Almond Bars
Chocolate Mozart Torte
Strawberry Tartlets
Berry Almond Shortcake
Sparkling Fruit Punch with Prosecco
I couldn't figure out how to sex up the Tea Sandwiches, but they were delectable. They should've been called the Ain't Nothing Wrong With Those Tea Sandwiches. My sister has a way of combining mild flavors with decadent ingredients to make food that you really could eat all day. I'm in the school that thinks all the Top Chef fine-dining culture is more a trick of marketing language than actual cookery. If I have to look at one more shellack-shined photo of some Asian-Fusion wok-tossed applewood-seared Napa Valley deconstruction of molecular gastronomy, my eyes will literally vomit. Happy Anniversary Folks!
it must be said i do love my dad
...he gave me a lesson on credit card debt management that may be the more useful piece of advice I've ever received, and which, up until my recent unsuccessful dalliances in real estate, I have dutifully and gratifyingly followed.
What's my motivation?
It'll be weird if the revolution finally comes because of gas prices. Because that's not really what the revolution should be about, is it?
this has not worked for me yet, for some strange reason...
Um. Whatever.
I think Yahoo's headline post before this one was, "Someone's Blog Had An Opinion About Jennifer Aniston."
I think Yahoo's headline post before this one was, "Someone's Blog Had An Opinion About Jennifer Aniston."
songs the 90's forgot
The music in Applebee's today was amazing. The station ID tagline was something like "The 90's...you lived through them then... so you'll survive this." They played Celine Dion's "That's They Way It Is," which, after all this time, it still seems to be. They played the Backstreet Boys' immortal ode to their own popularity, "Larger Than Life." They played Vanilla Ice's "Play That Funky Music White Boy" from "Cool as Ice," for pho's sake. I believe they may have played the other song by Marcy Playground. It was that kind of set.
My two other favorite walkable restaurants are both closed on Tuesdays, as it turns out, not sure why. So I ended up at Applebee's because I'd never eaten there before, and I believe in trying all chains at least once, because that's what chains are for, right? Anyways, I'm sure the stuff white people like blog will do a piece on this if they have not already, but what is with American food and the extra tablespoon of Salt and/or Sugar that they put on everything? It happens at Applebee's, it happens at Outback Steakhouse, it happens less often at Denny's (where they instead favor grease, bless their hearts). It's like they're afraid the actual taste of the ingredients might leak through if they don't blow up a salt grenade over the food. I dunno what I was expecting out of my sampler plate, but it was definitely....more.
My two other favorite walkable restaurants are both closed on Tuesdays, as it turns out, not sure why. So I ended up at Applebee's because I'd never eaten there before, and I believe in trying all chains at least once, because that's what chains are for, right? Anyways, I'm sure the stuff white people like blog will do a piece on this if they have not already, but what is with American food and the extra tablespoon of Salt and/or Sugar that they put on everything? It happens at Applebee's, it happens at Outback Steakhouse, it happens less often at Denny's (where they instead favor grease, bless their hearts). It's like they're afraid the actual taste of the ingredients might leak through if they don't blow up a salt grenade over the food. I dunno what I was expecting out of my sampler plate, but it was definitely....more.
heard in the casino today:
"I bet, doh ma. I found some free rope and I'm going to hang myself with it, because, hey, free rope!"
bopping around LA
...today I took a break from organizing my mp3 collection to go buy printer ink and then eat chicken heart yakitori with pickles and also hang out with Lloyd from "Entourage" and Stephanie from "Better Luck Tomorrow" and somewhere in there I saw a short film with this svelte Singaporean guy masturbating himself, onscreen, close-up of hand on organ, for like 6 minutes as quotes from Allen Ginsburg flitted across the frame, OMG, and I also had some popcorn, and tomorrow I'm going to go get breast implants. J/K LOL that last thing but the rest of it was real.
the best line in "The Sting"....
"You know me. I'm the same as you. It's two in the morning and I don't know nobody."
I'm totally going to say that, at least once, when I'm at the Sundance Lab. I don't care what else happens.
I'm totally going to say that, at least once, when I'm at the Sundance Lab. I don't care what else happens.
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