Fact. Apparently there are at least two grown men in this country with active social lives and are gainfully employed in respectable jobs and industries, who are completely okay with going to Best Buy by themselves and for no purpose other than to play Guitar Hero there for an hour or more.
Just finished reading Amy Tan's The Kitchen God's Wife. This classic contemporary novel follows a mise en abyme conceit of a Chinese immigrant mother opening up the proverbial closet door and sharing all the skeletons that hides within to her American born and raised daughter who, now an adult with a family of her own, has a secret herself about which she hasn't informed her mother. The mother's narrative primarily takes the reader and her daughter back to the old country, the setting of China in the early half of the tumultuous 20th century. I'm mildly embarrassed that I haven't explored this book until now, but in a way I think I processed the novel more dynamically having it read now as opposed to when I was still in college or high school. I possess a compass if you will today that I lacked back then that helped inform me as I was reading and enjoying this novel.
My biggest critique is Tan's portrayal of the men in the novel, many of whom seem awfully archetypical and regressive that at times took me away from the story. Anyone else feel this way? Over all however, it's a "good read." I give it a shining 3.5 stars out of 5 and I recommend you definitely pick this up for a read.
Interesting argument for calling an end to the Olympics:
The Summer Games in Beijing are four months away and already a predictable mess. The running of the Olympic torch resulted in arrests and nasty confrontations with the police last week in London and Paris amid protests against China’s recent crackdown in Tibet and other human rights abuses. In San Francisco, the only North American stop, the torch-bearers played literal hide-and-seek with protesters when the route was suddenly changed for security reasons. There have been repeated calls for heads of state to boycott the opening ceremonies. But protests and boycotts are no longer effective remedies.There is only one way left to improve the Olympics: to permanently end them.
I'm personally not opposed to such a proposal. The "magic" of the Olympics that I once felt when I was a kid no longer holds true today. The only global sporting event that excites me, like most of the world population, is the World Cup.
Witnessed last night: Two guys jawing at one another in front of a bathroom at club. One guy is in crutches. The other guy punches him. It's quite a sight always to see human bodies quite literally fly through the air. This incident occurs about one meter away from me. I side step--useful as a dance move and to avoid a fight--as the guy with crutches falls to the ground as he gets pummeled by the assailant. Another guy jumps on the punching guy's back to try to pull him off. I recollect briefly considering, "Should I jump in and try to stop the fight?" One second later, "Nah." The DJ and bouncers stepped in a few seconds later. I welcome the next stage in human evolution.
I look up after an intense couple hours of concentration and it appears NYC is blanketed in a fog soup.
I will be attending this event. Details copy and pasted from the e-mail I received this morning: OBAMA EVENT DETAILS:
When: 7:30AM Sunday, April 13th, 2008 Where: Union Square South (NYC) What: An Obama ad for Moveon.org
What to expect: Upon arriving you will be handed a flyer with a release and a letter on it: O, B, A#1, M, or A#2. This will tell you where to stand.
We want this to look like it happens organically. Once we establish everyones place, we will ask you to scatter. You will have 10 seconds to return to your letter.
We will only have 30 minutes to rehearse and 30 minutes to film. We have to be out of the park at 8:30AM.
Please be on time and please listen to Diego (The guy with the megaphone).
We have all been inspired and motivated to do this by Barack Obama and hope you join us to make this possible.
Thank you!!!
The Spell Obama in Union Square Team
Please contact:
spellobamaunionsquare@gmail.com
or
The host of Jeopardy Alex Trebeck enunciates his cussing as clearly as he does with "Peloponnesian war." [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU2w72KAkQQ]
Also, Teen Jeopardy cussing:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CzEx7Z4QIk]
Also, Trebeck does "strobe" lights:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K70OmtBsTf4]
Jeff: You wanted new jeans. What about these? They're a bit more than 50 bucks, but think of them as an investment. They're Dior. And no, dude, they aren't gay at all.
This is a great interview with John Cho in advance of the national release of the heavily anticipated, at least around these parts, of the sequel to Harold and Kumar in which John Cho reprises the role of Harold. In the interview Cho highlights something about Asians and the entertainment industry that I've noticed, which is a rise in the casting of Asian Americans in commercials.
One thing I'm oddly encouraged by though, there's a lot of Asians in commercials. The reason why I think that's important... you know, there's the casting where they say, okay, we're going to make our show look cosmetically multicultural. We're gonna try and do this thing that you guys keep asking for. And then there are commercials, which are just pure commerce, in that we're trying to sell you this product. Asians, buy this detergent. And if they're trying to sell us detergent, or trying to sell us a Lexus, maybe eventually they'll try to sell us movies, you know? Come see this movie. We've put together a cast of people that look like you. So maybe that's the next move.
The other day, I noticed a commercial, the exact product escapes me at the moment, featuring an Asian guy, his white wife, and their hapa baby. That observation is apropos of nothing because to fully explicate this would make my head explode, and I don't think there's enough space on the Internets.
Anyway, on an anecdotal level I've observed a trend in commercials where castings seem to reflect a more accurate mirroring of our multi-racial and cultural environment. Movies and television alas is still far, far behind. But! There's a light at the end of that tunnel! Oh wait, no light, it's just Neil Patrick Harris riding on a unicorn. Thank GOODNESS for awesome stoner dude-flicks like Harold and Kumar!!
Couple days ago I came across this article via Gawker from Yale's newspaper that described how one of their classmates wasn't who he said he was and had applied to the school with falsified credentials and forged transcripts. The student is unnamed in the article. After reading it, I told my roommate that I was 99.9 percent positive that I know who this student is. Explanation: When I was at Columbia, I had class with this gregarious but peculiar kid. He later introduced me to one of his friends. Out of the blue, she called me last summer to warn me about this former classmate of hers. She had considered him one of her closest friends, quite literally welcoming him into her life and her home. What she divulged blew me away. Different age. Different country of origin. Marriage. In his computer: forged documents and social security numbers belonging to her and others. Turns out my instinct about the subject of focus in the Yale article was correct. What the fuck.
Today was the first truly warm day of 2008. A joyous day. I ate lunch outside (Chipotle, no less) on the steps of the imposing US Post Office building near my office--sans jacket! These steps dwarfs those of Columbia University's, although the scenery of Midtown West leaves much to be desired. I left work on time and I have a personal rule that on the first warm day of the spring, I try to walk as much as I can on that day. So after leaving my office building, I had a really great leisurely stroll from West 34th Street and down to Soho. While walking past the fashion school FIT I passed "Party Girl"--a former model who played a central role in a New York reality show before reality shows dominated the television air waves. Don't ask why I know this. Nearing my gym, I randomly discovered myself in front of a window display art exhibit that I had read about a few days ago on one of the many websites I frequent. This artist knitted these creatures that resembled those that reside deep in our ocean's trenches. It's very cool. It is on Broadway and somewhere around 10th Street-ish. Check it out.
The runaway most popular games at MySpace Games is the classic game of Pool 8 Ball. Seriously, people freakin' LOVE that game, and I do have to confess that I find it pretty terrific and addicting. Anyhoo, check out this sick trick shot:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XTGBOKqccw&NR=1]
Again, I maintain that it's activities like these that separates us from the monkeys.
I tested out Starbucks's new coffee this morning. "Hi, can I have uhm, the new coffee? Small."
"You mean the Pike Roast? Tall?"
"Sure."
Verdict: Extremely and overwhelmingly UNIMPRESSED. While it no longer has that burnt texture, the new brew does leave a very bitter aftertaste (I drink coffee black.). In my pick of fast food chain coffee, Starbucks ranks third after Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds, respectively. I am however a big fan of the usage of their new or rather OLD original logo, which obviously evokes the corner cafe sentiment as opposed to the branding think tank created image.
Although after our Starbucks run and as I was examining the logo on the elevator ride up to our office, my coworker asks rhetorically, "Why's she spreading them like that? Nasty."
Project Falling Through Runway:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcbIMNhghVI]
LOL.
It reminds me of this clip of Frasier aka Kelsey Grammer straight up disappearing while giving a speech. It cracks me up how the spotlight takes a few seconds before it locates him again...on the ground in obvious pain. If I was the spotlight operator, I WOULDN'T try to find him.
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=FkLg6vv34Fs]
This is an incredible music video. It's second to none after this one, of course. Watch the video until the very end for the M. Night Shyamalan twist! [youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=oMLCrzy9TEs]
At work I use two memo pads with "to-dos" or "action items" along with sticky notes all over my desk with various reminders and more action items. Hopefully by next year I can also have use these sticky notes developed by a British company that uses "intelligent" paper embedded with a programmable built-in alarm clock that can flash or beep.
Nerds say what? What. Office managers everywhere say "Ah, hell no. Stick to your Staples sticky notes."
[Thanks Rachel Rachael! Stop web surfing and finish your paper.]
GASP! MROD LIKES MICROSOFT!
Okay, first of all don't be a jackass about it. I still hate their operating system, Word, Excel, and well everything in their universe. However, my work recently migrated everyone's remote Outlook access to the new online version of Outlook and I do have to say it's a HUGE vast improvement on its predecessor. It's obvious that during its development the team took Apple users into consideration. It runs flawlessly on my iBook. Maybe these two warring camps can play nicely. They should.
That said, over the past couple years as the Internet has become more and more web video heavy (and finally starting to fulfill its long envisioned promise as a multimedia entertainment competitor to television and movies--honestly people, you should check out Hulu.com for high-quality full length TV shows AND movies ranging from Dave Chappelle's Block Party to The Usual Suspects), my iBook is starting to show its strain under the weight of all that YouTubing.
Will current Red Sox fans' great great grandchildren even know Bill Buckner's name or know of the now defunct Curse of the Bambino? I hope not, especially Bill Buckner's and I doubt they will after today's celebration at Fenway.
Still, the warmest scene involved Buckner, a long-lost member of the Red Sox family. When he slowly strode from left field to the mound, he received a lengthy standing ovation. Buckner wiped his eyes.Fairly or unfairly, Buckner, who had 2,715 career hits, is best known for a play he did not make. Buckner let Mookie Wilson’s grounder to first base roll between his legs in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. That error enabled the Mets to complete a two-out, three-run rally and win.“It was hard for me to do,” a teary-eyed Buckner said about returning to Fenway.
Rest of article here.