1. Road-tripped cross-country.
2. Went to a circus.
3. Took a bubble bath.
4. Visited Europe (France, Britain) and Asia (Korea- the southern half).
5. Lived on the east coast (Philly).
6. Visited San Fran.
7. Biked to a castle in France, pitched a tent, and ended up sleeping outside on a bench by the Cher river because the tent was pitched incorrectly and on an ant hill.
8. Ran a half-marathon.
9. Won a spelling bee.
10. Threw up at a (different) spelling bee.
11. Attended Harry Potter Midnight Magic party!
12. Lived during the HP era.
13. Got a degree in an obscure language called Math.
14. Reconnected with a childhood friend:)
15. Worked in a bookstore.
16. Downed a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's in one sitting. (More than once!)
17. Went on a date (More than once!)
18. Acted in a play (Chekov's "The Sneeze").
19. Wrote a tune on the guitar.
20. Hiked up Mt. Rainier.
21. Kept a blog.
22. Went snorkeling in the Bahamas.
23. Kissed an Irishman.
24. Danced in a ballet.
25. Made a nerdy physics joke.
26. Got over my fear of spiders and vegetables.
27. Dove off the high board. (OUCH. Never again.)
28. Inspired someone.
29. Got a tattoo.
30. Stayed up all night watching Alias.
31. Memorized the times table up to 12-sies.
32. Memorized the Lord's prayer. (I was bored. Waiting in the car. Did nothing for my faith.)
33. Read the Elegant Universe.
34. Learned to play Korean jacks.
35. Learned to hula hoop.
36. Fell in love, maybe.
37. Learned how to do the stadium whistle (just yesterday, actually).
38. Learned how to do a headstand.
39. Got hit by a taxi.
40. Visited Mont St. Michel in Normandy- tres joli!
41. Read The Little Prince in French. (I think I understood it too- it was a book about Napoleon, right?)
42. Downed 15 shots of soco&lime and didn't fall off the rooftop.
43. Dressed up as Superglue for Halloween with real bottles of Elmer's glue on my utility belt, an orange cape, and everything.
44. Saw Rent on Broadway and cried...until he came back to life. Then I got angry and threw rotten tomatoes at the Hollywood ending.
45. Acquired a tolerance for sushi, but only in the roll form. I don't do big chunks of raw flesh!
46. Reunioned at Mad4 with my beloved amigos.
47. Made a list of my accomplishments that ended at Rambaldi's magic number.
Monday, December 31, 2007
23 Things to do before I turn that certain age
1 for each of the years that I've lived so far:
1. Write & illustrate a children's book
2. Hot Air Balloon ride.
3. Buy a Victorian-style house in San Fran.
4. Get a PhD
5. See Swan Lake or Sleeping Beauty.
6. Perform with my guitar.
7. Fall in love for sure.
8. Fold a 1000 cranes and make a wish. (About halfway there!)
9. Visit South America. Travel to all 7 continents.
10. See the Northern Lights from...somewhere cold.
11. Learn Egyptian.
12. Ride a camel to the Pyramids in Egypt, then use my knowledge of Egyptian to decipher the writings on the tombs.
13. Learn to Tango.
14. Go to a Late Night with Conan taping.
15. Either give birth to or deliver a baby, but not both. And name it Summer if it's a girl.
16. Learn to play chess so well I can win at drunk chess.
17. Go surfing in Hawaii.
18. Go surfing in Costa Rica.
19. Learn to surf.
20. Go to Mars. C'mon NASA, I've only got like 70 years left!
21. Become a neonatal nurse.
22. Learn to unicycle, then tour with Cirque du Soleil.
23. Pay off all my school loans.
Thought I'd end on a practical note.
1. Write & illustrate a children's book
2. Hot Air Balloon ride.
3. Buy a Victorian-style house in San Fran.
4. Get a PhD
5. See Swan Lake or Sleeping Beauty.
6. Perform with my guitar.
7. Fall in love for sure.
8. Fold a 1000 cranes and make a wish. (About halfway there!)
9. Visit South America. Travel to all 7 continents.
10. See the Northern Lights from...somewhere cold.
11. Learn Egyptian.
12. Ride a camel to the Pyramids in Egypt, then use my knowledge of Egyptian to decipher the writings on the tombs.
13. Learn to Tango.
14. Go to a Late Night with Conan taping.
15. Either give birth to or deliver a baby, but not both. And name it Summer if it's a girl.
16. Learn to play chess so well I can win at drunk chess.
17. Go surfing in Hawaii.
18. Go surfing in Costa Rica.
19. Learn to surf.
20. Go to Mars. C'mon NASA, I've only got like 70 years left!
21. Become a neonatal nurse.
22. Learn to unicycle, then tour with Cirque du Soleil.
23. Pay off all my school loans.
Thought I'd end on a practical note.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Virtual Reality, Fishing, and Taters
Art imitates life, kids play house, and in Second Life, residents buy, sell, trade, and work. Why is it that when given the opportunity to escape reality, we always end up imitating it as best we can? In the virtual reality world of Second Life, the player is given the freedom to create any sort of world he desires and to make anything happen, but despite this ultimate freedom, the game's purpose evolved into the mundane real-world activities of making ordinary objects like clothes and selling or trading them, earning money (in Linden dollars), driving cars, owning land.
If I were to create a virtual reality game, I feel like I would want to create a whole new system of living that does not involve earning money or the business of real estate. But I can see a reason why a virtual imitation of reality would be such a draw: mainly because there are a lot of things in reality that can technically happen or exist, but do not because of lack of resources or talent or looks or personality or luck; which makes these things (that can technically happen or exist) unreal and invaluable. For example, it is mentioned in Wikipedia that artists use SL in order to exhibit their artwork in a Second Louvre. Getting one of your paintings exhibited in the Real Louvre is an event that could technically occur in reality, but for such an event to actually take place, a ton of skill and some luck, among other variables, are required. It is technically possible, but the chance of it actually occurring is so incredibly slim that it is what we call an "honor" for the lucky few, "tunneling" by quantum physicists, and a "flight of fancy" for the rest of us- in other words, it's a real, but not a realistic event. The virtual world allows players to live out their real-worldly dreams of being beautiful and winning car races and running naked in public. Which is testament to the fact that reality is pretty cool, often undervalued; we don't necessarily have to leave the realm of reality in order to experience amazing things. Fantastical events like flying without an apparatus only seem cooler because they cannot happen in reality. If we could fly, but we couldn't walk, walking would seem so much cooler just because it can't happen in reality. (Similarly, square watermelons, though not impossible to grow, seem cooler than round ones just because watermelons are naturally round.) But then again, isn't that like saying murderers only kill because their brains are wired a certain way that makes them more prone to murderous tendencies? Whatever led them to kill, unless it was due to insanity- having no moral judgment- it does not change the fact that they killed, so they should be punished for it. Similarly, the coolness factor of flying shouldn't be devalued just because it stems from the fact that flying lies outside the bounds of physical possibility. It is cool precisely because it is impossible and is a sensational experience.
Not only does SL allow real but not realistic things to "actually" occur, but there are actually some pretty cool non-real ideas explored through SL that stray away from the mundane activities of real life. Wikipedia mentions that artists have explored novel art forms that aren't physically possible in the real world. I guess what I realize is that fantastical re-imaginings of the world and systems of living don't just spring out of nowhere; they have a basis in reality and evolve gradually. We have to start with what we know, and innovations will come about until we look back and ooh and awe over what a spectacle we've created, how different the world seems compared to X numbers of years ago, and how fantastical the present appears to be compared to the past in terms of the kinds of jobs, clothes, buildings, technology, lifestyles, etc. that exist. And anyway, some people relish the game of real estate. Honestly, I am a huge fan of the saying that everything is interesting if looked at from a certain angle. However, there are some subjects whose interesting angle is hidden deeply in a crevice and once fished out, turns out not to be worth the amount of fishing line it took to get it out. Either that or it's never fished out because the angler falls asleep from boredom before it's ever found. Think about that the next time you run into a dozing fisherman. It's not the sun, it's the lack of biting angles!
Speaking of fishing, here's a T-shirt aphorism I spotted at a t-shirt store at Pike Place Market: Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day; teach him how to fish and he'll sit on a boat drinking beer all day.
I had never heard of Second Life before today, when Hyung boo (what I call my cousin's husband) asked if I knew about it. The three of us ended up spending all of dinner talking about it, it's relation to what he and his colleagues are trying to do with cyworld, and it's implications. An interesting point was when I wondered aloud whether our world could someday be taken over by a virtual world. Initially, I arbitrarily defined being "taken over" as spending more than half the day's hours in the virtual world. My cousin, Lira Unni, pointed out that that's pretty much already happened because we spend so much time on the internet. But she happened to think that a take-over was not a huge concern. For instance, when e-books first came out, people expressed concern over the possibility that e-books would eradicate paperbooks, but as is evident, paperbooks are still around and cherished because people naturally want to be able to hold and touch our books. But I pointed out that that desire comes from the generation that grew up with paperbooks- perhaps a few generations down the line, the ability to hold and touch a physical substance-representation of the written word will be of little or no importance. Then, Hyung boo made the really great point that today, 90% of money is not real, and how many people predicted that degree of virtual take-over? They are in the form of investments, something to do with options, stocks...Options was another thing I never heard of until today. "You mean like choices?" I asked naively. Nope, not quite. Good thing Lira Unni was there to translate Hyung boo's explanation of options. Food, I can talk about in Korean. Movies? Virtual reality even? Those too. Options- not so if it means anything other than choices.
The problem with SL seems to be that too many people get tired of it eventually. What would maintain and increase interest in a virtual world where there are really no rules or a point? A few gain a good chunk of profit from it, but the rest, they break even and just do it "for fun". But unlike a game, there is no winner or end, no collection of points. Cyworld people seem to be focused on the idea that a market is the way to go. As one reviewer put it, "Cyworld is money-driven and sickeningly commercial." Kinda harsh, but I think he may have a point: why is it that money is always the chosen incentive? Hyung boo told us that in Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash (which was the inspiration for SL), pizza delivery is the most sought-after job of young people (or something like that- might have misunderstood his mixture of Korean-English). This is a great example of alternative hierarchies, or alternative values. It alludes to the idea that in a game- even one with no winner or end- there could be other incentives besides monetary ones. Hard to believe in our capitalistic society, but with a wee bit of whimsical thinking, I think we could come up with an alternative. Like potatoes. You can boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew. Actually, they're not that great. And evidently, they're prone to mass wipeout. And anyway, potatoes would then just be another word for money.
If I were to create a virtual reality game, I feel like I would want to create a whole new system of living that does not involve earning money or the business of real estate. But I can see a reason why a virtual imitation of reality would be such a draw: mainly because there are a lot of things in reality that can technically happen or exist, but do not because of lack of resources or talent or looks or personality or luck; which makes these things (that can technically happen or exist) unreal and invaluable. For example, it is mentioned in Wikipedia that artists use SL in order to exhibit their artwork in a Second Louvre. Getting one of your paintings exhibited in the Real Louvre is an event that could technically occur in reality, but for such an event to actually take place, a ton of skill and some luck, among other variables, are required. It is technically possible, but the chance of it actually occurring is so incredibly slim that it is what we call an "honor" for the lucky few, "tunneling" by quantum physicists, and a "flight of fancy" for the rest of us- in other words, it's a real, but not a realistic event. The virtual world allows players to live out their real-worldly dreams of being beautiful and winning car races and running naked in public. Which is testament to the fact that reality is pretty cool, often undervalued; we don't necessarily have to leave the realm of reality in order to experience amazing things. Fantastical events like flying without an apparatus only seem cooler because they cannot happen in reality. If we could fly, but we couldn't walk, walking would seem so much cooler just because it can't happen in reality. (Similarly, square watermelons, though not impossible to grow, seem cooler than round ones just because watermelons are naturally round.) But then again, isn't that like saying murderers only kill because their brains are wired a certain way that makes them more prone to murderous tendencies? Whatever led them to kill, unless it was due to insanity- having no moral judgment- it does not change the fact that they killed, so they should be punished for it. Similarly, the coolness factor of flying shouldn't be devalued just because it stems from the fact that flying lies outside the bounds of physical possibility. It is cool precisely because it is impossible and is a sensational experience.
Not only does SL allow real but not realistic things to "actually" occur, but there are actually some pretty cool non-real ideas explored through SL that stray away from the mundane activities of real life. Wikipedia mentions that artists have explored novel art forms that aren't physically possible in the real world. I guess what I realize is that fantastical re-imaginings of the world and systems of living don't just spring out of nowhere; they have a basis in reality and evolve gradually. We have to start with what we know, and innovations will come about until we look back and ooh and awe over what a spectacle we've created, how different the world seems compared to X numbers of years ago, and how fantastical the present appears to be compared to the past in terms of the kinds of jobs, clothes, buildings, technology, lifestyles, etc. that exist. And anyway, some people relish the game of real estate. Honestly, I am a huge fan of the saying that everything is interesting if looked at from a certain angle. However, there are some subjects whose interesting angle is hidden deeply in a crevice and once fished out, turns out not to be worth the amount of fishing line it took to get it out. Either that or it's never fished out because the angler falls asleep from boredom before it's ever found. Think about that the next time you run into a dozing fisherman. It's not the sun, it's the lack of biting angles!
Speaking of fishing, here's a T-shirt aphorism I spotted at a t-shirt store at Pike Place Market: Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day; teach him how to fish and he'll sit on a boat drinking beer all day.
I had never heard of Second Life before today, when Hyung boo (what I call my cousin's husband) asked if I knew about it. The three of us ended up spending all of dinner talking about it, it's relation to what he and his colleagues are trying to do with cyworld, and it's implications. An interesting point was when I wondered aloud whether our world could someday be taken over by a virtual world. Initially, I arbitrarily defined being "taken over" as spending more than half the day's hours in the virtual world. My cousin, Lira Unni, pointed out that that's pretty much already happened because we spend so much time on the internet. But she happened to think that a take-over was not a huge concern. For instance, when e-books first came out, people expressed concern over the possibility that e-books would eradicate paperbooks, but as is evident, paperbooks are still around and cherished because people naturally want to be able to hold and touch our books. But I pointed out that that desire comes from the generation that grew up with paperbooks- perhaps a few generations down the line, the ability to hold and touch a physical substance-representation of the written word will be of little or no importance. Then, Hyung boo made the really great point that today, 90% of money is not real, and how many people predicted that degree of virtual take-over? They are in the form of investments, something to do with options, stocks...Options was another thing I never heard of until today. "You mean like choices?" I asked naively. Nope, not quite. Good thing Lira Unni was there to translate Hyung boo's explanation of options. Food, I can talk about in Korean. Movies? Virtual reality even? Those too. Options- not so if it means anything other than choices.
The problem with SL seems to be that too many people get tired of it eventually. What would maintain and increase interest in a virtual world where there are really no rules or a point? A few gain a good chunk of profit from it, but the rest, they break even and just do it "for fun". But unlike a game, there is no winner or end, no collection of points. Cyworld people seem to be focused on the idea that a market is the way to go. As one reviewer put it, "Cyworld is money-driven and sickeningly commercial." Kinda harsh, but I think he may have a point: why is it that money is always the chosen incentive? Hyung boo told us that in Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash (which was the inspiration for SL), pizza delivery is the most sought-after job of young people (or something like that- might have misunderstood his mixture of Korean-English). This is a great example of alternative hierarchies, or alternative values. It alludes to the idea that in a game- even one with no winner or end- there could be other incentives besides monetary ones. Hard to believe in our capitalistic society, but with a wee bit of whimsical thinking, I think we could come up with an alternative. Like potatoes. You can boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew. Actually, they're not that great. And evidently, they're prone to mass wipeout. And anyway, potatoes would then just be another word for money.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Anagram for Kazoo?
You know that dream you get sometimes, where there's a bunch of clowns running around, popping in and out of the floor, and even one sitting on a chair which is sitting on a bicycle which is sitting on a rope that is hanging 50 feet above ground-level?
Here's a secret: that is no dream. It's real! I saw it with my own eyes!
I saw KOOZA!
What can I say? It was surreal. My favorite part was the Wheel of Death, where two clowns balanced on giant wheels that spun on either end of the apparatus, both inside and outside of the wheel, jump roping on it, or just jumping up and hanging suspended in the air for seconds above the spinning wheel. The contortionists looked like live theatrical versions of Dali's paintings, and the unicycling duo made me think that maybe legs aren't so absolutely necessary after all. One can do a lot on wheels, even with just one. Although it would be kind of hard to stay still for long on a wheel. Standing still would be replaced by "wavering". Makes me think of those weird wheeled horse creatures from the His Dark Materials trilogy.
I think one reason why I have such a fascination with the circus is because it realizes the absolutely astounding potentials of what human beings can accomplish. Physically, at least. Who would believe that people can jump rope on a thin wire or touch their ass to their head, dancing their feet around the head like a spider? And I've heard of acrobats who can do double back tucks from one galloping horse to another blind-folded! These days, a few are even trying to fly.
Hey! I actually did one thing from my list of "Things to do before I turn..." list! Next: Hot air balloon? Let me see if I can actually dig up this list, actually...
Here's a secret: that is no dream. It's real! I saw it with my own eyes!
I saw KOOZA!
What can I say? It was surreal. My favorite part was the Wheel of Death, where two clowns balanced on giant wheels that spun on either end of the apparatus, both inside and outside of the wheel, jump roping on it, or just jumping up and hanging suspended in the air for seconds above the spinning wheel. The contortionists looked like live theatrical versions of Dali's paintings, and the unicycling duo made me think that maybe legs aren't so absolutely necessary after all. One can do a lot on wheels, even with just one. Although it would be kind of hard to stay still for long on a wheel. Standing still would be replaced by "wavering". Makes me think of those weird wheeled horse creatures from the His Dark Materials trilogy.
I think one reason why I have such a fascination with the circus is because it realizes the absolutely astounding potentials of what human beings can accomplish. Physically, at least. Who would believe that people can jump rope on a thin wire or touch their ass to their head, dancing their feet around the head like a spider? And I've heard of acrobats who can do double back tucks from one galloping horse to another blind-folded! These days, a few are even trying to fly.
Hey! I actually did one thing from my list of "Things to do before I turn..." list! Next: Hot air balloon? Let me see if I can actually dig up this list, actually...
Happy Feet
Yesterday, I was actually whimpering by the end of the day because of my horrible high hells- I mean heels. When I took them off to survey the damage done after a full day of walking around the mountainous streets of San Francisco, I noted visible indents above my ankles and scratch marks (it looked like a vicious cat had attacked them), along with heel burns and sore arches.
When your feet are in so much pain, every second spent standing feels like an eternity, and the last thing you want to do is take a trip to Safeway and spend a half hour trying to decide which deli-meat you want to buy for tomorrow's breakfast. IT'S ALL THE SAME! You feel like screaming. PIG'S SHOULDER, PIG'S SNOUT, PIG'S WING, ANY ANATOMICAL STRUCTURE WILL DO, FOR WILBUR'S SAKE! Luckily, there was the variety pack. And now, I am very near declaring myself a vegetarian. I cannot believe we eat noses, god that is so disgusting.
Needless to say, today, I went back to Payless and traded in the awful heels from hell for black, cushy, flat sneakers. It was the happiest moment of my life, past, present, or future. My enthusiasm for life grew exponentially, I felt like I could walk a 100 miles, jump to the moon, anything. Moral of the story: Happy feet make for a happy person, folks.
When your feet are in so much pain, every second spent standing feels like an eternity, and the last thing you want to do is take a trip to Safeway and spend a half hour trying to decide which deli-meat you want to buy for tomorrow's breakfast. IT'S ALL THE SAME! You feel like screaming. PIG'S SHOULDER, PIG'S SNOUT, PIG'S WING, ANY ANATOMICAL STRUCTURE WILL DO, FOR WILBUR'S SAKE! Luckily, there was the variety pack. And now, I am very near declaring myself a vegetarian. I cannot believe we eat noses, god that is so disgusting.
Needless to say, today, I went back to Payless and traded in the awful heels from hell for black, cushy, flat sneakers. It was the happiest moment of my life, past, present, or future. My enthusiasm for life grew exponentially, I felt like I could walk a 100 miles, jump to the moon, anything. Moral of the story: Happy feet make for a happy person, folks.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Warning: Not to be read by those who quease easy
Being on a plane with a clogged and dripping sinus is the pits. My hearing was reduced to 45% of it's capacity until I woke up today from a 15 hour sleep and discovered that I wouldn't have to learn sign language after all. My imagination tends to run away when I'm sick. To illustrate, freshman year in college, I fell really really ill and lay in bed wondering (skeptically, but still wondering!) if I had mad cow...I came to the conclusion that it would affect those around me more than me since I would be mad and wouldn't give a damn what was happening to me, and so really, I needn't worry except for my parents. As an explanatory note, that semester, we were reading "Deadly Feasts" in Ponzy's class, which is a book about mad cow and the human version, CJD, and prions. Very interesting book, but it could drive you a bit insane with hypochondriatic worries.
Anyway, a couple nights before my departure back to the West, I woke up in the middle of the night and yelled out: "Whatthefuck! The whole left side of my face is WET!!" A condition which evidently begs an explanation. It turned out, I had been sleeping on my left side, and so all the mucus clogged up my left nostril and started overflowing out all over the left side of my face. I kind of assumed I had woken up before it started dripping onto the pillow, but I could've been wrong. Might want to check that out Sarah. Before I wrote about this incident, I considered using an alias because it's pretty disgusting and not lady-like at all. It's not even man-like, come to think of it. It's just...animalistic. But how lame and obvious would it be to write "Jane did this", and "Jane did that" and "Jane snotted all over her face". It could have come across as bad fiction. Better to be up-front in this case, I thought.
The only thing I can think of right now that is more disgusting than snotting all over one's face is roaches. Even the word is disgusting, and I can't believe I'm desecrating my site with such obscenities as...you-know-what.
My PA vacay was splendoriferous. It started out in leafy Pittsburgh with the best Thanksgiving dinner yet. I used to think it was part of the Thanksgiving tradition to feel incredibly antic-apointed by the feast, which always looked and smelled so good until you actually got around to tasting it, but since college, it's only been getting better and better, and this year was no exception.
I met a lot of nice and/or interesting people, which was mostly fun, with the only bad part being that each initial meeting inevitably followed up with the question "So what do you do?" This question was easy to answer when I was in school ("I do magic tricks, memorize the digits of pi, and do headstands to increase blood-flow to my head"), but when you're in the middle of acquiring a job and moving to a different state, and your not quite sure what your heading into really, it becomes a big pain in the arse to answer, especially around 15 people on their way to be doctors.
Other than that, Pittsburgh was a good time, and I was so impressed by the Jesster's amazing domestic skills, which she somehow manages to cultivate alongside her intense med-school studies. As a thank-you for hosting us, Sarah and I painted her a beautiful Van-Gogh like jungle scene that we thought would complement Eric and his friend's abstract explosion of color very nicely. I'm sure both canvases are hanging over the black velvet massage chair this very moment, creating a relaxed, feng shui environment.
A mini-roadtrip took us to the east, where I got to see Philly again (including the rampant crime and racism!) and go to Pietro's- twice! In one week!- and do the Old City dance and a cheesey-go-round at Di Bruno's; I got to read at the Rittenhouse Barnes and see the Square all lit up, cross Broad Street, and of course the people! It was good to be with Sarah again. I found out what she'd been doing since I last saw her a month or two ago- watching the food network and television in general with a religious fervor worthy of the Inquisition. Now I'm home, and my mom is doing the same thing with the Korean channel. The momentary time of silence I had this morning while sitting at the kitchen table drinking hot cinnamon tea with a spoonful of honey and staring out the window at the falling snow was absolutely golden.
On another note, I randomly stumbled upon this page on Joseph Campbell. Well, I say 'randomly', but actually I can trace out the exact path I took to get there: I was at the Rittenhouse Barnes reading the latest issue of Zoetrope: All-story (a quarterly literary publication founded by Francis Ford Coppola). This latest issue was half-dedicated to his latest film, Youth Without Youth, which he says explores ideas of consciousness, time, dreaming and languages. Sounds like my kind of film. Anyway, there was this really fascinating article written by a former love interest of his, a mythologist named Wendy Doniger. Unfortunately, it's not online, but here is a Time article spotlighting the movie that mentions her. Remembering this article, I decided to google 'mythologist' to find out what they do exactly, and came across this page on Joseph Campbell. Wow, to think I reduced this whole paragraph to one word: 'randomly'. I can't wait to read more about this "master story-teller" as well as his famed "Hero of a 1000 Faces", once I have time. He seems to be the Brian Greene of mythology- being an innovator in his field, as well as popularizing it for non-academics, as well as having appeared in a PBS broadcast series version of his book "The Power of Myth".
Anyway, a couple nights before my departure back to the West, I woke up in the middle of the night and yelled out: "Whatthefuck! The whole left side of my face is WET!!" A condition which evidently begs an explanation. It turned out, I had been sleeping on my left side, and so all the mucus clogged up my left nostril and started overflowing out all over the left side of my face. I kind of assumed I had woken up before it started dripping onto the pillow, but I could've been wrong. Might want to check that out Sarah. Before I wrote about this incident, I considered using an alias because it's pretty disgusting and not lady-like at all. It's not even man-like, come to think of it. It's just...animalistic. But how lame and obvious would it be to write "Jane did this", and "Jane did that" and "Jane snotted all over her face". It could have come across as bad fiction. Better to be up-front in this case, I thought.
The only thing I can think of right now that is more disgusting than snotting all over one's face is roaches. Even the word is disgusting, and I can't believe I'm desecrating my site with such obscenities as...you-know-what.
My PA vacay was splendoriferous. It started out in leafy Pittsburgh with the best Thanksgiving dinner yet. I used to think it was part of the Thanksgiving tradition to feel incredibly antic-apointed by the feast, which always looked and smelled so good until you actually got around to tasting it, but since college, it's only been getting better and better, and this year was no exception.
I met a lot of nice and/or interesting people, which was mostly fun, with the only bad part being that each initial meeting inevitably followed up with the question "So what do you do?" This question was easy to answer when I was in school ("I do magic tricks, memorize the digits of pi, and do headstands to increase blood-flow to my head"), but when you're in the middle of acquiring a job and moving to a different state, and your not quite sure what your heading into really, it becomes a big pain in the arse to answer, especially around 15 people on their way to be doctors.
Other than that, Pittsburgh was a good time, and I was so impressed by the Jesster's amazing domestic skills, which she somehow manages to cultivate alongside her intense med-school studies. As a thank-you for hosting us, Sarah and I painted her a beautiful Van-Gogh like jungle scene that we thought would complement Eric and his friend's abstract explosion of color very nicely. I'm sure both canvases are hanging over the black velvet massage chair this very moment, creating a relaxed, feng shui environment.
A mini-roadtrip took us to the east, where I got to see Philly again (including the rampant crime and racism!) and go to Pietro's- twice! In one week!- and do the Old City dance and a cheesey-go-round at Di Bruno's; I got to read at the Rittenhouse Barnes and see the Square all lit up, cross Broad Street, and of course the people! It was good to be with Sarah again. I found out what she'd been doing since I last saw her a month or two ago- watching the food network and television in general with a religious fervor worthy of the Inquisition. Now I'm home, and my mom is doing the same thing with the Korean channel. The momentary time of silence I had this morning while sitting at the kitchen table drinking hot cinnamon tea with a spoonful of honey and staring out the window at the falling snow was absolutely golden.
On another note, I randomly stumbled upon this page on Joseph Campbell. Well, I say 'randomly', but actually I can trace out the exact path I took to get there: I was at the Rittenhouse Barnes reading the latest issue of Zoetrope: All-story (a quarterly literary publication founded by Francis Ford Coppola). This latest issue was half-dedicated to his latest film, Youth Without Youth, which he says explores ideas of consciousness, time, dreaming and languages. Sounds like my kind of film. Anyway, there was this really fascinating article written by a former love interest of his, a mythologist named Wendy Doniger. Unfortunately, it's not online, but here is a Time article spotlighting the movie that mentions her. Remembering this article, I decided to google 'mythologist' to find out what they do exactly, and came across this page on Joseph Campbell. Wow, to think I reduced this whole paragraph to one word: 'randomly'. I can't wait to read more about this "master story-teller" as well as his famed "Hero of a 1000 Faces", once I have time. He seems to be the Brian Greene of mythology- being an innovator in his field, as well as popularizing it for non-academics, as well as having appeared in a PBS broadcast series version of his book "The Power of Myth".
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Exploring Berkeley
I just spent two hours at a store called: Games of Berkeley. It was the origami section that drew me. Did you know, an ordinary square sheet of paper can be transformed into a unicorn? Or an Arab riding a horse? Or Jesus praying at the rocks? I spent about half of the two hours trying to convince myself I didn't need to buy an origami book, then I spent the other half trying to figure out how to make a duck and a penguin. Hmmm, yes, I see now why I must travel alone.
Before I discovered the game store, I sat at a large table at Tully's (which has free wi-fi, cheers!) and listened to the woman sitting at the same table crying. Not loudly, just sniffles. A bouquet of tacky, bright orange, red, and purple flowers lay on the table in front of her. A long while later, a man entered and came to her. "I'm so sorry, I did the stupidest thing!" he said, "I got on the wrong BART train!" They left Tully's together.
Before I discovered the game store, I sat at a large table at Tully's (which has free wi-fi, cheers!) and listened to the woman sitting at the same table crying. Not loudly, just sniffles. A bouquet of tacky, bright orange, red, and purple flowers lay on the table in front of her. A long while later, a man entered and came to her. "I'm so sorry, I did the stupidest thing!" he said, "I got on the wrong BART train!" They left Tully's together.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Kindred Blog-Spirit
Check out this fun blog called Cocktail Party Physics. I guess it wasn't so strange that I considered dressing up as Schrodinger's cat for Halloween. (Charming maybe!) In the post "Get your physics phreak on", she writes about the premiere of the new show, "The Big Bang Theory", specifically about how one character dressed up as The Doppler Effect for a Halloween party! Hoohoohooboy, that's so funny! And then she goes on to list some other creative punny physics costumes like Schrodinger's Cat ("...demonstrate your collapsing wave function"). I love how she writes after this suggestion, "If your looking for something a little less mainstream..." Indeed, Schrody's Cat has become the E=mc^2 of quantum theory.
Happyredpigs! I like your idea of a mini-roadtrip from Pittsburgh to Philly! Will do my best to haul ass out there (and I've got a little surprise news, too! Let's just say...I've acquired a new skill, and it's slightly more useful than the one where I can wiggle my ear and burp the alphabet. Wait, I can't even do that latter one, sadly.)
Happyredpigs! I like your idea of a mini-roadtrip from Pittsburgh to Philly! Will do my best to haul ass out there (and I've got a little surprise news, too! Let's just say...I've acquired a new skill, and it's slightly more useful than the one where I can wiggle my ear and burp the alphabet. Wait, I can't even do that latter one, sadly.)
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Block Game
This game does a great job of illustrating how a single event occurring at one point in space can drastically affect an event at another point, even though the two seem utterly unrelated due to their distance. As drastic as making the impossible possible. Sounds fuzzy, but you'll see what I mean if you play the game, especially level 21.
And so it goes, 'round and 'round like a merry-go-round. The above quote is taken from a children's book, Midnight Magic, a medieval mystery taking place a year before Columbus sailed the ocean blue, where reason and empiricism are pitted again magic and vengeful Shakespearean ghosts. The former pair win out this particular battle, but as suggested by the above quote, even their world is fated to be turned upside down- or spherical- in the coming months, though not by magic. The relationship between Magnus the magician and his servant Fabrizio is so reminiscent of the one between Merlin and the owl Archimedes (hoot hoot!) in The Sword in the Stone, that I wouldn't be surprised if the author, Ava, actually had them in mind when he sketched out his own two characters. Even the quote above reminds me a lot of the one to the side of this homepage.
Also, this Tuesday, the whole Science Times section was devoted to the topic of Snoozing. Besides the regular articles, they had sleep quotes running down the sidelines of the pages, sources ranging from an ancient Buddhist to English poets and playwrights to present-day physicists. One of these physicists was quoted as saying that he had a colleague who dreamt that he was an elementary particle. How...I...What I...yeah, I'm speechless. I read about them and make jokes about them, but to actually have dreamt about being one...he must be one quarky dude. I wonder if biologists dream about being DNA or proteins. A Day in the Life of a Nucleotide. The Adventures of Alph, the Elementary Particle. I think I'll pitch these ideas to Chronicle Books.
Speaking of grammar, to whom it concerns, I sort of take issue with the fact that the very British, very colloquial term "cadge" is included in the GRE verbal section. Isn't this an American test to get into American schools? As if we didn't have enough of a British invasion already. Fine! I'll learn it! But I'll learn it grudgingly! And maybe I wasn't speaking of grammar, but I was thinking about it (dreamed? dreamt? They both sound wrong to me), so I figured that was enough merit a transition.
--"Master, last week I spoke to a boy I know. He insists the world is round because his patron told him so. Stupid, yes, for any donkey can see with their own eyes that the world is flat. But is the boy mad to believe what his patron told him? Would you call every person who believes an impossible thing 'mad'?"
--"Fabrizio, if one sees what isn't there to see, madness is the only possible explanation. So, yes, if your friend insists the world is round, alas, he is mad."
And so it goes, 'round and 'round like a merry-go-round. The above quote is taken from a children's book, Midnight Magic, a medieval mystery taking place a year before Columbus sailed the ocean blue, where reason and empiricism are pitted again magic and vengeful Shakespearean ghosts. The former pair win out this particular battle, but as suggested by the above quote, even their world is fated to be turned upside down- or spherical- in the coming months, though not by magic. The relationship between Magnus the magician and his servant Fabrizio is so reminiscent of the one between Merlin and the owl Archimedes (hoot hoot!) in The Sword in the Stone, that I wouldn't be surprised if the author, Ava, actually had them in mind when he sketched out his own two characters. Even the quote above reminds me a lot of the one to the side of this homepage.
Also, this Tuesday, the whole Science Times section was devoted to the topic of Snoozing. Besides the regular articles, they had sleep quotes running down the sidelines of the pages, sources ranging from an ancient Buddhist to English poets and playwrights to present-day physicists. One of these physicists was quoted as saying that he had a colleague who dreamt that he was an elementary particle. How...I...What I...yeah, I'm speechless. I read about them and make jokes about them, but to actually have dreamt about being one...he must be one quarky dude. I wonder if biologists dream about being DNA or proteins. A Day in the Life of a Nucleotide. The Adventures of Alph, the Elementary Particle. I think I'll pitch these ideas to Chronicle Books.
Speaking of grammar, to whom it concerns, I sort of take issue with the fact that the very British, very colloquial term "cadge" is included in the GRE verbal section. Isn't this an American test to get into American schools? As if we didn't have enough of a British invasion already. Fine! I'll learn it! But I'll learn it grudgingly! And maybe I wasn't speaking of grammar, but I was thinking about it (dreamed? dreamt? They both sound wrong to me), so I figured that was enough merit a transition.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Opening Night For Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Cate Blanchett does a painfully amazing job at showing us that being a queen is not a position to be envied and not only because of the heavy getup she has to wear. I believe one of her dresses were actually winged. As if to conjure up a semiotic image of a queen bee? Who knows. Winged dresses, ugly red ramen-noodle hair wigs, and layers of Casper powder on my face? Thanks, I'll pass. What? But she got to kiss Clive Owen, you say? Well, she could have done much more than just kiss him if she hadn't been queen. Like explore other territories. North Carolina, Virginia, Conjugia*...But virgin mother to her people that she is, she has to remain in her palace and protect and fight for her people instead.
Clive Owen is given the most beautiful lines to go along with his beautiful self. No joke: the first time he came on screen, a more than audible sigh swept through the theater audience. I swear there were a few guys that joined in too! Owen plays the explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, who was the one who settled the colony of Roanoke in North Carolina, the one that mysteriously disappeared with not a sole soul nor body left as evidence that a colony ever existed.
The Armada battle scene contained many individual artistic shots, but was overall an antisappointing montage sequence, choppy and not nearly as grand and majestic as we all expected it to be. It came off as perfunctory, the necessary battle sequence preceded by the necessary rallying speech, both of which fell flat compared to parallel scenes from Gladiator, LOTR, etc. Google spellcheck tells me "antisappointing" is not a word. Spellcheck be damned!
*This is a reference to a really funny joke made in the movie, which I won't tell just in case anyone goes to see the movie.
Also, I pulled a major crangie-ism today. Like MAJOR. It's practically unpublishable. There was a Mennonite involved. Sigh. I am incorrigible. Suddenly, I'm feeling punny.
Why do cars sleep?
Because they're tired!
Why do bicycles sleep?
Bicycles don't sleep.
Why is it that dogs bark, birds fly, and children who get their feet wet must take their medicine?
Because Mary Poppins said so.
Clive Owen is given the most beautiful lines to go along with his beautiful self. No joke: the first time he came on screen, a more than audible sigh swept through the theater audience. I swear there were a few guys that joined in too! Owen plays the explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, who was the one who settled the colony of Roanoke in North Carolina, the one that mysteriously disappeared with not a sole soul nor body left as evidence that a colony ever existed.
The Armada battle scene contained many individual artistic shots, but was overall an antisappointing montage sequence, choppy and not nearly as grand and majestic as we all expected it to be. It came off as perfunctory, the necessary battle sequence preceded by the necessary rallying speech, both of which fell flat compared to parallel scenes from Gladiator, LOTR, etc. Google spellcheck tells me "antisappointing" is not a word. Spellcheck be damned!
*This is a reference to a really funny joke made in the movie, which I won't tell just in case anyone goes to see the movie.
Also, I pulled a major crangie-ism today. Like MAJOR. It's practically unpublishable. There was a Mennonite involved. Sigh. I am incorrigible. Suddenly, I'm feeling punny.
Why do cars sleep?
Because they're tired!
Why do bicycles sleep?
Bicycles don't sleep.
Why is it that dogs bark, birds fly, and children who get their feet wet must take their medicine?
Because Mary Poppins said so.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Collision
"Enervate" means to weaken vitality, not strengthen it? But this is absurd! In Harry Potter, the spell to re-awaken someone who's been knocked unconscious is enervate, so that word must mean to strengthen vitality! This is madness. It's utterly counter-intuitive! Either the wizarding world mislabeled their spell, or ETS and the Concise Oxford contain typos. I must write a letter to the latter pair disabusing them of their fanciful notions about the word...
There is this word, weltzschmertz, which means the feeling you get when your ideal world and the real world collide. Yep, I can feel it right now, weltzschmertz generated by a potterverse-reality collision. I wonder if we'll get a second moon out of this collision. According to a GRE reading-comprehension passage, the moon might have been a result of Earth's collision with another celestial heavy-weight.
On another note, I finally picked up a book by Noam Chomsky ("What We Say Goes"), and I should restrain myself from saying so after only having read 3/4 of 1 of his books, but no: he is brilliant. Admittedly, I have a tendency to idolize and idealize those I admire to an extent somewhere beyond what's called for. Still, the amount of knowledge contained in the man's brain is outrageous. A skillful debater includes examples and facts and figures in his arguments, and he seems to have a bottomless pit of them in every topic people throw his way. Which, albeit is usually related to politics or linguistics.
It's interesting to note how pro-Palestine he appears to be in the book. No, maybe I stated that incorrectly: I don't know if he's pro-Palestine, but he's completely against what he sees as US-Israel criminal activity/schoolhouse bullying. I don't know a lot of people who take the anti-Zionism stance, and when I asked a Jewish friend once, whether he supported the State of Israel, he replied "What do you mean? Of course I do!" Like, duh, what kind of answer was I looking for? I don't know,...with what little knowledge I have of the situation, it seems wrong to kick out hundreds of thousands of people from their homes just like that.
Also, Chomsky scares me the way he talks about nuclear warfare and the end of our species. But then he goes on to say later that Iran's not going to shoot nuclear missiles unless they want to commit mass suicide, in other words: not likely. Inconsistency there, but maybe I'm missing an element. A word or two about 9/11 conspiracies, the futility of name-calling in politics (and why it may actually help the one being verbally abused), and many other issues, written in the form of a dialogue between him and a journalist. The point of the book, as you can guess, is that the U.S. is an outlaw state, fully acknowledged, whatever we say goes, no matter how hypocritical or criminal. I just remembered one thing that the journalist mentioned in the book that cracked me up: Bush accused Iran of "meddling" in Iraq. No irony intended. What a riot.
A note about this other book I'm reading at the same time "Rich Dad, Poor Dad": Something about the methods to striking it rich that are described in the book strikes a bad chord with me. His methods seem sound and reasonable, and at first I was a most enthusiastic reader, thinking about buying mutual funds and all, but as I kept reading, I started to feel like something was wrong with some of his methods.
It took me a while to pinpoint the cause of my unease, but when he started raving about corporations, it hit me: it's exploitation. He's bragging about dooping people and ripping them off, and how you can make so much money by playing with corporations. How you can avoid taxes by spending as much of your asset-generated money as possible on fancy cars and dinners and vacations to Bali before taxes. And I really dislike the way he makes "hard-working professionals" and in particular, his own father ("poor dad") out to be idiots. It's awful. This is a major problem with our society, that there are people like him who think as long as your technically sticking to the rules- paying close attention to the wording so you can make loopholes- then what you're doing is perfectly okay, morally, and your winnings are justly obtained. He has good points, like the importance of differentiating between assets and liabilities, and everything he says makes sense, but is it enough to be technically true?
Oh, and today, I found myself flossing at the bookstore. I happened to have a little tooth-shaped container of dental floss in my backpack, and after eating an apple and a nectarine, I really, really needed to floss. I suppose I could've gone to the bathroom and done it in private. At any rate, Jess, I wish you were there to see it. It was a defining moment in my tooth-care career.
There is this word, weltzschmertz, which means the feeling you get when your ideal world and the real world collide. Yep, I can feel it right now, weltzschmertz generated by a potterverse-reality collision. I wonder if we'll get a second moon out of this collision. According to a GRE reading-comprehension passage, the moon might have been a result of Earth's collision with another celestial heavy-weight.
On another note, I finally picked up a book by Noam Chomsky ("What We Say Goes"), and I should restrain myself from saying so after only having read 3/4 of 1 of his books, but no: he is brilliant. Admittedly, I have a tendency to idolize and idealize those I admire to an extent somewhere beyond what's called for. Still, the amount of knowledge contained in the man's brain is outrageous. A skillful debater includes examples and facts and figures in his arguments, and he seems to have a bottomless pit of them in every topic people throw his way. Which, albeit is usually related to politics or linguistics.
It's interesting to note how pro-Palestine he appears to be in the book. No, maybe I stated that incorrectly: I don't know if he's pro-Palestine, but he's completely against what he sees as US-Israel criminal activity/schoolhouse bullying. I don't know a lot of people who take the anti-Zionism stance, and when I asked a Jewish friend once, whether he supported the State of Israel, he replied "What do you mean? Of course I do!" Like, duh, what kind of answer was I looking for? I don't know,...with what little knowledge I have of the situation, it seems wrong to kick out hundreds of thousands of people from their homes just like that.
Also, Chomsky scares me the way he talks about nuclear warfare and the end of our species. But then he goes on to say later that Iran's not going to shoot nuclear missiles unless they want to commit mass suicide, in other words: not likely. Inconsistency there, but maybe I'm missing an element. A word or two about 9/11 conspiracies, the futility of name-calling in politics (and why it may actually help the one being verbally abused), and many other issues, written in the form of a dialogue between him and a journalist. The point of the book, as you can guess, is that the U.S. is an outlaw state, fully acknowledged, whatever we say goes, no matter how hypocritical or criminal. I just remembered one thing that the journalist mentioned in the book that cracked me up: Bush accused Iran of "meddling" in Iraq. No irony intended. What a riot.
A note about this other book I'm reading at the same time "Rich Dad, Poor Dad": Something about the methods to striking it rich that are described in the book strikes a bad chord with me. His methods seem sound and reasonable, and at first I was a most enthusiastic reader, thinking about buying mutual funds and all, but as I kept reading, I started to feel like something was wrong with some of his methods.
It took me a while to pinpoint the cause of my unease, but when he started raving about corporations, it hit me: it's exploitation. He's bragging about dooping people and ripping them off, and how you can make so much money by playing with corporations. How you can avoid taxes by spending as much of your asset-generated money as possible on fancy cars and dinners and vacations to Bali before taxes. And I really dislike the way he makes "hard-working professionals" and in particular, his own father ("poor dad") out to be idiots. It's awful. This is a major problem with our society, that there are people like him who think as long as your technically sticking to the rules- paying close attention to the wording so you can make loopholes- then what you're doing is perfectly okay, morally, and your winnings are justly obtained. He has good points, like the importance of differentiating between assets and liabilities, and everything he says makes sense, but is it enough to be technically true?
Oh, and today, I found myself flossing at the bookstore. I happened to have a little tooth-shaped container of dental floss in my backpack, and after eating an apple and a nectarine, I really, really needed to floss. I suppose I could've gone to the bathroom and done it in private. At any rate, Jess, I wish you were there to see it. It was a defining moment in my tooth-care career.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
More Mom & Dad Tales
Tonight, my dad expounded on the controversial topic of modern day Korean pop stars versus the classical Korean singer-performers of his generation, and doled out valuable counsel in between shots of Bek Se Ju, a tasty Korean rice wine that tastes like ginseng tea. He is a very wise man for someone who made so many mistakes in his lifetime- or I guess, because of the mistakes. He is also a fun person to drink with.
The other night, my mom and I stopped by at a Chevron. Filling the tank took no time, so afterward, I sat in the car waiting as my mom carried on with her newest obsession: wiping down the car with her dollar-store glass cleaner every chance she gets. Spray spray spray. Wipe wipe. Spray spray spray. Wipe wipe.
Suddenly, about 30 feet to our right, this dude sprints to the car parked there and starts kicking the hell out of the car door, while the girl inside yells and curses her brains out. I'm sitting in the car in severe shock and thinking somewhere in the folds of my gray matter that I should dial 911, but I seem to have lost the ability to move to look for my phone, so I just stare stupidly. I think the Hamburger Helper hand, or even the Paper Clip from Word would have been more helpful than me.
Luckily, the girl herself brings out her cell and starts dialing 911, mute curses still streaming out of her mouth a mile a minute (her window was rolled up so I couldn't hear what she was saying, but her eyes and arm gestures said it all). Then, I guessed that the dude had taken enough of his anger out on the car because he ran away, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
But then, 30 seconds later, dude sprints back to the car, this time with a sledgehammer-type weapon in his hand and starts wacking the window with it! Bam bam bam! Pieces of glass start flying everywhere, and I'm thinking oh shit, phone phone phone oh shit! But then I realize it's the head of the weapon that's breaking into bits and flying everywhere, not the window. The guy I guess realizes the same thing, so after he wacks the shit out of the car window, he runs away again. For good this time.
Finally able to tear my eyes away from this scene, I look for my mom and realize that she's still cleaning the car window with her dollar-store imitation windex. Spray spray spray. Wipe wipe. Spray spray spray. Wipe wipe.
Hoo hoo hoo lord! Every time I think of that night I burst out laughing as I picture my mom, this little Asian lady calmly wiping away at the stains on her car window while a full blown act of violence is taking place 30 feet behind her.
The other night, my mom and I stopped by at a Chevron. Filling the tank took no time, so afterward, I sat in the car waiting as my mom carried on with her newest obsession: wiping down the car with her dollar-store glass cleaner every chance she gets. Spray spray spray. Wipe wipe. Spray spray spray. Wipe wipe.
Suddenly, about 30 feet to our right, this dude sprints to the car parked there and starts kicking the hell out of the car door, while the girl inside yells and curses her brains out. I'm sitting in the car in severe shock and thinking somewhere in the folds of my gray matter that I should dial 911, but I seem to have lost the ability to move to look for my phone, so I just stare stupidly. I think the Hamburger Helper hand, or even the Paper Clip from Word would have been more helpful than me.
Luckily, the girl herself brings out her cell and starts dialing 911, mute curses still streaming out of her mouth a mile a minute (her window was rolled up so I couldn't hear what she was saying, but her eyes and arm gestures said it all). Then, I guessed that the dude had taken enough of his anger out on the car because he ran away, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
But then, 30 seconds later, dude sprints back to the car, this time with a sledgehammer-type weapon in his hand and starts wacking the window with it! Bam bam bam! Pieces of glass start flying everywhere, and I'm thinking oh shit, phone phone phone oh shit! But then I realize it's the head of the weapon that's breaking into bits and flying everywhere, not the window. The guy I guess realizes the same thing, so after he wacks the shit out of the car window, he runs away again. For good this time.
Finally able to tear my eyes away from this scene, I look for my mom and realize that she's still cleaning the car window with her dollar-store imitation windex. Spray spray spray. Wipe wipe. Spray spray spray. Wipe wipe.
Hoo hoo hoo lord! Every time I think of that night I burst out laughing as I picture my mom, this little Asian lady calmly wiping away at the stains on her car window while a full blown act of violence is taking place 30 feet behind her.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Musings and Tips
Smoke from a chimney: it's filthy, it pollutes the air and our lungs, it smears the sky black, it's not natural at all, but for some reason, it's pretty,...romantic,...the perfect touch to a sunrise over the city scape.
The best way to occupy your time during a layover at the airport:
If you have >= 3.5 hours, take the train to the city and take a whirlwind tour.
If you have<= 3.5 hours, go to the nearest newsstand and catch up on the latest events. Pick up at least 1 local paper, the Wall Street (where on the left hand column of the front page, they give convenient bullet point summaries of the goings-on in the world), the NYT, and USA Today (read the Life section to catch up on pop culture- movies and such). Don't buy them, for Chrissake, just stand there for 45 minutes or so reading. I used to do that with the NYT at Wawa every morning before work, after purchasing my daily jug of Wawa diet iced green tea.
The best way to occupy your time during a layover at the airport:
If you have >= 3.5 hours, take the train to the city and take a whirlwind tour.
If you have<= 3.5 hours, go to the nearest newsstand and catch up on the latest events. Pick up at least 1 local paper, the Wall Street (where on the left hand column of the front page, they give convenient bullet point summaries of the goings-on in the world), the NYT, and USA Today (read the Life section to catch up on pop culture- movies and such). Don't buy them, for Chrissake, just stand there for 45 minutes or so reading. I used to do that with the NYT at Wawa every morning before work, after purchasing my daily jug of Wawa diet iced green tea.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Pre-E-Ticket Days of Yore
Does anyone remember how we booked flights before the advent of e-tickets? Because I sure didn't. This question randomly popped into my mind as I dazedly traversed the Columbus Airport (due to a long long red-eye flight, I am presently existing in a state of extreme zombieness). I vaguely remembered that we had to bring the ticket to the airport on the day of travel, but that's all I remember of those pre-historic days. The only way I could think of was that we called in to book tickets. But that was crazy, I thought. That would clog up phone lines. Or something. It just sounds crazy, calling in to book tickets.
But, as I discovered through a quick online search, that is exactly what we used to do before the advent of electronic tickets! I can't believe it! How quaint were our ways! Amazing...
Also, I was reaching for a paper towel in the bathroom- it was one of those sensored ones that just zoom right out when you reach for it. Next to me stood a little blonde girl on a chair as her mom helped her wash her hands.
"Kid, we didn't have those when I was a kid," I said to her, gesturing to the sensored paper towel ejector. Man the things that can change in just a couple decades.
But, as I discovered through a quick online search, that is exactly what we used to do before the advent of electronic tickets! I can't believe it! How quaint were our ways! Amazing...
Also, I was reaching for a paper towel in the bathroom- it was one of those sensored ones that just zoom right out when you reach for it. Next to me stood a little blonde girl on a chair as her mom helped her wash her hands.
"Kid, we didn't have those when I was a kid," I said to her, gesturing to the sensored paper towel ejector. Man the things that can change in just a couple decades.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Umma-ism
Here is another hilarious umma-ism (umma=mom in Korean):
"You should eat a little something before we go out to dinner."
And:
Umma: Who's this?
Me: Leonardo DiCaprio.
Umma: Lehnodacabbri?
Me: Lee-uhn
Umma: Lee-uhn
Me: -ar
Umma: -ar
Me: doh
Umma: doh
Me: Leonardo
Umma: Leonardo. Leonardo.
Me: Dicaprio. Di-
Umma: What there's more?! Sick!
"You should eat a little something before we go out to dinner."
And:
Umma: Who's this?
Me: Leonardo DiCaprio.
Umma: Lehnodacabbri?
Me: Lee-uhn
Umma: Lee-uhn
Me: -ar
Umma: -ar
Me: doh
Umma: doh
Me: Leonardo
Umma: Leonardo. Leonardo.
Me: Dicaprio. Di-
Umma: What there's more?! Sick!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Instructions for drawing a picture of Angie's dream house
1. Take a crayon.
2. Draw a fancy treehouse.
a) Winding staircase entrance.
b) Skylights.
c) Fireplace.
3. Add a swing set.
4. Color in a sparkling lake.
5. Add a canoe.
Sarah and I took a day trip to Poulsbo to visit a friend who lives and works on an organic farm there. She took us out canoeing off Bainbridge Island, and it was the most wonderful adventure. There's nothing like the feeling of being so close to the water, just like the ducks. References were made, or images swam in my head, of Life of Pi, Tom Hanks and Wilson, canoeing in Sarah Finseth's backyard pond (and getting lost), Ariel and Prince Eric, the Row row row your boat nursery rhyme, the whaleship Essex (and regrettably, those math story problems that go: "If you're swimming against the current at x mph, with the speed of the current being y mph...")...as we paddled through the harbor, winding through the ferries and bobbing alongside the ducks, with the pink-gold Seattle skyline behind us and the blue sky above us. The moments are rare, when my ideal world aligns with the real one, but when it does...whew! It's marvelous! I felt inexplicably content, as well as slightly sweaty under that life-vest.
2. Draw a fancy treehouse.
a) Winding staircase entrance.
b) Skylights.
c) Fireplace.
3. Add a swing set.
4. Color in a sparkling lake.
5. Add a canoe.
Sarah and I took a day trip to Poulsbo to visit a friend who lives and works on an organic farm there. She took us out canoeing off Bainbridge Island, and it was the most wonderful adventure. There's nothing like the feeling of being so close to the water, just like the ducks. References were made, or images swam in my head, of Life of Pi, Tom Hanks and Wilson, canoeing in Sarah Finseth's backyard pond (and getting lost), Ariel and Prince Eric, the Row row row your boat nursery rhyme, the whaleship Essex (and regrettably, those math story problems that go: "If you're swimming against the current at x mph, with the speed of the current being y mph...")...as we paddled through the harbor, winding through the ferries and bobbing alongside the ducks, with the pink-gold Seattle skyline behind us and the blue sky above us. The moments are rare, when my ideal world aligns with the real one, but when it does...whew! It's marvelous! I felt inexplicably content, as well as slightly sweaty under that life-vest.
Regression
After a marvelous day spent in downtown Seattle, Sarah and I are back home watching Cinderella. Sup sup! Trap trap! Cat cat! Gus Gus! Apparently, mice speak doublespeak too.
Oh my god, I just noticed foreshadowing! There's a scene where Cinderella climbs the stairs to take breakfast to her ugly stepsisters, and she loses a shoe- just like when she runs away from the ball later! I knew we should've watched this in English class.
The most popular version of Cinderella was written by Frenchman Charles Perrault, hence the French surnames announced at the ball. According to the wikipedia entry, "One can argue that this is one of the greatest stories in the history of story-telling times." I suppose anything can be argued in this day and age.
Oh my god, I just noticed foreshadowing! There's a scene where Cinderella climbs the stairs to take breakfast to her ugly stepsisters, and she loses a shoe- just like when she runs away from the ball later! I knew we should've watched this in English class.
The most popular version of Cinderella was written by Frenchman Charles Perrault, hence the French surnames announced at the ball. According to the wikipedia entry, "One can argue that this is one of the greatest stories in the history of story-telling times." I suppose anything can be argued in this day and age.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Mood Ring
I'm irritated from trying to understand mangled English while being congested, fatigued, and constantly cold. Bleh. But I am also still slightly caffeinated by the doubly spectacular Bourne Ultimatum. So I think I can get through the rest of this editing process without blowing a fuse. Only a nose maybe.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Home=Free Food+Extravant Doting
I've only been home for 3 hours, and my mom's already trying to stuff me like a turkey until I wind up a statistic (one of the 60% of overweight Americans).
Mom: Angie, taste this!
Me: Ok!...Mmm, it's delicious!
Mom: Want to have some with rice?
Me: Tomorrow, mom. I'm not hungry right now.
10 minutes later...(repeat above dialogue).
15 minutes later...(repeat above dialogue, yet again).
10 minutes later...(you know the deal).
Mom: Tomorrow, tomorrow, it's always tomorrow. I thought your name was Angie, not Annie!
Me: Mom, that's cuz you keep asking me the same question over and over again. I'm not going to answer the same question 3 different ways!
Alas, reason fails in the ears of a mother who misses coddling her younguns. Also, yet again, I embellished the dialogue with the "Angie, not Annie" bit.
Mom: Angie, taste this!
Me: Ok!...Mmm, it's delicious!
Mom: Want to have some with rice?
Me: Tomorrow, mom. I'm not hungry right now.
10 minutes later...(repeat above dialogue).
15 minutes later...(repeat above dialogue, yet again).
10 minutes later...(you know the deal).
Mom: Tomorrow, tomorrow, it's always tomorrow. I thought your name was Angie, not Annie!
Me: Mom, that's cuz you keep asking me the same question over and over again. I'm not going to answer the same question 3 different ways!
Alas, reason fails in the ears of a mother who misses coddling her younguns. Also, yet again, I embellished the dialogue with the "Angie, not Annie" bit.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun, and Double the Clothes
One of the terrific benefits of having a twin sister is that we can borrow from each other's wardrobe, so really it's like having twice the wardrobe. Most of the time, thought, I'm the one who borrows from Sarah's wardrobe, so I dunno...should I be insulted by that? Whatever, so not only can we borrow from each other's wardrobe, but sometimes I get clothes for free once Sarah gets tired of something, so sometimes I get to actually come to own one of her cool outfits.
But usually it takes at least 6 months for her to tire of an article of clothing, so it takes patience, this acquiring of sister's clothing thing. But I tease her about it all in good fun all the while. Take the following incident, for instance:
Two weeks ago, Sarah bought a beautiful blue summer dress at H&M patterned with a lighter blue heart-star-flower petal pattern and a poofy skirt part (sorry, I don't know the technical term for that). One week after the purchase, she wore it, and it looked gorgeous on her.
"Oh my god, Sarah I love it!" I gushed all girly-like. "I can't wait till you get tired of it so I can have it!"
"Oh, har har," she laughed rather sarcastically. "Is that how you look at all my clothes, you vulture?"
"Yeah, isn't it a great system?"
Today, two weeks after the Purchase, I'm lounging on the bed while Sarah packs in a flurry. Going through her mountainous clothes pile, she holds up the beautiful blue summer dress she bought two weeks ago at H&M, and said "Ann, do you want this?"
It was something beyond my wildest dreams. Two weeks, not even a month before she decided it wasn't "her"! I couldn't believe my luck. But all the same, I really couldn't believe she was giving up on it so soon.
"Are you sure, Sarah? But it's so pretty, how can you be tired of it already?"
"Really, you think so? Maybe I sh-"
"No no no, actually you're right, it's not so great! I'll take it!"
We both rolled on the bed laughing hysterically.
Hoo hoo, oh man, how lucky am I to have a twin sister with decent taste in clothes? Oh, and I'd like to note that she did not actually call me a vulture. But I thought it would have been funny if she did, so I took some liberty with the dialogue. Sue me silly!
On another note (G#), I have a four hour layover in Atlanta, GA tomorrow, yall!! God I love airports- as I was trying to tell someone earlier, but couldn't think of the right words, it's the hub of transition! And it's a great place to catch up on reading since there's not much else to do, so for that, I've got...Dun dun dun: Quantum Mechanics Demystified! I don't usually like the dummies/idiots/demystified books, but I figure it's better to know the dummy version than no version at all, right? Don't worry, I've got some good ole Sherlock Holmes adventures if I get too boggled down in whosits and whatsits and other weird physics.
But usually it takes at least 6 months for her to tire of an article of clothing, so it takes patience, this acquiring of sister's clothing thing. But I tease her about it all in good fun all the while. Take the following incident, for instance:
Two weeks ago, Sarah bought a beautiful blue summer dress at H&M patterned with a lighter blue heart-star-flower petal pattern and a poofy skirt part (sorry, I don't know the technical term for that). One week after the purchase, she wore it, and it looked gorgeous on her.
"Oh my god, Sarah I love it!" I gushed all girly-like. "I can't wait till you get tired of it so I can have it!"
"Oh, har har," she laughed rather sarcastically. "Is that how you look at all my clothes, you vulture?"
"Yeah, isn't it a great system?"
Today, two weeks after the Purchase, I'm lounging on the bed while Sarah packs in a flurry. Going through her mountainous clothes pile, she holds up the beautiful blue summer dress she bought two weeks ago at H&M, and said "Ann, do you want this?"
It was something beyond my wildest dreams. Two weeks, not even a month before she decided it wasn't "her"! I couldn't believe my luck. But all the same, I really couldn't believe she was giving up on it so soon.
"Are you sure, Sarah? But it's so pretty, how can you be tired of it already?"
"Really, you think so? Maybe I sh-"
"No no no, actually you're right, it's not so great! I'll take it!"
We both rolled on the bed laughing hysterically.
Hoo hoo, oh man, how lucky am I to have a twin sister with decent taste in clothes? Oh, and I'd like to note that she did not actually call me a vulture. But I thought it would have been funny if she did, so I took some liberty with the dialogue. Sue me silly!
On another note (G#), I have a four hour layover in Atlanta, GA tomorrow, yall!! God I love airports- as I was trying to tell someone earlier, but couldn't think of the right words, it's the hub of transition! And it's a great place to catch up on reading since there's not much else to do, so for that, I've got...Dun dun dun: Quantum Mechanics Demystified! I don't usually like the dummies/idiots/demystified books, but I figure it's better to know the dummy version than no version at all, right? Don't worry, I've got some good ole Sherlock Holmes adventures if I get too boggled down in whosits and whatsits and other weird physics.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Mysteries and Why I Love Sherlock Holmes
If anyone is looking for a quick, worthwhile read, might I recommend "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin? It's considered a children's book, but it's not "written for children" at all; rather, as the introduction says, it's written for the adult in every child. It's a great mystery, not predictable, yet written so that the reader can try a little sleuthing herself, really interesting characters, quirky, witty, touching, and not depressing (yay!). And for all you chess-lovers out there, it reads like a good game of chess. Although maybe I shouldn't advertise it like that since I don't really play chess, so how would I know. Reminiscent of "Clue" or the card game Mafia.
I'm sort of on a mystery book kick, I guess, because I'm rereading the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. I've forgotten how awesome he is, and Watson too. Their mystery adventures are interesting enough, but my affinity for the stories is more due to character attachment, and I am sure that if I had been alive in the UK when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle killed off Holmes, I would've been one of the 20,000 plus Brits who appeared in the streets in black, mourning this fictional character's death. It's so crazy how we can get so attached to imaginary folk.
What is it about his character that I like so much? Someone once told me about Nietzsche and his "amor fati", or "love one's fate" attitude toward life, and I see a bit of it in Holmes. His matter-of-fact acceptance of somber aspects of life and mankind, often with humor and maybe some well-justified arrogance, which I can hardly believe I'm writing because I used to think that there was no such thing as arrogance that can be justified. Maybe it's not justified, but I can definitely sympathize with him whenever he unravels the entire mystery himself and all the credit is given to one of the bumbling idiots of Scotland Yard who look on the genius Holmes as some eccentric, too theory-oriented, promising perhaps... "Life is dreary", he'd say so baldly, but it's not a fact that he ever sludges over, wondering why why why. He'll ponder over it from afar, like a curiosity, then throw himself into another mystery with passion and energy, or if there isn't one available presently, he'll take a pinch of snuff and scrape on his violin all through the night. Not that I endorse hard drugs, but well Watson got him to quit that eventually, didn't he? One minute he's filling Watson in on the latest develops of a case, and the next, he's insisting that the most important thing at the moment is lunch and miracle plays. And vice versa, one minute he's observing Londoners under the gaslights heading home from work, and philosophizing about the immortal spark that burns within each of them, and the next, he's hunting the grounds with his magnifying glass for cigar ashes and bootprints. He's terrifically adept at shifting gears and does so without concern for transitions or proper timing or other such restraining nonsense. His attitude of acceptance of all things is no better illustrated than in the scene where he and Doc Watson are chasing Jonathan Small and Tonga, who shoots a poisonous dart tip at them just as they shoot him down with their arms. Later they discover that the fatal dart had whizzed right between them, so they had been mere inches from death. Holmes merely smiles at it and shrugs "in his easygoing fashion", while Watson feels sick thinking of how close he came to death that night.
And Watson I like just as much because, among other reasons, he mirrors my admiration for his sleuth friend. Watson is who I am, and Sherlock Holmes is who I wish I could be.
I'm sort of on a mystery book kick, I guess, because I'm rereading the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. I've forgotten how awesome he is, and Watson too. Their mystery adventures are interesting enough, but my affinity for the stories is more due to character attachment, and I am sure that if I had been alive in the UK when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle killed off Holmes, I would've been one of the 20,000 plus Brits who appeared in the streets in black, mourning this fictional character's death. It's so crazy how we can get so attached to imaginary folk.
What is it about his character that I like so much? Someone once told me about Nietzsche and his "amor fati", or "love one's fate" attitude toward life, and I see a bit of it in Holmes. His matter-of-fact acceptance of somber aspects of life and mankind, often with humor and maybe some well-justified arrogance, which I can hardly believe I'm writing because I used to think that there was no such thing as arrogance that can be justified. Maybe it's not justified, but I can definitely sympathize with him whenever he unravels the entire mystery himself and all the credit is given to one of the bumbling idiots of Scotland Yard who look on the genius Holmes as some eccentric, too theory-oriented, promising perhaps... "Life is dreary", he'd say so baldly, but it's not a fact that he ever sludges over, wondering why why why. He'll ponder over it from afar, like a curiosity, then throw himself into another mystery with passion and energy, or if there isn't one available presently, he'll take a pinch of snuff and scrape on his violin all through the night. Not that I endorse hard drugs, but well Watson got him to quit that eventually, didn't he? One minute he's filling Watson in on the latest develops of a case, and the next, he's insisting that the most important thing at the moment is lunch and miracle plays. And vice versa, one minute he's observing Londoners under the gaslights heading home from work, and philosophizing about the immortal spark that burns within each of them, and the next, he's hunting the grounds with his magnifying glass for cigar ashes and bootprints. He's terrifically adept at shifting gears and does so without concern for transitions or proper timing or other such restraining nonsense. His attitude of acceptance of all things is no better illustrated than in the scene where he and Doc Watson are chasing Jonathan Small and Tonga, who shoots a poisonous dart tip at them just as they shoot him down with their arms. Later they discover that the fatal dart had whizzed right between them, so they had been mere inches from death. Holmes merely smiles at it and shrugs "in his easygoing fashion", while Watson feels sick thinking of how close he came to death that night.
And Watson I like just as much because, among other reasons, he mirrors my admiration for his sleuth friend. Watson is who I am, and Sherlock Holmes is who I wish I could be.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Two Windows
S: Can you check the weather report?
A: Sure gimme a sec. (Firefox window pops up). It's raining.
We stare at the sunshine streaming through the living room window.
S: Well, better take an umbrella with me.
A: Stupid dysfunctional weather report add-on.
A: Sure gimme a sec. (Firefox window pops up). It's raining.
We stare at the sunshine streaming through the living room window.
S: Well, better take an umbrella with me.
A: Stupid dysfunctional weather report add-on.
Morning Dialogue II: Ha, Hee, and Hoo
Angie: My stomach feels funny. It's telling knock-knock jokes. (Stifled giggling proceeds)
Sarah: (No response).
Angie: Isn't that funny? (Stifled giggling crescendos)
Sarah: Hrrrrrr.
Angie: Hahahaha! That was the best fake laugh ever! You sounded like you were retarded! Heeheehee! Oh man...*gasp*...can't breathe!...hooo...
Sarah: Pause...Oh I get it. Hey that's pretty funny! Hahaha!
Angie: Oh my god, you are retarded!
I give Sarah credit; she just improved my joke like 10-fold.
Sarah: (No response).
Angie: Isn't that funny? (Stifled giggling crescendos)
Sarah: Hrrrrrr.
Angie: Hahahaha! That was the best fake laugh ever! You sounded like you were retarded! Heeheehee! Oh man...*gasp*...can't breathe!...hooo...
Sarah: Pause...Oh I get it. Hey that's pretty funny! Hahaha!
Angie: Oh my god, you are retarded!
I give Sarah credit; she just improved my joke like 10-fold.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Morning Dialogue
Angie: I wonder what it's like to be raised by wolves.
Sarah: Huh?
Angie: I've been reading about feral children.
Sarah: Why is it that I never know what your talking about?
Sarah: Huh?
Angie: I've been reading about feral children.
Sarah: Why is it that I never know what your talking about?
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Heroes
I have a new hobby of keeping track each day of the number of encounters I have with nice people. This activity serves to uphold one of my two general views of humanity: In the best of lights, I see us as well-intentioned seekers of happiness with the ability to do astonishing things for creatures of such an insignificant physical stature, and where "crazy" means "colorful"; in the worst of lights, I see us as creatures to be pitied, and "crazy" just means you belong in the loony bin. I don't like to dwell on the latter view for purely selfish reasons- because it brings me down-, hence the new hobby.
Today's tally: 3 encounters with Seriously Nice people! Among them were the Garage Sale lady and the cashier at Jay's Deli. I was still raving about them when we reached Bruce's place to watch Heroes.
Heroes, is a great show not least because its characters are so all-encompassing and complex. I absolutely love the dynamic between Invisible Man and Peter Petrelli, where the former is the epitome of the jaded old hermit, and the latter is the hopeful humanist, the Little Engine That Couldn't But Kept On Chugging out of shear faith. Now, now he's just awesome. Oh man, is he awesome.
Another great thing about Heroes is that it totally plays into our fantasies that there's something out there bigger, cooler, more majestic than the daily 9 to 5 grind at a paper factory. One of my favorite quotes I heard today was when HRG (Horn-Rimmed Guy?) was interviewing for a job at the paper company:
At least, that's what I heard. Apparently, though, he had said "mildly", not "wildly". Personally, I like my version better. Anyway, we watched 7 episodes in a row before calling it a night. 6 more amazing hours to go!
Also, I haven't changed the look of this blog since I started it nearly 2.5 years ago, so I thought it was time for a change- just some minor ones, inspired by a fellow blogger.
Today's tally: 3 encounters with Seriously Nice people! Among them were the Garage Sale lady and the cashier at Jay's Deli. I was still raving about them when we reached Bruce's place to watch Heroes.
Heroes, is a great show not least because its characters are so all-encompassing and complex. I absolutely love the dynamic between Invisible Man and Peter Petrelli, where the former is the epitome of the jaded old hermit, and the latter is the hopeful humanist, the Little Engine That Couldn't But Kept On Chugging out of shear faith. Now, now he's just awesome. Oh man, is he awesome.
Another great thing about Heroes is that it totally plays into our fantasies that there's something out there bigger, cooler, more majestic than the daily 9 to 5 grind at a paper factory. One of my favorite quotes I heard today was when HRG (Horn-Rimmed Guy?) was interviewing for a job at the paper company:
Interviewer: So, how do you feel about paper?
HRG: Wildly enthusiastic.
At least, that's what I heard. Apparently, though, he had said "mildly", not "wildly". Personally, I like my version better. Anyway, we watched 7 episodes in a row before calling it a night. 6 more amazing hours to go!
Also, I haven't changed the look of this blog since I started it nearly 2.5 years ago, so I thought it was time for a change- just some minor ones, inspired by a fellow blogger.
The Dangers of Analogies, Exposed
First off, apologies to the Analogy Queen for the title of this post, but it was too good to pass up!
Next of all, I confess, I adore Karaoke Night at McGillan's. Nothing is more fun than bearing witness to a night of alcohol-fueled singing powered by a combination of 10% skill, 80% passion (and of course, the requisite 10% alcohol).
And without further ado, on to the crux of this post:
While at McGillan's tonight, I was talking to someone about "Tiny Dancer", about its part in the Almost Famous bus scene, and we realized after a while that we were talking about two different songs. I wasn't sure which one he had in mind. Neither was he for that matter. So I said I'd have to go look it up on the web when I got home. He replied with something about "innertubes".
Why was he suddenly talking about innertubing? I thought. Aloud of course. That's when I learned about Alaskan Senator Stevens' infamous intertubes speech (which was made last summer). The Jon Stewart references to it are particularly hilarious, so I'll quote them here, but read about the speech before you read the jokes!
Next of all, I confess, I adore Karaoke Night at McGillan's. Nothing is more fun than bearing witness to a night of alcohol-fueled singing powered by a combination of 10% skill, 80% passion (and of course, the requisite 10% alcohol).
And without further ado, on to the crux of this post:
While at McGillan's tonight, I was talking to someone about "Tiny Dancer", about its part in the Almost Famous bus scene, and we realized after a while that we were talking about two different songs. I wasn't sure which one he had in mind. Neither was he for that matter. So I said I'd have to go look it up on the web when I got home. He replied with something about "innertubes".
Why was he suddenly talking about innertubing? I thought. Aloud of course. That's when I learned about Alaskan Senator Stevens' infamous intertubes speech (which was made last summer). The Jon Stewart references to it are particularly hilarious, so I'll quote them here, but read about the speech before you read the jokes!
Citations on The Daily ShowStevens's speech was also ridiculed on seven episodes of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart which featured clips of Stevens's speech, illustrated first by Stevens's photo and later by photos of Gabby Hayes and of Grampa Simpson. In the first instance, on July 12, 2006, Stewart compared him to "a crazy old man in an airport bar at 3:00 am", then going on to answer his question, "Why?" with, "Maybe it's because you don't seem to know jack shit about computers or the Internet — but that's okay — you're just the guy in charge of regulating it."
Stevens's "series of tubes" were again referenced in a July 24, 2006 interview with John McCain, where Stewart asked, "You know, privately, can you pull Senator Stevens aside and go, 'It's not really literally tubes'?", to which McCain replied, "I wouldn't want to disillusion him."[14]
On August 8, 2006, The Daily Show again referenced Stevens's quote in regard to BP's troubles with the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Correspondent Rob Corddry started to explain the trouble with the pipeline, then turned it over to a recording of Ted Stevens saying, "It's not a big truck. It's, it's a series of tubes!"
On October 2, 2006, correspondent John Oliver remarked, "Everyone knows that Congresspeople are assigned to committees based on their greatest weakness! Why else would Senator Ted Stevens, a man more comfortable in the horse and buggy era, wind up in charge of regulating the Internet... which, he believes, is a series of tubes... a series of tubes through which other Congressmen can reach in and fondle sixteen-year-old boys?" (referring to the Mark Foley scandal.)
On December 18, 2006, host Jon Stewart, in an interview with then Presidential candidate Tom Vilsack, referenced the quote while plugging Vilsack's website, stating "Is that one of them Internets? ... Go visit him on the series of tubes."
On January 23, 2007 when talking about presidential candidates using the Internet as a campaign tool in the 2008 election, Stewart said "The candidates are now turning to the interwebs, a series of tubes..."
By March 2007, Stewart's tube references had become shorter, but possibly more frequent, e.g., "intertubes," or "tubular interwebs."
Thursday, August 09, 2007
I am le tired!
Here's why: I woke up in the morning today.
The past couple weeks, my schedule has consisted of: Wake up at noon. Translate. Shower. Eat. Translate. Develop Chronic Ass Pain (CAP) from sitting all day translating. Eat. Translate. See the sun rise. Sleep. And repeat.
I nearly forgot what morning looked like. Turns out, it's pretty much like the rest of the day, except slightly cooler and the sun's in a different position. No birds chirping or delicious aroma of bacon and eggs and johnnycakes wafting in from the kitchen (which happens to be in the living room in our case, which in turn happens to be where we've been sleeping since the bedroom has no air conditioning).
Anyway, so no birds, but I woke up at 9 AM and ran to the Irish memorial to say hi to my Irish friends, the McGillans and the O'Briens and the rest. I always rest in the shade created by the giant sculpture of the boat docking with all the emaciated Irish immigrants gazing at the land ahead in awe, speechless, as if they can't believe what they're seeing.
Of course, what they are really seeing is a small patch of grass, a couple of trees, and a bench with a homeless man snoozing on it. But they don't need to know that. Well, would it really crush them to know that? They've been on a diseased boat for months, tossing and swaying with the waves. I'm sure they'll get a kick out of anything that's solid and not blue. Anyway...they're not real. Sometimes I forget that.
The past couple weeks, my schedule has consisted of: Wake up at noon. Translate. Shower. Eat. Translate. Develop Chronic Ass Pain (CAP) from sitting all day translating. Eat. Translate. See the sun rise. Sleep. And repeat.
I nearly forgot what morning looked like. Turns out, it's pretty much like the rest of the day, except slightly cooler and the sun's in a different position. No birds chirping or delicious aroma of bacon and eggs and johnnycakes wafting in from the kitchen (which happens to be in the living room in our case, which in turn happens to be where we've been sleeping since the bedroom has no air conditioning).
Anyway, so no birds, but I woke up at 9 AM and ran to the Irish memorial to say hi to my Irish friends, the McGillans and the O'Briens and the rest. I always rest in the shade created by the giant sculpture of the boat docking with all the emaciated Irish immigrants gazing at the land ahead in awe, speechless, as if they can't believe what they're seeing.
Of course, what they are really seeing is a small patch of grass, a couple of trees, and a bench with a homeless man snoozing on it. But they don't need to know that. Well, would it really crush them to know that? They've been on a diseased boat for months, tossing and swaying with the waves. I'm sure they'll get a kick out of anything that's solid and not blue. Anyway...they're not real. Sometimes I forget that.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Weather, Spelling, and Great Stories...A Threadless Post
Tomorrow is supposed to be BLAZING hot, near 100 degrees (Fahrenheit)!
By the way, it was the height of my spelling career when I got the spelling of "Fahrenheit" down pat. So I guess the height of my spelling career is placed somewhere between my junior and senior year in college. The world of spelling is an exciting one indeed.
Anyway, so I just got this idea while chatting with a friend, but I think it would be quite interesting and appropriate if we all went around tomorrow telling people, "You're on fire!" With feeling!
Speaking of fire, there are some really great stories in the Bible. The one about King David and his usurping son Adonius reads rather like an Arthurian legend, doesn't it?
By the way, it was the height of my spelling career when I got the spelling of "Fahrenheit" down pat. So I guess the height of my spelling career is placed somewhere between my junior and senior year in college. The world of spelling is an exciting one indeed.
Anyway, so I just got this idea while chatting with a friend, but I think it would be quite interesting and appropriate if we all went around tomorrow telling people, "You're on fire!" With feeling!
Speaking of fire, there are some really great stories in the Bible. The one about King David and his usurping son Adonius reads rather like an Arthurian legend, doesn't it?
Friday, August 03, 2007
Incident at the Park
A friend of mine (not of yours, mind you!) has this posted under his "About me" section in facebook:
It makes me laugh every time I read it (that's twice so far- maybe not a great sample size). I told him I might print it out and tape it to my mirror so that I could gaze at THAT every morning for 5 minutes. I think I actually might do it.
I had a convo with a BAC (Born-Again Christian) at the park today. BAC mentioned that the Holy Spirit had spoken to him while he was serving his 17 years in prison. I was in two minds about this: On the one hand, if this God/religion thing is what it takes to keep you from crime, than geez, by all means, believe it! On the other hand, now you've got it in your head that other people need saving too. Is it OK to perpetuate ignorance and talltales as a method of eradicating crime? As we were sitting there talking about religion and God (separate things?) I was reminded of the beginning scene of "Master and Margarita", where these two guys were arguing about whether God and Satan existed, and Satan was standing there going, "This is most interesting: they are arguing about whether or not I exist." Hehe.
I am from Kenya and UK. My left eye is shaped slightly differently to my right eye. My resting pulse is 58. Oh, I like brewed ice tea. yeaah.
I spend around 5 minutes each morning gazing at myself in the mirror.
I was one of 3 people on my team who could hit the ball.
It makes me laugh every time I read it (that's twice so far- maybe not a great sample size). I told him I might print it out and tape it to my mirror so that I could gaze at THAT every morning for 5 minutes. I think I actually might do it.
I had a convo with a BAC (Born-Again Christian) at the park today. BAC mentioned that the Holy Spirit had spoken to him while he was serving his 17 years in prison. I was in two minds about this: On the one hand, if this God/religion thing is what it takes to keep you from crime, than geez, by all means, believe it! On the other hand, now you've got it in your head that other people need saving too. Is it OK to perpetuate ignorance and talltales as a method of eradicating crime? As we were sitting there talking about religion and God (separate things?) I was reminded of the beginning scene of "Master and Margarita", where these two guys were arguing about whether God and Satan existed, and Satan was standing there going, "This is most interesting: they are arguing about whether or not I exist." Hehe.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
The Old Young Hillary
Here's an interesting article on Hillary Clinton. It's interesting to note that there is a common set of questions, thoughts, and experiences that every individual- from me to you to Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton- go through in life. It's comforting on the one hand because maybe that is what life is about- each individual getting a chance to search within and around themselves for answers and meaning before passing away into oblivion (or whatever).
On the other hand, one look at the present (perhaps the Pres-id-ent) Hillary Clinton has me hoping that that is where our similarities end. See what politics has done to her. Already, in the letter, I could sense a load of negativity and anger- although I guess it's not fair to judge from the excerpts in the article. And life hasn't exactly been kind to her what with her being cheated on in front of the whole world. It's frightening to see what can happen to a person who used to have the same thoughts and questions and desires as you.
I was just thinking: Harry had the same thoughts about Voldemort. Ooh, Harry Potter parallels, how illuminating!
On the other hand, one look at the present (perhaps the Pres-id-ent) Hillary Clinton has me hoping that that is where our similarities end. See what politics has done to her. Already, in the letter, I could sense a load of negativity and anger- although I guess it's not fair to judge from the excerpts in the article. And life hasn't exactly been kind to her what with her being cheated on in front of the whole world. It's frightening to see what can happen to a person who used to have the same thoughts and questions and desires as you.
I was just thinking: Harry had the same thoughts about Voldemort. Ooh, Harry Potter parallels, how illuminating!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
The Connery Effect
I just saw my first Indiana Jones movie- The Last Crusade. (Yes, that is the 3rd installment of the franchise.) Two thumbs up for its hilarious antics, great, comical action sequence from the very beginning, good one-liners, and of course, for the multiple demonstrations of the Connery Effect. For instance:
"Did I ever tell you to do your homework, go to bed, wash behind your ears? I gave you privacy! I taught you...SHELF-RELIANCE!"
Hehe. Kinda takes away from the heat of the moment when all your S's come out sounding like SH's.
"Did I ever tell you to do your homework, go to bed, wash behind your ears? I gave you privacy! I taught you...SHELF-RELIANCE!"
Hehe. Kinda takes away from the heat of the moment when all your S's come out sounding like SH's.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
The Limited Power of Analogies
Analogies can only take your argument so far. Actually, what I want to say is, analogies don't further argument, they merely serve to convey ideas. In other words, analogies contribute nothing to the truth value of a statement or an idea; they can only aid in the understanding of it. For instance, I found the following excerpt from an article in the Times about abstinence:
Great analogy, by all means, Mr. Love. Not perfect, but I see what he's trying to say. But I just hope people don't accept his view as the "correct" view solely based on the quality of his analogy. Like some kinds of tape don't ever lose their stickiness, Mr. Love, hehe.“You have to look at why sex was created,” Eric Love, the director of the East Texas Abstinence Program, which runs Virginity Rules, said one day, the sounds of Christian contemporary music humming faintly in his Longview office. “Sex was designed to bond two people together.”
To make the point, Mr. Love grabbed a tape dispenser and snapped off two fresh pieces. He slapped them to his filing cabinet and the floor; they trapped dirt, lint, a small metal bolt. “Now when it comes time for them to get married, the marriage pulls apart so easily,” he said, trying to unite the grimy strips. “Why? Because they gave the stickiness away.”
The set of analogies that can be made is a lot bigger than the set of analogies that should be made.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
The Importance of Proofreading and Chicken Tales
Yesterday, I was translating a portion of the book talking about the basis of Halakha (Jewish religious law). The story told was about how one year, the eve of "Paque" fell on the Sabbath, and so they had to figure out whether "Paque" took precedence over the Sabbath.
Today, after a good night's sleep, I realized that I translated "Paque" as Easter instead of Passover. Which doesn't sound like a big deal, really until you realize that Jews definitely don't celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Sometimes you forget that Easter wasn't originally a day for celebrating bunnies and going on Easter egg hunts.
Little fact about eggs: The largest chicken egg was over 12 inches around the long axis, and 9 around the short. That poor chicken. There are some other interesting facts about chickens on this page. Here is a particularly funny chicken story:
[UPI, Cairo, Egypt, 31 Aug. 1995] - Six people drowned Monday while trying to rescue a chicken that had fallen into a well in southern Egypt. An 18 year old farmer was the first to descend into the 60-foot well. He drowned, apparently after an undercurrent in the water pulled him down, police said. His sister and two brothers, none of whom could swim well, went in one by one to help him, but also drowned. Two elderly farmers then came to help, but they apparently were pulled by the same undercurrent. The bodies of the six were later pulled out of the well in the village of Nazlat Imara, 240 miles south of Cairo. The chicken was also pulled out. It survived.
I think the article forgot to mention that the chicken laid gold eggs.
Today, after a good night's sleep, I realized that I translated "Paque" as Easter instead of Passover. Which doesn't sound like a big deal, really until you realize that Jews definitely don't celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Sometimes you forget that Easter wasn't originally a day for celebrating bunnies and going on Easter egg hunts.
Little fact about eggs: The largest chicken egg was over 12 inches around the long axis, and 9 around the short. That poor chicken. There are some other interesting facts about chickens on this page. Here is a particularly funny chicken story:
[UPI, Cairo, Egypt, 31 Aug. 1995] - Six people drowned Monday while trying to rescue a chicken that had fallen into a well in southern Egypt. An 18 year old farmer was the first to descend into the 60-foot well. He drowned, apparently after an undercurrent in the water pulled him down, police said. His sister and two brothers, none of whom could swim well, went in one by one to help him, but also drowned. Two elderly farmers then came to help, but they apparently were pulled by the same undercurrent. The bodies of the six were later pulled out of the well in the village of Nazlat Imara, 240 miles south of Cairo. The chicken was also pulled out. It survived.
I think the article forgot to mention that the chicken laid gold eggs.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Listening To...
Current music favorites:
1. Aventura- great music to cook to!
2. Amelie soundtrack- puts me in another country, another century; listen for:
(a) bicycle wheel at the end of "La Dispute"
(b) the tinkly musical box music that sneaks in about 2 minutes into "Soir de fete"- it took me forever to find which song that was in! The transition is absolutely seamless! It's my favorite part of the whole soundtrack.
3. Pink Floyd (just...great; Comfortably Numb, Coming back to life, Another Brick in the Wall. Listen to that guitar wail!)
4. Arcade Fire- good indie rock; Crown of Love is my favorite; Neighborhood 1 and 4, Intervention...I love the Canadian radio host's voice at the end: "If that doesn't git yeh man, if that doesn't git yeh somewhere spaycial!...Whhhhwww...feel sorry for yeh"
1. Aventura- great music to cook to!
2. Amelie soundtrack- puts me in another country, another century; listen for:
(a) bicycle wheel at the end of "La Dispute"
(b) the tinkly musical box music that sneaks in about 2 minutes into "Soir de fete"- it took me forever to find which song that was in! The transition is absolutely seamless! It's my favorite part of the whole soundtrack.
3. Pink Floyd (just...great; Comfortably Numb, Coming back to life, Another Brick in the Wall. Listen to that guitar wail!)
4. Arcade Fire- good indie rock; Crown of Love is my favorite; Neighborhood 1 and 4, Intervention...I love the Canadian radio host's voice at the end: "If that doesn't git yeh man, if that doesn't git yeh somewhere spaycial!...Whhhhwww...feel sorry for yeh"
Dreams
There's an interesting article on dreams in this week's Science Times. I've always been fascinated by this subject because for one, it's an interesting phenomenon in itself (is it really just evolutionary spandrel or did it evolve of its own accord? What are it's (dis)advantages? How does it happen? Well, definitely, in order to know more about dreaming, we have to know more about consciousness and memory), and also because I have a better ability than most to recall my dreams, and/or I have more vivid dreams in general, and so I guess I dwell on them more (Even though Dumbledore says "it does not do to dwell on dreams." Of course, he was talking about a different sort of dreaming...).
Upon waking up after a vivid dream, I almost always try to figure out why I dreamed about this happening, and why this person popped up in my dream because it's my firm belief that there's a logical explanation for each event/person involved, at least in my case. I don't not believe in prophetic dreams (especially after hearing Jin's stories), but I know I'm no psychic, nor am I magically connected to a certain Dark Wizard, and I definitely don't believe in all that Freudian nonsense about daughters wanting their fathers and whatnot.
What I've learned from analyzing my own dreams is that the basic process is: my mind takes a kernel of reality (whether it is a particularly intense emotion, eg: desire or guilt, or a person that I thought of in passing the day before- the kernel is almost always taken from the reality of the day before- and promptly forgot about) and projects it into a full-blown movie using characters/events/places/feelings from my past experiences and thoughts, that I suppose get all jumbled up in my brain as it relaxes into sleep-mode. It's like a kernel of reality getting tossed into a box of old photos, my memory file, and shaken up like a Wendy's salad. Of course, this describes the process of only one kind of dream. I have others that stay more in the current, like when I used to work at the bookstore full-time, once, I dreamed that I came down the escalator with a pile of books in my arms to find three of my co-workers at the info-desk trying to juggle pencils on their noses. Wait, was that a dream? Hm...
So, anyway, in this sense, dreams are like myths; they are "truth-bearing tales," always containing a kernel of truth dressed up in nonsense from your jumbled memory.
Some observations about my dreams:
Whenever I make a big move, I constantly dream about the people I leave behind for at least the first couple weeks. Also, childhood friends crop up in my dreams more often than usual. This time around, I haven't even moved yet (about 2 months to go), but those dreams have already begun.
Eating a lot of food right before falling asleep gives me ultra-vivid, action-packed dreams. Garfield had it right: "No more pizza after midnight!" (But the cause can't be a surplus of glucose in the brain because the food hasn't been processed yet...something about your digestive system being seriously active? I dunno...)
Some people are more prone to flying dreams than others. I'm in the latter category.
In high school, I experimented with this deep-breathing technique right before falling asleep, and all my dreams were extremely serene and happy. Like I would dream about stretching on a sandy beach, blue skies, ocean, gulls in the distance, the works.
A lot of aspects about dreams and dreaming (like, why I dream about the people I left behind) is pretty easily explained- elementary, my dear Watson- but on the whole, the phenomenon is still shrouded in mystery because it delves into the field of consciousness and memory, which we really don't know much about yet, though that's slowly changing.
Upon waking up after a vivid dream, I almost always try to figure out why I dreamed about this happening, and why this person popped up in my dream because it's my firm belief that there's a logical explanation for each event/person involved, at least in my case. I don't not believe in prophetic dreams (especially after hearing Jin's stories), but I know I'm no psychic, nor am I magically connected to a certain Dark Wizard, and I definitely don't believe in all that Freudian nonsense about daughters wanting their fathers and whatnot.
What I've learned from analyzing my own dreams is that the basic process is: my mind takes a kernel of reality (whether it is a particularly intense emotion, eg: desire or guilt, or a person that I thought of in passing the day before- the kernel is almost always taken from the reality of the day before- and promptly forgot about) and projects it into a full-blown movie using characters/events/places/feelings from my past experiences and thoughts, that I suppose get all jumbled up in my brain as it relaxes into sleep-mode. It's like a kernel of reality getting tossed into a box of old photos, my memory file, and shaken up like a Wendy's salad. Of course, this describes the process of only one kind of dream. I have others that stay more in the current, like when I used to work at the bookstore full-time, once, I dreamed that I came down the escalator with a pile of books in my arms to find three of my co-workers at the info-desk trying to juggle pencils on their noses. Wait, was that a dream? Hm...
So, anyway, in this sense, dreams are like myths; they are "truth-bearing tales," always containing a kernel of truth dressed up in nonsense from your jumbled memory.
Some observations about my dreams:
Whenever I make a big move, I constantly dream about the people I leave behind for at least the first couple weeks. Also, childhood friends crop up in my dreams more often than usual. This time around, I haven't even moved yet (about 2 months to go), but those dreams have already begun.
Eating a lot of food right before falling asleep gives me ultra-vivid, action-packed dreams. Garfield had it right: "No more pizza after midnight!" (But the cause can't be a surplus of glucose in the brain because the food hasn't been processed yet...something about your digestive system being seriously active? I dunno...)
Some people are more prone to flying dreams than others. I'm in the latter category.
In high school, I experimented with this deep-breathing technique right before falling asleep, and all my dreams were extremely serene and happy. Like I would dream about stretching on a sandy beach, blue skies, ocean, gulls in the distance, the works.
A lot of aspects about dreams and dreaming (like, why I dream about the people I left behind) is pretty easily explained- elementary, my dear Watson- but on the whole, the phenomenon is still shrouded in mystery because it delves into the field of consciousness and memory, which we really don't know much about yet, though that's slowly changing.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Sympathy for Raskolnikov
Have you ever felt so angry at someone that you just want to strangle them? Like, really, physically beat the shit out of them? I don't remember much about the book "Crime & Punishment," which I read in high school English class, which was (scarily enough) years ago, but I do remember feeling more than a bit sympathetic for the main character.
With that said, something that I don't understand- and maybe it's not fair to say this, but here goes: one thing I don't understand is when black people are racist. Of all people, I think they should understand what it's like to be treated as inferiors just because of the way they look. Right?? But even as I was wondering about this illogism (what? It's a word in French!), I realized that that's exactly the problem- a black person who treats Muslims and Asians like shit, calling them damn foreigners, saying "I hate it when they come in speaking 'their language' (when they are clearly speaking English), yelling "go back to fucking Korea", or acting as if we can't operate a simple computerized sandwich ordering machine when it's clear that it's the machine that is broken, not the orderer's brain, a person like that, no matter their color, is clearly not a rational being. One might even call them crazy, or fucked in the head, and there are certainly enough of those kinds of people here in Philly, so I guess it makes sense that we have so many of these incidents...
Point being, racism, bigotry, bias, whatever, is inherently unreasonable, and although this point is not meant to help victims of that sort of injustice feel much better, at least now we know it's because they're not as smart as us. But then again, does "more rational" mean "smarter"? I can see now why education is so important for society, and this is a point reiterated over and over and over again (I guess that's why they call it a "theme") in the book, "Three Cups of Tea": educated minds incite rational behavior. It may not be a cure to the world's peace problems, but a person who is taught to think logically from a young age is less likely to believe baseless statements like "All Muslims are terrorists" or "Americans are the devil incarnate" or "Iraq is the axis of ev..." for some reason, I just lost the desire to finish this sentence.
With that said, something that I don't understand- and maybe it's not fair to say this, but here goes: one thing I don't understand is when black people are racist. Of all people, I think they should understand what it's like to be treated as inferiors just because of the way they look. Right?? But even as I was wondering about this illogism (what? It's a word in French!), I realized that that's exactly the problem- a black person who treats Muslims and Asians like shit, calling them damn foreigners, saying "I hate it when they come in speaking 'their language' (when they are clearly speaking English), yelling "go back to fucking Korea", or acting as if we can't operate a simple computerized sandwich ordering machine when it's clear that it's the machine that is broken, not the orderer's brain, a person like that, no matter their color, is clearly not a rational being. One might even call them crazy, or fucked in the head, and there are certainly enough of those kinds of people here in Philly, so I guess it makes sense that we have so many of these incidents...
Point being, racism, bigotry, bias, whatever, is inherently unreasonable, and although this point is not meant to help victims of that sort of injustice feel much better, at least now we know it's because they're not as smart as us. But then again, does "more rational" mean "smarter"? I can see now why education is so important for society, and this is a point reiterated over and over and over again (I guess that's why they call it a "theme") in the book, "Three Cups of Tea": educated minds incite rational behavior. It may not be a cure to the world's peace problems, but a person who is taught to think logically from a young age is less likely to believe baseless statements like "All Muslims are terrorists" or "Americans are the devil incarnate" or "Iraq is the axis of ev..." for some reason, I just lost the desire to finish this sentence.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
One of Life's Amazing Coincidences (#286)
I'm going to let y'all in on a little secret that will brighten up your day by a factor of 10 spoonfuls of sugar:
In Hector Berlioz's musical piece entitled, "Damnation de Faust", the interval lying between seconds 37 and 39.5 sound EXACTLY like the music in that scene in Mary Poppins where Jane and Michael are frantically running away from the bank and around the dark alleys of London.
I swear, this discovery is on par with that really famous equation in math that contains all the important constants.
In Hector Berlioz's musical piece entitled, "Damnation de Faust", the interval lying between seconds 37 and 39.5 sound EXACTLY like the music in that scene in Mary Poppins where Jane and Michael are frantically running away from the bank and around the dark alleys of London.
I swear, this discovery is on par with that really famous equation in math that contains all the important constants.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
You Know What's Creepy?
The sound of the ice cream man in the middle of the night. Somehow, the darkness turns the cutesy tinkly music into something sinister. It's like children in horror movies.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Pot Calls Kettle Black
I just realized that I've been called "special" several times by a bipolar co-worker who's spent time in the "loony bin" and used to see a gaunt, bloody, death-like version of herself following her around everywhere. Not quite sure what to make of that.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Berlioz the Romantic
"Which of these two powers, love or music, can elevate man to the sublimest heights? Why separate them? They are the two wings of the soul."
Monday, June 04, 2007
PS Meets Marvel
This one made me burst out laughing like a cannon. Good thing I was in the privacy of my own home.
Update: Okay, I just showed Sarah the link, and she had a very tame reaction compared to mine, so maybe it won't be that funny to other people. In fact, there was no reaction whatsover for several long seconds. Then she realized that there was nothing to get and went back to reading Harry Potter saying, "I like the Harry Potter one better."
Update: Okay, I just showed Sarah the link, and she had a very tame reaction compared to mine, so maybe it won't be that funny to other people. In fact, there was no reaction whatsover for several long seconds. Then she realized that there was nothing to get and went back to reading Harry Potter saying, "I like the Harry Potter one better."
Labyrinth- The Quintessential '80s Movie
But I liked it anyway- surprise surprise!
So Labyrinth, starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly is chock-full of lessons, like "life's not fair," "don't take things for granted," "friends are everything," and so on. But I think the most important lesson we must take away from this Sesame Street/Wizard of Oz/LOTR/Alice in Wonderland- like film is: Never trip on LSD! Lest you fantasize about being infatuated with David Bowie in tight gray leggings. Ay, what a nightmare!
So Labyrinth, starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly is chock-full of lessons, like "life's not fair," "don't take things for granted," "friends are everything," and so on. But I think the most important lesson we must take away from this Sesame Street/Wizard of Oz/LOTR/Alice in Wonderland- like film is: Never trip on LSD! Lest you fantasize about being infatuated with David Bowie in tight gray leggings. Ay, what a nightmare!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
I Spy a Sty in My Eye
Sometimes, I forget that I only have two eyes, and no replacements. Thanks to my disregard for proper eyecare, my left eye is now swollen and lazy-looking, and according to Sarah's research, the symptoms indicate the formation of a sty within my eyelid. YAY. It doesn't seem like too big a deal as long as I don't pop it on accident, but I was scanning the list of sty-related problems of a more serious sort:
-The eye is swollen shut.
-Redness appears around the entire eye.
-You have any change or disturbance in you vision.
-Swelling lasts for more than 3 weeks.
-The sty or styes come back or bleed.
-Your eyelashes fall out.
-Pus or thick discharge continues to drain from the eye.
-You have a fever higher than 100.5.
-You have excessive persistent tearing.
-You have significant pain.
and for some reason, of all the serious problems listed, it was the one about the eyelashes falling out that freaked me out. There is something distinctly horrifying about the possibility that one morning, you'll rub your eyes upon waking up and find all your eyelashes stuck to the back of your hand.
But now my curiosity is getting the better of me: I wonder how I would look with no eyelashes? Would it make much of a difference, given that my eyelashes are of inconsequential length in the first place? Hm.
I've always envied those with eyelashes so long that they make air currents when they blink and necessitate the use of curling irons instead of plain old eyelash curlers.
-The eye is swollen shut.
-Redness appears around the entire eye.
-You have any change or disturbance in you vision.
-Swelling lasts for more than 3 weeks.
-The sty or styes come back or bleed.
-Your eyelashes fall out.
-Pus or thick discharge continues to drain from the eye.
-You have a fever higher than 100.5.
-You have excessive persistent tearing.
-You have significant pain.
and for some reason, of all the serious problems listed, it was the one about the eyelashes falling out that freaked me out. There is something distinctly horrifying about the possibility that one morning, you'll rub your eyes upon waking up and find all your eyelashes stuck to the back of your hand.
But now my curiosity is getting the better of me: I wonder how I would look with no eyelashes? Would it make much of a difference, given that my eyelashes are of inconsequential length in the first place? Hm.
I've always envied those with eyelashes so long that they make air currents when they blink and necessitate the use of curling irons instead of plain old eyelash curlers.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Funniest Facebook Group EVER!
NAME: Dora the Explorer is soo an illegal immigrant...
DESCRIPTION: Ok, so here's the deal... If you need the explanations they're all around you...
1) She speaks spanish... she speaks spanish perfectly... what is she like...5? Her backpack even speaks spanish perfectly!
2) That backpack of hers has EVERYTHING in it! And we're talking everything! Life support, water/food, clothing for any weather, ropes, grappling hooks, shoes.... i mean c'mon!
3) She's carrying a freaking ZOO with her! I mean, she has a monkey, an band of insects, a bajillion other animals! Really! What kind of legal immigrant has that many pets!?
4) She's always on an "adventure" to transport a "package" to some destination and is always being stalked by a person trying to take that package... i mean... really, Swiper is so obviously some sort of border patrol person trying to collect evidence of Dora's entire narcotics trafficking buisness
The evidence is so obvious and around you guys! And they're even poisoning our little children with them... Who wants our toddlers to grow up knowing spanish before english?! Even if it's the USA...
ONE MEMBER'S POST:
"OMG..I had no idea this group existed. My 2 yr old daughter LOVES dora and her only words come from the show. seriously, her first word was back pack. I'm not kidding. She says abre and hola and zapato and baila and she can name all the characters on the show. It's so sad. My boyfriend and I have always joked about how dora has cocaine in her backpack and is smuggling it and she must be having sex with boots. Wow. Thank you for this facebook group!"
-Mother of a Dora Fan
DESCRIPTION: Ok, so here's the deal... If you need the explanations they're all around you...
1) She speaks spanish... she speaks spanish perfectly... what is she like...5? Her backpack even speaks spanish perfectly!
2) That backpack of hers has EVERYTHING in it! And we're talking everything! Life support, water/food, clothing for any weather, ropes, grappling hooks, shoes.... i mean c'mon!
3) She's carrying a freaking ZOO with her! I mean, she has a monkey, an band of insects, a bajillion other animals! Really! What kind of legal immigrant has that many pets!?
4) She's always on an "adventure" to transport a "package" to some destination and is always being stalked by a person trying to take that package... i mean... really, Swiper is so obviously some sort of border patrol person trying to collect evidence of Dora's entire narcotics trafficking buisness
The evidence is so obvious and around you guys! And they're even poisoning our little children with them... Who wants our toddlers to grow up knowing spanish before english?! Even if it's the USA...
ONE MEMBER'S POST:
"OMG..I had no idea this group existed. My 2 yr old daughter LOVES dora and her only words come from the show. seriously, her first word was back pack. I'm not kidding. She says abre and hola and zapato and baila and she can name all the characters on the show. It's so sad. My boyfriend and I have always joked about how dora has cocaine in her backpack and is smuggling it and she must be having sex with boots. Wow. Thank you for this facebook group!"
-Mother of a Dora Fan
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Where's the Blimp?
I was listening to "Strength and Honor" from the Gladiator soundtrack, and suddenly I thought of that scene in Cinderella where the mice are trying to get past Lucifer the mean, fat cat.
Is that weird?
There's a little blurb in the Science Times about how scientists are ready to put the Large Hadron Collider (named Atlas) into action, possibly recreating the the birth of the universe over and over and over again- 30 million times per second to be exact. It's also possible that the monster machine won't produce anything special, in which case the credibility/rep/etc. of the scientists involved will be annihilated, they probably won't receive funding again for such an endeavor anywhere near our lifetime, and the hope of finding evidence for certain theories will be lost for a long time.
So nothing too exciting, in other words.
Shouldn't this stuff be advertized by a blimp flying a banner, at the very least? I guess they can't count the chickens before they hatch.
Is that weird?
There's a little blurb in the Science Times about how scientists are ready to put the Large Hadron Collider (named Atlas) into action, possibly recreating the the birth of the universe over and over and over again- 30 million times per second to be exact. It's also possible that the monster machine won't produce anything special, in which case the credibility/rep/etc. of the scientists involved will be annihilated, they probably won't receive funding again for such an endeavor anywhere near our lifetime, and the hope of finding evidence for certain theories will be lost for a long time.
So nothing too exciting, in other words.
Shouldn't this stuff be advertized by a blimp flying a banner, at the very least? I guess they can't count the chickens before they hatch.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
MMA-Worthy Idea?
I want to build a bunch of random objects like chairs, birds and hairdryers out of playdoh, put them on display, and call it "Plato's ideals".
5-Second Rule!
An awesome one-page article on a scientific study of the 5-second rule. I'm pretty blase about eating stuff off the floor. A little dirt don't hurt, and I'm sure I've ingested much dirtier things than a few colonies of bacteria in my lifetime, and see, I managed to reach the age of 23. But of course if it fell on the Septa bus floor for example, or on the floor of the bookstore bathroom, I ain't that stupid- that shit's staying on the floor.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Happiness to Thoreau
“Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder…”– Thoreau
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Aphorisms
Beauty is only skin-deep; underneath that skin, everyone is fucking crazy.
The real question is, is it true that the more beautiful and perfect you look on the outside, the more fucked you are on the inside, because it takes so much effort to maintain the physical semblance of sanity and perfection? Or is it that "everyone is fucking crazy", but some are so fucked inside that the fuckedness hidden underneath the skin oozes out like puss through the pores, thus making it visible to the naked eye?
"Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see, but it is impossible. Humans hide their secrets too well...."
~Magritte, about his painting, "Son of Man"
The real question is, is it true that the more beautiful and perfect you look on the outside, the more fucked you are on the inside, because it takes so much effort to maintain the physical semblance of sanity and perfection? Or is it that "everyone is fucking crazy", but some are so fucked inside that the fuckedness hidden underneath the skin oozes out like puss through the pores, thus making it visible to the naked eye?
"Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see, but it is impossible. Humans hide their secrets too well...."
~Magritte, about his painting, "Son of Man"
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
If I Were a Dictator
Forget ordering mass genocide and hoarding all the wealth and food. If I were a dictator, I would standardize melons. Honeydew, cantaloupe, golden melon, watermelon, (just) melons- there's just too goddamn many of them! And papayas are melons too! Unbelievable...
When life gives you melons, make melonade.
Melon is Elvish for "friend."
When life gives you melons, make melonade.
Melon is Elvish for "friend."
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
If Physicists Were Weight-Loss Specialists
You know what's a great way to lose weight? Go down an elevator and have someone cut the cable. You weigh...zero pounds, congratulations!
Surgeon General's warning: Weight-loss using the above method is temporary, and excessive weight re-gain is highly probable upon impact when landing.
Surgeon General's warning: Weight-loss using the above method is temporary, and excessive weight re-gain is highly probable upon impact when landing.
If Physicists Were Bullies
"Your mama's so dense, light bends around her."
~Ouch. I've definitely heard that one on the playground.
I just love how they have a page on Wikipedia for "yo momma" jokes, which got popular, apparently, in the early '90s.
~Ouch. I've definitely heard that one on the playground.
I just love how they have a page on Wikipedia for "yo momma" jokes, which got popular, apparently, in the early '90s.
Words of Wisdom
"If there’s a defect in basic cell biology, it might be shared by other cells. So we can learn a lot about complicated organisms from studying very simple cells like yeast."
~ from an interview with biologist Susan Lindquist
Since things usually evolve from simple to complex, then it does make sense that if something's wrong with a basic function, then the problem occurred early on and continued throughout. Kind of like when you make a calculation error early on in a complicated math problem, but you don't realize it until you reach the solution, so every line thereafter is wrong (carries the error).
~ from an interview with biologist Susan Lindquist
Since things usually evolve from simple to complex, then it does make sense that if something's wrong with a basic function, then the problem occurred early on and continued throughout. Kind of like when you make a calculation error early on in a complicated math problem, but you don't realize it until you reach the solution, so every line thereafter is wrong (carries the error).
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Tragedy or Comedy?
1. There's a lot of bad shit going down around the world. But it's always been like that, right? To me, though, the Virginia Tech massacre seems all the more tragic because a lot of them were so young. Dying is awful, but it's worse when it happens to people who haven't had a chance to do everything they want to do. (Tragedy)
2. What's with the Koreans Gone Wild? (Hm, I just thought of an inappropriate spoof* of Girls Gone Wild videos- Comedy). First there's that second year Penn law school student, John Cho, who barged into his downstairs neighbors' apmt door and fired 15 rounds because he thought they were commie spies, or something. Then this Cho Seung-hi guy. Two don't mean a thang, though.
*Word History: We are indebted to a British comedian for the word spoof. Sometime in the 19th century Arthur Roberts (1852-1933) invented a game called Spoof, which involved trickery and nonsense. The first recorded reference to the game in 1884 refers to its revival. It was not long before the word spoof took on the general sense "nonsense, trickery," first recorded in 1889. The verb spoof is first recorded in 1889 as well, in the sense "to deceive." These senses are now less widely used than the noun sense "a light parody or satirical imitation," first recorded in 1958, and the verb sense "to satirize gently," first recorded in 1927.
3. I recently experienced some drama-trauma myself, when my ipod went missing for a full 4 days. (A tale for some later time.) But I got it back yesterday, and when I went home, I scrapped all my evening plans, hooked up my ipod (my baby!) to Sarah's speakers, plopped down on the living room floor and listened to glorious music until well past midnight. For the record, I did, in fact, croon "dear ipod, I've missed you so!" not once, but twice! With feeling! (Near-tragedy)
4. Sanjaya making it into the top 7 in American Idol. (Comedy)
5. Sanjaya singing country. (A Tragedy for the Country music industry, a Comedy for the rest of us)
6. Sanjaya winning American Idol (Tragedy).
7. Ryan Seacrest's look this season just screams "MINI-PAT SAJAK!" They should get him a wheel. (Comedy)
8. A giraffe with a fear of heights. (Tragi-Comedy)
2. What's with the Koreans Gone Wild? (Hm, I just thought of an inappropriate spoof* of Girls Gone Wild videos- Comedy). First there's that second year Penn law school student, John Cho, who barged into his downstairs neighbors' apmt door and fired 15 rounds because he thought they were commie spies, or something. Then this Cho Seung-hi guy. Two don't mean a thang, though.
*Word History: We are indebted to a British comedian for the word spoof. Sometime in the 19th century Arthur Roberts (1852-1933) invented a game called Spoof, which involved trickery and nonsense. The first recorded reference to the game in 1884 refers to its revival. It was not long before the word spoof took on the general sense "nonsense, trickery," first recorded in 1889. The verb spoof is first recorded in 1889 as well, in the sense "to deceive." These senses are now less widely used than the noun sense "a light parody or satirical imitation," first recorded in 1958, and the verb sense "to satirize gently," first recorded in 1927.
3. I recently experienced some drama-trauma myself, when my ipod went missing for a full 4 days. (A tale for some later time.) But I got it back yesterday, and when I went home, I scrapped all my evening plans, hooked up my ipod (my baby!) to Sarah's speakers, plopped down on the living room floor and listened to glorious music until well past midnight. For the record, I did, in fact, croon "dear ipod, I've missed you so!" not once, but twice! With feeling! (Near-tragedy)
4. Sanjaya making it into the top 7 in American Idol. (Comedy)
5. Sanjaya singing country. (A Tragedy for the Country music industry, a Comedy for the rest of us)
6. Sanjaya winning American Idol (Tragedy).
7. Ryan Seacrest's look this season just screams "MINI-PAT SAJAK!" They should get him a wheel. (Comedy)
8. A giraffe with a fear of heights. (Tragi-Comedy)
Friday, April 13, 2007
Dialogue
Theme: Insults
Scene 1:
Joey: You know what I like about you? No matter how much I insult you, you are unflappable. You're like the ship that sails serenely through the fog.
Angie: Wow, I've never heard that analogy before- I like it! How does it go again?
Joey: Yeah, you're like a ship, see there's this thick fog, you can't see anything, and you just sail like a ship through the fog, completely unfeathered.
Angie: So...I'm the fog.
Joey: Yeah, see, so there's this ship, it's sailing through a thick fog, it's night and you can't see a thing, but you just sail on through it
Angie: So...I'm the night.
Joey: The knight in shining armor. See now, it's raining, and it's foggy, and there's this ship that's sailing on the water, and the knight's armor gets all wet from the rain.
Angie: So...I'm the rain.
Joey: Yeah, except it's strange because you're carrying an umbrella. But it's one of those umbrellas that, when you open it, it rains on the inside, but you only see those in cartoons.
Scene 2:
(At the bookstore. My co-workers and I are standing around at the info-desk being our usual useful, hardworking selves.)
Karen: ...blah blah blah Angie blah blah blah...
Molly: The problem is, it's really hard to insult her because she just doesn't listen.
Me: ...What?
Scene 1:
Joey: You know what I like about you? No matter how much I insult you, you are unflappable. You're like the ship that sails serenely through the fog.
Angie: Wow, I've never heard that analogy before- I like it! How does it go again?
Joey: Yeah, you're like a ship, see there's this thick fog, you can't see anything, and you just sail like a ship through the fog, completely unfeathered.
Angie: So...I'm the fog.
Joey: Yeah, see, so there's this ship, it's sailing through a thick fog, it's night and you can't see a thing, but you just sail on through it
Angie: So...I'm the night.
Joey: The knight in shining armor. See now, it's raining, and it's foggy, and there's this ship that's sailing on the water, and the knight's armor gets all wet from the rain.
Angie: So...I'm the rain.
Joey: Yeah, except it's strange because you're carrying an umbrella. But it's one of those umbrellas that, when you open it, it rains on the inside, but you only see those in cartoons.
Scene 2:
(At the bookstore. My co-workers and I are standing around at the info-desk being our usual useful, hardworking selves.)
Karen: ...blah blah blah Angie blah blah blah...
Molly: The problem is, it's really hard to insult her because she just doesn't listen.
Me: ...What?
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Science Times
This week's Science Times is a gold mine. I sat at the bookstore yesterday and read it cover-to-cover. They had this huge theme, "Desire", which caught my interest, sure, but the article that was supposed to be a main feature was kind of a let-down in my opinion because a lot of the discussed "discoveries" were common sense, trivial, "duh" discoveries that everyone and her mom already knows. I know that that is part of science too- proving the obvious facts through the scientific method, but I hate it when researchers make a big deal when they discover that "oh my god, people tend to like their own personal space," or "sexual arousal is linked with emotional/inner states, not just physical for a high percentage of women." One result they found particularly interesting was that straight men are only attracted to women, whereas straight women, though they say they prefer men, are nonetheless attracted to other women. Well, yeah, that's because a typical woman's body, compared to a man's, is just damn sexier, more beautiful with its curves, not just an angular box like a man's; a typical woman's body is simply more aesthetically pleasing. We'll see how long it takes for that to become a hypothesis.
The other main feature, on the other hand, was definitely not a let-down. Some interesting points I found were:
-all fetuses are female by default! At least until a certain gene on the Y chromosome, if present, diverts the reproductive tissue from the ovarian-forming pathway (Picture a stick figure chromosome man dressed in a clown costume jumping up and down with his arms raised, shouting "hey, over here! Lookit me, lookit me! Follow me, and grow some balls!) into the pathway that makes the fetus man up.
-baby boys whose dicks are accidentally cut off due to a circumcision job gone south (maybe not south enough), who are raised as girls, are still attracted to girls
-based on a study of twins, they found genetics definitely plays a key role in determining sexual orientation, especially in males- not an amazing revelation in itself, but then one has to wonder how homosexuality, if it is genetic, survived in the genes since homosexual males tend to have 1/5 the number of kids as their straight counterparts.
The article discussed the possibility that either
1) it's a byproduct gene (just like how our penchant for believing in a higher being could simply be an evolutionary byproduct of another trait) that just came along for the ride, attached to some other actually beneficial gene. Picture now, Schwarzenegger going for a motorcycle ride with his son sitting next to him in a side-car. (They crashed, but they survived!) I just learned of this incident from my current annotating task.) , or
2) it's explained by the fraternal birth order effect, which says that males with older brothers have a higher chance of being gay. Something about more testosterone being in the womb for the next birth. Each older brother increases the odds by a whopping 33%! Suddenly, while reading about this theory, I couldn't help but marvel at my straight friend Joe from high school, who had 6 or 7 older brothers (and very old parents, I might add); Joe's a walking talking miracle. A bit of a mama's boy, yes. Oh and just so I don't get shot, by "miracle", I mean a statistical miracle.
-a lot of brain-related genes are on the X chromosome. Why? A possible explanation discussed in the article is:
1) Guys only have one X chromosome, so mutations on it have more of an effect, leading to fast selection.
2) Girls prefer smarter guys. (I guess this has been true since the beginning of man, is the assumption.)
Coupling facts 1 & 2 together, any advantageous brain-related mutation on the X chromosome is going to be snatched up quickly, resulting in a lot of brain-related genes on the X chromosome. I grappled with this for a while. For some reason- maybe because I haven't had bio since high school- I had a hard time understanding the connection, but I think it makes sense now. I was like, "Why do they keep saying 'fast selection'? What does that mean?"
Also, an article about the flight pattern of fruit flies, which sounds mundane at first, but they're like fractals! No matter how close or far you watch their flight pattern, it looks the same (fly straight, make a right angle turn, fly straight, make a right angle turn, rinse and repeat). And why would anyone care? Because next time you're searching for a needle in a haystack with some friends in the stix, you'll remember this article and suggest to your friends that maybe the best, most optimal way to search isn't by combing the fields in straight lines, but in a crazy zig-zag pattern! Take a leaf out of nature's book- a lot of times, it turns out to be a pretty good guide, you know?
Here is an interesting quote from an article I found while searching for the fruit flies one:
"NO longer content with dissecting tissues, analyzing proteins and breeding fruit flies, an increasingly diverse group of scientists has decided that the best way to study life is to make some of their own.
And last, an article about the discovery of the oldest depiction of a fish. Guess what kind of fish it is- an Atlantic salmon. That's how accurate and detailed the 25,000-year-old depiction was; they could actually make-out the particular type of fish! Speaking of salmon, it's cool how such a simple thing as wearing the same jewelry as the rest of your tribe could have played a part in ensuring the evolution of you and me- modern modern man.
The other main feature, on the other hand, was definitely not a let-down. Some interesting points I found were:
-all fetuses are female by default! At least until a certain gene on the Y chromosome, if present, diverts the reproductive tissue from the ovarian-forming pathway (Picture a stick figure chromosome man dressed in a clown costume jumping up and down with his arms raised, shouting "hey, over here! Lookit me, lookit me! Follow me, and grow some balls!) into the pathway that makes the fetus man up.
-baby boys whose dicks are accidentally cut off due to a circumcision job gone south (maybe not south enough), who are raised as girls, are still attracted to girls
-based on a study of twins, they found genetics definitely plays a key role in determining sexual orientation, especially in males- not an amazing revelation in itself, but then one has to wonder how homosexuality, if it is genetic, survived in the genes since homosexual males tend to have 1/5 the number of kids as their straight counterparts.
The article discussed the possibility that either
1) it's a byproduct gene (just like how our penchant for believing in a higher being could simply be an evolutionary byproduct of another trait) that just came along for the ride, attached to some other actually beneficial gene. Picture now, Schwarzenegger going for a motorcycle ride with his son sitting next to him in a side-car. (They crashed, but they survived!) I just learned of this incident from my current annotating task.) , or
2) it's explained by the fraternal birth order effect, which says that males with older brothers have a higher chance of being gay. Something about more testosterone being in the womb for the next birth. Each older brother increases the odds by a whopping 33%! Suddenly, while reading about this theory, I couldn't help but marvel at my straight friend Joe from high school, who had 6 or 7 older brothers (and very old parents, I might add); Joe's a walking talking miracle. A bit of a mama's boy, yes. Oh and just so I don't get shot, by "miracle", I mean a statistical miracle.
-a lot of brain-related genes are on the X chromosome. Why? A possible explanation discussed in the article is:
1) Guys only have one X chromosome, so mutations on it have more of an effect, leading to fast selection.
2) Girls prefer smarter guys. (I guess this has been true since the beginning of man, is the assumption.)
Coupling facts 1 & 2 together, any advantageous brain-related mutation on the X chromosome is going to be snatched up quickly, resulting in a lot of brain-related genes on the X chromosome. I grappled with this for a while. For some reason- maybe because I haven't had bio since high school- I had a hard time understanding the connection, but I think it makes sense now. I was like, "Why do they keep saying 'fast selection'? What does that mean?"
Also, an article about the flight pattern of fruit flies, which sounds mundane at first, but they're like fractals! No matter how close or far you watch their flight pattern, it looks the same (fly straight, make a right angle turn, fly straight, make a right angle turn, rinse and repeat). And why would anyone care? Because next time you're searching for a needle in a haystack with some friends in the stix, you'll remember this article and suggest to your friends that maybe the best, most optimal way to search isn't by combing the fields in straight lines, but in a crazy zig-zag pattern! Take a leaf out of nature's book- a lot of times, it turns out to be a pretty good guide, you know?
Here is an interesting quote from an article I found while searching for the fruit flies one:
"NO longer content with dissecting tissues, analyzing proteins and breeding fruit flies, an increasingly diverse group of scientists has decided that the best way to study life is to make some of their own.
They are creating a field called artificial life, [this is where I stopped reading to check the date of the article- September 29, 1987] mixing the impulses of biology with the tools of computation. By looking beyond the usual materials of life - beyond the familiar biochemistry of earthly animals and plants - they hope to capture its spirit: the animated, the energetic, the replicating, the evolved."
Wow, imagine how crazy that must have sounded way back in the eighties.And last, an article about the discovery of the oldest depiction of a fish. Guess what kind of fish it is- an Atlantic salmon. That's how accurate and detailed the 25,000-year-old depiction was; they could actually make-out the particular type of fish! Speaking of salmon, it's cool how such a simple thing as wearing the same jewelry as the rest of your tribe could have played a part in ensuring the evolution of you and me- modern modern man.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Poop Talk
You know what's a laxative? When you only have one bathroom, and your roommate is using it. Somehow your stomach knows...
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Dictators Aren't Below Good Ol' Name-Calling
Okay, so he didn't call him "butthead" or "nincompoop" which would have been AWESOME, but in the past, Venezuelen President Hugo Chavez has called Bush a "donkey," a "drunkard," a "coward," and best of all, "Mr. Danger." Oh wait, it gets better! Now he calls our dear jefe "El Diablo." Hee hee! Well, he does have the cowboy accent and probably the boots to go with.
Also, last year, Chavez showed a keen interest in having a biographical film made starring Oliver Stone as the Venezuelen president. Apparently, Stone passed up the offer (of a lifetime).
And once, he rebutted criticism from Condoleeza Rice by suggesting she had a crush on him.
What a colorful character. Evil, maybe, but colorfully so.
Also, last year, Chavez showed a keen interest in having a biographical film made starring Oliver Stone as the Venezuelen president. Apparently, Stone passed up the offer (of a lifetime).
And once, he rebutted criticism from Condoleeza Rice by suggesting she had a crush on him.
What a colorful character. Evil, maybe, but colorfully so.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
The Hazards of Dance
I split my pants dancing to Beastie Boys yesterday.
"Kickin lyrics right to your brain, so when you hear that sound you'll be right as rain!"
Help, I need a needle and thread.
"Kickin lyrics right to your brain, so when you hear that sound you'll be right as rain!"
Help, I need a needle and thread.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Stash the 'Stache
Weird. There's this Arabic looking guy who looks as if he hasn't been in school in quite a few years in the computer lab who is looking through facebook. What business might he have on that site? Maybe it's the moustache that's throwing me way off in my estimate of his age.
I've got a thing against moustaches- they skeeve me out. They look so...child-molester-ish. At the very least they make guys look way older than their actual age, and not in a good way. Older and shadier. The only man who ever looked decent with a moustache was Omar Shariff in Dr. Zhivago, and even then...it was still unsettling.
Also, when will I get "too old" to keep a facebook account? Will my profile be up there forever, forever displaying my activities as "high-tailing it from heaven, burning in hell", like some weird time-capsule or info-age diary or photo album? Oooh, thinking about such a distant future kinda freaks me out. But not as much as moustaches do.
I've got a thing against moustaches- they skeeve me out. They look so...child-molester-ish. At the very least they make guys look way older than their actual age, and not in a good way. Older and shadier. The only man who ever looked decent with a moustache was Omar Shariff in Dr. Zhivago, and even then...it was still unsettling.
Also, when will I get "too old" to keep a facebook account? Will my profile be up there forever, forever displaying my activities as "high-tailing it from heaven, burning in hell", like some weird time-capsule or info-age diary or photo album? Oooh, thinking about such a distant future kinda freaks me out. But not as much as moustaches do.
Again With the Drama!
Alias, Heroes, Boston Legal,...and now Sopranos! I've recently gotten into this awesome HBO series. The writing (lots and lots of dialogue) is just terrific. It's comedy, it's very subtly dramatic, there some action, but only because it's a show about the Mob, but it's the writing that makes it a keeper. And also, the characters don't get friggin annoying like they do on 24. 24 is OK, but it's all action, no depth, no wit, no light moments, no funny (yes, it's a noun in my book), and the characters- you just wanna kill them because all their annoying habits and stupid things they choose to do.
I watched the whole second disc (4 episodes, folks!) of the first season of the Sopranos last night after I got home, and that's pretty much what my nights are gonna be like for the next two weeks so that I can take full advantage of my Netflix free 2-week trial...except when I'm in Florida, I guess. Netflix is awesome, folks- get it! I urge you strongly! You've got almost nothing to lose, no tricks, no fine print! And I like their commercials where the family comes home to find all these movie characters in their living room.
(The title of this post is a line from one of the episodes.)
Anthony Jr.: "Is it true that the Chinese invented spaghetti?"
Tony: "Think about it: Why would people who eat with sticks...invent something that you need a fork to eat?"
(Of course, I almost always eat pasta with chopsticks if it's available, with sriracha sauce dribbled all over it. But it's still funny!)
"They're called Hasidim, Paulie."
Paulie: "Hasidim, but I don't believe 'em."
I watched the whole second disc (4 episodes, folks!) of the first season of the Sopranos last night after I got home, and that's pretty much what my nights are gonna be like for the next two weeks so that I can take full advantage of my Netflix free 2-week trial...except when I'm in Florida, I guess. Netflix is awesome, folks- get it! I urge you strongly! You've got almost nothing to lose, no tricks, no fine print! And I like their commercials where the family comes home to find all these movie characters in their living room.
(The title of this post is a line from one of the episodes.)
Anthony Jr.: "Is it true that the Chinese invented spaghetti?"
Tony: "Think about it: Why would people who eat with sticks...invent something that you need a fork to eat?"
(Of course, I almost always eat pasta with chopsticks if it's available, with sriracha sauce dribbled all over it. But it's still funny!)
"They're called Hasidim, Paulie."
Paulie: "Hasidim, but I don't believe 'em."
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