Benni the Blog

The New Blog

2008-10-15T16:24:00.000-04:00

coseamato.blogspot.com

Novel Time!

2006-12-14T01:23:00.000-05:00

Finished The Prestige by Christopher Priest during finals. Made a lot more sense than the movie, though I did like the movie as well.

Also read Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind, which was also made into a movie to be released in the U.S. after Christmas. Very interested to see how this book translates to the screen. Tom Tykwer of Run Lola Run directed.

On my list to tackle this holiday season:
The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner
Waiting for Gertrude by Bill Richardson
Malinche by Laura Esquivel
Digging to America by Anne Tyler
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
Plain Heathen Mischief by Martin Clark

However, finals are over and therefore I feel less inclined to procrastinate by reading other things. We'll see.

Movie Review: The Fountain

2006-11-24T11:50:00.000-05:00

**Review contains SPOILERS**

This movie was not without its merits, mostly contained in its small observations and parallels.

I enjoyed the imagery of Izzi's hair paralleled with the hair on the tree.

I liked the juxtaposition of a panicked and feared Tommy racing towards Dr. Lilly for a consoling hug, only to met by a congratulatory one (which was unfortunately followed by a horrible cliche--he found the cure...just a moment too late!).

I liked Tommy's gesture of creating a band where his wedding ring was, and then Tom carving out rings on himself representing the years, just like a tree.

I did love Tomas's fate, though the sight of foliage bursting out of him was also slightly comical.

I am unaware of any misfortune in director Darren Aronofsky's life, but this movie struck me as one that would have been made as catharsis after experiencing a tragedy.

This movie was not unfocused; rather, it was the opposite. It focused too much on mundane ideas, and the one "transcendent" one--that death brings life--was repeated enough that it became mundane. Aronofsky liked to show one particular vignette over and over: Izzi inviting Tommy out for a walk in the season's first snow. Yes, a small moment like this can show that Tommy is placing more importance on Izzi's cure than actually spending time with her, and then it's used as a moment of divergence. But when a scene is repeated, I want it to be interesting.

**END SPOILERS**

In fact, especially because the movie is set in three different time periods, I wanted the entire movie to be filled with more interesting scenes. Though Aronofsky's points get across, this movie did not take any uncoventional paths; there were few striking scenes, and most of them were at the end. No, simply making a movie non-linear does not cut it. No, visual beauty alone does not cut it.

To sum up: this movie bored me, and I only cared for the Tommy/Izzi relationship based on archetypes in my head (just as the idea of an orphan saddens me, so does the idea of a husband losing a wife), not the actual characters.

It's really quite interesting how the audience and critics have diverged on this one. Audience are scoring this movie at 7.5/10 on IMDB and 81% positive on Rotten Tomatoes; critics, however, are at 48% positive. This is one movie where I would have predicted the opposite.

Other notes: Dan liked it quite a bit. Also, it's easy to dismiss my point of view because I did not like Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream either, which comes across as heresy to his fans. I liked Pi, though, so I'm holding out hope for Flicker.

Movie Review: Casino Royale

2006-11-24T11:42:00.000-05:00

I suppose I'm far from being the ideal reviewer of this movie--I have purposefully steered clear of Bond movies in the past, so I'm unable to compare.

The reason why I became excited about this one, though, was Daniel Craig and the reputation of the movie for being grittier. I thought Daniel Craig was perfect, but I still fail to see how this role allowed him to reveal much of his acting chops. I can see how he would be far superior to, say, Pierce Brosnan, but like I said, I haven't seen any Bond movies besides this one.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first chase sequence, where Bond's style and personality are contrasted with the smooth-running bombmaker. Bond, though in amazing physical shape, has to rely on his brains also to catch up to an even more amazing target. I remember discussing with Johanna how much we liked the fact that Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi really displayed their characters' different personalities in their Couching Tiger duel, and for the same reason I like Bond's fighting style here. I like the fact that Bond seems to have to work hard for what he has; heck, I know he has had to work out a ton to get a body like that.

I expected some corniness, but the overall experience was enjoyable enough to forgive those moments: a Bond girl striding into the scene on a white horse...on a beach(!!); poker hands revealed, each hand topping the previous. But counterpoint: some things I expect from a spy film, such as the vixen tendering some betrayal, was dealt with a twist here.

If they keep making Bond movies like this, they can count me in.

Ticker Tape

2006-11-19T23:19:00.000-05:00

Dan really likes the Kai perfume on me.

His birthday present has not yet arrived. He is curious about it. Muhahaha. Also, today he discovered my super-secret journal that contained embarassingly nerdy stuff, e.g. Star Wars prequel rewrites.

And due to some funding restrictions, our wedding will be super small. I will be hand-making the centerpieces, compiling the mixed CDs, and our guests will eat on paper plates. Hmm, only half-kidding. Still, it's sure to be a blast. I will change costumes during the reception; the bear costume is especially flattering and I expect copious compliments. Exact date to be set. Sometime in Feb. 2008 (not March as originally planned). North Carolina, not L.A. Invites when locale and date set. Will be awhile. Hey, wanna send me some money? Yes, please.

It's Been a Long Time...

2006-10-30T20:43:00.000-05:00

And I've probably lost the 3 visitors I had reading this site. I'm ready to start working; a few classes aside, this school thing is getting old. I like my legal strategy class, since it tackles concrete lawyering issues, like how to proceed when some potential client walks in with a case. I really look forward to the summer, since I'll be spending it in San Diego and at my 1st choice firm. Yay for real work. I also hope I'll get in the trial practice and negotiation classes next semester, also so-called "practical" classes.

Having an income would also be nice.

And now for some happy (shopping-related) thoughts.

Creative Scentualization's Perfect Nectar perfume. I love fruity scents, and this one really is perfect nectar. Yummm, can't wait to afford to spend $60 on perfume.

Some BrunoMagli shoes...how about spending $330 on one pair? Yes, please.

Well, as long as I'm dream-spending, how about these $450 pair by Giuseppe Zanotti?

And this funky Gianfranco Ferre ensemble?

I will look at these pictures a few more moments before homework beckons.

You're the Man Now, Dog

2006-04-11T18:32:00.000-04:00

For every gem there are 200 poopypiles, and so, without further ado, the top 10 YTMNDs:

10. Bush loves it bald. That is it; I am now Republican.

9. Lindsay Lohan doesn't change facial expressions. For you epiphany seekers.

8. Conan enslaves Asia. Must...move...arms...now!

7. Censored. Take a closer look.

6. Cuppycake, the Original. Instead of doing Valentine's Day stuff, send this link.

5. Time traveler. This guy goes to my law school, except he's stuck in the '90s now.

4. Sundaes. This isn't really number four.

3. Tom Cruise kills Oprah. It's true, and better yet, documented.

2. Zazaza. If only the Lost writers were this brilliant.

1. The King causes tragedy. Trust me; it's no tragedy.

Options, options...

2006-03-21T00:45:00.000-05:00

First day back from spring break, and I'm officially tired of going to school. Can't I just take the freaking exams and just get this semester over with? We have oral arguments this week, which are mandatory in order to pass Legal Writing. Lots of what I'll chalk up to law school urban legend has been going around about this ungraded but mandatory assignment:

Some guy showed up with his iPod, said, "I believe this case can be best summed up through interpretive dance," and proceeded to do the robot. He passed the class.
Some guy showed up, stood up and addressed the court, and then passed the next ten minutes in silence. He passed the class.
Some guy showed up in jeans and was turned away, admonished for not dressing appropriately. Status unknown.
Some guy showed up and polymorphed all the judges into sheep for 50 seconds. He is now lvl 60.

I've been thinking about pulling that last one.

More WoW

2006-03-19T15:53:00.000-05:00

Ahhh, it was so nice to spend all of spring break playing World of Warcraft. I am now a Level 22 Gnome Mage, Benni.

This is a picture of me and my snowshoe rabbit, Bunni.

And me and my green-winged macaw, Bonni.

WoW Me!

2006-03-13T12:32:00.000-05:00

So Dan finally convinced me to start playing World of Warcraft. We've been roaming around on the Akama server as Benni and Clydde. This is me:

Dear Diary

2006-02-25T00:23:00.000-05:00

Dear Diary,

Today I killed my second colossus. I like having an infinite supply of arrows.

I am having problems with my horse, Agro, who always makes a fool out of me. He overruns me when I call for him. It takes three mounting attempts to mount the sucker. He won't jump off cliffs either. What a cry-baby.

I am due for some sleep. Fourteen more colossi to go.

Mock Tortles Took It All

2006-02-23T11:56:00.000-05:00

Well, our mock trial team, the Nixonators, made it to the Semifinals of the tournament.

Our case was the crappily written State of Lone Star v. Alan Blizard. Despite the many frustrations dealing with a particularly underhanded team, I found some comfort in supplying our own witnesses (see horror stories). Admittedly, the first Casey we came up against was horrible--long, irrelevant rants about her pilates class and Passions--but most horrendous of all, she claimed she never saw a key piece of evidence. She recanted as soon as I started impeaching her, but still.

When the sides switched and I became Casey, that was a whole lot of fun; I made a skating rink uniform and wore it to the witness stand. At least one person (Cat) said she'd be interested in an Armadillo Skateworld shirt, so now it's available from Zazzle.

And I am now a member of the Mock Trial Board. I will get to represent our school in interscholastic competitions next year.

As Requested

2006-02-04T17:09:00.000-05:00

Matthias, aka "Bear"!

I am also studying, I swear.

2006-02-04T15:13:00.000-05:00

While I wait for the USPS to deliver Resident Evil 4, Silent Hill 4, and Haunting Ground, I borrowed Heather's copy of Shadow of the Colossus.

I haven't actually played a video game since 1997 (The Adventures of Batman & Robin on Super Nintendo), and before that, nada. So really, I suck. I was impatient with the long opening titles of Colossus, so I skipped them. Bad idea! I missed crucial instructions not found in the printed booklet. After thirty or forty minutes of roaming around pointlessly, I finally decided to restart the game and watch the intro. I found the first colossus, and it took me 2 full hours to beat the freaking monster. My left thumb is still sore. Will I develop lovely calluses? I'll keep you posted. Anyhow, back to the game: Since I got lost again finding the second colossus, I decided to look at an online guide. I found this comment regarding the first colossus: "Yep, this big guy is an easy one, but it’s all a lot tougher from here on out." Oh, shit! Do I have 5 hours to spare for the next one?

Also, I'm excited about the Silent Hill movie. Sounds like the plot from 1, with graphics from 2 and 3. It'll still probably suck, but I'm ok with that. Yay, Silent Hill!

A New Year

2006-01-21T14:21:00.000-05:00

This semester seems much harder than the last. I've been quite studious. I'm also going to participate in mock trial, the class play, the Innocence Project, PILF fundraising, etc., so it's going to be a busy, busy few months.

Last semester, I got called on in all my classes within the first two weeks. So far, I've remained invisible for two weeks. We'll see how long that lasts.

As I'm working on the trial brief, I can't help but daydream about making glass beads, and how I'll start my own business from the necklaces. I've also been thinking about starting my own fashion store, collecting cool items I find and selling them.

I guess I still keep talking about Rat because for Christmas, Dan got me the cutest little brown hamster (I said I wasn't ready for another rat, so Dan chose another rodent). I've decided that his name is going to be Matthias, but that his nickname will be Bear. Pics coming soon, when that l'il hamster learns how to sit still.

Porcelain Superegos

2005-12-27T19:46:00.000-05:00

One of my mom's mugs reads, "Watch out! Your worst antagonist is yourself." It was a promotional item for an acquaintance's computer shop.

I'd rather not get nagging advice from cups, but I guess if Chinese-Americans are okay with fortunes in cookies, they are okay with advice on mugs.

Funniest Video Ever

2005-12-15T03:24:00.000-05:00

At least the video of the day. And trust me, despite an impending Contracts final, I watched plenty of internet videos today.

http://www.smithappens.com/video_dogvagina.php

Sleeping Unnaked

2005-12-14T01:47:00.000-05:00

If I were the core of me, the me unmolded by experience, what would I be? I am afraid of the potentialities.

I am therefore thankful for my history.

Things of sentimental value--are they the sound of falling trees, the existence of which determined only by witnesses? Once gone the person who attaches sentimentality, the object retreats back to its own being. But older. Lonelier. Dusty.

The concurrent states of intro?spection and physical sensations fascinate. I think I am surrounded by my own flesh, but perhaps I'm outside rather than in? Or am I nothing if not this living, breathing flesh, this indefinable whole? Where do the unidentifiable parts reside? What gives me this life, I don't understand.

Diggity

2005-12-11T16:02:00.000-05:00

In celebration of the only final left, I present a sketch by the famous Triple-H DDR Champ done during Contracts class:

Three Ugly Ducks Sitting in a Row

2005-12-05T18:18:00.000-05:00

Con law final down; two more to go. My brain completely fried. More con law than I ever wanted to discuss. Ouch. Oh well.

Picked up first graded memo. Got exact median grade. Woohoo. Brain still fried.

My Taste Buds' Historical Experience

2005-12-01T15:12:00.000-05:00

It's finals preparation time, and classes have ended. I went to school today, however, for my con law review session, which lasted from 10:30 am until 1:30 pm. I was so hungry afterwards that I decided to stop at the law school cafeteria, J.D.'s. I'm happy that I did, for on their menu today was the historical U.S. Senate bean soup. I'm feeling lucky.

One of Those Promo Spots

2005-11-29T16:31:00.000-05:00

Oh yeah; it's $10 shirts!

Another cool t-shirt site: PalmerCash. Get 10% off with this code: FM76.

Also, I've discovered Poketo--check out their $20 wallets! This is the one I ordered:

(outside)

(inside)

Business Center

2005-11-08T18:34:00.000-05:00

I'm just hanging at the Alexan Farms business center, waiting for the rest of my study group to show up...it has been twenty minutes...I turned on the tele and am watching MadTV on Comedy Central...I can't wait for my sandwich from Foster's...I can always read Eric's blog because he updates it all the time while waiting for doc review pdfs to load...I'm going to play tennis tomorrow...argh I am bored...

Week in Review

2005-11-06T11:46:00.000-05:00

Last week, I spent almost every night or afternoon practicing with my mock trial team above [pic posted without their permission]. We did extremely well in the competition, but I believe since it's a UNC-sponsored tournament, we unjustly lost to a UNC team. Oh well. I think I'll miss spending time with all my teammates. I'll still see them all during classes, but still.

I've also been sick, coughing every night so that I cannot sleep. I found out that codeine does not knock me out nor suppress my cough. I think I also may have gotten all but three mock trial teammates sick.

Life's a blast here, but I do look forward to winter break, when I'll get to taste grandma's home cooking, watch horror movies with mom, spend time with my wonderful sis [are you spending your break in Michigan, sis?], play with and sing to Corey the Pooh Dog, not do any homework, visit all my friends in the Bay Area and in L.A., shop for secondhand clothes, get my hair cut by Ed, and surprise my French group with a special appearance.

I love y'all!

Another Extraordinary Legal Fowl Sentence

2005-11-02T14:09:00.000-05:00

"[T]he word 'chicken' standing alone is ambiguous..."--FRIENDLY, Circuit Judge, 190 F.Supp. 116 (1960).

Exhausted

2005-10-26T11:08:00.000-04:00

It finally happened--I caught a cold. I'm pooped. But here's my mp3 collection so far (I did break down and buy some albums off iTunes, even though I said I never would).

Yay! I'm Done!

2005-10-16T17:46:00.000-04:00

I may not be so happy when I get my memo grade back, but right now it's 5:47 p.m. and I have a whole night ahead of me. Sure, I still have to wake up in time to turn in the memo. Sure, I still have to study for all my classes tomorrow. But I'm happy happy happy happy happy!

Memo Bloody Memo

2005-10-12T19:22:00.000-04:00

If a snail could write, it would write at the pace I am.

As I reread the cases and fine tune the rule extractions, I've noticed how much I've distanced myself from certain facts of the case.

Our memo topics are summary judgment, vicarious liability, and scope of employment. I have been reading the cases to find out what sort of actions would fall into the scope of employment (or more accurately, what would create a triable issue that an employee was acting within the scope of employment). So I make a mental list; this falls under, that doesn't, and this creates a triable issue. I concentrate so much on the facts that are relevant to my memo that I realized I forgot that some of the people we are writing about have actually died from the accident being disputed over.

Now I am sad.

P.S. I watched both Shaun of the Dead and 28 Days Later. Would watch "Thriller" but too lazy to search for the video online. Good suggestion though. Maybe the "Thriller" dance scene in 13 Going on 30? Just kidding. Jennifer Garner has made it on my shit list. (Ben Affleck has a lot to do with that.)

That Scary Smile

2005-10-09T00:52:00.000-04:00

It's time for Memo #2 and I'm so happy! Shoot me now and put me out of my ecstasy, please.

I remember I felt incredibly chemically imbalanced my senior year in undergrad; I couldn't help but be depressed all the time. Now I feel chemically imbalanced again--except, this time I seem to be in good spirits for no reason.

I was excited to see a bullfrog stare at a neighbor's door last night. I smiled when a grasshopper slowly retreated when I climbed up the stairs.

I loved how it rained today...the pavement smells lovely when it rains.

The following songs aren't really supposed to happy ones, but I am so elated listening to them right now:
"Take It Back"--Loquat
"Petites gouttes d'eau"--Tindersticks
"Nothing Better"--Postal Service

I really want to watch a zombie movie; which one should it be? Versus, Shaun of the Dead, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, the original Dawn of the Dead, or 28 Days Later?

Another Month, Another Rent Check

2005-10-03T10:05:00.000-04:00

Apparently, peach season is over. I am very sad, for my cravings are very strong.

Looks like law school work is picking up. Thankfully, I've already caught up watching "Lost." The season premiere of "Alias" was a huge disappointment, so I need a J.J. Abrams replacement, and "Lost" is it. No, I'm never renting any "Felicity" dvds.

Best Granola Bar Ever

2005-09-29T23:06:00.000-04:00

I'm not even kidding. I'm totally addicted to Kashi bars.

I'm in Love...I'm in Hate

2005-09-26T22:54:00.000-04:00

How in the world did I ever live without digital cable + dvr? Though I can't really afford it on a student budget, it otherwise complements my law school life perfectly.

I watched the first episode of Ricky Gervais's "Extras." Kate Winslet is the absolute best. I'm also addicted to watching "Lost," but I'm still on disc 4 out of 6 of the first season.

Lappie 3000 crashed and burned. This new laptop, Fucker 2005, beeps when I type too many characters in succession. I think I may have crap luck with laptops. Argh!

Turns out I will probably give the Bay Area a wee visit during my winter break, so let me know when y'all will be around. I'll probably be around the beginning of the new year or something...Ryan, do you think you'd want to resume playing "Resident Evil" by then?

Katrina

2005-09-13T20:53:00.000-04:00

My favorite t-shirt site is holding a fundraiser. The Katrina Regrowth shirt is only $10, and the entire amount gets donated to Red Cross! Buy now!

Little Things That Annoy Me

2005-09-13T16:13:00.000-04:00

I got the new Express postcard in the mail; it advertised the new "Director Pant" for men and the new "Editor Pant" for women. The pants and the background are both black--you can't make out what the pants actually look like. Whose brilliant idea was this?!!

Also, why are men assigned "directors" and women "editors"? Argh!!

Boo!

2005-09-10T12:47:00.000-04:00

Last night I dreamt of an expensive theme-park-type haunted house. The house itself was standard fare, but it was designed so that the exit looked just like the entrance. When you think you've stepped out of the house, you were actually be stepping onto a set that duplicated the entire street/yard leading up to it, except that everything would be run down, creepy, and you'd be fenced in.

Best Sentence I've Read All Day

2005-09-08T15:29:00.000-04:00

"The poultry had come to a permanent rest within the state." --Chief Justice Hughes, A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, 295 U.S. 495 (1935)

Diary of a Madwoman

2005-09-04T23:44:00.000-04:00

If the word limit is 1700, you know you're in trouble if you've got 2100. By the same token, you know you're in tha shits if you've got only 1300, which may be my problem.

I want to continue watching Man on Fire. Do I belong in law school? Dammit!

Further Procrastination

2005-09-04T18:36:00.000-04:00

If it were possible...why couldn't I be making love to Jeff Buckley's voice instead? What I have done instead of Memo #1 is scrub the bathroom floor. That says something.

Procrastinating

2005-09-04T13:42:00.000-04:00

Got home around 2am last night. Didn't wake up until noon today. Memo due tomorrow morning. Listening to Muse's "Origin of Symmetry." Want to find inner calm by shooting something over and over, bullets or arrows, but own no gun nor bow. Wish cigarettes burned beyond themselves. Wonder if trees miss their fallen leaves as much as I miss my fallen hair. Leaves and hair with no home, so lonely and dead. Treat them like trash, the mess they make. If only hair decomposed into carpet like leaves into ground.

I Own This, For Reals

2005-09-01T19:45:00.000-04:00

Da Jesus Book: The New Testament "translated" into Hawaiian Pidgin. It is a must read! It cheers me up when I feel weighed down by law books. Here are some back cover reviews (for reals, reals):

"I like dis Bible. I can undastan!"--high school student, Nanakuli

"The English Bible speaks to my head, but the Pidgin Bible speaks to my heart."--University of Hawaii graduate student

"We need a Pidgin Bible!"--pastor, Wai'anae

"Oh! Dass wat dat mean!"--Leeward Coast churchgoer in Bible study

"People buy a lot of them to give to their relatives."--book store manager guy, Honolulu

Luck Be Me

2005-08-30T19:14:00.000-04:00

I was hoping to set a record by being cold-called in all my substantive classes (which excludes Legal Writing) my first week. Turns out I had to wait for my second. Contracts carved out the last leg on the Triangle of Fear.

Constitutional Law: Ok, I asked for it. Siegel is nice enough to provide an on-call sign-up sheet, so I decided to brave last Wednesday.

Civil Procedure: The first few days, Carrington either drew or inserted an image of a state into his presentation. If that was your home state, you had to be alert. I was not given the warning of California's long, lovely coastline. I was denied due process, but I did feel I got served.

Contracts: If I ever think I understand anything, each class proves me wrong. I suppose I understand enough now to know that I understand nil. As I basked in my newfound knowledge of incomprehension, Weistart looked me in the eye and I knew I was toast. Finger-crossing, I denounce thee as my god!

I expect to be cold-called again later in the semester, since some of our classes are small. I'll be an expert by then, right? I promise I'll blow all my classmates away (I think that's an unenforceable promise--let me check the hornbook).

Learning Gibberish with Benni's Black's Law Dictionary

2005-08-27T00:27:00.000-04:00

Incidental authority eloigned eluviation. Ex parte, ex parte, en banc. Bailiff, arise to prima facie case! Ex parte, ex parte, en banc. Slip-and-fall case slanderer! Detention hearing under strict scrutiny. Coparcenary control theory. Ex parte, ex parte, en banc!

I have completed my first full week of law school. Amen.

P.S. Dishes ok.

First Couple Days

2005-08-24T20:20:00.000-04:00

Not having the time to do dishes (but finding the time to blog), I ran my dishwasher for the very first time today. Since the cycle hasn't finished, I'll have to report later whether this venture was successful. I hate to let y'all hang on to the edges of your seats, but patience!

Those of you who have phoned me know that I'm drowning in homework. I've been able to stay focused the last two nights, but tonight my mind is wandering. I really want to test out that treadmill in our apartment's fitness center. I really look forward to softball on Sunday. I really want to go out and karaoke. I can't wait until I balance my work load with my daily life. I wish I wouldn't get violently ill every time I eat Cup Noodles. I haven't eaten them since undergrad, but today someone had them for lunch and, boy, that is still the best smell ever. I miss Taiwanese popsicles.

I still believe that law school was the right choice for me. I'll keep you posted about that one as well.

One More Day Until My 3-Year Vacation

2005-08-14T10:11:00.000-04:00

1L orientation starts tomorrow, and we'll start receiving assignments next week. I already own more study aids than I'll ever get the chance to review; someone recommends a book, and there I am standing in the checkout line with it. Darned money pits.

After five years of working, it's strange to have school issues again, e.g. When do my loans come through? Why doesn't the school bookstore have all the required textbooks? I hated working 8-5, but I'm starting to miss some of the perks, like income and lack of attachment.

I'm determined not to move until I graduate. I'm completely pooped from this cross-country haul. I still have to decide how to decorate my walls, and as soon as I accomplish that, I will be sending you Bay Areans a video tour of my place.

And a big thank-you to whoever followed my Threadless link and made a purchase.

Here in Durham

2005-08-08T23:14:00.000-04:00

I still have not finished unpacking, and I'm holding off my usual deep, thought-provoking entries until I finish.

Trailer Question. "Four Brothers" avenge their sweet adoptive mother's death. If she was so sweet, how in the world did she raise four thugs? I'm sure John Singleton will do this question justice, and maybe one of you will let me know.

Hawaii

2005-07-14T00:16:00.000-04:00

It has never occured to me to take pictures from a plane before. It's too bad they don't let you turn on any electronics during take-offs and landings.

Never the First

2005-07-09T16:16:00.000-04:00

Last night, I wanted to start a divorce party business, but apparently, such businesses are already fashionable. So much for originality and invention. After Googling the term, I also found an article that asserted, "Celebrating divorce is a failure to accept responsibility for something that went terribly wrong." I disagree.

How responsible a particular divorce is depends on that particular marriage. For example, it may be irresponsible for a woman to stay with a wife-and-childbeater. (I understand, however, that there are people who believe one should "stand by her man" no matter what. I am dismissing this point.)

That said, I do not believe celebrating divorce is a matter of marital responsibility. Arguably, divorce itself may be "a failure to accept responsibility for something that went terribly wrong." Celebrating it isn't. At most, celebrating divorce may be celebrating failure, not failure itself. Hell, if I don't pass the BAR, I would still want to celebrate surviving that ordeal ("survive" in the most literal sense).

A divorce party can be a comfort in an otherwise solemn and disappointing time. And since throwing such parties are mostly held at the discretion of the divorcees, I must continue to support the idea.

Did I ever tell you of my idea for a 24-hour condom-delivering business?

New Discoveries

2005-07-08T20:28:00.000-04:00

My Preconceived Notion: VH1 and MTV no longer play videos, and when they do, the videos are excerpts presented in shows such as TRL.

Truth: VH1 and MTV do play some videos in the morning. Now that I don't work, these are the mysteries I solve.

Radio: My Chemical Romance is a so-so emo band with so-so songs.

Videos: "Helena" was a visual feast; if you ever wondered what a dancey goth funeral looks like, your prayers have been answered. "I'm Not OK" is not filled with the most creative concepts, but the movie trailer format and final text prompts were clever. Watching a band perform in the video isn't always fun, but watching My Chemical Romance is.

Other Quick Video Reviews:

Beck, "Girl." Nothing too special, except things in the video keep folding and turning into something else. The effects are cool, but I don't understand its ties with the song, and a special effect like that in itself isn't enough to be a theme.

Coldplay, "Speed of Sound." The backdrop may be pretty psychedelic at a real concert, but these guys need to show more creativity than performing in front of a large video screen for a video. Use some of that money they've got to give us more of a feast.

Jessica Simpson, "These Boots are Made for Walkin'." The threadbare arrangement and thin vocals aren't impressive, but the cowgirl line dance and Jessica's Paris-upping car wash is enough to make this video very, very appropriate.

Foo Fighters, "Best of Me." If they kept the camera on Dave Grohl's mouth making out with the microphone, I would have been happier. Instead, we zoom out, watch the band grudgingly perform. Worst of all, these scenes are intercut with horrible, cliched early 90s grunge-like stock video.

Rhapsody

2005-07-07T14:52:00.000-04:00

I posted a playlist on Rhapsody. It's similar to my Ides of July mix, except I had to tweek a few tracks that were unavailable. The new one's called Ides of March:

1. Sometimes - My Bloody Valentine
2. Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
3. Abandoning - (from 'Hairdresser's Husband') - Michael Nyman
4. Nightmares By The Sea - Jeff Buckley
5. Tiny Cities Made Of Ashes - Modest Mouse
6. Deep Blue Day - Brian Eno
7. Clouds - Cibo Matto
8. When The Sun Took A Day Off - Omid, Aceyalone and Self Jupiter
9. If - (from 'The Diary Of Anne Frank') - Michael Nyman
10. Haunt Me - Arab Strap
11. No Danger - Inouk
12. Velouria - The Pixies
13. Miracle - The Gun & Doll Show
14. Lapland - Ratatat
15. Hard To Find - The American Analog Set

Melange of Memories

2005-07-05T13:54:00.000-04:00

My sister called me last night to tell me that my grandfather passed away. He was 91.

Last time I visited him, he still had my sister's and my chicken-scratch drawings from childhood posted above his bed. He was also excited about a fish bone he had found.

He loved telling me this story: when I was a baby, my family offered me a huge plastic gold nugget and a small, real gold nugget to play with. I ignored the huge plastic one and went for the real gold, and my grandfather would say what a smart baby I was.

Even though my grandmother cooked, my grandfather always seemed to be the one in the kitchen when my family visited. He always cooked sea slugs, a delicacy. In the mornings, he would wake up before anyone else and bring back oily sticks, fried pancakes, and hot soy milk. His advice: Drink lots of water, don't drink too fast, and fold your toilet paper into squares. He walked faster than anyone else in the family.

When I didn't hog the television watching Looney, Looney, Looney, a Bugs Bunny movie, he would watch Chinese opera.

He had a strong Shandong accent, and I couldn't always understand what he said. Sometimes I heard him being impatient with other family members, but he was always smiling and kind towards my sister and me. He collected new Taiwanese stamps and said the collection was for us.

I used to sleep in the same bed as my grandfather when we visited. But one day, I had decided that I was old enough to sleep on my own. My aunt let me sleep on her single bed. I sleepwalked back to my grandfather's. I woke up and I cried out, "Who moved me? Who moved me?!" My grandfather had been so happy to see that I had returned in the middle of the night. I was sorry I had to disappoint him.

When I started working as a technical editor, I called him and explained my job. I told him that my English was better than most Americans'. He chuckled. He wanted me to get a Ph.D. A J.D. is good enough, I think.

He was a wonderful grandfather.

Animal Crackers

2005-06-30T13:07:00.000-04:00

I have always hated Tom Cruise. Katie Holmes, on the other hand, had dreamt of marrying him since he appeared in "Risky Business," a movie first released when she was four. I'm reminded of the story "Monkey Paw" and its moral--the age-old adage, "Be careful what you wish for." Hell, at four-years-old, I wanted to either work at McDonald's or open my own supermarket. Anyhow, whether her engagement is a dream come true or a strategically-planned publicity stunt, Katie has ended up with a furrow-browed monkey who rabidly poops his diapers every time he's interviewed...

I don't remember exactly how old Camille P. is, but she is much too talented for her age. Her poem* below always cheers me up.

"The Camel walking blues"

     Going to Constantinople on a
One way trip, I'm walking and walking
Getting hit with a whip. Ouch!
     Carrying incense, jewelry, Silk
And cloth. Boy I hope that they don't
Find any moths. ewww!
     All this stuff is weighing me
Down I hope that I don't sink through
The ground.
     Boy I hate the people that
Are giving me smacks, why can't I be
The one giving them whacks. So long
For now I'm getting quiet tired to bad
That I can't, get fired.

*Spelling, punctuation, and capitalizations preserved.

Angry Candy is a Philomath, But This Posting Has Nothing to Do with Her

2005-06-27T18:58:00.000-04:00

1. I was sick all weekend and could barely move. I feel much better today, but still grow fatigued amazingly fast when I move around. I visited my doctor, and she was pretty certain I was hit by some virus whose name I cannot recall (even though the doctor repeated the name for me a few times). For the first time as an adult, I was subjected to a blood test. Just seeing all that blood of mine sucked into test tubes was enough to make me feel sick. But I can't wait to see what a blood test report looks like.

2. I rented the entire Season 1 Dead Like Me dvds and watched all the episodes. I enjoyed the show--despite its crummy score--and look forward to the release of Season 2 (out July 19). I'm very disappointed that it's gotten cancelled. If you like the show, too, sign a petition to revive the show. If a crappy show like Family Guy can do it, let's cross our fingers! (No comments on how Family Guy doesn't suck, please.)

This Week in Tinseltown

2005-06-24T20:14:00.000-04:00

I haven't read my Word-of-the-Day emails nor Hollywood tidbits in quite awhile; how should I deal with this crash course in vocabulary and pop culture? By rewriting WENN's celebrity news, of course. (Ok, ok, I do already know a couple words.)

Ya Gotta Do Better than Bettany, Please
While I do not find the Joker to be the ineluctable villain choice for the Batman Begins sequel, certain quotes suggest he does appear in the next movie. PageSix.com interviewed an unnamed source: "[Katie Holmes] won't be in the sequel...Warner is happy that people are now focusing on who'll be playing the Joker rather than Katie and Tom." In the running for Batman's archnemesis are Crispin Glover, Mark Hamill, Lachy Hulme, and current fan-fave, Paul Bettany, the self-proclaimed poor-man's Jude Law, who in turn is--in Chris Rock's opinion--the poor-man's Russell Crowe. Such early casting reports, of course, are hardly beyond a peradventure of a doubt. In addition, I must set the record straight--Paul Bettany is the blind-man's Jude Law.

O No-no
After she was snubbed by the Paris Hermes store, Oprah Winfrey publicly issued the couture chain a commination. Hermes representatives claimed they were holding a private public relations event for staff members; Oprah pal Gayle King stated that other shoppers where allowed to peruse the store while she and Oprah were denied entrance. Hermes is by no means an exclusively Stateside store, but their public relations staff--if indeed they were meeting--should have realized that pissing off America's Real First Lady will result in the loss of spondulics and perhaps their unavailing jobs and ironic job titles.

Wifebeater to Exhibitionist
Ex(?)-drug abuser Bobby Brown hopes his reality show will not only help rehabilitate him by providing him a job and something to do, but also dispell the public's odium towards him by presenting him under a positive light. Brown said, "[The] main reason I wanted to do this is really for my kids. They're always saying, 'Daddy, why do they always make you look so bad in the press?'" His children's ingenuous, but misguided comments and his own peccavi aside, the irascible star's show reportedly contains many crude jokes about other celebrities.

For more celebrity news, visit http://www.imdb.com/news/wenn/. To sign up for Doctor Dictionary's A-Word-a-Day, visit http://signup.dictionary.com/wordoftheday. To sign up for AWAD, visit http://wordsmith.org/awad/subscribe.html.

Times to Come

2005-06-24T19:28:00.000-04:00

Injury Magnet

2005-06-24T12:51:00.000-04:00

I wasn't in the mood for a softball game last night, but since our team had to forfeit if I didn't show up, I decided to oblige.

In the Engineers' League, we are not allowed to slide. I can understand their averseness to potential injury-causing moves, but not being able to slide causes other injuries. Not overrunning second and third base is difficult if you can't slide. Since the second and third base players have to tag the base to make a play, the runner has a good chance of colliding with them.

Last night, I had already made it to second base for about 3 seconds when the shortstop and second baser battled over catching the ball. The shortstop grabbed the ball--his back towards me--and as he didn't see that I was already safe, his aggressive move back towards the base knocked me off and sent me sliding on my left knee. Of course I was safe, since you can't knock players off bases after they've already gotten there. But this sort of thing happens to me every season.

In other news, I declared to Chemical Brother that I would no longer use the word "f*ck." Instead, I would use the popular Red Dwarf curse word, "smeg." But of course I would have to find out what it really means. According to various Urban Dictionary entries, "smeg" is short for "smegma."

smegma n. A sebaceous secretion, especially the whitish cheesy secretion that collects under the prepuce of the penis or around the clitoris. (Source: The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary, Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.)

That seems much fouler. Except most people won't really know what it means, so it might sound tamer.

Chemical Brother pointed out that I used to learn new words from classes, such as philosophy (eudaemonia or eudaimonia n. A contented state of being happy and healthy and prosperous. [Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University]), but now I am learning new words from science fiction shows. So be it!

Proving My Sister Right

2005-06-23T00:32:00.000-04:00

This weekend I told my sister that Angry Candy and I discuss words and grammar. She said that I was boring.

Tonight I attended a meeting where someone referred to a talented fundraiser as a "hustler," but in an exaggerated, complimentary way. I started thinking that this was the opposite of a euphemism (not the logical opposite, as "plain" or "literal" would be), but I didn't know the word for it. I called up Johanna, but then did the modern thing and looked it up online via thesaurus.com's antonym collection.

The word is dysphemism n. An offensive or disparaging expression that is substituted for an inoffensive one; "his favorite dysphemism was to ask for axle grease when he wanted butter." [ant: euphemism] (Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University)

Master Shake and I also use the following terms differently: moving a date back, moving a date ahead/forward; this weekend, next weekend, the following weekend.

When I say, "This meeting will be moved back to next Saturday," I mean that the meeting was originally scheduled before the Saturday following this Saturday. The same sentence, if uttered by Master Shake, would mean that the meeting was originally scheduled after this upcoming Saturday.

I found an online source that discusses the first difference as well as the second. I need to add this site in my list of links.

Craptastic!

2005-06-22T13:45:00.000-04:00

My sister broke my mp3 CD player, and I'm too cheap to buy an ipod. But I knew I needed something for my road trip; that cassette player just doesn't cut it. I saw the Polaroid Hip Jam mp3 disc player on sale on Overstock.com for $29.99 during a free shipping deal, so I bought it.

You get what you pay for, that's true, but to be fair, sometimes fishing out the extra buck won't help you in the craptastic world of electronic devices. I tested out the player once or twice in my car, and it seemed to work decently. The only thing that annoyed me was the unreliable lcd screen.

Friday morning I prepped my car for the LA trip. The player would not turn on. I disconnected the power plug and used batteries instead. The player would not turn on. I changed the batteries. No luck. I screamed, but kept it connected. Once in awhile, I would hit it and scream some more. On the 580, it suddenly turned on and played music. But if I moved the player, it would stop again. It would also jump from song to song without finishing any. Getting it to work properly was harder than finding a fart in a jacuzzi (I've been watching a lot of Red Dwarf lately).

The player actually grew slightly more reliable as the trip progressed, but the buttons were sometimes confused about their own functions. I pressed the "Mode" button to switch to "Random All." At first it switched to another mode, and then it started adjusting the volume, and then it turned itself off again.

Well, I would say stay away, but I am the only one without an ipod, right?

Reality Extravaganza

2005-06-20T19:50:00.000-04:00

I drove down to LA this weekend to move some of my things to my mom's. My sister also visited, and got me hooked on reality television. I saw the following shows for the first time:

1. Kept. Jerry Hall handpicks a boytoy out of 12 candidates. I'm pretty sure this is what I'll do if I ever get rich.

2. Inferno II. Previous Real World and/or Road Rules contestants team up for challenges that may lead them to more moola. My sister's excitement rubbed off on me. Unfortunately, the finale wasn't part of the marathon. Another reason to watch: Jamie, the cutest reality show Asian chick yet.

3. Stripsearch. Guy strippers duke it out. One team had to duplicate dance moves from an O-Town video. One team had to duplicate moves from a Britney video. Beefcakes (and one flabbyman) bicker and fight. Classic.

4. Fight for Fame. Five "actors" audition (my favorite was Justin--he could act, but alas he did not win) and one gets signed to a talent agency called "Acme." If that doesn't tip you off, well, you deserve that contract. And I deserve my couch sweat stains.

5. 30 Days. Morgan Spurlock and his brave vegan-chef fiancee try to live the minimum wage life for a month. From that description alone, you can tell that was by far the best reality show saw this weekend.

Weekend capsule: I saw Penguin's Boyfriend this weekend, and had the nerdiest but funnest conversation ever (yes, it was about rewriting the Star Wars prequels). I realized that my mom's and my grandma's cooking will always be the best. I found out I have two long-lost cousins. I hate 100-mph traffic weavers!

Batman Begins

2005-06-16T20:37:00.000-04:00

As I used to say, a superhero movie is only as good as its villains. "Batman Begins" proves me wrong. I don't mean that its main villain doesn't hold his own; Ra's Al Ghul is magnificent. I simply mean we finally get to focus on Batman.

I was worried that a movie that had to show Batman's origins and his current enemies & their machinations would leave insufficient time for either. However, "Batman Begins" weaves all these stories together in a way that makes it a more cohesive movie than any of the previous installments.

Though I approved of Christopher Nolan as director, I was wary of "Blade" scribe and "Blade: Trinity" director David S. Goyer as the writer. Thankfully, he didn't disappoint, and finally, I got to meet the Batman I always knew was out there.

Ten Things I Hate in Movies/TV Shows

2005-06-15T12:59:00.000-04:00

I haven't been too good about posting the last few days, so I stole this idea from Mr. Fett. In no order of importance:

1. Baguettes in grocery bags. This is a cliché that shows the producers think that you won't really believe someone has been grocery shopping unless food peeks out of their bags.

2. Actors who are obviously older than their characters. Example: Beverly Hills, 90210. I know show biz likes actors who look younger than they are, because those actors supposedly have more experience than their rightful-age counterparts. But we're not willing to suspend all disbelief--Luke Perry hadn't been in high school for a long, long time.

3. Reserving the cure for main characters. Example: In the 1963 version of "Jason and the Argonauts," Jason ditches his fallen comrades and only uses the Golden Fleece on Medea. Bad long term choice. Also, in "The Mummy," Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz carry a cat around to scare off the forming Mummy, but don't think to supply the Americans--those who really need protection--with a feline friend.

4. Using crazy camera angles or movement to indicate excitement when there is none. See "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" tv series (thanks to Angry Candy for pointing this out years ago). Whenever witches chant, the camera swirls around to make up for the fact that chanting will never be interesting. Also see last battle scene in "Azumi," which, fortunately, had enough good action scenes to counteract this phenomenon.

5. Last minute plot twists. Twisting last minute helps save the writer from explaining inconsistencies. Twisting at all can just insult the audience's investment in the rest of the movie. It can be done well if paced correctly ("Vertigo"), but see tv's "24." Of course, people like a lot of the movies/shows I hate: "The Usual Suspects," "The Sixth Sense," or for that matter, the entire M. Night Shyamalan catalog (just kidding; no one liked "The Village," right?).

6. The abadonment of stop motion animation in non-cartoon movies. Sure, I think "progress" is great. But Ray Harryhausen gave creatures a nightmarish quality CGI hasn't yet been able to duplicate. Perhaps it's because CGI bases motion on existing creatures?

7. Tom Cruise, the Megamoviestar. That man only furrows his brow; he can't act! I hate actors who bring too much of themselves into a role because of their public profile. They have a hard time convincing me they're Joe Blow. It's unfortunate so many things are based on money and marketability.

8. Movies that were greenlighted solely on its pitch. It's "Independence Day" meets "Fatal Attraction"! Since when did combining two shitty things yield something unshitty?

9. Character studies of boring people. As much as I like French movies, the French can be best at the kind of cinema verité that bores me to death.

10. Marketing sex when there is none. See original poster of "Star Wars" and the DVD cover of the Cantonese thriller "Infernal Affairs." As if we were all driven by sex. Christian Bale does look hot as the new Batman, though...and Ewan McGregor clones? Send me one!

Pet Peeves

2005-06-10T21:56:00.000-04:00

Today I embarked on a very special journey: the annual Oakland litter index. It was a lot less complicated than I thought; there were no graphs or charts. We merely drove in designated areas and then assigned a number to that area, ranging from 1 (no litter) and 4 (extremely littered).

Each team has a leader who is supposed to inform her members what area they are in, and when to start and stop scoring. The scorers are not supposed to talk about their scores, as they can influence one another. Each bus is supposed to work from the farthest point and converge at the meeting spot.

I thought the directions were clear-cut. But apparently very few people follow directions. This bothered me, but then I became frustrated that an entire neighborhood--each block with its own degree of cleanliness--got only one score from us. Once I accepted the inherent inaccuracy of this survey, I felt less compelled to dwell on our disregard for the rules. I reminded myself of the organizational purpose: we needed to do this in order to remain an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful. I converted my personal purpose: free breakfast, free lunch, free tour of Oakland (my very first visit to the Mormon Temple!).

Desert Island What???

2005-06-09T15:42:00.000-04:00

Ipods are taking over, and before long, the desert-island-discs concept will become obsolete. Or maybe it will be a desert-island-list-of-mp3s-that-will-fit-onto-your-300GB-player...but until then, I thought I would make my one and only list of the ten albums I'd want to be stuck with on an island. In no particular order...

1. Beck: Sea Change
The most beautiful music I have heard. Of course, being stranded on an island might put these emotionally-distraught-because-of-failed-relationship songs in perspective.

2. Arcade Fire: Funeral
The amazing arrangements will remind me of complicated civilization. Some nights I'll cry; some nights I'll celebrate.

3. Def Leppard: Adrenalize
I considered the best-selling Hysteria, the early rockin' On Through the Night, and even Vault, their greatest hits. But the truth is I know all the words to this album. I'd love to shout out, "Don't call me gigolo, don't call me Casanova. Just call me on the phone and baby come on over...when you need someone...when you need someone to...make love...like a man! I'm a man; that's what I am, yeah!"

4. Camille: Le Fil
This will satisfy not only my French fix, but also my faux-tribal one. I'll probably listen to this next to the bonfire. I'm not sure I can start a fire in the wild, though. I'll probably die before I finish this album.

5. Queen: A Night at the Opera
I was considering the cheesier The Game, which has potential roleplaying tracks like "Dragon Attack" and practical desert-island tracks like "Don't Try Suicide." But I'm willing to forego those for "The Prophets' Song" and "Bohemian Rhapsody."

6. Teenage Fanclub: Songs from Northern Britain
Songs for every occasion! Getting used to the new life: "Start Again." Feeling good about my situation: "I Don't Care." Hiking and Killing Time: "Take the Long Way Round." Bearing winter: "Winter." Accidentally burning down the forest: "Can't Feel My Soul." Hey, "It's a Bad World."

7. Al Green: Let's Stay Together
Even when no one else is around to appreciate it, I'll still need to boogie. Hmm. Don't think too hard about that.

8. The Stills: Logic Will Break Your Heart
And mogic will break my fart. I have nothing to say about this because I think it's pretty self-explanatory.

9. Talking Heads: Sand in the Vaseline
Ah, here I demonstrate my propensity for cheating by including this double-disc compilation.

10. Erasure: Pop! The First 20 Hits
Now that I've already cheated, I don't feel bad about including another greatest hits album. I was reviewing my list and noticed a lack of great dancing albums...so this one's it.

I would also be tempted to sneak in an Enya album, any of which is great for pretending you're lost on Middle Earth...

Nightmares and Dreams

2005-06-08T15:16:00.000-04:00

Johanna is the only person I know who doesn't have plot dreams. I also have not met anyone else who has my obsessive-compulsive-type dreams. I arrange things in accordance to rules that keep changing. Or I have to solve an equation, or repeat certain phrases until they're perfect. Those are very taxing dreams, and I usually wake up tired.

When I do have plot dreams, they seem to resemble other people's. However, I generally use one of two defense mechanisms whenever a dream takes a wrong turn: (1) I develop superpowers and become invincible or (2) I relive the scene over and over until it is to my liking. Do other people do this?

Time Says Aloha

2005-06-06T17:07:00.000-04:00

The day I have been dreaming about ever since July 2000 has finally arrived! Today is the first work day since I quit my job.

Today: (1) Work out. [Check] (2) Buy groceries. [Check] (3) Clean dishes in sink. [Check] (4) Continue to digitize CD collection. [In progress] (5) Fold clothes and do laundry. [In progress] (6) Cook dinner. (7) Relax.

On a sadder note, the quick passage of time means that I'll soon have to say ciao to my friends here in the Bay Area.

Most likely the brainchild of school administrators sick of teenage deliquency, students in my junior high had to keep a journal. Teachers would read those journals weekly, comment on the entries, and keep track of any warning signs. I once wrote, "Time goes by so quickly that before I know it, I will be on my death bed." My teacher commented, "Next thing you know, you'll probably be getting married and having children. Don't worry about death yet."

Whenever I feel bad about time slipping away, I think back to my journal. I think of how I haven't even gotten married yet, and then I feel better.

Meet Pointy

2005-06-02T22:17:00.000-04:00

Every December, my office orders poinsettias. Right before the new year, employees are asked to take the poinsettias home. I never took one home, but I did adopt one at work two Christmases ago.

Now that I'm leaving, I decided to take Pointy with me to Durham. I know he is no longer a flowering poinsettia, but he's still healthy and doing well. My orchids now have a friend, and maybe the two of them can start filling the hole that Rat left when he passed away.

I Have a Place to Live!

2005-06-02T14:36:00.000-04:00

North Pointe Commons offered me an apartment a couple weeks ago, and I accepted. However, I just called Alexan Farms, and they reserved an apartment for me as well. Alexan Farms, here I come!

I am proceeding with utilities setup, since I think it's unlikely Woodstone will have an apartment for me. However, should I be wrong, I would still have some time to transfer my activation plans.

I think I will be happy enough at Alexan Farms.

To revisit my choices, you can visit this page.

In other exciting news--albeit financially detrimental--my last day of work is tomorrow. Hoorah!

Star Wars Prequels Rewrite Update, Part 1

2005-06-01T15:46:00.000-04:00

The research phase has begun. I borrowed two Star Wars books (The Annotated Screenplays and the Visual Dictionary) published pre-Episode I from the library to see what was "known" about the prequels before they were released.

Lucas had originally intended Owen Lars to be Obi-Wan Kenobi's brother. Though some explanation of their different last names is in order, I like that relationship better. Perhaps Owen could be a half-brother.

Luke was sent to the Larses, and Leia and her mother Padmé hid in a distant planet until Padmé passed away. Then Leia came under the care of Bail Organa, who was not only a senator but the viceroy of Alderaan.

Currently, an age/time problem exists. Supposedly, nineteen years separate Episodes III and IV, but more than nineteen years seem to separate Ewan McGregor ca. 2005 (34) and Alec Guinness ca. 1977 (63).

I would personally like to start the story when Anakin is already in his late twenties/early thirties, married, and even with one kid. Being married spares us from any horrendous "falling in love" scenes, and having a kid whom he will lose can enrich the Luke/Vader scene in "Return of the Jedi."

Comment away, please.

Two Movies Over Memorial Weekend

2005-05-31T11:15:00.000-04:00

Unleashed
Besides the unique premise of a fighter who behaves like puppy dog when collared and a rabid dog when unleashed, the storyline of is quite standard. The movie, however, was very well done. It was entertaining--intense, harrowing yet heartwarming, and funny.

Crash
"Crash" is a lot more ambitious--as most movies with intersecting storylines are--and deals with overt and subtle forms of racism. When "Crash" mentions stereotypes without any true consequences, it oversaturates itself with throwaway scenes. Haggis's directing undermines his own script--he uses cheap tricks such as slow motion and close-up reaction shots to emphasize scenes that already speak for themselves. Perhaps I'm being too finical though, because when the stories work, and quite a few do, they blow me away.

Threadless Sale

2005-05-26T16:55:00.000-04:00

Only $10/shirt! What great value! What great shirts! Go to the Threadless t-shirt sale; through June 6th only.

Buy the Benni shirt!

Or let people know you're just a piece of meat!

I might as well use up the same blog space to announce:

Alias's finale was a total shocker; can't wait for next season.
I plan on rewriting the prequel scripts for Star Wars.
Carrie Underwood sucks.

Thank you for watching.

Rediscovered Gem of Oakland

2005-05-26T12:24:00.000-04:00

1931 2005

Exercise groups congregated at its foot; joggers trained on its steep steps. Though lush trees surrounded the pathway, the barren and weed-filled center revealed few clues of its beautiful past to those who strolled by.

One day, as she researched old newspaper clippings, Barbara Newcombe found a photo of the Cleveland Cascade as it was in 1931. The citizens of the neighborhood, reenergized, formed a coalition to restore the hill-hugging waterfall that bridged the west end of Cleveland Street to Lakeshore Avenue.

Designed by landscape architect Howard Gilkey, the Cascade was built in 1923, and enjoyed a prosperous run until at least 1931. Photos found in the 1950s indicate the hillscape was as barren then as it was in the 2000s, leading people to suspect World War II neglect as the cause of its dilapidated state. However, little documentation exists, and the true cause or causes remain a mystery.

Friends of the Cleveland Cascade have organized fundraising efforts and a sudoriferous* excavation event that jump-started the restoration process.

Though I may not be here personally to witness the unveiling of the new waterfall, I hope you remaining Oaklanders will pay this mini-monument a visit!

*My Wordsmith word of the day. Gotta use it to remember it.

Transforming a Town

2005-05-25T13:16:00.000-04:00

When a PBS documentary mentioned "Chihuahua, Mexico," I could not help but giggle like a nine-year-old--the way I still do every time I hear "Lake Titicaca." But awe soon replaced incorrigible silliness (though it is bound to make a comeback elsewhere). One determined man, Juan Quezada, through trial and error, taught himself how to make pottery from resources available around his town. When his work was discovered and then publicized by an American anthropologist, Juan taught his family and the community his craft. Now Mata Ortiz is full of artists who can sustain themselves economically and contribute to an amazing art movement.

What have I done for Oakland lately? Well, a clean-up, but that hardly seems enough.

Read more about Mata Ortiz.

A Very Chinese Weekend

2005-05-23T11:19:00.000-04:00

I felt lucky Friday night, lucky enough the snab the 2 round-trip tickets from Southwest at the Asian Employee Association's Scholarship Fundraising dinner. I wasn't that lucky, but I did win something from the raffle: "Martin Yang's Chinatown Cooking" and a Chinese placemat/napkin/chopsticks set. Unfortunately, Mr. Yang does not cover sizzling rice soup in his cookbook.

Volunteers gathered at the Lincoln Neighborhood Center Saturday morning to participate in the Great American Cleanup, this year showcasing Oakland's Chinatown. After lion dancers flirted with the crowd, Keep Oakland Beautiful presented an award to Tzu Chi (a Taiwanese Buddhist Association) members, who clean the streets every weekend. I did not leave empty-handed either. Glad was a sponsor of the event, and provided a mountain of boxes filled with Glad trash bags. As we could not possibly use all the bags, I got permission to take home two boxes for my move.

The event went along smoothly for one planned so hastily; the only faux-pas was the lunch: the Buddhists--and hence vegetarians--could not eat the supplied supreme pizzas.

The Revenge of the Sith Experience

2005-05-20T11:34:00.000-04:00

I slept late Wednesday night, and by the time I dragged myself out of bed Thursday morning and arrived late at work, I was not in the mood to later wait in line and watch what I knew was going to be a mediocre movie. Why, oh why had I already bought tickets for the 3:30 pm show on opening day?

I left work at 12:45, and I headed over to the Emeryville Bay Street theatres. The 3:30 line had been set up, but only eight people were in line before me. I plopped myself down, opened my Ovid book, but could not concentrate on the text because the girl in front of me was engaging in an inevitably stupid conversation with some other similarly-dressed hipsters.

I had sworn that I would only drink one cup of water so I would not have to use the bathroom while in line or in the theatre. Since I was there alone and would have no problems finding a seat, I decided to leave the line and kill some time going to the bathroom and calling my friends who were not at work (except I called Erik--he's exempt from certain considerate thoughts due to my neediness).

When the line grew longer, I decided to return. However, this time an ugly guy stood behind me and kept humming a horribly repetitive tune. I would step away from him, only to have him follow me over, perhaps illogically thinking that the line had moved? I left the line once more and waited for more people to fill it up. I ended up standing behind some college kids, who were annoying, but considering my threshold for such things, they were perfectly nice and wholesome.

A couple then filed into the line behind me. They had brought two of their kids and three of their kids' friends; four of the kids were dressed up as either Anakin or Darth Vader, and they soon initiated a lightsaber fight. The couple asked me what I did for a living, and I returned the question. The mother told me that she was a stay-at-home mother. As the conversation progressed, she revealed that she had an architectural background. At that point, I lost it and kept asking her where she worked, even though she had told me she was a STAY-AT-HOME MOM. What embarassing idiocy on my part. They still offered to let me sit with them if I wanted. I thanked them, but I was there alone so I could have the freedom to move around, well, freely.

Though there was a sign labeling our line, people kept coming up to me around 2:25-2:40 to ask me if we were the 2:45 line. I suppose in a way it's convenient, and it's nice to have contact with strangers.

Our line was let in 40 minutes before to the show. As I approached my perfect seat, one of the hipster guys rushed to me, gesticulated--binder in hand--towards my seat, and stated, "We're trying to reserve some seats here." He wanted to drop his binder on my seat, but I put down my backpack first and shrugged. "Well, I'm here now." He looked around, saw that he had already staked his claim on 15-25 seats, and said, "I guess I saved enough already." I ignored him. This wasn't the first time someone tried to get me to move for their convenience. I'm perfectly fine with people consolidating, moving in to fill in empty seats, but no one can make me move to another section or to a bad seat--not if I was there first.

Johanna, whose phone was busy when I first called her, returned my call when I was already seated. I would not normally take a call inside a theatre, but

it was thirty minutes 'til show time;
people all around me were talking, albeit to their friends who were physically there; and
I was lonely.

The theatre was by no means full. The previews were good. The movie was as expected. The scenery and machinery looked beautiful. The computer-generated human/robot/alien/clone movements, however, looked exactly that. And let's not speak of the dialogue, plot, and burning questions that Lucas should have properly addressed (which I will post after most of you have already watched the film and/or have declared that you never will).

Book Review: Bad Acts and Guilty Minds

2005-05-19T11:51:00.000-04:00

Title: Bad Acts and Guilty Minds--Conundrums of the Criminal Law
Author: Leo Katz
Pages: 351
Comments/Review: I am forcing myself to write book reviews so I can reprocess what I've read.

This book presents so many hypotheticals that once I got caught up in them, I hardly remembered what the point was. I was, however, convinced that I would become Duke Law Class of 2008's Hypo Girl after reading this book.

Let me review the purpose of each chapter for my own sake:

Chapter One: "Necessity, the Mother of Invention" discusses the shortcomings of having laws that are absolute, and gives examples of cases in which absolute laws would fail to provide a clear-cut decision.

Chapter Two: "Bad Acts" not only raises the issue of defining which acts are "bad," it also looks into what we would consider "acts."

Chapter Three: "Guilty Minds" examines the intentions of a criminal, and considers negligence and necessary risks. It also explores how badly we judge probability vis-à-vis risk.

Chapter Four: "The Root of All Evil" discusses causation.

Chapter Five: "The Company You Keep" addresses complicity and conspiracy.

Chapter Six: "The Crime That Never Was" deals with attempted crimes that have failed.

Instead of being thoughtful, I thought I would throw in some interesting studies/hypotheticals mentioned in the book.

A group of doctors was asked: "Imagine that the U.S. is preparing for the outbreak of an unusual Asian disease, which is expected to kill 600 people. Two alternative programs to combat the disease have been proposed. Assume that the exact scientific estimate of the consequences of the programs is as follows: If program A is adopted, 200 lives will be saved. If program B is adopted, there is 1/3 probability that 600 people will be saved, and 2/3 probability that no people will be saved. Which of the two programs do you favor?" The vast majority of the doctors, 72 percent of them, opted for program A.

Another group of doctors was given the same "cover story" as the first, but they were asked to choose among the following alternatives: "If program C is adopted, 400 people will die. If program D is adopted, there is 1/3 probability that nobody will die, and 2/3 probability that 600 people will die. Which of the two programs do you favor?" Only 22 percent of the doctors opted for C. The odd thing is that C is but a different way of phrasing A. If people's preferences among risks are so unreliable, is the notion of negligence workable?

Henri plans a trek through the desert. Alphonse, intending to kill Henri, puts poison into his canteen. Gaston also intends to kill Henri but has no idea what Alphonse has been up to. He punctures Henri's canteen, and Henri dies of thirst. Who has caused Henri's death? Was it Alphonse? Gaston? Both? Or neither?

Where Should I Live?

2005-05-17T12:35:00.000-04:00

[Note: The script that allows you to view the maps, tables, some of the ratings only works if you go to this entry's trackback page.]

Cast your votes now!

Alexan Farms
Home page | Apartments.com profile
Rent: $690, plus $75 for enclosed garage, no utilities included
Amenities: 24-hour business and fitness centers, not gated, no alarm, W/D hookups
Ratings: By grad students, 2004 | By grad students, 2003 | By all residents
Crime: Map | Table

North Pointe Commons
Home page | Apartments.com profile
Rent: $660, plus $100 for enclosed garage, includes alarm, cable tv, garbarge/sewer
Amenities: 24-hour fitness center, business-hour business center, gated, W/D hookups
Ratings: By grad students, 2004 | By grad students, 2003 | By all residents--very suspicious that multiple reviews are posted the same day
Crime: Map | Table

Woodstone at Croasdaile Farm (very limited no. of 1brs)
Home page | Apartments.com profile
Rent: $710, plus $80 for enclosed garage, includes alarm, water, garbarge/sewer
Amenities: 24-hour fitness center, business-hour business center, not gated, W/D included
Ratings: By grad students, 2004 | By grad students, 2003 | No ratings by all residents
Crime: Map | Table

With a Title Like That...

2005-05-16T12:33:00.000-04:00

I ordered Leo Katz's "Bad Acts and Guilty Minds: Conundrums of the Criminal Law" used, and it arrived in fairly good shape. However, as I started trekking through the pages, I noticed the edges of the cover were becoming frayed. The plastic covering, slowly separating from the cover base, would make little flapping sounds when I rubbed my thumbs along the edge.

I tried to control my urge to rip the plastic cover off, but I finally cracked yesterday. Unfortunately, ripping the plastic left marks on the remainder of the cover, and lifted off areas that were more densely covered with black ink. I am stuck with a shitty-looking book, but I feel satisfied somehow.

I was ashamed of my actions, however, and had tried to hide what I was doing from Erik. He must have noticed I was doing something weird to the book, but kudos to him for not saying anything.

Taking Back Tuesday's Post

2005-05-12T16:57:00.000-04:00

My left arm is still sore from the tetanus shot, but it seemed much worse last night. I dreamt I got infected with the disease (I don't think you actually can--the shot contains no live bacteria) and lost my arm. I assume the pain I felt last night came from turning accidentally onto the affected area.

I googled "tetanus shot adverse effects," and one of the sites that popped up was ThinkTwice. ThinkTwice is an organization that advocates parental research of immunization drugs before blindly submitting their children to shots. (And if you need to claim religious exemption from immunization, the Christian Science Church is the most recognized denomination to serve that purpose, although citing your religion is usually not required--sometimes not even recommended.)

If you react badly to immunization shots (blindness, muscular distrophy, death), I wonder if you pretty much get kicked off the evolutionary ladder. After all, you could die from tetanus or from "preventing" it; in addition, this unlucky disposition may or may not be passed on to your children. What a punch in the face. Or, a stab to the head.

I Want to Make Getting Immunizations My Hobby

2005-05-10T21:44:00.000-04:00

I drop my backpack to the floor, take off my jacket and lay it on top of the bag. I sit down in a chair, roll up my sleeve--

"Stand up, c'mon, stand up now." The nurse motions with one hand as the other holds the needle.

I look puzzled.

"Everyone takes their shot standing up," she explains.

"Really?"

I don't have any memory of my last shot, which--according to my files--was in 1993. I vaguely remember childhood doctor visits where I either lied down and exposed my tush, or sat in a chair and exposed my arm (these memories are tied to the sensation of licking lollipops). Nope, no memories of getting a shot while standing up.

I rise, abandoning the chair, feeling a bit like packed meat about to get labeled, about to get smacked by the next machine on the assembly line. The man before me had a TB test, which took two seconds, and now it was my turn for a tetanus shot. The guy behind me, also waiting for a TB test, looked on patiently enough, but his mere presence made me feel rushed.

I can't look at the nurse; she's holding the dreaded needle. She rubs my arm with a swab of cotton. She laughs. "This is not going to hurt!"

"It isn't?" I feel a tiny prick and figure the needle just entered the surface of my skin.

But: "It's over!" and "Next!"

I am such a wimp.

What It Means to Be a Grown-up

2005-05-10T11:46:00.000-04:00

I can't post "cute" messages on my answering machine anymore. Gone are the days of Vader's breath, my songs, and "Hello? Hello? Just kidding."

Aqua Teen Hunger Force, DVD Volume Three, comes with answering machine pranks from all major characters. I am disheartened when I realize that I really won't be able to use those recordings, ever. I haven't figured out most of my cell phone functions, but I suppose I shouldn't download Wookie roars as my ringtone either.

The day will come when I have to buy matching furniture; not from a set, per se, but rather pieces that match one another.

Well, all that still beats increasing wrinkles and slothlike metabolism.

How Flowers Come Into My Life

2005-05-09T22:56:00.000-04:00

Curves Annual Swimsuit Competition Update:

I entered the "Swimsuit from Another Era" category, but I won for "Cutest." I looked at Polaroids of other contestants, and most of them seemed to have donned the display bikini placed in the middle of the circuit. Our branch was obviously hurting for entries. I was one of four people who actually wore her own bathing suit.

So much for cutting down on crap. Luckily, the pedicure, the crappy book, and the beach towel went to the other three original-suit wearers, and I am now a proud owner of orchids.

Conversations and T-shirts

2005-05-09T11:13:00.000-04:00

For some reason, almost all conversations I overhear sound lame. And all morning radio talk shows are like overheard conversations, seemingly amusing to the people in the studio only. The morning commuters, like people stuck behind you in line or in a crowd, are the captive audience.

At least I get to listen to music at work (sometimes), if not during my morning commute. Right now I'm flying high with Ryan-recommended Elkland.

My fingers are once again itching to buy things. Threadless has two new t-shirts that I'm eyeing.

(...I wonder how many people have wanted to club me in the head when I talk to my friends in public.)

Lucky Seven Miscellany

2005-05-05T11:23:00.000-04:00

1. Anthony has escaped another American Idol elimination! I was so disappointed when Constantine had to go, but my hurt feelings have patched up now that Scott Savol is finally out of the picture. Go home, woman beater!

2. Once in awhile, I decide that it's okay for me to embarass myself. Yesterday's stunt involved participating in Curve's annual swimsuit competition, in which Curves members put silly swimsuits/bikinis over their workout clothes. I hope I don't win anything, because I sure as heck don't need more Curves junk.

3. I never knew that "mother lode" was spelled that way. But now I do.

4. Season 4 of Alias, after a slow, sluggish start, has finally picked up momentum. Last night's episode made me cry. Ok, that may not be the hugest feat, as I also cried when Constantine sang "Bohemian Rhapsody."

5. I made one-week's supply of vegetable soup Monday night. However, I added too much lemon pepper, which almost ruins the taste. I wish there were "anti-flavors" out there, like anti-lemon. Then I could add it, and the soup would be fixed...I also chopped a lot of onions, and I haven't been able to wash that smell off my fingers. Drives me nuts every time I pick my nose. Kidding. Maybe.

6. I have to get a TD booster shot before Duke will let me in. The last shot I had was in 1993. I'm scared. I was originally scheduled my shot for tomorrow, but I decided against having a sore arm, since I'm supposed to help Ryan move Saturday. My pain has been rescheduled to next Tuesday.

7. Alex helped me pick a good laptop that fit Duke's computing specs. But since the warranty only covers three years, I'm waiting for current finals to end before I order my laptop. I definitely want to make sure it will still be covered during my 3L finals. My aunt wants to help me pay for it, but I'd rather not take her money. She's making a big stink out of my "disobedience"--she thinks I don't want to take her money because I don't want to be obligated to her when she gets old. She's right about that, especially since the "obligations" include letting her live in my future home. I'd pay her asylum fees, no problem, but I'd rather disappear off the face of the planet than live with that monster.

Researcher Extraordinaire

2005-05-03T18:55:00.000-04:00

...or, rather, I'm just driving myself crazy.

Now I'm uncertain about the "safer" apartment I had decided on--North Pointe Commons--and would prefer to live in the Woodstone Apts. In addition to ApartmentRatings.com, I've also discovered the Duke Graduate/Professional Students' Apartment Ratings and the Durham Crime Mapper (I've been highlighting neighborhood crimes on an Excel grid I created).

Though North Pointe is gated, more crimes are committed there than in Woodstone, the highest rated community by grad students.

Unfortunately, Woodstone has very few one bedroom apartments, and even fewer of those are top-floor units. Though I would be the first one on the waiting list should my application be accepted, the chances of someone moving out are apparently pretty thin.

Sigh.

Nice Discoveries Made Nicer by the Fact I'm Still at Work and Bored

2005-05-03T18:44:00.000-04:00

I had thought in the back of my mind that "Angry Candy, Fragments of" had a new blog somewhere, but I just couldn't find that email/announcement. And now I've found it here.

I love reading her blog, and Penguin's Boyfriend's blog as well. The point is, send me your blog address if you've got one!

One of FOAC's posts addresses her personality change, as observed through thespark.com tests. I had changed as well. I used to be a "politician": Dominant Extroverted Abstract Thinker, and now I'm an "experimenter": Dominant Introverted Abstract Thinker. I've become introverted in the last three/four years.

You are an EXPERIMENTER (DIAT). Although you're slightly shy (admit it!), you love control. When a problem comes across your way, you stomp on it swiftly and decisively. You are bothered easily by failure in others and failure in yourself. You don't like people that you don't think are intelligent. Rather than arguing with them, however, you would just as soon ignore them altogether.

In relationships, you have a strong heart. And because you're introverted, people take you as someone they can trust. But the fact is that in addition to solving problems, you like to create them.

You're a good person at heart, but then again, who isn't?

More Important/More Importantly

2005-05-02T13:26:00.000-04:00

Fragments of Angry Candy, I hope you post an opinion about this.

Some grammarians hate the use of "more importantly":

"More important" and "more importantly" are used as full-sentence modifiers, often in the initial position and treated parenthetically (set off with a comma). Either phrase can usually be translated as "what is more important."
More important, the armies in the east had used up all their supplies.
Many writers will use the adverb form, "importantly," thinking that the phrase modifies a verb in the main clause; usually, however, that is not the case. The phrase will almost invariably modify, adjectivally, the entire clause, and the adjective form, "important," will suffice. Burchfield says that "more importantly" was a despised construction during the 1970s and 80s, but that nowadays both phrases seem be used about equally and with equal acceptability.
Authority: The New Fowler's Modern English Usage edited by R.W. Burchfield. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England. 1996.

But then:

"More importantly, what will be written in God's book of remembrance?" There is no grammatical reason to avoid using "importantly" in this structure. Since the function of the phrase is adverbial (it modifies the proposition of the entire sentence, rather than modifying a noun), the form ending in -ly is the better choice. If anything, "more important" is the non-standard, informal choice. The only way it can be considered acceptable is if it is interpreted as a reduction of "what is more important...." This phrase is decidedly conversational, rather than formal and the reduction only increases the informality.
Authority: Ken Hyde, University of Delaware English Language Institute.

"More important" sounds so affected to me, but I'm not sure Mr. Hyde has me convinced either. But all in all, though many things may bother me, the casual use of adverbs doesn't--the most notable example being the use of "hopefully."

Ovid's Metamorphoses

2005-05-02T11:40:00.000-04:00

I've begun to read Allen Mandelbaum's translation and I'm hooked. Though I tend to love Ted Hughes's translations the most, he unfortunately only worked on parts of Ovid's book (Hughes's version is called "Tales from Ovid").

I don't suppose everyone who is curious to read Mandelbaum's book knows that Apollo and Phoebus are different names of the same god. Here footnotes would be useful, since those two names are used interchangeably in one tale. I would also love to reference genealogy charts, but there are no appendices. Still, keeping mental track of Greco-Roman genealogy is more interesting than trying to read 1 Chronicles of the Bible.

I wonder how Apollo rides his sun chariot, which should take all day and all night (or should I say all day and all day?), and still has time to rape young women.

Local Hero

2005-04-28T13:55:00.000-04:00

If you step into any Oakland City Hall meetings, or tune into the broadcasts of such meetings on KTOP, you've seen Sanjiv Handa, an activist-journalist and in my opinion, a local hero.

Last night, Mr. Handa finally made it to our Keep Oakland Beautiful meeting, and I had the pleasure of meeting him.

Journalist (Bulldog)
Sanjiv Handa, East Bay News Service

Keeping public officials honest and in compliance with good-government laws is no small task, but Oakland's Sanjiv Handa has taken on the chore as his life's work. An activist reporter with a taste for rooting out corruption, Handa says he devotes nearly 100 hours each week to watchdogging Oakland officials and publishing a batch of newsletters on government activity for the press and public.

"He's like a one-man news service, activist organization, and law firm all rolled in one," said Randy Lyman, FOI Committee chair of the SPJ's Northern California Chapter. "He's sued the city a number of times to get records. He never seems to slow down."

Handa's crusades have so angered Oakland mayor Jerry Brown that about a year ago Brown severely limited access to the City Hall pressroom, which used to be available to reporters at nearly any hour of the day. Journalists can now only use the space during city council meetings.

Still, that hasn't seemed to deter Handa. He continues to stay on top of the "open meetings and public records aspect of things and files any number of complaints with the Public Ethics Commission," Lyman said. "He wins about half the time."

While most journalists won't speak publicly at City Hall meetings as a matter of principle, Handa ignores that convention. In the middle of a session, it's not uncommon for him to head up to the podium to scold officials for failing to give proper notice of agenda items or events.

Handa's East Bay News Service has put out many publications over the years (including the Six Minute Report, the Oakland Shadow, and the Oakland Digest) in which uncovered scandals at the Port Commission, unveiled juicy details of high-paid officials' contracts, and profiled the city's best and worst employees. (Rachel Brahinsky)

From the San Francisco Bay Guardian

Three Points for Bleh

2005-04-27T11:56:00.000-04:00

1. American Idol sucked last week and sucked again last night. I imagine that the finalists have advisers, but still they can't pick songs that highlight their own vocals.

2. After almost settling down on Springfield Apartments in Durham, I decided to do the proper consumer thing and check out ratings at www.apartmentratings.com. Springfield was not rated well, nor were most other complexes I was considering. There were many mentions of crime: car and apartment break-ins, drug deals, and armed robbery; complaints of ridiculous price increases after the end of your lease; complaints about management and the high turnover of management staff. I decided that safety was still my first concern, so instead of going for the low rent I will probably stay at a safer, gated, and more expensive complex with intruder alarms and individually locked garage parking. My mom said just take out more loans, it's the American way. Erik said it would probably only amount to $3000 extra in loans, and that's nothing.

3. I looked into internet access in Durham, and being a Duke student apparently gets you a discount, but you need a unique Duke ID. I figured I wouldn't be able to get that ID until orientation, which would be after move-in, and thus inconvenient. But I decided to look up my ID anyway, just for kicks. Turns out I'm already in the Duke online directory, and they've already assigned me an ID--and even an email address. I was so excited! And then I found out the discounted internet connection rate per month was $39.95. If that's called savings, then just slap me now.

My 15kb of Fame

2005-04-26T12:42:00.000-04:00

I submitted a picture of myself wearing the "Polar" Threadless shirt, and now it's in their gallery:

Fur

2005-04-25T13:47:00.000-04:00

From the Furisdead.com "Get Active" page:

Shop ’til they drop! Whenever you’re ready to hit the shopping mall, make sure you don a fur "public service announcement" before heading out the door. Attach an anti-fur button to your winter coat or, if Aunt Irma’s old moth-eaten mink stole is still hanging around in the attic, dust it off and bring it up to date with a red paint job and an anti-fur message. A similar impact could be made with a red-paint-spattered fake fur or a jazzed-up jean jacket decorated with colorful designs and catchy slogans.

While fur industry practices are horrifying, I absolutely hate it when fur activists even hint at destroying other people's property ("bring it up to date with a red paint job").

Even if people acquired their property illegally (which is not yet true of all fur), I don't believe other citizens have to right to destroy it. In addition, paint dumpers can't always tell the real from the fake.

The Furisdead.com site does, however, offer interesting and constructive activities, e.g., getting people to donate their old fur to keep homeless people warm. That's all fine and great, as long as no one takes to dumping paint on homeless people.

Wear Me

2005-04-22T03:50:00.000-04:00

I just ordered a t-shirt from Threadless, and I am almost certain that someone was drawing me:

Dark hair, pig tails, bear hat? Me.

One Day Ryan Will Get His Wish...

2005-04-21T11:29:00.000-04:00

...and Anthony Federov will be voted off American Idol. I give him two more weeks, tops. I still hope domestic abuser Scott Savol will leave before Anthony. Scott's voice is so thin, and no matter how much he says he wants to win, his soporific voice lacks the excitement you'd think he'd want to express. Of course, he did also claim he was the true rocker. Uh...yeah. Both he and Anthony are obviously out of their leagues.

I like Anthony, even though I don't think he understands why he was so appealing, at least to me. I think people liked his nice-guy nerdiness, not his faux-suavité (ok, it's suavity). I don't think he should have thrown away his glasses nor have worn torn jeans. Then again, I don't think he should have made it this far with his voice. I did almost pity vote for him once, when they showed his hurt puppy-dog face when Simon tore his performance apart. But then I reminded myself that he really does suck.

As for the people I think will be in the Final Four:

Bo has been the most consistent performer, but his rock renditions just bore me--every week he seems to be singing the same song. He started off strong, but now that other people have improved, I think he will be the first of the four to go.

I used to hate Constantine and how he butchered random songs (e.g., "Kiss from a Rose"), but he's getting better and much more confident vocally. What I like about him now is his ability to pick seemingly random but completely appropriate songs for himself. Still, I doubt he could sustain an original album. To me, he's only interesting for performing covers.

I think that Vonzell is the best singer, but her voice isn't unique like Fantasia's. She does seem to have a sweet personality, and the USPS couldn't have asked for a better representative.

Carrie seems destined to be one of the final two, no matter how boring and terrible I might think she is. She was out of breath Tuesday night, off-key, and "danced" awkwardly. Still, she garnered praises from the judges.

I would love to see Constantine and Vonzell in the Final Two. I'm not terribly excited about anyone winning the title. I just love to rant.

Things I Like Right Now

2005-04-20T14:28:00.000-04:00

Starfish: I saw part of a documentary that followed researchers who filmed starfish and then sped up their film to observe the starfish's movements. You see starfish fight for territory and "rush" to food sources--things you don't normally associate with starfish because they appear stationary. I love how they live in an entirely different time from us, and most of all, I loved seeing those aggressive little suckers attack.

Camille, "Le Fil": Her new album, "Le Fil," is more focused and earthy than her first. She uses her voice as background instruments, and I have to say that there are few female French chanson/pop stars who could pull off the same. I'm not talking of the Celine Dion types, but rather Coralie Clément and Keren Ann, who have great songs but are obviously already pushing their limited vocal talents to their limits. Anyhow, Camille's official site has some videos, although only one is off the new album (Ta douleur): www.camille-lefil.com.

Alan Dundes

2005-04-18T16:29:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it. Alan Dundes has passed away. I found this out while visiting Nader's page, of all places.

Dundes's Intro to Folklore class at Berkeley was such a blast that I signed up to work for him at the Folklore Archives, where I stayed until I graduated.

I know he will be missed. He was an extraordinary teacher.

Copy-Protected CDs

2005-04-18T13:18:00.000-04:00

It's unclear to me whether the release of copy-protected CDs is legal or not. Ripping your own CDs to put on your iPod is fair use, but copy-protected CDs do not allow you to digitize the music you bought, denying you fair use. In addition, the CPCDs don't necessarily play on all players, so to some people the CPCD is a defective product.

However, even assuming that the record companies screwed up, it is also unclear to me whether or not it is legal for the user to use software like CloneCD in order to digitize their collection, as it bypasses the copy protection.

I'm Going to Duke Law

2005-04-15T16:54:00.000-04:00

Technically, I haven't sent in my deposit yet, but that's just because I'm waiting for the revised scholarship offer to arrive, since I have to send it in with my deposit.

I am uncertain whether I have enough summer clothes--apparently I will suffer a portion of the humid, hot summer days in Durham by starting school in early August.

I will be selling things, so let me know if you want to buy anything of mine.

iTunes and mp3s

2005-04-15T16:13:00.000-04:00

I am against buying music off of iTunes; unfortunately, they are probably have one of the biggest digital catalogs.

My main objection to iTunes is the price of tracks/albums. Their tracks are encoded at only 128kbps, a bitrate much too low to charge customers $.99/track or $9.99/album--prices a little cheaper, but comparable to an actual CD. In addition, because mp3s bought off iTunes are controlled by DRM, the record companies should not need to offset potential losses (cf. to the possibility of easy, illegal sharing of non-DRM mp3s) by inflating the price.

I do wonder about the costs of producing an actual CD--including the case, printed inserts (including designer charges), shrinkwrapping, and sometimes stickers--and if they are comparable to the costs of producing the digital release. I would assume that digital release costs would include server space, bandwidth, and encoding files. But since the price of the album is mostly marked up for profit reasons, I suppose the $2-8 difference between buying digital vs.actual disc is probably reasonable--if you were actually getting the same quality and rights as buying a disc.

I hope that the digital music scene will grow closer and closer to the Russian model, e.g. www.allofmp3.com (only legal in Russia). You choose the quality and file format, and pay accordingly. I am a believer that if you offer cheap tracks, people will gobble them up, and you may end up with more profit.

I read a comment from a recording artist on David Pogue's reader forums (visit forum) that file sharing is like a progressive tax on artists; i.e., artists like Britney Spears may be more hurt from it than lesser-known artists like himself. In fact, free trading of his files would probably boost his profile and level the playing field. I would like to extend that argument towards having music available cheaply and perhaps eliminating many roles of the record company. That is, every artist becomes independent, and exclusively reaps the benefits from their mp3 sales. Those bent on achieving superstardom would have to work that much harder, but I could see record companies transform into PR companies instead.

In the meantime, I very much like Emusic.com and AudioLunchbox.com, but both carry mostly independent artists. I use Rhapsody to stream music. Not only does Rhapsody have a great mainstream catalog, they stream albums from independent labels as well. They claim to stream and burn at CD quality, but I haven't truly tested that claim. Tracks do cost less at $.79/track, but unfortunately Rhapsody does not offer album deals.

Switching from Netflix to Blockbuster Online

2005-04-14T19:42:00.000-04:00

Netflix used to ship new movies the same day the discs I rented were returned. More recently, however, they would receive my movie and ship out a new one as late as three business days later. They attributed this to their increase in distribution centers; movies used to be shipped to me from San Jose, now they could be coming from, say, New York.

That response, of course, would address a postal delay, but not why it would take three days to drop a movie off in the mail--the question at hand.

I got fed up and quit Netflix to join Blockbuster Online, which is also cheaper for the same plan.

Netflix does have a more extensive dvd collection. But I figured that I watch too many movies as it is, and Blockbuster is more than adequate. Blockbuster Online also allows you to print two free rental coupons per month, so if you have that itch to go out and rent something right now, you could.

However, I do have problems supporting Blockbuster. Its "No Late Fees" promotion could be construed as consumer fraud (read article). Before the "No Late Fees" days, I believe Blockbuster participated in late fee fraud--that is, almost everyone I know who has rented a movie from Blockbuster has been erroneously charged late fees for movies returned within the due date. I admit that there could be more innocuous causes for the late fees--for example, I imagine there are few incentives for employees to pay enough attention to check in every movie. However, Blockbuster could have built in QC procedures to reduce such errors, but these erroneous charges occurred in such frequencies that I believe the store preferred to turn a blind eye to such practices. This is conjecture, of course, but a class action lawsuit was also raised in Canada for this very reason (read article).

Beyond consumer fraud, the Blockbuster CEO has been accused of going on a "spending spree with the shareholder's money" (read article) by the company's largest shareholder. Sounds unethical, though I am uncertain of the consequences to the consumer. Feel free to let me know what the possibilities are.

I feel a moral dilemma coming on. Blockbuster also stands for a lot of things I don't believe in--movie censorship (I need to do more research, but I believe the censorship happens before a movie is released in theaters, rather than cutting content off dvds like Walmart does. Blockbuster did only stock R-rated versions of NC-17 movies, but the Online service seems to include unrated or NC-17 versions.), destruction of local video businesses, etc. However, I need to budget my money, as I will be a grad student soon. How do I balance my immediate financial needs with my "principles"?

I am also a member of Curves. An Opinion appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle that condemned the owner of the chain. The piece is now prefaced with "corrective" statements about the writer's claims (read article). What seems to be provable is that the owner of Curves profits from owning the chain, and that he donates money to Christian and pro-life causes. Some other pro-choice people have told me not to support Curves because of this. Do I agree with this? No, but I am trying to understand my motivations.

I joined Curves because it is a somewhat mindless workout for my entire body--I just follow the circuit without planning any routines. More importantly, I only have to give up a half-hour a day. The minimal time commitment is what keeps me going back, is what helps me stay in shape (ok, whether I'm in shape or not is debatable). It is also signficantly cheaper than the other fitness chains I looked into. (Although 24-Hour is cheaper for other people, I knew I would be going to grad school and could not commit to their 3-year contract.) I also hate running; I love team sports, but that team can be somewhat harder to organize.

I conclude that Curves is the best fitness option for me.

Does it bother me that the owner of Curves donates the money he earns from his successful franchise to a cause he believes in but I don't? No. People can do what they want with their money. I am pro-choice, not a fan of indiscriminate abortion, but I can see why people would be pro-life. They are free to support their causes, and I am paying them for different services altogether, and they should be judged based on how well they provide that service.

But where do I draw the line? Or, where should I draw the line? Would it be ok for me if the owner of Curves supported hate groups with his Curves money? How about illegal activities? I think the answer for me would then be no. And now I've just contradicted what I've just written in the previous paragraph. Hey, and although I can see why some people would be pro-life, I suppose there are people who think it is just wrong as well.

Since I want to be a consumer advocate, I suppose the decision to switch to Blockbuster maybe does undermine something I believe in. I have too many conflicting interests: saving money, convenience, not supporting big bad corps, etc.

This is getting to be too long an entry...

Late Thanksgiving Entry

2004-12-01T12:21:00.000-05:00

I spent Thanksgiving with Jim's family. Erik and I took the Capitol Corridor Amtrak train up to Sacramento. It was so nice to be on a train, and the view was great. We spotted traffic on the freeways and were really glad we weren't part of it. The tickets, despite being bought at "holiday" prices, were still dirt cheap--$20 apiece.

Now that I'm done with apps, I have time to read again. I read three books over that weekend (all fiction for once!): Battle Royale by Koushun Takami, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon. All three were very good.

Somewhat unfortunately, I preferred the Battle Royale book over the movie, and now a movie that I really liked has sort of lost its luster.

Life of Pi was darker than I expected, but it was still very informative about animals and staying alive in the middle of the ocean.

The Curious Incident was great, and it was nice to go inside the mind of a 15-year-old autistic boy.

I expect to be reading more fiction now that I've read three and liked all three. Now, any of you fiction readers out there have any recommendations? I prefer stories that have some sort of fantastic angle to it; I tend to frown upon too-realistic family trouble books. I also hate frilly language or, of course, clichéd language.

Book Review: The Language Police

2004-08-18T16:24:00.000-04:00

Title: The Language Police--How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn
Author: Diane Ravitch
Pages: 170, 255 including appendices and index
Review: The author makes her points quite clear, and for the most part I could not agree more--censorship in textbooks threaten the freedom of thought, as well as distort facts children are taught in order to appease pressure groups.

Occasionally, more often in the beginning, by proving her point, Ravitch comes across a bit ignorant. She is so adamantly opposed to changing un-PC words, I have to disagree when it comes to textbooks. For example, she does not understand the difference between "African slave" and "enslaved African." I am all for more accurate terms, though I do not believe in rewriting history so that everything is pleasant, and I do not believe in editing classic literature to your liking, both important points that Ravitch makes.

Because many people may believe that textbooks operate on a competitive market, that teachers have a say in what their kids read, and that textbook writers and publishers put in adequate amounts of research to compile material, this book is a must read to open some eyes. Its appendices are also interesting (list of banned words) and helpful (suggested classics reading list for grades 3-10). Although you have to look for it, the book also essentially mini-reviews individual textbooks, particularly history textbooks, and their slant.