Seven people you meet in Thailand?(ironically there are tshirts that say ood guys go to heavenad guys go to pattaya)


 


Is it pathetic to go out for the occasional drink alone? Is traveling alone pathetic?Everyone I meet seems to question how lonely it must be to adventure alone, or lack of adventure alone.From all the  so jealous?comments, I would suppose that my solo journey are kind of cool and from that same logic, it would then negate the pathetic aspect of getting inebriated alone.


One and Two: The biggest part missing from my weekly routine (ironic ehh?) is not going out to see much of the night life. So on my last night in Bangkok, I decided to keep it simple and just head to the lounge in the residence, 87 remix.Other than my usual banter with bartenders as it seems to be my forte, I befriended a fellow Indian. Sunil please read. These bandana wearing wannabe hip-hopsters are literally unavoidable second only to those in the country where they sleep on top of each other due to the population crisis.Sunny is an Indian born in Thailand who can barely speak any Indian dialect but speaks fluent Thai and English.Very interesting.Apparently, I was also talking to the DJ of the club. Midway into the conversation, sunny had to leave me hanging to mix up the bumping hip hop bhangra.


While he left me alone, it left a perfect open seat opportunity for one skinny frail looking Thai female to plop her bony frame into the stool beside me.For the record, I have no interest in whores!I can even remember her name. All I know is that I ignored her for the first hour but gawd aren they persistent. Slowly as her chair started inching over and I was working on the 8th Macallan, she introduced herself and luckily the bar was closing. 2 am went home.Phew.


Three and Four:I took a day trip tour offered by the Shangri-La to Ayuthuya on Tuesday.The Conrad is a bit far from the middle of town to find local tour agency and of course they would be recommending their guests a more cr鋗e de la cr鋗e experience, and I got that. Other than enjoying a deluxe yacht cruise with a 5 star buffet on the way back down the river, it was more so the company I was with that reminded me  was a bit out of my league? It quite normal for a Chinese to make small-talk with a fellow Chinaman, but he just turned out to be gay with his gay boyfriend living together in England and here in Thailand for a New Year gay bash. AWESOME.The Chinaman was the more effeminate one, but I ended up speaking more to the other half, a Barbados born-Englishman.Bourgeois as expected and he working for the upper echelon of tour companies, we talked of nothing but communist revolutions, Barbados independence, Kofi Annan, Thai politics and SEA PLANES!(of course I the babble mouth, but yes did contribute my knowledge of seaplanes have been in an amphibian before).


Five: The speedod swiss.They love elastic loin cloths, how can you blamem, I do think the women love it.Unfortunately for me, the one sun bathing next to me by the pool happened to be a blabbermouthed octogenarian~ if not more, with the Austin powers pectoral rug.We chatted about hotels and I recommended him the Ritz-Carlton in Singapore.He moved onto art and I got lost, so I pushed him back into Swiss, Austrian alps and skiing gradually integrating beer and cooking (the train of thought was ski resorts/beer/food).Even with Swiss being a small little regimented anal retentive country along the lines of a Singapore, the great thing about Europeans is you can always talk to them about omen?


Six:Blonde ?Swede ?and my scuba guide. Here the flip side to the spectrum. Phuket has absolutely amazing, and its no surprise to anyone that foreigners end of getting tuck?down there. Seeing sunsets every day, being boats with views of all the islands and beaches gives you nothing to complain about, if youe even actually using your brain to think.Family in Sweden but she hates the cold, so worked in Honduras for a while, lived in new Jersey for a bit, goes home every so often for 2 weeks at a time, but now she in Phuket. The open-aired zephyr mentality is quite refreshing especially when it goes along with huge 4m manta flying around your head underwater.


Seven: European Muay Thai Champ.


Solace manipulation: Ie lost some of the head turning shock upon arriving to foreign nations but still doesn mean the sights aren tight banging son.Here my holiday season, enjoy.


welcome to the kingdom












 





dear cyber world....


i am alive...a bit in a frenzy after hearing news even though tardy reading the headlines...grateful for the ability to do just that....i was in pattaya when the monster struck....and luckily it didn't do anything to the other side of the coast, being that the shoreline and civilization are inches away from each other and me 'schnudged' sun bathing right on that 'line of no return'. Instead of heading windsurfing this morning, I cancelled my 2nd night at the hotel and hopped on a bus back to bangkok this morning which is where i am now.....so thanks to everyone for their emails and frantic concerns....it's very touching...and also puts a weird spin on how i approach the rest of the trek...


to think....those images you guys see of patong and phuket....i was just there 4 days ago...and would have been 1. at the beach hotel  2. on a boat 3. in a kayak 4. underwater diving....all 4 options would have graced the shoreline with splattered chink....i'm sure of it....jeezus..even walking on the street over there would have been deadly....in saying all of that...i'm a bit worried for all the people that i met over in phuket....blegh...score one for mother nature....


can you believe this death toll?...and to hit somalia?....1/3 of everyone tourists?!?@#?!#@...it's HIGH SEASON HERE?!@#?#!@?....


"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish, and the tyranny of evil men.


 Blessed is he who in the name of charity and goodwill shepards the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brothers keeper and the finder of lost children.


And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger, those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers.


And you will know my name is the LORD, when I lay my vengeance upon thee!"


Pulp Fiction
(Partly from Hesekiel 25:17)


way to show who's boss ehh?


on another note....can you guys believe the order of the ukrainian people's...congratulations to ushenko...i mean...these are the same people who were under soviet rule 10 years ago....embrace democracy...embrace it! (i don't really know if i fully advocate democracy or kommie as one necessarily being better than the other...other than the obvious reasons where i personally benefit from a democracy...but it sounds right to cheer it on....)


alacazar - i went to see a cabaret show in pattaya....and uhh...just wait till i post some pictures...there's no way in hell anyone would ever believe these men were women....my gawd.....look it up online and search for pictures...or wait another week till i post...

2 things:


i hate it when i sign on the computer and get no email....unfortunately...it only comes second to seeing that i'm losing money at the same time!....my gawd...someone make those biotechs move for xmas....celebrex is OKAY!....VIOXX helps cancer!  come on guys....move those big puppies for me......


few more questions: someone tell me 1. is google worth $180+...2. what in the world is carly fucking fiorne whatever her name is doing with hp....and 3. why of all the places i decide not to buy a language book....it has to be the place where the language barrier is the roughest to get around.....friggin lost my hotel business card with directions on it today...and it took me a good 10 minute hand gesturing english-thai babbling...map pointing left and right...2 maps actually because his was in thai and mine english....to finally get my way  home ...withayu...WIITHHAAYUU...


WWWIIIITTTTTHHAAYYUUU!!!


being on vacation...anywehre in the world really...as the tourist...you're bound to get swindled and cheated on here and there....really part of the learning process and in other ways...hard to avoid....learning curve is skewed so when you start to catch on..they add new twists...my latest encounter was this morning with the cbbie.....cheated out of an extra 100baht thsi morning....its only 2.5 bucks US..but i just got this bitter feeling in my mouth about it...soo friggin annoying.....i hope he bites his tongue 15x the next 2 weeks.....


ranting and raving about how robust every asian plate that is served becomes quite another "exhausting" travel experience...i guess this is why most vacations are designed for shorter periods of time...so one only takes a break from their natural habitat then quickly crawls back to that comfort hole....by blaming my american tastebuds....and possibly in conjunction with a foreign-xmas....i'd have to say that i'm probably craving something that doesn't explode in my mouth...stick to one solid salty flavor...cut the flavor and herbs to a maximum 2...garlic + variable....and give me the fat albert ration size....


when proofreading-rereading a blog or a personal journal entry....do you find that one uses the conditional a whole lot more than necessary?  or the fact that everything has a rationalizing or justifying clause?  is this the sheer natural fluidity of an insecure mindset....or is it due to the vast public audience a web blog attracts, hence one can only find solace where there's a safety net?...


 


 

thailand


for a person that doesn't eat thai cuisine at all in new york...in fact, i actually try to avoid it when peers suggest places to eat, I LOVE THE FOOD HERE...oh my goodness, everything is soo insanely flavorful from the generic pad thai dishes to the extra wonderfully tasty tom yum goong....even all the home made cuisine on all the tours i've taken have been surprisingly delectable....


so i've finally hit the one place on my trip that i'd definitely like to revisit....oh...keep in mind that i've only been to phuket so far...5 days there..and i just landed in bangkok today....which reminds me...5 days of NO EMAIL AND MY INBOX IS EMPTY....U HOMO'S...what are you guys doing!?@#?@!.....anyways...landed in phuket on the 19th...and well...kind of spent the first night DRUNK due to joannes 5 shots of JD in 10 minutes....and the next day hungover....laying on the typical thai beach movie depiction.... the islands of thailand are a geographical wonder....its mezmerizing to be waking up to clear blue skies and sunshine day after day....i've caught sunset 2 or 3 days in a row....and the view of all the islands in the horizon line just makes everything more surreal....i'd maybe even go as far to say that my day trip to hong and panak island into bat caves and lagoons was a wasted trip....despite how awesome i thought the views were that day...because the next 2 days...my eyes almost ppopped out of the sockets....


2 days...6 dives...and ur looking at an advanced open water diver...yahoo! (hot swede blonde instructor didnt hurt either)....didn't catch a manta on the deep dive (next time im heading to hte similans)....that was a rough dive too.....racha noi proved pretty rough..and a bit sea sick for me....but the NIGHT DIVE at racha yai was INCREDIBLE...oh man...night diving is quite an experience....i get trigger friendly....so when i get those pictures developed i'll post them up...wait 2 weeks again.....the next day....I SAW A TURTLE!?@#!@....3M long turtle just hanging out underneath me then swimming right next to me..dum dee dum.......whoa!


so....of course i'm the backpacker known for "not roughing it" and spent my nights in patong beach at a pretty top end bungalow resort....not too shabby if i actually spent more time there.....spent most of the nights soaking in the lights of this one street ( can't remember the name)...but one street with bars packed basically on top of each other....and whores oozing out of its pores....if you get lucky....a lady boy will be gleaming out in ur face belting out his girly mannish voice........NUTS.....i hear pattaya is an even bigger party...but i'll soon find out.....


alrighty....8 days in bangkok....7 now....maybe less if i head to pattaya....until then...


merry xmas.....

another DEAR SUNIL post:


thanks to all the bday wishes...


after going through my pictures...korea and taiwan really look very similar...


chiang kai shek memorial versus gyeongbokgung palace




can you really tell the difference btwn the night markets?




battle of the street foods





what smells worse: squid or tofu.....





 


the fam + auntie wang....




sorry guys...as i've explained in the previous post...the past week has been one huge blurr..."excess"...no pictures of my birthday (probably smart of me not to bring out the camera cuz i'd probably lose it)...big thanks to jeff/jason/frank/david for taking me around everynight....till macau or back in taipei for chinese new years...whichever comes first...


where should i be for new years?


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

withdrawal


holy mother of hizzly bizzle...i've been going through some pretty wretched withdrawal the past 24 hours...if i've been posting that there's been somewhat of a lack of excess amidst my travels...then let me state right now that i've taken just about 10 years off my life the past 4 days....i don't think i've come home earlier than 6am the next morning only to go running around taipei by noon showing off my latest line of clothing - "the sweats".  clubbing, lounge hopping, hostess bars (with my aunt), and just staying at a friends house proves no different than new york nightlife...but 4 days and maybe 10 bottles later (underestimating because the memory is lacking)....i'm not gonna go as far to say the taiwanese have iron lungs but rather they must enjoy hangovers 10x more than the average joe...


i think this would be the first time im admitting alcohol withdrawal....not really something to be proud of but anytime i'm feeling cruddy the next day with a heavy case of the shakes....it's never lasted longer than up to bed time....last night i was unable to sleep for longer than an hour at a time...each time waking up in cold sweat with a ridiculously palpitating heartbeat.....ironically...i'm quite used to waking up the morning of my birthday in a terrible state....(unfortunately this year its without the normal bunch of homos)...this lingering shaky feeling didnt go away after 2 sessions at the gym but only after 3 glasses of wine during the wedding i attended today...


4 weddings on my 24th year....and 2 more lined up Q1 of 2005 not to mention a rmB  in recent planning of next steps....dun really know what to think of it yet 'cept the fact that we have reached a legit age in life (if not already) and i just might be flopping around the world avoiding it....


i'm gonna guess we're staring the night off at eden again....and everything after that...i'll try to update you guys tomorrow in singapore...where i'll be uploading some pictures...


cheers guys.

having a toothache anytime anywhere is miserable as is...but when you get one overseas you really sit there and lull over how helpless you are with this parallyzing son of a bitch....i haven't gotten to the point where i'm looking up foreign dentists and cursing a lack of global health coverage...but i have passed by ice skates in a sporting goods store and visualized cast away part 2....the most unfortunate thing is that the pain hits the most when im drunk....gawd...its awful....


so the toothache coincides with a bit of a lull in the "adventure" portion of the jules verne trilogy...(sometimes i wonder why i write like that...its even pretentious when it comes out of my head)...spent the first week hibernating and recovering from the previoius month....coincidentally, when i was rested and ready to go out, mother effing TYPHOON...so..without a decent weekend of partying and a convincing grandmother....i stayed another week...its been a bit more productive...


night market night market....street food in singapore is one thing...where government health inspections are strict, but in taiwan...amidst fermented tofu and shrimp fishing carnival games...u try not to wonder if the there are schwarzanegger microbials in ur intestine and congealed duck blood soup....even though i just finished a 512mb memory card....i haven't felt like taking any pictures here....the only ones i have are of food i think....and i think im probably taking these pictures just to post them here...so enjoy...(u'll have to wait till next week)


for a guy who's scouring the globe....i seem to be going to the gym quite a bit....i joined california fitness for 2 weeks....and seeing a gym full of chinese people is a little odd to be honest....i no longer find myself next to stallones, ray lewis' and wonderwomen.....instead....as buff as chinese people can get...they're just about my size....the most disturbing thing is that the female to male ratio is NO GOOOD.


i'm seriousslly starting to think greenspan and the bush admministration is taking its weak dollar policy a bit too far....sinking rates in 2001 to record lows and then allowing another 3 years to pass before any signs of a future high yield domestic currency....aiding an american mentality of NOT SAVING (and pushing away the rest of the world who saves too much)....i guess it makes sense to allow an economic surge from re-financing and increased disposable income...but then its time to bring back those rates....close that budget and trade deficit....i  try to throw in the republican fiscal policy here...but with a war going on...im just not sure we're taking the right course of action here....has the fomc kept rates low to keep tourists coming for the primary terrorist target?  does bush have personal ties to companies with heavier global business? p&g??  i mean...he sure is screwing me over on my overseas expenses...but screw him...i've bought tons of sterling and yen....!  whoever trades forex...email me please..i got some questions......


so the rest of the globe is at a crossroads scared to finally cut off links with the biggest current superpower in the world (lets minus american buying power in the equation for a minute)...its been no secret that americans are no longer revered with awe and inspiration....an american company doesn't have the best selling car in its own country....math tests just revealed americans at the bottom of the barrel AGAIN....US basketball is no longer dominant (in fact it doesn't even place)....so let me also add that the whole "just cuz you're from the states and speak english so chicks automatically dig you" HAS NEVER EXISTED IN MY LIFETIME.....the era of ford and edison have passed....the US has probably hit its dark ages as a shift in power moves to rmB (b is capitalized for a special someone who has plans to get married real soon)


so here in lies the problem....its duely noted that as china opens up its doors to the world....a sea of opportunity floods the world....at age 10...i said "im american" and hated chinese school on sundays....at age 23...i say "shit i should have put more effort into chinese school" my mom's "i told you so's" is coming true....its the first one of those slow developing 10 year "i told you so's"


anyways....im heading back to singapore on the 13th...phuket on the 17th...22nd its off to bangkok.....


 


 


 


 


 

i'm the chump for loving an authors first book soo much that i fall
into every literary hook he flings out at you.  it is when you start
reading that 2nd book where you see every darn annoying flaw in his
verbose catty and ultimately "pussy" ways...the 3rd book would be even
worse because his already dry mojo’s been sucked up and regurgitated into the gelatin mold of the previous 2 books.  The end result may look the same but butter-free is ultimately bland...wasted neurons on much of some flights....


3 and a half days after Vietnam, I headed to korea…I was only half expecting frigid temperatures and well, rather than lucking out with colder autumn weather, the gods decided to shag some dandruff down at the kimchee lovers…so I spent much of my 3 days in seoul doing nothing but shopping for winter clothes (not that I wouldn’t be shopping anyways) and my nightlife was limited to one night of soju and beer in sinchon.  I’ve been advised by veteran backpacking peers to find the time to rest up and spend certain days doing nothing but recuperating travel energy, maybe I decided to take a rest a few days late because btwn the cold and my fatigue…nightlife was far on the list of priorities.  When one bottle of soju gets 2 people significantly buzzed or even drunk…maybe its time to go home and rest up.  Somehow, any effort to describe the 3 days does no justice without posting pictures of me eating, which is really all I did…kimbop….kimbop…kimbop…*burp* 


 


thanks to honeybunny81 for housing me.


 


alright...taking another few days to rest up here in taipei...and i've got a few options for the next destination...i'll let a xanga poll decide my fate...(i'm a lil wary of both china and japan trips...b/c i'm just not well equipped to face the frigid temperatures....)


 


1. hk-beijing-shenzen-shanghai


2. australia (6-10 day tour group) - free trip, i'll end up going back there anyways


3. tokyo-osaka


4. singapore-kuala lumpur-thailand


 


**who's address do i not have to send a postcard??**

I BOUGHT IT



n Dinh Quan painting spread endless nights, exciting dreams and poetic thoughts. This world is not real but atlers its ecological life in the blazing, fabulous light of gold and silver emulsion as well as in the deep night of black lacquer?/EM>


Thai Ba Van - 1997


kommie propaganda


i spent a lot of time going around the city looking at property, factories and checking out the food industry and along with a cousin completely raped the driver's left brain for the loopholes and workings of the corrupt power scheming viet government....a country built on the principles of equal wealth distribution makes sense to be run by a round table of men...in this case...it's more like a gang, with the prime ministers and presidents power obscurred into a financial stronghold over the poverty of the nation...although the viet economy hasn't taken a big hit throughout the asian market tumble, and although its gdp has increased about 10% the past year...although this government is starting to take china's lead in opening up its markets to increase financial security...the nation is still gridlocked in old fashioned impoverished wantan ways....


the oxymoron lies thick not because of the class disparities like much of indonesia i've seen...it's more because of the french architecture left behind is so rich and city planning and engineering seems soo cultured...yet saigon has little culture to offer other than WAR WAR and WAR....these hochiminh posters are everywhere....



mekong


muddy and in the middle of the jungle...don't tell me you don't want to pull a childish rambo on your fellow tourists...poor woman rowing the boat...she was the one who got my group of 5...and no extra paddle to help her row...



i'm a slave for you - quite a friendly snake i must say...



embryonic quail egg/suckling pig/slaughtered iguana (THIS IS SICK)




fyi: the iguana is alive while the guy is cutting through him....



cu chi tunnel and the cao dao temple


tunnel network is absolutely indredulous to believe that people spent days/months down there...and the survival and war tactics the VC used were less ingenious and more sadistic...you can look up the history and information of the tunnels online but from first hand experience...i'll tell you that the holes are almost impossible to find...completely camoflauged in leaves and dirt...and they are desigend to be small so the americans couldn't fit...(i the fat arse...barely got in...and only by the method of stretching my arms way up in the air hence slimming my lats....) 


we went in the tunnel for 3 sections of 100m 10m and 10m respectively...the first section being the longest was intense...sweat drenched face and heavy breath (nervous and pitch black)...crouched down to where my back was against the ceiling..(there was even a point where i had to go down feet first cuz i wouldn't fit)....after a certain number of turns..you just wanted to race out of there as soon as possible...small air vents every few feet...but the air was still very thin.... 



look closely at the temple...cao daism is a mixture of eastern and western cultures...it was founded sometime in the early 20th century...and it seems to be a dying religion...all the members seemed quite old...and i guess its one of those cult religions....but because of its mixed faith....the architecture of the church is unique...but ODD....the colors are almost buddism-esque and the columns have the asian dragon, but the top is corinthian? the robes and praying sessions not to mention the dome resemble the islam tradition....



ak-47 - really not as much recoil as i originally though...feels kind of cool to shoot the gun....the guy next to me shot a machine gun....it was just awesome to hear an actual machine gun being fired....



read endless nights, exciting dreams and poetic thoughts. This world is not real but atlers its ecological life in the blazing, fabulous light of gold and silver emulsion as well as in the deep night of black lacquer??XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O />


Thai Ba Van - 1997

AK-47


yes...i shot an AK-47 today...in fact..much of the time here...i've been trying to cut down on my diet of "poses with tanks"...unfortunately...most of the museums here are quite a joke...other than war memorabilia, everything else consists of pictures hanging on the walls...'cept today's visit to the chu chi tunnels...i took the role of fat homer almost getting stuck in the VC tunnels...it's ridiculous to imagine people crawling around in there for months at a time....soo intricately designed to disguise steam from cooking, flood defense systems, sick booby traps etc...the size of the bomb craters in the once dead zone....is HUGE....its nuts~....but all this traveling just makes you want to visit the warring neighbor cambodia...so one of the following posts will be TOMB RAIDER rather than rambo...


i'd have to say that much culture lacks from this war-torn country...reading up on all the wars the vietnamese have gone through has made me quite nauseous on those bumpy rides into the wilderness....ironically, i think im about to make my first art purchase...im deciding on either a painting or 2 statues...gonna go back and have a look tomorrow...


how come they don't soak the rice paper in water here?...just wrap it while its still starchy and hard...then dump it into the nuoc mam?....is that how you spell it?...bahn xeo today was awesome!  there's something to be said about vietnamese taste in beer....i've spent the past 3 days at dinner drinking 333, saigon beer and heineken...and it must be noted that all 3 of them have this similar aquired bitter taste....this bitter flavor tends to be better when its hot...ur ass is sweating and ur thighs are sticking to your jeans....u know..the warm beer taste that gets real bitter...but since the beer is naturally bitter..you just savor it warm or cold.....


heading to the beach tomorrow...mui nei....but heading to trang nguyen now for some coffee...

rambo re-incarnate


i'm finally cleaned up and showered, sweaty ass could possible be on the top ten lists of the worst feelings in the world, but you just can't help it when under the vietnam sun (i hope reader "homo" catches the pun).  First full day in Ho Chi Minh City was spent up and down the Me Kong river.  2 hour bus ride from saigon to the mekong where we hopped on the creaky, woodchipped raggedy boats at ben tre only to be once again tricked into visiting senseless tourist based villages...but how could you come all this way and NOT GO?  as the american, i felt part apocalpyse now and part rambo in me which kind of made me want to hop into the muddy water and re-enact the scene where rambo comes out of the water with two machine guns and mows down 100 people.  all stories of the country are truer than you can imagine.  we passed fishing villages and markets (the stench was ridiculous), every commercial fishing boat had 2 red eyes on the front and a vietnamese flag on the top, viets wearing the rice hats, love to squat and row the boats...switched big boat to little boat to manual boat going up creeks and canals into the depths of the jungle...amazing actually...got to be quasi britney...huge boa constrictor on shoulders..im losing my train of thought...


if you've been up to date with the posts....my fda-approved stomach almost seems as though it's trying to model itself after the dow....and entering into a country that turned ekhym into a vegetarian...being wary would be quite an understatement when i entered kommie zone...unfortunately...since i also just bought cook's tour...it was that book that first clawed away at the intestinal lining even before i did any physical damage to it myself....my first meal was PHO....to be honest...msg was wayy to much...and the soup wasn't hot enough....weird thing here is that they don't use cilantro all that much...i'm assuming cilantro is a substitue for this other green they have here but not in the states....meal 2 was where things got interesting....NAM BO....uhh....i ate the embryonic quail egg (no duck eggs around BIRD FLU has been ramapnt)  i would have tried that fried suckling pig but just was too full...wild BOAR....doens't taste all that great...kind of tough.....highlight of the night ...they killed a live iguana at the neighboring table...because its some sort of delicacy.....even though i'm trying to be adventourous with my palatte...it really takes some serious will power to continue eating after seeing such a horrid act...i took pictures...i doubt its a good idea to post those here...some of you might puke at ur cubicle...........bahn mi's tomorrow....hahaha...rose...i feel like im trying to "one up you" for the 'who loves tran the most' award....HAHAA...pho in every city ehh?...


alright...i can't effing sign into ameritrade...and its pissing the fucking shit out of me....ugh...heading out now...leaving out big chunks of the scene....will have to update more later...pictures will have to wait till next week...off to search for NOSTRILS....(i wonder if splinter reads this...)


 

KOPITIAM


oh my....arafat just died....i kind of thought he was dead for a few days already and the palestinians were just holding out...but now that it's confirmed...OH MY...with a wanna-be number 2 guy in the wings...there's still no definite as there's bound to be a struggle for the Palestinian leadership over time, with a younger generation of militants and reformers pressing for a larger voice in Palestinian affairs, and hard choices coming about whether to try to absorb militants like Hamas or to confront them and try to make peace with Israel.


mother effing bextra....i couldn't sleep all night last night...even though i was exhausted....


they need to air an episode of celebrity deathmatch on cnbc...ellison (oracle) v. duffield (peoplesoft)...that would be so fitting.....


they're celebrating deepavali here in singapore...national holiday as indians living peacefully amongst the chinese (yup you heard it sunil) take up 7% and 77% of the population respectively...everytime i use the word respectively it reminds me of the SAT - which column is greater section...anyways... visited Sri Mariamman Temple today...packed like craazyy...hari raya comes next monday and tuesdsay...will miss out on those festivities....its interested to witness a country celebrate a holiday outside of western realms...the streets are covered with lights and little india i must say...a bit ragged compared to the mall infested orchard road...looks quite festively lit up....



 


disturbing cannes festival winner...saw it 2 nights ago...and just thinking about it makes me cringe....gawd i'm getting bored here...shiite~



 

bali-ed out!


2 days 4 dives....a stingray and a shark...and SEVERE MOTION SICKNESS....i'm now padi certified~


so i got an email from a friend rhetorically asking how i did not shit in my pants after seeing the shark...the only thing that will make you shit your pants is the food~..."no fish on mondays?" -- obviously the only way to travel is to disregard all local dining convictions and take the plunge into oral euphoria...of course u're rolling the dice to a game of craps...literally....


anaphoric (not even sure if thats a word) "fuck!" -- got the damn shizzles again!...i think this time its only for one night...couldn't even go out last night....beer shits would have been received much warmer than the painful grab your stomach and wince on the ivory squat.....


back to jakarta in a few hours...back to singapore in a few days...then vietnam by next weekend....i can't wait to try one of those fetus egg thingy's....everyone tells me they're super tasty....


 


pictures:


1. atv'ed through rice paddy's....white water rafted down the ayung river...




2. doing stuff like slingshot alone takes some of the fun out of it...also harder to bargain for a cheaper price...dangggit!



3. ground zero in bali....i gotta remind myself to take pictures of the australian embassy in jakarta



4.  barong dancers.....all these dance shows are pretty bS...specifically made to suck tourists' money...10 minutes in...my ass was numb and bored as hell....the dancers are advertised as the main attraction but they take up 5 minutes in the beginning of the show and their roles are servants....the rest of the show is like a wanna be chinese opera of monkeys, bears and birds....



5. kecak dance...its kind of amazing to be on top of a mountain and see people doing tribal ritual dancings...fire hyms and stuff...but again...show was for tourists...annoying with the constant "kecha kecha kecha woong kecha kecha kecha woong"....i almost felt like busta rhymes was gonna come out and rap over the beat.......



oh yea...the view was incredible...i think they raise monkey's there too..friggin jumped on my backpack...scared the living shizzles out of me...



6.  lastly - durian on the street....



 

**holy shit i saw a shark**


 


i've got sedaris and bourdain in my bag...and i spend much of my time in the air reading the 2 of them...probably the only time i actually get to listen to the ipod too...(no sense in lugging around native music when perusing the western wannabe streets blasting cover after cover) oh yea...so...as far as i'm trying to stray from looking at the world in the eyes of the generic westerner (not only because i'm ethnically asian) the closer i get to wanting to be one of them...it's this weird push pull that i have when trying to write the days events down either here or in the journal...crass,crude,sarcastic,real and above all...pretentiously eloquent...i like it...no...i love it...probably makes sense for you to be reading me writing this...."fitting"


so...i spent yesterday ATV-ing through rice paddy's and going through the countryside...ATV's btw are absolutely amazingly wonderfully SCHWEEET!  drove through small mountainous villages where the people constantly wave to you while you pass...."selamat pagi" (i yelled to them -good morning)...got to splish splash the buggy into a small river...got ridiculously dirty...only to follow up the afternoon with white water rafting through the mountains...the landscape is like...picture stallone going to south america in a lil blow up raft....and there you have it...villagers left and right..children swimming in the green water....our tour guide knew only to purposely drive us into the waterfalls....


today...i signed up for SCUBA!....full day of a solo lessons...i've got 2 dives under my belt...CAN'T believe i'm breathing underwater....shit!....and tomorrow...im completing 2 more dives to get my open water certificate..booya!....


going to see some native dance tomorrow....and volcano on saturday before i leave....no elephant riding--elephants aren't even native to bali...!...oh yea...i did the slingshot thing..alone...f'ing awesome...


i bought wayy too many postcards....if you want one...email me your address....im trying to constantly send them out as i go...


 

last minute american campaigning has flooded much of the world news
the past few days especially with this election amidst global wars
linked directly with oil issues, a shaky economy, and of course
radical terrorists that disrupt the security of people all over the
world...so here i am also trying to add in my two cents spearheading
into this fury....

it is no secret that wall street heavily roots for a bush victory and
it also is no secret that the media is completely for bush
bashing...with this being said, it is easy to be at gripes with the
one who has shown flaws and has arguably led our country into this
downward spiral...with the phrase "downward spiral" already being
used...i'll move forward by not supporting this elections alternative
counterpart

as the republicans remade themselves after the events of 9/11, bush
recast himself as the accidental protagonist of a new and dramatic
national narrative...he set about elbowing his way into the small
pantheon of modern presidents - FDR after pearl harbor, kennedy during
the cuban missile crisis - who led the nation in profound moments of
peril.  bush stamped his war on terror with great adamant resolve...an
almost stubborn suicidal arrogance especially without the help of
other global powers...al queada and its allies constituted a new kind
of menace, stealthier and less predictable but were the equivalent of
the hitlers and stalins before them and defeating them would require
the same conviction that guided america's previous campaigns.

"america is the world's great force for freedom, unsparing in its use
of pre-emptive might and unstinting in it determination to stamp out
tyranny and terrorism...kerry seemed to offer no grand thematic
equivalent."

in the liberal view, this non-state enemy more closely resembling a
drug cartel than any large threatening regime calls to be cured by
expanding diplomacy abroad in winning the ideological struggle so that

<!--
D(["mb","people stop turning themselves into suicide bombers...while this
resolve seems more humane and almost more correct, it is soo
idealogical that it would take an eternity to acheive close to
nothing, when your own country is being bombed, the quick monstrous
retaliation almost seems like the right thing to do...blame 7th inning
god bless america songs for that one....

this liberal view to work cooperatively with special forces and
foreign governments and restoring an american reputation as a
sensitive seeker of peace is not necessarily the right way to handle a
country in fear...with a country already in the midst of war, the
commander in chief needs to lead the world's greatest army of
patriotic soldiers with worldly conviction, simply ignorant and simply
confident.  kerry does have a realistic apocalyptic view on terrorism
saying that they are a constant nuisance that can never be ended, you
just have to fight it until its not threatening the fabric of your
life.

honestly, these two candidates stand for almost the same end results
in many areas...its just that they take different roles in leadership,
methods, and policy to want to acheive them...in a time where our
country is already at war and kerry's new wave liberal philosophies
are not convincing enough to sway to another alternative so quickly,
i'd have to put him aside for the time being...

it is obvious that a presidents accomplishments are never seen during
their time in office, it is always the results of the previous 4 years
so in this case, bush's first term will most evidently be reflected
now....
",1]
);

//-->
people stop turning themselves into suicide bombers...while this
resolve seems more humane and almost more correct, it is soo
idealogical that it would take an eternity to acheive close to
nothing, when your own country is being bombed, the quick monstrous
retaliation almost seems like the right thing to do...blame 7th inning
god bless america songs for that one....

this liberal view to work cooperatively with special forces and
foreign governments and restoring an american reputation as a
sensitive seeker of peace is not necessarily the right way to handle a
country in fear...with a country already in the midst of war, the
commander in chief needs to lead the world's greatest army of
patriotic soldiers with worldly conviction, simply ignorant and simply
confident.  kerry does have a realistic apocalyptic view on terrorism
saying that they are a constant nuisance that can never be ended, you
just have to fight it until its not threatening the fabric of your
life.

honestly, these two candidates stand for almost the same end results
in many areas...its just that they take different roles in leadership,
methods, and policy to want to acheive them...in a time where our
country is already at war and kerry's new wave liberal philosophies
are not convincing enough to sway to another alternative so quickly,
i'd have to put him aside for the time being...

it is obvious that a presidents accomplishments are never seen during
their time in office, it is always the results of the previous 4 years
so in this case, bush's first term will most evidently be reflected
now....


ok...really no time to finish this...im heading to BALI tonight!


 


Dear Derek:


As for me spreading my butter on the toast of the land…fyi: Indonesia inhabits most of the world’s muslims and its fasting month here….so all nightlife is currently suspended…Singapore has one club…that supposedly everyone who’s 27 has been to since they were 12…..zouk one night….velvet the next….with the amount of flaming lamborghini’s I took that night…I don’t think I want to go back….


 


 

sunil:

as you request a blog about the exorbitant amount of food i have consumed
here, your timing couldn't have been any worse.  i have finally been exposed
to my first deadly encounter with a 2 day and counting encounter with the
runs...my friggin gawd make it go away!  it hasn't been so bad where i'm
breaking out in cold and hot sweats (minus those times im in public and
aching to go home and find a toilet) and i haven't gotten a fever but at the
same time i must say that playing tennis while deprived of fluids and adding
more gatorade into your body is quite the antithesis for a healing digestive
track.  does shabu shabu help?  i did have that last night....

of course in any under developed country, water is a must not have.  and its
very natural to be ordering bottled "aqua" yet none of these bottles are
refrigerated.  so in the blistering (i can't breathe type of) heat, one
forgets that you can't eat the ice cubes.  we went to eat black peppered
crab in pluit and i put ice cubes in my cocunut.  and there you have
it...the cause of my current state of 'poignant distress'.  much of the
cuisine here is fried.  as with any tropical climate habitat, the hotter it
is....the hotter the oil...and i guess when the place is less developed
raging hot oil at high temperatures kills more germs than boiling water?   i
don't know the mentality, but puerto rico and the bahamas was pretty much
the same way.  in fact, the airport in freeport grand bahama looks pretty
much like the one here in medan and jakarta, except indo inhabits 270
million people.   friggin a!  4th in the world's population and a market so
vulnerable to pretty much anything i could really start thinking of trading
in the little fish in big pond of the us to big fish in little pond here.
did you know you can sell noodles at 15000rp a pop and eventually become a
millionaire?  it really makes you wonder if college and education was really

<!--
D(["mb","the path to take.....

i'm getting sidetracked here...food...did i mentino that everything here is
utterly spicy? and if not, there's about 5 different chilli pots for you to
choose from...a little spice and a little sweet soy....splash it on the fish
and voila....awesome...oh yea...

_________________________________________________________________
Is your PC infected? Get a FREE online computer virus scan from McAfee娉
Security. http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963

",1]
);
D(["mb","",0]
);
D(["ce"]);

//-->
the path to take.....

i'm getting sidetracked here...food...did i mention that everything here is
utterly spicy? and if not, there's about 5 different chilli pots for you to
choose from...a little spice and a little sweet soy....splash it on the fish
and voila....so what i've eaten so far....black peppered chili crabs/fried fish with sweet soy sauce/tons and tons of kang kung - it's cheap here!/ sugar cane drink/ coconut drink/ fried bananas - they dip it in some kind of batter so its like eating fried plaintains with the kfc crust....oh so tasty...then the bits and pieces of batter that fall off into the oil, they scoop up and put it in a bag for you to take home.../ peanuts - fried/ shrimp chips and these other bitter chips/ everything fried everything oh so good/oyster pancakes/hairy crabs/shrimp noodles/curly noodles/curry noddles/hainanese chicken rice/curry bee hoon/sate/nasi goreng/fried kuey teow/ren dang/laksa...the native indo food is pretty good in medan...tropical fruit here is quite different...and the mango's...the long green ones are seedless with a superior creamy texture than the larger pitted red ones we're used to...they also have this awesome aromatic perfume essence to them...they say that europeans and americans dont like this perfume flavor too much.

So much to post and so little time at the computer; quite an odd turn around considering my heavy addiction to my internet laden ways of life back home.   Three cities, two countries, a cold, a fever, a huge wedding, but no signs of the runs I finally sit here to try and recap my culture shock.  I’m in Jakarta right now and ironically, the first day I try to type out what I’ve done here I  realize…NOTE TO DISCO: I had Korean food last night…and no, my Kimchee levels were not feeling low at all.


In a country where class disparities rival the times of surfs, I live in a house with six maids and two drivers to keep me sane and healthy all at once.  I got my first massage yesterday, but at 6 dollars for 90 minutes who could refuse?   In fact, there’s a lady that comes to the house and gives a 2 hour massage for 5 bucks!  Even with the dollar dropping like acme anvils, tips here are only 1000 rupia which is the equivalent of about a dime.  Again, who could pass it up?  I know I claimed to be roughing it around the world, but I’m still living up to the “when in rome…” theory.  The other option of life is actually not a possibility at all.  But to be honest, the other option of life is not an option at all. 


 


I flew out from JFK straight to Singapore.  My Americanized comfort zone hadn’t dropped off a bit when I got there.  The city is almost entirely built on the walls of massive malls and department stores.  Every other empty slot is filled with some kind of food service.  I of course would be found hiding in one of those culinary crevasses.  My dad, uncle, and cousin are eating fanatics.  I think by 4pm everyday I had about 4 meals already trying to some how flop around in the pool only to make room for the coveted ablone and shark fin dinners that took place every night. 


Singapore is immaculate for the sole reason that it is heavily regimented.  You can see it in the people here.  Conservative in every approach.  As heat and humidity approach unbearing levels, people here look clean, proper, collected and ready to move along.  Humor is delivered not even grabbing guardrails of the crude, and not just because liquor is regulated and expensive, a night out on the town with peers consisted of one drink drawn out over 4 hours chatting about NOTHING.   


I came here for my cousins wedding and let me be the first to say that it was amazing.  A wedding that would have easily put jlo’s wedding to shame.  Friday’s smaller gathering and exchanging of vows was at the famous Raffles hotel garden.  I was part of the wedding party and IT IS DAMN HOT TO BE IN A SUIT OUTDOORS.  I survived.  Wedding was ridiculous.  Saturday’s events were in the ritz carlton ballroom.  I think they booked every room in that hotel to be honest.  I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves when I get a chance to upload, but think of mini palm trees alongside the aisle, a moat and underwater lights with floating candles around the runway as well.


It’s funny even though cars are so ridiculously expensive in Singapore, there’s more e-classes than any other car out there.  


 


A big part of the reason I wanted to travel was to see the world and absorb it after the light has fragmented off the surface.  To see it unfiltered by American ignorance or more so my personal ignorance.  Even transferring to the slightest of culture changes in Asia ala Singapore, I still felt as though I was looking through the eyes of Tony Bourdain (the cook’s tour dude on foodtv).  Finding myself at awe or trying to compare too much with what I had already knew.  


 


I met quite a bit of international students in sing and I told them that I was quite jealous that they were able to grow up ambidextrous in cultures and habits.  Even the smallest things like being able to drive on the right and left hand sides of the road without flinching and of course being multi-lingual I was envious of.  Interesting response they gave was that,  kids here can grow up with a set number of cultural influences with them but are never able to expand upon that due to societal circumstances and restrictions, where as I, the American, grow up with maybe 1 or 2 cultural influences but can learn as many cultures as I want to learn.


 


From Singapore I directly to Indonesia, Medan to visit my grandfathers resting place.  Medan, even though it’s the largest city in Sumatra is OH MY GOODNESS, I cannot believe I was here when I was 9.  dirt roads, dirt covered buildings, “dirty people”, dirt dirt and more dirt, I thought I was in the city of joy at one point (swayze movie).  I wouldn’t have been taken aback if a bunch of lepers decided to crawl on top of the car to grovel for money.  The way people drive here is crazy, not in the Taiwan way where cars still follow some sort of lane assignments and that there are even lines on the roads, its more that there are no stop signs nor stop lights that direct anything or anyone so people just plunge into crossings at will making oncoming traffic veer to the side to still get in front of you.  Bus doors stay open in motion so passengers can hop on at whenever, these are mini buses, probably the size of a mini van with seats along the sides squeezing as many as 11 people on board.  That’s just the way life is there.  Traveling with my dad, any trip is always about eating.  So of course I get off the plane and stopped at Miramar for the first meal.  Authentic Indonesian food can curl your tongue with its authenticity and rich native flavors.  Curry, fried chicken, fish…great stuff.  I don’t even know how to describe it really and due to the number of meals I’ve had in the past 2 weeks, everything has slowly become an abdominal blur.  if there’s one thing I’ve had way too much of, its kuey tiow.  Fried, dried, soup, seafood, meat, you name it, I’ve had it.  Damn good though.  Curry bee hoon is great too.


 


I could honestly give another paragraph or two on tropical fruits but I’ll have to post some pictures up of eating durian in the streets.  Im gonna have to force a few of you to try it when I go home, and if you don’t’ like it I’ll surprise your fridge with some on your birthdays!  


 


That’s it for now, don’t really feel like typing anymore.  I’m off to bali in a week if anyone cares to join.  Australia seems to keep being pushed back.  At this rate, I’m not going till December. Shit, that means I’ll miss boarding season?


 


 


Playlist:


Telepopmusik – trishiak


Radiohead – thinking about you


Flaming lips – ego tripping at the gates of hell


The killers – mr brightside


The strokes – last night


Frou frou – let go


Travis – love will come through


 


I wanted to post so much on the election and the 2 campaigns.  I spent 10 hours of my flight reading on nothing but kerry and bush and blegh, now I just don’t have enough time to sit down and get enough coherent pages across.  Absentee ballot away!

i wrote this last week in sing but never finished....


 


Before even writing this entry out, Ie spent probably a good week jotting down notes and hearing the narration of this self-inflection post in my head every night before I go to sleep.  Every night the words seem to flow, the phrases so eloquently perfect and the clich廥 seemed to find their niche automatically.  But now that the actual writing has arrived, I draw nothing but blanks.  This is my first indication as to the muddled state of mind I have been in.  gawd, just let me get this out in a clear form and Il feel much better about myself.


 


The 1st person dialogue at this juncture of my life resonates not with the evin Arnold?tone (probably because I no longer coping with the tribulations of puberty), holden caufield voice doesn seem to fit into the scene, and Ie even tried to voiceover a Regis fillmans gameshow voice to put a sarcastic mocking spin on it but in the end the one that finally works best for now is my own.  The voice of my own confessional booth (do not associate this with reality tv booths), one of those long drawn out, head down pouring your guts out into the river kind of ordeals you see at the end of movies.  I lay there last night with the headphones on feeling like the bed was spinning and the camera just zoomed out above me while I sank into the sheets, thinking of this narrator.


 


I haven been able to write about the huge plateonic shifts in my life the past 2 months because I just haven been able to get a handle on it.  Il make the breathe stretch shake attempts, but nothing seemed to come together except the yearning for more.  Less the fear of not experiencing life, but the craving to seek and explore (haha, I almost typed sexplorehat too?).  I type this post from singapore right now as the around the world journey is slowing taking its path.  This also means that I have deferred from medical school for a year. 


 


Taking the tests and applying was the easy part.  Once the ball got rolling, you just kind of sat around waiting for the next steps of the procedure.  Problem was, when I was finally faced with a life-long decision, I wasn ready to take it due to my own curious nature.  Maybe too confident in my personal career prowess,  putting career on hold was not a big decision for me and I felt it in no way changed my future goals by doing what I was doing.


 


While I packed I found myself relating to Bilbo in tolkiens first book he hobbit?SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">  backpack and a cane and both scurred and ready to look for nothing but adventure in the world.  


 

i'm alive...


 


=)


xanga haitus....i tried posting this last friday...blegh...i'll try adding onto it and type some more....its easy to continue this post cuz ... "wutta homo"


Hello hello....


There is a definite need to post on xanga in an attempt to capture the last waning hours of my time here at Citi. Unfortunately, the last hoorah has turned into more of a disgusting, slow, humid morning and a spinning room. Yes, I went out again last night. I'd like to think that we've been pretty good about drunkfests, but since last night was a birthday dinner in cahoots with my lack of responsibility with my job, I again chose the path of debauchery.


My friends and I have a habit of calling each other "h0m0". We're not homophobic (we've hung out with a couple of gay guys) but just saying "WUTTA HOMO" has a ridiculously catchy ring to it. "dude I can't come out tonight..." Response, "WUTTA HOMO"...or..."hey...lets grab lunch...im in the mood for a salad..." ...response "wuttta effing homo...." 


the problem with this night was that we had dinner in chelsea and ended up hanging around that area for quite some time afterwards and after making the mistake of yelping wutta homo and catching "nothing less than odd" looks we realized this might not be the greatest place to be politically incorrect....


blegh...lost my train of thought...no punchline....just try saying it though..."wutta homo"


****


anyways....im finally home again....back at my computer...aim up and winamp playing...9am playlist


guster-either way/ cure- picture of you/ glen phillips - windmills/ flaming lips - yoshimi/ incubus - echo


if you have the mp3 counting crows- colorbind and you're on AIM....send it over please...my sn is the same as this.


fyi: moms back....i haven't seen her since xmas...and there's always a different feel when a mom is back in her natural habitat....the house feels warmer....smells like food...which is odd because i cook quite frequently...tons of slow cooking and braising too...fills the house with aromatic foods....but when mom cooks...the warm hue of "mumhoood" makes a huge difference....or maybe im still mama's boy missing mummy....


ipod is tizzzoiiittee bizzzanging.....wait till this shizzle goes in both cars....yahoo!


heading to miami this weekend....


at this specific moment....nostalgic reminiscent muggy morning weather.......i dont know....just not very excited for school...just let me try to finish the summer first....my mood might change midday.....if weather holds up for a few more hours....i'll take puppy swimming....


 

So once again I will have to use this space as my monthly concert review column.  This will probably be a short review because in short, the show sucked.  Last night I hopped on the Meadowlands shuttle to see Sarah Mclachlan.


 


Butterfly Boucher (pronounced bow-chur) featured a shameless self-promoting white chick lead singer who in short, was NO GOOD.  After directing 5 minutes of wasted attention on her, I focused on a cruddy cheeseburger; HOW CAN YOU MESS UP A CHEESEBURGER, and some chicken tenders.


 


Right before Mclachlan came on, me and the minster were fortunate enough to have the empty seats in front of us filled by a herd of 4 chubby fat grotesque male look alike lesbian blokes.  I want to say I have nothing against lesbians.  Like the masses, I enjoy hot lesbians, but when youe fat ugly and publicly groping your partners ass crack with your sausage link fingers right in front of my kneesO GOOD.  Did I mention during specific, I guessing, lesbian euphoric songs (because I didn really get much emotion out of these songs) she chants out any orgasms tonight?to her partner.  At that point, I regurgitated my cheeseburger.  Besides high fives from one meat patty claw across endless thighs to another hoof, and this ridiculous scream (not your normal- YEAA SARAHut more of a crescendo ?decrescendo bird/opera coach warm-up shout), my night was pretty dull.


 


All this lesbian bashing bleeds into some Sarah bashing but oh wells, it just wasn that entertaining.  Her songs are suited for smaller venues (I thinking like an MTV unplugged arena) and as an older parent with no-eardrum pulsating songs; she lacks stage presence and showmanship.  But to stick up for her, in some occasions, this is not necessary because her voice speaks for itself.  Move over Norah and the girl from Evanescence, the original melodic lullaby diva proves more powerful and spine chilling when she performed ngel?than I could ever imagine the other two.  Il probably go home and download some live sets; I think they would be better than studio releases.


 


Debunking 9/11


 


I finally got to see Fahrenheit 9/11 and to be honest; I kind of disappointed in this picture overall film direction.  Bowling for Columbine was almost a sensory overload, but it proved his uncanny ability to juxtapose political situations with daily personal associations.  Even if his facts were skewed in this movie, he could have spent some more time on making a movie, not just this political propaganda piece that although had logical theories in Bush incompetence.  The whole conspiracy theory he tried to prove became a bit too confusing to follow and believe.  He probably should have teamed up with some of the reality TV show producers and really tweaked Bush live footage.  That would have been awesome.  Throw in those oans?from other scenes and juice it into some nighttime shots of the White House.  NICE.


 


What makes this movie a good thing for the American public is political exposure through an entertainment medium.  American apathy, as Ie posted on months prior, needs to be changed, skewed and the sedentary powder at the bottom needs to be stirred, albeit very subtly.  The war and international affairs is obviously a huge topic for viewers to ponder, but Moore also takes the opportunity to tie in Flint, Michigan poverty level with a national call to arms, giving people more to think about after watching the film. 


 


I really don know what to believe out of all of this mumbo jumbo, which is exactly what it is.  Ie spent the last couple of days reading article after article of how Moore made mistakes, lies etc.  Then I read articles that support Moore cinematographic claims.  It just gets you thinking and hopefully, it will force you to conjure up some kind of final opinion and VOTE. 


 


**


I think that it for now.

tonight...taking my boss and coworkers out to dinner in chinatown...


lets go backwards...


1. last night had a birthday party for jam pong...the liddle poopy is 2 years old!!! he had some doggy ice cream with bo bo and gwai gwai...happy birthday poops!



1a. we were talking about "who do you know that is a geniune good guy...a heart of gold"...i nominated myself...but frank says that i have a "heart of gold with barbed wire around it...."  thanks frank.


2. being nice to the salad really pays dividends...she's stamping my salad card 2x everytime i go...nice!  hale and hearty soups on maiden


3. i bought rollerblades! never done it but i'll figure out a way...



4. saw maria b. on the street walking home...she was right in front of nyse the day of the terror alert...we actually made some eye contact 10 ft away probably...she's fat..she's ugly...i'm over it...probably looks better when u're all groggy and got some crusty eye stuff hindering your vision...her voice intellectually intimidating though...OOO baby.



5. nobu last week...i'll post some more restaurant reviews soon...btw..does anyone know any good cheap eats?...not dirt cheap..but bang for its buck good cheap.


6. EK - for some reason when one is referenced as an initial, not only does their credibility skyrocket, it almost sounds like u've attained a phd overnight.  so in that light..KUDOS TO YOU.


7. what is it about "old school"...jeezus...we've actually started using lines from the movie in public...last week i heard from spongebob...."im not a talker....im not a talker..."


8. i think i could eat the stuff in fear factor...and in fact im looking to trying an egg with the fetus inside it....triznan tells me its a viet delicacy.


9. dear mi55mango - you dont see the similarities btwn the guy and spongebob...go check out his site...omygawditswill...hottest guy at nyu.


10. still desperately trying to trigger those morning neurons which get the brain in an opinionated frenzy.  BEAR with me guys....it'll come back.


11. this market blows goats...

completely and utterly at a loss of text lately...i've tried though, kept a semi ms word journal, but nothing coherent enough or public enough to share to the masses....but in light of my lack of journalistic prowess...my photographer instincts shall hopefully provide the missing action on my page....