Difference between 1974 and 2006

In 1973-1974, I was enrolled in an elementary school here in the United States (Los Angeles) because we were stuck here for a year while my mother applied for her green card (a permanent residency). I was in fourth grade, and I remember my class as being pretty international. It was probably about 60% white and 40% blacks, latinos and asian.

One of the clearest memories I have of that period in my life is being mistaken for a Japanese.

This was during Bruce Lee's ascension into stardom, during Kung-Fu's long reign over the airwaves, during Hanna Barbera's Kung Fu Fooey. How could these people have mistaken me for Japanese?

I remember being very incensed at the ignorance of Americans.

When I attended high school and college here in United States, I still ran into this mistaken identity, but much more rarely. How could ignorance be rampant in a school for higher learning? At U.S.C., we had clubs like the CSA (Chinese Students Association), the HKBSA (Hong Kong Business School Association) etc. Maybe it was because I hung out with "furriners" that I felt the sting of American ignorance so little.

That was then... This is now. Things should be different eh?

But then I read an article like this one: and I realize, maybe not.

So what if Barack Obama's middle name is Hussein? Umm do you remember a guy by the name of Muhammed Ali? Or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?

I am SO very tired of the high school cliquishness and stupidity of these pundits who go on television.

As the great Bard once wrote in a play,

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet"

Grow up, pundits, willya?

Killer of Jokes

It was an email joke, one that had gone several rounds of rimshots - each one-liner slightly worse than the previous one. The joke was dying.

The joke twitched in front of me, asking for life-to-words resuscitation but I looked in its eyes and saw the desperation. "Save me or kill me," the joke pleaded between the lines.

So I brought keyboard to my hands, lined up the joke in my sight and *BLAM!!!*

I killed the joke dead with a time-delay pun, one designed to send of waves of disgust over and over again so that the joke would have no chance of resuscitation.

Just call me, Joke Killer.

The Lead Has Been Cast!

The face above is that of Dawn Stern, a Nobody.

Actually, she's not just any nobody, she's the current incarnation of Nobody to be written by Kevin Murphy of Desperate Housewives. Of all places for Nobody to end up, it's ending up on ABC Family - yes, ironic I know. Yes, we have a lead for the pilot and isn't she a looker?

Of course, the first picture of her that I saw wasn't a portrait like above. The first one was sent from Larry Young, one of the publishers to Writerboy, who forwarded it to me.

Get ready, it's a totally boy photo:



Told you.

[Update] I showed Ms. Stern's photo to a number of men (both friends and at work) and the consensus seems to be, "She's smokin' hawt."

I'm gathering that "hawt" is somehow better that just merely "hot."

*sigh* Boys will be boys.

By the way, the Graphic Novel is still available through Amazon if you want:

Wheeeeeee, It's the Wii!

Miraculously last week, we managed to score a Nintendo Wii and extra controllers. And boy-howdy, is it one sweet machine.

The good news is, yes, you actually have to get off your butt to play some of those games - like bowling and boxing. The bad news is, at times, the sensor won't register some of your movements (At times meaning infrequently).

Our impressions and one paragraph reviews of the Wii games we got:

Wii Sports: a big WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE for this game. It's probably both Bratworse's and my favorite since we get to play with and against each other. We made our friends make little Miis of themselves (Avatars that can travel from console to console) and now when we play baseball, our friends get to be on our team! Yay!

Red Steel: So far, it's our least favorite mainly because neither Bratworse nor I are big FPS (First Person Shooters) players. Our friend Bryan the Fireman really like the controls and how they worked with the weird controllers (shown above) and he's a BIG FPS player, playing SoComm and all those 007 games. Red Steel got his nod of approval.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz: Altogether, this could be much better. It was fun trying out all the party games, but execution was a bit wonky at times. I've a feeling that the other Party Games for the Wii will be better though. Still, we like it enough to have played it two out of the five days we've had the Wii.

Legend of Zelda, Twilight Princess: We've only just delved into this game. I never played Legend of Zelda and since we bought the Wii to be a console for both of us to play together, we held off on playing it. A few nights ago, my best friend, DanceTeach from L.A., tried it out and loved it. I've a feeling that's what we're going to be playing tonight. I'll let you know more once I've actually played the game. (I've just watched it being played)

Rayman: Raving Rabbids: Okay, this is too cute for words. So far, it's a good party game, the solo game has been fun (Bratworse and I take turns playing because each "quest" only lasts a few minutes if that and levels only need 4 out of 5 quests completed to move to the next). Basically the premise of the game is, you are in gladitorial combat (of sorts) and you have to get the fans (the rabbids) to root for you. The way to do that is to win the events (quests). Events could be, throwing a cow, milking a cow, turning spotlights on during a dance sequence in time to the music, racing a warthog, etc. Just try it, you'll like it.

Trauma Center: Second Opinion: This is my favorite game so far. You get to operate and defibrillate and oh my, it's just fun. Both Bratworse and I are hooked on this game, taking turns operating and making the other person go first so we don't walk into an operation blindly without knowing any of the procedures (makes you glad we aren't real surgeons eh?). DanceTeach also had fun with this as he proudly announced to his boyfriend/husband that he saved three lives and only killed one person.

If you've been wondering why there's been few posts, this month has been crazy in terms of travel, events and whatnot. And now, with the Wii, there's even less time to post.

Oh, and in case you're wondering? We LOVE LOVE LOVE our Wii.

Agendas and Responsibility

What is with these people blaming animations for "agendas?"

Here's the latest in buffoonery: Neil Cavuto of Fox News (Y'know, the same network that broadcasts The Simpsons, The Family Guy) is claiming that "Happy Feet" has an agenda that teaches kids about Global Warming.

*gasp*

Why, that's wow... pretty much along the lines of Satan Worship, isn't it?

*faints dead away*

These damn hollywood liberals, how dare they! How dare they teach our youngsters that our actions might have consequences. How dare they teach our young'uns that gee, just because ALL scientists agree that the earth IS warming... (they just might not agree on WHY it's warming) that... that...

Oh, I just can't keep it up. Look, just because I watched Road Runner cartoons, doesn't mean, I'm going to go out, get an anvil, and push it over a canyon cliff.

Just because I watched Scooby Doo cartoons, doesn't mean I'm going to do ANYTHING to get a scooby snack or pizza or any type of food. It also doesn't mean I'm going to shove someone in front of me at the first sign of danger.

IF you have a problem with your children learning such things, then I have a suggestion. You know that thing that sits on your face, and has a huge opening and white ivory dotting the top and bottom? It's called a mouth. We humans use it to communicate.

See your children? They're humans too. Which means, you CAN communicate with them, and if they love and respect you (aha, now therein lies the rub, eh?) they will listen and learn from you, not from any cartoons you may find objectional.

Wow, totally new concept eh? Yes, talking to your children, teaching them (not lecturing them) does actually work. Stop blaming others.

Buffoons!

Sadists Who Want Torture Accepted

I am so pissed after reading what one of Talking Points Memo's reader, CH, had to say about torture.

In fact, I would argue that we've played in these circles [torture] all along and anyone thinking otherwise is only fooling themselves... Americans are not trained to operate within that world and while naive idealists who want to hold Geneva up as something that is not ambiguous or even out-dated are trying to do good by holding people accountable for their morally ambiguous and/or illegal actions...they are only reinforcing the bubble as we know it. The bubble, with Bush's Administration, has been burst. Why do we want to crawl back inside?

I was livid. Here was my response to TPM.

How dare TPM Reader CH assume that for the rest of us, that just because some people in charge think that loopholes are automatically there for someone to climb through, that the act of climbing through loopholes SHOULD be just accepted.

Isn't that similar to the republican party thinking that because they believe government is ineffective, why should they bother to learn about governing in the same place? Both are reinforcing circular ideas.

What I mean is, just because THEY (these people that CH refers to) disregard the Geneva conventions doesn't mean that everyone agrees the Geneva convention should be disregarded. Jeeze, it's like listening to a seven year old saying, "But everyone's doing it."

Grow up and understand this IS a shrinking globe; we are all interconnected. Respect for others, as in allowing human dignity instead of taking human dignity, ISN'T outdated, but rather, it is becoming a necessity for just being able to live peacably within oneself in a shrinking globe.

We are not idealists. We are just people who realize that the golden rule in both its negative and positive form, actually WORKS as a formula for treating your fellow person. And just in case you forgot what the golden rule is, it's do unto others as you would have others do unto you AND do not do unto others as you would not have others do unto you.

I do not want others to torture me. Hence, I will not torture others. It's really that simple, CH. So screw you and your attitude. Go take your sadism away from here.

Amazing Distortions

So this morning, I was driving to work listening to KCBS the local all news station here in the Bay Area and this is what I hear.. kind of: "A fight to the death between Steny Hoyer and Jack Murtha for Majority Leader of the Congress!"

Okay, I'm exaggerating... a little. Basically, KCBS posited the competition as Democrats are already fighting over the spoils, that this will be a true test of the Democratic Party's unity, etc etc etc.

Hmm, from everything I've been reading, it's been a lot more cordial than all that.

Steny Hoyer and Nancy Pelosi are longtime rivals, often at odds with one another. John Murtha has been a close ally of Nancy Pelosi's. When John Murtha announced that he wanted to go after the Majority Leader's position, he asked for Nancy Pelosi's support. Nancy said no problem and wrote a letter to Steny Hoyer saying that because of all the support she's gotten from Murtha, she's going to personally support him.

Then the media comes in and blows it out of proportion... and now Nancy Pelosi's out twisting arms to get support for Murtha, supposedly.

Go uncover some corruption and make yourselves useful, media. Go fact check what Bush said, 'k?

Wow, They Really Believe This

I normally don't read Howard Kurtz cause I think he's a putz (and the following will illustrate why I think he's a putz) but because the Washington Post is late with the White House Briefing by Dan Froomkin which I read religiously, I decided to see what Kurtz had to say.

And unfailingly, in his fifth paragraph, he writes:

Now the question is whether a press corps that has been openly at odds with the president will hold the newly empowered Democrats to the same tough standards.

Wait. Stop laughing. That's it, breathe.... breathe...

You read that correctly. Kurtz thinks that allowing the President to openly admit he lied before the elections and giving him a go on that, is TOUGH STANDARDS. Kurtz thinks that not calling the President on his demonizing of the Democratic Party... is TOUGH STANDARDS. Let's not even go back to before the 2000 elections when they would go combing through every word of Al Gore's but thought it delightful when Bush mangled phrases.

So umm Howie Kurtz? Your tough standards are about as tough as... wet sponge.

Lazy Goat

Caption the Picture!

I saw this goat at the petting zoo part of the San Francisco Zoo and just had to have a picture of it. Man, what a life, eh? Oh, to be a lazy goat, being fed food by little hands and groomed all day long. Yes, I'm envious.

Fantasies and Predictions

So on the way to work this morning, I was telling Bratworse about how Pelosi is now the 3rd most powerful person in this country.

"In fact, if we impeach Bush, give a vote of no confidence to Cheney, why... why... why..." I indulged further in my little daydream/fantasy, "Why, we might even get President Pelosi!"

Now, 5 hours later, as I'm watching the pieces of the chess game change faces and positions, two realizations hit me.

1) Rove/Cheney's influence is waning.
2) Poppy Bush's influence is gaining.

Thus this is what I predict, based on a few predictions/moves I've seen and read about.

I agree with the Left Coaster that Cheney will have "health problems" and will need to step down. But here's what I'll think will happen. Steve Soto was smart enough not to make any predictions. I'm not so smart, so here goes.

Jeb Bush leaves the governorship of Florida in January. After a month, Cheney will step down and George will nominate Jeb to be Vice-President. Why? This way, Poppy will be ensured that HIS chess moves will remain intact.

I really should look up some of my old predictions to see how I've fared. Probably 0 for 15 lol.

Yes! Takeover!

*DANCES AROUND THE ROOM WITH GLEE*

I told my good friend's sister, a corporate lawyer who hobnobbed with the likes of Feinstein, about two months ago that we would take over the house and Senate. She looked at me dubiously like I had been dousing myself with gasoline.

"House and the Senate, eh? You really think we can take both? The House maybe," she scoffed.

I said to her, "Yes, the time is right. The disgust is palpable and voters want change."

She just smirked with a condescending smile, as if I had no idea what I was talking about.

Well, Ms. Corporate Lawyer and V.P., may I have my "You were right" now?

Burns can only get a recount if the difference is less than 1/4 of one percent and the difference is above 1/4 of one percent of total votes. Therefore Jon Tester is the new Senator from Montana.

And Webb has a lead of 7,000 over "Macaca" Allen, who not only lost his senatorial career but his presidential aspirations as well. Thank Goodness for that.

So, we have 51 senators to 49, if we count ol' backstabbing Joe Lieberman in as a democrat. Who here wants to bet that Cheney will pull in some chips and Lieberman flips to a Republican before the year is out? But y'know, ol' Joe is a consummate politician which means he keeps close tabs on the weathervane, and all of a sudden, the wind ain't blowing towards the Rethugs anymore. So Joe sees his Sec'y of Defense hopes dashed today; (Thanks Poppy Bush) and now he's got to go kiss Harry Reid's ass.

Anyway, it's a good day today.

Update on Escalating Descent

Well, Chapter 2 is finally done. Whew! Is 4700 words too much for a single chapter?

Anyway, those of you wanting to read a novel in the works, here is Chapter 1 and here is Chapter 2. Enjoy!

We Voted Today

As we headed towards the freeway to drop Bratworse off at school, we saw someone waving a sign for Aimee Allison outside the firehouse where our polling place is.

SCREEEEECH, went my brakes as I shouted out, "OMG! We have to vote!"

Laughing at ourselves, we yelled out our thanks to the volunteer waving the sign. "Glad you were here, we almost forgot to vote!"

"No problem!" came the wave back.

It took us 15 minutes, with little hiccups. As we walked back to the car, Bratworse said, "I love voting."

I just smiled at her, because for me, voting is a privelege, not a right. I was born a British Subject, subject to Britain's laws and taxes, but not representation. I wish voting rights are given to U.S. Virgin residents and Guam residents. Yes, did you know that there are American Subjects? Weird huh? Some land of the free we are, free to take their money, but they're not free to vote out bastards.

Anyway, I'm glad I voted. Did you vote today?

Hiccups

Stuck at around 6,000 words... hate hiccups like this when I'm writing. Maybe I should just skip this part and write what I know.

BTW, I'm still waiting to get some cute photos of Gizi to show here. Hopefully I can load up some within the next week.

Part 1 - Pre 2/28, Chapter 2b

Whoops! Meant to post this here.

Boxing with Herself

It is the cutest thing.

There is a full-length mirror in our room just behind the door. We have it about a foot and a half above the floor, which means that when Gizi our kitten is standing, she can see just over the edge. And she'll see herself.

She'll run up to the mirror and paw at it, and then seeing a full room just beyond, she'll try to jump through the mirror and of course, bonk her head/nose.

She is really pissed at her mirror self, cause she thinks that it's the image that's been bonking her on the nose and she'll go up to the mirror after and box with herself. I'll try and get a photo soon.

Possible Ad

I'm kicking myself for not thinking of this earlier when it could be used, but given that this year's elections (next tuesday, folks, you all ready to vote?) is a referendum on those dummies in office, maybe the Democratics should've run an ad that basically says, yes, US against them in the Administration.

The ad would go something like this.

Show gays holding hands. Show illegal immigrants. Then a voiceover comes on and says, "Hate us? Think we need taking care of?"

Then cut to scenes of Iraq, Bush strumming on a guitar while New Orleans drowns, Congress coming back together just to influence the life of ONE person - Terri Schiavo. The voice over continues, "If you think these people need taking care of too, then join us for this election. In two more years, you can go back to getting rid of us."

Tagline: Together, we can declaw these people.

Stinky Distractions

Oh man, this new kitten stinks. Gizi is asleep beside me, between me and Bratworse and something about her smells like aging cabbage. She is so cute, and she seems smart so far. She also seems to be fearless which may not be a good thing. She's very comfortable in her own skin and she knows what she wants and what she doesn't want.

The older cat is already intimidated. Ayla just viewed her from a distance of a foot and a half, not backing away the entire time Gizi approached but as soon as Gizi lost interest in Ayla, she fled to a safer distance. I think I hear Ayla pushing the door open to come inside the room right now.

I finally got out close to 1700 words tonight but it took some doing, due to this kitty playing for almost 4 hours straight.

It's great how this story is spilling out of me right now. 1700 words for Chapter 2 and I'm only halfway done with that chapter. I suppose I could break it up, but I was all ready to continue with Corey's viewpoint.

Okay, I'll cheat here and put a summary of what's going on.

Chapter 1: You are introduced to Drew, an ex-Zingball player; Stace, a long-time fan; and Corey, the Liaison to Fans. Drew deplores the progress of the team he used to play for. He sees them as money-grubbing show-offs now and wishes for a return to the old days where there was more honor and less in-your-face. Stace is more of an observer - she's been watching the Raydars team for so many years and watches so many ownerships warp the ideal to their own image that she's not shocked. Corey is Drew's son and feels totally inadequate due to his sister Raqi who is an EMT but could be a pro Zingball player if they let in women, and to his father, the greatest Center Defender who ever lived. You also meet Raqi and her partner Franklin, but you know little about them. And of course, you get introduced to the concept of Zingball. The Raydars, the team Drew used to play for, is the Major Zingball League's most prominent team. Not only do they buy the best talent, they have the best staff money can buy, the best equipment, the best stadium, and of course, the most lucrative merchandising deals, the best marketing, and more ways to hook a customer than a squid hook.

Chapter 2: The story so far: Corey has to report to his bosses: Tsunglei Tong, Dirk Haverhill and Eugene Braun. Corey has been given the job of introducing a new beer by the Raydars, the Zingball Team, and ensuring sales.

Macs Must be Doing Well...

It seems most of the listings on Craigslist for IT support now advertises experience with the Macs. Back about 2 years ago, most of them still were exclusively PC.

Vehrrrry interesting, as Arte Johnson would say.

An Interesting Question

One of my more annoying habits when I call my friends is, when they answer the phone with their name, I answer, "Prove it."

Most of my friends are good-humored and will either laugh and just ignore my demand, or some will play along and give me a proof of who they are, by citing an incident that only the two of us would know.

But some will just harumph. (I don't call these folks too often)

But it's an interesting question - and the way people respond shows me pretty much whether I want them to be a friend, AND whether they can stand me as a friend.

Exceeding Expectations

Yup, definitely exceeded expectations today on the story. A whopping 1919 words!

And it's shaping up quite nicely. The family dynamics are sorting themselves out and (here's the part I love about writing) I have no idea what's going on. The MC's daughter apparently is ultra talented and her brother desperately craves the same attention she gets from their father. I wasn't expecting that particular tension. I also didn't expect Nik's obvious but subtle disgust at the excesses of the Raydars. He's a total Company man, but he can't help his own visceral reactions to what's going on before his eyes. And the character of ther Raydars is shaping up nicely. They don't play fair, they don't play nice but they're constant winners, so they're ultra popular.

It's almost as if I'm trying to say... the longer a particular thing stays around, the more corrupted and the more like a mockery/parody of its once self it becomes.

Are You Ready for Some Writing!

Part 1, Chapter 1 is slowly being ekked out today. I'm so glad I did preliminary outlining and therefore have a clear direction on where the story is going in the first chapter. I put fingers to keyboard this morning and the beginning crept into being on the screen.

This was the fastest beginning I've had so far to any Nanowrimo; I guess prep work pays off, even in writing.

In the meantime, Bratworse came with me to work today, and is sitting behind me, blissfully typing away as she tries to tuck 1,667 words under her belt while I work. I know what this is about: she's hoping we're bringing home the new kitty tonight so she can play with the kitty while I write. Actually, I'm hoping for this too. I won't feel bad if I get so absorbed in what I'm writing that the real world fades away from me.