Shameful

The Man has spoken. After my blog post earlier in the day, the Man weighed in. The Wall Street bonus is just "shameful," "outrageous," and "the height of irresponsibility." But hey money makes all these unsavory labels oddly tolerable and irrelevant.

Week In Review

I thought today is FridayThursday. But my wishful thinking doesn't quite advance the calendar and someone just reminded me it's only Thursday.

People just start drinking dishwater now. Starbucks is closing some 300 more stores and laying off more people.

I wasn't going to say anything about it because I was too livid to write anything. Still, I couldn't resist. Wall Street is going to pay out some $18.4 billion for 2008 for running the banks and the financial market to the ground. Compared to the $700 billion bailout money, $18 billion is really nothing. Plus more economics stimulus packages are on their way, so fear no more.

Week in Review Continues ...
For the sedentary and senile, their days of watching bad old analog TV are numbered. After February 17, it's going to be digital TV all the way. And a TV without a digital tuner won't be able to receive digital broadcast. If you were too inept to grab the $40 voucher (two for each household!) dished out by the administration to buy one of those digital to analog conversion boxes then you are doomed after February 17. The good news is you can spend more time reading some books or getting online exercising your brain(?) instead of watching TV like a couch potato which most likely just makes you dumber. NOTE: Don't worry about your rabbit ears antenna, it might just work with digital broadcast, don't be a sucker buying "HDTV antenna" or "DTV antenna."

More Week in Review (or rip-off from The New York Times)
Burger King offered you a free burger if you were to remove ten of your friends from Facebook. I would do anything for an artery busting burger but sadly I don't even have ten friends to unfriend in Facebook.

Brothers

Random Picture

Year Of The Ox

After my perennial complaints on lack of coverage of Chinese New Year in The New York Times, the publication finally did the right thing and ran a piece on Chinese New Year titled, fittingly, Year of the Ox Is Looking Inauspicious, with accompanied multimedia content.

Lion Dance

Lunar New Year Dinner

Pizza Time

Random Excellence

No Love For The Press

Pete Souza/White House via Pdnonline.com. Let's do the high five right this time, please.


The administration decided to have a monopoly of its images and shut the press out of Obama's second secretive inauguration oath because the first one was just too embarrassing. As a pre-emptive measure, press photographers and TV crews were not allowed for the occasion just in case Roberts messed up again. That's just bad press and bad decision on the part of the administration.

White House Closes Obama Oath Re-Do To Press Photographers, by Daryl Lang, Jan 22, 2009

Yu Hua

The naturally sanguine, chain-smoking, chatty enfant terrible of contemporary Chinese literature Yu Hua spoke with Pankaj Mishra of The New York Times in an article called The Bonfire of China's Vanities published on Jan 23.

On Zhang Yimou (in defense of him being a sell-out).

"He would have reached the end of his career very quickly had he persisted in making films like 'To Live'."

On China's rising nationalism.

"I am really worried about the new nationalism. Anything slightly critical of China appears in foreign media, and the nationalists are swarming online, attacking it."

On The New York Times, angry youth, Chinese present form of capitalism.

"The New York Times doesn’t criticize China as much as it criticizes America. Basically they are ignorant. They think the American media is always praising American presidents. The problem is that the younger generation hasn’t lived through poverty, collectivism; it is lacking in restraint, its references are very few, the experience is so limited."
"These young nationalists have no sense of ambivalence, no idea of life’s ambiguities. But when times are hard, their attitude will change, become more mature, and because capitalism in this form cannot go on in China, it has to end, those hard times will come soon.”

Full article.

Inaugeration Messed Up And Others

Chief Justice Roberts couldn't get the oath right, and it was a total disaster, so much so that out of an abundance of caution, BO had to take the oath again on Wednesday. They couldn't get the oath right the first time, what's wrong with Justice Roberts? What's wrong with the guy?

Not to let China have the monopoly on perfection, the US wouldn't take any chance and decided to have a Milli Vanilli on inauguration. Of course, it was perfect only if Justice Roberts didn't mess up and it was perfect because Yo-Yo Ma was doing the fake cello thing. Citing extreme weather, the organizer decided it was best to have the classical bits recorded instead of playing it live. They should have invited me to do the Bow and Arrow Chinese Dance, I would do it live and on TV without resort to technical wizardry. What a shame.

The nascent administration not only wants out-perfect China, it also wants to be tough against China (But no way it can get as tough as China because here you won't send the CEOs to lifetime imprisonment, while in China, the penalty is death if you were to screw up so badly like mixing baby formula with melamine, so US, stop pretending to be tough.). Timmy, the Treasure Secretary hopeful is accusing China of manipulating its currency and therefore impairs fair trade between the nations or something to that effect. I think in China it's called fiscal policy or something to that effect.

Just after BO signed an executive order to shut down the detention center in Guantanamo, Cuba, news came in that at least one ex-detainee released has become some regional chief in Yemen Qaeda operation. That just provides ammunition for the Republicans who oppose the shutting down of the detention center.

Lobok Goh

Everybody has his own version. And this one is mine. I never measure anything so it's hit or miss, mostly hit. Because you can't really go too wrong. Notice the brand new cutting board. Isn't it gorgeous? See the first picture on top? That's a clean cut from a sharp knife. This is the first time I added some dried scallop.

For the photographer in you, more boring information: Nikon D70, Nikkor 35~105 MF, some shot in macro mode, manual focus and exposure as lens won't meter or auto focus. JPEG straight from the camera.

Kitchen Utensils

I bought this cutting board today, without knowing too much about it. I gave up asking the girl at the counter. But it looks pretty industrial to me, so I bought one, it's much heavier than what we have been using, I take it as a good sign. In fact it's very heavy. The honing stone at the top, my knife set since probably 13 years ago. My latest obsession is how to get things sharp.

Honing Experience

Now I just try to hone anything I can find around the house.  Or not around the house.  I found a pair of old scissors, all rusted, and god know used to cut what in the garage.  They were supposed to be hair shears at one point, anyway, I am sure I didn't do everything or anything right ... I just unscrewed the pair and ran them through the honing stone.  And they turned out pretty okay, actually pretty sharp.

Bill Gates and Mixed Martial Arts

Bill Gates, the ultimate badass

Rashad Evans, badass and Ultimate Fighting Champion, wears a T-shirt with a mug shot of Bill Gates.

Let's work the Bill Gates bad ass angle. It's a small step in the right direction. Let's say Justin Long is adulating how Apple just works, and then Bill Gates or his surrogate just knocks him cold with a left hook or just plows him and his Mac over with his car. I think that should work. Microsoft should be badass there is no reason it's not.

Mug shot from the smoking gun
Evans picture from the New York Times.

Official Portrait From The White House

Sourced from the White House.  First presidential portrait using a DSLR.  Photo taken by Pete Souza.  Apparently Mr. Souza shot this using a Canon 5D Mark II with a 105mm lens.

From Photo.net discussion on NYTIMES.COM Obama's People.

Obama's People from NYTIMES.COM.

Neighborhood Ball

Live blogging Neighborhood Ball: Inauguration

Denzel Washington has the honor to introduce us the President and the First Lady.

Obama, impeccably dressed in a black suit, single breasted, single vented, with a sensible fit that complements the President's railthin physique. The President opts for a white bowtie for the occassion. The only showy bits are perhaps the French cuffs of the white shirt. First Lady Michelle Obama in a white gown, looking decidedly elegant and resplendent, only if she can stop playing with her tongue inside her mouth.

Beyonce, the song bird sings for the First Couple's first dance.

Now cut to commercials ... McDonald's dollar menu or something.

OKAY, Obama dances to the tunes of Stevie Wonder ... Does he get the move, ehhh not really.

Now cut to more commercials.

Ray Romano does stand up. The guy looks good though the jokes are a bit underwhelming. He introduces Jay-Z ...

Now Jay-Z does his thing. Wow, he is good, not that I know the genre, but I think it's good.

Now more commercials, Zyrtec ...

OKAY, enough bull from me.

Whetstone

I have been wanting to get a new whetstone for some time. My knives aren't as sharp as I want them to be and the stone I have doesn't seem to be doing its work. The stone I had been using is of unknown quality, I don't know the material and grit size at all, other than it seems to be in the 1000 grit or finer category and looks like an oilstone.

Today I finally got the chance to shop at a specialty store to get one. They have a varieties of them but other than different prices the girl at the counter doesn't seem to know more than what I've already known. So that was pretty disappointing considering it's a professional kitchen supplies store. Anyway, I picked a Henckel with 250 grit on one side and 1000 on the other. The stone is encased in a plastic container which when opened can be used as a non-slippery base. Alas, the casing broke or had been broken when I took out the plastic sheet wrappings. Usually I am much more careful at checking merchandise but I guess I missed this one. In the store they opened one for me to feel the grit, that is at my request, and when I paid they gave me a brand new one with the plastic wrapping intact. I found the plastic casing totally unnecessary. You put the stone on a wet terry cloth kitchen towel and you are done. The case just gets into the way and inflates the price for no good reason. The stone does come with some instructions on maintenance which is nice especially on specifics like there is no need to soak the stone prior to use except wet with water. For general grinding instructions and techniques, you can easily find them online. What I don't like, in addition to the poor packaging is it does not spell out what the stone is made of. I want to know my stone better now I just can't. Why doesn't it give that information out I don't understand. I much prefer manufacturers list out minute details of their products. I don't think it's natural stone, more like artificial. In the beginning I thought 250 maybe too coarse. But I think it's fine. I ran my knives through the stone and I think it's definitely better than my older stone but I still need to see. Stainless steel knives are harder to hone or sharpen I guess I may try some higher carbon content knives some time in the future.

Friday

Free at last.

NYC is experiencing some Arctic weather now. I want my global warming back. It's bitterly cold.

Jobs Is Too Sick To Be CEO

If you have been drinking Apple's Kool-Aid for too long, it's time for a dose of reality. Steve Jobs by his own admission is indeed too sick to carry on his CEO duty at Apple. This is something I or most people hate to be right. I hope he gets well soon. Without health, there isn't much else to get excited anymore. Hopefully, six months from now, we will see a stouter Steve energizing Apple and giving the world "one more thing ..." many more years to come.

Color

It began inauspiciously with a few flakes then quickly came the flurries and by the middle of the night, the flurries had turned into sleet. It was the first snowstorm of the new year.

The following morning turned out to be beautiful. Beautiful if you didn't mind the pavements were carpeted with six-inch of snow with icy crust on top and all the power lines and leafless tree branches were coated with ice.

A beam of white light from the rising sun just came streaming in through the bedroom window, slanted on Molly's white porcelain face. Molly could feel the warmth of the gentle morning sunshine, kind of welcoming her to a brand new day. She was awake but she just wanted to lie still in bed, against the urge to the bathroom, waiting for the right moment to get up. She wasn't going to get out of bed until the alarm clock went off with the usual Ohayous. The Ohayous from the alarm clock had become one of Molly's favorite morning routines, something she almost looked forward to. Perhaps it had to do with the alarm clock being a gift from her friend. He told Molly he got it on a business trip to Japan. Molly just knew he didn't get it from Japan and there was no business trip. She liked the alarm clock all the same.

"Ohayou, O-ha-you, O-haaa-youuuuu!" Molly turned off the alarm on the third Ohayou and dashed to the bathroom.

Molly had long straight hair. She used to have it even longer when her mother would trim it for her before she died of cirrhosis a few years back, since then she reluctantly went to the hair salon just to take an inch or two inches off every six months or so. She untangled the few locks that had come tumbling down the forehead in her sleep, then parted the hair right in the middle, framing her almond shaped face perfectly. She stood still momentarily in front of of the mirror, as if admiring what a great job she had done to her hair or as if reflecting on something, for just a second.

It just took her a minute or two to put on her business suit. Her sartorial taste couldn't be more simpler: navy blue pant suits. In fact that's all Molly had, navy blue suits from Macy's, all five of them same color for each working day of the week.

"Good morning." And with that morning pleasantry came a snowball hurling in the direction of Molly. "You little squirrel." Molly, smiling and carrying her long white cane while locking the side door. That little squirrel was Molly's neighbor, Stephanie, who's in second grade. She had been playing in the snow outside for some time, all rosey cheeks, while waiting for her mom to drive her to school.

"How are you doing?"

"You are looking at it." Molly put on her shades and proceeded to walk to the bus stop.

"Can I walk you to the bus stop?"

"Only if you say please."

"Please."

Stephanie let Molly hold her arm.

"You are too slow. I am going to miss my bus. Again." "I am only six." "Age is not an excuse." "There is snow everywhere." "OKAY" "Molly, can I ask you something? "No." "Molly, do you dream?" "Yes." "Do you dream in color?" "I don't even see things in my dreams." "Then, how do you dream?" "Well, I don't see in my dreams, I just sense things. Do you understand?" Stephanie thought for a moment and said no. "Do you ever dream of me?" "All the time." "For real?" "Cross my heart."

The two slowly walked towards the bus stop, leaving two sets of foot prints behind them on the snow, one big one small. The sun was getting higher and warmer and it sure looked like it was the beginning of a beautiful day.

******

More Color

topic by mad dog (my fault, I should have added this from day 1. my apology)

more color

here

Micky Rourke Best Actor

Micky Rourke redeemed himself.  He won best actor in The Wrestler, beating out DiCaprio and Pitts in the 66th Golden Globe Award.  He got a bit old, out of shape and mellow but still has the bad boy within, he called the director son of a bitch and in return the director Darren Aronofsky gave him a finger, all happened live on NBC.

Today In Review

Bono writes for The New York Times. I did at one time like his album or more accurately U2's. It was when music was still sold in cassette tapes and it was indeed cassette that I bought long long time ago in Union Square. It was a live recording. It should be "Rattle and Hum" if my memory hasn't failed me yet. But those were the days. Now Bono doesn't do anything for me. I must have changed and so has he.

Google has a new favicon. It doesn't do anything for me either.

Week In Review

Free At Last.

The year began with a bang. Blah blah blah.

It has been pretty cold this past few days. But it's pretty OKAY.

Michelle Obama is responsible to save the American fashion industry while her husband, president-elect Barack Obama is going to be the spoke man for RIM's Blackberry with the potential of pocketing endorsement money in the neighborhood of $25 to $50 millions, according to the Times.

I still suck at ice skating, but I take proud in not hurting myself or anybody around during my daily practice. YouTube is my coach now. My career as a daredevil snowboarder maybe coming to an end ... sad but I just have to accept it.

Nikon D3X vs. Canon 5DMkII: A JPEG Comparison

Ken has spoken. The clear winner is Nikon D3X. Surprise. I thought it's going to be a Canon again as far as sharpness goes. But his test proves beyond a reasonable doubt that, this time, and this time alone, the out of camera JPEG from Nikon's D3X does trump the Canon 5DMkII's. Armchair photography reportage finished.

Russia Stops Global Warming

Russia stops global warming the only way it knows how: cutting all gas supply to Europe via Ukraine. According to geologists, meteorologists, and bullshitologists, very soon, Europe will experience the Second Ice Age and Vladmir Putin would take all the credits for this enormity.

Random Thoughts

It's an unalterable fact of life that everybody who is ever born is going to die one day. The question is when and how and in some cases, does it move the stock price? Being the CEO of Apple, a publicly traded company, I would like to see Jobs more forthcoming in terms of his health not reporting after the fact that he had pancreatic cancer or spinned his dramatic weight loss as the result of a "common bug." Journalists (or bloggers) should have the displeasure and courage to ask heartless impolite questions not just drinking up Kool-aid fed by Apple's flacks.

Apple Announced MacBook Wheel

You have to see it to believe it. Apple just did it again. Full video follows.


Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

Sourced from The Onion.

PS: THIS IS REAL.

MacRumors Got Hacked

MacRumors got hacked.

In the mid of live blogging the MacWorld Apple keynote address, the site was hacked and inserted in it a text saying "Oh, wait, sorry, Steve did die. Our condolences." The site was temporarily shut down and later re-opened.

The truth of the matter is Jobs is too sick to do the keynote address. And he had in the past tried every possible way to hide his health problem either to announce his bout with caner after the fact or to spin his weight loss as a common bug. It does raise certain issues here. Does he under any obligation legal or otherwise to report truthfully on his health to the shareholders, given that he is the CEO of Apple and the embodiment of all things Apple?

Getting Back To The Routine

Routine can be a good thing, it keeps you grounded. It gives you certain comfort knowing what's next, and what's coming after next.

I read the NYT on my way to work. I take pride in reading the NYT while strap hanging on the train. It takes a man with certain agility to do this stunt, without greatly inconveniencing any of your fellow commuters like falling on them while the train is in motion. Well sometimes it happens inevitably when the motor man had too much to drink the night before (jussst kidding) or more likely the all too often "signaling problem" and the train just jerks along in the labyrinth wasteland that's called New York City. When you bump somebody, you say excuse me, not a big deal. Just make sure you bump the right type, OK?

I know I must have missed something when I was hard at work on my critically acclaimed short story on New Year eve. And sure enough, the NYT reports Kathy Griffin says something "vulgar" on the CNN New Year Eve count down livecast as hosted by Anderson Cooper and herself. I remember reading the newspaper ad for the show on the morning thinking wow CNN and Griffin that ought to be fun. It's like reading the Playboy with the cover of The Economist. Plus I always like Griffin, I like her sense of irreverence both to the establishment and herself. Another woman comic I like is Joan Rivers. I have a weakness for women comics perhaps. Anyhow, I still haven't seen the actual footage for the alleged offense except reading it on print and online. and the New York Times is again too lame to even print the exact words, well family paper, can't blame them I guess.

Talking about Kathy Griffin, I think she and the other Steve was a couple. That kind of what makes Steve Wozniak special I guess, he can come to appreciate the Hollywood D list or so she herself alleges to be. On another Steve related news, Steve Jobs finally admitted he has an health issue that is probably the reason he is not doing the MacWorld thing tomorrow. Wall Street reacts to this piece of news with Apple stock going up more than $4. How do you make of that? You can always explain what happened but I dare any pundit that can accurately predict the uptick of the stock in the mid of this arguably Apple bad news. I guess in a way, the market is writing Jobs off, taking him out of the valuation equation. His health should not be playing a part in Apple's valuation in the future. Apple has turned a new page in 2009.

Let The New Year Begin

Any self respecting worker bee won't begin to work until tomorrow so for that reason most people's New Year begins tomorrow.  If you had to park yourself in the office any time between Christmas Eve and Jan 5, I salute you.  I parked myself twice in the office.  I was so in demand or at least so self-important.

Before the actual New Year begins, I would like to reflect on what happened in 2008, culturally, geopolitically, and metaphysically.  And gives a full analysis to the financial meltdown and what's more important a complete turn-key solution on to how to fix this god awful state of affairs that we dug ourselves or actually "they" dug us in.  But before I can tell you these stories, I have to tell you this story:  I am a liar.

Whatever happened happened.  What's going to happen in 2009?  It sure doesn't look very promising.  But like what the good old adage says, take it one day at a time.  And take it easy.  And with any luck, we'll all flourish and make it through 2009.  Good luck comrades.

Pictures Of The Day

More New Year Greetings

To all the proletarians, the cubicle farm dwellers out there who have to work today, I salute you.  And for all the proles who go to work and yet subversively goes online to conduct whatever they want to conduct, like browsing my useless blog, I salute you even more--you know who you are.

I just might need to go to work tomorrow on Saturday.  It's about time.

But tonight I am going to have a dinner party.

Bolt

Some of the better movies I have ever seen are actually cartoons or animations.  Disney's latest animation, Bolt, is one of those movies.  Bolt belongs to the "lost and found" movie genre if there ever has one.  The protagonist is a cute little dog who got lost and has to do a cross country trip all the way from New York to find his way back to California where he is a TV star.  The cross country trip of course turns out to a self discovery journey which Bolt, much to his dismay, finds out that he doesn't have super power, but develops the street smarts and stamina to survive and and even saves his friends from dire troubles.  The movie is exceptionally well made.  The opening action sequence is on a par with any modern action movies, perhaps even better than most.  The acting, voice actings that is, from John Travolta as Bolt and Miley Cyrus as Penny are pretty right on the money.  I saw the 3-D version and I am pleasantly surprised how vivid and life like the movie is.  Imagine 3D action movie, 3D horror movie and 3D . . . okay you got the idea.  I heard in the future, all movies will be made 3D, and I am not kidding (since I am not authoring for wikipedia I don't bother with citation or footnote).  Even I had to wear the grayish 3D lenses over my corrective spectacles, I didn't find it too bad.  But the tinted lenses do make the overall picture a bit dimmer.  Overall it has been a great experience.  But we don't get something for nothing, even for the first show, we got to pay full price, something like 11.75 for adults and 11.25 for children.  So the difference between an adult and a child is fifty cents not five inches as some says . . . .  Add the popcorns, sodas, and nachos, you do the math.  But hey the movie magic, my kids memory that we are one big happy family, that's priceless.