Kitchen Range

I was watching food network tv the other day.  I think I saw something unusual or out of the ordinary.  I don't even remember what the show was called but it was before the live Thanksgiving cook by celeb chefs.  Anyway, the show features chef Aaron Sanchez making some salad at home.  Holy cow, I was impressed by his range, not by how extravagant, "industrial" or "retro" it is but how actually down to earth and down right "cheap" it looks (I could be wrong, it could be some 20000 btu range costing a gazillion dollars).  I certainly feel better about my range. I know deep down if you enjoy cooking you will cook on any stove, almost any stove, cheap or expensive.

Post Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving came and gone.  I was master chef for a day.

Thanksgiving

For some reason, I think this year's Thanksgiving comes fast and furious.  The anticipation, the stress, the shopping, the turkey are just palpable.  What am I going to cook for this Thanksgiving?

Gillette Mach 3 vs Dovo Best Quality 6/8

I haven't used the Gillette Mach 3 for ages.  Out of the blue, I just decided to give it a try and see how it feels again.  I have been straight ... razor shaving for some time with three razors in rotation, the Dovo being my favorite.  The process is kind of elaborate and if you are in a rush like every morning every day, it's just not going to work; I actually shave in the evenings or weekends once a week or so, to enjoy and unwind.  The stropping, the lathering and the full concentration can be somewhat taxing, that's when it's not enjoyable.  The Gillette Mach 3 provides a good alternative, it's almost effortless.  I lather up and shave.  Of course that is if you have a short beard or stubble, if you have grown your beard longer than say quarter of an inch then the Mach 3 won't work that well, all the cut hairs would get stuck among the three blades and you constantly have to rinse the razor cartridge.  On the other hand, the straight razor would cut through any length of beard without getting stuck.  Unless you are an idiot, the chance of cutting yourself with a Mach 3 is extremely low and you can just shave your way rather absentmindedly without losing a nose or an ear.  And Mach 3 actually gives a very clean or even cleaner shave than my straight razors.

Life of Pi

Piscine Molitor Patel doesn't like his name so he changes it to Pi.  Pi doesn't like what really happened in the 227 days he spent stranded in the Pacific, so he changes it too.  It's about story telling and story telling at its best.

I first heard of the title from a friend from way back when blog was the thing and Ang Lee hasn't directed yet another tiger movie.  I haven't forgotten the book. I once borrowed the e-book from the library.  Reading from a tiny screen isn't really my thing and I wasn't able to finish it before the god damned DRM kicked in on the expiration date. One day I shopped at BJ (not having one), like any domesticated male does, and picked up a copy there for $9.99.  I remember the e-book from the library doesn't even have different fonts denoting different voices like in the book does.  Even the book I bought is a low grade trade paperback (remember BJ), but still I found it infinitely much readable than the screen.  I doubt a bigger screen would make any difference.  This copy has the picture still from Ang Lee's movie adaptation as cover.  I am OKAY with that.  I haven't seen the film except the trailer or teaser out there.

The author or Yann Martel says "the story will make you believe in god."  It's a tall order and personally I don't think the book has much to do with religions or even preachy.  It makes some interesting points and say them in an interesting way, to wit: how he compares Christianity's God sending his Son to die for the sinners to the young protagonist's father sending him to the lions.  For the most part I read it like a young adult's adventure book and I guess to a large extent it is.  But like what infomercials say, "Wait, there's more!"  The story definitely takes on a progressively darker tone when it reaches the end.  Is Pi a reliable storyteller?  Does Richard Parker, the Bengal tiger even exist? And for that matter, the zebra, the orangutan and the hyena?  Or does it even matter?  I think the story is decidedly ambiguous ... or not, in a good way (not the sucky kind like Lost).  It actually makes me think and question what I just read.  Overall a pleasant good read.

Endnote:  a word for young readers:  it has some gruesome scenes about cannibalism.

Gas

I never thought I needed to wait in line to get gas. But here I was standing in line holding a gallon and a quarter gas can waiting for my turn, like some idiot. I was trying to buy another canister and the shop Icarus across the street tried to sell me one for $20.  At what point is pricing what the market can bear becomes pure evil price gouging?  I am not sure, but no thanks.  I will live with my gallon and a quarter just fine. Why is the line moving ever so slowly?  People just don't know how to pump or people don't have credit cards.  People are just taking their sweet time at the pump. Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Powerless but okay

Sandy knocked the power off but I am doing just fine. The gas stove works and we had dinner before the light went out--no candle light dinner. The howling wind was scary. I know first hand what strong wind can do to the trees and what falling trees can do. Kids have no school today yesterday and tomorrow. Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Subway Tiles

Comprehensive Must Read High School Review

At some point in life, one is confronted with the reality that one has to spend four years of one's life in an institution that's called high school.  And to some, even to re-acquaint oneself with it once or twice or a few times later in life.  I didn't go to any high school here in America, my America high school knowledge is mostly hearsay.

Being a somewhat caring and responsible parent, I have decided it's about time to get to know high schools better instead of and in addition to just watching Saved by the Bell, Hollywood, 90210 and 21 Jump Street reruns on TV.

I could preface all the below HS with "This is the high school you want your kids to go to ..." but I guess it goes without saying.

Hunter College High School
If your kids meet their requirements like 690 on ELA and 733 on Math, they will get a letter from the middle school saying that they can take the Hunter's Entrance Exam.  Sometimes, on the number 7 train on my way back home, I see some Hunter HS students, they are usually quite cheerful (for the simple fact that they are going home I guess) and good looking.  The world is just not fair.  Smart and good looking.  Three United States Supreme Court justices went there and so was Cynthia Nixon.

Stuyvesant High School
I was there once many years ago as a guest.  Four Nobel laureates are alumni.  Other notable alumni include Lucy Liu and Tim Robbins.

The Bronx High School of Science
I read quite a bit of HS reviews (that's why I am an expert).  I think this is like the only HS people don't really complain about.  This is a big HS, I say huge.  I went there last year in the evening.  And parking wasn't any easy.  I remember kids playing Chinese yo-yo or diabolo (are they the same?).  If you want your kids to play Chinese yo-yo in a respectable HS, this is the only HS to go to.  The students there are bright and cheerful.

Bard High School Early College Queens
If I am not mistaken, this HS offers a HS education and an associate degree upon graduation in four years.  Do you still have a life?  I know all good HS are rigorous.  But still, this is frightening.  You need to pass their assessment test and then an interview to get in.  I was impressed the time I was there.  Mark, the school student representative and the principal Ms. Thompson did a great job representing and introducing the school.  Ms. Thompson was actually at the elevator bank directing parents to follow her when the kids went to take the exam.  The campus is in a building shared with two other HS and a community college.  By all accounts, it should suck.  But I actually find the campus oddly pleasant perhaps because of its bright decor and open atrium in the middle.  Overall I have a positive vibe.

The Baccalaureate School for Global Education
USNEWS ranks it the number one high school in New York State.  The ranking probably sets it up for disappointment.  During my visit, I was impressed by one and only one thing:  The super tight no photography security.  A parent raised his cell phone, apparently wanted to take a picture of the crowd waiting at the entrance was immediately warned of no photography by the lone security woman at the front desk twenty feet away.  I think the parent thought he was going to die because he just wanted to snap a picture.  Once inside the make-shift auditorium,  I saw the guidance councilor David-Lang talking to a group of parents came prior.  This went on for a good ten minutes while the 2nd group was kept waiting and waiting for his introduction and the slide-show to begin.  Being a New Yorker, I just have no tolerance to this kind of wait, if he's not ready for the second group why letting us in?  There is really little or no campus to speak of, kind of expected but still disappointing.  I got the chance to talk to a history teacher, she was nice and helpful.

Queens High School for the Sciences at York College
It was a rainy evening when I got there so it wasn't the greatest open house experience but the principal and the students made it kind of worth my trip.  The open house ended at the auditorium where the principal and some twenty students gave a Q&A session.  It seems like a good HS.  Again there is little campus to speak of unless you count the shared facilities with York College.  It's expected but still disheartening.

Emails Intercepted ...

FROM:
AAAAA AAA Adam
TO:
bbbbb bbbb the builder
CC:
ccccc cccc cat

ddddd@
Message flagged Monday, October 15, 2012 5:50 AM
Do u think that there will be a war that would last eight years again? No one would dare to come into China? China is unconquerable. But if china can't win a skirmish quickly or suffer a severe naval setback, people would soon realize that its PLA is nothing but a paper tiger. With the kind of discontent simmering in the country, it is sth they have to think about because the people's anger at the Japs would be re-directed at the Commies.
Sent from my Banana

On 2012年10月15日, at 下午3:58, bbbbb bbbb <redacted@redacted.com> wrote:

top communists work up as a group, very efficient to fuck Bo and his wife, settle all the matter before the 18th CCP conference.

Do you know why Japanese want to end up the conflict with China ASAP, time is on the side of China. In any long term conflict, the enemy will fuck up, even Japanese realized that. the character and behavior of China mobs are the most powerful weapon of the CCP against the western power or Japan, rather than the aircraft carrier, missiles or J-10, J-11, J-13 Jetfighters



> Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2012 15:11:52 +0800
> From: aaaaaa@aaaaaa.com
> To: redacted@redacted.com

> Subject: Re: Excerpts from an email I sent to a friend
>
> I do believe China have some crack units which are well-paid, well-t rained and world class. Just look at China's gold medal haul in the Olympics. But in a prolonged conflict, it is a different matter. The Chinese communists can only come up with some showcase things that mesmerize some people. When the CCTV camera crew is gone, every thing is fucked up. The other day, 许鞍华 was stolen in a hotel or someplace. Once it was known that she was the famous film director, it took the local police a few hours to crack the case. Is the local police this efficient in other times?
> But it is impossible for those crack units to be totally oblivious to what is happening in the rest of China. They have relatives, haven't they? Somehow, they know what is going on in China. In a society riven by such income inequality and such prevalence of fake products, can people trust each other as a team?
> 
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "bbbbb bbbb" <redacted@redacted.com>
> Sent: Monday, October 15, 2012 12:20:28 PM
> Subject: RE: Excerpts from an email I sent to a friend
>
>
> welcome back aaaaaa, read your long mail later. 
> 
> but some response 
> in Shanxi, the ancester of Bill of Exchange in China. 
> 
> I disagree with you, in the long term war, enemy will fuck up, even the Emperor of Japan admitted that in WWII, same as in Russia. But in a short term war, say in confrontation with Japan over those islands, or even short term war in Vietnam in 1979, PLA will fuck up. 
> 
> read your long mail later 
> ddddddddddd
>
>
>
> > Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2012 12:09:42 +0800
> > Subject: Excerpts from an email I sent to a friend
> > From:
> > To: dddd@ddddd.com
> >
> >
> > What happened in <redacted>, aaaaaa? I was in China for one day 
> > with my relatives, some of them distant ones, in September to attend a 
> > wedding party. I didn't realise at the time things wer e that bad in 
> > China. 
> > 
> > I don't know what your friend would say after reading your 
> > observations about Northern China or China in general. <redacted> I think. 
> > 
> > ddddd 
> >
> >
> > On 15 October 2012 11:49, <dddd@ddddd.com> wrote:
> >
> > In a way, I am very happy to be back to HK. I was so worried that I 
> > couldn't come back before the Chinese National Day/Mid Autumn 
> > Festival. If you check it out on the internet, it got really chaotic 
> > during those Golden Holidays. Besides I was getting tired after a 
> > while when all those people seemed to be trying to get a few extra 
> > bucks from me all the time. Things were particularly bad in 平遥/山西。 
> > Their ancestors, who built up their banking businesses (银号）almost two 
> > hundred years ago on the back of honesty, must be turning in their 
> > graves if they saw how their descendants have degenerated into. In the 
> > Northeast, never mind the Ermeneguildo Zegna stores or the Lafite 
> > wines they are drinking, if you scratch the surface you will find a 
> > Chinese peasant/country bumpkin right away. People chuck their rubbish 
> > wherever they like, spit all the time (though the situation was better 
> > than 9 years ago when I first stepped foot on Manchuria), talk at an 
> > unbelievable loud voice, yell when they are on their cell phones, jump 
> > the queue and elbow their way into the train （though once settl ed, 
> > they can talk with you about civility and other subjects eloquently). 
> > OK, these are all superficial things, but these are the things that 
> > count. Even by their admission, the quality （素质）of their fellow 
> > Chinese people are bad. And I am appalled by the lack of trust amongst 
> > the Chinese people. The degree of apathy/indifference was alarming. 
> > Trust is what bonds people (li ke you said). A society won't be too 
> > efficient if people harbour such distrust of each other. Maybe, that 
> > is why China has done so badly in team sports. I wonder what would 
> > happen if China ever gets into a prolonged war with its enemy. There 
> > is a cosmic disconnect between what you see on TV and what you 
> > experience on the ground when the CCTV cameras stop rolling. 
> > 
> > When Deng opened up China in 1979, he said 'to get rich is gl orious.' 
> > The potential of the Chinese people, long stymied, was released. 
> > Economic value had to be increased all the time. It was GDP, my 
> > friend. Resources have to be mined. If there is a scenic spot in the 
> > vicinity, fence it off, build a tower and start charging entrance fees 
> > even though no one has a clear idea where the money finally goes. Like 
> > in everything Chinese, this sort of Capitalism soon takes on Chinese 
> > characteristics. If you are a government official, you have to use 
> > your position to make as much money as possible for yourself while you 
> > are still in office. For many others, they don't have any qualms about 
> > selling fake foods. For men, to cheat is the way to go. For women, if 
> > she is young, beautiful and have a good figure, the way to go is to 
> > offer her body as a means to get what she wants while s he is still 
> > desired by men. 
> > 
> > Hey, I am not saying HK or elsewhere is perfect. I am just shocked by 
> > the apparent lack of shame as manifested by these people. 
> > Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism have long been the pillars of the 
> > Chinese society. But under communism, all these people have grown up 
> > ignorant of them. And everyone knows Communism is a pack of lies, 
> > those at the top have no idea of what is going on at the grassroots 
> > levels. They travel in tinted limousines protected by police escorts. 
> > 
> > I saw a lot of slogans in <redacted>, <redacted> and elsewhere exhorting 
> > people to be honest. It is like my theory that the more you talk about 
> > it doesn't mean you have any of it. Just because you talk about 
> > harmony doesn't mean you have harmony in the society. Ditto honesty. 
> > China right now is a 男盗女娼 society， The men are thieves and the women 
> > are whores. This nation has no 礼义廉耻 （broadly translated as politeness, 
> > loyalty, free of corruption and the feelings of shame). 
> > 
> > The mainlandisation of HK is not a good thing, or even in the 
> > interests of China. After all it was a vibrant HK that enabled China 
> > to get back up after the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution. <redacted>. Many 
> > people in HK are also impressed by let's say, the Chinese satellites 
> > orbitting the moon, the latest aircraft carrier or the number of gold 
> > medals China won in the Olympics...But look closer...70% of the 
> > Chinese male population in the Northeast are smokers, and most of them 
> > chain-smoke. They still look like the Sick Man to me. I really don't 
> > c are much about those athletes who won glory for the communist party. 
> > It is irrelevant to me. 
> > 
> > Sometimes I think the Chinese communist party and the Chinese people 
> > (in China) deserve each other. Remember the episode I told you about 
> > when I was in <redacted>. I was the one who stood up against that 
> > jerk. Everyone else, except me and the other Guangdong guy who had the 
> > window seat, signed their names in the review sheet. 
> > 
> > So when you brought me into this category of 'Chinese men', I am 
> > slightly offended because being Chinese in China to be is 男盗女娼。 
> > 
> > aaaaaa 

Cycling

我的80年代

Sara Errani US Open 2012

David Ferrer US Open 2012

Maria Sharapova US Open 2012

Victoria Azarenka US Open 2012

Nicolas Almagro US Open 2012

Francesca Shiavone US Open 2012

She is the only player that plays practice as if it's a real match, and every point is a championship point.

Janko Tipsarevic US Open 2012

Christian Harrison US Open 2012

Note:  I am not 100% sure if he is indeed Ryan Harrison.  If he's not, let me know and my apology to this fine young man and Mr. Harrison as well.
UPDATE:  Maybe Christian Harrison.

Novak Djokovic US Open 2012

Andy Roddick - US Open 2012

Breaststroke

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Again

There are certain movies that are better watched on DVD where commentaries, captions, and replays are almost mandatory,  TTSS (2011) is one of them.  Despite its somewhat un-Hollywood pacing and directing, the DVD is kind of hot and I have to reserve it online and wait for its arrival at a public library near me.  Or it simply reflects how bad the economy is, nobody is buying DVDs (that's me), or people are simply watching it on demand via streaming or pirating?  I have no idea.

The movie is without a doubt based on the novel by John Le Carre.  It makes a few changes here and there, which is expected, but in essence it's still boring and confusing, hence easily confused to be cerebral, or maybe it is, and therefore very Le Carre.  Hong Kong and Czechoslovakia are excised from the film for whatever reason.  And Peter Guilliam turns pink instead of a straight up heterosexual dude in the book.  Rarely do I see a movie with that many ugly looking guys, OKAY, maybe just one, Toby Jones who has the rare talent to make all his co-stars better looking than they really or already are.  A very interesting face if you are diplomatic.  Jones is memorable in the film for all the right reasons, the "what's that shrug for" and the final "walk in the rain in shame and anger" scenes are probably among the best and easily eclipse others'.  John Hurt usually ages well in movies, with the help of make-up and lighting of course, but he definitely looks lumpy here and perhaps that's what the character calls for, a paranoid curmudgeon who is ultimately ousted from the Circus and dies alone in the hospital.  Gary Oldman is a miscast in appearance which I can easily overlook.  You simply can't make the guy look bad.  In the last shot, he is practically a male model rather than the short fat Smiley in ill fitting clothes that's portrayed in the book.  The entire ensemble cast is exceptionally delicious, everybody does his utmost to look serious and seriously paranoid.  One unexpected light moment perhaps is when Mark Strong's character Jim Prideaux shot Bill Haydon, played by Colin Firth who seems to be gay cast ever since A Single Man.  Prideaux sheds a tear which is corny and unexpected, so I found it funny.

If you enjoy nuance performance, subtitles and commentaries, the TTSS DVD will not disappoint.

Back Crawl

Fifty Shades of Grey

Unless you live under a rock or out of this world, you probably have heard of this so called mommy porn, Fifty Shades of Grey, E L James' fan fiction based on the tremendously successful Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, which is a best seller in its own right and not so surprisingly soon to be a motion picture near you.  Of all the unbelievable stuff in the book, I found the bit that the protagonist Anastasia Steele doesn't have her own computer the most unbelievable.  And mind you the story is set in the very near past like 2010 or something and Steele is a college student major in English literature.  The book says she uses the computer at school or from work or share one with her housemate.  Wow.  I can't comment on all the mommy porn stuff as I am out of my depth in that department (OKAY, they are salacious, hot and funny).  I read the e-book version on my sucky htc EVO 4G from the library.  The whole process is not exactly intuitive and actually quite annoying, I got it work but don't ask me how.  The book is supposed to self destruct when expired so nothing to return.  The good thing about e-reading is nobody knows you are reading Fifty Shades of Grey.  Not that there is anything wrong with it.

Swim

Birkenstock Boston

Cutting grass in the backyard

Work is important.

Let the good time roll

We were at the cheesecake factory. I searched high and low, every nook and cranny, but still couldn't find any ribs on the menu. It's weird, unacceptable and above all disappointing. I am surprised the boys were given kids menus, that saved a bundle. I think I still like Outback better. This one in the mall is really big, 2-story tall. I had a 22 oz Stella and some pasta. We were full and had left-over to take home.

Unbelievable

Of all the unbelievable stuff I read from Fifty Shades of Grey, I found this one the most unbelievable:  Anastasia Steele, a college student, or a recently graduated student, doesn't own a computer, not desktop nor a notebook.  She has to use her roomate's or one from her part-time job or at school.  Wow!  She has an iPod though.

Taming of the Shrew

Nikkor 24mm f/2 and f/1.4 compared at f/2

Both at ISO100, f/2 and 1/5000s, no filter or lens hood.  So the mortgage your house lens is a clear winner in terms of color, contrast, sharpness, details (resolution) and even bokeh.  But that shouldn't be a surprise.  Both shot on tripod, live view manual focus.  If you can't tell which is which, congratulations.

(Note:  This cannot be a "fair" comparison as in comparing a current production that costs a whopping $2,000 to a out of production 1981 lens that costs at most 1/5 of the cost of the former in the secondary market.  The Nikkor 24mm f/2 is shot wide open while the f/1.4 lens is shot close down at f/2)

Ice Cream

Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 at ISO400, f/1.4 and 1/60s.  Focused on his right eye or the left eye on the picture.  I don't think there is a problem with the focusing.  NEF converted to JPEG, with a slight S curve adjusted, no USM or sharpening applied.

NOTE:  I got tons of emails asking me about the lens.  No, I don't own it.

Linsanity

Shot using a mortgage-your-house Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 at f/1.4 , 1/100s and ISO400 on the Flushing bound number 7 train.  I guess the only useful thing about this lens is to me, it can auto focus.  I find it increasingly difficult for me to manual focus my 24mm f/2 lens fast enough to grab the shot.  This f/1.4 is phenomenally quiet in focusing, I can't even hear the motor.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

The latest movie adaption was released some time December 2011 with the nutty Gary Oldman playing George Smiley, the fatty, shorty and mouldy super spy whose lethal specialty is to bore his enemies to death, and the readers or audience as collateral along the way.  In John le Carre's meticulously constructed spy world, Smiley is like the Kate Moss of super spy, he is kind of old, kind of short, kind of retired but he's nevertheless proven to be the best that is out there and hence always in demand.  OKAY, not exactly Kate Moss but neither is Gary Oldman as far as physical resemblance is concerned.  The film is a reinterpretation and reimagination of the book, as such  I can easily over look any physical difference between the character in the book and in the film.  Unfortunately I overlooked way too much, I slept through the entire movie save for the very beginning and the end while being a captive audience on board of a Cathay flight over the Pacific.  I had no idea how good or bad the film was.  More importantly, the chance of better understanding the book via the movie was totally squashed.  So it was with utter disgust and dismay, I proceeded to read TTSS one more time, back to back in immediate succession.  Am I a masochist or what?  The book is a perpetual dread with confusing characters that have multiple worknames to compound the confusing factor, complicated plot lines with many tangled knots, and a timeline that goes forward, backward and sideways.  To understand the story, one must be exceptionally lucid because the story is anything but.  One is easy to get lost in le Carre's spy world in the best sense and worst sense of the word "lost."  The story, in a nutshell, is a simple one rather: Smiley is brought out of retirement because he is good, remember Kate Moss good, to hunt down a mole in the Circus.  And of course the devil is in the detail, and there are plenty of them.  In the end, the mole Gerald or Tailor as codenamed by Control the head of Circus, is caught and bored to death by George Smiley by his accusatory and lethal silence treatment.  Tailor is such a colorfully complex character personally (a bisexual painter who was born to inherit the Earth!) and professionally (a double agent, duh!) that it's impossible to know when and why (the decline of England as a world power and the hatred of America, really?) exactly he became a double agent for Smiley's nemesis Karla, the Russian spy master whom Smiley met when he was caught and jailed (boo boo boo ...) and probably felt some kind of kinship towards his archenemy--he let the man have his monogrammed lighter, a gift from his unfaithful wife Ann, the illusion of the illusionless man, Smiley.  Perhaps Karla gained Smiley's admiration because he never wavers his adherence to Moscow Centre even when returning to Moscow means death (Karla survived).  Gerald, on the other hand, chooses to betray his country, friends and lovers.  But the sin of all sins for Gerald, being a double agent is,(no, not screwing Ann, his cousin and Smiley's wife) he couldn't simply let his friend/lover die after he betrayed and "orphaned" him, which ultimately brings upon his own demise.  Fool.  In the end, the story is as much about espionage as it's about a yearning to connect, to make sense, to not to be lonely and to be loved--just like any other books or the movie The Avengers.

501