why you haven't seen the APA winner of Fame - Harlemm Lee

The show "Fame", and Hollywood in general, really ripped this guy off. How sad is this? http://www.harlemmlee.com/

new template

I have stretched my Photoshop and HTML skills to the max with this new template which I'll also be using to relaunch my web site which is currently depressing as hell. Was kind of fun to fiddle with this stuff. I haven't played with graphics for a really long time. Everything here is a vanessa original including the funky striped background gif (thanks to the many free Photoshop tutorials available online). Question: since the blogger profile is determined by <$BlogMemberProfile$> does that mean I can't fix that stupid indent -->

new baby hamster

Looks like we're adopting another hamster under rather sad circumstances. Simon's coworker's cat came home and spat out a live baby hamster it decided to carry around in its mouth. Its mom was found dead out on their lawn. Apparently it's grey and furry and eyes are open but still really young. I haven't even found out if it's a big syrian hamster or a little dwarf like mine. Guess I'll know tomorrow unless it becomes a Televigation mascot and Simon keeps it at work.

thuglife

All I have to say today is that D's blogs crack me up. You poor drama magnet. Glad you can turn it into a humourous tidbit for the rest of us to enjoy.

support the victims of anti-Asian hate crime in SF

ANTI-ASIAN HATE CRIME TO BE TRIED THE WEEK OF JUNE 28TH

Support the victims' families and the community's
demand for justice by attending the trial

DATES: Tues., 6/29 - Weds., 6/30
(or until verdict is reached)

TIMES: TRIAL FROM 9AM - 5PM
DAILY BRIEFING / RALLY 12:30PM - 1:00PM
(WEAR RED TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT
FOR THE FAMILY)
PLACE: CIVIC CENTER COURTHOUSE, SAN FRANCISCO
400 MCALLISTER, DEPT. 306
BART / MUNI -- EXIT AT CIVIC CENTER STATION
BUS -- TAKE THE 5 LINE DIRECTLY TO THE COURTHOUSE

BACKGROUND: In June of last year, five Asian teens were attacked and
beaten by a large group of white high school students on the corner of
Taraval and 19th avenue. The white attackers initiated the
confrontation by pushing, shoving, and accosting the Asian teens with
racial epithets and slurs. When the Asian teens tried to walk away, the
group of white youths followed, surrounded, and assaulted the Asian
teens. One of the attackers has been identified and charged with felony
assault and a hate crime enhancement.

notorious SF

I somehow came across this web site - MisterSF.com and it is exploding with interesting local SF info and details about bizarre crimes, complete with photos. e.g. the Church of Satan on California, the zodiac killer, the shooting at the Pinecrest Diner, the shooting at 101 California, the mass cult suicide by grape Koolaid in Jonestown, the body of a woman found beneath the civic center BART station which predates the remains of any other human found in the city by 100 years. 3 pages of this stuff too.

nothing beats a warm summer evening

Funny how our last few outings have involved drinking in a lane. That sounds bad eh? Couple weeks back we left the over priced, over crowded Bubble Lounge and walked up the hill in search of a cigar lounge we discovered had closed for the night. But we looked down one of the alleys and there was Bix. A live jazz band was packing up but the bar was just beautiful and the bartender possessed a rare combination of upscale, classy, comical and friendly. We ended up taking our drinks outside to the little make shift patio on the sidewalk. This Friday was much the same. We headed to Voda in Belden Place where, in the summer, all the restaurants set some of their tables out in the lane. It was nice to lounge outdoors on their big padded benches and drink dessert-like martinis away from the droves of barely legal obnoxious party goers who typically ruin my nights out.

And here's a view from the rear 

hamster life

Ah this is the life. Nothing better than laying on your back munchin on a sunflower seed 

I miss my income

I was driving home and thinkin', damn I miss going to adult gymnastics classes. I wonder if I still have the strength/guts/flexibility to do anything substantial. I haven't gone since I dropped in weekly at Gold Star in Mountain View after work. Now, no work, no gymnastics, no other gym membership for that matter. I realize that some of the best exercise is doable for free - hiking, running, blading, etc etc but it just ain't the same. It also requires being outside and enduring itching, asthma, sun damage and all the fun stuff that comes with outdoor activity. *sigh* oh well, I think I'll take a jog down to the dog park anyways (to see all the cute puppies cuz I can't afford to have my own). wah.

rose coloured glasses

People who see the world through rose coloured glasses need to take a huge dose of reality once in a while. To abhore and actively avoid all people, places and things that don't fit your recipe for happy perfection all of the time will only result in your blowing up in a huge and ugly way in the future. Duck and take cover.

going crazy in my sleep

I have had memorable nightmares, or at least really twisted dreams, everynight for almost 2 weeks straight. Last night I had another instance of sleep paralysis, moments when my eyes are wide open (or I think they are at least) but I can't move or speak. This time it wasn't quite so scary because I didn't really attempt to move or anything. But it was extra weird because I suddenly decided I was someone else. Before bed I had read the bio of the author of a book I'm reading (Woman Warrior). In the middle of the night it felt like I opened my eyes and thought to myself, I'm now Maxine Hong Kingston (the author). Then laid there for awhile and then went back to sleep. I think I'm definitely losing my mind.

JACL criticism brings racist backlash

Anyone who is naive enough to think that this country is generally free of racists (or at least blatant racists) should read this AsianWeek.com article. Scroll down to the emails and vmails left for the JACL if you want to get to the point. There's absolutely no doubt that we are viewed as perpetual foreigners in this country. If you think that the type of people who write these things make a distinction between Asian nationals and US born Asians, guess again.

personality disorder

Pretty crappy looking quiz but fun nonetheless


borderline


Which Personality Disorder Do You Have?

quiet time

I used to love going up to SFU really late at night to study in the WMX (if I wanted to be around other people giving off good study vibes) or the basement of the newer science building if I wanted absolute silence. These places were open 24/7. Anyone know of a place like this around here? There's a 24 hr area at my school but due to various strong arm assaults and perverts/flashers in the library, I'm thinking it's not safe for me to be heading up there alone. Even a good coffee shop open late that doesnt kick you out would be nice. I remember one of the profs at SFU was rumoured to have written his dissertation at The Grind in Vancouver. I need to be doing my reading away from my hamsters, TV, fridge, noisy neighbours, laundry that needs to be done etc.

Gmail bandwagon

Per my earlier post I don't much care for web mail but after seeing people selling/paying money for these accounts I figured I better take the one that blogger was giving away to me free. Great so now I have ~ 5 email addresses. I think I'll just use Gmail as an online drive, store shit I need to access without having to upload it to my web site and memorizing the path to it or creating a hidden page.

What country is Ontario?

Here's a good one for the This Hour Has 22 Minutes - Talking to Americans segment. Ray's friend went to rent a car at Hertz. He was served by the Hertz manager. He gives him his Ontario driver's license. Hertz guy looks at the Ontario license, looks at him, says I'm going to need your international driver's license. Kuen (sp?), in bewilderment, replies, "but I'm from Canada."

Hertz guy, "oh."

I could understand if the license said something like Nunavet, but c'mon, Ontario?? How can someone who works in the travel industry not know that Ontario is in Canada? Actually, how can anyone who lives in the country next door not know that?

http://www.i-am-asian.com/

McDonalds is asserting a trademark over the sentence "I am Asian" and has launched a website to market to APIs: http://www.i-am-asian.com/

I am beside myself. No one should be laying claim to "I am" anything unless that is what you *are*. What the hell is Asian about McDonalds? I'm not even sure what to make of this. On the one hand they are lending visibility and possibly sponsorship to our heritage month events and pointing links to some Asian American websites etc etc. but on the other hand, it's just so superficial, so contrived, so empty. And I really don't like this "I am" thing. Those are two very powerful words in self definition and self determination and should really be (theoretically since there's nothing stopping them) off limits to some mega American corporation with no real interest in Asian Americans except to capture us as a potentionally untapped market $$$.

Memory foam mattress pads suck

So Simon bought this memory foam mattress pad a month or two ago. He loves it. He finds it cushions his body better. I fucking hate it. I want to wet the bed just so we have to toss it. I grew up with sway back (ie. my back was unnaturally flexible so i was always standing with my ass sticking out in kindergarten) and this didn't really get corrected til I started ballet and gymnastics. I need a stiff mattress to keep my spine aligned. This space age body contouring piece of shit gives me no back support and I wake up sore like I just worked out. Oh yeah, it makes me hotter than hell too. I sometimes wake up sweating. Verdict: good for cold boney people whose bodies don't flex much, bad for people who need back support and get hot easily.

I love school

Met with the prof sponsoring my independent research project and our conversation made for some sort of epiphany for me. She really really liked my research proposal and 3 page justification for the project (the one I thought sounded too much like a blog) and has offered to act as the chair for my thesis committee. I'm still a year away from starting my thesis but this is HUGE. "I think you're onto something here" is what she said. Those words helped to cast away any doubt I had about ditching my career in software marketing and choosing a career in academia. Doubt that, quite honestly, sometimes keeps me up at night. I hope things just keep going this way. It will be nice to be excited about my career (and life in general) for a change. Now all I have to do produce something that meets her (now rather high) expectations for me. Time to read like a mofo.