Author: ssw15

This was a fascinating article in this Wednesday’s NY Times Dining section — except for the part where it referred to David Leong, the man who made cashew chicken as a Chinese-American cuisine of Missouri, reading a “Cantonese language newspaper.” Umm, NY Times: there’s no such thing as “Cantonese language newspaper”; there is only one written Chinese language, even if there are many dialects in the spoken vernacular. Sigh…

Filipino fast food in Queens. Cool.

This Washington Post article on hash came off very tasty to me.

NY Times’ Mark “The Minimalist” Bittman – with a really nifty recipe of mashed potatoes and dandelion greens with olive oil and bread crumbs. In the video, he made it look easy and delicious.

Apparently, the MTA has a plan to change the subway station at the Mets’ home to “Mets/Willets Point,” because Citigroup and/or the Mets didn’t want to put in the money to call it Citifield station. To save money, MTA shouldn’t bother changing signs at the subway station; keep it “Willets Point/Shea Stadium.”

Last but not least: This Slate article has some good points about Facebook photo-tagging etiquette – i.e., be careful about those way old pre-digital era pictures…

Like last year, I miss my lost hour. I think losing the hour before spring actually is official isn’t that great an idea; it feels too soon.

Fascinating 1 hour conversation between Robert Wright and Slate’s David Plotz on Plotz’s new book, “Good Book,” which is a book version of his blogging his reading of the Bible in Slate some year or two ago; basically, he, Plotz, an agnostic Jew, realizes how much there is in the Good Book than we realize, whether philosophically, theologicially, historically, etc. I enjoyed Plotz’s blogging (but fell behind when I realized he really was going through the whole Bible); so, I’m thinking this book is going to be intriguing. Link to a piece of the amusing conversation between Wright and Plotz – they really covered a lot and could have gone even further.

Great SNL skit: “The Rock” Obama – don’t get the president angry…

It went well, by the way, with the web exclusive (for many reasons) SNL skit of Andy Samberg as White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel:

A little Doogie, anyone? Something to put a smile on the face:

Snow in NYC stopped the schools; but not the rest of us city workers from going to work.

Dartmouth selects its new president, Jim Young Kim, M.D./Phd., previously an administrator of Harvard. He’ll be the first Asian-American to head an Ivy League institution.

My Alma Mater names a new dean, Michelle M. Moody-Adams, a philosopher previously of Cornell. She will be both the first black person and woman to be dean of Columbia College, the undergraduate school of Columbia University – amazing because this was the last school of the Ivies to go co-ed (since 1983).

The feds are thinking of changing the name of “No Child Left Behind” Act. As the NY Times notes, let the jokes begin.

I’m no a Battlestar Galatica viewer, but I read the recaps to try to make sense of the show. Interesting article on Grace Park, the Korean-Canadian actress who plays Boomer and the various Cylons of the Boomer model (ok, that probably only makes sense for Battlestar Galactica).

I can’t believe it’s March. Fell behind on stuff…

An item that I saw back in early February: someone out there tried to rob a store with a batt’leth, the Klingon weapon. A Trekker gone wacko, apparently.

Are we bringing germs to Mars?

February reading: Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Pluto Files” was a good read, as he describes his part of Pluto’s status as a “cosmic object” (as he refers it).

Fun video on “George Lucas in Love” – embed below:

Still pretty impressed by the many Oscars of “Slumdog Millionaire” – good stuff!

I liked Hugh Jackman as host; I could live without the unnecessary musical tribute to… musicals. Note to Oscars tv producers: celebrate movies and be happy to be on tv, okay?

I did like having the past Oscar winners give praise to the nominees of the categories – yeah, it was a little weird, but with the right speaker (I liked Shirley MacLaine speaking so personally to Anne Hathaway), it was great stuff – colleagues celebrating colleagues.

Gary Locke, the country’s first Chinese-American governor, has been nominated to be Commerce Secretary. Time.com has a quick bio. Hopefully, for President Obama, a third time’s a charm for the nomination of this Cabinet position.

Another Asian-American in the news: Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana, presenting the Republican response to President Obama’s Address to the Joint Session of Congress (a.k.a., Not-Actually-The-State-of-the-Union Address). I felt awkward about the response, and apparently, the response to Jindal’s speech was mixed as noted on Time.com’s Swampland blog.

So, Conan O’Brien’s ex-sidekick, Andy Richter, to be back with Conan in the Tonight Show incarnation (this time as the announcer guy, who has often been the pseudo-sidekick anyway). Interesting development!

Guess I fell behind on catching some coverage, but this appears to be the obituary for Shea Stadium. Very sad. Wonder if Citifield – besides keeping that silly name – have actually exorcised the bad spirits.

The end of an institution in NYC: Vesuvio Bakery in Soho has closed.

The last Late Night with Conan O’Brien in New York City last night – what a tearjerker. Sweet that Andy Richter came back. The week of hacking the studio to pieces. Hope for the best for Conan! Check clips on NY1.com coverage.

Speaking of late night, two nights ago, Jay Leno’s Tonight Show had the A.R. Rahman doing one of his songs that got Oscar-nominated from “Slumdog Millionaire.” Tons of fun! Notably, the NY Times did a profile of Rahman – fascinating stuff.

Yeah, my reaction to the news about Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to retrain the laid-off Wall Street people went along the lines of: “Re-train them to do what? Manufacture cars or something?” This NY Times article had the suggestion of “Entertain small children.” That’s nice – so the next clown at a kid’s birthday party is an ex-Wall Street exec. Okey-dokey!
So, once in awhile, I check in on the Judge Parker comic strip on-line, but the storylines have been a bit odd. But, they finally pick up on the storyline of attorney Randy Parker succeeding his dad, the past Judge Parker, and now a new Judge Parker; today’s episode: at the reception celebrating Randy’s judgeship, guess who crashes the party? Why it’s the return of April, the love interest who left him for the CIA (the intelligence agency, not the cooking school) whose appearance in the comic strip amused me, forget that odd judiciary election campaign. Be careful getting entangled with her, Randy; you just got sworn in as judge and you don’t want shenanigans.

As noted previously (and even more previously), I’ve a bit of a crush on opera singer Juan Diego Florez. He and Natalie Dessay are going to be at the Met for “La Sonmanbula” – will it be as amazing their run of “La Fille du Regiment”? Their voices are just great!

Last, but not least: the passing of Socks, the Clintons’ cat.

Monday, Presidents’ Day – saw “Slumdog Millionaire” with the siblings. I enjoyed it for being a movie with a little bit of everything – romance, violence, a touch of mysticism and/or fantasy, religious conflict, crime, loss, love, hope, tragedy, family saga, and even silly game show. It could have taken place anywhere, but was fascinating for being a bit Bollywood – but rather Dickensian (well, it was directed by Danny Boyle, the guy behind the craziness that was “Trainspotting”). The cast was talented. NY Times critic Manohla Dargis’ review of it made a lot of sense (although I think I felt more enthusiastic about it); she notes:

Yet while the story opens with Jamal on the verge of grabbing the big prize, Simon Beaufoy’s cleverly kinked screenplay, adapted from a novel by Vikas Swarup, embraces a fluid view of time and space, effortlessly shuttling between the young contestant’s past and his present, his childhood spaces and grown-up times. Here, narrative doesn’t begin and end: it flows and eddies — just like life.

By all rights the texture of Jamal’s life should have been brutally coarsened by tragedy and poverty by the time he makes a grab for the television jackpot. But because “Slumdog Millionaire” is self-consciously (perhaps commercially) framed as a contemporary fairy tale cum love story, or because Mr. Boyle leans toward the sanguine, this proves to be one of the most upbeat stories about living in hell imaginable.

Yeah, it’s that kind of movie – where hell (well, the environmentally disgusting slum as a hell) is kind of engrossing and watchable, and you just have to believe and hope that something good – maybe even love – can come true. Oh, and you get to have a Bollywood/bhangra type dance at the end to celebrate something. Slate’s Dana Stevens also pretty much sums up “Slumdog Millionaire” in that way – yeah, glamorizing poverty and crime ain’t that great, but it’s a good movie. Go see it.

I’m sort of behind on “Lost” but not really (since I watch most of the episodes and read recaps); the priceless line (delivery included) in the latest episode “316” – Frank Lapidus the pilot to Jack, upon realizing that their plane (which he’s flying) has most of the Oceanic 6 gang back together: “We’re not going to Guam, are we?”

No, Frank. Obviously you are not; have you learned nothing from being on the wacky Island? Plus, Frank’s clean-shaven, which makes his clear blue eyes even more obvious (and making him ten years younger). Those eyes – I have to say, those are actor Jeff Fahey‘s best features – what mesmerized me way back when he was the protagonist on the ABC series “The Marshal” back in the day (the show wasn’t all that great, but, like I said – Fahey’s eyes were amazing; him as Frank on “Lost” – amusing!).

I still haven’t quite gotten over what happened to poor Charlotte – dying on the Island that she longed for; and making it quite clear that the Island is death. John, Jack – how on earth are you guys going to figure this out? Daniel – who seems to have some idea of the answers – maybe. Ben – the manipulator. So many questions!

Oh, Conan – counting down to the final episode of Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Do you have to leave New York? I can’t forget how he managed to keep us entertained while still supporting the writers during the writers’ strike (and then still be funny after the strike). TV critic Alan Sepinwall on how Conan became our tv friend (kind of like Dave Letterman – some of the wacky comedy may make us say, “What?” but we love ’em anyway ’cause it’s them).

Speaking of Late Night stuff, David Letterman’s been on a roll. I like how he’d goad the people who deserve to be goaded, whether it’s McCain – or, more recently – ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois – and this article makes the point that he’s more than just laughs (I can easily imagine Letterman doing a type of Charlie Rose thing, covering topics he actually wants to cover, rather than just go for laughs or letting the guests sell their movie/show/book).

I think it’s cool that Pres. Obama visited Canada, even if it was for only a few hours, particularly in light of my personal affection for Canada… So, of course, I got all obsessive about finding the coverage for it.

Some Canadian press coverage on the Obama trip to Ottawa. well, I’m kind of jealous of Pres. Obama; it sounded like he had more fun in Ottawa than I have had (and I haven’t been there in years). Despite business with the prime minister, he somehow had time to buy souvenirs for the kids and eat the fried food. Now I want to try a Beaver Tail (but I am a sucker for fried food, so oh well). In addition to the picking up the Beaver Tail, he apparently had quite a menu with Prime Minister Harper.

A link to the NY Times article on the coverage. A bunch of soundbites from the press conference with Prime Minister Harper and President Obama (which I was watching on CBC’s website) – some trade tensions; Obama’s “I love Canada; my brother-in-law’s Canadian”; some quibbles about environment, i.e., “clean energy dialogue.” I liked Harper’s line: “threats to the United States are threats to Canada.” Nice way to make American-Canadian relations stronger again.

Sadly behind on blogging, as life catches up on us.

Happy Lunar New Year! Year of the Ox! Can’t believe it’s February!

Best wishes to Justice Ginsburg, who’s in treatment for pancreatic cancer.

I’m behind on “How I Met Your Mother” again.

And, the return of “Lost.” I’d like to be on an island, far away from real life. Just not the freaky time-hopping one on “Lost.”

I like “Fringe.” It’s a show where even the reruns are a good watch. I just kind of wish Agent Olivia Dunham could just check the FBI records and learn that, ten years ago, Agents Mulder and Scully kind of already did a lot of the same crazy stuff (okay, maybe they’re not in the same universe). But, it’s nice that Olivia had some kind of resolution with the love of her life, Agent John Scott (who’s supposed to be dead, then-not, then only existing as memory engrams, or maybe he’s just a side effect of the LSD Olivia took to access his memories). Whether we’ll really understand Scott’s role in the crazy paranormal stuff… that’s another story. It’s very “Alias” that way, rather than “X-Files” (which, come to think of it, didn’t make all that much sense either much of the time, but oh well).

The whole 25-Semi-Random Things about Me thing on Facebook is now getting publicity – in the NY Times and the Washington Post. Aww, come on – we used to do that kind of thing by e-mail. Still, it was kind of fun doing it with FC and others. I hopefully didn’t get too personal, but probably demonstrated my much too obvious fondness for Star Trek and British shows.

In the midst of the messiness of the Cabinet selections (it’s never easy to pick someone to do a job; on the bright side, Eric Holder is now US Attorney General – another Alma Mater alumnus!) and admitting that one screwed up and whether that’s a good idea to do (well, President Obama apologized and it’s not like change comes overnight and it’s almost amazing to me how it feels like so many are so cynical and looking for screw ups), at least we can take in the small moments – like that first ride on Marine One – which isn’t as luxurious as Air Force One, but it is a helicopter for those quick rides.

So glad it’ll be Friday.

President Obama and Ch. J. Roberts re-did the oath of office, just to be on the safe side. More description in the Washington Post.

Arguably, maybe one could blame Ch. J. Roberts’ flub to the Curse of the Split Infinitive and how grammatical people try to correct what they (instinctively) think is not grammatically correct (after all, where would you stick “faithfully” in the oath? beginning or the end of the sentence? split the infinitive? well, it was written back when they didn’t care as much about grammar or punctuation).

So, there are presidents who re-did the oath of office. It’s really no big deal!

Uh, so they had to resort to using some pre-recording to support Yo-Yo Ma and Itzak Perlman and their colleagues during the inauguration. I’m not surprised and I’d forgive them; it was really cold and even on the news later on, Perlman was all, “My fingers were frozen…” (paraphrased) – better to make things smooth than not (when there were enough troubles for the inauguration).

Fascinating story by NY Times’ Jodi Kantor about Obama’s multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-religious extended family – a modern American thing, really.

Plus, Obama not only brought out the sea of humanity onto D.C., he continued to save tv by bringing out ratings, lots of ratings.

Interesting story about the state of the ethnic newspapers of NYC.

Oh, and “Lost” is back, and no less crazier than ever. Priceless line (in the delivery anyway), by the ageless (or time traveling?) Richard to John Locke: “It’s a compass… it points north, John.”