Ok, kinda neato….
But, I really hate the new font and look. Doesn’t work well with this kind of thing. Looks like Verdana-ish(?), which are normally ones that I like. But but, I dunno, can we change the font?
What’s this Advanced Editing thinggy here….. too good for me.
Now all we need is the ability to upload avatars :). Although loading pics… not necessarily a good thing due to anonymity.
=YC
Replying to SSW’s comments in Saturday in the Park with George [If you link to the article you’re commenting on in your article, you will automatically set up a cross-referrenced comment, so you don’t have to hit “Comment” anymore — and everyone should get notified about replies.] No, I didn’t know the difference between Manet (whom some call the father of the Modern movement) and Monet (what SSW said) before going to the museum. Turns out that Manet was initially pissed off at Monet because the art critics of the time couldn’t keep them straight, either. Then they met and actually really got along, often going out on painting expeditions together. The way the exhibit was set up at the Philly Museum of Art was well-thought out: the Manet at Sea pictures faced north-south in the center of the room, while contemporary seascapes were mounted east-west along the walls. That enabled the viewer to compare and contrast Manet’s work. The audio tour was informative and well done, also. Recommended (but it’s closing after next weekend)
Jim’s Steaks on South Street and 4th Avenue had a line going around the block, with the aroma of grilling beef and onions. They offer hogies also, but of course no one was even bothering with them. The succulent slices of beef are just too tempting. For some reason,. it does not translate well in New York, even though the cheesesteak trinity of Pat’s, Gino’s and Jim’s all make no secret of what’s in it. Slightly frozen rib eye is sliced on a deli slicer into paper-thin sheets. Onions are fried on a grill oiled with soybean oil. The sheets of steak are then grilled until they just turn brown, and then they are finely stir-chopped with the grill spatula until they are complete shredded. Take an Amato’s Bakery hero bread, and slice it down the middle. Jim’s innovation is to put the hot Cheese Whiz on the bread first, followed by the meat and the onions. Pat’s and Gino’s pack the steak in first, followed by the onions and the cheese. Jim’s ends up with the more structually sound product — the Whiz acts like mayo and keeps the bread from getting soggy, while at the same time prevents it from oozing around. You never have to take “the stance” with a Jim’s steak as you would with Pat’s — standing with feet spread and haunched over to prevent your shoes from being covered with Whiz and onions. Jim’s is recommended.
We had dinner at Joya on Court Street in Brooklyn that night. With the backyard open, seating wasn’t the problem that it usually is during the winter. The soft shell crab special was a delicate, wonderful dish, as well as the salmon summer rolls. Recommended.
In the Mood For Love, recommended. BAM Rose Cinema — I didn’t like it that much, though. Stadium seating, check. Big-ass cup holders, check. Rows wider than the screen — bad! If you were not straight on to the middle of the screen, you were at such an angle that it almost became an obstructed seat.
The next day I saw Shrek 2. Recommended. You would think that the commercials have given away the whole plot, but it actually doesn’t. I’d see it again to look for details I missed the first time — and there were lots. Try to see a digital showing if possible — there are really cute in-jokes that you have to keep a look out for.
The new Coney Island — Stillwell Avenue terminal is a vast improvement over the previous structure. It now looks something like an European train station with its arching roof. I like it. However, P–‘s sister’s boyfriend works for the MTA, and he says that it’s already leaking.
The title of today’s blog is something right out of today’s “Daily News” (NY’s hometown paper), wherein the resident tv critic David Bianculli highlights the reality of American television next fall (or already in effect) . Some commentary off the top of my head:
“Alias” – I had taped the season finale last night, but watched the last half hour, and still don’t get it. What the heck happened? Jack Bristow telling his daughter Secret Agent Sydney (paraphrasing): “I never meant this for you…” What?! And, ABC announced that the next season won’t be until January 2005?! What?! Being a lawyer, I can figure out the arguments about this decision –
Pro:
– ABC will show all 22 episodes without reruns interrupting, from January to May.
– By buying time for the writers, maybe the writers can write up some smoother and better storylines.
Con:
– We have to wait until January?!
– I personally don’t mind reruns – it’s a way to catch up on the episodes missed. I mean, I know that the age of DVD’s means no one has to watch reruns unless he/she wants to, but being slightly-behind-the-technological times, I seriously do not mind reruns and I ain’t going to get the DVD’s very soon anyway.
– We have to wait until January?!
The reports on the upcoming NBC sitcom/”Friends” spinoff, “Joey,” sound very positive. But, keep in mind – “Joey” is looking like the only new sitcom coming up this season. Eh? Are sitcoms doomed? All the media hype bemoaning sitcoms’ end – from Entertainment Weekly’s roundtable discussion to every tv critic column I came across. And, of course, the reality show dominance – the benefit of being cheap (no need to pay for writers; no hand-wringling over plots when it’s all a matter of throwing disparate personalities together; and no need to cast actual actors); easily made (cameras rolling…); and rendering every viewer a sucker by sucking him/her into the storylines/conflict/gameshow winner.
Watching the “Simpsons” last night would suggest that the sitcom isn’t completely doomed, or at least if you go by the NY Times’ article about it. Gosh, the article was spoilers galore about the episode, but analyzed how such a cartoon/sitcom is written out and utterly dedicated to the idea of making a viewer laugh – what a lot of so-called sitcoms don’t do enough of (say goodbye to “I’m with Her”; “Married to the Kellys,” and the Jim Belushi show (I think) – sadly all on ABC, a show once known for decently silly sitcoms like “Three’s Company” What is the state of ABC? I don’t know).
On the bright side, “Arrested Development” will be back – an absurd show which is “they can’t do that, but they did” kind of funny (which, considering the time slot, I could never watch but always wanted to). On the negative side: there’s a whole load of “The Swan” and other dregs on in the meantime.
I wonder if the networks are putting themselves in a position set for failure – glutting the market with reality stuff (quite honestly, my life is reality, so why do I have to watch others’ so-called reality? TV’s my escapism, hello, Mr. Network Executive) – and what will happen the ratings won’t be there? Will the pendulum go the other way, to give us watchable dramas and comedies again? If so, when? (no, really, I want to know, because crappy syndicated television is hardly satisfying me – am I so desparate for non-reality tv that I’d watch “Andromeda”? Apparently – and that was a pretty lousy episode last weekend). Hmm. No wonder why I’ve been watching so much PBS lately. (well, not the “Colonial House” stuff – I haven’t watched since “Victorian House” – anything else would be almost derivative…) … More hmm. [better stop before I start sounding like Marge Simpson…]
For our members, I’ve upgraded the WordPress software (the one we’re using to blog) to the current version, 1.20 . I still have to tweak the template. The back end has a lot more features, including an improved editor and now you can upload pictures yourself. Explore and let me know what you think.
I’ve been waiting for this one for oh, the past 20 years. On SCC 20 years ago, some Jewish twit made a comparison of the Chinese treatment toward Tibetans something like a concentration camp etc, and said that all Chinese students should be expelled. In a brilliant piece of sarcasm (if I humbly say so myself), I copied his piece almost verbatim but substituted Chinese and Tibetans with Jews and Palestinians. Check out this 1992 unofficial FAQ on SCC.
Apparently, some other Jews agree with me, like the Israeli Justice Minister Yosef Lapid. Heh. 🙂
=YC
Will put more detail in this entry tonight, but the Philly trip went well. Learned the difference between Manet and Monet. Awesome Cheese Steaks at Jim’s Steaks on South Street and 4th:
More photos: Philly, International Food Fest
Saw Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love at BAM — a masterpiece. Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 911 won the Palm d’Or at Cannes; 2046 went away with nothing. On the bright side, it should be at the SF APA film fest in March 2005.
Film Review: 2046 (The Guardian)
The long-awaited (5 years, 3 different locales, random plot and actor-switching) Wong Kar Wai movie 2046 finally opened on Thursday to acclaim. It had to postpone its press showing Wednesday because Wong was flying with the last 20% of the film with him, and he missed his connection to France from Bangkok. It’s a sequel to In the Mood For Love, which I just watched on Netflix. In the Mood is about unrequited love set in 1960’s Hong Kong (my father was there until 1965), and it is really interesting to see what life was like in that time. From the press photos, the new movie continues its luxurious rich reds and blues, but incorporates sci-fi themes. The movie continues in the late 60’s with Tony Leung’s character dreaming about love and riding a train to the future. “2046” is the main character’s hotel room number, as well as the year Hong Kong’s special administrative status with China will end, both of which are examined in the film. Of course, a movie with Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, Faye Wong and Maggie Cheung — four of the hottest Chinese actresses today — can’t be missed. I hear that it will open in Asia in October — can’t wait to see it, maybe at the SF Asian Film Festival?
On the train last night, the group conversation was about “What were your worst train experiences?”. I seemed to have the record. For worst train experience not personally impacting me, there was the time the train I was riding ran over someone in the tunnel. They didn’t let us know what was happening until we got lead back to the station through another train that they hooked up to the back of the one we were on. Then there was the time I was randomly punched in the mouth by some dude getting off of the train. I think it was a racial bias thing, but the upshot is that it chipped a tooth. Then the worst one was when I was followed off a train and was stabbed with a machete. That was like almost 15 years ago when the City was still Dodge. That being said, the City and the subway are a lot better than it used to be.
I’m going to Philadelphia with P– on Saturday, and then seeing Shrek 2 in NY on Sunday.
So it’s kind of big news around here. The after shocks of the recent Presidential elections is still being felt. Today was the inauguration of President-elect Chen Shui-bian even though the recount is on-going. He won by 30,000 or so votes and 40,000 votes are in dispute. Meanwhile, China says, that it will invade Taiwan if it decides to “go independent”. See the fun rhetoric here at the NYTimes and CNN where apparently, China is reiterating its intention to use force to keep Taiwan a part of China.
I don’t know… with $100 billion dollars worth of Taiwan investment and $8.5 billion in bi-lateral trade, I hardly think it’s worth all that money to flush down the drain. Even so, the bark is worse than its bite as China simply doesn’t have the military capacity to invade Taiwan successfully (see Normandy and do a comparative analysis). 15 years ago, I was part of the Taiwan Independence debate on SCC (soc.culture.china USENET group) and feel that things are a bit different then than now. Taiwan is a de facto independent nation and Taiwan should call China’s bluff. You can read what Chen Shui-bian feels in his inauguration speech.
AJ and I were musing today on some fun work related events. It’s directly related to the on-going Taiwan development — namely, those who are most capable, have already left Taiwan for other places. Those who are left are well, direct empirical evidence contrary to the stereotype that Chinese people are smart. MIT doesn’t mean what it used to a couple of decades ago.
Anyways, I’m just continuing on my journey here and see where it leads.
=YC
The Iliad: Saw Troy with P- and her sister on Saturday. Wow, talk about Ishtar on the Aegean! OK, it wasn’t that bad, but paraphrasing the review from The Onion — it turned a 10 year war into a really bad spring break fling. Oftentimes, you just look at Orlando Bloom playing Paris and think that you’re in The Lord of the Rings – Frodo on Growth Hormones. Not value for money unless you’re channelling Brad Pitt.
The Odyssey: walked the length of the Ninth Avenue International Food Festival from 39th to 57th Street– wow, what great food! We had lobsters at Central Fish Market for $7 each. Jerk Chicken: $5 ea. Soft shell crab sandwiches. Tamales. Polish pierogi. Cupcakes from the Cupcake Cafe. Passed up on paella, BB Sandwich Bar’s cheesesteak sandwiches, corn cakes and mozzerella, Greek desserts, and much more because we just didn’t have room to eat them. Definately recommended next year.
I found this little experiment of social interaction to be really funny. I know that I wouldn’t like it very much. Women not talking, now that indeed would be a strange one.
This year’s weather has been awfully strange. Since being here, there’s been at least 3 “earthquakes”. One I felt but the other two, only known due to subway announcement but the trains still ran. Typhoon season is coming up so it’ll be interesting to see how it goes in the upcoming few weeks.
=YC