a lot of asian women get blepharoplasty, a surgical procedure that makes a crease in your eyelid. my mom had it done as a teenager in taiwan. when i was a kid asking her why her eyes were different from mine she suggested it as an option for me for when i got older. not that she thought i had to have it, but she just thought for aesthetic reasons it was better. i considered it but i never fully took to the idea. first of all, surgery on my face, let alone on my eyes, scares me to death. secondly, i didn't know how it would turn out or how obvious it would be and i didn't want to be self conscious about it. also having to explain to everyone that knew me pre-surgery what i had done was not something i was looking forward to doing. but i remember when i was just old enough to be allowed to wear lip gloss, i would spend hours in the bathroom cutting out little strips of tape to the exact length and curve of my eyes, being careful to round the ends and precisely positioning them on my eyelids to where if i opened my eye just right a very american looking crease would form. i'd turn in the mirror and smile and bat my eyes. eventually the tape would just pop off and i'd be back to being chinese. it was fun while it lasted.
many years later, in college, i had a very chinese roommate, linda. she was born in taiwan and came to america when she was a child. her parents owned a store. she could read, write and speak chinese fluently. she only cooked chinese food. she wore plastic chinese slippers in the shower. she and her entire household spoke chinese at home. she read chinese books and listened to chinese music. she was very obligated to her family. she told me that her grandfather had asked her to be a doctor while on his deathbed and she wanted to make him proud. (now she is a doctor) although chinese was my first language, 25 years later i can only read and write ten or twenty characters, so i would often ask linda how to write words in chinese for school projects i was working on. when i asked her to do this for me or other things i "should know" she would many times make comments to me that i wasn't really chinese. that i was "so american". she would say this very condescendingly. she called me a banana: yellow on the outside, white on the inside. i didn't think calling someone american was a bad thing, but for some reason being american was not good as being chinese, to her. after returning from winter break one year, i noticed linda suddenly had that very familiar crease on her eyelids that was never there before. my mom confirmed my suspicions a few months later after talking with linda's mom. i suppose i never wanted the surgery because i had no reason to be unhappy with the way i looked. yeah i think it looks really beautiful on some people, but i just have never had any desire to get it done. i also subconciously felt that by getting it done would be a clear sign of one's unhappiness with oneself. unsure about linda's reasons for it, i never asked her about it, but i'm sure she knew i was staring.
ulf came across a phrase with the word cakewalk in it. although he knew the meaning of the term cakewalk, having not grown up in america, he asked me what a cakewalk is. i explained to him that it was a carnival game usually held at fundraisers and school fairs where if you won, you got to take home a cake. then i did some research on the history of the cakewalk. the original cakewalk was a type of african american dance performed by slaves in dance competitions plantation owners would hold. the winners of the competition would win a cake, usually baked by the plantation owner. ulf was very interested that there was a dark side to this seemingly innocent game of gambling for a cake. i couldn't find any information on how the carnival game originated. anyone have any info on how this new interpretation of the cakewalk came about? did everyone play this game as a kid in school, or was this a regional thing (southern)?
ever wonder why chef pants are so ugly? in fact they are doubly ugly. in addition to the hideous houndstooth check and chili pepper prints that seem to always be reserved for chef pants, they are cut like baggy 80s cavariccis that taper at the ankle. why? joe explains that the black and white checks camoflauge minor spills and soilings. it seems the "fun" patterns were a form of personal expression that emerged for chefs in the mid 80s. that seems to explain the cut of the pants as well. they are all leftovers from the 80s. but, people, that is no excuse to keep this fashion statement alive. get some normal pants please. you look like an idiot walking around in public in tapered chef pants with vegetables on them.
i saw this pastry chef, gale gand, on the food network make this chocolate polenta cake one time. i decided to make it for andrea because she is allergic to wheat and listening to her bemoan her love for baked items and not being able to indulge herself almost makes me want to cry. here is the recipe. it's basically a flourless chocolate cake, or torte, with some polenta (corn meal) folded in. it came out very nicely, except the polenta didn't cook through. it stayed dry and added this funky crunchy texture throughout the soft chocolatey goodness. i once had a slice of polenta honey cake at la traviata that was yummy. but that recipe had the polenta as the main ingredient. it was almost like a dense sweetened cornbread. i can't decide if i like this chocolate cake or not. is the uncooked polenta supposed to add a nut-like texture to the cake, or should it have cooked through? has anyone made a polenta cake before?
michael rented the scandalous looking dead or alive xtreme beach volleyball for his xbox. i don't think the scantilly clad ladies are any worse than what you see in any normal japanese anime. so i don't see why it's such a big deal to get all hot and bothered over, but then again, i'm not a sixteen year old boy. granted a few of the bathing suits, if you can call them that, are rather revealing (one of the suits is called oriole which is rather appropriate since all it just about covers are the aureoles). i even read on some cheat sites that there is topless cheat code. but it's great fun and i'm totally addicted now (i haven't played animal crossing in days!). it's much like playing barbie dolls as a young girl. you get to dress up your girls in different outfits, complete with accessories, hairstyles, fingernail polish and other items and then have them interact with each other. you talk to the other girls and give them gifts in order to persuade them to partner with you in a volleyball game. and if you win the game you get a lot of cash to buy more things to either give to your partner or to keep for yourself. and each of the characters have some level of complexity to them as well. they are picky about what gifts you give them and have different playing styles. one girl may be precise with her spiking but very timid where as another is much more confident but not as exacting. the gameplay is rather simple but really fun, but it's more of a challenge remembering who likes what and learning when and how to be more aggressive with which partner during gameplay. at times it can be tedious and frustrating trying to get a partner since it's a relationship building game much like the japanese dating simulation games, but without the pornographic endings. but, you CAN zoom in rather close on the girls when they are sunbathing or playing on the beach when you push the right trigger. now that is kind of perverted.
the eames office will be giving tours of the interior of the eames house on june 21st and 22nd. the eames house has only been available for exterior visits previously, so this is a rare opportunity. tours will last an hour and half and will cost $90. if you are in or are going to be in the los angeles area during that time, check it out and report back to me.
tomorrow evening, march 25th, pbs will be airing the first of a 3 part series on the chinese experience of "becoming" american. will this be MY experience, i wonder? coinciding with the special is an interview series, personal journeys with five prominent chinese americans, one of them being the vietnam veteran's memorial creator, architect maya lin, whose book boundaries is excellent. check your local listings for correct show times.
there is a little french lamb that lives in my town, meat town, in animal crossing. her name is chevre. her favorite expression is "le baa". she is my favorite animal neighbor because she is as cute as a button, always in a cheery mood, and gives me nice presents when i visit her or send her letters. but recently the other animals have been pressuring me to write her nasty letters to make her move. also, my long-time wolf neighbor, wolfgang, moved away recently without any notice and a wolfgang look-a-like named lobo moved in. he looks just like wolfgang. JUST LIKE HIM.
one of the cable news channels reported a few days back that saddam hussein has up to 8 doubles posing as him, and that if we were to catch him, we would have no idea if it were the real saddam since we have no biological samples of him and thus no dna. see for yourself: the many faces of saddam hussein [the morning news]
we cannot base our military strategy on the assumption that saddam is weak and at the same time justify pre-emptive action on the claim that he is a threat.
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what has come to trouble me most over past weeks is the suspicion that if the hanging chads in florida had gone the other way and al gore had been elected, we would not now be about to commit british troops.
this afternoon, we turned off the real war on the television so michael and kent could play war video games. and a volleyball video game with girls in bikinis.
all i can do is sit back and wait. if things go as planned, and we overthrow the regime and, with god's help, rebuild iraq with a new leader, we will leave the desert with a deal that will kickstart our economy. my 401k will go up, i'll be turning down high paying clients left and right, i won't be spending twenty dollars on a full tank of gas, i'll be able to afford the french wine tax. and it's not going to stop. next we'll move on to libya, take over their land and their oil. what's stopping us? we're on our way to becoming the richest and most powerful nation. i hope that when we get to that point, and are filthy stinking rich, we look back and help the third world countries, the isolated nations, the poverty stricken peoples, and show them some compassion, help them with their plight, and generously. it seems the richer and richer we get, the less we give. and the less we give, the more american dissent and american-targeted terrorism abounds. it's not right for us to isolate ourselves on the rich half of the continent, hoarding the money we will get as a result of this war, and possibly others. in order for our democratic nation to succeed, it is our duty to make sure all peoples of all nations have the same opportunities and comforts we are so lucky to have. because as a leader of the democratic world, those isolated, desperate, america-hating people ARE our people.
but i am very untrusting at this moment. i don't have the faith in our leaders that we will do what's right after this is all over. right now there is a pain in my heart and i just feel hurt.
some people have taken down their sites in protest of the war. this kind of online no war campaign is just as useless as the no blood for oil picket signs at demonstrations across the country. pounding this age old message that war is bad and bush is evil is not helping anyone in the situation. who are you trying to convince? bush doesn't read your web site and he already knows war is bad. why shut down your site when you could use it as a vehicle for some intelligent dialogue over what is happening in iraq? meaningful discussion amongst people from both sides of the argument, not a banner on your site, is what will change people's hearts and minds.
or at the very least tell us what you had for lunch.
the war on iraq is under way. it is eight forty five pm. earlier, i made a large pot of chicken tortilla soup who i shared with michael, andrea and kassandra. michael and andrea went to see mama mia. kassandra went home. now i am sitting on the couch, with katie, the dog, watching tom brokaw and drawing illustrator diagrams for a proposal for a large consulting company. i think carpal tunnel syndrome is setting in my mousing (right) hand.
Lord, protect our troops, protect the iraqi people and watch over all of our hearts and minds as we enter this time of war.
everyone keeps asking me if i've recovered from sxsw.
interactive panels attended: 6 celebrity sightings: 5 films screened: 7 plus a collection of 6 narrative shorts bands rocked out to: 23 no sleep plus working a 40 hour week: priceless
on ulf's good advice, i saw ex-girl, a japanese pop/rock all girl band, tonight. it was unlike anything i had ever seen before. it was full costume theatrics, meticulous rehearsal of movement and sound, and they were so unbelievably cute. the music was just crazy and a bit heavy, nothing i'd ever really listen to, but their performances made every second worth it. the only thing that ruined it for me was learning that half of the men in that room were only there to foster their little asian girl fantasies. i wanted to punch these three middle-aged men standing next to me who wouldn't stop making lewd comments and laughing while they grabbed their greasy bellies. but anyway, did i mention how cute ex-girl are? they are so cute. they completely mesmerized the audience. at one point the drummer, chapple, started talking to us in what seemed to be broken english, but no one could understand a word. we just waited for her to say "OK?" and we all replied "OK!" back. also their merchandise price list misspelled "sticker" as "stecker". now that's fing cute.
i am in the center of all geekery; the nexus of all things blog. the monsters of blog, as george put it, are all in the same room, talking about blogging and taking notes. it is only befitting that i make an entry on my blog to permanently seal this moment in time.
tonight i went to a screening of made-up at the alamo. and the director, tony shalhoub, was there to answer questions. he is one of my favorite actors, and as he walked by he was close enough to smell. i jumped at the opportunity and sniffed. he smelled like dryer sheets. the film was excellent, very funny and gorgeous production. and lucky you, the film was just picked up by the angelika in dallas and will be showing some time soon (the date escapes me), so if you are near, go check it out.
i went to a panel yesterday with todd dominey, adam greenfield and jeffrey zeldman discussing personal publishing on the web. greenfield and dominey were commenting on how they are turned off by bad writing on the web, whether it be personal web logs, comments left on their sites or essays submitted to their sites for publication. greenfield sites, specifically, an article that was submitted, but he did not publish on his site because it was poorly written. so when the ideas are brilliant but the language/grammar it is presented in is offensive the original brilliant idea is not even worthy mentioning and considered moot. there are several web sites that i read that i find visually offensive, however the content and writing keep me coming back. i admit to being a design snob, but a well written entry will keep me coming back for more no matter what it looks lilke. i allow myself to let the visual language we call design become transparent as i read characters on a screen. isn't grammar and spelling and syntax, these symbols we use to stand for an idea, also a visual language? why doesn't this visual language become transparent as well and ideas allowed to be brought to the forefront.
so i wonder, vice versa, why is bad visual design dismissed so easily, and not considered as part of the brilliant idea, not just the separate presentation of it? is it possible to create a process where the visual design becomes so integrated in the idea or content that it becomes a vital part of the idea? or is it possible to create a written and spoken language that is so transparent, only the pure ideas are in the forefront, allowing anyone and everyone with different commands of the english language (or any language) to understand. this reminds me of mtv pop stars. i wonder what the musical landscape of today would be like, had we not had the visuals and stylings mtv has provided over the years.
i went to the premiere of sexless at the paramount tonight. it was a lovely little film all shot in austin. i realize this was the first cut of the film and has not been fine tuned, but there were quite a few production problems that irked me, like lighting continuity. oh, and some of the acting was pretty bad. but it was a great story and very funny. what i liked the best was that it was sort of a love letter to austin, highlighting many of the neighborhood hangouts in hyde park and campus and local bands like okkervil river and shearwater. but what i hate most about slacker austin films like this is the audience won't shutup each time the scene would change... that's ruby's... that's flightpath, no it's sacred cup... oh i live right there, that's waterloo... that's OH-kervil river playing, i love them! and sometimes i would hear these whispers in unison and in dolby surround sound courtesy of my neighbors. people, it's AH-kervil river.
then on my way back to the car i spotted pauly shore walking towards me on sixth. i wasn't so sure at first, so i scowled at him, more in confusion than anything else. he scowled back. then i realized who it was and smiled at him, he smiled back and then we played a brief game of are you going to your right? cause i'm going to your right too, maybe i should go to my right so we don't collide, oh wait you just went to your left so i need to go back to my left before passing each other. i tried to sniff him as he walked by, but i wasn't close enough. god, i remember the days i had a crush on pauly shore. remember encino man? i smoked crack as a teenager i did.
if you can make it down to the convention center this friday and saturday, check out the flatstock poster exhibit. it is open and free to everyone, even non-badge holders. there will be yummy specimens from yee-haw industrial press who also did some letterpressed posters for american spirit that are being handed out for free on the smoking balcony at the conference.
it is a small world indeed. everybody knows everybody! and austin seems to be the nexus of it all. tonight i met my favorite internet celebrity, andre. he was just the cutest thing ever. sadly i can't remember any of our conversation because i had too many beers and not enough food. i hope i didn't touch him inappropriately.
woohoo south by southwest! i start my grueling work tomorrow morning bright and early. if you are coming into austin the next week, please drop me an email. i will be stationed in the convention center during the interactive conference and would love to hunt you down and match a face to a web site. or we can get some bbq. ALSO, tim and friends are having a launch party for their new company, familyalbum.com, for which i had the lovely pleasure of designing the un-corporate site for. so, come to the party this saturday for beer, food and music and bring your hottt friends.
planning your schedule for sxsw is an art . no a science. ok both. i didn't go last year so i've forgotten the wackiness and lack of sleep that ensues, but i'm slowly starting to realize there is just not enough time. why do i insist on torturing myself like this? and why do they have to book all of the bands i even recognize all on the same night, at the same time? are the gods cursing me? in addition to this i'm attending the film festival too. i've never actually had a pass for both film AND music, so i feel obligated to use it till it disintegrates. i think this is impossible. i think i might die. or i might get sprayed with mace and trampled to death in a stairwell. to increase my chances of cheating death, i imagine i'm going to have to restrict myself to only see bands i've never seen before and that don't use pyrotechnics.
two discoveries today: i learned that cumin sometimes smells like dirty armpits and melody learned that you can eat the flowering tops of asparagus (she left a pile of asparagus tips on her plate during dinner tonight !?!?)
