November 30, 2006
[£1 = US$2?] 1992 was the year the British pound sterling crashed out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM). ERM - formed in 1979 to eliminate exchange rate fluctuations in Europe - was the precursor to the euro which came into existence in 1999.
1992 was also the last time the British pound was worth US$2 (Sept 8th). Three months after that, the pound was worth only US$1.50.
Yesterday, the US$ fell to its lowest level against the British pound since the pound crashed out of the ERM 14 years ago, hitting US$1.9628.
Who woulda thunk that the pound could be worth $2 (or more) soon? Bet on it happening before the year is out.
BTW, at its lowest, the pound stood at $1.05 in February 1985.
Shocking! @ 11:57
November 29, 2006
[jet-lagged and piccies] I guess I acclimatized completely to the timezone in Japan, coz I've been having a bitch of a time going to bed, getting up and staying awake these past two days! I've been going to bed at 11 but only sleeping till 4 or so, before crashing again at 6 or 7 and waking up at 11!
Yup, I've been getting in to work at around noon :-o And THAT is very tardy even by my standards. If my boss wasn't such a nice person, I'd be fired by now *giggle*.
Anyways, I have some pictures to share from Japan. Obviously, I - being the prolific picture-taker that I am - took thousands more pictures (digital cameras are a Godsend for camera whores like me!) and I will get to them when I'm not so jet-lagged.
[L] From the Floating Garden Observatory of the Umeda Sky Building in Osaka
[R] Todaiji (Great Eastern Temple) - the world's largest wooden building - in Nara
[L] Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) in Kyoto
[R] I know, I know, a torii... how cliche (@ Ryoanji in Kyoto)
[L] Beautiful koyo (autumn colors) @ Kinkakuji in Kyoto
[R] Tony's new favorite Japanese food - sukiyaki!
[L] A kaiseki dinner in our yukatas @ the Iwaso Ryokan in Miyajima - Heaven!
[R] The A-Bomb Dome in Hiroshima (very sad)
[L] Nightime pictures @ Momijidani Park in Miyajima
[R] The ginormous O-torii gate in Miyajima
[L] Our final night @ Hiiragiya Ryokan in Kyoto
[R] Our final meal (udon and soba!) in Japan
Aren't the pictures great? *beam* We had *such* a good trip.
That's all for now. More to come later! @ 23:15
November 27, 2006
[another trip ends] We're an hour from touching down at Dulles, YAY! We're somewhere over Ohio, and I must say it's been quite a pleasant flight so far from Osaka to DC. We're on a non-stop 767 from SF, seated in the middle two seats in the Business Class cabin. The seat is comfy, though the food and the service pales in comparison to the international leg, of course. We had some mediocre sausage sandwich thingie. Edible, but quite a disappointing first taste of non-Japanese food since we left for Osaka on the 17th! Wow, can you believe we haven't had any Western food (or non-Japanese food for that matter) in 10 whole days?
I'm secretly hoping that all the Japanese food that we ate (and we had a LOT) were all healthy and did not have cumulative effects on my weight *fingers-crossed*. Aside from the enormous quantities of rice, I don't think our food consumption over the past 10 days have been much different from our usual diet of seafood and very little meat. I do feel like I've eaten a whole lot more veges though, coz the Japanese *love* their veges. And tofu! Everything is tofu something or other. I love tofu. Very fetch.
Right now, my cell phone is hooked up to this laptop for charging purposes. And the laptop is plugged in to the seat's power to keep the laptop battery alive for me to type this and charge the phone. It's quite a mishmash of wires around my seat right now, *giggle*. Plus, I'm listening to music off of my laptop's iTunes. Talk about multi-tasking!
Even as I wish the vacation in Japan was longer (oh to have one more piece of sushi right now), I am pretty excited to get back to the swing of things in DC. Bills, chores (hah!), parties, friends, weekends, yoga, Christmas-time, work, and just chilling out. Perhaps even new furniture? Yup, we have some chairs and a love seat coming. Hopefully they'll be here soon.
And so, another trip ends. Distressingly (for those who balk at all the flying I'm doing) and quite excitingly (for those who just love to travel), our next international vacation - over Christmas and New Year's - departs in 25 days. Wheeeee!
I'm such a travel whore ;-) @ 18:02
[giving thanks] We can see the Pacific Coast of the US off of our left window, and we will be landing shortly in SFO. It's been quite a short flight. 2 hours for turbulence-laced dinner, 1 1/2 hours towards the end for "breakfast", and I crashed the rest of the 5 1/2 hours. Not enough, not enough, I am still way, way sleepy. I want my pillow.
I notiched that I didn't or had forgotten to give thanks last Thursday. Thanksgiving just didn't come to mind sitting in the little box of a room on a tatami mat floor overlooking a Japanese garden. Towards the end of our 2+ hour long kaiseki dinner at Hyotei, I did silently give thanks that I was there. With Tony. Able to enjoy our lives to a level that I wish most people or, more importantly, most of my family and friends can.
I gave thanks for Tony, who is ever so patient, generous, and loving even as I am cranky/childish/cunty/bitchy/[insert annoying child-like behaviors here], self-centered, and temperamental.
Tony's goal in life is to get me to smile.
That, in itself, is worth giving thanks for!
Landing soon, powering down! @ 08:49 PST
[love-hate] So, what can I say about Japan that hasn't already been said.
Well, we had a tremendous vacation; and spent FAR too much money! It was exhausting and exciting at the same time. Tops were the ryokan experiences (wait till you hear about Hiiragiya), Miyajima island, and our gastronomical tour of the Kansai region i.e. we basically ate our entire vacation.
Many other little things made our vacation memorable: the politeness of the Japanese people, the efficiency of anything that runs on a schedule here, and the amazingly delicious food that is making me sad to leave. Yes, I snuck in one last udon/soba meal 40 minutes before we were supposed to leave for the airport even though I wasn't really hungry. That was how desperate I was!
And just before we jumped in a cab to Kyoto train station, the managerial and entire front desk staff at the Hiiragiya walked us out, loaded our cab for us, made small talk with us, and as we were pulling away, they all bowed! To the cab! They repeat that ritual many, many times a day for arriving and departing guests. I'm pretty sure these people will never start a war ever again; though I can surely see how their spirit of camaraderie with their fellow countrymen, their startlingly unique culture that instills pride in the nation, and their intense attention to details can get them on the warpath. But that's all history now.
This is the longest amount of time I have spent in Japan in one go. Our prior trips to Japan were a few days here and there in Tokyo or, worse, a few hours in transit at Narita. The more time I spend here, the more I like it and the more I dislike it. You already know what I like (food!), but the dislikes are a long list as well.
Topping that list is the crowdedness of it all. There is like no room and no space. Anywhere. It's tragic.
Last night, we went to Kiyomizu Temple for the evening lighting of the temple and the surroundings. We figured that since it was raining (hard), we could sneak in and out quickly in order to get back to the Hiiragiya for yet another drop-dead kaiseki dinner. Wrong. The line to enter the temple stretched all the way down the hill (usually a 10-15 min walk). It was a sea of umbrellas and little Japanese people who want to go exercise their cameras to death at this temple. On a Sunday. In the pouring rain!
People were just *every*where. It's exhausting.
Another thing that annoys me (although this happens to me throughout Asia) is the fact that the Japanese will immediately start speaking Japanese to me even though I look nothing like the typical slanty-eyed Japanese on the streets. WTF? This happened to me in Vietnam, Thailand, and now Japan. If this shit happens to me in Korea and China as well next month, I am gonna shit a panda. I look Chinese! I'm not pan-Asian!! And I have (somewhat) round eyes!!! Grrr.
Speaking of eyes, I never used to understand why Asians were called "slanty-eyed". I mean, I never noticed it before, coz I guess South-East Asians have bigger eyes. But, OMB, in Japan? I'm thinking the majority of the population can barely see out of their eyes. We were riding the subway in Kyoto and I was shocked to see all the kids (i.e. un-plastic-surgeried) have teeny slits for eyes and the top lid slants downwards away from the nose bridge, instead of curving. Amazing! How did I not notice this before??
The other thing that annoys me to death is the distance of the two major airports, Narita and Kansai, from Tokyo and Osaka respectively. It takes a full hour by train to get to those airports. It's crazy! Kansai is like 54 miles from Osaka (and even further from Kyoto). It took us 75 minutes to get from Kyoto to Kansai Airport just now on a limited express "Haruka" train. Insane. Then again, if it weren't for the amazing train system, we would've been SOL coz cabs easily top $200 to go from the airports to the major cities.
The Japanese are crazy! But they have such good food. It's definitely a love-hate relationship :-D @ 15:49 KIX->SFO
[UA886, 9A&B] Grrr, the wi-fi in the Asuka lounge did not allow me to post my "homebound" blog (below) via SSH or telnet :-( Kansai Airport is so silly.
Aaaaanyways, we are on UA886 bound for San Francisco. It's a 777 and we are in the mini-cabin (between First Class and the galley) where there are only two rows of seats. It's my favorite part of the 777, although I much prefer the upper deck of a 747. Oh well, we're in Business Class so I ain't complaining.
Moreover, the flight over the Pacific is a super-fast 9 hours today. We then have a 2 hour layover in SF (where we get to use the Arrivals by United facility to shit, shower and shave), followed by a 5 hour flight before we land at Dulles. At this point i.e. the end of our vacation, all I want to do is get home. The 14 hours of flight time is just annoying.
Kansai Airport was pretty dead today. In fact, I'm not even sure if this airport ever gets busy. Total number of passengers per year is less than DCA, IAD or BWI. It's quite sad coz the airport is beautiful and quite an engineering marvel. And they're already building a second runway and, perhaps, a second terminal. I have no idea why.
Not to mention it's also quite a monumental waste of money - $15bn have been spent so far. The expansion will cost another $15bn. Shocking! The airport is located 2 miles off the shore in Osaka Bay. The road-rail bridge alone from the mainland to the artificial island cost $1bn! It is, however, built so well it withstood (without so much as a window breaking) the 1995 Kobe earthquake which killed 6,433 people, and a 1998 typhoon which whipped up 120+mph winds.
Yay! We both just got the Obento dinner for our flight. Yet another Japanese meal in store for us. Wheeeee! Our Japanese experience continues...
But this meal, unlike our past SIX kaiseki meals, will be missing the little old (and some young) Japanese ladies clad in kimono, bowing each time they brought us a course. It will also be missing the shouts of "irrashaimase!" and "arigato gozaimashita!" when we enter and exit the restaurant.
I miss Japan already *sigh*.
Whoa... massive turbulence so far on this flight. I am extremely prone to motion sickness and my tummy is already feeling weird. Hmm... @ 15:36 KIX->SFO
[homebound] So here I am again, in the ever-familiar situation called "end of vacation, glad to be going home, but wish I could stay longer". We are at Kansai "artificial island" Airport, waiting for our United flight to San Francisco en route to Dulles. We just left the Club ANA Lounge and are now comfortably seated in the Asuka lounge waiting for our flight to depart in about 30 minutes.
I'll write a LOT more when I get on the plane.
So, off I go. Back to the States. And back to work tomorrow *pout*.
Miss me? *giggle* @ 14:20 KIX
November 26, 2006
[shinkansen] My first trip on the Shinkansen (bullet train) was exhilirating! And somewhat disappointing.
This beast is FAST! It is almost like flying on rails. We caught the Nozomi #17 from Shin-Osaka to Hiroshima which took all of 80 minutes - barely enough time to watch the scenery fly by, take some (rather blurry) pictures, and have a sushi lunch on board. It only stopped three times - Shin-Kobe, Okayama and Fukuyama - and by "stop", I mean 1-minute, get-off, get-on kinda stops. Slightly longer than a subway stop but not by much.
So why was it disappointing? Well, train travel in Japan - including the Shinkansen - has been heavily commodotized. The "coach" cars were in a 2-3 configuration; lots of legroom but slightly cramped width-wise like an airplane. Even the "green" (first class) cars were a 2-2 configuration. The insides are not luxurious in a way that I imagined.
But unlike an airplane, there is lots of room to move and walk around. And a huge advantage of the Shinkansen is the departure and arrival into central city train stations, where connections to other trains, subways or forms of transportation is painless and seamless.
Still, the Shinkansen was super fast and relatively cheap - $85. If Acela ever charged $85 each way to go from DC to NYC in 80-90 minutes, the Delta and USAir shuttles would go out of business. There is no other way to travel this distance in the same amount of time (it takes about an hour to get from Osaka to the airport alone) and for the same price.
We are currently en route in the Hikari (slightly slower than the Nozomi plus one additional stop at Himeji) from Hiroshima to Shin-Osaka and then onwards to Kyoto for one night before flying back to DC via SF tomorrow evening.
The Shinkansen is fabulous! @ 12:36 Shinkansen
[shinkansen vs acela] Check this out about the bullet train (Shinkansen):
Shinkansen |
Acela Express |
Osaka -> Hiroshima
| DC -> NYC
|
Still unsure about how fast the Shinkansen is? Going about the same distance, you could almost travel round-trip on the Shinkansen in the time it takes to go one-way on the Acela Express.
Can you imagine being able to get to NYC in 90 minutes?? I'd be there every weekend... @ 12:22 Shinkansen
[getting to miyajima] A few things of note that the guidebooks don't tell you about when getting to Miyajima Island:
1. Travel as lightly as possible! We ditched all our heavy luggage and only brought one rollerboard and two carry-on bags with us and we are so glad that we did! The journey to Miyajima involves train changes, quite a bit of walking, and a ferry ride. You do NOT want to navigate large train stations - like Hiroshima - with heavy luggage. Switching platforms is a bitch in smaller train stations that have no escalators. Pack only what you need for the duration of your stay in Miyajima.
2. The shinkansen only gets you as far as Hiroshima station. From Hiroshima station, you have to switch to a commuter-like local JR train and travel for about 25-30 minutes to Miyajimaguchi station. Don't worry about missing the kaisoku (Rapid Service City Liner); the local trains take 5-10 minutes more and stops at 3 more stops than the kaisoku. It's not a big deal. The train takes about 20-30 minutes.
3. Once you get to Miyajimaguchi, it's about a 2-block walk to the ferry terminal. Signs abound. The only thing of note is that you need to take an underground passage to cross the main street.
4. The ferry takes about 10 minutes to get to Miyajima Island. If you take the JR West ferry (the price is included in your JR ticket from Hiroshima), sit on the right side of the ferry. The view, upon arrival into Miyajima, is unforgettable. You probably don't want to take a ferry to Miyajima before noon - especially on sunny days - unless you like crowds. And definitely don't get on a ferry going back to the mainland after noon unless you want to wait in a Disneyland-like line. Ferries come every 10 or so minutes, though, so it's not a big deal or a long wait.
5. You MUST find out the times of low and high tide before you visit. The O-torii at the lowest tide (early morning or early evening) is fascinating as you can walk all the way out to the gate and touch it. At high tides (mid-day or just before they turn off the lights at 11pm), the O-torii appears to be floating on the sea. Whatever it is, time your visit to coincide with the tides.
See? Now, you too can get there easily! @ 12:22 Shinkansen
[miyajima] Wow, Miyajima was beautiful! If you've never been, you should definitely check it out. The island is gorgeous - thickly forested and lots of fun things to do and see. We were there during koyo, which is the equivalent of fall colors here in Japan. The entire island is a sea of reds (Japanese maples), yellows (ginkgo) and greens - quite a Heavenly sight!
1. Wild deers - There are wild deers all over the island. They mingle with and do not bother the people (which, in the height of the day, number in the tens of thousands of day-trippers). They eat everything - even a snot-covered tissue that I threw into a trash can *giggle*. They are sooo cute.
2. Momiji Manju - If there was ever a symbol of Miyajima, it is these maple leaf-shaped cakey thingies filled with red bean paste, usually, but sometimes chocolate, cream cheese, green tea, etc. There is a shop selling these cakes on the island every 10 feet. They are tasty, but not superbly so, and they are also quite addictive. We loaded up on them, of course. Who said vacations and diets go hand-in-hand? *grin*
3. O-torii - If there was another symbol of Miyajima, or just one image of Japan that comes to mind - it is the O-torii or "big gate". Floating above the water at high tide (midnight and noon) and firmly anchored into the sea floor at low tide (6pm and 6am), this typically red Japanese "gate" rises an impressive 52 feet and guards the entrance into Miyajima like a proud and imposing archway. We must've taken a thousand day and night shots (brilliantly lit) of this torii, though we missed out on the daytime high tide.
4. Iwaso ryokan - More about the ryokan later, but there is only one word to describe our stay at Iwaso: "sublime". The memories will last a lifetime.
Go to Miyajima! You won't regret it :-) @ 12:03 Shinkansen
[only in japan] OMB, we are on the Shinkansen back to Kyoto (from Hiroshima)... and the train conductor just bowed as he entered the train car. And then he bowed again on the way out! How eff-ing cute is that.
It's been a whirlwind trip so far - of fun (Miyajima was beautiful!), new experiences (the ryokan was awesome), and lots and lots of peculiarities. Besides the bowing thing - which the Japanese elevate to an art form of "how low can my head go" - here are some that top our list of "OMB, are they for real?":
1. Everything runs on-time. Departing and arriving. No exceptions. The trains, the buses, the ferries, everything. Even the hotel shuttle buses! If you're even a minute late, you can say sayonara to the bus and wait for the next one. I am extremely impressed by the punctuality of this country's transportation system. It's sooooo not like Italy!
2. Everyone is impossibly polite. In the service industry anyway. All the workers in the restaurants, shops, hotels, ryokan, etc. we've been to have been on a bowing spree - each one followed with either "dozo" (please), "irrashaimase" (welcome), "domo arigato gozaimas-u/hita" (thank you very much), or sometimes even "gomenasai" (I'm sorry). They are constantly bowing, mostly in appreciation of your business, and sometimes in reverence (like "ohhh, you gaijin we take care of you very very good!"). It definitely puts a smile on your face and makes it really difficult for you to get upset at them (although no Kiat trip is complete without one public outburst of dissatisfaction, LOL!).
3. Wrapping is an art form. All purchased goods are wrapped to perfection. Even if you buy a keychain, they will wrap it as if it were gold. It doesn't matter that you are gonna tear it open and discard the wrapping anyway when you get home. They take pride in making sure your fragile purchases are bubble-wrapped to withstand throwing it out of a bullet train. This wrapping-mania goes hand-in-hand with their appreciation for your business.
4. It is clean everywhere. There are no trash on the streets. Not even in the dingiest of areas. The water around Miyajima Island - oh so close to the major industrial port of Hiroshima - is so clean you could see to the bottom of the sea. The air - even in the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima - is unpolluted and refreshing to inhale. The forested areas are pristine - as if Buddha himself is tending to every tree, shrub and stream - and the urban areas are spotless, even along major covered shopping arcades like Hondori in Hiroshima, Taremachi in Kyoto where there is a staggering number of people at all times (street fair-like) but not a single empty container on the floor. It's almost like the people are not only trained to be polite, they've been trained to never litter and to always respect public spaces. Incredible.
Only in Japan. @ 11:50 Shinkansen
November 24, 2006
[off to hiroshima] It's another beautiful and sunny autumn day in Kyoto, Japan! All the peeps in the States are having Thanksgiving dinner right about now, but we are off to Hiroshima this morning where we'll be spending two nights on Miyajima ("a divine island of ancient history of legend, located in the beautiful islets-studded Seto Inland Sea"... I know, how corny) located just off the coast of Hiroshima.
I don't think we'll have internet access until we fly home so, sayonara for now from Japan! @ 10:21 Kyoto
November 23, 2006
[turkey sushi?] Oy, another eight full hours of sightseeing today. The rain never showed up (good thing) so we hit two more temples (Kinkaku-ji and Ryoan-ji) and a castle (Nijo). My feet are *killing* me.
In about 30 minutes or so, we're off to our mega-, super-blowout kaiseki dinner at Hyotei. It's Thanksgiving Day in the US today. I'm pretty sure turkey won't be on the menu tonight ;-) @ 17:43 Kyoto
[kaiseki part 1] Kaiseki is basically a menu degustation or Japanese tasting menu, if you will, that usually consists of more than 8 courses featuring sashimi, tempura, fish and meat dishes, and tofu, etc. It is the height of Japanese cuisine combining and appreciation for the changing seasons with true artistry. Everything, down to the timing of each course and the choice of ceramics is planned to perfection for the complete dining experience.
In Nara, we had a mini-kaiseki bento-box (all the courses came out at once) lunch at this wonderful little 200-yo house called Harishin where we dined on tatami mats with a view of a Japanese garden. The house was located in this crowded but picturesque neighborhood of narrow lanes and traditional wooden homes and shops (I shudder to think what would happen in the event of an earthquake-induced fire). The lunch was truely delightful - teeny-tiny little bite-sized morsels of heavenly Japanese food featuring tofu, sashimi, soup, rice, pickled veges, shrimp, chicken, etc. The one thing I remember most is the shrimp tempura - the best I've ever had! Yummy-licious.
We had our first introduction to kaiseki-style dinner in Kyoto by accident last night in the geisha district of Gion at this cute little teahouse a few steps down a cobbled path from the romantic Shira-kawa, a small tributary of the Kamo-gawa (river). It was by accident coz we were intending to have shabu-shabu (thinly sliced beef dipped in a hot pot of stock and eaten with dipping sauce) but when we saw the kaiseki on the menu, we just couldn't resist.
What we had yesterday was sorta like a pseudo-kaiseki where we sat at the counter and the chefs prepared everything live in front of us. Consequently, it was "only" ¥10,000/pp ($85). We're gonna do real kaiseki tonight and the real thing "starts" at ¥25,000/pp ($215!) :-o
Anyhoe, here are some pics from Yagenbori:
LOL! The restaurant had the cutest little napkins and coasters. And best yet, you could take them all home! The napkin, in particular, could be kinda like, um, a slogan for a Japanese port site ("if you cum once, you'll cum again!") *giggle*!!
The one on the left is called hoba miso (bean paste with mushroom and green onions) which was super-delicious. On the right is a freshwater fish (kinda tasteless but still yummy) prepared sashimi-style and tempura-style. There were so many other dishes to this kaiseki menu - the appetizer sampler was sublime, lots of tofu (in wasabi sauce, tofu-skin wrapped with something, tofu everywhere) tofuliciuosly prepared, sashimi, pickled this and that, fishies, veges, etc. And Tony even got raw abalone! The texture was OK but it was just bland. But they made a big deal out of it so we politely ate the whole thing *grin*. The only dish that made me wince was an omelette thingie with ginseng in it. I know, I know, ginseng is good for you blah blah blah... you sound like my mother :-p I don't really like the taste of it and don't want to eat it... so I fed it all to Tony :-D.
I did get the feeling that we were missing some dishes like noodles (we did get rice) and grilled meats. It certainly makes Makoto in DC ($45/pp for kaiseki) look downright cheap and delicious!
Watch this space for Kaiseki Part 2 :-) @ 08:42 Kyoto
November 22, 2006
[sleeping fine] Tokyo is 14 hours ahead of EST and jet lag should be a bitch. But jet lag has been mercifully mild on this trip so far. It's been less of a problem on this trip than the previous ones. Perhaps I'm just getting acclimatized to the whole timezone shifting thing - three Asia trips in three consecutive months will do it to ya.
I've actually been sleeping a healthy 7-8 hours every night (and even 9 hours!). Except for this morning when I only had 5+ hours of sleep. But that was by choice. Tony's choice, that is :-D
And to keep myself awake so that I don't pass out at 9pm (and wake up at 4am), I watch Desperate Housewives. Dubbed in Japanese, of course. Lemme tell ya, it's comical to the point of farcical. The funny thing is, they actually went to painstaking lengths to make sure the characters all have equivalently sounding Japanese voices i.e. the Japanese lady who dubbed Susan actually sounds like Teri Hatcher! @ 23:11 Kyoto
[templed out] We are on our third night in Kyoto and the half way mark on our tour of Japan. Exhaustion is kinda setting in as we've been on a sightseeing tear throughout the Kansai area over the past two days.
We were out and about Kyoto for 8 hours during the day yesterday visiting four temples - Tofuku-ji, Sanjusangen-do, Kiyomizu-dera and Ginkaku-ji. Last night, we went out again to the geisha district of Gion and Tony had the Kobe beef which almost made him cream his manties. Today, we were in Nara for 6-1/2 hours visiting four temples/shrines - Todai-ji, Nigatsu-do, Katsuga Taisha (shrine), and Kofuku-ji - followed by Heian shrine in Kyoto and 2 hours of shopping at the Kyoto Handicraft Center. And we just got back from a 3-hour semi-blowout (tsuki) kaiseki dinner in Gion ("When hungry think of Yagenbori!").
We've been on the go for 12 hours each day for the past two days, helped by the fact that both days were brilliantly sunny and spring-like cool. During the past 48 hours, we've definitely seen enough temples to last our lifetime.
And there's still so much more to see/eat/do! I'm almost thankful that tomorrow is gonna be rainy which means no pressure to do another 12-hour day of sightseeing. I don't think I can take another day of that.
And trust me when I say that we've only barely skimmed the surface by hitting only the major and most popular temples and shrines... and even then, we're skipping a bunch!
So templed out. @ 22:35 Kyoto
November 21, 2006
[riding the rails] Everything in Japan runs absolutely on-time. The shuttle bus from the Westin Osaka <-> JR Osaka station and from the Westin Miyako Kyoto <-> JR Kyoto station departs on schedule with no variations and and no waiting. All the trains and subways run on-time. Our Super Rapid (shin-kaisoku) train from Osaka to Kyoto was scheduled to depart at 2:15pm and arrive at 2:43pm, and it departed and arrived at exactly those times. Amazing.
Our 28min train ride yesterday from Osaka to Kyoto over a 26.6mi distance cost only ¥540 ($4.60). Amazing, huh? Even though the train was an "intercity"-like train connecting two major cities, it really was just a commuter train where people got on and off like they would a subway. The urbanscape stretched the entire distance from Osaka to Kyoto - you can't really tell where one city stops and the next one starts. There were no luggage racks per se so, yup we had fun navigating the "commuter" train with our luggage, especially my big bag since I always overpack! Good thing Tony's rolling it around for me :-D
Train stations here are amazingly complex transportation hubs. Both the Osaka and Kyoto stations have multiple Japan Rail (JR) lines above ground, fanning out to the surrounding suburbs. Under the stations, there are multiple subway lines that link the immediate urban areas to the train stations inter-connecting them to the JR lines. The Kyoto station also has the bullet train (Shinkansen) line that connects Kyoto to Tokyo/Osaka and beyond (Osaka's Shinkansen lines go through Shin-Osaka station instead of the Osaka station - I know, how confusing). Then there are the private railway lines (like Keihan, Hanshin, Kintetsu, Hankyu, etc.) which also criss-cross both cities - including the train station hubs - serving specific surrounding towns and villages and suburbs. It's all very confusing for tourists (think multiple tickets, fares and schedules) yet very, very convenient for the local population.
OK, we were only supposed to take a one hour breather before heading back out again for the night. More stories later when we get back to the hotel after dinner! @ 18:00 Kyoto
[major tourists] We just got back from EIGHT hours of non-stop sightseeing. Exhausted. We are such major tourists!! @ 16:51 Kyoto
[osaka -> kyoto] Yesterday was transit day. Today is sightseeing day. Busy, busy, busy. @ 07:59 Kyoto
November 20, 2006
[fugu] Fugu (Japanese for pufferfish/blowfish) is highly toxic. The fish (seen in Finding Nemo) defend themselves by inflating their bodies to several times normal size and by poisoning their predators. The fish contains lethal amounts of poison in the liver, the ovaries, the skin and the testicles (wha?). The poison paralyzes the muscles while the victim stays fully conscious, and eventually dies from asphyxiation (yikes).
Despite (or because of) all that, fugu is a delicacy in Japan. Moreover, only specially licensed chefs can prepare and sell fugu to the public. People actually die from eating fugu, though people seldom do nowadays due to the strict government controls on the preparation and the sale of fugu.
One would think that because fugu is a delicacy for a population with such discerning tastes and because of the "danger" aspect of consuming such a fish, that fugu would actually taste somewhat good to, perhaps, very very good? I mean, why else would people risk their life for it??
Um, wrong.
Last night, we went to a fugu feast at Zuboraya in the frenetic nightlife district of Dotonbori.
Scenes from Dotonbori entertainment district (left) and the big blowfish welcoming you to Zuboraya!
The huge mechanical crab welcoming you to Dotonbori is a hoot!
First of all, this shit is expensive - the set meals start at $45/pp. The one we ended up ordering was about $60+. We had the whole fugu shebang - sashimi (thinly sliced and raw), sushi, stewed (nabe-style in a pot called tenchiri), fried, grilled, boiled, poached, swimming in broth, cook-it-yourself, etc. The verdict? They were all bland and tasteless. If it weren't for the super-yummy ponzu (lemon soy sauce) dipping sauce, I would've gagged. Worse yet, the fugu sashimi (supposedly the best fugu dish) was chewy and tougher than rubber. It was nasty.
Why, oh why do the Japanese pay so dearly for so tasteless a fish? Baffling.
I'm glad that I can say I've had it, I'm still alive, and I'll never order it again.
After dinner, we wandered around the neon-drenched Times Square-like district of Dotonbori. Dotonbori street itself butts up against Dotonbori-gawa (river) and the most famous bridge crossing is Ebisu-bashi (bridge) which leads up to the 8-block long indoor street mall called Shinsaibashisuji.
Here are some pics:
The neon signs around Ebisu-bashi
The neon-drenched Dotonbori River (left) and the entrance to Shinsaibashisuji (right)
More scenes from this frenetic theater, nightlife, restaurant and entertainment district
And finally...
Is there any other kind of joy? :-D @ 09:43 Osaka
[okonomiyaki] I know, all I can talk about is food! After touring the only tourist attraction in Osaka worth visiting - Osaka Castle (it was brilliant, btw) - we went to the food court at Yudobashi Camera (a department store across from the JR Osaka train station) to have okonomiyaki at a local chain called Fugetsu.
The restaurant floor of Yudobashi had an interesting way of queueing for a table. You basically sat outside on little stools (everything is little in Japan) and the one sitting closest to the door has precedence. When someone gets called, you slide down closer towards the door until you get to be the closest one. No putting down names, no numbers, nothing. How quaint!
How do I describe okonomiyaki... It's basically Japanese pancake. It's a specialty of the Kansai region so we decided to try it. They (some dude in the restaurant does it for you) basically pan-fry a batter mixture of yam, eggs and cabbage together with the meat/seafood of your choice (we had oysters and shrimp) and finally topped with okonomiyaki sauce (which is like Worcestershire sauce but thicker and sweeter) and bonito (fish) flakes.
The Japanese server dudes cooking the pancake for you
Okonomiyaki (left) and Grilled mushrooms (right)
Okonomiyaki with sauce (left) and Yakisoba (right)
The verdict? It was good. We ordered two other dishes - grilled mushrooms and yakisoba (kinda like chow mein) with pork and kimchi - and the other dishes were actually better. The grilled mushrooms, in particular, were stunning - strong tasting and marinated in delicious Japanese sauce of some kind. Definitely TDF. The yakisoba was also delicious, especially the kimchi part. The pork was also juicy. Yum, yum, yum.
I dunno, the pancake thingie tasted kinda potato-ey and starchy though. I was hoping that it was gonna be more egg-y. Flavor was good, though, but that was mostly because of the sauce. The oysters (which are only served in winter) were yummy-licious.
Apparently the Hiroshima version is less batter-y and more of a layered approach which is good coz I'm not so much a fan of the "cabbage batter". I can't wait to try it out when we get there on Thursday.
The okonomiyaki makes a great meal... and cheap! The whole meal was only about $12/pp including drinks. I love it when the yen is so low! @ 08:29 Osaka
[london weather] The view of Yodo River and Osaka (just to prove that we're really in Osaka, the bottom right Kanji characters in the second picture say "O-saka"!) from our hotel room on yet another gloomy morning in Osaka. It's been drizzling for, what, 3 days now? Apparently Chris, who is in London right now, is enjoying fine weather there. Yup, thanks for exporting your weather to us :-p
We've been taking it pretty easy on this 2-night stop in Osaka. We were out sightseeing for about 9 hours yesterday and rested lots (plus ate lots!!). We're gonna need our energy for our next stop which is the main purpose of this trip.
And we're off to Kyoto this morning. More later! @ 08:06 Osaka
[more peculiarities] Oh, I forgot to mention that at Kansai Airport, they had these red lines on the floor surrounding the baggage carrousels that say "STOP" to get people to stand behind that line so that other people can get to the bags without having to jostle through crowds of people looming over the conveyor belt. A pretty good idea, and one that was surprisingly adhered to by most people (except for the mannerless mainland Chinese *grin*). I think this should be implemented worldwide :)
We took one of the elevators in the Tanimachi subway line and as you can see from the picture above, there were no numbers or any "Open" or "Close" buttons. You just have to pretty much know which Kanji (Japanese) character corresponded to what. In this case, the button above the unlit one in black is "ground", I have no idea what the one above that in red is. The bottom left is "Open" and the bottom right is "Close". Good thing I can read Chinese!
What's more interesting is that subway lines in Osaka (as well as Tokyo) are owned and runned by different rail companies. So the Tanimachi line did not have any subway maps in English and barely any maps of the platforms and which exit to take to get where. The Midosuji line, the main line connecting the two urban centers of Kita and Minami which we took later that night, had all of the above.
But when it comes to fare collection, it's all one fare and every rail company gets a slice. Go figure! @ 08:02 Osaka
November 19, 2006
[lost in translation] O-saka (emphasis on "O") is officially HUGE. Kansai Airport is so far away from Osaka that it took us 70+ minutes (on a Saturday evening) by bus to get to the JR Osaka train station. Even the fastest train takes about 50 minutes. Insane. And the vista on the whole journey from the airport into the city was neverending concrete. Everywhere you go, Osaka stretches endlessly out into the horizon - kinda like Tokyo. The city just never ends.
Located on roughly the same parallel as Washington DC (with winters that are nowhere near as harsh - it rarely snows or drops below freezing), the Kansai megalopolis (Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto-Nara) is home to almost 19 million people, about 15% of Japan's population. It is hard to believe that this is the SECOND largest metropolis in Japan. Tokyo has almost twice the number of people!! Nonetheless, Osaka definitely plays second fiddle to Tokyo. All the best stuff and largest companies go to Tokyo. There are more Louis Vuittons in Tokyo than there are Starbucks in Osaka. I know, can you imagine? 19mn ppl anywhere else in the world would qualify as a first-rate global city.
Osaka is criss-crossed by waterways that are linked by 906 bridges (I know, who's counting). Osaka was levelled during WWII, so much of the city has been rebuilt and most of the canals have been paved over. Actually, it seems like every square foot of the city is built-up, with narrow alleys and mazes of streets giving way to major thoroughfares that are flying above the city like an elevated grid of expressways.
I remember my first impression of Japan's sheer modernity back in 1992 when I first visited Tokyo - layer upon layer of expressways and railways criss-crossing in mid-air over the city like a wedding cake. Osaka is no different. Skyscrapers are built so close together and elevated expressways snake around them like they are attached to the buildings. And this is the land of earthquakes! I shudder to think what would happen if any one of the thousands of concrete beams supporting these structures would fail.
19 million people. The wave of humanity is just mind-boggling. We are here in Osaka during the weekend so the streets are relatively uncrowded (but packed nonetheless) and the subways and trains having breathing room.
Add a significant language barrier to the unending crowds, and you have a a lethal combination of mental and physical fatigue which makes it really hard to love Japan's cities. I can somewhat make out the Kanji characters (borrowed from Chinese) and can therefore navigate the city easier than someone (like Tony) who has no clue what all the signs mean, but even then it is still quite a chore to figure out how to get from Point A to Point B and to find simple things like road names (they do not exist) when hardly anyone speaks passable English. I mean, you can't just call a restaurant or a shop to find out where they're located and what their hours are coz chances are they won't understand you. And you can't figure out how much it costs to get from one subway station to another coz all the subway maps are in Japanese only!
Finally, add to all that a very distinct and peculiar way of doing things in Japan and you just throw your hands up and pretty much have to budget plenty of time and energy to do stuff and to not try and do lots of stuff in one day.
Actually, I'm quite ambivalent about Osaka. It's not as frenzied as Tokyo but still very modern with lots of interesting neighborhoods. But y'know, if it weren't for the food, I wouldn't even bother. And what is up with the affinity for ferris wheels on top of tall buildings??
Definitely Lost in Translation! @ 17:09 Osaka
[lucked out] We really lucked out on our way here from San Francisco. Tony got upgraded to Business Class 30 minutes before the flight departed for Osaka!
That whole morning was quite a debacle though. We had to go get our Japan Rail Passes before rushing to the airport. We thought we had gotten there with ample time (about 2 hours before) but the rental car return took forever (mostly because the fuel gauge took for-EVER to climb to "F"ull after refuelling) and the AirTrain took forever to get to the Terminal. Once we were at the terminal, the Business Class check-in line was enormous. United, in its infinite wisdom, only had one person checking people in for Business Class/1K passengers. It took us close to 30 minutes to check ourselves in. Security also took quite some time. By the time we got to the gate, there was only 30 minutes left before departure.
And this whole time, I was majorly fretting coz I didn't want to sit by myself in Business and have Tony sitting in Coach for a 11+ hour flight.
During check-in, we had this really nice Asian lady who took painstaking efforts to put Tony on the "FFCC" waitlist for an upgrade (whatever that means). She mentioned (and we had already known) that Business Class was oversold and the likelihood of him getting upgraded was pretty slim. She then turned around and offered me $550 to upgrade to First Class coz the First Class cabin was pretty much empty. I would've so paid the $550 if that had guaranteed Tony's upgrade to Business. But she said she couldn't do that, so we decided to chance it.
Tony marches up to the gate with 30 minutes left to spare and amazingly, the FFCC waitlist pushed him to the front of the line and he made it into Business Class after they pushed a bunch of people from Business to First. Woohoo! We were seated 7 rows apart but the really nice Japanese lady sitting next to Tony agreed to swap seats with me, which meant I gave up my window seat for a middle seat (2-3-2 in Business on a 777) but we did get to sit together. That also meant I didn't get to see Kansai airport as we were flying into Osaka *pout*. Oh well, there are worse things in life.
We also both got our (super delicious) Obento meals onboard. Everything worked out great in the end! I love it when I get my way :-D @ 15:58 Osaka
[osaka 大阪] Ohayo Gozaimasu (Good Morning) Osaka! We're here! In cold, damp and wet Osaka. It's been drizzling ever since we got here. I came well prepared with my bright orange foldy umbrella, but Tony had to make do with a cheapy $8 one from a convenience store (which are as prevalent as Starbucks here - two on every corner!). Temps are in the 50s which is neither freezing nor pleasant.
It's Sunday morning and we are at the Westin in Osaka, located ever so slightly inconveniently in the Shin-Umeda district North-West of the uber-bustling JR Osaka train station. If I had known about the location, I would've probably stayed somewhere closer to the main train station. Pretty much everything - department stores, transportation, nightlife, restaurants, etc. - is centered around two large urban centers in Osaka - Kita (or "North) which is the area arround the main JR Osaka station, and Minami (or "South) which is the area arround the Namba station. Actually, it really isn't that far away - about a 10-min walk - but doing that 10-min walk back and forth every single time can get quite tiring.
The one thing that's good about the Westin, though, is the huge rooms and beautiful bathrooms. And let's not forget the Japanese toilet. Ours has a heated seat (really cool!), a button to wash your back (butt) and another to wash your front (um, for girls). There are buttons to control the water pressure. And MOST importantly, there is a prominent STOP buttton (whyever did they choose green to mark the "stop" button is beyond me). Yup, very important. My first Japanese toilet experience whereby I couldn't figure out how to turn off the "wash my ass sprayjet" was a, let's say, toilet-facial experience.
Another notable thing in our room are these Q-tips which have the fuzzies on one end and a "gold-digger" on the other!
Rain or no rain, we're gonna try and hit some major attractions today - notably Osaka Castle - and, of course, gorge ourselves silly on food, food and more food. Last night, we had our first meal in Japan at Mimiu on the 10th floor of the Hanshin department store across from the JR Osaka station (told you everything is near the train station). We got there at 8:45 which was 15 minutes too late to order any of their famous udon-suki (noodle stew) or shabu-shabu dishes. Note to self: Everyone eats *really* early here. But whatever we did end up ordering was delicious. Tony got a bento box thingie which was filled with a bunch of teeny yummy morsels. I had shrimp tempura with udon in a heavenly broth that I cannot even describe but it made me tingle all over. Heavenly.
Tony's dinner bento box!
And after dinner, we wandered around the nightlife district of Doyama-cho (complete with covered streets!) which also happens to have a smattering of gay bars and clubs. We ended up at FrendZ which happens to be the first gay bar in Japan to be open by a gaijin (foreigner). First off, we couldn't find the damn thing (even with a map!). There are no signs on the street pointing to the bar. Finally, after looking like lost tourists for quite a few minues, some gaijin decided to help us poor hopelessly lost souls and guided us to the bar (Tony was like, "do we look gay or something?"). The drinks were notably cheap(ish), but what was most shocking was the size of the bar! You could stick your hands out on either side of you and touch both walls. And it wasn't that deep either. You could maybe fit 20 people (or 40 Japanese) in there, tops, and even then it will become balls-to-butt cozy. And apparently we find out that ALL the bars in Osaka are like that. Definitely not for the claustros amongst us.
Yup, everything is smaller in Japan, except for, perhaps, gaudy accessories like sunglasses.
Which is why gaijins are looked at like Gojira invading Tokyo! @ 08:25 Osaka
November 16, 2006
[tour of japan] Tony and I have already done Tokyo multiple times, so we decided to check out the rest of Japan on this trip. Well, we're primarily concentrating on the Kansai region, south-west of Tokyo.
We'll be landing in Osaka's airport-on-a-man-made-island called Kansai. Yes, they made an entire island - by flattening a few mountains - in the middle of the bloody ocean and built an entire airport on it! Only the Japanese can come up with something amazing like that. I'm quite excited about that as I've read so many things about this engineering marvel, and what a boondoggle it became when it started sinking, but it's now so successful that the "island" has doubled in size for another runway and - eventually - another terminal. It's gonna be so cool!
We will be spending two nights in Osaka, the second largest city in Japan, before heading up the hills to Kyoto - Japan's ancient capital and one of the only cities that was spared of the Allied WWII bombings that levelled much of Japan's urban areas.
We'll be spending four nights in Kyoto (with a side trip to Nara, another ancient capital) before taking the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Hiroshima. I'm quite excited about the bullet train as I've never ridden it before. The fastest train we've ridden is the Eurostar and I am guessing the experience will be similar i.e. awe-inspiring. I love trains :-)
We will be spending two nights just outside of Hiroshima on an island called Miyajima in, get this, a ryokan! A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn and I'll leave it at that. I'm not sure myself what entails but I hear there are a lot of rules and customs that we will have to follow while staying in a ryokan. Stay tuned for an avalanche of "Lost In Translation" moments during our stay there.
I am also psyched about visiting Hiroshima. I have been wanting to for the longest time. As you all know, I am ferociously anti-war and the Gembaku (Atomic Dome) is the horrific but enduring shrine to peace. I need to see it once in my lifetime to sear the evils of war into my soul and reinforce my unwavering hatred towards violence.
After Hiroshima, we end our stay at one of the top two ryokans in Japan which happens to be in Kyoto (at a bank-busting cost of $800/nt! - all meals included). Yup, so count that - THREE consecutive nights in a ryokan! Oy, what did I sign up for...
And we fly back the Monday after Thanksgiving. Sounds exhausting, no? Well, trust me... I'll be so loaded up on bento boxes, soba, udon, shabu-shabu, sushi, sashimi, okonomiyaki, tempura, kaiseki, kobe beef, yakitori, etc. I won't even care. I am already committing myself to 10 whole days of eating nothing but yummy and healthy Japanese food. Will I get sick of rice and noodles all day, everyday for 10 days in a row?
Hi, have we met? I'm Asian. Bring it on! @ 22:43 DC or 19:43 SF
[fab layover] Our trans-Pacific flight to Osaka does not leave until tomorrow, which means we have about 15 hours to play in San Francisco. We did this on purpose, and you'll find out why in a bit.
The SF-Osaka flight is a relatively short 11+ hours (compared to the 14+ hour hops from Chicago to Japan), which is a good thing considering Tony might be stuck in Economy! :-o
Yea... long story. But basically our flights to Japan are entirely free and we had secured all segments in Business Class except for one - Tony's SF-Osaka. We're still hoping for a miracle at the airport tomorrow, but the prospects are pretty dim considering that it's a holiday week in the US and Japan and Friday is one of the busiest trans-pacific travel days. Fingers-crossed though! I definitely want to sit with my honey and not some random, stinky, overweight stranger (yes, they have those too in Business Class).
So, back to SF. After we land, we are going to make a mad dash for the rental car facility, drive ourselves to our hotel near the airport, check-in, and then cruise up 101 to the City and veer off to the Bay Bridge before ending up in Berkeley where we'll get to meet... *drumroll* Hanora! I bet she can't wait to meet her Aunty Kiat :-D We haven't seen Tom/Gen in *so* long, so this is definitely a mandatory stopover (much to Steve/Naomi/Adia's chagrin!).
It's gonna be a fab layover indeed! *giggle* @ 22:24 DC or 19:24 SF
[vacation mode] We are somewhere over Nevada with roughly an hour of flight time left on our 5-hour plane journey to San Francisco, en route to Osaka to start our 10-day vacation in sushi-licious Japan.
We were supposed to be on a 777 today but at the last minute, United swapped out the aircraft and we are now in the upper deck of a 747! Fierce. I like bigger things in general - planes included. Size matters ;-)
I was quite shocked to learn that they no longer serve food in "steerage" (Coach) for free. Not even on a 5-hour long flight! Kwazy. But being in the upper deck (Business Class) meant that we got free dinner, yay! It wasn't too bad, par for the course on a domestic flight. Nothing compared to the multi-course International meals, of course. I've just finished reading my requisite onboard reading material - The Economist (no, I'm not a Republican :-p).
Feeling quite zen now. Long plane journeys are great for decompressing (and blogging!). But it was quite a bitch to get to this point.
First and foremost, the drenching rains and the whipping winds gave me anxiety about flight delays. Then, I had to endure one of the worst workdays at my new job (why do I still call it new when I've been there more than 4 months now??). And finally, Dulles is hor-REN-dous! The security lines were FUBAR today, and the airport is just downright nasty - long uncivilized waits for everything. Totally skank.
But now that I've zenned out, I'm ready for my vacation. Gosh, it's been *so* long since I've gone on a vacation ;-)
Vacation mode - ON! @ 22:13 DC or 19:13 SF
[cctv hq] Rem Koolhaas' genius and complex trapezoidal brainchild - The new 5mn sq ft, 230m (755ft), 54-story CCTV (China Central Television) Headquarters that is being built on a site the size of 37 football fields between the Eastern Third Ring Road (Dong San Huan Lu) and Eastern Fourth Ring Road (Dong Shi Huan Lu) in Beijing's new Central Business District:
Isn't that awesome? I won't get to see it next month, though, since it won't be done until the 2008 Olympics.
Oh, did I not mention I was going to Beijing (and Seoul, and Shanghai) for Christmas and New Year's? :-D
And I leave for SF en route to Osaka tonight. Wheee! @ 10:38
November 15, 2006
[al jazeera english] "It's November 15th, a new era in television news".
Ten years after its feisty Arabic broadcasts first jolted the Arabic and Western worlds, Al Jazeera English - bankrolled by the Emir of Qatar - launched four plus hours ago at 1200 GMT (0700 EST) as a competitor to CNN and BBC World... to absolutely no fanfare at all in the United States. None of the 7 major US cable and satellite providers carried the slick and explosive inaugural broadcast of this huge new entrant into the world of 24-hour English-language news. Outside the US, though, it is faring better. The initial potential worldwide audience is 80 million households, twice its original launch target. BBC World, on the other hand, reaches 270 million homes.
Al Jazeera English launched simultaneously in high definition around the world. The four broadcast centres, in London, Washington DC, Doha (Qatar) and Kuala Lumpur, will hand over to one another and "follow the sun" around the world. Doha will carry the broadcast signal for about 12 hours while the other 12 hours will be divided between the three regional hubs in Kuala Lumpur (Asia), London (Europe) and Washignton DC (Americas). This morning, the news kicked off in Doha (1200 GMT or 1500 local time) and handed off to Kuala Lumpur at 1300 GMT (2100 prime time in KL). At 2100 GMT, the news will hand off to London and at 2300 GMT (1800 EST), Washington DC will get its turn.
In Malaysia, Al Jazeera English is being broadcast from the 60th floor of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the second tallest buildings in the world, with an initial multinational staff of 60. Both my brothers also work in the same building. Kuala Lumpur was chosen over Singapore and Hong Kong because the fibre backbone necessary to connect all four broadcast centres together in hi-def was already in place as part of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). Al Jazeera English has also been granted MSC status which allows the company to bring in equipment tax-free and hire the necessary foreign talent and remit earnings with little red tape. Good infrastructure, cost efficiency and a pool of English-speaking local labor clinched the deal.
If you ask me, the fact that Malaysia is majority-muslim country (60%) was probably the number one factor. Plus, those towers are really quite iconic, providing a global address for an aspiring global organization.
If it ended up on satellite, I probably wouldn't watch it. I only get my news online, where I can scour for articles that fit my views aka informed but biased :-D @ 11:40
[yay, south africa!] Yay! Pardon me as I contain my enthusiasm. It's just a little far away and I'm not about to fly there to get married :-p
It's still quite momentous, though, for an African country to pass a civil unions/same-sex marriage bill by 230-41. They join Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Canada as the only 5 countries in the world that allows same-sex marriage. Much of Europe plus New Zealand, and parts of the US, Latin America and Australia allow civil unions.
All this is thanks to South Africa's uber-liberal post-apartheid constitution that basically wipes out discrimination against everything and anything. The ball started rolling when last December, the Constitutional Court ruled that existing marriage legislation was unconstitutional because it discriminated against same-sex couples and set a deadline of December 1st for parliament to change the law.
And yesterday, they did it!
Can you believe it? A country in the African continent - where homosexuality is not only uncommon, it is downright illegal and punishable by death in certain countries - has beaten the US to the punch.
Another nation in the world embraces all its citizens and grants them equal rights in complete contrast to the hateful, bigoted consitutional amendments that get passed in US states with every passing election cycle. What a shame for this (not-so-)great nation.
But equality marches on. Progress is inevitable.
Someday, in America... @ 10:15
[sensationalistic] I opened CNN.com this morning and saw this headline: Japan tells people to flee tsunami. I was like, "FUCK! I'm gonna be there this Saturday!!"
And then I read that it was in Hokkaido (like a gazillion miles away from Osaka, which is where I'm going). And the tsunami was only 16" high. That's INCHES.
WTF? Why is it even a headline?? Silly sensationalistic CNN. @ 09:51
November 13, 2006
[fuzzy vermin] So I crawled into bed last night... it was a cold day and an even colder night. Anyhoe, I'm like all sliding under the covers and everything coz I'm freeeeezing, when I felt something soft, fuzzy, and long (get your mind out of the gutter).
I grab the tail-like thing, drag it out of its hiding under the covers, and this is what I found:
I jumped up from the bed shrieking, screamed like a school girl, and bounced off the bed like I had just seen a real rat.
I know it looks cute and all in the picture but trust me ladies, it looked like an honest-to-God real rat and I am *freaked out* by rats!! I was so gonna beat Tony for putting that there. He, of course, was falling off the bed laughing uncontrollably.
OK, I laughed too :-p Thank you IKEA :-) @ 22:37
[oh baby baby] The WaPo did a *hil-LA-RIOUS* satire of Britney - following in the foot steps of Jessica Simpson when she dumped Nick Lachey - divorcing K-Fed (Fed-Ex) over text messaging last week.
Britney, to the tune of "Oops!... I Did It Again":
Oops! You did it again
You played with my heart,
Got lost in the fame,
Oh Feddy Feddy
Poof! You think we're involved
But our marriage is dissolved
You're not getting custody
LOL. It gets better. K-Fed, to the tune of "Baby One More Time":
Oh baby baby
How was I supposed to know
That something wasn't right here
Oh Britney baby
I should have spent more dough
And now the money's tight, yeah
Show me, how to get an attorney
Tell me Britney
Cause I need to know how much you've got
ROTFL, OMB!! I can't wait for Britney's comeback CD. I still love Britney, skank redneck whorebag white trash or not!
But poor Sean Preston and Jayden James... *sigh*
How am I going to get any work done today! *giggle* @ 14:28
[malaysia pride] For the first time ever, Malaysia was placed in the high category of the 2006 United Nations Human Development Index (HDI), joining developed countries like Japan, Australia, Canada, UK and US (see map)
Although it has retained its 61st position out of 177 countries, its score of 0.805 has now taken it out of the medium human development category (0.500 - 0.799) and placed it in the top league (0.800 or greater). In 1990, Malaysia's score was 0.723 and in 1980, it was 0.659.
In Asia, only Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Brunei are categorized with high HDIs. HK and Taiwan have high HDIs too, but they are not UN member states (shhh, don't tell them).
The HDI is calculated based on three dimensions of human development - living a long and healthy life (life expectancy), being educated (adult literacy and school enrolment) and having a decent standard of living (GDP per capita in purchasing power parity).
The top ten nations are Norway (0.963!), Iceland, Australia, Luxembourg, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Ireland, Belgium and the US (0.944). 32 countries are in the Low category (0 - 0.499) and all but two are in the African continent, with Niger (0.281) at the bottom of the pile.
See? Malaysia is not such a bad place after all. And in two months, Malaysia will be exhorting the world to come visit during Visit Malaysia Year 2007 which also coincides with the golden anniversary of the country's independence.
Come celebrate 50 years of nationhood with us! @ 13:58
November 10, 2006
[wet dream] Yay! Training is over! Hallelujah, Praise Beyonce.
WaPo's Front Pages over the past few days:
WEDNESDAY - Democrats Take House
THURSDAY - Bush Ousts Embattled Rumsfeld; Democrats Near Control of Senate
FRIDAY - Democrats Take Control of Senate As Allen Concedes to Webb in Va.
Wow. If this is a dream (and thank God it's not!), it's a *really*, really wet dream indeed! @ 12:05
November 8, 2006
[blu-nami] A political tsunami swept through the United States yesterday from the Atlantic to the Pacific, turning blue Northeastern States even bluer and leaving blue splotches all over deep red Southern, Mountain and Midwestern states.
It was a seismic political shift indeed, and a landslide victory for the Democratic Party who has been virtually shut out of Congress for the past 12 years.
Here are the highlights of the blu-nami:
1. House of Representatives - Having ran the House for 40 years (1954-94) and then losing it for 12 years after that, Democrats laid seige to the House and toppled 30-35 Republican incumbents and open seats to retake control. Nancy Pelosi becomes the next Speaker of the House.
Indiana kicked off the night with the ouster of 3 Republican incumbents. That started the dominos falling from coast-to-coast - 2 in AZ, 1 each in CA/CO/CT, 2 each in FL/IA, 1 each in KS/KY/MN, 2 in NH, 3 in NY, 1 each in NC/OH, 4 in PA, and 1 each in TX/VT/WI.
Of note, Tom DeLay's TX-22 seat went to the Democrats by 10 points. Foley's FL-16 seat turned blue.
That makes a 29-seat gain. So far. The current makeup is 229 D, 195 R. Dems already have an 11 seat majority, with 11 seats remain undecided.
No Democrat incumbent lost his/her seat in the US House. Or the Senate.
2. Senate - Democrats held on to all their seats, and seized 6 seats from Republicans to regain the majority. Allen (VA), Burns (MT), Chafee (RI), DeWine (OH), Santorum (PA) and Talent (MO) are history. Hooray! Democrats now completely dominate Capitol Hill for the first time since the Republican Revolution of 1994. 16 female senators will join the 110th Congress - the most ever.
3. Governorships - Democrats reversed a 28-22 Republican majority of Governor's mansion by dislodging 6 formerly Republican-held States - AR, CO, MD, MA, NY and OH - while retaining all their States. Democrats won 20 of 36 contests and will hold the majority of Governorships for the first time since 1994, and will control states with 295 electoral votes, up from the 126 electoral votes in States now held by Democratic Governors. This sets the stage for winning in '08, and for congressional redistricting to reverse revolting gerrymandering tactics by the Republicans.
Democrats ended a 20-year Republican grip on the top state job in MA and OH and took the Governorship in NY for the first time since 1990. MA elected its first black Governor in history, and America's second (VA was first). By next year, the number of female governors will tie a record - 9.
4. Virginia - 1mn-strong Fairfax County is now a Democratic stronghold, having now for the third straight election (Presidential 2004, Gubernatorial 2005 and Senatorial 2006) voted 60-40 for the Democrats. Stunningly, a 55-45 majority rejected the Marriage Amendment (which, sadly, passed statewide by 57-43). Another shocking development is that both Loudoun and Prince William counties voted Democratic again (after Kaine's victory in 2005), albeit by narrow margins. The result? Northern Virginia has become reliably Democratic. Even with the despicable statewide Marriage Amendment, I think I am still gonna patronize the NoVA suburbs mostly because my faith in NoVA's tolerance has been restored :-) Yes, I'm spinning the elections my way but trust me when I say I was seriously contemplating never crossing the Potomac to spend money in VA (or NoVA) ever again. Now, THAT would've been an Inconvenient Principle!
5. Maryland - Maryland is blue and Democrats swept the board. Almost like a familiar broken record story about DC suburbs, thumping majorities in Montgomery and Prince George's counties turned away one-term incumbent Bob Ehrlich, retained the open Senate seat vacated by Paul Sarbanes, swept all statewide offices, and elected MoCo's first black county executive.
6. New York and Massachusetts - NY is true blue and Democrats sweep statewide offices. For the first time in 1949, one party in NY holds all major elected statewide offices incl. both US Senate seats. Eliot Spitzer scored a record percentage for a NY governor's race (69%). Senator Clinton improved dramatically upon her 55-45 victory in 2000 by winning 67% of the vote, but shockingly won 2/3rds of independent voters, 2/3rd of male voters and 3/4ths of female voters. Hillary '08?
A similar sweep of all major state wide and congressional races occurred in Massachusetts. All 10 of MA's House members are Democrats and have been so for the past decade. MA has not elected a Republican to the US Senate since 1979.
7. New Hampshire - Democrats wiped out Republicans in NH. Lynch retained the Governor's seat by a overwhelming 3-1 margin, and led NH Democrats to takeover both the State Senate and House. Dems erased a 92-seat majority and seized control of the NH House for the first time since 1922. And most importantly, Democratic wins in both the state's congressional seats - dislodging Republican incumbents - set the stage for the takeover of the United States House of Representatives.
8. Colorado - Democrats secured a trifecta. After taking control of both State houses in 2004 for the first time in more than 40 years, Democrats expanded their advantage in both houses AND captured the Governorship. But disappointments abound in this newly-blue state: Not only did voters approve a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, they turned down a ballot measure to provide legal rights to same-sex couples. And worst of all, the bigoted, hateful and toxic Marilyn Musgrave - author of the FMA - retained her House seat. After Santorum, she was the one I wanted to see defeated. Oh well, maybe next time :-)
9. Ohio - As Ohio goes in '06, so goes the Nation in '08? Ohio turned shockingly blue after Democrats all but swept statewide races and defeated two-term Senator DeWine, picking up a House seat along the way. A Democrat had not won the governor's office since 1990 or a Senate seat since 1992.
10. Pennsylvania - One word - Santorum. What could be bigger and more orgasmic for Democrats and GLBT citizens everywhere than Santorum's defeat in the hands of irritatingly pro-life Bob Casey? But the other big story here? 4 House Republican incumbents ousted.
Yes, I am ebullient, elated and ecstatic! @ 23:06
[two more years] Words cannot describe how incredibly psyched I am at the reality of a Democratic takeover of both the House and the Senate in the 110th Congress which starts in the new year. OK, I'm lying - how about ebullient, elated and ecstatic? :-D
MSNBC called the 2006 midterms an "electoral calamity" for the Republicans.
Two more years left to Bush's lame duck Presidency.
And from TIME.com:
"Nearly four years of one-party rule came to an end Tuesday night as Americans touched their screens and scanned their ballots on Tuesday for historic change in Washington and state capitals around the country. Although the details of the final count are still hours, and perhaps days away, voters resoundingly ushered the Republican majority to the door of the House of Representatives and turned a majority of governors' mansions over to the Democrats. Control of the Senate also looked within reach. Although ballots were still being counted in the contested Virginia race, Republicans were sounding pessimistic that incumbent Senator George Allen could make up the thousands of votes he needed to catch up with Democratic challenger Jim Webb."
"The outcome brought an end to the Republican Revolution that began in 1994 but lost its way as the party that came to Washington to cut government spending and clean up a corrupt institution ran into scandals of its own and found itself spending like drunken Democrats."
Two more years.
Bush appeared humble today, as he announced the unbelievably long overdue resignation of the tragically inept Donald Rumsfeld. Next up? RIP Karl Rove, the primary mover behind the poisonous politics and wrongheaded policies of the last six years.
I really don't want to see Bush humbled. What I really want to see is his disgusting political agenda destroyed. I want to see his Legacy shredded by the judgements of history. And I want the world to giddily dance on the smoldering ruins of his Presidency. Schadenfreude indeed:
[NYT] "...delighting in the tribulations of an American president tripped by his own hubris in adventures that are seen as endangering the world rather than curbing terrorism... the cycle of preventive war, of unilateralism, has ended in great failure."
I can only hope this is the beginning of the end of a 6-year long nightmare for the United States and the world.
Only two more years!!! @ 20:32
[senator reid] Well, I was premature in my assumptions about the elections for the United States Senate last night. I thought the Republicans would hold the Senate. It looked like of the four races (MO, MT, TN, VA) that were too close to call - and Democrats needed to win 3 to gain a majority - all of them were leaning Republican.
24 hours later, we have learnt that Democrats have taken MO and MT, and Jim Webb is leading incumbent Senator George Allen by 7,000 or so votes in Virginia. A recount is inevitable, but the lead is almost assuredly insurmountable. If Webb wins VA, both Democrats and Republicans will have 49 Senators each. If, as expected, both the Independent Senators caucus with the Democratic Party, the Democratic caucus will have the majority (51) in the Senate.
Together with Madam Speaker Pelosi, on January 3rd, 2007, we will be introduced to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).
And that, my friend, is the stuff of dreams! @ 19:55
[madam speaker] Much has already been said about Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA8) who has just won her 10th consecutive term (with 80+% of the vote) in the US House of Representatives representing much of the City and County of San Francisco - a bastion of liberalism - since 1987. Everyone knows by now that in 2002, Nancy Pelosi became the first woman in American history to lead a major party in the US Congress.
And then the Democrats took back the House last night.
86 years after women were given the right to vote in the 19th Amendment, on January 3rd, 2007, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi will not only become the first female Speaker of the House (the 110th Congress), she will become the most powerful woman in US history.
Why? She will be third in line to the Presidency. Pelosi's ascension would leave only two major mountains to climb for women in politics - election as Vice President and President.
Just two heartbeats away. Or, let's put it this way - if Bush and Cheney croaked tomorrow, we would not only have a Democrat as President, we would have the first woman President in United States history.
And that... would be my preference!
But until then, for the first time in 12 years, we have the House back! And at the helm, is Madam Speaker Pelosi.
It's time to celebrate. Woohoo! @ 19:41
[114 months] Tony and I celebrate our 9 1/2-year anniversary today. Refresher: If you don't know how soppy I am, yes I do indeed celebrate month-niversaries on the 8th of every month and that's coz we "met" on May 8th, 1997 :-p
(It's an artifical origami flower thingamajiggy. I'm not a fan of real flowers... they don't last forever :-p)
Altogether now - Awwwww...
Hehe :-) @ 17:11
[sweet] "DEMOCRATS TAKE HOUSE" - I have been waiting SIX years to wake up to that headline... and these stories:
[WaPo] "The political pendulum in American politics swung away from the right yesterday, putting an end to the 12-year Republican Revolution on Capitol Hill and delivering a sharp rebuke of President Bush and the Iraq war."
[NYT] "Everything is different now for President Bush. The era of one-party Republican rule in Washington ended with a crash in yesterdays midterm elections, putting a proudly unyielding president on notice that the voters want change, especially on the war in Iraq."
[USAT] "The coalition that re-elected President Bush and bolstered Republican margins in Congress just two years ago fractured Tuesday under the weight of an unpopular war, economic unease and a series of scandals."
[SF Chronicle] "Voters angry about the Iraq war and congressional corruption turned out in huge numbers Tuesday to hand Democrats decisive control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 12 years and leave them poised to oust the Republican majority in the Senate."
[Chicago Tribune] "Americans finally got to vote on the war. They want change. They got to vote on one-party rule. They rejected it. They got a chance to vote local. They voted national. No matter what name was on the ballot, to many voters it read 'George W. Bush.' And for Republicans, for the first time in six years, that was very bad news."
Bad news for them. Good news for me! @ 08:48
November 7, 2006
[not so fast] I'm super sleepy, but I had to include this juicy little soundbite from Sen. Hillary Clinton:
"Last week, the vice president said [that] regardless of the outcome, the administration would go full speed ahead in the same direction."
"Well, I think the American people have said - 'Not so fast!'"
You go, gurl!
19 seats have flipped in the House, 3 seats switched control in the Senate, and 6 Republican Governorships have gone Democratic. An across the board victory.
And the night is still young! Zzz... @ 23:40
[so far, so good] Both CNN and NBC just projected that the Democrats will pick up at *least* 15 House seats, giving them control of the House of Representatives for the first time since the GOP Revolution in 1994. Nancy Pelosi of SF will become the first Madam Speaker of the House in history. Yay! In fact, she will become the first woman to lead one of the chambers of Congress in the history of the United States. Finally, a female in charge!
The control of Senate is still up in the air, but indications are that Republicans will maintain a razor-thin majority in the Upper Chamber. Nonetheless, ALL Democratic Senate seats were retained (incl. CT's seat which switched to Independent), and the Democrats have - so far - also seized three Senate seats formerly held by Republicans.
Things look even better in the battle for the State Capitols where Democrats have wrested six Governorships (so far) from Republican hands, winning a majority of Governorships (>25) for the first time since 1994. Again, all Democratic incumbents were re-elected.
It's late. I have training - AGAIN - tomorrow, and for the rest of the week. It's mind-numbing. So, I'm off to bed.
I am desperately hoping to wake up to the ruins of Bush's Presidency and a complete rejection of his despicable legacy of war, corruption and hate.
So far, so good. @ 23:28
[ding dong] ... the witch is dead! About an hour ago, the major TV networks projected that Rick Santorum - one of the sponsors of the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) codifying discrimination in the US Constitution against GLBT citizens - will no longer have a seat in the United States Senate.
Hoorayyyyy!!!!!
If nothing else goes right tonight - and indications are almost everything is going our way - I will still do a happy dance.
I just wish that happy dance was all over the ashes of Santorum's political career.
Goodbye and good eff-ing riddance, you bigoted piece of redneck trash! :-D @ 21:18
[drag-tastic] Gary, my bitchy but uber-fabulous gay celebrity in LA, so succinctly describes my jaw-droppingly awful drag pictures:
Kiat in drag = Kristi Yamaguchi on crack
ROTFL!
Yet another reason why I'll never, EVER do drag again...
...until next Halloween, that is. @ 19:20
November 6, 2006
[halloween pix] OK, I *finally* took the time to put up pics from the two back-to-back, dress-up-for-Halloween weekends. Sorry it took so long guys.
Halloween Part I @ Ski's
Halloween Part Deux
OK, two things:
1. NO comments about my costume from Part I. I don't make a pretty girl, 'nuff said. I know it, but I don't want to hear it. If I so much as hear a peep about my wig, boobs, makeup, shoes, dress, panty hose, wings, etc... I promise you it will be death by a thousand chopsticks.
2. Five words - We Were All Completely Shit-Faced.
That's All! @ 22:24
[i ♥ nj] Polls, polls, and more polls. I'm holding my breath till I'm turning blue about the mid-term elections tomorrow. I am beyond anxious about the results and hope that Wednesday morning will be a triumphant morning for the party that upholds the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (i.e. the Democrats).
The bigoted, hateful, and criminally war-mongering Republicunts can either all lose, go to hell or die, thanks for asking ;-)
Speaking of polls, two of them have been conducted since the NJ Supreme Court ruled that gay couples should receive the same rights as married couples. Last week, Fairleigh Dickinson University found that 53% agreed with the high court's decision, and 40% were against. This past weekend, a poll conducted by The Star-Ledger of Newark found the opinion to be 50% for, 33% against, and 17% undecided.
In two polls, half the residents of New Jersey back equal rights for gay couples. What's not to love about that?
And when are the Southern states going to secede? They should call their new country Zimbabwamerica. @ 13:58
November 3, 2006
[group pic] Just back from Liquid Ladies Lunch @ Lauriol with Jason, Michael/Tyler, Rick, Evan and Aaron. Before all those bitches bite my head off, here is the group shot from Halloween weekend (last Saturday):
And for the first time ever, I took a Metrobus today! L2 from 20/K to Lauriol. It wasn't so bad. The bus came on time. And everyone onboard was white *giggle*.
Why the bus? Bitches, do you *know* how cold it is out there?? I am *this* close to staying in tonight.
Um, OK... We believe you, Kiat. @ 17:50
[moxy and margaritas] I woke up this morning, took one look at the thermometer, and was like, "nuh-uh, no eff-ing way".
I am *NOT* walking to work in 37° weather!!!
My bitches and I already have a plan to heat things up a little this afternoon (since it won't even crack 50°) which will, hopefully, keep us plenty warm into the night which also happens to be DC's first freeze in almost eight months!
The Fetch (Liquid) Ladies Who Lunch reconvenes today at 1:30pm.
Location undisclosed to rid ourselves of undesirables.
Moxy and Margaritas Mandatory.
Since I don't have margaritas handy (I'm at work :-p), I'll kickstart my day with moxy: If you weren't invited, you're not fetch. That's all! @ 10:31
November 2, 2006
[fire snake] Hmm, I was a little bored at work (OK, it's past 6pm so I'm not actually working anymore :-p) so I decided to look up my Chinese zodiac on Wiki. As you all know, I'm 29 (my publicist will tell you I'm 19, however), born in 1977, hence Year of the Snake.
Yes, I'm a snake. And I love to eat rabbits (Tony), LOL!
Anyhoe, there are five elements in the Chinese zodiac as well - Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth. Each element is a 12-year cycle (aka the 12 animals), so 60 years is one BIG cycle. My dad happens to celebrate his BIG cycle birthday next year, so I'm thinking I'm gonna have to be in KL around that time, huh?
So back to me... Apparently 1977 was the Year of the Fire Snake. That's me, a fiery snake.
Let's see what Wiki says about "Snakes":
"The person born in the year of snake is perhaps the wisest and most enigmatic of all. He/she can become a philosopher, a theologian, a political lizard or a wily financier. Such a person is a thinker who also likes to live well. The snake-person loves books, music, clothes, and fine food; but with all their fondness for the good things in life, their innate elegance gives them a dislike for frivolities and foolish talk."
"Snake-persons like communicating and like interesting conversations; if the conversation becomes repetitive their attention may soon wander. It is almost impossible to fix their attention for long talking about every day habits. They prefer to focus on new, interesting and evolutionary ideas in general."
"These people have a special talent that enables them to judge situations correctly. They are alert to new possibilities: when they have an idea of what to do and how to do it, they will pursue it persistently and energetically. In Chinese astrology it is believed that they are self-confident and willing to listen to someone else's opinion, but don't necessarily take it 'on board'. Refusing to listen to constructive advice, they may be prone to getting into needless trouble."
"Although it is difficult for such people to take advice, they are patient with others when it comes to giving a helping hand, and their ability to look at a problem from a variety of angles is extremely useful. When faced with a dilemma, snake people, as a rule, act with speed and conviction, since they believe intensely in what they are doing and rarely waste time or energy on projects lacking in good potential."
I know, a little long-winded, but fiercely accurate (especially on the "refusing to listen" part, *giggle*). Now here's what it says about the "Fire" element:
Heart, Passion, Intelligence, Movement, Humor and Aggression
:-o
Is that, like, not the most accurate description of me or what? (well, minus the movement part coz I'm such a lazy fat ass)
Fierce! @ 18:16
[morphed reality] So, now that John Kerry has apologized for his idiotic, but we-are-all-thinking-it "stuck in Iraq" comment that basically says anyone who joins the military is just stupid (umm, not that far-fetched in light of the Iraq War...)...
When is Bush going to apologize to each and every family of the 2,819 dead American soldiers for lying and dragging the nation into a war of choice with Iraq and putting our troops in harm's way?
Sen. Kerry waited 24 hours to offer an apology. We've waited more than 3 years for Mr. Bush's apology. He hasn't, and will never. Who's "insulting" and "shameful" now?
Enough is enough. Take his cronies in Congress down on Nov 7th! @ 17:54
[the great divider] I love it when the gloves come off at NYT and they hit this incompetent, imbecilic and irresponsible President. Hard.
From the NYT's Editorial today, "The Great Divider":
"In Mr. Bushs world, there are only two kinds of Americans: those who are against terrorism, and those who somehow are all right with it. Some Americans want to win in Iraq and some dont. There are Americans who support the troops and Americans who dont support the troops. And at the root of it all is the hideously damaging fantasy that there is a gulf between Americans who love their country and those who question his leadership."
"Mr. Bush has been pushing these divisive themes all over the nation, offering up the ludicrous notion the other day that if Democrats manage to control even one house of Congress, America will lose and the terrorists will win."
"...when candidates for lower office make their opponents out to be friends of Osama bin Laden, or try to turn a minor gaffe into a near felony, thats just depressing. When the president of the United States gleefully bathes in the muck to divide Americans into those who love their country and those who dont, it is destructive to the fabric of the nation he is supposed to be leading."
"This is hardly the first time that Mr. Bush has played the politics of fear, anger and division; if hes ever missed a chance to wave the bloody flag of 9/11, we cant think of when. But Mr. Bushs latest outbursts go way beyond that. They leave us wondering whether this president will ever be willing or able to make room for bipartisanship, compromise and statesmanship in the two years he has left in office."
Destroying the "fabric of the nation" with "politics of fear, anger and division".
Is it any wonder why half of Americans (the Blue-ish half) don't acknowledge that Bush is their President? Do you blame me for not wanting to associate (knowingly) with Republicans if they support this poor excuse for a human being?
Will a day come when Red America and Blue America elect their own Presidents to these United States?
Five more days. Do what's right. Vote! @ 08:43
November 1, 2006
[corteo] Tony and I went to see Cirque du Soleil's Corteo last night at the Grand Chapiteau (Big Top... hmm, lol) located on the grounds of the old Convention Center. Lemme just say the downtown/Chinatown location beats RFK (or Tysons II) hands down. Sooooo convenient. We even managed to sneak in to Acadiana an hour before showtime and had a fabulous N'awlins-style dinner with yummy oysters, étouffée, grits, etc. I definitely wanna go back.
Anywoe, Corteo... means cortege (aka funeral procession) in Italian. The gist is this Italian clown dude (who speaks Italian all night sprinkled with some English) dreams up his funeral procession... I know, how morbid right? But when you add a little Cirque and lots of Soleil, you get a spectacular show that is pearl-clutching and gasp-inducing from the front row seats that we got for Halloween night.
From the WP:
"The show follows a clown as he imagines his funeral and its attendants. I know, I know. My first thought was that this sounded like what would happen if Stephen King teamed up with PT Barnum."
"She (Alison Crawford, the artistic director) describes the show as 'whimsical, touching, funny, spectacular and grandiose,' and one that celebrates the clown's enchanting life. Consequently, it's not like a typical funeral. Bouncing beds, swinging chandeliers and merriment prevail."
"This is no three-ring circus. The arena is inspired by Cathedral of Chartres, with huge curtains, organs and a floorplan modeled after the Chartres labyrinth. The costumes? No nylon clown suits here. They're equally luscious and made of silk, lace, chiffon, velvet and linen with feathers, beads and billowing fabric. Based on old circus costumes, the pieces took over a year to produce and, according to Crawford, are 'aged to look like they've been worn for a while.'"
"'In this crazy world of violence and anger, it moves and should touch you: There's still beauty in the world,' Crawford muses. Leave it to Cirque du Soleil to pay tribute to life by presenting a funeral."
The round center stage was basically split into two with shear curtains dividing the Big Top into two halves. Between the two halves was a giant "runway" that sliced through the center stage and ran from one end of the tent to the other - unlike any other travelling Cirque show that we've been to. The "runway" provided the route for the "Corteo". Very neat.
The first half of the show was pretty new stuff: as mentioned above, the bouncing beds and the swinging chandeliers were all spell-binding and absolutely entertaining. The second half was pure Cirque: parallel bars, trampolines, midgets, jugglers, ladders, and all that good circus stuff but with really mesmerizing and jaw-dropping twists. The acts were incredible.
There was also an audience participation act whereby one of the Cirque midgets was placed in a harness that was attached to huge blue balloons which kept her afloat. The audience would then bounce the midget around by shoving her into the air from one end of the tent to the other by pushing against her feet. It was hillarious.
Cirque du So-fabu. Do yourself a favor and go see it! @ 17:52
[all japan, all the time] I haven't really had time to write coz I've literally been up to my balls with work. I put in 14.5 hours (!) at work on Monday and 10 hours yesterday. I stayed up till 2am working with Tokyo on Monday night. I was barely awake on Tuesday. The problem was finally resolved at 5pm on Tuesday, but we went to Cirque du Soleil last night and then today, it's been nothing but meetings all friggin' day. Meetings are so mind-numbingly boring and useless.
To keep with the Japan theme, I went to the Japanese Embassy last week to apply for my visa to go to Japan. I know, WTF, right? Why on earth would I need a visa to go to Japan? Well, apparently Malaysians are notorious for overstaying their visa in Japan to gain employment there. And since Japan is such a homogeneous and anti-immigrant society, they really don't want us to overstay our welcome so they made me apply for a visa.
I'm like, whatever. Why would I want to live in Japan, I can't even speak the bloody language. And if I wanna get really anal about the whole thing, I'm 1/8-th Japanese, for Buddha's sake!
And to add insult to injury, here's what they need from me to apply for a Japanese visa:
1. Passport (d'uh), Green Card (um, OK), Application form (d'uh), and Photo (d'uh)
2. Flight itinerary (OK, sure), Purpose of visit like hotel reservations, etc. (What, are you guys going to follow me around? Sheesh...)
3. And this one takes the cake... Allow me to quote: "Proof of sufficient funds to defray all the expenses while in Japan (e.g. applicant's most recent bank statement) If you are not paying for your trip, a letter from the person/entity covering the cost of your trip is necessary."
The whole combination of flight itinerary, hotel reservations AND a bank statement really drove me over the edge. The only thing that kept me from falling off the deep end and wanting to shove a North Korean nuclear bomb up their pasty little WWII-guilt-laden asses is the cost of the visa itself.
It's free!
I mean, it totally makes sense. Why would a rich country charge for visa applications? Oh wait... the United States charges $100 for visa applications (!!!). How ridiculous.
So yea, I'm blaming all my woes on Japan. But I can't wait to go there in two weeks! Yes, a-NO-ther trip to Asia, believe it or not.
Sushi, here I come!!! @ 17:20
[cold... again] It's hard to believe it's November already. Yesterday and today have been in the 70s. Yay!!! Love it. The walk to work in the morning when the temps are in the crisp 60s is sooooo pleasant.
And tomorrow? 53/34. WTF?? Some cold front sweeping through the area. Grrr. The weekend (yes, I am already looking forward to it) forecast calls for temps that are barely breaking 50°.
Ugh! I hate winter. April cannot come soon enough, *sigh*. @ 16:59
[holy shit] CYBIFN???
(Can You Belive It's Fucking November???) @ 16:41
30 :: £1 = US$2?
29 :: jet-lagged and piccies
27 :: another trip ends
27 :: giving thanks
27 :: love-hate
27 :: UA886, 9A&B
27 :: homebound
26 :: shinkansen
26 :: shinkansen vs acela
26 :: getting to miyajima
26 :: miyajima
26 :: only in japan
24 :: off to hiroshima
23 :: turkey sushi?
23 :: kaiseki part 1
22 :: sleeping fine
22 :: templed out
21 :: riding the rails
21 :: major tourists
21 :: osaka -> kyoto
20 :: fugu
20 :: okonomiyaki
20 :: london weather
20 :: more peculiarities
19 :: lost in translation
19 :: lucked out
19 :: osaka 大阪
16 :: tour of japan
16 :: fab layover
16 :: vacation mode
16 :: cctv hq
15 :: al jazeera english
15 :: yay, south africa!
15 :: sensationalistic
13 :: fuzzy vermin
13 :: oh baby baby
13 :: malaysia pride
10 :: wet dream
08 :: blu-nami
08 :: two more years
08 :: senator reid
08 :: madam speaker
08 :: 114 months
08 :: sweet
07 :: not so fast
07 :: so far, so good
07 :: ding dong
07 :: drag-tastic
06 :: halloween pix
06 :: i ♥ nj
03 :: group pic
03 :: moxy and margaritas
02 :: fire snake
02 :: morphed reality
02 :: the great divider
01 :: corteo
01 :: all japan, all the time
01 :: cold... again
01 :: holy shit