March 31, 2008

[random w/end pics] From Ma-wee's 33rd birthday party on Saturday night, and Beacon Drunk Brunch on Sunday!

[L] Baliwood -- a dildo AND a weapon!
[R] Me, Messy and, well... Messy, LOL!

[L] L'Alex, Tony, Birthday Boy and Marjowee!
[R] So dwunk and so fagulous!

[L] L'Alex, Desi and Me @ JR's
[R] Tranny, tranny, tranny... Hot Tranny Messes! @ Drunk Brunch / Beacon

Yup, FOUR Sundays in a row at JR's! We put the "K" in Klassy.

The kwazy springtime drinkathon has only just begun. No more Sunday drinking binges though. I almost need concealer for my Monday mornings at work. And my liver is already screaming for relief, lol. Well, I may not have much of a liver left after this month but at least I'll look fabulous from being well-preserved -- mummified, almost -- by liquor!

My fwiends are evil. But I loves it. @ 22:57

[sakura] It was a beautiful, crisp spring day under bright blue skies when Tony and I spent about 4 hours traipsing around the Tidal Basin on Saturday to see the glorious cherry blossoms -- DC's crown jewels -- that bloom oh-so-fleetingly once a year for a very short period of time.

And the fat white trash tourists were out in force! It was so kwazy we couldn't make the entire loop around the Tidal Basin because the area around the paddle boat was insanely packed.

The Japanese call these beautifully explosive pink-and-white blossoms "sakura". We call them cha-ching!

This year was my 11th year seeing the blossoms on the 3000+ sakura trees around the Tidal Basin that were a gift from Japan 96 years ago. Surprisingly -- considering my kwazy travel schedule -- I have never missed them since I arrived in DC back in the summer of '97.

In fact, year after year I moan and groan about how far the walk to the Tidal Basin is (about 2 miles) or how cold it is (it was in the 50s) or how they look the same every year so why bother.

But everytime I see the blossoms, the resigned sense of jadedness gives way to silent awe. The splendidness of the startlingly beautiful blossoms overwhelm all your senses as you stroll around the Tidal Basin and marvel at how quickly these blossoms disappear if you don't see them at their finest. Just as how life will inexorably and inevitably pass you by if you don't seize it and live the moments.

The stunning blooms of the cherry blossoms are a sure sign that spring is finally here; after a fabulously mild winter. The days are longer, the occasional bursts of glorious 70 degree days are only tempered by the bursts of April showers that drench the area and wash away the blossoms faster than you can say "peak bloom".

So go see them. Life is short. Spring is here. And it's (always) time to party! @ 22:02

March 30, 2008

[nationals park] It seems like many, many years ago since the dick-dancing bars in SE closed -- much to me and my friends' dismay -- to make way for the city's new publicly-financed baseball stadium.

Well, it was really only two summers ago. Shocking, isn't it? And 20 months later, Nationals Park was born and unveiled to the nation on a cold, spring night with the cherry blossoms exploding in peak bloom right around the corner.

No grass was ever greener than the Kentucky blue that spread out across the field at dazzling new Nationals Park last night. No popcorn ever smelled so delicious. No beer ever tasted so refreshing, no hot dog so juicy. The senses were overloaded and overwhelmed on an Opening Night unlike any ever witnessed in these parts -- in a $611 million, taxpayer-built palace in a formerly blighted part of the District, in front of a national television audience.

And no roar ever washed over a building like the one that built and soared and then exploded from the crowd of 39,389 as the final pitch of the night arrived from the mound and landed, following a mighty swing from Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, over the wall in left-center field, a walk-off home run that gave the Nationals a dramatic 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves and provided a fitting end to a memorable night.

Nationals Park, as it is known for now -- until its naming rights are sold -- made for a beautiful and elegant debutante, its alabaster outer walls an echo of the District's many famed monuments, its closest seats, priced at $325 apiece, near enough to the field to hear the players' grunts, and its highest ones affording views of the Capitol dome and the Washington Monument.

I hate to admit it but Nationals Park looks like a home run for DC. @ 21:35

March 26, 2008

[world's largest terminal] In the world's fastest-growing economy and with air travel booming to satisfy the travel needs of 1.32 billion people (passenger numbers grew 30-fold in 20 years), it comes as no surprise that on the same day China will unveil two mammoth airport terminals in its two largest cities -- Beijing and Shanghai -- that will dwarf all other terminals in China and even the world.

Beijing Capital Airport's gargantuan $3.8bn, 2.9-km-long (that's almost 2 *miles*) Terminal 3 -- designed by Lord Norman Foster -- is the world's largest building. The 10.8mn-sq-ft terminal is the size of 170 football (OK, soccer) fields put together, and that is 17% more floor space than *all* of Heathrow's five terminals put together. It has a golden roof that slopes gently along the glass and steel main structure, and skylights dot the top of the building like the raised scales on a flying dragon.

Today, as well, Shanghai's Pudong Airport welcomes passengers to its smaller but no less impressive and ginormous Terminal 2 -- China's second largest. At 5.9mn sq ft, it is just over half the size of Beijing's T3 and comparable in size to the previous two largest airport terminals in the world -- Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok (5.9mn sq ft) and Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi (6.1mn sq ft).

Beijing T3 is expected to almost triple the existing capacity of the airport from 35mn to 82mn, and Shanghai's capacity will triple from 20mn to 60mn with the opening of T2. As it is, Beijing is already the world's 9th busiest airport (53.6mn pax) and Shanghai is the 40th busiest (26.8mn). Note that Beijing jumped from where Shanghai is today to 9th place in only 6 years.

As with most numbers coming out of China's roaring economy, the statistics are truly mind-boggling. @ 15:29

March 25, 2008

[easter fun] Here are some pics from the past week:

[L] My fav Finnish bride-to-be, Eerika!
[R] @ Jack's with Adam and Rick after Lanya's 31st birthday party... SO drunk!

[L] Blaise and Evan's Easter bonnets! Totarry fierce (Evan won)
[R] Chad, Me, L'David, Sammy and Brett @ JR's for Easter Sunday (der)

Eerika was here for one week and I only saw her twice! *sob* She left before the weekend started and I miss her already. Long time.

The weekend was pretty usual. JR's on Friday night... then on Saturday night, we hit Rick's for the pre-party before going to Lanya's for his 31st. OMB, we got to chat with Adam Clampitt -- who is running for the At Large seat (as an Independent) in the DC Council -- at Lanya's party and lemme tell ya -- Adam is sooooo hot! I almost fell off my wobbly knees talking to him. Or perhaps it was the copious amount of white wine I had consumed by then? Hmm, we'll never know :-)

After Lanya's, we closed down Jack's... withOUT hitting JR's. Quite a feat huh? Of course, that only meant that we had to hit $2 Sundays at JR's (THIRD Sunday in a row!) for their annual Easter Bonnet competition. Blaise's JR's-emblazoned bonnet was called "Shameless Pandering". It was super-fierce and I liked it the best. Evan's "Happy Fucking Easter" bonnet featured two mechanical bunnies that were, um... well... fucking. They were like the Energizer Fucking Bunnies. The crowd roared in approval and he, of course, won ($250 in cash baby!).

Evan wanted to name it the "Second Cumming"... :-o

Yes, it was Easter and we're all going to Hell, LOL! But at least we'll have a (cheap) drink in hand while looking absolutely FAB-u-lous, dah-lings, fabulous ;-) @ 22:14

[4 minutes] Madonna's new single -- 4 Minutes -- featuring JT and Timbaland was released for digital downloads today! *squeal* I about pee'd ma manties when I uploaded it into my phone and listened to it fifteen times on the way home today.

I bought a legal copy, of course :-p But not from iTunes. I am so over their .m4p DRM bullshit. I got it at amazonmp3 which allows you to buy/download music in the fabulously portable .mp3 format -- DRM-free! -- and, best of all, it's totarry easy to use!

Anyho, back to Madonna. Hard Candy, her 11th album, will be released on April 29th. I can't wait! Not the least because I am dying to get a hold of the two remixes that are on the album.

HOT! @ 21:53

[blazing molten hot] OMB, one of my (initially) least favorite contestants just blew the American Idol competition. OUT. OF. THE. WATER!

David Cook's re-interpretation of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean, slowing it down and singing it like a rock ballad, was pure and absolute genius.

As Randy said tonight: "Hot! Blazing molten hot!"

Eff-ing phenomenal. @ 21:40

March 24, 2008

[olympia to beijing] With 136 days to go, the Olympic flame was lit in ancient Olympia, Greece, today and will be carried on a torch for an epic 130-day, 137,000km (85,000 miles) journey -- the longest ever in Olympic history -- across five continents and 21 cities.

The sacred flame was lit by Greek actress Maria Nafpliotou, portraying the High Priestess, at 09:00 GMT this morning using the rays of the sun and a parabolic mirror. It was then passed on to Alexandros Nikolaidis -- the Greek who won a silver medal in taekwondo four years ago -- who ran it for the first mile and he then passed it on to the first Chinese runner, Luo Xuejuan, a gold medallist swimmer four years ago. The torch will next travel to the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens -- site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

It will arrive in Beijing a week from today where it will launch a world tour through April -- Almaty, Istanbul, St Petersburg, London, Paris, San Francisco (the only US stop), Buenos Aires, Dar es Salaam, Muscat, Islamabad, New Delhi, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Canberra, Nagano, Seoul, Pyongyang (!), Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, and Macau. At the beginning of May, the torch will begin a three-month trek through roughly 111 Chinese cities in 31 provinces and regions.

The flame was introduced to the Olympics at the 1928 Amsterdam Games but the first modern torch relay was at the 1936 Berlin Games when a flame was lit in Olympia and carried to the opening ceremony in Germany.

"Light the Passion, Share the Dream". The excitement builds! @ 19:03

March 22, 2008

[pictures galore] Happy Preaster everybody!! I had some time to myself today so I thought I'd catch you guys up on More than a month's worth of countless parties and equally many pictures. I know, a gaysian going a month without posting pictures... shocking, isn't it?

Actually, I have posted these pictures already, but they're all on Facebook. Um, if you don't have a FB account, you suck. I can't believe I'm such an FB-groupie now that I would post pics there before my own website. Resistance is futile, sigh.

Anyways, enjoy :-)

[L] FIVE weekends ago, my co-workers -- Serra and Denisse -- and I got wasted at Lauriol, fetch!
[R] With Chris and L'Alex at... well, I think we were at Taint. LOL! It's been so long...

[L] L'David and Chris... Taint was FIERCE! My first time ever.
[R] Tony's new fashion accessory -- Aaron's hat!

[L] Three weekends ago, Carmen, Serra and I went to Happy Hour at MCCXXIII. Yes, all str8, all night. Eww, lol!
[R] Can you believe JR's celebrates 3/3 (March 3rd)?? I love (extra) reasons to drink!

[L] Jeff, Brit-ch and I at Cobalt for 80s night and Mikey's birthday. HOT.
[R] Mikko, L'David, me and Chris @ Chad/Mikey's party lasst weekend

[L] OMB!!! Bartender Jeff is sooooo eff-ing HOT!
[R] Why is there another gaysian (Mikey) in my picture??

[L] Battle of the Two Lil's... I love L'David's look, lol!
[R] Clockwise from top-left: L'Alex, Brit-ch Tony, Chris, Brit-ch Adam, Me and L'David... Drrr-unk!

[L] This is what I call a bitch-pile-up!
[R] Gorging on chocolate cake at St Tragic's Day Drunk Brunch @ Beacon the next day!

[L] (Eerika's) Boobs + Bubbly = Boobbly!
[R] This was just one of the two tables. It was like a send-off party to Betty Ford.

[L] Rick exploded bubbly all over the *ceiling*!
[R] Tony and Me @ Beacon

[L] Sandwiched between Chuck and Aaron. Very drunk.
[R] Jonna looking fierce in my Tokyo sunnies! She's such a supermodel...

[L] With L'David and Chad at JR's after Beacon
[R] Nothing... is closer to the truth, giggle!

[L] Ma-wee + Mahhhjowee + Me @ JR's = Wheeeee!
[R] I love boobies! As with all things in life, bigger *is* better.

Less than 3 more hours to Lane's 30(+1) party, one more week till Rick's older-than-dirt party and, most important of all, only 19 more days till Margaret Cho! *squeal* @ 18:48

March 21, 2008

[minibar] "You're in our kitchen, and we're in your dining room."

And with those words from Ryan and Michael -- our chefs last night -- our spectacular gastronomic journey through TWENTY-EIGHT courses at minibar (by José Andrés of Cafe Atlantico, Jaleo, Zaytinya and Oyamel) began.

minibar started 5 years ago and I have always scoffed at the hype surrounding that restaurant. 30+ courses? Meh... Molecular gastronomy? Bah... Impossible-to-get reservations? Whatever... But true to the phrase "don't knock it till you've tried it", I will now swallow a huge dose of mea culpa... "Deconstructed", of course (or was that "organized"?), by a technique called molecular gastronomy in a laboratory called minibar and we -- Tony, me, Soon and Julee -- were the guinea pigs being fed an experiment that went spectacularly right all night.

Here's our menu from minibar last night:

Munchies

Caipirinha "Nitro"
Parmesan "Pringles"
Beet Tumbleweed
Olive Oil Bon-Bon
"Mojito"
"Bagels & Lox"
"Dragon's Breath" Popcorn
Steamed Brioche Bun with Caviar
Blue Cheese Almond

Flavors & Textures

Salmon-Pineapple "Ravioli" with Crispy Quinoa
"Sun Dried" Tomato Salad
Conch Fritter
Zucchini in Textures
"Caesar Salad"
Parmesan "Egg" with Migas
Corn on the Cob
"Guacamole"
Smoked Oyster and Apples
New England Clam Chowder
Breaded Cigala with Sea Salad
"Philly Cheesesteak"

Desser

Frozen Yogurt and Honey
Thai Dessert

Sweet Ending

"Fizzy Ball"
White Chocolate, Black Olive and Mango Box
Carrot Cake Macaroon
Saffron Gumdrop in Edible Wrapper

The foods in quotes are just that -- faux deconstructed and/or reorganized representations of the extra thing. Sounds like a science experiment? Yup. Was it good? Absofuckinglutely!

I can tell you right now that, even though it's only been 24 hours, I want to go back to have the salmon, the "sun dried" tomato, the parmesan "egg" (OMB!), the smoked oyster, the clam chowder, the cigala (lobster-shrimp thingie), the cheesesteak and the thai dessert. They were all TDF. Actually, when the salmon first came out, I proclaimed it totarry TDF and the pièce de résistance of the night. Little did I know that I would say it 5 more times that night. Incredible.

Towards the end as we were all well-fed, a little tipsy and wondering where the bill was, Ryan brings over an egg and sets it on the counter in front of us. And then he smashes it with his fist. I squealed with shock and delight as the bill falls out of it. And that's the same gastronorgasmically happy squeal you will exclaim after a night at minibar.

If you've never been -- with only two seatings a day of six each, chances are you haven't -- and if you are a fan of food and theater, set your alarm for 10am tomorrow (or any day) and make a reservation pronto.

You won't regret it!

Oh for another dollop of parmesan "egg'... *drool*

Pictures!

[L] Liquor... liquid nitrogen... Caipirinha?
[C] Looks like Pringles... Tastes like cheese!
[R] Fabulously light. Beets? EWw...

[L] Frozen olive oil. Explosive.
[C] A Mojito drop. Wow.
[R] Smoked salmon, cream cheese, salmon roe, wrapped in wafer-thin "bagel". Genius.

[L] Bite into the popcorn and your breath comes out frozen. Hot.
[C] Cheese bun topped with caviar and foam
[R] Blue cheese, yuck

[L] Melt-in-your-mouth salmon
[C] The first TDF of the evening!
[R] Gorgeous cutlery

[L] Another TDF! The dollops of sun dried tomatoes were out-of-this-world.
[C] Deep-fried but yummy
[R] CYBIZ? (Can You Believe It's Zucchini) Deconstructed and Reorganized.

[L] Another deconstructed and reorganized dish -- Caesar Salad. Sublime.
[C] Uni topped with hibiscus foam -- Everyone agreed that this was the evening's only disappointment. It was the surprise dish to boot!
[R] This is the pièce de résistance of the night -- Parmesan Egg!

[L] I'm not a big fan of corn, but this was good
[C] Avocado-wrapped tomato with crushed chips on top. Brilliant.
[R] Smoked oyster. Shockingly silky.

[L] Deconstructed and reorganized clam chowder -- A. May. Zing.
[C] I ate every single drop
[R] Cigala is some sort of shrimp-lobster thingie. Sensational.

[L] Wagyu beef and cheese on top of bread on top of soap dish. Yum.
[C] Our chefs -- Michael and Ryan
[R] The first dessert course -- very, very frozen yogurt on honey

[L] Some peanuty Thai dessert thingie. Parfait!
[C] It was so good I licked my plate
[R] The final four...

Soon, Julee, Me and Tony -- The Happy Foursome!

I dream of minibar... @ 21:02

[easter spring] Spring is here! The vernal equinox occurred yesterday at 1:49am EDT which marked the start of the meteorological spring.

It seems bizarre that winter is over coz, well, it didn't feel like we had much of a winter. Unlike previous years, I was also in town everyday in both January and February (working hard or hardly working, you go figure) which was also very bizarre. Even more bizarre is the fact that my frequent flier account is still at 0 miles this late into the calendar year! *clutches pearls*

We've had 4.9" of snow (at DCA) this winter season. We didn't even have a big snowstorm -- the largest was 2.6" on Dec 5th. Our average is 16.6", mmm-hmm. It's like winter never even came and now it's gone (yay!).

I am not lamenting the passing of winter by any means but it does seem easier to work long hours when it's cold and miserable outside -- and I have been workin' some longgg ass hours, mmm-kay? But I am eagerly looking forward to spring and summer.

This winter is also Easter weekend -- the earliest since 1913. We will not see an Easter this early again in our lifetime -- the next one is 2160. The earliest Easter can ever occur is on March 22nd and that hasn't happened since 1818 and will not happen again until 2285. So it's safe to say that this is the earliest Easter in our lifetimes.

Easter will, however, fall on April 24th -- one day before the latest possible date -- in 3 years' time. It last fell on the latest possible date (Apr 25) in 1943 and will do so again in 2038. Did you know that the most common date for Easter is April 19th?

Yes, I'm bored. At work. And I'm on hold with customer support (or lack thereof) and my hair is greying just waiting for some mind-numbingly stupid representative to pick up the phone.

Wow, I toke a big dose of bitchy this morning! @ 18:26

March 18, 2008

[420pts] Exactly one week after the Dow rose nearly 417 points, the Dow recorded its fourth-biggest one-day point gain ever (420pts!) today after the Federal Reserve sliced another 75-basis points (0.75%) off the federal funds rate -- its sixth cut in six months -- to 2.25%.

Rates have now dropped from 5.25% to 2.25% in just 6 months. If you think the dollar is low now...

But is it enough to protect the markets from a financial and credit crisis that started last Friday with 86-yo Bear Stearns (the nation's fifth largest investment bank) alarming fire sale of $2/share or $236mn -- 1/80th of its price a year ago -- to JPMorgan Chase? Will that stave off a global financial crisis that threatens to blaze across markets and time zones? @ 23:14

[financial katrina II] But alas, the crumbling US economy under Bush's asleep-at-the-wheel watch is no laughing matter.

Frederick Kempe of Bloomberg:

"The cost of faltering American leadership is growing as quickly as you can say Bear Stearns."

"Much of what we are watching feels like an emerging-market meltdown to top international financiers: runaway debt, a declining currency, imploding markets, failing political leadership and the urgent need for outside intervention to provide emergency stability."

"International financiers... fault George W. Bush for having failed to realize that he has another Katrina on his hands, this time of a financial nature, for which private-sector solutions are useful but not sufficient to keep the levees in place. They believe he has to deploy greater government means to send a message to the financial world that he is drawing a line in the sand."

"As with the war in Afghanistan, the Iraqi war aftermath, the Hurricane Katrina disaster and current efforts at Mideast peace, investors are concerned that the president is responding too late and with inadequate understanding, resources and creativity."

Mortgage industry / Mortgage-backed securities regulation + Misplaced faith in free markets = Broken levees.

And then there's the question of the $230 billion bailout/welfare for corporate America.

"Some critics have questioned why the government is using taxpayer dollars to bail out Wall Street titans, like Bear Stearns, while thousands of Americans struggle to stave off housing foreclosure and receive nothing."

"...corporations have received $230 billion in federal aid compared to nothing for homeowners."

"The administration seems to have no stomach for taking action. This is a president that had no trouble intervening in Iraq, but does not want to intervene in the housing mess. It's as though we should worship the private sector even though it is what got us into this mess."

E.J. Dionne Jr. of WaPo:

"The Wall Street titans have turned into a bunch of welfare clients. They are desperate to be bailed out by government from their own incompetence, and from the deregulatory regime for which they lobbied so hard."

"It's just fine to make it harder for the average Joe to file for bankruptcy, as did that wretched bankruptcy bill passed by Congress in 2005 at the request of the credit card industry. But the big guys are 'too big to fail,' because they could bring us all down with them."

"Enter the federal government, the institution to which the wealthy are not supposed to pay capital gains or inheritance taxes."

"So now the bailouts begin, and Wall Street usefully might feel a bit of gratitude, perhaps by being willing to have the wealthy foot some of the bill or to acknowledge that while its denizens were getting rich, a lot of Americans were losing jobs and health insurance. I'm waiting."'

Instead of a stronger America, Bush is leaving us with a mountain $10,000,000,000,000 high of debt -- 76% higher than when he took office. Paying back the money means less to spend on everything else for a very long time. A job growth of 4.2%; the worst performance over a business cycle since record-keeping began in 1945. Wages failing to outpace inflation (i.e. falling) for the fifth straight month. A dollar that is fast becoming a worthless currency of choice.

Bush's legacy? Failure, after failure, after failure. @ 15:02

[financial katrina] Over the weekend, the NYT published two fantastically juicy opinion columns that, I think, are absolutely priceless.

Gail Collins in "George Speaks, Badly":

"Watching George W. Bush address the New York financial community Friday brought back many memories. Unfortunately, they were about his speech right after Hurricane Katrina, the one when he said: 'America will be a stronger place for it.'"

"The president squinched his face and bit his lip and seemed too antsy to stand still. As he searched for the name of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia ('the king, uh, the king of Saudi') and made guy-fun of one of the questioners ('Who picked Gigot?'), you had to wonder what the international financial community makes of a country whose president could show up to talk economics in the middle of a liquidity crisis and kind of flop around the stage as if he was emcee at the Iowa Republican Pig Roast."

LOL! I wish it was funny, but it is anything and soberingly but.

She continues:

"Were really past expecting anything much, but in times of crisis you would like to at least believe your leader has the capacity to pretend hes in control."

"The country that elected George Bush sort of because he seemed like hed be more fun to have a beer with than Al Gore or John Kerry is really getting its comeuppance. Our credit markets are foundering, and all weve got is a guy who looks like hes ready to kick back and start the weekend."

And then there's my favorite of 'em all: Maureen Down who, in "Soft Shoe in Hard Times", is scathing but in a very light-hearted manner. The perfect dose of sarcasm dipped in a pool of acid.

"Everyone here is flummoxed about why the president is in such a fine mood."

"The dollars crumpling, the recessions thundering, the Dows bungee-jumping and the worlds disapproving, yet George Bush has turned into Gene Kelly, tap dancing and singing in a one-man review called 'The Most Happy Fella.'"

"'Im coming to you as an optimistic fellow,' he told the Economic Club of New York on Friday. His manner chortling and joshing was in odd juxtaposition to the Feds bailing out the imploding Bear Stearns and his own acknowledgment that 'our economy obviously is going through a tough time,' that gas prices are spiking, and that folks 'are concerned about making their bills.'"

"[T]he more terrified Americans get, the more bizarrely carefree he seems."

"In on-the-record sessions with reporters -- and more candid off-the-record ones -- he has seemed goofily happy in recent weeks, prickly no more but strangely liberated and ebullient."

"Maybe the president is just putting on a good face to keep up American morale, the way Herbert Hoover did after the crash of '29, when he continued to dress in a tuxedo for dinner.

"Or maybe the old Andover cheerleader really believes his own cheers, and that prosperity will turn up any time now, just like the W.M.D. in Iraq."

"Or perhaps it's a Freudian trip. Now that he's mucked up the world and the country, he can finally stop rebelling against his dad and relax in the certainty that the Bush name will forever be associated with crash-and-burn presidencies."

"Whatever the explanation, it's plumb loco."

Plumb loco, ROTFLMAO!!! @ 14:47

[...and not learned] Twelve days after 9/11, Barbara Kingsolver wrote "A Pure High Note of Anguish" in the LA Times. It still resonates today.

There are a hundred ways to be a good citizen, and one of them is to look finally at the things we don't want to see. In a week of terrifying events, here is one awful, true thing that hasn't much been mentioned: Some people believe our country needed to learn how to hurt in this new way. This is such a large lesson, so hatefully, wrongfully taught, but many people before us have learned honest truths from wrongful deaths. It still may be within our capacity of mercy to say this much is true: We didn't really understand how it felt when citizens were buried alive in Turkey or Nicaragua or Hiroshima. Or that night in Baghdad. And we haven't cared enough for the particular brothers and mothers taken down a limb or a life at a time, for such a span of years that those little, briefly jubilant boys have grown up with twisted hearts. How could we keep raining down bombs and selling weapons, if we had? How can our president still use that word "attack" so casually, like a move in a checker game, now that we have awakened to see that word in our own newspapers, used like this: Attack on America.

Surely, the whole world grieves for us right now. And surely it also hopes we might have learned, from the taste of our own blood, that every war is both won and lost, and that loss is a pure, high note of anguish like a mother singing to any empty bed. The mortal citizens of a planet are praying right now that we will bear in mind, better than ever before, that no kind of bomb ever built will extinguish hatred.

Why did we ever think we could bomb them and then expect them to turn around and cheer our triumph? What were we thinking when we thought we could "convince" them to accept democracy with a gun pointing at their head? How did we become a people that supported a President who decided to bomb a whole nation because of some specious, concocted reason, the result of which is a ruined nation of mothers singing to empty beds?

The saddest part is: We have not learned. And the worst part is that after five years of this senseless and pointless war, we have nothing but tears to show for it.

Absolutely nothing. @ 10:42

[what we have done...] Senator Clinton at GW:

"Despite the evidence, President Bush is determined to continue his failed policy in Iraq until he leaves office."

"And Senator McCain will gladly accept the torch and stay the course, keeping troops in Iraq for 100 more years if necessary."

"They both want to keep us tied to another countrys civil war, a war we cannot win. And that, in a nutshell, is the Bush-McCain Iraq policy: Dont learn from your mistakes repeat them."

I love it when she gets feisty. Hot.

What's not so hot is that tomorrow marks five years after the Iraq War started.

From the NYT's John F. Burns in "Looking Back at Five Years in Iraq":

On April 9, the day the Marines entered Baghdad and used one of their tanks to help the crowd haul down Saddams statue in Firdos Square, American troops stood by while mobs began looting, ravaging palaces and torture centers, along with ministries, museums and hospitals. Late in the day, at the oil ministry, I discovered it was the only building marines had orders to protect.

Looking back, it has been fashionable to say the Americans began losing the war right then. At the least, it was the first misstep in what quickly became a long chronicle: the failure to find weapons of mass destruction, the primary cause the Bush Administration had given for the war; the absence of a plan, at least any the Pentagon intended to implement, for the period after Baghdad fell; the disbanding of the Iraqi Army, and thus casting aside the help it might have given in fighting the insurgency that began flickering within 10 days of American troops entering Baghdad; the lack of an effective American counterinsurgency strategy, at least until the troop increase last year finally began bringing the wars toll down.

Beyond these, there were the instances when Americas intentions were betrayed by its troops in more personal ways, with the abuse and torture of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib, with the shooting deaths of 24 civilians in Haditha and with the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl at Mahmudiya, along with the killing of three other members of her family, all leading to court-martial hearings that tore at the heart of anyone who starts from a position of admiration for the American armed forces. The Marine offensive that recaptured Falluja from Islamic militants in November 2004, virtually flattening the city without achieving more than a temporary change in the arc of the war, may also draw its share of condemnation.

At the fifth anniversary, the conflicts staggering burden is a rebuke to any who hoped Mr. Husseins removal might be accomplished at acceptable cost. Back in 2003, only the most prescient could have guessed that the current "surge" would raise the American troop commitment above 160,000, the highest level since the invasion, in the wars fifth year, or that the toll would include tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians killed, as well nearly 4,000 American troops; or that Americas financial costs, by some recent estimates, would rise above $650 billion by 2008, on their way to perhaps $2 trillion if the commitment continues for another five years. Beyond that, there are a million or more Iraqis living as refugees in neighboring Arab countries, and the pitiful toll of fear and deprivation on Iraqi streets.

Worst of all were the moments when war and its arguments were reduced from the remote, and political, to the intensely personal, and to that terrible sense, familiar to anybody who has experienced war, that nothing, or almost nothing, can justify its wounds.

They are scenes that do not fade: Watching American soldiers being slipped into body bags for the journey home, and knowing, at that instant, that the lives of unknowing families thousands of miles away have been shattered; surveying the aftermath of suicide bombings, with severed limbs in the street, and hearing the wailing of the Iraqi bereaved. Or, an experience we endured twice at The New York Times, having a young Iraqi man working on our news staff gunned down by militiamen and insurgents, leaving children, some barely old enough to be in school, to cope with life without a beloved father and a brother, and to have no sense of why.

In time, those who launched the war will answer in history, as much as they will claim the credit if America ultimately finds a way home with honor, and without destroying all it went to Iraq to achieve.

From Newsweek's Christopher Dickey:

To put the best face on the new Middle East, you'd have to use a magic mirror that would hide the oceans of blood spilled and the vast mountains of money spent by this administration. You'd have to ignore that old talk about making Iraq a beacon of hope and democracy for the region. You would need to forget the false premises presented to the public as justification for the invasion: that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and that he was in league with Al Qaeda.

This is what Bush wrought. And what we allowed him to do.

The shame should sear itself in every one of you Republicans and war-mongers out there for all to see. I hope you sleep soundly at night knowing that millions do not. Because of what you supported. That pales in comparison to the tens, perhaps even hundreds, of thousands who will never wake up. Because of what you supported.

And I hope you will rot in your shame for eternity. @ 10:29

March 17, 2008

[st not-so-tragic's] Oh, and Happy St Paddy's Day everyone!

Jonna is such a freak with her shamrock tongue!

We celebrated my favorite drinking holiday of the year (OK, it's a toss-up between St Patrick's and Cinco de Mayhem, but you get my drift ;-p) with a 27-hour drinking spree punctuated by 7 hours of rest.

It all started on a beautiful Saturday when we hit Showtunes at JR's at 5pm, followed by Chris/Dave's dinner party at 7 which led to Chad/Mikey's house party and then Town (till 5am!). The party resumed a scant 7 hours later at Beacon for St Tragic's Drunk Brunch, before ending at 8pm at JR's. Insanity!

We were a party of 21 (!) and we must have a reputation for being a bunch of loud, obnoxious drunks coz they sequestered us upstairs at Beacon. I know, right? Who-TF knew there was an UPstairs?? Anyho, we shared 4 huge tables of 10 with 2 other tables -- one with a bunch of pre-pubescent bitchy queens and the other with a gaggle of the fiercest black chicks, mmm-hmm. They all followed us to JR's post-drunk brunch, natch. I love me some hot black girls.

Roll call: Chris/Dave + their Brit-ches Tony/Adam, Rick + his two bee-yotches, Rob/Mikko, Messy Chris, Adam/Patrick/Jenn, MichaelG/Chris, Chuck-egina, and my favorite Finnish bitches Jonna, Eerika and Lie Ping!

It was pandemonium. We drank so much all-you-can-chug J Roget aka Tegor J aka Taigauger (it's like Taittinger... but Spumante... and 1/10th the price), we literally drank them dry! Fetch!

After that, we walked the two very short blocks up to JR's for $2 Sundays and drank like a bunch of Irish sailors. I drank enough mimosas and vodka-crans to pee red bubbles.

No Jaeger shots, no throwing up (besides the food), and it was the perfect 3rd Annual St (Not-So-)Tragic's Day Fetchtacular! I love my Irish-wannabe bee-yotches long, long time! @ 22:40

[eulo] I am so glad we went to Japan when we did i.e. when the yen was still weak and everything seemed cheap(er). The dollar fell to 95.76 yen today, a level not reached since August of 1995. When we were there the past two times, the yen hovered between 110 to 120. It has been 12 years since the dollar dropped below parity (=100) with the yen.

And last Friday for the first time ever, the dollar fell below parity against the Swiss Franc. So it came as no surprise to me when I saw this sign on Connecticut Ave in Dupont Circle this past Saturday as we were walking around enjoying the beautiful springtime 60s weather:

The euro is trading at a record high of $1.59 (!). Absolutely shocking. And there is talk of a huge rate cut tomorrow which will further drive the dollar to an abyss.

Pretty soon, I won't be saying sucky sucky two dollah anymore. It'll be sucky sucky two eulos! @ 22:15

March 15, 2008

[you've done it] OMB, I found this on facebook (they should call it crackbook) and I pee'd down ma right sweatpants leg this morning reading this. And just in time for St Patty's Day too. Enjoy!

The Rules Of Drunk Dialling

1. Only drunk dial when you are drunk. Everything else is false advertisement.

2. It is okay to call someone 27 times in one night. If you don't remember it, it didn't happen.

3. If you are going to drunk dial a family member, say something nice. E.g. "Mom, I'm in McDonald's and they're playing our song. I love you."

4. Dirty talk while drunk dialing is always preferred. Who doesn't want to hear your best raspy, phone sex voice at 3 in the A.M. asking to bend them over something??

5. Voicemails are always better. This way your friend can let their friends have fun at your expense for days, even weeks to come.

6. Drunk texting is alright... if you are prepared to read what you wrote the next day when you are sober.

7. It is definitely a good idea to call all of your ex's and remind them that you were the best lover they've ever had and everything they know, they learned from you. This way you can sleep well at night.

8. You can also call this same ex and let him/her know, that you know that he/she still loves you. Then explain to him/her that "I would still love me too!"

9. If you are a frequent dialer, never get mad if someone dials you. Be happy they thought of you in this special time.

10. It is always a good idea to sing on someone's answering machine or voicemail. Especially a show tune.

11. Drunk dialing should be fun and light hearted or dirty and sex crazed... never angry.

12. Most likely you will never drunk dial your best friends. They are usually the ones taking your phone away and reminding you that "you have a problem".

13. If you deleted a number sober, it was probably for a good reason. Do not try to retrieve this number. Nothing good can come from it.

14. Always call someone you know. Finding random numbers in phone books is bad and usually leads to angry dialing.

15. If your cell phone dies, remember everything happens for a reason. Never borrow a friend's phone to do your dialing.

16. Drunk dialing to a foreign country is usually too costly to be a good idea. But, if you really feel like if you don't call this person you'll just die, break rule 15 and use a friend's phone.

17. Drunk dialing may lead to drunk muffin stuffing... be prepared.

18. When dialing remember that "hanging out" at 3 in the a.m. usually doesn't involve cards it's probably going to be more like cheap lube and handcuffs. So be prepared when you really do want to play X-box when you're drunk... "you want me to do what with your box? Play with it?"

19. Don't drunk dial in the pool, tub, or rainstorm. It only ends up with you blow drying your phone when your far too drunk to be using electronics and you won't be able to drunk dial anymore that night.

20. Never, I repeat, never drunk dial your boss, preacher, grandpa, or friend's parents. If you are that hard up to call someone, there is an 800 number on Budweiser boxes. The person on the other line always sounds cute, plus I think they are used to drunk dialers.

LOL!!! I love #6 but #13 is P-R-I-C-E-L-E-S-S! @ 10:53

[i dream of lhasa] Well, this is gonna be a problem -- "...Tourists were told to stay in their hotels and make plans to leave..."

I was planning on going to Lhasa before the Beijing Olympics. I'm not so sure that's gonna happen anymore. Maybe I should have a Plan B, hmm.

I'm not a happy camper today. I had to work till 10:30pm last night, grrr. I did decompress a little (alcohol helps *giggle*) at Justin's 28th at Helix. Um, note to self: When it rains, Helix is not so fun. Plus, $10 drinks are ridick!

Dinner party tonight @ Chris/Dave's and St Tragic's Day Drunk Brunch tomorrow @ Beacon!

Serenity now. With vodka, of course ;-) @ 10:17

March 14, 2008

[delayed gratification] It's 5 till 7pm. On a Friday. And I'm still here at work!

The end of my 54-hour workweek is near. Just a few more tasks and I'm outtie, hopefully by 7:30pm. My weekend has never started this late before.

I'm all about instant gratification. And I want my weekend now! And NObody from work is going to call me and ruin my super-fetch, drink-around-the-clock, St Patty's Day blowout weekend.

Nobody. @ 18:59

March 13, 2008

[tisnf] Here I am... At work... I have to be here till at least 8:15pm tonight, maybe even later. Grrr.

Over text messaging a few moments ago:

Adam:: Come meet us at 18th street lounge
Me:: I'm working tonight :-(
Adam:: Wtf omg idk my bff kiat works
Me:: IK,R? TISNF!

This project is going to be the end of... my social life, LOL!

TISNF! (This Is So Not Fair) @ 19:23

March 12, 2008

[RIP NEP] The dynamics have been very interesting indeed in the 5 (of 13) Malaysian states that are now ruled by the Opposition; 3 of them -- Kedah, Perak and Selangor -- for the first time ever.

Predictably, the rural north-eastern state of Kelantan remains in the Islamic party's hands as it has been for the past 18 years (and 36 of the past 50). As a result, Kelantan is the only state in Malaysia that adopts syariah/Islamic law i.e. single-sex queues in supermarkets, separate public benches for men and women, banning alcohol and most forms of entertainment, etc. It is only with the federal government's intervention that the Islamic party has been unsuccessful in introducing Hudud law i.e. death for murder/rape, amputation for robbery, flogging for drinking, etc.

Yup, kwazy... though not surprising considering Kelantan is 95% Malay/Muslim. Also not surprising is the fact that the GDP per capita in Kelantan is a third of the wealthiest states of Penang and Selangor.

The wealthy north-western state of Penang -- Malaysia's "Silicon Valley" and home to Dell, Intel, AMD, Sony, etc. -- fell to the Opposition for the second time since Independence. The Opp parties won 28 of the 40 seats, with the Chinese Opposition party -- DAP -- winning 19 of those 28 seats and are now firmly in charge of this state as well as holding the Chief Minister position. Reflecting the state's Chinese majority, the Chief Ministership of Penang is the only one in Malaysia which has been continuously held by an ethnic Chinese since independence. In an interesting twist, the new CM appointed to Deputy CMs -- an Indian and a Malay, thus all three major races are represented at the executive level.

But the most groundbreaking change is the decision by the new CM to abolish the long-standing program (aka the New Economic Policy or NEP) of preferential treatment of the ethnic Malay majority in the entire state of Penang. This is a shocking move by a State Government and I could not be happier, yay!

Opposition leader, Keadilan party leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that in the five opposition-governed states:

"[the governments will] reduce race-based affirmative-action policies and begin to implement a more competitive merit-based system."

Affirmative action breeds cronyism, corruption and systemic inefficiency and should be abolished immediately.

The Opposition parties collectively won 22 of the 36 seats in the northern state of Kedah -- the rice bowl of Malaysia -- and since the Islamic Party won 16 of those 22 seats, they are now firmly in charge in that state with the state Menteri Besar (aka Governor) also a member of the Islamic Party. There are rumors they may introduce syariah/hudud in Kedah. Enough to send shivers down the 1/4 of the population that are non-Malay.

My parents' home state of Perak has been the scene of the most controversy so far. First off, the state constitution mandates that the Menteri Besar must be a Malay/Muslim. Um, racist! Secondly, the Opposition parties won 31 of 59 seats, with the DAP winning 18 of those. But because the DAP's members are all Chinese, the Sultan of Perak decided to appoint a member of the Islamic Party as Menteri Besar. WTF? Consequently, the DAP ordered its 18 elected officials to boycott the MB's swearing-in ceremony. For a while there, the coalition government stood on the brink of collapse. That has been averted and the situation is tenuous at best. And just like Penang, there are two Deputy MBs -- one Chinese (DAP) and one Indian (Keadilan) i.e. all three major races are represented at the executive level. I think that's pretty fetch. BTW, Perak is half Malay and half non-Malay.

Finally, we have the wealthiest, most urban (88%) and most populous state (4.2mn) in Malaysia -- Selangor -- which surrounds the capital city of Kuala Lumpur where my parents live. Again, the State constitution mandates that the Mentery Besar must be a Malay/Muslim and all the major Opposition parties accepted the choice to have a Keadilan member as the MB. The Opposition coalition won 36 of 56 seats, split 15 to Keadilan, 13 to DAP and 8 to PAS.

Will the other 4 states follow Penang's lead and Anwar's demands to abolish the much-loathed NEP affirmative action program? These are pretty exciting times for Malaysian politics indeed!

Bye-bye, NEP! @ 23:31

[strippergate] American Idol is *so* rigged. Fox must've felt that it would be an embarassment for them to keep David Hernandez on the show after his pre-Idol stripper revelations, BUT it would've been an even bigger embarassment for them to kick him off the show coz they didn't do their screening properly... SO, they decided to wait till the first show -- the Top 12 -- where the fans got to vote before kicking him off. Mmm-hmm.

So rigged. Either that or America got is *so* wrong (as usual) coz that cunt-ry... sorry, I meant country-sounding bee-yotch was awful, awful, Awful and way deserved to go before David H who is, well, so much hotter :-D

The morally righteous strikes again!

p.s. I'm totarry kidding. I couldn't care less who goes at this early stage. @ 22:07

[may 1] A DC Superior Court Judge did the recalcitrant DC cabdrivers a small favor today by delaying the start date for time-and-distance meters by almost 4 weeks -- from April 6th to May 1st.

But change is inevitable. And these "price-it-on-a-whim", "let's-take-advantage-of-clueless-tourists", swindling cabdrivers in the wild west known as the DC taxicab zone system will find that resistance is futile and the mayor will bow only to the people's will; not a select group of workers who are at their last throes.

How ironic that on May Day (aka Labor Day for the rest of the world), the taxicab industry workers in DC will be "shafted" when DC switches to meters -- at long last! No more paying two zones to go from Dupont Circle to Adams Morgan/Columbia Heights! Yay!

Go Fenty! @ 11:01

March 11, 2008

[417 pts] The Dow gained 416.66 points today -- the fourth biggest one-day point gain ever, WOW! It's been more than 5 1/2 years since the Dow gained this much in a single day.

That's not quite as good as it sounds, thought, considering that just yesterday, the Dow plunged below 12k to its lowest in 17 months.

Oil inches within a quarter of $110, WOW. Gas prices rose to a record national average of $3.2272/gallon, a smidge higher than last May's record.

But it's only March! I cannot wait for gas to hit $4/gallon. Even then me thinks it's too damn cheap. Do you know how much a (US) gallon of super unleaded is in the UK? $9.30! @ 21:00

[spitzered] What is up with high-ranking Democrats and not being able to keep their pee-pee's in their pants??

Regardless, the best line I heard all day was: "Did she swallow or Spit-zer?"

*giggles mischievously*

BTW, I don't get why paying for a call-girl is an impeachable offense when lying and dragging an entire nation to war while causing the deaths of close to 4,000 American soldiers' lives is not.

Worse yet, waterboarding is legal but paying to have sex is not? WTF?

Stupid morally self-righteous Republicunts as usual. @ 20:46

[waiting for the w/end] What good is gaylight saving time when I'm working 11-hour days and leaving at 7:30pm when it's ALSO dark outside??

Big project at work = Life sucks. Grrr. I can't wait for the weekend (major parties galore!). @ 20:41

March 9, 2008

[demoted] Shock. And horror.

If you are a frequent flier and you've experienced a downgrade in status in your lifetime, you will truly know how I felt on March 1st when my status with United went from 1K/Platinum to Premier Executive/Gold.

Trust me, I almost cried.

Having been 1K for the past 26 months, this "demotion" comes as a rude awakening indeed. I "only" flew 80,000+ miles last year (that's FOUR round-trips to Malaysia, or 11 round-trips to London) which was not quite enough for the 100k miles necessary to make 1K. As a result, I missed out on 6 System-Wide Upgrades (that's 3 free round-trip upgrades anywhere in the world). My precious SWUs! Sigh.

I am no longer a Queen on United. I have been relegated to just being a Princess, quelle horreur!

SO not fetch.

Tony did make 1K though, thank God. @ 22:50

[gaylight saving time] Daylight Saving Time came three weeks earlier again this year for the second year in the row. I loves it.

The glorious sun set at 7:10pm today; an hour later than usual. It was fabulous. The downside? The sun will rise at 7:30am tomorrow which is pretty late for most people... but not for me! 7:30 only happens once a day for me, baby, and it ain't a.m., mmm-hmm *snap*.

This Sunday was slightly colder than average, however, but it did not dampen the spirit of the peeps at $2 Sundays at JR's tonight. Yup, the bar was packed as usual. Actually, it was packed earlier than usual. Apparently, when it comes to drinking, the gays start at a set time -- usually 5pm on Sundays, regardless of DST or not -- and they don't end until an hour after the sun sets. And since the sun set later today, the drinking hour extended for an hour even if they lost an hour's of sleep the night before.

I loves it when we all come together to celebrate Gaylight Saving Time at JR's. One extra (daylight) hour to drink, what's not to celebrate? :-)

I will be nose deep buried in a project at work for the next three weeks. I don't see relief until the end of March.

Pray for me, sigh. @ 22:26

March 8, 2008

[political tsunami] 27.5 million Malaysians awoke on Sunday morning to a new political era, with headlines splashed across newspapers reading: "Political Tsunami".

Voters handed the ruling coalition its biggest electoral setback in its five-decades-old rule, as the opposition won five of 13 states putting a dark cloud on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's future.

The multi-racial Barisan Nasional / National Front coalition managed to win just a simple majority in parliament and will form the government at the federal level. It lost a crucial two-thirds parliamentary majority it has held for most of its rule as the only ruling party in Malaysia since indepedence from the UK in 1957. It is the worst election result for the governing coalition since independence.

Selangor, together with Kedah and Perak, have never been ruled by the opposition. Prosperous, majority Chinese and mostly urban Penang was briefly under opposition rule in 1969 but the subsequent suspension of Parliament resulted in the governing coalition taking control again in 1972. Kelantan has been under opposition rule for the past two decades.

Closer to where I live, the three core opposition parties -- DAP, PAS and Keadilan -- won almost all the seats in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, and took control of the surrounding industrial state of Selangor; Malaysia's most populous and wealthiest. The wins in KL, Selangor and Penang pointed to vast discontent in the heart of Malaysia's largest cities, and its entire urban population in general.

A revolution indeed.

Here are some unofficial numbers:

	Barisan Nasional		Opposition
	P	S	P	S
1999	148	45	281	113
2004	198	21	453	52
2008	140	82	307	198

It is a stunning reversal of fortunes for PM Badawi who led Barisan Nasional to a thumping 91% of Parlimanetary seats and 12 of 13 states in the most recent 2004 elections -- the best result for BN yet.

Ethnic Malays (i.e. Muslims) make up the majority (60%) of the population, while Chinese account for 25% and Indians 8%. Each ethnicity is represented by a party in the Barisan Nasional coalition, a power-sharing arrangement designed to keep racial tensions at bay.

A key issue in these elections was disillusionment among ethnic Chinese and Indians who have log complained of discrimination, particularly an affirmative action system -- New Economic Policy (NEP) -- that gives the Muslim Malays preference in jobs, finance, religion, business, housing and education. The program was designed 37 years ago to help the majority Malays catch up with the wealthier Chinese.

As with all kinds of affirmative action, the NEP is discrimination pure and simple. It denies the best and the brightest from leading the country to a brighter future, and it places cronyism and corruption over merit.

Most of my friends and I were subject to this discrimination at one point or another in our lives. None of us could attend local Universities because almost all the slots were given to the Malays. Chinese and Indians are not allowed to start companies without at least a 30% stake given to a "silent" Malay partner (who profits while doing nothing). And most glaringly of all, non-Malays have to pay more for houses and cars. WTF, right? It's like we're second-class citizens in our own home country.

I think the worst was when I was in University in the UK and every single non-Malay had to pay their own way through Univ, but all the Malays had some form of scholarship or another (granted by corporations in Malaysia as part of the NEP) even if most (not all) of them weren't very bright at all and/or underperformed. It was quite an awkward mixture of the privileged/entitled but not very smart Malays, and the bright but struggling Chinese and Indians.

The resentment lingers, and seems to have boiled over. I am not surprised BN suffered such a historic defeat today. Not surprised at all. It is time to end the NEP. These elections are a watershed event, and a true mark of a maturing society -- one that belives in equal opportunity and social justice thereby resulting in the need to dissolve the NEP. @ 19:26

[electoral tsunami] In a shocking electorcal upset for Malaysia's ruling coalition -- Barisan Nasional (BN) or National Front -- the Opposition seized control of an unprecedented 5 of the 13 states as the dust settled on the most contentious elections in my home country in 40 years.

The results are still pouring in but it appears that, by 1:30am MST, the ruling coalition has retained a simple majority in the legislature (Dewan Rakyat) which will allow it to form the next government and elect the next Prime Minister; which now may or, most likely, may not be Abdullah Badawi who will probably get ousted because of this dismal result.

On the State level, the Opposition stunned BN and wrested control of 4 of the 6 northern states -- Kelantan, Kedah, Penang and Perak -- and they also appear to have taken the central, richest and most populous state of Selangor. Previously (in the 2004 elections), the Opposition only had control of one State legislature -- Kelantan. Penang is the only state which has a Chinese majority and has been ruled by BN for the past 36 years. The fall to the Chinese Opposition party was described as an electoral tsunami.

By 2:15am Sunday local time -- 9 hours after polls closed -- the Opposition had already more than doubled their numbers in Parliament (from 20 to 48) and similarly for State seats (51 to 122). If the Opposition gets 30 more seats, they will deny BN a supermajority in Parliament for the first time since 1969. I don't even want to speculate what's gonna happen tomorrow if that happens (and it seems more and more likely).

Stay tuned! 13:18

[vote = life] On this day of Malaysia's elections and this contentious year for America to decide who our next President is going to be, I have to say that I have always been a huge proponent of exercising one's voting rights. Anyone who doesn't would definitely lose a lot of respect from me.

There are billions of people on this planet -- perhaps even a majority of all people -- that do not have the right to vote. They do not have a say at the ballot box and they do not have a say about how their country is governed. The people who do may have gotten their right to vote by paying a heavy price in terms of blood lost, and they are certainly only keeping it because there are millions of our armed forces out there fighting for and defending all of our privileged right to vote.

My philosophy has always been that if you've got it and if you don't choose to exercise your right as a global citizen with a civil right/responsibility to vote, why bother existing?

To vote is to live, so do it! Even if you think that all the candidates are not worth your time or day, just go to the polls anyway and drop an invalid ballot into the box. Whatever you do, just vote! Millions of people have died and are still dying for it so treasure it like it's the air that you breathe.

So, as strong as my opinion is about voting (or most anything else, for that matter *grin*), it would come as a shock to you (and I) that I have never voted in my entire life. Mmm-hmm.

Why? Well, first of all, I am not a US citizen which means I can't vote where I live. My citizenship application has been delayed by almost 21 months now and the latest news from USCIS (US Criminally Inefficient Service?) is that my background investigation has not been completed yet. 21 months to do background name checks? Give me a fucking break. I am about to sue.

And I can't vote in Malaysia either. According to the Election Regulations (Electoral Roll) 2002 and Election Regulations (Postal Votes) 2003, only military personnel, students, staf off embassies and high commissions and their spouses can vote through the post. All other overseas Malaysians must return home if they wish to vote.

It's impractical for me to fly 10,000 miles just to vote, so I have never voted since I became eligible 10 years ago. I have been in the States the entire time.

Sad. I really, really want to vote. Sigh. @ 12:27

[blasphemy] These are hilarious -- new motivational posters based on candid shots:

And the best one of them all which about made me pee down my right leg when I saw it:

ROTFL! Totarry hiwarious! @ 11:39

[hard candy] My work and party schedule has been so crazy this past week I can't believe I have been remiss about posting the breaking news from 11 days ago about Madonna's new album -- her 11th -- called "Hard Candy" due in stores April 29th!!! That's, like, 52 days away! The countdown begins...

This will be her first album in three years since Confessions On A Dance Floor came out in 2005. It will also be her last with Warner Brothers, the label she has been with for 26 years (!). Her first single -- "Four Minutes (To Save The World)" -- is a collaboration with JT and Timbaland and will be released later this month *squeal*! And, MOST importantly, she *IS* going on tour again at the end of the year *double squeal*!! I am already queueing (and saving) up for tickets.

And guess who's turning 50 on August 16th? Yup, it's the Queen of Pop herself. When asked about turning that milestone age, she replied: "I see it as another excuse to have a birthday party."

Fierce. That's my diva! @ 11:27

[the united states of torture] Ladies and Gentlemen...

Our Torturer-in-Chief, President Bush.

Two words -- War Criminal. @ 10:57

[malaysia decides] Malaysia decides today -- they've been voting all day Saturday i.e. overnight here -- in the country's most controversial elections (the 12th) since 1969 when the ruling National Front coalition lost their two-thirds supermajority for the first (and only) time which resulted in racial riots and the suspension of Parliament for two years.

Polls closed 6 hours ago (a shockingly early 5:00pm local time). The outgoing Parliament has seen the opposition in its weakest state in years -- 19 of 219 parliamentary seats, and 51 of 505 state seats. Consequently, the ruling coalition -- for the past 51 years now -- governed the country unchallenged which pissed people off royally.

I called my mom yesterday for her 60th birthday (Happy Birthday, Mom!!!) and she was telling me how she and my dad are skipping a wedding dinner tonight and the whole family is hunkering down at home to watching the results. They've been making stock-the-kitchen runs to the store these past few days in preparation for the worst.

The worst outcome would be a repeat of 1969 when urban Chinese and rural Islamic opposition groups won a majority of votes (unlikely to happen again) and more than a third of parliament (also unlikely). Chinese victory parades prompted a bloody backlash by Malays and emergency rule.

Victory parades are, of course, banned in Malaysia. Just like everything else political- or free-speech related.

I am watching closely with a potent mixture of angst and excitement.

p.s. From DC to Cape Town -- Happy Birthday, Chris! @ 10:03

March 3, 2008

[starbucks and walmarts] This came from LA-Gary today in an e-mail titled, "One reason why I live where I do...":

All's I can say is -- Amen! @ 17:19

[highs and lows] After many, Many attempts at the record high set almost 28 years ago, oil prices finally soared to $103.95 which is above the record set in April 1980 during the second oil shock. Back then, it was $39.50/barrel or $103.76 in today's money when adjusted for inflation.

Gold also reach a new record high, trading at $10 shy of the psychological barrier of $1,000 per troy ounce.

The dollar, on the other hand, is reaching record lows, tumbling as low as $1.5275 per euro. Can you imagine one dollar is worth less than 2/3rds of an euro??

The world economy is in turmoil... And I'm just loving this warm weather :-D @ 16:28

[70°] OMB, it's 70° right now and the high tomorrow will be 70° as well. It's purrr-fect! Fetch!

The metreorological winter (Dec - Feb) ended for the DC area a few days ago with temps more than 3° above normal. January was 5.1° above normal! We have also had less than 5" of snow as measured at DCA; the heaviest fell early in the season -- 2.6" on Dec 5th. The total so far is almost one-third of our average snowfall for those months. It's now been more than 2 years since our last 6"+ snowstorm. Shocking.

Less than a week to go before DST kicks in (yay!) and the astronomical winter ends on Mar 20th -- the vernal equinox.

I ♥ global warming! @ 16:12

[tarzhay dc] OMB, it's finally here!

Tarzhay in Columbia Frights is opening on Wednesday!! *squeal*

I already see myself going there once a week... at least.

Happiness! @ 11:29

[happy march?] It's 8:45am and I just sauntered in to work. Much to my roomie's surprise, apparently, coz he chuckled a little before sayin':

"What, you still up from last night?"

LOL! Happy March!

Or not, as it were. I am dreading this month almost as much as I dread the oncoming onslaught of pollen. And work.

But probably not as much as Hillary does. Her last stand -- in OH and TX -- is tomorrow. @ 08:48

More >>

31 :: random w/end pics
31 :: sakura
30 :: nationals park
26 :: world's largest terminal
25 :: easter fun
25 :: 4 minutes
25 :: blazing molten hot
24 :: olympic to beijing
22 :: pictures galore
21 :: minibar
21 :: easter spring
18 :: 420pts
18 :: financial katrina II
18 :: financial katrina
18 :: ...and not learned
18 :: what we have done...
17 :: st not-so-tragic's
17 :: eulo
15 :: you've done it
15 :: i dream of lhasa
14 :: delayed gratification
13 :: tisnf
12 :: RIP NEP
12 :: strippergate
12 :: may 1
11 :: 417 pts
11 :: spitzered
11 :: waiting for the w/end
09 :: demoted
09 :: gaylight saving time
08 :: political tsunami
08 :: electoral tsunami
08 :: vote = life
08 :: blasphemy
08 :: hard candy
08 :: the united states of torture
08 :: malaysia decides
03 :: starbucks and walmarts
03 :: highs and lows
03 :: 70°
03 :: tarzhay dc
03 :: happy march?