Happy Tanks-giving!!!

It's Oprah's Tanks-giving Special!

The obscenely rich woman has gone insane (That's probably why she's ending her show) giving away tanks to her audiences:


You get a tank and you get a tank, everybody is getting a mother-f#(king tank!

And here's the Tanks-giving parade that follows:



Hiyo! Tank you! Was it too soon?

Happy Tanks-giving!

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How Do You Fix a Problem like Sarah Palin?

It's baffling to me how some people can support Sarah Palin, the woman that can't cite a single news source, the woman who can hit a bunch of talking point and buzzwords but don't have a concrete plan on anything. Scary, really. Apparently, she's selling a good image. Her book is the No. 1 bestseller, even though her book tour avoided all the big liberal cities and just concentrates within the heartland.

According to this f**cked up chart by none other than Fox News:



Sarah Palin is the front runner as the GOP presidential candidate come 2012. (Seriously, what's up with pie charts that doesn't add up to 100%?) Albeit, I doubt that she would win, I also didn't think George W. would win his first or second term of presidency. When you see her supporters, you'd know that they are pretty much brainwashed and they don't have to know her political views to support her. I'm sure Fox News can make her look like the American Mother Theresa.



Considering Carrie Prejean who diddled herself and sent the tape and pictures to her boyfriend and then wrote a book where she condemned pornography and encourage young girls to cherish their bodies because their bodies are for worshiping the lord and not to look sexy. All this while she is a beauty contestant wearing bikinis for the world to see. Various congressmen and senators, who condemns homosexuality voting against gay rights and HIV fundings but suck dicks and molest pages on the side. (Does "bachelor" Republican senator Lindsey Graham looks like the next scandal waiting to happen or is it just me?) Sarah Palin who's traditional values are hanging from her mouth but has a teenage daughter who gave birth to a bastard child. How can people still eat this up and not see the hypocrisy in it? Are you telling me that having a half-black president is really that scary?


Regrettably that's also my reading habit.

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Oh! My friends who had decided to BBQ had changed their mind and now I'm in charge of cooking a Thanksgiving meal for 12. Add to the cakes I'm making, I think it's a bit more than I can chew, so the next few days posting might be sparse.

Have a great Thanksgiving, y'all!

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Cooking Expectations

This month had gone by pretty fast and Thanksgiving is coming up soon. Being in a "foreign" land with no family around, it can get pretty lonely during a celebration holiday where everyone left to be with family. Good thing I know how to cook. Last year, I've been invited by my Straizian friends to cook for friends and Mahjong buddies alike. This year, I got invited by a former colleague to attend her early afternoon dinner, an early evening gathering with a gay Asian friend and a few of the single "orphans" in the city. Then Saturday, it's all day Straizian Thanksgiving BBQ and Mahjong.

I've learned my lesson last year that cooking for 20 by myself is no easy task, it takes hours of preparation and then hours more of cooking. I'm thankful that this year I just need to make one dish for each party. For my excolleague's party, I've got assigned a vegetable dish. She and her family and friends are pretty much all vegetarians, even though she will accommodate me and another guest by having a turkey breast waiting. The whole menu is already set up and I got assigned with bringing a vegetable side dish with the rule of no reds, no mushroom, no asparagus and no brussels sprouts. I find it highly amusing that some vegetarians would be picky about what kind of vegetables they would eat as if they haven't denied themselves enough. At the same time, I feel like I'm not being trusted to make anything fancier since the Turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, desserts and any big dishes had already been assigned. To counter that, I'm going to make a zucchini & squash fettucine. Pretty much just shredding the squash and zucchini down to the shape of fettucine, saute them with garlic onion and pesto. It quite flavorful and it's one of my staples when I'm on my low carb diet. If I'm Rachel Ray who loves to make up words, I might call it Squasta.


Note to self: Get a shredder!

For the evening party, I've resigned myself to make a cheesecake. Since last time I made a caramel, banana cheesecake with moderate success. I'm thinking about making another even though I've lost my recipe along with my old computer. I only need to decide what flavor I want to make. A simple raspberry might be good, or Oreo, or maybe a pumpkin cheesecake. The boyfriend will probably appreciate the leftovers.

I have been wanted to make a Mont Blanc cake for years but always thought the skill level required is beyond me. I like to bake but I'm certainly no cake decorator and every cooking or baking I ever did are all self-taught. So for the Straizian party on Saturday, I will try to attempt the challenge that is Mont Blanc. How difficult could it be, right? It's just genoise, chestnut mousse, whipped cream and marrons glacés. Maybe infuse the whipped cream with a bit of rum and fold in some chestnut meat and decorate the cake with some chocolate designs. Something manageable and nothing too fancy. It's one of my favorite pastries growing up, somehow French pastries got very popular in Asia and it took hold.


Something like this but less tart like and more birthday cake like

I've been to the farmer's markets yesterday and it was quite insane. A lot of stressed individuals filling up the aisle fighting for poultry and produce. Though since it's a turkey holiday, the steaks are half-priced. Even the supermarkets were mobbed and you can hardly find a bag of sugar left. Hope I can find a can of chestnut puree somewhere.

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Congressional Recess Blues

A wannabe politician had told me that politics is the art form of communication for achieving goals. I'm here to call it bullshit. The minimum wage raised a quarter after 10 years of not increasing, while companies used their bailout money to give their top executive millions in bonuses. I don't remember the senate or the congress has done anything to improve my quality of life.



I was following her train on logic saying that so far the democrats had done very little to improve the disaster that was George W. Bush until she went bat shit crazy. Apparently the Foxx is way scarier than the Woolf. The NY Senate had postponed their vote on their marriage equality bill indefinitely, the senate hearing on Don't Ask, Don't Tell has been postponed indefinitely. There seems to be no account on how a congresswomen can say to alter reality or how much work they have to get done. There's no deadline to meet or IQ/history test to pass. At least to be a lawyer you have to pass a bar exam, there's no such thing in the way of being a politician or even the president of the U.S. I find that extremely curious.

Now in recess, our fear-mongering congressmen preach their own doomsday theory to the people of NYC in an empty room over Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.(starts at 3:30 mark)



Regrettably, I don't believe that our political system works. Even though the above examples seem to be a bit extreme, they are actual members of congress and by and large it is made up with people who don't have bright ideas and don't have courage to follow through when they have one. While on the way they have smear campaign against one another that doesn't impire confident on themselves, the truth is you will never get 435 people to agree on any single item. Even if the item is as plain as the sky is blue. They will not be having constructive meaningful conversations but they will argue based on their own or sponsored biases. Important issues are postponed indefinitely and then argued until the end of days. Votes are cast to make things into law and then voted again to have the whole thing reversed. What is the point?

Back in the days when people are still decent, the system might have made a difference. The motive of being a politician these days are mucked, more so than it ever was, excuse me if I don't have faith.

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Weekend Meme: Free Association Meme

I didn't think I needed anything and I certainly don't have any extra money to spend but reading some Black Friday deals on Yahoo had me wishing to get some stuff. A 32" LCD HDTV at Best Buy for $300. Though I have never heard of the Dynex brand (Ooh, Walmart is selling a 32" Emerson for $248) and my 24" Sony has been with me for the past 10 years and still working very well, maybe I can become a 2-television household? Walmart is selling a PS3 with a Batman game and a Batman movie for $300. Video game is a dangerous realm for me, an extreme time waster. Target has a 32GB iPod touch for $278 which I wanted one for a while but didn't want to spend on myself. All sounds very nice, but I'm not looking forward to go line up around midnight with large appliances without a car. And still, I don't really want to spend $1,000 with tax. Now, if my Straizian friends are driving down to Delaware, then it's a slightly different story.

I've seen these free association things online and I thought it could be kinda fun. So I'm compiled this list from 3 different sources to try my hand at it. Play along if you have time.

(P.S. I know it might be hard to achieve free association if you've read my answers but you can copy the list erase my answers, rearrange the words and let it sit for a while.)

1. Grace :: Hospital
2. Shower :: Psycho
3. Alice :: Persona (Video game)
4. Purple :: Tori Amos
5. First time :: Boston
6. 3 :: Trinity
7. Car :: Gasoline
8. Pregnant :: Unwed
9. Climax :: Fountain
10. Discretion :: Secret
11. Vex :: Steam
12. Relapse :: Addiction
13. Twinkle :: Eyes
14. Personal :: Love
15. Optimistic moment :: Sky
16. Cage :: Porno
17. Superwoman :: Alicia Keys
18. Face :: Eyebrows
19. Vapor :: Temperature
20. Grocery store :: Produce
21. Track :: Horse
22. Snake :: Venom
23. Assignment :: Manufacture
24. Blockbuster :: Video Store
25. Bombastic :: Shaggy
26. Adventure :: Brendan Fraser
27. Color :: White
28. Aged :: Gouda
29. Grip :: Pliers
30. Food :: Pasta
31. State :: California
32. Fragrance :: Lavender
33. Red hot :: AIDS (Music Campaign)
34. Traction :: Race car
35. Official :: Soccer
36. Counselor :: HIV
37. Crawls :: Crab
38. Apartment :: Modern Living
39. Lively :: People of Color
40. Shortcut :: Mini Cooper

Have a great weekend.

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Ron Mueck

A few years ago, I went to see the Bodies exhibition when they came to Philadelphia at the Franklin Institute. I found using of actual dead bodies to demonstrate the different side of the human body highly creepy. I was distracted by that bit of information while I was going through the show. That's what I was reminded of, when a friend of mine sent me the following video in Powerpoint form.



Ron Mueck is an Australian sculptor who excels in hyperrealist sculpting. Earlier in his career, he has worked as a puppeteer and model maker for children's television show side by side the likes of Jim Henson. What you saw in the video are sculptures created by with the utilization of silicone, fiberglass, resin, paint and at times actual human hair.

I could have swore that some of his pieces were real people if it wasn't for the scale discrepancy. The nudity are shocking and the emotions expressed haunt. Wish I can go to his exhibit to see the details.

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Show Us Your Move

Of the new TV shows started this season, Glee was a clear runaway. Given it is a weird format where people communicate through songs and it's very soap opera-y, but it's funny and the kids have talents. If High School Musical is anything like Glee, I can see why it was so popular.

Since the success of the gays lip-synching to Miley Cyrus' Party in the USA in Fire Island, *Maybe the credit should go to that guy who danced to Beyonce's Single Ladies?) tons of other parodies and other choreographed music routine pops up very regularly.

The first time I've seen choreographed synchronized dancing was probably during Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation period. It reminds me what somebody said "It doesn't matter how stupid the dance look, as long as everyone else is doing it with you then it'll be great."



What do people use to produce and edit videos? I understand it's much easier using a Mac but I rather like to try my hands on it if I know how.



It's funny to me that Microsoft opened up a store just to sell Microsoft products, regular electronic stores already carries their products, what's the point on copying Mac? And making the employee dance? It's highly unnecessary. I guess they are changing their image into something fun and carefree, which being a PC user, I'm so not used to it. PC is usually full of problems and you're pretty much crying for help most of the time. Though it's still a nice thing for them to be creating jobs in this kind of economy, even though the job involves some dancing.

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