I Want To Be A Shadow Hawk

I am not even sure what one is but if I don't have to deal with pigeons sign me up.



As an additional note this is why I love walking. You would never see this from a car.

Modeling

This is the best example I have seen in a while of why I am not a model. My face is not what you would call photogenic. My sex appeal is purely in person (As opposed to Luke who exudes photogenicness, bastard).


The best thing about this photo is that it was before I started drinking. I cannot even imagine what the rest of the night looks like.

----------------
Now playing: The Postal Service - Brand New Colony
via FoxyTunes

Normalcy Slowly Returns

After the hustle and bustle of the wedding, things are finally settling back into a normal pace and feel. I will post about the wedding soon I am just waiting on a couple more photo posts to come in.

This past weekend was the first in which Yachi and I did not have to do wedding stuff or attend another wedding. We went to dinner at Veil which turned out to be surprisingly good and then I met up with Shahaf and Neville and Tyler and Sarah whom have just returned from a round the world trip. On Saturday I ate some pizza and watched the entire Planet Earth series and Blades of Glory. Sunday found me eating more pizza and playing a little bit of poker. Overall a most rewarding lazy weekend.

Long Time No See

It has been about three weeks since I last posted but I was getting married and had no time. I will post on that later as I have lots of good pictures and stories. In the meantime here is a selection of photos from the landscape photographer of the year in England (As decided by the Guardian):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/gallery/2007/sep/18/travel?picture=330763997

There are some truly amazing photos in here.

----------------
Now playing: DJ Signify - Five Leaves Left (For Lauren)
via FoxyTunes

Conspicuous Consumerism

As much as I rail against it at times, there are times when needless consumerism is a source of the utmost joy. Such a case is my new AWESOME sneakers . Now I understand why people get shot over scuffed sneakers. I was actually going to post a picture of myself rocking them but such a site would cause the end of the internet as we know it. Everyone would be trying to reach Blogger to see the AWESOMENESS for themselves and that would eventually go down. All of the people who had managed to save the picture would post it only to quickly cause the demise of the internet. Finally it might spill over into the real world with people breaking into one another's houses to steal computers containing the photos or even the print versions people made. Madness all around.

I also purchased a couple of CD's that I am loving. The new Epoxies EP which I am listening to as we speak. As good as their previous work with a slightly more space age feel (if that is possible) and snottier lyrics. The new M.I.A. (the real one, not this one). If anything it is more experimental than her first album while managing to maintain an amazing energy throughout. My favorite song is still birdflu for its crazy use of sounds to make rhythm. The last album of note is the old new Justice album. I think everyone knows them for D.A.N.C.E. which is a great song but the rest of the album has been pretty spectacular. Some of the songs sound like they are the logical French progression of Air or Daft Punk (which is not a bad thing in my mind). The best songs though are those that sound like they spent two years hanging out with Merzbow learning the finer points of Japanese noise and Mr. Oizo learning the finer points of moving that ass. Check out Waters of Nazereth or at least a mix that is mostly it with some more Ed Banger bananas shit for the best example of what I am talking about.

Consumerism == bad
Not bad meaning bad but bad meaning good

The Continued Descent

Recently I convinced Yachi to purchase the following fabric softener. My arrival in hippie hell is all but assured. Pretty soon I am going to start going by a noun instead of a name and wearing overalls. I already am kind of opposed to showering so I imagine that will continue to get worse. Hang out with me now before the transformation is complete.

On a completely unrelated note I finished a book called Perfume Dreams today. You can either read it here or borrow it from me (or maybe the library, I heard they were in to this loaning thing as well). It is non-fiction and great. It is a collection of essays about identity and culture that is much better than that description. You should read it.

----------------
Now playing: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Into My Arms
via FoxyTunes

So You Want A WeddingPlanner?

My schedule might be open. All I ask for is some Morcheeba and Steinlager.

Tonight I decided to get even more in touch with my crafty side (I think I might have to cut off all contact with women besides Divya as they are pushing this craftiness). I made the seating chart for the wedding. By my lonesome. By first copying everyones name to a word document and sizing them to be small notecards. By then cutting all said notecards out of the paper with scissors. By making piles of notecards into appropriate dining groups:

By organizing groups into small model sized tables with the help of my trusty lion cat:

By realizing I had not included Yachi and myself who are now at a table of our own :(:

All while Yachi caught up on some much deserved rest:

Even if you blow up the picture to see who you are sitting with chances are it has changed as I had to redo it all once I realized Yachi and I were sitting dolo.

----------------
Now playing: Morcheeba - Almost Done
via FoxyTunes

Little Victories

I know that no one else wants to hear this but it is something easy to write about as it has been 8 days since I have posted.

I finally feel like I played decent basketball yesterday night. After an initial loss the team I was playing with managed to pull off a couple wins. It was fun playing hard and actually winning.

I also realized how much more I would like being close to where I work. My commute is not that bad in comparison to some people but I would love to cut it down. I think I might end up looking for a job a little closer to home.

Alright awful post out of the way. tomorrow will be better.

Jog On Marques

Marques is always complaining about graffiti and how it destroys environments.

I found this near Jack In The Box and am pretty fascinated with it. I like the stache; it is a great touch.

No More Loud Nights At The Bars

Nobody wants to have to be quiet when drinking. Follow the info below to contact the city council and make your voice heard.

Action Alert! Council to vote on nightlife rules on Monday, August 13th Mayor's license proposal still alive Voice your opinion to the City Council! Last Thursday, the City Council's Neighborhoods and Economic Development committee passed a reasonable package of new nightlife rules which creates an advisory board, requires some nightlife businesses to develop security plans, and adds additional enforcement staffing for the city. This package can be viewed at http://www.seattle.gov/council/issues/nighlife_ord.htm. However, a last minute push by Councilmembers Jan Drago and David Della has put the mayor's license proposal back on the table. The new proposal can be viewed here (http://seattlenma.org/downloads/prpsd_ntlf_lic_ord.pdf). This new license, combined with the new rules the committee has already passed, makes this new package as extreme – if not more – than what the mayor proposed. In addition, the council is working on a new noise ordinance which has yet to be made public, but is expected to be voted on next Thursday, August 16. The council is now contemplating even more regulation than the Mayor proposed! Here is what we need you to do: Contact the members of the city council and tell them you support the package that the committee has approved and we don't need a license. They should just vote on what they have in front of them NOW and move on. Please contact the City Council today! Councilmembers email addresses are listed below. Attend the Monday, August 13th 2 PM City Council meeting and testify. You will have only two minutes, and they limit the total time allotted for public comment so sign up early! Attend the Thursday, August 16th, 6 PM meeting of council's Neighborhoods and Economic Development Committee at the Highpoint Community Center – 6920 34th Ave SW. Testimony will be taken at the beginning of the meeting. Forward this email to your friends and colleagues asking them to voice their support of nightlife in Seattle. Neighborhood activists and the Mayor have been pounding on City Councilmembers these last few months. Our voice needs to be heard! Contact the councilmembers today! Seattle City Council: Sally Clark - sally.clark@seattle.gov Richard Conlin - richard.conlin@seattle.gov David Della - david.della@seattle.gov Jan Drago - jan.drago@seattle.gov Jean Godden - jean.godden@seattle.gov Nick Licata - nick.licata@seattle.gov Richard McIver - richard.mciver@seattle.gov Tom Rasmussen - tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov Peter Steinbrueck - peter.steinbrueck@seattle.gov

----------------
Now playing: Consequence - Disperse Feat. Gangsta L. Crisis & Really Doe
via FoxyTunes

So Many Stories

So it has been almost exactly two weeks since I have last posted. I know that your lives have been bereft of meaning while waiting for the fix of sweet nothing that is this blog.

So much has happened, starting with a stupendous dinner at the tamarind tree. Between Yachi and I, we had the meat and seafood course. My favorite was probably the crunchy veal meatballs as appetizers. Hopefully they will find their way unto the menu. For those that have not tried this restaurant you should go there right now if in Seattle.

After that my friend Adam came into town and we hung out for a couple of days while I finally shipped the product I work on. After that a group of us went to Vancouver for the weekend.

The occasion was my bachelor party and I could not have asked for a better one. The one drawback was my own fault (The second mistake I have made this year, damn am I slipping). On the way up we decided to stop and gamble at Tullalip and it was there that I realized I had left my passport and birth certificate back in Seattle. This realization made me sad as you can see:

So after realizing this I made the responsible decision and went to Canada anyways. Adam came up with a decent way of solving the problem and I was able to get back into the country with the help of Divya and a locksmith.

Friday was a lot of fun with good food (that I did not really eat, damn stomach problems) and a great night that involved many bars and a story that is not publishable. All you got to do is ask me in person though and I guarantee I will spill the beans.

Saturday we made a great breakfast in our wonderful suites.

Given the surroundings I am amazed that the meal turned out as well as it did. We had an egg scramble, bacon and pancakes. The only difficulty was getting rid of the bacon grease in between batches of bacon. Someone had the great suggestion of pouring it down the toilet. This is the result of boiling bacon grease and the toilet:

I could not catch the steam that came off it. It was gross to say the least.

We spent the rest of the day playing ping pong and then had a phenomenal dinner at cru. The night was supposed to be spent at a club but those of us who decided to walk got a little lost and the night ended up being a meandering one around downtown Vancouver.

It was a great time and you can find more pictures of Shahaf's here.

For shipping I had the whole of last week off. I wish I had something terribly exciting to mention about that but it was very slow and relaxing. I watched some movies, finished the first 6 Harry Potter books and cleaned the house.

Last weekend was my birthday though and something exciting did happen on that day. We went to Wild Waves and I had my first day at a water park. It was a.w.e.s.o.m.e. Who new giant slides would be so much fun? A large-ish group of us left around noon and spent a couple hours there which as about the perfect amount of time. My personal favorite was the twisty all-enclosed slide. I highly recommend going if you can. Here are some pics that Ann took.

I think that is mostly caught up. Let me know if you like or dislike the new FoxyTunes sig.

----------------
Now playing: Arrington De Dionyso - Khomuz Voice One
via FoxyTunes

Was That Really That Color?

Also known as my trip to South Korea. It was a short trip that was basically a layover on the way home from Beijing last time I went there. We only had two nights and one day there and seeing as how Seoul seems to be as big as Rhode Island we really did not see much. What I did see I liked quite a bit though. The food was amazing and the people were all ridiculously nice.

People did regard us a little curiously especially when I decided to kneel down in the middle of the subway and start taking pictures. I think they were more curious of what I could possibly be taking pictures of. My Korean was not up to explaining that we did not have subways in Seattle so I needed to satiate my urge to take photos of them in their fair city.

We went to a great restaurant the night that the bell man recommended. He also called ahead and had a table reserved for us with beer and appetizers waiting. Did I mention the people in Seoul were really nice? The food was great, so great that we ended up going back the following night but found the restaurant closed. Instead we went to a fried chicken joint that beat almost every fried chicken I have had in my life.

I am a big fan of ground effects but have never seen them on anything smaller than a little four banger. This motorcycle now holds that dubious record.

We then wandered down to the Eastern Market where things were poppin'. There was a large karaoke event that also added dancing which was interesting to see. I might mention that it was around 11 PM at the time this photo was taken with all the children out. This reminded me a lot of Spain in that there was no real concept of having to be in early.

The market was pretty cool. They had a large selection of fake goods but also a lot of random things that were pretty nice. Marcelo bought some watches as gifts for various team members and we had a good time seeing the variety of things for sale.

I also partook in some street food as it was too good to pass up. I am not sure how I managed to eat more but I thought I had to at least try some pajeon while I was there.

The next day we wandered over as much of central Seoul as we could and saw lots of palaces and gardens. There was one park where it was just a bunch of people kicking it and playing go which looked like a lot of fun. This was also the place where Marcelo made friends with some older gentlemen who were playing guitar and singing old Johnny Cash songs. He ended up drinking a decent amount of soju with them. I stayed away from the soju then but ended up drinking more than my fair share that evening.

Later I saw this dog. As some back story, Yachi has been telling me for years that she wants a pink poodle. I thought it was all mostly in jest but this was not the only one I saw in Seoul.

This was just a smiley face in the grate that brightened my day.

Seoul was a great time and I would really like to go back there and spend some more time if possible.

Jealousy

I wish I had thought of this and had the composure to achieve it.

http://www.alternet.org/story/57001/?page=1

It is amazing the level of ignorance that exists in the world still. An interesting topic for discussion would be the flip. What happens at a cruise full of readers of the New Republic?

Cupcake Carnage

One of the most enjoyable aspects of this wedding thing is the ability to go to tastings. Yachi and I treated ourselves to one recently at Sugar Rush bakery. They don't have a full blown "here taste some of our cakes" tasting soon so we made our own. 1 dozen cupcakes later we thought that they looked rather forlorn with half of them gone and the rest in various states of disappeared.

Free Light

As part of our trips yesterday Yachi and I bought a bunch of energy efficient light bulbs. While I am excited about this rapidly speeding up slide to hippieness it leaves us with many extra unused and half used normal light bulbs. Before dropping them off at Goodwill I wanted to see if any of my 4 loyal readers wanted them or knew anyone who might. Let me know

Ice Cold Water, Bruised Feet And Whole Paycheck

This weekend was a blast. Yesterday we drove to Leavenworth to go tubing. This is an activity for those unfamiliar with it where you lie in an innertube and float down a river. Oh and you get to have a tube strictly for beer. Kind of making it a first class citizen. The scenery was beautiful and the camaraderie was wonderful. I think we ran a little over our allotted four hours but the company did not seem to mind.

The water was a little brisk when you first entered as it was mountain run off but Marques broke that seal when someone tipped his tube over. By the end I was spending more time in the water than out. Overall a great time and many thanks go to Ann for suggesting it and pushing it along.

Today was not quite as exciting. With sore muscles Yachi and I moseyed down to Whole Paycheck which turned out to be more inviting than I thought it would be. Let's see if we can keep up the weekly walk down there and the associated cooking (or more specifically if Yachi can keep up the cooking).

One Of Those Days

Where it is above 95 degrees in Seattle. I worked from home today and decided to walk down to Nordtroms in the early afternoon as I thought it would be the cooler part of the day. I am still sweating.

Jjang agreed with me.



So did Eileen:



Even Max:



I had a great picture of Yachi asleep as well but have been restricted from posting it due to legal reasons.

Podcatching?

Apparently software used to download podcasts and sync them to an iPod is called a podcatcher. Glad I learned something new today. Why I am looking at this software? A long rant about iTunes should follow that but I don't have the energy. Suffice it to say that I am done with iTunes and looking for alternatives.

If you fall into my boat you should check out podcatch matrix I wish every decision were made this easy.

Labor Fruits

Primarily orange and pink ones. If you have not seen me or I have blown off social obligations it was to make these beauties. I am not traditionally very crafty but this past weekend Yachi and I made our invitations. It was a 10 hour marathon followed by a shorter 6 hour one on Sunday. We finished them for the most part though and I felt really accomplished. The only part to do is address the envelopes which I get a free pass out of because my hand writing looks like someone has a pen in their mouth while having a seizure.

What You Want To See More Pictures Of China?

OK.

Here you go. As you might have guessed from seeing a second post on the same subject these are the photos I like for nothing more than aesthetic reasons.

Many tiles. Piles of tiles you could say, hahahahahahaha!

Some color in the hutongs

$6 tea. That was the equivalent of 176 Oz. of beer. It was worth it though. As mentioned in Marie Antoinette, the flower opens in the pot.

Walls in Summer Palace

The verdant forest in the summer Palace

A wall in the summer Palace

Silhouettes

The famed marble boat that ended the dynasty system in China

Landscape with my camera flaw extremely apparent in the upper left corner

Music:

Smog - A River Ain't Too Much Too Love - Drag City

You won't be supporting a good Seattle label with this record but a good Chicago one instead.

Smog is the moniker of Bill Callhan (who has recently started releasing music under that name). He has released many albums that are predominantly him and a guitar, singing and playing. I think of him as a male Cat Power but he might have been around before her. I think I am losing indie cred as we speak because I don't know that. I am not sure I will be allowed into Linda's anymore having admitted that. He has the same truth in lyrics that draws me to Johnny Cash. His arrangements are also beautiful and sparse which gives his voice a lot of room to impact you. The songs where he decides to incorporate more than just the guitar are usually successful as they have a lot of artists who fit in ways that you would not necessarily expect. Not something you would listen to before something that requires amping up but a beautiful counterpart to the sort of weather we have been having around here recently.

Come On You Know You Love Pictures Of China

Back to the pics. So much easier than coming up with something compelling to read. I feel like an ad exec, come on and look at the shiny thing. Buy, buy, buy. Believe me I only have your best interest at heart...

Sorry it has been an exceptional long tiring day at work. It was the first time I had the dubious privilege of engaging in one of the famous MS stack ranks. 10 hours later we are halfway through. Awesome.

Anyways, pics, yeah of China. Like you haven't seen enough of those before on this little site. Well here are some more and I promise you will love them.

We went there for work for a week and got a day at the beginning and end of the trip to sightsee. I liked most of the people I went with so it ended up being a lot of fun. Got to see some coworkers come out of their shell and they turned out to be pretty cool.

The first day we wandered around Tian'enmen. This picture was taken to the south of it where there are a bunch of Hutongs. It was one of my favorite areas in Beijing but it is disappearing quickly. This barrier is where the main street used to be. If you look at the lines in the street they go into the main arch in the wall. That is Nana in the blue and red shirt. See the above note on cool coworkers.

Drink casually. The place up the street was the drink formally place but it looked like a lot less fun. (Also 35 Yuan is about $3, I miss that about China).

It was because of this photo that I am now know as Gigantor at work. These guys took a lot of pictures. A lot like 20. A whole photo study.

This was right by the scorpion and seahorse stand. Which I throw around casually now but is not that common even in China.

Where I decided to take the plunge and eat scorpion. I was hoping that it would look a lot more tough in the 1950's sort of way. Instead it tasted fried and looked less than impressive. C'est la vie.

A vending machine that says true. That's it. I love it though. It took me about 15 tries to get this picture. I could blame it on the dark hallway and the reflective surface but truth is I was wasted and could barely hold the camera straight. This vending machine has caused me to add the phrase "true dat" back into my vernacular. I thought it had gone for good in 9th grade.

On the last day we went to the Summer Palace which is not really a palace but a huge (600+ acres) park. It has a lot of lakes and brooks and trees and flowers. In said bodies of water there are fish but not much else. This sign shows what is banned; a lot of activities that make sense like swimming, fishing, pumping in raw sewage, pumping in raw chemicals, geese. Why would you not want geese?

This might be my favorite picture of the trip. Miao is so serious with the peace sign. And the food was stupendous.

Music:

The Last Poets - The Last Poets / This Is Madness - Light In The Attic

This is some real OG shit. The poetry presented here is enough to make me feel two lifetimes of white guilt. It also serves as the chorus for party and bullshit. Talk about breadth and influence. These guys are still wrecking the mic and making sure people are doing something about the situation faced by many. Everytime you listen to a hiphop record after this (If it is any good, none of that laffy taffy shit) you will hear echoes of these albums. Bonus points for a local Seattle label putting out his awesome reissue with things the geek in me loves like liner notes from record critics and the sotry of getting this reissue out.

Just Like Basting A Turkey

This is one of the funniest things I have seen in a while. I have watched it three times so far and every time it just gets funnier and funnier. I wish I had been clever enough to have come up with this.



Random music review:

Johnny Cash - Live At San Quentin

This is the new release of the CD. I have not listened to it yet but the shorter version is Johnny Cash at his best. This concert has a barely bridled passion that you can hear throughout. He had the whole hall in the palm of his hand and could have sparked a riot with a gesture. Instead he put on one of the best live shows that has ever been recorded to any medium. One thing that was so great about it was that he had a great cast of people performing with him (The Statler Brothers, The Carter Family and others). A tribute to how great this concert was is Merle Haggard seeing it while in prison and deciding to straighten out his life and become another great musician.

Shots In NYC

Here are some shots from NYC that have no real narrative but I liked for whatever reason.

Big Cuba and his lawyer ride:

Ground Zero at night:

Fireworks over Ground Zero:

Brooklyn:

A pirate ship. I was a little disappointed as this is where I thought the reception was going to be. I found out it was in a much more fancy place than this though and was happy once again.

The Brooklyn Bridge which we were under for the whole night. The reception looked out at the same view but from four floors higher. It was awesome.

The table decorations:

If you want to see more look here

Random music review:

Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes - Slash

Any album where you can sing along to every single song and know every word has to be good right? This is one that actually is. It was a pivotal album in my youth. It even got me through my brief emo craze which consisted of listening to please don't go on repeat after breaking up with a girlfriend. This is the perfect album to pull out now especially as it is great driving music and fun to listen to when the weather is good.