Absurd Singularity

Didn't this take place in your 'hood?

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/entertainment/DailyNews/50Cent030911.html

Somebody was gellin' like a fellin'...

Living in New York, I often forget there is ugly racism in America. I recently came across something that reminded me.

There's a company in Florida making t-shirts with slogans like FUK MI NAO, LIK MAI BALLS, LIK MAI NUTS, and MI SAKE U NAO. Mall-zombie retailer Abercrombie and Fitch got in trouble a couple months back for making t-shirts like this, and eventually pulled the shirts.

I know, in this grand scheme of things, this is minor. And I can have a sense of humor about these things as much as anyone. But there's a huge double-standard when it comes to things like this. If the t-shirts had been mocking certain other minorities, you could be sure there would have been a firestorm of protest.

Just look at the recent hubbub over "Ghettopoly" -- and the press' unfailing mention that the creator is a Taiwanese American.

I know another reason why these things happen is that Asians really have a tendency to keep their heads down and let these things pass. I decided I wasn't going to do that, so I wrote the head of this company, if only to add my voice to the protest. Even though it wasn't likely to do anything, I consider it a civic responsibility -- like voting.

I heard back from the company. The owner basically blew me off. So I'm fulfilling another civic responsibility and spreading the word.

If you'd like to contact these SOBs, here's their contact info. even if you have nothing to say, tie up their phone lines, rack up their bills, spam up their mailboxes. Damn right I'm vindictive.

The owner's name is Todd Goldman.

Phone: 1-727-462-6205 or 1-877-633-2845 (Toll Free)
Fax: 1-727-462-6911
Email: dgoliath@tampabay.com; todd@davidandgoliathtees.com
Address: David & Goliath, Inc.
1230 South Myrtle Ave. #401
Clearwater, FL 33756

I thought this was kind of neat.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/50/destinations/places/

I have eight. I think Felix has got to have the most of anyone I know.

This one's harder. I only got six.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/50/destinations/things/

So many people are fascinated about life in New York, especially after seeing the glamorous life portrayed on HBO's "Sex in the City".

Here's a dose of reality, presented in a kind of fun way.

Ben likes stuff.

He also bribed me to make this post.

But I really don't want anything you can buy. I just want to get in. Or get away.

It's Diana's turn.

Lee writes about LOTR: "I probably won't be seeing it until Christmas day. Most likely followed by a meal at a Chinese restaurant."

He also posted to the blog on Thanksgiving.

Someone sounds homesick... You need to find a nice girl and start a family of your own, Lee!

I mentioned this article in an earlier comment, but I'm absolutely fascinated with it, so I thought I'd give it an actual post here. Besides, it's pretty quiet news-wise this week. (with the exception of this earthquake in Cali right now.)

I talked about it with a friend of mine, and he just dismissed it as another trend... soon, something else will be cool, and the cycle will start all over again. But I can't help but think it's something more permanent, a tectonic shift in American attitudes towards obsession, alienation and academic achievement.

No doubt the popularity of LOTR speaks to this. And this writer certainly belives there's been a shift, or else he wouldn't have an article. Since so many members of this blof are from the U of C, that nexus of geekdom, I thought I'd ask -- what do you think?

http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/10/29/dork/print.html

Amusing film about the place of Asian Americans in Hollywood... in case anyone's still in the office in these last days of the year!

The Yellow Truth -- temp username: yellow; temp password: truth

So, I'm a few days away from my big three-week trip to Africa. With a trek and a safari, I'll probably have lots of free time to read. Any suggestions on a good, long book?

I'm thinking something that's good for me too, that's not so much of a page-turner that I'll be glued to the page, like Proust's "Swann's Way - Rememberance of Things Past" ... the only time I was able to finish that 500-page tiny type monster was when I was on a three-month trip to Taiwan.

Saw a really good movie this weekend. Maybe some of you have already seen it. If not, please go. It's always good to support independent filmmakers. I haven't seen any Hollywood films that were at all satisfying lately. This particular one's very accessible - I could see it with a date, with my parents, with friends - and they don't even have to be Asian! Learn all about it here.

I bought two of these lexan Nalgene bottles for my recent Kilimanjaro trip. I bought them because they're durable and good for carrying water, but lately, I've noticed a lot of hipsters around New York carrying them too. Or am I just imagining it?

How depressing. And true.

An old article, but it amuses me nevertheless. Especially considering the country it involves. I guess everybody has a thing for racial purity.

Looking for a good joke for your next cocktail party? Read on ....

(not mine, sent to me from a friend.)

One night, George W. Bush is tossing restlessly in his White House bed. He
awakens to see George Washington standing by him.

Bush asks him, "George, what's the best thing I can do to help the country?"

"Set an honest and honorable example, just as I did," Washington advises,
and then fades away.

The next night, Bush is astir again, and sees the ghost of Thomas Jefferson
moving through the darkened bedroom.

Bush calls out, "Tom, please! What is the best thing I can do to help the
country?"

"Respect the Constitution, as I did," Jefferson advises, and dims from
sight.

The third night sleep is still not in the cards for Bush. He awakens to see
the ghost of F. D.R. hovering over his bed.

Bush whispers, "Franklin, What is the best thing I can do to help the
country?"

Help the less fortunate, just as I did," FDR replies and fades into the
mists.

Bush isn't sleeping well the fourth night when he sees another figure moving
in the shadows. It is the ghost of Abraham Lincoln.

Bush pleads, "Abe, what is the best thing I can do right now, to help the
country?

Abe replies, "Go see a play."

You might as well move into the city... you're not saving much.

I've seen this article pop up in a lot of places lately. Hilarious.

Reactions? Should Asians be the only ones allowed to get tattoos of Asian characters?

This article reminded me of someone.

and how about this one?

Room Scanned For Something To Sell On eBay
ALBANY, CA—Applying tape to the last package in a 12-item round of eBay sales, Brandon Vye scanned his bedroom for anything else he could auction off online. "I sold the Grand Ole Opry floaty pen... the UNO cards... the Santa socks—so now what?" Vye asked as he spun around in his swivel chair. "Maybe I could sell these science textbooks, or my tapes of old SNL episodes? God, I've got to have something I can mail off."After listing a misshapen clay bowl he made in a high-school ceramics class, Vye decided to head out to the yard to search for "eBay-able stuff" there.

... but still shamefully extravagant...

If everyone lived like me, we would need 3.7 planets.

How many planets would you need?

Last week, the media was breathlessly recounting with the story of Pat Tillman, the NFL player who gave up millions to become a soldier in Afghanistan.

This week, a memorial service was held for Tillman. It didn't get as much coverage, but I thought the reports of it were much more interesting.

Tillman wasn't the White House's perfect poster boy you would have guessed from all the media accounts. That makes me respect him more. And it also underlines what a self-serving job much of the media did with this story.

Now Ben's not the only one to play G.I. Joe around here... =)

This showed up on Metafilter today. It reminded me of something else I read so long ago.

Earlier, I posted about the not-very-well-reported details about Pat Tillman, the NFL player killed in Afghanistan. This is interesting too, for anyone who likes to keep a close eye on the media: (from an e-mail I received)

According to Reuters, Vice President Cheney came to Donald Rumsfeld’s defense in a statement released by his office late Saturday calling the embattled Defense Secretary the Pentagon’s best ever and saying “get off his case and let him do his job.”

Several other news organizations—the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times—have Cheney, through his spokesman, coming to the defense of Rumsfeld, praising him as “the best Secretary of Defense the United States has ever had,” and saying “let him do his job.”

They do not, however, have the “get off his case” line which only appears in the Reuters report (thus far).

I'm not really sure what to think. But it really sucks for the birth parents.

And I do think there has been some media bias. This article's a little more nuanced.

My dad recently told me to read this Businessweek series on “Where are the Jobs?”

Kinda interesting. Aside from being a defense of outsourcing, it also essentially says the days of the robot-like programmer are over. Specifically, that they might be able to outsource jobs that are routine and can be boiled down to easily repeatable tasks. It says: “Flexible, creative and good with people? You should do fine in tomorrow’s job market.”

I wonder what this means for Asian parenting strategies – you know, turn your kid into a disciplined human calculator. If that’s not the way to jobs and success anymore… what happens?

A store that sells husbands has just opened in Ottawa where a woman may go to choose a husband from among many men. The store is comprised of 6 floors, and the men increase in positive attributes as the shopper ascends the flights.

There is, however, a catch. As you open the door to any floor you may choose a man from that floor, but if you go up a floor, you cannot go back down except to exit the building.

This is hilarious. The Grace Lee project is looking for all those Grace Lees out there. Do you know one? I did. I was thinking, wouldn't it be neat to have a project of my own?

Good article on Jersey City in this week's New Yorker.

Pretty sharp analysis, if you ask me. But I don't live there. What do you think?

What makes Jersey City attractive to tenants—the fact that it is shiny and new and free of the messiness of New York or, for that matter, Newark—is the very thing that condemns it to a kind of terminal banality. Cities are heterogeneous by their very nature. They are built around public places, the most important of which are streets, and they are resistant to too much order. Great cities are eccentric and surprising. The only quirky thing on the whole Jersey City waterfront is the immense octagonal Colgate clock next door to the Goldman Sachs tower. The clock is left over from the days when the site was a factory complex.

Anybody see this month's Chicago alumni magazine? There's a great article inside:

* TRUTH TAKES THE LID OFF CAMPUS LEGENDS
Are Fermi's notes radioactive? Do Pierce's rooms violate U.S. prison codes? Does anyone leave campus with a 4.0? Here are the facts behind Chicago's most popular legends.

Since this is a blog -- this was kind of an interesting article. Here's more if you want to read more.

From Wonkette

A member of the audience pulls a demonstrator's hair as he forces her out of an auditorium where President Bush was addressing a crowd of supporters at Byers Choice in Colmar, Pa. Thursday Sept. 9, 2004.

[AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma]

He's so on target.

Watch it for yourself.

Salon's columnist seems to be amused by this guy's roommate troubles. While I agree that the letter-writer writes well, I don't think his roommate is all that unusual...

Ben Cheng by two days and Diana Gill by four!

Went to L & L on Fulton today... so good, but not
cheap! Had #1 combo - rice, salad, shredded cabbage,
short ribs, fried mahi mahi and fried shrimp. $8.99.
Almost finished all of it, but I also ordered two spam
musubi. Very tasty too! $2.99. Huge though -- fills up
those styrofoam containers normally used for burgers.
Also bought some Hawaiian drink, "Ahola Maid" -- which
was $1.30 or so. Total was $15. Good thing I biked for
two hours yesterday.

Funny thing is, I think the rice was as good as the
meats. So clean and fluffy! The salads (macaroni and
garden) were a little disappointing. I'm not sure if
you're supposed to eat the shredded cabbage, but I did
anyway.

I wish I took a photo, but I got it before coming to
work.... here's their website:
http://www.hawaiianbarbecue.com/

Quiz

My results, after the break...

I hope all of you Maroons out there will remember to get more active in our alumni club!

While we're talking real estate ... I really like the blog, Curbed.com.

Here's a cute image from today's entry:

and an interesting article.

So, I was reading this article on the San Francisco Chronicle's web site about a woman named Mary Anne Mohanraj who has become one of the most popular erotica writers on the web and a "queen" of alt.sex.stories. It goes into her upbringing in a traditional Tamil family, and her attending a Catholic girls school in Connecticut, and how when she went to school in the Windy City, she found her voice.

The price of gas is skyrocketing. When I think of all those ignorant earth polluters who bought and drive SUVs, I can only think of one thing...

For all of my Maroons:

I don't know about you, but this upsets me. Macy's was the department store I knew in the New York tri-state area. It was a heart-warming bit of regional color when I went to the Chicago and saw that they had Marshall Field's. Now that is no more.

(press release follows)

It's the opiate of the masses.

http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=7036

It's been awhile since I laughed so hard that tears came to my eyes. This is a video of a Japanese girl group wearing meat on their heads as a giant lizard is released on them for a Japanese game show.

How long till we see this on Fear Factor?