My 47th April

I've really failed at this daily journaling thing. And in some ways, I've failed at many other things. I keep swimming a the surface, but recently I've starting to dive. A little deeper each time. And I feel like I've failed myself

Bay Area art girls

Alysa Liu won gold for the Olympics and I've been binging her story. What a story! I think people are really loving what she represents because it shows what humans are capable of when we have room to express ourselves. In a world of AI and Trump and

Buy in bulk

My 78 year old mom came to visit, and we dropped by Safeway, today. She loves this store. They don't have Safeways in Texas. She insisted on buying 3 cases of bottled water (40 bottles each case). I grabbed the closest one I found, but those were $6.

Appreciation

My daughter muttered, "Fuckyoufuckyoufuckyou" on Saturday when I was going over her allowance on Greenlight. Her mom was sitting right there. I think I'm the only person she would curse at. She knew it was bad, because she didn't say it loudly. But she

Gear

I think my fondness / obsession with having the right gear mirrors my dad's debilitating anxiety about every situation. The man is so risk averse about everything it's a wonder that he somehow captained a boat to escape Vietnam with our family and 200 other refugees. It&

Fifty Percent

One constant is that Madeleine is super competitive with me. If I want her to practice piano, run, draw, or do anything that requires effort, she'll muster up the strength if she knows that she's competing against me. After three years of piano, her teacher gave

Dear Bingo

I hope in some small way, as we deal with commutes and spouses and kids and putting the dishes in the dishwasher and making sure the forks go with the forks and the spoons go with the spoons that we find the way back to ourselves?

Things are fine

I'm still learning about all of this stuff, but seeing your kid sad because they don't know why they're different than other kids is tough.

Just start

In this dream, the photo mode was on portrait, which I didn't want. So I switched it to photo mode and tried to zoom to about 1.2x. But the camera kept zooming into 5x, then 10x. Too close!

End of the rainbow

So now what? What now, in a town where the weather drops twenty degrees at night? Where a fat girl with purple hair walks by a desolate guy who may or may not be homeless strolling along with a backpack on his shoulders in front of a pink house...

The Road

But for a few of us, On the Road mattered.  Perhaps I was rebelling against myself, against a Protestant guilt, a strict family culture, a Sartrean existential need to define myself through the reflections of others – or just a desperate need to break out.

Europe: A History

I decided to go back and explore Europe to understand its impact on my current areas of interest, namely the Middle East, Central Asia and India.

Twentysomething

8 things you probably don't care about

Ok, so I was tagged by Stellargirl.. and because I love her so much, I'm gonna break my rule on forwards and do this thing: Rules: 1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts. 2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about

Art

Once

It has been the best movie I've seen this year.  Perhaps I'm a sucker for great music and the artist's journey.. but for those who want to believe in the saving powers of faith, of music and love – this is the movie for you. 

Twentysomething

The Silk Road

I keep dreaming about this idea. I had it in Zhongdian, where we were so close to Tibet and a couple of days away from Kashgar, the beginning of the Road.  I had it in Turkey, at the other end, the eastern gate of the trail.

Twentysomething

Approximations

But how does an artist imitate the living? She starts from the inside, then fills out.  See how the light spills over the shadows, and shade in the shapes.  Show the negative space to create the solidity of permanence.

Tech & Etc

Alter-blog

Another problem is that I'm personally associated with this blog. My photo is staring at me on the top left corner, and I've linked to it from too many social networks where employers, old bosses and acquaintances would know. I've noticed that my thoughts have been unconsciously sanitized recently.

Art

The Namesake

Lahiri holds onto details that most people would toss away, like diamonds in the rough.

Twentysomething

Chew on this

I feel like this is it. Once we pass the late twenty-something stage – we're on the cusp here of settling, foundation-building, whatever — we're close to figuring it out... but once we pass this test, that's it. Easy sailing.

Art

Two movies to watch

I watch a lot of movies and most of them are entertaining enough (Shrek 3, Knocked Up).  However, there have been two excellent films in the past month that deserves mention... La Vie en Rose: a biopic of the French diva Edith Piaf. Sort of a surreal piece that smashes

Food

Anatomy of a Crab Bake.. er.. Boil

How to make crab. Crabs are my second favorite food evar (after lobster and just a smidgeon before steak). So -- how to make them? Well, I like steaming them, but that necessitate a steamer.. something I don't have. The next best thing is to boil them. Try

Tech & Etc

China Censors Pirates

The Chinese government is so scared of its own shadow that it's censored major portions of Pirates of the Caribbean 3 where Chow-Yun Fat played a pirate lord.  "The captain starring Chow is bald, his face heavily scarred, he also wears a long beard and has long

Tech & Etc

He Doesn't Need Peter or Mary

He's been all over the blogs and I'll add to the clamor.  Hurrah for Paul Potts!  If you didn't know by now, Paul, a mobile phone salesman from Wales, recently won the Britain's Got Talent show.  I'll refrain from saying

News & Politics

Obama Love

Beyond all the ruminations I may have on Web 2.0, political grass-root efforts, activism and the 2008 presidential campaigns.. I have to say, Obama is getting the youth vote.  Actually - he's going to get noticed by males 16-40. Cause this video is hot. Nevermind your gender-views,