Made in Japan, Outsourced Globally

I'm usually not a hater, but I have to admit, there are some things that really irk me. I also have no qualms about coexisting with insects... but there are exceptions. The 3 simple rules are: don't bite me, don't leave your presence behind, and don't have more than 3 segments and 8 legs.

The house centipede happens to violate only one rule, but creeps me out the most. Now, I know that I am probably the invader in their eyes, but that still does not give them the right to sneak up in my sweater drawers, chill out in the bathtub, or clumsily plop off the ceiling and onto my bed (consequently inciting a slipper-bashing panic attack).

I had never seen these creatures until a year ago, and they have been the source of my paranoia ever since. I think they are secretly watching my every move. They eat other (more harmful) insects and are quite docile creatures that just happen to like living near wet or enclosed spaces. They just had the misfortune of pissing off the creator enough to make them look grotesque and frightful.

I can only hope that I don't have more close encounters with them.

Labels: Pet peeves

You were a child
Crawling on your knees toward it
Making momma so proud,
But your voice is too loud

We like to watch you laughing,
You pick the insects off plants
No time to think of consequences

Control yourself
Take only what you need from it
A family of trees wanted
To be haunted

The water is warm
But it’s sending me shivers
A baby is born
Crying out for attention

The memories fade
Like looking through a fogged mirror
Decision to decisions are made
And not bought,
But I thought this wouldn’t hurt a lot.
I guess not

-- MGMT, Kids

I died laughing when I watched this on Thursday. Pam and Dwight just stole the show.

It was an impulse buy, and it was worth every penny.



Some of us have been lucky enough to have lived in our own version of "l'auberge espagnole". When your dining table becomes a UN meeting and your refrigerator and bathroom become the battle zone. Where the "back home taste" is both peculiar and familiar, and you discover new poisons of choice to feed your intoxication -- Scotch, Raki, Beherovka, Tokaji wine, or Soju. You adopt new mannerisms, vocabulary, and insults. And dearest of all, you recognize and embrace how different the other person is, will always be, and love them whole-heartedly for it.

I loved reading Mixmaster's post and felt a twinge of jealousy for not being able to eloquently phrase "why we travel." Then I saw NY Times' slide show on the same topic, and I began to ponder more on my own reason why.

It is difficult to sum up the logic, because there are so many reasons why we travel. Perhaps it is to see the unknown. Perhaps it is to grow. Or to escape. To find ourselves. Some times it is to reunite with a familiar face. Of all the reasons, however, I find the strongest force is the desire to connect.

When I travel, I want to connect with the place. At times, I have to fight the urge to say, "this place reminds me of ____." Other times, I don't fight the urge. Because somewhere inside, there is a desire to connect the things we know with the things we don't know. Either way, I want to somehow find my bearing when I am in a new place. An emotional anchor that helps me understand why I wanted to go there in the first place.

Sometimes these anchors are in the air. The vibrant atmosphere, the humidity that sticks to your shirt, the smell of street food, the rhythmic music that is foreign but pleasant in your ear. Sometimes you see it in the scenery. The majestic mountains, the concrete jungle, the mesmerizing body of water, the gravitas of history chiseled in the architecture, the heart-achingly beautiful sky. I love the feeling of being small when I see such sights - we are mere specks in the magnitude of the earth and the universe. This feeling heightens the sense of wonder.

The other connection is really with the people. It never ceases to amaze me how hospitable some cultures can be to strangers. In return, I wonder how hospitable I have been to others. And it humbles me. Other encounters are not so kind, and it leaves me guarded, sad, and furious. This makes me wiser and question why such things happen. But for the most part, experiences are almost always positive because I learned something. It leaves me feeling empty when I pass through a journey without much interaction with the local people and fellow travelers. That is the real tragedy.

Again, why do we travel?

I want to connect. With the past experiences and biases on my shoulder, I want to step forward and make a new footprint. There is something exciting and bright in the future, and all the traveling is a fuel that feeds the engine.

Labels: Travel

From: Fang Hu
Date: October 2, 2008
Time: 3:44am EST

...an evil plan of me invading South America at the end of year is being shaped right now. You got any plans/intention/time/ideas?"

From: Me
Date: October 2, 2008
Time: 9:37am EST

WTF, you read my mind. I am starting to go stir-crazy with no plans for the end/beginning of the year, and I really want to go to S America still. Tell me what you have in mind. I'm game.

Date: October 2, 2008
Time: 10:14am EST

We spat on our hands, did the handshake. It's Brazil or Bust this Christmas/New Year's. Two Asians - a Chinese girl from Prague and a Japanese from the US among the Cariocas. This should be interesting.

I have been meaning to get my hands on this, and finally managed to figure out "what" exactly I was looking for (meaning the book. Now that I have seen the website, I am contemplating if it's worth dishing out cash for the DVD).

I think someone mentioned in passing that Ewan McGregor visited the Skull Church (Kostnice in Kutna Hora) in the Czech Republic. I have yet to read that chapter but am enjoying the ride, as I leaf through the pages.

White Rabbit Creamy Candies contain unacceptable levels of the chemical melamine, New Zealand Food Safety Authority and Australian food regulators said Wednesday." (CNN)

"Melamine is commonly used in coatings and laminates, wood adhesives, fabric coatings, ceiling tiles and flame retardants. Some Chinese dairy plants have added it to milk products to make it seem to have a higher protein level. Melamine is the same industrial contaminant from China that poisoned and killed thousands of U.S. dogs and cats last year.

Health experts say that ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones, urinary tract ulcers, and eye and skin irritation. It also robs infants of much-needed nutrition."

What's even more appalling is that it wasn't just one company -- officials have already found 22 companies that practice this chemical mixing. That's 1 in 5 suppliers! (BBC News)

And you'd think that the non-nutritional fake milk scare in 2004 would have taught the industry something... They didn't stop with malnourished babies with swollen heads, but kept on going with poisoning domestic pets and babies with the consequence of ulcers and kidney stones.

This will certainly change the attitudes of Chinese consumers.

Fringe: Woooow... so not impressed. All the actors seemed like they were afraid to, (dare I say it?) act.
The Digital Switch in Wilmington, NC: Predicting some frustrated old timers in Feb 2009...
Apple's iPod announcements: Jobs looks really sickly (someone, please feed him a tub of lard). Overall, the innovations were baby steps, and the price cuts are telling of the hard economic period ahead.