Monday, February 27, 2006
Cal Unit
Cal just got back tonight from Bangkok. He caught the 50 Cent and Ft. Minor show. Standing room only. Cal says Fort Minor rocked, 50 Cent did not seem as inspiring as he expected him to be, even with some of his G-Unit posse behind him.
By the way, James Brown, Ambassador of Funk and Minister of Soul, brought his sound to Korea on Fridayt night. Seventy-two years old, he sang and danced for two full hours with an extremely tight back-up band.
By the way, James Brown, Ambassador of Funk and Minister of Soul, brought his sound to Korea on Fridayt night. Seventy-two years old, he sang and danced for two full hours with an extremely tight back-up band.
Calling Out to Chuck Cyclone
Hey Chuck, be sure to send me a sample of your latest weathercast!
Parsifal
Any opera fans out there? Here's a posting from the D.C. Wagner Society list serv:
"I just got back from the Kirov Opera "Parsifal" at the Kennedy Center. I thought it was excellent, one of the best I have seen in a long time. I must admit thought, that I am so used to seeing Placido Domingo in the role of Parsifal, it took a little time to get used to Steblianko. Steblianko didn't seem to project his voice the way Domingo does and seemed unusually inactive and still during the flower maiden scene.
"He wasn't very convincing duringthe first act and was hard to hear from where I was sitting. Over all he and the others did very well. Gergiev as conductor put together a first rate orchestra and the music, timing, expressiveness was flawless. I look forward to seeing more of the Kirov Opera productions. By the way, the Kirov Opera Turandot and Verdi Requiem at the Kennedy Center this week were reported to be first rate, too. "
"I just got back from the Kirov Opera "Parsifal" at the Kennedy Center. I thought it was excellent, one of the best I have seen in a long time. I must admit thought, that I am so used to seeing Placido Domingo in the role of Parsifal, it took a little time to get used to Steblianko. Steblianko didn't seem to project his voice the way Domingo does and seemed unusually inactive and still during the flower maiden scene.
"He wasn't very convincing duringthe first act and was hard to hear from where I was sitting. Over all he and the others did very well. Gergiev as conductor put together a first rate orchestra and the music, timing, expressiveness was flawless. I look forward to seeing more of the Kirov Opera productions. By the way, the Kirov Opera Turandot and Verdi Requiem at the Kennedy Center this week were reported to be first rate, too. "
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Drop That
Fort Minor is rolling into Bangkok this weekend, and Cal will be there! A little 16th birthday gift for him.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Pricey Joe
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200602/200602170009.html
Korea has some of the most expensive Starbucks prices in the world, even more than Tokyo or Hong Kong. This article doesn't have the chart that the Korean print edition does, but it still gives oyu an idea of how pricey things are here. For example, I recently paid $115 per person for a pretty good dinner, but nothing on par with, say, the Inn at Little Washington.
Korea has some of the most expensive Starbucks prices in the world, even more than Tokyo or Hong Kong. This article doesn't have the chart that the Korean print edition does, but it still gives oyu an idea of how pricey things are here. For example, I recently paid $115 per person for a pretty good dinner, but nothing on par with, say, the Inn at Little Washington.
Congratulations, CFP!
U know who U R, and what U have done. U have done the deed. Mabruk, mazel tov, chuga hamnida.
Beware Ebay
Blog on Ebay fraud, including an NYT article:
http://fraudwar.blogspot.com/2006/01/how-much-fraud-can-ebays-customers.html
I ordered an antique book from Ebay and only the shipping envelope showed up. The seller swore up and down he sent the book, but it sure wasn't in the envelope. Any suggestions on what I should do?
http://fraudwar.blogspot.com/2006/01/how-much-fraud-can-ebays-customers.html
I ordered an antique book from Ebay and only the shipping envelope showed up. The seller swore up and down he sent the book, but it sure wasn't in the envelope. Any suggestions on what I should do?
Saturday, February 18, 2006
The Bort
Does anyone have a current email address for Matt Bortniker? I've got nothing.
Kevin Haney!
Do you rememebr the Seinfeld episode in which Cosmo Kramer gets seizures from hearing Mary Hart's voice and starts bursting out with the words YO YO MA! in front of Jerry, George, his girlfriend, and others?
http://www.seinfeldscripts.com/TheTicket.html
Well, Calista runs around the house screaming KEVIN HANEY in a demonic Exorcist-sounding voice. I am trying to figure out if it is after she watches the Simpsons (since Homer is Haney's doppelganger), Sponge Bob (Haney's fashion inspiration), or the Adventures of Pete and Pete (the strongest man in the world guy).
http://www.seinfeldscripts.com/TheTicket.html
Well, Calista runs around the house screaming KEVIN HANEY in a demonic Exorcist-sounding voice. I am trying to figure out if it is after she watches the Simpsons (since Homer is Haney's doppelganger), Sponge Bob (Haney's fashion inspiration), or the Adventures of Pete and Pete (the strongest man in the world guy).
Elements of Style
I am re-reading the classic Elements of Style by Strunk and White. Now in its umpteenth edition and printing, the ediotrs have somehow managed to keep th ebook under 100 pages. It's the best volume I have ever read on how to write clearly and keep the reader from dozing off.
Get/Don't Get This CD...
"Ten by Two" with Sun Ra Arkestra member Marshall Allen and NRBQist Terry Adams
http://www.nrbq.com/store/cd-tenbytwo-redeye.html
Don't get it if you like:
--highly structured jazz
--music that you can have with a quiet dinner
Do get it if you like:
--putting your head on crooked
--spilling syrup over the edges of your musical waffles
http://www.nrbq.com/store/cd-tenbytwo-redeye.html
Don't get it if you like:
--highly structured jazz
--music that you can have with a quiet dinner
Do get it if you like:
--putting your head on crooked
--spilling syrup over the edges of your musical waffles
That Dog Can Run!
Our Maltese Hannah is a small dog, but she can outrun me and keep going for over half an hour!
Prophet Cartoons
Maybe I've missed it, but perhaps the stupidest thing over the Prophet Cartoon controversy is that conservative religious groups of other faiths have not bothered to express concern in a truly visible way. These are the same groups that get upset when moderate Muslims tend not to criticize publicly extreme political Islam.
It now looks like groups with really pernicious agendas are misusing freedom of expression as a way to promote their own radical views:
http://www.cbc.ca/storyview/MSN/world/national/2006/02/18/cartoons-italy060218.html
It now looks like groups with really pernicious agendas are misusing freedom of expression as a way to promote their own radical views:
http://www.cbc.ca/storyview/MSN/world/national/2006/02/18/cartoons-italy060218.html
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Duck!
I have tremendous respect for the Vice President; I even have his photo hanging in my office. In that spirit, I thought most of the following brought a smile:
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=1615773&ad=true
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=1615773&ad=true
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Too Quiet?
This is the quietest day I have had so far in Seoul. No crises, no disasters. So far. Crossing my fingers.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Stones at the Superbowl
Here's what happened; this is from a music list-serv. I am eliminating some of the names:
"I worked a couple of sessions with some of my buddies....just like everyone here, the conversation finally drifted to the Stones performance and Bobby XXXX offered some unusual insight...He spoke with Chuck Levelle ( the stoneskeyboard player) after the gig and was asking him some of the same questionswe were wondering about........Chuck told an intersting side to the story (i don't have all the small details ) but the long and short of it is this.... it supposedly sounded killer at soundcheck...
"But for one reason or another the setting weren't stored in the console .....and literally at the moment that they kicked in that night , it was just throw the faders up and flyblind! to acentuate what was aready a disaster the monitor system blew andnone of the monitors surrounding the stage worked either....so you heard sixguys on live TV duke it out for 13 minutes in hell!!!! ....With that said, I think once this story makes the rounds thru the musicbizz, I would venture to say that we've seen our last live performance at the superbowl...."
"I worked a couple of sessions with some of my buddies....just like everyone here, the conversation finally drifted to the Stones performance and Bobby XXXX offered some unusual insight...He spoke with Chuck Levelle ( the stoneskeyboard player) after the gig and was asking him some of the same questionswe were wondering about........Chuck told an intersting side to the story (i don't have all the small details ) but the long and short of it is this.... it supposedly sounded killer at soundcheck...
"But for one reason or another the setting weren't stored in the console .....and literally at the moment that they kicked in that night , it was just throw the faders up and flyblind! to acentuate what was aready a disaster the monitor system blew andnone of the monitors surrounding the stage worked either....so you heard sixguys on live TV duke it out for 13 minutes in hell!!!! ....With that said, I think once this story makes the rounds thru the musicbizz, I would venture to say that we've seen our last live performance at the superbowl...."
A few new CD's I'm listening to: Thanh Thao's "Bup Be," greatest hits collections from the Violent Femmes and Joe "King" Carrasco, American Analog Set, a special collection of Dam Vinh Hung songs called "Hoa Hoc Tro,"* and some cai luong music.
*Hung sings with My Tam, Hong Ngoc, Phu Nhung, KieuOanh and Thanh Lam.
*Hung sings with My Tam, Hong Ngoc, Phu Nhung, KieuOanh and Thanh Lam.
Hannah and Honey
Back in Seoul, loopy week. Been walking and running our dog Hannah and our neighbor's dog Honey. Weather is better, was in the 10sF earlier, now around 20s or so in the morning.
Friday, February 03, 2006
Dangerous Traffic
Cali got to ride a water buffalo yesterday on the beach, and a motorcycle in downtown Saigon traffic.
Cay Bang
Crabsm shrimp and mussels at lunch yesterday by the Phan Thiet oceanside. Cay Bang has added a new section with about a hundred more seats, but the place still retains its beachfront character: bathrooms from Davey Jones's locker, shrimp popping up from their low-hung tile storage tanks, workers slinging plates of monstrous crustaceans at willing diners.
Uoc Gi
Saw My Tam in concert last night, Calista got her to autograph a photo that was ripped down at an exhibit at the Press Club (but ripped down by the photographer himself).
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Cecilia's Blog
www.PhDcomics.com
True to form, we are splitting on two hours' notice for Phan Thiet. Will write more tomorrow night.
True to form, we are splitting on two hours' notice for Phan Thiet. Will write more tomorrow night.
Yet Another Development Indicator
Turned a corner in downtown Saigon last night and came upon a Rolex dealer. Went inside and asked the clerk about it, she said it opened just a month ago and is the first in the country. The chronometers were marked about 30% higher than HK, the Rolex price leader in Asia.
But my son's friend t-shirt still says it all: "I Got to Vietnam Before McDonald's."
But my son's friend t-shirt still says it all: "I Got to Vietnam Before McDonald's."
Trying Not to Think of AI
Have been eating chicken at nearly every meal. All well cooked, so no chance of bird flu.
Wind Through the Hair
Have been re-living one of the cheapest thrills in Saigon: riding on the back of a friend's motorcycle. Unusually cool today, perhaps low 80s, good breeze, cloudy skies, a brief sheet of rain and then clean streets.
Finished reading Doug Adams' novel fragment, Salmon of Doubt. Tantalziing to think of how he would have further written the book had he remained walking about on the earth's crust.
Started Hilton Root's Collusion and Capitalism; only someone who has spent a lot of time in the Third World could come up with his conclusion, that economies grow through the transformation of political, legal and social uncertainty into risk management, and that the best way to do is it based on each country's own specific circumstances. Thanks, Khoi.
Finished reading Doug Adams' novel fragment, Salmon of Doubt. Tantalziing to think of how he would have further written the book had he remained walking about on the earth's crust.
Started Hilton Root's Collusion and Capitalism; only someone who has spent a lot of time in the Third World could come up with his conclusion, that economies grow through the transformation of political, legal and social uncertainty into risk management, and that the best way to do is it based on each country's own specific circumstances. Thanks, Khoi.
