tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71247132020-02-28T13:07:26.570-08:00General TsaoJennifer Tsao's blogJenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.comBlogger292125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-21440897884374945052015-04-20T12:25:00.000-07:002015-04-20T12:30:15.338-07:00How has technology changed traveling abroad as a young person?Hi <a href="http://www.twitter.com/jordannovet" target="_blank">@jordannovet</a>. (Inside joke.)<br /><br />I'm in France, and I've been thinking a lot about how travel has changed since my first trip here back in the '80s. Most French people I've spoken with at any length on this trip have asked me how I learned to speak their language. (My French is decent.) I mention that my mother-in-law was French and preferred to speak French even though her English was perfect. I mention that my kids go to a French school, and lots of people there speak mostly French. And then I tell them the real reason: When I was a teenager, after two years studying French, I spent a month living in total immersion with a French family.<br /><br />I remember that summer so vividly. It was my first time in Europe, and the difference in time zones made it seem like it was California on the opposite side of the world, not China, as we'd always been told we'd reach if we dug a hole through the Earth. I was desperately homesick. I remember waking up the first several nights with jet lag and just sobbing quietly in my bed with the weird cylindrical French pillow. I wrote lots of letters home. I stared longingly at the few photographs I'd brought with me. I listened to the Cure on my walkman. I clutched the $20 calling card my parents had given me in case of emergency, knowing that desperate homesickness didn't qualify as a use case. (Calling internationally was something like $1 a minute back then.)<br /><br />The family had three children, and nobody spoke any English. I remember when I first met them, they asked me how I was doing. I answered, awkwardly, "Je suis bien," even though I knew it was wrong. I just couldn't believe that real people actually said "Je vais bien" (I <i>go</i> fine) to say they <i>were </i>fine. My French host mother said very sweetly, "Tu vas bien?" and continued the conversation.<br /><br />It was that moment when I realized this whole French thing was real. <i>Nos Amis </i>(our textbook), Madame Nail's lessons, and <i>La Boum -- </i>these things were all real.<br /><br />A month later, I returned home and ran into Madame Nail on the street. We chatted fast and furious, like regular French people. I had definitely leveled up.<br /><br />So here we are 30 years later, with Facebook, Instagram, email, and, most importantly in this context, Skype. I can talk to my friends and family every day for free, sometimes multiple times a day if I want. I can text them as if I'm right there. I have an app to tell the time difference.<br /><br />I wonder how my trip would have been different, and what effect that would have had on my language learning, if I'd been able to Skype my best friends in the middle of the night instead of suffering quietly through the hours alone waiting to wake up to have breakfast with strangers in a language I barely knew. What would it be like to spend the end of every day posting notes on Facebook, chatting real-time, and catching up with what people are doing back home, as I do now on vacation? <br /><br />I don't have any answers, but I'd love to hear from kids having these experiences, and how it all works nowadays.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com3http://www.generaltsao.com/2015/04/how-has-technology-changed-traveling.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-74759619427886032022012-11-13T22:52:00.000-08:002012-11-13T22:52:01.429-08:00Blog GuiltMy friend told me today about a phenomenon called "blog guilt." If I understood her correctly, it's feeling guilty about not writing more in one's blog.<br /><br />I haven't had blog guilt for a while, because in my mind, over the past few years, I've merely transferred my written communications to Facebook, where my friends and family comment lovingly and I don't have to achieve the polish that I (and, perhaps, you) expect of my blog posts. Indeed, Facebook has turned out to be the perfect place for me to share my little spontaneous musings about life and cute photos of my kids that once made up most of my blog posts. <br /><br />But I am a professional writer, and the blog guilt was bound to kick in sooner or later. When you only login to your blog to change your password because your Zappos account got hacked, maybe that should cause a little guilt. Or if you haven't loaded your site in almost a year except for that one time you had to fiddle with the DNS settings, perhaps a twinge of guilt over the blog's stale and neglected state is fair. And if you've ever told someone you were working on a blog post only to forget about it and then when you saw that person weeks or even months later, you avoided the topic because you knew they knew that you knew that they knew you didn't ever write the damn post, then perhaps what you are feeling is some perfectly legitimate blog guilt.<br /><br />Blog guilt is horrible. And tonight it comes to an end.*<br /><br /> * This post brought to you courtesy of <i>another</i> post, one that is hilarious but rambling and occasionally incoherent and still doesn't have a good ending and is taking forever to edit into even <i>self-</i>publishable condition. That post is sitting here behind the curtain, waiting very patiently in that blog purgatory known as "Drafts," and will be published soon. Until then, at least it can inspire other posts, and thereby help this writer avoid further bouts of blog guilt.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com5http://www.generaltsao.com/2012/11/blog-guilt.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-73642448708895672372011-05-17T16:34:00.000-07:002011-05-17T20:20:02.071-07:00Plants vs. Zombies, a family gameI'm a little surprised to be recommending a tower defense game about the undead for 4-year-olds, but Plants vs. Zombies (from PopCap, makers of Bejeweled and Peggle) is really very special.<br /><br />For the uninitiated, tower defense games are generally pretty stressful. You have to defend your base against waves and waves of enemies by tactically arming the corridor they use to approach. These attacking hordes often escalate pretty quickly from seemingly manageable to completely flippin' overwhelming, and only the perfect balance of slow-and-steady strategic thinking with cool-as-a-cucumber tactical dexterity will prevail. Stressful, frustrating gaming experiences are not generally recommendable either for my 4-year-old or myself, or really for anybody but masochists.<br /><br />Then there's the whole zombie angle. I try to shelter my children as long as possible from the mature themes in much of today's entertainment. I don't really want to be explaining what zombies are and why they want to attack our house and eat our brains. (Or more subtly, that zombies don't actually exist...yet!) Call me overprotective or old-fashioned; I just think my boys will have decades to enjoy zombie-related entertainment without my rushing them into it.<br /><br />That's why I'm a little late to the party on this whole Plants vs. Zombies thing. I avoided it for years because of the tower defense angle. Then, <span style="font-style:italic;">right before</span> PopCap put the game on sale and donated all proceeds to tsunami relief efforts in Japan (I lament not the price I paid, but that my money didn't go to the cause), I decided to download it on iPhone. And downloading anything on iPhone for myself means I'm also downloading it for Alex, my son. But I wasn't too concerned; I knew the game's cartoony style wasn't scary, and I really didn't expect him to be skilled enough to play it.<br /><br />I was surprised, therefore, when it quickly became his favorite game. Sure, PvZ has PopCap's signature balance and pacing, making the game completely accessible (and highly addictive) to me. But Alex didn't seem to care much about actually playing it. What captured his imagination and attention were the game's artwork, animations, and unexpectedly lovable cast of characters. I had no idea zombies could have such heartwarming backstories, meaningful behavior patterns, memorable voices. Take Flag Zombie, who carries a flag with a brain on it, while chanting "brains." Or Jack-in-the-Box Zombie, who shivers "not because he's cold, but because he's crazy" (according to his in-game bio). Before Plants vs. Zombies, I had no idea the shambling undead could be so...cute.<br /><br />So though Alex isn't particularly skilled at the game, he doesn't need to be. He just loves the PvZ experience. He has his favorite plants -- the black mushroom who is (in Alex's words) "really, really angry!" or the little potato "who doesn't shoot anything but just explodes...you know he's ready because his red light flashes." Or the purple venus fly trap "because he stays." (Alex's placement of plants leaves something to be desired, meaning most of his plants get eaten pretty quickly, so the fact that he can count on the venus fly trap to eat a zombie whole and survive for a few more paces means the world to Alex.) And those fabulous pea shooters, which he loves because... "they shoot peas." (Ah, the simplicity of 4-year-olds....) He even loves experiencing defeat and hearing his character scream "NOOOOOOO!" as the words "ZOMBIES ATE YOUR BRAINS!" flash on the screen. He can't read, but he once proudly announced to me that the words say, "You losed!"<br /><br />But PvZ is more than just an accidental kiddie fave. I'm calling it a family game, because it's genuinely absorbed our entire family. With our various iPhones and iPads, I've found we can easily while away an hour or more each playing the game independently. Now, this isn't what I call healthy (hey, even quality screen time needs to be moderated), so as often as possible, either my husband or I will play the game with Alex, which he really, really loves. And when we can't <i>play</i> Plants vs. Zombies?<br /><br />We <span style="font-style:italic;">talk</span> about Plants vs. Zombies. (And frankly, there's no shortage of discussion topics.)<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"Hey Mom, you know that black mushroom? He's a really angry mushroom. He explodes. He leaves a little hole in the ground. He's my favorite."<br />"Mom, why does the football zombie run really really fast?"<br />"If the zombies reach your house, it's OK if you have a lawnmower there. The lawnmower will get those guys."<br />"Remember that time I had FIVE pea shooters in a row?"<br /></span><br />Our entire dinner conversation could revolve around PvZ if we wanted. We love to randomly yell "NOOOOOOOOO!" or pretend to eat each other's brains with the telltale "chomp chomp chomp" sound. (Even the baby loves this part.) And when one of us is particularly grumpy, making what we call the Zombie Garlic Face -- that scrunched up expression of disgust the zombies make when they smell garlic -- never fails to lighten the mood.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_RL_IOLuqys/TdMEZexCyNI/AAAAAAAAAS0/Wjapwfu3fVU/s1600/IMG_8336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="214" width="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_RL_IOLuqys/TdMEZexCyNI/AAAAAAAAAS0/Wjapwfu3fVU/s320/IMG_8336.jpg" /></a></div><br />Occasionally I'll even find my husband and I get drawn into legitimately discussing tactics during conversations started by Alex.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Me: "I wonder what would happen if you put an entire row of garlic. What would the zombies do then?"<br />Nick: "You'd probably need at least two rows, but it seems like it might be pretty effective."<br />Me: "But how would the zombies get killed?"<br />Nick: "I guess you'd need a line of offensive plants on the other side of the garlic."<br />Me: "I wonder how long that would take to set up. Would you have enough time to get all the garlics planted?"</span><br />and so on.<br /><br />I'd chock it up to our simply being a family of hardcore gamers, except that's not even true anymore. I've barely touched my consoles in a year, and even my husband practically had to hire a babysitter when he wanted to finish Assassin's Creed II. Yet there we are on vacation at a diner in New York, contemplating not the blue whale at the American Museum of Natural History, the three turtles we saw in the pond in Central Park, or the Cannonball Adderley tune we heard a musician playing the subway, but how Newspaper Zombie gets really upset when you shoot through his crossword puzzle. <br /><br />A lot of the time, I feel bad about playing casual games. They're super-addictive and can eat up hours, days, weeks of your life without tangibly giving a whole lot back. Sure you have a few moments of brainless relaxation and your high score on a leaderboard, but generally you're left wondering where the time went, a vague sense of guilt haunting you. Perhaps that's another reason I avoided Plants vs. Zombies for so long. But now that I have it, I'm genuinely grateful to PopCap. This brilliant game has given our family an elusive, precious commodity: quality time together.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com2http://www.generaltsao.com/2011/05/plants-vs-zombies-family-game.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-26274365455386178502010-12-03T09:38:00.000-08:002010-12-03T22:15:56.018-08:00Kanye, keepin' it klassyI love this new song by Kanye West, "Runaway." Love it, love it, love it. <br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/L7_jYl8A73g?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/L7_jYl8A73g?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />I bought it yesterday and have pretty much been listening to it ever since on repeat -- all nine glorious minutes -- with maybe a few pauses here and there to check out some of the other songs on the album (which, by the way, I think is totally rad, start to finish). I love the piano motif. I love how the groove picks up and builds. I love the general musicality and the beat. The melody is beautiful. He sings emotionally. I can totally relate to the sentiment -- "I'm so gifted at finding what I don't like the most." I appreciate that so, so much. <br /><br />But while we're on the subject of what I don't like the most, in "Runaway," it's a pretty significant part: the chorus.<br /><br /><blockquote>Let's have a toast for the douchebags.<br />Let's have a toast for the assholes. <br />Let's have a toast for the scumbags, every one of them that I know<br />Let's have a toast for the jerkoffs that'd never take work off<br />Baby I got a plan, runaway fast as you can<br /></blockquote><br /><br />I did buy the "clean" version off iTunes, knowing how profanity-laden most hip-hop is, so "assholes" is edited out in my version. (Gee, thanks guys!) I was hoping the clean version would be listenable in mixed company. (And for the record, I'm not just talking about my kids here. I'm talking about my older relatives, or more conservative parents of my kids' school buddies whom I may not know so well, as well as the <span style="font-style:italic;">precious little earbuds</span> of the toddler set.) But I was disappointed to find that I most definitely misinterpreted the meaning of "clean."<br /><br />Why did Kanye have to go with this vulgar language? It doesn't feel poetic to me, and it doesn't seem to fit with the majestic feeling of the song overall. And, as so often is the case with me and hip-hop, because the language is superficially off-putting, I find myself unable to fully digest the greater artistry of the music, in that I can't share it with those I love. I can't herald the song high and low, the way I usually do with my favorite songs. Instead, I feel like I have to enjoy it in privacy or among "understanding" ears. I find myself really wishing he had taken another couple hours to come up with different language, words that felt as sublime as the accompanying music rather than the cheap middle-school disses we were left with. <br /><br />But lest you think this blog is becoming a covert arm of the NFL (No Fun League!), I should interject that I'm actually asking for feedback here. I mean, between this and not liking the Call of Duty Black Ops ad, am I just totally losing my edge? Am I overreacting? I would like to just say I should let it go and leave it at that, but the truth is, my mom shuddered a little once when we were listening to Katy Perry's "California Gurls" together, when Snoop Dogg raps about all the California girls' "asses hangin' out." And the bottom line is that I am forced to refrain from playing "Runaway" (or most of the album, really) in the car during carpool because of the language. I just wouldn't feel comfortable if the neighbor kid went home to his mom asking what a "douchebag" was because he heard it on my iPod.<br /><br />I want to hear and share great, contemporary music. I appreciate that many hip-hop artists, and Kanye especially, are provocative. But how is the song elevated by the chorus harping on douchebags and jerkoffs? Especially when he follows up the jerkoff line with "that'd never take work off," I seriously find myself thinking there was no poetry there at all and he was just saying whatever rhymed, without worrying about how dumb it sounded, because, well, he's Kanye and we all know he says whatever he wants, regardless of the potential consequences. (Editorial note: I was going to write, "He's Kanye and he says whatever the f@#% he wants," but frankly, that felt lazy, and I decided to take 15 extra seconds to come up with words that might be just slightly more insightful and accurate. NOTE TO KANYE: DON'T BE LAZY.)<br /><br />And that's it: His language feels lazy to me, and it makes me enjoy the song less. I know I'm holding out a lightning rod here, criticizing coarse language, which is a fundamental pillar of hip-hop. But this song in particular is so beautiful, and I love it so much, it's sad that the chorus falls back on cheap language that means I can't easily put it on my most-played playlists.<br /><br />Perhaps there is a poetic vision behind the jerkoffs and scumbags that I completely missed -- it wouldn't be the first time -- and that's why I'm writing this. So, if you understand Kanye's intentions, please do share. Because I would be very happy to figure out a way to justify <span style="font-style:italic;">My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy</span> as an appropriate carpool soundtrack.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com12http://www.generaltsao.com/2010/12/kanye-keepin-it-klassy.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-68874265280450836922010-11-11T15:39:00.000-08:002010-11-12T07:40:06.431-08:00Advertising at its best, or one of "those" momentsI recently had the unpleasant experience of watching the following television commercial with my four-year-old son:<div><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lho79A0BoHY?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lho79A0BoHY?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />You might wonder why my preschooler was up late at night watching adult-oriented television shows and their correspondingly mature ads.<br /><br />He wasn’t. We saw this commercial at 10:30 on a Sunday morning, while he and I were playing with Legos in the family room, where my husband was watching his weekly New England Patriots football game via DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket satellite feed. (OK, so local audiences on the East Coast would have seen it at 1:30pm. I guess <i>no kids at all</i> are watching TV with their parents at that hour, right?)<br /><br />I know football itself is a barbaric sport, and the thought that anyone under the age of 80 might accidentally see that Cialis ad with the bathtubs is offensive to human dignity. But my four-year-old happens to find football on TV very boring (hence the Lego table in the family room). And he clearly isn't remotely intrigued by oldsters in bathtubs, because he’s never asked me what a four-hour erection is (for which I am grateful). The <i>Call of Duty Black Ops</i> commercial, however, captured all of our attention, and fast. Though I tried to jump for the remote and press pause, I wasn’t quick enough—he’d seen and absorbed the bulk of the mega-violent and ultra-realistic machine-gun fire, rocket launching, and handgun brandishing before I could do anything about it.<br /><br />I understand that the <i>Call of Duty</i> series prides itself on mega-violence and ultra-realism. (In case you didn’t know, the last game in the series let you gun down innocent civilians as they crawled pathetically away trying to save themselves.) Generally, my track record on the whole “violence in video games” issue is clear and consistent. I’m not upset about violent video games, nor am I upset about violent ads for violent video games. I even went on live TV once upon a time to defend <i>Grand Theft Auto</i> in a “debate” (if you could really call it that) against Jack Thompson. (Remember that ambulance-chasing anti-video-game lawyer? Where is he now, anyway? Oh wait, I remember—nobody cares!)<br /><br />But I was upset at being caught unaware by this visceral glorification of violence, and I was saddened that my little boy was suddenly and unexpectedly having to process images he is simply way too young and innocent to understand. And that is when I had one of "those" moments. The moment when you realize you’re getting older, and you’re no longer as blithely permissive as you once were. When you realize you’re a parent, and you have to be permanently vigilant to make sure your child only sees certain flavors of media when he is ready to see, discuss, and understand them. And when, for a second that lingers longer than you’d like, you understand on a very personal level all those people who do hate and fight against violent video games, who don't support their right to exist, who don't appreciate them as art or free speech.<br /><br />I'm not against <i>Call of Duty</i> or violent video games, but I'm shocked and disappointed that this ill-placed ad campaign made me, a staunch video game supporter and advocate, briefly want to side with those who are.</div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com8http://www.generaltsao.com/2010/11/advertising-at-its-best-or-one-of-those.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-10194181649049128032010-08-12T15:20:00.000-07:002010-08-18T12:07:21.159-07:00Legoland, a ReviewI recently took Alex (now age 3.5) to Legoland. We had heard mixed reviews going in and weren't sure what to expect. Some people rave about the place and say their mechanically- and construction-oriented kids are completely in love with it. Others say it is a sorry cash-in and nothing more than a few carnival rides cheaply embellished with the LEGO license. I'm not sure I understood this before, but now I know that both can be true, and I suppose you're very lucky if you can be the former while not being bothered by the latter. A quick rundown:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Price</span><br />Everyone who goes there has a coupon of some sort, but from what we could tell, it ends up being about $50 a person with even the best of coupons. To me, that sets a certain expectation, and overall I would say the value of Legoland is low. But, y'know, we have a 3-year-old, so it's going to be hard to come up with a $50 experience that really feels worth it. Maybe for an older kid with more independence and stamina, the price tag would be reasonable, but for toddlers, I definitely say Legoland is overpriced.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rides</span><br />For some reason I had this unrealistically magical notion that the Legoland rides would be somehow, at some level, <span style="font-style:italic;">made of LEGOs</span>. Clearly, you wouldn't want to ride a real ride made out of Legos. But it would be cool if the rides at least <span style="font-style:italic;">looked</span> like someone, somewhere wanted to even pretend they were made out of Legos. Instead, the rides are B-level, if A is Disneyland and C is traveling carnival. I'm not an amusement park enthusiast, but I did grow up in Santa Cruz with easy access to the Boardwalk. Legoland rides are like Boardwalk rides, but with a huge price tag up front -- and giant Lego pieces glued on them! <i>Great</i>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Lines/Crowds<br /></span>We went there on a summer Friday when the weather wasn't that great, so I imagine the lines were as average as you can get. And most of the lines for any rides that seem remotely interesting were long -- we're talking 2-hours-long. When you are already thinking the rides look kinda lame, and then you hear people coming off the rides talking about how lame they were, and then you mathematically calculate that you will only be able to go on a handful of these lame rides for your $50 price tag, that's when you get upset and start posting things to Twitter and Facebook and calling your husband (who suspected Legoland was so lame he didn't even want to go on the trip in the first place and is happily at home in an air-conditioned office eating catered office food) and telling him he was right he was right FINE HE WAS RIGHT and asking what you should do about your toddler who is going to go nuclear when he realizes he will never get to ride the sky train pedal cars he's wanted to go on for his ENTIRE (as far as he's concerned) life.....<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sanity Check/Phone a Friend Lifeline<br /></span>Your husband, or your Facebook friends, will then talk you down and say it's just a theme park and I'm sure they have some rides that don't have long lines and if worst comes to worst you can just get your kid something at the gift shop and eat some cotton candy and go to the crappy Duplo Village playground and the kid won't really know the difference. And I guess they're all right, and no further righteous indignation or storming of the Legoland business office and demanding one's money back is necessary. Deep breath.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rides, continued<br /></span>That's not to say there aren't some decent rides for varying ages. Alex got to drive a car and fly a plane, helicopter, boat, etc., and the lines for those toddler-oriented rides were much more manageable (10-30 minutes). The driving course was sensibly blocked off so the older kids had a more complicated course and the little kids could drive at 1/2 a mile per hour while getting stuck in walls without being terrorized. And older kids would have fun on the water rides and some average-looking roller coasters (we didn't get to ride any of the "big-kid" rides so I can't say what they're like to ride, but they didn't look that amazing). Let's just say the rides themselves should not be a motivating factor in one's trip to the park, whatever your age.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">LEGO License<br /></span>A lot of people want to go to Legoland because they have seen pictures of the giant Lego structures that seem pretty cool. And all I can say about that is that the structures, largely, are not that cool. Maybe it wasn't sunny enough the day we went, or maybe our expectations have been set impossibly high by, I don't know, Avatar in Imax 3D. But Legoland's Lego renderings of jungle creatures, King Tut, the Transamerica pyramid, etc. just didn't do much for me, and Alex barely noticed them. Some of them have sound effects, but they're mostly just static--no animatronics or movement, and the Lego pieces themselves seemed faded and shabby.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">A note on Duplo Village<br /></span>Parents of toddlers will probably be drawn to an area on the map called Duplo Village. This sounds like the greatest place on Earth for a 3-year-old, right? So great, you might even think of heading straight there upon arrival. DON'T DO IT! You have a choice when you enter Legoland, which is designed as a circle. You can go left or right. GO RIGHT. We went left on some well-intentioned but completely bad advice, and we were greeted with the shabby, broke down Duplo Village. There was this broken musical fountain thing that just seemed to frustrate and depress everyone involved in it, along with a glorified playground that paled in comparison to those found free in pretty much any other Orange County park. It was not a good first impression.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Food<br /></span>Are you kidding? I didn't touch that overpriced crap. Legoland had gouged me already on admission. They weren't also going to ruin my lunch! We brought snacks and ate at nearby <a href="http://www.sammyspizza.com/">Sammy's</a> for really good pizza and salads. Highly advisable.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Family-friendliness<br /></span>Most rides make it pretty easy for parents with strollers to hang out with their massive amounts of stuff while the other parent takes the kid on the ride. One ride claimed to have a 5-minute wait and lied about it, but was at least decent enough to have a play area where the kids could build while the parents suffered in the line. Bathrooms were pretty well-maintained, and of course Alex loved having a low sink and low hand-dryer, so he could achieve total independence.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Gift Shop<br /></span>Might shopping redeem the trip for us? I do love a good gift shop. Legoland's had some cool stuff (Lego salt & pepper shakers, a make-it-yourself nameplate) that I hadn't seen elsewhere. But in these days of online shopping, things need to be pretty rare to feel special or hard-to-find. That didn't stop me from dropping $115 there, but I wouldn't say I was super impressed with the inventory.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Summary</span><br />I give Legoland a solid 6.0 on the old EGM scale. If you live nearby and you know what you're getting into (i.e. you have $50/person to burn or know someone with season passes), it's a decent way to spend the day. Alex had a fine time there, but he hasn't talked about it nonstop the way he does about certain other experiences. I'm very glad we stayed with friends and only budgeted one day for the place. Because you know those people who rave online about how they fly in from faraway places and drop all this money on the fancy hotel near the park and go back day after day for, like, a week? Those people I just don't understand.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com1http://www.generaltsao.com/2010/08/legoland-review.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-61472425180879789742010-07-08T06:04:00.000-07:002010-07-08T06:52:13.980-07:00Unplanned ObsolescenceMy neglect of this blog hasn't been intentional. Sure, I've been busy having a baby, losing my job, and watching every episode of the various Real Housewives series. But my lack of writing here hasn't been for a lack of interest or mental awareness. Instead, I've noticed that the vast majority of my bloggable ideas tend to get forgotten before I have the wherewithal to write them down, and the ones that seem noteworthy enough to put into words end up fitting much more easily on...<br /><br />Facebook and/or Twitter.<br /><br />Yup. I know this is no great revelation to bloggers or readers. These blip-oriented sites where you can just blurt out what you're thinking with little elaboration, contemplation, or editing have ended up usurping all my writing. They've satisfied my need to express myself. They've made my blog obsolete despite my best intentions to keep writing.<br /><br />Now, I am wise enough not to go making vast pronouncements and promises about abandoning or recommitting to this blog and its essay/prose format. Making resolutions like that almost guarantees one will fail to fulfill them. (Self-unfulfilling prophesies?) But I would like to at least acknowledge that my blog exists, if only to remind myself that I've written some decent stuff here, and that for most of my life, I wouldn't have considered true "writing" anything less than this sort of entry. Formulating complete sentences and developed paragraphs is a different exercise than Facebook's self-referential status updates (which I do love) and Twitter's truly ephemeral tweets (which I'm learning to appreciate). If I'm a writer, I should be writing here. <br /><br />Just don't expect too much. As the baby starts to cry and I struggle to compose a tidy concluding sentence/paragraph before having to go pick him up, I'm reminded why the convenience of FB/Twitter made my blog obsolete in the first place. It may have been unplanned, but it is certainly not inexplicable.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com1http://www.generaltsao.com/2010/07/unplanned-obsolescence.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-41876449897654763202009-12-23T09:45:00.000-08:002009-12-23T13:06:01.100-08:00Wii Dog<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W7RWr4vaR_Q/SzKFuzkaoyI/AAAAAAAAAN0/m3AQg8oU4Rc/s1600-h/tumblr_kscitgw4mj1qze438o1_500.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W7RWr4vaR_Q/SzKFuzkaoyI/AAAAAAAAAN0/m3AQg8oU4Rc/s320/tumblr_kscitgw4mj1qze438o1_500.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418540340843553570" /></a><br />Playing games with Alex is getting more and more fun the more he levels up. With each passing month, he gains points in dexterity (better small motor skills to press the buttons when he actually wants to), cunning (to help him figure out the right button to press), willpower (to keep trying even after things don't work the first try), and constitution (to help him know when to ask for help with a certain task). (Clearly, I have Dragon Age on the brain.) <br /><br />The one that I totally didn't expect him to love, however, is ngmoco's <a href="http://touchpets.ngmoco.com/">Touch Pets: Dogs</a>. It's a little virtual pet game for iPhone that is really quite simple and a direct rip-off -- and vast improvement on -- Nintendogs for the DS. You visit the dog daily to feed him and give him water, take him out to the yard for exercise, care for his hygiene, change him into cute outfits, etc. Alex LOVES all these activities. He seems, especially, to relate to the dog's need to be let outside every day to poop. That's always his first priority after booting up the game, and he is very conscientious about cleaning up the poop. He also loves feeding the dog and giving him water, and washing and brushing him. It's so much fun to see how such a tiny human, who can do so few things on his own, can understand and use the intuitive interface (I credit both ngmoco and the iPhone itself--and, of course, my brilliant child).<br /><br />The cutest part for me, though, is what Alex calls the game. He asks for my phone, then tells me, "Let's play Wii Dog." When we're done with all the tasks in Touch Pets, he says, "Let's play a different Wii." It's amazing -- to this child, "Wii" = "game." Even though I should probably correct him (for the sake both of literacy and of fairness to the other consoles ;), I find myself just letting this one slide and enjoying this simple time when one child's entire view of video games is formed by his early life experiences with Wii.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com4http://www.generaltsao.com/2009/12/wii-dog.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-80705421806620200622009-11-21T15:13:00.000-08:002009-11-21T15:13:37.068-08:00NoNoBloMoThat stands for November Non-Blogging Month... I can't believe there was a time when I blogged every day in November. Now it's an accomplishment to blog every month! And though I don't think this really counts as a post (I have a few topics I really want to cover but just haven't had time!), I'm hoping it'll at least get my editorial juices flowing again. <br /><br />I'm busily gearing up for Thanksgiving, which I'll be hosting again this year at my house. It's going to be a potluck and gamefest with family, friends, and Beatles Rock Band. We might also break out New Super Mario Bros. Wii, though since <a href=http://bitmob.com/>Shoe</a> will be in attendance, it might turn too competitive. We'll see. I've only recently checked the game out, and I will say that playing cooperatively is really fun--I love how you can bubble yourself out of tough spots, as long as you're playing with a more skilled friend. I haven't gotten to a point yet where I've needed to use the hand-holding Super Guide, though I am really curious how that will work out. I accidentally played a level in Uncharted 2 on their Super Easy mode, and I was shocked how they sort of shuttle you forward if you fail in any way. Very jarring for an experienced gamer--I wonder if this actually attracted many non-gamers into Uncharted.<br /><br />Oh, and in other news: I'm pregnant again! This is kind of a weird venue for that news announcement, but nowadays, what really is the best way to share such info? I'm due in February and looking forward to it, though if I think I'm busy now, I shudder to think what awaits me then. So let's not think about it and instead just try to enjoy this moment of quiet and calm when I actually managed to blurt out a few words to the world. <br /><br />Now, on to Mass Effect! I'm replaying it to get a character ready for import into the next game (I never played the original on retail because I reviewed it). I'm hoping they let you change your character's looks though--I really don't like my current incarnation of Ms. Shepard.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com5http://www.generaltsao.com/2009/11/nonoblomo.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-87134579937546634882009-10-18T22:51:00.000-07:002009-10-18T23:14:44.022-07:00My Awesome Brother and Terminator 2The last time I blogged, I mentioned that a lot of things were going on in my life that were preventing me from having the mental energy to write on my blog. And though I don't exactly feel like I've "caught up," I do have the sense that either things are returning to a pace I can handle, or I'm getting my annual burst of fall energy that is making life seem a bit less overwhelming and hard. (I really love this particular change of seasons--from summer to fall.) It's nice, and I'm thankful.<br /><br />And while I do have several little posts starting to at least poke their heads through the haze in my head and request to see the light of the Internet, I wanted first to share a couple of the things that have kept me so hazy for so many weeks and months. I'll start with the easiest--which is the easiest only because it involves linking to a post someone else wrote. <br /><br />My brother has been undergoing chemotherapy for the last few months, and he's been blogging about his experience so friends, family, and other people struggling with cancer can follow along. Last week he wrote something <a href="http://sanfrandad.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/the-january-vision-of-my-death-or-no-fate/">profound and beautiful</a>, and I wanted to share it with as many people as possible. So do yourself a favor and check it out -- I find the wisdom contained therein applies to a lot of the struggles, small and large, life threatening and trivial, that we all constantly face. It's called <a href="http://sanfrandad.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/the-january-vision-of-my-death-or-no-fate/">No Fate</a>, and maybe I especially like it because it takes its title from one of my favorite films, Terminator 2.<br /><br />Thankfully, my brother is coming to the end of his chemo, and though the next week or two are supposed to be the worst, at least it will be over soon. We'll all be glad to see him get through this and on to the rest of his quite extraordinary life.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com5http://www.generaltsao.com/2009/10/my-awesome-brother-and-terminator-2.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-77082535746472909782009-08-13T21:11:00.000-07:002009-08-13T21:28:28.090-07:00Too much!Lately there has been a LOT going on in my life, more than I can talk about openly, and more than I think I've ever experienced all at once. Every time I think things are settling down, a new wrench gets tossed my way (I even have mysterious bruises that are possibly evidence of these "wrenches"). Not all of it involves just me, which is why I really can't share details, but I hope it explains just a little bit why I haven't been writing much of substance here. I've also realized how difficult it is to use the social networking sites to express one's true feelings. Facebook really needs to add a "share only with the people who won't judge you when you say you are depressed or stressed or feel like crap" button.<br /><br />But anyway, it's been a while since I wrote, and I just felt like putting something -- any words, really -- out there. And I'll leave you with this very important <a href="http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07312009/watch.html">Bill Moyers' piece</a> about the health insurance industry -- just watch the first few minutes for a reminder of why reform is necessary. In this economy, I hope more and more people are realizing how very precarious employer-based health insurance is.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com4http://www.generaltsao.com/2009/08/too-much.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-5983032914971412282009-07-17T21:13:00.000-07:002009-07-17T22:33:33.146-07:00That's the way it isI really liked Katie Couric's show tonight on Walter Cronkite. It's truly the most appropriate format for an obit on this legendary newsman.<br /><br /><embed src='http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/player-dest.swf' FlashVars='linkUrl=http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5170889n&tag=contentMain;contentBody&releaseURL=http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/player-dest.swf&videoId=50074550,50074549,50074547,50074546,50074545,50074542,50074534&partner=news&vert=News&autoPlayVid=false&name=cbsPlayer&allowScriptAccess=always&wmode=transparent&embedded=y&scale=noscale&rv=n&salign=tl' allowFullScreen='true' width='425' height='324' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer'></embed><br/><a href='http://www.cbs.com'>Watch CBS Videos Online</a><br/> <br /><br />I really hope Cronkite's standard of journalism isn't dying. Some would argue that it's already dead, but I don't agree. I think things are simply evolving and adapting to some seriously disruptive technological changes. The love of truth and representing important issues and stories to the public is what drives real journalism, and I can't see human beings ever surviving without that.<br /><br />All these deaths lately are making me realize that I guess I finally am "growing up" (a.k.a. getting older). With Michael Jackson, it was remembering "Beat It" as one of the first music videos I'd ever seen. This time, it's remembering watching Walter Cronkite on the evening news. My mom would have it on during dinner, and I remember hearing him count each night how long the hostages had been held in Iran. I guess getting old isn't so bad -- think of all the history you get to see! (Uncle Walt himself would probably attest to that.)<br /><br />I think what astonished me most about Katie's report was the part where they showed his old papers, and his old reporter's notebooks. He kept everything! I can't wait until that guy publishes his biography. I'd love to see some of Cronkite's old notes. It also makes me sad my own notebooks have rarely if ever captured anything worth saving for decades, and even when they have, my notes have always been so sloppy I don't think they'd be worth poring over ever again. I might have 'em tucked away somewhere nonetheless. (I guess reporters are reporters, whatever the generation! Gotta save your notes!)Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com2http://www.generaltsao.com/2009/07/thats-way-it-is.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-74433630287270967632009-07-09T21:46:00.001-07:002009-07-09T23:11:17.500-07:00BelongingI hope I'm getting this just in under the wire of relevant Michael Jackson posting, because it has got to be said. Every time the question of Michael Jackson's kids' paternity and custody comes into question, somewhere an adoption angel dies. Really. I've really been wondering how adopted (or any non-traditionally conceived) children feel when they hear these newscasters pondering that because Jackson may/may not be the biological father to those children, it's just a complete MYSTERY who is going to take care of them now that he's gone, and really, to whom do these kids belong? It's ridiculous. Why should his kids (which I assume are legally his kids, especially if their mother relinquished her parental rights) be treated any differently than any other kids whose parents/guardians die? To say that they should be treated differently because they might not be genetically related to their father is such outright ignorance and stupidity, and I can't believe how glibly it keeps getting stated and questioned over and over again.<br /><br />The other thing that has been nagging at me is this question of whether the kids are his, based completely on their looks, and whether there's any way those kids could be half-black. I thought we had come farther than this as a society, I really did. I mean I grew up with people questioning whether my dad was really my dad, questioning whether I was really Chinese, etc. and I never really held it against anyone. Back when I was growing up -- believe it or not -- multiracial marriages and mixed children were still quite unusual. But nowadays it is so obvious how quickly "dark" genes can get diluted. I'm not saying it's the norm, but it can happen in a single generation. Genetics are weird, and there's so much living proof of this fact that it is simply ignorant and embarrassing for people to insist that there's just no way those kids could be half-black. That's simply not the case. I'm not gonna go on record and say I think they actually are half-black, because frankly, Michael Jackson's life and ways give me plenty of reason to believe that they might not be genetically related to him at all. But to be so ignorant of the reality of mixed ethnic heritage in the multicultural era in which we live makes you painfully out of touch.<br /><br />And then finally, to top it all off, today when I was finally saying, <span style="font-style: italic;">ah, well, I'm taking this all too seriously and just need to let it go</span>, I see this <a href="http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=102848773937&h=VZmWU&u=MNmtP&ref=mf">ridiculous, embarrassing, preposterous story</a> on ABC News of all places (Peter Jennings, please be rolling in your grave!) about Michael Jackson's "white" kids and the challenges they are going to face getting along with his black family. I don't think I need to break down all the things that are wrong with this article, but I do have two questions for our friends at the network:<br /><br />1) Did Luchina Fisher, the author of this story, and whoever edited it get a serious talking to? Will an apology be appearing for this frankly racist "news" article?<br /><br />2) If not, then when are you guys going to do a retrospective on my life growing up as the one "white" kid dealing with an all-Chinese family? The language barrier! The hair color! The pressure to do well in school! The chopsticks! Oh, the stories I can tell! If only I'd realized earlier this was breaking news!<br /><br />Race in this country is a complicated issue, and judging by how contemporary media are handling the strange, sad, unusual story of Michael Jackson's life and death, it's clear that whatever progress we so celebrated when we elected our first black president back in November was -- important though it may have been -- still just a baby step toward combating our tribal, xenophobic, and prejudiced human nature.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com11http://www.generaltsao.com/2009/07/belonging.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-89719193817305870492009-05-30T11:14:00.000-07:002009-05-30T11:50:13.474-07:00On <3 and Animal CrossingI've been playing this game against my will lately. My niece and nephew adore it, so I've sort of been peer-pressured into playing it on Alex's behalf. He's not quite old enough to play it on his own, but he is old enough to appreciate it and understand that he and his cousins can play it "together" online, visiting each other's towns and such. <br /><br />We all know the <3 emoticon denotes love. What's the opposite of that?<br /><br />See, I've played the previous Animal Crossings, on Gamecube and DS, pretty extensively. I've already paid off multiple mortgages to Tom Nook and filled numerous museums with dinosaur bones. I've shaken trees and conversed with town inhabitants ad nauseum. Even the hottest show in town, KK Whatever-his-name-is on Saturday night, got boring years ago. So this third time around, enduring all of Animal Crossings odd quirks (the endless dialogues, the not-quite-exact enough controls, the lack of new content or gameplay) doesn't feel quite as rewarding or enchanting as it was, especially, the first time around.<br /><br />The game makes you pay a steep price -- especially if you want to go online. I knew about friend codes, so I was expecting that part. I wasn't prepared for the fact that, before you can even get your damned friend code, you need to complete your first round of odd jobs for America's <a href="http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3171329&p=44">favorite predatory lender Tom Nook</a> (which happens to involve having lengthy conversations with every bleepin' animal in town). Then, once you have all the friend codes (and every human player needs his/her own code -- fun fun fun!), you have to be online simultaneously, with your gate open (a setting which requires a save and restart to change) and Wi-Fi firewall settings fixed just so. For some reason, I had a ludicrous notion that I'd be able to mail letters to another friend's town, but I couldn't get that to work. I mean, there's absolutely no way in hell you are ever getting Animal Crossing set up online without also having to be on speakerphone with the people you are trying to contact, which just seems ridiculous. What's the opposite of <3 again?<br /><br />But when we finally succeeded, and Alex's cousin made her first exuberant foray from Pretty town into Gearland -- with Wii Speak enabled and everything! -- I've got to admit, this game that has frustrated me so, the game that has been shoveled from system to system with the most minimal of effort, became magical all over again. My ennui evaporated and I was full of <3!<br /><br />I'd still like to know the other emoticon, though. Alex and I haven't even made our first mortgage payment to Nook, and given how he always gives us an earful even for the simplest transactions, things are bound to get ugly.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com6http://www.generaltsao.com/2009/05/on-3-and-animal-crossing.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-29348115291510016722009-05-07T08:17:00.000-07:002009-05-07T13:46:43.390-07:00"NO! MINE! [pause] Thank you!""NO! MINE!"<br /><br />There are few more classic symptoms of the terrible twos than this phrase, which Alex has started saying lately. He doesn't so much <span style="font-style: italic;">say </span>it as he does bark it like a dog trainer or German soldier. It's so curt and stern-sounding that it is obvious if it were being typed, it would be in ALL CAPS. It's mostly uttered in reference to a cherished toy or piece of candy, and it's usually said in the expected context -- if he fears something is going to be taken away from him, either by us or by another child. We're trying to cope with this as we have any of his other "terrible" stages -- correct when possible, ignore when necessary, divert and distract when all else fails.<br /><br />Sometimes, though, "NO! MINE!" comes out at strange and (since this is my blog, I can say it) really darling times: at the dinner table, right after he's helped himself to something off <span style="font-style: italic;">my </span>plate, or at random moments throughout the day, like recently when Nick heard Alex say the following:<br /><br />"NO!!! MINE!!!" Then a pause. Then, in the sweetest, most polite tone of voice ever, a chirpy little "Thank you!"<br /><br />Mind you, Alex said this to nobody in particular. When he was playing all by his lonesome, with unchallenged access to every single one of his earthly possessions. <br /><br />The little guy may be in his terrible twos, and he may be developing a real sense of territorialism. But you can't say he isn't being polite about it. <span style="font-style: italic;"></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com3http://www.generaltsao.com/2009/05/no-mine-pause-thank-you.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-14428842686541774602009-04-27T11:04:00.000-07:002009-04-29T20:33:58.055-07:00Chocolate SnobberyI never thought I had the potential to become a chocolate snob, because I'm really not much of a fan of dark chocolate, and everyone knows that dark chocolate is the <span style="font-style: italic;">finest</span> chocolate and people who have <span style="font-style: italic;">fine</span> tastes prefer dark chocolate. My husband is one of these people. He won't even eat Hershey's Kisses! I've always been pretty open-minded about chocolate, though I'm also not someone who really obsesses about it in any way. So I was very surprised the other day when, at a work function where I had access to a giant bowl of candy bars, I ate a Kit-Kat and found myself completely not enjoying it at all! The chocolate just tasted...weird -- synthetic almost. I need to dig a little deeper to find out if they changed their formula or ingredients. I mean, Kit-Kat has always been one of my faves -- I'm fine not being a chocolate "snob," per se, but I'd hate to think that for most of my life I had genuinely bad taste!Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com8http://www.generaltsao.com/2009/04/chocolate-snobbery.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-71485838280979911422009-04-12T15:57:00.001-07:002009-04-12T15:59:26.392-07:00Help a robot!Read the story of <a href="http://www.tweenbots.com">the little robot who made it</a>!<br /><br /><embed src="http://blip.tv/play/AejAL5OoUw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="390" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br /><br />The ever awesome Greg Orlando (formerly of Xbox Nation and Daily Radar) sent me this link. It's lovely....Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com6http://www.generaltsao.com/2009/04/help-robot.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-83033547606290787322009-03-15T12:41:00.000-07:002009-03-15T13:58:08.040-07:00Twitter: The New SmokingTwitter drives me crazy. I'm not saying I'm not drawn to its infectious, somewhat addictive nature. But I realized recently that for me, Twitter is a lot like cigarette smoking, and social smoking in particular. I want to do it -- all my friends are doing it, and it looks rather cool. Everyone's talking about it -- it's all over the blogosphere and news, and it certainly seems like the "thing to do" of the moment. But when I actually sit down in the bar and light up a Twitter account, first of all, I find I don't actually enjoy its strange, abbreviated form of oversharing. Then I realize I'm surrounded by fumes and totally can't control which ones invade my consciousness -- it's pretty much all or nothing. And then even after I've left the bar, I can't get the smell out of my hair. If I had an addictive personality, I'd probably be coming back for more (luckily, I don't). Yup -- Twitter is the new smoking.<br /><br />Anyone with a personal blog already understands the desire to share one's thoughts with the world. Individual reasons vary beyond that broad, overarching goal. I started this blog as a way to motivate myself to formulate my random thoughts into somewhat coherent written essays and vignettes. Over time, I realized it was a great way to keep in contact with long-distance friends and family. And now that I've moved on from EGM and 1UP, of course, it is a way to keep in touch with the community of gamers and friends I made along the way. A bonus is being able to share my thoughts and knowledge with people typing particular keywords into search engines. So, lots of good reasons, if I may say so.<br /><br />Facebook enabled me to share my thoughts in a more automated manner with many of the same people. I call it "automated" because Facebook's format means you can be expressive without actually having to come up with a thesis, developing arguments, and a conclusion. You certainly don't need to be articulate, and even proper grammar and spelling is rather optional. Plus, what with superpokes, photo tagging, chain-letter notes, having the Bigger Brain or Word Challenge score, and the like, Facebook gives you words when you can't think up any of your own. And often, those means of communication end up being much more effective than a beautifully penned treatise. Sure, you could come right out and say, "Hey, we were good friends once, and I've thought about you a lot over the years. I'd love to reconnect and keep in touch, but don't expect to hear from me very often because obviously I have a pretty busy life. Still, that doesn't mean I don't care!" But that's so direct, emotionally honest -- even confrontational. It's much more humane to just invite your old friend to play Scrabble once in a while, occasionally noting in the chat how cute their kids are or how you've been stressed out at work lately. Better yet, you just challenge them to an '80s movie trivia quiz and remember fondly the slumber parties where you watched all those movies together. I appreciate Facebook for this ability to make connecting with friends less emotional, less articulate, less carefully thought-out, and it's been a damn near miracle how it's reconnected me with people I thought were totally gone from my life for good.<br /><br />And then there's Twitter. To me, Twitter is like a double-derivative. You take the derivative of blogging and you get Facebook. Then you take the derivative of Facebook and you get Twitter. It's all that oversharing boiled down again and again to its most addictive, infectious essence. I've noticed this among my circle of friends. You had the early smokers -- the ones who got right into Twitter and really enjoyed the up-to-the-minute newsiness of it. Then, just the way so many otherwise healthy-living, conscientious folks will smoke cigarettes socially, Twitter started to ensnare friend after friend into its weird, stream-of-consciousness blabbing. The difference for me between Twitter and Facebook or a blog is that I often care what people write in those other two forums. I really like reading people's blogs, because they often have some thought and care put into them. And Facebook is a nice way of recounting the overall ups and downs of ordinary life. But Twitter gives people a little too much freedom in recounting a few too many ups and downs. Like, bodily functions, people? Really? It's also taken the questionable grammar practices of 1337speak and Facebook and put them front and center, to the point where it seems people are almost trying as hard as they can to write 140 characters of broken English. And it's made this whole @soandso format seem like an almost normal way of referring to your friends. Like, "Yeah, what'd you do this weekend? Oh I changed @Alex's diaper and did @Nick's laundry. Went out to breakfast with @Grandparents and then took @Fido for a walk."<br /><br />It drives me crazy. Obviously, Twitter is not going away, and luckily, it's a hell of a lot healthier than smoking. But it's also lucky I don't have an addictive personality, and though I do give my occasional update on Twitter, I think for now I'll stick with my other two primary avenues for oversharing.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com11http://www.generaltsao.com/2009/03/twitter-new-smoking.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-68153562868469309302009-02-22T12:10:00.000-08:002009-02-22T12:41:07.301-08:00Play Time (or, how I learned to stop worrying and hate Mirror's Edge)An hour was all it took for me to decide that I was utterly uninterested in Mirror's Edge. But I couldn't help but feel that I should keep on playing for at least a few hours before I could authoritatively state that I hated it. Perhaps this is a vestige of my life as a member of the (modern-era) EGM Review Crew, when we took game reviewing so seriously we would never consider forming final opinions on a game until we'd damn near finished it or at least made sure that we'd seen all of what the game had to offer. But really, how long should you have to play a game before you can determine whether or not you like it? The closest analogy I can think of is reading a book, where you often have to give it 50 or 100 pages before you really get a sense of the story, characters, and depth. Writing style is apparent and may be immediately engrossing or off-putting, but the more macro aspects of the book take a while to develop. <br /><br />With Mirror's Edge, though, I felt pretty immediately and consistently throughout the first level or two that I was basically going to hate almost everything about the game. The world was kinda interesting architecturally, and the cartoony graphics were pretty cool. But I hated the voice actor who played Faith. I hated the story line and the silly tomboy runner who was showing me the ropes in the tutorial. I hated the first-person perspective and not being able to see my character doing all these ostensibly cool parkour moves. I hated the fact that the game made me use my left hand more than my right. I hate the constant insta-death scenarios. I hated how long it took to reload after you died. I hated being chased by "blues" shooting me. I hated that my reflection didn't show up in glossy windows except during the scripted parts. At a certain point very early on (right after Faith kisses her sister goodbye in awkward first-person view and then has to outrun a bunch of cops), I decided that there was absolutely no reason for me to continue playing something I was hating so much. <br /><br />But still, I can't shake that nagging feeling that I haven't played enough of the game to truly see whether I've made a fair judgment about it. I know quite a lot of people who'll beat games they don't even like, but they too are all former reviewers. I also remember playing a bunch of games during my time as a reviewer where you get used to the controls or the camera and then the game starts to be not so bad (though I've rarely seen games go from seeming bad at the beginning to becoming really good eventually -- only from bad to OK). But since Mirror's Edge was rated fairly high (wasn't it?), I am wondering if I missed the point or something.... Did it get really good a few more levels in?<br /><br />Unless you enlighten me, we'll never know, because after 2 levels and 30 achievement points, I'm done.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com21http://www.generaltsao.com/2009/02/play-time-or-how-i-learned-to-stop.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-76670879696716831972009-02-01T12:43:00.000-08:002009-02-01T13:04:51.687-08:00LayoffsI probably would have blogged sooner after the inauguration, but that day, moments after Obama was sworn in, I learned of layoffs happening at my company. I was very, very lucky to have been spared, but that was a difficult week in general. It's hard seeing people lose their jobs, even if you don't know them too well. So I was feeling rather uncommunicative for a while afterward.<br /><br />Life moves on, but these are dark days indeed. Not a weekday passes when you don't hear about another company shedding dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands of employees. I don't care how few it is or how justified the expense may be; my heart goes out to those people. I've been unemployed before, and that period goes down as one of the toughest in my life. The money problems might be the most tangible, but losing one's place in one's career and one's sense of immediate purpose are, in my opinion, much more damaging. The good thing about unemployment is that it does end. Some day, some way or another, you're gonna work again. It's too bad it's nigh impossible to enjoy the time off when you have it, but that's just one of those harsh realities of life.<br /><br />Anyway, today I'm starting to write again, even though I might not have a whole lot to say, and what I have said isn't particularly upbeat. It's a beautiful (albeit a bit ridiculously is-this-global-warming-in-action? hot for a Super Bowl Sunday) day in San Francisco. I just got back from a glorious outing with my family, and now I'm gonna draw the blinds and play some Fallout 3. 'Cause, y'know, I like a little postapocalyptic role-playing with my global warming ;)Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com7http://www.generaltsao.com/2009/02/layoffs.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-80737485312345622982009-01-17T08:51:00.000-08:002009-01-18T11:10:35.019-08:00The Music of Wall-EI really like the movie Wall-E, and I realized the other night that a couple of the songs from the soundtrack are going to evoke some really powerful memories when Alex is grown up. That's because for the last month or so, ever since his cousin's Wall-E-themed birthday party and we bought it on Blu-ray, Alex and I have watched Wall-E almost every single morning. See, when Alex wakes up at some ungodly hour, the most Nick or I can muster is to plop Wall-E into the PS3 and then curl up on the couch and attempt to watch it with him (though often "watching" consists of me dozing and Alex narrating the movie while trying to stick vegetarian sausages, scrambled egg, or other microwaved breakfast foods into my mouth).<br /><br />The first 45 minutes or so of this movie are positively brilliant. I'm sure this has been written about all over everywhere so I won't get into too much detail, but the physical storytelling is amazing and makes the movie appeal to my two-year-old as much as it does to me. I'd say most mornings we only watch that first part (he usually doesn't wake up quite <span style="font-style: italic;">that</span> early) before it's time to get ready for work. But sometimes we leave it on in the background, and that's why the soundtrack of Wall-E has become such a prominent part of this little era of our lives.<br /><br />Of course, there's the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001B0C452/ref=dm_dp_trk1">song from Hello Dolly</a> that opens the movie, during which Alex dances around looking as cute as a two-year-old could ever look. Then there's my favorite part of the movie, where Eve waits until the spaceship is out of range before busting out into her freeform flying and exploration. I love <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001B087K8/ref=dm_dp_trk5">the song that plays</a> during this part, so much that I can already almost feel the future tears in my eyes when I hear it and remember the joy of having little two-year-old Alex all cuddled up warm with me on the couch saying, "Bye-bye spaceship!" and "Eve flying!"<br /><br />The same theme plays a little later in the movie, when Eve and Wall-E are in space, Wall-E using the fire-extinguisher to propel himself through the stars. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001B035JG/ref=dm_dp_trk22">That song</a> is definitely going to remind me of the time I came into the kitchen and saw Alex by the breakfast table with his little space shuttle toy and a car, twirling his arms around in imitation of that part of the movie and gleefully exclaiming, "Eve and Wall-E dancing! <span style="font-style: italic;">FAAAATHT</span>!" (That's how Alex says "fast.")<br /><br />I wonder if the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001B0A2LA/ref=dm_dp_trk37">Peter Gabriel song</a> at the end will remind me of the feeling..."Oh my god, did we watch the whole thing?! What time is it? Am I late for work??!" And how around that moment, Alex would come sit on my lap and refuse to move, saying, "No shower" as I'd try to skulk off to begin getting ready. Or how when he'd glimpse me all dressed at the top of the stairs, he'd say, "Mama work" and then either try to climb over the baby-gate to come with me, or run off to Tutu's room, where they'd wave at me from the window as I rode my scooter off.<br /><br />I'm sure at some point we'll all tire of Wall-E and move on to the next movie -- as I'm writing this, we're watching Pixar Shorts for the first time, and Alex, Nick, and Tutu are positively rapt. But I hope when Alex is older, I can help him remember how much he savored every minute of his first really beloved cinematic experience, from the Walt Disney title at the very start ("Castle!") and the Pixar intro animation ("Lamp jumping!") all the way through the end credits and their accompanying storyboards and simple cartoon animations. It's brought us pure joy, through and through.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com7http://www.generaltsao.com/2009/01/music-of-wall-e.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-86668769993925135412009-01-06T20:21:00.000-08:002009-01-07T12:13:39.229-08:00No. I'm not psychic.My farewell bio happened to be in what now turns out to be the final EGM. It was just a coincidence, and a sad one at that. We all knew something like <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=21759">this</a> was coming, but I'm not sure anyone realized how extensive the purge would be. I can't sugar-coat it and say this is great for anyone.... just how sad I am for so many people, and that at some point things will all turn out to have happened for the best. Life is just like that.<br /><br />Update: I know everyone already reads Jeff Green's awesome blog but just in case you don't, <a href="http://jeff-greenspeak.blogspot.com/2009/01/no-youre-not-same-1up.html">this post</a> is worth a gander. While I disagree with a couple of his comments, he's got an extremely enlightening take and one that any true fan of EGM, 1UP, or GFW/CGW will appreciate.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com13http://www.generaltsao.com/2009/01/no-im-not-psychic.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-24698606903142945032009-01-03T14:16:00.000-08:002009-01-03T14:53:40.911-08:00The New Prince of PersiaI like the latest Prince of Persia, but as I've been playing it, I keep noticing certain things that drive me crazy. Everyone's praised this game for the fact that you don't die and have to restart, and I like this feature. But I still find myself having to do complex platforming sections over and over (and over and over...and OVER AND OVER AD NAUSEUM) because the section where I'm supposed to go next isn't well lit or the camera doesn't swing around in time to show me the jump I'm supposed to be making. Then I miss, and I have to restart from the very beginning. (Right now I'm experiencing this in the Spire of Dreams, but I've struggled throughout the game.) <br /><br />Obviously, not many other people are having this problem, or the game wouldn't be receiving accolades as easy and "casual-friendly." But because of this challenge, I'm probably not going to finish the game, even though I really really want to! I just don't have time to keep doing the same jump sequence until my creaky fingers press all the buttons just right. Nap time (when my son is sleeping is my only real time to play games) is precious, and after trying something 10 times or more, I just say, "Basta!"<br /><br />The other thing that I'm completely confused about is combat. I understand the combos (though I really had to study the combo tree to figure out how the system worked). But I just can't get used to the way the game constantly reminds you to block by flashing "RT" (for the Right Trigger button) on the screen. If this has to do with the counter system that was explained briefly in the tutorial, well, I missed or forgot that part. All I know is that *just* as I'm getting ready to attempt a great combo, the game reminds me that all I can do at that point is block. I <span style="font-style:italic;">think</span>. Or am I missing something? Am I actually supposed to spend half my time in combat pressing RT and waiting for my turn? And if this isn't the case (which I hope it isn't, because pressing RT and waiting isn't any fun), then why hasn't the game, which obviously has a huge fondness for flashing text on the screen in the middle of combat, reminded me how to do a counter? Or given me any way to figure out how to do it? I'm not complaining that the combat is too hard, because it isn't. I just don't like being forced into blocking all the time, and I wish the game gave me a way to enjoy the combos and be more active in combat.<br /><br />I've always loved this series' acrobatic platforming, and this game does that better than ever. But I also loved how the previous games' levels were sort of like puzzles you had to solve, as well as being tests of your reflexes. This game loses the puzzle-solving and mostly just has you power through levels, pressing Y or trying again when in doubt. I miss the puzzles a bit, but -- when I don't have to redo sections because I couldn't tell where or when I was supposed to jump -- I'm enjoying the faster action of this game. And I am still totally digging the architecture and ambiance. Sure, the corny dialogue and voice acting do tend to kill the vibe, but it's a rare game that lets you gaze out at gorgeous vistas while teetering on a ledge that feels like it's a mile high in the sky.<br /><br />So I'm pretty bummed that I'm not going to finish it. (At least they packed a whole lot of achievement points into the first half-hour of the game!)<br /><br />Also: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com9http://www.generaltsao.com/2009/01/new-prince-of-persia.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-81129591341606409432008-12-28T22:33:00.000-08:002008-12-29T18:26:22.287-08:00Wii HolidaysAmong my friends, many of them professionals in the video game industry and therefore extremely hardcore gamers, the Wii has a very, very bad reputation. Bad graphics, stupid control scheme, no good games, annoyingly family-friendly, etc. It's not hard to come up with a quick and dirty list of all the Wii's problems. And it's a common complaint to hear these guys say, "I haven't touched my Wii in <span style="font-style:italic;">months</span>," after which they usually make a joke about how dirty that sounds. <br /><br />And I get it. After Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and maybe a handful of other hardcore games, there just aren't a ton of truly next-gen Wii games to appeal to the fan of Fallout 3 and GTA. I've experienced it myself: I was recently trying to buy a Wii game as a gift for some friends, and I found myself in Best Buy wandering the aisle really not able to find anything remotely "respectable" (from my perspective as a former game critic). It was all this casual crap and Nintendo games they've already played. So I get that it's hard to see the Wii as the savior of the game industry that the rest of the world views it as.<br /><br />But if the Wii phenomenon isn't something special, then why, during my recent Christmas visit to my old home town, where I stayed with a few different friends, was the Wii turned on in their households, with various combinations of family members playing games on it, for hours and hours at a time? I was shocked. My friends who don't even use cell phones were playing Mario Kart with their kids all morning long. They even asked me to help them hook their Wii up to the Internet. My other friends who only play PC games are obsessed with Animal Crossing -- but they're not using the snazzy new multiplayer. No, instead, they sit there as a group watching each other run around town picking up shells and writing real letters to buddies in town. They even correct each other's spelling in said letters that will only ever be read by computer-controlled characters. They do not seem to mind the fact that the game has not genuinely been upgraded in the 6 years since it originally came out, and that its graphics have hardly changed. Members of both households went out in the days after Christmas searching for more Wii Remotes.<br /><br />These Wiis are not collecting dust, and their owners aren't complaining about the lack of good software for the platform. They may not buy quite as many games per year as the hardcore crowd, but I was excited to see over-30-year-olds who haven't touched a console game since the 80s eagerly opening up their (or their kids') shiny new video games on Christmas morning and popping them in their Wiis. The other strange thing? I don't think it occurred to any of them to make a joke about how dirty that sounds.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com9http://www.generaltsao.com/2008/12/wii-holidays.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124713.post-41349110034099185072008-12-15T07:57:00.000-08:002008-12-15T11:14:24.668-08:00Thanksgiving Catering from Bi-RiteEver since before Thanksgiving, I've felt insanely busy so I'm only now getting to write about the holiday. I hosted Thanksgiving at my house, with family visiting and also <a href="http://sorethumbsblog.com/">Crispin and Shoe</a> and their partners. You'd think we'd have done at least a bit of gaming, but neither my planned Rock Band session nor the awesome board game 25 Words or Less ended up happening. We did have a kids table, though. I think Crispin and Shoe both kinda wanted to sit there, but it was occupied by <span style="font-style: italic;">real</span> kids.<br /><br />I got the food catered from a very beloved local market, Bi-Rite. I was really happy with the oven-roasted Diestel Ranch turkey, which was cooked to perfection and only needed reheating. Their garlic mashed potatoes beat mine easily (we had two versions because I hadn't realized we'd ordered some). I'd probably rate their wild mushroom bread stuffing and wild mushroom & Zinfandel gravy a 6.5 on the old EGM scale (in other words: Fine, but not something you get really excited about, while actually lacking a few key ingredients that would have made it good). And while their butternut squash soup with fresh sage was really good, I wasn't even able to serve it with the Thanksgiving meal, because adding soup bowls to the table settings would have just been too difficult. The best dish, in my opinion, was the roasted cauliflower and brussel sprouts with meyer lemon butter. Which is a line, I think, that if my brussel-sprout-loathing childhood self had read, she would have been terribly disappointed in what she would eventually grow up into. But to my childhood self, all I can tell you is that as long as you demand <span style="font-style: italic;">fresh, locally grown</span> brussel sprouts prepared in a <span style="font-style: italic;">simple, classic manner</span> that highlights their <span style="font-style: italic;">distinctive</span> flavors, you'll probably never have to eat them, because your parents will be freaked out at your apparent early-onset <span style="font-style: italic;">food snobbery.</span> The menu also included a cranberry and honey-tangerine relish, which sounds good but I somehow forgot to try.<br /><br />The other thing I thought was a bit weird about their menu was how they delivered it in tons and tons and tons of plastic containers, which made it a pain to transfer to serving dishes and heat up (and seemed environmentally rather negligent). But I hope other people who ordered the catering realized, as we did, that the Bi-Rite containers made perfect to-go packages for departing guests. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fausteena/3110153705/" title="Thanksgiving Leftovers by generaltsao, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3271/3110153705_44930a007c.jpg" alt="Thanksgiving Leftovers" width="375" height="500" /></a><br /></div><br />(Ramah packaged them up smashingly in her inimitable way.... I really wish I had sent home more of those little containers with her and the human food-vac, Crispin Boyer.)<br /><br />We also had a plethora of pies and cakes. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/marytsao/3064457825/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/3064457825_2581c75a2b_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/marytsao/3064457825/">Thanksgiving 2008</a> <br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/marytsao/">marytsao</a>.</span><br clear="all" /><p></p></div><br /><br />And though our pies came from all kinds of fancy bakeries and stores (including Bi-Rite and Mission Pie), I can say that in blind side-by-side taste tests, the scrumptious (and gigantic) Costco pies won unanimously in both the apple and pumpkin categories.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828157095687672044noreply@blogger.com4http://www.generaltsao.com/2008/12/thanksgiving-catering-from-bi-rite.html