tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875Mon, 02 Sep 2024 07:40:56 +0000politicsanalysisangerpresidentapathyenvironmentfoodjournalismself-consciouscomedycultureracismObamabookseducationfatefishhopewritingAsian Americananimalsforeign policyinfotainmentspiritualityHarvard SquareJapananimeblogsfanfichealinglistslocalvideoThe trials and tribulations of my mind.http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)Blogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-7489702268271694710Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:47:00 +00002008-08-19T12:56:59.811-04:00listsJust a random list of things I'm grateful for. Because I felt like it. Order is probably determined by what is affecting me at this moment. Don't expect anything deep.people that caremilk of magnesiamy therapistvacationthe WWWAnimal Planetforgivenessdeep breathingfreedomacceptancehttp://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2008/08/im-grateful-for.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-7100236480338289239Sat, 02 Feb 2008 22:22:00 +00002008-02-02T18:20:30.024-05:00angeranimalsfatefishEarl has been sent to his room and the door taped shut!Earl, the jerk. I bet he was just having the time of his life and didn't intend to cause mental and emotional trauma to us humans who love and adore him.What happened a few nights ago is a fish owner's third to worst nightmare (the boiling fish event would be a close second, I'd say). I attribute it to my good luck and occasional http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2008/02/earl-tries-to-be-babel-fish.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-6784676206570814404Thu, 18 Oct 2007 23:39:00 +00002007-10-18T22:14:36.848-04:00animalsapathyToday, I cried about a dog. Maybe it was the carcinogenic seasoning affecting my brain, or maybe I connected with a bit of life that hits me in precious moments too few and far between.There was a guide dog that was helping a blind lady on a crowded bus on my way home. He was a medium-sized dog, with shiny black hair. What caught my attention, besides the fact that he was a cute animal, was http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/10/today-i-cried-about-dog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-4986969702340135670Thu, 18 Oct 2007 23:23:00 +00002007-10-18T19:38:38.742-04:00environmentfoodI don't know if it's all the pro-organic, pro-vegetarian, sustainability books I've been reading recently ("The Food Revolution" by John Robbins and "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan), but it may be affecting the way I taste (food, not me personally).For the past year, I've generally tried to avoid fast food as much as possible. No temptatious nuggets, no pungent hamburgers, well, the http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/10/i-hearted-fries.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-5590173949816339975Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:07:00 +00002007-09-17T20:08:56.913-04:00comedyHelps you breathe and remember to smile!Sinfest, September 17, 2007http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/09/more-notable-sinfest.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-3395369213762899162Mon, 03 Sep 2007 02:17:00 +00002007-09-02T22:45:36.687-04:00analysishealingspiritualityI've become an avid fan of mental and physical stress reduction brought on by racing thoughts, constant sitting posture, life pressures, and social stressors. I go about this in several ways. They include massage (once a week), acupuncture (once a month), and meditation (daily, when I remember). I'm hoping to incorporate yoga, exercise, and other regular hobbies to have a more varied routine (http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/09/deep-relaxation-response.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-9023506924483116239Sun, 02 Sep 2007 14:45:00 +00002007-09-02T16:04:42.085-04:00foodHarvard SquarePromptly at 6, we were led up to the second floor, the second "level of enlightenment," according to the restaurant's website. A quieter, more private setting.[Continued from previous post, OM Restaurant, Harvard Square.]We were led up the rich wooden stairs and emerged on the second floor. It had a very earthy, but sparse decor, with small clay and stone sculptures in nooks and crannies in the http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/09/om-restaurant-harvard-square-ii.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-5790826070532658060Mon, 27 Aug 2007 00:32:00 +00002007-08-26T20:42:40.030-04:00comedyI read Sinfest every day. It's been my ichi-ban suki-na online comic (number-one favorite) since I discovered it 7 years ago when I was studying Japanese in the Cornell FALCON program (no connection between the two besides the aforementioned). Here are four strips that I particularly like.EnlightenedEverything's Gonna Be All RightDay in the Life 5Messed Up LifeI'm striving to be like the Buddhahttp://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/08/sinfest-faves.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-2459066983181584044Tue, 21 Aug 2007 02:15:00 +00002007-08-20T22:54:36.337-04:00foodMy sister and I tried "OM," a restaurant offering modern American cuisine by Chef Rachel F. Klein. Located on the inner skirts of Harvard Square, it is a regal and exotic treasure amidst the flurry of Hahvad students, crazies, homeless, and the rest of academic civilization.I had known of its existence since the beginning of my stint in Cambridge two years ago, but had always assumed that it was http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/08/om-restaurant-harvard-square.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-2933606877339892847Tue, 21 Aug 2007 02:02:00 +00002007-08-20T22:13:50.592-04:00foodThanks to the positive review and pretty pictures in Wired Magazine, I gave in to the consumer temptation to purchase the new Bodum Canteen cups: the double glass wall thermo cup with handle.It's after 10pm and I'm sitting here drinking a steamy cup of decaf green tea, enchanted by the hovering inner sanctum. I can't help but smile spontaneously every time I glance at the shiny liquid encased inhttp://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/08/coolio-cups.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-1078896197519087189Tue, 24 Jul 2007 20:12:00 +00002007-07-24T17:03:49.569-04:00angerlocalThere's a survey at BostonNOW that lets you rank the MBTA and tell stories every day (www.BostonNOW.com/go/riders-hub). I couldn't resist.Pulling out of Harvard Square station on the bus and past the light, we stopped in front of the Cambridge Post Office as usual. It was a particularly hot day with a particularly packed bus. The driver stopped nicely and let some people on. Because the bus was http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/07/bad-boy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-2308378147070196843Sat, 21 Jul 2007 19:44:00 +00002007-07-22T10:47:47.198-04:00analysisfatefishhopeOne of the scariest things happened this weekend. Well, knowing my life, just about anything can be scary, but read on.I've had my fish tank with big black-and-orange Earl and red baron Monty for a while, about a year now. I've seen both of them grow from biddy babies to middle-age dominance. Earl himself is about 7.5" and Monty is 4.5" going on 5". Earl still tries to eat Monty, but things http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/07/how-bout-some-boiled-fish.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-7916692144425217589Thu, 19 Apr 2007 16:27:00 +00002007-04-19T13:10:59.779-04:00booksLisa's Book Update!A couple of books I've gotten through recently:"np" by Banana Yoshimoto - similar to her other books, "np" takes place in every day life, but is filled with hints of an other-world, one that is very real, but floats mid-way between our perception and oblivion. There is nothing explicitly mentioned as magic; perhaps that's what lends its eerieness to the circumstances that the http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/04/book-o-rama.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-8563895244038416769Wed, 18 Apr 2007 18:48:00 +00002007-04-18T16:45:38.629-04:00analysisangerAsian Americancultureeducationracismself-consciousNot so...The second I heard that the gunman was identified as Asian-of-some-sort, one thing went through my head as I tuned out the reporting over live images of ambulances and the VT campus that I'm sure went through the minds of all Asian-looking people in America: "Oh frick, I hope he's not [insert your Asian nationality here]."I've realized that, although my friends from college and http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/04/living-in-euphemistic-world.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-498628101103160084Tue, 10 Apr 2007 00:18:00 +00002007-04-09T21:01:47.806-04:00fishI spy Earl hovering with graceful ease at the top, his crown place supreme. He looks over his kingdom with chin high and a leery eye, ready to pounce on his people -- intruders into his house, taking up his precious space, laying their waste on his precious stone floor, eating the food that was provided especially for him by the gods who provide air to breathe, light to see -- how generous need http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/04/territorial-problems.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-1834178377021821386Thu, 05 Apr 2007 16:46:00 +00002007-04-05T12:48:35.110-04:00Check this song out. More analysis later!Nas feat. Rakim, KRS-One, Kanye West - Classic (Remix) (Video)http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/04/classic-sweetness.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-1388079975173239643Thu, 05 Apr 2007 16:13:00 +00002007-04-05T12:46:13.197-04:00analysiscultureeducationracismI really want to comment on the topic of the blog post by Carmen Van Kerckhove from Racialicious.com (alas, the paradox of drawing attention to this topic while desperately trying to pass it off as "not a big deal." Is it really a big deal to me? If only my subconscious could speak up about this.):Quick read: Barack Obama and white women?(http://www.racialicious.com/2007/04/05/http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/04/socialization-is-key.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-1458131170715425757Thu, 29 Mar 2007 15:37:00 +00002007-03-29T12:29:51.573-04:00Asian AmericanbookscultureracismHolding up a "PC for Dummies" book, she approached me and said, "I should ask you because you obviously know more about this stuff than me."This was the "excuse me, can you help?" that I got from a middle-aged white customer, looking for beginner's advice on digital conversion and imaging.(OK, all you out there probably know what I'm going to say next.)My gut reaction was to take the book from http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/03/is-that-racist.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-2960534718373244040Wed, 21 Mar 2007 23:05:00 +00002007-03-21T19:47:11.384-04:00analysiseducationself-consciousI was probably considered a nerd in high school.At least, I considered myself one. . . and was slightly traumatized all my pubescent life thinking I was one. . . and idolized my sister who was a punk&grunge dude-person three years below me.In a moment of needed quiet today, I read the first few pages of Hackers & Painters, by Paul Graham. His first idea is that nerds are unpopular because http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/03/nerds-because-we-choose-it.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-2297224219512543452Sat, 17 Mar 2007 03:09:00 +00002007-03-16T23:58:19.914-04:00culturefoodJapanself-conscious*slurp*Ah...*slurp*Ah... Mm-hmm!*slurp*Ah... This soup is so good, so warm...I look up in the deserted room. No wait, it's not deserted, I recall, after seeing that the tables around me are filled with my fellow employees on their lunch break. It's amazing how quiet people can eat. As I look down to savor another delightful spoonful of Au Bon Pain chicken soup:*slurp*I look up again, just http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/03/try-your-mouth-at-soup.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-6574441661590266926Tue, 13 Mar 2007 02:21:00 +00002007-03-12T23:10:13.582-04:00angerracismself-consciousAt last, there was something that happened unusual enough to spark me to write. I'm talking this time about the state of racism. Ironically, the "aggressors" in this case are often enough the purposeful victims in a majority of other cases, screaming their outrage on public TV.I'm not trying to be hostile here, I'm just telling it like I see (and today, experienced) it. What happened was this. http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/03/when-will-noises-end.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-3130791377919950929Sat, 10 Feb 2007 17:53:00 +00002007-02-10T16:37:32.965-05:00analysisjournalismpoliticspresidentA comment (not my own) in response to Washington Post article:Al-Qaeda Suspects Color White House Debate Over IranBy Dafna Linzer, February 10, 2007. . . I would just like to say to the Washington Post staff that promotes this sort of propaganda and when I say propaganda I am talking about the way you are reporting this crap as newswothy - instead on jumping on the bandwagon of making this http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/02/duty-of-reporters.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-1341385848802545240Sat, 10 Feb 2007 17:05:00 +00002007-02-10T12:52:20.544-05:00analysisangerenvironmentjournalismpoliticswritingYou know how you have unresolved questions after you've finished reading a newspaper or magazine article? You know I did when I read this article on WaPo today. It talks about how ExxonMobil has turned a new leaf with regards to the way it's handling its response to global warming, including having cut funding to an unnamed Washington think tank, which the reporter seemingly implied to be the http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/02/why-not-so-i-did-it.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-3812315142274641693Fri, 09 Feb 2007 21:57:00 +00002007-02-09T17:49:07.918-05:00analysisObamavideoThe eve of the anticipated day has come. I just got an e-mail from Barack Obama's campaign committee telling me to go to this link for a special video message. (Yay)http://www.barackobama.com/preview/I was excited to see what the promise of Obama had in store for us all, but again, there was a curious feeling, one that furrowed my eyebrows and got my head in a tilt while I clicked on "Play."He http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/02/surface-analysis-of-obama-announcement.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515875.post-6309940228768299679Sat, 03 Feb 2007 23:18:00 +00002007-02-03T18:31:39.900-05:00angerpoliticspresidentI just read a rather calm and level-headed article on how people have settled into a partisan mindset of either "you're with us and therefore against every idea that the Bush administration puts forth" OR "you support a policy issued by Bush and therefore you are against us," which, I admit, I was very much heading towards. Anyway, it was a wake-up call for me to be more complete in my http://amadeusll.blogspot.com/2007/02/i-admit-that-he-might-be-right-maybe.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (amadeusLL)0