Thailand Trip - Day 1 LA

So today I woke up not having any idea where I am (except I'm 5 towns over from a rock gym that I'm planning to visit today - http://www.climbhangar18.com/.

Decided to go up to the San Bernadino mountains to see if I can do some hiking or bouldering and also tried to take a local road and found an amazing Taiwanese breakfast joint! Wow, I think I'll definitely go back :)

In any case, I finally meandered onto Route 2 and drive for quite a few miles past the ranger station before I realize that I needed a visitor pass to park (doh!)...so I just kept driving thinking I can just drive through the forest...only you can't! They closed the road 38.5 miles into the pass.

The view though, is pretty awsome - I can't believe I am only a few miles away from Los Angeles:

Getting to the closed gate took me about 1 1/2 hour of driving and stopping - I even tried to boulder on a rock and found myself wheezing fro the altitude (about 7000 ft) and the rock flaked off in my hand. Being by myself I thought that wasn't a good idea. So at that point I decided to go back AS FAST AS I CAN. Keep in mind it took me about 1 1/2 hours of stopping and driving to get to that point...I made the first 30 miles in about 30 minutes! Heart pounding turns - I took the rental car (a Ford Fusion) to its limits. Talk about a WHITE KNUCKLE experience! My palms were so sweaty and I have to tell myself to keep breathing I places. I peel and fishtailed a few times and left some rubber on the road! On a 25 mph 180 turn I manage to squeeze 47 mph and hit 80 on a straight way. Tried to race against a BMW but it toasted me until I caught up to it because it was stuck behind a caravan of slow polks :)

Also saw two Elises racing each other - we must've passed each other at combined 150mph + It felt like something out of a movie! I was going close to 70 and the two Elises looked like they were going faster :)

Took a break after that. Ate lunch, then went out to Hanger 18 and bouldered for 3 hours and tested myself bouldering for the first time in about a year. Found that I am bouldering a full 2 level about what I use to do flashing and can work on V3 problems and finish them! I was flashing V2s pretty easily and can probably push V4s but I was getting really fatigued - I did every V0-V2 problems there! Overall a cool, chill local hangout kinda place. Friendly staff but didn't meet anyone who would hook me up to go climb outside. Oh well :)

Why I am not as excited about movies as I use to be

I remember a time ... not so long ago when I was so excited about going to see a movie that I couldn't sleep the night before. I remember a time when I want to see a movie so much I absolutely devour every last morsel of information I can get my hands on about the upcoming film. I remember reading the script before going into "Star Trek: Generations" and was literally yelling out lines karyoke style (yes, I can be obnoxious when going to movies).

Movies use to excite me as much as anything else in my life. I love getting lost in the characters and letting myself be knowingly manipulated emotionally. I use to just watched the movie and let it transport me. I don't overly analyze or analyze its hidden messages. My review of a movie was simple - did I enjoyed myself, or not?

These days it is not so simple.

I don't know about you, but I am suffering from "seen it" burn-out mentality. Almost every movie to me seem to be derivative of something else these days. Most genres are over-exposed and needs moratoriums because the new movies simple feel stale. I no longer am willing to spend two hours of my life to see some mediocre movie. Whenever a talking head was explainging the plot I almost seem to squirm in my seat. Some felt like Scooby-Doo for grown-ups.

I think the worst offense in movies these days is that they are too calculating. What I mean by that is that there seem to be too much product placement, too much special effects, too much dramatic music, too many cuts - all to distract the person and manipulate one's emotions without trying to tell a worthy story. The hit driven, ADD mentality has made marketing of the movie more important than the movie itself - and often I feel people don't know how to tell a good story anymore. I often feel cheated when I feel there has been a great set-up (like...say Star Wars?) only to have the movie fall flat on its face because at it's center it feels hollow. Many movies feel like "paint by numbers."

So enough with ganster/gansta movies. No more rap stars trying act like they're "legit". Please don't have anymore cop-buddy movies. Disney, please don't do anymore remakes of your old classics. They are fine the way they are. With Underworld 2 and Transporter 2, I think there should also be a moratorium on dumb action movies coming out of Europe. No more movies about wanting to be stars(ie 8 Mile, Hustle and Flow).

I want more Kaufman movies done right (yes, I know, Human Nature blew). I want movies that tackles tough subjects like pedophilia in "The Woodsman" and have them be character driven piece rather being one-dimensional. I want action movies to not use quick cuts and zooms - or the shaky camera thing so I have no idea what's really going on. I want funny movies to be more than fart jokes and actually half-way intelligent and unpredictable - like the first time I saw "When Harry Met Sally".

Oh, and I definitely want Michael Bay to stop making blockbuster movies. He's giving them a bad name. Same with George Lucas.

Ode to my stolen shoes

'tis the night of wind and cold,
barely getting to that hold
after a long day sitting down,
it is nice to get out of town
out to Metrorock dare I go,
the shoes in locker I leave so
it's somewhat old, brown and yellow,
whoever took it must've been a very odd fellow

so I looked, up, down, everwhere
yet I have nothing to delcare
they have disappeared like magic,
oh what a pity, just so tragic!
force to wear my climbing shoes
though not yet singing any blues
not going to let it fetter
a little food will make it better

Penang Review

Place: Penang in Chantown
Address: 685 Washington St.
Boston, MA
Url: http://www.2nite.com/penang/home.htm - just to warn you their site really sucks
Time: Lunch on Sat. 1/28

The first thing any visitor who is a chinatown veteran will notice is that A) a cockroach didn't scamper by and B) the interior design and the prices are definitely un-chinatown like. Upon further examination I give the overall decor a "hey, I can take my date here and not be embarrassed."

The waiters were fairly attentive and did not try to feign not knowing english well. Even though it is supposedly a "malaysian" restaurant, the menu has more of a fusion asian feel. I ordered the "salted fish fried rice", a red bean shake and mango chicken for Keith. I also ordered some satay beef skewers and roti-canai(a type of bread with curry as dipping sauce). The waiters were fairly attentive and the orders filled in a resonable timeframe. The salted fish was almost exactly what I was looking for - flakes of dried salted fish in shrimp fried rice that was lightly stir-fried and not overpowered by any sauces. My only complaint is that perhaps the flakes of dried salted fish can be smaller.

The red bean shake, is as usual, excellent - I love the sprinkle of red bean powder on top. The mango chicken, their signature dish, is a perfect blend of mango sweetness and tanginess.

Overall, I came away stuffed, happy and sleepy, a perfect end to a great lunch.

Now if they only offer private hammock rooms after I finish stuffing myself silly. :)

Top Ten Reasons Why The "Silver Line" is not a subway

Took the "Silver Line" today. As I waited, and wait, and then encountered the new "collection machine", it promptly raised my blood pressure and want to tear the head off whoever thought up this stupid thing in the first place.

Which screwy politician thought this scheme up??? They all need to be fired! We all need to start to join the BadTransit board and heckle the hell out of these miscreants.

Top 10 Reasons why the "Silver Line" is not a subway line:

10. Car vs T - the T usually wins because they are build like tanks. But not the Silver Line - it seems to be build more like a oversized pinto
9. When did street traffic in Boston, regardless of what you are, ever be considered "rapid"?
8. Hmm...let's see...no "sub"or tunnel of any kind involved in Washington St.?
7. Dedicated right of way my ass. Guess where they shovel the excess snow?
6. It's a first that I saw a fare collection system that SLOWs down the rate of collection, rather than speeding it up and making if more efficient
5. You can't get accidentally electricuted because....it doesn't run on electricity!
4. Rubber wheels
3. Why is it 90 cents (like a regular bus fare) instead of $1.25? Sounds like an implicite acknowledgement to me
2. They spent $150 or so million dollars (of which $130 can't really be accounted for - ok, I made that up, but I bet that's close). Real manly subway cost real manly prices - like 10 billion dollars NYC is spending on 2nd Ave Subway.

And the #1 reason why the "Silver Line" is not a subway line is.....

1. Ummm...it's a bus

Review of "Stand Up and Sing, Harp Lady!"

So this past Sunday I paid a return visit to see Deborah Henson-Conant at Jimmy Tingle's Off Broadway. So how was she this year in comparison to the show last year?

Well, her custom blue harp certainly rocks :) It has a multi-coat finish that gleamed under the stage light and has a rockstar guitar feel. I got there late so I didn't really hear her opening number but of the rest about 1/2 of the material I have not heard before. She likes to set up her pieces with stories and banter. It is those segments the she seemed to have toned down her double entendre since it was a matinee show and there were many children. I love how the kids in the audience were laughing at something completely different than what I was laughing at. It's kinda like a bugs bunny cartooon when he dresses up as a woman to fool Elmer Fudd :)

The music was just awsome. She loves to show how the electric harp can do more than just the classics. She like to use the large number of strings and scales to mimic many other instruments on the harp. She played an mexican guitar sounding piece that was just totally haunting. Her blues numbers are appropriately soulful and her voice conveys the moods perfectly. Her music was all over the map - from blues to spanish guitar to (only a little this time) rock to classical/orchestral compositions. I love the eclectic nature of her set. It was an awsome afternoon out and if she's around your area you should definitely check her out. You can check out her website at http://www.hipharp.com.

Day 10 - San Francisco

Ha, another city by the bay, and what a different city than the one I remembered. The overcast, grey clouds were the same. The rest of the city was different. It is cleaner and dirtier at the same time. I was a little bewildered at first because I didn't know where to go. I just decided to drive along the waterfront and went by the PacBell, or whatever it's called now, park. I checked the web the night before and saw that there is this kayaking along Bay Bridge trip in the morning at 10 am, so I woke up bright and early for it. I called them. No answer. I'm like "ah...but they'll be there, right? I mean, they posted it on their website!". So I got there, and waited. 10 am came and went. Nobody. By 10:20 I realize that nobody was probably coming so I gave up. Damn I wish I called them earlier and set up a kayaking trip. The water was calm and look so inviting.
Anyhow, undetered, I rented a bike and started to bike around the waterfront. Went through the farmer's market that was going on at the old rail station. Man was it lively! I got full just by trying out all the fruits and different samples from the vendors. I miss having a lot of fresh fruit like I did growing up.

I biked up to Fishermen's Warf and checked out the seals on Pier 39. They were so cute and I totally got into tourist mode and snapped away.
I tried to cram as much as I can into a single day. In the process I went by chinatown, the presidio and too many hills to count. I HAD to drive that really windy road and if it wasn't for the slowpoke car in front of me driving at 3 mph I would've had a blast. There were many skid marks on the concrete indicating that there were people who were more beligerant about the turns than I was :)

Anyhow, I ended the day going to Fremont to visit Tsu-Hei. It's fun to reconnect with someone I haven't talked to for a few years and see how they are doing. The whole CA lifestyle cracks me up - the condos surrounded by covered parking like they are island oasis away from the pavement ocean that lay before them. She sounds like she's beginning to have seconds thoughts about being an elementary school teacher. Ha, yeah, I would too - the reason why I'm not :) Anyhow, we eneded the night eating sushi then renting "40 Year Old Virgin". So a mellow end to a pretty active day.