Posted 4:35 PM by Blah blah

Saw Steven Spielberg's Minority Report yesterday. This movie just blew me away. It's one of the best science fiction movies I've ever seen---could become a classic. (Here's an excerpt from the short story by Philip K. Dick.) It will remain in my mind longer than Blade Runner (which I only remember as depressing), that other classic also inspired by a story from Dick. This and The Bourne Identity are the two best movies I've seen this year! Again, try not to read any reviews beforehand to fully enjoy the twists in the plot. Over the last year or two, I have come to increasingly admire Tom Cruise, not just as an exciting and talented Actor, but as a wonderful, down-to-earth human being. Read his bio for more details. Recently, we also watched Kate and Leopold on DVD, and I was amazed by how fantastic Hugh Jackman (aka Wolverine in X-Men) is in romantic comedy and as a romantic leading man. He blows everyone else way with his calm conviction and his playing the part of a perfect gentleman. Hugh Jackman definitely earns my awe and respect.


New Photo Albums

Because Yahoo Photos does not let you show full-sized pictures to the public anymore, I was not happy with it. Also, I wanted to reorganize all my photos by theme instead of date and to put them in one place.

I finally did it. WHEW! I will use Sony ImageStation for all my photos from now on. It's free and the space seems unlimited. Try it!

To transfer a LOT of photos in one group, they let you E-MAIL them instead of uploading them. Emailing photos is so much more efficient, plus I had trouble getting the normal upload to work.

Here are most of my digital photos from the last few years. Click twice on pix to view them in full-size. You only need the link for one album to flip through all of them. Enjoy:

- Taiwan 1997
- France 1999
- New York City 2001
- Friends
- Me
- Family
- Parties
- Outdoor Trips
- SF Bay Area

Posted 9:16 AM by Anonymous

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Posted 12:04 AM by Blah blah

I sang some more songs for you! Listen to them in RealPlayer:

Here they are in RealPlayer format. (Please download the free RealPlayer here if you don't have it.) Total from my singing page:

- Summertime by Gershwin

- Someone to Watch Over Me by Gershwin

- I Can't Help Falling in Love With You by Elvis

Posted 10:49 AM by Blah blah

Ha! Amazing Ellen just sent me this DJ-like recording of her voice! It is part of a short demo tape she made for a class last year. She has a sparkling, lively voice! It matches her cheerful personality on her blog, Sunny Side Up. I see why she wishes to be in broadcasting. :D

Anyone else? Let's hear ya!

Googlematching (from Ellen)

Google says Raymond is:

1. The coolest site 'bout the hottest thang.
2. A breath of fresh air at symphony orchestra "pops" concerts.
3. A fully equipped American Plan lodge with beautifully appointed and clean housekeeping units.
5. A web book of available photographs
6. Of Romany (Gypsy) descent and, as such, is an authority on the Gypsies.
7. Basically a blowhard.
8. A roots rock/Americana style band.
9. Just like my Husband.
10. Crazy enough to tell the world that it will work.
11. Acting for the Defendants in Sphere Drake Insurance v Stirling Cooke Brown Reinsurance Brokers Ltd.
12. The chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation.
13. Also in charge of the Intelligence Division.
14. Healed by Bue Ma, the mistress of the secret lake (called "God's End").
15. "Thrown out" of Mom and Dad's world into the world at large.
16. Now available price 11.95.
17. CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR A DRUMMER, SERIOUS INQUIRIES ONLY.
18. Often swamped by fans, some seeking autographs.
19. A playful creature who likes to interact with his surroundings, whether walking around on the ground, or flapping his legs rhythmically.
20. Definitely not wearing his underwear.

Posted 12:23 AM by Blah blah

Another amusing blog in the Philippines: Unica Hija's Top Ten Site. She's like fast food, but boy is she filling. From Trixy.

By the editor-in-chief of Scientific American: 15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense. This is my last salvo in the whole Creationism vs. Evolution debate in May. Rah...take that!

I saw The Bourne Identity yesterday, starring Matt Damon and Franka Potente. A+. I LOVE IT. GO SEE IT. I absolutely think this movie is one of the most entertaining you will see all year. Better than Spider-Man. Complex, human performances by Matt and Franka. Excellent all around! I wouldn't mind seeing it again. Don't read any reviews if you haven't seen it. Keep the plot a surprise.

Sam wrote a thoughtful, revealing essay a few weeks ago about what it has been like for him to come from a wealthy background. And to keep it quiet. See "Insecurity in Wealth." Sam, what kind of "incidents" caused you to finally be open about this?

We're Broke: The Economics of a Web Community:

"Many people are under the mistaken impression that the business of media is collecting information or creating entertainment and selling it to the public. This is not true. Information and entertainment is the bait, the 'loss leader,' which is used to lure large numbers of people into looking at a magazine, newspaper, television show or what have you. The 'product' that media sells is you, the audience. Your attention, gained through information or programming, is sold to advertisers whose ultimate aim is to convince you to buy their product.

Advertising is not a means of supporting media. Media is an excuse for presenting advertising.

Have you ever felt like the tremendous power of media was being used for purposes that were lackluster at best, and downright disturbing at worst? When you watch TV, do you feel like you're getting dumber by the second? Have you ever felt like the news media was avoiding certain topics, or dancing around an uncomfortable truth? You were not imagining it. This, my friends, is the feeling of being a product. You're collated into demographics, analyzed, bundled, packaged, and sold to the highest bidder. Even in the media business, the customer is always right, but your opinions and desires don't matter, because you're not the customer. The grocer doesn't care if the tomatoes would rather be closer to the display window, and successful media organizations don't really care what you think of them, just as long as you're still watching."

Being Tom Cruise (Time): What makes Tom tick? "What he seems to have perfected—on film and in life—is the ability to win you over, to be liked without really being known."

Posted 11:33 AM by Blah blah

Here's my second plug for you to read Minnie (near Atlanta, a profound and eloquent Dr. Love if I ever saw one), Elen (with a journalist's background, she tries to adjust to married life in Austria from the Philippines), and Sharon (a chemist in Britain with a wry sense of humor).

Is This a Chick Blog?

This has become such a "chick blog" recently. You know, I could talk about business, politics, the World Cup, car maintenance, real estate, the Israeli suicide bombings, and all that other stuff too. But I am trying to write for the broadest audience, and the audience here seems to be mostly female. Plus, after digging deeper into more intimate subjects, shop talk---which I could do with my eyes crossed---seems cheaper, for some reason. Anyway, maybe you come here to get away from the pressures of the day for a few minutes. To relax and let your mind get a slow massage for a while. Think of Tiger Cafe as brain massage, and I as your masseur. And I'm not gay. Can you beat that? Didn't think so.

Without further ado, onward with the chick blog! From the book Why Can't I Fall in Love?...
____________
Why is it so hard to fall in love?...

- As a culture, we have become shallow.
We have lost our respect for depth, for truth and beauty. Our criteria for allowing ourselves to fall in love are based on superficial values that don't strike to our core. And in our shallowness we have become boring. We're bored with each other, bored even by ourselves, certainly bored with the whole dating ritual.

- Each of the two sexes has lost its sense of wonder about the other.
We have lost respect for the differences between men and women; at the same time, we have lost respect for the harmony that men and women are capable of achieving together. By becoming oh-so-familiar with each other, ironically, we have become oh-so-distant from each other. We have become brothers and sisters, not lovers.

- We have declared our independence from each other.
We shun the notion of need. Needing someone else---for love and support, for physical affection and emotional attention---has been reclassified as a bad thing, a sign of weakness. And in our society, showing signs of weakness, exposing our vulnerabilities, is a very bad thing.

- Our unwillingness to show weakness has robbed us of our innocence.
Another irony: though as a culture we're more willing and eager every day to bare all in every forum imaginable, from Calvin Klein ads and MTV videos to Jerry Springer romps, as individuals we've grown deathly afraid to go emotionally naked before each other....The innocence required to bare one's soul before another, one of our most valuable qualities, is now dismissed as naivete.

- We have become fiends of premature judgment, the sitting justices on the Supreme Court of Relationships.
We approach each encounter with the opposite sex with a list of nonnegotiable requirements. Fail to meet one item on the list? Next! And how did we grow so unforgiving? Because judgment, of course, is hard to resist as a short-term defense; it is the quickest and cheapest way to avoid the humiliation of being judged first ourselves.

- We have deluded ourselves into thinking we deserve the best relationship we can find.
You may be happy at work, satisfied with the station you've reached in life. And yet, ask yourself: Do you have the best job you could possibly have? Do you live in the best neighborhood in America? For that matter, are you the best person you know? We have forgotten that good---not better, not best---can be wonderful.

- We have come to view love as a luxury rather than a necessity.
Nice work if you can get it, but not worth any real sacrifice. Our parents understood the importance of marrying the right person even at the wrong time or even in the wrong place; today, on the other hand, we put the timing of our careers and education, and the place we want to live, well before romance and love.

- We love with our head rather than our heart.
We have become so "smart" about love and romance---thanks to magazine articles, books, tapes, lectures, and the collected street wisdom of the armies of singles who have gone before us---that intellect now rules over gut instinct. Our minds talk us out of relationships, with reason and logic, before a spark of passion can get ignited in our hearts.

- We have lost faith in the institution of marriage.
...The children of divorce approach marriage with all the enthusiasm of a visit to the dentist.

- We have become a disposable society.
...Issues that can't be resolved? Who has time? Time for a trade-in! Spouse putting on a little weight? Trade up! We have lost the willingness to accept flaws, to take responsibility for regular care and maintenance of each other.

- We have also become a distractible society.
Blame it on information overload, the quick-cut imagery of MTV, too many choices, too little time. We have lost the appetite for concentration; with so many stimuli floating around us, it can feel impossible to pay attention to one other person, much less to our own minds.

- We have pigeonholed the pursuit of love, made it a mere pastime.
We've penciled it in on our Day Planner: Next week I'll turn thirty; next year I'll be ready to fall in love. On alternate Tuesdays, between kick-boxing class and group therapy, we schedule blind dates. Rather than approaching love as an all-encompassing state of mind and heart, learning to build it from the inside out, extending one's love from oneself to family and friends and then to a lover, we treat it like a hobby, fitting it in where convenience allows.

In short, we have lost touch with the essential qualities that Adam and Eve learned in the Garden: comfort with our own nakedness, a respect for innocence, an appreciation of the pain that comes from loneliness, a sense of wonder, compatibility, selflessness, respect for the differences between the sexes, and an understanding that closeness comes from shared experience....

It will involve flying in the face of some of our strongest cultural currents. Yet those are the very currents that all too easily pull us into the sea of unhappiness. I am recommending that you abandon the deeply ingrained patterns that have deprived you of lasting love.
____________

Posted 4:58 PM by Blah blah

Exercise
Yesterday: jogged about a mile
Today: swam 20 laps

I started a new RBJ topic: Let's Hear Your Voice! How about you? Would you record something for us? It would be great to finally hear you!

For those who don't feel like singing in "Let's Hear You Sing", we still would like to hear your voice!

Use a program like Microsoft Sound Recorder, which comes with Windows, to record your voice.

Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> Entertainment -> Sound Recorder

You may need to adjust your recording microphone. If you use Windows, click on the Volume icon on the lower right corner of your screen. In the Volume Control window that pops up, go to "Options -> Properties."

Click on "Recording," make sure the Microphone box is checked, and click OK. You should see a volume control for the microphone appear on the right.

Here's my voice:
- Hello (English)
- Hello (Mandarin)
- Hello (French)
- Hello (Japanese)

- Prayer by Robert Louis Stevenson (>500 KB)

Posted 8:43 PM by Blah blah

Singing

David started a thread on Rice Bowl Journals called Let's Hear You Sing. He had some very kind words to say about my voice.

Here's my reply:

Wow, Dave, I am very flattered! :)
I don't consider myself very good---just someone who appreciates the art very much.

Unfortunately, Yahoo Briefcase decided to block all public file sharing unless you pay, so I cannot share my previous songs with you. Have any suggestions where else I can put my files?

My singing page.

Here's something I sang today just for you guys! Use RealPlayer to hear it.

I Can't Help Falling in Love With You, by Elvis.

Other, better singers you should hear, both Taiwanese girls:

1. Kathy Wen. This girl is a musical performer on the side!

2. Sabrina Liao, singing answering machine messages. Now in Taipei.

If you guys want to record smaller files, use what I use, Real Producer Basic.

Posted 11:43 AM by Blah blah

If you are really religious, you might get offended by this. Please skip it and don't tell the priest about me. Otherwise, check out God's LiveJournal. It's about time God started His own blog. The comments are JUST TOO FUNNY!

Ernie seriously makes me laugh here. Oh well---he doesn't need my praise. Telling Ernie he is funny is like telling Pamela Anderson she "fits too well into a corset."

Posted 12:57 AM by Blah blah

I saw the movie Serendipity recently (John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale), and I love it! The critics disagree with me, but here is one of the few good reviews which expresses much of my similar appreciation. I guess a movie stays with you if it awakens memories dormant in your own life, past treasures that you had folded away and never told anyone. Suddenly that moment is out there on the screen, and across that void you relive it, filled with sugary magic and the aroma of croissants.

Serendipity is such a movie for me. Sometimes I wonder about how much fate is working in my life, how much further I have to go before my next big step, and how many signs I may have accidentally missed. But if I missed them or see nothing special, is that, as John Cusack says, in itself a sign?

What do you think of the movie and the idea of fate?

Posted 1:30 PM by Blah blah

Ellen usually finds the most interesting links! See The Date Project, "an exciting new effort by a [28-year-old] single man located in Portland, Oregon to find a girlfriend. Through this site, you will be able to see the issues and problems he endures and the success he (hopefully) finds." I wonder if this will turn out like that movie 20 Dates, where this guy Myles Berkowitz (an unsuccessful filmmaker) tries to boost his professional life and his love life at the same time. He does whatever is necessary to film himself going on 20 dates.

Michelle has this very funny page of actual responses to her ad, called Personals Hell. Check her out, too. She's witty and has a fantastic blog reading list.

Heather is also trying to date, too. This email reply she got from a personals ad just CRACKS ME UP!!!

Date 13-Jun-2002 22:21:00

Subject Hello

Message...

Hi Heather,

I was looking through the list of people and I was struck by your incredible beauty. Your picture reminded me of how my Mum looked when she was younger and as she is very important to me I thought it would be good to meet someone who is as beautiful as she was.

My name is Dan, and the rest you can read from my profile. I really hope you reply then we can meet and hopefully have sex.

With lots of love from

Dan

__________
Crackdown on Web cafes after Beijing blaze kills 24 (Reuters):

"At least 24 people were killed and 13 injured when a fire swept through a packed Internet cafe in a university district of China's capital, Beijing, on Sunday in the city's worst fire in 50 years....

China's tight controls on the Internet and Web cafes have driven many operators underground, where they operate illegally behind locked doors to avoid scrutiny in their rush to serve millions of people seeking Internet access....

Many Chinese youths turn to the illegal parlours because they cannot afford their own computer, and still others are lured by the freedom of anonymous Internet access in a country where teams of police monitor and track Web use from homes and offices.

A deadly blaze swept through an Internet cafe in the northeastern port city of Dalian earlier this year, killing 20 mainly young people who were trapped behind a locked door.

In his order to close Internet cafes in the city, Beijing's Mayor Liu Qi was quoted by Xinhua as saying:

"From now on, Beijing will not encourage the development of Internet bars. From today, all Internet bars should stop operation and departments concerned should stop issuing licences."...

In one cafe in the centre of Shanghai, 50 people crowded into a poorly ventilated single room, outnumbering the computers by two to one. They chain-smoked, snuffing out cigarettes on grimy ceramic floor tiles.

Andersen Guilty of Shredding Files in Enron Scandal (NY Times):

"A federal jury convicted Arthur Andersen today of obstruction of justice for impeding an investigation by securities regulators into the financial debacle at Enron. Soon afterward, Andersen informed the government that it would cease auditing public companies as soon as the end of August, effectively ending the life of the 89-year-old firm....

At bottom, then, the guilty verdict against Andersen on a charge brought because of the shredding of thousands of records and deletion of tens of thousands of e-mail messages was ultimately reached because of the removal of a few words from a single memorandum."

Alaska, No Longer So Frigid, Starts to Crack, Burn and Sag (NY Times):

"The leading Republican in this state, Senator Ted Stevens, says that no place is experiencing more startling change from rising temperatures than Alaska.

Among the consequences, Senator Stevens says, are sagging roads, crumbling villages, dead forests, catastrophic fires and possible disruption of marine wildlife.

These problems will cost Alaska hundreds of millions of dollars, he said.

'Alaska is harder hit by global climate change than any place in the world,' Senator Stevens said."

Posted 9:10 AM by Blah blah

Political TV show

Yesterday I hosted two more episodes of our political TV show. Interviewed Peter, a guy who's part of the national policy body of the AARP, about his views against privatizing Social Security. You may want to drink some coffee before watching that one! Next, I talked to my surgeon friend Dr. Lisa about her work with Project New Start, which is a laser tattoo removal clinic at Highland Hospital in Oakland. She's the medical director for this small project. What's fascinating was how much they found that having a tattoo, a visual mark of a person's gang-filled past, made it harder for these inner city kids to leave that lifestyle. She told me about a girl whose abusive boyfriend made her put the tattoo of a gun on her arm. It was a way of "branding her...marking his territory." After Lisa and others removed these people's tattooes, many of them felt that they finally could lift up their heads and get jobs, go back to school, and otherwise start a new chapter of their lives.

Lisa said that on TV I really looked like my talk show idol, Charlie Rose! Oh the sound of sweet praise! What do you think?



Christina made a new photo album of her recent pix. Do you think she is showing more and more leg nowadays? HAHA!

Posted 7:57 AM by Blah blah

Sensuality Test

What's your result? Please take this. Unfortunately, I don't have a very sensitive sense of smell. One smell that absolutely drives me crazy is that of Mrs. Fields Cookies! If they made a perfume with that smell, watch out...heheh!

I got a 79...Super Sensual. Heheh.

"Sensuality is to be acutely aware of what the senses perceive. This preoccupation or devotion to that which is smelled, touched, heard, tasted, and seen has some bearing on how one experiences life…and sex.

Studies have shown that people who are exceptionally sensual are very process-oriented. In life, this means enjoying the present moment and not always being hung up on the future or the past. What is going on around at the present moment is enough to capture the sensual individuals full attention. This is an excellent recipe for happiness. In matters of sex, being process-oriented means NOT being driven by the goal of orgasm. Instead it means enjoying sex for the experience itself, basking in the actual act and not driving to a climactic finish.

You are one sensual human being! You are titillated by the sensual stimuli of everyday life. The smell of flowers, the sensation of silk against the skin, the taste of food, the sound of music, and the rich colors of life tickle and tease you to ecstasy. Yours is a hedonistic attitude, and you deeply enjoy the physical pleasures that life has to offer. This is great-a good smell or beautiful color is often enough to keep a smile on your face and a song in your heart.

You are into long, emotional lovemaking (which is usually followed by an earth-shattering orgasm). This is fabulous for you and one would wager that your partner doesn't mind either!

Your senses are also inextricably linked to your emotions and certain sensual stimuli can evoke strong feelings. Therefore you tend to be emotionally passionate.

Because you get so much pleasure from your senses, you are eager to experiment in life. This is positive since you can make great discoveries and experience a lot of pleasure. However, being pleasure-driven can sour you from persevering if an experience isn't entirely pleasant. If that's your case, your lack of persistence might be keeping you from attaining worthy goals (sometimes it is necessary to wade through dull and insipid periods of life).

But most importantly, remember that 'too much of a good thing' can be harmful. People who delight is sensual pleasures are at a slightly increased risk for addictions (substance, sex, love, etc.). So keep yourself in check. Uninhibited sex, too much chocolate, and fine wine can all induce pleasure, but can get you into trouble if you abuse them.

All in all, you have the innate ability to use your senses to enjoy what this life has to offer!"