Posted 12:54 PM by Blah blah

Break time. Watch The Daily Show! (Political Comedy)

I'm on blog vacation.

In the meantime, please watch (either on Comedy Central or through streaming video) The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the funniest show about politics and current events on TV.

My favorite political correspondent on the show: Stephen Colbert, whose Internet videos on the site make me laugh like a choking pig.

For example, watch his report on "stupid people": "This is Jeff. He suffers from...stupidity. This is his story."

Posted 11:23 AM by Blah blah

Howard Dean: Will Our Next U.S. President Blog? (Politics)

As a sign of his Internet savvy, Howard Dean is one of the first and only presidential candidates to write a regular blog: Blogforamerica.com! Check it out. Lots of smart, earnest people are having passionate discussions there and giving their sincere ideas for how to improve this country.

Former Colorado Senator Gary Hart, ex-presidential candidate, also writes a very thoughtful and articulate blog. He decided against running next year.

This week, Dean began guestblogging on the blog of Professor Larry Lessig, a true sign of his Internet street smarts! This is the first time ever that a presidential candidate has blogged on someone else's site! Prof. Lessig is on my reading list. He teaches at Stanford Law School and is a national leader in cyberlaw and intellectual property (IP) law. Before Stanford, Lessig used to teach at Harvard Law School.

Please read the comments on both Dean's and Lessig's blogs! Lots of thoughtful, smart people about IP law and government are making suggestions and debating various national issues. I love the power of the Internet to allow this kind of direct discussion!

Not only that, but Dean just wrote "one of you asked if there would be a White House blog. Why not?"

Imagine the possibilities of a U.S. President writing a blog!

Since I worked for Sen. John Vasconcellos (then Assemblyman) before, my jaw just drops. Most of the time it was WE, the staff, who answered his letters and phone calls. Actually, that summer, only three people worked in his barebones San Jose district office, while he was away in Sacramento fighting to pass the budget. Only three people: his long-time chief of staff, his loyal and motherly secretary, and I. I was only 20 and answered 90% of his phone calls. I answered many of his constituent letters.

I know how difficult it is to really have a direct talk with a politician. I never even met or talked to Vasconcellos. Look at this New York Times article about how difficult it is now to email Bush.

Dean sounds very hip and exciting. I hope he pulls it off. Someone needs to knock that smirk off of Bush's arrogant face.

(About the New York Times article, Bich Ngoc wrote me: "The guy who discovered the email 'problem' is one of Zack's closest friends! He made a PowerPoint presentation showing how many clicks it takes to get to emailing Bush, and he sent it to his friends. Somehow it made its way to the New York Times, and they interviewed him for the story. He called last night when they posted the story and we all laughed.")

Posted 10:47 AM by Blah blah

From Bich Ngoc: Gov. Howard Dean for President! (Politics)

6/25/03
Dear friends,

You probably already know that I'm deeply concerned about the current political leadership and the overall direction of our country, because I realize I rant about it a lot. I'm writing tonight because I hope you're frustrated with what's going on, too -- and more importantly, I hope you want to do something about it.

One thing you can do right now is to get involved in the presidential primary race, by either giving your money or volunteering your time. Yeah, it seems a bit early, but the earlier you get involved, the better chance there is for you to make yourself heard.

Right now I support Gov. Howard Dean [of Vermont] for the Democratic presidential nomination, for various reasons.

[Dean's blog.]

I have to be honest: I don't know if Dean is truly the best leader for our country, and I don't know if he has enough support to win the nomination. But I'm putting my faith in him because right now, he seems to be the only candidate who has the balls to challenge Bush and his own peers, while still garnering enough support to be a viable contender for the nomination. He's also learned to engage voters online, which is something no other candidate has embraced, and I'm geeky enough to love that fact. And of course, he spoke out against the war and the tax cuts, and he's got the best record of any candidate in regard to gay rights.

But most importantly, I think Dean speaks to the people -- and even to younger voters like me, who are often ignored by politicians. I saw Dean speak at the College Democrats of America conference last February, and he electrified the room. He had my support by the end of his speech, and now I've decided to put my money into his campaign.

Today I donated $20.18 to his campaign, because the FEC filing deadline for this quarter is June 30, and I'd like for him to do well. Why $20? Well, I'm flat broke these days, trying to pay rent, eat and whatnot on my meager non-profit earnings, so I thought $20 would do. The 18 cents is to show that I'm a student contributor, since 18 is the voting age. But you can give any amount you want, of course. Please contribute if you want to support Dean. And if you've given already, do so again if it's within your means.

Dean's campaign site.

To donate.

To attend or hold an event in your area.

Of course, if you don't want to support Dean for any reason, look into the eight other candidates and see what they have to offer. There's a wide field for this election cycle, and for God's sake there's gotta be one good candidate to take down Bush. You can go to Project Vote Smart for more info about any candidate:

They list all candidates and even potential ones. (I hope you know the top nine! I heard only 23 percent of Americans polled could name at least one candidate -- for shame.)

Thanks for reading. I'm done rambling for the night.

Love,
Bich Ngoc
____________________
Internet Helps Make Dean a Contender (NY Times):

"Howard Dean's prominence among the nine Democrats running for president is largely attributable to his campaign's early embrace of the Internet for organizing supporters and raising money.

Dr. Dean, a former governor of Vermont, has generated more money and attention online than any other candidate, through direct appeals and a growing base of supporters who are hooking up on a Web site called Meetup.com, which enables people with like interests to connect and meet.

The efforts have vaulted Dr. Dean into the top tier of candidates trying to build momentum for the first primaries, more than six months away....

Raising nearly $3 million in the first quarter, an impressive sum for an outsider, Dr. Dean led all candidates in contributions. He added $7.5 million in the next three months, nearly half from Internet transactions. That put him third in the money race behind Mr. Kerry, at $13 million, and Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, at $12.4 million. "

Posted 9:57 AM by Blah blah

Bich Ngoc Profile (Friends)

Got a letter from the very cool Bich Ngoc ("bick knock") on June 25. Sorry it took so long to post. I'll first write her profile, then I'll post it.

Bich Ngoc Cao is a Vietnamese girl double majoring in journalism and political science at USC. She'd hang out at police stations sniffing for stories. The first half of this year, she interned for her Congresswoman in Washington, DC, plus she took journalism classes from writers like Richard Reeves. She's a liberal activist and told me, the last time we met, that she hopes to run for public office. We definitely need an intelligent, caring, articulate, and blunt talking lady like Bich Ngoc in politics!

Besides politics and activism, she's passionate about the music business. She knows a bunch of singers around the country and travels far to be at their concerts. Bich Ngoc also helps promote singer friends like Fisher and the Filipina girl Maya Marin, who writes an online diary.

Bich Ngoc pix:


Being from LA (i.e. Rosemead), she loves and relates to this serialized story about a rock musician turning 30. Sandy (who's also from Rosemead), check this out! It's called "A Year of Living Stupidly." Bich Ngoc says it was "written by my friend Jim. He's the guitarist for Fisher and a helluva frontman in his own right."

Posted 3:12 PM by Blah blah

Manners and Class

Getting along with people (Please read my old entry first.)

More from Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay, "Manners." Emerson's writing, which I read throughout high school and college, is full of richness that you must chew and digest as slowly as a chunky chocolate bar. His point: regardless of wealth, education, or social class, we naturally befriend or gravitate to each other based on our manners:
________________
[E]very collection of men furnishes some example of the class: and the politics of this country, and the trade of every town, are controlled by these hardy and irresponsible doers, who have invention to take the lead, and a broad sympathy which puts them in fellowship with crowds, and makes their action popular.

[Translation: People with manners and class tend to be the popular leaders of their communities.]

The manners of this class are observed and caught with devotion by men of taste. The association of these masters with each other, and with men intelligent of their merits, is mutually agreeable and stimulating. The good forms, the happiest expressions of each, are repeated and adopted. By swift consent, everything superfluous is dropped, everything graceful is renewed. Fine manners show themselves formidable to the uncultivated man. They are a subtler science of defence to parry and intimidate; but once matched by the skill of the other party, they drop the point of the sword, -- points and fences disappear, and the youth finds himself in a more transparent atmosphere, wherein life is a less troublesome game, and not a misunderstanding rises between the players....

[Translation: Well-mannered people can do business with each other much more smoothly and agreeably.]

Each returns to his degree in the scale of good society, porcelain remains porcelain, and earthen earthen....Each man's rank in that perfect graduation depends on some symmetry in his structure, or some agreement in his structure to the symmetry of society. Its doors unbar instantaneously to a natural claim of their own kind. A natural gentleman finds his way in, and will keep the oldest patrician out, who has lost his intrinsic rank. Fashion understands itself; good-breeding and personal superiority of whatever country readily fraternize with those of every other....

[Translation: Regardless of the official clubs and cliques to which we belong, we are all really bound to natural clubs of humankind, based on our manners and character.]

Once or twice in a lifetime we are permitted to enjoy the charm of noble manners, in the presence of a man or woman who have no bar in their nature, but whose character emanates freely in their word and gesture. A beautiful form is better than a beautiful face; a beautiful behavior is better than a beautiful form: it gives a higher pleasure than statues or pictures; it is the finest of the fine arts. A man is but a little thing in the midst of the objects of nature, yet, by the moral quality radiating from his countenance, he may abolish all considerations of magnitude, and in his manners equal the majesty of the world. I have seen an individual, whose manners, though wholly within the conventions of elegant society, were never learned there, but were original and commanding, and held out protection and prosperity; one who did not need the aid of a court-suit, but carried the holiday in his eye; who exhilarated the fancy by flinging wide the doors of new modes of existence; who shook off the captivity of etiquette, with happy, spirited bearing, good-natured and free as Robin Hood; yet with the port of an emperor, -- if need be, calm, serious, and fit to stand the gaze of millions....

[Translation: A well-mannered, charming person is ready to interact with millions worldwide. He's fit to be an actor, CEO, or anyone who must deal with the public and represent his organization.]

Woman, with her instinct of behavior, instantly detects in man a love of trifles, any coldness or imbecility, or, in short, any want of that large, flowing, and magnanimous deportment, which is indispensable as an exterior in the hall.

[Translation: Women can instantly sense when we're a cheapskate or a bastard.]

Posted 1:12 PM by Blah blah

Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest (Bad Writing)

One reason I'm proud of living in San Jose...

Alabama Woman Wins Worst Writing Award:

SAN JOSE, Calif. - A lizard lover from Alabama won an annual contest celebrating bad writing with a ghastly simile comparing doomed romance to processed cheese.

Mariann Simms of Wetumpka, Ala., won $250 in the 22nd Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, a parody honoring the writer of the worst beginning to an imaginary novel.

"They had but one last remaining night together, so they embraced each other as tightly as that two-flavor entwined string cheese that is orange and yellowish-white, the orange probably being a bland Cheddar and the white ... Mozzarella, although it could possibly be Provolone or just plain American, as it really doesn't taste distinctly dissimilar from the orange, yet they would have you believe it does by coloring it differently," Simms wrote.

The contest, sponsored by San Jose State University, is named after the oft-mocked British novelist Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, whose 1830 novel Paul Clifford began, "It was a dark and stormy night."...

Albert T. Keyack of Ambler, Penn., described similarities between lips and garnishes of Shirley Temple cocktails.

"Bill shifted uncomfortably on his stool looking at the topless blonde bombshell on the bar, but the first thing that struck him was the pulchritude of the exotic dancer's lips, which glowed like maraschino cherries, that is, pitted cherries macerated in an almond-flavored syrup then heated to boiling in an alum-containing brine full of carcinogenic red dyes," Keyack wrote.

The winner of the "Dark and Stormy Night" category referred to a high-protein snack.

"It was almost a dark and stormy night — not dark or stormy enough to be called that but just the kind of sweaty night that makes your shirt stick to your back and make you wish you were still at home with the air conditioning and eating pig skins and watching the Martha Stewart trial on TV.," wrote Sarah Harris of White Rock, N.M.

Posted 9:38 AM by Blah blah

Emotional Children on SVChinese.org (Rudeness on Message Boards)

If you've read the discussions by mainland Chinese guys on the Love in Silicon Valley forum, you'll see that 30-year-old children are alive and well here too, not just on Rice Bowl Journals. Christine had told me, when we met in Sunnyvale, that every message board eventually went downhill this way, from her experience. The nice people grew disgusted and left, while the rude bullies stayed to lord over their shrinking kingdoms.

This guy SouthBayResident posted info about himself in a sincere desire to find a girlfriend. He seems like a well-educated, thoughtful, and courteous guy. Some women were heartened and wrote back, asking him to email them. Almost immediately most of the other guys began to attack him and try to start a "pissing contest"---typical male macho behavior. All are anonymous. They spent several pages attacking his honesty, his sexual ability, his job---anything. The jealousy, cynicism, and bitterness they show is both shocking and revealing about some mainland Chinese here.

Anyway, I finally introduced myself. Right after I mentioned how immature and low-class this behavior made them look, they began to attack me too. No surprise. It just made me laugh! Here's what I replied. No, I don't plan to continue the discussion:
_________________
Thank you, SouthBayResident and Summersolstice, for your kind comments! Please email me and keep in touch if you wish! It would be nice to have some new, POSITIVE friends. :P

SouthBayResident said:

To Raymond:
I admit I have some nostalgia for the culture and people that existed in China in the first half of the 20th century, especially at the turn of that century. They had more character and the cultural values were richer and far more indigenous. A lot of good traditions and people have been destroyed since, along with some bad. It has not been a rational development, with a lot of unnecessary tragedies and suffering along the way for ordinary Chinese folks. I think the level of social and individual virtues has also fallen badly, especially within the "intelligentsia" and the power "elite." It is little wonder there is today so much graft and corruption, and all at the expense of poor, struggling Chinese masses.

My curiosity about PRC "elite" in the US is to help me ascertain if these are people wise, mature and capable enough to bring prosperity to the Chinese masses, or will they in fact join corrupt officials in short-sighted self-aggrandizement, and selfishly, nonchalantly lead the Chinese society to eventual ruin, yet again.

I thought this was fascinating, SBR. As China undergoes wrenching social transitions while its economy has exploded after Deng Xiaoping, and as peasants become unexpectedly rich and powerful in the Wild West of capitalism, it's fascinating to see how crime, prostitution, and greed have jumped too. My ex-girlfriend from Shanghai complained to me that when she went back to visit, she was shocked at the amount of people she met who seemed willing to do anything for money.

I am also curious like you, SBR, in what new leaders our generation of Chinese (both overseas and in China) will produce to lead China to better social and economic prosperity under Hu Jintao. It's a daunting but exhilarating challenge for you "elite."

Of course, one of the basic things any leader should have is courtesy and consideration for other people. They also need courage. I don't expect cowards like Hypertension to be a leader of anything but his kindergarten class.

You should read Ralph Waldo Emerson's famous essay on Manners. He talks about how to be a gentleman, something most guys on this board seriously must learn if they ever want to have a girlfriend.

You guys make me laugh! If calling me names like "banana boy" and "cow's ass" are the best you can do, you need to go back to ESL class. By the way, I LOVE bananas! Haha. :D

We need to learn to disagree calmly and without name calling. Look at how politicians in the U.S. Congress and British Parliament debate. No matter how much they may hate each other's politics, they do NOT insult each other personally. Some even go out for beers and are the best of friends outside of work.

That way of "debating the issue, but respecting the person" is part of our democratic tradition in America. It's something I've learned and respected since I was a child here. When I see legislators in Taiwan throwing chairs at each other and punching each other on TV, I see how immature they still are, despite all their wealth and education. They have a long way to go to really understanding the meaning of democracy.

One more thing. Many of you guys were complaining at the beginning of this discussion about how Chinese women in Silicon Valley won't date you, how they are selfish, etc.

By the way you've been behaving, it's completely obvious why they won't date you. Who'd want to hang around a bunch of 30-year-old children?

I only joined this discussion because I met Bobby, the creator of SVChinese.org, and thought he was a nice guy. I've been advertising and saying good things about this site to my friends. If you folks continue to act like kids, don't expect me to say good things about SVChinese.org any more.

SouthBayResident, Summersolstice, and other positive, kind people, do keep in touch! Goodbye.

Posted 2:10 AM by Blah blah

Thai Dinner Fundraising and Singles Party (Photos)

Please attend Ladda's event! She's raising money to fight leukemia and lymphoma. It's also a singles event:

Thai Dinner Fundraising Party (MixerMixer version of this event).

Saturday, July 19, 6-9:30pm

Thai Basil
208 Town & Country Village
Sunnyvale, CA 94086



Besides a delicious dinner from Thai Basil, which I feel is one of the best Thai restaurants in Silicon Valley, you get this splendid evening:

6:00 PM – Guests register and seating start
6:15 PM - “Survivor Island Buddy” Game
6:30 PM – “Rate me Spicy or Not”
6:50 PM – “Spiciest Moment story Contest”
7:15 PM – Dinner Start
7:30 PM – Thai Classical Dance
8:00 PM – Tahiti Hawaiian Dance
8:30 PM – Drawing Raffle Tickets
9:00 PM – Spicy Mingle till the end

You may pay online via Paypal.

Ladda, one of Patrick's friends, is from Thailand. I met her several months ago. She's been training for two months with the "Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training to run a 26.2-mile marathon on October 5th in Portland, Oregon. She has committed to raise at least $3,000 to benefit cancer research" through events like this dinner. See Ladda's Team in Training homepage, recording her training schedule to date.

Patrick will be there as the host. (I can't make it.)

See Patrick's photos of the King's Ball, celebrating the birthday of Thailand's king. I wonder if Ladda's dinner will be similar.

I've talked much about my friend Patrick but haven't shown you his photo yet. (Patrick's photo page. Please email him if you'd like to buy some prints.) Here's a nice picture of him at the Benz Concert:



See tons of goofy pictures of Patrick. This is hilarious and cute!

Posted 1:51 AM by Blah blah

Aww, my buddy Ellen in Manila is blogging again! Welcome back, sweetie.

Friendster (Social Trends)

Six Degrees of Procrastination: Why is everyone you know on Friendster? (Slate).

Six Degrees of Lois Weisberg: She's a grandmother, she lives in a big house in Chicago, and you've never heard of her. Does she run the world? (New Yorker).

Haha! I loved these two articles about Friendster and social networks. People like Christine actually first added me as a friend, then removed her account completely, saying that she felt uncomfortable with everyone and his grandma knowing whom were her friends. Some of my best friends have continually refused to join. My testimonials are all by people who either barely know me or have never met me.

Have any long-lost people in my life actually said hi to me? Maybe a couple, if one or two years absence is considered "long-lost." After a "hi" and "will you add me as your friend?" they vanish into thin air again. I don't really expect to see them again.

Some people from Rice Bowl Journals seem to ONLY have friends from Rice Bowl Journals. This basically means they make the best friends with people they've never met---a testament to their social skills. Or it could mean they are surfing the Net from a prison cell in Texas.

To me, the only practical value in Friendster so far is to see how much fun I've seemed to miss and how many parties to which I've never been invited. And to those eager beavers who all seem to have over 100 friends, I say: "Yeah right! You're either a hot chick that guys have only seen in dark clubs, or you're a guy who lives in dark clubs."

Posted 5:34 AM by Blah blah

Phlin: Poetic Blog in Irvine (Blogs)

Here's a new blog for your reading list: Phlin, in Irvine, California. This Russell Wong-lookalike is very poetic. As someone commented, he can "make picking your nose sound profound." He reminds me of All2Swift, that Yale doctor who used to be one of our cowriters here.

It doesn't hurt my male eyes that he's surrounded by all these cuties from LiveJournal, like that witty Hmong actress Sonially, in Los Angeles.

Pix from Phlin's birthday in late May. Feast your eyes. He's the dude in the white shirt. Sonially is the lady in red and white stripes:

Posted 11:44 AM by Blah blah

Lisa: Photos from the Silent Party (Photos)

Since several people from the MixerMixer party are starting to read my blog, please read this.

Kara posted "Silent Party" Photos from Saturday night in San Jose. I'm not in them (*pout*).

If you don't have an ImageStation account, log in as "tigercafe," with the password as "password." Click each pic for full size.



That girl walking around the pool in the red dress is Lisa, the British lady who hosted the party. Poor girl. Just talked to her on the phone the other night. She said the second toe on her right foot (next to her big toe) was almost sliced off after she stepped on a broken beer bottle in the kiddie pool. Her toe was sliced to the bone. She had to rush to the emergency room that night. They stapled her toe back to her foot, twice, and WITHOUT any anesthesia. Although she was slightly drunk, she still screamed like a rooster.

Her toe turned blue, and she's not sure if she can save it or not. She's still doped up on painkillers but is showing incredible cheer, grace, and courage. She says: "I just want to say that the whole glass in the pool thing was TOTALLY my fault! I was a little dizzy (hic) but it really does sound like something I would do. Doh!" Says she feels happy she's getting waited on hand and foot by everyone, including her husband. What an amazing woman. I bow in admiration.

I'm having dinner with Lisa next Monday. She sounds like a very sweet, witty, and entertaining person. She calls everyone "sweetie" and thought the guests Saturday were just "lovely people." She used to be a lawyer (i.e. "solicitor") in London.

She also needs someone to help her take care of her two children while her foot is recovering. If you know anyone (e.g. a student) who needs some extra cash as a babysitter, please contact me.

Posted 7:17 PM by Blah blah

Whew!

Exhausted. My whole body is sore from a week of intense exercise. I just played four hours of rollerhockey today. Herb and Patrick were kind enough to spend extra time teaching me. I also met and played hockey with Bobby, creator of SVChinese.org. He's from Shanghai and has quite a sense of humor!

Last night Patrick and I went to Lisa and Victor's "Silent Party." Lisa is a very cool, game-for-anything British lady who moved here from London three years ago. She was the first to jump into the pool, even in her red dress! Hehe... Victor is another social butterfly, an Indian guy who may be coming to our next rollerblading day, Patrick!

Earlier this week: I played four days of tennis and ran laps.

Tomorrow: swimming, rollerblading (again), and dancing.

Will my body ever quit? Hehe...

Also, congratulations to Pjammer on the premiere of his group's independent film, The Matrix Regurgiated, last night in San Francisco! As he wrote here, he was cast to play the part of Agent Smith in this spoof of The Matrix. He called me last night and was very very happy with the turnout and feedback, especially from the ladies. *Wink*

They will be posting the 30-minute movie soon on iFILM.