I finished reading Lost On Planet China last night, a book I found very entertaining. I just spent some time perusing the reviews on Amazon and wow, some people really thought this book was offensive. Many of the bad reviews came from people who have spent their own time in China. However, some others who have been to China agreed with the author's observations. So it seems the opinions are very polarized. I think the negative reviewers do make some good arguments though. The end of the book was a bit disjointed. It's like the movies really, some people thought Black Swan was amazing. For me, it was just meh. I'll just have to visit China myself someday.
I still have a good deal of interest in China though. One reviewer mentioned that a good book to read for a more truthful view of China is a book called Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler. Perhaps I'll pick this up in the future. I've been looking for a book on China for a while, and LOPC was the first to jump out at me. I guess I'm a lazy book chooser in the sense that rather than research books first, I like to just go to Borders and pick something that catches my eye. I actually picked up two books at once which is rare. I was having trouble deciding which to buy, and then which to read first. So next up is another nonfiction called Stiff: The Curious Life of Cadavers!
I was in the mood to hear some Chinese language so I put in one of the few DVDs I acutally own, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, a couple nights ago. This movie is still the awesomeness. I'm sure hardcore genre fans would yawn at this scene, but for me, it's up there. Michelle Yeoh's character in this movie blows me away.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Armadillo Bat Fight
Went to REI today to return a child carrier that we bought last week. The upcoming RV trip to Yosemite or Zion has been cancelled! I'm not telling where we'll be going instead just yet, but it's a place that's magical and...I've never been there.
To my surprise REI finally got their shipment of the Merrell Trail Gloves in stock. Not big on my radar, but curious. They felt ok. The toe box was huge which makes me think maybe my feet are on the narrow side since I read so many people say how wonderfully roomy it is. From just running in the store, I think I'll stick with vibrams in the minimalist dept.
It's an interesting thing to watch too, everytime I come to REI ( once a week!) there are ALWAYS people trying on vibrams and usually other people watching and asking questions. The sales people must whip those puppies out all day long. I stood there today and listened to two young guys discussing their thoughts on the minimalist running movement. Not the first time I've heard this discussion. Today the feeling was that it may not be the real deal, but it's getting people healthy which is good.
It's rare that I ever buy anything at REI either, but I splurged today and now own my first ever piece of North Face clothing. Ya know cuz moving to FL , I'm going to need an flourescent orange shirt running in the woods.
Driving home, I passed a man pushing a shopping cart down the sidewalk. He had a small dog on a leash next to him. I was talking about a crazy dream I had the night before where I was in a 'bat fight' with Bradley Cooper when suddenly I just stuck my finger out and yelled, "what the heck is that!" Liz said, 'Oh his dog has one of those little sidepack harness dealies." I said 'NoNoNo NoNo. Didn't you see what that guy was wearing?!!!"
At this point we were way past this man and Liz had not noticed anything unusual about him. I told her he was wearing an armadillo suit with a long furry tail and a huge head mask on. She didn't believe me. Later at the next light, the guy in front of me was smoking with his hand hanging out of the side of the car, but he had a latex glove on, that only covered his two smoking fingers and half his palm and thumb. She didn't believe me about this either! This is proof that I say weird stuff that isn't true way too much.
To my surprise REI finally got their shipment of the Merrell Trail Gloves in stock. Not big on my radar, but curious. They felt ok. The toe box was huge which makes me think maybe my feet are on the narrow side since I read so many people say how wonderfully roomy it is. From just running in the store, I think I'll stick with vibrams in the minimalist dept.
It's an interesting thing to watch too, everytime I come to REI ( once a week!) there are ALWAYS people trying on vibrams and usually other people watching and asking questions. The sales people must whip those puppies out all day long. I stood there today and listened to two young guys discussing their thoughts on the minimalist running movement. Not the first time I've heard this discussion. Today the feeling was that it may not be the real deal, but it's getting people healthy which is good.
It's rare that I ever buy anything at REI either, but I splurged today and now own my first ever piece of North Face clothing. Ya know cuz moving to FL , I'm going to need an flourescent orange shirt running in the woods.
Driving home, I passed a man pushing a shopping cart down the sidewalk. He had a small dog on a leash next to him. I was talking about a crazy dream I had the night before where I was in a 'bat fight' with Bradley Cooper when suddenly I just stuck my finger out and yelled, "what the heck is that!" Liz said, 'Oh his dog has one of those little sidepack harness dealies." I said 'NoNoNo NoNo. Didn't you see what that guy was wearing?!!!"
At this point we were way past this man and Liz had not noticed anything unusual about him. I told her he was wearing an armadillo suit with a long furry tail and a huge head mask on. She didn't believe me. Later at the next light, the guy in front of me was smoking with his hand hanging out of the side of the car, but he had a latex glove on, that only covered his two smoking fingers and half his palm and thumb. She didn't believe me about this either! This is proof that I say weird stuff that isn't true way too much.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Random Pics
Bomb Shelter sales are on the rise! Saw that on the news the other day. I have to wonder who has the most lavish bomb shelter. I mean someone ordered what looked like a steel arc to hold water in it that would last for years maybe? It was big , that's all I'm saying.
Here are some random photos from the past:
Was driving around Panama City one day (2001) and saw these dogs just running crazy in the water. I talked with the owner for a bit and offered to take pics of her dogs. I was so excited to actually have something to take a pic of that was interesting. The camera I had was my friend's Yashica film camera. Not the speediest lens focusing on it. In fact, it was pretty much me just trying to manually focus on them as they ran around. I really didn't know wth I was doing! But it was a challenge for sure. Afterwards I thought, I could be a pet photographer! hahahaha
This is from Mobile at the train station (2001) Pretty sure this was taken with my first digital camera a Canon G1. I just like this pic because the swivel screen really helped get some weird angles and the blue fade going on was really cool. If I took this pic today, I'd prolly clone out the building in the lower left and straighten all the lines.
This pic was taken at a river park in Alabama in the afternoon. I didn't think much of this pic when I took or looked at it, but I think my mother said she really liked it. Not sure, but sometimes when someone you know likes a pic, it can suddenly stand out.
Finally, this pic was taken in Pensacola's boat harbor. I had a red filter on my camera for this one. I just happened to bend down and look through a pipe that had a hole in it and turns out a boat was right there. Too bad the front of the boat is blown out, but it's not that epic. Just a funny pic because it was not planned at all.
Here are some random photos from the past:
Was driving around Panama City one day (2001) and saw these dogs just running crazy in the water. I talked with the owner for a bit and offered to take pics of her dogs. I was so excited to actually have something to take a pic of that was interesting. The camera I had was my friend's Yashica film camera. Not the speediest lens focusing on it. In fact, it was pretty much me just trying to manually focus on them as they ran around. I really didn't know wth I was doing! But it was a challenge for sure. Afterwards I thought, I could be a pet photographer! hahahaha
This is from Mobile at the train station (2001) Pretty sure this was taken with my first digital camera a Canon G1. I just like this pic because the swivel screen really helped get some weird angles and the blue fade going on was really cool. If I took this pic today, I'd prolly clone out the building in the lower left and straighten all the lines.
This pic was taken at a river park in Alabama in the afternoon. I didn't think much of this pic when I took or looked at it, but I think my mother said she really liked it. Not sure, but sometimes when someone you know likes a pic, it can suddenly stand out.
Finally, this pic was taken in Pensacola's boat harbor. I had a red filter on my camera for this one. I just happened to bend down and look through a pipe that had a hole in it and turns out a boat was right there. Too bad the front of the boat is blown out, but it's not that epic. Just a funny pic because it was not planned at all.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
China is dense
I am not smarter than a 5th grader. Haven't been for a long time. So for some people, it's no surprise, but now that I think about it... it makes my eyes go wide while I kinda stare off into space thinking about it.
There are about 8 million people in New York. It's the most populated city in the US with L.A. next, then Chicago, Houston, and Philidelphia. Still haven't been to the biggest two yet. The US population is around 311,114,000. And I think we only account for like 5% of the world population.
China's land mass is roughly equal to the US in size and yet they have 4.3 times more people at 1,341,000,000. When I think about how that's going to effect the world economy in 20 years my mind explodes!
Anyway, reading Lost on Planet China is giving me all sorts of things to ponder. I recall watching a documentary called Manufactured Landscapes. As a lover of photographs that have textured patterns, this movie was amazing with its scale. Also the message is a powerful one. I think of Mr. Anderson uttering in disgust about how the human race is like a virus.
There are about 8 million people in New York. It's the most populated city in the US with L.A. next, then Chicago, Houston, and Philidelphia. Still haven't been to the biggest two yet. The US population is around 311,114,000. And I think we only account for like 5% of the world population.
China's land mass is roughly equal to the US in size and yet they have 4.3 times more people at 1,341,000,000. When I think about how that's going to effect the world economy in 20 years my mind explodes!
Anyway, reading Lost on Planet China is giving me all sorts of things to ponder. I recall watching a documentary called Manufactured Landscapes. As a lover of photographs that have textured patterns, this movie was amazing with its scale. Also the message is a powerful one. I think of Mr. Anderson uttering in disgust about how the human race is like a virus.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Shock and Adrenaline
I should've turned when I was thinking of turning! Instead I went up to the next light and ran into this madness!
So the crazy thing was that all of a sudden traffic in front of me starts to move and then brakes suddenly. This white car rolls over the huge median at like 10 mph and bounces off the truck in the center lane. I soon see radiator steam or something coming from the truck. The driver just gets out of the truck and casually walks away off to the side of the highway.
The white car's windshield was smashed prior to rolling over the median. There's another car not in view behind the mustang and silver van whose left front side is banged up pretty hard. I evenutally drove around the white car. Driving by I could see a man inside with blood all over his face looking like he was in shock. This is the 4th accident I've seen at this intersection since I've been here. I think I'm going to start bypassing it.
Earlier I decided to stop by ole Red Rock Running company. I figured I'd see if the new trail runner mag was out (it was!), maybe pic up some GU gels, and talk some talk. I wasn't thinking shoes because I'm pretty content with what I have. But, there was a surprise there. Not new, but a super sale!
I'd seen several internet sites clearing out some Brooks shoes at 50 to 70 bucks. The running store I visited in Fort Walton also had old model Brooks, Mizuno, and Asics for 50 bucks. Red Rock had Addidas, Mizuno, Brooks, Asics, and Saucony shoes for 30 smackers! And even cooler they had my size. So after trying on everything, I ended up with a pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10s. The 11s are out now with dna cushioning which is supposed to mold to your foot better. Here's a pic of them.
Some of you might ask why on Earth would you buy these cushion monsters. Well, it's just part of the continual experiment really. I tried on a ton of shoes before buying the Brooks Cascadia 5 shoes. The Cas5 are simply extremely comfortable and they caused me no issues. (well a bloody ankle!) These Adrenalines feel just like the Cas5s to me, a bit lighter and the initial run on the treadmill (its fixed!) is a big thumbs up. My Nike Lunars are what I consider to be a pretty cushioned shoe, but these Adrenalines go a step further. No way I would've paid the original 100 dollar price, but for 30! you betcha.
So the crazy thing was that all of a sudden traffic in front of me starts to move and then brakes suddenly. This white car rolls over the huge median at like 10 mph and bounces off the truck in the center lane. I soon see radiator steam or something coming from the truck. The driver just gets out of the truck and casually walks away off to the side of the highway.
The white car's windshield was smashed prior to rolling over the median. There's another car not in view behind the mustang and silver van whose left front side is banged up pretty hard. I evenutally drove around the white car. Driving by I could see a man inside with blood all over his face looking like he was in shock. This is the 4th accident I've seen at this intersection since I've been here. I think I'm going to start bypassing it.
Earlier I decided to stop by ole Red Rock Running company. I figured I'd see if the new trail runner mag was out (it was!), maybe pic up some GU gels, and talk some talk. I wasn't thinking shoes because I'm pretty content with what I have. But, there was a surprise there. Not new, but a super sale!
I'd seen several internet sites clearing out some Brooks shoes at 50 to 70 bucks. The running store I visited in Fort Walton also had old model Brooks, Mizuno, and Asics for 50 bucks. Red Rock had Addidas, Mizuno, Brooks, Asics, and Saucony shoes for 30 smackers! And even cooler they had my size. So after trying on everything, I ended up with a pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10s. The 11s are out now with dna cushioning which is supposed to mold to your foot better. Here's a pic of them.
Some of you might ask why on Earth would you buy these cushion monsters. Well, it's just part of the continual experiment really. I tried on a ton of shoes before buying the Brooks Cascadia 5 shoes. The Cas5 are simply extremely comfortable and they caused me no issues. (well a bloody ankle!) These Adrenalines feel just like the Cas5s to me, a bit lighter and the initial run on the treadmill (its fixed!) is a big thumbs up. My Nike Lunars are what I consider to be a pretty cushioned shoe, but these Adrenalines go a step further. No way I would've paid the original 100 dollar price, but for 30! you betcha.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Scarlet Buglers
Today was my 11th run at Red Rock Canyon. Seems like it's been many more than that. (shrug) Today was not a long run, but a very hilly one for me, so it was a decent workout. March was my easy does it month which is slowly bleeding over into April it seems with my 'don't wanna go away viral hacky cough'. Anyway, gotta step it up a notch this month. I have got to also get my eating under control. I had a half rack of ribs all to myself tonight. Mmmmm! Gunna miss those puppies after we leave here. Also, Asa had 3 cornbread muffins and 2 small butter containers.
Here are a couple pics from the day.
A pano of RRC looking at the west side.
And some cool moss or fungus on a rock. I should've put something in for scale, to show that the green patches are pretty big.
I ran past an interesting fellow today. This man was older than me, wearing only short black shorts and shoes. He had no water and no socks. White straight, fairly short hair. A big smile. A big guy too, prolly 6-3 or so and was so tan he was like a chunk of leather. Had he had crazy hair, I might have believed I had seen Caballo Blanco! His shoes looked like NB MT101's but they had yellow stitching which makes me think maybe he's testing a proto-type like the wides or something. Strange.
I had a 20oz bottle and two bottles on my waist pack. It was upper 70s today, but there was a good 10mph cool breeze going which really kept things just right. I didn't need my waist bottles at all, but I guess I still think about the first time I ran here and was too glad to have extra liquid.
The desert is still not quite 'springy' yet either. I saw quite a few silk nests filled with caterpillars and a couple of red flowers scattered here and there. I think one is called 'desert paintbrush' and the other a 'scarlet bugler'. The red really pops out even though they are small. Funny little thing too...a white moth was flying in front of me while running for a about fifty yards. The path was narrow with lots of turns, so it just made me laugh to see this guy twisting and turning perfectly like he was leading me around.
Here are a couple pics from the day.
A pano of RRC looking at the west side.
And some cool moss or fungus on a rock. I should've put something in for scale, to show that the green patches are pretty big.
I ran past an interesting fellow today. This man was older than me, wearing only short black shorts and shoes. He had no water and no socks. White straight, fairly short hair. A big smile. A big guy too, prolly 6-3 or so and was so tan he was like a chunk of leather. Had he had crazy hair, I might have believed I had seen Caballo Blanco! His shoes looked like NB MT101's but they had yellow stitching which makes me think maybe he's testing a proto-type like the wides or something. Strange.
I had a 20oz bottle and two bottles on my waist pack. It was upper 70s today, but there was a good 10mph cool breeze going which really kept things just right. I didn't need my waist bottles at all, but I guess I still think about the first time I ran here and was too glad to have extra liquid.
The desert is still not quite 'springy' yet either. I saw quite a few silk nests filled with caterpillars and a couple of red flowers scattered here and there. I think one is called 'desert paintbrush' and the other a 'scarlet bugler'. The red really pops out even though they are small. Funny little thing too...a white moth was flying in front of me while running for a about fifty yards. The path was narrow with lots of turns, so it just made me laugh to see this guy twisting and turning perfectly like he was leading me around.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
I'm still alive!!
Did you read about the Southwest 737 that cracked open at 34,000 feet?!! I shudder to think what that was like.
I'm back in the Veegus. I'm sick again! WTH!
Florida reminded me how wonderful the 'no humidity' here feels, but the beach felt fantastic.
I'm on a food eating rampage! Chili dog and a double burger? Well yes thank you. I'll even take that super large mint, oreo, and m&m shake from you Steak & Shake goddess. Yes I would like the fresh guacamole made at the table. Did I just wait in line for 25 minutes for a 'Gotta Have It' size, "That's how I Roll" + Whip cream mixed in..yup. Survey says....stomach is pissed!
Reading this book now and loving it!
Finally, I watched Black Swan the other night. Overall, I have to say it did not live up to my expectations. I think that's awesome that Portman won an Oscar for this role, but I never saw her as anything other than psychotic. It's not a commentary on her acting, but rather that the script never showed her as someone I could care for or relate to. Take the main character in Jacob's Ladder. His trip into psycho land was scarier because I was curious about him, engaged in his searching for answers. Anyway, I'm obviously in the minority on this feeling. Kinda makes me glad I chose Tron in 3d though back in December.
I'm back in the Veegus. I'm sick again! WTH!
Florida reminded me how wonderful the 'no humidity' here feels, but the beach felt fantastic.
I'm on a food eating rampage! Chili dog and a double burger? Well yes thank you. I'll even take that super large mint, oreo, and m&m shake from you Steak & Shake goddess. Yes I would like the fresh guacamole made at the table. Did I just wait in line for 25 minutes for a 'Gotta Have It' size, "That's how I Roll" + Whip cream mixed in..yup. Survey says....stomach is pissed!
Reading this book now and loving it!
Finally, I watched Black Swan the other night. Overall, I have to say it did not live up to my expectations. I think that's awesome that Portman won an Oscar for this role, but I never saw her as anything other than psychotic. It's not a commentary on her acting, but rather that the script never showed her as someone I could care for or relate to. Take the main character in Jacob's Ladder. His trip into psycho land was scarier because I was curious about him, engaged in his searching for answers. Anyway, I'm obviously in the minority on this feeling. Kinda makes me glad I chose Tron in 3d though back in December.
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