MSN Astrology: Gemini

Hmm, I'd forgotten that the Gemini cycle begins today (since I usually associate it with June, and it is still May), but here's my monthly horoscope.

These are always fun to glance through, :]

MSN: Astrology: Fun Facts: Gemini
http://astrocenter.astrology.msn.com/msn/ArticleAstrologyHome.aspx?sd=20080513&GT1=21001

I remember there was this one guy that sat across from me at Strada one year who took trying to guess my star-sign waaay too seriously.

14 tons of Oreos outside of Chicago

True story.

The driver of a truck full of double-stuffed Oreo cookies fell asleep at the wheel, tipping his truck over and dropping its 14-ton's worth of boxed Oreo cookies all over a highway 50 miles outside of Chicago, Illinois.

YUMMY. :]

MSNBC: Slam Dunk: Truck full of Oreos crashes
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24707718/?GT1=43001

I really want this: Morehouse's Puff the Merino Dragon Scarf KnitKit

This is a dragon-patterned scarf that is so cute!

I'd really love this, even though I really do lack the skills to do anything more complicated than basic knit and purl. It looks so cute on the mannequin, although I do suppose it'd be harder to tell what it is in reality.

Morehouse's Puff the Merino Dragon Scarf KnitKit
http://www.morehousefarm.com/K2/02/

why I go through Facebook friend-purges

To all those I have purged, I write:

Hello dear former-Facebook-friend--

Hope you're doing well; we haven't talked in a while. In fact, it's likely that I haven't even seen you for several years, or if I have, we don't recognize or pretend not to see each other. Or else we've just each changed so much, on our own, that we're no longer the same people who friended each other in the first place. Just think of it as falling gently out of love into a soft, gray feeling, except that of course, it's a little more jarring on Facebook.

Sorry; I mean no malice. It's just a sort of apathy, is all. Blame it on me, if you want.

So Facebook notifies me that you're currently in X location; I hope you enjoy it there. Maybe you've moved on, or I have, or we're just both no longer on the same Location page, so maybe we can let go and be free. Or perhaps the old adage about absence and the fondness in one's heart does ring true after all? Who knows?

Anyway, you may have noticed (or maybe you haven't, which gives me further reason to do this) that we're no longer Facebook friends. I know that really, in our 'way of doing things', it's very 'not PC'. Because you know, it's not official unless it's on Facebook.

Or in your case, not.

It's not that I don't like you, and it's not that I don't inherently care about you as a human being. I do, really, I do.

It's just that darlin', you're crowding out my Newsfeed and Friends page. It's nothing personal.

It's just that somehow, I don't think this is what Mark Zuckerberg had in mind when he introduced us to each other. Or maybe he did.

But I can't be bothered to read about your newest exploits, or the latest drama, or who you've been SuperPoked! by or received a Free Gift!!! from, or the newest application you added. I'd love to hear about it over lunch sometime, but clutter is clutter, and it's time for spring cleaning.

I know you understand, or else we wouldn't have gotten close enough for me to accept your Friend request in the first place. But don't worry; I'll still remember you, regardless of whether or not you show up on my Recently Updated! list. We had some good memories, and maybe one day we'll meet up again and make some new ones.

But for now, my profile is looking kinda clean, kinda pure, kinda tabula rasa, and it's kinda nice.

Anyway, best of luck; hope we can be friends again soon.

-c

---

Newsweek: How Many MySpace Friends Is Too Many?
http://www.newsweek.com/id/137512&GT1=43001

MSNBC: How China's earthquake struck

Because B and I were wondering, since it doesn't seem that China has any obvious fault lines.

MSNBC: How China's earthquake struck
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24647213/

baby names

B and I, in a typical girly fashion yes, you are girly, B have always talked about what we plan to name our respective child(ren) if/when we have them. We discovered a disturbing? well, no, I don't think so... trend among my names that the girls tend to have really simple names, either with the long-'e' sound in the last syllable or ending in an 'a' (well I think they're cute and sweet, :] ) whereas the boys tend to have rather ancient classic, refined, and tend towards presumptuousness? pomposity? haha old English-types with prominent 'L' sounds names

Here's my current list, in no particular order alphabetical order. Of preference, I mean:

• Girls:
• Abby (short for Abigail)
• Aeris/Ariel
  
• Ali (short for Allison)
  
• Alice
• Allegra
  
• Annie (for Anne or Annabel? Annalise?)
• Ava
  
• Beth (shortened from either Elizabeth or Bethany)
• Carys/Keris (is that even short for anything?)
  
• Celia
• Daisy
• Dani (although I don't know if I want the 'official' name on the birth certificate to be 'Danielle', though...)
• Delia (short for Cordelia or Delilah)
• Elise/Eliza/Elena
• Emily
• Gillian/Jill
  
• Hallie/Haley (what would that be shortened from?)
• Layla/Lola
  
• Lily (short for Lillian? dunno, don't really care either way...)
• Maddy (short for Madeleine; such a cute little-girl name, :] )
• Maggie (shortened from what? Magnolia? Magdelena? haha)
  
• Mimi (shortened from some 'M' name, I suppose; haven't really thought about it...)
• Noelle
  
• Jane
• Susie/Suzie (although I'm not terribly fond of 'Susan'-esque 'official' names... )
  

• Boys (haha, I have a feeling my son's going to either love or hate his name for being so different):
• Alister/Alistair (shortened to Ali)
• Calvin
• Caspian (Scout's honor, has nothing to do with the fact that I think the character from the movie adaptation is hot; the movie just got me to thinking that it actually isn't half bad a name; after all, neither 'Peter', 'Edmund', 'William', 'Ben', nor heaven forbid Skander made the cut)
• Colin (shortened from Cornelius; yeah, I know it doesn't exactly shorten correctly, but I'd hate for him to be teased with a nickname like 'Corny', and I'm not terribly fond of 'Neil')
• Eriol
• Ethan/Evan
• Jules (short from Julian? or fine on its own)
  
• Liam
• Lucas/Luca
• Max (for Maximilian? hmm... I dunno)
• Milo
  
• Nigel
• Noel
  
• Orion
• Phinneus/Phinnaeus
  
• Rowan/Ronan
• Thaddeus
• Vaughn
  
• Virgil (although I worry that middle-school/hihg-school tauntings of 'virgin' might be undue, negative peer pressure; actually don't care either way about the original Virgil, just like the name, haha)
  

• Cats:
• Soba (for a gray or seal-point)
• Spot (for a calico somehow, a cat with a dog's name amuses me)

---

Actually, this list came out to be longer than I had originally thought, haha. At least I've somewhat narrowed it down from tons of other baby names? And I haven't really given much thought to the names' meanings yet either (I guess I should, huh, or run the risk of the kid getting some weird meaning like mine, C = 'lame'...WHAT?)

Washington Post: Crises cloud China's Olympic Mood

Washington Post: Crises cloud China's Olympic Mood
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24675108

some great pictures of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic venues

Here are some great pictures of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic venues. The Aquatic Center is especially gorgeous, and the Velodrome track is an amazing feat of structural engineering (I read somewhere, but I forget where, that the track is actually an updated and improved version of the tracks used in previous Games, designed specifically to improve performance at the Games).

I do hope, however, that Beijing won't fall into the mistake of building these wonderful buildings and then not putting the facilities to proper use by withholding them from the public, or by not giving them proper maintenance after the Games are over.

MSNBC Slideshows: Building for Beijing
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/interactive.aspx?type=ss&launch=22395142,3033005&pg=1

MSNBC: China puts quake toll at 32,477, and MSNBC: China quake victims flee due to flood fears

Oh.

....oh. Please keep everyone in your thoughts.

MSNBC: China puts quake toll at 32,477
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24690053

MSNBC: China quake victims flee due to flood fears
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24676343

Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (warning: image- and fangirl-heavy, :] )

Just came back from watching The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian with J, and I must say, even though I guess it didn't do so well in terms of turn-out and reviews (article: 'Prince Caspian' underwhelms at box office), I felt it wasn't half bad.

It's been argued by some that the movie(s) would have been so much better if there wasn't the blatant Christian allegory underlying it all. However, I really feel that it's actually quite a feat in being an obviously Christian-focused movie that manages to NOT completely alienate those viewers that aren't Christian while still being an overall good movie. I mean definitely, there are movies and books that may be a little overbearingly religious for those who may not be of the Christian tilt, but I honestly don't feel that with C.S. Lewis' books and movies; if anything, they're still pretty enjoyable on their own, which I don't imagine is easy to do: after all, getting a Christian Message across without offending some viewers (who can be a little sensitive about these sorts of things, especially here in B) is quite a feat in an of itself, let alone being an enjoyable movie on its own as well.

--

ASIDE: The tons of eye-candy certainly didn't hurt either, teehee; this poster doesn't do them nearly enough justice (although this one kinda does, :] ), so you should definitely watch them in action.

But honestly, between Peter (William Mosely) and Caspian (Ben Barnes), and of course, my perennial favorite, Edmund (Skander Keynes), I had my choice of pretty young things, whereas J was left with Susan and a young Lucy. I mean, Susan has a nice body and is quite pretty, a very lovely looking girl of the classic peaches-and-cream Old-English-rose-variety actually (but I guess most guys would consider her rather plain, or at least not glamorous, a fact that I actually rather appreciate, to be truthful, because I just couldn't see Susan Pevensie played by a Kiera Knightly-type or Scarlett Johansson-type), and Lucy actually reminds me of Ginny Weasley from the Harry Potter movie franchise, although I guess, looking back on the pictures, not really; maybe it's the middle-parted hair? And of course, the amazing Tilda Swinton is back as the glacial White Witch.

Honestly, between Peter and Caspian, light and dark, I honestly don't know which one I'd choose, haha. Both are gorgeous.

(Although Peter [Mosely] does look rather Abercrombie here)

--

Also, the Narnian costumes are well-thought-out and excellently executed (I only found pictures of their war outfits but their Narnian civilian clothing is beautiful.) I'd love to have a set of everything in Susan's Narnian wardrobe, and of course, the guys look much better in their Narnian clothes than in their back-in-England clothes.

I would suggest watching it. It's not a bad movie, even if you've never read the books or, if you're like me, have read the books, but completely forgot the gist of it (and wouldn't mind the eye candy. :] ), haha.

--

Although to be truthful, the only time I remember hearing about Prince Caspian in the books was in the Silver Chair and Voyage of the Dawn Treader, neither of which I remember having the plot that was shown in the movie. Of course, would Disney have made up it's own plot with a movie that clearly has a following that expects it to follow the C.S. Lewis-written plot...?

I wouldn't imagine so....Wikipedia it is....

Wikipedia: Prince Caspian

Hmm, I guess it is fairly true to the story...maybe?

Although...hmmm....

SPOILER ALERT
Highlight to read, but don't say I didn't warn you....

I don't know if Lewis would have put that much unresolved sexual tension (UST) between Susan and Caspian in his original novel; I guess I should re-read it? hmm, have K bring it up when they come up. But definitely, it was pretty obvious and a little cute, although I don't really go for the romance thing... I do wish they'd gotten together. Sad that their return to England had to separate the two, definitely, but I suppose it's more realistic, since they couldn't really have known each other that well given the short amount of time the Pevensies had Returned, and more bittersweet this way. I guess I should expect to see some SusanxCaspian ff (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4262753/1/If_Wishes_Were_Horses) and (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4262630/2/As_Time_Goes_By) on the net soon enough, teehee. This other one is more Susan+Caspian than SusanxCaspian, but very good as well, :] (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4100399/1/Of_Duels_and_Daises)

END SPOILER


Yeah, I should definitely have K bring it up for me so that I can reread it. It's actually a pretty good story on its own.

--

Anyway, I'd recommend this movie, so check it out if you're interested and have the time, :]

slice of life: Saturday, May 17, 2008

J called to let me know he'd be coming over to hang out with me today since we'd missed our appointment to hang out from April (!!!)

...ehehe -___-;;;

Spent about 10 minutes on the phone trying to figure out what to do; he wanted someplace with air conditioning; threw around ideas, but nothing quite sounded good considering it might turn out to be a blisteringly hot day; decided we'd figure it out when he got here, hung up.

Some ideas: mall, library (hahaha, because goodness, as if though I haven't spent enough time there over the past week studying for finals), the beach, campus (shot down for fear of it being too hot), movies (except we didn't know any that were out, haha).

While waiting for J to arrive, decided on SF museums; trying to decide between SF MOMA, the newly re-opened de Young, or the Legion of Honor. However, summer hours haven't begun yet, so they would only be open until about 5p. By the time he arrived, was already 1:30-2-ish.

Drove down Shattuck, decided to get lunch, suggested Cheeseboard, parked at Safeway. Ended up crossing the street to the Gourmet Ghetto, ate Mexican at Picoso (they sold out of ceviche, TT___TT, so had to get tortas instead. Not bad.) Finished around 2:45-3p.

Started driving over to freeway, but as we crossed the overpass, noticed the heavy traffic going into the City. Split second judgment call that we wouldn't be able to make it to the museum in time for any significant viewing time with all that traffic, so J continued straight and we ended up going to the B Marina, to which, in all my four years here, I have actually never been. (oh shame...haha)

Walked up and down the windy pier, a blustery day blowing fog in from the City, passing clusters and clusters of families and friends fishing. Returned to car around 3:40p.

Decided to go to Elephant Pharmacy to rent a movie, but couldn't find one of interest. Headed down Shattuck again to see if there were any good movies showing at any one of the three theatres. Didn't seem like it. Called B and figured out how to get to the B Rose Garden. Sat for a good couple hours soaking in the gorgeous weather and brilliant sunshine and the explosion of rose blooms. Intended originally to stay for sunset, but there was a good two or three hours till the sun would set due to Daylight Savings and didn't really want to wait that long, so headed back down.

Parked near apartment and caught a movie. Prince Caspian. Quite good.

Came out around 8-ish. Had dinner at the boatnoodlehouse (something like that? forget what it's called), Thai food. Place was completely empty when we entered, but the interior decorating was cute. Ordered a spicy noodle dish, quite good, although J didn't like his order that much.

Walked back to the apartment. End of day.

MSNBC: After quake, 1-child policy causes pain

Oh.

Oh. This made me tear up.

Think not only of the children who died before they had a chance to live, who never got the chance to see out the full potential brimming within them, who didn't have the chance to experience the love and laughter of a sibling-shared childhood, but think also of their parents, restricted to one child, their sole child, the product and recipient of all their love and hopes and dreams, taken away, so in addition to losing a child to such a horrible event, they lose their only child, and perhaps some of the parents are not so young anymore. And think of the grandparents. Oh. So horrible.

We continue to pray for them.

MSNBC: After quake, 1-child policy causes pain.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24671025

John Mayer: The Heart of Life

This is currently one of my favorite songs; I don't think I have to explain why, :]

John Mayer: The Heart of Life


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go56Zj2A12M

---
And the lyrics:

I hate to see you cry
Laying there in that position
There's things you need to hear
So turn off your tears and listen

Pain throws you heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
No, it won't all go the way, it should
But I know the heart of life is good

You know it's nothing new
Bad news never had good timing
But then the circle of your firends
Will defend the silver lining

Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
No, it won't all go the way, it should
But I know the heart of life is good

Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
Fear is a friend who's misunderstood
But I know the heart of life is good

I know it's good
---

...amen, sister, :]

CNN: China's big year anything but joyous

See, what did I say?

CNN: China's big year anything but joyous
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24583648/

China's definitely had a round of unfortunate events, and of course, we keep waiting to see how this affects China's domestic and international policies. It will be interesting to see the CCP/PRC's response in terms of relief and aid, as well as rebuilding and improving both political and physical infrastructure.

On a sidenote, if we are to consider China's dynasty system of ruling based on the Mandate of Heaven, definitely this would have given the CCP considerable cause for concern. While it is true that this rule no longer applies de jure, there may yet be some de facto vestiges, especially with the potentially tentative position the CCP holds. The CCP's hold over the PRC has been an economic one often been compared to the image of a bicycle in motion: once it stops, it will collapse. This situation is definitely one to be handled delicately, for one miscalculation, one misstep, one mishandled event could be the last straw.

Of course, this is not to say that these events signal definite impending doom for the Middle Kingdom, but it's certainly been a tough year for China, all said.

We pray for minimal casualties.

Earthquake in China kills 10,000 at latest count

A 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit China early this week, at around 2:45p on Monday afternoon, Beijing time.

News is slowly filtering in, and the numbers are still uncertain, but latest count puts the casualties at about 10,000, with figures still rising. Even with a population of about 1.3 billion, this is still a huge number. The epicenter was in Wenchuan, in Sichuan Province, on the western side of China, but apparently felt throughout most of the country, even in Chongqing, about 200 miles from the epicenter. In Wenchuan, about one-third of the buildings have collapsed.

A big problem has been that most of the roads leading to the area are in mountainous areas (it's slightly east of the Himalayas) with an unstable sediment foundation, and are pretty damaged by rockslides and mudslides, so relief and aid have been slow in arriving. An entire middle school collapsed, with about 900 students still trapped inside, although they've been slowly getting people out. About 6,000 people have been evacuated from the area, and most are afraid to sleep indoors for fear of aftershocks bringing the building down. Apparently, the shocks could be felt on the eastern and southern Chinese coast (Shanghai, Taiwan, Hong Kong) and in parts of Southeast Asia (Vietnam and Thailand, purportedly).

Although it was reported that none of the Olympic venues were damaged by the quake, it has been a hard year for China in general, with the coldest winter bringing down its transportation system earlier this year, plus the train derailing, the Olympic torch protests, and a deadly virus attacking children last month and expected to continue through the summer; there were also the Tibetan riots, and now this.

We've been discussing it in class and are all keeping our eyes on this as further details arrive.

Update: Xinhua reports that two chemical plants in Sichuan trapped 2,300 people inside, killing 600, and leaking 80 tons of ammonia.

-----
CNN: Nearly 10,000 reported killed by huge China quake.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/12/china.quake/index.html

Sherbet with no R-tificial Ingredients--> A.Word.A.Day on wordsmith.org

I found this interesting article on MSN Encarta on the confusion between 'sherbet' and 'sherbert'

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/Features/Columns/?article=AnuSherbet&GT1=27004

which then linked over to Wordsmith.org, which thoughtfully provides a word-of-the-day with definition, etymology, and usage.

http://wordsmith.org/words/today.html

Very useful and amusing indeed.

movie recommendation: Waterboys

'Waterboys' is a Japanese movie that came out a quite few years ago; it had been on tv, channel 18, but I'd never gotten to see it. However, I recently found it on crunchyroll, and it's an amazing movie, :]

Based on a true story, Waterboys is a growing-up comedy of a rag-tag groups of five boys, considered 'losers' at their school, who must put on a synchronized swimming presentation (typically a girls' sports activity) for their school festival by the end of summer. The problem is, only one of them has actually seen a synchronized swimming performance, none of them are synchronized, and one doesn't even know how to swim. Worse yet, they have no teacher: the one who had originally been assigned is pregnant, and the one they end up using is a crotchety old man who works at SeaWorld and whose knowledge of synchronized swimming extends only to dolphins. Watch to see how this situation turns out!

Waterboys (2001), written and directed by Shinobu Yaguchi
via crunchyroll: http://www.crunchyroll.com/media-64319/Water-Boys-Movie-Full-Version.html

my schedule for the past two/three weeks

Beginning Tuesday, April 15

Tuesday: PS 191 class presentation
Wednesday: LSAT class
Thursday: EAP 5-page paper
Saturday: LSAT class; rock concert with Brian and Manny
Sunday: PS 128 reading response
---
Monday: LSAT class
Tuesday: Mum's birthday; PS 126 15-page research paper
Wednesday: LSAT class (but didn't attend because fell ill)
Thursday: PS 128 7-page research paper
Friday: end of the semester lunch with EAP people; LSAT hw
Saturday: LSAT class in the afternoon; buying eggs and groceries afterwards; baking cornbread to take to Prof Collier's potluck; Prof Collier's potluck
Sunday: LSAT practice exam
---
Monday: LSAT class
Tuesday: got EAP classes approved, DECLARED MAJOR, FINALLY; turned in petition for double major to L/S
Wednesday: lunch with Cindy; LSAT class
Thursday: office hours w/ Seung-Youn; picked up commencement tickets
Saturday: PS 128 400-500 word extra credit

---------------------------

To Do:
--work out (SIDE NOTE: running w/ Vivian at 9a; also, upon his return to NorCal, Storm is letting me borrow his bike until I return to SoCal! :] )
--find job
--catch up on PS 126 reading
--catch up on BIO 11 slides
--PS 191 paper draft and final copy
--LSAT hw
--PS 128 review session
--PS 126 review session
--Bio 11 exam
--PS 126 exam
--PS 128 take-home final
--Commencement

China battles EV-71, a deadly child virus

China has recently been hit with an outbreak of the dangerous enterovirus-71, a form of hand, foot, and mouth disease, infecting over three thousand children and killing 24 at last count.

Officials have been ordered to crack down on outbreaks, although several have been criticized for not having taken action to report the outbreak to the public quickly enough. This is especially a concern after the disastrous SARS cover-up in 2003; this time, the Ministry of Health has been dispatched to aggressively and proactively seek out those infected instead of merely waiting for them to enter hospitalization.

This is doubtless bound to draw unwanted attention to several topics that China may not particularly want highlighted, especially with the Summer 2008 Olympic Games looming near. Among these are bound to be it's tight control over public access to necessary information, an appallingly sub-optimal public-health system, and the organization of a proper response team, among other considerations.

Officials note that more cases may soon arise, as the disease's peak season hits in June and July; however, one hopes that this will lead to improved conditions and response in the present and the future, as local officials purport to be checking up on and working to improve overall sanitation and ensure food/water safety conditions to limit the spread of the disease.


View the original article here:

China combats deadly child virus
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24441417