i went to an allergist today. i had to get tested for allergies, because the other day i had a funny episode with eating pineapples.
i'm very sad to report that i can no longer eat RAW: apple, peach, nectarine, pear, cherry, pineapple because as i eat them, my body - i'm allergic to tree pollen - thinks i'm eating tree-pollen products (because those are tree-grown). i'm also allergic to tomato (allergic to grass), melons, zucchini, cucumber, kiwi & banana (allergic to ragweed). my stupid body isn't able to distinguish what's NATURE and what's FRUIT (unless cooked).
i hate vegetables - so i only (basically) ate fruit to supplement my hatred for veggies. now, i have to stick with oranges, watermelon, some other random fruits.
i hate my body. i'm lactose intolerant. i'm now fruit intolerant. why do i even live?!?!!?!?
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Missing body parts of famous people
from CNN.COM
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
(Mental Floss) -- Remember that goofy uncle of yours who always tried to impress you by "stealing your nose" or pulling the ol' separating-his-thumb-from-his-hand move? Well, those parlor tricks are nothing compared to the appendage stunts pulled by these 10 famous people.
John Wilkes Booth's neck bones
John Wilkes Booth might have been a successful assassin, but he was a largely ineffectual escape artist.
Just 12 days after murdering President Abraham Lincoln, Booth was shot in the back of the neck and killed. His body was (eventually) buried in an unmarked grave at Baltimore's Green Mount Cemetery.
His third, fourth, and fifth vertebrae, however, were removed during the autopsy so investigators could access the bullet. For a peek at those bits of Booth's spinal column, just check out the display at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, D.C.
Einstein's brain
Before he died, über-genius Albert Einstein considered donating his body to science. Unfortunately, he never put his wishes in writing.
When he passed away in 1955, Einstein's family and friends made plans to cremate him, but the pathologist who performed the autopsy, Dr. Thomas Harvey, had a different idea. Instead, he opted to remove the math man's brain and then tell the family about it.
For 30-some years, Harvey had Al's gray matter tucked away in his Wichita home in two Mason jars. Naturally, Einstein's loved ones weren't thrilled when they found out, but they eventually allowed the misappropriated mind to be sliced into 240 sections and disbursed to researchers for examination.
Today, many of the cerebral sections remain in scientific institutions, with the bulk held at Princeton Hospital. As for Einstein's body, that was cremated and scattered in a secret location.
"Stonewall" Jackson's arm
Confederate General Thomas Jackson got his nickname by sitting astride his horse "like a stone wall" while bullets whizzed around him during the Civil War.
But that kind of bravery (or foolhardiness) didn't serve him well. During the Battle of Chancellorsville, Jackson was accidentally shot in the arm by one of his own men.
Said arm had to be amputated, and afterward, it was buried in the nearby Virginia town of Ellwood. Only eight days later, Stonewall was stone-cold dead of pneumonia.
The rest of his body is resting in peace in Lexington, Virginia.
Saint Francis Xavier's hand
Francis Xavier was a saint with a few too many fans.
In the early 16th century, the Spanish missionary was sent to Asia by the king of Portugal to convert as many souls to Christianity as possible. Turns out, he was pretty good at the job.
Francis Xavier became wildly popular, and after his death in 1552, so did his relics. In fact, demand out-fueled supply. Throughout several years and multiple exhumations, his body was whittled away.
Today, half his left hand is in Cochin, India, while the other half is in Malacca, Malaysia. One of his arms resides in Rome, and various other cities lay claim to his internal organs. The leftovers? They went to Goa, India.
Napoleon's bits and pieces
Exiled emperor Napoleon Bonaparte died on May 5, 1821. The following day, doctors conducted an autopsy, which was reportedly witnessed by many people, including a priest named Ange Vignali.
Though the body was said to be largely intact at the time of the undertaking, it seems the priest took home a souvenir. In 1916, Vignali's heirs sold a collection of Napoleonic artifacts, including what they claim to be the emperor's penis.
While no one knows for sure if it really is Napoleon's, uh, manhood, people have paid good money for the penis. Currently, it's in the possession of an American urologist.
Oliver Cromwell's head
Oliver Cromwell, the straight-laced Puritan who usurped the English throne, wasn't exactly a wild man. His head, however, was sometimes the life of the party.
Cromwell died in 1658, but two years later, the reinstated English monarchy exhumed, tried, and hanged his body, then dumped it in an unmarked grave. In addition, as a warning to would-be killers, his head was placed on a pike in Westminster Hall, where it remained for 20 years.
After a subsequent stint in a small museum, it was sold in 1814 to a man named Josiah Henry Wilkinson (perhaps looking to parade it around as an exceptionally gruesome ice-breaker at parties). Such was the ironic afterlife of the Puritan until 1960, when his head was finally laid to rest in a chapel in Cambridge.
from CNN.COM
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
(Mental Floss) -- Remember that goofy uncle of yours who always tried to impress you by "stealing your nose" or pulling the ol' separating-his-thumb-from-his-hand move? Well, those parlor tricks are nothing compared to the appendage stunts pulled by these 10 famous people.
John Wilkes Booth's neck bones
John Wilkes Booth might have been a successful assassin, but he was a largely ineffectual escape artist.
Just 12 days after murdering President Abraham Lincoln, Booth was shot in the back of the neck and killed. His body was (eventually) buried in an unmarked grave at Baltimore's Green Mount Cemetery.
His third, fourth, and fifth vertebrae, however, were removed during the autopsy so investigators could access the bullet. For a peek at those bits of Booth's spinal column, just check out the display at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, D.C.
Einstein's brain
Before he died, über-genius Albert Einstein considered donating his body to science. Unfortunately, he never put his wishes in writing.
When he passed away in 1955, Einstein's family and friends made plans to cremate him, but the pathologist who performed the autopsy, Dr. Thomas Harvey, had a different idea. Instead, he opted to remove the math man's brain and then tell the family about it.
For 30-some years, Harvey had Al's gray matter tucked away in his Wichita home in two Mason jars. Naturally, Einstein's loved ones weren't thrilled when they found out, but they eventually allowed the misappropriated mind to be sliced into 240 sections and disbursed to researchers for examination.
Today, many of the cerebral sections remain in scientific institutions, with the bulk held at Princeton Hospital. As for Einstein's body, that was cremated and scattered in a secret location.
"Stonewall" Jackson's arm
Confederate General Thomas Jackson got his nickname by sitting astride his horse "like a stone wall" while bullets whizzed around him during the Civil War.
But that kind of bravery (or foolhardiness) didn't serve him well. During the Battle of Chancellorsville, Jackson was accidentally shot in the arm by one of his own men.
Said arm had to be amputated, and afterward, it was buried in the nearby Virginia town of Ellwood. Only eight days later, Stonewall was stone-cold dead of pneumonia.
The rest of his body is resting in peace in Lexington, Virginia.
Saint Francis Xavier's hand
Francis Xavier was a saint with a few too many fans.
In the early 16th century, the Spanish missionary was sent to Asia by the king of Portugal to convert as many souls to Christianity as possible. Turns out, he was pretty good at the job.
Francis Xavier became wildly popular, and after his death in 1552, so did his relics. In fact, demand out-fueled supply. Throughout several years and multiple exhumations, his body was whittled away.
Today, half his left hand is in Cochin, India, while the other half is in Malacca, Malaysia. One of his arms resides in Rome, and various other cities lay claim to his internal organs. The leftovers? They went to Goa, India.
Napoleon's bits and pieces
Exiled emperor Napoleon Bonaparte died on May 5, 1821. The following day, doctors conducted an autopsy, which was reportedly witnessed by many people, including a priest named Ange Vignali.
Though the body was said to be largely intact at the time of the undertaking, it seems the priest took home a souvenir. In 1916, Vignali's heirs sold a collection of Napoleonic artifacts, including what they claim to be the emperor's penis.
While no one knows for sure if it really is Napoleon's, uh, manhood, people have paid good money for the penis. Currently, it's in the possession of an American urologist.
Oliver Cromwell's head
Oliver Cromwell, the straight-laced Puritan who usurped the English throne, wasn't exactly a wild man. His head, however, was sometimes the life of the party.
Cromwell died in 1658, but two years later, the reinstated English monarchy exhumed, tried, and hanged his body, then dumped it in an unmarked grave. In addition, as a warning to would-be killers, his head was placed on a pike in Westminster Hall, where it remained for 20 years.
After a subsequent stint in a small museum, it was sold in 1814 to a man named Josiah Henry Wilkinson (perhaps looking to parade it around as an exceptionally gruesome ice-breaker at parties). Such was the ironic afterlife of the Puritan until 1960, when his head was finally laid to rest in a chapel in Cambridge.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
before...and afterjust got back from 3 glorious days of the hamptons: sag harbor, amagansett, east hampton, southampton, hampton bay, shinnecock bay. it's just so amazing there: nature abundance, stunningly loud nature, so many animals sightings (deers and bunnies - yes, not from the disney animal kingdom either) and unfortunately, that all comes with insects too: moquitos (3 bites), spiders/ants/bugs of every shape & size.
menu for this past weekend:
- Friday lunch: @ Estia's Little Kitchen in Sag Habor: crab cakes
- Friday dinner: 2 lb lobster (from gosmans') and corn, all home-cooked with an excellent french chardonnay :)
- Saturday b'fast: homemade chocolate scone & homemade donut @ the Amagansett Farmer's Market
- Saturday lunch: homemade turkey meatball sandwich :)
- Saturday pre-dinner: a glass of pinot grigio (wasn't good) & complimentary peach martini @ East Hampton Point (SO YUMMY)
- Saturday dinner: homemade sirloin ground beef pattie (charcoal bbq'ed to medium rare) with the works (heeeeaaaaaps of red onion, fresh tomatoes & romaine lettuce), more corn, some fresh strawberries as desserts
- Sunday b'fast: my boss cooked up some organic omelette with egg whites with a bit of salsa & roasted bell peppers (yellow & red only), yummy toasted english muffins with homemade rhubarb marmalade and tea
- Sunday lunch: gorgeous & huge salad of arugula, organic greens, grapes, olives, goat cheese, tomatoes @ Silver's in Southampton.
I AM FAT!
just for the record, i did not just EAT and sleep & other personal cares: i actually went to the beaches in Springs, visited a museum, and of course, window shopped. i love the nature life in this very far point of long island: it truly brings peacefulness to isolation and through that, unending appreciation for God's creations (yes, even bugs - as i stepped on them). You can't beat walking in the water for 200-300 yards off of the shore and still be able to see your toes and it only comes up to your thighs and you wave to the ocean & unseen birds & marine life all around you - it doesn't get any better!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
this morning's subway ride to work was very eventful. normally i notice nothing because i'm trying to read my new york times, fumble with the damn newspaper's size, etc. etc. but today, i felt serene and centered and didn't need any worldly news to interrupt my "zone."
well, because i wasn't reading anything, i was looking at people. those who know me will find this strange: "seapea actually looked at people??!?!?!?!?!" yes, i did. and this is what i saw in the 10 min subway ride:
well, because i wasn't reading anything, i was looking at people. those who know me will find this strange: "seapea actually looked at people??!?!?!?!?!" yes, i did. and this is what i saw in the 10 min subway ride:
- a couple looking at each other, holding hands, obviously very much in love, completely oblivious to crying babies and iPod rocking heads;
- a couple sitting side-by-side completely ignoring others as they had a huge and very loud silent rage that surrounded them, just vibrating with anger
- an old couple holding hands (like grandpa & grandmas).
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
MSNBC.com
Blacklisted: 4 travel companies people avoid
Spurned and fed up, many travelers start their own ‘no-fly’ lists
By Christopher Elliott
Travel columnist
Updated: 9:37 a.m. ET Aug 20, 2007
You’ve probably heard of the controversial “no-fly” list kept by the government. Maybe you know some who’s on it. Maybe you’re on it.
But that list, which has snared everyone from a Marine serving in Iraq to a four-year-old is a topic for another time.
Today I’m talking about a different kind of “no-fly” list: yours.
’Fess up, you’ve got your own blacklist of airlines, hotels, car rental companies and cruise lines you’d do anything to avoid. I know you do because I run the travel industry’s unofficial complaints department, and I get thousands of e-mails each week from angry passengers. Many of these missives end with, “I’ll never do business with your company again!”
So who’s on the list?
US Airways. Most of the complaints I get are about airline service. Delayed and canceled flights, missing baggage, rude flight attendants … the list goes on. Is there one standout? At the moment, it would have to be US Airways. Check out the Transportation Department’s latest numbers. The Tempe, Ariz., airline, underperforms in virtually every category and is the most complained-about carrier.
But hang on. Just a few months ago, US Airways announced a series of what it called “customer service” initiatives designed to “improve reliability and meet customers’ needs.” That included adding airport staff, hiring new customer service agents and being more flexible with some of its policies, particularly for its best customers.
Will it work? Maybe. There’s also this to consider: The airline industry as a whole isn’t scoring well with its customers, with one or two notable exceptions. Major “legacy” carriers such as Northwest Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines are unlikely to allow US Airways to keep the top spot on the blacklist for very long.
Days Inn. People love to complain about budget hotels, including brands like Days Inn, Econo Lodge and Super 8 Motel. Whenever I get an e-mail about their stay, my first thought is that I’m reading a lost script from the classic TV show “Fawlty Towers.” Then I realize they’re not kidding. It’s difficult to quantify the actual number of complaints about hotels. The federal government doesn’t issue a monthly report card. All I have to go on are my files (which, I admit, is an inexact measure) and what the states — which regulate hotels — have to say.
And Days Inn has kept state governments pretty busy. After 9/11, a Days Inn in New York was penalized for raising room rates by as much as 185 percent in the days following the terrorist attack. And after Hurricane Charlie churned through Florida in 2004, another Days Inn was accused of gouging homeless storm victims. The hotel reportedly paid $70,000 to settle the complaint.
You don’t have to spend a lot of time on sites like Tripadvisor or My3Cents to get an idea of what guests think of many Days Inn hotels. But if you look around, you also see that the hotel chain is hardly alone when it comes to generating complaints. Rich Roberts, a spokesman for Days Inn, says he is unaware of any recent increases in guest gripes, and points out that with 1,862 properties and 150,984 rooms worldwide, his is one of the largest hotel chains in the world, which may account for the volume of letters and calls. “We understand the importance of delivering a positive experience to every guest,” he told me. “Are we perfect? No. But we do our best to avoid repeating mistakes.”
Thrifty. As with the hotel category, there is no monthly report card for rental cars. I can review my own files, which have more than their fair share of Thrifty complaints. I could look at the latest J.D. Power and Associates ratings which give Thrifty a below-average grade, overall.
But it’s the surcharges that put Thrifty over the top, according to the customers I talk with. And we’re not necessarily talking about the little fees here, either. We’re talking big extras and possibly illegal ones, too. Last year, the former owner of a Thrifty location in Billings, Mont., was convicted in a federal court for conspiring with an auto glass business to overcharge for windshield replacements.
I’ve seen this kind of thing before. A few years ago, I was flooded with complaints about Enterprise. Seems the company was aggressively — and some customers said, fraudulently — pursuing damage claims. Eventually, Enterprise backed down, to the relief of its customers. In other words, the lead car in this race changes often. Yesterday it was Enterprise. Today it might be Thrifty. Tomorrow, who knows?
Princess. Picking a cruise line for this list was the biggest challenge. There’s no way to independently verify the number of complaints about cruises. The Federal Maritime Commission doesn’t issue a regular report on the number of grievances it gets in the same way the Transportation Department publishes an airline report card. And even if it did, I’ve found that cruise complaints tend to be among the most frivolous — long laundry lists of nitpicky items that don’t always rise to the level of legitimacy.
It isn’t even that Princess generates more grievances than the others. (I asked Princess spokeswoman Julie Benson, and she said the cruise line hadn’t experienced any recent surge in complaints.) It’s that when passengers do complain, the company’s attitude often seems to be dismissive. And that doesn’t exactly encourage customers to book another sailing on The Love Boat. My colleague Anita Potter documents the company’s apparent indifference in a recent column in which a passenger is wrongfully denied boarding and then ignored when she asks for a refund of her expenses. Princess is remarkably consistent. Even my requests for assistance on behalf of other travelers are usually met with a “we’ll look into it” followed by a long silence. One reader recently referred to its passenger relations department as a fortress. That’s a good way to put it.
Should you avoid these companies, too? In a perfect world, travelers would be able to boycott companies that gave them bad services. In reality, they can’t. You don’t always have a choice in airline, hotel, car rental agency or even cruise line. But that shouldn’t stop you from keeping score.
I’ll be taking a close look at what makes the travel business tick in this column that appears here every Monday.
Blacklisted: 4 travel companies people avoid
Spurned and fed up, many travelers start their own ‘no-fly’ lists
By Christopher Elliott
Travel columnist
Updated: 9:37 a.m. ET Aug 20, 2007
You’ve probably heard of the controversial “no-fly” list kept by the government. Maybe you know some who’s on it. Maybe you’re on it.
But that list, which has snared everyone from a Marine serving in Iraq to a four-year-old is a topic for another time.
Today I’m talking about a different kind of “no-fly” list: yours.
’Fess up, you’ve got your own blacklist of airlines, hotels, car rental companies and cruise lines you’d do anything to avoid. I know you do because I run the travel industry’s unofficial complaints department, and I get thousands of e-mails each week from angry passengers. Many of these missives end with, “I’ll never do business with your company again!”
So who’s on the list?
US Airways. Most of the complaints I get are about airline service. Delayed and canceled flights, missing baggage, rude flight attendants … the list goes on. Is there one standout? At the moment, it would have to be US Airways. Check out the Transportation Department’s latest numbers. The Tempe, Ariz., airline, underperforms in virtually every category and is the most complained-about carrier.
But hang on. Just a few months ago, US Airways announced a series of what it called “customer service” initiatives designed to “improve reliability and meet customers’ needs.” That included adding airport staff, hiring new customer service agents and being more flexible with some of its policies, particularly for its best customers.
Will it work? Maybe. There’s also this to consider: The airline industry as a whole isn’t scoring well with its customers, with one or two notable exceptions. Major “legacy” carriers such as Northwest Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines are unlikely to allow US Airways to keep the top spot on the blacklist for very long.
Days Inn. People love to complain about budget hotels, including brands like Days Inn, Econo Lodge and Super 8 Motel. Whenever I get an e-mail about their stay, my first thought is that I’m reading a lost script from the classic TV show “Fawlty Towers.” Then I realize they’re not kidding. It’s difficult to quantify the actual number of complaints about hotels. The federal government doesn’t issue a monthly report card. All I have to go on are my files (which, I admit, is an inexact measure) and what the states — which regulate hotels — have to say.
And Days Inn has kept state governments pretty busy. After 9/11, a Days Inn in New York was penalized for raising room rates by as much as 185 percent in the days following the terrorist attack. And after Hurricane Charlie churned through Florida in 2004, another Days Inn was accused of gouging homeless storm victims. The hotel reportedly paid $70,000 to settle the complaint.
You don’t have to spend a lot of time on sites like Tripadvisor or My3Cents to get an idea of what guests think of many Days Inn hotels. But if you look around, you also see that the hotel chain is hardly alone when it comes to generating complaints. Rich Roberts, a spokesman for Days Inn, says he is unaware of any recent increases in guest gripes, and points out that with 1,862 properties and 150,984 rooms worldwide, his is one of the largest hotel chains in the world, which may account for the volume of letters and calls. “We understand the importance of delivering a positive experience to every guest,” he told me. “Are we perfect? No. But we do our best to avoid repeating mistakes.”
Thrifty. As with the hotel category, there is no monthly report card for rental cars. I can review my own files, which have more than their fair share of Thrifty complaints. I could look at the latest J.D. Power and Associates ratings which give Thrifty a below-average grade, overall.
But it’s the surcharges that put Thrifty over the top, according to the customers I talk with. And we’re not necessarily talking about the little fees here, either. We’re talking big extras and possibly illegal ones, too. Last year, the former owner of a Thrifty location in Billings, Mont., was convicted in a federal court for conspiring with an auto glass business to overcharge for windshield replacements.
I’ve seen this kind of thing before. A few years ago, I was flooded with complaints about Enterprise. Seems the company was aggressively — and some customers said, fraudulently — pursuing damage claims. Eventually, Enterprise backed down, to the relief of its customers. In other words, the lead car in this race changes often. Yesterday it was Enterprise. Today it might be Thrifty. Tomorrow, who knows?
Princess. Picking a cruise line for this list was the biggest challenge. There’s no way to independently verify the number of complaints about cruises. The Federal Maritime Commission doesn’t issue a regular report on the number of grievances it gets in the same way the Transportation Department publishes an airline report card. And even if it did, I’ve found that cruise complaints tend to be among the most frivolous — long laundry lists of nitpicky items that don’t always rise to the level of legitimacy.
It isn’t even that Princess generates more grievances than the others. (I asked Princess spokeswoman Julie Benson, and she said the cruise line hadn’t experienced any recent surge in complaints.) It’s that when passengers do complain, the company’s attitude often seems to be dismissive. And that doesn’t exactly encourage customers to book another sailing on The Love Boat. My colleague Anita Potter documents the company’s apparent indifference in a recent column in which a passenger is wrongfully denied boarding and then ignored when she asks for a refund of her expenses. Princess is remarkably consistent. Even my requests for assistance on behalf of other travelers are usually met with a “we’ll look into it” followed by a long silence. One reader recently referred to its passenger relations department as a fortress. That’s a good way to put it.
Should you avoid these companies, too? In a perfect world, travelers would be able to boycott companies that gave them bad services. In reality, they can’t. You don’t always have a choice in airline, hotel, car rental agency or even cruise line. But that shouldn’t stop you from keeping score.
I’ll be taking a close look at what makes the travel business tick in this column that appears here every Monday.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
LIFE IS SO SHORT.
SO, THINK WHAT IS GOOD,
SPEAK WHAT IS KIND,
AND TRY TO LIVE YOUR BEST,
THEN THIS WORLD WILL BE BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL TO YOU
WHEN MONEY IS LOST NOTHING IS LOST.
WHEN HEALTH IS LOST SOMETHING IS LOST.
WHEN CHARACTER IS LOST EVERYTHING IS LOST
LIVE LIKE A CANDLE,
WHICH BURNS ITSELF,
BUT GIVES LIGHT TO OTHERS.
IMPOSE YOUR OWN TERMS UPON LIFE.
IF YOU DON'T YOU WILL HAVE TO ACCEPT THE TERMS OF OTHERS.
LOOK BACKWARDS WITH GRATITUDE,
UPWARDS WITH CONFIDENCE
AND FORWARD WITH HOPE.
WHEN YOU TRULY CARE FOR SOMEONE,
YOU DON'T LOOK FOR FAULTS,
YOU DON'T LOOK FOR ANSWERS,
YOU DON'T LOOK FOR MISTAKES,
INSTEAD YOU FIGHT THE MISTAKES,
YOU ACCEPT THE FAULTS,
AND YOU OVERLOOK THE EXCUSES.
SO, THINK WHAT IS GOOD,
SPEAK WHAT IS KIND,
AND TRY TO LIVE YOUR BEST,
THEN THIS WORLD WILL BE BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL TO YOU
WHEN MONEY IS LOST NOTHING IS LOST.
WHEN HEALTH IS LOST SOMETHING IS LOST.
WHEN CHARACTER IS LOST EVERYTHING IS LOST
LIVE LIKE A CANDLE,
WHICH BURNS ITSELF,
BUT GIVES LIGHT TO OTHERS.
IMPOSE YOUR OWN TERMS UPON LIFE.
IF YOU DON'T YOU WILL HAVE TO ACCEPT THE TERMS OF OTHERS.
LOOK BACKWARDS WITH GRATITUDE,
UPWARDS WITH CONFIDENCE
AND FORWARD WITH HOPE.
WHEN YOU TRULY CARE FOR SOMEONE,
YOU DON'T LOOK FOR FAULTS,
YOU DON'T LOOK FOR ANSWERS,
YOU DON'T LOOK FOR MISTAKES,
INSTEAD YOU FIGHT THE MISTAKES,
YOU ACCEPT THE FAULTS,
AND YOU OVERLOOK THE EXCUSES.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Chinese couple tried to name baby "@"
A Chinese couple tried to name their baby "@", claiming the character used in e-mail addresses echoed their love for the child, an official trying to whip the national language into line said on Thursday.
The unusual name stands out especially in Chinese, which has no alphabet and instead uses tens of thousands of multi-stroke characters to represent words.
"The whole world uses it to write e-mail, and translated into Chinese it means 'love him'," the father explained, according to the deputy chief of the State Language Commission Li Yuming.
While the "@" simple is familiar to Chinese e-mail users, they often use the English word "at" to sound it out -- which with a drawn out "T" sounds something like "ai ta", or "love him", to Mandarin speakers.
Li told a news conference on the state of the language that the name was an extreme example of people's increasingly adventurous approach to Chinese, as commercialisation and the Internet break down conventions.
Another couple tried to give their child a name that rendered into English sounds like "King Osrina."
Li did not say if officials accepted the "@" name. But earlier this year the government announced a ban on names using Arabic numerals, foreign languages and symbols that do not belong to Chinese minority languages.
Sixty million Chinese faced the problem that their names use ancient characters so obscure that computers cannot recognise them and even fluent speakers were left scratching their heads, said Li, according to a transcript of the briefing on the government Web site (www.gov.cn).
One of them was the former Premier Zhu Rongji, whose name had a rare "rong" character that gave newspaper editors headaches.
A Chinese couple tried to name their baby "@", claiming the character used in e-mail addresses echoed their love for the child, an official trying to whip the national language into line said on Thursday.
The unusual name stands out especially in Chinese, which has no alphabet and instead uses tens of thousands of multi-stroke characters to represent words.
"The whole world uses it to write e-mail, and translated into Chinese it means 'love him'," the father explained, according to the deputy chief of the State Language Commission Li Yuming.
While the "@" simple is familiar to Chinese e-mail users, they often use the English word "at" to sound it out -- which with a drawn out "T" sounds something like "ai ta", or "love him", to Mandarin speakers.
Li told a news conference on the state of the language that the name was an extreme example of people's increasingly adventurous approach to Chinese, as commercialisation and the Internet break down conventions.
Another couple tried to give their child a name that rendered into English sounds like "King Osrina."
Li did not say if officials accepted the "@" name. But earlier this year the government announced a ban on names using Arabic numerals, foreign languages and symbols that do not belong to Chinese minority languages.
Sixty million Chinese faced the problem that their names use ancient characters so obscure that computers cannot recognise them and even fluent speakers were left scratching their heads, said Li, according to a transcript of the briefing on the government Web site (www.gov.cn).
One of them was the former Premier Zhu Rongji, whose name had a rare "rong" character that gave newspaper editors headaches.
Friday, August 10, 2007
finished an unbelievable book. i seem to be saying THAT A LOT, but it's true. this was truly amazing. it made me feel...awakened. her narrative is so alive and real: it gave me real dreamy palpitations. what a writer. what a book! i actually read it very carefully. i truly felt transported. this is why i love books: they transport you to a scenario you've never imagined.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
it's just amazing how many people have the time to do this. okay, i'm just as guilty: i've built my own apt, went to church, even sat in on a law course @ the harvard second life law school, made second life friends but it seems like it was only good for the 1st 6 months: now i still have money in the second life bank and it's just sitting there.
how do they have the time to do this?!?!?!?
okay okay i know how: it's very addictive...just like law & order: SVU...
how do they have the time to do this?!?!?!?
okay okay i know how: it's very addictive...just like law & order: SVU...
Monday, August 06, 2007
this weekend was very very packed with action. friday was pretty easy-going actually, didn't do much, just watched lots of law & order: SVU and becoming jane. saturday, i watched the simpsons movie, which was a riot! then on sunday after church, i watched 10 hrs of law & order: SVU on the USA channel. yes, i'm obsessed. am i tired? nah.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
i think my roommie might be a genius. or weird.
i gave her one of the long island corns which my boss brought back for me. i told her about it as she was coming out of her room "do you want corn? yeah? okay i'll leave you one."
she has this dreamy look and i don't mean the look one has when one's fallen in love. it's a look that says "it's hazy...and i'm dreaming about some things...and am i really here?"
i don't think she does drugs. i think she's just plain weird.
or...she's a genius.
i gave her one of the long island corns which my boss brought back for me. i told her about it as she was coming out of her room "do you want corn? yeah? okay i'll leave you one."
she has this dreamy look and i don't mean the look one has when one's fallen in love. it's a look that says "it's hazy...and i'm dreaming about some things...and am i really here?"
i don't think she does drugs. i think she's just plain weird.
or...she's a genius.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
puerto rico/san juan was very relaxing. i think a 4-day trip is perfect: fly-in, beach, beach, eat, eat, beach some more, eat of course more, and fly-out. how fun. hot as hell but that's the whole point, isn't it?
read an unbelievable book on the beach: W. Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge. INCREDIBLE. i couldn't put it down. now i really want to go back to paris and travel. wow...this guy can really develop characters! it's not really a beachy-book, but once you get into it, i think you'd just get burned (like i did) and just carrying on reading the book. i give my 2 thumbs up for this! then i started my 2nd non-beachy beach book, James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. i read through about 1/4 of it (it's not a long one) and i had to put it down. i was getting headaches just reading it, trying to follow it. it was like reading via your 2nd language (well, 3rd in my case). ugh....i have no clue how to read this book. i could follow the plot alright, but i wasn't getting anything out of it. it was like studying for an exam, and who wants to do that at my age, especially at a beach!?!?!? i do NOT recommend this book as a beach book.
on another note, today was exciting because i just picked up my harry potter book from the library. VERY excited. so i won't be posting in the next few days as i work, teach, eat dinner with friends, facebooking, squeezing in book reading, no blogging. have a good week!
read an unbelievable book on the beach: W. Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge. INCREDIBLE. i couldn't put it down. now i really want to go back to paris and travel. wow...this guy can really develop characters! it's not really a beachy-book, but once you get into it, i think you'd just get burned (like i did) and just carrying on reading the book. i give my 2 thumbs up for this! then i started my 2nd non-beachy beach book, James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. i read through about 1/4 of it (it's not a long one) and i had to put it down. i was getting headaches just reading it, trying to follow it. it was like reading via your 2nd language (well, 3rd in my case). ugh....i have no clue how to read this book. i could follow the plot alright, but i wasn't getting anything out of it. it was like studying for an exam, and who wants to do that at my age, especially at a beach!?!?!? i do NOT recommend this book as a beach book.
on another note, today was exciting because i just picked up my harry potter book from the library. VERY excited. so i won't be posting in the next few days as i work, teach, eat dinner with friends, facebooking, squeezing in book reading, no blogging. have a good week!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
i've been getting addicted (okay, not geteting, but just am) to law & order: SVU. so much so that i feel like there's a narrative going on in my head everytime i'm walking, doing things or just even thinking. this was my thought-trail on my way to work this morning:
scene: walking out of the 59th Street-Lexington subway station
olivia benson: "our vic was walking to work, without any care in the world"
Elliot Stabler: shakes his head
benson: look, she obviously stopped at 58th & lex, looking at the fruit cart. you can see her foot print in the rain/mud here
stabler: she obviously loves fruit...or was it the person who was selling it that drew her to the stand?
benson: she certainly didn't linger long
stabler: it was raining pretty hard
benson: look over there elliott. this is her new york times. she had the newsprint ink on her fingers
stabler: looks like she only read the arts section and threw out the other ones
benson: well, we know that our vic was in the arts
etc.
i'm going crazy!
scene: walking out of the 59th Street-Lexington subway station
olivia benson: "our vic was walking to work, without any care in the world"
Elliot Stabler: shakes his head
benson: look, she obviously stopped at 58th & lex, looking at the fruit cart. you can see her foot print in the rain/mud here
stabler: she obviously loves fruit...or was it the person who was selling it that drew her to the stand?
benson: she certainly didn't linger long
stabler: it was raining pretty hard
benson: look over there elliott. this is her new york times. she had the newsprint ink on her fingers
stabler: looks like she only read the arts section and threw out the other ones
benson: well, we know that our vic was in the arts
etc.
i'm going crazy!
Friday, June 22, 2007
L: OMG
did you hear this?
in australia
a couple was trying to name their kid
4Real
C: HAHAAHAH
L: and the country won't allow it
but the thing is
the parents and the kid are ADORABLE
so now he will be registered as REAL
C: HAHAAHAHAH
hey real
L: HEY YOU
C: "is this for real?"
"what is?"
"this package"
"...yes it's a real package"
L: you are out of control
C: "no, this is for real?"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
that can go on and on
HAHAHAAHHA
did you hear this?
in australia
a couple was trying to name their kid
4Real
C: HAHAAHAH
L: and the country won't allow it
but the thing is
the parents and the kid are ADORABLE
so now he will be registered as REAL
C: HAHAAHAHAH
hey real
L: HEY YOU
C: "is this for real?"
"what is?"
"this package"
"...yes it's a real package"
L: you are out of control
C: "no, this is for real?"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
that can go on and on
HAHAHAAHHA
Thursday, June 21, 2007
this week, i was off from work, as the office is undergoing some serious renovation: repainting and recarpeting. it's as if we're moving to another location. it was a good time to throw out many things and of course, to plan new locations for items, etc. fun...
i meant to stop by a beach this week, but somehow the week flew. today finally, i got to go to the robert moses state park beach, which is my favorite in fire island.
it was a relaxing 4 hours, sleeping, listening to music, and of course, - AS USUAL - being burnt alive. it was truly a great SoCal weather!!! water really makes me happy...
Thursday, June 07, 2007
am back to NYC for 40 hours (well, by now, 22 hrs). bumped into my roommate in the subway yesterday going home from teaching.
we actually had a normal convo! i found out that she's an only child of an elderly couple (her mom was 21 when she married her hubby of 44 years old - but didn't have my roommate until the mom was in her 40's and now my roommie's dad is in his 80's!!!), no siblings, all the cousins are way way older, so i said, wow, you must be pretty spoiled. and she said actually, that's very true. i am the youngest in my extended family.
she also told me that she hates her birthstate of GA (sorry Boy & Girl's Mommy!), hates driving, so she loves NYC. she loves the apt & the easy commute it provides. she was a part-timer last semester but from fall, she said she'll be doing a full-time, a combined BA/MA track. she even waited with me as i got sushi from the local japinese (that's no misspelling: it's for those combo japanese & chinese restaurants) and chatted. she's definitely a quiet one, but now, i think we're reaching some sort of roommate-ship!!!
we actually had a normal convo! i found out that she's an only child of an elderly couple (her mom was 21 when she married her hubby of 44 years old - but didn't have my roommate until the mom was in her 40's and now my roommie's dad is in his 80's!!!), no siblings, all the cousins are way way older, so i said, wow, you must be pretty spoiled. and she said actually, that's very true. i am the youngest in my extended family.
she also told me that she hates her birthstate of GA (sorry Boy & Girl's Mommy!), hates driving, so she loves NYC. she loves the apt & the easy commute it provides. she was a part-timer last semester but from fall, she said she'll be doing a full-time, a combined BA/MA track. she even waited with me as i got sushi from the local japinese (that's no misspelling: it's for those combo japanese & chinese restaurants) and chatted. she's definitely a quiet one, but now, i think we're reaching some sort of roommate-ship!!!
Monday, June 04, 2007
greetings from toronto. it's such a beautiful and POLITE and SMILEY city. boy, i have forgotten how nice everyone here is. what's wrong with them!?!?! hahahaha i've been in nyc too long :)
anyway, it's pretty crazy, being with such international cast of crew here, the journalists from abroad always bring me to the latest european way of thinking and other newsy bits. the hotel is nice and everything not TOO coordinated (i mean, it IS the 1st year of the festival) but still, very enjoyable and i believe the guests are enjoying as well.
back to nyc on wed night and then back up here again on friday.
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) <--- that's Canadian for "Have a nice rest of the week!"
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
yesterday was my 10th year anniversary @ the company where i work at. it was literally the 10th anniversay DAY, as i graduated from my masters on friday before the memorial day in 1997, started work on tuesday right after memorial day.
so my boss & his wife took me out to Daniel and what a treat it was!
throughout the 3 hr dinner, i was floating in champagne, red & white wines, 3 courses that were absolutely delightful and pre- and post-dinner goodies from the resaturant. i really want to get married there now (i know, i know, i should first get a live human male first and then decide what to do, right?).
it was a wonderful night!
so my boss & his wife took me out to Daniel and what a treat it was!
throughout the 3 hr dinner, i was floating in champagne, red & white wines, 3 courses that were absolutely delightful and pre- and post-dinner goodies from the resaturant. i really want to get married there now (i know, i know, i should first get a live human male first and then decide what to do, right?).
it was a wonderful night!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
saw shrek the 3rd on monday. it was very enjoyable, especially puss :) and so many others, too numerous to mention.
been reading these books by elizabeth aston. very enjoyable!
i hate people who say "i'm trying my best." <--- i know, that's random.
been reading these books by elizabeth aston. very enjoyable!
i hate people who say "i'm trying my best." <--- i know, that's random.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
yesterday, i made my 14 y.o. student cry at the piano lesson. it's been awhile since i made a student cry. honestly, it wasn't my fault. he's just very emotional. i've been teaching this kid since he was 5. needless to say, we've developed a special bond and due to that, sometimes he thinks just anything would fly: nuh-uh. whether we're close or not, i'm still his teacher and i made a point of that. a case in point:
boy: "why do i have to repeat it? i already did it"
me: "because that's practicing - AS YOU KNOW. do it again from that line"
boy: "why?"
me: boy, do it again
boy: "i don't wanna do it again. i've already done it"
me: do it again
boy: "WHATEVER"
me: okay, boy, i guess you don't need my guidance. i'm leaving
boy: "what?!?! why??" *starts to cry*
me: why are you crying? obviously, you don't need my teaching. you think i'm putting you through torture for no reason but to spite you. so you don't need my abuse
boy: "no...i'm sorry..."
etc.
so i didn't leave. he said he'd feel worse if i left. after the lesson, it was as if nothing happened. sunny disposition again. all that teenage hormones gone away.
sigh - i can't wait to be a parent..
NOT!!!!!!!!
boy: "why do i have to repeat it? i already did it"
me: "because that's practicing - AS YOU KNOW. do it again from that line"
boy: "why?"
me: boy, do it again
boy: "i don't wanna do it again. i've already done it"
me: do it again
boy: "WHATEVER"
me: okay, boy, i guess you don't need my guidance. i'm leaving
boy: "what?!?! why??" *starts to cry*
me: why are you crying? obviously, you don't need my teaching. you think i'm putting you through torture for no reason but to spite you. so you don't need my abuse
boy: "no...i'm sorry..."
etc.
so i didn't leave. he said he'd feel worse if i left. after the lesson, it was as if nothing happened. sunny disposition again. all that teenage hormones gone away.
sigh - i can't wait to be a parent..
NOT!!!!!!!!
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