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Thursday, January 31, 2008

Don't know who to vote for the US presidential election?

Try taking this short survey. It may help you decide to see what each candidate's platform better matches your ideals. I was surprised to find I actually matched the most with the candidate I am planing to vote for.

posted by shine at Thursday, January 31, 2008 0 Comments Links to this post

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Only You rant to almost no end

When I was 14, in my junior year of high school one of my best friends gave me the soundtrack to the movie Only You (1994) on tape. It quickly became my favorite soundtrack and very first of many soundtracks I would buy. The movie had already left an indelible impression on me the first time I saw behind the scenes footage as it was up and coming on E! news. I think I was 12 or 13. That was seriously the best present I got that time. I don't even remember if I even told her about that movie (maybe it's because she studied classical piano forever), but either way, I really owe her...or maybe blame her for my obsession (yes doc Pauline THAT would be YOU! :P---do you even remember that?!).

That tape was borrowed by a classmate for a human diorama project. The soundtrack was perfect since it presented a lot of orchestrated soft music. Well after a week of that competition, I never saw the tape again. Yeah she probably lost it or jacked it like the other stuff I let her borrow or the money she owed and never paid me back for, but that's besides the point. I was devastated, but figured I could just buy it when I see it again. Three years later, I decided to actively search for it. I tried Bestbuy, Target, Warehouse, Wal-Mart, any place that sold CDs. NOTHING. Bummed, I end up buying the VHS tape (this was before DVDs became common and cheap) and was kind of satisfied for the time being. Only You is kind of my guilty pleasure and one of my most favorite movies of all time. Yes it is up there with Audrey Hepburn movies.

A few more years later at the age of19, and now a junior in college, I realized I had to have the soundtrack with me again. I checked online couldn't find it at first and resorted to Audiogalaxy before it was shut down like all things great. After I graduated college I tried the search again. I was relieved to see it on Amazon and immediately put it on my wish list and "to buy" list only to find that it is no longer in print and would have to resort to resellers charging an exorbitant amount of money for new editions of the soundtrack (seriously $75?! When most cds cost $11-17. This isn't first pressing of the Sound of Music!). ANYWAY, I finally find a seller selling a mint version. Price is not cheap, but fair. I'm desperate, but not crazy. After a few inquiries on the condition (some sellers had new editions with a hole in the barcode--no thanks), I placed my order with much excitement. Think of it people, I waited about 15 years for this!

TODAY was the culmination of years of searching and pining. I finally receive both my CD and DVD of the movie. I am overjoyed with the condition of the CD and see the condition is pristine and worth every penny (even though I kind of feel ripped off since I'm poor).

Now I don't even bother to immediately open the box with the DVD in it, cause I know its new and I have the tape. Finally after I finish cooking and paying the bills, I open the box and find the book I ordered and the DVD. I am utterly in horror with the DVD I bought from Amazon. The DVD cover was redone and if you are a collector and purist like me, you know how annoying it is when they repackage something. It looks cheap as if the movie has been violated. Disney has been doing this to me for years every time they release their animated films to DVD. I am saddened each time to see them not use the images they used for the tape. Anyway, I digress.

They only change the font title, but it is a poorly done craptastic Photoshopped version. UGH! I don't know why the HELL THEY HAD TO MESS WITH IT! WTF?!! It freaking looks like a bootleg copy! Now, I have waited a long time to buy this DVD in hopes of them potentially releasing some extra footage (which it doesn't have unfortunately) and find them changing the cover art to some really EFFED UP CRAP PHOTOSHOPPED MESS. I am very pissed, but don't want to bother returning it (too much hassle with postage and crap and I don't have time). So, I am going to open it (yes it is still sealed at the point) in hopes of finding something better inside (the cover art says it was changed in 2006) and hope to God I will find the classic version before the violated DVD cover change of 2006. WHO IS THAT mother effer that decided to change the freaking title ANYWAY????? How annoying!

On a side note, yesterday ome bastard opened my thin package from Amazon (it was/still is raining, so it may have split open and some loser probably had a look. Anyway, they left it hanging open in the mail area of my apt. They probably thought they would find something nice. Sorry guys, all you'll get is a new edition of "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing" I spent nearly $1000 in books this semester, so I'm glad no pathetic sole had any interest in my poor boring book.

Back to the movie. Strangely enough, even after watching the movie again after so many years (saw it once in college and again two weeks ago), it has maintained it's greatness in my eyes. You know that feeling of having a particular impression of a movie the first time you see it as a kid, and then after you grow up and see it again, it's not as magical as it used to be? Well that didn't happen to be for this movie. It felt the same as it did the first time I saw it. If anything, I understood it a little more now. That is the movie that made me fall in love with Italy. It is the movie that introduced me to the movie Sabrina, An Affair to Remember, Roman Holiday, An American in Paris, and so many other classic movies about hope, love and romance. I'm a real sucker for those kinds of movies, but they have to be light, happy and fluffy XD.

For Christmas my cousin gave me Superbad which was pretty funny and a Dean Martin CD. True to the movies I love to watch, I also love the music of the time from Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, etc. You get the idea. I'm am really happy to add it to my collection and I play it while I cook dinner. So I got a lot of Italy today I guess. I associate so many nice and happy memories with Italy from the food to the art, the scenery, the music, the people etc. I told my mom that after I finish my masters I'll take everyone to Italy for vacation. I won't be able to do it during my Ph.D. program, so that time is as good as any. My plan is to go to definitely go to Venice, Rome, Florence, Positano, and maybe Milan and Naples if I'm lucky. Ah how wonderful it would be to see the sights and eat the food XD. Anyway my rant is over for now. I have to kick back and relax. My brain has been fried from hours of reading *sigh*

posted by shine at Thursday, January 24, 2008 0 Comments Links to this post

Monday, January 21, 2008

Five for Fighting Autism? Do some good with just one click :)

Hi all,

Please view this video and send to everyone you know...every little bit will help! The band, Five for Fighting, is generously donating $0.49 to Autism Speaks for *each time* the video is viewed.

Funding goes toward research studies to help find a cure. When you have a moment, please visit the link below to watch the video and pass it along to your friends and family. They are aiming for 10,000 hits, but hopefully we can help them to surpass this goal.

http://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/408214

More infor can be found at Five for Fighting's website:
http://www.fiveforfighting.com/

I know some of you are skeptical, but the world is full of skeptics. We need believers to help change the world. As someone who has worked with children with autism, I assure you that it isn't a disorder that will just go away. It is an emotionally draining and painful disorder for the families and for the children diagnosed. Many do not understand the disorder. So far, there is no cure. Why am I so passinate about it? Because my nephew also has autism and one kids I've worked with also has autism. I also know my work with children with autism will not stop here. Both boys are extremely intelligent and loving who are very fortunate to have loving families with the resources to help their child, but that did not come easy for either family. It is a daily struggle. So few understand what goes in the world of a child with autism. No two cases are alike. I don't know if there will ever be a cure, but they certainly need help, be it for a cure, or be it for insurance and legislation. Please be aware and help lessen the world of ignorance.

posted by shine at Monday, January 21, 2008 0 Comments Links to this post

Art, friends and food

Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend. Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day :)
I forgot to post pictures from my dinner with my friend the other night. I actually got home around midnight and opted to just sleep at my apartment and drive to my parents' house the next morning. Anyway I'm here at home and made a few rolls of sushi. I was going to make onigiri, but decided it would be more nutritious to make sushi since I could add veggies instead of just rice and a piece of meat or plum.

Anyway, I had a fun time catching up and hearing about all the places my friend went to in Europe this summer. I found it kind of funny that I saw the Venus de Milo at the Getty in Los Angeles and now it's at the Louvre in Paris (they demanded it back since it was a "lost artifact". I believe I saw the article of Paris demanding all their art back from all the museums and private collectors around the world last year. Well I say finders keepers! That's why I hate France). Anyway, I'm glad I got to see and touch it before they took it away.

Tangent: It's kind of cool and annoying how they rotate art around the world. For instance, I was very pissed to find that Dahli's Persistence of Memory was on loan at the Salvador Dahli Museum in Florida when I went to the MoMA over the summer in New York. It will return to the MoMa in June of this year I believe. My consolation was being able to see the Girl Before a Mirror by Picasso just to name one, and Starry Night By Vincent Van Gogh. Oh right and I saw a few Andy Worhol paintings (Marilyn, Campbel's Soup Cans).

My friend says as countries get more industrialized, they get more anal about their art and museums. Most of the museums she went to would not allow any kind of photography. I say BS. Non flash photography, especially for well known paintings that everyone has seen on TV or popular media should be okay to be taken pictures of. It's not like that will increase creative fraud. Plus, taking pictures of marble, bronze or stone won't harm it anyway, so I don't see the point. Anyway, she was able to sneak a shot of the David by Michaelangelo XD and a few others including Cupid and Psyche by Antonio Canova (which is absolutely stunning). My friend is web shy so no pictures of us are going to be posted here.

Here's the food we ate at Shin-Sen-Gumi's in Fountain Valley. We ate at the Yakitori restaurant side and skipped the noodles. Nice quaint place, decent price, good food, lively atmosphere, great friendly service :) Highly recommended if you want a small relaxed atmosphere with good food and decent service. Be aware there's only one small bathroom though D:

The following pictures are copyright by Shine.









These last two are courtesy of my friend since I was too embarrassed to take more pictures of each individual plate XD


Above is special fried onigiri and on the side are pickles.


Above is great tea brule (it's so good). I love anything green tea except for the Coffee Bean Iced grean tea (that's nasty stuff). Otherwise Coffee Bean rocks my socks.

For food titles, descriptions and more info please go to my flickr page :) Too lazy and filled with sushi to write more.

posted by shine at Monday, January 21, 2008 0 Comments Links to this post

Friday, January 18, 2008

Enzo's at Westwood

First week of the New Years it was raining all over SoCal...hard. Nevertheless, Cris, Rahil and I went through with it and met up at Enzo's in Westwood. Mark was in the area, so he came too :)



Cris (as usual) had the meat filled calzone (no veggies--God forbid). Mark and Rahil I believe also had their respective calzones since neither Mark or Rahil has ever eaten or heard of Enzo's. Cris and I have eaten there quite a few times when we were in college. He introduced me to the place which quickly became my favorite. Paul (our friend through the UCC--which I met through Cris) even bought Cris and I dinner during the eve of our graduation and we ate at the same table those many years back. Rahil was pretty focused on school, research work and her boyfriend from USC (who is now her husband of almost two years ^^), so she hardly knew any restaurants in the area and was surprised she never noticed the tiny spot across from the Fox Theatre and Jerry's Deli.



Despite the extremely crappy weather (the streets were pretty flooded and rain was a down pour), the place was still packed when we got there at 7:30pm. Crazy huh? I mean they issued mudslide warnings in Malibu and flood warnings and evacuations in various parts of SoCal. But hey, we haven't seen each other in a year, so there was no stopping us :). It was nice to meet up with them again even though we kinda got in trouble for being too noisy XD.

I was telling Cris my apartment deal and how I ended up at C & O's Tratoria by accident. He was smiling cause he remembered how he took me there for my 21st birthday. I'll never forget that day. He said he still has the lyric sheet of "That's Amore". I still have the picture of us and the lyric sheet :) Special people along with great food makes very happy :)

posted by shine at Friday, January 18, 2008 0 Comments Links to this post

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Christmas 2007 Pictures

I realize I should have posted these before my New Years update, but I'm getting more and more lazy uploading pictures. Luckily it's much easier to upload pictures now than before. I think having virtually unlimited memory and battery causes people to be picture happy and upload lazy. Regardless, I managed to get these out there. I know if I didn't do it now, I'll never do it (which explains the gross lack of updates and picture postings. Well here you go.

Graham Cracker House!
Graham cracker house by Shine, Eric and Tatay. We used several tubs of icing for that edifice. Eric suggested we make something smaller and more Hanzel and Grettle so we can use more candy. I agree. We spent way too much on making that diabetics nightmare >_>


Our Christmas tree :)
Our Christmas tree. Brother and I are quite proud at how Christmassy our house looks this year. It's so more festive if I may say so myself.


Auntie's house
Christmas Eve at my aunt's house. I can't believe we talked till 4am!


Cousins at Oxnard
Christmas day at my grandfather's house. Shanelle, Alexa and Shawn. The only "little" kids left among the cousins.

posted by shine at Wednesday, January 02, 2008 0 Comments Links to this post

Happy 2008!

Hm, I just checked the Chinese New Year (this year on Feb 7) it will be the year of the rat. Great. Lol.
Anyway, I guess I should blog about the past year and my New Year Celebration. The year 2007 was a really big transition period for both me and my family. Many things shifted in my house hold and many achievements and successes were made as well. Overall 2007 has been really great. My mom has become a really great boss at her work, my brother is actually enjoying his senior year, I have survived living in LA and first year of grad school on my own, and my dad has started working out and is showing more appreciation for my mom that I never knew about.

New Years eve my aunt and her family came to visit us and we had a lot of fun. It was really great to have the house so full of people and kids (four boys 9+) playing together and bonding like kids today do. I got to catch up with my two older cousins and got to learn how our grandmother was when she was still alive (she died before I was born). It was really awesome to hear about my lola and their child hood playing and pulling pranks of my other cousins. We lived far away from my mom's side, so I mostly hung out with my father's side of the family. We ate a whole lot that day and moved the party over to my grandfather's house (dad's side). The adults sang karaoke and just laughed all night. It was really funny since they were able to get my nephew (2nd cousin) and younger cousin to sing (although it sounded like reading). My oldest cousin sings really well as does her youngest sister. The second oldest sister can't sing for beans and neither can their brother, but hey he sure has guts especially being a teenager. Voltes V anyone?

In the entertainment room all the younger people crowded and played CTR. My brother got pwned by our 9 year old nephew, which is pretty funny (he is 17 and essentially memorizes the game). He also lost against our cousin (14). I told him he is losing his touch and is getting old already being beat by the younger generation :D. It was pretty amusing to see four kids around the same age all together and two teenagers. I was the oldest in the room (T^T) for a time until my uncle came in. I was the youngest in the karaoke room though, but avoided that place heavily in fear of being asked to sing. Such a noisy bunch they were! Not that the kids weren't screaming and yelling as they played either. Five minutes till New years my 14 year old cousin (who is also 5'9") was asked to sing and he sure did. I forgot what song he was singing (I think it was a Phil Colins song), but he sang through the New Year and we used our cell phones to check the time since the TV was in karaoke mode and no one would stop him lol. We're saying his singing was attributed to the several shots of sparkling cider. He is a scary drunk XD.

We slept around 4am yesterday and woke up at around 10:30am. I helped my mom cook breakfast and we had everyone up and ready by lunchtime. So our house was packed since yesterday. My aunt, uncle, cousins and nephew left yesterday afternoon and I pretty much finished labeling our old home movies. My own video is missing though, so I guess my dad will have to reburn that tape to dvd. Oh right and we ate a bit of our graham cracker house and my cousins ate the sled I made for the ginger bread man disguised as Santa ^^.

Now I have to help clean the garage, and get my stuff ready. I am having dinner with friends on Friday in LA, so I guess I'll bring some of my stuff over to lighten the load next week. I am so not ready to go back to school especially knowing we won't be having summer vacation *sigh* At least I was able to spend it with my family :)

Goal for this year, keep my 4.0, save money, make my apartment nice and pretty, learn to study more efficiently while working, have fun in school and try to make time for family more often :)

posted by shine at Wednesday, January 02, 2008 0 Comments Links to this post