News break

My cousin, VD and his family live in downtown Seattle. This shooting news from yesterday scared me. Fortunately, the gunman is taken to custody and VD is fine. Six victims: one dead, five wounded, all women.

According to Amy Wasser-Simpson, the vice president for planning and community services for the Jewish Federation, the man had told staff members, "I'm a Muslim American; I'm angry at Israel," then began shooting.

Obviously, the suspect is upset about what was going on in Israel, but gosh damn it, why hurt people!?! I'm glad that VD is ok.

More pleasant news: PG County 5th District Court Judge R. Palumbo has left the bench. Yahwoo! He mistreated women who came before him seeking protective orders in domestic-abuse cases, and using his status (salary: $118,502) as a judge to sway police. Yvette Cade, 30-something, was a victim of abuse came before Palumbo to seek help. Instead of help, the douchebag judge dismissed the protective order standing between Cade and her abusive husband. In October, "the husband" doused her with gasoline and lit her on fire. Cade suffered 60% burns on her body. Palumbo has been limited to administrative duties since. Thank goodness he has resigned.

Speaking of leaving, I'm composing a resignation letter from my current job. It's time to move on. As Connie Chung gracefully (haha) puts it, "thanx for the memories". I will work for one more week (haha) at the EPA building, then start my new one on August 7th. SG, DY and I went to a local (shady) bar last night to celebrate my news and SG's resignation from her wine super store. Omigosh. Identical "quitting our jobs" twins! Bottles up.

There's an article in the July/August 2006 issue of Maryland Life magazine about my kayaking trip last summer. I forget what page.

Violation of international law

I don’t know the best way to respond to Kumea’s frustration about the Middle East crisis. The way I see it, this war is between Israel and Hezbollah, and the sad realization is that Hezbollah is in Lebanon, involving innocent civilians – which is a direct violation of international law.

I found Mr. Fouad Ajami's attempted explanation enlightening partly because I’m learning the turmultuous history of that region. Below is the excerpt from his essay:

Pity Lebanon: In a world of states, it has not had a state of its own. A garden without fences, was the way Beirut, its capital city, was once described. [...]

That raid into Israel, the capture of the two Israeli soldiers, was a deliberate attack against the new Lebanon. That the crisis would play out when the mighty of the G-8 were assembled in Russia was a good indication of Iran's role in this turn of events. Hassan Nasrallah had waded beyond his depth: The moment of his glory would mark what is destined to be a setback of consequence for him and for his foot soldiers. Iran's needs had trumped Hezbollah's more strictly Lebanese agenda. [...]

But the Lebanese have been given to feuds among themselves, and larger players have found it easy to insert themselves into that small, fragile republic. Now the Lebanese have been given yet again a cautionary tale about what befalls lands without sovereign, responsible states of their own. [...]

Lebanon's strength lies in its weakness, went an old maxim. And the Arab states themselves were for decades egregious in the way they treated Lebanon, shifting onto it the burden of the Palestinian fight with Israel, acquiescing in the encroachments on its sovereignty by the Palestinians and the Syrians--encroachments often subsidized with Arab money. Iran then picked up where the Arab states left off. Now that weakness of the Lebanese state has become a source of great menace to the Lebanese, and to their neighbors as well.

No one can say with confidence how this crisis will play out. There are limits on what Israel can do in Lebanon. The Israelis will not be pulled deeper into Lebanon and its villages and urban alleyways, and Israel can't be expected to disarm Hezbollah or to find its missiles in Lebanon's crannies. Finding the political way out, and working out a decent security arrangement on the border, will require a serious international effort and active American diplomacy. International peacekeeping forces have had a bad name, and they often deserve it. But they may be inevitable on Lebanon's border with Israel; they may be needed to buy time for the Lebanese government to come into full sovereignty over its soil.

Currently, still nothing good is coming out of these hostilities.

• Following the deaths of four UN observers in an Israeli air strike, Australia has withdrawn 12 UN peacekeepers, describing the prospect of sending an international force to Lebanon right now as a "suicide mission"
• A poll of Israelis published by Israel's Maariv daily newspaper suggests 82% back the continuing offensive and 95% say Israel's action is justified [...]

Foreign ministers from key countries - including the US, UK and regional powers - attended emergency talks on the crisis in Rome on Wednesday.
They did not call for an immediate ceasefire, vowing instead to work with the "utmost urgency" for a sustainable truce.

I don’t mean to point fingers, but Lebanon can’t seem to control its minority groups and militias; therefore, there’s no security and control in its state. Israel’s action is not accepted either. I only hope that there’ll be some type of peace treaty between the two factions. Ugh!

Must.think.cooler.thoughts

Washington DC is experiencing Code Red air quality. The heat wave + three beautiful rascals = system.overload. I'm glad the AC is working at the mall and at my folks' apartment. I can deal with my basement room not having AC, but I can't handle it if the kids are there. It's just too hot.

The photo above is for some cool thoughts. It's the Yellowstone River, upstream of the Grand Canyon in the winter. It rarely freezes over because its waters are "geothermally heated". Have a nice breezy weekend, everybody.

Camping with the wild ponies

At some point on vacation, I’d like to relax, to enjoy quiet time and to connect with the natural outdoors. Not very long ago (haha), godparents GG and JA enrolled me and He-Who-Must-Not-be-Named brother in an overnight week-long camp with 4-H. During that time, I’ve learned to be reflective and to take advantage of silence. Despite the whirl of activities like swimming, hiking, group singing, arts & crafts, archery, horseback riding, bocce and canoeing, we have lots of quiet time.

This past 3-day weekend, quibbling niece (4), nephews (10, 2), Má Năm, her honorary son (14) and I camped at Eagles Nest campground on the Assateague National Seashore beaches. Let’s just say that each one of us connect to the natural world at different levels. Má Năm loves electricity and her various electronics (MP3 player, queen-size air mattress pump, fan, cell charger, alarm clock and some other gadgets I have never seen before or see her use them). I must say, she’s amazing behind the wheel. It has been a long time since I was last a passenger in a car. Of all the nail technicians I’ve worked with, she likes camping the most. Her honorary son enjoys sleep and very much looks forward to going home to see Disney’s "High School Musical" (or some cheesy TV kid show). His favorite part about the trip was playing in the Atlantic Ocean waves (until the lifeguards kicked us out of the water because of the approaching summer t-storms). Buzz-cut nephew likes to torture animals. I found various critters (sea urchins, water hermit crabs, fiddler crabs, snails) by the pier early in the AM and brought back for show-and-tell. Before I realized what had happened, the sea creatures were all dying or dead. He stone speared the giant jellyfish with sharp rocks from the shore and poked the hermit crabs out of their shells. He lured the wild ponies with M&M chocolates and purposely hit the ponies in the head with a stick. Behind all those "macho" attitudes, he’s really scared of bugs and all things that crawl and slither. Quibbling niece loves to ask "why? why? why? why?" and insists that I give thorough answers - but they don’t have to be correct; they just have to be within her realm of understanding, such as "if you don’t put that fish hook down, you’ll injure yourself; because the hook is pointy and sharp; because Zebco made it so that the fish won’t get away when it’s hooked by the mouth; because kids aren’t suppose to play with sharp objects; because I TELL YOU SO!". Youngest large-eyes nephew is quite a character. He keeps me sane simply by being himself. He wakes up earlier than the other campers and enjoys playing in the waves and digging for Emerita talpoida mole crabs. He likes to talk and easily befriends with nearby campers. At nightfall he persist that I tell him a story “ngày xủa ngày xữa…” for everyone to hear before bedtime.

When everyone’s asleep, and Má Năm has had her third glass of red wine, I make my escape with a couple of Heinekens out to the edge of the fishing pier. On the first night, I was on the dark side of the lone thin pier and counted the shooting stars. I also saw teenagers skinny dipped at the dock, yelling “OMG, it’s cold! it’s cold! Ahhh. Haha. Jelly! Sh*t! What the h*ll was that!?” So much for quiet time, but I didn’t (couldn’t) complain. It was too amusing. When it finally got all quiet, I got to thinking. Ok, anybody that knows me know that I hate thinking, so technically I was contemplating, contemplating about why my hands aren’t silky smooth, why my second toe is longer than the big one, why the monkey bite scar (among many others) is still noticeable, why my PJ’s got a hole in it, and why Metallica songs are in my head and why I didn’t ask for that gentleman’s number at the hookah bar??? Before heading back to the communal tent, I skipped a few stones and walked back to my campsite satisfied. With the stressful world we live in, I’m glad to have the air in my lungs and the growing circle of friends and family that care about each other despite the dramas and rumors.

Being in the outdoors setting teaches us how to be calm and reflective. Moments of contemplation (when we get them) help us to relax and slow down. It’s one of the best parts about camping. The beers help too (when the kids are asleep). I am, however, delighted to be back in the city, back to work, back to civilization. It is a shame that since I’ve been gone, Israel has been bombing Lebanon. There’s nothing good that will come out of this. The invasion has already destabilized Lebanon. If someone had bombed my airport, my cell-phone networks, bridges and killing my civilians in my Sims City, I'd retaliate with utmost force. Seriously, the attacks have to stop; Lebanon is having a hard time already, politically and emotionally. I do hope both sides will soon find a way to end the violence. Nowal has an online petition for Israel to leave - come on over to support that appeal.

Bomb in Mumbai

Seven bombs struck a commuter train in a Mumbai suburb. There are anxious relatives gather around the lists of the names of dead and injured at hospitals today. The initial speculation is Kashmiri separatists -- damn despicable scumbags! My condolences go out to the people of Bombay/Mumbai. I have not heard back from Rustom. I hope his family and friends are ok. For more updated info and how to help, go here.

In other news, Zidane apologizes for the headbutt.

WHAT WAS SAID?
BBC Radio Five Live asked a deaf lip reader to read Materazzi's words phonetically to an Italian translator:
She deciphered the insult as being "you're the son of a terrorist whore"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The BBC's Ten O'Clock News called in experts to study the television footage who said:
Materazzi told Zidane to "calm down" before accusing him of being a "liar" and wished "an ugly death to you and your family". This was followed by "Go f*** yourself" [...]

There were claims the Italian had called Zidane a "terrorist", but in Tuesday's edition of the Italian newspaper La Gazetta dello Sport, Materazzi said: "It was the kind of insult you will hear dozens of times and just slips out on the field.

Geesh. Why the headbutt? It hurts the scalp. If someone had insulted my mother, I'd give him the high kick, not launching my crown into his chest. That way, the ref would give me a yellow card instead of a send-off. Though, I'm glad Zidane apologized -- it's a professional thing to do.

Ahoy, Mateys -- restock the rum!

"Two students and a kid [tickets], please." Haha. Trynn Diesel is cheap!

Last night, Brother in Black, SG and I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2 at the one and only ghetto mall. I love the ghetto mall ::insert sarcasm::, and I actually liked POTC2 despite NQ and PN's disappointments. The story line was quite weak, but we were there to root for Captain Jack Sparrow and his bottle of rum and his "jar of dirt". SG pre-gamed with a couple of drinks (naturally :-); Brother in Black got some love by females friends at the mall (the horror in my eyes! girls are manipulative, deceitful and devious!); while I reminisced about life on the open sea. I won't spoil the plot's details for those that haven't seen the flick yet. If you're seeking great special effects and non-stop action, this is the summer movie to see. And if you love pirates and rum like SG and I, Cap. Jack will live up to your expectations. If ya want to wait and rent the film, I don't blame ya. By the way, I don't think the Garifuna people were as vicious as the film has depicted -- their cannibalistic role was pure entertainment.

World Cup final: WTH? What could Italy's Materazzi have possibly said or done that Zidane wouldn't have experienced before in his career? That headbutt was uncalled for. Congratulations, Italia! Great song choice for the trophy/ending ceremony: U2's "One"

Wedding, yay!

Yup. I'm driving mum and dad to a friend's wedding tomorrow. Congratulations Mr.& Mrs. Tang Kien An. I found this silly "how-to" lifesaver that just might do the trick while I attend the reception. No harm intended.

How to stop people from bugging you about getting married:

Old aunts used to come up to me at weddings, poking me in the ribs and cackling, telling me, "You're next." They stopped after I started doing the same thing to them at funerals.

Ok, serious now... since the family is devout Christians (funny how so many Asians are pulled into these Western religions...i dunno), here's a quote from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a:

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

Chúc mừng An & Thanh.

Save the amphibians

Climate scientists have warned that global warming could spur deadly disease epidemics. The study suggests that the amphibian world is experiencing such effect. Therefore, humans and other species should consider themselves duly warned.

Hundreds of amphibian species will become extinct unless a global action plan is put into practice very soon, conservationists warn.

Campaigners are forming an Amphibian Survival Alliance, to raise $400m and carry through a rescue strategy.

More than a third of all amphibian species are said to be in peril.

In a policy statement issued in the journal Science, researchers blame a number of factors including habitat loss, climate change and disease.[...]

The losses are caused by land-use change; commercial overexploitation; invasive species pushing out native amphibians; and a wave of disease.

The situation led to a summit last year being called in Washington DC, where a global action plan was agreed.

Amphibians are extremely sensitive to environmental change. There are rigid evidences of its peril that warn of such climate change dangers. Lots of talk and not enough action...

Today is the one-year anniversary of the 7/7 bombings in London. I was horrified at the time. Aside from my former roommates' safety, I was concerned about the racism and xenophobic notion against Muslims in London and other European countries after that bomb incident. It's kinda sad how some people are fearful of change and being open minded to others.

And I shed a tear or two...

I'm back from my extended Fourth of July weekend ocean holiday. What an amazing time at the New Jersey seashores. The beach house, the 4 foot waves, the night board walk, the Cape May lighthouse and of course the hospitality from Green's Liquor store was amazing. I love it. My only advice to you all beach goers is to bring along sunblock lotion (UVA & UVB, SPF 30 at least). More importantly, make sure the sunscreen lotion is effective, not from two years ago. Otherwise, you'll look like me now, a red lobster with irritable pain all over. Nevertheless, I had a blast with my G'burg friends. Throughout the weekend, SG's mission was "to kill Trynn"; NQ was to take my inheritance (which was kinda sad cuz we all calculated how much I was worth, and it's only $3,000 tops); LG's mission was to construct a perfect coverup so that no one would ever noticed I'm gone. Well, mission: impossible because this time I plead that I am loveable and capable; therefore, this world needs me. Kind of a lame excuse, but hey I am still alive, hehe. I love you gals (happy teardrop discharge).

Portugal lost to a freakin' penalty kick by French midfielder Zidane. Soo deeply disappointed (a teardrop is shed). C. Ronaldo still has a lot to learn. He cried long before Portugal defeat was official, what a sensitive sweetie :-) We all have to move on somehow. Come Sunday, I hope France wins, they didn't cheat as much as Italy. Any team that defeats Brazil and Portugal deserves the Fifa trophy.

In other humanitarian crisis news, North Korea has shot off the seventh missile (sniff sniff). The long-range ballistic missiles that could have reached the United States (thankfully) failed. Someone should bonk Kim Jong Il in the head and leave him mentally retarded. The North Koreans will continue their missile testing no matter what anyone says. With every failure launch, they'll learn a little more. That's what scares me.

Won on penalties, omigosh Portugal advances

I know England fans are plotting to throw eggs at my face, not at my car, but at my face for cheering on Portugal in the quarter-finals. What an amazing match! I asked Brother in Black to tape the game for me. While working, I took a few glimpses at the play (ok, I watched practically the whole game), and I must say that both teams were really good. The result of the penalty shootout kicks were used to select a winner to progress to the semi-finals. I must admit, the shootouts were pure drama. Did you see my C. Ronaldo in action, did ya? did ya? Whoa! Ok, NA and England fans, the match was a tough fight for both team nonetheless. I really think that penalty shootouts are not fair for determining which team wins. The winning decision should be for the team with fewest yellow cards and red cards, that's all.

Speaking of yellow cards, Brazil lost, Muhahahaha!! Second happiest moment of my day! It was a fair win for France, but a big surprise nonetheless. I think Portugal should be ruthless with this team because the French offense is unbelieveable. However, the good French players are old! over 30 years old! Their stamina will soon run out (tee hehe)! I'm predicting Germany v. Portugal in the finals -- with the trophy in the hands of the Portuguese (more rotten eggs in my face, (figuratively) I'm sure -- cuz no one I know is rooting for them).

In other news, I'll be out-of-town at this location. Can anyone guess? Anyone other than SG, NQ, LG and Cammy the Camry. Happy (early) Fourth of July, everybody.