Funny Election Campaign Ad

In less than two weeks, the polls will be open for the midterm election of public officials. It is a holiday for Maryland, but I have to work on that day. DC allows its employees to take one hour off to cast their absentee ballots. Joy! Political ads are entertaining these days. Some has potential for great film making; others are just downright wrong. This one has to be the funniest:



It doesn’t matter what political standpoint you lean, ain’t nobody gonna vote for Republican Bill Sali. Speaking of idiotcracy, WTH is Republican congressional candidate, Tân Nguyễn, thinking!? Sending intimidating letters to Democratic Hispanic voters in OC is just not right. You won’t get my vote anh Tân. Threatening letters don’t scare me, unless it’s from an ex. Anywho, make your plans to go to the polls on that Tuesday (Nov. 7). Hopefully, the voting problems will resolve and go smoothly. There are sneaky sleazy people out there, I know. Don’t forget to enjoy the Halloween festivities. I am in the process of finishing my classy Oriental costume, despite the turmoil going on in the household and the wicked burn on the house settlement contracts. I’m not cut out for investment ventures. I acted too slowly and someone else has gotten a higher bid, bummer.

Since we’re on the subject of wickedness, guess who is driving 10+ hours to DC? SG!! The one and only queen of all evil! (hehe) No more Hennessy cognac and XO liquor shots -- bring back the cheap beers, and I’ll be in happy land.

Up-to-date (10/27/06):

Shmeedawg/Siquophrenia/SupaShmee is coming to town too!! Friday night wicked fun.

Regatta race and Baltimore weekend wicked fun

I had a wicked good time at the 12th Annual AWS Paddlesport Regatta. I didn’t win a trophy or the 21-speed hybrid Trek bike, but I had a wicked good time assisting paddlers and event volunteers. The best part was seeing my partners-in-crime, aka the Anacostia River Rats. Any chance of friends reconnection, I’m there in a heartbeat. The race was a great success. Thanx to everyone who participated and helped at the historic BWP marina. Despite the dreadful sediment buildup by the bike bridge, we were blessed with the high tide and the gorgeous weather. Just south of the Anacostia River on each side is a small forest mixed with deciduous trees with some white pines. The Quercus and Acers are changing colors. The infamous poison ivy vines had dropped their berries and now had turned vibrant red. Wednesday’s cold front, unfortunately, did not bring many wildlife critters on the river. But on Saturday, the day of the Regatta race, the sun was bright, the sky was blue and the humidity was low, so the whole autumn day was simply beautiful. KT and I saw a 12 lbs. red fox at the bank of the river, and the paddlers were treated with the bald eagle hovering above us with a flock of sea gulls.

Right after the race, WH and I borrowed two sea-kayaks and paddled four miles down the river. We first saw a few cormorants diving for fish and taking flight off from the water. WH, a New Hampshirian, was proud to see the Great Blue Heron walking on the mudflats. There were red ear sliders basking in the sun on a tree log and a whole bunch more seagulls at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. And yes, we did see and hear the Canada geese honking as we paddled pass the Langston Golf course. We joked that the Pepco power plant was a great sight for the environment with dark smoke puffing out of the pipe towers. At any rate, this is obviously not a full report of the Regatta and the A River because I did not take any pictures. I just bought a 5.0 mp Panasonic digital camera, but I didn’t take it along – still afraid that I might lose this one in the river. I’m sure AWS and other newspaper crews document the race well. My excuse: I had too much fun to take pictures. Grrr, a certain energy geek left without saying goodbye, which was kinda a bummer. Then again, he had better things to do, so does everyone else.

Immediately after we put our kayaks back on the rack in the marina, I head up to check on my soon-mother-to-be friend in Baltimore. We talked for hours and met up with some folks at a house party. I took a shot of straight cognac and almost fainted. I started to sing but failed miserably because I just couldn’t remember the words. I had a wicked good visit and sleepover until the part about my social/marital life status came up. The End.

Came Sunday, I drove back to the DC area to work at the salon. The first words came out from my favorite technician, MN, was “where were you yesterday? We thought you quit or got fired. Why didn’t you call? What were you doing?” (all in Vietnamese, of course). Before I could respond, my face blushed and surprised that some people cared about my whereabouts. I know, I know – I can be such a biatch sometimes, and say the wrong things all the time, but I do appreciate the sentiment. By the way, I did get fired once at a job. It was an internship, no biggie.

Disclaimer: When I said, “I had a wicked good time”, I meant it, not like “staying the course” symbol for out of touch that Dubya had been trying to explain. Say what you really mean.

Biology 101 for the jocks

Ohio State University head football coach, Jim Tressel, teaches photosynthesis to the football players.
"Photons from the sun are what makes this whole process possible". I am speechless. Speechless.

Phở 301 restaurant review

I don’t usually go out to restaurants unless I am invited. I eat a lot at home. Lately, I have gotten some nice cash flow in my bank account to take my family and friends out ($1,500 in the checking account, baby!). Phở 301 just opened a few weeks ago – newly renovated and ready for business. I took Brother-in-Black, housemate MD and three out-of-control rascals on the first visit. Yesterday, long-time friend ThP and I went out for late lunch. He was very hungry, and I was tired, so this so-called review will be very rough.

Phở (pronounced “faah”) is a popular Vietnamese noodle soup. Phở 301 has eight styles of beef noodle soups: the regular beef noodle soup, soup with well-done brisket, or well-done flank, or fat brisket with tripe, with soft tendon (yum!), or combinations of the eight kinds. Additionally, you can have chicken noodle soup or shrimp. It is garnished with many spices that include: meat, marrowbone, salt, pepper, fish sauce, onions, shallots, anise, cloves, coriander, lemons, chilli, sweet basil, bean sprouts, chili sauce and hoisen sauce. What makes phở exceptionally great is the broth. On a separate small bowl, I tend to mix the hoisen sauce with the chili sauce, and then add a spoonful to my dish as I finish my bowl. Phở is nutritious. It has fresh, natural ingredients. You can eat it in the morning, lunch or dinner. When I am down with a cold or flu, I prefer phở over chicken noodle soup. Then after that meal, I sleep like no tomorrow. It’s an over-indulgence.

The restaurant’s atmosphere is casual. I enjoy the traditional Viet paintings on the walls. There’s a touch of modernity with the fake tropical fish wall tank and the 50-inch plasma TV. Phở 301 is located in Langley Park, MD on University Blvd E. Despite the Phở 75 restaurant right across the street, 301 triumph in cleanliness. Make sure you bring cash because they don’t have a credit card machine. Each table is equipped with a load full of chopsticks and soup spoons. The utensils are clean, but I always wipe them again with a napkin. Oh, try the tropical fruit smoothie with tapioca. Remember to chew the tapioca balls -- don’t laugh at me ThP! I can’t believe ThP tried to make me say grace. Thanx for the humor and the criticism, ThP.

Final word on Phở 301:

Broth (flavor, fragrance, clarity): ***
Meat (tenderness, quality) : ***
Noodles (texture, clumpiness) : ****
Vegetables (variety, freshness) : ***
Overall: ***1/2 out of 5 stars -- leaving room for improvements :-)

Pros: Comfort food
Inexpensive
Fast service
Waiters are friendly – some are single, ladies :-), speak English well
Clean
Cons: Parking, crowded on the weekends
Random loud arguments in the back that migrate to the front desk
Plasma TV can be a distraction
Cash only
No vegetarian dish (you can request it, but the broth is made from meat and marrowbone)

Đàm Vĩnh Hưng in Cowboy Hot, I mean Hat.

Some of my Việt friends are teasing me without any signs of remorse, but this male artist, Đàm Vĩnh Hưng, is so cool. He has been around for a while and apparently very popular among the Viet communities. I suppose his good looks and gelled highlights just slipped through my pop cultural radar. I have been listening to his voice all day yesterday, ok – all afternoon on my day off. He is more R&B and Soul genre than Jazz. I like this particular song: Khóc cho người đi. The long crescendo on the eighth line blew me away, haha. To all seriousness now, this is a sad song, a song about moving on and about the healing process from a broken relationship, yadda yadda yadda! The harmonic sound of the 2-string đàn cò in the background music has a very soothing tone and dynamics. It’s a fiddle played with a bow. The base is held between the musician's feet in sitting position, a bit different from the holding position of a violin. PS. I want Best of Đàm Vĩnh Hưng CD for Christmas. I am gonna whine until I get it. Enjoy.

ở lại đây chỉ còn hai chúng ta
nói ra đi những suy tư buồn phiền
ngại ngùng chi vì ngày mai chách xa
sẽ không còn gì oán trách nhau
người tình ơi dù lòng anh đổi thay
trái tim tôi vẫn mong anh được vui
đừng bận tâm về chuyện hai chúng ta
cuộc tình mình xem như là cơn gió
người tình ơi ta đã không sống được với nhau
thì đành chia tay những giấc mơ mà thôi
những ngày vui ta bên nhau ôi đẹp làm sao
lòng quạn đau nhìn về những ngày xưa
tình xưa nghĩa cũ sẽ không bao giờ lãng quên dù ngày mai sẽ mãi mãi không còn nhau

Thôi đành chôn sâu trong tim một cuộc tình đau giọt nước mắt khóc cho người đi

Humor in education

These math answers are dedicated to my housemate, MD, a math teacher. Here is her class website. I was never good in mathematics, just enough to get my grade and run with it. The second one with the infinity explanation is hilarious.

As for science, here are some enticing responses from school children:

Many dead animals in the past changed to fossils while others preferred to be oil.

Genetics explain why you look like your father and if you don't why you should.

Some oxygen molecules help fires burn while others help make water, so sometimes it's brother against brother.

Some people can tell what time it is by looking at the sun. But I have never been able to make out the numbers.

To most people solutions mean finding the answers. But to chemists solutions are things that are still all mixed up.

Rain is often known as soft water, oppositely known as hail.

Cyanide is so poisonous that one drop of it on a dogs tongue will kill the strongest man.

Isotherms and isobars are even more important than their names sound.

The wind is like the air, only pushier.

Fourth World Movement

I don’t want to blog about (1) the disgusting son of a dog Florida ex-congressman Foley, (2) the three school shootings (I cry when I hear this kind of news. I condemn those gunmen to the pit of hell!), (3) the scary North Korea nuclear tests, (4) the unrelenting violence in Iraq, (5) the Bosox not in the playoffs (I’d like to see the Dodgers kick the Yanks’ bottocks in the ALCS and then win the World Series), (6) how I failed to get tickets to see “An Enemy of the People” at Shakespeare’s Theatre Co., (7) still no hot water over two weeks now, (8) my depressing e-breakup or (9) why my co-workers think I need to enroll in an anger management class (no comment).

Instead, I would like to introduce you folks to the Fourth World Movement. I have been an on-off active member of this fantastic organization for about ten years counting. When I was 13 or 14, I presented an appreciation plaque to the Ambassador of Sweden in front of the Capitol on October 17 Day event. A month later, that ambassador was fired because of some tax evasion or scandal. At any rate, years ago GG and JA introduced me to Tapori’s Children Network, where I participated in various activities and collected their minibooks on true stories of children throughout the world. Tapori is part of the widely known Fourth World Movement. The staffs are passionate and friendly, and they are tireless with their efforts “to overcome extreme poverty”. This October 17 is the next big event. Come check out the children’s life-size silhouettes display of hearts and messages – right out in front of the Capitol Building. Ask about their motto and ask to be a member and receive their newsletters. Hooray for the Fourth World Movement Volunteers!

Up-to-date (10/12/06):

Corrections: (1) No silhouettes at the Capitol. The display will be at the UN up in NYC. (2) The plaque was presented to the Ambassador of Switzerland, who got ousted because of money from WWII and Jewish families that was supposed to be neutral but it was concealed capital, or something like that… (3) My MLB playoff prediction was so off. Wait til next year, I suppose.