Monday, November 27, 2006

Do you ... ?

"Do u still keep unfashionable eyes?"

How would one respond to that question? "Yes", "No", "Maybe", "I dunno", "Can you repeat the question?" An acquaintance has asked me that question recently, and I can’t seem to come up with an answer. It’s true that I have no sense of fashion. (I’m a river rat, remember?) Ask anyone, my wardrobe is a disaster zone to the fashionable eyes. The old washing machine doesn’t clean well and it has ruined my favorite t-shirt and my nice pants. Ugh! But I digress.

A couple of weekends ago, on the street of West 27th, Manhattan, I saw this lady in a well-put outfit that was to die for. The shoes, scarf, jeans, jacket were perfect. They were black, brown and gray. An awful color combination, but her stride of fashion confident was immeasurable. What caught my eyes were the vintage men’s shoes. I think they were from Salvatore Ferragamo. I don’t know where she got the gray jacket from, but it was a short sleeve wool coat, classic! The brown pashmina scarf was loosely tied around her neck. And the shoes!! Did I mention the shoes? I would never have pulled that off. The shoes were black and brown. The skinny black jeans really brought out her thin legs. Among her accessories, she had a Chanel bag and Christian Dior big-ass sunglasses. I thought she looked classic.

So, do I keep unfashionable eyes? I suppose no. Good fashion is in the eye of the beholder. Any of my Club Bed friends that see this lady on the street of Manhattan, New York, would probably give her a disgusting look. I, on the other hand, find her style intriguing. Her outfit is definitely affordable, and the accessories (I’m sure they were fake Chanel and Dior gray market stuff) were unnecessary, but she had to have them. The long hair hides her dangling earrings, but they were nice. My job is fine. I still use Heineken to pass the evening hours, and I will not, under any circumstances, "improve" myself just so that you’ll like me. The End.


For every romantic possiblity, no matter how robust, there exists at least one equal and opposite sentence, phrase, or word capable of extinguishing it. –Malcolm Gladwell-
I AM that opposite sentence.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Lots to be thankful for...

Gobble Gobble readers,

This Thanksgiving (and everyday), I am thankful for a wonderful family and supportive friends, for my nephews and niece, for colleagues who guide me, for woods and marshes and other creatures, for books and email messages, for tropical fruits and dogs and magnolia trees, for rivers and fire and duct tape, for sunshine and snowflakes and moonlight, for all that helps keep me in balance for when I begin to fall apart. Thank you and Happy Turkey Day.

Love,

Trynn Diesel

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

A Tribute for Bosox's Mullah, by SG

I, like many other sports fans, was sitting around watching football on a Saturday that seemed like any other when I heard the news. My initial reaction was that of the classic “Noooooo!” for my father read what I knew in my heart to be true but had been dreading nonetheless. The great Billy Baseball Mueller a.k.a “Mullah” has in fact retired from playing Major League Baseball. He is a super professional and personality that simply cannot be replaced.

Our great resident blogger Trynn Diesel first fell in love Mullah on a fall day back in 2003. As the Boston Red Sox entered the post-season for the first time in 4 years, the fandemonium was out of this world. It would later lead to T-shirts, Red Sox Tickets, pictures, and classic computer backgrounds in honor of her “man”.

2003 was a season of change for the Old Towne Team, bringing in a lot of new faces causing skepticism, doubt, and much grumbling on sports radio. New first basemen arrived from various cities, including Kevin Millar, days away from bring shipped to Japan; Jeremy Giambi, the not nearly as talented brother of famous Yankees slugger Jason Giambi; and finally David Ortiz, a player the Minnesota Twins had been waiting to rise to his potential but ran out of patience. At third base a new player was brought in from the San Francisco Giants by the name of Bill Mueller, but the sox already had a young third baseman Shea Hillenbrand.

Obviously this situation could not work forever and Jeremy Giambi disappeared and Shea was traded to Arizona, where he whined and lashed out, a trend that would lead to his future dismissal from the Toronto Blue Jays. The path was now clear for Mullah to rise up and play classic dirt dog baseball on his way to the 2003 AL batting title. Although Bill and the Red Sox suffered a huge disappointment in the 2003 playoffs, as they always say in Boston there’s always next year.

2004 brought many of the same faces to Fenway including that of Bill Mueller. Although he did not win the batting title, his bat could not have brought more to the Red Sox. Perhaps his most famous Red Sox moment occurred in July of 2004. On a rainy Saturday, the Sox were scheduled to play the Yankees. The Yankees assumed the game would not occur and were ready to leave when the Sox said I don’t think so, we’re playing this game today. So perhaps one of the most recognized fights in all of baseball took place when Alex Rodriguez decided Bronson Arroyo intentionally threw a 75 mph curve ball at him. Eager to prove his devotion to the pin stripes, he picked a fight with the 100 lb Arroyo, only to find none other than Jason Varitek in his way. Too fired up to stop, A-Rod quickly asked Varitek if he would like to go? Varitek attempted to reason with the hysterical A-Rod but to no use. Varitek finally gave A-Rod what he wanted in the form of some face hitting and a classic WWF style body slam. Benches cleared etc, some excellent side fights took place, but the game continued. Red Sox Nation was more fired up than ever and found themselves down in the bottom of the ninth. Bill Mueller stepped to the plate and hit a game winning HR to the bullpen off arguably the greatest closer of all time to lift the Red Sox hopes and hearts to make the playoffs.

Bill’s batting contributions did not stop there. Many people will never forget Dave Roberts stealing second base to score the tying run in Game 4 of the ALCS against the Yankees. One cannot argue that Roberts was a hero and they could not have won without him, but what if the next batter had not hit a single but struck out or grounded out. Fortunately for the Nation, Bill Mueller stepped up to the plate and hit a single again off of Rivera, the most feared closer in baseball. The rest is history.

There are many moments and even players in those 2003 and 2004 season that overshadow Bill Mueller. He was content and proud to show up to the ballpark everyday and give it his all and let others such as Millar (Cowboy Up), Johnny (Bunch of Idiots), or Ortiz (Walk-off hits in ALCS) shine. He knew what the game was about and what he was about, and Red Sox Nation could not have been luckier to have him. Dan Shaunessy of the Boston Globe wrote a wonderful tribute to Bill Mueller when he sadly but quietly left the Red Sox in the 2005 off-season. I feel Shaunessy sums up the feeling of the Nation best in his concluding paragraphs, though I hope you take time to read it all…
But when you look at Doug's ball or the World Series trophy or the banner that'll forever fly over Fenway, remember the quiet guy who did so much to bring that happiness to the Nation: Bill Mueller. Stealth Star in a clubhouse of Idiots and Cowboy Uppers.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Pondering about the future


There are ninety days left in the lunar Year of the Dog. We have to get married within that ninety days. Here's what I have to do:

(1) Tell my parents, important family members, and close friends the good news!
(2) Arrange for our families to meet
(3) Announce my engagement
(4) Have an engagement party, I love parties.
(5) I want a secular formal wedding
(6) Set my limited budget
(7) Decide who's paying for the wedding, I really hope my hubby will contribute
(8) Start my guest list, I can only think of 20 people that will attend my wedding
(9) Select date and time. It's gonna be Friday evening December 22, 2006 (aka First day of Winter)
(10) Select and reserve my reception site, that local bar with the nice chairs.
(11) Choose bridesmaids, groomsmen and ushers. You know who you are (cuz I don't)
(12) Shop for my wedding dress and accessories, including veil, gloves and shoes
(13) Plan my honeymoon. To the Galapagos Island, honey!
(14) Throw a bachelorette party, tee hehe.
(15) Finalize the seating chart. I am not putting TN with TT in a table together. Neither, CM and TL, nor TP with TH.

Finally, I will enjoy my wedding and I will smile. "It's only once in a lifetime". I believe it will bring me and my hubby great fortune when we get married next month. We have only 32 more days! Mark your calendars and send us your gifts. I will put the bridal registries online soon. Woo hoo! Omigosh, I am so excited! Stay tuned for wedding photos.

PS: Don't read between the lines.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

It's my Happy Day.

Whaddaya doing on your birthday, Trynn Diesel? I am taking a Pope Branch Stream Walk tour. Yup. Me and my hip waders are reunited once again. This tour is for my job. I have been assigned to work on the post-restoration effort of Pope Branch Park. I’ve never been to the site nor have any clues as to the damages of the area. You can say that I’m an office drone – not by choice. I blame the DC government bureaucracy. Anyhow, I plan on studying the tributary for three hours in the AM, then go home and clean up my flooded carpeted floor basement. Stupid pipe system is loose again, for the 5th time! Now that Mary has been “evicted” (lucky her!), I’m doing all the cleaning and fixing myself. Tammy helps, but her schedule at the Nails Salon is so busy that by the time she gets home, I’ll probably be done. Yup. That is what I’m doing on my happy day. It’s good that I’m busy with menial not-my-responsibility work – because I don’t have to think about my bitter break-up or buying a house for my folks. Good god! Where is that scotch whiskey I asked for?
Khúc Hát Mừng Sinh Nhật
Tác Giả: Phan Đình Tùng


Ngày hôm nay ta cùng hợp hoan nơi đây
Mọi người bên nhau ta hát mừng sinh nhất
1,2,3 ta cùng thổi tắt nến
Happy birthday, happy birthday to you
On this day, all together will be
I will all sing for your birthday
One, two, three we blow out the candle
Happy birthday, happy birthday to you
Happy birthday, happy birthday to you.


Happy Birthday to me! I’m really happy that I have made it this far.
On a happy note, SG’s got a really, really good job in Boston. Woo hoo!! Wicked awesome!

Friday, November 17, 2006

2006 Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam

Blah blah blah. Bush this, Bush that. Omigosh, Dubya tries his hand at playing the saron. Wow. [insert sarcasm here!]

I'm sure the atmosphere over in the East is different from discouraging me here. I’m happy that Vietnam is hosting the APEC, and it is going smoothly, compared to the 2003 summit attack attempt in Bangkok. Tuoi Tre did a nice job on reporting the event.
Hai vị Lãnh đạo khẳng định tiếp tục nỗ lực để phát triển hơn nữa quan hệ "đối tác toàn diện trong thế kỷ 21" giữa hai nước theo hướng tin cậy, ổn định lâu dài. Hai bên nhất trí sẽ tích cực thúc đẩy các dự án hợp tác kinh tế song phương, khuyến khích các cơ quan và doanh nghiệp hai nước tăng cường trao đổi thương mại, hợp tác lao động, du lịch và giao lưu văn hóa, phối hợp tổ chức các hoạt động có nội dung phong phú và thiết thực kỷ niệm 15 năm ngày thiết lập quan hệ ngoại giao giữa hai nước trong năm 2007.

Tổng thống Hàn Quốc bày tỏ lòng mong muốn của các doanh nghiệp Hàn Quốc tham gia vào các lĩnh vực phát triển của Việt Nam và khẳng định Chính phủ Hàn Quốc sẽ tiếp tục đóng góp tích cực vào sự phát triển kinh tế của Việt Nam thông qua việc tăng quy mô viện trợ không hoàn lại và cho vay ưu đãi EDCF. [...]

Thủ tướng [New Zealand Helen Clark] cho rằng quan hệ thương mại và đầu tư hai nước vẫn chưa tương xứng với tiềm năng. Do vậy, hai bên có thể thúc đẩy nhanh hơn nữa trong lĩnh vực này và tiếp tục hợp tác trong lĩnh vực khoa học kỹ thuật, giáo dục đào tạo và du lịch, vì lợi ích của nhân hai nước.
I am disappointed that the report did not cover the Kyoto alternatives. I know New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark was on the agenda to talk about climate change on why actions must not be delayed. It's true that if we don't have an understanding from the Asian countries on global warming, we're gonna have calamitous consequences. All I’m reading is how Bush is being entertained by Vietnamese leaders. I’m glad that the President said that he would seek implementation of UN resolutions on North Korea and urging regional leaders to consider free trade areas. Too bad, though, that the bill to normalize trade with Vietnam did not pass in the House.
Tổng thống Bush đến Á châu trong vị thế yếu hơn sau bầu cử giữa kỳ muốn tái khẳng định lập trường của Washington về vấn đề an ninh và thương mại trong khu vực.

Tuyên bố tại Singapore ông Bush thúc dục các lãnh đạo Á châu hãy gởi thông điệp mạnh mẽ cho Bình Nhưỡng rằng họ không thổ phổ biến vũ khí hạt nhân và hãy theo đuổi con đường đàm phán ôn hòa.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

My Life, Rated.

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:
4.4
Mind:
4.6
Body:
6.1
Spirit:
5.9
Friends/Family:
2.7
Love:
2.3
Finance:
4.5
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

(Via Groaning Jock's)

Approaching my quarter-life crisis, that is all. Where's a shoulder to cry on? Better yet, just give me a six-pack of Bud Lite and a bottle of Lagavulin, then I'll be out of your hair for a while. I am so hurt.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

We finally have a plea bargain

State v. Donta Allen. Our beloved Linda Trịnh's justice is coming. It has been one year, eight months and 22 days since Linda was taken from us. The wait has been long enough. Today at 10:08 in the AM, the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for some served time from the prosecutor's life imprisonment term.
BALTIMORE - A man who killed a Johns Hopkins University student during a burglary last year pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree murder in a plea deal giving him a life sentence with the possibility of parole.

Donta M. Allen, 28, admitted in court to killing Linda Trinh, 21, in her apartment near the university's Homewood campus in Baltimore in January 2005. The crime shook the prestigious university, which was already hurting from the murder of another student nine months earlier.

Some of Trinh's family members cried and hugged outside the courtroom after Allen pleaded guilty instead of going forward with a trial, which had been scheduled to begin Tuesday.[...]

Warren Brown, Allen's attorney, said he encouraged Allen to accept the plea deal, because he believed his client "would have been found guilty easily" and would have "died in jail."

Allen gave an incriminating statement to police, saying he intended to burglarize Trinh's apartment while she wasn't home. When he found her in the apartment, the two got into an argument, which became violent when she tried to call police. He also told police he had burglarized the apartment once before.

Police had DNA evidence linking Allen to the crime because his genetic profile was detected under Trinh's fingernails.[...]

Trinh was found in the apartment on the afternoon of Jan. 23 after police responded to a suspicious death call. She was face-down and partially clothed in her bathtub with about two inches of water and a cell phone. She had been asphyxiated by strangulation, and she had contusions on her neck and bruises on her arms and legs from blunt force.[...]

[Prosecutor] Fraling initially planned to seek a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole. He declined to comment on the case. Sentencing was scheduled for Jan. 8.
I sat at the very last row in the back, holding back my tears. Tears of joy that the case is settled by a plea bargain rather than by a jury trial. I don't think I can handle a lengthy court process or have to testify in a jury trial. The visuals and photos will just rip me apart. There will probably be continuances. The elements of offenses are overwhelming against the defendant. I won't go into details, but this voluntary manslaughter is beyond my comprehension for a motive. Whatever Donta Allen decides, I am counting on the prosecution to prove Allen's unlawful entry, his mental state and the circumstances to the judge in bench trial.

I find that life in prison sentence is a much lesser alternative punishment than the death penalty. In Vietnam, life imprisonment means that the prisoner spend his life in prison. After 30 years, he may be granted amnesty. I am all numb, and there's no reaction in me. Whenever I look into Linda's parents' eyes, I see a deep sadness and also a startling strength to forgive. I could never find the strength to forgive. I would be just too wicked depressed. I look forward to the sentencing hearing on January 8. If the Honorable Judge Brown permits, I'd like to give a family/friend statement to Donta Allen. It won't be easy for me, but it must be said. There's never really a closure. We can only hope that Mr. Allen will show some remorse.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Go Vote! Freedom isn't Free.

Election Day. DC Government has given me one hour to go vote. I'm outta here to my precinct. You should be too. I hope this lyric from the song "Freedom Isn't Free" inspire you...
Artist: Trey Parker Lyrics
Song: Freedom Isn't Free

What would you do
If you were asked to give up your dreams for freedom
What would you do
If asked to make the ultimate sacrifice

Would you think about all them people
Who gave up everything they had.
Would you think about all them War Vets
And would you start to feel bad

Freedom isn't free
It costs folks like you and me
And if we don't all chip in
We'll never pay that bill
Freedom isn't free
No, there's a hefty fuckin' fee.
And if you don't throw in your buck 'o five
Who will?

What would you do
If someone told you to fight for freedom.
Would you answer the call
Or run away like a little pussy
'Cause the only reason that you're here.
Is 'cause folks died for you in the past
So maybe now it's your turn
To die kicking some ass

Freedom isn't free
It costs folks like you and me
And if we don't all chip in
We'll never pay that bill
Freedom isn't free
Now there's a have to hook'in fee
And if you don't throw in your buck 'o five
Who will?

You don't throw in your buck 'o five. Who will?
Oooh buck 'o five
Freedom costs a buck 'o five

PS. I have another nickname at the office. "Buck 'o five", but the co-workers are teasing about my weight. Go vote now!

UPDATE (11/8/06): Folks, sorry if I had mislead you with this song about partisan affiliation. I knew who I voted for, and I stand by my choice. This is a country music parody song. Gotta listen to it, don't read it.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Running out of seafood by 2048

Study reports that overfishing, pollution could kill off fish in less than fifty years.
There will be virtually nothing left to fish from the seas by the middle of the century if current trends continue, according to a major scientific study.
Stocks have collapsed in nearly one-third of sea fisheries, and the rate of decline is accelerating.
Writing in the journal Science, the international team of researchers says fishery decline is closely tied to a broader loss of marine biodiversity. […]

Protecting stocks demands the political will to act on scientific advice - something which Boris Worm finds lacking in Europe, where politicians have ignored recommendations to halt the iconic North Sea cod fishery year after year.
Without a ban, scientists fear the North Sea stocks could follow the Grand Banks cod of eastern Canada into apparently terminal decline.

The graph shows the prediction of the total collapse of fish stock. This is not another green scare or environmental political intimidation. Keep on over-fishing and polluting the water, and you’ll see the devastating consequences. These researchers are from a reliable source, and they are calling for better marine mgt and tighter control on pollution. Trawling should be banned, and industrial net fishing should be stopped. They should do more line fishing instead. The problem is who is going to enforce the ban? The ocean is an open source. Vietnam and China are crazy about fish, over fishing. The US is one of the major polluters with more than 3 million tons of fish discharge. This is not a matter of seafood-loving eaters; it is a threat of losing fish species due to irresponsible fishing.

Update (12/28/2006): For detailed info on speceis, fishing methods and depleted or overfished stocks, visit Fish Online. Check out the list of fish to eat and fish to avoid (at the present). Fish to avoid have high levels of by-catch. I love fish, especially the ones that are well managed and in sustainable stocks. It'd be most depressing if we run out of seafood in 50 years. (I like cods and halibuts, but I will avoid them for now.)