mexico city is awesome. so many times you hear on the news about kidnappings, the violence and the bad water that it often clouds out anything else that may be redeeming about the city or its surroundings. this is one of the biggest cities in the world, and yes there are a lot of those problems, but there are many beautiful things as well. i think that one thing i always remark to people is how good the food is. i think we broke most of the rools when it comes to ordering food in mexico, we ate from street venders, went to little hole-in-the-wall food stores and had drinks that probably contained some of that dreaded tap water. did we get sick? not till we got back and i'm not convinced that it is because of the food. either way, it was worth it (i'm better now, by the way, thanks for asking). the food is so good. sooooo good. seriously, we had 25+ tacos a night.
next are the amazing sites to see. wonders of the world, from the ancient teotihuacan to miracles of God including the virgin of guadalupe can only be seen in mexico, specifically in and around mexico city. the history here is rich and diverse in ways that many countries can only aspire to and the mesums do a wonderful job preserving this history for all future generations.
Four days were not enough to do everything we wanted to do, but just enough to taste everything mexico city had to offer. i hope we go back some day.
peace,
ko
hello. food here is the win. that is all.
more content to follow.
peace,
ko
the most amazing opening ceremony ever. i believe that is the sentiment that i have heard over and over, from friends and commentators. i agree, but 'amazing' might not even be able to capture it. i think that other nations will have a hard time matching this; the majesty, the history, the power of so many people. how many times did you say, 'that must be computerized' or 'wow, look at all the hydraulics' only to have another human being pop out of a box and prove you wrong? how many times did you get chills at seeing so many individuals working as one?
i think what i loved the most was the confirmation that, when we (read: humans) do work together, we can achieve amazing things (read: go to the moon, develop hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, create weapons of mass destruction, produce beautiful pieces of art). i hope that people around the world got that message, hidden within the multitude of other messages sent that night (because obviously china was sending messages as well, and they have too. with a growing middle class, a strong sense of national identity is essential to maintain the countries unity), and continues to hold onto it for years to come.
other things to note: phelps is as good as everyone said, ditto for hoff, our basketball team(s) will soldier through, our soccer team(s) will make it out of their group(s), our men's volleyball have rebounded (both beach and normal), etc. etc. please watch, all these links are making me tired. i promise that you will not regret it. go usa, switzerland, japan (gave me my first 'real' job), germany (ancestrial commitments), great britian (again, ancestrial commitments), china (for hosting such great games), etc.
indeed, as morgan freeman says, 'go world.'
in other news, albuquerque is the place to make movies. i saw sin city and loved the artistic elements of that movie and i'm sure i'll love this one as well. besides, both chinh and i think that eva mendes is flipping hot.
peace,
ko
i've done it, i confess. i am weak and have consumed a product both reviled and loved by the masses. i have given into the glam and glitz and made the big purchase. my soul is forfeit, i need saving grace.
i have bought an iphone.
in other news, it seems like the blizzard fan boys are bitter once again. i stopped visiting the starcarft 2 forums (and rarely visit the site at all anymore) due to trash such as this. as mr. brahe says, 'the sort of person who takes world-class design, changes the contrast, and then calls themselves the artist' is the sort of person who has no business making his opinions known. indeed, the vary character of such an individual is easily constructed. the thing i find amazing (or maybe not that amazing) is that 95% of the people on these forums fit directly into a similar grouping. it is unfathomable that these people think that comments such as 'wow gayness' actually helps drive their point (if they had one at all...).
this brings me to a bigger issue and that is online play. obviously, the bottom feeders of these forums are the same people who go out, buy these games and play online. however, the transition from forum to field of play does not at all improve their demeanor or character. indeed, i postulate that the greater dickwad theory still applies. now, don't get me wrong, i have met and played with some incredibly fun, talented and intelligent people online (mostly through halo, but i digress). however, it is my experience that these people are the exception and not the rule. this is one of the reasons i find table top gaming so refreshing, that you in large part are able to escape the GIDT. i further postulate that given the subtraction of anonymity from the GIDT, we find that the theorem itself falls apart, the 'normal person' thus preserved. in other words, when one must stand across a table from your foe, respect is not only expected but necessary.
in other news, the mayor is in jail.
peace,
ko
i am in the process of ripping my cd collection onto my macbook in an attempt to discourage loss (as they say in 'the industry'). as i flipped through the pages of old cds, i felt myself moving farther and farther back in the years, each turn of the page like another turn of my adolescent life. and i was struck by how much good music i had (i don't care if you think its good or not, because ultimately you're wrong). soundgarden, rage against the machine, alice in chains, incubus, beastie boys, linkin park, these were the songs that shaped me in so many ways. notice that most of these bands are either considered 'dark' or 'anti-establishment'. yes, i was a 'goth' type of kid, a far cry from the 'rhuel' boy i am now, yes?
of course i should temper this by noting that i also own beethoven's moonlight, mendelssohn's symphony no. 3 and a collection of bach.
i want a vulcan. yes, i know i'm a child, but i hardly think that anything that takes 6 D-cell batteries and shoots 3 darts per second is considered completely a 'child's toy'. besides, based on the nerf rules of engagement, i think that swinging something with that much weight around will make pistol whipping much more enjoyable. come on over jason and andrea, we got something fun waiting for you at the top of the stairs.
speaking of goth and guns, the dark knight was fantastic. i really think that heath did an excellent job of portraying the madness of the joker. the jerky, obsessive, vicious nature that i loved in a villain. he truely was/is the best villain of them all, both in terms of his cunning and madness, requirements for a good villain. please go see it and push titanic off its high hill.
we were driving to novi today, chinh at the wheel, thi in back with myself riding shotgun, coming along at a good clip eagerly awaiting the fruits that our wonderful consumer society would drop upon us. when, out of nowhere, my darling, quiet, giggling wife turns into a angry, yelling, cursing psycho shaking her fist at the passing drivers and careening around turns. i guess driving really does bring out the worst in people (that and my wife really is an angry little asian girl, we just got the first collection of comics from a small bookstore in chelsea, they describe our releationship perfectly). not that i could really blame her, i hate people as well. good thing i have a God that tells me to love.
all in all, the day went well. we bought staub pot for the kitchen ($40), i was given clothes that were appropriate from rhuel (translation, i was dressed and paraded about) and chinh found unreal tournament for $1.99. how can you beat that? that's right, you can't, so stop trying. you're only embarrassing yourself.
during my 10 mi run this morning (see earlier post on running), i was thinking of this ruling and the possible consequences. of course, my initial reaction is that this will be sweet, force the cell phone companies to drastically improve service in order to keep their customers. that along with competitive plan pricing would make the world a beautiful place, yes? and who cares if phones are more expensive? maybe the companies that make them will actually spend some time in development...
and, finally, we will see the dark knight tonight.
i'll leave you chuckling at that one.
peace,
ko
