First, some things I’ve noticed here. Mullets and rat tails are still cool, I approve. It’s totally ok for a guy to tell another guy they are handsome in Chinese culture as several people at work have told me this. Taiwanese people cannot be in a conversation with me for more than a few minutes before asking if I have a girlfriend and are shocked when I say no. They also ask if I really like Taiwanese women (the GM and the boss of my company have both asked me this). I’ve noticed that even tough most Taiwanese people speak English, they are very hesitant to talk with me or approach me but once they hear me speak Chinese they can’t talk to me enough.
For those of you back at ND, please go to the Backer. I miss that place. So to compensate I’ve been listening to lots of Backer music, especially “How Can We be Lovers” by Michael Bolton and “I’m Going Down” by the Boss.
Now that I’ve had some time to think it over, here are my thoughts on Sarah Palin. The most important thing about this is how it is precieved. To my eyes, it’s pandering to women and trying to break off female Clinton voters and make McCain look younger. If Americans see it that way McCain could be in trouble. What is clear is this is a gamble on his part. He chose someone who is pretty unknown (I had no idea who she was when it was announced) and has no real foreign policy experience. McCain is taking a gamble that Americans are confident enough in his foreign policy experience and know him well enough that they will overlook those qualities in his VP.
As a result, Palin is to balance the ticket as an agent of “change.” This means McCain has effectively ceded the election hinges on who is more capable of bringing change to D.C. This is dangerous for McCain since his VP is not seen as experienced (the thing he hammers Obama on) and it’s not clear she is an agent of change. Hence, McCain is doing battle over an area that is going to be hard for him to defeat Obama because Obama has staked himself as the change candidate. I’m not convinced Americans will view his ticket as an agent of change.
On the experience card, the Dems and the Daily Show will have fun with the fact that in recent interview Palin didn’t know McCain policies and was unsure of the responsibilities of a VP. It will be interesting to see how hard the Dems attack because attacking a mother could easily backfire on them.
The choice of Palin also makes Hilary Clinton a major key to the election. She says she supports Obama so now she needs to back it up with concrete action. If she campaigns for Obama and truly backs him, Obama will win the women’s vote. If she still hasn’t made amends with Obama then Palin will potentially split the women’s vote.
McCain needs to have a good convention and run a barrage of ads to introduce Palin to America and make her less of an unknown.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Two Ballsy Things
First, John McCain. What a way to steal ALL of the thunder by choosing a woman as a VP pick. This is not to say the presence of a woman is amazing in this arena. What I mean is for a Republican to make a pick that almost no one would have imagined (and one he hopes will eat up some of the old Clintonites as a block that would normally go to the Dems) and keep it under wraps is one ballsy move. I will hold off one more for now since I really have very little knowledge about Sarah Palin and what she has done and how she rates as a conservative. Either way McCain effectively changed all of the media attention a few hours after one of Obama's best speeches ever.
Second, is me, how convenient. Tonight I had dinner with some coworkers to celebrate the two here were leaving. Well, we had some raw fish for one of the dishes. It was chunks of the thing that had been hacked off and cut into small pieces to eat. That alone is nowhere near ballsy. However, when the fish those pieces were cut from is still on the plate and is still moving while you eat it, that is ballsy.
Second, is me, how convenient. Tonight I had dinner with some coworkers to celebrate the two here were leaving. Well, we had some raw fish for one of the dishes. It was chunks of the thing that had been hacked off and cut into small pieces to eat. That alone is nowhere near ballsy. However, when the fish those pieces were cut from is still on the plate and is still moving while you eat it, that is ballsy.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
This Week in Taiwan and Denver
Things here in Taiwan have been good and bad, as always but are looking up since the weather is cooling off a bit. The start of the week was crazy with invoices and crap. Now its more focused on production and the factory side of things. That said, I'm quite worried about how well I'll be able to take care of all of the invoice stuff so I'll likely be in this weekend to work it all out. But that should be balanced since I also plan to take a ride on the Mao Kong Gandola and get out of the city a bit this weekend.
In the interest of full disclosure: I am a registered Democract from Oregon who comes from a family of Democrats and volunteered for John Kerry. So although that may skew my impressions of the Dem convention but I think being here in Taiwan away from the media blitz does give me somewhat of an outsider's view.
So far I have been very impressed with the speeches. Hilary was in a tough position where no matter what she did someone was going to feel left out, but she managed a great speech. On a side note, the angry Clinton supporters are being overhyped and will turn out to be white elephants. As good as Hilary did, I thought her husband did even better. Bill was amazing. Although he was overshadowed, I also thought Joe Biden did a great job and looks to be a bit of an attack dog, the tradition VP role. Then again, that was my first time seeing Biden talk so my impression was colored by not knowing what to expect from him. He will be a great VP, by the way.
I was rather surprised by John Kerry. He started off slow and recieved a cool welcome but with some good lines and a good speach he was really able to finish strong. One place where I disagree with the media reports is Mark Warner's speech. He was described as boring and uninspiring but I was impressed because (not only have I met him) he was the only candidate to really talk about globalization and its impact on the US. Since I believe globalization is the most serious issue facing the US--and most other issues are derivitives of this--I was impressed.
Putting on another hat for myself now, I would attack McCain on three areas if I was a Democratic strategist. Warner had the best, even though it was subtle, attack. He said we need a candidate for the future and not the past. This has now been used by Obama and plays to him perfectly. It lets Dems subtly question McCain's age and grasp of things like the Internet revoltion and paints Obama as foward looking and hopeful. Second, McCain previously stated he did not particularly grasp economic matters. This is like Kerry's gaf last election. For Dems this is the gift that needs to keep giving, make sure every American can quote McCain on this and you sow uncertainity about his ability to address economic matters, which is wherre the election will be won or lost. Third, Kerry was right to attack McCain over the shifts in his voting record over the last 8 years (from very moderate to increasingly conservative in the last four years). If Dems can make people doubt McCain on the economy and paint him as a pandering by changing his positions then the election is theirs to lose.
So far the Dems have been very eager to attack McCain by linking linking him to Bush. This runs the risk of being more of an attack on Bush and less on McCain. I believe this would work better if, like three above, they stressed McCain has altered his positions to conform to Bush.
To be like FOX and pretend to be fair, these are some things McCain can attack and do to defend himself from attacks. First, to deflect criticism of his economics he needs to convene meetings of economic experts and give lots of speeches about this to change the news coverage in his favor and turn this back on Obama. It wouldn't hurt to talk about how you create jobs or propose job retraining for those who have lost jobs. The hardest thing for him is that Bush has abandoned many of the policies McCain backed (talks with Iran, pullout of Iraq, etc.) and he cannot change back. This makes it even more imparative to change the focus to economics. He also has to attack hard to promote his experience over Obama and hammer on a lack of foreign policy experience.
Edit: After watching and reading Obama's speach he too was fantastic. He continually harped on the future and made the election about the essential question "who will best be able to change the US for the better." I had shivers at several points during the speach. However, the momentum will likely shift slightly to McCain this coming week as he announces a VP and has the Repub. convention.
In the interest of full disclosure: I am a registered Democract from Oregon who comes from a family of Democrats and volunteered for John Kerry. So although that may skew my impressions of the Dem convention but I think being here in Taiwan away from the media blitz does give me somewhat of an outsider's view.
So far I have been very impressed with the speeches. Hilary was in a tough position where no matter what she did someone was going to feel left out, but she managed a great speech. On a side note, the angry Clinton supporters are being overhyped and will turn out to be white elephants. As good as Hilary did, I thought her husband did even better. Bill was amazing. Although he was overshadowed, I also thought Joe Biden did a great job and looks to be a bit of an attack dog, the tradition VP role. Then again, that was my first time seeing Biden talk so my impression was colored by not knowing what to expect from him. He will be a great VP, by the way.
I was rather surprised by John Kerry. He started off slow and recieved a cool welcome but with some good lines and a good speach he was really able to finish strong. One place where I disagree with the media reports is Mark Warner's speech. He was described as boring and uninspiring but I was impressed because (not only have I met him) he was the only candidate to really talk about globalization and its impact on the US. Since I believe globalization is the most serious issue facing the US--and most other issues are derivitives of this--I was impressed.
Putting on another hat for myself now, I would attack McCain on three areas if I was a Democratic strategist. Warner had the best, even though it was subtle, attack. He said we need a candidate for the future and not the past. This has now been used by Obama and plays to him perfectly. It lets Dems subtly question McCain's age and grasp of things like the Internet revoltion and paints Obama as foward looking and hopeful. Second, McCain previously stated he did not particularly grasp economic matters. This is like Kerry's gaf last election. For Dems this is the gift that needs to keep giving, make sure every American can quote McCain on this and you sow uncertainity about his ability to address economic matters, which is wherre the election will be won or lost. Third, Kerry was right to attack McCain over the shifts in his voting record over the last 8 years (from very moderate to increasingly conservative in the last four years). If Dems can make people doubt McCain on the economy and paint him as a pandering by changing his positions then the election is theirs to lose.
So far the Dems have been very eager to attack McCain by linking linking him to Bush. This runs the risk of being more of an attack on Bush and less on McCain. I believe this would work better if, like three above, they stressed McCain has altered his positions to conform to Bush.
To be like FOX and pretend to be fair, these are some things McCain can attack and do to defend himself from attacks. First, to deflect criticism of his economics he needs to convene meetings of economic experts and give lots of speeches about this to change the news coverage in his favor and turn this back on Obama. It wouldn't hurt to talk about how you create jobs or propose job retraining for those who have lost jobs. The hardest thing for him is that Bush has abandoned many of the policies McCain backed (talks with Iran, pullout of Iraq, etc.) and he cannot change back. This makes it even more imparative to change the focus to economics. He also has to attack hard to promote his experience over Obama and hammer on a lack of foreign policy experience.
Edit: After watching and reading Obama's speach he too was fantastic. He continually harped on the future and made the election about the essential question "who will best be able to change the US for the better." I had shivers at several points during the speach. However, the momentum will likely shift slightly to McCain this coming week as he announces a VP and has the Repub. convention.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Four Things-And the Last Track Post
Well track is part of those things. This weekend I went out to watch the Olympics with the hope that the final track events would be broadcast in Taiwan live. Well I found out about a cool bar here that is pretty close to me and I was able to ride the subway there. I had a good time watching the track events but an even better time talking to the waitresses. It was actually really funny. Most foreigners here cannot speak Chinese worth shit. So the waitresses were amazed that I spoke pretty well and could have conversations with them, the surprise when people realize I speak Chinese will never get old.
The track is going to wait since there are two other things that have happened in recent days that deserve mentioning. The ND club dinner was sweet. I got to meet some movers and shakers and got invited to some cool lectures (we'll see if I can fit them in around work). But more interesting was talking to an old prof completely outside of an academic setting. The dinner was also great since someone else paid, so no complaints here.
That was the good thing. The bad thing is a trend. For some reason we have a lot of German machines here. So every day as I'm about to get off work the Germans bombard me with emails that require my attention urgently (since they are still waiting for lunch). Well this combines two things I don't like: staying late and invoices. Hopefully, the number of emails with them will only decrease.
The track is going to wait since there are two other things that have happened in recent days that deserve mentioning. The ND club dinner was sweet. I got to meet some movers and shakers and got invited to some cool lectures (we'll see if I can fit them in around work). But more interesting was talking to an old prof completely outside of an academic setting. The dinner was also great since someone else paid, so no complaints here.
That was the good thing. The bad thing is a trend. For some reason we have a lot of German machines here. So every day as I'm about to get off work the Germans bombard me with emails that require my attention urgently (since they are still waiting for lunch). Well this combines two things I don't like: staying late and invoices. Hopefully, the number of emails with them will only decrease.
Ok, for the final track stuff let me say that the results weren't as bad as I thought when things were done. I must say that, although few people know him, decathlon winner Brian Clay is one of the greatest athletes in America. While Usain Bolt and Phelps rightly got a lot of attention the everyone forgot about Kenenisa Bekele who won the 10k and 5k. I watched him win the 5k. It wasn't just a win, it was pure domination, I have never seen anyone control a race like that then start knocking off 60 second splits for the last three laps at the end (4min mile pace). Unbelievable. It was sad to see how much Bernard Lagat was broken in the race (three laps to go) but he was fighting injuries and sickness, which has happened to me in big meets so I give him a pass. The US 4x400 was great to watch. The women, led by Sanya Richards, came from behind to win and the men just dominated. Wariner ran a 43.18 split, which is insane. That shows he was in shape and makes his poor 400m final even more of a mystery. The final event, the men's marathon, was also crazy. It was super hot and super humid (read the worst conditions to run a marathon in) and the winner still goes 2:06!
One funny thing this last week happened with a language partner. Her pronunciation of beach sounds exactly like bitch. The more she said it the funnier it got.
Obamamania baby!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Second to last track post
I'm going to lead this off with something non-track related. Tonight should be pretty cool. A former prof of mine at ND is going to be in town with some other ND bigwigs and I'll be able to go have a dinner with them and the ND club. Even if it's a hit to the pocket book it should be a good time, besides it's Hunan food, and you can't go wrong with that.
I promise there will be only more more track post after this. Let me see, I said previously that the long time off and rumored injuries could spell bad news for Liu Xiang and unfortunately for him that was correct. Watching the 800m it was great to see Nick Symmonds advance for one round, what killed him is the difficulty of making a late-race kick in the Olympics. Bernard Lagat seemed to get things back on track in the 5000m qualifiers, now he just has to keep it together in the final. The mens 400m and 400m hurdles were US sweeps (thanks to David Neville's dive in the 400m). The interesting thing was how much Jermey Warnier dropped in the 400m, that should teach him not to split with his longtime coach in an Olympic year. The downside is that for each success we drop the ball, or in this case the baton in both 4x100m relays.
The highlight for me has been Usain Bolt. I was able to see a youtube of his 200m. My God, he made everyone look like little kids. No one that big is supposed to start fast. No one is supposed to run the turn that well and make up the stagger like that. But he did it. In a word: incredible.
Right now I'm really looking forward to the 4x400m, the decathlon (go Brian Clay!), and the 5000m. Also interesting will be to see how Ryan Hall does in the marathon, he's fast but still a bit of a long shot to make the medal stand.
I promise there will be only more more track post after this. Let me see, I said previously that the long time off and rumored injuries could spell bad news for Liu Xiang and unfortunately for him that was correct. Watching the 800m it was great to see Nick Symmonds advance for one round, what killed him is the difficulty of making a late-race kick in the Olympics. Bernard Lagat seemed to get things back on track in the 5000m qualifiers, now he just has to keep it together in the final. The mens 400m and 400m hurdles were US sweeps (thanks to David Neville's dive in the 400m). The interesting thing was how much Jermey Warnier dropped in the 400m, that should teach him not to split with his longtime coach in an Olympic year. The downside is that for each success we drop the ball, or in this case the baton in both 4x100m relays.
The highlight for me has been Usain Bolt. I was able to see a youtube of his 200m. My God, he made everyone look like little kids. No one that big is supposed to start fast. No one is supposed to run the turn that well and make up the stagger like that. But he did it. In a word: incredible.
Right now I'm really looking forward to the 4x400m, the decathlon (go Brian Clay!), and the 5000m. Also interesting will be to see how Ryan Hall does in the marathon, he's fast but still a bit of a long shot to make the medal stand.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
First the bad, then the ok, and then the good
This coming few weeks are going to blow hard for me at work. Since I am taking over the invoiced and international junk for the company and it’s not looking very good. The lady whom I am taking over for likes to do everything herself so I still have a very poor understanding of nuances of what she does (the job doesn’t seem that hard but the fact that there are a ton of invoices, money orders, performa invoices, and files (in Chinese) to deal with for each order makes this a real bummer). I think that after a week or so I’ll get the hang of it or just manage to dump it all off on my Taiwanese coworkers—which is the best choice in my mind.
It’s also really hard to learn from the lady I’m taking over for since she’s super high strung and always seems to be uber uber nervous. For example, today she gave me labels to put on sample cards. Well, we keep some of the cards and send some to the customer. So I placed the labels on the ones that go to the customer, which was wrong, but we caught it long before they were even packed or shipped. Well this lady freaks out. Then again it’s not as bad as the time I tried to send a CD via FedEx document pick up, which really isn’t a big deal, especially when the CD can go out any time during the week (lesson here is to label things as documents to get the cheaper rate and not as CD’s). But good Lord, you would have thought I murdered someone by her reaction! That means even basic and simple questions about things always make me seem like I’m asking her to move mountains for me.
Also bad, the US track team has also continued a very poor run as of late. The exception being a surprise gold in the women’s discus and a sweep of the 400m hurdles. But for the most part the story has been the bad luck of people like Lolo Jones and Sanya Richards. We’ll see how things go tonight for the three sprinters in the 200m against Usain Bolt (if he runs like he did in the semis then it wont be a race at all) so let’s hope Crawford, Dix, and Spearmon can push him.
The ok news is that the men’s 400m is coming up which gives the US good shot at a medal. The relay races should also be interesting and be a real battle between the Americans and Jamacians. The other race that I’m really looking forward to is the 5000m, this is Bekele’s to lose at this point so we’ll see if Lagat can recover and make a run at it. Edit: keep an eye on the 800m too.
At work, the ok news is that my American coworker, the only other white person here, is leaving. So that means only 1.75 people other than me will speak English in the office in two weeks. That will be a real adjustment since I ask my coworker a lot of questions, but at the same time it will be great for my Chinese skills, eventually.
The good news is that Michael Phelps (Fei-er-pu-si) in Chinese pronunciation is a living god and after watching an interview where he talks about what he listens to before his races I’m started listening to his favorite: Lil’ Wayne “I’m me.”
The other good news is I have some cool language partners now. I have the three old people I meet with and help them with English and get a free meal in return. Then I meet with two 26 year olds (a nephew of the old people and his ladyfriend). My third language partner is a girl my age who I have yet to hear put together so much as a sentence in English.
I cannot wait for the weekend to get here; in their song “Be My Escape” Reliant K says “I gotta get outta of here,” and that’s how I feel about the office this week. Just take me to a place without invocies.
It’s also really hard to learn from the lady I’m taking over for since she’s super high strung and always seems to be uber uber nervous. For example, today she gave me labels to put on sample cards. Well, we keep some of the cards and send some to the customer. So I placed the labels on the ones that go to the customer, which was wrong, but we caught it long before they were even packed or shipped. Well this lady freaks out. Then again it’s not as bad as the time I tried to send a CD via FedEx document pick up, which really isn’t a big deal, especially when the CD can go out any time during the week (lesson here is to label things as documents to get the cheaper rate and not as CD’s). But good Lord, you would have thought I murdered someone by her reaction! That means even basic and simple questions about things always make me seem like I’m asking her to move mountains for me.
Also bad, the US track team has also continued a very poor run as of late. The exception being a surprise gold in the women’s discus and a sweep of the 400m hurdles. But for the most part the story has been the bad luck of people like Lolo Jones and Sanya Richards. We’ll see how things go tonight for the three sprinters in the 200m against Usain Bolt (if he runs like he did in the semis then it wont be a race at all) so let’s hope Crawford, Dix, and Spearmon can push him.
The ok news is that the men’s 400m is coming up which gives the US good shot at a medal. The relay races should also be interesting and be a real battle between the Americans and Jamacians. The other race that I’m really looking forward to is the 5000m, this is Bekele’s to lose at this point so we’ll see if Lagat can recover and make a run at it. Edit: keep an eye on the 800m too.
At work, the ok news is that my American coworker, the only other white person here, is leaving. So that means only 1.75 people other than me will speak English in the office in two weeks. That will be a real adjustment since I ask my coworker a lot of questions, but at the same time it will be great for my Chinese skills, eventually.
The good news is that Michael Phelps (Fei-er-pu-si) in Chinese pronunciation is a living god and after watching an interview where he talks about what he listens to before his races I’m started listening to his favorite: Lil’ Wayne “I’m me.”
The other good news is I have some cool language partners now. I have the three old people I meet with and help them with English and get a free meal in return. Then I meet with two 26 year olds (a nephew of the old people and his ladyfriend). My third language partner is a girl my age who I have yet to hear put together so much as a sentence in English.
I cannot wait for the weekend to get here; in their song “Be My Escape” Reliant K says “I gotta get outta of here,” and that’s how I feel about the office this week. Just take me to a place without invocies.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Track Fans Only
First a rant. NBC sucks huge ones in their coverage. They have NO live blog of any of the night events tonight on the track and none of their videos or coverage are open if you live outside the US. I can understand the coverage not being open outside the US, but seriously no live blog. NBC you suck.
The good news is that Taiwanese tv carried the men's 10,000m live tonight. I saw the end of the race and it was great. A standard Ethiopian strategy of sitting on the Kenyans and making them work then unleashing a monster last lap. It was superhuman. The winner Kenenisa Bekele, ran a 53 second last lap. The guy was absolutely flying and he could have run faster but he took his foot off the gas with 30m to go when he was ahead of everyone. The sad part for Ethiopia was their legend, Geb, wasn't able to medal in his only event of the Games and finished in 6th place. For the US it was interesting, Galen Rupp (who I used to get beaten by in high school) was the top American in 13th place, he beat Abdi (who was 15th but 20 seconds back) who should have done much better. Nevertheless that was a VERY impressive run by Rupp. Here is a video of the last 8 minutes of the race: http://www.ethiotube.net/video/435/Beijing-2008--10K-Men.
The other bad news is that the US has so far performed very poorly on the track. Day one it was the shot putters, day 2 was Tyson Gay, and today it was the US 100m women getting swept by Jamaica as well as Bernard Lagat not making the 1500m finals.
Looking ahead it will be interesting to see how Lagat takes the blow and responds in the 5,000m against Bekele. Also tomorrow is the 400m, this is a strong American event and we'll see Jermey Warnier in action and see how his recent coaching change has impacted him (if the trials are any indication the result wasn't good). The 400m hurdles is also an American strength so we'll see how that goes too. I'll be paying attention to how the young American team in the 800m does, particularly Nick Symmonds. Most of all I, and all of China, will be watching the 110 hurdles with the Chinese track god Liu Xiang. He hasn't raced for a long time (this was a killer for Tyson Gay), there are rumors about his injury bugging him in recent days, and he is under the most intense pressure of any athlete of the Games (both from his own countrymen because he had the Chinese Olympic head tell him that if he loses his life essentially amounts to nothing and since his Cuban rival is breathing down his neck). My prediction: if Liu is healthy he wins since he's a big meet guy but if his leg is still giving him problems then it's an open race. The danger is that his leg isn't well and could be aggravated over several rounds and add to that the pressure and stress after not competing for so long and he has a mountain to climb.
The good news is that Taiwanese tv carried the men's 10,000m live tonight. I saw the end of the race and it was great. A standard Ethiopian strategy of sitting on the Kenyans and making them work then unleashing a monster last lap. It was superhuman. The winner Kenenisa Bekele, ran a 53 second last lap. The guy was absolutely flying and he could have run faster but he took his foot off the gas with 30m to go when he was ahead of everyone. The sad part for Ethiopia was their legend, Geb, wasn't able to medal in his only event of the Games and finished in 6th place. For the US it was interesting, Galen Rupp (who I used to get beaten by in high school) was the top American in 13th place, he beat Abdi (who was 15th but 20 seconds back) who should have done much better. Nevertheless that was a VERY impressive run by Rupp. Here is a video of the last 8 minutes of the race: http://www.ethiotube.net/video/435/Beijing-2008--10K-Men.
The other bad news is that the US has so far performed very poorly on the track. Day one it was the shot putters, day 2 was Tyson Gay, and today it was the US 100m women getting swept by Jamaica as well as Bernard Lagat not making the 1500m finals.
Looking ahead it will be interesting to see how Lagat takes the blow and responds in the 5,000m against Bekele. Also tomorrow is the 400m, this is a strong American event and we'll see Jermey Warnier in action and see how his recent coaching change has impacted him (if the trials are any indication the result wasn't good). The 400m hurdles is also an American strength so we'll see how that goes too. I'll be paying attention to how the young American team in the 800m does, particularly Nick Symmonds. Most of all I, and all of China, will be watching the 110 hurdles with the Chinese track god Liu Xiang. He hasn't raced for a long time (this was a killer for Tyson Gay), there are rumors about his injury bugging him in recent days, and he is under the most intense pressure of any athlete of the Games (both from his own countrymen because he had the Chinese Olympic head tell him that if he loses his life essentially amounts to nothing and since his Cuban rival is breathing down his neck). My prediction: if Liu is healthy he wins since he's a big meet guy but if his leg is still giving him problems then it's an open race. The danger is that his leg isn't well and could be aggravated over several rounds and add to that the pressure and stress after not competing for so long and he has a mountain to climb.
A Good Weekend
This weekend was, interesting. Friday after dinner I went out to explore a bar area in town that is college oriented. Well I had read up on which bars to go to but when I got there they were totally empty and this was at like 10:00pm, what the hell?
Then Saturday I went to see the National Palace Museum. It is the largest collection of Chinese artwork anywhere in the world. Most pieces are from the Chinese Imperial collection and were taken by the KMT as they fled the advancing communists during the Chinese civil war (this was good since had they been left in China they surely would have been destroyed in the cultural revolution). It was pretty cool, even though I couldn't take pictures. There were some absolutely amazing pieces of work there. For example, there is a ball carved out of a single piece of ivory that contains 17 other balls inside of it (all with unbelievable designs on them).
After that I was able to go relax in a public garden that was next door to the museum. It had several ponds with the biggest damn carp I've ever seen in my life.
That night I was planning to go out to TGI Friday's to watch the Olympic 100m dash finals. Well I eventually found the place only to find the best American hope was knocked out in the semifinals and the bar didn't have coverage. But it wasn't a total loss since I was able to see the US-Spain basketball game and met some Taiwanese military police who were out for a weekend break. Besides Tyson Gay not making the finals the biggest problem was that the long island iced teas at TGI Friday's are nothing like the Backer's. I've come to expect only the best. No problem though, if one isn't good have another or two...
Edit: another sucky thing over here is the lack of live Olympic coverage. And to make matters worse I can't get any of the NBC feeds or videos since those are only for the US. Hence, I'm still waiting to see Usain Bolt's record in the 100m.
Then Saturday I went to see the National Palace Museum. It is the largest collection of Chinese artwork anywhere in the world. Most pieces are from the Chinese Imperial collection and were taken by the KMT as they fled the advancing communists during the Chinese civil war (this was good since had they been left in China they surely would have been destroyed in the cultural revolution). It was pretty cool, even though I couldn't take pictures. There were some absolutely amazing pieces of work there. For example, there is a ball carved out of a single piece of ivory that contains 17 other balls inside of it (all with unbelievable designs on them).
After that I was able to go relax in a public garden that was next door to the museum. It had several ponds with the biggest damn carp I've ever seen in my life.
That night I was planning to go out to TGI Friday's to watch the Olympic 100m dash finals. Well I eventually found the place only to find the best American hope was knocked out in the semifinals and the bar didn't have coverage. But it wasn't a total loss since I was able to see the US-Spain basketball game and met some Taiwanese military police who were out for a weekend break. Besides Tyson Gay not making the finals the biggest problem was that the long island iced teas at TGI Friday's are nothing like the Backer's. I've come to expect only the best. No problem though, if one isn't good have another or two...
Edit: another sucky thing over here is the lack of live Olympic coverage. And to make matters worse I can't get any of the NBC feeds or videos since those are only for the US. Hence, I'm still waiting to see Usain Bolt's record in the 100m.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Go US, OR, and ND
The first American medal of the Olympics is a gold by...fencer Mariel Zagunis. Mariel is from my hometown of Beaverton, Oregon (as is the silver medalist) and also a student at Notre Dame. Now lets get a few more golds and beat China in the medal count!
Update: Phelps is still on track (thanks to the sizzling leg by Jason Lezak) after the US 4x100 nipped the Alain Bernard led-French. In a related story, after the race the entire French team grabbed white towels and surrendered. I hate it when people make bad French jokes but there I go.
Damn, Tyson Gay, what happend? He runs a 9.68 with wind in the Olympic Trials then drops it in the 100m semifinals. Then again there was no way he could have taken Usain Bolt. I mean that's just inhuman, no that's too gentle. What Usain Bolt did tonight is impossible, he ran below 9.7 seconds for a 100m. Good God. So far the US has done poorly in track, Tyson Gay bows out (but Walter Dix got bronze in the 100m) and two US shot putters crashed in the shot put, we need to get some golds here (although I give huge props to Shalene Flanagan in the 10k).
Update: Phelps is still on track (thanks to the sizzling leg by Jason Lezak) after the US 4x100 nipped the Alain Bernard led-French. In a related story, after the race the entire French team grabbed white towels and surrendered. I hate it when people make bad French jokes but there I go.
Damn, Tyson Gay, what happend? He runs a 9.68 with wind in the Olympic Trials then drops it in the 100m semifinals. Then again there was no way he could have taken Usain Bolt. I mean that's just inhuman, no that's too gentle. What Usain Bolt did tonight is impossible, he ran below 9.7 seconds for a 100m. Good God. So far the US has done poorly in track, Tyson Gay bows out (but Walter Dix got bronze in the 100m) and two US shot putters crashed in the shot put, we need to get some golds here (although I give huge props to Shalene Flanagan in the 10k).
Part 2 China and American politics
This is a little bit of a departure from my usual posts so if you don’t want to read my opinions on current events check back in a few days when something interesting happens to me. This post and the one below are about two things that interest me a lot: American politics and China. And just a heads up, they are pretty long, so read at your own risk.
I’ll start with China first since it’s the Olympics (on a side note, watching the opening ceremony live was sweet). In the recent months there has been a great deal of ink spilled about how to approach the Chinese given a less than stellar human rights record, the riots in Tibet, and countless other issues. At the same time, there has been a ton of ink spilled about the massive transformation that has made China increasingly prosperous to the point that it is now the second largest market for GM in the world. The question is how are we to respond to these dual realities of a rapidly growing power that may not share our values?
Well you do it carefully. For one thing, an Olympic boycott is the wrong way to do so. When I studied in Beijing three years ago people were bursting with pride then that they could hold the Olympics, it was, to the Chinese, a symbol of national pride as it showed they had arrived as a power on the world stage. And from my friends in the city now I am told that pride has only grown. The pride is in part due to nationalism. China has a long history in modern times of being subjugated by the West and they still (rightly) see themselves as lagging behind the West in development (this actually poses a dual reality where they envy the West for its current developed state and even look up to Westerners in China but are uneasy and even angry with the past actions of the West towards their country).
This nationalism is what led to the harsh reaction and outright rejection of my Chinese to Western demands during the Tibetan riots. If your country went from being a undeveloped backwater that relied on farming and crushed individual thought in the 70’s to being one of the most rapidly growing countries in the world that has lifted millions from poverty and given almost everyone a chance to make money and get ahead (and in doing so solved incredible problems) in such a short time you would be proud too. Moreover, while China is by no means a liberal democracy they have increasingly given their citizens freedom of expression and they no longer intrude on their personal lives (formerly functions such as marriage , having kids, eating, healthcare, school, and work were all controlled by your work unit and this is no more). So for the Chinese they feel increasingly free.
Hence, when we in the West think the citizens are brainwashed and the government is a bunch of thugs (to be sure there are thugs galore but due to the fractured nature of politics in China where there is a great deal of power at the lower levels and little oversight) as CNN has stated, this elicits a strong response. While the Chinese may not be free in the Western sense they are by no means brainwashed. The Chinese take the Lee Kwan Yew approach and argue for more collective “Asian rights” but this is another debate for another time.
So how do we deal with China? First, we need to understand them. I can assure you they understand us much better than we understand them. I recall a Chinese person questioning me in detail about the workings of the American political system and parties while I was in Beijing. Now ask yourself, just how much do you know about the Chinese political structure? Second, we cannot dismiss them as being brainwashed robots or the government as incompetent (you don’t grow 10% a year for close to 20 years by being incompetent). Third, we need to find ways to collectively embrace China and give them a stake in world affairs. If they are given more say in the WTO and other organizations and can help to make some of the rules they will be more inclined to constructively participate internationally. At the same time, we cannot assume that China is innocuous and must keep a strong military presence as the stick to the carrot provided by an international embrace. But the largest challenge we will face is that of resources. When we stress conservation the Chinese say why can we, the nation that uses more resources than anyone else, tell them to conserve when the mark of growing wealth is buying things? To this I have no answer except to set an example ourselves and use less, especially in the case of oil this means finding an alternative source of energy.
Shutting ourselves off from China, blaming them for outsourcing, or accusing their government of being rotten to the core are easy responses. But they do not account for nationalism and the increasing role that China plays in the world. If we are to live in peace with the Chinese, which is by no means assured, we have to accept a Chinese role in the world and work to improve our relations because Chinese clout will only continue to grow.
Further this means accepting the fact the globalization is here and that we only hurt ourselves by trying to hide from its force. Globalization poses challenges and opportunities. The sooner we accept the challenge of resource pressures, improving healthcare, and improving education the sooner we can take advantage of the opportunities offered by globalization. To paraphrase Thomas Friedman, there is a parable in Africa that says “Everyday a lion wakes up and knows that it must outrun the fastest gazelle or it will starve and everyday a gazelle wakes up and knows that it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. It doesn’t matter who you are, when the sun comes up you better be running.” I don’t know if the US is the lion or gazelle but what I do know is China is running awfully fast and the sooner we address that the better shape we’ll be in.
I’ll start with China first since it’s the Olympics (on a side note, watching the opening ceremony live was sweet). In the recent months there has been a great deal of ink spilled about how to approach the Chinese given a less than stellar human rights record, the riots in Tibet, and countless other issues. At the same time, there has been a ton of ink spilled about the massive transformation that has made China increasingly prosperous to the point that it is now the second largest market for GM in the world. The question is how are we to respond to these dual realities of a rapidly growing power that may not share our values?
Well you do it carefully. For one thing, an Olympic boycott is the wrong way to do so. When I studied in Beijing three years ago people were bursting with pride then that they could hold the Olympics, it was, to the Chinese, a symbol of national pride as it showed they had arrived as a power on the world stage. And from my friends in the city now I am told that pride has only grown. The pride is in part due to nationalism. China has a long history in modern times of being subjugated by the West and they still (rightly) see themselves as lagging behind the West in development (this actually poses a dual reality where they envy the West for its current developed state and even look up to Westerners in China but are uneasy and even angry with the past actions of the West towards their country).
This nationalism is what led to the harsh reaction and outright rejection of my Chinese to Western demands during the Tibetan riots. If your country went from being a undeveloped backwater that relied on farming and crushed individual thought in the 70’s to being one of the most rapidly growing countries in the world that has lifted millions from poverty and given almost everyone a chance to make money and get ahead (and in doing so solved incredible problems) in such a short time you would be proud too. Moreover, while China is by no means a liberal democracy they have increasingly given their citizens freedom of expression and they no longer intrude on their personal lives (formerly functions such as marriage , having kids, eating, healthcare, school, and work were all controlled by your work unit and this is no more). So for the Chinese they feel increasingly free.
Hence, when we in the West think the citizens are brainwashed and the government is a bunch of thugs (to be sure there are thugs galore but due to the fractured nature of politics in China where there is a great deal of power at the lower levels and little oversight) as CNN has stated, this elicits a strong response. While the Chinese may not be free in the Western sense they are by no means brainwashed. The Chinese take the Lee Kwan Yew approach and argue for more collective “Asian rights” but this is another debate for another time.
So how do we deal with China? First, we need to understand them. I can assure you they understand us much better than we understand them. I recall a Chinese person questioning me in detail about the workings of the American political system and parties while I was in Beijing. Now ask yourself, just how much do you know about the Chinese political structure? Second, we cannot dismiss them as being brainwashed robots or the government as incompetent (you don’t grow 10% a year for close to 20 years by being incompetent). Third, we need to find ways to collectively embrace China and give them a stake in world affairs. If they are given more say in the WTO and other organizations and can help to make some of the rules they will be more inclined to constructively participate internationally. At the same time, we cannot assume that China is innocuous and must keep a strong military presence as the stick to the carrot provided by an international embrace. But the largest challenge we will face is that of resources. When we stress conservation the Chinese say why can we, the nation that uses more resources than anyone else, tell them to conserve when the mark of growing wealth is buying things? To this I have no answer except to set an example ourselves and use less, especially in the case of oil this means finding an alternative source of energy.
Shutting ourselves off from China, blaming them for outsourcing, or accusing their government of being rotten to the core are easy responses. But they do not account for nationalism and the increasing role that China plays in the world. If we are to live in peace with the Chinese, which is by no means assured, we have to accept a Chinese role in the world and work to improve our relations because Chinese clout will only continue to grow.
Further this means accepting the fact the globalization is here and that we only hurt ourselves by trying to hide from its force. Globalization poses challenges and opportunities. The sooner we accept the challenge of resource pressures, improving healthcare, and improving education the sooner we can take advantage of the opportunities offered by globalization. To paraphrase Thomas Friedman, there is a parable in Africa that says “Everyday a lion wakes up and knows that it must outrun the fastest gazelle or it will starve and everyday a gazelle wakes up and knows that it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. It doesn’t matter who you are, when the sun comes up you better be running.” I don’t know if the US is the lion or gazelle but what I do know is China is running awfully fast and the sooner we address that the better shape we’ll be in.
Part 1: China and American politics
Changing gears, I’m now going to shift to the presidential election. I want to look at two points, why are politics so much more polarized now and how that connects to why I vote.
Going back to about 1900 the voter turnout was close to 100%. Why? Well elections were a literal party, there would be wagons to pick you up and take you to the polls then you could go have a sweet party and get liquored up with all of the supporters of your party. Moreover, since the parties controlled their candidates with iron fists you knew exactly what candidate X would do in office. Now the downside was that your vote was not secret and if you voted the wrong way (i.e. against your party) you would risk losing your job, your house, and public services the party provided for you. This meant you voted not for good ideas but for a cool party and to keep the good times rolling for yourself.
Then during the Progressive Era this was stopped and political parties weakened so that elections became centered on candidates and not the party itself. Since that time, voter turnout has begun to fall drastically. As candidates gained more freedom from party constraints they had less incentive to follow the party line. Currently, candidates are more than willing to take money from their party but more than willing to disagree with it on many issues (see Southern Democrats for an example). The downside to this was that now it became much more difficult to find what a candidate believed, in the past the party dictated the platform and if the candidate disagreed or voted against it they were gone. Now to find it you have to research and even then the candidate may not stay true to their promises.
The time associated with deciphering political positions deterred many people from doing it. As such, we have come to rely increasingly on tv for our information (hence attack ads become more effective with the little research people do, and tv is expensive so this requires more money to reach voters, which means candidates need more fundraisers to do so). The impact of low turnout has been felt among the median voters the most. Most political scientists believe the electorate looks like a bell shaped curve with most of the population falling in the middle. These people are the biggest percentage but also the least likely to be attached to a certain party or issue and therefore see less reason to go out and vote (negative ads are thus meant to keep these people away from the polls by disgusting them with both sides and this leaves mainly the hardcore supporters who turnout). See below.
Because candidates cannot count on as many median voters coming to the polls they have to play to their “base” or those on the small sides to the left and right of the curve. These are the people most likely to come out to vote (countless polls have showed this, since when you have an issue you are attached to you come out to vote while those in the middle who are less attached to issues are less likely to vote), to give money, and to work for a campaign. Since John Q candidate cannot be sure that people in the middle are coming to vote he has to spend more time with those on the wings. Thus, he moves his own positions to mirror the wings, which advantages more extreme candidates. And when in office he has less incentive to compromise issues such as abortion because he knows that if he does the people on the wings (who put him in office) will put him out of office.
This isn’t a grand conspiracy; to stay elected politicians have to use their limited time and resources on those most likely to come out to vote. As the most likely to vote have moved to the extremes, so have politicians. The downside is that this leaves out a lot of the population in the middle as politicians do not speak to the issues they are concerned with but instead concern themselves with the issues important to the wings of the party.
This explains the rise of Republicans in recent years. Republicans have relied heavily on evangelical churches to get out the vote and raise their cause. These churches are large and have much better organization than those on the left so they can get out the vote much better than the Democrats, which has led to the rise of abortion and opposition to gay marriage as major issues. This also explains the power of the NRA. By making it seem like the sky is falling they can get tons of people (on the right mostly) out to vote which means politicians have to increasingly respect their positions.
The result has led to fractured politics and the disinclination of politicians to compromise or reach across the aisle as they rely on extreme groups for continued support. Of course, these are the very things that tend to dissuade those in the middle from voting, which only continues the trend.
While I may no longer be a strong left winger like I once was (I am still a lefty though), this is part of why I vote. I figure that if only 25% of Americans graduate from a four year college, college being the institution that lets us gain the tools to better understand and research political issues, those of us who have been to college have a responsibility to vote. As for the way I vote, it’s always the Democratic ticket. I have never knowingly voted for a Republican, while you can chalk that up to me being liberal it is also since I believe that having people who are not on the extreme and consistently vote for a party is the best way to produce stronger parties and therefore bring issues important to most Americans back to the forefront.
So there you have it. If you want to decrease the polarization in politics today get out there and vote because you staying away is what they are counting on.
Well you made it to the end, thanks for reading and leave a comment so I know what you think.
Going back to about 1900 the voter turnout was close to 100%. Why? Well elections were a literal party, there would be wagons to pick you up and take you to the polls then you could go have a sweet party and get liquored up with all of the supporters of your party. Moreover, since the parties controlled their candidates with iron fists you knew exactly what candidate X would do in office. Now the downside was that your vote was not secret and if you voted the wrong way (i.e. against your party) you would risk losing your job, your house, and public services the party provided for you. This meant you voted not for good ideas but for a cool party and to keep the good times rolling for yourself.
Then during the Progressive Era this was stopped and political parties weakened so that elections became centered on candidates and not the party itself. Since that time, voter turnout has begun to fall drastically. As candidates gained more freedom from party constraints they had less incentive to follow the party line. Currently, candidates are more than willing to take money from their party but more than willing to disagree with it on many issues (see Southern Democrats for an example). The downside to this was that now it became much more difficult to find what a candidate believed, in the past the party dictated the platform and if the candidate disagreed or voted against it they were gone. Now to find it you have to research and even then the candidate may not stay true to their promises.
The time associated with deciphering political positions deterred many people from doing it. As such, we have come to rely increasingly on tv for our information (hence attack ads become more effective with the little research people do, and tv is expensive so this requires more money to reach voters, which means candidates need more fundraisers to do so). The impact of low turnout has been felt among the median voters the most. Most political scientists believe the electorate looks like a bell shaped curve with most of the population falling in the middle. These people are the biggest percentage but also the least likely to be attached to a certain party or issue and therefore see less reason to go out and vote (negative ads are thus meant to keep these people away from the polls by disgusting them with both sides and this leaves mainly the hardcore supporters who turnout). See below.
Because candidates cannot count on as many median voters coming to the polls they have to play to their “base” or those on the small sides to the left and right of the curve. These are the people most likely to come out to vote (countless polls have showed this, since when you have an issue you are attached to you come out to vote while those in the middle who are less attached to issues are less likely to vote), to give money, and to work for a campaign. Since John Q candidate cannot be sure that people in the middle are coming to vote he has to spend more time with those on the wings. Thus, he moves his own positions to mirror the wings, which advantages more extreme candidates. And when in office he has less incentive to compromise issues such as abortion because he knows that if he does the people on the wings (who put him in office) will put him out of office.
This isn’t a grand conspiracy; to stay elected politicians have to use their limited time and resources on those most likely to come out to vote. As the most likely to vote have moved to the extremes, so have politicians. The downside is that this leaves out a lot of the population in the middle as politicians do not speak to the issues they are concerned with but instead concern themselves with the issues important to the wings of the party.
This explains the rise of Republicans in recent years. Republicans have relied heavily on evangelical churches to get out the vote and raise their cause. These churches are large and have much better organization than those on the left so they can get out the vote much better than the Democrats, which has led to the rise of abortion and opposition to gay marriage as major issues. This also explains the power of the NRA. By making it seem like the sky is falling they can get tons of people (on the right mostly) out to vote which means politicians have to increasingly respect their positions.
The result has led to fractured politics and the disinclination of politicians to compromise or reach across the aisle as they rely on extreme groups for continued support. Of course, these are the very things that tend to dissuade those in the middle from voting, which only continues the trend.
While I may no longer be a strong left winger like I once was (I am still a lefty though), this is part of why I vote. I figure that if only 25% of Americans graduate from a four year college, college being the institution that lets us gain the tools to better understand and research political issues, those of us who have been to college have a responsibility to vote. As for the way I vote, it’s always the Democratic ticket. I have never knowingly voted for a Republican, while you can chalk that up to me being liberal it is also since I believe that having people who are not on the extreme and consistently vote for a party is the best way to produce stronger parties and therefore bring issues important to most Americans back to the forefront.
So there you have it. If you want to decrease the polarization in politics today get out there and vote because you staying away is what they are counting on.
Well you made it to the end, thanks for reading and leave a comment so I know what you think.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
情人節快樂!
Happy Valentine's Day that is. Today my coworker asked me this question in English, "Clint, today is a special day for Chinese people, do you know what it is?" I replied, "Um...Thursday." Well apparently that was the wrong answer and wasn't as funny to her as it was to me. Turns out, today is the Chinese Valentine's Day. Now I know.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Victory
Today I won one. I beat the heat. Of course, it may be a net loss since to do it I had to get up at 5AM. And beyond that after not running since I've come to Taiwan my form looked like crap. But I need to be more active so I'll have to make a deal with the devil and get up at 5 more often.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Two Old People
First, I was just at lunch in the company cafeteria and there is this old guy who works for the company. He is a baller. He is about 70 and still super spry and active. On top of that he has really good English and his technical vocabulary (in English) is beyond mine. But the real reason he's a baller is he has an awesome laugh and whenever he speaks English he laughs. For example, one night I had gone to dinner with him and as we walked out he commented to me that in this area (near my apartment) there were a lot of 辣妹 or "lamei" (literally means spicy sister but really means a hot chick). At first I didn't understand so he just goes "Spice Girl!" and laughs really hard.
Last night I really needed a beer considering I hadn't had any for my birthday so that meant I went to the one bar I've been to before. It's called Taiwan Beer Bar since it's attached to the Taiwan Beer Brewery and the beer is pretty cheap. Almost as good as cheap cold beers is the fact that on Friday nights they have a live cover band. So I headed over there to check things out and I was able to find myself a table. The thing was the only table open was pretty big so within a few minutes I was joined by a bunch of dudes just off of work and out for some beers.
They didn't say much to me at first but with a few beers and my Chinese we started talking and they shared their food with me. I nearly wanted to cry...Chinese food and beer. The only English they could say was "Good Friend!" and "Beer" which is good enough for me, I mean that's all you really need. Well all of a sudden this 50 year old drunk woman wants to do a cheers with me but I'm out of beer so she gives me a warm one that was at her table and half-finished and orders me to chug. And I chugged it. I thought that was the end of her as she went to the next table to have a conversation about world affairs with the guy and his girlfriend.
Then she comes back and tells me "dance!" I had no intention of dancing with a drunk 50 year old who was far from attractive so I said no thanks. Seeing a good chance for something funny to happen the dudes at the table pushed me out. Well the lady takes me to the girl she had been sitting with at the table and told me to dance with the girl. I was a little worried since the chick's boyfriend is there and I told the old lady this. After a half-hearted dance (no one else in the bar was dancing), I sat back down until the old lady dragged the girl over to me.
Well after the initial awkwardness it was all good. The guy she was with was a childhood friend of hers. And after a few jokes about the old lady, the girl actually turned out to be pretty cool. In the end, I got a number out of it so it was a pretty good night, thanks to the drunk 50 year old.
Last night I really needed a beer considering I hadn't had any for my birthday so that meant I went to the one bar I've been to before. It's called Taiwan Beer Bar since it's attached to the Taiwan Beer Brewery and the beer is pretty cheap. Almost as good as cheap cold beers is the fact that on Friday nights they have a live cover band. So I headed over there to check things out and I was able to find myself a table. The thing was the only table open was pretty big so within a few minutes I was joined by a bunch of dudes just off of work and out for some beers.
They didn't say much to me at first but with a few beers and my Chinese we started talking and they shared their food with me. I nearly wanted to cry...Chinese food and beer. The only English they could say was "Good Friend!" and "Beer" which is good enough for me, I mean that's all you really need. Well all of a sudden this 50 year old drunk woman wants to do a cheers with me but I'm out of beer so she gives me a warm one that was at her table and half-finished and orders me to chug. And I chugged it. I thought that was the end of her as she went to the next table to have a conversation about world affairs with the guy and his girlfriend.
Then she comes back and tells me "dance!" I had no intention of dancing with a drunk 50 year old who was far from attractive so I said no thanks. Seeing a good chance for something funny to happen the dudes at the table pushed me out. Well the lady takes me to the girl she had been sitting with at the table and told me to dance with the girl. I was a little worried since the chick's boyfriend is there and I told the old lady this. After a half-hearted dance (no one else in the bar was dancing), I sat back down until the old lady dragged the girl over to me.
Well after the initial awkwardness it was all good. The guy she was with was a childhood friend of hers. And after a few jokes about the old lady, the girl actually turned out to be pretty cool. In the end, I got a number out of it so it was a pretty good night, thanks to the drunk 50 year old.
Growing Up
First, I have to say congratulations to Matt and Amy on their great news. It always amazes me that people my age can get married not to mention have a kid. But that's mainly since I have the mind of a rabbit in heat. That said, its kind of sad for me to hear new like this since it truly means that I'm growing up. I mean I have a full time job, my best friend is leaving for two months with the US Coast Guard to protect our country, and Amy has one in the oven. Man, I feel old all of a sudden. Then I look around my office and see that I'm still the youngest one here, thank God!
Less related to growing up is what I brought back from Thailand...thankfully not AIDS. No, when I was at lunch with a customer we talked about music and I asked if she liked Thai or American music. Here response was both, and I asked what American music she liked. She responded "Allison Kraus." Well I have some on my ipod (ok so I have two live CD's worth) but never really listened to much beyond "Man of constant sorrow." So when I came back I started listened to all of it and its pretty awesome. So even though I still love Less Than Jake and the Dandy Warhols with a passion I have to tip my hat to bluegrass too.
Less related to growing up is what I brought back from Thailand...thankfully not AIDS. No, when I was at lunch with a customer we talked about music and I asked if she liked Thai or American music. Here response was both, and I asked what American music she liked. She responded "Allison Kraus." Well I have some on my ipod (ok so I have two live CD's worth) but never really listened to much beyond "Man of constant sorrow." So when I came back I started listened to all of it and its pretty awesome. So even though I still love Less Than Jake and the Dandy Warhols with a passion I have to tip my hat to bluegrass too.
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