chiseen

Nasty Neighbor

2008-09-04T08:16:00.001-05:00

Ever had an unreasonably nasty neighbor? They're a pain in the ass, kind of like getting a splinter that you can't pull out. There's this lady who lives below me and she's one of those nasty ones. When I moved in three years ago, I was unpacking boxes at around 9:30 at night and she came up to complain about the noise. I told her I was sorry but that I wasn't actually making that much noise and I would try to be more quiet. Mind you they live two floors below me. Then just as I was about to shut the door she started going off about how her son gets up early and how I woke him up. I felt bad because she made it seem like he was a toddler that I woke up so I apologized again and shut the door. A couple days later I was in the same lift with them and saw that the son was a teenager, I highly doubt he was the one complaining because he had his ipod on blasting music.
So after that incident I thought, well I'm new here so I should be nice, so the next time I ran into her in the lift I smiled and said hi but she had nothing but dirty looks in return. She has also been very rude to my girlfriend as well. One time, while riding the same lift, she even had the audacity to cough back into the elevator while exiting. I mean she actually stepped out then turned her head back towards the elevator and coughed at us. Is that really neccessary? You would figure in the three years that I have living here that she would chill out. I even caught her twice snooping around and looking into the window of my car and the car of a friend of mine.
Then yesterday, as I was carring a very heavy box out of the lobby, she was on the other side of the door about to come in. When she saw me, she decided to take her time going in by slowly blocking the door and then pushed it inwards into me so I had to take several steps back. As I walked past her she told me that I needed to be patient!
Not once in all the times that she has been rude to me or my girlfriend have we ever said anything back. We've always been polite and just ingored her nasty comments or looks or actions because I feel that people like that will get what they deserve. She's just a bitter, nasty, over weight, unhappy divorcee house wife that has nothing better to do than to hold a three year grudge for nothing. When she was messing with me yesterday I wanted to ask her what the hell her problem was but then I decided she did not even deserve that. When you come across idiots like this, the best thing you can do is ignore them because really all they want is attention and by responding you're just feeding the fire.
I'm moving in a couple months anyway but I truly believe Karma will get her in the end. Most of the people that have been nasty to me have always had something really bad happen to them later. It's simple physics, an action will be met by an equal reaction. If you're nice to people they'll be nice back to you. If you're nasty to people, nasty things will happen to you.
I know this because I used to be a real jerk when I was younger. I would make fun of people or say really nasty things to get attention. During that time nothing good ever happened to me. Once I got into college, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to try to make a change in my life, new people new environment. It could have been less of a conscious decision and more of me becoming more mature but you know what? It really worked. I started to get better grades and lots of great opportunites began to unfold in front of me. Now I've got an awesome career and really believe that's because I stopped being a jerk. Too bad the lady downstairs hasn't realized that yet.

2008-08-24T11:01:00.003-05:00

Today is the last day of the Olympics and the finals of one of my favorite sports, basketball. Today Lithuania took on Argentina for the bronze and Spain vs. USA for the gold. Argentina won easily but the highlight of the day was watching Spain give the US a run for it's money. I thought The Dream Team 2 was going to blow out Spain and was expecting a boring game. But right after the tip off Spain turned it up and had Team USA struggling to keep them back the whole game.

Although the Gasol brothers were a dominant force for Spain with their NBA experience. I was most impressed with point guard Ricky Rubio. At only 17 he had an impressive game, dishing out some nice no look passes that left Team USA stumbling. 3 more years and this kids in the NBA for sure.

The half time show was done ala NBA with the Beijing Stunt Team doing crazy aerials. Here's the Olympic mascot doing an old Michael Jordan move.

In the end Team USA won as predicted but I'm sure they were worried the whole way though. As the score came within 2 points at one point, they managed to fend off Spain for an impressive finish and the gold medal. Finally after 8 years of embarrassment, the best in the world finally showed their stuff.
Both teams celebrating their respective Gold and Silver finishes.Two of my favorite players, Jason Kidd and Dwight Howard heading to the locker room.

This Olympic experience has been so amazing. The whole city, or rather the whole country had Olympic fever in a serious way. I have been coming to Beijing since 1978 and have seen it slowly grow to the present day. I know what China was like before and even as recently as my 1994 trip I would have never thought China could have done what they have done. As a Chinese American, I'm proud of the strides and leaps China has made. There won't be an Olympics like this for at least another 50 years. Chong Guo Jia You!!! I will remember this experience forever.
On a side note I've decided to stop trusting the western media. Outlets like CNN and others obviously have their agenda by trying to play down the amazing feat China has pulled off by dishing off nothing but criticism. I spent a month prior to the Olympics watching CNN broadcast nothing but negative news about China. It scares me because they are running the same fear machine that the US government pulled against Iraq. But what do expect from the conservative right? That's why we Americans need to get Obama in the office and stop this bullshit. China should be a good partner to the US, why make it an enemy?
If any of you were there please leave comments below about your experience!

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Athletics

2008-08-22T03:49:00.003-05:00

Went to the Athletics event last night at the Bird's Nest. Where did the name Athletics come from? I thought it was called Track and Field? How is Athletics a better name? To me it sounds like high school P.E., physical education. What was I being physically educated about? We were just playing sports.
Anyway, I got tickets for this event to see Liu Xiang show the world that he wasn't an anomaly, and that Chinese can succeed at sports dominated by westerners. Unfortunately as we all know, Liu Xiang wasn't around to show the world that. I wonder where he was and what he was doing? Here's his rival and current 110M hurdles champ Dayron Robles doing his victory lap. Couldn't help but cheer him on even though he didn't break Liu Xiang's Olympic record.
We had awesome seats, right down in front of the sand pit for the triple jump. As I watched the triple jump finals, I couldn't help but think, "this is the least cool event for athletics". I mean getting a medal in the 100M dash means your fast, the high jump shows you got hops, the 10,000M means you've got endurance. But the triple jump? All you do all year round is do three hops and land in a pile of sand. I'm not saying it's easy but visually, it's an awkward looking sport and it would probably bore my brains out if that's all I did. Look at the photos below and you'll see what I mean.
British triple jump contender.
China's triple jumper. He came in last.
cWinner of the triple jump, Nelson Evora

The other big surprise of the night was the men's and women's 100X4 relay qualifiers. The US was favored to win both, actually all they needed was to make it into the top four and they'd be in the finals. But I guess it wasn't in the US's favor this year because both teams dropped their batons and came in last. What's even weirder is that they both dropped it at the third pass off. Crazy. I felt sorry for them.
The Women's javelin finals were last night as well. Russia took home the Gold and Silver. But the coolest thing about javelin was this little remote controlled car that carries back the javelin after it's been thrown.
Jamaica's 200M champ Veronica Cambell-Brown
The Jamaicans are making a strong presence this year in all of the raw speed sports. My favorite athlete of the games is this guy Usin Bolt, The Lightning Bolt. This kid is fast. If you saw the 100M and 200M finals you'll know what I'm talking about. He was way ahead of everyone else, broke the record and did it all without the slightest grimace. Easy. Plus his little dances are funny. I wish I could have seen him up close. Last night was his 21st birthday and the whole stadium sang to him.
My best photo of the night. Again Cuba's Dayron Robles celebrating his win.

Men's and Women's Olympic Gold

2008-08-18T01:59:00.003-05:00

I wrote a nice long blog about my first Olympic event but when I tried to upload it, it disappeared so all your going to get from me here is the photos. Congrats to Nadal for the gold!
On another note my heart goes out to Liu Xiang for pulling out of the Olympics. I don't think any single athlete in the world had as much pressure as he did. I can only imagine the dialogue going on inside his head for the past few weeks. I hope he gets through this all right.
Elena from Russia took the gold.
Russia also took silver and bronze.
A victory lap for Russia.
World #1 and now Olympic Gold medalist Nadal smashes in a serve for Spain.
Gonzales from Chile put a good fight with some monster serves.
But he couldn't fend off the power of Nadal and was beaten in three straight sets.

Beijing 2008!!!

2008-08-16T10:40:00.002-05:00

The picture above is why I never liked wrestling. I did it for a summer as a kid and didn't like having a sweaty guy in tights rubbing all over me. At least this never happened to me. I think his family jewels are sitting on top of the other guy's forehead. Nasty!
Anyway, after six weeks of relentless work in Taipei, I've finally made it out alive and to Beijing to catch a bit of the Olympics and give my support. The city looks great. Better than I've ever seen it before and I've been coming here since 1978. I am really surprised that the pollution problem was actually solved. It's so much better than when I've been here in the past. Too bad in less than two weeks, the factories will be cranking up and the construction will resume, bringing all that pollution back.
More from here in later blogs.

Chen Family Cold Noodles

2008-07-25T13:22:00.002-05:00

Ok, here's another great food item from Taiwan. It's a cold noodle dish that is simple and cheap. That's my favorite kind of food. I mean, the fancy stuff is great but when you enjoy the taste of something that is simply and humbly made, it just tastes that much better. I'm not exactly sure what's in it but the power comes from it's perfectly made sauce. There is certainly lots of garlic, some chili and maybe a peanut or sesame sauce with shavings of cucumber lightly sprinkled on top. They are open 24 hours, so when in Taipei, do remember to visit the Chen family. This picture really doesn't do it justice.

Xiao Lung Bao, The World's Most Perfect Food

2008-07-15T10:03:00.003-05:00

If you're in Taiwan, you must stop by Din Tai Fung. World famous for their soup dumplings or Xiao Lung Bao. Although they have outlets in China, Hong Kong and La, the best dumplings can only be had in the original Taipei outlet.The key to Xiao Lung Bao is the skin. It must be delicate, thin and almost transparent. I think the reason why they are so good in Taipei must be the local water used to make the dough. I guess it's similar to a New York bagel, you just can't find a better one anywhere else.
Great food is not just about taste but about the experience of eating it. The aroma, the texture and the way it's eaten are all really important factors. I think soup dumplings are one of the world's most perfect items of food in that sense. Once you dip it in the vinegar and ginger sauce and bite through the tender skin, the soup inside gushes into your mouth providing the perfect amount of moisture for the succulent meat inside. Your taste buds experience so much in such a tiny little package. Although most prefer their dumplings with crab roe added to the pork, they are a bit more oily and fishy tasting, I prefer the plain pork ones.

This is where the magic happens. The guy in the foreground is breaking off the pieces of dough that will make up the fine, delicate skin. The guys in the middle ground are wrapping the skin around the little bud of pork on the inside. In the background you can see the steamers piled high to the ceiling next to the guy working the steamer. The turn over is incredible. Hungry?

Taiwan Shaved Ice

2008-07-09T11:33:00.002-05:00

Tired of reading about Eric and Martin's Hawaiian shaved ice stories, I decided to get my own while here in Taipei while working on a new movie, Like a Dream, directed by Clara Law. While on a break from promoting John Woo's Red Cliff, Chang Chen took us to this place that had an interesting list of toppings. Unlike the brightly colored fruit squirts you get from the Hawaiian style, in Taiwan they cover the ice in a brown sugar type syrup followed by your choice of unrecognizable but tasty little tidbits piled into a hole dug out of the middle. The addition of the solid matter filling gives you a nice variety of different textures to balance out the ice. Kinda like a Donutman donut but in ice. Above was my concoction. Under that strawberry jelly is some chewy boba cha type balls. As Borat would say, "Very nice!"
Chang Chen had peanuts and a flan like custard in his. A very strange combo indeed but it actually tasted quite good.
Antonio opted to have the sweet tofu instead but by the look on his face here, I bet he was thinking, "Damn, I shoulda had the ice."

Chinese Country Hip-Hop

2008-06-30T13:11:00.004-05:00

I guess this is the equivalent of Southern Rap in China. A little like Nelly's Country Grammer. If you can actually pick out what he's saying thru his country accent, it's hilarious.

11 years on....

2008-06-25T05:50:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the sentimentality but I am just taking some time to reflect. I arrived here in Hong Kong exactly 11 years ago today. Above is a tiny little entry from my journal/sketch book that was written exactly 364 days and 23 hours ago. What crappy hand writing! Looks like I gave myself 1 year to find my path. I wouldn't have guessed that less than three months later I would be cast for my first film, Bishonen and my life would change forever. Isn't life interesting. I was dealt a good hand and have been rolling with it ever since. I'm well aware others don't get chances like mine and I am so so appreciative of this gift I've been given and all the support I've received along the way. Thanks for all the love!

Book of the Month.

2008-06-18T11:43:00.002-05:00

So I was inspired by Oprah to start my own Book of the Month club. And here is my first book:

What's Your Poo Telling You? by Josh Richman and Dr. Anish Sheth
Ring of Fire, Shart, No#3. If you don't know what any of those three names stand for, then you must read "What's your Poo Telling You?". This insightful little book is a quick and informative read. Perfect for when you're doing a Number 2. It tells you everything you need to know, and then some, about your lower digestive health. Don't like poo? Disgusted by poo? Well everyone does it and you'd die if you didn't so get over it and read this book.

I think that's exactly how Oprah would introduce it.

Moving Mural

2008-05-17T00:55:00.001-05:00

My buddy sent me this link the other day. This is a seriously amazing animation made in Argentina and done mural style with still photographs. This took a lot of time, effort and big time creative skills to pull off. Respect!

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

South Africa pt 2 - Cape Town

2008-05-03T23:41:00.004-05:00

So after our safari, we headed down to Cape Town for a few days. Although this was my 5th trip to South Africa, I had never been there before. One thing that was apparent immediately getting off the plane was the mix of cultures. The places I'd been before we're pretty much white and black but in Cape Town, there is a large population of what they call Malays, people who were brought over by the Dutch from places in South East Asia, like Indonesia and Malaysia, to work as cheap labor, some claim as slaves. So because of the origins of the Malays, the Muslim culture is also very prevalent here.

On our first day, we took a Cape Point tour. Which included a stop at the Cape of Good Hope. Now if you all remember your grade school geography this is the southern most point of the African continent.If you jump in the water and swim, you might make it to Antartica from here. It's also the point where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. The Cape is extremely beautiful terrain, with crazy rocky flat topped mountains to one side and the ocean at the other. A key feature of the Cape of Good Hope are the penguins. Thousands of them everywhere. I'm not really sure why they congregate here because it's not very cold but I guess if they want cooler weather they just take the swim to Antarctica. They are very cute but very smelly also.
There are also Baboons everywhere as well. An unlikely place for them to live but they seem to do well. They seem survive mostly by stealing food from the tourists. We were constantly warned not to carry anything edible on our bodies otherwise we might get jacked by one. Our guide had to chase after a baboon once who stole a woman's purse with her passport, credit cards and plane tickets inside.
On our second day, we did a cultural tour of Cape Town itself. Cape Town looks and feels like a combination of San Francisco(4 seasons in one day weather) and Barcelona( beach city)but it has a vastly different history than either. We checked out the Malay Quarter first, the colorful part of town that the Malays settled. .The amazing thing about Cape Town is that no matter where you are you can see the famous Table Mountain. Named because of it's flat top, the mountain looks different at all times of the day. Sometimes it is covered with a cascading blanket of fog, known as the table cloth, or sometimes it's totally clear. At sunset, it reflects the rays of the setting sun and it becomes this glowing orange color.
We also went to District Six, which was a Malay and Coloured part of town that got wiped out so the Whites could take over during the 60's, one of the most ruthless times of the Apartheid era. It was during the 60's that Cape Town was being developed as a major international city. Part of the city planning was to relocate all non-Whites outside of the city center. Although they were cleared out, the residents resisted in their own way by disrupting any attempt at the whites of redeveloping the area. So to to this day, District Six reamains a wasteland.This is Noos, he works at the District Six museum. He grew up in District Six and wrote this book about life there before it got destroyed.

Afterwards, we headed out to the townships. Most tourists don't usually go out here because these are the dangerous ghettos of South Africa but I felt it was necessary element to understanding this country. The townships are where poor Blacks who can't afford proper housing settle in their ramshackle wood and corrugated steel boxes, a stark contrast to the cosmopolitan atmosphere of the Cape Town City center itself. People with jobs in the city spend over 70% of their monthly income just traveling to and from work, making it impossible to save enough money to get out. Along with the poverty, comes violence as as drug running gangs and other criminals rule the streets. Although Apartheid was abolished in 1994. The effects of it still present a very real problem to the South Africans of today. Only now economics is the excuse used to explain the racial divide. Although life here in the townships is poor and impoverished, somehow there is a vibrance and vitality in the air despite . Cape Town is an amazing city. Beautiful and rich in it's history and culture. I will definitely look for a chance to go back!

Safari

2008-04-25T04:24:00.002-05:00

So I've finally had some time to go through the photos I took from this South Africa trip. There are a lot so I'm gonna have to break this blog about my trip into three parts. This is the Safari part and will probably be the most interesting to animal lovers, Discovery Channel freaks and carnivores(you'll see why in a sec).
So the first stop on the trip was the Tanda Tula Lodge in the Timba Vate private game reserve on the edge of Krueger National Park. I have been on Safari before but this time I wanted to get the real bush experience. Tanda Tula puts all of their guests in tenets rather than an actual lodge. This way you are right in the bush with all the sites sounds and smells right there all around you. Animals can literally walk right up to your tent if you're lucky enough. We were taken on two game drives a day, one at 6 am and another at 4pm. These are optimal animal viewing times because they hide away from the heat of the day.
What surprises most first time safari goers is actually how close you can actually get to the animals, especially the predatory animals. My Mom almost crapped herself a couple times as Lions and Elephants passed within feet of the jeep. The rangers' explanation is they see the large topless jeep as one large and harmless entity so they do not feel threatened by them. Also these animals have grown accustomed to these jeeps following them around. That said, if you step out of the jeep,you're looking to become mince meat.
I guess the goal of every safari trip is to see the big five. The big five are Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, Leopard and Lion. My last safari I didn't see the Leopard but I did see a kill, which was a pride of Lionesses catching and killing a large Kudu, which is like a big deer. I filmed this but haven't had time to put it on the site. It was gruesome but fascinating at the same time. I'll post it when I get a chance. Here's a Lion we saw the first evening eating a buffalo. The buffalo must have been dead for a couple days because the stench of rotten meat was horrible. This photo was taken from about 20 feet away and in low light thus the blurriness.
Last time we missed the Leopard but this time we saw one the first day. He was sleeping on the edge of a dry river bank. When we came back the next morning, he was eating this gazelle breakfast.His spots were so amazing and I was lucky to get some nice golden sunlight to enhance the photo.
Elephants are amazing creatures. Usually you only see them in the Zoo or shackled down for tourists to take a ride on. But when you see them in the wild in their natural environment eating, playing and bathing, you really get to see them as the graceful animals that they are. Especially this cute little baby.
But even these guys can become fierce. This Moma got protective of her clan and made a charge for us because my Dad was talking too loud. Luckily our tracker Phillip banged on the hood of the car and stopped the charge about 2 feet from the car. When elephants stick their ears out like that, it means they're pissed off.
Rhinos are really cool too. They really look prehistoric from head to toe. On this trip, the Rhino was proving to be elusive. We spent most of our last morning trying to find one to complete the big five sighting. We had to do some serious off-roading through the bush to catch up to this one.

Also on the last morning we followed a pride of Lions that was being tracked down by this male Lion. This beautiful male was waiting for the right opportunity to attack and fight the adolescent male of the pride to kick him out and take over.
You might think this is cruel and unfair but the adolescent male of this pride is also the brother of these lionesses so he needs to go, otherwise inbreeding occurs.
Incest is not best. This pic kinda reminds me of Lust Caution.
We waited for over an hour but no fight but the tension was thick!
If you ever get a chance to go on Safari, do it. It might change your life and it definitely will change the way you look at the world and maybe even inspire you to take some measures to take better care of this planet so beautiful creatures like these can continue on living in freedom.

South Africa!!!!

2008-04-12T10:46:00.002-05:00

I'm back in South Africa again for the fourth time or is it fifth? Anyway, this time I'm here to show my parents the land I think is one of the most beautiful in the world and it seems they are enjoying it. We were on Safari for three days in the Timbavale private game reserve, a one hour flight from Johannesburg. We had an amazing time checking out out the animals at literally an arms distance away. The photo above is a fresh lion print left in the sand.

Our guide Eric and tracker Philip found tons of lions for us amongst many other animals which I'll post when I get back to HK. Check out how close we were to this lioness. The blue thing in the bottom right corner is my Mom's shoulder. I think she almost shit herself as did I a couple times.
Now we're in Cape Town. It's my first time here and I must say it's nice. Kinda like San Francisco and Barcelona combined. This time I learned a bit more about aparteid which again I will blog more about when I get back. Next stop Lisa will join us and we'll head out to her secret spot where we like "to get away from it all". If you've seen The Heavenly Kings, it shows up in one of the last scenes in the film and is actually where I wrote the script for the flick.

Culture Club

2008-03-29T23:10:00.004-05:00

Went out last night to find some culture in this town. First went to the Mobile Art container by Chanel in Central a top the old Star Ferry Car Park. The capsule/building is designed by one of my favorite architects, Zaha Hadid.It's amazing to see how her conceptual work, done back when I was an architecture student, can be a reality today because of new technologies and materials.

Lisa throwing up her gangster affiliation.

The art inside was ok but the capsule itself was amazing, the crazy shapes and the even crazier spaces it created looked cool juxtaposed against the ol' Hong Kong skyline.

That's Leo from Chanel. Darth Vader was there too but I was too scared to papparazzi him. I saw what he did to the admiral.

Afterwards Simon Birch and I headed over the Eddie's house for a meal with the boys from 24. I had been hearing how good a chef Eddie was but I wasn't expecting this level of culinary skills. Look at that spread. It's a seriously professional set up, Jamie Oliver's got nothing on Eddie!

Seafood Bouillabaise!

Chilled Crab with a vinnegrette dressing!

Baked Chicken with a pesto dressing. Perfection.

The food was so good it turned us all stupid. Look at Conroy and Phat.

In the end it came down to a vote and the crab one best dish of the night. Very impressive Eddie! I will have to return for another sample of your skills1

The Donger

2008-03-26T23:17:00.003-05:00

I actually liked "Long Duk Dong" when I saw 16 Candles as a kid because he sort of epitomized all the Chinese foreign exchange students that my parents sponsored to come to America back in the 80's and 90's. I didn't really hate him because I was never made fun of by being called Donger. Maybe I went to really liberal schools. I did however come to realize much later the impact a stereotyped character like "the Donger" could have on an entire race and generation and to some degree is still perpetuated today with John Cho's nerd in Harlod and Kumar and the annoying geek(some say adorable) that Masa Oki plays in Heroes. Somebody needs to change that.
Check out this study on the NPR here. (Notice how they introduce Martin Wong as Eric Nakamura)

Race in America

2008-03-26T22:54:00.003-05:00

I am not trying to turn my blog into a political thing. You all know I'm pro-Obama anyway, but I finally had time to sit down and listen to this speech. It is brilliant because it underlies the true problem with America that no one had the balls nor the clout to speak about before. Obama handled it brilliantly speaking straight from the heart, honest and pure, which further confirmed my support for him. You can argue that Obama's too much of an idealist, focusing on generalities rather than specifics but in this speech he nails his point on race in America as the key to fixing most of our problems. (And at least he's not lying about being shot at by snippers to prove he understands international policy like Clinton just did. What a strange way to embellish a story.) You can watch this incredible speech here.
Oh yes, and if you are an American Ex-pat working or living overseas get your absentee ballot here.

Happy Birthday Dad!

2008-03-24T04:59:00.002-05:00

Today was my Dad's 79th birthday. He looks great for 79. I hope my skin is that smooth when I'm that age...if I even live that long.
He was actually born on the March 24th, 1929 of the lunar calender. When he immigrated to America and they asked him what his birthday was, he just gave the immigration guy his Chinese birthday and never bothered to correct it. Kind of cool, I think. I'm not really sure how to calculate that far back but does anyone know what day March 24th on the Western calendar was in 1929?
That's my brother in law Andrew and my sister Greta. We had a nice little dinner in Berkeley, then we came home so I could pack. Heading back to HK tomorrow. This was an awesome trip. Went to the film fest, met up with old friends, met very nice and interesting new people, ate good food and found peace in myself. What more could I ask for?

High School Musical

2008-03-24T04:40:00.002-05:00

Gave a talk at my high school, Head-Royce, last week. My old English and Japanese lit teacher Barry Barankin somehow found me through the SF Asian American Film Festival people and invited to me to talk about how I got where I am today. It was cool seeing all my teachers from way back when( I graduated class of '92) and to see they were still inspiring students and still looked pretty much the same. The talk was fun and the students had a lot of great questions. There were a lot more Asian kids than when I was there and some of the students even did wushu. When I was in high school, I was the only one who did any martial arts!
From left: Jeff Key my art teacher, Johnny Wang my classmate and buddy, My Mom, Me and Barry Barakin. Jeff and Barry took me and several students to Japan for a summer class trip back in 1990. It was my first time to Japan and I loved it, which is probably why I went back to study in college and have been back dozens of times since, When I was working on Shinjuku Incident, I couldn't help but think of the great times we had 18 years ago! Teachers are important people in this world and these guys definitely influenced me heavily.

Wild Turkeys!

2008-03-24T04:26:00.003-05:00

For some reason there are wild turkeys living in the community that my parents live. You often hear them gobbling super loud but are usually hidden in the bushes or somewhere out of sight. The other day while I was cleaning out the garage I spotted some. Too bad there is no zoom on my camera but you get the picture. They are big and actually quite beautiful. Definitely something you don't see in Hong Kong. You'd be hard pressed to find frozen turkey.

GR Baby #1

2008-03-24T04:03:00.003-05:00

Still catching up on blogs here. Since Martin doesn't want his blog to turn into a baby blog. I'll brag about little baby Eloise for him. It was awesome to be in LA and get a chance to see the first Giant Ronot baby. So cute and she has gray eyes. I wonder when they will turn brown?

Here's a pic of Martin breast feeding. He says his nipples are getting really raw. I suggested he rub some chapstick on them.

Later that night I came back and snuck Martin out of the house for a quick run to Glendora and the Donut Man. I'd been reading and hearing about the donut man for way too long not to try one on this trip to LA.
Maybe Martin got scolded when he got back but it was worth it.

SF continued

2008-03-22T04:36:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I meant to blog more on this trip but things were much busier than expected both in SF and LA. Now I'm back in the BAY catching up on some much needed sleep, rest and blogging! I must say the SF Asian American Film Festival was very good and exciting this year! There were so many great films from so many from different places. I saw Wayne Wang's "A Thousad Years of Good Prayers" which had a really stellar performance by actor Henry O. I also saw "Harold and Kumar: Escape from Guantanamo Bay", this film was hilarious, Kal Penn is such a great comedian! And finally I saw the documentary on one of my favorite artists, Yoshitomo Nara. Congratulations to festival director Chi-Hui Huang and asst director Taro Goto for all their great work. Very professional and well organized. Bravo.(and yes that's an Obama pin)
Dan "the automator" Nakamura and his cousin Eric2@ Yoshi's SF.

On one night of the festival Eric Nakamura(from Giant Robot), Dan The Automator and I went for a meal down at the new Yoshi's in SF. Yoshi's is a Bay Area establishment that started in Berkeley. Their idea is simple Jazz and Sushi. Although all the great Jazz people come thru there their sushi has always been soso. However, the new joint on Filmore St really did it right on the sushi front. They look bummed in the photo but those expresions don't really reflect how good the food was. Dan knows the manager Andrew and the sushi chef Sho, so we got special seats right at the sushi counter so we could watch the action.
Baby Squid was the best thing we had. Tender but not too chewy.

I'm not normally an Uni fan and I almost didn't eat it but I'm glad I did. It tasted like sweet natural spring water which made me realize most of the Uni in HK is low quality.
Sho and his personal knife collection. Apparently one knife in there cost 50,000usd!
After sushi it was time for Sho and his crew to eat so we walked down the street for Korean and continued to eat until 1:30am! As you guessed, we love to eat and when Dan, Eric and I get together...we really eat!

Gay Taliban

2008-03-22T03:59:00.004-05:00

A good friend of mine from highschool, Elaine Chin, was in New York and came across these photos found by photographer Mark Dworzak while he spent time in Afghanistan. The above photo is his own photo but go to the Magnum Photos site here to see the very strange photos that he found of the Taliban. What's going on with the art direction and the make up? Maybe they had a gay stylist do 'em up for the shoot like THK! Actually that happens to me a lot when I do fashion spreads for magazines. Who knew Taliban fighters got emasculated too! I feel for them.
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SFIAAFF 2008

2008-03-13T16:22:00.003-05:00

Back home for the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival. Will be doing a Q&A for Blood Brothers as well as a special discussion panel entitled "Crossing Over". Any excuse to be back home makes me happy. Probably will head down to LA on this trip as well. I used to not like the Asian American films just because the subject matter quickly became very stereotypically boring. I mean i really thought Joy Luck Club was an important film but it really killed it for Asian Ams for a while. This year the fest looks to have a very interesting line up. We've got everything from Wayne Wang back to his Asian Am roots with " A Thousand Years of Good Prayers to "Harold and Kumar- Escape From Guantanamo Bay" which I am personally really looking forward to. So if you're in town and down. Swing bye and check it out!