Horse With No Name

This past year Heather and I received books about our Chinese zodiac sign and ways of cultivating our Feng Shui in 2009. I'm kind of dubious of the whole thing, but we've decided to go all out and Feng Shui the crap out of our lives for 2009. If despite our efforts 2009 proves to be unlucky, then we know to swear off the method forever.

If anyone is interested, the books tell you which zodiac sign is your mortal enemy (for us Horse people it is the Rat), and which zodiac signs are your allies. There is even something called your zodiac secret friend. Apparently, it's the equivalent to your zodiac BFF, but I just keep thinking about three pigtailed Margaret Farquhar from The Wonder Years. You know, Kevin Arnold's secret friend.

Anyway, aside from bejeweling ourselves with amulets, bracelets, golden deities and things, we must also pay close attention the the direction we face in most of our daily activities (note to self: purchase compass). When you think about it, Feng Shui kind of seems like an Amway scheme, doesn't it. Oh well, it's worth a try.

One last thing, according to the book Horse people should go by a nickname in 2009 to trick the bad spirits. So beginning on January 26th, Heather, Maggie and I will all be going by nicknames. I'm not going to give them away before then in case the bad spirits are reading this (in which case-wassup spirits, holla!). And I'm actually open to suggestions for a nickname so if you got some ideas, send em' my way (secretly of course, we don't want the spirits to get wind of it).

Crap!

Last night I realized that it was just about the end of the first week of 2009. Which also meant that if I wanted to keep up with the reading goal I had set for myself I should have had a book read. Crap! So I kind of cheated. I pulled one of the 33 1/3 books I had not read yet off my shelf and tore through it. I opted for the one covering Belle and Sebastian's If You're Feeling Sinister. It turned out to be one of the better reads in the series. My favorites (so far) being Joe Pernice's story inspired by The Smith's Meat is Murder and the volume covering Doolittle by The Pixies.

I was completely disappointed by Carl Wilson's Let's Talk About Love, A Journey to the Ends of Taste. It was actually kind of like the book of love, long and boring (but with music in it).

I've decided I should probably stock up on the 33 1/3 series for those weeks where I don't have much time to read. I feel kind of guilty though, the books in the series are all so short. It's like I read a brochure about an album and called it a day.

Say you want a resolution...

Generally, I don't like to make resolutions because I always feel like I'm setting myself up for disappointment. But this year, I've convinced myself to post a few resolutions here to keep me motivated to stick with them. The shame of not sticking with a goal that you've publicly set for yourself is a strong motivator. And besides, they aren't really anything life changing, just little things I think I can do to get myself closer to the kind of person I want to be.

So, here goes nothing. In 2009 I would like to:

1. Read 52 books. The bookswim gift certificate Heather got me for Christmas was fantastic and will be put to good use here;

2. Be the kind of person how talks to people in elevators. But not in the really annoying and creepy kind of way. More like the "wow, it was nice we did not completely ignore each other and pretend we were alone in the elevator" kind of way;

3. Smile at people who look like they need it;

4. After all of my bills are paid and I have a little extra cash, think about donating to charity rather than that new pair of jeans;

and finally

5. Live every week like it is shark week!

Happy New Year Erbody!!

When the Light Go Down in the City

So as a little post-Christmas treat, Oahu was gifted an island wide blackout this past Friday night. Here are some of my notes on the same:

KSSK was essentially the only station on air during the blackout and simulcasted on its sister clear channel stations. Thus, KSSK is what I listened to. Specifically, I got through the blackout with Perry on my left and Price on my right. It was my own personal sandwich nightmare. First, Perry and Price, you so need new promo spots. I still can't quite tell if those spots are a joke. Sadly, I get the feeling that they are a joke, but one that Perry and Price may not be in on. On the upside, if I were not forced to listen to KSSK I would have missed out on such jams as Kokomo by the Beach Boys. Sweet.

Throughout the night people were calling into the station offering to translate the information concerning the blackout into other languages. Korean, Japanese, Spanish, and Ilokano were all represented. Only in Hawaii. I kept thinking it would have been awesome if someone like Lee Tonouchi called in to translate the info into Pidgin.

People seemed to be surprisingly understanding during the unexpected loss of electricity. When you think about it the situation was a little inconvenient, but as blackouts go it was not as devastating as it could have been. It did not occur on Christmas day, it stretched through the night when most people are asleep and oblivious to whether they have electricity or not, and it resulted from a minor lightning storm rather than anything really catastrophic.

There were of course some people who felt that HECO was to blame, which I think is fairly ridiculous. How can you blame an act of nature on an electric company? So to that guy who called in complaining, you should prolly be thankful you're not one of the guys who had to brave the wind, rain, and lightning to check on those downed electrical wires. All so you can continue your game of Halo uninterrupted. What I mean to say is eh, brah, cool your jets.

The Curious Case of a Way Too Long Movie

My mom and I usually see a movie on Christmas day and this year we compromised on The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons, which appeared to be the least objectionable movie playing at Ward. I'm not gonna say the movie was bad, but it would have helped if the quality of the movie was proportionate to the length of the movie. Three hours was excessive and completely unnecessary.

Buttons, to me, came across as a lesser version of Big Fish. I got the sense that it was trying to evoke the same feel-good "such is the circle of life" kinda ending. It had the opposite effect on me. By the end of the film I was thinking why doesn't Brad Pitt turn back into a baby and die already. Which then made me feel guilty. Generally, I don't like to leave the theater feeling like a crappy person.

Brad Pitt, Ewan McGregor you are not. In hindsight I wish we had skipped Buttons and maybe stayed home and watched Shallow Grave. On old McGregor movie that I have not seen in years but remember being really good. At the very least I could have paused the movie and taken a nap before the second half.

Lovely Package

I love nifty packaging, so it is no wonder the site Lovely Package is my new obsession. Totally worth a looksee. Although, I must say the site is lacking in the Engrish packaging department. Here is a sample of some packaging I came across that is both lovely and chuckle-worthy.



...And anyone care for some assorted begetables?

Heather ran a WHAT!?!?!?

Guess what Heather ran, I'll even make it easy by giving you some multiple choice answers:

A) A very heated political campaign, the results of which are still pending a recount;

B) Her mouth off again (and guess who had to bail her out over the weekend);

C) The clock at her WBNA tryouts. Unfortunately, they were looking for someone with specific free throw abilities. Better luck next time Heather;

D) THE HONOLULU MARATHON!!!!

Well, if you said C, you're wrong. 'Cause she ran the whole ding dang 26.2 mile Honolulu Marathon. I think everyone can join me in a chorus of whoaaaaa!! I can only speak for myself, and probably Maggie, when I say I am super impressed and super proud of that girl. She said she would run it and she got 'er done. Let it be known here an now that when Heat sets a goal for herself she follows through. Consider it brought.

You can't stop progress people. And when I is say progress I mean Heather.