freedom isn't free...

and therefore, we should tax the shit out of it.

kk recommends.

1. VODKA GIMLETS

i first tried one of these at the ivy, where they make it all fancy with mint leaves, like a mojito. but it's actually quite good in the classic way, sort of spritzy and fresh. another way to enjoy a nice ketel.

2. PASTA WITH GOAT CHEESE

this is a surprisingly easy way to prepare a semi-fancy meal, courtesy of real simple. i'm learning that goat cheese is a great thing to pick up at the market, it spreads easy, tastes good, and seems classy.

3. IRVINE MINI

normally i am not a proponent of anything in irvine, but i have to say that the service at this dealership is top-notch. the customer lounge offers a tv, wi-fi, cheesy oc magazines, coffee, water, and tea. and when they wash your car, they clean the inside!!! this was amazing to me. fucking irvine pricks. they probably expect all this shit.

4. SO MUCH GOOD NEW MUSIC

colin meloy, death cab, m83, elbow, she&him, the ting tings, rjd2, the republic tigers, pela, cut copy, MGMT, ladytron, errors, the list goes on and on...

5. IPHONE WEB APPS

i especially endorse the following: cinema, wikipedia, facebook and inetflix. but i am too lazy to provide links.

6. IPHONE SCREEN COVERS

you can protect the beauty of your iphone without a clunky cover.  i have to admit i have a clunky cover for the back, but for the front, these covers keep your fingerprints off the touch screen and supposedly make the touch screen work better. 

ok this was a lame list but i was bored at work for a minute and i thought i had more to recommend. now even i have lost interest.

death cab for cutie, narrow stairs

please take a gander at my album review of the new death cab album, which hits stores tomorrow.

and please offer your criticisms of my criticism!

misplaced modifiers

i can't believe i couldn't find a blog of misplaced modifiers submissions. there is, of course, the blog of unnecessary quotation marks, which i quite like. but no place to share this little gem. i shot it on tuesday at angels stadium.

what do we think, should i start another blog? hehe

mad as hell

today is a good day, because one of the personal essays i've written in my ucla extension classes got published. it's this week's guest column on a site called mad as hell club, an apt venue for me for sure.

please check it out at here.

support our athletes

yesterday's olympic torch protests in paris got me thinking. there is a supposed line that separates the olympic games from politics; however, that line has been fairly consistently blurred. there are those that believe that the spirit of the games should transcend geopolitical divides, and others who believe they can't.

it reminded me that during and after vietnam, people who opposed the war were known to yell at, spit at, and harrass soldiers. sometime after that, a movement emerged to separate the troops fighting in wars from the wars they were actually fighting. "support our troops" bedecked banners, bumper stickers, and lapel pins.

i wonder if a similar movement will start to emerge, one that is equally open to interpretation and could be used as a similar diversion from the issue at hand. will "support our athletes" become the rallying cry of those who wish to turn a blind eye to human rights abuses, choosing to drape themselves in the olympic flag?

but then i thought about the protesters themselves. if they are truly opposed to beijing's politics vis-à-vis tibet, human rights, or free speech, wouldn't a more effective protest be against anything manufactured or processed in china? of course, in this flat world, such separation is nearly impossible. nonetheless, that might be a rallying cry that china's government is actually forced to pay attention to.

this is a skill.

getting 7 E's is probably a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, so i figured it merited online immortality.