Filed under: posts | Tags: Abagail Adams, art & lit, freedom, HBO, idealism, John Adams, politics, realism, school, self, society, Thomas Jefferson
Ok, so Jefferson was a schizophrenic about slavery. He seemed to be a product tried and true of Virginia, but his logical subconscious suffered for it. But, let’s not debate the morals of Jefferson, this piece is about “John Adams”
First, here’s some free advertising courtesy of HBO and youtube:
This seven-part miniseries from HBO is nothing short of fascinating and maybe even needed. The acting comes from a top-notch cast headed by Paul Giamatti as John Adams and Laura Linney as Abigail. Tom Wilkinson does a great job at portraying an eccentric Franklin.
More after the hop.
He who lets the world or his own portion of it choose his plan of life for him has no need of any other faculty than the ape like one of imitation
So i’m taking a break from reading this:
Today was a relatively awesome day. I had almost forgotten that I had switched my morning section so I rushed to find 20 Wheeler, which turns out, is in the catacomb-like belly of the building. After that section, I realize now the GSI team and Prof. Delong really mean it when they say we are “guinea pigs” for this class.
After a harrowing Chinese oral presentation and surprisingly understandable Econ discussion, I went to the dreaded money hoarding bookstore. At this monetary hell-hole, I sacrificed 247 bucks for two measly books, a study guide (because my French economics professor does not explain slides) and a really crappy stapler. From the business standpoint, I can see why they include no staples, but from a good-will to the customer standpoint, WHY!?!?!
I then jumped on my bike and raced towards home. Two seconds into my daily downhill extravaganza near VLSB, the bottom of my jeans catches the chain-guard. My leg is then trapped with the whirling motion of the pedals and I wildly swerve to gain balance again. The result is a nice sized whole in my jeans (repairable!) and a really scared me. I’m going to have to go invest in one of those pant-leg-velcro-reflective-bands so I don’t die.
Oh, and tonight, I made some fried rice with egg and minced pork. To my surprise, it was absolutely delicious. I coupled it with some Miso soup with tofu and I had a fine meal. I’m proud of my housewife abilities (as Chris would call them).
Before I get back to Keynes, here’s a interesting snippet from my reading so far:
Praise, therefore, the beauty of the flame he wishes to touch, the music of the breaking toy; even urge him forward; yet waiting with vigilant care, the wise and kindly savior of Society, for the right moment to snatch him back, just singed and now attentive.
Amen, Keynes, amen.
‘Tis all.
[from thetorquereport.com, now my wallpaper]
Ok, so in this world, you have your burnt-out, overly tanned Ferrari owners. Then you have your “I own an island and I can buy your freedom” or I am an Arabic prince Bugatti and Zonda owners. The Lambo folk are just trying to one-up their Ferrari driving friends and look stupid doing it.
Then you have your Aston drivers. In the world of cool things, the Aston is the epitome – the peak. If anything were to be cooler than an Aston, it would have to be immediately destroyed as we would all have to yield to its power. So when I say the new Aston Martin DBS is the coolest Aston ever, you’ll know I mean coolness on the scale of the coming of God. Enough cool to create universes – or destroy them.
Here, here and here are some links to automotive heaven. Look at those amazing curves, those aggressive headlights and that sleek, powerful back. The interior is purposeful, filled with stitched leather and aluminum accents – delicious.
Not only is the Aston a looker, she performs greedily well, thanks to the DB9’s V12 heritage and 510 horses. As always, Aston Martins sound like a raw power expressed as the most beautiful roar in the world. Don’t believe me? Watch (rather, listen to) this vid. 
Now, as an Aston owner, you want to look awesome before even entering the car right? Of course. Enter the DBS remote watch (click pic for higher res). It can unlock the car and remotely start it. Wow, just wow. How am I supposed to live my life now, knowing something this awesome exists in the world?
Well, the price tag of oh, $332,000 for the ride and $35,000 additional for the watch helps a bit.
But if I am going to shell out half a house in California for a car, you damn well be sure that I am going to buy the watch that boosts my coolness factor even more so. After all, if you drive 007’s car, you might as well tell time/start your car, Bond style.
Motor Authority has some high-res images for those who want to flatter their desktops. And a gallery. Aston’s official site has a whole DBS page.
——————-
If you’re still unsated, here’s a youtube vid about the car with commentary from its designers: (The car sounds so mean!)
So guys, if you ever hear that I sold my soul, you know what I sold it for. Materialistic I know, but really in the face of an Aston with a remote start, who isn’t?
‘Tis all.
[Click pic for product page]
From post-jdm.com. These are the people that made the “白人看不懂” (literally: white people can’t read this) shirt as seen on “Yellow Fever” by WongFu Productions. It has been a rallying point for Chinese kids in high school, yes – the phrase.
Apparently, they have … expanded their line-up of catchy Chinese phrase related merchandise. For $14.99 you can one this shirt which says “那个” (literally: that one), with a plz (please) at the end. Honestly, I’d have to say it is in bad taste, but I’m sure high schoolers are going to go ape-shit over this one too.
“That one” in mandarin is pronounced like “nay-guh.” Say that four times fast and you’ll get it. This is their “disclaimer” on their website:
Haha ha, yeah… Post-JDM does not condone racism. For those who don’t get it, this shirt is meant to be a play off words. Please excuse any hilarious offensiveness.
Play on words or not, people will get offended. Chinese is a popular language these days. Careful what you print before you start some unneeded tension beyond what you can control.
‘Tis all.
So this will be a discombobulated post. Yes, discombobulated. I could have used messy, or gasp, disorderly, but no, discombobulated. Syntax is such a fickle thing.
First of all, a little cool internet how-to to share. This one is for anyone who enjoys some damn good writing. Not typing, but writing. Those who take notice of how the pen flows and curves on the page. I’m one of those people. I’ve always been fascinated by the written word, venturing into the artistic realm of graffiti and a religious adherence to cursive as my weapon of choice for quick midterm writing.
I used to use a lot of architect specific technical pens (stolen from my dad’s desk) from Pilot called the “Razor Point” series. They are great for their precision. However, they don’t really glide across the page like a good ballpoint pen would. They feel more make writing with a scalpel – not the best feeling.
I actually had this pen I borrowed from my friend Jordan years and years ago, but I always loved that pen. Apparently, this was the holy grail of modern cheapish pens called the Pilot G2. This pen rocks. It just feels so fluid, my lord, it practically writes for you. However, my cousin in Japan told me he could top it. He whips out a 20,000 yen ($200) Mont Blanc pen and lets it loose. HOLY HELL, it blew my mind. Needless to say, when I read about this instructables on how to create a Mont Blanc pen using the shell from a G2, I nearly died out of writing glee. Yes, I’m insane like that. It’s the most simple concept ever – $15 dollars and 3 minutes to create the equivalent (writing-wise) of a $200 pen-masterpiece. FUCK YES.
Anyhow, back to more worldly matters. The new Common album has given way to old school Queen (in godly FLAC quality) and rocking the ears at the moment. I will finish my internship on Tuesday (5) days from now. It went by as slowly and as quickly as I thought it would. Today, I found a place that would make one thousand stickers to put on our display hooks. Then I pulled around 400 shoes for an athletic show convention. Those kind of dull jobs makes TOMS seem as exciting as white bread (which in it’s defense, is exciting enough).
However, TOMS is quite the fireworks of a company when I really look at it. Blake, our founder, was personally invited by former President Clinton to attend his annual Clinton Global Initiatives – a networking, seminar thing that has the power to really throw around some big bucks in the name of philanthropy. Bono will be on the guest list so you know it’s for the rich do-gooders. We are also being noticed by the other firms and being praised as “revolutionary” and “the only one of it’s kind.” Damn, maybe we are like white bread during its conception. YEAST (+) FLOUR (-) WHEAT, HOLY SHIT!
Upon coming home, I know this was quite a great experience, but I’ve posted about that nonsense already so I’ll save you the pain. Also upon coming home, I think I’m going to really turn a corner in my life. I hope everything starts out well next semester. I have two great clubs to help build up, and other personal matters to attend to. I’m going to declare and get my major(s) in order. This is the precursor to either an awesome, life-affirming time, or an absolutely disastrous hell of a time. Either way, it’ll be interesting to say the least.
Like I said before, I am planning a bonfire @ Ocean beach in San Francisco. I have it marked on my calendar as the 24th of August, Friday. Ocean beach has this first-come-first-serve policy on its fire pits which you have to use if you want fire. I think it would be great if we could get there in the afternoon prior to sunset as the bridge and the ocean serve as a backdrop for possibly the coolest sunset ever. Well, if the fog is merciful.
Smorey goodness will occur if Tobias the firemaster can tend to a nice one. Bring something to toss around and that’s all I would want before school starts. Just one good night with some friends. Inform me if you’re down – before Saturday please.
‘Tis all folks.
So I was bored out of my freakin’ mind tonight and decided to pursue this idea of mine. Suraj always comes up with these ridiculous slogans for random things and his latest one was incredibly awesome.
Suraj: So I went to the Mystery Spot the other day, you know, the place on Jaeman’s bumper sticker?
Jaeman: Huk huk, Kimchi.
Me: Nice, how did you like it?
Suraj: You know what?
It’s just a fierce, hard diag. That’s all it is.
Me (in my head): Mystery solved.
So here I was tonight with Photoshop CS2 buzzing in the background. I head on over to Google and find a better alternative to cafepress.com – zazzle.com. An hour later and I have this abomination of an inside joke shirt:
[Click for the backside, but don't mess with the options!]
I’m sure only the most intimate friend of Suraj and our fellow JOUF members will get what the hell is so funny about this shirt. Well, tell me what you guys think – changes can be made!
So I try to denounce the quality of all these American Competition Shows because well, most of them are rubbish. They try to be accessible to everyone but in the end, seems to be a tailor-made process nonetheless – the pretty, paragon model of a singer/actor/dancer/inventor makes the cut and the rest get shunned and even belittled by the audience.
However, browsing through youtube, I run into this clip of a contestant on Britain’s Got Talent. The show is produced by the same Simon Cowell America has grown to love to hate. Why the hell is British television so much better than American television? (Top Gear, even BBC News)
Just watch. Wow.
