Sunday, December 30, 2007

Chinese Medicine

Doktor House aus dem gleichnamigen amerikanischen TV Show kritisiert die Alternativmedizin. Er sagt:

Hang up a shingle and condemn the narrowness and greed of Western medicine, you’d make a damn fine living…The six months that he had with these charlatans might have been spent going to someone who looks at things that exist in the real world.



An Logik glaubt Doktor House. Wie kann man in etwas unsichtbares und unauffindbares vertrauen? In der traditionellen chinesischen Medizin (TCM) gibt es Meridiane, die jeder Praktiker weiβ, wie er lokalisieren soll, und Energieflüsse (qi), die herumgerückt werden können. Bis heute gibt niemand durch wissenschaftliche Experiments davon eindeutigen Beleg. Mit wenigen wirtschaftlichen Anreize ist kein Double Blind Experiment an die TCM im Westen geführt worden. Im Osten sehen manche Ärzte keine Not, die Wirksamkeit oder die Täuschung der TCM zu beweisen. Wie der Hinduismus zu den Hindus ist die TCM seit Jahrtausend ein Bestandteil des Lebens der Chinesen, für den die Medizin klappt. Anders als die Wunderheilung, die höchstens einen Placeboeffekt gibt, werden die Patienten sogar geheilt, nach sie zum Akupunkteur oder Herbologe geht. Es ist nicht einfach post hoc ergo propter hoc. Unbestreitbar ist die Korrelation so stark wie Herzanfall mit Hochcholesterin oder Lungenkrebs mit Rauchen.

Auch nicht direckt beobachtbar ist dunkle Materie, die keine optische oder andere elektromagnetische Strahlung aussendet oder absorbiert. Die meisten Kosmologen unterstützen die Theorie ihrer Existenz, die die Observation der Galaxienrotation, der Bewegung der Kugelsternhaufen und der Dynamik der Galaxienhaufen gut zusammenpasst. So real wie dunkle Materie sind das meridiansystem und Energieflüsse der TCM, deren Existenz durch die kampfstarke Korrelation zwischen der Diagnose, Behandlung und Genesung nahegelegt wird.

Ich weiβ nicht, ob Doktor House die Theorie der dunklen Materie glaubt. Bis wenn ein Gerät erfunden wird, das Energieflüsse und Meridiankanäle ausfindig machen kann, ist es unmöglich, ihm die TCM vorzugaukeln. Ich bin sicher, daβ Doktor House darauf nicht allein ist.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Brain, Beauty, and Breast Implants

We admire successful people. Many of them are naturally talented in many ways. We applaud their achievements.

We like beautiful people. Many achieve richness and fame through marriage. We are often not so kind to their ascendance in the material world.

One argues that truly successful people can’t rely on their talent alone, they work hard. The light bulb guy has a formula: 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. I believe, however, the talent dosage should be much higher. Although “anyone can cook”, according to Gusteau, very few in reality can become a great chef. God is biased and unfair. Through hard labor, Salieri transformed himself from a farm boy to the Austrian court composer, yet he could never achieve the level of genius “a performing monkey” did, the boorish and vulgar Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Perspiration is certainly required. No lazy man can achieve greatness, but a great man must be a genius. My prescription for success is “diligence, persistence, talent, and a bit of luck”. Forest Gump is just a fairytale.

If we look hard into the life of Miss Teen South Carolina, we may find she takes care of her appearance diligently and persistently every day. She may not think about US maps all the time, but surely spends every single waking minute of her life to make sure she looks fabulous. That’s hard work, people! She needs to keep up with all the latest and greatest thingies in science, culture, and medicine (for cosmetics, fashion, and plastic surgery). The level of commitment is as tremendous as a successful MIT applicant would have. Besides, not any beauty can hit a jackpot. One may need some sly planning from coach Hitch, some arm wrestling with rivals, and in many cases, a prestigious background to be accepted into the elite society. Simply prostituting yourself wouldn’t get you very far. Cleopatra is just as great as, if not greater than, Gaius Julius.

(To be fair, she was pretty smart too, the first one in her 300-year Ptolemaic linage to speak Egyptian).

So it’s a corollary that if we are impressed by someone who starts to read Nietzsche and Schopenhauer to enlarge his brain surface area, we should also admire someone who tries to stuff her Hans and Franz to increase her cup size.

But it seems some people just have problems with breast implants. When someone with prescription glasses opts for laser surgery, no one is ripping him a new one. The benefit thereof over ugly glasses is mostly cosmetic. You may argue for convenience, but it’s still an artificial enhancement. Hair transplant is another publicly favorable procedure that defines “cosmetic” in cosmetic surgery. The easiest and the most common among all is probably piercing, and ear piercing is so commonplace most people do not even consider it as surgery. Come to think of it, ear piercing is probably one of the most artificial, superficial, and brutal procedures. It’s artificial because it allows attachment of visible foreign objects while other nicking and tucking at least try to restore or enhance the natural beauty in human body; Ear piercing is superficial because it is really done on the surface (*); and the reason for its brutality is that it’s fundamentally a purposeful mutilation of the human body. Therefore, I think anyone who feels strongly against “distastefully superficial” cosmetic surgery like breast implants should feel the same about ear piercing.

Don’t get me wrong. I have no problem with piercing at all. If you have a Prince Albert, more power to you!

Simply the point here is the pursuit of beauty has two objects: the much applauded inner one and the often coveted outer one. While we encourage someone to improve his intelligence, develop his character and perfect his personality, we should also cheer for his effort to attain physical perfection through natural or surgical means. Furthermore, we should embrace it with the same passion and excitement as the Romans in discovering something wonderful in Greek antiquity.


(*): it’s purely semantic, but I can’t resist.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

投名状





桃园美史, 缘起除宦兴汉. 同志断金, 同心臭兰. 故有弟走单骑, 兄北夷岭. 然刺马乌合, 殊心异性. 虽效投名之状, 实无手足之情. 途穷匕首现. 人性之弱乎, 人性乎.

云庞青云 (马新贻) 弃匪从军, 君子豹变. 实背信弃义, 与仇同榻. 唯利是图. 又云其不识官道, 青云难长. 史实难合. 恭亲王荐于慈禧, 赞其”精明强干, 操守亦好”, ”妥为安置”两江. 庞某深黯敌友相易, 忍辱后生以成大事, 此乃革面保身, 青云官场之必备.

而其盟友性纯, 笃信情义. 盲从无的. 有驭利器之勇, 陷敌城之谋, 降他军之信. 分掠赃之义, 重誓友之情. 惜无远瞩之才, 察人之能. 周旋之技, 变通之术. 虽可美誉”真汉子”, 终成事者鲜已.

狮豹同行, 志相异, 性相远, 术相殊. 岂能同归乎?

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

A Good Philosophy to Live By

An excerpt from "House MD" (Season 1, Episode 17: Role Model). House accuses his patient, Senator Gary Wright, of lying about his medical history.


HOUSE
You need to stop lying to me.

SENATOR WRIHT
It must be miserable, always assuming the worst in people.

HOUSE
Oh, cut the crap, you’re dying.

SENATOR WRIHT
You’re clever, you’re witty, and you are a coward! You’re scared of taking chances.

HOUSE
I take chances all the time, it’s one of my worst qualities.

SENATOR WRIHT
On people?

HOUSE
Wanting to believe the best about people doesn’t make it true.

SENATOR WRIHT
Being afraid to believe it doesn’t make it false.

HOUSE
Well, that’s very moving. It’s a shame I don’t vote.

SENATOR WRIHT
This is who I am. I believe in people. I’m not hiply cynical and I don’t make easy, snide remarks. I would rather think that people are good and be disappointed once and again.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

What Makes Someone Great

An excerpt from "House MD" (Season 1, Episode 9: DNR). Dr. Foreman, after being offered a job by Dr. Hamilton from L.A., discusses with his boss Dr. House.


HOUSE
I checked him out. He’s a great doctor. You think he’s better than I am?

FOREMAN
This about your ego?

HOUSE
Answer the question. It’s not going to change my opinion of myself. Might affect my opinion of you, but that shouldn’t affect your opinion of yourself. Now I’m getting confused. If you think he’s a better doctor than I am, then you should take the job. Otherwise, you should get him to buy you two or three more nostalgic lunches and politely decline.

FOREMAN
It’s that simple? I should just ignore the mockery and abuse?

HOUSE
Oh, how do I abuse you?

FOREMAN
How do you not? If I make a mistake –

HOUSE
I hold you accountable, so what?

FOREMAN
Dr. Hamilton forgives. He’s capable of moving on.

HOUSE
That is not what he does!

FOREMAN
I screwed up his case, he told me –

HOUSE
He never said you were forgiven. I was there, he said it wasn’t your fault.

FOREMAN
So?

HOUSE
So, it was. You took a chance, you did something great. You were wrong, but it was still great. You should feel great that it was great. You should feel like crap that it was wrong. That’s the difference between him and me. He thinks you do your job, and what will be, will be. I think that what I do and what you do matters. He sleeps better at night. He shouldn’t.

What Makes Someone Successful

An excerpt from "House MD" (Season 1, Episode 9: DNR). John Henry Giles is a fictitious famed musician being treated by Dr. Greg House.

GILES
It’s over. I lost my air. The session the other night, with those kids? That was a test to see if I could still play. I can’t.

HOUSE
And that’s all you are? A musician?

GILES
I got one thing, same as you.

HOUSE
Really? Apparently, you know me better than I know you.

GILES
I know that limp. I know the empty ring finger. And that obsessive nature of yours, that’s a big secret. You don’t risk jail and your career just to save somebody who doesn’t want to be saved unless you got something, anything, one thing. The reason normal people got wives and kids and hobbies, whatever. That’s because they don’t got that one thing that hits them that hard and that true. I got music, you got this. The thing you think about all the time, the thing that keeps you south of normal. Yeah, makes us great, makes us the best. All we miss out on is everything else. No woman waiting at home after work with the drink and the kiss, that ain’t gonna happen for us.

HOUSE
That’s why God made microwaves.

GILES
Yeah, but when it’s over, it’s over.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

I Am Legend





World calamity, natural, human-induced, or extraterrestrial, fantasized in a movie like such as well as The War of the Worlds, Nanking, Deep Impact, just to name a very few, makes me appreciate what a peaceful life I have now. In a movie when you stare at vampirist zombies or towering tripods, wouldn’t you feel lucky you live in your current life, however crappy that might be? In fact, that’s a natural reaction when a person faces his own mortality, and the apocalyptic fantasy of annihilation is just an extreme condition to bring out such desperation.

In many parts of the world, less fortunate people experience scarcity of resources, hostile environment, and physical endangerment on a daily basis. It’s a nightmare you can’t wake up from.

So shut up if you haven’t got an IPod for Christmas.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Divorce & Marriage

Some people I know become disillusioned by marriage because of the many dissolutions of which they witnessed. I personally know many couples in Shanghai who are couples no more, a social taboo inconceivable just ten years ago in the land of Confucius.

The usual suspects are infidelity (or medically, phalliophilia or colpoamia), abuse, or the fashionable irreconcilable differences. The latest catalysts include feminism (or medically, Sex and the City), political correctness that leads to social tolerance, and information explosion since the advent of internet.

In the case of my fellow countrymen, the introduction of western individualism and the rapid deterioration of once ubiquitous rigid social structure ought to be the herald for the new divorce-happy life style.

The list is by no means exhaustive.

So the 50 dollar question is: outside any religious sense, is marriage relevant in our modern time?

Before marriage, there is relationship whose formula is physiological craving plus emotional dependence, the kind of math American teenagers really excel at. Relationship could be monogamous or polygamous depending on personal preferences. When considering evolution, monogamy is preferred as it provides the best possible physical and social environment for the offspring. That’s why the misconception of certain Mormon practice is so exotic.

Does monogamous relationship require a human institution of marriage? Child support, inheritance right, tax exemption; many of such legal codes ensure children born out of wedlock to have equal or at least similar filial rights. So for devoted parents, marriage doesn’t seem to help reap any more social benefits for their children.

If not for their children, the reason must be selfish. Marginally self reassuring, approval winning, parents pleasing, conformity seeking are the typical aftertastes once names are registered on the country record.

But there is more…

Some people spend their lifetime searching for the origin of all existence or meaning of life, fully aware that they will be likely, eventually disappointed. But they persist. Their act of pursuit, not the subject thereof, is an ideal. The pursuit of an ideal, whether by starving artists, self-disemboweling samurai warriors, or by prostrating believers, is our mental faculty par excellence at work. Marriage is another ideal for the brave, the passionate, and the unjaded.

For the cup-half-full folks, when the divorce rate is up, it's corollary that the marriage rate is up, a priori. So why are people disillusioned by marriage?

Human Sacrifice

When an innocent person meets his untimely death, it’s His Will for His Plan. Isn’t it human sacrifice?

An argument from the apologia is that no one is truly innocent because of the Original Sin committed some 6,000 years ago.

Forgive me, but calling an unborn or newly born child Sinful and sentencing it to death is just bloody cruel.

Is there still room for forgiveness, compassion, and kindness?

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Residual Morality and Critical Thinking

A mom’s immunity protests her new-born for six months, after which the baby gets regular vaccinations.

On the other hand, the influence of parents’ morality on the child wears off much later, if ever. The residual morality hangs on sometimes for the life span of the new host. As the child continues to get moral vaccines from school, his peers, and the society, he also picks up unwelcome viruses and bacteria. It’s his own immune system, i.e. his critical thinking, that will choose what to take in as helpful vaccines and what to ward off as harmful foreign agents. Sometimes, the residual immunity is still capable of fighting new strands of viruses, but certainly not always.

Is this analogy applicable for a child of faith? Unless spiritual healing cures all diseases, an analogy in modern medicine is always relevant.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Basic Human Feelings

Can we safely say “I feel, therefore I am”? The clichés are still around: “trust your gut feeling”, “follow your instinct”, “listen to your heart, not your brain”, and so on.

Many people do follow their feelings in their dealings, but are often labeled “being too emotional”. More rational ones often pat on their own backs for having earned the black belt of suppressing their feelings and doing the logical things. In either case, the feeling, or the conscious subjective experience of emotion, is real. The neurons have fired.

Take “sadness”. When a good friend is killed in a car accident, many people would feel sad. When a good mother dies of breast cancer, her loving daughter would feel sad.

Should they feel sad?

The emotion of “happiness” is deceivingly simpler. When Dr. House cures the dying but still caring teacher of a trifactor of autoimmune, carcinoid, and hypothyroidism, her previously hopeless middle school students would jump up in hysterical ecstasy.

Should we go round them up and quiet them down, because we shouldn’t feel “happy”?

We have support groups for every possible supposed human tragedy in the world, but there is no support group for “joyous and grateful teenagers whose teacher just recovered from ungodly diseases”. Why not?

An answer from a Hindus or a Buddhist is quite simple and consistent. Basic human feelings are false reactions to the illusion of realty. The neurotic firing is preconditioned. One needs to liberate himself from the maya of duality. If someone is telling you his parents survived a 20 car pile up without a scratch, you may respond “what’s for lunch”?

When a good Christian is terminally ill, his brothers and sisters would diligently pray for the invalid. Their motive is pure yet confusing. If the patient recovers, it’s Lord’s work. The happy and praising neurons are firing. If the patient doesn’t make it, it’s also Lord’s work. Since He is omni-benevolent, the passing of the patient shouldn’t be a tragedy, but a part of His Grand Plan. The death of the sick just served Lord’s Purpose. Lord got what He wanted (not surprisingly). Therefore, death is not just good but great. The happy and praising neurons should reload for action again. So if someone is telling you about a dying Christian, you don’t have to wait for the end. Just jump right in with “Good for him” or “Good for her”, with both of your thumbs up opposing each other. (Note: you should wait at least until you know the gender of the patient).

So an oversimplified note to support group organizers on all subjects. For Hindus and Buddhists, teach them to learn how to feel nothing. For Christians, teach them how to feel joy and gratitude in all cases.

Life made easy? Maybe.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

History, can be forgiven, but never forgotten!

On ne doit pas comprendre l’histoire, mais la comparer. Die Deutschen haben sich vor Dekaden dafür entschuldigt, was sie den Juden angetan haben. Sie haben Auschwitz nicht vergessen. 日本人は今まで中国に侵入のために正式謝罪したことがありません。日本人は南京を全然思い出しません。L’histoire, ce peut être pardonnée, mais jamais oubliée.





Minnie Vautrin





John Rabe



A powerful, emotional and relevant reminder of the heartbreaking toll war takes on the innocent, Nanking tells the story of the Japanese invasion of Nanking, China, in the early days of World War II. As part of a campaign to conquer all of China, the Japanese subjected Nanking – which was then China’s capital – to months of aerial bombardment, and when the city fell, the Japanese army unleashed murder and rape on a horrifying scale. In the midst of the rampage, a small group of Westerners banded together to establish a Safety Zone where over 200,000 Chinese found refuge. Unarmed, these missionaries, university professors, doctors and businessmen – including a Nazi named John Rabe – bore witness to the events, while risking their own lives to protect civilians from slaughter.

The story is told through deeply moving interviews with Chinese survivors, chilling archival footage and photos of the events, and testimonies of former Japanese soldiers. At the heart of Nanking is a filmed stage reading of the Westerners’ letters and diaries, featuring Woody Harrelson, Mariel Hemingway and Jurgen Prochnow. Through its interweave of archival images, testimonies of survivors, and readings of first hand accounts, the film puts the viewer on the streets of Nanking and brings the forgotten past to startling life.

Nanking is a testament to the courage and conviction of individuals who were determined to act in the face of evil and a powerful tribute to the resilience of the Chinese people – a gripping account of light in the darkest of times.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Ratatouille



Le Festin

Les rêves des amoureux sont comme le bon vin
Ils donnent de la joie ou bien du chagrin
Affaibli par la faim, je suis malheureux
Volant en chemin tout ce que je peux
Car rien n’est gratuit dans la vie...

L’espoir est un plat bien trop vite consommé
À sauter les repas, je suis habitué
Un voleur, solitaire, est triste à nourrir
À nous, je suis amer, je veux réussir
Car rien n’est gratuit dans la vie...

Jamais on ne me dira
que la course aux étoiles,
ça n’est pas pour moi
Laisser moi vous émerveillez,
prendre mon envol
Nous allons enfin nous régaler...

La fête va enfin commencer.

Et sortez les bouteilles, finis les ennuis
Je dresse la table, demain nouvelle vie
Je suis heureux a l’idée de ce nouveau destin
Une vie à me cacher, et puis libre enfin
Le festin est sur mon chemin...

Une vie à me cacher et puis libre enfin
Le festin est sur mon chemin...

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Ero blanc et noir

c'est photographie artistique, malgre tous images erotiques. Alles ist simuliert.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

157 Minutes Wasted (Lust, Caution)



The movie ended abruptly, although to my relief: it finally ended. I simply didn't get the movie: be cautioned, a woman could betray her belief for lust (or 6 karats of rock, to be exact)?

Monday, October 15, 2007

The best way to prepare for retirement is to keep working.

I heard an interview while driving today about how the baby boomers started to retire and how Social Security was bankrupting. One of the experts interviewed suggested, "one of the key elements to solve this problem is to keep working for some extra years".

What a brilliant idea! The best way to prepare for retirement is to not retire! As long as you plan to keep working, there won't be any retirement, so you don't have to worry about preparing for it. Voila, problem solved.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

March of the Penguins

Evolution is so economical.

Penguins warm their eggs between their legs! How awkward this is! They can't walk fast, they can easily drop the eggs, and the male penguins need to maintain that posture for 4 months of the year!

What if there is a predator around the icy corner?

No, there isn't. That's the point. Evolution is not about elegance but practicality. It works for the little tuxie birds. No natural predators around, so they can afford to look awkward and be clumsy.

However, if there is ever a designer, His better work is obviously something with a pouch, hopping high and far gracefully. Penguins are perhaps the early prototype and most likely never went on to beta testing.

But they are still cute, so it's not an entirely lousy design.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

My Dating in the Bay Area

Plus on vieillit, plus on devient difficile と言われている。Fast vor einem Monat habe ich mich von einem ziemlich attraktiven Mädchen getrennt. Avant ça, une autre rupture était en janvier. ところで、彼女が今年の夏にもう結婚した。Die meisten meiner Freunde haben innerhalb von vergangenen ein paar Jahren geheiratet und ihre Erstgeborene bekommen. ピアプレッシャーの本物の意味を今だんだん分かれ始める。Ne te méprends pas, autant j’aime la liberté célibataire, autant je suis prêt pour une famille. Aber ich habe « the right girl » schon nicht gefunden. Mais j’ai déjà cassé avec deux filles au cours des 10 dernièrs mois. 沢山の友達が同じ質問をあると思うだろう。Bin ich dafür zu wählerisch?

Je ne pense pas, mais il doit en être ainsi. Ich denke, daβ ich eine vergleicheweise groβe Auswahl von Interessen habe. スポーツもよくするし、文化や芸術も好きだし、ずっと自分を忙しくならせる。Si je veux parler d’Orsay à Paris et ma compagne seulement sait tous les nouvelles de Paris Hilton, ça ne marche pas. 相手が同じじゃない言葉を話す人と話したくなければ、難しいね。Mann könnte fragen ob es etwas narzisstisch ist. Je ne crois pas que une fille sait tout ce que je sais, parce qu’il y a beaucoup trop de choses que je ne sais pas. 中国の哲人が『闻道有先后』や『三人行必有我师焉』といったように、だれでも僕の先生で、ずっと周辺の人から習ってきた。Il ne faut pas que la fille idéale soit sophistiquée ou parfaite, mais il faut qu’elle soit ouverte d’esprit et ait le potentiel pour être parfait.

今週末ハイキングに行こうと思う。Zusammen gehen vier Familien und zwei Paaren...mit mir. Dois-je céder à la pression de groupe? Something’s gotta to give ?

分からないね。未来へ…

Last words on God

"It is very important not to mistaken hemlock for parsley; but not at all so to believe or not in God."

- Denis Diderot in response to Voltaire

Don’t get me wrong. Not that I don’t care. It just seems that we don’t have any direct evidence for or against the existence of God.

(A little disclaimer is hereby warranted by now.

"The figure “God” discussed here is not associated with any earthly religion, especially not with Judaeo-Christianity. Any similarity to any person living or dead is merely coincidental.")

However, many circumstantial ones do exist. If you watch as much Law & Order as I do, you should know by now that circumstantial evidences hardly make a case.

Here is my logic that the existence of God is possible and cannot be disproved by mere common senses or primitive observations. Following is a list of things that seem intuitive and appear to agree with casual perceptions.

- The earth is flat
- The earth is stationary
- The sun moves around the earth
- Things are made of fundamentally different elements.
- The space has three dimensions
- The universe is static

And so on. Most of us now agree that the things listed above are false. Imagine 6-dimensional creatures live among us but we can’t see them, or you can get the shortest distance between two points by warping the space, or the universe is mostly composed of dark matter. Many times, things we cannot perceive or even possibly fathom do exist.

That the earth is moving and circling the sun was as ridiculous to the Europeans in the 1500’s as the existence of God to the atheists.

Nevertheless, Buddha once cautioned that we shouldn’t believe something just because it’s possible. It’s possible that God exists, but it doesn’t mean that it does.

If God does exist, it should be nothing like the one depicted in the Bible, in either volumes.

A popular Chinese fable goes like this:

『An armor peddler claims to make the best spears and shields.
He says: My shields are so strong they cannot be penetrated by any weapon. He then points to his spears and says: My spears are so sharp they can pierce any shield. A bystander asks: What happens if you throw your spear at your shield?』


If we take the Bible literally, we should believe the universe is only a few thousand years old. If we argue that the biblical definition of time is different from our common understanding, we then have no way to understand the biblical definitions of “good” or “evil”.

Therefore, if a Christian God exists, He will be restrained to the Judaeo-Christian logic and face such paradox as: Can God create a rock so heavy that He himself can’t lift?

However, I do hope there is a God in the universe. Life would be so simple. All the questions can be answered easily or have the potential to be answered easily. But He sure knows how to run and hide. So far we can't find him. He is like the ultimate Mr. bin Laden.

C’est bon. Genug gesagt.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Miss Teen South Carolina vs George W

Bush at APEC 2007




Talking at a business forum on the eve of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Sydney, Mr Bush told Mr Howard: "Mr Prime Minister, thank you for your introduction. Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit."

He continued his blunders by thanking Australian premier John Howard for visiting 'Austrian troops' in Iraq.

There are no Austrian troops there, although Australia has 1,500 military personnel in the region.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

fantaisies africaines

magnifique.

Transparent Screens from Apple (iScreen)

Following its sensational successes of iMac, iPod and iPhone, Apple presents the next generation of computer screen: iScreen. It's transparent! Suggested retail price: $799 (14").

You are a Chinese if...

A list of old stereotypes, but some are still funny and true. =)

Monday, June 04, 2007

Funny Asians Bad Asians of 2007













Nakamura Hiro: comedic, warmhearted, childishly optimistic, and at last immature.
















Mohinder Suresh: tall, handsome, with a beautiful voice, yet gullable and ultimately ineffectual.















Cheng Zhi: a villain in its entirety.