Reviews

The Da Vinci Code

I expected that perhaps some of the critics in Cannes might have gone overboard. You know, passing on their love for the American "novelist" who allegedly plagiarized Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh's Holy Blood Holy Grail. Well, I've discovered with my own eyes that the critics were right on target. Here's how I knew: I slept through about 40% of the film. The worst part of the film: Every scene involving Tom Hanks. The best part of the film: Some of the camera work in a few scenes. I can sum it up in two words: major snoozefest. I'd rather endure a three hour animated film or back to back episodes of Dr. Phil. Seriously.

X-Men The Last Stand (spoilers...)

Apparently Halle Berry demanded a bigger and tougher role since Catwoman completely flopped. OK, but did they have to kill Xavier to make that happen? (Do i really care--am not much of an X-Men fan really...) Anyway, lately it seems that the recent trendy equation for film/TV is this: Kill for Credibility! I guess Brett Ratner took that equation one, no, two steps higher. I wish there could be a Hogwartian film just about life at the mutant school. Or a serious mockumentary about mutant life and the various powers they possess. Like, how would one be able to mentally transcribe? Would that be because that mutant had a lot of teachers in the family? As I said, I'm not big X-Men fan, but for the two hours or so that I spent in the theater, I forgot about cube farms, office politics, and the fact that time was carrying me through Memorial weekend at breakneck speed.

Here are a few tidbits from recent Netflix brain candy rentals. Great films for when I don't want to think, which is generally after 6 p.m. these days... If I'm still watching beyond the first ten minutes, it's generally a good sign.

Last Holiday

Queen Latifah needs to come out already! It's getting pretty painful watching her pretend to be smitten with rapper-actors. That said, it was a fun film except for the very unnecessary subplot involving Timothy Hutton's character. Queen Latifah and Gerard Depardieu worked like walnuts and brie--great pairing and therefore the most sincere relationship of the whole film. I've always liked Queen Latifah--she has a whole lot of that Piscean charisma. That said, can someone tell her agent to stop getting her Wal-Mart commercials?

The Family Stone

Hated this film in the first 10 minutes. Why is it that in a Blockbuster film the gay people, people of color, and people with disabilities are all embodied in one or two characters? One gay man is short, white, and deaf. His partner is black and was permanently fixated in the kitchen. Everyone else is "pretty" and "normal." So annoying. Another distracting point--I love Sex in the City, when I saw Sarah JP playing an uptight character, all I saw was "Carrie" having a bad day because of too small Manolo Blanicks. I applaud anyone who actually made it through this film.

Rumor Has It

I expected to actually detest this film as well, but it was surprisingly enjoyable. Don't ask why because it seemed to have everything going against it, namely: Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Costner. Shirley MacLaine's was doing her "I'll put on a pot of bourbon," thing and killed (i mean this in a good way) her lines with her rough and tumble grace. Kevin Costner wasn't as insufferable as I thought he'd be--his character was, so that was enough. Mark Ruffalo's character was appropriate, sincere, and realistic. Generally, the story was interesting for a cheesy premise...it was OK for me. Read: it kept me awake for the whole film.

Race

Cappy and I were corralled by our friends to not only get up at 6.45 a.m. on a Sunday, but also get on the bart and get ready to run by 8 a.m. This is no small feat! For the first time in the six years I've lived in the Bay Area, I participated in San Francisco's traditional Bay to Breakers Race.

I've realised that running on a treadmill four times a week does not afford you the fitness to run concrete streets with inclines and dips a plenty! I was generally the last person of my crew to jog into our frequent pit stops, but it was hard to concentrate on running when there was so much to see.

The Fandangers (pictured above) were my 2nd favorite costumes of the day. (Thanks Chronicle, I couldn't be asked to bring any electronic gadgets with me.) We caught up with these people at mile 6 or 7. My first favorite were four guys dressed all in red with frizzy blue wigs. They had tags on them that said, "Thing #1, "Thing #2, and so on..." We saw them downtown, but not after!

We crossed the finish line at around 10.30 a.m. We skipped the festivities at the Polo fields, and hopped on the extremely packed N-Line. We headed to our favorite breakfast restaurant around 9th and Irving. Egg scrambles, hash browns, and toast never tasted so wonderful. Cappy's NY steak and eggs was well-deserved. This girl ran like there was no tomorrow.

Bay to Breakers was a lot of fun. I had one of those, "I love San Francisco and all the funny people," days. I've not had one of those days in a long while. It was perfect running weather--sunny, yet overcast. Everyone seemed to be in a jovial mood, including myself. Despite Sandra's near fatal tortilla incident, we were thankfully all injury free.

And speaking of all those tortillas, I couldn't help thinking that it was a pigeon dream come true. Whole streets blanketed with mushy maize! There must have been a binge increase of ounces of each pigeon in San Francisco.

So anyway, with the help of something little, orange, and different, I was feeling no pain by the afternoon. One of us had the great idea in the late morning to make reservations at Piedmont Springs. At four o'clock that afternoon, we were happily soaking in an outdoor hot tub.

Favorite announcement of the day, shouted out at the hill section of the race: "All racers please stop to party! Fail to do so, you will be cited!"

Notes to self:

1. Eat more than a banana before attempting to get through a 12K
2. When you're up and moving at 6.45 on a Sunday--3 p.m. can feel like 8 or 9 o'clock at night!
3. Try to wake up earlier on Sundays to get more out of the day
4. Try to remember point #3 in the future
5. Post-race hot tubs greatly reduce muscle cramps
6. Bands shouldn't play songs by the Killers. A bad cover version can interrupt running flow...
7. Remember to use wrist wallet for next year's race! (We'll be back...)

Cuisine

This is not an entry about sushi, just thought this photo was particularly appetizing and colorful. Do you ever have times where you're hungry but really have no idea what you want to eat? I've been in this phase for about a month now. I'm not sure what it is about.

When I lived in Japan, I didn't eat much sushi. Teppanyaki, yes. Curry rice, yes. Tendon, chicken katsu, okonomiyaki, and niku jaga, yes. 7-11 oden and Lawson's spicy chicken nuggets, yes. Dango, Mos Burger (!!), and corn miso ramen, yes. But I can count on my hands the amount of times I ate sushi. Or maybe I've just forgotten.

Here are my top 5 cuisines:

1. Japanese
2. Korean
3. French
4. Thai
5. Algerian/Mexican/North African

You notice that Italian and Chinese didn't make it. Why not Italian? I'm too overwhelmed by the excess of cheese and tomatoes. Though I love pizza and pasta, I'm not in love with the rest. Why not Chinese? Two words: duck and pork. Can't do either--but I do love hot dogs.

And the mention of Algerian? When Cappy and I were in Paris, my ex-took us to the most amazing restaurant near the Oberkampf metro. I think it is called "Les Trois Freres," the three brothers. It was not my first Algerian dining experience, but certainly the best. I love North African/Jewish cuisine. I love couscous as much as kim chee.

But why don't I have much of a specific appetite these days? Perhaps if I had Japanese okazu delivered a few times a week (I'm thinking of my friend Erika in San Diego) I might not worry about this problem.

Well, I'm actually craving something specific right now! Thankfully, Cappy and I have some fun dinner plans tonight. It might involve coconut curry, steamed fish, and garlic green beans. At least, that's what I want to order!

Lately

As of late:

1. Gregoire's take out on Piedmont Avenue. Take-out taken to a brilliant new level.

2. Keren Ann's new CD La Biographie de Luka Philipsen. A lighter version of Carla Bruni, a bit of Dido. Very soothing, and just great music to work to.

3. Oxygen--my indoor soccer team. We surprised ourselves with a 12-4 win last week only to be humbled this week with a devastating 6-0 loss. Winning is so much more fun.

What went wrong? I blame it on the music. Usually the Bladium plays upbeat and energizing music during games. Last night, at the beginning of the second half, Paul Young's "Everytime you go...away..." totally slowed us down. Later, I blamed a missed scoring opportunity on the agonizing guitar solo of a Van Halen song. We played against a team called "The Latinas." They were tough and highly skilled. At minute 35, we actually reverted back to a 3rd grade version of kick and run soccer. Brilliant. Thankfully, this was our last match up with them.

4. Clinique Bonus Time! Recently I spent a few hours at a swanky outdoor shopping mall in Walnut Creek. It's clearly an adult Disneyland--second to the Venetian at Las Vegas. Imagine faux European façades showing off Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma. Lest you be not taken by the McArchitecture, Godfather lite music fills the air. Happy blonde families stroll hand-in-hand. The captain of the local high school lacrosse team snuggled with his cheer bunny near a fountain. Whew. I had flashbacks of the city I grew up in, but thankfully the Italian music reminded me that I'm indeed in the throngs of Nor-Cal. And did i have a good shopping day? You bet. It was a glorious retail experience.

5. Girls weekend in the Pacific Northwest! Cappy and I spent this past weekend kicking it with mom up north. On the agenda for the weekend: dinner at a Caribbean restaurant near SeaTac airport, movies, dim sum, an art/craft fair, iced vanilla lattes, reminiscing, laughing. Bellevue Square and its environs is turning into a mini-Beverly Center. Seriously. I felt like I was in L.A. at times. My high school (Newport) is getting a major facelift. I guess that's what happens when you make a Newsweek list.

6. Personal Training at the Bladium! It's time for Penny to move beyond Pilates, Samba Beat classes, and indoor soccer... Stay tuned for the new adventures of Penny and her new trainer Billy W.

7. Bay to Breakers on May 21st Penny et al. will be starting off early on Sunday morning. Costumes TBA--read: we have no idea what we're wearing. You hear "Go!" then after 15 minutes, the crowds allow you a steady walking shuffle. Now that's a pace I can keep.

And lastly, we're happy to report that the Tubular One has fully recovered from the injuries she sustained last weekend. The T.O.'s usual dogsitter was in Mexico, so we took our little camper to San Francisco's Pet Camp. The vet says she may have hyper extended her knee and shoulder muscles. We attribute this to her overly rambunctious small dog play group. Oops. Next time, it's the Older Gentler Dog playgroup.

Corporate

So i've clearly fallen off the posting wagon--though not for lack of material. I've got tons of content in my head, but have been reluctant to spend more time online than necessary. Unfortunately, that has left little time for posting in the blogosphere.

I've got a bunch of postings in a half-baked state, that have been sitting around since mid-April. I'm cleaning up a bunch of them and putting them out there. Here's the first of them...

For those of you who know me well, you know that my working life up until 2004 was marked by the beginnings and endings of classes.

Though I could have probably made more money bartending or zookeeping rather than teaching, I was rich with perspective. I taught children and adults here in the States and in Asia. And this is a strangely true fact--because of my previous job, I can say that there are photos of me posing w/various students from every city/country in the world including: Oman, Cape Verde, Ghana, Saudi Arabia, Jakarta, Sakahlin, and Macau.

When teaching, I remember coming home at the end of the day, completely exhausted from talking. There was actually a point when students would ask me, "What's your dream job?" And being completely honest, I'd sometimes answer, "This!"

As you may know, for the past two years, my days have been spent in a high tech cube farm.

I have absolutely no regrets, but have been thinking about how different my working life is now, compared to the past 13 years.

For the past two years, I've been talking much less. I have IM conversations with people who sit on the other side of a wall. I overhear engineers speaking in a jargon that I can hardly understand. I recently had an hour long conversation about the differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. And, now, rather than running from class to class, I sit in a cubicle. A great benefit is looking over my shoulder and seeing the nearby Cow Palace, downtown Oakland across the water, and planes continually landing and taking off from SFO.

...Oh and I don't have to pay for coffee every day.

Here are my top 8 corporate truisms that I've observed and heard about in the past two years:

1. Never Underestimate Anyone
At any random company meeting, you could look to the person to the left of you, and to the person to the right of you. Realistically, one of these people could become your manager within one week, one month, or one year.

2. Fairness is an Illusion
There will always be someone in your company who does much less than you, has less education than you, does not have knowledge or skills appropriate to their task--yet makes more money than you.

3. The Bottom Line
You thought this was just a positive all-company mantra. Then before you know it, a corporate brushfire clears out entire sections of cube farms. "The Bottom Line"--believe it, there is no other God.

4. Watch Survivor
This show reflects the very principles that one encounters in the corporate world. Women of color are either ridiculously suspect or exploited for their diligence and reliability. White men protect each other--only if they see themselves reflected or align with someone they hope to be, or hoped to be. Alliances are very real, but ultimately flimsy and worthless. The only immunity idol is a strong tolerance for ambiguity and the ability to walk the walk on a daily basis.

5. War and Poker
Some men really do use these unforgivable themes when discussing business and computer engineering! "We're not holdin' aces, but we're not ready to fold just yet..." Or the abominable, "This gives ammunition to the theory...." Yuck.

6. Indirectly Direct
All important communication is indirectly direct. Read between the lines. The energies you feel through the walls tell you all you need to know.

7. It is About Who You Know, and Who Likes You
Sometimes executives are executive for a reason beyond their qualifications!

8. It's Not Unusual: People in their 30's and 40's Can and Do Act Like Junior High School Kids
When I was young, I thought people over 30's were adult, reasonable, wise, and mature. I still think that, but for a much smaller minority.

In my mind, unleashing yourself in a cube farm on a daily basis means that you accept the known terrors. It's kind of like owning property on or near a major fault line. You know the potential risks, but get in the elevator everyday.

That's all I dare to spill for the moment.