Marie Antoinette

I was able to catch the preview...whilst watching Memoirs of a Geisha one night...they played it just for me. I sat there alone in the theater. Yes, it was an existential moment. New Order's, Age of Consent played in the background. It's basically a montage of Marie traipsing around Europe with friends and lovers having a grand 'ol time. I love how a period piece has the gumption to use modern music in the trailer...not only that but you should see the graphics used for the title/credits at the end! It has a look straight out of 80's brit pop; better yet check it out for yourself!



After Lost in Translation I'm looking forward to this next film of Sophia Coppola's hopefully it's better than her wine. Atrocious. The rose is a vibrant pink much like the pink used at the end credits of Marie Antoinette actually! It's described as flowery and fruity, delicate and racy, reminiscent of wine served in the seaside cafe's of the meditteranean. Well racy enough for a sailor I guess. In any case the MTV like music video/trailer of her movie was enough to catch my interest so watchout - FALL 2006.

Auspicious Words or Phrases / Year of the DAWG

Kung hei fat choi, Kung hei fat choy, Kung hey fat choi?!? =/

Or in Hokkien, Keong hee huat chye. This loosely translates to: Congratulations and be prosperous.

Chinese New Year's or the Lunar New Year is one of our most important holidays. Legend has it that it all began in ancient China with a man eating beast named Nian; who could silently enter homes and feed upon his prey. The villagers soon got wind that Nian was sensitive to loud noises and the color red. Hence began the custom of fireworks, explosives and liberal use of RED that is still witnessed today. It was also a time to honor Heaven and Earth and family ancestors. I'm so reminicing right now over, Big Trouble in Little China. I'm going to have to watch this movie again for nostalgia's sake.

Now though Chinese New Year's isn't really about surviving the ravaging beast, Nian; it's more about the return home for a reunion dinner with the family which for me was not possible this year so I returned to my extended family. I got an ang paw (red envelope) for being unmarried...finally a small reward for still being single. AND I don't ever remember my parents giving me any red envelope for being single they probably don't want to give me any incentives for that. Just as well because back home we go all out.

The entire house is already cleaned, every door and window is opened. My mother has platters set out with candy and oranges, tangerines, bowls of chocolate gold coins set in rice (uncooked). Tons of food set before our ancestors. Yes we're totally old school in that our house has pictures of dearly departed members. Incense is burned for them and food put before them. I'm talking Whole chicken and fish...it's a feast for the dead. We also have these rice type of cakes that we give and recieve as gifts called Tikoy. Basically it's a PIGOUT day of complete gluttony.

We burn paper/prayers that have been prefolded and shaped like boats. Basically I'll spend the day making paper boats out of this gold foil and then in seconds it literally goes up in flames. Someone goes room to room with a pail that's smoking and goes to each room filling it with smoke in every corner. This is supposedly to ward off evil spirits and a cleansing ritual but it's hell on my asthma!

A dragon comes to visit and they do the dragon dance. We try to put the Ang Paw (Red Envelope) really high so they have to step on each other to get to it make them work for the money. So the dragon eats the plums or some sort of fruit that we set for it.

My dad gets the fireworks and these are strictly from China so even the kid's are scared of THESE sparklers. They're just as likely to take a finger off as if it were a cherry bomb. He'd grumble saying no fireworks or how he didn't want to celebrate it...but end up like a kid in a candy shop when he'd see a stand and buy a ridiculous assortment of fireworks...roman candles, rockets, missiles, fountains, those dangerous sparklers, well they're all dangerous, but my lil bro and sis won't even touch these sparklers and they hate fireworks in general. Then there's the good for nuthin one. It doesn't sparkle or fly it just makes obnoxious noise! I call it the machine gun. It's like a chain all linked in a strip and seems to go on forever; you have to cover your ears and that only barely filters it out a bit. BANG! BANG! BANG ! BANG! BANG! BANG! endless aaaaaaaaaack!

He always buys too much; the neighbors come out and start lighting our fireworks and helping themselves. Not that we mind. Because it's like a tradition now. Like a good neighbor I'm handing out these dangerous SPARKLERS to kids. hahaha Who needs all 10 fingers anyways really we could live just as well with 9 or 8 or 7 1/2. 10 seems almost too much and it's more of a luxury if you have 10. Then just before midnight my Dad lights of the SOB machine gun that makes you want to tear your ears off...right at Midnight everyone honks the horn of every car in the driveway. Everyone is holding some sort of container with coins and shakes it, simultaneously blowing their horns/noisemakers, and yelling Happy New Year. Absolute pollution of noise, smoke, and people, I can't breathe at this point our nostrels are full of black soot from the fireworks and firecrackers. Illegally loud I swear...

This year, no dragons, no machine guns, no bowls filled with rice and chocolate coins, no tikoy, no bowls of tangerines, no soot filled noses, no smokey rooms. My hearing is perfect...I miss going a little deaf.

God I miss home.

Let them Eat CAKE, she said

German chocolate cake just came out of the oven...finally firm and even, warm and moist still. Letting it cool before I put on the coconut icing. I turned it over and it was a beautiful thing. I remember the heartbreak last time when it broke off in pieces here and there and I had to do patchwork with icing. For Chinese New Year's dinner my contribution is so un-Chinesey yet appropriately me. While the cake cools....

Now I don't watch too much TV as in at all but when I do almost everything seems strange to me. In the time it took my cake to cool alone I've observed the following...

Icebreakers Gum:
So I just caught the new tvc (tele-vision commercial) with Hillary Duff and her lesser known, lesser blonde sister Haley. And with a cameo if that be possible for a 30seconder commercial of Joey from Blossom doing his signature, "Whoa!" as their product tagline. Wasn't the previous commercial of theirs with Ashley and Jessica Simpson? Are they doing a Doublemint Sister thing? Hershey's the manufacturer is clearly doing a rip off of Wrigleys' Doublemint. Double your pleasure, double your fun. Trivia did you know Wrigley's has a patent on a formula with one of the main ingredients of Viagra. Viagra Gum? Oh! Double my pleasure alright! Now that's something I can Whoa! to =p teehee

So next time a girl gives you a stick either
A. She's saying you have bad breath or
B. She wants to have sex with you.

And this one will have a warning that no other will have. Keep away from children!!! A gum that you won't find over the counter. Will men have to slyly whisper to the cashier psssst... a pack of Wrigley's Virile gum please. Or an offshoot of Doublemint but like a new and improved formula just for men "NOW with Viagra". What's next? Viagra Cologne...Sexy Beast! RAWRrrr!

I noticed alot of beautiful black women in several commercials. I'd never seen so many before or consecutively so I mention it to my roommate and she informs me yeah this is a black channel. So I'm watching channel 13 or as she calls it the black channel and it's some show with Bernie Mac. I don't know is it just me or is his fro just constantly in an awkward growing out stage? Then I noticed he calls other men Baby. Men calling men baby...as in, What's up Baby? I can't get used to it. And this is hetersexual salutations. This is too much TV for me.

Then another commercial, but I have to stop and watch this one. Really! It's David Boreanaz for goodness sakey. It's Angel being an angel. Awww. It's National Mentoring Month. The message is clear and Yes, teachers are my hero. Which got me to thinking about my 7th grade english teacher Mrs. McCaig, the sweetest, kindest, most supportive teacher I've ever had. She sent me to the principle's office one day for a short story I'd written; it was a psychotic thriller called Sweet Jane. I guess they thought I had the makings of a psychopath. The following year I didn't try so hard; I got a really mean teacher named Miss (as in I'll forever remain single because I'm old and a bitch beyond belief, with more wrinkles than a manatee) Michaels. I paid the price for it though because she sent my ass to remedial English freshman year of high school. I was with ESL students, a handful of the popular but dumb kids and then the just plain average ordinary tards.

TV...has taken me from Icebreaker commercials, viagra gum, the black channel, strange manly yet covertly sexual greetings of the same sex and orientation, Angel! doing a commercial about teachers being our mentors and heroes, my 7th grade English teacher Mrs. McCaig (good), my 8th grade English tormentor Ms. Michaels (evil) and it all boils down to that ey...Click. Time to ice my cake.