Saturday, July 30, 2005

Green Tea Frappunico

Is the shits. I like green tea. Never really drank the Starbucks' coffee stuff. I'm for smaller and independent coffee places. They're not only cheaper but taste better. The atmosphere usually are less sterile feeling and more comfy. I'm okay with Dunkin Donuts. Their current lemonade potion:Yummy!

Whenever friends and I initiate a place to meet up - I would pick a book store or a coffee shop. Sometimes the friend pick Starbucks. It's their choice - I'm not going to waste their time railing and leering against Starbucks. I'd drink their tea selection or hot chocolate. They're not bad.

So said, I rarely set foot inside a Starbucks on my own. I've been curious about the latest frappunico conoction of green tea. Needing a pick-me-up before a performance I decide to mosey over to the nearest Starbucks (there's two a block apart in Astor Place *roll*). Aside from the Green Tea thingy, I order a butterfly cookie because I'm a sucker for shortbread and frosting.

Green tea with heavy whipped cream. Bit rich for my taste. After a few curious sips, a hmmm it's not so bad sip, then a few forced sips to make my money's worth ($4? please!) then after 2/3rds of the way with what felt like lead sitting in my stomach,I give up and toss it into the nearest trash. No, not to a homeless person. He or she would hate it also.

In conclusion: TWO THUMBS DOWN. Starbucks, you continue to disappoint me. Soon I'm going to the Coffee Pot to get a regular latte. I never add sugar or milk to it. It's delicious as it is. Same goes for Push Cafe between East Village and Gramercy. It's also a bar with interesting mix of customers. The servers are usually cute (affirmative action) but they rarely stay long. They make not only a good latte, also a pororcini - not sure how to spell it. It's a frozen coffee/mocha drink with kahlua in it. $8 a pop but worth it as afterwork drink and your crappy day at work melts away..

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

The Chosen One

As Harry Potter is now known. My thoughts and comments on the book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

JK Rowling has done it again. The plots, history and characters. Harry was right all along about Severus Snape.

Or - is Snape acting on his own interests? He is skilled with Occlumency and Legilimens possibility proving himself impervious to Voldemort and Dumbledore's efforts to read or penetrate his mind. Also he allowed himself to take the Unbreakable Vow to assist (wimpy) Draco Malfoy if he didn't carry out his assigned task. What's more, when Harry and Dumbledore were in the cave, finding a Horcrux, Dumbledore told Harry to go through with the task no matter if Dumbledore was at peril. Maybe it was the same for Snape? Dumbledore also admitted his weaknesses as an old man. "Being a cleverer one I make huger mistakes", trying to find goodness in everyone.

Many fans complain that JK shouldn't have killed Dumbledore off like that, even choosing him as her latest "character killed off". During a press junket last year, an interviewer asked JK if any more characters close to Harry would be killed? Her short and curt response was "Yes. Sorry". I was stunned and saddened how Dumbledore died at the hands of Snape. Then again, it's real life, during peace or war you lose someone you feel close to or look up to.

Harry is left feeling the sense of betrayal and very determined to pursue Voldemort and he'd deal with Snape if he got in the way.

Harry and Ginny. Harry's an idiot. He knows well enough that Love is the only thing that Voldemort cannot touch. Ron and Hermione. Waiting...

JK Rowling included more clues and information in what Harry would do in the next (and final) installment of the series. My fever finally broke and I look forward to being delirious again in 2007.

I have a guess about R.A.B.'s identity. If it's the person I have in mind, he was killed by Voldemort himself which is pretty rare as he usually sends a minion to do the job.

So back to the real world.. And finish the damned Dune chronicles (I'm half way through the final book - "Chapterhouse") and my next reading plans are NOT limited to series or sagas.. woo. I'd like to read the "Mermaid Chair" as I really liked the author's previous work "The Secret Lives of Bumblebees" among a few....

Monday, July 18, 2005

Latter Half of July

This week and the next will be big ones, climatic events. Tonight, my only free night dedicated to MET research and other evenings (apart from Friday the lecture by moi) will be rehearsals. Lots of movements. Even though I got decent sleep last night, I woke up feeling exhausted and hitting the snooze for an hour.

to grease the wheels a bit I have comments/opinions/musings on two films and a book (which will be in next entry post).

Batman Begins. My brother said it right. He IMed me the day after the film's release saying "Drop everything! Go and see it!". Course, I had accessibility issues and I wouldn't be able to see it for another couple weeks. Regal cinemas now have much better captioned movie options and accessibility than AMC (you hear this you AMC freaks!) does. But their captions are grey (no good for those who are legally blind or have limited eye sight) and I had a bit of trouble reading captions in, say, scenes with snow or lots of lights. Anyways.

The movie blew my mind. I forgot about the ridiculous TomKat thing. Christian Bale is awesome portraying Bruce Wayne, testing his skills, knowledge and guts becoming Batman. Pure angst. I was momentarily spooked on Bruce's first night out as Batman. He seized and levitated some no do gooder and wimpy criminal. Batman positioned himself into some lightning to appear menacing shouted questions/accusations into the poor guy's face. The criminal losing all his nerve blubbered information. If I was him, I would've shat into my shorts from a case of shattered nerves.

Bruce trained with League of Shadows during his travels in Southern Asia, a ninja organization headed by Ken Wantabe (first saw him in "The Last Samurai") with Liam Neeson (most evil as I've ever seen him) where he learned to sharpen his wit and agility, mentally and physically.

Bruce/Batman struggles with what kind of justice to give to the criminals. Gotham was corrupted through and through. The police? Forget it. The mayor or councilman? Definitely in pockets of thugs/kingpin. The poor suffering, the rich ignoring, and the criminals pulling strings, keeping them apart. Bruce, who never got over his guilt of watching his parents murdered, decides to do something about it.

What I like about the film is that unlike the other Batman films, there's no egomanaics (the Joker, the Riddler, the Penguin, etc) manipulating people's weakness for total domination. The League of Shadows isn't a bunch of bad guys. They're the other good guys with a harsher approach to justice to shatter the caste of the rich, the poor, the manipulators and those stuck in between (Batman, Gordon and Katie Holmes as the ADA). The League of Shadow's rationale is to cause true chaos forcing the society fall apart in order for society to improve itself from scratch. They claimed that they caused the Roman empire to fall and instigated the London burning in the 11th century.

Whoa. Oh my beating Irish Marxist heart.

I m definitely buying a DVD copy.

Lila Says - a French film I saw over the weekend. A friend who had seen it, warned me about the film's sensuality. She was sitting next to some cute guy, and feeling very inspired by the film, wanted to screw him right there.

It's a film about innocence and sexuality. A blond angelic girl and her batty aunt (and I mean batty) had moved into an Arab ghetto in Paris. When they first meet, she asks him if he wants to see her pussy? He's shy and intrigued by her but refuses. She goads him a bit and he gives in out of curiosity.. She goes to the swing set and picks one swing. Chimo stands in front of her. She pushes off the ground swinging higher each time. As her feet meets Chimo's field of vision, she opens her legs. Higher and higher and wider.

That's a sample from the movie. It's not smutty or anything. It challenges your sensual being, what you're willing to explore psychologically. I did feel randy, wishing that I did have a date to enjoy the film with. Afterwards my friend and I went to her favorite French restaurant and after a yummy meal of steak tatare, french fries, a bottle of wine and some creme de brulee.. My randiness became sedated.

The film had a bit of a post 9-11 feel to it particularly since all the main characters were Arabic. In the beginning, Chimo, the narrator stated, "Ever since those fuckers flew their planes into NY (loosely quoted).. we..." The scene cuts to a couple of French Arab youths being frisked by the (white and French) police.. Chimo and his friends, from the safety of a balcony shout out "where are our rights?" and the French policeman made a retort like "wan come down and join them..?" I Googled the film and discovered that it s based on a controversial French novel by Chimo. In the movie, Chimo is a raw writer, given an opportunity to apply to a school for writing and has to write a 30 page story to qualify for entrance. Some critics and reviewers of the book couldn't agree whether the author is a hoax or some writer pretending to be an uneducated but introspective young French Arab. A lawyer delivered 2 notebooks to a publisher. Worth seeing but recommend to bring a hot date.

Coming soon.. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Friday, July 15, 2005

The Notification

Finally received an email notification from Amazon.com that my pre-order for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be arriving via UPS on July 16th. Course, the delivery has more security than MTA can offer to subway/bus riders, so there's no estimated time of arrival at this time (yes I' ll be checking the tracking around the clock). I ll drag out a chair and wait outside the apartment (no I never installed the doorbell alerter in my apartment) for the fateful delivery. If the UPS driver arrives early in the morning and is cute, I'll French kiss him.

Another event to mark the weekend - the second season premiere for Battlestar Galactica at SCI-FI tonight. I'll take a break from my studies at 10 pm EST to have a glass of Sangria and admire captain Lee Adama. Oh yeah, His father the no-nonsense Cmdr Adama being mortally wounded, Capt Tigh taking the reins, and the sensible president cum leader with a zeal to find that arrow President Rosyln who's now jailed for compromising the safety of her citizens. And there's Starbucks who kicked one of No 6's ass, Helo and Linda the soft hearted Cylon who he knocked up. Weak and horny Dr Gaius who has his balls wrapped around No. 6's finger. And there's another Linda a cylon sleeper who attacked Cmdr Adama.

So many continuing stories for a two day period. I ll be floating into a world of fiction and imagination this weekend with minimal television time.

Weekend of delirium, here I come!

Sunday, July 10, 2005

Kate, the Next Julia Child






not Martha Stewart. I'm not as bent and driven as she is - or was? I haven't bothered to observe her post jail persona. Here are the pictures to please your sweet eye.

Once again, I went to Karen Duff's cookbook and decided to bake a cake for a friend's farewell party that occurred over the 4th of July weekend.

Raspberry upside down cake

1 10 oz bag frozen raspberries (according to duff, peach and blueberry 'are lovely as well')
1 package vanilla or yellow cake mix

I opted for raspberries and yellow cake mix. The cake isn't out of the world, but was a very decent dessert and I'm happy to report that there was only one piece left.

follow the package directions - grease and flour two 9inch round cake pans. Pour an even amount of frozen berries into each pan. Bake etc etc. Let the cakes cool in the pans, then invert them onto serving plates. One wee complaint - after 30 minutes in the oven the raspberries came out all mushy.

ed's note - the layout didnt put the pictures into the proper sequence! hmph. apply logic.
and yes that's my hand (washed of course) - I'm one of those helpless batter lickers..

Saturday, July 09, 2005

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

You Go, Girl!

A brief post - CNN and other news outlets report that reporter Judith Miller was held in contempt by court for refusing to disclose the source of leaks in 2003 that led to reveal the CIA operative's identity.

additional note: as per Mr H.K., yes I do support her standing up for her beliefs. She protects her sources and the integrity of the press (what's left of it..)

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Least I got some spirituality

?!! Took this test off Deaf258's site (thanks, man!) and nearly fell off my chair once I received the results:




You scored as Satanism. Your beliefs most closely resemble
those of Satanism! Before you scream, do a bit of research on
it. To be a Satanist, you don't actually have to believe in Satan.
Satanism generally focuses upon the spiritual advancement of
the self, rather than upon submission to a deity or a set of
moral codes. Do some research if you immediately think of the
satanic cult stereotype. Your beliefs may also resemble those
of earth-based religions such as paganism.

Satanism


100%

Buddhism


92%

Paganism


79%

atheism


71%

agnosticism


67%

Hinduism


42%

Judaism


25%

Christianity


17%

Islam


17%


Which religion is the right one for you? (new version)
created with QuizFarm.com





I'm perfectly content with Buddhism and Paganism, the runner ups. I shall explore further and will not toe the line to wannabe fanaticism.

I'm off to the woods to worship nature and some wild uninhibited sex (think Avalon).

Sunday, July 03, 2005

the Gates

I'm on a roll with the pictures...Among of my favorites..

me here..





view from inside the MET




Guinness Time..

Few overdue pictures. I've removed most of my pictures from my vacation in Ireland out of my laptop but still have plenty left from Christo's the Gates. These pictures are from the inside of the Guiness Factory and Storehouse in Dublin...

Saturday, July 02, 2005

Meet n' Greet

Finally figured out how to work this Hello Picsta thingy.. Yeah I'm that technologically inept. I'm still at loss how to add a picture in "about me" section. I ll get it.. Eventually.

Thought I'd start with my mother's beloved cocker spainels - Molly (left) and MacBeth (right). Both have very distinct personalities and neither one is shy or quiet. Once I stuck out my hand to say hello, they immediately came and jostled for my hand. At that moment Mac got the upper hand (bad one, I know..) .

Mac and Molly, everyone. Everyone, Mac and Molly.

Been thinking on and off (more frequently than occasional) about getting a dog. I've had roommates with cats and had a cat of my own.. so I'd like a change.

Oftentimes I immediately decide not to get a dog when I:

- look at my bank account balance
- notice grouchy people outside on sidewalk in wee hours of the morning waiting for their dog to find a spot to relieve itself.
- when I'm stuck outside in subzero weather (during a visit to parents) waiting for Mac or Molly to make up mind where to go after sniffing the other's deposit.
-no backyard.
-small apartment.
-have uninterrupted sleep.

When I'm back to Rural or have a bigger place with a slice of backyard will get one..