home

sometimes i learn to wait another turn
often i get anxious and a tad too concerned
maybe it's the winter i think the post got lost
it's not as if there is a santa claus

where are you now it's been a while
every place you visit i count the miles
every year you stray a little farther from home
it's another holiday spent alone

sometimes i wish you weren't so free
often i wish you had taken me
maybe instead of a card or letter
this time it's you i wish all the better

there is a hill we used to climb
and a church where all the bells chime
the snow still falls when you are gone
but there is a chorus missing from the song

this year i stop waiting for the sign
miracles are for much needier kinds
if you ever stare out the airplane and see your home
i can guarantee you it's better than paris or rome

reunited makes me feel so good

Two of my favorite couples reunite to sing you off for the year:

pursuit of happiness

For Ben - this is my favorite Kid Cudi song - Pursuit of Happiness.



That Kid Cudi album is mad genius. Kid Cudi is also Chi Young's favorite artist.

By the way, the video is directed by Megaforce, who coincidentally is directing Madonna's new video for Gimme All Your Luvin.

when will the heaven begin

Ben Breedlove's videos before his death.





Sometimes you do wish you could just be like everybody else. And then sometimes you wish you could take what makes you different and do something great with it.

What struck me most was the part about being able to be proud of who you are and what you did with your life. If you can feel that way at the end of your life, it would be the most wonderful feeling. I think I need to start living my life that way. Just do things that would make me proud.

RIP, Ben. Heaven begins now.

one year

I'm Still Waiting: Fiona Apple (where is that cd that was coming in 2011?)
Biggest Let-Down: Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto and Radiohead's King Of Limbs (two of my favorite bands of all time put out cds that do absolutely nothing for me)
Let's Hear It For The Girls: Emily VanCamp & Madeleine Stowe (Revenge), Zooey Deschanel (New Girl), Rachel Bilson (Hart Of Dixie), and SMG (Ringer)
Let's Hear It For The Boys: Chris Hemsworth (Thor), James McAvoy & Michael Fassbender (X-Men First Class), Chris Evans (Captain America)
Book Of The Year (which will take me a year to read): 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
Our Zeitgeist: The Middle East protests which pretty much toppled a number of governments, the Occupy Wall Street Movement, the BART protests (against the BART police shootings)
Catchphrase: Tebow Time!
Meme of the Year: UC Davis Pepper-Spraying Cop
So Long, Farewell: Steve Jobs and The Oprah Winfrey Show
Farewell, Good Riddance: Osama bin Laden, Kim Jong Il and Muammar Gaddafi
Coolest Actor: Ryan Gosling (Crazy Stupid Love, Ides Of March, and Drive)
Hottest Actress: Charlize Theron (Young Adult)
Movies I Liked A Lot: X-Men First Class, Crazy Stupid Love, Harold & Kumar 3-D Christmas, Thor, Super 8
Movies I Think I Will Like A Lot (except I haven't seen them yet): 50/50, Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol, Young Adult
Things I Don't Understand: All the Kardashians, Two And A Half Men (with or without Charlie Sheen), LMFAO
Sadness Is A Blessing: Adele's Someone Like You
Sadness Is A Blessing Part Two: James Blake covering Joni Mitchell's A Case Of You
Guiltiest Pleasure: Katy Perry's Fireworks (the lyrics really go, boom boom boom)
Best Serious News: U.S. withdraws all troops from Iraq
Worst Serious News: Japan Northeastern coast earthquake/tsunami
Worst Reality Competition Show Judge: Nicole Scherzinger, X-Factor (wow - there are a lot of bad ones to choose from, but she takes the cake)
My Good Habit: Drawing
My Bad Habit: Internet shopping
Broadway Show I Cannot Wait To See: Book Of Mormon
Favorite Gadget: iPad 2
Favorite Retailer: Amazon
Favorite Restaurants: Mom's Tofu House in South SF, Kappou Gomi on Geary, Outerlands on Judah
The It Country: South Korea
Wedding Of The Year: William and Kate
Divorce Of The Year: Demi & Ashton (sigh, if the girl from Striptease and the boy from Punk'd can't make it work, I ask you, who can???!!!)
Dreading 2012: A whole year's worth of political mud-slinging leading up to U.S. Presidential election in November, and the end of the world
Hooray for 2012: The Hobbit, Dark Knight Rises, Great Gatsby, London Olympics, new Madonna cd and tour and Superbowl performance

peace on middle earth

I got this for Christmas this year. I am totally geeking out. Peace on Middle Earth, y'all!

hobbit an unexpected trailer

Going back to Middle Earth is like going home again - brings back so many fond memories. And the dwarves singing gives me goosebumps. And is Richard Armitage as Thorin the new Viggo/Aragorn?

Yeah, screw 2011 - 2012 is where it's at.

dark knight rises

OMIGOD! There is so much to love in this trailer that I will temporarily set aside my dislike of Anne Hathaway. That football field thingy - holy crap!

amazing race vs. all the new girls

My favorite tv shows of 2011:

10. House Hunter International
9. The Chew
8. Cougar Town
7. So You Think You Can Dance
6. Ringer
5. New Girl
4. Hart of Dixie
3. Modern Family
2. Revenge
1. Amazing Race

This fall saw the debut of four rocking shows headlined by rocking girls. Emily Vancamp and Rachel Bilson and Zooey Deschanel and SMG - almost too much goodness for a boy to stand, and they are all in extremely enjoyable shows. Ringer and Revenge are as addictive as crack (or potato chips, whichever floats your boat). New Girl is hilarious. And Hart of Dixie will charm the shorts of you (if you watch that show - you will get the joke).

But after all these years, it's still Amazing Race that gets me all excited about sitting down in front of the tv. It is the one show that I will always watch real time (instead of Tivo time). Sure, it's been a long while since a team I was rooting for actually ended up winning (boo to Ernie & Cindy winning, or more accurately boo to Cindy winning - Ernie seems totally cool), but I am always in for a vicarious ride around the world.

adele vs james blake vs garrett hedlund

My 100 favorite songs of 2011:

100		On'n'on	Justice
99		Lotus Flower	Radiohead
98		Nightcall	Kavinsky & Lovefoxxx
97		El Camino	Amos Lee
96		Wait & See	Holy Ghost!
95		Gay Pirates	Cosmo Jarvis
94		Take Off Your Shirt	Bibio
93		Heartbeats (The Knife Cover)	Ellie Goulding
92		Take Care	Drake
91		Lewis Takes Off His Shirt (Owen Pallett Cover)	Sondre Lerche
90		The One That Got Away	Katy Perry
89		Montezuma	Fleet Foxes
88		Baby's Breath	Bill Callahan
87		Lantern	Josh Ritter
86		Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)	Katy Perry
85		Good Life	OneRepublic
84		Night Air	Jamie Woon
83		Breaker Breaker	Peter Bjorn And John
82		Don't Stop	The Dodos
81		Lonely Boy	The Black Keys
80		What Was It You Said About Luck	James Blake
79		Take Me Over	Cut Copy
78		Helena Beat	Foster The People
77		The Edge Of Glory	Lady Gaga
76		How They Want Me To Be	Best Coast
75		Fun	Natalie Imbruglia
74		Rum Hee	Shugo Tokumaru
73		Silver Wings	Garrett Hedlund
72		We Found Love	Rihanna
71		Enough Thunder	James Blake
70		I Would Do Anything For You	Foster The People
69		Private Caller	Sondre Lerche
68		Walking Far From Home	Iron & Wine
67		Everywhere I Go	Lissie
66		Rumour Has It	Adele
65		Right By Your Side	James Morrison
64		Towards The Sun	Alexi Murdoch
63		Turning Tables	Adele
62		Hide Me Babe	Garrett Hedlund
61		Second Chance	Peter Bjorn And John
60		How I Roll	Britney Spears
59		Think You Can Wait	The National
58		Right Thru Me	Nicki Minaj
57		Wood 9-27 B	ROSTAM
56		Ricochet	Sondre Lerche
55		L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.	Noah And The Whale
54		Have I the Right	Vampire Weekend
53		Lady Luck	Jamie Woon
52		Blink And You'll Miss A Revolution	Cut Copy
51		Tonight's the Kind of Night	Noah And The Whale
50		An Argument With Myself	Jens Lekman
49		Basket	Dan Mangan
48		How Deep Is Your Love?	The Rapture
47		Money	The Drums
46		Fight For This Love	Vampire Weekend
45		Charlie Brown	Coldplay
44		I Wanna Go	Britney Spears
43		Lord Knows Best	Dirty Beaches
42		You Know What I Mean	Cults
41		I Should Have Known	Foo Fighters
40		Super Bass [Explicit]	Nicki Minaj
39		Domino	Sondre Lerche
38		I Never Learnt To Share	James Blake
37		Holocene	Bon Iver
36		Tree By The River	Iron & Wine
35		I Don't Know What To Do With This Information	Jens Lekman
34		Helplessness Blues	Fleet Foxes
33		Sadness Is A Blessing	Lykke Li
32		Trust Issues (Remix)	The Weeknd
31		Back	Frank Ocean
30		One (U2 Cover)	Damien Rice
29		Us Against the World	Coldplay
28		Rylan	The National
27		Lucky Now	Ryan Adams
26		I'll Take Care Of You (Jamie XX)	Gil Scott-Heron
25		Calgary	Bon Iver
24		Pumped Up Kicks	Foster The People
23		Exile Vilify	The National
22		These Days	Foo Fighters
21		Criminal	Britney Spears
20		I Love You But I Don't Know What To Say	Ryan Adams
19		Youth Knows No Pain	Lykke Li
18		Wildfire featuring Little Dragon & Drake	SBTRKT
17		We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monáe)	fun.
16		I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free	Nina Simone
15		Firework	Katy Perry
14		Waiting For Kirsten	Jens Lekman
13		Thinking About You	Frank Ocean
12		Don't Let It Get To You	ROSTAM
11		Call Your Girlfriend	Robyn
10		Give In to Me	Garrett Hedlund & Leighton Meester
9		Need You Now	Cut Copy
8		Timing Is Everything	Garrett Hedlund
7		Chances Are	Garrett Hedlund
6		I Follow Rivers	Lykke Li
5		Dawes - Little Bit of Everything	Dawes
4		Wilhelms Scream	James Blake
3		Rolling In The Deep	Adele
2		A Case Of You	James Blake
1		Someone Like You	Adele

James Blake and Garrett Hedlund have the most entries, at five songs each. Adele and Sondre Lerche are runner-ups at four each, but Adele has the number 1 and number 3 songs, while Sondre Lerche's highest is ranked at 39.

It was actually quite easy to choose the top ten songs, but choosing number 1, between Adele's Someone Like You and James Blake's A Case Of You, was rather difficult, and I am likely to change my mind about this on any given day.

And yes, Robyn's Call Your Girlfriend was also on my 2010 list but she's been promoting this song this year, and the more I hear it, the more delightful it becomes. But that's not the oldest song of the bunch - Nina Simone's I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free is. I have never heard of this song til it came on in Pandora, and man, what an anthem!

I am going to stop messing with this list now. Everytime I look at it, I want to re-order something.

post-thanksgiving thanks

This Thanksgiving weekend, I am thankful that:

- Just got news that Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater are starting to discuss ideas for a Before Sunset sequel. That's news I've been waiting for ever since that day in 2004, when I watched the camera faded to black on Julie Delpy doing her best Nina Simone sashay in that Parisian apartment.

- The world didn't end yet. Please wait til I get a chance to hear the new Madonna album, watch both the Hobbit movies, and Dark Knight Rises, and of course the aforementioned Before Sunset sequel.

- Unlike last year at this time, I don't have looming business trips for the new year. While work will continue to be craziness, at least I am staying put for a while.

- Turkey leftover potpie! So easy - just dice up some potatoes and onions and throw them in leftover gravy. Cook til potatoes are almost tender, dump in frozen veggies and turkey. Put whole thing in frozen pie crust and bake til pie is golden.

- Black Friday bounty - which includes a Hoover Steam Vac, Zojirushi water boiler, LOTR Extended Edition and many other blu-rays, seasons 2-7 of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, bamboo chopping boards from TruBamboo, Timbuk2 laptop backpack from 6pm, etc. I love online shopping. It's better than crack.

- Canaan bread from Sheng Kee and cranberry/pear scone from Arizmendi - carbs rock!

- The Pats win again and lead their division - 2 games ahead of the Jets. Word.

the fairest of them all

Five upcoming movies that I am excited about -

Snow White & the Huntsman (Oh Charlize!!!!!)


The Adventures of Tin Tin


Hunger Games


Young Adult (Hey, it's Charlize again!)


Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol

it's still all up to you

Top 10 songs I am listening to at the moment:

10. We All Go Back To Where We Belong - REM (goodbye, REM)
9. Back - Frank Ocean (Frank Ocean is a non-rapping Kid Cudi - it's a good thing)
8. In The Morning - Jack Johnson (Christmas song, Jack Johnson style - he is one guy who seems to live life the way I wish I could live my life)
7. Enough Thunder - James Blake (likely my favorite artist of the year just keeps cranking out golden dubstep nuggets)
6. Us Against The World - Coldplay (my favorite off the new cd - it's the Coldplay I like, not the Coldplay they want to be)
5. Give Me All Your Love (demo) - Madonna (super catchy but not the return to form I prayed for - where's Like A Prayer or Frozen?)
4. Waiting For Kirsten - Jens Lekman (who knew I would like a song about stalking Kirsten Dunst? actually who knew there would be a song about stalking Kirsten Dunst?)
3. Lonely Boy - Black Keys (these guys know how to rock a song for sure; advanced buzz on new cd El Camino is great)

2. Don't Let It Get To You - Rostam (I love Vampire Weekend, and I love Vampire Weekend side projects - I love the phrase "Please, don’t let it get to you/Even if you don’t realize it/It’s still all up to you")


1. One - Damien Rice (Damien Rice can melt your heart)

11-11-11

Following the lead of thefilmexperience.net, here are 11 lists with 11 items:

1. 11 favorite cities: Hong Kong, Tokyo, NYC, Kyoto, Vancouver, Paris, London, San Francisco, Prague, Venice, Macau

2. 11 favorite tv shows: Amazing Race, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Three's Company, Moonlighting, Twin Peaks, Wonder Years, X-Files, Dynasty, Veronica Mars

3. 11 favorite actors: Ryan Gosling, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Christian Bale, River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, James McAvoy, Ewan McGregor, Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Heath Ledger

4. 11 favorite actresses: Marisa Tomei, Michelle Pfeiffer, Julie Deply, Charlize Theron, Keira Knightley, Sandra Bullock, Audrey Hepburn, Kate Winslet, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Emma Watson, Naomi Watts

5. 11 favorite songs that starts with the letter L: Like A Prayer, Like A Virgin, Life Is A Song,
Love Will Tear Us Apart, Landslide, Last Christmas, Let It Be, Let's Stay Together, Live To Tell, Losing My Religion, Lovely Day

6. 11 favorite local restaurants: Mom's Tofu House, Akagi, Brenda's French Soul Food, Suzu Noodle House, Cafe Bunn Mi, San Tung, Hello Dessert, 100% Sweet, Loi's, Volcano Curry, Dosa

7. 11 favorite things to do: eating, watching tv, watching movies, drawing, writing, reading, purging, taking photos, listening to music, blogging, traveling

8. 11 treasured possessions: iPad, iPhone, music collection, Yoshitomo Nara Little Wanderer, J. Crew Ludlow suit, BMW 328i, my writings, Madonna Sex book, my Vonneguts, my Haruki Murakamis, Before Sunset postcard

9. 11 things on to-do list: buy batteries, file, reply to personal emails, read 1q84, burn Amazing Race episodes to dvds, put up curtains in living room, find someone to fix house leak, exercise, write, fix refrigerator door gasket, get proper haircut

10. 11 traits I wish I had: carefree/easygoing nature, fearlessness, faith, athleticism, altruism, charm, confidence, open heart, peace, eloquence, handiness

11. 11 words/phrases I overuse: cool, awesome, Madonna, what the, no way, to be honest, i hate my job, suck, crap, sorry, please

white powder christmas

I loved, loved, loved the first Harold & Kumar but bitterly hated the second. It was a horrible disappointment. I am ecstatic to say they went back and tried again, and, oh yeah, they are back to form!

Ten ways Harold & Kumar's 3D Christmas brings the good tidings:
10. Timely nod to protests of corporate greed (how'd they know?)
9. That joke about Harold not having any cash when Nana Perez brings him some roses (and every other racial joke in the movie)
8. Harold's Mexican father-in-law's flashback sequence, explaining why he hates Koreans and why Christmas trees are a big deal
7. NPH in musical number
6. Kumar's master plan to steal a Christmas tree from a church, involving distracting the Catholic priests with...what else but altar boys?
5. Harold's replacement friend Todd ("S.U.!!!") and his coked-up superbaby
4. Puffs of pot smoke in 3D
3. Uh, it's really about friendship and family.
2. John Cho & Kal Penn
1. I so want a Wafflebot!

crazy in stupid love

Just watched Crazy Stupid Love. It's as awesome, funny and sweet as they say. Everybody is great in it. Ryan Gosling is da man. Sorry dude, I still have to shop at the Gap (there is nothing wrong with their clothes if you buy the right size) and wear New Balance (okay, my funny feet don't give me many options - I tried to buy cool shoes, but they just don't work for me). My only complaint about Crazy Stupid Love is this: MORE MARISA TOMEI!!!!!!!! (Have funny feeling I am gonna be saying this about Ides Of March too.) A-

one in seven billion

Weather: Nice, mild November
Mood: Chilling (no workie this weekie)
Music: Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto (it's the first Coldplay album I wasn't excited about, given all the crappy sneak tracks I heard. It turns out better than I had feared, but it's probably still my least favorite. I want them to go back to being English, rather than hanging out Jay-Z and Rhianna and all that American non-sense.)
Last Movie: Geez - I honestly cannot remember the last movie I saw...maybe Drive?
Reading: 1Q84 (finally!!!)
Last Pleasure: Amazing Race is back. We are six episodes in. They were last in Malawi but didn't run into Madonna. I honestly don't know what I will do with myself if they ever cancel this show.
Last Worry: 1) Knowing that there are now 6,999,999,999 other people competing with me for earth's precious resources; 2) The demise of Australia due to global warming; 3) Too much seismic activities on the Hayward fault these last few weeks; and 4) Oh, and the Patriots...
Last accomplishment: I really, really like some of my new sketches.
Looking Forward To: Madonna new album, coming right at ya in 2012. I am ready to give her all my love again, but...
Not Really Looking Forward To: Ugh, Hard Candy repeat, with guest R&B vocals (Mia and Nicki Minaj are fine on their own, but I just don't want Madonna to collab with anybody - she doesn't need them!!!!!)
Gas Price: $4.079 per gallon premium
Clothes: Old Navy pink striped shirt, Gap 1969 jeans
Today's Headline: Greece risks meltdown after bailout vote bombshell
Current iPad Wallpaper: A sketch of The Dark Knight that I did a few weeks back
Last Website Visited: Amazon, but of course.
Last Meal: Crispy duck Vietnamese sandwich from Cafe Bunn Mi on Clement/6th Avenue (yummm)
Last Purchase: Accutire digital tire gauge from Amazon (my tire pressure monitor system was giving me warning)
Item Off My Wishlist: Bodum Brazil coffee press, and Ryan Gosling's satin scorpion jacket from Drive
Saying goodbye to: Steve Jobs and R.E.M.
Latest Evidence It's A Beautiful World: R.E.M.'s final single We All Go Back To Where We Belong (thanks dudes for the music)

douchebag, gumbo, and twins

Me being me, even though I've been buried by work in the last few months, I still manage to keep up with my tv watching. Of the Fall 2011 new shows, here are the five I am watching:


New Girl - Zooey being all Zooey - it's adorkable, and I like one of the three male roommates - not the douchebag, or the black guy who became another black guy, but the one who pines after his old girlfriend. B+


Hart of Dixie - It's Summer aka Rachel Bilson, in the South instead of The O.C. Summer is an ambitious NYC doctor who is stuck practicing medicine in Hicksville. You got your alligators, your Steel Magnolias, your shirtless good ol' boy, your gumbo cookoffs, and your gossiping black ladies at the beauty parlour. It's sort of like a cousin of Northern Exposure and Everwood. It's charming, like it's supposed to be. B


Revenge - Speaking of Everwood, Emily Vancamp is now plotting revenge against Madeline Stowe for something she did against her father. It's something about some plane crash and framing her father (who in flashbacks is James Tupper, who was in Men In Trees with Anne Heche which is just like Northern Exposure and Everwood...). I don't know - I get kinda confused. But this is all very sudsy and addictive. I love watching rich people in the Hamptons plot against each other. A-


Ringer - This is not as fun as Revenge, but it should be. I mean, it's about SMG playing twins, one a rich bitch and the other a druggie stripper. The druggie stripper is running away from the mobs and the FBI agent who wants her to testify against the said mob. She runs to her sister who then suddenly disappears. So druggie stripper sister takes over sister's identify and it's just a rabbit hole from there. Meanwhile, rich bitch sister reappears in Paris doing something I don't understand. Ah, nevermind - it's Buffy! What more do you want? B-

X-Factor - LA Reid is better than Randy Jackson, but Nicole Pussycat Doll is extremely annoying and unlikable. Of course, Simon and Paula are just Simon and Paula. Nonetheless, I keep watching this stuff as I watch American Idol and Dancing With The Stars. I am not proud. C

Did you know that the 7-billionth human being was born somewhere on October 31? Let's hope that human being grows up to have more worthwhile habits than mine.

occupy october

Wow, has it really almost been a month since I last wrote you? I just haven't been inspired. In other words, I've been a lazy ass. Well, actually I've been working crazy at the office, so when it comes to things like blogging, I just couldn't muster up the energy. This implies that I care about work more than about you, which of course is far from the truth. I am one of those complicated people who live in constant conundrums. I place priorities in things I don't care about (work), and I sacrifice and sabotage things that actually mean something to me. No wonder my life is in shambles. Well, not in shambles really, but off course. I think that's a better way to describe it. It's off course.

Well, since we've last spoke, some exciting things have occurred in the outside world. Like the passing of Steve Jobs (thanks for everything and peace out, Steve!); the release of iOS 5 (wireless sync!), Amanda Knox from prison in Italy, and the American hikers from prison in Iran; the new season of Amazing Race; the Patriots going 5-1, and the Jets going 2-3 (hahahahaha!); and the tragic death of Indy 500 two-time winner Dan Whedon. And then I read this article about Australia. More precisely I read about the end of Australia due to global warming. Apparently, despite what Oprah told us, things have not been good in Australia - the island continent has been experiencing Armageddon-like climate changes in the last few years, with extreme drought followed by extreme flooding. Wildfires have been burning out of control, and the Great Barrier Reef is dying fast due to the ocean water getting too warm and too acidic. Scientists say what is going on in Australia is pretty much a picture of what will happen to the rest of the world soon enough. I know, some may call this alarmist propaganda. But it's that attitude that makes me think there is no saving earth until it's too late. People still don't believe in global warming, thinking that the earth is just going through its recycles. Yeah, like the cycle that killed off the dinosaurs. Oy-vey.

Aren't you glad I am writing again, just so I can be the bearer of ominous news?

But there is hope. While there are people who have their heads buried in the sand, there are others who care. That's where Occupy Wall Street comes in. It's a movement that is calling attention to the corruption of Wall Street and government, the disproportionate distribution of wealth, and the lack of accountability for the world's financial collapse (yes, there are people to blame!). I frankly am not sure what are we supposed to do other than to stand up and shout. But it surely is better than apathy. I admire people who have conviction and who care, but only people who have conviction and who care about the right things. As with anything in life, all you can do is try your best to make things better than they are today, because most of the times when you don't care, things are on the opposite course of getting worse day by day.

It takes time and effort to make a good life.

drive

I saw Drive a few days back, and it wasn't at all what I was expecting. I thought it would be a lot more action packed and kinetic, but instead it was actually very deliberate and moody, maybe a tad too deliberate and moody even for my taste. Some teenage girl in the middle of the screening said out loud of Ryan Gosling's Driver, "He's a weirdo." Yup, I most definitely agree, but whereas she meant this as a put-down, I smiled at how odd he was. I love my anti-heroes, particularly when they wear a cool-as-hell satin jacket and leather gloves and they are played by cooler-than-school Ryan Gosling and they drive around to a Miami Vice-cool, Eighties-inspired electronica soundtrack. Drive is not a crowd pleaser at all, but it's most definitely inspired film making. B+

little bit of everything

Just heard this amazing song by Dawes called Little Bit Of Everything. I think it made me a little wiser.



With his back against the San Francisco traffic,
On the bridges side that faces towards the jail,
Setting out to join a demographic,
He hoists his first leg up over the rail.
And a phone call is made,
Police cars show up quickly.
The sergeant slams his passenger door.
He says, “Hey son why don’t you talk through this with me,
Just tell me what you’re doing it for.”

“Oh, it’s a little bit of everything,
It’s the mountains,
It’s the fog,
It’s the news at six o’clock,
It’s the death of my first dog,
It’s the angels up above me,
It’s the song that they don’t sing,
It’s a little bit of everything.”

An older man stands in a buffet line,
He is smiling and holding out his plate,
And the further he looks back into his timeline,
That hard road always had led him to today,
And making up for when his bright future had left him,
Making up for the fact that his only son is gone,
And letting everything out once, His server asks him,
Have you figured out yet, what it is you want?

I want a little bit of everything,
The biscuits and the beans,
Whatever helps me to forget about
The things that brought me to my knees,
So pile on those mashed potatoes,
And an extra chicken wing,
I’m having a little bit of everything.

Somewhere a pretty girl is writing invitations,
To a wedding she has scheduled for the fall,
Her man says, “Baby, can I make an observation?
You don’t seem to be having any fun at all.”
She said, “You just worry about your groomsmen and your shirt-size,
And rest assured that this is making me feel good,
I think that love is so much easier than you realize,
If you can give yourself to someone,
Then you should.

Cause it’s a little bit of everything,
The way you choke, the way you ache,
It is waking up before you,
So I can watch you as you wake.
So in the day in late September,
It’s not some stupid little ring,
I’m giving a little bit of everything.

Oh, it’s a little bit of everything,
It’s the matador and the bull,
It’s the suggested daily dosage,
It is the red moon when it’s full.
All these psychics and these doctors,
They’re all right and they’re all wrong,
It’s like trying to make out every word,
When they should simply hum along,
It’s not some message written in the dark,
Or some truth that no one’s seen,
It’s a little bit of everything.

remember

Ten years. A lot can happen in ten years. All those 9/11 babies are now ten year olds. Imagine that. They are now in fifth grade, about to start middle school in a year. Some of them probably already had their first crush. And their first heartaches. Some of them are growing up to be lovely people, salt-of-the-earth decent human beings. Some of them are bullies and future crackheads and alchoholics. Black sheeps who wouldn't be the best stories they feature on the commemorative tv specials.

It's hard to know what the future holds, in another ten years. All we know is that memory plays a part in who we are. Sometimes it makes us better, and sometimes it haunts us like ghosts.
I am sure this is true for everyone whose lives were directly, and indirectly, impacted by what occurred on September 11 ten years ago.

labor of love

Happy Labor Day to my working stiff brothers and sisters out there.

yo yohan

My favorite Asian American actor is...John Cho. Top eight reasons I think he's da man:







1. He's Harold in Harold & Kumar!!!

2. He's Sulu in Star Trek!!!

3. His middle name is Yohan.

4. He's in a band.

5. He went to Berkeley and studied English lit.

6. He married Asian.

7. He was in Kitchen Confidential, a short-lived sitcom (based on Anthony Bourdain book) that I loved.

8. He can rock the 'stache.

rock me like a hurricane

As the East Coast endures Hurricane Irene (whose impending wrath actually caused NYC to unprecedentedly shut down its subway system and evacuate 400,000 residents from low-lying neighborhoods), I am still waiting for the arrival of my $99 HP Touchpad. Last weekend was spent mostly on the web chasing down which store had it in stock for $99, frantically getting in an order, and then ultimately getting an order cancellation hours later (due to crappy store inventory tracking). This occurred repeatedly from store to store. Everytime I had my order cancelled, the frustration and anxiety grew and the frenzied need for the $99 Touchpad grew. It was, and I completely knew this, less about the Touchpad itself than it was about scoring the deal. I could have been trying to order an elephant - it wouldn't matter. Well, finally, it looks like my very original order from HP.com, which was in limbo status for a good few days (thus leading to the weekend-long search for back up orders), is going to come through after all. It's on its way to me now, and peace shall restored to Planet Earth...I also just bought a Vitamix blender this weekend. I want to make those veggie soups and frozen yogurt that they make in the demos. Yeah, $400 is way too much to spend on a blender, but my blender broke a few months back and I've been needing a replacement anyway. This is supposedly as good as they come. Here's hoping spending that much money leads to eating more veggies and fruits, which I sorely needs to do...Man, one more month til the tv season starts (Amazing Race starts 9/25!!!!!). This dead space between the summer shows (like SYTYCD and even The Bachelorette) and the start of the new fall shows is killing me. I might have to take up knitting soon. Oh, you say, Hey, shouldn't you be writing that novel of yours? Or maybe reading. Or volunteering and saving starving children? Yeah, so what? I choose to be a lazy, superficial ass. You're not the boss of me...Actually I thought I was going to submit an application/resume for a new job this weekend. I actually started working on that resume, and then realized the deadline was last Thursday. Inglourious basterds!...You know the HP Touchpad actually has a neato accessory called the Touchstone, which is a stand that provides inductive wireless charging for the Touchpad. You can just place your tablet, in portrait or landscape mode, on the stand, without connecting any cables, and your tablet will just charge. They should seriously make something like this for the iPad...James Blake and Bon Iver collaborated on a track called the Fall Creek Boys' Choir. I don't love the outcome, but the idea of these two working together makes this fanboy all giddy. Hope there is more to come...Isn't Pumped Up Kicks the jam of the summer? P.S. I know it doesn't sound right when I say jam to refer to anything other than fruit preserves...SMG aka Buffy says in new issue of EW that one of her favorite shows is The Amazing Race. OMG SMG! I love you that much more. (And I am completely ignoring the fact that she also mentioned Real Housewives...). I cannot wait for Ringer to premiere...Tonight is the VMAs. I don't even know who is nominated, and I am sure I have never seen 99% of the videos. But I will still keep an eye on it, just in case Madonna pops up as rumored to give Britney some stupid lifetime achievement award or something...I just saw an article about a Cuban man who has 24 digits - six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. Hmm, what would I do with an extra finger on each hand??? And which finger do you pick to give someone the middle finger?...So it looks as if NYC was spared the worst of Irene. There were some neighborhood floodings but no extensive damage or deaths. I am also not hearing too much about catastrophic damages in other States, though I did see a report about an 11-year old Virginia boy who died when a tree fell through the roof. So sad...Speaking of NYC, it's crazy that next week will mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11. How is it possible that it's been ten years already? It's strange - this phenomenon called time. It's both merciless and forgiving all at once.

kids

My latest. Kids series.

american life is not what it seems

I was remiss this week in not acknowledging Madonna's 53rd birthday here. After all, the woman is my single biggest music obsession for the last ahem years. She is awesome in infinite ways.



I was going to go through my playlists and post here five hidden gems from the ultimate entertainer of my generation, and then I realize there are plenty of hidden gems from her much-aligned American Life cd on its own. I freaking love every single of one of these songs. Like Erotica, I think American Life in hindsight will prove to be a great album. It's introspective, tough, melancholic. It's the marketing, not the songs or the music, that went wrong. Evidence:



Intervention





Easy Ride





X-Static Process





Nobody Knows Me





Nothing Fails

faster than my bullet

10. Hannah (Ra Ra Riot remix) - Freelance Whales

9. Trust Issues (remix) - The Weeknd

8. Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall (Coldplay cover) - Robyn

7. Heart In Your Heartache - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

6. Thinking About You - Frank Ocean

5. Wildfire (featuring Little Dragon and Drake) - SBTRKT

4. Money - The Drums

3. Someone Like You - Adele

2. An Argument With Myself - Jens Lekman (the return of Jens - it's been too long at the anti-war rally)

1. Pumped Up Kicks - Foster The People (Man I love this song. Super fun, song of the summer right? Til you listen to the sinister lyrics.)

eat, pray, love

I took a week off work to burn up some of my accumulated leave hours (or else I would lose them by end of calendar year), so since I didn't travel anywhere, I instead just ate and ate and ate my way through the week. The reviews of almost everything I ate are here.



Ok, maybe it wasn't completely about eating - I also went to optometrist, did things for the cars, donated stuff to Goodwill, and watched Captain America and Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, reviewed here and here.



It was a peaceful week. But now I only have one more day to go til I return to Mount Doom. Too bad there is no ring that I can toss into the fire to destroy those evil, power-mad people running the damn place.



I was actually reading an interview with the Dalai Lama. In it, he says that hate is the root of all evil. Uh oh - given the hate I feel for some many things (mostly related to work), I think I have the propensity to turn into Darth Vader one of these days. But I guess that's why the need for leave from the office. It takes the hate level down a bit, so that the sanity and reason and compassion can come back into the system. That's the only way I have a chance to stay a noble Jedi Knight.

sadness i am your boy

Lyrics from random songs on my 2011 playlist that make me feel sad and happy and stuff:



Do you remember the dream by the river when we were seventeen? - Tree By The River, Iron & Wine



If I go anywhere, I would probably go too far. - Chances Are, Garrett Hedlund



Yesterday was the time of our lives. We were born and raised in a summer haze. - Someone Like You, Adele



I want to buy you something, but I don't have any money. - Money, The Drums



The way her shadow used to walk by your side, in a different time, in a different city. - An Argument With Myself, Jens Lekman



One of these days, the bombs will drop and silence everything. - These Days, Foo Fighters



It's a hard life, for a man with no wife. - Hard Life (Bonnie Prince Billy cover), Joe Pug



Baby you are a firework. Come on, show them what you're worth. - Firework, Katy Perry



Oh I am a lonely painter. I live in a box of paint. - A Case Of You (Joni Mitchell cover), James Blake



I was drifting, crying. I was looking for an island. I was slipping under. I'll pull the devil down with me, one way or another. - Think You Can Wait, The National



Sadness is my boyfriend. Sadness I am your girl. - Sadness Is A Blessing, Lykke Li



Didn't we have fun? Though it hurts like hell, I don't want to forget. - Fun, Natalie Imbruglia

meow mix

I am a Christopher Nolan fanboy through and through, and for the most part I will follow him wherever he takes us. But the casting of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman was worrisome. And now we get the first peek, and holy crap, is she playing Batgirl instead of Catwoman??? This is blasphemous. There is nothing feline-like about Anne Hathaway or the costume. Compare this to Michelle Pfeiffer and her purrfect Catwoman. Sexy and crazy and vulnerable and dangerous all rolled into a slinky latex suit and a tour de force performance. Le sigh.

debts and regrets

Weather: Gray
State: Beat (Did you know that the Beat Generation was named for a generation being beat down? Who knew?)
Music: Foster The People, one of my faves this year (listening to it on Spotify, which launched in the US recently)
Last Movie: Insidious on amazon - Poltergeist ripoff
Reading: Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
Last Pleasure: Watching Billy Elliot at the Orpheum yesterday afternoon
Last Worry: Damn malware on my computer that I cannot get rid of
Last accomplishment: Finished uploading all my cds to iTunes (that's a pretty big deal since it took me probably over five years to do this) - I have about 120 gigs of mp3s, and yes, it's backed up to at least three hard drives now.
Looking Forward To: My one week off the second week of August
Not Really Looking Forward To: A life of regrets - yup, I am in that kind of mood
Gas Price: $4.05 per gallon premium
Clothes: Land's End Canvas dark indigo jaspe polo (love the feel of jaspe cotton!), straight fit jeans
Today's Headline: Congress Closing In On Debt Deal As Deadline Nears
Current iPad Wallpaper: Apple logo on woodgrain backdrop
Last Website Visited: cnet.com
Last Meal: Instant ramen with leftover chicken
Last Purchase: Braun shaver from amazon - dang it, my current Braun shaver is still good, but this is too good of a deal to pass up
Item Off My Wishlist: Adele's 21
Latest Evidence It's A Beautiful World: Charlize Theron, I missed you. Nice of you to show up at Comic Con to remind us that you are a tall beautiful drink of South African H2O.

grand central sketching

i changed my mind

Things I used to like but don't like no more:

- Johnny Depp - I know it's kinda blasphemous to dislike Johnny Depp. I used to be a huge fan of his brand of cool, but then the Pirates movies and his Jack Sparrow began to annoy me (loved the first and hated the rest). And there were Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Alice In Wonderland, The Tourist, and then his crazy wardrobes (the zoot suits with the pocket chain are just plain lame).

- Food trucks - With a few exceptions, food from food trucks in San Francisco are overpriced and under-portioned, and way too fancy-schmanzy and not down home-yummy enough. I was once all excited when the food truck craze was catching on here, but now I am just underwhelmed. Worst in class I've tried: Little Green Cyclo - I paid $8 for a half-sized portion of luke-warm Vietnamese grilled pork over rice.

- Lady Gaga - Before she began parading around like she's the second coming of Madonna, I welcomed the return of dance pop to the radio. But then she had to go pretending she is an ARTIST and that she is original. Meat dress, giant egg vessel...she crossed the borderline.

- Glee - That pilot was truly gleeful and infectious. It was so good that the goodwill carried me over half of the first season. But it really was downhill from the start - the characters and the plots are non-sensical. Will Schuester turned into a total douchebag. Sue Sylvester never became anything other than a cartoon (giving her a sister with the disability is totally manipulative). Kurt is whiney. Rachel is annoying. And most of the other kids are bland and under-written. The music is still good sometimes, and yes, I am a fan of the Warblers for sure. I still Tivo this, but I stopped believin' a while back.

- Christmas - I used to get all excited for Christmas time. Being Chinese, Christmas wasn't big at our house. We never had big holiday parties or got oodles of gifts. But I still liked the spirit of it all. I liked the idea that this was the time of the year when people stop and come together and go home to their families and celebrate. I liked that people buy something special for their loved ones and send greetings to distant friends and relatives. I really liked twinkling lights on trees. And yeah, there was the whole Baby Jesus being born and renewed hope for peace and joy stuff - that was nice too. But now, now I am just a grouchy guy who complains about the commercialism, the crowds, the parking... Oi!!! I mean, for god's sake, it's the middle of July, and they are selling Christmas trees on QVC right now!!!

little people

Here they are, in all their little people glory!

From left to right: Jed Brophy as Nori, Dean O'Gorman as Fili, Mark Hadlow as Dori, James Nesbitt as Bofur, Peter Hambleton as Gloin, Graham McTavish as Dwalin, Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, Ken Stott as Balin, John Callen as Oin, Stephen Hunter as Bombur, William Kircher as Bifur, Adam Brown as Ori and Aidan Turner as Kili.

the boy who lived to watch movies

Randomness, movie edition:

I saw Harry Potter today. See my review here...I was all excited to go see Harry Potter cuz I thought I would get to see the first glimpse of The Dark Knight Rises, but they didn't show the teaser trailer at my showing. WTF!...I really hope Madonna's W.E. does well. critically more so than commercially. I want her to prove people wrong. It's supposed to open in a limited run in December for the Oscars. That's a good sign...Horrible Bosses. I don't need a movie. I get to see it everyday, in 3D no less. Actually I do want to see it, just to compare notes...Please people stop watching Transformers. Which is more obnoxious - Michael Bay's directing, Shia LaBeouf, or the robots?...Crazy Stupid Love is a win, if for nothing but having Ryan Gosling and Marisa Tomei in the same film. Which means Ides Of March also wins...Aside from Horrible Bosses and Crazy Stupid Love, for the rest of summer I am still looking forward to Captain America and Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. I mentioned this before, but I do have an aversion for talking apes. Fortunately as far as I can tell, the apes in Rise do not talk; they just destroy. Cool...2012 of course is really the year to wait for. Sure, we got a little thing called the apocalypse which would spell the end of the world as we know it, but we also got Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit, The Avengers, Spider-Man reboot with Andrew Garfield, and Superman reboot with Henry Cavill. I mean, just the thought of getting to revisit Middle Earth in a year and a half is more excitment than this boy can bare. I am about to combust with anticipation. Please don't let it suck. Actually I need more than that - I need it to be freaking brilliant...But before we get to next year, we still have Oscar baits to look forward to this year. There is much buzz on Warhorse (Spielberg film based on play based on novel, about a boy and his horse and World War I), J. Edgar (Leonardo DiCaprio as Hoover), A Dangerous Method (Cronenberg film with Magneto Fassbender as Jung and Viggo Aragorn as Freud and Kiera Knightley as a crazy patient), We Bought A Zoo (return of Cameron Crowe), The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (English remake by David Fincher - not sure that it's really necessary), Drive (Ryan Gosling in action thriller that made big splash at Cannes this year), Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close (Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock in film adaption of Jonathan Safran Foer post-9/11 novel), and the previously mentioned Ides Of March. Wonder which one of these will end up being The Social Network (the deserved winner for Best Pic) and which one will pull A King's Speech (upset winner for a better Oscar campaign)...Anyways, Harry Potter made a bucketload of money this weekend, surpassing The Dark Knight as the biggest opener ever...And one more thing - 2004 was the year that Before Sunset came out. Nine years from 2004 would be 2013. So I just want to put Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater on notice that they better get working on a script and freeing up their schedule next year. Just saying...

guggensketch

The second of what I hope to be a series about my travels.

have app, will draw

Ah memories.

rate anything

Check out my new blog in which I rate anything and everything. Don't worry - all whining and deep thinking and daydreaming will continue here.

like a mandala

Weather: Hot
State: Lazy and fat
Music: Book of Mormon
Last Movie: Green Lantern in 3D - the 3D gave me a headache in the beginning. The Fighter on DVD - it's alright. Gonna watch X-Men tonight.
Reading: Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
Last Pleasure: Watching a rerun of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, probably the best sitcom on tv ever
Last Worry: What to do about the driveway and the retaining wall?
Looking Forward To: The Hobbit in December 2012, unless the world ends first
Not Really Looking Forward To: Wednesday's meeting with Texas
Gas Price: $4.09 per gallon for the BMW
Clothes: Land's End Canvas slim fit jeans, Old Navy striped shirt
Today's Headline: Thaksin Party Wins Thai Election By A Landslide
Current iPad Wallpaper: Hong Kong cityscape
Last Website Visited: camelcamelcamel.com
Last Meal: Vietnamese sandwich from place in Irving and 23rd and drink from Teaway next door
Last Purchase: Apple wireless keyboard, iPad camera connection kit, Boxwave stylus, and Griffin Survivor iPad 2 case (the iPad is like a baby - you have to keep spending money on it)
Item Off My Wishlist: Jawbone Jam Box wireless speaker
Latest Evidence It's A Beautiful World: Speaking of sand art - how about the Tibetan art of sand mandala. It's more beautiful for the fact that the monks destroy the mandalas as soon as they are completed. Life is like a sand mandala - everything is transient.

enter sandwoman

Wow. This artist from the Ukraine - Kseniya Simonova - uses sand and a lightbox to tell the most moving stories:

as fast as you can

There are few artists I admire as much as I do Fiona Apple. I impatiently wait for her next cd, which was supposed to have come out this past Spring. Sigh. I swear comets come faster than a new Fiona Apple cd. Meanwhile I will have to just pick up the crumbs she tosses my way, including this new cover of Buddy Holly's Everyday:


Covering Cy Coleman's Why Try To Change Me Now?:


Performing Elvis Costello's I Want You:


With Johnny Cash doing Cat Stevens' Father and Son - seriously I can't even stand how heartbreaking this is:

i'd rather be a question mark

Watching Coldplay now at Glastonbury on tv right now. My top ten eleven twelve Coldplay songs are:
12. Everything's Not Lost
11. We Never Change
10. Shiver
9. Lovers in Japan
8. Fix You
7. A Rush of Blood to the Head
6. Trouble
5. God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
4. Viva La Vida
3. Amsterdam
2. Yellow
1. The Scientist

I saw Green Lantern in 3D today. It's not as bad as the critics are trashing it to be. I like it better than Iron Man 2 for example, and it's leagues more engaging than any Transformer movie. Of course it's no Dark Knight or even this summer's super engaging Thor. But the likability of Ryan Reynolds goes a long way, as do Blake Lively's legs...Why do only Asian people drink hot water? I am drinking hot water right now. It doesn't always need tea or coffee in it...Viva La Vida is a great song to hear live in concert...Fruits this summer have not been good. I am terribly disappointed by the strawberries and watermelon I've had so far...I like the way Lands End Canvas slim fit jeans fit. They are just the right degree of slim. And I got them on sale at $15...Bought the new Bon Iver. Did you know that it's a misspelling of good winter in French?...This week, my two favorites of this season Nick and Iveta, the tapper and the ballroom dancer, got the boot from SYTYCD. It's so freaking unfair. What were those judges thinking? It's just all contemporary dancers (with their outstretched arms and longing gazes - what are they reaching out for anyways?) and a couple of b-boys now. So typical. Well at least I got my Cat Deeley, the best host ever...I am looking for a concrete contractor right now to build a little dividing wall between my and neighbor's driveway. I hate finding contractors, seriously...In Coldplay's new song Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall, Chris Martin says he'd rather be a comma. If I were a punctuation mark, I'd rather be a question mark...Did I already say I don't like Chris Martin's wife Gwyneth Paltrow? I don't like her to a point that a few months back I actually had a dream in which I was scolding her, scolding her as if I were some pissed off black woman, and you know how much attitude and neck rolling a pissed off black woman can dish out...I have never read On The Road, but I just bought the app, which is a tricked up version of the book, with photos and maps and articles. Did you know that the Beat Generation refers to being beaten down by everything and being weary of the world? All along I thought it was something musical. I guess I am a beat too...It's Pride weekend here in SF. Lots of rainbow flags everywhere. Congrats to the gays for the gay marriage victory in NY. Every brick that comes down lets in a little more light into this world...Adam is back in Afghanistan. I guess he really likes that place. Must be the food or something...Obama is finally beginning withdrawal of our troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. Do I have to start liking him now?...Yes, I have been watching The Voice, and I think Dia Frampton is super pretty and sings pretty nice. She did covers of Heartless and Losing My Religion - awesome. If I were voting, she has my vote...So all the songs that I have heard from Coldplay's upcoming cd have not done much for me, and what is the dealio with the ugly and amateurish graffiti wall art work? I am saying this even though I've been a Coldplay fan through and through since Anthony first gave me a burnt copy of the first cd. This might be more of an X&Y than a Viva La Vida. Regardless, I will buy the cd as soon as it's available for preorder and I will be there for their tour. As much as I hate putting money in Gwyneth Paltrow's pocket, Apple and Moses have to eat, you know.

when you wish upon a star

My amazon wishlist is long. Here are ten items from it:

LOTR trilogy extended edition on blu ray: Yes, it's finally coming out this next Tues. I am not biting yet, at $70. I can wait (since I have all the editions on dvd already).

Griffin Survivor case for iPad 2: Looks like such accident-proof protection (including a built in screen protector) that my iPad 2 will never get pregnant. And that's the way I like it.

Apple wireless keyboard: Typing on the iPad virtual keyboard is not the easiest when you are writing the next great American novel.

Adele's 21: Girl, when are you putting this on sale for $.99 like Gaga??? I've been waiting to buy this for months but don't want to pay $10, not because I don't think it's worth it but because I know as soon as I pull the trigger and pay $10 it will go on sale for $5 or something.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show complete series on dvd: I think this ranks amongst the top five best show ever on tv. It's the sitcom gold standard - funny, witty, charming, endearing, thoughtful, relevant.

Weber charcoal grill kettle cover: So I can move the grill out to the backyard and not have it rust on me.

Sigma UV filter: For my DSLR lens.

The Klee Universe: Looks to be a rather comprehensive book on the works of the artist I admired most in my formative high school/college years - Paul Klee. I have a print of his given to me by an old friend (who is no longer a friend since I have no idea where he is anymore) hanging in my hallway.

Jellymongers: A book about jellys and jellos. That's right - gelatin is fun.

New Balance Classics ML330: I need to buy wide shoes, so New Balance is my go-to brand, but most of their shoes are kind of old man-ish. The Classics line is retro-cool, and this pair is the only that comes in wide.