the king of randomness

Saturday afternoon. It's a steady rain out. I had lunch at Mom's Tofu House in S. San Francisco (one of my handful of favorite Korean restaurants in the Ba Area) and then got a large latte from Peete's. Now I am home listening to Radiohead's The King Of Limbs. I pre-ordered the whole limited edition package for $48 just because I want the artwork; I am a sucker for Stanley Donwood and Radiohead. The title The King Of Limbs refers to a thousand-year-old Oak tree in Wiltshire's Savernake Forest; it's located three miles from Tottenham Court House, where the band recorded parts of In Rainbows. I like knowing that. As with any Radiohead record, it will take time to marinade in my brain before I can come to say I like it. Radiohead I think makes music that are difficult to like instantly, at least for someone like myself, who generally prefers a hooky melody. But I count Radiohead amongst my favorite bands because I like the challenge, and they usually in the end win out over my need for instant gratification. Or maybe I am just brainwashed into thinking I should like this stuff, so I end up liking it. Who knows? Best not to over-intellectualize it, even if this is very intellectualized rock music. But it is a good record to appreciate on a wintery afternoon like this one. Speaking of wintery and rainy, it's the annual wet Chinese New Year's parade. I am not a big parade goer. In fact, I cannot remember the last time I've been to a parade. Maybe at Disneyland? I am not knocking them at all. In fact, I bet I would have a blast, waving at the floats and eating popcorn and cotton candy. I certainly remember enjoying the heck out of the Electric Light Parade at Disneyland. I like magical stuff as much as the next guy, although probably not as much as Ryan Gosling, who according to the GQ article I just read, really really loves magic and Disneyland. But in the end, going to a parade is just too much damn trouble. Oi, the parking, the crowds, the standing on my feet for hours. Yeah, I'll just sit here in my heated living room drinking hot water and watch Howl (my latest Amazon On Demand rental), starring that nut James Franco. Speaking of whom, he and Ann Hathaway are one week from hosting the Oscars. I am curious as to how they will approach their duties. I am not thrilled that in recent years, there are barely any surprises to the Oscars anymore in terms of the actual awards. It's so over-analyzed that anybody who pays any attention (as I do) knows that The King's Speech will beat out The Social Network and walk away with Best Picture easily. We also know that Colin Firth and Natalie Portman will win Best Actor and Actress respectively. Sometimes you get a curveball or two with the supporting acting categories. But the real fun left now is the celebrity gawking. I am really looking forward to seeing my favorites including Marisa Tomei who is a presenter this year. She, along with Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder, are my perennial crushes. It's a mystery to me that they don't get the prime parts or the award notices anymore; as far as I am concerned, they can still out-act and outshine them all. I mean, what an insult that Winona Ryder has lower billing than someone like Kevin James (in The Dilemma). I say, Winona Forever (that's a Johnny Depp reference for you). That's something worth protesting about. There is protest fever sweeping across the world. It started with Tunisia, and it was successful in Egypt, which ended with the ousting of Mubarak and the collapse of his thirty year reign. Now there is mass protest going on in Bahrain. No, I had no idea where Bahrain was before this week either. It's an island nation in the Persian Gulf, to the right of Saudi Arabia, below Iran, and above Qatar. The protests, for political freedom against the monarchy rule of the King of Bahrain and for equality for the Shia people, are about a week old now and has claimed some casualties. The Shiites (or Shias) and the Sunnis, two Islam denominations, are the two populus groups in Bahrain. The Shiites have historically been subject to political oppression and persecution by the government. I always find it amazing that there is so much revolution and upheaval going on in other parts of the world while the rest of us worry about who will end up on the red carpet best and worst dressed lists. It's always been that way. While somebody is celebrating a birth, somebody else a few doors away is mourning a death at that same moment. All of this makes me oddly makes me think of the lyrics from Somewhere Out There which goes, "Even though I know how very far apart we are, it helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star." Somewhere Out There is from the movie An American Tail, from Disney. Ryan Gosling would be proud.