chotto matte kudasai

Back from Japan! Will update soon...

the good, the bad, and the superbad

We are two episodes into the new season of Amazing Race. I now have a sense of who I like. And the team that I am rooting for is the mother-son team of Toni and Dallas. She's a single mother who raised him all by herself, and they have a great relationship. She raised a good boy. The Good:


The most despicable are husband and wife Ken and Tina. Ken is an ex-NFL player (no idea whom he played for). Apparently he cheated on Tina and this is his redemption. But after two episodes, I think these two deserve each other. Ugh. The Bad:


And then there are chubby frat boys Team Superbad, Seth Rogen-lookalikes. I think they are entertaining, and if Toni & Dallas get eliminated, I'll root for these guys cuz they just seem like jovial, normal, fun-loving guys. The Superbad:

cabbage head

Look! It's a mutant cabbage!


It's bigger than a Mini Cooper:


It's bigger than Chi Young's head:


It's even bigger than my head, which is pretty impossible:

you must love her

Madonna kicked off the US leg of her Sticky & Sweet tour yesterday nite, and so far the reviews are great! Here is what the Associated Press reviewer says:

In a show defined by throbbing dance music, tight choreography, spectacular stage sets and stunning visuals, perhaps the most stirring moment during the kickoff concert to Madonna's "Sticky & Sweet" tour came when the Material Girl stood onstage with just her guitar and a few musicians for an acoustic set.

As she sang the emotional song from her movie "Evita," Madonna couldn't help but wink and smile at the roaring sold-out crowd as she sang the song's main refrain and title: "You must love me."

Maybe that's because she knew she was right. Even the superstar's most cynical critics couldn't walk away from her two-hour extravaganza at the Izod Center on Saturday night without being thoroughly wowed. It was not only the spectacle of the concert, but the performer herself, as she reasserted her musical relevance and dominance in her 25th year in the spotlight.

Madonna is not the world's most gifted singer or dancer or even musician, but she may be its greatest performer.

Damn right she is! I'll be there on Nov 2, right after I return from Japan!

apps of my eye

My favorite iPhone apps:

Evernote - I can type my shopping and to-do lists and kitchen measurements on the web and these all automatically sync to my iPhone, so I will have access 24-7, everywhere I go.
Pandora Radio - I create my own radio stations with my favorite artists, and the Music Genome mixes it similar music/artists/songs. Nifty way to discover songs I've been missing.
Simplify - I can now stream all the songs on my computer's iTunes to my iPhone while I am within my wifi reach. This means, I can play all my songs from anywhere in the house, including when I am lingering in the bathroom.
Remote - I can use my iPhone as a remote to my computer's iTunes. I am lying in bed and I can change songs and volume and everything. Neato.
Mobile News - I am reading news while waiting for the bus.
Showtimes - I can find the movies showing around me, the nearest theatre, and the next showtime.
Tip - I find my self using this a lot, even if this is nothing a calculator can't do.
Urbanspoon - I can shake it and it tells me where to eat.
Lightsaber - I can pretend to be a Jedi and chop the arms off of my archnemesis. Ah, only if it really works.

bail me out

Weather: Fair
State: Strangely ill at ease
Music: Shugo Tokumarau, a really cool Japanese indie artist
Last Movie: August Rush and Definitely Maybe, both are surprisingly really good
Last Pleasure: The return of Amazing Race (it's so geeky of me but I actually got chills)
Last Worry: My ever thinning hair - WTF!
Looking Forward To: Japan!
Not Really Looking Forward To: Dragged out drama re my refrigerator
Tired Of: Palin and my new archnemesis at work L.G.
Gas Price: $3.78/gallon
Clothes: Green with purple thin-striped dress shirt, with a red floral tie, dark gray pants
Today's Headline: Senate Passes $700M Bailout; House Votes Lured
Current Desktop Wallpaper: The Dark Knight
Last Website Visited: More Ways to Waste Time
Last Meal: Chinese broccoli chicken over rice
Last Purchase: Utility jacket, surplus color, M from J. Crew
Item Off My Wishlist: Zojirushi hot water dispenser (mine just broke)
Latest Evidence It's A Beautiful World: This song -

suede, mark, and clay are out

Mark is sorry that he hasn't posted in almost two weeks, which is probably the longest he has been absent other than when he is on holiday in a foreign country where he can't get ready access to the internet. Mark has been both busy and out of it lately. The busy part comes in that there are a lot, and he means a lot, of tv shows on his Tivo waiting to be watched. He didn't however get to watch Survivor Gabon yesterday because his Tivo machine was too full and ran out of space. He did watch Dancing With The Stars premiere this week, which was on for three damn nites. He also watched Project Runway and watched Suede get kissed goodbye. He didn't deserve to go for this challenge, cuz Kenley's was way worse. Kenley is such a whackjob, but she is pretty, so that helps. If you have to be a whackjob, you should at least be pretty. Let that be Mark's lesson to you all - if you are plain looking or worse yet ugly, you really should try to acquire a sparkling, likable personality, cuz life is gonna be rough otherwise. Anyways, Mark also wants to let you know that Amazing Race is coming back in a few days. This is very exciting for Mark. Mark misses Amazing Race very much. Without the Patriots and Tom Brady this fall, it's all going to come down to his enjoyment of Amazing Race to keep life interesting. Well, that and Gossip Girl and Mark's vacation to Japan, which is coming up fast. Mark is not at all ready. There are too many things going on at work and at home to worry about. One of the things to worry about at home is the damn refrigerator. The door gaskets need replacing. Yup, Mark hasn't even gotten to enjoy his newly-remodeled kitchen for more than two weeks and he already has to have service calls. What a freaking hassle. Oh, and Mark's DSL hasn't worked for the past day, but Mark didn't really freak out because Mark has his beloved iPhone, newly upgraded to the iPhone software version 2.1. It appears to have improved things slightly in terms of getting bars inside the office building. Just slightly though. Aside from all the business here and there, Mark has also been out of sync lately. Don't know why. Mark has just feeling really disconnected from the world at large. Mark knows that's a sign of depression, which Mark has been on the brink of for a long, long time. Well, it's here again, rearing its ugly little head. But Mark will surely get over it and then get back into it - it's sort of the pattern. So Mark is going to be fine and tells all his fans not to be concerned. Mark will still try to have a laugh, such as at Clay Aiken's declaring he is gay. Mark is all about people being themselves, and Mark is very gay-friendly (Mark watches Project Runway AND Top Design AND Gossip Girl and listens to Madonna AND Pet Shop Boys...). Nonetheless, Gay Aiken just as is is funny enough for Mark, and Gay Aiken coming out on the cover of People magazine holding his sperm-bank baby is just high-larious. It's like Mark declaring he is Asian and posing on a magazine eating a pizza. Yeah, it doesn't make sense to Mark either. But that's what makes life funny - the things that don't make sense. If everything makes sense, Mark would have nothing to shake his head or roll his eyes to. Mark always enjoys laughing at other people's ridiculousness as a way of drowning his own sorrow. Mark says try that out; it's very effective. Alright. Mark is signing out now. Peace out. Mark promises to be back soon.