The Collected Writings of Sardonicus

Okay, okay, I'm jumping on the 24 bandwagon. I got a few episodes today, I watched the first two, and it started out pretty well. I'll get some more episodes together so I can eventually catch up. I spent the entire day watching tv... tuesdays are murder. Scrubs, Teachers, Veronica Mars, House, Boston Legal, reruns of Seinfeld and Simpsons... I had to download a few of them just to watch them all... Sorta pitiful. It's a good thing I don't have cable... I'd never get anything done.

Had some good ol Korean food for lunch today. It was sooo satisfying. Of course, it was only bulgogi, but I liked having a familiar taste in my mouth again. Really brought me back to a time when I didn't have as much chaos going on in my head... Or am I just forgetting? Was life simpler back then, or am I just decieving myself? It's probably the latter. Still... I need to get my head back together. I've already wasted years.

Rejuvenating this baby with a new look. Will probably be tweaking with the layout little by little throughout the upcoming weeks, as I try my hand at some more webpage design.

Watching a celebrity cooking show, which is sorta misleading because the cooking seems to be done almost exclusively by the professional chefs and the so-called "celebrities" just seem to walk around and cheer from time to time. Still... some of those dishes look so good. Getting hungry just looking at it.

Reviews:
"Apocalypse Now" (1979) (movie)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
I saw this movie about the war in Vietnam a few weeks ago, and I've had some time to reflect on it... and I still not sure what I saw. Most of it was crap either way. My favorite scene in the movie was perhaps the most simple. As the boat was traveling along the river towards Cambodia, there was this chilling moment in which the crew tensely sailed in silence because they all recognized that they were crossing a location controlled by the enemy. Still, scenes like that couldn't make up for the weird temple scenes and the surreal introduction of the indigenous highlanders. Final word: the movie stank, but it was made pretty well. C

Novel Without A Name (book)
by Duong Thu Huong
A fictional novel on the Vietnam War which follows Quan, its chief protagonist, as he travels from the front lines back to his home in North Vietnam. Only read the first 150 pages for my anthropology course, but I was pretty absorbed in the book. Maybe there's just something about wartime that keeps me from putting down a book our turning away from a screen. Huong, though, is a woman who was a Vietnamese soldier during the war that has since been persecuted by the Vietnamese government for her works which criticize the current regime and advocate political reform. My favorite moment was when Quan returns to his home village after 10 years and visits his old flame Hao, who has been shunned and forced to live on the outskirts of the town because she had become pregnant out of wedlock and would not name the father. It was extremely touching, since both of them knew that there was no chance of them being together, yet they treated each other with a remarkable tenderness. Despite the consequences, they had to share that moment with each other, even though it undoubtedly complicated things between them. B

Hu Jintao declared at Yale University today that he is "committed to democracy," which I believe is reassuring to many investors. But there is, of course, cause for suspicion. It is, above all, a trip for China's economic interests, rather than political. Hu actually met with Bill Gates before he met with Bush, which is a clear indication how he wants to establish the tone of the visit.

Gas is sorta getting out of hand, isn't it...? Thankfully I don't have to drive as much while I'm on campus, but I always find myself worrying about gas when I do go out.

What is wrong with the Yankees. Come on, a few days ago the Yanks became the first baseball team to be worth over a billion dollars, yet you can't win games.

Met with Jack Bogle (Class of '51) a few days ago at a Prospect House luncheon (I recieved the Bogle Brothers' Scholarship this year to attend Princeton) and he's a really nice guy. Well, at least he was nice to us. He's the CEO of Vanguard, and it was nice to hear about a guy who came from very little to become as successful as he is. Food was good too. I should really write the guy to thank him.

Stuff:
Is this gonna get any easier?

Finished my thesis a few days ago, yet I feel oddly unfulfilled. Probably because it was a piece of crap, since I haven't been able to concentrate. Still, it's finally over with, and I just have to wait for the school year to come to an end. That's cool, I guess.

Home for the weekend to get some rest. Went to Barnes and Nobles and got The Piano Tuner. Hope it's good.

IN THE NEWS:

There was a new ring discovered around Uranus... and it was blue... Scientists explained that the ring was consisted of tiny particles that scattered light as blue light, very much like how the sky in Earth's atmosphere appears blue.

Scooter Libby has implicated President Bush as being part of the CIA leak scandal with Valerie Plame.... wow... I wonder if this is gonna get messy...

Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Georgia) has apologized for striking a security officer while enterring a Capitol building after she would not stop at the security check-point (she was not wearing her pass). I hope she gets to eat some good ol' humble pie..

And, of course, former House Majority Leader Tom Delay has announced that he will not seek re-election, because of the various scandals he is being investigated for. He apparently doesn't want his life politicized... Good times.