The Return of the Stormtroopers

This has rapidly become one of my favourite photos on the web: a face off between stormtroopers and some london policemen1. I actually miss Star Wars - I used to love the films (the original 4, 5, and 6)...but ever since the new three have come out, I find myself dreading re-watching the originals...I think its because I loved the romance and tension between Luke, Leia, and Hans Solo (though it gets a little weird when it is revealed that Luke and Leia are twins) and am slightly disappointed that, with the additions of the new trilogy, the originals become the chronicles of Darth Vader. I enjoyed the films a lot more when I thought the subject matter was a touching love story between two unlikely lovers and the coolness of Luke. Oh well. At the same time, I applaud Lucas' inventiveness with the new script, and loved that Natalie Portman was catapulted to fame with the trilogy. She can be counted on to deliver a gripping performance.

I'd rather get skin cancer than be pale.

From postsecret's facebook page. The sad thing is that I've actually heard this from a couple of people before. The lengths people go for beauty is kind of ridiculous. In a little bit of a segue, I wonder when and why being tan became beautiful. Wasn't white skin a pre-requisite for beauty once a long time ago? I remember my mom being really proud of my fair skin when I was little - my skin was extremely pale. She was pretty upset when I came home from summer camp one year, unintentionally tanned from hours outdoors playing frisbee and watching the clouds go by during "mandatory fun" activities. To this day, my mom prizes her fair skin, and rues it when my sister and I tan.

Okay, on another sidenote - my flatmates are watching fight club right now, and I'm sitting in the living room with them. I have decided - this is not my kind of movie. though I do understand how it became a cult flick.

Flower Meanings

Today I went walking in Central Park, something that I've done pretty much every day since graduation. It's been sunny recently, so almost the entire city has flocked to the park to enjoy the sunshine and the warmth. The lawns were dotted with families and friends tanning or playing frisbee - it's almost like Seurat's Grand Jatte. Fun!

However, while the scene was filled with greenery, there was a lack of pretty flowers, which made me kind of sad. I love flowers - they are so colorful and so cheerful, and just make almost anything beautiful. I flashed back to the last day of Chinese class, when we read a text about the meaning of certain flowers.

One popular Chinese flower is the chrysanthemum, symbolic of a strong life. It makes a great gift - as long as the blossoms are not white or light yellow in color - those are reserved for funerals.

Lotus flowers, on the other hand, represent people who have succeeded despite being from an underprivileged background. Lotus flowers grow and blossom from the murkiest parts of ponds - from such humble beginnings arise one of the most useful plants in nature: its roots are edible, its flowers bring beauty, its seeds have medicinal properties.

Beautiful girls are often compared to peach flowers, which flower in the spring, usually in time for Chinese New Year. It is thought that buying a whole pot of peach flowers during CNY will bring luck in finding love in the upcoming year. Hmmm. Remind me to get one of those next February.

But my favourite plant meaning is that of the humble bamboo plant. Bamboo is extremely resilient and full of life and is alive during all four seasons, even in the harsh winter. It is flexible when hammered by winds, bending and swaying gracefully, but refuses to break. I think it's going to be my new icon.

Eatery

so for the next month, I'm subletting and sharing an apartment on the edge of hell's kitchen in new york, which is well known for its many restaurants. As I am a complete foodie, my goal is to eat at 75% of the food places in the area. I started my quest with visiting friend Megan by heading to 53rd and 9th Avenue to try Eatery, a self-proclaimed "new american restaurant." We were hungry and ready to partake in a New York tradition, the Sunday brunch. Though situated on a relatively quiet corner, Eatery was already buzzing at noon (which is the equivalent of a 7am on a weekday), with only a handful of tables empty. By a stroke of luck, Megs and I were able to snag an outdoor table with a minimum wait. Sunday brunch outdoors on a sunny day: perfect. And the menu looked amazing.
We had the hardest time deciding whether we wanted something sweet or something savoury - actually, we just had a hard time deciding (who wouldn't with a menu like that?). In the end, we decided to split "chicks in a blanket" and "stuffed french toast."

Chicks in a blanket (they actually serve four in a serving)

Stuffed French toast

And I'm so glad we did! Chicks in a blanket is a play on pigs in a blanket, substituting tasty chicken sausage for the traditional pork or beef item and pancakes for the bread. Served with a light maple syrup, it is the perfect combination of salty and sweet. The only sour note is the small portion of fruit that comes with the dish; I found the strawberries, mango, lychee, etc to be very acidic and incongruous with the rest of the food. Chicks in a blanket actually seems like a somewhat healthy choice for Sunday brunch, unlike the sinfully delightful stuffed French toast, which is filled with chocolate, bananas, and cream cheese. Every bite is heavenly, though I found myself wondering how anyone managed to finish the whole thing - Megs and I split it in half and barely finished our own portions. Probably the most decadent thing on the menu, we speculated that the least fatty thing on the plate was the vanilla ice cream on top. Despite that, it was the best French toast that I have ever had.

I can't wait to go back for lunch or dinner - or even brunch again!

Campuspeak

it's the end of an era and a start of something new...from now on, my goal is to post here every (other) day, putting up an interesting article or picture or quote or thought. kick me if i don't.

today's item is Campuspeak, an article I found in the New York Times about how college students blend words together to form their own lexicon. At first I was a little skeptical about the novelty of our so-called newslang, but it turns out that so many words and phrases mentioned in the article are ones that I take for granted, simple things like ginormous/sketchy/anyhoo/hallcest. I think it really goes to show how vibrant language is, how quickly it changes to reflect the times. Its key in understanding any culture; knowing word nuances, phrasings, or even how a sentence is formed in a language suggests more about a culture than any other single thing. A basic study of how the English language has changed since 40 years ago would probably reveal more than we would think about how we have evolved societally and culturally. For example, the sudden creation and popularity of 'techy' words like blog or webpage indicates how much we have come to rely on the web. I have to run to bed now, but enjoy the article :)