Suzanne

Two heroes in one. Ask me to slow dance and I will without hesitation.



And the original... my master...

Year of the Ox

It's a new day dawning... It's my mom's year! I love this time of year, when every single Vietnamese American (and some whites, so so out of place!) congregate to Little Saigon to gamble, look at orchids, give thanks and pig out like no other time of the year! But I kept it mellow this year, didn't go to the fair like I usually do, no 7 courses of beef... I actually celebrated Chúxī chez Chinn with homemade dumplings and poached fish this evening...


Au natural... That yellow mellow thing is a citrus fruit called "Buddha's hand." Not to be eaten, more like an offering to the spirits on this most special day for us Asians...


Not durian, just giant young jackfruit to last a lifetime...


DIY DIY DIY!!! Dudes In Year (of the Ox or ylang-ylang...)


This dude is so awesome... rolling deep in the bills. We made eye contact. He knew I was into him.

And some food pics...



I tend not to eat chicken as they are dirty birds. But when it comes to pho, I prefer chicken with the works, especially the intestines and heart! Yums!


To celebrate this new year, I treated myself to a side of ox's tail... Yums!!


One of my most beloved desserts... I don't even know how to describe this. Yums!!!

And my parents woke me from my nap to show me this. wtf? why?


I just got this Facebook invite... Remember that Monday is the official "Hug an Asian Person" day! *Every Asian person that you see you must address with a hug.*

-FAQ-
Do Halfers Count?
A: Yes

What Types of Asian Do We Hug??
A: Every kind from Pacific Islander to Indian [If you wanna get technical Russians too.]

*This is a no hate event, we're just trying to spread the love. Violators will be shot, survivors will be shot again.*

You got no choice then as we are everywhere!!!

The Four Cs

The kind of guy who could be my kind of guy wouldn't know about the Famous Four Cs. (I'm kinda ruining it for myself with this post but who cares, that's not my point right now.) Here's a quick primer... the Four Cs (which are color, clarity, cut, and carat weight) are basic factors when considering a diamond (as in a diamond ring, an engagement ring, duh!) But there is a lesser known fifth "C". Its cost which shouldn't even be verbally acknowledged (as to sound cheap and vile) is actually the most important factor these days. One has to be reasonable in this economy.

But I absolutely know that the kind of guy who remotely embodies any of these other Fours Cs is not my kind guy: creeps, cheaters, con men and clowns. Let's have a look shall we?

1. Creep: An obsessive with perverted tendencies who is always trying way too hard.
2. Cheater: Are you kidding me? Revolting. Weak. Total disregard. Just plain bad. Why does it (and I am including both genders here) even exist? (Though I have to admit that I was once highly addicted to that really awful cheesy reality show of the same name but it got old after 4 episodes.)
3. Con Man: A trickster, a one trick pony, a cult personality, one with a hidden agenda who speaks in self-help language and lacks any sense of real humor, who can't even laugh at himself and is utterly insecure yet proud (presumptuous much?)
4. Clown: A joker is the vilest and scariest brute ever to be placed on this filthy miserable world. (I believe that sitting on the lap of a clown when I was 9 at Raging Waters is the cause of this scorn.)

But my fifth "C" is something of a positive, something very dear to me and I welcome it with open arms as it's given me so much pleasure all these years. In some countries (though not of mine), this is a fun word, an easy word, a whimsical word. Perceived by some as a heavily tabooed word of all English words, it once was not obscene, not to Chaucer anyways. I'm reclaiming this word now, using it openly amongst friends. A long time ago, I once created a whole secret language with Mr. Bickerson based on this word but replacing the "c" with "b" (it's just a good letter) and thus rhyming everything with the word bunt. The possibilities were infinite. I mean I was endearingly referred to as "Bunty."

If this is anything as it usually tends to be nothing, it's the accommodating aid of alliteration.

Put a ring on it...

The Wondrous Wonder of Wonder Valley ("when yellow will be mellow")

Easy Does It... Wonder Valley. Joshua Tree. Twentynine Palms... A desert weekend jaunt to visit GGD as they record their new album at Jack's place... I haven't felt this mellow in a while... an adventure which had the lingering scent of white sage, an evocation of peace and lucid (+ hallucinatory) dreams, a much needed smudging of the mind.

And the soundtrack for the weekend? It had to be Animal Collective's dewy + dazzling Merriweather Post Pavilion on repeat. (Can I say how stoked I am to see them this weekend?)


Kindred spirits... wonderful + blessed Sara (just like Dylan's) was my Grey Gardens companion.


The Guest Cabin: what I woke up to... blessed am I...


Arduous Glamor took us turquoise hunting all the way up Copper Mountain. I ended up with a pocket full of turquoise.


We were wondering how this car got here. We found its door on the other side of the mountain.


I was thinkin' about turquoise, I was thinkin' about gold...


It's January. It's breathtakingly beautiful. Just awesome.


And we're out! Until next time, I'll miss you.

Douchebags

I'm not done talking about this yet... Part Two is on its way... To prove visually what I mean when I say douchebag, I couldn't pass up this opportunity to get my pic taken with the douchebag of all douchebags, Spencer from The Hills. Amazing right? Well not that amazing...

FFC in the desert this weekend again! Pls standby for a full report! xo


The douchiest? The hair is perf. I'm thrilled.

It's Holy Shit

I worry about the wrong things, the wrong things...

Let's worry about the right things... Matt Fishbeck. Holy Shit. It's the real shit. Was I 12 and you 11 when when we first met? Was it me who introduced you to your first love? Remember Main St? Remember MEAN?

Lovely Hedi gave this to me the other night. It's Gloria's new Fake Real, Issue #4. It's all about Matt Fishbeck and his Holy Shit. I can't dismiss this so easily. I thought it would be fueled by something more synthetic (homemade in the garage) but it's completely pure, like "Crystal Canyons." It's substantial, almost unprintable within this doltish realm. There's no hidden agenda here...

So I was flipping through it this evening and saw a lot of familiar faces and words, some warm, some cold but all important. It's about the Omnichord (Matt, shall we do a duet?), Los Angeles ("there's no jock/artist divide"), lazy journalism, Little Joy Jr, Felt(!), Tartarex (the Prodigal Son has returned from London... but more on this later as The Summer Hits), boyfriends, Ariel, girlfriends, Maus, the Bubonic Plague, Harry Merry, Fast Friends, Tiny Creatures, Stranded at Two Harbors, even Mr. Bickerson has something on Fanuelle! But Matt, where was I in all of this? Where? Where was my part? I'm a bit remissed about it now. Oh right, I had declined due to dementia praecox of a broken heart. My apologies. I'm better now. Tiptop. So's you too I hear!



I have copy #116 out of 500. I highly suggest you invest in this. Any doubts? Consider these first:
"Maus is Missing"
"Written All Over Your Face"
"Rough & Tumble" (new)

and these...



matt fishbeck plays omnichord in a bathroom.

The Jerk's New Year's Resolution

I didn't make a top ten list last month. Why bother? If you're an Owley fan, you should already know what I've been into. And if you don't, then get lost! You have no business here. Scat! And I don't usually make any sort of resolutions, well except to not hang out with 1. Douche Bags (somebody who is a complete retard and doesn't know anything about what they're talking about), 2. Jesus Freaks (someone who talks freely to too many people about their beliefs and not necessarily about Jesus, more like someone who acts like a born-again Christian. It's all about quality, not quantity; don't spread yourself too thin here) and 3. Socially Driven & Cultural Parasites (no need for explanation). But the most hated of all are Presumptuous Jerks who go about waving their finger in the air! IT IS about action and not just about words. Dude, chill, you take yourself too seriously. Can we have a laugh here or do you not have a sense of humor? Yes it's rad to be confident, cheeky and awesome but don't preach to me about your lifestyle and how I should go about with mine! I make character assessments, not assassinations. Yes, I judge but for good reason. I'm perfectly content with my perfect life thank you very much.

So for my New Year's resolution, I've decided that I am not going to make any new friends starting this year. If I know you or have met you by NYE 2008, congrats, you've made the cut. I have enough friends, my beloved friends, mon cherie, who I love dearly, endlessly, infinitely. That'll do.


The Jerk xoxo

p.s. Alright, I'll make exceptions but you have to be special, like I have to "fall in love with you" special, like Lawrence Heyward special, like that.

Week Two

My weekend in pics (and it's not over yet! There's sushi and a pizza bday party still!)


It was my mom's birthday yesterday. I took my folks to this new Vietnamese restaurant in Little Saigon. It was okay, a solid B but of course, the company was the usual A+.


Tiny Creatures' last ever art/music gallery show. LA Fog played hobo style on the sidewalk.


Inside, sonority sisters Emily & Ramona doing their full-blown petite din as Nite Jewel.


Then I woke up to Jasmin's banged up knee from a recent skateboarding injury. WTF? Ouch. She'll recover and will do it all over again.


And my proudest moment this year so far. FFC in Ferndall today. Since it was 81 degrees, everyone was out and about (which was a bit annoying) but on the way down the trail, we ran into Rosy, a beautiful white parrot. Last year, for the first time ever, I've picked up a dog (twice) and a cat (thrice) and managed to put them on my lap (with uneasy pleasure). And today, a bird on my arm. Notice how I'm clutching onto the Professor's hand for dear life. Phew! Luckily, I survived though there were marks on my arm but nothing permanent. Yes, by year's end I might even have my own pet to play with!

Kes

Two films which kept me company this week:

I revisited Godard's Une femme est une femme. Anna Karina is a goddess. My favorite scene is when Angela and Émile are having a spat and they refuse to speak to each other. They end up communicating by book covers! Genius! Funny! Utterly endearing! This happens in the 6th minute of this youtube video. I love almost everything about this film.




And then there's Kes, a Xmas gift from K & Ol who said that I needed to see this, especially for someone who's a "hardcore Anglophile." Moi, me, quoi? No, I'm a Francophile merci beaucoup. This is possibly one of the best British films I've seen if not ever! The grimmest shades of grey, this is as bleak as one can get but yet there are such funny scenes. I love the football match with Mr. Sugden (what a yorkshire pudding he is!) scene. Man Utd v. Tottenham Hotspur!!! This is a "rare delight" indeed.

Been hanging out with all those Jesus freaks...

Been a bit under the weather this past week but have been ingesting a lot of Orange Juice to get me past all that.

FFC (The Winter Sessions)

Another 2 hour hike today. Man, I've been so into these winter sessions with my fellow OTP LOS...


The Usual. I love going to Elysian Park for my solo hikes which eventually becomes a run. These solo opportunities provide me with a time where I can truly listen to my hiking mixes super super super loud and enable me to get into the songs. May I suggest Kanye West's new amazing album? My current fave track is "Robocop." I love the ending, "You spoiled li LA girl... You jus an LA girl..." It's a true pop gem. A+


Broadway took us to Beaudry Trails in the Verdugo Hills a few days before NYE. The weather was brilliant, the trail was uphill...


It was a crystal clear day and we were rewarded with spectacular views of the San Gabriel mtns and could even see the glistening ocean!


With Hilz today... She took us to Eaton Canyon Trails in Altadena. Uphill all the way, it was awesome.... On our way back, we sorta got lost for a bit and ended up on another mountain. It was getting dark and the fog had started to roll in heavily... Luckily we found our way back and didn't have to spend the night. Can't wait for the next sesh with the crew this Sunday...

Locks of Love

As cliché as this might sound, I decided to chop off my hair on NYE. Been thinking about it for a while and was going to do it over Xmas (was too lazy due to the holiday gluttony) but yesterday morning, I decided that it had to be done and why not on the last day of the year? It wasn't about completely giving this moment some sort of special significance, as if it was an end of an era and the beginning of a new one. I mean, my hair is just hair, and it just so happened to be very long for a very long time. It was more like, I just needed a cut.

Since I already have a fringe, I decided to go for a Suri Cruise look, I mean, honestly, that kid is cute! Lovely Nina, who I was fortunate enough to have added me at the end of the day, knew exactly what I was going for...


I'm donating my hair (15 inches of it!) to Locks of Love. To make it easier, Nina had to braid it into two sections in order to cut it. Funny, I didn't feel any sort of emotional trauma à la America's Next Top Model make-over moment at all. I didn't cry. I didn't laugh. I was relaxed.


Happy New Year. I'm gonna try to make this blog more interesting for you as I know that it does tend to get dull... That's a promise.

Two songs I listened to today which made me happy that it's a brand new year:
Man in Me
I Can't Help Myself