eax's Xanga

Happy Birthday to Me

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:07:13 GMT

Thanks to all the folks who gave me phone calls and text messages (damn you 10-cents charges!) wishing me a happy birthday. I can't believe how many people actually remembered, but I guess I should be flattered how attentive folks are.

The basic birthday vacation for this year comprised of a hot pot party, Wii-bash, multiple trips to a strip bar, a field trip to the Museum of Science, and dinner at a sushi restaurant.

Here's a sampling of some rolls served at Douzo, a yuppie hotspot:

Yes, I'm alive (for Smash Brothers)

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 10:32:22 GMT

Due to recent problems with my health and family, I had to take a hiatus from writing. There have been some pieces written prior to my abrupt departure, but I haven't published anything yet. However, I did want to inform you about:

Get ready to brawl.
W: 0976-9972-9655-1252
F: 2878-9282-0834

Special Edition: Edison Chan Sex Scandal, Part 2

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 23:57:24 GMT

Previous pieces and updates in this series
Part 1: The Man, the Pics, Sensationalism (Pics)
Part 2: PRO-spective, Historical Perspective, and Retrospective

...PRO-spective

Coming from an American point of view, this sex scandal involving Edison Chen doesn't seem to generate much sensationalism, because we don't necessarily view it as something out of the ordinary for celebrities. In Hong Kong, he's being crucified in the press as a monster who's pretty much destroyed innocence as we know it. Come on...the running joke has always been about the asexuality of Asian men, but the punchline has always been, "Look at China...1 billion people shows Asian men are plenty virile."

The truth of the matter is that Edison Chen represents a prototypical young Asian guy who certainly gets enough action. What complicates this identity is the fact that he's a celebrity and rich. Of course, we wouldn't be caring much about him if he wasn't worth millions of dollars in film, advertising, and products. As much as the Hong Kong media would like to vilify him, we all know Chinese folks suffer from the undeniable, irrefutable hunger for gossip. For the men, it's even truer that they have an insatiable hunger for pornography and most of the scandal has more or less been centered around the actresses linked to Edison Chen and their "slutty" appearances. I would like to point out that there has been little to no chatter about how "slutty" Edison is, not to mention how his full frontals hasn't even been very important to the scandal either.

Without condoning or condemning his passion for homemade porno, you have to weigh out what Edison has actually done. He's engaged in sex with many, many women and taken pics and video footage of his exploits. If he's a non-celebrity, this probably wouldn't be of much interest to folks other than those horny for some jerk-off material. Considering that all of the women identified throughout this ordeal are all legal adults, I won't buy into any type of legal or criminal action directed towards Edison Chen himself. Feminists should join on the bandwagon to not blame him for "exploiting" these women, because feminist extremists should agree that these actresses could have done the common-sense thing and smacked him over the head about whipping out the camera during coitus. I refuse to believe that his adorable looks can knock any women senseless enough, particularly for a female celebrity with everything to lose, to passively go along or be manipulated into posing for sex photos. As a real life lesson, all starlets should either say no, pack an EMP device, or put those knickers back on and leave if any actor decides to play Pam & Tommy.

Or maybe he's so irresistible that no one has been able to say no? If we want to be selfish for just one second, you got to admit that Edison's not shy about his body, even though everyone could benefit from some manscaping.

...historical perspective

Again, we all can't help but feel bad for Edison, because sex scandals inevitably focus on the women and it's the women who may have an inkling of a chance to bounce back into a viable career. Male celebrities, on the other hand, tend to suffer from a rather instant drain on their fame once the novelty of their sexual escapades fades from the limelight.

Silver lining? I tell you, Edison...it wasn't a gay sex scandal.

Even though it would disappoint 10% of the population (or about 85% of the Castro), Edison's career won't end up like Simon Rex, who's still trying to maintain his D-list status. I do have to say that we don't want him to end up like Limp Bizkit either, because I got to say that Edison's got a much better looking phallus than ol' Durst.

The grim news is that Edison can't make a rebound like Brad Pitt or Colin Farrell, mainly because Edison is not three things: white, muscularly built, and living in the US. Of course, this is not a shortcoming at all...we are all made the way we are and certainly no one has any distaste for the way he's built at all. However, there is hope! I am very willing to console Edison with with some sense of optimism. You know that celebrities really make it this far in their lives not because of dumb luck and if you really try to do your best, you can bounce back with anything.

...retrospective

Please don't tell Edison these obvious facts. He knows, he'd probably tell you to shut the fuck up, and he'd probably pull a John Woo handgun attack on you.

Never take your computer to get serviced by an outside vendor. Geek Squad won't respect the privacy of their customers, so I guarantee you a computer nerd in a HK shop won't either.
You're rich with millions of dollars. Buy a new laptop and digital camera if they ever break down.
Memories are never lost when you can relive them with so many more hot people who'd be willing to suck or get fucked by a millionaire. You can take photos again and you know the second time around always makes for a better shot.
By 2009, the only acceptable excuse for salvaging a machine is due to an actual real life hacker trashing your Wi-Fi enabled computer. Only Ghost-in-the-Shell style back-hacking, ok?

Dear Edison Chan,

If your lawyers haven't decide to sue me for hubris, you might still want to consider me your new career coach, because tomorrow's the day I reveal how to map out your career for the next 365 days.

Special Edition: Edison Chan Sex Scandal

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 17:10:11 GMT

Previous pieces and updates in this series
Part 1: The Man, the Pics, Sensationalism (Pics)
Part 2: PRO-spective, Historical Perspective, and Retrospective

Hmm...for some reason, my entry was changed into private setting. Paranoia or some censorship from a higher authority?

Oh, the gift that keeps on giving (GTKOG). I am enjoying the Year of the Rat and it seems like Hong Kong is embroiled in a similar hunt for the vermin who's been giving Edison Chan grief over his sexual escapades. Since I always celebrate the new year with a big piece, and I've neglected to write anything for the Jan. 1 New Year, I thought I should be a multi-part piece about the implications of this Edison Chan sex scandal. We do have a Xangan who went to high school with him, so maybe that person can humanize this situation a bit.

First off, this entry will most likely become part of the blogosphere echo chamber, so I guarantee you there will be abuses with my post. Please keep it civil and intelligent with the retorts, ok?

Biggest surprise to me so far has been how slow the gay and/or Asian American newstream has been around this huge story that's been non-stop in Asia. Can someone do me a favor and look on Fridae for the official story breaking the news to rice queens aroung the world? Wha? I didn't see it in the front page at all...you can't tell that this doesn't deserve a little time of sensationalism for the Gaysian community when we finally get to see some CBA penis? Wait, Heath Ledger dies and he's still there (god bless his mysterious death-oriented soul), but somehow a famous Canadian Asian actor doesn't get any love at all?

I have review the "evidence" available and yes, I can confirm that it's real, it's big, and you're gonna love it. Well, maybe that's subjective, but Edison's got a juicy one that'll make any "Asian admirer" hungry for some HK celebrity pecker. The other thing that's been educational for me is refamiliarizing myself with some female genitalia...apparently female crotchs can get as hairy as a male one.

The whole impetus for this major misfortune seems to come from some anonymous netizen who is currently bent on releasing even more photos and videos of poor ol' Edison. Under the alias of "Kira", I'm guessing this person is a weird otaku who plagarized Deathnote for the world's most perverted form of celebrity justice. It's a bit sad that it had to happen to this celebrity, but I don't think many gay guys are complaining.

Ok, enough mumbo-jumbo...you want to see some XXX pics:

Well, now that you've seen it, you probably have a lot of thoughts (hopefully positive ones). For the next few days, I'll also talk a bit about some of the negative stuff, some about the situtation in HK, but also about the reception to these rather graphic and undeniable pieces of pornographic gold.

From the various news and tabloid websites, I have learned that Edison Chan is currently hiding in the United States, which should like a good idea since our society apparently don't think much of the Asian male in this country. Even smarter, he's hiding in Boston...my neck of the woods...yes, you are now perfectly invisible...so you're pretty safe as long as you don't walk anywhere near Chinatown.

To Edison Chan:

If your lawyers are combing through the Internuts about your scandal and trying to censor websites, you should probably hire me as your PR agent...I'll totally change your negative situation into the best turn-around that you'll soon be able to score big roles in the American market. Oh yeah, I'm that good.

Yes, I have the full set exposed so far. What? Do I suddenly see you prepared to grovel for some sleaze?

Happy New Year

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 23:24:40 GMT

Yes, Doraemon can greet you when you come to front door.

Crying home to mommy

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 11:43:31 GMT

Moving! New place with lots of possibilities.

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 23:13:28 GMT

Yay! I'm moving into a new apartment. Our official lease start date is December 15th, but I've been a bit preoccupied with things. It's a 2 bedroom apartment with a formal dining room, living room, eat-in kitchen, small bathroom, and porch deck. We're converting the living room into our bedroom and the smaller bedroom connected to it into a walk-in closet. The larger bedroom off of the kitchen will be our spare bedroom, but it's empty for now.

For our bedroom, I purchased a big ass queen size bed. The bedroom has double doors that can be closed off from the living room.

Our walk-in closet is actually one of the smaller bedrooms. I guess you can call it a luxury to have a walk-in closet that's really meant for a person to sleep in?

Kitchen has a gas stove and is big enough for a dining table. Our fridge is kind of small, but it's good enough to hold the essentials.

Bathroom is a New York-style hole in the wall with a low-flow toilet, bathtub and sink.

Open house is coming soon!

Spare Bedroom

Off of the kitchen, this room is now vacant bedroom

View of bathroom door from the living room

Formerly a formal dining room, it is now a living room. Our TV will go in that corner.

View of the bedroom from the living room

Opposite side of the living room. Maybe a couch or two?

View of the bedroom from the living room

Entry way to the bedroom (former living room)

View of the bedroom from the living room

View of our nice spacious bedroom

Bedroom

Our big bedroom with faux wood laminate

Bedroom

Bright windows with view of the triple-deckers across the street

Bedroom view of the living room

Bedroom view of the living room, with faux fireplace and emergency door

Kitchen

Kitchen with brand new cabinets

Kitchen

Kitchen with a gas stove

Kitchen

Empty cupboards says "Fill Me Up"

Kitchen and door to porch deck

Our medium-sized refridgerator

Kitchen

Kitchen with view of the triple-decker...no privacy

Pantry

Needs a bit of work...

Bathroom

Our small bathroom

Bathroom

It has a small window too

Bathroom tub

Stark tub needs a bit more character

Demystifying a Product: Micro Stainless Steel Digital Camcorder Review

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 12:48:36 GMT

A review I wrote recently:

You might have been wondering what Thinkgeek's Micro Stainless Steel Digital Camcorder is all about. You can try to Google the item, but all you get is the Internet echo chamber and annoying syndication of Thinkgeek's description of the item, but not a true review of the product. Check my full review here!

Box Front

When you first get your package, you'll notice the rather compact box featuring the camcorder. I have no idea who the manufacturer is and it looks more like an item you'd buy from Sharper Image.

Box Back

The stats on the back are virtually meaningless to folks who don't understand tech specs for cameras. In most cases, you'll notice that the stats aren't exactly top-of-the-line when compared to other types of cameras and camcorders, particularly for 2007. However, just remember that you're getting a multimedia device for just $200, which really isn't that bad.

Slightly excessive packaging, but you got to jazz up the packaging if there's really not much inside the box.

Yes, that's the camcorder. It seems they only made the box so huge to trick your eyes into thinking that the device is small and compact. However, you'll see in the next photo that...

...it's not exactly small. It's bigger and heavier than an iPhone. Size-wise, it's similar to Kyocera digital cameras from a few years ago.

Screen face down

Speaker is in the corner. Sound-wise, this thing can belch out some serious decibels with that tiny speaker. It's about cellphone quality sound, so you might need to rely on earphones if you want to get better quality.

Screen flipped face up

You see that the screen is a generous size and comprises almost half of the width of the device. Picture quality is great for an LCD and glare is minimal when used outdoors.

SD card goes into the left side and batter on the right.

Back of unit

This side faces you while in operation.

Power button - Hold for 2-3 seconds to turn on/off. There is an auto-shut off feature that you can enable/disable through the Menu.

Mode button - Rotates among different modes, including camcorder, camera, and voice recorder in record mode. In play mode, you can rotate between video, photos, voice recorded clips, and mp3-player.

Flash button - Switches between auto-flash, always flash, and no flash. Camera memorizes the flash setting, so you don't need to change it each time you turn it on and off.

Record-play toggle - Tiny switch that switches modes.

Record/Snap photo button - Button is small and not raised very high. Big finger types might not enjoy the firm press needed to record/snap photos.

Zoom d-stick - Joystick style navigation allows you to zoom/pan during record mode. It is also used to navigate the Menu. Pressing into the stick is the same as "Enter".

Menu button - 3 tabs allow you to change settings for the camcorder, including video/photo quality, SD card management, and other standard settings.

Front

This side faces your subject.

Lens - With no optical viewfinder, this unit solely relies on the screen. The lens is positioned quite well at the top of the unit and angles are good when held upright.

A/V input/output - In most cases, you will be inserting earphones for listening to MP3's. You can also insert the included A/V wires to watch videos/photos on a TV.

Charger input - It uses a compact AC adapter and unit recharges completely in about an hour. You can also use the included USB cable to connect the camcorder for webcam functions and charging.

Accesory Box

Rechargeable lithium battery

Unfortunately this is not a standard battery size that you normally see for digital cameras nowadays. It would have been better if you could swap it out with a more popular size for long time use without having to stop and recharge.

Earphones, USB cable, A/V cord

AC charger

Base stand

You can only use the base stand for webcam mode. It's not a dock and is not a comfortable way to set the device for recharging. Due to the shape of the hole, the unit only fits in one direction. It is stable and made from rather cheap, but durable plastic.

Instruction manual

It's not very detailed. It doesn't do a very good job of telling you all the functions.

Software

CD includes software for converting video to DVD format. It is not required to move video clips and photos from the camera. Use a SD card reader and you can move it directly.

Video games make me sad.

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 09:45:49 GMT

Yes, even the original Animal Crossing can manage to evoke some tear-jerking moments. Not for the depression-challenged!

Re: Customer Service on #10 Bus Route

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 09:37:45 GMT

Carrie Dubose
Superintendent
Cabot Bus Garage
275 Dorchester Avenue
South Boston, MA 02127

Re: Customer Service on #10 Bus Route

Dear Ms. Dubose,

I am writing to inform you of extremely inappropriate behavior exhibited by a bus driver on the #10 bus route. On a bus departing at 8:40AM from Andrew T Station, a driver on bus #2257 let two Asian passengers onto the bus after it has left the boarding area. At that moment, she very loudly said, “Can you people ever be on time?” The two passengers boarded the bus and one of them stood near the entrance. The driver then continued and stated “Why can’t Chinese people learn to read?” The Asian passenger standing at the door responded twice with “Why are you being so mean to me?” The bus driver did not respond back.

Many of the passengers and I were shocked by the driver’s blatantly racist statement. We were all thinking and saying out loud “This is very messed up.”

I normally expect very good customer service from the #10 bus route, because the usual bus drivers are all very polite and helpful. This driver’s behavior was not only offensive, but unacceptable for paying customers who use the MBTA.

Please address this serious complaint and I would greatly appreciate the MBTA’s written response to this incident.

Thank you.