1.29.2006

Leaving home, finishing school, becoming financially independent, getting married and having children are happening at a later age these days. We all knew that... but did we know the statistics?

In 1960, 77 percent of women and 65 percent of men had achieved these benchmarks by age 30. By 2000-01, that dropped to 46 percent of women and just 31 percent of men.

- from "Generation Debt" and "Strapped"

1.27.2006

At a restaurant I got a couple of spots of salsa on a white shirt. When I went home that evening I used warm water and soap on those spots. I couldn't get rid of the reddish tinge, so I gave up. I left the shirt hanging in the bathroom for a couple of days. Then, when I went to examine it... the spots had vanished. It seems that when soap and water fail, one's will can help remove stains!

1.26.2006

I think fewer people in this country would eat meat and seafood if they met the animals they ate.

I was at a moderately upscale Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong once and my father and I ordered a whole live fish to be steamed. The waiter went to the tank (which was by the entrance) and brought us the fish in a clear plastic bucket, to verify the size and the type. The fish was suffocating, convulsing and bouncing noisily around in the bucket. If not for the lid it would have surely flown out. The sight would be very offputting for some. I think my mother and sister (both vegetarians) averted their eyes. But to the Chinese, this is a way to show that the fish you're being served is very fresh. The texture of very fresh steamed fish is almost like cotton. The flavor is exquisite too. I'd rather not have seen the fish alive first. But then... I wouldn't have been able to write this post, would I? It's not something I'd want to see regularly.

1.23.2006

A live-action "Prince of Persia" movie could be great. You know who'd be great in the lead role? Tony Jaa (the lead in "Ong Bak"). In terms of skills, he's right on... acrobatics, running up walls, martial arts... too bad he doesn't look Persian though. I think he only speaks Thai too. Oh well... I can imagine, can't I?

1.20.2006

You know your neighborhood isn't great when there's a huge poster that says:

"$10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of persons involved in a police shooting"

NB. This wasn't in my neighborhood, although it wasn't too far away either.

1.17.2006

By 2015 two-thirds of the world's population will be in Asia.

1.15.2006

The MP3 was a European innovation, yet US companies are the ones mainly profiting from the technology. Is that fair?

1.11.2006

I believe in the message, not in the messenger.

1.09.2006

1.07.2006

The currency of the future will be love.

- GT

1.03.2006

1.01.2006

A nice thought for what seems to be my first post of the new year...

Love is like a river that carves a new path whenever it meets an obstacle.