NEW LIFE

hi friends/followers of this blog:

New change of pace. New blog:

http://www.jessicajinn.com

Read it, love it, keep it. THANKS!

Thankful

Thankful for another successful Thanksgiving.

It's nice to see family that I haven't seen in so long, and it was nice to be able to prepare some food for everyone to enjoy and take home.

Thanks to Martha, I successfully created my own signature cranberry sauce, honeyed walnuts. And more.

Yum.


Also, thanks to Black Friday (btw, have you ever realized that you feel like wanting to purchase more if someone you're shopping with is buying a lot of stuff? I do. I'm a psychological mess.) I have accumulated more nice DVDs. However, that's not where my shopping adventures will end! Thank you Internet. Thank you.

Thanks to the cookies enabled on my computer that lets my shopping carts remember what I've put inside. Yay!

Thanks for reading.

Harry Potter!

Watched Harry Potter today with the great Stephanie. Mark my words, Harry Potter movie haters, I really believe that part I was a pretty decent film adaptation. As Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a big chunky book with lots of amazing detail, it must have been really difficult to capture the same spirit in movie form. Like the book, the movie was full of action when it called for it and built tension for the next installment.

However, I do have some problems with some parts that the film left out (spoiler alert):

Letting Go

Thanks xkcd -- so true, so true.

You've Gotta Have Faith

Just a comment on life: sometimes it's terrifying to put your fate into the hands of other people. But, more often than not, you cannot do things by yourself.

It's best to trust that the people who have agreed to support you will follow through with their promises. It's so not worth it to worry about their reliability -- you have no idea what they're capable of.

I just have to remind myself about this time and time again. Being an only child makes me feel strongly independent, but somewhat skeptical of other people. It is an attitude that I must change.

I'm going to participate in this...

This Holiday Season

My goal is to be a little bit more domesticated.

I'm going to make crafts! Yes, crafts out of pine cones. And, I shall bake something. Yes, I said bake. In the oven.

Lately I've been spending lots of time on Martha Stewart's website and, as much as I've complained about being a domestic goddess in the past, I want her skills to rub off on me. Why can't I create beauty out of every day household objects? Why can't I make anything edible from scratch?

Challenge accepted.

Happy Halloween!

My favorite things about Halloween:

Mad Men: For Kids-ish

Check out this hilarious and super cute Mad Men storybook called "Mr. Sterling Gets Angry".

My Pumpkins

 

The stout one is supposed to have a very large mustache --- but, if you can't see it, that's fine too. He looks like a baby too. 

Guest Speaker, Jessica Jinn

Today I was a guest speaker at my old high school's Theory of Knowledge class. It was a great experience, and I hope to do it again soon.

The topic of the presentation was Internet Privacy, a topic that is pretty interesting to me. Hopefully it was interesting to the kids, too. I definitely did not lecture them about how to use the internet safely -- forget that boring stuff. That's not only dull but obsolete and irrelevant.

Mainly, I just want people to be more wary about the way in which they interact online, how our most "trusted" websites can betray us.

Anyway, good experience. I think I got their minds thinking. On Wednesday I'll be excited to hear their debate about the topic. Yippee...

Millionaire Matchmaker

I love watching Millionaire Matchmaker. It's not just because Patti, the matchmaking queen, has great dating rules to live by; but, frankly, who doesn't love watching the way snobby rich people claim they want a life partner, but really seek someone hot and temporary?

While I was in China, I missed this show the most. All the while, thinking to myself: man, these nouveau-riche Chinese ladies and men could definitely be interesting to put on this show. Then I thought again: oh, wait, this stuff already happens in China in the form of a hilarious dating game show.

Anyway, just read a great article about the show on the NY Times and would recommend you readers to read it.

The IB Program Demeans American Values

If you read my title and deem it ridiculous, join the club.

AsianWeek.com recently posted an article about the International Baccalaureate program. Obviously, since it's another form of higher education within high school, all the Asian people want to tap that resource. My father, too, believed that IB would give me a competitive edge and nudged me to be in the program. So in high school I took both IB and AP classes like my fellow IB peers, leaving us tired but still quite OK.

The author of the article seems to be somewhat anti-IB because it just seems to be an excuse to make Asian teens do more work to better their chances of getting into an Ivy League school. But then he takes a somewhat shocking turn and hints that this program is going to ruin America and "American" education as he has chosen to quote an argument by a member of the Peoria Unified School District [in Glendale, AZ] board meeting.

Paul Auster Fans

This is a great interview of Paul Auster on the Paris Review.

Taiwan Dramas

Friends, lately I've found myself in a bit of a mental health crisis largely due to the new drama series I'm watching called 愛無限 (aka Endless Love). So far, after watching four episodes each over an hour long, I've yelled, screamed, squealed, cheered, and jeered. I've felt lachrymose and ecstatic all at once.

I'm one of those people who can't handle when things go wrong in a sitcom because it makes me feel uneasy. For example, sometimes when watching "I Love Lucy" I cringe when she's going to do one of her crazy shenanigans and I must change channels for a long enough time and then come back when the damage is done.

More about my endless qualm with Taiwan Dramas after the jump!

Dear Fellow Book Readers and Café Enthusiasts

Feast your eyes on this beauty!

In This Episode of Mad Men...

...I find Don Draper to be particularly despicable. Why, Don? Why?

Comic: Don't Eat Carrots

 

Hope you enjoy it! Made on a small piece o' paper.  

I admit, it's a little amateurish what with me first drawing it on paper. Someday I'll turn these things into sleek digital images.

Guys, I Just Learned How Peanut Butter Was Made

I love TV meant for kids.

Ikea Cookbook

While I wish cookbooks would have more photos of finished products (that way I know if I'm doing something wrong), this deconstructed side looks pretty wonderful.

 

 

Excited? I know I am. Check out more from the extra-talented photographer mastermind Carl Kleiner. 

UNIQLO

Like everyone near and dear to me knows, I love Uniqlo. What do I love more than Uniqlo? Muji. However, as far as I know, there's no Muji around me in Los Angeles (that's why before I left China I stocked up on non-essentials from the store).

Recently discovered that, hey! Uniqlo's got some new brand ambassadors: Charlize Theron and Orlando Bloom. Very exciting news. OK, so while this news came out a month ago, I think the photos are starting to make their way in the public eye now!

What do you guys think? Good choices? I remember loving Orlando Bloom back in the Lord of the Ring days, but recently he hasn't been wowing me. Thoughts?

(STEPHANIE YANG--hi)

C'est normal, quoi.

La mode français 1963

Est-ce que vous aimez les photos? Moi, je voudrais voyager dans une bulle en portant des vetements très belle.

Sister Wives

Lately I've been really interested in TLC.

Anyone who knows me knows that I really like watching Jon and Kate Plus 8, but the network's other programming sort of frightens me. Example being: Sister Wives a new show that will be premiering this Sunday.

dentist + thoughts

Today I got some cavities filled, and I am ashamed of how many I have, so I won't tell you about the number. I think the reasons for it is either a) the fillings from my childhood have worn out or b) for the past few years I've developed a rather intense sweet tooth...

In any case, I'm thinking of creating a web comic. Any ideas are more than welcome. Any strange characters you happen to know in life (like a girl who will give unsolicited relationship advice to strangers) or weird things that have happened, let me know! I'd love to bribe you with candy to take your story or secretly masquerade your people in animal form.

All My Friends Are Dead

Have you guys seen this really funny, nicely drawn, yet heartbreaking book entitled All My Friends Are Dead? (Maybe you're appalled because you already know it. I'm not late to the game! I just wanted to express my love for it in writing!)

If you haven't, do yourself a favor and go to a bookstore, or look at a sneak peak below:


I'd highly recommend buying it online.

News Update

Whoa, I was just looking on Yelp and saw that the Yogurtland (where I vowed to forever eat yogurt for...ever) in the West Village is closed now? What?! This is outrageous!

Even though I don't live there anymore, that was the only Yogurtland in the city. Le sigh. Oh well, there's still 16 Handles.

Comic: The Axe

Here's a comic I drew based on a video game (um, I don't know which one, Dutch Boyfriend told me about a game with weapons and each weapon has a different backstory to it.).

Hope you enjoy! (Click for a larger image!)

Look at my Sandwich!

It's made of heart-shaped tomatoes. Seriously...my tomato slices ended up this way.

Also, thanks to my Droid's RetroCam for bringin' back the Polaroid!

Typically Zenon-like

Lately I've been realizing that I'm not happy unless I have at least two, if not three, electronic, internety, visually amusing things around me.

This really hit me the other night when I was watching Glee's final two episodes on TV. At the moment, I was doing some research online when my mom happened to flip to the channel. Once I heard Rachel Berry's voice, I instantly jerked my head to the side, "Mom! LET'S WATCH GLEE!" I wanted to jump on the couch, but took a second look at my laptop. TV. Laptop. TV....ohh, it's a laptop for a reason.

Took my laptop, smacked it on my lap and happily bounced to the music.

Then I wondered about a definition for some word. You know, you'd think that I'd look it up on Dictionary.com on my laptop, but nay, I pulled out my HTC and looked up the definition on my Dictionary.com App (heh).

Of course, this is just a little example of something practiced widely across the country. How lucky are we?

Zooey Deschanel

That's right. Instead of talking about Fall TV (which I really wanted to talk about because I'm really excited), I'm stuck on a bicycle for Zooey Deschanel. Why? Honestly, I think that I've been playing She & Him's Volume Two way too often. Huh.

I'll admit, like most of you, I became fond of her in Elf where she sang a wonderful rendition of "Baby It's Cold Outside" with Will Ferrell (Christmas songs = big points). I loved her music in Yes Man ("I'm not your late night booty-call...") and I instantly fell for her in 500 Days of Summer.

She's one classy lady. Although, I don't know if you remember that one episode of Top Chef Masters where she was a guest star: the contestants had to cook a meal for her and her friends and family. Amazingly she had lots of dietary restrictions...vegetarian, no dairy or eggs, wheat and soy-intolerant (gluten too?), but overall, still very humble about it all.

I look forward to her future roles. Don't you?

Additionally, here's an article you should read: The Face of Facebook

OCMA

Yesterday was my first day volunteering at the Orange County Museum of Art for their monthly family event. It was a great experience.

What happens is that the museum has a bunch of arts and crafts tables whose projects are inspired by works of art within the museum. I was working on the Monoprints (where we got to churn out images on an awesome printing press. I want one. Now.) and the other volunteers delighted me and the kids amused me.

There was one boy another volunteer and I particularly bonded with because he was determined to make art that was "full of emotion". He succeeded by drawing a few trees with different feelings; one of which had some freshly broken branches and said, "oh, why do the good die young?"

Additionally, this kid found out that I had no job at the moment, and he exclaimed, "WHAT! You have no job?!" After a minute he calmed down and put his hand on my shoulder and said, "In these times of economic downturn, it's hard to find a job. Don't blame yourself."

Is that the most awesome thing ever or what?

Everyone Should Be Prepared

As for me, nail polish seems to be it.

Wise Words

danah boyd on Craigslist's censorship

Read this article.

The Suitcase

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: last night's episode of Mad Men was amazing. I think it's the best this season.

(I'm going to be talking about some spoilers, in case you haven't seen the episode yet or if you have just started watching Mad Men and don't want to know what's happening [!])

Peggy and Don have been supportive of each other in professional and personal settings in the most dynamic of ways.

During the episode, Don was making himself work more in order to delay a dreaded phone call to California where bad news was waiting. The only person who could work with him after work was Peggy, who he demands stay late to work on a project. Through the night, they bond, and something clicks in Peggy's mind that Don's more than just her boss--he needs her for more than just pitching ideas.

Last night, they realized how important they are to each other. Don may have found his new Anna.

Inside Mad Men really does a nice job giving background on the episode:

Toilets

This morning, as my mom and I were driving on the 101, she said to me, "Jessica, hemorrhoids basically affect 9 out of 10 people. You cannot be one of them."

We were talking about toilets (like, for instance, how one toilet in the house is broken) and the fact that mama wants to buy a fancy Japanese one that will pretty much give you an enema with the press of a button. We continued to discuss toilets and she wonders why the European bidets haven't advanced to the level of Japanese toilets.

Later during my lunch break, I read an article on Slate about the way our modern-day toilets are actually bad for your health. When many of us hear an accusation about a clean, white, feces-flusher being actually bad for us, we get a little defensive. During my stay in China, I dreaded having to squat in a hole in the ground and that's because I've grown up with toilets and think they're awfully clean and convenient.

However, my boyfriend begs to differ. In China, he loved to go to his sisters because she lives in an older Chinese neighborhood and has a squatting toilet. He claimed that everything came out much easier and prefers it over my standard toilet. Ever since he told me about his real feelings, he's been finding information online about toilets and health.

While toilets are great for making sure our feces aren't on the streets, stinking up the house, or in our backyard; there's some people saying that it leads you to be more prone to infections and hemorrhoids. Interesting how we're trying to revamp, re-imagine, and reassess our modern toilets to improve our health (btw, you know 1/2 of Americans suffer from hemorrhoids?).

More thoughtful links:
1. Vangaurd's World Toilet Crisis : In some places, people don't have access to toilets and must defecate in public areas causing drinking water to be contaminated. Watch it!

2. Waterless Urinals : Not a bad idea.

I'm sorry this post was about toilets.

China Thoughts

What if a WikiLeaks happened in China? What would we want to know?

The comments are fascinating.

I love bookstores

An article about one of my favorite bookstores in NYC.

I love bookstores. I love the smell inside of a used bookstore, finding crevices between shelves to hide and read a little and, most importantly, the ability to walk around aimlessly and browse the shelves, finding something new to read.

Certainly with e-books, you can maybe be presented with hundreds of titles for you to choose from, but can you feel the same affinity for a book title the way you do with the way a book has presented itself in the bookstore? Think: the texture of the cover, the artwork, flipping to a random page and reading it. This kind of random book search is also so awesome when you're in a used book store where it's almost like a grab-bag of books to choose from.

I've heard the news that ever since the e-reader there are more people willing to read than ever before. That's great. But, what's so appealing about reading a book on an e-reader that people who distance themselves from print books would rather read on a screen?

Do yourself a favor, and read a book!

Ni Hao Kai Lan

Let's talk about one of my favorite TV show for kids: Ni Hao Kai Lan.

One of the most obvious reasons I love it is because it teaches kids Mandarin! Kai Lan is just a little girl who is living the average Chinese-American lifestyle. She speaks in English and speaks Chinese, teaching all of her friends new words, too.

I had the fortune of catching the show yesterday and was taken aback when I heard all the Chinese being used. There was an entire exchange done completely in Chinese -- no subtitles, no re-iterating in English what was said.

I'm assuming that if the children have followed Kai Lan through her two season's worth of episodes they can also understand the exchange. I know some people my age who are Chinese-American and wouldn't even understand what was said!

With shows like Ni Hao Kai Lan and her predecessor Dora the Explorer, Nickelodeon is really working to expand a child's mind with two very important languages to Americans, I'd say. Having exposure to these new languages allows kids to be open to very rich cultures. Hopefully it's a stepping stone to open-mindedness and a future of global awareness.

Nice!

Funny Image

I wish I had an owl.

Education

Again, I'm struck and intrigued by an article and want to share it with the world (or, the few of you who found my blog). NYTime's Tom Friedman wrote an op-ed piece, "Steal This Movie, Too", which discusses the issues behind the American education system as will be revealed through the upcoming documentary Waiting for Superman.

The United States has long been seen as the super power of the world, right? While I was in China, many of the Chinese people I interacted with still thought of America as the perfect place. But, why is our public education system not helping students? China, too, has problems with their education system because their children are merely test-taking masters; however, during a discussion of school systems, I told the teacher that America is also in need of reform. Then she shot back, "then why are there more nobel prize winners in America than in China?"

China's trying to model its education system to the American system where kids can do creative projects and be more like kids. You know which Chinese-speaking places are doing things right, though, is Taiwan and Hong Kong. Both countries score high in reading, math, and science.

I was very fortunate to have been part of a decent public school. California's not the type of place that has too many private schools like in the East Coast, so, at least in the suburbs, public schools can be worthy. (Although, it may be thanks to the massive amount of Asian kids we have here, too.)

Everyone should be able to get a decent education through a public school system. Teachers should be more valued because they're supposed to be enlightening and guiding the future generation to greatness!

In any case, it would be lovely if we could focus more on the education system and improve the quality of education for our students, lest the US wants to (continue to) be the laughing stock of the developed world.

Coffee Cups

I love this coffee cup grid.

Here's My Card

Tonight I was with Stephanie at Yogurtland (aka my favorite dessert place ever) playing Phase 10 when this kid comes up to us and says, "Are you by any chance playing Uno?"

"No, this is a game called Phase 10." We reply. When he asks, what's that? we try explaining the complicated-ness of him, half trying to convince him that we don't want him to join in in the middle of our game.

"Oh, that seems really intense," he says. "How about I give you my card so that we can schedule a Phase 10 play/learning date?"

Um, you're like 16...

But, we say, OK. He goes back to his table with his friends and a minute later comes back with two cards with his twitter account and e-mail address and in a Sharpie marker he has written his name and phone number quite sloppily. "I'm going to have my website up soon," he assures us.

"Are you still in high school?" I ask him.

"Yeah."

"You know that we're not, right?" I say.

"Oohh most of my friends are in college, I usually hang with the older crowd." The Older Crowd? Have we already aged that much? That we're the "OLDER" crowd?

"But, we've already graduated from college," Stephanie says. To which he says, "Oh how cool. I'm actually being interviewed tomorrow for the Art Institute early decision."

...Good for you, young man. Good for you.

"I'm super excited," he explains. Then he bids us farewell. While I don't like that he calls us the older crowd, what moxie! He can really succeed in life if he is aggressive like that. I'm serious.

I'm full from yogurt.

Internet Privacy

This morning I read the weekend Wall Street Journal and was really intrigued by the cover story of their Weekend Journal: "The Great Privacy Debate". For the past week, I've been reading the journal's coverage of internet privacy as they've been spreading the word about tracking cookies and data mining.

As you'd expect, one writer took a positive stance of web tracking having its benefits, and the other was anti-web tracking.

The first article, about being web tracking and its benefits, has a lot of good points. As users of the internet, we should know that part of us being online means that we're giving up some information and, in turn for giving information, we're getting a personalized experience while we surf the internet.Ads made just for you!

I don't know about you, but sometimes the ads scare me.

That's why, I'd have to agree more with the second stance that says we shouldn't take web tracking so lightly. The writer made a good point in fearing the way we seem to care less and less about our privacy and treat the internet as a diary – something we can confide our secrets and information in – without considering the consequences. “Personalization’s evil twin is manipulation,” he states.

I think that we should be wary of the information we choose to post on the internet. Unless you really don't mind people being able to track you down through your internet history, then you can carry on. However, it would be a shame if our world turned into the one Cory Doctorow depicted in "Scroogled".

Another Dating Site

You know how I'm fascinated with the way new media bring people together. Whether it's just through a niche social networking site, or another niche dating site, I like it.

Read about another dating site exclusively for virgins. Why not, right?

(Question: does phone sex, sexting, or cyber sex exclude you from being a virgin?)

Biopsy-doodle

Got a biopsy on a mole-like thing on the scalp of my head.

My head is very sad. It feels like my scalp is being pulled together by force...

My hair is also sad because there's gook in my hair from the antibiotic cream.

Another fine day...

Birdie

For the past few weeks, there has been a bird nest nestled next to the front door awning of my parents' house. We see the Mama bird sitting there and how she flutters away whenever we walk too close to her or when we open the door. Personally, I find the bird nest to be charming because there must be baby birds in the making, and who doesn't love babies?

One evening I happened to be by the front door and I see that the cleaning lady is spraying the awnings down with a hose (we do have a dirty house, I suppose. The eggshell-shade it originally was has turned rather rotten through the years) and you see all of this black dirt cascade down. Then suddenly, I notice something from the tree come crashing down from the nest as a result of high-pressure water being shot at it: a little bird had fallen down. Wet and vulnerable, it quickly hopped into a little crevice.

I pull out the poor little guy whose whole body is shivering and his feathers are completely soaked. I coax him and temporarily put him into a little flower pot (sans flower) with leaves.

(Look at the little guy! Isn't he cute...but sad?)

Needless to say, the cleaning lady stopped hosing. Then suddenly I see something else from the nest. It's another little bird whose head and one wing has flopped over the side of the nest.

I couldn't help him. Dramatically enough, the mother comes swooping back to the nest to find that one of her children is missing and the other one is in a very vulnerable state. I watched as she just stood on the awning, blinking her sad eyes, contemplating what to do next and how to salvage the nest.

I go online and look for ways to help baby birds. Thankfully, this one is a fledgling and can actually fend for itself in some ways. I had put the pot underneath where the nest was to see if the Mama can figure out that her baby is there. But after watching from the window inside the house, it didn't seem like he was being noticed by the mother. (I did, however, see it hopping and tweeting. Cute!)

So, I build it a new nest with a box (holes on the bottom), tissues, twigs, grass...and place the baby inside that one. I figure his brown feathers would pop out from the white tissues. I go away for a little while, and when I go back to look, the baby is GONE.

I look up to see it is miraculously back up in the nest tweeting.

Hum...

...The next morning, both babies and the mother were gone. Hopefully to a more peaceful home with less water.

People Love California

After reading this article about U.S. Cities with the Most Immigrants, I have to admit that California is really bad-ass. 11 out of the list of top 20 US cities with the most immigrants were in California.

Including the fact that 1/3 of all graduate students in the United States are immigrants, half of which are pursuing degrees in computer science and engineering. Growing up in a town where 42.8% of the population is Asian (as opposed to 41.0% white people), you can see how competitive our school system is. In essence, AP tests and IB classes galore! (Yippee!)

Anyway, don't just think that immigrants are taking away the jobs you won't do for low wages you would never accept! Don't forget: the US is a country built with immigrants. Immigrants bring good things to the table and will work hard, too.

Now if I can only get more Asians on TV...

New Dating Tool

I like to read about what's happening in the world of online dating. Whether it's as official as eHarmony or as haphazard as a relationship through SecondLife, it's amazing how the internet is changing the rules of dating, love, and relationships.

Recently on the NY Times, I read about a new way to catch someone through new media. The article featured a site called Cheek'd. With Cheek'd you can get cards with cute pick-up lines with your identification code and hand them out to strangers you find attractive during the day. Then, the apple of your eye can log on to the site and find your profile.

What a great way to get social, right? In general, with the rise of the internet, some would say that people have lost the ability to interact in real life. However, with something like Cheek'd, you're pushing people out of their comfort boundaries to find a mate. It can be hard to find someone merely through cut-and-paste e-mails and trite chats, but if you can encourage yourself to approach someone and give them a card, I think you're proving how interested you are in the other person and that you're not solely dependent upon the internet to find "the one".

I really think that the dating tools profiled in the article are useful. Hopefully, if you use them, you'd get a higher date-rate. (Is that the right way to say it? Basically, you'll probably get more dates.) Also, they seem like fun.

If you're not ready to spend money on the little cards though, why not try just slipping someone your business card? On the back, you can write your blog address or, well, "I <3 You." Right? But then that's probably too "old-fashioned", isn't it?

Back In America

Back in America! So far, I've been adjusting to the time difference.

Excuse my lack of writing for the past year! I'm working on my China blog to be presentable enough for your eyes.

Thanks for your patience.