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.