Body Worlds 3

I went to the California Science Center this weekend to see the Body Worlds 3 exhibit there. There's an IMAX film about the Human Body that goes along with the exhibit, but I wasn't entirely impressed with the film (I think it was something from the Learning Channel) and it's not essential to watch if you're going to the exhibit.

The exhibit was very interesting, and I enjoyed viewing many of the plastinates on display. Among my favorites to view were the couples - there was a figure skating couple where the male skater was holding the female skater above his head in a lift, as well as a male gymnast who was holding his internal organs above his head with one hand while doing the splits and balancing on a wooden ball with his other hand. There was a pair of lovers (not having sex! Geez!) and a female cyclist who was "sliced" into three parts so you could see how her internal organs fit together. If you go, note the pair of flamenco dancers at the exit of the exhibit - they're brand new. The note on their display says "2008".

More famous pieces that I remember seeing include:
The Archer (who is also one of the pieces you can see in Casino Royale)
The Skin Man
The Kneeling Lady

Also on display were "body slices" and assorted body parts for viewing. There were healthy body parts next to diseased body parts (mostly cancers, but there was also a smoker's lungs there and an enlarged heart), and cross-sections of fat people and normal people. One person's cross-section was of a someone who had a heart attack so severe it ruptured his/her pericardium and the cross-section showed where the blood pooled in the body cavity. Obviously, they didn't survive. It was really very fascinating.

When I left the exhibit there was a short video on the plastination, as well as guestbooks where you could leave a note. I didn't sign anything, but I noticed a lot of notes were similar to: "This is soooo gross!"

Glad to know the unenlightened masses were getting exposed to this. Hopefully they learned something.

The Body Worlds exhibit is themed "The Story of the Heart", but I didn't really feel there was a lot of "heart stuff" going on. There was a small mini-exhibit on blood, and many displays of just blood vessels, as well as some hearts and diseased hearts, but most of the "theme" was conveyed using giant posters with famous quotes regarding hearts, love, the soul, etc. on them.

If you have the opportunity to go to the exhibit, I would highly recommend it. I think Body Worlds is going to be at the California Science Center until September. There are also several other museums in Exposition Park if you don't care to see dead people.

Guillermo Del Toro to Direct 'The Hobbit'

I was really impressed with Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth. It will be interesting to see what he will do with 'The Hobbit'.

I still complain about Peter Jackson's handling of LOTR. I won't reiterate all the problems I saw with the trilogy, but I did feel that he effectively erased what deep character development existed in the books in lieu of overly-long action scenes. I remember seeing bits of "King Kong" in Taiwan and being really, really bored. Almost like he overshot the target.

I really enjoyed watching "The Adventures of Tintin" and I hope Jackson doesn't screw up the movie adaptation.

LA Times News Article

Aioli

I was reminded of my own mother's homemade mayonnaise by Molly Wizenberg's article, Mayo Clinic last month. I vaguely remember my mom making mayonnaise during my childhood for things like potato salad and sandwiches.

While I can't remember her recipe, I do remember she insisted on using olive oil and dry mustard. (My memory is flaky on the olive oil part, but very solid on the dry mustard part) The bright, lemony top-note mellows quickly into the taste of raw oil on the bottom-note (to use perfumer's terms) and is definitely not like anything that comes in a blue-capped plastic container.

So here it is. Add a crushed garlic clove for extra zing.

1 large or extra large egg yolk
2 1/2 tsp - 1 TB lemon juice
1/4-1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil

Combine the egg yolk, lemon juice, mustard and salt in a mini food processor. Blend until bright yellow, about 30 seconds. Add the oil slowly, a spoonful at a time to begin with, until the oil is incorporated and the mayonnaise is thick.

I've made this for potato and chicken salads. . . I can only imagine what it would do for tuna salad or a regular sandwich. Including a garlic clove and pepper, served next to a steamed artichoke, would be close to divine.

Restaurant Review - El Toro Cantina

I almost forgot that I promised to write about my experience here.

El Toro Cantina was definitely a happenin' spot the Friday night I was there, and we had a big group (something like 21, 22 people). They make their own tortillas for their gourmet tacos (I had the duck confit and coconut crispy shrimp). The guest of honor teased me about my selections and asked if I was writing a review for a magazine! Not quite. . . . .

This is the 2nd place I've found that will make a "from scratch" mojito. Let me tell you, there's nothing quite so delicious on this earth as a refreshing, sparkly, slightly sweet drink as a well-made mojito.

They passed around "kamikaze" shots at the end of dinner for us to toast the birthday fellow. I rarely (if ever) do shots and this was my first kamikaze. I'd like to say that it was probably well-made, lemony and sweet. Probably not good for an after-dinner aperitif, but for a 20s-something crowd it was great.

After dinner we went next door/upstairs to Busby's, which, among other things like pool tables and dart boards, has a pretty awesome separate dance floor and dj. Although the music was probably on the loud side (I couldn't hear my car stereo when I drove home that night), it was great to go out dancing - something I haven't done in over a year.

Carolyn Jessop on her Escape from FLDS

I found this link to a video clip of Carolyn Jessop describing FLDS lifestyle and her experiences with that culture/lifestyle.

I think it's something to keep in mind when one thinks about the 400+ children in Texas custody right now.

A Little Bit of Nostalgia

Check out this article I found on the Economist's website:

Working Girls

I disagree with Governor Schweitzer on a lot of things, but I think his opposition to Real ID is valid.

Montana Governor: DHS 'Blinks' on Real ID

More Eldorado Compound News

Facts about the Polygamous Sect FLDS
Authorities Find Bed in Compound Temple
Officials Say Bed in Polygamous Compound Used for Child Sex
State Organizing Resources To Aid Children, Women Who Left Eldorado Compound

I remember seeing polygamists at Wal-Mart when I visit my parents . . . sometimes my dad would go up to them and say something nasty about abusing the welfare system (although I've never personally seen him do this). They would always give me dirty looks. The women and young girls would wander around together with a shopping cart, and the men and boys would roam around together in the automotive or sporting goods section. They would all drive off in brand new Suburbans and pick up trucks.

There is so much going on there that is wrong, and I hope Texas has the resources to straighten it out, at least in their state. I hope the women and children get the counseling they so desperately need, and I hope their transition to a better life isn't too painful for them.

I hope this is a wake-up call for Utah and Arizona, but I don't think anything is going to happen with Hildale/Colorado City anytime soon.

Trouble in Yearning for Zion

Abuse Probed at Polygamist Compound
Polygamy Grows Despite Shocking Arrests

If you are an adult and you want to do something way out of the mainstream with other consenting adults, that's cool by me as long as what you're doing isn't physically, mentally, emotionally, or sexually harming other people (or animals).

I don't think all is fine in Texas, or anywhere else FLDS compounds are located. These people are raised to blindly obey what their church leaders tell them to do, and the women (some of them are barely adolescent girls) are traded around among the older men.

I've read some opinions where people are upset that children are being taken away from their parents. If you don't think those children are abused in some way, there's something wrong with you. They don't have any formal education and have been taught to fear modern society.

If you think it's OK to force a woman to marry someone against her will there's something wrong with you. If you think it's OK to force a woman to marry another man because her current husband broke some religious law there's something wrong with you.

I hope they find the girl who called the authorities, and I hope they send a lot of people to jail over this one.

Seal Beach 5K Results

I ran the Seal Beach 5K this morning. It was really nice. Mostly cloudy, but it warmed up a bit after the race started.

I definitely was not in any shape to be running this morning. Last night someone very dear to me was celebrating his birthday at a restaurant/club. I'll have to do a restaurant review on the place; it's really cool and definitely affordable for being in downtown LA.

Anyway, I was out dancing all last night and didn't get home until around 1:00 AM this morning. I didn't sleep much and was out of bed by 6:30 AM to get to Seal Beach in time for the run. So I was doing pretty much everything you weren't supposed to do the night before a race.

I guess that's OK. My time wasn't good, 39:14, somewhere between 30 and 90 seconds slower than last year (I can't remember the time exactly and I'm too lazy to go check). But given the handicap, I think I'm doing about as good as I was last year, if not better.

I actually think I'm doing better because I hadn't been running for 30 minutes on the treadmill last year when I did the run. It's a poor gauge, but it's the only one I have right now.

I think I'm going to sign up for another 5K next month, and maybe a 10K this summer. But today my legs are making me pay for being so mean to them . . .

The Lottery

I put my name in for the Nike "Run Like A Girl" Half Marathon in San Francisco this year (it's in October).

Their blog said that they received over 30,000 entries, and that they were going to draw 20,000.

I was not one of the 20,000.

I'm not exactly sure what I should have expected. I only half-heartedly wanted to sign up for it because there was great loot to be had (Nike performance t-shirt, custom Tiffany necklace) and that I've never been to San Francisco (as an adult, I think my parents and I drove through San Francisco on a road trip once). Also it would have been a good test/milestone for the marathon I want to do next Fall. I'm still intimidated by the 5K; running a half marathon or a marathon mentally feels out of my reach.

I guess Nike also decided on a compromise: they're running a concurrent Nike+ half marathon/marathon the same day, with registration starting in May. Basically, you get a Nike+ system for your iPod Nano (it tracks basic statistics of your runs for you) and log 13.1 miles the day of the event. They then send you your finisher's t-shirt and a Tiffany keychain (not as cool as the necklace, but since I don't have anything from Tiffany's I can live with a keychain).

I suppose doing it that way I can run on more forgiving ground than I would have faced in San Francisco, but I still feel empty in a way. I had a better than 50/50 chance of my name getting drawn and I lost.

Maybe next year.

Taiwan - February 6

Yesterday my aunt and uncle took my parents and myself to Changhua and Lugang. There is a famous Buddha in Changhua and Lugang is famous for its oyster omelets.

This morning we went to a morning market - wow was it crowded! We also tried to go to the art museum here, but it's closed today and tomorrow for the New Year holiday.

This afternoon my parents and I went to a bookstore not far from my Grandmother's. I would have liked to buy some children's books so I could improve my reading ability but all the books are in traditional characters (I was learning the simplified format). I did see a peanuts comic anthology that had a Chinese translation that I thought would have been funny. I also found a "How-to-Strip" primer that I thought was hilarious.

Tonight we had dinner in the same restaurant we went to for Grandma's birthday. Afterwards my mom gave out red envelopes (hong bao) and my uncle and cousin Wei-Chien gave me red envelopes too.

Right now my aunt's family is playing a family gambling game with dice. You roll 4 dice into a bowl; only rolls with a "pair" (like two dice that rolled a six) count. You discard the pair and add up the other two die rolls. If you roll two pairs, your score is the higher pair added together (if you rolled a pair of three and a pair of six, your score is 12). Whoever rolls the highest score wins the round. Ties don't count.

I would have liked to see a parade or something, but I think that's going out of style and neither my aunt nor uncle know of a parade we could see. I know last night there were a lot of firecrackers going off.