A Grrreeaat Bill Maher Moment

Real Time with Bill Maher came back on air tonight - it was such a long, painful wait!! I have been a huge fan of the show since its debut. But tonight was the night. It was the best Bill Maher moment to see Michael Moore refute a Republican congressman (David Dreir). Maher had two Republican guests and when they were questioned about Bush sitting in an elementary classroom for 7 minutes after being informed "America is under attack," both of them gave the exact same bullshit answer. I wonder if the Republican party provides its members with the *excuses* to everything and they just practice it before they get interviewed? It's hard to believe that they actually believe in what they say.. After watching the show, I was all fired up about things, but now I think I have calmed down and am ready to go to bed.

Why men don't listen & women can't read maps

That's the title of a book I recently read. This book is not one of those "Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus" type bullshit reading. It is packed with scientific facts that explain how men and women are biologically different from each other. After reading this book, I am amazed that men and women still get along! That's how different we are. I've never been a feminist and I never will be, because I believe they make things more difficult for women. Being equal is one thing, but assuming the two sexes are same is quite another. Men and women are fundamentally different, and that is not to argue that one sex is superior to the other. We are just different. Life would be much easier once you can accept that fact.

The authors argue that there are a "male brain" and a "female brain." All fetuses have female body and brain to start with. You can't tell the fetus' sex for the first 6-8 week. Around the 6th - 8th week of pregnancy, if the fetus has a XY chromosome, it starts to secrete lots of male hormones (like Testosterone) and its brain starts to get wired into a "male brain." If the fetus has a XX chromosome, it gives out lots of female hormones and its brain develops into a "female brain."

However, if for some reason, a male fetus doesn't secrete enough Testosterone, its penis gets formed but its brain cannot fully develop into a Male brain. When that happens, the person is likely to be gay (this is the most clever, complete explanation I've read about homosexuality, but I won't go into too much details about it now - maybe next time).

On the other hand, when a female fetus gets exposed to too much Testosterone, its brain becomes manly.

There was a test in the book to see if your brain is male or female. The test consisted of 30 multiple questions. I wasn't really surprised to see the result of the test. Most men's score fall within the range of 0 to 180, and most women score between 150 and 300. My score was 115. I know I'm not a lesbian, but I guess I think more like a guy than a girl. I get along better with guys. I like talking about politics and sports than someone's stupid boyfriend. But I love shoes and teddy bears, and I love to cook. My most favorite activity is yoga, but I also love golf.

Anyway, enough about me. Go read this book. I recommend it to anybody who wants to learn more about the opposite sex.

I have been watching the Democratic National Convention on TV. I've never thought Politics can be this exciting. I've never cared about politics so much. But I guess when things are going as wrong as they are now, one is forced to pay attention. Seeing Clinton and Gore speak on the first day of the convention reminded me of sane, stable America that we used to have. Gone are those days. Now we have a stupid, incapable man who prioritalize right-wing ideologies over what's best for the country, and send other people's kids to Iraq to help his friends make money. I'm sick and tired of watching the president give a speach and think "oh god, what the hell does this moron have to say now..." I just cant take him seriously anymore. I don't believe anything that comes out of his mouth. I'm so fucking sick and tired of having a mis-leader. We were so better off when Clinton/Gore were in the office. It's about time everybody realizes that and brings the nation back to normal. Let's hope: Hope Is On The Way!

Bill and I at a Red Sox - Angeles game on 7/15. Had tons of fun!! The stadium looks empty because we got there really early. It was actually a sell-out game. 

Yesterday on Tom Leykis Show, he was talking about how hot 14, 15 year old girls are and guys secretly look at them and have some dirty thoughts. I didn't get to hear the whole segment of the show, but as soon as I tune in, I hear a crazy, bitter, old woman arguing that anybody who checks out underage girls is a perverted loser who needs Jesus' help. I wanted to shoot her. She claimed that she has a wonderful life with her husband and kids, and she is HOT (rrrright!). She was a total nut case (so is anybody who says "you need Jesus' help"). What's the friggin' big deal about guys looking at teenage girls? I so wanted to call Tom and tell him that American women are CRAZY! It's like expected that all men look at teenage girls (especially the ones in school uniform) and fantasize about them in Japan. Everyone knows, but no one panics about it. I'm so sick of all those right-wing, Christian ideologies.

The old lady also suggested that the reason guys fantasize about 14, 15 year olds is because they can't handle "Real" women. I wonder what she means by "Real" women? For some reason, I can't help but think that being "Real" is about being fat, homely, bitter, bitchy, lazy, and demanding. Of course, those "Real" women would argue that they are curvy, confident, independent.. blah blah blah... But let's face it. No one wants big fat cow who complains all the time. And I bet you, deep down, they know it too.

My life is rated NC-17.
What is your life rated?

Like I really needed to take this test to figure that out...
My current life is not so NC-17, but I guess my past behaviors and language preference make it so explicit.

This Land--
Click here to see a really funny cartoon starring George W. Bush and John Kerry! Very clever.. It will surely make you laugh!!  *It might take a while to load.. apparently the site is experiencing very heavy traffic. But keep trying, it's worth it!!

My New Addiction #2: Red Sox  
 
When you live with a hardcore Red Sox fan, it's hard to resist. There is no day where Bill doesn't talk about the Red Sox. So I have been slowly influenced into liking the Sox over the last 3 years, and now I am a serious fan. Bill and I went to see a Red Sox - Angels game last week, and I had so much fun. I read articles about the Red Sox online, and I watch games on online gamecast or TV whenever it's on. Growing up, I've always liked baseball, since that's the only exciting pro sports in Japan. There is no pro football (American) or basketball league. And soccer just sucks. I wouldn't be surprised if the J-league (professional soccer league in Japan) was doing shittier than WNBA. But anyway, my favorite team in Japan was Hanshin Tigers, a team that's kinda similar to the Red Sox. Tigers fans are always crazy about the Tigers (and also very loyal) even when they are playing really crappy. The Red Sox is definitely a better team than the Tigers, but the fan's sentiment is exactly the same. 

Curb Your Enthusiasm: My New Addiction
 
Bill and I have been watching Season 1 and 2 of Curb Your Enthusiasm on DVD lately, and it has become my new addiction. The show is beyond funny. I just want to see more!! I had seen several of the episodes on HBO, but I was never really hooked. But I don't know.. the Curb Your Enthusiasm marathon has turned me into a huge fan of the show. The more I watch it, the worse my addiction gets. I mean, an episode of TV show doesn't really get funnier than the episode #8 "Beloved Aunt," where Cheryl's aunt dies and Larry offers to use his connections to place an obituary in the newspaper. But when the paper comes out, it says "devoted sister, beloved cunt..." What a typo!! And the funny thing is that Cheryl's parents think that Larry did it on purpose and Larry gets kicked out of the house for the night. There are plenty of other jokes that stand out in my mind, but I think Beloved Cunt wins the first place. I'm still laughing as I write this...  

Yoga has improved my golf game! I've heard people say this before, but I was kind of skeptical about it. Well, yesterday, I hit the range for the first time in 6 months. Even though I had not touched my clubs since January, I had a great day. I was driving balls way further than I used to. Considering the lack of swing practice, I must give full credit to yoga. While I have totally been slacking on golf, I have been practicing yoga at least 4 times a week. I feel like I have much more lower body strength and more flexibility in my shoulders. I'm hooked once again. I can see myself frequenting the range this summer. 

Finally saw Fahrenheit 911 a few days ago! I must say, the film was better than I expected it to be. It was very informing, yet absolutely hilarious!! I laughed my ass off. GWB is such a moron. But towards the end, when the film's focus shifted to the American soldiers in Iraq, it made me teary. It was so emotional to see a mother speak about her lost son. How could Haliburton and other giant corporations get together and discuss how much profits they can make off of this war when other people's sons and daughters are falling on the field?? Have they totally lost touch with conscience? How dare they lie to us and drag young soldiers of America to Iraq for oil!

The film also had the best war footage I've ever seen. It was so real. No TV stations would dare to show such footage. It was very bloody and very hard to watch. I wonder, do those chickenhawks in the White House ever see such images from Iraq? Do they even care? I loved how Michael Moore tried to recruit congressmen's kids to join the Army and nobody gave a shit. Such chickenhawks.

I know I've been saying this a lot, but I really wish networks got some balls to show what's really going on in Iraq. How can GWB say that Iraqi people have been liberated because of his actions when thousands are dying? Republicans are just a bunch of hypocritical dicks - well, GWB is just a jesus-loving, freedom-worshipping stupid country boy, but Cheney and Rumsfeld look like real shady assholes. We must fire them in November. This is nothing but a disaster. It must be stopped.

Chickenhawks:
A person enthusiastic about war, provided someone else fights it; particularly when that enthusiasm is undimmed by personal experience with war; most emphatically when that lack of experience came in spite of ample opportunity in that person’s youth.

I was just at Michael Moore's website and I must say, it was one of the funniest website I've ever visited (in a clever way). I laughed my ass off - my stomach hurts! He has nicknames for all the key-players in this administration and my favorite is: Dick "Dick" Cheney.

Bill and I went to the Grove to see Fahrenheit 911 today, but it was sold out. The movie was from 4:20, and we got there at 3:30, but the tickets were gone. Damn! I can't wait to see the film!!! I just hope people who aren't really interested in politics would go see this film - so hopefully they can get involved. I know Michael Moore's films tend to be one-sided, but if he can get people talk or even care about politics and thereby empower the people of America, then who cares? And if you want to talk about being one-sided, watch Fox News Channel. Besides, if Republican fuck heads are trying so hard to can this film, it must be really good. It must contain a lot of truth that they don't want us to know.

A Cat Person or a Dog Person?

I've always been a cat person, but Bill has influenced me into liking dogs more than cats (just big dogs though) lately. But I saw the cutest cat today when I was jogging. I saw the cat sitting on a front yard, so I started meowing to the cat. I do this often as I like cats and I do a good impression of cat's meow. But today's cat was different. The cat actually came up to me and started rubbing herself against my legs!! She had the softest hair.. it felt so good! I would love to have a cat like that...

So I read Japanese fashion magazine every once in a while. It's a lot cooler than American fashion magazines, because it actually features 100 times more photos than the American ones. It also seems like the Japanese trend is a little ahead of the American trend. For example, white purses and shoes are hot this year in America, but they have been all over the place (literally!) since last year in Japan. But, with that said, sometimes I have to laugh at what some of the Japanese girls wear. I found 2 particularly interesting T-shirts in the current issue of JJ.

1. "I LIKE TO BARY MYSELF IN YOUR BREASTS" - Not only they have misspelled the word "Bury," but also they must not know what this means. How could they? I just hope she doesn't wear this shirt outside of Japan.

2. "She Were Leopardskin And Her Tits Were Big" - What!?!? "She Were"? Maybe "She Wore"? And Leopardskin is not a one-word! On top of that, her TITS?! No one with the right mind would make this shirt or wear it. I just think people should be banned from making a t-shirt with English phrases/logos, unless they can speak the language.

Today, I took a trial Tae Kwon Do class with Bill at this martial arts school by our house. It was so much fun!! I had more fun than I expected. Everyone was so nice and polite that I felt like I was back in Asia for a moment. Tae Kwon Do is a Korean martial art, but all the bowing we did in the class made me want to speak in Japanese. It was a good workout too - I was sweating my ass off. The instructor was holding a piece of hard paper for me to kick, and I guess he expected me to be weaker.. When I kicked, the paper went flying! hahaha. Ya, I don't look so athletic, but I'm strong. Growing up, I was kind of a slow kid in the class, but I could kick most of the classmates' ass, including the boys. It's called the size advantage. I remember a day where one of the boys picked on me and really pissed me off, so I beat the crap out of him. Of course, the teacher called my mom. But in any case, I'm definitely looking forward to my next class. I hope the tuition won't be too expensive, I want to continue doing it after the trail period.

Just saw Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine for the second time. I saw it in a theater when it first came out, but thought it was a good enough film to watch twice. Plus, I wanted to see the special features on DVD. I must say I liked the film even more this time. The first time I saw it, I thought the film was more about gun control and violence. But after seeing it twice, I realized that it goes much deeper than that. I think the main message of the film is that we Americans live in a culuture of FEAR. I couldn't agree with Marilyn Manson, who was interviewed in the film, more. We are constantly put in a state of fear by the government and the media, we are so scared that it has become vague as to what exactly we are afraid of. Local news is always filled with violence and stupid stories like "What you don't know could kill you... stay tuned to find out the truth about low-carb diet." Watching those local news channels doesn't educate you on anything. Absolute crap! I wonder why. But what pisses me off the most is that none of them has the balls to criticize the Bush administration. All they do is show how horrible things are in Iraq, praise our troops and justify the war in Iraq. I believe, if any of those news stations started covering things I read in Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush or even something as mainstream as New York Times or Newsweek, nobody would be supporting Bush by now. It's just that people don't have the unbiased, correct information to make judgements on. And I think it's the local news stations' responsibility to provide people with such information, because afterall, we live in a country where even the President doesn't read.

I just can't wait to see Michael Moore's new film - which apparently Disney has canned. How long are we going to tolerate such institutional censorship? I'll do anything to kick Bush-Cheney out of the White House this November. Whatever it takes.

By the way, am I the only one who is sick of hearing Bush say empty phrases like "War on Terror"?

Thanks to Mike and Bill, I have something funny to post today!
Read on.. My favorite is No. 6.

To be a Republican in 2004
Somehow, you have to believe that:

1. Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.

2. The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U. N. resolutions against Iraq.

3. "Standing Tall for America" means firing your workers and moving their jobs to India.

4. A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multinational corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

5. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.

6. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

7. Group sex and drug use are degenerate sins unless you someday run for governor of California as a Republican.

8. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

9. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our longtime allies, then demand their cooperation and money.

10. HMOs and insurance companies have the interest of the public at heart.

11. Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.

12. Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

13. It is okay that the Bush family has done $millions of business with the Bin Laden family.

14. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

15. A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense. A president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

16. Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

17. The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's Harken Oil stock trade is none of our business.

18. You support states' rights, which means Attorney General John Ashcroft can tell states what local voter initiatives they have a right to adopt.

19. What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.

20. Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

21. Affirmative Action is wrong but that it is ok for your Daddy and his friends to get you into Yale, the Texas Air National Guard, Harvard Business School, part ownership of Harken Oil, part ownership of the Texas Rangers, the Governorship of Texas and then have the Supreme Court Appoint you President of the USA.

Interesting License Plate...
There is a BMW M3 parked in the parking lot next to the building I work in. Its license plate reads: 5EXT001. One morning I was walking to the elevator from my car and saw the car parked next to the elevator. I thought it read SEXTool! I wonder if it's intentional.

The Weekend
was a lot of fun - Bill and I went to LACMA on Saturday to see Diane Arbus "Revelation." It was my first time there, so I was gonna see Diane's exhibit and then check out the permanent collection. I loved some of Arbus' work, but there were some pictures that I didn't really get. My favorite was the inadvertent double exposure she took on the street of NYC. I also liked the Castle in Disneyland, the lighting in the photo was perfect. Another thing I enjoyed was looking at the pictures of movie theaters in the 50s - they looked more like an opera theater, so different from what we are used to now. I'm not an expert in Art, but I usually like pictures that captured people when they were not expecting it or when they know they are being photographed but not looking at the camera. So, for that reason, there were only a few pictures that I really liked in this exhibit.

Then we moved on to the Japanese Art building. I was impressed to see that they had a separate building solely devoted to Japanese art. It was very nice to re-visit Japanese tradition. It had been a while. I have to admit that I didn't really appreciate my own culture (traditional Japanese culture, that is) until I lived outside of Japan. I guess sometimes you have to get out of it to realize how good something is. Or maybe it's just that I'm getting old.

In any case, it was nice to do something different from our usual.

So I need to speculate more on how hot Brad Pitt looked in Troy. That man just can't look bad whatever he does, well, except that "Passion of the Pitt" look. But I think he looks better when he is wearing close to nothing (like the armor he was wearing in Troy), his hair undone, and some grease/dirt on his skin than when he is all dressed-up in nice suit like in Ocean's 11. I like that "rough" look. He's definitely the sexiest man alive.

Went to see Troy last night. I liked the movie overall, although there were some cheesy parts to it. But hey, I don't care - that $11 is well worth seeing Brad Pitt's ass on a big screen. He is soooo ffiiiiine!!! Eric Bana looked really good too. In fact, I thought Hector was more likable than Achilles. But seriously, I have been wanting to go to Greece for a long time and seeing this movie just made me wanna go there even more!!