Damn, what is up with Cervantes? I admit Don Quixote is a clever book (judging by what I’ve read so far), but it’s a little too dark to be funny to me. I know, there’s such a thing as a dark comedy, but the subject matter kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth….
Category: Observations
Thought I’d Something More to Say
Today I stumbled across an old, forgotten watch while cleaning my room. It’s one of those cheap plastic stopwatches with a rope to hang around your neck. I know it’s a time-keeping device and all that, but I was surprised to see that the lousy thing was still, well, on time (discounting the end of…
Tomorrow Will Be Too Late
On feeding days, whenever I throw in the usual portion of five crickets into my salamander tank, those apathetic amphibians of mine take their sweet time going after them. I guess when you’re adapted to hunting for food, having dinner provided every few days can get really old. Anyway, as a consequence of my pets’…
Two Years Later
One thing that especially moved me on September 11, 2001 was the fact that a good deal of interview footage that aired on television that day went uncensored. I remember staying awake until 3 AM that night, watching the towers collapse from every angle, and hearing what New Yorkers had to say about the attack…
Toilet Politics
As I understand it, the unspoken rule mandates that handicapped stalls in public restrooms are off-limits so long as there are other stalls available. The rule makes sense, since you never know when a “differently abled” individual will enter the joint looking for a good place to tinkle. Sometimes, though, all the stalls are taken…
“Then She Was Like…”
What strikes me as incredibly funny is the fact that everybody (and I mean everybody) has his or her own imitation of the female voice. It’s amusing to hear the way men mimic the women in their lives. Almost invariably, they’ll contort their faces and speak in the most exaggerated, high-pitched, and antagonistic screech imaginable….
Irony Behind Iron Bars
So I’m driving in a residential neighborhood. In a window on a particular house, I notice a sign that reads, “United We Stand.” It’s a trite sentiment, but it’s true. I almost couldn’t read the sign as I drove by, though, since there were protective anti-theft bars mounted over the window. And who says there’s…
Lost in a Desert, But Still Rocking Out
You know what’s great about that movie The Ten Commandments? When the Israelites are fleeing from the Egyptians through the split waters of the Red Sea, the Jews are depicted as a bunch of old guys with bent backs and old mothers with small children. But later on, when they’re all partying and praising the…
Redefining What it Means to Be an American
I’m an American. I’m also Chinese. But don’t think for a second that I’m a second-class citizen. And for that matter, nobody should feel that way about themselves, either. The other day, while in conversation with my mother, I learned that one of her Asian friends “married an American man.” In other words, some oriental…
Why Yes, I Do Feel a Draft
It’s funny to think of how much importance we assign to pants (or trousers, as the British call them). I don’t know if it’s due to societal conditioning, or if it’s some deeply rooted instinctual preference, but it’s hard to take a guy seriously when he’s not wearing pants. Case in point: Let’s say you…