Top 5 Most Stressful Cities to Live In

1. Chicago, IL
2. New York, NY
3. Detroit, Michigan
4. Los Angeles, CA
5. San Francisco, CA

Leave New York before you get hard, leave LA before you become soft.

Gray Matter

Concept art from Jane Jensen's latest project, which deals with a neuroscientist and magician grad student in New Orleans. I always enjoy the concept art much more than the game itself - my preference for the surreal over realistic detail. Why do all characters have to look the same these days? She looks like she would fit in with the characters from Grand Theft Auto, or any similar shoot-em-up, or a man's idea of what a woman should look like. More realistic female representations, please.

Wonder Girls

Saw them live in concert this weekend. Was one of the better concerts that I'd gone to in quite some time, pretty good for a free one.

Hermes Kelly or Birkin

This is terrible but I want one of these. The purses cost upwards of $7,000 to six figures. On the black market they can sell for about $350. I inspected one today and the quality was horrendous. I then went to Filene's and saw a faint glimmer of a replica (around $150) that was much better quality than the black market Kelly, but not the right size.

I don't care about the object as a status symbol. It's the look that I like - the clean, classic lines, elegant simplicity, and the excellent functionality. It's as organized as my Timbuk2! Personally, I can't stand carrying tote bags or shoulder bags that I have to dump everything into. My notebooks and papers get edge-worn, and then all my other junk gets scrambled up. Short of carrying a boxy, rectangular men's briefcase, this is the ideal bag.

I also saw some cute mini-Kellies on the black market that were about 6" square ($270). I guess I might consider buying the Coach take on the Birkin/Kelly, but it's an entirely different beast.

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On another note, I am planning on preparing an emergency survival kit (something I've been thinking about since 9/11/2001, but never got around to doing). We had several of them at Trip, with most of the stuff in buckets (which doubled as toilets) which made me feel safe most of the time. I'll stuff everything into a backpack so I can just grab it and run if the zombies come.

- 1L water in bottle
- iodine
- first aid kit
- sleeping bag
- rain jacket
- whistle, matches, lighter, flashlight, standard camping stuff...
- emergency heating blanket
- MREs / other food
- radio
- knife/multi-purpose tool
- duct tape
- Zombie repellent
- crucifix, garlic, holy water
- Zithromax
- gas mask
- Kevlar trenchcoat

Dracaenaceae

These trees are really cool. Whenever I see them, I see Yggdrasil.

Socotra Island (Indian Ocean), a UNESCO Heritage site. Dragon Trees.

In my life, I wish to visit as many UNESCO Heritage sites as possible.

Chewing Gum Doesn't Biodegrade

Most commercial chewing gums are manufactured from a combination of synthetic rubbers, artificial sweeteners like Xylitol, and preservatives -  not natural saps or gums.  Gum isn't digestable (so don't swallow it) and not biodegradable!

Here's another prime example of a disposable convenience product that is basically garbage as soon as it hits the retail shelf, and pretty much garbage for the rest of eternity.  

Forever stuck to NYC sidewalks, stuck under chairs, in school desks,  and under the soles of your shoes, those chewed-up pieces of gum will be around longer than you or I.  How old do you think those stains on subway platforms are, 50-100 years old?  Even if someone comes along and scrapes them off, they'll still be a permanent mess somewhere else, ultimately, in a landfill.  The New York Times identified the problem of chewing gum litter removal over 10 years ago (great article); the UK has also considered an initiative for disposing of gum in special bins.   There has been some recognition of this fact, so it seems, and a call for patentable, more quickly degradable products that are easier to clean up, but has anyone really taken it up?  I haven't heard of anything lately, and in fact; gum marketing aims at making gum last even longer (flavor, that is).  (See Stride commercials.) If  they *really* wanted to make money, gum companies should produce natural gum-based products that quickly degrade and are easily to clean up.

Chewing gum gives health benefits such as stress relief, improved concentration, and an increase in calorie burning of ~10 calories/hour.  But the increased motion of chewing can disrupt orthodontic correction, moving teeth, so don't chew if you have braces.  If you're going to chew gum, at least dispose of it responsibly - in its wrapper, and into a bin.

Disposable Lifestyle

We need to change our mindset from a post-industrial one to a pre-industrial one if the human race is going to survive. The western mindset is: use it once, throw it away, buy another one that can be easily bought since everything is mass-produced in a factory. The industrial revolution gave us every convenience that we could ever want, saving thousands of hours of housewives' time. Canned vegetables, frozen food, gallons of soda are all stockpiled in huge warehouses so that no one could ever go hungry even after a nuclear holocaust (that stuff has got enough preservatives to outlast the apocalypse).

But we've abused the benefits of the industrial life. We see food as an unlimited resource. It's not. Our resources are precious. Wasteful consumption affects everyone.

Get rid of your disposable mindset. Do your part to reduce landfill litter.

-Never purchase drinks that come in a plastic cup from any kind of fast food establishment. This includes soft drinks, Starbucks, and slurpees. You'll use it for at most an hour, and then when you're done, your trash will sit in a pile with dozens of others of cups in an overflowing trash can on a street corner. Do you really need to drink something while you're walking down the street? Bring a thermos of coffee if you really need it, and always carry a Nalgene. I do.

- Turn something that has outlived its use into something useful: make a skirt from old ties, or turn ratty undershirts into rags that you can clean your car with. Use the last bit of butter on the wrapper of sticks of butter to grease baking pans. Think in terms of molecules, not dozens: always finish the last bit of juice in the carton, and squeeze out every last drop of toothpaste.

Don't contribute to paper garbage:
-Don't use anything that's single-use, or "Wipe and Toss." This includes alcohol wipes, any kind of disposable cleaning item, or "100-calorie" packages of food. These things are 99% garbage to begin with and the creation of greedy marketing departments. You'll use the product once, throw it away, and then have to buy another package of 30 for the future. How sneaky is that? The product is pretty much garbage at the time you buy it off the shelf. It's much better to buy more durable products (such as a good scrubbing sponge), and use natural cleaning agents like vinegar.

-Women: sanitary napkins are like diapers. They contain not only bleached white cotton, but plastic, gels, rayon and other chemicals that don't biodegrade quickly. Would you bury used pads in your garden outside your house? Then don't contribute to hygienic product waste. Use alternative menstrual products like Gladrags, Lunapads, or Lunacups. Women used cloth pads and natural sponges for hundreds, if not thousands, of years before disposable sanitary products were mass-produced in the 20th century.

-Use Tupperware instead of Ziploc bags to store your lunch. Did I mention to make a packed lunch every day instead of ordering out?

-Always use china instead of paper plates, plastic cups and cutlery. Washing dishes is always more friendly than throwing the remnants of your meal into a pile of trash that will rot in a landfill.

- Save, save, save! Something that is not useful today might have a use in the future. Perfectly good items like buttons and fabric are always useful. It's OK to hoard. Think like your grandparents who lived through the Depression.

- If it's broke, fix it. Don't buy a new one. This goes for shoes (get them repaired by a cobbler). Don't buy crappy $5 sneakers that you wear for a year and then throw away. Make an investment on a good pair of shoes that will last for years. My parents both have shoes that they've worn for at least 20 years. Go for classic, timeless styles and cuts made with durable, lasting fabrics. Don't pay any attention to fashionistas who tell you to get rid of clothes once they go out of style within a season or two, as inevitably they do. In fact, don't buy into American trendism at all. It just contributes to more waste. I'd rather buy a good, classic piece that's slightly more expensive than a cheap, flimsy garment that lasts for a few washes and then disintegrates *and* goes out of style. Mend the shirt instead of buying a new one.

Most important of all is mindful consumption. The next time you're about to throw an item into the trash, think about where it's going to go. Is it going to sit in a landfill until kingdom come (like unrecyclable plastic packaging and junk)? Will it get blown away by the wind or slowly disintegrate (hair and nails), becoming dust? It always makes me happy when I recycle my cans and plastics to know that they'll be melted down and made into other useful things.

Feeding my existential hunger with hummus and Al-Jazeera

Margerine by Sadgasm (Simpsons parody)

I have no idea why this Simpsons parody song has been stuck in my head since yesterday when I watched the episode it was featured in, randomly, but it's pretty catchy, without being a direct parody of the song (same melody). I guess it evokes some of the best parts of Glycerine without actually being Glycerine, making it an ever better version of it.

Things that rhyme with Glycerine:

Margerine (margarine)

Listerine

Mercedes Benzene

Tangerine

Aubergine (Eggplant)

Magazine

Alizarin (red dye)

I really enjoy eating Middle Eastern food for some reason. I guess it's because the flavors are so unique and different from what I was raised on that I can understand why Jewish people really like Chinese food. Everything about the spices, flavors, and their different combinations is so appetizing to me and I crave it! Just now, I had a huge craving for hummus and just ate a hummus sandwich with Taiwanese cucumbers. (No pita, so white bread had to do.) For dinner

I had couscous with chicken that I'd marinated in cumin, curry powder and paprika.

Cross-section of a hot dog

From the latest NYMagazine article on organic hot dogs.

Saturday

I think not conditioning my hair keeps my hair cleaner for a longer time.  Just shampoo alone gets my hair clean.  I feel like conditioner weighs down my hair and absorbs pollution and smog from the air, so it feels dirtier sooner.  But conditioner is supposed to protect my hair from pollution, so by not conditioning, I'm exposing it to more damage.  It's all backwards!!!

I went to Bay Terrace today to see if Ann Taylor Loft had a certain dress that I wanted in my size (they did not).  Then I walked around a bit and went to Love My Shoes.  Didn't buy anything.  I'm supposed to get a knit shell to wear with my suit, preferably in white, but it has been elusive.

Breakfast: Cocoa crispies

Lunch: Ellios pepperoni pizza with garlic, cranberry juice

Dinner: egg and tomato stir-fry, rice, chinese broccoli

Snacks: Kudos peanut butter granola bar, strawberry yogurt, Xinjiang pear

Distribution of Single Persons in the US

Why is there such a discrepancy in the distribution? I can see tech types (heavily male) on the west coast, while lots of women might be drawn to New York City. I blame Sex and the City for that, and before that, Working Girl. I should probably move out West!

How do you draw hegemony?

One of these days, someone will have to come up with a really hard version of Pictionary. Some things are so abstract or technical that most people will have no idea how to begin drawing them. For example:

Hegemony
Civilization
Empire
"Knack" "Craft"
Science

Communism
Language

Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium

This would probably be more hard or frustrating than fun to play.

Hello!

This is my first post. I hope using this website is as fun as LiveJournal.

Your friend,
Chia