Hawaii

It has never occured to me to take pictures from a plane before. It's too bad they don't let you turn on any electronics during take-offs and landings.

Never the First

Last night, I wanted to start a divorce party business, but apparently, such businesses are already fashionable. So much for originality and invention. After Googling the term, I also found an article that asserted, "Celebrating divorce is a failure to accept responsibility for something that went terribly wrong." I disagree.

How responsible a particular divorce is depends on that particular marriage. For example, it may be irresponsible for a woman to stay with a wife-and-childbeater. (I understand, however, that there are people who believe one should "stand by her man" no matter what. I am dismissing this point.)

That said, I do not believe celebrating divorce is a matter of marital responsibility. Arguably, divorce itself may be "a failure to accept responsibility for something that went terribly wrong." Celebrating it isn't. At most, celebrating divorce may be celebrating failure, not failure itself. Hell, if I don't pass the BAR, I would still want to celebrate surviving that ordeal ("survive" in the most literal sense).

A divorce party can be a comfort in an otherwise solemn and disappointing time. And since throwing such parties are mostly held at the discretion of the divorcees, I must continue to support the idea.

Did I ever tell you of my idea for a 24-hour condom-delivering business?

New Discoveries

My Preconceived Notion: VH1 and MTV no longer play videos, and when they do, the videos are excerpts presented in shows such as TRL.

Truth: VH1 and MTV do play some videos in the morning. Now that I don't work, these are the mysteries I solve.

Radio: My Chemical Romance is a so-so emo band with so-so songs.

Videos: "Helena" was a visual feast; if you ever wondered what a dancey goth funeral looks like, your prayers have been answered. "I'm Not OK" is not filled with the most creative concepts, but the movie trailer format and final text prompts were clever. Watching a band perform in the video isn't always fun, but watching My Chemical Romance is.

Other Quick Video Reviews:

Beck, "Girl." Nothing too special, except things in the video keep folding and turning into something else. The effects are cool, but I don't understand its ties with the song, and a special effect like that in itself isn't enough to be a theme.

Coldplay, "Speed of Sound." The backdrop may be pretty psychedelic at a real concert, but these guys need to show more creativity than performing in front of a large video screen for a video. Use some of that money they've got to give us more of a feast.

Jessica Simpson, "These Boots are Made for Walkin'." The threadbare arrangement and thin vocals aren't impressive, but the cowgirl line dance and Jessica's Paris-upping car wash is enough to make this video very, very appropriate.

Foo Fighters, "Best of Me." If they kept the camera on Dave Grohl's mouth making out with the microphone, I would have been happier. Instead, we zoom out, watch the band grudgingly perform. Worst of all, these scenes are intercut with horrible, cliched early 90s grunge-like stock video.

Rhapsody

I posted a playlist on Rhapsody. It's similar to my Ides of July mix, except I had to tweek a few tracks that were unavailable. The new one's called Ides of March:

1. Sometimes - My Bloody Valentine
2. Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
3. Abandoning - (from 'Hairdresser's Husband') - Michael Nyman
4. Nightmares By The Sea - Jeff Buckley
5. Tiny Cities Made Of Ashes - Modest Mouse
6. Deep Blue Day - Brian Eno
7. Clouds - Cibo Matto
8. When The Sun Took A Day Off - Omid, Aceyalone and Self Jupiter
9. If - (from 'The Diary Of Anne Frank') - Michael Nyman
10. Haunt Me - Arab Strap
11. No Danger - Inouk
12. Velouria - The Pixies
13. Miracle - The Gun & Doll Show
14. Lapland - Ratatat
15. Hard To Find - The American Analog Set

Melange of Memories

My sister called me last night to tell me that my grandfather passed away. He was 91.

Last time I visited him, he still had my sister's and my chicken-scratch drawings from childhood posted above his bed. He was also excited about a fish bone he had found.

He loved telling me this story: when I was a baby, my family offered me a huge plastic gold nugget and a small, real gold nugget to play with. I ignored the huge plastic one and went for the real gold, and my grandfather would say what a smart baby I was.

Even though my grandmother cooked, my grandfather always seemed to be the one in the kitchen when my family visited. He always cooked sea slugs, a delicacy. In the mornings, he would wake up before anyone else and bring back oily sticks, fried pancakes, and hot soy milk. His advice: Drink lots of water, don't drink too fast, and fold your toilet paper into squares. He walked faster than anyone else in the family.

When I didn't hog the television watching Looney, Looney, Looney, a Bugs Bunny movie, he would watch Chinese opera.

He had a strong Shandong accent, and I couldn't always understand what he said. Sometimes I heard him being impatient with other family members, but he was always smiling and kind towards my sister and me. He collected new Taiwanese stamps and said the collection was for us.

I used to sleep in the same bed as my grandfather when we visited. But one day, I had decided that I was old enough to sleep on my own. My aunt let me sleep on her single bed. I sleepwalked back to my grandfather's. I woke up and I cried out, "Who moved me? Who moved me?!" My grandfather had been so happy to see that I had returned in the middle of the night. I was sorry I had to disappoint him.

When I started working as a technical editor, I called him and explained my job. I told him that my English was better than most Americans'. He chuckled. He wanted me to get a Ph.D. A J.D. is good enough, I think.

He was a wonderful grandfather.