(these are the folks who made me)

yesterday marked the end of an era for me.

“hemo” and i have had a lot of adventures together. he got me through college and those volatile post-college years of upheaval and transition. an elder stateman, he was reliable. he knew how to embrace the road and was very responsive to all of my needs. he knew when i wanted to go fast (which was often), and when i needed to slow down. he accommodated my every whim, and taught me a lot about myself: my need for speed, my lack of patience, my love for driving, a desire for lifelong prelude ownership, and an appreciation for the privilege of freedom – to up and go where i want, when i want.

this passionate relationship took a tragic turn a few weeks ago as i was flying down 101 with my sis. before i know it, he slowed to a crawl and no amount of pedal to the metal would snap him out of his paralyzing malaise. shortly after, we’re stranded on the side of the freeway and the CHP is pushing us away from the offramp. i later find out he suffered a snapped timing belt and bent valves. prognosis: grim.

yesterday, in the parking lot of my auto shop, i signed some donation papers and said goodbye to this dear trusty friend of mine.

who knows, maybe some scrappy young kid will have a chance at reviving him into a rice rocket or something.

* obviously these aren’t my photos. i couldn’t find pix of my car. but this is it, minus the sexy hubs, annoying spoiler, and glossy paint job. also, picture this with sedimentary layers of bird crap and oxidation.

i’ll never be good enough to be a contender, but at least i can front with these, right?

i don’t know what it is, but i feel that it is my life calling to throw down the $43 for THESE SICK NINJA SHOES. perhaps just gazing upon them from time to time would please me enough. compelling, aren’t they? if you want a pair you can find them in san jose, here.

don’t forget to pick up sai and knuckle weaponry while you’re there.

yikes, i am getting spam comments left and right. it’s kinda scary. at first it was just porn peddlers, but now disney, anthony hopkins, and various travel agencies have joined the ranks in clogging this thing with bogus comments. curse you, spambots! i shake my fist at you.

i feel a nagging sense of guilt not having brought closure to my china trip blogging. i still intend on posting random pics and commentary from the last leg of the trip, but it almost seems senseless at this point.

my first day in beijing i witnessed a somewhat traumatizing incident. i managed to get some on video. the vantage point is obscured, but it gives you a sense of the craziness (the audio definitely helps). you can see the tussling between all the yellow hardhats and black heads.

so here’s the building that was the point of contention…

BEFORE (the day construction workers set up shop):

AFTER (a week or so post-confrontation):

a little scary and sad.

shanghaiist is part of my web surfing regimen. it features good stuff and neat tidbits of info, such as the fact that chongqing’s official “rural migrant workers day” was the first of november.

this is a glorious music video for a supposedly popular tune, “migrant worker’s song,” which has an interesting backstory. though i know the video is supposed to be stirring, i find it rather ineffective and boring, lacking any raw grittiness. plus it shines with gloss characteristic of a expensive puff piece, perhaps for the government and more specifically, perhaps for premier wen jiabao. regardless, i do think it’s cool that the catchy tune is sung by actual workers. and c’mon, i’m all about supporting the workers’ cause.

if anyone knows about bitter struggle, it’s those guys.

the story goes a lil’ something like this:

“The whole idea of the song came about after Wen Jiabao visited Chongqing in 2006 and met with some actual migrant workers. He told them that their situation was one of his greatest concerns over the last few years. The migrant workers were moved by this true man of the people and took some pictures with him. Later, after the song became the popular, they hatched the idea of letting the premier hear their song, so they got together over a thousand people and had them sign a letter, and sent this, along with the song, to the premier. A few days letter they got the reply and what seemed like a promise to let the song be performed during the CCTV Spring Festival concert.”

taken from one shanghai daily article titled “migrant workers honored for toil”:

“China has more than 120 million migrant workers, mostly farmers from west China seeking work in eastern China’s boom towns and cities. They mainly work in construction, mining, cleaning and catering industries, or the kind of jobs usually labeled dirty, heavy, and exhausting.”

errr, i’ll say!
you see why i think that’s a funny line, right? i hope this was just a badly translated article.

i don’t care how strange it is. i’m excited as all hell!

i love how he yells at the kid. nicknamed “grandmaster sing,” stephen chow always infuses his movies with a gutbustingly funny social/cultural/historical brand of senseless but dead-on humor. it’s hard for me to pick a favorite. the last one i saw was “king of comedy.” peg and i were in seattle and i had bought the dvd in chinatown. i remember laughing my arse off while watching it in our affordable but slightly scary hotel room.

about the new movie, CJ7, the youtube comments for the teaser reveal these things: 1) its release date is february in malaysia and 2) that boy (the little stephen chow in training) is actually a ten year old girl.

judging from the wiki article, it sounds zany, wacky, and hilariously fun, true to dreamy stephen chow form.