Quote of the Day: "Needless to say..."

"Needless to say, his declaration was poorly received in court. He was executed in royal fashion: thrown into a velvet sack (so as not to spill any royal blood) and then beaten to death with a sandal wood club."

-referring to General Phraya Taksin, after his suffering from the unfortunate misconception that he was a reincarnation of the Buddha. This was in the Late 1780's.
The passage comes from my 'Let's Go - Thailand' travel guide History section, and I find - is quite nicely put.

People in the olden days were so crazy.

Silver and Gold

Well they did it. Eric's boys kicked ass in Macau and won 2 Silver medals (and 1 Gold in the prelims) at this years Asian Indoor Games. All their hard work payed off big-time.
I am quite sure Eric will give a detailed account as soon as they are done celebrating.
Side note: who knew that Chess, Billiards, and 'Dragon and Lion Dance' were also events at this years games....?
And a word about the mascot: "The concept of "Mei Mei" derives from the wild migratory black-faced spoonbills which come and perch in Macao every year. "Mei Mei" soars high into the sky, symbolizing that Macao opens new paths with endless innovative spirit, and also represent the youthful, boundless and ground-breaking force of the Asian Indoor Games." wow.
Congratulations you guys! (And as Sveen would say) You truly, truly rock.

Invasion

What we have here are a few snaps from The Visit. Three of Eric's skaters joined him on a trip to California earlier this month and many shenanigans ensued.
Top is the boys doing what they do best at the Alameda skate park.
Middle is a bit of down time camped out in our living room watching vintage skate videos.
Bottom is Wolfie and Nut Guevara hamming it up on Telegraph.
The boys; Jirawat Paoin (Ji), Weerayut Eksirasuwan (Nut), and Sutat Siriwat (Es) were sterling house guests. I couldn't get over their lightning fast showers. And Es prepared his delectable Coke-Chicken recipe (well it was actually turkey this time, but it was literally simmered in a pot of Coca-cola). They skated and shopped at Ross and skated some more. Eventually they were referring to me as "Mom"- I made them wear their little seat belts when we were driving around and did their laundry. Generally I doted on them like they were our 3 adopted Thai sons. What a cute family we made. Good times.

Do you really want to know?

I've worked in food service and I've seen what can go on behind the swinging door. Now we can all see some stats (at least those of us near S.F.*).
Visit CleanScores.com if you really want to know what the Health Department found on it's last inspection of the restaurant you just ate at.
What a relief to see my favorite crepe place Ti Couz with a 97/100!
Too bad about the "inadequate hand washing" at Arinell's.

*Apparently this service will be available in most major metropolitan areas soon. Won't that be fun.

Note: This picture I found was titled "mouseloaf". That reminds me of my latest project which is collecting new and inventive derogatory names. Mouseloaf is perfect. Stay tuned for a comprehensive list.
Speaking of gross food; this is gross but in a different way.

Really Beautiful

I think these prints by illustrator T.Hanuka are incredible.

a pretty good time

"If only we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time."

Edith Wharton
US novelist (1862 - 1937)

Yes

Gerhard (pictured above) is my personal favorite, however he placed 3rd in the Full Beard Freestyle category at the 2007 World Beard and Moustache Championships . Other categories include; Imperial Moustache, Sideburns Freestyle, Musketeer, and Hungarian. If you are not intrigued enough to click that link and see these men then something is pretty wrong.