That Wasn't Falafel?

"You see, if we go to the nearest Waffle House now, we'll be back in time for class". "Where is the nearest one?" "I think that would be in Frederick (town in the mountains 40 miles from Washington)" (Group chuckle). "Yeah you get it". "I think there's something like that in Ballston (a transit-oriented development community 5 miles from Washington)" "That must be an IHOP" (More laughter).

Upon my quest for finding Waffle House jokes, I came across a legitimate (I think) company document. Waffle House Restaurants Now Accepting Credit Cards. What year? a 1986 doc that found its way to the internet? No, Feb 15, 2006.

“We wanted to make sure credit cards were here to stay before we started
accepting them,” said a VEEP.
Welcome to the future.

http://www.wafflehouse.com/Press%20Releases/credit%20cards.pdf

Pelham

At first, I thought the movie was going for the most dirty words in a film (Rated R- South Park the Movie), but it was only gratuitous before the action startef- one hour and 18 hostages. Can Denzel Washington as Lt. Zak Garber (whups- in the new film he's a train controller caught in a bribe scandal) save the passengers from John Travolta before they're annihilated one a minute past the deadline? Maybe it's my partiality to mass transit movies, but I give the movie full ratings.

Lin's Authentic Chinese Restaurant

running fru' da' lil' dawg? runnin' fru' da' cops'? runnin fru' da' Main-dawgs?
u din't run' fru' da' punches - happy birfday, Ben-dawg

I never had the chance to tell you all about the lovely Chinese banquet I enjoyed two weekends ago. This was hosted by the WAPO- the asian orchestra who has a lot of clout with the Montgomery county admins. I still haven't figured out who financially sponsored the event, though. But does it matter?

Introductions by individuals
1. Traditional Chinese appetizers- sliced bamboo and meats
2. West Lake Soup
3. Peking Duck
4. Chow Fun/ Starch Pork Dish
5. Bok Choy with Mushroom
6. Fish Dish- delicate!
7. Desert- Sweet Rice with Red Beans
It was as authentic as it gets outside of New York Chinatown.
Sing along- America the Beautiful, two Chinese folk songs, Oh Susanna

Just to think how some people call Chow Mein Chinese food !?

(****/****)- all things considered

Here's the reference
Tony Lin's
Montrose Crossing (South Building)
Rockville, MD
Just off SR-355/Rockville Pike- 3 blocks to Twinbrook Metro

NTFletch would love this place, I bet

First Day All Over

What did they expect?
Was it this:

Oh, I'm so anxious about seeing them again-it makes my stomach drop- I mean, 12 weeks, I haven't seen them in 3 months. And the social anxiety- when I enter the hall and I'm there being unsocial-it's terrifying.

Of course not! I was busy grabbing things to go last night. I woke up at 6am just fine, with the little IKEA clock- still works swell. Trip over- not too crowded. Awkward silence- not too bad. Opening Mass- went swell. Orientation and all- fine.

Seems there is nothing to worry about, right. The year's getting off to a great start.

PS- I rediscovered the joy of www.nycsubway.org
Great historical insights and pictures of the NYC Subway.

Not much today

I'm reading through Little Brother's "The Encyclopedia of Aircraft" (UK). It's surprisingly thorough, including one-of-a-kind aircraft.
Otherwise, there's not much going on, other than tommorow is Friday, and I have to figure out what to do with the weekend.

Ciao.
PS- Boy, was that a tropical storm last night! The bus felt so nice and warm it was so saturated and wet. You could hear rain on the roof of the bus there was that much rain.

Weekday No. 4

I read Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea in less than 3 hours' time, between breaks at 'work', and the commutes. An interesting book; set in Havana in the old Cuba. Most of it is really about an old man and this one fish. I won't spoil the story anymore. However, I could not help but notice that Hemingway has a tendency to skip punctuation. So be it. (****/4)

After the trip to the pool, there was a little President's Own Marine Band concert on the mall. With dying batteries, the digital camera managed to take great shots at strange angles of the Washington Monument, and that truck.

I got to now: a. Charge cell phone, b. Reward the camera with a fresh set

Addendum: Dido.

Tactical Error

I read a savory ad about the new National Harbor at the Wilson Bridge.
I harken back to the Streetcar days of DC- A destination place at the end of the line. Glen Echo remains as an example. These days, 1920's theme parks are conceived as 'lame'. So enter this 2.1 billion (USD) resort, luring (monied) city people to beefen revenues and profits accumulated from the lured tourists.

-There is no way to get from Downtown to the 'resort' easily (sans voiture)
Options include- direct ramp access from I-95 and the Anacostia Freeway, which leads directly to Downtown, a $14 roundtrip ferry ticket across the river to Alexandria, or, as implied, a bus from a Green Line Metro Station (Southern Avenue) for staff. Great planning, Gaylord. I'll laugh when I read that you're in court facing a discrimination lawsuit. Or I'll file one myself.

But, I wonder, is the parking free?

Alexey!

Work and a very long walk- all the way from Cleveland Park, through the zoo, and Adams Morgan. A long walk. I'm thirsty and tired...

I was intrigued by the free sample of Tetris on my cell phone. Likewise, I did some Tetris of my own. 5720 points- up to level 4.
www.freetetris.org

Weekend Basics

Saturday-
Tilghman Island was the destination. En route, we would stop at Annapolis. Then, we got back on 'route 50', but there was a 17 mile backup- 3 lanes just wasn't enough. Change of plan- North Beach, the old-time bayside resort on 'our' side of the peninsula. It went OK- there was so much to do that I didn't read a page of the Cold War history!
Thunderstorm at night, very loud, distracted me from the Mayday.

Sunday-
7:45 am early mass. Went to Mc D's for the free sandwich, bought something small to not cause trouble in the big line, got $2 bills in change. West Virginia, microbrewery root beer, multiple crossings over the Potomac, long trip home, got lots of the Cold War History read.

I must shower now.

DEAR

FYI, the orthodontist removed the top row of braces with a nifty little plier-jigger, and cosmetically improved the appearance of my teeth, with filing and polishing, and took a mold for a retainer. Additional work and final adjustment of the retainer will follow, 3pm, tomorrow.
Drop Everything And Read. Heeheehee.

Because I was close to burning my eyes out on the new computer screen (which I probably used for 2 hours, cumulatively today), and the TV was off-colored by the storm, I had no choice at 8pm than to cuddle up with a quality book.

The lightening really was lighting up the sky. Based on CGI's by WUSA9, two or three waves of storms have passed, and, if the other storm pocket follows the same route, another will be arriving shortly after I succumb to slumber. Just as long as I'm not waken up by it, it's fine with me. I was actually free-reading (hm. that was so last millenium.) John Hersey's Hiroshima, another intriguing war-novel that was well-written. Shame on Uglies for turning off my interest in reading.

Higgins of the world

Today was the last day of classes- four days until the Western Civ. exam. Today is when we say good-bye to the much beloved 35 minute period which has graced our days with 80-minute lunch periods, which provided cram time and club time. Also a bygone product-the mad rush for the 3:20 shuttle. I don't know the details, but as I left of the Frieshuttle at 3:30 at Fort Totten, that may have made history, as we may be able to leave (some days) from school before 3:00.

In other news, I was fussing about with the Vivitar, the budget digital camera. Works well for its size. Works well for you if you don't need to do anything fancy, and will go into non-conformity to set settings and convert pictures. There is no sound, though, so I'll have to wait for my real camera to come back from New York next month to make more film!
so...
I identified Mike's latest antic, and it's his blog. I must say though, that it's pretty cool'.
RE: Mike Higgin's Blog (http://critanydisc.blogspot.com/)
"So here is where the rivalry begins. Don't worry, we'll just have a friendly fight like b-list celebrities vying for attention.
Anyway, there's enough space in cyberkingdom for both of us to have mansions and live in harmony.

I'll add a link to this blog from mine."

How did it get so late?

I was just reading Zachary M. Schrag's The Great Society Subway on GoogleBooks. Surprisingly, Most of the text is there, even though this is a preview. Good book about the planning and building of the DC Metro.

...1-2-3

Taking of Pelham 123, good movie.

I forgot to mention that yesterday, we saw Chrysler's 1955 version of Huckleberry Finn. I wrote a brief report on the movie, and will post the important material as soon as I get it back. Otherwise, it was a typical Friday, until intramural. James Mwombela, I can't accuse him too much of Main's lost, but in general Main 10th graders don't take house seriously enough, as James is on the team I underestimated Tomas Husted, who shot a 2-pointer (OK) and then a 3-pointer with me supposed to be guarding him. Shame on me, possibly costing Main-2 a 3-on-3 b-ball victory.
When will we move onto some sport Main is really good at?

In the excitement of the weekend, my shirt was locked in a "burned" locker (the inspirational coach had to get it out) and my tie disappeared. Now I'm going to come in on Monday with a different tie because someone lost mine, to reminds everyone about the terrible prank someone pulled on me on Friday. Luckily it wasn't my nicest tie. But still.

Sponsored links:
>Crepe Sale Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The cafeteria, both lunch periods as well as 35 minute period
Crepes $.75, toppings $.25, fruit $.50
Fudge will be available by the spoonful!
Proceeds benefit French Club activities for all to enjoy.

>Main House now has an unofficial website. www.freewebs.com/mainhouse

Book Reviews 101

Newsflash- Little Brother has returned into the city's boundaries as I speak. Expect possible minor delays in reporting in the coming week. Since I did not have orchestra today, I reaped the benefits of Intramurals, getting on the first shuttle. Unfortunately, we did not win because we were one point down and our clock was cut 26 seconds short. Yes, it matters, John.
Here are my two cents on two books:

Wheelock's Latin.
Fredric M Wheelock
Scholars have saluted this book the language book of the century. This would be perfect if you want to look bourgeois-smart, but as the book lacks colored pictures and a good story line, it is rather a textbook from 1956. (*)(*)(1/2)( )( )

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Samuel L Clemens (Mark Twain)
Is this really a children's novel? It was at one time. A very compelling story, full of symbolism, irony and hypocrisies at every turn of the page. However, I do believe that the Norton edition is way different than what I read in the typical edition. An entertaining novel if you want it to be, a 1000 page dissertation if you want to put it that was. It's a versatile book. (*)(*)(*)(*)( )

And now from our sponsor...

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Phish stix.

So for MLK day yesterday I did not do nothing, rather I went to a FREE special performance that included a large gospel choir, Denyse Graves, Elanor Holmes Norton, and, with the use of that oxford comma, lots of important people in the audience who will be up for re-election this year. That's Kennedy Center. For Free? For Free. Then I had a Chinese dinner.

But in the morning...
I had a violin lesson at 9:30 (got up at 8. Ugh!) Then I studied in the Georgetown Univ. library with a picturesque view of Rosslyn and the river. Then I went to KC.

Sweetie?

I've been recommended to check out this eccentric website. A bird named sweetie, a man rolling around on a Segway and films associated with it. What a laugh!

www.beforeisleep.net


This links you to a 27 minute video of this guy teaching "stupid seventh graders" (My smart classmates) about everything ancient. No point in watching it in its entirety.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1955044760982340877

First Christmas, Blogged

It was a rare day when the computer remained off all day. That's why I couldn't say:
*"Merry Christmas"*
last night to everyone before the special day.

Before next Christmas I will have received my Driver Learner's Permit (isn't it 15 and a half in DC) , had a nice, long summer vacation and experience, Dr. Wood's Physics class, and a February 29th will have gone by. Lots of things.

Back to yesterday and the day before, I took the Tony bus to New York (Not recommended) via 4 stops and had a lunch in Chinatown. ($3, Fried Dumpling, Avenue of the Immigrants/Allen Street, Fried dumplings, wonton soup, spring roll and tea egg) I rushed back to a lesson and carol service for the community, and then had an alumni school dinner. Afterwards, we checked in our hotel, Doubletree at Times Square. Nice views from room 1403. Fun to ride the elevator to the top and down for thrills. Of course, time flew and it was time for midnight mass. It was so hard to stay awake while sitting down during the festive music, but I was somewhat awake by the end of Mass. Bed at about 2am.

Later morning, Christmas Day, Breakfast at a little deli east of the hotel on 47th street. ($3.25, breakfast sandwich.) Rockefeller center had a long fountain which was about a foot thick in pennies and various other change. Got some pictures, will post. Another service at 11, and Eastern bus at 2:30 home. The only store that would have been somewhat appealing there in Times Square, waiting for the bus to pull up was Office Depot. Yes, no better place to play in Times Square. Not too many people. But Office Depot was closed that day.

Ginseng Candy is Good!

Ginseng, Taurine, Ginger, Ginko. We refer to these so frequently as American Culture asianiphiles itself. The Chinese are known for mixing exotic and unexpected herb remedies with food and candy. it may not seem very attractive, but there is something to be noted about the American Ginseng Candy , made in China and therefore Chinese. Point: Have you ever seen a large Asian Candy? Ginseng candy contents itself in a gold-colored wrapper with an image of Ginseng on the front. As you pop one of these into your mouth you will notice that this is not bursting with sugar or as being creamy, but you will notice a cool taste radiating from it. It resembles a breath mint, and it sucessfully does without ruining the earthy, healthy goodness of Ginseng. Had a mild sinus congestion? The candy will help it sure enough. Miracle Ginseng.

Avalible at many Asian supermarkets and at Jangoo. 10 cents each, 5/45 cents. CC-AGC