Strange News

On Cox.com, there is a section called "Strange news" which I often read because they have some really funny, interesting and well..strange news. Here's one I read this morning...WITH YouTube video.

Australian fishermen battle cheeky, 6-foot long saltwater crocodile to keep shark

01-29-2010 03:31 AM PST

SYDNEY (Associated Press) --

A group of Australian mates on an annual fishing holiday was not going to let anything come between them and their prize catch _ not even a marauding crocodile.

The friends landed a small shark on a beach recently in the tropical north of Australia _ also home to wild saltwater crocodiles known to attack humans.

As they dragged the shark ashore with the help of a hooked pole, a croc about 6-feet (2-meters) long emerged from the water, ran up the beach to the flailing shark, and opened its jaws menacingly.

Unperturbed, the fisherman holding the hook banged it down on the head of the crocodile, which turned tail and scrambled quickly back into the water.

The incident was captured on video and posted on YouTube, where it gained a popular following and attention from Australian media.

"He was full on," Bob Callan, one of the anglers told Nine Network television Friday, describing the croc's lunge. "He was going for that shark right or wrong, then it was _ bang _ hit him on the snout and away he went."

After dispatching the reptile, the video shows the anglers lined up behind the shark on the beach for photos _ with their backs to the water. One casts a nervous eye over his shoulder, and another jumps as his neighbor gives him a sly pinch on the leg.

Callan said the friends, from the New South Wales town of Inverell, travel to the north every year for a fishing holiday, and the shark _ like all the fish they catch _ was released back into the wild.

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Here's Another funny one:

Chicken playing chicken with motorists on busy Calif. street has avoided capture for 2 months

01-29-2010 06:10 PM PST

Enlarge This Image

A black hen is shown Friday Jan. 29, 2010 at Glendale Community College in Glendale, Calif., that has been dodging cars, captors and coyotes for two months. Officials say the bird has been darting into traffic outside Glendale Community College since it was first reported Nov. 20. The chicken has drawn a growing crowd of photographers and journalists as animal control officers struggle to catch it.(AP Photo/Nick Ut)

GLENDALE, Calif. (Associated Press) --

A chicken playing chicken? That's what's happening on a busy Glendale street where a black hen has been dodging cars, captors and coyotes for two months. Officials say the bird has been darting into traffic outside Glendale Community College since it was first reported Nov. 20. The chicken has drawn a growing crowd of photographers and journalists as animal control officers struggle to catch it.

A spokeswoman for the Pasadena Humane Society, which handles animal control in Glendale, said the bird either runs onto the street or flies into a tree when officers approach. Hillary Gatlin said a humane trap has not worked because the chicken doesn't weigh enough to trigger it or she isn't interested in the feed used as bait.

Gatlin said the standoff could continue awhile.

The Glendale Chicken...on TV

I KNOW THAT PLACE!

I got an e-mail from Trip Advisor about the Dirtiest Hotels (based on traveler reviews), and was very interested to find:

1- That of the top 10 Dirtiest Hotels in Europe, 8 of them are in the UK, 6 in London. I really would not have expected that. I don't know why. Maybe there's the preconception that in places known for refined culture like England or France I really wouldn't expect to find the dirtiest hotels. Also, when I was there London seemed like a clean city. So this surprises me, but if you look at the reviews...if you're traveling, be sure you aren't staying here...

2- Then I decided to check out the top 10 for the US. 3 are in my home state of California. Ouch. 2 are in Virginia, which I wouldn't expect. NYC, I'd expect. Other big cities like Philly or Detroit, I would expect. Virginia? Granted, I don't know Virginia at all and there are few movies that take place there (that I have seen, at least) vs. in NYC, but still. Interesting. But the thing that most surprised me was number 8 - the Seaside Inn. Why does this surprise me, you ask? Especially considering that I have never stayed there? I'll tell you. It's like 5 minutes from my house. I pass by it all the time, and I would have expected it to be a good hotel. It has an ocean view and is across the street from the beach, so I figure they have primo supremo property and must have a good hotel to stay in business and pay for their land and their location has such potential. Apparently not. Good to know. I had always thought about staying there or having family stay there so there's an awesome view, but now I know. If you ever come visit me, let me suggest the Double Tree down the street?

A non-intense day

Today was not an intense day at class. Why? Because it was "Teach Us Something" Day. Each team (there were 5) had to teach something, anything to the class. So what did we learn:

Team 1: The psychology of courtship (with tips)

Team 2: How to Communicate non-verbally...aka play charades (my group)

Team 3: How to Swing Dance

Team 4: How to "Pump it up!" (aka exercise)

Team 5: How to make a paper airplane

No, I'm serious. It was a lot of fun (well, the exercise was more tiring). Good times, good times. Time flew by, and it was great. 2 days left of class...yes! Then I get to go home for a week!

I'll conclude with one of the BEST scenes from Bolt (or Volt, if you're in France):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRNKnCJXmBc

(I just finished watching the movie, so that's why it's on here. No particular tie to my blog post, except perhaps that I'm going home to California soon...)

To mention on a first date?

Wow, am I ever a loser. Would you believe that I spent the past 15 minutes or so designing my wedding? And not only do I not have a fiance, I don't even have a boyfriend. Not even close. That is why this is sad. But it's somewhat less sad because I was designing a Disney one and they make approximate planning (I was curious about the cost) pretty easy. If I'm broke when I finally do get married, I will still totally love a ceremony on the beach, which is my current plan. I mean, there's this perfect spot of beach in Laguna Beach (where I took my senior photo), and it would have some great pictures and everything and I could wear flip-flops (white, to match the dress) without that being weird and it would just be great. BUT, it would be even GREATER to have a Disney Wedding! Why, well, I'll tell you:

1) Umm, you get married at Disneyland. Need I say more? Oh, fine. I'm obliging...

2) you can be transported to (from?) your wedding in Cinderella's Carriage. Life dream, right there.

3) Photo of the couple in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle? Oh yes!

Those are my reasons, anyways. And the cost, you ask? Well, here were my results:

1- Option 1

2- Option 2

So, yeah. I better start saving now. Or get rid of some of the options (but not the carriage because without the carriage...might as well just go to Disneyland with my dress and take a picture there and pretend I got married there. I insist upon the carriage) (and only for the first one, because apparently in the second one I was too cheap). But seriously, I would so totally get more options, because I'd get easily suckered in. I am still browsing the site (I told you that I'm a loser. But in a good way?), and now realize that one of the options was a trio that would play cute Disney classic songs like "This is Love" (from Cinderella). Oh dear. Ok, I just re-did it with the trio, and it's about the same. $15,179-$16,879. Hmm. You know, this is my new plan. Disney wedding. be prepared. Bring your camera. Hopefully it'll be within the next 10 years.

To mention on a first date? Maybe, maybe not....=D hehehe

[P.S. Seriously. Go look at the pictures and everything. You'll want one too.]

PoliSci for Dummies

Someone from my class emailed us this link called "Political Science for Dummies" (no association with the For Dummies line), and it's pretty funny. I thought I'd include some of the sections....

**Disclaimer: I am not trying to make any sort of political statement by including these little sections in my blog post or for directing you to the link or anything like that. Really. I am also not making fun of cultures. I just found these parts funny...Be fore-warned you who are super extremely sensitive (by which I mean, ridiculously sensitive because I am sensitive and am ok-ing this)**

Political Science for Dummies:

DEMOCRATIC

You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
You feel guilty for being successful.
Barbara Streisand sings for you.

REPUBLICAN

You h ave two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
So?

SOCIALIST

You have two cows.
The government takes one
and gives it to your neighbor.
You form a cooperative to tell him
how to manage his cow.

COMMUNIST

You have two cows.
The government seizes both
and provides you with milk.
You wait in line for hours to get it.
It is expensive and sour.

CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE

You have two cows.
You sell one, buy a bull,
and build a herd of cows.

BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE

You have two cows.
Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one,
milk the other, and then pours the milk down the drain.

AMERICAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You sell one, lease it back to yourself
and do an IPO on the 2nd one.
You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead.

You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses. Your stock goes up.

FRENCH CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You go on strike because you want three cows.
You go to lunch and drink wine.
Life is good.

JAPANESE CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.
They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains.
Most are at the top of their class at cow school.

GERMAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour.
Unfortunately, they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.

ITALIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows,
but you don't know where they are.
While ambling around, you see a beautiful woman.
You break for lunch. Life is good.

RUSSIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You have some vodka.
You count them and learn you have five cows.
You have some more vodka.
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.

"You're a genius!"

This afternoon I went to a show called "Love Song of the Electric Bear" which is about Alan Turing, who is considered to be a mathematical genius (he was very important in the creation of the computer). In the play, at least, he was a very odd person. Of course, in the play, he has a talking teddy bear...but I imagine that he was a bit eccentric (not because of his orientation, but more because of his obsession with his theories and everything). Which made me think of John Nash & A Beautiful Mind. Now I'm thinking, is being a genius a good thing? All representations of actual geniuses kinda make them out to be totally out there with social problems and all. Doesn't it seem like to be a bonafide genius making some serious super-important discovery (esp. a mathematical one) you have to be just a bit off? I mean, that makes sense. If you're going to do something new, that people don't think is possible, you have to be very passionate about it to run with your idea despite all the discouragement. I'm sure that there are plenty of "normal" geniuses, but then again...maybe not. I'm trying to find ones that are using Wikipedia. On my brief read-over, Einstein seems ok except for his wild hair & the fact that he married his 1st cousin (which I guess may have been normal at the time seeing as Darwin also married his cousin in a somewhat similar time frame). Beethoven appears to have had some psychological disorders...In short, I am ok with not being a "genius" and I wonder if telling someone "you're a genius" (without sarcasm) should really be a compliment...(and if it's said sarcastically, if that should be a compliment...=D )

Coffee-Flavored

I read this article (I'm generally not much of a newspaper reader, I'll admit, but Starbucks Twittered this, so I read it):

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/business/21sbux.html?pagewanted=1

It's really interesting! My parents keep telling me that I should stay up-to-date on industry news for things that I like (which I essentially do through Twitter & the company blogs. So don't underestimate their power!), and I think I'll try to keep doing it because it's very interesting and you find out about things faster than if you just wait to find out about things.

Anyways, the article is about how Starbucks is trying to tailor their shops / create new coffee shops that are more like small neighborhood shops. Which is really cool, and also somewhat odd.

Really Cool:

*That they are sensitive to the market (& their customers) and are reacting to it.

*That there will be unique coffee shops to go to in certain places. (Check out this awesome Starbucks in London: http://blogs.starbucks.com/blogs/customer/archive/2010/01/19/new-store-in-mayfair-london.aspx)

*The brewed-to-order coffee option

Less Really Cool:

*Am I the only person who actually really likes that each shop is the same everywhere? That when I was abroad I could go there and be less homesick? That I know they have my drink no matter where in the country (or world) I am? (I say this because it comments on how on the East Coast few people drink cold drinks during winter. But I totally do when i go to Burlington. I get my iced chai, and then just stay in the mall until I finish it. It's SO warm in the mall, that a hot drink would make me too hot)

*In the article, one person commented on being bamboozled (my word) because she thought it was a small shop when the coffee shop was owned by Starbucks. I wonder if this will cause problems in the already anti-Starbucks people. But maybe not. Some people don't like the cookie-cutter-ness and therefore may respond better to the stores being more unique and tailored to the neighborhood/area they're in.

In general, though, I think it's a good idea. I really want to go to them & see how they are! Road trip, anyone? San Fran's not so far...from home, not from here.

"And my tail is froze, and my nose is froze, and my toes are froze..."

Above quote (not exact, I don't think, but estimate) is from 101 Dalmatians, which I watched last night. Lucky cannot go any further because he is "froze" and so Pongo has to carry him by his leash to the safe house. Why is this relevant to whatever I'm blogging about? Well, it's not really. But sorta. This has been a long day. I had class form 9-12:15, which is not at all bad. That's really good for this class. However, no freedom came of that. After an hour lunch break (Hallelujah! Without it, I'd be so gone...or I'd have been so gone sooner), we came back. This week, the groups are all working together on one project. Each group has its own section to work on, but as they're all so intertwined, it was basically impossible to work on each section individually (hence, my free time (at night, at least) earlier this week).

So here we are, still working (ok, it's only been...almost 4 hours! Forget that "only"!!!), and I don't even really know what's going on. My brain can take no more. This is partly because 1) Some people in the group are apparently anti-lights and didn't turn the lights on for a long time and when they did my eyes were already super tired & strained and have yet to recuperate. I'm one of those people who needs lots of light to function properly. Maybe it's because I'm from SoCal. 2 gray days in a row and I'm in a fog) and 2) I likely need something sugary for energy. I'd LOVE a Monument Farms Chocolate Milk, but then I'd have to leave for a good 20 minutes, which I can do & just might if this goes on for too long. But we might take an official break or something soon, in which case I can take a shower and get free chocolate milk from the dining hall. As I'm an afternoon/early evening shower-er, that would be quite a rejuvenating break.

These two things combined have led to my total & complete tune-out. I think I need that fresh air. It would help, I'm sure. And not only because it's 28degrees outside (according to my Mac). But I can't really go because a professor who knows about what we're trying to do for our challenge is essentially teaching a class to us about all this. It all seems helpful (as I said, my brain is gone. I am SO ashamed to admit it (but honesty is good), but I've played a few rounds of checkers on my computer. Tried to revive my brain. Failed. I have this issue. I need breaks and especially sugar. When I worked at Michael's & had the evening shift, I would use my lunch break to get a frappuccino. Night time and this exhaustion that hits me after doing one thing for a long time would get to me, and frappuccinos would give me energy. I TOTALLY should have brought one of my stashed bottled frappuccinos here after lunch (seeing as how I enjoyed lunch in my room while watching an episode of JAG, so I was in the room with my stash...). Didn't think about it hard enough, apparently. Wow, this has been a long side thought!), but I am unsure of whether or not all this info is necessary for our challenge. If we were actually making the non-profit organization, then it would be helpful, but we aren't. So I don't really care that much. It's bad, I know. But my eyes hurt, and I want to take a shower, and I need some sort of sugar, and it's dark, and my tail is froze!!!

P.S. I cannot spell the word "dalmatian." doesn't it seem weird that after so many "-tion" words, that this word ends in "-tian" ?

***clocked out at about 10:45 (we started around 1:30, I took a break form about 6:45 to 7:30). That was a LONG time! And some people are still there! I was there a lot of pointless hours, though. The hard parts were the ones other people were working on or arguing about. I've been alternating between Facebook, Twitter, my blog, my mac's checkers game (the sun kept insulting me, but always lost), and tossing a ball around with other group members. Most pointless loss of hours ever. In the history of Middlebury. No, make that the history of the world! =D ***

Joy & Optimism

Today, in class, our speakers came from Life is Good and from Project Joy, and I thought I'd tell you a bit about them because they are great companies (just a short note about each).

Life is Good, in case you don't know (aka live under a rock =D ), is a company that sells clothing & other things that say "Life is Good" and other optimistic phrases. The company's mission is to spread optimism, which you can really see through their products. That's one of the reasons why it's such a cool company! In a world where we're bombarded with negative things, the company seeks to promote optimism and living life to the fullest. If you live in or near Boston, they have yearly events there which sound really fun! (This year's event will be Sept 11-12th). If I go to BU for grad school, I'll be there! Anyways, they have a really great story. They started as two brothers selling a few dozen shirts on their college campus and around New England. Now they're a very well-known company (I've seen their shirts in CA). If you have been living under a rock or just want to know more or buy something or anything like that, go to www.lifeisgood.com

Project Joy is a non-profit organization that is partnered (sorta) with Life is Good. It's an AMAZING program. Their mission statement is to ensure that nothing destroys the playfulness of children. They help children that have been through traumatic events to work through their issues/ ease their fears and sense of helplessness by encouraging playfulness (playfulness = the motivation to freely & joyfully engage with, connect with, & explore the surrounding world). They made a video (which is on their website, I think) about how this program made an impact in children in Mississippi who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. The change was amazing. It's a great organization. Learn more or donate at www.projectjoy.com

On that note, I think it's really cool how so many companies/organizations/whatevers have rallied together for the earthquake victims in Haiti. Starbucks retail stores are taking up donations, and the store C28 is donating shirts and money (for $10 you can send a shirt & money to Haiti). On Farmville (I know. I am totally one of "them"), you can donate Farmville cash (what you can earn in the game, but not really so generally you'd have to buy it with actual money) which gives you the option to buy the special white corn (which has been great because it doesn't wither and you make huge profit from it too...but I digress). So yea for all the places helping out!

PPT on file

One thing that drives me crazy is when teachers put their powerpoints on their websites or something like that so that "you don't have to take notes." I'm sure you're thinking, "Well, why? If you can download the Powerpoint, then you have all the notes. It's great!" Well, I'll tell you why:

1) I don't want to have to spend extra time later going over 50 billion powerpoints to review for a quiz or test or whatever. I'd rather have everything all together in one notebook already ready to review.

2) Notes help me to pay attention in class. And what's so wrong with taking notes in class?! Seriously.

The Orpahn-O-Meter, among other things

So, this blog is on Mouse Under Glass (Koenig) again. It's a very entertaining book, as evidenced by the fact that I haven't been reading my for-fun fiction book since I started it. Before I get to the main event (the Orphan-O-Meter), I'm just going to write about 2 things from the book so far (unless I think of other things...)

1) Do you know why Captain Hook doesn't have a hand? Apparently, in the original book, Peter Pan cut off Captain Hook's hand (I don't remember what his name was before...) and fed it to the crocodile.

2) I just found the following quote hilarious. It's from Koenig's "Top 10 Disney Oddities" #8, where he talks about parents & guardians in Disney movies. He writes, "Whereas in real life the goal of Child Services is to place the parentless with the best possible parents, Disney orphans are invariably adopted by the most overbearing, degenerate psychopath in town. Mowgli fared better than most; he was taken in by wolves" (p110-11).

So here are scans from the book (pages 158 & 159). Click on them to expand them and hopefully make each scan easier to read. It's quite enjoyable, I promise. My favorites are probably #3,8, 10, & 12...

Interesting Cultural Cartoon

I got this in an email for a talk about cultural differences and thought I'd share it with you. It reminded me of how true it is! For example, the word "casa" (Spanish) translates to "house." So when I hear the word "casa" I imagine in my mind what the word "house" evokes in my mind --a free-standing two story building with windows and a front door, etc. But my teacher in Spain noted that the word "casa" translates more to what I'd think of as an apartment or an apartment building because in Madrid and other cities in Spain, people generally live in apartments and not in free-standing houses. So it's just interesting.

That's so un-American!!!

So, today in class we played "war games." One team was the good team (blue) and one was supposed to be the "enemy" (red). In this game, Red wanted control of island Green which had declared independence. Blue wanted Green to stay independent and out of the hands of Red. The teacher did, though, imply that Blue was the US (as it generally is in military games, apparently), Red was China and Green was Taiwan. The funny thing about this experiment was our group. We divided into two groups- Red and Blue. Red was told that they were to attack first. On our team (Blue), there was a Chinese student and a Canadian. So the Chinese student wanted to know why the US cares so much about Taiwan, but mostly just went along with us (our goal was to decide what we would do in different situations. The funniest thing, though, was the Canadian student. He said that if Red attacks us, we should just give up Green because Green is not officially our ally so we have no responsibility to it. That definitely did not fly with the American students. But it was funny. He kept insisting that we just let Green go. Which, technically, makes sense I guess. But the rest of us said, "yeah, that's sorta true. But that is NOT what America would do. It's unrealistic." So it was just interesting because we as Americans think, "no, we can't back down. Fight for Green's independence!" but non-Americans don't really think that way...

Also, I'm currently watching The Jungle Book for the first time in years...very entertained. I don't remember ANY of this! Wow....it must have been longer than I thought...I think "Bare Necessities" is coming up...

Tomato-tomato potato-potato

Ok, how do you say this word:

Finance

well?

I say finance like FI-nance (with the "i" pronounced like it is in "I" "nice" or "high")

Several people that I've heard recently say Fi-NANCE (with the "i" pronounced like it is in "fin" or "swim")

This reminded me of the word "sugar." In the cooking class in HK, our cooking prof. pronounced like it real should be pronounced (but isn't) where the "s" actually makes an "s" sound. Why do we pronounce "s" as "sh" in this word? I was trying to think of other words like this but couldn't think of any. I wonder why it changes...

Spotlight: my creative suitemate

One of my suitemates drew this for me for my birthday (last month). So awesome....

I've got some free time

...so I'll write on random things (not Hong Kong. Those entries are done.).

Most people (that I meet in real life) guestimate that I am 14 years old. I'm actually 22, but I get a lot of 14 (why not 13 or 15? I may never know). When I checked in for my flight last weekend, the woman at the desk asked how old I was. She and the lady at the desk next to her both thought that I was 14 or so. She said she was about to ask me to go fill out the un-accompanied minor forms! I don't think I look that young, but I get that a lot so maybe I do. But today I bought a bottle of wine, and the cashier did not ask for my i.d. at all!

I saw this ad in a magazine and just thought it was funny. =)

Yesterday I went to Burlington, which is just about the only interesting place in the entire state of Vermont (no offence intended, of course. I'm just stating truth). All the same, i have nothing to report to you really. Just to remind you that if you want & don't have the Jungle Book 1 & 2, the 101 Dalmatians series (incl. live action films), and/or Sleeping Beauty, you should buy them soon. They're going into the vault on the 30th. I thought of this because I got the Jungle Book yesterday because I haven't seen it in a while and I know that I'll suddenly want to see it after it goes into the vault.

Oh, but if you ever end up in Burlington, you must go get some chocolate from Lake Champlain Chocolates. Especially the sea salt caramels...or the spiced pumpkin truffle....or the peanut butter cup...or pretty much anything.

And is it weird that the grocery store sells gift cards for Sephora and bebe when neither store exists in Vermont? Do they really buy THAT many gifts for people outside of Vermont from those stores? I don't know. Just seems weird. I was pretty bummed that there was no Sephora, actually. not that I go there a lot, but I do like to get gifts from there and also make-up when i buy it (which, granted, isn't a lot because I really only put it on for special occasions or nice outings or things like that)

I have started reading this book (Mouse Under Glass by David Koenig). So far, it's a really interesting book! It's about, as the subtitle says, the "secrets of Disney Animation and Theme Parks." It talks about the original stories that Disney used to make the movies and how they turned them into rides and things like that. Pinocchio, for example, had the craziest original story ever. The character of Pinocchio was a very rebellious and rather mean kid (or, puppet...kid...). Let me give you some of my favorite quotes from Koenig about the original story (which was more like a mini-series published in a children's weekly then later compiled into a book):

*"Pinocchio returns home to find a large Talking Cricket, who lectures him on the perils of disobeying his parents and not studying. When the puppet has heard enough, he throws a mallet at the insect, smashing it against the wall" (page 34)

"[Pinocchio] falls asleep warming his feet on the furnace. Geppetto arrives to find Pinocchio has burned his feet off" (p34)

The whole story "alternates between seeing how rude and obnoxious the author can make his hero and then how severely and strangely he can punish him" (34). It's a pretty interesting story. Not really a children's story in my opinion, but that's how it is.

Just in general, the author is really funny. Like in the Fantasia chapter when he writes, "Fantasia is scientifically engineered to induce sleep." =) hehehe. I haven't seen it (or at least not in a long time), but that was a critique at the time: that it was boring. Koenig adds to that saying the characters in the movie itself yawn a lot too. =D Another thing that he put in the book is a "Disney Tragedy Trivia Quiz." I'll give you some of the questions from it...

1) In Disney animated features, number of villains who plummet presumably to their death: (a) 2 (b) 8 (c) 16

2) In Disneyland, number of graveyards: (a) 2 (b) 5 (c) 8

3)Number of deviant behavior promoted by "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)," the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song: (a) 10 (b) 20 (c) 30

4) In the Lion King, number of major characters who violently attack their co-stars: (a) 7 (b) 9 (c) 11

5) Number of Disney fully and partially animated features that show heavy drinking or drunkenness: (a) 4 (b) 8 (c) 16

Now think on it a while. I'll give you the answers (if you're lucky). In case you're wondering, that's not all of the questions. There are 10, but I don't feel like typing that much (and I'm unsure if it's a legally good idea to type in everything. you know how things are these days). So if you're a Disney fan like me, you should probably just get the book. I was recommended to this series by this girl I met this summer who's a huge Disneyland fan. She was reading "Mouse Tales 2" (same author) which is just about Disneyland. There's also (obviously) an original "Mouse Tales." I'll get around to them eventually, but i think I'm more interested in Disney animation. I'd like to work there, really. So here are the answers. This was a sufficiently big paragraph to hide the answers and discourage cheating =) So the answer to the first question (about villains plummeting to their deaths) is 10. The answer to the second question (number of graveyards) is 8. The answer to the third question (Yo Ho) is 20. The answer to the fourth question (Lion King) is 11. The answer to the last question (Drinking & drunkenness) is 16. Funny, isn't it? If you want the movie references, just ask. But I'm WAY too lazy to type all that in.

Scenic Views of HK

There are several scenic viewpoints of Hong Kong

1) from the Avenue of Stars. The Avenue of Stars is the Chinese version of the Hollywood stars. There are stars on the ground with actors' names and hand prints along this pathway. Of course, I recognized very few names....Jackie Chan...Chow Yun Fat...Bruce Lee...and that's about it.

(Jackie Chan!)

2) From the Peak (you can take the tram there). I didn't take many pictures there this time because it was cold & foggy.

3) From Ngong Ping. The views from here aren't of the city of HK, but of the island's scenery. Ngong Ping is on a mountain where the big Buddha statue (see below) is. You can get there by bus, or by a cable car (not the San Francisco kind. The on-cables-in-the-sky kind).

More fun Hong Kong things...

----------------------------Break!--------------------------------

I have some more specific posts to make (or at least 1), but for now, here's a collection of random things from the trip:

(hehehe)

Before Christmas, there were ridiculous lines to get into the really high-end stores like Louis Vuitton and Prada. It was really interesting. They must give (& get) some niiiiiice gifts! It was also funny that there was no line to get into Coach...

All of their malls really only have fancy expensive stores. There's no equivalent to a Macys or an Old Navy in their malls. But there IS a McDonalds...interesting, no?

This picture is from inside the Venetian Hotel in Macau. I had never seen a store's name be a website. I'm assuming that the store's name is izzue, but...maybe it's not. They put the whole website up there...As for Macau. I have few pictures of it so I'll just talk about it on this one. Macao is about an hour ferry ride from HK. But you may have a looooong wait in customs. It took us almost an hour to get through.And then there was not much to do there, really. The only points of interest there are casinos. They're some pretty grand casinos (the Venetian was HUGE. According to Wikipedia, it's the largest single structure hotel building in Asia and the fourth largest building in the world by area), but that's it. Hmm...not so much recommended. Unless you're a gambler. Or want to say you went.

Times Square Hong Kong! Gee, they use alot of our stuff. Soho, Times Square...unless those places are actually from somewhere else...look it up and tell me. This was (obviously) 2 days before New Years.

As in England, don't forget to look the Right way =D
Love it. Very clever.

I just really liked this ad. It's very classy.

Hehehe.

"One beer. One world of friends." Oh, advertisements and their messages.

But, oh, were they serious. It would move from one side of the opening to the other (as in, several feet to yards around while people were coming off of the ferry)

Why doesn't MY Starbucks deliver? I would LOVE that! If only I lived in Hong Kong...delivery.

This has got to be the coolest piano I've ever seen.

Hong Kong...with an eye on food

So, this blog entry is all about the food we had in Hong Kong...

The day after we arrived (therefore: Thursday Dec 24th), we went to a cooking class. We made: fried rice, lemon chicken, some sort of fish, BBQ pork, and stir-fried noodles. It was all really good! (well, I didn't try the fish because I don't like fish, but everything else). Particularly the rice and the noodles (my favorite dishes of them all):

Here's us preparing for making the noodle dish.

The noodle dish. Yummm....now I want some Chinese food! Too bad I'm in VT...

I went to Starbucks pretty much everyday (there were 2 close to the hotel). One thing that I really like about going to Starbucks in other countries is that they have different things than we do. The two new drinks that they had were the black currant frappuccino (not it's official name, but I can't remember what the official name was) & the Mango Passionfruit frappuccino. They were both really good. The first one tasted a lot like the Tazoberry frappuccino (which has been gone for many years, but you can get the bottle tea at some stores). The second tasted like a Mango Tango (if you've ever been to Eva's Caribbean Kitchen in Laguna Beach & gotten one). yummm. But the food was different too.

Here are the Christmas desserts. I didn't try any of them, but they looked good!

Their cold cups had snowflakes on them! So cute!

Tea & Scones. I noticed that they have this option in London too, so it makes sense that they'd have it here. They heated up the scone and served it with cream (although it was more like whipped cream than clotted cream) and jam. This was breakfast most mornings of the trip.

Other Food Things:
This was a pastry I bought at a small pastry shop. It was SO good. It was essentially a croissant-like pastry with some sort of strawberry filling (but tasted even closer to strawberries than traditional jam, so I'm not sure what it was really).

Dim sum and pork buns.

XTC ice is an ice cream chain in Hong Kong. We went there last time (2005) and again this time. It has unique flavors that are really good. I had fresh mint (with actual pieces of mint

), stem ginger, cinnamon ginger, vaniglia caramel brownie, and I think I had another one...but they were quite delicious. If ever you're in HK, try some!

Notes:

*As much as we like Chinese food, after a few days, we simply couldn't eat anymore of it. One day, my sister declared it a Pork & Fried Foods (excl. french fries) Free Day. There is a Soho area in HK where there are Italian, Australian, & other non-Asian food restaurants. We pretty much stayed in that area the last few days. Our suggestions to you: Wagyu (try the beef), Posto Pubblico (Italian inspired), & Cru.