Fun in Beantown

I'm just back from a conference in Boston, and tomorrow I head to California for Thanksgiving with my family. Here are just a few fun photos from Boston.

This is an Egyptian kitten mummy, at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

A Greek bowl, decorated with a painting of a boy fishing
- notice the octopus hiding out of sight.

A Chinese porcelain dog - Eastern Han Dynasty, 2nd C. AD. I love his mouth.

Me, in Cambridge's Colonial Drug Store - they have over 1,000 fragrances!

Okay, so it was really cold, and I discovered that the collar of my coat could button all the way up.
I was then told that I looked like the ironclad USS Monitor, from the Civil War. See below.

That's the Monitor, on the right, firing at the USS Merrimac (Confederate).
At least I look like the Union ship.

Casting Call for Esther

After reading through the book of Esther from the Hebrew Bible the last couple of days, I've taken upon myself to cast the characters for it for a major Hollywood studio.

In order of appearance:

Sean Bean as King Ahasuerus












Angelina Jolie as Queen Vashti









Ben Kingsley as Mordecai











Camille Belle as Esther


















Isaac Mizrahi as Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the beauty pageant.









and John Malkovich as Haman

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

The Very Good Taste blog posts this list as foods everyone should try at least once in their lives, with other bloggers taking the list and bolding what they've tried. So, here we go. I assume because I am Chinese, growing up with a mom who eats and savors just about everything, I'll do pretty well. (The things which require explanation are linked to informative sites.)

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Hey, that's not bad! Next on my list: haggis and a Michelin 3-star restaurant (French Laundry, here I come).

It's A Great Day to be American

I don't often think that, but I felt that today!


Whatever one may have voted, today everyone seemed energized and excited. I don't think I've ever sensed that on an election day.

Halloween, All Saints' Day, & Dia de los Muertos

I love these holidays, all having something to do with the dead, whether beatific or macabre.

Isn't he great? I got him at a little store in New Haven. I love Dia de los Muertos art and sugar skulls. Here he is, my skeleton angel, amongst some squash. Mmmmm, squash. Here are some more:

This year I had TWO costumes, one for my 5K race and one for a party. I needed something running friendly, so a black cat costume, which was pretty low maintenance, worked well.

This is me, after the race. I made sure to keep my race placket on, so when I walked back home I had some justification for being in costume a week before Halloween (it was a little embarrassing walking to the race in the morning and getting all sorts of stares).

And here's my pixie costume. Wings are really kinda cumbersome at a party. But fun!