Alex O'loughlin

Still not finish

My lack of update is due to my watching Korean dramas. They take forever to finish. Normally I try to avoid Asian dramas in general but I have a thing for watching historical drama or historical fiction, so as long as the plot is fesible. I've been watching Dong Yi, a drama set in the Joseon period about the consort to King Sukjong. Before that I had watch Jumong, which I really didn't like that much. I also watched Dae Jang Geum. I've watch numerous Chinese historical dramas. I can't remember their names. I generally don't watch any dramas that take place in the 19th and 20th centuries. I've seen a few historical Thai drama. I tend to disfavor the TV drama over the movie dramas because Thai movies are more willing to explore the lives of royalties in more depth and more criticism. I rarely watch any Khmer historical drama partly due to the lousy acting.

Archäologie

Bust of a female figure.

Late Jomon period Japan. 1000-300 BCE

Random Model: Peter

Ethnography

This editions of Ethnography, I'm going to focus on the negotiation of group identity.

First let's start off with a Korean dance called Buchaechum (부채춤). Buchaechum has become very synonymous with various Korean celebrations ranging from Buddha's birthday to simple Church days. Buchaechum is a kinda of iconic of Korean culture (esepecially in it's design, make-up, and hanbok), so it is use to represent Korea in a universal way.

Next is Jeruselam Pride. Pride has always been been representing the LGBT culture in the most fabulous fasion possible through the body of the participants, the colors, and the music. But for Jeruselam's Pride, there is an added emphasis on the role of the secular Jewish community in promoting LGBT people as part of their own identity.

Food is always a way to declare one's ethnic identity, and therefore ethnic enclaves will have their food stuff served and readily availiable. Here is a sample of some of the food one can find in Little Phnom Penh in Long Beach, California. Long Beach is one of the biggest Khmer-American community.

The Cahuilla, like many other Native American tribes, seek to find a lost identity by riviving old arts and costoms.

Okay, so what

You may have heard that former head of the RNC Ken Mehlman has come out as gay. The man was responsible for pushing strong anti-homosexual policy, curtailing our rights. Even now, he continues to financially support anti-gay politicians.

Joe.my.god brought up an interesting point of forgiveness. Can Ken Mehlman gain the forgiveness of the LGBT community? No. Just because he's gay doesn't mean he's absolved of his transgression. He's yet to produce any reason for us to forgive him.

Forgiveness requires that that the person has sincerely apologized for his wrongs. That doesn't come easy. We will have to see if he has truly seen if he's wrong.

Then after forgiveness, he must also show that he's willing to fixing the things he's damage. He needs to go out there, and denounce homophobia through working for LGBT rights.

I have extreme doubts whether he'll ever give a reasons for us to forgive him. Which is sad really. I'm the type of person who'd love to forgive another. But for all that he's done, he must earn that forgiveness.

Green

Halayang Ube: Ito ay isang Filipino pagkain

1 kilo ng Ube ugat (kilograms of purple yam)

1 tasa ng gatas ebaporada (cup of evaporated milk)

2 tasa ng gatas lumapot (cup of condense milk)

1 / 2 tasa ng mantikilya o margarina (cup of butter or margarine)

1 / 2 kutsarita ng banilya (teaspoon of vanilla)

On a pot, boil the unpeeled ube yam in water and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain and let cool. Peel and finely grate the ube yam. Heat a big wok in medium heat. Melt butter or margarine, add the condensed milk and vanilla flavoring. Mix well. Add the 1 kilo grated ube yam, Adjust the heat to low Keep on mixing the ingredients for about 30 minutes or until sticky and a bit dry (but still moist). Add the evaporated milk and continue to mix for another 15 minutes. Let cool and place on a large platter. Refrigerate before serving the halayang ube.

On TV

Dong Yi

Set during the reign of King Sukjong in the Joseon dynasty, the story focuses on Dong Yi, a water maid who gains the trust of Queen Inhyeon and later the favour of the king when he is moved by her prayers for the health of the Queen during the court disputes caused by Jang Hee Bin. Dong Yi becomes a concubine with the rank of sook-bin and bears a son who will later become the 21st king of Joseon, Yeongjo

Cowboy!

Rommegrør: Det er en norsk oppskrift

1 liter tykk krem (thick cream)

1.25 kopp mel (flour)

2 kopper melk (milk)

1 kopp sukker (sugar)

1 spiseskje med jordet kanel (tablespoon of ground cinnamon)

Pour cream into a heavy saucepan and heat until it starts to boil. Sift in 3/4 cup of the flour and whip with a wire whisk. Keep beating after the 3/4 cup of flour is all in, until the butter starts to come out of the cream. Then remove from the heat. Take a ladle and take off the butter, and put it in another bowl. Keep stirring until all the butter comes out. Put the milk in another kettle and heat to boiling. Sift 1/2 cup flour into the milk while beating. Continue beating until mixture is thick like pudding. Remove it from the heat, add it to the cream mixture, and beat with a wire whisk until smooth and well blended. Pour into a 2-quart baking dish. Smooth out the top and sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar on top. Pour the butter you saved over the top. Serve warm.

Andrew Christian

More People are Becoming Tolerant of Gay Marriages

As Towleroad reports:


















Every state, except Utah, has shown an increase in their toleration of gay marriage. Of course that doesn't mean that everyone is going to vote for it. As it was for the Prop 8 elections, many people feel no need to vote on equal marriage because they do not see how it directly effect them. We need to show to the general public that gay marriage isn't a threat to family, that it actually benefit more than just gay people, and that it's a civil rights cause.

In Memory

At 12:35 am, my cat Akita "Jane" lost her life to cancer.

Jordgubbskräm: Det är ett svenskt recept!

Jordgubbskräm:

2-3 koppar jordgubbar (cups of strawberries)

2 koppar vatten (cups of water)

1/3-1/2 kopp socker (cup of sugar)

2 1/2 matsked majsstärkelse (tablespoon of cornstarch)

Combine the strawberries and sugar in a saucepan. Mix a little of the water with the cornstarch to make a thin paste. Put the paste in the saucepan. Add the rest of the water to the saucepan, and stir. Bring it to a boil while stirring constantly. Put it in a serving bowl and let it stand. It maybe served hot or cold.

Idiot of the Day

German Edition!

Ein Sprecher der katholischen Kirche in Mexiko hat behauptet, die Homo-Ehe sei schlimmer als der Drogenhandel im Land, der in den letzten sechs Jahren mindestens 28.000 Menschen das Leben gekostet hat.

Wie die Zeitung "El Universal" meldet, erklärte Hugo Valdemar, dass er die Öffnung der Ehe in Mexiko-Stadt als Angriff auf die katholische Kirche versteht. "[Mexiko-Stadt-Bürgermeister] Marcelo Ebrard und seine Partei, die PRD, wollen uns vernichten", ist sich Valdemar sicher. Ebrard führte vor wenigen Monaten die Gleichbehandlung im Eherecht in der Hauptstadt ein (queer.de berichtete). Seither muss er sich gegen Angriffe aus der katholischen Kirche wehren. Zuletzt verklagte er einen Kardinal, der ihn der Korruption bezichtigt hatte (queer.de berichtete).

Oh ja, die zwei liebevoll Menschen in einer einvernehmliche Ehe is schlechter als eine 28.000 Morde (Sarkasmus). Hugo Valdemar und der katholischen Kirche sind Arschgeigen und Lügner. Die Homo-Ehe schmerzt niemand. Sieh auf Spanien, Kanada, Argentinien, Schweden, Norwegen, Island, den Niederlanden, Belgien, Portugal und Südafrika. Die Folge Der Homo-Ehe ist nur Homo-Ehe.

I'm Gay Because. . .

I'm not gay 'cause I have nice shirts
I wear plain t's most of the time
I'm not gay 'cause I know how to flirt
I'm too lost in that head of mine

I'm not gay 'cause I'm a muscle hunk
I'm really just the average type
I'm not gay 'cause I'm a twinky funk
I don't go for all the big hypes

I'm not gay 'cause I like bright colours
Too much would mess with my plain eyes
I'm not gay 'cause I like hip decor
My room looks like a big pigsty

I'm not gay 'cause I was abused
My family was fairly nice
I'm not gay 'cause I was misused
I had a fairly decent life

I'm not gay 'cause I hate your God
I don't care in what you believe
I'm not gay 'cause I'm Satan's pod
Your dogma ain't gonna hold me

I'm not gay 'cause I'm now confused
I am sure it's just been like that
I'm not gay 'cause I'm ill or bruised
I'm healthy as a well fed cat

I'm not gay 'cause I want more rights
But my rights should be given still
I'm not gay 'cause I want to fight
I'm not doing this for the thrill

I'm not gay for these other reason
The reason is plain natural
Ain't just a change of the season
Science says this is factual

I am gay because I like men
My phallus springs when I see one
It's something that I just can't bend
With guys is where I'll have the "fun"

I'm gay and I'm happy that way
I've no need to get feelings jammed
I will be glad if you would say
That you'll accept me as I am.

This is becoming an epidemic

More Cambodians are facing attacks with acid. The number of these incidences seems to be raising, though that could be due to increase media attention on the subject. There has been suggestions to restrict access to dangerous acid, but many of them are also necessary for industry. The government also plan to increase punishment for attacks. This will probably not help in that; the police force is inept anyways, it will result in more overcrowded prison, and it doesn't take down the core issue of violence in general.

Red is the New Green

Scientific America reports:

Researchers may have found a new form of chlorophyll, the pigment that plants, algae
and cyanobacteria use to obtain energy from light through photosynthesis.
Preliminary findings published August 19 in Science suggest that the newly
discovered molecule, dubbed chlorophyll f, has a distinct chemical composition
when compared with the four known forms of chlorophyll and can absorb more
near-infrared light than is typical for the photosynthetic pigments. Chlorophyll
f, which was extracted from cultures of cyanobacteria and other oxygenic
microorganisms, may allow certain photosynthetic life forms to harvest energy
from wavelengths of light that many of their competitors cannot use.
"This is
the most red-shifted chlorophyll we have found in nature," says Min
Chen, a biologist at The University of Sydney in Australia and lead author
of the study. "That means that organisms that have this chlorophyll inside can
extend their photosynthetic range for maximum use of solar energy."

Update

Sorry for the lack of posts, I've been "busy". Well writing up contracts and proof reading them is busy work. So here's teddy bear for you.

They're Still There

Ever noticed, when going to a museum, how past culture are presented? Usually it's just by the extraordinary physical remains they leave behind. Stuff like pottery, sculpture, and architecture. In older museums, it really brings out the idea the the culture and/or people are gone. Well, it's wrong. They're still here. It's just that culture has changed, just like any culture, but they are still here and they can track back their current culture to the old one.

The Greeks:

When we talk about the Greek, we get ideas of gods and goddesses, fantastic stories, wars, and romance. We're told that it's an ancient time, when culture was at it's zenith. The Greeks however, are not some dead people that only the old story speaks about. Since the time of Antiquity, Greek culture has changed greatly going from Christianizing to domination by the Turks, to modernization. This has resulted in a rich new culture for the modern Greeks.

(Pic: Kostas Martakis is a Greek pop singer and model. Like the rest of Europe, Greece has adapted to pop-culture.)

The Khmers:

Visions of the Khmers either bring out the splendid images of Angkor or the genocide under Pol Pot. For some people, it's hard believe that the current Khmers were then ones who built Angkor. French explorer Henri Mouhot even deny that the agrarian Khmers could do it. But the historical and ethnographic evidence shows that it is the modern Khmers who made Angkor. They're not some lost civilization. They're still there.

(Pic: Pich Sophea is a pop icon in Cambodia. Cambodia has made strong efforts to prove to the international community that it is capable of bringing modernity to it's culture.)

The Thais:

What the Age of Imperialism has brought us is an Image of a rugged and exotic Siam filled with people that were so removed from modernity and western civilization. And with the way Thailand is advertised by travel agencies, it still looks like it's the exotic place. But such images denies the Thais their modernity. Modern Thailand has grown fast economically, resulting in ever increasing technological and global awareness by modern Thai peoples.

(Pic: Top Chaiwat is a Thai actor and model. Here we see a fashion show. Thailand has since become an important place of cultural exchange and development.)

The Mayans:

Old scientists have always wondered about the fate of the Mayans. Their temples were abandon and it seems the civilization has collapse. But the Mayans continue to exist. Their modern civilization is fraught with the effort of their ethnic groups to obtain rights and awareness in the international community.

(Pic: Rigoberta Menchú is a Nobel Peace Prize winner who dedicated here career to advancing rights for the K'iche' Mayans of Guatemala. Mayans suffer from invisibility and harassment, such as the one they faced under the CIA funded Contra.)

Right Wing's Idea of "Protecting" Marriages

Models Galore!

Radoslav

Brent

Ryan

Allen

Ricky

Was Lucy a Butcher?

New bones found suggest that tool use has started 800000 years earlier than we had thought.

Early human ancestors may have been using tools about 800,000 years earlier
than thought, according to a new study based on newfound bone
evidence—prehistoric leftovers linked to the famed "Lucy"
fossil's species.
The discovery suggests, to at least one scientist, that
tool use may extend as far back as five million years ago, to the last common
ancestor of chimps and humans.

The stuff of your nightmares

And probably found in your backyard

You Lose

Weep bigots:

Aussiebum!

Fires Continue in Russia

Tagesschau:

Behörden erklärten, einige Brände befänden sich in schwer zugänglichen
Gebieten. Besonders gefährdet sind nach Angaben des Ministeriums die zentralen
Regionen Nischni Nowgorod und Rjasan. Katastrophenschutzminister Sergej Schoigu
erklärte aber, die Lage habe sich verbessert. Es stehe noch eine Fläche von
56.000 Hektar in Flammen. Das seien 10.000 Hektar weniger als am Freitag.
Bereits am Donnerstag hatten die Einsatzkräfte von einer leichten Entspannung
gesprochen. Allerdings stellte sich die Lage dann am Freitag wieder schlimmer
dar.

Random Model: Gustavo Moraes

The Color of the Ocean

New research suggest that the color of the ocean may deflect hurricane:

Led by oceanographer Anand Gnanadesikan, the study used computer
simulations to look for links between ocean color and strong tropical
cyclones—called hurricanes in the North Atlantic Ocean and the northeastern
Pacific and known as typhoons in the northwestern Pacific. "Our group develops
climate models," said Gnanadesikan, of the U.S. Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in
Princeton New Jersey. "One of my jobs is to try to make those more realistic.
"One way to make the models more realistic is to look more closely at
little-studied variables, such as ocean color.
In the North Pacific the
predominant color is green, thanks to an abundance of minute, chlorophyll-packed
plants called phytoplankton. By absorbing sunlight, the floating plants help
keep the ocean surface relatively warm. When there are fewer of them, the sun's
heat concentrates deeper down.

Vanity

I love to post pictures of hot guys. Of course, these are most certainly my preferences and my perception of hotness. And it is most certainly not the only thing I look for in a person. Good looks can take you as far as arousal. There are plenty of hot guys I wouldn't even give a second thought, or even spit on if I ever saw this person (a certain evangelical football player comes to mind *cough*tibow*cough*).

To Be Honest, I Don't Trust Any Of You.

The current ruling party of Cambodia, is indeed a sellout party. They've only shown time and time again that they care more for corporate. interest than they do the interest of the people. Money flows into the system, but where is the money for environmental protection, health care, welfare and education? Needless to say, something is fucked up in Cambodia's Parliament. They've done little to stop environmental degradation, corporate exploitation, and exploitation of underprivileged citizens.

But Nationalists are no better. What Nationalist wants is nothing but fascism, feed through a populist ideal. They could really give a shit about improving the lives and environment of Cambodia. Look at all their rhetoric: They're either about returning to a glory day, waging war, or something that amounts to an ethnic cleansing. Sorry, but the "glory days" are gone. Cambodia needs to move on. Culture changes and the Khmer culture is no exception. (You think it hasn't? You've clearly haven't paid attention to the last 2000 years.) Khmer people should be proud of their culture, for sure, but what one generation wanted is not going to be what the next generation wants. War waging is pointless. Unless it's for defensive purposes, it's nothing more than a show of bravado that will lead to pointless deaths and lost of finances. Not to mention that Cambodia would lose face in the international community. All the anti-Vietnamese and anti-Thai rhetoric is nothing but unadulterated racism. It's just the same type of racism we see here in the United States against Latino immigrants: scapegoating and ethnocentrism. People migrate. People move. It's been like that in Cambodia for eons. Even during the Angkor period, there were massive amounts of people of different ethnic groups coming in and out. Sure, Vietnam has done a lot of fucked up things to Cambodia, and their current policy is just as invasive to Cambodia's national sovereignty, but this doesn't call for banning all immigration or killing them off. As for Thailand, well we all know they have issues right now. Thailand, like most of the world, suffers from the grand delusion of Nationalism feed by it's government to advert attention from the real problem. Khmer Nationalist, Viet Nationalist, Thai Nationalist and American Teabaggers all look the same to me: a bunch of ignorant gobshits who refuse to identify the real problems. You all yap like toy dogs who don't know that you're all privileged losers.

The real problem for Cambodia is internal. Cambodia need to reform it's economic policies, regulate corporations, increase production without infringing on the rights of hill tribes or degrading the environment further. Cambodia needs to focus on the education of it's people instead of stupid nationalist rhetoric. All these things the current government are failing. They fail and they fail hard. But honestly the nationalists don't help.

Get Married and Be Happy!

The stay on prop 8 has been lifted. Don't worry haters, you can whine and lament about it. You can hate us still. Just you can't dictate our rights. Why? Well how would you feel if a majority took away your rights? See? I say let the wedding bells ring. Lets throw away the idea that marriage is for the sole benefit of a patriarchal society and bring out the idea of marriage being a social union between two consensual adults. (I know, I know, bigots don't give a rat's ass about consent.)

This huants me every summer

Ethnography

Students of the University of California, Riverside took part in a peaceful protest against unfair fee hikes and budget cuts. Look hard enough and you'll find me (or not, avoided the cameras.) We marched from the main campus to the downtown districts. (Good thing public transportation was there, I was soooo not in the mood to walk back.)

Shoppers in Hillcrest San Diego.

Lao American girls attend at a Wat.

Indonesian youths participate in a rock band.

Is the Indochinese Tiger Gone from Cambodia?

The Indochinese Tiger, one of the subspecies of the tiger, is feared to be extinct in Cambodia. It hasn't been spotted for three years. There are some areas that it could still be in. Environmental protection in Cambodia started relatively late in comparison to it's neighbor Thailand. Cambodia also faces illegal logging and the introduction of mining to it's economy. In the past, tigers and leopards were numerous. The public generally didn't notice their well being. Nowadays, all subspecies of tigers are facing dangers. In the last 200 years, humans have caused the extinction of 3 subspecies of tigers: the Bali tiger, the Javanese tiger, and the Caspian tiger. The South Chinese tiger is the most critically endangered of all the tigers, but things do not bode well for the Bengal, Siberian, Indochinese, Malay, and Sumatran tigers either.

But why should we care? Here's some reasons:

1. The predatory species is important in an ecosystem. They help maintain population balance.

2. Empathy is a good reason. After all, we are the ones responsible for their death. If it were an act of nature, it would be different.

3. Diversity of life is just one of those good things you want to have.

4. When a species goes extinct, it could very well indicate something else is wrong in an ecosystem. This in turn could impact humans.

Random Model: Tyler

Social Security Inequality

Thank You For Your Call from Shawn Nee / discarted on Vimeo.

Firefighter

Illegale Medikamente in Nord-Apotheken

Früher ging es meist nur um Viagra, doch heute wird fast alles gefälscht: Antibiotika, Schmerzmittel oder auch Krebsmedikamente. Nach Recherchen des NDR Wirtschafts- und Verbrauchermagazins Markt werden gefälschte Medikamente nicht

mehr nur im Internet vertrieben, sondern sind mittlerweile bundesweit in rund 100 Apotheken verkauft worden. In Norddeutschland ermitteln unter anderem die Staatsanwaltschaften Hamburg, Celle, Verden, Kiel und Braunschweig. Die Staatsanwaltschaft Braunschweig hat bereits Anklage gegen einen Apotheker erhoben. Allein er soll Medikamente mit einem Volumen von 1,675 Millionen zu Unrecht abgerechnet haben.

Mehr hier

Random Model: Jan Sourek

Green Flash