Who's thinking of the Super Bowl...

...when there's UFC 94?!

Saturday's title fight should be a good one. I'm rooting for "the prodigy" BJ Penn. And not just because he looks Pinoy.

BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk
Photo: UFC.com

Other UFC fighters weigh in on the match here.

Matt Hughes:
“I believe this is going to be a close fight. I think if it ends early, BJ’s going to get his hand raised, and if it ends later, then Georges’ will get his hand raised.”

Matt Serra:
“It’s tough to say because it could go either way,” he says. “Because that’s MMA, and of course the game’s so crazy. It’s tough to pick a winner. But, again, I think it’ll come down to strategy, and I believe Georges will be looking to put him against the cage, put him down, use his wrestling, his explosiveness and his athleticism and really just try and take him to deeper waters. Get him into the later rounds, and I think that Georges will win a decision that way.”

Sean Sherk:
“I think both pose a lot of problems for each other, and it’s what intrigues people about this fight,” he says. “The last time they fought it was right down to the wire. A lot of people said Penn won, a lot of people said St-Pierre won. But I don’t see BJ getting knocked out. I don’t see BJ getting submitted. If anything, I see a decision by St-Pierre or a knockout by Penn.”

As for me, I'm hoping for a good fight with a third round win by Penn. By submission, preferably. I'm sure my friend Ameetess with strongly disagree.

25 Way Random Things

My friend Sarah tagged me with this on Facebook.

1. I wish I was better at making new friends, and keeping in touch with old ones.
2. I learned to drink coffee at a very young age. We're talking grade school here. Daddy (my grandpa) taught me how. It was instant coffee with lots of sugar and powdered milk. I remember pouring it over a plate of steamed rice and scrambled eggs. And liking it!
   
3. I dream of living in the Philippines again.
4. In another life, I think I could have been an architect. In this one, I'd settle for becoming a better writer.
5. The best thing to come out of my grad school stint was meeting V. I still sometimes can't believe he married me.
   
6. As far as I'm concerned, it's never hot enough.
   
7. When I was 6 or so, I swear I saw a vampire. He was standing in the middle of the street, in front of our house. I stared at him from my bedroom window, frozen in fear, for what seemed like forever. Finally, I mustered up the courage to roll myself off the bed. I fell with a thud, waking up my parents who wanted to know what on earth I was doing.
8. I have a brown thumb, which V suggests I parlay into a weed control business.
9. I miss being near my family.
10. I regret not being there when Mommy (my paternal grandma) died.
11. I'm scared of swimming in open water. But I love the beach. I'm deathly afraid of drowning, so I forced myself to learn to scuba dive.
12. I'm really good at making V laugh.
13. Ever since I can remember, I've always thought about adopting a kid. Or two.
14. I had a hard time learning the multiplication table. I used to cheat on tests by counting the windows of my classroom. To this day, I can't recite tables 7 and 8. That's why I got a calculator watch this Christmas.
15. I dream of being my own boss.
16. So far, I've lived in 17 different houses/apartments, in 14 different towns/cities. I'm used to moving around but look forward to planting roots one day. I could be happy and fulfilled in one place, as Tracey would say.
17. I used to be sporty and outdoorsy. The smell of freshly cut grass still takes me back to those countless afternoons on the football (soccer for the Americans) field. And the sight of my hiking boots makes me yearn for the time when I climbed mountains for the view, and the good company.
    
18. In Los Banos, my adoptive hometown, I was happiest walking among the trees.
    
19. People buying cases of bottled water at Costco annoy me. Unless you're catering a party, or going on a long road trip, or living out in the woods for months on end, there is no need for individual serving-sized bottles of water in the house. Ever heard of a pitcher and glasses? A Nalgene bottle and a Brita filter? Folks, let's all try a little harder for the environment, shall we?
20. I would always want to travel more.
21. If I ever win the lottery, I'd pay off all my friends' student loans.
22. I was only ever as cool as the friends I surrounded myself with. Left to my own devices, I read gossip magazines, shop at the Gap and listen to Top 20 music.
23. I was once described by a medical professional as a "mole producer." As in, I have lots of moles all over my body. Her terminology suggests that I will constantly make new ones. So does that mean that one day, I'll be totally spotted?
24. I will tell anyone who asks that I went to the gym today. Even though I didn't.
    
25. The only thing I miss about being young is being fearless.
    

One more reason to love Trader Joe's

Well, what do you know?

They have San Mig Light at Trader Joe's!

Now you see it.

Now you don't.

Happy Monday, all!

Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul

I thought I'd explain more about the exhibit V & I saw at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. But lacking the information to write knowledgeably about it, I defer to the experts.

From the National Geographic website:




The Hidden Treasure

In 1988, Afghanistan was ten years into a violent civil war. As the security situation in the capital worsened, government and National Museum officials worried the Kabul museum, home to thousands of historical artifacts and works of art, would be destroyed or looted. They made a plan to transfer many of the objects to secret hiding places.

By 1989, the transfer was complete, and caches of priceless historical objects were secured in the Ministry of Information and the Central Bank treasury vault at the presidential palace. Among the hidden treasures were Bronze Age gold pieces, hundreds of ancient coins, and the famous "Bactrian hoard," a collection of some 20,000 gold, silver, and ivory objects from burial plots at Tillya Tepe in northern Afghanistan.

Workers involved in the transfer swore secrecy and designated "key holders" for the vaults. They kept their covenant through civil war and Taliban rule at enormous personal risk.

The objects remained hidden despite nearly constant conflict and political upheaval in Kabul. But a campaign by the Taliban in 2001 to "destroy all images" resulted in the loss of thousands of irreplaceable artifacts throughout the country, including many of the items hidden in the Ministry of Information. But the palace treasures survived.

In 2003, after the Taliban had been thrown from power by a U.S. military campaign and Afghanistan's first open elections had installed Hamid Karzai as president, a report from the Central Bank in Kabul revealed that the museum trunks deposited at the palace vault in 1989 were intact.

A team of local and international experts, including archaeologist and National Geographic Fellow Fredrik Hiebert, assembled in Kabul to see the vault opened and verify the authenticity of its contents.

When the first safe was finally cracked, the team saw piles of small plastic bags with old labels, each one containing beads and jewelry. Russian archaeologist Viktor Sarianidi, whose team had discovered the Tillya Tepe objects in 1979, smiled when he spotted an artifact with a small wire repair that he'd made with his own hands.

In June of 2004, an announcement was made to the world that the Bactrian hoard and other hidden treasures of Afghanistan were found, and an international effort was mounted to preserve these collections and put them on exhibition for the world to see.

Images from nationalgeographic.com.

If nothing else, this exhibit shows us a side of the Afghan culture and people different from the images we've been seeing on TV all these years. "Hidden Treasures" goes to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, then the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

A quick San Francisco trip

Can't seem to get my mind in gear for a proper post, so here's one of images from a recent weekend in San Francisco.

Saturday afternoon was spent perusing the exhibit "Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul" at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Aside from the amazing artifacts displaying a mixture of cultural influences, the exhibit tells the story of how these artifacts were rescued from the massive destruction in Afghanistan. More info here. For those in the Bay Area, you only have till this weekend to catch it.

Saturday night went as follows, with my good friend Ameetess: cocktails at Michael Mina, show at the Punchline, and late dinner at Ana Mandara.

Sunday was a slow day. I wanted to visit the Xanadu Gallery, located in the only Frank Lloyd Wright building in San Francisco. Got as far as the circular gate as the gallery was closed. Another visit for another day. Even from the outside though, the Wright details are self-evident. Peeking inside, one sees hints of the style of the Guggenheim in New York.






For a late lunch, we headed over to the Ferry Building. Had a soft-shell crab sandwich while V had his staple fish and chips. Lots of artisinal shops to peruse, including a mushroom stall, a salumeria, and of course, a pastry shop.

Staying sharp

I was just telling someone at lunch today about how I have to keep my writing skills sharp. It has become more of a challenge now that I don't have a regular writing/editing gig.

Then I found this quiz at Chuvaness' blog, on some of the most misspelled English words out there. Taking my time, I still came away with a less than perfect score (22). Try it, and let me know how you do.

While we're at it, here are some of the most mispronounced words. Many are obvious, but we can all pick up a tip or two.

Back from the holidays

How's your 2009 going so far?

Good, I hope. V and I have just barely recovered from being on the go since Dec. 22. Drove to Oceanside to spend Christmas there with my family. Drove back up to Monterey on the 26th so they can spend the weekend here. Said goodbye to my family on the 28th, leaving just enough time to pack and catch our 6 AM flight to Wisconsin the next day.

Spent New Year's with V's family in Stevens Point, with a day trip to Madison squeezed in. Flew back on the 4th, arriving at home well past midnight, sans one piece of checked bag. Spent yesterday unpacking, doing laundry, and playing with Briscoe. Today, it was naps, and chores, more laundry, and dealing with things around the house that are suddenly breaking.

Is something up? Our overpriced plasma TV konked out a few days before we left for Oceanside. Then the printer decided throw out a bunch of "cartridge errors," despite the nearly new cartridges. Then yesterday, as I was cleaning up my dog's accident in my office (in a momentary lapse of reason, I gave her half a can of tuna with her dog food), the brushes on the steam carpet cleaner stop turning.

Now I have to figure out if it is worth it to get any of these items fixed, or if buying new ones is more efficient.

On another note, the holidays were fun, albeit tiring. My sibs and I, along with V and my good friend Ameetess, got happy on a few bottles of wine and beer on Christmas eve. Childhood stories were told, along with many others which had us grabbing our stomachs in laughter. The weekend in Monterey was more low-key, spent walking on the wharf, filling up on seafood, and driving the picturesque 17-Mile Drive. We also spent the day with an aunt I haven't seen in years, who drove down from Hayward for the day.

In Stevens Point, V & I did the rounds of visiting his relatives. On New Year's eve, we caught up with aunts and uncles over lasagna and, for me particularly, multiple slices of red velvet cake. Watched the ball drop in Times Sqaure while sitting in a country bar, with V's brother Seth, his old friend Corey, and a bottle of the local brew. On the 2nd, V, Seth and I spent the day in Madison, visiting the "Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired" Monona Terrace, the state capitol building, and the dearly missed Outback Steakhouse where we introduced Seth to the wonders of the Bloomin' Onion.

More importantly, V got to say a final goodbye to the 128-year old farmhouse that was home to his granparents and dad. He walked the rooms, the barn, climbed up the hayloft, peeked into the chicken coop, and spent time with his grandma remembering the years he spent growing up in that farm. I took pictures until my hands hurt from the cold.

To top it off, I got my Marimekko wall hanging and my Gorillapod, and Briscoe got a snazzy new collar from the in-laws.

All things considered, it was satisfying holiday spent with family and friends. Laundry, repairs and the rest of our real lives aside, we recognize that we have been blessed and are ever thankful.

Best wishes to all in 2009.