State Propositions

1A – Transportation Funding Protection: NO
I’m not pigeonholing state revenue to safeguard the profit of construction companies. Excise and sales tax must always go to the General Fund.

1B – Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security: YES
The state’s not going to raise taxes, too many folks will fight that. But we do need the construction boom from this loan (I’m fine with taking money out to fund actual projects, I’m not fine with apportioning revenue for construction in general without any idea how to spend it except to write construction companies a check).

1C – Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund Act of 2006: NO
Well-intentioned, but the idea of being a homeowner is overrated in today’s world economy where everyone participates using their 401k/403b investments. Providing low-interest loans for buying a home is what has gotten a lot of families into trouble today — why repeat the housing bubble and inevitable bursting of that bubble? Live in an apartment. If something breaks, they fix it. You don’t have property taxes to pay off, and you can always simply move if you don’t like the circumstances. A house is a commitment for those who can afford it. Don’t believe the hype.

1D – Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities: YES
Education. It’s important. Especially kindergarten and grade school. Let’s do this.

1E – Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention: YES
I live in LA. If those central California water systems fail, I am hosed, along with the rest of Southern California. Hell, even that tightwad McClintock is okaying this one (of course, he’s from Ventura County).

83 – Sex Offenders. Sexually Violent Predators. Punishment, Residence Restrictions and Monitoring: NO
Why is it that we are not striving to repair our penal system? When someone is free to leave prison, it means they are free to leave prison. If you feel a sex offender remains a danger to society, then you keep that person locked up. Once released, an ex-con should feel liberated, should feel that he or she is a member of society once more. Treating them as a second-class citizen pretty much defeats the entire point of having a prisons. We need something that addresses the problem, not the symptom. I am not spending money of some crazy band-aid for a bad prison system, especially some crazy band-aid that doesn’t work. The LA Times put up an article concerning the implementation of this law in Iowa and the result of the law is not what they expected. Those trying to be good citizens after prison find themselves leaving their new lives to sleep in a dingy motel room every night in the outskirts of town to comply with the law. Those who would rather not bother simply disappear. If “concerned citizens” are so concerned, be concerned that you no longer know where these people you are so concerned about are located. This is a crap law and it’s a crap issue. Revise the penal system instead, and treat ex-cons as they should be: reformed citizens undeserving of your post-penal judgement.

84 – Water Quality, Safety and Supply. Flood Control. Natural Resource Protection. Park Improvements: YES
We’re certainly doing our best as citizens to destroy this stuff, we might as well pay to fix it.

85 – Waiting Period and Parental Notification Before Termination of Minor’s Pregnancy: NO
An emphatic NO. I will not have my state dictate family communication. I will not pass the buck of responsibility over the way a family interacts because some idiot (and in this case, one or two male idiots) feels a need to impose their religion and morality on a heterogeneous population. This is a revamped failed proposition from last year, which really pisses me off that it’s back on the ballot one year later. A few omitted words and it’s back? Yeah, how’d that happen?

86 – Tax on Cigarettes: NO
I have no problem taxing substances. Hell, I’m all for legalizing other substances and taxing the crap out of them as well. This comes with too many strings. The tax should just go to the General Fund and be used where it is needed. Besides, cigarette use is in decline. Why are we attempting to accelerate the process, and in so doing, creating the potential for backlash in the form of black market goods and an increase in popularity? “Concerned citizens” really piss me off.

87 – Alternative Energy. Research, Production, Incentives. Tax on California Oil Producers: NO
And I’ll tell you why, even. Much of the proceeds are targeted towards ethanol, and specifically towards the person who helped push this proposition into the ballot, Vinod Khosla. Aye, there’s the rub. I will not fund ethanol. Ethanol is stupid. It is a dead end. It means more homogenous corn crops that’ll end up doing more damage to the environment in the long run. Sure, it’s better in emissions than oil, but it’s worse in mileage, meaning you’ll spend more to use it, meaning you’ll use more volume than gas, meaning they need to make more, meaning they’ll be using oil to make more, and Khosla profits while we kill the environment a different way. I’m practical enough to know that this will probably pass — and I would have said yes as well had it not come with so many strings that point to monkeymaking and pursuits in dead-end technology. I would rather convert to electric, which centralizes polution to power plants, which can be regulated far better than continuing to use the inefficient internal combustion engine.

88 – Education Funding. Real Property Parcel Tax: NO
Proposition 13 has proven itself a disaster to state revenue (while providing cheap corporate land). I’m not going to repeat that mistake for my generation. Besides, I’m already YES on 1D.

89 – Political Campaigns. Public Financing. Corporate Tax Increase. Campaign Contribution and Expenditure Limits: YES
I don’t mind using tax money to fund elections, removing the ability for corporations and small business to influence government. I prefer it. It’s our government and our election system… the argument about corporations needing a voice does not fly with me; the idea that a corporation can be treated as an individual when beneficial without repurcussions when, let’s face it, downright malicious, already pisses me off.

90 – Government Acquisition, Regulation of Private Property: NO
Whatever. Eminent domain in California can only occur to eliminate blight. Those arguments are derailing. I am not allowing property owners to use funny math to claim high prices for land that’s worthless.

City of Los Angeles Measures

Measure H – Affordable Housing General Obligation Bonds: YES
Where I don’t agree with a state-funded housing bond, I’m okay with a city housing bond. Local funding, local pressure, local targeting.

Measure – J Technical changes for Proposition F Regional Fire Stations: YES
The fire department can best identify what sort of properties they need to build their stations on, including splitting into two stations on land less than two acres apiece.

Measure – R Councilmember Term Limits of Three Terms: NO
The current term limit is two terms/eight years. I’m not giving them a third term. Do the good you can with the time you’ve got. Don’t let them become entrenched.

State Office

Governor: Arnold Schwarzenneger
I’m still giving him a shot at being a moderate.

Lieutenant Governor: John Garamendi
McClintock is a respectable choice as well — I just disagree with his platform. The insurance companies didn’t like Garamendi’s time as insurance commissioner; heh, that’s a check in my book.

Secretary of State: Bruce McPherson
I originally was going to vote for Debra Bowen, who I think would have made a good secretary of state. But I’ll admit that the LA Times convinced me to keep the incumbent. He’s a moderate, meaning his party affiliation should not be counted as negative or positive. He’s done a good job in his two years in office so let him keep doing it.

Controller: John Chiang

Treasurer: Bill Lockyer

Attorney General: Jerry Brown

Insurance Commissioner: Steve Poizner

United States Senator: Diane Feinstein

United States Representative; District 36: Abstain
I do not want Jane Harman to represent me. I wish Winograd made it. Since she didn’t, Harman’s a shoe-in, but I’m not putting my vote in for her just because she’s got it locked.

State Senator; District 28: Jenny Oropeza

Member of State Assembly; District 53: Ted W. Lieu

State Board of Equalization; District 4: Judy Chu

State Court Confirmations

California State Supreme Court; Carol Corrigan: YES
California State Supreme Court; Joyce Kennard: YES
California State Court of Appeal; District 2; Division 1; Robert M. Mallano: YES
California State Court of Appeal; District 2; Division 1; Frances Rothschild: YES
California State Court of Appeal; District 2; Division 2; Roger W. Boren: YES
California State Court of Appeal; District 2; Division 2; Victoria M. Chavez: YES
California State Court of Appeal; District 2; Division 3; Richard D. Aldrich: YES
California State Court of Appeal; District 2; Division 3; Patti S. Kitching: YES
California State Court of Appeal; District 2; Division 4; Nora M. Manella: YES
California State Court of Appeal; District 2; Division 4; Norman L. Epstein: YES
California State Court of Appeal; District 2; Division 4; Thomas L. Willhite: YES
California State Court of Appeal; District 2; Division 4; Steven Suzukawa: YES
California State Court of Appeal; District 2; Division 5; Richard M. Mosk: YES
California State Court of Appeal; District 2; Division 5; Sandy R. Kriegler: YES
California State Court of Appeal; District 2; Division 6; Arthur Gilbert: YES
California State Court of Appeal; District 2; Division 7; Fred Woods: YES
California State Court of Appeal; District 2; Division 7; Dennis M. Perluss: YES
California State Court of Appeal; District 2; Division 7; Laurie D. Zelon: YES
California State Court of Appeal; District 2; Division 8; Candace D. Cooper: YES
California State Court of Appeal; District 2; Division 8; Madeleine Flier: YES

Los Angeles County Superior Court Candidates

Judge-Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 8; Bob Henry
Judge-Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 18; Daviann L. Mitchell
Judge-Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 102; Hayden Zacky
Judge-Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 144; David W. Stuart

When did I suddenly like coffee? I think I always did, but never gave it much of a chance to take hold. I remember when I was seven, living in an apartment on the edges of the small mountain city of Baguio, sitting in my friend’s squatter hut and dunking a piece of white bread into a cup of coffee. I won’t get into the details of a childhood where my neighbors were squatters at the edge of a forest where I spent my days squirreling about the twigs and fronds of a wilderness long gone, that’s something to reminisce about later. Right now, I’m thinking of that cup of coffee… and of that enormous TV they had managed to turn on by tapping illegally into someone’s power line.

Anyhow. Years pass, and I don’t drink coffee. Not much anyway. A cup every now and then, and almost always a mocha (everyone knows my everlasting affinity towards chocolate), but otherwise, no. Since I was fifteen I’ve tried to keep my caffeine intake down after an unfortunate and altogether unhealthy situation related to said stimulant in combination with the substance known as sugar (another story), opting for Chinese teas versus the strong Japanese green tea and the Indian/English blends that make my ears tingle (the result of that other story being I am now very sensitive to caffeine). Now here I am, a solid thirty-three years of age, and I find myself at the coffee line buying a cup of decaf. Sure, brand decaf still has caffeine, but it’s the same level as a can of Diet Coke or an equally tall glass of iced tea, so it’s not a shock to the system (unless I have three tall cups in a row or something). But me? Drinking coffee? With no chocolate, and no milk, just a hint of cream and enough artificial sweetener to take away the edges, I’m drinking coffee. Yeah, that’s a new development of the past few weeks.

I wonder if I’m trying to find a way to keep my stomach busy. I usually drink a lot of water… but water goes down fast and I’d find myself making a pit stop more often than I’d like. It also doesn’t have that satisfying feeling of fullness to it that a flavored bit of hot water can give you, even if a 20oz. cup only sports about 30 calories of cream in it (I did say just a splash). I guess my taste for coffee has finally matured to some degree (I did say I still splash cream and sweeten it), and I might as well blame it on my attempts to lose weight. Drinking a hot beverage at a slow rate, each time providing a flavor sensation that defeats the feeling of an empty stomach, has certainly helped me avoid the feeling of hunger I get for cutting below the base calories my body needs to maintain my current weight. The question then becomes: once I reach my target weight, will I abandon my sudden need for a decaf after lunch, or will it become yet another vice/habit as I continue in my journeys on this planet?

This movie could do with a bit of shortening, especially the ending, and better acting. A noble effort, and certainly worth watching — either a cheap matinee or waiting for the rental or cable. I didn’t mind the disjointed storytelling, moving from flashback to flashback within a flashback. It worked for me quite well. Like I said, the actors were a major obstacle in enjoying this film, and the ending was far too prolonged. I’m still looking forward to its companion film, Letters from Iwo Jima, which is the Japanese point of view of that battle. It releases in Japan in December and here in February (Japan has the release dates reversed, I think).

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I think I ruined the movie by reading the book first. I can sort of tell that I’d've enjoyed this movie quite a bit were it not for knowing way too much about the story within the first five minutes. As a result, I only enjoyed it about as much as the Illusionist at first, and only appreciating it a little more after thinking and talking about it afterward (whereas the Illusionist stayed the same or sunk a little in my esteem with the same sort of pondering).

The movie does try to present the three stages of a magical act, but the prestige, that final act, is not the same as the book. There’s a lot more depth to the mystery in the movie, I think, but I spoiled myself by knowing the book, which is the basis for the narrative and much of the plot, and the mystery in the book, though given screen time, is not the same as the mystery introduced in the movie. It took a bit of thought for me to grasp and appreciate it, something I don’t think I would have had to make such an effort doing had I not read the book.

I don’t think it’s excellent, or that I will list it as an amazing and memorable film, but it’s worth a watch at the theater, for sure, and perhaps with time I’ll appreciate it even more after another viewing on DVD.

I think for this one, reading the book first can make your viewing of the movie too limited, so watch the movie first and read the book second if you can. That, I think, will let you appreciate both under their own terms.

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11326 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90064-1791
310-477-1426

It’s odd that I never mentioned this restaurant till now, seeing as it’s a favorite of mine since I returned to Los Angeles after my time in the east coast.

Billingsley’s is old 1950s Dragnet LA. You’ve got the dark interior with tall and deep red Naugahyde-like seats. The clientele is primarily of that era as well, though you do see tables with a younger crowd, like myself, learning to appreciate what Billingsley’s has to offer.

It’s solid American dining, with specials designed to fill your stomach for not much cash; it’s not just some bargain meal, either, as the food is absolutely tasty. Of note are the steaks and prime rib, which can be had with a full course special that includes a soup or salad, the main course, drink and dessert. Remember to have the chili as the soup — it, too, deserves mention.

I introduced Sun to Billingsley’s and she then took her dad. Now I think her dad’s there almost every week. Great atmosphere, great food, great service, and affordably so. Pretty much batting 1.000.

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Last night, Sun treated me to our favorite French restaurant here in LA, La Cachette. We went for the six-course chef’s choice tasting menu and spent a lovely night surprised and delighted at each meal.

First we were given the appetizer for the evening, a bite-size tomato and olive pastry, sort of like a miniature quiche. This is something they serve to all diners, which is a nice touch.

Our first course was the appetizer, a seared foie gras served on top of an apple filo with preserved dates on the side.
The second course was a tuna tartar with Korean spicy paste and scallions with coconut shavings in a balsamic vinaigrette with a thin potato crisp on the side.
Third came a savory bouillabaisse stew with mussels, fish and clam.
Fourth was roasted venison with some sort of blackberry sauce, polenta and mashed potatoes.
Fifth was the arugula salad with a marinated pear topped with melted Roquefort cheese in a balsamic vinaigrette.
And the sixth course, dessert, was their signature chocolate souffl?.

I enjoyed the meal immensely. There’s something about lovely food and the surprise and anticipation of the coming course (we didn’t ask what courses would be served), all provided with impeccable service, that makes for a memorable evening. The only dish Sun didn’t find attractive was the venison. I ate her share.

The rest of the week will be other dinners with friends — like I said, I’m making this 33rd birthday of mine stretch.

352 Grant Avenue
San Francisco, CA

Went in for what I expected to be a lovely brunch. The hostess noticed us, walked away, came back and asked us and the group behind us who was next, as if she never noticed us before. We were seated in a corner next to a lovely couple who we got to see get served their water, coffee/tea and breakfast and during that entire time no one came to our table at all. I watched two other tables get seated and served water, at which point I finally put on my coat and left. I refuse to give them my money after wasting fifteen minutes of my life.

As we left Sun made the comment, “”You know all those people that got served after us were white?”" I’m not sure I’d go there… but it certainly is provocative.

We found the Washington Bakery in Chinatown (on Washington just east of Grant) and had a nice Chinese breakfast of fry bread with soybean milk and a seafood porridge. It took 30 seconds to get seated, a minute to place an order, and five minutes later we were enjoying our meal.

I lost my garage door opener and got a universal one from the hardware store that was compatible with the Allstar/Allister/Challenger/Pulsar 318MHz unit used by my apartment, but when I tried to duplicate the dip switch settings it wouldn’t work. Sun’s remote had a bank of 9 dip-switch settings, toggled ON or OFF. The universal I got had 12 dip-switch settings and could be ON, OFF or BLANK. Matching the first 9 and leaving the last 3 as BLANK didn’t work. I tried reversing, in case I misread ON for OFF on Sun’s remote. Still no go. After rooting around the help of the manufacturer’s website I discovered that if the Allstar dip-switch was set to OFF it should be set to BLANK on the universal. Oookay. So I did that and it still didn’t work. Right. More digging around and I finally found another page that explained further: for dip-switches 1 through 4 on the Allstar, ON means ON and OFF means BLANK. Fine. but for dip-switches 5 through 9, ON means OFF and OFF means BLANK. Say what?

Okay, so I give it a go. I reversed the switch settings I made for 5 through 9 and now it works. But are you kidding me? None of this was anywhere in the instructions. I had to go through all sorts of FAQs at the manufacturer’s website to finally find the relevant chart. I understand a universal remote may be a little tricky to accomodate all the possible home security frequencies and codes, but seriously? ON means OFF?

Infernal Affairs is one of my favorite Hong Kong movies with a cast of many of my favorite actors. Martin Scorcese remakes it as The Departed with an amazing cast and an American sensibility, which makes for an interesting contrast in fatalism and justice between it and the original.

I really loved The Departed, pretty much the same level as Infernal Affairs. I know Scorcese says it’s an inspiration, not a remake, but the plot is the same and the key scenes save one or two are the same. It’s a remake. It’s got better dialogue and better use of an ensemble cast while Infernal Affairs thrives on just Andy Lau and Tony Leung’s dirty cop and deep undercover cop. Infernal Affairs, however, is far more depressing than The Departed. It has a greater air of despair seen in both characters, while The Departed sticks to anxiety and cowardice.

I’m putting this movie as one of the best I’ve seen this year — and quite possible the best movie I’ve seen this year.

Anyone who sees this, go watch Infernal Affairs as well, before or after, doesn’t matter; the two make a perfect cultural pair.

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Yen Woo Ping finally does some new choreography after skating for, like, ten years. Jet Li was never a great actor, and trying to show how a character changes from bad to good really, really stretches him. But the story is competent and the action is amazing. Liked this movie a lot for that. My hat to Woo Ping and Li.

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