December 2004 Archives

I've been trying to write something about the tsunami disaster for days now but have been coming up blank. With 140,000 reported dead so far, and thousands more to come I'm sure, what do you say? What can you say? "I'm sorry for everyone who've lost all their loved ones and everything they own besides" is true, but sounds so trite and meaningless—and is, in the face of so much death and suffering.

And I feel guilty for this but truth is, the thing I'm most grateful for this year is that the tsunami didn't make it as far east as the Philippines; many parts of Metro Manila are below sea level and for a place where it frequently floods and you are never really more than a two hour drive from the shore, an incredible amount of people have never learned how to swim and would've drowned immediately.

I'm glad that my friends and family are safe and well but it could've so easily have been them at risk (and myself, if I'd gone home for the holidays!), and so I urge you to give what you can to help out. Google's list of tsunami relief resources is a good place as any to start; I sent some money straight to my classmate Bala's father, who is working on relief efforts in Chennai, India and (as suggested by Chris) will also be donating to Médecins Sans Frontières.

When the clock strikes midnight tonight please think of what Pearl, a survivor of the tsunami in Thailand had to say: "Please think of what you value. Look around, have you given a hug to someone recently? Anyone? If everything you had were taken away, who would you turn too? In the end it is each other, not the things, that make the world spin."

And now, as Heather said, Dear 2004, I love you, now please fuck off. Here's to wishing 2005 will be better for us all than this year has been. Regular posting (and maybe even regular replying to email, at long last) will resume tomorrow.

From Atkins dieters so bored they lose weight:

Three major studies were carried out in 2003 in which obese women were put on either Atkins or a classic low-calorie, low-fat diet.

One of these studies, which was six months long, found that Atkins dieters lost nearly twice as much weight as the others: 8.5 kilograms against 3.9 kilograms.

The other two studies were 12 months long. They found Atkins dieters lost weight more quickly and were still ahead at six months, but by 12 months, there was an insignificant difference in weight loss between the two groups.

The Danish researchers said any weight loss from Atkins was unlikely to come from ketosis, as urinary traces of ketones (the chemical by-product of this process) are so low that very little energy would be used up this way.

What might cause weight loss with low-carb diets is boredom. The diet is so monotonous and simple that people might just eat less, they suggest.

I can believe this. I love meat with a passion that regularly horrifies my vegan friends so you'd think Atkins would be the perfect diet for me, but the truth is that I am also insane about carbs; it would just never work. My vanity, such as it, cannot compete with my love of food.

Butter-laden mashed potatoes and popcorn, glazed donuts and frosted cupcakes, bowls filled with hot steaming udon or scoops of ice cream, these are things that bring me as much delight as strips of perfectly cooked bacon.

Another possibility is that protein induces a stronger satieting effect than fat or carbohydrates, the authors said. Basically, people feel fuller after a protein-rich meal.

Well, unless you are me! Abe took me to Peter Luger recently and after eating tasty meats until we could barely move, we topped the meal off with a slice of delicious pecan pie and a healthy dollop of whipped cream. And dinners with friends at New Green Bo are not complete unless we have rolled ourselves across the street to the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. Is it possible that I have two separate stomachs, one for the main meal and another just for dessert?

Two of my friends love food so much that they started food blogs: Alaina's A Full Belly is about eating well, especially in New York and San Francisco, while Yimay's Holy Shitake is mainly about her adventures in the kitchen (beautiful photos included, natch), with a few crazy news items thrown in for good measure.

Other food blogs I'm currently enjoying include Slice (all about pizza!), Movable Feast and Gothamist Food. If you've got any food blog recommendations, please feel free to send me an email or leave a comment.

I can't believe you guys didn't start a DropCash campaign to buy me the first ever David Hasselhoff Christmas iPod, signed by the man himself and preloaded with the tracks from his new Christmas album.

I mean, I know I haven't been posting very much lately, but come on. Where is the love, people? Where is the love?

Just so you all know, there are a few more items up for auction from The Hoff—I sure wouldn't mind that Best of Knight Rider 2 disc DVD set!

We all know Jarvis is infinitely cuter than Santa, right?

Here's wishing the happiest of holidays to you and your loved ones, from myself and my cranky fuzzball of a dog.

From Mitsu, just the other day:

Sometimes you meet someone and there is just this uncanny connection or something --- a resonance --- really strange, surprising, shocking. It's wonderful but disturbing, too, because it threatens the presumption that the universe is random, that you meet people at random, that people's lives vary randomly --- randomness can be very comforting, even as it is frighteningly chaotic, because it affords us anonymity. That sense that we can move about in the world and no one will notice us; it's liberating, too. But meet someone who shares certain things with you, more than you'd expect by chance, and suddenly it's as though you've been noticed by the world, and there goes your ability to hide in the folds of reality, unseen.

What's so great about hiding? You have the time to gestate, to wait, to prepare. But then sometimes it comes time. Time to be born.

What happens when the connections are made, but the timing's all wrong? What do you do then?

One of the things I've finally learned this year is that I need to be less patient when it comes to the things that I really want—either make something happen or move on. I'll get over this soon, I know, but right now my heart feels like it's been steamrolled over. I wanted to kiss you so much that night, when it was snowing.

If you're in the city either today or tomorrow, come see the ITP Winter Show, a "two-day explosion of interactive sight, sound and technology from the student artists and innovators at ITP".

My thesis project hello, can you see me? (a.k.a. 24in48.org) is in the show, please come say hi! I'll be doing another run of it in New York with 24 brand new participants sometime in February so if you have a cameraphone and are interested in joining the fun then, drop me a line at hello@24in48.org or leave a comment!

Right now I am also looking to do the project in San Francisco and Manila so if you live there and would like to participate, or would like to see it done in your city, please feel free to get in touch.

Show hours:
Sunday, December 19 from 2 to 6 p.m.
Monday, December 20 from 5 to 9 p.m.

Directions:
ITP is on the fourth floor of NYU's Tisch School, 721B Broadway corner Waverly Place. You can take the R train to 8th St and walk south two blocks to Waverly, the 6 to Astor Place and walk west to Broadway, or the C to West 4th and walk east through Washington Square Park to Broadway.

liabu: i love the timing, dude
liabu: now that you are a metrosexual and can finally take care of yourself properly
liabu: you are having a baby!
liabu: this is how things should be done from now on
mathowie: exactly. once you find the perfect shoes, it's time for a baby.

Congratulations and much love to Matt & Kay on the upcoming arrival!

So sorry if you don't have an NYU ID, because you won't be able to get in, but if you do and you're free this evening, head on down to Coles Gym (corner of Mercer and Bleecker) tonight at 6:45 for SQUASH, "an interactive athletic performance synthesizing art, sport and technology".

Cheers to Jamie Allen, Emily Conrad & Matt Culliford, this is their final project for the Live Image Processing & Performance class taught by Luke Du Bois at ITP.

^* Not a nerd? It's okay, just go for the same reason I'm going: two hot, sweaty Culliford brothers smashing balls around. If you really can't make it, then at the very least check out the video!