This article in the Washington Post is spot on about the Beijing Olympics. Growing up in a communist society myself, reading this article feels like he’s reading my mind about everything I feel about this sanitized military display. Sometimes I feel pity for the westerners, meekly singing a praising chorus for the crafty Chinese, spreading their propaganda, so afraid to offend a people who has no value for “politically correct”, no doubt ignoring that the Chinese are snickering behind their back.

This is one more proof that when it comes to propaganda, the West has a lot to learn. Or may be it’s because the West has tied themselves up with so many “democratic” constraints that every voice raised to talk the truth is drown in louder voices of accusations.

I hope the pendulum will start swinging the other way.

Being Vietnamese natives living in America, we’ve been looking for a consistently good baguette that has the power to bring back memories of the French baguettes that we grew up with on the streets of Saigon. I almost gave up on it, but today I think I’ve found several bakeries that make great baguettes:

1- Wild Wheat Bakery in Kent. I buy their baguettes from Whole Foods Market in Bellevue where I work. It’s a bit inconvenient so I only get them if I happen to go by there, or if we are craving for some pâté as well. Edited 11/18/2008: I heard that it might be available closer to home at the just-opened PCC Market in Edmonds. Will check it out.

2- A La Francaise baguettes available at our local QFC. Funny thing is I don’t remember they ever carrid this before. I read here that A la Francaise was purchased by Sara Lee Bakery in 1999. By the way, this article, though a bit dated (2005), gives a nice history of Seattle bakery tradition.

I tried Tall Grass baguettes also available at Whole Foods, but don’t like it a bit, too hard and chewy.

I heard of these great bakeries that are owned by Vietnamese folks but have yet to try them:

- La Boulangerie, 2200 N 45th St Seattle, WA 98103 (I-5 exit 169)

- Baguette Box, 1203 Pine St, Seattle, WA 98101, though this place probably don’t sell baguettes on their own

This is a French animated short film which was nominated for the 2007 Oscar but didn’t win.

It is a hilarious short with a great funny twist at the end, with nice plays on religious scams and the relativity of luck. The word pigeon here means a sucker.

Look for it in A Collection of 2007 Academy Award Nominated Short Films.

We spent a fun weekend with relatives at the new Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound WA, which opened this April 2008. This is the first indoor water park in the Pacific Northwest. About time this cold region got a water park that can be used year-round don’t you think? I think their location is so that they can serve both the Seattle and Portland crowds. My review on Yelp is here http://www.yelp.com/biz/great-wolf-lodge-grand-mound?rpp=40&sort_by=date_desc, scan for QT “xitrum” post of August 4th 2008.

In a letter to the WSJ today regarding the cartoons deemed offensive to Muslims, reader Darryl May commented that “while the U.S. protects the right of religious groups to practice their religions (something very rare in the Muslim world), it doesn’t protect the rights of groups not to be offended, and if it ever does, we can no longer claim to be a free society.”

Well said Darryl May.

To paraphrase a line from the Hairspray movie: there is a whole lot of ugly out there, coming at you from a never-ending parade of stupid”.

The new search engine just made its debut today. Pronounced “cool”.

Besides the UI eye candies, I’m not cool the 2 quick searches I tried there:

1. “bibo”: my website is not found! The excerpts shown in several of the presented links are not real, or from domain parking sites. And instead it shows a lot of stuff from other spellings like bebo

2. “Johnny A”: one of my favorite guitarists, again not found. I just bought one of his CDs last week.

How can it work, when your team has a Product Owner that works remotely out of the East Coast while the rest of his team operate on the West Coast? The answer is simple: so he can think ahead of the curve.

Our garden is a paradox to me. When you see a garden, you think of relaxation, peace of mind, repose, calm, seclusion. But how often do you think how much hard work and care must be put in to maintain that garden? Is a garden created for enjoyment by all but its caregivers?
When people meditate by a Japanese Zen garden, what exactly do they meditate on? If I labored on that garden, will I be able to relax and be at peace with never a thought of “why didn’t I see that weed before” or “time to prune this tree a bit”?
May be the work that I put into a garden brings me satisfaction by the knowledge that others will be able to enjoy it.
May be when I am single-mindedly toiling on the garden is when I’m actually practicing meditation. It’s true that the human mind is as restless as a monkey, and gardening is one of many ways to help my mind quiet down.

I recently looked at the reviews of Vietnamese Banh Mi shops in Portland OR. One thing that jumps out is that many reviewers added a disclaimer that they don’t know what an authentic Banh Mi tastes or look like.

Note: by Banh Mi, I’m referring to the Vietnamese baguette stuffed with meat and vegetables, not just a plain baguette.

My first reaction to this is that you don’t need to know what’s supposed to be in an authentic Banh Mi in order to say what you like and don’t like about a particular piece of food. It’s entirely a matter of personal preferences.

Then I started thinking more about this “authentic Banh Mi”, and being a Vietnamese myself growing up in Saigon and living there until uprooted and came to the States in my mid 20s, I must admit that I myself can’t conjure up, into something tangible, this “authentic Banh Mi”. So I started this list of the things that I can pull from my memory of eating Banh Mi in Saigon, as the things that make up a good Banh Mi:

1. Banh Mi Lan Hue: this is the generally considered by locals as the place that makes the best Banh Mi
2. Must have ingredients in a Banh Mi: pâté, traditional mayonnaise, and soy sauce
3. Vegetables: pickled vegetables, also slices of tomato, or slices of chili pepper if you want it hot
4. Toasted for a crunchy crust

Also it’s clear to me that even if you follow all these points above, the taste of the food can change due to the quality and the makeup of your ingredients. A Banh Mi made in Saigon back in the more difficult times and one made here in America can’t be compared. Each will have its own charms, not to mention the power of nostalgia that will never make a made-in-America Banh Mi measures up to that made along the dusty roadside Banh Mi shop years ago.

So I’ll keep the best memory of the Saigon Banh Mi while fully enjoying the Banh Mi that I can find, or make, nowadays.