Fun, family and my life as a Mahjong widower.

The rattle and clack of the tiles.  The constant banter. The whoops of victory and the moans of defeat.  These sounds.  These sounds.  They will haunt me forever.  Pushed into a corner with only a cold beer and bad TV to give me solace as I lose my wife to the succubus that is Mahjong...woe is me.

I can't wait to learn how to play!  BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Actually, the whole mahjong thing is pretty cool.  Rebecca and her family are a very close knit group and this is one of the weekly things they do together. I really like Rebecca's family.  While the language barrier is certainly an issue at this point, they are a very friendly bunch of folks and treat me very well.  It is very much appreciated.

The first thing one needs to know about Keelong (pronounced JEE-long) and it's satellite, Ruifang, which is where Rebecca lives, is that it rains there.  A LOT!  In fact, it rained there the entire two weeks I was in Taiwan.  Didn't rain anywhere else, just in Keelong.  This, of course led to a quick re-write of the classic Bill Wither's tune to:

"Ain't no sunshine in Keelong.
It is raining everyday.
Ain't no sunshine in Keelong!
These clouds ain't goin' away."

The first few days of the vacation were spent with Rebecca's family at her mother's house eating tons of good food and playing dice games, cards, and, of course, mahjong. You have to watch it with this group because they love to gamble, and, if you're not careful, you will quickly lose your shirt.

To take a break, Rebecca and I went for a walk around her mom's house to take some photos and get some  air.

The photos went from scenic to silly and back again, but it was fun just to be out and about with my honey.

 I love this picture of Rebecca

Not sure what's going on here. lol

 Very famous bridge.  Really. It is. Well...not really.

  

 Look! It's not raining!

A few days later, Rebecca's sister San jee-ae (3rd older sister) and her husband, San jee-ae foo (3rd older sister's husband) took Rebecca and I to a small touristy town called San-Shia  for a little day trip.  It was a nice little town with historic colonial era buildings.  Since this was still during the New years holiday, the place was quite busy.

 Rebecca with one of her sisters and brother-in-laws.  Super friendly folks.

 Yours truly with the Queen of Taiwan. Shortly after this photo was taken some random Taiwanese dude came up and wanted his picture taken with me.

 Making candy on the streets of San-Shia.  Reminded me instantly of the taffy pulls my mom would do when I was a little kid so many moons ago.

 A variety of steamed tofu, which, much to my surprise, I found quite tasty.

Rebecca crawling under a ceremonial palanquin which is supposed to bring good luck for the coming year.

 My peow lien de tai tai at brunch in Carnegies, Taipei.

 Taipei 101 from the patio at Carnegies.

Rebecca helping her niece Vivian with her homework. It'll take some time, but I think Vivian is finally getting used to me being around.

On one of my last days of my trip, Rebecca and I took the train to Hualien on the east coast of Taiwan.  Once there we took a tour of the beaches and Toroko National Park.  I'm not sure why, but I was quite surprised at the color of the water there.  I know it's the Pacific Ocean, but for some reason I didn't expect it to be so blue.

 Random rocks

Lookin' good , babe!

After stopping at the beach for a while and a nice lunch, we headed for the Toroko Gorge.  Toroko Gorge is a beautiful, rugged marble canyon. The Cross-Central Highway cuts through the gorge connecting the east and west coasts of Taiwan.  The Eternal Springs Shrine (below) memorializes the 450 people who died building the highway.

 It's very hard from these photos to get a sense of how high these cliffs are.  They have to be a good 1000-1500 ft.

The "paparazzi photo." The guy who we asked to take the photo above this one kept taking pictures snap, snap, snap snap...

Yeah, yeah.  You always see signs like this...

It's the concrete patched road next to the sign that makes you look up and go, "Hmmm."

Thus ended the trip.  It was a great vacation, albeit wa-a-a-a-a-a-a-ay to short.  I miss my baby and can't wait to see her again.

The Gun Debate

As the debate over gun control rages across America, there is only one truth that stands out: the issue brings out the worst in Americans across the spectrum. Civility, rationality, compromise, and common sense are replaced by vitriol, racism, name-calling, extremism, and partisanship.  No one is clean.  Not the pro-gun people; not the anti-gun people.

To the anti-gun folks who believe we need to get rid of all the guns, and that people who like guns are all crazy-ass, redneck, trailer trash:  Get a grip!  First of all, there are millions of perfectly sane, safe, law-abiding gun owners from all walks of life in this country.  They have the right to own their weapons.  It's that simple.  There is also the fact that it is logistically and politically impossible to ban and/or confiscate all guns.  Would I like a world with no guns?  Yes.  I would.  Is it a reasonable expectation? No.

To all the gun nuts out there who think that if we allow ANY gun controls, Stalin and Hitler are going to rise from the grave and destroy America and her way of life: Get a grip!  NO ONE is coming for your guns.  No matter how paranoid you may be, the US Army and law enforcement won't be invading your house any time soon. The government at this particular point is only asking that you  a) show you are not a felon, crazy, or on drugs, b) not going to sell your legally purchased weapons on the black market for a profit, and c) give some thought as to why you may need an automatic weapon with a 30 round clip to go deer hunting?

I am a proponent of tighter gun controls and always have been. At the same time I respect the rights of those people who choose to own guns. I think that the proposals put forth by the current administration are quite reasonable: tighten and expand the background checking procedure, curtail illegal gun sales, and eliminate the sale of guns, such as automatic rifles, for which no reasonable gun advocate or sportsman has any real use.  No one in a position of power is calling for an outright ban or confiscation of ALL weapons.

There is room for compromise in this debate if people could only come to their senses.

Damn the Redskins su...wait...What?

What is this?  A glimmer of hope?

Despite the fact that my once brilliantly hued burgundy and gold heart has turned to the color of mud and dismay at the state of the NFL these days has significantly dampened my enthusiasm for the game, I can't help but feel a spark of excitement for the emerging Redskins. At 8-6 and in the midst of a five game winning streak, the Skins are going into their final two games - against hated rivals Philly and Dallas - with a serious chance of winning the division and making it to the playoffs. The Eagles are in complete meltdown, and the Cowboys have some serious chinks in their armor, so anything is possible. My belief in the Redskins still hasn't risen past the "I'll believe it when I see it" phase (too many years of futility for that to happen yet), but, Holy Turn Arounds, Batman! What if?

Shame the world is going to end on Friday.

HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!

The PC Culture of Censorship

You know the world has taken a turn for the absurd when I agree with George Will on anything other than baseball.  In today's Washington Post, Will opines on the death of free speech in this age of "sensitivity" and "diversity". As is his wont, Mr. Will blames the academic liberal elite for much of the problem and cites anecdotal evidence that would make any self-respecting liberal cringe.  I totally agree with the idea that, as a people, we should be sensitive to other people's feelings and that embracing diversity in our culture is a truly noble and valuable thing.

The problem is that we've seem to gone over the edge to embrace hyper-sensitivity.  It's one thing to use the "n" word or other other epithets that promote hate and violence against any group of people. But it's entirely another thing when you can be sued for looking at someone in a way that they "perceive" to be offensive. Let's say I'm at my desk at work listening to a Slayer cd on my headphones.  I have the cd case next to me, and a co-worker walks by, sees the cd cover, and, for whatever reason is offended by it. Should I be sanctioned by my employer?  If I'm on the bus reading William Shirer's, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, should I have to be worried I might offend someone because there's a swastika on the cover of the book? Where does it end?

Free speech is one of the cornerstones of American society. I disagree with everything that bloviating buffoon Rush Limbaugh has to say, but I don't deny his right to say it. The fact is that some folks out there simply need to grow a spine.  Peace, love, and harmony would be great, but the world is an ugly place. There are people out there who are going to say and do things you don't like but are within their rights to do so. Deal with it!




This song is 30 years old and still as relevant now as then.

Dead Kennedys

"California Uber Alles"

I am Governor Jerry Brown

My aura smiles

And never frowns

Soon I will be president...

Carter Power will soon go away

I will be Fuhrer one day

I will command all of you

Your kids will meditate in school

Your kids will meditate in school!

[Chorus:]

California Uber Alles

California Uber Alles

Uber Alles California

Uber Alles California

Zen fascists will control you

100% natural

You will jog for the master race

And always wear the happy face

Close your eyes, can't happen here

Big Bro' on white horse is near

The hippies won't come back you say

Mellow out or you will pay

Mellow out or you will pay!

[Chorus]

Now it is 1984

Knock-knock at your front door

It's the suede/denim secret police

They have come for your uncool niece

Come quietly to the camp

You'd look nice as a drawstring lamp

Don't you worry, it's only a shower

For your clothes here's a pretty flower.

DIE on organic poison gas

Serpent's egg's already hatched

You will croak, you little clown

When you mess with President Brown

When you mess with President Brown

[Chorus]