Riveting

Love and Contempt. Its content had seemingly left me hanging on the edge of a perilous cliff with the bare tips of my fingers. I adore (because it was unexpected) and yet despise (because it was against my morals) that the antagonist triumphs in victory. The best part that I will admit to is that the uneasiness and discomforting atmosphere that it produced will undoubtedly be ingrained in me.



"...We are not content with negative obedience, nor even with the most abject submission. When you finally surrender to us, it must be of your own free will. We do not destroy the heretic because he resists us: so long as he resists us we never destroy him. We convert him, we capture his inner mind, we reshape him. We burn all evil and illusion out of him; we bring him over to our side, not in appearance, but genuinely, heart and soul. We make him one of ourselves before we kill him. It is intolerable to us that an erroneous thought should exist anywhere in the world, however secret and powerless it may be. Even in the instant of death we cannot permit any deviation. In the old days the heretic walked to the stake still a heretic, proclaiming his heresy, exulting in it. Even the victim of the Russian purges could carry rebellion locked up in his skull as he walked down the passage waiting for the bullet. But we make the brain perfect before we blow it out. The command of the old despotisms was "Thou shalt not". The command of the totalitarians was "Thou shalt". Our command is "Thou art"."


"What is our motive? Why should we want power?... The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from all the oligarchies of the past, in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites, The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just round the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?"


--- words from O'Brien, character of Nineteen Eighty-Four



With utter surveillance in London after the bombings and the recent divulgence of the U.S. government in collaboration with AT&T, collecting phone call records of millions of Americans, is our world starting to remodel like the one in Nineteen Eighty-Four?

The Great Americas

Oh how I abhore your roaring as I utilize you to rid of my sin. How you bawl in a deeper voice as your task becomes more burdensome. As I stand, peering, I cannot help but be wrecked with guilt with respect to my actions. But I am helpless, incorrigibe to the extent of my excessiveness.


It is a weekly ritual to succumb myself to opening my fridge and ridding it of decomposing, at times putrid food. It is another job to extricate it of the lingering hodgepodge of smells that creep up to surprise when opening it's door. I casually look at the left-over spaghetti that I am mushing with my fingers through the garborator and it is an admittedly gruesome sight. However, the emphasis is not in the article that I am trying to rid off but in the action and the frequency of doing so.


Special attention is brought to my family and myself because we are absolutely criminal to the offence of WASTING.
Perspectives. Change of environment. Expectations. Past growing-up experiences. They are all highly-qualified factors in explaining our behaviour.
It is difficult to account for individuals on the derivation and uses of their resources but it is well known and might I add, accepted that residents of North America are extravagant and thriftless with regards to their resources.


Truly, we North Americans dwell in the land of bounty. Subjected to a society that thrives in capitalism, we revolve around an oligarchy of gargantuan corporations. Due to their colossal size in most markets, they acquire bargaining power, reap efficiencies of scale and in turn supply whatever goods or services at a mass scale. Countless times I stroll in grocery stores so massive that perhaps losing one's sense of direction is not such an inconceivable thought. It is true. Although all fundamental teachings in economics serve to etch the perfectly competitive equilibrium into one's mind, perfectly competitive markets do not exsit. It is merely a utopian ideology, simplifying matters allowing a more direct analytical perpective on problem-solving. However, in any market that permits free entry (one characteristic of perfectly competitive markets), we see numerous companies supplying that one product, given that the price is favourable. Choice is indeed delightful, but so many that befuddles a consumer? There have been times where I have stood in a shampoo aisle for half an hour (but in the sake of any argument, one may say that I have indecisive and hesitant tendencies.)


Surrounded by such vastness of goods, it is evident that a substantial majority will not be purchased...denied the privelege of being utilized. Not too worrisome for goods that do not have a shelf-life but quite perturbing for goods such as produce. Much pity for organic produce (with such a wondeful cause) whittling away on their stands. It is highly questionable as to what they do with food no longer fresh to a consumer's palette, most items no longer permissible to sell because of overdued expiriy dates. To the garbage dumps? I'm afraid so. Perhaps one of these faithful days, stop in your tracks at your grocery store, absorb the fact of how much of what you see will become waste. Astonishing.


Coffee. One of those inelastic goods that my addictive personality adheres to, a legal opiate that I am dependent on. One of my favourite convenient haunts, to much of my guilt, is Starbucks. I am contented to wait in line, giving me time to feast my eyes on the delectable outsourced bakery goods neatly organized in a glass case, and yet another painful decision-making circumstance to whether I should fatten myself up. On one occasion, as I walked out with Dan, expecially satisfied with a cup in my hand, I casually asked where all the unsold expiring bakery goods went and again I recieved another pitiful answer that they most probably got thrown away. To refute it, I questioned furthur: Was it infeasible to give it to the poor (via shelters, soup kitchens and such)?
It linked to another subdivision of topic: unsustainable reliance. Apparently, consistently giving to the poor creates complacency and further contributes to the overbearing burden on the government's budget...


Is our excess so irreconcilable?

Memphis Blues

Expectations of a hick and red-neck restaurant, upon hearing the name 'Memphis Blues', are dashed as I walk in. I am warmly enclasped by its surroundings.


Not too fond of full-bodied-tasting cuts of meats such as steak and ribs, I'm usually a tad bit hesitant to fill my stomach with such. Drawing experiences of lavishly slathered ribs with canorous barbeque, hickory, honey garlic sauces illicit a Pavlov's reaction, except that it is of a verge of regurtitation caused by greasiness.


Prior to Memphis Blues, my knowledge of 'good' ribs was derived from Tony Roma's. Though I did have some meals there, I limited my frequency to its establishments. But upon tasting Memphis' expression of ribs, I was taken aback.
Never have I savoured such ribs that epitomizes such flavour without being masqueraded by a sauce.
Their ethos: Taste the quality and appreciate the process.
That is the beauty of their meats. Not shoddily marinated with a sauce but rubbed with aromatic herbs and seasoning , extracting and enhancing the meats' natural embodiment of flavour. George Siu, its successful owner has 2 locations located on West Broadway and Commercial Drive (I have yet to visit) and has deservedly recieved many distinguished awards, Look here .


The Elvis Platter: Shared by 4
Smoked sausages. Brisket. Pulled pork. Rib ends. Half slab ribs. Half of a cornish game hen. Fries. Coleslaws. Cornbread. Barbeque Sauce. Pit Beans.



Red wall of Jazz and Blues Singers.




Salivating




Evidence of Enjoyment


Legendary Crooners




I was overjoyed that they were so willing to pose for me!



Dazzle
The atmosphere of this eatery is fully warm and casual. Absolutely conjures a southern feel of eating with good ol' blues music playing in the background. I imagine this is what it feels like to be in Memphis or New Orleans... surreal. Come as yourself and feel comfortable because there is no pretense nor pretention about Memphis Blues, it is elementary and efficient. Order at the front, grab your piping hot scrumptious food and seat yourselves wherever you wish. I particulary appreciate the big rolls of environmentally-friendly paper towels strategically placed on every table at anyone's dispense. Quite thoughtful and nothing of those trite pungent, overwhelming fragrance of a wet towelette... Order the 1/2 slab of ribs (depending on your appetite, more than enough for 5"3 midget like me), pulled pork sandwich and the cornish game hen and the brisket (which is Dan's pick). Taste the meat on its own first before dipping in the barbeque sauce. The beans too are delectable (or perhaps I have a quirky attraction to beans in sauce *shrugs*). Be bold and order the Elvis Platter for an opportunity to savour each and every item they offer. Quench it with a beer.




Frazzle
Nothing too much to denounce about. Their pricing is slightly on the high side, but worthy of its quality in my books. It is futile to get seats at peak dinner times such as Fridays and weekends. Go there between 2-4 in the afternoon and most likely have the whole restaurant to yourself and your party. The restaurant boasts not of its size, so if your party consists of 6 and more, it will feel a little tight.



Overall
$ $
8.5/10



Memphis Blues Barbeque House
1465 West Broadway Avenue
Vancouver, B.C.
604-738-6806



Click here for LEGEND and RANKING

Noir et Blanc

I can't even remember when this picture was taken, think I took it. A
little self-obsessive I must agree.




My maniacal self with my better half at some pitstop washroom in Seattle. Expect this expression on most pictures. Please me reminded that I AM retarded.
I don't know what that semi-parabolic shade at the left corner is... perhaps my finger?



Well, now that I have mentioned, I DO have pictures and a blog-worthy topic of our trip to Seattle and I just remembered that I am very tardy on my other topics that I have yet to enlighten you with.


On a happy note, now I have a proper, uber-savvy profile picture I can use (the first picture above) and you guys don't have to set eyes on that pastey, oops-I-ate-another-piece-of-cake face, jutting-out lower lip portrayal of me.


*Thanks to Dan for great pictures

Lucky Number Slevin

Its been years since I've seen a movie in which I was surrounded by an air of confusion, yet happily chased its given clues and hints, like a retriever, to make sense of it.


Slevin (Josh Hartnett), under a mistaken identity embarks on a mysterious labyrinth of 'jobs' that he has to accomplish for 2 warring mob bosses (Morgan Freeman and Sir Ben Kingsley), meanwhile, encountering an intelligent, quick-witted beauty (Lucy Liu), whom of course is the love of his life. I can only say so much without ruining the whole story for you.




I was baffled by what this movie was about initially, thinking it was another Bruce Willis' macho, ego-stroking depiction but walked out of the theatre delightfully overwhelmed. Of course, what I have mentioned in the previous paragraph is a seemingly common plot. However, it is interlaced with other definitive motives , creating finer nuances in the plot itself. How befuddling it might be, the end reveals all, linking loose ends together. I see no haphazard effort in its completion.




Never too fond of Josh Hartnett, but his unassuming demeanor is perfect for his role.


The last movie I've seen which left me feeling this way was Pulp Fiction. Sexy as hell creation of film noir!



Please go see this movie.



Isn't she pretty?



*Sources: Pictures, Rotten Tomatoes