Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012, Movie)

I viewed the movie as a kind of alternative history piece in that it gave different reasons for slavery, why the war was fought and the reason Lincoln's son died along with why the South lost the Battle of Gettysburg. 

I was very surprised at how much of a plot there really was, and I kind of enjoyed the combination of vampire lore and "history," as it were.

JPL 33rd American Heritage Event

This year's theme is "Celebrating JPL's Cultural Diversity". 

"International Cuisine Sampling" features food sampling from African-American, American, Chinese, East Indian, Filipino, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latino, Native-American, Polish, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese. My favorite was Sushi.

The Entertainment and Demonstrations include musical, dance by numerous ethnic and cultural groups, including African-American Soloist, Armenian Dancing, Chinese Dancing & Singing, East Indian Classical & Folk Dancers, Hawaiian Dancing, Henna Artist, Japanese Origami, Jazz Propulsion Band, Native-American Pow-Wow Dancing, Photo-booth, Polish Folk Dancing, etc.

We three girls were the leading roles of Chinese folk dance "Beautiful Scenery". See it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLWRGhh6tLc

The Path of the Yogi, Past & Present Lives of the Great Yogi Shangpa Rinpoche (Book, 2012)

Inspired by the true story of the 1st Shangpa Rinpoche, a realised being and Tibetan yogi of the 19th century, a team came together  to create this book - an intimate recounting by the 2nd Shangpa Rinpoche himself. 

We are in the presence of the 2nd Shangpa Rinpoche, as he shares his intimate perspective of the journey of his previous incarnation.

This book is filled with examples of the excellent qualities we look for in a true teacher.  It is infused with the devotion, gratitude and excitement of unfolding blessings, that Rinpoche inspires and that we yearn limitlessly to share.  

I was fortunately enough to receive this book from Shangpa Rinpoche himself, even with his autograph, when he visited our Buddhist Association. 

北京遇上西雅圖 Finding Mr.Right ( 2013 , Movie)

二十年前，《西雅圖夜未 ​​眠》以它溫情兼幽默的風格，打動了無數觀眾，《北京遇上西雅圖》繼承了其笑中含淚的特點，在致敬中不免有所借鑒和模仿，但其整體作為原創劇本新鮮的元素不少，不失為一個流暢合理的故事。 影片各方面的完成度也較高，觀影時令人感覺輕鬆舒適，湯唯和吳秀波在片中貢獻了出色的表演，尤其是湯唯前後形象的轉變，展現了她對不同類型角色的駕馭能力。

張愛玲曾說，於千萬人中遇見你所要遇見的人，於千萬年之中，時間的無涯的荒野裡，沒有早一步，也沒有晚一步，剛巧趕上了，那也沒有別的話可說，唯有輕輕問一句：“哦，你也在這裡麼？”。 兩年後，各自開始新生活的兩個人，在帝國大廈的頂樓如《西雅圖夜未眠》中的主人公那樣，再次相遇。 這一次，兩隻手終於牽在了一起。

iHerb.com Health Web Site

I recently discovered a web site and ordered all my Bath and Beauty products, especially Supplements from iHerb. Check out http://www.iherb.com?rcode=tks853 and receive up to $10.00 off your 1st purchase! 

So far I've ordered Coconut oil, Pink salt, Propolis, Essential oils, Honey, etc. from them. Some products are even less expensive than Amazon.com. As a loyal Amazon.com customer, I'm switching to iHerb.com gradually. The beauty of this web site is that shipping and tax are FREE with orders over $40.00. Not only shipping is free, the purchase will arrive at your doormat within 3 days! One time I ordered a highly perishable Natren Bacteria for yogurt making, and to my surprise, such item reached me in 3 days with very delicate ice/carton packaging. I loved this web site ever since then. 

Try it and see it for yourself. I'll bet you'll love it. 

Skyfall (2012, Movie)

I still have never thought Craig was a good choice for Bond, and I don't buy into the new 'human realistic' Bond. It was hard to squeeze out any remorse for a character who so callously and casually sent others to their death. I also found the current story lines dull, confusing, and long.

Sacramento Trip

People always say there pretty much is not much of much to do in Sacramento! I took the opportunity when IAI (International Association of Identification) California Regional Conference was held there. Tagged along with Wu-Liang, this city was quite, pretty, great HOT weather, and relaxed me. It was all nature around me... humming birds, April bugs, hawks, and I even crossed paths with a turkey while I crossed the street one day.

27 April 2013

LAX, McDonalds, South West Air, Double Tree Hotel

Parked at Hilton, LAX as usual and the shuttle took forever to come. Luckily, we pre-check-in South West Airline already and saved us lots of time. Filled up our stomachs with McDonalds’ Filet-O-Fish. Boy, it is expensive at the airport.

Double Tree Hotel is about 12 miles from the airport and there are plenty of restaurants and shopping (near a mall) in the general vicinity. Our room was very spacious and clean. They usually greet the guests with warm chocolate cookies. Yummy.

28 April, 2013

Southern Railroad Excursion Train ride, Joe’s Crab Shack, Railroad Museum, Thai Cottage Restaurant

Excursion train ride was just ok. We spent a fortune (just kidding) to sit in the ‘Luxury Car’ to receive water and snack. The ride itself was about 30 minutes along the Sacramento River.

The museum is very well equipped with old train relics, engines, etc. There are vintage train cars you can look in to, engines from different eras and lines, a reproduction of an old telegraph station, a produce car, an engine you can actually get into and sit in the seat, a mail car, a dining car with kitchen and examples of various china and place-settings. The vintage sleeper car that actually moves as though it is traveling, including sounds.  

29 April, 2013

State Capitol, Kru Sushi, Sutter’s Fort Historic Park, Great Wall Mongolian BBQ

The tour guide gave us a great tour! We got to see the interior of the capitol, plus we saw all of the past California state governors’ self portrait paintings except Arnold Schwarzenegger's. We enjoyed the tour and always learned something new about the people and culture of California. The California State Capitol houses the Bicameral State Legislature, offices of the Executive Branch, a pretty Rotunda area, interesting historical displays, and 70s-era office suites. The California Senate Chamber seats its 40 members in a large chamber room decorated in red, which is a reference to the British House of Lords (also the upper house of a bicameral legislature). The Latin phrase "Senatoris est civitatis libertatem tueri" [It is the duty of a Senator to protect the liberty of the people] lines the cornice. A portrait of George Washington and the State Seal hangs above. The California Assembly Chamber is located at the opposite end of the building. Its green tones are based on those of the British House of Commons (the lower house).  Along the cornice appears a quotation from Abraham Lincoln in Latin: "Legislatorum est justas leges condere (It is the duty of legislators to pass just laws). We also walked under the Rotunda, viewed the historic Governor's Office Suites, and wandered the ornate hallways outside the Legislative Chambers. It's all fascinating stuff and definitely worth a visit and for an intriguing civics experience.

Sutter’s Fort was a great place to soak up the sun. Begun in 1839 by builder John Sutter, the fort was a 19th century agricultural and trade colony and the first non-Native American community in central California.  It's famous for its association with the Gold Rush and the Donner Party. Took a walk through the well-maintained grounds here and experienced a well preserved piece of history, brought to life again thanks to our state park system.

30 April, 2013

Arden Fair Mall

Since I got a free day of my own, just decided to take a stroll to the mall across the street from our hotel. It has a nice atmosphere and you don't get lost. There is a food court and food isn’t great though. I’m not a regular shopper and accidentally stepped into a trap of Orogold store and bought myself a so-called ‘deep peeling’ product to lighted up my sun spots, hopefully. Sigh!

1 May 2013

American River Forest, Aerospace Museum of California

Actually, it is a Bike Trail we decided to hit on such a great day. And what a long long long trail! Other than that we saw so many people biking this trail, it is also great to have long nice runs/walks as well. It’s great for nature loving people and we enjoyed nice cool breeze along the river bank. Relaxing morning!

Oh this museum was exceptionally awesome. With AAA discount, it was fairly cheap entrance fee and plenty of stuff to look at, inside and out. I loved learning the history of the airplanes and the videos they had of the Coast Guard. Everyone was so helpful and had so much information to provide and the pride they showed just talking to us. You can even learn how to fly virtually with the simulator.  I would easily recommend this as a cheapish, fun afternoon. We easily burned 2 hours but could have easily stretched it if climbing into one of those flight simulators.

2 May 2013

McDonalds, Governor’s Mansion, Zen Sushi, Horn Blower, Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park, Elephant Bar and Grill

It’s the worst breakfast ever, such tiny Mc Muffin, at McDonalds. What can you say, we are not regular fans!

Governor’s mansion is a beautiful Victorian Gothic mansion and full of history. We took the guided tour to learn a lot about the architecture and some California politics. Governor Ronald (and Nancy) Reagan were the last to live there. It wasn't to their tastes and they moved elsewhere, leaving it in 1967 to become a museum.  The furnishings and the carpets are well preserved. 

Sacramento River’s 1- hour Cruise was kind of terrible and boring. It just traveled down the river and back. The Sacramento Delta is not as interesting as the Mississippi, but Sacramento is lucky to be at the juncture of two rivers: the American River and the Sacramento River. Being "River City", it takes advantage of the natural lay of the land - or the WATERWAYS, as the case may be - to let local residents experience the beauty of a riverboat cruise.    

A Must see for history buffs! The Stanford mansion is a wonderful piece of Sacramento and state history. A former Governor and Sacramento business man Leland Stanford originally built for his family. Besides home to Leland Stanford, it’s been long used as a home for children by the Catholic Church; many furnishings were preserved by the church. All the carpets and window dressings were faithfully reproduced. This is much more interesting, attractive and larger than the Governor’s Mansion. We were glad to stumble upon it.

I’ve got to mention the excellent crème brulee at Elephant Grill. Definitely, we’ll come back again.

3 May 2013

Elephant Bar and Grill, Noble Vegetarian

It’s another relaxing and lazy day for me. Practiced Tai-Chi in the garden, read newspaper by the pool side, even hooked up iPad via hotel’s Wi-Fi.

4 May 2013

Coco’s, Crocker Art Museum, Crepeville, SMF, South West Air, LAX, Home

Finally, we had a decent breakfast at Coco’s, plus the real coffee instead of hotel room’s coffee machine brewed coffee.

One hundred twenty-six years after Margaret Crocker, widow of railroad magnate E. B. Crocker, established the first art museum west of the Mississippi, a new, $100-million addition and renovation has tripled the museum's space. The Classic/Contemporary addition by the architectural firm that did the renovation of Manhattan's Guggenheim has propelled the museum back into the ranks of major metropolitan art museums. They have great collection of California art, Impressionist and modern. We had a wonderful docent who was willing to spend 2.5 hours just for two of us.

With this newest terminal B that opened up in SMF airport, you have to take a monorail to get to the actual departure gates.  Inside, the ceilings are sky high with tons of space all around and a gigantic red rabbit monument as a centerpiece. The entire airport is very clean and well maintained and the bathrooms all seemed well stocked. Of course, they do provide Wi-Fi!