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Failure of imagination, 11 November 2020 .As quite a few writers have already mentioned, they write in order to understand themselves and the world around them. Casually following that illustrious tradition, here is a brain fart that tries to explain what is wrong with our society today: it all comes down to a crisis in creativity, and the lack of imagination. Another ten desert island discs, 20 October 2020 .My favourite records, part four. Homicides in Chicago, 12 October 2020 .They call the city 'Chi-raq' for a reason, but don't remind the white folks who live in that 'world-class city.' Due perhaps more to inevitable shifts in personal priorities than to the inability to articulate the full horror of the state of the planet that has descended upon us, since the last time I had posted a dispatch here more than seven years ago, I have remained silently flummoxed until now. Instead of addressing the rise of right-wing popularism in developed societies, or the latest affront to humanity symptomatic of late-stage capitalism, I would like to comment on an observation much less formidable and closer to my former literal home, to the extent that it actually colours my interactions with many people I know there. Imagebank essay: Bear, world traveller, 14 September 2013 .Although we did not have a pet when we lived in Old Town Chicago, we did have Bear, whose personality is bigger than any cat or dog I have ever lived with. A bear of many interests, professions, passions, and guises, Osito was known at various times as: 'Swami Bear, the Oracle of Hyde Park' (later Lincoln Park); MC '8-Mile Bear'; flying-through-space 'AstroBear'; Odalisque Bear; Bear Princess (just a phase); Thespian Bear; and even Molecular Chef Bear. Unlike his handlers, he's quite ambitious and entrepreneurial. He also loves reading, surfing the internet, playing with smartphones, watching 'Mad Men', eating salmon and hippies, and aspires to own a farm of his own. . It's a tale of two women-- I provide some observations about my new home and my old home. . More like the lack of it, really. I've provided some observations about my particular uneasiness with spoken languages. File under personal history and Taiwanese history. . Finally we've got a disease-of-the-week special episode. Do I have Asperger's syndrome? Yeah, I know, I know... like, who doesn't think their on the spectrum these days? Here we go again, 29 September 2008 .The American government under Goerge W. bails out Wall Street. Capitalism is teetering. What's going on? 49th parallel studies, 21 April 2008 .It's been awhile since I've written anything about the True North here. Perhaps it's about time I shed some light as to why I'm continually fascinated by it. To start, it's the only society that I can come up with whose collective cultural definition of itself is distinguished not by what is it, but what it isn't [America]. It goes without saying that the examination of these particular non-chracteristics may also clarify one's understanding of America. Today's episode concerns 'cultural forbearers.' Even as an informal abstract, it still needs a lot more work though. . Writer Ian Buruma once quipped that anybody who wants us to 'wake up' and knock us out of our collective complacency, tend to be boring, or mad, or perhaps even both. I tend to agree. However, Moore provides the exception to the rule—he makes me laugh. His new film has given us a new opportunity to evaluate, vent, and do something about the wasteful and absolutely perverted system of American healthcare. Also find out why health insurance companies are absolute parasites. 'Stop the insanity!' No place to come home to, 15 October 2006 .How Cody's on Telegraph has affected me. Imagebank essay: true Chicagoan, 23 August 2006 .Join Belmont here for dinner, but don't serve him Fancy Feast or any of that sort. As a true Chicagoan, he's feisty, vocal, rough around the edges, and bluntly honest about his gripes and intentions. And yes, he is named after Chicago's 3200 N. thoroughfare. Imagebank essay: les ours blancs sauvages de Manitoba, 20 July 2006 .It appears that wild polar bears have moved south from Hudson Bay to Winnipeg. Some have even taken up professions! Time for a pint, 08 January 2006 .Another excerpt from my travel journal of the trip to Ireland in November 2005. Irish breakfast, 07 January 2006 .OR HOW I STOPPED BEING A SEMI-VEGETARIAN AND LOVE EATING ANIMAL FLESH WHILE ON HOLIDAY. This is an excerpt from my travel journal of the trip to Ireland in November 2005. And yes, I do take my holidays during the colder months. Imagebank essay: crib, 04 November 2005 .Many of you have wanted me to take pics of my new crib. By request, here's a tour of my flat located in the Old Town Triangle Historic District of Chicago. I've included some pictures of the exterior of the building, as well as views of the surrounding streets. Most of the building stock of the neighbourhood date from the late 1870s through 1890s. The 2nd storey flat itself is barely 600 sq. ft., and yeah, I still have many pieces of furniture from as far back as my Berkeley co-op days. (Revised March 2010) George Bush weather, 25 December 2004 .This is my first dispatch from Chicago. Even if you live in the Midwest, from now on, you're going to have to really dream about a white Christmas. Yet another ten desert island discs, 19 September 2003 .Here we go again. Support our troops, 12 April 2003 .Some more observations on current events. You too can be a critic! 01 September 2002 .Hey, wanna be in a crit? . Here's the latest entry in my interminable jeremiad against mankind. Like everything else on this website, it devolves into another polemic against cars and suburban spawl. . Unfortunately, he's not really dead yet. Here's an anti-I-695 (Washington state) rant turned into an anti-Prop 13 (California) rant. And everybody in the world knows that that is the penultimate cause of all problems. . It doesn't make sense. (There's a very compelling Mishima short story with the same title, but I promise this brief but somewhat rambling piece will not be anywhere near as grisly. However, this entry is an example of instances where I use the web as a platform to work out my feelings, and to try to understand them better.) Stupid together, 23 September 2001 .Some observations on current events. . I'm in Seattle, after all. I've always had a difficult relationship with sleep, and I've never taken it for granted. If successful, sleep is the most beautiful activity a person can be engaged in. . Geek alert! Music nerds, writers, and journalists such as Nick Hornby or Rob Sheffield have beaten this old horse to death years ago, and now it's my turn! Arguably the most self-indulgent section of my website, this is where I get all Robert Christgau on your ass. . America has seen better days. I've seen better days. (It may be a bit too precious and clichéd these days to present this entry in the form of an e-mail, but it's actually more convenient for me.) Ronald Reagan, 22 September 2000 .It's bad enough that the tosser has already got a bleedin' airport named after him. Now some members of Congress with too much time on their hands want to give him more. The depths that Washington would go never cease to amaze me. What an absolutely vile period the 1980s were. What sucked even more than the shitty music and clothes were the Republican presidents. We should never forget what this senile fascist had done to our country, so here's a timely reminder. Frequently asked questions, 19 August 2000 .More often than not, they are about the profession of architecture. I tried to answer many of them here. Please consult this page before writing me with your inquiries. Travis rocked my world, 18 July 2000 .All I want to do is rock. Delirious for Rem, 15 March 2000 .Architects generally look as ugly and boring as the buildings they design. However, Prada seemed to have hired the right man. Hell, this dude even looks good in their unforgivingly-cut clothes. Another ten desert island discs, 01 March 2000 .My favourite records, part two. Berkeley vs Capitol Hill, 28 February 2000 .Moving from Berkeley to Seattle was one of the most difficult decisions in my life. My search for a decent used record shop within walking distance from my Capitol Hill flat has proved to be futile. Was I stupid? Desert island discs, 13 February 2000 .My favourite records, part one. . It's been more than five years since he died, yet these days it seems that every wanker with access to media still has something to say about Kurt Cobain. Well, not wanting to feel left out, here's my take on the subject. File this under rants. . How did I devolved into this messy pile of paranoia? Two months into the spring semester, I was losing it during the start of thesis, and backstabbers were everywhere... shouldn't this type of shit only happen to weird... like other people? Anyway, you know what some old wags used to say that a master’s thesis is really nothing about everything, and that a doctoral dissertation is everything about nothing? Well, I have to concede that the former does not seem entirely unfamiliar as I look back on upon the start of my two-year ordeal of my thesis writing process. On top of all that self-absorption, I also felt that the entire world was somehow ganging up on me. . First impressions and random notes. Mission Bay design guidelines, 01 October 1997 .My timid first stab at city planning. Wurster confidential, October 1996 .This is for students who are considering the undergraduate architecture programme offered by the College of Environmental Design at the University of California at Berkeley. This entry also happens to be the first piece I wrote specifically for the web. Ma saison préférée, September 1995 .Sounding like the kind of sophomoric bullshit you would write during a frustrating exam in English class, this rambling essay was derived from an e-mail to a friend. It was composed in the basement of Evans Hall, while I was working on the first version of this website. I crave oblivion, 20 August 1994 .This was the last letter I wrote to my friend L.F. Champagne. He died on 23 September 1994 from complications during surgery. It was basically a report on what I did and didn't do during my summer holidays. Maîtres chez nous, 11 May 1994 .This homework assignment from my first senior year surveyed the perennial topic of the perennial polarisation of Anglophone and Francophone societies in Canada since 1945. As with the case with all of my other upper division papers presented here, take some caffeine before you attempt this one. . Written for a History 103F seminar, this essay surveyed the gradual attenuation of women's rights and freedoms in post-Meiji Restoration Japan. Confederation builders, 02 November 1993. Liberté, egalité, fraternité, 23 April 1992 .Can you enumerate the primary causes of the French Revolution? This homework assignment from my sophomore year tried to do just that. Perceptions of effective rulers in early medieval Don't attempt to read this unless you're really, really bored, or actually have a keen interest in politics of 6th century France. This sophomore essay is only here for the record. . Here's why I'm not film school material. 
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