Musk

All of the advertisers know damn well Musk isn't antisemitic. 

Logging

Film: To Catch a Killer

Not a great thriller by any stretch, but I still enjoyed. Why? Because I enjoy just about any decent crime drama.

Film: Road House

Great storytelling... the absurdness of the opening bar scene of just total mayhem and destruction while Swayze just watches (Yojimbo-like)... totally works in the way pro wrestling works - pure drama / emotion / absurdity - setting up how the bar needs to change. Screenwriting lesson: when an underneath truth is being expressed you can get away with bonkers shit. This is why I hate docudramas generally - they often mask pointlessness behind being a "true" story whereas a film likes Road House hides truths about how to have a spiritual center beneath ridiculous fights.

Twitter / X

Beginning to think the shift against wokeness began when Musk bought twitter because it symbolically permitted an already popular space to become more freewheeling/less woke. It showed the tide could turn. It was the battle of Midway. 

Elon Musk Stan

I've never been a huge stan for the guy...but I've never liked him more than after watching this--

Making The Rounds...

A video of Bibi Netanyahu boasting how he torpedoed the Oslo Accords and manipulates America.

Supposedly this is offered as "proof" that Israel has long undermined the Palestinian state and America are fools. A few things...has anyone got videos of what Arafat or the leaders of Hamas say about America in their private living rooms? What Putin or Xi say? Or for that matter Trudeau, Macron, Blair -- whoever -- I promise you they all talk shit and boast. How do I know this? Because they are men. Bibi is talking here like every guy I've ever known says to himself in the company of comrades - "oh man, she was totally down for it...she totally wanted me...," "or, man, I could've kicked that guy's ass...man if he said one more thing..." 

Come on...

Sunday

Last Sunday I was riding on a quiet bike path and passed three people handing out Jesus pamphlets. The though occurred to me that 20-50% of people who went full woke will end up hardcore Christians. Why not? Christianity has many of the "good" elements of wokeness and has figured out how to get around the more absurd, goofy, and indeed evil aspects of it. If you view wokeness as a sort of religion/world view that helps people cope - it seems to me Christianity is stronger and more effective medicine.

Two State Solution

Do the Palestinians even want a state?

"Ceasefire"

The far left could have their ceasefire if Hamas surrendered and disarmed. Why don't they call for it? 

Bruno Macaes - A Lie

On twitter, Macaes says the Palestinians never walked away from a deal in 2000. This is news! I suppose Thomas Friedman had bad intel on this in From Beruit to Jerusalem? Or Bill Clinton - who had just negotiated a similar peace in Northern Ireland - also lied about Arafat walking away from the deal? Is this guy kidding? What sources is he working with? This is one of the most well known and well documented negotiations in recent history. Now, he's saying this is false?

Logging

Film: Asteroid City

Wes Anderson has become more Wes Anderson over time. A good thing, I think...

Film: The Flash

Are movies meant to make sense? I know they aren't meant ONLY to make sense, but I mean this in a literal way. Should they make any sort of sense? I wonder what a viewer from 1955 would make of The Flash or Everything Everywhere All At Once. I think they would think the world had lost its mind. And I suppose in a way, they would be right.

And separate from his personal issues off screen, I find Ezra Miller really difficult to watch.

The Far Left

Doesn't support gun ownership, except in the case Hamas.

Taiwan Finals Days

Tried another bento box - fried chicken, rice, veggies, egg, cabbage, etc. Delicious. Again - to repeat - impossible to beat cheap eats here. 

In group pictures in Taiwan, I'm in the back. This does not happen in the US.

Service in general considerably worse in Taiwan. And that factors in that service in general has gone downhill in the US.

I saw a guy using a pay phone in Taipei. There are still pay phones all around.

At the Brother Hotel, there was a "traditional taiwanese restaurant" and a cantonese dim sum place on the same floor - the traditional taiwanese place was empty while the dim sum place was packed with a 15-20 minute wait.

Rush hour felt like NYC.

Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan

Like the Native Americans were not treated well by the Japanese nor the Chinese throughout history. Over time, they've been driven off their lands into the mountains. Rarely do we hear of this mistreatment nor hear any land acknowledgements. I wonder why.

Slavery In Korea

Reading about the First Sino-Japanese War (which lead to Japan acquiring Taiwan) - it was only after this war, did the Japanese - of all people - abolish slavery in Korea in 1895. The world is much more complex and strange than you think.

Also note: the Japanese lost more men in the insurrection within Taiwan after they defeated China (Qing) in the First-Sino War. Basically, the Qing gave up Taiwan to Japan, but the people on Taiwan waged a guerrilla war where over 100,000 Japanese troops were needed to suppress the insurrection. Japanese basically just slaughtered villagers they suspected to be part of the resistance. Much of these people hid in the mountains. I'm telling you - Taiwan will not be easy to take over.

Taiwan Day 8

In the morning visited Shandao Temple where grandmother-in-law has a shrine. Afterwards, took red line MRT all the way to Tamshui, the end of the line. Visited Fort Santo Domingo - so it turned out the Spanish sailed all the way to Taiwan. In fact, the Spanish set up in the North of Taiwan and the Dutch in the South. Eventually it became clear to the Spanish that the Dutch weren't going anywhere so they abandoned the fort in the mid 1600s. The Dutch took it over. But later in the 1640s, a Chinese General attacked the Dutch and threw them out of Taiwan. The island was under the control of the Qing Dynasty (the last emperor). Something I know most Westerners won't know - the Qing are the Manchu people. Who are the Manchu people? In the 1600s they were a minority of about 1% of the population of China, but managed to take over the entire country. They seemed sort of like cousins / similar to the Mongols although they had a rivalry with them. Anyhow, the people we think of Chinese are Han Chinese...so it's a bit interesting to think about China in the modern context...they were ruled from about 1600-1905 by the Manchu people but during that time there was a lot of mixing between Manchu and Han...afterwards, China descended into chaos - Japan took over Taiwan in 1895 and later Manchuria in WW2...it wasn't until Mao in 1949 did the communists/Han take over China again. And even then, it was a bloody affair and a lot of Chinese fled to Taiwan to form a government in exile. 

So I digress. The fort was interesting as was the nearby "little white house." These are strategically located at the mouth of the Tamsui river. This river leads to the sea and is why Taipei is where it is. One day, should China invade, they would probably come up the river to take Taipei. Although, that might be a death trap as one could easily blow ships out of the water from all the nearby land provided they had the ammunition.

A note - perhaps I'm being influenced by the people I spoke to here - but it makes little sense for China to invade Taiwan unless Taiwan's government decided to suddenly declare official independence. First, from a military perspective, invading a big island like this would be a logistical nightmare. It would be a death trap far worse than the beaches at Normandy. There are mountains right down the middle of the country. There are windy old roads everywhere. There are very few beach areas. The weather most of the year is unpredictable. Military units could be scattered everywhere. Trying to form a beachhead could be met with a massive amount of concentrated force. Even if you set up a beach head, an insurgency could always go up and hide in the mountains or in the cities or both. But the bigger reason why an invasion would be stupid: they don't need to. Taiwan is basically Chinese. The mainland just needs to run out the clock on the matter and continue to grow economically and become attractive to the Taiwanese. Eventually, the government of Taiwan will elect a hardcore pro-China government and just fully embrace the "one-China" policy. The only thing that could spoil this eventuality would be a military invasion. Again...I've digressed...

In Tamsui there was an "old street" another hotbed of capitalism somewhat reminiscent of Chinatowns in the US. Lots of snacks and touristy items. I guess these were old commercial streets back in less modern times. 

Ate lunch at a weird, empty American place. Kids loved it. Ribs, steak, fries...too much food. Afterwards, I ventured alone out to Nanjing Fuxing area - got some baos at a popular dim sum place in the Brother Hotel. Then, picked up some hainan chicken from Ching Cheng, a local spot. The hainan chicken cost $3 - now I've had two pretty damn good $3 meals and I'm tempted to say that Taipei is one of the best places in the world to eat a meal for $3. 

Taiwan Day 6-7

Again working somewhat backwards - Beitou Hot Springs. So Taipei is essentially surrounded by mountains (and a river mouth). Up north is a long dormant volcano. And therefore hot springs. One can rent a room at a hot springs hotel (radium kagaya) just to hang and take baths and chill out in a private area. Enjoyable way to spend a morning without the kids. You can ride up there on the MRT (metro).

Afterwards, we swung down to the Taipei Railway Station to buy a bento box lunch. These lunches cost under $3. They are a glazed pork chop, rice, some bok choy, a braised egg (popular snack), and a fish cake. Incredibly popular at the major railway stations across Taiwan for commuters. The weirdest thing about them: the railway makes them. This would be like Amtrack making sack lunches in the US and selling them at Amtrack stations - only the lunches are beloved. It was a good lunch. Great, if you consider the price. 

Next, over to Dongmen Station and Yangkang Street. Ate delicious mango shaved ice, scallion pancakes, hung in a park, wandered around the neighborhood. Probably my favorite neighborhood stroll thus far - just lots of cute shops, spots, places to eat, etc. I later find out it's "one of the coolest streets in the world" according to internet travel websites. We grabbed some beef noodle soup to take home for dinner. Solid. (Lao Zhang Beef Noodle Diner)

The night before the above, we went out around our neighborhood - couldn't get into the cool whiskey bar (closed for private event). Wandered around to some streets that seemed Japanese to find a bar. Eventually landed on a place called O-Bar. Rules of this place: 2 drink minimum plus a service fee, which I think was more expensive if the waitress girls hung out at your table. We declined this option, but the rest of the tables seemed to be doing it. A bit strange. 

Before, we had hot pot dinner. Not the type of hot pot I was used to - the broth was more pickle flavored and I guess getting rarer and rarer to find in Taiwan. Mainland/Chinese hot pot getting more popular here. 

Before that, we spent the day at Taipei Children's Amusement Park - half Great America, half carnival. Good bang for the buck compared the hundreds I spent at Universal Studios recently to wait in line 90+ minutes for things. I think it cost $7 to get in per person. A few of the things were extra cost - like a kids mech armor game and a go kart track. No lines. 

Night before, a big Thai dinner with extended family. Lots of fun. Drank some Chinese moonshine. I have no idea what you call it. Also tried intestines last night - not for me. Lots of opportunities for adventurous eating and drinking out here.

The Hollywood Blacklist

Someone should use AI to generate a spec about the Sam Altman firing and rehiring.  It would 100% get votes for the Blacklist and never get made. 

I Could See This Happening

A new baby boom and return to old timey American values if Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce do it.

The Palestinians

A lot of talk focuses on what Israel (or the Jews) should be doing different. How about the Palestinians? These are people who have done the following in modern history:

a) Allied with the Nazis

b) Attacked their neighbors in war and lost numerous times

c) Attempted to take over the country of Jordan

d) Catalyzed the Lebanese Civil War

e) Waged numerous, decades long terrorist campaigns against Israel

f) Are more or less rejected by all their neighbors including Israel 

I think we should come to an agreement that the world will value Palestinian lives exactly equal to how much the Palestinians value Palestinian lives. 

Taiwan Day 5 Notes

Daytime - Huashan 1914 Creative Park - an old factory built in presumably 1914 now converted into an arts mall. Similar to Liberty Station in San Diego. Accomplished 80% of Christmas shopping - this wasn't the plan, but so many fun things to purchase. Taiwan is like capitalism on steroids in some respects - so many little stores everywhere. Unsure if this is organic, cultural, a good thing or a bad thing. I suppose Hong Kong was like this back in the day. Lunch - kids got a break from Chinese - ate pizza. We had Hainan Chicken at Boon Keng Chicken. Not the greatest I've had, but solid. 

Other notes/comments-

Outside our apartment, you open the door and are literally right next to an alley where cars and motorbikes speed by. You wouldn't want a kid just to walk right outside without an adult.

Style-wise, the folks in Taipei do not even come close to what I think of as stylish. Very unlike what I think about when I picture Seoul or Tokyo...some folks are making an effort, but this is not a stylish place. Not a judgement, just something I notice. 

Saw an elementary school at recess. It looked like 90% of the kids were playing basketball. Is that at urban thing? A Taiwanese thing? A Jeremy Lin thing?

You often notice signs around Taipei that say "Air Shelter" with an arrow.

Taiwan Day 4

Told in reverse...Raohe Night Market...night markets are popular in Taiwan and throughout Southeast Asia. Why? Tropical heat during the day unbearable, so people go outside at night to hang and consume food. Now? Sometimes night markets are open during the day and cater to tourists. So, they're crowded and I would not say particularly fun or built for locals. Nevertheless, a must visit. I ate a black pepper bun - pork filling dough/bread cooked in a tandoor oven (like naan bread). A japanese pancake with custard. I passed on the stinky tofu and various options for meat on a stick. 

Earlier in the day, we did a class on making pineapple cakes, a favorite local treat. That was fun. In general, I'm becoming a much bigger advocate for taking classes. I randomly came across an interview with Tom Cruise (of all people) where he discussed how he came up with the concept of Lev Grossman in Tropic Thunder. Cruise was taking a hip hop dance class at the time and so when Stiller called him up for the role, he said he'd do it under two conditions: fat hands and he could dance. The rest is history. But Cruise said something interesting in the interview: he's always taking classes and learning new things because he never knows how that stuff might find its way into a role. I loved this concept. Anyhow. We made pineapple cakes.

Ate lunch at the famous toilet restaurant. It was gross. 

Screentime

A lot ink spilled on the impacts of screen time on children. I wonder about the impact of parents using screens on the children as well. Tough for the kids to compete for attention with junk adults consume.

Taiwan Day 3

Afternoon hike on elephant mountain. Supposedly a mild hike of about 30 minutes but the internet fails to mention it is straight upwards! A good work out. This morning parents legs were tired and kids claim no soreness. So I guess 5 and 8 are when the kids surpass the physical fitness of the parents. I do feel that I need to exercise more. 

Might've mentioned before - coffee shops everywhere in Taipei. I guess young people like coffee/lattes and American breakfasts. At the bottom of elephant mountain a latte of high quality. Also served "Kyoto style" coffee soft serve. Very popular.

Afterwards Sichuan dinner at Flower Restaurant, another super high quality and not very expensive meal. Some dishes different - actually wasn't as spicy as Sichuan restaurants in San Fernando Valley - a good thing. Incredible juicy beef rib dish along with some type of julienned bean curd. No boiled fish, but did have boiled pork and beef. Mapu tofu was different - can't exactly explain how...

Random observations:

Metro has big glass partitions between platforms and trains. Why I have never seen this before? Brilliant idea. Should be in every metro - no accidents or suicides.

Bathrooms generally well maintained and clean. A lot of people notice this about Asian countries. Nearly all public bathrooms have some type of attendant permanently cleaning up. What a great idea! One thing to point out, however - these clean bathrooms occur in incredibly busy areas and are vital for sanitation purposes. I want someone to do a toilet to population ratio - because I would guess there are far fewer toilets per person in Asia than in the West.

Appliances all seem to be Japanese and instructions written in Japanese. I find this odd. More high tech in a lot of ways, but not always in a sensible way. Automatic electronic locks on doors don't make a ton of sense to me. They seem prone to breakdown or lose electricity at an inopportune time and compound a problem. Same with temperature dials for the shower, etc. You can set them to the exact degree and control electronically like a thermostat. I've personally never had a problem with a simple shower dial. Don't see what problem this solves - and never mind if you can't read Japanese and can barely figure out how to set the temp. Also, it didn't stop the shower from going cold midway through. Taiwan has lots of little remnants of being occupied by Japan if you have the ability to notice them (unrelated to the appliances) but just about zero evidence the Dutch ever colonized this place. Although I learned Taiwan was not really an important Dutch outpost, only a stopping point to Indonesia.

Although lush and green everywhere...you can forgot you're on an island when in Taipei...unlike Hawaii. 

Taiwan Days 1-2

14 hour flight to Taipei. Watched two Don Lee films - The Plastic Men and The Round Up. The guy is a movie star -- some people like Jason Statham, others like Liam Neeson. I'm for Don Lee. 

Day 1 - staying in Songjiang Nanjiang neighborhood. Convenient location. Not entirely legal airbnb. Street food everywhere in Taipei - sure 100% sure how I feel about it. Some tastes good, definitely cheap but not exactly healthy and clean. That said, I'll try a lot of it. I get the feeling a lot of people who live in Taipei don't cook a ton because it's so easy to pick up food quickly. Right near a 7-11 and a small kids park. Notice quite a number of these little city parks for kids around town. 7-11 very popular. I think people get their coffee and breakfasts there. Hot foods somewhat attractive and similar to street food. Then again, I notice this in LA - a lot of laborers eat their lunch from 7-11 now.

Lunch - beef noodle soup, one of the staple Taiwanese lunch meals. Probably the best I've had - this was sort of the fancy version - the beef super tender and soft. Broth flavorful. I added some spice but actually thought it tasted better without. I still can't figure out the name of the restaurant, but the website is called www.noodle3.com (figured it out: Tien Hsia San Chueh beef). Michelin rated.

Walked around neighborhood. Noticed two wine bars and a lot of coffee/brunch shops. One below us serves a lot of different items they call hamburgers. Some have chicken in them, others with fish. Not sure I'm going to try. 

General note: last time I was here was 10 years ago and I see a lot more white, western faces than I recall from before...and apparently american breakfast more popular now (strange because traditional taiwanese breakfast is fav amongst taiwanese folks...)

Dinner - Cantonese restaurant with roasted / Peking duck specialty. Dragon Restaurant. It was terrific. Taipei might be the most efficient place in the world to get a high variety of quality Chinese food at decent (by American standards) prices. American dollar must be strong right now coupled with Taiwan being a tad cheaper in general.

Day 2 - Temple in New Taipei City. New Taipei City used to be countryside surrounding Taipei, but has now developed into the equivalent of New Jersey to New York. Anyhow, the temple we went to was just a bit up a hill and had this wonderful Buddha carved into rock. Then, a narrow rock staircase up through the massive rocks. A highlight of the trip. Kids loved exploring this mountainside. Far up these dirt paths were little huts/platforms set up where people (farmers?) were doing karaoke. I don't totally understand if they live there or just go up there to hang out. 

Followed by lunch, shaved ice, and boba in Ximen - a popular tourist neighborhood in Taipei. Massively popular - a lot of young folks in this area...goofy gambling type games for kids (like Pachinko parlors)...a store merchant spoke to me in Korean. 

Considered going to basketball game for New Taipei Kings (featuring Jeremy Lin), but waaay too exhausted and looks like we'll miss out on that opportunity.

Visited local wine bar after kids went down - got an Italian red - solid. Rules in bar involved an extra charge should you vomit. 

Day 3 - Morning at Taipei 101. Quite a tourist mecca. Perfect weather - great for kids to see entire city from that perspective. When built, it was the tallest building in the world. Super crazy fast elevator. Followed by Din Tai Fung, the original. Menu larger than the LA franchises. Some delicious additional dishes -- a sticky rice with meat dish, golden lava bun, hot and sour soup...

Sorry notes needing to be written quickly...

From The River to the Sea

Matt Yglesias has a funny twitter point about the people in the US who advocate for a secular democracy with equal rights and no ethnic or religious basis "from the river to the sea" in Palestine actually have that system right here in the United States and ought to be celebrating it more effusively.

Taleb and Macaes

I admire both Nassim Taleb and Bruno Macaes quite a bit, so I listen when they offer strident criticism of Israel right now. But I can't help but notice strange themes in their commentary--

1) They seem to think the Israelis have boxed themselves into a stupid/immoral position. Which may be the case. But I find it odd they think the Israelis should be able to play 12 dimensional chess while the bar for the Palestinians is to "try your best not let your representatives commit mass murder."

2) Taleb points out there are 2 billion Muslims in the world. Okay. As if this is an argument to not fight Hamas. Why is this stat always referenced with respect to Muslims. How many white people there are in the world? How many Christians? To what degree does this matter?

3) I find it strange for all these "Pro-Palestinian" folks become rabidly passionate about their condition 5 minutes AFTER Hamas slaughtered all those Israelis. Wasn't the time to be passionate advocates BEFORE the rampage? Don't you think it might've played a bit better?

4) Best line I've heard about a "ceasefire" was from Hillary Clinton: "there was a ceasefire on October 6th."

5) A lot of anti-Israeli people say "Israel is falling into a Hamas trap." Maybe. Is it not equally accurate to say Hamas fell into an "Israeli settler trap?" After all, at the end of this Israel is going to rule Gaza and the West Bank. Who is going to stop the settlers now?

6) A lot of Western liberals say they are Pro Palestinian, not pro Hamas. If that were the case, wouldn't the logical position be to march in favor of a Hamas surrender? And to advocate for 3rd party (non-Israeli rule). Wouldn't that save the most Palestinian lives at this point? But no...they march against Israel and accuse them of war crimes before the war started. They won't say a word against Hamas. Interesting strategy - it would be my approach if I didn't give a shit about the Palestinians at all. 

7) General thought: a strategy that would encourage war crimes and racism by the powerful over the weak: how about accusing the powerful of war crimes and racism regardless if they've committed them or not? To put it in perspective - imagine a wife who accuses/treats a husband as if he were cheating regardless if actually was. Doesn't that incentivize the husband to actually cheat? Because you've taken away any repercussions to it. Are we not edging toward that situation in general? Think about generals. In the past, we treated Robert E Lee with respect because he behaved gallantly in war, despite being on the "wrong side of history." If I were Lee today, I'd look at the landscape and say "fuck it." What incentive do I have to behave gallantly? They're going to melt my statue down either which way.

8) So far my big takeaway is that social media has made people more arrogant about their stupidity and more bloodthirsty.

9) In real life, I've yet to meet someone who is vocally pro-Hamas/Palestinian in this conflict. Social media / AI amplifies this bullshit and/or I have a great social filter. All said, I get the impression if Charles Manson was doing his thing right now, he'd have 10s of thousands of supporters in the streets following him. 

Radical Proposal

Insane idea that could work: sell the Gaza Strip to Donald Trump. Russia, Saudi, Israel, everyone puts up the money (since Trump doesn't have enough). He can develop it into the greatest tourist destination in the entire world. It's all beach front property. It probably can be bought for near nothing. All the Palestinians get jobs working for Trump hotel and casinos. Pay is generous. Only problem: no guns or weapons of any kind in the entire place. It's like a giant Vegas. This solves two major problems: Hamas goes away. Trump stays occupied. Vlad Putin gets a big penthouse suite. Putin and Trump get to hang and act like heroes. The rest of the world goes on.

Who says no?

Hot Take

My current hot take is this: Israel will crush Hamas. 

DEI

Anyone else noticed an increase of hate since the introduction of DEI? Me too. That's by design, I hope everyone understands...

My Flood The Tunnels Idea Getting Traction!

Maybe they read public musings... 

PS - Looking at a map of Gaza. People keep claiming Gaza is this hellhole piece of shit territory. What are people talking about? This is Mediterranean beach front property people. This could be Miami fucking beach or the Amalfi coast if developed properly. There is one problem and we know what it is.

Nepo Babies

Kids are more likely to follow their parents occupation. So we're all nepo babies...

Priscilla

Has anyone looked into Sophia Coppola's whereabouts on the day Lisa Marie passed away? 

Ceasefire!

What the Western Leftists mean by calling for a ceasefire are: let Hamas regroup, rearm, so they have the capacity to murder more Israeli civilians. What an insane position. If the groups wanted peace, they would call for a Hamas surrender.