Nashvaiden79's Blog

The Plague by Albert Camus

nashvaiden79 — Sun, 16 May 2010 07:06:56 +0000

The Plague is about a moderate sized city that is struck by, well, the plague. Use your memory of History class to think about what typically happens during a plague and you’ve got the plot of this book. The author doesn’t focus upon the pain and suffering of those dying or the death and disease, he instead focuses upon the individual struggles of several characters. These character’s struggles are in relation to the plague, but not direct victims of the plague itself. It focuses less on the gory details and more on the psychological ramifications for the individual….as well as society. It’s a good book with some solid characters. The comments on society and parallels drawn between daily life numbing man to plague doing the same make it worth reading. It’s not the best book I’ve ever read, but I’m happy I read it and it gave me much to think about. I recommend it…..The Stranger is on my list now.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

nashvaiden79 — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:33:55 +0000

The book is by Michael Chabon. It’s about a magical Jew that escapes Prague before WWII and his little buddy who has a big secret. Perplexed? Intrigued? Eh. Both of the main characters work in comic books. I’m not a big comic book person, so much of that was lost on me. It does seem the author did a good bit of research and I’d be willing to bet most of the historical information is accurate (I’m too lazy to check it myself….I just choose to believe). The book wasn’t as powerful or as moving as I had hoped it would be. I anticipated being touched, hurt, and deeply affected. I wasn’t. It was good, but it wasn’t amazing. The last third of the book is very good in my opinion (though, oddly, this is the part a friend of mine disliked…it all has to do with taste), the first 2/3rds are just okay. I was not really involved in the book until oyster came in. It’s worth the read, but don’t go in with high expectations. Perhaps my expectations were too high going in. It offers a perspective on the struggles of the Jewish people during the time of WWII that I had not really spent too much time thinking about. The perspective of those who got out and had to powerlessly watch the horror unfold from a distance, in a time when news wasn’t instant and up to date as it is today. If your interest is reading literature about the events and times of WWII and the holocaust, then start with “Night” by Eli Wiesel. “Night” is a truly disturbing and powerful book. Keep in mind that I haven’t read too much literature about the holocaust, but “Night” was so profoundly moving to me that I must mention it. If you are interested in Brooklyn, comic books, and a different perspective in regards to the holocaust then read this book. I had trouble connecting with or developing a strong affection for any of the characters. It’s not a bad book. It’s not amazing. I would call it, “The Good Adventures of Kavalier & Clay”. Draw from that what you will and read it for yourself.

Mercado, Brazilian steakhouse in Seoul

nashvaiden79 — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:54:15 +0000

My wife and I took our friend Brian to Mercado for his birthday. We made reservations earlier in the week, but still had to wait about 30 minutes to get seated. The staff were apologetic and we were all in good spirits so it was not a big deal. The place is a bit small and there isn’t really an area for waiting, so we were essentially ‘in the way’ the whole time. We were able to keep close tabs on who was coming in and out of the bathroom though. The look of the place wasn’t bad. It wasn’t particularly appealing nor repulsive. It didn’t have the cliche’ look of a cheap steak house or the small quaint feel of a little french restaurant. The feel was very neutral. It was a bit dark, but whatever….the purpose of this trip is steak anyway. There were no cheap paper bibs or pictures of dumbass cowboys on the range, so it was good. We sat down and quickly got our wine, drinks, and sides. I ate none of the sides, but my wife and Brian said all of the sides were good. The sides were a greens salad, potato salad, pickles, and a spicy onion relish (salsa). The steak soon started coming and they kept it coming. All of the meat was very tasty. The bacon wrapped steak was the best; but it was closely followed by the sirloin, in my opinion. The garlic steak was good as well. The chicken hearts were very tasty. It took me a bit to work up the nerve to eat one (I got weird Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom flashes), but I ate at least a half dozen once I got the first one down. They have chicken legs. I tried one while no-one was looking. It was good, but did you really come here for chicken legs? My advice: skip the legs and go for the meat with a side of hearts. They’ll feed you as long as you’ll eat it but they won’t roll you out. You have to roll yourself out or get a friend to do it. The price for all you can eat meat is 30,000 won (prices went up a bit). Wine selection is okay. Some advice is don’t be bashful, if you want more meat then raise your hand and let it be known. If you sit quietly waiting for the sword o meat then you will do a lot of waiting. Go to Mercado hungry and enjoy. It’s totally worth a trip if you like steak. It’s not gourmet but it’s good and you can get your money’s worth if you go hungry. I wouldn’t go often, but I would go again. Later. When I have a craving to get the meat sweats. I will get tired of the skimppy little galbi offerings soon enough and crave some real meat soon. When that happens, I may go to Mercado again.

Einstein didn’t love Jesus

nashvaiden79 — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 12:22:54 +0000

I recently received some spam from family (e-mail, not the as yet unidentified meatish stuff). The e-mail told the story of a philosophy professor attacking god and religion at the expense of one student in particular. The reasoning behind the attack is that how can god be good and all powerful if evil exists? He must have created evil, right? Why would a good god create evil? The student turns the tables on the professor at the end by saying that such a thing as cold does not really exist, it is merely the absence of heat. Therefore, evil doesn’t really exist as something god created, but it exists as cold….where there is an absence of god there is evil. Supposedly, evil is only a place devoid of god whereas cold is only something deviod of heat. The story then goes on to claim that this young student was Albert Einstein. I then got a reply all e-mail from one of the ones that received the original with links about Albert Einstein and the statement that he most certainly did not say that and besides that, the man was jewish.

Funny, I thought. First, I don’t know that it really mattered that he was jewish because nothing was said about the jesus in the story. Correct me if I’m wrong, but religious jewish people (as opposed to jewish people who are such merely because of where they were born) believe in god, right? They just aren’t big fans of the whole jesus thing. Second, does it really matter if he said it? Third, what good was sending that reply e-mail really going to do? Everyone knows to just ignore the chain letters or quickly read an delete when bored, right?

I read the links he sent (man, I must have been some kinda bored). I was a bit surprised to discover that Einstein wasn’t really religious in so far as being a member of an organized religion. I seem to remember him being widely quoted and used by christians as an example of a god fearing scientist (aka, a good guy…as they are known in the South). Turns out the poor guy is really just misquoted and taken out of context all the damn time. That and things are just made up. Guess if you have a story that needs a genius and you want the story to be credible then you use the name Einstein. This happened to his annoyance frequently while he was living and happens even more now, I’m betting. Of course, he’s dead so he doesn’t give a damn I’m sure. So I did appreciate the guy taking the time to research it for me and send me the links…..look at me I learned something. I also learned that this is a common story used to rebuke one of the major arguments against an all-powerful and good god. Their are other arguments that are popular, by Locke and DesCartes maybe, but it’s been a while since I’ve had philosophy. But, as I said, it doesn’t really matter to the people who sent the original e-mail if Einstein said it or not and pointing out that he didn’t say it isn’t going to change the minds of the ones who sent it. I doubt my Aunt went, “damn, you are right. Man, what was I thinking believing in god all this time? I should use Wikipedia more often.” I also doubt the original e-mail changed some non-believer to a believer. So the research and e-mail was really of no use, except perhaps to stir a little something up, give me something to read, and probably make that guy feel a little better about himself. One more injustice against Einstein avenged, right? Though the e-mails most likely did not bring anyone into the light of the lord or from the light to the darkness (except, perhaps, for my poorly researched perceptions of Einstein being a lord lover); what all of this has done is brought me back to thinking about religion and other peoples beliefs. So everyone thank this man, cause the god rambling is about to start…..later. I’m tired right now though. And I have many important Spam messages to read and delete.

Gorilla in the Kitchen…..korean fancy in Apjujeong.

nashvaiden79 — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 03:17:14 +0000

www.gorillakitchen.co.kr/

My wife and I went here for brunch a few weeks ago. I got the Korean beef tenderloin with pasta in a spicy peanut sauce and a strawberry juice. Erin got the Tuna tortilla pizza. We also got coffee and a complementary dessert (bananas….like bananas foster). The breads, jams, and oil at the beginning of the meal were good and set a nice tone. Erin said her pizza was unlike any pizza she’d ever had and wouldn’t really call it a pizza. She did say it was an excellent blending of flavors and in good portions. I got a big serving of pasta with plenty of beef in it. The beef was good and the peanut sauce had some kick but was nice, if not a little heavy on the garlic (I paid for it later as garlic kills my belly). I avoided the dessert because bananas make me gag, but Erin lapped it up. The coffee, espresso to be exact, was good for Korea but not excellent by any means. The atmosphere was clean and modern….almost sterile. The weird room in the middle with a blood pressure machine in it didn’t help and I did feel as though I was brunching it up at the doctors office (a western style doctors office where they wear gloves and stuff….not the Korean kind where the only sterilizing they do is with that hokey UV machine). The service was okay, but I had to refill Erin’s water glass myself many times as well as give her my glass of water. Granted, she is part camel, but they still didn’t check on us enough especially for the price. The price tag was about 80,000 won. I say it’s worth trying once to say you went there, but avoid the dinner prices and do brunch. After that, don’t go back. It wasn’t worth the money we paid. Also, stick to the cheaper things on the menu like a tortilla pizza.

Salam…..Turkish food in Seoul.

nashvaiden79 — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 14:37:27 +0000

My wife and I ate at Salam tonight. Take exit 3 on line 6 at Itaewon. Walk straight out of the exit and take a right to go to the foreign foods store. Take a left past the foreign foods store and Salam will be on your left before you get to the Mosque. We had hummus, ekmek, patlican musakka, aryan, turkish cofee, and chicken kabob for about 36,000won. Seeing as though I only have two thumbs, I am only willing to give it one. However, if I had 5 thumbs then I would most likely give it 3. The musakka was the best thing we got (eggplant and lamb mince meat), but I had not had any hummus in so long we got two orders and devoured it. I’ve gotten better hummus in grocery stores in the states, but beggars can’t be choosers here. The ekmek was good and the kabob left much to be desired. Erin and I did seriously contemplate having a pretend sword fight with the kabobs though. It sounded like a good idea, but she probably would have stabbed me just so the whole act would have had a more realistic feel. I’ve had a lot of dreams about being stabbed and so I’ve decided that I don’t really want to be stabbed. That would suck. Suck like the aryan drink and the turkish coffee (okay, maybe not suck as bad as being stabbed, but I’ll never get it again). Anyway, if you are going to this area then go to Wazwan instead. Unless you want to have a sword fight. Oh, and no alcohol. It does have hookah though (aka water cigarette).

Wazwan….Indian food in Seoul.

nashvaiden79 — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 09:34:40 +0000

This is a little Indian restaurant next to the Mosque in Itaewon. Walk straight out of the subway (line 6) exit 3, I think, and turn right up the street toward the foreign foods market and What The Book. Take your first left past the foreign food market. The road will take you up a slight hill, into the muslim district, and lead you to the Mosque. It’s right by the Mosque, just open your eyes and look. My wife and I had sweet Lassi, Dahl, roti, naan, and Chicken Masala for about 26,000 won. The naan was very tasty and so was the lassi. The chicken masala was the best either of us had ever had. The roti was okay and the dahl was average. We got the yellow dahl. They also brought us a couple of free appetizers which were very delicious (Samosas…Erin said). I totally intend on going back, getting about 3 orders of the masala, a bunch of naan, and a sweet lassi. Good price, good food, and good atmosphere. I didn’t see any alcohol on the menu though. On the way out we stopped at a Turkish bakery. The guy was super nice and let us try a bunch of things. Most of the things were a bit too sweet for me, but we got some bird nest cookies with either pistachio or cashews in them that were amazing. Sorry about the description there, but, seriously, think bird nest when you go and you’ll immediately know what cookies I’m talking about. The bakery is on your left if you leave Wazwan and come back down to the street that goes by the foreign foods market and What The Book. I give Wazwan 3 A’s for good food, service, and price. But please keep in mine that the A’s really don’t mean a damn thing because I have no ranking system. I will probably give the next place a ranking according to my thumbs and I only have two of those. There’s a limitless number of A’s out there really. Go for the Marsala and you won’t be upset, that I can promise.

Update: We went back for more! The Marsala is still the best but a close second is the chili barbecue chicken. Skip the spinach and veggie dish. It wasn’t terrible, but I know they can do better. Also, the Turkish cookie guy has gone away. Where? I don’t know, but in his old place is a hookah store. For all your hookah needs. I kind of want one, but I want a bird nest cookie more.

How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker

nashvaiden79 — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 03:31:30 +0000

This is the current book I am reading. It started off a bit slow but has become more and more interesting. It has not been an easy read and a bit too technical for me at times (wasn’t ready for a textbook), but worth it. The main idea of the book is making the case for evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of mind by explaining how the brain/mind works using backward engineering (essentially). He pulls a lot of examples and research in support of evolutionary psy from cognitive psychology, social psy, and biology. He spends a lot of time bashing Freudian crack heads, feminists, and behaviorists. I disagree on the behavior bashing, but I will get to that later. He spends a lot of time on the visual system, but it is an amazing system and easily lends itself to being used as a model for how complex the brain is and how it could even be divided almost into seperate organs…..or at least different neural systems used to perform specific functions that work with other systems to make up the whole organ system we call the brain. His area of specialty is language, but he goes into much more detail about things like vision leaving language relatively unattended to (Most likely because he wants you to buy his other book, the language instinct). He addresses hot topics like evolution (which should be a given, not a “hot topic”), education, racism, god, sex, war, etc…. It’s worth the read if you care anything about any of those topics regardless of whether you agree with the writer or not. He presents his case well and I’ve found only a few points of disagreement or times I’ve thought his logic was fuzzy. And many of the points he made that I thought may be fuzzy, will mostly likely end up being thoughtfully wrong. In other words, not exactly right but somewhere in the ballpark. And the ballpark is many times much closer than mainstream psy, so that’s progress. Keep in mind that this book focuses on why we do what we do, why we evolved neural systems that have specific results. The book does not spend time on how to change, live with, or curb these systems. And this is the area where I disagree with him on the behavior bashing. Behaviorists have a long history of ignoring things like thought patterns and beliefs, but that is changing with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Behaviorists extreme discrete and observable only beginnings were born from psychology’s extremely unscientific ghost story beginings (see, Freud is a crack head). ABA, with CBT, offers tools that people can use to change their current behavior and thought patterns for the better. Other fields may accurately describe why the behavior exists, but ABA and CBT are the only ones I know of that offer measurable and at least moderately proven techniques for changing said behaviors. For example, I know why I am addicted to cigarettes: has to do with pleasure receptors in the brain and all that crap. That knowledge doesn’t make me any more capable of quitting though. That knowledge could lead to better medication and ABA/CBT therapies, but that will only happen if and when all the prevailing research based theories and pro’s learn to work together towards their goals. I mean really, “come on people now, smile on each other, something something something and try to love one another right now!”. Wonder if all those somethings are important?