Underrated Food

Everyone needs to try the burgers at Del Taco. I find them to be wonderful. I have been criticized for this. The marrow of this criticism is not, "It's a bad burger;" it's, "You don't come to Del Taco to eat burgers." Unwarranted. If I were not meant to eat burgers at Del Taco, they would not be on the menu. But not only are they on the menu, you can get them as part of a meal. Clearly, Del Taco burgers are meant to be eaten. But this is where I reach a dilemma. The reason they are so delicious is beacause not many people eat them. There are approximately 849 Del Tacos in Fountain Valley and all these locations sell approximately one Del Taco burger every three weeks. That's not each location; that's all 849 locations combined. This means when one orders a Del Taco burger, it is made fresh for you. They do not have them sitting under some lights just behind the counter to be grabbed and tossed at the customer. They have to make them once you order; this freshness results in a damn fine burger. So try the Del Taco burger and fall under the spell of its bliss freshness. Toasty bun, juicy meat, crisp lettuce, lightly melted cheese. Only on the cheeseburgers. Or do not try them. And keep them fresh for me. And I'm not saying this is the best burger around. It is simply one of many, good enough that it should be ordered at a taco joint.

Syriana

Saw Syriana. First reaction after the movie: I need to see it again. I really was at a lost. I knew what was happening and the underlying message of the movie, but then again..I didn't know what was really happening and I'm not sure what the underlying message was. Right when I got home, I looked at Roger Ebert's review (read that for a really good synopsis). He said it was a brilliant movie, but like me, he didn't get it either. The best thing he said about the movie: "I couldn't explain the story, but I never felt lost in it."

In short, Ebert hit the nail on the head. Each character was a cog in the big oil machine. The characters in the movie didn't understand the big picture and neither should the audience. I kept looking for a black and white story: who's the good guys, who's the bad guys? There are none. I thought it could be George Clooney's character-the CIA assasin-but he's a tool like everyone else. Even he couldn't understand how he fit into the big picture.

Despite the cleverness of the film, the plethora of characters in the movie are difficult to keep track of and I'm sure the filmmakers wanted to do that on purpose. I think no matter how hard you try to understand it, you'll never fully understand how big and complex the oil machine is.

They're Sauces

Another one of those moments: Bryan, Robert, and I were having dinner at a good, clean Vietnamese restaurant in Irvine. Bryan pointed to some small canisters on the side of the table and asked me, "What are those?" I replied, "They're sauces." Perfectly valid answer, I thought. But the answer police...the answer-Nazis...the answer-nistas found my answer inadequate and/or incomplete. So they scolded me and tried to reeducate me in one of their reeducation camps. Damn Nazis.

Not so Zesty

Here is an idea: let's take everybody's favorite quesadilla and, instead of cheese, use cheeze whiz. Hmm, it seems to be missing something. Oh, I know. Let's add some mayonnaise, relish, thousand island and a heart attack. We shall call this new super "sauce": Zesty Sauce.

I have to say, Taco Bell's "zesty sauce" is quite possibly the most digusting thing I have ever had the misfortune to taste. Of all the times I have had the zesty sauce in my quesadilla, I have always immediately regretted it afterwards. It is like eating a pound of cheese and then having a bowl of mayonnaise right after. Its also an unnatural orange color with chunks of pickle in it. Yum.

Who were the adwizards that thought of that one?

It's a Berry

Robert and I had lunch at Coco’s one day and he asked me what a boysenberry was. I replied, “It’s a berry.” While the answer was absolutely valid, he went on a five minute tirade about how I did not “answer the question.” Anyway, here’s a more detailed answer to Robert’s question, thanks to Wikipedia:

A boysenberry is a cross among a blackberry, red raspberry and loganberry. It was created by Rudolph Boysen, and first commercially cultivated by Walter Knott.

Christmas vs. Holiday: Part Deux

You really can't please those fundies. An article written by the Washington Post reported that the Christian Fundamentalists are upset by the official White House "Holiday" card they got from the Bush family.

Joseph Farrah, editor of the horrible "news" website WorldNetDaily.com, said

"I threw out my White House card as soon as I got it."

Fundies are also considering this a "War on Christmas" even though it seems like a war only in their minds.

"Certainly President and Mrs. Bush, because of their faith, celebrate Christmas," said Susan Whitson, Laura Bush's press secretary. "Their cards in recent years have included best wishes for a holiday season, rather than Christmas wishes, because they are sent to people of all faiths."

That is the same rationale offered by major retailers for generic holiday catalogues, and it is accepted by groups such as the National Council of Churches. "I think it's more important to put Christ back into our war planning than into our Christmas cards," said the council's general secretary, the Rev. Bob Edgar, a former Democratic congressman.

But the White Houses explanation does not satisfy groups that have grown in number in recent years that believe there is, in the words of the Heritage Foundation, a war on Christmas involving an "ever-stronger push toward a neutered holiday season so that non-Christians wont be even the slightest bit offended."

Pham posted this

Pham posted this and he asked a few questions, i just feel this will allow us to answer them:

The Future of BDC

So I'm pondering the future of BeingDavid.com. I'm spending more time on Happy Fun Time. Collaborative blogging just seems more fun since you have a community to interact with. Here at BDC, it's all me. Alone. :-(

BDC has also grown stale. Updated about once a month, the only thing that's keeping site fresh are pictures and videos, which are also updated about once a month.

Several options are on the table:

1. Convert the site into a blog. It makes for easier updating, but takes it'll take a while to do.

2. Retire the site. Leave it in a suspended state. A national monument, if you will.

3. Convert the site into a professional resume site. The only downside is there will be no archives of any sort. No pictures, no rants.

4. Continue as is. One or two updates a month.

The first reason I created BDC four years ago was to let my ego run wild. Writing about myself was a good feeling. I wanted my friends to take look into my personal life. But now, I'm done. I have no yearn to write about my personal life on this site. I want to keep it private for close friends. People, like employers and students I teach, can read into my personal life and I don't want that."

Kuro5hin.org: A site with a lot of stuff

Well, since we're on the topic of posting interesting websites, Kuro5hin.org is one of my favorite websites. It is actually a lot like what we have right now; except that it opens the posting and commenting to anyone who registers. It allows individual users to have their own blogs while being able to also post articles on the larger "community" blog. "Good" articles are bumped to the front page (where "good" is defined by community voting) while "Bad" articles fall below the queue and only appear in their respective sections. The site is actually very democratic in this regard.

Mind you, a lot of the subject material here is pretty heavy handed. A lot of the users like to write mainly about politics and technology. Some of it is very conservative and some of it is very liberal (as far as American politics go, anyway). My favorite recent articles are a still running series by an American contractor in Iraq (don't worry, he just fixes things). You can read his stuff here (vol 1), here (vol 2) and here (vol 3). Personally, my favorite section is the Fiction Section. It is a place where the members can, of course, post their short stories. Through this section, I was able to find the short story "Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect." If you're into science fiction and the implications of "humans getting everything they need," then I think you'll enjoy this story as well.

Of course, I'm not a member. I do not think I would be able to handle the sharp criticisms that a lot of the writers get from their fellow members. I do, however, read a lot of the articles. I like to read up on new ideas and opinions. Its collaborative blogging at its best: moderated by a community that actually cares about the community. I really do hope HFT will become something like K5: vibrant and robust.

Good Night, and Good Luck.

Last.fm

For those of you who may be unawarez of this nifty little tool, let my direct your attention to the website www.last.fm. Last.fm is a website that, combined with a plugin for iTunes and Winamp, will log all the music you listen to, generates statistics of your listening, recommend other music based on your listening habits, and direct you towards other members who have similar tates.

It's pretty sweet so far, I've been using it for a couple weeks. You can put a simple link to your page on last.fm in an aim profile, etc, so that people can see what you're currently listening to. Below is a sample of what your page will look like:



NOTE: if you watch a lot of porn or listen to something you don't want people to see (Backstreet Boys?), i suggest you a) don't use this, or b) don't let anybody else know.

Actually it take it back. Use it so we can laugh at your playlist filled with Big Black Bukkake Boys XIV.

We need a Hobby

OK guys, we now have a forum to share our deepest most secret thoughts (as Pham has shown in his last post). We also have a regular drinking place and night, and man i love that place, But I think we need a hobby. Something like rock collecting, Mountain biking, Whore beating, or Magic The Gathering Bowling, Softball, Illegal immigrant transporting. Something so when we get together we will have something mutual we can all discuss and enjoy as Budd's do. Now I have suggested a few ideas but if you guys have any please share, and lets get on this. Or we could just drink more and that's more then OK with me.

--
sincerely,
Bryan Mariscal

Hey...

I just want to say this. I like boobies. And a good butt too. But I can sacrifice a little for the other. Legs? I could care less. Oh, a nice personality. That's good too. That is all.

Stealth Disco Movie in the Works

Stealth Disco is:

Stealth disco (or SD) refers to the act of being videotaped dancing or rocking out behind or near someone who is doing something serious and does not notice. This is sometimes referred to as stealthing (or SD-ing) that person, a process which often concludes with emailing them the footage.
(from Wikipedia)

For an example of stealth disco, click here (.wmv).

I, David, will begin prinicipal shooting of my own Stealth Disco feature that is to be titled later. I will carry my Canon PowerShot A75 everywhere I go in attempt to collect as many stealthing clips as I can.

You have been notified.

Visual Orgasmic Experience?

In Bach's defense-

I don't think Sharkys had the most aesthetically pleasing women. Elena and I had our chick-dars and beer-goggles on, and scoped around for Bach. We walked around the bar a few times, checked out every girl there(Well, I am not to sure whether or not Elena was checking out other girls, but i sure was) and we turned up with nothing. I would not touch some of the girls there even if I had a 10 feet pole.

Besides the lack of an aesthetic scenery, the wingman was absent. Come on Brian, you were suppose to back Bach up! Originally, the intent was to let Bach figure out how to approach girls through trial and error. Its kind of like throwing an eight year old into the deep end of the pool and hope that the kid will figure out how to swim. Well, Bach refused to be thrown into the pool without some sort of a "buddy system." That buddy, was absent, and Bach only got his feet wet.

So, when is our next visit to the bars with Bach, boys?

Part II- coming soon.

Dr. Phil's Convoluted Wisdom of the Week

"Sometimes you just got to give yourself what you wish someone else would give you."
--Dr. Phil McGraw