Native Americans

I recently visited Indian Grinding Rock State Park in Pine Volcano, several miles east of Jackson. The park features a reconstructed (Native American) Miwok village ...
... as well as a ceremonial house:

The park also had some limestone beds that the tribe used as mortars that were then used to grind acorns, hence the name Grinding Rock:

Here's some interesting trivia: the park spells it "Miwok" while the casino owned by the same tribe in nearby Jackson spell it "Miwuk". Another bit of trivia: nearby Jackson is named after Colonel Alden Jackson, no relation to former US President Andrew Jackson.

Speaking of Native Americans and guys named Jackson, I happened to watch The History Channel's episode on Andrew Jackson, who was president during the 1800s. The interesting part of that show was when they discussed Andrew Jackson's relationship with the Native Americans. They're apparently not fans of each other. Jackson forcibly removed them through the Indian Removal Act. The forced migration west came to be known as the Trail of Tears. Many tribes like the Cree and Cherokee view Jackson as a traitor and consider him a war criminal. Many refuse to use the $20 bill and have even considered banning the $20 bill at their casinos because Jackson is on that bill. If you get the chance, try to catch the episode if they air it again on The History Channel.

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My Dog Has Fleas

I attended a ukulele workshop by Michelle Kiba in Berkeley recently. There were about ten of us at the workshop and we strummed along as she taught us several songs. I specifically liked the song "Island Style". Since I didn't have time to tune my ukulele because I was late, I tried to tune the ukulele in between songs. I also just tried strumming the chords during the song to see if it sounded in tune. It didn't. So I kept fiddling with the ukulele's strings throughout the workshop. I noticed that the guy in front of me slightly turned his head in my direction every once in a while. He probably knew I was trying to tune my ukulele using the "My dog has fleas" tuning technique one too often. hehe. After several songs of an out-of-tune ukulele close to his ear and with about ten minutes left in the workshop, he finally turned around, handed me his electric ukulele tuner and said, "You wanna tune your ukulele real quick?" hehe

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The Kite Runner

It may be a bit strange to be talking about a book that came out 6 years ago, but since some commenters recommended The Kite Runner on one of my blog posts, I decided to check out the book. I guess the commenters mentioned the Kite Runner b/c the blog post was about the friendship between a British-Indian reporter and his Pashtun guide, which was an episode of the TV show Locked Up Abroad. The Kite Runner also involved friendship, but this time between a Pashtun and a Hazara, two ethnic groups in Afghanistan. Compared to The Kite Runner, those guys in the Locked Up Abroad episode had it easy. They just spent about a month in a Pakistani jail. hehe. Nobody died in that story, at least. The Kite Runner is a bit different. Characters die (or nearly die) left and right. Definitely lots of sad moments.

The story takes place in Afghanistan, Pakistan and California. I knew a little bit about Afghanistan from the news and from Ahmad Rashid's book Taliban, but its different when a novel is set in Afghanistan and characters created. They just seem more alive in the hands of a good novelist. The frequent mention of Afghan food also made me want to look for Afghan restaurants here in the Bay Area. hehe.

As for the film version of the book, I haven't seen it yet. I might be disappointed though. I checked the movie's official website and I'm already thinking to myself that some of the castmembers don't look like how I envisioned the characters. For instance, I thought the Hazara characters would look more Chinese, for example and that Baba would be fatter ... err... I mean bigger. hehe.

My only quibble with the book is that it had one too many twists and turns. ***Warning: Spoilers ahead. Oddly enough, the book mentions that Afghans don't mind spoilers. In fact, they want to know the ending of a film or book, whether the guy or girl in the film finds happiness in the end. hehe. But as I was saying, I think the story could've ended with Amir and Sohrab leaving Afghanistan. Sohrab attempting suicide was too much. I didn't think it was necessary b/c I think the story is about Amir and his chance to be a good person again and he already did that by risking his life to rescue Sohrab. End of Spoiler***

Other than that, I liked the book. Specifically, I liked the theme of redemption. Baba and Amir trying to redeem themselves through their actions -- Baba through his generosity and Amir by trying to rescue Sohrab . It's better than simply writing a happy ending in a novel like that character Briony in Atonement did. What is it about characters who are writers having a dark past? hehe.

Anyway, here's some quotes from the book that I liked:

1) For me, America was a place to bury my memories. For Baba, a place to mourn his.

2) But the Bay Area's smog stung his eyes, the traffic noise gave him headaches, and the pollen made him cough.

3) It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime, Amir.

4) We may be hardheaded and I know we're far too proud, but, in the hour of need, believe me that there's no one you'd rather have at your side than a Pashtun.

5) How could I, of all people, chastise someone for their past?

6) Sad stories make good books.

7) "Why didn't you leave?" I said. "Kabul was my home. It still is" [, replied Rahim Khan].

8) ... a boy who won't stand up for himself becomes a man who can't stand up to anything.

9) And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good.

10) ... better to get hurt by the truth than be comforted by a lie.

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Laird Hamilton

My mom has been asking for my cellphone for some reason for a while now. She visited a few weeks ago and since I wanted a cellphone with a better camera, I finally decided to give her my phone. So after having no cellphone for a few days, I bought myself a new one: a Nokia with a 3.2 megapixel camera. The good thing about Nokias is that they're the greenest electronic company, according to this guide from Greenpeace.

Anyway, now that I have a new cp, it's time to test the camera. First test: surfer god Laird Hamilton's book signing at Diesel bookstore in Oakland, California:
The picture's not bad for a cellphone, eh? Definitely better than my last cellphone.

Anyway, I heard about this event by listening to the Sarah and Vinnie show a few days ago. The show had Laird as a guest, who was in the studio to promote his new book, Force of Nature. I looked at the book prior to his talk and it looks interesting. He's got advice on exercise (e.g. ab workouts), food (he has some recipes and talks about eating free-range beef) and surfing tips. As for the talk itself, he just took questions from the audience for about an hour. He talked about a lot of things. For instance, he talked about the art of crashing. That's when a wave may hold you down and you have to hold your breath until the wave lets up. He also talked about using his wetsuit as a tourniquet on a buddy who broke his leg. He also talked about being the risk taker that he is (i.e. still riding the big waves) while maintaining his family life. He's married to former pro volleyball player Gabrielle Reece, btw. It was an interesting talk. After the talk, he signed copies of his book. I didn't buy the book though so I didn't get to meet him. Bummer, dude. ;) It was a bit too pricey and I already have enough books. hehe. Anyway, check out Laird riding some huge waves:Anyone wanna go surfing? hehe

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Vegetarian Food Trip

According to Lonely Planet's latest travel guide for the Philippines, vegetarians will have a hard time in "meat-mad Philippines". I've found that to be generally true. There are some places though where one can find vegetarian food. One such place is Greens, where I had lunch with Bill and his friend Gina Dizon:
Located on Scout Castor Road in Quezon City, Green's is a vegetarian restaurant that has all the typical Filipino dishes. Instead of using meat, however, they use meat-substitutes. For instance, I ordered their sisig dish which was made from tofu, I believe:
It was actually pretty good. Meanwhile, Bill ordered this appetizer of chicharon made from wheat:
Overall, the food at this restaurant was pretty good. I might try it again if I'm ever back in QC.

Another restaurant I tried was Ziggurat located on Makati Ave in Makati. Ziggurat isn't strictly vegetarian but they do have some vegetarian dishes. I figured I oughta check this place out since Lonely Planet recommended it. Another reason to check it out? It was right next to the place where I was staying. hehe. Ziggurat serves Middle Eastern, African, Mediterranean and Indian food. Although they have an impressive looking menu with a big selection, not all the dishes listed are necessarily available. For instance, I was going to try the vegetarian moussaka but all they had was the regular moussaka which had beef. Since I've never had moussaka before, I figured I'd give it a try. The dish wasn't bad. The place also had vegetarian shawarma which was ok. The onions were a bit too raw for me.

Overall, the food at Ziggurat was just ok. The location leaves much to be desired especially with a laundromat located nearby that seemed to be spilling some of its water onto the street creating a not-so-aromatic scent. One dish I probably won't try again is their Vegetarian Gluten Curry. My stomach didnt' agree with it shortly after I ate it. I decided to drink green tea to calm my stomach and it seemed to do the trick. Not sure if it was the tea that calmed my stomach, but I wanted to drink a mango shake and I'm sure that the tea was a better option in this case. hehe

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