Parsed Participle http://www.parsedparticiple.org/blog Faiz's Web Journal en Copyright 2007 Faiz Kazi 60 Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:45 GMT faiz@parsedparticiple.org PyBlosxom http://pyblosxom.sourceforge.net/ 1.4.2 8/16/2007 Suzanne Vega: On Tom's Diner, and the MP3 music/suzanne_vega http://www.parsedparticiple.org/blog/music/suzanne_vega.html http://measureformeasure.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/toms-essay/index.html

Me and my sister grew up listening to songs like Luka, though we never knew what they meant for years. Suzanne Vega talks about her other hit (she describes herself as a two-hit wonder) - Tom's Diner, and the role it played in the development of the MP3 format. She also talks about her trouble with technology, and her tech-savvy mom.

The warm-and-fuzzy factor would be complete if only MP3 were a free format, though. A very interesting read, nevertheless.

]]> /music Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:45 GMT Mom and Dad in Japan japan/mom-and-dad http://www.parsedparticiple.org/blog/japan/mom-and-dad.html
  • Bikkle turns out to be a big hit with Mom and Dad.
  • Dad also liked Calpis
    From Wikipedia
    In English-speaking countries the beverage is sometimes called "Calpico," because "Calpis" may sound like "Cow Piss".
  • Predictably, Kyoto did not excite them too much. Ryokan food, while delicious to the initiated, is in hindsight not the easiest way to introduce authentic Japanese cuisine to first-time visitors.
  • I learned that to leverage the JR Rail Pass to be able to ride the overnight, undersea, and scenic train called the Hokutosei that connects mainland Japan to Hokkaido, one must book tickets well in advance. Both the Hokutosei and it's luxury counterpart, the Cassiopeia, were booked out for weeks.
  • Surprisingly, Hokkaido food was a big hit: Lamb Shabu-shabu, Hokke, even Soup Curry.
  • Unsurprisingly, 'Soft Cream' (on the drive to Lake Toya, venue of the G8 summit) was a bit hit.
  • Onsen! Not the best hotel we'd been to, but a pretty good introduction to the whole hot-springs experience.
  • Oddly enough, my father (a hands-on electronics veteran) was largely unimpressed by Akihabara. This, despite the fact that I showed him all the tiny component shops.
  • I realized that the JR Rail Pass is not very useful unless you travel like crazy. By train.
  • Tofu was a hit with only Mom.
  • Tokyu Hands, Loft and Mujirushi were naturally bit hits with both my parents.
  • Other than Kyoto and Sapporo, we did not get to have too much local food. Luckily, mom and dad were suitably impressed by the western food available in all three cities: We had a great lunch at a mom-and-pop run Yoshoku-ya-san (Yoshoku is western-influenced food with a Japanese flair, that became popular in Japan during the Taisho era) in Kyoto; went to Royal Host in Sapporo, and in Tokyo my mom and and dad discovered that Turkish and Italian food is great.
    • ]]>     /japan Sun, 21 Sep 2008 04:10 GMT