Pulling together the last bit of stuff before I leave for the airport in about 30 minutes.I can't believe everything is coming together so well.Next stop Nepal
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
How I learned to make perfect roti canai!
I finally finally figured out how to make roti canai, just like the kind I bought on Tioman Island and Mersing in Malaysia! It took a few weeks of looking for ghee in the stores and then making my own, then realizing that ghee is useless in making the kind of roti that I wanted...
The first batch of roti used just flour and butter and turned out like biscuits.
The second batch used flour and ghee and also turned out like biscuits
I used this recipe for the first two tries, it failed for me pretty horribly
The third batch was based on this youtube video and it turned out alright, much better than my previous tries. It was more like naan bread, like a puffy tortilla, but it wasn't what I wanted, so back to the drawing board.
I took what I learned with these first three tries; you don't mix butter or ghee with flour, it simply doesn't allow the flour to become rubbery enough to stretch, instead you get biscuit dough. I also learned that water is what you need to mix with flour to get the ultra rubbery tissue paper thin dough. There was still something I was missing, I still couldn't get the dough thin enough without it drying out or sticking to itself and turning into another biscuit or crumbly/sticky mess.
I did three test batches at once after the first three separate tries.
The fourth batch was two balls of oil and flour mix, just to see if vegetable oil was different than ghee, it wasn't. I didn't even try cooking them, they went right into the "lapsap doi" aka garbage bag
The fifth and sixth batch I found this website and used this recipe:
In the other bowl I had 4 balls of water and flour, but soaking in oil
After letting them sit for about 4 hours I prepared them for cooking. The one that wasn't soaking in oil was alright, it was a little sticky though, but it did get really thin, the oil coating was the secret.
The four that were soaking in oil were very easy to work with, the oil coating on the outside contains all the stickiness of the dough and it makes it a big rubber sheet that you are free to stretch to tissue paper thickness. My technique isn't quite like this guy's but I did get my roti canai pretty thin. I'd just work the ball in my hands like pizza dough and then flop it down on the lightly greased counter and then stretch it more there. After a good amount of stretching you fold in the edges and throw it on the hot and greased fry pan for a few minutes where it bubbles up and then flipped.
Don't forget to crush them like the guy in the video, they did that at every place I ordered it while in Malaysia, just let it rip!
After hours of searching the internet and trying different recipes and techniques, while wasting cups and cups of flour, ghee, oil, and tears...I've found the way to make roti canai that I'm very satisfied with and I will be making it this way many more times.
The first batch of roti used just flour and butter and turned out like biscuits.
The second batch used flour and ghee and also turned out like biscuits
I used this recipe for the first two tries, it failed for me pretty horribly
The third batch was based on this youtube video and it turned out alright, much better than my previous tries. It was more like naan bread, like a puffy tortilla, but it wasn't what I wanted, so back to the drawing board.
I took what I learned with these first three tries; you don't mix butter or ghee with flour, it simply doesn't allow the flour to become rubbery enough to stretch, instead you get biscuit dough. I also learned that water is what you need to mix with flour to get the ultra rubbery tissue paper thin dough. There was still something I was missing, I still couldn't get the dough thin enough without it drying out or sticking to itself and turning into another biscuit or crumbly/sticky mess.
I did three test batches at once after the first three separate tries.
The fourth batch was two balls of oil and flour mix, just to see if vegetable oil was different than ghee, it wasn't. I didn't even try cooking them, they went right into the "lapsap doi" aka garbage bag
The fifth and sixth batch I found this website and used this recipe:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup cooking oil
In the other bowl I had 4 balls of water and flour, but soaking in oil
After letting them sit for about 4 hours I prepared them for cooking. The one that wasn't soaking in oil was alright, it was a little sticky though, but it did get really thin, the oil coating was the secret.
The four that were soaking in oil were very easy to work with, the oil coating on the outside contains all the stickiness of the dough and it makes it a big rubber sheet that you are free to stretch to tissue paper thickness. My technique isn't quite like this guy's but I did get my roti canai pretty thin. I'd just work the ball in my hands like pizza dough and then flop it down on the lightly greased counter and then stretch it more there. After a good amount of stretching you fold in the edges and throw it on the hot and greased fry pan for a few minutes where it bubbles up and then flipped.
Don't forget to crush them like the guy in the video, they did that at every place I ordered it while in Malaysia, just let it rip!
After hours of searching the internet and trying different recipes and techniques, while wasting cups and cups of flour, ghee, oil, and tears...I've found the way to make roti canai that I'm very satisfied with and I will be making it this way many more times.
My little ball of deliciousness soaking in it's glorious oil, almost ready for its transformation
This one is a little weird shaped but no less delicious!
A little closer look at the flaky, bubbly, chewy, puffy, greasy, wonderful roti canai
The finished product shortly before disappearing without a trace.
After all there's only two more sleeps til Nepal
This is what my roti canai should have looked like
Alternate title: The Hong Kong Roti Blues
Alt. alt. title: Time to Make the Tax Returns
Alt. alt. alt. title: The Doc Abides
Spent most of today making...er, trying to make roti. As my twitters say my second try at roti canai failed miserably, the ghee that I'm using doesn't allow the dough to be rubbery enough, only sticky and crumbly so it falls apart if it gets too thin. I tried and tried to salvage that batch because I wasted a half a cup of my own prepared ghee (i.e. clarified butter) in there, but I ended up throwing out the whole batch. I tried frying it to see what would happen and it turned into a greasy, charred, crumbly breadlike mess.The third attempt turned out much better, not really malaysian roti canai, more like this one:
It was pretty good, almost like a torilla, but it did puff up more so that was good. I just threw some ghee on it and a heapin' sloppin' of my new favoritest thing ever Nutella 
"
"Now I have three more test batches curing in the kitchen, btw which looks like a flour oil dough dirty bomb went off in there...
All the batches are ghee-less, one has flour and oil, one has flour and water with oil coating, one is flour and water and an oil soaking. I'll write tomorrow to tell which turns out the best.
I also tackled my taxes with the help of TurboTax, it looks like Obama isn't "socializing" the chicken feed I make here in Hong Kong just yet :) I'm not paying anything in and I'm not getting anything back, fair deal. I do have to look in to Hong Kong taxes which I've heard is a cake walk compared to the US.
I'm getting ready to pack my back and start consolidating all my outdoor stuff into a central location, Khem seems to have dropped off the face of the earth today...
Monday, January 25, 2010
Nepal visa tomorrow!
From Lonely PlanetANNAPURNA CIRCUIT TREK
Duration 16-18 days
Max elevation 5416m
Best season October to November
Start Besisahar
Finish Naya Pul or BeniIt takes nearly three weeks to walk the en-
tire Annapurna Circuit; for scenery and
cultural diversity this is the best trek in
Nepal. It crosses to the north of the main
Himalayan range and crosses a 5416m pass.
The last week of the trek is the Jomsom
trek in reverse, following the dramatic Kali
Gandaki valley.TREKKING
Since it opened to foreign trekkers in
1977, the trek around Annapurna has be-
come the most popular in Nepal. It passes
through country inhabited by a wide diver-
sity of peoples, it offers spectacular mountain
scenery and it goes to the north of the main
Himalayan range to the dry Tibet-like trans-
accommodation available each night.
Duration 16-18 days
Max elevation 5416m
Best season October to November
Start Besisahar
Finish Naya Pul or BeniIt takes nearly three weeks to walk the en-
tire Annapurna Circuit; for scenery and
cultural diversity this is the best trek in
Nepal. It crosses to the north of the main
Himalayan range and crosses a 5416m pass.
The last week of the trek is the Jomsom
trek in reverse, following the dramatic Kali
Gandaki valley.TREKKING
Since it opened to foreign trekkers in
1977, the trek around Annapurna has be-
come the most popular in Nepal. It passes
through country inhabited by a wide diver-
sity of peoples, it offers spectacular mountain
scenery and it goes to the north of the main
Himalayan range to the dry Tibet-like trans-
accommodation available each night.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
7 Days from Nepal
Quick summary of the last couple of days....
Thursday
-Took apart the old and massive IKEA desk and replaced it with the green one that I painted and replaced all the things on it
-Continued working on my damn computer that's been DOA for almost a week now, I'm ready to cut my losses and throw it off the balcony...
-Hiked up Eagle Crag (Seen at the end of the post)
Friday
-Had English breakfast in Mui Wo ($25 HKD)
-Went to HSBC
-Bought makings for Irish Cream and then cursed the world because I couldn't find rice crispies anywhere
-Took a solo taxi back to Pui O (A rare occurrence for me)
-Katy came over after work and I cooked us pasta and my special spicy rosé sauce (Which is actually whatever marinara I have mixed with whatever alfredo I have and whatever hot sauce I have, but don't tell Katy that....)
Thursday
-Took apart the old and massive IKEA desk and replaced it with the green one that I painted and replaced all the things on it
-Continued working on my damn computer that's been DOA for almost a week now, I'm ready to cut my losses and throw it off the balcony...
-Hiked up Eagle Crag (Seen at the end of the post)
Friday
-Had English breakfast in Mui Wo ($25 HKD)
-Went to HSBC
-Bought makings for Irish Cream and then cursed the world because I couldn't find rice crispies anywhere
-Took a solo taxi back to Pui O (A rare occurrence for me)
-Katy came over after work and I cooked us pasta and my special spicy rosé sauce (Which is actually whatever marinara I have mixed with whatever alfredo I have and whatever hot sauce I have, but don't tell Katy that....)
Saturday
-Katy and I went and walked around Mui Wo and browsed a lot of stores and ended up buying an end-coffee-dinner table for the flat and also a wardrobe-dresser. Now I can stop living out of my sister's suitcase!
-I made eggs and toast for dinner (I'm gradually chipping away at the three dozen Adrienne gave me two weeks ago)
Thursday, January 21, 2010
My Chinese Name
Wow, Blogger really really butchers the formatting of this one, if you want to see how it should actually be formatted go here:
http://drbhk.posterous.com/my-chinese-name-0
http://drbhk.posterous.com/my-chinese-name-0
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Roy Clark and Bobby Thompson
via youtube.com
Watching this makes me want to play banjo, I think I've seen this clip a least a hundred times since I found it two years ago
Monday, January 18, 2010
Didn't do a whole lot today...
I woke up at 4am to watch football and stayed up until about 9:30 until the late game finished, then I went back to bed. So that was my day right there pretty much, I woke up well into the afternoon and make french toast, I have to use up the two dozen eggs Adrienne gave me somehow.
I watched a southpark and messed around with my computer, it's been blue screening randomly and now it's not even starting up. I also spent time getting a U.S. based proxy working so I can watch Hulu.
The desk is cleared off and ready for the new green one to be moved in tomorrow....hopefully...
I watched a southpark and messed around with my computer, it's been blue screening randomly and now it's not even starting up. I also spent time getting a U.S. based proxy working so I can watch Hulu.
The desk is cleared off and ready for the new green one to be moved in tomorrow....hopefully...
Friday, January 15, 2010
Things change fast in Asia...
just as Dave would always say.
I just got off the phone with Khem and he is booking our tickets to Nepal as I type this. The date for me leaving started at Jan 22, which I later found out I was mistaken, and it was Jan 24. However, the 24th was no good, so it was pushed to the 26th or 28th because the flights to Nepal only leave every other day. Then the 26th was out because of plans, so that left the 28th. Now the tickets will be on the 30th. This is fine by me actually, I'll still have 4 days in Kathmandu, instead of 6 or 8, and the actual trekking date hasn't and won't be pushed back so, whatever... Wednesday I'm going in to the consulate and getting my Nepal tourist visa.
I went and saw Invictus with Katy last night, really good movie, although I wouldn't expect any less from Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and Matt Damon.
I painted the free wooden desk that I got from T.I. green yesterday, I had to do it on the little sliver of a balcony we have outside. I could only get oil paint, that why it needed to be outside. I still need to borrow a drill to repair it completely, It is functional, but not rock solid yet. I'll post some pictures when I get it set up inside.
I'm going to try to make some homemade bread today and some ghee so my roti might turn out like it should.
I just received preliminary confirmation of a Lapsap Band reunion, Nate has already confirmed his return to Hong Kong and James is in the negotiation stages, whoo! I'll have a reason to play my crapjo, I mean banjo again.
Lapsap Band - Pirate Looks at Fourty - Live In Malaysia
Lapsap Band - Half-Step Mississippi Uptown Todello - Live In Malaysia
I just got off the phone with Khem and he is booking our tickets to Nepal as I type this. The date for me leaving started at Jan 22, which I later found out I was mistaken, and it was Jan 24. However, the 24th was no good, so it was pushed to the 26th or 28th because the flights to Nepal only leave every other day. Then the 26th was out because of plans, so that left the 28th. Now the tickets will be on the 30th. This is fine by me actually, I'll still have 4 days in Kathmandu, instead of 6 or 8, and the actual trekking date hasn't and won't be pushed back so, whatever... Wednesday I'm going in to the consulate and getting my Nepal tourist visa.
I went and saw Invictus with Katy last night, really good movie, although I wouldn't expect any less from Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and Matt Damon.
I painted the free wooden desk that I got from T.I. green yesterday, I had to do it on the little sliver of a balcony we have outside. I could only get oil paint, that why it needed to be outside. I still need to borrow a drill to repair it completely, It is functional, but not rock solid yet. I'll post some pictures when I get it set up inside.
I'm going to try to make some homemade bread today and some ghee so my roti might turn out like it should.
I just received preliminary confirmation of a Lapsap Band reunion, Nate has already confirmed his return to Hong Kong and James is in the negotiation stages, whoo! I'll have a reason to play my crapjo, I mean banjo again.
Lapsap Band - Pirate Looks at Fourty - Live In Malaysia
Lapsap Band - Half-Step Mississippi Uptown Todello - Live In Malaysia
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Sleep cycle and the email subscription works
Yesterday I set up a link just under the twitter feed and another box on the side of the site below my blog archive and above shared items to sign up for email delivery of my posts instead of checking the site. Once you sign up and confirm, it will send you an email once a day of all of my rantings that are posted here, minus the twitter stuff and shared items though.
I've been using this cool app on my phone the last few nights, it senses my movements as I sleep and makes a graph based on the amount of movement which correlates with how deep my sleep is. The program uses this info to wake you up at the optimal time before your alarm goes off, when you are in the least deep sleep.
I've been using this cool app on my phone the last few nights, it senses my movements as I sleep and makes a graph based on the amount of movement which correlates with how deep my sleep is. The program uses this info to wake you up at the optimal time before your alarm goes off, when you are in the least deep sleep.
Sleep statistics for 12 - 13 Jan (Wed).
Went to bed / woke up: 12:54 AM / 9:11 AM
Total time: 8h 16m
Analysis made by Sleep Cycle.
My sleep graph for the entire night:
So I was sitting on the couch...
and I decided that I wanted to make chicken soup from scratch at quarter to 10, so that's what I'm doing. I just threw a bunch of deliciousness in a pot and put it on the burner, only time will tell if it comes out. I talked with Khem about the Nepal trip today and confirmed we are leaving for Kathmandu on January 26th. We will stay there with his family (his wife and son(s)) for about a week until the rest of the group gets there. There will be about 8 of us in the group for the trek. We will spend 16 days on the Annapurna Circuit here are some pictures!
After this trek we might do one day of rafting and then I'll come back to Hong Kong by the last week of February.I have a detailed schedule that Khem gave me that we will try to follow, I'll get some details from that up at some point. About a year and a half ago I was reading The Long Trail forum at Whiteblaze.net and there was a man looking for photos for his upcoming website on The Long Trail and he was making a shelter guide for it and needed pictures. So I sent him quite a few of my photos from the long trail and then forgot about it until I was searching around and came across the completed site, with quite a few of my pictures on it! Yes, yes, I know I know...I'll be collecting my royalty checks soon don't worry about that.......yup, not one little bit.......yup I'll be set for life just because of these stellar pics..... You can browse the pages linked from this page
Here are some direct links to my contributions:http://www.longtrailhiking.info/end2end/shelterguide/134-sethwarner.html
http://www.longtrailhiking.info/end2end/shelterguide/131-goddard.html
http://www.longtrailhiking.info/end2end/shelterguide/130-kidgore.html
http://www.longtrailhiking.info/end2end/shelterguide/126-sprucepeak.html
http://www.longtrailhiking.info/end2end/shelterguide/125-bromley.html The soup is smelling pretty amazing, time to go taste it....
Damn, I think my heart stopped beating for a second, overloaded from the sheer amount of deliciousness I believe....
After this trek we might do one day of rafting and then I'll come back to Hong Kong by the last week of February.I have a detailed schedule that Khem gave me that we will try to follow, I'll get some details from that up at some point. About a year and a half ago I was reading The Long Trail forum at Whiteblaze.net and there was a man looking for photos for his upcoming website on The Long Trail and he was making a shelter guide for it and needed pictures. So I sent him quite a few of my photos from the long trail and then forgot about it until I was searching around and came across the completed site, with quite a few of my pictures on it! Yes, yes, I know I know...I'll be collecting my royalty checks soon don't worry about that.......yup, not one little bit.......yup I'll be set for life just because of these stellar pics..... You can browse the pages linked from this page
Here are some direct links to my contributions:http://www.longtrailhiking.info/end2end/shelterguide/134-sethwarner.html
http://www.longtrailhiking.info/end2end/shelterguide/131-goddard.html
http://www.longtrailhiking.info/end2end/shelterguide/130-kidgore.html
http://www.longtrailhiking.info/end2end/shelterguide/126-sprucepeak.html
http://www.longtrailhiking.info/end2end/shelterguide/125-bromley.html The soup is smelling pretty amazing, time to go taste it....
Damn, I think my heart stopped beating for a second, overloaded from the sheer amount of deliciousness I believe....
Monday, January 11, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Oh Hong Kong...
Had an amazing weekend, Katy and I went in to Lan Kwai Fong on Friday night for a birthday party. Then Saturday I met Katy in Tung Chung for some amazing Indian Food then we hopped on the MTR into the city and made our way to Wan Chai where we searched for the mythic outdoor stores that supposedly sell real quality merchandise for ~10% of the cost you'd find it in the states. Supposedly, the reason this is able to happen is that a company will order say 1000 jackets, but send 1050 jackets worth of material to compensate for mistakes, etc... Then the workers fill their quota and still have materials lying around so they make more jackets out of them and they get sold *more* locally and don't get the insane markup from the ten thousand middleman and retailers along the way. I have absolutely no idea if this is actually true and not really any way to find out. Anyway, we actually found two of the stores in a shopping plaza there. One of the stores had a lot of cool stuff in it and Katy and I pawed through their racks, carefully inspecting everything as we went. I ended up trying on a Marmot soft shell, I've been lusting for a soft shell pretty much since I worked at ALE and had a pro-deal, but I could never pull the trigger. Partially because they *can* cost a mint and they go against my lightweight backpacking philosophy. I've never really talked to anyone that uses a soft shell extensively, but I've read a lot about them, as I tend to do with everything I buy. For most of my uses in the outdoors, a soft shell would be redundant and the weight (1.5lbs) to benefit ratio (12 extra snickers bars or one whole days worth of trail food!) wouldn't be enough for me to bring it along. Basically, a soft shell is a much more breathable raincoat that doesn't really keep you dry if it rains a lot out and it's almost like a fleece coat except it won't really keep you that warm. It does two jobs, but not nearly as well as either of the two things that I would replace it with. My Outdoor Research Gore Tex jacket is much better in the rain and my full weight fleece is much better for cold AND their powers combine to keep you warm and dry if it's cold and wet. Long story short, I bought a really nice soft shell coat similar to this one for 10% of that listed price. A soft shell jacket doesn't have a place in my lightweight gear arsenal, however, it does have a place in my everyday wear in the Hong Kong winter and if i ever go skiing in wet snow I can put it over my down puffy coat. My former everyday coat I bought on my NOLS course about four years ago and it's been everywhere with me, Wyoming, every field day at A.L.E, and all through South East Asia, it's full of fire spark holes and the material is so worn that it doesn't really have any insulation value left in it. I'm thinking Nepal will be the end of the line for this old friend. Only time will tell if my new standby will have the longevity of its predecessor. I also picked up a really comfortable pair of nylon pants and an Under Armor shirt, both really nice and really cheap about $25 US for both.Sunday was the usual great day in Kowloon, Katy and I went to Church this morning with the family, then lunch, then Sherlock Holmes, then I caught the E22 bus back to Tung Chung where I proceeded to miss the 3M by about a minute..........................Looking at an hour long wait for the next 3M, I hopped on the next bus just to get over the mountain and hoped that I could catch a random bus going towards Pui O, as luck would have it I jumped off at the roundabout intersection jogged across the barren highway and pretty much didn't stop walking when a bus going my way pulled up and I jumped on completely satisfied with my risk taking and an hour in front of where I would have been if I would have waited. I'm going to try to stay awake for the NFL games tonight, we'll see if that actually happens.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
In Recent News...(now with footnotes!)
---Adam is growing his beard back to fight1 off the bitter Nepal wind
---Adam needs to go on a spiritual quest to secure his HSBC login dongle thingy from the nefarious2 Tracy
---Adam is paying homage to the wonders created by the combination of Macaroni AND cheese, whilst feasting on its glorious bounty
---Adam may soon brave the steep and treacherous slopes and descend from Sun Wai Village in search of caramel colored, sucrose infused bubble water!3
---Adam just received his gear from the U.S. for the Nepal trip. It looked, as if to him, opening the box was like Christmas, except with stuff of his own. However, in actuality it was more like being reunited with long lost friends4
Upcoming posts
Here's a sneak preview of posts that I'm writing
---Massive5 post on Hong Kong
---Summary and details of my trip to Nepal6
---Catching up and finishing my Southeast Asia journal71 Adam's beard will actually be fighting the bitter Nepal wind and not actually insulating his face.
2 Please note: "Nefarious" is used for dramatic effect it does not actually reflect any judgments of said involved parties.
3 Bubble water is the nectar of the Gods
4 Long lost dirty friends that haven't bathed in weeks and smell like campfire smoke
5 Post will actually be quite large and I keep adding to it :(
6 Author will not be responsible for any head explosions while reading the trip itinerary.
Ex.
“Unfortunately I being let to send this program information to you because I being so busy here in Hong Kong, however I would be grateful if you would positively consider on my situation.” Etc... -I love Khem
7 Finishing things is so last year
My top albums of 2009
Listening to music is something that I do a lot of (or at least try to). It brings me back to many places just by hearing a song, I'm sure this is the same for most people. Writing all these entries provides me with not only a connection back to everyone at home, but also with a pretty awesome record of many many things that I've done in the last 319 days since I left the United States for Hong Kong. So if only for my own records I make this post...
Places certain music brings me.......Beatles - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - 10th grade - The day's before Napster, getting burned CDs in Biology class for my first experience of non-oldies, "Love Me Do" Beatles Led Zeppelin - IV - Also 10th grade, Robert Plant's whining vocals and Jimmie Page's ripped off guitar solos combine to create my first experience with Led Zeppelin Tom Waits - Closing Time - Listening to scratchy voiced Tom Waits always brings me back to the winter of my Junior year of college driving around Plattsburgh in my Taurus, ha John Hartford - Aereo-Plain - One of the instructors on my NOLS course said I really needed to listen to this guy, I didn't. Six months later at a open mic someone asked me if I've ever listened to Aereo-Plain and being the bluegrass aficionado I am I felt a little embarrassed after never listening to the most influential progressive bluegrass album ever except for maybe Old and In The Way. This brings me back to senior year of college where it was the only CD I had in my car for about 4 months straight, no exaggeration. George Harrison - All Things Must Pass - Near the Tom Waits era, but it was about the time when my great grandmother passed away Norman Blake - Whiskey Before Breakfast - This was after I graduated college, but before I started at A.L.E, when I was playing with the bluegrass band in Plattsburgh The White Stripes - Every album but the first one and Icky Thump - Getting out of my shift at A.L.E and wanting to never have to make a decision ever again or think about anything but rocking out to Jack White's overdriven guitar. I don't really listen to much of these any more, it's interesting how my tastes have changed over time. (Anyway...self whom is reading this one year from now)These are my main albums from the time I arrived in Hong Kong, worked the spring season, traveled for 6 weeks, worked the summer, traveled for 1 week, worked the Fall season and have just started a new year.
The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely - This was from early last year, I was still in the U.S. when I got into this one, mostly from me thinking that anything that Jack White does is pretty genius and from the music video they did with Ricky Skaggs
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago - I started listening to this from a combination of getting the album from Ben, but not listening to it until Nate played it all the time last spring. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin - I first heard this album while traveling in Malaysia, under weird circumstances that is. I was sleeping in my hammock that was tied up on the deck of the house where James and I were staying, when the caretaker we were staying with drunkenly stumbles back and blasts this at about 3am. We had no idea what was going on...that reminds me I need to finish typing in my journal from the rest of my trip. Cold War Kids - Robbers & Cowards - I started listening to this album recently (Nov-Dec 09) after having the iPod on shuffle and always getting songs stuck in my head and not knowing where they came from. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend This is pretty much the same method of discovery as CWK - R&C, but this is my newest album. It will forevermore remind me of Christmas in Hong Kong. I would have the iPod on random sitting on the bus and I'd always forget and have to check the artist because II kept thinking "is this Paul Simon?"
Honerable Mentions MGMT - Oracular Spectacular When I first heard this album playing in one of my co-worker's flats I thought "I've never heard this 80's band before, they're pretty catchy..." It made the list because it appealed to my Raconteurs desire, although with too much electronic and not enough prog-rock sound, lacking the excellent song writing, and it's not a complete album with no skippable songs Johnny Cash - Unearthed - The first CD of this massive album could have made it into my most listened/favorite albums, but I still don't think I've completely listened to the complete 4 hours of this masterpiece. I also like this album because it's added a lot of new options for songs for me to learn from Johnny, i.e. Understand Your Man, Chunk of Coal, Cindy
There it is, this post took me quite a while to put together, but it was a really nice trip down memory lane and now I have a record of it so I don't have to rack my brain as much in the future.
Places certain music brings me.......Beatles - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - 10th grade - The day's before Napster, getting burned CDs in Biology class for my first experience of non-oldies, "Love Me Do" Beatles Led Zeppelin - IV - Also 10th grade, Robert Plant's whining vocals and Jimmie Page's ripped off guitar solos combine to create my first experience with Led Zeppelin Tom Waits - Closing Time - Listening to scratchy voiced Tom Waits always brings me back to the winter of my Junior year of college driving around Plattsburgh in my Taurus, ha John Hartford - Aereo-Plain - One of the instructors on my NOLS course said I really needed to listen to this guy, I didn't. Six months later at a open mic someone asked me if I've ever listened to Aereo-Plain and being the bluegrass aficionado I am I felt a little embarrassed after never listening to the most influential progressive bluegrass album ever except for maybe Old and In The Way. This brings me back to senior year of college where it was the only CD I had in my car for about 4 months straight, no exaggeration. George Harrison - All Things Must Pass - Near the Tom Waits era, but it was about the time when my great grandmother passed away Norman Blake - Whiskey Before Breakfast - This was after I graduated college, but before I started at A.L.E, when I was playing with the bluegrass band in Plattsburgh The White Stripes - Every album but the first one and Icky Thump - Getting out of my shift at A.L.E and wanting to never have to make a decision ever again or think about anything but rocking out to Jack White's overdriven guitar. I don't really listen to much of these any more, it's interesting how my tastes have changed over time. (Anyway...self whom is reading this one year from now)These are my main albums from the time I arrived in Hong Kong, worked the spring season, traveled for 6 weeks, worked the summer, traveled for 1 week, worked the Fall season and have just started a new year.
The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely - This was from early last year, I was still in the U.S. when I got into this one, mostly from me thinking that anything that Jack White does is pretty genius and from the music video they did with Ricky Skaggs
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago - I started listening to this from a combination of getting the album from Ben, but not listening to it until Nate played it all the time last spring. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin - I first heard this album while traveling in Malaysia, under weird circumstances that is. I was sleeping in my hammock that was tied up on the deck of the house where James and I were staying, when the caretaker we were staying with drunkenly stumbles back and blasts this at about 3am. We had no idea what was going on...that reminds me I need to finish typing in my journal from the rest of my trip. Cold War Kids - Robbers & Cowards - I started listening to this album recently (Nov-Dec 09) after having the iPod on shuffle and always getting songs stuck in my head and not knowing where they came from. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend This is pretty much the same method of discovery as CWK - R&C, but this is my newest album. It will forevermore remind me of Christmas in Hong Kong. I would have the iPod on random sitting on the bus and I'd always forget and have to check the artist because II kept thinking "is this Paul Simon?"
Honerable Mentions MGMT - Oracular Spectacular When I first heard this album playing in one of my co-worker's flats I thought "I've never heard this 80's band before, they're pretty catchy..." It made the list because it appealed to my Raconteurs desire, although with too much electronic and not enough prog-rock sound, lacking the excellent song writing, and it's not a complete album with no skippable songs Johnny Cash - Unearthed - The first CD of this massive album could have made it into my most listened/favorite albums, but I still don't think I've completely listened to the complete 4 hours of this masterpiece. I also like this album because it's added a lot of new options for songs for me to learn from Johnny, i.e. Understand Your Man, Chunk of Coal, Cindy
There it is, this post took me quite a while to put together, but it was a really nice trip down memory lane and now I have a record of it so I don't have to rack my brain as much in the future.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Another day on Lantau
Had a pretty good day today, I started with watching NFL games at 5:30am until about 9:30am and then went back to bed.
Woke up again and had a second breakfast and coffee, put in laundry, picked up a bit, then started my training for the Nepal trip and ran to Mui Wo. Well, it was more of a run/walk/run/walk and then I caught the bus back to Pui O. Got back and talked with Katy, made pesto penne, and watched The Meaning of Life. I'm working on an ambitious post as well, it should be coming up soon and also my secret project is moving along slowly but surely...
Woke up again and had a second breakfast and coffee, put in laundry, picked up a bit, then started my training for the Nepal trip and ran to Mui Wo. Well, it was more of a run/walk/run/walk and then I caught the bus back to Pui O. Got back and talked with Katy, made pesto penne, and watched The Meaning of Life. I'm working on an ambitious post as well, it should be coming up soon and also my secret project is moving along slowly but surely...
Sunday, January 3, 2010
World's Most Crowded - Oddee.com
World's Most Crowded Area (Mongkok, China)
According to Guinness World Records, the Mongkok area has the highest population density of anywhere on Earth, with an estimated 130,000 people per square kilometer. Mongkok is a commercial/residential area located in central Kowloon. The Chinese characters for Mongkok (“旺角”) mean “busy corner” and this too is no exaggeration. (Link)
via oddee.com
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Trying something a little different...as usual
In my continuing strive to never be happy and settled with the way I have things, I set up a different blog athttp://drbhk.posterous.com/Nothing will change here, everything that I post there will be posted here automatically, if I didn't write this I'm not sure many people would notice the change except for some of the links in the posts. The reason for this is, ever since I've started posting to Blogger I've been extremely frustrated with the way it deals with photos, the placement of photos (everything gets dumped at beginning of my post and I have to manually rearrange them every time I put pictures in my posts) and the uploading of photos (only......5....at....a......time) makes me go crazy when I have 30 to put on the site and don't want to use PIcasa. So this could (possibly) be a passing thing, but the way this site works is all I have to do is write an e-mail and send it to the address and it formats and inserts everything so I can upload 25 megabytes of photos at a time with Gmail, throw in some video, and just send it and the new site just takes care of everything (or at least should). In short keep coming here (Blogger) to read, unless you want to see what I write in a different format (sorry there's nothing I can do about my incoherent jibberish except make it look nice
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Aberdeen, Hong Kong
This morning I went in to meet Katy and the rest of the family for church in Kowloon Tong. After eating we ended up going to the Festival Walk mall and having our usual lunch, I had a delicious chicken cheese burger. After eating lunch Katy and I went to try to catch a movie, but Sherlock Holmes was full except for the very first row, so that option was out. We went back to Central to see if there were any movies playing there, but they were all full too. Defeated I bought a latte at McDonald's and we went to reconnoiter at the "sitting out" area on top of the mall over looking the harbor. We decided to go to Aberdeen, which was on my list of "things to do" in Hong Kong. Aberdeen has a really interesting history in Hong Kong if you read the Wikipedia entry or my previous post. We got off the #70 bus from Exchange Square in Central and walked along the waterfront for a little while. We came upon a place
giving Sampan rides so we decided to take an hour long tour of the harbor and the floating villages and everything else between Aberdeen and the Ap Lei Chau island. It was a really nice ride and we had the boat pretty much all to ourselves which was awesome.After we got back from our hour long ride we went to a 7-11 and I bought a Coca-Cola and a grape fruit juice, then we actually came across a Salvation Army, so we browsed that for a little bit before wandering a little and then returning back to Central and I caught the 5:40 ferry home and Katy took off for Ma On Shan.
giving Sampan rides so we decided to take an hour long tour of the harbor and the floating villages and everything else between Aberdeen and the Ap Lei Chau island. It was a really nice ride and we had the boat pretty much all to ourselves which was awesome.After we got back from our hour long ride we went to a 7-11 and I bought a Coca-Cola and a grape fruit juice, then we actually came across a Salvation Army, so we browsed that for a little bit before wandering a little and then returning back to Central and I caught the 5:40 ferry home and Katy took off for Ma On Shan. 
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