The Taipei Kid

Taipei’s sparkling clean subway system failed to make the list of the Top 11 underground transit systems. Maybe it wasn’t “eye-catching”, “diverse” and “popular” enough, but it is clean, and nice, and it works.

Our secret spies saw this military recruitment ad the other day and were like, “What the heck”? This, um, pyramid is gaining quite a discussion over a Forumosa. (Thanks to Brappy for the shot.)

Being a busy student and all, I use my microwave oven a lot, especially for microwave apple crumble. I’m also always on the lookout for ways to clean things better and faster, since I don’t have a lot of time to keep things up. Anyway, forget about baking soda or store-bought microwave spray cleaners, because I found the best microwave cleaning method here, (via Consumerist). (Oh yes, and a cup of vinegar in water is best for floors, especially if you have pets. I hate to say that the answer to all of life’s problems is vinegar, but it sure seems to be shaping up that way.)

I’ve been really busy with school, so I haven’t been posting much, but a friend alerted me to the fact that DV8 is closing. I haven’t had a drink there in years, but I did have a long run spinning the hits there and have fond memories of friends hanging around the DJ booth and chatting with me all night (and that includes Big Bad Ela). Before Alleycat’s opened, DV8 was really the only place to get a good non-Dominoes pizza without paying an arm and a leg.

A certain celebrity got busted for drugs recently, a certain celebrity I actually was forced to cross paths with years ago. This was way before his fame and party lifestyle. The landlord rented him a room down the hall, and then the next day his entire family–mom, dad, sister, brother–moved into the place, the whole damn family. Imagine waking up one morning, walking into the kitchen and seeing all of them there. I heard that the rest of them had been living in their car. (Keep in mind that this was before said star and his brother hit the Taiwanese Tinseltown big time.) So basically, a bunch of homeless people show up in this apartment and the landlord is in Hong Kong and won’t be back for two days. The landlord promptly threw them all out as soon as I was able to contact him. It was an awkward, icky experience and was what prompted me to finally get my own place.

The tune that everyone in Taipei is forced to listen to everyday, the tune that makes my dog growl each time she hears it, is mentioned in Andrew Leonard’s recent column. (He also mentions our own little China Post.)

Geffen Records chairman Ron Fair defending the criticism American Idol judges lash out at contestants: “In order to have a reputation and continue in a healthy manner in this business, you have to tell people `no’ all day long,” he said. “I’m telling people ‘I’m not going to sign you, that song is not a hit’ … And there’s no gracious or wonderful way to tell somebody, whose hopes and dreams are on the line: `no.’”

Actually, there is a gracious way to tell them no–you just say, “Sorry, but you’re not what we’re looking for”.

Our secret spies have been out around the town recently. This must be the first time a neurodevelopmental disorder has been used in a blue jean advertisement. Tacky.

I tried to get half-off, high-speed rail tickets today, but failed. The only tickets to Taichung they had left for Saturday were the 8 and 9 pm ones. Too late. I am impressed with how quick the line went and the auto-machines, but don’t expect to use your credit card with them unless you know your cash PIN number or you are using one of their three designated banking partners. The machines are kind of cool to operate. Actually, if you really need a ticket for the next few weeks, I noticed scalpers selling them as well.

Salon’s latest feature on the death of James Kim mentions another family who had also gotten trapped in the Southern Oregon snow–the Stivers. I don’t feel quite as sorry for the Stivers, who took their kids on a little RV holiday with Grandma and Grandpa Meth Dealer,  as I do for the Kim family. Is it possible Grandma and Grandpa were on the lam? Is that why they “came prepared”? Pretty bad comparison, Salon.