FOOD: Yang Chow Slippery Shrimp

Wow! I think I have a new favorite food! Last night, to celebrate my return to the gym after a near 2-month hiatus I went to Yang Chow restaurant in Pasadena. I had heard from blogging.la that Yang Chow's Slippery Shrimp was the worst kept secret in Los Angeles and have been looking for cheap and excellent Chinese food for awhile. Previously I had enjoyed Oak Tree Inn on Fair Oaks Avenue in nearby South Pasadena but I think they have diminished in quality recently. I'm still looking for a really good cheap and excellent Indian restaurant, and of course my long quest for decent (East) Caribbean/West Indian food in Los Angeles has been well-documented on this blog. Anyway, I ordered the slippery shrimp (seen in the picture) and the braised string beans with steamed rice. The shrimp is succulent, slightly spicy and slightly sweet simultaeneously while the beans are crunchy and slightly salty with a savoury sauce--a fantastic counterpoint.

REVIEW: A+.

Musical Chairs On The California Ballot June 6

The Insurance Commissioner is running for Lieutenant Governor.
The Lieutenant Governor is running for Insurance Commissioner.
The Controller and the Treasurer are running for Governor.
The Attorney General is running for Treasurer.
A former Governor is running for Attorney General!

Thanks, term limits! 7 more days until the Statewide Primary Election. I've been filling out my absentee ballot and will have more official endorsements in all statewide races later in the week.

FRENCH OPEN 2006: Day 1

Mashona Washington from Houston, Texas had 3 match points against Maria Sharapova yesterday at the French Open but ended up losing 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 after leading 5-2 in the third set! The match was almost 2 and a half hours long. Through the first two sets Mashona not only had more winners than errors, she had more winners than Sharapova!
This was one of the best women's t matches of the year. Mashona was hitting winners from every corner of the court, oftentimes on the stretch. Sharapova led 6-2, 3-1 before Mashona even had her first break point. Two of the three match points were on Mashona's serve, but were denied by winners from Sharapova. A truly great match.

REVIEW: X3

Director Brett Ratner's X-Men: The Last Stand opened Friday. I saw it at the Grauman's Chinese Theaters in Hollywood yesterday.

Clearly, the screenwriters, Simon Kinberg (Mr. & Mrs. Smith, XXX)
and Zak Penn (X2, Elecktra), took the subtitle "The Last Stand" pretty seriously because the story makes profligate use with some beloved characters' lives and powers by making some permanent decisions about their futures. Usually this is a tactic which heightens suspense in a thrilling way (c.f. this season's 24) but if it is overused then it actually reduces narrative tension because then the audience expects the main character to not surivive (c.f. the series finale of Alias). Unfortunately, in The Last Stand the device is used enough times so that the results are more like the latter than the former.

Almost all the reviews of the film comment approvingly on the stunning visual effects of the film, but those are expected and de rigeur for any summer blockbuster in the post Lord of the Rings movie marketplace. No, what ultimately disappoints is the lack of emotional resonance of the plot.

REVIEW: B+

FRENCH OPEN: Preview

Roland Garros, the 2006 French Open, starts on Sunday May 28. It becomes the first major tennis tournament to be scheduled over 15 days. The draw has been released.

World #1 Roger Federer has a rather tough draw, and is scheduled to play unseeded Arnaud Clement in the first round. Others in his quarter of the draw are pulchritudinous Tommy ("Tete") Robredo and blogger Jose ("Chucho") Acasuso who have both won clay tournaments this year. Other interesting first round matches to watch are Gael Monfils versus Andy Murray and Acacuso versus Fabrice Santoro.

On the Women's Side, World #1 and reigning Australian Open champion Amelie Mauresmo opens versus American Meghann Shaughnessy. Also in her quarter of the draw are Venus Williams (11), Nicole Vaidisova (16) and Patty Schnyder (7). Maria Sharapova (4) has another Slam with a lovely draw ahead of her, beginning with American Mashona Washington in the first round with really only Svetlana Kuznetsova (8) or Francesca Schiavone (9) to potentially cause her trouble. Nadia Petrova (3), the hottest player on clay so far in 2006, was unfortunate to have defending champion Justine Henin-Hardenne (5) in her quarter of the draw. In the bottom of the draw Kim Clijsters (2) is even more unlucky to be in the section of the draw with the resurgent Martina Hingis (12). Also in that section is 2004 finalist Elena Dementieva (6) who may face a round of 16 matchup with the Swiss Miss.

First Round Matches to Watch: Hingis versus American Lisa Raymond, Ana Ivanovic (19) versus Samantha Stosur, Sania Mirza versus 2004 Champion Anastasia Myskina (10) and Dinara Safina (14) versus Vera Zvonareva.

CHESS: Topalov Wins M-Tel Super Tournament

Veselin Topalov overcame a slow start to win the M-Tel Masters in Sofia, Bulgaria with a score of 6.5/10 (+3) by winning his last four games decisively. Gata Kamsky was second a half-point behind, having lost (with the White pieces!) to Topalov in the final round. The current World Champion cemented his lead ahead of rival Viswanathan Anand, who ended up 3rd at 5.5/10.

La Opinion Endorses Elena Popp for AD 45

I've been out of town most of the week back East at an invitation-only conference on the Mathematics of Social Justice at Lafayette College outside Philadelphia. However, I arrived with this interesting news: La Opinión has endorsed Elena Popp as the most qualified candidate for the 45th California State Assembly district seat to replace Jackie Goldberg.

La disputa por la nominación demócrata para reemplazar a Jackie Goldberg en la Asamblea estatal enfrenta a cuatro candidatos que ofrecen atractivos distintos y cada uno se ha ganado con esfuerzo esta oportunidad para representar al Distrito 45 en Sacramento. De todos ellos creemos que la abogada Elena Popp es la más cualificada para ir a Sacramento. Por eso: ¡Vote por Elena Popp para el Distrito 45 de la Asamblea!

I believe this can be translated into English as:

The contest for the democratic nomination to replace Jackie Goldberg in the state Assembly features four candidates who offer different strengths and each one has worked hard to earn this opportunity to represent District 45 in Sacramento. Of all of them we think that lawyer Elena Popp is most qualified to go to Sacramento. For that reason: Vote for Elena Popp for District 45 of the Assembly!

Indeed!

Angelides for Governor

As many of you who read my blog regularly must know, I have been agonizing for months as to which candidate to endorse for Governor (I doubt Arnold was holding his breath). I have made my decision, and although it was a tough one I feel good about it. As the title of this post indicates and as you might have been able to tell from the way I have been blogging about the race recently, I have decided Phil Angelides shoul be the next Governor of California. One of the deciding points in his favor was not the Los Angeles Times endorsement but this endorsement by L.A. Weekly columnist Harold Meyerson:

As treasurer, Angelides has been the most influential public figure in determining the investment policies of the state’s two main public-employee pension funds, CalPERS and CalSTIRS, which are the two largest pension funds in the nation. As such, while exercising his fiduciary responsibility to ensure a good rate of return, Angelides has also steered investments into inner-city and inner-ring-suburban development, into densification along transit corridors, into small businesses and renewable-energy technology. And as the main voice for funds that are often among the largest shareholders in corporations, he’s been an outspoken and influential force for reducing CEO pay. (He was the first official, for instance, to demand that the New York Stock Exchange rescind the ridiculous platinum parachute it bestowed on Richard Grasso, its departing CEO.)

In short, like New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (now running for governor in his state), Angelides has used his power to try to curtail the excesses of winner-take-all capitalism, and to establish a more socially responsible capitalism in its stead. For that matter, Angelides and Spitzer are just about the only elected officials at any level of government to have taken on the culture of boardroom chicanery during the past decade, and Angelides stands alone, alas, for the magnitude of his efforts to put capital to remunerative but also socially necessary purposes.

California’s treasurer ain’t nobody’s shrinking violet. During the energy crisis, he called for the creation of a state energy company to serve as a yardstick for the private companies that were then robbing California blind. He criticized Arnold Schwarzenegger’s budgets when no one else was criticizing Schwarzenegger at all. And he advocates raising taxes on the rich and corporations to improve the state’s schools.

[...]

Angelides is not the sum of human virtue. He’s brilliant and not shy about letting you know it. He’s micromanaged his own sometime-meandering campaign in a way that might portend problems if he’s elected governor. But the conventional media wisdom, that there’s really no difference between the two Democratic candidates for governor, is deeply wrong — wrong as only the conventional media wisdom can be. In a timid time, Phil Angelides has a clear record as a bold liberal.

Now, let's just see whether California will decide they want a bold liberal to be Governor.

Tommy Robredo Wins Hamburg Masters

Happy Birthday to me! :-) Tommy Robredo won the Hamburg Masters final against Radek Stepanek 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday. Robredo first Masters Series win cements him into the ATP Tour Top 10 for the first time in his career and makes him a real contended for the French Open title which starts Sunday May 28th in Paris. I think that Robredo is probably the best looking men's tennis player in the Top 50 (definitely top 5). Happily, he was so full of joy when he won that he stripped of his rather fey acquamarine shirt and threw it into the crowd.

UPDATE: Check out Tommy Robredo's blog at ATPtennis.com for the back story of how he came to strip his shirt off after winning his first Masters Series title (and more hot pictures of the man whose nickname is"Tete"!)

38!

Today is my birthday!

Venus Bagels Martina But Loses Match!

Venus Williams won her first ever 6-0 set against Martina Hingis in the Italian Open semifinal in Rome. Venus then proceeded to make 41 unforced errors (20 winners) to lose the match 0-6, 6-3, 6-3! Hingis will be ranked in the Top 20 on Monday regardless of how she does in her second WTA tour final of the year against Dinara Safina who took out Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the earlier semifinal match.
The next major tournament starts on Monday May 29th in Paris: Roland Garros.

Ahnuld's Fake Minimum Wage Increase

Governor Arnold ("Ahhhhnuld") Schwarzenegger proposed a $1 increase in California's minimum wage, from $6.75 to $7.75 an hour on Thursday. Critics reacted with disbelief. In previous years, Schwarzenegger has twice vetoed bills passed by the State Legislature to increase the minimum wage and index future increases to inflation. Geem Arnold's proposal couldn't have anything to do with the fact that he's running for re-election could it?

Is Venus Back?

Thanks to youtube, we can now see highlights of this pivotal Hingis-V. Williams match from the J&S Cup in Warsaw a few weeks ago. Check out this clip and tell me that Venus is not very motivated to be playing tennis and beating her rival.

Angelides Wins LA TIMES endorsement

In Sunday's Los Angeles Times Phil Angelides won the newspaper's endorsement in his race for the Democratic nomination for Governor.

That candidate is Phil Angelides. He may lack charisma, but he doesn't lack conviction, and he has been unwavering in his criticism of quick fixes and false budget promises. He has more experience in state office than Westly, whose "fix-it" approach to government is appealing at first but on closer inspection appears shallow.

Angelides may be dull, but he is not shallow. His commitment to healthcare reform, education, environmental protection and fiscal responsibility are real. We are wary of his quick jump to taxes but acknowledge some respect for his willingness to tell it as he sees it. We are not fans of his website's childish anti-Schwarzenegger cartoon. But we are confident Angelides is better than his website. He is the best Democratic candidate to challenge the governor and debate the future of California.

This is a significant achievement by the Angelides campaign. I know I promised earlier I would have my endorsement by Tuesday the 16th but I am having real difficulty deciding who to back. People I trust and respect have signed up with both camps (Weho City Coucilman John Duran, LA Gay and Lesbian Center head Lorri Jean and Equality California for Westly; Vincent Jones and U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer and the Democratic party "establishment" for Angelides). I hope to now have a decision by next Tuesday, but I can't promise anything because I'm off to the East Coast for a conference on the Mathematics of Social Justice most of next week. I have received my absentee ballot and will be blogging more about that over the weekend.

TODAY is International Day Against Homophobia Day

As I mentioned over the weekend, May 17 has been declared the International Day Against Homophobia (cleverly acronymized to IDAHO).

Interestingly, May 17 2006 is the second anniversary of the date that same-sex couples could begin to get legally married in Massachusetts.

The organizers of IDAHO chose May 17 as the anniversary of the date in 1990 when the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from their list of mental disorders.

The International Lesbian and Gay Association has made a PSA available on its website for IDAHO. You can access it here.

Pass the word along! May 17 is the International Day Against Homophobia!

Chess News: Super-Tournament Underway, Olympiad Begins May 20

The 2006 M-Tel Masters is currently being held in Sofia, Bulgaria from May 10th to May 21. Most of the big boys are there: Topalov (World #1, rated 2804), Anand (#2, 2803), Svidler (#4, 2743), Ponomariov (#6 ,2738) as well as Etienne Bacrot (2708) and Gata Kamsky (2671). With 4 of the top 6 chess players in the world, the tournament has an average rating of 2747, making it a Category 20 tournament. Currently Anand and Kamsky are in the lead at the halfway point, tied at +2 with 3.5/5 each, one full point ahead of World Champion Topalov and Svidler tied at 2.5/5 with Bacrot and Ponomariov at the bottom with 1.5/5.

The 37th Chess Olympiad will be held in Turin, Italy from Saturday May 20 to Sunday June 4. There are several Caribbean countries competing, including my former compatriots from Barbados. The Chess Olympiad is the most prestigious international team chess competition. It is held every two years.
The 36th Chess Olympiad was held in Mallorca, Spain and was won by Ukraine(men) and China (women).

Andy Roddick is blogging

(Hat tip to Pink is the new blog) I discovered that Andy Roddick has a "blog." What thrilling insight does Andy's foray into online journalling provide us? He likes to say "props" a lot. Ewww.

Blue Nation: Bush Has Net Positive Rating in 3 States

The current state-by-state SurveyUSA public opinion poll shows that President Bush has a net positive approval rating in Idaho (52% to 47%), Utah (51% to 46%) and Wyoming (50% to 49%) and has a net negative approval rating in every single other state (and D.C.) in the country! The map above is from MyDD. Here in California Bush has a net disapproval of -43% (28% approve, 71% disapprove). Contrast the above with the presidential election results on November 4, 2004 (graphics thanks to ABC)
Makes you go hmmmmmm!

UPDATE: RadicalRuss from Pam's House Blend has posted a very cool animated map showing the change in the President's approval rating month by month since November 2004 till the present.

Who To Blame For Student Failure?

As I finish up my grading for the Spring 2006 semester while listening to the news reports about a judge blocking the use of the California high school exit exam, thoughts of who should be responsible when students fail a class have been crossing my mind. If a student fails a class, is the person teaching the material responsible, or is it the student or is it some complicated shared responsibility?

Apparently nearly 47, 000 graduating high school seniors or 11% of the total failed the high school exit exam.

However, this means that nearly 90% of the students have passed the two-part exam, which is set at the 10th grade English level and the 8th grade mathematics level. Saturday's Los Angeles Times reports that "of the 46, 700 seniors who have failed the test, 20,600 are designated as limited English learners and 28,300 are poor." Judge Robert B. Freedman said he was "swayed by the argument that many impoverished and minority students — particularly those learning English as a second language — attend low-performing schools that do not prepare them adequately for the test." The judge also believed that at least 160 needy schools had not recieved any of some $20 million specifically appropriated by the Legislature to assist schools with preparing for the 2006 implementation of the exit exam.

My State Senator Gloria Romero was quoted by the Times in a statement applauding the decision to stay the implementation of the exit exam. "The judge's decision strips away the facade of claims that equal education is being provided in every one of our state's schools."

I agree with Senator Romero that it is clear that there is not an equal education being provided in each of the state's public schools, but I disagree that the judge's decision should be applauded. I think the message that is sent by not implementing consequences for failing the exit exam is far more damaging to the state's educational objectives.

Interestingly, Los Angeles Times columnist/blogger and Occidental College adjunct professor Bob Sipchen agrees with me in Monday's edition of the paper.

Books That Bush Can Read

Hat tip to boing boing, comes word of the existence of re-written (Adult literacy pioneer Mary Godolphin, 1723-1764) classic works of fiction like Robinson Crusoe and The Swiss Family Robinson with only words containing one syllable!

I was born at York on the first of March in the sixth year of the reign of King Charles the First. From the time when I was quite a young child, I had felt a great wish to spend my life at sea, and as I grew, so did this taste grow more and more strong; till at last I broke loose from my school and home, and found my way on foot to Hull, where I soon got a place on board a ship.
When we had set sail but a few days, a squall of wind came on, and on the fifth night we sprang a leak. All hands were sent to the pumps, but we felt the ship groan in all her planks, and her beams quake from stem to stern; so that it was soon quite clear there was no hope for her, and that all we could do was to save our lives.

Holy Thesaurus, Batman!