So at Columbia University today Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave a speech about various topics. It was a highly criticized appearance by many Americans, which I personally find to be lame. Not that I think the guy has anything worth saying that isn't as nutty as what comes out of the likes of Pat Roberston's mouth. But I am aware that one of the founding principles of this country is the right to free speech. So if that is still the case whats wrong with extending that privilege to our visiting(I use the term loosely) "dignitaries". I see nothing wrong with letting him speak and then questioning his logic and opinions in a good old fashioned American way.

So anyway he has made some pretty bold statements in the past that are just plain scary. He is also very misinformed about many things including the existence of the Holocaust. So I was very interested in what kinds of things would be said by such a crazed, although somewhat powerful guy. Thankfully he didn't disappoint. My favorite quote from today is definitely this:

In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country. We don't have that like in your country. ... In Iran we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who's told you that we have this.

Imagine that! Not a single homosexual in all of Iran? I haven't listened to the entire speech yet but I'm almost certain there are plenty of other good ones yet to come.

So my first whole weekend off in a while and of course I have come down with something and feel fucking miserable. This may be a new record for me, only 4 weeks into the semester and I have already managed to stress myself out to the point of making myself sick. Usually I don't start feeling shitty till finals.

So in an effort to make myself feel better I shelled out $20 for a ton of spicy Korean Soups to get me through the weekend. I trekked to Seoul Garden on Niagara Falls Blvd, because they were the only Korean place in Buffalo I called that even had Jjamppong. I did however learn something today. Apparently Jjamppong isn't really Korean. It's a Korean adaptation of a Chinese Soup, although it's pretty popular in Korea. I also picked up an order of Yook Gae Jang for tomorrow.

So anyway Jjampong is a seafood soup with octopus, squid, mussels, shrimp, pork, kimchi, Spanish onion, green onion, carrot, and Chinese water noodles all swimming in a fiery orange broth. As far as I could tell it was pretty good, but in honesty I can't taste all that well, it didn't make me sweat like it normally does however. This was the first time I have had it with mussels and pork in it and I liked it that way. They give you so much for $8.00 that you can make two meals out of it. So I suppose its Jjamppong again for dinner. It did actually make me feel a little better for a little while at least.



As far as the restaurant goes I didn't eat there but it was packed full of Asians, which in my opinion tends to be a good sign. It's a pretty dumpy looking dining room really, but the kitchen they have is absolutely beautiful. You can see it from the front counter. It's massive, and from afar looks impeccably clean. You could squeeze 7 line cooks in there comfortably if needed. But the size of the "dining room" really doesn't merit such a behemoth. Any way I will definitely be going back for more, they have a whole bunch of Korean dishes that I have never had and a few Chinese ones as well. It's really a shame that its so far away from my place, I guess I will just have to stop there on my way home from school sometime.

So I guess instead of cramming for my exams coming up this week I will just lie here on the couch pretending that I have nothing that needs to be done. Maybe I will get off my ass just long enough to rent a few films to make it through the night. Any suggestions as to what I should rent.

My Mailman sucks! The dude has refused to pick up my mail the last two days, and today he delivered one piece and left the outgoing stuff! Am I missing something here?

As with all things food and drink related I have a compelling urge to try things that I have never had. Sometimes it sounds really gross and turns out to be awesome, as was the case I discovered with carrot juice this summer. Other times it sounds really good and is really good. Well today's little adventure turned out to be neither of these. At the kosher deli at UB I noticed Dr. Browns Cel-Ray in the cooler. Thats right celery flavored soda. It sounded gross but I had to try it. Sometimes my instincts are dead on. Celery flavored soda is fucking disgusting!


bleh!

It looks like I just lost another .000000011lbs!

Of all the Asian soups that I am hopelessly addicted to, Pho is by far my absolute favorite. I love this soup so much that I want to take a trip to Vietnam just so I can have my fill of street Pho. So after a morning of centripetal force fun and getting a bad haircut I decided to treat myself with a little comfort food. I decided to go to 99 fastfood but I really had only a general idea of where the place was so I never ended up finding it. Instead I stumbled upon Saigon Bankok and had lunch there.

So anyway the Pho at Saigon Bangkok is really good. As usual it was a massive bowl of rice noodles, rare beef, meatballs, onions, and cilantro, bean sprouts, lime and a sauce that was 50:50 hoisen and tuong ot. I was a little disappointed that it didn't come with any Thai basil on the side but after taking a few bites I didn't miss it all that much. The broth was perfect. I have had some Southern Vietnam versions where it was a little sweet, and honestly I think it sucks that way. The best thing about Pho is how cheap it is. A bowl of it would probably satisfy two hungry people and it usually costs around $6 or $7.

I also had Goi Cuon as an appetizer as well, It was really delicious although I like it even more when they add fresh mint, but no mint for me this time. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone. The service was pleasant, fast and unpretentious. I will be heading back to try some of their other selections especially since I noticed they have Banh Xeo there!

In a successful attempt to avoid my studying this evening I decided to make one of my favorite dinners. Balsamic Chicken with Swiss Chard. Ok so admittedly, it isn't quite the caliber of "food porn" but it sure does taste freaking good.

Missing Image ;(

Dear Asshole,

Thank you very much for the 3:30am wake up call this morning. I don't normally set my own alarm for this time due to the fact that I usually like to continue to sleep till 6:30am. I found your wake up call (starting your Cousin Eddie like death trap of an RV outside of window) actually more effective than my normal means of starting the day. I may have slept right through had you not revved the engine for what seemed to be about a minute. I'm not certain which part I enjoyed more, the sudden heart attack inducing scare at 3:30am or the smell of your exhaust that poured into my apartment and prevented me from sleeping for the next half hour. The part I really like though is you didn't start your vehicle for the reason of moving it. No you just went ahead and shut it off when you were all done. I'm not sure how long we will be neighbors for since you only moved in Friday night. I also don't know whose power supply you were hooked up to on the outside of my building either. In any case I will be certain to reciprocate if indeed we are still residing in the same neighborhood at 3:30am tomorrow.

Sincerely,
James

Ok so my car is a piece of shit. But the fact that it still runs is reason enough to not purchase a new one. I have a goal of getting it to at least 200,000 miles before I replace it. I'm not sure if that will happen considering the Cavalier I had in high school died at 120,000. But my friend who has helped me fix it more times than he cares to remember sent me a link with the message "this is totally your car". It's pretty accurate right down to the door and perpetual domelight.

I really miss having a dishwasher. This is the first apartment I have had in 7 years that doesn't have one. I think if I were allowed to give up one domestic duty for life it would definitely be washing dishes, although laundry would come in a close second.