From Paradise to Des Moines

Counting down on the repentance list from 530 to 515, the respective area codes for north-central California and central Idaho.

530: SEE PREVIOUS POST (545-530)

529: Frank Sinatra's use of the word "bird." (described in this Esquire piece, by Gay Talese)

They nodded...[the] two of them laughed about Sinatra's apparently having gotten the word "bird" on the show -- this being a favorite Sinatra word. He often inquires of his cronies, "How's your bird?"; and when he nearly drowned in Hawaii, he later explained, "Just got a little water on my bird"; and under a large photograph of him holding a whisky bottle, a photo that hangs in the home of an actor friend named Dick Bakalyan, the inscription reads: "Drink, Dickie! It's good for your bird." In the song, "Come Fly with Me," Sinatra sometimes alters the lyrics -- "...just say the words and we'll take our birds down to Acapulco Bay...."

528: longform.org: an unemployed journalist's haven.

Aaron Lammer, one of the editors

527:  This logo that I designed for my girlfriend's soon-to-be opening vintage clothing shop.

526: WFMU's Beware of the Blog:

A chart from their most recent post. Other sweetness includes a profile of the young Woody Allen and a profile of the swingin' Errol Flynn.

525: Monocle magazine:  here is a video about Helsinki, the 2011 winner of their quality of life survey, one of many innovative bits of content on offer.

524: Andy Lau: the favorite Hong Kong-born entertainer of my girlfriend. He is a remarkably prolific actor and singer and inspired this bizarre suicide, as described on his Wikipedia page.

Lau experienced unexpected notoriety with his encountering of a 29 year old fan from mainland China, Yang Li-juan (楊麗娟), who had idolized the star for 13 years. After her parents sold the family house to pay for a trip to Hong Kong, Yang finally met Lau on March 26, 2007. One day later, Yang's father committed suicide by throwing himself into the sea in Hong Kong, leaving a suicide note chiding Lau for not having taken his daughter more seriously.

Here are two photos of him doing his thing in two very different ways.

523: Frank Calliendo's impersonation of Charles Barkley and, even more spectacular, Bill Walton (minute 6:26) in this video.

522: The Knife: a band I have only recently started listening to. My favorite lyric: "For a reasonable salary I will wash the world" from the song "One Hit" on their album Silent Shout. Below is the title track from the same album.

521: 100 Plus: a carbonated electrolyte drink slightly less sweet than Gatorade and imported from Malaysia. (from their site: An isotonic drink is a drink formulated to help you restore what the body loses during physical exertion due to perspiration, and to help achieve a normal state of hydration and electrolyte balance)

I am drinking one while I write this caption. No joke.

520: Air Conditioning: For the first time in my life I have an air conditioner in my bedroom. For more than 2 of those life years, I was living in Cambodia. It is good.

The Panasonic Super Ionizer, my room cooler.

519: "What does BanKi Moon have a degree in?" a question posed by my apartment-mate Ahti. Answer: Master of Public Administration from Harvard and Doctor of Laws form the University of Malta.

518: Freight crate housing: an affordable and environmentally friendly innovation in housing construction.

imagined

executed

517: Phil Bader: The former managing editor of The Phnom Penh Post who is now the editor-in-chief of the Catholic News Agency. Below is a video I made with the help of my friend Kopxyo as a farewell gift upon his departure.

516: This photo of King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia and Mao Tse-Tung of communism.

515: Slow and steady: the pace at which I will complete this list.