ismael chang ghalimi

Barbapapa

Tonight, we had friends over for dinner. One couple of guests came with their two daughters, ages 1 and 3. The older one had the most fun with one of our wedding presents, a couple of Barbapapa pillows made in Japan and distributed in the US by Macy’s. If you want to learn French, make sure to get some of the Barbapapa books. And if you turn into a real fan, you should take a look at the action figures artfully crafted by Leblon-Delienne. Many thanks to Cathy, Cameron, Dylan and Tyson for the Barbapapas.

Shall We Dance?

Yesterday, we watched Shall We Dance, the 1996 Japanese movie directed by Masayuki Suo. It tells the story of an accountant who secretly takes ballroom dancing lessons. Great acting, Japanese tempo, and fun memories of the dancing lessons May and I took for our wedding. If you decide to rent this movie, just make sure that you do not get the 2004 Hollywood remake instead.

Time for a New Snowboard

It looks like I outgrew my current snowboard, a Burton Baron I bought two years ago. I like to carve hard while making wide turns, and the board is getting wobbly at high speed. I still do not know whether I’ll stick with a freeride board, or move back to an alpine one. Time for some serious homework…

Kyberneticka Babicka

There is only one thing better than listening to Stereolab, and that is listening to Stereolab while riding on a snowboard. The rush I get when I manage to time my turns with the beat of the groop is like nothing else. Today, the track I used was Kyberneticka Babicka. It’s Stereolab last EP released in September 2005, in anticipation to the upcoming LP to be released next week. The music seems heavily influenced by the serial melodies of Philip Glass, especially those found in The Photographer. I like it! Vivement samedi…

Portishead Remixed

I love Portishead, and I really wish this band would come up with a new album. Yet the Beth Gibbons fans among us will certainly find comfort and patience in the newly released Portishead Remixed, which received the contribution of artists such as JoolsMF and CompactRisk. I Chill from Lenlow, featuring Katie Enlow and tracks from Radiohead, is pure bliss. Many thanks to Assaf for the CD, to Sebastien for the original Dummy CD, and to Yves for having introduced me to this great band.

Maths in Movies

Every now and then, Hollywood releases a movie about a slightly deranged math genius who escapes the traps of dementia through the sheer power of love. The concept might have been introduced with Good Will Hunting, then made popular with A Beautiful Mind. Tonight, we watched the last variation on the theme, a movie called Proof staring Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins and Jake Gyllenhaal. The movie is slow at times, but is a fun-to-watch tribute to math geekiness. That being said, the best maths flick of all remains Pi. It’s an independent movie shot with a $60K budget, so don’t expect a love story…

First Solo Cross Country Flight

Today, I made my first solo cross country flight. A solo cross country is a flight made to an airport located more than 50 nautical miles from your departure point. This one was from San Carlos (KSQL) to Modesto (KMOD). Beside some light turbulence past Coyote Hills, everything went fine. I plugged my flight plan into the GPS and let the autopilot take me there, while getting flight following from NorCal Approach. It felt almost too easy. Next time, I’ll do it with dead reckoning instead, this should make it more challenging.

Disappointment

We just received the new album from Belle and Sebastien. To be fair, it’s not good, and it’s a real disappointment. Dear Catastrophe Waitress was excellent, even though I have always had a preference for the band’s earlier work, especially If You’re Feeling Sinister. With The Life Pursuit, the magic seems to be gone. We will sell the concert tickets we bought and go to Isobel Campbell’s concert at the Cafe du Nord on March 8 instead.

Crêpes

Tonight, I cooked crepes for May, Nicole and Yean. Here is my mom’s recipe:

• 250g de farine
• 2 oeufs entiers
• 250ml de lait
• 250ml d’eau
• 1 cuillère à soupe d’huile
• 1 pincée de sel

Verser la farine. Casser un oeuf. Mélanger autre un oeuf. Verser le lait petit à petit. Ajouter l’eau. Verser l’huile. Ajouter la pincée de sel. Laisser reposer. Et ne pas oublier de déguster avec un verre de cidre de pomme.

Swearing Festival

Yesterday night, May and I attended the first Swearing Festival with a group of friends at the Edinburgh Castle in San Francisco, CA. We learned exquisite insults in many languages, including American English, Brisith English, Arabic, French, German, Mandarin, Russian, and Spanish. My all time favorite is the Merovingian’s quote in Matrix Reloaded: “Nom de dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperie de connard d’enculé de ta mère.” You can’t beat that!

Mobile Blogging

This is my first post published with the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet. Using the stylus and virtual keyboard does not make for very fast typing, but the screen is nice and auto-completion works pretty well. Adding a built-in keyboard might be a good idea though.

Hustle and Flow

Tonight, we watched Hustle & Flow, which tells the story of a streetwise Menphis hustler who wants to become a rap singer. If you ever wanted to learn afro-american urban slang, here is a low-risk way to get started. Just don’t forget to turn subtitles on…

In-N-Out

The best burger chain in California certainly is In-N-Out, and it gets even better when you know that they have a secret menu you can order from. I got my fries well done today and will try the animal style burger next time. Many thanks to Tom for the tip! Yummy!

No More Eating on the Floor

Earlier this week, we received our dining table. Until now, meals were taken on the leaving room’s floor, or using the ottoman seat of my lounge chair as a table. Sitting on a real chair while eating at a real table sure beats any carpet money can buy! Now we can have some guests for dinner!

Happy Valentine’s Day

Two years ago, I proposed to May, and she said yes. We had driven all the way up to Eureka, CA, because it was the only place where I could find a hotel room available for the night. Problem was, the Travelocity booking system did not work, and we ended up having to sleep at Samoa Airport, a former military base for blimps that had been converted into one of the weirdest bed-and-breakfast places you could imagine. We had dinner at Samoa Cookhouse, the last surviving lumberjack camp style cookhouse in the West, eating a set menu while sharing a table with the locals. Not exactly my definition of a romatic setting! So I waited until we went back to the car, played a Stereolab CD, and proposed to a bemused May who could not really tell if I was joking or not. I was not. Tonight, I cooked French raclette for her, which is pretty much the only thing I can cook beside crepes. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Good Night, And Good Luck

On my flight to Arlington, VA, I got a chance to watch Good Night, And Good Luck, one of the movies produced by Participant Productions. This movie production company was founded by Jeff Skolll, eBay’s first employee, and also produced the excellent Syriana and Murderball. Good Night, And Good Luck details the real-life confrontations between legendary television journalist Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy. It’s a superb movie shot in black & white that could not have been released at a better time. Democracy needs freedom of speach, and Mr. Skoll’s work serves as a powerful reminder of this critical fact. Many thanks to my good friend Bill for the recommendation.

Cool Flying Encounters

My first solo cross-country flight is scheduled for next week. It’s one of the last steps before taking your checkride and getting your wings as a private pilot. As a practice exercise, Eliot and I flew to Tracy (KTCY) yesterday afternoon. On our way there, we crossed path with a guy flying a demilitarized jet fighter from the 50’s and a couple practicing aerobatics in two biplanes chasing each other. This is considered usual stuff on a Saturday afternoon in the Bay Area, but when you think about it for a minute, it’s actually pretty darn cool. Next week-end, I will take a couple of friends coming from France for a tour of the Bay. We’ll do our best to bring back some pictures.

LEGO

As a kid, my days were spent attending school, watching TV, and playing LEGO. There is no other toy that will foster a child’s creativity while teaching advanced mechanics principles, subtle arithmetics concepts, and real-world 3D geometry, all with a healthy dose of practical sense. As a grown up, I have played with the first a second generations LEGO MINDSTORMS, but ended being frustrated with the complex user interface. So when I read in Wired’s last issue that LEGO was coming up with a third generation called NXT, I got excited again. Just read the specs: NXT Intelligent Brick, USB & Bluetooth interfaces, 3 interactive servo motors, 4 sensors (ultrasound, sound, light and touch), intuitive programming software, and support for both PC and Mac. A LEGO hacker’s dream! May, when is my birthday again?

Volvo is not What it Used to Be

By all means, I’m a young driver. I got my first driver license in 2002, but it was for a motorcycle, not a car. I drove my first car in 2004, with May as an instructor, therefore my driving experience remains fairly limited. Nevertheless, I like to believe that I can tell a good car from a not-so-good one. For example, when my buddy Daniel—the proud owner of a Shelby Cobra 289 Roadster—and I went to last year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, we both fell in love with the very same car, the 1937 Delage D8-120 S Pourtout Aréo Coupé, the very car that won the top prize that year.

When I was a kid, the best car my brother and I could see on the way back home from school was a Volvo 740, so when I got the opportunity to rent its contemporary reincarnation, the Volvo S80, I did not think twice and booked one through the Hertz website. Unfortunately, this experience made me realize that many cars are not what they might have been anymore. If Volvo has had any glorious day in some ancient past, it’s long gone today. Through Ford’s ownership, this proud Swedish company morphed into yet-antoher-brand-drom-Detroit, and the Volvo S80 does not feel much different than its Ford Taurus cousin.

What I learned from this experience is this: if you loved a car as a kid, do yourself a favor and do not drive its modern version, for it will most likely spoil the good memories you have and should keep for as long as you can.

The World is Flat

On a flight to Washington, DC, I followed the advice of my friends Alex and Tom and read The World is Flat from Thomas L. Friedman. This brief history of the twenty-first century is a good way to better understand what’s going on in the world today. If you’re a geek like me, the first half of the book won’t teach you anything new, but the second half should capture your attention. Very good food for thoughts there.