Dotting of the Dragon's Eyes (Part 1)
Dotting of the Dragon's Eyes (Part 2)
Dragonboat Ducks
John's Liu's Team
Con Ed's Team
Please check out the links above for additional comments.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Dragonboat Videos
The Canon G10 I use to shoot all of these blog photos doesn't shoot great video, but it's convenient and more than good enough for YouTube uploads. Here are some from the Dragonboat Festival:
Dotting of the Dragon's Eyes (Part 1)
Dotting of the Dragon's Eyes (Part 2)
Dragonboat Ducks
John's Liu's Team
Con Ed's Team
Please check out the links above for additional comments.
Dotting of the Dragon's Eyes (Part 1)
Dotting of the Dragon's Eyes (Part 2)
Dragonboat Ducks
John's Liu's Team
Con Ed's Team
Please check out the links above for additional comments.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
DVDeals 8/9 - 8/15
There's nothing intersting set for DVD Tuesday this week, but Best Buy has some Blu-ray titles on sale.
- Terminator 2 (Blu-ray) for $12.99
- Casino (Blu-ray) for $12.99
- Swordfish (Blu-ray) for $12.99
- Collateral Damage (Blu-ray) for $12.99
- Batman Begins (Blu-ray) for $14.99
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Blu-ray) for $14.99
- The Rock (Blu-ray) for $14.99
- Underworld: Evolution (Blu-ray) for $14.99
These should all look great at 1080p, with the exceptions of Casino and Collateral Damage. Casino just isn't that type of movie with special effects that would look good at high resolution. Collateral Damage has the action and explosions, but is probably too old to remaster. I already own Batman and it looks great on Blu-ray. $14.99 is a steal.
- Terminator 2 (Blu-ray) for $12.99
- Casino (Blu-ray) for $12.99
- Swordfish (Blu-ray) for $12.99
- Collateral Damage (Blu-ray) for $12.99
- Batman Begins (Blu-ray) for $14.99
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Blu-ray) for $14.99
- The Rock (Blu-ray) for $14.99
- Underworld: Evolution (Blu-ray) for $14.99
These should all look great at 1080p, with the exceptions of Casino and Collateral Damage. Casino just isn't that type of movie with special effects that would look good at high resolution. Collateral Damage has the action and explosions, but is probably too old to remaster. I already own Batman and it looks great on Blu-ray. $14.99 is a steal.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Dinner @ the Yeo's
I paced myself just right, eating only dumplings at the Dragon Boat Festival for lunch since I knew we would be having a home-cooked dinner at the Yeo's. I always end up eating a lot there, so I made sure both breakfast and lunch were light. I met up with Auntie Janice at about 1:30pm. We walked around and watched a couple more races before heading back to Main St. We then went to my parents' house to rest for a little bit before dinner. As usual, my dad and I had the Yankees game on. It's the ever important series against the Red Sox this weekend. We headed out at 5:45... I went straight to the Yeo's while the rest went to pick up Emily at Main St.
The sky was starting to get pretty cloudy and it looked as if we were going to get a surprise storm, but things held up pretty well. When we arrived, Uncle Bock was in the backyard with chips and dip set up. So we had some nice scenery and a cool breeze to start things out.
Click here to continue reading in the Picasa album.
Dragonboat 2009
I followed almost the same routine this year for the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival, arriving in the morning so I could explore by myself and get enough pictures for a complete overview of the event. This time, the weather was perfect... a sunny day and not that hot.
This event has been growing in popularity. It's gotten more crowded each year and it was apparent that the MTA wasn't prepared for the volume. The wait for the bus was a lot longer than before and the lake area was packed. I first walked through the team tent area, taking pictures of some of the logos, but my first stop was the festival area. I did the usual routine of getting dumplings from Chef One and then checked out all of the display tents to see if there was anything new. I didn't get on any of the freebie lines because all of the prizes weren't worth the wait time. I then went over to the race area to shoot some videos (coming soon!) of a couple races.
This event has been growing in popularity. It's gotten more crowded each year and it was apparent that the MTA wasn't prepared for the volume. The wait for the bus was a lot longer than before and the lake area was packed. I first walked through the team tent area, taking pictures of some of the logos, but my first stop was the festival area. I did the usual routine of getting dumplings from Chef One and then checked out all of the display tents to see if there was anything new. I didn't get on any of the freebie lines because all of the prizes weren't worth the wait time. I then went over to the race area to shoot some videos (coming soon!) of a couple races.
Friday, August 7, 2009
East Buffet
Location: 42-07 Main St., Flushing, NY 11355
Cuisine: Chinese, Buffet
Phone: (718) 353-6333
Website: www.eastbuffet.us
Prices: about $9/person (lunch); about $15/person (dinner)
Credit Cards: All major
Food:
American: 3
Chinese: 7
Japanese: 4
Italian: 2
Desserts: 4
Drinks: 0
Service: 6
Value: 9
Environment: 8
Frequency: Common
This is the start of another eventful weekend. I was originally going to take Monday off of this week, but heard Auntie Linda & Uncle Johnny were visiting for a little while before their trip to Northern Europe. So I switched it to Friday. We ended up going to East Buffet for lunch with a couple of other family friends.
I'm also updating my review of East a little since they've been affected by the recession. Recently, they lowered their prices significantly. It's now $7.50 for lunch on a weekday. The weekend is now $15. That says to me that they're not getting the full houses they used to have, which is either the recession or the growing competition with places offering cheap dim sum deals for lunch.
The food rating is almost the same. I just saw a bit more Italian than before. The service is a little worse. We had to ask several times to get out tea pot refilled. The table wasn't ready when they were seating us. The waiters just seemed inexperienced and weren't attentive at all. This was also probably a result of the recession... switched the more experienced staff with people willing to work for less. This all seems like a step down, but it's really outweighed by the lower price.
I thought $7.50 for a buffet was a great price mainly because I didn't feel the need to stuff myself to get my money's worth... which was much healthier!
Cuisine: Chinese, Buffet
Phone: (718) 353-6333
Website: www.eastbuffet.us
Prices: about $9/person (lunch); about $15/person (dinner)
Credit Cards: All major
Food:
American: 3
Chinese: 7
Japanese: 4
Italian: 2
Desserts: 4
Drinks: 0
Service: 6
Value: 9
Environment: 8
Frequency: Common
This is the start of another eventful weekend. I was originally going to take Monday off of this week, but heard Auntie Linda & Uncle Johnny were visiting for a little while before their trip to Northern Europe. So I switched it to Friday. We ended up going to East Buffet for lunch with a couple of other family friends.
I'm also updating my review of East a little since they've been affected by the recession. Recently, they lowered their prices significantly. It's now $7.50 for lunch on a weekday. The weekend is now $15. That says to me that they're not getting the full houses they used to have, which is either the recession or the growing competition with places offering cheap dim sum deals for lunch.
The food rating is almost the same. I just saw a bit more Italian than before. The service is a little worse. We had to ask several times to get out tea pot refilled. The table wasn't ready when they were seating us. The waiters just seemed inexperienced and weren't attentive at all. This was also probably a result of the recession... switched the more experienced staff with people willing to work for less. This all seems like a step down, but it's really outweighed by the lower price.
I thought $7.50 for a buffet was a great price mainly because I didn't feel the need to stuff myself to get my money's worth... which was much healthier!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Wesley's 2nd Birthday
On the only nice day of the week, we headed out to Syosset for Wesley's 2nd Birthday at Cindy & Wil's house. There was a ton of traffic since everyone was headed to the beach to take advantage of the sunny day while they could. We arrived a little late, but were among the first of the guests. Wesley was still napping, which worked out well because we had lunch first and then plenty of time to play around with him after he got up.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Magic Umbrella
We've been getting a lot of thunderstorms over the past week or so. Some of them have lasted only a few minutes, letting a little bit of sun out before the next one poured it on. The forecast for today was all thunderstorms and I actually spent a good deal of time outside, yet I never had to open my umbrella once! I went for a walk during lunch to grab an updated Satay (Malaysian restaurant near my office) menu during lunch. At the end of the day, I picked up dinner from there. The trip to Andrew & Joanne's apartment required an outdoor transfer from the PATH to the A train at West 4th. Then there was the walk to Seaman Ave. Then there was the trip home where I got off at Columbus Circle for a 7-street walk home.
For details of our get together, please visit the album below. I continued that story on the photo comments in Picasa.
It poured heavily (2-3 different storms) right after I got to Satay to get dinner. After my order was ready, the sun shining bright. It poured on again right after I made it into Andrew & Joanne's. I've been pretty lucky dodging the rain for the past month. Whenever I have my umbrella with me, I never get a chance to use it. This dates all the way back to the cruise in June!
For details of our get together, please visit the album below. I continued that story on the photo comments in Picasa.
It poured heavily (2-3 different storms) right after I got to Satay to get dinner. After my order was ready, the sun shining bright. It poured on again right after I made it into Andrew & Joanne's. I've been pretty lucky dodging the rain for the past month. Whenever I have my umbrella with me, I never get a chance to use it. This dates all the way back to the cruise in June!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
DVDeals 7/26 - 8/1
DVD Tuesday
Finally... there are some good DVD releases this week. I'll start with what I call the corrected sequel, Fast & Furious. Amazon has the best prices if you can qualify for free shipping with additional items or an Amazon Prime account. The regular edition is $14.99, 2-disc special edition is $22.99 and Blu-ray is $21.49. If you can't get the free shipping, Best Buy wins the price war... same prices, except the Blu-ray is $24.99. Green Lantern: First Light also comes out on Tuesday, redefining the history of Hal Jordan in a modern animated movie. Again, if you can get the free shipping, Amazon is the store for you... $12.99 for standard, $16.99 for 2-disc and $19.99 for Blu-ray. If not, Target has the best brick-and-mortar prices... $12.99 for standard, $16.99 for 2-disc and $ 22.99 for Blu-ray.
Best Buy Deals
- Fast & Furious 1-3 for $4.99 each
- Fast & Furious 1-3 (Blu-ray)... buy 2 for $35
- Wanted for $12.99
- Jumper for $6.99
- Hitman for $6.99
Target Deals
- Spider Man 3 for $10
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End for $10
- Bucket List for $10
- Bank Job for $10
Finally... there are some good DVD releases this week. I'll start with what I call the corrected sequel, Fast & Furious. Amazon has the best prices if you can qualify for free shipping with additional items or an Amazon Prime account. The regular edition is $14.99, 2-disc special edition is $22.99 and Blu-ray is $21.49. If you can't get the free shipping, Best Buy wins the price war... same prices, except the Blu-ray is $24.99. Green Lantern: First Light also comes out on Tuesday, redefining the history of Hal Jordan in a modern animated movie. Again, if you can get the free shipping, Amazon is the store for you... $12.99 for standard, $16.99 for 2-disc and $19.99 for Blu-ray. If not, Target has the best brick-and-mortar prices... $12.99 for standard, $16.99 for 2-disc and $ 22.99 for Blu-ray.
Best Buy Deals- Fast & Furious 1-3 for $4.99 each
- Fast & Furious 1-3 (Blu-ray)... buy 2 for $35
- Wanted for $12.99
- Jumper for $6.99
- Hitman for $6.99
Target Deals
- Spider Man 3 for $10
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End for $10
- Bucket List for $10
- Bank Job for $10
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Lazzara's Pizza
Location: 221 W. 38th St., New York, NY
Cuisine: Italian
Hours: SUN-THU (12pm-12am); FRI-SAT (12pm-4am)
Phone: (212) 944-7792
Website: www.lazzaraspizza.com
Prices: $12/person
Credit Cards: All major
Food: 8
Service: 8
Value: 7
Environment: 7
Frequency: Unique
Lazzara's Pizza is a hole in the wall amidst a bunch of smoke stained factories in the Garmnet District. It was a good find by Cindy who used to work in the area. One would have to be very familiar with the area to know the restaurant. It's not very noticeable at the corner of 38th St. & 7th Avenue. It doesn't have a bright sign or exterior. Like The Holy Basil, it just looks like a walk-up apartment unit. We had a little cousins' get-together there to celebrate Evelyn's belated Birthday. It was a good central location for everyone to meet after work.
Since they're known for their pizza, we ordered 3 to share + one bowl of pasta. For details on each food item, visit the Picasa album.
The service was pretty good. They got us seated and were OK with waiting for the whole party to arrive. The value was not bad. It's about normal to spend $12-15 for an Italian dinner. I just thought the pizzas were a little on the small side. It's about $12-16 per pie and each one is sliced Sicilian style into 6 pieces.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Ifore's Last Day
Auntie Remy & Ifore's last day, like Auntie Aida & Edwin's was on a Monday... same schedule bus for EVA Air left Flushing for Newark at 6:30pm for an 11:30pm flight. So we spent the day in Flushing on an early meal schedule. Auntie Anita took us out for dim sum at Gala Manor at 11am. Uncle Henry and family also joined us.
After that, Auntie Remy & Ifore did some repacking as some of their check-ins were over the 50 lb limit. It's pretty strict these days as it used to be a generous 70 lbs. We still had some time left, so Ifore & I went out for a walk. We decided to check out Queens Crossing. I was already familiar with the ground level stores, but had never been upstairs myself. The 1st floor is more of the same with high-end clothing stores, but the food court was surprisingly nice & affordable. I'll certainly make it a new hangout place to take guests. I wish we found it earlier!
We then went out for a super early dinner at Nan Shian Dumpling House at 4:15pm because there aren't many dining options at Newark airport. Then we headed off to Fay Da Bakery, the EVA Air waiting area.
After that, Auntie Remy & Ifore did some repacking as some of their check-ins were over the 50 lb limit. It's pretty strict these days as it used to be a generous 70 lbs. We still had some time left, so Ifore & I went out for a walk. We decided to check out Queens Crossing. I was already familiar with the ground level stores, but had never been upstairs myself. The 1st floor is more of the same with high-end clothing stores, but the food court was surprisingly nice & affordable. I'll certainly make it a new hangout place to take guests. I wish we found it earlier!
We then went out for a super early dinner at Nan Shian Dumpling House at 4:15pm because there aren't many dining options at Newark airport. Then we headed off to Fay Da Bakery, the EVA Air waiting area.
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