2008 is a year for the history books, they say. Amidst economic and environmental crises, Americans elected on the message of hope and change. History complex as it is, it would take at least another generation to truly validate the Year of 2008 as a turning point for America. I have reasons to be hopeful and pessimistic at the same time.

It's less difficult to see that 2008 has already made my personal history. After six long years I left the stale, uninspiring big corporation and...

HuiNeng

Apparently, looming doom and gloom are newsworthy, but consistent doom and gloom begin to taste like a skuny beer. Flipping through the pages of the Wall Street Journal, all I see is this company laying off 5,000 employees, that company lowering revenue projection.

Except the investigation over Mr. Madoff's Ponzi scheme. It has all the elements of a paparazzi story - massive investment fraud, crumbling charitable funds, dubious romance between an SEC offical and Maffia Madoff's niece....

HuiNeng

Warning: if you are reading this at lunch time and trying to decide where to go, stop here. You may find your appetite immediately buried in Wolkanic ash. Quite possibly, you can save your dinner money for a good cause too.

It's neither Asian fusion or Asian confusion, it's a humiliation to Asian food, common sense and basic hygiene. Of all the restaurants I've been to this is quite possibly the worst ever.

A group of friends and I went there at 12:30am and was told...

HuiNeng

Don't worry, I'm not making a mockery of Leo Tolstoy. I just have a few words about wars.

I'm under the belief that one cannot truly understand the horror of war unless he lived in the losing side. History is written by victors, and victors rarely bother to depict the misery of losers.

I didn't live through a war, but my parents certainly did. My grandfather died of starvation after being driven away by the Japanese Imperial Army. At the time my father was only 7...

HuiNeng

I couldn't have come up with a drier title than this. It was fun, but probably less than I thought I deserve for the whole year. Where are you peeps when I posted an open invitation on "Heart to Heart" forum?

Kaua'i is not for single people. I knew it before I went, because I still had a bitter taste about Kona from a year ago. Princeville is possibly the worst spot on the Island - it's essentially a resort town with one shopping mall and no signs of life after 9pm. More...

HuiNeng

Since I spent a good chunk of time writing this, I might as well put myself on record for saying it.
-----------------------------------------------------------

I think it all boils down to this: the world has long acknowledged that America matters; now it's time for America to acknowledge that the world does too.

When Mr. Bush asked French President Sarkozy what he can do to help him, he replied: "improve your own image". Although not without its...

HuiNeng

A disclaimer: I haven't changed, the politics did. This may sound like an antithesis to my Zenist belief - the wind didn't move, the sail didn't move, the wiseman's heart moved. But it's not. I can say with fair certainty that I'm no wiseman, and that politics indeed is changing.

And it's not that I fail to see the merit of the iconic late President Reagan. At least he enriched someone and empowered the country to some extend. He brought America to height of its power, for better...

HuiNeng

The Dow tanked 700 points upon the House's slight signs of hesitation on the bailout bill. Whether we bail those mofos or not, we are fucked. Trillion-dollar deficit, inflation pressure, elevating commodity price, and so forth.

It's easy to blame Bush for it, or blame the Wall Street CEOs, but ultimately, the blame lies on us. We built a growth-centric system where people DEMAND bubbles. When a bubble shows even the slightest signs of deflation, or even a slow down of INFLATION, the...

HuiNeng

I've read The Game years ago, I've heard first-hand account of PUA encounters. Now I risk offending the PUA communities on AL to say this - it is really, really fucking pathetic. And Lame. Contrary to the book's claims, you are only picking up dimwits and sluts.

That's fine if you really just want to sample the variety like a flight of wines, but doesn't four sips of Charles Shaw leave a sour taste in your mouth?

Since the phrase "Pickup Artists" is already...

HuiNeng

Obviously, I have none to pop any more. I'm talking about my new Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Expert. It's not spanking new - I bought it from a local seller on Ebay as a shop demo bike.

She's a real beauty. Soft curves abound, exquisite welds, beautiful, test-bike only azure blue color with full X9 drivetrain drive train, Avid Juicy Ultimate hydraulic brakes and a Specialized Brain rear shock.

It's an arm and a leg for my budget, for sure. Is it worth it? I got up...

HuiNeng