Author Archives: Devon

PNQs – Finished

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I just finished my PNQ – Personal Narrative Questions for my application for the US State Department. It was quite interesting trying to articulate leadership and management. I have not necessarily aschewed these opportunities but I do not go out of my way to find them either. I should hear the results back sometime in mid-January. If I pass this round, then I continue on to perhaps the most difficult part, the Oral Interview. I am optomistic but realistic at the same time. There are a great many accomplished people vying for only a few jobs. Wish me luck!

Now that is out of the way, I have several projects that I really need to finish up. I plan on rearranging my room tomorrow as well as trying to finish several long overdue papers. They will take more than a day, of course. This is, however, the first step to completing my thesis. I also plan to listen to a lecture that my friend Kathy sent to me. I have put it off long enough as well. I also need to really start looking for a new job so that I can pay off some bills. In addition, this Friday I must once again go to my therapist for my once every six weeks checkup. She will no doubt ask me about all of this so I really should get some of it done.

Caribbean Jamaican & Seafood Restaurant – Biloxi, MS

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I love trying new cuisuine as anyone who knows me could well attest. So, several months ago during a visit to my brother in Biloxi, I heard about a great Caribbean restaurant from my sister-in-law, DeAnne. Since I have never tasted food from this part of the world, I thought I would give it a go. It turned out to be a great decision.

When you enter the restaurant it does not seem like much. A couple of tables and two or three booths. We were greeted by Raymond, who I think ownes the place. He was one of the friendliest waiters I have had in a long time. I decided on the chicken curry with a side of white rice and jalapeno hush puppies. Jason, my brother, ordered the jerk chicken with a side of french fries and hush puppies. DeAnne wanted jerk pork with a salad. Her second side was something called Festival, which Raymond described as a beignet without the powdered sugar. Each of these dishes were about $8.50. The portions were quite big allowing me to sample quite a bit from each of these dishes.

The jerk chicken was very good but I have to say that the pork was better. It had the flavor that you get eating beef jerky but as a sauce. It sounds unusual but I really loved it, especially in the pork as it had a little extra kick of something. The Festival was quite good, but my hands down favorite was the hush puppies. Reminded me of my childhood although my maman never included jalapenos in hers. The curry chicken that I had was fantastic. It had the chicken meat chopped up with the bones, so it really reminded me of my years in China. I spit out a lot of bones over there. :-) The anticipation and arrival of the food was so great that I forgot to take photos of the food so you will just have to accept my word on it.

If you get to Biloxi, do not forego a taste of the islands in this little joint. Excellent food and excellent atmosphere made for a great dining experience. It is located just outside the gates of Keesler AFB on Pass Rd. It is very close to a previously mentioned place, R&C Korean Restaurant. My brother observantly pointed out that Biloxi, despite its size, has some great little restaurants due to the Air Force Base. Very true and something that makes my trips there all the more enjoyable.

Veteran’s Day

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Today is Veteran’s Day, when America salutes those who put on the uniform, pick up the rifle, fly the planes, sail the ships, and so much more. In decades past when conscription was ongoing, everyone was touched in some way by the military. Today, a small minority of our fellow citizens defend the whole. They do what we either cannot or will not. In ages past or the present, I today, as in all days, honor those who stand upon the wall. Paraphrasing George Orwell’s quote, “I sleep peaceably in my bed at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on my behalf.”

It is only fitting that I include the poem of Charles Michael Province. Its truth does not fade with time nor in intensity.

It is the Soldier

It is the Soldier, not the minister
Who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the Soldier, not the poet
Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer
Who has given us freedom to protest.

It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the Soldier, not the politician
Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

*This picture is of my father before he left for Vietnam. Of my immediate family members, I would like to honor today my father (US Army) and my eldest brother, John (US Navy). Thank you.

The Man from Nowhere (???)

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As you may know from reading this blog, I am a fan of Korean food. In addition, I love Korean movies – the romantic ones, the comedies, the dramas, and especially the gangster ones. Korean gangsters, from this film at least, deserve a special little corner of hell reserved for pedophiles, mass murders and the generally more common asshat. They are not just bad, they are real scum. I just got through watching the Man from Nowhere, a film that resembled Léon very much. Except they left the building. A man scarred from his past befriends a young girl. Her idiot, junkie mother steals a great deal of heroin from two really bad brothers. They use little kids as a delivery system for their drug empire and when they are of no more use, harvest their organs for blackmarket donors. Like I said, special place in hell.

Unforunately, when they kidnap the girl and her mother as payback, they did not comprehend the revenge they brought upon themselves. The man, played by Won Bin, turns out to be your typical dark-knight badass. The actress who plays the little girl, Kim Sae-ron, was beyond great and was only 10 or 11 at the time. She very much deserves her Best New Actress award from the Korean Film Awards. This was a great film and I recommend it. I especially liked it because it did not have the typical Korean movie ending that I had come to know and dread. I will not spell it out so as to ruin the film for you.

Game of the Year – LSU 9, Alabama 6

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Among the ancient Aztecs of what is now Mexico there was a belief that if the god Huitzilopochtli was not given strength through human sacrifice, the world would end as the god no longer had the power to hold back the sun. As each human was slaughtered, Huitzilopochtli was satisfied and all the world settled in its proper order. Today, my world was once more set in its proper order by the defeat of the Alabama Crimson Tide by my beloved LSU Tigers, 9-0. For another year, I was able to look upon the anguished faces of my enemies and taste the sweet flavor of their defeat. I rejoiced! Satan…I mean, Saban, was sent back to Hell…I mean, his locker room for another year to console his team, surrounded no doubt by downcast eyes and the occasional sniffle. Let them tears roll.

The game itself was too exciting for me. My blood pressure shot up through the roof and at one point thought I might have a heart attack. The LSU defensive plays by Mo Claiborne and Eric Reid were able to stop the drives of Alabama. What the game really settled on was field goals. Come on, Saban. You have the best defense in the country and a good offense, yet you cannot find a man to kick the damn ball. Glorious! Four missed field goals (one in OT) and a blocked one do not a National Championship team make. The gameball goes to Wing and Alleman for their golden feet.

Seriously, Alabama has a great team. If they had fixed their special teams issues, I would have been the one crying tonight. Oh well, them’s the brakes.

13 Assassins (??????)

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*Spoilers* I must admit that I am not an admirer of the works of Takashi Miike. His movies to me are shallow expressions of violence and sexuality seemingly existing only for its shock value. His films usually leave me cold. When I heard that he was going to do a chanbara film, I was filled with trepidation. I love chanbara – from Akira Kurosawa to Zatoichi to the works of Yoji Yamada. Because of this, I put off watching the film until last night. My final opinion was one of admiration. I feel that this work was a great expression of the duality of samurai honor in a modern perspective.

The duality exists between the two main samurai, Hanbei Kitou and Shinzaemon Shimada. Hanbei serves an evil man, Lord Naritsugu Matsudaira, who is the half-brother of the Shogun. The Lord uses Hanbei’s honor to control him all the while taunting him. In between this, he also performs such sadistic tasks as using a whole family for target practice, raping a women and then killing her husband, etc. We get the point – he needs to die, especially as he is about to join the Shogunate council leading the nation. One of the other members of the council commissions Shinzaemon to kill Naritsugu.

Shinzaemon provides an interesting contrast to Hanbei. He performs his duty in order to be obedient but he cannot hide the excitement that this job brings. There has been a long period of peace and samurai have been regulated to the mere caricatures that Naritsugu ridicules. He joins with 11 other “true” samurai for this task, picking up a 13th ruffian on the journey. Each of these men, it seems, live at the margins of Shogunate enforced peace – gamblers, playboys, hired swords, etc. All of them are looking for a way to re-enbue their lives with with real purpose and regain true samurai status. Shinzaemon’s nephew, Shinrokuro, was acted by Takayuki Yamada. I enjoyed his work in another one of the few Takashi Miike movies that I can stand, Crows Zero.

All of this reaches up to the final combat scene, which employs a great deal of violence. Interesting enough, Miike seems to eschew the blood sprays found in so many other samurai films. There is plenty of killing though, as 13 men go up against 200. The final scene leaves the evil lord crawling in the mud, finally coming to an understanding of the reality of both pain and death. Like I said, it was a great movie.

Aints vs. the Rams

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Football on Sunday was a study in what the hell happened. The Saints played like a decent team, but not the one that we had come to expect. The Rams played like the Saints usually do. Brees had 30 completions for 44 attempts. They had possession of the ball almost as long as St. Louis. Total yards were about 30 less than the Rams. Offensively, they had 2 interceptions and the most difficulty running the ball that I had seen this year. The Rams’ back-up quarterback ate up our defense and so did Jackson, their running back.

Why the loss? I tend to put the blame on Sean Peyton having to coach from the booth. Intellectually, I know this is not the real fault as other coaches have done well and this is a well-oiled machine. The game versus the Colts is a witness to that. Emotionally, I feel that they expended too much energy on the Colts and had nothing left over. A zero sum game as it were.  My roommate feels that it was a secret agreement between Tom Benson and the Rams’ owner to give it to the Rams so that the Cardinals are not the only winning team in the Gateway to the West. Maybe, maybe not. I usually don’t tend towards conspiracy theories, but maybe Brees or some player inadvertently insulted a Voodoo Queen before game day. Whatever happened just needs to be fixed.

As a friend noted on Facebook, the Aints showed up but left the S behind.

This Last Week in Review

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Oh, last week….what a week it was. LSU and the Saints dominated their opposites. First, let’s begin with LSU. They destroyed Auburn. 393 total yards to Auburn’s 248. Defense was magical. Claiborne and Brookes, Mathieu’s replacement, stepped up and definitely met expectations. This shows that even without the Honey Badger and Ware, we have depth on both sides of the ball. Both Lee and Jefferson each threw a beautiful TD pass to Randle. It seemed like everyone on the team got a chance to rush the ball. Four ball carriers, even without our starter. That’s right, I said 4. A couple of hits on special teams will still be felt three generations later, I’m sure. LSU ended the game 45 against 10 for Auburn, the biggest spread in the history of our many meetings. I carried the glow from this game through half the week. The chant at the end said it all – We want BAMA! Another week until the game of the year – #1 LSU vs #2 Alabama.

Then, on Sunday, I watched the decimation of one of the finest teams of the last decade or so by my beloved Black & Gold. Colts were handed a good ole fashioned beating – Saints 62, Ind. 7. All I can really say is wow. To have your entire season go to crap because of one player on injured reserve. Granted, Manning is a spectacular QB, maybe even one of the greatest. But still, somebody needs to step up. New Orleans played with fire in their bellies and looked unbelievable. Black & Gold Superbowl, baby.

OK, away from sports. I also subbed Monday, Tuesday, and the day that comes after Tuesday at the aforementioned high school where I was quite critical of some of the students. I got to know some of the students a little better and have come to revise my previous opinion. I decided that I would let them hold a mop to clean the floor. Maybe. Despite them acting like bonobos on crack, they are not all bad. Except one kid. He is just annoying. How annoying? I considered homicide, profanity, and momentarily even strong drink (and I don’t mean Sprite). He annoys the other teachers, the other students, no doubt the janitors and lunch ladies, etc. What’s sad is that he doesn’t even realize it, probably. I will not break his heart – high school is difficult enough. The other kids were all most enough to make up for this one blip.

On to some great news – I found out that I passed the Foreign Officers Service Test. I passed the written part and skimmed through barely on the essay. When I say barely, I mean that I think I left a little flesh behind. I had a 6 out of possible 12. The Lord was surely watching out for me. Thank you. The next step is 6 biographical essays due on November 16th. If I pass that (I will find out in late Jan.), then the next step is the Oral Interview. I can but continue on, faithful.

Tonight, I had a really good discussion with my roommate on our jobs and futures. We are in the same boat…well, same trailer literally and same boat proverbially. Both of us do not make enough to cover beyond our basic expenditures. We needed to take a long, hard look at our paths and make some decisions. It was a good first step.

Presidential Endorsement

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I have decided to finally endorse a candidate for President of the United States of America. I initially supported one candidate because of his religious affiliation, but decided against him for several reasons. The only Mormon presidential candidate that would ever get my initial endorsement would be Yeah Samake, who is running for President of Mali. His website is here. Both Romney and Huntsman have several weaknesses that I feel limit them in gaining my endorsement. I feel that Romney has the perception of flip-flopping and the whole Massachusetts medicare problem. I realize the conditions in which he signed the bill and his position in a very left-leaning state. Huntsman is what a Democrat’s dream of what a Republican candidate should be, so that horse never even left the gate.

I realize that people can change as I have certainly done so in my life. I think that Romney certainly has changed as he sees where the country is headed and from where his support stems. I do not necessarily see this as the biggest drawback. He would make an admirable Vice President or even a President if he wins the Republican nomination. I will certainly vote for him in order to expunge the current malignancy occupying the White House. Despite this, I feel that I should back Herman Cain as our next President.

Cain addresses in perhaps the most simplest terms what is currently wrong with our country. It stems from loopholes, regulations, and no confidence in the system. The revamping of the tax code and its simplification is only the first step. We must start to create a business friendly environment so that we can recapture the success that we previously held. It should be easier to start and maintain a business in this country than it currently is and attacking the problem of over-taxation, over-regulation, and knee jerk loyalty to labor will in some ways solve this. Do I feel that Romney can do this? Yes and have no doubt that these are his plans. The American people, however, can be some of the stupidest in the world – just look at the adoring masses in our last presidential voting cycle. We need someone that will make it easy for the sheep to follow the shepherd.

Now, you may be asking yourself why my opinion on this matter may be of any import. My only response is that you are on my blog, reading this post.

LSU vs Tenn., Saints vs. Bucs

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The games this week turned out to be very interesting – both good and bad. LSU once again proved that it is dominating force in the SEC. The offense looked really good and the defense played outstanding as usual. I especially liked beating Tennessee because of last year’s debacle where we almost lost the game, but were saved by a penalty against the Volunteers for having 12 men on the field. This year, there was none of that and LSU put them down with a 38-11 victory. Next weekend is Auburn.

Also, on Sunday the BSC poll came out with LSU as No. 1. A lot of people are saying that Alabama is the better team and rightfully deserves the spot. I don’t know about that, but Nov. 5 were certainly decide the issue. Since I really dislike Alabama, I will continuely hope for a victory so that I can tell Tide fans to stick it. Geaux Tigers!

The Saints played poorly from what I heard. As usual, they had to come back from losing but proved unable in the concluding quarter to get the win. I was not feeling so hot after church, so I had to go to sleep instead of watching. Much better now, thank you. I did hear about and later watch the video of Graham accidently hitting Coach Peyton. He is down with a torn ligament and maybe a fracture. Best wishes to him on a full recovery.

Today, for some other news, I heard that Tyrone Mathieu, Spencer Ware, and Therold Simon were suspended for at least one game – the Auburn game. It was supposedly for some time of drug issue. I don’t have the full story yet, so I will not assume either guilt or innocence. Coach Miles is usual articulate self here. All I can say is #$%@&#@%#@$%! That out of the way, I hope that it is nothing too serious that would keep them out of the Alabama game. If it is, then they should be thrown off the team. It would hurt to lose two of our biggest play makers, but the rules must be followed. Especially on the heels of the Jefferson issue earlier in the season.