Bushman’s Picks, April 20, 2008

We’ve been so busy that there hasn’t been time for Bushman’s Picks lately – our apologies. So, let’s get back into the swing of things!

Here’s what I’ve been reading:

• Michael Turton has a nice article about Tainan ^[1], where he spends several days a week in pursuit of his studies. This time he was able to take his son along. Sounds like a really nice time!

• Andres is out of Taiwan on business. When he gets back I’m sure he’ll regale us with tales of what happened to him (I won’t steal his thunder here, but trust me you’ll want to read about it). In the meantime, you can read his comments about Chile ^[2] and Mexico ^[3].

• Our local culinary expert and critic, Prince Roy, brings us another review of a Taipei eatery – this time it’s Eddy Burrito. As PR says “One thing that has been sorely missing from the Taipei culinary scene is decent Mexican food.” Yeah, I’ve noticed that about Taiwan in general. You should read the review yourself ^[4]. I like it when Roy is happy! I’d like to check that place out too. Thanks for the info, PR!

• Brunty has a short but sweet series called A Trip To an Isaan Village ^[5]. This is a nice relaxing series that really made me miss Thailand. The village is near Laos on the Mekong River. I recommend that you read the first article and then follow along the subsequent articles as he shows why he loves the Isaan region so much. We love Isaan too.

• Hanzi Smatter introduces us to Mr. Sweet & Sour Pork ^[6]. When will they ever learn???

• David Reid went on his second research trip to Smangus. The article features beautiful photographs that make you feel like you are right there with David. Smangus is an interesting case that David has researched for some time. We suggest that you also read Smangus and the tree stump ^[7] (the case that started it all) and Journey to Smangus ^[8]. David also has a Smangus photo set on flickr.com ^[9].

• In case you didn’t know, Todd moved from Taipei down to Nantou. Now, for those of us who have been to Nantou, it’s a bit off the beaten track and yes, people will come running to spy your foreign face, and then laugh out loud right in front of you. Ah, but I digress. Todd found some foreign food in Nantou and he duly reported on it ^[10]. The unanswered question is “Did they laugh at you too, Todd?” WARNING: Fantastic Food Photos! Oh, sorry, maybe I should have mentioned that sooner?

• We are all enjoying Carrie’s new hosted blog! Carrie isn’t feeling so well these days so be sure to drop her a line and let her know you miss her. She’s got a great article you should read. Wedding Countdown: Eight Months to Go ^[11] allows us all to share the excitement of the impending doom event! Hahaha! (Carrie you know me – I just had to throw that in!) Carrie and John also went to the Yangmingshan Calla Lilly Festival ^[12] (which I’ve never heard of before). Looks like a nice way to spend the afternoon. Yes, of course there are nice photos! Duh!

• This week, Problogger reports that Alexa has overhauled their ranking system ^[13]. If ranks are your thing, this is a must read.

• Asus – my favorite computer company, has done it again. They’ve announced a new notebook with full HD (16:10) and Blu-ray support! ^[14] Wow! Asus is the company that other computer manufacturers love to hate!

• Vern presents his Top 5 WTF’s about Thailand ^[15]. Of course I had to leave a comment!

• Craig covered the recent Mazu Festival. He’s written several articles beginning with this one ^[16]. Not only is the photography stunning, the articles are very informative. This is an important local religious festival and this series of articles is a must read for anyone interested in local history and customs.

• There’s a blog I’ve been reading for quite some time and I have it on RSS feed. It seems to be a blog meant to keep family members informed of goings-on but I like it because they feature geocaching and outdoor articles. This week though, an article appeared that reminded me of some of the things I’ve done in the past with cars ^[17]. Hey, people love stuff about chicks with cool cars, but the article is in fact, very well written with a ton of photos. We hope that eventually they can get the TR-4A fully restored. Those dual carbs are a pain in the neck though. My friend Jimmy C. had a MG Midget that burned up a full tank of gas at idle just tuning up those dual carbs. Yesterday, Chris sent me an email response to my comment asking how things were going. Here it is in part: “I got the new oil plug in, new oil filter was already in. Started her up and LEAK! I mean oil was pouring out of that filter all over my garage floor. So pulled it out, tried 2 different gaskets (with me under the car and my buddy reaching in from top). Success there at least. Then we noticed one of the old hoses (not sure how I missed that before) on the gas line was rotted and dripping. So fixing that was a fiasco because despite the car being jacked from the front, the fuel was pouring out. 3 hands didn’t fit down there too well, but we got it under control.” Keep in mind that it’s all worth it when you drive one of those classic British sports cars down the road. So, why don’t you drop by their blog and give them some all some encouragement!

• IslaFormosa has an article on a topic that I’ve talked about before. On Subtitles and Dubbing ^[18] takes a funny look at the practice and it’s acceptance – or not.

• Fili has a fascinating series of articles on his recent trip to India. So far he’s released 16 days worth of articles and everyone one of them held me captivated. I’ve learned so much about India from these articles that I look forward to visiting India, hopefully later this year. Be sure you start with the first article ^[19] and read forward.

• Flickr.com now features video uploads. They are limited in filesize and also length (90 seconds). There is a huge debate about it, and virtually the second it was announced, many in the Flickr community began protesting about it (don’t people have anything better to do?). Poagao has an excellent article about the topic ^[20]. Personally I like Flickr video because there aren’t any visible ads on the video, and the audio is in stereo ^[21]. I don’t think the argument that Flickr will “turn into Youtube” is a valid one.

• For those of you who like the outdoors, Stephen has an article for you! He says: “For a country with a population density of over 600 people per sq km it seems implausible that you can hike 100kms over 7 days and only meet a few dozen. But that is the hidden secret of the Yushan national park and the Japanese era central cross island walk trail.” Check out Batongguan Hiking ^[22]. Killer photographs too!

• Not-for-the-sensitive, but nevertheless true and very funny, this article brings attention to possible misunderstandings of innocuous phrases in Chinese. I’ve had similar situations happen to me before, and quite possibly I’m giving away the punch line in an upcoming Stories of My Past article, but I just had to mention this one: Chinese People And The “N” Word ^[23]. It’s not what you think!

Deceased

• Charlton Heston: The man who joined the Civil Rights movement before it became fashionable in Hollywood.

• John Wheeler: Physicist, he was involved in early theoretical work that led to the development of the atomic bomb, he coined the term “black hole.”