Look ma! I’m stealing this.

I hate to admit that I like the 70’s modish look and feel of some of my parents things. Though they can’t commit to a style, aside from hideous or inappropriate, they happen to have some really cool pieces… or should I say had. Gifts that were given at her wedding shower, their wedding reception, her baby shower, and their Christmases sometimes are real gems. For the most part, I’ve taken the practical things from her; a stone mortar and pestle, a silver 5-step tiffin lunch box, a great griddle (because my hyper-etnic parents do not make pancakes), and a lovely Portuguese ceramic platter.

This latest heist is a wedding shower gift, a lovely cocktail set. Forced from its home in the china cabinet due to furniture downsizing, mom decided to prominently display it on her new granite countertops. Mom being a tea-totaller and dad being a beer man, it made me sick that such a wonderful piece would sit there going unused. An avid tippler and Oskar Schindler to outcast or abused glass/dishware, I liberated the set so it can enjoy the rest of its life in my bar.

独立

Those who are in the know and live in a community with hard core Chinese people are in for a treat on national holidays. The traditional Chinese restaurant that we frequent does serve a round-eye menu, but for the most part, their offerings are what to be expected in a Beijing style restaurant. The weekdays see white collar workers and serve dishes that suit the American palate, but on weekends… dim sum is served. Being a weekday, and knowing that the restaurant was going to be open, but were pleasantly surprised that they were serving dim sum to a rather crowded dining room filled with Chinese people.

A propos to the cheaply manufactured goods bearing the stars and stripes, sweatshop scented fireworks, and well… practically anything fabricated — I felt good eating the steamed meatballs, spicy spareribs, bbq pork rice roll, fried taro root dumpling, spicy fried squid, curried baby cuttlefish, crispy duck with sweet carrot and daikon pickle, with green beans (healthy… but fried with bits of spicy pork). Though the staff’s homeland is thousands of miles away, locked in a Communist regime, I hope that they’re happy here… enjoying the freedom of Capitalism… on a national holiday.

McCapitalism… I’m loving it (no really I am)

There’s no doubt that I love capitalism. We all live and participate in it like it or not. There are some of us who choose to be discerning about what is hyped and marketed, then make personal choices. There are others that fall into the marketing, feel exploited, then bitch about being a victim. I believe in corporate governance and ethical business practices but that doesn’t mean anything if the consumer’s are just going to feel abused, come back for more, increase demand, then complain about it.

I realize the McVideoGame is meant to show rainforest depletion, animal abuse, poor working conditions, and childhood obesity. The player controls the agri-business, the McDonald’s store front, and media marketing. Unfortunately this simulation/game does not point out that the gluttonous public flooding into the fictive store front is fueling this destructive cycle. Do they realize that the throngs of people in line are what is causing the actions of the company?

Go play the game, and get back to me. If you’re like me, you may just go out and get a catandgirl.com “Capitalists Do It Ruthlessly” t-shirt and wear it without irony. If this game bolsters your hatred for McDonald’s, why don’t you just try and influence your friends and family to pass up the golden arches. It would be much more effective than playing a silly video game

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