20 Questions to a Better Personality

Posted by a number of friends already, most without the URL:

http://hokev.brinkster.net/quiz/default.asp?quiz=Better+Personality&page=1

"You are a WRDL--Wacky Rational Destructive Leader. This makes you an enemy of the state. You are charismatic and winning and a very dangerous enemy. You favor justice over compassion, and would almost rather see your opponent fail than you succeed.

You impact the lives of those around you more than any other personality. People remember your name and respect you. You are a tremendous amount of fun to be around and astonishing to watch. You are generally abstinent in your habits, and you like things tidy and ordered.

When picking teams, it is smartest for others to pick yours."

That clique finder choked on my friends list...

( ...and gave two different answers on two different runs. Odd. )

Yet another voice for reform of marijuana laws.

"Conservatives pride themselves on resisting change, which is as it should be. But intelligent deference to tradition and stability can evolve into intellectual sloth and moral fanaticism, as when conservatives simply decline to look up from dogma because the effort to raise their heads and reconsider is too great. The laws aren't exactly indefensible, because practically nothing is, and the thunderers who tell us to stay the course can always find one man or woman who, having taken marijuana, moved on to severe mental disorder. But that argument, to quote myself, is on the order of saying that every rapist began by masturbating. General rules based on individual victims are unwise. And although there is a perfectly respectable case against using marijuana, the penalties imposed on those who reject that case, or who give way to weakness of resolution, are very difficult to defend. If all our laws were paradigmatic, imagine what we would do to anyone caught lighting a cigarette, or drinking a beer. Or — exulting in life in the paradigm — committing adultery. Send them all to Guantanamo?"

http://www.nationalreview.com/buckley/buckley200406291207.asp

Faan Asian Fusion

bloodstones asked if I wanted to go down to New York and wander around yesterday, on her day off. After a pleasant day's walk around Lower Manhattan, and a stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge, we met up with Jay--a friend at Bear Stearns--for dinner. He took us to one of favorite places in the West Village for sushi.

Faan Asian Fusion
404 6th Avenue (near 8th St. in the West Village)
Manhattan, NY 10011
tel: +1.212.777.6999 or 7426
fax: +1.212.388.1100
http://www.faanonline.com (website did not respond when visited)
Subway: West 4th St. (ABCDEFV)
daily 1100-2300
free delivery (one imagines this means in the West Village, or somewhere nearby)

(Another restaurant by this name is at 209 Smith St. in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, but I don't know if it's related.)

Faan Asian Fusion reminds me of some fusion places bookly has taken me to in Bangkok. The same modern, angular decor, equally trendy. (There's one place near the Central Bank in particular which I'm thinking of whose name I have just completely failed to remember. bookly, might you help me on this?) Faan has a DJ upstairs spinning. Although when we came in he'd just left a Beatles album on the turntable, he soon took over with some relatively unobtrusive yet pleasant techno.

Unlike the places in Bangkok, however, Faan has a sushi bar, and a pretty good sushi chef, by the taste of the fish. I ordered the sashimi deluxe ($19.95) but the order was garbled--I suspect because Jay had ordered the sushi deluxe ($16.95) just before me--and I actually got that instead. This was 10 pieces of nigiri (two of maguro, two half-pieces of tamago, a couple each of tai and sake, the latter with thin lemon slices, a piece of ika garnished with black caviar, and a piece of hamachi), plus a tekka roll. The pieces were fresh and generous, and I was surprisingly full afterward, which I regretted because I wanted to try some of the other items on the menu, which features Thai and Vietnamese dishes as well as sushi.

Jay called the waiter over and got the Pad See Yu ($6.95), which again was a generous portion, particularly considering the price. I'd wanted to order the Kung Po Spaghetti ($8), as I'm very fond of Asian spaghetti dishes. I'll have to try that at some point.

Overall, the "fusion" here doesn't appear to be reflected in the dishes themselves, but instead in what dishes appear on the menu. It's an eclectic but quirky mix, including things like Bo Xao Xa (beef with lemongrass and chili sauce) and Kratieum Prik (garlic shrimp), as well as the sushi menu) and I suspect it reflects more what the chef wants to make than any underlying theme. Nonetheless, Faan does appear to provide pretty good value for money given its location, with most entrees in the $7.95 to $9.50 range. $5 lunch specials are also available.