shaogo

user since
Sat Feb 18 2006 at 18:53:09 (2.5 years ago )
last seen
Fri Aug 29 2008 at 18:03:22 (16.4 hours ago )
number of write-ups
312 - View shaogo's writeups (feed)
level / experience
8 (Seer) / 16544
C!s spent
1051
mission drive within everything
Keep just one step ahead of getting into serious trouble.
specialties
Music (particularly jazz vocals and the Great American Songbook), Cooking, Restaurants, Public Relations, Popular Culture
school/company
www.asianfusion.net
motto
If life were easy, it'd be boring.
most recent writeup
Quincy Jones

PHOTO ABOVE: POOR LITTLE XIAO GOU TRAPPED IN THE 45-YEAR OLD ELEVATOR AT PHILIP JOHNSON'S NEW YORK STATE PAVILION. The little dog had ridden that very elevator cab in 1964 with his mom and dad so as to get a panoramic view of the 1964 World's Fair, held in Flushing Meadows Park, Queens, New York.

In case you're wondering, "shaogo" is a bastardization of the [Pinyin (Xiao4Gou3) for "little dog," my nickname in Chinese. No, I'm not Chinese. Three of my grandparents were German, but I'm an American. Occasionally I get a moron who approaches me in my (Chinese/Japanese) restaurant and says, not in jest, "funny, you don't look Chinese! I respond immediately by telling them that indeed I am, but that I was disfigured in a horrible accident.

BEFORE YOU DOWNVOTE ANY WRITEUP, I BESEECH YOU TO CONSIDER CRAFTING A NOTE TO THE WRITER IN THE CONVENIENT BOX PROVIDED THEREFOR, TELLING THE WRITER WHY YOU DOWNVOTED, AND HOW THE WRITER COULD PERHAPS IMPROVE HIS OR HER NEXT CONTRIBUTION TO E2. HOW CAN PEOPLE IMPROVE WITHOUT CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM? AND IF THEY DON'T APPRECIATE YOUR HELP, FIND OUT WHERE THEY LIVE AND STICK A COPY OF THE CHICAGO STYLE MANUAL UP THEIR BUTT!

I love to C! a writeup. Writeups I "ching" are either a) so well written it ain't funny; b) so funny they make me laugh out loud whether they're masterpieces of the craft or just darned funny; or c) very educational. I needn't agree with a writer's viewpoint so long as their writeup makes me think about it.

Great Nodes that Everyone Should Read:

R.I.P. Henry P. Lewis February 15, 1923 — September 22, 2006

My father died after a long illness. There's a big hole in my heart that I pray time will make a little smaller. More here. I also suggest that you read Tom Brokaw's amazing book, The Greatest Generation, a fine review of which is written here at E2 by my buddy, kanoodle. Click on the title to go there.

Dad's writings are being entered into the nodegel by me. He's Hank_Lewis.

I encourage members of the E2 community to contact me: paul (at) asianfusion (dot) net.
Be sure to include "E2" in the subject line lest your message get spam-filtered by my stupid email system.

When near Hartford, Connecticut, USA visit my restaurant, Szechuan Tokyo: www (dot) asianfusion (dot) net.

Beside the restaurant business, I'm involved in promoting and producing music, typically jazz. I'm a gourmet who also loves good wine (and there's often a difference between expensive wine and good wine). When not engaging in these pursuits or using E2, my lazy ass is probably in bed sleeping.

What I Write: "View Shaogo's Writeups"

Although I'll never write anything promoting my own business, I do contribute restaurant reviews to E2. However, be forewarned; don't go looking for a witty skewering. I only write reviews of the "very good" to "excellent" places that I've eaten. I just don't have the time to waste telling people what's wrong with a restaurant. Suffice it to say I've dined at a lot of restaurants; many of them were mediocre at best.

Anything about music and the music industry tickles my fancy and therefore gets written about. I've tackled the issue of racism as it vests itself less-than-overt fashions. Members of academe, whether professional students or just bright undergrads, are honored by me occasionally when I attempt to tackle the incredibly complex subjects about which they write with tongue planted firmly in cheek. My politics are shouted out in my daylogs, although occasionally a piece is crafted so that it will last "for the ages" as is recommended here. Finally, subjects like popular culture and architecture pepper my roster of writeups. Speaking of pepper; recipes pop up also.

I'm always on the prowl for a good subject to write about. I'm acutely aware that there are homenode lists miles long of subjects untouched herein. However, many of those very subjects requiring writeups are beyond the scope of my ability to cogitate. You see, I'm a dummy who's lucky he's got a degree. The rest of the contributors to E2, I am convinced, hold multiple Ph.D. degrees, a few M.D.s and J.D.s. Me, when it comes to letters like that I make alphabet soup and dream about what it must be like to be addressed as "Doctor Shaogo". My most important degree, however, is from the School of Hard Knocks.

Big cash prize in the world's biggest game. Curious? Go to http://lost.eu/5814b

Fill One Of These Lonely Nodes, Win Valuable Prizes (/msg me to redeem goodies):

Still have questions? "Ask, and ye shall receive. Knock, and lo the door will open unto you." I can't think of a question, asked respectfully and with genuine interest, about myself that I have yet to be offended by.

About you: Most "noders," as we call ourselves, are far younger than I. College is a tough time, especially when you're devoted to it. However, life sometimes throws us curve balls and things seem horrifyingly grim. Whether you're 16 or 61, I present to you one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite men, which has carried me through times in my life when my friends and family thought I'd surely go mad from frustration and loss:

...It's only a beginning — always. The young must know it; the old must know it. It must always sustain us because the greatness comes not when things go always good for you, but the greatness comes when you are really tested, when you take some knocks, some disappointments, when sadness comes; because only if you've been in the deepest valley can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain ... Always remember others may hate you, but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself."

Send me a message if you want to know who said that.