Gone to Houston
If you have seen the movie Bolt, you would agree that there are three major cultural experience in the U.S.: New York's green Liberty lady, Texas' Cowboy and California's Hollywood.
The Atlantic cover story "Did Christianity Cause the Crash?" was one of the reasons for this visit: Joel Osteen's Ministry @ Lakewoods Church.
The Lakewoods Church, has 16,000 seats, is the largest church in the United States. In fact, it is not really a church that we would think of from a traditional viewpoint. Local people call the "church" a circus; and it is known for prosperity sermon. Also, I might have overlooked, but I didn't see any cross, except at the bookstore there.
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My first taste of the local Blue Bell ice cream... hmm... it was a bit too milky flavor and heavy for me. We also had the authentic Texan barbecue, but I enjoyed the bread more than the ribs.
I also discovered more and more good snacks, great cafes and restaurants. Look at our creamy Italian dishes.
*Christmas Day Brunch @ the Houstonian.
I found that Texan style French Toast is made with creme and dipped with caramel. (Someone posted this French toast served with ketchup in China... looks cute, but... it would be a no-no for me)
My dessert plates:
#1: unlimited mimosa, vanilla shortcake mousse with pomegranate seeds cup, chocolate mousse on pistachio shortcake , mini éclair, creme brulee, & baked chocolate chips covered with white stuff
#2: Bruche de Noel, Lemon Meringune & white chocolate mushroom
The holiday spirit is up! Many light shows... here are some of the best decorated houses!
more site-seeing:
museums, historic districts, I. M. Pei's J.P. Morgan Chase Tower, Yao Restaurant (yea, Yao Ming's family business. We didn't eat but took pictures at the door), and more.
*@ HMH: "Rememberance" + "Wall of Hope" + "Wall of Tears" + the soil of concentration and extermination camps = a timeless Memorial room.
*Korean Artist Do Ho Suh's artworks @ MFAH
*The gigantic Beatles and Presidents statues @ David Addicks' sculpturworx
@ the Galleria
Being a temporary caretaker of two Tibetan Shih-Tzu puppies 獅子狗 has been an extraordinary experience.
Avator = Awesomeness
The movie Avator 3-D was like a wonderful blessing James Cameron gave to us. It was one of the best movies with beautiful scenes I have seen in recent years. It was a story of everything that you might have heard of from history books or video games, such as the Hometree, tribes, floating islands, Colonialism... and the ending was satisfying.
