Movies
Casablanca is an all time favorite. I don’t know exactly why, but the music and the complexity of the love during WWII, it’s just a favorite. However, I don’t know how many times I can watch that movie because it is bittersweet. The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast some of my Disney favorites, The Incredibles is really awesome. And although it’s actually a BBC miniseries, I completely love their version of Pride and Prejudice. I’m sorry, but the movie doesn’t quite compare. I hope that while I’m at Cal I will take advantage of the movies the Pacific Film Archive show, especially during the Asian American Film Festivals and International Film Festivals.

Books
As revealed in the last section, I’m pretty sure it’s obvious that my favorite book of all time is Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I just completely love the dialogue and the characters. I try to reread it every other year. Another favorite has to be The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan, who is a Knight Professor of Journalism at Cal. The book covers the history of four plants: apple, tulip, marijuana, and potato. I have to thank Professor Zambryski for introducing this book to me. I have yet to read The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and I can’t wait. Recently, there was an event at UCB where the CEO of Whole Foods and Michael Pollan held a discussion about the future of food. I have yet to watch the entire podcast, but here it is to anyone who is interested.

Music
I try not to “fangirl,” but I kind of do it for one particular artist – Josh Groban. I’m not going to go into why I completely love his music (besides having a wonderful voice). I love classical music, but I don’t know enough of it to remember the composer of a piece and the titles (symphonies, concertos, etc.). Secret Garden (they wrote “You Raise Me Up”) is a wonderful instrumental group I love, and Hayley Westenra is also a classical trained singer with an amazing clear voice. I also enjoy pop, oldies, R&B, jazz, new age, instrumental, country, etc. Actually, anyone with any suggestions, let me know because I love listening to new music. (Oh, and anyone who enjoys instrumental music with a “world” feel to it, check out Cirque du Soleil –the music is awesome).

Food
Hmmm…food. I just love food, period. My favorite will always be Italian, but again, I love trying out new cuisines, and most of the time, home food is the best. Just yesterday I finally tried Zachary’s, which is definitely a must around Berkeley. I also have a fondness for noodle soups…

I think I just about rambled on and on. Anyway, come by office hours to discuss some of your favorites!