Tomorrow night at the Orpheum theater in downtown, Flight of the Conchords will be playing their second show (the first one, which was Friday night, sold out in mere seconds..damn you ticketmaster). Anyway, I'll be there as the Asian version of Mel. I like pie.
Enjoy the vidja.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Youtube Test Round 1
Being the (self-proclaimed) Master of pop culture, I decided to put youtube to the test.
I dug through my mind grapes and came up with some obscure pop culture moments from back in my day to see if youtube gots the goods.
Cartoon: Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors
Finding the the GI Joe or Transformers intro would be too easy. I vaguely remember this show and even had to google to find the exact title (the query was "plant vehicle cartoon 80s")
Honoarable mention: Turbo Teen
Movie: Gymkata
I've told everyone about this movie where a gymnast fights ninjas
in some random village, but no one seemed to believe me.
(That is until I provided physical proof. Thanks amoeba)
Twenty dollars might have been too much to spend on the DVD now that
I think about it.
Honorable mention: American Ninja
TV: My Secret Identity
One of many "I'm a kid and have super power" TV shows
from the 80s, My Secret Identity was one of my favorites.
It starred pre-Sliders Jerry o'connell as a kid who
has superspeed, invunerability, and levitation powers.
Honorable mention:
Kids Inc.
Music: Another Bad Creation
This video is hilariously bad with references
to Nintendo and eating cereal.
Honorable mention:
Bobby Brown
Guess youtube wins this round...
I dug through my mind grapes and came up with some obscure pop culture moments from back in my day to see if youtube gots the goods.
Cartoon: Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors
Finding the the GI Joe or Transformers intro would be too easy. I vaguely remember this show and even had to google to find the exact title (the query was "plant vehicle cartoon 80s")
Honoarable mention: Turbo Teen
Movie: Gymkata
I've told everyone about this movie where a gymnast fights ninjas
in some random village, but no one seemed to believe me.
(That is until I provided physical proof. Thanks amoeba)
Twenty dollars might have been too much to spend on the DVD now that
I think about it.
Honorable mention: American Ninja
TV: My Secret Identity
One of many "I'm a kid and have super power" TV shows
from the 80s, My Secret Identity was one of my favorites.
It starred pre-Sliders Jerry o'connell as a kid who
has superspeed, invunerability, and levitation powers.
Honorable mention:
Kids Inc.
Music: Another Bad Creation
This video is hilariously bad with references
to Nintendo and eating cereal.
Honorable mention:
Bobby Brown
Guess youtube wins this round...
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Books fall open, you fall in
I once had a bookmark with a a picture of a turtle and a rabbit on it that read, "Books hard or soft, I love them all." As cheesy as that sounds, I love books and although I missed the Festival of Books last week at UCLA, I thought I'd share some of my favorite illustrated books that I currently own:
I Can Fly - illustrated by Mary Blair
This is a classic Little Golden Book that captures the spirit of a little girl's imagination and Blair's exuberant and bright illustrations. For those of you not familiar with Mary Blair (shame on you), she was a very important artist and Disney animator and also designed Disneyland's It's a Small World. For less than three bucks, you can own some of Blair's vibrant artwork.
The Ancient Book of Myth and War
*i'm too lazy to rotate this picture*
Nate Wragg. As one of the contributing authors of this book, he is also one of the most talented illustrators from the Pixar family (and one reason why I bought this book). He created a lot of concept sketches for Ratatouille and even illustrated a children's book called Too Many Cooks. I like this book because a lot of the artists that contributed their drawings and paintings about their favorite mythological creatures share some insight that went into creating the piece.
Limited Edition: Art and Design of GAMA-GO
Over 300 pages of the distinct style of GAMA-GO illustration, this book is worthy of being part of any design library. Whether you're a fan of DeathBot or The Yeti(I personally like Dirty Bird), Tim Biskup and gang started GAMA-GO cuz they were bored with their day jobs and wanted to turn their basement hobby into something more. This book is filled with rare images and early designs and provides endless inspiration for creating characters!
*most of these pictures were borrowed from other sites, the only picture that's mine is the one that's not rotated :P
**title of the post came from another bookmark. Obviously, I collected corny bookmarks as a kid, too.
I Can Fly - illustrated by Mary Blair
This is a classic Little Golden Book that captures the spirit of a little girl's imagination and Blair's exuberant and bright illustrations. For those of you not familiar with Mary Blair (shame on you), she was a very important artist and Disney animator and also designed Disneyland's It's a Small World. For less than three bucks, you can own some of Blair's vibrant artwork.
The Ancient Book of Myth and War
*i'm too lazy to rotate this picture*
Nate Wragg. As one of the contributing authors of this book, he is also one of the most talented illustrators from the Pixar family (and one reason why I bought this book). He created a lot of concept sketches for Ratatouille and even illustrated a children's book called Too Many Cooks. I like this book because a lot of the artists that contributed their drawings and paintings about their favorite mythological creatures share some insight that went into creating the piece.
Limited Edition: Art and Design of GAMA-GO
Over 300 pages of the distinct style of GAMA-GO illustration, this book is worthy of being part of any design library. Whether you're a fan of DeathBot or The Yeti(I personally like Dirty Bird), Tim Biskup and gang started GAMA-GO cuz they were bored with their day jobs and wanted to turn their basement hobby into something more. This book is filled with rare images and early designs and provides endless inspiration for creating characters!
*most of these pictures were borrowed from other sites, the only picture that's mine is the one that's not rotated :P
**title of the post came from another bookmark. Obviously, I collected corny bookmarks as a kid, too.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Hanging out with the Fullertonians
Before hitting up DCA's Food and Wine Festival, I decided to hang out with my favorite Fullertonian and check out the SoCo (South of Commonwealth) scene. According to Wikipedia, some notable Fullertonians include: Leo Fender, Social D lead singer Mike Ness, martial artist/actor Steven Seagal, and all around supasta Gwen Stefani.
I won't go into too much detail about the area, but it's definitely worth checking out. There are tons of antique stores, coffee shops, gelato stores, and some vintage stores (including Buffalo Exchange). One store that I particularly fell in love with is Otto. This shop specializes in unique furniture, decorative arts, and awesome artist merchandise from Shag to Gamma Go and even some cool Eames stuff! I think it's safe to say that I almost shat in my pants cuz this store carries all the cool artist stuff that I like.
So I wasn't planning on spending some money, but when there are antique stores that means there's also bountiful pyrex waiting to be bought. One antique store carried decent quality pyrex with minor scratches and some jadite. I managed to pick up a yellow casserole dish with a brown snowflake pattern (plus it was on sale! pyrex is NEVER on sale...except at goodwill). Anyway, we also hit up the local Goodwill. I particularly like their brick-a-brack section because everything is organized by color (which makes it easy for me to find pyrex). I found a couple nesting bowls but resisted the temptation of buying whole sets; rather, I just bought pieces I thought would complement my growing collection. So I found a woodlawn brown mid size bowl and a spring blossom 2 casserole dish.
Pyrex bandit strikes again!
I won't go into too much detail about the area, but it's definitely worth checking out. There are tons of antique stores, coffee shops, gelato stores, and some vintage stores (including Buffalo Exchange). One store that I particularly fell in love with is Otto. This shop specializes in unique furniture, decorative arts, and awesome artist merchandise from Shag to Gamma Go and even some cool Eames stuff! I think it's safe to say that I almost shat in my pants cuz this store carries all the cool artist stuff that I like.
So I wasn't planning on spending some money, but when there are antique stores that means there's also bountiful pyrex waiting to be bought. One antique store carried decent quality pyrex with minor scratches and some jadite. I managed to pick up a yellow casserole dish with a brown snowflake pattern (plus it was on sale! pyrex is NEVER on sale...except at goodwill). Anyway, we also hit up the local Goodwill. I particularly like their brick-a-brack section because everything is organized by color (which makes it easy for me to find pyrex). I found a couple nesting bowls but resisted the temptation of buying whole sets; rather, I just bought pieces I thought would complement my growing collection. So I found a woodlawn brown mid size bowl and a spring blossom 2 casserole dish.
Pyrex bandit strikes again!
Friday, April 18, 2008
Are You Ready for May 1st?
On my way to work this morning, I drove behind an MTA bus. Usually, I will swerve in and out of traffic like the crazy Asian driver that I am to avoid driving behind these monstrous beasts that move at snail pace. But not today. The picture of one of the hunk-iest men alive happened to be placed on the rear of the orange beast that I followed down Virgil. I'm not talking about LA commercial hunks like Crazy Gideon or Larry H. Parker, this guy is a bona-fide piece of meat in so many ways.
Ira Glass.
For ya'll that don't know who this hunk of a hunk is, he hosts the radio program This American Life on NPR and similarly does the show on Showtime. There is something quirky and nasally about his voice that makes his radio show easy to listen to while I sit in traffic during my commutes. I'll stop drooling now.
Anyway This American Life-Live! will be shown May 1st at selected movie theaters across the country, get yours soon before they run out!
He's looking at me!
Ira Glass.
For ya'll that don't know who this hunk of a hunk is, he hosts the radio program This American Life on NPR and similarly does the show on Showtime. There is something quirky and nasally about his voice that makes his radio show easy to listen to while I sit in traffic during my commutes. I'll stop drooling now.
Anyway This American Life-Live! will be shown May 1st at selected movie theaters across the country, get yours soon before they run out!
He's looking at me!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Oh what a knight (Or Don't bet on black and white)
The king of all dinner shows, Medival Times did not disappoint. Yes, I know the knights aren't really fighting, and I'm fully aware PEPSI did not exist in the middle ages. Nevertheless, K and I had always wanted to check it out. Before going in, I knew that each group is assigned a certain knight to champion. As they handed over the cardboard black and white crown, I had a sinking feeling that our knight would not reign victorious. Black and White is just not a winning color scheme. We then took our picture with the princess of the castle and headed to the holding area before the show started. You all know I likes to keeps things real so I hit up the bar for a ceramic stein full of frothy ale. Alas, the spirits did my make loose my tongue: As they were calling the groups (by color) to enter the arena, I let the blue group have it. Taking a cue from Hans Moleman I yelled "Boooo-lue! Booooo-lue!" Shortly after being seated, we were introduced to our wench for the evening. No joke, she referred to herself as a wench. All restaurants should adopt this idea: "Wench! Gather me more mcnuggets of the chicken haste posthaste!" The food was nothing special. There was soup, bread, chicken, and a single BBQ rib. The storyline is no Game of Thrones, but it was better than I expected. Not to spoil too much for you, but the Green Knight is a bastard. After introducing the knights, there were some jousting feats and equestrian tricks. Finally, the moment we were waiting for was upon us. The knights would in engage in (non) deadly battle. Unfortunately for the Black and White knight, he
was called out by Green right off the bat. Green made short work of him. The rest of the colors fought with various weapons until the final showdown was between the Green and Red knight. As always good triumphs over evil and the kingdom is happy once again (except the king is now short 6 knights). All in all despite the watering down of a whole chunk of history, it was an enjoyable evening and it left K and I with ideas of starting a
ninja show called Samurai Times. It will feature Japanese food, sake, jump kicking, katana, lasers, bears, lightning bolts, and the song "Kung Fu fighting". Patent pending, son.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
I like stuuuff...St Patty's Day edition
Since this week's blog theme seems to be "stuff," I gathered whatever green item I could find in my room in honor of St. Patrick's Day. For every green thing I found, I pretended I was Dorothy from "Return to Oz," and held my hands over it while saying, "OZ" - hoping that it would magically transform into Tik-Tok or Jack Pumpkinhead. Seriously, I didn't do that.
Anyway, clockwise from top to bottom:
My Shag book-
One of the most awesome-est illustrators around, I saw him give a talk at Comic-Con once and was literally sitting with my mouth wide open. It's like seeing Abraham Lincoln give his Gettysburg address and feeling all tingly cuz you know he will change your life somehow. If you like monkeys with fezes, this book's for you.
Travel Journal-
Got this as a Christmas present from a way cool friend. I hope to fill this book up one day with adventures of reindeer romps in the North Pole and hanging out with Bret and Jemaine in New Zealand.
Bird Button-
Not sure who designed this, but it's super cute. Got it from the Swerve festival back in September.
Bath & Body Work's "Just for Kids Awesome Apple Anti-Bacterial
Instant Hand Foam"-
I'm kinda sad that they discontinued their line of kids' anti-bacterial lotions and hand soaps. They smell really fruity and sweet, like candy! The banana scented stuff had a cute name of "Bananarama Ding Dong." Anyway, I use this ish all the time when I touch germy stuff. Works wonders and also moisturizes your skin!
Green Ballpoint Pen--
Why stick to boring black or blue ink when you can use green?
Aveeno Clear Complexion Foaming Cleaner-
I use this every night and I'm a sucker for anything that foams after you pump it.
Green Fiskars scissor-
I've had this since high school and it's my trusty pair that's always by my desk.
Skeleton Key Caps-
Got these from Urban Outfitters cuz they were way too cute (supposedly the glow in the dark, but maybe I need to hide them in my closet first...yuk-yuk).
Green Face Towel-
I love the doily pattern on this towel, not to mention the bright green! Scored this from the sale section at Anthropologie awhile back.
OSH Flashlight-
Ok, ok, this flashlight isn't really green (maybe teal?), anyway the batteries are dead in this thing and if there's a major earthquake in the future, I'm screwed!
GSF (Gnome Sorcery Federation) shirt-
I actually belong to this federation. We meet once a year and discuss the positive qualities of the Travelocity gnome and what gnome enthusiasts can do so the rest of society won't think that all gnomes are evil like the ones in R.L. Stein's Goosebumps.
Lysol Disinfecting Wipes-
They do a good job of cleaning up dust particles and ketchup blobs on tables. This ish smells good too!
Anyway, clockwise from top to bottom:
My Shag book-
One of the most awesome-est illustrators around, I saw him give a talk at Comic-Con once and was literally sitting with my mouth wide open. It's like seeing Abraham Lincoln give his Gettysburg address and feeling all tingly cuz you know he will change your life somehow. If you like monkeys with fezes, this book's for you.
Travel Journal-
Got this as a Christmas present from a way cool friend. I hope to fill this book up one day with adventures of reindeer romps in the North Pole and hanging out with Bret and Jemaine in New Zealand.
Bird Button-
Not sure who designed this, but it's super cute. Got it from the Swerve festival back in September.
Bath & Body Work's "Just for Kids Awesome Apple Anti-Bacterial
Instant Hand Foam"-
I'm kinda sad that they discontinued their line of kids' anti-bacterial lotions and hand soaps. They smell really fruity and sweet, like candy! The banana scented stuff had a cute name of "Bananarama Ding Dong." Anyway, I use this ish all the time when I touch germy stuff. Works wonders and also moisturizes your skin!
Green Ballpoint Pen--
Why stick to boring black or blue ink when you can use green?
Aveeno Clear Complexion Foaming Cleaner-
I use this every night and I'm a sucker for anything that foams after you pump it.
Green Fiskars scissor-
I've had this since high school and it's my trusty pair that's always by my desk.
Skeleton Key Caps-
Got these from Urban Outfitters cuz they were way too cute (supposedly the glow in the dark, but maybe I need to hide them in my closet first...yuk-yuk).
Green Face Towel-
I love the doily pattern on this towel, not to mention the bright green! Scored this from the sale section at Anthropologie awhile back.
OSH Flashlight-
Ok, ok, this flashlight isn't really green (maybe teal?), anyway the batteries are dead in this thing and if there's a major earthquake in the future, I'm screwed!
GSF (Gnome Sorcery Federation) shirt-
I actually belong to this federation. We meet once a year and discuss the positive qualities of the Travelocity gnome and what gnome enthusiasts can do so the rest of society won't think that all gnomes are evil like the ones in R.L. Stein's Goosebumps.
Lysol Disinfecting Wipes-
They do a good job of cleaning up dust particles and ketchup blobs on tables. This ish smells good too!
Do you like stuuuff?
Inspired by good magazine's monthly feature of people and their things, I decided to take a stab at it with the stuff I use on a daily basis:
Sperry boat shoe
--
This slip-on buys me a few minutes getting ready in the morning.
Logitech Harmony 520
--
Controls EVERYTHING with an IR port, even ceiling fans.
Grado SR-60
--
The best bang for your headphone buck (under $100 that is)
ipod
--
Back in the day, I thought 8GB was huge. Now, I'm rocking 160 and can't wait to fill it up.
Soundwave
--
Cool modulated voice. Minature minions. Transforms into a boombox.
Yep, Soundwave is the best Deception, hands down.
Mechanical pencils
--
Not as clumsy or random as a ballpoint, an elegant writing instrument for a more civilized age.
The silver one is my trusty dr. grip while the wooden one is from moma in san francisco.
buddha box
--
If I ever need background noise, ambient is the way to go.
Moleskin
--
In an effort to organize my hectic life, everything goes into this book,
Any important detail of the day ranging from funny quotes ("A little thing I like to call meatloaf") to workout stats (15 min. on Wednesday)
xbox control
--
Used to relieve stress (and smacktalk 12 year-olds)
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