Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Boba time (part deux)

Lately, when I get the urge for a particular food I go online and look at its photo rather than actually eating it. This is not a form of self-control or dieting, but rather of pure laziness. So take a peek at what I found, today, when I googled "boba." It's Boba Fett's boot! And the hilarious part is that the bounty hunter's footwear is featured at pimpinshoes.com


I prefer my boba in a glass!

Penn & LaBeouf at Coachella

Despite the fact it reaches 100 bajillion degrees in April, the Coachella Festival went on at full force in Palm Springs, California, last weekend. The three day event has become a magnet for celebrities and paparazzi. Last year Scarlett Johannsen sang with the Jesus and Mary Chain, and this year Sean Penn made an appearance while Shia LaBeouf soaked in the sun on the grass.

Penn took the stage at Coachella calling for volunteers to ride with him from Palm Springs to New Orleans to protest the war and build houses for the homeless.

"Um, hello, boss? Yes, I'm going to be out for the next week riding upon a bio-diesel bus with actor Sean Penn, building houses for the homeless. If you need me, I can be reached on my cell in New Orleans. Thanks!"

Photo courtesy of Ohlalamag

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Cute guys in hunting caps

On one of the coldest nights this very winter, a group of us were bundling up to run from a sushi restaurant to the nearby Ordway Theater. Sunny made the funny comment, "This is the moment when we all morph into teenagers, since Asians look so young when we put on hats." As 33 year-old Willy Santos shows, it's true!

The best part about "Harold & Kumar 2"

Ajumma saw Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay last night and assures you it sucked. Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle became a hit because people loved the two average characters who just wanted to get to their favorite restaurant when mishaps ensued. They encountered people we all have known like extreme wannabe jocks, nerdy Asian students, and potheads lacking short term memory. In H&K2 the guys are jumping out of airplanes, partying at a mansion in Miami, and smoking weed with President Bush. Plus, in H&K2 their girlfriends both looked like models. Real? I think not. Bring back Cindy Kim!

Anyway, the best part about H&K2 was definitely the preview of Seth Rogen and James Franco's new comedy, Pineapple Express. Watch it here!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Yeti Power!

"Yeti" is part of a series by artist Nate Wragg, courtesy of Nucleus Gallery in Alhambra, CA.

Razor Ramon takes on Japanese kids

In one of my favorite clips, Razor Ramon chats up Japanese children about food they hate to eat.

Mos Def and Milo for Nixon

Nixon Watches now has new photos of team members Mos Def and Milo Ventimiglia on their site.



Milo looks awfully sharp in his suit.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

News of the day: Animals screwed

This morning my wheelchair-bound mother (with whom I'm staying while my dad attends a conference in the cities) subjected me to the Today show. Some old rowdy woman in Florida found a 5-foot alligator tromping through her kitchen and caught it on video. Apparently the gator broke in to find food or find a mate. After a struggle with a trapper, the alligator was taken off site to be killed. The stupid old bag went on in animated fashion about how she got to touch the alligator and how its back was hard as stone. No mention of feeling badly that the alligator was destroyed for doing what nature intended it to do.

In other news, Yahoo! reports that Rocky, the 5-year old grizzly bear who wrestled Will Ferrell in Semi-Pro, attacked and killed his trainer, yesterday. This is extremely unfortunate. Rocky is known as the "best working bear in the business." Apparently it takes a genius to know that the words "working" and "bear" should NEVER GO TOGETHER. Bears are meant to roam the woods, not forced to wear a collar, mimic trainers on movie sets, and reside in crates.

We've learned that Colorado University's mascot Ralphie the Buffalo burst out of her pen and sprinted across Folsom football field with her handlers in hot pursuit, yesterday. This was the 750 pound bison's first appearance at a game. As Ralphie flung herself across the field, she managed to trample one of her handlers. Football and live bison. Good God, people.  

Finally, don't get me started on the man who recently starved a street dog in the name of art, and has been asked to recreate the performance at other locales. You can visit Margaret Cho's blog for details on that tragic story.

Animals aren't on this earth for human entertainment. Until we get a clue about this, crazy sad shit like the stories above will continue to happen.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Good movie with a bad title

Ajumma stepped into The Forbidden Kingdom expecting to see a trashy Hollywood train wreck with actors Jet Li and Jackie Chan thrown on the tracks.  Instead the film offered witty dialogue, a quick pace, reasonable action sequences, and lots of laughs.  Jackie Chan is a true showman and robust martial artist.  While Jet Li moved fluidly (his praying mantis made my heart skip a beat), his acting was very wooden.  Twice during the movie I recognized scenes straight out of Karate Kid.  Something to note is that the kiss between the white protagonist and the Asian girl which appeared in the preview never occurs in the film.  So unlike the Karate Kid, this white boy doesn't get the Asian girl.  Assssssa!

Friday, April 18, 2008

Shia in New York City

It's Friday. It's a good time for some Shia LaBeouf. The L.A. native is currently in New York City filming his part in the anthology, New York, I Love You.

I find the more I see of slicked back Hollywood-Shia, the more I miss young, natural Shia. Shia's new movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull opens in theaters on May 22.

Pics courtesy of shiafan.com

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Something About Ryan

Picked up Lars and the Real Girl, last night, on DVD. The first movie I've watched in half a year is about a shy man and his anatomically-correct, plastic girlfriend. Actually, it's about a town's fondness for this shy man, so much so that they go along with his delusions about his girlfriend, "Bianca." Lars explains that she's from South America, her parents died when she was a baby, that she is very religious etc. etc. When Lars starts noticing his live coworker, Margo, however, life gets a little crazy with Bianca.

Ryan Gosling. Never quite grasped the hoopla surrounding him. I mean, the guy was on The Mickey Mouse Club for goodness sake! Now having seen him on film, I get a sense of it. He's reminiscent of Christian Bale. Both Ryan and Christian have a gravitational pull and a finite edge to their acting. But Gosling is not as unsettling and more subtle than Bale. I'm becoming a convert, and after Lars and the Real Girl, I am off to watch Gosling in the acclaimed film, Half Nelson.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

"Where the Wild Things Are" first look

Spike Jonze is directing a live-action version of Maurice Sendak's book, Where the Wild Things Are. The beloved children's book revolves around a boy named Max, whose imagination transforms his bedroom into a mystical land where active beasts roam.

Recently a test clip of the film leaked online and reaction was less than favorable. See the footage here. Viewer feedback prompted Jonze to release this statement:

This was a very early test with the sole purpose of just getting some footage to Ben our vfx (visual effects) supervisor to see if our vfx plan for the faces would work. The clip doesn't look or feel anything like the movie, the Wild Thing suit is a very early cringy prototype, and the boy is a friend of ours Griffin who we had used in a Yeah Yeah Yeahs video we shot a few weeks before. We love him, but he is not in the actually film...Oh and that is not a wolf suit, its a lamb suit we bought on the internet. Talk to you later...

Bizarro clip and viewer feedback aside, I look forward to seeing one of my favorite kid's books come alive on screen. The stills look amazing and it can't be as bad as the new Star Wars movies, right?

Monday, April 14, 2008

Jason Segel get his due

Freaks and Geeks alums who have hit the big time:

- Shia LaBeouf
- Seth Rogen (Knocked Up and 40-Year Old Virgin)
- James Franco
- Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma and X-Men II)

and now, Jason Segel. Jason may be best known for his role as Nick Andopolis in the Judd Apatow TV series, Freaks and Geeks. These days he's playing a guy trying to get over his girlfriend in the comedy he wrote, Forgetting Sarah Marshall. If you've seen Jason in the other Apatow series, Undeclared, you know he excels as the well-meaning, overly invested boyfriend. Here is Jason in one of my favorite Undeclared scenes, where he drives to campus to kick Steven's butt. Watch here

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Toby deserved the best

Today I learned that Toby, one of the lovely dogs I walk at my local shelter, was euthanized this past week. Toby had been at the shelter for about one month, sharing a pen with Shawna, who appeared to be his sister or mom. Experience told me they came from a more subdued home. They didn't seem to understand where they had landed. The tech who told me that Toby had been euthanized couldn't understand why the vet chose to put down such a sweet mannered, small dog. The tech said older people sometimes came to the shelter to find gentle, adult animals. She thought Toby was that kind of dog, but now he's just one of the millions of cast-off pets put to death, who end up a jumble of furr and feet in shelter barrels.

All animals who come into this world deserve the very best. I know Toby deserved more. It breaks my heart that his life ended this way.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

King of the Groms

Meet Ajumma's godson, Marshall. Marshall and his brother are bonafide NorCal skate groms. A while back I sent the brothers some skateboard stickers. Here they are decorating their boards. Go to it, boys!!

MJ admires his giant Spitfire sticker.

R2 gussies up his deck with Lakai and DC.

"Helmet? Who needs a stinking helmet?"

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Hips don't lie

Last summer I took up running. I aimed to run one mile in 10 minutes. I was spurred on by the fact my husband signed me up for his company fun-run, which consisted of a 2 mile course and lots of his coworkers. At that stage in my life I was as sedentary as a rock. I hadn't run more than a mile in 16 years. I started training by only running in the pitch dark of night. I huffed and puffed and complained alot. But I grew to love running for all the crazy reasons runners do.

Earlier this week my hips gave out during a routine 5 mile run. According to my running book, the condition is called Hip Bursitis, aggravated and sometimes caused by sitting in the same position for long periods. I first noticed the pain last month at work where I sit in a chair FOR HOURS. My book goes on to say the only treatment is to stop running until the pain subsides, and that Hip Bursitis cannot be run off.

This feels like a death knell! It's especially disappointing because A. I feel I finally making progress and B. the weather is getting nice, and now I have to see lots of runners enjoying themselves outside. I have to remind myself that I am still a runner, just an injured one. Until I heal, you might not see me posting like I usually do, since it's killing my hips to sit here.