Friday, August 29, 2008

"Hey shovelhead!"

In keeping with the angry theme of the week, MadAsian has compiled a list ethnic slurs and their origins (Koreans called "shovelhead" made me laugh out loud), a quiz called "What kind of Asian are you," and the section "You know you're Asian if..." on his website. He's also got a few rants about equality and liberalism.  MadAsian's almost there. I'm feeling his amusing observations about living life as an Asian American. However, he pushes the envelope a little too far at times (the tacky tees he's selling) and seems to be overly frustrated with Asian American women. We're complex, buddy.  Get over it.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Angry Little Girls in Love


Angry little girls can find love, too! Pity the poor person who takes us on, though. Lela Lee, creator of Angry Little Asian Girl, has a new book called Angry Little Girls in Love in stores on August 27. The author also has an animated TV show in the works through the Oxygen network. The wacky part is it's being produced by Jennifer Love Hewitt. She never really struck me as angry, but go figure.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Man eats 231 gyoza in 10 minutes

I avoided Little Tokyo like the plague, last week. Darn, since the Los Angeles neighborhood was in the midst of hosting its annual Nisei Week Festival. Nisei Week includes a gyoza (dumpling) eating contest with a purse of $1500. If you've ever seen me eat, you know I could have been a real contender for that prize money.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Please tell me it's a comedy

Paramount Pictures has released a new Star Trek promo poster featuring John Cho as Sulu, the US Enterprise's helmsman.

Give a turtle a crown...

Bossy Bear is still bossing everyone around--always wanting things his way. But when Turtle starts exhibiting the same behavior, Bossy Bear makes some hilarious attempts at setting a better example. Like setting fires. No no.

David Horvath's new book about Bossy Bear's friend Turtle is due out on March 3. davidhorvath.blogspot.com

T-shirt of the month

Where does your food come from?
What energy was spent creating it?
Who picked and processed it?
What are its ingredients?
What animals died for your food?
In what conditions are those animals raised, transported, and slaughtered?
How did your food get to you?
How do your food choices affect the environment, other humans, and other beings?

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Disappointing Dots

Thinking KoreAm and Oprah's recommendations couldn't be wrong, I shelled out $17.00 for six cupcakes from Dots in Pasadena this week. While Dots cupcakes are pretty, they're dense with an overpowering taste of flour to them. Hopefully I'll find better at Minneapolis' own Cupcake.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Viva Los Angeles

Decorative ceramic skulls on Olvera St.

Near Fairfax and Rosewood

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Smog, sushi and nice waves

We touched down in Los Angeles, yesterday. Welcoming us was thick smog that blocked views of the mountains. Regardless, it's good to be back. We had fresh sushi for lunch where the restaurant owner remembered us and treated us to strawberry mochi ice cream. I knew it was going to be a good day when we ran into a llama while walking up a side street in Whittier.

Beautiful Whittier College, whose mascot is the Poet

Giant Robot is a slice of Japanese toy paradise on Sunset Blvd.

Nice waves at Huntington Beach attracted surfers

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Александр Попов, Olympic champion

These days the name on everyone's lips is Michael Phelps. The record-breaking swimmer has netted one gold medal in Beijing and is on the hunt for seven more. But it's not just his skills in the water that captures people's attention. Women (and men) can't get enough of him in his tiny Speedo. As one college student put it, Michael Phelps "is amazing...right up there with unicorns and rainbows."

Before Phelps there was Ajumma's favorite, Olympic champion Alexander Popov (Александр Попов). Hailing from Russia, Popov won 4 Olympic gold medals, 6 world championships and dozens of European medals in swimming from 1991-2003. He's most recognized for his powerful and efficient stroke, which Phelps and his coach have studied in detail. Popov, nicknamed "The Russian Rocket," retired from swimming after the Athens games in 2004.

Popov currently acts as a member of the International Olympic Committee which determined Sochi, Russia as the host for the 2014 Winter Games. He is also a spokesperson for Omega Watches which invited Popov and swimmer Ian Thorpe to the opening of their Omega Pavilion in Beijing last week.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Don't call him Leonardo: Aaron Yoo

See the guy on the Mustang? That's Aaron Yoo. The 29 year-old actor from New Jersey stars in the films Disturbia, 21 and Rocket Science. He's also in the upcoming remake of Friday the 13th.

Aaron played Shia's goofy best friend in last summer's Disturbia, and stole every scene he was in. Up until today I thought Aaron (who played a student hustling cards in 21) was actor Leonardo Nam (who portrayed a student hustling test answers in The Perfect Score).

Aaron in 21

Leonardo in The Perfect Score

Hopefully you can see how I became confused. Anyway, you can try your hand at naming Asian celebrities on "Name That Asian!"

Friday, August 8, 2008

Xylitol can kill your dog

Xylitol is an all-natural sugar substitute derived from beets, birch tree bark, corncobs and other natural sources. It's as sweet as sugar but has 40% fewer calories. Unlike sugar, Xylitol does not require insulin to be metabolized. The sweetner is new to the U.S. food market, so most Americans aren't aware that Xylitol can be "very, very serious" to dogs when ingested. Dana Farbman, spokeswoman for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says, "It doesn't take a whole lot and the effects are so rapid that the window of opportunity to treat the dog is extremely small." Within 30 minutes of consuming a small amount of a xylitol-sweetened product, dogs can experience a dramatic drop in blood sugar, and they usually begin vomiting, become lethargic and can have difficulty standing or walking. Some have seizures, develop internal hemorrhaging and lesions and suffer liver failure. As few as two or three sticks of xylitol gum could be toxic to a 20-pound dog, the ASPCA says. Immediate and aggressive veterinary treatment, which includes glucose drips and IV fluids, has proved effective in many cases.

The Pad is a pro-pet zone.
Thank you for watching out for your animal friends.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Things you don't need, but that make life better

Did you know Tokidoki makes skins for iPods featuring Moofia, Tsuru and prickly Sandy?

How about Tokidoki USB flashdrives? They come preloaded with soundbytes, avatars and wallpapers and run 1-8 GBs.

Rain does it again



Korean singer Rain gives awkward interviews in English. His manager probably encourages him to use a translator, but Rain has been taking English lessons for years to break into Hollywood and insists on doing it his way. "His way" is pretending he understands the questions and then spouting off weird answers. You've seen Rain talk about kim chi with TIME Magazine. Now watch him chat about his dead girlfriend at last month's Comic-Con where he promoted his upcoming movie, Ninja Assassin.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Clones Vol. 11: Charlie Hunnam & Heath Ledger

James Bond star Daniel Craig will be portraying Emperor Hadrian in an upcoming film about the Roman leader. Actor Charlie Hunnam has signed on to play Antinous, his young lover. You may recognize Humman as ladies man/British exchange student Lloyd from Judd Apatow's 2001 TV series, Undeclared. If Heath Ledger had a perkier, slightly prettier brother, it'd definitely be Humman.

The Mummy 3: Ajumma's review

- Bad dialouge, bad acting, and bad editing
- Mario Bello is no Rachel Weiss
- White kid always getting the kung-fu kicking, virginal, choppy-English Asian girl
- Brendan Fraser is funny, though his hairpiece is distracting
- John Hannah running from avalanche scene is the best in the movie
- Jet Li looked hot with his hair in a top knot
- YETI

Friday, August 1, 2008

Hazel is the new black

Shia's on the cover of this month's Details magazine

Colin's featured in photographer Jody Morris' online portfolio

And while Leona Lewis' music kills my ears, her eyes aren't half bad

When brass knuckles won't do

I'll cut to the chase. The reason I'm interested in the new X-Men Origins movie is because Daniel Henney is cast as Agent Zero. Unfortunately up until now the only production photos of Origins feature stars Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber.

Look what insane stuff I found for X-Men on the web:

When brass knuckles just won't do, how about metal knuckles with knives attached? (You're thinking, 'If only they were retractable like Wolverine's claws.') There must be thousands of shredded sofas, dead cats, mangled bread loaves and scratched faces resulting from these things.

If we're talking kids, there are Wolverive party favors. These claws are made out of foam, but can undoubtably still inflict damage. (Not recommended for pacifists or parents with a shred of common sense.)