Monday, September 20, 2010

Go baby, get that money!

Our goddaughter turned one-year old, this month. Happy birthday, Olivia chan!

She celebrated with her family members in Japan, where they followed the tradition of having the birthday girl step onto giant rice cakes. Another tradition is to strap a few pounds of mochi onto a one-year old's back and watch her walk around. I tell you, the Japanese know how to party.

The family presented Olivia with several items and waited for her to choose one. The object the birthday girl chooses is said to predict the career path she will follow. Like a smart child, Olivia chose the calculator. It's a good thing I wasn't there, because I would have been screaming to choose the money.

Grill 'Em All kills it

Grill 'Em All smacked up, flipped, and rubbed down the seemingly invincible Nom Nom team on the Great Food Truck Race, last night, winning the $50,000 grand prize. I personally cheered on the Nommers (as Grill Em All referred to them) until they passed up their Truck Stop challenge in Santa Fe and had a professional butcher slice their quarter cow in Fort Worth. The other teams (most of them equally clueless and armed only with tiny knives) butchered their meat themselves.

I'll say this, team Nom Nom is hard working and very cute. Plus every very episode left me wanting a banh mi sandwich.

Ajumma felt sad to see Spencer on the Go, the French truck team, eliminated in the finals. Considering they peddled snails and frog legs to the average joe on the street, they lasted a surprisingly long time. This might be due to their restauranteur savy and French accents. I enjoyed watching their silent member, Jesse, start a fire in seconds with his boy scout training, during the chuck wagon challenge.

Final note: Unlike Justin Willman of Cupcake Wars, chef Tyler Florence of the Great Food Truck Race makes a more dignified and non-obtrusive TV host.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Clones Vol. 19: The Rock and John Travolta

If producers wanted John Travolta to play the agent chasing Paul Walker and Vin Diesel in the newest Fast and Furious movie, they should have hired him. Instead we've got Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson doing the balding man routine of shaving his head and growing a goatee. And he looks like John Travolta. I didn't think that was possible, but here we have it.

See The Rock (sans top of his head, a common balding man marketing scenario) on the new Fast and Furious poster here.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Sushi cupcakes

Now these are creative! I particularly like the fact they still look like cupcakes. Baked by Saucy Sprinkles.

Mini sushi cupcakes by Eggyolk. The container and green grass decoration are nice accents.

Friday, September 17, 2010

McKay is rubbing me the wrong way

Last March, Colin McKay was interviewed online by fellow Canadian skateboarders who asked what he thought about jocks repping his clothing brand RDS. Colin answered that it tears his heart out. Then Colin went on to say how embarrassed he felt to see a gay man wearing an RDS shirt the last time he was in Vancouver. WHAA? I realize that not everyone feels comfortable with homosexuality, but seriously. What Colin should be embarrassed about is that RDS makes dumb crap like this hoodie.  I hope the gay man McKay saw was strutting down the street wearing this number.  Those comments pretty much ruined it for Ajumma.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Ajumma @ Hot Sam's

Ajumma's been driving past a 30-foot shark on interstate highway 35W for the past two years. I tell my husband that one of these mornings I hope to pull back our living room blinds and see it in our front yard.


When a large rocket recently appeared, I had to stop by Hot Sam's Furniture and Antiques to take a look.

Blast off!
Sub and big-ass guitar

Cute VW bus on the beach at Hot Sam's. Note the marooned plane on the far side of the pond.

Mr. Cootie sometimes makes an appearance on the side of the highway. Yesterday he was chilling in the back woods.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Buns and balls to die for

Sesame balls filled with bean or lotus paste

Steamed red bean buns

Cream-filled bun sprinkled with sugar. If I were Eve, these probably would have been hanging from the tree in the garden, rather than apples.

File under: Harmless, but awkward none the less

It appears that Minnesota Vikings Defensive End, Brian Robison, vacationed in Mazatlan and got his hair braided on the beach. I remember when girls at my high school used to do this on spring break. My message to gentlemen of the majority is this: Just because you CAN put your hair into cornrows does NOT necessarily mean you should.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Sunny Santa Monica bungalow: Bring $$$

I'd like to shake the hand of whoever led the renovation of this 1946 bungalow in Santa Monica. The space is clean and modern, yet seems perfectly fitted to a vintage home. It's rare these days not to find orange slate covering the bathroom walls, colonial cabinets in the kitchen, and oversized Pottery Barn lighting throughout.

This 3 bedroom, 2 bath home is 1135 feet on a 1999 foot lot. It features new electrical, plumbing and a new roof. It also has inside laundry and one covered parking spot. While it includes central heat, the home has no air conditioning. This might not be a huge issue since it's near the beach. Is this beautiful property worth the asking price of $935,000? You decide.

The upper windows are a nice touch

Love this light-filled kitchen with a skylight

The upper cabinets are a good place to put those wedding gifts you asked for, but never got around to actually using.

Stylish main bathroom, though these homeowners apparently haven't seen the Mythbusters episode examining how far toilet water travels when a toilet is flushed.

Master bedroom with a walkout

How cool are these European style sinks matched with round mirrors? A plant in the bathroom is all I ask from this space.

Ever since showering in them at several college apartments, Ajumma's hated clawfoot tubs. I dislike how you need two shower curtains to keep the water in. Plus they're just plain creepy. Add them to my phobia list, along with pregnant women.

I dig the roof latice, but wonder who sets up chairs (in the plantings, no less) and stares at their stucco wall. Regardless, I love this home and would embrace the bougie lifestyle of Santa Monica if I had a cool million. Browse the bungalow listing , here.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Kumar Goes to Korea

Kal Penn visits the Joint Security Area! He's been tweeting about his visit to the Korean peninsula, which includes visiting US troops stationed around Seoul and Gyeongi province.

Like most westerners, Kal's amused by the name Pocari Sweat.

Magic, the cheapest-looking video ever

MTV premiered B.o.B. and River Cuomo's Magic video online, last night. It looks like some amateur video my cousins and I shot around our house in the 1980's, minus all the scantily clad women. Not only is it poorly acted, but B.o.B. and Rivers aren't shown dancing on beat. They should have featured child versions of Rivers and B.o.B. thrilling the masses at nursery school with a magic show. Or how about Rivers and B.o.B. hanging out, going through a wacky day in Los Angeles? I envision the two musicians running into Nicholas Cage at a sushi restaurant and the actor doing some crazy sorcerer magic on them. He could wave his hands, then suddenly Rivers would be dressed as a hip hop star with tripped out Nikes and B.o.B. turns into a nerdy rocker wearing thick black spectacles.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

How to embarrass a Japanese man

Tonight Ajumma was introduced to a Japanese college student named Mamoru. For some dumbass reason, I mentioned to Mamoru that he looked Korean. The student's face turned red and he said, "I'm Japanese." I told him I knew that. (It's just that he looked really Korean in a good, healthy, dating the prettiest girl at his college, kind of way.)