A bad way to do business

What not to do if you own a restaurant: Do not make patrons seated in your restaurant wait almost 2 hours to be served while you continually shuffle containers of take-out out the door. You're going to end up with an earful of complaints and, if you're a good restaurant owner, a bunch of comped meals. Photo: suzycantcook.wordpress.com

A good thang: color in the kitchen

Whisk and cups: Sur la table, Hello Kitty mug: momiji

Cuteness overload for Friday

J. Crew gets it right with this spunky young model.  Photos from my life as a cat and j. crew.

Kettlecorn makes it all worthwhile

raygunsite.com

Tommy Ryman brings the chuckles

Tommy Ryman is my new favorite stand-up comedian.

friendsoftype.com

Super Bass by Nicki Minaj

Is a good song, except for the parts with Nicki Minaj.  

Photo by Pop Wife

Favorite Korean dishes

Foodie art by panda penguin

Ode to the best looking member of Coldplay

Despite the fact Chris Martin is the face of Coldplay, there must be a great satisfaction in being bassist Guy Berryman. Not only is he in a world renowned band making music with close friends, but everyone knows he's the hottest member of the group.  His wife or girlfriend must be pretty pleased with her situation. Gywneth Paltrow may be married to Coldplay's lead singer, but Berryman and his main squeeze can come and go as they please without paparazzi leaping from the bushes. Plus everyone knows she's with the hottest member of the band.

Blow out the cheesecake: Olivia turns two

Hooray! Our little friend Olivia turned two years-old this month. She celebrated along with her buddies Matthias and Ethan (who both turned three) with cheesecakes made by Matthias' dad.

 

Previously: Go baby, get that money! Olivia turns one.

Andy Whitfield passes away

Depressing news: This morning I jumped on dlisted and discovered actor Andy Whitfield passed away yesterday. Whitfield, the 39 year-old star of the series Spartacus, had been battling non-Hodgkins Lymphoma for the past year. Whitfield had a true gift for acting, with his feelings pouring from his intense blue eyes. With Spartacus he made what could have been a campy ride, classy and believable. Whitfield is survived by his wife and two children. Read more.

Tiki and his glamazon

Former NFL Running Back Tiki Barber is engaged to the young woman (10 years his junior) he left his 8 months pregnant wife for in 2009.  The fact his mistress interned at Tiki's workplace of NBC, was 23, and that his wife was lugging around his twin girls in utero, transformed Tiki from stud to schmuck in the minds of many.  I'll give him this, it's not often a man is willing to to be outshone in the height department by their girlfriends.  Most men seem to prefer it more like Tiki and his diminutive wife Ginny Cha (they're not divorced yet). For those who predicted karma would someday bite Tiki in the rear, you'll be happy to hear he staged a comeback recently, but NFL teams told the 36 year-old no thank you. Photo via IFN Daily

How to play iPod Playlists on the 2011 VW GTI

I drive a 2011 Volkswagen GTI and have had a hard time figuring out how to access my playlists on my radio's iPod interface.  My owner's manual doesn't discuss how to do this, and none of the descriptions I found online match my radio system.  After some frustration and lots of button pushing, here's how to find your iPod playlists on a newer GTI:

1) Once a song is playing, hit the Menu button

2) Select Browse

3) Select Top

4) When Playlists appears, select Open

5) Your iPod's name will appear

6) Hit the Folder > button to access your first playlist

7) Hit the Category < button to find your other playlists

Enjoy the ride!

Remembering September 11, 2001

On the night of September 11, 2001, I received a phone call from my boyfriend stationed at a U.S. Army post in the northeast section of Korea. "The Pentagon's been hit by an airplane and is on fire. Another plane just struck one of the World Trade Towers in New York. My base is going on lock-down," he said. I immediately turned on Armed Forced Network, the only English television channel I received in Korea. CBS was broadcasting live footage of panic on the streets of Manhattan. The subways were closed, roads were blocked, and people were running down the street.

I called my parents back in the states. They had no idea about the plane crashes. My mom phoned my brother who was asleep in his Brooklyn apartment. He didn't know about the chaos occurring one borough away either. Dan Rather assured viewers although it looked like pandemonium, things were actually not that bad. With his words in mind, I switched the TV off and went to bed. When I awoke the next morning to teach my 6 am English class, the mood had changed. A second plane had hit the other World Trade Tower.  People were jumping from the buildings to their death.  Firemen and police were crushed by falling debris. Smoke and soot filled the air.

When class began, one of my adult students informed me that the United States basically deserved these attacks since we caused civilian deaths in Cuba and other places across the globe. "That's not what I need to hear right now," I told him. My manager said she was sorry this happened to my country. I think she was being earnest considering she's the same person who told me she wanted Japan to fall into the ocean.

The USO canceled my scheduled trip to Panmunjeom right after the terrorist attacks. Other than that and the continual 9/11 footage played on AFN, life went on as normal in Korea. What's eery to me is about a week before 9/11 I glanced at a headline in an Armed Forces newspaper about probable attacks to overseas American targets. Who would have thought terrorists would hit the states and kill thousands of civilians? Photo from L.A. Times

Keep calm

Out of the entire Keep Calm Arsenal on Etsy, this poster is my favorite.

Nathan Fletcher for Nixon (circa 1999)

Nixon sells watches, belts, and wallets among other stuff in case you couldn't tell. I'd swear they sell skate shoes or hair clippers going by this ad.

Gaga is Macchio-ish

Watching Lady Gaga's gender-bending 2011 VMA performance for the first time, I realized the singer isn't channeling actor Adam Goldberg, but rather Ralph Macchio! Bloggers say she looked like The Outsiders star, but for me her high pitched New York accent and mannerisms are what remind me of Macchio. Watch Lady Gaga's alter-ego Joe Calderone, and judge for yourself. Photo from mtv.com

How to make Domo kun cupcakes

Big-ass stir fry alert!

University of Massachusetts served up the world's largest stir fry to students during this year's "Welcome to UMass Week."  According to The Daily Collegian, the colossus meal weighed in at 4010 pounds, earning the university the new Guinness Book record. UMass chefs once again brought the academic institution honor after creating the world's largest california roll in 2011. Photo from The Daily Collegian