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

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.

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!"

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.

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.

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

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.)