Making a buck off Chuck

How did George Harrison get the pants sued off him because his song "My Sweet Lord" sounded too much like "He's so Fine," yet Converse isn't suing every company it sees? My eyes tell me that Chuck Taylor knock-offs are the hottest shoe style among street wear companies right now. The Hundreds is venturing into Converse territory, along with Plan B. The Valenzuela Low by The Hundreds actually reminds me of PF Flyer shoes a boyfriend owned in college.

CtotheJL.com

Kim Jong-Il's bodyguards hit it

And apparently get hit, a lot.

Dog park bully

Ajumma's dogsitting this week, which means I'm at the dog park instead of online.  I'm staying with my parents' dog, Dorrie.  Dorrie has developed a neurosis towards larger dogs.  Today she lunged at Chocolate Lab who made the mistake of getting close to her tennis ball.  This is troubling for Ajumma who loves all dogs and agrees with Rodney King that we all should all just get along.

Bashful boba tea

Acrylic on canvas by Lemondrop

Song Seung Hun channels Kanye West

More at Men3

It's amazing he never spilled

Oh yeah.

Oh yeah!

OH YEAH!

A cupcake made for oogling

Today a friend suprised me with this lovely, large cupcake. As I carried it to my car parked on the street, a Prius passed by. As the car was about to turn the corner its passenger window rolled down and a girl peeked out. "That's a great looking cupcake," she called to me. "Really great!"

Stuck on Domo

Domo kun magnet set from Things From Another World

Clive on Esquire magazine

My mind pretty much exploded when I saw the March cover.

Clones Vol. 13: Nameless Korean guy & Wonbin

It's been a while since we've had any clones at the Pad! Here is a young Korean TV actor whose name I can't place, that people are calling the next Wonbin.

Here's the original Wonbin and dang if they don't look alike. Nice pout, boys.

How to know when you need a new job

Careerbuilder makes the best ads ever.

A little Cho will do you

LA Times got a sneak preview of the new Star Trek crew member action figures, last month. The figures include a John Cho version of Enterprise officer Sulu.

Coming to a wall near you

Bruce Lee wall decal @ The Surface Store

Ping Pong with Mike D.

If you play Solitare on your computer you will be excited to learn that the Beastie Boys feature a ping pong simulator on their official website. (Turn up the volume dial and click on the green ping pong table to access the game.) I've found the key to effective play against Mike D. is to keep your paddle low. Game on!

Double Ds

The cute gal above with the strawberry head is Dalki. She's a Korean cartoon character, who according to her website, is also a fashion icon. Her monochromatic green dress is so fashionable. Also according to Dalki's site, she possesses the powers of telepathy and "gets absorbed to heroin" in cartoons and movies. I'm fairly certain they mean Dalki becomes the heroine of cartoons and movies.

Ajumma couldn't find Dalki online for the longest time because of Korea's jacked up romanization system. Her name is Dalki, but Ajumma was looking under double D because the way it's spelled in Korean. I began to wonder whether I made her up in my head. Another romanization hot mess is the name for Korean's international airport. Prior to the 2002 World Cup Korea updated spellings on its buildings, and Kimpo became Gimpo. GIMPO. Not hot.

But seriously, Dalki is a charming Korean cartoon character (whose name means "strawberry") who gets into adventures with her fruity headed friends. Her image appears on a variety of clothes, trinkets and housewares, and she even has her own theme park in Kyongi province.

Scott Simon, mi amour

Scott Simon is the Peabody award-winning host of NPR's Weekend Edition show. Scott has earned acolades and awards for his reporting on the September 11th terrorist attacks and the war in Afghanistan. Until Saturday my most memorable Scott Simon moment occurred when he bumped into Alex Rodriguez's father in a Miami nursing home during an interview a few years ago. This happened while A-Rod was chasing a World Series title. Simon, a lifelong baseball fan, chuckled in unrestrained delight at this occurance.

On Saturday morning Simon shared a story about the dangers of being a journalist in Russia. He said he felt humbled at the news of the execution of a 25-year old female journalist shot in the back of her head as she stood on a street corner in Moscow. He read one of the journalist's poems. As his voice quieted I could eerily feel his pain.

Next, Simon interviewed Richard Glover from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Simon commented that 200 Australians have died from the wildfires, but that many animals have perished as well. Glover stated that over 100 million native Australian animals have perished in the wildfires (the shocking figure does not include farm or domesticated animals). Glover then recounted his visit to a busy animal rescue where citizens brought injured wild animals. Glover described the badly burnt baby koalas he saw in basket after basket, blue tape upon their damaged paws, clutching at stuffed toy koalas for comfort. Scott Simon, choked with tears, warmly thanked Glover for his story.

I love Scott Simon for his stories, his honesty and most of all his humanity. Listen to his Weekend Edition story here.

Shawn Duong. Wow.

You've seen him audition for Kaba Modern, now watch Shawn Duong freestyle.

Toothy's done it now

Pop singer Chris Brown found himself in the arms of the Popo last week for beating down his girlfriend, Rihanna. This has put a kink into Brown's young, serene, perfect first boyfriend image. I have three Chris Brown songs on my iPod that I used to rock out to, that now leave me feeling crabby. And since Chris moved his status into the Official Jerk catetory, his big teeth take on a whole new annoyance.

Quickie Japanese

Learn to say common Japanese phrases.

Firefighter helps scorched koala

Four hours ago the Associated Press released this image of an Austrailan firefighter giving water to an injured koala. Koalas are especially vulnerable to wildfires because they move slowly on the ground. Read the story here.

The AP says the wildfires, likely deliberately set, cut through parks and forests and sent countless wombats and other native species fleeing. One resident reported seeing kangaroos bouncing down the road with flames at their backs.

The fires also razed farmland, killing or panicking sheep and cattle. Television footage showed cows running down the main street of a smoke-filled town. A count of the animal deaths has not been made. Eighty-four people have died in the fires.

The bastard who set these fires deserves to have his genitals devoured by fire ants while being torn apart by angry, large apes. Or at least the marine biologists in Austraila could use him for shark bait.

Poor wombats on the run.

Fresh fruit

Cute 4" plush apples by Anna Chambers

Bale's dance remix

Malto beanies

Sean's hometown skateshop sold beanies knitted by Sean's mom a few years ago. Malto and his brothers model mom's caps.

Pretty hot as a woman

My husband says Mad TV's Bobby Lee is pretty hot as a woman. Bobby does have friendly eyes. I'm eagerly awaiting his pilot for Comedy Central, which follows Lee's life around his Koreatown apartment. He compares it to Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Lookee see what I got!

Ajumma got a mysterious sticker post card in the mail today. The backside reads, "Making Demands Everywhere this Spring 2007!" It's like Ajumma from the Past sent this to me in the year 2009.

I laughed from "action" to the end

Asian men show their hearts

Cute lad with emo hair heart

South Korean President heart

I got a scarf, too, heart


Tease my hair, but not my heart-heart

Filipino tag team heart

The mother of all funerals?

Explosive family dynamics and ensuing chaos at a Chinese funeral sound like the ingredients for a good flick, but the trailer for Dim Sum Funeral (2008) leaves me empty. Watch it here.

February is Great American Pie Month

Hooray for obscure holidays! Since Ajumma couldn't find any good photos of Oreo Cream Pie online, I am toasting another favorite, Eskimo Pie. Above are Eskimo and the Dough Boy celebrating with a weekend in the woods. Who knew they were even friends?

My team loses another good one

Jonathan Knight was the most handsome and likeable member of 80's boy band, New Kids on the Block. He never married and now we may know the reason. Jon's old boyfriend recently outted the pop star (complete with photos) in the National Enquirer.

Hey, Brazilian model ex-boyfriend who isn't even that hot, that's not classy!

It would make the commute more interesting

Austin, TX

Christian Bale: Coworker from hell

We know Christian Bale is a little intense on screen. Audio footage now proves Bale carries his persona off-screen, as well. E! has released audio of Bale flipping out on the set of Terminator 4: Salvation. His tirade, which includes several F-bombs, is aimed at the movie's director of photography who he felt ruined a scene. T4 directors recorded Bale's diva fit for insurance reasons because it included a threat to leave the project. They later stated that Bale just had "a bad day" and that he is "a consummate professional."

Listen to Bale lose it, here.

Hey baby, what time you got?

Handmade clock made of baby spooons by Dspardoe

Days Go By

Good dancing, interesting story and nice shots of L.A.

Meanwhile in Seoul...

Delectable strawberries for sale

Han's Seoul Daily Photo