Bruce Lee for Mars Bar

Follow Apolo and get lei'ed

Apolo Ohno is headed to Hawaii, and he's bringing backup! Ohno and the winners of Alaska Airline's "Follow Apolo to Hawaii" contest will arrive in Maui this week. In addition to roundtrip tickets to Maui, contest winners receive four nights and five days at the Grand Wailea hotel and a private luau with Ohno. They're flying to Maui aboard Alaska Airline's "Follow Apolo" Boeing 737-800, unveiled back in March. Not a bad way to travel.

HELLO my name is "Ohmygodisthatpuke?"

Ajumma adopted a fat and sassy shelter dog two weeks ago. I'm basically in heaven over her, except for when I cleaned up her barf on my carpet yesterday. Here is a witty dog tag for the special one in your life by BowWowzerZ on Etsy.

Maracas bring out Jon Bon Jovi's passionate side

I read a blog post that asked, "Is Jon Bon Jovi the New Ricky Martin?" I was sure it meant Jon was coming out of the closet. It actually referred to Jon getting down and dirty with a pair of maracas. Jon playing the maracas gives me a huge chuckle. Here's the amusing video of the New Jersey native shaking what his mama gave him. Jazz hands!

Let's talk about Leonardo

Pointless observation: Leonardo DiCaprio has had a nose job, if not two. For years I though his face looked different from his This Boy's Life days, but couldn't quite place what was different. I personally liked his old nose better. It gave him character, balance, and voluputous-ness.

Back in the day, before the guarded interviews and lingerie model girlfriends, DiCaprio made the perfect Holden Caufield.

More plastic surgery spotting at Ajumma's Pad

The Force is with Domo kun

A TV spot in Japan for the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars features beloved icon, Domo kun.

May 20 is "Pick Strawberries Day"

Get out in the fields and put your back into it, people.

Oprah owns a house in Maui

Ajumma loves coffee table books! One of my favorites is The Hawaiian Home Now by Malia Mattoch-McManus. I highly recommend this book if you like island design, lush flowers and landscaping, and inspiring interiors. It is chock-full of color photos of a variety of homes across the Hawaiian islands.

Speaking of Hawaiian homes, Oprah (I always type "orphan" by accident) owns a nice property in Maui. See more photos of her Hawiian estate here.

David Lynch directs short film for Dior

I went searching for Twin Peaks news, this morning, and found this short film directed by David Lynch, instead. Watch Part 2 of "Lady Blue Shanghai" here.

Happy thought of the day

nataliedee.com

Surrounded by greenery in Venice, CA

Gleaming white Venice home for sale for $1,845,000. Three bedrooms, two baths, 1945 sq. feet. Kitchen appliances included. Here's a kicker; there's inside laundry! The home includes radiant floor heating, but no mention of air conditioning. Perhaps it's close enough to the ocean to not overheat in the arid SoCal summers. The property features both a carport and a two car garage, which is currently being used as a studio.

Is place is crying out for a modern hanging mobile or what?

Deasy/Penner & Partners lists 2111 Glencoe Avenue. Realtor.com has additional photos of this nice (but pricey) Venice home.

New Christopher Nolan film, "Inception"

Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page, is set for release July 2010.

Break me off a piece of that Soy Sauce Kit Kat bar

NPR's staff taste tested Nestle Kit Kat bars from Japan that come in unique flavors like Wasabi, Ginger, Soy Sauce and Corn. Read their funny reactions here.

I ♥ boba tea!

My final assignment in my Adobe Illustrator class, this term, is a self portrait. I started drawing myself as an obese Asian woman with a cupcake on the front of her sweatshirt. My classmate got weirded out seeing me do that and said the teacher wouldn't accept it. I turned in this portrait of me, instead.

Anderson Cooper isn't the only dude with nice eyes

Men and women go weak in the knees for CNN's Anderson Cooper. I'm more of a TJ Holmes kind of gal. Holmes used to co-anchor on Sunday mornings on CNN with Betty Nguyen. Nguyen accepted a position at CBS earlier this year, however, breaking up what was the most attractive talking-head team on television. As my husband says, the nice thing about TJ Holmes is that he reports the news but doesn't throw his own opinions. Personally, I love a man with opinions.

Amy Butler Spring 2010

Much to the insane delight of her fans, fabric designer Amy Butler has expanded her colorful pattern making into towels, stationary, striking wall art and best of all, rugs. Her lovely website now also features an online shop.

Eat your heart out, Pottery Barn.

FINALLY: Mitch's ranch home from "The Parent Trap"

A marvelous mind has finally pieced together Mitch's California ranch house from the 1961 movie, The Parent Trap. Disney still receives requests for floor plans for the home, of which the exterior was designed on site in Northern California and the interior filmed on a soundstage. Would you believe I've been a fan of this house since I saw the movie in grade school?

Read Julia's room by room analysis of Mitch's ranch home from The Parent Trap on her blog, Hooked on Houses.

Repping the team (aka, do we have to take Tila?)

I popped in on Johnny Cupcakes, today, to see their newest wares. I miss their Asian models like the gal with red glasses from last year's line. Actually, Ajumma wishes Johnny Cupcakes would hire an male Asian model. For now I'll settle for the kid who looks like he could be part Filipino.

This morning Ajumma attended a talk by Dr. Oliver Wang, a professor at Cal State Long Beach, who spoke about race and popular culture. He specifically discussed Asian American pop culture and the importance of seeing ourselves in the media. This got me thinking of representations of Asian Americans I saw growing up. Best I can recall, they were:

1. Connie Chung

2. Arnold Jackson's teacher on Diff'rent Strokes (played by Rosalind Chao)

3. Mac's wife Quon Le on Night Court (played by Denice Kumagai, of whom sadly there are zero photos online)

4. Data on The Goonies (played by Jonathan Ke Quan. He is practically the only Asian American male I remember from pop culture as a youngster. Thank goodness for Jonathan Ke Quan!)

There's no better friend

I love this ad for dog adoption.

Mini Korean BBQ set on Etsy

BebeToby is selling this awesome handmade Korean BBQ set on Etsy. The table and chairs are included. The only thing it's missing, frankly, is a tiny bottle of soju.