May the gingerbread be with you

I snapped these Star Wars gingerbread creations outside of Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination at the Discovery Center in Santa Ana, California. The Star Wars exhibit is pure awesomeness, but I warn against doing the Millennium Falcon jump to light speed.  Don't pay five extra dollars for that letdown. It is lame with a capital L unless you are three years-old.  I've been more impressed driving into oncoming snow.  

 Imperial AT-AT on the move

 Princess Leia looks pretty and delicious

This one is my favorite because who doesn't imagine the Millennium Falcon when they think of the manger scene?

Korean foot massage: HELL ON EARTH

While seated under a painting of The Last Supper in L.A.'s Koreatown, I spent an hour of hell as an ajosshi relentlessly kneaded my arches and pounded my calves into submission.  My girlfriend, husband (who we talked into getting a massage for the first time), and I wanted to try the popular Chinatown foot massage from Spaahbulous, but they were closed.  Hubs suggested we try someplace in K-town rather than driving to Pasadena to Heart and Sole.  A foot massage shop was having a grand opening upstairs, so we decided on them.  A tanned and scrawny man directed us to three recliners (under The Last Supper) where we soaked our feet.  At this point I was looking for the female masseuses.  Instead two additional men popped out and began vigorously kneading our shoulders.  I got the scrawny ajosshi who had long fingernails and callouses that he'd rub along my calves.  His thinness disguised a disturbing strength which he used on my arches with gusto.  The picture of comic Jason Sudeikis, above, is like me undergoing the foot massage.

When I told him the pressure was too painful he informed, "This is medium," and continued as before. I was tempted to get up and leave, but I didn't want to insult him or embarrass my husband or friend. We were the clueless ones since we hadn't researched Korean foot massages before seating ourselves in those recliners.  Now I see when talking about Korean foot massages online people say PAINFUL, DON'T DO IT, and WANTED TO SCREAM.  Somehow the three of us got through the hour; my husband by seeing the humor in the situation and my friend by pretending to be dead.  As we left, an elderly Korean couple and a middle-aged white lady waited for our chairs.  How could an old lady undergo the same massage without having her foot bones pummeled into powder and her leg veins burst?  My husband reminded me that older Koreans are hard core.  Of course.  Their motto, as supported by my foot massage, is pain equals gain.  Photos NY Magazine and Sandro Castelli

Cheese of 2011: Smoked gouda

If you haven't tried Gouda Cheese then you haven't been living. My husband's company sent us blocks of cheese and summer sausage for Christmas. (It's an interesting situation for a couple who are vegetarian and lactose intolerant, no?) I can get by on small amounts of cheese and am head over heels for the block of smoked gouda.

Video of 2011: Call Your Girlfriend

Hands down this is my favorite video of 2011.  I've got Robyn's backwards somersault down but can't quite pair it with a floor hump. I end up doing a pushup instead.  My neighbors who can see in through our sliding glass door must think I'm nuts.

Oprah and Jason are making a fresh start

I keep seeing the cover of O Magazine at the airport and I keep thinking it's Oprah and Jason Bateman.

Photo The Daily Stab

Jim Henson tribute at Nucleus

If you enjoy The Muppets and are in L.A. County, be sure to stop by Nucleus Art Gallery and Store to see The Lovers, The Dreamers and Me-A Jim Henson Tribute Exhibition.  It shows through January 2, 2012.

Best Buds by Mike Mitchell

I love-hate Los Angeles

Los Angeles is like an ex-boyfriend I just can't shake.  He's really hot, but stinky because he smokes like a chimney. He drives recklessly and has a ton of speeding tickets.  He shouldn't be allowed near animals since he doesn't take care of them.  L.A. tends to attract shallow people, especially those seeking the spotlight. Some say he chews up people and spits them out.  Just when I am convinced L.A. is a certified idiot, he reminds me he has numerous degrees in the sciences and arts, and speaks a variety of languages. He has acquaintances from all walks of life.  He thrives on ethnic food. He loves surfing, gardening and culture. He doesn't front.  L.A. says I can take him as he is.

City Love print by delovely arts. L.A. wood sign by William Dohman.

Cary Grant's Palm Springs home still for sale

Cary Grant's former Palm Springs home is as handsome and charming as the screen legend.  L.A. Times notes the estate entered the home market for $2995,000 in February 2011 and is still open to offers. (Interestingly, Bish's Beat blogged about Grant's home in 2008 when it was for sale for a whopping $4,995,000.)

I love the hacienda and ranch style of the home.  I also like the blue trim which used to be much lighter.  To see interior photos of the property (as impressive on the interior as the outside), I recommend visiting Hooked on Houses.

Photos: Hooked on Houses, Luxury Property, Bish's Beat

The haircut of 2011

I've obviously been living under a rock because I just learned that Nyjah Huston cut his hair!  The 17 year-old professional skateboarder says he needed a change this summer so he hacked off his dreadlocks that he's been growing since he was a kid.

When asked if it feels different skating without them he replied, "Yeah, it doesn't help or hurt the way I skate at all, but it's a little more comfortable without having them fly in your face and shit." CSS 

The Flowers of War (2011)

Twitch now features Zhang Yimou's American trailer for the movie The Flowers of War, starring Christian Bale.  It's a more concise version of the trailer above. The film opens December 2012. Watch Twitch's trailer here.

Daniel Dae Kim sculpture

By Johnny Cheung of Costa Rica.  See more of his work on Deviant Art.

Young Guns II: The good, the bad and the promiscuous

I had forgotten how obsessed I was with Young Guns and Billy the Kid's legend until my husband discovered Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory" video this weekend.  The six lead actors of Young Guns II (1990) are still present, prolific and pretty darn handsome. Here's a rundown of what they're up to:

Emilio Estevez-William H. Bonney, aka Billy the Kid

Yoo hoo, he'll make you famous! Emilio, now 49 years-old, has been touring to promote The Way (2010), a film he wrote and directed, starring his father Martin Sheen. The movie, which has garnered positive reviews from critics, follows Sheen's character as he makes a pilgrimage through Spain in honor of his deceased son. Estevez has two adult children and enjoys growing grapes on his Malibu property with his fiance, journalist Sonja Magdevski.

Kiefer Sutherland-Josiah "Doc" Scurlock

Kiefer, the bad boy of the bunch, keeps on ticking. This past spring Sutherland starred in The Confession, a 10-part web series about a hitman who turns to a priest on Christmas Eve. The action-filled series aired on Hulu but is supposedly coming to Netflix streaming. Kiefer, who is 45, also appeared in the 2011 film Melancholia. He's got a 21 year-old daughter who despite her age still appears on celebrity baby sites with her dad.

Lou Diamond Phillips-Jose Chavez y Chavez

Our favorite knife thrower is set to guest star on the season 4 premiere of Southland as a beat cop. The TNT series airs January 17.  Lou also won I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here in 2009, is a board advisor for The Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment, and is a contender on Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off which premieres on the Food Network on January 1. He's on Rachael Ray's team, by the way. Lou has a wife and four daughters, three of whom are teenagers.

Christian Slater-Dave Rudabaugh

Christian was the darling of the 1990s film scene, then things went south with drugs and alcohol additions.  The 42 year-old has been sober for five years, however. Since going straight he says, "I've been trying to take time for myself and to be with my kids. I went to African and ended up building schools there. I went on a USO tour to Bahrain and Djibouti. I went to Walter Reed hospital. These aren't things I ever considered doing."(Fanshare) Slater, who will headline FOX's second season of Breaking In, gives his time to numerous charity events like the Chris Evert-Raymond James Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic. He has two children and is dating former Jimmy Choo co-founder, Tamara Mellon. 

Balthazar Getty-Tom O'Folliard

Folks didn't hear much from Balthazar after Young Guns II. The married actor popped back onto the radar in 2008 when paparazzi photographed him vacationing with a topless Sienna Miller in Italy. (The pair met through Sienna's boyfriend at the time, who co-starred with Getty on the television series Brothers and Sisters.) These days the 36 year-old father of four says his wife has forgiven him and they're better than they've ever been. Ah, marital affairs are so rejuvenating!

Alan Ruck-Hendry William French

When it comes to Alan one should ask what show he hasn't been on.  Psych, Cougar Town, Fringe, Numbers, Greek and Justified? Yessiree. The 55 year-old is most famous for playing Ferris Bueller's sniffly and depressed best friend Cameron in 1986. That didn't stop Ruck from saddling up to portray a farmer turned hired gun in Young Guns II. These days the actor is married to Big Love star Mireille Enos and has three kids. Over the summer Alan, a native of Cleveland, recorded a short video talking about artwork at The Cleveland Museum of Art.

Photos via livgrn, fanpop, zimbio, e!online, celebritywonder

This makes me p*ssed

On Pissed Consumer people submit complaints about poor customer service at businesses.  They tend to range from overcharged credit cards to incompetent managers. A disturbing trend I've noticed on Pissed Consumer is the racist tone of commenters. When people posted saying they received poor customer service or hostility from employees due to their skin color, people responded like this:

>Written by Whatever on January 13, 2010 
Race card = cannot take you seriously.


>Written by WTF?! on October 19, 2009 
Seriously? Are you really playing the race card? Seems to me that you have bigger issues than custom paint.

>Written by random1344 on August 25, 2011 

Really you pulled the race card? There are a hundred reasons why you might not have been greeted in a timely manner, but you pick race discrimination. Grow up, get thicker skin, or both.

Then there was the commenter who called someone the N-word but was thoughtful enough to * out the Gs. How nice. So people of color are welcome to complain about service unless it involves their race? Bad service due to racism does exist and we have every right to call it when we see it.  Whites to Blacks, Asian to Blacks, Blacks to Hispanics, Asians to other Asians, etc. it happens. We shouldn't have to shuffle it under the rug because it makes other people uncomfortable.

Allison Brie in BUST

Long story short, I was searching for photos of bearded men in free magazines. One of the magazines was named Bust (Dec/Jan). Just like you'd guess, Bust is the last place to find men, especially ones with beards. What I did find was a nice little interview with actress Allison Brie who stars in one of my favorite shows, Community (NBC).

Ninja and luchadores ♥ the Honda Civic

Read about Honda's new ad campaign and see their print ads for their five Civic models.

Still out in the cold when it comes to boots

Damn you, Sorel, for putting last year's boots on sale (which are better looking than this year's models in my opinion) but only stocking sizes 5 and 6!  I want these boots but would have to wrap my feet like an 18th century Chinese woman to fit into them.

Top 4 places I want to visit

Bora Bora 

 Kyoto

Prague

Austria

Photos via Beautiful Places to Visit, Best Tourism, Wonderful Tourism Blog

Is Tate Langdon the new Edward?

Tate Langdon: Ghost

Edward Cullen: Vampire

You recognize him from
Tate: American Horror Story series on FX
Edward: The Twilight books


Object of his desire
Tate: Violet Harmon, the ballsy yet depressed teenage daughter of his new psychiatrist
Edward: Bella Swan, his accident-prone and love-obssessed classmate


Appearance
Tate: Frumpy and pale, like someone at a 1992 Nirvana concert
Edward: Well-dressed and pale, like a Banana Republic model


How he became supernatural
Tate: Shot by SWAT police in his home after gunning down his high school classmates in 1994.  American Horror Story fans wonder does he really know he's dead?
Edward: Turned from human into vampire at 17 by his adopted father to keep him from dying from Spanish Influenza in 1918


He may be weird, but he's a lifesaver
Tate: Helped Violet scare her school bully and escape from home invaders. Frantically revived her when she overdosed on sleeping pills.
Edward: Rescued Bella from alley attackers, fellow vampires, and from being crushed by a car, among other things


Big bummer about dating him
Tate: Cannot leave Murder House property unless it’s Halloween (when souls can roam Earth).  Plus there’s his history of killing people.
Edward: Gets weak and moody when he doesn’t feed on deer blood.  He’s cold to the touch and has to constantly fight the urge to suck the life out of Bella. 

How he woos his lady
Tate: "Because I care about your feelings more than mine. I love you. There I said it, not just on some chalkboard. I would never let anybody or anything hurt you. I've never felt that way about anyone."
Edward: "If I could dream at all, it would be about you and I'm not ashamed of it. I thought I'd explained it clearly before. Bella, I can't live in a world where you don't exist."

If there's one thing this ajumma hates, it's being manipulated with lovey storylines and contrived romantic dialogue from male characters.  I have grown to like Tate up to this point, but if he pulls an Edward and asks Violet to narrate her life's story because he's interested in every detail, I will walk way from American Horror Story forever.  I suspect Tate has a few psychotic cards up his sleeve that will come out eventually, probably when Violet finds a regular living boyfriend.  It will be heartbreaking and tragic for sure, and a horror story for everyone involved. 


Update: The American Horror Story episode "Rubber Man" aired last night, and for good or for bad Tate is SO not the new Edward. Yowza.

Photos Screencrave, International Business Times, fanpop, and Polyvore

The hardest freaking Tangram

Created by ancient Chinese, Tangrams are 7 geometric shapes put together to form a larger shape. I've been working through my Tangram book, but got mega-stumped last night trying to make the shape below. It even perplexed my husband who usually solves Tangrams in 2/3 the time it takes me. It took him 20 minutes to lay the pieces in the correct places.

John Frusciante

Red Hot Chili Pepper's guitarist John Frusciante's appearance has dramatically changed over the years.

I had forgotten how beautiful the 41 year-old musician looked back in the 1990's.

Photos via guitar.com, listal.com, and The Lebanese Blues Brother

Mug junkie

I can't cook myself out of a paper bag, but I can sure boil water. This means I consume large amounts of tea. When it comes to tea, I take pride in my mugs. Some women are into handbags or shoes. I like ceramics. The cherry blossom-festooned Emi mug sits next to me filled with Pu-Erh at this very moment. Come payday I'm sending away for the delightful Naomi mug, below. Both mugs can be found at ShopHotPots.

Clones Vol. 23: Alex Skarsgard & Teddy Sears

The big news when American Horror Story aired its Halloween episodes was that Zachary Quinto guest starred as the house's previous doomed tenant, Chad.  What about his tall, blonde and philandering lover played by actor Alexander Skarsgard? Yes, no? That wasn't Skarsgard, but another tall blonde with equally nice bone structure named Teddy Sears.

For those not familiar, Skarsgard (True Blood and Straw Dogs) is shown above and Sears (One Life to Live) is below with the popped collar.

I think Sears resembles Skarsgard with a hint of Grant Show from Melrose Place. And Skarsgard looks like Sears with a dash of Toby Maguire. I love their hair. There can never be enough blonde men in the world.

I leave you with a photo of Teddy Sears in his American Horror Story Halloween outfit.  I tried to find a photo of Alexander Skargard also wearing a cowboy hat, but apparently that's not his style. All I know is if I were Sears I'd wear a Stetson from this day onward wherever I went.

Photos via American Horror Story Mommies, Paperblog, FX

See more Clones on Ajumma's Pad.