A-B-C

Wujiang Snack Street to be demolished.
Ethnocide hooray!

A long while back, I bought some candy off a street vendor in Seoul. One candy was some kind of rock candy, the other was corn silk that had been pounded, sugared, and dried. When I showed my mom the corn candy she was surprised. Apparently, it was a poor man's war time sweet that no one made or ate anymore. It was good enough that ten-something years later, I still have a hankering for it. But that was the only time I ever saw it sold, and no one else seems to have seen it either. If anyone does see it, the ABC mail box is open 24/7~

There are endangered animals and endangered languages. What about endangered cuisines? Are there programs or schools that help protect against the loss of "commoner cuisine?" Maybe my next comic will about an anthropologist chef that travels the world documenting disappearing street foods and home dishes.

Had to post this before March ends. Can't wait for the warm weather to settle in, and bust out the bossa nova and wedge sandals.

I can't say I enjoy any Annie Leibovitz's work, but I do like Italians, couture and have an undeniable wish to be Alice Liddell...see the rest of the Vogue issue.

I just watched the new movie out TOKYO! at the Berkeley Theater, which by the way, is THE WAY to watch all movies. Think, converted colorful mosque interiors, crystal clear projections, full black leather seats and cup holders that actually hold a smaller cup and not just for the jumbo-extra-large soda cups they sell at AMC...

I think I really wanted to watch this movie, not only for the all-star director list, but also because I realized I didn't know as much about Japanese culture as A and C. Though, if you think about it, the Japanese are pure trendsetters and culture whores, where they seemingly always surprise me with something outrageous and expectant of their ways at the same time. How can I not keep up learning about these people? So, one thing I learned after watching TOKYO! is a glimpse into the subculture of hikikomori where people are shut-in and never leave the confinements of their home. The interior of this mans house is articulate and looks as if it was built with reuse materials. (Uh, HA! actually 11 years of toilet rolls and pizza boxes to be more exact.) In his insanity or paranoia to leave his home, he manages to create this wonderful living space that any green interior architect could take inspiration from.So, anyway, the main antagonist shuts himself in for 11 years before some incident happens and he meets her...the actress is quietly stunning. I love the proportions of the features of her face.

Finished and loved Michiko & Hatchin (ミチコとハッチン). No surprise, since I loved the movie City of God ("Cidade de Deus") by Fernando Meireilles and Kátia Lund, which was the inspiration for this series. The clothes by Colcci and impressive voice acting by Yoko Maki (Ju-On) and Suzuka Ohgo (Memoirs of a Geisha) helped too. The series overall has lots of film-esque elements, but it's balanced nicely by a self-awareness of animation as the working medium. It just sucks that budget really undermined the quality of the animation in more than a couple episodes.

Now that Sunrise has acquired quality control rights to the script, I'm actually looking forward to Keanu Reeves' adaptation of Cowboy Bebop.

It'd be nice to feel totally unabashed by the stigma of nerdiness. Like the Naruto fans wearing their headbands to the park, or the 40-year-old dude with the anime girl t-shirt on the train. But posting about this stuff under pseudonym to a blog is just about the limits of my ability.

When Christian, Jan and I were discussing the content of our contributions to this blog, I wasn't sure what to post exactly. At first, it was going to be whatever I felt like. The household wonders of baking soda and vinegar, sliming with peanut butter, the insanity of U.S. anti-pedophile laws that criminalize dumb teens, and why Marc Jacobs sucks.
But it seemed a little too random and better suited for a personal journal. So I thought it'd be better to play between Jan's gamer geek and Christian's home and style posts. Dunno. Dude, you guys get posting!

Cut back on lots of things to save up for a small splurge. The target for the splurge came down to a choice between the DSi and a convertible rucksack by Stella McCartney for Le Sport Sac (Fall 08). The bag won, seeming like the more practical purchase. Plus, there's nothing wrong with my current DS, and the new DSi isn't much of a break from it. Aside from Nintendo devotion and an attraction to shiny new things, there didn't seem like any good reason to bother with a DSi at all.

But if some benevolent stranger threw cash at me and said, "Go forth and buy," I wouldn't complain.

People think it's silly to worry about privacy rights, or that it's impossible for people to spy on you via your MacBook's camera. Then something like GhostNet hits the pages of the New York Times, and there's some vindication in being a so-called crazy conspiracy theorist.

In less creepy news, the crêpe place down the block went out of business. Anyone who's ever been a regular anywhere will understand how hard it sucks when one of your favorite places bites the dust. Especially when said place made crêpes like fancy burritos, and gave you complimentary chocolate Belgian waffles.

This calls for cheering up with a little nostalgia-



Calico Critters/Sylvanian Families are one of the few things from childhood that managed to survive and escape mutilation in the name of modernization. If it's not obvious from the images displayed, the Rabbit families were my favorite. Luckily, there's a ton of places that still carry the toy line! Because spending $3 towards a little kid's toy instead of a draft during happy hour is what real adults do.

I just closed my blog entry. Don't you hate that. I'm always juggling 2 Firefox windows with 5-10 tabs a piece and of course I always close the one I needed the most.

I settled a credit card debt today. For 40% of my balance paid in 3 installments. It's a huge load off my chest. I thought about rewarding myself with a video game, but then I remembered: I'm setting a CREDIT CARD DEBT. QQ So I'm going to treat myself by playing with a baby tonight, it'll be like Imagine Babyz irl.

I'm always using random gaming terms and then Christian has to ask me what the hell I'm talking about. So here it is. IRL stands for in real life. Gamers are such dorks.

I know this outfit may have a lack of color, but what it lacks for in the color spectrum it makes up in it's shape. I think anyone with a little hip and B's could appreciate this look. If I could change one thing, I would swap for some killer neon colored heels. (via NAST-magazine.)