shows of interest

Five new shows coming in the fall that I will be checking out for sure:

Buffy is coming back to tv, in a show called Ringer, about one twin sister taking over the life of the other. It looks absolutely intriguing. Welcome back, SMG:


Zooey is the New Girl, in all her Zooey adorableness:


Summer aka Rachel Bilson is also coming back to tv, not to the OC but to a small Southern town, as a doctor, in Hart of Dixie -


Terra Nova is Avatar meets Jurassic Park (neither movie I liked very much), but I think this is still worth checking out cuz, whatever misgivings I had about Jurassic Park, I like to watch dinosaurs attacking people:


Person Of Interest = JJ Abrams + Jonathan Nolan = show of interest:

all good things

It's important to have favorite things. To decorate your tree of life. If I were Oprah, I would give you all each of these so you can share my joy and appreciation:

Hold On! comforter clips - Finally a solution to the annoying problem of having my comforter shift all over the place inside the duvet cover.

Haruki Murakami's After The Quake - You all know my undying love for all things Murakami. This collection of short stories, set in post-quake Kobe, is a great read and particularly poignant now, with the recent events in Japan. I wonder what Murakami is writing now. By the way, I just purchased the Norwegian Wood dvd off ebay, which has yet to see a release date in the US. But the English subtitle on the dvd is so crappy that it kinda ruined the movie for me. I need to see it properly when I am able to order the blu ray from Amazon UK.

Chobani Greek yogurt - Started eating Greek yogurt a few months back. Chobani is my brand of choice. Bonus is that Costco carries these, so I can buy in bulk.

Scones - My favorite pastry. I love the crumbly dry texture and that, unlike most pastries, it's not sweet. Strawberry scone from Arizmendi is one of the best I've ever had.

Osprey Resource Elroy laptop messenger bag or J. Crew Bowery messenger bag - My two go to bags for lugging things to and fro work. The Osprey for when I have to carry the brick that is my work laptop, and the J. Crew when I just need to pack a Chobani yogurt or a scone.

Corelle Livingware dinnerware - Everyday I use these dinner plates because they are lightweight, durable, and chip resistant. They are microwavable and dishwasher safe. Sure they are a little trailer park, but I would proudly serve fish and chips on these when Will and Kate come over for dinner.

John Derian paperweight - I love the John Derian aesthetics. I really don't want to spend too much money collecting things, so I got myself a $30 paperweight, just to be able to say I own a John Derian item.

Adele's Rolling In The Deep - The song that keeps on going and going. Let the sheep monsters worship their Gaga and her egg vessel. We all know the female artist who is, deservedly and quietly, rocking the charts these days is Adele. Edge of glory indeed.

Katy Perry's Firework - Alrighty. Her lyrics can be written by a fifth grader (Do I ever feel like a plastic bag? Um, no.), but dang, I cannot help but like this song. The choir sang this during Chi Young's graduation.

Country music - Ok, this has nothing to do with that lame American Idol winner Scotty McCreepy (who seriously looks like either Howdy Doody or the guy from Mad magazine). I've actually gained a new appreciation for country music because of the guy from Tron and his songs from Country Strong. And of course, I have long held mad respect for Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton.

Falling Angels blu ray - I just purchased this from Amazon. I was waiting for the price to come down a little bit. I initially did not fall in love with Falling Angels. But on repeated viewings, I realize this one stands up rather well against my Wong Kar Wai favorites including Chungking Express, In The Mood For Love and Happy Together.

Ryan Gosling in Blue Valentine - Slowly but surely he has risen to the top tier of my favorite actor list. His compelling turn in Blue Valentine didn't get proper recognition from the Academy, but, to quote Randy Jackson, this guy is in it to win it, in the long haul.

Rope bracelets - I am jonesing for these Miansai rope bracelets, but no, I am not paying $68 for one. I am going to try to make my own, following this DIY instruction.

Mom's Tofu House - My favorite Korean restaurant. The family that runs this place is super nice and usually gives you free pancake as an appetizer, in addition to the usual array of kimchee items. The tofu soup is the most tasty of any tofu house I've tried in the Bay Area.

Pisces - Just went here for dinner. It's an Asian fusion place near my house. If you go for happy hour dinner, the price is reasonable and the food is plentiful and delicious. I had the pork belly with a polenta cake. I was so stuffed that I couldn't even eat dessert on my own. (So I shared a creme brulee.)

Japan - I am in love with this country. The food, the people, the art, the vibe. If it weren't for the earthquakes, I would move there in a heartbeat. And you are all coming with me!

i should have known that it would end this way

Since the world didn't end yesterday at 6pm, I guess I am going to just go on living.  Here are the top ten songs I'm listening to now:

10	.	Pumped Up Kicks	Foster The People
9	.	Wait & See	Holy Ghost!
8	.	You Know What I Mean	Cults
7	.	Sadness Is A Blessing	Lykke Li
6	.	Need You Now (Architecture in Helsinki)	Cut Copy
5	.	Lord Knows Best	Dirty Beaches
4	.	Calgary	Bon Iver
3	.	Lady Luck	Jamie Woon
2	.	Domino	Sondre Lerche
1	.	I Should Have Known	Foo Fighters

it's the end of the world and oprah

Dear O:  I thought I would take this opportunity to write to you before Doomsday takes us all (where there might not be blogging).  Anyways, congratulations on closing this 25-year-old chapter of your life.  And what a glorious chapter it's been.  It's basically made you the most powerful woman in the country and possibly the world.  Even someone like me, a guy who really isn't into all your gratitude journal, meditation room schtick, can honestly appreciate your influence.  And yeah, I will freely admit to having shed a few tears watching your show, particularly when you feature brave people or people who do good for others.  Your show makes me less cynical, and that's a big deal.  Cynicism is like an infection.  You have to protect yourself against it constantly.  So thank you for reminding me that there is a lot of good in this world, a lot of people who look at the world as a community and that we are all connected.  You taught me that you have to put positive energy out there to receive positive energy back (you reap what you sow).  Words are very powerful, and that I need to be careful of the negative things I say (even if it's half-jokingly said and even if it's just self-deprecating humility).  People like Mattie Stepanek and Monica Jorge (the mother who lost her arms and legs) taught me that there is no need to feel sorry for myself for any reason.  Along the way, I also learned that you should never let a kidnapper take you to a second location, that being fat is not about the food but about some hole you have inside you (okay, I am not really buying that one), that lack of self-esteem makes you do all kinds of crazy shit like staying with an abusive husband, and that you always have to stay true to your authentic self.  Your show also hands-down did the best makeovers.  I seriously love makeovers.  I think maybe it's because of the whole idea of being able to reinvent yourself (the same thing that Madonna stands for) - that you are never stuck being who you are, if you don't like who you are now.  Yeah, I think what I am going to walk away from years of watching Oprah  is that if you can dream it, it can come true.  Dreams are an amazing thing if you behold them.  You just have to open your heart and believe.  So, I too can win a trip to Australia or a car.  But more importantly I too can be someone I am proud to be.  Working on it, Oprah.  Congratulations and best of luck to you and to me and to everyone, Doomsday or not.

it's hammer time

The King's Speech - Perfectly pleasant and likable, but how did this beat Social Network (and countless other films) to win best film last year?  Actually one thing I don't get is this - if Mr. Darcy can speak fine when he cannot hear himself, why didn't he just deliver his war speech at the end wearing headphones?  I know, that kind of would defeat the whole tension of whether he could do it or not, but I just keep thinking, "Hey, don't we already have an easy solution?"  Just saying...

Blue Valentine - Now this is more like it.  Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are pitch perfect.  A romance that is romantic but not romanticized.  And to think they don't make it at the end is way too depressing, so I believe they'll figure it out, those crazy kids.  Oh highway robbery that Ryan Gosling wasn't even nominated here.  He not only should have been nominated but should have won!

Thor - What a gloriously fun summer movie!  It's a superhero movie with heart and humor.  Chris Hemsworth is so right as Thor that you wonder if he really is from Asgard.  Surely his abs and pecs are from another realm (I think I need to work out now).  And Natalie Portman really shines playing the girl part - she and Chris Hemsworth have awesome chemistry.  He really should get working on that rainbow bridge to get back to her. 



 

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Royal wedding photo goes here:

This is a blog post in which I will try to be self-referential. The reason for going all meta is that I just came home from watching Scream 4, which actually is way too self-conscious for its own good. Too much trying (and failing) to make ironic commentary on horror movie sequels and too little time being actually scary. And could they not have put together a more appealing young cast to inject some new blood (wink-wink) into the franchise? Oh well at least I only paid $6.50 for a bargain matinee showing...So now I move on to my next item of randomness. I am actually typing this on my iPad using the Blogsy app. There are some bugs in it, but it's the first blogging app I've run across, so it'll do. Actually the people behind the app provide excellent customer support, and when people are nice, I am more willing to give things a chance to work out...I am still in search of the perfect iPad 2 case. Or at least a pretty good one. I tried the Speck Pixelskin bought from Target, but it just felt too heavy. The Marware CEO Hybrid came from amazon yesterday, but I returned it today because I couldn't gate the clasps to close no matter how much I tried to force them. I might end up ending the Octavo, but it's awfully pricey, so I am trying to hold off a bit...While I am typing this, I am watching yesterday's episode of Ellen. Legolas/Orlando Bloom was on. He is such a cool bloke. I want to be like him. And he's even got the supermodel wife and baby to boot. Actually I don't even care about the wife. I'll just take his hair...Another guy who might have hair envy is Prince William, who, you might have heard, just got married yesterday to Kate Middleton. But he's a prince, so maybe hair is not such a big deal. My burning question though is, what the heck is William and Harry's surname?...I think it's time to insert a break here so you have to click on the read more to read more...

I am not one to scoff at things like the royal wedding and the hoopla surrounding it. I actually think it's kinda neat to have enthusiasm about things in life, no matter what they are. How exciting it is to feel alive enough to want to go camp out on the streets for days just to catch a few seconds' glimpse at a prince and his bride? When I was younger, I stood in line for four hours just to watch Batman. Now I can't even bother trying to find a parking space. When exactly did life become too much of a hassle for me? I wish I were still one of those excitable people. You should never be too cool to be dorky. Some of my fondest memories in life are when I was acting dorky...I actually stopped working on this post yesterday night, and now it's May 1...I saw this movie called Last Night last night. It stars Kiera Knightley and Sam Worthington as a married couple. Basically they are good-looking, successful people who live in a fancy NYC apartment but who are unfaithful and unhappy because it is so damn hard being good-looking and successful and living in NYC and running around in a trench coat and going to nice restaurants full of other good-looking and successful urbanites. I know. I can relate...I finally broke down and bought the blu-rays of Fallen Angels and Happy Together. When is Wong Kar Wai's new movie, Grandmaster, with Tony Leung playing Yip Man coming out anyway?...The reason I do these randomness posts is so that I don't have to have to spend time thinking of a worthy topic to write about. I just dump whatever thoughts that float around in my little head onto the internet and let it be. You would think that should be easy. But in all honesty, it's actually not most of the times. These really aren't just any random thoughts that come to mind. These are carefully conceived, heavily edited and filtered thoughts that are posing as random and spontaneous. They want to come across as carefree and born of free spirits, but they really are assembled like robots in a factory. Yup, now you know, even my blog posts are posers, just like I am...Actually that's a lie too. I only said the last bit to try to be all post-modern. I am of course not post-modern at all, since I have no idea what post-modern is or what it looks or smells like...Did I tell you by the time this post ends, it's already May 1? This soon...By the way, Prince William's surname is Mountbatten-Windsor. I bet you didn't know that. I didn't know that til thirty seconds ago, when I googled it so I can end the post with the reveal. Ta-da! It's a reveal that links back to the earlier part of the post. I do that a lot with these randomness posts. If you pay attention, you would notice this. See it's a little trick to make the readers feel like they've been satisfied by the time they get to the ending, that this is not just some meandering garbage but that even as randomness goes, there is a point. There is always a point to randomness and chaos in this world.