As I sat in traffic yesterday on my way home from work I happened to catch Britney Spears' new single, Gimme More. I was happy to hear a new track on the radio (instead of listening to the same thing over and over again) but I was disappointed by the song. It wasn't catchy and I got really bored listening to it. The beginning caught my interest (the first lyric being "It's Britney bitch") but then my interest quickly waned. I was hoping from something more from Britney, something along the lines of amazing new work, like Christina Aguilera. Britney's song has disapointed me and I hope it isn't one of those incessant songs played over and over again on the radio.
On the other hand, maybe I am getting old and just don't know what an "it" song is anymore. O.o No! Say it isn't so! I'm not old. I've kept up with the new songs .. and to prove it maybe I should go grab my dancin' shoes and hit up some club this weekend. ^_^
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
What's for Lunch?
What do you have for lunch? I'm working at home today so I had leftovers for lunch. What did Ming get for his lunch? He wasn't relegated to eating leftovers like me. Instead, he came home for lunch and had a taiwan toast sandwich with slices of slow roasted pork tenderloin and heirloom tomato. Hmm ... I must be doing something wrong if I had leftovers (from 2 days ago no less!) and he got such a tasty sandwich. O.o
Friday, August 24, 2007
Adina Juices
Last night I went to a launch party and they mixed drinks with a mixer I'd never heard of before: Adina. Adina has now become one of my favorite drinks to consume. I found out it is made out of all natural ingredients and only has 70 calories per serving. Excellent! I found a tasty drink that actually doesn't contain a bunch of nasty corn syrup or added sugar. My two favorites are the Pomegranate-Mangosteen drink and the Chai. Mmm ...
Definitely look up this drink if you haven't. It is totally worth it. The website is: http://www.adinaworld.com. Adina was started by one of the guys who started Odwalla, to give you an idea of how good the drink tastes.
For the lushes out there, Adina is really good if mixed with Vodka. :)
Monday, August 20, 2007
Dog For Rent
I've started walking Coco daily. She needs the exercise and I could stand to lose a few pound myself. ^_^ I've noticed that wherever we go, we never fail to attract a ton of attention. Kids, senior citizens, and even people in the car stop to take a second look. I've had people in cars stop and, from their car, start talking to me about her. Timid children come up to me, in Circuit City of all places, and ask to pet her. Coco is a chick/men/kid magnet! Everyone wants a second peek and many people even double back just so they can stare at her for a little longer.
Given that she attracts attention from everyone I think that I should start renting her out to my single friends. She is guaranteed to attract the attention of some lovely lady or a hottie guy. ^_^ Coco could totally be used as the ultimate pick up tool. I should totally start my own business renting her out. She gets exercise and someone else gets a new way to pick up someone -- and I can sit at home and watch more TV. ^.^
Given that she attracts attention from everyone I think that I should start renting her out to my single friends. She is guaranteed to attract the attention of some lovely lady or a hottie guy. ^_^ Coco could totally be used as the ultimate pick up tool. I should totally start my own business renting her out. She gets exercise and someone else gets a new way to pick up someone -- and I can sit at home and watch more TV. ^.^
Friday, August 17, 2007
French Fry Cravings
For some odd reason I have a craving for french fries. I was all set to run out to McDonald's last night AFTER dinner and go pick up a large order of fries. I didn't give in to the impulse but this morning I am still left craving fries. Does anyone know of a good place for fries in downtown Palo Alto which willl satisfy my cravings?
Thursday, August 16, 2007
New Toy - dSLR
I got a new toy yesterday. I got a Nikon D80 - a dSLR camera. I stayed home all day waiting for the UPS man to arrive with it and, when he did, I promptly ripped the package open and got the battery charger out to charge the battery. 2 hours later I had a charged battery and a camera ... but no way to take pictures. I didn't know where Ming kept the memory cards so I had to wait at home with my new toy but no way to use it. Is anything more unfair than a new toy sitting in front of you but you being unable to use it?
Ming finally came home and showed me where the memory cards are and then I promptly began to snap pictures. It is such a cool new toy. I haven't had a new camera since I bought a new one on my 2003 Japan trip. That camera has since completley died and is in some pile to Goodwill. The new Nikon, however, is a happy little thing and has a huge lens. The zoom is incredible and I can't wait until the weekend when I'll have time to properly play with it in the daylight.
Ming finally came home and showed me where the memory cards are and then I promptly began to snap pictures. It is such a cool new toy. I haven't had a new camera since I bought a new one on my 2003 Japan trip. That camera has since completley died and is in some pile to Goodwill. The new Nikon, however, is a happy little thing and has a huge lens. The zoom is incredible and I can't wait until the weekend when I'll have time to properly play with it in the daylight.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Alma Mater Makes Bendable Battery
My alma mater, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has prototyped a bendable battery. That sounds so cool ... here's the full story:
It's a battery that looks like a piece of paper and can be bent or twisted, trimmed with scissors or molded into any shape needed. While the battery is only a prototype a few inches square right now, the researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute who developed it have high hopes for it in electronics and other fields that need smaller, lighter power sources.
"We would like to scale this up to the point where you can imagine printing batteries like a newspaper. That would be the ultimate," Robert Linhardt a professor at the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies at RPI said in a telephone interview.
The development is reported in this week's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Unlike other batteries, Linhardt explained, it is an integrated device, not a combination of pieces.
The battery uses paper infused with an electrolyte and carbon nanotubes that are embedded in the paper. The carbon nanotubes form the electrodes, the paper is the separator and the electrolyte allows the current to flow.
Students at the school in Troy, N.Y., were the inspiration for the work, said Linhardt, whose students were working on methods to dissolve paper and cast it into membranes for use in dialysis machines.
Meanwhile, students of Pulickel Ajayan in RPI's materials science department were trying to make carbon nanotube composites using polymers.
The two groups got together and realized they could use paper instead of polymers and combine the two projects.
Then came Omkaram Nalamasu's students, also at RPI, who said the project — a thin sheet black on one side and white on the other — looked like an electrical device.
And over about 18 months, the groups developed the projects, into a battery, a capacitor, which stores electricity and a combination of the two.
Ajayan sees potential uses in combination with solar cells, perhaps layers of the paper batteries that could store the electricity generated until it is needed, he said in a telephone interview.
Perhaps it could be scaled up and shaped into something like a car door, offering moving electrical storage and power when needed.
That might be an expensive proposition, however, cautioned Peter Kofinas, an engineering professor at the University of Maryland.
"The advantage of a flexible device would be that you could roll it in a film or a sheet. However, carbon nanotubes are very expensive," said Kofinas, who was not involved in the research.
"So from the commercial standpoint, this would be very expensive if you want to make a large sheet out of this material," he said via e-mail. In addition, he said, "It does not look like it performs better than currently available batteries and supercapacitors in the market."
Because of its flexibility, however, it does have potential, Kofinas said.
The research was funded by the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research and the National Science Foundation.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070813/ap_on_sc/paper_power;_ylt=AsZ8r161EVftxDeuRxfIFLZj24cA
It's a battery that looks like a piece of paper and can be bent or twisted, trimmed with scissors or molded into any shape needed. While the battery is only a prototype a few inches square right now, the researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute who developed it have high hopes for it in electronics and other fields that need smaller, lighter power sources.
"We would like to scale this up to the point where you can imagine printing batteries like a newspaper. That would be the ultimate," Robert Linhardt a professor at the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies at RPI said in a telephone interview.
The development is reported in this week's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Unlike other batteries, Linhardt explained, it is an integrated device, not a combination of pieces.
The battery uses paper infused with an electrolyte and carbon nanotubes that are embedded in the paper. The carbon nanotubes form the electrodes, the paper is the separator and the electrolyte allows the current to flow.
Students at the school in Troy, N.Y., were the inspiration for the work, said Linhardt, whose students were working on methods to dissolve paper and cast it into membranes for use in dialysis machines.
Meanwhile, students of Pulickel Ajayan in RPI's materials science department were trying to make carbon nanotube composites using polymers.
The two groups got together and realized they could use paper instead of polymers and combine the two projects.
Then came Omkaram Nalamasu's students, also at RPI, who said the project — a thin sheet black on one side and white on the other — looked like an electrical device.
And over about 18 months, the groups developed the projects, into a battery, a capacitor, which stores electricity and a combination of the two.
Ajayan sees potential uses in combination with solar cells, perhaps layers of the paper batteries that could store the electricity generated until it is needed, he said in a telephone interview.
Perhaps it could be scaled up and shaped into something like a car door, offering moving electrical storage and power when needed.
That might be an expensive proposition, however, cautioned Peter Kofinas, an engineering professor at the University of Maryland.
"The advantage of a flexible device would be that you could roll it in a film or a sheet. However, carbon nanotubes are very expensive," said Kofinas, who was not involved in the research.
"So from the commercial standpoint, this would be very expensive if you want to make a large sheet out of this material," he said via e-mail. In addition, he said, "It does not look like it performs better than currently available batteries and supercapacitors in the market."
Because of its flexibility, however, it does have potential, Kofinas said.
The research was funded by the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research and the National Science Foundation.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070813/ap_on_sc/paper_power;_ylt=AsZ8r161EVftxDeuRxfIFLZj24cA
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Dinner for 1 -- It's Lonely
Tonight I had dinner on my own since Ming had a work outing that included dinner. Normally I make a pretty decent dinner when there is two of us. I guess that having dinner with someone else really motivates me to make a presentable and tasty dinner. Since I had dinner by myself I wasn't really in the mood to cook anything. I wanted some quick and that wouldn't take a lot of time. What did I eat for dinner? I cleaned out the leftovers in the fridge and whatever I could find in the pantry. My dinner turned out to be kinda sad:
- Rice a Roni (don't ask why I have this in my pantry)
- frozen won ton that I'd made a few weeks ago
- left over ground pork dish
Yes, that was a very sad and lonely dinner. I'm glad I don't have dinner by myself very often otherwise I'd probably end up withering away to nothing since my meals would all be a bit sad and pathetic.
- Rice a Roni (don't ask why I have this in my pantry)
- frozen won ton that I'd made a few weeks ago
- left over ground pork dish
Yes, that was a very sad and lonely dinner. I'm glad I don't have dinner by myself very often otherwise I'd probably end up withering away to nothing since my meals would all be a bit sad and pathetic.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Caveat Emptor when Buying Appliances
Appliances come in a dizzying array of color, sizes, and features. These days whenever you set out to buy something simple, let's hypothetically say a refrigerator, you are faced with an onslaught of marketing material. All of the literature out there is from the manufacturer trying to convince you that his product is the best because it has a tons of bells and whistles.
Now, hypothetically, say that you just want a refrigerator that keeps food cold and lasts a long time -- not too much to ask right? This isn't as easy of a hypothetical task as it sounds. The biggest problem lies in that all of the refrigerators are actually all made by the SAME company. O.o Yes, Whirlpool is the "mother ship" and owns all of the other little brands (excluding the European and Korean brands.) How is one to decide which refrigerator is the best one when they're all made in the same factory and seemingly the only difference is the brand-name badge?
I don't have an answer to this hypothetical buying situation. The only thing I know is that Sears brands Kenmore as their own and it used to be a brand of quality. In this hypothetical situation I was trying to avoid buying any Korean made stuff because they have a bad reputation for breaking down, etc. -- think Japanese products 20 years ago. Korean appliances aren't there quite yet and were one of the types of products that I was trying to steer clear of.
Uh oh ... I mean steer clear of in my hypothetical situation. ^_^
So the hypothetical situation ends up in me purchasing a new refrigerator made my Kenmore (I even bought the Elite brand since I got suckered into a few of the bells alnd whistles like tilting drawers). When I got home I, being the curious person I am, wondered who made Kenmore appliances. Does Sears actually have a little factory of elves who make them or do they contract it out? It turns out that Sears contracts their work out. Uh oh. Not good. I quickly did more research and found out my beloved new refrigerator is made by none other than LG. Ahh!! The very refrigerator maker I was trying to avoid is the one who made my fridge. grrr!!
Caveat emptor. The next time I buy any major appliance I'll have to take along this handy website about appliances to help me make my buying decision.
Now, hypothetically, say that you just want a refrigerator that keeps food cold and lasts a long time -- not too much to ask right? This isn't as easy of a hypothetical task as it sounds. The biggest problem lies in that all of the refrigerators are actually all made by the SAME company. O.o Yes, Whirlpool is the "mother ship" and owns all of the other little brands (excluding the European and Korean brands.) How is one to decide which refrigerator is the best one when they're all made in the same factory and seemingly the only difference is the brand-name badge?
I don't have an answer to this hypothetical buying situation. The only thing I know is that Sears brands Kenmore as their own and it used to be a brand of quality. In this hypothetical situation I was trying to avoid buying any Korean made stuff because they have a bad reputation for breaking down, etc. -- think Japanese products 20 years ago. Korean appliances aren't there quite yet and were one of the types of products that I was trying to steer clear of.
Uh oh ... I mean steer clear of in my hypothetical situation. ^_^
So the hypothetical situation ends up in me purchasing a new refrigerator made my Kenmore (I even bought the Elite brand since I got suckered into a few of the bells alnd whistles like tilting drawers). When I got home I, being the curious person I am, wondered who made Kenmore appliances. Does Sears actually have a little factory of elves who make them or do they contract it out? It turns out that Sears contracts their work out. Uh oh. Not good. I quickly did more research and found out my beloved new refrigerator is made by none other than LG. Ahh!! The very refrigerator maker I was trying to avoid is the one who made my fridge. grrr!!
Caveat emptor. The next time I buy any major appliance I'll have to take along this handy website about appliances to help me make my buying decision.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Fresh Fish
I went to the supermarket this weekend to buy some fish for dinner. I've been trying to eat more fish because it is healthier and less fatty than the other land roving animals (although it doesn't mean that I'm going to turn down a side of ribs.) I was appalled at the poor selection of fish at the supermarket. Even at my favorite fish market, the selection of fish was very poor. I have decided, instead, to try to buy fish directly from the source. I am going to take advantage of our proximity to Half Moon Bay and make a trip out to the fishing docks and buy some fish directly from the fisherman. I'll let you know how my outing goes ... TBD
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Peeping Tom
I am such a peeping tom. I derive great pleasure from looking into the lives of others . My latest obsession is watching my target through a webcam. Who am I watching? Get your head out of the gutters people. I am watching Coco of course! We got a webcam to watch her movements throughout the day and it is highly addicting. I can sit and watch it for long periods of time, just seeing what she finds to do to entertain herself when we are away during the day.
This is what she is doing right now:
It appears she's just sleeping in the corner. Ah well, not that interesting but you just have to catch it at the right moments when she is moving around her pen
Edit: Ok, here is a better photo of her playing around
This is what she is doing right now:
It appears she's just sleeping in the corner. Ah well, not that interesting but you just have to catch it at the right moments when she is moving around her pen
Edit: Ok, here is a better photo of her playing around
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Donkeys
Gordon Ramsey of Hell's Kitchen fame has a penchant for calling all the contestants donkeys whenever they make a dumb mistake. I've always thought him a bit peculiar for using that terminology but that may be a normal British colloquialism? Perhaps donkey is one of the few acceptable words which can be broadcast over network TV, as opposed to calling the contestant a dumb ass or some other choice vulgar words.
True to the donkey-nature of people, I found it really funny to find this site http://www.stumblingdonkey.com/. It is a website about all the happy hour spots in SF. You may be a donkey in Gordon Ramsey's eyes but at least you know how to find the local watering hole. :)
True to the donkey-nature of people, I found it really funny to find this site http://www.stumblingdonkey.com/. It is a website about all the happy hour spots in SF. You may be a donkey in Gordon Ramsey's eyes but at least you know how to find the local watering hole. :)
BBQ Pork Buns - 叉燒包
There's been a huge uproar in the Asian community ever since the article about cardboard buns came out. Nearly everyone has heard about it and everyone is incredulous, myself included.
On a related topic, I have been looking for my favorite brand of frozen BBQ pork buns (cha siu bau) in the supermarkets and I haven't found it. It looks like there has been some distribution problems because it's been a few months now and the Weichun brand of BBQ pork buns is no where to be found.
What's the solution? Well I don't feel like venturing out to another sub-standard brand of buns -- they might contain cardboard in it! -- and I'm getting tired of finding other things to eat for breakfast. The only thing left to do is make them myself. I made them once, a long time ago when I was in college. It's time to pull out the recipe book and try to make them again. At least with this batch (which probably makes like 30+ buns) I'll know that there isn't cardboard in it. With that many BBQ pork buns I'm sure that I'll have lots to spare -- who wants to come eat them with me? ^_^
On a related topic, I have been looking for my favorite brand of frozen BBQ pork buns (cha siu bau) in the supermarkets and I haven't found it. It looks like there has been some distribution problems because it's been a few months now and the Weichun brand of BBQ pork buns is no where to be found.
What's the solution? Well I don't feel like venturing out to another sub-standard brand of buns -- they might contain cardboard in it! -- and I'm getting tired of finding other things to eat for breakfast. The only thing left to do is make them myself. I made them once, a long time ago when I was in college. It's time to pull out the recipe book and try to make them again. At least with this batch (which probably makes like 30+ buns) I'll know that there isn't cardboard in it. With that many BBQ pork buns I'm sure that I'll have lots to spare -- who wants to come eat them with me? ^_^
Friday, July 13, 2007
Misbehaving Baby Deserved to be Kicked off Plane
The media has turned the whole story about a woman kicked off a plane because of her baby into a huge deal. The short story is that a woman's baby kept saying "bye bye plane" and the woman refused to make the baby stop saying those words. The stewardess then told the woman that she had to take the baby and get off the flight.
I completely agree with what happened. How many times have you had to endure a long flight with some disruptive kid or baby kicking and screaming during the whole flight? It is really annoying and you want the flight to be over as soon as possible so that you can escape from a kid who is making a huge scene. When the mother refuses to try to make her kid behave, then the mother is at fault. Flying on a plane is a privilege, not a right. Just as when you go into a store, the store has the right to refuse service to certain patrons. The airlines, in my opinion, were refusing the woman the right to service.
While "bye bye plane" seems innocuous enough, it could have serious ramifications in today's world. Now that 9/11 has happened everyone is a bit more paranoid and anything which is said which can be construed as related to terrorism will be heavily scrutinized.
I don't feel bad for the woman and I am actually sickened by how she doesn't understand that her lack of consideration for others caused her to be booted from a flight.
Airlines won't let you have liquids on the flights; do you really think that you will be allowed on the flight if you or members of your party are causing a scene?
I completely agree with what happened. How many times have you had to endure a long flight with some disruptive kid or baby kicking and screaming during the whole flight? It is really annoying and you want the flight to be over as soon as possible so that you can escape from a kid who is making a huge scene. When the mother refuses to try to make her kid behave, then the mother is at fault. Flying on a plane is a privilege, not a right. Just as when you go into a store, the store has the right to refuse service to certain patrons. The airlines, in my opinion, were refusing the woman the right to service.
While "bye bye plane" seems innocuous enough, it could have serious ramifications in today's world. Now that 9/11 has happened everyone is a bit more paranoid and anything which is said which can be construed as related to terrorism will be heavily scrutinized.
I don't feel bad for the woman and I am actually sickened by how she doesn't understand that her lack of consideration for others caused her to be booted from a flight.
Airlines won't let you have liquids on the flights; do you really think that you will be allowed on the flight if you or members of your party are causing a scene?
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Jamba Juice Secret Menu
We all know that In and Out has a secret menu. They don't try to hide it and you can find plenty of references to it on the web (I always like my burgers animal style.) I was just made aware of Jamba Juice's seret menu. O.o Yes, Jamba Juice has a secret menu of smoothies. Whoa..
* White Gummi: peach juice + soymilk + lime, raspberry, orange, and pineapple sherberts + one scoop of mango
* Pink Star (tastes like the pink starburst): lemonade + soymilk + raspberry sherbert + frozen yogurt + sorbet + fresh strawberries
* Strawberry Shortcake
* Sour Patch Kid: lemonade + lime, pineapple, raspberry, and orange sherbert; fresh blueberries
* Fruity Pebbles: soymilk + orange, raspberry, pineapple, and lime sherbert
* PB & J Sandwich: soymilk + frozen yogurt + strawberries + blueberries
* Tropical Tango
* Pacific Passion
* Now and Later
* Berry Depressing
* Apple Pie
* Skittles
* Lemonade Lightnin'
* Raspberry Dreamin'
If you do some research on the web you will find there are even more than the ones I've listed above. I think I'm going to have to make a pit stop over at Jamba Juice to see if any of the secret menu items are worth my time (and calories)
* White Gummi: peach juice + soymilk + lime, raspberry, orange, and pineapple sherberts + one scoop of mango
* Pink Star (tastes like the pink starburst): lemonade + soymilk + raspberry sherbert + frozen yogurt + sorbet + fresh strawberries
* Strawberry Shortcake
* Sour Patch Kid: lemonade + lime, pineapple, raspberry, and orange sherbert; fresh blueberries
* Fruity Pebbles: soymilk + orange, raspberry, pineapple, and lime sherbert
* PB & J Sandwich: soymilk + frozen yogurt + strawberries + blueberries
* Tropical Tango
* Pacific Passion
* Now and Later
* Berry Depressing
* Apple Pie
* Skittles
* Lemonade Lightnin'
* Raspberry Dreamin'
If you do some research on the web you will find there are even more than the ones I've listed above. I think I'm going to have to make a pit stop over at Jamba Juice to see if any of the secret menu items are worth my time (and calories)
Monday, July 09, 2007
Weekend Warriors - Part I
We had a very productive weekend. Ming wired the entire house with Cat5e (internet) cable and coax (TV.) I'm so proud of him. He did a lot of research beforehand and this past weekend he put it all to use and ran a ton of wires everywhere. We now have internet and TV abilities in every room.
Ming in his work gear.
Ming fishing. Note the coax cable at the end of his fishing line.
The job looks totally professional and he did an excellent job. I was his helper and did little things here and there. I helped hook up the cat5e cable and did some hooking up of the patch panel.
The connectors in the wall
The patch panel which is ultra neat and tidy
Ming also put all the stereo speakers into the walls. Now we have speaker wire in our walls rather than running everywhere on the floor. Yay! One day when we upgrade to some Definitive speakers we'll be all ready wire-wise
This was weekend warrior part 1 because it was mainly Ming doing his thang. Part 2 will be me *gasp* sewing. I've decided to sew some placemats for our new dining table.
Ming in his work gear.
Ming fishing. Note the coax cable at the end of his fishing line.
The job looks totally professional and he did an excellent job. I was his helper and did little things here and there. I helped hook up the cat5e cable and did some hooking up of the patch panel.
The connectors in the wall
The patch panel which is ultra neat and tidy
Ming also put all the stereo speakers into the walls. Now we have speaker wire in our walls rather than running everywhere on the floor. Yay! One day when we upgrade to some Definitive speakers we'll be all ready wire-wise
This was weekend warrior part 1 because it was mainly Ming doing his thang. Part 2 will be me *gasp* sewing. I've decided to sew some placemats for our new dining table.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Ratatouille Recap
I've finally seen Ratatouille and, unfortunately, I must say that I am disappointed by it. It reminded me too much of the Incredibles and did not seem like it would appeal to kids.
The drawing of the humans in Ratatouille is exactly the same style as that used in the incredibles. In all of Pixar's other movies the humans look different due to different styles of art being used and it has always made the characters refreshing and easily identifiable. If I were to take one of the human characters from Ratatouille and place him in the Incredibles, I'd have no idea that that character wasn't in the original Incredibles movie.
The antagonist is always the same. The chef in Ratatouille contains the following characteristics which match that of the antagonist in the Incredibles: short, arrogant, and evil(a given.) The continuous usage of short characters (also with Edna Mo in the Incredibles) is getting really tiring. Brad Bird, the director of both movies, is starting to lose his edge of creativity and is re-using the same concepts over and over again.
The beginning intro of Ratatouille also contains a small flash segment of the characters. In the Incredibles they did the same thing with introducing the various supers.
Overall, the movie seemed to be geared towards foodies rather than towards young children. I consider myself a semi-foodie (I try to keep up with what's happening in the food world) but even I was a bit tired of all the excruciating detail they went into for the food. Yes, I get it. You guys did your research about food but stop talking about the food and get back to the plot of the movie! I am sure most of whats in the movie went over the top of kid's heads (do they really care that ratatouille is considered a peasant's dish?)
I am sadly underwhelmed by Rataouille. It is true that I had high expectations of the movie but not so high as to be unattainable -- Pixar has done so well with its other movies and I've always been impressed by the uniqueness of each.
If you must see this movie, wait until it comes out on video
The drawing of the humans in Ratatouille is exactly the same style as that used in the incredibles. In all of Pixar's other movies the humans look different due to different styles of art being used and it has always made the characters refreshing and easily identifiable. If I were to take one of the human characters from Ratatouille and place him in the Incredibles, I'd have no idea that that character wasn't in the original Incredibles movie.
The antagonist is always the same. The chef in Ratatouille contains the following characteristics which match that of the antagonist in the Incredibles: short, arrogant, and evil(a given.) The continuous usage of short characters (also with Edna Mo in the Incredibles) is getting really tiring. Brad Bird, the director of both movies, is starting to lose his edge of creativity and is re-using the same concepts over and over again.
The beginning intro of Ratatouille also contains a small flash segment of the characters. In the Incredibles they did the same thing with introducing the various supers.
Overall, the movie seemed to be geared towards foodies rather than towards young children. I consider myself a semi-foodie (I try to keep up with what's happening in the food world) but even I was a bit tired of all the excruciating detail they went into for the food. Yes, I get it. You guys did your research about food but stop talking about the food and get back to the plot of the movie! I am sure most of whats in the movie went over the top of kid's heads (do they really care that ratatouille is considered a peasant's dish?)
I am sadly underwhelmed by Rataouille. It is true that I had high expectations of the movie but not so high as to be unattainable -- Pixar has done so well with its other movies and I've always been impressed by the uniqueness of each.
If you must see this movie, wait until it comes out on video
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Kwik-e-Mart
The Kwik-e-Mart is in Springfield Mountain View. 7-Eleven and the Simpsons have partnered together to transform several stores into Kwik-e-Marts. I was really excited to find out that my neighborhood 7-Eleven will become a Kwik-e-Mart.
I plan to make a pilgramage there and have a
- pink donut with sprinkles
- squishee
- Krusty-os cereal
I will pretend that neither of the aforementioned items have any calories. ^_~
This marketing gimmic is one of the more innovative ones and I'm glad to hear that people have a sense of humor about it. It's a great marketing tactic and shouldn't offend anyone (it isn't as though the cashiers of the 7-Elevens sound like Apu.)
I plan to make a pilgramage there and have a
- pink donut with sprinkles
- squishee
- Krusty-os cereal
I will pretend that neither of the aforementioned items have any calories. ^_~
This marketing gimmic is one of the more innovative ones and I'm glad to hear that people have a sense of humor about it. It's a great marketing tactic and shouldn't offend anyone (it isn't as though the cashiers of the 7-Elevens sound like Apu.)
Monday, July 02, 2007
Transformers the Movie -- Too Commercial?
I was a kid in the 80s and, as everyone else, grew up with Transformers. I used to have a lot of them and my brother and I would play with them for hours. We used to watch Transformers on TV. Transformers, like GI Joe, was a childhood favorite toy.
With the CGI version of the Transformers movie coming out (the cartoon version of the Transformers movie came out in the 80s) I am definitely looking forward to it. I read an article on yahoo however that has made me start to have second thoughts. GM is the sponsor for the movie and they have "premium" mentions in the movie. Does this mean that my beloved autobots and decepticons will basically be nothing but a 2 hour commercial advertising GM cars? I hope not!
These days it seems like advertisers are wrangling their way into everything. I love watching Top Chef but this season seems to be nothing but dropping sponsors names. It gets very distrating hearing Kenmore Kitchen and storing things in Gladware over and over again.
I hope the Transformers movie won't suffer from this blatant commercialization and will be a respectable movie.
With the CGI version of the Transformers movie coming out (the cartoon version of the Transformers movie came out in the 80s) I am definitely looking forward to it. I read an article on yahoo however that has made me start to have second thoughts. GM is the sponsor for the movie and they have "premium" mentions in the movie. Does this mean that my beloved autobots and decepticons will basically be nothing but a 2 hour commercial advertising GM cars? I hope not!
These days it seems like advertisers are wrangling their way into everything. I love watching Top Chef but this season seems to be nothing but dropping sponsors names. It gets very distrating hearing Kenmore Kitchen and storing things in Gladware over and over again.
I hope the Transformers movie won't suffer from this blatant commercialization and will be a respectable movie.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Tiffany for Dogs
I keep Coco with me in the mornings when I get ready for work. Apparently she got a little too close to me when I was putting on my perfume and, consequently got some on herself. Ming came home around noon, 4 hours after she had the perfrume put on her, and she still smelled like it. Oops.
I guess the upside is that Coco smells nice with the Tiffany perfume on her (and I didn't really waste any perfume since she caught the residue of my spray.) I think Tiffnay should go into the perfume market for pets. I am sure they'd make a lot of money on it!
I guess the upside is that Coco smells nice with the Tiffany perfume on her (and I didn't really waste any perfume since she caught the residue of my spray.) I think Tiffnay should go into the perfume market for pets. I am sure they'd make a lot of money on it!
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