Philly Mini Tournament: Lemon Bar Edition

One of the things that both me and my boyfriend enjoy is a good lemon square. And during my trip to NYC last week, I couldn't find a single one in the bakeries that I've visited which I find to be odd. Are the upscale bakery shunning the ordinary pastry that is a simple piece of lemon square? Or maybe it's just not the season for lemon? I thought lemons were produced all year round.

I kept on my search when I was back in Philly. I thought Starbucks carries lemon squares but then I couldn't find them in 3 stores that I passed by. Apparently in this tough economic times, bakeries can't afford to sell lemon "squares" anymore. They have to be downsized to rectangular "bars" instead. After much further searches, I located 4 lemon bars to brought back for comparison.

1. Metropolitan Bakery



Metropolitan Bakery offers very rustic, country-style baked goods. While a lot of people raves about the place, I find their breads are usually too tough for any kinds of consumption. Other items in the counter are too small for their price. The only item I enjoy that is uniquely from them is their chocolate cherry rolls or loaf, but it'll still take me a good 10 minutes to chew down. Maybe they have long improved since I last bought anything from them or maybe the quality of their product is better in other branches, but the unfriendly saleswoman at Reading Terminal Market make me want to try their product any more than I have to. I was desperate to find a lemon square.

So the sad piece of lemon bar up there was seating behind the counter waiting to be adopted like a sad puppy. I wasn't about to buy it, but again I was desperate. We weren't impressed much with the taste either. It's like an egg custard with a butter crust with only a hint of lemon. Easily forgettable.


2. Brew Ha Ha!



I'm sure for a coffee shop like Brew Ha Ha!, their pastries could certainly be outsourced, there's no telling who the actual bakers were. The benefit for outsourcing though, is that the quality of their pastries are pretty damn good. The lemon curd is sticky and decidedly less sweet. The lemon flavor is strong without being sharp and the thin crust is light while the crumbs on top are buttery. It's pretty decent.


3. Whole Foods



Equally as good is this piece of lemon curd bar with a linzer crust from Whole Foods. Lemon flavors are heavily concentrated in the curd and it was a bit sharp, but then it was balanced out with the heavy dusting of powdered sugar. The linzer cookies in the bottom is soft and buttery, the whole thing is pleasant for the ones who enjoy tartness.


4. Flying Monkey



Definitely best of the bunch. Flying Monkey is one of the champions of introducing a cupcake shop in Philly. I've enjoyed many of their cupcakes, the espresso chocolate one being my favorite and of course, they have pretty high standards with all their products. The lemon squares have a rich buttery shortbread crust that taste above the rest. The lemon curd and the egg custard meld together perfectly, the lemon flavor is a bit tart but balanced well with the lightly sweetened custard and the powdered sugar. It is satisfyingly good.

Maybe one of these days I'll experiment and make some on my own, but that better wait until I lose 10 pounds.

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NYC Desserts Tournament: Fight to the Death

Blame it on Serious Eats: New York for the inspiring Sugar Rush section that introduces all kinds of desserts and pastries available in the Big Apple. I was tempted to go and try them all, so I sorta did.
I went around town and collected 7 samples and took them back to share with the Boyfriend. We decided we'll just have dessert for dinner one night and load on carbs and sugar, hang on to each other and brace for the crash afterwards.

A few months ago I had a craving for zeppoles, a sugar coated eggy, springy doughnut. So when I heard about there's a place in New York that's specialized in Zeppoles, I flocked there. Led Zeppole is a cute little shop with a n extremely difficult door to open and close, someone has to fix it. With standing room smaller than an elevator, you're confronted with a counter lined with cannolis, cream puffs, funnel cakes, zeppoles and other fried pastries. The extremely friendly my fellow Asian shopkeep informed me that unlike other stores, everything you buy from their store is made fresh to order. The tons of pastries in the counter are just for show. The zeppoles are not balloon shape that I'm used to but more resembling a crooked blimpy doughtnuts. Powdered sugar were piled up like the blizzard we had out our windows. The price cannot be more reasonable. ($2.50 for 3) The shopkeep also further informed me that if I never had a fried Oreo, I should really get one and so I did. Fried sugary, chocolatey, crunchy and a bit spongey. Delicious. The zeppoles however did not fair so well, after a night in the fridge and reheated in the oven. I guess fried food must be eaten fresh from the fryer, so I guess I can't fairly evaluate them. If you ever find yourself in that part of town with fried food cravings, it's a spot that you must try.




Zeppoles from Led Zeppole ($2.50 for 3)

During a tour of New York a few years back, I was brought to near the World Trade Center and within the building there was this little pastry shop that have amazing looking pastries lined up in a very pretty way. I was in a rush and didn't get anything but I also though it'd be amazing to have the chance to go get some and of course I have forgotten the name of the shop. After browsing around, I found out that they were Financier Patisserie. They offer more classic and showy French pastries. The only thing that irked me was that the particular branch that I went to this time around time square was located in the same building that houses Fox News. It almost made me not want to go there.

The two pastries that I got from there were a coffee eclair and a chocolate chestnut cream dome. The shop specializes in French pastries and during different weeks, a different eclair was featured. When I went this time, they have their coffee eclair and a vanilla bean eclair. The coffee eclair I've got is filled with coffee cream and have a coffee flavored glaze on top. Slightly sweet, rich, I'm into the flavor so I liked it a lot, though the cream can be lighter and the whole pastry less sweet in general. The chocolate and chestnut cream bombe is also on the sweet and rich side. I guess it's hard to not be light that otherwise. When you cute it in half you can see the chocolate cream and the chestnut cream is separated clearly inside a crisp tart shell, the whole thing is covered in a layer of smooth dark chocolate. A cup of hot tea would be a great accompaniment.


Coffee Eclair ($3.25)


Chocolate and Chestnut Cream Bombe ($4.25)

On Towleroad, they reported Anderson Cooper had been raving about a little dessert called Crack Pie from a place called Momofuku. He has mentioned it on his tweets and a few talk shows. That got me interested since the name of the restaurant/bakery sounds Asian, the item's name has the word "Crack" in it, it's made of very simple ingredients and when some food items are being openly endorsed, I want to see for myself.

The crack pie doesn't look like anything special, a little too small for the $5 it costs, but the taste is really impactful. The custard in the middle tastes like brown sugar, eggs and butter, maybe with a little hint of condense milk. To counter the gooey goodness is a firm pie crust with an interesting chewy texture that comes from toasted rolled oats. People compared it with a pecan-less pecan pie, but it's a little more than that. I believe it's an educated calculation, not quite as addictive as it claimed to be but good.

I also got a piece of banana cake for good measure. The sudden fame of the Momofuku empire is in its new imaginative combination of different ingredients. To invent old classic and put ordinary ingredients in strange situation and see how it flourish, sort of like a reality show. Here we have a cake with too many layers for its own good. Banana cakes sandwiched between chocolate fudge with a hint of molasses, hazelnut fudge, hazelnut crunch and a light layer of salt on top to add to its complexity. There's no way I can eat a bite with everything combines, so was it supposed to be enjoyed compartmentally to get all the little different combinations possible? The cake is good in general, but it seems to have tried too hard.

One thing I forgot to get is their pork belly bun sandwiches. It's done to the style of a peking duck buns, with scallion, hoisin sauce and all. Sounds absolutely delicious. I swear I'll get one if I happen to be passing by next time.


Crack Pie ($5)


Banana Cake ($5)

While going to New York the past few times, I've noticed Magnolia Bakery around Rockerfeller Center having unusually long lines and while reading on Serious Eats, a lot of people seems to like the place for their cupcakes. Apparently they got a cameo in Sex in the City and people are flocking there. Philly have their trends of cupcake shops and honestly you can't really do anything outrageously awesome with good old cupcakes. The writers of Serious Eats shared my point of views and instead of going there for cupcakes, one of them swear by their banana bread pudding. Since the boyfriend loves banana and peanut butter, I got the bread pudding along with a piece of peanut butter ice box pie.

The ice box pie is light and mild. I thought it was a bit less sweet than I'd like but after a few more bites, I started to appreciate the subtlety. There's a light layer of peanut butter right on top of a flaky crumbly crust, then more peanut butter is whipped up into a light, light cream. Then piece of Reese's mini cup are sprinkled on top along with some toasted peanuts. Looks simple, but taste amazing.

The crown jewel of this trip turns out to be the banana bread pudding that is sold in a cup. The man behind the counter ask whether I wanted a small or a large one. Not knowing how good it'd taste, I opt for a small one. Looking back I would have gotten two large tubs or maybe even a $24 bowl that would serve 10 people. It would have been well worth it. Sweet vanilla pudding cream with fresh tasty banana pieces mushed into it and some hidden pieces of vanilla wafers. The vanilla wafers already absorbed some liquid and they turned very soft. The whole thing is so good, it's ridiculous. If I can only eat one dessert for the rest of my life... wait, why choose? That would be silly.


Peanut Butter Ice Box Pie ($4)


(The Best) Banana Bread Pudding (Ever) ($4.5 for 12 oz)

What about the diet again?

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Weekend Meme: Blog Blizzard Meme

A heavy blizzard was forecasted for our area a few days a go and the whole town went crazy. People rushed the market to stock up on groceries for the snow and partly for the Superbowl as well. Philadelphia was said to have 12 to 20 inches of snow and more around the Washington area.

Today's meme is brought to you from The Queen's Meme for a snowy day.

1. An unexpected blizzard occurs. The power goes out for 10 days. There is no food in the house, no gas in the car, no heat, no TV, no computer, nada! You are snowed in and can't get to the store for supplies. How would you survive? How would you get out of this mess?

No TV? I won't! Can I really survive with no food and no gas for 10 days? What? Eating leather?

2. Tell us about your last snowball fight.

My last snowball fight I must have been 7, we build forts on a sidewalk and threw snowballs while wearing ski masks.

3. You have been asked to make a snowman. What is his name?

Maybe Woody?

4. I have mountains of snow outside my door. I would like to make snow soup. What is the recipe?

Since snow is water, it depends on how you want it to taste, wouldn't it? How about... 1 can of azuki beans mixed with 4 cups of snow and 1/2 cup of condensed milk. You can add some green tea in it for extra soupy taste.

5. It is Day 5 of the Big Blog Blizzard. You have been hunkered down for a very long time and in danger of losing your sanity. Your blog neighbors (that would be us) come callin' to see if you're OK. We peek in the window. What do we see? What are you doing in there?

Well, if there's really no food and TV, there's not much I can do. I wish there are books that I can read, a deck of cards and maybe a boardgame or two. I can lose myself in a book and forget most of the other things around me.

6. Who is the flakiest snowflake in your life?
Past or present.

One of my ex-boyfriends that made a lot of promises he can't keep. Setting up dates and flake out at the last minute or call afterwards to apologize he has forgotten. That kind of stuff.

7. You are Snow White. Which dwarf is your favorite and why?

Probably Doc, he seems to be reliable, helpful and he should be pretty well off with his medical practice.

8. What is the most fun you've ever had inside during a snowstorm?

Drinking cocoa and sex!

9. What was Jack Frost nipping at?

I think the first place that I feel cold is the back of my neck.

10. Due to blobal warming (that's blog + global for all you non-blog speakers) your snowman has prematurely melted. What was his last request?

To bring him back to life next year.

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Anyway, have a great weekend and stay warm!

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Restaurant Review (Big Apple Edition): Nougatine at Jean Georges

In celebration of my 1000th post, I tried to arrange a perfect day for myself but things are not that easily achieved. Somehow I've missed the tour of Wicked The Musical when it stopped by Philadelphia and I've wanted to see it for years, so I thought I'd go to New York City and see it. I've tried to do this the week before but it's hard to wake up early enough to get there in time for the matinee and I couldn't stay for the night show because they would make me miss the bus that comes back to Philly. So Wednesday I got up in time and went.

Of course I've researched to know the exact time the show is playing and I aimed for the ticket lottery that they have; For about $27.00 you get to seat on the front row, which in some case is not desirable because you'll have to strain your neck to see what's happening on the stage and at some point the angle forbid you to see what's happening at the back of the stage but for that price, to be able to seat right up front is superb. I've done that with Avenue Q seating dead center and it was wonderful. I thought there won't be much people out since it snowed the night before but there were still about 70 people showing up. The theater doesn't seem to be thrilled to have the lottery, they had us waiting outside in the cold for half an hour and held us with contempt for standing too close to the door. Alas, I didn't win the lottery and wasn't gonna fork out $120 for nice seats or $250 for guarantee good seats.

Lately, I've been very tempted to get a new generation of iPod touch that is rumored to come out this month, so I started comparing everything I buy to the expected price and figured I much rather have the device. And I can always go back to New York and try my luck again. Along with this misadventure, I wasn't able to find something specific at Toys 'R' Us, nor a book that the boyfriend was looking for at Kinokuniya, nor a comic book that the owner of a comic book store had promised to order for me for half a year and still telling me that he will put his order in, now. I guess a perfect day might not be arrangeable, it's all happenstance, a happy coincidence that can only be felt through introspective self-realization. Oh well.

Well, the day was not without merits. I found out that it was restaurant week for this past two weeks and research nice restaurants around Broadway. I was planning to have lunch at the Russian Tea Room because it sounded so classic, famous and exclusive but got excited about Jean Georges. Mr. Vongerichten is famous for his French-Asian cuisine, a few years ago I saw some Asian sauces that he was selling under his brand Vong and I quite took offense by the brand name. I got addicted to the restaurant review website Yelp and Jean Georges got pretty good reviews, especially for lunch and it was with good reasons.

People said that the Russian Tea Room's decor was gaudy, but how do you categorize a restaurant that is situated inside a 70s style golden Trump tower? Call me a bitchy queen but I'm a little repulse by most things with a Trump stamp. There's three doors to the Trump International Hotel & Towers and they lead to three different part of the building that doesn't link to each other. Aside from the location, the insides look clean and modern with pearl shaded walls and wood tones. The restaurant itself is also compartmentalized into 3 different dining area: main hall itself is Jean Georges, a separate room called the Terrace and the bar area called Nougatine.



The staff is professional and friendly. Since I'm by myself, I opted to seat at the bar. For a Michelin 3-star restaurant, the staff was professional and courteous enough. Jean Georges usually offer a prix fixe menu of $29 for a three course meal and during Restaurant week, it is $5 cheaper which in hindsight, the Chinese in me should have gone to another place for a bigger, rarer bargain. But in itself a $29 lunch at Jean Georges is really a jaw-dropping, mouth-salivating deal. Diners can choose any two plates in a near-20 items menu and with a choice between creme brulee or a warm chocolate cake.



This is the Shrimp Salad with avocado and tomato and a champagne vinegar dressing. The white strips on top might have been white trumpets, the shrimps are enveloped in a with a delicate and rich rose colored cream with hints of truffle that balanced the acidity of the vinegar dressing so well. They should mass produce this cream and serve it as soup or sell it by the gallon in a milk jug.



This is my demurred option. I contemplated ordering the "fried chicken" and a beef tenderloin but thought it'd be tacky if I go for two entrees without a slight hint of course separation, though each dish seems to be very portion controlled; patrons of expensive restaurants never gain weight which in fact is the true origins of the South Beach Diet. Pan roasted cod with warm cranberry beans and leek vinaigrette. Don't ask me what is the difference between a vinegar dressing and a vinaigrette, I'm suspicious that it might be set arbitrarily. But the piece of cod was cooked quite perfectly, there was crispiness on top that involves flour and the rest of the fish was roasted just to the point of doneness and not a second over. The cranberry beans tasted like edamame and the leek vinaigrette was pleasant but since there's not much fat to balance it out, it made the dish a bit on the sour side.



My dessert was a chocolate cake with a liquidy center, vanilla bean ice cream with a smidgen of chocolate cookie crumbs and a mint chocolate bark. I believe both creme brulee and a chocolate lava cake is overdone. So it's the least exciting course of the meal. It tastes nice but on the meh side, but one can't really complain with a $24 dollar 3-star restaurant meal.

Of course, I eyed two single patron seating at the bar on either side of me ordering the same thing; Tuna tartare, slow-cooked salmon and creme brulee and I wonder if that was their best offering, but let me assure you that no regrets were had. Also the exotic flavor matched soda was quite good too, I had a lemon-ginger one that taste like a ginger beer that is less sweet with refreshing hint of lemon zest. Highly recommendable.

After my meal, I went around town and collected 7 different desserts to bring home and share it with the boyfriend. So the day of leisure turns out to be a culinary exploration which is fun unto itself. After hours of walking around town a friend called and asked to do dinner back in Philly and I had just as much fun chatting along cheap Chinese food. The day didn't turn out that bad at all.

Expect a New York dessert post soon...

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1000th Post!

Yeah! Post 1000! I'd like to take the opportunity to thanks my friends, readers and the occasional passer-bys and in some case, stalkers for reading this little blog right here. We're all wasting our time one way or the other, but at least we're having fun doing it huh, gang?

This whole thing started when one friend decided to start a blog talking about her emotional life and I thought, hey, maybe I can write some stuff too. It was very arbitrary, but I'm glad to have made some friends throughout the year doing it.

Again, thank you! Hope you've enjoyed!

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Real And Fake Superbowl Ads

Superbowl is this Sunday. I have to say I was never a big fan, I've never followed football and I don't even know who's in the finals. I've tried to watch one for the mid-time show a few years ago, but I put it on and went to wash my dishes, missing the whole Janet wardrobe malfunction kerfuffle. Of course, it didn't prevent the whole thing to be played 50 times afterwards.

Of course, the Superbowl are known for their high ratings and with that there are high quality advertising. It got to a point where companies are fighting over the limited ad spots. There are classic TV ads that comes from the Superbowl, unfortunately this high time of male bonding is also a plateau for homophobia, at the same time it's also a high time of sports gambling and domestic abuse.

To counter the traditional homophobic messages in some of the ads, activists have been trying to get some gay-friendly ads to be put along the program though there are no really high quality contenders.


This ad was rejected a few years ago, probably because it was gay-friendly and doesn't go with football culture.


A Go-Daddy ad rejected this year. I think there's good reason to reject this one. It wouldn't appeal to anyone.


This is another rejected one from a dating site called ManCrunch. Never heard of the site before and it doesn't make me want to go running and register for it either.


A fake ad from National Lampoon, now this one is funny. Though god knows how much they'd have to pay for running a 5-minute ad.


Not gay, but it's a nice ad from Bud Light. Just wish they had a few muscular hot guy in it. Though that might be considered too gay if any of them are attractive.

Anyhow, that's all I've got.

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Must-Eats in Philadelphia

Over at Serious Eats, they asked for the must-eats in the city we live in and I got to think about Philadelphia. It's really hard to find something that only pertains to the city and can't be found anywhere else.

When visitors come to the city for the first time, they will ask about cheesesteaks. Cars will drive by and a head would pop out asking where the cheesesteak places are and the other questions is always asking for the best place for them. Between Jim's, Tony Luke's, Pat's and Geno's, and I've tried 3 of the 4, I've always thought I have the best experience at Geno's. It must be the whole experience of the neon lights and the fluorescent lights make the whole place look like it's still day. For an authentic experience, it's best to go at night after exploring the bars and order a "wiz with". The melty cheesewiz glue everything together and it's what makes the sandwich. It's funny, the first time I came to Philly and got brought to have a cheesesteak, I was fully expecting some slab of steak with cheese, definitely not a sandwich with chopped up beef.



Soft pretzels is also something else that Philadelphia is famous for, that's probably due to the large German population that settled in our area. We also benefit from the Amish st the Reading Terminal Market which have their produce, cured meats and baked goods for sale. The soft pretzels in Philly are more bread like with a slight salted crusted outside and soft bread center. Tastes great with mustard.



There's Hershey chocolate from middle Pennsylvania that have a slightly off after taste, Philly cream cheese actually doesn't come from Philly. There are a few restaurateurs that made the culinary scene in the city exciting, but there aren't any particular dish that stands up and scream uniqueness anywhere. Personally, if I can pick something that is not gimmicky or touristy, I would choose to have a hoagie.

The word Hoagie was actually originated in the Philadelphia area, it's a long submarine sandwich with various meats, cheeses and lettuce created to feed Italian workers that works at Hog Island's WWII shipyard, so it was dubbed a "Hoagie". Philadelphia is blessed with a large Italian population that know their food. The hoagie has prosciutto di parma, capicola, genoa salami, provolone, lettuce, tomatoes and onions. I usually get mine with sweet pepper and mayo, but the locals like it with hot pepper, oil, salt, pepper and oregano.



What makes the sandwich great is the bread, specifically bread from a local bakery named Sarcone's. It's sesame seeded, chewy with a firm crust. The sesame also gives it a fragrance that adds another level to the sandwich. The bread from Sarcone's are distributed throughout South Philly's Italian restaurant, it becomes a selling point, something that the restaurant owners are proud of having. The bakery usually closes it's door after the bread are sold out which is usually before 2pm and it is closed at least 3 months of the year when the family leaves for Italy. I guess there is so much business for them that it has become a non-issue. There are also a vegetarian antipasti hoagie that uses all kinds of pickled vegetables. I'm dying to try that.

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Posters That Tell It Like It Is

Via Lady Bunny

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Fallen Princesses

Via Slog

Photographer Dina Goldstein has created images inspired by her daughter's fascination with Disney cartoons and real life issues surrounding her. The concept of Happily Ever After is challenged in this series of Fallen Princesses which turns out to be both somber and funny at the same time.


The only problem of marrying into princesshood is that your husband is a prince and he demands to be treated so.


Attending too many a ball induces alcoholism?


All the other princesses are doing it.


You must give them what they expect. The Sinead O'Connor look is so early 90s.


Modern warrior princess.


Will you be my prince?


"..."


Supersized! (but she's not even a princess...)

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Weekend Meme: Kreativ Blogger Award

Woohoo! I was nominated for the Kreativ Blogger Award! Prestigious, prestigious indeed!

In order to receive the award, there are some rules to follow: (Since the rules seems to be incomplete, I traveled upstream to find the missing ones.)

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.

First, I'd like to thank Vik over at Maybe It's Just Me... for nominating me for the award. Anyone who hasn't read Vik's blog yet should go and check it out. Love his blog, I read it a few times a day, every single day!

Seven things about myself that people would find interesting... let's see:

a. I've lived in this second floor apartment in Paris for six years of my life and I always thought the name of the street was Beaudoin instead of Baudoin



b. I'm a bit of a kleptomaniac, I see it as an act of rebellion against big industries. The most expensive item I've taken was a cheap bracelet from a shop but the occurrence is less than once a year.

c. I'm paranoid when I'm alone in the dark, so I usually leave a light on constantly. When I moved to my current apartment, the light I keep on 24/7 turns out to be the bathroom light due to the awkward position of the switch.

d. Most people gets cheerful when the weather is sunny outside, but I prefer windy, rainy, stormy weathers. It makes me feel safer and warmer when I'm at home and I do like to feel rain and wind on me.

e. Over the past 13 years that I'm in the States, I have yet to learn how to drive. I'm afraid if I'm given the power of a vehicle combined with my low attention span, I might run over someone. I guess I could learn and get used to driving, but just the idea of it gives me a halt.

f. I used to be a big fan of horror films, but nowadays I can't seemed to be able to sit through a horror film without cringing or looking away. Doesn't help that the boyfriend likes to watch them though.

g. I love music, like to listen to them, think I can sing, adhere to rhythm and beat but for the life of me I can't dance. Maybe I'm overtly self-conscious and easily embarrassed.

Last stage, I'm nominating...

a. Sue of Fairview Sue.
b. Toni of Attempted Entertainment.
c. Ur-Spo at Spo-Reflections.
d. Cb of The Mangina Monologues.
e. Erik at Gambrinous with Griffonage.
f. Kyle at Last Call For Sin.
g. Ed at Hirano at Work.

Have a great weekend, my friends.

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Studlies From The Other Side

1. Aaron Schock

I remember seeing this picture about a year ago of Congressman Aaron Schock. Congressman Schock is a very photogenic guy who looks better in his other pictures and he's only 29, though he is a Republican. In the spirit of bipartisanship, I can't find much on his platform, so there's not much to object about. Though he is quoted for suggesting selling nuclear weapons to Taiwan to force China into following U.S. policy in Iran. He's also seems to be for torture. Even though handsome, he's not quite my cup of tea.



2. Tim Tebow

I've not heard of the 22-years-old footballer until last week when the young man started stirring up trouble for starring in a pro-life ad that was bound to be aired during Super Bowl. Tim Tebow was born in Manila into a missionary family. During the pregnancy, his mother had contracted an infection and went into a coma, the doctor was expecting a stillbirth and recommended an abortion to protect the mother's life but at the end they both survived. So it is quite understandable the young man would have strong feelings on abortion. Though associating himself with an extreme group like Focus On The Family leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Mr. Tebow is indeed quite hunky and he likes to pose shirtless or something like that, I can't wait for a sex tape.



3. Scott P. Brown

Well, the picture was taken when he was 22 and it looks pretty damn good. Other than that, he's Republican teabagger, anti-gay, a racist, supports torture, supports death penalty, anti-health care reform and proud to be driving a truck. How did he get elected to be the Senator of Massachusetts again? He's a bit looney tunes, ain't he?



4. John Edwards

He is a 56 years old, well coiffed Democratic senator, so the studly factor is on the low side. Plus the whole lying about his extramarital affair and denying his own love child is a bit low on the moral totem pole. Though one of his aide has found a DVD at his film-maker mistress house that contains footage of several sex acts. The aide claims that Senator Edwards "is physically very striking, in a certain area. Everyone who sees it says 'whoa'." Really? A lot of people made a big deal about Tommy Lee's "physical feature" back when he made a sex tape with then wife Pamela Anderson but I wasn't really impressed since I'm desensitized by gay porn, though I'd still watch the Edwards one if given the chance. I've heard that John Edwards wife is now divorcing him and I wonder if his political career is going kaput now, maybe he can start doing porn?



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Two more things...

1. Can anyone tell me how many rebuttals or responses to the State of the Union address are necessary on the Republican side? GOP, John McCain, Sarah Palin, Log Cabin Republicans, and a commercial from the Cheneys. It's quite enough. If the disingenuous want to do something productive then let's do it, if not, I don't need to hear them jabber.

2. Can't we just make shameless scum Rod Blagojevich go away? I don't want to see him in commercials or in I'm a Celebrity Get Me Outta Here or The Apprentice even though I don't watch them. I don't want to hear about the guy either. Just make him go away. Isn't he supposed to be in prison or something?

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Today in Stop-Motion

Found some cool stop-motion videos over at Pink Tentacle and YouTube, I thought I'd share them. As an art form, it really require a high level of dedication, planning, creativity and artistry, it is from the truly talented. I hope you enjoy!


Minilogue/Hitchhikers Choice by Kristofer Ström. I really like his style of comics, it turns quite surreal near the end where he just manipulates things with his finger.



The creator who called himself “うｐ主" says he didn't use any photo-editing software. He created the whole video by just changing the position, focus, brightness, zoom, exposure and gain of his webcam. The song is called Bad Apple by Masayoshi Minoshima.



A Wolf Loves Pork by Takeuchi Taijin. I saw this a while back and baffled by the effort put into it, not to mention the thousands of photgraphs taken in order to make this. Just think about the photo printing costs.



Buenos Aires based visual artist Blu and North Carolina based artist David Ellis traveled to Italy to collaborate on this project called Combo. It's a loop that will replay in the middle of the clip, as long as you get the idea, I guess you don't have to watch it twice.



A video by Koichiro Tsujikawa for the band Cornelius' Beep It.

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Cellular Death

Via Joe.My.God., GQ has published an article about the potential dangers of cell-phone radiation.

Earlier this winter, I met an investment banker who was diagnosed with a brain tumor five years ago. He's a managing director at a top Wall Street firm, and I was put in touch with him through a colleague who knew I was writing a story about the potential dangers of cell-phone radiation. He agreed to talk with me only if his name wasn't used, so I'll call him Jim. He explained that the tumor was located just behind his right ear and was not immediately fatal—the five-year survival rate is about 70 percent. He was 35 years old at the time of his diagnosis and immediately suspected it was the result of his intense cell-phone usage. "Not for nothing," he said, "but in investment banking we've been using cell phones since 1992, back when they were the Gordon-Gekko-on-the-beach kind of phone." When Jim asked his neurosurgeon, who was on the staff of a major medical center in Manhattan, about the possibility of a cell-phone-induced tumor, the doctor responded that in fact he was seeing more and more of such cases—young, relatively healthy businessmen who had long used their phones obsessively. He said he believed the industry had discredited studies showing there is a risk from cell phones. "I got a sense that he was pissed off," Jim told me. A handful of Jim's colleagues had already died from brain cancer; the more reports he encountered of young finance guys developing tumors, the more certain he felt that it wasn't a coincidence. "I knew four or five people just at my firm who got tumors," Jim says. "Each time, people ask the question. I hear it in the hallways."

Healthy, young executives who obsessively use their cellulars are getting tumors behind their ears. Even though, not much studies had been done on the subject in the States, the researches are popping up in Europe and Australia as well. I wonder if the rate of cancer is as high in Asia, Asians are obsessed about cell phones and I would assume that if cell phone causes cancer, they will suffer as much if not more. If a trend is not detected over there then maybe it had to do with the frequency of the signal since different countries uses different bandwidths. Another group that are obsessed with cell phone usage are teenagers who run up their parent's telephone bills, I wonder how many years it takes for the microwave to cause cancer. Will our next generation feel the blunt of it? How about wireless computers? Are they also hazardous to our health? Cancer is everywhere.

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Coveting My Friends' Vacation: A Photo Essay

The weekend before the past one, 8 high school friends of mine decided to go to Eastern Taiwan for a 4 days vacation. They went to a different city each day and from the 1,000 pictures that they have accumulatedly taken, they seemed to have had a really great time and I really wish I was there too.


Taiwan much like part of China is known for their rocky hills and different body of waters that runs through them. Not particularly my speed.


Though I guess it can be cute.


Small towns are a lot more interesting.





At the last day, they stayed at a bed and breakfast by the sea that looks quite special.


Every room in the b&b has overtly cute designs and knick knacks to follow


Swings and stuff animals to make it cartoonish and homey. I'd love to live there.


And the view looks marvelous.



Breakfast looks good too. A perfect place for R&R. There's also two pools and a jacuzzi in the premise.


The thing about a trip to Taiwan that sounds so good to me though is the food. There's a shabu-shabu with two kinds of broth and thin sliced marbled beef amongst other seafood and such.


In Taiwan as well as some Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, you might find a street or two that are lined up with street vendors at night that sells local specialties.


These streets supplies one of my favorite easting activities that we called "Sweeping the Street". Here we see an oven in the process of toasting some sesame pepper buns.


Some giant grilled sausages


You can see various duck parts here, including wings, necks, heads, feet and offal.


Various meats on sticks. Bacon-wrapped quail eggs, sausages, cauliflowers and tofu waiting to be fried.


Spring rolls getting stuffed and wrapped.


Grilled calamari stacked. TWD$80 is about USD$2.50 each.

I really wish I could have been there.

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