Yuri and I along with two other of our friends have agreed on a bet that would prevent us from making fun of anyone in our circle of friends. Anytime one of us pokes fun at one of our friends, that person gets a point added to their score. The person with the lowest score at the end of the month wins. How hard can this be? EXTREMELY! We are constantly making fun of each other. Like one of our friends said "There are going to be a lot of boring conversations for the next month."
This is how guys spend most of their time. Making fun of each other, playing sports, and making stupid, stupid bets. Last night, however, another group of friends and I had an actual conversation in which we discussed issues that were affecting us. During this conversation I couldn't help but think "Damn. We've grown up so much." Maybe we've become smarter, maybe our shared experiences have earned each other's trust. One thing was certain though, there was no going back to the way we were.
Five minutes later, sure enough, we were making fun of each other again. The thought of one of us attempting to swim the Atlantic in order to escape murder charges was just too funny to hold in. Gotta love being 20-something.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
How Quickly We Grow Up
Best News EVER!
Following the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling wrote The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which was mentioned in the 7th book. The only catch: she made 7 handwritten copies, complete with her own illustrations, and gave 6 of the 7 to her close friends. The 7th book? Sold to Amazon.com at an auction for 2 million pounds (or $4 million).
But in hopes to raise money for charity, The Tales of Beedle the Bard will be published on December 4, 2008, with Amazon selling a special collector's leather-bound edition for $100. The new edition will include all of Rowling's original illustrations, as well as comments by Albus Dumbledore.
Nerdy news? Yes! But really, for all die-hard Harry Potter fans, this is BIG NEWS.
Now my friends will know what to get me for Christmas ..
P.S. - Happy Birthday to Harry Potter! (which makes sense about J.K. Rowling's "gift" to her fans)
Touching Clip of the Day: Christian the Lion
I'm not an animal lover, but my cold cold heart melted a little when I saw this clip. It's pretty self-explanatory, but basically the video is about the reunion of Christian the lion, and the 2 men who had raised him for a year before letting him go in the wild. A year after his release, the men decided to go visit him, even though they were warned that the lion would probably not remember them. But lo and behold he does remember, and it's actually really moving. A little disturbing, I have to say, because if a lion was running full speed at me, no matter if I had been his owner or not, I think the first thought to run through my head would be, "S**t, I'm so f**ked," NOT, "Awww, he remembers me!!" But, that's just me being my cynical self. Maybe cause this video is set to one of the sappiest songs of all time, Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You, but even I kinda teared up at the sight of this huge mountain lion pouring out his affection for his former masters. Over 7 million people have watched the clip so far, and the 2 men were even interviewed on the Today show this week.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
[Mixtape] Summer Songs '08
No doubt about it, THE Summer Song of 2007 was Rihanna's ubiquitous Umbrella (ella ella eh eh), and so the race is on for the title of Summer Song of 2008. Based on word-of-mouth, chart rankings, and radio play, I'd have to reluctantly give my vote to Zooey Deschanel look-alike Katy Perry's I Kissed a Girl. It's currently sitting pretty at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 Charts. Ughhh. I hate this song, and unfortunately for me, it's EVERYWHERE. Which makes it the new Umbrella. I just don't like 12 year old girls singing "I kissed a girl, and I liked it..."
Well there you have it. But here are my other contenders for Summer 08 songs, in no particular order. Which gets your vote?
WTF of the Day
ESPN recently held a competition for "TitleTown USA," the place in the USA that resonates championships more than any other city. So of course when you think TitleTown the first place that comes to mind is Valdosta, Georgia. Valdosta? Really?
In Valdosta's defense, they have won a ton of championships...in high school. Valdosta has a division II college and no professional teams. You have got to be kidding me. TitleTown USA goes to high school championships? It's rumored that Valdosta has won about 500 championships in its history. Unfortunately, championships in high school are handed out like fortune cookies at Chinese restaurants.
I'm not saying it has to be New York (though it should be), but Valdosta it should not! In the words of Mark Jackson, "ESPN, you're better than that."
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Trailer
Harry Potter fans rejoice! The first official trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is here .. and oh boy, it looks freaking grood (good + great).
Anyone who knows me will tell you how much of a Harry Potter fan I am. And the 6th book coming to the big screen? I don't even think that the movie can eff it up for me (don't even get me started about how much better the books are, and about how the past 5 movies have taken away from the many details in the series) because the 6th book was THAT good (in my opinion). The trailer itself gave me the chills!
And I think it's kind of cool that Ralph Fiennes's 10-year-old nephew plays the younger Tom Riddle/Voldemort in Half-Blood Prince. For those who don't know, Ralph Fiennes plays the adult Lord Voldemort.
Yeah, yeah. I'm a nerd. But you can bet your money that on November 21, 2008, I'll be watching this in theaters.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Hot Air Balloon Rides @ Central Park
As someone who visits New York City fairly often, I get really excited when I gat a chance to see the city in a unique way (As you may have noticed).
So obviously, when I heard there were going to be hot air balloon rides in Central Park from now until August 22nd, I was super happy.
In celebration of Central Park's 150th anniversary, Aero Balloon is hosting anchored hot air balloon rides for a very reasonably priced $25 a pop.
The balloons go up 300 feet and take up to four passengers in the air for 10 minutes at a time. Rides are available from 7am to 10pm on a first-come, first-serve basis and lift-off from Cherry Hill (on 72nd street, west of the Bethesda Fountain).
Me and camera are definitely going to take advantage of this ride, maybe I'll see you on line!
Deal of the Day: Ben & Jerry's
To promote their new fat-free white tea, ginger, and hibiscus flavored drink, Iced TeaZers, Ben & Jerry will be offering the refreshing 20oz. drink today (July 29, 2008) for just $.99. Sounds like a great way to fight the summer heat and to add a healthier alternative to a summer drink.
Monday, July 28, 2008
[Feature] Posthumous Fame (and Heath Ledger)
As said in a previous post, The Dark Knight exceeded all expectations for me. Sure, a lot of people might think that the film itself is overhyped and just a “good movie,” rather than a great film, but in my opinion, what makes The Dark Knight such a great film is the late Heath Ledger’s performance. I mean, for a movie with a PG-13 rating, the movie gave me enough chills, without the excess of blood and violence. Now talks about a posthumous Oscar nomination for Ledger seems to be the talk of Tinsel Town, which is debatable amongst both the elite in Hollywood, as well as film critics, and fans.
Friday, July 25, 2008
What Are You Doing This Weekend?
Forecast
Fri: 87°/68°, Partly cloudy
Sat: 90°/71°, Mostly sunny
Sun: 88°/72°, Scattered T-storms
See
Step Brothers (starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly)
The X-Files: I Want to Believe (starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson)
American Teen (in select theaters, read more about it here)
Events
NYC Restaurant Week
The first full week of Restaurant Week is over, but you still have July 28- Aug 1 to try some fancy restaurants at decent prices. Call and book SOON for next week. $24.07 lunch/$35 dinner for a 3-course meal.
City Place at Edgewater - Sidewalk Sale
The shops at City Place are participating in its first sidewalk sale this Friday and Saturday. Might not be a bad idea to check out, maybe you'll find some cool (not-as-expensive) duds at stores like the Gap, Banana Republic, and Anthropologie.
Deal of the Day: Free $10 From Amazon.com
Amazon is running a really great deal from now until July 28th.
If you try Amazon Prime, their service that provides free 2-day shipping on all items, free for a month, then they give you $10 off of your next purchase.
The only catch is that you have to cancel the Prime service within a month, or else you'll get charged $79 (which gives you Prime for a year).
Click here to sign up!
Movie: The Dark Knight
Movie Release Date: July 18, 2008
Genre: Action, Drama
Oldman, Morgan Freeman
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Stuff [Fill in the Blank] Like
A few months ago, Yuri wrote about one of our favorite blogs ever, Stuff White People Like. Since then, SWPL has taken off, garnering heavy media coverage and even spawning a book deal for Christian Lander, the creator of the blog. You know you're a cultural phenomenon when you land a book deal, but your status in pop culture history is cemented when you inspire a dozen parodies/counterparts, as Lander's idea has done. Not white and can't relate? Not a problem! Check out: Stuff Asian People Like, Stuff Desis Like, Stuff Educated Black People Like, Stuff Nobody Likes, Stuff College People Like, Stuff God Hates, I mean it goes on and on and on.
Nothing beats the original, but for me, this comes really close: Stuff Korean Moms Like. HILARIOUS. Honestly, my mom isn't the typical Korean mom, but #42 Paper and Plastic Bags pretty much describes her to a T:
If you are like me, you know the worst thing you can do is throw out an empty paper or plastic bag in front of your Korean Mom. She will cry out as if her latest Korean Drama has been canceled, and shout "YAH!"(YOU!) in her loud, super sonic Korean Mom voice. As soon as either paper or plastic bag enters the Korean Mom's domain they are meticulously folded or knotted into complicated designs and stored in a drawer or cupboard for future use.
Ahahahaha. There you have it, folks, some new sites to peruse when you are mindlessly bored at work.
The Name Game
Growing up in a Korean-dominated area, I abhorred meeting a new girl who was named Julia Park. You'd think that Korean parents would at least venture out the box with names, but sadly, even looking through my cellphone's list of contacts saddens me, especially when it takes me 10 minutes to go through a seemingly endless list of "John Lee's/Kim's/Park's" or "Hanna Lee's/Kim's/Park's." You better bet your bottom dollar that none of my sons will be named John, James, Sam.
But turns out that having the same name as others isn't as bad as having a completely weird, uncommon name (or sharing a name with a popular product):
Family Court Judge Rob Murfitt listed a series of unusual names that New Zealand parents had given their children, and said he was concerned that such strange monikers would create hurdles for them as they grew up. "It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap," the New Zealand Press Association quoted the judge as saying. Among the names Murfitt cited: twins named Benson and Hedges -- after a brand of cigarettes; Violence; and Number 16 Bus Shelter. Some parents had named children after six-cylinder Ford cars, the news agency reported. (from cnn.com)And this story stems from a New Zealand judge's ruling that a nine year old girl named "Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii" be a ward of the court.
Personally, I think I'd name my children after favorite characters in books, rather than a random favorite product..
Movie: Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Movie Release Date: July 11, 2008
Genre: Action, Adventure
Running Time: 120 Minutes
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Jeffrey Tambor
Yuri, a friend (Jonathan), and I decided to catch the 9:45PM showing of Hellboy II: The Golden Army last night. I must state that I've never had any interest in seeing the film, and have never seen the first film, let alone even care about the comic series (I'm sure that some fanboys are ready to harpoon my heart right now). But what the hell, I figured that since my boyfriend wanted to see it and that it got decent reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, it couldn't be too bad, right?
Wrong.
Douchebag of the Day: Brooke Hogan
"I think it's kind of crazy that a woman is running because I think that women deal with a lot of emotions and menopause and PMS and stuff. Like, I'm so moody all the time, I know I couldn't be able to run a country, because I would be crying one day and yelling at people the next day, you know?"My crappy photoshopping aside, nice, Brooke Hogan. Thank you so much for setting women back a million years. You just took one glance at the dream of equality and blew it to smithereens with that statement. I'm so glad you're on my TV screen, week after week, so that little girls can too dream of one day living off daddy's money while pursuing a mediocre, talentless pop career on the side. Just because the hardest decision you have to make all day revolves around what bikini to wear to the beach doesn't mean that all women are incapable of doing things that actually matter in the world. Brooke does NOT know best; you are an idiot, and congratulations- douchebag of the day.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Comic Strip of the Day
We're kicking it old school today, folks! Calvin and Hobbes is my favorite comic of all times and this one in particular is my favorite strip. "It's shameless the way we flirt." True that Calvin.
CalvinandHobbes.com
Resources for Local Foodies
Speaking of food.. I kind of love it. I love eating and trying new places.
Aside from reading other posts on this blog, I have two ways of finding new places to eat around the Bergen County / New Jersey / New York area.
The first is Chowhound.com forums. Chowhound is, like, a foodie's dream website. They have recipes, reviews, and a very comprehensive food forum.
While activity can sometimes be scarce (I started up a few posts 
and had very little to no feedback), they have a very deep archive with lots of great suggestions. It's actually through Chowhound that I found my favorite Cuban eatery, Casual Habana Cafe.
The other site I check when I'm looking for food is Off the Broiler. Off the Broiler is a blog run by a local guy named Jason Perlow. He writes about technology and food (I know, an odd mix). The great thing about his blog is that he takes pictures of the places he eats at and is very descriptive in his writing. He visited some of my favorite places to go, like Bartolomeo's and Boom Boom Chicken.
So if you're ever in the mood to find a new place to eat, use Chowhound and Off the Broiler to help you discover your new favorite restaurant.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
NY Mag's Cheap Eats 2008
Video of the Day: Dinosaur Loose in the Museum
Most little girls love to play dress up, play with Barbies, or pretend that they're a princess. Me? I was more of a dinosaur loving gal, who had secret hopes of one day becoming a archaeologist, working on dinosaur expeditions all over the world. Yeah, I was kind of a tomboy (though, in my defense, I owned my fair share of Barbie dolls, too). And yes, I totally loved Dr. Ross Geller, he's my hero.
Of course, when I was first linked this video, I was completely screaming OMG SO AWESOME and totally jealous of those who were there to experience being near a freaking realistic dinosaur. And I love how at 1:09 of the video, the videographer tells the dinosaur to just eat one of the kids.
Extinct, my ASS! from The Original Joe Fisher on Vimeo.
Monday, July 21, 2008
[Feature] What Makes Gas Prices So High?
How many conservative economists does it take to change a light bulb? None, if the government would just leave it alone, it would screw itself in.
Get it? How about this one...
Three econometricians went out hunting, and came across a large deer. The first econometrician fired, but missed, by a meter to the left. The second econometrician fired, but also missed, by a meter to the right. The third econometrician didn’t fire, but shouted in triumph, “We got it! We
got it!”
Are you laughing yet? If you aren't, you're probably not that into economics. However, you do care about spending $4 dollars per gallon for gas. I am not an economist. I can only guess as to why that last joke is funny. I am going to try, however, to explain to you (and myself for that matter) why gas prices are getting higher and higher.
Friday, July 18, 2008
What Are You Doing This Weekend?
Forecast
Fri: 95°/75°, Partly cloudy
Sat: 97°/74°, Lots of sunshine
Sun: 90°/75°, Partly cloudy
(Watch out for heat advisories!)
See
The Dark Knight (Starring Christian Bale, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger,)
Mamma Mia (Starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnon, Amanda Seyfried)
Space Chimps (Starring Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Patrick Warburton)
Events
Swim!
It's going to be killer hot this weekend. It's a perfect excuse to go head to your local pool (it's $15 for non-members in Palisades Park, fyi) or hit up the Jersey Shore.
Free Concert with Diplo, Santogold, A-Trak, Plastic Littler, and Kid Cudi
This free concert is being held at Central Park's SummerStage this Sunday at 3pm. To be honest, I only posted this because I love Santogold. It looks to be a great concert!
Much Ado About Nothing
Having trouble getting tickets to Shakespeare in the Park? The Hudson Warehouse, labelling themselves as the "other free Shakespeare in the Park", will be performing Much Ado About Nothing every Thursday to Sunday in July. The show starts at 6:30pm.
While you were sleeping.... TV Edition!
A lot has been happening in the TV world...
2008 Emmy Awards Nominations
The Emmy nominations were announced yesterday, the winners will be announced at the awards in Sept. It was a good year for cable TV, with tons of cable shows leading nominations, including Mad Men and Damages making history by becoming the first cable shows to get Best Drama Series noms. Also, Ryan Secrest may finally win an Emmy- it's the first year best reality host will be honored. Other than that, not too many surprises.
MTV Soundtrack
Finally: MTV has launched a website that is an interactive guide to music featured on all of their shows. So no more googling 'what was the name of the song on last night's The Hills'? Head over to the site, stream the song, discuss with fans, buy the song. You can also discover new artists, as bands are encouraged to set up profiles and upload music. Kinda cool. I'll be using the site a lot when the Hills returns in the fall.
Katie Holmes guesting on Eli Stone
Holmes is returning to the small screen on ABC's Eli Stone, to air later this year. So she turns down the Dark Knight and instead is widening her repertoire with small cameos on TV, ok... Full circle I guess, returning to the medium that made her famous in the first place. Apparently she's singing and dancing in this role. I actually really like her (and SURI!!), despite her crazo husband.
Disappointment of the Day
This is the first poster for the upcoming Dragonball movie. As a huge fan of the series, I can't do anything but look at it with fear and loathing.
I think the trouble is that the characters in the anime look too cartoonish to be live-action. I mean, I've never seen someone and thought to myself, "Man, that guy looks exactly like Goku!"
Seriously, this whole thing is giving me visions of the Street Fighter movie.
*Shudder*
Thursday, July 17, 2008
White People Are Right, We Do All Look The Same
As an Asian, I had always felt that I had this sixth sense when it came to other Asian. Like, I could see another Asian and tell whether the person was Korean, Chinese, or Japanese... or so I thought.
A couple of years back, I took the Asian Face test on AllLookSame.com and did horribly -- well below the 7/18 average people get. Hell, even retaking it today, with the same pictures, I only scored a 10/18. That's when I realized that I probably didn't have this skill.
So I challenge everyone to give this quiz a go. All you do is look at pictures of people and choose between Korean, Chinese, or Japanese (sorry, Southeast Asians!). Maybe it'll make you question your sixth sense, too.
Song of the Day: Adele - Hometown Glory
I love sad, melancholy songs. My favorite song ever is Sia's Breathe Me, which is hella depressing, and a close second is Imogen Heap's Hide and Seek, which also ranks pretty high on the unhappy list. I've been obsessed with Adele lately, a young British artist who I wrote about in my mixtape on British female artists. I LOVE LOVE Hometown Glory, a beautiful song off of Adele's debut album 19. It's actually a really uplifting song about her hometown of London (my other obsession), set to a really sad melody. I'm not surprised it's been featured on everything from Grey's Anatomy and One Tree Hill to So You Think You Can Dance.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Sports Recap: MLB Midseason Report
What a frigginly delicious All Star game. 15 innings of excitement! That being said, it is time to take a look back at the predictions I made at the beginning of the season and see how I've fared so far.
7 Super Snacks To Save Your Day
I'm not really a believer in medicine. No, I'm not a Scientologist, but I don't like taking pills (for some reason, I have trouble swallowing them), nor do I like the idea of taking the liquid form of medicines. Not to mention that I abhor the taste of medicines. They taste funny.
I guess if anything, I'm more of a believer in natural remedies. They taste a lot better (well, not all) and more natural. Granted not all people are fans and would much rather prefer the taste of their icky FDA-approved meds, but here's a list of 7 Super Snacks from Yahoo! Health that can help you out with certain bodily problems or functions.
Store of the Day: Built
I'm not very keen on fashion (although I do enjoy shopping for nice clothes), but my friend, Michelle's, tote caught my attention today. The tote was a sweet looking lime-green, but what really caught my attention was the material it was made of, neoprene. Neoprene is the material used to make laptop sleeves. The neoprene also allowed Michelle to stuff her bag with more stuff than usual. I asked her where she got her tote and she told me she got it from Built New York. The tote can be bought at the Built online store for about $20, but I was told it can be bought at Marshalls for $10.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Brad & Angelina + Six
OMG, you guys, Brangelina are the proud parents of twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline! Like, we can totally breathe a sigh of relief because the babies are finally here, the mom is fine, the dad cut the umbilical cord, and now baby Shiloh finally has siblings that look like her! So awesome!!
...Ok, honestly, as much as people think I eat up stuff like this, I don't really care. I don't like Angelina, I don't really like Brad, I don't particularly think Shiloh is a cute baby (there, I said it) and so I really don't care. But apparently the world does: here is People.com's "Special Report" page dedicated to all things Jolie-Pitt, here is the mayor of Nice (France, where the babies were born) with their birth certificates, here is an interview with the doctor who delivered the babies, and here is an article on how much the first pictures of the twins are expected to fetch. The price is pretty mind blowing: "The only other photos that 'would possibly come that close is Britney Spears giving birth to an alien.' '' Right.
20 Healthy Foods < $1
One of my favorite books of all time has got to be The Joy of Cooking. Why, you ask? Because a) it's useful for any and every occasion, b) every time I read it, I learn something new, c) cooking is freaking fun! I love going to supermarkets with a cooking mission, trusty cookbook in cart.
Anyway, one thing that rocks about cooking is that it's usually a lot cheaper than eating out, and that it makes you more aware of what you are consuming (thus hopefully leading you to eat more healthy).
For all those who share my interest in being a [healthy] foodie, here's a list of The 20 Healthiest Foods for Under $1:
Website of the Day: CuteOverload
Anyone who knows me can tell you about how much I HEART animals. But really, it's not ALL animals. I just kind of heart puppehs.
One of my favorite websites of ALL TIME to visit on a daily basis is CuteOverload. But not only do they feature the cutest puppehs around, but various other animals, too (kittens, seals, red pandas, birds, bunnies ... the list is endless!). And one of my favorite things about CO is the fact that they seem to always feature Pomeranians, which happen to be one of my favorite breeds of dogs.
I mean honestly, how can you not smile after seeing a face like this:
Monday, July 14, 2008
[Feature] Five Skills Every Guy Should Have
Despite what women say, being a guy is a tough job. You need to be able to do, make, and know a lot of things in order to maintain your masculinity. After all, the minute a girl fixes your car for you, you are revoked of your man-license.
So to prevent any potential embarrassments, I've compiled a list of five skills every guy needs in order to be a real man. This by no means is a complete list, but it's definitely a good start.
So in order to be a man, every guy should know...
Friday, July 11, 2008
What Are You Doing This Weekend?
Forecast
Fri: 86°/67°, Partly sunny
Sat: 86°/68°, Lots of sunshine
Sun: 88°/71°, Partly sunny and warm
See
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (starring Ron Perlman, Selma Blair)
Journey to the Center of the Earth (starring Brendan Fraser)
Meet Dave (starring Eddie Murphy, Elizabeth Banks, Gabrielle Union)
Events
Luckily, the following cultural events will be commencing on Sunday, July 13th!
Bastille Day: This French-based holiday has everything from stage performances, crepes, and lawn bowling.
Dancing of the Giglio: This Italian-based holiday features a 40-tone, 80 foot statue of Giglio, calamari, pizza, calzones, and live music.
