DUDE WTF ASIA: Japanese People Laugh at Scaredy Bear

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on July 29, 2010
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A bunch of people sent this video to me saying that I’d find it funny, but I just watched this in horror. Basically this video is of a cute little bear cub being scared out of its wits by a baby lion, monkey and monkey’s shadow. Ok, so maybe that shadow thing was kind of funny. But overall, I thought it was pretty cruel what they were doing to the bear. Adding in the facial reactions of the Japanese variety show folks and the soundtrack of the audiences saying “Kawaii!!!” didn’t change that, but maybe I need to see the full version of this, which evidently shows the bear cub exacting its revenge on its (previous) terrorizers. What do you think?

[Originally posted at 8Asians]

Joz in the Taiwan Daily News (Sunday, 7/25/2010 Edition)

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on July 27, 2010
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This past weekend I was an invited speaker at Rosemead City Hall for a TACL
(Taiwanese American Citizen’s League)/TUF (Taiwanese United Fund) writing
salon called "Voices of Taiwanese America." I was honored to sit alongside
George T. Wu, author of "The Formosa Furies" as well as Chi-Hung (Luke)
Hsieh (謝奇宏), who published his autobiography "Unicorn, You Taught Me How to
Fly" at the age of 25, on the panel.

Here is the article in Sunday’s Taiwan Daily News. I sent this off to my
Aunties & Uncles who read Chinese. (My Mom is mad at me because I didn’t go
get a stack of paper copies of this.) If you’re curious about the article,
basically it reported that I was one of 3 speakers + it listed the names of
all the high school kids who got scholarships from the TACL.

I was asked about future writing projects and I told the audience that I
am currently researching a book about my (maternal) grandmother Huang
Yu-Jiau (黃玉嬌). A lot of the people (1st generation) there told me
afterwards that they remembered either Grandma or my father, or both.

Text article (no image):
www.taiwandaily.net/gp2.aspx?_p=kSF1c9zU9HS0gywQgs7CiWf6I…

Image at: news.taiwandaily.net/JPG/7/A08.jpg (link expires in a week)

TACL獎學金頒獎典禮

(記者林蓮華/羅斯密市報導) TACL台美公民協會於7月24日(週六)在羅斯密市政府舉辦「2010年台美人社區獎學金頒獎典禮」，今年共有21 名應屆高中畢業生榮獲每名500元獎學金，及獎牌一面。當天並邀請三位台美人作家George Wu、Jocelyn Wang、謝奇宏以「台美人之聲」為題，主講他們從事寫作的心路歷程及提供寫作的訣竅。當天市議員勞朱嘉儀及洛僑主任簡許邦皆主席頒獎。

三位台美人作家，前總統府資政吳澧涪之子George Wu著作「The Formosa Furies Fight for Freedom」以童話故事，描寫台美人如何為台灣自由與民主的信念奮戰不懈的艱辛之路；Jocelyn Wang是一位台美最知名的網路作家，她以「8Asians」道盡亞裔在美國生存的酸甜苦辣；謝奇宏身為特殊殘障人士，以其「不向命運低頭」的努力寫下「獨角獸你教我怎麼飛」。他們親身演講，在場學子紛紛表示收獲良多，並對台美人士更深切了解。

TACL理事長賴慧娜表示，頒發獎學金已邁入第11年，由於不限族裔，在經過審慎的評選後，今年從70多位申請者中，遴選出21位，每位學生都是品學兼優，最重要是這筆獎學金將有助於他們減輕進入大學的負擔。

獎學金得獎名單分別為阿罕布拉高中Michelle Ruan、Rayond Yang、Stephanie Wang、Zerena Diaz；亞凱迪亞高中Lily Yin；鑽石吧高中Frederick Peng、Pu Fang Hung 藝術高中(HS of Art)Sharon Jan；Los Altos 高中Amy Lee；馬凱勃高中Benjanmin Lee、Patricia Song；聖蓋博高中Charles Le、Carrie Ho；聖瑪利諾高中Jonathan Lin；南方高中Nicole Lee；南丘高中Alan Chen、Michelle Kung；天普高中Kimberly Luu、Veronia Lin；喜瑞都高中Christopher Lai；南艾爾地高中Daphne Chien。

What was Joz doing on Sunday? (You get 1 clue & 1 guess)

Published
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on July 26, 2010
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Whose bright idea was it to paint the ceiling, anyway? Oh right, it was
mine. (Yoshi did try to talk me out of it.)

Maybe it was a good thing our paint sprayer was broken and we had to go old
school and use a roller and paint brush. By the way, popcorn ceilings are
pure evil.

Special thanks to the Bro for coming out to do the hard stuff. Sad to
believe but we’re still not done. Doh.

Home.
7/25/2010.
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Why @ProfessorEric is a true friend.

Published
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on July 23, 2010
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A true friend will lend you a hand whenever you need one.

(The post-it above was inspired by this chat from today)

11:26 AM me: Hi baby
Are we ever going to see each other?
12:03 PM Prof: really soon i hope.
or i will cut off my arm and mail it to you.
which won’t help at all… but you know, it is the thought that counts.
12:11 PM me: That’s a very disturbing thought, but thanks for the offer.
12:12 PM Prof: welcome
12:18 PM Prof: i just sent you a photo on your phone.
12:21 PM me: I think I see it downloading
(Joz looks at the photo)
12:30 PM That is disgusting, but thank you.
Prof: welcome.

Post-It/Photo sent via MMS
+ gChat IMs
7/23/2010.
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8Questions with Ken Watanabe: Actor who plays Saito, “The Tourist” in ‘Inception’

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on July 16, 2010
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My interview with Ken Watanabe, originally published at 8Asians

I was lucky enough to attend an early screening of Inception at the Arclight in Hollywood on Wednesday night. Like Dino-Ray, I enjoyed how thought-provoking the film was, and truth be told—two days later, I’m still reeling at how mind-blown I was by this film.

You really have to see the film for yourself to appreciate the brilliance of Christopher Nolan’s writing and direction, but without strong characters and actors to take the audience through the emotional journey, I think the story driving Inception might have easily lost in the amazing visuals as well as the overwhelming amount of chasing, shooting, fighting, and other action and suspense sequences. So for me, it was the strength of Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance, balanced with those of all the supporting characters– in particular the characters played by Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy, Dileep Rao, and of course, Ken Watanabe that made the film so compelling.

Last Friday, Ken Watanabe was good enough to spare a few minutes on the phone with me for a quick chat about Inception, his own reaction after seeing the film, his thoughts about different audiences worldwide, and what he’ll be doing next.

Joz: You’ve had a long and notable career in Japan prior to your exposure to American audiences in ‘The Last Samurai’ and other English-language films. What are the main differences and similarities you find when you’re doing a film for an American (and international) audience, versus that of a Japanese audience?
Ken Watanabe: I couldn’t find [any] different perspective. To make a film just, I need to connect one audience, not [different] people. All people have the same feeling and same mind — a little bit different custom and culture and background and language, but same feelings, I think. I’m [an] Asian and Japanese actor so I want to try always [to balance]. [Like a] Japanese brush painting is [just] black and white [watercolor] — not oil — but still really sensitive [and shades in between]. Not yes or no, but just between good or bad, happy or sad… sensitive… between-gray area.

Asian Americans often criticize the lack of roles in Hollywood productions for Asian or Asian American actors that aren’t straight forward martial arts roles. Tell us a bit about the role of Saito and what it was like to do such a prominent and rich dramatic role.
It is my first experience in Hollywood in a really contemporary role. Also, it’s the same director that I worked with before, and it was a little bit of a different kind of window opened for me in Hollywood, because I always think about I try contemporary role with contemporary English, thinking, maybe I could do it. It’s really interesting, and in the future I can do it [more].

You and director Christopher Nolan both said that you wanted to work together more after your earlier work together in ‘Batman Begins.’ What was it like to have work with him in the role of Saito?
He told me, “I wrote a role for you.” It’s so incredible. I was really proud and honored and really glad to join this project. He has great ideas and imagination. I always want to cut open his head and see the inside! (laughs)

’Inception’ is about dreams, but hinges on the idea that someone’s dreams can be shared or even “implanted” with new ideas. What do you think about this?
NEVER. I never want to do that. It’s so scary. Please no one get in my dream! Anybody!

’Inception’ features themes and concepts that are synonymous with Asian thought and culture (such as reality as an illusion and the significance of dreams). What can you say about the significance of dreams?
Maybe it’s a similar feeling that Western people have. [Many Asians believe dreams] forecast for the future and some signal for the future and yeah so [if you dream something, maybe you] need to think about your style of life or something and change of mind.

I’m not a big dreamer and I always forget what I dream. But then I had a nightmare after the screening of ‘Inception!’ I woke up at 3:30 am and — yeah — I felt I got some great “inception” from Chris Nolan! (laughs) Totally different story!

The cast is truly International and the filming took the team all over the globe. What was the best part of being involved with such an international cast, crew, and production?
I’m Japanese actor, so many international cast: Marion Cotillard (French), Cillian Murphy (Irish), Ellen Page (Canadian) … but Chris Nolan wanted personality as an actor, as much as the character.

And then my character is not typical Japanese, any other “country” could be his character. I tried to some difficult way to make the character because it’s a really unique point of the movie is that the character enters other people’s dream. I tried to emphasize different aspects of my character each layer of the dream. It’s really interesting process to make up the character. In some sequence, I tried to make him more radical and powerful, seem like a villain to give to audiences violent feelings. And then some sequences he’s more sharp and calm, more closer to his real personality. Yeah, it’s really interesting, I enjoyed it as an actor.

What do you hope audiences will get out of seeing ‘Inception?’
Surprised!

Our readers are highly engaged in social media– they read blogs like ours and follow celebrities on Twitter and Facebook. Have you embraced social media and how can our readers follow you online online? What do you think of engaging your fans directly through the internet versus traditional forms of media & publicity.
I don’t have a web page or Twitter or Facebook or blog. My expressive piece is the movie. I want to connect to the piece. Just watch the movie, yeah, please. I don’t want to show them my private life.

What do you think of Americans’ fascination with celebrity?
I’m not a celebrity, just an actor. I try to put everything into the movie.

What projects are you looking forward to beyond ‘Inception?’
Nothing yet, after the promotion I will have a great summer vacation! (laughs)

Thanks so much to Ken for sharing his time and thoughts with us at 8Asians!

Congratulations to all the winners of our 8Asians Inception Prize Package Giveaway as well everyone who got to attend the advanced screening in L.A.! Don’t forget to “Like” his character on Facebook at InceptionSaito! Inception opens tonight in theatres in IMAX.

h/t: @TheOtherYoshi for transcribing the recorded interview for me so I didn’t have to hear my own voice

An oldie from Ernie’s tumblr: Efren overshares

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on July 12, 2010
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Efi and I have known each other for a long, long time. He still shares
inappropriately and I still get sucked into his crazy. When will I ever
learn?

Originally seen here:
ernie.tumblr.com/post/575479273/why-i-love-being-a-part-o…

Facebook & Ernie’s Tumblr
5/5/2010
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“Joz can race!” (insert Asian female driver joke here… or is this picture it?!)

Published
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on July 10, 2010
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An old friend from college invited me to an amazing event that I
couldn’t say no to.  His company organized "GIRLS CAN RACE: Ladies
Night at K1" and featured professional racers as our coaches in a
night that was centered around fun, learning, and improving (instead
of competing and winning). The guys who came out to support their
girlfriends/wives had their own activity for the evening: an arts and
crafts table where they were given the task of making signs to cheer
us on.

I was in a group that was coached by Craig Stanton– 2005 GRAND-AM
Rolex Series Champion– and pretty much the best is the biz! Craig
and all the professional racers were so nice and helpful in answering
our questions and giving us tips and advice.

Considering that this was my first time racing, I figured I the bar
was set really low. I was happy that I didn’t come in last both times
I got to drive. (So I came in 11th out of 12– beating out a little
girl both times– still not last! Yay I drive better than a little
girl!) Heck, I was just glad that I didn’t hurt myself or run anyone
over. I did crash once but it wasn’t my fault– someone tried to pass
me from the outside as I was making a hairpin turn. KABOOM! She spun
out but I just kept driving myself to second-to-last place!

Thanks to Sean Heckman and The Media Barons, K1 Speed, all the
professional racers & coaches, and all the ladies who came out for
making it such a fun night!

Here is the event description:
GIRLS CAN RACE: Ladies Night at K1

Date: Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Time: 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Location: K1 Speed, Torrance
Street: 19038 S. Vermont Ave.
City/Town: Gardena, CA

LADIES NIGHT AT K1: Featuring pro coaches Craig Stanton, Oriol Servia,
Kelly Collins, Duncan Ende, Nathan Swartzbaugh… and possible cameo
by Tommy Kendall!

RSVP IS ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED!!! Only 30 spots available

Never gone racing? Want to come to the track and beat your man every
time? This is your chance.

Presenting the first ever ladies-only night of racing and coaching,
The Media Barons and K1 Speed present a fun evening of racing,
instruction, and just plain fun. Directed by 2005 GRAND-AM Rolex
Series Champion Craig Stanton, one of the highest-rated private
instructors in the world, our night will feature a number of on and
off track ways to not only improve your race and street driving, but
also have fun in the process.

Featuring some of the top professional drivers in the world, this is
the sort of experience that racing schools would offer for thousands
of dollars, but we just ask for smiles, so get out here!

-FREE INSTRUCTION (both on track and classroom sessions)
-FREE FOOD
-GIVEAWAYS AND PRIZES!

Does your man want to join? Bring him out! There will still be
on-track sessions and opportunities for boys to come out and race
while they wait.

ONLY 30 SPOTS AVAILABLE! RSVP REQUIRED!!!

PRO COACHES:
Craig Stanton- 2005 GRAND-AM Rolex Series Champion
Oriol Servia- IndyCar Driver, Indy Lights Champion
Kelly Collins- 2009 GRAND-AM Rolex Series Champion
Duncan Ende- GRAND-AM Winner
Nathan Swartzbaugh- 2006 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Champion

…And Possible Cameo By…
Tommy Kendall- 4-Time Trans-Am Series Champion

K1 Speed
Gardena, CA
7/6/2010.
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5.4 Quake Hits So Cal

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on July 7, 2010
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2010-07-08 - 00-13-25UTC - 32_34_-118_-116I first suspected an earthquake might have been happening when I felt a tiny shaking while I was sitting at my desk. Then some stronger shaking occurred and I looked at my Twitter stream. All my friends in L.A. were tweeting “EARTHQUAKE.” It was good as confirmed.

Of course, it’s not really confirmed until a seismologist at USGS has reviewed the quake findings:

Magnitude 5.4 – SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Date-Time Wednesday, July 07, 2010 at 23:53:33 UTC
Wednesday, July 07, 2010 at 04:53:33 PM at epicenter

Location 33.417°N, 116.483°W
Depth 11.7 km (7.3 miles)
Region SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Distances 22 km (13 miles) NNW (332°) from Borrego Springs, CA
23 km (14 miles) SE (131°) from Anza, CA
33 km (20 miles) NE (52°) from Lake Henshaw, CA
41 km (25 miles) SW (215°) from Indio, CA
45 km (28 miles) S (174°) from Palm Springs, CA
94 km (58 miles) NE (41°) from San Diego, CA

Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 0.3 km (0.2 miles); depth +/- 0.6 km (0.4 miles)
Parameters Nph=122, Dmin=10 km, Rmss=0.26 sec, Gp= 29°,
M-type=regional moment magnitude (Mw), Version=4

Don’t forget to fill out the “Did you feel it?” shake survey and check out the Shake Map!

(Originally posted at: blogging.la. Also, this is my first post made at the newly re-designed blogging.la site since it was re-launched after being known at LA Metblogs for several years.)

Joz & The LXD/GLEE’s Harry Shum Jr at the #LAAPFF Filmmaker’s Welcome Party, May 2010

Published
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on July 6, 2010
in General
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It was such a pleasure to meet the amazing Harry Shum Jr aka Glee’s "Other
Asian" and member of the LXD!

2010 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
Filmmaker’s Welcom Party
Madang Courtyard
Ktown (Koreatown), Los Angeles, CA
5/1/2010

(This is like 2 months old but I just found it in my "Drafts/Unsent Email"
folder. Oops. I wonder what else is in there.)
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Joz gets a small mention in SF Gate’s “Asian Pop” by @originalspin (Jeff Yang)

Published
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"Hot summer fights" is the title of this installment of Asian Pop.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/07/01/apop070110.DTL

Amongst other things, Jeff asked a bunch of us for our summer movie, music, and book lists. I got quoted under "Good Reads" as saying:
"I’m hoping to read ‘Delivering Happiness’ by Tony Hsieh of Zappos.com. I love shoes. Oh wait, the book isn’t just about shoes? Oh well, I’ll probably still read it." — *JozJozJoz, 8Asians*

Ok, so it’s not much of a mention, but it’s there. And there’s a link back to 8Asians.

Read the full story at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/07/01/apop070110.DTL

Supposedly, there is more to come at his blog: originalspin.posterous.com/

Thanks for including me, Jeff!

Originally published at the San Francisco Chronicle (online)
on 7/1/2010.
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Thinking of Dad… 4 years after his passing…

Published
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on July 2, 2010
in :: dad :: and General
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Sometimes I get really sad when I look at old pictures of my Dad because I
love him and still miss him so much. I scanned this photo years ago and
have no idea when it was taken or what the occasion was. Store-bought cake
probably meant that it was someone’s birthday and my Dad is cutting an
Italian Rum cake with Baby Joz on his lap.

I love how young and happy my Dad looks in this picture. At this time in
his life, he would have been done with graduate school a few years prior,
moved from New York to Los Angeles after school, started working for a large
architectural firm, gotten married to my Mom, and had become a new Dad to
boot. The world and was still opening up to him– and I believe my
Grandparents (his parents) had also immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan,
bringing the people he most loved together in the United States– a land of
freedom, independence, and opportunity. I imagine that all areas of his
life were coming together at this time and I hope he got to enjoy it a bit,
seeing as he was the type of person who never took the time to "enjoy
himself."

I’m realizing that he was probably about my age (or maybe even younger than
I am now) when this picture was taken. We still have that table somewhere
in storage, I think. Some of that stemware is still around, too.

Oh and see how fascinated with the cake I am in the photo? I guess some
things never change.

From last year (2009): Thinking of Dad… 3 years after his passing…

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Picard Facepalm – Vuvuzela

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Picard Facepalm – Vuvuzela, originally uploaded by @jozjozjoz.

I wish I knew the original source of this photo (I looked– let me know if
you know the source), but it is one of the best uses of Photoshop I’ve seen
this month. (Of course, the month is less than a day old, so I guess I
really mean "today.")

Patrick Stewart / Jean-Luc Picard + World Cup Vuvuzela + Facepalm? What’s
not to love?

See also:
www.jozjozjoz.com/2010/03/22/picard-facepalm-ascii-art/

The Intarwebs
7/1/2010.
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Four years passes quickly…

Published
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on June 24, 2010
in :: dad ::
. 1 Comment

I miss my Daddy an extra lot today.

See: How do you start a post like this?

Malasada Adventures in Honolulu with Joz – Custard filled malasada at Champion Malasadas

Published
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on June 13, 2010
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This is my final installment of my Malasada Adventures in Honolulu. (We may
or may not have Malasada Adventures on Maui.)

This was the custard-filled malasada at Champion’s, which cost $1 and was
pre-fried and sitting in a chilled display case, so it wasn’t warm/freshly
fried. You know what? It was still good! It was admittedly different than
the guava-filled one that we tried at Leonard’s, not just because the
filling was a different flavor, but because this one was fried in advance,
the consistency was less airy and a little more doughy.

Honestly speaking, the guava filling at Leonard’s wasn’t as good as I’d
hoped and I actually liked the creamy filling at Champion better. But
because the filled malasada at Leonard’s was freshly fried, the malasada
dough itself was not as good at Champion. I’m going to declare this one an
official tie because the filling was better at Champion and the dough was
better at Leonard’s, but I’d have to have another round where BOTH were
freshly fried to be able to declare a winner.

So, what’s the verdict of Leonards vs. Champion?
With regard to the regular malasadas, while they are both really good (when
fresh out of the fryer), I personally have to give the slight edge to
Champion over Leonard’s because I liked the eggy flavor better– some people
may not like this like I do. That said, Yoshi thinks that Leonard’s is the
better of the two because of the texture and taste. In the car, @Scrivener
said it was a tough call because they were both good– the Leonard’s
suprising him because they were better than he had remembered because he
doesn’t usually have them fresh. I think @Scrivener is most accurate when
he says "they are quite different. hot out of the fryer, they’re both quite
wonderful."

So I guess between us, there was no winner. My recommendation is to go to
both and see for yourself. If you can’t decide, flip a coin. Either way,
you’re in for a treat.

Champion Malasada
Honolulu, HI
6/12/2010.
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Malasada Adventures in Honolulu with Joz – Regular Malasadas + Custard filled malasada (center) at Champion Malasadas

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I was trying to get my malasada photos up while we were waiting at Honolulu
airport to board our flight to Maui.

I had to stop blogging and put my laptop away because the flight suddenly
started boarding. I guess you call it postus-interruptus?

Anyway, continuing my dissemination of food porn pictures (and the
likelihood that my content will no longer pass through "safe" filters with
captions like this), here is part two of my Malasada Adventures with yoshi
and @Scrivener.

After we stopped off at Leonard’s, which is probably the best known malasada
place around, @Scrivener took us to Champion Malasada, which is what some
locals consider the "better" malasada place.

When we arrived, we were the only customers there. The owner, Joc Miw,
cheerily greeted us at the cash register and wanted to know how many
malasadas we wanted so he could fry them up freshly for us. Aside from
being 10 cents cheaper (60 cents at Champion’s versus
70 cents a Leonard’s), the regular malasadas at Champion were eggier than
those at Leonard’s, which I liked. While still airy, the Champion malasada
was slightly more dense (substantial?) than Leonard’s.

Champion Malasadas
Honolulu, HI
6/12/2010
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Malasada Adventures in Honolulu with Joz – Guava-filled Malasada at Leonard’s

Published
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There is no photo of me with the guava malasada (flavor of the month)
because of the high probability I would spill it on myself.

Thus, this is unabashed food porn. Cover your eyes if you’re uncomfortable
looking at such oozy-goodness.

Leonard’s Bakery
Honolulu, HI
6/12/2010.
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Malasada Adventures in Honolulu with Joz – Regular Malasada at Leonard’s

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I’m sitting in Honolulu Airport waiting for our flight to Maui, so I only
have a few minutes to post up some pictures from this morning. Thanks to
@scrivener for driving us around and for taking us for yumz.

In honor of the upcoming Blogging.LA Donut Summit which is happening
tomorrow in L.A., we decided to go malasada taste testing. We started at
Leonard’s, arguably the best-known malasadas around. Here is me with the
first malasada– a regular one that just came out of the deep fryer and was
rolled in granulated sugar. It was warm, airy, and delicious!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malasada

Leonard’s Bakery
Honolulu, HI
6/12/2010
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Closest thing to a group pic from the #hijoz Tweetup at @Hailis808, taken by @Neenz http://yfrog.com/mis2vj

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So I was so busy eating and talking and eating and laughing and eating that
I didn’t take many photos. Thanks to the fabulous Neenz for taking this one
on her iPhone. Of course, that means that she & a few other folks didn’t
make it into this shot.

The Tweetup info is here: twtvite.com/hijoz

Photo taken by L.P. “Neenz” Faleafine and originally posted:
yfrog.com/mis2vj

Haili’s Hawaiian Foods
Honolulu, HI
6/11/2010
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I love that I have friends who create events called “Let’s Stuff Our Faces Until It Hurts” Dinner

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I think Moye picked the date. Tedman & Bel came up with the title and
restaurant & set up the Facebook event. I added the photo. Jee ordered the
food/spoke all the Korean when we got there. And yes, we all pitched in
with the eating, followed by tea & dessert at a nearby Ktown tea house.

Talk about teamwork!

Facebook Event
On the Intarwebs
4/25/2010.
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So I just got this on my phone from @ProfessorEric

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And for the record, ProfessorEric makes me :) too!

Thanks, Eric!!!

via MMS
Los Angeles, CA
6/4/2010
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Salastina Music Society debuts with soprano Elizabeth Futral and actor Seth Rogen

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salastinaEveryone’s headed to the Hollywood Bowl this summer, but if you’re looking for a more intimate setting that involves a world celebrated coloratura soprano, accomplished musicians and that guy from Knocked Up and Superbad…well, here’s your chance.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra violinist Maia Jasper and violin soloist Kevin Kumar have created the nonprofit Salastina Music Society with a debut concert featuring soprano Elizabeth Futral and actor Seth Rogen in a program that includes a unique ensemble of classical and tango music, to a world premiere composition and a round of storytelling.

From Brahms to a Piazzolla tango to a world premier setting of Neruda’s poetry (sung by Elizabeth Futral of the Metropolitan Opera), the beauty and variety of music on the program is designed to keep the modern attention span engaged. The program also includes levity that is generally absent from the classical music scene. Says Seth Rogen of his participation in the event, “I’ve always been a huge lover of classical music. It is the only type of music that makes you seem smart just by listening to it. I will be reading Ferdinand the Bull, which will be a big moment for me, because I learned to read specifically for this event. I’m excited to be a part of it and hope the audience bears with me if I have to sound out a few of the longer words.”

Thursday, June 17th at Zipper Concert Hall at the Colburn School*
Ernest Chausson: Chanson Perpetuelle, Op. 37 featuring Elizabeth Futral;
Johannes Brahms: String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111
Ástor Piazzolla: Primavera Porteña (“Spring” from The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires)
Three Neruda Arias, a world premiere by composer Jeremy Cavaterra featuring Elizabeth Futral
Alan Ridout: Ferdinand the Bull, narrated by Seth Rogen.

Friday, June 18th at First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica
Ernest Chausson: Chanson Perpetuelle, Op. 37 featuring Elizabeth Futral
Johannes Brahms: String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111
Ástor Piazzolla: Primavera Porteña (“Spring” from The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires)
Three Neruda Arias, a world premiere by composer Jeremy Cavaterra featuring Elizabeth Futral
Aria TBA also with Elizabeth Futral.

Whether you’re a novice in the chamber music world, love listening to live music or want to support the Los Angeles music scene, these concerts are not to be missed! Tickets can be purchased online on the website or at the door.

*Mingle with the artists afterwards while enjoying complimentary mini-cones of Scoops ice cream. SCOOPS!

Photo by @ErnieatLYD – KBBQ with @jozjozjoz and @moye!

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KBBQ with @jozjozjoz and @moye!, originally uploaded by ernie.

Thanks to Ernie and his iPhone, he has documented us prior to the gluttony that would be the Friday night of Memorial Day Weekend 2010.

After stuffing ourselves silly at a AYCE KBBQ (that is all you can eat Korean barbecue) place, we all went to Heyri Tea House and Moye and I each ordered our own dessert waffles topped with ice cream, fruit and whipped cream. Moye had the chocolate ice cream and I had strawberry. I also ate her sliced banana because we all know how she feels about bananas.

In addition to Ernie, Bel, Tedman, and Mike chowed down with us that evening.

I had such a great time eating, talking and laughing with everyone that I totally lost track of time. We came up with some brilliant ideas that night, yo! Yoshi started calling me around midnight, but by the time I dropped off Moye and got back to my place, it was close to 2am.

(We had planned to wake up at 4:30am to hit the road to OC / Scottsdale, AZ at 5am.) Although I went to bed around 3:45am, needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep.

Road to Seoul KBBQ
Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA
5/28/2010

Frozen Lemonade Pie made by Charlie

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Charlie made the most delicious pie for dessert. She said that she
and a friend had just had something similar at Fleming’s and her
friend sent her the recipe from the Food Network and it was pretty
much the same.

The only reason the pie made it past the first night is because
Charlie also made brownies and even frosted some with the icing that
had been intended for a carrot cake. Yum!!! We had so much dessert
to choose from that we got to have Frozen Lemonade Cake again for
dinner on Sunday night. Loved it!!!

The recipe is attached below.

—–
Frozen Lemonade Pie
Recipe courtesy The Neelys

Prep Time:5 min
Inactive Prep Time:24 hr 0 min
Cook Time:7 min
Serves:8 servings.

Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust:
•2 cups graham cracker crumbs
•1/4 cup sugar
•7 tablespoons butter, melted

Lemonade filling:
•1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk, chilled
•1 (12 ounce) container whip topping, thawed
•1 (6 fluid ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate, keep frozen
•1 teaspoon candied lemon peel

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In medium bowl, combine cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup of sugar, and the
melted butter. Press firmly on bottom and up sides of pie plate. Bake
for 7 minutes and let cool completely.

In a medium bowl, add chilled sweetened condensed milk and cool whip
and fold gently. Add frozen lemonade and continue to gently fold. Do
not let the mixture become soupy. Pour mixture into the pie crust and
freeze overnight. Garnish with candied lemon peel.

Printed from FoodNetwork.com on Sun May 30 2010
© 2010 Scripps Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved
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So began the weekend of eating… dinner on Saturday night was a feast of potstickers & won tons!

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My Mom and I decided it would be fun to take over R & C’s kitchen and
so we made hundreds of pan-fried potstickers (gyoza), boiled won tons
and won ton soup for dinner.

Mom said that a food processor would not chop the veggies for the
filling (nappa cabbage, baby leeks, green onions) as fine as she
wanted it, so we chopped everything by hand. We also hand-grated the
ginger and, of course, hand-filled/folded all the dumplings with some
help from C. Thank god Mom let us use store-bought wrappers ground
pork from the store (instead of making us make the skins from scratch
or chop/ground the pork by hand– yes some people do that!)

R & C’s Home
Scottsdale, AZ
5/29/2010
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Joz & Michael in the photobooth at the Skirball Cultural Center

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Michael and I were at a reception for four exhibits open now at the Skirball
Cultural Center and we came upon a photobooth and decided to give it a
whirl.

As you can see, neither Michael nor I were ready for that first shot. But
we did manage to get a couple of good shots in together.

I did my own "Asian Poses" session and Michael did a set by himself of
"Drunken Superhero" shots.

Monsters and Miracles: A Journey through Jewish Picture Books Exhibition
Skirball Cultural Center
Los Angeles, CA
5/29/2010
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