Showing posts with label Currently pushing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Currently pushing. Show all posts

12 February 2019

Shop It: 200ml Water Bottle

There’s nothing better than a well written piece about a product someone loves. I’ll point you to Molly Young’s collection at New York Magazine, where she highlights products like dry shampoo, her favorite notebook, and a Japanese Soylent replacement. Or take a look at this recommendation for Rohto Cool eye drops written by Or Gotham. Spectacular!

As is my wont, I find myself recommending certain things just from the reviews themselves — a dicey proposition for my reputation, I know. Still, once in awhile I come across a product so wonderful I feel the need to push them upon the world. This series of posts are about the things that are me-tested and I can’t shut up about.
While I have purchased three or four aluminum water bottles in my life , I have rarely used them except as decorative items. Carrying a tall bottle just never fit my lifestyle. However, when I went to Tokyo last year, I stumbled upon a magical item: the 200 millimeter water bottle from the Tiger Corporation, aka a Baby Tiger.

The typical water bottle size is double that, at about 475ml, or 16 ounces. These babies are small — we nicknamed them "Baby Tigers" for a reason — barely the height and width of a regular sized iPhone and can slip into a large pocket if necessary.

Now, some have asked what’s the point of such a small drink container? 200 ml is about 6.5 ounces, or a smallish coffee.  Unless you need to down drinks Big Gulp style, this is a perfect size for an espresso based drink. The Baby Tiger would probably not work for your daily consumption of water, but as a coffee/chai/tea/smoothie receptacle, it’s fantastic. And while there are various flip open lids and the like available, I prefer the simple plain lid that keeps the size factor slim. Plus did I mention the whole thing is incredibly cute?

The bad news is that the 200ml size is generally only available overseas, and while there are some available on Amazon an eBay, they'll need to be imported. The alternative is to try an eight-ounce soup cup, as Tiger has these for sale Stateside. They are also a tad cheaper, as my pistachio green soup cup cost $21, versus $26 for a 200ml Baby Tiger. However the soup cups are chubby and not as easily thrown into a bag. Also, eight ounces is 236 ml, so a tad bigger than the magic 200ml number. In sum: go small(er) with the thermos and expect big results in return!

27 March 2017

In the Mix

Currently pushing: Oprah’s Legends Ball. Apparently back in 2005 Oprah threw a three day celebration honoring twenty-five African American women who have done some stuff. Just watch this clip of the gospel brunch, and be stunned by everyone in it. Patti, Dionne, Tina, Diana, Gladys, Chaka, Janet, Mariah, Naomi, Halle, Mary J, Tyra, Alicia, uh, Ashanti. Basically everyone. (Notable no-shows or uninvited included Whitney, Aretha, Toni, Lauryn, Vanessa, Beyonce.) The best part, I found this via a tweet and the one post Tumblr it was shared on was called "trumptaxreturns2005.tumblr.com.”

So I left the comfy confines of home a few weeks ago to attend a friend’s wedding up in the Bay. While I was there, I not only experienced the magic of the Impossible Burger and rewatched Logan, but also got to go to my friend Jasmine’s first Bhangra in the Bay class. I mince no words in saying that Jasmine is the greatest bhangra dancer of all time and she’s now teaching a class in Oakland — along with her co-instructor, Chetty. Our videographer friend brought all this fancy gear to make an intro video and I got to help, meaning I stood around and manned the camera’s remote control while Victor did all the (literal and figurative) heavy lifting. Needless to say, the video came out great and if you’re looking for a workout, bhangra fusion is the way to go. Also, I went deep into the world do bhangra forums and YouTubes, and now consider myself an amateur expert.


And while I’m on a dance theme, I’ve been following this Taiwanese hip hop dancer, Nike Chen — and her three person crew called MoveOn Dance Taiwan. I’m a little surprised I’ve never seen her before, considering Taiwan’s small dance scene. However, I listened to her short TED Talk and am intrigued by how she talks about being inspired by the hip hop ethos in Taiwan. One of the first things I did upon moving to Taiwan was to explore the world of hip hop and dance, as it wasn’t something I was expecting to find there. The number of students and people practicing under freeway underpasses, next to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial around sunset, and other wide open spaces would astonish you. Also, I attended an all-female dance show once that had literally twenty-plus acts. I haven't even seen that in the U.S., so it's safe the say the dance scene is thriving there.

I found Nike’s stuff through her work on Dizzy Dizzo’s music video, "Radar" (choreo video). Dizzy's another Taiwanese artist I’m pretty intrigued by. She swings between styles pretty comfortably, from vintage J.Lo to  acoustic to Iggy Azalea-like, but most of all I like her song “Stray Love,” which has production that is very Drive-esque, a sound I haven’t heard before in Taiwanese pop.

Dizzy (real name Dominique) is an Australian Born Taiwanese married to actor Sunny Wang, and he appears in a lot of her videos. Also, Dizzy’s videos certainly have an aesthetic that sticks out prominently from her Taiwanese contemporaries. Overall, I think she represents an interesting mix of what’s current but also throws in her own flair and influences. Special stuff.

And lastly, here's friend and my former dance class instructor Clio dancing in Ty's "美 國." Awhile ago Clio told me that there exists a documentary on Taiwan's burgeoning rap scene from twenty years ago. For the life of me I can't find this film but I would love to see it. Or to make a new one, but on dance instead.

15 May 2016

Stay Cool


I read a lot of newsletters, like a lot. I rattled off a list of my favorites at the beginning of the year here, "Fit to Print," and now I finally have my own. Okay, well, I have like a ton of other newsletters, just like I have a bajillion blogs, but my new newsletter actually has a purpose. And a mission.

The format is four or five things a week about movies, words, music, books, apps, TV shows, random stuff, etc. All with the idea that those who have lost their "cool" can stay semi-relevant by subscribing. Mostly I just want to get the song stuck in everyone's head. "You got to cool it now / Ooooooh watch out / You're gonna lose control." Partially it's fun to say I have a newsletter in polite company, partially it fulfills my dream of being a pop culture coach, and partially I'm learning how to use MailChimp on a higher level.

So yeah, subscribe to Cool It Now! Like right now. And here's the quickie Tumblr I threw together for it, featuring Snoopy. Plus past issues if you want to take a look.

21 November 2015

Too Late Now

Listening to: The Biebs! Between each single being straight up A+’s, all the fucking amazing dance videos, there is nobody else right now but Bieber. Here’s the acoustic for “What Do You Mean,” and I can’t even decide which dance video I like best. Right now it’s these fierce kids from “Children” getting all crazy but that could change tomorrow. Don't call it a comeback!
I’m back in the U.S. for a quick three week sprint. Basically a trip back now involves figuring out what I need to buy to bring back to Taiwan (for myself or others). See below.

Also, I found out the other day, while helping my friend pack her apartment, that she only gets her underwear in America. And so her annual trips here involve a huge bill at Victoria’s Secret and the like. Similarly, she was tasked with bringing a ton of stuff back from Taiwan for her family. Really basic stuff like bowls, toothbrushes, powdered soup, garbage bags, etc. At first this boggled my mind that you would want to transport all these necessities across international borders but then I thought about Glide floss and how important it is in my life and I stopped questioning. Act local, buy global?

Anyway, on with the shopping list... And if you want me to bring something back for you, tell me quick! And (double) cash upfront please. Obviously.

  • Codenames: The new Bond movie was trash but this board game promises to rectify that by pitting two teams of players in a race to figure out who-is-who between rival squads of undercover assassins. Sound intriguing? It’s also sort of a word game! I have to buy this immediately, and then acquire 3-7 friends fast...
  • TASCAM DR-40 4-Track Portable Digital Recorder: Because I have high aspirations for doing a proper podcast, and maybe some upcoming video stuff, this means I gotta up my voice recording game.
  • Together to the Beach, Jennifer Hsu: By one of my best friends, and it’s shameful I don’t have a copy yet. Available only in print form so gotta get it all paper and stuff.
  • Le Animalé Animal Totems: Red panda, narwhal, Fennec fox, slow loris, sloth, corgi, orca… I can’t decide! I want every one of these necklaces by Laura Johnston! Also, I need more necks.
  • $20 Zine Superpacks: Microcosm keeps putting out amazing little collections with titles like “Cozy Reads for Busy People” and “Decolonize Yourself." I’m considering doing Microcosm's BFF six-month subscription but don’t have anywhere to get it delivered to yet. For now I’m just staring hard at individual titles like 100 Years of Modern Iran (1891-1991) by J Gerlach and Pedal Zombies: Thirteen Feminist Bicycle Science Fiction Stories edited Elly Blue.
  • Compliments Of: A deck of compliment cards courtesy of Molly Young. A must-buy. Who to compliment though? Friends or strangers? Huuuum. "A good compliment is specific, concise, and penetratingly accurate. It lands with a gentle splash. It induces a smile. It is cherished forever."
  • Tweezerman Slant Tip: My friend used mine and immediately wanted one of her own. It’s the best tweezers, as declared by Sweethome.
And of course, the two items that I always restock up on because I am giving them away constantly: a short charger cord for your phone and a lipstick sized USB charger. For $15 you could change your life and eliminate many headaches. The charger won't give you more than one full charge, if even that, but it's a perfect size and handy in a pinch.

As for the short cord, which you should always carry with you, AMR showed me the light last year by exhibiting how you really need both extra short (four inch) and extra long (six feet) cords to be living that smartphone life. The stock cord length is okay but having multiple options is the way to go. Thus concludes my pre-holiday consumerism. Also, take a read through Rob's post about his son, "Daddy's Thoughts #11: First Pair of Jordans?" It's great!

06 April 2015

APR: Week One

Currently pushing: Alto’s Adventure. Get on this iOS game. It’s a beautiful endless runner — not a genre I normally enjoy — but the soothing visuals, stripped down gameplay, and snowboard plus llama (chasing) theme is irresistible.

The personal hot pot, a true revelation for the hot pot experience. We grew up under the communist idea that one pot would serve us all, but many of the hot pot restaurants in Taiwan have small individual pots. It's revolutionary! You don’t know personalization until you’re freed to throw in whatever you want into the boiling water, irrespective of other people's wishes. Plus, loafers aren't rewarded by just sitting there eating while someone else does all the cooking.

One of my best friends is here, all the way from London. I haven’t seen her since she had her baby, maybe four years ago, and it’s been a trip to see her mini-me. He’s got her mega huge eyes and a lot of her personality, which involves just sort of being often adrift in her own creative world. Back home, Sally was also my semi-F.O.B. Taiwanese friend, as she came over to the States as a teenager. So, you know, we spoke some Chinese from time to time and now we find ourselves in Taiwan together, after fourteen years of friendship. This may not be that exciting from the outside, but to hang out on her home turf, as it were, was a novel experience for both of us I think.

Oh, also, for lunch we met up with her friend, Ringo, who recently relocated back to Taiwan from London. Ringo makes the most amazing socks and beanies and clothing. Super bright colors and wonderful patterns. Go look, go! Yu Square Knitwear. I totally got some socks from her latest collection to keep my sock game strong.

And speaking of clothing, over the weekend I went up to Tianmu, where Sally is from, and she pointed me in the direction of several pants stores. I’ve been on the hunt for linen pants since summer is around the corner and shorts don't always cut it.

There’s a particular style of pants I want: yoga-y with wide legs, baggy, and preferably cut above the ankles. I’ve seen the look around Taipei a lot, mostly on Japanese people, and it’s amazing. There’s several designer stores I’ve found that sell them but at a very hefty price. After checking out a few places, this store, Mana, turned out to be the answer and I found my dream pants. They’re basically half skirt and half pant, and all the way awesome.

Plus, at the weekend street market, I picked up an incredible black denim satchel for all those weekend trips I take to nowhere. But I can’t turn down a good (and cheap, NT$500) bag so I had to get it. And thus concludes the shopping portion of the month, although now I need to find the appropriate shoes and tops to go with the skirt pants. It’ll be a brand new me!

Also, the weather has really been heating up, right as school gave us the back half of the week off for Qingming Jie / Tomb Sweeping Day. So it’s been broiling days and toasty nights. On Thursday, after a stomache bursting dinner at Addiction Aquatic Development — the spot for not too pricey super fresh sushi at the stand-up bar — my friend and I hopped on bikes and cruised down the few miles back home. It was her inaugural YouBike ride and there’s no greater joy than sharing that experience with somebody. I can only hope it's life changing, and even if it isn't, it's always a blast. I seriously can’t live in a city without bike share anymore, it'll just be too backwards.

Friday night was rechao with new friends, an introduction to a fancy bar or two, and then the requisite late night dancing. Plus the weekend included viewings of cult classics Tank Girl (Naomi Watts?!) and Luc Besson’s second finest, The Fifth Element. And a quick swing through on Saturday night of the Treasure Hill Environmental Art Lantern Festival, otherwise known as mosquito-ville. Overall, a solid week. Grade: A.

13 March 2015

Broken Promises

Currently pushing: Did the LA Times lift my idea for a publishing board game and make their version of it? Of course they did! I guess they added an interactive die and actually made a whole game so they win. So go ahead, try out How to Be a Writer.
Did I totally fail on my stated goal of blogging daily in March? Did I not even post once? Of course I did! In a hilarious attempt at resuscitating my writing habits, I figured I'd start from the beginning: blogging a lot. Instead I find myself digging through half written posts, Evernotes with mysterious phrases randomly scattered around, and trying to reconstruct things I was trying to talk about weeks ago.

The obvious solution is to just back date every attempted post from this month, because blogs are basically time travel. In related time travel news, watch Predestination. It’s not as good as say, Looper or Edge of Tomorrow, but it’s better than most. Plus, Ethan Hawke in sci-fi stuff is generally good. Evidence: Gattaca.

Advanced analytic stats on my blog: A high of 140 posts in 2009 to 23 posts in 2014. And then a whopping one post for the first three months of 2015. It's been a precipitous decline; I'm the Deron Williams of blogging.

So I think I’m going to put myself on a blogging schedule. Something I’ve never had to resort to. The mere idea of a schedule is anathema to me. But once I catch up on March, it’s onward with three posts a week. I mean, can I even call myself a writer if I can’t produce three sloppily written posts a week? Of course not right?

Also, I’ve been thinking of what the grace period is for when you should stop calling yourself a writer/author after your last book comes out. Number twelve on Simmons’ rules for being a true fan says that you can’t complain about your team for five years after they win a championship. I think that five year window is also a nice way to delineate when you're not an author anymore — this is in contrast to my ten year rule for things you used to do.

After those five years, you go from “I'm an author” to “I wrote a book once.” So basically, the clock is ticking. My last published thing was almost exactly a year ago so I have four years and counting to produce something else. Hurry Jon, hurry!

In the meantime, I bought this highly recommended Logitech Bluetooth Easy-Switch K811 keyboard at Guanghua Digital Plaza the other day to increase my mobile productivity. Of course, I don’t have an iPad to use it with yet, but this is how I do things. First a keyboard and iPad stand, then the actual iPad. Because backwards is forwards.

06 November 2014

Up, Up With People

Listening to: Klassy, “Sweet Awakening.” Listening to the Bonita Applebaum sample made me queue up the Tribe documentary again. So good! Anyway, Klassy is a Filipino-American from Los Angeles and she’s super smooth. Plus she’s still in high school. Yeah, high school. (via @djphatrick)

So I guess Web 1.0 is back. I mean, so I hear. "The Great Web 1.0 Revival." Either way, I love it, because if that means more confessional-ish personal writing for me to read, I’m in. Susie got me an invite to Ello this past weekend, and then the Gizmodo article put me onto Tilde.Club, where quite a lot of the bloggers I used to read almost fifteen years ago have homes. (Has it really been so long? Yes, for people like bluishorange for example.) The site is aggressively ugly but I guess that’s the point. Anyway, in honor of the great web regression, a mini-blog roll of people I’ve been reading lately. Normally I would say a little blurb about them, but I think a sample post or two will be enough to draw you in, if you're into this type of blog. Which you should be.
And then there's Matt Kulesza, who is out to have coffee with all 1,088 of his Facebook friends. His project, 1000+ Coffees, is exactly the sort of thing I'm into. A long time ago, I had the thought to write little blurbs about all my friends, as character studies, but then that was shelved because you just can't write honest things about friends, otherwise you will soon be friendless. And then where would I be? Oh right, the Internet.

I was remiss in reminding the world about Encryption Day, Oct 10th. It's the day to change all your passwords! You've never heard of Encryption Day, well maybe beacause I just made it up, and am still waiting for it to catch on... And speaking of useful things, Super Lum has been keeping me up on all things tech, and changed my life with this @@ shortcut as text expander lifehack. Forget eating right and exercising, this one change will actually make you a happier person. Promise.

One of the great mysteries of this year was trying to figure out why Tess Lynch left Grantland, and now we kinda sorta know why. The sad thing is, Emily Yoshida just left too, leading to the dissolution of the Girls in Hoodies podcast. Seriously, this is so sad because Tess, Emily, and Molly Lambert were the only all female pod hosts on Grantland and their chemistry was amazing -- second only to Jacoby and Juliet. I haven’t even listened to the Hoodies' finale because I’m saving it for a special day. A day when I can sit around and laugh and cry, and feel like my friends are leaving me. Yes, it's that serious.

And awhile ago, I ripped through all of Arthur Chu's articles on Daily Beast. He's the former Jeopardy champion that attracted a lot of haters because he "gamed" a game. Anyway, he's smart, interesting, and a new voice on the Asian-American scene, which we always need more of. Just read him.

22 August 2014

Wet'n Wild

Currently pushing: Roy Choi's perfect instant ramen. Putting cheese in ramen? Oh yes. I've tried this recipe a few times and it makes instant ramen much more palatable. Not that it wasn't delicious before, but this is a huge upgrade on an old/desperate classic. Here's the actual recipe. (That scallion is not optional in my opinion.)

Picked up this quarterly magazine, Specimen, at Borderlands Cafe. It features “candid in-depth interviews with experts for everyday people.” Issue number eight is math meets nature, and contains conversations with a mathematical physicist, a computer scientist, a Nobel laureate, and an interview about "why is math still so dominated by white guys when it’s supposed to be the ultimate meritocracy?” There’s no ads in the thing, and it costs a mere nine dollars. I hope they stick around for awhile, because while I don’t normally like reading interviews, these managed to capture my attention.

Oh yeah, and I didn’t make it past the first section of Dog Eared Books because Rebecca Solnit’s Men Explain Things to Me grabbed me completely. From an informal poll of my friends, nobody knew what “mansplaining” meant. C'mon, the term was recently included in the Oxford dictionary! Then again, the indiscriminate Oxford also added "amazeballs, cray, hot mess, and subtweet" so that’s not saying much. In my never-ending quest to keep up with the times, I’ve also recently been caught up on “party nail” (so two years ago), “basic bitch” (somewhat tired), and "quiff" (both late and early). Please continue telling me things so I don't fall behind.
We went to the Russian River for AMR’s bachelor party. Twelve guys, one house. And one slow moving, drought-ridden, river. We opted for the long route, not realizing that it would take more than four hours to go just a few miles. At first, floating around was an absolute blast but soon it got cold and exhausting. A mile or so from our house, I got out of the river shivering and so over it, and decided to trek back alongside the road. Mistake?

One friend cut his bare foot immediately on a shard of glass so my other buddy assembled shoes out of cardboard, string, and sticks. Gingerly picking our way back home was the most dangerous thing we did all weekend. No wonder the first thing people look for when on the run is some footwear. I feel your pain fugitives.

I stopped at every mini-motel along the way, asking if they had some complimentary slippers to give us. Nada. I even tried to barter with one store that we would pay for some flip-flops after we retrieved our shoes. Not even a pause to think about it. Apparently the three of us looked entirely untrustworthy in our swimming suits, holding only inner tubes and no cash. Overall, the great outdoors was good. I just wish someone had brought a Go Pro. I mean, we had two of them but both owners somehow forgot to bring them. I guess you’ll just be spared the inevitably gorgeous video of us basically hiking the river.

Also, I finally got someone to play the Game of Thrones board game with me. Sure, it took some preparation -- one hour just to put the set together -- and some cajoling, but we hunkered down over the table on Sunday and mucked our way through a streamlined version of the rules. Most of the guys weren’t hardcore gamers so it was quite a feat of concentration for them to sit still for three hours. All that and we only got through six of ten rounds.

Overall, the game is a nice blend of Diplomacy and Risk, and I would love to play it some more now that I understand the rules better. (It took me a lot of reading and some serious YouTubing to get even the general gist of the game down.) The whole thing is begging for an iOS version, as the little pieces are just impossible to keep track of. But I guess when you’re trying to conquer Westeros, the first thing you should be is organized. I played as House Tyrell but instead of “growing strong,” I got pushed around and blamed for almost letting the Greyjoys take the win. That would never happen in real life, obviously. "Real life" meaning the show.

06 February 2014

I'll Be Your Shelter

Currently pushing: This post from Melissa Beck, ex-Real Worlder and writer of one of my favorite blogs of all time, Princess Melissa. She doesn’t update much anymore but this is a 5,000+ word doozy with a great ending. And yeah, it's about babies.
Last year at this time I was putting my thermals and new-ish collection of scarves to good use. Despite the cold I was out as much as possible, trudging around Manhattan, going anywhere even if it was freezing out. One memorable night, I trekked from LES to Hell’s Kitchen, even though it was snowy and slippery all over.

By the time December rolled around however, I was ready to resume my usual snowbird ways. After experiencing one weekend of nastiness in New York -- when my hi-tops were so filled with slush that it felt like I was walking on the beach -- I jetted back to San Diego and was greeted with eighty degree weather upon arrival. I stripped off my thermals in the airplane restroom, tossed my jacket in my suitcase, and pulled out my sunglasses. Usually when I get home I’m a bit resigned and wondering when I’ll leave again. This time I was like, "Why do I ever leave San Diego, it's so dumb!”

I've still been checking New York weather every day, mainly to well, schadenfreude. Sorry winter sufferers, my only contribution to your struggles is to suggest shacking up with a winter boo. So here’s the post from a few years ago about winter boos. Stay warm friends! (This will sound like #warmweatherproblems to you but my drafty house is freezing all the time and I’m basically draped in blankets twenty four seven. And I've used the heater once or twice. True story.)

Mentally I’m still trapped in the tail end of 2013 and trying to catch up on everything. I thought I would be ready to move into 2014 by now but it’s past Chinese New Year and I’ve barely got my shit together. So many things to wrap up online and offline. I was making a priorities list for the upcoming year but at this point I better just get to it.

A new strategy to be a super productive person is to do things in two hour blocks. It’s too easy to get sucked into something but if I can limit myself to two hours doing any one thing, I think I’ll be making progress. Thus, two hours of Internet, two hours of reading, two hours for a movie, two hours for eating, two hours to write something, two hours for Hearthstone, etc. This new plan will hopefully force me to do varied things instead of my days ending up in the traditional "I just spent ten hours online, what the hell happened?" rut.

My favorite term for the new year is “personal admin.” When people ask me what I’m doing, it’s usually catching up on email, updating online stuff, organizing, etc. The shorthand way to say all that is just “personal admin.” Don’t you love it? It sounds important and overcompensatory at the same time. Below I’m going to dump some items of stuff I’m doing, or did. Am doing. Whatevers.

  • fiftyfifty.me: Year three of Lilly and I’s books and reading challenge. We’re adding another goal too, thus the +PLUS. Lilly is doing recipes, I’m doing I don’t know yet. However, I am going to read fifty books this year, it's a promise.
  • Rich in Color: Audrey and Crystal started this blog focusing on diversity in YA books last year and I helped set up the site but then totally fell off. I vow to contribute more this year. Here’s my first post for the year, "Splashes, No. 1."
  • The End Starts Today: I kind of fell off music somewhere near the back end of 2013. I mean, somehow I was five months late on Lorde. Five months! This year I’m back in and scouring for new music for my Select Sundays.
  • Oodles of Noodles: I kept track of all the soup noodles I ate last year. Why would I do this? Why not? Anyway, it was fun and looking at the archive will make you drool. I’m stopping the noodle diary for this year as I’ve got too many blogs, Tumblrs, everything already going on. I'm never going to stop eating noodles though, never!
  • Kinda Messy: Oh yeah, I also have been building websites since last year. Nothing fancy, just basic sites for good people. (Who knew folks still paid for websites?) Anyway, here's a portfolio section and everything! Get at me if you need a website.
If you haven’t heard about Soylent, it's a food replacement shake that is blowing up. Okay that "blowing up" might be relative but with over two million dollars in crowdfunding and another million or so in seed money, it clearly has a market. And that market could be me! I have long wished for a magic pill that would replace regular meals so I'm in on this. I don’t know if Soylent is safe but I’d like to give it a shot for a few weeks at least. For one, it’s gotta be better nutritionally for me than the massive amount of ramen, burritos, and junk food I consume. For two, it's cheap. For three, it's obviously the future! I don’t think I would want to live on just Soylent but as a supplement/replacement it seems like a fabulous idea.

Over holiday break we were hoping to have a miracle fruit party but that never happened and I feel so incomplete. Can life go on?

28 January 2014

It's In Your Nature

Currently pushing: There’s a lot of animal documentaries out there but if you’re looking for one that will knock your socks off, possibly in contention for the G.O.A.T. of animal docs, try out Eternal Enemies: Lions and Hyenas, currently available on Netflix (and Youtube). In a shocker, it’s not narrated by David Attenborough but that’s its only flaw. It’s not hyperbole when I say this but the plot twists in this hour long documentary are pretty shocking. I couldn’t figure out if my allegiance was with Simba and Nala or the combo of Banzai, Shenzi, and Ed. I'm not the only one who thinks this might be the greatest animal doc of all time.

One of the games we used to play alot when sitting around was the Animal Game. Simply put, it was just picking a letter and then going around naming off an animal starting with that letter. If you couldn’t think of one, you were out. It had never occured to me to use hybrid animals in this game but after reading up on zebroids and zorses, I’m ready. Plus, add these to the least of useful animals: Irrawaddy dolphin, mangalitsa, and quagga.

For years I’ve been using this app, CheckWord, to look up acceptable Scrabble words. The lite version is free and the reason why it’s so good is because it simple declares a word “good” or “bad.” In this case, “zebroid” is acceptable while “zorse” is not. I bet playing Scrabble with zoo keepers and cryptozoologists must be the best.

And speaking of cryptozoologists, this article about the coelacanth is wonderful, “A Fish For Our Time.” Anything that can be described like this must be amazing:
"I picked away the layers of slime to reveal the most beautiful fish I had ever seen… It was five feet long, a pale, mauvey blue with faint flecks of whitish spots and an iridescent silver-blue-green sheen all over. It was covered in hard scales, and it had four limb-like fins and a strange little puppy-dog tail. It was such a beautiful fish -- more like a big china ornament -- but I didn’t know what it was.”
And if you’re looking for a book about the history of North American wildlife, have I got a book recommendation for you: Wildlife in America. Originally published in 1959, naturalist Peter Matthiessen takes us through forests, oceans, plains, prairies, and mountains, explaining how humans (and oftentimes our legislation) decimated our native animal populations. The book also contains lots of of great black and white drawings by Bob Hines. I picked it up from the cheapo rack outside The Strand and it was my go-to bathroom book. You know, the one you take with you while you’re um, going to the bathroom. Or brushing your teeth. Anyway, best dollar I spent last year.

This is not stricly animal related but there’s a Bronies doc out right now. Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony (also available on Netflix). And accompanying Grantland article, "The Internet Is Magic: Exploring the Wonderful World of My Little Pony Fandom in Bronies (2013)."

Last thing, take a look at Eclyse the zorse. Not a fake. The world is a wonderful place.

29 May 2013

So Fast, So Furious

Ack consumerism! Buying stuff, is that all I talk about nowadays? Maybe. I've been using Amazon Prime for most of this calendar year so that means anything I wish for can arrive in two days flat. That is very dangerous. Very dangerous.

I've got a semi-camping trip in a few weeks, so of course I need to get a new compass, a powerful flashlight, and a paracord bracelet. What's a paracord bracelet you ask? Well, it's like a hardcore friendship bracelet that you can use for saving lives. Or stringing up laundry, whatever your needs. I'm using it to feel manly.

One of the best parts of shopping, aside from the packages arriving to your door, is doing all the research. I mean, how else would you learn about the difference between zinc-carbon and alkaline batteries? Well, a new site, The Sweethome, focuses on household items and gives you their best recommendation. (The parent site, The Wirecutter is a fine resource as well.) Learning about the best nail clippers, the best laundy detergent, the best lightbulb, this is the kind of stuff I live for. I mean, even if I'll never own a home to put a Nest in, I still really want one.
Also, since I just signed up for New York's much anticipated/maligned bike share program, I needed to go online shopping for some safety gear. Two little lights to alert drivers so they can slow down before inevitably running me over, possibly a bike helmet so my skull remains intact post-impact, and who knows what else. Health insurance? Who needs that in America today! The only thing I need are these Swrve knickers I had the foresight to buy last year. Every young man needs something between pants and shorts so manpris is the way to go, even if they cost a pretty penny. Who cares if I won't actually own a bicycle, or how poseur-y I'll look with my reflective stripe? With all my bike gear ready, I'll be set to ride in safety and style.

In addition, I am still field testing the so-called "greatest hoodie ever made." American Giant fucked up our order six ways to Sunday but my black hoodie is finally here after many months. So far I can report that the heavy cotton makes me very...warm. The quality is undeniably legit but I'm not entirely sure if I don't prefer my twenty dollar Target hoodies instead. We'll see.

Oh, and I finally got it together and signed up for Moviepass. I think I've talked about the movie subscription service before, but had hesitated on committing to it. Three months is so long right? This despite the fact that I'd long wished for exactly such a thing. With Moviepass, you can watch all the movies you want, in virtually any theater. The last few years running, I've spent like $500 annually on going to the movies. I did some sensible math and Moviepass will be a tremendous savings. Now if that damn card would arrive in the mail already, I'd be all set.

The summer of 2013 is lining up to be subscription service galore. I'll be riding around the city and then ducking into a nearby theater for an air conditioned break. And definitely a Slurpee. So get your knickers and over-qualified hoodies ready, who's with me? I'm gonna live my summer a city block at a time, stopping at every intersection to look both ways. Because that's how adults do it.
Last thing: I saw Before Midnight. Prior to watching it, I made a list of qualifications for the people and space I would see it in. See, during Before Sunset, I made the mistake of dragging a friend along who hadn't seen Before Sunrise. Throughout the film she continually made fun of Ethan Hawke's jacked up teeth and that totally took me out of the moment.

For this third film, I demanded that anybody I watched the film with remained silent. In fact, I wanted the entire theater to be silent. That meant either an early morning or late night viewing, preferably with nobody in my line of sight. I also needed any potential movie buddies to be pre-screened for absolute love of the first two films. No middle ground, it had to be L-O-V-E.

I was expecting a religious experience and I didn't want to mess up my emotional attachment to the series in any way. After satisfying all these requirements -- save for a person off to my side who actually answered their phone during the movie, like really -- I saw Before Midnight before the spoilers could get to me. Needless to say, I won't give a review here, as even a thumbs up or thumbs down would be incriminating. If you've seen Before Midnight already, we should have a discussion. I have a lot to say about it. So much.


09 May 2013

Go Ninja, Go Ninja, Go

What to do when your basketball season is over, and there's a long gap between Game of Thrones and Mad Men episodes? You simmer and wait for Sunday, that's what. I guess when there's no worthwhile television to suck up your time, the best thing to do is turn to consumerism. Below are ssome items I highly recommend.

As warm weather approaches, it's time to throw on some shorts and expose those pasty winter legs. An enduring problem I've had over the years is how to wear your low cut sneakers while at the same time preserving the look of no socks? (People who don't wear socks in their sneakers are disgusting. Dis-gus-ting!)

I've tried to buy the lowest profile socks I could, but they were never good enough. My socks still showed, especially when wearing Chucks. My friend Brian used to roll his socks over -- heel to toe -- to create cushion on the front while maintaining the no profile look, but that wasn't an elegant solution. Enter Ninja Sox.

"Ninja Sox are the true no show sock! They are crafted to wear with low top shoes and are designed to give you the look of going sockless and provides the feel and comfort of wearing socks." When my friend @ykoad tweeted about his recent purchase of Ninja Sox, I took one look and knew I had to buy some also. Six pairs and a few test sessions later, I'm sold. My entire summer sock collection will soon be ninjaed out.

After some more research, a lot of companies sell no show socks -- or "footies" -- but I don't care. I'm going Ninja Sox forever, mainly because of the name, but also because Ninja Sox come with a special "no slip silicone patch" that ensures the sock stays on your heel. This is high technology my friends.

And here we go, the great gummy penguin faceoff. For more than a decade, I have been touting the deliciousness of gummy penguins. "Gummy what?" you say. Let me tell you about them. These black and white beauties are denser than normal gummies, provide a wonderful chew, and feel like Shamu skin to the touch. They are also peach flavored. I love them so much I even sang their praises in my book. Multiple times.

For a few dark years, there was a gummy penguin drought as Sweet Factory stopped carrying them. I was in a panic. At every candy vendor, I would desperately ask the same thing, "Do you have any gummy penguins?" Nobody had any idea what I was talking about.

For awhile, I tried out these gummy tummies penguins from Trader Joe's -- introduced to me by my friend Anna -- but while they were delicious, they were not true peachy gummy penguins. These Trader Joe's versions were more like traditional gummies, albeit with a delicous burst of juice built into the tummy.

Eventually I found the answer to my gummy dilemma: the Internet. There are online sites that sell gummy penguins in bulk, and even in a twenty pound bag. Yes, twenty pounds of gummy penguins for $80. A steal if you ask me. And they come straight from Antarctica to your door, it's amazing. Unfortunately, after ordering a couple of pounds for taste testing, I figured out that penguin gummies are best ingested fresh. If they sit around for too long, they tend to not be as chewy. The solution is to order two pounds from Amazon, and if you have Prime like I do, shipping is absolutely free.

Recently, Sweet Factory has returned to the penguin gummy game by not only re-carrying the penguin gummies, but also stepping it up a notch by giving their new penguins colored tummies also. Mainly it's a fake out, as the coloring has no effect on the peachy taste. Still, a nice combo job of both the traditional and Trader Joe's versions. I dare say we are in the golden age of penguin gummies. Get on board.
If my predilection for sugary things wasn't obvious enough, let me share with you my new find: Good & Delish 4 Star Maple Leaf Creme Cookies. First of all, these things are made with real maple syrup. And have no preservatives, artificial flavors, or hydrogenated oils. I know, who cares about that marketing mumbo jumbo! How do they taste?!

I'm here to report that these cookies have a wonderfully thick outer layer along with a melty center. Someone really took the time to balance crunch with creme. Did I mention these things look like maple leaves? So brilliant right? As anybody knows, all the best cookies come in animal or plant shape. Or are made by elves. Or Girl Scouts. Or Diddy Riese. Plus the box art features a crane, as a maple piece is lowered to create a cookie tower. You may not be able to see it, but in the background of the image are New York skyscrapers. The connection between precise engineering and delicious cookie could not be more clear.

I bought my first box of Maple Leaf Creme Cookies at Duane Reade, but they are available at Walgreen's too, since Good & Delish is Walgreen's private brand. The cookies come in normal and organic variations. I prefer the organic ones because they are a bit softer to the bite, but to be honest, I have a box of each within easy reach. These addictive cookies have now slotted into number two on my all time cookie list, right after Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Stars Cookies. Those beauties were seasonal and now discontinued, so I guess I have only the maple leaf cookies to live for now.

Snack snack snack crunch, snack snack snack munch.

15 March 2013

Spring Is Nigh


Currently pushing: School of Thrones. This Game of Thrones parody, set in high school, is genius. "Prom is coming!"

When news hit that Google Reader was shutting down in a few months, I did what any sane person would: I panicked. I mean, I've been a huge fan of Reader for years and am always spreading the gospel of RSS, while constantly on guard against subscription bloat. Without Reader and my 600+ subscriptions, how was I going to keep up with the world? I cursed Google's good name, and just like everyone else, started looking around for alternatives…while simultaneously holding out hope that Google would reverse its decision. However, after reading a few articles, the decision was clearly a permanent one. On Wednesday night, I went to bed with a heavy heart, worried about the future of my feeds.

"Why, why, all you idiots who still visit web sites individually, it's all your fault! If only you had adopted Reader when I told you to, usage would not have declined! "

Luckily, morning brought clarity as my friend pointed out that with the RSS king abdicating his throne, a new and better reader would emerge. From here until July, it would be a giant battle for control of Middle Earth and the hearts of the dedicated geeks that live and die by RSS. In the twenty four hours since the announcement, the Internet has already gone through the grief cycle and now everyone is scrambling (even somewhat excitedly) for a solution.

I've tested out some of the options already but so far all are lacking. Feedly and Flipboard are pretty, but not for me. I need more power and don't care about an engaging interface. The Old Reader and Netvibes aren't even working right now, but I fear they won't be adequate either. I'm thinking that the true savior won't reveal itself until the programming community has had a chance to react. Meanwhile, I will await the prophecy and hold off on declaring my allegiance to a new king.

Sidenote: If Google somehow decides to shut down Blogger, I'm gonna turn on them so hard. I might even consider giving up Gmail. I mean, no I won't. That would be blasphemy! Ack.
A few months ago, I talked about how addicted we were to Clash of Clans. Well, no more. Now it's Hay Day all the way! Hay Day is actually Supercell's first game, before they created Clash. It's the farming game we've all been waiting for. Ever since the demise of Papaya Farm, my friends and I haven't been able to replace the vegetable sized holes in our digital hearts. Well, it's safe to say that we have found that replacement. My sister actually spent money to buy speed up diamonds the other day, a first for her.

While Hay Day doesn't bring too much new stuff to the table, it is very refined and the interface, graphics, and gameplay are all stellar. Plus there's a ton of amusing details embedded in Hay Day. Like when your pigs stand up and wave at you, while plastering silly grins on their faces. Hi-la-ri-ous! I can't wait to see what the horses do. A few things I wish the game had: a global stock market, a way to directly trade with your friends, and more social features when you visit other people's farms. But that's just nitpicking. For now, Hay Day has completely taken over my life and if you download it, it'll probably consume you too. Fair warning.

While reading around about Hay Day, I stumbled across this blog, Deconstructor of Fun, that does a wonderful analysis of monetized games. Their interview with Supercell's Timur Haussila about Hay Day is very interesting. And their analysis of what makes Clash of Clans so fun, with its talk of "core loops," is a lesson in constructed addiction. The blog is a must read for anybody who plays iPhone games. I'd say throw the URL into your Reader but well... Just bookmark it, I guess.

15 November 2012

Stay Stay Stay

Currently pushing: Letterpress. If you're into word games, Letterpress is for you. I hate Words With Friends for many reasons but this is a delight. And the intuitive and simple design is outstanding. Go try it out, you won't regret it.

After a bit of calculation, I realized I hadn't left the confines of my Brooklyn block for almost three weeks. Between Hurricane Sandy, work, deadlines, the election, the start of the basketball season, and a general downturn in weather, I basically only left the house to eat. And then I figured out I could get ninety percent of my meals delivered over, so why leave? Of course, you can't just hermit up forever. Or so people tell me.

When my roommate came home the other day and declared that it was beautiful and hot out, I knew I had to take a break from writing because otherwise my brain would explode. With a few precious hours of freedom, I bolted out to the city. After some shopping, dinner, and a movie, my phone battery died and I was left to figure out the way home without electronic assistance. (The bane of my existence so far is the crappy iPhone battery.) Predictably, I got off at the wrong stop -- the trains are slightly different post-hurricane -- and ended up far away from my house.

I didn't mind though, I wanted to take a long walk anyway. It was three in the morning, with nobody around, and since this could be the last warm night in New York for some time, I was happy to just set off in the general direction of home and get there eventually.

When I'm out here, I carry a small compass to orient myself. Unless you're pretty familiar with the whole city, or just have an outstanding sense of direction, it's kind of hard to know which way you're facing when you pop out of the subway. Also, I am not good with direction based directions.

People out here love to say, "It's on the west side of the street." Dude, I have no idea what that means. Is it on my left or my right? Unless the Pacific Ocean is nearby, I don't know which way west is. A compass solves all these problems. I recommend everyone carry a compass. Pro tip.

As I belatedly discovered however, my faithful compass is now broken. I wandered the wrong way for awhile, until I noticed that I hadn't hit the Barclays Center like I'd expected. Most of the cabs going by slowed down, figuring correctly that I was lost. Just once I would like to look like I blend in with the neighborhood/environment enough so that people don't wonder what the heck I'm doing there. Oh to be belong! A couple of miles and two hours of walking later, I arrived at my front door, shining bright in-between a coffee shop and a pet supply store.

This is the most exciting thing I've done since Halloween.

I am concerned that the time for long walking nights are over, as the very next day returned us to chilly weather. The good news is that I bought a semi-proper winter jacket -- as opposed to the light one I used through the wind and snow two years ago -- so I'm sticking around New York for some portion of the winter at least. The bad news is that my compass is busted and I could be lost forever.

Which, I guess, really isn't all that different from when I had a compass.

18 July 2012

Thinkin Bout You

While I've seen some pretty good movies this year, with many more months to go, I can go ahead and anoint Moonrise Kingdom as my favorite film of 2012. I already gushed about it in last month's Stuff I've Been Consuming but since I just re-watched Moonrise, I can safely give it a double thumbs up. The first time around I just experienced it, trying to soak everything in. The second viewing I tried to pay attention and parse out exactly what it was that sucked me in. Here's a short list. And please, for the love of everything, just go see this thing already so I can stop soapboxing.


Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward. The casting of these two were so good. I consumed every interview I could find online. I just had to know more about them. Neither had acted professionally before, can you believe that? Both were around twelve when they shot the film and they look like actual kids, especially Jared. He's a total dork but not of the type we normally see in movies. Gilman's character is prepubescent, totally oblivious in his uncoolness, yet totally assured. Kara's face is amazing. Beautiful and expressive but in an awkward way that is reflected in her slight gawkiness and imperfect symmetry. They seem wonderfully real and endearing, as actors and characters. Plus, what's the last movie like this featuring middle schoolers, Bridge to Terabithia?

First Loves. Watching Moonrise has to make you think of puppy loves. The intense feeling that you'd do anything for the other person, even run away from everything you know. There's so much (painful) sweetness in it. It ain't never gonna be this good again. Except in the movies.

Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. This is a for real thing! I assumed Benjamin Britten was fictional but indeed he is not. here's a great post from Framescourer, "The Moonrise Kingdom of Benjamin Britten," with some history and videos of the whole bit. Wonderful stuff.

Khaki Scouts. Hanging in my closet right now is a Cub Scout shirt from my younger days. I was a Webelos Scout and while I'm not sure exactly what the differentiation was, I just remember all the random skills we had to learn. Tying knots, making fires, archery, fishing, kayaking, all these outdoor things I would never be associated with now. Watching Sam Sandusky use his wilderness skills to survive brought me way back. Man, I hope my uniform still fits!

Binoculars. Suzy's superpower of seeing with her binoculars struck a chord with me. Mainly because I recently purchased a pair for bird watching. Her binoculars made me feel less creepy about owning a pair. I'm not stalking, I'm superpowering.

One-liners. I could quote this movie all day. And I probably will for awhile. I won't ruin it for you though. Oh hell, if you're reading this far you saw the movie already. The "who's the say" line absolutely kills me. I rarely laugh out loud at movies and I was pretty much giggling throughout Moonrise. "I love you but you have no idea what you're talking about."

Suzy's Books. Wes Anderson made animated shorts introducing some of the fake books Suzy takes with her when she runs away. The titles, the artwork, the excerpts, all of them are so great. I would pay good money to have these as actual books. If Anderson wrote them himself I demand he pause whatever he's doing to finish the homage slash parodies. Seriously, the few lines from these are better than most of the stuff I've read this year. I feel like these would win those first page contests hands down. Publishers, get Wes on the phone.
"Meanwhile on the plains of Tabitha, Francine rested. There would be another time for war."
-The Francine Odysseys-

"I don't believe in magic. I used to but once I started taking introduction to life science with Mr. Mathy, I realized the logical explanation for practically every mystery in the world was even more interesting than a supernatural one. Auntie Lorraine wouldn't agree. Of course that's no surprise. She's a professional witch hunter."
-The Return of Auntie Lorraine-

25 June 2012

Porcelain



Running around in SF with not enough computer time lately so I interrupt irregularly scheduled programming to recommend the following non-books related things:

(1) Sound and Fury: The Angry Asian Podcast. Just a few episodes in and the guests have been great, as you'd expect from Angry Asian Man. Episode four is with Jen from Disgrasian. Now if only I could find something to replace all the NBA podcasts in my life. Football needs to start already.

(2) Ideas from Gwarlingo. One of my favorite blogs, Gwarlingo, had a quick chat with New Hampshire Public Radio. And here's the first interview Michelle did with NHPR back in January. "Gwarlingo is a Welsh word for the rushing sound a grandfather clock makes before it strikes."

(3) Pocket Planes. After obsessing over Tiny Tower, I've been waiting on NimbleBit's new game with some eagerness. So far I can't decide if I love it because my slow phone is killing gameplay but I suspect I'm gonna want more multi-player interaction. Sure you can start flight crews but I can't even see my friends' maps. Also, we can't decide on a flight crew name. In no big shock, #conair and #topgun are already taken.

(4) Moby's Los Angeles Architecture Blog. If it didn't have such despicable traffic, I would definitely explore more of L.A.'s buildings. Luckily Moby's here to do some of that for me and here's a quick talk with Tumblr Storyboard about his blog. (Years ago, while lost and driving through L.A. on a sight seeing expedition, we randomly came across the Ennis House and were like "Whoa?!" Totally worth a proper drive-by.)

(5) Phoenix Five. My childhood officially ended when I realized that all the huge comic book crossovers were just marketing ploys. Wait, you mean Wolverine isn't just on every cover because he's the badassest? Well, this summer's blockbuster Marvel event is to give Cyclops, Emma Frost, Colossus, Magik, and Namor each part of the Phoenix Force. Everything about this sucks -- especially the name. I'll still be reading it all of course. In case you forgot, some of my spare time is spent updating FY Colossus, it's a passion and a mission.

27 October 2011

Just Tell Me the Song and I'll Sing It

Currently pushing: Stephen Elliot's "An Oral History of Myself" series. I've been a loyal reader of Elliot's Daily Rumpus emails for about a year now and he's like a uni-directional BFF. I know more about his thoughts and life than I do about most of my friends, which is weird but also fascinating.

I recently found out about his oral history series and have been going through them all. The project is this: "In 2005 I [Elliot] began interviewing people I grew up with and transcribing, then editing, the interviews, creating a kind of memoir but in other people's words." Oral histories are all the rage now. Like the one for Friday Night Lights, the mammoth ESPN book, the MTV book. I think everyone should create an oral history.

The Daily Rumpus is consistently one of my favorite reads but it's not available via blog or anything, as far as I know. Thus I recommend subscribing to the email list immediately.

I went to the library today, for the first time in a long time. I had sort of forgotten about the actual purpose of a library. The last few times I've been in libraries it's been for readings, panels, workshops, blow out sales, celebrations, bathroom pit stops. The last time I checked something out was 2007. As a friend deadpanned to me when I told her how cool it was that I could use my Kindle to borrow books for free: "So it's like a library." Riiiight, good point. Now that I know where I'll be for more than three weeks -- San Diego until 2012 -- I decided it would be best to start hitting up the local branch again.

At the beginning of this year I lamented how much I haven't been reading. Well, eleven months later and I still haven't been reading. I do have a beautiful spreadsheet of things acquired but only nine titles are marked "finished." That's totally pathetic. I'm not exactly cruising through Gravity's Rainbow here either. It only took a few hours each to polish off the stuff I have read. The problem is so much of my reading intake is now long form articles and stuff online that my diet is totally disproportionate. My Kindle was supposed to change this but I've finished a grand total of one book on it so far.

Anyway, long whining short, I'm going to breeze through a book a day this week and try to get my rhythm back. Plus I want to win a reading medal. They still give those out right? Or maybe that's so passé now. I mean, this library in Canada is having a contest to award a trip to WrestleMania for teens who read at least five books. I'm so gonna beat them (up).

Yesterday, Elliot talked about the difference between breaking into the film world versus the publishing world -- excerpted here. What got me was this last bit: "A book is an author alone in a room multiplied by a passage of time. A book isn’t set on permission, a book is grounded on faith."