Bad Chef

After an inspiring, exciting and sometimes annoying season, "Top Chef 5" ended Wednesday with a disappointing finale. For those who've stumbled on this site and haven't yet watched the finale, I will hold off on revealing names until a later post. I was extremely, extremely disappointed with the winner. As someone who values skill and intelligence when it comes to cooking, I felt the winner came up way short. I didn't think the judges took into consideration the overall performance by the chefs when making their final decision. I agreed with Gawker's write-up on the season finale.

"Nation, laissez les bon temps rouler!"

Had a laugh attack again tonight, this time courtesy of The Colbert Report. I had tears from laughing at Colbert's opening bit. He did a quasi-hulu dance proclaiming, "laissez les bon temps rouler!" for Mardi Gras, and threw a bead to the audience asking them to show a nipple. Lol. From there, things just got funnier. On Tuesday morning, media reports said the stock market flashbacked to 1997, so Colbert did a whole 1997 bit. Dancing to Hansen's "Mmmmbop" (quasi-hulu dance again), dialing up a modem to connect to AOL on a green iMac. I think the part that killed was listening to the modem dial and then having his "mom" pick in the middle saying, "Hello? Hello?" Ridiculous. Later on the show, he did his "Nailed 'Em," feature, which featured buffet crime. It's too funny to summarize; you have to watch for yourself.

"You could read with one hand"

Jon Stewart returned tonight with a new episode and, as expected, he spoke about Hugh Jackman's hosting duties at Sunday night's Oscars. Stewart devoted his lead segment to the Oscars, and even had commentary by John Oliver. Hilarious! The Moment of Zen was oddly funny too. I think Jackman did a good job, but I secretly, kind of still love Stewart as a host. No, he doesn't have the "Hollywood" factor and his humor and intelligence are a hit-and-miss with the crowd. (I mean, seriously, not everyone in the audience reads publications other than US Weekly. And I have a sneaking suspicion that many don't watch shows that don't involve the words "Entertainment" or "Access.")

Anyway, Jeff Bezos was the guest. And honestly, I don't know what was funnier: the fact that Stewart brilliantly mocked Amazon.com's pricey Kindle 2 or Bezos's loud and abrupt laugh attacks. I found myself cracking up really hard every time Bezos would laugh. When Stewart questioned whether the e-book reader would be practical, Bezos says, "you could read with one hand." Classic.

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The Man Behind "Slumdog" Music

I think one of the reasons why I absolutely fell head over heels in love with "Slumdog Millionaire" was the music. A.R. Rahman does a fantastic job with the score and original songs. Talk about emotional pull. I'm really, really hoping he wins at least one Oscar out of his three nominations tonight. I am rooting for this little movie that could, and did. And how great was it that all the child stars in the movie got tickets to go to the Academy Awards! It was their first trip ever on a plane...I hope they get to go on stage when "Slumdog Millionaire" wins (wishful thinking) the best picture award. I promise, I will cry when I see that.

J'adore Dior

I'm the first to exercise refrain in this current economic crisis in which we're all living. But I have to say I completely fell in love with -- and in awe of -- John Galliano's Spring 2009 couture collection in Paris. The video sums up what I can't put into words. Yes it is decadent, rich and over-the-top, but it's done with enough restraint and panache that one can't simply help but admire, gush and dream. I've always been a fan of Galliano, and his show this week made me an even bigger devotee. J'adore Dior. (On the side, I've been living out my fantasies during some of the shows at this year's New York Fashion Week. Sigh...we can all dream, can't we?)

Classic Conan O'Brien

Am really enjoying the classic clips that Conan O'Brien has been playing these past 2.5 weeks on Late Night. Ahhhh, the memories of late-night cram sessions in college while watching Conan, Max and Andy (we can't forget Andy!). Tonight, they aired a clip from 2002 with "Triumph, the insult-comic dog" interviewing fans waiting for "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones" in Manhattan. I love Triumph. After Friday, it will be an end of an era.

Rainy Sunday

Been a rainy, wet and cool weekend in California. The kind of weather that makes you want to just curl up in a blanket with a cup of hot cider. Contemplating whether or not to go into office (I know it's late) -- have a lot of catch-up work to do. Watching "Austin City Limits" now with Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Their harmonies and singing are like a lullaby, and it's very soporific.

Mr. President, meet Julio Osegueda

(Picture courtesy Huffington Post)

Hear the one about the college kid who got the question of his lifetime with President Obama? One of the best stories I've read this week. If this doesn't put a smile on your face, then...

Angelina, meet Nadya

Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks Nadya Suleman, new mother of octuplets, bears a strange resemblance to Angelina Jolie. It may be a stretch, I just thought she kind of wanted to look (and be) Angelina?

This is from today's HuffPo.

Bob Dylan and Will.i.am

New NY Times Puzzle

The New York Times has given us another reason to read newspapers (wink, wink...nudge, nudge). They revealed a new logic game today called KenKen. This Japanese numbers-based brain puzzler shares some of the same properties with Sudoku. It involves numbers, squares and grids, but KenKen, or "cleverness squared," also requires basic math. Have a go and have fun.

Okay, so maybe puzzles aren't the answer to saving newspapers, but it may make a few people grab a copy.

And The Answer Is?

Always been bothered by Jeopardy contestants who beat their opponents by a buck. Take for instance tonight's final Jeopardy question. The category was music legends and the clue went something to the effect of "this person's obit in 2003 ended with 'fade to black.'" I immediately knew it was Johnny Cash. Gail, the returning champ wrote "Chris Farley," and the other two ladies wrote Cash. The second place lady doubled her $15,200 and ended with $30,400. But the night's winner -- who went into final Jeopardy with $15,600 -- wagered $14,801 to win with $30,401. Second place lady didn't look happy, and the camera quickly wiped to Alex. But I've just always wondered why people do that. Do they do it because a) they feel bad beating the person with a wide margin of money or b) they're vicious?

A Conundrum

I've been told I can be verbose at times. Yes, I'll admit that I sometimes talk too much. I ramble and I can be tangential. If that were the case, why I can't I say five words. Five simple words. Funny how we can utter the most mundane and random thoughts without batting an eye to strangers, friends, boyfriends, relatives. But then the unexplained happens. Certain situations render the most gregarious of us speechless. Total, utter paralysis of speech.

Happy Fifth, Facebook!

Birthday Alert: Happy Birthday Facebook. You turn 5 tomorrow, and your millions of friends from around the world will Superpoke you, give you a gift, buy you a drink, post on your wall, tag you in 25 Notes About You. You've grown since your college days as a Crimson. Now you are an international entrepreneur who have been all over the world and have witnessed many historic events. I also want to take the time now to say thank you for giving me and the 150 million-plus Facebookers out there an addictive hobby with which to pass time during work, school, weekends. Again, Happy Birthday. Don't forget to post pictures and tag people in them.

Update

You can no longer see the Jason Mraz SNL clip from my previous post because NBC Uni took it off. Sorry. But you can still check out his live show with Toca from South Korea. I included a link Cheers!

Jason Mraz on SNL

*****UPDATE: The video is no longer available on YouTube.*****
Loved it when I saw it then, love it now. Mr. A-Z on SNL 1.31.09. Not many performers do well live on SNL, this one's great. He and Toca also did an acoustic show in South Korea that sounded amazing.
Check it !

Funny, But...

...what about the Coca-Cola ad with Charlie Brown getting the soda at the Thanksgiving Day Parade? Love the Bud Light ads. A stroll down Super Bowl 42.

Super Bowl Sunday

Watching Cliffs Notes version of 2008 football season. Is it just me that confuses the Super Bowl with the Oscars? Is it because they're in the same month? Who knows? But the Super Bowl can be like the Academy Awards of sports -- celebs, stars, fights, food, alcohol. As for a winner? I think it's going to be a close game -- should be good. Bring on the (good) commercials.

Thursday

Tired today. Long day at work: Started my day with assignment to track down a sex offender who violated parole, but got called off it to do a peanut butter cookie dough recall story. Schools were selling the product for fundraisers. Stumbled upon a good story in the process of this story. One of the school's band students were selling the cookie dough for a trip to China. Apparently these kids are pretty good and have made several tours in China. The superintendent invited me to go with the students, to which I replied, "YEAH." Only caveat, need a sponsor, and need my work to give me paid time off. I highly doubt the latter, since during the Beijing Olympics, they didn't even move an inch when I -- and other co-workers -- suggested I file reports from Beijing.

I volunteered tonight after work. Hard night. Fridge and pantry were empty. There was chicken and some tomatoes, onions and bell peppers, so I made a healthy cacciatore-like dish. NO pasta or rice! There was a lot of macaroni, so I boiled that and tossed it with the sauce. Finished it off with parmesan and served with some bread. I was sad because the shelter ran out of fruits and salad. I normally serve salad and fruit with dinner. I hope the ladies enjoyed their dinner. I enjoyed cooking it.

Will sign off after I knock out a few chapters in my book. Current read: Jonathan Franzen's "The Corrections." Night.

An Explosion of Meat

"The Bacon Explosion is a massive torpedo-shaped amalgamation of two pounds of bacon woven through and around two pounds of sausage and it looks like this." So who's behind this meat bomb that packs a pork punch and more?

And for my friends out there...Yes, I see the irony in this post given that I've never eaten bacon before.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Xinnian kuaile, gong hay fat choy! It's the year of the ox. Wishing everyone a happy, prosperous and healthy new year. Chun Jie (or what's known in the west as Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year) lasts for 15 days. We Chinese know how to have a holiday ;)

Check out this video from the History Channel; they do a good job in giving background to the holiday. I wished they talked more about the importance of food in this holiday and the symbolism behind certain dishes (fish, chicken with its head on, noodles, dumplings, etc.) Unfortunately the second video on Chinatowns has an audio glitch.

Mr. President

Newseum also has a collection of A-1's from newspapers around the world. From the folks at Gawker.

A Long Time Coming.

Ahhh...

I love running because it makes me happy and healthy. One of the best pleasures in life.

To Sum it Up...