Last week, I mentioned I didn’t catch the theme of this week’s challenge, and in case you haven’t caught wind of it yet, this week is all about magic tricks. Here is a list of the crews’ illusory challenges and their featured songs for the upcoming episode. I’ve gotta say, it was funny the powers that be decided to throw out two T. Pain songs because I’m still reeling from last week’s Lonely Island SNL digital short—featuring none other than T. Pain. I guess people can’t get enough of auto-tune nowadays… (Poseidon, look. at. meeeee.) Anyhooow, there isn’t much diversity as these are pretty much club and hip hop anthems, but as always, the songs always inform the theme of the crews’ dances, so you’ll just have to wait and see how these work out. For now, enjoy! More »

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Countless fandoms of fun collided at the NYCC this past February weekend. This convention was our trip to Mecca—a heaven of pop culture tranquility. Brotherhood surrounds all who attend: jedi knights, ninjas, goths, vampires, anime and video game characters walk the aisles in peace and harmony. More »

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Recently, I sat down to read the graphic (comic book) novel, American Born Chinese. It is about the life of a Chinese-American boy named Jin who struggles with is identity as an Asian and especially as an Asian male in America. More »

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So, Miley “Makes Goofy Faces” Cyrus kind of apologized last week for that racially insensitive photo. Kind of. Then OCA (Organization of Chinese Americans) was like, APOLOGY UNACCEPTED! Executive Director of the OCA, George Wu, said, “It’s not a real apology. We’re not backing down without a fuller apology.” And then on her official website this week, Miley was all, More »

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I’m at a coffee shop/bar place in my neighborhood with a friend, whom I went to school with since kindergarten. Every time we meet, we reminiscence about the good ol’ days. One thing we like to constantly talk about is our high school days. Our conversation took a turn when I talked about when I had to give a presentation on the first “king” of Korea in our world history class. But for the life of me, I could not remember the king’s name at the coffee shop. I kept muttering weird stuff about Baekdusan (Mt. Baekdu, the birthplace of the king), Taebaeksan, Taeyun, and other weird Korean words that came into my head. Then I said “단군” (Dangun). More »

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I guess I have something to look forward to in July. Provided it goes on schedule, a new statue of Mr. Sejong will be constructed in Gwanghwamun Plaza. I’m not exactly terribly fascinated with a statue, but considering who Mr. Sejong is, it’s kind of a big deal. More »

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I just had some street vendor tteokbokki, a spicy rice cake dish, for dinner. This happens to be one of my favourite Korean foods, and at one point in middle school, I would have died happily just to eat this every day. Well, the one I had tonight was great, but also . . . really bloody, horrendously, awesomely spicy! Now, my stomach hates me for it! However, I digress. I love that dish too much.

Strangely, if I do eat tteokbokki, it usually has to be the street vendor kind. The ones they sell in actual restaurants do not taste the same. And I’m not the only one who seems to think that way. Many of my friends agree. Once in a while, I’ll get a restaurant kind, but that’s really rare. More »

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Six styling crews are raring to go in this 4th episode of Randy Jackson’s America’s Best Dance Crew. The movements needed for this week’s competition are based on what is called the Whack Track challenge. The teams will have to rock old school dance crazes in a modern way. Only four of the crews will be safe and move on to next weeks show. More »

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Well, well, well… we’ve already hit the midpoint of season 3 of ABDC. I can’t speak for all of you, but I sure can’t believe we’re nearing the end. While many crews are stepping it up in ways I wouldn’t have expected, I think it’s safe to say that pretty much everyone is predicting that Beat Freaks and Quest Crew will go head to head in the final battle. We pretty much know everyone can dance, but when it comes to the best of the best, we’re looking for entertainment value, creativity and stage presence, which is definitely what we saw tonight in the Whack Track Challenge. More »

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I am one of those travel whores who can’t sit still in one place for too long. So when I was in Malaysia celebrating Chinese New Year with my folks, I took the opportunity to visit my friend Emily in Bali for a few days. Emily was living in New York City until recently, when she decided to become a full-fledged surfer chick in Bali. More »

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Well, Andrew blogged about his experience with Asiana Airlines. Well, Air Transport World must have read his entry because they voted Asiana Airlines as 2008 Airline of the Year.

I’ve never flown with them, but if Andrew and ATW says it’s good, then I’ll take their words for it!

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Oh Miley, has not the almighty Mouse disciplined you enough for your half-naked Vanity Fair pictures? Have you learned nothing from the backlash received from last year’s quote unquote racy-for-a-16-year-old MySpace pictures? The third strike surfaced this week and features the widely adored and highly paid Disney actress/singer squinting her eyes with a group of friends mocking people of Asian descent. Also in the picture is a Cyrus friend who is of the naturally-not-squinting variety. More »

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Okay, European video game music lovers! Save a spot on your social calendar (any calendars, really) for the Symphonic Fantasies Concert in Cologne, Germany during September 2009. This concert will feature music from Final Fantasy series, Chrono series, Kingdom Hearts series, and Mana (Seiken Densetsu) series. More »

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It’s spring couture week in Paris. Chanel’s couture collection this year is reminding me of a childhood (and adulthood) shortcoming: origami. Never could I master anything beyond the paper boat or hat. Naturally, I am blown away by the head pieces at Chanel’s couture show designed by Katsuya Kamo. More »

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This particular list makes me want to do the following: hurl, throw tomatoes, nod in agreement, reminisce down nostalgia lane, puke some more and give my middle finger. A friend agreed with my sentiments by asking, “Were the editors on crack?” Personally, I think they were. I mean, seriously, this list was so long. I think it would have been better to be more selective and picky and narrow the list down to like the top 50 or something. There were so many shows on here I never heard of or cared for, rendering me disgusted and apathetic about their choices. Some of their selections appalled me: why would they consider this show #n and whatnot? More »

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On January 22 of this year, Denim & Sole released their new line of Super Mario Sneakers. They sort of look like a strange pair of converses with no laces or something. They do have a part of the game on the cover. I do love Mario and Luigi to the bone. But I’m not sure if I want to walk around with this unfashionable pair of shoes. I could buy them and keep them in the box under my bed. I can pull them out every now and then to gaze at them. I could use them as house slippers. Or maybe I could wear them out for just one day to get reactions out of people with a video cam in my hand. Either way, they are a cool pair of sneakers all in the name of the forever famed Super Mario Brothers! More »

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Well Ningin, this is the last part to my craziness in China. I encountered awesome things like Chinese television, Terra Cotta Soldiers, more museums, gardens, a new haircut, and an incredible aquarium. Heck, you guys even get to see me shop and get really bored and tired on an airplane (and kicking ass at tic-tac-toe while I’m at it). We all know how much fun that is! Lastly, you get to see me and my love of ice cream except… I’ve betrayed Haagen-Dazs. HUSH! I know, it’s so sad. It’s just that the Cold Stone Creamery seduced me with its closeness and sexy green tea ice cream. I swear, these videos are so full of drama, suspense, and just plain stupidity with a side of China. Of course, you all also get to see the last few outtakes. What’s an adventure without outtakes? More »

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Don’t know what to do for the world’s most romantic (and fake) holiday? Celebrate it with Ghana Miso, the chocolate ramen!

Ghana Miso is the newest style of ramen noodles on the block. Brought to you by Musashi Menya (Japan’s number one ramen noodle dining restaurant) and Lotte (the makers of Ghana Milk Chocolate), this ramen noodle dish will be available now till February 15th for the Valentines season. More »

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Heads up, Google Maps! There’s a “new” kid on the block, and it’s pretty damn impressive! Daum.net has a new map service out, and its quality is over the top, or so says the article. Luckily, though, it’s limited to South Korea, so I guess the folks at Google can relax a bit. Daum’s map also offers two kinds of view: sky and road — which is self-explanatory. More »

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I am concerned that if films like XXXXXXX are screened in theaters, it will cause moral chaos.

Oh, really? What about violent films? Films about drug usages and trafficking? Films about psychological issues? There’s already an abundance of porn, so I doubt some film will really cause “moral chaos”. Okay, so maybe the media is a powerful tool for influence for a person, but really, South Korea, just stop being so repressed and conservative!

Considering how conservative South Korea is, I’m amazed they passed that law where they deem that “restricted screening on sexual content films is unconstitutional”, which means that films that are too raunchy for the general audience is viewed in selected theaters — but that process is now abolished. Is this really South Korea? Holy cow, they are turning progressive! Let’s see how long this freedom last until the court rules the original law back into place.

Despite my pessimism, though, I hope this works out. And that Shortbus film the article mentioned sounds intriguing.

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