July 30, 2007
July 27, 2007
July 25, 2007
Handcuffs are in this season
Just thought I would share a little thing that irks the hell out of me. Spoiled ignorant celebrities who are constantly on the news being arrested, flopping in and out of rehab, and generally engaging in shameful behavior. You know who I mean. Britney, Paris, Lindsay, Nicole, etc. I could write pages upon pages about how much I hate this ditsy characters, and it angers me even more that I could.
What infuriates me most, though, are these god awful celebrity news shows that fuel the fire of these drug-soaked aristo-brats by fixating on every little thing they do whether good or bad. I thought I could avoid this nonsense in Korea, but I still can't turn on the television without some "Entertainment Extra Celebrity Star Buzz Hour" shovelling gossip at me.
I saw one entertainment news show do a bit about Paris Hilton's release from prison, and all they could talk about was the outfit she wore while being escorted to a waiting car. They talked about her sense of style, identified the clothes, got details on their origin, and shared tips on how to recreate that summer look.
I'm sorry. Am I missing something? She just got out of prison! How is what she's wearing relevant to anything? And why, oh Jesus why, would we want to mimic that? Any day I'm expecting to see them to do whole shows on this crap:
"Today we're going to show you at home how to look your best this summer while doing time. Learn to strut your stuff in court and Mindy Sanders will be showing you five simple tips that will take your mugshot from boring to boo-yah! There's no reason you can't have a little glamour in the slammer; after the commercial break we'll give you the rundown on our big house fashion special that can help you rock the Rock and look Shawshank chic at the beach."
Also, I saw a recent report on how celebrities like Lindsay Lohan are now sporting SCRAM's (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor ) attached to their ankles. I guess that's fine. Celebrities are admitting they have problems and are taking steps to control their behavior. But it's not fine when, once again, these bloody shows act like they're wearing fashion accessories and it's becoming a new fad. Stop making these people out as trendsetters!!
I think it's fitting that when I came online to write this mini rant, msn news informed me that Lindsay Lohan had just been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and cocaine possession. All I want to know is, what was she wearing?
What infuriates me most, though, are these god awful celebrity news shows that fuel the fire of these drug-soaked aristo-brats by fixating on every little thing they do whether good or bad. I thought I could avoid this nonsense in Korea, but I still can't turn on the television without some "Entertainment Extra Celebrity Star Buzz Hour" shovelling gossip at me.
I saw one entertainment news show do a bit about Paris Hilton's release from prison, and all they could talk about was the outfit she wore while being escorted to a waiting car. They talked about her sense of style, identified the clothes, got details on their origin, and shared tips on how to recreate that summer look.
I'm sorry. Am I missing something? She just got out of prison! How is what she's wearing relevant to anything? And why, oh Jesus why, would we want to mimic that? Any day I'm expecting to see them to do whole shows on this crap:
"Today we're going to show you at home how to look your best this summer while doing time. Learn to strut your stuff in court and Mindy Sanders will be showing you five simple tips that will take your mugshot from boring to boo-yah! There's no reason you can't have a little glamour in the slammer; after the commercial break we'll give you the rundown on our big house fashion special that can help you rock the Rock and look Shawshank chic at the beach."
Also, I saw a recent report on how celebrities like Lindsay Lohan are now sporting SCRAM's (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor ) attached to their ankles. I guess that's fine. Celebrities are admitting they have problems and are taking steps to control their behavior. But it's not fine when, once again, these bloody shows act like they're wearing fashion accessories and it's becoming a new fad. Stop making these people out as trendsetters!!
I think it's fitting that when I came online to write this mini rant, msn news informed me that Lindsay Lohan had just been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and cocaine possession. All I want to know is, what was she wearing?
July 24, 2007
July 21, 2007
Procrastination! Just what I wanted!
Today is my birthday, my third one in Korea in fact, so I decided to give myself a small gift - slacking off. That's right, no comic this weekend. My apologies to the loyal Mitch and Roland reader. (Ha. I crack myself up)
Lately all my creative juices have been diverted to sweat production as the summer is becoming increasingly hot. The humidity is reaching what I shall call "standing sweat" levels. Meaning, that even in the middle of the night, wearing a t-shirt and shorts, you can sweat simply by standing in place. That, my friends, is humid. Most of the time in Canada I was used to summer nights turning generally chilly. "Cover the tomatoes, or the frost'll get 'em!"
Korean summer is like being in a greenhouse or aquarium at times.
So, as I said, sorry for leaving you high and drawingless. I'll get back to my normal grind next week. I'm also going to pull my crap together and get the next chapter of the zombie comic rolling. Promise.
Lately all my creative juices have been diverted to sweat production as the summer is becoming increasingly hot. The humidity is reaching what I shall call "standing sweat" levels. Meaning, that even in the middle of the night, wearing a t-shirt and shorts, you can sweat simply by standing in place. That, my friends, is humid. Most of the time in Canada I was used to summer nights turning generally chilly. "Cover the tomatoes, or the frost'll get 'em!"
Korean summer is like being in a greenhouse or aquarium at times.
So, as I said, sorry for leaving you high and drawingless. I'll get back to my normal grind next week. I'm also going to pull my crap together and get the next chapter of the zombie comic rolling. Promise.
July 18, 2007
The Hassle of Cash
Alright, I'm gonna level with you. I was late with this comic, and there's no excuse. I was busy with various things, and I'm not going to get into the details. Let's just say it involved transporting a killer whale to the ocean for the sake of its freedom.
July 14, 2007
Mitch & Roland: #25 Scrabble
I love a good board game, and it's been a while since I since I've had a chance to face off against a worthy opponent. Three of my favorites are Scrabble, Risk, and Monopoly. The ones that take a bit of time to play and anger the blood.
I wonder if we combined them, would they become the greatest game ever? I call it "Scrabbopolisk. The object of the game would be to purchase and build hotels on all countries of the world, while maintaining strategic word chains between continents. You'd pay luxury tax on triple word scores, and you would pick up a risk card when you play a word on the community chest. Here would be a typical example of the game in play:
"Radish. 12 points with double word score."
"I'm sorry, you played the 'h' across Madagascar. You owe me $220."
"Damn it. I'll have to mortgage the word Siamese again!"
"Tough luck. Pay up."
"Here you are. I'm going to fortify my utilities now. Your turn."
"Three. 1,2, 3. Aww... Risk card! You've won second place in a beauty pageant. Attack Siam."
And so on.
I wonder if we combined them, would they become the greatest game ever? I call it "Scrabbopolisk. The object of the game would be to purchase and build hotels on all countries of the world, while maintaining strategic word chains between continents. You'd pay luxury tax on triple word scores, and you would pick up a risk card when you play a word on the community chest. Here would be a typical example of the game in play:
"Radish. 12 points with double word score."
"I'm sorry, you played the 'h' across Madagascar. You owe me $220."
"Damn it. I'll have to mortgage the word Siamese again!"
"Tough luck. Pay up."
"Here you are. I'm going to fortify my utilities now. Your turn."
"Three. 1,2, 3. Aww... Risk card! You've won second place in a beauty pageant. Attack Siam."
And so on.
July 13, 2007
No thanks, I just starved
I remember once my boss and I were discussing Chinese dishes and he said that there is a saying about the Chinese: "They will eat anything with four legs but a table, and anything that can fly but an airplane"
While I think Westerners should win the prize for being the most willing to eat anything (Cheez Whiz, people, Cheeze Whiz), it's certainly astonishing to see what the Chinese will eat. I've had the opportunity to watch many documentaries about Asian cooking, and most of them have talked about the history and art of Chinese cuisine. One of these shows extensively covered China's 4 Heavenly Foods. They are, in no particular order, shark's fin, sea cucumber, abalone, and birds' nest.
Shark fins are taken off of live sharks and turned into soup, sea cucumbers are collected from the sea and go through a lengthy process just to make them edible, abalone are pried from underwater rocks, and birds' nest are goddamn birds' nest. How can any of these things be seen as delicious? It seems only the Chinese could see a shark fin rise out of the water and think 'dinner'. Have any of you seen a freakin' sea cucumber up close? Those things are hideous; they are the wang of the sea. And the birds' nests are found in seaside caves made by cave swifts. They make the nests in the high cave walls during their breeding season out of "interwoven strands of salivary laminae cement". AKA ... bird spit. Delish.
Even though these are an important part of Chinese culinary culture, and considered delicacies, I would like to request that everyone stop eating them. It's totally pointless. No, seriously, put down the spoon. You've been tricked, that's not food.
The show made a few points about these 'foods' very clear. First off, there are difficulties, dangers, and controversy in collecting them. Many people are outraged by the brutality of harvesting shark fins, abalone must be acquired usually by single divers in dangerous conditions, and for cripes sake, there are people climbing cave walls to get hunks of bird spit for their soup!
But more importantly these heavenly foods are all quite tasteless on their own, requiring the skilled hands of a master chef to make them a delicacy. Like tofu, these foods are bland and empty on their own, but instead soak up the flavours and seasonings of whatever they are cooked with. So, here's a thought, why not use tofu? No one has ever watched a tofu slowly suffocate in the sea because they just cut off its fin. And I bet no one has ever broke their neck while scaling a slippery cliff to get tofu. Also, as a bonus, tofu is the shape of a block; it doesn't even bother to look like an infected sea dick.
So, what I'm trying to say is, these things aren't heavenly foods, they barely even fit the description of food. It's like hundreds of years ago someone dared the Chinese to make soup out of anything. Then, once they realised they could sell it for an outrageous price, things kind of stuck. If it takes an expert culinary master all of his skill to transform one of these things into an expensive edible dish, I bet they could do it with anything. In the right hands a newspaper could become a mouthwatering main course. At the very least the name should be changed to "The Four Inedible Things China Conquered"
While I think Westerners should win the prize for being the most willing to eat anything (Cheez Whiz, people, Cheeze Whiz), it's certainly astonishing to see what the Chinese will eat. I've had the opportunity to watch many documentaries about Asian cooking, and most of them have talked about the history and art of Chinese cuisine. One of these shows extensively covered China's 4 Heavenly Foods. They are, in no particular order, shark's fin, sea cucumber, abalone, and birds' nest.
Shark fins are taken off of live sharks and turned into soup, sea cucumbers are collected from the sea and go through a lengthy process just to make them edible, abalone are pried from underwater rocks, and birds' nest are goddamn birds' nest. How can any of these things be seen as delicious? It seems only the Chinese could see a shark fin rise out of the water and think 'dinner'. Have any of you seen a freakin' sea cucumber up close? Those things are hideous; they are the wang of the sea. And the birds' nests are found in seaside caves made by cave swifts. They make the nests in the high cave walls during their breeding season out of "interwoven strands of salivary laminae cement". AKA ... bird spit. Delish.
Even though these are an important part of Chinese culinary culture, and considered delicacies, I would like to request that everyone stop eating them. It's totally pointless. No, seriously, put down the spoon. You've been tricked, that's not food.
The show made a few points about these 'foods' very clear. First off, there are difficulties, dangers, and controversy in collecting them. Many people are outraged by the brutality of harvesting shark fins, abalone must be acquired usually by single divers in dangerous conditions, and for cripes sake, there are people climbing cave walls to get hunks of bird spit for their soup!
But more importantly these heavenly foods are all quite tasteless on their own, requiring the skilled hands of a master chef to make them a delicacy. Like tofu, these foods are bland and empty on their own, but instead soak up the flavours and seasonings of whatever they are cooked with. So, here's a thought, why not use tofu? No one has ever watched a tofu slowly suffocate in the sea because they just cut off its fin. And I bet no one has ever broke their neck while scaling a slippery cliff to get tofu. Also, as a bonus, tofu is the shape of a block; it doesn't even bother to look like an infected sea dick.
So, what I'm trying to say is, these things aren't heavenly foods, they barely even fit the description of food. It's like hundreds of years ago someone dared the Chinese to make soup out of anything. Then, once they realised they could sell it for an outrageous price, things kind of stuck. If it takes an expert culinary master all of his skill to transform one of these things into an expensive edible dish, I bet they could do it with anything. In the right hands a newspaper could become a mouthwatering main course. At the very least the name should be changed to "The Four Inedible Things China Conquered"
July 11, 2007
July 10, 2007
Move your Body
While surfing the web, I saw a link on Penny-Arcade for an amusing Internet activity. Wanted to give it a try, and here are the results. Everyone loves a dance-off.
PS. I hate drawing with a mouse.
PS. I hate drawing with a mouse.
July 6, 2007
Korean Jacks and Summer Snacks
I feel like talking about two particular Korean things I find interesting, so here I go.
First off is a little game called Gong-gi. The playground game I can best compare it to is Jacks, except there are no rubber balls involved and instead of jacks you play with tiny plastic pebbles.
The basic idea of play is to drop five of the gong-gi on a table and then collect them one by one. To collect a selected stone, you must toss a different stone in the air, pick up the one you want from the table, and catch the tossed stone. Then you collect the rest of the stones in the same manner until you have all five in your hand again. Next you drop them on the table again and begin the process once more, but collecting two at a time. So, toss one in the air, scoop up two, catch the stone, and so on. As you might guess, next comes three at a time, then four.
Finally you toss the handful of plastic stones lightly in the air and catch as many as you can on the back of your hand. However many gong-gi you can then toss off the back of your hand and catch is the number of points you've gained.
Needless to say, I've never made a single point playing Gong-gi. But I've been thoroughly impressed by my students who zip through the whole process and make it look easy. It takes a lot of coordination, and I have none. I usually whip the gong-gi across the room in a frantic attempt to pick them off the table. A Korean teacher told me that men have trouble playing the game because their hands are too big to pick up the tiny glittery stones quickly. Maybe if we were playing with something more suitable for my big meaty hands, like hubcaps, I'd have a better chance.
The other thing is a dessert called Pat Bing Soo, which is basically a snow cone that went totally insane. As my friend Sam knows, Korea has a wondrous variety of frozen treats, but this icy dessert is really something else.
It starts off with a bowl of shaved ice topped with red bean paste, and from there all manner of foods are piled on. Ice cream, yogurt, milk, green tea, coffee, cereal flakes, rice cake, canned fruit, bananas, kiwi, strawberries, syrups, chocolate sauce, jelly bits, and cherry tomatoes. Any possible combination of these things can appear in the dessert depending on where you get it.
This is basically my third summer in Korea, and I've only tried this dessert for the first time in the last week. The verdict: It's just what you'd think. A strange mix of flavours, temperatures, and textures. The more I ate it, the more I felt like I was eating groceries that got spilled in the snow. Since it sits on a pile of ice, it's certainly refreshing on a hot summer day, which is obviously why it's a hit in humid Seoul.
I'll have to try it again to appreciate it more, since each time will be a different combination of toppings, and maybe that's the real charm of this hodgepodge dessert.
First off is a little game called Gong-gi. The playground game I can best compare it to is Jacks, except there are no rubber balls involved and instead of jacks you play with tiny plastic pebbles.
The basic idea of play is to drop five of the gong-gi on a table and then collect them one by one. To collect a selected stone, you must toss a different stone in the air, pick up the one you want from the table, and catch the tossed stone. Then you collect the rest of the stones in the same manner until you have all five in your hand again. Next you drop them on the table again and begin the process once more, but collecting two at a time. So, toss one in the air, scoop up two, catch the stone, and so on. As you might guess, next comes three at a time, then four.
Finally you toss the handful of plastic stones lightly in the air and catch as many as you can on the back of your hand. However many gong-gi you can then toss off the back of your hand and catch is the number of points you've gained.
Needless to say, I've never made a single point playing Gong-gi. But I've been thoroughly impressed by my students who zip through the whole process and make it look easy. It takes a lot of coordination, and I have none. I usually whip the gong-gi across the room in a frantic attempt to pick them off the table. A Korean teacher told me that men have trouble playing the game because their hands are too big to pick up the tiny glittery stones quickly. Maybe if we were playing with something more suitable for my big meaty hands, like hubcaps, I'd have a better chance.
The other thing is a dessert called Pat Bing Soo, which is basically a snow cone that went totally insane. As my friend Sam knows, Korea has a wondrous variety of frozen treats, but this icy dessert is really something else.
It starts off with a bowl of shaved ice topped with red bean paste, and from there all manner of foods are piled on. Ice cream, yogurt, milk, green tea, coffee, cereal flakes, rice cake, canned fruit, bananas, kiwi, strawberries, syrups, chocolate sauce, jelly bits, and cherry tomatoes. Any possible combination of these things can appear in the dessert depending on where you get it.
This is basically my third summer in Korea, and I've only tried this dessert for the first time in the last week. The verdict: It's just what you'd think. A strange mix of flavours, temperatures, and textures. The more I ate it, the more I felt like I was eating groceries that got spilled in the snow. Since it sits on a pile of ice, it's certainly refreshing on a hot summer day, which is obviously why it's a hit in humid Seoul.
I'll have to try it again to appreciate it more, since each time will be a different combination of toppings, and maybe that's the real charm of this hodgepodge dessert.
July 4, 2007
July 3, 2007
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