More of My Top Twenty Movie Quotes

Movie quotes? Movie quotes!

1. Get him a body bag! Yeah!
2. We're gonna fight! And we're gonna win! Yeeeeeaaah!
3. Oh my God, the quarterback is toast!
4. You almost had me? You never had me—you never had your car. Granny shiftin' not double clutchin' like you should.
5. No women, no kids.
6. Don't make me he-bitch man-slap you!
7. I am big! It was the pictures that got small!
8. I have two guns, one for each of ya.
9. When someone asks you if you're a god, you say, "YES!"
10. You know what this means? It means this damn thing doesn't work!
11. Well then a fox you shall be until I find your name, my foxy lady.
12. It's just stress, ASSHOLE!
13. Yu- ha-vu no- ma-burusu!
14. What do you got down there, a fuckin' rancor?
15. Achwell, try to say Serge. It's not so difficult. Surge? Sounds like a detergent.
16. Greetings, my friend. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future.
17. My name's "Wild Bill" Kelso, and don't you forget it!
18. I'm not feeling! He's the one who's feeling!
19. Baby, I'm going to sine your pitty on the runny kine!
20. Mother nature just pissed her pantsuit!

Praying Mantis Season

As the temperature starts to rise, I can always look forward to the appearance of praying mantids in the backyard. It's a funny thing, since we never used to see them until about three years ago. Now, they're a welcome addition to our garden. So far, we've seen three this season.

Here's one of them. It lives in a penthouse at the top of the bay leaf plant. It's probably only a half-inch long right now, but hopefully it will grow big and strong and decide to stick around for a while.

The New "A-Team"

I was going to bring this up a while back, but there's a few things that bother me about what I've seen in the new "A-Team" movie trailer, and it's not the lack of Mr. T. In the current trailer, B.A. Barracus, played by MMA fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, hums the "A-Team" television theme song. Now is this meta, or just stupid? I lean toward stupid, not knowing what the context is. But even with a reasonable setup, I don't understand why you would do something like that. Did the filmmakers think that would be a funny nod to the original show? Like how it's funny to show the van get crushed? Because that wasn't funny at all. In fact that kind of pissed me off. It's like blowing up the General Lee. The van was the fifth A-Team member before they added characters in the fifth season. Crushing it is like killing off Face or Murdock.

Also, while watching the trailer, I lamented the fact that they would likely forgo the use of old style AK-47s and M-16s. I also wondered how many people were not going to die in this movie. If you watched the original show, you'd understand.

And lastly, who designed the poster? Up until this poster, I considered "Did You Hear About the Morgans?" to have the worst poster of the last year. A giant Sarah Jessica Parker horse-face plastered across anything is not the best way to sell a product. But this one has set new standards. What's going on with the contrast? Why are these guys getting blasted by the sun? Couldn't they powder their noses, I'm actually blinded by this poster. What kind of cameraman couldn't fit their faces into frame? And did they go and add more wrinkles? These guys are so high-def, you can practically climb into their pores. And so much hair. Instead of Hannibal, Face, B.A., and Murdock, they should call them Beard, Beard, Mohawk, and Stubble.

In the end, I will still see the movie, but for much more different reasons than being fond of the original show. I hope it's the train wreck that I'm looking forward to seeing. If it's not, I might just have to bust out the old AK and not hit anything until I'm just close enough to punch somebody out.

Common Interests on Blogger

It recently occurred to me that being interested in obscure topics doesn't lend itself well to public visibility on Blogger. Of the 33 topics I list as interests on my profile, fourteen are shared by less than a hundred people, and of those fourteen interests, eight are shared by less than ten. In fact, I'm the lone person interested in cryptobiosis and retrocognition. Additionally, Blogger's spell checker doesn't even consider those two as words. It's a lonely world when you're the only one who cares about such things, but no matter.

Perhaps I should be more surprised that people are interested in some of those topics at all. But really, only two people who like black widow spiders? Only three who like capybara? Those things are awesome. And seriously, why aren't there like hundreds of more people who care about the Mongolian Death Worm population? It's not like those things are going to discover themselves.

I'm guessing it's a cultural difference. Maybe it's the Japanese side of me (which would be most of me, since I'm 100% Japanese-American) that finds these topics interesting. I'm sure that capybara and praying mantids are considerably more topical in Japan than they are in the US. And yokai are definitely more popular there as well. But in the end, I suppose it's up to me to continue blogging about these things. After all, someone needs to champion their causes, and that might as well start with me.

Takoyaki TANOTA

Today I had some business in Little Tokyo (yeah, I've been all over town this week), and there was a takoyaki cart there. It is a fairly common site to see around Japan, but not so much here. For those unfamiliar with takoyaki, it is basically a round, seasoned dough ball with pieces of boiled octopus inside. It might not sound too appetizing from my description, but there is a little more to it. It usually comes piping hot, with a crisp outside and a lava-like center. (I'm really not doing a good job of making this sound appetizing, am I?) It makes for a wonderful street snack, since it's quick to make and served hot.

The cart that I saw was named Takoyaki TANOTA, and they only served takoyaki (other Japanese vendors might offer cheese-filled takoyaki). If I recall correctly, they came in sets of eight pieces for $5. They also offered them plain, topped with otafuku sauce, or special, which came topped with their Tanota original sauce, mayo, nori, and negi (green onion). We tried them with the special sauce.

To be honest, I have had much better takoyaki, even in L.A. I didn't find them particularly flavorful, and the octopus was a bit chewy, which it shouldn't be. Perhaps it would have been better if we had eaten them right when we got them, but they were much too hot then, and they were only about twenty minutes removed when we ate them. Or it could have been that I haven't had authentic Japanese takoyaki in over nine years, and don't remember exactly what they are supposed to be like. Still, I commend them for trying to bring a little bit of Japan to Los Angeles. It's hard enough to even find restaurants that serve takoyaki here, so I'm willing to give them another try somewhere down the line. Their prices were fairly reasonable, and the portion substantial enough.

Since they're a cart, they don't have a permanent address. They seem to appear in or around Japanese enclaves, like Mitsuwa in West L.A., or on Sawtelle. For specific locations and times, check out their Twitter account.

Takoyaki TANOTA Homepage
Takoyaki TANOTA Twitter
(310)497-2829

Celebrity Sightings - Joe Rogan

Since last Friday was Sister C's graduation, I was wondering if there were any celebrities there celebrating with friends or relatives. At one point I saw a dead ringer for Craig T. Nelson complete with shades, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't him. It got me thinking about my own graduation.

When I attended my college graduation, it was back in the day when "Fear Factor" still occupied half of NBC's nightly programming. Lo and behold but who was there at my graduation but the host of "Fear Factor," Joe Rogan. But I prefer to remember him from his "News Radio" days when he wasn't such a douche and a jerk. I guess he was there for a nephew or niece's graduation, since it surely couldn't have been his own kid who could have graduated. He acted like less of a dick cheering on his relative, but he still looked like a dick. I guess in some cases having no celebrity at your graduation is better than having any celebrity.

Shirin in Woodland Hills

I had a lunch meeting today in Woodland Hills, so we ended up eating at Shirin. Shirin serves traditional Persian and Mediterranean cuisine—kabobs and other skewered meats.

The restaurant gives off the air of formality and dignity, and most of the patrons at that hour were nearby business people. But at the same time I could also see casually dressed diners as well, so the restaurant is not particularly pompous or stuffy.

They have a modest lunch menu, but everything is reasonably priced (everything less than $10). I ordered the boneless lamb kabobs. The waiter even asked my preference on how I wanted them cooked, which I always consider a sign of good cooking craftsmanship. Only quality restaurants will ask how you want your meat cooked.

The waiter also offered the option of soup or salad, of which I chose the latter. The salad was rather substantial, with cucumber slices, tomato slices, grated carrot, and corn in addition to lettuce. It was topped with a light dressing, somewhat of a cross between ranch and tzatziki. It was good, and I was especially impressed by the corn which was sweet and added a little more flavor impact.

The rest of the meal came on a rather large, square plate. It might not look like a great deal of meat, but it was very filling. The lamb kabob was cooked just as I had asked, medium, and was very flavorful. The spices presented a blend of the exotic and familiar that danced around in my mouth. It had a strong lamb flavor without being overly gamy as some lamb can be.

The rice was a typical basmati, with some saffron basmati layered over the top, which I consumed along with the pickles, onions, and broiled tomato. By the end of the meal I was very satisfied. Had the lunch meeting not been a success, I could have at least savored the meal which now was just icing on the cake.

Some other notes on Shirin:
- They had a decorative hookah inset in the wall across from me, and I wondered if anyone has ever tried to smoke it.
- They constantly play music throughout the restaurant, and I was tickled when I heard recorder versions of The Beatles "Yesterday" and Nino Rota's "The Godfather Theme."

Shirin
21826 Ventura Blvd.
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
(818)887-6353

Yokai of the Week - Tsuchikorobi

Tsuchikorobi is one of the dirtiest yokai of all—because it's made of dirt! Tsuchikorobi is a yokai made of dirt that tumbles around and rolls over travelers. Its name literally means "rolling soil."

Yokai Masterpiece #7 - Tsuchikorobi - LEGOs.

It usually looks more like a ball of hair, which is pretty gross. Plus it doesn't have a face, but mine does.

Killer Shrimp

Since Sister C finally graduated, and she doesn't have any public appearance obligations this week, I wanted to make a shrimp dish. As I've said before, Sister C has issues with shellfish, but to hell with that! She's graduated! So I decided to make Killer Shrimp.

Killer Shrimp used to have a couple of restaurants in Los Angeles, in Marina Del Rey and Studio City. They were an upscale, trendy restaurant that really only had one dish: killer shrimp. They came in a spicy tomato-based broth and were served with either pasta, rice, or bread. The restaurant has been gone for some years now, but their legacy lives on in many clone recipes.

The recipe I used I found on Epicurious.com. It's a pretty simple recipe to make, it just takes time.

I don't remember exactly how it tasted back in the day, but this recipe appeared to be a good approximation. I think there may have been a tad more garlic though. It's not pictured here, but I even served the bread in a colander like the restaurant used to do.

Sister C, not wanting to tempt the wrath of the gods, only ate six shrimp, whereas I ate considerably more. Somewhere in the range between 10 and 100.

Hong Kong Kitchen in Monterey Park

Today I was invited out to lunch by three lovely ladies. The restaurant of the day was Hong Kong Kitchen in Monterey Park, since the Yama sisters had been craving it for a while.

We ordered a lot of food for four (well, only three really, since baby Popolyn is seven weeks old), and it was way more than enough.

Since it was lunch time, we all got soup. It was a little difficult to eat, since I only had one arm—the other was devoted to holding Popolyn (which would also explain why my pictures are a little out of focus). At one point she must have been upset that I wasn't paying enough attention to her, since she knocked over my soup into my lap.

For appetizers, we got the crispy chicken wings in garlic butter. They were amazing! The garlic aroma was heavenly, and they were crispy indeed. These were a great choice.

Slice Princess ordered fish puff and pork brisket with e-fu noodles, which came in a much larger bowl but is shown here in my smaller bowl. The noodles looked like udon noodles, but were much spongier. The pork brisket was good, and had pieces of tendon that had turned gelatinous. Yum!

We also got multi-grain rice with kabocha. It was kind of like a fried rice made with brown rice. I didn't particularly like it, but it had a good texture and was pretty good for a healthier rice alternative. It's not for me, but the Yama sisters liked it.

Since we already had a soup noodle and a rice plate, I ordered a noodle plate: beef chow fun. It was a generous portion, and the pieces of beef were rather large. I wish I could have eaten more of it, but there was just so much food.

Princess Poo picked the beef brisket and tendon in XO sauce as the last dish. Aside from the wings, this was my other favorite dish. It's hard to find good tendon, and I enjoyed this very much. I will be going back there to have this again.

Since we ordered so much food, we got a complimentary Hainan chicken. I didn't eat too much of this since there were so many other dishes on the table. The Hainan chicken was probably a bit more nuanced than the other dishes, so it was difficult for it to stand out.

Just so you don't think that baby Popolyn went without, this is what she ate:

I think she enjoyed it.

Some other notes on Hong Kong Kitchen:
- The lemon iced tea is pretty good. And they really love to give you refills. Lots and lots of refills. Overall, the service is pretty good for a Chinese restaurant.

Hong Kong Kitchen
301 W. Valley Blvd. #115
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626)289-3300