Cute Wrigley's Commercial!

Wrigley's commercial site

Hey, I'm Back!

Been doing some traveling these past few months...both body and mind. Sorry, no exciting travel photos. But I do have some pics of NE NE GOOSE BAKERY that's been sitting in my camera for a while. I came across this bakery from having lunch with a friend in a downtown cafe, whose bread supplier is NeNe Goose. Their breads are awesome, perfect texture. The outer crust has just the right give and the inside...soft.
Spinach rolls
Mochi an pan

Attention all Children's Book Fairs !!!

PLEASE COME TO HAWAII!!! so, I can spend money on you guys and not on OVERpriced plane tickets. The same goes for Animation Festivals, Design Shows, and Arts and Craft Expos.

Below are images from the 2007 Bologna Children's Book Fair(photos were not taken by me!). There, people involved with every aspect of Children's literature from authors to producers and booksellers to librarians meet to discuss and debate the latest sector trends and generate new contacts from the very best of children's publishing and multimedia production.

fair photos via PingMag



Artists advertising there works and contact info on the billboards.


Wow, a booth from Taiwan.



Artworks of Illustrators found at the fair. Check out the Bologna Children's Book Fair site for more illustrators.
"Butterfly" by Nicoletta Ceccoli

Illo by Masanobu Satoh

Illo by Marie Sommer

Crazy About YouTube

Found my favorite comedian on YouTube! Demetri Martin!

La migration bigoudenn

A beautiful animation created by Eric Castaing, Alexandre Heboyan and Fafah Togora from the Gobelins Visual School of France. It was screened at the Annecy Animation Festival.

Star-schmucks Coffee

With all this talk of FREE coffee, I had to consult my lord & master, Foamy!
WARNING! Obscene language (from a squirrel).

Interested in more pop culture bashing, check out illwillpress
A great 'commentary' animator. One of my favorites.

Hay Fever Almost Gone

I'm still getting sneeze attacks and congestion every now and then, but not ones that last a whole day. Either the vitamin regime is working or maybe my head has not been exposed to rough windage recently. Whatever it is, thank goodness!

I made an interesting observation the other day, a friend of mine that has sinus allergies too, said that it only happens to him at home. I've been noticing that with me too, the sinus congestion usually happens at home and in my car. I wonder. Am I allergic to my own dust particles? OR,...a combo of family members, friends, dog, and me!

'C' is the Answer

The extra dosage of vitamin C that I've been taking these past few days is AMAZINGLY the cure for me. So far, just a couple of sneezes today, and some irritating potential sneezes, but that was it. It's great!

Spring is here, load up on the Vitamin Cs

It's not officially spring yet, but hay fever season is here for me. Actually, it attacks me whenever it wants to, all year-round! But, these past few weeks was severe. Over-the-counter medication gives me hives, so the only other economical solution to treat this 'definitely timeout needing sinus problem' is home remedies. I found this site that recommended taking vitamin C in high dosage in addition to watching your diet. It seemed to work for me yesterday. But, this morning, the sneezing and runny nose came back, not as bad though. The day is still open to attacks, we'll see...

History of Dim Sum

While eating at a dim sum restaurant the other day, I thought of what my dad would always say about this old Chinese tradition of eating a light meal with tea.

Long ago, it was more about drinking the tea than about choosing and eating a variety of pastries. Teahouses across China would serve tea with side dishes much like peanuts served at bars. This tradition of drinking tea (yum cha) at the teahouses was made popular by Chinese noblemen, who frequented these places to socialize and to show off their prize pet birds.

How did he know birds were involved? Well, according to my dad, people have found hooks alongside the windows of these teahouses to hang bird cages with (try and pass that one by the board of health -- "bird flu", hello!). And occasionally, the teahouses would have live entertainment called "teahouse brawls". That is when all good kung fu fighting would occur.

Yes, a bit Hollywoodish!
Drunken Master 2, image courtesy of yahoo movies

Drunken Master 2, image courtesy of hkfanatic.com

The real story taken from the About: Chinese Cuisine site states that:
Originally a Cantonese custom, dim sum is inextricably linked to the Chinese tradition of "yum cha" or drinking tea. Travelers journeying along the famous Silk Road needed a place to rest, so teahouses began springing up along the roadside. Rural farmers, exhausted after long hours working in the fields, would also head to the local teahouse for an afternoon of tea and relaxing conversation. Still, it took several centuries for the culinary art of dim sum to develop. It was originally considered inappropriate to combine tea with food - in fact a famous 3rd century Imperial physician claimed this would lead to excessive weight gain. However, as tea's ability to aid in digestion and cleanse the palate became known, tea house proprietors began adding a variety of snacks, and the tradition of dim sum was born.

Tea At 1024

My friend T and I found this cute little place in Chinatown, where they serve English style tea. Although, we went around noontime, we had the Afternoon Tea Special for $15. It came with a salad, 4 different types of tea sandwiches (oh, the Tomato&Cheese was perfect), scones with clotted cream & jam, pastries and a pot of tea. The other items on their menu looked pretty good too. Great service and cozy atmosphere.


You can choose your own tea cup and saucer from a large selection of tea sets.

Yes, that's us ... crazy insane.

Cookies, Chocolate, & Rain

I am dedicating this site to three of my favorite things: cookies,
chocolates, and rain. I have not tried it, but I think I can eat them
all at the same time.