bourdain does baltimore

Anthony Bourdain visits my hometown on an upcoming episode of No Reservations. I always feel a pinch of pride when I see my old stomping grounds on the tube. One of the fun things about leaving your hometown is finding out what outsiders think of your hometown. Within the caucasian-dominated suburbs of jersey, I've learned the difference between "being from Maryland" and "being from Baltimore". If you are from Maryland, they envision rolling green suburbs, lacrosse, preppy people, Johns Hopkins, and tourist spots in the Harbor. If you're from Baltimore, they envision you grew up as a hoodrat rubbing shoulders with Avon, Stringer and Marlo. I'm exaggerating...but not by a lot.

Much of the reputation that Baltimore enjoys (or suffers from) nationally is derived from crime stats and TV shows. The majority of these TV shows are "urban": Fox's "Roc", NBC's "Homocide" and HBO's "The Wire" (all among my favorites). The one exception is FoodTV's "Ace of Cakes". Its refreshing to escape into the whimsy of Charm City Cakes instead of Bodymore, Murderland. I mean, what's happier than cakes?

brilliant tv show title sequences

Smashing Magazine has a nice roundup on 20 Brilliant TV show title sequences.

crazy games

What's up with the bastardized versions of Japanese game shows on American TV (Wipeout, I Survived a Japanese Game Show, Hole in the Wall)? I'd prefer seeing the original in subtitles like Sasuke aka Ninja Warrior or Unbeatable Banzuke. And won't the American Hole in the Wall get tired real quick. The Japanese version was only a segment of a bigger show featuring other games. Anyway, here's more cool games:

halo halo

Props to Dale for reppin' the homeland by making halo halo on Top Chef last night. His version of the popular Filipino dessert didn't win the quickfire challenge but placed him in the top 3. But he won the elimination challenge with teammate Richard. Here's his halo halo recipe.

creepy kewpie

Creepy but well done commercial for cod roe flavored pasta sauce from Japanese brand Tarako Great retro colors,

previously on lost

I don't watch this show although I hear plenty about it in the office. Their morning after conversations go on for hours about how confusing it all is. Here's a funny recap:

hoy top chef!

While Ramiele Malubay survived another week in American Idol, another Filipino surfaces on a reality show competition: Dale Talde is gunning to be the next "Top Chef" on Bravo. The premiere show aired this week and Dale seems to be a promising competitor with an impressive resumé. Seems a bit cocky but for now I'll classify it as self-confidence.

ramiele malubay / AI

I have commitment issues with TV shows. Can't follow any new shows and I'm not even motivated hit up iTunes. The shows would probably sit there unseen - much like half of the podcasts that I subscribe to but never catch up to listening. Has the internet killed my attention span? (By the way - here's an interesting read on the first internet generation) Why waste time on a mediocre show when a quick synopsis is at your fingertips and a million people are blogging about it in real time?

Anyway, American Idol is the most numbing and exhausting experience that drags on for an eternity. I haven't followed American Idol closely in years (Jasmine Trias is killing it in the PI), but I may check in occasionally and root for pinay singer Ramielle Malubay. She made the top 24.

kali

The boys at Fight Quest on The Discovery Channel traveled to the Philippines to learn the Filipino martial art - Kali. I'm not too familiar with Kali other than it involves sticks and knives, so I was disappointed that the episode didn't really explore the historical or symbolic foundations of the fighting style.

They showed the initiation ritual of blood-letting a rooster all over the fighter, but there was little explanation of why certain movements are made or the basic origins behind various techniques. Supposedly the best way to learn is to immerse yourself in the culture to develop a better understanding of the training. The hosts only seemed concerned with not looking foolish for their upcoming fight. But I guess that the nature of the show - which basically reduces training into a cliff-noted crash course.
Here's a clip of kali done right:

saruke

The Chimpan News Channel (a Japanese animal news show hosted by Chimpanzee Gomez Chamberlain) did a parody on Sasuke (Ninja Warrior on the U.S. channel G4) called "Saruke". Gomez competed and defeated 2 of 3 human competitors.

pageant place

I haven't watched MTV for years - only because its so aggravatingly juvenile. Yes I'm showing my age - but I have no interest in watching spoiled "sweet" sixteeners or clueless california socialite wannabes. At the same time, I'm not one of those old fogeys that pine for the good old days when MTV showed videos. Yo! MTV Raps, the first Real Worlds and music videos were good for my time. Times have changed. Its a different world. © Denise Huxtable.













Nevertheless, I am embarrassed to say that I tuned in to watch Pageant Place. Its not even a guilty pleasure..its just sillyness. Donald Trump's concept is to capitalize on Tara Connor's (last year's Miss USA) drug fiasco/publicity stunt and capture more attention for his Miss Universe franchise. The show shacks up Miss USA, Miss Teen USA and Miss Universe into one apartment and follows their "adventures". The predictable attempt at a dramatic twist is unveiled in the first episode when Tara is brought on to chaperon the pageant girls around the country. A turf war develops between last year's rehabbed Miss USA and the current Miss USA. Not to mention Miss Teen USA was the one who snitched on Tara's white lined escapades.










Lost in all this drama was the reason why I tuned in. I wanted to see how Miss Universe - Riyo Mori represented herself in the show. They spent 5 seconds on her arrival from Japan. Unfortunately for the rest of the show, she was on the sidelines merely reacting to the orchestrated hot mess involving the white American chicks. Hopefully they throw her a bone and let her star in one of the episodes. She seems to have an interesting background.

steady mobbin'

Great concept - get a mob of people to rush an individual and see the reaction.

birth of the simpsons

The Simpsons have been running so long that it reminds me of my youth. This pic takes me back. Remember when the Simpsons were just a short segment on the Tracy Ullman show?

top chef hung

Congrats to Hung for winning Top Chef! The judges made the finale closer than it appeared. Casey has a good flavor palate but her culinary skills are average. I give her props in winning challenges in the latter part of the season to overcome her eye-candy status. But she was clearly flustered in the finale. Dale's work was uneven - brilliant and horrible on the same night. I was pulling for Hung all season long and he was clearly technically superior to the other contestants.

classic ads

More classic tv commercials from the Philippines.
San Miguel spot from 1974.


This one is so 80's!


San Miguel's Sabado Nights ad from '95

deniro as elmo

i miss sesame street.

jumong

I became aware of the relatively recent Korean pop culture wave (Hallyu) in Asia when I first visited Japan 6 years ago. Idols from K-pop and the Korean dramas had already been growing in popularity. I found it interesting considering the history between the two countries. But I was more amused when my uncles recently began professing their love for Koreanovellas. They bring portable DVD players on their travels to keep up with the plots. And now there is a wave of excitement in the Philippines for a historical Korean drama "Jumong" that recently premiered on the GMA network. I'm sure I'll hear all about it from my relatives in our next get together. Will Hallyu make an impact with other Americans? That was up for discussion at Harvard last winter.

how cute

Pic from last month's Entertainment Weekly Hot 100 issue. George Takei and Masi Oka of "Heroes", Rex Lee of "Entourage" and Haruki Murakami's latest novel, "After Dark" made the list.

human bowling

This looks like fun.

Heroes update

New characters update for "Heroes" Season 2: Generations in September:

Dania Ramirez (Sopranos) will play a new hero - Maya, a hispanic woman in her 20s with undisclosed powers. David Anders (Alias) will play Hiro's childhood hero, Takezo Kensei. Season 1 made many references to Kensei's legend and Hiro spent half the season in a quest to find the Kensei sword. Six other recurring characters will appear including Japanese pop star/actress Eriko Tamura who plays a princess in the feudal Japan time sequence.

So what's up with the white guy playing Takezo Kensei on the upcoming season of "Heroes"? Is this going to be in yellowface or like Tom Cruise in "The Last Samurai"?

Props to angryasianman for this pic: