Old is new again

I first heard this song this past Sunday on the drive home from the gym on KLLC-FM (Alice 97.3 FM). I heard it again on the drive home from work today and have been singing the song all evening. The singer is Duffy (Wales native, first name Aimee), song title is "Mercy".

This is the first time in 10 years I was so taken with a song as soon as it came on. To me, the sound is a mix of Aretha Franklin and the Supremes in their prime. The last song to get me hooked so quickly was The Tragically Hip's "Poets" in 1998.

I know I'm old. From what I'm reading on the internet, the song has been out since January. As a teenager, hearing a song that's 3 months old would have been considered ancient.

We all scream for ice cream

I really feel sorry for those that are lactose intolerant. As a passionate cheese lover, I'd weep for days mourning the loss of grilled cheese sandwiches, a slice of Swiss with my turkey on wheat, or milk to dunk my Oreos in. Most of all, the oozing, warm sensation in a Gordo's flour quesadilla with shredded pork.

The other loss would be ice cream.

In the past year, Dreyer's has put on the market their line of reduced fat and sugar flavors marketed under "Slow Churned Rich & Creamy". Other brands I've had of "reduced fat" = "reduced taste". While it isn't god-awful like lowfat cheese, it doesn't satisfy like real ice cream does.

I then started to notice how often I was seeing "Slow Churned Rich & Creamy" flavors showing up in the checkout lines. I finally asked a woman in front of me if the ice cream was any good. She said yes, but not the enthusiastic-jumping-up-and-down kind of yes I was hoping to get. It wasn't until they went on sale that I finally put one into my cart.

Mint Chocolate Chip was the first flavor I got. It is one of my favorite flavors of ice cream. This version is good, but not great. Better than most reduced fat ice creams I've had. Almost as satisfying as premium ice cream. Now I understand the woman's reaction in the checkout line. Then a limited edition of peppermint came out during the Thanksgiving-Christmas season. Oh man.

And this past week, Butter Pecan. I really like it. An "oh man" in my book. Standard versions of Butter Pecan ice cream are usually too syrupy and rich for my tastes. But Dreyer's version does it right. Enough to satisfy my fix, but not too much that I have to be wheeled out on a gurney. I had some last night and finished the remainder in the carton this morning.

For a middle-aged foodie, it's enough to hold me over until my next visit to the grocery store.

Hollywood Chinese

Last night, I went to go see Arthur Dong's documentary, "Hollywood Chinese" at the Sundance Kabuki.

As an avid art house film goer, trivia geek and American of Chinese ancestry, this was my kid-in-a-candy-shop kind of film. In general, I find documentaries fascinating and very informative. What made this film standout was the history of Chinese and Chinese-Americans in Hollywood cinema.

This included the "first" official Hollywood film featuring Chinese-Americans, pioneer Anna May Wong, and extremely insightful and candid interviews from a who-who's list of Chinese in cinema that included: Tsao Chin, Lisa Lu, Nancy Kwan, James Hong, Amy Tan, Wayne Wang, Ang Lee, Justin Lin, B.D. Wong and Joan Chen.

As discussed in Jeff Adachi's "The Slanted Screen" (2006), the documentary touched upon the not so positive portrayals of Asians in cinema. But "Hollywood Cinema" goes further. It points out the strong, prominent roles native Chinese such as Chow Yun-Fat, Jet Li and Jackie Chan have gotten in recent years. American born actors such as Michael Wong (Russell's brother), Lee-Hom (Alexander) Wang, and Maggie Q had to go to Asia to get the meaty roles they were unable to get at home.

Had I been born and raised in California, I think my calling would have been in film. Since I wasn't, documentaries like "Hollywood Chinese" fulfill for me "what could be".

photo courtesy of DeepFocus Productions

Bugs Bunny - Daffy Duck - Elmer Fudd trilogy

I watched this on YouTube last night and it brought back a ton of fond memories. This animated trilogy is one of the funniest of all time. I laugh so hard everytime I watch. Enjoy.

Goodbye, Columbus (oops, I mean Skybus)

I just learned today that Columbus, OH based Skybus Airlines shut down operations. As a Columbus native, this airline provided the best option to fly direct to my hometown. It never happened. Skybus opened just about a year ago (refer to previous blog posting) and after I lost my job, planning a trip to visit Cindy got pushed down the priority list.

Now it's back to the dreaded spoke-and-hub system to visit Columbus. Another reason why I haven't gone back to Buckeye country in 2 1/2 years. Run my butt off to the other side of the terminal to dodge an endless sea of pedestrians, strollers and luggage to catch a connecting flight due to depart in 15 minutes is not my idea of fun.