February 4, 2008

• People Everyday, Poku + Paku paku, and Pop goes the Perfecto!

  Editor’s Note: 2/4 Entry. Forgot to make entry public until 2/15
  

  
  

  I had looked forward to my recent jaunt into the ATL last week. I took an early 6am flight on Sunday morning, in anticipation of visiting the MLK National Historical Site and the new World of Coca Cola before my training class on Monday. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get some catch-up shuteye in the plane, and landed with the biggest headache this side of Buckhead. So, I had to cancel my visits and slept it off in my hotel. But, I might have another chance to see the sites, since I make a return trip in two weeks.
  
  My return flight was interesting, since it was my first time flying with a “celebrity”. As we were making our approach into LAX, the passengers behind me (an elderly Kiwi man, and an African-American woman) were chatting loudly, so it wasn’t hard to hear their conversation. And when the lady introduced herself as a singer for a band called Arrested Development, I lifted an eyebrow. The band was on their way from their hometown to Australia (with a stopover in LA) for a tour. I didn’t think to much of it, except I did wonder, “Hey, where are the other members?” I got some of my answer when I deplaned and immediately recognized Speech, the lead rapper/singer, waiting outside our gate.
  
  

  
  

  
  

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  My Super Bowl Saturday afternoon was spent in Little Tokyo visiting Takashi Murakami’s exhibit at MOCA and sampling the hyped ramen at Daikokuya. I came away with mixed results.
  
  MOCA was great. My favorite part of the exhibit was his animation features, which included the premiere of Kaikai and Kiki’s first adventure, and Kanye West’s “Good Morning” music video. From my recent storytelling class experience, it’s nice to see that typical life events can produce golden entertainment, of which the two aforementioned cuts had plenty. They inspired me to purchase his art book and to hopefully create an animated feature of my own.

  
  

  As for the ramen, I hate to report that I was slightly disappointed with it, not considering that nearly 70 minutes elapsed between entering the restaurant and having my meal placed in front of me. Whenever I try ramen at a new joint, the first thing I do is taste the soup, which pretty much makes or breaks a good bowl. Maybe I came on a bad night, because the touted tonkotsu pork soup was surprisingly mild in flavor. But to be fair, the kurobuta pork slices were velvety, and the consistency of the noodles was to my liking (just past “al dente”). Kudos should also go to their tasty gyoza, which is atypically shaped and profusely garnished (see picture below, courtesy of yelp.com)

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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  With the exception of a sun-kissed friend, I’m assuming that you were one of the 97+ million who watched the big game last night. That 4th quarter was probably one of the more exciting sports moments I have seen in which I have not had a serious investment (i.e Dodgers, Lakers, or UCLA). That Manning to Tyree helmet catch was unbelievable!
  

  
  

  I was intrigued with the possibility of the Patriots make history. 19-0. Now I’ve watched my share of sporting events. And with the exception of Mary Lou Retton’s gold-medal winning vault, I don’t remember seeing anything close to a perfecto team/individual performance. I guess I will have to wait a little longer.
  

  • 8:50 pm
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