My Funny Valentine

Over the years there have been many terrific covers of the beautiful Rodgers and Hart song My Funny Valentine: Chet Baker, Elvis Costello, Sarah, Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Chris Botti with Sting, and of course Miles Davis. But I think the most mesmerizing (albeit controversial performance) of the song was by Alice Fredenham. Alice Fredenham Wows on Britain's Got Talent Alice Fredenham sang My Funny Valentine on Britain's Got Talent in 2013. She appeared nervous and insecure but then sang the daylights out [...]

My Funny Valentine2022-12-13T04:12:24+00:00

Two Russians Scale Shanghai Tower

How is is that two Russian daredevils scaled the Shanghai Tower and I was the one who pooped his pants? The two climbers, Vadim Makhorov and Vitaliy Raskalov, make up the duo 'On The Roofs.' They've already climbed Barcelona's Sagrada Familia, Cologne's Cathedral, and the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame in Paris. But those seem like child's play compared to the Shanghai Tower. And they do it all without ropes or harnesses. I can't make it to the second floor [...]

Two Russians Scale Shanghai Tower2017-02-11T05:49:28+00:00

Abandoned-Baby Station Receives 51 Kids in 13 Days

China has been rolling out  safe havens, little shelters, where parents can abandon their child without fear of facing charges or revealing their identity.  At Guangzhou's first safe haven,  51 children were abandoned in the first 13 days of operation, according to China Daily. Not all the children were babies. Some were 5 and 6 years old. But all of the children were critically ill or disabled. There's been a lot of controversy about the program, as some feel it will just [...]

Abandoned-Baby Station Receives 51 Kids in 13 Days2019-01-21T06:43:22+00:00

Sochi Activists Sent to Prison for 3 Years

Rarely do I post a straight up article from the AP but this story about a Russian activist being sent to prison for three years for spray painting a fence is hashtag cray-cray. And he was found guilty of swearing at a bus stop, a hooliganism charge. Holy f**k. Swearing at a bust stop is a mother f**king hooliganism charge? I'm not moving to f**king Russia. I'd be in deep s**t for swearing too d**n f**king much. I'd like to see [...]

Sochi Activists Sent to Prison for 3 Years2020-02-20T06:07:04+00:00

Sriracha Factory Tour

Sriracha fans hold on to your taste buds. Huy Fong Foods, the makers of Sriracha, is now offering free tours of its new 650,000-square-foot factory in Irwindale. Holy Willy Wonka! The Sriracha Cookbook Blog posted a letter it received from Huy Fong Foods. In the letter, the company explains how their new facility is ready to received visitors. "If you are interested in seeing how our Sriracha is made and how delicious is smells, we would cordially like to invite you, at [...]

Sriracha Factory Tour2020-02-20T06:07:04+00:00

Harry Potter Expands at Universal Orlando

I'm a Harry Potter geek, I'll admit it. So you can imagine how excited I was when Universal Orlando released their Webcast about the summer of 2014 opening of Diagon Alley. Universal opened The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade in 2010 and it was a huge success. I have to admit I was surprised Universal did such a good job because up until then they're track record wasn't the best. But The Wizarding World of Harry [...]

Harry Potter Expands at Universal Orlando2017-02-11T05:49:29+00:00

New Year’s Resolutions

Another year is upon us and that means another round of resolutions are made. I read somewhere that only 8% of New Year Resolutions are successful. That's not a great statistic but it might not be the worst thing in the world. Think of the stress relief when you no longer have to succeed at a resolution. Take my resolution to write a post every day in 2014. Already broken. Boom. I now have 362 stress-free days. There are, however, [...]

New Year’s Resolutions2022-12-13T04:12:14+00:00

Happy New Year

Happy New Year. May 2014 bring you happiness beyond belief. Here are some images of New Year celebrations from around the world. New Year's Eve, London New Year's Eve, Scotland New Year's Eve, Moscow New Year's Eve, Kuala Lumpur New Year's Eve, Victoria Harbor, Hong Kong New Year's Eve, New York New Year's Eve, Great Wall, China New Year's Eve, Taipei

Happy New Year2017-02-11T05:49:30+00:00

The Rafu Shimpo

At first, this was going to be just a quick little post saying there's an article in The Rafu Shimpo about my song "Evil is a Yellow Face," from my musical China - The Whole Enchilada, being part of the Japanese American National Museum's “Marvels & Monsters Unbound,” a showcase of short performances to kick off the new exhibition “Marvels & Monsters: Unmasking Asian Images in U.S. Comics, 1942-1986.” Then I was going to say how I just wrote a long-ass sentence. [...]

The Rafu Shimpo2013-11-20T22:59:08+00:00

To My Dad on Veterans Day 2013

My dad was a second-class seaman. Wait. That doesn’t sound right. My dad spent several years working with seaman. No. That’s not right either. My dad was in the Navy in World War II. That’s much better. He sailed on the pastry-puff sounding USS Botetourt, an Eddie Haskell-class attack transport. Appropriately enough, given the name of the ship, my father was a cook. SC2. Ship's Cook 2nd Class. The USS Botetourt Fortunately, my dad didn’t see much action during his [...]

To My Dad on Veterans Day 20132017-02-11T05:49:33+00:00
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