Netflix'd

I have a confession. For the past few months, I've been devouring tv series on Netflix. The first major series I tackled was Doctor Who -- seventh through tenth doctors (2005 - 2012) -- over a span of 4-6 weeks. What a remarkable mix of adventure, tragedy, drama, and humor, as I had not heard of the time-space traveling adventurers growing up.

This led me to watch the entire Torchwood series, a spin-off of the Doctor Who series through Captain Jack Harkness' adventures. At first, the series was pretty light-hearted, but became very dark and quite engaging at its close.

Numerous long and short series later...

I discovered "The Guild," a web series based on a group of MMORPG players in a guild, a few days ago. Series 1-5 are available compiled on Netflix. While I am not a fan of comedies, I found this to be quite amusing since some of it is a bit familiar. *cough* Of course, I'll be watching series 6 very soon directly from their website.

The wonderful part about streaming entertainment is the availability of an entire series on demand, from the first episode through the conclusion, instead of waiting weekly over a span of years or skipping to the end. I've discovered several panned series that were fantastic only to find out, sadly, they were abruptly canceled, and the opposite with highly acclaimed series.

My favorite Doctor Who? I love Christopher Eccleston (distant, dark), David Tennant (light, brooding) and Matt Smith (playful, eccentric) equally. A few of the companions were painful to watch.

Perhaps I'll write a snippet about a few of the gems and rubbish I have discovered. So many series, so little time. Allons-y!

- Cassaendra

Sweet Moses

After seeing "Iron Sky" at the Capitol Theater, we stopped by nearby Sweet Moses, a beautiful soda fountain shop right out of the 1950s located in the Gordon Square district of Cleveland.  The parlor is brightly lit and polished to a sparkly shine.

There are so many treats to drool over offering ice cream churned on-site, malts, phosphate sodas, milkshakes, egg cream, sundaes, floats, egg shakes, candies, and sweet snacks.

Temptress behind the counter

We shared a Temptress egg shake made with egg, milk, orange syrup, raspberry syrup, and cherry bitters. This isn't like a "milk" shake, thick and icy, but a deliciously complex, eggy, creamy, crisp, effervescent, and sweet elixir with a foamy head.

Egg shake

On our first visit, we ordered a blackberry phosphate soda. Phosphate soda is made with phosphoric acid, which contributes a tangy flavor. The skill of the soda jerks make these drinks addictive. It has taken a lot of willpower to keep us from visiting more often.

This was our second time here and our second time devouring a Gordon Square sundae. Made with Bananas Foster ice cream, caramel, and hot fudge served over a brownie. Each time, the brownie has been fantastic. The dense, rich chocolate retains its texture to the last bite.

Gordon Square

"Iron Sky" is an outrageously funny movie about Nazis having fled Earth in 1945, built a base on the dark side of the moon, then attempting to take over the world in 2018. While this is a comedy science fiction, this isn't a flat, cheap looking film. It has a great steampunk art deco feel. Also, one of my favorite bands from Ljubljana, Laibach, worked on the soundtrack.

- Cassaendra

Sweet Moses Soda Fountain and Treat Shop
6800 Detroit Ave
Cleveland, OH 44102
Tel: (216) 651-2202

Spike

These pods are found all over the ground beginning around March. I'm not sure if they continue to fall or if people haven't been cleaning their yards. I've also been guilty of kicking these along the sidewalk for a block or two.

Day 289/365

I wonder what kind of alien would spawn from something like this?  It's like a coral ship from the 8th dimension! [Buckaroo Banzai]

- Cassaendra

Sunflower

Day 203/365

Akemi enjoys the best of both worlds - sunny, warmer weather and frolicking in the snow.  It was ~45°F (7°C) this afternoon.

We spent a part of our day sealed up in the darkness watching "Red Tails," a movie about the 332nd Fighter Group, better known as the Tuskegee Airmen. At the start of the film, it felt like this was going to be a waste of my time and money, rife with hokey scenes, cliches, and cut-out characters. As the turbulence settled, I was able to enjoy the movie, despite playing by the numbers.

"Red Tails" was not a horrible movie, but the movie should have been a lot better to honor the real people, the struggle for acceptance, and the monumental achievement this was to have portrayed.

- Cassaendra

Dolly

Hello.

Day 199/365

When I took the photograph, I was reminded of "Blade Runner." Perhaps I'll watch the movie Friday night, as I plan on finishing the last two episodes of season 2 of "White Collar," and a movie, "The Conversation" with Gene Hackman tomorrow night. Meanwhile, I am in the midst of reading two books, "Blueprints of the Afterlife" by Ryan Boudinot and "The Leopard" by Jo Nesbo.

Since we don't have cable television, most of our entertainment comes from what is available in the vast vaults of our library system; a wonderful resource for education and entertainment.

In case you were wondering... boa → snake → Zhora, the exotic dancer in "Blade Runner"

- Cassaendra

Freeze Frame

The city on December 25th always feels as if someone pushed pause between manic episodes of shopping.

Day 177/365 - Bottle of bobbins at Cosmic Bobbins

Yesterday, after dragging Bug to see David Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," one of the best movies I've seen this year, we walked around the mall to observe the chaos. It wasn't packed like a can of sardines, more like a can of Hamanako unagi.

While I was in Hawaii, I was shocked to hear from my father that Hamanako unagi, Japanese broiled eel in kabayaki sauce from Hamamatsu packed in a can, is kept behind the counter since it now goes for $16/can on sale. I thought that was absurd, since I recall buying it for $4/can a mere 20 years ago. When we went to Marukai, a Japanese wholesale membership club, it really sunk in when I saw a sign confirming what my father said -- not that I doubted my father. While I absolutely love Hamanako unagi, I asked my father not to send me anymore. I'm sure he's relieved.

There was still a line to get a picture with Santa Claus.

Day 177/365 - Ladybugs at Cosmic Bobbins

Following the day's first showing of "The Adventures of Tintin" this morning, an enjoyable animated movie, we drove to our favorite Indian restaurant, India's Cafe, for lunch.

Since the only store open was Walgreen's, their parking lot was jammed. We should have gone in. I am curious what people were shopping for. Were they there to ease their acquisition-itch since all the other stores are closed? Or were some curious as I was to see what all the fuss is about?

Just a few more hours until store employees will be thrust into overdrive dealing with returns, shopbacks, and clearance sales. 

My belly is still happy from the goat curry, butter chicken, lentil curry (coconut milk and fresh ginger), and ras malai. I'll have sweet dreams.

- Cassaendra

A Card

We visit libraries frequently. For a change in scenery, we went to the main Cleveland Public Library located Downtown. Meandering in an ornate building with soaring ceilings surrounded by lovely fixtures from the 1920s transports me to a different time...until I walk into a room and  hear the tap-tapping of computer keys.

Day 093/365 - Main Library entrance

With two aunts and an uncle who were teachers, a grandmother who was a professor, and a mother who devoured books (history, horror, political philosophy, suspense, military, and more!), it shouldn't be surprising that I grew up with my own library of books, find the fragrance of old books relaxing, and enjoy the tactile turning of deckled pages. Surrounded by so many books, you'd think I'd write better!

Day 093/365

In stark contrast, the adjoining building (not pictured), a modern extension to the main library, opened its doors in 1997. Aside from books, it houses a vast collection of Blu-Ray, DVDs, and CDs.

With a Cleveland Public Library card and a computer, we have access to ~30 libraries within the Cleveland Public Library system, as well as the ~30 libraries in the Cuyahoga County Library system. The Lorain Public Library system is also directly linked. We are lucky to have available so many resources for learning and entertainment!

Our bounty on this trip was 20 books, DVDs, and CDs -- a taiga drama (Japanese historic drama), a couple of Japanese suspense series, German World War II documentaries, metal and techno CDs, and several food literature and science fiction books.

- Cassaendra

Cleveland Public Library - Main Library
325 Superior Ave, NE
Cleveland, OH 44114
Tel: (216) 623-2800

Tied Up

I am still weary from my 12 hour marathon that ran last night through this morning watching Unfair (アンフェア), a Japanese detective drama that aired in 2006.

The main character is an attractive end-justifies-the-means driven female detective who is the top rated detective in the region. As expected, she has earned the ire of many in a predominantly male police force and the public appalled by her investigative approach.

When she was involved in a shooting that occurred several years earlier during a hostage situation where the man who was shot by her had killed 5 people earlier and taken 1 person hostage. Police shootings are apparently rare.  As a result of the shooting, she is mistrusted amongst her peers as a renegade, and her daughter of 5-6 years of age is bullied daily in school.

The series begins when 2 people are murdered at a park and is the start of a chain of murders. Each crime scene she approaches is conducted in an unusual manner -- she lies in the same way the victim is found to see what they last saw before they expired.

As time passes and the investigation deepens with each murder, clues left behind by the murderer creates more questions centered around "Who is unfair?"

Day 085/365

What is bound under the tarp? Is it a gigantic cat head -- Hello Kitty, as my stepsister remarked? My first thought, absurd as usual, was 2 gigantic people struggling to break free. :)

Hopefully, it will be obvious once it has been installed.

- Cassaendra

Bubo?

In grade school, we were asked what we wanted to do for a class outing. I don't remember what all of our choices were, but I remember wanting to see Clash of the Titans starring Harry Hamlin as Perseus.

I was ecstatic when that movie was selected. We all packed onto several buses and went to Varsity Theater, back when it was a single screen theater. Yes, movie theaters used to house single screens!

The movie was great. The story was engrossing. I held my breath when Perseus fought Medusa. I didn't care that the stop motion animation didn't make for seamless realism.

006/365

My favorite character was Bubo, the owl. I squealed (in my mind) each time I saw that adorable bronze and silver mechanical critter clicking and whirring.

When I saw this metal and glass sculpture sitting on a post in someone's lawn, how could I not think of Bubo?

Bus drivers must really love kids to endure 30-40 windpipes screeching "99 Bottles..." on repeat. It would drive me to drink!

- Cassaendra

Helvetica

I recently saw Helvetica, a movie about the Helvetica typeface.

Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg

Directed by Gary Hustwit, the documentary tells the history of the typeface, created by Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann in Switzerland in the late 1950s. Originally named Die Neue Haas Grotesk, it was spawned from a desire for a neutral, cleaner typeface.

Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn

With a running time of 80 minutes, you are taken through typesetting, design, and the explosion of fonts through the heavy use of word processing programs like Microsoft Word via narration, interviews with graphic designers, and snapshots of its widespread usage.

Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu

It is amazing to see just how much of our world is intertwined with Helvetica. Examples of a few of the many industry giants who use the typeface are 3M, Microsoft, Toyota, and Apple to municipal transit systems like NYC's Metropolitan Transit Authority and Chicago Transit Authority's L.

Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz

My father instilled an interest in typesetting, as well as electronics, computers, and photography, when I was a young child so this was an interesting film. As such, it is not for everyone, but encouraged as an eye-opener, revealing the thought and effort in an inarguably ubiquitous, yet widely imperceptible, creation.

- Cassaendra

Avahontas

If you are one of 5 people on Earth who has not yet seen Avatar and plan on seeing the movie, you may not wish to read any further as there are spoilers ahead.

Not since the original Star Wars movie, A New Hope, has there been a film that has changed cinema to this degree.

Avatar has made a bajillion dollars with the successful implementation of the modern 3D movie format. As a result, Hollywood sees so much money to be made in this enterprise they are turning films that were not filmed in 3D to 3D, starting with the Clash of the Titans remake due to be released in April, followed by a ton of other movies in the pipeline.

Let's consider the premise. A stranger gets off a ship and mingles with the native population who do not trust him initially. He meets a beautiful native princess, spends time with her, meanwhile teaching him to appreciate nature. He falls in love, becomes sympathetic to their cause, decides to fight for her, and finally becomes accepted as one of their own.

Did that sum up Avatar or Pocahontas? Yes!

James Cameron has stated that this film took over 10 years to complete. I think he should have spent more time on the story. "Been there, done that" doesn't even begin to sum up my feelings about the script. With the exception of the warships and the avatar bodies, there isn't much difference between the two stories. Each turn in the plot was predictable.

Don't get me wrong, I do not hate James Cameron. I LOVE Aliens and Terminator, ranking those two films very high on my list of all-time favorites. I guess that is why I expected more from him.

With the Golden Globes awarded and the Oscar nominees announced recently, I ask why has Avatar been nominated for anything outside of CGI or sound? Why "Best Picture"? Why "Best Director"? Is this the trend we are trying to set, Hollywood? *sigh*

The one thing I can praise about Avatar is that it is not another remake. Wait, it is a remake of Pocahontas!

It's a whole new world...of cinema.

- Bug

The Game is Afoot

I grew up reading Sherlock Holmes stories and, later, watching the late Jeremy Brett play the part impeccably in the well-made Granada TV series (1984-1994), where I was able to bond with him over 41 of the 60 adventures Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote.

When I saw a preview of the resurrection of Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey, Jr., I was a bit skeptical, but not enough to dismiss him. For years, I have been impressed with his ability to sink into a character's skin. I think Bug would agree that he and Johnny Depp are the stars of our generation.

On Friday, I spoke with my coworker, DN, about possibly seeing the movie this weekend. Downey's ability to portray Holmes was still scratching at my mind, but DN gave the example of Daniel Craig as James Bond. We've spoken in the past of how well Craig has done in reviving that enterprise.

I could sense Bug's frustration during the first half of the movie; whereas, I was enthralled by the costumes and the feel of the world. There are several aesthetic aspects I enjoyed about the film -- the hue, texture, music, and steampunk theme.

It's a mystery so I don't want to say too much, but I can say that it has a tidy ending.

Deerstalkers off to Guy Ritchie for successfully resurrecting 221B Baker Street.

Jeremy Brett is Sherlock Holmes in my dreams, but Robert Downey, Jr. is an impressive Sherlock Holmes in a parallel universe. I look forward to more adventures.

- Cassaendra

Avatar

3D glasses

It's amazing how many people are out watching movies on Christmas Day! Several of the movies were sold out at the 16-plex we went to. We paid $11 each for a matinee showing of Avatar, which is a bit steep, but 3D movie locations are limited and there is the cost of the glasses.

This movie was directed by James Cameron, costing approximately $500 million to make and advertise. It has made over $760 million globally in 3 weeks!

Avatar needs to be viewed in 3D; otherwise, I don't feel it is worth going to. The plot was predictable, but not awful. The computer rendered Na'vi were not distracting and the treehugger-peacenik message wasn't out of line as early reviewers mentioned. The 3D effects and music were beautiful and not overdone. My favorite 3D effect was the flying embers.

This feeling of awe was reminiscent of my viewing of Captain EO, a Michael Jackson 3D movie that played at Disneyland, over 15 years ago. Like the others in the auditorium, we extended our arms to reach out and grab the flying objects.

The 3D glasses were unlike the old blue-red tinted film lenses with card stock rims. The new glasses are durable and looked like sunglasses with tinted lenses and thick plastic black rims. Wearing the glasses on top of regular glasses was a bit distracting. Every 15 minutes, I had to push the 3D glasses down since they would float up.

While the movie was hyped up and mostly gimmick, I'm glad I saw it. I look forward to my next 3D experience. I wonder what the next Avatar movie will be about without the same storyline being rehashed. How long will it take for 3D to become the default, and when will our movie experience be 360°, like you're in a snowglobe?

- Cassaendra

Happy New Year!

Year of the Tiger

Breakfast was Frosted Flakes.

I was still cooking the traditional Japanese New Year's Eve meal until this afternoon. I'll have to work on not procrastinating so much!

Maybe we'll watch Men Who Tread on Tiger's Tail tonight, a film directed by Kurosawa Akira about Minamoto Yoshitsune's escape north from his brother, Yoritomo, with his vassals.

We also greeted the New Year with a puppy yet to be named.

Wiggle worm

He is an Australian cattle dog. I had forgotten how annoying puppies can be. Oy.

- Cassaendra

Top 10 Films of the Decade

As the decade comes to an end, "Best of/Worst of" lists are abound. As a movie buff, I figured I'd throw in my lists for the decade. The following list is my personal top 10 favorite movies from the past 10 years (2000 – 2009). The selection does not reflect money made at the box office or importance to film in general. These are the films that I find myself watching over and over again.

10: The Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy (2003-2007). I was always a fan of old pirate movies when I was a child and I was quite excited when the first Pirates movie was announced. I didn't have very high expectations going into the theater.

Johnny Depp blew me away! Johnny's portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow was fantastic and made the movie for me. Pirates is a popcorn film - entertaining with nothing profound. It's a nice little throwback to the old pirate movies with great special effects.

9: Donnie Darko (2001). I'm not sure if it was the title or if the trailer just didn't inspire me, but something about this film made me steer clear of it when it was released. Years later, a friend of ours suggested we'd like this movie. Several years later, a local video store was closing and everything in sight was marked down super cheap, so I picked up this little gem for a steal.

When I viewed the movie, I dove in fresh with no recollection of the trailer or the premise of the movie. To my surprise, it was an intelligent film. Not knowing anything about the film was a great boon for my enjoyment factor. Rarely does an original movie come along that does not force feed details to the audience, and challenges them to question what they saw on the screen. This film deserves multiple viewings to get a good grasp on what is going on.

8: The Dark Knight (2008). I was not a Batman fan until I saw this film. I saw Batman Begins well before seeing this film. While I didn't hate it, I wasn't entirely moved by it.

There was a lot of hype surrounding the performance of the late Heath Ledger in this film. We almost never buy into hype but decided to see this film in the theater anyway. Cassaendra loved Batman Begins, so if I wasn't thrilled at least she would still enjoy it.

Holy crow! Heath's performance was outstanding! He is the main reason I liked this film so much. His version of the Joker was crazy and diabolical, but most of all believable. It's rare that someone can pull off a character that is as terrifying. That is not to discount all the other outstanding performances in this film. Everyone was on their mark. This didn't feel like a ridiculous superhero movie. The characters actually felt real for a change.

7: The Host (2006). I enjoyed monster movies when I was a child. While leafing through an issue of Fangoria one day, I saw an article on The Host. I rarely read Fangoria these days as they tend to be overly biased on their film coverage, writing only about mainstream horror movies. In this particular issue, they covered this little-known Korean monster movie.

The Host was shown under limited release in the US. When we found out it was playing at a local art house theater, we had to take advantage of viewing it on a big screen.

This movie has it all: a unique monster, believable characters, humor, and tension. This, folks, is the best monster movie I have ever seen. While the creature in the flick doesn't do the building stomping or mega monster fighting à la Godzilla, it does seem plausible and very real.

6: Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003). I did not read the books before seeing these films, but I was a Peter Jackson fan before this trilogy came out. Brain Dead (Dead Alive) and The Frighteners rank high on my short list of all time favorite films.

When I heard that PJ was taking on a very large and serious project like LotR, I was surprised, but most of all I was uncertain how it would turn out. Much to my and the rest of the world's surprise, it turned out better than anyone could have hoped (especially the studios that turned him down LOL!).

I love fantasy and I LOVE these films. Great story, thanks to Tolkien, and wonderful visuals by a relatively unheard of studio at the time, Weta. One could easily call these films the Star Wars of modern times; epic in every way, e.g., story, budget, influence, technology.

5: Sin City (2005). Style and substance. Normally those two don't go together very easy, especially in the world of big explosions and pretty CGI. Robert Rodriguez always has a flair about his movies and that didn't stop with Sin City. This movie is best described as film noir meets ultra violence.

Sin City is violent, gritty, violent, stylistic, violent did I mention violent? The violence in this film is very over the top, yet oh so entertaining. Based on the comic series of the same name by Frank Miller, who also co-directed the film with Robert Rodriguez, the movie is faithful to the source material.

4: Shaun of the Dead (2004). Many zombie movies came out over the decade. While the zombie fan in me thinks that is great, the film buff in me knows that means there are bound to be a lot of stinkers. Shaun is the cream of the crop. This gem of a film pulls off what few can, the horror comedy.

This movie is a great commentary of the way we walk through our day like zombies, while being very witty and downright horrific (in a good way). Simon Pegg is great as the Every Man stuck in a boring job with relationship problems. The characters in this movie feel like people you could very well meet on the street.

3: Clerks 2 (2006). Kevin Smith goes back to the well for this raunchy comedy and I hope he keeps going back. I love comedies, but I'm also very fickle when it comes to them. Rarely do they make a lasting impression on me or make me chuckle more than a few times throughout the film. Clerks 2 breaks that mold. I laughed so hard in the theater that at one point my side actually hurt. No kidding! That, folks, never happens to me, well except the time I saw The Kids in the Hall live, but that is for another time.

Dante, Randall, and the gang are back, and the wit is just as sharp as ever. The humor isn't for the feint of heart or the prudish. Nothing is sacred in this film, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings...nothing. Every time I watch Clerks 2, I laugh, despite having watched it at least 20 times.

2: Inglourious Basterds (2009). I like World War 2 movies, pure and simple. When I first heard about this movie, I had mixed emotions. While I like a fair bit of films directed and/or written by Quentin Tarantino, I also dislike several. I took the plunge and saw this in the theater, and couldn't be happier. The movie gets better with multiple viewings.

Inglourious Basterds has all the trademarks of Tarantino flicks in spades: homages to older films and directors, violence, and a lot of dialog.

The movie has very little in common with the 70's Italian film it takes its name from, other than being an exploitation flick set during the European Theater of World War 2. If you're a fan of war movies like The Dirty Dozen and Kelly's Heroes, you'll love this movie.

Look out for Christoph Waltz at Oscar time. If there is any justice in this world, he will win one for his portrayal of Col. Hans Landa.

1: Band of Brothers (2001). While this is technically an HBO mini-series, it stills ranks number 1 on my list of movies. This is MY list, after all, so deal with it. Few movies or series make me want to watch them again the second they end. This is one of them.

Produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg and running over a span of 10 episodes, the story is about the men of the 101st Airborne, Company E, during the European Theater of World War 2. The series starts with a flashback of the company during boot camp, continues to the night landing on the eve of the Normandy Invasion, and ends with the take over of the Eagle's Nest, the final holdout of Adolph Hitler.

The performances are top notch and the emotional power is amazing and the production is stunning. If there was only one war movie/series to watch all decade, this would be it. Make sure to have tissues on hand for episode 9, as it covers the death camps.

Next year, The Pacific comes out on HBO. The series will be similar to Band of Brothers, but will cover the Japanese Theater. I can't wait! If it is half as good as Band of Brothers, I'll be pleased.

- Bug

Tauntaun

Bug emailed me a picture of the best bed of all for those cold winter nights - a tauntaun!

Tauntaun sleeping bag (image taken from ThinkGeek.com)

Yes, it's real (the sleeping bag, that is) and can be purchased at Thinkgeek.com for $99. Intestines included!

I realize this probably isn't very amusing if you aren't Star Wars fan.

- Cassaendra

Alien Ate My USBaby

Something very cool from Australia...

Images taken from MikaEle's listing

For Alien fans with $125+$11 shipping to spare. A wood-carved Alien USB memory stick -- available at Etsy by MikaEle.

If cash wasn't so tight, I'd be all over that.

- Cassaendra

More than Meets the Eye

Bug and I went to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen last weekend with Goksga, a friend we haven't seen in a while but communicate with frequently.

He was the final nail in the coffin that plunged Bug and I into the World of Warcraft. We first met YEARS ago (has it been 8 years?) in EverQuest. When I think back to seeing him in his gold armor staring back at me on my screen in my mismatched leather, it feels like another time and another place.

I guess it really is.

In a nutshell, Transformers 2 was a humorous mechanical good vs evil action flick set in the northeastern US and Egypt, with stories of love, loyalty, and revenge nestled in 150 minutes of Army recruitment and GM catwalk.

It was entertaining and a great film to go to with friends. There were a few spots where I wished I had a remote control to fast forward through.

I should probably stop and explain why my remote control remark shouldn't be taken too seriously. Extensive fight and love scenes bore me. Generally, I lose interest when there is an expanse of nothingness, filler that contributes nothing to the progression of the story. Even the movies I tell people I adore, my trigger-happy finger on the remote control is on DEFCON 2.

While the transformations looked pretty sharp, it felt like they were beating a dead chihuahua in the beginning. I sat there thinking, "WTH? Why did he transform out and back in 5 seconds?"

The best parts of the movie were the parts that involved the military.

Many critics disliked the film. *shrug* Oh well. The $703 million grossed in less than one month kind of drowns out all the naysayers and secures a Transformers 3.

Like a good meal, it isn't necessarily the food you are served, but the company you keep. Except in a movie, one doesn't go for the conversation -- wait, the person who sat next to me sure did. I got elbowed in the ribs several times as he made comments to me about certain scenes. Fortunately, none of them were romantic scenes. I guess I just shot down the point I was trying to make. Anyway...

Speaking of food, we went to Don Ramon - without a camera again! Maybe next time, when I remember to bring a camera, I'll take a picture of their paradilla, mole poblano, or camarones ala diabla -- hot as hell for me, but would be piquant for Gok, as we watched him poured habanero sauce over his Guadalajara special (chicken and beef taquitos, tamale, marinated shredded chicken, tostada, and salad) several times throughout the meal. GAH! Ring of fire, anyone?

My favorite Sister Machine Gun song, Burn

- Cassaendra

Doin' the Cha Cha

Each week, a challenge is issued on Serious Eats' Weekend Cook and Tell. This week, the subject was Sriracha.

Bug and I knew we weren't going to be eating in much this weekend with all the Memorial Day weekend snacking events going on. Our plan was to make kimbap and gyoza to snack on between, uhh, snacks; however, we recently bought some salmon, chuck roast, asparagus, and cauliflower that HAD to be used.

I mentioned the Weekend Cook and Tell to Bug and he whipped this up for dinner last night as we watched Terminator.

Sriracha no aji

I promise, the food actually tasted better than it looks in this picture. I had time for two shots before the hungry lion wanted to eat my camera.

Bug grilled three batches of sliced beef chuck roast with different seasoning:
- peanut butter, shoyu, sesame oil, and sriracha marinade
- shoyu and sriracha marinade
- S&B Japanese curry powder

Each of the cuts sat in their respective marinades and dry rub for ~30 minutes while the sides were being prepped.

The peanut butter marinated beef reminded me of a dish my mother used to make when I was a child with beef spare ribs. In addition to the peanut butter, shoyu, and sesame, she also used grated ginger, miso, and brown sugar.

The sides were:
- steamed white rice with hijiki and slivered carrots sprinkled on top -- the seaweed and carrots were simmered in shoyu and mirin
- steamed asparagus
- steamed cauliflower

At the center of the platter is a dollop of Kewpie mayonnaise to dip the asparagus and cauliflower. Sriracha is scribbled along the side of the dish as a dip, mainly for the cauliflower in conjunction with the mayo, but I dipped the beef in it too.

I enjoy what a little sriracha injects into dishes, teasing our taste buds to have fun and dance a little.

Bug also grilled salmon dry-seasoned with lemongrass, curry, and Hawaiian sea salt. By the time I remembered we had salmon, it was already half eaten.

Salmon skin

In a little bowl off to the side, a leaf of crispy salmon skin sat neglected waiting for me. It's my favorite part of salmon, whether it's soft and chewy or charred and crispy, with its punctuated fishy goodness.

Watermelon

We capped the meal with a few slices of cold, refreshing seedless watermelon.

Many thanks to Bug for humoring me with this delicious meal!

Having revisited Terminator for the first time in over 20 years, I have come to further appreciate the great job McG did with Terminator Salvation. I was also reminded how 80's some of the music sounded, not so much the industrial sounding music that's lasted throughout the series, but the bleep-bleep-bleep Casiotone synthesizers. LOL

It's put me in the mood to watch Runaway with Tom Selleck and Gene Simmons!

- Cassaendra

Day in the Life

Today started out like any other weekend day. The air was cooler than I had expected which was a pleasant surprise. I took Akemi out for a walk at 07:30 and noticed a budding flower in the yard. I wish I knew what kind of flower this is.

Flower in the yard at 07:30

The diseased looking furball was excited to be going out on a walk. As any dog, she loves the sights, sounds, smells, and most of all, trotting by fenced in dogs teasing them to bark at her, which they always do.

Akemi's hindquarter

The "disease" is just a shiba blowing her winter coat; evidenced by this tuft, one of 100s since she started a few weeks ago. If I saved them all, I am positive I could have made a nifty looking sweater.

Tuft of fur

We sniffed some beautiful purple flowers that looked like blooming fireworks at Akemi's park, a triangular tract of grass between three streets that she adores.

On the way back, I noticed that an art gallery closed. It was open just a few days ago!

Closed art gallery on Professor

After putting Akemi back into her cage, I noticed that my keyboard wasn't working. The num lock-caps lock-scroll lock buttons were serially flashing like Christmas tree lights on crack. Ugh! How I detest shopping for stuff like this. This keyboard has served me loyally for nearly 5 years.

Old keyboard - click on the picture at your own risk!

Bug hated my old keyboard since he's a manly stares-at-the-keyboard-and-gets-killed (in game) hunt-n-stab typist who needs all of the letters to be visible on the keyboard. I can't believe how dusty and furry the keyboard is! Yuck! That's typing in the dark for you...having a shedding cat and dog, and eating chips at the desk doesn't help matters either.

I let the hound loose at 08:30. The she-beast ran onto the bed, peeled off on Bug's head, and raced back into her cage awaiting the wrath of the sleeping giant. The giant roared and was now awake, ready to start off the day. I love Akemi. :)

We drove across town to MicroCenter to find a replacement keyboard. I really wanted the better Microsoft Natural keyboard because I like the ergonomic split and raised keyboards more, but opted for a lesser MS keyboard that cost half as much ($14.95). While it would have been nice to have the raised and split keyboard, I didn't need all of the other bells and whistles that came with it.

Ooo, new keyboard. !@#@$ with a strand of dog fur on it already!

Next, we headed for the 18th Annual Great American Rib Cook-Off & Music Festival aka the Ribfest. Free admission was advertised from 12:00 - 15:00. I wouldn't have gone if we had to pay to get in.

As we drove down the hill into the Tower City parking lot, we saw the sign - $10 Special Event. Bleah. It was more than we expected. I was tempted to tell Bug to turn around, but decided against it. It could be our last chance to go to the Ribfest in Cleveland.

Tower City mall level

Since we were early, we decided to share something small to eat. We knew the Ribfest was going to be a $$fest. We meandered over to the food court within Tower City. It's Greek to You was closed. Ugh! So we went to Cajun Grill, which is a Chinese food stall. Duh!

I fell in love with their bourbon chicken almost 15 years ago (time flies!). Something about that sweet shoyu-based sauce and grilled chicken is heavenly! Really, what is not to like about juicy, grilled meat? I don't know if bourbon is actually used. The bourbon chicken platter with white rice and noodles cost $5.00.

Lovely bourbon chicken

With more time to kill after we finished our platter, we checked out the Tower City Cinema listing -- $6.50/person plus free parking for 4 hours! Wee! A win-win situation all around. Our stay at the Ribfest was planned around our targeted showtime.

We were planning on going to see Terminator Salvation in Westlake some time this weekend. The prospect of paying $8.50 for a matinee showing wasn't very attractive, but it was a lot better than paying $10.00/person for showings after 18:00.

Since we didn't want to seem too eager to take advantage of the free admission like the 200 others who were crowded around the Time Warner amphitheater entrance below us as we walked down the stairwell, we got there at 12:10 and walked right in without a wait.

We were immediately approached by the energetic Viva folks giving out free napkins in boxes. These napkins were really plush and rib-cook off mess absorbent.

Ribfest montage - clickie on the pic to see a larger image

One of the radio stations was giving away free "ice cold" cherry Dr. Pepper, so Bug scurried into their tent, nodded at the guy, quickly grabbed two cans, and scooted off. Someone shouted, "It's warm, not ice cold!"

Stall to stall, it was a tough choice deciding which menu item to try. We sure as hell were not going to try each one. On average, a half slab of ribs cost around 11-16 tickets and a full slab was around 22 tickets. Each ticket cost $1.25 each.

I was excited to try the fried mushrooms from the Jack [Daniels] group. A half order cost 5 tickets. Bug wanted to try their ribs and the Carolina ones. Because it was rather warm, the Waffleman truck was also rather enticing.

Waffleman

For the person who is not a ribs fan but was dragged to this event by a significant other, there were other options as well.

Not a ribs stand! Tower City megastructure in the background.

While we were walking back to the ticket booth, we opined on the steep prices. So we continued walking past the ticket booth, past the radio station with the free "warm" (amended by announcer) cherry Dr. Pepper being given away in 3 oz plastic cups, past the family of six sharing their cup of Dr. Pepper, past the Viva towel guys, past the turnstyle, past the parking lot, back into air-conditioned Tower City.

Terminator Salvation was an engaging movie that was paced well. The opening scene was action-packed. Sam Worthington (played Marcus Wright) somewhat overshadowed Christian Bale (John Connor). I do not understand all the negative reviews. The movie was fairly well written and had great nods to the previous movies. I would love to get it on BluRay if it is decently priced, has a commentary by someone cool, and packed with extras...and by extras, I do not mean 10 versions of theatrical trailers.

Those Viva napkins came in handy because we forgot to grab napkins at the concession stand to wipe our grubby fingers of the butteriest popcorn I've ever had. 5 fingers up on doing a great job.

When we got into the car, the clock read 15:40. We had been at Tower City for 4 hours and 10 minutes. Oh-oh. Fortunately, we were let through without having to pay for the extra 10 minutes. Yay!

On the drive home, the stack caught my eye. I love red brick and industrial buildings.

WB & Co stack in the Flats

The bridges look a lot cooler in person. Some of the bridges lift up horizontally to let seafaring ships through, while other bridges pivot at one end, and others draw up from the middle on both ends.

Bridges down in the Flats

We made a pit stop to feed the rugrats and then headed out to a bookstore. Bug has been meaning to get Neil Zurcher's One Tank Trips, while I've been meaning to get the updated copy of Cleveland Ethnic Eats by Laura Taxel. We spent 45 minutes in the bookstore leafing through stuff and then headed home.

Akemi was itching for a walk. What's new?

Akemi awaits

Down the street, someone was stripping the paint off their house, piquing her interest. The loud scraping and crunching intrigued her for several minutes. Holding her interest for more than a minute is pretty much unheard of. She wasn't dying to run across the street to check this out, but she wasn't running away either.

Staring at the neighbors making strange loud noises

As usual, we ran into people who thought she was a chihuahua. It's as if she understands what they are insinuating because she ignores people who accuse her of being something she is not. She is a people lover attention queen extraordinaire - I am certain she gets a bad vibe from them.

Waiting on the porch for the door to get unlocked

The budding flower bloomed.

Flower at 16:30

[Bug woke up and informed me this flower is an iris.]

- Cassaendra

Cajun & Grill
Tower City Food Court
Cleveland, OH 44113