“Foolish giants covered in hair! We may be small, but you cannot resist our mighty powers of CYOOT-FU!”

Last Friday, Audrey and I hopped on a Jet Blue flight up to Boston to spend the weekend with Audrey’s aunt and uncle, ten year old cousin, and another one of Audrey’s aunts. Pictured above is one of the mini-frogs we found sneaking around their basement. So cute. So deadly. Deadly cute if you will.

Not pictured is Audrey’s ten year old cousin’s score in our death matches of Halo 3. Although I did manage to eek out one win, he completely destroyed me the other two games of death match. This is either proof that ten year olds are just better equipped to play video games or that you should probably never listen to another video game review I ever write ever.

Also not documented were the Roman candles somehow mysteriously lit off in the back yard. No officer, we have no idea how those Roman candles were lit. Maybe it was those alien Lite Brites from a while back.

Much love to Jet Blue. I really hate flying but they somehow made it bearable. The seats were nice and comfy and actually roomy. Both the flight up and back I was put next to giant behemoths whose large bodacity would have spilled into my tiny space on other planes, but on Jet Blue, I was free from their gravitational pulls. I loved the personal little TV that came with every seat even though our flight was a mere hour and a half. And we got Direct TV channels. Word is that Jet Blue will be closing its doors sometime soon which will suck balls. But until then, we’ll be booking with them some more. Until, of course, they piss us off. Then we’ll start taking paddle boats.

As for Boston, what little we saw was full of mighty awesomeness. For example:

• Toscanini’s - There’s a quote from the New York Times hanging on the front window proclaiming that Toscanini’s has the country’s best ice cream. Indeed, I have tasted none finer. This place made me happy and sad at the same time. Happy that such a fun place existed. Not only was the ice cream crunchy pants worthy but it seemed like an awesome place to hang out. Free wifi. Neat electronic quote board that you can send text messages to (if you saw “greetings programs!” and “I got blisters on me fingers!” there Sunday afternoon, that was me). Sad that there’s nothing like that here in Rockville. Poop.
• Newbury Comics - The first thing I thought when I walked into this place was “Fuck, where are all the comics?” The second thing I thought was “Fuck! I–I don’t have enough pants!” Okay, try to read this without making your pants extra crunchy. Start with a comic shop; throw in an import, urban, sci fi toy store; mix in a healthy dose of CD, DVDs, and video games; and you’ll get something that looks a lot like Newbury Comics. *FAINT* HOLY FUCK STICK! First, why has no one told me of this awesome place? And second, WHERE THE FUCK IS MINE? I want one near me right now! Unfortunately, time would not allow a full and detailed exploration of all that this mecca had to offer, but rest assured, when we return to Boston, I shall be spending many, many hours and much, much money wandering Newbury Comic’s bountiful aisles.
• Million Year Picnic - Down the street from Newbury, nestled in some basement, right there in Harvard Square is another comic book shop, Million Year Picnic. Where as Newbury assaults you with all sorts of stuff that is freaking awesome, Million Year Picnic concentrates on comics. This is the place you go for hard to find back issues, indy graphic novels, current titles, and people who know comics. Loved the place so much I had to walk out with some swags. I picked up Scott Pilgrim 3 and 4 because they were about the only things that would fit in my carry-on. But I’d love to spend more time in there digging through the back issue bins for hidden awesomeness.

We had a great time in Boston and we’re looking forward to returning sometime hopefully in the near future.

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I can’t believe I haven’t posted these before! These are a few months old, but AZM regular Kevin Bahrt sent over these Japanese ads for the Salmonella McDeath, also known as the Tomato McGrand. Okay, so tomatoes weren’t trying to attack us when these ads ran, but it’s kind of funny to think of them that way.

I understand trying to sex up McDonalds to appeal to younger crowd, but honestly, these commercials creep the hell out of me. The McLady is especially creepy. You can’t fool me with your McCamelToe (the fuck is up with that one-piece?). No woman would ever look like that if they ingested the McSalmonella on a regular basis, not without working out 24/7 and a stomach pump on standby. And it looks like the McLad is pulling the McShit right out of his McAnus.

I’m kind of curious to see if these ads actually worked and how well the Tomato McDeath was received. Certainly if they ran here in the U.S., most of us would throw up whatever we were eating at the time and never go to McDonalds ever again. But Japanese audiences seem to enjoy quirky commercials. It might speak to them more positively than us.

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Is your work day sluggish because you lack super? Do you get hit by a sudden bout of anti-awesome around 3pm? Are you in desperate need of flavor kicked up to notches never before seen? Then you, my friend, are a perfect candidate to try the official snack of Super Art Fight!

Super Art Fight is all about mixing things that don’t necessarily go together for ultimate win and our official snack food is no different. Head to your local grocery store and grab a bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos from the snack aisle (the bigger the better) and a thing of hummus from the deli (the tahinier the better). Go home, invite over a bunch of friends, break open the Doritos and hummus, dip a chip into the hummus, and prepare your face for super infinite flavor!

We don’t know what makes this hummus dipped Dorito so incredibly awesome. But we inhaled a monstrous bag of Doritos and hummus in a matter of minutes as we planned Super Art Fight. So. Fucking. Good. Seriously, when 3pm hits you at your little cubicle, break out the Doritos and hummus and end your day with super flavor!

To further extol the yummy virtues of the hummus, I found this little ditty on the YouTube. Enjoy your super snack!

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If it takes this freaking long for Skynet to learn how to just stir some eggs in a bowl, there may yet be hope for the human race. Still, it is pretty cool to see it actually learn. When it finally learns how to stir without hitting the sides of the bowl even when the guy was moving the bowl around, that was pretty impressive. As these robots get more sophisticated, you can almost imagine complex surgical procedures done by robots who can anticipate problems without human intervention. Until then, Skynet will have to start with the basics. If it can’t feed us omelets, it can’t really infiltrate and take over.

Thanks to reader Tyler Anderson for uncovering this latest bit of Skynet’s deceit.

[Via Learning Algorithms and Systems Laboratory via Laughing Squid]

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Pictured above is a salad of baby spinach, edamame, red onions, bacon, and shredded beets covered in a nice avocado ranch dressing. Bellow we find a chicken pot pie made from puff pastry, carrots, broccoli, peas, and peppers with chunks of chicken and a nice sauce.

I would never expect such fare at a bar-and-grill type restaurant. This is the type of cuisine I’d expect to find at a fancy bistro with waiters clad in all black who serve you exotic mixed drinks that cost a fortune. I certainly wouldn’t expect to find such food or such elegant presentation in the 7th Street Ruby Tuesday in Washington, D.C.’s Chinatown.

It’s been years since I visited a Ruby Tuesday so I thought I got sucked into some fraking Eye of Jupiter when I walked in. Instead of the pervasive smell of fried death and ear splitting jock rock, I was treated to no smell at all with easy listening playing at a sensible volume. The hell kind of Cylon death camp did I just walk in to? Modern art on the walls, waiters without flair, elegant plating, ebony finished tables, muted colors, nice mood lighting, single-page bistro style menu? Definitely Cylon death camp.

The salad bar surprised the hell out of me. It was like the salad bar suddenly entered college! High school Ruby couldn’t pronounce edamame. Now there was a bowl of the stuff waiting to for my salad. There were four types of greenery to choose from. The Parmesan cheese was the fancy shredded kind you find in Whole Foods. There was a big bottle of balsamic vinegar right at the end of the bar. I could hear “Pomp and Circumstance” play as I filled my plate.

My entrée (never thought I’d be saying that at Ruby Tuesday) was very tasty. The puff pastry (again, never thought I’d eat that at Ruby Tuesday) was light and flaky and perfectly matched with the chicken and veggies. I was expecting chicken flavored grease fried death, but this was very palatable. Hell, it was downright delicious!

On atmosphere, presentation, and taste, this new Ruby Tuesday rebrand gets high marks. I dare say you wouldn’t be embarrassed to take your sweetie to a nice dinner at the notch kicking RT. However, expect to pay. No entrée was under $10. Appetizers clocked in at $7 plus. And gone are the fried sandwiches of doom you’re used to. In their place you’ll find gourmet hamburgers made from ground prime steak meat. I would say that this prices them a little high for family friendly dining, but two or three families walked in while I was marveling at my food. Maybe RT knows what they’re doing.

Marty tells me that this RT rebrand is part of a three-way battle between them, Fridays, and Applebee’s (a College Park staple when I was going to college). I foresee future tasty investigations.

[Via 7th Street Ruby Tuesdays]

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Katsucon 2008 kicked all sorts of ass and I haven’t yet done a proper con report since I have some video to still edit. Had a great time hanging out with people that I rarely get to see. While waiting for Shawn Handyside to show up with his Wii (wow, that just sounds so dirty) so we could play Smash Brothers Brawl (which kicks all kinds of ass BTW), Mike Moore of Quest to Nowhere, Rob Balder of so many crazy things, and I watched some Food TV. We determined through very careful analysis that Guy Fieri must have giant stents where his arteries should be. Any man who eats that much fried grease and doesn’t die of multiple heart attacks must have some sort of bionic heart.

Fieri is hosting another show, Ultimate Recipe Showdown, sponsored by T.G.I. Friday’s. From Mike:

Hey, wanted to email you because I found out something interesting about that Ultimate Recipe show on Food Network we saw the commercials/talked about at Katsucon. It turns out that the recipes that win each week are going to be added to the menu at TGI Friday’s Resturants. You can see for yourself on their website http://www.fridays.com/menu/E208_ultimate_recipe_home.htm

Now I’m not sure if this is good or just wrong. Because the people are getting money for winning, and TGI Friday’s is getting good recipes and publicity. But I guess there is just something about the whole thing that rubs me the wrong way. Anyway figured it might be something interesting for your blog.

I agree, this sounds really shady. Let’s say your recipe wins. Sure, you get some money out of it, but it’s going to be pennies compared to the money TGIF will be making off of your work. Seems like a gimmicky way to spice up an otherwise boring menu selection. And I bet there’s some sort of exclusivity clause that prevents you from selling the recipe to competing chains. Win/win for Friday’s but a total Win/BIG LOOSE for the winner. On the plus side, it does give amateur chef’s a lot of exposure which could lead to bigger things if they’re very clever.

Still, sounds a bit shady to me.

Thanks for the heads up, Mike.

[Via T.G.I. Friday’s]

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Creepy!

I’m a feared. This appears to be a new advertising campaign from the folks at Cheetos. I suppose it’s successful in some way because I’m writing about it now. But I have to wonder about some of these.

In this one, Chester appears to a woman who has used most of the washers in a laundry mat and convinces her to do something quite asinine.

In this one, two youths fill a helpless car with Cheetos.

This is apparently the work of the Orange Underground and this is their manifesto.

Okay, that last one was pretty damn funny.

And now, you too can participate in the Orange Underground. Much like Fight Club, the Cheetos people will give you missions to perform random acts of orange idiocy and upload them shits to YouTube.

When corporate America gets its hands on viral marketing, the results are usually painful to witness. These spots would probably more effective if they left out the tag at the end of the commercial. Chester is one of the most recognizable mascots. There would be no question why he’s there. But leaving off the tag at the end would spark that much more mystery and encourage the curious to seek out more online. Okay, so it worked in my case because now I’ve shared it all with you. But I wonder if I might not be an exception. I suspect most bloggers will just ignore this as yet another attempt by corporate America to artificially engineer something that normally spreads by accident.

Anyway, I propose that you film yourself putting Mentos up your nose instead. They’re not made for you schnoz and it’ll be much more amusing to see big snotty Mentos up your face.

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If you’ve checked out the sexy footer of the new AZM design, you will see that I’ve added a section for appearances. Kind of anorexic at the moment, but I’m excited to be heading back to Katsucon 14 Feb 15-17 this year! I’m not on the guest list on the site because, um, I didn’t get my bio handed in on time. But I’ll be there! And I’m even hosting a panel, Advanced Cell Shading Techniques in Photoshop on Friday 10pm. It’s an hour long session and I’ll probably get a little hungry so if you stick around and it’s not terribly cold outside, I’ll take you on a little field trip to Amsterdam Falafelshop! And if you’re not into falafel, come along anywhere. There’s an awesome GIANT PIZZA SLICE place near the falafel place so there’ll be plenty of munchies for all. Other than that, I’ll probably be around the Erfworld table to sketch you some marbits or gobwins or whatever the hell else you want. See you there!

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Hiding underneath the beats, fried cauliflower, onions, pickles, minced jalapeño, minced garlic and cilantro, and tahini sauce hides the best falafel you will find in the Washington, D.C. area. A few bites later and the falafely goodness is revealed!

Amsterdam Falafel Shop is nestled in the heart of Adams Morgan at 2425 18th Street NW, a few doors down from Madams Organ, a blues bar that features nightly live music. They’re open seven days a week until Midnight on Sundays and Mondays, 2:30am Tuesdays and Wednesday, 3:00am on Thursdays, and 4:00am on Fridays and Saturdays.

You can get falafel pretty much anywhere in the Metro D.C. area, but this is the only place in town that specializes specifically in falafel. It’s deceptively simple. A small order comes with three falafel balls, a large order with six (get the large. The small will just make you hungry for more). Once you pick up your sandwich, the fun begins. The toppings bar includes about a dozen or more yummy things for you to stuff into your pita along with your falafel. Many are Middle Eastern salad type fair along with various pickled items and wonderful sauces. Make sure to pile them high. Every bite must have some new tasty treat waiting for you. Don’t forget to get a nice big cup of the garlic mayonnaise. It goes perfectly with their double fried fries.

There are no forks or spoons or any kind of plastic ware so you’ll have to eat with your hands and make sure you have plenty of napkins in the near vicinity. It gets messy. But nothing beats a late night falafel with toppings to the sky. It’s the perfect drunken after clubbing snack. You carnivores out there won’t even notice that there’s no meat. You veggie heads will want to make this place a weekly stop. Imagine the best falafel you’ve ever had getting kicked up to notches you’ve never tasted before!

The owners have opened a hot dog joint across the street with a similar toppings bar, but thus far, every review we’ve read and every person we know who’s been there hasn’t been all that impressed. However, everyone agrees that they do falafel damn well.

You might want to brave driving in the district to get there unless you really like walking. Sure, there’s a Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan metro stop, but it’s much closer to the zoo than it is to Adams Morgan. YOu have to walk across a bridge to get into Adams Morgan. It’s not that bad when the weather is nice, but this time of year, better to brave the traffic. Maybe if some of you make it out to Katsucon we can take a falafel field trip! Bring lots of warm clothes!

[Via Amsterdam Falafel Shop]

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Space ice cream is a dismall treat. It’s chalky and full of yuck. But if it were cold, would it taste more like regular ice cream? Let’s find out!

Also, picked up some new equipment to make these a little better. Next on the to do list, an actual intro for this silly show!

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