The Hilarious Lao Fu Zi: Old Master Q

One of the funniest comic strips we've read is the Chinese Lao Fu Zi, or "Old Master Q".  This comic strip has been around for many decades and was created by Mr. Alfonso Wong in Chinese.  When we read the comic strips we just looked at the pictures without understanding the Chinese dialog.  We'd ask our parents to translate the comic strips for us.  Most of the time though, we can understand the comic strip without needing to read the words.  Most of the comic strips have no words. The pictures speak for themselves because the drawing is so amazing.

Old Master Q is about an old Chinese dude who dresses like a very ancient Chinese dude.  However, he is young at heart and is involved in all kinds of antics and adventures.  Sometimes, he flies an airplane. Other times, he fishes, sky dives, challenges vicious gangsters, duels with ghosts, and even tries to woo beautiful young ladies.  Most of the time, Old Master Q lets the situation get the better of him, and falls flat on his face for the world to see.  But, it's always funny to see him try his best.  His two best buddies are Mr. Chin, and Big Potato.

Recently, we found Old Master Q's website at www.oldmasterq.com.  To our surprise, a lot of the original Old Master Q comic strips are posted on the site. What's even better, now there are English subtitles added. So check it out.  You might get some giggles too.

Angry Birds: World Sensation

Has not everyone played Angry Birds at least once since it first came out? Has not everyone played for hours on end staring at the little birds attacking the green pigs? Has not everyone dressed in angry bird costumes for Halloween? Okay, maybe not that extreme, although many people have gone a bit excessive... The whole Angry Birds has been blown out of proportion... and yet we still play it at least once a week trying to get three stars on every level, even if it takes us all night. Angry Birds has created a world epidemic, and even Hitler loves to play it. That's right Hitler.  Hitler, the most hated dictator in the twentieth century got sucked into the addictive game. See the video below:

Confused? Astonished? Disgusted? Well if you've played the game, you should know how addictive it is and how many hours on end, day and night, that you have spent cursing at those green pigs.

How many hours have you played this week? Comment below!

Merkato Ethiopian Restaurant Review by Fanofrice

My friend fanofrice reviews restaurants for kids better than anyone else. This is her review of one of our favorite restaurants in Los Angeles:

Just Bring Your Hands

You must be thinking right now "Just Bring Your Hands? Is this some kind of donation or something?!" Well no, it isn't. I only talk about food and art remember??(though I can't think of what to do in art...) This is a restaurant, Merkato, where you can eat with your hands! Kids will love this!!

Merkato is an Ethiopian restaurant in Little Ethiopia in Los Angeles CA, on Fairfax. (Near LACMA museum) Well if you live under a rock and never heard of Ethiopian food, then I shall explain. Ethiopian food often has on the center platter a piece of spongy flat bread called injera. The bread is a little bit sour but goes great with what you put on it. On top of the bread are often lentils, cabbage, greens, and meat each cooked in different kinds of sauces that soak into the bread.

Then this is when the hand part comes in. Tear off a piece of the injera and scoop up the sauce and eat up! It may seem uncivilized but that's why kids love it! Hope you have fun!

originally published here: http://coolrice.blogspot.com/2009/08/just-bring-your-hands.html

Well, you know what they say...Bollywood meets Jane Austen

 

"No life without wife."

At least that's what they say in "Bride and Prejudice," in which the stunning Aishwarya Rai Bachchan stars as the female lead, Lalita.  The movie is a Bollywood spinoff on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and while it does follow closely to the original storyline, it differs in its culture and setting.

Instead of being set in early 19th century England as Pride and Prejudice is, "Bride and Prejudice" takes place almost 200 years later--and in India.  Cultured and well-bred Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice becomes the free-spirited and beautiful Lalita, and the characters of Elizabeth's three sisters all undergo similar transformations.  Energetic and cheerful Mr. Bingley becomes Balraj, and fanatic Catholic Mr. Collins becomes nerdy and socially-awkward Mr. Kohli. While cold and seemingly emotionless Mr. Darcy keeps his original name in his character adaptation, he goes from being wealthy Englishman and owner of the grand Pemberley to a wealthy and successful owner of a Los Angeles hotel chain. And finally, my favorite transformation of all: Mr. Wickham goes from being something of a playboy and a scumbag to being even more of a playboy and a scumbag.

 One of the themes in both the movie and the book is that of the desires of wealthy single men to marry an eligible young woman.  Jane Austen expresses this idea very eloquently at the opening of her book: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."  "Bride and Prejudice" simplifies this: "No life without wife."

I encourage all Pride and Prejudice fans out there to watch the Bollywood adaptation.  You are sure to get a lot of laughs out of that one.

Bar Mitzvahs and Bat Mitzvahs (Part 2)

Before I went to my first bat mitzvah, I didn't know what to expect. Neither did my parents. To get prepared, my parents and I watched a movie called Sixty Six. 

Sixty Six is about a twelve year old Jewish kid named Bernie who has been planning his bar mitzvah for a long time now. He lives in England. Unfortunately for him, his dad loses his job so he has to have a smaller party, eventually only having the party at his house. To make it worse, his bar mitzvah takes place on the same day as the World Cup, and the year 1966 is the first time that England makes it to the World Cup Finals so nobody wants to attend his bar mitzvah. They were all glued to the TV. The story shows how Bernie deals with the disaster, from doing black magic on the English soccer players, to discussing the problems with his blind rabbi. It's a really great comedy that I suggest everyone should see, even if you aren't Jewish. If you don't recognize the actor, his name is Gregg Sulkin, and he is now in many Disney Channel movies and TV shows. 

Bar Mitzvahs and Bat Mitzvahs (Part 1)

challah bread

Recently, I have been invited to many bat mitzvahs (for girls) and bar mitzvahs (for boys). I've probably been invited to at least ten now, from kids from my school. A few of them I don't even know. Although I have been invited to ten bat mitzvahs and bar mitzvahs, I've only gone to one bat mitzvah so far. I have yet to see what happens at a bar mitzvah. None of the people in my family have ever gone to a bat mitzvah or a bar mitzvah before in their life. So you might imagine, it was quite the experience. The service is about two hours, with prayers and songs. They praise anything you can imagine; food (challah bread, wine), candles, etc.

It was quite entertaining to see my friend up there singing and holding a candle that was on fire, slowly melting and getting more and more warped. I was very happy to experience the Jewish tradition for the first time, although to sing and praise for two hours got a bit tiring after a while. To the point where the grown man in the pew in front of me took of his shoes and started laughing silently to himself.

The party is a completely different experience. They go all out, with DJs, music, colorful laser lights, entertainers, chocolate fountains, candy bars, dance floors, fog makers, and photo booths. They had a challah bread as long as a full sized bed that was on the table. It's a pity that we didn't get to eat it.

My family and I thought it was a bit extravagant to spend so much time, effort and money on this party.  But then again, it is the big 13.  Although, coming from a  Chinese family, we just get a red envelope with some cash in it.

We quickly stopped thinking that the bat mitzvahs were that ridiculous when we found out how much the kids make. My friend got at least $5,000. Although, she  has to donate some of it to different charities, that's still a lot of mullah. My cousin and I even considered converting for a little while dreaming that we'd make that much money. I must say, the party was very fun though, although I don't like dancing for five hours. I think I'll have to get used to more parties, going to a school that is 75% Jewish.

Happy New Year!!!

Justine Davis is at the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse in Auburn, New York

Justine Davis
I see our cousin Justine only once every ten years because she moved to Kazakhstan when she was a kid.  But, she came back to the the U.S. for college, majored in musical theatre and graduated this year.  She is now working as an actress at the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, a children's theatre in Auburn, New York.  (How cool is that!) Known as Broadway in the Finger Lakes, The Merry-Go-Round Playhouse is located in Emerson Park, in the old carousel building at 6877 East Lake Rd. (Rt. 38A) Auburn, NY 13021 www.merry-go-round.com. It has shows for youths from June through November each year. Catch a show this coming summer or fall if you are in the Syracuse, NY area. Justine has an awesome singing voice.  Good luck, Justine!

A Ho Ho Ho Christmas Eve Dinner

Had dinner with my parents' friends in the San Gabriel Valley on Christmas Eve and saw this blood curdling dish on the menu: (check out item No. 46) :

Now, intestine and blood cake sound nasty for sure, but what is the Ho sauce? Also, check out Item No. 53 on the menu: What is the Sour Cabbage with Pig Stoma? Maybe the menu sounds better in Chinese.

Jon Lee in new Bravo reality show WAY OFF BROADWAY!

http://ctvmedia.ca/bravo/releases/release.asp?id=14591&yyyy=2011All-New Original Series Premieres Feb. 10 on Bravo!

Who says Asian students are just nerds?!!  Our uncle Jonathan Lee (on the far left) who just graduated from Medical School to be a psychiatrist, (nerdy, yes. . .) will be featured in the brand new 13 episodes  Bravo reality show "Way Off Broadway" (way cool), undergoing intensive training for eight weeks to put on "The Wizard of Oz" to benefit charity.  In the press release, he is described as Jon Lee – psychiatry resident at the University of Toronto who does research in transcranial magnetic stimulation at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.  How awesomely nerdy is that!! Go Uncle Jonathan!