I finally had some phở soup (pronounced “fuh”) yesterday, after 3 years in Portland, which is a little weird, because there is a phở restaurant every two blocks here. I think I avoided it for so long, because right after I got here, my friend was talking about how they put jaw tendons in it and all that. Luckily, the place I went had “beginner” versions. IT WAS GOOD! I would totally get it again. Like spicy beef miso soup with fresh herbs and noodles. YUM.
Van Hanh has a good veggie pho if you don’t want gross jaw stuff. Try it with rooster sauce!
via eater.com
Forest Trail is close, but I would want a classic green forest background.
Did any of your friends have that mural-style wallpaper that was a life-size photo of the forest? Although they were mostly popular in the 70s, they still make them.
The Christmas Tree (via mittymoo)
Watching this video (repeatedly) has become an annual tradition.
It’s great to see the animal rights movement get such open-minded consideration from a national magazine like Newsweek. (via food fight)
Oddly enough, the best history of the current economic crisis is over at Hollywood Elsewhere.
kfan:
Are we going to talk about how he can’t even look a black man in the eye? I feel like it might mean something.This is going to be the defining aspect of last night’s debate. There wasn’t any other really memorable moments or quips. Every commentary on the debate I’ve seen mentions McCain not looking at Obama.
Didn’t he lose in the primaries?I don’t know about you, but I’m voting for the tiny dude with the robot hand.That’s Steve “The Hook” Novick. He’s doing pretty well so far.
One thing about the whole Clearchannel automated DJ-free radio stations is that they have no idea when to play songs. Last night at work I was listening to an ’60s and ’70s station and they played Five O’Clock World… at 10 pm. A couple weeks ago they played Saturday Night by the Bay City Rollers on a Monday. A real DJ would never do that.
Olga Korbut, 1972 Uneven Bars !!!! (via goldenfiddle)
1970s = the golden age of modern olympics
I would love someone, given the fact I’ve never really read comics, to tell me what those are. I’m fascinated by the artwork, but am turned off by campness, excessive exclamation marks, excessive bolding of key words and expectation of deep background knowledge for a full appreciation.
I’d love a list of 10 or so self-contained, thematically complex, visually impressive, non-silly comic books/graphic novels. I totally know they exist, I just don’t know where to find them.
“(via distorte)
I’m sure a lot of different people could him good replies, but here are some of my own suggestions in no particular order. Keep in mind that this is more to do with answering his questions than in giving a list of my favorite books or whatever. I strongly prefer sillier things.
Ice Haven by Daniel Clowes — I’m a Clowes fan in general, but I’m particularly fond of the themes and formal aspects of this one.
The Three Paradoxes by Paul Hornshemeier — Small, beautiful and personal. Great formal tricks in this one too.
Omega The Unknown by Jonathan Lethem and Farel Dalrymple — This will be out in book form soon. Surreal, totally self-contained take on a superhero character from the 70s. It’s essentially a story about Asperger’s Syndrome.
Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw — Very long at about 700 pages, but it zooms by, I read it in a day and a half. Well-observed family drama.
I Never Liked You by Chester Brown — Incredibly heart breaking, so much so that I cannot bear to ever read it again.
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel — More family drama, but this one is a memoir about the author and her complex relationship with her father. Deals with sexuality, suicide, gender roles, literature, etc.
Y: The Last Man by Brian K Vaughan and Pia Guerra (serialized trade paperbacks) - This is great, especially as it moves along. It takes place shortly after a mysterious even suddenly wipes out every male on the planet, except for the story’s protagonist and his pet monkey.
DMZ by Brian Wood and Riccardo Bruchielli (serialized trade paperbacks) - Another dark post-apocalyptic story, but this one is about a reporter embedded in NYC (the DMZ) in the midst of a violent civil war on American soil.
The Invisibles by Grant Morrison and various artists (serialized trade paperbacks) — Sprawling and deeply weird, touches on a million great ideas throughout history. Not my favorite work by Morrison, but it’s a big deal.
All Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely — Totally self-contained, brilliant beyond all belief…if you never cared about Superman, this will probably change that for you.
Curses by Kevin Hezuinga - Quiet, understated, philosophical.
Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O’Malley (serialized trade paperbacks) It’s silly but you should read it anyway because it’s one of the best things ever. It’s a comedy adventure that runs on video game logic, and follows its eponymous protagonist as he defeats his girlfriend’s seven evil exes. It’s basically an elaborate metaphor for coming to terms with your romantic past and that of your partner.
(via perpetua)
These are all great recommendations, I’ve especially been into Y the Last Man and Scott Pilgrim lately. They both get better as they go along, so I’d recommend trying at least two trade paperbacks of each. The Invisibles is really uneven, but also pretty awesome. The series was relauched with the Bloody Hell in America storyline to make it a little more reader-friendly, so that might be a good starting point (Book 4 of the trade paperback series).
I’d add Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson to the list.
Did everyone else already know this?
While searching through my iTunes for a song, I noticed that if I type in “Plant,” it brings up all my Led Zeppelin songs. “McCartney” brings up the Beatles, “Jagger” and “Richards” the Stones, “Robertson” The Band, “Brock” Modest Mouse. “Albarn” only brings up two Blur and four Good Bad & Queen. “Davies” only brings up one Kinks song from a movie soundtrack. “Finn” and “Kubler” do not bring up any Hold Steady.
I’m sort of embarrassed to admit that the word I typed in that led me to this discovery was “Martin.”
It’s probably the composer field in the song info that makes this possible. It also explains why only certain songs/albums will be brought up, since not all files have that field filled. I know that the majority of the files on my computer either don’t have it or it’s the same as the artist name.
kfan:
I want to turn this image into a blanket and wrap it around my soul.
Thank god for you, Meghan Deans, that’s all I can say.
YES. One of my favorite moments from Season 1. I think it might be my #1 favorite.
