Quirky
Why does television always want to film people walking?
Saturday, April 12th, 2008I taped another television segment today, though this one is not intended for an American audience, and strictly speaking, may actually be banned from within our borders. Suffice it to stay, The Fortune Cookie Chronicles may be immortalized as part of U.S. propaganda.
Anyway, we did (yet another) shot of me walking. Television people always seem […]
Nixon Library vs. the Nixon Foundation, who controls the hallways?
Monday, March 31st, 2008
The Nixon Presidential Library (run by the National Archives, note the .gov) and the Nixon Library Foundation (run by his friends and family, note the .org) have this very odd relationship, where they co-exist in the same building but have slightly different goals (truth/history versus honoring the man).
The saga of the federal government and the […]
Fortune cookies are not a “food’ (according to our federal government
Monday, March 31st, 2008
Fortune cookies are not necessarily food, at least, according to the federal government
The Nixon Library made these adorable custom-made fortune cookies to promote my talk on Saturday (above). But the library is part of the National Archives which is part of the federal government which is not allowed to give out “food” as presents (all […]
Introducing fortune cookies to China
Thursday, March 6th, 2008During my trip to China, I took along boxes of Wonton Food’s fortune cookies and gave them out to Chinese people along the way. This is a compilation of their reactions. (The people here are from Houyu, Kaifeng, Shenzhen and Changsha).
fortune cookies, quirky, Video
Airbrushing before a TV appearance
Thursday, March 6th, 2008Make-up artist (holding a menacing metallic device): Have you ever been airbrushed?
Me (looking at aforementioned device): Um, not to my knowledge.
I thought airbrushing was something they do only after a photo is taken? Apparently not.
airbrushing, Appearances, Book Musings, quirky, television
A meta-fortune cookie fortune
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008Barbara Brown sent this photo to me and a message: “Heard your intrview on NPR yesterday and wanted to share my favorite fortune ever. After a birthday dinner one year I opened my fortune cookie and read, ‘Ignore previous fortunes.’ I’ve never met anyone else who has gotten that fortune, nor do I want […]
Hong Fu, you have to wonder if this was meant with irony
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008Driving along in Cupertino. Again, had to stop and take a picture
Chinese restaurants, Cupertino, Hong Fu, quirky
A Persian-Italian-American restaurant?
Monday, February 18th, 2008I saw this while driving around Cupertino with my friend Janet, and was so amused that I made her stop the car so I could take a picture.
So the restaurant is called Arya. I checked out their menu and was disappointed that they didn’t actually blend the cuisines, rather it offers dishes from all three […]
Even Hallmark is getting naughty with its fortune cookies
Friday, January 25th, 2008
Timothy Layman sent this Hallmark Card link to me. For $4.99 you can get it personalized and mailed for you (no need to lick your own stamp!)
Outside: “You will have much success and happiness.”
Inside: “In bed. Happy Valentines Day.”
fortune cookies, hallmark, in bed, quirky, timothy layman
Chinese restaurants return to Baghdad
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008h
The security situation must be improving in Baghdad: A Chinese restaurant has opened in the Karrada neighborhood. (There had been several Chinese restaurants in Baghdad beforehand, including two in the Green Zone, but all of them they had closed down as security got worse and worse). Menu is limited, but it includes dumplings. And they […]
What about Chinese people who love Jewish food? Bagels in Beijing!
Friday, December 28th, 2007A funny post on Triscribe tsktsking about the obsession about Jews who love Chinese food, and lack of attention to Chinese people who love Jewish food. The post points out, correctly, that about 1/3 of the waitstaff at born-again 2nd Avenue Deli are Chinese. (I can confirm that at least they are Asian immigrants, though […]
Available in white in five different sizes.
Tuesday, December 25th, 2007My friend, Tim Layman, sent me an e-mail with the subject line “amazon.com” and the body “Why can you buy ‘I Love Jennifer 8. Lee’ t-shirts from there?”
I was like, what are you talking about?
He wrote back: “went on Amazon to look up your book but I searched for “Jennifer 8 Lee” instead of ‘Fortune […]
Sino-Judaic cuisine: pastrami eggrolls and Chinese hot dogs
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007I have a City Room post today on pastrami eggrolls and Chinese hot dogs (beef frankfurter in egg roll skin), seen below, which is found in New York City.
This of course segues into the age-old quesiton of why Jews love Chinese food so much – a relationship that has been the subject of many a stand-up […]
I’ll take a 12-pack of those…
Saturday, December 15th, 2007So I have this gumball machine at my desk, which I fill with m&ms (it makes my desk a high traffic area). After much investigation online and off, I have determined that the best rate for m&ms, both peanut and plain, is from Costco. The problem is that I live in New York City and […]
Fortune Cookie USB Drives from Valavo can save your memories (in bed)
Friday, December 7th, 2007I really feel like the photo says it all . But go to Valavo’s site for more info (comes in grden, red, and blue)
fortune cookies, quirky, USB Drives
Maybe she really really liked their crispy shredded beef?
Thursday, November 29th, 2007A British millionaireness who died and left her $20 million fortune to her favorite Chinese restaurant owners is now having her will challenged in court by her surviving relatives.
Golda “Goldie” Bechal died aged 89 in January 2004, leaving the bulk of her estate to her friends Kim Sing Man and his wife Bee Lian […]
So, when is a font racist?
Wednesday, July 11th, 2007So today, I got a burst of traffic from a link from AngryAsianMan, a popular and well-regarded blog on Asian American issues. From that traffic, I got the following feedback comment on the chingchongy font that “THE FORTUNE COOKIE CHRONICLES” is written in along the top of the blog, which I found intriguing.
Angry Asian Man […]
Do dogs add “in bed” after their fortunes too?
Monday, June 25th, 2007Michael Schaffer, who is writing a book on pet culture called One National Under Dog, sent me an e-mail message with the subject line “Our books meet” and a url. I clicked and laughed when I saw it. This company, K9takeout, now sells fortune cookies for dogs. The types of fortunes they offer include “Confucius […]