Kyle Dunnigan

If you've ever seen the character 'Craig' from Reno 911 (serial killer who's in love with Deputy Weigel), here is his stand up comedy. Kyle Dunnigan's set is excellent.

I Jizzed in My Pants

Another brilliant SNL digital short.

Cameos from Justin Timberlake, Molly Sims and Jamie Lynn Sigler.


edit: found out it's actually Andy Samberg's crew, The Lonely Island, who actually made the song and did the video. The Lonely Island crew has been making the digital shorts for SNL for the past 2 years.

Nailed it

Simple, yet hilarious Hotels.com commercial about a guy & hotel shampoo.

Ooops....

Chasing the cat around and I accidentally stepped on his arm and broke it. Sorry cat. :(

But it is quite hilarious/awesome watching him drag around the wrapped arm like a cannon.


Notice the fracture on his forearm (radius or ulna, i forget)

Keep Right, Pass Left

Whatever happened to that rule? It seems like on the highway these days, people will hold you up in whatever lane they are driving, including the fast (aka passing) lane.

Why are the Germans so efficient at this on the Autobahn? Because it is law and the police will ticket offenders. Maybe the same should be done in the US? No no, we don't need smoother traffic and less congestion.

I get tired of sitting behind someone in the fast lane when there is clearly empty space on the right lanes. Since flashing high-beams is still considered 'rude' and is technically against the law and since I also don't like tailgating people, I have no other choice but to drive around them. It would be nice if people started paying attention to their mirrors and simply moved over and let faster traffic by. It would help ease traffic congestion and there would be less need for people to weave in-and-out of all the lanes.

Check out this column that discusses the issue at hand.

Caveman

As used in the current Geico Caveman Motorcycle campaign, "Hurt You" by The Sounds. Definitely brings an 80's vibe and sound to the mix.




Geico definitely knows how to pick the best songs for their ads. Ah, one of my favorites of the Caveman commercials:

"Remind Me" by Royksopp

Welcome to Newton

The only thing I found interesting in my whole trip to Iowa. On the side of a building near main street in Newton, Iowa, a mural by Carl Homstad.

Completed in 10 days in 2003. Real impressive stuff.

Wall Street report on CNN

Uh oh, Wall Street's in trouble. The market is at a 17 year low and Lehman Brothers just filed for bankruptcy.

Time to console each other on CNN! Here's a prank the guys from the Howard Stern show did:

Happy Bday, Dad!

Happy birthday to my father, Dr. JP Shim. Some of his accolades. He turned 61 today. To think, he had me when he was 38. I guess I'm sort of a late bloomer, but that's alright. A distinguished professor of Management & Information Systems at Mississippi State University, he's had an amazing life and the stories to back it up. My grandfather is also a professor (retired) and is still trekking on at his age of 91 (I think). Here's to my father having a long and prosperous life, like his father.

I'm still jealous of how often he gets to travel.

Summer's over...

And now it ends...last day of August, the sun is setting around 7:30, weather is getting cooler.

I wish it were spring all year around. :(

YEEAAAH

If you've ever watched CSI: Miami, this should make you laugh...at least a little bit.

Oh David Caruso, you badass.

Your Prius Sucks

The new Jetta TDI. Clean, diesel fun. It's what the people want. As I race a Jetta TDI Cup car in the 2008 VW Jetta TDI Cup, I can tell you first hand the Jettas are a blast to drive. What is completely unheard of in the racing world is that we still get over 25 mpg while we are under racing conditions! Many race cars are lucky to see 9 mpg.

Anywho, here's a video segment of guys from Auburn VW out of Auburn, Washington who wanted to show that you don't have to suffer as a driver to save fuel and money. With the all new Jetta TDI, you can have FUN and still get amazing mileage. Also, the new Jetta outputs zero carbons from the exhaust and has a 95% emissions reduction. They went from Auburn (outside of Seattle) to San Francisco with 1 tank of diesel fuel, averaged over 50 mpg and drove 733 miles on that one tank!!



Here's to a new generation of fuel efficient vehicles that are fun and clean to drive. No longer will you have to settle for a plastic econobox, like a Prius.

You can catch the rest of the videos here.

SNL: The Japanese Office

Ricky Gervais = brilliant

painted helmet

so hot right now

From concept:


...to realization:

iPhone 3g vs Instinct

So...I ordered an iPhone 3g a few hours ago. Sure as hell wasn't waiting in the stupid lines. But as I came home and researched more on the heated iPhone vs Instinct battle, I started to become more intrigued by the Samsung Instinct.

One of the key features that stands out is the live TV. Live TV!! That's the stuff that Korea has been using for a little while now and finally America is getting a taste of what mobile technology should be like.

Instinct pretty much has all the stuff iPhone does. Visual voicemail, music album art (where you can slide through the albums to search for songs), GPS nav (but better since it has turn-by-turn and audible), etc. What does the iPhone lack? Many of the basics: picture messaging, video recording, non-zoom camera, no voice dialing, battery is sealed, does not support flash plug-in, etc. But at the same time, iPhone is much more user friendly, much cleaner setup, only uses google maps, can run on EDGE, wi-fi, 3G or on the regular GSM quad-band and the iPod setup is arguably one of the best MP3 players. Check out the nifty demo vid of the iPhone here.

Arggggh...guess I have a few days to make a firm decision. Atleast unlike Verizon (d-bags), AT&T will allow me to keep my MS number. Hot. Decisions, decisions...

Stewie's reaction to 2girls1cup

Looks like Seth McFarlane and the Family Guy writers caught onto the trend of everyone on YouTube. Filming their reactions to the infamous 2 girls 1 cup video. Surprised I haven't seen this episode yet.

Here's Stewie's reaction:

Cute Korea Girls

Brilliant blog.

Park Soo Kyung is stunning.


The rest of the 'Cute Korea Girls'.

Steve Carell on The Daily Show

Epic. As a former correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Steve Carell's career has blown up since he went to Hollywood and started doing feature films. He comes back to discuss 'Get Smart' as well as how to make it in Hollywood.

His latest re-visit was hilarious:

Acura TSX commercial

Car commercials rarely grab my attention like this one.

The bright, red dress...floating in the pool with the city backdrop...the excellent soundtrack. I guess I really like the theme and how it was shot.

Directed by Joe Pytka. Song "Let the Drummer Kick" by Citizen Cope.

Weezer covering Radiohead's Creep

Weezer covering Radiohead's Creep, with the audience playing along. Sweet.

I love you foam soap

Got tired of using dishwasher soap as hand soap so I finally bought some foam hand soap for the house...mmm, green tea + aloe. Made from this company called Method. I think I'm obsessed with foam soap now.

Method has their own blog, too...pretty cool company.

high water or flooding?

A few weeks ago, while eating at a restaurant, my friend mentions to me that the waiter had "high waters". My reaction: "huh?" She pointed at the bottom of his pants as they were pretty high up past his ankles..."oh you mean flooding?" was my reaction. She's from Oklahoma and even in Maryland, I guess the term is used frequently. Then when watching Rob & Big, I watched Rob Dyrdek also mention high waters. Rob grew up in Ohio and now lives in California.

Apparently, Mississippi is far behind on slang as well? I grew up with the term flooding and never ever heard of high waters. But I guess it makes sense as they both sound pretty similar. Time to pick up more alternate slang words, I guess...

Man accidentally watches 'Sex and the City'

Quote from a legit article on Yahoo about a man who accidentally saw Sex & the City...

"A heterosexual man could see that movie and remain heterosexual at its conclusion," Dr. Logsdon said. "Having said that, it's totally gay that he did that."

full article

bahhahaha

Colbert vs Rain

Last year, Time Magazine asked their readers to do an online poll of who they thought were the 100 most influential poeple in the world. Well, Stephen Colbert took a backseat to the #1 spot, which was given to the hottest pop singer in Korea (and possibly the rest of Asia): Rain or "Bi" (비) in Korean.

In retaliation, The Colbert Report (announced Repoire) made an R&B video of his own that mocks Rain's music video. Genious. Colbert's Korean is pretty good and hilarious.



Last month, Rain dropped by the studio to do a dance off to finally settle the score with Colbert. Watch the hilarity. "Hey Rain, let me know when Korea lifts the embargo on balls."



Here's the rest of the Rain rivalry videos.

For 2008's Time Magazine online poll, once again Rain has beat out Colbert. Haha. Who knows if Rain will be making a huge impact in the US. Although he is huge with Korean-Americans and other Asian Americans, he is widely unknown to others. He is currently in the new movie, 'Speed Racer' with Matthew Fox, but I believe his singing tour in the US has been put on hold due to legal infringement of his name in the US.

foam soap

I heart foam soap. I hope all restaurants and public restrooms switch over to foam soon. Yesh...

Korea - 4 years later

It has been so long since I last visited Korea. Last time I went was during spring break of my senior year of high school, 2004. I hung out with all my relatives, but man things have definitely changed. Many of my cousins have daughters now, Seoul is even crazier than I last remembered and many of the toilets have become westernized so they aren't holes in the ground.

This trip really had strong meaning for me, it truly showed the importance of family. It is so important for us (my sister and I) to keep close contact with my mother's side of the family. It is crazy to see how successful they are and how much everyone has changed. One of my cousins, June hyun, is 26 and is already a medical doctor. Well, all of my family on my mom's side are either doctors or dentists. My cousins on my dad's side are no different. June bum, one of the oldest (about 12 years older than me), works in the executive side of M-net. M-net is sort of like Korea's MTV. It's so funny how his parents are still pressing for him to be married, as most of my relatives are pressing for, as well, for my sister. My cousin, June ho, a little younger than me, is finishing up school to be an MD as well. His brother, June gyung, works for a financial investment firm and served as a KATUSA, or, a Korean who trains in the American military (all Korean men have to serve 3 years in the military when they turn 18). I now recall filling out a form that declined Korean citizenship, before I turned 18. That way I wouldn't be held the next time I visited Korea, and be forced to serve in their army.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to see my Uncle in Daegu and his sons, June gwang & June so. June gwang was also 'KATUSA' and speaks perfect Korean and English with an American accent. At the same time, it was so sad seeing my Grandfather in his current state. He looks skinnier and weaker at his age of 91. Sadly, this may be the last time I get to see him alive...but it was amazing talking with him about our vast family history. I found out that I was a 27th generation Shim and I was so proud to read about our history and read his book that had labeled all the generations, starting from the Joseon dynasty (when the Korean alphabet was invented). Many of the Shims had important roles in government.
It was also crazy to find out that we had relatives that my sister and I had never met before. I feel a lost connection when I see all these names of the people who I have never met before, yet, we are all related by blood. 2 distant cousins in Japan, the younger who does not speak any Korean. Then, many cousins from my Grandfather's sister, who I had never even known about. Of the last 2 siblings remaining, my grandfather lives in Daegu and his sister lives at a family temple in the countryside. For 2008, I have kept a conscious of not burning bridges. I realize how important family is and I will now start taking Korean classes or hang out with friends and speak more Korean. It is a vital connection for me, as beyond my sister & father, no one else in our family lives in an English speaking country. As I was unwinding down from traveling, it was fun to talk with my cousin, June suh, from Paris. I could not believe he had already turned 18 and his English was remarkably good for being from France. We reminisced on when I visited and he was excited about trying to meet up again. I now want to be fully fluent in Korean and also learn conversational French and Japanese, so that I can speak to all my relatives.

One of these days, hopefully if I continue my life as a race car driver, I can live in Korea, Japan or Europe, and be closer with family and experience more of what this life has to offer.




Album 1

Album 2

Trapped in an elevator for 41 hours

Back in October 1999, a man named Nicholas White was trapped in a NYC building elevator for 41 hours. Think about it, almost 2 days you are stuck in isolation without water, food, or worse...a bathroom break.

This article in the The New Yorker talks about his experience and other elevator stories.

Here is the actual video of his ordeal:


And of course, someone made a parody of what happened. Ever wondered what it would be like you were stuck for those 41 hours...with diarrhea?


My abdomen really hurts now from laughing so hard. Bravo to the guys who filmed this.

Spring time in New York

Ah, nothing like going to NYC during spring. Last time I visited NYC, was probably 3 years ago. It's interesting, I was living in Queens around this time, a decade ago. I've always loved New York and it's always a new adventure going back. Times Square seems brighter every time, I discovered 'Rat Rock' in Central Park, I finally saw the WTC site and the Merrill Lynch bull. It was so nice walking around the city late at night.

It was a great trip to refresh the senses and I had a great time showing my friends around, as they had never walked around the city before. I'm surprised I never made the trip before, as I've been living so close for the past 2 years.







more

420

Have you ever wondered how 420 became the significant code number for smoking marijuana, pot, weed, mary jane, bud, herb, cannabis, grass, a joint, a doobie, etc?

Being that today is April 20th, or 4/20, I guess pot smokers worldwide can enjoy this day to celebrate that special plant.

Anywho, there is a sexy blonde bombshell on YouTube that has been the craze lately. She is simply known as Marina, a philologist from Russia, who posts YouTube videos about the origins of words.

Can you guess the origin of 420?



...and the answer



And there you have it. That is where 420 came from. Now go tell all your hippie and pot smoking friends.

If you have ever wondered about the origin of a word, send a request to Marina, or watch more videos at her YouTube page or go check her out at hotforwords.com.

Modern Architecture

Prada building, Tokyo

I dunno why, but lately I've been in love with modern architecture. Maybe it's because I'm trying to move out of the townhouse I've been at for 2 years and every house I've been shopping for looks so plain and dull. At my age and my limited income, I couldn't afford a badass modern designed house. Instead, for now, I'll have to settle on some suburbial home that you can't tell apart from one street to the next.

I've noticed, I am becoming more and more fascinated by art. Although I don't have the patience for, or the talent, for architecture, I still appreciate how beautiful designs and modern houses/buildings can be. My good friend is studying landscape architecture and I crap myself when I see the workload he has to deal with. It truly is dedication and devotion to perfect architecture.

Anywho, during Christmas, I spent some time with my sister's friends. I hung out a lot with her roommate's boyfriend, Dave. Dave works at an architecture firm in Boston and I was really intrigued when I saw this HUGE book sitting on his shelf. It was titled, "The Phaidon Atlas", and it was truly amazing with the designs of the modern buildings and houses contained within this atlas. I didn't care what anyone thought when my sister & I brought this behemoth of a book into a Montreal coffee shop. We enjoyed looking at the vast concepts and ideas the artists had. Looking at the layouts, the floor plans, the locations, etc. It is an awe-inspiring book. Very pricey, but well worth it.

Tetsuka House, Tokyo

Which brings me to last night...I decided to get out of the house and head to Inner Harbor to check out Barnes & Noble. The downtown Baltimore store probably has the greatest selection of books of any other B&N store in the area. I browsed for awhile looking for racing books when I came upon another architecture book that struck my eye. A book entitled, "Tokyo Architecture & Design". This was another stunning book of designs and modern architecture. The houses these architects setup in the vast, urban landscape and also the buildings they made for corporations and businesses reflected upon the true talent of each of these design firms and their respective architects. I sat at that aisle forever reading the book and looking at the fantastic designs.

Although I don't have the talent or dedication for architecture, I hope I live comfortably and make enough, one day, where I can help design and build my own modern house. I want something very contemporary and not your typical 'cookie-cutter' townhouse or single family home. I would really love to have a modern house or building inside the city, as well. Holy hell would it be expensive, but the finished product would be worth it all.












C-1 House, Tokyo

DC Cherry Blossom Festival

For the past two weekends, I had been meaning to head down to DC to check out the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival, but was either out of town or was too busy.

I finally found time this weekend, after the peak bloom had already happened. :( I had never seen so many Asians in DC before! It was pretty cool as Pennsylvania ave & 12th St were blocked off so all the vendors could have their stuff setup. Reminded me of some of the festivals in Manhattan.

I found a few good trees, but I really wanted to capture the vast, pink outline around the tidal basin as seen here:
check out other amazing photos here.

Also, here are some of my lackluster pics I took on Saturday. Ugh, I desperately need a digital SLR...

more from my album here.

String spin toy

3D spin toy. wow this thing is neat:

http://www.zefrank.com/string_spin/spin_1.html

Teens shot in my neighborhood

Uh oh, police have some explaining to do...

Monday morning, I was flying out of Phoenix around 6:35am after 4 long days for Volkswagen driver testing. I landed in Newark, NJ and had my layover delayed even further. It was so depressing to see the NYC skyline from the windows and not being able to go into the city. :( Oh well, I'll be there in a few weeks.

Anywho, I landed in Baltimore (BWI) around an hour later than expected of 5:15pm. I call my roommate and find out that he doesn't know if he can leave the neighborhood as some people got shot and police have the whole area blocked! Oh jeez, what the hell happened there?

He finally managed to get a detective to let him out of the crime scene to come pick me up. We saw the news report on the 11 o'clock news and damn was it a shocker. Our neighborhood has been, for the most part, very safe with many families living in the area. Today's drama was very unusual. I had no idea there was drug activity and narcotics officers scoping out the area.

"Accidental discharge" is never good press for the police. I'm sure the usual procedure of putting the officer on administrative leave will happen until the investigation is complete. I wouldn't be surprised to see a lawsuit(s) from the teens' families...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/howard/bal-howard0407,0,3205583.story

I made it

After 4 days of grueling testing in the desert that is Phoenix, I made it to the final 30. I can now say I am an official factory driver for the largest automaker in Europe! I will now be racing for Volkswagen this year in the Jetta TDI Cup.

Wish me luck this season! All races will be televised on SpeedTV.





http://media.vw.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=10307

Work is slow and I am bored.

Could this week go by any slower? I have been on the internet all week at work and even that gets boring...

I got excellent news since I will be going to Phoenix, AZ to test for the brand new 2008 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup. :)

I found funding at the last minute for the entry fee and will be competing against 100+ drivers for a spot in one of the 30 race cars. Hopefully I will make it. I just want to be on SpeedTV...yea, just kidding.

I am finally realizing my goals and living out my dreams. I wish Tuesday would come faster, so I can finally fly out. I will be bringing my helmet, gym clothes, camera, and other travel necessities. In the Baltimore metro, it's warmed up a little in the past couple of days from the 40's to 50's, now getting into the 60's. Phoenix will be a sweaty 85 degrees +.

Here's a fun list (and a repost from the link) of my fun fun itinerary.



Wish me luck, and I will update RightFootDown.com with the testing report and hopefully some pictures. If I have some time this weekend, I might check out the Sakura or cherry blossom trees during the Cherry Blossom Festival in DC.

10-4. Out.

Cultural Identity and Family Coat of Arms

For the longest time growing up in Mississippi, I really hated myself and my identity. Being one of the only Korean (even Asian) kids in school, it was psychological destruction and torture. Getting ridiculed everyday from ignorant people for standing out like a sore thumb in a town of dominantly white and black people. I wanted to be white growing up and didn't want anything to do with being Korean. I only spoke Korean at the house and was embarrassed to speak it anywhere else. Since I avoided speaking it and learning it, I now can barely speak it with family and other Koreans. The only times I sharpened up was when I would visit my relatives in Korea.

It was also hard growing up without relatives nearby. When all the kids in school would say "well, I go right down the street to my grandpa", for me, visiting my Grandpa took atleast 4 plane rides, 6,000 miles, and about 22 hours. I wish I was closer to them. There's always the questions of "what if"? What if I had grown up in Korea? But nonetheless, the racism and prejudice I dealt with built strong character out of me. I adapted, grew thick skin, and tried to never let it get to me.

I was always destined to be a 'city boy' and could never stand rural towns like the one I lived in (Starkville). Since my father is a university research professor, every couple of years he would take a sabbatical leave and work at other universities. We lived in Atlanta, NYC (Queens), and Hong Kong. We almost moved to Cincinnati, OH, around my junior year of high school, but my mother was ill and I was a stubborn child. I guess I didn't want to leave my core group of friends.

I hear stories from my sister about how much my mother hated Mississippi and wanted to move back to Korea. I look back and feel sad...I wish she had it better when she was on Earth, but may she rest peacefully in Heaven.


After moving to the Baltimore/DC metro area, I have rediscovered myself. Each day I am learning more about myself. I am now truly proud of who I am, who I have become and my culture/heritage.

I have always been interested in family insignias, mottos, crests, coat of arms, etc. The most familiar are English families with the huge shields, swords, animals, etc. Out of curiousity, I was doing some research on the Shim family. I knew Shim was an uncommon Korean last name (252,000 in Korea, less than 1% of population) and I had always heard from my grandfather and my father that we had an important ancestor. My ancestor was a Queen during the Joseon Dynasty. Her husband, King Sejong, was the creator of the Korean alphabet, or 'hangul'.

After asking my father, he confirmed that we are from the Cheongsong Clan. I found the offical website of the Cheongsong Sim (or Shim) Clan and now realize there is a family crest.

Very cool info on the emblem: "In the emblem, there are river, pine and Chinese letter of Sim. All they mean eternity. So, this emblem means eternal and endless prosperity generation after generation. The circle was modeled on the Sun and the Moon which symbolize that descendants will succeed and advance to spirit and a splendid accomplishment of ancestors."



The 沈 is the traditional Chinese character for 'Sim'. I only remember that from when I used to have my Hong Kong ID card.

It is a very interesting/fascinating emblem and I am considering getting it tattooed...maybe on my chest or right arm. I will definitely be using it on my helmet to show my pride and heritage.

sushi masters

...so over this weekend, David and I decided, instead of paying for the price of labor at a sushi restaurant, we would make some ourselves. Appropriate for St. Pattie's day, no?

First, we stopped by his local Super H-Mart (think of it as a Safeway or Food Lion, but focused on Korean & other Asian foods, snacks, drinks, etc.) for the ingredients. Picked up roasted seaweed, sushi grade salmon, imitation crab meat, unagi (eel), salmon roe, aloe vera drink, and ginger.

The total bill ended up being $30 for all the ingredients, so $15 for each person. We didn't know what to expect as this was our first time preparing, so we jumped two feet in...we learned that Korean 'sticky' rice is too sticky for trying to lay on the seaweed and for balling up for nigiri style. We started pouring sesame oil into our hands to keep the rice from sticking. Fun stuff.

It took us about 2 hours to get everything ready, but was definitely worth it. We ended making about 40 rolls with about 2/3 of the ingredients! We ended up feeding some friends who came over later with the leftover ingredients.

So in the end, we probably made about 60-70 rolls total, which would probably equate to $100-120 at your local sushi place. Very fun for us and it tasted fantastic as well. :)

With Xtreme photography, the food looks excellent!




Yea, I'm definitely ready to prepare some fugu next.

Stuff White People Like

This blog is just fascinating. I think they nailed #11. Hey wait a second... I also like the stuff white people like. hmmm...

click on banner to go to the site: