MOVIE REVIEW . Seven Swords

What is it about the number seven that makes for a successful action tale? Take for example Seven Samurai and its remake, The Magnificent Seven, Seven Years in Tibet… Okay, maybe not that last one. Part Seven Samurai, part Lord of the Rings, Seven Swords, the opening film of the 62nd Venice International Film Festival, [...]

MOVIES . X-Men 3 Trailer is up

MUNCHIES . Aero Bubbly Mint Chocolate

What is this? The crazy packaging made me believe bubbles were supposed to burst and/or crackle on my tongue like pop rocks chocolate or something. But alas, it is only a whipped frothy center resembling packing foam and the only thing crazy about it is the neon green coloring. So not only [...]

Getting a Bit Nippy

Cat Power - Moon Pix music review

If Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane/Starship) and Fiona Apple had a vocal offspring, it would be Chan Marshall, aka: Cat Power. If you know me, you know why this name initially grabbed me (wow go kitties!), but the exaggerated slo-mo stylings, bare-bones instrumentation and strange scraggly drawl-singing are what kept me listening.
So it’s [...]

MUNCHIES . Cucu Azuki and Cream Candy

If you’re Japanese or into the culture, you probably already know about the azuki (red bean) and cream (evaporated milk) fetish. In Hawai’i, they have snow (shaved ice) treats with the stuff piled high on it (Waiola Shave Ice in McCully is *da best*) and now there’s even the portable variety: Cucu hard [...]

Ouch my eyes!

MUSIC REVIEW . Perfume Tree . Feeler

Sometimes I buy albums for the trippy cover art or odd titles. Prior to listening stations and ease of .mp3 sampling, that practice resulted in serendipitous yays or yeechs. Perfume Tree’s Feeler turned out to be a major yay with its bounding bass and twitchy treble elements escorting songstress Jane Tilley’s choir-pitch melodies. [...]