Sarku Japan (Kenwood Mall)

Sarku Japan located in Kenwood Mall’s food court beckoned me one afternoon, thus I accepted and gave it a shot.  Bad decision.  First off, let’s get this squared way, I don’t regret eating there; it wasn’t horrible, just painfully average.  They were schilling chicken teriyaki, but I, ever the adventurer, opted for beef and shrimp teriyaki.  The crew working wasn’t nice or rude to me, in fact; they rather ignored me altogether, insisting on yelling at passerby in high voices nonstop.  The drink?  They talked me into a large, which was in a huge translucent plastic cup, and contained 95% Coke and 5% ice… that wasn’t a ratio I was very pleased with.  The food?  Let’s just say it was entirely too forgettable.  The beef was of no discernible origin.  It could have been any animal, for all I knew, as it was chewy, tasteless, and in thin slivers.  The shrimp wasn’t bad; and both the rice and steamed vegetables were edible yet bland.  The final result wasn’t a tragedy, yet certainly a flawed lunch.

Overall Grade: C 

Yu Yu Hakusho Ghost Files – Vol. #5 – The Beasts of Maze Castle

In this DVD second-tier character Kuwabara is showcased primarily, as in 2 of the 3 episodes on this disc are solely dedicated to his battle with Byakko.  This volume of the series is action, action, and more action.  If you’re unfamiliar with the story, I’d recommend starting from the beginning… although, if you’re just watching for fun; it’s not a bad spot to jump in.  Customary with this series, FUNimation doesn’t deliver with the special features; a couple lame DBZ trailers, and a few miniscule Japanese text translations are included.  Overall, it’s moderately entertaining… but not altogether unforgettable.

Overall Grade: B- 

Calendar Club (Cincinnati Mills)

Every year you’ll notice stores popping up like this one around the holiday season.  Directly after Christmas they’ll put everything on sale, for example; everything in the store was %50 off when I made my visit.  The store, although temporary, is fairly well put together.  The calendars are categorized via genre… such as nature, sports, entertainment, animals, etc.  Being that calendars were half-off, they were now generally going for $6.50 a pop, which is considerably fairer than the jacked-up $13.00 plus prices they carry these days.  My girlfriend got a Christina Aguilera calendar, which was reasonably easy to find.  As you can judge via the accompanying picture, I found a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles calendar I was particularly enamored with.  Overall, it wasn’t a bad store, but remember… do wait until after Christmas if you’re serious about getting yourself a new calendar, the discounted prices are worth the wait.

  

Overall Grade: B 

Sideways

I really enjoy this film.  I was impressed by Alexander Payne’s last film About Schmidt, and eagerly anticipating this one.  It didn’t disappoint.  It anchors some real emotional scenes with some delightful and oft times unexpected humor.  Paul Giamatti has a real knack for playing characters that are down on their luck, so to speak, and here he’s entirely convincing, not to mention a real treat to watch.  Thomas Haden Church, who, I admittedly knew little about, really stole some scenes with his character’s hilarity.  He’s a riot!  There’s a lot of wine talk in the film, and although I know little to nothing about the joys of wine, at this movie’s core is a real personable story that’s very refreshing for Hollywood, and a real delight.  In it’s own way, Sideways is very charming, and a wonderfully done film.

Overall Grade: A 

X-Treme X-Men – Vol. #8 – Prisoner of Fire

I don’t know a lot about X-Treme X-Men; but I do know a fare amount about comic books.  These aren’t very good.  The story arc isn’t real strong; essentially, one comic cliché after another fill up the majority of the collected content.  All that this graphic novel really has going for it are a couple select moments, but nothing that’s particularly recommend viewing.  The writing isn’t even the weakest link, that nod I’d drop in the lap of the penciler Igor Kordey, whose art didn’t strike me as impressive, and at times rather pore, especially in regards to his work on facial expressions.   This book collects X-Treme X-Men #40 thru #46, and a bonus story 2001 Annual written by Chris Claremont.  Some of the major characters include Bishop, Magma, Gambit, Rogue, Cannonball, Sage, Shadowcat, and a slew of other unmentionables, including a pretty tame selection of villains.  Overall, if your public library carries it, and you’re an X-Men fan, I’d suggest skimming through it, but otherwise I’d leave it alone.

Overall Grade: C

Rap Snacks

Life is in it’s own unique way an adventure… and much like Christopher Columbus and his many discoveries, I believe we’ve stumbled upon our very own goldmine; behold… Rap Snacks!

   

Ms. Toi – Sweeties 

Ms. Toi graces this bag’s front; wearing a choker, huge hoop earrings, and an Inglewood cut-off tee… this tells us one of two things; she’s a fashion conscious sister, or, she’s from another planet.  The chips, apparently flavored after mystery taste known only to us mere humans as “Sweeties”, is lacking in many areas.  The most obvious is… they’re inedible!  The taste coming in somewhere between sweet and savory, the overall chip lacks definition, and isn’t crunchy enough to service my chip needs.

Overall Grade: C

Lil’ Romeo – Bar-b-quin’ with my Honey 

Whoever came up with the name “Bar-b-quin’ with my Honey” is either a genius, or a mental patient.  Lil’ Romeo, loved by UPN watchers worldwide, adorns the cover… and in the background is a derivative cityscape.  These chips, as far as actual snacks go, weren’t that bad.  If, for instance, I was at a party in a bowl of these were offered for consumption… I’d easily mistake them for some generic brand BBQ chip.

Overall Grade: B

Magic – Honeydew Cheese Curls 

Magic appears on the cover of this bag, appearing as though he say… just robbed a grocery store, or perhaps mugged an old woman.  But, doesn’t he look cool?  Representing some serious “ice”, this modern day rap goliath stands defiantly… urging you to try his particular snack variety.  Although my partners strongly disagree with me, these were, in fact… my favorite!  The name itself peaked my interests to new unforeseen heights… Honeydew Cheese Curls?  If something this obscure exists than something is definitely right in this country.  The taste, although nothing like the green fruit Honeydew, is actually a lot like the other two aforementioned flavors… a very blasé BBQ with hints of ass.

Overall Grade: B+

In conclusion… these things are great.  I mean, you don’t buy these generally speaking for your lunch, or as a late night snack.  You buy these… because, well; they’re downright ridiculous!   Touted proudly as the official snack of hip-hop, it leaves me wondering what the official snacks of jazz, heavy metal, and polka might produce?  Hopefully we’ll never find out the answer to that question… I don’t think our stomachs could handle it.

Overall Grade: A-