Two hours later he was gone, with sixty of my dollars. But I have the miracle cream! January 30, 2008
Posted by argotnavis in Humor, TV/Movies.Tags: advertising, quackery
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After a while, anyone who watches a lot of television will come to expect a certain amount of advertising for highly effective medical treatments, usually weight loss drugs (of course, they couldn't say it on TV if it weren't true!). Sometimes, though, you come across a really good ad, like the one I saw today on the Discovery Channel.
Presenting Kinoki Foot Pads! (There are some pretty funny comments in that Consumerist piece, too.) It's a pretty beautiful piece of advertising. Of course, they're based on an ancient Chinese Japanese secret, which, as it turns out, is reflexology . . . which is really more of a not-so-ancient American secret. The woman in the kimono is still a nice touch, though. Reflexology as a cure for disease is already a fantastic source of weapons-grade bolonium, but this is even better. Reflexology is basically a form of therapeutic foot massage, and yet this amazing Band-Aid covered in some magical plant extract (I believe it's bamboo vinegar) manages to find those same pressure points. Sounds reasonable to me. And look at all of the things it can cure! All of this by removing the toxins in your body through your feet. Why, it'll even get rid of all of that pesky thulium you've surely been complaining about. Just look at that awesome tree graphic. If trees get rid of toxins through their roots, it does stand to reason that humans do the same through their feet (Newsflash, Lisa, Bart is not a horse!). And on top of all that, it's FDA registered! Hurrah!
I'm beginning to think that what they say is true: every damn minute.
On food . . . as usual January 25, 2008
Posted by argotnavis in Food, Life, TV/Movies.Tags: Food Network, Jeopardy!, Mama Lucia, wok hei
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Three things I feel like I have to mention:
First, Mama Lucia has returned to television. There were several Mama-free weeks of Jeopardy!, but it seems like they've come to their senses, as Mama Lucia appeared again last night right after the show. Thank heavens.
Second, after watching an episode of the mostly annoying Throwdown last night (Bobby lost!), I think I need to eat a Muffuletta. I haven't had one, but I have no doubt that it will be the best damn sandwich I've ever had in my life.
Third, I enjoy stir frying now and then. After watching an episode of the mostly awesome Good Eats (see a trend here?), I've become interested in the concept of wok hei (“the breath of the wok”). Essentially, the idea is that to properly cook in a wok, you need to get it searing hot, which does, as you might expect, involve a rather hot flame. The general consensus, both from Alton Brown and, as my grandmother would say, the powers that be, is that the ideal way to achieve this is with a King Kooker (which, I suppose, has the advantage of doubling as a turkey fryer). The disadvantage to this is that using one indoors would be bad. Maybe not total protonic reversal, but still bad. Important safety tip. Thanks.
The King Kooker is not really a viable option for me at the moment, but as luck would have it, I am cooking with gas. Unfortunately, our wok also happens to be non-stick. I know that it is generally not a good idea to heat a non-stick pan to any temperature that could be described as “searing,” but I'm willing to put our very expensive wok in peril in the name of science. Yes, it's probably dangerous to me, too. I'll get a proper wok one of these days. Anyway, the point is, I still don't think I'm getting the wok hot enough, but that might just be because I'm not giving it enough time to heat up. At any rate, my chicken got a little bit of that nice wok hei last night, and it was awesome. I think I have a new goal.
