Archives For November 30, 1999
Scouting out places to eat while swimming in the hubbub of San Diego Comic-Con can be a challenge. Luckily, I’ve attended the Con with determined foodies every year, and we’ve had the pleasure of finding some of the best food, without wandering far from the convention center. Here’s a list of my top picks:
1. Devilicious Food Truck
You guys, they have a butter-poached lobster and grilled cheese sandwich. It’s one of the best things you’ll ever have. Plus, this food truck is cheap, quick, and easy to eat on the run. Check out their website to see their schedule: http://deviliciousfoodtruck.com/schedule/
2. Rama
If you catch your breath long enough for a sit-down meal, Rama has fantastic Thai cuisine in the gas lamp quarter. We loved the crispy calamari (pictured), but we were also all up on their garlic-crusted chicken and duck drunken noodles. For a place with perfect food and awesome atmosphere that won’t break the bank, be sure to check it out. See our full Rama review. Located at 327 4th Ave.
3. Marina Kitchen at the Marriott Marquis
Conveniently located right next to the convention center, the Marina Kitchen is perfect for a quick bite in the middle of the day when you don’t want to wander too far from the action, but when you can’t eat anymore nachos or hot dogs from Hall H. Marina Kitchen is known for its warm potato chips topped with crispy prosciutto and cheese (pictured), as well as being a hoppin’ place packed with celebrities and industry peeps– check out the bar at night to see what we mean. Read our full review of Marina Kitchen here. Located at 333 W Harbor Dr.
Well, today Jeff and I leave for San Diego, and I’m bursting at the seams with excitement as we head toward ComicCon! I couldn’t help but reminisce of all the fun times I’ve had in years past, so I thought I’d share some of my favorite memories. Enjoy, and look forward to many more gushing updates and fun photos from ComicCon in the next week!
(zombie obstacle course at Petco Park– 2012)
(zombie obstacle course at Petco Park– 2012)
(getting to ask Quentin Tarantino a question and almost fainting– 2012)
Well, I didn’t think it was possible, but Man of Steel actually made me like Lois Lane. Not only was it the first time I believed she was a journalist capable of winning a Pulitzer, but she also seemed like a good person. Say what you will about the newest Superman movie (I liked it, despite the criticisms), it features the best Lois Lane ever featured in comics, television, or film.
I liked that Man of Steel took time to show Lois Lane’s character, letting the audience see her curiosity, quick wit, and intelligence, rather than just telling the audience that’s she’s smart. Lane’s passion for her career and her unwavering desire to find truth showed an interesting, driven individual. This is all very different from the Lois we usually see, who can’t take care of herself, let alone tell if a guy is Superman when he puts his glasses on.
Not only is Lois pretty dense in most depictions, but she’s also downright mean, and it’s difficult to see why Clark is so head-over-heels for her. She’s always firing off some snide remark about Clark being from a small town, or making fun of his clumsiness. And since she’s mean and dumb, we’re only left with one conclusion: “Clark must be into her because she’s hot.” Either that, or he’s a glutton for punishment.
In this latest Superman rendition, however, Lois shows kindness, trustworthiness, and honesty. She shows she’s a person who Clark can count on, and it’s clear that they have a deep and meaningful relationship, rather than one simply built on Lois getting in trouble and Superman saving her every 10 seconds. Because of her kindness and sincerity, Lois brings hope to Clark—hope that the world’s capable of change, nuanced thinking, and acceptance.
Lastly, I loved Amy Adams as Lois Lane. She doesn’t look like previous Lois Lanes, and I think that’s a very good sign indeed. Like any actress, Amy Adams is attractive, but she’s also not too young—she shows some laugh lines, and she doesn’t have a supermodel body. She looks like the woman next door—and therefore, she looks like the kind of woman who very well could have devoted her life to journalism, rather than facials, working out, and tanning. And I like that.
If nothing else, I dare you to argue that Man of Steel didn’t feature the best Lois Lane of all time.
If you didn’t know yet, our entire apartment drips with geekery in every room—our bathroom feels like a horror scene, our living room displays action figures and a giant print depicting us as superheroes, and even our kitchen cabinets and drawers house geeky kitchen gear. As equal parts geek and foodie, our pop culture kitchen supplies are some of our most used and most loved possessions. Here’s a list of some of our favorites:
PacMan Oven Glove
I don’t know about you, but I try to incorporate PacMan into my life any way I can. I’m the weirdo at the arcade who takes a stool and sits at PacMan forever, as if driven by compulsion and a touch of neurosis. So, when I saw PacMan could help me out in the kitchen, I was throwing money at it! If you haven’t used silicone oven mitts, you don’t know what you’re missing. Even though they may look sleek and slippery, they have fantastic grip, so even the clumsiest of cooks (like me) can navigate the kitchen without getting burned.
Geeky Aprons
Bethany Sew & Sew makes some fantastically geeky aprons with inspiration from comics, video games, and movies, along with a bunch of other handmade goodies. For the craftsy-inclined, she also includes sewing tutorials for how to make stuff on your own. Alas, I’m scared I would accidentally sew my fingers together.
It bothers me when people say, “Where are the strong women in comics?” On the one hand, I get it. They’re referring to the long and torrid history of women in superhero comics, wherein dames have generally either played fatales, girlfriends, or women in refrigerators. The male heroes (is that redundant in this context?) come and go as they please—hell, they even die and come back from the dead—while the female heroes (yes, I decided I’m against the word ‘heroine’) have a history of weaknesses and inane feminine fancy.
I’m sure we’ve all rolled our eyes at an old Wonder Woman comic until we thought our eyeballs would pop out of our heads–if this hasn’t happened to you, you need to practice your eye-rolling. I mean, how does Wonder Woman always end up tied to a chair or otherwise subjected to bondage in every story?
Yes, comic books don’t have the best track record when it comes to women, but when people complain about women in comics, they’re usually referring to superhero comics, which generally have messed up gender stereotypes for everyone to enjoy. Comic book pages may be slightly more offensive for women, but let’s be real: comics showcase rampant stereotypes and a flattening of characters all around, genders be damned.
The women may not be fleshed out, but the men rarely are, either. Superhero comics usually focus on cosmic plots rather than character development, and there’s a place for that– some superhero fights are pretty fun and epic.
Even though some superhero comics have gotten better with character development, there’s a beautiful world outside of superhero comics that show all kinds of characters, both male and female, coping with various crises. And what do you know? There’s character development and fully functioning adults from both genders. Since I’m specifically focusing on dispelling the myth that comics don’t have any strong female characters, here are some of my favorite women in comics.
Alana in Saga.
Saga has some of the best writing in comics, period. All the characters are interesting, fully developed, and downright likable. Alana is one of the few women that I’ve read in fiction—not just comics—who actually sounds like a real, living, breathing, thinking woman. She’s smart, strong, and snarky, and she’d do anything for her child or her husband, which doesn’t make her any less powerful. She’s a balanced, whole individual.
New York Mouth is one in a million. You can order high-quality small batch foods, shipped straight to your door. Plus, I could easily spend hours perusing their gorgeous site, complete with colorful pictures of all the food and specific descriptions of each product– some with hilarious six-word reviews. There’s something for everyone—gluten-free, vegan, and carnivore customers alike. And as awesome as their website looks, the packages they send are even better. There’s so much attention to detail, with a personalized note, a free chocolate, and a free canvas tote bag (that I now use to take lunches to work). Plus, each of the items is carefully and individually wrapped to make sure it survives shipping. It can’t get any better.
What NYM offers changes with the seasons, as good food should. There’s lots of stuff we still want to try, but we wanted to give you a look at our first shipment. We can’t wait to order more and possibly ship goodies to friends. Some highlights that we’ve loved so far: bourbon smoked sugar, peanut cocoa butter, and drunken monkey jam. We still have our eye on some outrageously good-looking stuff, such as The King candy bar, black truffle salami, and red wine poached pears.
This is a Munny, and it is the most unique wedding gift we received (and believe me, we got plenty of unique gifts). Currently, it sits proudly on one of our large bookshelves and tallies compliments from guests.
For those of you unfamiliar with the magical world of Kid Robot, go to their site educate yourself. It’s a company based out of LA that primarily makes vinyl figures designed by contemporary artists, but they also have pillows, large installation figures, and street clothes. Over the years, we’ve collected our fair share of blind box figures, along with t-shirts and hoodies. And if you’re a Comic-Con frequenter, Kid Robot always has a cool booth with artists doodling on giant Munnys.
It just so happens that my brother is the ever-talented artist and writer behind False Positive, and he generously bought a blank Mega Munny and painted it for us. Let me be clear: this is by far the coolest thing in our apartment. We like to think there’s a story behind this Munny—that this girl (vampire?) is a monster slayer, who sews clothes out of the skins of her slaughtered prey.
Enjoy.
Geek Appetite: Serving up geek goodies & good eats 