Fast Food Demons Taunting Me!

Ninjabeats vs. erniesbudolab - Vegemite Challenge

Oh My God! Nina totally surprised me on her blogTV channel. I showed her my bottle of Vegemite, and then she challenged me to an eating contest. I think we both "lost" and "won." She won the volume category, and I won the least number of gags. We both lost because we had to eat something afterwards just to kill the aftertaste.


No Title- Broadcast your self LIVE

Nina's a kick-in-the-head fun friend. I'm so glad I've got a buddy to joke around with on the internet!

Two Videos in One Day = No Sleep

I'm cranking out as many vids as I can before the Holidays really puts a cramp in my side. And, I've got another gasshuku to go to in mid-October.

So, here's two videos I made yesterday:

VIDEO #1: "My New iPod"



The cassette player in my pick up truck finally croaked. Lately, I've been getting tired of "rewind" "fast forward" and "search" just to groove to my road tunes. I won't toss all my mix tapes. Those are going into my archives. All these non-linear functions on all of digital gear has created an impatient society. Now I'm one of them. Good bye analog cassettes...hello iTunes!

VIDEO #2: "Kevin's Birthday Salute"



Kevin is my bestest buddy. In ways, he is more a brother to me than my real life brothers. We've known each other since the age of 14. I've helped him, in small and subtle ways, to grow in the entertainment industry. And for the last 12 years, I've spent almost every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Eve with him and his family.

Kevin and his wife Melinda now live in Cape Cod. They've found the kind of setting where they feel safe to raise their children as well as launch new careers.

Hamabe Gasshuku and a Walk in the Woods

Every year, for the past eleven years, I've helped raise college scholarship funding for "at-risk" youth. A bunch of us karateka here in Northern California meet at a beach and donate money and buy T-shirts. The non-profit organization also raises funds from other sources. Over the years, we have supported several people up to Bachelor Degrees and technical degrees.

Ernie's Randomania 1

Just some random goofiness:

Ernie Opens His Prize From GirlTalkMD!

A few weeks ago, I entered a YouTube Contest conducted by GirlTalkMD, a Mother/Daughter team from Canada. They wanted to know: What's in our purses? They revealed what they had in theirs and invited the YouTube community to video reply with the contents of their purses. Well...I don't carry a purse, but I revealed what I carry in my fannypack. Technically, it's a gun holster that looks like a fannypack. Don't worry. I don't carry a gun. I like it because it's got lots of cargo compartments.


[One more thing to carry...yeah, I know!

Chill Pills or Sloppy Joes?

Christine's original video here

Where Do They Get The Names?

Fellow blogger, Aviva Bowman, asked how do they (Japanese food/candy companies) come up with those strange flavor combinations when they adapt Western recipes/snacks for their markets. I'm like her; some work, others don't.

It's chocolate. It's crunchy... It's CRUNKY?



I thought CRUNKY would have the taste and feel of CRUNCH, but it misses the mark big time. Perhaps it's the percentage of cocoa or the way the "crispies" were made. I assume the candy was made the way it is so that it can survive tropical shipping. An American bar would melt a lot faster, in my opinion. On the pallete, CRUNKY has an almost plastic feel on the tongue, like the residue those wax-lip candies leave behind after you chew on them for awhile.

The parent company LOTTE is huge!

Lotte Group is a large South Korea-Japan chaebol (conglomerate). LOTTE Co., Ltd. was established in June 1948 in Tokyo, Japan by a Korean businessman, Shin Kyuk-Ho (신격호) also known as Shigemitsu Takeo (重光 武雄).

Lotte Group consists of over 50 business units employing 38,000 people engaged in such diverse industries as candy manufacturing, beverages, hotels, fast food, retail, financial services, heavy chemicals, electronics, IT, construction, publishing, and entertainment. Today, Lotte is South Korea's 5th largest conglomerate. Lotte has major operations in South Korea, Japan, China, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, USA, and Russia and continues to expand. (Wikipedia)

I would like to submit my name for the position of: Official Candy Name Thinker-Upper. (I'd like to have offices in Tokyo, Naha, London, New York, and Culver City.) I'll head up the task of re-branding items people think are "weird."

[Scroll down for my "Pocky Party" video. I back dated it to coincide with the original YouTube posting date.]

Pocky Party

Here's a YouTube video response to YouTuber "wallofweird" (aka Katrina).

Ernie Replies to GirlTalkMD

The Girls at GirlTalkMD (on YouTube) subscribe to my YouTube channel. They're a mother-daughter team, and they're both a kick in the head. Recently they posted a video called "What's in Our Purses?" Responders, mostly women, have to disclose the contents of their purses.

My buddy, RetardedMango and I, as far as I know are the only guys to participate. Mango described his "purse" as a MAN-BAG. And, I said guys don't carry purses, but I opened up my fannypack for public inspection...



[Double click the frame above to go to YouTube to find links to the original GirlTalkMD video as well as other responders.]

Ramune Soda in the USA

I've seen posted on YouTube clips of kids in the USA trying to open bottles of Ramune soda from Japan. Up until a couple of hours ago, I haven't been able to find a store in my neighborhood that carried the brand.

Well...



Thanks to Sangria USA, Inc. of Torrence, California for bringing this shower in a bottle to America!

I need to get these babies iced down. Taste test coming up! Stay tuned.

Tim Tam Slam-a-thon

Sorry for not posting for awhile. I've been doing some heavy research and video editing for an upcoming project.

On another note, my "Triple String Nunchaku" video tutorial on YouTube has surpassed 5,000 views. It also has been featured on AOL Video, Truveo, Freestyle Nunchaku Forum, and I've received several emails from nunchaku enthusiasts around the world.

To celebrate this achievement, it is customary on YouTube to "glut-o-nize" yourself on some kind of food. I've seen people eat big buckets of chicken wings, an extra large pizza, tubs of this-n-that.

I'm going to binge on Tim Tams from Australia. But, I'm going to "slam" each Tim Tam. "How do you slam a Tim Tam?" you ask. Easy. Bite the ends off, get a cup of your favorite hot beverage, and sip said beverage with the Tim Tam as if t were a straw. When it's filled, it'll start to melt. So, you have to quickly pop it into your mouth where it will EXPLODE with orgasmic deliciousness.

I now present to you, my Tim Tam Slam-a-thon (with musical accompaniment by the B-52's performing "Rocklobster."

Okinawan Pork Products

I bought one of these four years ago:



...and I ate tebishi two years ago!



But Aviva wins the pot pie contest with THIS ONE.

Walking Around SF Japan Town

SF Sakura Matsuri 2008 J-Town Champloo

I've Been Tagged, Dagnabbit!

A vortex from outerspace must have formed above my head because I'm being suckered into proliferating this cosmic trend.

Six Quirks About Myself

Well, Aviva Bowman tagged me. She and her family are stationed in Okinawa (Her hubby is a Marine; daughter attends school and is Aviva’s favorite photography subject.) I discovered her blog while creating my own.

Now, I have to reveal six quirks about my character.

1. I’m Filipino, but I prefer colder climes.
2. When it comes to books, I have a “read within 5 years pile” and “read within 20 years pile.”
3. My preference is analog over digital.
4. I wish I could sing tenor.
5. I don’t like leftovers, but I’ll eat from dented cans.
6. Deep down, I’m just a “sci-fi kinda guy.”

Here are the tagging rules:

1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules in your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged bloggers' blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

I’d like to add: No tag backs, please.

Here's the list of people I've tagged. (Half of whom don't know me for which I apologize, but maybe something positive will arise - if you like my blog. I certainly liked yours, otherwise I wouldn't have chosen each of yours.) Back track the tag histories. I've found many interesting and talented people, which is what I suppose this whole game is about: Networking.

Kevin
Perpetual Beginner
Katie
Mostly Torn
Pam
Retarded Mango

Ernie is a [Girl Scout] Cookie Monster

A friend at work bought a couple of boxes of Girl Scout cookies as a favor to a friend. She's been on a diet and had left the cookies on her desk since late February. As a favor to keep her on her diet, I relieved her of the temptations. I just recently dropped twenty-seven pounds and decided to celebrate...by eating some of the cookies.



Thanks Le Ann!

Really Cool Pizza Delivery Guy

...Dan Balan: Crazy Loop

If I could end up being surrounded by Romanian supermodels, I'd deliver pizza.

HappyTips for HappySlip

Christine asked, so I made this video.

Less is More

The rain and wind here in the SF Bay Area has put the kibosh on my video shoots. Until I get some clear skies, here's some classic Sesame Street:



Ernie Rules!!!

T2: Takoyaki & Trance

In a previous post, I mentioned that I like Trance music. Well, I also like Takoyaki. Here's how to make it...with a drum beat:



I'm making these on New Year's Eve!