Moving Away from Print

Not really, but going to start a podcast. if you find this got to funnypagespodcast.blogspot.com. If you love comic books, you love this podcast

Pho U Review

The Northwest burbs finally have a respectable pho stop. Pho U(23 E. Dundee Rd, Buffalo Grove) has been serving up their noodle soup for almost a year now, and last weekend when I was sitting down to my big bowl of pho, it finally dawned on me: review this place dummy.

If you don't know, pho is Vietnamese rice noodle soup made with beef broth served with a side plate of lime slices, bean sprouts, peppers and fresh herbs. Traditionally considered peasant food, Pho has quickly found a home in the hearts of cuisine connoisseurs around the world.

If you've already had your fill of pho, try some of there other dishes like cold soba, or the marinated shaved pork.

Unlike most pho shops around, Pho U is surprisingly clean and supports a modern decor. Not to mention, the wait staff is always great and know their pho.

Don't think you'll be paying big prices at Pho U. You can expect to pay just over $10 a person for appetizers and entrees. If you've never tried Vietnamese cuisine, Pho is a safe first go around.

Rating: 9/10

Wish List: The Tossers NYE Shin-dig

There are good ideas, and then there are great ideas, and this my friends, is a great idea: Let's put together Chicago's two biggest party holidays together. I'm talking about mixing New Year's Eve and St. Patty's Day into one forgotten unforgettable night.

The Celtic rockers The Tossers are headlining a show Reggies Rock Club NYE. The South Side hometown boys, and girl, will be sharing the stage with Yakuza and Scott Lucas & The Married Men.

Tickets are going for $30, but no open bar for the night, so keep your ears open for last names so you put some drinks on someone's tab. Why not? It's a party.

I've been lucky enough to see the tossers live a couple times, but if you've never caught their show here's a taste:

2012: SERIOUSLY?

2012. What can I say? I understand in disaster movies like these you have to suspend reality, but Roland Emmerich made a more believable movie when he had Will Smith team up with Jeff Goldblum to fight aliens in Independence Day. Which, by the way, thank goodness those alien computers were Mac compatible.

In this latest apocalyptic feature, hometown boy John Cusack plays Jackson Curtis, a no name divorced writer, who finds himself trying to unite his family while out running an exploding Earth. While on the other side of the country Dr. Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Eljiofor) tries to wrangle world leaders, and the super rich in a top secret plan to survive the end of days, while preserving the humanity of the human race on the side.

The story lines are too convoluted, the characters, with the exception of maybe Cusack are one-dimensional, and the dramatic scenes literally bored me to sleep.

As for the special effects, they're good, but they still didn't help make the movie any better. I didn't believe the characters were in danger. Apparentyly everyone in that movie can fly like a Topper Harley, Goose, Ice Man, and Maverick all rolled into one. It was more like watching a nature documentary on steroids.

I didn't feel any real suspense or anticipation until hour eight of the movie, when they drop all the CG effects and start using the water tank sets.

On the good side... Woody Harrelson has a great cameo, and I thought about Zombieland for about five minutes.

Rating: 3/10

I hate to spoil, but I can't help myself. Why would you build the largest boats ever conceived of, in the history of the human race, at the top of the Himalayas? You are going to have to sail those giant ass ships through a mountain range. Not to mention the shipping cost of moving the raw materials up a mountain. 2012. Seriously?

Droid: Full Review

I've been test running the Droid for a week now, and this phone is legit. That's not to say it doesn't have its shortcomings. I'm not going to get into the technical specs, you can get those here.

The Good: Phones are supposed to make phone calls, and since I've switched from my Juke, several people have commented on the improved voice clarity. The video player is really crisp. I've actually found the MP4 fomrat I was using compressed the video too much; making the resolution too pixilated. So I had to switch from a 176x144 to a 352x288 output. The Browser is nice and fast. When I compared it side by side with my friend's iPhone, it loaded pages faster both over Wi-Fi and the 3G networks, but there have been reports online of the browser battle going the other way around I have become a big fan of the of the pull down menu on the Driod. It's a nice little tab that stores all your notices, email, Text messages, voice mail, etc, and let's you know what've missed.

The Surprising: I initially wanted the phone because of the slide out QWERTY keyboard, but the touch screen keyboard responds so well, I find myself using it more than I thought I would be. Smart phones today live and die by their apps. While the Android Market boast 10,000 applications, many free, and while it may take some hunting to find the really well made ones, they're out there, and more are added every day.

The Bad: The Android 2.0 OS did freeze up on me once since I've had it. I think it's because the app I was using was designed for the original android OS. While I was running the app, slid open the keyboard and the phone froze up. One other OS note, sliding between the panes is a little choppy. Not so much a bad feature, as a quirk, the volume for the built in voice navigation system comes off as a little soft spoken, and the voice itself is awfully robotesque. I still have not been able to sync all my contacts from my Facebook account with my old phonebook. The phone just won't let me. I've also found the battery life is far from even tolerable. The phone can not go a whole night of regular use without needing to be plugged in.

Overall, the Droid is not only a great phone, but a great piece of technology. But it will not be the one to topple the iPhone.