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.

Finally. Black Cat to Debute in Spider-Man 4

I can finally step down from nerd soap box. After the first Spider-man I've been waiting for Felicia Hardy to dawn the Black Cat costume and meddle in the ever convoluted life of Peter Parker.

Mania.com reports Rachel McAdam is the front runner to portray Marvel's most famous cat burglar in the next installment of the Spider-Man movies series.

It seems fitting that Black Cat finally make her appearance with Marvel priming up for two of its next big theatrical projects: Captain America, and The Avengers. Since in some story lines, Black Cat receives her powers from the super soldier serum.

And since I know Sam Raimi reads my reviews, how about giving Carnage some love? you already have, an all be it pretty bad, Venom.

Bored to Death Season Finale

It's over, but it's not done. Last night saw the season finale of HBO's Bored to Death, but the comedy noir has already been renewed for a second season, so fans will only have to wait a couple months for Jason Schwartzman to reprise his role as author turned armature detective Jonathan Ames.


Last night's season finale centered around the much anticipated boxing matches between rivaling magazine tycoons George Christopher (Ted Danson) and Richard Antrem (Oliver Platt), with Jonathan and Ray (http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/477f3b6bc5/between-two-ferns-with-zach-galifianakis-from-between-two-ferns-comedy-deathray-and-zach-galifianakis) filling the two undercard fights against their comical counterparts. We also fallow Jonathan as he puts off writing to woo Stella (Jenny Slate), and track down a would be blackmailer.

If you've been watching the show thus far, this finale does a great job of staying the course. Usually this would be a bad thing, but Bored to Death is consistently such a great show; it's hard to bring that little extra to a finale. Schwartzman, Galifianakis, and Danson all did a wonderful job in last night's finale, and the cinematography, again, beautifully  makes New York City look less like the world's most trash covered island. But I would have to say "The Case of the Stolen Skateboard" and "The Case of the Stolen Sperm" were better episode.

With that said, Last night's episdoe was still very enjoyable, and I can't wait for the second season.
Rating: 8/10

Wish List: Totally Rockin' Tee

Ready to take your air guitar to the next level? How about a T-shirt that actually lets you thrash? The geeks over at ThinkGeek.com have come up with this face melting bad boy that lets you play fifteen chords through the mini-amp.

Yeah I can rip some pretty mean solos with the Electronic Rock T-shirt, but it's about the music man. So who wants to be my drummer? No bass shirt though. But that's cool, one less to split the groupies with. Come to think of it, I don't think I'll be getting to many groupies with this great nerd gear. At least not the type of groupies I would want.

The tees cost $30 a piece, and the guitar shirt also comes with a magnetic pic, this ain't no keytar shirt. This shirt is metal. Check out the videos to see the Think Geek Garage band testing out their rock wear.

Fourth Kind Movie Review

The Fourth Kind, starring Milla Jovovich as Dr. Abigail Tyler, opens this week and has a viewers wanting to believe. The Universal release opens with Jovovich giving a P.S.A. ala Hitchcock, or Vincent Price, and then goes on to follow Abigail as she tries to find out what exactly is going on in Nome, Alaska where her patients are suffering from sleep disorder while all "seeing" the same owl.

Once Dr. Tyler starts putting her patience under hypnosis, it's obvious that it's not an owl watching the people of Nome.

There are a lot of very intense scenes in this movie, and I can not say enough about the cinematography and score for this movie. I've never wanted more in my life to travel 3,300 mile to see mountains and forest. Lorenzo Senaatore (Director of Photography) shows how a city can be so beautiful, and isolating at the same time.

The footage from Dr. Tylers hypnosis studies are scary. 

But the acting leaves more than just a little to be desired. I can see how it would be hard for an actor to try and portray a character, and sync up their cadence and actions of another person during the split screen scenes.

Rating 7.5/10

It's really hard to get into detail about this movie without throwing out a couple of spoilers. So keep reading if you'd like to see what I really think about The Fourth Kind. I make an idiot out of myself...

Droid Review. Is it the iPhone Killer?

Verizon is hoping to topple Steve Jobs and his iPhone with the latest phone to hit the market The Droid.


Now I just picked this phone up earlier today, but I can already tell you this phone has a lot going for it.

The one feature which stands out the most for me is the screen. I always had trouble reading the screens off other phones, but the combonation of the Droid’s slightly larger screen, and its higher resolution, I can actually read web pages in their standard zoom.

While the screen was a pleasant surprise, the full QWERTY keyboard was the selling point for me. I’ve always have had trouble with the full touch phones, and the slide out keyboard works great, although sometimes the sliding feels a bit clunky.

The Droid also comes with a 16GB flash card. I’m dropping some tracks onto my player right now.

It also supports a 5 megapixel camera which I’ve already have been playing around with.

Is it the end all to be all when it comes to the cell phone game? No. Not even close. And with the iPhone 4G rumored to be debuting, I don’t think the Droid will be atop the cell phone hill for long, if at all.

I’ll have a full review for you later next week after I get some more time to play around with it.

Natural Born Time Killers

If you're like me, then you seem to find yourself with a couple extra minutes of boredom on your hands during the work day. Well I've got something for you. Check out these four great time killers next time your boss has his back to you.

$1 Cheeseburger Showdown

There's been a lot of mudsling lately, and no I'm not talking about Tuesday's off-year elections- that stuff is for nerds.

I'm talking about who deserves the $1 double cheese crown.

Raditude Review

Ratitude drops today. And Weezer's seventh album boast their most studio refined album yet; to the point of over doing it. The album jacket list five different producers, and another seven additional musicians. Most notable, Lil Wayne on the discs most annoying song "I Can't Stop Partying".

None of the songs really stand out. They all seem to blur together as most pop albums tend to do. I can already picture most of these songs blasting during the lame montage of every coming of age teen comedy next summer.

I do have to give credit when credit is due. Weezer has never been a band to make the same album twice. Each time they seem like something new, it's just this time, i wish it was something old.

The bottom line: if you like Beverly Hills, pick this up and enjoy it. If you like Pinkerton, skip this disc and wipe the tear from behind your black rimmed glasses.

Rating:5/10

At least the boys still have a sense of humor:

Trick 'r Treat Review

Make room on your DVD shelf for Trick 'r Treat. This straight to DVD holiday horror brings together four Halloween tales set in suburban Warren Valley, Ohio. Each story is tied together by the creepy half-pint pumpkin headed Sam.

This movie has a great mix of scares, gore, vampires, werewolves, drinking, and of course, classic cheesiness; keep an eye out for all the menacing candy bars.

There isn't a single thing I can think of wrong with this movie. Trick 'r treat is undeniable one of the best modern Halloween movies because it sticks to classic effects while still keeping an edgy contemporary feel. Just fast forward to the werewolf scene if you don't believe me.

In reality though, I can see why Warner Bros. sent this straight to DVD. Yes, this is a solid Halloween movie, but I can't see this doing well in theatres for more than two or three weeks before Halloween. But now, everyone will be putting Trick 'r Treat into their Halloween movie marathon.

Rating: 9/10

Statesville Haunted Prison

Statesville Haunted Prison has been one of the top rated haunted houses around, and after watchign the watching their trailer, I was really excited about going. Two Haunted houses for the prices of one. Sounds pretty good, right?

Wish List: Rick Bayless's Xoco

Mexican, and Chicago, cuisine icon Rick Bayless is putting the focus on street food at his new restaurant Xoco (pronounced SHO-ko). The Top Chef Masters winner has put together a sleek menu featuring a variety of tortas, soups, and salads.

Rick won't have to go too far to keep an eye on his new digs. Xoco is located right next to his already well established Frontera Grill in River North.

Something about Rick mixing his culinary experience, great ingredient selection, and Mexican street fare sounds very appealing. It reminds me of gyros with Cristal. Wait. That doesn't sound good at all. Maybe more like apple fritter crepes.

Marcus Leshock, one of my favorite reporters, beat to Xoco, and put together this great preview.

Always Sunny Season 4 DVD Review

Gather around gang, cause I've got something for you. Everyone's favorite Philly misfits, Mac (Rob McElhenny), Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Sweet D. (Kaitlin Olson), Charlie (Charlie Day), and Frank (Danny DeVito), just dropped their hit FX show, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, fourth season on DVD.

I haven't been much for purchasing TV shows on DVD as of late. With the rise of Hulu and... other means of acquiring shows through the internet, it has been a little bit of time since I picked up a series on DVD.

So the question is, with the readily available episodes , what would make anyone shell out the $35 for this three-disc set? The answer: Extras. And while the extras on this particular set might not be all that a plenty, they sure are worth it.

For those of us who missed the gangs touring rock-opera, The Night Man Cometh Live, based on the season finale, the set includes the live performance at the troubadour in Hollywood.

Don't sleep on the Dennis Reynolds: An Erotic Life featurette.

Grab your green man suit, grab your duster, and grab these DVDs.

FYI. Did you Know Sweet Dee and Mack are married?

Check out the behind the scenes from the episode The Night Man Cometh

HULK CARVE!

After you get your pumpkins, there is only one logical step to take next: carve them up good.

Here are three kits for you kiddies so you can have the coolest Jack-O-Lantern on the block.  The days of triangle eyes and gapped tooth smiles are over.

Pumpkinfest

I was planning on waiting to do a whole week of Halloween reviews, but I just couldn't help myself. Over the weekend I took a trip down to Didier Farms in Prairie View to pick up my first patch of soon to be Jack-O-Lanterns, and to check out the festivities at the annual Pumpkinfest.

The family owned farm will be open through the end of the month and also include

• Corn Mazwe
• Carnival Rides
• Food stand (Great corn dogs!)
• Petting Zoo
• Farmstand

There's plenty to see, and a great place to bring a small child, or a large one.

Pumpkin pickings may be scrimp, little kids have a knack for waking up early, and while yes the pumpkins are more expensive than at most places ( $.50/lbs.), but there is more to pumpkin fest than just pumpkins. It's worth the trip if you take your Autumn activities serious.

Be sure to check back when I review some pumpkin carving kits.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames Review

David Sedaris has quickly become one of America's best known modern authors, and his latest book, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, helps solidify him as one of the best in the field.

The book is a collection of essays pulled from Sedaris's life centering around death. Even with such a grim premise there is a humorous light shines throughout the works. What makes the book work is the honesty put into each piece. The book as a whole leaves a lasting impression of insight and humor.

9/10

Watch below for Sedaris on the Daily Show with John Stewart, I think he might be the only guest even shorter than Stewart.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
David Sedaris
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

Golden Goldfish

I've been eyeing one of these for quite some time now. With the R2 Fish School you can turn your finned friend into the fish equivalent of Pelé, Walter Payton, or... who ever swims through tunnels very well.

The training kit includes:

Instructional DVD R2 Fish School training platform Over 20 compatible training accessories Feeding wand Instruction manual with over 100 photos

R2 says it takes about a week for your fish to learn each trick. So much for that hole goldfish only have three second memories myth.

Pumpkin Goodness

I am a sucker for anything brand new. I walked into the local Jamba Juice and before I could even open the door the poster caught my eye. It might be back, but I've never had one before, and I am glad I took this adventure.

While I waited for the smotienista blended up my Pumpkin Smash Smoothie, she told me a little bit about the recipe, or at least as much as she could without "breaking my legs". The orange concoction consist of pumpkin puree, soy milk, frozen yogurt, nutmeg, cinnamon all blended together for a powerful fall taste. It sounds delicious because it is.

After the first sip, I could tell this was one tasty treat. If you like pumpkin pie and ice cream, you'll enjoy this without a doubt. I'd love to see the center piece at the Thanksgiving table look like some sort of Awesome Blossom of Pumpkin Smash smoothies.

30 Rock Season Premiere

Tonight marks the return of one of my favorite shows. I've been waiting since mid-May for my 30 Rock fix, and season four debut did not disappoint.

30 Rock is coming off of it's third straight Emmy award for outstanding comedy series.

Tonight's episode centered around Liz (Tina Fey) and Pete's (Scott Adsit) search for a new cast member. While Kennith (Jack McBrayer) and Jack (Alec Baldwin) match wits over bonuses and overtime.

The season opener brought back the smart writing Tina Fey honed during her tenure as head writer on SNL. Fey's prose is offset by Tracey Morgan's hyper celebrity antics. Another solid episode from one of the best shows on TV.

It's good to have my TV night line-up middle leg back. Flash Forward, The Office, 30 Rock, and Always Sunny in Philadelphia have been monopolizing my Thursday night for far too long, but in a very good way.

What's your TV day lineup? Let me know in the comments before.

Let's Do the Google Wave

The first reader request came in, and one of my favorite corporate slaves wanted me to take a look at the latest web application from Google. When I first heard about Google Wave, I was ready to be impressed with the latest innovation from the once simple search engine. After all, the same engineering team the developed the wave also created Google Maps which we all rely on to get us where we're going. The best way to describe Google Wave is a cross between GMail, Live Documents, AIM, Facebook, and Flickr. The big idea behind the tool is to create a new way to share and edit documents all in real time. It is impressive to watch someone add photos, make spelling corrections, or simply rename a document inside a browser and see the same changes happen on someone's screen. Check out the video for a more in depth look at what the wave is designed to do.

While the wave hasn't been released to the public yet, Google's demos have shown that there are some problems that still need to be worked out. I'm not a fan of the open editing. For example, I could go into your comments on a blog's wave and change them. While yes you can see who made the changes, and go back to fix them, it still seems like a bit of a hassle. I'd also like to see a direct connection feature similar to AIM, making it easier to move files from one person to another. I think the one feature holding back the wave the most would be a lack of video or voice chat. Video conferencing is just one of those things that Skype users have really come to enjoy. While Google Wave might not want to be the end all be all of internet interaction, it definitely is shaping up to be the next need to have online tool.

No offical release date has been set yet, but late last month Google sent out 1,000 beta user invites. Check out the full Demo from Team Google.

Metromix Blog

A while back, I had one of the best jobs I could have ever hoped for. I was an intern on CLTV's Metromix. I know it might sound like a low job, but to be honest, it was the most fun I ever had. I would, and did, work there for free.

While I was there I got to hang out with some really talented and fun people, and I got to meet some celebs too.

Later in the week I'll post some of the stories I worked on.  Watch out for the tater-tot eeating contest.

Check out some of my blog entries from my tenure as an intern.

I'll Tell You What I Want...

...What I really, really want. So I've made an executive decision to make Sundays my "I wish I could review..." day. For this first installment I found a tech toy which not only looks cool, but has a hilarious commercial.

Bleeps aside, the Powermat looks like and sounds like the wave of the future. There are currently two versions on the market, one for your home or office, and a travel style. The Powermat goes for a hundred bucks, and then you still have to get the receiver for your device. I know it might sound a little steep, but a boy can dream. Check out some of the other cool stuff the people at Powermat have come up with here.

Paranormal Activity Review

All you future movie makers out there take note. Paranormal Activity is a lesson in marketing. This movie reportedly cost only $15,000 to produce, and I'm sure by this point has made its money back off one screen through its explosive advertisement campaign. The micro-budget thriller premiered back in 2007 and has been building buzz on college campuses and small film festivals. Paramount finally picked up the movie in 2008 and slated it for limited release. The movie centers around a couple Mica and Katie, a young couple haunted by demon that has been following Katie since she was eight years old. Sceptic Mica buys top of the line video gear to try and catch the malevolent spirit on tape. What this movie does, which so few do today, is not show you the monster. There is no over the top special effect creature you see five minutes into the opening credits. This movie is that thing in the dark you're afraid of. What it does best is built the intensity of each scare. Each time you know something is coming, just not what. It's not fair to say this is a perfect horror film, or even close. The whole concept of the film is nothing new. The single camera movie was done better in Rec, and even the American version Quarantine. And the whole time during the film, I kept feeling like this was some sort of Blair Witch take off, especially towards the end. Over all though, I will admit this movie did genuinely scare me, and I'll give it an 8.5/10. This movie has definitely got me ready for the Halloween Season.

Widgets and Gadgets

All the kids today are raving about the sidebar. For those of you that don't know, a sidebar is is a handy way to show information and applications on the side of your desktop. In reality you can move them anywhere, but most people keep them to the right side. Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft all have their own versions of these apps. Some are very useful for the super computer savvy trying to keep tabs on their computer's performance, like this one from Microsoft. Others, are pretty silly, but who can say "no" to a hungry kitty as it chases your mouse around the screen.

I use a combination of Yahoo's Widgets, and Microsoft's gadgets. Just by glancing at my sidebar you can tell I have some pretty nerd ones, not to mention zombies lurking in the background.

Up top I have a handy little e-mail notifier. It simply tells me ow many new messages in my inbox. Since the battery died in my Casio CA53W-1, I dropped two more apps, the clock comes standard with Vista, and the Calculator comes in handy a lot more than you would think. Not to mention you can customize the colors to fit your style.

My media player also comes from Microsoft. It's a solid little music player and from what I can tell it also plays video files. The one major problem I have with it is the player doesn't respond to the hot keys on my keyboard. So when ever Yanni comes on I have to minimize all my windows to skip tracks.

For pictures I opted for this picture frame from Polaroid. It's no secret that I love old School Polaroid pictures and am disgusted by the prices for these vintage visual loveys. So this has become a close second. Say "Hi" to Tom and Wee-Wee.

And at the bottom for all us bookworms I've docked a quick link to Dictionary.com for quick look-ups.

Hit up the comments to let me know if there are any really good apps out there I'm missing out on, or if you just want to brag about your sidebar Setup

First Post

Welcome to my blog. I hope to have a layout and template done by the end of next week. I'm going to try really hard to get atleast five post a week up, and as I go they will get a little more regular. If somehow you find out about this site and you have anything you want reviewed shoot me an e-mail. Until we meet again...