Party like a YouTube star

A couple of weeks ago Rigel and I were invited to a party and we took the girls with us. Not only that, but it was at a restaurant called Pink Taco, located on the Sunset Strip. You might be asking yourself, "What kind of crazy people take their teenagers to a party in the middle of Hollywood at a Mexican joint with a name that is slang for lady parts?" We asked ourselves this, too, but their tasty yet strong margaritas made it hard to answer our own questions.

But this wasn't just any party, it was a party being thrown by the awesome people at Nintendo, part of their sneak peek weekend to intro their upcoming Wii U system. But besides that and the excellent guacamole, there was another reason we had to come: there were a few celebrities Kiyomi wanted to stalk meet and Kira - well, she just likes a good party.

I've got to tip my hat to Nintendo, because they really do have a beat on the teen market. While other brands are busy catering to young kids, or adults with young kids, or babies still in the womb – Nintendo manages to get into the teenage brain, sort through all the Cheeto dust and find what they really want.

Case in point: The celebrities they had at this gatherings were YouTube stars, and if you know anything about anything you know that these young, talented, hip personalities are like superheros to teenagers and are going to take over the world someday. (Sorry, you old, tired celebrities that don't have YouTube channels.) When Kiyomi found out she was going to be in the same room with a few of these dudes, I believe her exact words were, "MY LIFE IS COMPLETE." I think the only time I've ever uttered those words was when I discovered I could buy Pringles at the gas station.

(Seriously, if you want to impress your teenager and up your hipness quotient without squeezing into a pair of skinny jeans and putting on a beret, memorize these names and check out their YouTube channels.)

Adam Robertson
Jimmy Wong
Joey Graceffa
Luke Canard
Alex Carpenter

There were more there, but these are Kiyomi's faves. She made cards for each of them, proving the apple doesn't fall far from the social media tree:

(This one was for Michael Aranda, who wasn't there that night. If you're reading this, Michael, your card's waiting for you.)

These guys were all so super sweet to my girls, taking the time to chat and take pictures.  But here's the thing about teenage girls who aren't yet YouTube stars – they don't like having their photos posted on the internet. So here's the only one I was allowed to show, Adam Robertson laughing along with Kiyomi's arms. We're hoping Adam makes a YouTube video of Kiyomi's arms and it goes viral and her arms become superstars:

One of her faves, Jimmy Wong, wasn't at the party but when he received his card (via the spectacular Justine Hanks) he sent Kiyomi an email and a photo. See? Super sweet.

Jimmy Wong has a special place in my heart because he made this video last year in response to that racist rant by that awful UCLA student. I wonder what she's doing now? I'll bet she's not partying with Nintendo. *evil laugh*



I asked Kiyomi to sum up her YouTube celeb encounters and this is what she said: "Meeting all those YouTube people was super cool!!! They were all really nice and friendly and THEY'RE A LOT TALLER IN PERSON WOW." There you have it. Nice AND tall – what more could you ask for?

The next morning we headed out to Siren Studios in Hollywood to actually try out the Wii U and a few of their new games. Sadly, the YouTube guys weren't there but there was still plenty of things for my girls to swoon over. You can read all about our day and our experience with the Wii U over here. Check it out before the Nintendo Wii U is released on November 18!

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Today On The Other Blog:

Party Like a Game Star: Nintendo 3DS Launch in Seattle

A few weeks ago I went to Seattle and came back full of oysters and with the ability to karate-kick my opponents into submission.

Read the whole darn thing here! 

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When Your Favorite Ride Is The Parking Tram

A couple of weeks ago we went to Disneyland, and as we were boarding the parking tram I made a remark, in all seriousness, that it was my favorite ride in the park. Another mom, who was carrying an infant and sitting with two toddlers turned to me and said, "Me too." As you can imagine, this exchange caused Rigel and the girls to groan in embarrassment - what kind of old grandma conversation was that, talking about how taking transport from the parking lot to the gate was some kind of thrill ride? Maybe me and that other mom should just get out our walkers and shuffle on over to the first-aid station for a nap? They didn't care to hear my explanation, about how nice it was just to sit on a cool bench while the tram putted along at two miles an hour, the wind at my face, and then came to a nice gentle stop in Downtown Disney right in front of...La Brea Bakery. Theme park ride designers take note: You'd have moms everywhere in the palm of your hand if you ended every ride with a nice warm cappuccino and a brioche.

My girls have a hard time believing it, but there was a time when I actually liked roller coasters. The anticipation as you headed up the track, the brief pause as you caught a glimpse of the drop ahead of you, and then a few seconds of sheer terror as you plunged downward, screaming and feeling like your stomach was exiting your body through your throat. You'd stumble as you got off the ride, hold your stomach as it churned the corn dog, Coke and licorice around like a big toxic milkshake, take a quick lunge for the bushes, wipe the vomit from your face and then get right back in line! It was great fun.

But now? I have a hard time going on anything that looks like it might make me the least bit uncomfortable. Even that first, tiny drop on the Pirates of the Caribbean makes me gasp a little, and Kiyomi couldn't stop talking about how much I was screaming when her and Kira talked me into going on the Matterhorn with them. She didn't buy my story that I was over-reacting for her entertainment, and then pointed out the fingernail marks I had made in her arm as I gripped it around that last turn.

There's a ride at California Adventure called Soarin' Over California that is my absolute favorite, but it isn't exactly a white-knuckler and I know Rigel and the girls usually only ride it to appease me so they can get on with seeing the rest of the park. In fact this last time around they seemed to be a little embarrassed at my enthusiasm (I think Kira's exact words were, "Omigod. Calm down" and I think I saw them trying to walk away from me when I jumped up at the end, clapped my hands and yelled, "More, more!"

As we were leaving the park, Kiyomi came up with the idea of making a ride that would be absolutely perfect for me, one where I could not only sit in comfort but also indulge in my favorite beverage. It would be called Soarin' Over Starbucks, and instead of a virtual ride over the majestic mountains of California and through the breathtaking landscape of Yosemite, it would fly over Starbucks locations all over the world, finally ending the ride in a stop at a real coffee counter where a barista would brew a hot cappuccino for me. Is my kid brilliant or what?

(I just read an article in the L.A. times yesterday that details the renovations they'll be making to California Adventure and I don't see Soarin' Over California anywhere on the map. Note to Disney Imagineers: If you take out this ride, I will personally come over there and punch out your lights. After I'm done riding the parking tram a few times, that is.)

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tags: roller coasters | disneyland | soarin over california | things that make me lose my lunch

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My Favorite Restaurants. And By The Way, Art Supplies Are Edible.

I wrote about my favorite restaurants in L.A. this week for UpTake. I started off my post with a mention about the time I ate an eraser. Maybe not the best way to start off an article that's sharing my culinary opinions, but there you go. (Also, if you know of where they serve the most badass margarita in your city, go on over and leave a comment on my UpTake post. I'm going to do a compilation list later this month):

We were asked to write about our favorite restaurants this week, and the only difficult part will be writing a post that doesn’t go on for five pages. My list is long and varied, and I’m always up for trying new things - including half a Pink Pearl eraser that I once ate on a dare when I was working at an ad agency. It definitely didn’t taste like chicken...Read More...

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UpTake, a new travel search engine, opened to the public today. Check it out - it's a great site, where you can find everything you need to plan a vacation, from girlfriend getaways to pet-friendly travel (you can finally take your gerbil to Belize with you.) Plug in your destination, what you're looking for (lodging, things-to-do, etc.) and whether it's a family trip or just a getaway. And voila - you might just come up with an adventure more interesting than that Soap Opera Cruise with the cast from Passions. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Also, you can read my weekly posts there where I regale the traveling world with tales of all-you-can-eat nachos and men in tights. It's almost too much goodness in one place, I know.

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Keep the Ball, Just Give Me The Peanuts and CrackerJack

MetroDad has a great post up right now about baseball. Specifically, baseball players of Asian descent, who he calls "our greatest weapons in battling mainstream media's perception of the emasculated Asian male." I say amen to that, since Asians certainly aren't getting any respect in Hollywood, where all the roles for rickshaw drivers and grocery owners have completely dried up.

I also have a post up about baseball, over on UpTake (formerly Kango.) The difference is, I don't know crap about the game - in fact, I'm probably more qualified to perform an appendectomy than I am to talk about batting averages and line drives. But I did some extensive research (I must have clicked on the Dodger Official Website like sixty freakin' times!) and I think I've greatly increased my knowledge of the game:

I’m not a season ticket holder, so I would head down to Chavez Ravine (as all us Dodger experts call it) and buy a one-day ticket. They range in price from $130 for MVP seating all the way down to $11 for what appears to be a seat in the top section inside a stall in the men’s bathroom. I’d decide to splurge for a $70 seat, which along with having a great view of the field appears to be painted a pleasing orange color that would go great with my complexion...Read More...

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Choosing Between A Dancing Mouse and a Stuffed Bear

I remember when Kiyomi was turning six and had decided that the only place she wanted to celebrate her birthday was Chuck E. Cheese's. Not looking forward to an afternoon filled with screaming, the pinging of video games and hair matted together with a combination of punch and cotton candy (not to mention that stage show with the break-dancing Mr. Cheese) I bravely suggested an alternative, something more, well - educational.

How about a trip to the museum, where her and her friends could visit one of the exciting animal dioramas and come face to face with a life-sized bear? It sounded exciting to me, even though the bear was stuffed and the only thing even resembling a video game in the whole place was the ATM machine in the snack bar.

By the glaring looks I got I realized that majestic bear didn't stand a chance against a stageful of lesser creatures doing the cha-cha. She won that battle, but that didn't stop me from making it a point to take my kids to 'smart' destinations once in a while, and I wrote about my favorite ones in Los Angeles for Kango this week:

I’m familiar with the reactions: the sad eyes, the whining, the frantic efforts to hide in the laundry room. No, I’m not talking about your cat when faced with a vet visit, but your children when you mention that you’ll be taking them to ‘somewhere educational.’

Sure, you’ll get more cheers for Chuck E. Cheese’s, but sometimes it’s nice to take the kids somewhere that teaches them more than how quickly a roll of quarters can disappear when you’re mesmerized by a large waltzing mouse. Here are some of my favorite ‘smart’ destinations in Los Angeles. I’ll bet they’ll forget all about that dancing rodent...Read More...

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