youndooboo's Xanga

Craving Pinkberry, Anticipating Red Mango!!

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 04:48:42 GMT

from:http://nymag.com/daily/food/2007/08/the_new_cold_war_frozen_yogurt_invades_new_york.html (courtesy of jhukangsta)

The New Cold War: Frozen Yogurt Invades New York

Know your frozen enemy. Photo illustration: Everett Bogue/Map by Jason Lee

Now that Red Mango — the first big Korean fro-yo chain, and thus the progenitor of the new wave started by Pinkberry, which hails from LA — is coming to New York, it's time to take stock of the ever-growing number of frosty options. Since Pinkberry first opened its doors here last year, the dessert has descended across the city like a cold curtain. It was only in June that Rob and Robin shortlisted the new frozen-yogurt options, and since then /eks/ and, soon, Red Mango have been added. How to separate the Pinkberrys from the Yolato from the gelatos? We had to make up a chart to parse it all (full disclosure: We cheated a little by including Grom, which isn't strictly fro-yo — but it is an excellent new gelato spot). Below, our guide to the new yogurt culture. What’s your favorite? Email us and we'll print the results.


	Country of Origin	Social Aesthetic	Product Pitch	NYC Locations	Critical Reception
Pinkberry	USA	Carvel via Hello Kitty	The Carvel of frozen yogurts	Four: Midtown West, Chelsea, Nolita, Upper East Side.	“Don't be fooled by this one. It’s candy in a cup!” —NYM Reader
Yolato	USA	Stark, no-frills.	The gelato of fro-yo (as the name implies).	Three: West Village, Upper West Side, Chelsea.	“[I]nciting an ugly East Coast–West Coast frozen-dairy-treat war.” —Rob and Robin
Red Mango	Korea	Reeks of authenticity; the thinking man’s yogurt.	Brags of having half a million active cultures. Ew.	“Coming soon” to Times Square and Flushing.	“That overly sour tart flavor is much less [than Pinkberry]. Hardly noticeable. What is noticeable, however, is the creaminess of the yogurt.” —Will Work for Food
öko	USA	Greener than thou.	Greek-style yogurt.	One: Park Slope.	“[This] greener-than-green business ... has tailored itself for Park Slope.” —Josh Ozersky
/eks/	USA	Hipper-than-hip candy-stripe, think Barnett Newman and Meg White.	Poor man’s Pinkberry.	One: Williamsburg.	“It all adds up to the feeling that you’re having dessert in a finished basement in the Tokyo suburbs.” —Knifed + Spooned
Grom	Italy	None.	World-class Italian ice cream.	One: Upper West Side.	“The company’s mission is to make gelato the exacting, old-fashioned way” —Rob & Robin

Lima (again)

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 13:20:33 GMT

Wow...craziness. Things like this make me wonder... Please pray for Peru

Powerful Earthquake Rocks Peru

A man sitting in the rubble of his home today in Canete, Peru. At least 337 people were killed, officials said.

Sergio Urday/European Pressphoto Agency

Btw, more photos here (via Simon): http://www.flickr.com/photos/simonkoo/sets/72157601433787822/

Sneak peek:

Lima

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 17:28:34 GMT

On Friday, August 3rd, the Super Six embarked on a journey into the depths of Lima, Peru. So, how was it? How do you sum up something like this in words? That is my current journey...

In the meantime, some photos (courtesy of Hanknorthern):

We saw.

We built.

We ate.

and ate...

and ate....

And we connected...

"Learn to do good.
      Seek justice.
   Help the oppressed.
      Defend the cause of orphans.
      Fight for the rights of widows."

(Isaiah 1:17)

Thank you to everyone who prayed for us. God was present indeed.

More to come...

now THESE are fireworks

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 03:39:30 GMT

Fireworks from London's 2007 New Years display. Crazy beautifully unbelievable!!! Man, the brits know how to run a show.

Happy 5th all.

go watch me!!!

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 06:15:26 GMT

It's been awhile since I've seen a movie in theatres. This past week I got to see a couple great ones. Highly recommended. I'd call them...hmm...inner child blockbusters...

Transformers:

Despite not beng that knowledgeable about the Transformers back in the day, I must say...WOW, this movie was AWESOME. At one point I looked back at the faces behind me in the theatre and all the guys were especially wide-grin smiling (some girls too ). And Shia LeBeouf - spectacular boy-next-door acting job.

Ratatouille:

It's an amazing feat when something can make me think rats are actually cute!! Thoroughly enjoyed this (thanks Pixar & Tim ).

Next up: Live-action My Little Pony movie?? Eh? Rainbow brite??

isn't God FOR me??

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 19:45:28 GMT

As of late, I'm realizing that often times I have seen God as someone who is against me...this creeping feeling that I deserve to be punished for this and that, that I don't deserve good things, that if I do receive good things, it must be a dream and one day I will wake up and the good will slowly disappear and I will be hit with the shocking grim reality of life. Unconsciously I perceive circumstances through this lens because of a distrust of God - when the truth is that God is very much for me. God wants to shower me with love and compassion...if I fear and obey him.

I often get myself bogged down in messages from childhood or other people telling me I'm a certain way and then I end up thinking that I'm doomed to staying like that. But isn't the reality that miracles exist? And isn't God the one who turns the impossible into the possible? Yes indeed...it is finally hitting home. Let's hope this lasts...

“Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see" (C.S. Lewis)

"For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.

But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him."

(Psalm 103:11-12, 17)

mad at PT

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 20:45:43 GMT

Scenario Numero Uno:

So you're waiting underground in the sweltering heat for your train. 5, 10, 15, 20...minutes past for you to go 1 stop - like a 10 block walk. What do you do? Stay waiting or say, forget it all, screw the MTA, and walk instead?

This has happened to me multiple times. And especially on my way to an interview or appointment where it's crucial and being late paints a bad impression onto my character. Well, of course and hopefully people will understand as they also have been subject to the unpredictable MTA, but there are some kind of effects, no?

Displaced anger - that's what comes to mind when I think about PT (public transportation). Sometimes when PT makes me embarasssingly late or stalls on the track for 15 minutes above ground 1 minute from my stop, I just want to yell...at someone! But then I'm like, who? Direct it at the conductor all I want, but nothing is going to change. It's like yelling at the customer service guy on the phone for something he didn't do. He can't do anything and it's really not his fault that my order got messed up. Who am I to blame? Shrug. No one...no one...sigh. PT, you drive me craaaazy - I love and hate you...all at once...!!!

So tell me, what do you do with this anger???

for free!

Wed, 30 May 2007 17:44:56 GMT

This past weekend, I went to a conference for young adults held in Kentucky called New Attitude where I was flooded with a ton of good solid biblical teaching. One (of the many) things I realized (again) was: I LOVE FREE STUFF!!!! I always have and perhaps always will. I mean, who wouldn't...right? There's nothing better than getting something for free. Free - without charge, unrestrained, released, without payback. And then it hit me why Grace amazes me time in and out. Grace tops my most desired free-things list. A message by John Piper opened my eyes to a different way of understanding grace (dude, I have sooooo much to learn...). I think he says it best...

Snippet (from here):

"1 Corinthians 15:10--But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

Do you see Paul’s conception of his work and obedience? “Not I but the grace of God in me.” Let me walk it out for you: Behind me is the cross—the consummation of perfect obedience so that all my punishment is satisfied. So I have life I want to live in a way that pleases God. I want to take steps of obedience and not look back to sin—step by step—and he’s seeing how much I love him…know what happens when you think that way? You nullify the grace of God. This grace came from Christ crucified. When you think of your walk as payback you nullify that grace.

I asked Bob Kauflin if we could sing one line of a song after the message. Here’s the line…
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to thee

“Debtor to Grace” may be written on my tombstone and it will be true forever. Past grace at the cross not only paid for my sin but it bought a reservoir of ocean-like grace flowing onto my in the future. What God wants from me is not payback but increasing debt.

How do you pay back God? You ask for more.

God is not glorified when we take our tiny buckets of righteousness up the mountain to his everlasting stream of righteousness. God is glorified when we take our empty buckets up the mountain to his overflowing stream. He’s glorified when we take the full buckets down the mountain and pour them on others."

I'm not sure why but this caught my eye.

And then the music from "Mulan" floats through my head: "Refleccctionnnn..."

Meet Knut

Mon, 14 May 2007 18:13:09 GMT

I wonder...would it be so wrong if I kidnapped him too?

Because I think he wants to come with me...

And then he can be friends with Butterstick....no? Good idea/Bad idea?

(OMG so cute)

hot days

Thu, 10 May 2007 04:43:34 GMT

This morning, I woke up to this:

80°F !!

Hot days like this remind me of the following...

1) I don't know what this song is called but it's from a free Starbucks Salon CD I got last year. It makes me happy.

2) "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints" (Winner of the 2006 Sundance Festival's Best Director Award): Director Dido Montiel's retelling of his life growing up in Astoria, Queens and his return after 15 years of absence. I really enjoyed this movie. And it was filmed in my neighborhood (!!), which makes it even cooler . Check it out: