Top Gear

Is there a show as cool as Top Gear? Where else can one see such wanton destruction, dry wit, and really, really funny hosts in one engaging, if slightly juvenile, show? Personally, I love the show, and it's been my frustration that I can't catch it on regular TV. To which I must give due props to the internet. Otherwise, I'd be stuck with memories and bootlegged DVD copies.

Back to Top Gear. I just finished watching the last episode of the previous season, and the first episode of the current, 12th (!) season. And while Hammond, May, and Clarkson are getting a bit older, (and stranger: what's with their hair?) they are still just as insane as ever.

Case in point: Jeremy Clarkson reviewing the new Porsche 911 GT2.

Quote: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! And that concludes my road test of the GT2. It's terrifying." The visuals were even nuttier, with him screaming, red-faced, bug-eyed, cutting rapidly with images of the GT2 spinning, smoking up an insane amount of rubber.

If there is one thing Top Gear does well, its the funny bits. Never mind that these are not the greatest drivers or even reviewers out there. I don't really care. It's their sincere opinions, and their often hilarious remarks, that get me every time. The fact that they don't mind being idiots sometimes just endears them to me even more.

Another tidbit from the episode I just viewed:

The three hosts are asked to be lorry (read: cargo truck) drivers. They come off as being complete fools, failing miserably in every task while purposefully laughing at themselves (and their colleagues) while doing it. And yet, I'm rooting for them every step of the way. I root for them because I can't do what they did, not without either getting sued, broke, or killed. It thrills me to no end that I can see these gits do things I secretly wished I did.

It's like jackass with cars, actually. I liked that show too.

Asian Food Channel

I've tried my darndest best to NOT write about food because, well, I do it in other places for one, and I think there are enough people writing about food as it is. So, I'm writing about the Asian Food Channel, which we get here in the Philippines on cable. Cop out? I'm not sure, but I'm doing it anyway.

It's a channel that broadcasts a rather eclectic collection of shows, from wacky Singaporean and Japanese food review shows to popular shows like Hell's Kitchen or A Cook's Tour, to unintentionally wacky food shows from Canada, Europe, and other places. It isn't as slick as the Food Network (US). It can get hokey and corny, but it works, for all that.

I actually enjoy it more than Food Network, because it isn't all slick production values and cool camera work. Watching Charlie Trotter mince a shallot with a chef's knife (to microscopic, even, portions) is painfully boring to a lot of people, but my jaw hung open when he did it, nonchalantly, while preparing a salad. They were able to air the service footage of Hell's Kitchen, unedited, where Ramsey became less of an ogre, where suddenly the reasons for his outbursts were made clear (telling someone to repeat a dish four times can do that, especially during dinner service).

The channel seems more sincere in its corniness, and that's what I enjoy about it most. I guess I've seen too much slick, cutting edge stuff in my time that a little kitsch and cliche can seem welcome. Maybe it's the Asian in me, tired of all the western chrome and edge. Sometimes, it's nice to just be corny.

Oh, and Emeril isn't there. Can't stand his show.

No Reservations

Anthony Bourdain is a hero of mine.  Ever since reading his books Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour, I've come to the conclusion that the guy is my kind of guy.  Before reading his books, I was under the very misguided opinion that the professional kitchen was a clean, disciplined, fastidious place, where everyone worked in perfect, mystical harmony.  

Boy, was I wrong. 

Kitchen Confidential showed me an image of a kitchen that was right up there with my own personal sensibilities.  I honestly never thought about the intense pressure of the professional kitchen, and I felt a little stupid about it after reading the book.  After all, banging out hundreds of meals a service, let alone a day, in a very tight deadline, with specific standards to meet, is daunting, to say the least.  I came out from that book with a very different view of the restaurant business, and a much higher regard for those half-crazy souls who choose to work in the kitchen.   And I realized that I had more in common with these "fringe elements" (Bourdain's words, not mine) than I do with more "normal" people.

What made me such an admirer of Bourdain was his sarcasm.  He was funny, but he was also pointed and even mean about it.  I loved it.  He wrote and said things I wished I did, and perhaps it even gave me the guts to actually open up and be more honest, not only to others, but, more importantly, to myself.  He says it like it is, no matter what.  I also love the fact that he sees himself as someone along for the ride, and so he never takes himself too seriously.  We could all learn to be so relaxed about things.  

If you've never done so, look in YouTube and watch an episode of No Reservations and I think you'll get what I mean.  At the very least, here's an American who is genuinely interested in learning about his world, at times to his embarrassment.   

Better yet, pick up a copy of Kitchen Confidential and read about a real guy, who's dealt with real problems, and who has kept his sense of humor throughout.  At the very least, you'll come away with a wry grin.  

Cheers, Tony!  If we ever meet, I'm buying lunch.  

FreakAngels

Web comics seem to be a joke for most people. It's where people who can't get a break decide to say," Fuck it, I'm putting this out there, for every one to see!" Of course, that says nothing about whether what's going out there is any good or not. And, as a result, there are some bad ones out there. Perhaps they're even bad enough to raise suspicions once a web comic comes out.

Thinking about it, web comics make perfect sense for most creators. It's easy to do and can bring excellent coverage for those just starting out. It's just that have been enough lousy ones to make the whole enterprise seem dodgy, at best.

Freak Angels, by Warren Ellis, fortunately, is definitely not a bad web comic. It, in fact, is better than some of the printed garbage out there. I actually ran into this by accident, and ended up reading the thing from beginning to the current (33rd) episode. As I've heard others say, this is how web comics are supposed to be done.

It's excellent, not only because of Ellis' solid, solid writing but also because of his (probably raving mad) artist, Paul Duffield, who turns out six pages of amazing art every week. The guy must be intravenously ingesting coffee (or something) to get all this amazing work done! The art is clean and yet not cold, character comes through with every panel.

It's worth bookmarking and, I'd even venture, worth buying the TPB.

I can't say I'm not jealous. But, on the upshot, it's given me enough inspiration to try for my own. Let's see.