The Idea of North

This week:
I graduate from university.

In addition, I'll be at Live 105's Not So Silent Night (Modest Mouse, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Interpol, Muse, Taking Back Sunday and Dan The Automator) in San Francisco on Friday with Jewboy. No one gets on my nerves as easily as him, but he's paying for my ticket so whatever.


UCLA Restaurants plans to open a Mediterranean eatery on campus in January. My boss asked me to brainstorm names for the place.

I suggested stealing the name of an eatery near the University of Washington called "Gyro-cery" but the higher-ups rejected it.

Other rejected suggestions of mine: "Dr. Greek, Medi Terranean," "Greco Bell" and "Pandora Express."

We decided to go with "Mr. Greek" but then I discovered that Mr. Greek is a chain of "Mediterranean grills" in Ontario, Canada.

I'm-a lobby hard now for my only approved suggestion: "Super Gyro."


I never knew that gyro meat came in frustums until I flipped through the food service catalog for Super Gyro (nudge nudge, wink wink).


Americans rarely reflect on how we love to eat fake Mexican food made by real Mexican people.

This past September, I visited Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

From what I saw, in Vancouver, most fast food restaurant employees are Asian instead of Mexican.

Canada has a wannabe Taco Bell restaurant chain called Taco Time.

How authentic can Canada's version of America's version of Mexican food made by Asians be?


There was an item on the Taco Time menu called "Fried Chicken Burrito."

I thought, "Oh cool, it's like a KFC Twister, chicken strips, only in a burrito," and ordered one.

What I received looked like a deep fried baton with charred ground beef (where's the chicken?) inside its hollow space. It was honestly the nastiest fast food item I'd ever seen, and I've eaten at Fatburger.


It's disheartening to learn that McDonald's owns Chipotle.


Best Fight 2004 nominees
Uma Thurman vs. Daryl Hannah — Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Thomas Jane vs. Kevin Nash — The Punisher
Brad Pitt vs. Eric Bana — Troy
Chris vs. Arab (Paris) — Team America: World Police
Andy Lau vs. Takeshi Kaneshiro — House of Flying Daggers