What's so incredible? Why is she so awesome? How does she do it?

I have a slight obsession with Korean food. Ever since I fell in love with the jjajangmyun joint next to the KCCLA in Los Angeles have I harboured a special compartment in my heart for the stuff. That tender spot was made ever more permanent by the restaurant’s 47″ flat screen televisions, all of which played K-Dramas. I went religiously for a weekly appointment with sticky black noodles and My Lovely Sam Soon. Hey now, you didn’t think I became an Asian-phile by accident, did you?

I like to think I manage my obsession in healthy ways. I’m an avid food blogger, a manic noodle reviewer, and one of those obnoxious people who photographs everything they eat so you know I’m serious about all the gastronomic delights the internet offers. Entrenched as I am, I still have a hard time finding good resources on Korean cooking.

Oh there are some good cookbooks, some translated into English some written by the proud children of immigrants. There are some awesome Korean ladies making thorough cooking demos online. There are amazing appreciation sites out there, my favourite even run by South Korea’s Tourism Organization. They’re wonderful resources, but that doesn’t change the fact that all my friends are afraid to cook Korean food.

Some of them are even afraid to try Korean food. Part of me died inside when I found out.

Self, I thought, This has to change. So on aforementioned appreciation site, KoreaTaste.org, I’ve started making some videos that (hopefully) demonstrate how easy Korean food is to cook. I’m making these videos for you, guy who only owns one pot and is afraid of spices. I’m making them for you, lady who’s sick of Thursday night meatloaf every week. For you, person trying to eat healthier, and for you, student on a budget. I encourage everyone seek out more authentic Korean food and Korean recipes, but the truth is, Korean food doesn’t have to be something you gear up for or something requiring a special shopping trip. It’s an everyday cuisine, so with a few adaptations, hopefully these videos will help Korean food find its way into your home.

I know it’s a regular staple in mine. Last night I made soondubu jjigae with the leftovers in my fridge and ate it as I got hooked on yet another drama, this time First Shop of the Coffee Prince. Full recipe information for the video can be found here and I’d appreciate your comments. Give it a big thumbs up if you like what you see!

The changes to my vlog aren’t the only big changes afoot. You might have noticed unlikelysquiggle.com has had a few tweaks and upgrades here and there. I’ve highlighted them below.

Strangeland is mobile.
My regular travelogue, called Strangeland, is coming up on its one year anniversary and it’s time to take it up a notch. To up the ante, it’s now going to be entirely shot, edited, and uploaded using my iPhone. I mean entirely: original music (yikes!), editing, text overlays, and all. Of course, the travel vlogs aren’t the only videos I make, so I thought it only fair to tell you when I’ve had to shoot on something more powerful or take the footage onto my computer (usually to colour correct or clean up audio). I’ve created an icon system outlined above to let you know.

The Newsletter is public
I’ve been publishing a monthly newsletter for a few years now, but it was buried pretty deeply in the site. Now I’ve migrated it over to a different email provider and given it a more prominent position on the site. So tell your friends and tell your family! Everyone is welcome to sign up on this page.

Up for Dessert
I spend a lot of time writing about food, enough time to run an entirely separate blog. Which is exactly what I’ve done. My mate Mae and I both spend an inordinate amount of time agreeing on all things gastronomical. After the in-depth discussion of VitaMix transpired during our last phone conversation, we decided it was high time to take our recipe swapping out of our kitchens and onto the internet. We’ve created a foodblog called Up for Dessert. All the food-related content you used to find here — pictures of what’s on my plate, reviews of delicious noodles, and the occasional chronicle from my vegetable garden — will now have a new home over at upfordessert.tumblr.com. You should follow us there to hear about our food adventures, the importance of sustainability, and the supreme deliciousness of ripe avocados.

What happened to the “blog” section?
Technically nothing. All the content that was available on unlikelysquiggle.com is still available for free. I’ll still be writing about anything and everything that tickles my fancy. If you look at my last 100 posts, an overwhelming majority of them have video components. Calling it a “blog” doesn’t do what I post justice. I’ve simply changed the label to something more fitting: a vlog.

Work/Life Balance
When I first started unlikelysquiggle.com, I purposefully avoided writing about my professional projects. That doesn’t really make sense anymore. After all, the film community is rather tight-knit, so why not spread the love and share what I’m up to? Expect to see more clips from my paid gigs, launch announcements, and demo reels alongside all the silly stuff I post for fun.

A bit of a preview of coming attractions straight from the heart of my own creative lair and into yours via the interwebs. Get ready, unlikelysquiggle.com is about to get an overhaul.

At least to me it seems like I haven’t taken a trip in ages, even though my last jaunt to Philadelphia was less than a month ago. The good news is I’ll be taking a short hiatus for a few days to a place I’ve never been: Las Vegas. So look forward to lots of pictures and maybe even a short video snippet or two in the coming days after my return!

In honour of my coast-swapping news, I thought I’d commemorate leaving Los Angeles with a few lasts, some good, some bad, but all of them very Southern California.

The last time at Santa Monica

The last strange Korean sign

The last bowl of noodles

The last 2$/2Flavour special at Scoops

The last trip to Amoeba

The last night wasted at Avalon

The last In-N-Out

The last dinner in Little Tokyo

The last box packed

The last traffic jam in LA

Welcome!  After a good deal of experimentation, I have finally launched unlikelysquiggle.com, my personal website and online portfolio. What you are reading right now is what I have ceremoniously dubbed the datalogue, a catalogue of my writings and creative works. I hope you enjoy the site, enjoy the reading, and come back soon!