Dept of Lists: The Under-Hyped Report
Radar Magazine’s October issue hosted the Hype Report starring overly portable dogs, cupcakes and Keira Knightly. CW humbly offers the flip side. Add to the list.
TACOS
Food trends have seized classics like hot dogs and vamped them up with gourmet add-ons. The charm of an eight dollar weiner aside, tacos remain a pure every-man’s meal. The taco is endlessly modifiable without being fussy.
GARY OLDMAN
The Brit who reinvents himself completely for each role like a Spice Girl with an identity crisis. CW is especially delighted by recent supporting roles as the future Commissioner Gordon in ‘Batman Begins’ and Sirius Black in the Harry Potter series. As if playing Sid Vicious and Pontius Pilate weren’t enough to please us.
HELIO
Helio’s ‘Ocean’ offers almost all of the conveniences of an iPhone/Blackberry without looking like a yuppie dick’s must-have. The most useful feature is a GPS locator that pairs with snappy Internet access from the Sprint network. When using Google Maps, you’re actually a blinking blue dot on the screen with step-by-step instructions from where you are. The phone service was originally pitched to the Korean-American market. So, it’s therefore totally inherently good. Insert joke about kimchee and nuclear proliferation.
TIMES NEW ROMAN
Helvetica got an adoring round-of-applause this year with its namesake documentary doing well on the indie circuit. We could say Times New Roman is worthwhile for simply foiling the dominance of Comic Sans, squiggly fonts and the unforgivable Arial. However, not all defaults are bland. Add a high gird to a word typed in Times New Roman and you’ve created a clean anti-statement statement.
HOUSTON
The shadow of Austin hides a gem, albeit an industrial one like a diamond mounted on an oil drill. Edgy without being contrived, Houston also offers a ridiculously diverse and cheap restaurant scene specializing in Tex-Mex and Vietnamese. Music and nightlife in the country’s fourth largest city remain affordable even as the raw size of the diverse population ensures tour stops from wide-ranging national artists. Nicely, Houston* is still a city where you can go out for a night with only a twenty dollar bill and ID in your back pocket.
*One more note, the minority-majority city gives off the feel of a modern Constantinople. A random single strip could host a washateria, noodle shop and ice house side-by-side. Cons: No-zoning laws mean incredible sprawl with no serious mass tran options.
(I ripped off various people for some of these — Jen Turner and Caitlin WhatsHerName)
