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StoopidSavant
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Name: Vu
Country: United States
State: Georgia
Metro: Savannah
Birthday: 5/2/1982
Gender: Male
Interests: SLEEPING, automobiles, professional photography (portraiture, fashion, special effects, and the occasional still-life), eating, foreign languages, music (listening, performance, and reproduction), home theater, RC cars, DRIVING, the different states in India, how many licks it takes to get to the tootsie center of a Tootsie Pop.
Expertise: Automotive design theory, acoustical design theory, photography, electron microscopy, electrical engineering, how to sleep for 18 hours and stay awake for the next 94, how not to drive like a jackass, consuming way too much sugar
Occupation: Mass Properties Engineer
Industry: Aerospace
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  StoopidSavant
Member Since:
9/27/2002
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| Let me begin by stating that I am a long time fan of the network, and my TV, like for many Americans across the country, is constantly tuned in (as long as Rachel Ray isn't on). However, watching Next Food Network Star last year reminded me about something that has been on my mind for some time.
In the interest of full disclosure, I will state that I am of East Asian descent - Vietnamese, to be precise - and born in the United States. When I learned of the (in?)famous Nipa Bhatt on NFNS, I was thrilled to learn that someone descending from an eastern culture would have the opportunity to represent their nationality to the millions of food fanatics around the world.
I will now spare the details of how disappointed I was by her personality and her performance. 
That being said, it became apparent to me that Food Network has rather poor representation of Asian cultures in its programming. Believe me when I state that I am no ethnic fanboy trying to proseletyze people into accepting my ethnic roots, but in the interest of fairness to the American people (immigrant or not) and the millions of viewers around the world who are also Food Network fans, I must say:
HIRE AN ASIAN PERSON
Given that there are no less than three personalities who represent Italian cooking and two people who represent Latin dishes, the Food Network lineup is surprisingly devoid of Asian cooks, save for Chef Morimoto, who is never in an instructional position.
It is one thing for the existing personalities on Food Network to teach people how to make authentic Asian dishes, but please, Emeril Lagasse could have at least picked up a phone book, called any random Vietnamese restaurant, and asked how to even vaguely pronounce nuoc cham. Same goes for my hero Alton Brown, who could not even be bothered to ask anyone how to correctly approximate the pronunciation of banh trang, despite being in a Vietnamese supermarket, which was in a Vietnamese shopping plaza, which was in an area with the highest concentration of Vietnamese people in Atlanta. Seriously, can these guys at least try? Giada and Mario at least have the privilege of saying their dishes with all the Italian vigor their hearts desire.
The next issue is that Food Network shows many chefs and cooks trying to cook "Asian" dishes, when the preparation is only a far cry from authenticity. I defy anyone from the FN Test Kitchens to tell me that any of the 3 billion people in Asia actually eat fried cream cheese wontons.
Finally, and most importantly, is the overall food industry's abuse of the word "Asian." Simply adding soy sauce and ginger do not an "Asian" dish make. Would it make any more sense for a television cook in Japan to say "I added a little North American flare by adding ground beef" or "for a European touch, I used sea salt!" Please do not insult dozens of cultures and billions of people by approximating them into one continent and a few similar ingredients. I doubt that the Italians would much appreciate it if their cuisine was not regarded as having much distinction from German fare.
I thank you for taking the time to read and I thank you for inspiring my love of food. Just please spare the cheese wontons.
Regards,
Vu
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| Here are the unwritten rules of driving in the south: - Turn signals are optional. Sometimes offensive. The lefthand stalk on your steering wheel is a communist Hippie Liberal Yankee plot to force God out of America.
- The top speed on any roadway is always 10mph below the speed limit.
- Left lane is for traffic, right lane is for passing (usually necessary by Hippie Liberal Yankees who don't know rule #2).
- On the rare occasion that one should actually anticipate the need to pass on a multi-lane highway (and never in the left lane - that's a Hippie Liberal Yankee concept), always approach the passee vehicle and tailgate not less than one-half vehicle length for a period of no less two minutes before beginning pass. Observing rule #1, dart out into adjacent lane. This rule is more logical the fewer other vehicles there are on the road.
- When the light turns green, thou shalt not out-accelerate the 18-wheel semi-truck in the adjacent lane.
- Four-wheeled vehicles not in compliance with the Minimum Vehicle Gross Weight of 6,500 pounds are prohibited.
- Two- or three-wheeled vehicles not in compliance with the Minimum Motorbike Gross Weight of 1,800 pounds are prohibited. Such vehicles with more than two cylinders are prohibited.
- Thou shalt not maintain a constant speed. Should a Hippie Liberal Yankee attempt to pass, increase vehicle speed to match. Once Hippie Liberal Yankee has aborted pass, return to below traffic average speed.
- In the state of Georgia, traffic is to yield to opposing traffic making a left turn.
- When on a highway with no median, it is perfectly acceptable to use high beams, even when there is opposing traffic. In fact, this practice is encouraged.
- There are no toll roads in the south. The rite of passage is by a W: The President sticker affixed to the rear windshield.
- For the youth influenced by the Hippie Liberal Yankees, the "image" vehicle is the 1987 Chevrolet Caprice (KBB value: $700) with 24" chrome rims (MSRP: $4000). The "sport" vehicle is the 1998 Honda Civic, with rear wing not less than 24" above the plane of the decklid. Only vehicles older than twenty (20) years are permitted to have alloy rims, of which are to be plated with chromium. Vehicles newer than twenty (20) years are to be equipped with wheels of the pressed steel type, with plastic spinner hubcaps.
- A driver is not to exceed 0.0002G maximum cornering force. Special chips will be installed on vehicles of the type: Corvette, Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Lexus, Infiniti, et al, to limit maximum turn speed to 8mph.
- When precipitation exceeds the rate of 0.001 inches per hour, the driver is required to collide with the nearest obstacle (Hippie Liberal Yankees preferred).
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| I guess now I'm allowed to talk about what I've been working on for the past two years: Gulfstream G650 
Fastest civil aircraft money can buy, and probably the most comfortable. 
7,000 nautical mile range, 0.925 Mach top speed, 28-inch wide windows, and a cabin that is [literally] as quiet as a whisper. | | |
| Oh. My. Gawd. Chef Robert Irvine lives in my home town! I'm gonna search him out when I come home for Thanksgiving. | | |
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