Vacation

I haven't posted in a little while and that's because I've been on vacation.  IN JAPAN!!!!! (yes, it does warrant all those exclamation marks)  I and my friend Christina had been wanting to go visit our other friend, Noriko, who lives in Tokyo for a couple years now and things finally worked out both time-off-wise and financially.  So, off we went the week of Thanksgiving.  It wasn't a very long trip; we left on Monday and came back the following Monday, giving us 5 whole days in Japan.  It was, however, a very fun trip and I very much intend to go back as soon as I can.

I did realize something about myself from this trip, however.  I mean, I'd always know it was true, but with this trip it really hit home: I suck when it comes to taking pictures.  Not that my pictures turned out bad.  Some of them actually look pretty good.  But the whole time I was there, I only took 73 pictures, some of which are duplicate shots when the first one didn't come out very well.  I partially blame my camera.  It's very fussy about trying to focus and can take forever to do so (which is why I didn't ask anyone to take pictures of the three of us) and it eats batteries like crazy.  I'd like to think I'd do better with a newer and better camera, but honestly, I'd probably still be awful about picture taking.  Luckily for me, Christina doesn't share this problem, so when she sends me her pictures, I'll post some of hers here, too.

I have no idea what this is, but it's sooo good!

Big damn roll (half gone)

The first night we were there, Noriko took us to this restaurant whose name I can't remember and we got tasty food, the name of which I also can't remember, but here's a picture of it!  It's pork and bean sprouts.  Reeeeeeally tasty.  We also got one of these that had chicken as well as the biggest damn dragon sushi roll I've ever seen.  Unfortunately, Christina started feeling rather poorly, so she didn't have anything.  More for me!  Though, that sushi roll didn't get finished.  Noriko and I made a valiant effort, but it was just too much.

The next day involved much sleeping on my part (I woke up pretty early, then took a "nap" and didn't get up again until 2:30), which was ok, since Noriko had other things she needed to do that day.  When she got back and everyone was conscious, we went to wander around the Imperial Palace.  The palace buildings and inner gardens aren't open to the public, but the outside grounds are quite lovely. 

 

I'm not really sure what that thing is up above this sentence (some kind of lamp maybe?) but I thought it was pretty neat looking.  Nor do I know what that little building off to the left is, but I thought the old-style architecture in front of the modern city buildings was kind of neat.

Fancy!

Then it was time to head to Asakusa and do some shopping!  But first, a quick trip to a mall for a bathroom break.  While there, I saw these on display.  Again, not sure really what they're for, but they sure are fancy!

Kaminarimon

 One of the most notable features here (and a very popular place to take pictures) is the Kaminarimon.  Once you go through this gate, there are about a million and a half shops lining the street to the temple at the end (Sensō-ji, I think).  Since this was the first day we really went out and did much, and I'm definitely not a big-city girl who's used to large crowds and lots of hustle and bustle, I was pretty overwhelmed here.  That didn't keep me from buying lots of things, though!  Once we got down the street, we got to the big temple, which was pretty cool.  I also got a pretty good view of the Tokyo Sky Tree, which is the tallest tower in the world (though not the tallest structure.

Sensō-ji

Sky Tree

On our trip, we also got to go visit Kamakura, which is about 30 miles or so outside of Tokyo.  While there, we visited one of the temples (Hase-dera, I think) and saw the Daibutsu, a great big bronze Buddha.  It was around here that I started getting super bad about taking pictures, but here are a few that I did manage to get:

 

 



















Later that same day we went to Yokohama's Chinatown where we got dinner, but like I said, I kind of stopped taking many pictures by this point.

Another thing we got to do was go to Sunshine City's 60-story skyscraper (Sunshine 60) and get a panoramic view of Tokyo.  Here are the pictures I took there:

 Tokyo sure is big.

The last two pictures I took were at Meiji Shrine:

Of course, we did a whole lot more than what I've got pictured.  With any luck, Christina will be able to send me some of her pictures soon and I'll be able to post more!  As for now, I've been at this post for about an hour and a half and dinner is just about ready, so I'll talk more about my trip later.

Apple Crisp

This stuff, right here.

It's still fall!  And that means: MORE APPLE GOODNESS!!!!  This time I'll be going over another one of my favorite apple recipes: apple crisp.  You will need: apples (just like with the crow's nest recipe, I recommend macintosh apples), flour, light brown sugar, quick-cooking oats, cinnamon, ginger, and butter.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and get out a 9 x 13" baking pan.

It should look rather like this.

In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of brown sugar, and 1 cup of oats.  Then cut up 1 stick (1/2 cup) of cold butter into little cubes and mix it into the flour mixture with a pastry blender.  If you aren't fancy enough to have a pastry blender (note: a pastry blender is NOT the same as a regular blender; I don't recommend doing anything with this recipe with a regular blender), then you can mix in the butter with your hands.  Get the butter mixed in really well and set the bowl aside. 

IMPOSSIBLE!!!

Now it's time to start peeling, coring, and slicing apples!  You can just put your apples right into your baking dish as you get them sliced to make sure you end up with the right amount (you should have a nice layer about, oh, I don't know, an inch thick or so).  Or, you can be like me and say "I have ten apples and, dammit, I am going to use ten apples!  It's impossible to have too many apples!  IMPOSSIBLE!"  

All ready for the oven! I'm sure this will end well.

So, once you have your desired amount of apples, dump them into a bowl.  Or two bowls, if you just happen to have that many apples.  Mix your apples with 1/4 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon of ginger (if you ended up with two bowls of apples, put that amount of stuff in each bowl).  Once you've gotten it all mixed well and your apples are coated nicely, dump them back into your baking dish.  Then spread your reserved flour and oats mixture on top.  Pop it in your preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or until the topping is nice and browned.  This is a nice, big recipe and will serve a small army, group of friends that you're watching Dr. Who with, or just yourself for about a month.  Enjoy!

See?  It did end well.

30 Days of Night

I finally managed to drag myself away from The Sims Medieval long enough to read something.  In case it wasn't obvious enough from the title of this post, or the rather creepy picture over there to the left, that something is Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith's comic, 30 Days of Night. 

30 Days of Night takes place in the extremely-northern town of Barrow, Alaska (a town which actually exists) during the month-long period of complete darkness in the winter.  A group of vampires see the great potential in weeks without the sun and go about terrorizing and murdering the town.  It's up to Sheriff Eben Olemaun to try and save himself, his wife, Stella, and the remaining survivors.

I really liked this book, more than I thought I would.  I'm not generally one for bloody, messy horror, but this story worked for me, with its straightforward storytelling and compelling artwork.  There's nothing really new about this story; the monsters are your typical (non-sparkly) vampires with fewer weaknesses than in most portrayals (it seems pretty much only sunlight or decapitation will kill them), but it's told very well.  My only real complaint about the story is that the characters aren't fleshed out very well.  About the only things we really get to know about Eben and Stella are that he's the sheriff and they're happily married.  And we learn even less about most of the other residents of Barrow.  I think this is a story that should have been longer (it's only 83 pages long).  There are also a few plot threads that are left dangling at the end of the story.  However, this is the first volume of what has ended up being a much longer series, so presumably these unresolved issues get addressed later on.

What I like best about 30 Days of Night is Ben Templesmith's artwork.  He uses color very sparingly, portraying the darkened Barrow in pretty much nothing but shades of grey, the only colors generally being red (blood), orange (fire), and some green (Eben and Stella's coats).  Templesmith's art isn't going to appeal to everyone (check out his website if you want to see more of what he's done).  His art tends more toward the abstract rather than realism, which given how violent this story is, and how I have trouble with watching realistic portrayals of violence, is something I very much appreciate.  And if you do like his art, I highly recommend checking out Singularity 7 and Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse, both of which Templesmith also wrote.

So, if you like your vampires monstrous, your gore plentiful, though not too detailed, and your stories rather short, give 30 Days of Night a look.  And I think I'll probably go about trying to check out the rest of the series.

Oreo Truffles

I've been meaning to read SOMETHING so that I can write about it, but sadly, The Sims Medieval seems to have sucked my life away.  I'll try to pull myself away from it, or at least find something short to read, but in the meantime, here's another recipe!

All you need for extreme deliciousness!

Oreo truffles have got to be one of the simplest, yet tastiest, desserts I know how to make.  You only need four ingredients: Oreos (natch), cream cheese, chocolate chips, and shortening.  That's it. 

Those are some fiiiine crumbs you got there.

The first thing you're going to want to do is turn your nice new package of Oreos into a large pile of Oreo crumbs.  I personally recommend using a food processor since it'll give you some nice, fine crumbs, which will give your truffles a nice consistency.  If you don't happen to have a food processor, though, never fear!  A blender or even a good old fashioned rolling pin and plastic bag will work, if that's all you have. 

Next up, add your cream cheese.  I suggest using cream cheese that's at room temperature; it'll mix in much easier than cold cream cheese.  Just leave it on your counter for a few hours, until you're ready to make your truffles.  Mix in the cream cheese using your food processors blade attachment, your blender, or your muscle power until you can't see it anymore.  Your truffle mixture will form into a gooey ball on its own if you're using a food processor.  If you want to have truffles with a slightly different flavor than "Oreo", you can also add in a teaspoon of some extract, like vanilla, peppermint, raspberry, whatever.

Insert joke about chocolate balls here.

Now you're going to roll your mixture into little balls and put them on a large cookie sheet lined with waxed paper.  I suppose you could make them as large as you want to, even making just one GIANT truffle, but I'd recommend going with about a tablespoonish each.  These'll be very soft and very gooey, so stick 'em in the fridge for a good hour or two to firm up.  While you're waiting, you can go and play Medieval Sims.  The time will just fly by as you watch the romance between Queen Martha and Wizard Edward blossom, be amazed at how quickly Merchant Brandon is able to get Bard Erik into bed, and be amazed at the fighting prowess of Knight Commander Karen.  Or I guess you could do something else.

Pre-melted chocolate and shortening.

ANYWAY.  Once you've let those bad boys set for a while, it's time to bring your chocolate chips and shortening into play.  I use semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can use milk chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter, whatever kind of chip suit your taste.  Put two cups of your chips and two tablespoons of shortening into a double boiler.  And I feel like I've lost a couple people here.  Ok, so you might not have a double boiler.  It's very easy to make your own.  Check out this page and come on back when you're done.  Ok, got that?  Good.  So put your chocolate and shortening in a double boiler, stirring constantly until it's all melted together..  You don't want to put your chocolate in a pan in direct contact with the heat source since it burns pretty easily.  You really, really don't want that to happen; it's unpleasant and will both smell and taste bad. 

Smoothy smooth!

Once your chocolate is all melted and smooth, turn off the heat and take those truffles out of the fridge!  Take them off of your cookie sheet, put them in a bowl, and line your cookie sheet with some fresh waxed paper.  One by one, toss your little truffle balls into the chocolate pot, get them nice and coated, and take them back out again, putting them on your freshly lined cookie sheet.  If you want to make them a little fancy, it's very simple to do so.  I tossed a few chocolate sprinkles on each one as they came out.  You can use other colored sprinkles, colored sugar, a drizzle of chocolate, white chocolate, or whatever you want.  It's pretty easy to make them look super fancy pants.  People will be impressed at your chocolatiering prowess.  Dazzle your friends and make your rivals jealous!

Just stick them in the fridge to firm up, then serve!

Once you've got your truffles all covered in chocolate, it's time to stick them back in the fridge.  You'll want to keep them in there until you're ready to serve them.  Remember, they have a brick of cream cheese in them.  If you leave them out of the refrigerator for too long, I can't promise good things will come of that.  Don't worry, though, once you take them out of the fridge and serve them, they probably won't last too long anyway.

Hurray for Fall!

It finally feels like fall here in southeastern Virginia and that means: autumn baking!!!  And for me, that means lots and lots of apples!  Today's tastiness was crow's nest.  And just what is that, you might be asking yourself?  Well, crow's nest (or at least what the baking ladies in my family call crow's nest) combines the deliciousness of apples with the other deliciousness of biscuits.  "Why, that sounds delightful!" you exclaim, "However can I make some for myself?"  It turns out it's your lucky day, hypothetical question-asker!  Read on and all shall be revealed.

You need all this.  Plus milk.

First you'll probably want to get out all of your ingredients.  You're going to need at least four apples (I used macintosh, but any good pie apple will do), some sugar, cinnamon, flour, salt, baking soda, cream of tartar, shortening, and milk.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and get out an 8" square pan. 

Mmm...must...resist...eating them all now!

Now, get to peeling and slicing some apples!  Put them right in your pan as you slice them so you'll know when you have enough.  You want to cover the bottom of your pan with at least an inch of apple.  Next up comes the super tasty part.  Dump your apple slices into a large bowl and add in about 1/4 of a cup of sugar and sprinkle some cinnamon on top.  I'm not really sure how much cinnamon I used.  Start out with a little bit, and add more to taste.  Stir up your apples so they get all nice and coated and dump them back in the pan.  Now, here's a really important part: don't eat all of your apple slices.  It'll be very tempting, but if you do, you'll just end up with biscuits when you're all done.  And probably a stomachache. 

My apartment smells soooo good right now.

Set aside your apples and start making your biscuit dough!  Get out a bowl and mix together 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar.  (Side note: if you're not sure what cream of tartar is, look in the baking aisle of your grocery store.  It is NOT the same as tartar sauce.  I am only making a point of mentioning this because I once shared this biscuit recipe with someone who didn't know the difference.  It...didn't end well.)  Next, cut in a heaping tablespoon of shortening.  Finally, stir in 3/4 of a cup of milk.  Buttermilk will make it the tastiest, but any milk will do.  Now you just drop the dough on top of your apples in little dollops like dumplings and stick it in your preheated oven for about 30 minutes or so, or until your topping is turning a nice golden brown.  Once it's all done, let it cool for a bit, maybe sprinkle some brown sugar on top, and voila!  You have yourself a delicious fall dessert!  Or dinner, as the case may be if you're me.  Excuse me, I think I need to get a little bit more...

We3

I recently finished reading Grant Morrison's book Supergods, which was part history of super hero comics and part autobiography.  I'm not reviewing it (though it was quite good and very interesting), but reading that book got me interested in taking a look at more of Morrison's work as well as some other books he mentioned.  I'm generally not one for reading super hero comics, mostly because there is just waaaay too much backstory for most of them.  I like stories to have a beginning, a middle, and an end.  That said, I decided to check out one of Morrison's non-super hero stories: We3.


We3 is the story of three animals, a dog, a cat, and a rabbit, that have been cybernetically enhanced to become killing machines for the government.  After carrying out an assassination for the military, they are slated to be "decommissioned" (euthanized).  The doctor in charge of their care cannot bring herself to do this and sets them free instead.  Letting three trained killers loose goes about as well as one would expect and several people are killed.  Soldiers are sent out to hunt them down, and when that rather gruesomely fails, another cyber-creature is sent after them.

The writing for this story is really, really good.  Morrison's characterizations of the three animals (who have limited speech) are quite different from a lot of talking-animal fiction.  The three aren't furry people; they don't think as humans do.  The dog, which is the most intelligent and speaks most like a human, wants very much just to be a "gud dog", go home, wherever that might be, and is very remorseful when he instinctively kills a man who took a shot at one of his companions.  The cat's speech is less sophisticated and she shows the same general disinterest in killing a bird as killing a human, and the rabbit is the least intelligent with the simplest speech patterns.

The artwork, done by Frank Quitely, also fantastic.  You can see a preview from DC here.  The pages in the preview show pretty straightforward paneling, but throughout the book Quitely gets very innovative including layers of images highlighting minutiae during fight scenes and six pages of eighteen panels each of security camera footage detailing the animals' escape.  A word of warning for the squeamish, though: the violence depicted is definitely not for the faint of heart.  Two of the things that disturbed me the most were images of a soldier getting shot through the eye (I have a thing about eyes) and the images of the cybernetically enhanced rats, some of which had their entire heads replaced with tools such as a drill or a wrench (so very creepy!), and there are many images of bodies just ripped right apart.

We3 was recently re-released as a deluxe hardcover edition, though the one I borrowed from my library is the trade paperback that came out in 2005.  I hear that the new edition has 10 more pages than the original one, though, so I may have to snoop around my local comics shop and take a look.  If you can handle the level of violence, and don't mind getting pretty misty-eyed while you're reading, I very highly recommend checking this book out.

Another Earth

I'm fortunate enough to live near a small, independent movie theater that shows a lot of limited-release, generally arty, movies.  A lot of the time I'm not that interested in what's playing, but every so often a movie comes there that catches my interest.  This time that movie was Another Earth.

Another Earth is a "science fiction" (I'll get to why that's in quotes) movie that involves a second Earth, completely identical to our own, even down to having copies of the same people, appearing as a tiny blue dot in the sky one night.  The night that it first appears, Rhoda Williams (played by Brit Marling) is celebrating getting accepted to MIT.  She has too much to drink, is distracted by trying to see Earth 2, and runs her car into the one occupied by John Burroughs (William Mapother), his pregnant wife, and their young son.  Burroughs goes into a coma and his wife and son are killed.  Four years later, Rhoda is released from prison and, not really knowing what to do with her life, she enters an essay contest to win a seat on the first civilian shuttle to Earth 2, which is now much closer and is visible even in the daytime.  She also finds out where Burroughs lives and goes to his home intending to apologize for the grief she's caused him.  Rhoda panics when he answers the door, says instead that she works for a cleaning service offering a free trial cleaning, and winds up cleaning his house on a regular basis.

Now to why "science fiction" is in quotes up there.  The whole second Earth premise doesn't hold up at all if you think about it even for a moment (such as the havoc another planet being that close to ours would have on things like tides, the fact that people generally seem to feel pretty ho-hum about another Earth suddenly appearing, why didn't anyone know about this planet before it suddenly appeared, etc.).  However, this movie isn't actually about Earth 2.  It's about how Rhoda is dealing with her guilt and the relationship that builds between her and Burroughs.  The appearance of Earth 2 is the catalyst for the events of the movie, and is important to the film's resolution, but it's mostly just in the background.

I don't have much to say about the acting or cinematography or any of that, but I thought Brit Marling did a wonderful acting job in this film.  She was very convincing as a young woman consumed by guilt and unable to forgive herself.  I definitely recommend checking this movie out, provided you aren't a real stickler for plausibility in your movies' premises.