Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
[image to be posted whenever mobileputer revives]
Today, for the first time in at least a year and a half, I held Patrick McDuffy of The Patrick McDuffy Allstars fame in my arms again, and he felt so utterly right there. As if a long lost puppy had come home. And as I wandered the venue with him, occasionally talking to very few people – as indeed I only knew one person at the show who was not in the band and not the person I was at the show with in the first place anyway – I felt a strange and wonderful peace that I had not felt since my best friend in town left. In fact, the feeling was not entirely unlike the same one recieved when said person comes back in town and I get him back in the same atmosphere (and most likely arms at some point or other) as me.
Stuffed animals have that sort of power, I suppose.
(Patrick McDuffy is a small green tigerstriped bear that the drummer of the so-named band, a friend of mine since middle school, won in a claw machine. He, his owner, and I have had many a wonderful adventure together, both as a pairs and a trio. Patrick McDuffy, along with my ex-dog, are the only two permanent photographs in my violin case.)
October 06 2006 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
After the last post, the mobilputer decided to die.
Die….die…die….
Actually, it’s stuck in an eternal startup loop thanks to a corrupt startup file. So the last month (hah!) has been spent trying to get my hands on a copy of Win2K or XP and, well, revive the little chunk of wires and circuits.
Now I finally have a copy of Win2K AND XP…but have forgotten the commands I need in order to reinstall all the startup files without erasing my computer. Oops. There is a new mission now. (All help appreciated ^_^ Lara Croft I am definitely not.)
Return is imminent. But in the meantime, remember that Battlestar Galactica returns in 8 days (Oct. 9 @ 9pm) and there will be much wibbling. And I’ll try to update this thing as much as before because man oh man there are SO many things that need bashing (*coughs at the new “harajuku” line of clothing at Pacific Sun that is a disturbing marketing ploy of Gwen Stefani’s and makes such sad, shameless, tarnishing usage of robots*).
October 01 2006 | BSG (and such) and Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Somewhere during the last computer crash, a large portion of my bookmarks got erased/moved into new folders.
Majority of bookmarks lost were for shopping and manga. Wonder if I’ll ever find them again…T_T
August 14 2006 | Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Today, for no particular reason obvious to me yet, all of a sudden, I felt very plain.
I can’t define yet just what exactly I mean by “plain.”
Something – perhaps the same thing that led me to feel this way in the first place – tells me that I won’t be able to.
August 14 2006 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
soundtrack: the squeaking roof
The internet and computer have decided to conspire against me and take turns misbehaving. This accounts for the lack of writings.
Apologies?
The upstairs neighbour is proving to be very squeaky. I’m inches from just knocking on their door and asking why they are so bloody squeaky? Is the neighbour particularly heavyset thus causing for noisy depressions as they step or is it a heavy bed or chair?
The apartment is still being compiled so there is a massive need for feng shuei here. The dishwasher repair request still hasn’t been answered after a week so there are dirty, albeit rinsed, dishes abound. We’ve taken to using paper plates and bowls and plastic utensils. Mr. Cat has also taken to mewling outside my door to wake me up when the roommates are asleep and he’s hungry/wants attention as well as camping outside the bathroom door if he’s asked for attention, but I, instead, walk out of my room and into the bathroom instead. He’s still super cute anyway.
A few days back, the ‘h’ key on the computer snapped off. I got it back on successfully, but it is ridiculously sensitive now. So pretty much any key I tap is at risk for setting off the ‘h’. Every time I tap the ‘h’, I am at risk of typing at least one more ‘h’ in the process.
Computer has also decided to not read the camera at all no matter how many different combinations of order of plugging the thing in I try. Thus, I can’t download any photos off my all-too-full card. Photos accompanying posts are from googleimages for the time being.
Got an ant bite on my foot the day before yesterday and my foot is swollen to twice its usual size and itching like hell.
good times.
On the other hand, and not as a result of any of the above but instead as a result of copious amounts of drama, frustration, loss of motivation, and lots of being shoved offs, usual happykiyo is giving way to one who feels more useless and lonely than anything else.
Is there anything cheery and superhappy happening, you ask?
hmm….nope.
Regular, more useful and non-whiny posts due to return when things stabilize. Promise. Brainwaves under construction as they are suffering technical difficulties. Please pardon the dust.
August 09 2006 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
soundtrack: This is Love – Utada Hikaru
Things don’t start hurting until they end. My current position is depressing, but more confusing, I suppose.
My biggest question has been answered, though, and that gives me a little peace.
Am I being too mysterious? Hehehe…I guess that may be the idea. I’m not really wont to talk about it online…
—–
Days have been more eventful than I expected. Details in the other writingspace. It’s not really important. However, in this time, I have watched many movies, listened to one new album, done atrocious amounts of shopping (meaning I’ve spent atrocious amounts of money as well *coughs at the $43 she had to spend on gas today), haggled with lots of technology and something else that I can’t remember right now. There’s always something else, ne?
Anyways, some thoughts on things…potential spoilers, of course, but I’ll try to keep them down:
Album: Black Holes and Revelations by Muse
thoughts: The album seems to be reaching for some far off jewel, but right before they reached the prize, all three band members looked around and said, “Not quite yet, mate. Let’s snatch it in the next work.” I didn’t find it as BRILLIANT as many of the reviews I read, but Muse is definitely up to something daring and new. And damn do they do it well. The album feels groundbreaking in the manner that you toss a floatie into a still pool – it lands, splashes a bit, and then sends ripples of emotion through you – and perhaps the rock world as we know it – and it’s going to stay like that. Some songs offered breaths of fresh, interesting, and alluring air, while a few are stagnant, but of no fault of their own. The album as an entirety, is mostly confused and disjointed at first. Songs don’t lead into other songs well, but after a few listens, it’s not as jarring. I admit having cheated and listened to a bunch of songs off the album before I heard it as a whole, though, so that may have a hand in the thought. However, by the time the album ends, I felt like it functioned even despite its obvious flaws, which slowly fade into memory.
All tracks stand alone very well. Starlight is a particular gem while others such as City of Delusion and Knights of Cydonia make you giggle as Muse tosses you into philosophical and tastefully overblown, overdone corners. Supermassive Black Hole is decidedly sexy as Assassin portrays the Muse that fans know and love so well. Never does Bellamy’s vocals fail and his driving force of a voice added to the complete artistry of the songs, only when taken out of the context of the entire album, makes this album very much worth its listening time. Yes, flawed, but still deserving respect and its own place in musical rock history.
Film: My Big Fat Greek Wedding
thoughts: Fun and entertaining (and relatively old, I know). I enjoyed how there was just the barest bones of romantic development and instead, the focus stayed on the wedding and its effects on the family…which is the point. Right?
Good writing and acting was convincing. Nia Vardalos in particular was delightful, but I won’t deny that I spent a large portion of the movie hoping that John Corbett would eventually wash his hair.
Film: Shaun of the Dead
thoughts: The film has its moments and is quite brilliant in some ways. And since I still can’t decipher British accents as well as I’d like, I would probably want to see it again with subtitles. After all, the writing is very good, but I just couldn’t enjoy it after one particularly horrible and scarring scene regarding organs leaving bodies. Which makes me question if I still want to watch it again…with subtitles. I never was a horror, even in its tiniest bits, fan.
Recommended if you can take that sort of thing anyway.
…and that’s enough of that.
Film: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
thoughts: Haven’t finished it yet since I started watching it at around a few minutes past midnight, right after Shaun of the Dead, as to…cleanse, my mind, so to speak. Sadly, I was too tired to really enjoy it as it probably should be, so I shall finish it in the near future with hopes that I won’t be so tired then.
Thus far, opening sequence is hilarious, the actress playing Trillian is a bit distracting because she’s so pretty while I always imagined Trillian somewhat plainer and not as perky, and Martin Freeman…well, I just like him. Alan Rickman as Marvin was fantastic move. I have a lot more to say about The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (the movie) but no right to say that much since I haven’t seen all of it.
Film: Brick
thoughts: An excellent and rather amazing film in all its own right. I must watch this film again with subtitles, but I wonder if it will still be as gripping as when I saw it…oh, about an hour ago. The language, perhaps the most notable trait of Brick, is not new to the movie world (They talk in old 1920s-30s film noir lingo.) but in the present day setting created the creepy, but dazzling, sensation of watching a dark underworld, as it indeed is a story of one. Here, I can state without hesitation that while it may seem odd at first, the film eventually winds itself into something quite brilliant indeed.
Rian Johnson does not shy from artistry in the least. The frames are shadowy, reflective, symbolic, and beautiful. The images stick with you just as much as the engrossing, but slightly predictable story. Even the promotional posters are gorgeous. The evidently young cast is talented and Joseph Gordon-Leavitt cannot go without note for his work.
Highly recommended.
August 03 2006 | films and music and Uncategorized | No Comments »
soundtrack: Kotori no Su – Akino Arai
I’m having one of those moments where things are feeling very very very hopeless and lost, aimless…alone.
—-
This internet is compliments of a neighbor who didn’t protect his/her wireless network…the signal’s weak though so it’s just p00fing all over the place…gah
July 28 2006 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
soundtrack: Knights of Cydonia – Muse
The new apartment doesn’t have any internet yet and there is no unprotected wireless signal strong enough for me to leech off…yet. I’m (evilly) hoping that someone will move in nearby that will have a strong enough signal, but I guess for now that roomies and I will have to hack out a plan w. local communications providers. I’m currently in the old apartment to use the internet and haul over as much as possible/start cleaning.
The irony of this is that because I have no internet yet, I have nothing to do but work on reviews. Heh.
July 25 2006 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
soundtrack: Omatsuri – Akino Arai
1- Sporadic internet activity due to cleaning off the desk, dresser, “bedside table”, and mattress due to iminent moving
2- 6 more days
—-
My improvisation on the recipe for lemon-thyme chicken I yoinked out of Redbook (shut up haha) actually worked! Well, it worked on Paul at least …
Recipe:
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 sp freshly ground pepper
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1tbsp each olive oil and unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 shallots minced
- 2 tsp grated lemon zest
- 1tbsp minced fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Dredge chicken in a mix of the flour, salt, and pepper. Coat both sides.
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and unsalted butter per chicken piece, melt.
3. Saute chicken 6-7 mins, turning once.
4. remove chicken and deglaze skillet with heavy cream – increase heat to medium high
5. add shallots, lemon zest, and thyme – stir for 2 mins/until cream thickens
6. stir in lemon juice, mustard, and salt
7. spoon mix over chicken
IMPROVISATION/notes:
- I actually made it last night with 2 chicken thighs instead of 4 chicken breasts. It just makes for harder saute because the thighs have little nooks that fill with flour mix and are somewhat difficult to reach when cooking. So in actuality, I didn’t change any of the amounts, however, except for amount of ingredients placed in the mix.
- defrost chicken first and then cook for approximately 5 minutes in microwave before dredging
- replace butter with an extra tbsp of olive oil.
- use 2 stalks of green onion instead of shallots
- replace mustard with extra half cup of heavy cream
- no “lemon zest” was used
- amount of thyme used was about 1 1/2 tbsp
END RESULT:
- The onions and lemon mixed to make a REALLY interesting flavour and calories were cut! Hooray!
- served with yellow rice w. mixed veggies (both out of packages so nothing of note there, really haha) and herbs, but now that I look back, I think it might be very yummy with something involving asparagus too. Drink of choice was red wine for the night, but I have no idea how ‘elegant’ that is.
July 23 2006 | food and Uncategorized | No Comments »
« Prev - Next »