Sho: Okonomiyaki Kitchen Warrior OH YES!
01.12.03
E00:11
|
|
|
|
Music o' The Entry: "Burn", The Yellow Monkey
This evening is another one of those that reminds me how much I'm looking forward to getting out of my house, and how sad it makes me that I won't be hanging around my friends at school anymore since I'm evidently just the token annoying girl that everyone actually hates but tolerates because most of them are too polite to say otherwise. Thus, I suppose I'll retire to that wonderful place, the lovely place that corrupts young minds, filling their heads with all sorts of strange ideas, ones not meant to be consumed by the impressionable. Yes, I'll go stay in the library. Libraries have always been a haven of sorts for me, something demostrated particularly vividly in Japan (both in the library at Higashi and the ACTA library), so it seems a natural thing...besides, I'm reading The People's History of the Twentieth Century, recommended so by Trystan, it's horrific, these pleasant little things they neglect to tell you in your own history classes...I suppose if confronted they'd likely just write it off as "unimportant details", but it's far from it...the author is Howard Zinn, check it out if you have the chance.
This weekend has been about the same as most, haven't done all that much. I've never understood the mystique of the weekend, really...perhaps it's because I never get out of the house, most of my friends choose to sleep at night. Oh well, I'm not complaining-I'm perfectly content to be at home, I just wish I were alone...well, alone when I'd like to be, selectively alone one could say...not surrounded by all the madness that's here. I did end up voyaging to the Asian food store, where I purchased Kewpie mayonnaise, yakisoba sauce, some little Korean cakes for Christmas (they were in the freezer), melon ice bars, Pocky, and some dashi (bonito stock), as well as going to a Chinese restaurant and partaking of gyoza, wonton soup, pork lo mein, pork fried rice, fried prawns, almond chicken, and a hell of a lot of oolong tea (it's good, okay? It was only one pot...). Of course I didn't eat it all at sitting, I finally finished it up after gnawing of all that for the third or fourth time. Seriously, I adore Chinese food, it utterly defeats Japanese food (save certain exceptions, of course)...strange, why on earth do I want to go to a country where I don't even really like the food that much (to put it very mildly, in some cases)...? Oh well.
Speaking of Japanese food, I did it this morning-the first experimental batch of okonomiyaki has been produced with...successful (I think ^^;) results. Keep in mind I haven't had okonomiyaki in several months, and thus don't really have anything to compare the taste to, except for memories. However, it was how I usually consider okonomiyaki: edible but not all that fond of it, thus I think I did something right. My okonomiyaki contained water, dashi (I think this is part of the problem, my dashi packs are hella huge), cabbage, flour, cheese (yes, cheese. Morio suggested it, so I figgered I might as well give it a chance...), deli-sliced chicken, and pork that I inadvertantly cooked in the microwave (I'm inept, when I try to thaw something it always ends up cooked), then slathered with okonomiyaki/yakisoba sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, and sprinkled with ao-nori powder, the way okonomiyaki was intended to be. My own pancake was ill-fated from the beginning, instead of circular it was quite oval in shape, large, broke in half...but it tasted like food, and I ate all the damn thing, seeing as I DID cook it (I think I'm a much finer yakisoba cook)...my mother decided to make her and my father some with the remaining batter for their dinner, and their reactions were...interesting. My mother actually liked it (of course, my mom's family eats some of the strangest food you ever did see, weirdo Slavic stuff...kolaches frighten me, they don't look like food inside. Then there's the whole aloe vera and armodillo thing...stop looking at me like that, I'm serious and that's not even the half of it), whereas my father consumed the entire thing and promptly asked me why I'd produce such a thing. It's for my project people, I wouldn't cook this normally...I think the fishy flavour is what turns me off (if you didn't know, I hate fish. Yes, I'm a would-be ichthyologist who hates the taste of fish, that makes sense, unlike hating fish and wanting to live in Japan), but the mayonnaise and stuff you put on top offset it. So tomorrow I'm going to work with Satoko and we're going to figure out what I need to say for my presentation, they'll I practice at home being the Julia Child of okonomiyaki or something (in 15 minutes). PHEAR ME!
One thing this weekend was was one of mass music downloadage, for the bans have been lifted and I once again get turn my computer into an Oricon radio station (keep in mind this isn't always a positive thing). I downloaded several new songs by some of my favourite Japanese bands/artists (and some not as well), so here are the verdicts (keep in mind a number of these are currently on the Oricon):
First off, we have Dir en grey's latest, "JESSICA", which I...don't like. I like my DeG dark, broody, screamy, angsty, twisted, and sick (in both sound and lyrics). I haven't looked over the translation of this yet, but I do not like the music, it's almost...happy (this IS Dir en grey we're talking about, one of the two most visual bands in Japan other than Malice Mizer). Sure, it has some weird vocals by Kyo, but they're not enough to get me to like it. It's also because the music doesn't seem too musical, it's just...mediocre. Blah. Perhaps it'll grow on me, but it certainly hasn't thus far. It's not like I hate it or anything, but there are an infinite number of songs I'd rather hear.
Tsugi wa...hiro's "confession". Yes, it is an odd choice for me, and is being reviewed here solely on the basis that it's been on the Oricon for a little while and I suppose I should give it a listen. Not much too say about this one, it's pop and hiro's voice fits the idol mold like a glove (those of you familiar with j-pop know what I'm talking about). Passable, I'd listen to it, though not for the entire song, because it's too long (for the song, I've nothing against long songs. I'm a devout X-Japan fan, remember?) and monotonous. Still, if j-pop's your thing, then by all means...
Next would be the Kinki Kids' "Hey! Minnagenkikai?", one of those kinda happy "feel-good" songs, but it manages to do so without being overly sweet and saccharine, partially due to the vocals (damn, I forgot that guy's voice). It's not heavy, emotionally packed, spectacular or anything, but it's a relatively pleasant listen when you don't feel like thinking. Instruments of note in here are the guitar and the...trumpets..., both are quite noticeable (don't worry, the trumpets only come in a couple interludes), where as in "JESSICA" the drums dominate (which is unfortunate, because they're monotonous)...if you like stuff like this, just don't expect anything more than a relatively okay song to listen to once or twice.
Actually, I'm sleepy, so more reviews will ensue tomorrow, including new Malice Mizer, Pierrot, Sophia, Hikaru Utada, hyde, Love Psychedelico, and my latest love, The Yellow Monkey. Yes, tomorrow's definitely going to be a music update, quite a bit of stuff musically and lyrically to discuss (and a new song to own me!)...thus, mata minna, sorry for the distinct lack of substance in tonight's entry. We'll see what happens tomorrow...
chronos
Ekairos
|