Don't you just love it when someone gets seriously beat up and the police can't do anything about it? Don't you just love it when you know someone is violent and is probably going to beat you to death and the police can't help you?
http://jezebel.com/5879716/shitty-new-bills-would-make-domestic-abuse-more-difficult-to-prosecute
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Nagging
I came across an article on the subject of nagging. However, upon reading it, I felt unhappy with the article. Mostly it said how nagging can kill a marriage and women should just stop doing it and find other ways to get the men to do stuff that the men are already supposed to be doing. Like women don't have enough to worry about and do around the house that we also have to be sensitive to how we ask the men to do their share of the work? Ridiculous! The way I see it, I'll ask nicely once, I'll ask again with an undertone of annoyance and if you still don't get it done, then I have a right to be pissed. Why should I have to be the one to change when the guy isn't doing his sh*t?
In my personal case, my hubby isn't so bad. He will actually automatically do things like take out the garbage and clear the dinner table without my having to ask. So in the end, I have no need to nag. I do have one thing I told myself to nag him about, but I keep forgetting to. Maybe because I'm so unpracticed at nagging, I just suck at it?
In any case, I try to make it a point not to nag. Instead, I'll say it once or twice and then get seriously irritated. When I ask my husband to do stuff, 99 percent of the time, he doesn't do it right away, which annoys me. However, I've learned to be patient. I've also learned that when he's distracted when I ask him to do something and he says he'll do it later, he'll often forget, which will then seriously irritate me... a lot. Most of the time though, I don't nag because there is no need to. My hubby is a pretty good hubby in that sense.
Anyways, here's Jezebel's take on the article, which includes a link to the original article:
http://jezebel.com/5879258/naggy-anti+nagging-article-nags-women-to-stop-nagging
In my personal case, my hubby isn't so bad. He will actually automatically do things like take out the garbage and clear the dinner table without my having to ask. So in the end, I have no need to nag. I do have one thing I told myself to nag him about, but I keep forgetting to. Maybe because I'm so unpracticed at nagging, I just suck at it?
In any case, I try to make it a point not to nag. Instead, I'll say it once or twice and then get seriously irritated. When I ask my husband to do stuff, 99 percent of the time, he doesn't do it right away, which annoys me. However, I've learned to be patient. I've also learned that when he's distracted when I ask him to do something and he says he'll do it later, he'll often forget, which will then seriously irritate me... a lot. Most of the time though, I don't nag because there is no need to. My hubby is a pretty good hubby in that sense.
Anyways, here's Jezebel's take on the article, which includes a link to the original article:
http://jezebel.com/5879258/naggy-anti+nagging-article-nags-women-to-stop-nagging
Friday, February 3, 2012
Making popcorn in a wok
I totally love my wok, but I've never used it to make popcorn. Today, I just found out that I CAN make popcorn in a wok as well! Oh joy!
http://lifehacker.com/5878294/make-popcorn-in-your-wok
Update:
I have now tried making popcorn in my wok and am very pleased! My first attempt came out a little on the burnt side, so I'll have to be careful going forward. Yay!
http://lifehacker.com/5878294/make-popcorn-in-your-wok
Update:
I have now tried making popcorn in my wok and am very pleased! My first attempt came out a little on the burnt side, so I'll have to be careful going forward. Yay!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Roll, instead of fold, your towels
If space in your linen closet is tight, consider rolling your towels instead of folding them.
http://lifehacker.com/5878369/roll-your-towels-instead-of-folding-them-to-save-space-and-de+clutter-your-linen-closet
http://lifehacker.com/5878369/roll-your-towels-instead-of-folding-them-to-save-space-and-de+clutter-your-linen-closet
Sunday, January 29, 2012
If ever you need a mason jar shaker
This might be useful for sprinkling baking soda or washing soda into a tub to clean it. I'm sure there are a myriad of other uses for this little tip:
http://plathsadventures.com/2011/09/26/a-thrift-store-find-and-a-canning-jar-tip/
http://plathsadventures.com/2011/09/26/a-thrift-store-find-and-a-canning-jar-tip/
Thursday, January 26, 2012
sickening
If you are still wondering if it's true that there is growing inequality between the rich and everyone else, check this out:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/nyregion/chefs-butlers-and-marble-baths-not-your-average-hospital-room.html?src=me&ref=general
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/nyregion/chefs-butlers-and-marble-baths-not-your-average-hospital-room.html?src=me&ref=general
Monday, January 23, 2012
Keep a cake fresh with bread
Found this tip online on how to keep a cake moist and fresh by placing a slice of bread on top. Seems pretty cool. I generally don't leave my cakes out overnight, but if I do, I'll try to keep this tip in mind:
http://bakedbree.com/wess-birthday-cake
http://bakedbree.com/wess-birthday-cake
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Possible reason for bee colony collapse?
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2012/01/04/bees-being-turned-into-zombies-by-parasite-115875-23677687/
This sounds really horrible. Poor honey bees.
This sounds really horrible. Poor honey bees.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Chocolate filled beignets
So in a previous post, I made beignets. Today, I made beignets filled with chocolate. Just roll out some brioche dough and cut to size. Then fill with semisweet morsels, seal them like packages, then fry 'em up! They are ready when brown on both sides. Yum!
You can find a great recipe for brioche dough in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Great book!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Beignets
I first had beignets in New Orleans at the famous Cafe Du Monde. If you're ever in New Orleans, you have to have the Beignets with the Cafe Au Lait. Their coffee is a brew of coffee with chicory, which I think is a kind of nut, but I could be wrong.
In any case, the beignets were incredible! They were delicious, light and fried. What's not to love? Ever after, no beignet I had elsewhere could measure up. So I was very intrigued when I saw that you can make beignets at home by frying up some brioche dough. I found this in the book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (my new favorite book!).
So yesterday, I made some brioche dough to chill overnight in the fridge. This morning, hubby ground up some raw sugar in our mortar and pestle to make powdered sugar while I rolled out a small amount of dough and cut them into 2 inch squares. While letting the squares rise and rest for 20 minutes (they didn't rise very much), I heated up oil in my wok. I was a little worried that the beignets wouldn't come out fluffy since they didn't rise much, but after slipping them into the hot oil, they puffed up nicely! I let them lightly brown on each side before draining and sprinkling with the powdered sugar and serving.
They were better than most I've ever had, though probably still not as good as Cafe Du Monde's! Hubby approved of this new food experiment and whole-heartedly thinks I should make more. Success! I would post pictures, but we ate them all. :-(
You can find the brioche dough recipe here:
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2008/09/24/brioche-dough-recipe-and-all-of-its-wonderful-uses
The post also includes links to other goody bread yummies you can make with brioche dough.
In any case, the beignets were incredible! They were delicious, light and fried. What's not to love? Ever after, no beignet I had elsewhere could measure up. So I was very intrigued when I saw that you can make beignets at home by frying up some brioche dough. I found this in the book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (my new favorite book!).
So yesterday, I made some brioche dough to chill overnight in the fridge. This morning, hubby ground up some raw sugar in our mortar and pestle to make powdered sugar while I rolled out a small amount of dough and cut them into 2 inch squares. While letting the squares rise and rest for 20 minutes (they didn't rise very much), I heated up oil in my wok. I was a little worried that the beignets wouldn't come out fluffy since they didn't rise much, but after slipping them into the hot oil, they puffed up nicely! I let them lightly brown on each side before draining and sprinkling with the powdered sugar and serving.
They were better than most I've ever had, though probably still not as good as Cafe Du Monde's! Hubby approved of this new food experiment and whole-heartedly thinks I should make more. Success! I would post pictures, but we ate them all. :-(
You can find the brioche dough recipe here:
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2008/09/24/brioche-dough-recipe-and-all-of-its-wonderful-uses
The post also includes links to other goody bread yummies you can make with brioche dough.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Cool housekeeping ideas
My favorites are storing sheets in their own pillow cases, using baby powder to get beach sand off, how to neatly fold a fitted sheet (always did have issues with this one!), and storing holiday decorations in egg cartons.
Enjoy!
http://angelaadkins.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/25-clever-ideas-to-make-life-easier/
Enjoy!
http://angelaadkins.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/25-clever-ideas-to-make-life-easier/
Monday, January 9, 2012
Momofuku cookies
During the holiday season, I had the good luck to try some of Momofuku's cookies. I had the Compost cookie and the Corn cookie... and they were one of the most delicious cookies I have ever eaten! They were rather large, so when I got them, I had planned to eat only half of a cookie and save the rest for later. Needless to say, I scarfed it all down! I couldn't stop myself! They were sooooooo good!
Then recently, I came across this recipe:
http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2010/02/momofuku_milk_bars_compost_cookie_recipe.html
Holy cow! I can't believe you can make these yourself!
You can better your butter I am going to be trying this recipe out!
Then recently, I came across this recipe:
http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2010/02/momofuku_milk_bars_compost_cookie_recipe.html
Holy cow! I can't believe you can make these yourself!
You can better your butter I am going to be trying this recipe out!
Friday, January 6, 2012
Pre-K
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/nyregion/underground-pre-k-groups-often-illegal-abound-in-new-york.html?pagewanted=1&ref=nyregion
Apparently, the woman in the above article is freaking out about her kid "falling behind" when entering kindergarten. So to her, preschool is a must. Personally, I think she needs to chill. Why? Because kids learn fast when they're young. Many parents who cite the benefits of Pre-K don't talk about how the kids learn a lot of stuff, but say that the benefits mainly lie in the children picking up social skills in a classroom setting and helps with separation anxiety before reaching kindergarten. Okay, I can see that, but is it worth paying thousands of dollars for? Not sure.
Parents in NYC and around the country seem to have, at times, lost their collective minds. I am constantly getting the feeling, when I read such articles, that if I don't do everything just right and rob my kids of any free play, then I will have failed to give my child every chance to do well in life. Everything is about applying pressure on yourself as a parent to get the kids into the BEST schools at age two through college. The constant feeling of you-can't-EVER-screw-up-EVER attitude induces the kind of stress that can give you ulcers and keep you up at night.
Schools aren't even about educating the kids anymore. At least not to the parents. To the parent under high pressure (and in turn applying high pressure to their children), school is about getting good grades to get into good schools to get good money. At the heart of it, is almost seems like the attitude of these parents is, "Who cares if the kids learn anything? As long as they end up rich and give me plenty of bragging rights, I'll be proud!" I am sure that is not true of most parents who want the best schools for their kids, but these articles in the NYTimes are giving the impression that NYC parents are a bit insane with too much money to burn.
Apparently, the woman in the above article is freaking out about her kid "falling behind" when entering kindergarten. So to her, preschool is a must. Personally, I think she needs to chill. Why? Because kids learn fast when they're young. Many parents who cite the benefits of Pre-K don't talk about how the kids learn a lot of stuff, but say that the benefits mainly lie in the children picking up social skills in a classroom setting and helps with separation anxiety before reaching kindergarten. Okay, I can see that, but is it worth paying thousands of dollars for? Not sure.
Parents in NYC and around the country seem to have, at times, lost their collective minds. I am constantly getting the feeling, when I read such articles, that if I don't do everything just right and rob my kids of any free play, then I will have failed to give my child every chance to do well in life. Everything is about applying pressure on yourself as a parent to get the kids into the BEST schools at age two through college. The constant feeling of you-can't-EVER-screw-up-EVER attitude induces the kind of stress that can give you ulcers and keep you up at night.
Schools aren't even about educating the kids anymore. At least not to the parents. To the parent under high pressure (and in turn applying high pressure to their children), school is about getting good grades to get into good schools to get good money. At the heart of it, is almost seems like the attitude of these parents is, "Who cares if the kids learn anything? As long as they end up rich and give me plenty of bragging rights, I'll be proud!" I am sure that is not true of most parents who want the best schools for their kids, but these articles in the NYTimes are giving the impression that NYC parents are a bit insane with too much money to burn.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Baked eggs, shirred eggs
I recently discovered the deliciousness of baked eggs, otherwise known as shirred eggs. It is simple, yummy, customizable and great with toast points. Perfect for an easy breakfast that can be made in a toaster oven.
All it takes is cracking an egg into an oven-proof cup or ramekin, adding a tablespoon of cream or milk to keep the egg from drying out and then baking it to the desired consistency. Bake longer for a firmer texture and shorter for a runnier texture. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper or whatever bits of cheese you have lying around before placing in the oven for flavor.
My favorite way of making shirred eggs is to preheat my toaster oven to 375 degrees F, crack an egg into a ramekin, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and back for at least 10 minutes. I bake until the whites are just set, but still a bit jiggly. If you like your eggs less runny, you may have to bake for another 5 minutes or so. When you take them out, the ramekins are hot to touch to I usually let it rest for 5 minutes. I usually can't wait longer than that to start digging in with a toast point or spoon!
All it takes is cracking an egg into an oven-proof cup or ramekin, adding a tablespoon of cream or milk to keep the egg from drying out and then baking it to the desired consistency. Bake longer for a firmer texture and shorter for a runnier texture. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper or whatever bits of cheese you have lying around before placing in the oven for flavor.
My favorite way of making shirred eggs is to preheat my toaster oven to 375 degrees F, crack an egg into a ramekin, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and back for at least 10 minutes. I bake until the whites are just set, but still a bit jiggly. If you like your eggs less runny, you may have to bake for another 5 minutes or so. When you take them out, the ramekins are hot to touch to I usually let it rest for 5 minutes. I usually can't wait longer than that to start digging in with a toast point or spoon!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
New cutting board
I needed a new cutting board and got this one:
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Monday, December 26, 2011
RIM in trouble?
For a while now, people are saying RIM, the maker of blackberry devices, is in trouble. Many companies still use them though they are increasingly also offering iphones and android devices to their employees. Many people carry both a blackberry and another mobile device. Always, there have been rumors that RIM will make a come-back and retake the business market for mobile devices.
However, with the memory of the global outage still fresh in my mind, I'm now reading that analysts no longer think RIM will ever bounce back. Certainly this is not news. It is just a reminder of how troubled RIM is and how management does not seem to be responding to their imminent demise.
Personally, I am not a fan of the blackberry. It is not an attractive device and it is not fun to use. The style and shape of the blackberry has pretty much stayed very recognizably blackberry since it first came out in the market. I find its look unattractive. Then again, most people don't get a blackberry for its looks. So let's talk about functionality.
First of all, I find the touch trackpad response to be clunky. If I move my thumb across it, sometimes it will not respond and sometimes, it responds too fast. I've tried changing the sensitivity settings, but see no improvement. Contrast that to the iPhone touch screen and the blackberry trackpad just doesn't measure up.
Then there are the Options and Settings areas. In the iPhone, there is just Settings and the options per setting are simple enough. In the Blackberry, such things are divided between two sections: Options and Settings. Within Options and Settings, you are presented with a myriad of choices to play with. Pressing the Menu button also affords you more Options and Settings. So if you want to remember how you set something or changed something, you probably can't remember until you've played around with the device a bit. This makes setting up or troubleshooting the device a pain because you have to spend time figuring things out. Of course, you can say the blackberry gives you greater control whereas the iPhone doesn't, but the truth is, the iPhone doesn't because it doesn't need to.
Which leads me to my next point. The blackberry doesn't always work like it should when it comes to Enterprise Activation. I can't tell you how many countless hours I've spent trying to wrangle through issues with Enterprise Activation. It's not every device that has issues, but there are enough to make mobile technicians want to pull their hair out at times. Personally, I find it unintuitive to figure out how to get the subfolders to populate. At first, I couldn't figure it out so I wiped and re-activated the device, which failed. So I had to remove and re-add my account to BES and then redo the wipe and re-activation. Someone then showed me how to populate the subfolders. However, I have no historical emails and no calendar events now. I did some internet research and tried forcing the service books to be resent and also forced a slow sync. Nothing helped. Looks like there is nothing for it but another re-activation, which I am waiting to do. At least I'm getting my emails. Again, with the iPhone, there were no problems. Setup was extremely simple and easy and quick. Folders, calendars and tasks populated without problems or tinkering from my part. So if Apple can make it so easy, why can't RIM?
Internet browsing also sucks on the blackberry. I've tried to look up stuff or to go websites on the browser and will often get a connection error. I don't know if this is a carrier issue, but when I switch to iPhone, no problems - the page comes up right away!
Please note that I don't do anything on the blackberry aside from checking my emails, looking at my calendar and looking at my tasks - all for work only! I don't download apps or add personal emails accounts. When I use the web function, it is to use online tools that I need to access for work. Even if I were to stay away from the web function, at its most basic, I at least need it to work for my emails, calendar and tasks. What is the point of carrying it around if it doesn't help me do my job while on the go? Why would I want to carry this thing when I can just carry my iPhone which can do everything the blackberry can do but more and better?
The whole idea of the blackberry, for me, was to separate work from home. My iPhone is for home and the blackberry is for work. If only the blackberry works like it should...
However, with the memory of the global outage still fresh in my mind, I'm now reading that analysts no longer think RIM will ever bounce back. Certainly this is not news. It is just a reminder of how troubled RIM is and how management does not seem to be responding to their imminent demise.
Personally, I am not a fan of the blackberry. It is not an attractive device and it is not fun to use. The style and shape of the blackberry has pretty much stayed very recognizably blackberry since it first came out in the market. I find its look unattractive. Then again, most people don't get a blackberry for its looks. So let's talk about functionality.
First of all, I find the touch trackpad response to be clunky. If I move my thumb across it, sometimes it will not respond and sometimes, it responds too fast. I've tried changing the sensitivity settings, but see no improvement. Contrast that to the iPhone touch screen and the blackberry trackpad just doesn't measure up.
Then there are the Options and Settings areas. In the iPhone, there is just Settings and the options per setting are simple enough. In the Blackberry, such things are divided between two sections: Options and Settings. Within Options and Settings, you are presented with a myriad of choices to play with. Pressing the Menu button also affords you more Options and Settings. So if you want to remember how you set something or changed something, you probably can't remember until you've played around with the device a bit. This makes setting up or troubleshooting the device a pain because you have to spend time figuring things out. Of course, you can say the blackberry gives you greater control whereas the iPhone doesn't, but the truth is, the iPhone doesn't because it doesn't need to.
Which leads me to my next point. The blackberry doesn't always work like it should when it comes to Enterprise Activation. I can't tell you how many countless hours I've spent trying to wrangle through issues with Enterprise Activation. It's not every device that has issues, but there are enough to make mobile technicians want to pull their hair out at times. Personally, I find it unintuitive to figure out how to get the subfolders to populate. At first, I couldn't figure it out so I wiped and re-activated the device, which failed. So I had to remove and re-add my account to BES and then redo the wipe and re-activation. Someone then showed me how to populate the subfolders. However, I have no historical emails and no calendar events now. I did some internet research and tried forcing the service books to be resent and also forced a slow sync. Nothing helped. Looks like there is nothing for it but another re-activation, which I am waiting to do. At least I'm getting my emails. Again, with the iPhone, there were no problems. Setup was extremely simple and easy and quick. Folders, calendars and tasks populated without problems or tinkering from my part. So if Apple can make it so easy, why can't RIM?
Internet browsing also sucks on the blackberry. I've tried to look up stuff or to go websites on the browser and will often get a connection error. I don't know if this is a carrier issue, but when I switch to iPhone, no problems - the page comes up right away!
Please note that I don't do anything on the blackberry aside from checking my emails, looking at my calendar and looking at my tasks - all for work only! I don't download apps or add personal emails accounts. When I use the web function, it is to use online tools that I need to access for work. Even if I were to stay away from the web function, at its most basic, I at least need it to work for my emails, calendar and tasks. What is the point of carrying it around if it doesn't help me do my job while on the go? Why would I want to carry this thing when I can just carry my iPhone which can do everything the blackberry can do but more and better?
The whole idea of the blackberry, for me, was to separate work from home. My iPhone is for home and the blackberry is for work. If only the blackberry works like it should...
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Christian Bale in movie about Rape of Nanking
First of all, I'm not sure why a Caucasian person is in a movie primarily about Asians unless they wanted to ensure its box office success by using a well-known actor. In any case, I'm not going to bash a movie I haven't seen just because there's a white dude in there. I only heard about this film through this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/world/asia/christian-bale-attacked-by-chinese-guards.html?hp
Apparently Christian Bale, the star of the movie, got roughed up by Chinese guards when the actor tried to visit a civil rights lawyer under house arrest. It is ironic that Christian Bale was in China to promote a movie about atrocities against Chinese people and yet China is offering a wonderfully current example of its own atrocities against Chinese people.
In any case, I take personal issue with the section in the article that said that some critics think the film demonizes the Japanese. I find this as insensitive and offensive as someone saying that a holocaust film demonizes the Nazis. I'm not saying that all Japanese are demons just as people don't say all Germans are demons, but the people who committed the most horrific acts against humanity in China cannot EVER be overly demonized! If you look at the old photos of the bodies, the mass graves, the people buried alive the stories of the "comfort women," you will find that they look and sound eerily similar to photos and stories from the Holocaust. The difference? Nanking is in Asia and Japan is on good terms with the West and there are still a sh*tload of Chinese people. Oh and also Japan has NEVER formally apologized for what happened. In fact, many Japanese deny the atrocities even happened, despite the fact that they are CLEARLY documented in photos, letters, pamphlets, memoirs and confessions. In fact, Japanese Prime Ministers still pay regular homage to their WWII dead at this shrine that includes war criminals that committed acts against humanity in China. China always speaks out when the Prime Minister does this, but no one else in the world cares.
Three hundred thousand people were massacred in Nanking alone. Six million Chinese were killed by the Japanese in World War II. Yeah, there are a lot of us, so extermination was a pretty tall order, but I'll be damned if it didn't seem like the Japanese army gave it their best shot! It is not coincidence that Japanese war crimes against the Chinese during WWII is often compared to the Holocaust in Europe. Yet the West seem hell-bent on letting the Japanese off the hook on this one. It's not fair, the sense of apathy from anyone who is not Chinese is horrific. It is as if all those people who died meant nothing.
I'm not saying the China doesn't have its problems and there are lots of things that I think China sucks for. However, if China becoming a world power gets Japan to officially apologize and stop paying homage to the war criminals, that will be one good that came out of it.
So in light of what I wrote, yeah, it is INFURIATING when Westerner or Japanese person thinks China is "demonizing" the Japanese during the Rape of Nanking because you know what? That's the kind of sh*t they did and ya'll need to f*ckin' deal with it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/world/asia/christian-bale-attacked-by-chinese-guards.html?hp
Apparently Christian Bale, the star of the movie, got roughed up by Chinese guards when the actor tried to visit a civil rights lawyer under house arrest. It is ironic that Christian Bale was in China to promote a movie about atrocities against Chinese people and yet China is offering a wonderfully current example of its own atrocities against Chinese people.
In any case, I take personal issue with the section in the article that said that some critics think the film demonizes the Japanese. I find this as insensitive and offensive as someone saying that a holocaust film demonizes the Nazis. I'm not saying that all Japanese are demons just as people don't say all Germans are demons, but the people who committed the most horrific acts against humanity in China cannot EVER be overly demonized! If you look at the old photos of the bodies, the mass graves, the people buried alive the stories of the "comfort women," you will find that they look and sound eerily similar to photos and stories from the Holocaust. The difference? Nanking is in Asia and Japan is on good terms with the West and there are still a sh*tload of Chinese people. Oh and also Japan has NEVER formally apologized for what happened. In fact, many Japanese deny the atrocities even happened, despite the fact that they are CLEARLY documented in photos, letters, pamphlets, memoirs and confessions. In fact, Japanese Prime Ministers still pay regular homage to their WWII dead at this shrine that includes war criminals that committed acts against humanity in China. China always speaks out when the Prime Minister does this, but no one else in the world cares.
Three hundred thousand people were massacred in Nanking alone. Six million Chinese were killed by the Japanese in World War II. Yeah, there are a lot of us, so extermination was a pretty tall order, but I'll be damned if it didn't seem like the Japanese army gave it their best shot! It is not coincidence that Japanese war crimes against the Chinese during WWII is often compared to the Holocaust in Europe. Yet the West seem hell-bent on letting the Japanese off the hook on this one. It's not fair, the sense of apathy from anyone who is not Chinese is horrific. It is as if all those people who died meant nothing.
I'm not saying the China doesn't have its problems and there are lots of things that I think China sucks for. However, if China becoming a world power gets Japan to officially apologize and stop paying homage to the war criminals, that will be one good that came out of it.
So in light of what I wrote, yeah, it is INFURIATING when Westerner or Japanese person thinks China is "demonizing" the Japanese during the Rape of Nanking because you know what? That's the kind of sh*t they did and ya'll need to f*ckin' deal with it.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
First Thanksgiving
This post comes a bit late, but this year, we hosted our first Thanksgiving at our house and I'd like to put down some thoughts on it. We had 11 people total to feed and cooked most of the food ourselves. Overall, I think we did fairly well. It was a bit grueling in terms of effort before and after. Cleanup was just as exhausting as the prep work. In retrospect, I definitely would have done some things differently.
For one, I would not have made so much cranberry sauce. In fact, I think I could have skipped it entirely and nobody would really miss it. Most people took a tiny dollop for the sake of having something that is a traditional Thanksgiving food, and not a spoonful more. Maybe next year, I'll just make half a bag and use the other half for something else, like cranberry infused vodka or something.
Second, I would definitely try to do more beforehand. For instance, cranberry sauce is usually served at room temperature. I could make it days beforehand and let it warm up to room temperature on the day of. For the mashed potatoes, I could boil the potatoes days ahead and warm it up in the microwave with some cream and butter before putting them through a ricer. I could also put the stuffing together the day before and just slide into the oven when it's time to bake.
Third, I am rethinking the fresh versus frozen turkey debate. We had a bit of a tough time with our frozen turkey because it took longer to defrost than we thought it would. The cavity of the turkey was still frozen when we unwrapped it in preparation for brining. We ended up having to rewrap the turkey and defrosting it the rest of the way in cold water, which was a pain the butt and I hated doing it. Even though we had a small bird by turkey standards, it felt heavy and awkward handling the thing. If we had gotten a fresh turkey, all we had to do was brine and roast - no worrying about defrosting it. On the other hand, a frozen turkey is cheaper and now that we've learned a few things about defrosting, I'm sure if we get another one, we'll handle it better. I guess we'll have to see how things are next year.
Lastly, I would make one pumpkin pie instead of two and some kind of easy salad dressing instead of onion dip. As good as the onion dip was, having made it from scratch, the crowd we had just wasn't into it. I guess they're more health conscious than hubby and I. As for the pie, I made two pies thinking one wasn't enough for a crowd of 11. What I didn't factor in was the fact that everyone was too stuffed to eat dessert by the end. Most people who ate pie, only had a sliver of a slice and no more. I admit to feeling like some of the effort was wasted on the pie considering I made it fresh from a sugar pumpkin. The onion dip, which was barely touched, and the pie were what kept me up till 4am the day of Thanksgiving. I feel like I sacrificed precious sleep time for nothing. Why do this again if it's not going to be appreciated? Next year, no more onion dip and only one pie. As much as I like entertaining, I don't want to kill myself doing it!
For one, I would not have made so much cranberry sauce. In fact, I think I could have skipped it entirely and nobody would really miss it. Most people took a tiny dollop for the sake of having something that is a traditional Thanksgiving food, and not a spoonful more. Maybe next year, I'll just make half a bag and use the other half for something else, like cranberry infused vodka or something.
Second, I would definitely try to do more beforehand. For instance, cranberry sauce is usually served at room temperature. I could make it days beforehand and let it warm up to room temperature on the day of. For the mashed potatoes, I could boil the potatoes days ahead and warm it up in the microwave with some cream and butter before putting them through a ricer. I could also put the stuffing together the day before and just slide into the oven when it's time to bake.
Third, I am rethinking the fresh versus frozen turkey debate. We had a bit of a tough time with our frozen turkey because it took longer to defrost than we thought it would. The cavity of the turkey was still frozen when we unwrapped it in preparation for brining. We ended up having to rewrap the turkey and defrosting it the rest of the way in cold water, which was a pain the butt and I hated doing it. Even though we had a small bird by turkey standards, it felt heavy and awkward handling the thing. If we had gotten a fresh turkey, all we had to do was brine and roast - no worrying about defrosting it. On the other hand, a frozen turkey is cheaper and now that we've learned a few things about defrosting, I'm sure if we get another one, we'll handle it better. I guess we'll have to see how things are next year.
Lastly, I would make one pumpkin pie instead of two and some kind of easy salad dressing instead of onion dip. As good as the onion dip was, having made it from scratch, the crowd we had just wasn't into it. I guess they're more health conscious than hubby and I. As for the pie, I made two pies thinking one wasn't enough for a crowd of 11. What I didn't factor in was the fact that everyone was too stuffed to eat dessert by the end. Most people who ate pie, only had a sliver of a slice and no more. I admit to feeling like some of the effort was wasted on the pie considering I made it fresh from a sugar pumpkin. The onion dip, which was barely touched, and the pie were what kept me up till 4am the day of Thanksgiving. I feel like I sacrificed precious sleep time for nothing. Why do this again if it's not going to be appreciated? Next year, no more onion dip and only one pie. As much as I like entertaining, I don't want to kill myself doing it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)