insaneneko

seperis asks for tea recs and gets A LOT. Oh man, now I want to order tea! Check out both LJ and DW. I can't wait for the shincha to start arriving in my local tea store...

Via The Splendid Table: There are a couple of guys in NYC with a truck farm, as in vegetables grown in the back of a pickup truck. They even have a CSA. For $20/year you can get miniscule amounts of veggies delivered right to you by the farm itself. The concept is so cool, but how do you make sure people don't steal the food?

( pics of food I made yesterday )

It's sad how much I post about food and not about books lately. It's not like I'm not reading any books. It's just that I'm either reading non-fiction books, which I almost never post about, or crappy books that aren't worth posting about (like, not so awfully bad it requires a post talking about how bad it is). I want to read an awesome book that makes me do a post with lots of exclamation marks...*sighs*

I want this. Too bad it seems to be available only in the UK.


July 2008 releases of manga in English that excite me:

Kiss Blue Vol. 1   by Keiko Kinoshita from DMP/June
SILVER DIAMOND Vol. 1 by Shiho Sugiura from Tokyo Pop
Vassalord Vol. 1 by Nanae Chrono from Tokyo Pop

Hope SD's translation does it justice. XD


Yet another discussion on loanwords, this one peppered with observations on Chinese and Japanese.

Japan's great energy efficiency numbers ruined by...toilets

Article on Japanese women at Nissan breaking into management that came off rather sexist and condescending. I love how it states: "As Japanese companies try to improve their disgraceful record of promoting women, they are finding that the biggest problem isn't defeating the chauvinism of Japanese men. It is building up the confidence of Japanese women." So...the lack of confidence of Japanese women don't come from the chauvinism of Japanese men? Where does it come from, then? A deep well of under-confidence native to Japanese women?


Movie quota for the year fulfilled: ( WALL-E )

Chad Vader - Day Shift Manager

Three teas were profiled in the December 2007 issue of body + soul:

1. Tulsi: An herb used in Ayurveda, good for stress and boosting immunity; tastes sweet and fragrant with flavors of mint, licorice, and cloves.
2. Yerba Mate: A coffee substitute that gives a buzz without jitters; tastes earthy, slightly bitter and smoky.
3. Pu-erh: A Chinese tea that aids digestion, made in bricks and develops better flavor with age; tastes clean and flowery.

I'm rather curious about these teas. Has anyone tried these?

How to Tell if a Recipe is Worth Cooking With Five Easy Questions from Casual Kitchen and Frugal Food Hacks: 10 Tricks to Simplifying Recipe Searches from Cheap Healthy Food list great things to keep in mind when looking at recipes. I tend to obsessively search for and save recipes (even though I almost never actually make anything), and I do employ a lot of the ideas already to cut down on the crap.

The Perfect Hobby: One That’s Cheap, Makes Money Or Becomes A Business
I wish my hobbies were cheap or made money. Ha, instead I spend scary amounts of money on buying and paying for (rather expensive) shipping of books from a foreign country and scary amounts of time reading and writing about them.

On a sort of related note, I really hate how almost every "how to save money" list includes borrowing books from the library instead of buying. Let me know when libraries start stocking Japanese (BL) novels and manga, then maybe I'll think about it. And I realize my reading habits are not the norm (I reread a lot), but I'd think there are quite a number of people who reread their books more than never once. I even reread books I didn't like the first time, partly to give it another chance and partly because I figure I can put the book down if I need to do something else. XD;

On the Media's "Novel" Challenge for NaNoWriMo has garnered quite a response. People are pretty creative in their 12-word "novels." :P

And this is where I'd say goodnight, put my laptop to sleep and go to bed, but I'm wide awake and antsy. I shouldn't have taken that nap in early evening... *sighs*

A new L'Occitane store opened nearby, but it was only when I walked past it that I decided to check it out. They had an assortment of bar soaps, and being the bar soap whore that I am I could not help but buy one to try. I am currently using the soap with olive oil and am loving it. Wonderful subtle olive oil smell, and it feels so soft and moisturizing without being too much. There is residue, just a slight fresh scent. And it's a HUGE bar that will last for quite a while.

A product I hope will come back this Christmas: Lush's Eggnog lip balm. I am not actually fond of lip products that smell like food, but I got this product for free and have been using it at night. Wow, I am in LOVE with this scent as it's not too strong or too sweet. The lip balm is also very good, so I hope it is a regular seasonal product.

I fell in love with the aroma of Harney & Sons Paris Blend black tea and bought a tin a while back. I finally got around to drinking it, and at first wasn't too impressed at the actual taste of it. I persisted, and am very much in love with the flavor as much as the scent. I love either that or Hot Cinnamon Spice as a pick me up in the afternoon.

One thing that irritates me to no end is when a product is either impossible or rather expensive to acquire. Some friends went to Europe and brought back a sampler of Fortnum & Mason teas. I tried the Earl Grey Classic and was initially wowed by the one cup. I wanted to get some for myself and see if it stood up to daily consumption. It seems they only sell in the US via their website, and while the teas aren't priced ridiculously the shipping seems rather insane. I'm still debating whether or not to shell out the money for a tea that I think I may really like but am not really sure about. -_-