Renee SG

Another Way to Learn Japanese

2010-04-26T06:13:00.000-07:00

So, after working through the last list of books to learn Japanese, I figured it was quite a bit difficult. Yeah, you'll be speaking just fine, but you probably won't stick with it. I didn't. I realized whether you have a foolproof method or not, nothing matters if you won't do it. Something more friendly was needed...

So, here is a method that will teach you the same things, but make it easier on you and you'll probably learn faster:

Recommended: The Sanseido Daily Concise Dictionary - (ISBN4-385-10880-3). This dictionary is small and will serve you well from the moment you learn hiragana to when you've become advanced in Japanese. There is no sense in having to buy multiple dictionaries at different levels...

1. Either Kana Pict-o-Graphix (A small, convenient book) or Remembering the Kana (A quite famous learning material)

2. Japanese for Busy People I (Get the kana version so that by the end of book I, you can read it well (ISBN: 9784770030092) along with Basic Kanji Volume 1

3. Japanese for Busy People II along with Basic Kanji Volume 2 (By the end of here, you will know 500+ kanji)

4. Japanese for Busy People III along with Intermediate Kanji I (<-- When you are almost done with these, you may want to just order a manga you are interested in from Japan. See section 5)

5. Intermediate Kanji II with Learn Japanese the Fast and Fun Way (It is a big book you can work through quickly if you already know a lot of the vocab from the previous series. It is all in romaji, but if you learn every line rather than do it as they tell you to with just the highlighted words, your vocabulary will become VERY solid. I mean, what text books teach you how to talk about car trouble?). This would be a good time to also read a manga you like in Japanese. Don't worry, you'll be able to do it :) (By the end of this, you will know 1000+ kanji)

Optional: A "Clean up". As no series is perfect, if you have the Japanese for College Students Series or the Genki series, go through those books at the rate of about a chapter a day or every 2 days leaving one day a week to review and another to rest and simply digest the information. (JFCS has 30 chapters in all) There will always be things that one series teaches that another misses. So, people sometimes recommend you work with multiple series. It will be fast as you should already know a good 80%-90% of what is in these texts. This is optional because the next set of the books will fix any disparities.

6. An Integrated Approach to Learning Intermediate Japanese and Remembering the Kanji I (You can do a lesson a day now since you already know half the book. Also, for a lot of the characters, you will now have 2 ways to make sure they are ingrained in your memory. This book just teaches how to write and recognize a total of 2000+ characters.)

7. Authentic Japanese: Progressing from Intermediate to Advanced and Remembering the Kanji II (This book teaches how to read the 2000+ characters you learned in Remembering the Kanji I)

8. Remembering the Kanji III - 1,000+ more characters you may occasionally run into if you plan to read truly advanced texts (How to write them, readings, and meanings)

Yay! Take a Japanese Foreign Language Exam ^.^ (Offered once a year in Chicago in December for $50)

Notes:

Don't look at this whole list. It may overwhelm you. Concentrate on one number at a time. It isn't a lot to just see about 2 books each time you have to work with, and not even both on the same day.
Take a class. For $250 for the first class and $225 for each subsequent class, you can get through Japanese for Busy People I-III and Basic Kanji I. These materials are included in the class price. The classes are 8 weeks long and held at the Japan America Society of Chicago. There are 7 classes in total, and by the end, you will be reading articles from a Japanese newspaper and conversing in Japanese. The class is taught by a native.
To be honest, I write these schedules for myself as a plan. You see, research is one of my hobbies. For those of you who know me, I like to push myself and learn as much as I can as fast as I can. I don't know if everyone has the time or desire to follow such a rigorous arrangement, but the books are still just as effective if you take one at a time.
I like clear progression, meaning follow this and you will definitely, without a doubt, be able to do the next number on the list smoothly.
I like things as easy as possible, so the things like the "Clean Up" and going back to the Learn Japanese the Fast and Fun Way even after you know some kanji for the sake of the vocab may seem demeaning, but tackling the those two texts with no previous experience proved to be quite daunting. JFCS is such a boring series with no opportunities to practice in the text. LJTFAFW is not boring, but big. And it feels like you'll never get through it, though it is the same length as others. It bothered me that I was learning Japanese, but even after working with that book for hours, I couldn't write or read anything. So, why not satisfy your natural need to see accomplishment first? Then there is no pressure from feeling like you aren't doing anything and you can just enjoy the amount of new vocabulary.
This is not written 100% from experience. I am a researcher. I compile the experiences of other people into tangible plans. This is a compilation of what MANY other people who now hold advanced degrees in Japanese or levels of certification on the Japanese Foreign Language exam have stated enabled them to reach that level. Some of this IS from personal experience, but also backed up from the experience and advice of the aforementioned.

Regarding the First Lesson: You can learn 5 characters a day. There are loads of practice sheets online you can print out, but I like to use this book with them to make sure the characters stick in my memory)

Here is a sample schedule for number 2:

JFBP: Japanese for Busy People
BKB: Basic Kanji Book

Day 1: JFBP I: Chapter 1
Day 2: JFBP I: Chapter 2
Day 3: JFBP I: Chapter 3
Day 4: BKB I: Chapter 1
Day 5: JFBP I: Chapter 4
Day 6: Review Material from Days 1-5
Day 7: Rest
Day 8: BKB I: Chapter 2
Day 9: JFBP I: Chapter 5
Day 10: BKB I: Chapter 3
Day 11: JFBP I: Chapter 6
Day 12: BKB I: Chapter 4
Day 13: Review Material from Days 1-5 and Days 8-12
Day 14: Rest

A Second Sample Schedule:

Days 1-5: JFBP I Chapters 1-5, one a day
Day 6: Review Chs. 1-5
Day 7: Rest
Days 8-12: JFBP I Chapters 6-10, one a day
Day 13: Review Chs. 1-10
Day 14: Rest

(Fast forward to after you finish JFBP I)

(Restarted Day Count)

Days 1-4: BKB I Chapters 1-4, one a day
Day 5: Review JFBP I Chapters 1-25
Day 6: BKB I review chapters 1-4
Day 7: Rest
Days 8-11: BKB I Chapters 5-8, one a day
Day 12: Review JFBP I Chapters 1-25
Day 13: BKB I review Chapters 5-8
Day 14: Rest
Days 15-18: BKB I Chapters 9-12, one a day
Day 19: Review JFBP I Chapters 1-25
Day 20: Rest

...and so on. If you start to feel braindead, just read over the material 2 times and call it quits that day. You'll be pleasantly surprised at what you have retained by the following day. As silly as it sounds, you may benefit from watching Chi's New Home. It has VERY basic Japanese with VERY easy to hear syllables as it is made for little kids. Still, for those of you who took Spanish in high school, it is about the difficulty of the La Catrina series (if you saw that).

My Future Pet

2010-02-18T22:48:00.001-08:00

Today, I decided I want a pet chicken:

http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Day-Old-Baby-Chicks/White-Silkie-Bantam-p250.aspx

Isn't it cute ^.^

I Am What I Eat: What am I?

2010-02-18T11:38:00.000-08:00

Hi! I haven't written anything in a while. After making 55 posts, I guess you could say I ran out of things to say. So, Keisha gave me an idea. She said I should just write about what is on my mind. And so I shall:

But first, please be aware: this is what is on my mind. My thoughts. I am quite opinionated. If you disagree, then feel free to read and laugh.

Why is there so much cancer in this country? I watched an advertisement that said there are 10 million people in the U.S. with cancer. Naturally, we know about smoking and whatnot, but my mom has been blaming it on our food. At first, I sorta just pushed that thought away, but then one of those internet sites (MSN or Yahoo! or something) came out with this list of things that are in our everyday foods that have been known to cause cancer. And we eat them...

Did you know that the flour on our markets is banned in several places around the world? Everything except the King Arthur flour has bromate, which is used to increase the volume of the product, but has been proven to cause cancer. Why the heck are we allowed to buy it and eat it? So, in this country that loves pancakes, biscuits, rolls, fried chicken (breaded), etc., we are eating cancer causers!? And this is legal!? Sigh... it makes money... So, my family now buys the more expensive King Arthur flour now... Did you know that in California, items with bromate in them are required to disclose on the packaging that it may cause cancer?

Another fascinating one is the coloring in meats. Ya know that stuff they put in the meat to make hotdogs, beef, bacon, etc. red? That's bad for you too T.T More cancer connections... sigh... So I don't eat bacon or hotdogs anymore. (Besides, what's in a hotdog anyhow?)

And BHT... another cancer-causer. But here's the kicker... it is found in one of my favorite cereals: Frosted Flakes. T.T I haven't eaten a bowl since I found out...

And we all know McDonald's isn't healthy, but have you seen the video of the 4-year old cheeseburger?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IGtDPG4UfI

So, I don't eat McDonald's anymore.

The list of what we shouldn't eat is so long... And I'm sure you've heard about the various recalls, problems, etc. with American produce. It's a cryin' shame when you can't trust a vegetable.

And remember the taste of bread 35 years ago? Well, I'm 21, so I wouldn't, but I keep hearing about it over and over again. Apparently store bread used to be delicious and is now a lot of emptiness in comparison to the past.

I think I'm frustrated. Living in Spain, I've tasted a "real" melon. Nothing in the United States could compare to the sweetness of the fruit in that country. Even their soft drinks tasted better. In Portugal and Spain, did you know the fruit sodas contain real nectar? Why do we get the crap? The same Fanta here does not in any way compare to the Fanta there. Does our pop have any real anything in it? After living there, I drank a lot more water and occasionally a soft drink. Since I've been back, I can't stand the taste of American soft drinks. To me, they taste thick, fake, and don't quench my thirst like a good 'ol glass of water.

I saw this video on YouTube about this guy who was going to try the 4-year burger experiment with McDonalds, Wendy's, and Burger King. In his video, he said that he stopped eating fast food years ago and now it smells revolting. Currently, when I am hungry, I love the smell of it. I wonder... if I stop eating it for a few months, will I lose my occasional craving for McDonald's french fries or Wendy's boneless buffalo wings like I now find the soft drinks disgusting?

Have we grown up eating this junk and made our bodies used to it? Given the chance, if we separated from it for a while, would we naturally crave fruit over cookies?

These last few weeks as I have been trying to pay more attention to making sure what I consume, when I do go to fast food restaurants, I go in instead of use the drive thru and watch as much as I can how my food is made. Today, I went to Arby's. I got a buffalo chicken sandwich and some curly fries. After I ordered, I watched as they submerged my fries in grease. I watched as they sizzled, then we brought up dripping. Then, I watched as they placed them in the cardboard container and into a bag. I watched as their motto, "Never fried, never greasy" became stained from the contents inside.

Want to know another kicker? Know those 550 calorie meals at Applebee's? How much fat do you think is in them? Take a guess! What do you think? 10? 20? 30? My mom got one and my sister looked it up on the iPhone app Daily Burn. 45 grams of fat. Yes, I said 45. I don't know how they fit 45 grams of fat in shrimp and pasta, but they did it. I didn't believe it, so I looked it up elsewhere. And yep, 45 grams of fat. And they advertise it like it's a diet meal... That is almost the equivalent of a Big Mac and a medium fry (48 grams). T.T Have they no shame?

Oh, and I was very depressed to find out that my favorite sub at Subway (meatball marinara) was twenty-something grams of fat for a 6-inch sub... I figured, hey, it's Subway. Can't be that bad, right? Wrong. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

And don't get me started on Friday's... I chose a chicken sandwich that wasn't even breaded. 1,540 calories.

ACK! I QUIT!!!! I QUIT I QUIT I QUIT!

And when American's go out places, why do we always have to get something to eat? Doesn't anyone bring food? Yeah, it may be considered tacky to bring a bagged lunch or a cooler or something, but I think I'm going to start doing that anyhow...

Perhaps it is because the Chicago-dweller is always rushing. We do rush a lot... I can't say keeping away from all this stuff will surely help, I've never taken a health class that wasn't mandatory... but I'm frustrated by the scars on my skin from breakouts and the fact that I go places and order things I think are healthy and then look on the scale and see the number moving in the wrong direction. Why not, eh? People who major in this area advocate eliminating a lot of this stuff.

What if we really don't like this? What if our bodies genuinely detest it?

I'm not against fat in itself, I mean my ancestors ate lard and were "fit as a fiddle", but they were active. American society now is not active... I guess I just wonder if cravings would automatically change...

A friend of mine, a former trainer, told me that our bodies don't understand everything we put in it and have to decide what to do with these foreign objects. He said we are meant to eat the simple things. I had never thought about the possibility of confusing my own body or having have to make educated guesses as to what it does with what I consume. Heck, I don't even understand everything I eat...

So, I'm done eating things I don't comprehend. I don't understand burgers that don't mold. I don't understand how to fit 45 grams of fat in pasta and shrimp. I don't understand how to make one hamburger contain enough calories for an entire day.

I don't understand why money is more important than integrity.

This isn't a very coherent post. I don't think it even has a main idea other than food. lol. But, this is what is on my mind.

I like to think my body knows what is good for me. So, I'm, at least for the next 6 months or so, getting off of all this food I don't comprehend, and I'll stick to what I can at least name all the ingredients in (naturally, I'll check out what I don't understand to see if it is just a uselessly-complicated word for something simple and harmless/beneficial) (with the exception of if I have to go to a formal event or something where it would be rude not to partake in the meal). I really want to know if afterward I'll find certain foods I loved before revolting...

Ooh! Idea! This is a way I can use my obento! I can pack lunches that way! No more not being full after restaurant diet meals and no more finding out later that I've used up my entire fat allowance/calorie allowance for the day after one meal. ^.^

Hmm... I think I have nothing more to say... Well, actually I do... one last thing I am debating whether I should mention...

Here goes... I think our veggies and fruits would have much more nutritional value if people left the land alone every 7th year like in ancient times... I mean, look at our lettuce... lettuce, last time I looked, was supposed to be a bit on the greener side... And yes, I know, the $$. The bottom line... I can see it now!... the future of the Food Pyramid is the Food Mountain! Recommended serving size of fruits and vegetables per day... 5 lbs!... Hmm... then vitamins would sell better... "Get the equivalent of 5lbs of veggies in 1 pill!" Nah, I think Americans will buy produce from local farmers much more... eh... we'll see.

Hmm.... I wonder how hard it is to maintain a garden...

Dagorhir

2010-01-31T01:00:00.001-08:00

Dagorhir is pretty much medieval fighting with foam weapons. You can use daggers, swords, spears, arrows, and more against one another.

Each weapon has specific specifications in order to make the game as safe as possible. Dagorhir is traditionally played outdoors, and wearing medieval garb is highly encouraged.

The games themselves are fast paced and there are a variety of rules, but after playing a few games, it is pretty easy to catch on and the game becomes pretty fun. ^.^

Cococare Lip Balm

2010-01-30T01:00:00.000-08:00

If you are looking for a lip balm that will make your lips soft and protect them from the harsh cold, I recommend Cococare lip balm. You can find it at Walgreens for 99 cents.

Once you use it, you won't want to go back to your old balm. ^.^

Buy Your Manga From Japan

2010-01-29T01:00:00.000-08:00

Ever get tired of not being able to read the kana on manga scans? Well, for pretty cheap, you can purchase your own manga straight from Japan. ^.^

At Be Nippon

At Yes Asia

Ethnic Natural Curls

2010-01-28T01:00:00.000-08:00

I have dry hair. Like put a mound of anything you want on it and it will be dry the next day. I also have naturally curly, though extremely frizzy hair that is very prone to breakage, so when I decided to go natural, I couldn't just use anything.

I tried some of everything from the gels in the dollar store to $40 products and the stuff in that blue pump at Walmart... After my hair dried, it looked like I was trying to cosplay a poodle... (Look at my Facebook pictures... especially the Dagorhir (ooh... now that is an article to write about...) or the sailing ones.)

(Ahem, Nene... focus!)

I found 2 products that worked for me: Carol's Daughter's Hair Milk and Aveda's Be Curly.

But which is better?

Carol's Daughter sells Hair Milk at $12 for 4oz and $18 for 8oz both online and at Sephora (Which is now located at a lot of JCPenny's). Be Curly has 2 parts which are to be combined at $18 each.

I like the smells of both and neither leaves my hair feeling dry nor do I look like a poodle by the end of the day.

Technically, I do recommend combining the Carol's Daughter Tui Hair Oil ($8.50 for 2oz and $18 for 8oz) with the Hair Milk, but putting on the Tui at night before bed and rinsing it in the morning before applying the Hair Milk. Technically, so they come out the same price.

And, I do like them equally, but one of them stands out way above the other in one aspect: amount of product. The two Be Curly products are 3.4oz and 6.7oz, each for $18. You can use about the same of the Carol's Daughter products as you do with the Be Curly, so the Carol's Daughter lasts longer. You pay for the salon style.

Making the Perfect Obento - Part 4

2010-01-27T01:00:00.000-08:00

I will be dividing this into several steps:

Finding the Ideal Container
Bento Recipies (Including some goofy ideas)
Bento Accessories
The Group Bento - How to host your very own Japanese Food party using a multiple-person bento box. Serves up to 10 people comfortably (I did it in L.A. ^.^)

Hmm... I think we need a bigger box...

Larger boxes can be obtained a variety of ways. The fasted way is probably heading over to Mitsuwa.

Mitsuwa does not have a large variety of group obento boxes, but they are absolutely beautiful. They range anywhere from $19.00 (mainly for the black ones) to over $100 (usually red) and come in a range of sizes. There is actually more of an affordable group bento box variety here in Chicago than there is in Los Angeles. In LA, there are more of the expensive kind which are sometimes several hundred dollars.

Another option is here:

http://www.jbox.com/SEARCH/jubako

Those are jubako style boxes. Depending on the size, they are beautiful to use for serving.

Amazon.com has one also:

http://www.amazon.com/Lacquer-Three-tier-Jubako-box/dp/B000HJG7A6

So, what I did in LA wasn't quite right, but an idea is rice on the bottom tier, a hot meaty dish (or several using dividers) in the middle, and homemade sushi on the top ^.^

Mitsuwa

2010-01-26T01:00:00.001-08:00

Did you know Chicago has a Japanese marketplace right here?

Mitsuwa, located in Arlington Heights, was first mentioned to me by Kelly ^.^ (Thank you!)

They have a huge supermarket, book store with cds from bands like KAT-TUN and loads of Japanese magazines. There is a liquor store, a food court with a ramen shop that is well-known in Japan and a tea and ice cream place. There is even a place that sells foods like tempura, oyakodon, and tonkatsu. You can also get Korean or Chinese food.

In addition, there is a place where you can get Japanese bowls, kettles, and cups, also a video store, and a travel agency that has amazingly cheap tickets to Japan (Like 40% off of what I've seen on the internet).

I love Mitsuwa ^.^

Dave And Buster's - "Eat, Drink, Play"

2010-01-25T01:00:00.000-08:00

Have you been to Dave & Buster's? This place is like the Chuck E. Cheese's or Discovery Zone for Adults. Their motto is "Eat, Drink, Play".

They have some of everything: A restaurant, pool and shuffleboard tables, a bar, and an arcade.

Restaurant: Great food. Delicious. I've sampled a variety of their items from the chicken parmesan to their chocolate fondue. All so good. It is about the price you would pay if you went to Ruby Tuesday's. You can even play games while you wait for your food at the connected arcade.

Pool & Shuffleboard: Naturally, these games are cheaper on weekdays and during "matinee" hours, but they have nice gaming areas. They run between $6 to $12, I think, per hour depending on the time of day for these games. Shuffleboard seems to usually be free.

Bar: They make a mean Midori Sour ^.^ I wouldn't recommend getting energy drinks from them, though. $4 for a small Red Bull... The drinks are pretty standard price: like $5 or so for a Sexy Alligator or whatnot.

Arcade: Lots of variety. There are some games that are usually full no matter what time you go like Deal or No Deal or this game where you have to spin this gigantic colorful wheel. These give you a heck of a lot of tickets, though. One good thing is your credits and tickets don't expire, so once you get a card from them, you're good.

Though it is a lot of fun to go on the weekends, I would recommend going on a weekday if you can help it. On weekdays, you are more likely to have a WAY shorter wait. On weekdays, it is about as packed as a place can get.

Finally, make sure you have your id if you go at night. You don't just need one to drink, but after a certain time, you must show it to even get in the facility.

There are two of these in the Chicagoland area. I've actually been to both. Both are really fun. Definitely highly recommended places.

Enjoy ^.^

Saturday the 23rd

2010-01-24T01:00:00.000-08:00

So, I was going to write about Dave & Buster's today, but I think I will do that tomorrow. Today, I will talk about my yesterday. Tomorrow, I'll write about D&B...

So, this is about the craziest, worst, and best day I've had in a LONG time:

(I am not going to use everyone's names in this because I don't know how they feel about their name on the internet, so I'll use first letters. ^.^)

Anywho, I had a plan. My plan was simple, or so I thought... I had an interview in Rosemont for 20 min around noon and after wards, the plan was to go to Mitsuwa (If you don't know what this is, an article will come out Tuesday), then to Hollywood Blvd. Mitsuwa is in Arlington Heights (14 min from Rosemont) and Hollywood Blvd is in Woodridge (40 min from Mitsuwa). Rosemont is an hour from my home.

Eventually, we decided that since my interview was short, my friends would wait for me rather than the original plan of me dropping them off at Mitsuwa while I had my interview and coming back for them (saves 30 min of gas ^.^) It is so good we decided that because something happens later that I couldn't have survived without them...

I get to my interview early, but they are not ready. 40 min later, still not ready. My interview began at almost 1 and lasted for quite some time. I ran out, almost losing my glasses in the process (thanks to some kind ladies I didn't) and literally ran in a suit and heels to meet my friends.

I was supposed to meet 2 friends at Mitsuwa at 1:10, and my friends in the car were hungry and worried about me since I took so long, so we stopped at McDonalds for a small snack. We then went to Mitsuwa.

On the way, I was so stressed out. T was already at Mitsuwa, but Keisha was on her way. Along the way, I got into a collision. I was driving along and this guy in a red car made a right directly into the side of my car! I even rode on the median a bit to try and get out of his way! But, did he stop? No... So I ended up following him home, yelling and screaming the whole way (I was already stressed about making my friends wait and the interview and everything) So, the dude stops in an apartment complex, I break down for a second in the car, and then get up to try to face him. I started by asking if he was ok. He says he didn't feel the collision. Another man drives up out of nowhere in a gray van and tries to settle this by saying I should name my price and settle it between us. I look at my white car and there are red scratches all in it... You see, the man had no car insurance.

By this time, I have just about lost it. My friend JM offers to deal with this for me, and I grabbed my cell and called my dad as I fully just cried all my stress out... In fact, I almost fell apart in front of the men. (JM, if you read this, thanks ^.^) We got the liscense information, and went again toward Mitsuwa. I was determined to make the rest of the day a success.

We arrived at Mitsuwa at 1:50 or so, met T, and went to the food court. Keisha came a bit later and we talked til about 3 something til we had to separate. Then, we left to head toward Hollywood Boulevard (If you don't know what this is, I wrote about it earlier).

We were supposed to make the Avatar showing at 4, but that didn't happen because my primary GPS couldn't find the address, but my secondary could... And led us around in a large circle, complete with a trip on a toll road... T.T

So, no Avatar, but that worked out because most of them had already seen it. (We were a group of 5 by the way) But, Sherlock Holmes was playing, so we watched that instead. None of us had seen it, so that worked out.

Near Hollywood Blvd, there is a Bath & Body, a Shoe Carnival, and a Claire's, so we hit those before I mentioned that I would like to go on an outing with them next time to Dave & Buster's. So, JM said, let's go! And it happened to be almost directly between Hollywood Blvd and Mitsuwa (T left his car there, so we needed to drop him off). So, we went. lol. It was super crowded, but still fun. ^.^

Then, we went to Mitsuwa and got T's car, and headed to Denny's for a breakfast at night. (Ooh! Here's an idea: If you get their grand slam ($5.99) and split it (you get to choose a total of 4 items for a grand slam) it is perfect for a late night snack ^.^)

Finally, exhausted, we headed home (Denny's to home: 1 hour 20 min)

I don't even want to know how much driving I did... But man, I'm bushed. I think that is the absolute most I have ever crammed into one day.

I'm happy ^.^

Clannad - My Favorite Anime Ever - 10/10

2010-01-23T01:00:00.001-08:00

"So simple, so profound"

Genre: Slice of Life, School Life, Romance, Drama

Summary: A very sickly girl struggles to make friends and get through high school. Along the way, she meets a boy who gives her the strength to acheive her dreams.

Characters:

Furukawa Nagisa - A girl with incurable and unknown illnesses. She has been held back in school due to missing too many days. When she meets Okazaki, she is already a year older than he is. Still, she tries to be optomistic and works hard to enjoy and be successful in her high school life.

Okazaki Tomoya - Tomoya is the main character of this show. He is a pretty normal guy: sweet, devoted, good heart. He does have issues with the way his father treated him. He takes a fancy to Nagisa and resolves to help her through her difficulties.

Other characters include relatives of Nagisa and Okazaki and the friends they made at school and around town.

Art: Beautiful. Complements the story perfectly. The characters are well-proportioned and expressive and the environments are beautiful.

My review: This show connects you to the characters. You feel what they feel. It has some of the best character development I have ever seen in any show. The story itself is common, but because of the character development and the way they don't just stop the story at common points, but let it truly play out to the end, Clannad becomes a beautiful masterpiece.

Targeted Audiences: Females, though I did watch some episodes with my male friends and they also connected with it. I remember gathered around the computer watching the final episode of Clannad in the production suite of my film school. We were so moved by this show.

Who will love it: People who are not just seeking entertainment, but something deeper. Story, well-developed characters, being genuinely moved to feel with those on the screen, beautiful and emotional music...

Who will hate it: Naturally, people who only want to be entertained: people who just want to sit there and disconnect. This is a show where you need to connect to truly "get" it. If you just watch it, it won't be that interesting.

Disclaimer: None. It is truly everyone friendly.

Overall: I admire the creator of this story so much. Brilliance. I can't express in words how I felt after watching Clannad, then Clannad the Movie, and finally Clannad After Story. I want to watch it again, but at the same time, I don't want to lose this strong, fond memory I have of this anime. Perhaps the only way to do this is to watch it with someone who is watching it for the first time. The word "beautiful" just doesn't do it justice.

This is my favorite anime ever.

Earring Shopping

2010-01-22T01:00:00.001-08:00

I buy my holiday earrings a week after the associated holiday from Claire's...

A week after Christmas, I saw 3 pairs of adorable earrings. If I had paid the original price before Christmas, I would have paid $12.50 + tax. I paid $3.23 including tax. And they will still be cute next year when they get their debut.

This is what I do for Valentines' Day and will start doing this year for St. Patrick's to save money, but not sacrifice having cute earrings. ^.^

Another thing I do is I wait for Claire's or Icing to have one of those Buy X Amount of Earrings for $10 sales and stock up. I look for sets of a bunch of earrings that are there only because they are missing an earring or two and try to find a compliment. I once left with over 20 complete pairs of earrings for $10 simply because there were a few missing earrings in the set. (And they were all cute).

In case you wondered, many of these are earrings I have received compliments on. I'm sure no one is the wiser that I spent less than 50 cents on each pair. ^.^

Also, a lot of the Claire's earrings last for quite a while (if they tarnish at all). I'm not knocking the quality stuff, I do love to get that too. Still, the more you wear a set of earrings, the more likely it is to lose them...

Happy Earring Shopping ^.^

A Great Workout Mat

2010-01-21T01:00:00.000-08:00

I just have to tell you about my little piece of happiness:

I got a workout mat! And it's squishy and very comfortable!

It is sold at Walmart for $19 and it is by Gold's Gym and is such a pretty blue and is the most comfortable mat I've ever exercised on. ^.^

- h.a.p.p.i.n.e.s.s. -

Bar Method Review - Designer Sculpting

2010-01-20T01:00:00.001-08:00

Would you pay $117 for a pair of exercise DVDs?

Some people did. On eBay. And on Amazon.com. Why? Because these DVD's kick butt.

I got mine for $22 including s&h, but that was before the No More Printing scare... (They recently released 2 more DVDs) Suddenly, the price skyrocketed to the highest I have ever seen anyone pay for only 2 DVDs (For comparison, you can get P90x for as little as $70...)

The Bar Method usually has 2 DVDs, Designer Sculpting and Fat Free in a set. They can be purchased separately and in my opinion, not both are needed, but some people do rotate them. I used Designer Sculpting mostly...

Anywho, Designer Sculpting WORKS. Hopefully, you will stick with it longer than I did, but I saw results within a couple weeks. You definitely do feel it all through you. (I just lack motivation... I'll try any exercise dvd 2 weeks, but then... well... )

I was a bit disappointed with the arm exercises, though, but that was until I learned to do the exercises correctly from Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred, so make sure you know how to do each one because the motions aren't explained well enough on the DVD. The leg and bun exercises and "the pretzel" are explained pretty well, though.

The DVD is about 40 some odd minutes in total, but I recommend writing down the exercises. You can bring down the time it takes to do it at least a quarter once you are sure you know what you are doing. Also, this isn't cardio AT ALL (you probably won't break a sweat) so you may want to do some cardio in addition.

One more thing, you may want to play it on your computer or else never take it out of your DVD player... that intro advertisement is killer boring after the 3rd time or so...

* Disclaimer: Those with bad knee problems may want to steer clear. There are ways to do this without hurting your knees, but if you don't have good form and already have knee problems, it may be bad for you. Those with healthy knees or who know they can use good form will probably be just fine. *

Sites That Actually Pay You

2010-01-19T01:00:00.001-08:00

There are a lot of survey sites and ptc (paid to click) websites and whatnot that really don't pay you or make you jump through hoops to get compensation. I've probably signed up for a good portion of them... sigh...

Anyway, there are a couple sites that stand out above the rest as great sites that really do pay you:

First, Lightspeed Consumer Panel. I have gotten almost $100 between Amazon.com certificates and Paypal deposits from these people. They really do pay you. You answer surveys and if you qualify and complete them, you get points. 550 points means a $5 Amazon gift card and 575 points means $5 deposited to you account via PayPal. And it is very easy to purchase these rewards with your points.

The second site is Inboxdollars.com. Don't expect a quick payoff on it, but they will pay you in the end. With each advertising link sent to your email that you click, you get a few cents deposited in your account. When you reach $30, they send you a check. (For about $28 or so, though. Something about a processing charge...). You get a few advertisements a day. Yes, it does take forever, but clicking on an advertisement mindlessly between more important things and getting a check later that can be used to treat yourself to a nice pedicure, pay for dinner with a date, or put some gas in your car, it all pays off. An idea is to send them to a separate email folder and click all of them once a week so you aren't bothered too much.

Some others:

Sendingearnings.com seems just like Inboxdollars, but I haven't made enough to cash out yet, so I cannot verify that they will pay you. I figure I might as well just do it while I am doing Inboxdollars. Who knows? I may get $56 instead for almost the same amount of work...

Toluna is another one, but man does it take forever and a day to get $10! It is so hard to qualify for their surveys! I have gotten paid by them, though.

Epoll is another that takes forever, but because they hardly send you any surveys... And then it takes so long to get $5... but I have gotten paid by them.

Group Italian Dining - Buca di Beppo

2010-01-18T01:00:00.000-08:00

This place is quite unique.

You walk in and they ask you if you have been there before. If you say no, they take you around, the whole place. And I mean the whole place. You even see the kitchen. And much to my surprise, at least, there was a family eating in the kitchen. At a booth. Aparently you can reserve a booth and watch the cooks.

They take you through a bunch of rooms. We also went past a room that creeped me out for a few minutes (there was a head in a glass box on the table T.T and I did not go around Halloween...)

Once we sat down, we were told that this is a restaurant where you order specific items that are for multiple people. Like one item is about 2o bucks or so, depending on if you get the large or the small, but you are splitting it. On the same token, everything is "a la cart", so that needs to be taken into consideration.

As for the food, it is good, but I won't say it is fantastic or anything. (Side note: If you go and the menu says "spicy", believe them. I assure you, it is definitely spicy...) I do think you pay for considerably more than what you get.

One of their dessert items is gelatto. I've had gelatto before. I've even had European ice cream before... and this tasted like common American ice cream... I don't regret getting it nonetheless as it was entitled a mini cone and what I got was adorably miniature ^.^

If you go, check out the bathrooms. The women's bathroom has a list of things to do in the event the air has been "spoiled". Ha!

Over all, if I ever go there again, it will be to watch the cooks or to face my fear of that table head.

*Located in Orland Park, IL near Orland Mall, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Olive Garden*

Texas Roadhouse

2010-01-17T01:00:00.001-08:00

Note: Check the hours of operation before going. Some days they open at 4:00pm

This place has absolutely delicious food. They first give you all the yeast rolls you want which are so soft and warm and go perfectly with this cinnamon butter they are served with. While you ravenously eat those, you have your work cut out for you as you look through the menu...

Will you have the ribs? Which literally fall off the bone because they are so tender...

Or what they call the "Roadkill", which is chopped steak and mushrooms covered in melted cheese, which is so juicy...

Or the hamburger, which is possibly the most melt-in-your-mouth burger you've ever had...

On the side, hows about a giant loaded sweet potato covered in caramel and marshmallows...

Those are just a few of the options available on this menu. (And they continue to bring you rolls through dinner ^.^)

Well, if you are on a diet, I wish you the best there. If you aren't, happily loosen your belt and have at it! It is a bit cheaper overall than Olive Garden and worth every last penny! It is way too good!

*Located in Orland Park, IL on LaGrange right off of I-80*

GreekTown Chicago's Taste of Greece!

2010-01-16T01:00:00.002-08:00

I am not sure if they are doing it this year as there is no mention of it on the GreekTown offical website, but for a couple of years, I have been going to the annual GreekTown Taste of Greece festival.

I love it! They block off the streets and vendors cook outside. I had never really seen a whole lamb roasting before. If you like those fake American gyros we eat, you will LOVE the gyros here! There is this one restaurant that I can never remember the name of... the only thing I remember is that it is white and blue and is the only white and blue restaurant. That place has the absolute best gyros I have ever tasted.

Of course there is much more than food for sale. There are clothes and there's music and all sorts of things! (By the way, remember my article on Beijo purses? There is always a representative there who sells authentic Beijo purses for $10-$20 off the listed internet price!)

It usually happens around in August, so look for it!

http://www.greektownchicago.org/

Communication Skills for Women - A $99 Seminar

2010-01-15T01:00:00.000-08:00

Personally, I will be attending this:

http://www.seminarinformation.com/qqbjfg/communication-skills-for-women

Perhaps you can see this as the female's version of Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" (an excellent book. I highly recommend it.) in the form of a 1-day seminar.

I haven't been to this seminar, but I do have high expectations of it and I am very excited to learn the techniques presented ^.^

________________________________________________________________

On an unrelated note, I have recently gotten completely obsessed with Alfred Hitchcock's shows. I never realized before how much of a genius he is!

With amazing dry humor like, "Disney has the best casting. If he doesn't like an actor he just tears him up", in every episode, I find myself enjoying his quips even more than the episodes themselves! I find myself searching for a word greater than "genius". Perhaps a "virtuoso" of dry comedy ^.^

(The episodes are viewable at Hulu)

Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch - 6/10

2010-01-14T01:00:00.001-08:00

"I find it quite amusing that the mermaids only have to sing to have their opponents writhe in pain."

Genre: Majou Shoujo (Magical Girl), School Life, Supernatural

Summary: Every mermaid princess has a pearl. Except Luchia. She lost hers years ago when she saved a human boy from drowning. Now, she must go and find it. To do so, she takes on the appearance of a human and lives in the human world.

Soon, she finds it in the hands of Kaitou, the boy from before, which she uses to transform into a magical girl and once again saves him. He sees her in her mermaid form and falls in love with her. However, he does not recognize her as a human. Luchia falls in love with him too, but cannot tell him she is the mermaid or she risks turning into bubbles.

Characters: Luchia, your typical main character majou shoujo. Dense... whiny... clumsy...

Rina, the green mermaid princess. She is a mature character who can be quite the tomboy. In school, she wears the male uniform.

Hanon, the aqua mermaid, is a very girly girl who is bold, but yet sensitive. (There is another mermaid who is the "blue" mermaid. Hanon is the "Aqua pearl voice")

Kaitou is the tsundere of this show around Luchia as a human, but a tender lover around Luchia as a mermaid.

Art: Everything is pink and orange and whatnot. "Fuzzy" is the word that comes to mind when I think of the color scheme of this show. Naturally, there are a lot of beach scenes as Luchia and many of the characters are sea-dwellers and Kaitou is a surfer.

The art itself is ok. The characters don't end up appearing distorted or anything.

My review: I would say this is a kids show, but there are a few things that separate it from magical girl anime like Tokyo Mew Mew and put it a bit closer to Pretear. For example, the girls are quite well-endowed for your typical girls show. In addition, there are some scenes in here, specifically between the perverted Kaitou and Luchia that may also make you question who the audience is meant to be. Then again, there are some pretty insinuative shoujo manga out there...

I can't say I didn't enjoy the series. The art was good, Luchia was whiny, but her sort of mystical mermaid side made her interesting enough and Kaitou's double treatment of Luchia in her different forms was interesting. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any anime like this (with the half exception of Kampfer, I suppose... well, to a certain extent). There are quite a few arcs between Pitch and the sequel, Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Pure that were really adorable.

The whole series isn't subbed. The first season is, but the second season still hasn't been subbed or dubbed completely even though I know this series has been around for at least 5 years. But the episodes are easy enough to track down.

Targeted Audiences: Girls

Who will love it: Girls, young women, females new to anime

Who will hate it: Practically everyone else

Disclaimer: There are some "questionable" situations... so probably not for young kids...

Overall: This series also has special meaning for me since this is the second anime I ever watched. Back when I first started watching anime, I thought that Tokyo Mew Mew was the only anime I would like, and I spent hours tracking down episodes, amvs, and information about it. Then, I found a music video to the song, "Never had a dream come true." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_Z00LaDJBw) I got so obsessed with Mermaid Melody because of that very music video. Good memories. :)

I liked it so much I didn't even notice Luchia can't carry a tune... -.-

"Mew Mew Style, Mew Mew Grace" - Tokyo Mew Mew - 6/10

2010-01-13T01:00:00.001-08:00

"The anime that started it all."

Genre: School life, Majou Shoujo (Magical Girl), Romance

Summary: Ichigo is a normal girl who suddenly finds herself the leader of a group of girls infused with animals so that they could defend the world from aliens.

Each character has a mark somewhere on her body designating she is a mew mew.

Characters: Momomiya Ichigo - Your typical airhead lead shoujo character. She transforms into a pink cat character. She is in love with Aoyama Masaya. Her mark is on her inner thigh.

Aizawa Minto - The blue bird magical girl. She is wealthy and spoiled, but deeply admires Zakuro. She is the only mew that can technically fly, though rarely the others may float around. Her mark is on her back.

Midorikawa Retasu (Lettuce) - The green porpoise. She has the ability to gain a mermaid's tail. She is in love with Shiragone Ryou. She is a sweet bookworm. Her mark is on her chest.

Fong Purin (Pudding) - The yellow monkey. She is the youngest of the group and quite energetic. She works very hard to take care of her younger siblings alone. She can often be found performing in the park. She also practices martial arts. She is the only Chinese member of the Mew Mews. Her mark is on her head.

Fujiwara Zakuro - The tsundere supermodel. She is a purple wolf. Her mark encircles her belly button.

Art: Quite bad. The characters look distorted quite often.

My review: It is quite horrid. As said, the characters often look distorted, the story was predictable, the characters were largely flat (with the exception of Minto and Purin), and the ending made no sense whatsoever. I think only a young girl or someone new to anime could enjoy this one. It really does bring the majou shoujo genre down a few notches. Nevertheless, the transformation sequences were neat and some of the episodes, like when Purin is sick and the episode of Ichigo as a cat were really cute ^.^

Targeted Audiences: Girls

Who will love it: People just being introduced to anime. Young girls. Fans of the majou shoujo genre who have seen everything else. Anyone who liked Magical Nyan Nyan Taruto (Yep, I saw it. ^.^)

Who will hate it: People who hate typical characters. People who hate magical girl anime. People who have been watching anime for a while.

Disclaimer: None. It is everyone-friendly.

Overall: As my second anime ever, it isn't a horrid choice. It was cute, but now that I look back, VERY predictable. Still, I enjoyed it and saw each episode a few times. (Back when I didn't know I liked other genres besides majou shoujo) I have fond memories of this show because it really is The One That Started It All. (Dare I say it...) If it weren't for Mew Mew Power on 4kids.tv, I never would have researched and found Tokyo Mew Mew and anime in general. Therefore, despite the fact that it has so many negatives, it still will hold a place in my heart because without it, I may never have become an anime fan.

(SPOILER ALERT!)

(This is one of the blends I made for an old yahoo group I made called mermaidmewmewcafe. It was when I first learned how to make blends. ^.^)

"This Time, the Protagonist Really is a Shounen Tantei" - Tantei Gakuen Q (Detective Academy Q) - 7/10

2010-01-12T01:00:00.001-08:00

"Ya know, I think I'm a scaredy cat..."

Genre: School Life, Mystery, Shounen

Summary: Kyu is a genius at solving mysteries. His dream is to become a detective. One day, he gets the chance to become a student at a prestigious detective academy led by the most famous detective, Dan. Along with the fellow students in his class, he solves mysteries.

Characters: Kyu is more like an adventurous, shoujo version of Conan odd enough... He's definitely quite the unique character... I can't say he's lovable, but a decent enough main character. I never hated him at all.

Ryu is a tsundere (for complex reasons) and a genius detective as well.

Megu has a photographic memory and is a good detective, though not in comparison to Ryu and Kyu.

Kinta is... hmm... how can he be described. Uh. The oldest. Strong. Dependable. His character wasn't as developed.

Kazuma is an elementary school computer genius who is quite the tsundere himself too, though for substantially more superficial reasons than Ryu.

Dan is the headmaster and a genius detective who is trying to decide which of the 5 characters above will succeed him in taking over his practice.

Art: Not great at all. In fact, quite bad. That is actually my biggest qualm with this series. The characters' expressions look so unnatural and distorted sometimes...

My review: It's entertaining, and I recommend it. It is similar to Detective Conan, but at the same time, has a bit of freshness. The art is bad, but the story really makes you think and, with some thought, it is possible to figure out the criminal before it is revealed a bit easier than it is to figure in Detective Conan. The story doesn't exactly end, which is my only other qualm with the series.

As a side note, there is also a live action version of this and another live action called Liar Game, which you'd probably enjoy if you like combining mathematics, statistics, and mystery. (There's a second season of Liar Game, but the ratings are pretty horrid for it, so let me know if you see it, k?)

Targeted Audiences: Youth

Who will love it: This isn't very different from Detective Conan, really. If you like DC, Ayatsuri Sakon (or at least weren't annoyed by it...), or Spiral, you'll like this.

Who will hate it: People who don't like mysteries, scaredy cats

Disclaimer: It has been a while since I've seen this, so I don't remember exactly where, but one of their first cases, where they try to solve it with class A, stay away from that if you get easily scared. I'm a scaredy cat and it gave me quite a fright...

Overall: It is a great show. Almost everything I'd want in a detective show with the exception of the lack of a satisfying ending and better art. It is totally watchable and perhaps a great option for those who are following DC and are like me and can't bring themselves to watch the show past the new voice of Mori!!! (Sorry... that got to me... T.T)

Fish Training!!!

2010-01-11T01:00:00.000-08:00

Do you have fish? You can train your fishy to do tricks!

Click here to watch a goldfish do tricks

Click here to watch a betta do tricks

Click here to watch group saltwater fish soccer

You can buy the featured kit here:

Ebay

Think Geek

R2 Official Site

I just thought this was too adorable. Maybe I should train Kibo...

A Bilingual Bible: Japanese and English

2010-01-10T01:00:00.001-08:00

So, if you read the Bible and are learning Japanese, I found a Bible that has English and Japanese side-by-side and is readable even if you only know katakana and hiragana:

http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-English-Bilingual-Bible/dp/4264023181

The kanji (With the exception of Watashi) all have hiragana and katagana printed above them for easier reading. ^.^ It is the only full NIV Bible I have found like that.

I got it a couple years ago for Christmas and am slowly learning the 23rd Psalm. I love it! :)

Betta Care

2010-01-09T01:09:00.000-08:00

First of all, it is not a beta fish... It is a betta splendens. Beta fish... what are they? Trial fish?

"Were they an experiment and alpha fish failed?" - Beth

Ahem. I love my little darling Kibo and her big brother in Fishy Heaven, Muu Beta. These are not cheap pets that only require a small container, water, gravel, and food. They require hard work like any other pet. In fact, it doesn't take me a much different amount of time to care for my Tommy (kitty). (I know, a cat and a fish, right? Well, my cat is deathly afraid of the fish tank...)

So, please don't put them in less than 2 gallons. Their natural environment isn't quite as small as it sounds when you read about it.
Also, super tall tanks don't suit them as they need to breathe from the surface.
And, they really don't like a lot of bubbles and movement, so cheap air filters are not cool. You may want to get one of those Whisper types and get a flat heater which you can place in front of the exiting flow to dampen the ripples.
A heater is necessary unless you keep your house really hot in the winter. These are tropical darlings that need about 75 degrees constantly (sudden changes cause health problems) and 80 degrees when they get sick. You can't find a mini bowl heater... that is another reason 2 gallons and above are important.
Feed them a variety of food. Hikari pellets are great combined with frozen blood worms or (if you have time) live brine shrimp. Live food, naturally, is better.
Live plants are really good for a tank, but I just have soft plants. Silk plants are ideal as they don't break your betta's fins.
Bettas, like any fish, like places to hide and explore. They are smart fish that remember things. They have little personalities and will come right to you like a puppy for food.
Water changes do depend on how much water you give your fish to live in and how many other fish are there, so I'll skip that. Answers.yahoo.com is an excellent resource for asking about your specific system.
Bettas do tend to get sick! When you get your fish from the store, especially Petco and Petsmart, do look out for him/her turning gray and getting fin-clamp (self-explanatory). If you see this, administer Betta Fix Remedy. That specific disease comes from the horrible care they receive at those stores. Some fish come out just too depressed and still die though there is no manifesting physical reason for this. Don't take it to heart. You tried. (And I virtually pat you on the back)
Never put males together. Perhaps this is the most-heard piece of information ever, but I keep hearing of people who still do it... And don't let the males look at each other. In addition, round tanks are best as they are less prone to reflection for males. (They hate looking in the mirror even more than women do...) Males have a high chance of killing females. If you want a multiple-betta tank, consider a sorority tank with an odd number of females. Do be ware that you may come home one day and find some damaged or dead even if it seems to be going well. Though, it may work out and provide you with a dynamic tank full of easily differentiable personalities. (Note: They do form into cliques... and there is a Queen...) 2 gallons per female and lots of places for each to take as her own are crucial. In the beginning, they will battle it out to establish a pecking order. If this battle continues more than a day or two, remove a fish, keep her elsewhere, and reintroduce her later.
There is a lazy person's way to deal with water, a semi-conscientious way to deal with water, a great way to deal with water, and an immensely admirable way to deal with water. To be honest, I do the semi-conscious way... (bad me...) Lazy is not heating it, not filtering it, etc. Semi-conscious is heating it, cleaning it regularly, filtering it, keeping the ph at around 7.0 and adding water conditioner with changes. The great way is to in addition, monitor all of the other aspects which you can easily find tests for in the fish section of your local pet store, like ammonia. And, the admirable way is to have a huge tank with automatic cleaners and whatnot in addition to all the previous.

Things you absolutely need for a betta (and the other stuff up there, you really should get...):

Tank
Hood (They all have the ability to jump and without a hood, you run the risk of coming home one day and finding that your fish decided it was tired of breathing water and decided to permanently try air. In their natural environment, they jump from puddles (big puddles) to puddle)
Quality fish food
Water conditioner
Ph regulator (You may want to try one that automatically makes water neutral)
Betta Fix Remedy (Keep on hand)
Freshwater Aquarium Salt (Tonic for sick fish)
An extra tank (If you have multiple fish as a hospital tank or a protective tank from bullies or a jail for bullies)
Thermometer
Heater (Preferably flat to dampen the ripples and whatnot that bettas hate)
Filter

I think that should about do it... I'll check this post later if I remember something else... The picture is where Kibo lives. (10 gallons)

Note: A goldfish in only a few gallons will die rather fast... and if you put a goldfish with your other fish types in a single-digit-gallon tank, know that I am poking you.

Love your betta and your betta will love you!!!!

Pure Cuteness - Chi's Sweet Home - 10/10

2010-01-08T13:00:00.000-08:00

"Cuteness in the form of a little silver tabby."

Genre: Slice of Life, Children's programming

Summary: Chi is a little kitten who was separated from her mommy and adopted by a nice family who lives in an apartment that doesn't permit cats. Chi innocently learns about the world as her new family struggles to prevent the neighbors from noticing her.

Characters: Chi is absolutely adorable! Her new family consists of the father, mother, and their toddler son. Sometimes other felines or neighbors will enter the scene. This is a kids' show, so there isn't a lot of character development, but it is still entertaining and you can still relate to the characters because they are meant to have pretty common human responses to things.

Art: Simple. Too simple for me to watch a lot of at one time, but fits perfectly with the little kid theme.

My review: Once again, this show is just too cute. Chi goes through so many things like being taken to the vet, being litterbox trained (Which is how she got the name Chi (means pee)). This is also an excellent way to practice your Japanese as the grammar and vocab are simple (someone who watches enough anime can probably understand it without subtitles) And who can hate an adorable little kitty ^.^ An added bonus is that each episode is about 2 min (not counting the intro) each. A little practice a day goes a long way! So many simple situations are addressed here, and naturally the vocab with them, that it makes great practice.

Targeted Audiences: Little kids

Who will love it: Little kids and people who just love way-too-adorable, super-simple, slice-of-life anime.

Who will hate it: Most adults and school children

Disclaimer: None. It is everyone-friendly.

Overall: It is a great kids show and a perfect way to just wind down after a long day. The show explores so many simple aspects of Japanese life (or life around the world) that are not mentioned in other anime. The vocab is elementary and the characters enunciate their words so clearly they are easy to learn and replicate. Each episode is only about 3 min long or so and the first minute is the intro.

It is totemo kawaii ^.^

Making the Perfect Obento Part 3

2010-01-07T01:00:00.000-08:00

I will be dividing this into several steps:

Finding the Ideal Container
Bento Recipies (Including some goofy ideas)
Bento Accessories
The Group Bento - How to host your very own Japanese Food party using a multiple-person bento box. Serves up to 10 people comfortably (I did it in L.A. ^.^)

I have a bento box and I have made food. Now what?

Bento Accessories: Shape-Makers and Decorative Additions

So, I've compiled a bunch of sites with all sorts of accessories to make your bento even cuter or more functional.

Bento accessories do loads of things like carry your sauces and hold your applesauce so it doesn't seep everywhere. These accessories enable variety in your bento by keeping foods that mess up/alter the texture/taste of other foods away from one another.

First, this is my ultimate favorite site for bento whatnot after I got a bento from here for Christmas (Their sakura one in brownish-red). So, you'll probably see me refer to this site quite often:

http://www.jbox.com/SEARCH/bento

They have objects like this one:

http://www.jbox.com/PRODUCT/KKU164

Which would be great to place carrots in, for example, or this one:

http://www.jbox.com/PRODUCT/KKU112

Which holds just enough sauce for your food.

In addition, there are cute decorative items like these:

http://www.jbox.com/PRODUCT/ASA213

Which are super adorable separators.

But, if you are absolutely obsessed, why settle for a few of them when you can get 12,000?

http://cgi.ebay.com/12000-Bento-Box-Divider-Sushi-Decoration-Grass-Baran_W0QQitemZ370096485073QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item562b7832d1#ht_2882wt_1165

(I saw that and just HAD to post it...)

Here is another site that is pretty cute and offers some things that JBox doesn't have, though it does not have as many products in all:

http://www.from-japan-with-love.com/stgo.html

Nevertheless, their individual product types, like nori punches, outnumber JBox's.

Personally, I am seriously considering this set:

http://cgi.ebay.com/JAPANESE-BENTO-ACCESSORY-STARTER-KIT-132-PIECES-NEW_W0QQitemZ390113921885QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5ad49a0b5d#ht_523wt_939

It is a starter set with everything you need to create really cute bento meals. It would allow quite the coloring variety and each piece looks so cute!

Let me know if anyone gets that set, ne?

(Next, Making the Perfect Obento Part 4 - The Group Bento - How to host your very own Japanese Food party using a multiple-person bento box.)

Miracle Train - "Is that all? Where's the rest!?" - 2/10

2010-01-06T01:00:00.000-08:00

"A sweet story that goes nowhere"

Genre: Supernatural, Slice of Life, Mystery, Reverse Harem (Somewhat)

Summary: The Oedo train line has a mysterious train called the "Miracle Train," which appears to help troubled women. The eki (train stations), who appear as bishounens (hot dudes), use a combination of dates, talking, and history to solve all the ladies' problems by the end of the episode.

Characters: There were some cute variations here of the typical reverse harem personalities. Like the intelligent, socially awkward type and the quiet, but easily influenced by others type. There is also a conductor who wears a mask and is very mysterious... (Conductors don't exist like this in Japan on the Oedo line) and the guide, a little girl in a pink suit and hat (... and nor do guides...) Some of the personalities of the train stations do seem to overlap. Like I was never completely sure about one of them who has green hair. He didn't stand out as much of the others. Character development was quite severely lacking here. The train stations, though, were just created when their respective Oedo line stations were built, so that's understandable, but I would have liked to know more about the guide and conductor.

Art: Fine. I didn't even notice it with the exception of when the train goes into "Overdrive". Then, I thought it was pretty corny, but other than that, no real complaints. The little train dog is cute. :)

My review: It started out pretty normal. Each episode or two is pretty much its own self-contained arc; you know that by the end of the episode, the character's problems will be resolved. It is not the most well thought out of plots, but it is more of that "to each his/her own" thing. If you like reverse harem sorts of things, you might enjoy this. So, for that, I wouldn't give it a 3, but at the end, it just gets rediculous. The ending is so absurd and makes no sense in comparison to the rest of the story...

There's one other thing... You know how after watching Ouran High School Host Club, it's like you've gotta pick a favorite? (Or a couple ^.^) But, there are just guys you like from that anime. Here, I didn't care. I wasn't drawn to any of them... The characters were just too flat to care...

Spoiler Alert and Rant (highlight to read): The guide is one of the troubled ladies, but she forgot her memory when she got on the train. Her presence causes the Conductor to try to put the train in "hyperdrive" and go back in time for repair everything, but this just makes it worse. For some reason or another, he decides to erase her memory. He winds up using magic powers with his eyes and putting the train stations who want to protect her to sleep.

If the Miracle Train can only have one customer at a time, that is still one customer at a time. There are 2 basic rules in this train: 1. One customer at a time and 2. The customer cannot leave the care of the Miracle Train until her problems are solved. What was her problem!? That is never resolved... They just go back in time through this portal that comes from the touching of the watch that she had back in time and its futuristic version. That was not a satisfying ending...

Also, suddenly the conductor goes nutso and fights against the stations with this power that suddenly appeared and suddenly there is time travel... Suddenly Hikari (the guide) is kicked out and suddenly the anime ends... And I'm left with... What just happened? It felt as though the author couldn't figure out how to end it, so he/she made this ending. Or, they just skipped most of the rising action...

And what is with the dog!? He's adorable to no end and all, but who is he?

Targeted Audiences: This is probably aimed toward the Josei (women) or Shoujo (girls) range.

Who will love it: Women who are content watching hot anime men.

Who will hate it: People who need their anime to have all the elements of a good story.

Disclaimer: None. It is everyone-friendly.

Overall: It starts out as a decent "Slice of Life", but by the end, you realize you know nothing about the characters and you wonder what the heck was going on in the last half of the second episode. You stand there, looking at the screen, a question mark sitting atop your head. You exit out of http://www.anilinkz.com/, think about it for a second more, then decide it isn't worth another thought.

Upcoming Anime Reviews:

Skip Beat! - 1/7

Tokyo Mew Mew - 1/8

Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch - 1/10

Tantei Gakuen Q - 1/14

Chi's Sweet Home - 1/15

Monster - 1/16

The Streets of Hollywood Blvd. After Dark

2010-01-05T01:08:00.000-08:00

You've heard about the glamour of Hollywood, eh? The stars, the parties, the Chinese Theatre, the Kodak Theatre, the shopping... but what happens after hours? Do the streets empty? Does everyone go home only for Hollywood Blvd to bustle again the next morning? No way. Here's what happens after hours:

It's dangerous and I shouldn't have been on Hollywood Blvd. at 3:00am, but I wanted to go geocaching with my best buds, and so we went. At first, everything was ok. It was about midnight and we were slowly finding all the clues, but there were just a couple that constantly eluded us... Determined and knowing that we would all go to our separate states soon, we searched into the morning hours. As time went on, the town of stars changed into a clubbing town: to be expected. But soon, the streets started filling up with rough-looking characters who yelled almost constantly. Police sirens could be heard every 5-10 min or so. More than once, fist fights broke out, one going into the street and stopping what little traffic there was; policemen came and broke it up.

Homeless people could be seen wrapped in blankets at the doorsteps of many businesses. A man appeared who picked fights for extraneous reasons and bothered several people around us. I was so scared as he walked in the same direction as us, not far behind. No matter how fast we walked, he never seemed to get farther away and I could hear his insults behind me. I was so glad to be between my two male friends, one tall and one very fit. At one point, I hid behind them as the rude man passed.

Hollywood Blvd becomes so dirty at night: piles of advertisements for clubs fill the sidewalks in front of many businesses, which make the ground slippery and hard to cross. The smell of fresh onion hot dogs fill the air every couple blocks. I never had one, but the smell is so thick that every time you pass a cart, you can almost taste one.

In the end, we never did finish that geocache; we quickly headed home. What a contrast between the Hollywood Blvd of the day and that of the night...

Hollywood Boulevard - The Restaurant

2010-01-04T01:00:00.001-08:00

Going to the movies is expensive. If you're anything like me and my family, you pay for the movie and get snacks to eat during it which cost as much as a meal, then go out to eat, then have dessert. By the time you are done, do you even want to add up how much you have spent? If you really stop and think about it, can't you get a whole bunch of bags of microwaveable popcorn for the price of one small one at the theatre? Depressing -.-

But, what if you could watch a movie and eat at the same time? Skip the whole expensive snack deal and get your food for about the same as what you would pay if you went to Ruby Tuesday's while George Clooney leads his Ocean's Eleven to the safe? That's the premise of Hollywood Boulevard, located at 1001 West 75th St, Woodridge, IL 60517.

The seats are comfy executive-style office chairs and the view is good from any place in the theatre. The wait staff is nice and they even do private parties! The atmosphere is great.

Last time I was there, I had their buffalo chicken sandwich and oreo pie. The sandwich was very flavorful and the oreo pie was delicious; they give you so much food that you can't finish everything. The sandwich came with French fries and they automatically remember to bring you ketchup. ^.^ The food comes out nice and fast and there is enough light from the screen for you to see. Waiting for food while being entertained by television makes the wait seem so short. They also don't have nearly as many commercials as Marcus Theatres has... In addition, it is a bar.

This is a great date idea. In fact, the first time I heard about it was because of a date.

I really liked it a lot and will definitely go back. ^.^

http://www.atriptothemovies.com/index.php?src=

Lose Weight - The Bento Way

2010-01-03T01:00:00.000-08:00

This is a way you can make losing weight and portion control more fun!

Most of you never saw me before I came back from studying out of state and abroad. I lost 13lbs while living in Los Angeles. To do it, I exercised, but also ate using my bento. I found that I was more excited about portion control when I used a pretty bento. Also, when I came in from my internship and classes, I was less likely to reach for everything in sight when I knew I had an already-prepared bento in the fridge. So, here is my version of the "bento diet" (Disclaimer: This is NOT traditional, but an example of what worked for me.)

First, I always used 2-tier bento boxes like this:

http://www.dailycuteness.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/extreme-cute-japanese-bento-lunch-boxes2.jpg

Or ones like this:

http://www.takaramilwaukee.com/images/unkai_bento_box.jpg

This automatically controlled my portions as I knew I had to fit everything in these spaces. Technically, I ate quite the variety of food. I had everything from Tuna Helper to Kraft Mac & Cheese to home-cooked meals like Yakisoumen to hamburgers to staples like rice and bread. The only rule was that I must have one of two tiers full of carbs (that usually contained some lean meat) and the other tier would have a fruit, a vegetable, and perhaps a little something to satisfy my sweet tooth or either, when I used the one-level, carbs with a bit of meat would take up half and the other side was half fruit and half veggie. Sometimes one of the sections would have a soup instead. When I made hamburger helper or any of the other quick foods, a serving was all that naturally fit making it easy to watch what I ate. And I always felt comfortable afterwards. (It also helped that I was trying to save money, so eating 2 servings was never an option...)

An example of my day based on a 1,200 - 1,400 calorie diet (NEVER EVER ANY LESS! Also, measure out what YOUR SPECIFIC body needs. There are calculators on the internet to help you avoid starvation mode. I typically tried to stay toward the 1,400):

Note: I didn't ever measure my calories out, just calculated them based on the labels. I was never super picky about it. That is just how things ended up when I ate til I was comfortable. EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. I almost always drank strictly water with the exception of fat-free milk. (I didn't drink fat free milk because I wanted to lose weight, I just don't like 2% or whole milk. To me, it tastes thick...)

Breakfast (200 calories)(Around 8 am): Instant oatmeal or cereal/milk (Usually oatmeal)

Snack (around 10:00am) (150 - 200 calories): Honey nut Cheerios or Trix (Mostly cheerios, though. I got hopelessly addicted to them...)

Lunch (Around noon) (300-350 calories): A bento

Snack (Around 2:30pm) (150 - 200 calories): Cereal, fruit, a veggie, whatever

Dinner (Around 6:00pm) (300 - 350 calories): A bento

I had one steadfast rule: No food after 7pm. 6:30pm if I could help it. If I got really hungry late, I'd have some Honey Nut Cheerios or Trix.

And I did make things like giant cinnamon rolls (that were as big as a dinner plate and my roommates ate it in 2 days... so heavy...), cinnamon cake, giant hamburgers, and 3-foot long sub sandwiches (bread made from scratch) while I was there. I just did it sparingly.

And I exercised. For me, I ran to the gym 3-5 days a week (took 10 min or so) alternated each day eliptical and bike (30 min) and walked leisurely back, usually while talking on the phone (20 min). Then, some days I would do a few strength exercises when I got home that I'd picked up from The Bar Method Designer Sculpting dvd and The Six Week Bikini Makeover book. I also walked to school each day which was about a mile each way.

(And one more thing: I do know that a lot of the foods I mentioned are loaded in sodium... I was a college student...)

Bye bye 13 lbs!

Making the Perfect Obento Part 2

2010-01-02T01:00:00.000-08:00

I will be dividing this into several steps:

Finding the Ideal Container
Bento Recipies (Including some goofy ideas)
Bento Accessories
The Group Bento - How to host your very own Japanese Food party using a multiple-person bento box. Serves up to 10 people comfortably (I did it in L.A. ^.^)

I have a bento box. Now what?

Bento Recipies: Traditional, Americanized, and Just Plain Goofy

Traditional

An all-around great tutorial to watch. There are so many great things here like how to properly cook tomagoyaki, how to make apple rabbits, and how to make octopus weiners:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_hbPLsZvvo

There are so many sites that offer information on how to create traditional recipies all over the internet. Here are my top favorite sites:

http://c4vct.readyhosting.com/kym/bento/recipes.htm

http://justbento.com/recipes

At first, I was going to go into more detail about specific recipies, but with those sites, I'll only end up repeating stuff anyway. Something that you don't see as often on bento sites are things like tomato flowers and other little designs that you can put into the recipe of a bento as a whole.

Americanized

Here is a tutorial for a tomato rose:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AcwtD9MdCU&feature=related

How to carve a carrot rose:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad6QueVWyLg&feature=related

There is another way to make octopus weiners that does not involve frying, so it is probably less fat; cut the wieners like in the tutorial, 4 cuts to make the 8 legs, and boil. The legs will still curl up.

Here is a totally Americanized "tomagoyaki". This is so simple it'll suit anyones taste that likes eggs at all. This is so far from traditional it is rediculous, but oh well. I like it. You can also use this sort of a modification for the real ingredients if you don't have a square pan and really care about that or if you would rather bake than fry.

Required: Sushi roller, milk, eggs, square baking pan, spatula, pan spray

1. Set the oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix how ever many eggs you intend to eat (I'd go with 3 or so for a small pan)

3. Pour a half a tablespoon or so of milk in the eggs and whisk

4. Lightly spray the pan

5. Pour the mixture into the pan

6. Keep in the oven until it is no longer runny (About 3-5 min)

7. Get it out with the spatula and onto the sushi roller

8. Let it cool before you roll it up (roll the "tomagoyaki" up completely before rolling the sushi roller around it

9. Hold tightly together and bind

10. Leave it in the fridge for a couple hours

11. Take off the sushi roller. The food should stay rolled.

12. Slice as if you were making cinnamon rolls or cookie dough

13. Lightly salt if desired

(If you want to do a sort of American, tomagoyaki Spanish tortilla version, boil some potatoes to almost soft and add them to the mixture before baking)

I know, that is SO not tomagoyaki, but as said, I like it. ^.^

And, Yakisoumen - I really don't think this exists as soumen is such a delicate noodle. Yakisoba exists and I wanted to try soumen fried, so... (Note: Soumen tastes so good in Campbell's soup.... mmmm)

1. Marinade your meat

2. Cook your soumen

3. Drain the water from the soumen

4. Fry your meat on medium (add nothing to it!)

5. When your meat is almost done, add the drained soumen. Add marinade to it until the combination reaches your desired taste. Careful not to add too much soumen! I was able to feed 3 people easily with one bundle of soumen.

(Soup requires much less soumen)

Just Plain Goofy

This section has a main focus: Food coloring!

http://c4vct.readyhosting.com/kym/bento/bluefood.htm

Mono-colored bento!!!! Thanks to Kelly who showed me this site, I had a blast putting together mono-colored bento like my pink rice in a pink bento with soup and tomatoes. Or the tie-dye bento I tried to create and utterly failed. ^.^ I wish I had pictures... All of the dye rules I used came from that site and I just had fun with it! The ideas come out great except for the multicolored rice... Even when I was careful, the colors always mixed in my rice cooker and made something ugly... Intended mixing, like blue and green always came out so stunningly beautiful! I used the packs of 4 colors at Jewel. Both the neon colors and the regular. I used colored rice to make onigiri at the party :)

Since I've only colored rice, if you do choose to color something else, would you please let me know how it goes? I'd love to see pictures!

(Oh! There is a brilliant, beautiful, elegant, and traditional aspect. If you want to create characters, you might want to use dyed egg (or egg-whites) or rice ^.^ It is also important to note that while I enjoyed playing around and creating bento of only one color, lots of different colors is much more traditional. Please see the tutorial in the "Traditional" section above to see which colors.)

Let your creativity run wild. ^.^

(Next "Making the Perfect Obento Part 3 - Bento Accessories: How to make your bento look cute like the ones in the pictures with organizational and shaping accessories)

Happy New Year! Feliz Ano Nuevo! 新年おめでとうございます!

2010-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

It's 2010, Baby!

A Practical Joke

2009-12-31T01:01:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: If you do this to a stressed person and they get mad at you, don't blame me!

Hit print screen while their desktop is up. Paste that file into paint or some other editing software. Save the picture and set it as their desktop background. Hide all of their desktop icons in a folder. (It will look like the icons are still on the desktop) Set up a camera and enjoy.

^.^

H2O - Throwing Logic Into the Sea - 1.5/10 Sugar Cubes

2009-12-30T01:00:00.000-08:00

Phrase: "The Story Flows So Nicely"

Actually, it doesn't, but it makes you want to suspend your logic in the ocean and believe it does or it's hard to finish.

Genre: Romance, School Life, Supernatural

Summary: A boy moves to the countryside to recover from his blindness where he meets the town outcast, the town idol, and several other girls as he struggles to make sense of his past.

Characters: The side characters are more developed than the main character.

Art: Only tolerable art. The character style annoyed me for some inexplicable reason... Perhaps it was too typical... or perhaps because it oddly felt like I was watching Higurashi. Many times, I literally expected someone to come out with an axe...

This is a 12-episode long series which leaves several questions in the mind of the viewer akin to "What the heck!?" or "Are you serious!?" and continues on to find the most absurd conclusion. I'd give you some examples, but due to the short length of this series, those examples are equivalent to spoilers.

Anyway, each story arc ends the way the viewer wants without any logic behind how that arc began. Nevertheless, the viewer mindlessly and happily watches, quickly abandoning questions like "How the heck did ____ happen if the character ______? Isn't that impossible?" in order to enjoy the series. If you are a person who doesn't mind going brainless to watch a series, you will enjoy this, but be left with a storyline that pleases you with pathos (emotion) and throws logos (logic) out to sea. If you care to logically understand your anime, skip this one.

Well, this was one of those half great half horrid ones. I loved what happened to the characters from a pathos side (as a viewer, I got everything I wanted in the end), but there was no reason for any of this to happen at all. Really, there was no reason for the whole story to happen and the world slipped so illogically from supernatural to "actual" reality that it literally forced me to abandon logic to like it. The more I think about it, the more that actually wasn't satisfying... Do I really want everything that I wish to happen to just happen? The reason to watch a movie is never to find out how it will end since we all know that in a Chick Flick 99/100 times the dude gets the girl and in action flicks, good triumphs over evil (though it is short lived as good has to prepare to fight again...), but rather to see how that comes about... This anime skips that. It takes away the very thing people look for when they watch media: the journey.

At first, I gave it a 5 because despite everything, I don't feel like I wasted my time watching it. It overall did nothing for me, but somehow I don't regret seeing it. It was unique in its own way. Put together poorly and illogically, sure... but still an anime with an amount of unique aspects. But, thanks to my conversation with my friend Kelly, "I can see clearly now, the rain is gone". From a television standpoint, it destroys what a story is... You know you'll hear "And they lived happily ever after", but how? What happened? This anime skips over giving the viewer a sense of logic so that they can stand the causes, effects, emotions, motivations... it is hard to sympathize with most... scratch that... ANY of these characters...

Spoiler and Rant Alert: (Highlight to read, though if you like this anime, I recommend you don't...)

The reason this whole story happens in the first place is because this girls ancestors didn't provide medical support to the sick townspeople. So, the town revolted, killed all but their daughter, and burned down her house. So, the whole darn time, I'm prepared for something interesting, like when the town idol tells the main character not to cross the bridge because a monster lives there, I'm thinking, "Woah! I hope that girl is the monster!" (Like, a "REAL" monster!) But no... she is a "monster" because of what her family did while she was too young to understand. T.T (Mass disappointment).

And there is so much supernatural whatnot in this anime! The dead sister becomes this spirit that her sister drew in a storybook and finishing the storybook is the key to making the life in the town better and all this stuff... And the "monster" is not a monster!? Why are the behind-the-scenes characters so much more dynamic than the main ones?!

And that's another thing... who the heck is the main character? Even in the end, no one knows. We know more about EVERYBODY else than the main character...

Ya know, I need to just end this rant... I thought this was a terrible anime... An insult to television and story...

I know my clarification of reviews calls for at least a 3 if I finish it, but this anime must be graded on its own scale. I can't see how it should get a 3 for abandoning the very basics of the "cause effect" rule. Therefore, 1.5 Sugar Cubes. (Why 1.5? Because I liked the soundtrack ^.^)

Disclaimer: Strictly logical people will utterly detest this anime.

Making It Big

2009-12-29T01:00:00.000-08:00

I get so tired of cooking the same things the same way... the typical sub... the typical hamburger.... the typical cinnamon roll! So, when I could cook completely by myself in LA, how did I make up for lost creative time? I "made it big" in Hollywood.

You can make your hamburger however you want, but here's how I did mine (and that picture is after my roommates had been eating off of it for a day) The hamburger begins with a round loaf of Hawaiian bread divided horizontally into 3 pieces(my favorite ^.^). Place the bottom slice. Add a half-pound patty, a row of cheese, a row of lettuce, the middle Hawaiian bread slice, a row of tomatoes, another row of lettuce, another half-pound burger, and then the top. If you are an absolute meat lover, 3/4 lb or 1 lb patties will make you quite happy. :)

Though I originally got the sweet bread simply because it was in the right shape and I was sick of baking after I made breadsticks, cake, and the two 3-foot subs you'll see later in this article, the sweet bread made the burger taste even better. It can feed 5 college girls for 2 days. :)
Kraft services is when a person cooks for the staff of a production. I was hired to do this after cooking for a bunch of people. I was never known for making typical stuff, so I figured, why start now? I figured that this was a night shoot, so they'd prefer something light, so I made these two giant subs (the bread was handmade (I didn't have a breadmaker) the cookies were too for that matter... but whatever...)

I do not recommend this method unless you have some beef with those long French bread loaves you can get from any local food store. I didn't realize those existed before I labored for hours on this... Still, makes a neat picture and it did allow me to braid the bread so it came out with a beautiful shape. ^.^

First, I found pretty much any ol recipe online for submarine bread that I could make 100% by hand. I made enough for 4 loaves the length of 4 cookie sheets. Right before putting them in the oven, I braided the dough just as you would braid hair. (Careful to make the bread thin! It rises with a vengeance!)

When the bread was done, I cut each loaf in half horizontally and cut off about an inch or two at one end of each. Then, I turned the cut-off ends to face each other making 2 subs, each 3 feet long. After that, I did the typical build-a-sandwich thing. Lettuce, tomatoes, mayo, meat... etc. One was ham and the other was turkey. Half of each had cheese. Lettuce and tomatoes were in all of it and mayo and mustard (I think...) were available for people.
And the cinnamon roll version 2. I made version 1 smaller. It was 1/4 of the total dough in a batch of normal cinnamon rolls (not picky about the recipe. I just wanted to have enough ingredients for it...) But, I was disappointed with the size, so I created the Cinnamon Roll 2.0! One cinnamon roll created with the dough to make 25 cinnamon rolls! I made two of them. One I gave to my producer who looked sad. I hoped it would cheer him up :) The other one lasted for only 2 days in our apartment. Cooking these takes forever. Normal cinnamon rolls are done in like less than half an hour in the oven. These took 1 hour+.

It was sorta stressful since I didn't want to burn it and I didn't want the insides to be undone, so leaving a way for the heat to get down in the rolls is crucial. There are no worries about losing the gooeyness of a cinnamon roll with this method, and with cooking it long enough on the same heat or a little lower than regular cinnamon rolls (depending on your oven) it will be properly cooked all through. The key is to keep an eye on it.

Note: These are so heavy!!!! I should have weighed them...

Everything else I made in L.A. was boring or will be mentioned in my "Making the Perfect Obento" posts (About 1 will come out a week)

I did leave L.A. with one cooking regret; I wanted to make a giant Oreo...

http://www.pimpthatsnack.com/project/85/

Bones

2009-12-28T22:31:00.000-08:00

When you get a chance, check out Bones season 1, episode 11 on Hulu.com. The first 2 minutes and 30 seconds had me cracking up to no end. I watched some parts of that again and again and again. That was great! Absolutely great! Want to understand my type of humor? That hit the nail on the head!

First 2.5 min of Bones season 1, episode 11. Pure, Unaltered Genius.

The "Science" of the Nene-chan Review

2009-12-28T01:04:00.000-08:00

So, just to clear up anything about my reviews (just my personal opinions!), I will explain them.

1 - I utterly detested it. It was a waste of space. Perhaps I was bribed by some force to watch it, and I could not manage to get even 1/4 through it.

2 - I hated it, but the occasional good point was there, so I was able to stomach at least half of it.

3 - It was mostly horrid, but I watched it because I was bored to death, but eventually (thank goodness) I found something better to do and didn't finish it.

4 - I finished it and felt like I wasted the last ___ hours of my life.

5 - Either I finished it and it was half detestable and half superb (Like Haruhi season 2) or (most likely) I finished it and it did nothing to make me like it and nothing to make me hate it. I felt absolutely nothing.

6 -It was slightly better than ok. I'm barely over feeling like I wasted my time.

7 -It was good. Alright. I'd never watch it again, but I won't complain.

8 - Great. I liked it quite a bit. There were a few things that annoyed me, a few illogicalities here and there or things I didn't understand or a few characters I didn't care about or story lines that just served to separate me from what I really liked in the series, but the rest was so good I didn't mind it so much.

9 -Wow! Great series! I really enjoyed that. Maybe I will watch it again.

10 - More more more more more! Like I'm rewatching the series and getting the music and researching the characters and I just can't get enough!!! I NEED TO OWN MY OWN COPY!

A Remedy for Putrid Breath

2009-12-27T01:00:00.000-08:00

Come on, we all worry which is why breath mints sell so well. But some of us have it worse than others and don't know what to do about it. Some of us are just petrified that we do have bad breath. Regardless of your reasoning, a good solution is Closys II found at your local Walgreens. It not only does a fantastic job of taking away foul breath odor, but also whitens your teeth. And I don't mean that lame promise a lot of toothpaste companies make about whitening your teeth and then nothing happens. I mean this genuinely does whiten your teeth.

In the system there is mouthwash (often with optional mint drops if you prefer minty wash), toothpaste, gum, and breath spray. Everything is great but the gum. Or, I should say you will like everything but the gum. The gum is a great practical joke. Chew it and it will stick to your teeth so well you'll have to pull it off with your hands. Now, wouldn't it be funny if you were at a formal party and gave someone gum and- (I think I'd better stop there...)

Anyway, you can rest assured that your breath will not stink. Only things like not brushing for 15hours or eating something like garlic just before conversing will do something. Even then, a few sprays of the Closys II spray or a mint/stick of gum will take care of that just fine. Usually, your breath will smell like literally nothing. Kinda weird, but quite significantly better than stinky...

Enjoy!

Oops. Forgot to Introduce Myself

2009-12-26T01:00:00.000-08:00

Hi! I'm Renee, but feel free to call me Nene-chan, that's what I always put on my Acen badges ^.^. I'm 21 years old. I guess if I were to describe myself... all-over-the-place, contemplative, dry-humored, focused, conservative, opinionated, sometimes-goofy, anime-lovin', suburban, learning-language lovin', computer-games-addicted, Super-Smash-Brothers-obsessed, piano-playin', sometimes-oblivious, recently-graduated girl who's current life aim is to get into an MBA program with an emphasis in International Communication and also obtain the education of an MBA in Hospitality and Tourism Management. ^.^

Some of those are quite contradictory, but nevertheless apply quite satisfactorily :D

I know there must be a method to my madness, but I haven't found it yet. For some reason, my interests span over several different fields. I'll try to keep to things that may interest people in the Sugar Gamers community, though I can pretty much guarantee you that eventually, this blog is going to branch out somewhere between "infinity and beyond".

When I am not looking for a job to help me achieve my educational dreams, I am playing piano, researching whatever interest I currently have on the internet from betta care to etiquette to bento recipies to exercise programs, learning Japanese, polishing my Spanish, working at my part-time job, hanging out with friends, playing online games, watching tv shows on hulu, shopping (both online and off - I found a NIB P90x for $70), or watching anime (I'm currently following Kampfer, Miracle Train, and watching H2O)

Want to see my Spain blog and videos from it? http://reneessemesterinspain.blogspot.com/ That's what I'm most excited about. Having lived overseas for a semester in Spain and having explored Lagos, Portugal and taking a trip through Morocco. ^.^

That's a pretty decent summary... In short, I am literally always doing something. Oh! And I love a quality eye-rolling pun, so my posts promise to be riddled with them. :D

Nice to meet you all and I hope you enjoy my blog!

(Thank you, Binky for drawing me as an anime!)

Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas, & メリークリスマス!!!

2009-12-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

I wish you a happy and safe Holiday Season!

Making the Perfect Obento Part 1

2009-12-24T01:00:00.000-08:00

I will be dividing this into several steps:

Finding the Ideal Container
Bento Recipies (Including some goofy ideas)
Bento Accessories
The Group Bento - How to host your very own Japanese Food party using a multiple-person bento box. Serves up to 10 people comfortably (I did it in L.A. ^.^)

How to Find the Ideal Container

I'm just going to come out and tell you that the best way to do it is to get one when you visit Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. You can get a simple, microwaveable bento at $1.80. Cleap-looking party ones are about $5. Matching good-quality accessories range from $1-$4. A beautiful box for a party (the one I used to serve 10 people) was around $25. (If you are going to L.A., there are sort of 2 Little Tokyo areas. They are close, but one is an indoor mall and the other is outdoor.)

If you won't be going there any time soon, there are other options that offer significantly more beautiful, though expensive, obento.

This was my Christmas present last year:

http://www.jbox.com/PRODUCT/PRIM024

It took forever and a day to ship and caused me so much stress waiting for it, but when it got there, everything was worth it. It is pretty expensive and importing it from 日本 (Japan if your computer doesn't display characters) makes it even worse, but trust me, it is beautiful. It is without a doubt my favorite bento. The blossoms sparkle and it is microwaveable and... it is so pretty. It really is worth it. Jbox has many other options that are cute, functional, stunning, whatever you like.

You may also want to try eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/JAPANESE-KABUKI-BENTO-LUNCH-BOX-MATCHING-BAG-M-WAVE-OK_W0QQitemZ250508409436QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3a5376fa5c#ht_1729wt_939

There is an example of a beautiful one. This is a pretty normal price range.

Here are so many more cute ones!

http://www.jflairhomestyles.com/MP-ModernBentoBox.html

Even Amazon.com has gotten in on it:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bento+box&x=27&y=17

Like a great dress, a woman knows when she sees her bento she just has to take it home. I hope you find your bento box. ^.^

(Next "Making the Perfect Obento Part 2 - Bento Recipies: Traditional, Americanized, and Just Plain Goofy)

"The Sweetest Ambiguous Love" - Nabari no Ou (Manga) - 8/10 Sugar Cubes

2009-12-23T21:10:00.000-08:00

"A simple relationship can be moving too."

Genre: Semi-Romance, Drama, Tragedy, Martial Arts, Supernatural

Summary: Miharu, a simple lad, finds himself pursued by conflicting ninja clans as they seek to obtain the dormant, ultimate power within him.

Art: The art is good. No complaints.

Review: This story feels like the mangaka decided to start one way, then suddenly got the idea to switch it, then felt like they wanted to quit the arc while they were ahead, then, well... who knows. The story is still ongoing.

Nevertheless, the kya moments I felt while watching Miharu and Yoite interact were so awesome that I can't type less than an 8 in the title. Their relationship is just so beautiful! It is so moving to read the manga and then watch those scenes in the anime... so, so beautiful... It transcends romance... No wonder the mangaka changed the arc...

The storyline was ok. Typical. Good enough. No complaints. There were some pretty neat surprises, but those surprises often turned to be quite useless in the end... Still. Neat storyline. If you like ninjas or supernatural anime, you'll like this. And if you like super sweet scenes and love to get attached to your characters, you'll like it too.

Overall: Beautifully executed relationships. Typical storyline. Transcendence of anime romance.

Enjoy!

Funny and Interesting Relationship Thoughts

2009-12-22T20:57:00.000-08:00

Does he care about you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuLBjFzeTNM

A humorous video about how to be the perfect gf:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqzcF7zxZNE

An actual way to tell a man you like him while being female-subtle and male-obvious:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow4SuQw_PTE

Acrylics: The Remedy for Nail-Biting

2009-12-22T20:28:00.000-08:00

If you are a musician or something, yeah, I don't know how to help ya, but if you aren't, the way I quit biting my nails may help you:

I couldn't take seeing even a little bit of fingernail growth. I had my nails bitten down so short they either hurt or were uncomfortable constantly. I envied the other girls with pretty fingers when mine had become so puffy at the ends and pretty long nails when mine were bitten beyond their limit... So, I started wearing Walgreens acrylics.

I never meant to cure my nail-biting, it just sorta happened after a few times when I bit my acrylic nail and found that my teeth found that experience quite painful. Noticeably soon, I stopped biting all together.

This will destroy your nails themselves for a while. Acrylics make your nails brittle and weak, but this is something you can fix with your common Hard as Nails polish from Sally Hansen anywhere you find beauty products once you are sure you will not bite again. Time will also restore your nails. I think I wore acrylics for a semester.

Note: I'd only wear the fake acrylics as the glue is weak. The last thing you want is to bump into something and damage your real nail even worse from quality glue.

Happy non Nail-biting!

A Portuguese Kiss

2009-12-21T20:14:00.000-08:00

We all know that so many females nowadays (and dogs for that matter...) walk around wearing Louis Vuitton, Coach, Dooney & Burke, etc. So do I. I'm a major Coach fanatic; I was raised with these designer bags and products.

But, what about those who don't have 200-400 bucks to spend on the latest Coach bag or 300 - 1000 for the latest LV? (Why do I feel like someone is going to say hit the Lighthouse Outlet Mall? Well... that's true... but not my point...) Why not try Beijo?

I got my first Beijo (translates "kiss" from Portuguese) bag a few years ago and I love them! You see, I rarely see anyone else with them. They are unique. They are also 1/2 to 1/3 the price of a Coach bag and who even knows what fraction of an LV. But, they look like what they are: designer bags. You can tell they are just as exclusive, no perhaps more because everyone knows where to get a DB, LV, or a Coach. Beijos come only from representatives. They are also a heck of a lot easier to keep clean as you don't need special wash, just water and a towel.

And, if you are just a little vain and love the compliments that come with a designer bag, would you like to know I get as many compliments about my Beijo (the one in the pic above, but in brown and tan) as I do from my best Coach?

http://www.amazon.com/COACH-Hamilton-Caryall-Handbag-13087/dp/B0031F17VW/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=apparel&qid=1261542165&sr=1-6

I got that one on sale at the Coach outlet for $230 or so and my Beijo for $79 and they get the same recognition.

Exclusive. Inexpensive. Designer. Unique. Quality. Bold. Easy-to-Clean. Fashionable. Beijo.

http://www.beijobags.com/

What does every nerdy girl need in the middle of winter?

2009-12-21T20:11:00.000-08:00

Artificial Snow!

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/science/79ea/

I got it for a friend for his birthday last month ^.^

Just wanted to show you a site I love and a product I think is so "cool" :)

There is an Almost Authentically Japanese Teapot at Teavana!

2009-12-20T19:35:00.000-08:00

So, I went with my Japanese friend out shopping a few days ago, and we passed by Teavana. So, I asked him if any of the teapots in the window were authentic. There was one:

http://www.teavana.com/Tea-Products/Teapots-Teapot-Sets/Cast-Iron-Teapots/Fuku-Cast-Iron-Teapot.axd

The rest, he says, are WAY far from traditional, but this one gets quite admirably close. The yellow isn't the ideal color, but in his opinion, it's not bad. :)

Just thought you all may like to know. ^.^

The Invincible Sugar Gamer

2009-12-20T19:08:00.000-08:00

Did you know that at any given moment, I carry anywhere from 1-3 concealed weapons? As a woman, we do have to be aware of the fact that we are typically the physically weaker sex and need a little bit extra to protect ourselves:

One is obvious. I rarely bring it anywhere because it is so simple, but it is your standard folding pocket knife. No big. But, let's get to some more interesting items...

The lipstick knife - Seen 'em? They look just like really cheap lipstick from the outside, but open it up and twist and you find something that will really make your lips red. So, it will surprise an attacker. The drawback is the amount of steps it takes to pull out. On the other hand, it is perfect to slice through packing tape...

The kubotan - Here is a picture of mine:

http://www.worldknives.com/products/ck-kubotan-green-neon-acrylic-kubotan-w-kubogrip-ckngrnkg-1589.html

Looks cute, doesn't it? So cute:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRegch0Nm30

Oh yeah. TOTALLY cute. <3

Beyond the use of the kubotan this tutorial shows you, is the added help when you attach keys. Hold that puppy tightly in your hands and stab or swing. Keys also help you to get through airport security. I've personally gone on 7 flights both international and national without a problem; these colors make it look just like a cute keychain accessory. Also, since it looks so innocent in bright green, purple, or pink, it is a "nice" surprise for a robber, molester, etc. Surprise is definitely a girl's best friend in a tough situation. I NEVER go anywhere without my kubotan.

If you are looking to get one, I do recommend a cute color for the element of surprise and one with the little holes in it for grip. The last thing you want is for your hands to sweat and it to be easy to take away or just slip out of your grasp.

I'd also recommend having 2 weapons in case one is taken away. Who would expect someone to have a backup anyway?

Another great weapon which I don't have, but absolutely brilliant is the pepper spray ring:

http://www.defensedevices.com/stunningring.html

At $30, see how convenient this is?

As for the prices for the other stuff, Swap-O-Rama has a weapons store which sells the lipstick knives for like 5 or 6 bucks. You can find them online for double to triple that including s&h. The kubotan there look like weapons in menacing black which probably isn't good if you plan to travel by plane or if you work in a government building...

Be safe!

Woohoo! I bought a real yukata for $56! It is so soft and shiny!

2009-12-19T18:46:00.000-08:00

Now, take a seat and listen. Pay attention closely. You've been robbed.

When I lived in Los Angeles, I noticed that the majority of the "kimono" and "yukata" (especially) in Little Tokyo were fake. And I really did pay $56 for a glorified bath robe.

Don't buy a yukata from a Japan town, from a convention, from ANYONE in the U.S. Don't have it made from a pattern... nothing if you want a real, genuine yukata or kimono.

Perhaps I seem a bit upset as I write this, it is because I remember how dumb I felt being an anime fan and thinking that since I spoke Japanese with the store owner she would sell me a genuine product. I directly asked her if I could wear it to a "matsuri" (Japanese shrine festival) and she told me I could. I believed her. Though I was so proud of my knowledge of the Japanese culture and whatnot, I lost a pretty penny on a fake, and I don't want anyone else to go through what I did, so never buy one of them here. They may be pretty, but do you really want to walk around wearing a fake? I get if you made it yourself, like I am sewing a gold one just for fun for myself, but to buy one and be cheated... feels sucky...

So, the number 1 thing to remember above all else is that a yukata is cotton and cotton ONLY. NEVER polyester and NEVER shiny... Yukata are risky to purchase in the U.S. genuinely, but kimono... now that is one that should virtually never be attempted here without full education and true trust in the seller.

To buy one in Japan, here is some interesting information:

http://www.marquise.de/en/ethno/japan/buy.shtml

Well, yeah, I was a total idiot for getting cheated like that, but if this post warns one person in the future, then my loss has been validated. :)

Another Short Thought

2009-12-19T12:01:00.000-08:00

Radio: "Rudoph the red-nosed reindeer, had a very shiny nose..."

Me: I have a powder that would take care of that.

The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi (Season 2) - 5/10 Sugar Cubes

2009-12-18T11:14:00.000-08:00

Alternative Title (Created by Me) – Suzumiya Haruhi no Ripito

“The epitome of capitalizing off of previous successes”

Well, this one is in order. The characters are still just as great, but there are a few episodes… ok, half the series… where the same thing happens again and again and again… and again… and again… (ok, I’m done)… and again. (Sorry).

This season starts so well with Kyon being sent back in time by future Miharu to do some very key things. Then, it plummits. You watch episode 2 all excited. You then come back for episode 3 and wonder if someone uploaded it incorrectly as it is almost exactly like episode 2, but you watch it convinced that the ending will be different. It isn’t. You come back, convinced that the 3^rd time is the charm! That the end will finally be different! You learn that the group is in an endless time loop. Yay! Will the ending change now that they know???? NO! You watch the fourth time waiting for the episode to load completely while you watch Miracle Train so that you can fast forward to the end, which will surely change this time. Drat. Still the same. (Random fact. Did you know that the definition of insanity according to Albert Einstein is “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”?) You watch the next episode, sure that the show cannot stay on the air much longer in Japan like this. No dice. Finally, you give up and keep your mind occupied with other anime for a few weeks. Episode 9 ends the loop and the good stuff begins again.

Then, Haruhi wants to make a movie and all the eccentricity we know and love returns.

So, my recommendation is to watch episodes 1, 2, and 9+ to get the best effect of this show. There are little differences between the episodes in 2-8, but they are slight and the other 99% of the episode will eventually bore you to death. (They call that arc the “Endless 8”) I loved season 1 and loved the episodes I recommended, but that stagnant arc just ruined the overall thing for me…

I wonder how this will be released for American television… Episode 15, by the way, is not subbed… I wonder if even the subbers dropped it. I don’t know how they managed to sub 2-9. Such dedicated heroes… Well, I will never forget that arc for as long as I live…

I must say, it is great for practicing your Japanese though...

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni - 8/10 Sugar Cubes

2009-12-18T10:43:00.000-08:00

"When the Humans Die: Again... and again... and again..."

Props to the idea, but if the consumer doesn't know what the heck is going on by the last episode, there's something to worry about.

So, from the average human being's perspective, this is about a town that restarts after death. People begin happily, then someone goes nutso and starts killing people. (The crazy person is almost always someone different). Then, once the killing stops, the town starts over and all happens again.

I saw this whole season and a good portion of the next and I can tell you there are some scenes in here that will make you hide from the tv screen. One gave me chills and still does when I think about it. In the first 2 seasons of this there are some pretty gruesome torture devices for one thing.... (just sayin'! Be prepared!)

I know there is a plot, but that was totally lost on me for a LONG time. WELL into season 2. I had to do some research to figure out what the heck I was watching. Still, to let you know, it is about a girl who sees all of these negative occurrences over and over and goes back between passively accepting that this is how she must live and hope for a good future. The town, for the most part, doesn't remember the tragedies.

Genre: Gruesome tragedy, Mystery, Horror

Disclaimer: Like Saw? Like Jigoku Shoujo? Like Gunslinger Girl? You'll love this. Didn't like their reaction to getting killed the first time? No worries. You'll see a different reaction in 3 or 4 episodes or so...

Note: The characters appear cute and the kids go to school. ^.^

Overall: It is somehow very interesting. I think what keeps you watching is figuring out what is going on and then seeing how the characters react to it. To get the most out of it, you may want to watch it twice. For its genre, it does VERY well and gets the horror thing across perfectly... Too perfectly... But it does take longer to get what is going on here than it does to understand Serial Experiments Lain... so 8 sugar cubes.

*Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni = When the Cicadas Cry

Short Thought

2009-12-17T22:48:00.001-08:00

So, I thought of a "Yo Momma" joke... that I have no idea if anyone else will find funny... This is the first time I've ever posted a joke I wrote myself, so please be kind to me!

"Yo momma's so ugly God said, 'Let there be light,' then suddenly changed His mind."

Ok... I'm done...

Learning Japanese!

2009-12-17T21:41:00.000-08:00

So, you want to learn Japanese, but your school doesn't offer it and you don't know any Japanese people... so... What to do...

I've compiled a list of books and other things that when they are completed will give you the best possible basic and functional knowledge you can get short of getting a formal class, going to Japan, getting someone who speaks it to teach you, etc. This will allow you to read any newspaper you want, converse with confidence, etc...

1. Watch a lot of Japanese media - You'll get an idea of the rhythm of the language, pick up simple grammar, get some vocab, etc. You know...

2. Learn Japanese the Fast and Fun Way - DO NOT do this series the way they tell you to. Learn each sentence. It comes with a book and 4 tapes. Learn this and you will know how to ask and give directions, how to interact with hotel staff, heck, you'll even be able to describe your ideal haircut, explain exactly what symptoms you have if you get sick, and talk intelligently about what is wrong with your car. It is the book for the person who wants to know a little bit of everything. The book has bad reviews on Amazon. Ignore them. You won't learn much more than simple polite past, present, and gerund as far as grammar is concerned, but you'll have a vocab that spans farther than a lot of people studying Japanese IF you study each sentence rather than just what the program tells you to focus on. Grammar will come in later books listed here.

3. Remembering the Kana - To do the other books, you need to learn hiragana and katagana. Don't even bother picking up any of the other books on this list without learning them. They advertise you can learn the kana in 6 hours.

4. Either the Genki or Japanese for College Students series. Both have excellent reviews. Both are used in colleges with great success and by individuals seeking self-study. I personally use JCS and #3 is so important because it is impossible to read the first page of lesson 1 of that series if you don't know hiragana at least. You technically CAN learn katagana as you go through this series, but you need to know hiragana. This series does have a few hundred kanji in it, so learning 2,000+ kanji with the next set of books seems less daunting.

5. The Remembering the Kanji series. There are 3 books in this series. The first book teaches you by elements of the kanji how to remember the meaning of around 2,000 kanji. Book 2 teaches you how to read those kanji. The last book teaches you how to understand and read 1,000 more advanced kanji.

6. Finally, the last step is to get into a program like www.mylanguageexchange.com where you can post a profile and meet Japanese people who want to practice their English with you. Yeah, you probably won't find someone who will teach you the WHOLE language, but there is literally always someone online to practice with live over the internet. There are many sites like this. Rosetta Stone even has one that I believe is free.

After this, why don't you go pick up a Japanese novel? You'll be pleasantly surprised. :)

Oh! And for those of us with iPhones, you can text in Japanese!

This list is in this order because each builds off of the last to make it seem less daunting. Learn Japanese is all in romanji, so it is a gentle way to ease into learning Japanese. The JCS and Genki series use hiragana more in the beginning and move on slowly into using more and more kanji. The vocabulary found here may be largely familiar from media or from Learn Japanese. The new additions here are the grammar, some vocab, and the viewing of many common words in Japanese. A total of 3,000+ kanji is a daunting task, but not as daunting if you've already knocked out a few hundred. I don't know about Genki, but JCS teaches different ways to read certain kanji and frequent combinations anyway. So, Remembering the Kanji becomes less intimidating.

And one more note: I am not saying I've done all this! But I'm working through it slowly. I made this list through a lot of research on school programs, reviews on Japanese books by people who have learned on their own, and by buying and using Japanese learning texts and computer learning/audio programs. I also have a degree in another language, so this is also by comparing learning techniques found in the books. (I have not used Rosetta Stone. It has great reviews, but I don't have that kind of money to spend. Occasionally though, people do sell it for cheap on Craigs List if you're interested.)

Naturally, there is no substitute for a teacher, but I think this is the next best thing!

"What Happens When Richard Castle Writes an Anime" - School Days - 9/10 Sugar Cubes

2009-12-16T12:56:00.001-08:00

Genre: Romance... and some genre not invented yet

Media: Anime and Manga

“Now that’s what I call entertainment!”

This story starts out like all good romances should: the boy (Makoto) meets the girl (Kotonoha) on the train through a mutual friend. Then, they mutually fall in love and go on dates. Aww

But, there is one problem! Sekai, the mutual friend, also likes Makoto! If you think you know how this is going to end, (are you thinking Peach Girl? I hope not…) you are so wrong. (And I’m laughing at you ^.^)

Thus begins the most… um… lurid… romance you will ever see!

THE BREAKDOWN

Story: WAY too unique to be given anything less than a 9.

Characters: Makoto was not loveable at all. I usually like to like the boys the shoujo like, but this time, I didn’t need to like him. For once, it was so much better this way. It made it easier to concentrate on the “action”.

Art: Good. Nice and modern. Crisp.

Recommended: I do recommend this anime because it is so “out there”. Every time you think you know how the next episode will go, a new arc in the story starts that is MUCH crazier than the last.

All in All: If you are tired of the typical, take a peek at School Days, where Sex and the City goes REALLY wrong.

Disclaimer: You might not want to watch this with youngsters… or your parents… or people new to anime… or people eating food… or people with weak stomachs… Enjoy!

"Wanna Fangirl?" - Dengeki Daisy (Manga) - 10/10 Sugar Cubes

2009-12-16T12:39:00.000-08:00

Genre: Romance, Shoujo

“He’s a janitor. And he’s hot.”

Summary: Teru recently lost brother, her only relative. Before he died, he gave her a cell phone with which to contact Daisy, a man charged to be her support after his death. Teru begins messaging Daisy and the two develop a friendly relationship despite never having met one another.

One day at school, Teru defends a boy from a group of bullies, but winds up breaking a window. She bails. The janitor, Kurosaki, barges into her classroom, picks her up, and demands for her to “pay for it with her body” in front of everyone. Thus begins Teru’s relationship with the evil tsundere who watches over her known also as Daisy.

Story: So cute and getting better each chapter. There is something to happily fangirl over every time a new one is released.

Characters: This mangaka is known for her atypical female main characters. Tired of the chibi idiots with no more than 2 good points if that? Teru is bold, hard-working, sweet, but most of all, logical.

Kurosaki makes you just want to put your arms around him and hug him forever! I think I’ve fangirled over him more than Ouran’s Tamaki... He’s the perfect tsundere as the audience gets to see him talk to Teru as the loving Daisy and interact with her directly as the sarcastic jerk.

Surprisingly even the side characters are interesting.

Art: This is the same mangaka as Beast Master, so the style is the same. It is beautifully done constantly proportional characters. Great quality artwork.

Recommended: Definitely! Beautiful story with cryptic pasts and romantic moments and everything a girl could want in a high school shoujo manga. ♥

All in All: KYAAA!!!

Disclaimer: None! It is everyone-friendly!