Link of the Day [4.18.08]

broderic on April 18, 2008

Yesterday, for dinner I made some miso soup. I tried to synthesize my
own recipe. I cribbed most of it from the link of the day, but also
looked at the back of the package for some other inspiration.
Basically, it was silky tofu and frozen stir fry vegetables thrown into
a pot of boiling water until they are cooked. Add the miso, stir, let
it simmer for a few minutes, then server. It was alright, but was
missing something. I think it might have been the "dashi."http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/recipe-of-the-day-nearly-instant-miso-soup-with-tofu/

This isn’t subtitled

broderic on April 18, 2008

Doing a daily post whether it be link or quote of the day makes posting an actual item even more urgent. I don’t want my “latest post” list cluttered with those lame titles. And they are lame. So I have to post something worthwhile. That hopefully some one will comment on.

Anyway, I’ve been watching some anime lately, and I must admit to not minding the English dub.

Whaat?!

Those anime-maniacs would be yelling blasphemy right now. They’ll say that the English voice actors could not match the original japanese seiyuu. But they’re too clannish and can be wrong at times.

I do eventually watch the anime I own over again with the original language and subtitles, but I like to watch the shows first in English to actually watch the anime. I don’t want to be busy reading and not taking in the animation. Or seeing what is being shown on screen. If you’re too busy reading sometimes you miss things.

The English dub is also good for multi-taskin while watching the anime. I can listen to the story while surfing the net or doing something else. When I watch in the original japanese, I have to either pause or rewind to get the gist of the present scene.

The recent anime I have seen have the English voice actors try to capture the original tone and performance their japanese counter part. I say they have done a good job for the most part. They’ve been matching tone and delivery very well.

One thing though, I find that I watch the anime that are television series or 30 minutes or less in the English dub first. Any movie anime, I watch in the original language. I wonder why is that? Perhaps, I like to think that the movie anime is more artful than a tv series.

Of course, I guess I’ll have to learn japanese so that I can not worry about all this. Yeah, right!

First day of the season

broderic on April 16, 2008

About 10 miles in 45 minutes averaging close to 14 mph around my normal, simple route: out to Soldier’s Delight ride around the block. How did it feel?

Boy the working out since Jamuary really made this easy! Looking over my logs from last year and I am running about a mile quicker around the same distance. The hills weren’t bad or tough, and almost didn’t have to be used. I felt like I was using a larger gear.

One thing though was my form was awful. I may be somewhat stronger, I may be somewhat fitter, but my control of my bike was off. Breaking, shifting, and pedaling was off. It’s going to take a few turns to get better.

Being fit also makes 10 miles somewhat easy. I might have to go out for an hour, and that means entering the scary forests. This will be a fun season.

Quote of the Day [4.16.08]

broderic on April 16, 2008

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them,
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious;
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it.
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest-
For Brutus is an honorable man;
So are they all, all honorable men-
Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me;
But Brutus says he was ambitious,
And Brutus is an honorable man.
He hath brought many captives home to Rome,
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill.
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept;
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,
And Brutus is an honorable man.
You all did see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition?
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,
And sure he is an honorable man.
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause;
What cause withholds you then to mourn for him?
O judgment, thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason. Bear with me;
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,
And I must pause till it come back to me.Antony:Act III Scene II:Julius Caesar: William Shakespeare

Link of the Day [4.16.08]

broderic on April 16, 2008

How does the health care system of other countries work? What do they
do right? What can the US learn from them? These are questions that
the PBS newshow, Frontline, tried to answer in their provocative
program, Sick Around the World.Being one of the more wealthy of nations, it's surprising why our system
is so dysfunctional. Will we ever ensure that ALL citizens have access
to health insurance? Will we ever see the costs of it go down? Will we
ever break the tyranny that the insurance industry imposes? I don't
know. But to do nothing would suck.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/

Link of the day [4.15.08]

broderic on April 15, 2008

Happy tax day. At least that is what my iCal is telling me today is.
Hope you got a refund.Anyway I'm starting a new item which I'm calling "link of the day,"
which is a link I think you should visit. It may be cool. It may be
interesting. It may be thought provoking. Or it may be none of these.
All I want you to do is click on the link. (I should just join google
ad words.)Today's link is to my googleReader shared items. I keep trying to get
you to use a RSS feed reader. I use googleReader and it allows me to
denote a good blog item from my regular reads as well as share them with
others. http://www.google.com/reader/shared/13986059648041625896