Link of the Day [6.04.15]

broderic on June 4, 2015

I have many different Asian noodles in my cupboard. I don't know what to do with them. I usually put them in soups, but maybe an occasional stir-fry. I need to know which noodle to use. I need to cook more.

Speaking of which, I did make a soup yesterday with noodles. It's a simple recipe I got from my mom. Whenever she has some meatballs leftover, I get a few and make this soup. To start, fry some garlic in oil, and then add the leftover meatballs. Let that cook for a bit then dump in your broth. I used the rest of the chicken broth I made plus a few more cups of water. Finally, when it boils dump the noodles in, and bring it down to a simmer for about half an hour.

Simple, right? But I forgot: add salt and black pepper to taste.

Here's where today's link helps out. From some of the pictures, it looks like I'm using somen noodles! Wow. I did not know that. I just used the bunch that I also got from my mom. Now that I know, I'll can find it in the store myself.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/08/asian-noodle-shopping-guide.html

Saikyou CHIIMU wa K! K! K!

broderic on June 1, 2015

I spent the weekend watching AKB48 videos. Did you see the one earlier today? That was Team B. This is Team K, the best team. It doesn’t have Mayuyu, but these girls absolutely kick it with energy. These are the ‘genki’ girls. I believe Team B has the girly girls. Later, Team A will be here as the ladies of the bunch.

Dumb Blog Filler: Making Chicken Stock

broderic on May 24, 2015

I wish I could write better. Or on time. But I just need to write.

Anyway, I ate some noodle soup from The Noodle Company. It was advertised as ‘Spicy Thai Hot Pot,’ but it was more like a Phô, but with rice noodles and a touch of pad thai flavoring. It was okay. There was not enough noodles to make it like true Asian noodle soups. It did make me want to cook up something for dinner.

I’m making some stock for whatever noodle soup I will make tonight. There’s ramen, soba, and mung bean noodles in my house. One of those three will be the noodle for the soup.

In my slow cooker, which I plan to use to bring the stock together, I threw in carrots, a quartered onion, chicken thighs, and a whole head of garlic. I also added a dash of soy sauce, a pinch of salt, two bay leaves crushed, some whole pepper kernels, and parsley flakes to round out the broth. I’m let these ingredients cook for a few hours.

When it is done, I’ll shred the chicken and then add some noodles. Maybe, I’ll have a nice soup.

Link of the Day [5.22.15]

broderic on May 22, 2015

No palindromes today… 🙁

I’ve been watching some Jdoramas lately. Things on Crunchyroll, but also out there on the intertubes. While the ones I’ve watched were already complete, I’ve been catching up to a Spring 2015 Jdorama, and I can’t wait to finish this one.

It features AKB48 cutie Mayu Watanabe as an ojo-sama working in a bookstore falling in love and all. Why couldn’t she be the bookstores I haunt?

Anyhow, I thought I’d let you know why I end up not watching any American dramas. Not enough kawaii.

http://www.ktv.jp/shoten/index.html

Mad Max: Fury Road

broderic on May 22, 2015

When first announced, I thought Mad Max: Fury Road was going to be a waste of time. Do we need to go down that road once more? Mel Gibsons not Max. This rehash of 80s movies is getting out of hand. Why another one?

YEAH! I was wrong.

It was awesome. The best action movie of the millennia. I’ve seen it twice. I want to see it again in 3D!

Don’t miss it. It makes all other action films with CGI look like films done inside a computer. Mad Max: Fury Road brings back live filmed stunts. There were CGI shots, but the majority was cars crashing into cars. It just made the movie.

5 of 5 stars.

Ex Machina

broderic on May 22, 2015

If you wanted to see an AI built from the hubris of man, you can watch The Avengers: Age of Ultron. You could also watch Ex Machina. This AI was just as hell bent on destruction of a more personal kind.

The film, for those who haven’t seen it which is all of you, is about a programmer sent to his boss’s remote home to conduct a ‘Turing Test’ on a robot to see how human she is. Ava, the robot, has a woman’s face and hands, but the rest is a sleek, sexy android. Data has nothing on her. She was built by a programmer modeled on a mishmash of Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and the founders of Google. His company is also a mishmash of those actual programmer’s companies: Facebook, Microsoft, and Google.

The worker was chosen as being the best in the company. It was a test of who was the alpha programmer. It really was the boss who was the alpha. He played his underling, but played himself into a corner.

I thought this was sly. I thought the robot was being naive. She was really being human — complicated, conniving. I really wondered if we were all being played.

3 of 5 stars.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron

broderic on May 15, 2015

There was a whole lot going on with The Avengers: Age of Ultron. It wrapped up the Hydra plot, introduced Ultron and (SPOILER) the Vision to the Marvel Cinema Universe, added the Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver to the Avengers line up, set up the conflict for Captain America: Civil War, and brought us the Infinity War/Gauntlet. All this in two and a half hours.

That is why it was not as good as the first one. It had too much. Although, it was missing Tigra. Overstuffed is the word for it. Still lots of action, but it feels like the middle of a larger story like being at the crossroads or at a train station junction. Lots going on, but people are passing through to better destinations.

3 of 5 stars.