Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Out of commission.

If it's not already terrible apparent, I've had to put Frozen Pasta Time on indefinite hiatus.

This semester has been incredibly busy, and I have not had time to cook much, not to mention write about it.

I've decided to give this a break and focus most of my blogging attention on my beverage review blog.

So check it out.

I'm not sure if I will ever start this blog up again for regular updates, but those of you who are interested in it if I do can send me an email through the link on my profile, and I'll let you know if I start back.

Thanks for the brief food talkin' stint.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

9/15/2010

For lunch:

Hawaiian roll (cafeteria sushi, forgot my camera again)

For dinner:

Penne with fennel tomato sauce and blue cheese

This was the first time that I've ever had fennel root in a dish. I've eaten plenty of fennel seeds and had plenty of things seasoned with fennel, but this is the first time that I've ever had just plain sliced fennel bulb in anything. It was spectacular.

Monday, September 13, 2010

9/13/2010

For lunch:

Cucumber and avocado sushi roll (cafeteria)

For dinner:

Fallafel wrap with plain Greek yogurt

Sunday, September 12, 2010

9/12/2010

For lunch:

Baked catfish with Old Bay seasoning and fresh baby bella mushrooms

For dinner:

Ramen noodles. I was in a hurry.

Honorable mention:


This is the best snack in the world.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

9/11/2010

For lunch:

Leftover curry and rice

For dinner:


Morningstar brand vegetarian sausages with sourdough French bread and a bell pepper quarter

Thursday, September 9, 2010

9/9/2010

For lunch:

Fried catfish with spicy rice, green beans, and a biscuit. And a cookie. Sorry, this is a terrible picture.

For dinner:


Red curry with catfish, mushrooms, and green bell peppers

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

9/8/2010

For lunch:

Three cheese pasta (cafeteria)

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

9/7/2010

For breakfast:

Puffins brand breakfast cereal

For lunch:

Mushroom and onion frittata with green beans and pasta (cafeteria)

For dinner:

Black bean tacos from El Burrito (a local tex mex restaraunt). Sorry about not having a picture. I forgot my camera, and only now thought about the camera in my phone.

Honorable mention:

Sunflower sprouts

I bought these today at the farmer's market that my school holds every Tuesday. They are locally grown, and I had never heard of sunflower sprouts before, so I thought I would give them a try. They are pretty good, but are a bit dry and on the bitter side on their own. They would be a perfect addition to salads, though. 

Due to technical issues with my internet, tonight's post may need to be postponed again. I have half of it saved as a draft, but it is not uploading properly. I will try again later tonight.

Check back tomorrow around lunch time for today's post.

I apologize for the extreme delay.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Well, it would appear that I have fibbed. Updates will resume tomorrow. I've got a big assignment to start tonight and didn't have chances to take pictures today.

Come back tomorrow for more regularly scheduled updates.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

I've gone home for the weekend and I've decided to not worry about taking pictures for the blog while I'm here. Updates will resume Monday evening.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

9/1/2010

For lunch:

Peanut butter and jelly and baked potato chips

This might be my favorite lunch. It's so simple, but there's something just so satisfying about it. I often really enjoy eating simple foods. They make me feel very human and wholesome.

For dinner:


Fried tofu with ponzu sauce, bok choy, and long grain brown rice. Served with chili garlic sauce for dipping.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

8/31/2010

For lunch (I remembered to take a picture halfway through my meal):

Stuffed bell pepper with baked beans and mashed potatoes (cafeteria)

For dinner:


Pickled Mustard flavored instant noodles with bok choy and lime.

Sorry. I got a little stupid with the camera. Tonight needed to be quick, because I've got a good bit of schoolwork to do and didn't have time for a production. 

Monday, August 30, 2010

8/30/2010

For lunch:

Two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a bag of Baked Lays barbecue chips. Sorry, no picture again. I'm horrible about getting pictures at lunch. I guess it's usually because I'm eating with people and it always slips my mind until I've finished most of my food.

For dinner:

Tilapia with garlic, basil, and oregano and leftover vegetable-noodle stir fry with grape tomatoes

This is probably the last Tilapia I'll have for a while. I'm getting kind of sick of it. The only reason that I had this piece tonight was because it was leftover from this past Friday, when I went to a friend's house and cooked for myself and three other people. Hopefully there will be some more variety on here this week. Oh, and for the record, the seasonings are under the fish.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

8/29/2010

For lunch:

The best instant noodles


Prepared, with fresh grape tomatoes


Sliced plums tossed with several dashes of sugar

I prepared these plums because I was still a little hungry after the noodles, and I had these left over from a previous failed recipe. They needed to be eaten, so I cut them up (four, in total) and tossed them with sugar for a quick after lunch desert. The separate slice in the lower left corner was sprinkled with salt instead of sugar out of sheer curiosity, and it actually wasn't that bad.

For dinner:


Garlic vegetable-noodle stir fry



I make this stir fry a good bit. It's simple, tasty, doesn't leave much clean-up, and it's a wonderful way to use up a lot of vegetables at one time. If you're anything like me, you keep a good stock of green vegetables in the refrigerator. This is a good habit to develop, as it allows for a good selection when it comes time for an impromptu side-dish pairing, but it also allows opportunity for lots of vegetables to start going bad at one time. This is a good way to take care of some of the older vegetables in your refrigerator, as well as give you a simple but tasty meal that will most likely last you at least two servings. 

On a side note, this is my favorite thing about slicing bok choy:


Thursday, August 26, 2010

For lunch:

Fried catfish with white rice and mixed boiled greens (cafeteria; sorry, no picture)

For dinner:

Instant spinach noodles with red onion flavored seasoning

Tonight was pretty low key. I was supposed to be baking something tonight, but...I messed up the dough and decided to scrap it and try again this weekend.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Hey, sorry, no post today. I had someone over for dinner tonight and things were kinda crazy and I didn't really have a chance to take pictures. More tomorrow.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

8/24/2010

For breakfast:

Puffins cereal with fresh golden kiwi

For lunch:


Baked potato with cheese and pinto beans with citrus rice and an apple (cafeteria)

After lunch:

Mixed berry frozen yogurt with raspberries, blueberries, lychee, and mochi balls (Yoghut, Columbia, SC)

For dinner:

Simple baked tilapia with fresh basil and chives with egg and raw asparagus

Monday, August 23, 2010

8/23/2010

For Lunch:

Cheese tortellini with basil pesto sauce (cafeteria)

For Dinner:

Baked tilapia on a bed of bok choy leaves with chilie sauce and seasoned grape tomatoes.

After dinner snack:


Bok choy remnants with left over habanero salsa 

The after dinner snack was just to minimize waste. Aside from the broccoli timbales that I ruined, tonight went really well. 94% positive. Pictures of the timbales to come later.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

8/22/2010

So this blog is going to have a new focus. I've been getting really into cooking lately, and I've become exceedingly excited about food and recipes and everything related to eating (eating healthy, of course). Starting tonight, this blog is going to be a daily chronicle of my meals for each day. each entry will simply be a picture of each meal, regardless of what it is, and a brief description, followed at the end by an overall rating for the day's overall food experience, and any comments about how it may be made better for next time. Updates will be in the evenings after dinner.

So here's today's.

For lunch:

Boiled asparagus with egg and grated Parmesan cheese.

For dinner:

Baked lemon pepper and herb tilapia with fresh yellow bell pepper and organic grape tomatoes.

For dessert:


Fresh dragon fruit.

Overall, I'd say that today's food experience was a 98% success. The tilapia would have been better with a lemon wedge rather than lime, but it was still delicious, nonetheless.

If anybody cares for recipes, send me an email, and I will be glad to send them to you.

TTFN.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

I-Ninja


I-Ninja is a great game. I've had this game for a long, long time (since about eight grade), and I just now have gotten around to beating it. I-Ninja is essentially a straight up platforming game, with a few elements of hack-and-slash combat thrown in to break up the running, jumping, and swinging. The story is as it should (typically) be in a platforming title: minimal. You are a tiny, big-headed ninja bent on collecting the forbidden rage stones. The end.

Very much like most other platformers, the game mechnics revolve around advancing the game through the repeated collection of an item (in this case, "grades") offered at the end of every level objective, such as the stars in Mario 64 or the power cells in Jak and Daxter. This can get a bit tiresome, however, and usually results in shorter, but more frequent play sessions. 

The aforementioned primary game mechanic calls for interesting and varied level design to keep things fresh, and this game has plenty. The levels in the game are all very different, with tasks ranging from swinging your way through levels via your retractable chain to boxing Punch-Out style inside of gigantic robots.

Ninja's (yes, your character is simply called "Ninja") abilities are quite diverse. Throughout the game you will attack enemies with your sword, blow darts, swing from grapple points, use your sword as a propeller to hover safely down to earth, grind on rails, run along walls, hurl shurikens, ride on giant shurikens and balance yourself atop spherical objects and roll them about, and use half-pipe structures to build up vertical speed. Ninja's movements and controls are tight and responsive (although the proper timing for the sword helicopter maneuver is a little ambiguous), and moving through the levels feels great.

Overall, the game is not a tremendous challenge. It sits comfortably at a moderate skill level, offering several difficult challenges, but not punishing players too harshly for their mistakes. Aside from a few weird but unintrusive bugs here and there (sometimes Ninja's wall run did not register properly or a chain grapple that was clearly within range did not activate) and the mild tedium of the collection game mechanics, this is a great example of the platforming genre.

Platforming games are a dying breed among the modern game industry, which is a shame because they have always been some of my favorites. The only way to play really good platforming games today is to go back to the "golden days of gameplay" before story became such a huge focus. Don't get me wrong, I like games with great stories. The Metal Gear Saga is one of my favorite stories of any medium. But to me a game with engaging, responsive, twitch and reflex-based gameplay will triumph every time. Check this one out.

Verdict: Recommended

Friday, May 21, 2010

009-1


I just finished this series a few days ago. It was great. I'm not a huge fan of the art style that Shotaro Ishinomori uses in his shows (see Cyborg 009), but the character development in 009-1 is excellent. It's a spy thriller (with cyborgs), and very much feels like one, with constant gadgetry and espionage and back-stabbing plots and all of the things you would expect from a spy thriller. The main character, Agent 009-1 (also known as Mylene Hoffman), is an excellent protagonist, and is extraordinarily sexy. She is the sole focal character of the series, and you as the viewer really get to know how her mind works and who she is throughout the course of the show's thirteen episodes. Each episode is fairly self-contained, with some wrap-up continuity in the last few episodes to pull the series together. 

The Jnglish voice-acting in the show is absolutely atrocious, so I watched it in Japanese with subtitles, and I am glad that I did. Agent 009-1's Japanese voice actor really brought the character to life. She fit the character's personality perfectly. She never raised her voice, was always gentle, and had a very calm, level-headed inflection while still maintaining a certain warmth in the character's voice. The Japanese voice acting was just a pleasure to listen to, and in a way I'm glad that the English acting was so bad, else I probably would have missed out.

Anyway, the series was great, and is fairly short and non-committal. Check it out.

Verdict: Recommended

Monday, May 10, 2010

Gold


Gold is an excellent compilation. Asimov is one of my favorite authors, and I jump at every opportunity to read his material. Gold is his final compilation, and is made up of three parts. The first section is a collection of short stories, while the second is a collection of essays about Asimov's thoughts on science fiction, and the third is a collection of his thoughts on writing in general. The stories are great (as is usually the case with Asimovian literature), and vary in length from mid-sized short stories to stories that only span a few pages. The real meat of this book, though, are the essays. They are all vastly interesting and offer insights into the world of writing that I had never before been presented with, and, for better or worse, reveal a lot of Asimov's personal biases and preferences. 

It's a great book, and I encourage all fans of science fiction to check it out. It is important, however, that you have some previous experience with Asimov before jumping into this one. I recommend that you read a reasonable amount of his stuff before picking this one up, as a lot of the essays will be meaningless otherwise.

Verdict: Recommended

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Samurai Champloo


Let me start off by saying that this is easily my favorite anime series so far. I think that it has successfully beaten out Trigun, which is a big deal for me. Samurai Champloo is simply beautiful.

The story is set in feudal Japan and follows three unlikely protagonists (Has there ever really been a "likely" protagonist? I've never heard that phrase.) on their quest to Nagasaki  to track down the legendary samurai who smells of sunflowers. Obviously, the story is a lot more convoluted and complex than that, but that's the run down. The three protagonists (Mugen, a wild criminal swordsman with a mysterious past; Jin, a cool and collected samurai of dangerous caliber; and Fuu, a young girl who stumbles upon the two during a bar fight) are all very interesting in their own right, and manage to fit into archetypes while still being refreshing and deep and avoiding cliche. The character development in the show is very well done, and I found myself to be very emotionally involved in the characters' stories and personalities by the end of the series.

The animation in the show is superb, demonstrating a fluidity of motion that many other anime lack, while still remaining detailed and stylized at every turn. The animation is also very consistent, with very little chibi-style break away scenes or ridiculous facial expressions and things of the like. These things certainly have their time and place, but the atmosphere of Samurai Champloo, while still being lighthearted and exciting, is serious overall, and I'm glad they avoided said exaggerations.

Now, for the music. Oh my goodness, the music. The soundtrack is what makes this show. The show takes place in feudal Japan, but incorporates elements of modern Japanese hip-hop culture throughout. This is reflected by the brilliantly composed downbeat instrumental hip-hop soundtrack that plays incessantly throughout the show. I don't know how to explain why this works as well as it does, but there is a magnificent synergy between the two themes that one would not expect. 

The show is just great. It's one of the few things in my life (media-wise, at least) that I have stepped back from immediately upon completion and thought, "I want to do that again."

Verdict: Highly, highly recommended

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Quantum of Solace


Let me start by saying that I love the James Bond universe as a whole. There are things about it that I don't like, such as how the action is a weird combination of over-the-top and realistic action (I typically like my action movies to go one way or the other, not float around in between), and a few other things here and there, but I love Bond as a character, and I like the inner workings of the James Bond world. 

That being said, I did not like Quantum of Solace very much. It had almost none of the qualities that made Casino Royal so excellent, and it added some qualities that made it worse. It was basically just a straight up action movie this time around. Bond never stopped moving, and there was really none of the cerebral, psychological thrill that there was in Casino Royal. I was never in suspense of what was about to happen, I was just waiting to see how Bond was going to kick an ass. The action wasn't even all that exciting. It was just run-of-the-mill explosions, gun fire, and the occasional chase.

Also, let me say something about technology in movies: Gigantic panes of touch-enabled glass are not the wave of the future. They are impractical, unnecessary, and no organization geared towards efficiency (such as MI6) would even think twice about wasting time and money on something like that. So stop it. 

I dunno. Quantum of Solace was entertaining in the fact that it gave me something to do for two hours, and it certainly wasn't terrible. It was still shot fairly well, the special effects were high quality, the plot was fairly interesting, and Daniel Craig is still a great Bond, but overall, it was just lackluster. 

Verdict: Watch if there is nothing better to do. It will keep your attention for a couple of hours, but don't expect a whole lot.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Tekkon Kinkreet


You know what? I'm just going to say it. Fuck American mainstream entertainment media. Every time I watch a movie like this, I become ever more ashamed of what passes for entertainment in this country as of late. When did we start settling for run of the mill action and drama movies that are just carbon copies of every other movie of their type? When did we become okay with non-originality (as long as the special effects are flashy), and when did the focus in North America become remaking every God damn movie that has ever existed? And when we're not remaking something, we're filming a sequel. 

When did we lose our imagination?

Anyway, personal gripes aside, Tekkon Kinkreet is a wonderful movie. It is charming, emotional (at times, heart-wrenching), deeply interesting, and the art is absolutely gorgeous. The story is set in a corrupt, dilapidated city (the time is ambiguous: it seems futuristic, but not for any particular reason) that is run by gangs, and follows the antics of two young delinquent orphans by the names of "Black" and "White." Of course the story becomes more than that, but that's the basic set-up. It is an absolutely wonderfully told story, with strong character development. I was incredibly attached to the two main characters by the end of the film, and felt genuinely interested in what was happening to them throughout the story. 

This movie is a work of art, in every respect. There's not much more I can say, because frankly, it's just excellent.

Verdict: Highly Recommended  

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Jak X: Combat Racing (PS2)


Yes, that is a foot that you see.

First off, I know that I have been neglecting this blog lately. I've been incredibly busy, and haven't had much time for media of any sort, really. But no apologies. That's just how things go. So here's one now:

Jak X is a great game. For those of you familiar with the series, however, don't go into this expecting a Jak and Daxter game. This is purely an arcade racing title. You will spend no gameplay time outside of a vehicle, and the only thing in between races are menus. As far as the racing goes, it's pretty straightforward. It's your typical combat racer, with the standard offensive and defensive weapon pickups, boost pads, and the occasional environmental hazard. The vehicles handle fairly well, although the physics engine it does take some getting used to. The game has a physics engine in that things that happen in the game are consistent and make sense in relation to each other, but they don't really follow real world physics very closely. 

The game is also standard fair as far as game modes are concerned: story, exhibition race (single, uninfluential race), and multiplayer. The story mode is fairly simple, consisting of event races tied together by a basic, but entertaining story. In between races, you can use money gained during the races to upgrade and customize your vehicles. Jak X sports several different race modes, a few of them unique to the title. There are the standard circuit race, deathmatch, and and time trial modes, but there are also a few modes that are new. One of these is a mode called "Rush Hour," which has you racing into oncoming traffic to see how many cars you can demolish on your way around the track. Another is "Turbo Dash," which has you and the other racers collecting power cells that are launched after a certain period of continuous boosting, the goal being to have launched the most at the end of the race. The game modes are solid, and many of them are gripping and intense, often leaving you wondering if you really stand a chance throughout the whole race.

On that point, Jak X is hard. Really hard. Some of the races, especially at the beginning will be a breeze, and certain modes are easier than others. Race modes where you are alone on the track completing some objective are typically easy, but when you are up against the computer, this game will destroy you. The game is difficult, unforgiving, and will punish you for every mistake, but it's honestly a little refreshing in this world of games with rewind features, gentle AI, and health recharge. Back in my day we had to manage bars, damn it! Anyway, the game is challenging, and at times it can be frustrating, but those times are few and far between. Typically, the frustrating parts were more about weird physics bugs than anything else.

So check it out. The gameplay is solid and addicting, the audio in the game is great, the controls are tight, and it's a ton of fun.

Verdict: Buy. Especially since it's twenty dollars at the most (if you don't know where to shop) now.


Sunday, March 21, 2010

The Time Machine



The Time Machine by H.G. Wells is a great book. I've already read this once, but it was back in middle school, and I thought it was about time to try it again. I'm actually really surprised that I could handle it in middle school. The language and concepts in this book are both pretty lofty, and it just seems like the reading level may have been a little high for a middle school student. Which probably explains why I had a completely false memory of the story.

Anyway, if you can't figure out what this book is about, then this review isn't going to help you. But yes, it does involve a time machine. The bulk of the story is told in first person from the perspective of the time traveler, and is basically just a recounting of his adventures. The story-telling is passionate, and a lot of the time traveler's personality is conveyed simply in how he conveys different parts of the story. There are some nice mildly hidden meanings within the story, too, but they are no so convoluted as to make you search high and low for them, which I like. I don't like when a story leaves me to make my own inferences, but do so in such a way that makes every hypotheses feel like a reach. I love finding my own meaning in art, but I don't like feeling like I'm just making it up.

Anyway, The Time Machine is a great read, and it's fairly short (just over a hundred pages, depending on your edition), making it very easy to recommend. Thus:

Verdict: Recommended

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Childhood's End


Okay, this is a terrible, off-center picture, but I don't feel like photoshopping this one. 

Anyway, I just finished Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke this morning. It was quite good. I've explained in the Revolver review that I don't like giving synopses, and the same applies to books. The most that I'm willing to say is that it involves extraterrestrial life and how their presence changes humanity. There's a lot more to it than that, but you'll just have to read it to find out. But the story is quite good. The book is also fairly suspenseful, and has a good, unexpected twist towards the end of the story. It's also very well written. Arthur C. Clarke writes his science fiction with a level of intelligence that I've only found to be rivaled by Issac Asimov, and there were several parts of this book that were absolutely gripping. It's a good read, and anyone interested in science fiction (particularly fictional case studies about how extraterrestrial contact would change us) should pick it up.

Verdict: Recommended

Sunday, March 7, 2010

The Crazies

I just got back from seeing The Crazies at our local cinema. I'm typically not a huge fan of these sorts of movies, as they're all pretty much the same, but this one wasn't too bad. It was pretty suspenseful, and it had some interesting hooks, but overall it was kinda predictable and straightforward. It was a good time, but there's nothing revolutionary about it. The acting was also pretty competent, and I was worried at first that it was just going to be another zombie movie, but I was pleasantly surprised by the behavior of the monsters in the film.

I'm not a huge fan of "horror" movies in general. I really just don't like jump-scares. I believe that there is a difference between negative and positive tension in films (which is a discussion for another time), and I think that jump-scares are 100% negative tension. I'm more of a fan of psychological horror movies, a few of which I will probably review at some point on here. I like wondering what is going on, not how or when somebody is going to get snatched.

But as far as these sorts of movies go, The Crazies was one of the better ones. It was definitely entertaining, but you really won't be missing a whole lot if you don't watch it.

Verdict: Neutral. You won't be sorry either way.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Revolver


I just watched Guy Ritchie's Revolver, and it was absolutely great. I really, really enjoyed this film. The cover may have you believe that is it, in fact, an action movie. Don't be fooled, though. This is a really twisty, turny, and uniquely interesting crime drama. Yes, there are some action sequences (some really awesome action sequences at that), but the overarching storyline is much deeper than just watching people do awesome things. I don't like giving movie synopses, as I think that it's kind of silly to tell someone what a movie is about after you tell them to go watch it. For movies and games, where somebody will be investing a good amount of time in the product, they make more sense, but for a two hour movie, I don't really see the point. But the movie is very good. It's suspenseful and tense, and the characters, although mostly archetypical, are resounding and interesting. I had the main twist figured out about halfway though the film, but was still hazy on some of the important details, and it was still an absolute blast to watch those details unfold. The movie is rated R, but I'm not really sure why. It didn't really have all that much language, and most of the violence was abstracted. You never actually see anyone get shot or killed; it all takes place just off camera.

But the movie was very good. Definitely check it out.

Verdict: Recommended 

[EDIT]: I recently watched this film again, and the violence and language was worse than I originally thought. So I guess it deserves the R rating after all. But it's still a lot tamer than most of the stuff that's been coming out lately.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Mission statement all up in this ma'.

Yo. I'm sure that most of you reading this right now are coming here from my daily blog. For those of you who are stumbling across this out of random chance, you may find my regular blog here.

I am intending for this blog to just be a review dumping (movies, books, games, music, etc.) of mine. I've been doing reviews of things as they come to me over at my regular blog from time to time, but I think that they kind of break up the pace of my daily random posts, and each day that I post a review ends up being a double post and sometimes things can just get lost in the clamor when you have too much happening on one site.

That was a really long sentence.

*Takes a deep breath*

Anyway, unlike my beverage review, there will be no definite schedule for these reviews. I'm just going to do them as I watch things/finish books/play games/so on and so forth. I'm going to add a box in the sidebar of my daily blog to inform people of the latest reviews, so you can check the daily blog for news on that.

Well...I guess that's about all for now. I intend to have the first review up soon, so check back over the next couple of days.

Later.