Tuesday Special: Sustainability in the Mountains and the Seas
Hello,
I'm a staunch advocate for the sustainability of everything in general (my wallet can't quite support it yet but my heart never says nay!) or maybe more like rejecting cruel production of food.
No shark's fin for me since they tend to cut off the fin and chuck the poor drowning shark back into the ocean (shark meat is surprisingly unwanted - and sharks can't be farmed, not really anyway, so you have to fish in the wild). No foie gras since they shove a pipe down the poor bird's throat and get them to be so obese they waddle around and are killed almost only for the fattened liver. (Foie gras is too oily for me anyway... But it tastes damn good seared or stuffed into quail like at Joel Robuchon D: I'm torn...) No veal because shutting a poor baby cow in a box to keep it from using its muscle makes my eyes well up with tears. (I dislike babies but baby animals are so cute...) Et cetera
In fact, here's a video on a friendly foie gras farm and the history of the fabled fat:
What triggered this post though?
Tuna's End (link: The NY Times) "What was in the water that day was a congregation of Atlantic bluefin tuna, a fish that when prepared as sushi is one of the most valuable forms of seafood in the world. It’s also a fish that regularly journeys between America and Europe and whose two populations, or “stocks,” have both been catastrophically overexploited."
It's a problem that plagues everyone and everything. Remove the big predators from the ocean, and the ecological imbalance that results could be catastrophic - simply because the little fishies can now proliferate since their main threat has disappeared. It could also mean we will no longer be able to enjoy the fruits of the ocean in less than 10 years. Yup. Not too appealing to me either.
I guess its a problem of marketing (again!). Whales and dolphins are "cute", "magnificent", "incredibly intelligent", etc. and everyone wants to save them. But sharks are "scary" and tuna are fish so they are "stupid" so no one is really interested. Besides, the ocean is so vast and wide, there'll always be fish. I think that's the main problem. How do we know there will always be fish?
Articles like this disturb me: Genetically Altered Salmon Get Closer to the Table (link: The NY Times) "The salmon was developed by a company called AquaBounty Technologies and would be raised in fish farms. It is an Atlantic salmon that contains a growth hormone gene from a Chinook salmon as well as a genetic on-switch from the ocean pout, a distant relative of the salmon.
Normally, salmon do not make growth hormone in cold weather. But the pout’s on-switch keeps production of the hormone going year round. The result is salmon that can grow to market size in 16 to 18 months instead of three years, though the company says the modified salmon will not end up any bigger than a conventional fish."
I know most food we eat today is genetically modified but it still horrifies me when I think of the possible consequences of all of our gluttony. And getting everything "wild" or "organic and non-GM" may not be possible if the global demand for food keeps up.
So I found this really interesting video on TED about a new ecologically friendly fish farm! Which isn't really a fish farm but is more like an area of conservation that works with the environment!
BTW, I don't how much of it is PR so don't judge me...
There's so much writing and talk on how we eat and why we eat what we do, etc. But yet it seems the world is still moving toward eventual ruin. Does that even make sense? =S
I know I should be a lot less excited about the weekend (ie: break and sleep time) and more excited about work (ie: path to my future) but it's really no comparison when you think about waking up times (weekday: EARLY. GROAN. weekend: ANYTIME! YAY!) and stuff you can do/accomplish (weekday: Walk 50 million miles to work. research. weekend: laze around. laundry.).
It's hard to be excited about anything really, since it's so bloody hot all the time. In fact, a great reason that I stayed in the office today despite not having to was the air-conditioning. (I'm shallow. I recognize it, accept it, and have moved on.) Oh, and the fact that going all the way uptown to a hot, airless apartment seemed far less appealing than staying in the office, enjoying the airconditioning and "researching" on "social media".
I know I know. I could have gone somewhere constructive like Kinokuniya at Bryant Park (which I actually contemplated - then I thought about the walk in the hot sun and it vanished rather rapidly) or Barnes & Noble somewhere nearby. You know. The main problem I have with meeting people in the Times Square/Midtown area has got to be the lack of a nice air-conditioned store that I can browse and not feel like I need to buy something. You know, like a bookstore. I love bookstores and have renewed the love after hanging out so much in Barnes & Noble and Kinokuniya which are both fantastic for browsing, although in different ways.
If only Times Square had a nice bookstore. Or even a nice magazine store. Like how Tokyo has Tsutaya - which is not really a bookstore or magazine store but does sell both things anyway. Or Shanghai has 书城! But anyway.
Where was I. O yes. The weekend.
It started off well I must say, with a very relaxed Friday afternoon in the graveyard like office (I swear, summers are the worst time to make people work on a Friday. Especially when there's the World Cup which already reduces productivity.)... Then with the surprise reminder that we were going to see Next to Normal. And there I was, all planned out with Sake Bar Hagi in mind to drink sake, eat tons of おつまみ, and enjoy the evening. But! Thankfully, Next to Normal was exceedingly excellent and I enjoyed every minute of it. =D Very nice.
So anyway, I was feeling a little guilty about the whole yearning for the weekend thing (it'll be worse next week I can tell you, since the July 4th weekend means a long one ^_^) but then I realized that I look forward to the weekend all the time anyway. When I'm at school (ie: I can sleep till 12!!!) or when I'm in Singapore for summer vacation (ie: the parents can pay for my food from now!) or... whenever. The cultural connotation of the "weekend" is so strong. Hence disappearance of guilt. =D Yay.
Here's looking forward to more weekends! And good food! ^_^
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : Next to Normal!] [mood : tired] [food : sukiyaki~] [grateful for : being able to see awesome Broadway productions on Broadway!]
PS: I'm adding in a new "grateful for ..." thingie in order to express more gratitude for the little things in life. And thus, appreciate it more.=)
Summer is now officially upon us, what with today being the summer solstice and all - otherwise known as the longest day of the year! I would have celebrated more, surely, had it not been so hot and humid and terrible.
Heat repels me. I careen toward those icy cold temperatures of air-conditioned rooms or milder climes. Like north of here! Mmm. Love that kind of weather and I wish the season would just never change to summer. Ever.
Of course, I can't really complain since I enjoy airconditioning in the office everyday - it's a small price to pay for being unable to enjoy the summer outside. Not that I really want to anyway - remember, heat and sun repel me. It's a bit vampire-ish I must admit, this whole avoiding the sun thing. But honestly, after regaining some of my original color (as opposed to brown which is just my natural color masked by a tan) in Ann Arbor during the long cloudy winter months, having it all destroyed in a matter of an hour in the sun is heartbreaking.
I don't even need an hour to get a tan to be honest. 15 minutes and you can see the tan creeping onto my face. Horrors.
But you can let it all blow away, and sip on Cherry Yuzu Soda from Spice Market, or get a brilliant fruit popsicle from Chelsea Market, or hide out in the air-conditioned chambers of the museum.^_^
Ah tempting. Now, why do I go to work again?
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : I Say a Little Prayer] [mood : sleepyyy] [food : haloumi!]
So today we went to Coney Island, just because. There was no real pressing need to go, but then again, is there really a pressing need to go anywhere? (Maybe to work or to the laundry or something but that's another matter...)
As we walked around the boardwalk (it's really nice, except for the whole sun thing), I noticed that their amusement park, aquarium, and the bars and stuff on the boardwalk... It's all very old-school. Like, very very old-school. Honestly, I haven't seen this kind of decor since movies set in some distant past.
Because I noticed all this old-school decor (honestly, a rollercoaster from before the Great Depression?! That is seriously some old stuff.-_-), it reminded me of how Singapore seems intent on removing old things and replacing it with new things. It's not all about conservation and preservation usually, but about "how can we best use this space and make it look good?" and evidently, looking good generally means renovation or complete rebuilding - but rarely restoration unless it's some seriously important building (like that huge-ass building beside the Padang).
I really don't understand that obsession with all things new - like the 5 foot ways of those old buildings in Chinatown. Those are perfect for hiding from the sun and keeping the shops' interiors cool. But look at Orchard Road! Granted, it wouldn't look quite so nice and modern if it had five foot ways - but surely there's a better way to avoid the sun. (I tend to hide under trees but fear for birds releasing their erm... waste anywhere they wanted to =P) Then again, I'm grateful for all those trees and greenery that line every street, road, and sidewalk in Singapore. It makes the heat more tolerable, the streets more sheltered, and the city seem more beautiful.
But anyway, I thought the boardwalk at Coney Island was really nice and when I saw the sea it was really comforting. It's strange because I actually don't really like the beach all that much (sand is annoying and there's too much sun) but the smell of the sea reminded me so much of Singapore/familiarity. O__o Weird.
And it's strange! Because we went whale-watching which took us right out to the ocean but it didn't smell as familiar as when I stood at the beach and smelled the sea. Maybe what I'm used to isn't the smell of the sea per se, but the smell of the sea + city pollution. Hahaha.
When I came to New York City for my very first spring break, I thought WOW CITY!!! and that it reminded me so much of Singapore - there's stuff to do all the time, there's food available everywhere and anytime of the day, there's public transport and tons and tons of people who use it.
But since coming here this time, I realized that New York and Singapore aren't all that similar - for one, they look totally different. [I'm talking about Manhattan here since it's what I'm familiar with...] Another thing is the vastness of this city - it's insane. Just to get across town from the west side to the east took me half an hour by subway. And that's not even including the time it took to go uptown after going to the east side. O__o
The amount of people here is also crazy - I used to think that Raffles Place/CBD area in Singapore was super duper crowded, or Orchard Road on a Saturday. Then I went to Tokyo and saw the vast vast crowds in Shibuya, Shinjuku, Omotesando, Harajuku... You name it, it's PACKED. And I saw the rush hour train traffic in Hong Kong which made me realize that Singapore trains really aren't that packed after all... Then I came here and looked at Times Square. O MY GOSH. -_-" There's SO MANY PEOPLE there almost ALL the time. And the trains here are 24/7 and no matter what time I'm taking the train at, there are always always people around. It's crazy. X__X
Thanks to this vastness and diversity though, New York City has so much to offer - as long as you can pay for it. Except for my friends and family (and maybe some foods special to Singapore... oh and my ROOM/house!), there's almost nothing here that can be considered lacking. Singapore food on a limited schedule? No problem! Just head to Chinatown! Have more time on your hands? No worries there too! There's a direct train to Queens! I'm amazed by this place. Haha.
Of course, this place is currently lacking a crucial factor called "home" for me so maybe it's not the perfect location just yet. Then again... perfection is a pursuit and if you find it, what else is there to look for? Life would be so boring.
Since I've started my internship and now have to wake up at far more disciplined hours than previously *coughs*, it has also been wise to sleep early. By early, I mean like, 12. For some bizarre reason that I have yet to fathom, I only seem to finish doing everything (like preparing stuff for the next day, getting dinner, etc.) at 11 something. Isn't that weird.-_-"
Anyway, today when I arrived at the office (I was early too! Wow.), I had yet to receive a desk in an approved position (ie: I have a seat but it's super far away which is not ideal...) and didn't have a laptop yet either so I parked myself at a table and started reading the New York Times on my Blackberry. Joyous stuff. I should do it more often!! It loads really fast and it's easy to read too because each article comes up as one page instead of several pages which would involve clicking through each one. Plus I can think of it as improving myself. Which is pretty much a goal this summer. [Along with getting smarter by reading and losing weight by dieting.=P But those are other stories...]
But more importantly, I was looking around me in the office, and noticed how each desk had its own characteristics... For example, I was placed at an open meeting table yesterday (it's a table which you can use for meetings but its right in the middle of the room so I guess it can be used for other purposes as well?), and there was this stack of scripts or whatever they were on the table. They were in what seemingly appeared to be a mess but if you looked carefully enough (this comes from experience...), each was still in its proper page order. In other words, order in disorder.
An organized mess is what I would usually label it.
And that reminded me of how my room usually is! And my stuff. And er.. a lot of my things but anyway. As long as you can find something (unless its lost, but will turn up eventually), it's not messy. It's organized mess.^_^ But I have realized that when I've been doing my internships, my desk is quite obsessively neat (compared to when I'm studying anyway). O__o I wonder why. Maybe its because I don't actually have lots of important papers to put around or don't have much stuff to put around in general. Hmm. I guess I'll find out when I start working. Haha...
But anyway, we had this huge intern lunch and learn session... And then we were reminded of the pervasiveness of social media... And how people do actually track you down to see what you post. See. I knew this "happened" but no one really says they do it ... but they do. So I guess it's all confirmed now and all I can say is, friends... beware of what you type.^_^"
Speaking of typing (I'm really random today. Hmm.), I realized that a huge diversity of people means a lot of different accents at the workplace!!! Which made me realize that there's no actual need to speak like a ______ (fill in the blank here) because if you aren't ______ no one really expects you to speak like a ______. My aunt said the same thing... As long as you articulate your words, generally people will understand you. I wonder if that's really true though, I used to say waTer (stress on T sound) instead of water (no stress) and it would take servers here like, 10 extra seconds to be like, er WHAT? -_-" Sigh. Situational adjustments.
Oh look at the time! It's almost 12.=P I guess it's time to be a good girl, and go to sleep. Wee. I'm so glad it's gotten cooler this week so the fan is slightly less necessary... Still, people persist in reminding me that summers in New York are insanely hot. O__o I wonder if it'll ever be as bad as Singapore though...
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : nothing in particular] [mood : sleep! xD] [food : fruit :D]
PS: When I went to Kinokuniya, I was flipping through the 豆しば (mameshiba; a bean dog - it's a play on the dog named mameshiba since mame is also the same sound for bean) book and omg it was SO CUTE... and super funny!!! And I actually understood it!!! O__O! There was also うさだんご (usadango; rabbit dango which are like round rice cakes!) and 靴下にゃんこ (kutsushitanyanko; cats who live in socks) comic/picture books... It was 超かわいい！！！ xD I really want to buy the books to read but it costs like, $13-15 each and that's... really expensive... X__X However, they are really hilarious, and use a lot of play on Japanese words which.. I suppose.. might help my Japanese. ^_^ BEAMS.
Sam: You need to learn about patience!
Jeff: Hi!!! I didn't know you read my blog.. Haha.. I started yesterday and I'm interning in NYC! =X
Tuesday Special: Japanese Illustrators from Kansai~
Helloo!
So I was surfing around the web (what's new?) when I found these cool Japanese illustrators whose art I really like! They all share one thing in common: nice coloring techniques, distinctive art, kawaii characters, and are from Japan's Kansai region. ^_^
Firstly, introducing:
たま Originally from Fukui, she's an artist who now lives in Osaka~ She usually draws cute little girls doing strange things - and specializes in coloring with watercolors. ^_^
Next up, s.ukawa from Uz-Uz (pseudonym)... He's also from the Kansai region probably Osaka...^_^"
I love the orca. So cute! ^_^
Underwater scene~
See more awesomeness here: Uz-Uz (click!) It's under atelier~
Finally, we have cotolie-コトリエ who hails from Osaka and has the sweetest little illustrations you've seen!!! Her brand's name comes from "小鳥" and "家", otherwise known as the little bird's house.^_^
This is one of cotolie's original characters known as mocolo! ^_^" かわいいでしょう。
Some cotolie products!!~ I feel like I've seen her illustrations for sale before but really can't place where I might have seen them... =X
Check out her other adorable creations at her website: cotolie-コトリエ-
This is probably just scratching the surface, but it's certainly a start! ^_^
Very soon, my freedom and long lazy days will be over. Even though I've had two weeks for all that, my internship is going to start...
I would love to say that I'm looking forward to it but when I think of how all this freedom and relaxation is coming to an end... it's all kind of depressing. X__X I mean, who doesn't prefer vacation time?! Whatever it is though, I really want to learn from this internship; good things... bad things... everything can be seen as a learning experience right? I've actually received my posting for the internship and what my responsibilities will be. I'm kind of excited but probably also nervous =P
Hmm yes. It's more of a feeling of wanting to start the internship and not wanting to start the internship since I feel like I haven't really just lazed about doing nothing or totally relaxed this summer. Even though it's summer. X__X And even if I'm thinking of this... the reality is that I'll start on Monday and although the relaxation time is over, I'll be able to start learning so many new things ^_^
And since this is the last weekend, I'll try my best to have fun!!!
~*~
Speaking of fun, I just went to a creperie for lunch. ^_^ Yummyyy. And later, we're going to SoHo for this matcha pop-up store as well as Uniqlo because I need leggings. Haha. And then... because I had this dream about Singapore food that involved everything except hokkien mee (which I couldn't find for the life of me), my brother is taking me to Queens for Singapore food. Yay! ^_^
It's funny though. This is the first time I've actually dreamt about Singapore food which is really strange to me because... I don't actually miss it to be honest. And I certainly don't crave for it either. But maybe somewhere deep inside my conscience... there's this little voice that says, "Maybe it'll be nice to get a taste of home." Sure, I'm always always craving for vegetables (just ask my housemates. That's my default food when I can't think of what to eat. Haha.) But I've never actually been all, "OMG I WANT TO EAT CHWEE KUEH (or whatever other Singapore food there is) NOW!!!"
Dream analysis: Fail.
O well. Whatever it is, I'll be slurping up that matcha latte soon. =D Yummy.
While sitting in the theater just now, waiting for This Wide Night to begin, I typed up this entry which I will try to add on to now.=) This Wide Night was awesome by the way... Holding the audience in rapt attention for 90 minutes straight is no mean feat and just by 2 very excellent actresses. =)
I've realized the charm of Hell's Kitchen which, superficially, is relatively grubby and unkempt. Look around you and there are uninspiringly dusty roads, piles of dog poo everywhere (or remnants of dog poo), tired building facades that have seen better days... Then you blink, and the scenery changes. You notice, for example, the chic interior of that apartment building, and that of-the-moment look on that pretty girl who just walked by, and the tall glass buildings in the distance.
So, and I might be wrong (not a definite impossibility), perhaps therein lies the charm of Hell's Kitchen, beloved by young executives, artsy types, and party-goers. The charm of a gorgeous interior that belies it's outward look; the mystique of achieving luxury without looking luxurious; the secret roof top garden you possess that no one can see.
Oh, you know how people nowadays don't want to be seen carrying a flashy logo bag anymore. They want to be carrying that bag that is uber luxury but you'll never know it till, oops! I just saw that iconic lining...isn't it expensive?! Indeed, the days of flashy fashion might yet linger, but the high fashion meets couture might yet be on the rise.
Speaking of roof-tops... The magic of roof-tops! Just a moment ago from the off-broadway theatre's building window, I saw a marvellous rooftop playground that stood out so brilliantly against the drab background. The splashes of color! The cute seal chairs! The laughing children! If you have something like that to look forward to just upstairs (or something more age-appropriate), it would be a marvellous place to stay indeed. And why stop at just a playground? This one in particular was located just above a parking structure - innovative use of space right there.
I suppose it's all about space maximization. In a space-strapped city like New York, Tokyo, Singapore... people have to learn to maximize what little space they have and make it beautiful. Or as beautiful as the space will allow. So all you can afford is a tiny little apartment in New York City... Ok! So let's make the most of it. Get a trendy neighborhood. Pick out a nice apartment (it's not the outside that matters silly. The inside is what counts!). Select interior design with care. Move in. Tada!
So yes, when my brother first pointed out Hell's Kitchen, I was terribly unimpressed (sorry dear residents of the area) and pretty much decided that it was quite a dumpy place to live in. But as I walked around, and saw more of the place, and sat at the theater in a moment of quiet reflection... I realized that every place has its own charm.
Sure, there might be dog poo on your doorstep, but just around the corner is a nice diner for a late night snack. Dusty streets? Please. New York is full of them. Old buildings? Hello, it's historical.
Yup. There's a positive way to look at everything, and once in a while, if you open your eyes and really look around you, maybe you'll learn something new.
1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 123. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of the next 4-7 sentences on your LJ along with these instructions. 5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest (unless it's too troublesome to reach and is really heavy. Then go back to step 1).
I put the two ideas together and decided that maybe that somebody had locked off part of my mind for that purpose, which was why I couldn't use it. I wondered if there was a way I could check.
'I went to the ship's medical bay and plugged myself into the encephelographic screen. I went through every major screening test on both my heads - all the tests I had to go through under government medical officers before my nomination for the Presidency could be properly ratified. They showed up nothing. Nothing unexpected, at least. They showed that I was clever, imaginative, irresponsible, untrustworthy, extrovert, nothing you couldn't have guessed.
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
Truth be told, the closest books to me were "Kanji in Context" reference book, and "どんな時どう使う日本語表現文型５００" (or "500 essential Japanese expressions"). Couldn't possibly type from THAT could I... It wouldn't have made any sense firstly, and there are hardly what you can call "sentences" that are linked together.O__o
And so I had to reach a little further for the books I had just gotten from Barnes & Noble in DC. =) The other book I have on hand is How I Learned to Cook, Culinary Educations from the World's Greatest Chefs. But when I reached into the bag, The Hitchhiker's Guide came out first =P And there you have it.
Apparently, page 123 of the edition I bought of this book isn't terribly exciting. But since it's such a classic [that I've never read before horrors], it has got to have some merit somewhere. =) I hope!
After finishing Kokoro by Natsume Soseki, I was a bit disillusioned with the so-called "master" of modern Japanese literature - he certainly weaves an intricate storyline, but does he really have to take so long to reach the climax of the novel?! [If there is even one... honestly, I couldn't really tell.]
Spring Snow was awesome, not for the storyline but for the whole atmosphere created in the book - this dreamy, floaty atmosphere. Not unlike The Virgin Suicides now that I think about it...
Speaking of dreamy [in a totally unrelated note], there's this amazing fashion editorial from Vs. that I've noticed on fashion blogs!
My Emotible!
starry-eyed: filled with such youthful hope and optimism that one's eyes twinkle even when it's dark
Wish List
ie: motivation to save money!
- clothes
- shoes [heels! boots!]
- the perfect tote
- coats/outerwear! [Soïa & Kyo, Burberry...]
- Gackt - nine*nine
- Gackt Photobooks:
1 The Gift The Sixth Day & Seventh Night Tour Document (2004)
2 Crescent Photobook (out of print)
- Cookbooks!
1 Thomas Keller The French Laundry Cookbook
2 The Nobu Cookbook
3 Emily Luchetti A Passion for Desserts
4 Alice Medrich Pure Dessert
- Anime/Manga
1 Rurouni Kenshin
2 xxxHOLiC
3 Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-
- Proficiency at Japanese!
- Learn French for Food!
