jonettevalenciano.com

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Hi, everyone, and welcome to a delightfully conjoined post of my two (mostly) weekly segments.

Things that made me happy this week:

Being well-taken-care of. I've unfortunately had to stay home on absolute voice rest for majority of the week due to the combined efforts of laryngitis and pharyngitis. (Wow, talk about another two-in-one.) However, it feels great to be pampered and seen to by James. Our days have been idyllic and quiet, and all in all, I think this was the kind of rest I was looking forward to.

Hot shrimp porridge in the morning. 'Nuff said.

Currently savoring Catching Fire of The Hunger Games trilogy. I'm constantly a ball of emotional emotions when I read it. Yes, you read that right, it makes my emotions have emotions. God, that President Snow, I hate him. And Peeta! Poor bebe.

Anime I love right now -- Aquarion EVOL (great opening and ending music themes, great character development, and oh the relationships!), Acchi Kochi (for light-hearted fun), Sankarea (love and zombies), Kimi to Boku 2 (the hijinks these boys get into), Medaka Box (I swear, that girl does everything -- and can do everything -- in epic proportions), and Tsuritama (for the bright colors, fun art, and fishing trivia!)

In this cold weather, the cats are perfect hot water bottles. They vibrate, too.

Tidying up corners in the flat. It feels good to be able to do some focused cleaning. I've still half a mind to toss out certain boxes we don't need anymore, though.

Bonding over Immortal Throne and lean pizza. While most of the gaming world are right now slugging it out with demons, abominations, and surprise error stops in Diablo III, James and I have gone Greek and hunt satyrs, cyclops and medusae. My Corsair and his Soothsayer are getting along quite famously. Yes, the family that plays together, stays together.

Callooh Callay!

These cute kittens are earphone jacks. Seriously.
If you're into whimsical 3D animal jewelry, I highly recommend these cute rings from Dotoly on Storenvy.

Here, have some cake pops as spools of thread.

On your chalkboard table.

That you made with chalkboard paint you mixed yourself.

Well, here's some unlikely fun -- a mashup between Adele and Britney Spears. Booty-shaking encouraged.

A color game of great skill. James said it's actually harder than it looks, and I agree. It's hard, and it's fun!

Manga reads -- Ooku. An epidemic in Edo-period Japan has wiped out three-fourths of the country's male population. Women have taken on traditional male roles in the home, on the streets, even in positions of great power. Male survivors, the seed-carriers, are deemed precious, and the most beautiful of them are sent to serve in the Shogun's Inner Chambers. It's a very intriguing view on gender roles, politics, and relationships, rendered in archaic language.

John Cleese speaks on the 5 factors that make your life more creative.

Here's also how Fear and the Creative Process work together,

and why getting frustrated as you create something can be a good thing.

Now then, for the Alton Brown fans -- a listing of links to Good Eats episodes.

"Yes, even Batman will be largely forgotten, at some point. Maybe in your lifetime. Sorry. So you need new cult icons to replace the old ones."

For you lovely readers out there of the frillier persuasion -- So You Want To Be a Lolita Model.

Also from the same author, But Being a Lolita is Hard!, a particularly inspiring piece on creating yourself.

This amazing child. I have no words.

Help, I can't stop listening to and watching this video!

Or maybe you can just watch this with me.

There's this unsettling and manic quality to the song

that I find prettily rendered when paired with the video.

While the original version can be quite the kawaii earworm,

I like this male version a lot more.

And, that's it for my list. What made your week?

Happy weekend, everyone!

Ah, seaweed. Your variety, crunchy freshness, and strong sea smell warm the cockles of my heart. You're quite easy to prepare, quite nutritious, and are one usually interesting addition to the menu. The fact that you sometimes raise eyebrows in young and old alike is a big plus in my book. Also, you're quite cheap. Like really cheap. Did I mention cheap? Oh, right.

Now for a bit of education. This type of seaweed is known by a number of names. Scientists will know it as Kappaphycus alvarazii, a very good source of carragean. Carragean is used to help keep things viscous, moist, and gel-like, and can be found in a lot of things -- fire extinguishers, lipstick, shampoos, bread dough, beer, and ham, to name just a few. It's also commercially known as cottonii seaweed. If you find yourself in a local wet market, just ask for Guso. (Remember, say it with a glottal stop on the last syllable.)

Now, I'm not entirely sure if I should even but calling this entry "Cook It!", because, well, there's practically no cooking involved. None whatsoever. (Except maybe for the blanching bit, but you wouldn't call that cooking per se, would you?)

Guso is usually seasoned with a mix of vinegar, chopped red onion, and some green peppers. If you want your seaweed with a nice spicy bite, that's fine. Let me show you my own sweeter version.

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Hey everyone, and welcome back to a fresh, new Callooh Callay post! Let the link-loving and discoveries commence!

Thanks to Mary, I've just discovered just how wonderful the designs of JC Buendia, Eric Pineda, and Dolce and Gabbana F/W 2013 can be. Hnnnnnnnnng.
Ashita no Ousama. Yuu is a simple country girl who most people think could learn to be more stylish. An afternoon at the theater lights a spark inside her, and many mad-cap circumstances take her well into the art of the stage. Seriously, the manga had me at "Theater".
The Word Project: Odd and Obscure Words in Bricolage. Nurgling is such a lovely word.
From Gala Darling -- Mermaids galore. Gor-geous.
Braid your t-shirt a la Banana Republic. Remind me to do this to a number of my shirts soon.
A Day at the Park -- a web comic on questions, answers, and the virtue of a lack of meaning. Worth a read, in my humble opinion.
Droid-, Dalek-, and Death Star-dresses, oh my!
Kaming Mga Seroks, a sci-fi short story by David Hontiveros of clones, culture, civil rights, and a conniving conspiracy of continental capacities.
Cean Irminger's fabric prints made me go nuts in glee. I will own these pretties and make beautiful things out of these one day, so I do swear by my left hand. It is a good hand.
How to style two types of braids: a reverse crown braid, and a braided hairstyle that I now realize is so like Dominique Swain's in Lolita -- this time, with bangs. Both quite elegant, and great for hot weather.
Two extremely educational links from PJ on geishas: The differences of Maikos and Geikos, and a guide to kanzashi through the months.
The History of English in Ten Minutes.
How the Chicken Conquered the World. Yum! -- with some science, anthropology, and culture on the side.

Marchesa Fall/Winter 2012. Gor-geous.

Dolce & Gabbana Fall/Winter 2012. Gor-geous.

Why yes, you read the title right.

About a year and a few weeks ago, Mik and I found ourselves stranded in a whale shark-watching resort in Donsol, no thanks to man-high floods on the main road and terrible weather. The resort staff and tour team kept us mostly-dry and warm, and fed us, educating our palates a bit more.

Everyone, meet dinner.