Shout-Out: Creativerse!

Today I would like to give a shout-out for "Creativerse," a blog run by Daniel Wagner, a cousin of mine!

He's had it up and running since this February; though there's no one particular theme to the postings, but it's all really interesting stuff, ranging from video game nostalgia to social issues, to his opinions on various other things.  All of it is quite well-written and thought-provoking stuff.  Though there's not much up yet, just keep in mind that it's just the beginning of what promises to be a great blog!

Song of the Week! Origami, "Потерянный Рай," 23-29 Jun 2013

Bringing back this old feature!  So it's already Thursday night, but I've listened to it several times throughout the week so it still counts, yeah?

So anyways, here we have an acoustic version of a ballad from a metal band from Russia, who have a Japanese name. And you know what? It's a damn good song, even if you don't understand the words. And if you do? The feels, man.  And that breakdown that begins at around the 2:43 mark to 3:35?  Beautifully executed.


And of course, just to be completely fair to the song, here's the (even more amazing) studio version for compare:

I Can Cooking! Volume 1: The Deliciousness that is Calamari

Hello all!

This will kick off the first of one of the new features I discussed in my "blog revival" post; in which I discuss one of my other favorite pastimes:  cooking!

Now, This may of course prompt me to change the title of my blog (especially since, you know, it's going to be more of general stuff from my life than art from now on), but I'll worry about that once I figure out if I even can change the title, lol.  So anyway, let's begin, shall we?

SO!  Calamari time.

 Calamari is one of those dishes that can make or break a cook; it's simple enough that anyone could make it, but it's also quite easy to do wrong.  There are two precise points at which it reaches a perfect doneness, either very early into the cooking cycle, or fairly late into it when the meat begins to break down and soften again.  Ever been out to eat at a restaurant and been served a plate full of chewy, rubbery or leathery pieces of calamari that lacked any real flavor outside of the breading, and was more of a chore to get through than it was worth?  Yeah, me too.  I suspect that the majority of people who purport to hate calamari have only had the unfortunate experience of gnawing through a very poorly-cooked plate of the stuff.  It's supposed to be soft, buttery, with a slight chew; just slightly firmer than imitation crab.  And though the flavor is mild, it's definitely there:  rich, slightly savory, and just the slightest hint of sea but none of the funk we often associate with seafood.  So how do we accomplish THAT?