#i’ve got a yum yum from the museum episode

[jimmyjrsmusoems]

i saw someone on tik tok ranking their top 10 bobs burgers songs and i wanna play too !!

my top 10 bobs burgers songs, ranked :

10. taffy butt (season 2, episode 1 “the belchies”)

this song is so iconic 😭 the belchies is also my #1 favorite episode, and i love tina and jimmy jr.‘s little dance in this end credits scene.

9. hot pants rain dance (season 7, episode 21 “paraders of the lost float”)

this song is just so fun and it makes me want to dance with them 😭

8. slumber party fashion show (season 4, episode 9 “slumber party”)

this song is stuck in my head 24/7. also whenever my fiancé or i buy new clothes we always say “fashion show, fashion show, fashion show at lunch!” from the office and this song reminds me of that lmao

7. i love you so much (it’s scary) (season 6, episode 3 “the hauntening”)

i am a boyz 4 now girlie 100% i would have eaten this song UP if i was tina lmao. also the end credits scene of them all singing and dancing is one of my favorites 😭

6. lucky ducks (the bobs burgers movie)

the first time i saw the movie and heard this song i was shoooook. it’s so good 😭 louise’s part always makes me tear up too lmao

5. my butt has a fever (the bobs burgers movie short)

this song!!!! is so cute!!!!!! i love it!!!!!! i watch this short over and over again sometimes because i love it so much lmao i would literally die for the belcher siblings

4. work hard or die trying, girl (season 5, episode 1 “work hard or die trying, girl”)

ICONIC. i quote this song all the time. “that’s exactly what people say before they make a baby i think!” “i’m hans gruber, consider yourself grubed” “i’m agent johnson, and i’m agent johnson, and we’re from the fbiiiii” it’s so cinematic

3. the right number of boys (season 9, episode 1 “just one of the boyz 4 now for now”)

OKAY if i’m not screaming along to this song it’s because i’m dead. that would be the only reason. this song literally makes me cry lmao. i was a “boy focused” girl like tina and this song made me feel so validated (even though i was eighteen when i first saw this episode lmao) also boo boo’s “i’m back!” is something i quote daily it’s so funny to me

2. sunny side up summer (the bobs burgers movie)

i am screaming crying throwing up every time i listen to this song. i will never ever forget the first time i saw the movie in theaters and burst into tears during this song lmao. every single part of it is perfect. i would play this song at my wedding AND my funeral. “but this summer i might see just who i turn out to be (just what we turn out to be)” makes me SOB

and you already knew what #1 would be if you’ve been following me for any amount of time

1. SKY KISSSSSSSSS (season 7, episode 9 “bob actually”)

HELLO??????

JIMMY JR KISSES TIIIIIIINA

LINDA KISSES BOOOOOOOOB

LOUISE KISSES RUUUUUUUDY

GENE KISSES A SPOOOOOOON

this song is perfection. my soul leaves my body every time i hear it. i am listening to it rn while i type this and i am floating to the goddamn ceiling. i am never not crying about this song. like. i would get this song tattooed on my body if i could

actual footage of me listening to sky kiss on repeat

anyway,,,,,ty for reading hope you had fun because i sure did

[quickreaver]

Kripke speaks!

So last weekend I dragged my long-suffering husband to Toledo, Ohio to visit their absolutely amazing art museum (seriously, if you get a chance, visit it; it's stunningly good), but also, because hometown boy Eric Kripke was giving a talk there. A free talk. Two hours from me. I was excite! 

Okay, so … Toledo. First time I've actually been in the city, vs. just driving past. It's a ramshackle area, but to explore it is to reveal, in some small way, where Kripke and SPN came from. Smallish and hanging on by its fingernails, Toledo squats like an old cemetery in the shadows of the huge BP Oil refinery. If you head north, you hit Lake Eerie, which—this time of year—isn't awful. If you head south, you're in the middle of nowhere. Every other building seems to be derelict. Toledo's 'historic homes' district is chock full of Victorian painted ladies that have seen far better days, the colors peeling and the yards weedy, but they're still some of the most gingerbreaded, neo-Gothic delights I've seen in a long time.

( (The stupid watermark-like blur is the back of my phone. Should've rolled down the window, duh.)

The industry in town is the aforementioned oil refinery, glass factories, the University of Toledo and a whiff of tourism. So you end up with this strange amalgam of artiness, decay, and working class valor. I dig it. It's very early-season's SPN. I totally get where Kripke was coming from.

(A supposedly haunted building in downtown Toledo, the Pythian Castle.)

Kripke himself is an unassuming, warm, funny guy. The first few rows in the museum's auditorium were reserved for his family and friends, including past grade-school teachers. The majority of the audience was SPN fans, quite obviously, and not young ones either. It was a mix of ages, but far and away the crowd skewed older. If anyone yaks on about fandom only being for the young, or that the future of the SPN fandom is the 16-24 year olds, don't believe them. I did a bit of a live-tweet of his SPN-topical points, which I won't repeat here but you can hit my twitter and follow the #KripkeSpeaks tag for the highlights: https://twitter.com/hashtag/kripkespeaks?f=tweets&vertical=default&src=hash Lemme see if I can distill the talk down to a few points here, though. He worked very, very hard to get where he's at, and that hard work—regardless of failure—is what opened a lot of doors. That tenacious Midwest work ethic. No matter how small the job, he did it 200%. He slept on floors, he made huge mistakes, he kept his eyes open for serendipitous forks in the road. You've got to have a freight train mentality, but never … never … think you've got it mastered. Lean into the fear. There were two sticking points in his tenure with SPN that he was ready to quit over: when the WB (the CW's predecessor) wanted to ax the classic rock soundtrack, and in one of the episodes (he didn't specify which one), there was a flashback to young Sam and Dean, and the network didn't want to do it. Kripke simply said, “Then I quit.” And he meant it. “You've gotta mean it, or you have no bargaining chip.” Needless to say, the network caved. But he would've walked over either of those situations if the network hadn't conceded. Kripke always loved comedy, and wrote comedy script after comedy script, to no real avail. But he was getting recognized as someone who did solid work. He was a writer's assistant or some such lower level employee when they needed someone to write a script in a pinch. It was horror, but Kripke shrugged and said “What the hell, I'll do it!” It succeeded far better than any of his comedies. He'd been dreaming and fine-tuning his SPN idea for years, and that horror script got him in front of some big names, finally. They didn't like the idea of the heroes being reporters—it felt like a rehashed “Kolchak, the Night Stalker” to them—but then on the fly, he made the leads brothers. In a muscle car. He plucked inspiration from his Toledo childhood. And the big names perked right up. (The stuff he offered “on the fly” had been notes he'd scribbled in the margins of his script. Never let those gems go; you never know when they'll come in handy!) For me, the biggest take-away was “Show me a confident writer, and I'll show you a bad one.” Now, this doesn't mean that you shouldn't know your worth, that you shouldn't love what you do. Plow forward like a freight train, do your very best work, but never stop learning. If think you're the hottest thing since the Pet Rock, well … whatever happened to those Pet Rocks, anyways? When someone crows too loudly about their own expertise, their own authority, they've likely stopped learning. You miss so many opportunities if you think there's only one way to do things. His next TV adventure, Revolution,, was very stressful and fraught with challenges, but he still did his damnedest to make it succeed. When it got canceled, though, he wasn't disappointed. Timeless was far more of a joy to create. That one, he was sad to see go. Then he showed the trailer for his newest show (to be available on Amazon Prime) and it looks sooooo good. The Boys. He's working with the gang that developed Preacher, and sounds like it has that same iconoclastic, dark-humored vibe. YUM. So Kripke gets to exercise his comedy chops after all! (Though, really, SPN had some fantastic comedy moments too. Who says the horror genre has to take itself so seriously?) He took a handful of questions afterwards, during which he revealed he'd love to participate in the last season/episode if his contract will allow. TULPA THIS SHIT, Y'ALL. I had to split at that point because my husband had been patient enough and I was getting hangry and itching to see the museum, but Kripke hung around for autographs. Like the good egg he is. The industry needs more writers like Kripke. I enjoyed the heck out of Toledo, and him.

[appletable80-blog]

Checking in on the LA Food Scene

This post originally appeared on April 27, 2019, in Amanda Kludt’s newsletter “From the Editor,” a roundup of the most vital news and stories in the food world each week. Read the archives and subscribe now.

Last week I went out to LA and managed to fit in some good eating. Some notes from the road:

I would like to pretend I’m more sophisticated than this, but chef Mei Lin’s tom yum onion (a play on the Bloomin’ Onion) has haunted me ever since I saw it on Instagram. I had to try it. I did try it. And it was so much better than the original that inspired it.

That said, my biggest takeaway from Lin’s restaurant, Nightshade, is that Max Boonthanakit, just named an Eater Young Gun, is putting out the most innovative and delicious desserts I’ve had in a while. If you find yourself nearby, I highly recommend stopping by for his guava, cream cheese, and white chocolate trompe l’oeil (innovative!) and coconut mousse with lime coconut granita (most delicious).

I would eat this Sonoratown chimichanga every day of my life if I could.

The Row development is pretty nuts. It’s a giant collection of warehouses close to Skid Row (one of the largest encampments of homeless individuals in the U.S.) and the Arts District downtown that developers are trying to turn into a destination with restaurants, retail, gyms, spas, and office space. I visited the 45,000-square-foot (!) Tartine/Chris Bianco compound called the Manufactory, which includes a roastery, commissary, market, casual cafe, and dinner-only Italian restaurant. On the Tuesday night we went, the whole place felt like an eerie ghost town. That’s allegedly the vibe on most days and nights, with the exception of Sundays, when hundreds of people flood the complex to visit Smorgasburg there.

The Chris Bianco-Tartine partnership unfortunately doesn’t feature his famous pizza — it has some flatbreads in the cafe — but the food at its Alameda Supper Club is pretty solid. Get the bread and butter and his crab spaghetti if you go.

Spoon By H is everything that everyone hyped it up to be.

I got to be one of the first paying customers at the Firehouse Hotel, a stylish, new nine-room spot in the Arts District. I didn’t get the chance to try the food, but I would be down to throw an event by the backyard fire pit.

Get to Fiona and get a fruit pie.

Porridge and Puffs has this miso caramel mochi thing that just blew my mind. The porridge is also wonderful.

Porridge from Porridge + Puffs

Amanda Kludt

Not a food thing, but one stray thought: does LA make you into a worse Lyft rider? Anywhere else I would never take a meeting, listen to a podcast, or eat a scone in a ride share, and I did all of those things — constantly and sometimes all at once — in LA because I had to spend so much time in a car on this trip. Who knew LA could turn a New Yorker into an even worse person?

Opening of the Week: Dear John’s

Wonho Frank Lee

This is one of my favorite restaurant stories of the year, and I keep seeing it pop up at the top of Eater LA’s traffic reports, so I feel like Angelenos must be into it too.

Basically, two major LA players — Josiah Citrin and Hans Rockenwagner — are reviving a classic Culver City martini bar and steakhouse called Dear John’s. The twist here is a developer is going to knock down the building in April 2021, so there’s a built-in expiration date. I love that they are giving the old gal the swan song she deserves. And also, I figure it must be compelling to enter a project knowing you don’t have to sustain a long-term business.

On Eater

Intel: Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar is suing an operation in Chicago that seems to be ripping off both Tosi and Black Tap in one fell swoop; McDonald’s will roll out some of its international items to U.S. locations this summer; Seattle empire builder Renee Erickson opened her newest spot, Bistro Shirlee; a bar that looks like it was designed by Lisa Frank opened in Philly; following the backlash against credit card-only businesses, Sweetgreen accepts cash again; Brooklyn’s Five Leaves opened an outpost in Los Angeles, and it looks better than the original; Olmsted’s Greg Baxtrom opened a casual follow-up restaurant called Maison Yaki in Brooklyn; high-end Italian restaurant chain, and subject of many lawsuits, Scarpetta is expanding to London; Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s 7,300-square-foot seafood restaurant the Fulton AND his JFK restaurant in the old TWA terminal building both open in New York next month; Houston don Bobby Heugel and star chef Justin Yu opened their pretty new venture, Squable, this week; all three restaurants going into a new Chicago food hall are black-owned; the Standard hotel group announced the dining and drinking operations for their first London outpost; the Michelin Guide reached out to over 100 California restaurants on Instagram to get photo rights ahead of their big California guide announcement in June; Gotham Bar & Grill’s Alfred Portale will open his first restaurant in 34 years; lauded New Orleans sandwich shop Turkey and the Wolf has a new restaurant in the works; the people behind one of London’s best restaurants will open a follow-up ”inspired by the buvettes of Paris and the pintxos bars in San Sebastián”; Momofuku’s new CEO is 29 and from the Zabar family; and Stephen Starr will open a restaurant in a new photography museum in Manhattan this fall.

Why you’re seeing blowfish tails everywhere.

NYC’s 12 top restaurants serving the underrated food of Puebla.

A look inside Houston’s very pretty restaurant Vibrant. Have we hit peak terrazo or is this just the start?

We might not have to worry about the Game of Thrones dragons and their loss of appetite.

Review: Brooklyn’s coolest new bar that also happens to have a good chicken sandwich, the Fly.

Please welcome a whole new slew of writers and editors to Eater: Madeleine Davies, Jaya Saxena, Jenny G. Zhang, and Osayi Endolyn.

What does it say when people stan their local grocery stores?

Watch: Lucas Peterson explores the significance and history of rice in a new Eater mini-series, Rooted. Episode 1: Farming, cultivating, selling rice at Koda Farms in California. Episode 2: How Anson Mills saved ancient grains of rice from extinction. Episode 3: Gullah legend Mrs. Emily Meggertt explains the importance of her traditional rice dishes.

Finally, let’s all remember that the World’s Best Female Chef Award (brought to you by people behind the eurocentric and male-dominated World’s 50 Best List) is absurdly sexist.

Off Eater

From the Editor

Editor-in-chief Amanda Kludt’s favorite food news and stories from Eater and beyond each week

By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and European users agree to the data transfer policy.

Source: https://www.eater.com/2019/4/29/18522817/from-the-editor-notes-from-la

[heliumrelish1-blog]

Checking in on the LA Food Scene

This post originally appeared on April 27, 2019, in Amanda Kludt’s newsletter “From the Editor,” a roundup of the most vital news and stories in the food world each week. Read the archives and subscribe now.

Last week I went out to LA and managed to fit in some good eating. Some notes from the road:

I would like to pretend I’m more sophisticated than this, but chef Mei Lin’s tom yum onion (a play on the Bloomin’ Onion) has haunted me ever since I saw it on Instagram. I had to try it. I did try it. And it was so much better than the original that inspired it.

That said, my biggest takeaway from Lin’s restaurant, Nightshade, is that Max Boonthanakit, just named an Eater Young Gun, is putting out the most innovative and delicious desserts I’ve had in a while. If you find yourself nearby, I highly recommend stopping by for his guava, cream cheese, and white chocolate trompe l’oeil (innovative!) and coconut mousse with lime coconut granita (most delicious).

I would eat this Sonoratown chimichanga every day of my life if I could.

The Row development is pretty nuts. It’s a giant collection of warehouses close to Skid Row (one of the largest encampments of homeless individuals in the U.S.) and the Arts District downtown that developers are trying to turn into a destination with restaurants, retail, gyms, spas, and office space. I visited the 45,000-square-foot (!) Tartine/Chris Bianco compound called the Manufactory, which includes a roastery, commissary, market, casual cafe, and dinner-only Italian restaurant. On the Tuesday night we went, the whole place felt like an eerie ghost town. That’s allegedly the vibe on most days and nights, with the exception of Sundays, when hundreds of people flood the complex to visit Smorgasburg there.

The Chris Bianco-Tartine partnership unfortunately doesn’t feature his famous pizza — it has some flatbreads in the cafe — but the food at its Alameda Supper Club is pretty solid. Get the bread and butter and his crab spaghetti if you go.

Spoon By H is everything that everyone hyped it up to be.

I got to be one of the first paying customers at the Firehouse Hotel, a stylish, new nine-room spot in the Arts District. I didn’t get the chance to try the food, but I would be down to throw an event by the backyard fire pit.

Get to Fiona and get a fruit pie.

Porridge and Puffs has this miso caramel mochi thing that just blew my mind. The porridge is also wonderful.

Porridge from Porridge + Puffs

Amanda Kludt

Not a food thing, but one stray thought: does LA make you into a worse Lyft rider? Anywhere else I would never take a meeting, listen to a podcast, or eat a scone in a ride share, and I did all of those things — constantly and sometimes all at once — in LA because I had to spend so much time in a car on this trip. Who knew LA could turn a New Yorker into an even worse person?

Opening of the Week: Dear John’s

Wonho Frank Lee

This is one of my favorite restaurant stories of the year, and I keep seeing it pop up at the top of Eater LA’s traffic reports, so I feel like Angelenos must be into it too.

Basically, two major LA players — Josiah Citrin and Hans Rockenwagner — are reviving a classic Culver City martini bar and steakhouse called Dear John’s. The twist here is a developer is going to knock down the building in April 2021, so there’s a built-in expiration date. I love that they are giving the old gal the swan song she deserves. And also, I figure it must be compelling to enter a project knowing you don’t have to sustain a long-term business.

On Eater

Intel: Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar is suing an operation in Chicago that seems to be ripping off both Tosi and Black Tap in one fell swoop; McDonald’s will roll out some of its international items to U.S. locations this summer; Seattle empire builder Renee Erickson opened her newest spot, Bistro Shirlee; a bar that looks like it was designed by Lisa Frank opened in Philly; following the backlash against credit card-only businesses, Sweetgreen accepts cash again; Brooklyn’s Five Leaves opened an outpost in Los Angeles, and it looks better than the original; Olmsted’s Greg Baxtrom opened a casual follow-up restaurant called Maison Yaki in Brooklyn; high-end Italian restaurant chain, and subject of many lawsuits, Scarpetta is expanding to London; Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s 7,300-square-foot seafood restaurant the Fulton AND his JFK restaurant in the old TWA terminal building both open in New York next month; Houston don Bobby Heugel and star chef Justin Yu opened their pretty new venture, Squable, this week; all three restaurants going into a new Chicago food hall are black-owned; the Standard hotel group announced the dining and drinking operations for their first London outpost; the Michelin Guide reached out to over 100 California restaurants on Instagram to get photo rights ahead of their big California guide announcement in June; Gotham Bar & Grill’s Alfred Portale will open his first restaurant in 34 years; lauded New Orleans sandwich shop Turkey and the Wolf has a new restaurant in the works; the people behind one of London’s best restaurants will open a follow-up ”inspired by the buvettes of Paris and the pintxos bars in San Sebastián”; Momofuku’s new CEO is 29 and from the Zabar family; and Stephen Starr will open a restaurant in a new photography museum in Manhattan this fall.

Why you’re seeing blowfish tails everywhere.

NYC’s 12 top restaurants serving the underrated food of Puebla.

A look inside Houston’s very pretty restaurant Vibrant. Have we hit peak terrazo or is this just the start?

We might not have to worry about the Game of Thrones dragons and their loss of appetite.

Review: Brooklyn’s coolest new bar that also happens to have a good chicken sandwich, the Fly.

Please welcome a whole new slew of writers and editors to Eater: Madeleine Davies, Jaya Saxena, Jenny G. Zhang, and Osayi Endolyn.

What does it say when people stan their local grocery stores?

Watch: Lucas Peterson explores the significance and history of rice in a new Eater mini-series, Rooted. Episode 1: Farming, cultivating, selling rice at Koda Farms in California. Episode 2: How Anson Mills saved ancient grains of rice from extinction. Episode 3: Gullah legend Mrs. Emily Meggertt explains the importance of her traditional rice dishes.

Finally, let’s all remember that the World’s Best Female Chef Award (brought to you by people behind the eurocentric and male-dominated World’s 50 Best List) is absurdly sexist.

Off Eater

From the Editor

Editor-in-chief Amanda Kludt’s favorite food news and stories from Eater and beyond each week

By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and European users agree to the data transfer policy.

Source: https://www.eater.com/2019/4/29/18522817/from-the-editor-notes-from-la

[hmniay]

Tokyo Trip Report (Part 4)

This is the last of the Japan report! Lots of photos this time. Thank you for sticking with me.

Feel free to blacklist the tag “japan 2016″ if you don’t want to see these posts! The images may look squished if you read this outside dashboard due to my blog theme. Everything is under the cut.

←Previous

Day 10: Tokyo Comic City

The main reason why we picked mid June to go to Japan, other than that Jen has summer school and to avoid the crowdy July-August break, was because I wanted to meet some JP mutuals tabling at the con >///<  (thank you Jen for agreeing to this)

I especially wanted to meet Rui-san, whose art I looked up to a lot (and buy her books while I’m at it), but she had work last minute and couldn’t come... Maybe next time ;__;

The event is 11pm~3pm. We planned to go at 12 to avoid the crowd, but we woke up late and got there at 1pm😂😂  It was located at Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba, and this place is like an airport!! It’s huge and even has conveyor belts, and people were carrying luggages around (to store the merch they bought??)

(No photographing allowed inside)

1/3 of the tables already packed up and left... Apparently in Japanese events, people list out exactly what they’re going to buy and go straight for it the moment the doors open. We didn’t plan to buy anything, but it looked like going in late wasn’t a good idea. Something to keep in mind in the future.

I saw a Miyoshi/Maki mini print and thought “hmm I’ll come back after we check everything out” and then it was sold out ;;;;;;

Free postcards at the door promoting upcoming only-events.

From what I understand, onlys are smaller, fandom-specific events inside a general bigger event? There are games and stuff but we didn’t understand it XD I noticed that tables of the same fandoms were grouped together, sorted by ships. Convenient for the shoppers, but I wonder what happens to multi-fandom artists? And there’s the whole concept of “circles”... It’s certainly very different from what I heard about Western cons, which I’ve not been to.

Also!! Most artists give out free prints! ...At least that’s what I 98% sure they are, but I didn’t have the guts to take them, especially when I’m not buying anything💦💦  I should’ve done some research first.

We met up with Ran-san (again) and Nori-san, who gave me some oisuga poster and postcards. It was a prize for a game on twitter and the poster was supposed to be first-come-first-served, but she saved one for me ahhhh;;;;; As promised I sticked it to my face.

And the poster is now on my wall ////

I suddenly forgot all my Japanese so there was a very long awkward pause before I said I would like to buy a charm from her www (After we got home I was able to talk to her on twitter fluently again what the heck)

Ran-san then took us to meet Kurot. She kept laughing at Kurot for being “crazy” from the lack of sleep. Kurot called me “Kiyo-san” at first, then questioned herself why she’s speaking Japanese when we can speak English😂😂  Please have a good rest after this!!!

I tweeted a photo of my shirt for mutuals not tabling to find me so I can give them Canadian omiyage (maple sugar lmao) and Saki actually managed to find me!! She gave me a iwaoi bag she made (bottom left in the above photo) with lots of candies inside. Thank you ////

Then we met up with Uma and walked around the con. The con was ending and we were about to leave when I saw copic markers on sale on the side. 10 markers for 1000 yen!!!! I never tried it before so I only bought 10, but I now regret not getting more.

I forgot to go back to say goodbye to Ran-san and Nori-san before leaving...

Uma, Jen and I decided to go to Ikebukuro for some afternoon snack. Yamate Line had an accident (someone fell off the platform??) so we had to take another line. Then it became clear how the accident probably happened. THIS WAS THE MOST CROWDED TRAIN WE EXPERIENCED ON THIS TRIP. I could barely take this photo. I was leaning on someone’s (sweaty) back with my feet half off the ground, and when the train arrived at a station, it becomes like a strong river where you literally get pushed around and have no control of where to go.

We finally found a place to sit down and eat.

We exchanged our sketchbooks and had a doodling session until we got politely kicked out an hour later XD

We window-shopped for a bit at Sunshine City before parting ways. Our host family offered us to make BBQ on the rooftop, but it was too late so we just got ourselves some konbini dinner.

Family Mart’s fried chicken is so good!! I finished it before we even got home.

Thank you so much for an amazing day!!! I hope we can meet again.

Day 11: Yokohama

Today is the last day of our trip and we decided to spend it in Yokohama.

Animate Yokohama was really close by so we dropped by quickly for last minute weeb shopping. Jen went to look for CCS and Digimon merch while I went to play the Joker Game Q&A (each week you can get prizes - a print I think - for answering a question related to the week’s episode).

Q: What was the pill left on the floor in Maki’s room? A: Aspirin.

But they ran out of the prize so I only got a stamp...

Heading to Hakkeijima Sea Paradise! This is where we will spend most of the day.

Kalbi onigiri. Yum. In Taiwan I prefer 7-11 much over Family Mart, but here Family Mart is my best friend.

The station is really cute.

We’re here!

It’s a giant amusement park on an artificial island. The right half is the “ground” rides, but we’re only interested in the “sea” side today. 

There’s not a lot of people.

Ahhhh they look like spiders and why are they so big!!! Jen: Are they edible

OMG so I happen to witness this guy eat... It pressed the fish in between the glass and itself, and wiggled until the fish got to its mouth... then swallowed it whole.

Our tickets also included fish-your-own-fish. 

I’m so sorry ;;;;

Jen is vegetarian so I got 2 for myself. It was really good and I wished I got more...

More animals on the other side of the park!

Hydrangeas near the entrance/exit.

We wanted to end the day with Yokohama’s famous night view at Landmark Tower, so we rushed back (it takes about an hour).

The Red Brick Warehouse!

We didn’t remember we wanted to go to the Cup Noodles Museum until we walked passed it lmao (it was closed already)

We finally got to Landmark Tower. Had a quick dinner at a Oyako don place.

We didn’t know we were making a big mistake. THEY STOP LETTING PEOPLE ONTO THE OBSERVATION DECK AT 8:30. We finished our dinner and got there at exactly 8:30. The directions weren’t really clear so we walked back and forth for a while, before realizing that the man we saw putting up a sign at a door was the deck staff closing the door. If I realized it a minute earlier I would’ve begged him to let us in ;____;

It would be frustrating to come all the way here and not be able to see the view, so we headed back to the port beside the warehouse and ended our Yokohama adventure there.

Someone on the train was reading Jump!!

We returned home to see this on the bed ahhhh... Inside the bag was 2 big boxes of shrimp cookies that homestay dad bought on his business trip. This host family was much less experienced (we are their first), but they were so sweet😭😭😭

Day 12: Departure

I leave Japan today and go to Taiwan next. Jen was staying for another day because she booked her tickets wrong hahahaha

Homestay mom helped us book the direct bus to Haneda Airport; we didn’t want to go through the pain of pulling luggages through the subway system again.

We got off at Terminal 1... BUT JOKE’S ON ME IT’S ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO BE TERMINAL I FOR “INTERNATIONAL” WHO THE HELL THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA!! So we had to quickly take the airport shuttle to the correct terminal to check in.

The airport was decorated in Edo? style.

I decided to have Mos Burger for my last meal in Japan. I grew up eating their rice burger in Taiwan so I wanted to try the real one in Japan. They only had regular burgers here though!!

Our last doodle together.

It was hard to say goodbye to Jen. We’ve been together since elementary school and who knows when we will see each other in person again...😢 We dragged on until last minute and I almost missed my plane lmao

Bye bye Japan! Thank you for a wonderful time and I hope I can come again soon!!

Is Laputa in there

The flight was only about 3 hours so by the time I woke up from a nap we were already landing. But then...

WhaT

IS

HAPPENING

I WAS LEGIT TERRIFIED OMG I hate flying and I would think that if the plane needs to make FIVE GODDAMN CIRCLES above the airport, something might’ve happened down there. 

After what felt like forever, we finally started descending. Everything looked fine?  

Then it became obvious why we couldn’t land. It was like a typhoon down there and the plane was shaking so much while landing. There were no actual typhoon though. Just your regular crazy Taiwanese summer afternoon-storm.

Yep I’m definitely back in Taiwan

The moment I stepped out of the plane I could feel the intense hot humid air, like usual... The storm was crazy big and part of the subway was experiencing outage, so I had a rough time getting home. Good to be back though.

Souvenir for my grandma! She loves matcha stuff. These are matcha-white chocolate cookies, bought at Haneda airport.

My loot from Japan. I managed to control myself hahahaha

Corn flavoured stuff is the best!!!!!!!

And this concludes my Japan trip report!! It is almost 8 months since the trip I can’t believe I took so long to organize this😂😂  I might write a little bit here and there about the Taiwan trip later. Thank you for sticking around and I hope you enjoyed reading!!

[twistednuns]

January 2017

All this sunshine lately. Reading in the beam of warm sunshine on my bed. Taking pretty pictures of translucent things like physalis leaves or a crystal. Admiring how green my eyes are in the right light.

Berlin magic.

Despite all the pain and soreness after being ill: the fact that I do have stomach muscles. Good to know.

A radio interview with the astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti: "From the very beginning, I liked sleeping in weightlessness. Just closing your eyes, floating, sleeping." What a nice thought.

New Year's Day was unexpectedly peaceful and happy. After celebrating with Claudia, Frank and Fabi (we made salad with goat cheese and bacon, pho and raspberry tiramisu; watched Dinner for One, played a drinking game and Activity and Bleigießen - apparently I got a ship which means I'm gonna go on a big trip) I stayed at Frank's place. We discussed space and the different planetory size relations and how insignificant I think we are so I don't like thinking about space. Frank is more optimistic; he thinks the idea that humanity might really matter on an intergalactic level in a few thousand years is so exciting. All this must have been triggered by watching Lars von Trier's Melancholia together. Anyway. In bed, we talked about our ideal picnic spot (somewhere over the rainbow) again, Machu Picchu with Roquefort. And illegal international cheese smuggling. I told him the story of Obi's Swiss colleagues who always bring cheese when they come to work at the observatory in Chile. On the next morning, I found Frank playing with his birthday present on the floor. I made tea and we watched another episode of Westworld. I left the house because his parents were about to come over and treat him to dinner. Got a beautiful brownie and some mezze at the Turkish bakery (I love the fact that they're open on Sundays) and took in the atmosphere. Everything was calm, the sun was shining, it was a bit foggy. So I went to Ruhmeshalle to see the Bavaria statue. There was confetti on the floor and Theresienwiese actually felt like Tempelhofer Feld in Berlin. Weird and beautiful. Apparently I'm not the only one who notices things like that. When I got home I talked to Doris for a while and suggested a spontaneous roadtrip to Frank. Oh, and on my way home I had this glorious but rare feeling, that I am unbelievably blessed. Everything is really really good and all I gotta do is stop wanting more and appreciating what I have. It's strange, the more intelligent and spoilt you are the likelier you are to be unhappy. Not anymore. I'll try to be good to myself. I'm thankful, SO thankful for what I have and how I feel at the moment, even though I don't really know what changed. I used to be SO miserable.

Ashley was happy and excited like a little child because of the large amount of New Year's Eve fireworks in Germany.

My mum sent me a book and a very heartfelt letter this weekend. I loved the textile feeling of the paper she used and read the book right away.

Doris's reaction to the fact that I glued glitter to my face and got some stuck in my eye.

At New Year's Eve, my fortune cookie advised: "It is not enough just to know the way. You also have to get there." Smart cookie.

Visiting Dantebad for the first time, a large outdoor swimming pool. It was freezing cold and started to snow, but I swam some laps nevertheless. There were cute ladies with floral bathing caps, too. And I loved the underwater lights and the steam in the night. Nice view. When I walked to my car, the sidewalk was covered in snow. Quiet and peaceful.

Getting a small piece of Roquefort and graffiti tofu. Eating it slowly at my desk. Always cutting off just a tiny peace and eating it straight from the knife.

The colour of the broccoli against the pale pink plate. Always take note of good colour combinations (like neon pink Sharpie on light blue paper and pistachio green fingernails against the plum coloured sheets).

Pasta with broccoli, a little cream, parmigiano, chili, thyme. Maybe an onion. Heavenly good.

The British property market delivers gems I'd immediately move into. Or rather this one? I don't even want to look at the rest because I'll never be able to afford something like that (nor do I want to, for that matter, but I appreciate great architecture). Related: somehow I ended up on the official website of the Bavarian castle department and found out that you can actually rent a lot of the rooms! If you could only rent the greenhouses in the botanical garden, too... I'd love to get married there one day.

It didn't make me happy but it moved me: a woman wakes up to find the partner next to her dead. 28 years old. She falls apart, obviously. And she writes about it.

Dr.Hauschka's Rose Day Cream. What a blessing for my moisture-depraved winter skin.

Walking through the Nymphenburg castle park and the botanical gardens in the sunshine. The lakes were frozen and everything was covered in snow. Lena and I went to the beautiful café, sitting at a table in front of the window with a view over the historical botanical institute. I got hot chocolate because I love spooning off the molten whipped cream before I drink it. Unfortunately it was already too late for the greenhouses but we are planning on coming back soon to see the tropical butterflies.

Buying an &otherstories nail polish on  sale that has the same colour as my favourite pistachio ice-cream from Ballabeni in Schwabing (the PERFECT ice-cream flavour).

Getting the last table at grano, a tiny Italian pizza place behind the Munich city museum with interesting wall art.

Feeling like a naughty librarian in my Ace&Tate glasses.

It's odd how comforting a simple "there's absolutely nothing in the fridge" dish is. Couscous with tomato puree. Parmigiano, if I have some. A dash of lemon. That's it.

The movie Gnade (2012) with Birgit Minichmayr and Jürgen Vogel. And beautiful Norwegian landscapes.

The little blue suede pouch with rose gold speckles I got for Christmas. I use it as a wallet and whenever I take it out of my bag I notice how much I love the look and feel of it. Very rarely, an object just feels like you, doesn't it?

Cutting open a passion fruit. And the purple carrot dying the boiling water blue.

The ARTE create Let's Swing series.

A weird dream. Leaving Frank's house, taking the bus to a physiotherapist's practice on a busy street. Waiting room, far too many people. After one or two hours we discovered the auditorium next door. At first, there were only pupils from my old schools (and at some point the dream had been one about a school lesson, I suppose). Soon after, people from the waiting room dropped in and I decided to put on a show. I was the host, of course, and stood on stage, speaking into a microphone. I don't even wanna know what I said. But then Inge and Wölki walked up to me and started making out. And *zoom* we're in a French coastal town (?), climbing over ruins in the sea? I don't know how my subconsciousness conjures these things up...

Going to Candy Club party with Doris. I didn't wear a check shirt like all the lesbians but instead bright pink hair. There was a drag show with a dancing pizza, an all-girl band (The Veras) and an interesting hipster duo, Nalan381. I loved some of the DJ's choices, too, like Warpaint, Róisín Murphy, Bonaparte and Electric Six.

#SaltBae

The big snowman my neighbours have built in the garden. Watching the birds peck at the bags of peanuts I hung up in the bushes.

Eating quail eggs for the first time (we got them at the Karstadt supermarket where everything is super pricey but it's so exciting to go through the aisles and look at the unusual items they're selling). The box said they came from "alternative production" so Frank and I were joking about quails with tiny party hats, riding model trains around the pen. Only drinking full moon water and having energy crystals around.

The fact that I really enjoy healthy eating. I usually forget when I eat too much junk food and sweets because the palate is so easily adaptable. But recently I've started preparing salads, soups, chia pudding and lots of fruit and veg again - it's fun and it makes me feel so much better.

Travel Man - 48 Hours in... // A travel guide series with Richard Ayoade!

ProperCorn - tiny popcorn snackpacks; mine came with smooth peanut and almond. Yum.

Also: eating much healthier. Eating less. Eating a ton of veggies and fruit. And feeling so good about it! I even lost a few kilograms already. Is this finally happening?

Going to Residenztheater for the first time to see Arthur Miller's The Crucible. What a great play. Later I found out that the actor who playes John Proctor was also in Toni Erdmann; he played the colleague who attended the naked party after all, I think. I've got two more theatre tickets for the next weeks, I'm really looking forward to it.

Having dinner and watching a movie at the cinema with colleagues and Nicole's brother and father. We got along famously and I actually got her Bernhard's phone number because we are planning on seeing an ice-hockey match together.

Discovering this old back issue of Missy Magazine with a focus on Sleater-Kinney. Why, WHY is it sold out?! Also this photograph. Dressing like Corin is my life goal now. I'm having a fangirl moment.

Reading about feminism. Being overwhelmed by the Women's Marches all over the world on the day after Trump's inauguration. Getting the feeling that standing up for equality is something I'm passionate about. Ashley Judd reciting Nina Donovan's I am a nasty woman was powerful. I hope Trump is going to fuck up big time so people will wake up now and make America actually great again. He's just going to make us stand closer together.

Taking a moment in a club (even though being in a glum mood) to appreciate how great it is to stand in a room full of dancing people, listening to really loud rock music (fun, too, you know - Ballroom Blitz!).

Tiny embroideries.

Deciding on brushing up my French (I'm going to Paris next month!!). Earning more than 1300xp in DuoLingo on a slow Saturday.

Smorfia neapolitana. Crazy Italians. I saw one of these posters in Travel Man and liked the idea a lot.

Nachtbad - they turned an old sauna club in the gay part of the city into a bar, and they even left the showers running. Nice venue.

Hamlet at Munich Kammerspiele. Buckets full of blood and a confetti hose. I loved it.

A healthy dose of cat content. Watching the streetcat Bob movie with Doris and visiting Fricki at home where I got to know Effi the cat. She loved me and sat on my shoulder; even slept like a baby on my arm.

Spending a day in the city instead of going to work (even though I had to attend a workshop). Walking through streets I rarely visit. Getting beautiful and unusual (pumpkin, truffle, rosemary...) macarons at Principessa's and having a chat with the owner. Having dinner at the Victorian House, walking over Viktualienmarkt, stopping at a fruit vendor for some blueberries, getting a necklace at &otherstories and rice papier at the Asian food store.

Outside our classroom we saw a fox running through the snow! I was just as excited about that as the children.

Taking a screen printing class! We were only 4 people and the teacher was really nice so we spent the whole Saturday making prints. I want my own screen now... gotta find out where to get or how to build one! I printed a Sleater-Kinney picture on a tote bag, by the way. "Nasty women!"

The dad in the whole food market who showed his son a monkey toy with a long tail and laughed out loud because it looked like a dick.

Seeing a small piece of rainbow over the street I take every day!

Desire paths.

Making summer rolls with peanut dip. And cooking the same dish Fricki made for me the other day: pumpkin, zucchini, thyme and feta. Delicious.

[thestarfishdancer]

_ or _

I got tagged by the the lovely @littlelethallady​. I don’t think I’ve seen this one so far, so extra awesome!

Rules: Answer all of the questions, add one question of your own at the end, and then tag as many people as there are questions!

(Or break the rules. We can all be rebels here.)

1. Coke or Pepsi?

Coke

2. Disney or Dreamworks?  

Disney, who gave me Mulan and Brave and Moana and more!

3. Coffee or Tea?

  I like both, but coffee reigns supreme.

4. Books or Movies?

I like both, but books reign supreme!

5. Windows or Mac?

Mac.

6. DC or Marvel?

I’m totally in the Marvel camp for fandom, but Nicholas “Anti-Semite” Spencer seems hellbent on ruining that.

7. Xbox or Playstation?

I don’t do video games, so it’s moot point for me!

8. Dragon Age or Mass Effect?

Haven’t played either, but I like dragons, so...

9. Night Owl or Early Riser?

Is neither an option? I like to go to bed at a decent hour, but I do not drag myself from bed easily either...

10. Cards or Chess?

Cards.

11. Chocolate or Vanilla?

Vanilla.

12. Vans or Converse?

I love shoes.  I want all the shoes.

13. Lavellan, Trevelyan, Cadash, or Adaar?

I do not know what this means.

14. Paragon or Renegade?

With zero context, I’d have to say Paragon.  I’m only recently coming into my rule flouting nature.

15. Star Wars or Star Trek?

Star Wars, because I’m more into fantasy than science fiction. But both are good.

16. One episode per week or binge watch?

Binging.  

17. Gandalf or Obi-Wan?

Gandalf because magic!

18. Heroes or Villains?

What about anti-heroes?  The reluctant heroes who are good, but also have the sexiness that pop culture has made villains out to be? Because I’m on team good over team evil, but damn, tv and movies make evil look good.

19. John Williams or Hans Zimmer?

No idea.

20. Disneyland/World or Six Flags?

Disneyland, though I haven’t been to either. Six Flags seems like it might have fewer rides for wimps, which is where I firmly sit.

21. Forest or Sea?

Sea.  (It calls me!)

22. Flying or Reading Minds?

Flying. I don’t want to be intrusive and also I would save so much money on airfare.

23. Twin Peaks or Northern Exposure?

I haven’t seen either, but I’m going to go with Northern Exposure, living in the North and all.

24. Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings?

Harry Potter, though I like both.  Even though Tolkien’s work is more of a boy’s club.

25. You’re banished to a deserted island, which Benedict Cumberbatch character would you choose to take with you?

Whichever one can get me off the island to safety.

26. Train or cruise ship?

Cruise ship because of the sea. But I will still need motion sickness pills either way.

27. Brian Cox or Neil deGrasse Tyson?

Neil deGrasse Tyson!!!!

28. Art museum or science museum?

Art museum. Both are good though, but if I could only go to one.

29. Irish Pub or Night Club?

Irish Pub.

30. Aang or Korra?

No idea.

31. Swimming in a pool or lake?

Lake.  I’m allergic to the chlorine in the swimming pool and it makes it a pain for at least an hour after swimming.  

32. Classic music or classic literature?

Classic literature.

33. Oxford comma or no oxford comma?

Oxford comma.

34. Digital or Paper books?

Paper books.

35. Rainy or Sunny days?

 Rainy. And I too love thunderstorms with lightening!

36. Fantasy or Science Fiction?

Fantasy.

37. Flowers or Succulents ?

Flowers.

38. Berestain or Berestein?

Berenstain.  That’s how Stan and Jan rolled.

39. Jazz or Blues?

Blues.

40.  Love at First Sight Trope or Friends to Lovers Trope?

Love at first sight.

41. Cupcakes or muffins?

CUPCAKES. Yum.

My question:

42. Salty popcorn or sweet popcorn?

I’m too lazy to tag so if you want to do it, consider this your tag!