Don't you feel good that you made it?
This has been a roller coaster of a year. I didn't even start this year in the States, no I was Tokyo last year on this day. I'm sad to let this year go, but anxious to find out what's in store for next year.
2008 will be quite a year, in the first quarter I'll be motivated to finish off my massive paper. On top of that I've been considering post college careers and I won't lie... Service in the military is one option out there, however that's based on whether I'm even qualified for Naval Service (in which case: prepare for a new blog titled "EnsignR3d").
No this has been an exciting year. It seems that 2007 was a giant preparation for 2008! Everything get's decided next year... my fate after college, the presidency, fashion and entertainment, everything!
2008 will be the end of analog television ushering in both a new era of digital TV for us to see even more detailed images of war, news, and cable access.
Blog wise, I started this blog out on my other Sapporo Blog with a comment on Japan and westernized culture. I've since calmed my passion for Japan in exchange for deeper socio-political issues that I'm more engrossed with. As I predicted this year was a transition year and I held my promise from February to blog semi-daily for a total of 140 posts for 2007!
However, since this is my 2007 post I won't tell you my resolutions until tomorrow...
So this is the R3dragon signing out for the year 2007!
Happy New Year and Happy end to 2007.... Talk to ya'll next year!
~J out
Monday, December 31, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
The Eves of Eves
Well we made it.
The yule log is on OPB,
I'm stuffed with Japanese Yakisoba I made this evening.
Christmas service nearly burned down the church
Santa is on his way
I'm home.. Like home home.
What a wonderful day!
Merry Christmas Everybody!
~J out
The yule log is on OPB,
I'm stuffed with Japanese Yakisoba I made this evening.
Christmas service nearly burned down the church
Santa is on his way
I'm home.. Like home home.
What a wonderful day!
Merry Christmas Everybody!
~J out
Friday, December 21, 2007
23 Yrs old
Well I survived the night, at 12pm I had a happy birthday mini-party then went to bed.
Who knows what's in-store for this year of my life. I'm guessing whatever it is, it'll be very exciting, maybe even scary exciting.
Who knows. Anyway... Thanks everybody for wishing me a happy birthday! I appreciate it.
THIS IS TODAY'S SONG
ENJOY FOLKS CUZ I'M HAVE A GREAT TIME!
~J out
Who knows what's in-store for this year of my life. I'm guessing whatever it is, it'll be very exciting, maybe even scary exciting.
Who knows. Anyway... Thanks everybody for wishing me a happy birthday! I appreciate it.
THIS IS TODAY'S SONG
ENJOY FOLKS CUZ I'M HAVE A GREAT TIME!
~J out
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Stand fast and Make ready for 23
Today is my last day as a naive 22 year old. It's been a good year, but this is my last 22 year old thought to post before the 23 year old upgraded thoughts.
Preface: me and a co-worker have been having this dialog about the future roll of America and the roll of the military. Recently I've been considering a commission in the United States Navy, so the question or opinion was raised between us, what should happen if the morality of the actions of the government forced the hand of the military to strike (as in not-follow orders and resist the actions of) the government. If the military resisted the invasion of Iraq, based on moral grounds, then there would be a massive million man mutiny, should that of happened rather then the military 'mindlessly' obeying orders ? or Should Officers weigh orders against their moral code before following them?
This was my response and subsequently my last 22 year old thought... The reference to "you" was towards my co-worker, but feel free to imagine that I'm talking to you and your industry.. enjoy!
Ok..
(steps up to the soap box)
Pardon my opine, but here's my opinion. The future of this country is being decided by what standards we're going to pick as intrinsically American.
Some Americans are choosing whether faith and holiness and a divine connection to God is how America Rolls.
Some Americans think the GWOT (Global War on Terror) has been waged and that while it was easy to wage, it's going to be a b**ch to end, thus our country needs to be straight on command and control and to possess the world's biggest stick so that other countries and players will take our carrots out of fear.
Some Americans think the future is America, a strong and prosperous American economy and social welfare program will lift Americans up to global standards and prosperity here, will trickle down to others abroad.
Some Americans fear that what it means to be an American is under attack. They feel threatened that immigrants are going to change the social dynamics of their livelihood.
Some Americans are lazy, they let their lives be dominated by work, school, friends, kids, etc. and feel that because they're small fish in a big pond.. they cannot make a difference.
There are many Americans with different thoughts. There are many Americans with plans for America. It's easy to get caught up in the drama, but our country has passed from Childhood to being a teenager to now in the beginnings of it's mid-life crisis. Privateering, Corporate Enterprises, Oil drilling, Diplomatic Super Egos, and Outsourcing is all really Mr. America in it's Mid life crisis--going out and buying a Porsche or a Harley in order to find it's self identity.
We live in what Academics call the "Post-Modern Period." Think about that, "The Post Modern Period." It's meaning literally stands for a time after modernity in which we're no longer striving for production output, instead America has turned into a land of mindblowing unnecessary industries. Something has happened to where you and I can make money in the Internet Categorization Business. I have nothing against that, IT'S GREAT!, but think about it, post-modernism has created "fluff industries." Industries in which programmers are kings and mid-level foremen on factory lines are serfs. Amazing turnaround isn't it!
Where that plays out in the military, I do not know. I'll be turning 23 tomorrow and I'll be graduating with a B.A. soon. The Navy has been an option only because I see a more involved roll for military personnel, and related industries for the next 5-10 years. Perhaps, due to the GWOT, the war machine industries is the next dot-com boom followed by a rapid succession and loss. I don't know, and that's not the only reason I've wanted to join the Navy as an Officer.
We'll see how it goes, it could be that I don't qualify and I end up somewhere else. All I have is my faith, everything else is just good times that I'm appreciative for.... I'm an observer, I can talk up each side of the coin like I was a spokesman, that's my skill. I could defend the GWOT, Bush, etc, as well as I could curse it, that's why I'm an independent. However, this morning the president gave a press conference in which he was asked what made a good president. He said, "Good Solid Principals" and while the man is an eye sore to watch, he's spot on.
Good principals to stand by are the only things worth keeping on too. Wars end and so peace rallies end, Hippies can go conservative, but good solid principals are always new and valid, no matter what. My principals are simple: those found in the Scout Oath and Law, because becoming an Eagle Scout does that to you.
(steps off the soap box and looks back for a sec)
Good times are ahead! Stand fast and make ready for the future lad!
And that's it. That's all I got for 22.. See ya on the flip side I hope you've enjoyed it.
~J out
Preface: me and a co-worker have been having this dialog about the future roll of America and the roll of the military. Recently I've been considering a commission in the United States Navy, so the question or opinion was raised between us, what should happen if the morality of the actions of the government forced the hand of the military to strike (as in not-follow orders and resist the actions of) the government. If the military resisted the invasion of Iraq, based on moral grounds, then there would be a massive million man mutiny, should that of happened rather then the military 'mindlessly' obeying orders ? or Should Officers weigh orders against their moral code before following them?
This was my response and subsequently my last 22 year old thought... The reference to "you" was towards my co-worker, but feel free to imagine that I'm talking to you and your industry.. enjoy!
Ok..
(steps up to the soap box)
Pardon my opine, but here's my opinion. The future of this country is being decided by what standards we're going to pick as intrinsically American.
Some Americans are choosing whether faith and holiness and a divine connection to God is how America Rolls.
Some Americans think the GWOT (Global War on Terror) has been waged and that while it was easy to wage, it's going to be a b**ch to end, thus our country needs to be straight on command and control and to possess the world's biggest stick so that other countries and players will take our carrots out of fear.
Some Americans think the future is America, a strong and prosperous American economy and social welfare program will lift Americans up to global standards and prosperity here, will trickle down to others abroad.
Some Americans fear that what it means to be an American is under attack. They feel threatened that immigrants are going to change the social dynamics of their livelihood.
Some Americans are lazy, they let their lives be dominated by work, school, friends, kids, etc. and feel that because they're small fish in a big pond.. they cannot make a difference.
There are many Americans with different thoughts. There are many Americans with plans for America. It's easy to get caught up in the drama, but our country has passed from Childhood to being a teenager to now in the beginnings of it's mid-life crisis. Privateering, Corporate Enterprises, Oil drilling, Diplomatic Super Egos, and Outsourcing is all really Mr. America in it's Mid life crisis--going out and buying a Porsche or a Harley in order to find it's self identity.
We live in what Academics call the "Post-Modern Period." Think about that, "The Post Modern Period." It's meaning literally stands for a time after modernity in which we're no longer striving for production output, instead America has turned into a land of mindblowing unnecessary industries. Something has happened to where you and I can make money in the Internet Categorization Business. I have nothing against that, IT'S GREAT!, but think about it, post-modernism has created "fluff industries." Industries in which programmers are kings and mid-level foremen on factory lines are serfs. Amazing turnaround isn't it!
Where that plays out in the military, I do not know. I'll be turning 23 tomorrow and I'll be graduating with a B.A. soon. The Navy has been an option only because I see a more involved roll for military personnel, and related industries for the next 5-10 years. Perhaps, due to the GWOT, the war machine industries is the next dot-com boom followed by a rapid succession and loss. I don't know, and that's not the only reason I've wanted to join the Navy as an Officer.
We'll see how it goes, it could be that I don't qualify and I end up somewhere else. All I have is my faith, everything else is just good times that I'm appreciative for.... I'm an observer, I can talk up each side of the coin like I was a spokesman, that's my skill. I could defend the GWOT, Bush, etc, as well as I could curse it, that's why I'm an independent. However, this morning the president gave a press conference in which he was asked what made a good president. He said, "Good Solid Principals" and while the man is an eye sore to watch, he's spot on.
Good principals to stand by are the only things worth keeping on too. Wars end and so peace rallies end, Hippies can go conservative, but good solid principals are always new and valid, no matter what. My principals are simple: those found in the Scout Oath and Law, because becoming an Eagle Scout does that to you.
(steps off the soap box and looks back for a sec)
Good times are ahead! Stand fast and make ready for the future lad!
And that's it. That's all I got for 22.. See ya on the flip side I hope you've enjoyed it.
~J out
Sunday, December 16, 2007
To Arms for One's Reality
In our minds and speech we refer to a place called "reality." The root "real" infers an association with facts-of-life. Often we pin this place on a mythical world that we either are indulged in or distant from. The expression "the real world" is thus this kind of place. However, may I perhaps share with you my reality.
Reality is nothing more than a culmination of what I think, I feel, and I believe. I think therefore I am is my premise. Reality is nothing more then what I think to be true, feel to be real, and believe is right. Therefore it is most certain that my reality is not yours, nor will it easily sync with society. What perhaps is the "greater reality" then. The reality we believe to exist is nothing more then secondary forces fighting to take their hold and change our world of realism.
Every we fight battles. Battles between you and them. The staging grounds are your 5 senses and your will to win or lose is based on what battles you choose to win or lose. Mayhaps you might understand that there are choices in what we believe. Great battles are being waged in Iowa over what Iowans will do to alter their reality. Hope, as it were, is among these battles for chance.
Hope is a strange part of our paradigm. It no commodity, yet we can measure it in scales of good hope and no hope. However hope, like our reality, is a personal choice we make for ourselves. Take refuge in the hope you have for life, liberty, love will all come to pass, because none of us have to wait for it to become real, real is what we call real until it is challenged and a battle is fought. Winner takes his place among your treasured thoughts of reality. So has it been since you could ever remember.
Thus, the war is not on its way, nor has it passed; War, I'm afraid, is upon us on this very hour. It is time to armor yourself and protect those very core thoughts you feel to be true. Set your own hope high for victory, and go out and fight... do not follow your army of truths into a battle with no hope of victory.
The human race and its morality and goodness faces the biggest battle on four fronts. Physically, Mentally, Socially, and most of all Spiritually. Whatever loses the crumbling world is giving up too, you can, NAY!, YOU MUST Stand up this very moment and tell yourself that what is real and good and just in your mind is the YOUR REALITY.
Whilst we must take this into account that every man wields an army of thought, it is not without a chance of waring with and winning. Sacking villages and taking land maybe not be the order of these days, but it certainly the age of psychological warfare. Be relentless and your mind will guard itself.
The board is set, the pieces are moving, its your turn to wage war in order to protect your Reality or lose to a better one. The choice is yours...... Choose wisely.
~J
Reality is nothing more than a culmination of what I think, I feel, and I believe. I think therefore I am is my premise. Reality is nothing more then what I think to be true, feel to be real, and believe is right. Therefore it is most certain that my reality is not yours, nor will it easily sync with society. What perhaps is the "greater reality" then. The reality we believe to exist is nothing more then secondary forces fighting to take their hold and change our world of realism.
Every we fight battles. Battles between you and them. The staging grounds are your 5 senses and your will to win or lose is based on what battles you choose to win or lose. Mayhaps you might understand that there are choices in what we believe. Great battles are being waged in Iowa over what Iowans will do to alter their reality. Hope, as it were, is among these battles for chance.
Hope is a strange part of our paradigm. It no commodity, yet we can measure it in scales of good hope and no hope. However hope, like our reality, is a personal choice we make for ourselves. Take refuge in the hope you have for life, liberty, love will all come to pass, because none of us have to wait for it to become real, real is what we call real until it is challenged and a battle is fought. Winner takes his place among your treasured thoughts of reality. So has it been since you could ever remember.
Thus, the war is not on its way, nor has it passed; War, I'm afraid, is upon us on this very hour. It is time to armor yourself and protect those very core thoughts you feel to be true. Set your own hope high for victory, and go out and fight... do not follow your army of truths into a battle with no hope of victory.
The human race and its morality and goodness faces the biggest battle on four fronts. Physically, Mentally, Socially, and most of all Spiritually. Whatever loses the crumbling world is giving up too, you can, NAY!, YOU MUST Stand up this very moment and tell yourself that what is real and good and just in your mind is the YOUR REALITY.
Whilst we must take this into account that every man wields an army of thought, it is not without a chance of waring with and winning. Sacking villages and taking land maybe not be the order of these days, but it certainly the age of psychological warfare. Be relentless and your mind will guard itself.
The board is set, the pieces are moving, its your turn to wage war in order to protect your Reality or lose to a better one. The choice is yours...... Choose wisely.
~J
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Opening up a new leaf
Wow! the stars have not aligned for me since the beginning of September~ :-P
It has to be a cosmic wave I'm in. For so much up there was starting in March, there had to be a down.. Right? That only means it's going to go up.. sometime ___----___------____-----
Let me try to talk about the zen thought of nothingness... This maybe differ from what you know or what's actually true, but in a way new philosophies are always pioneered by suggestion and reflection... So here I go.
In the cosmic wave of things, I, like many others, are swept into a sea of consciousness that drives our ambitions. Somehow the need for something drives our dimensional urge to be misers of modernity. However, this is not the way of the universe. In space there surrounds every body a vacuum, in outerspace it is full of nothingness... Endless lightyears of nothingness. To think of ourselves as simply complex pieces of the greater universe would twist our reality. It would make everything, including ambitions, fall so far down on the scale of "What gives?!" that we may drop our lives completely... In doing so we would join the universe as we would be simply emulating what we know about it... Nothingness is simply acknowledging the greater truth that what is important now isn't really important at all.
My Zen thought revolves around the idea that nothingness is the order of things. Imagining myself as a spec whirling around the galaxy as a space explorer on mother ship Earth just boggles the imagination. Connection with that sort of enlightenment would resolve me to hypocrisy with my own faith, however... Application of the cosmos zen thought in your and my life is this:
1.) Don't sweat the small stuff
2.) The future is always *about* to happen, but don't be lazy; always be alert for the next thing!
3.) Everything untangles and sorts itself out if you let go
oh and....
4.) Don't forget your towel.
Music to check out this week:
first a note.. I've been changing my tastes from jazzy hip-hop beats to now Japanese folk music, not as in Japanese original folk, but American style folk music being sung by Japanese artists. I've found some artists that have really hit an accord and have turned me on. If you're interested I can send 1 song samples when convenient or you can google 'em.
Featured Artist:
School Food Punishment
Details:
Label: JULY RECORDS
Released: 21 Nov 2007
Genres: indie rock/ambient/pop
They're a hip group with plenty of psychedelic pop-rock groove to them. When you listen to them it's like listening to a Radiohead like group that just "lets go of everything" and plays. I found them on the in-tar-web as always...
Also other bands I'm listening too lately:
Aiko Shimada- An Acoustic Folk singer from Seattle that sings and writes both Japanese and English songs. Very mellow and easy to listen to.
Tenniscoats- A trippy folk/psy/rock band with that mandolin sound mixed with modern sounds for a modern eclectic feel.
Nujabes w/ Shing02 (still)- Jazz/Hip-hop/Rap music.. mostly in English, but I digg the beats and the total laid back chillness of it. Since listening to Nujabe's latest album "Modal Soul" I don't think I'll ever listen to modern rap/hip-hop music again. (As if I did)
K~
~J out
It has to be a cosmic wave I'm in. For so much up there was starting in March, there had to be a down.. Right? That only means it's going to go up.. sometime ___----___------____-----
Let me try to talk about the zen thought of nothingness... This maybe differ from what you know or what's actually true, but in a way new philosophies are always pioneered by suggestion and reflection... So here I go.
In the cosmic wave of things, I, like many others, are swept into a sea of consciousness that drives our ambitions. Somehow the need for something drives our dimensional urge to be misers of modernity. However, this is not the way of the universe. In space there surrounds every body a vacuum, in outerspace it is full of nothingness... Endless lightyears of nothingness. To think of ourselves as simply complex pieces of the greater universe would twist our reality. It would make everything, including ambitions, fall so far down on the scale of "What gives?!" that we may drop our lives completely... In doing so we would join the universe as we would be simply emulating what we know about it... Nothingness is simply acknowledging the greater truth that what is important now isn't really important at all.
My Zen thought revolves around the idea that nothingness is the order of things. Imagining myself as a spec whirling around the galaxy as a space explorer on mother ship Earth just boggles the imagination. Connection with that sort of enlightenment would resolve me to hypocrisy with my own faith, however... Application of the cosmos zen thought in your and my life is this:
1.) Don't sweat the small stuff
2.) The future is always *about* to happen, but don't be lazy; always be alert for the next thing!
3.) Everything untangles and sorts itself out if you let go
oh and....
4.) Don't forget your towel.
Music to check out this week:
first a note.. I've been changing my tastes from jazzy hip-hop beats to now Japanese folk music, not as in Japanese original folk, but American style folk music being sung by Japanese artists. I've found some artists that have really hit an accord and have turned me on. If you're interested I can send 1 song samples when convenient or you can google 'em.
Featured Artist:
School Food Punishment
Details:
Label: JULY RECORDS
Released: 21 Nov 2007
Genres: indie rock/ambient/pop
They're a hip group with plenty of psychedelic pop-rock groove to them. When you listen to them it's like listening to a Radiohead like group that just "lets go of everything" and plays. I found them on the in-tar-web as always...
Also other bands I'm listening too lately:
Aiko Shimada- An Acoustic Folk singer from Seattle that sings and writes both Japanese and English songs. Very mellow and easy to listen to.
Tenniscoats- A trippy folk/psy/rock band with that mandolin sound mixed with modern sounds for a modern eclectic feel.
Nujabes w/ Shing02 (still)- Jazz/Hip-hop/Rap music.. mostly in English, but I digg the beats and the total laid back chillness of it. Since listening to Nujabe's latest album "Modal Soul" I don't think I'll ever listen to modern rap/hip-hop music again. (As if I did)
K~
~J out
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Bored?
This isn't a real post, but more of an update... Spending time with nothing to do this season? I know what's its like.. School maybe out (for good) or you're not working... what's a person to do?
No Worries! You've lucked out because somewhere Picasa (which is linked to Google, which this blog is hosted by) just ran into a sheeez-nit load of more space. That means bloggers like me just got a freaking gig to load pics too..
So guess what.. I updated by webalbums.. In fact I did a major "MEGA-UPLOAD" and uploaded nearly every good pic I had from when I left Sapporo in December of 2006 to when I left in early 2007.. Yep! That's right...
Over 680 never before seen pics have been uploaded to my albums,
15 New never before seen albums have been added..
IT'S A Photo fiesta!!!
to get to them either click on the "web albums" link on the right column or go to this link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/wheejc
Here's a breakdown of the albums
(note that albums with an asterisk "*" is a newly uploaded album)
Album Name:
(I recommend finding a good relaxing album like School Food Punishment's SCHOOL FOOD IS GOOD FOOD, or Incubus, or another good one is Radio Head's new album "In Rainbows" which I did pay for by the way)
Yeah... Ok You're welcome
~J out
No Worries! You've lucked out because somewhere Picasa (which is linked to Google, which this blog is hosted by) just ran into a sheeez-nit load of more space. That means bloggers like me just got a freaking gig to load pics too..
So guess what.. I updated by webalbums.. In fact I did a major "MEGA-UPLOAD" and uploaded nearly every good pic I had from when I left Sapporo in December of 2006 to when I left in early 2007.. Yep! That's right...
Over 680 never before seen pics have been uploaded to my albums,
15 New never before seen albums have been added..
IT'S A Photo fiesta!!!
to get to them either click on the "web albums" link on the right column or go to this link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/wheejc
Here's a breakdown of the albums
(note that albums with an asterisk "*" is a newly uploaded album)
Album Name:
- Kamakura (37 new pics)*
- Nikko (41)*
- Roppongi & Mori Art Tower (17)*
- Ise Jingu Shrine (28)*
- Inuyama-Jo Castle (29)*
- Tokyo to Kyoto Train ride Many Pics of Fuji (35)*
- 1day Tokyo/T-Tower 12.17-18.2006 (31)*
- Sapporo-Tokyo Train Ride (21)*
- Hokkaido University R3vis7ed 11.25.06 (30)*
- Another Sapporo Excursion 11.18.2006 (26)*
- Tokyo-Ginza District (23)*
- Senso-Ji (30)*
- Imperial Palace during the showing of the Emperor of Japan (72)*
- Meiji Jingu new years (34)*
- New Years Eve with Alan (13)*
- +21 to Osaka
- +10 to Fushimi Inari
- +34 to Himeji
- +35 to Nara
- +57 to Kyoto
- +42 to Hokusei Gakuen University
- +19 to Random
(I recommend finding a good relaxing album like School Food Punishment's SCHOOL FOOD IS GOOD FOOD, or Incubus, or another good one is Radio Head's new album "In Rainbows" which I did pay for by the way)
Yeah... Ok You're welcome
~J out
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Oh my gosh Rooibos Herbal Tea!
Oh my gosh! Rooibos Herbal tea where have you been all my life!
Yesterday I made a safeway stop to pick up some dinner when I just happened to spot the "quick sale bin." If none of you have ever been to the back of a safeway between the milk and pharmacy, It's an untamed wilderness back there!
Among the uninteresting deals, my eyes (who were looking for tea moments earlier) spotted a khaki box with a lion on the front. Being a sucker for exotic teas (as I am) I examined it, "Kalahari Red Tea." Ooh that sounded exotic enough "Premium South African Rooibos Herb Tea. For a tea this exotic I wasn't going to pay more than a dollar, but to my pleasant surprise it was marked $.50 cents. To boot was a box of Celestial Seasonings Green Tea Sampler so if the Rooibos Root doesn't do it then I'll have Mandarin Orchard Green Tea as a backup.
So today I opened the khaki box with the glazed red logo to reveal 20 bags sealed in white sheaths with exotic tea contents that initially smelled like tea made of a tumbleweed. I filled my battered Tigger the Tiger "coffee overload" mug that has seen its share of toxic concoctions and took a sip of this elixir. The description was no lie, Kalahari Reserve Pure African Rooibos Red Tea tastes like Red bush, the most popular herb in Southern Africa. I tasted something, perhaps the tender tips of the Rooibos bush. However, it took a bit of time before the sweet, smooth taste kicked in. Admittedly I wasn't impressed, for a member of the legume family, I expected a bit more. Adding milk helped, but it was only after consuming half the contents of the potion when perhaps the sensation kicked in and I did noticeably felt better.
The final assessment at the end of one bag was that this visibly red liquid was indeed an exotic drink and well worth the experience. However its unlikely I'll be switching over to this as my regular drink of choice (which currently is Double Burgemont Grey Tea). I have yet to report on the tastes of the Celestial Seasonings brand, but I've had previous teas from them and they are generally a good tea so I expect a good experience there.
For tea lovers and non-tea lovers you should always challenge yourself to a new brand once you run out of tea. Often you'll find exotic blends in the cheap isles of the super markets. Try them.. It's too often we get stuck in the constant monotony of one "go-to tea" which keeps us from discovering something better. At it's root (no pun intended) having tasted Rooibos Bush Red Tea I felt I've learned something new about the world outside the traditional boundaries of learning. It's likely that you too, after trying an exotic tea, will have such an enlightening experience as I did.
Kalahari Reserve Red Tea's Official Website
~J out
EDIT 10:39 am
Just tried the Celestial Seasonings Honey Lemon Ginseng from their Green Tea Sampler and it is tons more better in flavor, sweetness, and robustness than the Red Tea. The Red Tea is definitely for those who want a more organic earthy like tea..
Yesterday I made a safeway stop to pick up some dinner when I just happened to spot the "quick sale bin." If none of you have ever been to the back of a safeway between the milk and pharmacy, It's an untamed wilderness back there!
Among the uninteresting deals, my eyes (who were looking for tea moments earlier) spotted a khaki box with a lion on the front. Being a sucker for exotic teas (as I am) I examined it, "Kalahari Red Tea." Ooh that sounded exotic enough "Premium South African Rooibos Herb Tea. For a tea this exotic I wasn't going to pay more than a dollar, but to my pleasant surprise it was marked $.50 cents. To boot was a box of Celestial Seasonings Green Tea Sampler so if the Rooibos Root doesn't do it then I'll have Mandarin Orchard Green Tea as a backup.
So today I opened the khaki box with the glazed red logo to reveal 20 bags sealed in white sheaths with exotic tea contents that initially smelled like tea made of a tumbleweed. I filled my battered Tigger the Tiger "coffee overload" mug that has seen its share of toxic concoctions and took a sip of this elixir. The description was no lie, Kalahari Reserve Pure African Rooibos Red Tea tastes like Red bush, the most popular herb in Southern Africa. I tasted something, perhaps the tender tips of the Rooibos bush. However, it took a bit of time before the sweet, smooth taste kicked in. Admittedly I wasn't impressed, for a member of the legume family, I expected a bit more. Adding milk helped, but it was only after consuming half the contents of the potion when perhaps the sensation kicked in and I did noticeably felt better.The final assessment at the end of one bag was that this visibly red liquid was indeed an exotic drink and well worth the experience. However its unlikely I'll be switching over to this as my regular drink of choice (which currently is Double Burgemont Grey Tea). I have yet to report on the tastes of the Celestial Seasonings brand, but I've had previous teas from them and they are generally a good tea so I expect a good experience there.
For tea lovers and non-tea lovers you should always challenge yourself to a new brand once you run out of tea. Often you'll find exotic blends in the cheap isles of the super markets. Try them.. It's too often we get stuck in the constant monotony of one "go-to tea" which keeps us from discovering something better. At it's root (no pun intended) having tasted Rooibos Bush Red Tea I felt I've learned something new about the world outside the traditional boundaries of learning. It's likely that you too, after trying an exotic tea, will have such an enlightening experience as I did.
Kalahari Reserve Red Tea's Official Website
~J out
EDIT 10:39 am
Just tried the Celestial Seasonings Honey Lemon Ginseng from their Green Tea Sampler and it is tons more better in flavor, sweetness, and robustness than the Red Tea. The Red Tea is definitely for those who want a more organic earthy like tea..
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Türkçe Scouting
It just happen to be the other day when I was looking up Turkish scouting websites, I ran into this charming and intriguing photo:
This is a picture of Turkish Cubscouts. The official name for the Turkish Scouting movement is Türkiye İzcilik Federasyonu (Scouting and Guiding Federation of Turkey, TİF). The picture in the background (I'm assuming) is Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Pasha aka "Atatürk".[*edit] What I find most intriguing about Turkish scouts is that the cubscouts are co-ed while the boy scouting part is split up by gender (M/F), however there really isn't a separate group for women... They're all under the universal banner of scouts, but they're separate.
A second, equally intriguing, thing I find interesting is that in Turkey the scouting movement is strong enough and big enough to be in both the main country of Turkey and the de facto part of Turkey (The independent Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) Both groups advance the values of scouting which are universal..
The Scout Motto is Daima Hazır, Always Prepared in Turkish.
And their emblem is still the fleur-de-lis.
Something to point out is that massive portrait of (who I think) is the scouting founder. WHAT A Testament! They obviously value this person's contribution to society. I vaguely remember a news report of youth in a similar Russian scouting movement (though it was very different from scouting) that had a giant portrait of Vladimir Putin (BTW good job on being re-elected :) .
If anything unique came out of the Cold War it may have very well been this massive portrait thing that seems to glorify great leaders. Imagine one of these in your public school for each president in office, imagine one of these in your office for each Company CEO, imagine one of these at your family reunion for the couple that immigrated to the United States... Wow wouldn't THAT be something?!
Indeed.. ..
For all you scouter's out there here's just one more token of proof that the scouting movement is still strong world wide!
~J
[*edit note] Originally I thought it was Turkey's Scouting Founder Ahmet Robenson, but after some more research I now think it's Atatürk which would make a lot more sense then Ahmet. The funny thing is all these Turkish guys look similar in their portraits.
This is a picture of Turkish Cubscouts. The official name for the Turkish Scouting movement is Türkiye İzcilik Federasyonu (Scouting and Guiding Federation of Turkey, TİF). The picture in the background (I'm assuming) is Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Pasha aka "Atatürk".[*edit] What I find most intriguing about Turkish scouts is that the cubscouts are co-ed while the boy scouting part is split up by gender (M/F), however there really isn't a separate group for women... They're all under the universal banner of scouts, but they're separate.
A second, equally intriguing, thing I find interesting is that in Turkey the scouting movement is strong enough and big enough to be in both the main country of Turkey and the de facto part of Turkey (The independent Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) Both groups advance the values of scouting which are universal..
The Scout Motto is Daima Hazır, Always Prepared in Turkish.
And their emblem is still the fleur-de-lis.
Something to point out is that massive portrait of (who I think) is the scouting founder. WHAT A Testament! They obviously value this person's contribution to society. I vaguely remember a news report of youth in a similar Russian scouting movement (though it was very different from scouting) that had a giant portrait of Vladimir Putin (BTW good job on being re-elected :) .
If anything unique came out of the Cold War it may have very well been this massive portrait thing that seems to glorify great leaders. Imagine one of these in your public school for each president in office, imagine one of these in your office for each Company CEO, imagine one of these at your family reunion for the couple that immigrated to the United States... Wow wouldn't THAT be something?!
Indeed.. ..
For all you scouter's out there here's just one more token of proof that the scouting movement is still strong world wide!
~J
[*edit note] Originally I thought it was Turkey's Scouting Founder Ahmet Robenson, but after some more research I now think it's Atatürk which would make a lot more sense then Ahmet. The funny thing is all these Turkish guys look similar in their portraits.
Monday, December 03, 2007
It could be a December 2 Remember!
What a month so far 'eh? It's like everything is happening so 'crazy like' that it's possible this will be (another) December to remember.
On the 31st or 1st we got a flurry of snow...
then last night we got super strong winds on the coast and massive rain. In fact they've closed off the klineline bridge in Hazeldale.
The worst of it is that "News" Channel 8 choose to broadcast their "extended" coverage rather then do the 30 min updates. It's always like that.. Once something happens (like a snow flurry or ice spell) it's 3 or 4 hours straight of the same footage of a guy getting stuck in a puddle, or doing the slip and slide on icy roads, or watching the rivers go up and up. It's all impressive of course and news of a different sort.
Its refreshing that it's not political news, but weather news has its limits of tolerability. I'm not sure what to say other than I hope the weather drys up (not for my sake) but for the sake of getting some regular news. (on the flip side it is pretty funny watching people getting stuck on Foster road.)
~J
On the 31st or 1st we got a flurry of snow...
then last night we got super strong winds on the coast and massive rain. In fact they've closed off the klineline bridge in Hazeldale.
The worst of it is that "News" Channel 8 choose to broadcast their "extended" coverage rather then do the 30 min updates. It's always like that.. Once something happens (like a snow flurry or ice spell) it's 3 or 4 hours straight of the same footage of a guy getting stuck in a puddle, or doing the slip and slide on icy roads, or watching the rivers go up and up. It's all impressive of course and news of a different sort.
Its refreshing that it's not political news, but weather news has its limits of tolerability. I'm not sure what to say other than I hope the weather drys up (not for my sake) but for the sake of getting some regular news. (on the flip side it is pretty funny watching people getting stuck on Foster road.)
~J
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