Thursday, March 26, 2009

The Glories of Regent Square

My neighborhood's a great place to live, so I'm sure its reputation will survive the teaser description for this story:

A city police sergeant was wrong to cite a Regent Square man for flipping him off in 2006.

The whole thing: /www.post-gazette.com/pg/09083/957786-85.stm

Friday, March 13, 2009

Wonders of Canada


First, I found out a few weeks ago that you can get takoyaki in Toronto. Takoyaki, in case you didn't know, is a fried octopus fritter that you get as street food in Japan. It's yummy, as is its cousin, tako-sen (takoyaki squished between potatoey crackers with Kewpie Doll mayonnaise). Apparently this place is pretty good http://manpuku.ca/ and according to Chowhound (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/100248) there are even more places that make takoyaki and such in the area. Thank heavens. I thought I was going to have to go to New Jersey.

Now I find out about another treasure they're hiding up north. They have special hockey-themed Oreos! Lucky I started following goaliegirl on Twitter or I might never have found out.

Here's a photo of the cookies themselves:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/squeakybear/3260541299/

Here's a portfolio web page from the company that did packaging:
http://www.davisdesign.ca/portfolio/promotions

I might have to start reading #nhlcookiesmuggler

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Turning Japanese

I've always wrapped my bathrobe right over left. Don't know why, I always just felt right that way and wrong the other way. I mean, for years, my whole life.


In Japan, you always wrap your clothes left over right. I don't know why, maybe nobody really knows why, but that's how you do it. Like so many Japanese things, there's only one right way to do it. Supposedly, when you dress the dead you dress them the other way. (If I'm worried I did it wrong I ask my friends if I'm dead.)

So lately I've been playing a lot with my SCA friends, many of whom have Japanese persona or at least go that way once in a while (check us out at http://yamakaminari.com/). And we hosted a spiffy Japanese-themed event at the end of February. And I made a new Japanese outfit for the event, with real silk and brocade (and a new sewing machine), and it even matches my gender and everything.

And then I put my bathrobe on again. I go through phases of wearing it or not wearing it - in fact, last week I dug it out because I was watching It Happened One Night and I wanted to be like Clark Gable, all classy with my pajamas _and_ a robe. And last week, for some reason, I wrapped it left over right. Just automatically. Then I did it again the next time I put it on. And again.

Last night, I tried wrapping it right over left (the old "right" way) and it was really awkward.

So, something has changed. Am I turning Japanese? I have been eating a lot of pickles.... But for whatever reason I guess I'll be wrapping the bathrobe the other way for a while.

It's not a bad deal, actually. I found a whole breast pocket in this robe that I never noticed before!