Over the years I’ve gone from liking Chivas Regal to Johnny Walker Black. Now I add to that list: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey. I find that it is smooth and easy to drink, and the taste is mellow and almost sweet. When I read about how it’s made, I actually salivated. Primary because of this:
Jack Daniel believed “Every day we make it, we’ll make it the best we can.” For him, that meant mellowing his whiskey drop by drop through ten feet of sugar maple charcoal.
Sugar maple charcoal. Mmm. I don’t know what the hell that is but it sure sounds delicious.
Since the middle of the week, when I had the idea of researching about this, I’ve been looking forward to tonight. I’m a responsible drinker see, I only drink on the weekends.
Mom’s 61st birthday is tomorrow and we are having a family dinner on Sunday night. At first we were gonna have the usual Japanese dinner that we do every year (her favourite!). Then I had a brain flash and thought we should try out something different this year. So we are going to K’s Restaurant in Northbridge to sample their French-Japanese fusion cuisine.
I’ve been there a few times many years ago – last time was NYE 2000. I wonder why did I stop going? The food was good and the ambience was excellent. You get to choose from 3 degustation sets with prices at $38, $45 and $55. The style of cuisine is similar to Tetsuya’s in Sydney at a third of the price. I’m assuming that from the pictures and descriptions on the Tetsuya’s site, and from what people have told me because I have never been. The idea of paying lots of money for food does not run in the family, so all this time that I’ve been going to Sydney my relatives there have never taken us.
K’s do not have a website so I can’t show you what it looks like but no fret – I’ll be taking pictures. I always enjoy sharing new places to go with my folks, so it should be a fun night for us all.
The above story is about a Japanese man who lives with over twenty love dolls in his tiny apartment. Each love doll cost him around US$6000 each. He doesn’t worry about scaring away potential lovers because “he’s given up on the idea of dating and marrying a woman in the real world.”
Love dolls are not a new idea (even dogs have them). So while having sex with a love doll may not be a common thing, it isn’t that strange either. Though living with that many and being happy about it certainly is.
Whilst we are on the subject of sex toys … the Metafilter post where I got this story from has some links to some other odd and innovative sex toys, including one called “The Cone” which allows for simultaneous use by both partners. Use your imagination.
You hate them too? Cool. But don’t tell them I said that.
People are funny. I had this conversation with a friend the other night. My words are in italic.
You know so-and-so? Yeah. I don’t like them.
You too? Excellent. Wanna hear a story? Cool.
But whatever I tell you, that stays on this table ok? Why? You don’t like them. I don’t like them. Who am I gonna tell?
I don’t care. Just don’t spread it. So you don’t like them …
Yes. But you don’t want them to know about it …
Yes. Because … ?
Well, we are sorta still friends. Riiiight.
I am so much more simple as a person. I don’t believe in spending the effort to keep up appearances. If I don’t like you, I don’t like you. If it’s clearcut, there’s no in between is there? So why even bother? As I grow older, I have less and less time to maintain relationships which are of no benefit to me.
Yeah you can call me selfish. But hey, one life to live and all that. I sure as hell ain’t gonna spend it worrying about what people whom I don’t like think of me.
Hang around a cosmopolitan city and you are bound to see many examples of this phenomenon: the Asian woman and white woman pairing. There’s something about them that are strangely alluring to men of all races. It’s like getting two for the price of one. It’s like a hot pocket of exoticness: Asian female for the white men, and white female for the Asian men. Or for the adventurous, the ultimate ménage-à-trois please!
Individually they may not even be the best looking examples of their respective nationalities but when placed in close vicinity together, they amplify each other’s attraction level. The sum is greater than the parts sorta thing, yeah.
And the women know the effect they have on us. You just have to look at their body language and the way they behave in the bars and clubs to know this.
Gemma Ward with local pretties
for the first issues of Vogue China and Vogue India
So I know why it works for us men, but why do you think a magazine targeted at women like Vogue does it? It brings up issues of white imperialism and Western standards of beauty being imposed on people of other races. But alas, my puny and shallow male brain made me look past all those deep questions. Pretty is pretty.
And incidentally, Gemma Ward who graces the covers above, is a hot Perth girl.
This clip (2:42) of the mind-bending video game “Portal” shows it as a very cool re-imagining of M. C. Escher’s famous picture, “Relativity“.
In the game, you carry a device that can create tunnels on walls and floors through which objects and your game character can travel through. These portals do not obey the laws of gravity and physics, nor spatial-temporal reasoning.
Don’t know what I’m talking about? Here’s M. C. Escher’s picture.
Now imagine playing in that alternate reality as a video game. Awesome.
I voted for the first time in my life today. Woohoo! I was all excited in the morning but it turned out to be as exciting as it was when I applied for my Australian citizenship. But it was a milestone nonetheless.
Mom and I drove to a nearby primary school and lined up outside the voting area. The queue was small and it moved swiftly. There were two pieces of paper to fill in: one for the House of Representatives, and one for the Senate. I was surprised to see a One Nation candidate on the ballot paper for the House of Reps. Naturally, I placed him last.
