Did you ever realize that there’s an insane variety of rice products in the Chinese diet?! Rice porridge (congee), dumplings, noodles, and buns are just a handful. Truly a staple, starting with a breakfast food like congee, “flavored with all manner of additions such as salted eggs, pickled vegetables, meat, or seafood,” and rice dishes for lunch or dinner through to desserts like glutinous rice balls filled with peanut or sesame. Simply resourceful if you ask me! To be able to use one crop to make a multitude of dishes. Not only is rice a staple dietary source, and integrated into cultural celebrations, like zong(4) zi (粽子，tamales) during the 5th lunar month of the Dragon Boat Festival, rice is an interesting look into the integration of food, culture, and language:
Rice appears in a wide range of idioms and expressions. For example, a person’s means of filling his or her bowl, that is, his or her job, is known as a “rice bowl,” so an “iron rice bowl” refers to an “unbreakable” government job-for-life, while a “golden rice bowl” is any well-paid job. Someone who eats a lot is called a “rice bucket,” while someone who eats but does little work is a “rice worm.”
Pintley is a new community of beer drinkers, providing personalized recommendations based on how you rate beers. Sign up for an account, rate beers you’ve tried, and continue to update your profile with tasting notes and ratings to keep a record. Based on your feedback, Pintley recommends beers that you’ll like. You can also browse by brewer or style, see what other’s have said about the library of beers, save beers to favorites or wish list, and interact with other community members. Sounds like a great site for beer fanatics! And a much better way to keep those tasting notes than in a scribbled, old notebook.
I started a project attempting to etch glass… When starting it, I didn’t realize it would be so simple! The vinyl sticker material used to make the stencil was the hardest part to master. If you’re trying this, a few trials should do the trick to familiarize yourself with how the material cuts with an exacto knife The product I found to etch glass was at the local craft’s store: a glass etching cream.
Gather additional materials needed: etching cream, exacto or utility knife, glass, vinyl stenciling sticker, and paint brush.
Bacon!! Mo’s Bacon Bar, to be exact. I had a taste of this mini-chocolate bar the other day and the salty, sweet flavor was pretty good! I think it was the novelty of the product more than the chocolate itself that made it delicious. Funny how that works. Regardless, along with the infused bacon flavor in the chocolate, which was smooth and not overwhelmingly rich, there were bits and pieces of the alderwood smoked salt giving the chocolate more texture and the impression of salty bacon. A 3oz. bar can be bought on the Vosges “Haut Chocolat” site for $7.50. And many other clever gifts
There are other flavors too:
Naga: sweet Indian curry + coconut + deep milk chocolate, 41% cacao
Gianduja: almonds + caramelized hazelnut paste + deep milk chocolate
Black Pearl: ginger + wasabi + black sesame seeds + dark chocolate, 55% cacao
Red Fire: Mexican ancho & chipotle chillies + Ceylon cinnamon + dark chocolate, 55% cacao
The other day I was by South Station in Boston and saw a fairly young, caucasian man spit on the street. You’d think I’d be used to seeing the spitting and peeing on the street by now, having just spent four months in China, but really it partially grossed me out, partially offended me, and yet I found it partially completely acceptable.
When foreigners (Westerners) see Chinese pee, spit, or pick their noses in China, we think it’s uncivilized… but it’s perfectly OK for a white man in the States to do the same…? Of course I’m making a broad generalization and there are exceptions for individuals. It’s just very interesting, this idea of being rather ‘natural’ and open with our bodies as part of society. Or perhaps it’s the infrequency of these bodily actions in the States that makes it semi-acceptable.. or ignorable?
What are your thoughts? Acceptable? Or not? Or just part of human nature?
Found in Danshui (淡水), a port city north of Taipei, Taiwan:
“禁止设摊” (Jin4 zhi3 she4 tan1) translates to “It’s forbidden to set up a vendor’s stand”
I suppose as long as you are not directly selling the items from this public space, it’s perfectly acceptable to use the space for storage or display of your vending items! The Chinese really do make use of all the space they have, interpreting signage as they wish and hanging laundry anywhere possible. Is it a result of the over-population or of just being as resourceful as possible? Probably a combination of the two.
Coming across this very humorous series of infotoons on Flickr, I was oddly reminded of the absolutely most delicious hotdog I’d ever had; it was at Japadog during my trip to Vancouver.
The streetfood cart of hotdogs called Japadog was amazing! No wonder when we first tried to line up, we waited nearly 10 min and it felt like the line hadn’t even moved, not to mention the system of 2 lines: 1 to order and 1 to pick up. The special someone and I made it back and waited in line later in the evening when the crowds died down and tried 2 Japadogs.
Lacie‘s “iamaKey” USB key is lovely!
Lately, I’ve been busy backing up photos and reorganizing files. With the USB always with the house keys, iamaKey would be perfect for my absent-mindedness of always forgetting something.. haha.
Last night DesignMuseumBoston hosted an event in collaboration with Office Environments of New England to not only eat, drink, and meet some wonderful people, but to also give some background and insight into what the Design Museum is trying to accomplish. In addition to opening nomadic and ever-changing ‘pop-up museums’ in empty store fronts, DesignMuseumBoston partners with other local non-profits, such as Small Bean, to help solve design problems for those in need.
Design Museum Boston is a non-profit organization with the goal of creating and maintaining a network of virtual and physical exhibit spaces online, in Boston, and across New England.
These exhibits will educate the public on the role of design in their lives and the contributions of design within the creative economy. Design Museum Boston will also host events and programs related to design education to further connect the design community to the public.
Join their online community hosted by Ning to contribute ideas, start discussions, and get involved as their “intention is to create a hub for all forms of design, a place where anyone can come to experience and learn about the world we create.”
DesignMuseumBoston and the founders, Derek Cascio and Sam Aquillano, were first featured in a Boston Globe and FastCompany.
Now it’s confirmed, the first physical exhibit will be located at Boston City Hall entitled Creative Capital, opening in September! It looks like great things to come with advancing the design community in New England by educating the public
My name is Tiffany Wan and I'm a designer, currently exploring China. Please visit often to find inspiration, observations, and other anomalies along with some personal projects. Join me as I document my travels, fulfill my passions, and feed my curiosity. Cheers!
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The product I found to etch glass was at the local craft’s store: a glass etching cream.
