2008 Woodie Awards
Insomniac Insider
A touch of Japan
Paul Davis
Issue date: 3/4/04 Section: Arts & Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
After going to the Japanese night in Bossard, I found some sudden inspiration. I love the Japanese culture and have been studying the language, but I never realized just how incredibly involved it was until that night, and I had so many story ideas that I could attempt! So let the sleeplessness begin because we're going to party as if we're in Tokyo!
My roommates are asleep and it's time to get my party going. While I was at the festivities, I had someone write "friendship" in Japanese. The inspiration was so strong that I went out and bought a calligraphy brush, ink, and some paper. With my book of Japanese symbols beside me, I make an attempt at calligraphy.
Ever wonder what it looks like to run someone through a printing press? Well, I know, and I suggest if you aren't good with brushes and ink, please have a professional guide your brush. Perhaps I'm exaggerating, but it is something that's difficult for the art inept (or at least me).
A change of clothes and a shower later, and now I pull out the non-defiled paper of multiple colors. It's origami time! The trick is folding paper. Yes, it is that simple...kind of. Once more, I went through a great deal of paper and considered doing an article on Wal-Mart instead since a visit seemed almost inevitable. But finally, after hours of work, I created a flower. Don't ask to see it; it's so sacred that I shall not be showing it to anyone (which means it's so bad that it is now decomposing in a garbage heap somewhere).
Well, I'm zero for two now, and it's time to move on to the final activity: Japanese Gourmet. Because I'm not a complicated man (I don't know how to cook), I decided fried rice looked easy enough, so I gathered the recipes. I retrieved two and a half cups rice, two eggs beaten like the omelets they are, one large carrot, ham diced to make one cup, and soy sauce. Already I could see problems when I had to use a knife to dice the carrots. Nearly one finger down from a normal person, I continued to cook.
After removing the upset omelet from the pan, (I was talking too much and it sizzled at me) I placed the carrots in the same pan along with the ham. I almost forgot to cut the omelet into small squares. After these have become nice and warm, I added cold rice to the mix and a little soy sauce.
This is a little more than slightly abridged, but if it does sound good, I got my recipe from http://www.japanesegifts.com/recipe.htm. There are plenty more recipes where that came from, and I'm sure some of the more cooking adept readers wouldn't mind taking on slightly more challenging recipes.
By this point, I was burnt out, and I wouldn't be surprised if you were too. It's time to get some shut eye. Ohayo gozaimasu (good morning).
My roommates are asleep and it's time to get my party going. While I was at the festivities, I had someone write "friendship" in Japanese. The inspiration was so strong that I went out and bought a calligraphy brush, ink, and some paper. With my book of Japanese symbols beside me, I make an attempt at calligraphy.
Ever wonder what it looks like to run someone through a printing press? Well, I know, and I suggest if you aren't good with brushes and ink, please have a professional guide your brush. Perhaps I'm exaggerating, but it is something that's difficult for the art inept (or at least me).
A change of clothes and a shower later, and now I pull out the non-defiled paper of multiple colors. It's origami time! The trick is folding paper. Yes, it is that simple...kind of. Once more, I went through a great deal of paper and considered doing an article on Wal-Mart instead since a visit seemed almost inevitable. But finally, after hours of work, I created a flower. Don't ask to see it; it's so sacred that I shall not be showing it to anyone (which means it's so bad that it is now decomposing in a garbage heap somewhere).
Well, I'm zero for two now, and it's time to move on to the final activity: Japanese Gourmet. Because I'm not a complicated man (I don't know how to cook), I decided fried rice looked easy enough, so I gathered the recipes. I retrieved two and a half cups rice, two eggs beaten like the omelets they are, one large carrot, ham diced to make one cup, and soy sauce. Already I could see problems when I had to use a knife to dice the carrots. Nearly one finger down from a normal person, I continued to cook.
After removing the upset omelet from the pan, (I was talking too much and it sizzled at me) I placed the carrots in the same pan along with the ham. I almost forgot to cut the omelet into small squares. After these have become nice and warm, I added cold rice to the mix and a little soy sauce.
This is a little more than slightly abridged, but if it does sound good, I got my recipe from http://www.japanesegifts.com/recipe.htm. There are plenty more recipes where that came from, and I'm sure some of the more cooking adept readers wouldn't mind taking on slightly more challenging recipes.
By this point, I was burnt out, and I wouldn't be surprised if you were too. It's time to get some shut eye. Ohayo gozaimasu (good morning).