Warheads Sour Chewy Cubes

So I thought long and hard on how to do this post, and decided I'm not gonna give a history lesson here. (Meaning I was planning to write about the history of Warheads and that stuff.) Instead I'll save it when I do a review on the actual candy. :p Today I'm going to give a brief review on a find I found on Thanksgiving night; Warheads Gummies! That night, my mother, brother, and I took a ride around town to see all the Black Friday lines, when dinner was over, (this family get's bored easily,what can I say? ^o^), and we stopped at Walgreen's to get some icecream and snacks. As I skimmed the aisles, my eyes landed on this:

Now,folks who know me know I have a huge sweet tooth, and an equally sour tooth. So I bought it!

       The colors were certainly attention grabbing! I tried the original many times, so I had to try this.

                                                                             
   And now for the verdict! The candy was tangy but not sour. Since I like gummies alot it didn't really bother me. If you want something that tastes a little painful, stick to the original hard candies. :P If you want a similar but less painful version, try these out; they're not sour at all, but I did enjoy them! XD

                                                                             

Japanese Anime and Manga (comic) Terms

Hey everyone! Blogger was acting wacky with me, and arranged the lettering for some older posts all weird, but I think I fixed it all. (It was getting me frustrated haha.) Anyways, if you're interested in lurking in an anime/manga forum, or just recently got into it and are not familiar with a lot of fan terms, I thought of making this page to help out.  I would like to point out that some terms are my interpretation of the definition, since some terms have vague meanings. I will try to update this list if new terms pop up, and provide links for sources. (For now, this is just based on my personal knowledge after lurking around different forums!)

Anime- I discovered a small group of people that actually don't know what it stands for. Anime is the abbreviation of animation. (Shocking I know.)Outside of Japan, people use it for all animation produced in Japan. In Japan it's used for any animated show or film, regardless of country.

Manga- The general Japanese word for comics. (I heard there was a few other terms, but am not familiar with them.) Like "anime" the term is used to refer to Japanese comics from outside countries, while in Japan it's used to refer to comics in general, regardless of country.

Kawaii- Japanese word for cute, or anything related to cute. (Adorable, endearing,etc.)

Moe- Moe is one of those vague terms I talked about and can be a rather confusing concept to get, because it can mean different things to different people. The term was created sometime in the mid 2000's. For some people, moe became the replacement word for kawaii, and you might see some people use the words interchangeably. Generally it means having a protective feeling towards a character, and having the viewer develop the sense that they want to take care of or they feel for that character. On the other side, some people use the term moe as an attraction to a character, and establish stereotypes to fit the character in. This can be a preference because the viewer might relate to the archetype, for a romantic interest in that type, or more commonly with extreme fans, an erotic interest. Although the most popular definition is the endearing one, the term moe can mean something different depending on who you are talking to, so for that reason, I'm going to try avoid using the term, or give a very minimal usage when I do. :p

(This page will have the archetypes listed later.)

Akihabara- A district in Tokyo that used to be known as the area to go to for advanced electronics. Over the years it has become the popular spot for anime and manga fans, and you will find many shops selling to fans. Fans will abbreviate it as "Akiba" sometimes. The popular trend of maid cafe's can be found around here, and it still  has stores selling advanced electronics.

Manga (Comic ) Only Terms:

In Japan comic magazines are catered to different age groups and genders. There are general magazines though that don't have any particular preference, and some magazines will have comics, even though the basis of the magazines isn't comics. (Such as a fashion magazine or electronic magazines.)

Shonen - Shonen is comics aimed for boys, but some magazines have a large female readership too. Some sites will say it's comics aimed for boys around 10 - 18, but the age can be slightly younger or higher, and different magazines will target different age groups.

Shojo- Girl comics. Although girls don't have a problem reading comics not aimed for them, it is usually rare to see a guy admitting to reading stories published for girls. Again, many magazines are for girls, but some will target older audiences than others.

Seinen- Comics for young men. Depending on the magazine, the main demographic is for teens to early college age males, but some magazines might cater to multiple demographics and target a wide span of age groups, such as men in their late 20's and early 30's. (Though with the recent term I found out below, you can say that would mean those magazines are targeting the seinen and seijin demographics. :p)

Josei- The female equivalent to seinen. It's comics for young women,with some magazines targeting highschoolers and college age girls, or magazines for older women in their mid or late twenties.

Seijin- I only found out about this term recently, and will add more as I get more information. Seijin is men comics, or comics older than the seinen category. It's rarely used outside of Japan, so I don't have much information on it, other than comics for men around 30+ years are seijin, as well as all pornographic comics. Update: I had to ask a Japanese friend of mine and from what I understand, "seijin" is comics that are usually for men past their 20's. The Japanese wikipedia page lists adult comics (pornographic comics) with this term as well, so unless otherwise notified it's a term for both categories, for comics aimed at men and for pornographic manga.

(I have no idea if there is a term like "seijin" for the female demographic. As of this time at least.)

Manhua- Chinese comics. It's a term that'll pop up in forums from time to time.

Manwha- Korean comics. Many are very similar in style to regular Japanese comics, so some people might mistaken the two.

I found two sites, (both forum links), that mentioned the term seijin. As I mentioned before, it's
hardly talked about on english forums, and I doubt many foreign anime fans are aware the term
exists. The first mention of it was a discussion I found on the Anime News Network forum, but it's
old, from 2005. (Mind you, the way the posters argued about it then does not mean they have the same opinions now. There was less information on demographics in the early- mid 2000's.)
The second was a more recent topic from Manga Updates, (it's a few years old), where someone
requested seijin manga, and contains some info on seinen as well.


This page will constantly be updated, and I will cite some more terms and links in the following days, so you can read more about the terminology if you want. If you want to add a term to the list, just post one in the comments, and cite some proof (a link to a website/popular blog,etc), and I'll add it. ^^

Introduction on What Anime Isn't- a.k.a Japanese Animation For Dummies

                     Hey there folks! I'm going to explain basic misconceptions of what "anime" is and isn't, and why people like it. I might use some sources for a better argument later, but for now this article will be  based on first-hand experience I had from people who would tease me about it.  First, a brief explanation on why I'm doing this. I've been into Japanese animation since I was about 4 years old, but didn't realize it was even Japanese, until my father got a home computer with internet when I was seven. My first shows were the common ones airing in the United States in the late 90's, and early 2000's, such as Sailormoon, Pokemon, Digimon,or Dragonball Z. However, while I looked online and tried to find information on many series that didn't air on American television, I realized there was alot more to animation from Japan than I thought. Most Americans, however, only get a glance of what anime is, looking at one or two episodes of the shows I listed and assume most are like that.

                  Which has led me to write an article like this. Again, most examples I used are based on remarks people gave me, when I admitted it was a hobby of mine. I don't want this to be a rant of wall text, so I'll have a few introduction pages later on.
       
         1) Cartoons are for kids, why do you watch it?
- Some people assume other cultures will be extremely similar to America, and can't understand for the life of them why any grown person would watch such a thing. (Though for some reason it was perfectly acceptable in high school to admit you watched Disney films...) No, the animation in Japan is not what is commonly watched in American television. Most 2D animation airing in American TV, is 30 minute comedy shows that poke fun of something or another. (Even the "adult" animation in America is in a similar state; Family Guy, the Simpsons,etc.)Although Japan has many animation series for small kids,the series that are most popular are for the teenage/young adult market. Japan evolved their animation as an art medium not just for comedy skits, but as a medium for telling stories. And since many good series are for an older demographic, it can go into analyzing characters and having a complicated plot. (Not all of them, but a good chunk.)  A good series intrigues me as much as a good novel, which is why I enjoy watching series from Japan.
       
       2) Anime is that porno stuff, why do you like reading that?
-  Some people have misconceptions that what is acceptable and unacceptable in their culture will be the same for other cultures. There are many romantic comedies, aimed for teenage boys,or girls, in Japan, that might have some mild nudity and show not-very-detailed-breasts. ( It was for bringing such a series in school that had the boys acting immature and yelling about it to me.) In Japan, and in most of the American market, that is not considered "pornography". However there are more serious works as well with mild nudity.Even non-explicit sex scenes are allowed in some series,(remember I said the majority of popular series are for the teenage/young adult market), as long as nothing is really showing. However there are just as many series that are family friendly G-rated fair, so don't stereotype and assume one genre in this medium is the only genre that exists.
      I would like to point out that the above examples is not considered pornographic in the Japanese or American market, but there is a category of animation that is pornography. This is not for minors, and in Japan is restricted to the adult market,( 18+.)  In America it is commonly known as hentai, (Japanese for pervert), but in Japan people would call it porno animation or ero (erotic) anime. (ANN)  Although it exists, it does not mean it's for everyone; it's like saying everyone that likes watching television likes pornography!

         3) All anime is that stuff like Dragonball Z, or Sailormoon, or Naruto. Why do you watch weird
stuff like that?
- This,out of everything I listed, is the most common thing I was asked, especially in a small, isolated, high school. Honestly, it took me a while to understand what the implications were, but I didn't realize it until word got around. (I only told one or two people at first, and this was amazing enough to tell the whole grade apparently.) I think this comes from the little fact that people don't like to do research, and maybe due to one or two bad experiences with a strange fan, stereotype and assume everyone that likes ,"those cartoons from Japan", are weird people.
     No, not all anime are those series where people transform and yell attacks. Although alot of series like that exists, it does not make the bulk of anime. Many anime,like Naruto or Dragonball Z and even Sailormoon, usually are aimed for the preteen market in Japan. (And even so, still had a hefty number of edits for television airing. But we can leave that for another time.) So essentially, what the American market is basing their stereotypes from, is a watered down, diluted form of a story, that, especially back in the day, had little resemblance to the original Japanese series. (I'm talking about airings of series that were shown in the mid-late 90's.) Because of that, many people assume "anime" is mindless entertainment were people yell attacks and transform into something, (or carry monsters around), with little characterization and little plot.

               I'm going to spend another page explaining anime terms, and then I'll do manga. In the near future, I'll form a little history article to explain the when and how Japanese animation differed from American animation. For the record,if someone read this and doesn't watch anime cause it's not for them, I can respect that. I just hope you will leave a little more knowledgeable on why people like these things, and to just be respectful of hobbies that aren't the norm. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask in the comments!

      

How I Will Do Book Reviews.

              Hello, and good morning people! So some of you might be wondering if I'm going to do these introductory posts in every webpage on this blog. I'm not. I'm doing this for any story related things, so it will just be for the Books, Animation/Graphic Novel Section, and Film/Live Action TV section.
                   So what will I be doing for book reviews? I'm not going to do a star/point rating system, but if you read the other entries, that's a little obvious,haha. Book reviews will have a general, non-spoiler review of my thoughts on the overall book, and then I will critique it in later entries, chapter by chapter.
So if you want the non-spoiler review, check out the general review, not the chapters!

Introduction For Animation and Graphic Novels

                   Hey guys! I think you noticed, but I'm going to be doing some introductory posts since I'm so busy! Anything in this section will have a date, so you have an idea on the time period this work was made. Like the film section, there won't be a rating system, and I will have a general review of the overall series before I go do the chapter reviews. American or foreign animation not from Japan will have the official website listed, as well as their respective entry on IMDB. American or foreign comics not from Japan, will have the creator's website listed, or the publisher's site, since I have not seen a huge database/encyclopedia that lists all of them.( Feel free to direct me to any that you find,and I might use it.) Japanese animation will have their respective listing posted with an encyclopedia entry from ANN,(Anime News Network), and the official English and/or Japanese site. Japanese comics,(manga), will have the creator's website listed, magazine publisher's website, and an entry from Baka-Updates Manga,  since the site has a decently large encyclopedia of Japanese comics.

Introduction To How I do My Film Reviews

                   Hey everyone! This is just a small introductory post on how I want to do film/TV reviews. For film, and everything else I'm reviewing, I don't do a point system with stars or a number rating. It just makes it easier for me; I feel if I don't like something you should be able to tell in the tone I use while typing the review. Next, in every introduction, I'll put an IMDB link, (Internet Movie Data Base for the lazy ones), and the year of the film/TV show, so you know specifically what I'm talking about.( I thought this would help especially concerning films/series that had multiple remakes and such.)

Little Rock, Arkansas - Istanbul Mediterranean Restaurant

                 When I go to any food establishment, I would like to say I look for two things, good service, and good food. However if staff is underhanded, or if I have to wait for a table to get served, I am more than willing to wait. I'm not the type of person to throw a snide remark or leave because of a long wait. However, if I am going to be waiting for a long time, if a server can say,"I'm sorry this will take a while", or, "We're underhanded at the moment", it would be better than ignoring customers for almost 30 minutes.

         Now normally I am not the type to talk badly of an establishment, but if the customer service is this long, I feel I have to say something about it. Me and my friend came to the place a week or two ago, for the first time, since we hang around the Pleasant Ridge Town Center alot. (Where this restaurant is located.) It looked like a sit yourself in situation, which is what we did, as we noticed it was a fairly small place, and other customers coming in were doing the same thing.

           We came around the end of lunch hour, some time around 2 or 3.  The restaurant was a small shop; and you can see all the seating at one glance. The decor was slightly ethnic, but mostly simple in design, with a studio ceiling and dangling lights. Some foreign photos were hanged here and there in an otherwise blank wall. The place was a little full, but not really packed. They had a few empty seats around.When we entered we noticed there was only two servers, a boy and a girl. The girl took a group of guys that came after me and my friend, and we figured she just wanted to get the bigger crowd out of the way so we sat and waited. The boy disappeared sometime in the back for a while, taking care of his own orders, so we focused on the girl most of the time. She took their orders and went to the back, then came out and took dishes and plates from some older women who were finishing up. That was fine, we didn't see an issue at this point. A little bit after, when things cooled down, and most of the people left, a few new customers came in, and we noticed this girl was taking their orders. At this point, me and my friend felt a little uneasy, because technically we were there first, and no one even glanced at our table.

              The boy took some orders on the other side of the place and went back. Meanwhile the girl whizzed back and forth next to our table, and not looked at us at all. I would like to say at this point that some of the new customers were sitting right behind our table. Finally, about 20 minutes in waiting, the girl glances at us and asks," Have you been helped?" I wanted to say something, but all we said was," No ma'am." She got us some menus really quickly and asked for our drinks. When we told her, she left, and came back some 10 minutes later with it. At this point she left us alone again, to take care of other orders, and it was probably another 10 or 15 minutes when she arrived to ask what we wanted to eat. Well, at this point we were given plenty of time to consider it, and we told her what we wanted before she spirited away again.

              Food preparation took an average amount of time, which was probably another 10 minutes or so, for two people. We had lamb gyros,(they called it something else in this place), and tomato soup. Some time after we finished eating, she came some 15 minutes afterwards to remove our dishes, and offered us some free baklava,( a Mediterranean dessert like this. ) In the end she apologized to us for the long wait and didn't charge for the dessert nor the drinks, which was kind of her. However, the whole incident could have been avoided if she or the male waiter at least apologized for the delay  before the long wait, or offered some sort of excuse.

             I don't have complaints with the food itself;that was prepared nicely, and tasted fresh. However, due to what occurred here, this left a bad first impression on me, so I will probably not be visiting this place for a while. Perhaps next time, if I have a better experience, I'll put a better review...

                                                                               

                                                                              

                                                                                

                                                                               

                                                                              

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                 
                  The food was good; I won't complain of it, but I wish I could have provided more photos to point out how tiny the restaurant is. Technically, under normal cicumstances,  I feel it would be hard to miss somebody there.

Japanese Sweets - Botan Rice Candy

                  
            Today I'm doing a small entry on a candy I found. Botan Rice Candy is a Japanese hard candy that has a tangy taste, which seems to be a mixture of lemon and orange.When you undo the wrapper, the candy is covered with a type of wax paper that dissolves in the mouth as well.
   
          I first saw it in Arkansas, in the large Walmart off Cantrell Road. The box is decorated with traditional Japanese items. One picture has an "Inu Hariko," a traditional dog toy for children. The box also has a peony flower, since "Botan," is Japanese for peony.(The Wikipedia page states this nearly word for word, but if you google both words, you will see the article is accurate.)  Like you probably suspected, it is a small candy targeted to children, and comes with a sticker in every box.

         I recommend it to people who already have a sweet tooth; it's tart, but only slightly. It might feel a little wierd eating an edible paper thing, but it really doesn't do anything to the candy, and you can also take it off if you didn't want to eat it. The candy is a bit hard, but softens when you chew it. For folks looking for small foreign goodies, and/or people with a sweet tooth, this is a good confection to try. ^^

                                                                             
                                                                Front side.

                                                                                
                                                             Back side.

                                             Some nutritional facts and company logo. :p

                                                                                 

                                                                                
                                                       The sticker it came with.

                                          That plastic stuff is the edible wrapper. XD

                                                                               

  Wikipedia Page
  JFC Website  (The candy is not listed.)

Little Rock, Arkansas - Panda Garden

                   Open buffets can be found in any town, but I think people can tell quality food when they see and taste it. Panda Garden is a Chinese open buffet that is located in Shackelford. It seems they don't have a website at the moment,but here is a link that provides an address and some reviews.  ( The google search has a restaurant of the same name in Texas. But, like Buffalo Grill, it seems it's one of those places with a similar name, but with completely different food and ownership.)

                      The buffet is large and roomy, but not expensive or formal. The entrance has a large chandelier when you enter, but as it's not a fussy or fancy restaurant, so don't worry if  the large space seems slightly intimidating; it's a perfectly casual place to relax in, and you can sit down as long as needed. The place has two ways to do payments, you can pay a one time fee, (usually $11, depending on the time you're there), and take a takeout box with whatever you want, or you can dine- in. If you choose the latter, you will be asked what drink you would like, sit down in the dining area, and then you go to the buffet once you receive your dink.

             Now what's in the buffet? They have a dessert section, with small cakes, pastries, pie, and fruit salad. ( I usually get the fruit salad since it has marshmallows in it. XD) They have a decently sized sea food section, with crab meat, ( the type sold in Chinatown),  stuffed clams, oysters, shrimp, shrimp salad; all the works. I can proudly say that I tried nearly all the seafood there, since I love seafood!  (Probably not too healthy, but it's not like I go there everyday... :p) They have an appetizer section with bread or egg tarts on occasion.(An egg tart is commonly found in Chinatown bakeries, and yes it's made from egg. It looks like this.) What else? They also have typical Chinese chicken, like Sesame Chicken, Honey chicken, Teriyaki chicken, etc. They have a sushi section, and a place that has soup, usually a Chinese kind like Egg- Drop soup, or Wonton soup.

              My overall verdict? For about $11 dollars, you get all you can eat? Heck yeah! Go and drop by, they have something for everyone, even for those who don't like to eat Chinese food. ^^

                                                                               
                                      Taking cell photos at night... not the best idea. XD
                                         (But at least you can see everything. :P)

                                                                              
                                             I always liked looking at chandeliers. C:

                                                                              
                                                             Inside of the buffet.

 The buffet.

                                                                             
         Honey Chicken Wings, Breaded Shrimp, Steak on a Stick, Bacon and Crab, and some
                                                             Macaroni in the bottom. 

I went recently, getting almost the same thing.

                                                                            
                            The cup has Egg-Drop soup, and that's an Egg Tart on top. XD
                                              The stuff next to it is Lo-Mein, and rice.

                                                             See you next time!

The Arkansas State Fair! 2011 (Update 2012)

                     I've been to many different festivals around the states, but the Arkansas State Fair was the first state fair I've been too. My first time going to it was some five or six years ago, with me attending almost every year after that. They have it around the same time each year; this time it was from October 14 -23.

                         The fairgrounds are used for various events throughout the year, like gun shows, flea markets, and other small events.The biggest event that all the crowds attend though, is the yearly fair.The fair has the same rides and stalls installed every year, but it has enough things that it would take more than one day to look at everything. Remember those state fairs in the movies with the corndogs, the games, and rides? They hit it right on the money. The fair does look like those old time fairs, but with modern music in it, and slightly modern attractions.
                       
                Since all fairs do this a bit differently from each other, let me tell you how the pricing works. An entrance fee is paid up front, with a standard price for seniors, kids, and adults. The fee will be discounted on certain days when they have some event going on, so if you plan to go in the future, check up daily while the fair is in town. Then comes the inside fee. The games,food, and some events usually accept cash. The rides work in two ways; you can get coupons, which require a smaller usage per ride,(like two coupons per ride), or the tickets which you get from various ticket booths from the fair. A word of advice, the rides are expensive this year, and the pricing fluctuates yearly, so have extra cash on you if you want to try the rides. ( This year, it was about 5 or 6 tickets per ride, with 10 or 11 tickets costing approximately $20.)

                   Now if you're a health food lover, you might have to do a lot of digging around in the food booths. The fair has food, and very good food, but not really healthy. The traditional funnel cakes and corn dogs are in the fair, as well as Virgin Pina coladas and other drinks in their own special booths. However, the most popular food, (that I hear numerous people talking about), is the fried food. I can't speak for other state fairs, but the one in Arkansas have people experimenting with fried everything! You have fried Oreo, fried butter, fried ice cream,(don't ask), fried pie,(which I tried), fried watermelon, fried vegetables, and, well, you get the idea. For long time fair- goers this might come as no surprise, but I figure a new comer would appreciate the info. :p

                  So do I recommend the fair? Even if it's your only time, I whole heartedly say yes. I think, even once, it's worth the experience.Though, for future reference, it would be advisable not to be dead last, like what me and some friends did this year... you're not going to find much in terms of discounts or cheap admission. (Here is a local news channel showing all the discounted days this year. It will probably be very similar for the next fair. They also explain how to purchase coupons.  Today THV)
                                                                          
                                                                     

           Part of the entrance. Since these were taken at night, there is going to be a glare,sorry!

                                                                          
                                                               Entrance booth.

                                                                                  
                                          As you're going in... we took a side entrance.

                                                                             
                                I went to that booth and got myself a little fried something...

                                                                               
                           Presenting, Fried Key Lime Pie! It was good but a bit messy,haha.

                                                                               
                  I wish I knew how to fix the glare; but it's a cell photo so it's complicated. ><

                                                                              
                             We usually played games, and I have a few prizes from previous years,
                                                         but didn't really bother this time.

                                                                              
                    The photo is of a funhouse; I think it was taken from the Pirate Ship.
               ( The fair has the ride with an Egyptian theme, so it's called Pharaoh's Fury. :p)

                                                                              
                     Hm... I'm too scared to try the taller fair rides cause they don't look safe to me.
           In parks like Six Flags or other bigger amusement parks, I do like to go on
                     rollercoasters and those rides though! XD  This was also on the Pirate Ship.

                                                                        
                                             We went on this ride; it wasn't really scary. :p

                                                                             
                                               "Pharaoh's Fury." Taken as we got off.

     We also went on bumper cars, the swings, and the Zero Gravity ride that takes you sideways and you're not holding on to anything. XD By the way the carousel and swings have Old Victorian paintings and decor to them; so they might be older than the rest of the rides. I can't confirm it as fact though, but they are more decorated!
     
     This year's fair is over, but if you want something to do for next October, book a day if you're in town!

Update (10/21/12):
        Hey everyone! Today is the last day for this year's fair. I went on Monday for an hour or so,
 and got to try some different things.~ I had a co-worker yesterday mentioned they had red-velvet
 funnel cake, and fried Kool-Aid, which I haven't had the chance to try, but I did have a more
 traditional candy-apple,lol. I got to go on a new Roller- Coaster that they put this year, and saw
a show with trained baboons. In particular, this show. (If you ever go to a state fair and get to see
them, it's worth your time! And it's free!) I also got to get an old-fashioned/antique photo of myself
which I always wanted to do, (but it's not getting posted here!) Anyways, I didn't go a long time,
but I did something with my family, which I enjoyed. The photos look better this year as we went
in the day time. XD

                                                                               

           Double Update! (11/3/12) So, that last week of the fair, I ended up going again with some
        friends on Friday, and got the opportunity to try a Red-Velvet Funnel Cake, and I bought a
        hat at the Inventory room; the shop was from an Etsy seller, so I might do a review. ~ The
        Red-Velvet tasted like the cake; and they put icing, cream cheese, and sugar powder. It was
        really good, and I recommend everyone to try! The fish was also in the inventory room in a
        nature exhibit; some were about 4-5 feet long!