Sunday, May 23, 2010

Explosions In The Sky

My goodness. I love this band. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not at all a fan of instrumental music, but's that's not what Explosions in the Sky is. Regular instrumentals are all very alike. Basically what they are is classic music taken by musicians stripped of their lyrics, and left with just a slightly catchy tune that doesn't keep the listener wanting more. As Simon Cowell says it, "It's like eating ice. You're eating something, but it never leaves you completely satisfied," but like I've said, that's not at all what this band is like. They're not just instrumentals. It's hard to explain but there's something about their sound that's just pure, and wonderful.

I accidentally came across them, and I'd like to tell people they need to listen to this band, but honestly, they don't -- they have to. Explosions in the sky coordinates the sound of their music (instead of lyrics) with the titles of their songs, and it helps tell a deeper story. They're absoulutely wonderful. They don't need lyrics to explain their emotions, or to impact music fans. It's kind of like a secret language, and it's almost enough to make you cry. 


They have plain, wholesome instrumentals, and personally, I feel that is a big portion of what's missing in today's so called "music" industry. What ever happened to the beautiful sounds of Ludwig van Beethoven, or other classics? Oh, that's right. They got replaced by Justin Beiber, because apparently, "And I was like, 'baby, baby, baby ohhh. Like baby, baby, baby noo. Like baby, baby, baby ohh'," are the best lyrics ever set in the minds of humans. Honestly, folks, I must say my generation is doomed to a fiery pit of terrible music.


More over, I took the liberty of making some of their songs the backround music for my blog, so go ahead and scroll near the bottom right of this page where my play list tool is and check them out. I made my favorite song by them, So Long Lonesome, the first on the list so make sure to listen to that also. 

In a world where the majority of music is no longer based on thought or feeling, but whether you have a boyish cute smile that will sell millions of songs or not, it's great to come by a few good people that are still doing it right. Go listen to Explosions in the Sky. Even if you discover their not your taste, alls well that well.

Anyways, I don't want to sound like a teenage girl who's overly obsessing on the topic of music, so I will end this.

Follow my blog, ohmyjulia!

Goodbye for now,
:Julia

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Vintage Bicycles! It's beautiful.

Recently I've had a break through -- I want a bike. Just about thirty years ago a bike was what every kid wanted for their birthday, Christmas, maybe even Hanukkah. Unfortunately, nowadays, gifting doesn't get much more original other than the classic gift card. Anyways, I guess you could say that it was a spontaneous idea. My birthday party was a few days ago, and if your mind works like the average overly excited child (like mine) you've probably thought about what you want for you're next birthday, right after the day of your most recent one. 

It's not like I've never had a bike before. I've had many bikes when I was younger living in my house in Oregon. However, as the years progressed they became older and dustier in my garage, and then eventually nonexistent when my parents had to give them away. After a few years of being bike-less, I guess I'm not really sure why I would like to have a bike again other than the fact that they can be a plain ol' good time.

The other day I was browsing around on the internet -- doing a little web shopping, and I went to the Urban Outfitters website where I then discovered the Urban Outfitters Bike Shop (UO Bike Shop).  I died at how beautiful their bikes were. Urban Outfitters teamed up with Republic Bike, so now several bikes from Republic Bike are being sold on http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/. In fact, if you go to the site right now, I believe you'll be able to find a link to the bicycles on the bottom left corner of the homepage. Also, if you didn't already know, the bikes from Republic Bike are custom made (Even better right?). This means potential buyers are able to select colors on certain bike details, add skirts, or chain cases. In addition, the bicycles only go for a little bit under four hundred dollars (not including shipping). To some people this may seem like a large amount of money for a bike -- and it is. However, if you think about it, that's a pretty sweet deal for a customized bike that's absolutely adorable. Unfortunately, the one detail that isn't very customizable are the frame sizes. Since there isn't a very wide range of bike sizes/heights if you're generally smaller than the average American (like me) some bikes may not be very comfortable to ride. 




There are three types of bikes Republic Bike can customize for customers, which include: an aristotle, aristotle CRMO (It's a bit more expensive at $459), or plato. Aristotle bikes are multi-purpose and single speed, while Aristotle CRMOs are generally the same as regular aristotles besides their unique handle bars, and platos are for upright riding, and a simple stroll. Personally, I'd like to get my hands on a plato. I'm really into the vintage flair they give off, and the comfort aspects of riding one. I'm really not into the leaning over the handle bars type of ride, and because of that, an aristotle bike isn't an option for me.


Aristotle Bike.

Plato bicycle.


I'd really like to get my hands on a Republic Bike bicycle sometime. However, as much as I'd like to say I can afford a four hundred dollar bicycle, at the moment I cannot. Maybe in the future though, but for now I'll be adoring them from a distance. :)

:Julia


Sunday, May 16, 2010

Let's Go Get Some Sushi!

BTW: this post originally included photos, but my sucky SD card wouldn't work. Sorry, guys. :(

For those of you that don't know, I'm a large advocate of eating sushi. "What, raw fish, you really eat that?" Yes, yes I do. I absolutely love, love, love, love, love, sushi, and if it was the only food available to me for the rest of my life, I'd be quite alright with that.  A lot of people often comment along those lines, and in a sense, I can understand their reasons. Food is a very cultural aspect, and for those who haven't had much but processed food from a box all their life, sushi may not exactly sound like the most appetizing food of choice. I believe it was my sister's fiance who said that a humans' taste pallet develops by the time they reach age nine, and whether that may be true or not, I do not know. However, it does sound about right, and I will assume it is since google doesn't provide any information on the topic.

More over, I can understand how this may be true. My dad loves to cook, and when I say this, it doesn't mean he enjoys sticking Easy Mac in the microwave-oven, or warming up a can of string beans. Unlike the average American, my dad actually takes the time to buy the ingredients from the supermarket, and then prepare them. Since we are also Asian/Pacific Islander, a lot of the food we eat either is, or involves sea food. Because of this, for as long as I can remember my dad has prepared various dishes such as raw oysters with Tabasco, plain anchovies with lemon, and fresh squid with soy sauce. I can only assume my past history with food has led up to my current sushi addiction. Now, before I bore you even further with countless back round information, let me get to the important details.

This Monday I went out to eat sushi at my favorite place. In fact, it's the only sushi restaurant I've been to in the Las Vegas-Henderson area. The restaurant is called I Love Sushi, and it's located at 11041 South Eastern Ave #117 in Henderson, Nevada. This place serves various Japanese cuisine, but I believe they specialize in sushi. I was first taken there by my sister and her fiance, and I was immediately impressed as soon as I stepped into the building. At first sight, the outside isn't as impressive. In fact, it's quite plain. However, like I said, the inside is pleasing to the eyes. I appears to be a very traditional place; the men at the sushi bar speak Japanese and where traditional dress, including the women wearing thier kimonos. Everyone is very friendly, the service is nice, and it's a very neat and clean place, which is very important for a sushi bar.

My dad and my mom started out with oyster shots that night, and unfortunately I didn't get to try one, but basically it just looked like raw oyster in a shot glass soaked in Tabasco, served with a lemon wedge. I assumed it was a delicious, and according to my dad it was. As for my mom, I'd like to say the experience was equal to my dad's, but she doesn't enjoy spicy food as much as he does (neither do I).

I Love Sushi has a wide array of menu options, and that night I chose to eat dish on the baked roll menu. I must say the name of their rolls are quite colorful and unique. They very from "Who's your daddy?" to the more extreme, "I love my a**," but just so happened that night I would be delighting my taste buds with "Stacey's mom." I can only imagine what picture your mind may be creating as I mention the name of the sushi roll I ate. To put your mind at ease, "Stacey's mom" is basically salmon and avocado wrapped in sea weed paper, with eel and special sauce on top, all baked to wonderful juicy and tender roll.

The taste was overall pleasant and quite similar to the other baked rolls I've tried before such as, "Volcano." Sushi is normally served with ginger and wasabi (also known as "Japanese horseradish" for its taste), however, most people never get around to eating their wasabi. Unlike most people, I will actually eat all the wasabi I am given during a meal. I don't know what it is, but I enjoy that quick, burning, nasal passage opening experience  wasabi gives. It's a good time.

In addition to eating "Stacey's Mom", I also got a taste of my parent's rolls of what names they have, I cannot remember. However, they were both equally as tasty as the roll I had. My dad also ordered sea urchin, which they call uni, and I had the opportunity to taste it -- so I did. It had a dark boiled egg color, and a tofu type texture. It tasted surprisingly a lot like salmon roe, which I greatly enjoy.

It was another successful eating experience at I Love Sushi, and at the end of the meal I ate a bowl of green-tea mochi. For those of you who do not know what mochi is, it's a traditional Japanese food that's basically a sweet to tasteless, sticky rice doe, which usually is twisted around either bean-paste, ice cream, or pounded into shapes (I had ice cream), dusted with corn-starch or powder. Obviously, I like it a lot, and if you enjoy regular sticky rice that you can typically obtain at any Asian food market, you'd likely also favor mochi.

All in all, you get the point. I Love Sushi, and there's no wonder why the owners of the restaurant chose that particular name. Anyways, thank you for choosing to read my blog! Go out and eat some sushi. :)

Happy Asian American month!

:Julia