Yuck.

So, I love the fact that Japan has a tendency to learn, change and adapt many things from other cultures. Usually they are improvements, such as technology (tv's, cell-phones), but sometimes they are utter failures. This is one such case. Where-as Americans are used to many flavors of yummy ice cream produced by Ben & Jerry, Haagen Daas, and many other wonderful companies, there are a few companies in Japan destroying this American favorite. Here are some of the (no other word is appropriate) disgusting flavors I found out about.

Soy Sauce (was on the top for icky flavors of the list - but so many more of them are worse), Pit Viper (!), Indian Curry, Pearl (with real Pearl chunks!), Oyster, Salad (Pickles and red peppers included), Charcoal, Miso Ramen, Chile Pepper(one big one sitting in there..), Risotto Cheese, Sea Salt, Grated Yam, Cypress Tree, Cream Cheese (might not be too bad), Squid Gut (ugh), Squid Ink, Rice Straw, Miso, Char-grilled Seaweed, Hot Spring Water (hopefully not used!!!), Garlic (Brand named: Dracula), Genmai, Pickled Plum & Shisho, Collagen Lemon ("like eating a sweet bone."), Tomato (ketchup anyone?), Yakuzen (Herbal Remedy), Potato, Raw Horseflesh (usually used for DOG FOOD), Goat (goat's milk with a taste of real goat!), Whale, Shark Fin (also a popular soup in China), Abalone, Seaweed, Deep Sea BRINE, Spinach, Sesame/Soybean/Dried Kelp mixture, Lettuce & Potato Mix, Wheat, Curdled Bean, (Hahaha you'd think we'd be done by now...) Silk (yep, the same stuff as your fabric), Chicken, Black Beer (mm), Shochu (Potato Alcohol), Red wine, Tulip, Cherry Blossom (might be ok?), Fish, Octopus, Squid, Ox Tongue,((None of these are "flavored" they are the real meat!)) Sweet Potato, Fried Eggplant, Crab, Corn, Kashihikari Rice, Wasabi (Spicay), Shrimp, Eel, Nagoya Noodle, Chicken Wing (Mm bones in my ice cream), Miso bean paste, and last but not least: Cactus.

So, if you really want to try something exotic head to the (not-so-local) grocer's freezer and nab some nasty Japanese ice cream. (I'm sure they must have something normal, right? Right?))

Thoroughly disgusted, I remain yours,

Jenna

Mmm. Horse meat...

As they say: "Pass-u"

Rain!

I made my first .gif file! Hooray! It's of Rain / Bi.

Korea Movie Review: 200 Pounds Beauty

Kim Ah Jung - Hanna/Jenny

Joo Jin Mo - Sang-Jun

Hanna, the main character is an overweight woman living with a secret crush on her boss. He is the producer for Ammy, Korea's newest up and coming singer. The only hitch? Ammy can't sing. Hanna does all the singing for Ammy behind the scenes. Desperation and negativity drive innocent Hanna to undergo full-body plastic surgery to change her appearance. Once she is "beautiful" she makes her own debut as "Natural Beauty" Jenny. Can Jenny stand up to the pressure, and will Sang-Jun fall for Jenny, and not for Hanna? You'll have to watch to find out!

This movie was amazing. I cried when the subtitles started repeating themselves half-way through my first viewing. (I've watched it more than once now!) ((And, yes, sad as it is, I still need subtitles for most of my Asian-media watching)) But putting all this aside, 200 Pounds Beauty was a stunning movie for me. I (obviously) am a woman of the bigger size, and I found this movie refreshing. Yes, Hanna attained her goals through plastic surgery, but if you pay attention, a lot of hard work went into her transformation. And, if you REALLY pay attention, you'll see the deeper side of this movie. It's about finding out who you really are, and coming to love that person, no matter what.