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Post by Solana on May 15, 2009 20:07:08 GMT -5
The berry hats might come in handy for camouflage in forest ambushes, as long as we didn't have a lot of bears around. (They sound almost as funny as the infamous cardboard box from the Metal Gear series. And yay for it being in Smash Brothers Brawl!)
As for the chocolate robes- are they normal milk chocolate, or do they have other flavors like Mint? Or heck, we could even pick up a good supply of magic robes in Meribia. The caption said that they were magically delicious. Maybe Melchior could figure out how to beef them up without taking away from the delicious factor.
I've never had sourdough- is it good? Can they make it with whole wheat or whole grains?
(Explained, healing herb in Lagoon.)
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Post by Ambrienne on May 15, 2009 21:02:13 GMT -5
Normal sourdough is all right, taste-wise. There's just a slight tang to it, nothing too overbearing. I've never tasted the mg version, though. I've seen a multigrain sourdough round loaf in Trader Joe's before. I just can't remember if that was the one that looked (and weighed) like it was rock. Oh, wait... the one that weighed like a rock was definitely rectangular, so the sourdough round's probably safe. Until you Toast it. I don't think they ever said what type of chocolate that the robe was made out of... just that it was chocolate. So, I guess you can make it any flavor you want. Or maybe not. It might turn into something else entirely, as sometimes happens with a simple ingredient substitution that inspires the hero to make a new recipe. ...Though, if you really want to see bizarre effects from using the exact same ingredients for making items/weapons/etc., Ar Tonelico's the way to go. Especially the second one. Some of the recipes that you get are something that's supposed to be food or an accessory but turns into something else entirely in the wrong (or right) hands. It makes for some rather interesting conversations while they're making (fun of) the items. But then, both games are full of one- Lyners. Beef the robes up... not with real beef, I hope. Because that reminds me of the above game and the dreaded BBQ Soda. ...There's something so wrong about having disgusting items like that be some of the best restorative products in the game. (Rune Factory recipe/item, hero of Ar Tonelico 1, explained above)
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Post by Solana on May 15, 2009 21:56:12 GMT -5
Oh, yes, we've been learning all about ingredient substitution after the Equal incident. Ooh, maybe we could use tootsweet as an ingredient in the chocolate robes. It tastes like sugar, is the main ingredient in Slam Dunk Cola from the Adventures of Willy Beamish, and is made of recycled sludge! Mmmm... Chocolate robes also sound like something that Randy and Mandy would have come up with on the old Nick show "All That". They'd put chocolate on omelets, (and then "miss a bit" and have to get it off the counter), nachos, and even a cheese sandwich. "If you don't like cheese, forget the cheese, it'll still taste great. And, if you're in a real hurry, skip the bread, too! " BBQ soda, eh? I would definitely try that. Maybe if it was blended with a cola like Dr. Pepper. Did you do the mixing of sodas when you were a kid? Or still? If so, a mix of two-thirds orange and one-third Dr. Pepper, aka Dr. Orange, is absolutely awesome.
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Post by Ambrienne on May 15, 2009 23:04:22 GMT -5
Did I? Yes. Still? Oh, yes. But I now have a mix that I stick with pretty much all of the time (at least when I'm at a soda fountain where I can get the combo). Whatever the size container, proportion-wise, it works out to this: First in (after whatever ice), is to put in half diet cola. I prefer Coke to Pepsi, but it works with either. Now the next part will require you to do a mental count. Put in Dr. Pepper (or diet) and make a mental count of how long you've been dispensing. For the sake of an example, we'll say it's been 2 seconds. Now, for that exact same time, you put in Root Beer. The Dr. Pepper and the Root Beer must be equally balanced, or it messes with the flavor and will not come off properly. The remainder is topped off with regular cola. The resulting flavor? Well, it's pretty good. I'm not sure what you'd describe it as. I guess you'd have to try it to find out. Believe me, you wouldn't like the BBQ Soda the way it was described in game. The meat is kind of affixed to the rim of the container like it's a lime or a lemon. ^^; Mixed in the drink, it probably wouldn't be as bad. But then, I put salsa into a cola once just to see what would happen, and the cola killed the salsa; I couldn't taste it at all. So, maybe the same thing would happen to BBQ sauce as well if you put it directly in the container. Anyone care to volunteer testing that theory? Anyone care to volunteer anyone else? ;D And if you ever want to make your own fruit flavored soda, all you need is either a 7-Up or a Sprite... or even just a club soda. Combine with fruit juice, and that's it. I suggest trying apple first, so you can ponder the mystery of why anything that good that was the original flavor of a soda brand (Slice, if you're curious) was ever discontinued. Of course, the natural stuff is always better than its sythesized counterpart. Not too surprising, really. ...But, for the love of all that's Holy, do not try off the shelf chocolate soda. Of any kind. It's so bad, there aren't enough words to describe how bad it is. Anyone tasting it will probably want to commit it to the abyss before even a third of the can is gone. (You know the spell, you know the materia, now buy the designer wear. ...Okay, so the last part was a joke. Sort of.)
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Post by Solana on May 15, 2009 23:20:28 GMT -5
That sounds really yummy, especially combining Dr. Pepper and root beer. Forgot to add when making Dr. Orange, it's important NOT to mix the flavors. That way, you get a full spectrum of flavor the whole way down and each sip tastes a little different from the last. If you like to travel overseas, try it with Fanta- they use much less sugar outside of the U.S.
Why would they discontinue an apple soda? I bet it tasted wonderful. Unfortunately, juice is on the naughty list now, but there's plenty of things that blended fruit and sugar-free Apple cider mix can do.
Apple cider makes a great base for teas that one tries and doesn't like. I bought some plain white tea to try, and it was horrible. I just can't handle unflavored teas. So I used twice as much water and brewed it with one tea bag and added a packet of cider mix, et voila! Apple tea! It's also good to tone down plain ginger tea to settle an upset stomach. If the cider itself is too strong, a splash or two of Hawaiian Punch will knock it down a peg.
I'll let you know if I try the BBQ soda thing with some diet Pepsi or something. As for the chocolate soda, maybe we can save that to mix with pop rocks. Wonder if that actually works...
(Opera's favorite food in Star Ocean 2, item in Maniac Mansion.)
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Post by Ambrienne on May 16, 2009 16:42:41 GMT -5
I've never been outside the US. Ever. I've been, or at least passed through, more states than most people (Confusion, Sleep, and Dead tired among them), but it would require a real effort of will to remember much of anything I saw. I must have been somewhere with rain sticks, because I have one. I don't remember where I got it.
Pop Rocks... I know I've heard of that, but I don't remember seeing it. Not that I think anything could save chocolate soda. It's an abomination to the word chocolate. I mean... how in blazes can they make chocolate taste bad, for crying out loud?
(Physical states in too many games to count, just emphasis)
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Post by Solana on May 16, 2009 17:59:04 GMT -5
Basically, there's a lot more orange and a lot less sugar in pop overseas. Even the french fries in Germany seemed to have a lot less salt compared to here. We can learn a lot from healthier cuisines all over the globe.
As for the pop rocks, I was referring to an Urban legend where mixing the fizzy candy and equally fizzy pop would lead to an explosion. (If you've ever seen the Simpsons episode where Homer and Marge go to the huge candy expo, I believe that's what he does to get the guards off their tracks for stealing all the candy.)
The chocolate soda...it wasn't one of those Italian ones, was it?
(Game title.)
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Post by Ambrienne on May 16, 2009 22:37:13 GMT -5
Nope. It was homegrown, American garbage. One was a Dr. Pepper product (put out around the winter time; we can only pray that they never release it again). The other was a soda company that was based around Chicago, Canfield's. I'm not even sure that one's even still in business. I don't remember seeing it the last time I was in a Jewel (grocery store in that area), anyway.
I'm sure that candy thing is an urban legend. Certainly, if you wanted to try it out, I'd use root beer instead. That is, without a doubt, the fizziest soda I've ever had. Or... if you're around a soda fountain that's on the blink and is spraying out more carbonation than it should and you just happen to have some of the rocks handy, you could... see what happens. For extra fun, be sure to throw in a packet of Emergen-C at the same time. I know that stuff fizzes like crazy. ;D
Of course, you'll be banned from the location you tried that at if it should happen to be a Success, so be sure it's not a place you enjoy visiting. Better yet, make sure that it's at least 100 miles or more away from where you live and that no impressionable young children who might be insipired to greater heights of mischief are on hand to witness the deed.
Or, if you are caught, make sure that you're able to pull off a Burn Notice worthy grin, hide your eyes behind shades, and talk your way out of the situation. Make sure you're capable of Climbing through windows, laying false trails, and telling the difference between Dragon's Breath and any other brew you might be served in retaliation by enemies you've made along the way.
If all that still fails, pinch yourself. There's a good chance that you're dreaming as a sane person would never even contemplate and carry this out while awake. And if that still doesn't work, you've probably skipped your morning coffee (or other caffeine fix) and it's too late. You'll just have to clean up the mess and promise never to do it again.
(Game production group, skill from Quest for Glory)
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Post by Solana on May 17, 2009 10:21:18 GMT -5
Some Alka- Seltzers might be kind of fun to throw into the mix, too, or some of those nicely-scented bath fizzies. So you'd either make wherever you're causing the trouble smell nice or turn a fountain into a Healing Spring. So, really, it'd just be doing them a favor. Ah, I know the perfect location. This August I'm thinking on going to England for a friend's wedding, and the city that the occasion will be occuring in has more canals than Venice. (WHOO!!) Of course, we really don't need to be increasing the image of Americans being trouble-makers, but then again, that would only happen if they knew it WAS an American. I'll just make my eyes go huge and innocent and, "Yes, of course, officer, I was helping with wedding preparations the whole time." "Then why are you carrying such a big bag of bath fizzies?" "Oh, English ones are so very much nicer than American ones, don't you think? How about this lavender one?" At this point, they'll either agree, I'll borrow your strategy and have the fumes be too much for them, or a knock on the back of the head with a cane and run like hell. Hopefully they came alone instead of sending a Never Ending Advance. Speaking of Burn Notice goodness, NEXT MONTH starts a new season! ;D Actually, I will mention that I was directly influenced by a certain episode for a scene in my project, and even included a Michael-style monologue during preparations. Maybe I could start taking notes during episodes. (Food item in Star Ocean 2, I THINK healing item in FFVII, honor in Soul Calibur 4.)
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Post by Ambrienne on May 17, 2009 17:58:28 GMT -5
Hopefully, you won't be inspired to jump out of any helicopters. Dramatic enough for a season closer it was, but that is one aspect of his character I wouldn't want to emulate. Or, if I did, I wouldn't have left my shades behind. The moment you open your mouth, though, they'll probably know you're American. Unless you can fake a good accent. And drive on the proper side of the road (or what the rest of the world seems to think is the proper side of the road), know that bonnet does not refer to headgear, or generally keep a straight face whenever confronted with some colloquial expression that plays havoc with your funny bone in a situation where it's not intended to be funny. Then again, it's hard to tell what impression you really make. The last time I was in a Japanese grocery store, the clerks there thought I'd lived in Japan at some point. And I'm like... no (I wish). Maybe they approved of my taste in pottery (our last set of large bowls had finally had an accident that didn't leave enough for everyone, so we had to buy some). Or it could have simply been enough that not every item we bought in there was candy. Who knows? Now that I think about it, it could have been the green tea noodles that did it. One of them had never had them before and asked me what it tasted like. ^^; That was a question I wasn't expecting. We'll know the world has come to an end when a Frenchman asks me to comment on Limoges china. (It's missing an accent, I know, but in any case... it's the 'other name' of the first Angelique in that game series.)
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Post by Solana on May 17, 2009 21:08:41 GMT -5
(Laughs.) There are no plans to jump out of a helicopter, but that's all I'll say for now. You'll probably figure out which episode I meant when you see it. Mmm, green tea noodles? Those sound lovely! Are they a rice noodle or some kind of wheat noodle? Do they go well with veggies? Nah, I can't do accents. The Midwestern thing kind of sticks. I remember when we went on a Europe trip in orchestra, where the foreign Fanta was first discovered, and one night we played a free concert in the gorgeous Mirabelle gardens. After we were done, we walked back to the bus and were laughing and chattering like crazy. A couple passed us, looked at each other, and commented, "Tourists." in English. Which can be kind of a Frigid response, considering we had just played for them, but we all thought it was priceless. Personally, I tend to come off as physically very young but mentally very Old for my age. I was carded for an "M" rated game when doing last year's Christmas shopping and told by my uncle's girlfriend that I look about eighteen. (I'll be twenty-five in August and have silver hairs coming in.) Maybe it's the waist-length hair and tropical/bohemian/global garb. It was really shown just a few years ago when my mom and I went to go revisit my old elementary school in another city I used to live in. The people in the office hadn't seen us for over a decade, but guessed my first name on the second try! (One of Mariavel's skills in Wild Arms II, status effect in some FF games.)
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Post by Ambrienne on May 17, 2009 23:56:09 GMT -5
I guess I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum. Except for maybe a couple, final inches or so, I've looked the same age pretty much since I was, oh... around 14 or 15. Even before then, I looked older than I was. To give you an idea, when I was 12 and sitting at a restaurant with my family and the waiter asked, "And what would you like to have, ma'am?", I uh... didn't respond at all, because I had no clue that he was talking to me. But now, since I still look the same as back then, I appear younger than my age. It's... amusing when I sometimes have to rattle off my birthday for trade-in info at my local Gamestop. At least one person was in complete denial that I could possibly be older than he was. And then, there's the other side to that. On the rare chance that I manage to run into someone I haven't seen in years, they will recognize me right off. But for me, it's not so easy. Then, I kind of feel bad that I can't register recognition until I hear a name. The last person that did this said, "I always wondered what happened to you." What I was thinking and didn't say was, "It's been what, 12 years? You were thinking and never even tried to find out? It's not like I moved or anything." What's even worse is when they don't tell me who they are. And said people don't always realize that I don't know. That makes me feel like I'm a victim of the Guardian Force amensia without the benefit of having gotten to summon lots of cool stuff. Although, it could be said that since my audio memory retention is high and my visual retention is a bit more selective that I probably overwrote their faces with some choice musical pieces. Like that Dilbert comic strip where one of the characters was required to learn something new but his memory banks were full so he just 'forgot the fifth grade.' The funny part is that is probably one of the few grades in school I don't want to forget. The green tea noodles are, if I remember correctly, wheat. I can't remember whether it's just normal wheat or buckwheat. It'll go well with veggies, but you don't want to use any strong sauces on it, or you'll have a difficult time telling that there's any difference from a normal noodle other than color. People of other countries aren't always that nice as tourists over here, either. One time, a whole group was laughing, chattering, pointing at people, and taking pictures of everyone in the restaurant, especially us. Okay, so they were all short (and probably drunk), and we weren't (short or drunk), but still... So, my dad retaliated by taking pictures of them taking pictures of us. I wonder if they got the irony or not. If they were as plastered as they sounded (they had to be plastered, because if they were from the country I think they were, then they're normally very reserved and polite), it might have slipped right by them. If you want to see a movie that has real fun with, heh, heh... 'tourists', try looking up Wasabi. It's a movie worth getting if you want to search amazon.com. Look up Jean Reno if you have any trouble finding it. It's not really about tourists per se, but a line directed towards the protagonist at one point is something like, "We'd like to know when we could have our country back." Plenty of chaos, yes. But in a good way. (What FF started calling the summoned monsters ever since no. 8)
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Post by Solana on May 18, 2009 11:54:09 GMT -5
Yeah, I have that same problem with faces, which can be rough at work. We'll have half a dozen people drop off boxes and bags of books to go through and figure out how much to pay for them. After Bookmarking in the computer how much we'll pay who, we'll call them up and always have to ask, "What was your name again?" It can get tricky from the large number of 'Barb's and 'Lori's we get in. But write down the name and the offer and I'll remember it forever. Ooh, one time I made a bad mistake. We had two 'Rons' in the computer, and one of our guys was giving out an offer. The gentleman went to get his driver's license from his car, while another waited for his offer. So then I told my coworker, "Two Rons don't make a right, huh?" He started laughing, but the guy waiting for his offer didn't look amused. As it turns out, HE was one of the 'Rons', not the guy who'd gone to get his license like I'd thought. Oops... Actually, the looking young thing should work to our advantage. When we hit the golden years, we'll still be running around causing trouble and wreaking havoc while others our age will be sitting nodding by the fire. Maybe rollerblading and playing paintball when we're in our eighties. To quote one of my favorite authors, "Growing old disgracefully is a helluva lot more fun!" Good chaos in movies, eh? I'll have to keep my eye out for that one at the store. Thanks. (Item in The Secret of Monkey Island.)
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Post by Ambrienne on May 18, 2009 14:08:44 GMT -5
Be sure to check the international film section if you look for Wasabi in a store. The original language it was in was French (the DVD will have it in both English and French), so... they might not have it where it should logically go. Yeah, the golden years aren't worth much if you can't spend the gold, silver, zenny, yen, gil, dinars, centiemes, or any other currency of your choice as you wish. Especially if you don't mind getting calls from credit card companies that are making sure that you really bought that thing that it says you did on your last vacation. The only time we got calls from credit card companies was when we spent over 150 dollars worth of books at two different book stores within the time frame of a couple of days. How is that possible? Well... One of them was a place called Mardel's (huge Christian bookstore/homeschooling place). It's so rare to get a chance to look at that big of a selection in person, so it allows you to really look at different authors that you might not have had a chance to before. I found Jeanette Windle that way. She wrote some interesting books like Firestorm, The DMZ, and a couple of others whose titles escape me at the moment. The ones I can't remember the titles of are related to each other, one continuing the story begun in the other. A woman marries the guy of her dreams (or so she thinks) and ends up moving to Bolivia. Among other things, she finds out he's from a filthy rich family (she seriously thought he was dirt poor) and there's a DEA agent that seems to be sniffing around with an aim to prove that the emphasis should be on the filthy part, not the rich. Take a wild guess how much trouble our innocent heroine gets into just being herself. It's not quite Romancing the Stone or anything, but it's a pretty good read. If you're wondering about the realism factor, well... it says the author actually got picked up by the FBI at one point and questioned to make sure she didn't receive any confidential intel. Turns out she was an missionary kid whose parents' field was down in that region. I'm sure that her parents never imagined she'd come up with novel fodder from their time down there. ;D Just out of curiosity, what's the strangest thing you ever bought on a vacation? My item that fits that bill is... well, you know those huge fans that they have as decoration in some Asian restaurants? I got one. There's no practical use or reason for buying it that I could think of, but I didn't care. Maybe someday, I'll actually have enough room to display it in. (Currency of: Lunar, Breath of Fire series, Persona games (among others), later FF games and reversioned earlier ones, and two types of currency from Quest for Glory 2)
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Post by Solana on May 18, 2009 15:44:16 GMT -5
I've never had one of those calls yet. It probably would have taken a trip to somewhere like The Gap or Old Navy that would have Clywd them in that something was a little odd. (Nothing against either place, just not my usual style). I'm not sure if we have a Mardel's up here, but it sounds like a fun place to go searching through. And dangerous for the wallet. Right now, I'm reading the Tristan and Isolde trilogy by Rosalind Miles. Her use of language is nothing short of exquisite, both in her settings and the love the two share, and I'm enjoying it heartily. Apparently, she's taken a different turn from the German opera it originally was, which will be interesting. The voice is somewhat reminiscient of The Mists of Avalon, but with much less Christianity bashing. Travel has actually been a HUGE inspiration for my project. Dominica, (where they filmed the headhunters scene in the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie), is easily one of the most beautiful places on God's blue earth and a piece of it had to be written in. A Chinese place at the Atlantis solved two plot problems I was having by weaving them together, and I figured out what one character would be doing for a chapter and a half while waiting to fall asleep in Santa Monica. The weirdest thing I ever bought on vacation... oh, it's probably the sari I picked up in Trinidad. The lovely little island has a lot of Indian influence. When I brought it back to the ship and the security people were checking through my bags, one commented that she knew where to buy prettier ones. Good for her, but I like red and gold. My mom also picked up one of those fans on a trip, and they are very beautiful. What does yours look like? I love Asian fans, straw fans, feather fans, all kinds of fans. (Except fanboys. ) Something that size might be tricky to dance with. (Kingdom and character in Defender of the Crown.)
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