I prefer the second one… Plenty of anime characters that are highly recognizable!

 

My first try at making a sushi with mere plastic containers...which was very different from what I used to do; namely the painstaking rolling via bamboo...

A simple, top up and squish to get the shape in, however as I am using leftover dinner rice, the rice lack the stickiness that the normal japanese rice have.

 

On the plus side, the less sticky it is, the less carbo it might possibly content (in my dreams perhaps).

 

Got this from Daiso today as I wanted to start learning to make pretty Bentos for my bf eventually as he always nags that I don't prepare him anything =P, and making this sushi, was a simple 10 mins? In between the rice as can be seen, I've used the potato cutlet my mom made for dinner and cheese slices...because i <3 cheese.

Sprinkling on top would be the japanese toppings people place on onigiri, which I conveniently have lying around the house (I am quite a japanese food nut, just ask the girls in my office!) But, the problem was its inability to stay together for long, as can be seen in the random pieces that don't form the perfect shape of the squished sushi. Nevertheless, I placed it back in the plastic container and added thousand island dressing, so as not to waste/ have to buy extra ingredients, more being that this was such a last minute experiment. 

Perhaps a little paste to hold the rice together would be good? Got to rethink this. Keeping it in the freezer until tomorrow. Sure looks tasty. >.< And it is after all very western in style, although in form, it is all Japanese!

Being a bluesy monday, I must say that I was a little excited to contribute my take on the ‘greener side of life’ today, just because I can and will. That is if you consider your country and the place you’re currently residing in, the green side, and not the other way around. For me, Singapore has always been more of a comfort zone, especially since my parents are always on this end, pampering and watching over me as watchful mother hens do.

And then it comes down to perhaps the fact that having lived overseas in Melbourne for over 6 years, sometimes this attention gets a little overwhelming. Perhaps it would be about time to move on.

Although entirely Chinese by birth-right, I have never really thought in the traditional sense. From monthly serving tea-rituals, to obedience beyond question; being endowed with an over-protective defense-mechanism, known otherwise as a ‘defensive nature’, I would rebut almost every word uttered, whether with good or bad intention, when I was little. Now, I have become simply a laid back individual who on occasion still gets flustered over the silliest of squabbles, but have a rather novel way of dealing with issues. Namely, by internalizing and taking a deep breath every few seconds, to make sure I can cope.

And so goes the Monday before I venture off to Bangkok for a shopping trip. Until then, I hope to be able to perhaps come to terms with living on this greener pasture, and not miss the freedom that the opposite island (in this sense, Melbourne) can offer.

It’s slogan was, if jesus can heal, so can these …

These beef bandages make me hungry.

If you aren’t too sure if tatoos are your thing, think again.

From Qojak.com.

Another random I found on the net via two really smart random-aggregators: minthink.com & randomwebsite.com.

Think he's artworks are awesome and seriously if ever I pick up design, I wish I could design half as well as this. Lols.

If you want any of his work, he can be contact via the following. It is all on his website newayz.
Darius Qojak
707 McClellan Street
Tama, IA 52339
Email

Accusations should not be overused -- reserve for repeat offenders and those who use multiple tactics. Responses should avoid falling into emotional traps or informational sidetracks, unless it is feared that some observers will be easily dissuaded by the trickery.

Twenty-Five Rules of Disinformation
Note: The first rule and last five (or six, depending on situation) rules are generally not directly within the ability of the traditional disinfo artist to apply. These rules are generally used more directly by those at the leadership, key players, or planning level of the criminal conspiracy or conspiracy to cover up.
1. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.  Regardless of what you know, don't discuss it -- especially if you are a public figure, news anchor,  etc. If it's not reported, it didn't happen,  and you never have to deal with the issues.
2. Become incredulous and indignant.  Avoid discussing key issues and instead focus  on side issues which can be used show the topic  as being critical of some otherwise sacrosanct group or theme. This is also known as the  'How dare you!' gambit.
3. Create rumor mongers.  Avoid discussing issues by describing all charges, regardless of venue or evidence, as mere rumors and wild accusations. Other derogatory terms mutually exclusive of truth may work as well. This method which works especially well with a silent press, because the only way the public  can learn of the facts are through such 'arguable rumors'. If you can associate the material with the Internet, use this fact to certify it a 'wild rumor' from a 'bunch of kids on the Internet' which can have no basis in fact.
4. Use a straw man. Find or create a seeming element of your opponent's   argument which you can easily knock down to make  yourself look good and the opponent to look bad. Either make up an issue you may safely imply exists based on your interpretation of the opponent/opponent arguments/situation, or select the weakest aspect of the weakest charges.  Amplify their significance and destroy them in a way which appears to debunk all the charges, real and fabricated alike, while actually avoiding discussion of the real issues.
5. Sidetrack opponents with name calling and ridicule.  This is also known as the primary 'attack the messenger'  ploy, though other methods qualify as variants of that approach. Associate opponents with unpopular titles such as 'kooks', 'right-wing', 'liberal', 'left-wing', 'terrorists', 'conspiracy buffs',  'radicals', 'militia', 'racists', 'religious fanatics',  'sexual deviates', and so forth. This makes others  shrink from support out of fear of gaining the same label, and you avoid dealing with issues.
6. Hit and Run. In any public forum, make a brief attack of your opponent or the opponent position and then scamper off before an answer can be fielded, or simply ignore any answer. This works extremely well in Internet  and letters-to-the-editor environments where a steady stream of new identities can be called upon without having to explain criticism, reasoning -- simply make an accusation or other  attack, never discussing issues, and never answering any subsequent response, for that would dignify the opponent's viewpoint.
7. Question motives. Twist or amplify any fact which could be taken to imply that the opponent operates out of a hidden personal  agenda or other bias. This avoids discussing issues and forces the accuser on the defensive.
8. Invoke authority. Claim for yourself or associate yourself with authority and present your argument with enough 'jargon' and 'minutia' to illustrate you are 'one who knows', and simply say it isn't so without discussing issues or demonstrating concretely why or citing sources.
9. Play Dumb. No matter what evidence or logical argument is offered, avoid discussing issues except with denials they have any credibility, make any sense, provide any proof, contain or make a point, have logic, or support a conclusion. Mix well for maximum effect.
10. Associate opponent charges with old news. A derivative of the straw man -- usually, in any large-scale matter of high visibility, someone will make charges early on which can be or were already easily dealt with - a kind of investment for the future should the matter not be so easily contained.) Where it can be foreseen, have your own side raise a straw man issue and have it dealt with early on as part of the initial contingency plans. Subsequent charges, regardless of validity or new ground uncovered, can usually then be associated with the original charge and dismissed as simply being a rehash without need to address current issues -- so much the better where the opponent  is or was involved with the original source.
11. Establish and rely upon fall-back positions.  Using a minor matter or element of the facts, take the 'high road' and 'confess' with candor that some innocent mistake, in hindsight, was made -- but that opponents have seized on the opportunity to blow it all out of proportion and imply greater criminalities which, 'just isn't so.' Others can reinforce this on your behalf, later, and even publicly 'call for an end to the nonsense' because you have already 'done the right thing.' Done properly, this can garner sympathy and respect for 'coming clean' and 'owning up' to your mistakes without addressing more serious issues.
12. Enigmas have no solution.  Drawing upon the overall umbrella of events surrounding the crime and the multitude of players and events, paint the entire affair as too complex to solve. This causes those otherwise following the matter to begin to lose interest more quickly without having to address the actual issues.
13. Alice in Wonderland Logic. Avoid discussion of the issues by reasoning backwards or with an apparent deductive logic
which forbears any actual material fact.
14. Demand complete solutions. Avoid the issues by requiring opponents to solve the crime at hand completely, a ploy which works best with issues qualifying for rule 10.
15. Fit the facts to alternate conclusions.  This requires creative thinking unless the crime  was planned with contingency conclusions in place.
16. Vanish evidence and witnesses.  If it does not exist, it is not fact, and you won't have to address the issue.
17. Change the subject. Usually in connection with one of the other ploys  listed here, find a way to side-track the discussion with abrasive or controversial comments in hopes of turning attention to a new, more manageable topic. This works especially well with companions who can  'argue' with you over the new topic and polarize the discussion arena in order to avoid discussing more key issues.
18. Emotionalize, Antagonize, and Goad Opponents. If you can't do anything else, chide and taunt your opponents and draw them into emotional responses which will tend to make them look foolish and overly motivated, and generally render their material somewhat less coherent. Not only will you avoid discussing the issues in the first instance, but even if their emotional response addresses the issue, you can further avoid the issues by then focusing on how 'sensitive they are to criticism.'
19. Ignore proof presented, demand impossible proofs. This is perhaps a variant of the 'play dumb' rule.  Regardless of what material may be presented by an opponent in public forums, claim the material irrelevant  and demand proof that is impossible for the opponent to come by (it may exist, but not be at his disposal, or it may be something which is known to be safely destroyed or withheld, such as a murder weapon.) In order to completely avoid discussing issues, it may be required that you to categorically deny and be critical of media or books as valid sources, deny that witnesses are acceptable, or even deny that statements made by government or other authorities have any meaning or relevance.
20. False evidence. Whenever possible, introduce new facts or clues designed and manufactured to conflict with opponent presentations -- as useful tools to neutralize sensitive issues or impede resolution. This works best when the crime was designed
with contingencies for the purpose, and the facts cannot be easily separated from the fabrications.
21. Call a Grand Jury, Special Prosecutor, or other  empowered investigative body. Subvert the (process) to your benefit and effectively neutralize all sensitive issues without open discussion. Once convened, the evidence and testimony are required to be secret when properly handled. For instance, if you own the prosecuting attorney, it can insure a Grand Jury hears no useful evidence and that the evidence is sealed and unavailable to subsequent investigators. Once a favorable verdict is achieved, the matter can be considered officially closed. Usually, this technique is applied to find the guilty innocent, but it can also be used to obtain charges when seeking to frame a victim.
22. Manufacture a new truth. Create your own expert(s), group(s), author(s), leader(s) or influence existing ones willing to forge new ground via scientific, investigative, or social research or testimony which concludes favorably. In this way, if you must actually address issues, you can do so authoritatively.
23. Create bigger distractions. If the above does not seem to be working to distract from sensitive issues, or to prevent unwanted media coverage of unstoppable  events such as trials, create bigger news stories (or treat them as such) to distract the multitudes.
24. Silence critics. If the above methods do not prevail, consider removing opponents from circulation by some definitive solution so that the need to address issues is removed entirely. This can be by their death, arrest and detention, blackmail or destruction of theircharacter by release of blackmail information, or merely by destroying them financially, emotionally, or severely damaging their health.
25. Vanish. If you are a key holder of secrets or otherwise overly illuminated and you think the heat is getting too hot, to avoid  the issues, vacate the kitchen.

Source: www.proparanoid.com

The motif of harmful sensation is a recurring idea in fiction: physical or mental damage that a person suffers merely by experiencing what should normally be a benign sensation. The phenomenon appears in both traditional and modern stories.
The theme is similar to the notion of the evil eye: the sight that harms is the gaze that harms. The harm is thought to be caused by seeing something or being seen by it — a parallel idea is the contrast between metaphysical or vitalist conceptions that treat vision as an active function of the eye, and the scientific conception of the eye as passively receiving light that is present even when vision does not occur.
While this motif is largely imaginary, a real-life example is epileptic seizures triggered by strobe lights. Light flashing at a specific frequency can "pump" EEG rhythms at the same frequency and induce a seizure. This effect can also be triggered by flashing screens in film and video games. The Pokémon episode Dennō Senshi Porygon was believed to have caused seizures in some 700 children (although the number actually affected was later thought to be far fewer).^[1]

Mythology, legend and tradition

Viewing a deity

A Judeo-Christian tradition claims that viewing God's face will result in death (see ). For example, when Lot's wife defies the orders of an angel and watches God destroy a city, she is turned into a "pillar of salt" ().
Death caused by seeing the true form of a deity is a common belief in mythologies. For example, in Greek mythology when Zeus acceded to the demands of his paramour Semele that he reveal himself in his full glory, she was burned to death. She was pregnant with Dionysus at the time; he was rescued by Zeus and grew to term inside a pocket sewn into Zeus' thigh.
In many religious systems, a deity's nature cannot be understood by the inferior human senses nor by the human mind. To experience what God is, one must commune with God by leaving the ego and the body behind. This is one of the aims of yoga, tantra, and some Gnostic practices.

The eye that can kill

Another variation of the motif is the eye that brings death, a capability that some gods possess in a number of mythologies. In Hindu mythology, for example, Shiva can use his third eye to emit a beam of some kind of energy that instantly burns the target.
Another dramatic example of the killing eye is found in Celtic mythology. The Fomorian king Balor of the Burning Eye possessed an eyeball that not only had a destructive gaze but was itself dangerous to touch. Balor's eyelid was so heavy and swollen that he could not lift it himself and had to order his bodyguards to lift it using a bone ring. He was defeated by the hero Lugh of the Long Hand, who cast his spear at Balor's eye just as his bodyguards were about to open it. When Lugh's spear exited through the back of Balor's head, every creature struck by a fragment of the deadly eye perished in agony.
The mythical catoblepas also has a deadly gaze that it cannot easily use because its head is unusually heavy and is almost impossible for it to lift. Unlike the basilisk, the catoblepas is traditionally portrayed as a pathetic beast rather than as a malevolent one. Indeed, in The Temptation of Saint Anthony, the catoblepas says that because its head is constantly forced downward, it has sometimes gnawed its own forelegs without realizing it.

Greek mythology

Medusa, after 1590, by Caravaggio

• In Greek mythology, anyone who directly views the Gorgons is turned to stone. When Perseus confronted Medusa, the most famous of the Gorgons, he avoided this fate by viewing her in his reflective shield in order to guide his sword. Athena or Zeus mounted the head of Medusa on her shield to form the Aegis. Roman mosaics are often decorated with Medusa heads as a protective charm.
• In both the Odyssey and the tale of the Argonauts, the sirens used their singing to draw heedless mariners to their doom. As countermeasures, the characters of the stories physically restrained crew members, plugged their ears, or listened to even more beautiful music.
• Narcissus was so paralyzed by the mere sight of his beautiful reflection that he could not look away. As a result, he eventually starved.
• Artemis chastised those she caught peeping at her (such as Actaeon and Siproites) by metamorphosing them.
• The basilisk, dating to classical Greek myth, has a rich tradition. Its characteristics sometimes include a harmful breath and a fatal gaze. It passed into Medieval legend under the Latin-derived name of cockatrice.

The harp of Daghda

In Celtic mythology, the gods known as the Tuatha Dé Danann brought five magical items from the North to Ireland to use against the Fomorians. The fifth item is the harp of Daghda, which Lugh later used to battle the Fomorians.
The harp can play three songs: One of sorrow, one of joy, and one of peace. When heard, the song of sorrow inflicts pain, the song of joy causes laughter, and the song of peace brings calmness. The duration that the song is played changes the effect. If the song of peace is played too long, for example, the listener falls asleep, which can ultimately lead to eternal sleep, the equivalent of death.
It is also said that the three songs must not all be played at once, because this will result in the ultimate song and will cause the world to cease to exist.

Indigenous Australian traditions

• Among Indigenous Australians (Aborigines), ceremonies that are part of men's business should not be seen by women, and vice versa. Harm is said to come upon those people who accidentally witness what they are not traditionally permitted to see.
• There is a strong and continuing belief among urban Aboriginal people that a person can have the evil eye put upon them, particularly by pointing the bone and wishing them dead, or that they can be whispered to death.

Other examples

• It is said that if a mandrake plant is pulled from the ground, it emits a shriek so horrible that anyone within earshot is deafened, driven mad, or even killed. Hence, acquiring a mandrake requires a number of precautions. In Niccolò Machiavelli's play La Mandragola (1518), a dog is used to pull up the mandrake so that it will die from the scream instead of those procuring the plant.
• One version of the legend of the Rhine siren Lorelei says that the man who sees her loses sight of reason, while the man who listens to her is condemned to wander with her forever.
• According to legend, reading the whole of The Book of One Thousand and One Nights brings madness.
• Those who see the Galician procession of the dead, the Santa Compaña, must join it.
• It was a widespread belief in Spain, Portugal and Latin America that some people had an "evil eye" (mau-olhado, mal ojo, olho gordo) that could cause a lot of trouble regardless of the subject's intentions (the effect was unintentional and the possessor of the evil eye could be unaware of it):
• Livestock would die off or cease producing milk,
• Beautiful children would die or suffer disfiguring diseases,
• Porcelain china would fall down and break,
• Pregnant women would suffer miscarriage,
• Handsome men would die or become impotent,
• Pets would get rabies, be killed by wild animals or attack their owners,
• Houses would catch fire,
• Paintings would peel off or fade away,
• Milk would turn sour,
• Employees would leave or become lazy,
• Betrothals would be broken,
• Furniture would be involved in domestic accidents hurting people,
• Clothes would wear off or be attacked by moths.

Because no one could be sure whether his eyeing of someone else's properties or family was safe from evil eye it was commonplace to add the phrase Benza-o/a Deus ("God bless it/him/her") after any remark about anything in someone else's possession or anyone from another family. People who refused or neglected to say this were often shunned as potential bearers of the evil eye. As of 2007, in Brazil, one can still find newspaper ads of psychics claiming to identify and divert the effects of evil eye.

• In various Balkanic mythologies, seeing a faerie without performing preventive rituals, or even worse being spotted by one, breaks a faerie taboo, and consequently the person may receive illnesses ranging from foot or leg-related problems to epilepsy or madness. These conditions can be cured by going back to the same place at the same time of day with a person who is on good terms with faeries (for example, a shaman initiated by faeries) or with someone who is able to cure such illnesses.
• In the Lady Godiva legend, Peeping Tom is the character who defied a proclamation and watched the naked Godiva riding through the streets of Coventry. As punishment, he was blinded; though in other versions of the story, he was struck by lightning.

Urban legends

The Nigerian phone call

In a modern twist of the motif, a widespread urban legend from mid-2004 in Lagos, Nigeria claimed that answering phone calls made from a certain number would result in instant death.^[2]

The Hungarian Suicide Song

According to urban legend the song Gloomy Sunday written by Rezső Seress in 1933 inspired hundreds of suicides. Publicity accompanying its North American release described it as the "Hungarian Suicide Song", probably as a marketing ploy. The German/Hungarian movie Gloomy Sunday - Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod (1999), based on the novel by Nick Barkow, suggests that the song contains a hidden message which, once heard clearly, will resolve the listener to suicide. In the film the song does not initially have words, and a large number of suicides are inspired by the tune alone.

Modern fiction

Main article: Examples of the motif of harmful sensation in fiction

The heavy use of the motif in modern fiction is often traced back to a handful of writers. In Naples and Florence: A Journey from Milan to Reggio (1817), Stendhal discussed the sensation of being physically overwhelmed by a surfeit of beauty, a phenomenon which is now called Stendhal syndrome. However, a more direct ancestor was Mark Twain's short story A Literary Nightmare (1876) which concerns a notice seen on a railway car that, once heard, obsesses the hearer, who cannot forget about it until he or she repeats it to someone else.
In 1895, a collection of stories by Robert W. Chambers about a fictional play (the book and the play within it are both entitled The King in Yellow) described the play as cursing each of its readers and driving many of them mad. This idea was reused in the 1920s by H. P. Lovecraft in reference to the fictional book Necronomicon, who was heavily copied by short story writers in the 1950s.

In real life

• Some recently developed nonlethal weapons use sounds to induce paralysis or extreme discomfort.

From: the freedictionary