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Coffee: Potent Slovene-Turkish Coffee

The Slovene language packaging of the Turkish-style coffee my team member brought back from Slovenia!
The Slovene language packaging of the Turkish-style coffee my team member brought back from Slovenia!

Goodness, this stuff is powerful. And I made myself a double!?!

Turkish coffee is a special beverage: finely ground coffee, boiled repeatedly, and served as a thick brew that settles out, so it needs a moment before you sip it. As a known coffee appreciator, my team member S. brought me back a package of the popular brand of Turkish coffee she enjoys in Slovenia. (She also has sold me on visiting her highly regarded country, and also on visiting the city of Trieste in Italy, just on the border.)

Thanks to the magic of Google translate’s photo translation option (so good!), I know that I can boil 7g of powder (my usual French press’ scoop size) for each 100ml of water. S recommends boiling it repeatedly, to let it get thick and frothy. There are disputes online about whether or not stirring is necessary, but I choose to stir a little and swirl a lot in a tiny pot on the stovetop.

It is delicious! It is strong! It is mildly terrifying unsweetened! It should be measured during preparation and consumed in smaller cups than I usually use, to ensure a general sense of moderation. It is not desirable nor pleasant to drink/eat the sediment at the bottom of the cup, so don’t knock back the last bit as you would with espresso (you will not find undiluted sugar, it is quite the opposite sort of surprise).

This Turkish (Slovene-Turkish?) coffee is satisfying to an espresso-fan like myself, though my mouth sounds the alarm when I begin sipping that it might be dangerously strong. If you hang out with me and are a fan of potent caffeine, ask me to prepare some for you when you come over.

(Yes, it does appear that coffee is “kave” in Slovene.)

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Life: Facial Graffiti

All the kids are making their eyebrows bolder now. (I want to blame the fabulous eyebrows on Korean drama actors, because those are some very attractive brows, but I doubt it is all their fault.) The women at work have them drawn in geometrically idealized eyebrow shapes with strong verticals and sharp edges, which they create with multiple tools, attention, and skill each morning.

My eyebrows, on the other hand, which have never matched my natural haircolor at any point, are fading from a neutral brown to white. They are mostly curves and awkward (startled or skeptical) angles. I’m not good at ‘multiple tools’ and ‘skill’ in the mornings. So, when I was getting my brows threaded into tidiness, I signed up to have them tinted. Tinting faded brows is the lazy way to roll out of bed and rush off to work without having a graphically important pair of features missing.

Tinting is a delicate professional thing: every box of hair dye you’ve ever seen tells you not to try it with hair products, because they will maim you. Sure enough, the eyebrow places use henna, which stains hair effectively with non-blinding, largely plant-based ingredients. My handler chose light brown, and got to work.

As she was finishing up and fresh, faintly-lemony scents evaporated from my forehead, she told me that the first day of henna is not the way it will really look: it just needs some time to finish setting. I have used henna for hair in the past, and know what she meant. So I wasn’t entirely surprised by the results.

But I was a little surprised.

Surprised in a way that could be seen from a distance.

It looks like my eyebrows have been drawn in with a Sharpie (TM).

I had other plans after my brow appointment, but cancelled them once I realized how bold my brows now (temporarily) are. My mother called, and I described this to my mother in my typical way. She couldn’t. stop. laughing.

Having delighted my mother means that I’ve achieved something worthwhile today.

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Book (Manga): Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden by Yuu Watase

cover for Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden by Yuu Watase
Screenshot

Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden
by Yuu Watase
published in English by Viz (40 chapters, complete)
2003 – 2013

Teenager Takiko Okuda’s mother is dying of TB, her father only cares about his career, and her love for an older man is unrequited. Both luckily and unluckily for her, her father’s research led him to translate and transcribe a prophesy that can take Takiko into another time and place, the Universe of the Four Gods, where she has the power to save a country and its people.

In the ancient country of Bei Ja, Takiko manifests as the Priestess of Genbu, whose duty is to find and assemble the Celestial Warriors and summon the god Genbu to save the country. This isn’t an easy task: the arrival of either the priestess or the warriors is a sign of disaster to locals. As a result, they are dreaded, shunned – and worse. But our heroine is determined to save this harsh world at any cost, and works hard to persuade the reluctant warriors to assemble and save the country.

Panel from Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden
Kind and determined women with long weapons – my favorite kind of women!

With supportive allies who have faith in her, kind strangers, a dragon, and her first and favorite warrior to love at her side, Takiko will give everything to be useful to her comrades in arms and to save her troubled, adopted homeworld.

Author and Artist Yuu Watase’s monochrome art style (known to me from the comedy Absolute Boyfriend) is enjoyable (the hair on these characters!), and her work on the regional costumes as the characters travel show a zeal that grounds the mythical (western China-like) continent in its vastness, with its differing cultures and customs. I appreciate great, lovingly-drawn costumes!

The story is serious; the characters are troubled by past traumas and ongoing family dramas; the nation seems doomed; and the stakes are high for all involved. Young people risking – and giving up – their lives for others is touching, and (if the grown-ups were running the world properly) should not be necessary – there are some serious adult mismanagement of the world going on here. The message that how you chose to live matters, and that a life of service can be profoundly meaningful comes through well in this story.

This story took Watase a decade to complete, as the artist (X-gender with she/her pronouns) had many other publishing commitments as a prolific manga artist. I enjoy her notes in between volumes (reproduced in the Viz English editions) about the toll long hours take on her health, and the interruptions to her progress. The story feels continuous and uninterrupted in all the best ways – it is quite an accomplishment!

I enjoyed this as a standalone story, knowing it is a prequel to an even longer work by Watase that was published in the 1990s, Fushigi Yûgi. There is a sequel to FY:GK coming in the future, once Watase recovers from the toll of all of this drawing called Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki. I will wait patiently for it to be complete!

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Film: The Creator

The Creator
published by 20th Century Fox
2023

This science fiction film is stunningly beautiful.

The story takes place in a future where robots, synthetic people, and artificial intelligence HAD become part of modern life, until a disaster attributed to artificial intelligence occurred in the U.S. As the U.S. turned against its technology, Asia continued to use it, and this leads to overwhelming U.S. military aggression in pro-technology Asia.

The story centers on the experiences of Joshua, an American soldier who infiltrated a pro-AI group in southeast Asia. While on assignment, he falls in love with Maya, a medical scientist who had helped him with this prosthetics, then loses her due to U.S. military action. As he mourns her, he is called back into action after someone who resembles her is recorded, giving him hope and his own personal mission as he attempts to locate a new AI super weapon.

This film was directed by the Rogue One director, and all the things I loved about the use of locations and landscapes in that film is vastly expanded in scenes that vary from science fiction military bases to tropical beaches and riverside refugee towns. The vastness of U.S. military equipment, the culture of them-versus-us, the determination of Colonel Howell who wishes to get the mission done and avenge her sons… The pace is fast. Flashbacks are used effectively to explain Joshua’s motivations. The focus on the super weapon and Joshua’s private mission keep the action focused. It is intense, high-stakes, persuasively acted, and the world and its technologies are compellingly designed.

It is gorgeous. I purchased it as soon as it was available, and have enjoyed watching this film several times. (I also blame it for putting Dream On by Aerosmith onto my playlist.). I highly recommend The Creator for sci-fi fans.

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Book (Manhwa): The King and Me by W.Y.

Cover for The King and Me by W.Y.
Cover for The King and Me

The King and Me
by W.Y.
published by Tappytoon (74 chapters so far, ongoing)
2022 (?) – present

My subscription page notes that I’m trending into gay male fantasy/adventure stories (known in the industry as “Boys’ Love”), and it’s time for me to write about one!

Li visits an archeology site at Ebiz, and winds up bleeding in an ancient ruin, being set upon by grave robbers, and then rescued by a statue that his blood brought to life. His handsome stone rescuer seems to know and want to communicate with Li, whose interest grows until the man crumbles to dust before him. Somehow, Li finds himself back in time in the ancient (Egyptian-style) city of Ebiz at its peak, where he suspects that the stone man is the handsome but also casually murderous King Mehemis.

If Li can survive the tyrant king’s challenges and earn his trust, perhaps he can get to know why his stone man seemed so sweet toward him in the distant future. Mehemis, meanwhile, has political fights to win, a power-hungry religion to suppress, dangerous rival relatives, and a mysterious army of the dead to defeat, so there is plenty to do!

You’re waiting for me to write that ‘they had me at beautiful men with eyeliner,’ but that merely drew me in: this is a fun adventure story! Li has skills (archery competitions paid off!) and modern scientific concepts; Mehemis has abs forever and yet somehow is convinced that he is disguised while wearing a wig; and Mehemis’ most loyal male servants are an attractive gay couple that offer loyalty, friendship, emotional support, a model of a happy relationship, and even fantastic tactical competence when our boys need it. (Women are visible in the story, but are not central characters.) The drawing style is charming (Li’s sweet facial expressions while looking up at Mehemis are ADORABLE), the costumes are flattering, the hair is long and flowing, the eyeliner colors are specific to the characters, and there are plenty of humorous chibi comedy asides to address awkward moments in the Li-Mehemis romantic tension.

I adore this comic, and look forward to more!

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Life: Quiet Reading and Rest

Growing Moth Family
Weblog by A. Elizabeth Graves. iPhone photography and links to science-y and foodie topics.

Slow, deep breath… Ahhh. I am making an effort to have a quiet, peaceful, restful, and restorative weekend, and am partly succeeding. However, internalized pressure to ‘be productive’ and the heaviness of being overworked in my career leave me feeling a bit hollowed out.

I’m being kind to myself: I’ve enjoyed a wonderful bubble bath, slept several consecutive hours, devoted most of a day to reading, ordered in delicious vegan & gluten-free ramen from a local restaurant, played with metallic watercolors, lounged without goals… Yet, I still feel like I’ve taken a beating. Two day weekends just aren’t quite enough.

Reading US News: I’m adjusting to the new political landscape, now that the competition for the White House had a significant upgrade. This has been the topic of excited conversation initiated by colleagues in the nearest kitchen, and we are all feeling a bit better about the future as a result, which is a pleasant change. It makes opening my news apps (The Guardian (UK) and the Washington Post (US)) easier to do without a experiencing a sense of dread.

Reading Books: My pile of non-fiction books is still centered on heavy topics, so the comics I’m reading soften these themes for me through the magic of escapism.

Reading Manga and Manhwa: To be methodical in reviewing graphic novels, I made a spreadsheet of everything I am or was reading. (Yes, this was inevitable, if you know me). I have 73 digital comic series on my apps and subscriptions. Of those that I’m enjoying and want to continue reading, 29 haven’t yet made it into this blog, excluding those that are written about & scheduled but not yet posted. (I’m a posting machine!)

Manhwa subgenre: the contract marriage: Both all-age and mature comics from Korea often have awkwardness around the plot device of contract-based marriages. I’ve given up on several of these – what started as an adventure instead is actually drama over whether or not to kiss someone you’ve been married to for a year, which is neither high stakes nor interesting.

Manhwa Relationship Peculiarities: Ten of the comics I haven’t yet written about are rated “mature,” and range from outright pr0n (an old euphemism), to romances where you see clothing loosened (thrills for the chaste!), to stories in which married couples have their physical relationship (a) implied (they share a room!), (b) illustrated (the floating cartoon word sound effects are hilarious), or (c) discussed (sometimes in a way that results in what sounds like sports injuries, which also amuses me). I’ve learned some things about sexual conventions which are non-standard here.

The more explicit mature stories have strange constraints. For example:

  • even the most outrageously sex-oriented heterosexual stories always result in marriage and children, making the ‘how did you two get together’ questions awkward. (My parents forced me into marriage forcing me to impersonate my twin sister… I got married to avoid marrying someone abusive… My family sold me to settle a debt… But that’s all fine, because now we have kids!)
  • after several bed scenes, there are often flashbacks to the couple having met as children, so even if the circumstances that brought the couple together in adulthood were strange / violent / inappropriate, it’s somehow all okay, because rather than being strangers / captives / conscripts / servants, they previously bonded meaningfully as toddlers or teens. (!?!?!?).
  • in situations where a royal person was abusing a commoner, the commoner is often secretly royalty, which means it wasn’t really an abuse of power. (? What?)

The childhood connection tope makes these relationships even weirder to me – I hope there was no one I befriended as a toddler who feels pressure to fulfill some adult relationship obligation to me now! (‘You babbled at me meaningfully as a toddler, a sure sign that fate is bringing us together, so now we must wed.’ [sound of me calling security])

I’m unsure if I should actually review these, as I may not be going into them with the correct attitude.

Reading about books: It would be too meta for me to summarize this.

Reading Letters and Writing Back: I have terrible tendonitis for unknown reasons (other than ‘I use my arms’), and it hurts to write by hand. This is why I’m not posting any images showing off my recent writing with fountain pens – there isn’t much, and what little there is is scrawl. This prevents me from responding properly to recent handwritten letters I’ve received. I hope to resume writing (and flaunting my shapely personal script and pretty pen collection) soon!

Reading about the current COVID Wave: The new wave is real, and affecting my colleagues, though none have been part of the 400 deaths / week I’ve read about, thankfully. Many colleagues are recovering now, just recovered this week, or are nursing someone who was positive last week. Others tested positive while traveling, complicating their self care (and hard-earned vacations) overseas.

This last topic has me dreading the return of additional vacationing colleagues.

I have plenty of masks in each of my bags and tucked into various jacket pockets (as always), but just had to restock my testing kits…

That next booster cannot. come. soon. enough.

Be well and stay safe out there…

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Languages Post Script

Screenshot from DuoLingo indicating AE's list of languages studied by order of experience points. In order: German, Japanese, French, Spanish, Hawaiian, and Dutch.
What skills can I buy with these experience points?

I realize I posted that I’ve been studying languages with DuoLingo nearly daily for FIVE YEARS, but didn’t write what I’ve studied during that time. It’s time to expand on this enthusiasm further!

German: my most dedicated area of study, and the reason I picked up Duolingo in the first place. I had studied German for four years in high school, stemming from the fact that my father was stationed in Germany with the army, and became strong conversationally: books in our house in German frustrated me in childhood because I couldn’t read them, so this was an easy choice in school. Infrequent use made it weak, and so my work for an employer in Switzerland required real preparation! Duolingo got me back where I needed to be, only to find myself tripping over the unique dialect of Basel Stadt in Switzerland. (Have I written about that?) German is the language of two pen friends, and so I read and write it this several times each month.

Japanese: the language of fun material culture during high school (hello, anime!) and the culture my architecture teachers attributed my design influences to. My mother recently started taking credit for walking me around Japan Center almost daily while I was a stroller-bound infant, which would explain my feelings of home-y comfort when I go there now! While it is easier to visit Japan without Japanese language skills than it was in 1992, I still enjoy being literate – it makes a difference. I brushed up before both of my trips, and found it very beneficial, even though I often lacked the specific words I needed for niche situations (relating to art supplies). I ramped up my studies during the COVID restrictions for a trip that wasn’t possible but will surely happen soonish. Duolingo’s lessons are both challenging and impressive, and include kanji!

French: I love Paris, and French sounds so cool. I know enough to navigate museum explanatory panels – I impressed a friend at the printed fabric museum in Mulhouse, but being a printmaker who has used etching presses and other technologies, the niche vocabulary didn’t scare me. I sometimes bicker with subtitles for French films, but I’m being too literal, while they are being more poetic. I can only say basic transactional things, which I forget instantly. (My big achievement during a business trip was stating that the entree was not my meal, which was instantly understood.). I worry that I will be very effective at buying paint regardless, especially at Magasin Sennelier and Charvin Arts.

Spanish: after understanding the abuelas who needed my help getting things off high shelves throughout my youth, I figured I should learn things non-grandma-related. Maybe even verbs! It doesn’t stick well, because I’m not watching telenovelas anymore, but has improved my eavesdropping.

Hawaiian: it is super interesting, and has so many vowels! The lessons still feel early in development, relative to the subject content of other languages.

Dutch: this was before a trip to the Netherlands, and it had too many random similarities to German UNTIL IT DIDN’T, and this left me more confused than it would have it I hadn’t thought I knew what was happening. If I’m going to be confused, it needs to be a language with clearer dissimilarities, like Icelandic or Swedish.

Somehow, I’m resisting Korean… so far.

Duolingo remains a satisfying way to practice existing language skills AND to develop new ones!

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Book: Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluo

Cover for Mediocre by Ijeoma Oluo

Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America
by Ijeoma Oluo
published by Seal Press / Hachette
2020 (updated forward 2021)

I sought out this book while looking for an explanation beyond my own theories as to why a few male friends were convinced that they deserved certain things (jobs, promotions, praise) when they didn’t appear to have done anything in particular to earn them. (One in particular emphasized his “Americanness” (which wasn’t what he meant) in a way that was unnerving, as he had no accomplishments or education in the field he wanted to break into, while his competition appeared to have degrees, resumes, projects to show, etc. So, I was free to interpret THAT.) I picked up this book looking for another, better researched view on this.

Oluo starts her history with tales of the American West and the subjugation of its original people, but really digs in with contemporary stories of the perils of world views centered on white maleness. From white male allies who make other groups’ civil rights movements all about themselves, or those who are allies only when it directly benefits them (Biden’s chummy behavior with segregationists is remarkably laid out here), to the zeal of B-bros who attack anyone who won’t fall in line to support policies which prioritize their needs while maintaining obstacles to other groups in order maintain their own advantages, Oluo presents a clear pattern of self-serving, obstructive-to-meaningful-progress behavior.

Though I had been generally familiar with bans on married women having paid work, Oluo’s book cataloged the number of states that put bans on the books, including bans during the Great Depression on two-government-job households (which couldn’t be more directed at removing lower paid women from jobs). This book also introduced me to some of the anti-employed-women propaganda paid for by tax dollars, plus the pro-employed-in-war-time propaganda that had to reverse its own threats to happiness that had been promoted so zealously earlier. The way people of color and women were discarded after answering the call to scale up industry is sadly consistent with a system that believes the best of everything — and even the most ordinary version of everything — is the natural property of white men, regardless of their interest or ability.

Writing about the hatred that anyone who points out these clear patterns of bias receives, and the faux-neutrality that white men are somehow awarded (as if being a white man isn’t an identity) is painful and familiar to anyone who exists online or reads news written about any group other than white men. This work took a toll on the author, and the details of the hate mail she has received for writing on this topic at all are harrowing – and prove her points about the white men who aggressively enforce that their point of view is the only one that ever matters.

While her updated introduction reflects upon the nightmare that was a certain former US president, Oluo chose not to centralize or even frequently name him, so you can pick this up without that dread!

Oluo has a clear and accessible writing style, which I enjoyed. The sensitive topic of pervasive white male centrism is a massive ‘elephant in the room’ that triggers shocking responses in our culture, and Oluo shares her observations on this topic thoughtfully. I’m glad I’ve kept this book on my reading list, and finally picked it up!

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Book (Manhwa): Don’t Be Too Nice by Yoo Saera, Ryuhwa

Don’t Be Too Nice
by Yoo Saera, Ryuhwa
published by Tappytoon (20 chapters so far)
2024 – ongoing

Cover for Don't Be Too Nice by Yoo Saera, Ryuhwa
Cover (Phone browser version) for Don’t Be Too Nice by Yoo Saera, Ryuhwa

My favorite new comic charmed me so quickly, I was caught off guard – it becomes eventful immediately, in an engaging way.

We meet former mage and knight Rustica Genas after she has fallen on hard times. She was a promising teenage battle leader close to power, but after years of progress-free war, she wanted the Caleta Empire to change its approach. The impenetrable Great Barrier spewing monsters remained unchanged, and countless people had been consumed by it – including her beloved parents. Her unwanted advice on a new approach to her Emperor leaves her fired, magically disabled, and miserable.

Her efforts to fade into obscurity in a small town far from the capital seem to be working after four years, but a drunken, one night stand saddles her with an angel-faced, excessively friendly, former child-soldier. Once he disappears (in a magical manner), there is big news. The Great Barrier contains an opening (!), there are countries on the other side of it (!!), and the Emperor wants her to be a diplomat, even with her current weaknesses (!!!).

What the hell?

Rustica (Rue to her friends) rolls with it… and on the other side of the Great Barrier, things take a turn for the fantastic. Well, awkward first, and THEN fantastic.

The story moves FAST, and we get to see what life is like through Rue’s eyes in an unknown, highly developed empire that rivals her own. Life as a diplomat from an “enemy” nation isn’t easy, and her team is completely certain she is being bullied by the emperor on this new side. But the revelations about how the rest of the world sees her home empire come fast, and revelations about how she lost her abilities change Rue’s world view.

I picked this up and wouldn’t put it down until I’d read all available episodes. I love the pacing! I adore the ‘enemy’ emperor! I love the humor panels! (I need to also have the word ‘pitiful’ hovering beside me at various points during the day.) The story is action-packed and developing quickly. I’m eager for more.

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