General Questions Thread

[felix]

I'm pretty sure I know of that one but its not what you're referring to.
Best try the identification thread in General Anime.

[Frailty]

I'm positively sure that it's him from Tales of the abyss

I just wanted the original picture of the avatar

or a better image searching site

but I'll still ask there too

thanks felix btw

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

By being too nice they mean that I almost always give people the benefit of the doubt even in serious situations, that I'm willing to be more accommodating than the usual person, that I always try to treat people with civility even in the more hostile of situations and that I tend to have neutral stance on arguments to try and get both sides to calm down.

Not to the extent of course of letting people walk all over me as I learned that the hard way a long time ago. I'm guessing their point is that I lack a bit of... assertion and aggression, so to speak.

A colleague — now an enemy, and I mean that in the most histrionic, soap-operatic sense — once mockingly called me a "boy scout" who behaves as "piously" as her pastor.

This came after I finally lost my temper on her, after having spent some six months trying to "be nice" and accommodate her antics as far as possible. Note that this is someone who literally conforms to the worst-possible Valley Girl stereotype you can think of: a spoilt, rich daddy's girl who actually cultivated a clique within the office so as to bully and backstab another colleague whose looks and personal habits she couldn't stand (because she's oh-so-posh and beautiful, you see).

Justice prevailed in the end. Her talent was nowhere near the level of her bitchiness, and so she got transferred to another department. She seems to be doing better there. Who knows? One's working environment can trigger some strange and unexpected behaviours. Maybe she'll turn over a new leaf (yeah, right).

Within the same office, I've also had two very vocal arguments with my boss over editorial matters. In the end, he turned out to be right and I was wrong, but he never held the altercations against me. After all, it's business, not personal. In fact, I believe there was greater mutual respect between us after the incidents. And, more importantly, I've learnt from the near mistakes I would have made had it not been for my boss's intervention.

So, the lesson? Be nice, but don't play possum when your beliefs or sense of professionalism are on the line.

[Frailty]

@Arbitres

well, if no one here knows the origin

I'll do that as my last resort since I'm not a member of that forum

but if you mean the image thread in this forum, I checked already

turned out what I was looking for wasn't there as well

thanks for the reply btw

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

I guess I should have explained a bit better. By being too nice they mean that I almost always give people the benefit of the doubt even in serious situations, that I'm willing to be more accommodating than the usual person, that I always try to treat people with civility even in the more hostile of situations and that I tend to have neutral stance on arguments to try and get both sides to calm down.

Not to the extent of course of letting people walk all over me as I learned that the hard way a long time ago. I'm guessing their point is that I lack a bit of... assertion and aggression, so to speak.

Doesn't matter actually how you behave in front of others : people will still be able to find some way to take advantage of you.

I am pretty much stuck in the same situation as you recently after falling out with a couple of my friends over a few small personal issues. I was mocked for having no friends after that, so I simply told them :

You know what makes me different from other people you have met? I can live without friendship.

Yeah, like their friendship is worth anything to me. So it doesn't matter if I blew my top or not at them. Combined with the fact that I am rather socially withdrawn (to the extent of bordering on the "hikkikomori" area), it is rather true to an extent that I am a rather self-sufficient person.

In my opinion, friendship should be viewed as a business protocol with ethics of your choosing : I am utilitarian ethical, so I don't care much about give-and-take issues unless it turns parasitical.

Whatever your style with people is, it doesn't matter because those who view you as a real friend will bestow trust and loyalty to you. Those who don't will hate you : you don't have to adjust to other people's liking because you are yourself and nobody else.

Once again, I quote :

You are born with a brain, a mouth, and two middle fingers. Use them.

EDIT :

Can anyone identify the ingredients of the chicken stew in this picture?



Brown stuff with holes : Lotus root
Green stuff : Long beans
Black round stuff : ???
White stuff with frills : potatoes or beancurd? I have never heard of people using beancurd that big in chicken stew, or even using beancurd for that matter because of the beancurd being too soft and break aparts easily through convection, a heat transfer that cooks the stew under low heat that allows flavours to circulate.
Rectangular brown things : Lean chicken meat?
Red stuff : Carrots

[felix]

Originally Posted by Frailty

I'm positively sure that it's him from Tales of the abyss

I can't shake the feeling that the pose is from a very similar looking guy from Kingdom of Hearts.

[MeoTwister5]

The black round stuff is likely mushrooms, Shiitake I think. The frilly white stuff are obviously also mushrooms but I forget what it's called though I've used them in stews before.

[Vexx]

Black round stuff : Probably shitake or some similar dark mushroom.
White stuff with frills : I'm going to guess some cousin of taro root (sliced).
Rectangular brown things : Lean chicken meat?

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

The black round stuff is likely mushrooms, Shiitake I think. The frilly white stuff are obviously also mushrooms but I forget what it's called though I've used them in stews before.

Originally Posted by Vexx

Black round stuff : Probably shitake or some similar dark mushroom.
White stuff with frills : I'm going to guess some cousin of taro root (sliced).
Rectangular brown things : Lean chicken meat?

I doubt the white frilly stuff would be mushrooms if the black stuff are shitake...it isn't exactly recommended to add two kinds of fungi in the same dish, unless both having contrasting "heaty" and "cooling" effects. White fungus, or Jew's Ear, is a common secondary fungi added to mushroom dishes.

As for taro root, I find it a little off because lotus root is already added, and with taro root (or yam as it is called in my region) it may be rather difficult to digest. But that could be possible since I don't know much about Japanese cuisine (other than their fascination with Western treats and sweets).

I think it is common agreement that those brown rectangles are lean meat (breast meat with fat removed) of a chicken. After all, you can't cook chicken stew without chicken right?

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Anymore suggestions? Maybe if I can get a camera, I can cook this thing up.

[Cipher]

Originally Posted by felix

I'm pretty sure I know of that one but its not what you're referring to.
Best try the identification thread in General Anime.

Originally Posted by felix

I can't shake the feeling that the pose is from a very similar looking guy from Kingdom of Hearts.

It's Sync.

[risingstar3110]

The "White stuff with frills", i think it's bamboo shoot. Make sense through, for chicken stew

[Vexx]

yeah bamboo shoots, that's it (but drawn a lot bigger than I'm used to seeing).

[TinyRedLeaf]

Tada! Yummy double-boiled clear soup, Asian style.



(Missing only the long beans, carrots and mushrooms.)

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Vexx

yeah bamboo shoots, that's it (but drawn a lot bigger than I'm used to seeing).

Originally Posted by risingstar3110

The "White stuff with frills", i think it's bamboo shoot. Make sense through, for chicken stew

Bomboo shoots.....hmmmm. Never thought of that because the last time I had it, it was fried in chilli oil and pork. That was 5-6 years ago before my grandmother died, and she's the one that cooked it.

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Tada! Yummy double-boiled clear soup, Asian style.

[IMG]<snip>[/IMG]

(Missing only the long beans, carrots and mushrooms.)

*facepalm* That is lotus root soup with meat on chicken bones and spring onion, not chicken stew I was inquiring about .

My mum cooks it every now and then and there are 2 versions : the Mugi version and the peanut version.

[bhl88]

What makes anime popular in LA? (I'm currently writing a research topic about LA and it so happens that I picked anime as the topic. Plus the teacher wanted the focus on LA... [did 4 pages but it seems there's something missing...])

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by bhl88

What makes anime popular in LA? (I'm currently writing a research topic about LA and it so happens that I picked anime as the topic. Plus the teacher wanted the focus on LA... [did 4 pages but it seems there's something missing...])

If you mean Los Angeles?? .. there's an intersection of
1) international city
2) large fan base for all things entertainment
3) large asian community == lots of imports and just an extra awareness of 'things that are asian' (thanks to Little Tokyo, asian holiday parades, Chinatown, Korea-town, etc)

[bhl88]

So I can say that L.A. is diverse, lots of fanbase for entertainment (like movies, comics) and a large Asian visibility (is there a difference in L.A. and the others)?

[Kudryavka]

Originally Posted by bhl88

So I can say that L.A. is diverse, lots of fanbase for entertainment (like movies, comics) and a large Asian visibility (is there a difference in L.A. and the others)?

If you want to dress to impress, you can throw in that Los Angeles is the hub of California's entertainment industry, one of the state's many large and lucrative properties.

If by "the others," you mean other major American cities, then yes, we have very many more an Asian than other parts of the country. This is largely thanks to California being closest to Asia, with an ocean and a few sprinklings of island between us. The only Californian city I can think of that rivals us in Asian population is San Fran.

[bhl88]

Are there plenty of celebrations in LA? (responding to Vexx's about "extra awareness of things Asian"

@Komari: Is L.A. also known as a gateway (many flights go to California) for Asians?

[Kudryavka]

Originally Posted by bhl88

Are there plenty of celebrations in LA? (responding to Vexx's about "extra awareness of things Asian"

@Komari: Is L.A. also known as a gateway (many flights go to California) for Asians?

We have some pretty elaborate Chinese New Year's celebrations, most famously lavish parades that Angelenos of all races attend. There's also Asian Pacific Appreciation Month. I'm not sure about California being a popular tourist spot for Asians, unless they're visiting family or just because it's the second closest American state, second to Hawaii.