Did you know what it's like to go to the movies in the U.S. if you're deaf?

I had no idea that this was the U.S. experience when you want to see captions at the movie theatre. That assistive screen looks pretty unwieldy!



Digression #1: when I was living in Japan, subtitles were often an option at non-Japanese films, so you could choose to see the movie dubbed in Japanese or subtitled in Japanese. I usually wanted to hear the original language, be it English or Chinese or French, and a lot of Japanese movie-goers apparently like to also, so I always went for the subtitled option, which was displayed at the bottom or right side of the screen. The challenge for me was that subtitles were hard to find for Japanese films; fortunately Studio Ghibli films are often offered with subtitles 😁 I can understand Japanese, but there is always going to be vocabulary I don't know, so being able to see the kanji is handy for getting the gist.

Digression #2: watching Fahrenheit 9-11 in a Japanese theatre was an interesting experience: the Japanese subtitles lagged the English audio by a second or two (also Japanese grammar means you usually need to hear the entire sentence to understand the meaning and nuances, so timing is just different). When they showed the footage of troops in Iraq getting pumped for battle by listening to The Bloodhound Gang's "Fire Water Burn" with the "burn [expletive] burn" line, my friends and I started laughing while the Japanese people around us listened in bewilderment and then horror. This was characteristic of the whole movie - our laughter was always out of sync with the rest of the audience, and sometimes we were the only ones laughing 😳😅 I'll bet most Japanese people who saw that documentary came away thinking that the U.S. is barbaric (which is a completely justifiable conclusion).

Guerlain Lingerie de Peau - first impressions, Phoenix by Dawn Richards

Got a sample of Guerlain's Lingerie de Peau in 02 Beige Clair. I love the lightweight texture! It doesn't sink into pores and looks invisible, but smooths out my skin. However, it doesn't really cover my redness, so I still need a good concealer to take care of it. Since I am looking for something that will cover redness too, I don't think I'll purchase this, although the texture is really lovely.

Mini Review: Puma Socks, Santigold - Chasing Shadows

I got some low profile black Puma socks, but they slide off my heels. The Nike socks fit better, although they pill and fade after a while.

Santigold - Chasing Shadows:

Recommendations on feeding newborns, Kyla La Grange - Skin

Recommendations on Improving Hospital Safety to Prevent Newborn Starvation and Injury

I was surprised that this topic hasn't had more publicity or concern, when 1 in 5 women may have delayed lactation or no lactation at all. Teaching women how to confirm whether they're producing breast milk seems like a basic sanity check. And also teaching how to supplement when not producing enough milk seems like a basic precaution, even if it were uncommon.

There also seems to be a widespread misconception that newborns can't drink that much, but the newborn stomach has been measured at 20mL.

One of my favorite singers, Kyla La Grange:

Ameriie's new EP Drive

Egads, May already?!? Poshmark update

Yikes, I cannot believe it's been months since I last posted here.

I thought I'd give you an update on Poshmark, in bullet points.
The tl;dr summary: buying on Poshmark is great if you know the product very well, but be very careful to confirm the things that you care about. Selling is tough though.

Pros:

• An extensive variety of items for sale, some extremely unique
• One-stop shopping from your phone has never been so easy!
• Discontinued items for sale
• I can often find discontinued versions of a product that I can't get anywhere else. For example, I like Eddie Bauer wrinkle-free shirts in bright striped patterns, but for the most part they don't make them in those patterns any more.  However, on Poshmark, I've found quite a few of these shirts in like-new and sometimes brand-new condition. Similarly for Under Armour cold gear shirts. The new versions of the shirt have an itchier seam, but the old versions of the shirt are great. I live in these shirts in the winter, and I've stocked up on a few basics via Poshmark already.
• Prices are low
• A corollary to the fact that selling is hard, the abundance of items means that prices go low if the sellers really want to sell. So Poshmark is an excellent place to buy jeans, dresses, and purses, as American women seem to have an excess of both! Also, high end items can be had for quite reasonable prices.
• Unique items sell well
• Simply because they stand out from the mass of similar items. However, I've seen beautiful dresses sell for super low prices - great for the buyer, not as great for the seller.
• Comments cannot be erased
• This can be a source of useful information about a seller/buyer

Cons:

• No returns
• Since individual sellers are shipping the items, they would also have to process the returns, and this is super tedious for individuals, so Poshmark has sensibly decided not to allow returns. However, it is disappointing to receive an item and realize that it doesn't fit. The only solution is to donate or "re-posh" sell the item on Poshmark.
• Sellers omit information
• Whether deliberately or because they don't have time, sellers may leave out information that is important to the buyer. As a buyer, you have to be careful to ask any questions that are important to you, which can be irritating to the seller. However, since you can't return anything, it's a necessary evil. I've stopped buying items that I don't already know well, as it's too tiring to try think of every possible issue.
• Technically, if the item is not as expected, you could probably open a case and ask to return the item, but errors of omission are a bit borderline. I received a sweater that had pilling, which wasn't mentioned. I didn't ask in advance, so I chose to accept the item, rather than challenge it. Similarly, I bought a coat that fit well, but turned out to be rather rough to the touch. Since I neglected to ask this in advance, I chose not to open a case.
• Sizing is difficult
• It's hard to measure a 3D item like a dress, and even if you ask for measurements, it's difficult to know if an item fits until you actually try it on. There are all sorts of wonderful shoes for sale, but I've given up on judging whether shoes fit me, unless I already know the item.
• Seller ratings are not visible
• Seller's can post a screenshot of their rating, but they're not publicly accessible to buyers. So a careful buyer needs to check the "Love Notes" from other buyers, to make sure that there are no issues with the seller.  This is pretty time consuming, and often there isn't much information.  Sellers can also choose not to display a particular "Love Note" so buyers cannot access that information
• Selling is hard
• There are so many sellers that it is really hard to find buyers for your items
• Shipping is $6
• It makes it hard to justify buying an item unless you can bundle to save on shipping.
• You only get notified of a comment if tagged
• Unless it is your own listing, users need to tag you in order for you to notice a comment that they have left. Often users forget this, so I have missed comments/replies as a result.
• Only women's and unisex clothing allowed
• I would love to buy items for my husband, as clothing manufacturers have stopped producing loose fit pants, but the Poshmark platform can't handle men's or children's clothing yet. They just came out with Plus, Petites, and Juniors sizing, so maybe this will change eventually.

I leave you with the latest song from Kiley Dean, "Long Gone":

black tea-flavored soymilk from Kikkoman

Most of their flavors are delicious, but this is probably my absolute favorite. The matcha and pear flavors are good too.

Jojo has a new mixtape out:

Things that you are better off not knowing

Peppermin M&M's are quite tasty - better than their holiday colleague, Mint M&M's, not to be confused with the year-round Dark Chocolate M&M's. Sorry if this leads to you trying them. Food posts are dangerous.

 

 

Ciara videos

Ciara looks great in her latest song Dance Like We're Making Love (especially the rose dress!) but I think my favorite Ciara video in recent years is Got Me Good:

Musically, I am currently in love with her cover of Paint it Black.

Overall, my favorite video is still her classic "Like a Boy":

Android XiaoMi HongMi, and arsenic in rice

Installing the files specified here did install the adb drivers I needed for my XiaoMi HongMi device to be recognized by Android Studio.  The 2nd install specified in the instructions did not modify the MiPhoneManager to display in English though.

Mi 米 is the character for rice.  On a tangent, did you know that rice absorbs metals well?  As a result, it has a higher amount of inorganic arsenic than other popular grains, mostly absorbed from the soil.  Apparently the US has been used arsenical drugs for chicken for 70 years or more, and this has polluted the soil that is often now used for rice farming.

References:

• Consumer Reports: Report: Analysis of Arsenic in Rice and Other Grains November 2014
• Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries lists measured arsenic values for rice and other foodstuffs (there are links to reports for domestic and international results) (Japanese). I used this site to convert ppb to mg/kg.  Interestingly, the FDA has failed to set standards for arsenic in food.  Japan appears to have had a standard in place for a while.

Monetizing privilege

Have you heard about the new service welldeserved.me?

We made the self-important startup video to end all self-important startup videos http://t.co/aoVec9zzBx
— Cultivated Wit (@CultivatedWit) March 11, 2015

The original pitch cracks me up:

Classic: Prince: When Doves Cry

Prince: When Doves Cry

What is American food?

Here's an interesting discussion on cuisines in the U.S.

cooking videos

Two well-done and entertaining cooking videos:

From GardenFork.TV: Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix : Creamed Corn Bread Recipe
 
From Country: Cracklin Corn Bread
Unhealthy but it looks delicious!  I like the spoon method of pouring the batter.  I might try with bacon sometime.

Daelman's Caramel Bites

Stroopwafels sold at Trader Joes, these caramel wafers are the bomb! Decadent!

Update: Daelmens' website

Meshell Ndegeocello's new album

Pour une ame souveraine (For a sovereign soul) - A dedication to Nina Simone To be released Oct. 8, 2012. Mellow, lovely. With a song featuring Sinead O'Connor!

Classic music: Lucy Pearl - Dance Tonight

Lucy Pearl - Dance Tonight 投稿者 freship

U.S. news organizations are whack

I like how they can treat Romney (scary, unable to actually explain position adequately) as a viable candidate, while ridiculing Ron Paul (sane, clearly explains and justifies stances) as a lunatic.
more links:

• http://libertycrier.com/government/doug-wead-another-media-lie-about-ron-paul/  
• http://silverdoctors.blogspot.jp/2012/01/cbs-ridicules-ron-paul-over-taxpayer.html  
• http://www.infowars.com/corporate-media-lies-about-attendance-at-ron-paul-uc-davis-rally/ 

*shakes head at the mysteries of the world*

hrm

weird stuff going on in Indiana, but this may spread to other states.

new music video from Brave

I'm liking this song Break Me Down by Brave!