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What better way to enjoy the new year than with some new tastes.  Here is a really easy recipe to try out on friends and family who are looking to spice things up a bit:

1. Before you start cooking, prepare the following: 500g of chicken breasts cut into thin slices, 2 tablespoons of  garlic finely chopped (substitute with 1 tsp of garlic flakes soaked in a little water for 20 minutes or until soft if you don’t have fresh garlic available), grate 1 lemon (you will only use the grated rind and not the juice).
2. Heat 15 ml of cooking oil, olive oil, or peanut oil in a large saucepan.
3. When the oil is hot, add about 2-3 tablespoons of thai red curry paste and stir for about 30 seconds.  (If you prefer a stronger, hotter experiment with the amount of curry paste used until it’s to your liking).
4. Add the chicken and stir until it is completely covered by the curry paste.
5. Add 1 teaspoon of ginger, 1 teaspoon of tumeric, and the garlic you prepared beforehand.  Stir-fry for a few seconds and turn the heat down to low.
6. Add 400ml of coconut milk (which can be replaced with cream if you want a richer curry), the grated lemon rind and 2 teaspoons of sugar.  Make sure that you get no lemon juice into the pan otherwise the cream will curdle … the dish will still taste delicious but look very unappetising!
7. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the dish has reached a creamy consistency.
8. Serve with jasmine rice or pad thai noodles for an authentic thai feel.  (This recipe should easily feed four adults.)
9. Garnish each serving with a couple of fresh basil leaves.

This year I am resolved not to make any lofty, sentimental resolutions based on how miserably I managed to screw up the last one (although if I was, my first one would probably be never look back on your life at 3am after too much champagne, too little sleep and reading a love letter from a man whose heart you have broken).

At 28 I know there is not much I can do about changing the essential me and, in all honesty, am pretty content with who I am but not necessarily with how that finds expression.  So I have decided that 2010 is to be a year of revolutions rather than resolutions.

To this end I have invested in a magical little book by Michael Norton entitled “365 ways to change the world.”  From globalism and consumerism to health issues to environmental concerns, each page covers a practical way in which every individual can begin making a positive impact on the world around them rather than sitting back and whining in self-centredness and despair.

Today’s assignment was simply to set a target for the change I want to see in the world.  Mine is to improve the access that children in the impoverished communities around me have to healthcare, educational support, and recreational facilities so that they can have a chance at a great life.

Archbishop Oscar Romero said:

There is a certain liberation in understanding that we can’t do everything.  This enables us to do something and to do it very well.

 What are you going to do this year?

The dreamhack festival this winter has really stepped it up a notch when it comes to the live music (and the music in general too actually).

Detektivbyrån

Detektivbyrån

One of my newer favourits “Detektivbyrån” just had a well appreciated small and intimate performance on the big stage. The only band in the history of Dreamhack to be prompted for an encore by the audience. Very interesting consert indeed!

There has been around 8-12 bands so far and pretty much all of the bands in my genre are really great! Some heavy metal, some rock and alternative rock. Has been some nice surprizes.

JulieHally, strange and awesome.

JulieHally

Live drum concert – Super Mario Theme =)

Super Mario Drummer

SCAR SYMMETRY, which were new to me.

Scar Symmetry

This year at Dreamhack should take all kinds of records, both for my personal list of records but also the usual Guiness world records (most people connected to the same local area network simultaneously).

As for my own record list I tend to keep log of certain thing; this year will be nominated for:

• Best musicians on stage
• Worst weather
• Highest EMO count per square meter

Hug an EMO, they are warm and cuddly!

Preparing for his departure from the online game in which we met, a friend of mine announced his plans for a dramatic “exitbang” which had me rolling on the floor in fits of laughter.

While he quite innocently was trying to sum up the act of slamming a door on one’s way out a room in a single appropriate English word, the use of exitbang in relation to a female player named Marge took my not-so-innocent mind to some very interesting PG-rated places indeed.

As a result I have added this smile-inducing word to my vocabulary: exitbang – the act of making a dramatic exit OR a quick farewell of a more physical and intimate nature just before parting.

Douglas Adams and John Lloyd in their book “The Meaning of Liff” have come up with a few new words of their own.  Here are three of my favourites:

• duntish (adj.) - mentally incapacitated by a severe hangover.
• fring (n.) – the noise made by a light bulb which has just shone its last.
• wike (vb.) - to rip a piece of sticky plaster off your skin as fast as possible in the hope that it will (a) show how brave you are, and (b) not hurt.

I’m a real girl – apparently a rare commodity in the fantastical land of Evony. There are some who try to fake it with ladylike names and pretty profile pictures but in the way they walk and the way they talk it soon becomes apparent that their feminine features are mere deceptions.

Now, being a real girl has certain advantages, hence the motivation for faking it I think (that and the chance to finally dress up in a socially appropriate way):

• it brings out the protective instincts of my alliance mates no matter whether or not I am ranked more highly than them – resources and reinforcements are readily available when a damsel cries out in distress;
• I can stop an impending attack with fluttering eyelashes and a few simple words like “can’t we talk about this over dinner” or “don’t you know it’s rude to look up a girl’s skirt without permission;”
• and, of course, I always seem to have company at hand whenever I need a little amusement.

There are downsides too, of course, like:

• trying to manage 7 whispers at once without confusing the guy or the topic at hand in order to continue the above-mentioned support and attention;
• opening and closing lines like “so what are you wearing?” and “I’ll come wash your back in the shower” tend to get real old real soon;
• increased chances of acquiring a stalker;
• and, my personal worst, breaking a nail on the keyboard while trying to keep up with the flurry of flirting.

At the end of the day, I have to admit that being a real girl really enhances the fun and the strategy behind on-line play.  But in admitting my utter shamelessness in using my gender to my advantage in every possible way, I think it becomes apparent that in the land of Evony I’m not such a real girl after all.