Mini-Ramble: Various Foods That Do and Don't Exist (Going To Hogwarts).

     Hello, all.  G-star here.  Everything's been going just fine and dandy since I updated the site; more views, more comments, and a little free advertising.  I knew that sharing option was a good idea.  ^_^
     Also, the music player is great.  Apparently it scared MC (a new purpose for it) just by playing King of Anything.  Think what it would've done if it had been playing Monster...heheh.
     Today's my dad's birthday.  Happy birthday, Dad!  We're going out to dinner straight after I get picked up from Minecraft club; which, by the way, Smore has decided to join.  (I shall sacrifice her to the horrors of gaming...)  My dad picked Cornucopia for his birthday dinner.  But not just any Cornucopia.  No-oh.  Usually the food tastes weird and the wait is horrible, but this is a special outlet.  It still has a long wait, but the food's great!
     We found it together by accident when Dad and I went out to a fundraiser concert for a Christian singer.  She was pretty good, but what I really looked forward to was the opening act, Caleb and Sol, one of my favorite groups since elementary school~ ^_^  But that wasn't the best part.  It went on pretty late, and by the time it was over, Dad and I were starving.  It was a pretty long drive home and the closest restaurant was the Cornucopia across the street.  We resigned to eating there, but when we got our burgers I realized we had stumbled upon heaven.  They were SO AMAZINGLY GOOD.  Juicy, flavorful, perfectly spiced....
     We've been dreaming of going back there ever since.  I'm looking forward to it.
Yesterday the French club had a Harry Potter day.  Naturally, I attended.  It all worked out, because although I had to skip Gaming Club, I had gone on Tuesday because Book Club had been moved to Wednesday.
     ...probably the only one who understands my schedule is me...
     Anyway, they played The Goblet Fire in French, with English Subtitles.  Their French voices sounded odd, especially Hagrid's, but Fred and George's sounded right.  Speaking of the twins, I noticed that during their fight after growing beards because of the Age Line around the Goblet Fred threatens George with "I'll tear your ears off!"
     ......ah, the irony.  The sad, sad irony.
     They served butterbeer along with Berty Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and the butterbeer at least was great!  (I didn't risk the jellybeans because once when a boy brought some back from Orlando I kept getting spinach and play-doh flavor.)  At Hogsmead the butterbeer is slightly alcoholic, but obviously they didn't do that for French Club or they may have been arrested.  Instead, they used an abundance of cream soda, ginger ale, heavy cream, and brown sugar.  And LORD, WAS IT GOOD.  I had two, even though I was still full from the first.
     A few otaku friends of mine were there too and we had some intense discussions about the movie.  We agreed that sometime we have to organize a movie marathon at one of our houses.  I would bring the butterbeer.
     The best part is that sometime this year my family's going to Orlando to visit Disneyworld, Universal Studios AND Harry Potter World!  (A feat only accomplished after weeks of nagging.)  I'm desperately anticipating it.
     Well, that was all I had to talk about today.  Here's a butterbeer recipe so you can make your own at home!  (Minus the alcohol.)  Enjoy, and until next time, this is G-star, signing off.



Ingredients
**All research I conducted turned up that McCormick’s Imitation Butter Flavor is vegan, but I cannot guarantee it**

FOR THE BUTTERBEER
6 12-ounce bottles chilled cream soda, or 1/2 recipe Homemade Cream Soda, substitute diet cream soda for a still yummy sugar-free version
3 teaspoons (1 tablespoon) imitation butter flavor, or 2 tablespoons clarified butter (instructions linked above **clarified butter does not always blend well with the cold beverage, see info above**)
OPTIONAL – 1 ounce light rum, per serving, for adults only

FOR THE FOAM (Vegan/Dairy-free recipe linked above)
2 cups heavy cream
6 tablespoons sugar, or splenda for sugar free version
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons imitation butter (if using clarified butter, double the amount to 3 teaspoons, or 1 tablespoon)

To make the butterbeer: Set out 6 16-ounce glasses. Place 1/2 teaspoon of imitation butter (or 1 teaspoon clarified butter) in each glass. Pour 12 ounces of cream soda into each glass, over the butter. Lightly stir, if necessary.

To make the foam: In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, whip the heavy cream on medium high speed for 3-4 minutes until it starts to thicken. Add the sugar and continue whipping until very soft peaks begin to form, another 3-4 minutes (if you need to whip more or less, then be sure to do so, the times can vary quite a bit based on environment). Stir in the vanilla and imitation butter (or clarified butter), then whip for another 30 seconds or so, until soft peaks form.
Spoon a generous portion of foam on top of each glass of butterbeer, mixing gently, if desired (or spoon the foam into the bottom of the glass and pour the butterbeer over the top). Serve immediately.

Recipe by Darla

http://bakingdom.com/2010/11/butterbeer-oh-yes-friends-butterbeer.html

Mini-Ramble: A Summary of Flubber.

     Hello, all.  G-star here.  I originally had a set-out plan for this post, which I came up with last night, but as always, I forgot everything I thought yesterday overnight.  So I'll just talk about MC's birthday instead.
     Patveli and I forced her to walk home while we biked ahead to pick up some cupcakes (white with purple buttercream frosting) that my mom and I had bought and get to her house.  We waited for a couple minutes and then shoved cupcakes down her throat (virtually) when she arrived at home.  I got her a thing called a Splat-Back, an odd sticky ball that flattens when you throw it at something hard enough, then turns back into a spherical shape.
     Patveli named the material "flubber".  Oddly, it fits.
     I also got her a kneaded rubber eraser, because she was continuously stealing the one from my pencil case whenever she saw it.  She appreciated that as well, and has been messing with both presents since yesterday.
     Patveli got her guitar supplies -- 'handmade' strings and picks -- and Rory (the formerly unmentioned fifth member of the dynasty) made her a 'showoff' card, but couldn't come.  We watched the fight scene between Edward and Mustang in Full Metal Alchemist, threw the flubber at various surfaces, and ate cupcakes until my lips were purple and IT WOULDN'T COME OFF.
     It was a good day.  G-star off.

Mini-Ramble: Gaming in Literature (The Braces Control Me).

     Hello all, G-star here.  First things first; a big happy birthday to MC!  She turned 15 today, two months before I do.... -_-  But whatever.  For some odd reason I'm wide awake first period and then start dozing off second period.  And second period is always ridiculously boring; first two terms it was French, now it's Physics.  Of course, I generally enjoy Physics, but we're currently going over everything I already learned at the beginning of Mechanics, so it'll be quite boring until we start learning about gravity, velocity, force, etc.  Until then I'll have to live with re-learning the metric system and 'sig figs'. 
     I wear braces (or more like they wear me; they have all control), but I get them off fairly soon.  Probably some time in the next month or two.  Anyway, until I do I have to wear these thick rubber bands on a few brackets.  I have no idea what they're for, but I don't understand a word the doctor says when he's messing with my mouth, so that's not really a surprise.  I was yawning second period (my aforementioned 'snooze class') and they both snapped.  I'm just giving up until I'm more awake.
     I started a book today called Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.  It was recommended by a friend from Book Club, and it's great.  I've always liked books about intensely realistic video games (like Deadly Pink by Vivian Vande Velde), and this is one of the best for sure.  (Apparently there's even a movie.)  I wish I could play Oasis.
     A similar media about video games is the .Hack// manga series.  I'm sorry to the big fans, but I really didn't like most of it, because, although the art was great, I didn't understand any of the plot at all.  .Hack//Twilight was great and made sense, but none of the others did.  I've heard it said that you have to play the games and watch the anime for it to make much sense, but I think that sounds like too much trouble.  There was another gaming novel that I started reading, Game Boys: Triumph, Heartbreak, and the Quest For Cash in the Battleground of Competitive Gaming by Michael Kane, anticipating an interesting realistic fiction, but instead it was like a documentary; nonfiction, no consistent characters, no particular plot, just information.  I was disappointed.  If you like that sort of thing and wish to learn more about professional gaming, whatever, go at it, but I couldn't appreciate it.
     Until tomorrow, this is G-star, signing off.