Woman Warrior Wednesdays #23 by Kate Krimson

Woman Warrior Wednesdays #23 by Kate Krimson


Review of Rain #1 from Bluewater Comics-$3.99

2.5 out of 5 stars


Summary: Rain takes out a guard in front of a large mansion located in Atlanta, Georgia. Then she shoots out the power box to the house. When she’s in the house, she is surprised how easy it was to get and two seconds after this thought a gun is to her head and his held by the home’s owner, William Davis. She manages to knock him out. She steals a ring with a pretty big rock on it and runs away from the home. She gets in her car and drives away. Soon after she leaves the police arrive at the Davis’s home just a little too late.


The next day Rain goes to George Baker’s place. She gives him the ring and he gives her money for stealing it for him. It turns out that Davis cost Baker a lot of money by backing out of a huge business deal and getting this ring stolen was an act of revenge. Rain and Baker share some awkward sexual tension and then Rain leaves.


Later, a man named Trevor calls her with a job offer. He promises to give her $200,000 if she steals a necklace for him that’s in a coffin in a museum.


Then something a little odd occurs. In a cabin, a man sees an article about the remains that lay within in this coffin and claims that this must be his mother. He sends two demon-like beings out to retrieve the coffin. He has the skeleton of his father lying on the bed beside him and says soon their family will be together again. Then he becomes some werewolf-like creature and starts ripping into some humans that he has been saving for supper.


Writer (Nick Lyons): The storyline is a little weak at first. She robs and gets paid for it. Got it. It doesn’t get interesting until the end, when we find out Rain may encounter some demons and a werewolf in her latest quest of thievery.


Illustrator (Sean Lee): The illustrations I would say are about the same. Not much really jumps at you until demons and a werewolf are in the picture.


Overall, I think this issue started off a bit rocky but the ending makes you want to find out what happens next. It is definitely far from fantastic but it does have an interesting hook to reel you into the next issue.

Woman Warrior Wednesdays #22 by Kate Krimson

Review of Hack/Slash Meets Zombies vs. Cheerleaders #1


From Moonstone Comics for $3.99


4 out of 5 stars.



 Summary:


Vlad and Cassie Hack are sitting in café in Seattle. Vlad is enjoying a mocha latte and Cassie is waiting for an email reply on her laptop from a man named Chris. Cassie calls Chris, who tells her to investigate a local high school where some students have recently gone missing.


Cassie and Vlad enroll themselves into the school. Cassie gets in trouble for calling her physics teacher a douche bag, because he said there are no other dimensions. Then she gets recruited to the cheerleading squad, because they need to diversify. Amber, the head cheerleader, isn’t happy about it, but is forced to put Cassie on the squad by Coach Moore. Cassie freaks out at the lunch lady, because of her past with her crazy mom, who was also a lunch lady. Because of this outburst, she is sent again to the principal’s office. After their first day of school, Vlad goes to football practice, while Cassie goes to cheerleading practice.


Later that night, while hanging out in their van, they see the football coach named Campbell dragging a football tackling dummy late at night and ask him what he’s doing. He tells them to go away. After they leave, it is seen that inside the dummy was a dead girl, who he cuts up into pieces and feeds to his zombie son.


The next day Vlad talks to Coach Campbell, who wants to know how Vlad is pulling off his somewhat normal look, considering his huge size, great strength, and greenish skin. Campbell thinks Vlad must have a connection to something that may help Jacob, who apparently took a human growth hormone, HGX, which turned him into his zombish self. Campbell shoots Vlad with a dart so he can get a sample of his blood. As Campbell reveals to Vlad his zombie family that he has locked up, Cassie comes to save the day. The zombies chase after them and the whole scene disrupts cheerleading practice. Cassie gets one with a hockey stick, while the cheerleaders kill the rest. Coach Campbell gets away, but they are sure they won’t have to worry about seeing him again. Now all Cassie wants is a good cup of coffee.


Writer (Steven L Frank): Frank gives us quite an interesting tale, filled with plenty of violence and zombies, while also providing us with an interesting take on the problem with performance-enhancing drugs in sports.


Illustrated (Benjamin Glendenning): Glendenning’s illustrations bring the true horror of the situation to life. The zombies are blood thirsty, red-eyed, and green-skinned monsters coming after their prey with jagged fingernails, which seem more like claws. Coach Campbell though is probably the bigger monster when it comes to depictions. Watching him saw through a dead girl, so his zombie family can eat, shows that this man has very little of humanity left in him. We also see the zombie within when he holds Vlad at gunpoint in order to find out his “secret”.

Botswana Food Night by Kate Krimson

Freddy G and I traveled to Botswana in our latest cooking excursion. The inspiration for this trip was The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. Both the book and the HBO series based on the book are amazing. The main character, Precious Ramotswe, makes bush tea for pretty much every client that enters her detective agency. So I bought some African Rooibos (bush tea) for $1.79. This particular kind of bush tea from Celestial Seasonings was probably sweeter than pure bush tea because it was flavored with vanilla.

For a little snack/appetizer we prepared dodo (plantain chips). They were simple to make. All we had to do was slice the plantains into ¼ slices, fry them for five minutes in vegetable oil, and sprinkle with salt. Unfortunately, the flavor that was enjoyable was the mingling of salt and oil on the plantains and not the plantains themselves.

 The best dish of the night was definitely the sweet corn soup. Soft kernels of corn and pieces of chopped onion swirl around in this creamy and peppery soup.

 The main course was samp (hominy) and beans (black eyed peas). Overall this meal was okay. The main thing that I did not like about this dish was its primary flavors were onions and ground cloves, an overwhelming combo to the taste buds and to others who may have to smell your breath.

 

 For dessert we made steamed groundnut cake. The taste of peanut in the cake was enjoyable, but the cake itself was dense and not very moist.

Woman Warrior Wednesdays #21 by Kate Krimson

Wonder Woman #610-DC Comics-$2.99
4.5 out of 5 stars
Summary:


In Manhattan, Giganta, a female warrior who can sometimes be as big as her name implies, is destroying much of the city in search of Diana/Wonder Woman. A woman appears and magically takes Giganta to another place, where the Morrigan, Cheetah, and Artemis are. These are Giganta’s teammates in trying to bring down Wonder Woman. Artemis is telling the others about how she was defeated by Doctor Psycho.


In the meantime, Wonder Woman wakes up in a hospital bed with a doctor and a nurse by her side. Her bed has blanket that is covered with stars. The doctor tells Diana that she was extremely close to dying. The doctor leaves and the nurse who is also named Diana hands Wonder Woman her clothes and kick-butt accessories. Nurse Diana tells Wonder Woman that the blanket came from an old lady, Myra Clotho, who just came out of a coma and made the blanket as soon as she heard that Wonder Woman was in the hospital. Wonder Woman puts the blanket on like a cape and pays a visit to Myra.


Myra, a fate, tells Wonder Woman that she is the only one who can stand up against an ultimate evil and that justice chose her when she saved a bird that Artemis had shot down. Myra gives Wonder Woman the strand of string that contains her fate. A Kere, a death-spirit, comes to take away Myra Wonder Woman defeats it by showing it compassion and by telling it to be free, but Myra still dies. Then all the Keres go free in Hades, which makes Charon, aka the man who takes the dead across the rivers of Acheron and Styx, cry because he knows it means someone has forgiven them.


Diana says farewell to Myra’s dead body and then is attacked by Giganta. Wonder Woman kicks her out of the building. Steve Trevor sees everything. Wonder Woman says hi to him, but she is not sure why she knows him. Artemis tries to shoot Wonder Woman, but the arrows are blocked by her wristbands. Wonder Woman captures Artemis with her lasso and reveals to her the truth that the Morrigan had hid from her. Artemis is ashamed of herself and asks Wonder Woman to kill her, but she says it would be better if Artemis helped her fight the Morrigan. Giganta tries to attack Wonder Woman, but she brings Giganta to the ground with a smash.


Wonder Woman, Giganta, Artemis, and Cheetah come upon the Oracle of Themyscira. Wonder Woman says she does not want to know the will of the gods, but plans on killing a few.


Writers (J. Michael Straczynski and Phil Hester): A story must have action for readers to want to continue on the journey that flows through the pages. If this comic does not have enough action for you, then you are hard to please. There are plenty of fight scenes to keep one entertained, but also there is the revealing of a hero’s fate and the releasing of the Keres from their curse.


Illustrator (Eduardo Pansica): Pansica’s depictions of fierce fighting females almost make the reader jump back from the page. Giganta standing on top of a statue she smashed with her hair being blown back as she lets out a roar with her battleaxe in her hand. The Kere with her blazing red eyes and giant bat-like wings climbing towards Myra. Giganta leaping towards Wonder Woman like a growling hungry tiger. Wonder Woman telling the gods that she coming for them.


Pansica also draws the characters with real emotions on their faces. Anger clearly comes through on the faces of Cheetah, Giganta, and Artemis as the march out to find Wonder Woman and attempt to destroy her. Happiness shines through the eyes of Myra as she looks upon the only one who can defeat the ultimate evil. Shame pours itself out of Artemis when she realizes the wrong that she has done.

French Food Night by Freddy G

This weekend Kate Krimson and I sauntered over to France for this week’s cultural meal. We cooked Beef Bourguignon, a traditional French recipe once considered a peasant dish, and some chocolate soufflés.


Beef Bourguignon consists of braised beef in red wine and is stewed with onions, carrots, and mushrooms. This recipe came from Julia Child's book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”
The consensus among all who tasted our dish was that it was delicious. We think it may have been one of the better dishes we've prepared thus far.

Beef Bourguignon

Kate with her serving of Beef Bourguignon

Kate serving up the Beef Bourguignon

It was followed later with a chocolate soufflé. It was served hot and was absolutely gooey and decadent.. This recipe came from food vlogger “BoyEatsWorld” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxccmuSrn3s ).

Chocolate Soufflé

Freddy G with the Chocolate Soufflé

                             Me wearing a beret and fake mustache that Freddy G made

                                   Freddy G wearing a beret and fake mustache that he made

The entire evening went great and I hope you all give French cuisine a try yourselves. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Indian Food Night by Kate Krimson


Freddy G and I prepared some Indian food on Saturday night. While we prepared our first recipe, naan (a flatbread), we listened to a CD of traditional Indian music that Freddy G checked out from the library. We used a recipe from Fine Cooking (http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/homestyle_indian_naan.aspx). I thought it came out good. It was a bit chewy, but overall it was a fine bread.

For the main course, we made Tandoori Chicken (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tandoori-Chicken-238388) I could not find vindaloo paste, when I went shopping, so we made it from scratch. I accidently used more ginger than I was supposed to, but I think the dish still came out okay.

Our final recipe was Mango Lassi (http://tv.disney.go.com/disneychannel/passtheplate/index.html). If you like fruit in general or if you just like mango, it’s a great easy recipe. I’m not a huge fan of either, so it was not my favorite thing in the world.

Next, we will be preparing some French food.

Japanese Food Night by Freddy G

Hello YES MA'AM Blog readers,


Kate Krimson and I had our “Journey to Japan” food excursion this weekend. Since Japan was my idea, I took the helm when planning our menu and am also writing today’s post.


The meal began with Soba buckwheat noodles served in a broth consisting of Dashi (soup stock), mirin and soy sauce.


After making the dough, cutting, and boiling the noodles we can understand why most people in modern Japan opt for instant noodles. Okay, so for a first try the soup was pretty good, though the noodles were a little chewy.

Me Rolling Out the Soba Noodle Dough

Soba Noodles in Dashi

Kate Slurping a Soba Noodle

                                                         Me Slurping a Soba Noodle

I discovered a recipe for “Pork Cutlets and Rice” in a Japanese cookbook from the library. Fried pork cutlets coated in Panko and served over rice with a kind of eggy, oniony type of sauce. Not bad and Kate chose brown rice which made this dish all the more healthy.

                                                              The Pork Cutlets and Rice
To accompany the meal I chose Sake, a traditional Japanese wine made from rice rather than a fruit. Our drink preferences run closer to mixed drinks rather than straight alcohol. I expected something a little sweeter, and the straight sake just made Kate cringe. So after mixing it with some cranberry juice it became quite drinkable.

                                                              Sake with Cranberry Juice
All in all I have to say that the authenticity is what one would expect from amateur home cooks.
For a first foray into the realms of Asian cuisine it was a good try.


Next week we will be cooking Indian food.

Tahiti Food Night by Kate Krimson

Saturday, my best friend, Freddy, and I started a new tradition: every weekend we are going to cook food from a different region of the world.



For our first weekend, we cooked food from Tahiti. The main dish that we prepared was Poisson Cru, a dish of raw tuna fish, coconut milk, lime juice, and vegetables. Many refer to Poisson Cru as the national dish of Tahiti. We used this recipe (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Poisson-Cru-Tahitian-Salad-242084). It came out pretty good, but it was a little too salty.

Our Poisson Cru

Me Dishing Out the Poisson Cru

For dessert, we made Po’e, a banana-based pudding. We used this recipe (http://www.lighthousetravel.net/Tahitian_Food.html).This definitely didn’t come out like pudding. It was some were between pudding and bread. I’m not sure where we went wrong. It still tasted good, even though we were texturally expecting something else.

Po'e in Coconut Dish

Me doing the Monty Python and the Holy Grail Coconut Horse Galloping Noise

Freddy doing the Monty Python and the Holy Grail Coconut Horse Galloping Noise

 

Freddy questioning why anyone would want to wear a coconut bra.

Next weekend, we are going to travel to Japan via our taste buds.

What Are You Going to Leave Behind? by Kate Krimson

I have lately been feeling insignificant. I look at all my life goals and see boxes left unchecked on my long to-do list. I have also been feeling lonely and invisible, like a gas, a blur of buzzing atoms that occupy space, and yet no one sees.

Then, when I started doing the dishes tonight, one of my favorite songs snuck into my head: “Infinity” by Ill Chemistry. The song’s chorus goes “Infinity, Infinite-I/When I die, they're going to call me the light/from the way that I do to the things that I write/The legacy I leave is bright, right.” The songs ends by asking the listener “What you gonna leave behind?”

 I have been thinking too much about what my actions are going to add up to in the end, instead actually acting. My lack of participation has been causing all of these negative feelings and today or I really should say tonight, I want to start acting. I say “want” because I know I’m not perfect and I won’t immediately start acting after posting this. This post however is only the beginning. I hope that when I die my legacy is also bright. And I leave you with this thought: What are you going to leave behind?



Here are a couple of inspiring songs to lift your spirits, including “Infinity”:





For those with sensitive ears, be warned that this song contains a bad word

Questions That Are Hard To Answer #1

I thought it might be good to start a reader participation blog,  which aimed to answer difficult questions. Here is the first round of questions:

Question #1 is inspired by reading Feminism is for Everybody by bell hooks

1. How much of society’s sexism causes women to be sexist towards themselves politically, socially, etc?

2. What makes a parent passive toward his/her child’s domestic abuse?

 
You can post your comments here or on our Facebook page.

Warrior Woman Wednesdays #20 by Kate Krimson

Power Girl #20 (“Beasts of Burden”)-DC Comics-$2.99

4 stars out of 5


Summary:


Lawyers are meeting with Simon Peters. He is representing Karen Starr (aka Power Girl) of Starrware, since she is unable to make it to the meeting. The lawyers are angry that Karen is missing another meeting, but Simon tells them that she couldn’t make it because “something of great importance needed attending to and it couldn’t be rescheduled.” The company is in trouble because it’s missing a lot of money, which Starr is claiming was embezzled by an employee, named Donna Anderson, who was found dead. The lawyers need Starr on record saying this or all of Starrware’s assets are going to be seized by the bank for their defaulted loans.


Karen’s more important engagement is fighting a giant white four-armed monkey-like monster named Caspian. After fighting Caspian, more monsters arrive to fight Karen. These monsters, including Caspian, are the G.E.L.F.s (Genetically Engineered Life Forms) of Professor Anthony Ivo of New Cadmus, a genetic research facility. Karen fights off the monsters and then flies into and through the wall of New Cadmus. New Cadmus is a thorn in Power Girl’s side. They have created her villain, C.R.A.S.H, and made a clone of her called Divine.


Inside New Cadmus, Karen gets her friend, Nicco, access to the company’s computer files. She also finds a kennel filled with New Cadmus’ monster creations. She comes upon a clone of Krypto, Superman’s dog, after he attacks her with heat vision. However, Clone-Krypto seems to recognize Power Girl and starts licking her face. Nicco has Batman store all the stolen intel in his files, while Clone-Krypto and Power Girl fight off more monsters. Max Lord shoots Clone-Krypto and paralyzes Power Girl using his mind. He “convinces” her to go after the Justice League International, who he says is harboring the man who killed one of her teammates.


Writer (Judd Winick): The key to a great storyline, especially in a comic book, is suspense. Winick has this key in the ignition and is driving on the highway of “What Happens Next.” The reader wants to know what is going to happen to Starrware. Is the company going to lose everything or somehow prevail? The reader also wants to know if Power Girl really is going to fight the JLI or if she will snap out of the spell that Max Lord put on her.


Illustrator (Sami Basri): Combat is typically where a comic book artist’s talent comes to light the most. Action is what people want to see in comics. Pow! Wham! Bam! Thank you Ma’am! Basri does deliver this with Power Girl’s battles with Ivo’s bizarre monsters. However, the battle scenes are not where Basri’s best work can be seen. Caspian is Basri’s best creation. His emotions appear the most real, mainly anger and pain. He is also a great depiction of what the human mind can imagine. As Nicco puts it, he is “an albino King Kong with four arms.” Now that’s an image that will stick your mind.