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BENGAL (Indian Restaurant)

BENGAL (Indian Restaurant)

Location: NINGYOCHO

Anyone who has ever read about my feelings on food knows that I love Indian cuisine. I try to sample a new place whenever I get a chance.
There aren't many Indian places in the Ningyocho area; we are blessed with a plethora of excellent Japanese restaurants, but not much else.
Anyway, I went to BENGAL for their lunch special (that's when Indian restaurants offer great deals).
For \1000, I got naan, small salad, saffron rice, a small piece of tandoori chicken, two curries (chicken and
vegetable), and choice of drink.
The price is certainly fine, but the taste was not.
Both curries were very watery and lacked any punch whatsoever.
The vegetable curry was especially bad!
The naan was pretty good and the tandoori chicken was passable.
I finished the meal with iced milk tea, which was alright.
I paid my \1000 and walked out the door for the final time.

Night at the Museum

It was a beautiful day yesterday (no jacket required), so I went out for a bit in the afternoon.
After walking around for a bit, I went to the movie theater and saw NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM.
It's a comedy starring BEN STILLER, ROBIN WILLIAMS, and OWEN WILSON.
It's interesting because a lot of humour doesn't translate well into an international language, but this movie
seemed to be just fine.
There were some funny references in the film where the audience didn't laugh at all, but most of the jokes
were recognized.
The movie was a lot of fun - the audience laughed out loud so many times during the film that I can't even
guess how many times it happened.
The story is simple - at night, all the exhibits in the museum come alive.
There are a few other elements to the story, but that is the basic premise.
It was also nice to see a couple of veteran actors like DICK VAN DYKE and MICKEY ROONEY in the movie.
If you feel like laughing and getting release from the usual stress and tension in your life, this is a good
movie for you.

Capote

IN CLOOD BLOOD has long been one of my favourite novels.
Though I haven't read it for a long time, it's one that I'd read again and again.
It is, of course, a factual novel based on a murder that took place in Kansas in 1959.
The novel was written by TRUMAN CAPOTE.
The movie CAPOTE deals with the years that it took the author to write his masterpiece.
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN won the Academy Award for this portrayal of Capote.
He is simply amazing in the role, and in a year of excellent nominees, he was certainly deserving.
Not limited to HOFFMAN, the film is also lucky to have two other excellent actors in prominent roles: CHRIS COOPER and BRUCE GREENWOOD.
The movie is both humourous and sad, touching and horrifying.
I'm not sure that there was anything in the movie that I didn't know, but that doesn't detract from the film.
Simply put, it's an excellent movie.

Frequent Fliers Beware!!

I think most of us were already aware of the annoyances of travel between time zones, but here is proof (I guess) that it is more than a nuisance.
Good luck!


Frequent long-haul flights hard on the body

Airplane crew and passengers who frequently fly between several time zones face a number of health
problems including disruptions in a woman's menstrual cycle and even short-term psychiatric disturbances,
researchers from the UK warn in a report published Thursday in The Lancet.
There seems to be no getting use to long-haul flights, according to researchers who report that flight crews who regularly take long journeys are not protected from the effects of jet lag such as poor and interrupted
sleep, mood changes, irritability, stomach problems, and decreased brain power.
Jet lag from crossing several time zones also causes a dip in an athlete's performance, note Jim Waterhouse and two associates from the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences at Liverpool John Moores
University.
Jet lag is worse for older travelers, and its severity increases with the number of time zones crossed. "If the journey crosses fewer than about three time zones, then jet lag is unlikely to be a major difficulty for most
people," the authors write.
The direction of travel also matters, Waterhouse and colleagues say, with flights to the east bringing more jet lag than flights to the west.
So how long will it last? Jet lag caused by eastbound flights lasts for several days "roughly equal to
two-thirds of the number of time zones crossed, and about half the number of time zones crossed for
westward flights," Waterhouse and colleagues report.
Currently, there is no cure for jet lag, but there are some things frequent long-haul travelers can do to try to lessen the impact of jet lag upon arrival. For journeys that cross more than three time zones, travelers can
help the body clock adjust by deliberately seeking or avoiding sunlight at the new destination, the
investigators offer.
Trying to maintain alertness during the day at the new destination by exercising and/or drinking caffeinated beverages may also help. The jury is still out on the value of taking the hormone melatonin to curb jet lag,
the authors say. Melatonin is secreted during sleep and has been implicated in jet lag, but Waterhouse and
colleagues don't advise using melatonin until more research is conducted.
What's needed, they conclude, is a "more detailed understanding of the molecular changes associated with
time zone changes...with a view to developing drugs to promote clock adjustment and further assessments of new sleep-promoting and alertness-promoting drugs."

The Zombie Survival Guide

The Zombie Survival Guide

by: Max Brooks

I'm a big fan of zombies. I think I've mentioned before that I'll watch most decent zombie movies that
Hollywood makes.
I realize I'm probably in the minority here, but that's alright; the minority is always more interesting than the majority.
Anyway, I saw this book on the NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST (of all places!), and was immediately
intrigued.
The first thing to note about this "guide" is that it is listed under HUMOUR.
Keep that in mind if you decide to read it.
The contents of the book are exactly as the title describes - surviving a zombie attack.
BROOKS goes into great detail describing myths about zombies, proper weaponry to fight zombies, escaping and destroying zombies, securing a safe haven, and "factual" zombie encounters throughout history
(including a couple from Japan!).
I couldn't put the book down!
I couldn't stop smiling and laughing.
And I couldn't stop telling all my friends about it.
I really enjoyed reading it (it took me just a few days to finish it) and am looking forward to the next story
that BROOKS has written.
I'm sure I'll read the "Zombie Guide" again, but now all of my friends want to borrow it, so it may take some time.
BEWARE OF THE UNDEAD!!!!