Dim Sum Of All Fears

Making Chinese food has always been a bit intimidating for me. There's an aura to it that seems complex and off-putting, as though there's an Ancient Chinese Secret out there to making good Chinese food that is elusive to all but...well, ancient Chinese people. That brings me to....MOM. I'm pretty sure she wants me to know how to make family favorites but a part of me thinks that she'd also be happy to see anything I make pale in comparison to her own recipe. Anyone see "Joy Luck Club"? 'Nuff said. Still, I am intrigued by truly successfully crafted tidbits -- and I'm not talking about the heat-lamp warmed, red-dye saturated, MSG cabbage fillers most people are used to consuming -- and since Mom may waffle at coughing up her own recipe, I embarked on finding my own.

Dim Sum, which literally translates to "touch of heart," or "little heart," encompasses a wide variety of small bites, usually eaten between breakfast and lunch, with tea. One of my favorite dim sum treats is pan-fried dumplings, or "pot-stickers." I've made won ton, which is pretty much the same thing but never tried the fried, then steamed version. The Food Network's Bobby Flay recently issued a "Throwdown" challenge to Sohui Kim, a N.Y. dumpling expert. Her recipe (she won) looked easy and very similar to what I'm used to when I make won ton. This simple version uses ginger, garlic chives and hoisin sauce in a pork filling. An interesting addition was "silken tofu" to the meat mixture. Silken tofu is exactly what it sounds like, a silkier, creamier version of the firmer soy cakes. Adding it to ground pork keeps the meat moister and juicier and prevents it from getting too crumbly. I thought the recipe was easy to follow and, after some practice, making those little crimps in the dough became fairly simple also. They came out looking great and tasty too....crispy, savory and salty. Here's some pictures of my attempt at this recipe for Pork and Chive Dumplings. Give it a try...you might surprise yourself.

Human-Cyborg Relations

Games and Gaming #38 - All Grandma's Fault

My son was born during the absolutely perfect year to be born a boy. He saw the first season of Barney as well as the first (and best) season of Power Rangers, he was exactly the same age as Andy when "Toy Story" came out, and he celebrated his 11th birthday the same year as Harry did when Hagrid brought him that smooshed cake in the shack by the sea. He's also grown up with Nintendo as part of his life as much as Barbie was a part of mine. Up until recently, he's owned every Nintendo system ever made, and let me tell you, this was no easy task considering that every time we thought we had caught up to the latest/greatest game, Christmas would arrive touting the NEWEST hard-to-find system. I told myself that the plus side was that he was familiarizing himself with technology, learning unbelievable hand-eye coordination....and, he was usually the envy of all his less-indulged friends. (Gotta blame Grandma on this one - she spoiled him!) Another benefit was that we played almost every night as a family. I have fond memories of taking my turn at navigating Mario around all those obstacles to save the Princess. Usually, I sucked big-time and my child would look sadly at me and say, "Don't worry, Mommy. I'll help you get through that hard part next time." I'm not sure if he was learning compassion....or pity. Probably the latter. In later years, we'd compete against each other in various games: Crash Bandicoot, Super Smash Brothers, Clay Fighter, DragonBall Z and my favorite -- the only game I had a chance of winning -- Diddy Kong Racing. Actually, that's not true. I NEVER had a chance, although he always led me to believe that I did. He'd even let me have the controller with the rumble pack so I'd have more fun. Just when I thought I had him beat, he'd drop an oil slick in front of me or a soap bubble to suspend my car in the air until he could zoom past me. But his favorite trick was to be ahead of me by at least a lap, wait for me at the finish line and then calmly fire a missile at me right before I could taste sweet victory. This elicited a Homer Simpson response from me, "Aaarrghhh!! Why you little....!!!" which sent my son into hysterical laughter followed by an apologetic kiss and, "Let's go again! This time, try harder, okay?" *sigh* Ah....good times.

Now, when I'm asked to consider putting a console gaming system into the library, I can't help but think about those times. From what I know about kids, I'm sure they'll have a great time and perhaps that's our ultimate goal, especially for kids whose childhoods have been less fortunate than my son's. I do believe that he learned a lot from playing these games, not the least of which were the skills that kept him on par with his peers. No small advantage nowadays. All you have to do is visit the nostalgic game site and see how far we've come. The miniscule chance I had all those years ago of winning is all but gone now. I'm waiting for Guitar Hero X: Carpal Tunnel Edition. Maybe then, I'd have a chance. Probably not. At age eighteen, my son drives himself to work and school now and what free time he has, he spends with his girlfriend. He's shown little interest in a Nintendo Wii and the games he owns now are mostly Playstation2's. But occasionally, when we're at Best Buy or a store where a system is set up, I see his eyes light up and his fingers begin to twitch. Like most men, he will always love his toys. I half expect him to toss me a controller and say, "Let's go again. I bet I can beat you, Mom." And of course, he would.

Worst Snack Idea EVER

Okay parents....what could possibly go wrong here???

Games and Gaming #37 - Do You Want That in Book Form?

"DO games belong in a library?" A co-worker has been dogging me about this question for weeks. And....since I wrote the iHCPL module post asking this very question, you would think I'd have the answer. Or at least...an opinion. The truth is, I'm not sure.

To know the answer would be to presume our beloved library has a static function and I don't believe this premise to be true. Like all organizations that exist to serve the public, part of our job is to evolve -- as people's needs evolve. I don't for a minute believe, as some gloomily predict, that books will become obsolete. People come into the library all the time and tell me that while they never read as children, they've come to enjoy reading as they've grown older and are not in so much of a rush. Perhaps the kids who avoid books now will someday "come around." Or, maybe they won't. But there will always be people, I think, who will find a kind of true satisfaction in the written word that they can't find elsewhere.

I do agree that games hone certain skills and do increase technical expertise, especially with computers. I'm just not sure if the idea of luring kids into the library with games...or candy or anything else...will nudge the reluctant reader to see the light any faster. Yes, I've read the articles and yes, I've seen the statistics but I've also watched a generation of kids (my own included) who've grown up on fast food, high-speed connections and instant messaging, who can't sit still long enough to finish reading a sentence, let alone possess the requisite skills to compose one. Games are quick(er) entertainment (usually) and provide that immediate gratification sought by so many. Maybe games do have a place in the library but not for the reasons some people are inferring. Maybe games provide the outlet for a different kind of customer need that has nothing to do with reading and therefore, deserve a place here. For that matter, what do expensive, caffeine-saturated beverages have to do with books? I'll leave that question for the inquisitive mind of my curious co-worker.

Amazon Not Calm

Recently in the news...is this picture of an Amazon rain forest tribe who (until this picture was taken) has, supposedly, never had contact with "civilized" humans before. Here, tribe members are seen shooting arrows at the airplane taking the photo. National Geographic, who verifies the authenticity of the existence of the tribe, apparently has never seen THIS photo which may prove prior contact:

Games and Gaming #36: Runescape Rocks!

In the MMORPG world of Runescape, walk tall and carry a 2-handed Rune sword. Yes, size does matter.

Okay, I sheepishly admit that this is a game that I have some experience in. A few years ago, when RS first became popular, my son and all of his friends were deeply involved in this online game. I joined in - at his request - to see what the big deal was (as parents of teenagers are supposed to do) and also to find an activity we could do together. If you have a teen, you know that as they age between 12 and 15 years, you become increasingly invisible to them. In an effort to counteract this phenomenon -- and in the interest of my son's on-line safety --I signed up and jumped in. (Did you buy that excuse? he he)

To my great surprise, I found it very addictive. The first time you play, you go through the tutorial where you select how you're going to look (hair, skin color, clothing, gender) and pick your character name. Your character is then deposited in the training village of Runescape where you learn how to talk to the embedded characters who train you to do things like make fire, bread, how to fish, etc. For example, if you want to eat (and you need to in order to keep up your strength when you fight), you can fish for food. But since you can't eat fish raw, you need to learn to make fire. And fire requires chopping down a tree for wood, then using your tinderbox to ignite the wood....to cook your fish. There's a learning curve here as most of the fish you cook will burn when you first try it. As you "learn," your skills improve. All your skill levels are viewable to you as you progress. The same improvement method follows for other skills, including fighting. As you travel around the RS world, your "strength/attack level" is viewable to other characters who can decide whether or not they can beat you in battle. My character, Stellaluna, has a strength/attack level of 56. You can also acquire armor, which protects you and ups your level and eventually, buy (or trade) for better and stronger armor or other strength building items like amulets or potions. I chose not to battle other players - only embedded creatures and characters - but that's an option for the more aggressive player. On holidays like Christmas and Halloween, the RS folks used to (don't know if they still do) leave free treats for players, like Santa hats and monster masks. If you're lucky to get one, they trade for big money - which can lead to better armor and weapons. Yes, I have them and no, you can't have one.

Finally, traveling around Runescape is a social experience. Most people are nice but sometimes they're rude and downright ugly. You never know whether you're talking to a twelve-year old or a forty-six year old so caution is strongly advised. There are abuse safeguards in place but sometimes people push the limits. Keep in mind that "HottieGirl21" may actually be ten-year old home-alone Tiffany in Kansas City or "AltarBoy13" could really be...Chris "To Catch A Predator" Hansen doing an upcoming special for NBC starring ...YOU. I've seen unexpected generosity and friendliness as well as some really creepy behavior that made me exit the game in disgust. Yeeccch. Overall, though, there's an anonymity to it all that's intriguing if not appealing, so long as you don't spend more time playing Runescape than you do living in the real world.