Hanasakeru Seishounen Review

It's kind of ironic that my first real review here covers a shoujo anime series. Don't think I usually go in for shoujo or, if I do, I prefer parodies like Ouran High School Host Club. Something about the obsessively narrow focus on sticky-sweet romance with perfectly unbelievable plot twists that makes me cringe. Again, unless it makes fun of itself, like OHSHC. In the case of Hanasakeru, I came across it while browsing for something new on Crunchyroll and for some reason found myself tearing through the episodes. Some reason probably being the start of the new semester.

Making of an Otaku

I've done a lot of moving since starting my undergrad studies, taking the transience of college life to something of an extreme. I did try to take root and make connections at first, spending all of first-year at New College of Florida in Sarasota. Then I decided to give the National Student Exchange a try and spent a semester up in Boston. Too expensive to stay the full year, so I made the trek back to Sarasota for, oh, about another year. Then I upped and moved to Charlottesville, VA for a while, followed by Boston again, and back to Charlottesville... Until finally I ended up at home with the 'rents about two months ago where I hope to stay put for at least a year.

Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

Okay, so this isn't really otaku or even Japan-related. But scones are wonderful delicious little treats, so don't complain! I've been reading Diana Wynne Jones's House of Many Ways aloud to my parents lately, and there is so much mention of Afternoon Tea, crumpets dripping with butter, and Mr. Baker's amazing pasties that I couldn't take it anymore. I spent a good twenty minutes looking online for vegan scone recipes. I'm not vegan, but I can't do dairy. Unfortunately, everyone seemed to post healthy vegan recipes. What's with the craze for healthy?? When I eat a scone it's for the yummy flavor. So, I tore apart about three recipes, pieced the best bits together, and added a few tweaks of my own. Here's the patchwork result. Oh, and there's no reason why you have to stick with non-dairy. Go ahead and use real butter and milk if you prefer. That being said, these scones are truly decadent as-is.