Shallow Thoughts: Oscar Snubs and Japanese Kit Kats
Shallow Thoughts: Vapid headline grabbing, meandering nothings and a false sense of importance
Oscar Snub
This year’s Oscar nominations came out yesterday, and of course they were instantly criticized by the press. The storyline this year is the snubbing “Selma” received, while “Birdman” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” lead the running with nine nominations each. What struck me though was the absence of Ralph Fiennes for his role in “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” The best actor field consisted of:
Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher”
Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”
Michael Keaton, “Birdman”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything”
I’m not saying he would have taken the prize home, but in my mind Ralph Fiennes was the perfect comedic character. Witty, nuanced, and perfectly stylized; he captured Wes Anderson’s creativity at its peak. How he doesn’t make the list of five is perplexing to me.
Japanese Kit Kats
Those that know me well know that I have a terrible addiction to sugar. I find it difficult to make it through the day without some sort of sugary indulgence. Whether it’s chocolate, ice cream or a cookie, I need something sweet. I do have a particularly strong love for candy though, so when I learned of the variety of Kit Kat candy bars that exist in Japan I was instantly interested.
While we are limited to the regular Kit Kat and it’s extra crunchy brother here in the states, Japan has an absurd number of Kit Kat options with over fifty possible choices! I opted to start with the maccha green tea variety, which I ordered on Amazon. If you can find it for a reasonable price (they are shipped from Japan), I would highly recommend it. The flavor reminds me of white chocolate, with a Japanese green tea flavor added to it. The texture of the chocolate is a little chalkier than a regular Kit Kat, but somehow in a pleasant way.
Some of the other possible flavors you can hunt down include: strawberry, wasabi, rum raisin, citrus blend, purple potato, pumkin pudding, apple, baked Kit Kat, strawberry cheesecake, Azuki sandwich, amou strawberry, roasted tea, Kyoto uji macha, red pepper, dark chocolate and Kit Kat special cream cheese.
I would say some of these flavors sound potentially delicious, while others border on strange. That said, I would be happy to try any of them and will likely hunt down a variety pack in the future.
Blitzen Trapper
As a teenager I was a big Ryan Adams fan. That’s why when I heard this cover of his song “To Be Young” my interest was piqued. “To Be Young” is originally from Ryan Adam’s 2000 album “Heartbreaker.” The cover version is a little more stripped down, as Blitzen Trapper evokes more of a 60’s sound, with a hint of Dylan present in the voice of lead singer Eric Earley. It’s interesting to listen to the two tracks back to back to see the different direction Blitzen Trapper took with the song.
Taxes
Tax season is just around the corner, which evokes the question of spending: Will you be putting your money towards a savings account, a trip, or a vast sum of lottery tickets? I’m not sure there’s one right or wrong answer, but I personally like to balance my return between things that I need, and things that I want (meaning definitely don’t “need”). For me half of the fun is allocating out a budget with my return, and then spending some of that money irresponsibly (hello bourbon).
