A lot of my visitors have asked me various questions about the way I blog. From things like my taking down the Saybox chat box from the sidebar, right to how I reply blog comments. Mostly the questions revolved around the things that could boost my site traffic. At which I ask them “Why would I need a big traffic boost?” and without skipping a beat they said “Can make money, what?”

Yeah, making money through blogging. Some people think that it’s the greatest thing since bottled peanut butter. While I don’t have anything against that idea, I do think that many people have misunderstood that notion and I’m not too happy about that fact. More than a few people have come up to me and say stuff like “Why you never put ads on your blog one, can make money you know. You’re wasting the opportunity!”

O RLY? If you feel like you’re losing out, then by all means go on and pepper your blog with ads. I don’t have to do all that and I still get plenty of perks just by holding a simple and ad-free blog. What perks, you ask?

This is where I really feel like laying the smackdown on all of you blogvertisers. Without having put up a single ad or sponsored post, I have received two awesome things any blogger would definitely want: free domain, AND free hosting.

All I did, was humble blogging. And being nice to people.

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Transformers (2007) was probably the only movie that I ever really got hyped up and went batshit about watching and reviewing as soon as possible. As for other movies, I’d wait for the crowd to die down so I could go watch it at my own leisure. Japanese movies, I’d just wait for the fansubbed DVD rip to come out. Because of that, many Japanese movies have caught me completely off-guard. The one I just finished watching today was a perfect example.

Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo [aka TokiKake] is officially translated to The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. If the title isn’t enough to pique your interest, then perhaps this EXTREMELY late DVD[rip] review might change things a bit. The first time I heard the title several months back I was like, “What’s this? A sci-fi fantasy flick? Must be a ‘magic, swords and dragons’ kinda fairy tale thing.”

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One of the cool things about being guys in our 20’s is the fact we don’t have to worry too much when it comes to food. Most of the time we eat out with friends, and if money’s tight, we could easily settle for something we could quickly revv up from the kitchen. The coolest thing about it is that we can be extremely terrible with a wok and spatula yet we can still get away with decent-looking dishes that can be done in less than 10 minutes, taste great and still have a great time.

However, just because you’re a bachelor with a thin wallet doesn’t mean you should make any excuse to remain a lousy cook and come out with lousier food. I’ve been messing around with cooking and eating since I was in primary school [I'm sure you can see me parading around the evidence *rubs belly*] and I’d like to share with you single-track-minded buffoons some easy tips when you decide to start cooking. So, leave the instant noodles in their shelves and the 3-minute pizza in freezer, and get it on with the real deal.

Leave the methodical, uncreative, guaranteed-delicious cooking to our mothers, sisters and girlfriends [cough]. Guys, let’s just cook stuff, shall we?

1. Onions have lots of healthy natural sugar, so chop and sautée them beforehand to add some sweetness to your fried rice/noodles. An even easier method is to mince 3-4 onions in a blender into an onion paste and keep them in the fridge. That way you can easily scoop about a few tablespoons and quickly sautée them whenever you need some.

2. Ginger and garlic adds some zing and an irresistible aroma. Minced ginger is a must-have for barbecue/roast marinades and crushed garlic makes a great combo when sautéed with onions.

3. Black pepper has strong aroma but subtle taste, white pepper are much hotter but don’t smell as strong. Avoid powdered peppers, they have rice flour mixed in so you’ll be losing on the 100% pepper goodness. Buy grains of peppercorns and crush them into powder yourself.

4. Pandan leaves are fragrant and adds great flavour to many things. Toss some into your rice before cooking them, or let them soak inside your ice-cold jug rose syrup.

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