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Taste Testing

Thought I'd write about this stuff while it's still fresh in mind! My taste-testing side-job ventures. I've been to three four five six (?) sessions so far, and though I can't reveal much about the food, I thought I'd at least jot down some notes about what it all is, and how it works.

The first one I attended was for meals (snack-type), the second for drinks, the third for drinks again (soft drinks). They said it'd be 18 flavors so I drank sparsely of each that time, but there were only 6.

Fourth one was: smoothies! Three types. And since I started revising this post there's been some more drinks: one session with vitamin water and one with sparkling. There's also been a vegetarian meal sample, and one for cheese. Come to think of it I'm probably past six at this point...

I won't mention any specifics about any of this since it's all classified stuff: samples of products not yet on the market. We're not allowed to. It's pretty cool when they finally come out in stores and you realize that: hey, I tested those first! Who knows, maybe some of your input was actually used while finalizing that finished product. Maybe the reason it tastes as great as it does is all thanks to You!

Each session goes like this: You're called into a room with rows of computer cubicles against the walls, together with maybe 10-20 other participants, and sit down by your respective screen. Everyone has a glass of water and piece of crisp bread beside them, that you're told to take a bit from between each test to cancel out the taste. An either young or old lady does a roll call, and then first explains what the test is about and how much you're expected to try, before the computers are turned on and they carry in the samples.

You eat/drink one thing at a time, make notes if you like, and answer a few questions on the computer for each one. All you can hear is the clutter of keys and glasses or plates getting put down. No one says a thing except their name. Between samples you wait a bit until everyone else is done typing, and they've carried in the next one, and whenever you're done you type in your personal details, and exit the room, get to the subway as fast as possible and take the first train home.

You can choose between available times for each test, and I usually go for the ones after work. The place is just a short detour on the way home.

It's simple but fun work, rewarding not only in that you get to try new tastes, and contribute to the future of some mystery product, but in that you actually get paid to eat something. Or drink. And so far I've yet to try anything that tastes bad, just varying degrees of good.

Different samples are often compared against each other as to give an impression of which one is best - even if tastes are often not just slightly different, but different flavors entirely.

The first two times I went taste testing were a bit awkward. I sat a bit too far from the screen and had to lean in close to see, and dragged the monitor towards me the first time. Since then they've been bolted to the tables... and I still have to lean forward. Oh well. I see things better when I'm not nervous. Wonder if I had something to do with that...

Other interesting everyday taste-testing tales, you say? Well alright...

One time there was a vegan participant who wanted to know about the ingredients in each drink. You're not even allowed to take photos in there. See the ingredients? Yeah right. The arranger told her it was up to her whether to leave or to give it a shot anyway, and she left... felt sorry for her, though that initial delay made me miss my train on the way back. ARG.

Another time I had some juice left in my glass at the end of the test, and thought I'd just drink it up before I left... and ended up swallowing wrong. Started coughing like crazy, but managed to calm the attack and awkwardly make my way out of the room before continuing outside.

Embarrassing moments! Last time my keyboard wouldn't work either, so after a whole lot of trying to get it working, and waiting, and them trying to get it working, and everyone else just cluttering on with their keys... I was given a new computer. Finally caught up OK.

For the most part though it's been good fun, and so far none of the sessions have been over an hour, despite delays. I got started with this taste testing biz some time during late 2016, and regret I didn't sign up sooner! Hope to be going to a lot more savoring sessions this year, and forming the foodstuff future for humankind... one impression at a time.

RE: Deadly Silence

I brought one game up North the summer of 2016, saved for rainy days, and ended up playing it waaaay more than I was planning to! It's the remake of Resident Evil 1 for the DS (thus the suitable Deadly Silence acronym thing). Here's a little log of my attempts and successes while journeying through the game, in order:

  1. Jill (Classic) - Stuck on 'Doom books'. Check... ohhh!! After that no problems.
  2. Jill (Rebirth) - ...did I even complete this?
  3. Chris (Rebirth) - Quick attempt. HARD!
  4. Jill (Classic again) - Piece of cake this time.
  5. Chris (Rebirth again) - Not so difficult either. Plenty of ammo at end.
    -- Bug on final fight. Helicopter cutscene instead of character view while battle ongoing
    -- Much more intense! Better voicing, sparser ammo; challengingly small inventory. Once I've played past Jill going back feels too easy.
    -- Final 'explosion' freezes before final cutscene.
  6. Chris (Rebirth again) - Special Key?
  7. Chris (Classic, went quicker) - Special Key and Rocket Launcher!
  8. Chris (Classic with RL) - less than 2h.
  9. Chris (Rebirth again) - Thought I'd get the RL, but... took more than 3h!
  10. Jill (Classic again) - Waited for Benny; explored alternate ends. I've seen them all now! Less than 2h, special key + RL.

So that's that! Ten times huh. Nice and even numbers.

Some other notes and impressions jotted down while playing the game:

(more…)

Angry Birds (2016)

Angry Birds (2016)

An Angry Birds movie? Really? I wasn't expecting much from it when I first heard of it, but decided to watch it anyway and... it wasn't bad!

Action. Wit. Smooth animation. Great voice acting. Groovy music. Relations, and rage, and relatability! It's got a little bit of everything, and seems to follow that magic formula that just makes animated movies like this so damn FUN! :D It's both harmless and violent at the same time too; true to the traditions of the Angry Birds franchise.

For example: Bomb doesn't actually die when he explodes, and in the end even the Pig King lives to see another day, which makes me wonder... sequel? I wouldn't mind one.

It wasn't extraordinarily amazing, but all in all it was an animated movie well done, and the Angry Bird world's a both creatively new and fun one to be in. For a while. Just like when I first started playing the game this felt like a quick, easy, but not too long-lived addiction. Simple fun for all ages.

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle

New Killers In Town (1990)

New Killers In Town (1990)

Time for an old HK Action gem! Just a random one picked from a bundle, and as it turns out not a bad pick.

It's not Jackie Chan or Jet Li level, but the martial arts and stunts are really not bad. The actors put themselves in harm's way to bring things to the next level, and it seems like all that really sets the known titles apart from ones like this is a consistent; somewhat relatable plot.

I mean how normal is it for a couple of martial artist brothers to go to the big city, start living with a female cousin who also happens to train martial arts under her very martial artist father, and start working in a restaurant, and get involved in the drug trade when the cousin's friend has her arm broken at a disco because a girlfriend of a thug thinks she might be competition in a roller skating competition, and then when the sister steps in and helps her win they take one after the other hostage and kill them off, all the while the remaining family members seek vengeance? The police are nowhere to be seen, and the early movie backstory is obviously there mainly to make you feel for certain characters when they get killed.

It feels messy to say the least - like the poster above. But then again it's a tale from a foreign time and culture, so who am I to say if it's realistic or not? This might've been the way of life for a lot of people back then, even if it seems to me more like a bad story. I appreciate it for the element of old, the arts, the relations and the action - not so much for the script.

Still, the gap is slim between a movie like this and old Jackie Chan or Jet Li movies. The budget's similar. The story's not that out of the ordinary - it's the kind that'd only fare well within this genre, and maybe this one generation, but here it seems to thrive.

The main characters all know the arts. The action's gritty and full of fiery explosions and fights (though also a lot of running away from fights) that make it feel like sometimes they really could have been seriously hurt - which they most probably could, too. Of course I hope they didn't, but it's those risks that give movies from this era their sense of realism, no matter how bad the actors or script is otherwise... and this one wasn't that bad.

Another thing I really like with movies from this day and age is how full of energy all the characters are, making the modern actor often seem almost apathetic in comparison. All the bane of IT society am I right?

It's all of this with a little whiff of comedy and characters you grow to like. It's the HK action way, and I do like it. It's not perfect, but the fights were better than expected, and the actors aren't all a bunch of no-names either. Take Moon Lee and Sophia Crawford for example, or Eddie Maher, who plays the main villain here and whome you might have seen in quite a few other villainous HK move roles, not to forget Siu-Ho Chin and his brother (whose name I couldn't pinpoint on the IMDB page - information for titles like this is sparse to say the least). They're all real fighters.

Chia-Liang Liu's one fight was a real highlight too. He's probably the most known name in the movie, and you might recognize him from Legend of Drunken Master and a boatload of other titles. Watch that if naught else.

The cast was good. The action was good. The script was... not that important. It's a solid HK action movie either way.

Also: apparently some movie covers claim this title stars Jackie Chan. Most probably a marketing gimmick of old. It's not true.

 rated 3/5: not bad

Avenged (2013)

Avenged (2013)

A deaf girl is brutalized by a murderous gang who are then hunted by her when the bloodthirsty spirit of an Apache warrior inhabits her lifeless body.

I wish I could have given this movie a 5! It really deserved it. The scenery. The build-up of emotions. The grindhouse vibe. It's as close to The Adventures of Johnny Tao as I've gotten in a long time, with a little Planet Terror mixed in, and it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole movie.

These grindhouse movies all seem to feature someone with a handicap btw, whether it be a missing leg, an eye patch or, in this case: no hearing. It felt like a strange choice in this case - more functional than visual, yet it turned out to be a handicap that somehow lent the script even more strength.

I feel for Zoe. I feel for Dane. I feel each cry of anguish, and pain, and vengeance, and though the fighting choreography isn't flawless they bring out so much grit in those scenes too. The blood flows. The cuts run deep, and yet the characters don't laugh death in the face and make it all seem silly, or turn it all into a mindless bloodbath - there's fear and anticipation in each scene, an uncomfortable such, a sad one, like Deer Hunter meets Machete. Okay I may be going overboard with these comparisons now.

Both main characters and villains put on a great performance though; Amanda Adrienne Smith and Tom Ardavany in particular.

It is a bit drawn out on some parts, but everyone pours in so much emotion into their acts that the wait pulls you in more than it annoys. Plotwise it's like a mix between I Spit On Your Grave and Wrong Turn... and something else. It's gold. It's the first movie in a long time I've watched from start to finish without wanting to skip a second. The angles were just right, the tension was just right, and the grime was just enough to keep you watching no matter how uncomfortable it got, and both intro and outro soundtrack brought in and let out the feels.

Unfortunately some of the special effects just don't hold, and some of the ghostery goes too far. The car flip was the big let down towards the end, it breaks the atmosphere, and the drawers were a bit overplayed. Until the end it had been walking the perfect path, and it keeps going that way soon after but... just can't give it the High 5.

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle

Killing Hasselhoff (2017)

Killing Hasselhoff (2017)

Well this was... pretty silly. Entertaining too, though. I can't lie. It's a light-humored farce about a regular small Asian guy who desperately needs money, featuring Ken Jeong as that one guy, and David Hasselhoff as the potential source of that money, as the former one half-assedly attempts to kill the latter for a prize in a deadpool.

Of course Hasselhoff is totally oblivious to the nature of these devious plots (as oblivious as he is to the existence of the main character, for that matter) until the very end, at which point it all works out for the best... for everyone.

It's a decent comedy. No throw-up party humor, and nothing too crude or crazy. Those birds were pretty cool too. I just wish they'd stop going below the gowns for movies like this (it's a fad fad), and making clowns out of all the main characters. There's no class in that. And then Beiber pops up at his ending cameo and concludes with: 'No, you're the fucking man'. Really? Not necessary. At least Hasselhoff's got that otherwise missing element covered. People need to get with the right times. The old times.

I didn't know so much about Hasselhoff until just recently btw. The new Baywatch movie (with his surprise cameo), and now this, and... it feels like all is falling into place. Both that and the infamous (in name only as I've yet to see it) Night Rider were before my time, but maybe it's nigh time to revisit those classics I'm just recently reminded of? He seems like... a legend. Or rather: an interesting guy.

Betcha those were some interesting times. With class.

 rated 3/5: not bad

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