Foodbuzz: Blogspot/WordPress Comment Boxes Compatibility: What works and does not work!

1-sake

Greetings again!

As promised, this particular posting is an appeal to Blogspot users to try and publish a Comment Box that is compatible with other systems, in particular Wodpress and Internet Explorer. It certainly will add to comments on your postings and new friends in your mail list!

Thanks to Jenn for helping!

I could not think of a better system than taking pics with my mobile phone as I don’t have a scanner in my office!

WHAT WORKS:

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Jenn’s comments:
“I have this comment box for my blog: it is called “Full Page.” It’s in the comment form placement section in the comments tab under setting. In the “who can comment” section under the same tab I selected “anyone” and used the word verification setting. ”

Bear in mind that it must include an “Open ID” to allow access to other systems!

WHAT DOES NOT WORK:

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This is the main culprit!
For all its simple design and the fact it says it allows other systems in, it just does not! Full stop.

Sicerly hoping this will help everyone!
Cheers,
Robert-Gilles Martineau

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

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French Gastronomy on Stamps (24): Wines

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Vineyards in Givry, Cote Chalonnaise, Bourgogne

France has issued many stamps on food (not foodstamps!) on her own gastronomy for quite some time including the new series will be issued on April 25th and wil be printed in the form of mini-sheets dedicated to a particular region with stamps, pics and explanations.
As for stamps issued since the firts stamp in 1849, quite a few were issued with wine as a theme:

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Clos Vougeot in Bourgogne, probably the most famous wine of Bourgogne. They also have shares in the glorious Romanee Conti!

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Vignobles de Champagne/Champagne Vineyards
Do I have to introduce the bubbly wines of Champagne? LOL

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Vignobles du Beaujolais/Beaujolais Vineyards
Beaujolais is both famous for 10 great vintages and notorious for Beaujolais Nouveau, a crass success story, if there is one (don’t start shooting!)!

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Vendanges/Grapes Harvest!

The next posting will be about cheese!

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Must-see tasting websites:
-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

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Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

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Foodbuzz: How to upload your url on your Profile

1-sake

Greetings again!

As I said before, many blogmates omit to upload their webste-blog/url-address on their Foodbuzz Profile.
Although it is comparatively easy, it is not evident for newcomers and easy to miss out.
Now the Foodbuzz team is too busy to answer all (the same) questions pertaining to that matter.
It is up to us, Foodbuzz members, to help each other. LOL
Alright, the old geezer is enjoying it!

Now, here is how you proceed:
-Open Foodbuzz Homepage (we know that!…)
-Go to tool bar at top of the page and click on “My Profile” (you might have to log in before proceeding any further). Click on “edit your profile”
-Go down until you find: “Add RSS by Site URL (like http://www.example.com):” write your website url (leave the “blog” window as it is).
-Press on “update”, et voila!

Simple, ain’t it?
But you will get more traffic!

Tomorrow, I will talk about those notorious Blogspot Comment Boxes!

Cheers,
Robert-Gilles Martineau

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

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Green Tea: New Green Tea being harvested and sold in Shizuoka Prefecture!

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(Courtesy of Shizuoka Shimbun)

Shizuoka Prefecture produces 50% of all green tea grown in Japan.
“Shinsha”/New Tea is being harvested in earnest and sold after a long wait!

Picture above shows tea being handpicked in Kawane, Shimada City, home of some of the best green tea in Jaapn, along the railway line used by the Oikawa Steam Locomotive, one of the very few left in Japan!

Tea is being dry-roasted (picture left bottom) , and auctioned (picture right bottom) in Shizuoka City.

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Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

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Sakura Ebi/Cherry Shrimps: Drying Season has started!

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(Courtesy of Shizuoka Shimbun)

The drying season for Sakura Ebi/Cheery Shrimps exclusively caught in ShizuokaPrefecture has started.

Above picture was taken in Shizuoka City, Shimizu Ku, Kanbara along the Fujikawa River where the shrimps are laid to dry while the weather is warm and dry before being delivered all over Japan!

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

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Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2009/11)

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin 2009 #11
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Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

We are excited to inaugurate Golden Week with the release of three Baird spring seaonal brews: (1) Temple Garden Yuzu Ale, (2) Bureiko Jikan Strong Golden Ale and (3) Love Potion Ale.

*Temple Garden Yuzu Ale (ABV 6.5%):

Yuzu is a Japanese citron fruit the aroma of which is gorgeously spicy and the juice lemon-like tart. This sprite, yet fairly strong ale, is fruited with yuzu and hopped in a complimentary way. This is a perfect spring libation.

*Bureiko Jikan Strong Golden Ale (ABV 7.6%):

This Belgian-inspired ale, fermented with our non-Belgian house ale yeast, is wickedly strong in a wickedly stealthy sort of way. Brewed exclusively with base malts and Japanese sudakito sugar, the body is light relative to the firm bready-malty flavor. The unique hop aroma comes courtesy of a combination of Vanguard and Santiam hops. This brew is designed to facilitate the release of inhibitions (and with no recriminations, guaranteed!).

*Love Potion Ale (ABV 7.5%):

Good beer is the lubricant to many wonderful things, none more important than love. Baird Beer and The Taproom played a lubricating role in the love and recent matrimony struck between two great friends and patrons — Seiji and Naomi. Love Potion Ale, dark in color and strong in alcohol, is surprisingly sprite and wonderfully aromatic. It is at once playful and provocative yet strong and substantive — much like the love in a good relationship. Enjoy a pint in toast to Seiji and Naomi!

All three ales will be pouring from our Taproom taps beginning Saturday, May 2 (Love Potion is available exclusively on draught at the Fishmarket and Nakameguro Taprooms). Temple Garden Yuzu Ale will be available on draught and bottles at restaurants and retailers throughout Japan beginning Sunday, May 3. Bureiko Jikan Strong Golden Ale is draught-only but will be available at fine Baird Beer retailers throughout Japan beginning May 3.

Nakameguro Taproom anniversary reminder:

Nakameguro Taproom 1-Year Anniversary Celebration

The Nakameguro Taproom will be celebrating its one-year anniversary on the weekend of Saturday-Sunday, May 9-10. It will be open from noon each day offering 700 yen pint and 500 yen half-pint prices on all Baird Beer (Numazu prices), including the 1-Year Anniversary Ale (an original fruited-ale brewed with pomegranate from California), and featuring a terrific beer-inspired buffet (all-you-can-eat) for 1,500 yen per person. Sayuri and I will be there welcoming guests and celebrating the ocassion on Saturday and lingering on to tap the debut keg of Saison Sayuri 2009 on Sayuri’s birthday, Sunday, May 10.

When: Saturday – Sunday (May 9-10) (noon until midnight)
Where: Nakameguro Taproom (Nakameguro, Tokyo)
Food: Original Beer Inspired Buffet (all-you-can-eat) @ 1,500 yen per person
Beer: 700 yen pint and 500 yen half-pint prices on all Baird Beer (May 9 debut of Nakameguro 1-Year Anniversary Ale; May 10 debut of Saison Sayuri 2009)
Reservations: Not Necessary

Cheers,
Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE


The Japan Blog List

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Must-see tasting websites:
-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery
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Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

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日本語のブログ
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Foodbuzz: A few tips for blogmates

1-sake

Greetings again!

I’m not a member of the Foodbuzz Team (Fate helps them, lol!), but having been a member for more than a year in Foodbuzz’s less than three-year history, I’ve come across some general patterns, and I thought it was time the old geezer shared his little (hard-earned) know-how with his blogmates before an unknown entity’s chopsticks pick him up out of this world (I’m an agnostic, incidentally!)!

-I’ve noticed that many foodies, new and old, did not include their url/blog adddress on their Foodbuzz Profile. I understand that the Foodbuzz homepage does need time to learn how to use and navigate, but advertising your website is the one reason you become a Foodbuzz Member!

-Being a WordPress and Internet Explorer user I found myself refused to leave a message inside a Blogspot user’s Comment Box once out of twice.
It is extremely frustrating not to be able to greet or compliment a fellow blogger who deserves the attention.
Blogspot does offer Comment Boxes compatible with WordPress and other systems.
It would be great if a Blogspot user could inform everyone on which is the best Comment Box to use. That is, if one wants to communicate with everyone else!

-Courtesy makes good sense:
If you blog to advertise yourself, your business or someone else’s business, please be frank and open about it.
The more respect you will get for your honesty!

-Foodbuzz is a great tool to make new friends all over the World with the minimum time and sweat.
I would advise all my blogmates to at least buzz every new blogger and request their friendship.
At the present daily rate of 40~60 new foodies you are bound to discover a like-minded soul. You can always limit yourself to your own living area or common interests.
It is certainly bound to pay off someday!
For instance, I obtained a part-time writing job at Japan-I thanks to a blogmate’s recommendation. Very appreciated in these hard-economy times! On the other hand, I had the pleasure to guide new Italian friends from Holland for two full days around Shizuoka last month!

-Make a point to reply to any comment written by fellow bloggers on your Foodbuzz Comments Page (formerly Chalkboard). This is where fruitful relations start!

-Foodbuzz Profile: write as much as you can about yourself. It will help first acquaintances to acquire a good idea of your personality.
Photoes are subject to personal tastes and priorities, but please do not let that window empty too long: fruit plates can become very boring/negative at length!

-Last, not but not least, food,drinks and recipes are great, but a little word about the people who made them and the places where you enjoyed them will add spice (sorry for the pun!). There is a story, however small, behind everything. This will encourage visitors to read your postings twice.
On the other hand, if you wish to leave a comment on a great blog/posting, a little effort in proving you have effectively read your blogmate’s article will sound more sincere and positive than a dry “great blog! great posting!…”

Cheers,
Robert-Gilles Martineau

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

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Today’s Lunch Box/Bento (’09/31)

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Today’s bento was “Catch the Train Bento”!
I have to take the train to go and teach at University on Friday afternoons. Usually the Missus makes sandwiches for my trip. But she had forgotten to buy bread! Therefore I ended up with a classic trip bento!

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She steamed the rice with large fresh green peas to make big musubi/rice balls.

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As for the accompaniment, she improvised with was left inthe refrigerator:
Lettuce, mini tomatoes, French pickles, tamagoyaki containing finely chopped thin leeks, fried eringi mushrooms, boiled sweet peas intheir pods, and fried bacon and white asparagus rolls.

A quick fix, maybe, but a pretty satisfying bento!

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

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