Sunday, February 12, 2006

   Hey everybody. How's your Sunday going?

Since I spent a while on it, I'd appreciate you taking a look at yesterday's post if you missed it. It serves as a pretty good description of what's goin' on right now in the world of Logan-kun, as well as notification of some important pieces of information (plus, you need to see it to understand a lot of today's post).

Anyway, how are you all today?

I slept 'till 11:00 AM today, which is still pretty early considering I stayed up 'till past 4:00 AM last night.
O_o' Yeah, I know, I was shocked to, especially since I don't have internet past midnight (damn you, SafeEyes! *shakes fist*).
What was I up all night doing?
Well, I was doing my regular Saturday night thing 'till about midnight, when I watched FMA (awesome ep., by the way!!!). But this time, unlike my normal habit (or what my stupid blocker on my TV used to allow...:p), I continued to watch the block of goodness we know as Adult Swim, watching 'Ghost In The Shell: Stand-Alone Complex' and 'Cowboy Bebop'.

Wooey, I must tell you all, though I'm still not quite fully into it, GitS:SAC is an awesome show. The animation is spectacular, especially in last-night's episode. Even if you're not a fan of the high-flying, stylish, techno-mechanic matrix feel of animes like GitS, I still highly recommend it.

And as I was with Trigun, after watching one episode all the way through I'm finally hooked on Cowboy Bebop.
^_^ Don't get me wrong, I've always thought Cowboy Bebop was one of the most awesome animes out there. It's just that I've never been able to really get into it. Well...until now. ~_^
Any other Bebop fans out there?
Bebop is my buddy Josh's all-time favorite anime, and it's fully understandable why. Pretty soon, I'm going to borrow the full DVD set of Bebop from him. I'm glad that I'm finally hooked on what's regarded in all fields as an anime classic. ^o^

Well, after AS was through with its cool shows, I noticed Mythbusters was on. And it was an episode I haven't even seen yet! :D
Believe me, if you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend Mythbusters. I don't watch that much TV to begin with, and Mythbusters is one of the few non-anime programs I can actually stomach (let's face it, the majority of TV today is down-right stupid).
For those who don't know, Mythbusters is hosted by Adam Savage and Jamie Hynamen, two men who've worked over 15 years in the special-effects department of movies and TV (You remember the soda-machine tank from the 7-Up commercial that shot cans at that surfer? Jamie built it. >:D).
Adam and Jamie use their scientific and special-effects know-how to test all those urban legends that you've heard of, to see weather they're true or not (meaning it's like 'Bill Nye The Science Guy' meets 'Jackass'). Naturally, there are tons of explosions and wise-cracks to go around, which needless to say keeps me entertained.
Anyway, please try Mythbusters out next time you see it on the Discovery Channel. They've been going strong since September of 2003, and they ain't loosin' steam yet. b^_^

So, anyway, if you haven't listened to "Aces High" up at the top of my site yet, please do. It's a great song, and it might just get some of you interested in Iron Maiden.
You all get why the title's so clever, right? "Aces High" is a term used in a card game, but the song is about WWII style air-combat with fighter-planes and dog-fights and what-not, as in "flying-aces".
Ya' see what I'm talking about? ~_'

Anywho, as far as drawing goes I did draw a fair amount last night, but nothing I'm particularly proud of. I drew an OK zombie, but he's nothin' special. Sorry. -_-'
No progress on editing made to my Valentine's Day pic, either. It looks like that if I do submit it, it'll be unedited and a little sloppy. But you guys would forgive me for a sloppy pic, wouldn't ya'? It was for fun anyway...

Oh, by the time I remembered I needed to post this yesterday, it had already been an hour and I had some stuff to do.
So, I'd like to respond to EAMR's comment on the post before yesterday's (go read it if you like).

In response, Lindsey-chan, yes, I am in fact pregnant.
With an alien fetus.
Yep, that’s right.
I thought I could hide it from you all, especially since we only know each other online rather then in person (if you knew me in person, you could easily deduce something was amiss from my blotched skin and bleeding elbows).
But you guys see through me as clearly as a window, Lindsey-chan in particular.
I'm kinda' glad Lindsey found out, because now that you know about it I feel less ashamed. I mean, come on, if you were a pregnant male with an alien fetus, you'd be ashamed to.
I'm not quite sure how it happened. It could have been from that time I was abducted by those lonely alien chicks over spring-break (I don't remember what happened during the time I was in their ship, but I sure as Hell wish I could), or it could have been from that 7-month-old ham sandwich Josh warned me not to eat.
Regardless, having you know makes me feel a lot better.
I just hope I don’t end up like that guy in the movie, “Alien”. I like my internal organs where they are, thank you very much.
....
....
...XD I am so glad that past paragraph was sarcasm! Ha ha! I love a good joke based off of a slightly out-there comment by one of my friends.
Me, 'pregnant', X), we're a weird bunch, aren't we?

Well, now that I've finished wasting 20 minutes of your life, I'll be going.

I'll see you all soon!
I'm off to comment on your sites!
Comments (3) | Permalink

Saturday, February 11, 2006

   Long post, but I'm makin' up for lost time. ^_^'
Hey everybody, how's it going?

Sorry I haven't posted that much lately, but throughout this week everyone else was pretty scarce on The Otaku (with the exception of yesterday, but I couldn't post then anyway. I'll explain why later.).
I would have posted earlier this week, but I don't wanna' post when no one’s around.
But, I'm happy everyone's back now, including the long-awaited ElvesAteMyRamen, who has a totally new site-theme and good-news about her job-hunt. ^_^

Anywho, as for me, things were pretty crappy today.
Why?
Mostly because my mom is doing Spring Cleaning this month. -_-' And this is no simple clean-up. This the fire & brimstone kind of ultra-deep cleaning that takes all day.
It wasn't even my room she was cleaning today, it was actually my brother's.

However, Josh couldn't go on a manga-run today (a friend who went to my old school with Josh now goes to Boarding School, and this is her first and only weekend home to see her friends again), so I was stuck here.
It was too wet and rainy outside to go for a bike-ride or burn more stuff in the chiminia, so I spent today (unsuccessfully) trying to avoid fights with my mom and brother. I swear, there is no end to the stress those to cause for me! My mom just gnaws at me all the time, and my brother delights in pissing me off on purpose and lying to my parents about it.

It was my brother's room getting the clean-up this weekend, but it's me who's gonna' spend all day cleaning next weekend. -_-' Ugh, I'm gonna' hate that.

Anyway, since I was stuck inside anyway, I tried to make the best of it by getting started on MY cleaning so next weekend would be a little more bearable.
I got the space underneath my TV spick & span this morning and got the space under my bed nice and tidy this afternoon.
All that leaves for next week are my closet and my desk, along with my nests and drawers .I only need her help with those because my mom has a funny habit of keeping all her extra crap in my room. The shelves built into my desk are crammed with her old papers, and my closet & dresser are half-full of her & my sister's extra clothes.
*rolls eyes* If she'd get ridda' her stuff then I'd have a place to put my stuff and my room would be less messy! Oy...

In other news, for reasons unknown to law, science or faith, my brother got his Gamecube back.
-_-' Now I'll never get to play RE4…
*sigh*, it wouldn’t be so bad if he weren't basically being rewarded for being a jerk! It's not fair!!!

In more other news, I was up 'till 11:00 last night doing homework...and I'm still not finished! ToT
I spent most of that time drawing a pic we need for English each week that illustrates one of our vocab. words (which I kinda' enjoyed, actually), and doing a project due Monday in Algebra.
We have to cut out pictures in magazines that show circles, ellipses, parabolas & hyperbolas and glue em' onto a piece of poster-board. (If you don't know what a parabola or a hyperbola is, a parabola is basically a hump-shape like a hill, and a hyperbola is sorta' like a hump-shape with an inverted one above it. Imagine it like a vase that's wide at the top & bottom but all thin in the middle.)
Sound easy? Well, it kinda' is, but it's time consuming. @_@
But I did get to watch Friday Night Stand-Up while I did it. ^_^ I had seen em' all, except for a performance by Jimmie Carr (host of a game show on Comedy Central called "Distraction". I'm yet to see the show, but based on the commercials I really want to! >:D).
Heh heh, he had a British accent, which makes it really funny.
He had the random observation-joke after observation-joke style to his act, sort of like a British Mitch Heddberg (anybody else a fan of Heddberg?).

On a bit of good news, I'm doing a picture for Valentine's Day. ^_^
I drew it all in one sitting on Wednesday night this week, and I'm both proud and disappointed with it for a few reasons (I'll explain them some other time).
I'm currently debating weather or not to color it, or even weather or not to edit it before submitting it. I'm buried in homework right now, and I want to have it submitted by V-Day, so I'm not sure if doing the long and boring editing work on MS Paint is really worth it.
Meh, we'll see, won't we? ^_^

This isn't your typical Valentine's pic, by the way.
I'm a nerd, and the pic features me, so there obviously won't be any sweet, romantic stuff going on (I don't know weather to laugh or cry at that last sentence XD). This is more of a humorous pic about the whole idea of Valentine's Day, with a bit of that Logan-kun kind of twist to it, of course.
I may reveal more about it in the next day or so, or just wait 'till Valentine's Day for you to find out what I'm talking about. Either way, please forgive any and all flaws when I finally do submit it. I made a lot of mistakes I want to and know how to fix, but can’t because re-doing it would just make it worse.
I'm sure you'll love it anyway, though. ~_^

Before I go, I have another quick bit of good news:
After over a week, my braces have finally stopped hurting! ^o^ I'm so happy! I ate SOOOOOOOOOOO much today to! Chicken, spaghetti, cookies, the works!
Ah, they feel good in Logan-kun's belly. ^///^

Please be praying for Miyoko-chan's brother (details on her post from yesterday and today), and that he'll start feeling better soon.
Please also pray that Living Doll can get over her cold soon (colds are no fun >_<).
And please pray things cool-down at my house a little to, OK? I'd really appreciate it.

Whoa! I spent nearly an hour typing this post! @_@ Man, I need to get to drawing!

See you tomorrow!
Comments (3) | Permalink

Monday, February 6, 2006

   Wow...judging by your responses, I guess I bored you to death with my previous post, didn't I?
Well, that's my fault, not yours. Sorry.
I'll be sure to make today's more interesting.

Before we begin, I have a quick note for Rosa (Vankalla 86):
I'm sorry I haven't been to your site these past few days. First it wouldn't load at all, then it finally did load it loaded incorrectly (spinning text, missing pieces, the works).
So, I'll get to your posts as soon as either your site or my computer stops acting up.

Allrightie then, how's everybody today? ^^

Whew man, am I ever tired of my braces hurting!
I've had nothing to eat but applesauce all weekend! T_T
What really sucked about it is that my parents decided now was the best time to fix all the foods I like for dinner, of course, when I couldn't eat it.
Take a look at this:

Thursday night - Pizza
Friday night - Fried Chicken (we haven't had that in years!!!)
Saturday night - My Mom's Spaghetti
Sunday night - Sloppy Joes

It's so unfair!
Of course, it was my last nights where I was able to eat solid food that they decided to make Brunswick Stew and Zucchini Casserole. XP

Even worse was what I told you about last post. You know, the whole breakfast with my grandparents?
>_< It sucked even worse then I thought it would.
My mom of course forced me to go. She said I could order a chocolate milk-shake there (I'm a BIG fan of milk-shakes <3), and since milk-shakes are one of the few things I can eat with my teeth hurting this bad AND they're something I love in general, I thought it would actually be bearable. But low and behold, they don't even serve milk-shakes there (duh, mom!!!). So, I got to suck on a bowl of applesauce with my teeth hurting like Hell while my family sucked-down Belgian Waffles, bacon and stacks of pan-cakes. No fun I tell you, no fun. -_-'
My teeth are now numb enough for me to finally eat (not enjoy it, but get it down) a little bit, but I want to be able to eat like I used to! ToT
A guy at school I know named Travis had braces, and he says it's a load of BS when they say it only hurts for 3 days. Well, whataya' know, I was lied to again. Big surprise, neh?

We spent the rest of Saturday cleaning out our attic. That wasn't much fun.
But, I do get to burn all the extra cardboard boxes we need to get rid of. For those who don't know, we have a chimminia (sp?) out on the patio (my dad built that patio, by the way). A chiminia is a mini-fireplace cast out of clay, and I burn stuff in it all the time.
^^ I love fire.
*lights a match* Oooooooh, pretty...

To finish up for today, have any of you tried out my new Song of the Week? It's up at the bottom of my site-intro.
It's 'Aces High', by Iron Maiden! ^o^ I've been talking about this song for a while now, so you all finally get to hear it!
Gosh, I love this song!
I implore you to listen to it at least once. This is seriously one of Iron Maiden's best, and it's just so incredibly catchy and fun! And the lyrics are spectacular! If any of you are interested, I can post them next time.

OK everybody, I'll leave you today with "Minerva", by shortpinay:

I positively love this portrait.
The eyes look so gentle, the hair looks so soft, it's just absolutely beautiful!
Don't you agree?

I'll see you all tomorrow!

P.S.: I submitted a new picture the other night! ^^
Please take a second to go check it out in my gallery, as well as the piece I submitted last week if you haven’t already!
Comments (5) | Permalink

Friday, February 3, 2006

   Owwww...the braces are on.
Auuuughh...
Hey everybody. How's it going?

Guess who has a brand-spankin'-new set of braces on their teeth. That's right, me. X_x
Man, these things are PAINFUL! I am loaded up on Advil right now, so it's FINALLY starting to dull a little bit.
*sigh*, one day down, 14 months to go. -_-'

Though there was a lucky break for me today: My mom let me stay home from school. ^_^
It's a damn-good thing to, because I was in absolute searing pain this morning! Just like the spacers last week, these things hurt like Hell the morning after they go on.
If I had had to go to school today, it would have been even worse, because I would have had a test today in Civics and Sci. Vis.! (Sci. Vis. tests aren't fun, but they're easy. It was those monster tests Mr. Dickerson makes for Civics that I was worried about!)
It would have been tough to cram last night with my teeth hurting after having the braces go on, and I would have had a large Algebra assignment on top of that!
But, my Mommy-O let me stay home, and I'm really thankful for that. ^_^ It's a good thing to, because I didn't get the first 2 pages of notes I need for that Civics test.
(Unless you're interested in me explaining that last sentence, go ahead and skip the following paragraph in-between the parenthesis. I understand my need to elaborate can get a little boring, so feel free to skip-down 'till you see a line-break.)
(Usually, Mr. Dickerson makes us write notes in class as he puts them on the over-head and then posts what we didn't have time to write on his website for us to print-out. But just recently, he started a new note system where we just read the notes in class and then get ALL the notes from that day off his website. The problem is, Mr. Dickerson only leaves his notes on the web for 2 or 3 days before he removes them, meaning I missed my chance to get some of the notes I needed! >_< But a classmate who got the notes says she'll e-mail them to me (unfortunately, it's the same classmate who I worked with on the Civics Exam study-guide with... XE).)

Whoa, about a quarter-way through that last paragraph I stopped and took a break, which led me to spend 4 hours getting homework done. It was about 5:30 when I started this post, and now it's 8:45. ^_^' Aren't I the multi-tasker? That means I only typed until "If I had had to go to school today, it would have been even worse," before going on that little homework jaunt.

Anyway, as for what I did on my day off, I woke-up at about 10:30. I then spent most of the afternoon mulling around various art-sites I like and watching Strong Bad E-mails in an attempt to get my mind off my teeth's searing pain. Naturally, I wasn't quite in the mood to do anything else but sit on my bum, so the house didn't get cleaned-up much today. ^_^'
I had a lunch today of...3 bowels of Applesauce. I tried to eat a few of the delicious French-cream tarts my mom brought home as left-overs from an office party, but even those soft, cold little things hurt like Hell! X_x My braces won't let me eat anything!

Anywho, here's how yesterday went down for those interested in my holy induction into brace-dom:
I was let out of school early at 1:45, which means I missed the last 30 minutes of Chemistry. I then had to go that check-up at the doctor's (with my brother >_<).
We then high-tailed it home and dropped my brother off and let him nerd-out on the internet while my mom and I went to the dentists.
At 3:30, my appointment started with my spacers being taken out (ahhhh, that was a relief!).
First, they used that tiny little brush with the spinning head and the gritty stuff that tastes like sand for a quick, general cleaning.
Then, they started pressing on the anchors on my 4 2nd-to-backmost teeth. I don't like those things, 'cause now I got these 4 metal "wings" sticking off my teeth and into my tongue. Worst of all, for some reason they have these little rounded hooks that go off the tooth and press into my gum. They gave me some "Orthodontic Wax" to put on em' for the first couple days, but it's almost not worth using since it's more for keeping the anchors from poking your cheeks.
Anyway, after that they put the brackets on each tooth, which took a good 30 minutes or so. They put paste on the back of each tiny little square, stuck it to my tooth, and permanently sealed it there by exposing it to this blue, radio-active light thingy. It was weird, because it often made my mouth feel all warm and smokey like a micro-wave. For all I know, they gave me mouth cancer with that thing or something!
After all those brackets were on, they finished up by threading and tightening the wires in them.
All in all, the actual process of getting the braces on was less painful then I thought it would be. It's the actual straightening that hurts like hell.
X_x Aughhh...it feels like every tooth in my head is slowly being twisted out! >_<

Anyway, I found out my monthly breakfast with my grandparents is tomorrow. Naturally, my mom's making me go. -_-'
Usually, I love it. We have this quaint little restaurant we go to once a month on a Saturday for breakfast where we meet my grandparents.
The problem is, my teeth hurt like a mother f*#@$r!!!! I don't want to get up early to go try to get something past my teeth and into my stomach.
Of course, my mom protests "you can have some nice, soft eggs or some oatmeal", both of which I hate. >_<

Sorry for the long, whiny post today.
Oh, and I promise I'll get to your sites ASAP! My mom was doing maintenance on the computer last night, so I couldn't get on.
But, please know that I will comment soon, and I HAVE read your posts for the most part!
I'll hopefully see you guys tomorrow!
Comments (2) | Permalink

Wednesday, February 1, 2006

   My last night without braces...
Hey everybody. How's it hangin'?

I know I need to get to your sites soon. I'm sorry if I missed commenting on a post or two (but please know, as always, even though I may not have commented yet, I have read them!).

Oh! By the way! I submitted (yet) another zombie pic last night! Though I greatly appreciate any critiques you can give, please feel free to take your time in getting around to doing so.
This means I now have 2 more pics ready to be submitted here on my computer, which I'll probably send in later this week or weekend.

Speaking of artwork, I owe Erin-chan about 10 or 12 comments on hers. >_< Gomen-sai, Erin-chan. I know I've sorta' been neglecting you in that area.
The thing is, when I comment on artwork, I want the artist to know that I really look into the piece. I hate leaving short comments. So, when I'm busy with something else, or just not in the mood to comment, I say to myself, "Erin-chan deserves a nice, quality comment. I'm sure she'd rather receive a quality comment late then a short comment now", which naturally leads me to put it off over and over again.
Sorry, Erin-chan. I promise I'll comment on all the artwork I've missed from you as soon as I can.
For those who don't know, Erin-chan's recently created a character for her manga, "Nameless". Here's one of her concept pieces:

I wish I could color as smooth as Erin-chan can...
Hey, that rhymed. I may just be sewing the seeds to an Otaku musical or something....
Nah. XD

I won't go into details, but last night was total sh*t for me, and as you probably predicted, it was at the fault of my retard brother.
My little sister was performing in a 1st and 2nd grade performance at her school last night, meaning me and the rest of my family had to sit in an auditorium full of sick, coughing people in chairs designed for people 1/5th our age while the kiddies preformed horrid renditions of songs from different nations (sadly enough for all of us on The Otaku, Japan was one of them).
It apparently wasn't bad enough that I was there rather then at home doing homework (that I'm instead putting-off right now), so my brother proceeded to be a total jackass. Again, not time (or reason, really) for specifics, but he was obnoxious in several ways, which finally led me to snap when we got home. I got into an argument with my dad, and went to bed angry (again).
You can just feel the love and consideration can't you?

Well, I get my full brackets tomorrow on my front teeth. >_< I can't wait...
On top of that, before I even go in to get the braces on, I have a regularly scheduled doctor's appointment to go to. Nothing major, just a regular check-up (it's just that it's no fun going to the doctor's and the dentist's in the same day).
I don't mind the doctor's office nearly as much as I do the dentist's, since it's soooooooo much less painful.
Is anybody here more afraid of the doctor then they are the dentist?
Please pray for me as I go in to get my braces tomorrow, OK? I'd really appreciate it.

Since we're on the subject of prayer, I'm happy to inform you all that Living Doll is feeling better now. Big Thank-you's to all who pitched in and prayed for her.
However, please continue to pray for LuckyLady123 (that her family will be able to sell their house), as I am still yet to receive any information from her. -_-'

Here's your artwork of the day...
"KH Kairi and Yuffie", by Kaizeru:

Very cleanly rendered, colorful, and a fine example of genuinely beautiful and well-developed piece of artwork. What are your opinions?

I'll leave you today with some song lyrics for you to interpret.
I'm not going to tell you who the artist is or the name of the song just yet, for multiple reasons. I have a solid and thought-provoking elaboration planned for this, and it all starts with what you make of this segment of the song (and though it may not seem like it now, my elaboration will have SOMETHING to do with anime, so I'm not going out on a total tangent here. You'll understand in the next couple days...).
Here's the chorus of the song. What feeling do you get from it? And more importantly, what do you think it's about?:

"Out beyond the new frontier,
playing God without mercy, without fear.
Create a beast, make a man without a soul.
But is it worth the risk: A war of God and man?"

Oooooh, cryptic. XD It's more obvious then you think. Time to put your Thinking-Caps on! Let's hear what you have to say!
Comments (3) | Permalink

Monday, January 30, 2006

   News, news, news! Updates, updates, updates!
Hey everybody. How's everything going for you all?

Well, I was pretty depressed at school today for a couple reasons, but I seem to have forgotten them somehow. Is that weird? *sweat-drop*
Not that I'm complaining. Little old odd-ball me, forgetting my problems without the aid of hard liquor. ^^' Meh, they'll probably surface in my distorted little mind later.

Here's the low-down on what I do remember:
-First off, our Art Teacher needs us to bring in 4 childhood photographs tomorrow (as you may have heard me mention, because it was luckily delayed twice). I'm tellin' ya', I am not gonna' enjoy that! XP I hate ANYTHING that reminds me of my childhood, and it's even worse that other people are going to see it! I used to embarrass myself on a daily basis without even knowing it (I still do so, to a lesser extent, but know I realize it approximately 6 seconds afterwards). I literally cringe when my mind wanders (as it often does, since I'm a spacey day-dreamer) to some random memory I have of myself acting like an idiot in my younger years. >_<
I'm starting to think it may be related to a particular incident that happened a few years ago, but, I don't think I'll go into that now...

-Secondly, I got my report card today.
-_- I'm not going to go into details (like letters or my GPA) on that subject, but I will say I was really disappointed.
Plus, I found out I made a 60% on my most recent Algebra quiz. Naturally, I'm thrilled...
It particularly sucks because of Miyoko-chan's recent achievements, namely her INSANLY good grades and induction to the Honor's Society.
Regardless of my pity-party, massive propz to the ever-so-awesome Erin-chan for all her hard work. *standing ovation*

-Thirdly, a small bit of good news: My spacers have finally stopped hurting. ^_^ They're still uncomfortable, but it's about damn time I should be able to eat a damn PB&J sandwich again!
*sigh*, but I go in Thursday to get the full brackets on, and I've been told the spacers are NOTHING compared to those. -_-'

Ah, I'm listening to "Aces High" again by Iron maiden. I LOVE this song! ^.^

Anywho, I'll be submitting at least one of those 3 pics I said I had finished fairly soon, so be on the look-out for it.
Speaking of art, I've been in a pretty serious rut for a little while now. -_-' Though it was mostly because I spent both weekend-nights getting homework done early, I was unable to draw Friday, Saturday or Sunday. It sucks, 'cause I have so many cool ideas bouncing around in my head that need to get out! One of which is something that may lead me to do a new ghost pic...in color. O_o Oooooh, watch-out! Seriously unpredictable artist here! Next thing you know I'll be doing zombies in B&W! XD
I hate to get even more Emo-esque at this point (I'll stop in a second, don't worry), but I think part of the reason I haven't been able to draw is because, well...
Have any of you had that feeling amidst anxiety, depression and boredom that makes you feel that the day-to-day experiences you usually enjoy are just..."hollow"? Do any of you know that feeling I'm talking about? "Hollow" is just the best/only way I can really describe it. I'm hopin' I'm not the only one.
.....
Ah, sorry. I know I'm boring you all.

In a quick bit of news, ElvesAteMyRamen is back today. She still doesn't have a modem, but she does have some stories from her recent Anime Convention (she'll have pics soon, but dial-up don't take kindly to pictures, as most of you know).
By the way, sorry you didn't get a hyper-link from me, Elvzy-chan, but I figure enough of us have your site on internet speed-dial of some sort that it wasn't necessary. (Let me apologize for that MASSIVE bit of sucking up right there...)

Ah, now I'm listening to "A Change Of Seasons" by Dream Theater. I swear, DT is insanely innovative with their music. This song alone is a full 20 minutes long. They even have one that's over twice that long.
Speaking of DT, I got a new album from Harwood (that's his last name, by the way) today.
*rummages through backpack and reads its labeling*
It's called, "Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory". I haven't listened to it yet, but that'll change soon. ~_^

Please pray that Karen (AKA; Living Doll) will start feeling better soon. She's been dealing with some pretty crazy crap lately, and prayer is always a good remedy for crazy crap.
Please also pray for LuckyLady123, who in lue of a response to my sincere message of support has instead decided to cut off communication with me and anyone else with no explanation. -_-' I hate when that happens...

"SakuraxSauke for Nayuki" (Nayuki is presumably a friend), by jojoju:

Aside from being clean, well designed, balanced and colorful, this piece is so utterly cute I nearly snapped a few capillaries. Show your <3 for Sakura and Sasuke.
Comments (4) | Permalink

Thursday, January 26, 2006

   Ugh....
Hey everybody. How's it hangin'?

I did fairly well on my test in Civics today, at least as I far as I know. I knew nearly everything I needed to, so that's good.

Our Art teacher wants us to bring in 4 photos from our childhood for use in our next project.
...uh, not gonna' happen!!! I've tried all my life to make sure nothing of my past is seen by anybody! It's friggen' embarrassing!
Ugh, I hate my Art teacher!

I also got my "Spacers" put in today. -_-' Even though I only have em' on my back-molars, I've been afraid to look in a mirror. (Please see yesterday's post if you haven't already.)
I go in to get the full brackets for my first official bout with braces one week from today. Oh, the joy.
It turns out that "Spacers" are these little, tiny rubber-bands that are somehow inserted in between each individual tooth to push em' apart a little.
They're really, REALLY uncomfortable, particularly on my bottom-molars. My jaw's been drifting in and out of discomfort all day. I was fine on the car-ride home, hurting in the last half of Sci. Vis., lunch and the first part of Algebra. Then, towards the end of Algebra by teeth seemed to get really comfortable again for some reason. Afterwards they started getting irritated throughout Principles Of Business, and by the time I got home I would have given my left-leg to get them out of my mouth.
>_< I took 2 Advil's (that's 400 mg's) this afternoon, and my mouth seemed to be happy, but they're starting to flare-up again. My brain keeps thinking there's food in my teeth, which is a very uncomfortable feeling for me.

*sigh*, the worst part is I had a little chat with Kitchen (he's a Junior in my Sci. Vis. Class who's pretty cool, so we casually hang out when we're in the same place), who's had braces for 3 years (from 7th grade 'till last year).
He said the Spacers are the easy part. O_o; Spec-freakin'-tacular.
He also clued me in to the fact that every time I go in to get new bands put on, it'll feel just as worse as when I first got the braces on.
Basically, it all means this: Out of every month, I'll have 3 to 6 days where I'm in a dull, constant, lingering pain all day long, asleep or awake, trying to study or trying to draw, during any activity I'm trying to enjoy. Basically, that means I have a period now. >_< Just what I've always wanted...
Well, I've never experienced what you women have to go through each month (that should be obvious!), so forgive me if my comparison is off. But from what I do know, you're all brave souls for putting up with it; far braver then I. (I know a 16-year-old should probably know all the details by now, but it's kind of an awkward thing to walk up to a female peer and ask about. Where else could I learn about it? The internet? >_< That's not exactly something I feel safe Google-ing for...)

Gah, I need to do my Chemistry homework. It's already 7:00 PM (but it's only 2 problems, and it's the only thing I have due tomorrow, so no worries).

By the way, I need you guys to pray for LuckyLady123 for me (She's not on The Otaku, so don't bother searching for her.)
I'm fuzzy on the details, but she requested prayer for her family's ability to sell their house soon. So, prayer for her would be greatly appreciated.
A prayer or two for me as well wouldn't hurt either, if you can.

I'll see you guys tomorrow!
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Wednesday, January 25, 2006

   Meep...
Hey everybody. How ya' feelin'?

I wasn't gonna' post today, because it doesn't look like anybody's here.
But, that's why I didn't post yesterday, and I wanted to give you an update of what's going on in my life now rather then afterwards. (Plus, a lot of you visit and read posts at times way earlier then mine due to the Time-Zone difference. Meaning, many of you may get here after I'm well-asleep, so nows just as good a time as any to post).

Anyway, here's the low-down on what's going on with me:
(I tell you all this not for your sympathy, but because I have this strange delusion that you people are actually interested in hearing about the minor aches & pains of my life. So, please do enjoy...)

Yesterday (Tuesday) was a fairly crappy day for me, mostly because I brought the wrong back-pack to school for the first time since I started High school. (We have block-scheduling at my school, meaning 4 classes each day rather then 8. Since you only go to one specific class every other day, you only need to carry certain text-books on one day and all the other text-books on another day. But rather then make me swap my "A-Day" books for my "B-Day" books or vice-versa every night, my parents made it easy by buying me an extra back-pack. My "A-Day" books and folders live in one back-pack, and my "B-Day" stuff lives in the other.)
But, low and behold, my dad rushed me Tuesday morning, and I grabbed the wrong back-pack, meaning I had none of the notes I needed, none of the books I needed, and I got a "0" on the homework I needed to turn in for Civ. & Econ. and Algebra. >_< I do not need zeros in those classes!
Plus, yesterday was the one day where Mrs. Clarke (my Algebra II teacher) decided to give a grade based off of weather we had our Algebra text-books with us like we were supposed to. Damn it! I lugged that damn thing around every day, and the one day where I would have gotten credit for doing so was the one and only day I had the wrong books! XP You should have seen me when I first realized I had all the wrong stuff. I was like,
"Let me just get out my....
*unzips backpack and sees Spanish, Chemistry and English books where the Algebra and Civics ones should be*
....
....
....
.....Fuck!!!".
Heh heh, sorry. Usually I try not to cuss, but I was so pissed at my bad luck I had to express it.
Meh, at least it wasn't vice-versa, with me having A-Day stuff when it was B-Day. (Thank you, God! You're always watchin' out for me! ^_^)

Tomorrow, I go in to the Dentist's office to get my Spacers put in. -_-'
I have no idea what "Spacers" are/look like, so I don't know what to expect.
Plus, my appointment's at 9AM, meaning I gotta' leave school for my appointment. Though it's better then missing any of the alternatives, I'll most likely miss Sci. Vis. and maybe even lunch. Ah well, better those then Civics or Algebra. (See? I tol'ja God's lookin' out for me. b~_^)

Tomorrow, I also have a test in Civ. & Econ.. Since I don't have to leave class 'till 8:30 for my appointment, it probably won't interfere with my test, so no worries about that.
But still, Mr. Dickerson give the hardest tests, as you know. Meh, wish me luck, OK?

I also found out in Chemistry today that I got a 70% on my Exam the other week. -_-'
To be honest, I'm really, really disappointed. I studied hard and thought I knew the material much better then "70%". True, it was only 50 questions, but those suckers were multiple-choice and should have been easy.
I also found out I got a 2.5 (out of 4 possible points) on the essay from my English exam. It's important to note that the essay counted as half my exam-grade, thus 10% of my total semester-grade. Ya' know why? Because my examples weren't "specific" enough.
Well ya' know what!? I'm not familiar with any cases of specific people and how much property they lost in Hurricane Katrina or something!! (The essay was on "The long-term and short-term effects of natural disasters"). How am I supposed to know about specific cases of personal loss like that just to have on call in case I need to write an essay on it!?
And you know what the teacher's response to that was? "You're allowed to make stuff up".
X_x Well gee, that only goes against everything I learned about writing essays in middle-school, so thanks for not alerting us before-hand. XP
Don't get me wrong, Mrs. Macmillan’s a great teacher, she's just a tad hard to get your head around when it comes to essays.

Thanks for listening, everybody. Sorry to piss and moan, but it helps to get it off my chest. Plus, you guys might even be able to give me some advice.
I'd really appreciate some prayer right about now, so any amount would really help.
Thanks, and I'll see you tomorrow.
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Sunday, January 22, 2006

   I know it looks long, but I think it's about time you all learn about Immortal Rain...
Hey everybody, how's your Sunday going?

The big game is going on right now (I mean Football, but the way), and the Panthers are going up against the Seahawks. As some of you may already know, that means my parents are glued to the TV (while trying to multi-task things like laundry and such), and screaming like idiots. -_-' My mom does that during every Football game, and this time my Dad is even doing it! It's annoying when every 50 seconds they scare me half to death by screaming at the top of their lungs like a burglar just came in through the window. Man, I wish they'd shut up!
Speaking of this most important game, please root for the Panthers if you don't mind! ^_^ As some of you may remember, I mentioned a while ago that I'm a Carolina boy. I love it here. ^///^ So, please root for those Panthers!
Ya' know, it's weird hearing myself say that, because usually I couldn't care less about Football. I know that that's kinda' weird for a 16-year-old guy, but I honestly don't have 2 and 1/2 hours to sit down and watch a ball go back and forth. I'd rather just catch the last 10 minutes, and that's if I watch it at all. If I even want to know, I just ask someone "who won?" the day after the game. Does that make me weird?

Oh boy, I can hear my parents fighting now. -_-' Don't get me wrong, my parents don't ever fight the way most parents do. They argue over the issue, not call each other names or anything (and they never ever even come close to physically fighting). But still, it's nerve-wracking to hear them fight. *sigh*

Anyway, I need to ask you guys something. Is anyone else having trouble getting The Otaku to work recently? For the past 2 or 3 days, it's taken about 20 minutes and countless "Refresh" clicks to get a My Otaku page to load, especially my own page. Is anyone else experiencing this?
At first I thought it was 'Safe Eyes' screwing-up (like every blocking-program arbitrarily does *rolls eyes*), but I heard from Rosa the other night she was experiencing something similar. Is The Otaku being finicky for any of you as well?

I have another quick question for ya'. Did nobody see yesterday's post?
It's OK if you didn't, I just wanted to make sure that the glitches around here aren't screwing-up your comments as well. I wanna' know because I spent a fair amount of time on that post (like every post *rolls eyes again*). If you didn't see it yesterday, I'd appreciate you at least skimming yesterday's post, since part of it is about me actually buying my manga for once (yes, I know, "*gasp!*").

Well, as for my day today, I went on a solo manga-run today from about 2:30 to 5:30. I went to Barne's & Noble's this time, because my Dad couldn't drop me off at Boarders.
Surprisingly enough, they had a new manga for me to read. An FYI to all who are interested, the 2nd volume of the Kingdom Hearts manga is now available. I read that after spending nearly an hour doodling on the paper I brought with me (Nothing good came of it, just a zombie-doodle with incorrectly drawn clothing-folds).

After that, I re-skimmed my favorite volumes of Immortal Rain.
Let me tell ya', 'Immortal Rain' is probably the most underrated manga on the planet. I love that series! The art is positively spectacular, using lines that are thin but still smooth rather then angular. The characters are INCREDIBLY well-crafted, many of which look like something out of Kill Bill (one of my favorite movies!). The romance doesn't quite feel as natural as the tender moments between Keitaro & Naru for example, but they're still beautiful and incredibly heart-warming.
But what I like best about Immortal Rain is that it covers nearly all bases, yet still feels natural. Some parts will have you laughing out loud, while others will make your skin crawl. A good example of this is the artwork the artist separates the chapters with. Some will have Rain and Machika (the two main characters) in Feudal China or Military-wear, making you chuckle to yourself the same way the art in Fullmetal Panic does. Other times the pictures will be unsettlingly creepy, one of which had the main bad-guy (I won't tell you who it is yet, 'cause I want you to read it XP) giving a demented blank-stare towards the viewer, with his back to a wrecked city that was just went through a nuclear holocaust.
Even better examples of how Immortal Rain is varied yet still focused can be found in its main style. The story reminds me of an epic fairy-tale, one with a totally original plot and premise (no 'damsel in distress' that needs to be rescued, no evil sorcerers trying to take over the kingdom, none of those clichés). Yet, the story is told with the complexity and substance of a heavy Sci-Fi series. Though it feels like a fairy-tale, the story's elements are realer and more relatable (and for me, more enjoyable) since they deal with interesting ideas we're familiar with, rather then hiding behind the flimsy "It's magic!" excuse. Though there are some great animes using epic magical formulas, I personally enjoy the gun-fights, bio-mutants and speeding 18-wheelers being launched into an overpass much more, and having it structured like a classic 'Lord of the Rings'-style epic makes it even better. The Sci-Fi element also brings with it a lot of the fear and uneasiness contained in the manga, which can get pretty extreme in some parts. It's almost like a Resident Evil style Sci-Fi, but presented with an ominous Silent Hill-style of creepiness. This is particularly evident in the main bad-guy's plan for Rain and himself, which is a particularly clever plot-twist by the author that feels akin to the Twilight Zone (I won't tell you what that is either, but you'll find out when you read vol. 3!).
And the themes and ideas presented by the manga are deep! They may not be a match for the psychological, religious and political symbolism in the Evangellion series that seem to be derived from "The Lord Of the Flies", but it still delves into heavy issues we as humans deal with, such as war, God, personal loss, guilt, love, fear, murder, friendship, view-point, meaning, reality, introspection and much, much more. I want to get a couple volumes of the series not only for artistic reference, but also because I want to be able to give you some of the inspirational and frightening quotes from the manga word-for-word.

In closing, I'd like to thank ElvesAteMyRamen for introducing me to this jewel of a series. I read volumes 1 through 6 back in July, and I'm still in awe (though I don't say it enough). This is what, the 5th thing Elvzy suggested to me that I ended up loving? ^_^' Needless to say, I respect Lindsey-chan's opinion.

I honor of both Immortal Rain and the woman who introduced it to me, I'll leave you today with one of my favorite pieces by EAMR; "Machika and Rain":

I find this piece positively beautiful.
If I remember correctly, Lindsey used the manga (I believe volume 2) as a reference for the facial-expressions. However, the character-models referenced were in 2 separate frames, making the actual poses and positioning as a whole in this piece completely original. In addition, the very thing she referenced (the facial-expressions I mean) has been altered from what's in the actual manga, meaning Lindsey used less reference on this piece then I do on a lot of mine (and believe me, I sick at using references so I rarely use it).
Some of you may remember when I reviewed this piece about a year ago when it was submitted. Remember, I talked about how the background color and texture had "multiple interpretations"? Anyway, that can still be seen here. But, I'd like to hear what you think I mean by that. ~_' It's time to do some artistic thinking, people! Let's see whatcha' got!
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Saturday, January 21, 2006

   Hey everybody. How are ya'll feeling today?

I'm currently listening to what may be my favorite song by Dragonforce. It's called "Through The Fire And The Flames", and it's probably one of the coolest songs I've ever heard.
It's so awesome in fact, that I may just have to post the video I found for it here on my site.
I know a lot of you don't like Heavy Metal of any kind, but I'd still appreciate it if you'd at least try this one out. You may even find that you like it. ^_^ (Plus, Dragonforce isn't your average Metal band to begin with.)
So, take my advice: Give Metal a chance! ^^ <3

Josh unfortunately can't go on a manga-run this week. I was gonna' go by myself today, but by the time my parents were up from their nap it was already past 5.
Soooooooo, I'm gonna' go tomorrow! ^_^ Wish me luck on being able to get that copy of Resident Evil for 15$!

Oh! That reminds me!
With all that's been going on, I forgot to tell you all that when I was at Boarders with Josh the other week, I actually bought some manga! Two of them!
Here's the shimmy on the whole deal:
Though I don't talk about it enough, I'm absolutely enamored with the Chrono Crusade manga. With the exception of the setting and style, it's based on a formula that almost exactly mirrors the way I envision my manga, Ghost Hunter.
Well, I've been going manga-crazy for the past 4 or 5 months having nothing interesting to read in the comfort of my own home, so I finally broke down and bought some. I bought vol. 1 and 3 of Chrono Crusade (as you may recall, I bought vol. 2 back in September, and I bought vol. 4 on the fly back at that convention I went to with Josh back in June, where I also got Love Hina vol. 6 for just $3!).
Anyway, vol. 4 of Chrono Crusade has been sitting under my bed in a box since June, because I NEVER read manga out of order. I bought vol. 4 before I needed it because it was soooo cheap when I found it. Plus, I'd eventually be ready to read vol. 4, so it wasn’t like I'd never get to do so. Love Hina's in that box to, despite the fact I had already read it long before buying it. Why? Because if my brother knew I had it, he'd flip-out!
^_^ True, Love Hina has some heavily sexual humor in it, but it also has some of the most beautiful romantic scenes I've ever laid eyes on, particularly vol. 6. Naturally, I'm gnashing at the bit for Boarders or B&N's to finally get Love Hina vol. 14 in stock, because it's the climactic conclusion to the nerve-racking series.
Heh, every time I think about one of my favorite romantic moments in Love Hina, I get all tingly and feel that warm & fuzzy feeling. ^///^

Love Hina will be the first manga series that I have read in its entirety, once I can get my hands on that final volume. Once I've got that under my belt, I'll post a 'Logan-style' anime/manga review, which hopefully will please other fans of the series and convince those of you who haven't tried it yet to do so. (I could probably go ahead and do the review now, but the conclusion is one of the most important aspects of a manga, and to be fair to the series I have to see it all before I can formulate a full opinion and share it.)

Ugh, I forgot to visit Rosa last night! X_x Sorry, Rosa! That's what you get for picking an Otaku-name that starts with a "V"! Luckily, I was clever enough to pick a name that started with an "A", meaning I'm likely to be the first person people visit when they check who's updated! (XD I'm kidding, I didn't pick "AwesomeDude898" because I'd show up first on your Friends List. But there is as story to how I picked my name, but that's for another time...^_^)
Anyway, I'll get to you later tonight, Rosa, as well as anyone else I've missed. I was up late doing homework last night, and my computer was actin' up, but I haven't forgotten ya'! *hug*

P.S.: I'm trying to put a chatter-box on my page here (why I didn't do it before is beyond me...). Is it working properly? Please test it out and feel free to use it! This may become a fun new way for us to communicate! ^_^

OK everybody, I'll see you tomorrow!

"FMA Unplugged", by Chernobylpets:

This piece really needs no description, does it?
Ladies may feel free to stare at Ed's butt all they like.
...What? I know that's what you girls do! Don't try to deny it! XD
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