Sunday, March 19, 2006

remember, remember, the fifth of november, gunpowder treason and plot
Look at this! It's a Naruto fandom recc journal, filled with fanfic, fanart, character shrine, etc. recommendations. I point this out specifically because my Itachi analysis was recc'd in the third post, as well as another article on theO! And it links to the original LJ post of my essay, excessive footnotes and all. To the owner of that journal, thanks for the ego boost. XD

Anyway, I planned to watch V for Vendetta some time this weekend, but no one in my family could/wanted to watch it with me. (It's rated R, so I'm forced to see it with an adult.) I guess I'll have to watch it next weekend. :/

Anyone here see the movie? And if you did, how was it? Is it really like Batman Begins? *fanatic*

Also, I checked out the new profile pages, and...

# Of Comments I've Posted: 236

Holy shit. I am officially a comment whore.

L icon of the week:


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Friday, March 17, 2006

too old to lie about my age; too young to die upon the stage
An old online friend of mine once told me how lucky I was to have friends who were fellow anime fans, since she virtually knew of no other fans in her area. I found this to be a little odd because here in Chicago, anime anything is really not hard to find. (And from what I know, it's the same in LA. Though now that I think about it, this is to be expected, since urban areas tend to have much larger Asian populations.)

So, just out of curiosity, do any of you folks live in areas practically devoid of anime or anything Japanese?

EDIT:

OH. EM. GEE.
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Wednesday, March 15, 2006

these things will happen | because we're only human
Per the recommendation of, well, a lot of people, I've begun watching Kino no Tabi (Kino's Journey). I'm loving it so far. Just finished the fourth episode, and I must say, I love how this show is paced; four episodes in and they're already revealing backstory!

On that note, I've put the ending theme up for download at this link: Kino no Tabi - The Beautiful World.

Also, I stumbled upon this very amusing fanmade comic. It's Death Note, of course, because DN is all I ever care about these days.

I don't normally do this sort of thing, but I realized that I don't really know much about the people on my friends list. So, anyone reading this is invited to list one quirk or interesting fact about themselves. For example, I insist on peeling bananas backwards (the way monkeys do!), and I also sleep on my bed upside down (with my feet beside the headboard) for no particular reason. Anyone else? :D
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Monday, March 13, 2006

but that was yesterday, and i was a different person then.
Mini-rant on an issue that, by the looks of things, will never be resolved: Frankly, I'm tired of anime fans complaining about the lack mature American cartoons/comics. It's not as if it's rare--just go to Borders, and read a few non-manga graphic novels. It's not that freaking difficult.

I swear, anime fans complain about others misjudging anime based on preconceptions, then they turn around and do the exact same goddamn thing. [/rant]

On a much lighter note, I've finally begun working on my articles again. I'm currently writing the Gankutsuou/Rose of Versailles article, and assuming all goes as planned, I might be able to submit it early next week.

I've been listening to the Honey and Clover soundtrack often lately, and in my opinion, it's the kind of music that should be featured in anime more. (As opposed to, say, irritatingly peppy J-Pop. *cough*) So, I've put three of my favorite H&C songs up for grabs:

Suneohair - Waltz
Spitz - Hachimitsu
Spitz - Yoru wa Kakeru

L icon of the week:



Admittedly, I'm not a big fan of the L/Light pairing, but I think this icon is pretty, and it matches with my layout's color scheme. :D
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Saturday, March 11, 2006

we are reminded of our nostalgic ways--as we play tightrope to the lamp post
My sister and I finally bought the tickets for the figure skating show. (Fifth row seats!) We still need to buy plane tickets and get a hotel room, but there's plenty of time for that.

I'm also attending a play tomorrow. (And I get in free because I'm a student. Woohoo!) The director of the play visited my Lit class yesterday, and he held a discussion on Vietnam veterans and post-traumatic stress disorder, which is the main topic of the play. Should be interesting, to say the least.

Anyway, the obligatory fandom freebie: Fake/Fanmade Death Note Ending (no spoilers). It's interesting enough, though I'd be pissed if the series ended that way--it's too much of a lead-in to a possible sequel.
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Tuesday, March 7, 2006

"Anyone who works is a fool. I don't work - I merely inflict myself upon the public."
Yesterday, I got a postcard in the mail advertising the international concert tour Play! A Video Game Symphony, which debuts in Chicago near the end of May.

I immensely enjoyed the Dear Friends concert held here a year ago, even moreso than the two conventions I attended last year, so I'll definitely try to get tickets for this. It's being held at the same hall, the Rosemont Theatre, which is only a few blocks away from the hotel ACen is held at.

Admittedly, aside from Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid, I'm largely unfamiliar with the music of the video games included in the setlist, but in all likeliness, that won't detract much from the experience.

So, in the next couple months, I'll be attending:

- a figure skating showcase in mid-April
- ACen at the start of May
- the Play! concert at the end of May

I wish March were over already. >_<

Speaking of video game music, you can download my current music (Etchings of the Wind) at this link.

L icon of the week:


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Monday, March 6, 2006

...the brilliant charge of their infrequent couplings was darkened by the sense of time flying, never enough time, never enough
So, how 'bout them Oscars?

First and foremost, Jon Stewart did a fantastic job hosting. I demand that he be invited next year as well.

Second, Crash won. Damn. It's not a bad movie by any means, but in my opinion, it was the weakest of the five. (And vastly overrated, but I won't get into that here.)

Furthermore, it's disappointing that Good Night and Good Luck was shut out yet again. It's a great film.

I'm, however, very pleased that Brokeback won best adapted screenplay. (Yay for Brokeback!)

Overall, I think the Oscars went very well this year. Everything went on time, it was entertaining, there were some great speeches, and the nominees of the major categories were truly worthy of the title. Congrats to everyone involved.

As for the pimp song winning the award, I found it terribly amusing, but not too surprising. Eminem did win the Oscar for the very same category a couple years back, so it's not as if it's the first time this has happened. (Eminem technically isn't hip-hop, but whatever!)

Lastly, since this is the perfect opportunity to do some plugging, here's the beautiful short story the Brokeback Mountain film was based off of.

A warning to those who are unfamiliar with the plot: it's a love story, yes, but it's love at its most raw and painful.

They were raised on small, poor ranches in opposite corners of the state...

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I added a song, which you can listen to above. Doesn't work on Firefox, though, which is a shame because it's so very pretty.
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Saturday, March 4, 2006

Japanese Oddities: Sighting #1
I was just watching one of my, now many, videos of Johnny's skating programs. All was proceeding normally, until after his performance, at the Kiss and Cry area...



IT'S DOMO-KUN! And a cute little Japanese girl.

I like that, in Japanese figure skating competitions, they give Domo-kun plushies to all the competitors. That's very Japan-like.

EDIT: Death Note movie poster! Click below to see the full version.


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Friday, March 3, 2006

take your shoes off and i will throw them in the lake - and i will be, two steps on the water
I've seen the last few episodes of Deal or No Deal, more out of curiosity than anything.

I liken it to an episode of South Park I once saw, where all the townspeople had gathered in a nearby casino in order to raise enough money to buy back their town from the casino owner. So they gambled all their remaining money on a game of roulette, and won just enough needed. But, they decided to play one more round, so that they'd be RICH!!!11, and of course, ended up losing everything.

That's how the contestants of Deal or No Deal are. Ridiculous. Give me $20,000 any day.

So, anyone going to watch the Academy's? I'm mainly interested in seeing if Brokeback Mountain wins, how Jon Stewart will fare as the host, and of course, if HMC manages to snatch the award.

And I've only just realized that I've known a few of my online friends for about four years now. Time flies when you're having fun, I guess.

EDIT: For the past seven months, I've been saving up for a very expensive Luts ball-jointed doll; including the cost of shipping and other extras, it totals at about $650. (Yes, for a doll. And no, I'm not kidding.)

So, I just checked the Luts website for the first time in months, and...

DELF 'EL-SPECIAL' Sales Price : $615.00

The price was raised by $65! KILL ME, NOW.
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Wednesday, March 1, 2006

you remind me of home: a broken bed with dirty sheets that creaks when I am shifting in my sleep
Finished Honey and Clover. Moving on to Haibane Renmei.

In commemoration of the release of the 4th volume of Death Note, I officially declare this the Month of L! (In other words, my excuse for spamming you all with icons.)

Icon of the week:

And no, I haven't been working on my L article. In fact, I doubt I'll be able to work on either of my articles until I'm finished writing my contributions to a certain SOAP project.

Anyway, something you all MUST read: Olympics! The Movie

I also found a short video taken from a Japanese news program featuring Shizuka Arakawa while practicing for last week's exhibition. (And there's a clip of her getting hugged and high-fived by our very own Evan Lysacek! How cute.)
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