Birthday • 1986-02-04 Gender •
Male Location • Changchun, China Member Since • 2005-04-22 Occupation • English Teacher Real Name • Kennedy
Personal
Achievements • B.S. in Graphic Design, Eagle Scout, Intern of the Year 2005 & 2006, Made it to college, People to People Student Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, 1st place in the 2009 Hua Qiao International Foreign Language School Sports Day 4x4 100m relay Anime Fan Since • Not as long as you'd think Favorite Anime • The list is long, but gracing the top of it are titles such as Cowboy Bebop, Beck, Samurai X, Millennium Actress, Last Exile, Samurai 7, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Samurai Champloo Goals • Goal No.1 Complete! I graduated college! Whooda thunkit. Now on to Goal No.2, figure out what I want to do with my life. ^_^ Hobbies • Fencing, Tennis, Go, Art, and Movies Talents • Juggling (currently only three, working on four), art, whistling, and not dancing
myOtaku.com: Caesar1280
Welcome to my site archives. 10 posts are listed per page.
Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song,
A medley of extemporanea;
And love is a thing that can never go wrong;
And I am Marie of Romania.
- Dorothy Parker
Greetings All! After the longest absence since starting this blog three years ago, I have returned. I have a good excuse for the absence too! ^_^ So you know, it has been one of the worst semesters of my college career. It's not because I was miserable either, because life has actually been amazing this semester (as you will read). No, it was the worst semester of my college career because of the way it all played out. I had so very much to do. I was taking 15 hours at the beginning of the semester. By the halfway point that had been turned into 12 hours after I was forced to drop a class. My business communication class kept me on my toes, I had to prepare for and get an internship, and I had to prepare my entire body of work for graduation, even though I'm not graduating until December. That was the most irritating of all. It was the most amount of work and I don't even need it to be done until December. Grrr... I mean, I'm glad I got a head start on it and all, but it caused me to do worse in my other classes, and I didn't even do well in the class it was required for either. But as I said, all in all it was a great but tough semester and now it's time to get on with the rest of my life.
The Rest of My LifeThe rest of my life started on Wednesday after I finished the last of my finals. I then began packing to go home and getting ready for my internship. Now, the internship itself is an interesting story. I was having a bit of trouble getting one. I tried finding one in Chattanooga, Little Rock, Dallas, and even northwest Arkansas area. No real luck. I got very close a couple times, but eventually everything I tried fell through. So, I asked my dad to fish around his international contacts to see if any of them had any possible positions open. I never expected anything to come of that, but figured it was worth a shot. Less than a week later I got a call from my mother informing me that my dad had found a possible position for me in Japan. So, I sent the company my portfolio, and two days later I had the position. So, I will be interning in Japan for six weeks this summer! I'm sitting an airport Stabucks on the way to Japan as I type this. I still can't believe it. I'm going to be working for a company called New Life League. They work on a manga version of the Gospel called Manga Messiah. It's really quite good! If you wanna see some of what they do, go to www.nextmanga.com. I'll be working there with four other designers (only one of whom speaks any english), I'll be living alone, and not getting paid. But, that doesn't matter because I have a job lined up after I get back anyway. It's going to be one hell of a summer! I'll be using this blog every day to keep a journal of the goings on and such. I hope ya like it!
Japan Wan't the First As if a six-week trip to Japan wasn't treat enough, earlier in the semester, over spring break to be more accurate, my dad and I took a trip to China and Thailand. Ya see, he does a lot of international travel for his job and has accrued quite a milage balance. So, since I'm graduating soon, he wanted to spend one last trip with me. So, since he was going to be in those two countries over spring break anyway, he flew me out there and we hung out for the week! I saw Beijing and all it had to offer. This includes wonderful sites such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Summer Palace,Tian Anmen Square (the first picture is me standing in Tian Anmen Square with the Forbidden City behind me), the Chinese opera, an acrobatic show, the Pearl and Silk markets, parks, gardens, and great food! I absolutely loved Beijing! Such a wonderful city with a robust culture and rich history. It was impressive and I really want to go back. Beijing wasn't the end of the trip, but rather just the first half. From there we travelled south to Chiangmai, Thailand. Chiangmai is in the north of Thailand up near Burma. My dad said the culture and atmosphere felt similar to that of Mexico, and I agree. It was very laid back, warm, and inviting. Massaging is something that the Thai seem to pride themselves on, because there were massage parlors on every block. I had never had a professional massage before, so my dad felt it necessary to introduce me to concept. We had a foot massage our first night there, then on our last night we had a full body Thai massage. They were interesting. It was a bit uncomfortable for me, but I liked it anyway. While there we also took in as much of the Thai culture as we could. We took a Thai cooking class, rode mountain bikes up a mountain outside the city, rode elephants, and even went white water rafting! That was a fun thing. It's not every day you ride up a mountain road and have to watch out for passing elephants. HAHA! The other two pictures with this post are me eating the hot and sour soup I just made and my dad and I river rafting. So, spring break was quite the trip for me. 2008 has really begun to look like one of the best years of my life. Whoodathunkit.
Anime Night Evolves
As has been frequently stated throughout the past year, I was the anime club leader on my campus. At the beginning of the year my leadership was fraught with controversy and conflict. That is never a good way to start things off. But, the turmoil on the outset quickly subsided and the rest of the year went more than smoothly. Looking back on it all, I am quite happy with the way it turned out. Everybody seemed to like most of my viewing choices, I introduced many of them to anime they had never seen before, by advertising I was able to double club attendance, and as my last act as leader I decided to give the club official standing with the university. Up to this point we've only been a group of students who convene once a week. We were never officially recognized as a club. Getting official standing would have multiple benefits which include the ability to charge dues, play a wider range of anime, and even advertise more effectively. So, I figured becoming official was crucial to the growth and survival of the club. Fortunately, the student government gave us the go-ahead. So now the club is offical, we've elected officers, submitted a constitution, and I've handed over the reigns. A good year was had and I'm a bit sad to see it end. But, as is frequently proven in my life, the good things come to an end but better things wait to take their place. I look forward to seeing what life has to offer next!
Anyhoo, that's all I'll post on today, but look forward to more later! Have a great day and I'll be seeing you all 'round TheO more frequently for the next couple months!
Caesar1280's Anime Ticker
Anime I've Seen
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- .hack//Sign
- 5 Centimeters per Second
- Air
- Air: The Movie
- Akira
- The Animatrix
- Appleseed
- Aquatic Language
- Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror
- Baby Blue
- Beck
- Black Lagoon
- Blame!
- Blood the Last Vampire
- Bokurano
- Burst Angel
- Castle in the Sky
- Cowboy Bebop
- Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
- Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express
- Doorbell
- Egao
- FLCL
- Fullmetal Alchemist
- Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala
- Gankutsuou
- Gatekeepers
- Genius Party
- Genshiken
- Genshiken OAV
- Ghost in the Shell
- Ghost in the Shell: Innocence
- Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society
- Gin-iro no Kami no Agito
- The Gokusen
- Grave of the Fireflies
- Grenadier
- Haibane Renmei
- Happy Machine
- Hellsing
- Highlander: The Search for Vengeance
- Hikaru no Go
- Howl's Moving Castle
- Innocent Venus
- Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade
- Jyu Oh Sei
- Karas: The Prophecy
- Karas: The Revelation
- Last Exile
- Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
- Midori?s Days
- Milennium Actress
- Mushi-shi
- My Neighbor Totoro
- Naruto
- Naruto: The Movie
- Nausicaa
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth
- Ninja Scroll: The Movie
- Other Worlds
- Ouran High School Host Club
- Paprika
- Perfect Blue
- Pet Shop of Horrors
- The Place Promised In Our Early Days
- Prétear
- Princess Mononoke
- Read Or Die
- Read Or Die: The TV
- Samurai Champloo
- Samurai Seven
- Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal
- Serial Experiments Lain
- Shanghai Dragon
- She and Her Cat
- Spirited Away
- Steamboy
- Tekkonkinkreet
- Tide-Line Blue
- Tokyo Babylon
- Tokyo Godfathers
- Trigun
- Trinity Blood
- Vampire Hunter D
- Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
- Voices of a Distant Star
- Witch Hunter Robin
- Wolf's Rain
- Wonderful Days
- Wrath of the Ninja
- X Total: 93
Anime I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Roots
- Ah! My Goddess
- Angelic Layer
- Avenger
- Baccano!
- Bamboo Blade
- Basilisk
- Binchou-tan
- Black Cat
- Bleach
- Blood+
- Boogiepop Phantom
- Case Closed
- Le Chevalier d'Eon
- Chobits
- Chrono Crusade
- Code Geass
- Coyote Ragtime Show
- D.Gray-Man
- D.N.Angel
- DearS
- Death Note
- Dennou Coil
- Desert Punk
- Digimon
- Dragon Ball Z
- Ergo Proxy
- Eureka Seven
- Excel Saga
- Fighting Beauty Wulong
- Final Fantasy Unlimited
- Flag
- Freedom
- Full Moon
- Gantz
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
- Gintama
- Glass Fleet
- Great Teacher Onizuka
- Gundam Seed
- Gundam Wing
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Hellsing OVA
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
- Ikki Tousen
- InuYasha
- Jigoku Shojo
- Kage Kara Mamoru
- Karin
- Kino's Journey
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Lovely Complex
- Lucky Star
- Makai Senki Disgaea
- Marchen Awakens Romance
- Meine Liebe
- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
- Mononoke
- Monster
- Moon Phase
- Mr Stain on Junk Alley
- Naruto Shippuuden
- Negima?!
- Negima!
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion
- Nerima Daikon Brothers
- NHK ni Youkoso
- Night Walker
- Ninja Nonsense
- Noir
- Peacemaker Kurogane
- Pokemon
- Prince of Tennis
- R.G. Veda
- Ragnarok
- Rec
- Red Garden
- Robotech
- Romeo x Juliet
- Rosen Maiden
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Saikano
- Sailor Moon
- Samurai Deeper Kyo
- Sci-fi Harry
- School Rumble
- Scrapped Princess
- Shin-chan
- Shingu
- Shion no Oh
- Shuffle!
- Shrine of the Morning Mist
- So Long, Mr. Despair
- Solty Rei
- Sousei no Aquarion
- Speed Grapher
- Spice and Wolf
- Super Milk Chan
- Tales of Phantasia
- Tenchi Muyo
- Tenjhou Tenge
- Texnolyze
- The Third
- Tsubasa Chronicles
- Urusei Yatsura
- Venus Versus Virus
- Welcome to the N.H.K.
- Winter Cicada
- X-1999
- Xenosaga
- XxxHolic
- Yu Yu Hakushou
- Yume Tsukai
- Zero no Tsukaima
- Zipang Total: 116
Manga I've Completed
- Cowboy Bebop
- FLCL
- Manga Messiah
- Manga Metamorphosis
- Q*Ko-chan
- Saiyuki
- Shirahime-Syo Total: 7
Manga I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- Black Cat
- Blame!
- Chobits
- D.Gray-man
- Darkside Blues
- Death Note
- The Demon Ororon
- Desert Coral
- Disgaea
- Eureka Seven: Gravity Boys and Lifting Girl
- Fruits Basket
- Getbackers
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Kamunagara
- Legal Drug
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Megatokyo
- Naruto
- Negima
- Read Or Die
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Tactics
- Trigun Maximum
- XXXHolic Total: 26
Anime I'm Currently Watching
Samurai 7, InuYasha, Samurai Deeper Kyo,
Boogiepop Phantom, and Shrine of the Morning Mist
Manga I'm Currently Reading
Read Or Die, Hayate the Combat Butler, and Megatokyo
Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.
- Isaac Asimov
Greetings all! It’s postie time! HEH HEH! I felt the urge tonight, as my good friend Noe can attest to. It hit me. Like a friggin brick it hit me. In the head. I think it left a welt, I swear. I’m actually seeing a black spot. Anyway, once I moved past the sudden and painful urge to blog, it occurred to me that I had WAY too much to post on. Having been about a month since my last post, a great deal has happened to me and there is a great deal worth a bit of recap. Therefore, expect a lengthy post today. Sit back, relax, and allow yourself to be pulled into the black hole that is the life of Kennedy, for it is a happy black hole.
New Semester, New Digs
With this new semester has come new challenges. I have moved out of the dorm. I’m now living with a roommate in a small one-bedroom apartment about half a mile off campus. I mostly moved out to save my dad some money. Moving off campus is saving close to $2000 on room and board prices per semester. But, I also moved out because after being on campus for three and a half years I was ready to branch out a bit. I needed a bit of freedom and a bit of privacy. And, I’ve gotten it. It’s been harder to juggle my social life and I’m still getting used to the slightly more responsibility that comes with apartment living at my stage in life, but it’s getting easier and easier as the days roll by. This is a challenge I am having no trouble overcoming.
”Hello” Again
This semester I’m back at work after having a full semester off. I’m back at the phone-a-thon again. If you don’t recall, the phone-a-thon is my university’s student call center. I and a group of about 30 other students get on the phone 4 nights a week and on Saturday morning to call alumni, parents, and anyone else connected with the university. The purpose of these calls is to update university records, have a good conversation, and ask for financial donations. It’s a fine job and one that I am moderately good at, but it’s certainly not something I like doing very much. I survive fine, though. It pays well, has flexible hours, and gives me a chance to connect with people outside the university (something I rarely get to do).
One example of this happened last Thursday night. I was on the phone with a woman who had gone through my university’s program for working professionals. She had never received a call from the phone-a-thon before and she and I had a long conversation. Near the end of it she ended up giving what has ended up being the largest single pledge yet this semester. But, before I said goodbye I remembered she had mentioned she worked for an ad agency. Since I’m currently in the process of looking for internship opportunities, I figured I’d ask if her agency had an internship program or hired student help over the summer. She responded enthusiastically saying that her company indeed had an internship program and that she’d received an email earlier that week asking if she knew any college students who might be interested in such a program. So, my call took place at the perfect time. She took my information and sent me an email yesterday detailing everything about the program as well as contact information. So, the phone-a-thon has already ended up being more than just a job this semester. I hope this luck of mine continues throughout the rest of the semester. I certainly need a bit of luck right now, that’s for sure. ^_^
Conned
Yup, I’m off to another convention, Ikkicon. I went to this one last year on my birthday weekend and this year it’s the weekend after my birthday. So far, last year’s Ikkicon was the worst convention I’ve been to. It was crowded, there was very little order, the panel discussions were a disappointment, and it was the longest drive. This year promises to be better though. The drive is just as long (9 hours one-way), but the hotel is different. The cramped space was the root of most of the problems from last year and with these larger accommodations, the convention should move along much more smoothly. Hopefully the panels will be worth going to, there won’t be any spontaneous make-out sessions in the middle of the hallway, nobody will get carted off in an ambulance, and I’ll be able to navigate the convention with little difficulty. Fingers crossed!
LOST Returns
And how I’m looking forward to it. Seriously, I can’t wait. This Thursday night I’ll be GLUED to my television. Will they actually get off the island? What was up with that flash-forward?! Who are the people on the boat and what are they actually looking for? Who is Jacob? Who is in that coffin? Does Kate like Sawyer more than Jack? So many questions! All of this stuff has been plaguing me since MAY! GAH! I swear, if they go that long between this season and the next I’ll have an aneurism. I know there isn’t much left to this show, but they have to keep the fans in mind when they determine their scheduling. Eight months is too long of a break. I'm a bit bummed they changed the night, too. By changing it to Thursday night screws up my schedule a bit. I work on Thursdays and on top of that with it being on Thursday I miss my CSI episode of the week. I guess I'll just have to watch CSI on Spike from now on. A bit of a bummer. But, at the end of it all, I just thank God the wait is over. It’ll be nice to have my LOST back. I’ve been…lost…without it. ^_^
Kennedy’s Best of 2007
If Stephen King can do it, so can I. Here is my run-down of the past year and my favorite things in it. To start off the list, here are my top ten movies:
1: The Lives of Others
2: Atonement
3: The Brave One
4: The Darjeeling Limited
5: In the Valley of Elah
6: 3:10 to Yuma
7: Paris Je T’Aime
8: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
9: The Bourne Ultimatum
10: Ocean’s 13
Now, I can promise you that list is by no means the kind of list that you’ll see any respectable movie critic publish. As much as I like to think I have good taste, the movies are still mostly about entertainment for me. Therefore, I see different things in movies than what the critics see. Anyway, the next list is my top ten music albums of the year:
1: Melankton - Kate Havnevik (US Release)
2: All the Lost Souls - James Blunt
3: Icky Thump - The White Stripes
4: Minutes to Midnight - Linkin Park
5: Little Voice - Sara Bareilles
6: It Won’t Be Soon Before Long - Maroon 5
7: One Cell in the Sea - A Fine Frenzy
8: The Reminder - Feist
9: Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace - Foo Fighters
10: Blood Stained Love Story - Saliva
Unfortunately the Foo Fighters CD is so far down on that list because I haven’t had the chance to actually buy it yet, which means I haven’t heard the whole thing. But, from what I have heard it sounds amazing, though I can’t be sure of that.
Lastly, I come to the list of the top ten happenings in my life. These are the ten things that most impacted me as a person in 2007, some of which are still having an effect on how I live my life today.
1: Move to Chattanooga, Tennessee
2: Anime club dispute and ensuing blog fiasco
3: Account overdraft
4: My 21st birthday
5: Fall semester without a job
6: Computer replacement
7: I become anime club president
8: Clumpies Ice Cream
9: Growing closer to old friends
10: A-Kon 18
Of course, some of those events had a CONSIDERABLY greater impact on me than others did, but overall they have each left a mark on me as an individual. I can’t wait to hear what else 2008 has in store. It’s already seen my move off campus as well as another convention, and that is only the first month and a half! Will this year be a good one? I really hope so. Have a great day everyone and I’ll see ya ‘round!
Anime I've Seen
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- .hack//Sign
- 5 Centimeters per Second
- Air
- Air: The Movie
- Akira
- The Animatrix
- Appleseed
- Aquatic Language
- Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror
- Baby Blue
- Beck
- Black Lagoon
- Blame!
- Blood the Last Vampire
- Bokurano
- Burst Angel
- Castle in the Sky
- Cowboy Bebop
- Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
- Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express
- Doorbell
- Egao
- FLCL
- Fullmetal Alchemist
- Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala
- Gankutsuou
- Gatekeepers
- Genius Party
- Genshiken
- Genshiken OAV
- Ghost in the Shell
- Ghost in the Shell: Innocence
- Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society
- Gin-iro no Kami no Agito
- The Gokusen
- Grave of the Fireflies
- Grenadier
- Haibane Renmei
- Happy Machine
- Hellsing
- Highlander: The Search for Vengeance
- Hikaru no Go
- Howl's Moving Castle
- Innocent Venus
- Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade
- Jyu Oh Sei
- Karas: The Prophecy
- Karas: The Revelation
- Last Exile
- Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
- Midori?s Days
- Milennium Actress
- Mushi-shi
- My Neighbor Totoro
- Naruto
- Naruto: The Movie
- Nausicaa
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth
- Ninja Scroll: The Movie
- Other Worlds
- Ouran High School Host Club
- Paprika
- Perfect Blue
- Pet Shop of Horrors
- The Place Promised In Our Early Days
- Prétear
- Princess Mononoke
- Read Or Die
- Read Or Die: The TV
- Samurai Champloo
- Samurai Seven
- Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal
- Serial Experiments Lain
- Shanghai Dragon
- She and Her Cat
- Spirited Away
- Steamboy
- Tekkonkinkreet
- Tide-Line Blue
- Tokyo Babylon
- Tokyo Godfathers
- Trigun
- Trinity Blood
- Vampire Hunter D
- Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
- Voices of a Distant Star
- Witch Hunter Robin
- Wolf's Rain
- Wonderful Days
- Wrath of the Ninja
- X Total: 93
Anime I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Roots
- Ah! My Goddess
- Angelic Layer
- Avenger
- Baccano!
- Bamboo Blade
- Basilisk
- Binchou-tan
- Black Cat
- Bleach
- Blood+
- Boogiepop Phantom
- Case Closed
- Le Chevalier d'Eon
- Chobits
- Chrono Crusade
- Code Geass
- Coyote Ragtime Show
- D.Gray-Man
- D.N.Angel
- DearS
- Death Note
- Dennou Coil
- Desert Punk
- Digimon
- Dragon Ball Z
- Ergo Proxy
- Eureka Seven
- Excel Saga
- Fighting Beauty Wulong
- Final Fantasy Unlimited
- Flag
- Freedom
- Full Moon
- Gantz
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
- Gintama
- Glass Fleet
- Great Teacher Onizuka
- Gundam Seed
- Gundam Wing
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Hellsing OVA
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
- Ikki Tousen
- InuYasha
- Jigoku Shojo
- Kage Kara Mamoru
- Karin
- Kino's Journey
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Lovely Complex
- Lucky Star
- Makai Senki Disgaea
- Marchen Awakens Romance
- Meine Liebe
- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
- Mononoke
- Monster
- Moon Phase
- Mr Stain on Junk Alley
- Naruto Shippuuden
- Negima?!
- Negima!
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion
- Nerima Daikon Brothers
- NHK ni Youkoso
- Night Walker
- Ninja Nonsense
- Noir
- Peacemaker Kurogane
- Pokemon
- Prince of Tennis
- R.G. Veda
- Ragnarok
- Rec
- Red Garden
- Robotech
- Romeo x Juliet
- Rosen Maiden
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Saikano
- Sailor Moon
- Samurai Deeper Kyo
- Sci-fi Harry
- School Rumble
- Scrapped Princess
- Shin-chan
- Shingu
- Shion no Oh
- Shuffle!
- Shrine of the Morning Mist
- So Long, Mr. Despair
- Solty Rei
- Sousei no Aquarion
- Speed Grapher
- Spice and Wolf
- Super Milk Chan
- Tales of Phantasia
- Tenchi Muyo
- Tenjhou Tenge
- Texnolyze
- The Third
- Tsubasa Chronicles
- Urusei Yatsura
- Venus Versus Virus
- Welcome to the N.H.K.
- Winter Cicada
- X-1999
- Xenosaga
- XxxHolic
- Yu Yu Hakushou
- Yume Tsukai
- Zero no Tsukaima
- Zipang Total: 116
Manga I've Completed
- Cowboy Bebop
- FLCL
- Manga Messiah
- Manga Metamorphosis
- Q*Ko-chan
- Saiyuki
- Shirahime-Syo Total: 7
Manga I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- Black Cat
- Blame!
- Chobits
- D.Gray-man
- Darkside Blues
- Death Note
- The Demon Ororon
- Desert Coral
- Disgaea
- Eureka Seven: Gravity Boys and Lifting Girl
- Fruits Basket
- Getbackers
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Kamunagara
- Legal Drug
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Megatokyo
- Naruto
- Negima
- Read Or Die
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Tactics
- Trigun Maximum
- XXXHolic Total: 26
Anime I'm Currently Watching
Samurai 7, InuYasha, Samurai Deeper Kyo,
Boogiepop Phantom, and Shrine of the Morning Mist
Manga I'm Currently Reading
Read Or Die, Hayate the Combat Butler, and Megatokyo
The Holidays
Greetings All! O, what a wonderful time this last two weeks have been. Let me tell ya, they have been amazing! I’ve been without any classes, homework, studies, and all-nighters since December 13th and I have needed it. A semester with 18 hours of courses is no easy thing. I worked harder than I’ve worked through my entire college career and yet I still only managed to stay slightly above a 3.0. *sigh* But, that is in itself good news because staying above a 3.0 is exactly what I wanted to do. All’s well that ends well, right? Heh heh!
Christmas
I was a bit worried going into the Christmas season. Some people might be worried about which side of the family they’re going to be spending Christmas with, while other people might be worried about what gifts they’re going to by for what person. But me, I was worried because I had little to no money. Heck, at the end of the semester I didn’t even have enough money in my bank account to buy gas for my trip home. So, thanks to my gracious father and his seemingly endless pockets, I was able to get home and buy gifts with no problem at all. ^_^ Thanks, Dad! I do plan on paying you back some day in some manner. It might not be cash, and at the same time that is always a possibility. But, know you this, you shall receive your due recompense.
With that money I bought gifts for him, my sister, and my mom. I bought my dad a nice reversible leather belt with a brass buckle, my sister a pair of heart earrings from American Eagle, and my mom a nice candle centerpiece for her coffee table. Everybody seemed to like their gifts and for that I am quite thankful. Though, I managed to come out of the thing on top. I got more than my fair share of gifts. I got four CDs, two seasons of Star Trek (the third season of Voyager and the first season of Enterprise), a nice pair of pajamas, a couple Megatokyo posters, the first four Harry Potter movies (one of which I watched tonight. Thanks Megan, I love them!), a good load of money from my Poppy, and topping the list a clarinet from my Gandpa. That’s right, a clarinet! I used to play for about six years before high school. But in high school I would have been forced to do marching band, something I would have hated, so I quit. For about a year or so now I’ve been wanting to pick it up again but couldn’t because the clarinet I used before high school was one that I had borrowed and had to return when I was done. So, I’m really happy I got an new one to play with. It’ll be so much fun to get back into the swing of it. Granted, having been so long since I’ve even looked at music I don’t think I could read it anymore. I’ve got some relearning to do. So, all in all it was a wonderful Christmas and I thank everyone for their amazing gifts!
New Years Eve
Not a whole lot happened on New Years Eve for me. The family all got together, ate hamburgers (very good ones I might add), played some poker (I lost horribly), and sat down to watch a Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Very good movie, very good. Thanks again, Megan! After Harry Potter we watched an old episode of The Late Show with David Letterman. It was one taped back in 1999. Jim Carrey was on the show and Alanis Morisette was that musical guest. I figured Jim Carrey was toning down the humor, but then he did this. All I have to say to this is leave it to Jim Carrey to show us how it’s really done. Enjoy!Happy 2008 Everybody! I hope you all have a wonderful new year and I’ll see ya ‘round TheO! Ciao fer nao!
Anime I've Seen
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- .hack//Sign
- 5 Centimeters per Second
- Air
- Air: The Movie
- Akira
- The Animatrix
- Appleseed
- Aquatic Language
- Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror
- Baby Blue
- Beck
- Black Lagoon
- Blame!
- Blood the Last Vampire
- Bokurano
- Burst Angel
- Castle in the Sky
- Cowboy Bebop
- Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
- Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express
- Doorbell
- Egao
- FLCL
- Fullmetal Alchemist
- Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala
- Gankutsuou
- Gatekeepers
- Genius Party
- Genshiken
- Genshiken OAV
- Ghost in the Shell
- Ghost in the Shell: Innocence
- Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society
- Gin-iro no Kami no Agito
- The Gokusen
- Grave of the Fireflies
- Grenadier
- Haibane Renmei
- Happy Machine
- Hellsing
- Highlander: The Search for Vengeance
- Hikaru no Go
- Howl's Moving Castle
- Innocent Venus
- Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade
- Jyu Oh Sei
- Karas: The Prophecy
- Karas: The Revelation
- Last Exile
- Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
- Midori?s Days
- Milennium Actress
- Mushi-shi
- My Neighbor Totoro
- Naruto
- Naruto: The Movie
- Nausicaa
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth
- Ninja Scroll: The Movie
- Other Worlds
- Ouran High School Host Club
- Paprika
- Perfect Blue
- Pet Shop of Horrors
- The Place Promised In Our Early Days
- Prétear
- Princess Mononoke
- Read Or Die
- Read Or Die: The TV
- Samurai Champloo
- Samurai Seven
- Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal
- Serial Experiments Lain
- Shanghai Dragon
- She and Her Cat
- Spirited Away
- Steamboy
- Tekkonkinkreet
- Tide-Line Blue
- Tokyo Babylon
- Tokyo Godfathers
- Trigun
- Trinity Blood
- Vampire Hunter D
- Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
- Voices of a Distant Star
- Witch Hunter Robin
- Wolf's Rain
- Wonderful Days
- Wrath of the Ninja
- X Total: 93
Anime I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Roots
- Ah! My Goddess
- Angelic Layer
- Avenger
- Baccano!
- Bamboo Blade
- Basilisk
- Binchou-tan
- Black Cat
- Bleach
- Blood+
- Boogiepop Phantom
- Case Closed
- Le Chevalier d'Eon
- Chobits
- Chrono Crusade
- Code Geass
- Coyote Ragtime Show
- D.Gray-Man
- D.N.Angel
- DearS
- Death Note
- Dennou Coil
- Desert Punk
- Digimon
- Dragon Ball Z
- Ergo Proxy
- Eureka Seven
- Excel Saga
- Fighting Beauty Wulong
- Final Fantasy Unlimited
- Flag
- Freedom
- Full Moon
- Gantz
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
- Gintama
- Glass Fleet
- Great Teacher Onizuka
- Gundam Seed
- Gundam Wing
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Hellsing OVA
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
- Ikki Tousen
- InuYasha
- Jigoku Shojo
- Kage Kara Mamoru
- Karin
- Kino's Journey
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Lovely Complex
- Lucky Star
- Makai Senki Disgaea
- Marchen Awakens Romance
- Meine Liebe
- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
- Mononoke
- Monster
- Moon Phase
- Mr Stain on Junk Alley
- Naruto Shippuuden
- Negima?!
- Negima!
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion
- Nerima Daikon Brothers
- NHK ni Youkoso
- Night Walker
- Ninja Nonsense
- Noir
- Peacemaker Kurogane
- Pokemon
- Prince of Tennis
- R.G. Veda
- Ragnarok
- Rec
- Red Garden
- Robotech
- Romeo x Juliet
- Rosen Maiden
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Saikano
- Sailor Moon
- Samurai Deeper Kyo
- Sci-fi Harry
- School Rumble
- Scrapped Princess
- Shin-chan
- Shingu
- Shion no Oh
- Shuffle!
- Shrine of the Morning Mist
- So Long, Mr. Despair
- Solty Rei
- Sousei no Aquarion
- Speed Grapher
- Spice and Wolf
- Super Milk Chan
- Tales of Phantasia
- Tenchi Muyo
- Tenjhou Tenge
- Texnolyze
- The Third
- Tsubasa Chronicles
- Urusei Yatsura
- Venus Versus Virus
- Welcome to the N.H.K.
- Winter Cicada
- X-1999
- Xenosaga
- XxxHolic
- Yu Yu Hakushou
- Yume Tsukai
- Zero no Tsukaima
- Zipang Total: 116
Manga I've Completed
- Cowboy Bebop
- FLCL
- Manga Messiah
- Manga Metamorphosis
- Q*Ko-chan
- Saiyuki
- Shirahime-Syo Total: 7
Manga I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- Black Cat
- Blame!
- Chobits
- D.Gray-man
- Darkside Blues
- Death Note
- The Demon Ororon
- Desert Coral
- Disgaea
- Eureka Seven: Gravity Boys and Lifting Girl
- Fruits Basket
- Getbackers
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Kamunagara
- Legal Drug
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Megatokyo
- Naruto
- Negima
- Read Or Die
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Tactics
- Trigun Maximum
- XXXHolic Total: 26
Anime I'm Currently Watching
Samurai 7, InuYasha, Samurai Deeper Kyo,
Boogiepop Phantom, and Shrine of the Morning Mist
Manga I'm Currently Reading
Read Or Die, Hayate the Combat Butler, and Megatokyo
Merry Christmas!
Seasons greetings All! It’s late on Christmas Eve and I’m sitting in front of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with my family. It’s a great story and a great movie and I figured that I would share this time with you all. After all, Christmas is a time for family and friends alike, and I consider you all friends. I truly do. So, to all of you I thank you for being such great friends to me on here and thank you so much for just being here. You are awesome and I wish you all a wonderful Christmas!
Caesar1280's Anime Ticker
Anime I've Seen
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- .hack//Sign
- 5 Centimeters per Second
- Air
- Air: The Movie
- Akira
- The Animatrix
- Appleseed
- Aquatic Language
- Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror
- Baby Blue
- Beck
- Black Lagoon
- Blame!
- Blood the Last Vampire
- Bokurano
- Burst Angel
- Castle in the Sky
- Cowboy Bebop
- Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
- Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express
- Doorbell
- Egao
- FLCL
- Fullmetal Alchemist
- Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala
- Gankutsuou
- Gatekeepers
- Genius Party
- Genshiken
- Genshiken OAV
- Ghost in the Shell
- Ghost in the Shell: Innocence
- Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society
- Gin-iro no Kami no Agito
- The Gokusen
- Grave of the Fireflies
- Grenadier
- Haibane Renmei
- Happy Machine
- Hellsing
- Highlander: The Search for Vengeance
- Hikaru no Go
- Howl's Moving Castle
- Innocent Venus
- Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade
- Jyu Oh Sei
- Karas: The Prophecy
- Karas: The Revelation
- Last Exile
- Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
- Midori?s Days
- Milennium Actress
- Mushi-shi
- My Neighbor Totoro
- Naruto
- Naruto: The Movie
- Nausicaa
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth
- Ninja Scroll: The Movie
- Other Worlds
- Ouran High School Host Club
- Paprika
- Perfect Blue
- Pet Shop of Horrors
- The Place Promised In Our Early Days
- Prétear
- Princess Mononoke
- Read Or Die
- Read Or Die: The TV
- Samurai Champloo
- Samurai Seven
- Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal
- Serial Experiments Lain
- Shanghai Dragon
- She and Her Cat
- Spirited Away
- Steamboy
- Tekkonkinkreet
- Tide-Line Blue
- Tokyo Babylon
- Tokyo Godfathers
- Trigun
- Trinity Blood
- Vampire Hunter D
- Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
- Voices of a Distant Star
- Witch Hunter Robin
- Wolf's Rain
- Wonderful Days
- Wrath of the Ninja
- X Total: 93
Anime I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Roots
- Ah! My Goddess
- Angelic Layer
- Avenger
- Baccano!
- Bamboo Blade
- Basilisk
- Binchou-tan
- Black Cat
- Bleach
- Blood+
- Boogiepop Phantom
- Case Closed
- Le Chevalier d'Eon
- Chobits
- Chrono Crusade
- Code Geass
- Coyote Ragtime Show
- D.Gray-Man
- D.N.Angel
- DearS
- Death Note
- Dennou Coil
- Desert Punk
- Digimon
- Dragon Ball Z
- Ergo Proxy
- Eureka Seven
- Excel Saga
- Fighting Beauty Wulong
- Final Fantasy Unlimited
- Flag
- Freedom
- Full Moon
- Gantz
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
- Gintama
- Glass Fleet
- Great Teacher Onizuka
- Gundam Seed
- Gundam Wing
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Hellsing OVA
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
- Ikki Tousen
- InuYasha
- Jigoku Shojo
- Kage Kara Mamoru
- Karin
- Kino's Journey
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Lovely Complex
- Lucky Star
- Makai Senki Disgaea
- Marchen Awakens Romance
- Meine Liebe
- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
- Mononoke
- Monster
- Moon Phase
- Mr Stain on Junk Alley
- Naruto Shippuuden
- Negima?!
- Negima!
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion
- Nerima Daikon Brothers
- NHK ni Youkoso
- Night Walker
- Ninja Nonsense
- Noir
- Peacemaker Kurogane
- Pokemon
- Prince of Tennis
- R.G. Veda
- Ragnarok
- Rec
- Red Garden
- Robotech
- Romeo x Juliet
- Rosen Maiden
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Saikano
- Sailor Moon
- Samurai Deeper Kyo
- Sci-fi Harry
- School Rumble
- Scrapped Princess
- Shin-chan
- Shingu
- Shion no Oh
- Shuffle!
- Shrine of the Morning Mist
- So Long, Mr. Despair
- Solty Rei
- Sousei no Aquarion
- Speed Grapher
- Spice and Wolf
- Super Milk Chan
- Tales of Phantasia
- Tenchi Muyo
- Tenjhou Tenge
- Texnolyze
- The Third
- Tsubasa Chronicles
- Urusei Yatsura
- Venus Versus Virus
- Welcome to the N.H.K.
- Winter Cicada
- X-1999
- Xenosaga
- XxxHolic
- Yu Yu Hakushou
- Yume Tsukai
- Zero no Tsukaima
- Zipang Total: 116
Manga I've Completed
- Cowboy Bebop
- FLCL
- Manga Messiah
- Manga Metamorphosis
- Q*Ko-chan
- Saiyuki
- Shirahime-Syo Total: 7
Manga I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- Black Cat
- Blame!
- Chobits
- D.Gray-man
- Darkside Blues
- Death Note
- The Demon Ororon
- Desert Coral
- Disgaea
- Eureka Seven: Gravity Boys and Lifting Girl
- Fruits Basket
- Getbackers
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Kamunagara
- Legal Drug
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Megatokyo
- Naruto
- Negima
- Read Or Die
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Tactics
- Trigun Maximum
- XXXHolic Total: 26
Anime I'm Currently Watching
Samurai 7, InuYasha, Samurai Deeper Kyo,
Boogiepop Phantom, and Shrine of the Morning Mist
Manga I'm Currently Reading
Read Or Die, Hayate the Combat Butler, and Megatokyo
All hope abandon, ye who enter here!
- Dante Alighieri
Greetings All! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Mine was wonderful. Wet and rainy, but still wonderful. It was relaxing, I got to spend time with my family (including my dogs who I didn't expect to get to see), I got to eat great food, I got to see some amazing movies, and I got to see some friends that I haven't seen in a long while. It was a magnificent week overall and I feel sorry that it had to come to an end. I type this blog after getting back to my dorm from a long drive, so I apologize if my writing seems a little less than thought out, it's fatigue. ^_^ Really, there's not much else about the break to say. I tried to get out and take advantage of the Black Friday sales to purchase some movies that I'd been hoping to be able to buy eventually, but by the time I made it to the stores (11:30AM) they were all out. I have to say that anybody who goes out at 4AM to shop is certifiably insane in my book, but I understand your reasons for it. I bet the movies that I was after were gone by 8. Heh heh! Such is consumerism, eh? And I was hoping to get King Kong for $2.50. ^_^ Such a bummer.
AR + Anime = ^_^
I hope that little equation wasn't too difficult, because it's as true as the quadratic. Heh heh! This past weekend, we had the first ever Arkansas Anime Festival in Fayetteville, AK. It was small, of that I assure you, but it was a blast nevertheless. It lasted from 10AM to 12AM on Saturday and they squeezed in as much stuff as they could.
I, as you all should know by now, go to conventions for the panels, and this convention had two of the most unique and insightful panels I've seen yet as a conventioner. The first was a panel on Geishas. Being such a unique part of Japanese culture, I am surprised I hadn't seen a panel dedicated to them yet. It was a reward to be able to listen to a woman who is doing her graduate thesis on the history of Geishas give half-our talk about them. In a time span such as that it's hard to get in very much information and there was no time for questions, but I learned a great deal anyway. For one, I didn't know it was so hard to become a geisha in the first place. I thought it was something a girl was forced into. Apparently not. It is as much of a choice as anything. Also, I didn't know that they still existed. I thought the tradition died out after WWII and the western culture invasion. That is not so. There are still geisha practicing to this day and I find that to be really quite cool. I'd love to meet one in person. I'm sure it's not an easy thing to do, though. heh heh!
Unfortunately, other than the panels the convention was a bit boring. The dealers room consisted of four booths and the artists alley was a bit too small for my tastes. If you weren't going to panels there wasn't really much else to do. At least I couldn't find anything. But, even though it took an hour and a half to work our way though the registration line, even though it only lasted for a day, even though there wasn't that much to do or buy, it was still an amazing convention and I applaud Realms Anime for their successful attempt at bringing an anime convention to this pitiful little state where anime is to pop culture as LIndsay Lohan is to Mother Theresa. A magnificent achievement and I look forward to next year!
The 8th Circle
Some of you might be wondering "he said there were two panels that really stood out to him, but he only mentioned one." For those of you thinking that, you need to work on your patience. ^_^ The other panel that really made the Arkansas Anime Festival worth all the effort was a panel given by the voice actress guest, Samantha Inoue-Harte. In this panel she discussed the history of anime as a form of media, what the industry is like today, and the possible future of anime. Now, this particular panel isn't anything too unique or special. I've been to a panel very similar to this twice before and both times they were given by voice actor Greg Ayres. Mostly Greg's talks just speak out against anime fansubbing and how bad it is for the industry and such. This I understood, and as a downloader of anime, it really struck me where it hurts. Since the first time I heard his talk I made a conscious effort to put as much of my money as I could into the industry. This basically meant that if I liked an anime enough, I'd buy it. That's about as far as it went. I didn't necessarily stop downloading anime. I guess I didn't see the real threat since I was still buying anime and helping out monetarily. Samantha's panel changed everything.
Samatha had two things on her side that really made what she said cut me to the core. First, in the weeks before the convention Geneon Entertainment went under and is no longer. I had heard of this about a day or so before the convention and I was already pretty down because of it. Let that sink in a bit. Geneon Entertainment is the company that brought over some of the best animes that I've ever seen including titles like Samurai Champloo, Sailor Moon, Serial Experiments Lain, Black Lagoon, Hellsing, and Ergo Proxy. That company is no more. They are gone. Dead. They were no small company, either. They were highly productive and brought great things to the American anime industry. They are gone. It's more than just a depressing thought, it's a scary one.
The second thing that Samantha had on her side of the table was the ability to cite American industry trends and actually put a life span on the future of the industry. According to Samantha, if the American anime industry trends continue in the way they are now, the entire industry will be dead in two years. Two years. TWO YEARS!!! Now, can somebody explain to me how this is possible? Lets think about this for just a second, shall we? The popularity of anime has been growing by leaps and bounds in the past decade. There are manga on the New York Times bestseller lists, there are conventions in almost every US state, and the most popular shows on Cartoon Network are not American cartoons, but Japanese anime. So, why is it that anime DVD's are not selling? How is it that anime distributors are dying while the fandom increases in popularity? It's because of fansubs. To look at this hypothetically, If you are an American teenager obsessed with anime and given the choice to go out and pay $24 for a volume of anime on DVD or to just go onto a website like animesuki.com and download the entire anime for free, what are you going to do? Most, if not all, teenagers will choose to just download the anime. I did. I am ashamed of it. I feel horrible for it. I don't know why it took me so long to see that it was wrong. I just wish I had figured this out before my viewing habits were directly linked to the death of an entire corporation. No matter how I look at it I can't get past the idea that fansubbers are KILLING THE ANIME INDUSTRY! People aren't buying the DVD's, not putting money into the industry, and therefore the industry is falling apart while the fandom continues to grow. It's not just a sad day, it's a day straight from hell.
I've heard (and used) all the arguments, "fansubbing is easy, fansubbing is quick, I only download stuff that isn't licensed in the US, anime DVDs are too expensive." But, if you really think about it, none of those arguments are truly legitimate. If it's not going to put money into the industry, then it only causes the industry harm. Convenience and frugality are not sufficient reasons to sacrifice an entire form of media. So, as an anime fan that is truly concerned about the future of my fandom, and one who is truly ashamed for what he has done, I have taken measures to resolve my sins.
I spent a good portion of my time this week in my car and around town thinking about how I, as a good anime fan, would be able to help out the industry. I could think of very little. I was thinking about the big picture and about what a small person like me could do to combat the disease that is fansubbing. If a person looks at it like that, it can become daunting. It's a task that no single person could accomplish on their own, especially not a poor college student like me. But, on Saturday night it came to me almost divinely. As Jesus, the greatest moral philosopher of our time, said in his Sermon on the Mount, "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." to put His comment into perspective, he is saying that change can't happen on so grand a scale from the beginning, it has to start at the source and grow outwards. The source, in this situation, is fans. One such fan is me. So, the first step to saving the anime industry was to delete all the fansubbed anime from my own computer first (removing the log from my own eye). So, at about 8:00PM central time on Sunday I did just that. I wiped it all clean. That is, of course, only the first step.
The second step is to actually put money into the industry. There are many ways to do this. Rather than downloading a new anime onto your computer, go to your local Hastings, Blockbuster, or any movie rental store and rent the first volume of an anime. It costs next to nothing, less than a fast food meal, and it's a full two hours of anime fun. If you don't like the anime, then at least you still put money into the industry. If you like it, then go out and actually buy the anime. Watch it. Enjoy it. Anime is much nicer on the television than it is on your computer, I promise. If you don't have a place that you can go rent it close to you, there is always Netflix or AnimeonDVD.com. Both of those places rent out anime. Sometimes the American anime distributors themselves will put the first episodes of some anime for free viewing on there websites, too. There are so many alternatives to downloading fansubs. All you have to do is have the will to go out and look for them.
There is one catch, you can't watch anything that hasn't already been licensed and distributed in the United States or abroad. It's a toughie, but it's the truth. For that, you just have to resist the temptation to download. Here's the logic. What would you rather have your situation be? Would you rather be patient and wait for animes to get licensed and brought over to the US (a process which takes less than 4 months) and have to work a little harder to find new titles, or would you rather not get to watch any anime at all because they aren't making any more of it? Because that really is the deal. The foreign anime market and the Japanese anime industry have become linked. If one fails, so shall the other. Therefore, if foreign anime fans don't buy anime on DVD then the money doesn't go into the industry and doesn't make it back to Japan where they are making the anime. Without money, the Japanese studios can't make anime and go out of business. So, be a good fan and buy. Buy anime, rent anime, but by all that is good and wonderful in this world DO NOT download anime. It's the sacrifice we must make if we want the industry to survive, and I for one care much more about my anime than my convenience.
The third step I have decided to take in my small effort to save the anime industry is to consult higher powers. I've solved the problem on the home front, now it's time to go abroad. I'm not going to sit idly by while the industry I love so much falls apart around me. Greg Ayres is a person I chose to contact about taking this fight to the streets. He is an outspoken opponent of fansubbers and is someone who will take your concerns and put them to use. I have sent him an email asking him what I can do to help the cause and am awaiting his response. I really don't know what steps I can follow to help get rid of anime fansubbers, but if there is a step I can take, I will take it and I encourage you all to join me. When I receive a response from him, I'll let you all know.
With that I'll consider my post complete. I have nothing more to say on any of the issues I have spoken about and am quite tired. I'm off to bed. Have a great day everybody! Ciao!
Caesar1280's Anime Ticker
Anime I've Seen
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- .hack//Sign
- 5 Centimeters per Second
- Air
- Air: The Movie
- Akira
- The Animatrix
- Appleseed
- Aquatic Language
- Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror
- Baby Blue
- Beck
- Black Lagoon
- Blame!
- Blood the Last Vampire
- Bokurano
- Burst Angel
- Castle in the Sky
- Cowboy Bebop
- Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
- Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express
- Doorbell
- Egao
- FLCL
- Fullmetal Alchemist
- Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala
- Gankutsuou
- Gatekeepers
- Genius Party
- Genshiken
- Genshiken OAV
- Ghost in the Shell
- Ghost in the Shell: Innocence
- Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society
- Gin-iro no Kami no Agito
- The Gokusen
- Grave of the Fireflies
- Grenadier
- Haibane Renmei
- Happy Machine
- Hellsing
- Highlander: The Search for Vengeance
- Hikaru no Go
- Howl's Moving Castle
- Innocent Venus
- Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade
- Jyu Oh Sei
- Karas: The Prophecy
- Karas: The Revelation
- Last Exile
- Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
- Midori?s Days
- Milennium Actress
- Mushi-shi
- My Neighbor Totoro
- Naruto
- Naruto: The Movie
- Nausicaa
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth
- Ninja Scroll: The Movie
- Other Worlds
- Ouran High School Host Club
- Paprika
- Perfect Blue
- Pet Shop of Horrors
- The Place Promised In Our Early Days
- Prétear
- Princess Mononoke
- Read Or Die
- Read Or Die: The TV
- Samurai Champloo
- Samurai Seven
- Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal
- Serial Experiments Lain
- Shanghai Dragon
- She and Her Cat
- Spirited Away
- Steamboy
- Tekkonkinkreet
- Tide-Line Blue
- Tokyo Babylon
- Tokyo Godfathers
- Trigun
- Trinity Blood
- Vampire Hunter D
- Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
- Voices of a Distant Star
- Witch Hunter Robin
- Wolf's Rain
- Wonderful Days
- Wrath of the Ninja
- X Total: 93
Anime I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Roots
- Ah! My Goddess
- Angelic Layer
- Avenger
- Baccano!
- Bamboo Blade
- Basilisk
- Binchou-tan
- Black Cat
- Bleach
- Blood+
- Boogiepop Phantom
- Case Closed
- Le Chevalier d'Eon
- Chobits
- Chrono Crusade
- Code Geass
- Coyote Ragtime Show
- D.Gray-Man
- D.N.Angel
- DearS
- Death Note
- Dennou Coil
- Desert Punk
- Digimon
- Dragon Ball Z
- Ergo Proxy
- Eureka Seven
- Excel Saga
- Fighting Beauty Wulong
- Final Fantasy Unlimited
- Flag
- Freedom
- Full Moon
- Gantz
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
- Gintama
- Glass Fleet
- Great Teacher Onizuka
- Gundam Seed
- Gundam Wing
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Hellsing OVA
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
- Ikki Tousen
- InuYasha
- Jigoku Shojo
- Kage Kara Mamoru
- Karin
- Kino's Journey
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Lovely Complex
- Lucky Star
- Makai Senki Disgaea
- Marchen Awakens Romance
- Meine Liebe
- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
- Mononoke
- Monster
- Moon Phase
- Mr Stain on Junk Alley
- Naruto Shippuuden
- Negima?!
- Negima!
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion
- Nerima Daikon Brothers
- NHK ni Youkoso
- Night Walker
- Ninja Nonsense
- Noir
- Peacemaker Kurogane
- Pokemon
- Prince of Tennis
- R.G. Veda
- Ragnarok
- Rec
- Red Garden
- Robotech
- Romeo x Juliet
- Rosen Maiden
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Saikano
- Sailor Moon
- Samurai Deeper Kyo
- Sci-fi Harry
- School Rumble
- Scrapped Princess
- Shin-chan
- Shingu
- Shion no Oh
- Shuffle!
- Shrine of the Morning Mist
- So Long, Mr. Despair
- Solty Rei
- Sousei no Aquarion
- Speed Grapher
- Spice and Wolf
- Super Milk Chan
- Tales of Phantasia
- Tenchi Muyo
- Tenjhou Tenge
- Texnolyze
- The Third
- Tsubasa Chronicles
- Urusei Yatsura
- Venus Versus Virus
- Welcome to the N.H.K.
- Winter Cicada
- X-1999
- Xenosaga
- XxxHolic
- Yu Yu Hakushou
- Yume Tsukai
- Zero no Tsukaima
- Zipang Total: 116
Manga I've Completed
- Cowboy Bebop
- FLCL
- Manga Messiah
- Manga Metamorphosis
- Q*Ko-chan
- Saiyuki
- Shirahime-Syo Total: 7
Manga I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- Black Cat
- Blame!
- Chobits
- D.Gray-man
- Darkside Blues
- Death Note
- The Demon Ororon
- Desert Coral
- Disgaea
- Eureka Seven: Gravity Boys and Lifting Girl
- Fruits Basket
- Getbackers
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Kamunagara
- Legal Drug
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Megatokyo
- Naruto
- Negima
- Read Or Die
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Tactics
- Trigun Maximum
- XXXHolic Total: 26
Anime I'm Currently Watching
Samurai 7, InuYasha, Samurai Deeper Kyo,
Boogiepop Phantom, and Shrine of the Morning Mist
Manga I'm Currently Reading
Read Or Die, Hayate the Combat Butler, and Megatokyo
Write a wise saying and your name will live forever.
- Anonymous
Greetings All! You you guys having a great day? I know you can't necessarily answer that question, but it's worth asking at least, right? Heh heh! My day has been just fine thus far. Nothing really of great consequence. But, Sunday actually did have something of interest. The day started fine, I slept in 'til about 11 or so, got up, took a shower, and went to lunch. Lunch was what ended up making Sunday notable. Nobody I knew that well was in there so I just sat down at a table by myself and ate my lunch. But, as sometime happens when you sit in a university cafeteria by yourself, somebody decides that you look lonely and comes and sits with you. This happened today with me. A guy named Tim came up to me, introduced himself, and sat down. He began asking me all sorts of questions like where I'm from, if I went to church this morning, and what year of school I'm in. Simple questions that somebody would come up and ask a freshman. As it turns out, Tim himself is a freshman. He saw me a lone, thought I was a freshman as well, and sat down to try and make me feel included. I thought it was nice, but very assuming. The only problem with just walking up to somebody the way he did is that maybe that person just wanted to be alone. But, we had a small conversation for about five minutes and then he got up and left. It just made lunch today a bit more interesting than normal. Kinda nice.
A Conclusion to "Perpetual Antagonist"
For those of you who actually read my novel of a post entitled "Perpetual Antagonist" you might be interested to know how things have been going for the past week or so. The anime club has kept going as usual. This whole dispute did not halt the schedule of showings. It has made things a bit awkward when it comes to interacting with those six women, but that doesn't bother me that much. Posting on this issue did help me sort things out in my head. I have come to a conclusion on the subject. The reason why it irritated and hurt me so much that they were acting the way they were towards me was because for the past two years I have been trying to become friends with them and this event basically proved that becoming friends was going to be impossible (long sentence ^_^). There are very few people on campus who actually enjoy anime. We're already the minority, so if we're going to be the minority, the let not that minority be divided. That used to be my mindset. But, after this most recent turn of events, becoming friends with them is not something that I can see ever happening. I just don't think they want to. So, I have stopped eating lunch with them, and we don't really talk that often anymore. It was a good effort on my part to try and bridge the gap between the predominantly male side of the anime club and the female side. I tried my best, but you can't become friends with somebody who doesn't want to be friends with you. This is something I have reluctantly accepted. I still think they can be nice girls. When they aren't biting my head off about one issue or another we actually have good conversations. I think it's a pity they are so exclusive.
Even with this whole dispute revolving around Genshiken, I had figured they would still show up for the anime that they suggested I play. But they didn't. This past Saturday I played an anime called Prétear. This was an anime that was suggested by them as something that they would prefer to watch. Out of the six of them, only one showed up to watch it. This was more than discouraging to me. If they are going to make such a big fuss about what I choose to play then they should at least show up for the stuff that I compromised on. It makes me feel unappreciated to think that the effort I go through to reconcile with these women is completely ignored. Prétear was a very good anime and definitely one that all six of them would have liked, but when only one of them shows up I start to think what the point was to compromising in the first place? I'm not going to change the schedule. I have made my decision about what to play and I want to keep it that way, but to not show up for an anime that they suggested I play is more of an insult to me than just complaining. They might as well have just slapped me in the face. Physical pain I can take, but to be insulted in such a way is beyond my tolerance.
Round is Not a Shape
People say "round is still a shape" when they are accused of being out of shape. I disagree. Round is not a shape, it is shapeless. I am starting to get to a form of roundness and I am not liking it. Therefore, I have begun a regimen of exercise. Three times a week I am going to the gym to cycle and lift weights. I've only been going at it for a week now, but so far things are going well. I know some of you might remember a post I did about 8 months ago in which I spoke of doing something similar to this. The goal I prescribed myself at that point was reached, but I didn't continue much longer after that. Then over the summer I didn't have access to a gym so I didn't do any exercise then either. But, I figure, now that I'm back at school and my weekly routine has been settled, it's time to begin exercising again. Let's hope I can commit better this time. ^_^
Heroes Returns Yes, I was a bit more than excited about that news. One of my two favorite shows on television has returned to weekly releases. I don't want to go into any details about the actual episode since I'm sure there are a few of you out there who haven't see it yet, but it looks like this season is going to be an amazing one. Hiro has been transported back to feudal Japan, the bombing of New York has been averted, and Sylar is M.I.A.. There are a few more plot elements which promise to bring some interesting TV time, but I won't give those away. Just know that Monday night was an amazing one for me.
This whole topic actually brings me to a related subject, Lost, which is my favorite show on television. The new season of Lost isn't beginning until FEBRUARY! This is painful. I panicked about this for the first time when I received the fall TV preview issue of Entertainment Weekly and saw that Lost was not mentioned anywhere in the entire magazine. After that I did a bit of research and discovered that this god of shows wasn't airing this fall. Personally, I don't know what ABC is thinking. The viewership of Lost went down when they postponed the second half of last season. But to completely write off an entire half season of programming? That's not just stupid, that's suicidal. ABC is being as stupid as Fox when they cancelled Firefly and Family Guy. ABC is going to be the downfall of this amazing show, and I'm really going to hate them for it. If Lost gets cancelled due to low ratings, ABC has nobody to blame but themselves.
Another Reason Why I Love Anime
At AnimeFest a few weeks ago I watched the first five episodes of a new show entitled Bokurano. It blew my socks off. It is BY FAR the best new anime I've seen all year. It's exactly the sort of anime that I love; a dark drama driven by characters rather than plot. It's about these 15 middle-schoolers who discover a man working at a bunch of computers in the back of a cave. He informs them that he has been working on a new "video game" about a giant robot who fights off 15 alien invasions and that he would like them to be his test subjects. Naturally, being the kids they are, they jump at the chance. As the "game" unfolds they discover it is more real than first indicated. They really are in a giant robot fighting off other robots come to destroy the world. I don't want to inform you of anything more than that for fear of giving away major plot developments, but take it from me it is the best anime I've seen in a long while. It's worth taking a look at. Below I have posted the promo released by Gonzo, and if the series interests you then you can see everything that has been released by going here. Again, if you like the series, I suggest you actually buy it when it comes over here (I know I will), but for now enjoy the fansubs.Well, with that I'll call my post complete. Thanks for reading. I know I haven't been posting that often lately, but I'm going to try and make at least one post per week and I'll try to make it around to your sites at about that same rate. I don't want to disappear completely again like I have been. So, I really hope you all have an amazing day and I'll see ya 'round TheO! Sayonara!
Caesar1280's Anime Ticker
Anime I've Seen
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- .hack//Sign
- 5 Centimeters per Second
- Air
- Air: The Movie
- Akira
- The Animatrix
- Appleseed
- Aquatic Language
- Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror
- Baby Blue
- Beck
- Black Lagoon
- Blame!
- Blood the Last Vampire
- Bokurano
- Burst Angel
- Castle in the Sky
- Cowboy Bebop
- Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
- Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express
- Doorbell
- Egao
- FLCL
- Fullmetal Alchemist
- Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala
- Gankutsuou
- Gatekeepers
- Genius Party
- Genshiken
- Genshiken OAV
- Ghost in the Shell
- Ghost in the Shell: Innocence
- Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society
- Gin-iro no Kami no Agito
- The Gokusen
- Grave of the Fireflies
- Grenadier
- Haibane Renmei
- Happy Machine
- Hellsing
- Highlander: The Search for Vengeance
- Hikaru no Go
- Howl's Moving Castle
- Innocent Venus
- Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade
- Jyu Oh Sei
- Karas: The Prophecy
- Karas: The Revelation
- Last Exile
- Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
- Midori?s Days
- Milennium Actress
- Mushi-shi
- My Neighbor Totoro
- Naruto
- Naruto: The Movie
- Nausicaa
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth
- Ninja Scroll: The Movie
- Other Worlds
- Ouran High School Host Club
- Paprika
- Perfect Blue
- Pet Shop of Horrors
- The Place Promised In Our Early Days
- Prétear
- Princess Mononoke
- Read Or Die
- Read Or Die: The TV
- Samurai Champloo
- Samurai Seven
- Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal
- Serial Experiments Lain
- Shanghai Dragon
- She and Her Cat
- Spirited Away
- Steamboy
- Tekkonkinkreet
- Tide-Line Blue
- Tokyo Babylon
- Tokyo Godfathers
- Trigun
- Trinity Blood
- Vampire Hunter D
- Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
- Voices of a Distant Star
- Witch Hunter Robin
- Wolf's Rain
- Wonderful Days
- Wrath of the Ninja
- X Total: 93
Anime I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Roots
- Ah! My Goddess
- Angelic Layer
- Avenger
- Baccano!
- Bamboo Blade
- Basilisk
- Binchou-tan
- Black Cat
- Bleach
- Blood+
- Boogiepop Phantom
- Case Closed
- Le Chevalier d'Eon
- Chobits
- Chrono Crusade
- Code Geass
- Coyote Ragtime Show
- D.Gray-Man
- D.N.Angel
- DearS
- Death Note
- Dennou Coil
- Desert Punk
- Digimon
- Dragon Ball Z
- Ergo Proxy
- Eureka Seven
- Excel Saga
- Fighting Beauty Wulong
- Final Fantasy Unlimited
- Flag
- Freedom
- Full Moon
- Gantz
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
- Gintama
- Glass Fleet
- Great Teacher Onizuka
- Gundam Seed
- Gundam Wing
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Hellsing OVA
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
- Ikki Tousen
- InuYasha
- Jigoku Shojo
- Kage Kara Mamoru
- Karin
- Kino's Journey
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Lovely Complex
- Lucky Star
- Makai Senki Disgaea
- Marchen Awakens Romance
- Meine Liebe
- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
- Mononoke
- Monster
- Moon Phase
- Mr Stain on Junk Alley
- Naruto Shippuuden
- Negima?!
- Negima!
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion
- Nerima Daikon Brothers
- NHK ni Youkoso
- Night Walker
- Ninja Nonsense
- Noir
- Peacemaker Kurogane
- Pokemon
- Prince of Tennis
- R.G. Veda
- Ragnarok
- Rec
- Red Garden
- Robotech
- Romeo x Juliet
- Rosen Maiden
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Saikano
- Sailor Moon
- Samurai Deeper Kyo
- Sci-fi Harry
- School Rumble
- Scrapped Princess
- Shin-chan
- Shingu
- Shion no Oh
- Shuffle!
- Shrine of the Morning Mist
- So Long, Mr. Despair
- Solty Rei
- Sousei no Aquarion
- Speed Grapher
- Spice and Wolf
- Super Milk Chan
- Tales of Phantasia
- Tenchi Muyo
- Tenjhou Tenge
- Texnolyze
- The Third
- Tsubasa Chronicles
- Urusei Yatsura
- Venus Versus Virus
- Welcome to the N.H.K.
- Winter Cicada
- X-1999
- Xenosaga
- XxxHolic
- Yu Yu Hakushou
- Yume Tsukai
- Zero no Tsukaima
- Zipang Total: 116
Manga I've Completed
- Cowboy Bebop
- FLCL
- Manga Messiah
- Manga Metamorphosis
- Q*Ko-chan
- Saiyuki
- Shirahime-Syo Total: 7
Manga I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- Black Cat
- Blame!
- Chobits
- D.Gray-man
- Darkside Blues
- Death Note
- The Demon Ororon
- Desert Coral
- Disgaea
- Eureka Seven: Gravity Boys and Lifting Girl
- Fruits Basket
- Getbackers
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Kamunagara
- Legal Drug
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Megatokyo
- Naruto
- Negima
- Read Or Die
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Tactics
- Trigun Maximum
- XXXHolic Total: 26
Anime I'm Currently Watching
Samurai 7, InuYasha, Samurai Deeper Kyo,
Boogiepop Phantom, and Shrine of the Morning Mist
Manga I'm Currently Reading
Read Or Die, Hayate the Combat Butler, and Megatokyo
Death comes to all
But great achievements raise a monument
Which shall endure until the sun grows old.
- George Fabricius
Greetings All! Today (meaning two days ago) marks a truly momentous occasion. I really wish it hadn't fallen during summer like this while I'm not posting much and pretty inactive, but this is how it has fallen and that is what I have to deal with. *ahem* I am pleased to announce that today (meaning two days ago) my O site got its 1000th visit! That's right, my page has been viewed one thousand times. I would like to thank you all so very much for this. I am honored and blessed to have met so many people and made so many friends here on TheO. This is an amazing site with amazing folks. Thank you so much. *tear* And I promised myself I wouldn't cry. GAH! *cries* Too much emotion? Yeah. Sorry. I'm just really happy. ^_^ I've never had a momentous speech of this sort to have to give, and now I understand how hard it actually is. Well, with that over with lets get on with the post shall we? notes,
I've gotten a few new CD's over the past month or two. Six to be accurate. Two of them I kinda wish I hadn't bought. But eh, c'est la vie. They weren't that expensive anyway. Which is why I bought so many. There is a used bookstore in the area which sells all sorts of media. Since it's all used they charge very little. I'm talking something in the range of two to six dollars per CD. It's outrageous. Anyhoo, one of the CD's I bought this summer was actually new. It is the White Stripes' new CD Icky Thump. It's an impressive album! I rediscovered the band not too long ago. Actually I guess you could say that it was sorta my first discovery. I had heard very little of their music up until about a month ago. I simply stumbled upon them on iTunes and began sampling their music. I am more than impressed. I love their style: minimalistic, garage band-ish, eclectic, rock. So, I have been thoroughly enjoying their new CD and plan on purchasing a few more of their albums in the future.
That was not my best purchase of the summer, though. It was close to my best purchase, but it wasn't the very best. The best purchase I made all summer was an impulse buy. I was standing in line waiting to purchase a CD that I would end up not liking that much at that used book store I told you about when I noticed a little plastic bin sitting on the divider next to me. It had a whole bunch of stuff marked down so low they were practically giving it away. There were a few really horrible looking movies in there, a book or two by authors unknown, and a smattering of CD's. Nothing really jumped out at me as being worth the purchase (despite the amazing markdown) except one CD. It was a CD from a group I had never in my life heard of called Khoiba. The name itself is what caught my attention. I just looked like something I might like. I don't know why. The album art was attractive too. So, I took a chance (a very small one) and purchased the CD for a whole 89 cents. As it turns out, the music is amazing! It's exactly the kind of stuff I'm into right now. The group is actually a group from Czechoslovakia being released on a German label. Their style is electronic vocal. It's a very European sounding CD and it is one that I have happily integrated into my collection. I listened to it for a couple days straight in my car. I suggest that if you have iTunes you go and check out the group. This CD (which happens to be their debut CD) is on there in full. I don't know if you guys will like it much. I do have a rather odd taste in music when it comes to certain things. But, you should at least experience it. I hope you enjoy!
programming,
I've been flipping thru channels a great deal recently. Unregulated cable will do that to ya. I have also been really liking this wonderful 3-month HBO trial we got for signing up with satellite service. I discovered one show on HBO which has really been a highlight of summer programming. It's a program called Flight of the Conchords. It's about two musicians from New Zealand who migrate to New York to break into the music scene. This show has really broken the boundaries of comedy television. They actually break into song right in the middle of the show! And on top of all that it's probably one of the funniest shows I've seen in a while. It's very dry humor, but I love dry humor. I have a clip posted below which I think you all might really enjoy.solitude,
Last week I got an email. It was a horrible email. It hurt me. And it got me depressed for the rest of the day. I got over it, but at the time it was horrible. The email was from my future roommate, a guy named Danny. I have known Danny for the past year. It was his first year at my university. He was a transfer student from *insert school name here*. He was also in the honors program at my university. I met him thru the anime club and he was one of the few guys that would actually hang out with me after the meetings on saturdays. I liked to watch movies afterwards and he seemed to like that too. We had similar taste in film. So, when he asked me if I would like to be his roommate for this coming year I said yes right off that bat. That wasn't even a hard decision. I did, though, stipulate one condition: If I was to agree to be his roommate he had to promise me that he would return to JBU the following year. He laughed at the question and then said that he could make that promise. This brings me back to the email. As you might have guessed by this point, the email was sent to inform me that he would not be returning to school in the fall. So, I will yet again be going potluck this year. I have no idea who my roommate will be and to tell you the truth I don't much care anymore. I've had one really good roommate. Only one. A guy named Dustin. He was a very nice guy. We got along. We had similar interests and everything. But despite all of our similarities, we still have not remained in contact. I haven't talked to him since I moved out two years ago. What I want is to actually have a roommate I can be friends with, ya know? I'd like to actually be able to pick my roommate for once. Because i've NEVER gotten to room with somebody that I actually knew or at least met before move-in day. They've all been selected for me by the university. It's a real pain in the ass (pardon my language). I just pray I have a good roommate this year and I wish Danny good luck with whatever it is that he goes on to do.
and passing.
Not that I like ending a post that started with celebration on a bad note, but this is necessary. One of my best friends, Ralston, informed me yesterday that his best friend from high school, a guy named Jeff, died earlier this week from a drug overdose. I only met Jeff once, if I recall correctly (he went to a different high school), but Ralston knew him very well. So, please keep Jeff's family as well as Ralston in your prayers this week as they lament the premature passing of their friend and loved one.
Well, with that I bid you all farewell for now. I hope you all have a wonderful day and I'll see ya 'round TheO! Sayonara!
Caesar1280's Anime Ticker
Anime I've Seen
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- .hack//Sign
- 5 Centimeters per Second
- Air
- Air: The Movie
- Akira
- The Animatrix
- Appleseed
- Aquatic Language
- Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror
- Baby Blue
- Beck
- Black Lagoon
- Blame!
- Blood the Last Vampire
- Bokurano
- Burst Angel
- Castle in the Sky
- Cowboy Bebop
- Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
- Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express
- Doorbell
- Egao
- FLCL
- Fullmetal Alchemist
- Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala
- Gankutsuou
- Gatekeepers
- Genius Party
- Genshiken
- Genshiken OAV
- Ghost in the Shell
- Ghost in the Shell: Innocence
- Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society
- Gin-iro no Kami no Agito
- The Gokusen
- Grave of the Fireflies
- Grenadier
- Haibane Renmei
- Happy Machine
- Hellsing
- Highlander: The Search for Vengeance
- Hikaru no Go
- Howl's Moving Castle
- Innocent Venus
- Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade
- Jyu Oh Sei
- Karas: The Prophecy
- Karas: The Revelation
- Last Exile
- Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
- Midori?s Days
- Milennium Actress
- Mushi-shi
- My Neighbor Totoro
- Naruto
- Naruto: The Movie
- Nausicaa
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth
- Ninja Scroll: The Movie
- Other Worlds
- Ouran High School Host Club
- Paprika
- Perfect Blue
- Pet Shop of Horrors
- The Place Promised In Our Early Days
- Prétear
- Princess Mononoke
- Read Or Die
- Read Or Die: The TV
- Samurai Champloo
- Samurai Seven
- Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal
- Serial Experiments Lain
- Shanghai Dragon
- She and Her Cat
- Spirited Away
- Steamboy
- Tekkonkinkreet
- Tide-Line Blue
- Tokyo Babylon
- Tokyo Godfathers
- Trigun
- Trinity Blood
- Vampire Hunter D
- Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
- Voices of a Distant Star
- Witch Hunter Robin
- Wolf's Rain
- Wonderful Days
- Wrath of the Ninja
- X Total: 93
Anime I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Roots
- Ah! My Goddess
- Angelic Layer
- Avenger
- Baccano!
- Bamboo Blade
- Basilisk
- Binchou-tan
- Black Cat
- Bleach
- Blood+
- Boogiepop Phantom
- Case Closed
- Le Chevalier d'Eon
- Chobits
- Chrono Crusade
- Code Geass
- Coyote Ragtime Show
- D.Gray-Man
- D.N.Angel
- DearS
- Death Note
- Dennou Coil
- Desert Punk
- Digimon
- Dragon Ball Z
- Ergo Proxy
- Eureka Seven
- Excel Saga
- Fighting Beauty Wulong
- Final Fantasy Unlimited
- Flag
- Freedom
- Full Moon
- Gantz
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
- Gintama
- Glass Fleet
- Great Teacher Onizuka
- Gundam Seed
- Gundam Wing
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Hellsing OVA
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
- Ikki Tousen
- InuYasha
- Jigoku Shojo
- Kage Kara Mamoru
- Karin
- Kino's Journey
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Lovely Complex
- Lucky Star
- Makai Senki Disgaea
- Marchen Awakens Romance
- Meine Liebe
- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
- Mononoke
- Monster
- Moon Phase
- Mr Stain on Junk Alley
- Naruto Shippuuden
- Negima?!
- Negima!
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion
- Nerima Daikon Brothers
- NHK ni Youkoso
- Night Walker
- Ninja Nonsense
- Noir
- Peacemaker Kurogane
- Pokemon
- Prince of Tennis
- R.G. Veda
- Ragnarok
- Rec
- Red Garden
- Robotech
- Romeo x Juliet
- Rosen Maiden
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Saikano
- Sailor Moon
- Samurai Deeper Kyo
- Sci-fi Harry
- School Rumble
- Scrapped Princess
- Shin-chan
- Shingu
- Shion no Oh
- Shuffle!
- Shrine of the Morning Mist
- So Long, Mr. Despair
- Solty Rei
- Sousei no Aquarion
- Speed Grapher
- Spice and Wolf
- Super Milk Chan
- Tales of Phantasia
- Tenchi Muyo
- Tenjhou Tenge
- Texnolyze
- The Third
- Tsubasa Chronicles
- Urusei Yatsura
- Venus Versus Virus
- Welcome to the N.H.K.
- Winter Cicada
- X-1999
- Xenosaga
- XxxHolic
- Yu Yu Hakushou
- Yume Tsukai
- Zero no Tsukaima
- Zipang Total: 116
Manga I've Completed
- Cowboy Bebop
- FLCL
- Manga Messiah
- Manga Metamorphosis
- Q*Ko-chan
- Saiyuki
- Shirahime-Syo Total: 7
Manga I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- Black Cat
- Blame!
- Chobits
- D.Gray-man
- Darkside Blues
- Death Note
- The Demon Ororon
- Desert Coral
- Disgaea
- Eureka Seven: Gravity Boys and Lifting Girl
- Fruits Basket
- Getbackers
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Kamunagara
- Legal Drug
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Megatokyo
- Naruto
- Negima
- Read Or Die
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Tactics
- Trigun Maximum
- XXXHolic Total: 26
Anime I'm Currently Watching
Samurai 7, InuYasha, Samurai Deeper Kyo,
Boogiepop Phantom, and Shrine of the Morning Mist
Manga I'm Currently Reading
Read Or Die, Hayate the Combat Butler, and Megatokyo
Life without a life isn't as bad as one might think
If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold,
it would be a merrier world.
- J. R. R. Tolkien
Greetings All! I hope everyone is having a great day just like I am! Well, more like I had a great day, considering the fact that it is almost 3AM here. I shouldn't be up, but it's one of those awkward nights when I've got energy that I shouldn't have. I worked all evening and I returned home, heated up some edible nourishment in the form of Hot Pockets, sat down in front of a good Star Trek: Voyager episode and after it's done I still have yet to feel tired. So, that's why I'm posting. Not that I don't want to post, it's just what else is there for me to do? All of my friends are offline, television at this time of night is terrible even with satellite, and I don't even have Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator to tinker around with to fill my time. I had a copy of Photoshop CS on my old laptop, But since I switched to this new one (partly by circumstance, partly by choice) I lost the program and haven't been able to get it back. It's been bumming me out for a while, but I'm dealing with it. Anyway, enough of my stupid ramblings and on to something of a little more substance.
Potterfan Yes yes, America and the rest of the civilized world has been gripped in a state of collective suspense for months waiting on the arrival of the seventh and last book in the Harry Potter franchise. Too bad I am not one of the collective. *sigh* I regret that I have NOT read any of the Harry Potter books. That's right, not a one. By many (wizards and muggles alike) I am one to be scorned. For, to not have read the greatest work of fantastical juvenile literature to hit bookshelves since J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is an act of pure contempt. This indiscretion of mine is one that I have long regretted. Ever since seeing the first movie in theaters I have desired to read the books. Unfortunately I am not much of a reader (as poor Kitabug can attest to). I've been reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series for over 5 years and I have just started book 3. It's pathetic. But, despite my lack of Harry Potter literary knowledge, I am still an avid fan of the series. I have enjoyed every movie to the greatest extent possible and have even gone to the midnight shows of two of them. And, after seeing this most recent of Potter flicks (twice) I could stand it no longer. I have to read the books. So, on the day the last book in the series was released, I cracked the spine of the very first. Huzzah! (I'm on page 23 for any who might be interested to know ^_^)
Number 9
My parents have been gone on a weekend trip to Dallas since Thursday. Unlike many of you out there, my first instinct was not to "PARRTAAY!" I actually didn't do much more than take care of the dogs and go to work. It was a rather dull weekend in most respects. So today, while I was doing some minor cleaning in anticipation of the return of my parental units, I discovered my pass to A-Kon 18 lying on the floor in my closet. It's a rather small closet so I'm surprised I hadn't noticed it until now, but as I went to hang it with the rest of my con passes, the urge to compile them all on to one lanyard engulfed me. So in a fit of OCD I sat on the floor and arranged them from oldest to newest on the best lanyard I had available to me. I discovered, to my surprise, that I have a total of eight con passes. This means that the upcoming AnimeFest '07 will be my ninth convention. And wow, what a convention it promises to be. Only today did I notice that the AnimeFest website finally listed the Japanese guests for the convention. One of the guests is an anime director who directed such projects as Gundam Wing and was the series creator of Witch Hunter Robin. The other guest is a screenwriter whose most notable achievement in my book is the writing of Samurai Champloo. I am more than excited about this news and look forward to this convention now more than ever. Let's hope for a great Number 9!
The Kill Point
The best television I have watched all summer has surprisingly not been on any major network. Rather, it was on a network that is of virtually no interest to me with the exception of their syndication of the Star Trek franchise. Spike's new miniseries The Kill Point aired this past Sunday night. I had been looking forward to seeing this program since I first read about it in Entertainment Weekly. It is an AMAZING show! Great suspense, great characters, great concept! I highly suggest it to anyone who wants to see some quality television this summer, rather than all those cheesy game shows and reality TV programs that so many networks are airing now. Television executives suck at choosing lineups and choosing the shows that get aired, but Spike has nailed this one. Watch the show this Sunday if you have cable or satellite. You can catch reruns of it all week on Spike and might even be able to see the first episode online. Check out the preview of the show that I have posted with this section, check out the website on spiketv.com, and check out the second episode of the show this Sunday night! I certainly will.
With that I'll consider myself done. Perhaps eventually I'll post again. Ya never know. But for now I hope you all have a wonderful day and I'll see ya 'round TheO! Sayonara!
Caesar1280's Anime Ticker
Anime I've Seen
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- .hack//Sign
- 5 Centimeters per Second
- Air
- Air: The Movie
- Akira
- The Animatrix
- Appleseed
- Aquatic Language
- Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror
- Baby Blue
- Beck
- Black Lagoon
- Blame!
- Blood the Last Vampire
- Bokurano
- Burst Angel
- Castle in the Sky
- Cowboy Bebop
- Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
- Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express
- Doorbell
- Egao
- FLCL
- Fullmetal Alchemist
- Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala
- Gankutsuou
- Gatekeepers
- Genius Party
- Genshiken
- Genshiken OAV
- Ghost in the Shell
- Ghost in the Shell: Innocence
- Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society
- Gin-iro no Kami no Agito
- The Gokusen
- Grave of the Fireflies
- Grenadier
- Haibane Renmei
- Happy Machine
- Hellsing
- Highlander: The Search for Vengeance
- Hikaru no Go
- Howl's Moving Castle
- Innocent Venus
- Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade
- Jyu Oh Sei
- Karas: The Prophecy
- Karas: The Revelation
- Last Exile
- Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
- Midori?s Days
- Milennium Actress
- Mushi-shi
- My Neighbor Totoro
- Naruto
- Naruto: The Movie
- Nausicaa
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth
- Ninja Scroll: The Movie
- Other Worlds
- Ouran High School Host Club
- Paprika
- Perfect Blue
- Pet Shop of Horrors
- The Place Promised In Our Early Days
- Prétear
- Princess Mononoke
- Read Or Die
- Read Or Die: The TV
- Samurai Champloo
- Samurai Seven
- Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal
- Serial Experiments Lain
- Shanghai Dragon
- She and Her Cat
- Spirited Away
- Steamboy
- Tekkonkinkreet
- Tide-Line Blue
- Tokyo Babylon
- Tokyo Godfathers
- Trigun
- Trinity Blood
- Vampire Hunter D
- Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
- Voices of a Distant Star
- Witch Hunter Robin
- Wolf's Rain
- Wonderful Days
- Wrath of the Ninja
- X Total: 93
Anime I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Roots
- Ah! My Goddess
- Angelic Layer
- Avenger
- Baccano!
- Bamboo Blade
- Basilisk
- Binchou-tan
- Black Cat
- Bleach
- Blood+
- Boogiepop Phantom
- Case Closed
- Le Chevalier d'Eon
- Chobits
- Chrono Crusade
- Code Geass
- Coyote Ragtime Show
- D.Gray-Man
- D.N.Angel
- DearS
- Death Note
- Dennou Coil
- Desert Punk
- Digimon
- Dragon Ball Z
- Ergo Proxy
- Eureka Seven
- Excel Saga
- Fighting Beauty Wulong
- Final Fantasy Unlimited
- Flag
- Freedom
- Full Moon
- Gantz
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
- Gintama
- Glass Fleet
- Great Teacher Onizuka
- Gundam Seed
- Gundam Wing
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Hellsing OVA
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
- Ikki Tousen
- InuYasha
- Jigoku Shojo
- Kage Kara Mamoru
- Karin
- Kino's Journey
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Lovely Complex
- Lucky Star
- Makai Senki Disgaea
- Marchen Awakens Romance
- Meine Liebe
- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
- Mononoke
- Monster
- Moon Phase
- Mr Stain on Junk Alley
- Naruto Shippuuden
- Negima?!
- Negima!
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion
- Nerima Daikon Brothers
- NHK ni Youkoso
- Night Walker
- Ninja Nonsense
- Noir
- Peacemaker Kurogane
- Pokemon
- Prince of Tennis
- R.G. Veda
- Ragnarok
- Rec
- Red Garden
- Robotech
- Romeo x Juliet
- Rosen Maiden
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Saikano
- Sailor Moon
- Samurai Deeper Kyo
- Sci-fi Harry
- School Rumble
- Scrapped Princess
- Shin-chan
- Shingu
- Shion no Oh
- Shuffle!
- Shrine of the Morning Mist
- So Long, Mr. Despair
- Solty Rei
- Sousei no Aquarion
- Speed Grapher
- Spice and Wolf
- Super Milk Chan
- Tales of Phantasia
- Tenchi Muyo
- Tenjhou Tenge
- Texnolyze
- The Third
- Tsubasa Chronicles
- Urusei Yatsura
- Venus Versus Virus
- Welcome to the N.H.K.
- Winter Cicada
- X-1999
- Xenosaga
- XxxHolic
- Yu Yu Hakushou
- Yume Tsukai
- Zero no Tsukaima
- Zipang Total: 116
Manga I've Completed
- Cowboy Bebop
- FLCL
- Manga Messiah
- Manga Metamorphosis
- Q*Ko-chan
- Saiyuki
- Shirahime-Syo Total: 7
Manga I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- Black Cat
- Blame!
- Chobits
- D.Gray-man
- Darkside Blues
- Death Note
- The Demon Ororon
- Desert Coral
- Disgaea
- Eureka Seven: Gravity Boys and Lifting Girl
- Fruits Basket
- Getbackers
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Kamunagara
- Legal Drug
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Megatokyo
- Naruto
- Negima
- Read Or Die
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Tactics
- Trigun Maximum
- XXXHolic Total: 26
Anime I'm Currently Watching
Samurai 7, InuYasha, Samurai Deeper Kyo,
Boogiepop Phantom, and Shrine of the Morning Mist
Manga I'm Currently Reading
Read Or Die, Hayate the Combat Butler, and Megatokyo
To be alone is to be different, to be different is to be alone.
- Suzanne Gordon
Life can be boring. That's just how it goes sometimes. Heck, that's how it goes a great deal of the time. It's something about life we just have to expect. One just has to realize that routines get made, ruts get dug, the things that once seemed new and interesting are transformed into the norm. I, for one, do not wish for my life to be simply rountine. So, how is one to deal with this tendency of life? First one has to accept and understand that that's just the way life is. Then the fun part begins: one must find ways to make life less dull, boring, and monotonous. This is accomplished in multiple different ways but the best way is to spend time with friends and family. Get out, enjoy life, be yourself. That's the way I would prefer to make my life more interesting than it is.
Unfortunately this has become a problem where I currently am. I do not have any friends in Chattanooga. Yeah, I like it here, but without friends to do stuff with everything that Chattanooga has to offer is a little less enjoyable. Every friday the city holds a free concert in downtown. It's a great little gathering; good music, good food, lots of people, I couldn't ask for a better thing to do on Friday night. Unfortunately I have to go alone. I simply have nobody to go with. The music groups have been amazing though. Last week we had a group called Screaming Orphans perform. They are a group of four Irish sisters who play pop, rock, and traditional Irish music. They are amazing. If you want to hear some of their music you can find their CD on iTunes or you can go online to www.myspace.com/screamingorphans. But, without friends to share the experience with, it isn't quite as interesting. It's also not as fun seeing movies by myself either. I have different tastes than the rest of my family when it comes to movies. So, a lot of the stuff I want to see my family simply has no interest in. So, I see movies by myself. Again, without somebody to discuss the movie with after it's over or at least having a familiar person sitting next to me during the flick really detracts from the enjoyment of a movie.
Now, I'm not depressed or anything about all of this. Don't get me wrong. I am enjoying life. My job is amazing, Chattanooga is a wonderful city, and the people around me are interesting (not friend material, but interesting). All I'm saying is that I'm a bit lonely. I wish I had people to enjoy life with. I'm sure a few of you might be feeling the same way I am. So, you understand where I'm coming from.
I'm also not complaining about my life. This is not me complaining. This is simply me getting this off my chest. This is simply me writing down the feelings I've been having as of late. Some of you might be thinking that I should try doing something about my loneliness. And, truthfully, I have tried. Not very hard, mind you, but I've tried. I tried finding clubs and organizations in the area to do things with. I looked for an anime club, I looked for a go club, and I looked for a fencing club. The only one of those three that actually exists in the area is the fencing club. I haven't followed through with it though. I work so much that when I'm not working I just want to hang around at home. Fencing hasn't been on my mind. That and I'm not sure if the fencing club would really be much of a source of friends anyway. I expect it's mostly middle-aged adults in the club. Granted, I haven't actually been there to know, it's just what I'm expecting. I can probably do more to alleviate my loneliness, but I haven't really been that incredibly motivated until recently. It's a weird predicament to be in, I'll give it that. I am enjoying my summer, but I am looking forward to getting back to school in August if for nothing else than a return to a place where the stucture of my social life includes more than one person.
Anyway, thanks for reading if you have. I'm sorry I don't have much other than this to post on. Not a whole lot has gone on in my life that is really worth posting on. I'm also sorry I haven't been going to anybody's sites. I really have no excuse for that. Sorry. I hope you all have a great day and I'll see ya 'round TheO! Sayonara!
Caesar1280's Anime Ticker
Anime I've Seen
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- .hack//Sign
- 5 Centimeters per Second
- Air
- Air: The Movie
- Akira
- The Animatrix
- Appleseed
- Aquatic Language
- Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror
- Baby Blue
- Beck
- Black Lagoon
- Blame!
- Blood the Last Vampire
- Bokurano
- Burst Angel
- Castle in the Sky
- Cowboy Bebop
- Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
- Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express
- Doorbell
- Egao
- FLCL
- Fullmetal Alchemist
- Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala
- Gankutsuou
- Gatekeepers
- Genius Party
- Genshiken
- Genshiken OAV
- Ghost in the Shell
- Ghost in the Shell: Innocence
- Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society
- Gin-iro no Kami no Agito
- The Gokusen
- Grave of the Fireflies
- Grenadier
- Haibane Renmei
- Happy Machine
- Hellsing
- Highlander: The Search for Vengeance
- Hikaru no Go
- Howl's Moving Castle
- Innocent Venus
- Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade
- Jyu Oh Sei
- Karas: The Prophecy
- Karas: The Revelation
- Last Exile
- Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
- Midori?s Days
- Milennium Actress
- Mushi-shi
- My Neighbor Totoro
- Naruto
- Naruto: The Movie
- Nausicaa
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth
- Ninja Scroll: The Movie
- Other Worlds
- Ouran High School Host Club
- Paprika
- Perfect Blue
- Pet Shop of Horrors
- The Place Promised In Our Early Days
- Prétear
- Princess Mononoke
- Read Or Die
- Read Or Die: The TV
- Samurai Champloo
- Samurai Seven
- Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal
- Serial Experiments Lain
- Shanghai Dragon
- She and Her Cat
- Spirited Away
- Steamboy
- Tekkonkinkreet
- Tide-Line Blue
- Tokyo Babylon
- Tokyo Godfathers
- Trigun
- Trinity Blood
- Vampire Hunter D
- Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
- Voices of a Distant Star
- Witch Hunter Robin
- Wolf's Rain
- Wonderful Days
- Wrath of the Ninja
- X Total: 93
Anime I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Roots
- Ah! My Goddess
- Angelic Layer
- Avenger
- Baccano!
- Bamboo Blade
- Basilisk
- Binchou-tan
- Black Cat
- Bleach
- Blood+
- Boogiepop Phantom
- Case Closed
- Le Chevalier d'Eon
- Chobits
- Chrono Crusade
- Code Geass
- Coyote Ragtime Show
- D.Gray-Man
- D.N.Angel
- DearS
- Death Note
- Dennou Coil
- Desert Punk
- Digimon
- Dragon Ball Z
- Ergo Proxy
- Eureka Seven
- Excel Saga
- Fighting Beauty Wulong
- Final Fantasy Unlimited
- Flag
- Freedom
- Full Moon
- Gantz
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
- Gintama
- Glass Fleet
- Great Teacher Onizuka
- Gundam Seed
- Gundam Wing
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Hellsing OVA
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
- Ikki Tousen
- InuYasha
- Jigoku Shojo
- Kage Kara Mamoru
- Karin
- Kino's Journey
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Lovely Complex
- Lucky Star
- Makai Senki Disgaea
- Marchen Awakens Romance
- Meine Liebe
- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
- Mononoke
- Monster
- Moon Phase
- Mr Stain on Junk Alley
- Naruto Shippuuden
- Negima?!
- Negima!
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion
- Nerima Daikon Brothers
- NHK ni Youkoso
- Night Walker
- Ninja Nonsense
- Noir
- Peacemaker Kurogane
- Pokemon
- Prince of Tennis
- R.G. Veda
- Ragnarok
- Rec
- Red Garden
- Robotech
- Romeo x Juliet
- Rosen Maiden
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Saikano
- Sailor Moon
- Samurai Deeper Kyo
- Sci-fi Harry
- School Rumble
- Scrapped Princess
- Shin-chan
- Shingu
- Shion no Oh
- Shuffle!
- Shrine of the Morning Mist
- So Long, Mr. Despair
- Solty Rei
- Sousei no Aquarion
- Speed Grapher
- Spice and Wolf
- Super Milk Chan
- Tales of Phantasia
- Tenchi Muyo
- Tenjhou Tenge
- Texnolyze
- The Third
- Tsubasa Chronicles
- Urusei Yatsura
- Venus Versus Virus
- Welcome to the N.H.K.
- Winter Cicada
- X-1999
- Xenosaga
- XxxHolic
- Yu Yu Hakushou
- Yume Tsukai
- Zero no Tsukaima
- Zipang Total: 116
Manga I've Completed
- Cowboy Bebop
- FLCL
- Manga Messiah
- Manga Metamorphosis
- Q*Ko-chan
- Saiyuki
- Shirahime-Syo Total: 7
Manga I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- Black Cat
- Blame!
- Chobits
- D.Gray-man
- Darkside Blues
- Death Note
- The Demon Ororon
- Desert Coral
- Disgaea
- Eureka Seven: Gravity Boys and Lifting Girl
- Fruits Basket
- Getbackers
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Kamunagara
- Legal Drug
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Megatokyo
- Naruto
- Negima
- Read Or Die
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Tactics
- Trigun Maximum
- XXXHolic Total: 26
Anime I'm Currently Watching
Samurai 7, InuYasha, Samurai Deeper Kyo,
Boogiepop Phantom, and Shrine of the Morning Mist
Manga I'm Currently Reading
Read Or Die, Hayate the Combat Butler, and Megatokyo
Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die,
your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.
- George Carlin
Greetings All! What's up!? I hope yer all having a wonderful day cuz I am. In fact, my entire last week has been amazing! Wanna hear? Good, cuz you don't have much of a choice. Well, actually you do have a choice. You could just not read what I have to say. But, if you do read what I have to say, then you have no choice. Cuz words are words and there's nothing you can do about it. Got it? Good. Now, I've rambled long enough, it's time for an even longer post. In fact, the post you are currently engaged in reading is the longest post I've ever posted up here on TheO. I tell you this only as a precautionary warning. If you don't want to read it all, please skim the subheadings and read something you like. That's what they're there for. ^_^ To the post!
Work! ^_^
"An exclamation mark and a happy face? What's this about? He's talking about work, that's not a happy thing is it?" Is that what yer thinking? Yeah, I figured. Well, That's what I normally think too. But, this job is different. Ya see, IT'S AWESOME!!! Heh heh! I nailed a job at an ice cream store scooping ice cream. Yeah, it's as amazing as it sounds. For some reason the job is just a load of fun up and down. The people I work with are nice, the job itself isn't that horribly difficult, and I get paid well with the addition of tips. It's a great job. The perfect summer job. I could not have asked for better. I actually don't dread going to work like I did last summer. I enjoy it. Thank God. ^_^
Bessie Smith Strut
This week the biggest event to go down in Chattanooga all year is... uh... going down. It's called Riverbend. It's a week-long music festival featuring artists of all genres from classical to jazz and hip-hop to country. The festival boasts something like 30 artists. The big headliners of the week are Daughtry, Earth Wind & Fire, Jars of Clay, and the Alan Parsons Project. Pretty spiffy, eh? Well, I'm not going. Didn't expect THAT now did ya? HAHA! Yeah, it's too expensive. It's something like thirty bucks to attend the festival all week. That wouldn't be so bad if I was available to see all the artists I want to see. Unfortunately a good number of the bands I want to see, like Daughtry and Earth Wind & Fire, I was or am unable to see because I'm scheduled to work while they are performing. A pity really, but it doesn't bother me much because of something that happened on monday night.
Monday night was the Bessie Smith Strut. Bessie Smith, if you didn't know, is a jazz musician from Chattanooga. The event which bears her name is a small 5-hour event connected with Riverbend that showcases a gathering of jazz and blues bands. A bonus is that this particular event is free. My dad and I went together. We got turkey legs and beers and strolled up and down MLK Blvd listening to different groups. My favorite group was a group called Watermelon Slim. Absolutely amazing musician and performer. It was an incredible thing watching the man play and sing. I wish I could play the harmonica like that. Wow... Anyway, it was great fun. Maybe next year I'll have the smarts to look ahead at the Riverbend schedule, choose who I want to listen to, and work my schedule around it. But, the Bessie Smith Strut was good enough for me this year.
Ramble
Virgin Radio UK. It's my favorite radio station in the entire world. It really is. They play the best music and they don't do what american stations like to do and just replay the same new singles over and over again every hour. I can't tell you how many times I've heard John Mayer's "Waiting on the World to Change." My favorite radio station back in Dallas played it at the top of the hour every hour. Not that that's a bad thing, but Virgin Radio UK doesn't do it. Every hour is completely different music spanning multiple decades. It's amazing. Now, I have but one problem with it. The only place I have found to listen to the station is on iTunes. Unfortunately, during their peak radio hours VRUK does not broadcast at high bandwidth over iTunes. It doesn't even come over in stereo. Well, their peak hours are between noon and six US central time. That's when I listen to music the most during school. It's horrible not to be able to listen to your favorite station when you most want to. So, I just sorta stopped listening altogether. That is until now. Earlier this evening I tuned in again thinking maybe I'd be able to get a good bandwidth and I was. How nice it was. I didn't realize how much I missed this station until I tuned in. I missed it a lot. That's all. I just felt like rambling on that for some reason. It was the urge to ramble on this that got me to type out this post to begin with. So, thank VRUK for the words you are reading now because without it you might be reading these words later. ^_^
A-Kon 18 You all knew this was coming. A-Kon 18 was the weekend before last and I hadn't posted on it yet. It was only a matter of time until it happened. To start off, the entire weekend was a blast and will probably, like last summer, end up being the best weekend of the entire season. The weekend started off with me hopping in my car and heading out from Chattanooga to Nashville to catch my flight to Dallas. On a side note, did you realize that Nashville is in central time while Chattanooga is in eastern? I didn't and neither did my family. I had a meeting at work on the monday night following A-Kon and my flight landed only two hours before the meeting was to begin. But, when I passed the nice green sign on the highway that said "Now entering central time zone" it hit me and I panicked briefly then called my dad to inform him of the interesting little blunder we had made in planning. I arrived at the airport a full hour earlier than I wanted to and i was to arrive back in Chattanooga an hour after I should have, causing me to miss my meeting.
All right, that was a bit more than just a side note, but who cares, I thought it was funny and worth mentioning. Anyway, after I made it to the Adams Mark Hotel in Dallas and got all moved into the single bedroom with all 13 of the other people who were sharing it with me (yes, 13), the convention began. It was an awesome convention. I loved every minute of it. Most of my time was spent hopping from panel to panel. I did plenty of wandering around though. Again, I was stupid and didn't bring a camera with me to shoot pictures of awesome cosplays. In fact, I didn't even cosplay myself this year. I got too lazy about it and didn't have either my Shugo costume repaired or my Haku costume finished. I did have my Kiba costume up and running and did in fact bring it to the convention, but was simply not in the mood to wear it while I was there, though I should have. They kept that convention hall COLD and Kiba's jacket might have been nice to have on. heh heh! Anyway, sorry for no pictures.
The cosplays weren't the best part of the convention this year anyway. The best part of the convention is a toss-up between Mell's concert on Friday night and Helen McCarthy. Mell's concert was amazing. Mell, if you didnt know, is the woman who sung the intro song for the anime Black Lagoon called "Red Fraction." Really techno and upbeat kind of song. A sonic treat. Now, if you've heard that song then you know exactly what the rest of her concert was like. High energy and loud. I loved it. I did something at her concert that I've never done at a concert before. I fought my way to the front. At every concert I've been to in the past I've comfortably sat at the back and listened from a distance while craning my neck to try and see the band over the heads of the people in front of me. Well I decided I was tired of that. So, for Mell I fought my way to the front so I could really have a good concert experience. It was worth it. By the end of the concert i was standing one person from the stage. If I had really tried hard I could have almost touched the stage. I didn't, but I could have maybe. It really made things interesting standing inches away from everybody around me, fighting off people pushing to the front trying to do the same thing I managed to do, and managing not to seriously injure myself or people around me with my energy during the concert. It was the concert experience I wanted and there wasn't a better group to have it for.
Now, as good as Mell's concert was, as you read, it shares the title of best part of the Kon with Helen McCarthy. You're probably wondering who this woman is. She's a writer from the UK who has written a few books on anime and gives weekly talks on anime at a movie theatre in London. Each week the theatre plays an anime movie or series and then afterwards Helen gives a talk and hosts a discussion about the anime. She talks about everything including the story itself, its influences, the filmmaking, the artistic expertise or lack thereof, etc. She brought abbreviated versions of three such talks to give to Kongoers. All of them were educated, in depth, and really got me thinking about movies and series that I really hadn't put a lot of thought into before. For an anime and movie enthusiast as I am, these talks were like gold. I didn't miss a single panel the woman gave. Every one was as good as the next. There were a few things that I disagreed with her on, but for the most part I thought her ideas and conclusions were valid. She really made the convention for me I think.
Unlike conventions past I didn't buy very many things. In fact, I bought just three things. Two of them were two of Mell's singles which I got autographed by the entire band. The other one and by far the most precious thing I have ever bought at a convention was a kimono. That's right. I've been looking for one for a while, and at this convention i caved. I knew they were expensive. I've been looking around for one on Ichiroya Kimono Flea Market for about a year and a half now. So far I had found none that were in my price range, that I liked, and that fit me. But, at A-Kon I found one. It was the color I wanted, it fit me, and it was the cheapest one I had yet found. I couldn't help myself. I bought it. Along with the kimono itself I got a nice blue obi (belt) to go with the blue stripes in the kimono and i got a green haori (jacket) to go with the green stripes in the kimono. It's a nice little set and it was worth every penny I spent on it. I wear it every night after I get home from work and shower. It's comfortable, it looks great, and it's just cool. The outfit is not quite complete yet though. I still need to get something called a jyuban. It's like the kimono equivalent of an undershirt. Its made of silk, worn under the kimono, and is typically very ornate and colorful but the only part of it you ever see is the collar area which is typically a black or white color. It's not essential. They weren't worn all the time but the only people who didn't wear them much were the very poor people. I'd like to get one eventually but it's not a priority. The whole outfit looks amazing as it is. I'm glad I finally got one. ^_^
The only other thing that happened at the convention that was worth mentioning was what happened on Saturday. Saturday was Micah's 21st birthday. Micah is a friend of mine from church in Dallas. I've known him for quite a while and he has accompanied me to three conventions now. For his 21st birthday we went out for dinner at T.G.I.Friday's in Dallas' West End and then returned back to the room and had drinks provided by Micah's parents. It was fun. Unfortunately Micah himself didn't drink much. He didn't have anything at dinner. I did manage to get him to take a couple sips of the rum we had back at the hotel though. That was satisfactory. Unlike what a lot of people expect of a 21st b-day party, the birthday boy did not drink the most. That qualification goes to either me or Sam. I'm not really sure who had more. But all that put aside it was a very entertaining evening. Happy birthday Micah!
If ya wanna hear more about the convention and a few of my experiences go and read Krustyknuckles' post on the subject. He is my friend Sam and he was one of the 13 other people staying in the room with. We spent a good majority of the convention together.
Well, with that I'll be done. I'm sure you're tired of reading by now. This was an exceptionally long post for me and I'll be surprised if anyone actually reads the entire thing. If you did, thank you. So, have a great day everyone and I'll see ya 'round TheO! Sayonara!
Caesar1280's Anime Ticker
Anime I've Seen
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- .hack//Sign
- 5 Centimeters per Second
- Air
- Air: The Movie
- Akira
- The Animatrix
- Appleseed
- Aquatic Language
- Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror
- Baby Blue
- Beck
- Black Lagoon
- Blame!
- Blood the Last Vampire
- Bokurano
- Burst Angel
- Castle in the Sky
- Cowboy Bebop
- Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
- Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express
- Doorbell
- Egao
- FLCL
- Fullmetal Alchemist
- Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala
- Gankutsuou
- Gatekeepers
- Genius Party
- Genshiken
- Genshiken OAV
- Ghost in the Shell
- Ghost in the Shell: Innocence
- Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society
- Gin-iro no Kami no Agito
- The Gokusen
- Grave of the Fireflies
- Grenadier
- Haibane Renmei
- Happy Machine
- Hellsing
- Highlander: The Search for Vengeance
- Hikaru no Go
- Howl's Moving Castle
- Innocent Venus
- Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade
- Jyu Oh Sei
- Karas: The Prophecy
- Karas: The Revelation
- Last Exile
- Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
- Midori?s Days
- Milennium Actress
- Mushi-shi
- My Neighbor Totoro
- Naruto
- Naruto: The Movie
- Nausicaa
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth
- Ninja Scroll: The Movie
- Other Worlds
- Ouran High School Host Club
- Paprika
- Perfect Blue
- Pet Shop of Horrors
- The Place Promised In Our Early Days
- Prétear
- Princess Mononoke
- Read Or Die
- Read Or Die: The TV
- Samurai Champloo
- Samurai Seven
- Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal
- Serial Experiments Lain
- Shanghai Dragon
- She and Her Cat
- Spirited Away
- Steamboy
- Tekkonkinkreet
- Tide-Line Blue
- Tokyo Babylon
- Tokyo Godfathers
- Trigun
- Trinity Blood
- Vampire Hunter D
- Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
- Voices of a Distant Star
- Witch Hunter Robin
- Wolf's Rain
- Wonderful Days
- Wrath of the Ninja
- X Total: 93
Anime I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Roots
- Ah! My Goddess
- Angelic Layer
- Avenger
- Baccano!
- Bamboo Blade
- Basilisk
- Binchou-tan
- Black Cat
- Bleach
- Blood+
- Boogiepop Phantom
- Case Closed
- Le Chevalier d'Eon
- Chobits
- Chrono Crusade
- Code Geass
- Coyote Ragtime Show
- D.Gray-Man
- D.N.Angel
- DearS
- Death Note
- Dennou Coil
- Desert Punk
- Digimon
- Dragon Ball Z
- Ergo Proxy
- Eureka Seven
- Excel Saga
- Fighting Beauty Wulong
- Final Fantasy Unlimited
- Flag
- Freedom
- Full Moon
- Gantz
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
- Gintama
- Glass Fleet
- Great Teacher Onizuka
- Gundam Seed
- Gundam Wing
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Hellsing OVA
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
- Ikki Tousen
- InuYasha
- Jigoku Shojo
- Kage Kara Mamoru
- Karin
- Kino's Journey
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Lovely Complex
- Lucky Star
- Makai Senki Disgaea
- Marchen Awakens Romance
- Meine Liebe
- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
- Mononoke
- Monster
- Moon Phase
- Mr Stain on Junk Alley
- Naruto Shippuuden
- Negima?!
- Negima!
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion
- Nerima Daikon Brothers
- NHK ni Youkoso
- Night Walker
- Ninja Nonsense
- Noir
- Peacemaker Kurogane
- Pokemon
- Prince of Tennis
- R.G. Veda
- Ragnarok
- Rec
- Red Garden
- Robotech
- Romeo x Juliet
- Rosen Maiden
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Saikano
- Sailor Moon
- Samurai Deeper Kyo
- Sci-fi Harry
- School Rumble
- Scrapped Princess
- Shin-chan
- Shingu
- Shion no Oh
- Shuffle!
- Shrine of the Morning Mist
- So Long, Mr. Despair
- Solty Rei
- Sousei no Aquarion
- Speed Grapher
- Spice and Wolf
- Super Milk Chan
- Tales of Phantasia
- Tenchi Muyo
- Tenjhou Tenge
- Texnolyze
- The Third
- Tsubasa Chronicles
- Urusei Yatsura
- Venus Versus Virus
- Welcome to the N.H.K.
- Winter Cicada
- X-1999
- Xenosaga
- XxxHolic
- Yu Yu Hakushou
- Yume Tsukai
- Zero no Tsukaima
- Zipang Total: 116
Manga I've Completed
- Cowboy Bebop
- FLCL
- Manga Messiah
- Manga Metamorphosis
- Q*Ko-chan
- Saiyuki
- Shirahime-Syo Total: 7
Manga I Haven't Completed
- .hack//Legend of the Twilight
- Black Cat
- Blame!
- Chobits
- D.Gray-man
- Darkside Blues
- Death Note
- The Demon Ororon
- Desert Coral
- Disgaea
- Eureka Seven: Gravity Boys and Lifting Girl
- Fruits Basket
- Getbackers
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Kamunagara
- Legal Drug
- Love Hina
- Loveless
- Megatokyo
- Naruto
- Negima
- Read Or Die
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Tactics
- Trigun Maximum
- XXXHolic Total: 26
Anime I'm Currently Watching
Samurai 7, InuYasha, Samurai Deeper Kyo,
Boogiepop Phantom, and Shrine of the Morning Mist
Manga I'm Currently Reading
Read Or Die, Hayate the Combat Butler, and Megatokyo
Greetings All! After the longest absence since starting this blog three years ago, I have returned. I have a good excuse for the absence too! ^_^ So you know, it has been one of the worst semesters of my college career. It's not because I was miserable either, because life has actually been amazing this semester (as you will read). No, it was the worst semester of my college career because of the way it all played out. I had so very much to do. I was taking 15 hours at the beginning of the semester. By the halfway point that had been turned into 12 hours after I was forced to drop a class. My business communication class kept me on my toes, I had to prepare for and get an internship, and I had to prepare my entire body of work for graduation, even though I'm not graduating until December. That was the most irritating of all. It was the most amount of work and I don't even need it to be done until December. Grrr... I mean, I'm glad I got a head start on it and all, but it caused me to do worse in my other classes, and I didn't even do well in the class it was required for either. But as I said, all in all it was a great but tough semester and now it's time to get on with the rest of my life.
The Rest of My LifeThe rest of my life started on Wednesday after I finished the last of my finals. I then began packing to go home and getting ready for my internship. Now, the internship itself is an interesting story. I was having a bit of trouble getting one. I tried finding one in Chattanooga, Little Rock, Dallas, and even northwest Arkansas area. No real luck. I got very close a couple times, but eventually everything I tried fell through. So, I asked my dad to fish around his international contacts to see if any of them had any possible positions open. I never expected anything to come of that, but figured it was worth a shot. Less than a week later I got a call from my mother informing me that my dad had found a possible position for me in Japan. So, I sent the company my portfolio, and two days later I had the position. So, I will be interning in Japan for six weeks this summer! I'm sitting an airport Stabucks on the way to Japan as I type this. I still can't believe it. I'm going to be working for a company called New Life League. They work on a manga version of the Gospel called Manga Messiah. It's really quite good! If you wanna see some of what they do, go to www.nextmanga.com. I'll be working there with four other designers (only one of whom speaks any english), I'll be living alone, and not getting paid. But, that doesn't matter because I have a job lined up after I get back anyway. It's going to be one hell of a summer! I'll be using this blog every day to keep a journal of the goings on and such. I hope ya like it!
As if a six-week trip to Japan wasn't treat enough, earlier in the semester, over spring break to be more accurate, my dad and I took a trip to China and Thailand. Ya see, he does a lot of international travel for his job and has accrued quite a milage balance. So, since I'm graduating soon, he wanted to spend one last trip with me. So, since he was going to be in those two countries over spring break anyway, he flew me out there and we hung out for the week! I saw Beijing and all it had to offer. This includes wonderful sites such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Summer Palace,Tian Anmen Square (the first picture is me standing in Tian Anmen Square with the Forbidden City behind me), the Chinese opera, an acrobatic show, the Pearl and Silk markets, parks, gardens, and great food! I absolutely loved Beijing! Such a wonderful city with a robust culture and rich history. It was impressive and I really want to go back.
Beijing wasn't the end of the trip, but rather just the first half. From there we travelled south to Chiangmai, Thailand. Chiangmai is in the north of Thailand up near Burma. My dad said the culture and atmosphere felt similar to that of Mexico, and I agree. It was very laid back, warm, and inviting. Massaging is something that the Thai seem to pride themselves on, because there were massage parlors on every block. I had never had a professional massage before, so my dad felt it necessary to introduce me to concept. We had a foot massage our first night there, then on our last night we had a full body Thai massage. They were interesting. It was a bit uncomfortable for me, but I liked it anyway. While there we also took in as much of the Thai culture as we could. 
We took a Thai cooking class, rode mountain bikes up a mountain outside the city, rode elephants, and even went white water rafting! That was a fun thing. It's not every day you ride up a mountain road and have to watch out for passing elephants. HAHA! The other two pictures with this post are me eating the hot and sour soup I just made and my dad and I river rafting. So, spring break was quite the trip for me. 2008 has really begun to look like one of the best years of my life. Whoodathunkit.
Anime Night Evolves
Greetings all! It’s postie time! HEH HEH! I felt the urge tonight, as my good friend Noe can attest to. It hit me. Like a friggin brick it hit me. In the head. I think it left a welt, I swear. I’m actually seeing a black spot. Anyway, once I moved past the sudden and painful urge to blog, it occurred to me that I had WAY too much to post on. Having been about a month since my last post, a great deal has happened to me and there is a great deal worth a bit of recap. Therefore, expect a lengthy post today. Sit back, relax, and allow yourself to be pulled into the black hole that is the life of Kennedy, for it is a happy black hole.
One example of this happened last Thursday night. I was on the phone with a woman who had gone through my university’s program for working professionals. She had never received a call from the phone-a-thon before and she and I had a long conversation. Near the end of it she ended up giving what has ended up being the largest single pledge yet this semester. But, before I said goodbye I remembered she had mentioned she worked for an ad agency. Since I’m currently in the process of looking for internship opportunities, I figured I’d ask if her agency had an internship program or hired student help over the summer. She responded enthusiastically saying that her company indeed had an internship program and that she’d received an email earlier that week asking if she knew any college students who might be interested in such a program. So, my call took place at the perfect time. She took my information and sent me an email yesterday detailing everything about the program as well as contact information. So, the phone-a-thon has already ended up being more than just a job this semester. I hope this luck of mine continues throughout the rest of the semester. I certainly need a bit of luck right now, that’s for sure. ^_^
LOST Returns
Christmas
Greetings All! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Mine was wonderful. Wet and rainy, but still wonderful. It was relaxing, I got to spend time with my family (including my dogs who I didn't expect to get to see), I got to eat great food, I got to see some amazing movies, and I got to see some friends that I haven't seen in a long while. It was a magnificent week overall and I feel sorry that it had to come to an end. I type this blog after getting back to my dorm from a long drive, so I apologize if my writing seems a little less than thought out, it's fatigue. ^_^ Really, there's not much else about the break to say. I tried to get out and take advantage of the Black Friday sales to purchase some movies that I'd been hoping to be able to buy eventually, but by the time I made it to the stores (11:30AM) they were all out. I have to say that anybody who goes out at 4AM to shop is certifiably insane in my book, but I understand your reasons for it. I bet the movies that I was after were gone by 8. Heh heh! Such is consumerism, eh? And I was hoping to get King Kong for $2.50. ^_^ Such a bummer.
The 8th Circle
Greetings All! You you guys having a great day? I know you can't necessarily answer that question, but it's worth asking at least, right? Heh heh! My day has been just fine thus far. Nothing really of great consequence. But, Sunday actually did have something of interest. The day started fine, I slept in 'til about 11 or so, got up, took a shower, and went to lunch. Lunch was what ended up making Sunday notable. Nobody I knew that well was in there so I just sat down at a table by myself and ate my lunch. But, as sometime happens when you sit in a university cafeteria by yourself, somebody decides that you look lonely and comes and sits with you. This happened today with me. A guy named Tim came up to me, introduced himself, and sat down. He began asking me all sorts of questions like where I'm from, if I went to church this morning, and what year of school I'm in. Simple questions that somebody would come up and ask a freshman. As it turns out, Tim himself is a freshman. He saw me a lone, thought I was a freshman as well, and sat down to try and make me feel included. I thought it was nice, but very assuming. The only problem with just walking up to somebody the way he did is that maybe that person just wanted to be alone. But, we had a small conversation for about five minutes and then he got up and left. It just made lunch today a bit more interesting than normal. Kinda nice.
Yes, I was a bit more than excited about that news. One of my two favorite shows on television has returned to weekly releases. I don't want to go into any details about the actual episode since I'm sure there are a few of you out there who haven't see it yet, but it looks like this season is going to be an amazing one. Hiro has been transported back to feudal Japan, the bombing of New York has been averted, and Sylar is M.I.A.. There are a few more plot elements which promise to bring some interesting TV time, but I won't give those away. Just know that Monday night was an amazing one for me.
Greetings All! Today (meaning two days ago) marks a truly momentous occasion. I really wish it hadn't fallen during summer like this while I'm not posting much and pretty inactive, but this is how it has fallen and that is what I have to deal with. *ahem* I am pleased to announce that today (meaning two days ago) my O site got its 1000th visit! That's right, my page has been viewed one thousand times. I would like to thank you all so very much for this. I am honored and blessed to have met so many people and made so many friends here on TheO. This is an amazing site with amazing folks. Thank you so much. *tear* And I promised myself I wouldn't cry. GAH! *cries* Too much emotion? Yeah. Sorry. I'm just really happy. ^_^ I've never had a momentous speech of this sort to have to give, and now I understand how hard it actually is. Well, with that over with lets get on with the post shall we?
That was not my best purchase of the summer, though. It was close to my best purchase, but it wasn't the very best. The best purchase I made all summer was an impulse buy. I was standing in line waiting to purchase a CD that I would end up not liking that much at that used book store I told you about when I noticed a little plastic bin sitting on the divider next to me. It had a whole bunch of stuff marked down so low they were practically giving it away. There were a few really horrible looking movies in there, a book or two by authors unknown, and a smattering of CD's. Nothing really jumped out at me as being worth the purchase (despite the amazing markdown) except one CD. It was a CD from a group I had never in my life heard of called Khoiba. The name itself is what caught my attention. I just looked like something I might like. I don't know why. The album art was attractive too. So, I took a chance (a very small one) and purchased the CD for a whole 89 cents. As it turns out, the music is amazing! It's exactly the kind of stuff I'm into right now. The group is actually a group from Czechoslovakia being released on a German label. Their style is electronic vocal. It's a very European sounding CD and it is one that I have happily integrated into my collection. I listened to it for a couple days straight in my car. I suggest that if you have iTunes you go and check out the group. This CD (which happens to be their debut CD) is on there in full. I don't know if you guys will like it much. I do have a rather odd taste in music when it comes to certain things. But, you should at least experience it. I hope you enjoy!
Greetings All! I hope everyone is having a great day just like I am! Well, more like I had a great day, considering the fact that it is almost 3AM here. I shouldn't be up, but it's one of those awkward nights when I've got energy that I shouldn't have. I worked all evening and I returned home, heated up some edible nourishment in the form of Hot Pockets, sat down in front of a good Star Trek: Voyager episode and after it's done I still have yet to feel tired. So, that's why I'm posting. Not that I don't want to post, it's just what else is there for me to do? All of my friends are offline, television at this time of night is terrible even with satellite, and I don't even have Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator to tinker around with to fill my time. I had a copy of Photoshop CS on my old laptop, But since I switched to this new one (partly by circumstance, partly by choice) I lost the program and haven't been able to get it back. It's been bumming me out for a while, but I'm dealing with it. Anyway, enough of my stupid ramblings and on to something of a little more substance.
Yes yes, America and the rest of the civilized world has been gripped in a state of collective suspense for months waiting on the arrival of the seventh and last book in the Harry Potter franchise. Too bad I am not one of the collective. *sigh* I regret that I have NOT read any of the Harry Potter books. That's right, not a one. By many (wizards and muggles alike) I am one to be scorned. For, to not have read the greatest work of fantastical juvenile literature to hit bookshelves since J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is an act of pure contempt. This indiscretion of mine is one that I have long regretted. Ever since seeing the first movie in theaters I have desired to read the books. Unfortunately I am not much of a reader (as poor Kitabug can attest to). I've been reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series for over 5 years and I have just started book 3. It's pathetic. But, despite my lack of Harry Potter literary knowledge, I am still an avid fan of the series. I have enjoyed every movie to the greatest extent possible and have even gone to the midnight shows of two of them. And, after seeing this most recent of Potter flicks (twice) I could stand it no longer. I have to read the books. So, on the day the last book in the series was released, I cracked the spine of the very first. Huzzah! (I'm on page 23 for any who might be interested to know ^_^)
Number 9
Life can be boring. That's just how it goes sometimes. Heck, that's how it goes a great deal of the time. It's something about life we just have to expect. One just has to realize that routines get made, ruts get dug, the things that once seemed new and interesting are transformed into the norm. I, for one, do not wish for my life to be simply rountine. So, how is one to deal with this tendency of life? First one has to accept and understand that that's just the way life is. Then the fun part begins: one must find ways to make life less dull, boring, and monotonous. This is accomplished in multiple different ways but the best way is to spend time with friends and family. Get out, enjoy life, be yourself. That's the way I would prefer to make my life more interesting than it is.
Greetings All! What's up!? I hope yer all having a wonderful day cuz I am. In fact, my entire last week has been amazing! Wanna hear? Good, cuz you don't have much of a choice. Well, actually you do have a choice. You could just not read what I have to say. But, if you do read what I have to say, then you have no choice. Cuz words are words and there's nothing you can do about it. Got it? Good. Now, I've rambled long enough, it's time for an even longer post. In fact, the post you are currently engaged in reading is the longest post I've ever posted up here on TheO. I tell you this only as a precautionary warning. If you don't want to read it all, please skim the subheadings and read something you like. That's what they're there for. ^_^ To the post!
Monday night was the Bessie Smith Strut. Bessie Smith, if you didn't know, is a jazz musician from Chattanooga. The event which bears her name is a small 5-hour event connected with Riverbend that showcases a gathering of jazz and blues bands. A bonus is that this particular event is free. My dad and I went together. We got turkey legs and beers and strolled up and down MLK Blvd listening to different groups. My favorite group was a group called Watermelon Slim. Absolutely amazing musician and performer. It was an incredible thing watching the man play and sing. I wish I could play the harmonica like that. Wow... Anyway, it was great fun. Maybe next year I'll have the smarts to look ahead at the Riverbend schedule, choose who I want to listen to, and work my schedule around it. But, the Bessie Smith Strut was good enough for me this year.
You all knew this was coming. A-Kon 18 was the weekend before last and I hadn't posted on it yet. It was only a matter of time until it happened. To start off, the entire weekend was a blast and will probably, like last summer, end up being the best weekend of the entire season. The weekend started off with me hopping in my car and heading out from Chattanooga to Nashville to catch my flight to Dallas. On a side note, did you realize that Nashville is in central time while Chattanooga is in eastern? I didn't and neither did my family. I had a meeting at work on the monday night following A-Kon and my flight landed only two hours before the meeting was to begin. But, when I passed the nice green sign on the highway that said "Now entering central time zone" it hit me and I panicked briefly then called my dad to inform him of the interesting little blunder we had made in planning. I arrived at the airport a full hour earlier than I wanted to and i was to arrive back in Chattanooga an hour after I should have, causing me to miss my meeting.
Now, as good as Mell's concert was, as you read, it shares the title of best part of the Kon with Helen McCarthy. You're probably wondering who this woman is. She's a writer from the UK who has written a few books on anime and gives weekly talks on anime at a movie theatre in London. Each week the theatre plays an anime movie or series and then afterwards Helen gives a talk and hosts a discussion about the anime. She talks about everything including the story itself, its influences, the filmmaking, the artistic expertise or lack thereof, etc. She brought abbreviated versions of three such talks to give to Kongoers. All of them were educated, in depth, and really got me thinking about movies and series that I really hadn't put a lot of thought into before. For an anime and movie enthusiast as I am, these talks were like gold. I didn't miss a single panel the woman gave. Every one was as good as the next. There were a few things that I disagreed with her on, but for the most part I thought her ideas and conclusions were valid. She really made the convention for me I think.