Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Thanks!

There but for the grace of God go I.
- John Bradford

Greetings all! It has been a little over two weeks since my last post. I felt the need to post and the words started flowing. The posting style has not changed, but I have. I have changed greatly. I come to you a changed man. The man who types to you now is no longer the man he was two weeks ago. No, this is another man. A better man. What is this change you ask? The answer is simple. I’m two weeks older. Aging has a profound effect on the human body and mind. I see things a bit more clearly now than I did then. I cleaned my glasses. ^_^ I even have less hair. That is partially due to the fact that I got a hair cut last week, but that’s beside the point. The fact is, aging is happening, growing is happening, I am changing, and change is a good thing. I am now two weeks closer to graduation, two weeks closer to freedom from undergraduate life, two weeks closer to my trip to Thailand. My life is moving along nicely and simple span of two weeks has helped me realize that. Thank God for two weeks, one week, even a day. My days are what make me whole.

Speaking of Thanks…
How was your Thanksgiving!? Mine was nice. I was guilted into driving back to Chattanooga to be with my family for the holiday. I didn’t really want to drive all the way out there because that would mean giving up a full two days of my very short five day break just for travel, not to mention the gas expenditure. It usually takes me over 11 hours and four tanks of gas to get out there from school. Not fun. But, it ended up being well worth it. It was great to see my parents again. My grandfather flew out from Texas to be with us for the holiday as well. My sister drove out from Arkansas the weekend before I did. She got much more time out there. So, it was nice having us all together, eating great food, and simply relaxing. I couldn’t have asked for a better Thanksgiving.

But… it could have been more interesting. Although it was great being with my family for the holiday, I didn’t do much. Honestly that’s what I wanted, but I came across some unfortunate but hilarious news earlier today. As it turns out, two of my good friends from my university drove out to Chattanooga a few days before I did. They were invited to spend thanksgiving with a friend of theirs from Chattanooga who happened to work with me in the Phonathon. She lives about 15 minutes away from me. All three of them are engineering students and thus spend a lot of time together. I didn’t know about this trip. I had no idea they were going to be out in Chattanooga for the break or I would have hung out with them. The same rings true on their part. They didn’t think I would be out there either. Going back home was a last minute decision on my part and very few of my friends knew I had done it. So… while I was sitting at home, they were off rock climbing, hiking around the Ocoe river, traveling around downtown, eating ice cream at Clumpies, rummaging around McKay, and all sorts of other fun stuff. Kinda sucks for me but they had a great time. I think it’s hilarious and we all had a great laugh when we discovered that we had been 15 minutes away from each other and didn’t know it. Communication is a glorious thing, ain’t it?! ^_^

Recollection
It was in my Thanksgiving post one year ago, entitled “Thanksgiving & the 8th,” that I announced my intent to cease downloading anime and focus on purchasing and renting my favorite anime titles. I have managed to keep to my decision with the exception of a couple series of which I downloaded the first episode just to see what all the fuss was about. I am glad I made this decision and I am also glad to have seen other follow in my footsteps.

On a note of update, the anime industry in America is beginning to recover. The companies caught on and started cracking down on fansubbers. They also realized they needed to change their tactics a bit in order to keep up to date with the changes in the way people prefer to consume their media. Anime companies have started trying to get their titles onto American television and they have been putting in online for viewing as well, not to mention making it available via iTunes for purchase. One wonderful site which has made great breakthroughs in the viewing of American television and movies is HULU.com. Hulu plays television shows and movies in streaming format with breaks for commercials. It manages to do this without any costs being passed on to the consumer, and a couple anime companies have taken advantage of this. It is now possible to watch good sections of if not the entirety of 20 different anime including Death Note, Slayers, Mushi-shi, Naruto, Bleach, and xxxHolic. The companies make money, Hulu.com makes money, and we as consumers pay nothing. It’s wonderful and I look forward to many other shows being added.

The problem is not solved though. Fansubbing continues, piracy continues, and American anime companies are still in trouble. Stop downloading, stop fansubbing, and support your anime distributors. If not for them there wouldn’t be any anime available on shelves in the US and we wouldn’t see any of it on television either. The future of anime in American depends on you supporting these companies by buying their products. If you like a show, go buy it. If you’re curious about a show, go rent it. That’s how it should be, nay, that’s how it NEEDS to be.

The Sound of Silence
Megatokyo is a wonderful webcomic. I absolutely love it. The characters are hilarious, the story is engaging, the art is beautiful, and it just keeps getting more interesting. One really cool thing about it is the author, Fred Gallagher, often reveals little tidbits or discoveries he makes. One such discovery has been particularly interesting. It is a music album called Stases by an artist named Loscil. The music this artist makes is unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced. A friend of mine, Noe, commented that if silence and solitude had a sound, this would be it. I just find it intriguing. The music is quite simple, actually. The genre is referred to as drone. And, as the name denotes, it is simply a droning sort of sound. A singular tone. But at the same time it is not. These tones are interwoven with so many nuances, reverberations, and harmonies that it is infinitely engaging. It sounds so simple, but it is some of the most complex music I have ever heard. It is also some of the most relaxing music I have ever heard. What Noe said rings true and I find it interesting that it is possible to create a sound that is reminiscent of silence. That seems to me a paradox but it proves to be quite the opposite. I enjoy this music so very much that I figured I would put the playlist on here for you all to hear. After all, you won’t believe what I’m saying unless you hear it yourself. So, below is a playlist containing the whole album. Unfortunately the player is a little weird and kinda touchy. The playlist can't be made visible and the tracks don't play in their entirety, but you can scroll through the tracks and listen to portions of each. My personal favorite is track three entitled Sous-marin, but all of them are equally as impressive. If you want to see the whole playlist, listen to the entirety of a song, or download any of the tracks, go here. I hope you enjoy it or at least find it as interesting as I.

With that lovely note I call this post complete. I wish you all a wonderful day and hope to see you around!

side note: the cute Thanksgiving picture is by Tralu on DeviantArt.com.

Caesar1280's Anime Ticker

.hack//Legend of the Twilight, Air, Air: The Movie, Akira, The Animatrix, Appleseed, Aquatic Language, Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror, 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, Egao, FLCL, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala, Gankutsuou, Gatekeepers, Genshiken, Ghost in the Shell, Ghost in the Shell: Innocence, Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society, Gin-iro no Kami no Agito, Grave of the Fireflies, Grenadier, Haibane Renmei, Hellsing, Highlander: The Search for Vengeance, Hikaru no Go, Howl?s Moving Castle, Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Jyu Oh Sei, Karas: The Prophecy, 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, 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, She and Her Cat, Spirited Away, Steamboy, Tide-Line Blue, Tokyo Babylon, Tokyo Godfathers, Trigun, Voices of a Distant Star, Witch Hunter Robin, Wonderful Days, Wrath of the Ninja, X

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.hack//Roots, .hack//Sign, 5 cm per Second, Ah! My Goddess, Angelic Layer, Avenger, Basilisk, Binchou-tan, Black Cat, Bleach, Blood+, Boogiepop Phantom, Case Closed, Le Chevalier d'Eon, Chobits, Chrono Crusade, Coyote Ragtime Show, D.Gray-Man, D.N.Angel, DearS, Death Note, Dennou Coil, Desert Punk, Digimon, Dragon Ball Z, Ergo Proxy, Eureka 7, Excel Saga, Fighting Beauty Wulong, Final Fantasy Unlimited, Flag, Full Moon, Gantz, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Gintama, Great Teacher Onizuka, Gundam Seed, Gundam Wing, Hayate the Combat Butler, Hellsing Ultimate, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Innocent Venus, 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, Naruto Shippuuden, Negima?!, Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion, Nerima Daikon Brothers, NHK ni Youkoso, Night Walker, Ninja Nonsense, Noir, Ouran High School Host Club, 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, Serial Experiments Lain, Shingu, Shuffle!, Shrine of the Morning Mist, So Long Mr. Despair, Solty Rei, Sousei no Aquarion, Speed Grapher, Super Milk Chan, Tales of Phantasia, Tenchi Muyo, Tenjhou Tenge, Texnolyze, The Third. Trinity Blood, Tsubasa Chronicles, Urusei Yatsura, Welcome to the N.H.K., Winter Cicada, X-1999, Xenosaga, XxxHolic, Yu Yu Hakushou, Yume Tsukai, Zero no Tsukaima, Zipang

Comments (1)