Monday, September 11, 2006

Ah, Another Post... Finally

There is an ecstasy that marks the summit of life, and beyond which life cannot rise. And such is the paradox of living, this ecstasy comes when one is most alive, and it comes as a complete forgetfulness that one is alive.
- Jack London

Greetings all! I apologize greatly for not posting in a while. I really need to work on this. It seems that every time I post I’m having to apologize for a long absence. That’s just not right. But, worry not, it is something that I plan on fixing very quickly. I should be on a little more often now. So, on with the post.

Internetwork Deficiency
The biggest reason why I haven’t been posting in a while is the fact that I can’t connect to the internet for and extended amount of time. Long story short, the Ethernet port on my computer was fried last semester by a bolt of lightning and it hasn’t worked since. This has limited me to just being able to use a wireless connection. At home this isn’t a problem because we have a wireless network which encompasses the entire house, but at school it becomes an issue. There isn’t a wireless network which reaches into my room. So, I have to take my computer out into the student center (which is conveniently located in the same building that my dorm is) where there is a wireless signal. Unfortunately there isn’t an outlet out there, so I can only stay connected to the internet as long as my battery power lasts. And, I’m sorry to say that this little blog isn’t very high on my priorities list. ^_^ Anyway, the entire thing seems to have been fixed. There is this wonderful little device called a USB Ethernet adapter. It plugs into one of your USB ports and has an Ethernet port on the other end. Basically, it allows you to run an Ethernet cable through your USB port instead of your Ethernet port. Really cool. There was a little snag when I couldn’t find one that was compatible with macs, but at that has also been fixed. So, I’ll be posting more often now since I have easier access to the internet.

Anime Fest!
The weekend before this past one, I was down in Dallas at Anime Fest! It was an awesome convention! I love the guests that Anime Fest can get. This year Yoshitoshi ABe (no the capitalization of the B is not a mistake), Yasuyuki Ueda, Monkey Punch, and FLOW were the premier guests. ABe-san is best known for his character design work on Serial Experiments Lain but he has also done character design for Haibane Renmei (an anime which he himself wrote the story for), NieA_7 (which he also wrote the story for), and Texnolyze. Ueda-san is a producer and has worked closely with ABe-san but has also done work on other anime including the music production for Escaflowne. The panels that these two men held were quite interesting. I went to two out of four of them. They are some interesting people. I’d go into more depth on what it is they said in the panels, but that would take too much time. Monkey Punch is actually one man (who’s name I forget) who did the original manga for Lupin III. I did not manage to get to any panel with him. In fact I started doubting near the end of the convention if the man even showed up at all. Bummer if you ask me, I was kinda wanting to see what the man had to say about being a manga artist in Japan. FLOW, the last major guest, is a J-rock band who has done songs for anime such as Naruto, Eureka 7, and the upcoming CLAMP anime entitled Code Geass. They are one of the more popular bands in Japan and this was their first trip to the U.S.. They really seemed to love it! I went to their panel where they boasted that they had gone to Ft. Worth (a city near Dallas), gotten burgers at McDonalds, and bought cowboy hats. They seemed pleased with their reception at their concert as well. And they should be pleased! Their concert was incredible! I thought it was too short, but that it just the way things go. They played a lot of great music, they had great stage presence, and overall made the experience a really enjoyable one. I hope they come back to the U.S. sometime. I guearantee them a good reception. I hope the crazy otaku at the con didn’t scare them off ^_^!

Windy City Wanderings
This past weekend I and three of my friends set off on a trip north to Chicago to see John Mayer and Sheryl Crow in concert. It was about an 11 hour trip up there. Somehow we managed to pull it off in 9.5 with an extra hour added on for lunch. The car ride was actually very boring. Not much really to do. So, I tried to put it to good use. I actually typed out the beginning of this post at 6AM on a road somewhere in Missouri. I also spent my time reading. I read a couple manga volumes and I started reading a book I need to read for my Western Civilization class this semester. But, even with all that activity, the majority of the trip up there was spent just sitting looking out the window. Although, with the air conditioning out in the care we were driving, I developed a new appreciation for wind in the hair. It’s so fun!

Upon arrival in the Chicago area, we attempted to find a hotel. It was harder than I had assumed. We managed to snag the last room in the area. And when I say the last, I mean the last. We had to stay in a smoking room with one bed (not good if you’ve got four people in your group). So, needless to say, I slept on the floor that night. From there we went to the concert. GAHH!!!! It was SOO GOOOOOOD! Hands down the best concert I’ve ever been to. Yeah, the KOTOKO concert at A-Kon this past summer was great, but this one beat it out easily. I actually enjoyed the Sheryl Crow half of the concert more than I had thought I would. She’s quite the singer. Although the highlight of the concert was John Mayer. I swear, he is by far one of the best musicians of today. I can’t really express to you how awesome he was. Just know that I thought it was the best thing ever! Heh heh! Yeah. I’m definitely going to be buying his CD tomorrow when it comes out. A few people up in the front row of the concert actually got the CD while at the concert. John Mayer himself handed them out at the beginning of his encore. Oh how I envied them. He performed 5 or 6 songs from his hew CD and the rest of the concert was his older stuff. And, from what I heard, his new CD is going to be FANTASTIC! So yeah, great concert. Definitely made the long trip worth it.

Sunday morning our little group decided to travel into the city of Chicago itself and wander around a bit. I’m actually the only person from the group who had been there before, so I became sort of a miniature tour guide. Yeah, I know practically nothing about the city, but practically nothing in comparison to nothing is something. So, we did a little circle around downtown Chicago. We walked down Michigan Ave. past Grant park, Millennium Park, and the Chicago Art Institurte. We went through the shopping district on N. Michigan Ave. and turned off onto Ontario. A couple blocks down Ontario there is a little pizza restaurant called Pizzeria Due which we decided to stop in. I apologize for my language, but DAMN THAT WAS A HELL OF AN AWESOME PIZZA! It was the best pizza I have ever had. It was so piled up with stuff that I only barely managed to finish one slice before I was full. I can typically down about 4 slices. Chicago deep dish is definitely something you must try, if you haven’t. The pizza itself was exceptionally priced too. So, it was cheap and spectacular. Stomachs overflowing, we left the Pizzeria and headed back to the train. And, then we were off back to school. A great weekend. September really has been quite the month for me.

Well, with that I’m going to be off. It’s been a long post and I’m sure your as tired of reading as I am of typing. If you’re wondering what happened to the rest of my Italy trip, don’t worry, it’s coming. I’m typing out the rest of it in one big “memoir” and will post it in segments once I get it finished. I wish you all a great day and I’ll see ya ‘round TheO! Sayonara!

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

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