Friday, September 15, 2006

And A Great Day Was Had By All... ^_^

The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.
- Dante Alighieri

Greetings All! I trust you are all having wonderful days, just like me ^_^. I like good days! Today wasn’t all that exceptional really, except that my classes today were some of the coolest yet! I am really beginning to love my Mass Media/Mass Culture course more and more! It’s just so cool! All it really is is a study of American culture and how the media (newspaper, television, radio, movies, music) affects it. Today we started our look into radio. And, being probably the biggest media event in the history of America, we got to listen to Orson Welles’ 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds. SO COOL! I mean, I had heard that it caused mass panic and all and that the broadcast was a major historical event, but I had never really taken it all that seriously. But, today when I listened to the broadcast for the first time, WHOA! I can really understand how people could have taken this seriously! It was awe-inspiring. I loved it! Also, in my graphic design course we did a little more study into the inner-workings of Adobe Photoshop. My professor taught us a couple methods of using the program, both of which I would probably not developed on my own for quite some time. It was a very useful day of learning! I mean, I am beginning to realize very quickly that I am in the right field of study for me. Because I LOVE THIS STUFF ^_^! Yeah, so my day went well. If you had asked me three years ago I’d have never thought I’d be saying this, but I LOVE SCHOOL!

My Italy Trip: Day 2 (Click Here To View Pictures)
I know you’ve all been waiting patiently, so I am pleased to bring to you my recap of the second day of my family’s trip to Italy. Enjoy!

As stated before, after all of our wanderings around on Day 1, we ended up staying the night in Florence. So, Florence is where we spent Day 2 of our trip. It was NOTHING like I had expected it would be. Although, I don’t understand why I would have thought anything different. I guess, when I think of Italy I think of old brown stone and brick buildings with vines growing all over them and sunlit streets. Florence was nothing like that. It was just like any other European city you’d visit. It had very narrow streets which intertwined among themselves like a grapevine. The buildings on all sides were at least 4 stories tall, so they blocked most of the sunlight from reaching all the way down to street level. And, like most European cities, it had a river flowing through it; the Arno. I mean, nothing really special about this city at first glance. Rather dull actually. But, our travel throughout the day proved the city to be anything but dull.

Our first stop of the day was Florence’s duomo (again, Italian for church). The structure itself has an extensive history and is rather famous for being an archeological first. At the time the structure was built, most cathedrals in Europe had domes which were Gothic in architecture and had domes supported by flying buttresses. The design proposed for the construction of this particular cathedral was unique in the fact that it did not use the conventional flying buttress. On top of that, the structure’s dome still holds the record for the largest cathedral dome in the whole world (143’ in diameter. WOW!) So, to say the least, seeing this structure in person was quite the treat. I loved it! The outside of the cathedral was decorated in a fashion similar to the one we had seen in Orvietto. Very intricate, very beautiful, very white. We were lucky to have seen the front of the cathedral soon after it had been cleaned. The face of the cathedral seemed to gleam, even in the light of the overcast and rainy day. Unfortunately, the entire structure was not so clean. As we walked around the outside, near the back the wonderful white face turned to more of a brownish gray. I respect the city of Florence for attempting to keep their duomo so clean. There were other duomo’s we would later see in the trip which were not so well kept. So, yes the entire thing wasn’t perfect, but at least we got to see the front of it. As amazing as the outside was, the inside of the building was less than awe-inspiring. As usual it was very dark and very gray. Nothing much to really comment on other than the underside of the dome which looked to have been coated with gold. It was all lit up and was quite beautiful. Of course, it wasn’t coated in gold, there were paintings all over it which were quite amazing. And, it was so high up! The artist, whoever he was, must have not had any fear of heights. Quite spectacular.

From the duomo we went and found ourselves some lunch. It was a good lunch. We got the normal Italian food of “panini” style sandwiches (and Italian bread sandwich of any sort which has been toasted). They were still pretty good to eat at this point, but give it a few days and I started getting sick of ‘em. We took our sandwiches out into the Piazza Della Signoria. Not all that impressive of a piazza. Though, it did have a few random statues strewn about, including a replica of the David. At first I was confused as to why, but soon I was informed by my dad that we were standing in the piazza which directly borders the Uffizi Gallery. We didn’t have a reservation there until 1:00, so after we all finished our sandwiches, we yet again split up and went our separate ways. My mom and sister went over about a block to see the Ponte Vecchio, a famous bridge over the Arno that is lined with fancy jewelry stores. My dad and I chose to walk down the Arno River to the San Croce cathedral. The cathedral itself is a very typical gothic style and thus not all that unique from other cathedrals from the outside. But, it is what is inside this cathedral that makes it so famous. Michelangelo Buonarroti, Dante Alighieri, Galileo Galilei, and other famous men chose to have their tombs placed in this cathedral. This is something that neither my dad nor I had realized until we got there. In fact, once we got to the cathedral and seeing it’s rather unappealing exterior we debated on whether to pay the entrance fee or not. I’m very glad we did. Had I learned that I was so close to these tombs and not seen them, I would have been devastated. My mom and sister didn’t have the same kind of luck that we did. They were expecting to actually buy some of the jewelry on the Ponte Vecchio, but everything was overpriced. A bummer.

Having reunited back at the Uffizi, we waited in a rather short line to get in. After entering we viewed all the artifacts that this museum had to boast. The most memorable portion of the museum for me would have to be the busts of all the Roman emperors which lined the main hallway that ran the length of the building. Some of them were quite spectacular while others were broken and chipped. It has been too long for me to remember much else from inside the museum. There was a lot of stuff in there. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed cameras in there, so we weren’t able to take pictures of any of the more interesting artifacts. I wasn’t all that bummed about it at the time, but now I am ^_^.

After leaving the Uffizi, we headed back to the hotel to have a little break. It had been a lot of walking so far that day and we were all tired. The break was refreshing and we all felt energetic when 5:00 began to roll around. That is the time at which we had reserved to go to the Accademia Gallery where Michelangelo’s David resides. The Accademia was specifically built to house the David back in 1873. It has since attracted other artifacts, mostly Byzantine art, but there are also various unfinished pieces of Michelangelo’s. The statue itself stands prominently in the center of the gallery. It is MUCH larger than I had thought it would be. Its size really astounded me. I was also quite astonished with the craftsmanship of the statue. It looked so real. It amazed me that a person really could carve something like that. I didn’t think it seemed possible. And, for a couple artists, it was. Before Michelangelo, two other artists had attempted to carve from the same piece of marble and had failed because of an imperfection which ran through the length of the block. That’s not the most impressive part though. At the time he carved it, Michelangelo was only 25! 25! Gah! 5 years older than me and the man is able to create something of that skill and magnitude. The man makes me look like the monkeys from 2001: A Space Odyssey banging on bones with a club. That’s called talent, people. There is no other non-blasphemous explanation. I was in awe.

The Accademia was the last place we visited in Florence. So, upon leaving, we headed back to the hotel to take showers, kick back, and wait for dinnertime to roll around. Dinner that evening was rather special for me. Not only was it a good meal, but it was also the first meal at which I drank a wine. There is no drinking age in Italy, so it was perfectly legal for me to have a drink. And, I guess my parents thought Italy would be the best place for me to have my first drink, because they actually encouraged me to have a glass. I enjoyed it! It was quite good! I thank them for allowing me to try it.

Well, with that I’ll call my post complete. I’m sorry for it’s length, but Day 2 was a big day for our trip. But, if you thought this was long, wait for Rome. Heh heh! Yeah. ^_^ Well, I wish y’all a wonderful day! 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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