Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Finals Week

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.
- Sir Winston Churchill

Greetings All! I hope you’re all having a wonderful day! Mine’s been rather dull. Today was a “dead day” for me. Which, for all you who haven’t made it to college yet, means that I had no finals or classes today. It was a day I could do anything with. I hate those. I really do. Of course, I took the opportunity to sleep in. It was nice. I slept in ‘til something like 1:00pm. Yeah, I’m lazy. ^_^ Unfortunately, I waited too long to go get lunch so the cafeteria closed without me ever actually getting there. So I made myself some ramen for lunch and enjoyed it while sitting in front of the two Family Guy episodes I taped from last night’s Fox lineup. My lunch completed, I sat down to study for my Mass Media final tomorrow. That continued though to dinnertime. After dinner I went over to the art building to continue work on my movie trailer assignment for my Digital Imaging course. And now that brings me here. Yay! So, yeah, a dull day. The entire past week has been like that. *sigh* I want finals to be over so I can get home and have something a little more interesting to type about. Grr… Eh, it’s just a matter of time. On with the post!

Snowbound… Maybe
The plan for the weekend after I got back home from finals was that my dad and I would be heading to Keystone, Colorado to go skiing/snowboarding. We do this every year and it is one of the parts of the Christmas break that I look forward to the most. Unfortunately, that plan may have been foiled by gravity. My dad went down to east Texas this past week to work on my handicapped grandmother’s house. It was in need of repair, I think still from problems left over form hurricane Rita, but I’m not sure. Anyway, he was attempting to do some repairs on the roof, and as he stepped off the ladder to get his legs up there, he managed to loose his grip and ended up falling 10 feet from the roof down to the concrete driveway, badly spraining his ankle in the process. This really sucks. We were afraid the thing was actually broken for a while, but after x-rays were taken, it was clear that it was, in fact, just a sprain. So, that’s good news. The bad news is that even though it’s just a sprain, it’s swollen up really badly and he’s having to keep it elevated. He can only make his way around the house with crutches. Needless to say, he’s in no condition to go skiing.

There is a slightly bright side to this whole conundrum, though. The hotel my dad had booked for the trip is unwilling give us a refund, so we either have to end up using it, or we just pay the price without going. I know, that’s not so bright yet, but let me continue. They are willing to possibly let us change the dates of our trip. So, we might be able to postpone the trip until later in the year. Or… if that doesn’t work out, I could just go with some friends and maybe my dad can tag along but spend most of his time in the lodge or whatnot. So, even through this whole accident, we might end up going anyway. That’s the good news. I’ll let you know of any further developments as I get them.

Movie Mayhem
With it being the week of finals and stuff, all I’ve had to do is study, pretty much. My classes this past semester were easy for me, so studying has been a cinch. I’ve had a lot of time to just hang around and do stuff. A good majority of this free time has, of course, been spent seeing movies. I’ve seen four movies this past week including Fast Food Nation, the movie with Cherami in it. She was awesome! She did a wonderful job. I also saw The Fountain, Apocalypto, and Blood Diamond. All of those were incredibly good movies as well.

I loved The Fountain. It was very well done and really made me think. It’s one of those movies that doesn’t neatly tie everything in a bow for you. You have to think about it to figure out exactly how it ended and what was going on. Some of it takes place back during the conquest of the Americas and involves a Spanish conquistador, some of it takes place in the present time, and some of it takes place in the far future. All of these times are drawn together through the love of the two main characters played expertly by Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman. Funny thing, both of those actors are British and yet both of them were told to act in American accents for most of the movie. HAHA! Why didn’t they just set the movie in England? Heh. It was a great movie and I suggest it to anyone who likes a good mind bender. But, see it quick, it’s leaving the theatres very soon.

Apocalypto was INCREDIBlE! Gah! Mel just doesn’t know how to make a bad movie. It was amazing. It really set up this Mayan world for you; it drew you in. The characters were deep and you really started to care for them by the end of the movie. The story itself was excellent. As I said when I commented on EW’s review of the movie, it’s not the kind of movie you need to drink one of those large overpriced sodas during. Cuz there isn’t a moment in that entire movie that lends itself to a bathroom break. I speak from personal experience of course. I was in pain at the end of the movie. In serious pain. I do caution you all though. Yes, I do recommend this movie, but it is excessively violent in parts. A few examples of this: they actually show the human sacrificing, a man beans his head on a rock after jumping off a waterfall, and another man gets his face bitten off by a jaguar. There is more, but that gives you a pretty good idea of what to expect. So, if you don’t have a strong stomach or aren’t good at closing your eyes at the right time, this movie isn’t for you. View with caution.

Lastly, Blood Diamond was a good movie as well. It wasn’t nearly the all-out amazingness that Apocalypto was, but it was still incredibly good. It detailed one man’s struggle to survive during the 1990’s diamond conflict in Sierra Leone. As far as movies go, this one is one that is intended to inspire it’s viewers to take action. After coming out of the movie, I really wanted to go and help people in Africa. Some of the stuff that was shown in the movie was just wrong! There has to be something we can do to help these people. Nobody should have to live their entire lives in fear of being captured or killed by rebels. That’s just no kind of life. But, alas, I don’t know what could possibly be done. Yes, the major governments of the world could actually care a little about the plight of these people and take a little more action, but even that isn’t going to solve anything. It’s just a horrible situation over there. I pray for the people of Africa in general, but more specifically the people of the Darfur region of Sudan. They are living through hell, maybe our prayers can make their lives a little better. Go and see Blood Diamond.

Caesar1280’s Christmas List
Christmas is approaching. It’s approaching fast. I’ve been attempting to get myself into the “Christmas spirit” but have had no luck thus far. I’m just not ready for it, ya know? It’s stressful, it’s costly, and it’s not very relaxing. A holiday is for relaxing, not running around in a crazy mobs though department stores looking for that “perfect gift.” But, since I should at least try and get into the Christmas spirit eventually, I thought I’d add a little bit of what Americans feel Christmas is all about (whether they admit it or not); gifts. So, below is my Christmas list for the 2006 holiday. I hope you all get a kick out of it, and if you feel so inclined, feel free to purchase something for me! ^_^

CD’s:
1: Kate Havnevik – Melankton
2: The Beatles:
Please Please Me
With the Beatles
A Hard Day’s Night
Beatles for Sale
Help!
Rubber Soul
Revolver
Yellow Submarine
Let It Be
3: Jack Johnson
4: John Mayer – Try!
5: Jason Mraz – Mr. A – Z
6: The Postal Service – Give Up
7: Thievery Corporation – The Richest Man in Babylon

Movies: (all widescreen, please)
1: V for Vendetta: 2 Disc Special Edition
2: Lady in the Water
3: Wordplay
4: March of the Penguins
5: Lucky Number Slevin
6: King Kong

Anime:
1: Cowboy Bebop
2: Samurai Champloo
3: Samurai 7
4: Millennium Actress
5: Ah! My Goddess: The Movie

Miscellaneous:
1: Fencing Equipment
Vest, helmet, and glove. All sized medium (vest might also be listed as size 42)
2: “Entertainment Weekly” subscription
3: Headphones (preferably some nice ones that cover the ears)
4: iPod FM transmitter (not an iTrip, they don’t work well)
5: DVD/VCR
6: Nintendo Wii (^_^ I had to put down something impossible to get)

Well, with that I wish you all a wonderful day! Good luck to all going through finals right now! 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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