Saturday, January 6, 2007

Still Busy, Nothing to Show for it, Yet

I thought I would have a picture up the other day, but I just couldn't get it finished. I will submit it tomorrow though, one way or another I'm finishing it today. It's always sad for me when a friend leaves MyO, this time it's kout3uka. I wish him all the best, and hope his path brings him back here to us someday. Comments: Road Kamelot Yensid: I guess so, I know I don't feel like doing a lot of things when I'm sick, because I'm tired all the time when I'm sick. Wrath wasn't entirely unexpected for me, but I did expect to see maybe sloth, or envy take the number 1 spot. The reasoning for that is not to be divulged though, sorry, this dragon has to keep some secrets. Thanks for pointing that out, I remedied that shortsight on my part. I have been dialoguing with him in PM and I did comment on his posts too. Best of luck to you on those projects of yours too. BlackMagicianGrl Thank you, you too. I can promise some of the artwork will be submitted here soon, the novel is another story (pardon the pun), but when I do get things sorted out with that, I can promise that I'll have information about it here first. Since I'm still not done the first draft, I don't have much more on it right now. Magnus Lensherr Actually, Hayao Miyazaki didn't direct, or write, either of those films. Whisper of the Heart (1995) was directed by the late Yoshifumi Kondou (he died in 1998) who was being groomed to replace either Hayao Miyazaki or Isao Takahata [Grave of the Fireflies (1988)]. The Cat Returns (2002), was directed by Hiroyuki Morita, and both films were based on characters created by Aoi Hiragi. Anything that comes out of Studio Ghibli is impressive in my mind. They're sold in a tin, white with a red band for peppermint, and they're called "Curiously strong" though there's nothing curious about them, they pack a moderate minty punch that I like. If you see them, you'll have to try them at least once, but I did warn you that they're strong, remember that. Thank you, I'll need it. Kiki-tink They certainly are good films. I'll try to have something of the projects up here soon. scorchbird12: That's all right, you get here when you can. If you get the chance, you should see them both, they are timeless films that are well worth watching. Some of the art ones will hopefully be up soon. I don't really pay attention to the days between comments, I just know you'll get here when you can, and that's enough for me. There was a method to my madness on the audio search info, that being not to encourage the piracy of copyrighted materials, and to reduce the liability to the site for such encouragements. I've given Yahoo!'s audio search a go before, maybe they've improved it since I last used it, it's worth a look. Yeah, it would be nice, but you take what you can get sometimes. For the record, Regal Entertainment Group has yet to answer my complaint, you know that means they're fully aware of their bias and can't figure out how to talk their way out of it when they don't answer like that. Why dodge the issue? They have to know dodging my accusations have to make them look guilty. Gedo Senki won't come to the US till 2009 because of Sci_Fi's s***, and there aren't a whole lot of anime films released to US theatres anyway, so why ignore the concerns of a movie fan who's not putting money into a theatre he thinks is discriminating against his movie preferences? For every one person who speak out, there are at least two dozen who sit in silence. So do I, that's why I'm so behind. Juz Cuz: That's a shortcoming to the PM system here, you can't embed images in the messages, you have to send the URLs. Among other things, that's annoying, but I guess the admins here have their reasons for not wanting to allow embedding images in PM's. I think it has to do with spamming and harrassment. I'm not sure how long the mint ones will be out, all I can tell you is keep looking, and check your local odd lots store (Big Lots, Odd Lots, Ollie's, etc), the overstock might end up there when the season for them is over, it works for the cocoa Chex Mix. Hershey's does dark Chocolate well, and I'm glad to finally be able to get a normal size Special Dark bar at the registers in stores now too, Mm, those are good. Yeah, I'm actually going to try to be more outgoing this year, and actually go out of my way to meet people on site here myself. I've been here for three years, and I'm not really as outgoing as I could be, so we'll just have to see. Thank you, and may your 2007 be filled with warm friends and bright atmospheres. Poison Fangs Thanks, I know it's no big deal, it's just that not a lot has been going on with me lately, so there's not much to tell at the moment. Things will pick up again, but for now, I'm glad to have the lull. Mamma Vash: Persistence certainly is a virtue in some cases, though I don't think I'd like a bunch of crazy cats coming after me that way either. All my projects are doing well at the moment. You can't actually embed an image (like a card) into the message of a PM here, the HTML code is disabled. You can't even do a simple text hyperlink, or even copy and paste straight code to give someone an example without it doing weird things. I can understand that the admins here want to keep the reins on any potential spamming, or harassment through the use of embedded images, hyperlinks, and all that in PM's, but it's more inconvenient than it is helpful at this point. sanzolover13 The movies are good, if you get the chance to see them, do. Thank you, I'll certainly try. Outlaw Melfina: "once begun is half done", I'm on it. Whisper of the Heart is kind of weird for me, it actually combines a few of my passions very well. For the record those are the Violin, writing, "Take me Home, Country Roads"(Original version of the movie's theme song), and of course animé. It's easy to understand that Studio Ghibli's films aren't for everyone, they do tend to lean toward the sweet cheery side of things(with a few exceptions) but at least you give them a try before saying you don't like then. I really respect that. Shireishou I hope you can get here too. alphonse13: I haven't seen those yet, I have no real desire to either (I have nothing against pirates, I just don't care for some of the acting talent in those. Well, I've still go a ways to go, but I'm getting there. Animé Dreams!

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Tuesday, January 2, 2007

Not much to talk about today, I watched both The Cat Returns and Whipser of the Heartthis morning, so I'm refreshed and ready to pour myself into those art projects and that novel draft I need to get done. Hopefully, by my next post I'll have something to show for my efforts. Comments: sikaurai It is a unique username. I can remember my early days here, not a lot of people would talk to me, so any chance I get to get a conversation going between people, I'm glad to step in. Yeah, I had to screencap the result and do the coding from scratch though because the MyO automatically centers everything in the quiz results, incuding those status bars, which looks plain dumb. To be honest, I'm surprised Wrath was my highest scoring sin, although I do warn people abut my temper a lot . . . Happy New year to you too. Yensid: Who doesn't like a Hershey Kiss now and then? Thanks for pointing that out, I remedied that shortsight on my part. I have been dialoguing with him in PM and I did comment on his posts too. Wrath has it's own consequences too, I speak from experience there. Glad to know I found something of help. Now, I got my info on Painter Essentials 3 being a stripped down Painter IX from a couple of the websites that came up in my search, whether that's true or not is something I can't verify. I hope the info was right, but as with Photoshop, you'll have a lot of things you can't do for not having the full version of Painter. I'll add quickly that I like Painter Essentials' tablet support too, pressure and tilt work best in that program of all that I've used my tablet with. Magnus Lensherr Hm, I wonder if they're shipped overseas. The ones on the left are for everyone, because when I got those ASCII text kisses a couple months ago, I couldn't send them out(my PM thing doesn't like to send those things for some reason). The weird two flagged one (that's not normal, and no I didn't add the second flag myself) are for the holiday well wishers, which was just about everyone on my friend's list too. Some of you sent cards in PM messages, some of you posted your cards to everyone on your sites, some of you posted messages of holiday wishes in comments, or on your pages without putting cards up. I take all of that to heart, and I thank each and every one of you for the kindnesses in whatever way you've shown them. It's rumored that Hershey named the chocolates "kisses" from the sound the machine that drops them makes, but the company says that's not really true. Basically it's an oversized chocolate chip like you'd find in a cookie. Check out the Hershey's Kisses page to get an idea what all they've got, some of those shown are seasonal though, which means they're not around all year. I've let a lot of these projects go for too long now as it is, they must be done. You have a happy new year too. Mamma Vash: I had to do something with the kisses, when those things, like the rose a while back, wouldn't send. I hope this coming year has those moments of contentment for me, and all my friends here, too. Every time I see a Miyazaki film, I'm inspired. Every time I see one, I hear myself reminding me "That's why you do this, that's why you draw." So next time you see a Miyazaki film, or any Studio Ghibli film, remember that it's inspiring me. You have a good one too. Juz Cuz: You did wish me well in one of the PM's you sent me, sometimes even a few kind words is all I need. I've wanted to return the kisses to thos who sent them, and pass along to all my friends the kisses since I got the ASCII text ones a while back, this is the way I do it since my PM box doesn't like to send things like the ASCII text pictures. I like to hear that, I hope that's the case. It's always nice to make a new friend. ~_^ Happy New Year to you too. sango87: The mint ones are Holiday/seasonal ones, I'd never heard of them either till my Mom broght them home. The dark chocolate ones are probably going to be around year-round, the whole anti-oxidants thing that dark chocolate has going for it will see to that, I hope anyway, I love dark chocolate. I appreciate that, thank you. sanzolover13 I like mint too, now if they'd only make a mint dark chocolate one, I'd be in Heaven. My early days here were hard on me because I didn't know anyone, and I wasn't really outgoing online back then (I had just gotten internet access at home at the time), so I'm glad to help out someone who's new on the block and just looking to get into the swing of things. He's got a great personality that you see after a couple PM's with him. Same to you. beyblader Milk chocolate is too sweet for me most of the time, that's why I tend to lean toward the dark side myself. There's a really bad Star Wars joke in there somewhere, but I won't be the one to say it! I like mint too, though after having Altoids for so long(really strong peppermint, Magnus might know the brand, they're imported to the US from the UK) any other mint is weak. The beauty of Hershey's kisses is that there's a kind for almost anyone. (see link above for the flavor varieties). You too. Kiki-tink Happy New Year to you too, and do I, I hope it's good for all of us. Animé Dreams!

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Sunday, December 31, 2006

Another Year Approaches Fast

In less than 24 hours, we'll be in a new year. Lets hope it brings us good fortune, and success. For those of you who sent me those text kisses a while back, and for all my friends who I would have sent them too if I could have sent them, the pair of kisses, a dark mysterious one, and a light minty one on the left are for you. For all of you who posted greetings, or sent me them personally via PM, or even just said anything like Happy Holidays in a comments over the past few weeks, on the right is a special minty kiss for you. I'd list all of your names here, but you all know who you are without my poutting your names here. I do want to give a bit of a belated welcome to chevydude. He's kind of new here on MyO, so if you could, give him a warm welcome and help him out while he gets used to things, that would be neighborly of you. Comments: Magnus Lensherr No one can drive me crazy, I live here full time now. It's just down the interstate, one exit past Margaritaville. ~_^ The art projects will get done, I'll sit down and make myself do them this week. Mine is actually the back side of a whiteboard that I sprayed with the chalkboard paint. I would have used the whiteboard, but my markers are all dry, so I used the chalkboard instead. I'll manage to keep on coming by while I work on the projects. Outlaw Melfina: I wasn't going for poetic, but whatever works. I find that I do that too, if I mentally note a project, it never gets done, so wrote them all down. Yensid: I'm quicker with the old school myself. Technology works, but it's cumbersome and difficult most of the time. Not knowing which version of Painter you've got this is about all I could dig up. If you're using Painter Essentials 3, it's a stripped down version of Painter IX. Good luck with your projects, that digital stuff is kind of complicated at first, but once you get it, it's easy. I'll be at home myself, but with family, that's important. Have a good one, and Happy New Year! alphonse13: Chalk is good for doing lots of things without needing a chalk board. I hope you hunch isn't as bad as it seems too. Although I do have to say that January is usually a good month for me, but my birthday is in January, so of course it's good to me. Let me tell you, I passed the written test for my learner's permit the first time. When my brother took the written portion of the graduated license when he turned 16, he failed three times before I coached him through it, then he passed the last time he too the test. My brother's wife (then girlfriend) failed twice before I coached her through the written portion of the test, a friend of mine and my brother's failed six or seven times before I coached him, my sister passed her first time on the permit test because I coached her through it, so I'm good with the written portion of the test, driving is another story, I never took a driving test when I turned 16, I never bothered to get my license after driving only once in the whole year I was 15. Whether written or driving, a lot of the test is common sense though, so I think you'll do fine. Animé Dreams!

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Friday, December 29, 2006

Busy Beaver My Butt!!! I'm A Busy Dragon!

Last night I went through and chalked down all my pending art projects. Yes, I have a chalk board, and yes, I do neardy things like that with it. Anyway, the list is longer than I thought it would be, so I'm going to have to get busy with thos projects if I want to get them all done. I'd list them all here, but why spoil the surprise of things? So I'll be really busy in the next few days just getting myself caught up on those art projects, two of which I have to teach myself new art styles to do, but it'll be fun. Whatever I can post here, I will try to post, anything else I'll show you in other ways. Not a lot else to talk about really, I've been sleeping and building up my energy to tackle these art projects, but that's about it. I don't think the mouse pestering me in my kitchen is of any real insterest, so I'll forgo telling that tale. Comments: Magnus Lensherr Tee holiday has become overly commercial. I've answered them a few times, probab;ly different each time, oh well, I don't really like to talk about the swag, it sound kind of boastful, and that's not like me. Be true to yourself, wise words indeed. I think I need to take those to heart. Good luck with your efforts. Outlaw Melfina: Free spirits are often weighed down by such things. Once you find the door to that cage though, you'll soar pretty high. Yensid: We all have our ups and downs. I go from one extreme to the other every time I get a job interview. All we can do is keep on trying, there's no harm in that. That's a responsible goal to set, one that shouldn' be too difficult to attain, though it might prove to be just as challenging. If the site wasn't so difficult to navigate over there, I'd be on more often, so I don't really have a lot of traffic in notes, and comments and all that stuff yet. Maybe over time. The people here on MyO are very supportive and very open in terms of community, which isn't seen elsewhere on the net. Kiki-tink I'll be pulling for you on that too. Every little bit of emotional support you get will be a help. As for Mr. Right, I think he used to live in Margaritaville, just down the road from Crazy where I live now. No, wait, that was Mr. Wrong, Mr. Right was beyond Crazy in the Land of Spells and Fairies which is hard to find once you get off the interstate. At any rate Ms. Right there for me too, but I have to wait till I'm more financially stable to go looking her. sikaurai I read your post on that, I still think someone trying to railroad you, so tread carefully with that, and get an attorney. Once you get that thing removed, you can have pretty much anything. The absurdity of my Mom having hers out is that the very next morning inthe hospital, they served bacon with her breakfast, that was back in the 80's. alphonse13: I'm going to have to keep my eye on your posts this coming year. My gut always tells me to go with people hunches and feelings like that, so I'll be watching. I hope it's nothing too serious though, because I've been bogged down lately with serious stuff and need a break from all that for something lighter. Driving is common sense, logic, patience, and a boatload of alertness, if you have all or even some of those, you'll do fine. Grades are more scare than worth, that said, you just need to pay attention, and do you homework in your spare time during class or between classes, you remember the stuff better which makes the grades higher, and get it done faster. sanzolover13 Thank you for the kind words. And don't be sorry about the rain, if it wasn't going to snow, I'm happy it rained. I like to have overcast skies, and something going on outside on Christmas. A sunny Christmas is just unnatural to me. The drawing one should be done soon, but no promises. That's a noble goal, if there's anything I can do to help it along, drop me a line, I'll be glad to do what I can. I'd love to get it up more often too, so as I get through these projects I'm doing, I'll try to get the anime related ones up here ASAP. Animé Dreams!

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Wednesday, December 27, 2006

There's No Such Thing As . . .

TOO MUCH EGG-NOG!!! The holiday gone and things back to semi-normal. I'm glad to report that my sister-in-law is doing well. Thank you all for your continued support it meant a lot to the family. Since it's been asked to death lately, I'll skip the "what did you get for Christmas questions and ask something a little different. What are your plans for the coming year? 2006 is almost over, and some of you may have ideas of things you want to accomplish, or maybe sometig you've been meaning to do and just haven't gotten it done. to be fair, I'll answer that myself. I'm setting a goal to be more active with my art, I have my story to finish and polish for publishing, I also intend to find a job this year too. The project isn't done yet, I need to study some more reference material first, but I'll try to have it up soon. I've got a few other projects that are beckoning me to complete as well so I'll be busy for a while. Comments: Magnus Lensherr Time will tell, but as I said, she's strong. I have to admit the overly commercial aspect of Christmas annoys me, but I'm the son of a minister, so I'm kind of biased that way. And not a single channel ran the Charlie Brown Christmas special this year! That one I take the time to watch because it's cute. It's an art trade I'm doing, and my end is going to be fun because it'sa something I haven't done yet. You have a wonderful Christmas too. snow fox You're right, there really is no getting over the loss of a loved one, that was bad wording on my part. I lost my grandfather to heart problems a few years back, my grandmother died of a brain tumor when I was 11. Sharing stories and remembering the person keeps them alive in our hearts and minds, and that's the best thing to do. Ancient Egyptians believed that by merely saying a deceased person's name granted them immortality. So, you're on the civil side of Appalachia are you? To be honest, I know little about any of the states surrounding me as well. I can go on four hours about the scenic beauty here, but 99% of the people leave a lot to be desired. Actually, Breakfast Squid is another user on site here. I do have to say that's one of the coolest sounding usernames I've run into in my three years on site here. I'm doing an art trade with him. You have a Happy Christmas too! Kiki-tink That's a lot of people to lose in a such a short time, you have my sympathies for your losses. Every little bit, every prayer, is a blessing to those who've lost loved ones. My sister-in-law was very close to her grandmother, so it'll probably be very hard on her for a while. It means a lot to me, and I'm sure it will mean a lot to my sister-in-law that you're doing that. When she answers my e-mail, I'll know. Yensid: I didn't start looking at the other art till after I was sure mine was in there, and I chose from the start a dragon because I liked the symbolism of it, I didn't care if anyone else had done a dragon or not (I think mine is the only one in there, I still havent' gone through all 285 pictures yet), that was my vision, simple elegance. I think I hesitated at first to do a picture, but I had the concept in mind, and when an image haunts your mind you have to put it down, so I did. I think Adam more succeeded in getting people interested in the prize list. That's a downside to promoting something like that so loudly, you tend to lose the sound of the orchestra for all the instruments playing, I don't think it's right for people to just join up to enter a contest like that myself, but that's not something I'm going to sweat over. There's only 8 top spots, I'll either make it that far, or I won't, but either way, I'll have done my part. When the time comes, I will ask Adam if he could get me the actual number of votes my picture receives, whether I win or lose, I'd find that information interesting. How the mods handle the artwork is really up to them. Hopefully they will be kind to the people who mistagged their pieces but did have them submitted before the deadline, but the works that came in afterward shouldn't be considered. That's part of why I was reluctant to join up on dA, that whole thing is a "look at me" site, the comments, and blog and all that look and function like afterthought features to appease the masses without having any real significance. The project will be interesting to say the least, it's something I've never done before so it'll be fun. I'll know when I see her if my sister-in-law is doing all right, she seemed to be the other day. sikaurai That's quite all right, I'm anti-social too so I know the feeling. A couple dozen egg nogs (the good kind, with rum in it!) should cure that though. Given that it is an art trade with Breakfast Squid, I think you'll be seeing the results here as soon as I can get the work done. Happy Holidays to you too. alphonse13: So far things are good. Where have I heard that before *thinks* Oh I'm usually the one typing that! It's as true on the receiving end as it is on the delivery end. I just listen to the album I burned for my sister (made me a copy too), and that's it for me, I can't stand a lot of what's on the radio. You don't here the classics like Silver Bells anymore which is a tragedy, it's a beautiful song. sanzolover13 Thank you, and same to you. I got rain instead of snow, but as long as it wasn't sunny I'm cool. And I certainly will have the project done as soon as possible. Shireishou Happy Holidays to you too, I'm glad to see you back on here, it's great. I hope you have a happy and prosperous new year yourself. Oh, in case you didn't get it in the comment I posted to your update on the 24th, Here is the link to a page on CSS pop windows I gave you. Read it over carefully, it talks about javascripts and modifying page headers (which isn't a user defineable feature here on MyO), but it may give you some ideas on how to proceed with that. Animé Dreams!

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Saturday, December 23, 2006

Rainy Saturday

As promised, I delivered the sympathy messages last night. My sister-in-law looked and sounded all right when she was over at the house yesterday, so, from my perspective, I think things are going to be all right, but only time will tell. When I get her reply to your kind thoughts, I'll post it here if I can. Thank you all for the support, it's been a real blessing. Those of you who don't live in West Virginia, you don't know how lucky you are not to be here. All that's been on TV this afternoon was not the usual Christmas motif one would expect, but We are Marshall this, that, and all the other [Censored] too. Apparently they held a premiere in Huntington today, the day it goes into wide release. On top of that, Regal Cinemas has been promoting the film all week on their marquee which is uncharacteristic of them to do for any film. Moving on now, I'm probably not going to post for the next few days (like I post every day as it is anyway!) I've got a really neat project I'm working on for Breakfast Squid, and with the holiday upon me, things are just going to be insane so I'll be lucky to get on here. If I don't get on here before then, have a great holiday everyone, may you dream of animé sugarplums. Comments: Magnus Lensherr I used to use it to answer comments till it went down, that's why I can't forget so easily. It's also part of why I do this format for my comments now too. I just saw my sister-in-law today, and she looked all right. I expect it to be hard, but I know she's a strong person and will get through it. I can relate to her on a personal level with this, I've already lost both my grandparents. For her sake, and her mother's sake, I hope the magic of the holiday isn't lost. I'm glad they enjoyed it because I like to share my passion for animé with others in creative ways. I'm always telling people that to get to know me all you have to do is understand what I watch on TV, because a lot of the animé I watch has something that relates to me on a personal level, mostly in the characters. I'm sure one of the satellite carriers may offer BBC, but it's not a common channel to see in the US. I just happened to catch the announcement on the theotaku.com main page. I figured I'd mention that since I knew a few people from the UK, and I'm not sure you all get over to the main page to read the news regularly (I'll have to see if I can find a sort of RSS reader box to put on my page so you're all kept up on the news). Kiki-tink That's a lot of people to lose in a such a short time, you have my sympathies for your losses. Every little bit, every prayer, is a blessing to those who've lost loved ones. My sister-in-law was very close to her grandmother, so it'll probably be very hard on her for a while. It means a lot to me, and I'm sure it will mean a lot to my sister-in-law that you're doing that. When she answers my e-mail, I'll know. Yensid: That must have been hard for you. At first I didn't really put the two together either, until I heard "Welcome to Christmas" from Di Gi Charat on a website a couple years ago. Given that I've never seen the anime, I still don't exactly get it, but it's a cute, upbeat Christmas song medley type of thing. I've heard about animé Christmas cards too, I have yet to see them anywhere though. Last check I made the count was 284, and the number will probably go up in the next day or two as people who didn't tag their pictures, or didn't tag them exactly right, work things out with the site staff and get their pieces in the right place. There are a lot of really good pieces in there, I doubt I'll place either, but it was worth entering. I'm glad I did too, that has to be my best dragon profile to date! Not sure if you caught it or not, but I even signed my Awareness piece in pink rather than my usual green, when I support a cause, I go all out for it. I know the official judging doesn't take place till the Con, and I am a little leary of that because I can't be there myself. I hope the voters do make good choices when they pick the winners for this. I took a more liberal view with my piece, doing a dragon rather than "animé" per se, but as for the animé style, it comes to me pretty easy because I've been doing that for over three years now. It takes a little practice to get it right, I'm still not 100% with it myself. sworn.secrecy Thank you for that, I'll pass the message along to her. I've got that one on DVD and it's about time I put it in again and watched it, I think I've watched it ten or so times already. The people at Studio Ghibli just have a gift for telling a wonderful story through animation. No thanks are necessary, I'm just keeping a promise I made. I get busy with things too, but I always make myself stop and make a post here. It's kind of a mini mental vacation for me to do that. I like to write a little too, actually I'm working on a project that I'm going to try to get published next year (it's not done or polished yet). Same to you, may your Holidays be filled with animé sugarplums. MilleniumChaos Because families are so close, this time of year particularly, losing a loved one would be very hard. It's hard no matter what time of year it is, but the holidays coming up do add an extra bit of rancid bitterness to the flavor. Actually I didn't have fun, I rarely do when shopping. I just went along for the ride because I rarely get out of the house otherwise. It's nice to do things for others, and it feels really good too, but this year all I could do was what my Mom talked me into doing, getting a gift for my sister, and her friend. I just don't have the energy to fake Christmas cheer having been unemployed for six years now. When I get a job and can do things for people, I'll gladly do as much as I can. alphonse13: Thank you, I'll pass it along to my sister-in-law. There's only one radio station im my area that doesn't play Christmas music non-stop, and that's an oldies station with signal so bad it's hard to receive them even on a good stereo, so I don't listen to the radio much. There is such thing as overdoing it, and lately that's been happening. a lot. Have I mentioned on here the headache I got last year from hearing Christmas music the day before Thanksgiving in a store? Animé Dreams!

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Thursday, December 21, 2006

Sweet Sorrows this Holiday

I'll start off with the bad news first since it makes the good news sound so much better. My sister-in-law lost her grandmother Tuesday night. I know none of my family, or hers, reads this page, but my heart goes out to her and her family. It's hard enough to lose a loved one, but so close to a family oriented holiday only makes it harder. Now that's said, on to brighter things. I managed to piece together a few things for my sister the other day. Last night we listend to it in the car on the way home from doing a little shopping, and she and my Mom both liked it. It's amazing we all can't really stand the overindulgent use of Christmas music on the radio this time of year, but to stop and listen to some of the same songs in another language sort of lifts the spirit a little bit. Another bit of good news for the folks across the big pond, Spirited Away will be showing on BBC Two, December 30, 5:15 PM (I assume that's local time - Check your listings to be sure). If you haven't seen it yet, that would be a great opportunity, it's a wonderful film. Comments: Kiki-tink Hi! Yensid: Instead of posting the cards themselves, I'm working on a special "thank you" for the people who either sent me, or posted their own outgoing cards on their sites, that'll be up sometime soon, but I won't say when ~_^ Most of my research is coming to the conclusion that the Christmas songs are on separate albums than the regular soundtrack stuff. I did find a few bits of info, and some songs, and my sister seemed to like what I found. I'm not exactly sure why she wanted them in the first place, so even I don't really know what I'm looking for entirely. scorchbird12: Really? If you wouldn't mind sending me some links in a PM(Very important to do it that way) I would really appreciate it. As long as they're not P2P I shouldn't have a problem with them. Right now, I just use what I know from past expereience, so adding resources I'm not currently familiar with would be a benefit to my search efforts I think. Yeah, I'm not a people person so I go to the store when few others are there, maybe I'm anti-social, maybe I'm Agoraphobic, I don't really know, I just can't stand to be around too many people at once. Shounen Jump is new to my area, Hillbilly Hell (I mean West Virginia) isn't exactly the first place people think of when considering animé fans. It's a step in the right direction though, but still, not all stores carry it. Can't win them all. And Regal's really testing my mettle by having that stupid football movie listed on their marquee already with "Coming Friday" tacked to it. They've NEVER done that with a film before. I think they're doing it just because it's about Marshal U down in Huntington. Just goes to show what they really think of their customers. I've sent them a comment on it, but the odds of getting an answer are slim to none, and slim just left town on the Express Train. I get bogged down with other things when I'm working a project, worrying about the ones left unfinished comes when I'm doing nothing. I get to thinking "I could be working on this" type of thoughts, while watching TV, or reading, or just trying to unwind. It's something I'll keep in the back of my mind for when I do stumble across the ingredients. Cooking and food styling(making it look good for display or photography) is a hobby of mine, so it'll be fun to try it just once. alphonse13: Yep, that's where he'll be for a while. That's all right, I found enough to work with I hope. My sister and Mom both liked it in the car, so I must have done it right. Magnus Lensherr When it was the media search built into Windows Media Player, I'd find a lot of Japanese artists' stuff using it. Working it from the web is a little more difficult (it doesn't want to give you all the pages of your searches, it likes to stop at 50 - even when it tells you there are 400+ pages), but it's still a pretty good search engine for media content. I once saw trailers for the Cowboy Bebop movie after finding them with Singingfish. Are you putting into account the months it was down? Given that it's very basic right now, I would hope that something more for it is planned to make it easier to use and give it more functionality. I hear you on that though, the satisfaction and relief that completing a project yields is one of the best feelings in the world. Animé Dreams!

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Monday, December 18, 2006

   Error! Microsoft Witty Title Generator Could Not Start

There we go, I gave the dragon a nice home as my welcome banner, I think he likes it up ther better anyway, he's not all cramped by the post text. He'll stay up there till after New Years at least. Looks like I'm not going to have too much luck asking people for animé Christmas song information on here. Oh well, there's always the back-ups. Singingfish which used to be the media content search in Windows Media Player 9 Series is a great media search engine. You can find a lot of interesting media, including podcasts, with Singingfish, searchable by file types (I even found the podcast for theOtaku.com on there). I had to dig up their website because Windows Live Search now does the Media guide in WMP Series 9, and it's totally useless because it doesn't direct link any of the media, and it shows whole web pages with no media content in the player window. Between all the search engines out there, I'm bound to find something about the songs I need. Time to break the engines I guess. Comments: Magnus Lensherr The PM system here is still in it's infancy, it's got a lot of backend glitches that need to be cleaned up before they should think about adding features. It would be nice to be able to send "group" messages to all or parts of your friends list though, that would make things easy, especially for the onsite clubs. Well, it shouldn't be too hard to branch out internationally, depending on the laws of both the US and UK. The trick is getting the first theater open and being successful with it. My sister comes up with the strangest projects, and I'm happy to oblige when it has to do with animé. There are a few series that have done "Christmas" specials, complete with traditional Christmas songs. the thing is, I don't really know which ones have done them. I'll worry about finding the music later, I just need to know what I'm looking for first. I have some leads, which is a start. mysterious rei Thank you, and I know, that's why I did a dragon card. That's all right, I'll find some info soon I hope. I do have a little, but I need just a little more to complete my project. Yensid: Well, I wasn't exactly going for Grinchy, but if that can be cute too, I'll roll with it. I think I know why you want it so go ahead and take it. I never say I'm swiping anything from online, even when I know I'm "stealing" it. I call it "creative borrowing", but that's just me, and probably the reason I consider myself "gray hat". Oh, I sent you that Lily photo finally, I hope you get it in one piece and can get a lot out of it. alphonse13: He'll be up there for a bit, at least till after New Years. The story of my life is that my projects and hobbies are all difficult. I'll just have to ask around other forums and do a lot of search engine hammering to get results. sikaurai I rarely actually try to be articulate, my words sometimes come out that way. In my experience, it's better to just speak from the heart, and don't try to sound smart or profound, that comes with time and hindsight. I couldn't give you an actual page count per cartridge on this Lexmark, but there are a lot of factors to consider with inkjet printers. The Epson we have is a great printer, but it's so old there aren't any drivers to run it on Windows XP. It only prints black, and it's a dot matrix printer, which means it's really loud, and takes a ribbon, anyone out there remember those? Anyway, it can't be used on this desktop. Epson is a good brand though, I'd like to eventually get a reasonably current Epson, or Canon printer. My sister has an HP printer, and it has issues of it's own. She says it doesn't always read as connected even when it is. Animé Dreams!

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Sunday, December 17, 2006

I'm out of Generic One-Liner Titles Today

I'm going to keep this card up here till the holidays are done with, I kind of like having it there, so why not? Other than that, not much happening on the home front, so I guess I should just dive right into the comments and answer them. Oh, I am looking for information on Christmas songs, animé Christmas songs. I know there are animé out there that have done songs associated with the holiday, but I don't really know too much more than that, so any information at all on the songs would be appreciated. My sister comes up with the strangest projects for me, and since I don't really know much about animé Christmas songs, I figured the best place to start was gathering information. Any info of questionable legality, send to me in PM so it's not publically posted though, okay? Comments: Magnus Lensherr I learned about Project Gutenburg from Tech TV back in 2003. They're doing something for the benefit of everyone, putting public domain works online so they can be accessed by anyone online who wants to read something. I like to read the classics sometimes, particularly theatre classics. They're old stories, but good ones. Rich relative, right. I tell you, if I ever do hit it big with money, that is the kind of thing I'd do, because it's an underground mainstream, animé needs it's own, unbiased venue for showing. Thanks. I would have sent him to everyone individually (via PM or e-mail), but I felt posting him here was just as efficient. Mistee05 Thank you I'm glad you like it. Actually, getting a reconditioned cartridge is a recommendation I've made lately, because they're cheeper than new cartridges. There's a place in town that says they do that kind of thing, so I'll be checking into them soon. In terms of cost, if you get both a new color and new black ink cartridge for my Lexmark that's close to $60.00 right there if not over. If I recall the cost of the printer was only about $100.00, you're practically paying for the whole thing every time it needs ink. It's a minor scrape or two from fighting with the ink cartridge, taking it in and out of the printer a couple dozen times is bound to catch a finger somewhere. I usually put some of that New-Skin on minor cuts, that stuff works wonders. Burns like crazy sometimes, but it works wonders. You take care of yourself too. Kiki-tink All you'd have to do to get their attention is tell them they're paying more than half the cost of the printer (if not more than the total cost) each time they replace all the ink, assuming they're full color printers. Every Lexmark ink cartridge costs about $30.00 that I've seen, so all told that's $60.00 for ink, now, you consider that really low end Lexmark printers are only $50.00, what kind of business wants to overpay the price of the printer to refill the ink? Do the research on Canon printers, find a good one that has low cost ink refills, and pass that info on to your bosses. alphonse13: Thanks. Take your time with the theatres. KyuubiKhaos Thanks, I'm glad you like it. Hm, Lexmark is a more widspread "disease" than I thought. Sure it seems like a good deal when getting the printer itself with the low cost of them and all, and they do put out quality prints when you talk photos and cards, and thinks like that, but replacing the ink is just so expensive. I guess we live and learn to price ink refills before we buy our next printers. The cuts though, are minor, I've done more damage with needles while sewing buttons back on shirts. sikaurai You're not missing much. The holiday isn't what it used to be, it's way too commercialized now, and just seems to have lost a lot of it's meaning. That's a gesture that most people wouldn't bother to notice, but it's a very kind one. Many people don't take into consideration that children think differently than adults, the way they understand things isn't the same. That's not to say they aren't intelligent (my nephews and niece have surprised me on more than one ocession with that they can do), but they do have a whole thought process that's different, and with the holiday getting so much exposure in the media, things could get a little confusing. I wanted to do something simple that wasn't really tied to a particular holiday. Actually I was trying for cute, so it's good to know I got that right. As for the gift itself, well, the gift of friendship is one that's not linked to any holiday, it's not one you get for being good, for getting high marks in school, for a job well done, or on your birthday. It's there all the time, and it keeps giving itself over and over again each and every day. That's probably one of the best gifts a person can give, and that's my gift (courtesy of my dragon buddy there) to everyone here. Animé Dreams!

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Saturday, December 16, 2006

Ho-Hum

Not nearly my best work, but I really wanted to make a special card for everyone. A little cliché and probably not neutral enough for those who don't celebrate any holidays this time of year, but it's the thought that counts right? Anyway, I hope your season is a good one, regardless of what holiday(s) you do or don't celebrate. On a side note, those "universal" ink refill kits are garbage. You're better off putting the money out to replace the ink cartridge, and don't buy a Lexmark Printer, their cartridges cost as much as the printer itself. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some cuts to tend to from my efforts to refill my printer cartridges. Just a typical day in the life of a tempermental dragon. Comments: alphonse13: That's understandable. It's never too late, what movie theater chain(s) do you have in your area. Answer me that and I'll fill you in on the details if they're relevant. There's no point in getting involved if you're not affected on a local level anyway. scorchbird12: Mine does that quite often too, and they've been doing stuff on the site lately so expect things to be slow for a while as the bugs get worked out. That's going to be one of those things where they probably carry it regularly, but you have to know when they put it on the shelves to actually find it, and since I happen to shop after midnight, I'm more likely to find that kind of thing on a r3egular basis. They only get so many copies of a periodical like that, so once they're gone, they're gone, there's no backstock, overstock, or whatever to put out. Given that it was a college town I was in, I don't think that particular store is likely to carry it as a one time thing anyway. What floored me wasn't Newtype USA, but Shounen Jump. All the more reason not to get involved. People have little leverage if the issue isn't one that affects them on a local level. I've got two like that now, so I probably should get on them ASAP, but they'll get done eventually. It's not the price that's bothing me, it's actually getting them. I've never seen them in the produce sections of my local stores, I've not seen them in the farm markets either, but I haven't really been looking for them so I don't know if they get them or not. I'll just have to wait till the markets open up in the spring and go from there. Magnus Lensherr Turn around while I pull a couple million out of the usual place. All to build my own theater for animé fans. A great suggestion, but so much easier said than done given my financial situation. Then I know I found the right name. I wasn't really aware they had names, but blame that on my ignorance as an American. I believe he's exiled from Thebes, and takes his Daughter with him in the first one. I haven't read Oedipus at Colonus yet, so I'm unsure of the plot in it, but I know from reading the cast list that both Oedipus and Antigone are in that play. If you want to finda free copy of it to read in your spare time, check Project Gutenburg, and type Antigone, or Oedipus at Colonus into the Title Search, but beware that your copyright law is different than US copyright law, and what's in Public Domain here may not be for you. Animé Dreams!

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