Sunday, March 5, 2006

   It's All About FMA Today! No, Seriously... That's Really All I Wrote About...

Well, I finally got around to reading the Fullmetal Alchemist manga this weekend. And I must say, I find it very interesting. When it first starts off, it is very similar to the anime, except for a few timeline differences and such. But it spirals off on its own pretty quickly. And for all the Hawkeye/Mustang shippers, there is more support for that (especially on Hawkeye’s side) in the manga (like when Hawkeye goes #@$*ing ballistic on Lust because she thinks Lust killed him. Yeah, there were a hell of a lot of bullet involved in that one…) Not to mention more support for Ed and Winry (she likes Ed people. Get the #$@* over it) Plus, some characters that are in the anime aren’t in the manga and vice versa. Like Wrath. Well, Wrath is in the manga, but it’s not Wrath. And Pride isn’t Pride, and Sloth isn’t Sloth. But Lust, Gluttony, Envy and Greed are the same. Except Lust isn’t really the same… aww *#@$ it! Just read the manga people and it will all make sense! And as for characters not in the anime, I must say that the absences of Ling Yao and Ran Fan are by far unacceptable *hits table* Ling is hilarious and can kick some serious ass. I mean he physically shoved a grenade down Gluttony’s throat while holding a sword in his mouth. Since when is that not cool? And Ran Fan is right up there with Hawkeye when it comes to her bad-ass abilities and attitude. Plus they can both see through Envy’s transformations since they can sense homonculi (those damn auras will give you away every time ^_^) Oh, and in an unrelated yet related topic, I saw the FMA movie recently as well. Parts of it were really sad, and the ending made me want to stab some writers, but I still really liked it. Although I think Winry has the saddest line in the entire movie (God, when did I become such a sap!) Hmm, I also just realized that I was in a very swearing mood today O.o -Pictures of the Day- A little while later… -Fullmetal Alchemist, chapter 47- (Do Ling and Ran Fan get away? What is Ran Fan planning? Does Ling stop her in time… Pfft! I’m not gonna tell! Go read! Muwahahaha!)

Comments (4) | Permalink

Wednesday, March 1, 2006

   Ah! I Can't Find An Acceptable Face Icon!

I bought more books today *cries* Their evil pull is so strong! So, in order to combat the drain on my wallet, I joined the recently created Borders Rewards program. I get my own little card, too *whips out card* plus two mini cards for keychains *jingles keys* so I will never be without it *muwahahaha!* But it’s really cool. If you spend $50 dollars or more in a month (this includes purchases at Waldenbooks), then the following month, you get to pick one day where everything you buy is 10% off. Plus, 5 % of every purchase you make gets recorded, and when the holiday season comes around, that turns into cash *muwahaha… money* So yeah, I feel slightly better about book shopping now ^_^ And, as promised, I have put part of my story up for your reading pleasure. I must warn you, however, that I really haven’t gotten that far yet, and all I’ve really done is introduce the characters and set up their personalities. So I really haven’t got anything. But I promised, so here it is… (oh, and I’d like to add that this story does not in any way reflect my personal opinions on religion, as I hold neither character’s view of the universe ^_^) “I hate all of that ‘New Age’ junk,” Aidan said, as she sprawled out on the couch in Erin’s room with her book. “I mean, summoning fairies and casting spells? You might as well ask for miracles and pray, since it’s all got about the same likelihood of happening. And church is a lot cheaper than all that ‘magic’ crap. If you can withstand the brain-washing.” Erin shook her head as she sat on the floor, flipping through the new book she had bought at the mall. Aidan was always so skeptical. They went through this conversation every time Erin picked up anything related to the occult. “It’s not my fault your uber-religious parents have permanently ruined your faith in… well, anything,” Erin said. Aidan’s parents were both pastors. Talk about over-kill. “Just my faith in humanity. I’m pretty sure that my faith in the necessity to breathe air will remain unshaken.” “Well, those of us who aren’t jaded like to believe in things once in a while,” Erin said, while pulling out the box of rune stones and candles she had stashed under her bed. “Like higher powers. And possibly world peace.” “Thank you, Miss America. Now, if you’re going to spend your time fooling around with that wishy-washy stuff, I think I’ll go.” Aidan hauled herself off the couch and grabbed her small bag sitting on the floor. That bag went everywhere with her. There was never anything special in it, just random odds and ends; a mini spray bottle, a lighter, some hair spray, etc. Aidan was like a walking Swiss Army knife. Erin sometimes wondered if Aidan also kept the bag just in case she needed to use it as a weight to beat the crap out of someone. She wouldn’t put it past her… So there’s the start. I tried to make it sound like it was being narrated more from Erin’s point of view. Basically I’m going to add some supernatural crap, of course the result of Erin’s curiosity *makes spooky noise* and we’ll have some lovely insight into Aidan’s mind (like how the hell this preacher’s daughter developed such an attitude *hehe*) So, in other words, cliches all around! Whooo! -Quote of the Day- “It was possible Kialan did not realize how annoyed Moril was. ‘You see,’ Brid explained to him later, a good long way behind the cart, ‘even when you’re angry, you always look so sleepy and – and milky, that he probably didn’t even notice you were attending.’” -Cart and Cwidder, Volume 1 of The Dalemark Quartet by Diana Wynne Jones- (haha, Moril’s spacey personality always reminded me of myself ^_^)

Comments (3) | Permalink

Monday, February 27, 2006

   Whooo!!!!!!! *Runs Around In Circles*

Well, sorry to update at such an odd time. My step-dad disconnected the internet yesterday so that he could work on it. But it's back now, so yea!! Alrighty, well, on Saturday night, at about 1 am, I got this random call from my friend Keebs. She was just getting home from clubbing and wanted to hang out O.o So naturally, since I was still wide awake, I said sure. So we stayed in my living room hanging out and watching anime until the wee hours of the morning. Groovy. And on Sunday, I went and signed up for an aquatic membership at the park district athletic center close by. Swimming! So today, I got up at 7 (ouu, early ^_^) and was there by 7:30. Of course, it took me a good 20 minutes to find everything and get ready, but then I swam for about half an hour. Yea! I'm planning on going every weekday from now on. We'll see how long that lasts ^_^ Also, I'm working on a new short story. This one I can just feel will be... actually finished ^_^ So my longer story is on hold for the time being. I'll post a bit of my story on the next update. -Quote of the Day- Data Entry Guy: "Files don't just disappear." George: "They do if you drop them down an elevator shaft." -Dead Like Me-

Comments (5) | Permalink

Friday, February 24, 2006

   I Love Reading...

Only two books left! How I managed to read two already I don't know, except they were really good. The Riddles of Epsilon is now going on my favorites list, and Epsilon himself is going on the highly coveted favorite literary characters list. They are the few. The proud. The Marines... wait, wrong line ^_^ They are Aredhel from The Silmarilion, Morgan le Fay from the King Arthur legends, Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, Bartimaeus from The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Howl and Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle, Mogget from The Abhorsen Trilogy, and now Epsilon. I have a whole crap-load of other characters that I enjoy, but these are the Greats, in my mind. I love their personalities/thought processes/mystiques. Whatever you want to call it. Also, I'm happy to note that I'm getting some nice arm muscles developing since I started throwing pots again (for Ceramics class... throwing is what you call it when you make stuff on the pottery wheel... I don't actually thrust pots into the air with the intent of making them sail in any particular direction... just thought I'd make that clear ^_^) Anyway, my arm muscles in general have always been pretty weak, (and archery really uses your back muscles when you do it right) so it's nice to have some strength building there. In video game news, I have a question for you all. Have any of you ever played "Devil May Cry", and is it any good? Cause I'm thinking about finally getting a PS2, and I need to find some good games. So HELP! I have no clue what I'm doing! I'm a video game amateur! I also welcome any other game suggestions you guys might have ^_^ -Pictures of the Day- Playing "Keep-Away"... Furuba style -Fruits Basket chapter 86-

Comments (4) | Permalink

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

   What The...

Well, considering that myOtaku just f#$%ing deleted my post for no reason, I'll have to re-write it *incoherent muttering* First of all, I'm getting a 9/10 in my drawing class! Whooo! I figured I'd be getting a B, but nope. That just made my day ^_^ Also, I went a little crazy and checked out 4 books from the library on Monday. That's not a lot for me, but I don't know If I'll have enough time to read them all O.O And they look so good, too. Well, I really didn't have much else to say besides that, because I'm lame right now, so I'll see ya all later. -Quote of the Day- Dead Guy 1: "Why you gotta shush me? Man, that's just rude." Dead Guy 2: "That's disrespecting the dead is what it is." Mason: "Listen, you two just murdered each other in a crack den, so neither of you deserves my respect, hence the 'shhh'." -Dead Like Me-

Comments (4) | Permalink

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Kilns And Cats

Bah! The issues with the myOtaku server yesterday totally kiboshed my plans to update Friday night. So I’ll tell my story now ^_^ Friday was the day of my turn to work a shift on the wood kiln in ceramics. I worked from 7pm to 11pm, and it was VERY cold. As in, when I first got there, it was 5 degrees outside. When I left, it was 1 degree. And that’s not counting wind chill either. The good news was, the shed nearby was heated, so anyone who felt a dire need for warmth could run in for a quick defrosting ^_^ Also, considering the fact that we were by a kiln that was being fired at a lovely 1700 degrees, we managed to steal some warmth from there too. But yeah, it was interesting. I felt kind of useless though, since I had never been to one of these before (plus, I somehow managed to make a log bounce off of the opening it was supposed to go into, shoot down at an angle, and hit another girl in the hand O.O) So yeah, I’ll chalk all that up to “learning experience” and move on ^_^ Also, I feel slow now. I just realized today that Train is a bishonen O.O Well, it’s not really my fault, since I hadn’t started to read the manga until this weekend. The anime makes him look a lot younger, which therefore de-bishiefies him (yes, I just made up my own word) I mean, seriously. Look. Ok, now, who can tell me which one of these is not the bishonen? I thought so. Now, moving on, I’ve decided I like the story line of the manga better than the anime. Don’t get me wrong, the anime is still good, but Train’s character development in the manga seems less… jagged. In the anime, they try to move more linearly, which doesn’t suit as well as the flashback style of the manga. In the anime, you start off with Train still working as an Eraser (assassin) for Chronos, whereas in the manga, it starts with him already working as a Sweeper (bounty hunter) with Sven. His past comes in bits and pieces throughout the story. The transition is just too sharp in the anime, since he literally changes occupations in between two episodes, and suddenly 6 months have passed O.o It’s like someone gave Train a personality transplant when no one was looking. Uhh… big no-no. That’s like hitting the viewer over the head with a brick. You just don’t do it. Hmm, it appears I’m in a complaining mood today ^_^ *Oh, and it has been brought to my attention that not everyone knows what pocky is *blashful face* It's a pretzel-like stick that has a sweet coating, such as chocolate, or strawberry, or banana (the list goes on and on...)* -Quote of the Day- “If you’re going to do it, then do it right. Unless you don’t want to do it. Then you fuck it up so bad that no one asks you again.” -Me- (although I'm sure several other people have probably said something similar ^_^) And now, a picture of Train hung over. Because it's just that funny.

Comments (3) | Permalink

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Pocky And Wallpaper

Many thanks to RenoTheTurk for the wallpaper ^_^ It's beautiful. (and my apologies on the clashing text color, it was a last minute thing ^_^) In other stuffs, I am now a devout Pocky fan. I just had some for the first time today, and I'm addicted. Hail Pocky! Also, I love Sam's Club. I got a 24 case of IBC root beer for 8 dollars. Not to mention that 140 count box of Totino's Pepperoni Pizza Rolls for 6 dollars. Life is good. And Yummy. -Quote of the Day- "Honesty may be the best policy, but it's important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy." -George Carlin-

Comments (5) | Permalink

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

   Success!

I finally got myself some Photoshop! Whoooo! *does happy dance* Sorry, I just had to shout that ^_^ I haven't loaded it on my computer yet, since I spent all day cleaning off extra crap to make space for it, plus I had to go with the family to the mall and look for some new glasses frames (the ones I have now are from the 8th grade... and they were geeky back then, plus they have lenses in them that were out of date back then too. My perscription had gone WAY up) Also, I finished rereading the book Hexwood, for which I am very proud. It's by Diana Wynne Jones, the same author of Howl's Moving Castle fame. That woman is a great author. She's been famous since before I was born and pretty much anything that J.K. Rowling has done in her books, Diana Wynne Jones was that revolutionary a couple decades ago. She's got that twist ending down like nobody's business. By the end of the story, you're in awe at how so intricately she can weave the plot to make you think one thing while she later pulls the rug out from under your feet and changes everything. So, on to reccommended reading. The Dalemark Quartet is great. Four books that don't seem to have much to do with each other until the end. Of course, Howl's Moving Castle and it's sequel, Castle in the Air, not to be confused with Miyazaki's film "Castle in the Sky", which is something completely different. Then there's The Crestomanci Chronicles, the fifth of which is coming out soon (the previous four can be found in two volumes). Then there's good old Hexwood, a fabulous sci-fi fantasy that is so delightfully confusing until the end that you just have to read it a second time when you know what the hell's going on. And let's not forget The Merlin Conspiracy, one of the newer additions to the long and distiguished list. And of course, one book that every aspiring fantasy writer should own, The Tough Guide to Fantasyland. Designed as a sort of fake travel encylopedia, this book merrily and hilariously rips on every cliched and overused fantasy element, from the "Reek of Wrongness" to the highly overused character color-coding system (because those evil villans always have to have the red eyes... ^_^) Well, now that I'm done pimping books... AGAIN, I'll be off. I need to sleep, unfortunately. So, later all! -Quote of the Day- (this quote is all the funnier when you know that Yam is a surly robot) "Yam was running round and round in little circles. 'The Wood has taken us prisoner. The Wood will not let us go!' Mordion heard him cry out. 'We shall be here forever!'" -Hexwood- (trust me, it's funnier when you've read the book ^_^) This is from Juvenile Orion. Love the prettiness! *pokes people til they love it*

Comments (4) | Permalink

Saturday, February 11, 2006

   Love-Hate Relationship

I've just realized that I haven't drawn anything non-school related in a couple months O.o And as a side effect, I now can't look at any stacked objects without starting to gauge the amount of over-lap. Or look at shapes without following the edges. Or look at random objects without thinking what a pain in the ass it would be to draw them. Instructor Amy would be so proud ^_^ She's turning us all insane, like her. But the good kind of insane. Well, more insane, in my case. In other class related news, in my ceramics class, we're doing a wood firing the weekend of the 17th for some of our first projects. Which means all students who want their projects included have to work one of the 4 and a half hours shifts on the kiln, since it has to be fed wood constantly over a couple of days. Groovy. I'm working 7pm to 11:30pm. Woohoo for spending time in a heated shed. And I'm actually serious. We got to go out there on Thursday and it looks cool. I can't wait to see what all goes on. Also, I've decided that Itsuki Naoya from Juvenile Orion is now one of my favorite anime/manga characters, up there with Fai from Tsubasa, Gaara of Naruto, and others. I decided this when I discovered that almost of all my favorite quotes involve Itsuki is some way. Funny characters always go on my favorites list. -Special Itsuki Honoring Quote of the Day- (because apparently the last two days of quotes don't count ^_^) Tomonori: "Oh yes, I had something to tell Kusakabe." Naoya: "Sensei, you've been interested in Kaname a lot lately. You can't be doing that. He's mine." -CD transcript in Vol 5- (strange that this reminds me of stuff that my friends would say ^_^)

Comments (4) | Permalink

Wednesday, February 8, 2006

   Sleep...

Whew! I've decided now that I love Monday's and Wednesday's. The only thing I have to do on these most beautiful of days is go into work for a piddling 4 hours. Then the rest of the day belongs to me ^_^ They're my new weekend. Welp, I haven't gone crazy yet due to my classes, so all is good in that area. And my next drawing project isn't due until next Thursday *sigh of relief* Plus, my current Design project is something that I can finish in class. Woohoo! So a lower level of stress is on this weekend's horizon. Yep, that's really all I have to say today, so I'll let you go. Later. -Quote of the Day- *after Kaname comes back from apparently dying* Itsuki: "Kaname!" *tackle-hugs him* "Jerk! Don't you go dying like that. I thought my heart was going to stop." Kaname: "Itsuki." Itsuki: "... hit you..." Kaname: "What?" Itsuki: "Let me hit you once." *massive punch to Kaname's face* Kaname: *dazed* "It... Itsuki-kun!?" Itsuki: "Now, that's better!" -Juvenile Orion Vol 5- (hehe, boys are funny...)

Comments (3) | Permalink