Sunday, April 29, 2007

*Deep Breath*

Just coming up for air a bit. Only two weeks of classes left, and I have my two final studio projects due this coming week O_o *brain goes boom* In order to cheer myself up, I've redone my theme from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle to just Sakura and Shaoran (because they're cute in all of their incarnations ^_^) I've also added background music, which I've swiped from some poor, unsuspecting person on imeem.com ^_^ I usually don't care for Dashboard Confessional, but after scrolling through all of my songs on my computer and listening to several, none of them fit the energy and mood of the pic I have for the background quite as well DC did. Anyway, I'm off to sleep so that I can run around insanely again for the rest of the school year ^_^ -PictoQuotation of the Day- I wish all of my finals problems were this easy to fix... -Megatokyo: Grand Theft Colo- Never put the quiet ones under too much stress. We don't seem to handle it well ^_^ P.S. I've recently realized that sometimes I make images too small for large monitors, so if you can't read my pictoquotes, they're #523-525 on the Megatokyo website in the archives

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Sunday, April 15, 2007

Manga Update!

Well, I went manga shopping today (Saturday)! Wooh! There was a "buy three get the fourth free" sale on TokyoPop mangas. So I got all three volumes of Legal Drug as well as the 16th volume of Fruits Basket. This is the volume of Furuba that has one of my favorite storylines. Yes, it is the charming, touching, funny, and undeniably heartbreaking story of Tohru’s parents. It’s one of those stories that you just want to keep reading over again in hopes that it will end differently, because the ending somehow always manages to hit you in the heart, even though you know what’s going to happen. On a happier note, however, this volume also contains the story of the maple leaf that isn’t… but is, the gift that Machi received from Yuki ^_^ Hahaha, I love that chapter. Anyway, so on another note, I’ve been meaning to get around to reading Legal Drug for a while now, since it’s a CLAMP manga. As usual from a CLAMP series, it does not disappoint. However, I do find it amusing that CLAMP has the audacity to claim that LD isn’t a shonen-ai manga. There are pretty boys falling all over each other in that series. And quite often for hilarious purposes ^_^ I don’t really care one way or the other for shonen-ai, as long as the story is funny and entertaining (anything spooky, supernatural, or mysterious is always an added bonus as well ^_^). The two main characters are Kudo Kazahaya and Himura Rikuo. They work at the Green Drugstore, in exchange for living in an attached apartment. Of course, all the fun stuff happens when their boss asks them to take on “special” jobs, usually supernatural in nature. As it turns out, both the boys have special “talents.” Kudo can pick up memories and emotions from object’s he touches, and also appears to have very cat-like attributes, while Himura can break things with his mind. And also, what fun would it be if both characters didn’t have mysterious, tragic pasts. Of course, just as these secrets started to get really interesting, I’d realized that I’d finished all three volumes. Now, that wouldn’t be too bad, except that the series is on hiatus in Japan (along with fellow CLAMP series X) due to issues with the magazine that was publishing the story. Nooooo!!!! I want to know the secrets! They sound so good, too! T_T The series must return soon, or I shall be sad. And rain down destruction on all those who are responsible ^_^ -Quotations of the Day- Katsuya: “My father’s influence is worth using. If you know how, that is. It saves me from criticism when I try to push boundaries.” Kyoko: “Whoa. You’re, like, the worst person I know.” Katsuya: “Thank you.” Kyoko: “That wasn’t a compliment!” -Fruits Basket Volume 16, Chapter 91- (hmm, should I be worried that Katsuya reminds me of myself ^_^) Kudo: “Hey! I saw the crap you wrote on your ballot! That was totally irresponsible, you jackass!” Himura: “Huh? What are you talking about?” Kudo: “Don’t act coy with me! Nayuki showed me!!” *whips out ballot* Name of candidate you are nominating: Kudo Kazahaya Candidate’s Year and Class: 3-B Your Choice of Costume: Hello Kitty Your Name: Himura Rikuo Your Year and Class: 3-C Himura: “You woulda been a great kitty cat.” Kudo: “What kind of monster are you?!” -Legal Drug Volume 3, Chapter 15-

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Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Yay For Literature And Fairytales!

Well, sorry for being gone so long again. I’ve finally hit a lull in schoolwork, so I feel like posting again. Usually, when things are really hectic, I’d rather spend my free time reading in order to keep me sane (or insane, as it may be ^_^). Anyway, I had my interview today for the job I mentioned last time. I think things went well, but I’m still keeping my fingers crossed. Let’s see… Oh, this past weekend I hung out with some friends (Angie, Avery, and Sara) who I was in the art club with last semester. It was hilarious. We went out to eat, and then we (minus Angie who had to go to work) went over to Sara’s house to watch Little Miss Sunshine. I had already seen it, and liked it, but I swear that movie is way better if you watch it with other weird people like yourself. We cracked up so much, Avery couldn’t stop repeating “That movie was so wrong”, and Sara kept singing “She’s a superfreak, superfreak, she’s superfreaky” at random times for no reason. It was great ^_^ In comic/manga/literary/whatever news, I stumbled across the comic Lullaby yesterday and I must say that I am utterly amazed. Basically, if you took a bunch of famous literary and fairytale characters, warped them, and threw them all together on a quest, you’d get Lullaby. It’s f***ing awesome! The main characters are Alice and the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, the Pied Piper, Little Red Riding Hood, Jim Hawkins from Treasure Island, and Pinocchio. There are also several other famous characters littered about throughout the story in person, such as The Three Little Pigs, The Blue Fairy, and The Three Blind Mice (in a small side story), and referenced by the main characters, such as Dorothy, several other characters from The Wizard of Oz, and the Three Musketeers. Of course, it would be boring if these characters were merely taken straight from their respective stories, so they’ve been tweaked a bit. For example, Alice has been trapped in Wonderland so long that she has grown up into an adult and she’s second in command to the Queen of Hearts (she also wields an enchanted whip and is a pretty badass fighter). The Pied Piper is actually the son of the magical Piper of the fairytale who has inherited his father’s knife-shaped pipe. Red Riding Hood is a shape-shifting little girl who can transform into a wolf due to a bite she received from The Big Bad Wolf. Jim Hawkins has become a pirate after spending several years traveling with Long John Silver and his crew, has become "one of the best of the best when it [comes] to matters piratical" (I love the word "piratical", it sounds so funny ^_^) and he also has a magic sword that is shark-like and enjoys eating things (as well as a one-legged pet parrot). Pinocchio has been magically transformed back into a wooden puppet by some evil being that seems to be the master villain of the story. Also, not only is the story great, but the art is amazing. The detail and style are just awe inspiring. Everything from costume design to scenery is just gorgeous. In fact, I shall show you… Sorry the first image is so grainy. The second one is much better. See? Very pretty, ne? Hmm, I’ve just noticed that the Cheshire Cat isn’t in either of these pictures, even though he’s a main character as well. Weird. Maybe he's off being invisible somewhere. Anyway, if you’re interested in getting a peak at the series, the first 80 pages or so of the comic can be found online here. Enjoy! ^_^ P.S. Oh yeah, and in respone to my last post's comments... Elves: Yeah, ACEN is a convention. It stands for Anime Central since we're in the Midwest. I know, very original ^_^ Kitsy: Yes, my mother was indeed very confused and gave us funny looks for a while. Arlihama: Haha, the part my sister and I were quoting is indeed the scene where Yukito runs up out of nowhere with a big bag of food ^_^ Oh and yes, you are free to taken my background if you wish, seeing as I only downloaded it from minitokyo myself ^_^ -Quotation of the Day- *after Avery, the biggest science nerd of us all, mentions something about a guy she likes* Sara: “That is so nerdy.” Avery: “You know it, our babies will be born with glasses.” Me: “And instinctive knowledge of the periodic table.”

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Thursday, March 29, 2007

Anime And Pork...

Well, it’s finally decided. I’m going to ACEN again this year! Wooh! I have to work out a few minor details, and how much of the weekend I will actually spend there depends greatly on whether or not I get this new job I’m hoping for *crosses fingers* since it starts that same week, but I’m determined to stay optimistic. The weekend WILL be a success, and I will settle for no less (whow, rhyming). In other news, I caved and let my little sister read CardCaptor Sakura. She loved it, so all is good. And now we both run around the house yelling “Pork Buns!” for no reason ^_^ -Quotation of the Day- Me: “Oh, this part later on is great. He runs up to them yelling, ‘I’ve got pork buns!’” Kristen: “…” Me: “Trust me, it’s funny.” *Kristen runs to dinner table an hour later* Kristen: “‘I’ve got pork buns!’” Me: “Pork Buns!” Mom: “…”

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Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Short Entry Day...

I’ve been reminded today that my friends are just plain weird. And also that some of them know me too well. I ran into my friend, Rob, before work today. He’s borrowed about 5 of my books and still has them, so I was about to let him have it, but before I could even say anything, he jumped in with, “I’ll return your books at your birthday party.” He claims that was the first thing he said because I had that “look” I get before I’m about to “do something violent.” Curse those perceptive people who don’t let me have any fun ^_^ -Quote of the Day- Rob: “We’re having a barbecue. You should come. There’ll be all kinds of rare meats. And I don’t mean rare as in exotic. I mean bloody and undercooked.” (today was a fun day for homonyms ^_^)

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Sunday, March 25, 2007

Finally...

Well, I finally got around to creating a deviantART account today. I uploaded about seven photographs that I took yesterday (Friday) when I was trying out the manual modes on my digital camera. Great fun. And it was a spooky, foggy day outside, so the pictures have a kind of eerie look to them ^_^ It makes me happy. Anyway, so now I have to go see if I can find people from theOtaku on deviantART now *rubs hands evilly* Ouu, I bought a book on creating water gardens today. See, my work set up a table today in a building near the auditorium because there was a guest speaker who was there to talk about Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt, so we were selling books for people to have signed, as well as other random books. We had books on gardening and such so I bought the water gardens one. It makes me happy ^_^ -Quotation of the Day- “It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination.” -The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy-

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Thursday, March 22, 2007

It's Sakura Time

Well, I got the first two volumes of CardCaptor Sakura in the mail today, so I was finally able start reading the series (I got numbers 3-6 in the mail yesterday ^_^). And the verdict is… absolutely adorable! Sakura and Syaoran are so cute as little 10 year olds! And it’s so amusing how they’re the same and yet not the same as their Tsubasa counterparts. The Sakura of CCS is very energetic and athletic. She usually reacts to being teased by her brother with some sort of violent action. It’s very hilarious to see a little girl take down a 17 year old with a flying kick ^_^ In fact, it’s so funny, I scanned it for you, although my scanner cut off part of the page. Enjoy… Despite this, her character is still very cheerful and friendly (not to mention chock-full of magic). I think I may like the CCS version of Sakura better. She not so much of a damsel-in-distress (the Tsubasa version needs to start dealing out some flying kicks as well, then she’d be cooler ^_^ Sorry, I like characters who kick). And as for Syaoran, he’s a rude little snot (at least when he first shows up, I’m not that far in the series yet, but the Guardian of the Clow Cards calls him “that pokey little bug boy” ^_^) but otherwise seems to be in line with the personality of the Tsubasa version, with the added bonus of his own magic powers (yes, there is a very important reason why the Syaoran of TRC doesn’t have any magic, but I’m not going to tell you why ^_^ It’s a major plot secret that I kind of wish I hadn’t discovered yet >_< Curse you Wikipedia!) Touya and Yukito are pretty much the same (you may remember them as the King and High Priest from TRC Sakura’s home world). All in all, I’m quite enjoying the series. The cuteness has won me over. I surrender ^_^ Oh, I just remembered! Today I saw an ad for the Sony Reader! It’s kind of like a palm pilot, but it’s made exclusively for reading ebooks. It’s about the size of a paperback, and can hold hundreds of books in its memory. I want it so bad! But it’s really expensive, somewhere around $300-$400 >_< I shall have to save my money for quite some time to get it. I could carry around so many books with it O_O It boggles the mind. Anyway, enough with my book dreams. Oh wow, I can’t believe I didn’t mention this yet. Speaking of things that boggle the mind, I had to make a fully articulated model of my hand out of cardboard for my 3-D class last week, and it had to be exactly 3 times the dimensions of mine. It took me thirty hours to do it, and by the end of the project, I was pretty sure that my instructor must run the arts and crafts activities in Hell during his free time or something *shudder* I never want to see cardboard again. I think it’s time for some more manga therapy to make me feel better. Later ^_^ -Quotation of the Day- Sakura: “B-bug boy?” Kero-chan: “He’s a teenie-weenie pookie-pooh if you ask me.” Sakura:*whispering to Tomoyo* “Kero-chan’s mad 'cause Li called him a stuffed animal.” Kero-chan: “Hmph!” -CardCaptor Sakura, Vol 2-

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Tuesday, March 20, 2007

The Best Laid Plans...

Ah, I love this new 24 hour Otaku feature. I can now update at completely random times. Woooh! Maybe that will help break me out of my weird, sporadic update patterns. Anyway, recently I’ve been trying to invest in a good manga series for my little sister. She enjoys manga, and has no qualms about reading right to left, but most (if not all) of my series are too old for her. I mean, she reads Fruits Basket, but even that is sometimes a bit inappropriate for a 10 year old (luckily those same instances are typically the ones she glosses over since she doesn’t understand what’s going on). Of course, I want to be able to enjoy the series as well, since I’m the one paying for it, so I went and bought the first 6 volumes of the CardCaptor Sakura series (typically considered a manga classic for all ages). Although I bought them on eBay and Amazon (it was way cheaper), so I’ll have to wait a few days for them to arrive. I’ve been meaning to get around to reading them anyway, and I’m sure my love of Tsubasa gave me a little nudge in that direction as well ^_^ Of course, shortly after I bought the books, I remembered that in the series: a) Yukito is in love with his best friend Touya (who’s Sakura’s brother), b) Tomoyo apparently is crushing on Sakura, c) Syaoran has a crush on Yukito for a time, d) Sakura’s parents met and married while her mother was 16 and her father was a 25 year old student teacher at her school, and that e) one of Sakura’s 10 year old classmates is in love with their teacher *slaps forehead* Sometimes I feel the universe wants my sister to have an immediate crash course in all of the major controversial cultural differences between Japan and America, instead of the gradual one I had planned. However, on the upside, I did manage to find this site that has cute and occasionally hilarious little character taglines below the links to the character bios, which I will proceed to post for amusement’s sake… Kinomoto Sakura Our uber-cute heroine in shining costume. Kero-chan/Cerberus Measuring up to less than 2 feet, this plushie-like creature is not one to be messed around with. Daidouji Tomoyo She's a fluffy, camera-wielding, costume-making, starry-eyed 10 year-old. Fear her. Li Syaoran What's Chinese, serious and kickass? You guessed it. Kinomoto Touya He has a secret... he can see dead people. Tsukishiro Yukito He's one mean eating machine with something to hide. Kinomoto Fujitaka Is it a bird? A plane? No, it's Super-Dad! Yue BISHOUNEN ALERT: Looking for a mysterious entity, we hear he's blazing hot. Hiiragizawa Eriol A crazy little boy who uses an evil stick. Scary, no? My personal favorites are the ones for Tomoyo and Syaoran ^_^ -Quotation of the day- Dwayne: "I wish I could just sleep until I was eighteen and skip all this crap, high school and everything, just skip it." Frank: "You know Marcel Proust?" Dwayne: "He's the guy you teach." Frank: "Yeah. French writer. Total loser. Never had a real job. Unrequited love affairs. Gay. Spent 20 years writing a book almost no one reads. But he's also probably the greatest writer since Shakespeare. Anyway, he uh... he gets down to the end of his life, and he looks back and decides that all those years he suffered, those were the best years of his life, 'cause they made him who he was. All those years he was happy? You know, total waste. Didn't learn a thing. So, if you sleep until you're 18... Ah, think of the suffering you're gonna miss. I mean high school? High school, those are your prime suffering years. You don't get better suffering than that." Dwayne: "You know what? Fuck beauty contests. Life is one fucking beauty contest after another. School, then college, then work... Fuck that. And fuck the Air Force Academy. If I want to fly, I'll find a way to fly. You do what you love, and fuck the rest." Frank: “I’m glad you started talking again, Dwayne. You’re not nearly as dumb as you look.” -Little Miss Sunshine- (a great movie, not so much funny, really, as it is just plain odd)

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Saturday, March 17, 2007

Revelations!

As usual, I’ve gone and gotten myself re-addicted to a particular series. It’s funny how I just now realized it ^_^ Even after all my site re-vamping and my music posting break-through. Eh, it happens sometimes. Okay, a lot ^_^ I figured it out when I finished all the first season episodes of Tsubasa that I had downloaded, and then moved on to the second. I love the second closing sequence, mostly because all the characters are shown as adorable little kids. Of course, that also reminded me of my favorite story-line…(drum roll, please)… Kurogane’s back-story! The fascinating tale of how Kurogane becomes the gruff bad-ass he is and how he first meets Princess Tomoyo. I swear, if nothing else (and that would have to be a big if) those CLAMP ladies sure know how to deliver a heart-wrenching tragedy. I’m a sucker for tragedy. There’s one full-page panel that reminds me of something out of the first Jurassic Park movie. It’s not so much gory as it’s psychologically shocking. Of course, I won’t say anything further and ruin it for those who will one day get into the manga. I’m cool like that ^_^ I don’t know how the anime handles it, if at all yet, since I didn’t download anything after the 28th episode. But I’m sure it’s still very sad T_T Now, I’m off to catch-up with all my other series’, so see ya later! P.S. I love Spring Break ^_^ -PictoQuotation of the Day- -Inverloch- (woooh, brain hurts from switching between manga and comics O_o)

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Thursday, March 15, 2007

Theme Change!

All that talk about Tsubasa in my last post made me realize that I have never used it as a theme O_o So, since my background was getting a bit old anyway, I decided to kill two birds with one stone ^_^ You may have noticed the two video links that I have in my profile. Well, being the infinitely sneaky person that I am, I figured out a way to host songs on Photobucket by running them through a movie editor and throwing in one still image so that it would be accepted as a video *Muwahahaha…* This means no more messing with the evil VideoDesk website! Yay! Of course, once I figured all this out, I couldn’t decide on which song to put up as my background music, so I just did both. Now you all can listen to both of them, if you so desire (and if your internet connection allows you), although you may have to wait a second for the song to load. Also, I’ve posted the theme songs I was talking about in my last post as well. The driving force behind my recent sneaky discovery was the fact that I wanted to share those songs. What can I say, I love good character music ^_^ Enjoy! -Quotation of the Day- Marissa: “You guys are up to something.” Seth: “Dude, what'd you tell her?” Ryan: “I didn't tell her anything. Maybe the black turtleneck in August tipped her off.” Seth: “Ok, I was going for stealth. And also, it's slimming.” -The O.C.- (man, I haven’t watched that show in so long…)

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