Monday, January 30, 2006

Happy Chinese New Year!

So...I've been on Gaia lately. Yup. You can find me there under Azi-Chan. It's fun to meet new people who aren't buttholes (a rare Gaian occurrance!).

I got a new FMA sweatshirt from Hot Topic. I'm kind of liking the fact that you can buy anime-related stuff there now, but it also bothers me. I mean, some things are just so special I think you should earn them by going to a con dealer's room. Like Naruto headbands, or Mustang's gloves. I mean, that's cosplay stuff--shouldn't you prove you at least know what cosplay is before you get it? *shifts uncomfortably* Yeah...

Also, any ideas for what I should cosplay as this summer? It's never too early to start planning! I think I'll do Mine again, because that costume is adorable and it took a long time to make. And I won't be doing Enki again any time soon. That itch...*shudder*

That's all, really. Oh, and I hate Mondays.
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Saturday, January 28, 2006

Yes, yes, I'm still here. No worries. (And yet somehow I get the feeling nobody was worried at all...)
So, a few comments to fill in the empty space. Is it just me, or is Hohenheim a very sexy man? I hope Ed grows up to look like him. That would make me happy. ^_^
I saw Brokeback, as you may recall. I saw it with Jenny, and for the last few scenes we were just holding each other and crying our eyes out. That is one sad movie. It is second only to Grave of the Fireflies when it comes to depressing movies. It was sexy too, though. Yay!
So while I was at the bookstore last night I snagged (that's snagged, not snogged) a couple new series: La Esperanca and Cantarella. They're both quite good. La Esperanca has a wee bit of shounen-ai in it, and I hope that develops. Mwee. And Cesare is a sexy, sexy young man. Hot with a capital H (Ecchi! Ha ha!). YNM is also continuing to frustrate me, as usual. Every volume I hope someone will make mad hot love to Tsuzuki--you know everyone wants him--but no! It never happens! ARGH! If nobody else claims him, I'm going to have to take him and Watari and do something drastic. Hee, Watari rules. ^o^ I'd like to cosplay as him, but then I'd have to bleach my hair again, and that is an itch I never wish to experience again in my life.
At some point this weekend I have to finish a physics project with some friends. I really don't wanna. It's hard and makes me very cranky, and it has to be done mostly in the basement, which makes me uncomfortable. Bleargh! Bleargh, I say! XP
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Thursday, January 19, 2006

I watched Tonari No Totoro on TCM, but it was a different dub than the one I grew up on. I had mixed feelings about the new dub--I liked that it was more loyal to the original script, but the voices bothered me a little bit. Satsuki and Kanta sounded too young, and the Nekobasu's voice was all messed up. I like the "MRAAAAAAAOOOOOO" thing, not some little "mew". I also missed a few little things--Kanta whooping as he ran in the rain, the Nekobasu announcing its next stop (Shichikokuyama Hospital), and calling the soot sprites dust-bunnies. I also didn't like the new singer for the opening and ending songs. The old one seemed much more kid-friendly and less pop.

I absolutely love having the Totoro karaoke CD (a little find I ran across in an anime shop in NYC a few years ago). It includes all the main tunes of the movie, only turned into full songs. It's so cute, especially the Susuwatari song. ^.^ Also after listening to it I noticed the music in the movie more.

And no, the title of this post doesn't have anything to do with Totoro... It was just something my dad said over dinner.

I thought an upbeat post with actual content might be a nice change, eh? We're taping Whispers of the Heart at 11:15, as TCM does these little Miyazaki-devoted nights, but oddly enough my sources tell me that Mimi Wo Sumaseba wasn't directed by Miyazaki, though it was a Ghibli production. Then again, so was Grave of the Fireflies, which was totally not Miyazaki at all in any way shape or form. And then Miyazaki also did Castle of Cagliostro, which was very not Ghibli.

Umm, yeah. I'm just spouting random facts now. Anime Club gaming day is tomorrow! Yay! I will wear either my Hiroshi Gravitation shirt, which is an ugly purple, or a shirt I got from a local sandwich restaurant that says "Unusual but tasty" on it. Decisions, decisions.
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Tuesday, January 17, 2006

I'm, nervous... The person from AFS is coming to interview us so we can host an exchange student. >.< I'll try to relax and not think about it.

I was reading my posts and realizing how many typos I make. It's rather depressing, really. I pride myself on good grammar and spelling and then go and make silly little mistakes like that. Why? Because I type fast and don't bother to proofread.
Hee, I type very fast using only two fingers. Touch-typing can kiss my ass. I get more words per minute than most touch-typers my age. Well, actually I just made that up, but I'd like to think that. I was trying an excercise I used to do where I type out words in my head, envisioning where the keys are. It was very easy--I instinctively know where each key is now. I've memorized most common words, too, because I type so very much. Meh, enough gloating.

Tae kwan do (sp? I hear the term more often than I see it) started today, and college prep is over--the semester just ended. It's going to be a fun class, if a little odd. I found out that the teacher, Mr. Gary Fookes, taught my karate teacher, Phil Hill, when he was little. That is just a bit disturbing, since I always thought of Mr. Hill as a bit old. It will be difficult learning all new moves and stances, and forms will be a nightmare (I still have trouble with the 3rd kata), but I think I'll enjoy it. It's very different from my karate classes.

Hmm. That's all, I guess. I'm all buzzing with nervous energy. Ack.
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Monday, January 16, 2006

A Bit o' This and That
So I was watching TV, and a commercial for a diet pill came on. Normally I just make fun of diet/excercise plan commercials and how the before and after pics look like different people, but this time I just felt very, very sad that I belong to such a weak, simpering race as that of human beings.
First off, one of the people says something like, "When a 5-year-old says you're fat..." COME ON, PEOPLE. They're 5-year-olds! They're not fat because they spend their whole day running around like a mad thing, smashing their heads into walls. When a 5-year-old says you're fat, you need to teach your 5-year-old some manners or that kid is never going to have a social life. If your self-esteem is so fragile that it can be shattered by a tactless 5-year-old (who doesn't even have a high school health class education and really doesn't know what a healthy weight is, and when compared to his 50 lb little ass, you are indeed fat), then you don't need diet pills, you need a therapist.
Then there's the next part of the commercial--we've had the sob stories ("I was so fat, my wedding was such a disappointment, wah wah wah."), so now it's time for the inspiring results ("I lost 5 million lbs, and look at me now! I don't need skirts anymore, I can just cut a hole in the end of a sock and wear that!"). But instead of the usual smaller-clothes, healthier-life results, we get some incredibly ugly woman sitting in a compromising position doing god-knows-what with a chicken feather. Three words describe it all... "What the HELL?" This woman is not sexy. She looks ill. Her face is oddly stretched and her hair has been over-bleached. Her skin is very fake-tanned, and it looks as though standing upright might be painful. And what's with the feather? What, we can't tickle ourselves with feathers if we're over 160 lbs? Damn, didn't know that, I better start watching my carbs. So commercial-makers, please, if you're going to try and entice us with sexiness, pick a sexy woman doing something sexy. Chicken feathers make me think about the poor dead chicken's naked butt, and that is not sexy, just disturbing. Kind of like that woman's baggy eyes.

There's the rant for the day. Here's the news: We got a new car to replace the ailing Aztek--now we've got a black Honda Pilot with a DVD player and 3rd-row seats. I love it--I just wish it were more colorful. It's got a nice quiet drive and comfy seats. My nose is running like it's got the FBI on its tail, ack! Last night I spent at my aunt's with my mom and grandma, and had an interesting plethora of food for dinner (duck roll with pear, a cheese plate, and wasabi-grilled tuna with peanut sauce) and a bit of white wine after, which has put me off of that form of alcohol too. So far we have no red or white wines and no gin. This morning I got to take a bath in the whirlpool tub, but it messed my hair up like a mad thing, so I'm caught between taking a shower even when I feel clean and risking sleeping on my hair funny or leaving my hair to be messy and bleh. Life's dilemmas!

I'm so pissed off at people who neglect their pets. It's so incredibly easy to take care of them properly. Most of these people are probably unemployed and just sit around on their asses complaining all day and smoking weed anyway. Here's a simple rule of thumb for not getting arrested for animal cruelty: Don't adopt a dog if you can't afford to feed it. And definitely don't get 10. Then you just look like a crazy person. Also, if the animal's bones are showing, feed it. If it's bleeding a lot or has a tumor hanging off its leg, take it to the vet. Don't just leave it there, because the poor thing dying is not going to make your problem go away.
In fact, that right there is a good rule for every one of life's problems. Something dying is not going to make your problem go away. Life isn't that easy. :P
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Saturday, January 14, 2006

A bitty update to my introduction: Now you can get your weekly dose of Hyde. Yay!
So I'm enjoying myself explaining VisK to my anime-deprived friend. It's kind of difficult, but thankfully she's into music and so she's used to the quirks of particular bands and styles...

I'm also working on a story I and some of my friends dreamed up a couple years ago at Japanese/anime classes. We each made up our own characters, and considering that the class consisted of me, my friend Raisa, a ten-year-old named Chad, and a college guy who suppled us with wonderful fansubbed anime (SOEX, anyone? Phrase gun, anyone?). Ah, good times. So the characters are as follows:
Raisa's: Taka (sometimes) - a mild-mannered mechanic who occasionally turns into a mass murderer; comes into the story by being stranded on the planet on which it takes place.
Mine: Chiizu Omuretsu (katakana for "Cheese Omelette") - a strange half-dog half-crazy-ass-pirate who roams the sea in her sub named Pepper, with whom she is psychologically linked; comes into the story by raiding the main character's city of residence.
Chad's: Crazy Bob - a weird dude who lives in a deep underwater ravine farming waterberries, an inter-planetary delicacy, and was driven rather mad by the constant high water pressure; comes into the atory by being an old friend of Chi's.
John's: Blue Zhast - an aristocrat's son who is possessed by the god of darkness and will presently be hunted by a cult determined to set the god free; comes into the story by being the main character.
The story takes place on the underwater planet of Euclotis IX. The final confrontation takes place on an island on the surface--which is unusual because the only island supposedly floating on the surface of Euclotis IX is the landing dock for visiting crafts. I'm not sure whether to kill Blue or not... It would make for a dramatic ending, but I like him as a character. Well, I'll figure it out when I get there. That's how i write--just put down the next idea that comes. Well, I do map out a few major plot points first, but you know what I mean. Too much planning ruins my writing.
I hope someday I get some books published. I'd at least like to get the to an editor for constructive criticism and so on. But to be able to share these ideas with the world...it's an inspiring thought. ^_^ Ciao. I'm eagerly awaiting this next momentous episode of FMA. Meep.
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Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Yayy, my Akadot order finally came! I'm so happy. I got all sorts of wonderful things. Ahem:
-A Kenshin figure and another Ed figure (yes, I'm collecting them ^o^)
-A plushie of Edward (the Bebop one) and Ein-y
-A T-shirt with Hiro (Gravi) on it
-A big ol' Ed pillow! I've always wanted one!
-A cute little Neo Piko marker case, a Kuroneko-sama CD case, and a wallet with Ed on it
-Screentones galore and a proper tone hera, finally, and some Deleter Kent paper
-Special edition winter Pocky! For my collection of Pocky boxes...
-4 FMA pins

All that for around $150. Not bad, eh? I'm such a good shopper, I think. I need more room for my figures though, cuz the bottom shelf of my display case is all full up. That's how crazy I am for action figures... I mean, I've got 2 full sets of FMA figures, the fully-articulated Ed figure, and then a whole bunch of FMa odds and ends, plus a Sesshoumaru figure, a D figure (the second one), the whole set of Hellsing figures, and Haruko and her Vespa--plus my new Kenshin figure. Yikes. Well, I do have weird aspirations, like collecting tons of figures and plushies and hopefully lots of yaoi manga too. ^_^

Oh yes, almost forgot. Also in that order was "How NOT to Draw Manga". I just finished reading it, and it's pretty much exactly right... For those interested, it's a parody of the How to Draw Manga books but instead it covers the cliches of anime/manga characters, figures/costumes, and storylines. Good stuff, as it's hilariously funny. Not too expensive either, so go for it if you find it.

Mm, this winter Pocky is good... Tastes like truffles. ^o^

Oh, yeah, I'm sick. It's yucky. You know how when you go back to school after being sick cuz you felt fine in the morning, but by the end of the day you feel achy and tired, but not particularly sick? I got that. And around the middle of first period I started feeling woozy and sleepy, like I was drugged, so I'm gonna check that cold medicine I took... O.o
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Saturday, January 7, 2006

I Do Like Writing Rants, Thank You For Asking
Well, there went the last of my respect for Tokyopop. Bye-bye! The moment I saw an ad for "Peach Fuzz" I knew things weren't going to work out between us. Toktopop appeals to giggly preteens who don't like reading books without pictures. I am no longer a giggly preteen. And this sudden burst of "American manga" (which is technically impossible, as I will explain), as shown by the fact that more than half of the new series in the News Blast were by non-Japanese people, is the last straw. Shutterbox I like. It's good stuff, and in the spirit of manga while keeping an American way of writing. "Cinemanga" I could ignore since I've never seen anyone buy it, so it's not harming the general populace as far as I can tell. But now, it's over. I'm sorry. I see now that you nabbed Gravitation not because it was awesome, or because it had quality as well as something new to the American market. You got it because it was popular with the fangirls and would make a lot of money. That is unacceptable.

Here's my explanation about th term "manga" being applied to American-made, manga-style comics. Ahem. The word manga is a Japanese word. Therefore it applies to the Japanese thing it describes, in this case comic strips and graphic novels, and to any other comics, as long as the person using the word is speaking Japanese. If the manga was produced in America, it's not actually manga, it's just drawn and set up in the manga style. Also, "manga" from Korea and China are also not actually manga. If it's from Korea, it's manwha, and if it's from China, it's manhua (I believe; correct me if I'm wrong). This same rule can be applied to other situations as well. For instance, the word samurai is used by the Japanese to indicate a swordsman or warrior who fights for his lord. Europe had at one point a similar concept of knights. We don't call them samurai though, do we? Even if a knight were to put on samurai armor and carry a katana, he would not be a samurai. Katana, also, can only be used to describe a Japanese sword, or a sword as spoken by a Japanese person.
*deep breath* So this is why Shutterbox and Peach Fuzz are not manga. Why Peach Fuzz is CRAP is pretty self-explanatory.

By the way, has anyone noticed how all sorts of companies are trying to jump on the graphic novel bandwagon? I saw a Kid's Bop (*shudder*) commercial the other day, and apparently there is now a comic adventure that comes with the CD. Copycat much? It's also a bit ironic, in Cinemanga, how there is a Cinemanga of the Yugioh Movie, but no manga. Guess why! Because the Yugioh Movie was contrived by the nasty Americans who want to ruin good shounen anime, so there was never any real manga equivalent. I don't know if there's any manga corresponding to the real Yugioh movies.

Oh, and karate starts again tomorrow. Er, today. Wish me luck; I'm rather out of practice. ^_^U
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Thursday, January 5, 2006

Happy birthday, Miyazaki-sama! Or at least, TCM says it's your birthday. I don't really know. I'm not a stalker. Much.

First anime meeting of the new year tomorrow; we're watching Weiss Kreuz (not Gluhen, because Gluhen makes NO sense and they chopped Yohji's beautiful hair off). Then hopefully I'll go and see Brokeback Mountain, finally. Maybe. We'll see.
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Wednesday, January 4, 2006

Hello, beloved friends. I fear that this may be the last time I get to speak tou you all. Why? I have to write a huge paper for tomorrow's religion class. And then get some sleep so I don't die before I can hand it in. I will most likely perish in the process of writing it, so my last words are: "Goddammit, Mark-who-wrote-a-gospel-redaction! You'd better be really friggin' happy that I died writing a paper about your shoddy piece of work!"

I did rather terribly on the math midterm. I worry. But I got great scores on religion and physics (physics had something like a 15 point curve because my class is full of bumbling idiots), so I hope it will even out.

My art is really coming along, I've noticed, looking back over my past sketchbooks. I'm nowhere near where I want to be, and I never will be, but I'm doing better, and that gives me hope that even just time can improve my style. ^_^ I'd give you some samples but I'm too lazy to resize now, and I really need to get to work so I'm not still at it at 1 in the morning. Again. >.< Eep.
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