Wednesday, November 15, 2006

MOVING ON. . .

Music time! ‘da sikaurai gives a big thumbs-up to VNV NATION. . . an electronic group who’s making it big in the dance clubs across the world! Not just the typical techno band, VNV ~Victory Not Vengeance~ NATION is a splendid collaboration between two DJs whose efforts are a well-orchestrated harmonic convergence, spinning heart-wrenchingly emotive well-wishes for the endeavors of Humanity!!!! VNV NATION consistently sends a positive message to those who take the time to listen to their works, and they succeed in expressing their music intelligently through profound and artfully crafted lyrics. This techno-duo is definitely one the most intelligent and articulate collaborations of their genre. Below is a music vid that ‘da sikaurai located on the net that tugged on her heart-strings so poignantly! For all you TRIGUN fans out there, feel the yearning hope in Vash’s heart for humanity, and the ambivalence in his own destiny, as VNV NATION performs their stunning “Solitary”. . . VNV NATION Solitary Set me aflame and cast me free. Away, you wretched world of tethers. Through the endless night and day I have never wanted more. Always thought that I would stand before the faceless name of justice. Like some law unto myself, like a child of God again. And if rain brings winds of change let it rain on us forever. I have no doubt from what I've seen that I have never wanted more. With this line I'll mark the past as a symbol of beginning. I have no doubt from what I've seen that I have never wanted more. In this picture stands a man, far away, alone and distant. Like a solitary field in some nameless foreign land. All around the points of light start to dim and cease transmitting. Shadows fell on futile games and then there was nothing more. Through the screams of falling steel. By the light of flares and wisdom. All the doubts I could not face. All this time I wanted more. With a line I'll mark the past as a symbol of beginning. To the gods whose names we've lost and the names who gave in vain. And if rain brings winds of change let it rain on us forever. I have no doubt from what I've seen that I have never wanted more. With this line I'll mark the past as a symbol of beginning. I have no doubt from what I've seen that I have never wanted more. Set me aflame and cast me free. Away, you wretched world of tethers. Through the endless night and day I have never wanted more. Always thought that I would stand before the faceless name of justice. Like some law unto myself, like a child of God again. And if rain brings winds of change let it rain on us forever. I have no doubt from what I've seen that I have never wanted more. With this line I'll mark the past as a symbol of beginning. I have no doubt from what I've seen that I have never wanted more. Sever the line to the guilty past, to the ones who brought us nothing Spoke of futures brave and proud and brought only hate and war. Lined the roads with hollow praise. Marked the land with paper statues. Shadows fell on their futile ways and then there was nothing more. *sniffs* Isn’t that beautiful? They're saying that no matter what evils befall us--no matter what happens in life--humanity has hope for the future, IF. . . and this is the big IF. . . we take into heart the consequences of our actions and seek improvement through ourselves. Well, at least, that's how 'da sikaurai interpreted it. She may be wrong. And now ‘da sikaurai has to sign off. . . *sniff*. . . she has something in her eye. . . But before she does, she also recommends “Dark Angel” by VNV Nation (which she consistently envisions as Dante’s theme song!), as well as “Genesis” and “Epicentre”. . . AHHHH!! NOOOO!! AFTER ALL THAT, youtube HAD GONE DOWN RIGHT AFTER I POSTED. . .but WHEW!!! 'kay, it's up now!!! ENJOY!

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Tuesday, November 14, 2006

*GASP* THE WINNER IS . . .

Okay, the time has come. . . after viewing some great submissions, and giving each of my contestants a week’s time to stew over the possibilities, the time has arrived! The votes have been tallied. . . and GODS, lemme tell ya—‘da sikaurai’s attention span is the PITS! It seriously took her over six hours to count them! Check one, tally two, check two, tally three, check three—hey, look! Geese! *clambers off to the window* Anyway. . . yeahhhhh. The winner, after “carefully” (no, seriously) counting the PM ballots. . . is BIO2HAZARDOUS!!!! Awesome, you! Congratulations! 2nd place: Ebony 3rd place: Ouroboros78 The three of you apparently have quite the fan-base. Thanks for inundating my PM box, really! ‘da sikaurai wants to say a big THANK YOU to each and every one of the loverly artists that participated in this contest. You all did a great job, and she appreciates the enthusiasm given toward such an oddball theme. But yaoikiss101 was absolutely correct—‘da sikaurai had alterior motives—ha, ha! She now has numerous renditions of her sexy Ukyo to fondle and caress at her heart’s content!!! Prizes? I never promised prizes!! ‘da sikaurai got what she wanted. . . *runs off with a dozen ukyos under her arm* So, at any rate, since my cyber god BAILED on me this week, the banner will not be awarded to the winner. Instead, an iTunes gift certificate will be emailed to the first-place winner. If the winner—yeah, I’m talking to you, Bio—doesn’t have an iTunes account, then. . . ‘da sikaurai offers you a most sincere display of respect by rendering a gift art of your choosing. Also, as the contest winner, ‘da sikaurai would be mos’ honored to feature your works on her site, with options for additional reviews and promotion. . . ‘da sikaurai would also like to say that she was genuinely disappointed that three absolutely fabulous artists couldn’t quite make it into the running, due to scheduling issues and whatnot. If any of my loverly readers get the time, please check out the galleries of CHESHIRECATGRINS, SON GOKU FAN, and PIERCING LIGHT. Hopefully, when you get your renditions up, I can feature them here. Also: a prediction for tomorrow. . . the TRIGUN FANS will have a special treat. . . . . .And 'da sikaurai has new fan-art up. . .*wipes brow* Okay, fools, why are you still here? Go forth and have a fanTABulous day!!!!

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Monday, November 13, 2006

CHAPTER FIVE IS 'DA EVILNESS!!! . . . A ROUND OF THANKS!!!

Fact of the day: When engaging in illicit activities, loudly exclaiming “SHIT, A COP!” only draws unwanted attention to yourself. . . So I’m not even going to discuss how I know that fact. WUFF WUFF! All righty! My hellish work-week has drawn to a close! I have tonight and tomorrow night off, so I can feel free to engage in my favorite recreational activities: drawing dirty pictures, and editing the CRAP outta meh crap. (Soon. Someday I will finish SOON.) Regarding my DA account—see what a little shameless self-promotion will get you? ‘da sikaurai’s DA site jumped a whopping 20 full-page views since yesterday morning, which is spectacular for meh pathetics self, since ‘da sikaurai usually only averages about 5 per day, not including the deviation views from people already on her watch list. She can only assume that her hits were from her fellow otakuites—THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME!!!! ‘da sikaurai’s art is strictly for fun. She takes her literature, however, very seriously. Which brings her to her one topic of the day: see, last night’s post, when she asked . . . IF ‘DA SIKAURAI WOULD PUT UP EXCERPTS FROM HER BOOK(S), WOULD ANYONE READ?, out of nineteen people and 34 hits for the day, only one person answered. She can only assume that the lack of response was a polite, yet resounding, NO! *crumples into weeping ball on top of mound of typed pages* All right, all right. I get the point. (Actually, Ebony, this doesn’t really apply to you, as I know that you read it up until about *goes back to check* . . . chapter FIVE.) And actually, ‘da sikaurai had three more readers attack her book last night. . . and they stopped at about chapter five. Apparently, CHAPTER FIVE is the enemy. ‘da sikaurai knows who one of her readers was—thanks for stepping up to the plate, Magnus Lensherr! Could the other two please come forward and tell me WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH CHAPTER FIVE?!?!?!?! Well, shit, I think I’ll post excerpts, anyway. Actually, yaoikiss101 suggested that I post the chapter in which the Orchid Lord massages a naked Kimi with scented lotion before they escape the asylum—HAHA MADE YOU LOOK!!! Before I hear the scamper of feet off to my DA account, I must also point out that nothing naughty or frivolous happened in that scene! But ‘da sikaurai had you going, didn’t she? (By the way, that’s in Chapter TEN. . .) Don't forget: WINNER ANNOUNCED TOMORROW!!!! Everybody have a fanTABulous DAY!!!!

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Sunday, November 12, 2006

WEEKEND WRAP-UP. . .

Wow, you guys. In the short time that ‘da sikaurai was away from her pc yesterday on an impromptu date, the vote tally in her otaku portfolio jumped from 271 to 307. THANK YOU—especially to Magnus Lensherr, Breakfast Squid, AngelBestDream, and Phantomkittycat! *sniff* M’portfolio is not quite so lonely anymore; it’s feeling quite satisfied now, and is now enjoying a good cigarette in the aftermath. . .I don't really care so much about rankings and schtuff, but it's GOOD to KNOW that someone is actually looking at 'em, you know? Poor, poor Sascha. Anywho. . . WINNER OF THE UKYO CONTEST TO BE ANNOUNCED ON TUESDAY. Believe it or not, votes are STILL coming in! Isn’t that awesome? Also, ‘da sikaurai would like to give a big round of applause for CERM’s rendition; due to scheduling issues, she could not enter the contest—however, she did do a KICK-ASS version of Ukyo, anyway. . . so ‘da sikaurai would like to give you readers a linky to engage in the clickety: http://fanart.theotaku.com/view.php?action=retrieve&id=152448 TIS MOST AWESOME, IT IS!!! (And um, since CERM seems to be Akiramaru’s latest victim, heh, ‘da sikaurai feels that she must whip up an image for her in dedication to the incubus’s playful deviance.) Oh, and by the way, Yensid: Yeah, White Zombie is NOT on my best plays list. You are absolutely correct; every track sounds the same. However, once Rob Zombie went solo, he was free to explore new horizons with his music, and I think his latest works, ie. Hellbilly Deluxe and Educated Horses, did a wonderful job in diversifying his sound. (I absolutely LOVE “phantom stranger”--I kind of picture it as AKIRAMARU's theme song!!!) The link to my DA account is: http://bowerydweller.deviantart.com/ I must warn everyone that some of my deviations are filtered for MATURE CONTENT. Most of my deviations are excerpts from my book, which makes me ask: IF ‘DA SIKAURAI WOULD PUT UP EXCERPTS FROM HER BOOK(S), WOULD ANYONE READ? I think I tried this before, but I didn’t get much feedback. Just wondering. Adding to this post, EBONY has once again pulled off another bit o' magic. . . completely unsolicited, she did another rendition of SASCHA, in his earliest incarnation. . . please go comment and vote!!! http://fanart.theotaku.com/view.php?action=retrieve&id=152492 And see pic below!!! EVERYONE HAVE A FANTABULOUS DAY!!!!!

lyrics - goodbye horses

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Saturday, November 11, 2006

FINALLY FOUND IT!!!!!!

Well, ‘da sikaurai promised music tids, and she delivers . . .eventually. The first little ditty she’d like to whip out of her archive is by the obscure artist Q Lazzarus. He earned his fame through the acclaimed director Johnathan Demme, whose famed projects include the critically renowned “Silence of the Lambs”. Actually, Q Lazzarus’s most infamous track is “good bye horses”, the hauntingly aching song featured to the backdrop of the disturbing images of Buffalo Bill and his twisted Ed Gein-inspired skin-fetishism, mixed with a little transvestitism for kicks. Here’s what the original version sounded like. . . (with some BB action for you twisted freaks out there): The very mediocre new-style goth band PSYCHE did a remake. As per their usual mediocrity, this is the new version, in concert. ‘da sikaurai must now go scrub out her ears with a little clorox. NEXT FEATURED ARTIST: ROB ZOMBIE (and his lovely, twisted, multi-talented wife, Sheri Moon. *yeah, I’d do her, too*) He’s got some kick-ass SICK, SICK art!!!!, which ‘da sikaurai had pasted into her hard-drive. Yeah, that’s gone now, too. Hopefully, she can locate some more prints. SPEAKING OF ART, SIKAURAI IS LOOKING AT HER PITIFUL PORTFOLIO. IT’S LOOKING A LITTLE LONELY. MAYBE SOME VISITS WOULD CHEER IT UP?. . . EVERYBODY HAVE A GOOD DAY!

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Friday, November 10, 2006

FIXED AND REVAMPED!!!

‘da sikaurai is pleased to announce a new site theme, and one that is sentimental to her! The Sandman is a relic of ‘da sikaurai’s childhood. . . a beautifully rendered vision of immortal web-spinning deviance—of portrayal as mortal humankind as pieces in a hierarchical game. The universe itself as a tapestry of beautiful visions luminescent and unbeknownst to the limited human mind, so fragile in its mortal state! Heh. Yeah, ‘da sikaurai waxes nostalgic for the Lord Morpheus and his family, sister Death, as well as Despair, and Destiny, and the androgynous Desire. The Sandman is a series written by Neil Gaiman from 1988 until 1996. It became the flagship of DC's Vertigo imprint, and is kept in print as a series of ten trade paperbacks. It is considered one of the most original, sophisticated and artistically ambitious comic book series of the modern era. Wikipedia even goes on to say that by the time of the series's conclusion, it had made significant contributions to the artistic maturity of English language comic books and become a pop culture phenomenon in its own right. The Lord of Dreams is known by an array of names, most often Morpheus, but also Oneiros, Lord Shaper, Lord Kai'ckul, the Prince of Stories, and the Carrion King. He is one of a family of seven siblings known as the Endless. The series featured many artists, including the famed Yoshitaka Amano (who was recently featured on Ebony’s site as the theme for last month.) Here’s an example of Yoshitaka-sama’s cover work: And of course, here's one pic that stands out in meh memory. . . ‘da sikaurai is also pleased to announce that her PC is now completely repaired, and she is back in the game on all counts. Thanks for your help, dude!

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Wednesday, November 8, 2006

CONTEST STILL ON. . . AND SO IS 'DA SIKAURAI
All right, awesome—thanks for your votes, people! ‘da sikaurai had to empty out her PM box two times last night. . . Holy HELL, you guys have a lot of friends and supporters! Congratulations!

Good luck to all of you. . . every one of you did a fantastic job!

HOWEVER. . . we do have another submission. . . better late than never, and I hope that you take this entry into consideration. . .

MS RANDOM


I don’t have any pics of my own to post today. I’m operating on someone else’s computer, right now. I’m still repairing the damage to my own PC after I was hacked— yes, I was hacked. Some bored techno-geek raped my system (heh, a quick salute to KMFDM) and wiped out my keyboard port. ‘da sikaurai kinda has a suspect in mind—and she only says this because half of her precious music library is now eradicated.

Thankfully, ‘da sikaurai’s cyber god was around to walk her through resuscitation. I fixed my wireless—obviously—and I’m back in black (heh, okay, enough with the rocker puns).

I still have some files to repair. Luckily, the damage has been isolated and contained. And luckily. . . ‘da sikaurai’s book(s) have been saved to disc.

EVERYBODY HAVE A NICE DAY!!!

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Tuesday, November 7, 2006

THE DAY HAS COME!!!!!!
WOOF, WOOF! M'main man is in 'da house! Give it up for Ukyo of Tougakyo. . . the weirdest mothah to grace the anime cinema industry. And finally, the contest is under way. . .

We have some great artists. . . so please browse carefully, and choose honestly. . .

Here's how it works: Flit through these submissions, find the one that you like the best. When you have made your decision, votes will be cast by blind ballot, by sending your choice to my PM box. Yes, that's right--private message 'da sikaurai with your vote!

CANT ESCAPE


SIZIC-AKA-SAKURA


GB FIEND


BIO2HAZARDOUS


EBONY


MAMMA DX


ANIMI


PHANTOMKITTYCAT


OUROBOROS78


LT14


ANGELBESTDREAM


And finally. . . heh. . . 'da sikaurai:


'da sikaurai had to put UKYO and her beloved AKIRAMARU together. . .SHE's NOT really competing--but she thought she'd do one anyway. (Don't vote for me, heh, cuz I can't count those votes with a clear conscience)

WE may have two late entries. . . Gods, guys, I tried to hold out. . . but don't worry, the contest is running for a week, so try to get yours in while you can. . .

EVERYBODY HAVE A GOOD DAY!!!!
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Monday, November 6, 2006

DEADLINE HAS ARRIVED!!!!!
Okay, apparently the visual wars between 'da sikaurai and yaoikiss101 have drawn to a close. So 'da sikaurai decided to change her site theme. Hope all you gothic girls out there get a kick out of this Dante wannabe, lol. . .enjoy it while you can, though. I was amused, but it's not really reflective of 'da sikaurai's deviant personality, and she'll be changing it soon. . .

Yeah, annnnyyyywho, the contest for the UKYO submissions will take place tomorrow. Please report to this site to vote for your favorite rendition of UKYO from Samurai 7.

Artists who have completed their works:
EBONY
ANIMI
SIZIC-AKA-SAKURA
OUROBOROS78
CANT ESCAPE
MAMMA DX
BIO2HAZARDOUS
PHANTOMKITTYCAT

Artists who assure me that they will be finished "shortly":
LT14
MS RANDOM
YAOIKISS101
CHESHIRECATGRINS
GB FIEND

Remember GUYS. . . The deadline is tonight when the post-date changes! That's 11 p.m. central time!

OH, yeah. . .heheh. . . and 'da sikaurai is putting in her own rendition. . .
*ducks onslaught of projectile tomatoes*

WHATEVER!

Okay, pic time!



These two girls, like Dante, are re-incarnations of Heavenly Overseers. . . they also had once existed as humans, before both passing on in untimely and violent deaths. Raeven Duesler is the Avatar of Insight. . . and this lil' redhead is silent but lethal. Her boisterous blonde companion is Angela Gein, the Avatar of Compassion. She doesn't seem fit for the role, however; she is a dangerous desert flower. However, she tries to accomodate her new employer, the Orchid Lord, General of Morpheus's Dream Army--but only because she has developed a nasty crush on the beautiful dream. . .

Both girls despise their fellow avatar, Dante, and do everything they can to make his life miserable. Fortunately for him, he never seems to notice.

This is a very old pic, and Sascha looks kinda girly in the above pic, doesn't he? So, to compensate for his misleadingly feminine appearance, here's this lil' peace offering to my poor, abused, wolfy Sascha:



Awww, he asked her if she's in heat. . .isnt' that ROMANTIC???

*chokes on own sarcasm*

Yeah. For obvious reasons, that scene was cut from the book--duh!

*throws obnoxiously amateurish manga into crowd, and runs away before being lynched for tackiness*

(from safe distance:) Have a great day, everyone!

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Sunday, November 5, 2006

DANTE!!!!!!! ME LOVES DANTE!!!!!
heh, phantomkittycat. . .you have inspired me. 'da sikaurai wants to draw a picture of sascha with a hangover now. . .

All right, awesome. . . 'da sikaurai's favorite original character, Dante Nethre-Eldritch, has been rendered by the lovely Ebony. . . thanks again to Ebony, whom 'da sikaurai is starting to believe will end up illustrating her book!

(SO, uh, yeah, Ebony. . .since I'm on messenger with you right now. . . *hint hint, wink wink*)

Dante is Sascha's rival in love. . . he is an incarnation of one of the five ancient Heavenly Overseers. He is the Avatar of Righteous Conviction, and is also unfit for the role of such immortal prestige. Before his immortal soul was summoned once again to the planet Azsynth to fill out his fiery duties, he existed as a human college student--a careless club-going playboy who died a horrible death at the hands of a girl whom he had coldly shunned after a one-night stand.

He is vying for Kimi's hand. . . much to Sascha's dismay--although Sascha won't admit it.

Here he is, according to Ebony's vision:



Now go to her site and vote for it before Dante sets your undies alight.



Sascha seeks forgiveness in admonishing Kimi for her shortcomings. . .

Everyone have a nice day!
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