Friday, May 21, 2004

   Cream Filling & Nougat: Third Helping (Chapter III)
[These chapters seem to be a lot longer than the ones I used to right, eh? Hehe . . . anyhoo, on with it . . . . .]

"Slow down, Pastille," Nougat said as the unmarked car made its way into a less-populated area of the downtown west side. "I believe our boy should be around here somewhere . . ." Nougat had studied Valdez's original casebook for much of the other evening, and had planned out the best starting points to find the lesser dealers and work from there. He figured by going name by name he would eventually get to a big hit which would in turn really put a dent into the case. Of course, he knew it all still depended on whether they would be able to narrow their search quick enough before the dealers could counter them . . . . . finally spying his quarry, Nougat picked up the radio to message the other car. "Ruit, I've got him in sight, you two in position?" Ruit responded,
"Ready when you are, sir."
"Perfect. Just keep an ear open, then." Nougat looked to his driver. "Don't stray too far, now."
"I'll be right behind ya, Nougat," Officer Pastille answered.

Nougat got out of the car and walked towards the young dealer. Immediately feeling threatened, the dealer casually turned away and began walking down the street. Nougat continued walking forward, slowly increasing his pace - the dealer did likewise, and rounded a corner.
"Ruit, jean jacket, you see him?" Nougat said into his earpiece, rounding the corner himself.
"We don't see anything yet . . . wait . . . . . there! Ducked into the convenience store."
"Alright, one of you get out and meet me in there." Nougat ran into the convenience store and began scanning the area. Ruit came in shortly afterwards and started walking around the shelves. Nougat stayed at the door, watching . . .

Nougat was relieved when Ruit escorted the young man back out of the store. He was still protesting heavily about abuse and his having not done anything - they brought it out into the parking lot.
"Am I under arrest?" the man asked, a heavy tone of contempt in his voice.
"We just wanna ask you some questions," Nougat said.
"I'd rather you didn't," the man replied. Nougat upped his approach.
"Alright, in that case I'd like to search your pockets."
"Do you have a warrant for that?"
"No, we . . ."
"Then no, you can't search me." Nougat sighed.
"Ruit, grab 'im."

The man was now screaming obscenities as Nougat patted and searched all the surfaces of the man's clothes. By now the other two members of the west team had arrived and were just covering the area, especially from passers by who might have felt it important to voice an opinion. Still, Nougat was unable to find anything and stepped back.
"You guys can't do this to me!" the man yelled. By now a crowd was forming around them. Some were just there to see what was happening, though others were quick to criticise the lawmen and their approach as barbaric and wrong.
"Normal people do not get this defensive!" Nougat shouted, almost ready to draw his pistol.
"Get offa me already, you damn pigs!" As Nougat watched the man's mouth form the words, something caught his eye.

"Raute, help Ruit out," Nougat requested. Raute quickly took hold of the man's other side. "Open your mouth," the detective told him. The man would not comply. "Pastille, help me out." The man grunted furiously as Pastille squeezed his jaw and forced his mouth open. Nougat jammed his fingers into the man's mouth, elliciting more screams and more protests from the crowd. After another half minute of fishing his fingers around under the man's tongue, Nougat found what he was looking for: he gripped the small string and yanked it back. The drug dealer coughed and retched as the plastic bag cleared his teeth and dangled from Nougat's hand.

"That's about two hundred dollars' worth of light you had in ya, my friend," Nougat said as he swung the small bag of powder in front of the dealer's eyes. "So aside from this amount of light being capable of seizing your heart into a rock, you've got two choices: either you tell us where you got your stuff from, or you go to jail for a long, long time." The man remained silent, looking down and away. He grunted momentarily when Raute cinched up on his armlock, but still wouldn't speak. "Alright, you two put him in your car . . ."
" . . . . . Koko . . ." the dealer muttered.

"Come again?" Nougat asked.
"His name is Koko . . . . . I meet up with him down by Nissin Street." Nougat smiled.
"Alright, cut 'im loose," he said, "we've got bigger fish to hook. Oh . . . I'm gonna keep the cryssal, if you don't mind." The dealer coughed again and replied.
"Yeah, go fu- . . ."
"Glad you see it our way," Nougat interrupted. "Alright, let's go, guys." Nougat was happy because "Koko" was indeed one of the names Valdez had come across during his investigation; he would most likely lead closer to the source.

As the four officers walked back to their cars, Nougat looked at the crowd that was still gathered. He allowed them all to see him with the newly acquired bag of drugs.
"Don't you people have trees to chain yourself to or something?" he asked the now-quiet mob, huffing hard as he turned back around. "I don't know about you guys, but people really piss me off sometimes . . ."
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Thursday, May 20, 2004

   Cream Filling & Nougat: Third Helping (Chapter II)
The next morning had a newly promoted Nougat preparing a whiteboard and papers at the front of a briefing room. Cream, meanwhile, had his feet up on one of the long tables near the front of the room.
"Noug', you look awesome," the young sergeant said to his partner. "I do believe this marks the first time I've ever seen you wearing a tie . . ."
"Yeah, and I still don't know why you like to wear it," Nougat said, tugging at his neckline a little. The entire piecemeal outfit was scavenged out of old formal clothes the veteran officer owned from years back, and while not completely going together, still gave a sense of distinction as compared to his old street clothes motif. The tightness under the shoulders was still bothering him, but he opted to not voice that particular bit of information to the relaxed man grinning before him.

Cream swung his feet around and stood up.
"So what sort of dream-team have you picked out for this, if I may ask?" he said as he walked towards the papers at the front desk.
"Top sheet," Nougat answered. Cream took a look down at the scribbled out list of names.
"Dude, for a lieutenant your handwriting still sucks a- . . ." Cream stopped himself as Nougat started reaching for his shoulder holster - he smiled innocently and didn't stop until his partner put his hand back down.

"Alright, let's take a look . . ." Cream skimmed the names. "You've got Ruit, Pastille, Raute . . . Losanje . . . . ." Cream stopped and looked up at Nougat, his brow wrinkled in curiosity. "Hey Noug', did you just sorta happen to pick all the heavy hitters of the precinct or was that intentional?" Nougat stopped writing on the whiteboard.
"Huh?"
"It's just that . . . I know Ruit's been trying to get into SWAT for a while, and Pastille's got a bit of a reputation as being pretty extreme in his measures . . . only a little, though . . ." Cream's eyes rolled up in thought. "Now Raute . . . . . I heard he's one of those crackshots. Haven't seen it, but it's what I heard . . . as for Losanje . . . . . uh . . ."
"She's really gung-ho too," Nougat added, "if that's what you were wondering." Cream nodded in recognition. "Hey, you're gonna be working with 'em too. Ask 'em yourself."

During the next five minutes, the others who were called in to the eight-man team filed into the briefing room. Cream was happy to see just about everyone was in high spirits despite the recent hardships the precinct was under. They all definitely looked up to the task.
"Alright guys," Nougat started, clearing his throat, "you all know me, I'm Lt. Nougat and I'm heading this op'." There were some light, casual comments afterwards, mostly about Nougat's luck in getting promoted and in his new look. Cream could only grin. "Likewise, you should all know Detective Cream to my right, he'll be the X-O . . . well, if this were a submarine he would be . . . . . in any case, that's Whip', you all know him already." Again, there were quick comments and greetings, nothing especially formal.

"Anyway," Nougat continued, "the chief deemed it necessary to volunteer me to the cryssal case. I, in turn, deemed it worthwhile to volunteer the seven of you along with. This investigation is going to be dangerous and most likely life-threatening . . . so, I'm hoping that you're all gonna look forward to this." The volume of cheer after his statement was enough to confirm that. "Alright, so we've all seen what the effects of cryssal - or light, as some are calling it - can do to a person. Though it has yet to be really confirmed, the downtown riot a few months back was more than likely attributed to individuals zonked up on light. I know most of you were there, so you know how messed up people get and how hard they are to keep down . . ." There were more nods from the officers in the room. " . . and that's where we come in."

Nougat went over to the whiteboard, where grids were drawn out.
"Now I'm sure you've figured out by now that none of us are actual narcotics officers . . ." There was a quick shuffling of people looking around. "But we're not going to exactly be going about this the way most normal people would . . . we're gonna be diving into the pool, head-first." Again, there was some light snickers from the more amused members of the team - Cream stayed silent and listened to what his partner was thinking. "We're gonna be like hornets, buzzing back and forth over the downtown area. If we find a lead, we're gonna chase it until it leads us to a new lead. We're not gonna let up, and we're not gonna back down. We're gonna keep drilling 'til we get to the top of the pyramid and break it open to whatever mummy's inside."
"Sir," one of the officers asked, raising his hand, "I'm afraid if you move into any more metaphors I may lose you and thus be inefficient in my later duties. May I please request normal speech?" More snickering made its way through the room. Nougat recomposed himself.
"We're gonna go downtown and kick some ass. Simple enough for ya?"
"Very simple, thank you sir."

"Alright, let's wrap up and then get out there," Nougat said, looking back down at his sheet. "I'm splitting the team in half based on geography. I'm gonna run half the team on the west half of downtown, while Sa- . . . uh, Detective Cream will be covering the East. Pastille, Ruit, Raute, you're with me. Losanje, Schotse and Munt, you're with Cream. Everyone got that? Alright, everyone gear up and meet up at oh-nine hundred hours."

The team got up and exited the room, still full of all the energy in the world. The team leaders stayed behind to clean up the room a bit and organise the papers.
"Not bad, Noug'," Cream said, walking around the front desk, "you read notes like a pro." Nougat replied,
"Why thanks, Whip'. You certainly know how to say just the right thing, as always." Cream hopped up and sat on the desk.
"So, was that the whole plan?" he asked.
"Pretty much," the lieutenant answered, "why, something wrong?"
"Oh no, nothin' at all . . . we gonna be calling plays at the line as well, then?"
"Something like that, yeah." Nougat dropped the files back into the folder. "KISS Rule and all, you know."
"Keep it simple, stupid, yeah, I know . . ." Cream got off the desk and moved towards the door. " . . . alright, I'll see ya at nine, then." Nougat turned around to face his partner.
"Yeah, definitely. Catch ya later, Whip'."

Once in the hallway, Cream stretched his arms, groaned out the last of his morning fatigue, and headed towards his and Nougat's office.
"Kiss Rule, huh Noug'?" He muttered to himself. "Takin' it a little extreme today, aren't ya?"
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Wednesday, May 19, 2004

   Cream Filling & Nougat: Third Helping (Chapter I)
[Just in case any of you are reading this for the first time, I just wanna leave a note: although this is the first chapter, this story actually begins with a prologue written a couple posts before this. You'll wanna go there, first, okay?]


(Three months later . . . . .)

It was especially warm that morning, the chief thought to himself as he walked past the banks of desks. Summer was quickly approaching, and it hadn't rained for almost a week. All the officers at the precinct were definitely feeling the strain, and the usual work they did daily seemed to stretch with the temperature. As it was, the chief himself had his own problems to deal with as well, considering the cutbacks the city had made to the force's annual funding. However, he refused to dwell on such problems. Looking at all the faces behind their respective desks, he knew they were all putting forward strong efforts - to do the same was the least he could return. With that thought, he rounded the corner and stepped into the small office.

"Okay . . . . . good cop, worse cop!" Cream said emphatically. Nougat grinned.
"Tango and Cash!" he said to the delight of his partner. Their low laughter was interrupted by the chief's heavy, forced cough. "Hey chief!" Nougat called, "What's up?"
"Chief," Cream added, "you wanna get in on this game?" The chief shook his head . . . . . as he always did with those two.
"So, Sakai was asking me the other day for a larger desk . . ." he said, raising an eyebrow. Cream and Nougat sat up straight in their seats and ceased all vocalisms. Cream also stroked his hand across the edge of his desk cautiously and asked,
"What's on your mind, chief?"

"Alright," the chief started, "you two have been doing your jobs enough to know about that new drug everyone's hopped up on downtown, right?" Nougat responded,
"Oh yeah, that new sort of nuke, right?"
"Nuke, eh?" Cream said slyly. "Robocop 2." Nougat looked across his desk to Cream on the other side and grinned.
"Cryssal, Nougat," the chief interjected, "it's called cryssal, not nuke."
"Cryssal wasn't in that movie . . ." Cream said quietly. The chief slapped him in the back of the head and continued.
"Anyway, you two have just volunteered yourselves to work on that case."

Cream wheeled his chair to the side of his desk, getting his back away from facing his boss.
"So how is it that we have suddenly volunteered?" he asked.
"Well," the chief said, "you know how things are down here. We're running out of bodies, and the work is all staying the same. Everyone's gotta pull some extra weight or else we're all sunk." Cream slumped back into his chair.
"We should've taken vacation leave last week . . . Noug', you like Mex-i-co, right?"
"Super Troopers!" Nougat shouted, pointing back across the desks.
"Stop it!" the chief ordered. The two detectives could barely hold their laughter.
"Kindergarten Cop!" They both shouted out together before exploding in a heavy shower of mirth. The chief walked over to the office door and poked his head out, saying,
"Hey, Hughes, call Sakai over here will y- . . ."
"We're done!" Cream said quickly.
"Done done!" Nougat reassured.

The chief walked back towards the two front-to-front desks.
"You guys are already causing me a headache, so I'll get to the point . . ." The room went silent for sake of courtesy. "So you know how Lt. Valdez was originally heading the cryssal case?" Cream and Nougat nodded. "Well, he's gone missing."
"What? 'Dez is missing?" Cream asked. The chief nodded.
"We're still hoping, but for all we know he's long since been dead to the world." The room stayed silent, so the chief went on. "Anyway, with him missing, someone needs to keep up on the investigation . . . which brings us to our next issue . . . . ." The chief walked over to Nougat's half of the desks. "Seeing as we're at a lack of officers these days," the Chief stated, "we've been required to keep the slots full. So . . . now understand, this is against all my better judgement . . . . . but, Nougat, you're the ranking officer in the precinct with the most years logged in." Cream interrupted,
"Yeah? And?"
"And . . . . . well . . . now you're not a sergeant anymore. Now hurry up with your case, Lieutenant."

"What the suck?!" Nougat said while bolting up from his seat, his face in complete shock. Cream, meanwhile, was leaning back in his chair, laughing.
"Haha! That's my old man! Noug', you got promoted!"
"I know I did!" Nougat shot back. "But . . . but . . . . ." The chief grinned for himself.
"Well, if you'd rather I give the lieutenant's pay to Sakai . . ."
"No! No no, no I'll take it," Nougat sputtered out, still slightly flustered. "Erm . . . thanks chief." The chief smiled again and said as he left,
"Just don't screw up the cryssal case. It's a big one."

Nougat sat back down into his seat. A smile was slowly creeping onto his face.
"Wow . . . didn't see that one coming . . . . ." he said, running his hand through his hair a little.
"Ya know," Cream said, "now that you're a lieutenant, you're gonna hafta start dressing better . . ."
"Yeah, like I'm gonna take fashion advice from you, right?"
"I like my suit, damnit," Cream said. He was quick to retract his comment, though. "Uh, that is, I like my suit, damnit, sir!" Nougat grinned a little more.
"I am so working you like a dog . . . . ."

"So, Noug'," Cream said, wheeling himself back behind his desk, "you're the leader now. This is your mission, should you choose to accept it . . ."
"Mission Impossible," Nougat replied, leaning back into his chair, "and that's not a cop movie . . . . ."
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Tuesday, May 18, 2004

   Brief interlude to bring you almost naked Japanese guys . . . . .
Before I get REALLY deep into part three of Cream Filling & Nougat, I figured I'd first share something deathly important to know in terms of Japanese online pop culture. That's right! It's Happatai!!!

Now, just so you know, you're about to witness a bunch of guys on stage singing and dancing clad in but underwear with big leaves on their fronts. However, I feel it is important to see this. It's just . . . it's internet goodness, is what it is.

So here you go: "Yatta!" by Happatai!

http://www.mit.edu/people/patil/yatta.html

(And an mpeg of the music video [thanks again Red!)
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/yatta.html

Yatta! Yatta!
Yatta! Yatta!
Heeheehee . . . . . .

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Monday, May 17, 2004

   Prologue:
[myOtaku Presents . . .]

The downtown districs were ablaze with people and noise as the crowd haphazardly made its way down the evening streets. No one knew exactly when the mass of violence grew or where it started. Not that it mattered to those outside that mass, who had much more immediate concerns. Car alarms were screaming as windows were smashed in, while mailboxes and garbage bins were torn out from the concrete and hurled through buildings. All the while, police and news helicopters constantly hovered about, recording everything that was happening. The riot had long since achieved civic status as the city's worst ever, and was well on its way towards national infamy.

Riot squads were dispatched all around the region, holding back the excited crowds as best they could. The men and women behind the heavy suits and shields were definitely doing an astonishing job holding back the waves of bodies and suppressing the especially violent ones, but they all knew these moments were minor victories in what could easily become an undending night. It wasn't from a lack of training or effort that had the officers worried: it was the severe lack of numbers. The department had unfortunately been forced to make cut-backs over the course of the year, and the amount of men trained and equipped for the matter at hand was simply an impossible figure to make. Thus, few options remained; the squad leaders made the request for all available officers.

[A SomeGuy Story . . .]

Within minutes, various cars from all sides of the city were funneled into the downtown area, adding manpower to crucially stretched out areas. An unmarked car was one of the first to arrive at the worst of the resistance.

The two men got out of the car and ran towards the sergeant in command of the squad struggling desparately to hold back the swarm of men.
"Sergeant Hall!" one of them shouted, getting the officer's attention.
"Oh, perfect!" Sergeant Hall shouted back, a smile gleaming through his eyes. "Glad to see you two, and not a moment too late."
"Where's the worst of it?" the other man asked while tucking his tie under his shirt.
"The worst of it is a couple blocks down at Heather," the sergeant replied, "but leave that to the regulars, I don't want you two going in equipped the way you are." The two officers looked at each other. Neither man was wearing more than a snugly fitting flak vest; indeed, neither man was even wearing a standard officer's uniform. The two then looked down the block towards Heather Street, where a large group of men were now climbing on top of the parked cars.
"Sarge," the first man said, "you know we've never done anything anyone has ever suggested to us. We'll come get you later." Hall tried to protest, but knew it was all useless. He nodded for the two of them to go.

"So, Whip," the officer asked his partner, "whadaya say we let ourselves come over to those bad boys over there?"
"I'm definitely curious as to what they're gonna do, Noug'," the other officer said. Thoroughly entertained by their incredibly stupid humour, the two of them ran down towards Heather Street.

[Detective Cream Filling . . . "Whip" . . . . .]

A thinned-out group of riot officers was already there, trying to take down the offending people while at the same time taking precautions not to drown under the violence. Cream and Nougat stopped briefly in shock as they took in the image of the rioters up close: they were incredibly violent, thrashing at the riot shields and shrieking incoherent noises.
"What the suck is going on?" Cream tried to ask before he quickly found himself on the defensive. One of the rioters had broken through the shield wall and was charging, head down, directly at the younger officer. Cream deftly sidestepped the man, grabbed him by the elbow, and swung him around until he was lying prostrate on the pavement. "Noug', you better be watching my ass!" he shouted while climbing on top of the struggling rioter, zap-strapping his hands behind his back.
"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't ya?!" Nougat shouted back as he grappled with another man, stepped forward and tripped him to the ground.
"I'd like . . . nothing . . . . . . better!" Cream retorted, getting back up and adjusting his collar.

Cream scanned the street trying to find more immediate emergencies. He was rewarded with the sight of the rioter with the glowing hand next to the leaking, overturned car across the street. Cream called to his partner.
"Noug', I think we got an explosion-in-progess!" Nougat looked where Cream was pointing.
"Oh, carbecue, awesome . . ." Nougat pulled on the zap-strap, taking another rioter out of the equation and got back up. "Fire begets fire . . . Whip, I'm goin' in, get your flamethrower out!" Cream nodded and they both ran towards the potential explosion, drawing their pepper sprays in the process.

Nougat laterally passed his pepper spray to his younger partner, who immediately started suppressing the crowd as best he could with both devices hissing like angry animals. Just before the man could drop the burning book of matches into the small flowing stream of dark liquids, Nougat grabbed his hand and harshly slapped the burning paper rectangle away from the car.
The man immediately began to explode in a torrent of vulgarity that only helped to pour fuel onto Nougat's ire.
"Piss off, pig!" the rioter spat out.
"Drink some water, retard!" Nougat spat back before tossing the man down hard against the road - the man continued to roll backwards, slammed his head against the pavement, and didn't get back up.

[Detective Nougat . . . "Noug'" . . . . .]

"Noug'! Fireproof at 2 o'clock!" Cream warned as another heavily cursing man ran through the aerosol spray. Nougat, fuming, stepped forward and grabbed the thin man by the shoulders. He yelled as loud as he could,
"Dude! Cool it!"
"Man, don't touch me!" the rioter yelled back as his limbs bit into Nougat's sides. The older cop stumbled backwards as he was resisted, and fell when his heel caught the curb. Upon hitting the sidewalk, he looked at the man rolling off of him; some lines of blood were dripping out the corners of his mouth. Nougat also noticed a dark stain of blood on the shoulder of his jacket.

The older officer got up and noticed that many of the rioters had now made a makeshift circle around the overturned car. Cream had noticed as well, as the less-hysterical members of the riot stood around himself, his partner, and the two other men. The one was still rolling around the street dazed, coughing and wretching. The other was touching his face with one hand while palming the ground with the other. Eventually the bleeding man got up and extended his open hand directly in front of Nougat; two sanguine teeth rolled back and forth in the man's palm.
"You're done for, pig," he muttered, shoving his dislodged teeth forward, "you're done for . . ."

Cream holstered his pepper spray, tucked the other one under his arm, and stepped behind the bleeding rioter, taking out another zap-strap from his belt.
"Look," he said, "teeth or no teeth, you're under arrest, buddy." The man clearly wasn't interested in his detainment at all, as he continued to shout to the crowd around them.
"Look what he did!" he shouted as the other rioters jeered and booed. "Look what he did!" Nougat sighed a deep sigh and looked to Cream.
"And this week started off so well . . . . ." he said.

And with that, the fight continued . . .
The night continued . . . . .



Cream Filling & Nougat: Third Helping


(Yeah, I don't know what compelled me to stylistically do it like that . . . but hey, if it gets the job done, right? Ahh . . . so yeah, here we go again, I guess . . .)
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Sunday, May 16, 2004

   Tomorrow . . . I'll start writing it tomorrow . . . . . I think . . . . .
(This post is dedicated to everyone's favourite Brazilian . . . that's right, Patita! This one's for you!)


So, here I am, feeling exhausted from work and awaiting more work. After all, I got lots more hours for next week! That means more money to be gotten! Yatta! Hehe . . . that reminds me, have you guys seen that "Yatta" thing with the Japanese guys singing and dancing on a stage in their underwear that have leaves on them? It's funny and makes you want to dance. Maybe I'll post a link to the video, if I can find it . . . . . heehee . . .

I'm off topic . . .

Aaaaaaaaaaaanyways, I spent the other day typing out outlines and ideas, and I think I can start up the third "Cream Filling & Nougat" story. Should be fun, eh? But until then, I think I shall recap my weirdness for those of you unaccustomed to exactly what the hell I'm talking about:

Back last October, I had a brain fart and didn't know what to talk about. So, I asked for ideas . . . Flint started it off by asking me to compare the pros and cons of Cream Filling and Nougat (according to him, those two were bitter enemies that needed to make peace). DES asked me whether I pronounced it "care-a-mel" or "karmull". Shanny wanted me to tell a story. Finally, Molly wanted me to carry out pi to the 461st decimal place . . .

What I ended up doing later that month was taking all of that and turning it into a 15-chapter story about these two cops/detectives by the name of "Cream Filling" and "Nougat". As it turned out, people seemed to like them enough for me to write a second story about them in February. And so, I have my biggest feature of my page.

For those interested who have yet to read these:
-The first story "World's Finest" started on October 21st.
-The second story "Second Coating" had a teaser of sorts on February 8th.
-The second story officially started February 12th.

And so, I shall begin the third shortly. Wish me luck, 'cause I'm gonna need it.
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Thursday, May 13, 2004

   I could've sworn yesterday was Tuesday . . .
All day yesterday I didn't realise it was Wednesday . . . man, THIS is what happens when you don't have school anymore!

Anyway, I finished "Kingdom Hearts" yesterday and was thoroughly moved by the final FMV sequence. Very cute, very touching . . . yeah, I'm a sap, I know . . . . . and yeah, I'm already looking forward to the sequel, whenver that comes out.
And yes, "Simple and Clean" is now stuck in my head all the time.

Aside from that, um . . . I've pretty much been doing nothing. I'm also sad about "Full Metal Alchemist" getting picked up, though I have also been told to check out "One Piece" (again, Faramir telling me things . . . aiya . . .). I dunno, any of you guys watching One Piece? 'Cause he didn't tell me a thing other than it was good.

I'm still trying to think of something good to write, so it could happen any time now . . . I think . . . I hope . . . . . someone jump-start me! Quick! Give me a subject to stick into Episode III of "everyone's favourite food group"! Tasukete!
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Wednesday, May 12, 2004

   CANADIANA: Part 5
LICENSE PLATE SLOGANS


I was inspired the other night thanks to a fun little anthropological discussion I had with a lovely yet insomniatic other which somehow turned towards license plates and stuff - thus, I shall tell you all the little sayings on all the plates in the provinces and territories of Canada. In any case, since I haven't told you guys jack squat about that weird-ass country 49th-and-above for a while, that here'd be as good a point as any. So, here we go!

British Columbia: "Beautiful British Columbia"
(Blue. Flag in middle. 'nuff said.)

Alberta: "Wild Rose Country"
(Red with a rose at the top.)

Saskatchewan: "Land of the Living Skies"
(Green, and there's a cute little wheat sheaf too!)

Manitoba: "Friendly Manitoba"
(Dark blue lettering, and ironic considering Manitoba was founded by rebellious Metis . . . heh . . .)

Ontario: "Yours to Discover"
(Blue. Also total bull . . . discover my ass, capital province-thingy jerks . . . erm, probably . . . . .)

Quebec: "Je me souviens"
(used to be red with "la belle province" (the beautiful province) but now it's blue/black and says "I remember" . . . kinda freaky, eh?)

Newfoundland: "Newfoundland and Labrador"
(Yeah, they're pretty boring . . . . .)

New Brunswick: "New/Noveau Brunswick"
(Pretty straightforward . . . it's red . . .)

Nova Scotia: "Canada's Ocean Playground"
(Nice, eh? Plus it's got a picture of the Bluenose on it! Yippie! Blue letters.)

Prince Edward Island: either "Birthplace of Confederation" or "Home of 'Anne of Green Gables'"
(Well, either way, it's PEI summed up: smallest province, longest names and titles. Good stuff.)

Yukon Territories: "The Klondike"
(Either red or dark black/blue lettering [I'm colour-blind tonight], and a picture of a guy panning for gold. Cute, ne?)

Northwest Territories: "Explore Canada's Arctic"
(Blue lettering, but that doesn't matter . . . the plate ITSELF is shaped like a polar bear! Come one people! It's kickass!)

Nunavut: "Explore Canada's Arctic"
(Alright, so Nunavut's not even ten years old yet . . . and sure, it's exactly the same plate as the Northwest Territories but with a different name at the bottom . . . but still! Polar bear!!!)


So yeah, that's license plates. Hope you enjoyed it.
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Monday, May 10, 2004

   My Internet Connection: Bittersweet Conclusion
Well, we finally got a hold of the internet people, and we finally got internet back online for all our computers again. That is good.

On the downside, I have conceded to the fact that I am simply going to have to run my computer through the router system we've got, meaning that I am now firewalled. True, this is a good thing, but when one spends a great deal of time wanting fast download/ping speeds, well . . . there are complications that I have yet to learn how to handle. But, I guess I've got a whole summer to figure that out, so why not?


Needless to say, I blame this all on "Faramir", the software engineer whom when I asked to help me out with such things responded, "yeah, I don't really like working with firewalls . . ." Ass . . . . .
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Sunday, May 9, 2004

   Heya again, it's just me checkin' in . . .
So, um . . . . . I'm on the old computer right now. Yeah, internet's still being stupid more or less, specifically in terms of something just not liking my happy, pretty machine with all the cool stuff on it (missing MSN SO much!).

So yeah, that's where I am. Still patiently waiting for stupid internet to get back to stupid computer so I can get back to my stupid . . . erm, super-fun and happy work onlines and such (yes, I did type onlines. I don't really know why, though).

Oh, and Red, if you're wondering at all, I am indeed thinking about everyone's so-called favourite food group. Have faith, now.
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