whisper to the rain

Moved

2008-10-12T00:11:00.003+09:00

I have moved my blog over to here.

Go figure.

This blog is now officially...

2008-01-03T06:22:00.000+09:00

... still on hold.

I just don't feel like writing, although I was just eating shrimp crackers and I remembered someone, so here's a one off nugget of updates.

Had a party at Xmas, was fun. Expensive cream cake and alcohol don't mix.
Went and visited Harajuku and it's Meiji Jingu shrine over New Years for the countdown and stuff. Was packed like a giant tin of sardins.

Haven't been doing much lately. Considering dropping bajiquan and taking up kyudo again though.
These days my activities consist of learning korean in my spare time, and a lot of piano.
School starts on the 9th, and my trip to Takayama was cancelled cause my friends here aren't really of the same quality as the ones I had back in UK.
I won't complain though, you win some you lose some.

Oh and on a completely different note, I got the most awesome Christmas present from someone, but they know who they are.
This is a public note of thanks.

That's it....

...wait, can't end my blabber without a word about the weather.

It's cold.

This blog is officially....

2007-11-09T04:34:00.000+09:00

...on hold.

A bit of a joke admittedly, considering it was meant to document my 日本の生活, and now that I'm here I've decided to stop posting.

Why? Who cares. You can be sure laziness has a rather large role in it though.

Status Update

2007-09-18T10:59:00.000+09:00

Stress. Ooooh, ahhhh.

Everything is still hanging rather thin, and I can already see myself running through the streets of London in the early hours of the morning on Thursday with several suitcases and narrowly missing the plane and dying in a mass of documents and unsigned papers after collecting a visa from a certain unreliable embassy building which doesn't answer phone calls.

Well that's the worst case scenario anyway.
Far more likely is that my suitcases will repeatedly get stuck in the Tube barriers, I'll end up losing something important, the embassy will be closed for no reason and the trains will ~~probably~~ be late. Add some rushing around into the mix, along with the fact that I still may very well miss the flight.
Wait, this is actually about the same. I forgot to say it's still in the early hours of the morning.

All this happening while my (badly packaged) stuff is sitting at home cause they won't take it without a commercial invoice (read: I have to sell my stuff to myself before they'll take it through customs cause they wanna tax me poor for no reason).

I'm going to be a nervous wreck before term starts and I haven't even left the country yet. Assuming I actually end up leaving at all.

S'all good fun though, I'm expecting more to go wrong.

I'm ranting cause today was just one of those days, and the following weeks' forecast reveals a repeat of bad everything.

Edit: Blog anzeigen? What the hell is that? Did someone randomly screw up the languages, cause I was half expecting Blogger to blow up in my face and lose my whole post, just to fall in line with everything else that's crashing down around my ears.

Amaranth by Nightwish

2007-09-13T01:56:00.000+09:00

A new single from Nightwish, showing off their new singer Anette Olzon, replacing Tarja Turunen.

Frankly I'm disappointed.

Anette is a fine singer but, she's not... Nightwish. They just sound so much more generic now.

Maybe their new album will change my mind but I doubt it; at least I have a ton of their old stuff to go by.

Buy my things!

2007-09-06T02:54:00.000+09:00

Seriously.

Most importantly is the 32" widescreen Hitachi CRT model downstairs which needs to go before I leave.
Come on people, it's £100 and in perfect condition *shakes fist*

Alright this month's updates are all incredibly mundane. Sue me.

The Escape: Updates 2

2007-09-06T02:49:00.000+09:00

Shipping my stuff is going to cost around £300-£600. Decided to go with UPS cause they're the most straightforward, reliable and fast without having too many restrictions. The best part is I can do it all online.

After booking my flight I remembered I needed to have them somehow use my ANA mileage club number so I can accrue mileage, but of course statravel doesn't feel like responding to my emails.
Cheap is cheap, but they have to have some kind of customer service, right?

Had an ink stamp for my chinese name ordered too, but that's gonna take weeks to arrive.

The books I made for the holiday photos from Rome are now printed and shipped.

I've given up on renewing my passport, I'll do it in Japan.

Table booked for next Monday's meal.

...and that's about.

Oh and I've started adding more to my book.

The Escape: Updates

2007-09-06T02:41:00.001+09:00

Well, things aren't exactly alllll going according to plan, but it's not so bad.

I've had to delay my flight to the 18th, because I haven't got a clue when my visa certificate is gonna arrive. The school isn't exactly being very helpful.

No cookie for statravel.co.uk for sending me an ISIC card which will expire this year instead of next year, and then ignoring my emails.
Infact, I think most of the enquiries I've made via emailed have been ignored, whether it's to the apartment people or the darn Japanese Embassy.

Thanks to Mai, I'm now a lot more informed about what I need to do once I get to Japan, but that can I wait I guess.

Got a few things coming up this weekend in regards to the "last of everything" run down.

Already said my goodbyes to some good friends last weekend. That was awful.

And now I'm sleep deprived cause we're having new windows fitted, and I have weird sleeping patterns. It's just THUMP THUMP DRILL all day long. Grr.

That's it for now, for once I'm genuinely too busy to post more often.

*yawn*

Rome

2007-08-28T07:58:00.000+09:00

I had something more to say, but it left me when the airport shuttle driver decided to navigate the streets of Italy at 175km/h at 4am, also overtaking on the wrong side of the road occasionally with no hands on the wheel and coming rather close to colliding with a bus.

For now, just enjoy these two photos.

(Oh and if you aren't asian and assume all asian people look the same, please shoot yourself, then go back in time to realise that I'm in the 2nd photo and not the 1st.)

P.S. Don't worry Q, your food is on the way. Kinda.

Bioshock (Xbox 360 Demo) - First Impressions

2007-08-14T05:42:00.000+09:00

Ahh... the game I've been patiently waiting for since... well, god knows really.

I was worried cause as good as the game sounded on paper, execution of such a complex idea would be a hit or a miss.

Well I'm not worried anymore.

Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 11/10
Controls: 9/10
Gameply: 12/10

Yeah, as you can see I've taken the liberty to use top heavy fractions to express the impression this demo left on me.

The first thing I did after playing it through was head upstairs and preorder the collectors edition (due out on the 24th in UK, along with the standard edition). It was that good.

If you haven't got the demo already then do yourself a favour.

Obstacles, memories and a pinch of salt

2007-08-11T03:19:00.000+09:00

"Once again it stands before me. The stone wall ahead looms higher and ever more menacing as the railtracks continue on it's steady collision-course.

Now, am I to climb over it, or struggle on the steep sides? An inevitable question that would have to be answered sooner or later, as the opportunity to turn tail and flee is forever growing fainter.

What looked like a small bump in the road several steps back now encompassed my vision as I'm swallowed into the shadow it casts upon the shrouded path I'm destined to travel."

Well I suppose I'll find out soon enough.
I hope "it seemed like a good idea at the time" are words that never have to leave my mouth in the upcoming 24 months.

Anyway, on to more cheerful topics; Rome in just over a week. Will be awesome.

Rush Hour 3 was also awesome. There's no real plot, character development or cohesion, and every time they tried to be serious about something they fell on their face with the weak and cheesy script... but hey that's not what Rush Hour movies are about anyway.
It was damn funny, and the action was decent. Humour won't appeal to everyone, but I still recommend it to anyone who's looking for a cinema outing.

Edit:
Also, a typo brought about the brilliant and ingenious word "peanus" which I'm now going to trademark.

eBay Stuff

2007-08-06T22:51:00.000+09:00

Master Grade Freedom kit - Auction ends on 15/08/07

~~More to come, probably.~~ (Guess not)

Auctions ended.

More Paraphernalia - Clayz Saber 1/6

2007-08-04T18:19:00.000+09:00

Probably my favourite anime collectable would be this 1/6 Saber (Fate/Stay Night) figure from Clayz.
Also happens to be the biggest thing in my collection.

Very high quality PVC, well crafted and hand painted. Mint condition with box.

Here are further photos from Moyism's gallery. I hope they don't mind my linking to their site.

These are, of course, now in limited circulation. I'm looking for at least £50 for it.

Edit: In true salesman style, for a limited time only, get everything you see here + the MG Freedom kit for £120.

Gundam Models: For Sale

2007-08-04T15:52:00.000+09:00

Ah I remember the days when I was such a huge fan of these model kits... but that's a story for another day.

Today, up for sale, are my already-built Akatsuki (Shiranui load-out, HG) and Strike Freedom (1/100).
Also up, is my unbuilt kit for the Master Grade Freedom (Extra Finish Version).
All in shiny condition of course (see pictures below).

The prices are open to offers, but as of the 4th of August my friend gets priority on them. That means you Scott.
If he doesn't want them then it'll be up on ebay.co.uk, although you if you're interested you can start emailing me offers for them.
On ebay.com at the moment the MG Freedom is going for $76.99+$14.99 postage, and $109.99+$14.99 postage (UK postage). That works out as £45 and £61 respectively, bearing in mind the current ridiculous exchange rate (Read: It's worth more damn it).
The Akatsuki model is probably my favourite (the photos don't do it justice), I paid £20 for it.
The Strike Freedom was also £20.
For the MG Freedom, I paid £50.

Shiranui Akatsuki Gundam ORB-01 (HG, Metallic) Box + Manual
Whoops, the sword is double-ended, I just forgot to attach the other blade before taking the photos.

Strike Freedom Gundam ZGMF-X20A (1/100) Manual Only, Character Card

Freedom Gundam ZGMF-X10A (MG Extra Finish) Box + Manual

Reason for sale: I'm moving into a tiny apartment in Japan, duh.

Oh and, I'd rather sell them together in one go to avoid hassle. Since you're doing me a favour by buying the set, you can have it for a reduced price of £66 altogether (£40+£14+£12).

Current Bid Status:
I have £12 for the Akatsuki, and £35 for the MG Freedom.

Sony TZ (VGN-TZVN/X) Review

2007-08-03T16:57:00.000+09:00

No specifictions list or photo gallery included in this round-up. There are already a ton of review sites out there with everything you need in this respect.
I've tried to cover only the points other reviewers have failed to comment on.

If you didn't already know, I splashed out on the top-spec Sony TZ series laptop (known as the VGN-TZVN/X in UK, 1.2ghz with SSD) the other day, and here are my observations so far.

All this is in from the perspective of your average student, who was in search of a laptop that could be taken anywhere without a second thought, and without dreading the idea of having a dead weight on you:

1. Modern day computing has even less use for pure clock speed than I had originally imagined. This laptop houses a modest (nearly-down-right-pathetic) 1.2ghz Ultra Low Voltage Core 2 Duo, but given the modern architecture, it performs volumes above the spec would imply. Gaming aside, this thing is lightning fast for more or less any typical day-to-day useage. The only applications it may struggle on are the ones which require heavy calculations and processing, such as video editing and the like.
My initial performance worries were entirely unjustified.

2. Speaking of games, I don't game much. This laptop is more than adequate with the outdated piece of junk integrated graphics (Intel GMA950) for the little gaming I do however, and I can run Guild Wars at close to maximum settings without any slow down. Says it all really.
Anything not too graphics intensive will run like a dream.
Aero on Vista is running with full visual effects, no lag whatsoever. Moderate to heavy multitasking is also painless, depending on the software of course.

3. The 11" screen bothers me less than I thought it would. Why? Probably cause it's an awesome screen. Brighter than even my desktop TFT and as sharp as the Samsung HDTV downstairs. Very impressed by the thing.
Glossy coatings may suffer from glare, but with the modern brighter-than-average screens it's far less of a concern.

4. Expectedly, the speakers suck. Typical laptop junk with no bass, although there isn't as much distortion as you would get in cheaper laptops.
Stick to your earphones/external speakers.

5. Construction is 10/10. Sturdy yet incredibly light and thin. Oozes from quality design and construction. Carbon fibre is definitely the way forward with portable laptops.
And with the regards to the looks, one term I've seen pop up is "executive jewelry". Go figure.
Screen does not ripple. Keyboard is brilliant (Google some pictures if you want to see what it looks like, it shares the same design as the Sony X505 and the newer Apple MacBooks) and does not flex at all. Dunno about other regions but the UK layout is superb too. I can almost type at full speed, which is quite a feat considering it's not even a full size keyboard (something that you won't even notice).
Big handed users will probably have more trouble, but hey, it's an ultraportable.
The premium carbon effect is a very nice touch too, I would recommend it.

6. As far as features are concerned you can look up the specifications and see for yourself, but I think you'll agree they don't disappoint for an ultraportable.
On a side note, I think biometrics are incredibly convenient, albeit less secure overall - not a concern for the average user though.

7. Bundled software is a nightmare. You'll find this problem commented on by every reviewer out there. Be prepared to put on a clean install or spend a lot of time getting rid of trialware.
Mind you, it comes with no discs. Like many Vista laptops these days, it relies on a hidden recovery partition instead.
If you want to reinstall Vista clean you'll need your own disc (you can use the serial key on the back of the laptop).
XP users stay away unless you feel up for a challenge in regards to hardware drivers.

8. SSD hard drives are well worth the money, if you're willing to spend money on performance. I commented above on the zippy speed and I'm fairly sure a large portion of that is owed to the SSD's seek speed. The current SSD drives suffer from bottle necking in performance due to the transfer speed of the connection, but the seek time is definitely nothing to be sniffed at. For me, 32gb of storage is plenty.
This is hardly a multimedia laptop given the specs, and I store all my photos, music and videos on my 60gb MP3 player.
After installing all the apps I could possibly want on this laptop, including Guild Wars, Photoshop and a myriad of utilities, I have a sizeable 10gb of free space for my documents or more software.
Mind you, that's after I've left the 7gb recovery partition intact; I'll merge it when I need the space (a generic removal guide can be found here).
If space is really necessary for you though, you might want to opt for one of the regular drives.

9. If memory is a concern and money is not, bear in mind you can add a 32gb SSD ExpressCard, an 8gb HC SD Card, and an 8gb Memory Stick.
One of each of those will net you a total capacity of 80gb of solid state memory. Pretty nifty huh? Will set you back god knows how much £££ though.
Personally I'll just stick with the 8gb SD card I have for now.

10. Battery life is phenomenal. I get 5-6 hours on full load and maximum brightness with Wifi on.
With the VAIO "Ultimate Battery" setting, I can clock up more than 7 hours word processing and browsing with Wifi off.

Little more to add to really. If you want a more indepth review then there are plenty out there (see list below). I just touched on the points which weren't specifically covered in detail by the reviews I looked at.
I didn't spend much time on the details as the specifications are pretty much as-is.

Some clarification on a point that's been brought up repeatedly:
No Santa Rosa. It won't be missed much on a laptop like this, and the chipset itself draws more power as far as I know.
The improvement on CPU power management brought about by Santa Rosa will see few benefits with the ultra low voltage processor.
Since I usually use my laptop plugged in, I wouldn't mind sacrificing some battery life for the improved integrated graphics that come with the new chipset, but I don't really need the power.
All in all I'd say Napa is still the way to go with slim spec ultraportables like these.

Conclusion:
Overall, with a £2100 for this particular configuration, it's no budget laptop. In my opinion though, it's worth every penny.

If you're in the market for an ultraportable, look no further. If you want to make comparisons though, Google up the Toshiba Portege R500.
I haven't tried it out personally but I dislike the lack of a glossy display (which is something many people would actually prefer, but I like my vivid contrast) and low quality keyboard found on the R500. It is cheaper though, and comes with a very impressive 64gb SSD drive as opposed to 32gb.

Reviews for the Sony TZ series:
Laptop Mag
Trusted Reviews
CNet (Note: I'd disregard their comment on performance, they left most the bloatware installed)
Notebook Review

And if you're still not convinced, here's an over the top CGI flash advert.

Links of the day

2007-08-03T16:22:00.001+09:00

Alright maybe the title was a little misleading; I have no intention of making another post like this ever, let alone every day.

List of links, with at least one of them guaranteed to spark your interest:

-Can you survive in space without a space suit?
-Seven legged lamb
-Amusing sex positions which could cause hospitalisation
-Umm what the hell

And my personal favourite.

9 lives, 1 mission, 0 survivors

2007-08-01T13:22:00.001+09:00

(I wish I could take credit but this was apparently the devious work of an Adam character.)

The above was something I found fishing around on digg.com.
Apparently the death predicting Oscar has spawned a new breed of lolcat; the death cat.
Amusing, if not somewhat cruel given the nature of original story.
Not that I care.

In other news, I've recently broken the bank and splashed out on one of Sony's brand new shiny TZ series laptops.
A quick google search for anyone interested will affirm the shininess.
If it's awesome enough I may be tempted to follow up with a proper review of the sexy machine in question.

It cost £2100, has a 1.2ghz processor and 32gb hard drive memory. Hohoho.

Plans for this summer's trip down to Rome looks set to go, at the moment we're looking at 4 nights instead of the original 7 cause of people and their other commitments getting in the way, but it's all good.

Also in the market for a new MP3 player. Considering getting a huge capacity one so it can double as external storage for my new laptop's mediocre internal storage.

It's just one huge purchase after the other these days, given my recent expenditure on the Sony eBook reader PSR-500 (which I love mind you).

Speaking of books, I've decided to scrap my on going novel (yeah I know it's been going for 6 years). If you dunno what I'm talking about you can look back a few posts.
Why you ask? Cause I've decided that it'd be too boring to write.
The story is still pretty damn strong for something I came up with so long ago, and with all the additions and stuff I've added in through the years it would have probably ended up being a fairly engrossing read. But nah.
For the time being I've begun a new story, with a less ambitious, shorter and hopefully more engaging plotline (which wasn't brewed by a 12yr old this time round).

Less RPG-esque adventure, more modern sci fi thriller. Let's hope I actually get somewhere with it this time.

Well, that's it for the first post of the month. I'll leave you with this seriously awesome link.
Oh and for MOAR laughs check this one out too.

Heroes and it's BS ending

2007-07-25T01:54:00.000+09:00

Wow, I wasn't gonna update but that was laughably retarded.

If you haven't seen the finale of the first season, stop reading.

If you have, then you noticed how the last episode was idiotic, otherwise your brain wasn't functioning at the time.

There are plenty of plot holes and trip-ups all over the series, but the real circus begins when Peter and Sylar meet in the square outside that Kirby place in the final episode.
And no, I'm not complaining about the building being named after that round bouncy little guy from video games.

8 reasons why the script writers pulled the last episode out of their rear.

#8. That flashback with the dead guy. Wtf? Enough said.

#7. That schizophrenic woman with the super human strength whacked Sylar with a parking meter and he crumpled to the floor. That doesn't sound too bad right? Until you remember she tore numerous people apart with her bare hands on multiple occasions. I know she wasn't her alter ego "Vanessa" at the time, but she was shown to have possessed her strength earlier in the episode, and what, all she can do is make him fall to the floor and hold his stomach? Hell I could probably swing a parking meter at someone and at least knock them out.

#6. Speaking of that scene, if you were a fairly intellegent guy who had very strong telekinesis, controlled extreme radioactivity, the ability to freeze things, melt objects into goop, slice people open by pointing your finger at them and probably a great deal more, how do you kill a guy you've already half choked? Well just doing it properly and crushing his neck instead of lightly squeezing would be boring I guess, so you'd have to find the nearest object, tear it out of the ground with your telekinesis, and um, hit him with it using your bare hands.
I say "kill" but it appears Sylar's physical strength isn't up to par with the rest of his abilities cause the guy sorta got back up a few seconds later, but hey, better luck next time.

#5. Here, let me rewrite the final scene as a comic book sketch and fill in a few thought bubbles.
Peter: "OMFG I can't stop myself, shoot me already"
Clair: "OMFG why are you facing me, we agreed it wouldn't work unless I shoot you in the back of the head, and then you turned around you ass."
People in the background: "Sweet, she's gonna try and pop him in the head while wielding the high calibre gun with one hand. $5 says it flies out of her hand and hits her in the face while she leaves a hole in that fountain."
Clair: "Wait a minute, how did I even get here."

#4. You know, I liked how the series built it up and made it clear that the only person with the power to stop Sylar was Peter. I mean it's obvious, when you consider they both have a large arsenal of powers as opposed to just one. Especially after Sylar got Ted's mini nuke abilities.
Too bad the little "fight" between them consisted of a brief staring contest, Peter being force-choked Star Wars style, and er, that's about it.
Seriously even if Sylar failed ultimately in using his powers effectively, at least he gets bonus points for using them to damage public property.

#3. Sorry I forgot, Peter's one mean hero after all, throwing all those spectacularly normal and human punches at the spontaneously defenceless super villain who's been stopping bullets and making armoured vehicles do somersaults with his fingers.
Anyway, I guess everyone knows little Japanese guys with swords are far harder to stop than bullets and cars. Especially when they show up a few meters away, pause for a moment, scream and run at you.
I'm sure fans may argue that he was damn fast (like all little Japanese men with swords should be) but uh, what's the speed of sound? Well I dunno, I'm too lazy to look it up. Sylar was quick enough to turn around stop bullets after hearing the sound of the shots being fired. Go figure.
The guy even turned around and said "...you." and waited as he got impaled.
For the record, the future versions of Peter and Hiro were infinitely cooler.

#2. "How to stop an exploding man" is the episode's title? Is that mockery?
I mean, ignoring that he did actually explode in the end, let's discuss how it came about.
Oh dear Peter's going nuclear. Let's stick to the plan and shoot him. It's no big deal really, he'll just pass out and we'll take the bullet out and he'll regenerate. We can work on him controlling his powers later.
Wait wait, hold up. Nathan's got a better idea - I guess if Peter gets shot it might hurt so we'll let him explode instead.
Hang on he's been working awfully hard lately, so he should take it easy now; instead of him using his own powers to fly himself up out of harm's way, Nathan wants to end his career early and will do the honours of flying him up there and exploding with him.
This is much better you see, cause New York now gets a free fireworks display; raining happiness, body parts and deadly radiation down for everyone to enjoy.

#1. What could possibly be worse than the last point you ask?
Well think about it, what did they really conclude in this episode. I know Linderman's bitten the dust and a few other things were tied up including emotional resolves and unveiling the last few scraps of plot fragments for this season, but... we're left with a small problem.
The most important point is they stopped New York from turning into a wasteland yes? Not really, considering both Peter and Sylar, both radioactive suspects, are still alive (we discover Peter survives the explosion from the short trip to the future remember?). This sorta puts us back at the beginning in regards to the harbinger of doom which the plotline was focused on throughout the latter half of the series. Oops.

And to top it off here are a few gripes I have in general with the series.
- You gotta love it when the villain just won't die, because people repeatedly refuse to, neglect to or just plain forget to kill him, over and over again.
- Hiro needs to grow a brain and use his powers better. Don't get me wrong, he's awesome and probably my favourite character, but why he doesn't just stop time more often instead of teleporting around is beyond me - he could have single handedly ended the series half a dozen episodes short.
- It's cool that they made the bad guys into good guys, then back again etc. and vice versa all throughout the series to keep people on their toes, but it's a little annoying when you think back and notice that they've gone out of the way to actually subtly change the character personalities themselves to portray this. It wasn't as well done as it could have been.
- Wow what a smart way to cheat in poker. Stop time, switch the hands, and assume they forgot what cards they were holding/betting on all match. For god's sake.
- Claire is the ultimate fan of extreme masochism. Taking a bullet to avoid a dangerous situation fine, but why would you randomly put your hand in the garbage disposal. I think this series severely understates the concept pain, or at least she doesn't seem fazed enough by it to stop herself breaking all her bones repeatedly.
- The concept of time travel used in Heroes doesn't work. It just doesn't.
You don't go back in time further than you expected and as a result, return later than you planned to.
You don't accidently go into the future, notice that NY has been blown up, and then give up in exasperation and despair because you failed at preventing it.
Infact... ah I can't be bothered. Geez.

There's a lot more than that, trust me, I just put down what I have in the top of my head right now.

What a crap way to end a decent series. I don't even know where the next season is gonna go but I've lost a large chunk of interest all of a sudden.

Q's update

2007-07-18T19:02:00.000+09:00

You know what's really cool?

Smoked ham. And maybe those lightly frosted layer cakes.

Mmmmm.

But not both of them together. Cause that's just sick.

(OMG did you see what I did there? You know, with the useage of italic, then bold and then... BOTH. Like, outta nowhere, but y'know sorta almost expected but not. Man I'm so cool.)

Smoked ham DIY kit. All of the ham and only most of the hassle. What are YOU waiting for?

Apartment

2007-07-04T06:56:00.000+09:00

If anyone's curious ~~this is where I'll be living~~ when I'm in Japan.

Edit:
Nope, actually, this is where I'm gonna be living now. It's nicer.

A good 19 minute walk from the nearest Yamanote station, Tabata, which makes for relatively easy transportation to all the major places.

If I'm feeling lazy it's also a mere 5 minute walk from the Odai station of the Toden Arakawa line.

The Toden Arakawa is the only remaining tram line in Tokyo, and not only does it run past my apartment it also goes to and terminates outside my school.
How convenient is that?

Sola - Final Review

2007-07-02T17:37:00.000+09:00

Spoiler Free

Alright, the last episode of Sola has been and gone, and I feel somewhat obliged to give some sort of comment on the ending given how much I was praising it in the initial review.

Ended at 13 episodes, and I have to say it wasn't a very predictable anime, depending on the type of stuff you're normally into.

With the large myriad of plot twists happening towards the end, and not to mention all the fighting, it somehow still kept it's dreamy atmosphere. I blame Matsuri's seiyuu.

While the ending itself didn't disappoint in terms of tieing up loose ends, I can't help but feel it was one of those last episodes that paint a happy ending over what wasn't really a happy ending. Not in the ideal sense anyway.

Also a few things didn't make much sense to me and they didn't bother explaining it, but it wasn't anything unforgivable in my books.

Being only 13 episodes long I can still recommend it, but it might not be everyone's cup of tea.
The action scenes aren't up to scratch with the more... well, action-themed anime, but hey that's not what this anime's about.
That said, I'm not sure what would be the best way to describe the genre it falls in. Let's call it a fantasy drama romance(?) for now.

Final Verdict: 7/10

Worth watching, but look elsewhere for your dose of action.

Musically deficient

2007-06-26T19:51:00.000+09:00

Are you sleeping too soundly at night? No nightmares or conjurations of mentally warping sounds or images?

Then try listening to >this.

Listened to it yet? Thought not, I don't see you squirming around on the floor in pain.

Bet you're curious before you open it huh?

It's the painfully poor result of my 3 days of learning Beethoven's Fur Elise from scratch.
Not only is my version played at less than 50% speed on average, it's also suffering from random pauses and playing out of time. There's also the delightful effect of my sustain pedal dying randomly right at the end, and I tried to make up for it by pressing the keys harder (lmao). Didn't work did it.

Butchering classics is fun though, so I'll prolly be doing it to some other pieces, after I finish mangling this one.

Ah well it's prolly not so bad for 3 days. I'll post again when I've actually learnt to play it properly.
I have no piano experience whatosever, so the untimely death of your ears is not my concern. At least I've memorised it without the sheet music *cackles*

A flutter of pages at midnight

2007-06-26T12:49:00.000+09:00

I stumbled across a recent article about reading habits a few days ago, but it's subject and contents never made it particularly far into my thoughts until this calm and silent morning.

So, the question is... are you an afternoon reader?
The kind that likes to laze in the sun, basking in the midday glow, cross-legged with a novel resting on one hand and a cool lemonade in the other?

Or perhaps you prefer reading at night; before bed you like to sprinkle your imagination with material for your dreams to feed upon.
A solitary bedside lamp lights your cosy page turning beneath the covers.

Not only were times of the day taken into account in this short article, but also the effect of weather.

There's always a comfortable feeling you get from reading during a downpour.
It's almost as if the curtain of water outside personally invited you to escape the grey skies and immerse yourself into another pocket of reality, enticing and alluring you with it's promise of hiding your truancy from the world with the sound of raindrops pattering against the glass.

Do you enjoy reading in cafes?
A cup of coffee at your side, and the murmer of people being drowned out by the potent concoction created through the convergence of printed text met with imagination.

How about reading on the way to school, or work?
There are always people who work towards making their journeys seem shorter by pulling out a magazine or newspaper and flicking through it's pages on the bus.
But then there are those who make their journey infinitely longer, delving deep into fantasy lands, only to awaken finding their distant minds accompanied by their bodies, coming into realisation they're a few bus stops too far.

Myself, I've fallen into a mildy surprising realisation that I best enjoy reading first thing in the morning, settling down in a comfortable low chair by a window after an early breakfast as the early light streams in, and not until the sun has risen to it's zenith do I close the window to the other world and wake up for a second time.
Unfortunately I'm usually in bed for most of that aforementioned period, but let's not talk about that.

I get irritable when I read at night, probably because my subconscious and my bed seem to have formed a pact against me and productivity in general.

So. How about you?

Disclaimer: As you can prolly tell from my choice of speech I was adding to my book earlier, so I'm still lingering in my authoring mode. Sue me.

Inori ~ You Raise Me Up - Lena Park

2007-06-20T05:57:00.001+09:00

The long awaited single by Lena Park, which is due for public release tomorrow (20/06/07).
Full length opening of Romeo X Juliet, english version included, courtesy of Nipponsei.

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Tracklisting
01. Inori~ You Raise Me Up
02. YOU RAISE ME UP
03. Inori ~ You Raise Me Up (Instrumental)

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Downloads
MP3 Format 320kbps CBR (32.2mb zip archive)

-The torrent version can be found on Nipponsei's tracker here.
-The direct download via Rapidshare.com can be found here.

Sorry I've moved this post! Links and stuff are here.

Remember kids, support the artists you like by buying their music.

駆り立てる興味

2007-06-19T06:51:00.000+09:00

私は日本語でQuyenがもはや私のポストを読むことができないようにだけそれを、私掲示するここから先は決定した。この曲りくねった計画はおそらく私が執筆日本語でひどいので、しかし失敗する。彼女の名前が英語のこのポストで現われる事実はおそらく彼女の好奇心が強いしかし作る、従って努力の甲斐があった。
私は実際はある従って日本語でひどいこのポストはおそらく意味を全然成していない。

Argh

2007-06-16T05:31:00.001+09:00

I still wish I could play piano.

Seriously, I'd give up one of my 5 senses (hearing aside, music is everything) to be able to play like that. Or a limb perhaps, as long as it's not an arm.

It's not like I haven't tried learning, but no matter how many lessons I take I can never make effective use of both hands at the same time. I seem to have a solid mental clog when it comes to doing different things with each hand.

Maybe I'm just a spoilt kid who wants to express himself in ways beyond that what abilities and talents allow, but still.

I think I'm gonna get more lessons in Japan. I don't care how long it takes, some things are worth the effort.

*goes off to the spend the rest of his evening perusing YouTube for skilled pianists* (why are they all asian?)

Edit:

zomg (it looks fast forwarded, but zomg anyway)

And more (okay fine, I'll stop now)

What the hell

2007-06-16T00:03:00.001+09:00

Someone up there really didn't want me to be on the internet 15mins or so ago.

The series of strange events goes as follows:

-My router turned itself off (looking back it must have been a power flux, cause my lights dimmed at the same time), I went downstairs to see what was wrong with it.

-When I got to it, I had a phone call (my router is next to the only phone the house, conveniently enough).

-The call was from my ISP, they told me they accidently gave out my account details to someone else (...idiots) and were suspending my account as they were speaking.

-I was put on hold for a while and then when they were about to give me my new password, there was a flash of lightning and the power cut out along with the phone lines.

-It came back shortly after, then the guy rang back and gave me my details, I went and reset my router... and here I am, 20mins later.

Coincidence sucks.

My line is also still going up and down because of the sudden thunderstorm outside, so expect a lot of annoying missed message moments on MSN.

Edit:

Ooh this storm is a big one, and my line is just blinking in and out constantly so I'm not even gonna bother signing in. Uh apologies if you're reading this and we were mid convo.

I think I was talking to Q, Oli and Scott... but my PC shut off with the power outage so I dunno if I missed anyone (hah if you're not on here then your convo must have been boring as hell for me not to remember it. Just kidding).

Faith Summary pt.4 - Progress

2007-06-15T02:25:00.003+09:00

And finally, this is what's written and not written.

If you don't know what this is about then read the first post.

~~Crossed out~~ segments indicate completion, or at least roughly written. Editing is another thing altogether.

-Spoiler Free Section-

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[Structure]

~~Prologue~~

Book One: Silent Pandora
"And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him." - Luke 22, 43

- Worlds Apart
- Angel of Midnight
- Six Winged Divinity
- Dreams and Shadows
- Journey's Dawn

Book Two: Second Genesis
"The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels." - Matthew 25, 31

~~- Ocean of Tears~~
- Frozen Sorrow
- Flames of Courage
- The Great Rift
- Broken Time

Book Three: Nox Eterna
“Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” - John 3, 19

-The Cursed Drifts
-Where the Sky is High
-Artifact of Insurrection
-People of the Night
-Beneath the Heavens

Book Four: Twilight Requiem
"Neither can they die anymore: for they are equal unto angels and the children of God, being the children of the resurrection." - Luke 16, 22

- Edge of the Abyss
- Song of the Damned
- Prayers of Hope
- Guardians of Light and Dark
- Stairway to Heaven

Book Five: Through the Gates
"And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands." - Revelations 5, 11

- Shattered Heavens
- Arrows of Light
- Truth and Despair
- Lucifer
- Redemption from Ruin

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And there we are.

Yeah, judging from the structure I'm sure you can tell it's not gonna be small book. Haven't gotten very far have I?

Oh and hey I didn't mention it yet but...

This book is actually part of a 2 part series, and there's a follow up book complete with a brand new cast which I've already written the plan, and will have the task of continuing and finishing the story for this particular universe.

Not that it'll ever be written at this rate.

I shall leave you all with an excerpt of the prologue:

The Dawn of Nox Eterna
"In a time yet uncharted, a blinding wave of light burst from the sky, and for only six more days was the world enveloped in light. On the seventh, a curtain of dusk was drawn over the continents and seas, and the sun lit the passing of days no more. The moon shone a deep crimson, and the plethora of stars disappeared, never to be seen again.
After darkness fell upon the face of the earth, an unrelenting cold wind tore through the land which turned all vegetation in it’s path to gray ash, and those who could not escape it became lifeless twisted mannequins of stone.
From outside the reach of civilisation, unholy demonic creatures appeared and began to ravage the earth.
One by one the greatest cities of man collapsed into ruin and amongst the chaos, scattered remnants of mankind retreated into the shadows. Those that remained were consumed by their greed and became demons themselves... Save us from ourselves - the people cried, for God had turned his back on the world."

-S’ayah, Keeper of Scrolls

And a rough sketch of the character Chloe.

I was gonna do more sketches and concept art but then it dawned on me that I sucked at drawing and as a result it was too time consuming.

Faith Summary pt.3 - Glossary and Explanations

2007-06-15T02:25:00.001+09:00

If you don't know what this is about then read the first post.

Massively long post warning.

-Spoiler Infested Section-

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A note about the story:

The whole thing began when I had the idea of rewriting the events which took place in the Bible as a far fetched fantasy story.

The more it progressed the more it strayed from the religious origin however. Apart from the references, little remains except the idea of a leading figure accompanied by his apostles.

The crests representing each apostle which gives them their powers is a very anime inspired idea, as are many of the other ideas throughout.

The more I think about it, the more I begin to think this would make a better RPG than a book. The events and the way they occur along with the characters are very game-like, and would fit right in with the mechanics of an RPG.

Oh well, s'not like I'll be making a game anytime soon, so a written novel it is.

A large portion of the story involves hopping between different echoes collecting artifacts, and each one the worlds have their own stories, problems and characters, but I'm not sure if I should cut out those subplots entirely as the story is getting far far too long.

A more revealing story run through (written assuming you've read spoiler free intro already):

After being chased by the agents of Lucifer and finding the only one who may have had the answers murdered, The three of them (Neil, Robert and Nathan) find themselves cornered with no chance of escape.

Pulled from the brink of certain death, they awaken in a strange place with blanketed by a thick and endless darkness.

Found by Sarah and Carl, they are taken to a nearby village, but before they could find out much more about their situation, they are attacked by what appear to be monsters.

Amidst the chaos, they are saved again, this time by an unexplained burst of light and the revival of Neil's artifact, revealing it's true form.

After meeting with various characters and survivors from the village, the peace is one again disturbed, and Wrath descends upon the village.

Despite the awakening of Marie's bow and Neil's new found weapon, they were helpless to stop the immense power wielded by of the 4 generals. However, enough time was bought from the confusion and an Angel intervenes. Seeing the odds turning against him, the general retreats, giving the party time to gather their bearings and learn more about the events which have taken place.

After a night of much talking followed by an uneasy rest, the Angel, who calls herself Luna, departs. The party decide to take off in search of answers, and more importantly; a way home.

Before long their journey is disturbed by menacing dreams, and the situation worsens as a new enemy appears before them.

...as for the rest of the story, you're gonna have to figure it out from the notes. That's about as far as I've written up to, and besides, you really didn't think I was gonna go through the whole damn book did you?

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Ideas and giant plot fragments, also revealing most of the major plot twists:
Since Echoes have neither Ether or Mara, any artifact or magical being existing within one will be in a dormant or weakened form. On top of that, magical creatures cannot remain in an Echo for long as they will "bleed out" and cease to exist as their powers diminish.

In the past, seven great mages accidently disrupted the balance which enabled Lucifer to leave his sealed domain in Hell.
Amoungst these mages was Neil's true father.
After the defeat of God, indirectly lead to by the interference of the 7 mages, Lucifer was severely injured and weakened.

The surviving mages swore an oath to defeat him, and rid him from the throne in an attempt to atone for their sin.

Another mage which played a part in all this was Neil's mother, but during the fight with Lucifer she was cursed by a shard of his wing, and slowly took the form of a demon herself. She chose to end her life before the transformation finished taking place.
They were defeated as 4 of them decided to turn against the others, and gave into their own greed for power which was promised to them by Lucifer.
Of the 3 left, 2 were Neil's parents which were both met their demise, but the other survived; the father of Elena.
The 4 traitors were given positions as court mages under Lucifer, but after some time had passed, they began to die as Lucifer's promise did not include eternal life. After their loyalty wavered, they tried to escape from Heaven, only to be hunted down and eventually killed by Lucifer's 4 Generals. All but one remained, and to this day she serves at Lucifer's side.
When Neil and the others defeat her upon ascending to the final stages of Heaven, she gives to him the last artifact, and subsequently fell from heaven to free herself from her sins.

When the war was lost, humans on earth either perished or became twisted and deformed, eventually becoming monsters which fed on survivors.

Lucifer has many agents, most which were humans at one point. Agents are not particularly powerful but they have the power to slip through different dimensional pockets at will, and can kill normal humans with ease.

The demon hierarchy is divided into lesser and Greater demons. Greater demons have a sense of awareness and are much more powerful and wise. Many of them are beginning to oppose Lucifer's rule, as they start to understand that without humans or beings of light, the end of demons would eventually follow suit. There are 10 members of the Aesir, and roughly 300 greater demons. All demons are divided into 9 classes, including vampires, fallen, werewolves, harpies and drakes.

One of the more interesting subplots would be the Ava side story. Existing in another Echo, Ava is worshipped as a goddess. Who she is and why the people serving her have potent powers is something that I won't reveal, not even here.

Character Notes:

Chloe is a "shell" crafted by Merlin as a tool of war in a time long ago during a great magical conflict. Being a construct, she originally had no life or consciousness herself, but Merlin created her in the image of his daughter, and gave her a soul.

The magical conflict escalated however, and Merlin was killed and the magiks of that era were lost. Without a contractor bound to her, Chloe lost the majority of her abilities, and while being stricken with grief at the loss of her master she deactivated herself.

The war between Heaven and Hell sparked her awakening, and she leaves behind the ruins of her slumber with a broken memory to face another era plagued by war.

Appearance resembles a young girl with long hair, but is in reality a powerful artificial weapon, created using magecraft far beyond the capabilities of the current era. She's also my favourite character, and later forms a contract with Elena.

Other noteworthy things would be Marie's bow of rebirth, which is enchanted with the spirit of various mages.

Neil is half angel and half demon, too lazy to explain why but you can guess from the notes above.

All of the characters which follow Neil and become his "apostles" of sorts have their own weapons and crests, the weapons usually being artifacts of some sort which they pick up along the way and the crests granting them a skill or power.

Robert will betray Neil in the final chapters of the book, and it will be revealed that he was taken over by Samael when they first arrived in this world. He will block Neil's pat before they reach the throne of Heaven.

Markus is an interesting character, although it would take too long to explain the workings of the Aesir, I'll briefly comment on him. He is one of the most powerful demons on the council, but being from the house of vampires he is often looked down upon by other greater demons, Largely because vampires are considered the most human of all demon races, and on top of that, the other vampires killed themselves in an incident in the past related to their blood lust and awakening. He dislikes his consciousness, a trait not possessed by other demon types, but it leads him to join Neil's party instead of assassinate him as the council planned.

Glossary/Notes:

Gate of West Wind - the link between the 8th echo and the real world, found at the ocean of tears

3 stages of Heaven
- Gates (guarded by Bardiel)
- Endless realm of Ice and Snow (where the war was fought)
- Labyrinth of Souls (to stop mortals from ascending to heaven, exit guarded by Pride)
- Kingdom of Heaven (where the throne lies)

Stairway to Heaven - Bridges the gap between Heaven and Earth, leading to the Labyrinth of Souls. Created when remaining angels fled to Earth as Lucifer rose to power.

Artifacts - Objects of great divine or demonic power, which were mostly destroyed during the war. The remainder were scattered throughout the various echoes.

Spear of Longinus - A spear said to have been plunged into the side of Jesus as he was on the crucifix.
Has great holy power, but was lost during the battle between Lucifer and God in the Heavens. One of the more potent artifacts.

Ragnarok - Sword forged by Lucifer, using the Ether of Auriel the ‘light’ of God.
Used to defeat God.

Testament - Neil's alternate Ragnarok was not powerful enough. Weaker than the true Ragnarok.
Was combined with spear of Longinus to create Testament.

Ragnarok (lesser) - Strange artifact found by Neil in his dimension, attracted the Furies.
Later discovered to be a alternate mirror of the sword Ragnarok.
Because of the absence of Ether in his home dimension, the sword is only a handle until he crosses over.

Atma - Demon eyes of true sight, allows the bearer to see beyond what normal people see, but also causes them to have constant nightmares and visions.
Cannot be used to look at the sky, as it will blind the user forever.
Possessed only by greater (true) demons.
Has varying degrees of power/mastery, depending on the level of inheritance and also skill of the user

Stigma - Holy eyes of dispel, allows bearer to break magic curses and seals, and also weakens any demon who comes into contact with them.
Cannot be used to gaze upon the depths of hell, as it will blind the user forever.
Possessed only by Celestials and Archangels.
Has varying degrees of power/mastery, depending on the level of inheritance and also skill of the user

Ether - Holy essence. All beings in heaven are constructs of this essence.
A great deal of this essence dissipated over time without God’s presence.
Only scarce traces of it can be found in any sub dimension.
Opposite of Mara, the dark energy possessed by all demons and infused into all fallen angels.

Mara - See Ether

Mana -
Energy formed from combined Mara and Ether, and exists within humans. Can be tapped through incantations to capture elements directly in the form of seals.

Magik Circuit - Symbols which link between the spiritual and material planes. Act as gateways and are required to summon raw energy into elements. Superior to the use of incantations in terms of speed and immediate application, but limited as it requires symbols to be presently accessible to the user, either on scrolls or drawn on the fly.

White Legion (Titans, Guardians etc.) -
Army of guardian angels, under command of Anixiel.
Guarded the gates of Hell until the defeat of Anixiel. Were scattered and only 211 of the 365 remain after the slaughter once gates of Hell were opened.
Withdrew into seal at edge of Hell, under the will of Logos.

Followers of Nox -
An ancient tribe of people who foretold of the series of events which lead to the disaster. Believed to be descended from exiles, those who were cast out of Heaven at the beginning of time.
Practitioners of shadow based magiks, and were later entrusted the artifact used to seal away the White Legion, so that one day they may be released if needed.

Ley Lines -
A spiritual link involved in connecting a master to any familiar or servitor summoned.

Matrix - A complex network of ley lines which link all living creatures to their souls. When severed the contact with their soul is lost.

Chronological Time Shift - Sub dimensions created when the war was fought are shifted forwards or backwards in time. This value indicates their relative difference. The 8th Echo "Spero" has a CTS of -351, so therefore it is 351 years behind the real world.

God was defeated in the year 2112 on the Spero timeline, equivalent to 1761 on the real Earth timeline

Seraphim - Last angel to be born from the light of God. Destined to restore order and balance.
Granted an unprecedented amount of power and born into the sub dimension, where he would grow up as a normal child.
Hunted by Lucifer because he fears the prophecies which say the Seraphim shall lead to his demise.

The new rank of Seraphim's is technically lower than Celestial, as it possesses only the last scraps of God's energy while Celestials were granted the most, however Neil can make up for it as he is also part demon.

Angel Hierarchy (I made it up, it's not meant to be accurate)
-        Seraphim
1st Choir     Celestial
2nd Choir     Archangel
3rd Choir    Angel/Guardian Angel

***THE BIG SPOILER:

Well here it is, the last and biggest plot twist to take place in the book.

At the end of the journey Neil makes it to the throne of heaven alone to face Lucifer, only to find that Lucifer is long dead. In his place a familiar face awaits him... yep it's himself. The reason why is related to the cascade of dimensions, but I won't go into it. There will be various hints and stuff that lead towards it throughout the story, but hopefully no one will see it coming. Unless of course you read it here.

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I've left a lot out, but I'm dying after writing all that.

Faith Summary pt.2 - Characters

2007-06-15T00:19:00.001+09:00

Main characters only. If you don't know what this is about then read the previous post first.

I say it's spoiler free, but I let stuff slip all the time so in reality it's littered with spoilers. No major ones though.

-Spoiler Free Section-

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Say hello to:

Neil Carter

A seemingly typical 17 year old boy going through relationship troubles. Born and raised in Cannonbrooke, Southern England, and the best student at the local Kendo club. Always quietly resenting the unwavering faith in Christianity which has deep roots in his family, one day he skips class after being drawn towards a strange artifact in the surrounding woodland. Ever since that discovery, he's had more pressing concerns to worry about. What is the meaning of strange repeating dream? Why can't he dispose of the artifact? And most of all, who are these mysterious figures shrouded in black that are stalking him?

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Marie Rhein

A mysterious 16 year old girl with a french background, and a survivor of the chaos which took place in the real world. The rest remains an enigma.

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Chloe

A young girl, with an unknown background and past.

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Elena Reed

Daughter of a famous mage, but does not know much about her parents since she hasn't seen them since she was young. Elena is skilled in the use of circuit magik (ugh, I haven't got a glossary yet, circuit magic is summoning related) and the useage of embedded seal cards (...forget it, wait for the glossary).

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Robert Bell

Neil's best friend since childhood, and the livelier of the two. Usually makes the plans and takes the lead in most situations, and possesses an air of authority. He is the same ages as Neil.

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Nathan Williams

A young boy, and another of of Neil's friends, the two became close after Neil stepped in when he was being bullied. Has a quiet and reserved personality, and is always picked on for having strange habits and ideas,

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Erica Rothesay

Sister of Catherine, and an orphan living in the ruins of Oxford with other survivors in the real world. Has a shy and quiet personality.

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Catherine Rothesay

The more outspoken and lively of the two sisters, she is usually very protective of Erica. The two of them are always together, although their personalities are almost exact opposites.

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Rose Mooreland

A once respected researcher, she's now keeps mainly to herself in the remaining society of humans. Despite her sarcasm and sometimes cynical outlook, she is a reliable leader and the acting guardian for Erica and Catherine.

She's often working with her assistant Carl, and knows more than she lets on about the events in the past.

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Audren Kirsley

A descendant of Roland Kirsley, he hails from the alternate existence of Neil's village. Currently residing in New Oxford with the other gathered survivors, he serves as a protector of the refugees when the need arises.

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Markus

One of the highly feared members of the Aesir, a council consisting of the most powerful Greater demons. Little else is known about him.

He is rumoured to be a demon descended from the house of vampires.This which would make him the last of his kind, as the rest vanished from history in an incident shrouded in mystery.

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Luna

One of the angels which now live in hiding after the defeat of God, swearing to exact revenge on Lucifer whenever the opportunity arises.

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Lucifer

The king of demons. 'nuff said.

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Samael

One of the fallen angels which swore allegiance to Lucifer during the aftermath of the war fought 107 years ago.

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Pride, Envy, Lust and Wrath

Angry Disclaimer: I started planning my novel before the FMA came out, and I won't change the names to avoid criticism.

These are the 4 fallen angels which became generals in Lucifer's ranks. I won't reveal anymore than that.

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Notes:

If the character description is short then it's because they tie in with too much of the plot to be included in the spoiler free section.

The characters all have their respective crests (what can they be I wonder?) and subsequently elements too, but I decided to leave them out. They can be revealed in the spoiler sections. I was kinda vague with ages and other details too, but you'll have to excuse that.

Up next is the massive glossary, which will be the first and last non-spoiler post.

Faith Summary pt.1 - Intro

2007-06-14T23:27:00.001+09:00

Extremely long post warning.

Most of my friends will probably know this but my latest (and longest) mini-project of sorts is in the form of an epic novel.

After being pestered about how it's going and what it's about all the time, I've decided post a summary of the main and sub plots.

I'm not writing this to be interesting, so unless you really wanted to know then save yourself the eye strain and don't bother reading any further.

Also I've been told off for alleged bible bashing and blasphemy. For god's sake (oops pun not intended) it's a fiction novel, sod off.

I'll begin with the spoiler free intro, and the massive recap serving to reveal the story in it's entirety will follow (if my keyboard doesn't wear out first).

-Spoiler Free Section-

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The story unfolds:

I'll begin by filling you in on the background. Before the story begins, there was a war fought between the gathered armies of heaven and hell, each lead by "God" and "Lucifer" respectively. Of the two, it is believed Lucifer gained the upper hand largely due to the defection of Gabriel, one of the greatest angels on God's side. Further details about this are "unknown" as of yet.

With the conclusion of the war, God was forced to retreat and leave behind all he had created, leaving the world to slowly descend into darkness and discord. Furthermore, the clash between divine and dark power during the war caused a ripple in the fabric of dimensions, resulting in "echoes" of the original dying world to be created in their own pocket dimensions, and subsequently scattered.

These echoes created through distortions are not perfect copies, and as a result each one has unique traits and imperfections. The main trait they all share is that their religions are false, and there is no greater being governing them. As such, there exists no miracles or supernatural occurrences beyond myths and stories. Similarly, the Bible and other holy texts are merely twisted versions of the original record of events which existed in the real world.

This is where the world as we know it comes into play. The earth we live on is actually one of the echoes that carried on existed long after darkness consumed the real world. And in this world resides what appears to be average boy, upon whom's shoulders rest the power to overthrow Lucifer and restore the chaotic web of worlds to their former state.

Notes:

None of the characters know of all this, but it'll become apparent to them during the course of the book.

What exactly happened to the real world? Well, who knows, suppose you'll have to find out.

The world we live in is designated as the 8th echo "Spero", and has a relative chronological shift value of -351 years. This means the original earth is 351 years ahead. All of the echoes are existing in relatively "shifted" timelines because of the chaotic nature of their creation.

I was toying with the idea of writing a side story set simultaneously along side Faith, with a different cast of characters and regarding the anomalies caused by coexisted alternate bible texts and their effect on the eventual merge of the echoes as the story progresses (oops that was a spoiler), but that's something for another time.

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Next up are the characters. Stay tuned.

There's...so...much...more...to...write... *dies*

Testing: Windows Live Writer

2007-06-14T07:08:00.001+09:00

If you haven't heard already, Windows Live Writer 1.0 beta 2 (download) has been released to the public, and I have been swayed into giving it a try.

I'm not sure if I need the functionality of an external entry publishing application, but it's looking pretty useful so far.

Not only does it do all the html tags for me, it's easier to do... well, almost anything. Various plugins are a bonus.

It doesn't seem to work with Blogger's Picasa albums yet though, so I'll set it to my own webhost if I ever need to upload pictures. Too lazy right now.

With all the nifty useful features (and some less useful, like simple image effects? wtf?) and decent Blogger integration I guess I'll recommended it.

S'gonna take some getting used to though (get lost spellcheck... hah fine "SPELL CHECK" - that's better).

Maybe I'll even be tempted to post more often with the added simplicity and convenience, who knows.

What? MOAR ANIME!?

2007-06-13T06:27:00.000+09:00

Yeah well, you might not be so shocked.

Quick run through list of the new series' that're popping up this summer.

-Dennou Coil (see earlier review)
-Bakurestu Tenshi Infinity (is this an OVA? I forgot)
-Tales of Symphonia OVA
-Wangan Midnight (omfg it's like Initial D all over again)
-Devil May Cry (airs 14th June)
-Kenko Zenrakei Suieibu Umisho (4th July)
-Zombie-Loan (4th July)
-School Days (4th July)
-Code-E (4th July)
-Sky Girls
-Mushiuta
-Baccano
-Last 2 eps of Code Geass (alright fine, it's not a new series, but it still deserves a mention)

More to come as they roll in.

The list would be longer but it looks like the massive heap of anime from spring has left the studios a bit dry. Most of those series' are still running though, so you're not exactly missing out on anything.

Edit:
Watched the first episode of Wangan Midnight. Is it just me or does the animation actually look more out of date than Initial D's?
Well no matter, it looks alright so far I guess. Not sure I sit too well with the much loved trueno being replaced by an old Nissan Z series though.
That Porshe on the other hand...

Not anime related, but I've finally finished reading up to the most current chapter of Claymore (ch73). I hope the anime gets anywhere near as good as the manga is, as it an awful lot to live up to.
If you don't mind gore in manga you should check it out, has an addictive strong story as one of it's selling points.

Hamsters Beware

2007-06-12T09:52:00.000+09:00

Lock away your pets and be afraid, for your furry balls of fluff are no longer safe.

Yes, that's right; the professional bare-hand hamster crusher Tsugumi is at large:

See those devious eyebrows? Suspicious cat-like lips? Typical signs of a hamster squasher.

You've been warned.

(no I haven't snapped, if you've played that game then you'll know very well what I'm referring to)

Review Edit:
Random acts of animal cruelty aside, Ever 17: the out of infinity is actually a pretty good game.
Any fans of text based RPGs with amazingly deep storylines will fall for it like a donkey with no legs trying to climb a flight of stairs.

The sci fi-ish plot boils down to a group of people that, under strange circumstances, become trapped in a large underwater theme park installation.
As fun as that might sound on paper, things get desperate as they run out of time, and structure begins to give way with areas flooding and closing off one by one.
The setting provides the making of a huge number of situations, which is perfect because it plays out like a dating sim, with each major story path being tied to one of the mysterious girls you're trapped with.

You get to play as one of 2 guys, as a decision during the game will lock you to one of their perspectives, and the series of strange events which unfolds over the course of 7 days will be seen through their eyes.

I have only 3 gripes with Ever 17, unless you count how long the damn game is.
Firstly Coco's voice/personality drives me insane, secondly the occasional inevitable translation screw ups, and lastly some events are just plain dumb.

We'll ignore the blatant sexual innuendo scattered throughout, cause it's pretty funny at times. Pretty welcome humour for an otherwise morbid situation (a situation I have to say all the characters deal surprisingly well with, I'm surprised they don't all have pneumonia and claustrophopic hysteria by the end of it).

But that aside, it's definitely well worth playing.

I'll give it a rating of 9/10 even though I'm not a fan of text based RPGs or dating sims. The story is just that good.

Only spoiler free video I could find happens to be the opening which is kinda lame.

What's with all the german names? Who knows, that's one of the mysteries in this game full of twists and turns that you won't find an answer to.

So far I've only achieved Tsugumi's "good" ending (yes, good in quotes), and I have 14 hours on the clock. Most of the plot is still shrouded in mystery so I guess I have some work to do.

Here's a proper review if you aren't convinced.

Procrastination

2007-06-10T18:52:00.000+09:00

Crap, why did it have to be a female character

Which School Rumble character are you?

You are Osakabe Itoko. You're a calm, relaxed person who's cool...and you know it! You're intelligent, but sometimes you like messing with people who aren't quite as intelligent or as quick-witted as you are.
Take this quiz!

Quizzes suck.

U-ka Saegusa's new album is cool.

And uh... someone help me look for apartments.

And... nope that's it.

Edit:
w00t

(it deserves a w00t despite the ending of that episode making no sense whatsoever, not to mention the highly disturbing next ep preview which consisted mostly of sounds of beating some poor girl)

Murakami Haruki

2007-06-09T11:10:00.000+09:00

It's been a while since I've read Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, but the fond memories etched in the turning of each page from the front cover through to the back have remained fairly fresh in my mind.

Admittedly I'm not the avid bookworm I used to be, and those of you who know me will know that I no longer primarily use books as a device with which to pass the time.
Maybe this is why it's been over 5 years before another author has taken Pullman's throne in regards to my favourite author.

Not being a particularly well travelled reader, I'm still adamant about my preferences when it comes to books.
Stephen King is good. But I don't think he always lives up to the praise given to him, and his over-description can get long winded at times.
J. K. Rowling is good. But I'm sometimes put off by her simple and straightforward style of storytelling, even when the story itself is compelling.
Stepping away from the bigger names; Lian Hearn is a very talented writer, but his books, as great as they are, didn't leave much of a lasting impression for one reason or another.
Juliet Marillier has a great way of writing, but her stories seems to lack any major impact and depth as whole.

Now I could go on forever with this list, but with my young age at the time partially to blame, there's always been a sort of adulation and fondness in recalling the epic journey of Will, Lyra and Pantalaimon.
(Robin Jarvis' The Wyrd Museum trilogy has it's place too, but that's a story for another entry)

The above authors are all without a doubt highly talented writers, and so are the countless others which have earned my respect (Tolkien, H.G. Wells, James Clavell, Kim Edwards, John Grisham etc. etc.), but with books being the subjective little bungles of paper that they are, it's rare for me to find one that I really genuinely like.

Now in spouting all the above nonsense I've run out of wind and effort with which to finish this post in the same almost-well-written manner.
A shame I suppose, since I haven't really gotten to the point.

The end statement: Murakami Haruki rocks.

Recommended reads for fiction lovers:
-The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
-After Dark

...more to come as I drown myself in more of his works.

Mixi

2007-06-07T20:36:00.000+09:00

Mixi (supposedly the ingenious amazing and original result of "mix" + "i") is a Japanese MySpace type thing. Or Facebook (which > MySpace, you know it's true).
Or infact any one of the hundreds of social community sites out there you're ~~prolly~~ a part of.
Yeah, I know you're a member of at least half a dozen. Don't deny it.

The main difference is, well... it's Japanese, and for the most part,the members are largely based in Japan.

Not a bad way to meet Japanese people if you're into the kind of thing for whatever reason, but the catch is you need to be fairly fluent in the language if you want any chance of navigating the site.

You can get a taste of what you're up against from this screenshot of the site navigation.

I think I'll stick with Facebook for now, at least until I'm less crap at reading Jap.

If you've stumbled upon this blog post and you're feeling up the challenge then I guess you can leave a comment for an invite (it's like Orkut in that you can't sign up without a current member invite).
There're a few english guides floating around if you get terribly stuck.

Edit:
Completely unrelated but the chorus of Claymore's ED by Kosaka Riyu is catchy.

Supernova?

2007-06-06T19:39:00.000+09:00

Well if you're a Halo fan then check this out.

After a beta which didn't meet many people's expectations, maybe this'll quench your thirst.

Me? I couldn't care less; it's summer, go outside you freaks. Just kidding.

Chained to tomorrow

2007-06-05T19:24:00.000+09:00

As a result of being too lazy to make a proper entry but wanting to put something down, here's a breakdown of my current disposition:

-getting dangerously close to my pathetic internet's monthly 50gb bandwidth limit, minus 4 points
-bored out of my mind, minus 5 points
-found sand in camera lens, minus 10 points (minus 10 years to life too)
-having second thoughts about leaving the country, minus 8 points
-feeling a simultaneous clash of running out of time and having too much time, partly cause of the above, minus 8 points
-friends are mostly still at uni, minus 10 points
-broke my electronic amp, minus 5 points
-weather is getting nicer, plus 5 points
-it's too damn hot already, minus 5 points
-Shadowrun is a fun game, plus 5 points
-Shadowrun doesn't work online properly, minus 5 points
-Matsuri hasn't died yet in sola, plus 3 points
-Matsuri will probably die by the end of the series, minus 7 points

Total: dunno, there wasn't a number to begin with, cause I'm cool like that

And there you have it, the reason behind my cheerfulness lately.
Actually it's not nearly so bad, if you don't count the more serious issues like whether I really should bugger off to Japan in a few months time. All things considered, my mood is still drifting back and forth between blank and content.

Thanks to Mei I've been watching the kdrama Kim Sam Soon, you should look it up if you're into slightly out of the ordinary romance comedy stuff.
I'm not, but hey, it's good.

Oh and here's a nice song I've been hearing too much of lately.

As before, I'm still recommending the anime Gurren Lagann. Watch it, you know you want to.

Pancake Orgy

2007-06-05T03:25:00.001+09:00

Another development from the devious mind of Quyen. I am innocent as always. Anyway.

The culprit:

Innocent looking huh? Don't be fooled, for it is always the quiet ones.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The victims so far (names are truncated):

Miss Sunday says (18:55):
pancake orgy?
Miss Sunday says (18:55):
AND I WASNT INVITED
Miss Sunday says (18:55):
HOW DARES YOU

† Dan † says (18:54):
WTF
† Dan † says (18:57):
what the hell is that

Yin said (19:11):
pancake orgy
Dicky Hood says (19:11):
they're alright
Dicky Hood says (19:11):
I onlly have them once or twice a year

Yin says (19:29):
pancake orgy
Fi says (19:29):
soubi can see you
Fi says (19:30):
and the pancakes

Yin says (19:29):
pancake orgy
Rach says (19:29):
...o_O;;

Yin says (20:41):
pancake orgy
Jonny says (20:41):
i see

alice says (20:46):
ooh cute orgy

Just Alan says (20:57):
Donut what have you been smoking
Yin says (21:43):
flour
Just Alan says (21:45):
Can I join in?
Yin says (21:45):
with the orgy yes, but the flour is mine
Just Alan says (21:46):
Pass the syrup.

Yin says (21:03):
pancake orgy
Death is not far... says (21:08)
wtf... you drunk?

Yin says (21:03):
pancake orgy
MMM taco bell :D says (21:04):
LOL
MMM taco bell :D says (21:04):
OMG

Yin says (20:52):
oh, and pancake orgy
Mei says (20:52):
so i can rip out the ha...uh?

Yin says (20:53):
pancake orgy
tom says (21:24):
mmm pancakes
tom says (21:24):
i had pancakes for dinner tonight actually
Yin says (21:56):
who the hell has pancakes for dinner

Yin says (20:58):
pancake orgy
Dominate Truth says (21:07):
HAHAHA

Yin says (03:00):
pancake orgy
Siobhan says (03:00):
i refuse

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stay tuned, more helpless innocent souls to be terrorised in a neighbourhood near you.

Disclaimer: I do not condone syrup related pornography and acts of sexual intercourse between ~~baked~~ fried goods. No pancakes were harmed in this experiment.

Neglect

2007-06-04T22:38:00.000+09:00

Oh that's right, I had a blog didn't I.
Guess I haven't been in the mood to update lately, but along with everything else about me that might change with the weather. Hasn't happened yet though.

Edit: Okay that post was lacking content, so I decided to add that wonderful screenshot.

Denno Coil - Initial Review

2007-05-18T18:13:00.000+09:00

Episodes watched: 3 of ?

A new and highly anticipated anime for the summer.
Interestingly weird, yet undenyably cute and charming. I can see myself watching this.
Idea's definitely a relatively fresh one. Reminds me of Serial Experiments Lain without the emo.

Initial review pending after I watch more.

Edit:
No disappointments here.
After watching 2 more episodes I can confidently say this is going to be a promising series.

The setting in which the events of this series takes place is a pseudo modern world, looking identical to our own on the outside, but a closer look will reveal the technology behind what is really a world engulfed by computers and cyberpunk themes.

The story revolves around a schoolgirl girl named Yasako, and her adventures after returning to her childhood home.
As usual, not all is as it seems, and she begins to find that this place is far from your average city.
With her ability to see "augmented reality" using her special glasses (Denno Megane), Yasuko finds herself increasingly entwined with the stranger side of life in Daikoku city.
With the odd looking giant red antivirus softwares patrolling the streets, free roaming viruses known as illegals terrorising cyber pets that innocently wander the backalleys, and a mysterious group of youths who claim to hail from the Coil Denno Detective Agency, all this sets the premise of an anime that just refuses to blend in with the crowd. And this is just the beginning.

Animation is top notch, and as I mentioned before, theres something very charming about this anime.

Verdict: Excellent

Initial Rating: 9/10 - Recommended

Halo 3 Beta Review (Completed)

2007-05-17T20:56:00.000+09:00

The long awaited Halo 3 beta, after a short delay for Crackdown players, is finally out. You can almost picture the empty schools and offices across the globe as players of all ages flock to get a taste of Halo 3's multiplayer.
I'm not joking either, the number of kids I've met ingame today who were meant to be at school... well anyway.

Too tired from last night's celebrations to add in any more filler text, so let's get to the point.

My observations so far:

-HUD
Not vastly different, first thing most people may notice is that it's made to appear slightly convexed outwards to simulate the feel of peering out through the Spartan helmet visor.
3 grenades types in the top left, the icons only showing up when you have grenades available, and a commonly disregarded shield bar top center.
Radar seems to have shorter range, most targets will be right on top of you before showing up. Weapon icons have been updated to make them easier to tell them apart with the new additions.

-Controls
Fiddly to get used to, even if you're familiar with Halo 1 and 2. No major complaints apart from the use of the D pad being a bit akward for voice chat ingame, and the seemingly wasted X button since equipment is not deployed all that often, and the X button holds prime real estate on the controller as far as easy access is concerned.

-Graphics
Halo 2 looked great, so I imagine it was difficult to make the 3rd installation leaps and bounds ahead of it's predecessors. Effects are fancier, textures are sharper and everything looks a little bit more detailed. That aside, not much to comment on.

-Movement/Physics/Misc.
Not much to say; you move a bit slower, don't jump quite as high. Very impressed with the physics, particularly for grenade bouncing and vehicles (*cough* mongoose).
Shields seem about the same, hard to judge with the modifications to the weapons.
Health is what it was in Halo 2; the last few yards before the edge of the cliff.

-Weapons
Carbine rocks. Had to say it. It's been improved from Halo 2, and now has near perfect accuracy and decent rate of fire. Has more or less replaced the Battle Rifle in my books.
Battle Rifle is still great, but with it's burst fire as opposed to single shot and with reduced aiming aid across all weapons, it's less useful in long range and much better in mid-close.
Spiker also rocks. Much like the SMG, the Brute Spiker has a slightly slower projectile speed but makes up for it by quickly shredding opponents in mid range combat. In close range, it's great for smacking them to the floor with it's blade attachment, much akin to the Brute Shot. Best part is, it can be duel wielded.
Speaking of the SMG and Brute Shot, the former has had little change at all, while the latter has seen a complete make over. Forget the small bullet like grenades launched from the original Brute Shot, the new one feels and wields a lot more like a portable cannon. Damage is increased, blast radius increased, range improved and has the ever useful melee spike still intact.
Rocket Launchers have lost their homing, and have a slightly smaller blast radius. Still serves more or less the same purpose as the rocket launchers always have, but vehicles are less vulnerable as a whole.
Needler is definitely better, although that says little considering how useless it used to be. Projectiles move quicker but if you want to land your shots you'll still want to get up close. Damage on the other hand is lethal, little over half a clip will drop you and that's without duel wielding.
Human Sniper rifle has had a few changes made to it, but it's still generally the same old weapon. No more rapid firing though, as there's a short delay between each shot, forcing people to take their time aiming. Headshots also seem easier to achieve.
Beam Rifle, the counterpart to the Human Sniper, is much the same as it always was. You can rapid fire a few shots at the expense of overheating. In Halo 2 this was my sniper rifle of choice, but for some reason or other for me it's lost it's appeal in this new beta. As with the Human Sniper, headshots seem easier to achieve.
Plasma Rifle seems to have lost it's usefulness somewhat, with the slowish projectiles and the minimal damage to health still in place. Still good for the old fashioned SMG+Plasma combo though (or better yet, Spiker+Plasma).
Plasma Pistol has had a few nerfs and upgrades. It now screws up vehicle handling with an overcharged burst, but keeping it overcharged will slowly deplete it's ammo. As always, it drops shields instantly with a burst shot, but no longer seeks targets.
Assault Rifle, resurrected from Halo 1, is the new bread and butter weapon of Halo 3 it seems. Starting off with it in all match types except special weapon gametypes, it's a very average weapon. Average range, damage and small clip. It's far from useless but most people will want to trade it out as soon as possible.
Shotgun has been modified to emphasise it's role; short range and only short range. Now doing virtually no damage at all unless your target is in your face, it also has a smaller clip. I find it less useful as you'd have to sneak up on someone to avoid having them back away and mow you down while you're trying to get close enough.
Spartan Laser is a new fan favourite it seems. A railgun-esque weapon which takes a few seconds to fire, and the resulting blast is devastating. One shot kills and that's not limited to other players, I mean to vehicles too. You can force fire it without fully charging but the result isn't particularly useful. You can get off about 10 full blasts before having to dump it. Has partial zoom, although luckily we don't have to worry too much about big red bolts of death coming out of nowhere all the time, as the thing is rather large and unwieldly, emits a visible lasersight when charging and most of all is quite tricky to use effectively without time and patience spent mastering the weapon. There's also only ever one on each map.
Turret Machine Gun is quite literally the familiar Warthog/Stationary turret which can now be detached and lugged around. Great for defending key locations, but you won't want to carry it around too much due to the slowed movement restrictions and 3rd person view.
Missile Pod is similar, and carries a tracking device for anti vehicle use. Also impeding your movement, it acts much like a rapid fire rocket launcher with limited ammo and no reloads.
And... that's it for the beta weapons. That's right, no Energy Sword, and no Human Pistol. Yet.
On a side note, melee is particularly devastating, and with most weapons you're better off punching people that get close enough rather than continuing to fire at them. Momentum damage bonuses for melee attacks have been amplified.

-Grenades
Frag grenade is once again the staple grenade, and has had few changes made to it. One thing to note is how grenades and objects in general react differently depending on the surface they land on. For example, tossing a grenade on a metal surface will cause it to bounce, while throwing one in the river will result in it just stopping dead where it landed.
Sticky grenade, the original favourite, has had a few more changes. It has a less imposing smaller frame, so it's less noticeable when someone's trying to attach one to your face. Also launches faster, but is less likely to attach to someone unless aimed well, unlike in Halo 2 where skimming someone resulted in a stick.
Spike grenades, my new favourite grenade, require the most strategy to work. You can use them like sticky grenades to stick other players resulting in an instant kill, but their other uses are much more varied. They do not bounce at all, instead they cling to any surface it comes into contact with first, such as walls and ceilings. What's interesting though, is that the blast is cone shaped, emitting perpendicular to the attached surface. This makes it great for clearing out rooms and stopping would-be pursuers in tight passages.
All grenades can be thrown faster, but not as far. You can have 2 of each, which results in a current total of 6 grenades carried at any one time max. They seem more readily available to you on maps, and you'll rarely find yourself without grenades for long.

-Equipment
A brand new feature, equipment is launched using the X button, and are typically very strategic in their uses.
Bubble Shield, perhaps the most infamous addition to Halo 3, does exactly what the name implies. Dropping this creates a temporary sphere which stops all explosions and projectiles from passing in or out. Great for matchtypes like territories, and has a lot of imaginitive uses. Also often creates the cat and mouse melee situation, as anyone is still free to walk in and out of the bubble.
Power Drainer, a rather odd addition, creates a forcefield which gradually depletes shields and then explodes when it expires. The forcefield is easily visible though, so users should be wary of where to deploy it, especially since team mates are also affected.
Trip Mine is just that; a trip mine. When deployed, anyone that strays too close will trigger it and end up with their corpse/vehicle hurtling through the air. The most interesting use is perhaps how it can latch onto vehicles, great for strategic booby trapping.
Gravity Lift is a temporary portable jump pad; and strategic deployment can make bases a lot harder to defend.

-Vehicles
Mongoose is one of the three vehicles available in the beta, and it's main use is for getting around. Very fast and manoueverable, it can also carry a passenger which can shoot for you using their equipped weapon. As I said, it's main use it getting around, as running over someone with it seems rather impossible. You're also extremely vulnerable while driving it as there is no cover for your exposed torso whatsoever.
Ghosts should be familiar, only really noticeable changes being the slowed down strafing capabilities, making you more vulnerable to grenades.
Warthogs are the same reliable 4 wheel transports that we all know and love. Only the machine gun turret appears in the beta, and little about the vehicle itself has been changed.
Interestingly, I have yet to see a destroyed vehicle. They appear once again quite invulnerable as they were in Halo 1. Need to confirm that.

-Maps
Of the 3 maps found in the beta, High Ground has become my favourite (perhaps an overall favourite infact). It's an asymetric map with a base in one half and an outside area. Various entrances to the base and a strategic gate switch (remember Zanzibar?) make defending and attacking quite interesting.
Snowbound is a... well, snowy map. Joint smallest map with High Ground, it's mostly made up of a fairly bland surface level, a few protruding bases and winding tunnels connecting them down below. Will make for some interesting CTF games to be sure. Especially with all the barriers in places.
Valhalla is the largest map, and

-Matchmaking: Gametypes
Being a beta, there's little to comment on in regards to variety, because they're obviously trying to gather test results for certain new game types over other, older ones.
Notable new matchtypes include Shotguns and Snipers (a terrible matchtype if you ask me), a new version of territories with attack and defend rounds and VIP, where you protect a designated member of your team while simultaneously trying to kill the opposing team's VIP.

-Matchmaking: System
Was a bit slow at first, they seemed to have ironed out the major bugs though.
Aesthetics aside, not many differences compared to Halo 2's matchmaking.
Veto is a welcome addition, allowing players to vote off a map/gametype during matchmaking one time per round. If the majority of players succeed in the vote, another map/gametype will be selected and put directly into play (no further voting).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You need to bear in mind that this is, of course, a beta. According to the folks at Bungie everything and anything is subject to change before release.

Now that that's out of the way, let's get to what it all boils down to. It's fun. So if you haven't already, go grab a copy of Crackdown and join us.

I personally think that the X button and B buttons should be swapped around, so you push X for melee and B to drop equipment. You melee a hell of a lot more often than you use equipment, and X is more accessible and easier to press with A (jump) for those tricky QCB situations. Who agrees?

Edit: Dear god, someone's made it to the rank of General during the beta.
Speaking of which, with one day left, the beta is about to draw to a close. Hope you guys had fun. I know I did.
Now to wait for the full release in September.

Lucky ☆ Star - Initial Review

2007-05-15T10:29:00.002+09:00

Note: I usually screencap using raws, but in this instance I figured that without dialogue there was rather little to screencap. Credits to a.f.k., LC and WiND for subs.

Episodes watched: 5 out of ?

Many fans of Haruhi and Aya pounced on this new series to fill the gap left by the end of the first season* of Haruhi Suzumiya no Yuutzu but were left somewhat disappointed .

But that's not to say it's a bad anime.

Infact, far from in the opinions of many (mine included), but it's definitely served on a different platter.
Not that filling the shoes of Haruhi would be an easy task anyway, but while the two series' share the same studio and same lead voice actor they're arguably not even in the same genre, although comedy is the predominant theme in both.

Speaking of the animation, Kyoto Animation might have done both series' but if you hadn't noticed from the screencaps above, the artwork isn't even remotely similar.

The cutesy animation put me off at first, but I ended up actually quite enjoying the episodes I've seen so far.
As for Aya, one has to wonder when she'll eventually run out of unique voices.

I've come to like the rather odd wtf-are-they-seriously-just-gonna-talk-all-episode-omg-they-did sorta humour - you could just see a thought bubble surrounding an ellipsis hovering over my head during the entirety of each episode.

There's little to talk about when it comes to the story, as the plot follows the awesomely weird Konata Izumi (Aya's character) the quirky otaku game obssessed girl, and her assorted friends in their day to day school life.

The addictive opening is wonderfully warping, whoever came up with the obscure random list of words and phrases which make up lyrics must be an interesting person indeed.

Ending sequence consists of a new anime based karaoke song performed by one of the chracters each episode.

More or less completely dialogue based, it'll really depend on you in whether you'll find it funny or just plain boring.
If you're looking for an anime that's bit more direct in it's humour, you may be better off checking out Gurren Lagann.
Likeable characters and unusual humour are enough to make me follow this one for at least a little while though.

Verdict: Subjective. Recommended, but not a series for everyone.

Initial rating: 7/10

Edit: zomg an Initial D parody in episode 6 *stops himself from upping the rating*

A heads up for people who are bent on canonically accuarate subtitles.

Credits for the questionable yet quality entertaining fansubs go to a.f.k.

* 2nd season of Haruhi Suzumiya no Yuutzu has been confirmed and is currently slated for fall '07

Finally back on track, sorta

2007-05-15T10:08:00.000+09:00

Right. So with all my Japan application stuff sorted until Auguest 20th, I should have a little more time.

Applied for Yoshida, can't afford to wait until next April to begin KAI's 2 year course. Time's a wastin'.

Well, maybe not this week, but after my birthday celebrations are over and done with.

Let's kick off with the long overdue anime shall we. Any longer and the series would have been over by the time I did the initial review. *coughs*

Advice, if you please (deleted)

2007-05-13T08:43:00.000+09:00

Nope screw it, they just told me they won't let me book an apartment more than a month in advance so all that was for moot.

------------------
Let's get down to business. Picking an apartment for my relocatiing to Japan.

~~Apartment choice A~~
or
Apartment choice B
or
Apartment choice C (4th floor, room 408)

At a glance, B is the nicer apartment. A is the better location. C is the largest apartment by far.
Cost at this point is negligible cause it's hard to work out, with A not covering any costs except the building rental and B/C having all expenses paid. This makes B/C less hassle.
With A I can get to school every morning with a quick simple walk to the train station and a 25min train ride, 1 transfer. A is also situated in one of the nicest semi rural yet convenient districts.
With B it's a trek to one of the smaller newer train stations, and from then on it's a 2 transfer 1 hour journey to school. B is in a nice more rural location, but less convenient.
With C it's somewhere between the two in terms of convenience, but in the worst location in terms of living. Don't like the district.

More to come as I continue my research.

Edit:
A is no longer viable, given the lack of furniture, utility management and all that stuff.

Gotta love widgets

2007-05-12T12:37:00.000+09:00

The radio thing over there somewhere ---------------->
Does a pretty accurate job in terms of matching my music taste actually. Well, artist-wise at least.

Thanks goes out to the guys at Last.fm for doing what they do.

Lemme know if it screws up, the formatting code is a bit patchy.

Anime reviews within the next few days, promise.
I'll make up for it with a temporary mass review spree to catch up.

Edit:
I've also decided my blog layout is excessively... narrow.
Gone are the days of my navigating on the laptop with the odd multi window panel style browsing I got accustomed to in Safari, so gonna try and redo it all when I get a fresh new copy of Dreamweaver.
Then again god knows when that will be, and given my chronic laziness I wouldn't expect anything at all just to be on the safe side.

to live is to create a mess

2007-05-10T21:31:00.000+09:00

What she said.

Although arguably the quality of the photo is scarier than the contents. Haven't found my camera yet and my webcam didn't reach so I had to resort to my phone's VGA goodness.

Fear my awesome 5 year old doraemon pen holder filled mostly with inkless hollow pens and broken pencils.

If I didn't know better I'd think most of those cables on the floor were hooked up to each other in rings, since I don't have that many appliances, or at least I don't think I do.
Haven't looked under the table for a decade, who knows what electrical monsters might be growing under there.

On a side note, what the hell are the anime produces of Bleach doing to my favourite manga chapters. They even managed to get that half assed bount guy Kariya into them.
Can you say filler?

Why audiophiles are stupid

2007-05-09T23:22:00.000+09:00

This folks, is a lovely picture of my semi typical "portable" music set up. Well, without perhaps the random cardboard box and the laptop.

Before I get stabbed with "lolz u sux ipod lolz0r" or "wtf is that plugged into the whatsit", just remember: I don't care.

Well I will address the ipod issue; I got it cheap, sue me.
Actually if I had known it would sound like the deflated car tyre that it does, I would have stepped on it instead of buying it (yes, through the display window, with my boot of leathery mass destruction).

The shiny Creative Xmod hooked to a battery powered usb socket is acting as a portable amp, because I am poor and my hair that was apparently untamable like the sea (thank you Katie) was tamed using the rest of my pocket change the other day.

Actually before you people start conjuring up images of a ball of hair lurking about the streets with all the above junk strapped to it, I tend to trade out the jumbo headphones for some discrete Westone UM2's, and the rest is neatly tucked away in little cases in my bag. Most of the time at least.

Speaking of stupid gear and people, I only just realised, after looking for my SLR to take a picture of my stuff (ended up using a webcam), I haven't seen it since I got back from Japan. This is probably not good.
If I've lost my camera I'm gonna go on a killing spree, any volunteers?

Help me think up more stupid topics so I can put off doing more reviews.

Studying in Japan: Progress Update

2007-05-08T23:21:00.000+09:00

Well, it looks like I won't be able to leave till next April.

Mostly a visa problem, cause I probably need 2 years of studying Japanese before I'm fluent enough to take a university course taught purely in Japanese, but their university courses open in April.

This means I'd end up with a 6 month gap between language school and uni if I started this Autumn. Something of a quandary with a 2 year shuugaku (pre-college) visa or ryuugaku (college) visa due to the way the visas work when updating and converting them for continued study.
I'm also out of time to apply for a visa for later this year anyway.

If anyone is interested in doing something similar in Japan, I've compiled below a list of helpful stuff I've dug up these past months while doing my research.
Includes accomodation, schools and other info.

****
Useful Links:

Tokyo Life Guide
Decent site for everything you need to know about moving to Tokyo as a foreigner, with information about accomodation amoungst other useful topics.

Expatriates guide to Japan
A list of useful resources in the form of links, gathered by people who have made the move themselves.

Japan Student Services Organisation
Yeah I don't get how the acronym works either, but this is the website of the organisation which you want look to first if you're thinking about studying in Japan.

List of recommended language schools in Tokyo:

KAI Academy
Naganuma Language School
HJC - Hiroo Japanese Center
Yoshida Institute
Kichijoji Language School

Not a definitive list of every school, just the ones I looked into the most, bearing in mind I was looking for a school which best suited me ie. didn't cater specifically for students who were already familiar with kanji, for example students from China.
Not speaking from personal experience, but I don't think you can go wrong with any of the above.
I'm aware most schools will have a largely asian student body with the exception of HJC which is a school which aims at teaching westerners only. KAI looks promising, and Naganuma is very well established. Kichijoji is, in my opinion, situated in the best place. HJC is the smallest.
Just so you know, I'm probably going for ~~KAI~~.
Edit: Went with Yoshida because they were more helpful with starting in Autumn

Other schools of note:

Yamasa Institute
Yamasa is probably the largest language school in Japan, although it wasn't situated in Tokyo so it didn't make it into my list of possible considerations.
Located in the quieter city of Okazaki, this place may interest you if you're looking for a well established school in a less distracting environment.

Stuff to keep in mind:

-Many schools will require a contact in Japan who will serve as a mediator and sometimes a guardian during your study. Without one it may be impossible (I found out the hard way).
Some exceptions are KAI, HJC and Yamasa.
-You will want to plan way ahead. Getting the appropriete visa can take over 6 months, and without one you'll be going nowhere.
-Cost. It won't be cheap, start saving.
-Backup plans. Don't throw away your university applications and whatever you have going in your home country just yet, you never know what may fall through.
****

I'll add to this post in the future as I gather more info. Check back every now and then for updates.

Another year down the drain

2007-05-08T11:15:00.000+09:00

So if you didn't already know, I'm planning an organised poker night thing for my birthday.
Need to find a venue to hire cause of all the people who're looking to come, but this town blows so don't count on it happening at all unless anyone has any suggestions. (Whoever thought of Albrighton hall can die and/or pay for it in my stead.)

Manchester was good, didn't expect to stay all the way through to Sunday but it killed some of my boredom at least. Prolly some of my soul and a large chunk of my wallet too.

Sometime between the alcohol and the toothpaste (what) some of us went to see Spiderman 3 at the Odeon. I'm not gonna talk about it much cause I figure it was prolly a good film, I was just disappointed cause I had overly high expectations for this chapter.
Also saw bits of 300, sandwiched between a snoring corpse and someone playing C&C. Now there's a good film, probably.

*yawn* I really need to get those reviews done.
And where the hell are all the things I ordered off ebay *grumbles*

Noir OSTs

2007-05-08T10:50:00.000+09:00

Someone happened to remind me recently of these classic Yuki soundtracks, and subsequently I had an odd random urge to upload the album cause I hear it's getting hard to find out there, what being 6 years old and all.
It's good stuff; a perfect example of Yuki's earlier work, and one of the OSTs that really fed her current popularity.
Anime wasn't half bad either.

I didn't check if every single track is there cause my music library is more of a mess than my hair, but it should be fine.

Note: Rapidshare links, if you don't have an account you might have to wait a bit after each download if you want them all.
All files are in .rar archives.

Direct Download:
Noir OST 1 56.0mb
Noir OST 2 64.6mb
Noir OST 3 CD 1 47.7mb
Noir OST 3 CD 2 21.9mb
Links finally up. My connection blows like a legless donkey in the breeze.
An alternative to the above links would be poking around bittorrent sites, as there are still a few active torrents around as of this post.

Tracklistings:
OST 1
-1. Kopperia no Hitsugi (Ali Project)
-2. Les Soldats
-3. Snow
-4. Canta Per Me
-5. Corsican Corridor
-6. Ode to Power
-7. Solitude by the Window
-8. Romance
-9. Silent Pain
-10. Lullaby
-11. Melodie
-12. Chloe
-13. Whispering Hills
-14. Zero_Hour
-15. Lair You Lie
-16. Sorrow
-17. Salva Nos
-18. Kirei na Kanjou

OST 2
-1. Le Grand Retour
-2. Secret Game
-3. Fake Garden
-4. Les Soldats II
-5. In Memory of You
-6. Colosseum
-7. Salva Nos II
-8. Maze
-9. In Peace
-10. Despair
-11. Power Hungry
-12. Black is Black
-13. Canta Per Me II
-14. At Dusk
-15. Premonition
-16. Killing
-17. A Farewell Song
-18. Kirei na kanjou - Piano Version
-19. Indio

OST 3 (Noir dans blanc Noir)
CD1
-1. Red and Black
-2. Prelude
-3. Canta Per Me - Japanese Version
-4. Lullaby - Japanese Version
-5. Em More
-6. Himitsu Secret
-7. Salva Nos Dialogie - Remix
-8. Love
-9. Gensou Rakuen - Garden of Illusion

CD2
-1. Guest B
-2. Melody Salva Nos Version
-3. Jealousy
-4. At Dawn
-5. Black Society
-6. Family Affection
-7. Church
-8. At Ease

Yummy Yusical

2007-05-02T13:57:00.000+09:00

I don't know. I really dont. Blame Miss. Quyen.

And to think I actually planned to make a post every day, so much for that.
So what have I been up to recently... hmm.
Well with my friends mostly at uni, Fi sucking as usual and Rach being rach (yeah, no capital R for you), I'm just staring blankly out the window most the time. Alright maybe not quite.
I hope Dan's comp explodes. The other Daniel too, that way I don't have the inclination to smash my face against the screen everytime I see your msn window with 'help me' messages in it. Yeah you know what I'm talking about.

Mum's got a new pc, won't leave me alone cause she can't work it. As of today, she's still bent on thinking that the computer would go faster if it was the same colour as the keyboard/mouse. Shoot me.

(I think) I've applied for a job as a medical lab assistant thing, which pays well but the post has a ton of responsibilities. Guess we'll see how that goes.
And... that's about it. No really.
At least my pc's working again *tosses his laptop aside*.

Alex's birthday on friday, going up to Manchester. Should be fun.

Lucky Star, Gurren Lagann and Kaze x Stigma intial reviews to come soon... probably.

Now back to your drifting.

China - the photos you don't see

2007-04-30T17:54:00.000+09:00

I usually don't post links, but this really caught me.

Starcraft 2 on the horizon

2007-04-28T07:42:00.000+09:00

Well, guess what. After all the numerous false rumours and lead ups which previously fell through, the long awaited sequel to every hardcore strategist's old favourite is finally coming.
Set to be announced at the Blizzard's World Wide Invitational in Seoul this year on the 19th of May, so far there's been a confirmed addition of a 4th race, various new units, and heaps of changes to the old ones. Course it'll also be developed in full 3D.
No clue on the final release date though, so till then, strategy gamers will have to make do with the recently released Command and Conquer 3, which isn't a bad thing at all.
Not much else to say really, will edit this post after the conference.

Romeo x Juliet - Initial Review

2007-04-27T14:55:00.000+09:00

Episodes watched: 3 of ?

Looks like I finally got round to doing this series.
What first caught my eye about Romeo x Juliet was the quality OP; it's the best one I've seen in quite some time. I won't talk too much about that though, you can see for yourselves.

Although not really following the plot of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, this anime does borrow from the names, characters and some of the setting.
The story begins with the a flashback showing the house of Montague slaughtering their rivals, (can you guess) the Capulets. Not long after, you discover only one member of the family survived the attack (hmm wonder who) and after that individual's escape, the Montague family took over as the sole ruler of the city; Neo Verona.
Many years pass, and the sole survivor has still not been found by the military's best attempts.
A mysterious boy dressed in red has begun appearing as the hero of the city's peasants, fighting against the oppression which began with the fall of the Capulets, leaving the city in a state of gradually building unease.
With a certain someone soon approaching the age of 16, everything will soon be unravelled and the peace will be broken once again.
And so, a story of political struggle, romance and tragedy begins anew.

I was gonna do a more revealing summary, but decided against it. While none of the events at the start can avoid being predicted by even a half discerning eye, I think you'd be better off watching and finding out for yourself. If you're interested...
And you should be. This is overall a very impressive anime so far, with solid characters and very high quality animation.
Being able to pull off an anime based on the famous classic is no small feat, and to do it so well is something which definitely deserves recognition. The music is also decent, especially the OP as I mentioned earlier.
This new plot paves the way for more action scenes which would have otherwise been lacking/nonexistant if it followed the original Romeo and Juliet story, and this means even if you despise all of Will's works, you can still without a doubt enjoy this series.
There are a few jokes and quotes which may appeal to people who are fans of the original, but you won't be missing much if you aren't.
Another series I'll definitely be keeping up with.
Now we just have to hope the producers have an ace up their sleeves for the ending.
Verdict: Excellent.

Initial Rating: 9/10

Halo 3 - Leaked Beta Footage

2007-04-24T13:54:00.000+09:00

Wow, two Halo related posts within a few days of each other.
Anywho.
For all you Halo junkies out there, the video below is newly leaked footage from the Halo 3 multiplayer beta, featuring the map Last Resort which is clearly a larger remake of Halo 2's Zanzibar map.
You get to see the bubble shield, a new human vehicle and the various new incarnations of weapons in action.
Yeah, the music's annoying, don't ask.

Fairly good stuff overall, although I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks the Mongoose vehicle you see towards the end looks a tad retarded, and they could have put a more useful human vehicle in like a flying transport of sorts, but I shouldn't complain. I just wanted a bike. *cough*

I dunno how impressed I am overall though, as so far I can't help but think all the Halo 3 videos I've seen look like Halo 2 mods. I'm sure it'll be awesome anyway.
If you didn't already know, if you want access to the public(ish) multiplayer beta which starts on May 16th, the only remaining method for taking part is to get a copy of Crackdown.
Since the beta begins on my birthday, I guess I should add it to my wishlist.

Halo 3 Beta Leaked Video (Full 7 mins)
Uploaded by Arrogantics

El Cazador de la Bruja - Initial Review

2007-04-23T09:30:00.000+09:00

Episodes watched: 3 out of ?

I have to admit, I only began watching this series because I heard Yuki Kajiura was doing the music, and I was already in love with the ED single Romanesque.

Set in a world of sharpshooters, cowboy hats and scorched desertland, the plot follows Nadie, a young and highly skilled female bounty hunter with an unrevealed past, and Ellis, a mysterious girl who's family was killed when she was little.
Ellis has since been on the run, heading south for reasons unknown to even herself. The bounty on her head does not make her journey any easier.
When Nadie meets Ellis who turns out to be her target, she takes a liking to the strange child and decides to accompany her on her journey on the condition that she will allow Nadie to finish her job once she is done.
Before long, Nadie realises Ellis isn't your average runaway child when she leaps off a rooptop with ease and subsequently heats up another bounty hunter's handgun to the point of setting off the gunpowder inside without so much as merely looking at it.
There's a lot more to the past of both girls which is yet to be discovered as the two begin their journey to Wiñay Marka, the City of Eternity.

The animation is a standard affair, typical of what you would expect from Bee Train. Not too shabby but not overly impressive either.
I enjoyed the first episode but I felt the following episodes were a little bit slow. Not really surprising either, considering how both Noir and Madlax, the spiritual predecessors to El Cazador, didn't really pick up momentum till the later episodes.
The plot looks like it has a lot of potential, and the music is of course excellent in all fields.
I also like the lead characters in El Cazador over the ones in Madlax and Noir, but that stalker blond guy gives me the creeps (I swear if theres another scene of him in the boot of a car smiling maniacally I'm gonna have nightmares). Ignoring the creepy Fye lookalike, the random narration inserts are also a bit annoying.
Putting that aside I think it's not too bad, and definitely worth your time if you enjoyed Madlax and Noir. I know I did.
On the other hand if those two series' weren't to your liking, then I'd avoid this anime at all costs.
It sits on the line if you haven't seen either, but you might as well grab the first episode and see for yourself if you're looking for something to watch.
Verdict: Above average.

Initial Rating: 7/10

Halo 2 - New Map Updates

2007-04-21T04:08:00.000+09:00

In what is sure to be a part of Bungie's hype marketing plans for the lead up to Halo 3's release later this year, they've released two shiny new Halo 2 maps a few days ago. (17/04/07)

The maps are called Desolation and Tombstone, and you can download them as a pack together from ingame for £2 ($4 in the US).

Desolation and Tombstone are remakes of the original Halo 1 multiplayer maps Derelict and Hang 'em High, and I have to say they seem pretty decent.
I haven't played any real matches on either of them as they haven't been integrated into matchmaking yet, but they look to be solid improvements over the originals.
If you haven't played the original versions, Desolation is a small circular arena with 2 floors, and the more powerful weapons located in the center, with air vents and jump pads galore. Reminds me of Unreal Tournament for some reason.
Tombstone is a moderate sized 2 base asymmetrical map which might take some getting used to because of all the possible routes. The score points in the bases are at the top level, and long range weapons have a large advantage on this map.

A quick wander around shows they didn't just toss in the old maps after renaming them, they really are remade from scratch. Sometimes you have to wonder whether the sparse similarities in the maps really make them worthy of being called remakes at all.

Desolation

Tombstone

Are they that different? Well download them and decide for yourselves, cause I sure as hell ain't doing it for you.

Also, not remotely related, the Spring '07 Anime First Impressions post has been updated here.

Hirano Aya, and why she rocks

2007-04-20T05:36:00.000+09:00

Hirano Aya is an increasingly popular seiyuu (voice actor) from Aichi prefecture, who's casting in last year's anime hit "Haruhi Suzumiya no Yuutzu" made her exceptional talents known to the world.

Born in 1987, you'll notice this made her 17 when she voiced Haruhi.

Not stopping there, she was recently cast as Misa in the Death Note anime, and is the voice of lead character Konata Suzumi in the currently airing series Lucky Star.
Her past works include the voices behind important roles in other series' such as Kiddy Grade, Himawari, NANA, School Rumble, Busou Renkin, Eyeshield 21 and a handful of games too. She was also a member of the short lived band Springs between 2002 and '03.
All this has earned her quite a large fan following.

Now that you know who she is, what sets her apart from the masses of many other decent seiyuu?

Aside from her young age (she was 14 when doing Lumiere's voice in Kiddy Grade), and the fact she's adorably cute, more importantly she's really damn good at her job.
If you want to see a real seiyuu, then watch this Hey x3 interview and you'll see what I mean.

Watched it? Good. Her real voice gave me a heart attack the first time I heard it too.

If you're still not impressed, she was a nominee for 1st place in 4 of the 11 awards at the first Seiyu Awards held last month, and won the best rookie actress award.

Not settling with one talent alone though, she's also a brilliant singer. This was made apparent when she sang Haruhi's insert song "God Knows" (which was an instant chart hit), and other decent songs in the same role including the series OP/ED.
All of the songs stand out from your average anime pieces, and the fact they're all sung in her seiyuu voice is all the more impressive. If you're wondering why, then you didn't watch the video up there ^.

Insert song clip (YouTube).

And there you have it, my favourite voice actor. Go Aya.
Further reading at Ayaism.

FictionJunction YUUKA - Romanesque

2007-04-19T09:47:00.000+09:00

While taking a break from blasting out my eardrums with my recently acquired music, I just thought I'd make a mention of the new single Romanesque, another Yuki Kajiura and Yuuka Nanri collaboration piece.
Romanesque is the current ED theme for the anime El Cazador.

Why did I mention it? Because it's awesome.

I haven't watched El Cazador yet, but if you know me you'll know I'm an obsessive Yuki Kajiura fan, and this new single certainly doesn't disappoint. Both songs featured on the single are catchy upbeat pieces, although I personally prefer Yakusoku to Romanesque.

Tracklisting:
- 01. Romanesque
- 02. Yakusoku
- 03. Romanesque (without vocal)
- 04. Yakusoku (without vocal)

If you're a Yuki fan, check it out.
No really. Or I'll come kill you in your sleep.

Here's a sample clip of the PV on YouTube.

Layout Update

2007-04-19T06:55:00.000+09:00

Added a new rotating banner, and resized various elements here and there. Also did a bit of optimizing for load time since I'm putting up so many more images than before.

Oh and, if you're wondering why my banner images are full of headless people, you can blame the folks that created the cropping application known as Pixer. It's times like these that I miss Photoshop (mention Gimp and I'll jump on you like an angry ferret).

Curse my iBook G4.

Sola - Initial Review

2007-04-18T23:42:00.000+09:00

Episodes watched: 3 out of ?

As you can imagine, Sola has left quite an impression on me as I'm devoting a whole post to it so soon.
Not sure which genre to go for, the producers must have decided to toss a bit of everything into it. Scenes ranging from romance, comedy and drama to action should buy at least a little attention from potential viewers.

Sola's plotline follows Yorito, a small-town student who is known best by his friends and classmates for devoting most his time (perhaps too much) to taking photos of the sky. His obsession leads him into a strange encounter with a girl during the early hours of the morning while he was trying to capture a shot of the sunrise.
This would not be the last time they meet however, and the next night he learns her name is Matsuri and that she has a peculiar taste for tomato soup.
Things then take a sudden turn for the worse though, as several nights later he catches Matsuri at an old church, only to find her being attacked by a man wielding a sword and using light as a weapon. At this point I guess it became apparent to Yorito that Matsuri was no ordinary girl, and not just because she has a tendency to attack vending machines.

This sets the premise for a somewhat worn out storyline involving vampires and the such (mm tomato juice), but despite that I personally think that the series is well done enough for it to be worth taking a look at.
I feel the general dreamy atmosphere given off in each episode is great, and I find myself already fond of the characters introduced so far.
There's something about the underlying theme and plot which reminds me of Tsukihime, which is always a good thing. That and Matsuri rocks.
This is one series I'll be definitely be keeping an eye on this season.

Initial Rating: 9/10

As a side note, the short intro at the beginning of the first episode reminded me a lot of my random endeavours in Japan.

Edit:
Just what the heck is this sign supposed to mean?

Spring '07 Anime First Impressions

2007-04-18T03:52:00.000+09:00

Last Updated: 22nd April '07
A quick round up of anime I've seen so far, based on only the first episode. Screen grabs are from the first anime in the list.

*Note about ratings: Initial ratings are much less strict than my usual ones, given that I'm only going by one episode. Even if I gave an anime 10/10 on initial impressions it could recieve a final impression of less than 5.

Sola Initial Rating: 9/10 (Recommended)
Far exceeded my initial expectations for this anime, let alone first episode. I was hooked even before the guy with the sword showed up. Infact, Sola deserves it's own post. Will be following this one.

Darker than Black Initial Rating: 9/10
There's something about the overall drab feel of this anime that put me off, and I got a little bored. This is however just the first episode, and the storyline appears to be interesting. Will watch a few more before deciding.
Edit: Picking up.

Gigantic Formula Initial Rating: 7/10
A somewhat strange and yet still unoriginal idea; not that unoriginality has ever been something I've based judgements off. Very nice animation, and some nice ideas. I don't know what it is with the stupid names, but at first glance you'd prolly guess this anime involves mecha, and you'd be right. Will be watching at least a few more episodes of this one.

Heroic Age Initial Rating: 8/10
Speaking of originality, Heroic Age appears to have it in bucketfuls. Decent animation which is becoming the typical standard these days plus an intriguing plotline means I'll prolly be following this one too.

Ikkitousen Dragon Destiny Initial Rating: 6/10
A sequel to the original Ikkitousen, infamous for it's large chested fighting schoolgirls who must have gone through at least 10 wardrobes of school uniforms before the series end due to the tendency for clothing to tear off like paper while engaged in combat. Not much more to say really, if you're a fan of ecchi stuff then go for it. One noteworthy point is that the character design and voice acting have taken a turn for the better, although animation is still lagging compared to other new series'.

Naruto Shiipuden Initial Rating: 6/10
If you're an anime fan you've probably watched Naruto, and perhaps even dragged yourself through the filler season. Not much to say except it's more of the same. A little disappointing in comparison to the beginning of the first season, but I do like the way they've matured the characters without going overboard. I'm not a huge fan of Naruto anymore but I'll keep watching for the storyline.

Claymore Initial Rating: 7/10
I'm not a fan of the character designs, but it does appear interesting enough (gore filled too). Worthwhile to grab a few more episodes at least I should suspect. I'll decide my impressions later.

El Cazador de la Bruja Initial Rating: 8/10
Music by Yuki Kajiura, OP by savage genius, ED by FictionJunction YUUKA, and a situation with 2 girls and guns, a spiritual successor of sorts to Noir and Madlax, all created by Bee Train. Throw in a bit of pyrokinesis and what more could you ask for? Characters appear a little bit more exotic/interesting this round too.
Another anime I'll be following, might write a proper follow up eventually.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Initial Rating: 9/10 (Recommended)
I was originally gonna pass this one off cause of how childish it looked in the OP, but I'm glad I decided to watch the whole ep before coming to any real conclusion. Why, you ask? Cause it's wtf awesome. It's just as childish as it looks, but at the same time it's also hilariously ridiculous and weird, and I like the characters already. For some reason, it me of FLCL. Yet another series going into my watch list.

Murder Princess OVA Initial Rating: 8/10
And here we have another weird setting, although not quite as mind warping as Tengen Toppa. Quite an entertaining first episode, and the nice twist halfway through was rather uh... unexpected. Seems to be good stuff and I'm in need of more sword wielding chicks this season anywho, so I guess I'll be following this OVA as well (god damn it, so much for my precious hard drive space).

Seirei no Moribito Initial Rating: 7/10
Some very impressive artwork and animation here (best I've seen in a series) and good music too, but overall the events of the first episode didn't grab my attention much. I dunno why, maybe it just seemed a little slow to me. In any case, I guess it deserves a few more watchings, so I'll be getting a couple more episodes before I decide anything.

Lucky ☆ Star Initial Rating: 7/10
Well, apart from the OP being the largest collection of random words and phrases I've seen in a long while, followed by an awful lot more randomness in dialogue, I think this first episode was actually kinda appealing in a cute and comical way. Aya Hirano does a great job with the voice acting as usual too. Ugh, I don't wanna watch any more series'. Shoot me. At least the masses of everyday dialogue will make it easy to brush up on my Japanese while watching.

Kaze no Stigma Initial Rating: 6/10
Reminds me of Tokyo Underground and I actually have no idea why. I see a lot of potential with this series, considering the two main characters closely resemble the ones from a novel I was writing. Either way it looks like I'll be following this too, if not only because I usually enjoy this type of story.

Bokurano Initial Rating: 7/10
This series certainly appears interesting enough, but for some reason or other it didn't appeal to me so much as to make me want to continue watching it. The idea is novel quite novel though, and the first episode already opens up a strange world of questions to be answered. Just not my type of thing I guess. Reminds me of Uninhabited Planet Survive for some reason.

Romeo x Juliet Initial Rating: 9/10 (Recommended)
A very intruiging take on the Shakespeare classic indeed. Don't worry if you're not a fan of his works (I know I'm not), cause this is after all, a 21st century anime, not an 18th century play script. It's not as heavily based upon the original story as I had expected either. Not too sure about the character designs, I was however very impressed by the OP and GONZO's flashy animation. Looks like I've yet another anime to keep up with. I think it also deserves a follow up post cause of how cool it is.

Reideen Initial Rating: 8/10
I'll admit to not having seen the original series this was based off, but it looks like a solid choice if you're looking for another mecha anime this season (yep, another one). More impressive animation to be expected here. I'm still undecided about the rapidly prevaling useage of 3D animation in anime these days, but it's utilised fairly well in Reideen. Just about special enough to make me want to watch it on top of the other heap of shows this spring; it's worth a look at.

Sisters of Wellber Initial Rating: 8/10
An interesting first episode, for lack of a better descriptive word. I'm not entirely sure where this plot is going yet, but at the same time I'm not sure if I'm curious enough to find out. I do like the ED though, interesting style of music and character designs... a little less than typical to say the least. Also a fair helping of random nudity and sexual themes. Not too bad I guess, I'll put it on my watch-when-bored pile.

Pending:
Hayate no Gotoku
Rocket Girls
Idolmaster Xenoglossia
OverDrive
Les Miserables
Shining Tears x Wind
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS
Princess Resurrection
Touka Gettan
Nagasarete Airantou
Lovely Complex
Toward the Terra

While I have most of the pending series' on my computer, I don't know if I have the time or the will to watch all of them as I've already found enough candidates to follow for this season. Still, I'll edit this post as I sift my way through them. Do tell me if there are any of particular note which I've neglected to watch and/or missed.

Edit: Dear god the pending series' list is growing even faster than the heap of junk in the corner of my room. This is not good. Guess I better get a move on.

From beyond the grave.

2007-04-17T11:34:00.000+09:00

And so, the archives are up.

I know I said I wasn't originally gonna fetch any old journal entries and the such, but then I realised I might lose them eventually cause some of the ones I've just procured are from less than reliable hosting sources.

So, here they are (well, actually you'll have to dig a bit cause I dated them correctly).
They're all labelled with an "Archives:" header, and have been stripped of all original photos and links. But otherwise untouched.

Edit:
I've already been told I used to be funnier, I love you guys and your kind words.

Code Geass - Closing Review

2007-04-16T14:04:00.001+09:00

I'm going to try and make this particular blog a hybrid of sorts, consisted of a bit of everything. Be it personal or catering for an actual reader.
Not exactly a pioneering movement, but I'll do as I please.

And... with that said, here's my first anime dedicated post. Probably not my last either.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Did you read that? Good. Glad you didn't. Now onto the anime:

Code Geass Final Rating: 9/10
Season One: 23 eps aired, 2 left (Summer) Season Two: Confirmed

Episodes watched: 23 out of 25

I'm sure this anime which was widely hyped long before it's final airing on Japanese TV may have made it's name known to your ears or perhaps even your DVD collection by now, but I felt it was worth a mention.
I know it isn't quite finished yet, but I think episode 23 was enough of a finale for me to write this early. You can expect a follow up post regarding the proper end of the series.

The story, set in an alternate world, follows a young man who was once an heir to the throne of the great Brittanian Empire.
Cast away by his father, the story begins with Lelouch hiding in Japan as it comes under invasion by his father's attack.
Still feeling a deep hatred for his family for not being able to save his household from an attack that killed his mother and serverely injured his sister, Lelouch has a chance encounter with a mysterious young woman who bestows upon him a power known as Geass. Combined with his strategic genius, he finally has the chance to take his revenge, and on an unexpectedly large scale at that.
Lelouch's Geass gives him one-time-only absolute control over an individual's mind through eye contact and verbal command, but as he develops his powers, it becomes apparent there is much more to it than a simple mind trick.

Well, that's the first episode down anyway. The storyline is definitely one of Code Geass' strong points as an anime, not that it is really let down by anything else. The animation is superb, and character designs are top notch, courtesy of the infamous CLAMP.
They didn't hold back with the action either, as the well animated battle scenes and interesting mech designs will have already caught the eyes of many fast paced anime enthusaists.
Soundtrack does not stand out as much, but it does the job. The only gripe I have with the music in general is the choice of OP and ED themes.
The series gets more and more addicting as you watch the characters make their way through the plot's many twists and turns, with surprises around every corner which keep you guessing on the edge of your seat.
If you're looking for an drama/action/mech anime, with injections of comedy and quality production, then look no further. Even if you're not, I'd advise giving this one a shot. Especially if you enjoyed the likes of Death Note and Gundam Seed. Highly recommended.

Edit: Regarding the DVD specials, which are short unanimated clips with narration, they're worth watching if you're a fan but you're not really missing anything otherwise. There are some interesting tidbits of information about the past of certain characters though, and abundant fanservice in 3.5 should be noted.

Waiting for the pictures to load?

2007-04-16T12:12:00.000+09:00

Well, there aren't any.

So, I've sorted out the template, kinda. We'll see how it rolls anyway.

I was gonna throw in a few noteworthy posts from previous journals and such, but then I noticed how different I've become since I wrote them, and decided against it. Funny how I wouldn't have realised otherwise.

Anywho, more changes to come I should expect. The foremost reason in my wanting to make a blog out of nowhere was to document my supposed upcoming migration to Japan. I say supposed, because it's still in the works.
Never the planning mastermind, I've left it a little late considering I want to be gone by October, but we'll see how it goes.

If you didn't already know, I spent an enjoyable 6 months drifting about in Japan on a volunteer project not too long ago, which is what has tilted me into wanting to move there permanently; or at least study there and make my decision therein after.

Hopefully keeping a blog will help me stay in touch with people, and give me the chance to record my general perspective on things as it'll inevitably mold itself to suit my next life.

If you have any suggestions or problems with the layout, drop a comment.

Early Morning, Black Coffee and a Blog

2007-04-16T10:03:00.000+09:00

I've never been really been fond of blogs.

Maybe it's because I always saw it as one of those trendy things which I'm always geared towards disliking by default, partly cause I'm stubborn and perhaps partly because I'm an idiot. Who knows.

With that said, I'm noticing that recently half the sites I browse in my spare time or even when I'm simply looking for information are just that. Blogs.
I guess this has finally opened my eyes as to what I've been missing out all this time.

If you know me you'll know I'm far too lazy to make regular (or any) posts to online journals and their ilk, but maybe I'll enjoy having somewhere to vent my thoughts for once. Maybe. Or maybe it'll be gone with the coffee.

For now it remains an experiment. The clock reads 2.03am, and it all started with me wanting to know how much crap (see right) I could plug into this thing.

P.S. I know it looks terrible at the moment. Don't get me started on that flickr badge. The Gamertag doesn't exactly fit either. No, I won't stop complaining.

Delusions of a Caffeine Addict

2007-02-28T03:52:00.000+09:00

"No, you're right. I'm not a caffeine addict.

Still, somewhere between the numerous coffees I've consumed in the past several days, someone would surely have had that thought cross their mind, as they passed by that one comfortable seat in the corner of the Roppongi branch of Tully's at around 2.30pm and noticed me seated with a book and a table littered with empty paper cups.
...or at least they would have if I were not in Tokyo, where the masses of people are buried in their expensive coats, hiding away behind their passive faces.
Watching these people hurrying to catch their next train or bus which brings them all closer to a nervous breakdown had become daily routine as of late.
The suited monkeys bustling around the concrete jungle around me would keep me amused for a shortwhile when my eyes would tire of the reading.

Daniel left for England 2 days ago, and since then each day I've been burying myself in books in various cafés around Tokyo. It's odd how you can enjoy something so much yet know you'll never do it again out of sheer sloth. Or maybe I'm just exceptionally lazy.
This was one of those times, and although I feel the hours spent wading through these 4 books were well spent, I doubt I'll create the time for it when I return.

Watching the world outside the window on the 2nd floor picking at my Irish Mug Cream, I felt strangely at home in a place that couldn't be further from.
To my left would be an interview of a supposed famous writer. That much I had picked up from their latté driven interrogation of the strange looking old man with large square glasses. The rest of the tables were occupied by sweet scented young ladies, briefcase wielding businessmen and the elderly women in the opposite corner. Leafing through the pages of my book seemed to equate to turning a giant wheel which continually drove people in and out of the coffee shop, replacing a red scarf with a green one, a face plastered in make up to a face plastered in more make up, and all the time simultaneously pulling the sun behind the towering buildings outside.

My thoughts drifted to Takayama; how many of those odd people I came to call my friends would remember me when I make my promised visit in three and a half years time? That aside, how many of them would remember me if I returned in three and a half months? I felt a quiet envy for the next volunteers who would quite literally be taking our place in every sense of the word.
Would the people at the hospital still be there; would Marika still be working or would she have pursued her dream in Osaka?
Irrelevant things, I said to myself, as I bit into my spicy pepperoni and cream cheese sandwich.

I had absolutely no intention of returning.

A bad habit of mine was losing myself in my music, wandering through the crowded streets as though I was stepping over an endless photo reel of people carpetting an empty corridor. Perhaps this lead to the illusion I wasn't lonely; a problem shared by most if not all lone travellers who find themselves in a foreign country.
Not even sure if I was homesick, where I was homesick for, or whether I simply enjoyed this freedom; either way I knew when it ended I'd be losing something. This trip would be something I'd miss greatly, even before the rose tinted glasses slid into place in my mind.

With my flight in little over a day, I'm surprised at myself for not making better use of my time. Then again, as I doubt I'll ever be reading again anytime soon, maybe there's nothing better I could possibly be doing.

A waft of wind drifted up from upstairs, upsetting the receipt I had left on the table, sweeping it off the table. After watching it drift to the floor, I sat back, enjoying the jazz music in the background.
Casting my eyes down again, I turned the page to the next chapter."

Photos of Japan on flickr.

Edit:
For the love of god will people stop asking me what I was sniffing when I wrote this. I mean, it was obviously the coffee beans.

Archives: THE anime list.

2007-01-01T21:00:00.000+09:00

Yep. Everything I can remember.
First up we have all the anime that I've watched and really enjoyed. This is by no means a list of absolute favourites, but I can thoroughly recommend watching any of them.

Midori no Hibi
Area 88
Air Gear
Azumanga Daioh
Death Note
Dennou Coil
Chobits
Devil May Cry
The Third
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutzu
Full Metal Alchemist
Black Lagoon
sola
.hack//Dusk
Code Geass
Gunslinger Girl
Noir
Shaman King
Bleach
Flame of Recca
Kanon 2006
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien
Onegai Twins
Read or Die
Samurai Champloo
Shingetsutan Tsukihime
Samurai 7
Battle Angel Alita
Wolf's Rain
Tenjou Tenge
Gundam Seed
Gundam Seed Destiny
Basilisk
Blood+
School Rumble (S1 and S2)
Haibane Renmei
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Kiddy Grade
Uchuu no Stellvia
Gantz
Get Backers
Trigun
Hellsing
Vandread (S1 and S2)
Tokyo Underground
Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu
Full Metal Panic: TSR
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Kaze no Stigma
Lucky Star
Claymore
Murder Princess (OVA)
Appleseed (movie)
Hoshi no Koe (movie)
Spirited Away (movie)
Howl's Moving Castle (movie)
Ghost in the Shell (movie)
Ghost in the Shell: Innocence (movie)
Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho (movie)
Metropolis (movie)
Akira (movie)
Grave of the Fireflies (movie)
Nausicaa: Valley of Wind (movie)
Laputa: Castle in the Sky (movie)
Princess Mononoke (movie)

Next up, we have the rest of them. Every single series and movie I can remember watching in my lifetime which didn't make the above list for whatever reason.

Ai Yori Aoshi (including Enishi)
Chrno Crusade
Full Metal Panic
Naruto
Naruto Shippuden
Onegai Teacher
Da Capo (S1 and S2)
Digimon (all series')
Pokemon (all series')
Card Captor Sakura
Divergence EVE
Digi Charat
Aquarian Age
Love Hina
DNAngel
E's Otherwise
Eiken
Elfen Lied
Escaflowne
El Cazador de la Bruja
Dragonball (original, Z and GT)
Darker than Black
Seirei no Moribito
Code E
Madlax
.hack//Sign
.hack//Liminality
.hack//Roots
D. Gray Man
Final Fantasy Unlimited
Full Moon wo Sagashite
Galaxy Angel (S1, S2, S3)
Gatekeepers 21 (OVA)
Gokusen
Guardian Hearts
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (S1 and S2)
Bakuretsu Tenshi
Green Green
Grappler Baki
Hikaru no Go
Honey and Clover (S1 and S2)
Happy Lessons (S1 and S2)
Initial D (all seasons)
Inuyasha
Ikkitousen (S1 and S2)
Genshiken
Angel Heart
Fate/Stay Night
Inukami
Mai Hime
Fruits Basket
Mai Otome
Mushishi
Pumpkin Scissors
Shinigami no Ballad
Romeo x Juliet
Reideen
Soul Link
Suzuka
Tsubasa Chronicle
NANA
Heroic Age
Gigantic Formula
Soukyu no Fafner
RahXephon
Hayate no Gotoku
Kanon
Karin
King of Bandit Jing (OVA)
Last Exile
Maburaho
Mahoromatic (S1 and S2)
Mezzo DSA
Monster
One Piece
Peace Maker Kurogane
Ragnarok the Animation
Rozen Maiden (S1 and S2)
Scrapped Princess
Shadow Skill
Star Ocean EX
Shura no Toki
Triangle Hearts (OVA)
Uninhabited Planet Survive!
Busou Renkin
Demonbane
Gundam Evolve
Gundam X
Gundam Wing
Gundam Seed CE73 Stargazer
Mobile Suit Gundam: 08th MS
Ichigo 100%
Excel Saga
Macross Zero
Tokko
Trinity Blood
Kannazuki no Miko
Tsukuyomi Moon Phase
Witchblade
XXXHolic
KoF Another Day (OVA)
Memories Off (2nd, 3.5, 5th)
Solty Rei
Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto
Speed Grapher
Starship Operators
Tenbatsu: Angel Rabbie
Tenchi (Muyo, Universe, Tokyo)
Night Head Genesis
Ouran High School Host Club
Pia Carrot (S1 and S2)
Pretty Cure
Utakata
Xenosaga the Animation
Yakitate!! Japan
Zegapain
Final Fantsy VII: Last Order
2x2 = Shinobuden
Beck
DearS
Disgaea
Erementar Gerad
Ergo Proxy
Girls Bravo
Gun x Sword
Scry.ed
Hellsing Ultimate
Melody of Oblivion
Himawari (S1 and S2)
FLCL
Yamato Nadesico Shichihenge
Yumeria
Witch Hunter Robin
Pokemon (movies)
Digimon (movies)
Naruto (all movies)
Bleach (movie)

Phew. And the worst part is, I know I've prolly missed a couple dozen out. Oh well.
If I can be bothered I might add ratings to everything listed above, but that may very well kill me.

Archives: Random Japan Facts

2006-11-07T19:53:00.000+09:00

Facts about my trip in Japan so far:

Random fact 1: I've eaten more raw fish since I've been here than any other meat combined.
Random fact 2: Japanese food isn't filling so I keep eating so much that if I wasn't going to the gym so often I'd look like a giant cushion.
Random fact 3: My room looks like... well it looks like an accident.
Random fact 4: I've been pretending not to speak English when tourists ask for directions.
Random fact 5: My chinese name is written on the side of oolong tea boxes/bottles. Go figure.
Random fact 6: I fell off my bike and into a bush which turned out to have cash in it. Go figure.
Random fact 7: I accidently punched a patient with a canular box. Go figure.
Random fact 8: I dunno how to get a haircut properly here cause my Japanese is patchy, so I guess I won't be getting one.
Random fact 9: Powdered green tea, red bean paste and whipped cream flavour Kitkats are the nicest things ever created by man.
Random fact 10: Never, ever order the large size beer for just yourself in restaurants.
Random fact 11: I can sing the Titanic theme song better than I can sing Green Day.
Random fact 12: General formula for working out a Japanese person's age (between 10 and 40) from their looks, take a guess and double the number, then subtract 5. For example, if they look 10 they're 15 and if they look 40 they're probably about 75.
Random fact 13: Related to the above, I've been told by a drunk nurse that I look over 25. Joy.

Archives: Observations

2006-09-24T09:22:00.000+09:00

Things I've noticed about:

Japan
-Weirdo traffic light system
-People eat less fish than I imaginged
-People are less formal and strict as I imagined
-People like assuming I'm Japanese
-People are way too conservative
-Ovens are rare
-Washing machines use cold water only
-Climate is a mess, you only have to go a few hours to be in a different weather zone
-Circle K, Lawsons and Family Mart are generally better than Timely and Seven Eleven (rival convenience stores)
-There are too many shops selling the same thing
-International public phone calls are ****ing expensive
-Most people use mobile phones, few houses have home phones
-This place isn't as internet reliant than I figured it would be
-Cars here are ridiculously small
-Everything here typically has a Japan-only variant which is cheaper, better built and just generally better

Takayama
-Weather is crazy
-Theres a lot to do when you look
-People remember who you are
-Bikes and cars have equal priority on roads
-Retarded layout ie. rice fields randomly all over the place
-It's almost joined to the other towns nearby cause it's so spread out
-Too many festivals in this area
-They serve vinegar as alcoholic drinks here (and no, it wasn't remotely nice) along with many other weird drinks like alcoholic royal milk tea and pretty much anything, with added alcohol
-There's a local dialect (which I'm trying to learn)

General
-I'm so behind on everything, eg. new albums from my favourite artist and I had no idea
-People are disappearing to Uni and I'm not there to see them off
-I'm eating junk food everyday
-I have no idea where my money is coming from but I keep spending stupid amounts and I still have loads left (I hope this lasts)
-I keep visiting the local electronics store too often
-My previously planned activies are actually gonna fall through cause I didn't take into account the snow
-Because of the above, it seems I'll be taking up ice skating, skiing, snowboarding and indoor sports instead
-I keep spilling drinks and food onto my bedsheets
-One of the hospital staff assigned to looking after us usually doesn't understand a word we say, and as a result she typically nods and smiles as if she understands eg. a question, and then just walks off
-Going to the local gym is a pain
-Doing anything here is a pain, like sorting my trash into 5 bags

Archives: Kitsune Matsuri

2006-09-24T06:53:00.000+09:00

Kitsune Matsuri, Furukawa (Fox Festival)

Okay so I've been slacking with entries, but I figured most people were too busy to read them these days so I'll wait till theres interesting stuff to read about before putting them up.

Right, so earlier today we went to the fox festival thing in a nearby town (about an hour away). There were way more people than we expected, and we ended up following them around cause they seemed to know the festival route (had to follow the festival to different places all over town), guess they must be locals. There was the long walking parade at first, with people dressed up and carrying flame torches etc.
Main segment of the parade was the cart thing that had the fox maiden in it. The part was being played by a young girl and I felt sorry for her cause I noticed how she was squinting cause of how many people were blinding her with flashes from their cameras. She was being pulled around for almost 2 hours and there must have been over 1000 flashes going off in her eyes. Oh well.
While chasing the parade around, some paths people took were incredibly narrow and lined by weird fish canals all over the place. One guy fell in, it was awesome. Then again I almost broke my camera taking a shortcut. It involved jumping off a high wall. Whatever.
Afterwards we visited the stalls while the parade made itself to the stage.
At the stage they played out the traditional story which involved some pipe fox thing fighting the fox king or w/e, who was defending the fox maiden. This was after some marriage between the king and the maiden.
Lots of dancing and fancy lights, was good but we were at the back and couldn't see much, let alone take decent photos.
At some point during the night we got our faces painted, and cause Helen pestered I went back to get my camera before taking the bus. Photos will be up when I can be bothered, theres hundreds to sort through.

Archives: Treasure Hunting

2006-09-14T18:32:00.000+09:00

Nah, we didn't go on a treasure hunt.
I just got bored and decided to root through one of the drawers in the back of the cupboard in my apartment. Sure was a treasure trove in there. I had a quick look before and took a few useful things, but after going through it properly (and noticing how far in the drawers go) I found a ton of stuff:

Stationary (books, paper, markers, pens, wrapping paper, gift wrap string, glue, scissors, rulers, rubbers, pencils, drawing pads)
Guide Books (too many to list, recent and useful ones, about 15 of them)
Japanese text books (the same ones they teach us with, theres a stack in here)
Dictionaries
CDs (compilations made by previous volunteers, and some random cds as well as a suspicious looking music cd with a naked woman on the front)
CD player
Travel adapters
Another hairdryer
A volunteer written guidebook to life in Takayama, with loads of photos, maps and teaching us how to use stuff in the apartment and how to get to places + a few other things. Wish we found this earlier.
Bags and bags full of books
2 electric blankets
3 duvets
2 huge blankets (ok, it gets cold here, we get the idea)
2 hot water bottles (...)
Spare pillow (w00t, it's now been demoted to my foot rest)
DVD player + various DVDs
Snow gear, and I mean heavy snow gear involving hooks and all sorts
Other random crap I can't identify
Various photos taken by previous gap people
Death

In other news, had a medical check up today.
Blood tests and the such.
Fun.

Japanese lessons still going well.

Also had a taste of what some of the more tedious tasks here will be like, ie. changing sheets, duvet covers and pillow cases around the hospital.
This hospital has 500 beds, go figure.

Went over to my partner's apartment earlier for food and to hang out. Had some pasta (his family is italian, so he's a good pasta chef), and alcohol. Usual stuffs.
Played checkers (got owned), chess (close win) and darts (another close win).

Throwing away rubbish here is the most tedious thing ever. There are 5 categories of trash, and you have to separate everything. Recyclable things need to be washed out thoroughly before being thrown away. Bottle caps go in a diff category to the bottles, and too much packaging here is all fancy with half plastic, half paper and a bit of metal, so you end up sitting there and disassembling stuff.
So far I've just put stuff into 2 bags (combustable and non-combustable), and I haven't cleaned out or taken anything apart *cackles*
I wonder if they'll moan at me when they come to collect it (theres also a complicated timetable describing what days they collect what bags, and you have to label the transparent bags with some stickers they handed us at the city hall).

If anyone wants a good idea of what it's like here (the atmosphere and feel, as well as what it looks like), then watch Beyond the Clouds (Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho). This place is really similar to the one in the movie, only slightly less rural. You'll know what I mean by the sky feeling high up and what not.

Archives: Two weeks later

2006-09-13T18:08:00.000+09:00

So, it's been 2 weeks since we touched down at Narita.

Weather's taken a sudden dip - instead of the heat that greeted us when we first arrived, it's now almost uncomfortably cold (especially during the night) and with constant rain.
Gonna go out for drinks later, maybe if we're lucky the rain will take a break. It's been raining non-stop for more than 2 days now.

Got lost again the other night, wasn't a bright idea going into an unfamiliar part of the city in the middle of the night while holding an umbrella which obscured my sight. Dunno why I even took the umbrella since I managed to get soaked anyway.
All that just to buy a new frying pan and cleaning stuff.
*shrug* found where all the schools here are at least.

We were told the other day by one of the hospital staff that the temperature difference between night and day can be desert-like during the winter, with 15 celsius during the day, and minus 15 at night. He also mentioned how snow sometimes reaches shoulder height. Sounds fun.
Japanese lessons are going well, some teachers push you quite hard but that's a good thing.

There's something I've noticed while I've been here, it's been on the edge of my mind since I first arrived and I've only really just put my finger on it.
I'm not killing time. (gasp)
Back in the UK, everyday just seemed like a wait for something more important or more interesting. I spent my time each day waiting for the next time I had something planned on the calender - going out with friends, college, holidays and other events. All I was really doing was trying to find a way to make my wait a little less boring.
While I have stuff planned on the calender over here (too much if you ask me), each event is more of a stepping stone rather than a milestone in the horizon.
No more trouble sleeping, cause I'm actually tired by the end of the day.
Nightly bike rides around the vast surroundings after the daily 8.30am to 4.00pm schedule keep me occupied while almost all the people here are friendly and likeable... it feels as though I'm actually living life rather than walking past it.

Well it all sounds kinda weird but hey, I could get used to this.

Archives: Hospital Japanese Lessons

2006-09-12T16:03:00.000+09:00

This time I really can't be bothered to write a proper entry.

The teachers are random hospital staff, each one teaches completely differently. Some hardly speak English, some conduct lessons entirely in English, others just sit there pointing at words and translating them.
Lessons start at 8.30 every morning in the hospital library, and end at 4pm with a 2 hour lunch break inbetween. Picking up loads, although so far we're just sifting through the basics and I'm just refreshing my memory. I want to start studying it properly in the apartment so it's easier to do stuff.
Gonna find a gym and some local clubs to join. Want to pick up aikido again, and karate as well as some random cultural crap like tea ceremony lessons to make the most of it.
Cycling last night = getting lost. Spent about 6 hours on my bike in the dark going around creepy looking rural areas. Also went in a straight line out of town at about 10pm to see how far I could get. Got to a petrol station in the middle of nowhere at about 11 and decided to head back.
The 3rd teacher we had was cool. Most of the lesson was just chatting in English, he wants to introduce us to a lot of girls around our age and he was talking about how he liked girls with big racks. No comment.
Anyway I stayed quiet *cough* - although he did say that getting a Japanese girlfriend is the best way to learn the language by far. I don't like the idea, and besides I'm only here for 6 months.
We gave him our emails and he's gonna contact us for nights out and joining some local sports clubs.
Apparently he knows a lot of single good looking girls. Hmm.
Raining right now, want to out again when it stops so I can buy an electronic translator and some other junk.
Gonna try and go out to the local bars and stuff more, and head to the cinema later to see what's on.
Oh and if you're wondering why I'm making so many entries, I wanna get stuff out of the way before I forget about them.

Archives: Takayama Red Cross

2006-09-11T17:52:00.000+09:00

Quick update, too lazy to make it a proper entry.

We did some administration work this morning, registered for alien identity cards etc.
Got ourselves some local library cards, but unfortunately, the libraries look pretty crap. Maybe if I'm desperate for something to do I'll rent out some Japanese manga which I can't read, or some of the small collection of English novels. At least theres net there if for any reason I have to stop thieving from my current source.
Went to a really really cool traditional Japanese tea place. The whole place was made out of Japanese cherry oak, had tatami mats and an awful lot of artwork and decorations. Each room had a view of the central oriental garden - should have taken my camera. Had some green tea ice cream which was surprisingly nice.

Noticed how there really aren't many people who speak any English whatsoever. Your typical Japanese person knows about 5 words, and a few of them know 1 or 2 phrases. I think I've seen 4 people altogether that are fluent, one being in Tokyo, the rest being hospital staff. About 10 people know some phrases, and the rest... well nevermind.

Afterwards we were taken on a tour around the hospital, given some name tags and such, introduced to some people and then promptly pwned when they told us we were to attend a board meeting and introduce ourselves with a speech.

Well actually, while I hate speeches with a passion (or anything that involves standing up infront of an audience), I was sorta looking forward to it as a means to make use of my Japanese.
My partner was a bit apprehensive, but he wrote a fairly good one using textbooks.
The speeches were met with a fairly load clapping so I guess we did ok. We had the option to do all or bits of it in English, but that's for lame people.
Here's my final speech if anyone's interested (I had a rough draft which I went through with Mei beforehand):

Konnichi wa minna-sama
Hajime mashite
[insert bow here]
Watashi no namae wa Yin desu
Jyuu hachi sai desu
Watashi wa Igirisu kara kimashita
Ima wa kagaku o benkyo shiteimasu
Shashin to dokusho ga suki desu
Sore ni, supotsu o suru no ga suki desu
Budo to badomintonu ga suki, saikuringu ga daisuki
Takayama wa totemo ii tokoro desu
Sugoku kirei desu
Ima wa kono basho ga sugoku tanoshii desu
Eto, minna sama dozo yoroshiku onegai shimasu
[insert longer bow here]

I don't think it's too bad for something I pulled out of my head almost entirely (Mei helped with a few bits). Well, if you ignore how disjointed it is (I mean, count the desu's lol).
We didn't know it was gonna be a massive executive board meeting though, otherwise we wouldn't have put our interests and hobbies in such detail *cough*

That reminds me too, I have to write my name as "in", cause since it's a foreign name, it has to be written entirely in katakana, and there isn't anything in the katakana "alphabet" that allows me to write it properly.
There's also the problem with people pronouncing my name. Never thought it was so hard to say Yin Lee - Indee isn't quite right, and neither is Winry.
Shut up.
What's prolly worse is, the nurses seem to have taken to calling me In-chan (they don't call my partner weird things, goddamnit, I blame you, whoever you are reading this).
Stfu.

Anyway.

I'm starting to get along with my partner pretty well, and he's learnt a bit of the hirigana/katakana so it works pretty well in that I can only speak it and can't read anything, while his speaking and pronounciation is a bit off but at least he can read signs and stuff.

Oh and I've finally seen a proper Japanese toilet. It's somewhat disturbing in that it appears to just be a hole in the floor with water running through it.
Now I know why they specifically mentioned how we had western toilets in our apartment.

We also got paid today (paid for nothing mind you), 50,000 yen a month, which is pretty good since we don't need to pay for much aside from 2 meals a day and general living equipment. Also changed over the rest of my money into yen, which brought me up to 69,000 (about £350) in total as far as my funds for Japan are concerned.

Was slightly cooler today, so me and my partner decided to go on our bikes down to the nearest "home center" for some stuff (maybe it also had something to do with the fact we got paid today, hmm). Ended up buying a bathroom mat, disposable gloves, giant cushion for sitting on and some other stuff.
Found that one of the local shopping centers houses a McDonalds (this must be one of the rare large places in the world where McDonalds hasn't taken over)
There's also a coffee shop here called Mr. Donut.
No comment.

Funny enough, the main shopping street in the city (looks like any other street, but whatever) has jpop playing constantly throughout the day, and since it's also sheltered, it's become a frequent part of my cycling route. Just gotta dodge the people, but the school students seem to frequent it a lot, and there are tourists around which I can actually speak in English with.

Damn, ended up being a proper entry after all.

Next weekend we've been invited to go to Shizuoka to watch the Red Cross Baseball finals, which is where hospital baseball teams around Japan compete against each other, and our local hospital is a finalist. We aren't really interested in the baseball, but Shizuoka is a fair distance away and we get a free trip + a nights stay, so hey, why not. The guy who invited us hates baseball, but he goes with the team to get drunk lol
I like him.

In other news, my wifi signal seems to be much stronger today for some reason or other, so less cutting out.
Must be the weather.

Oh and it turns out this "Pink House" I'm staying at is aptly named, cause, aside from the walls, it's originally meant to be an apartment block for female nurses.
Hmm.
Well I'm not complaining too much *cough*

Looks like the rest of this week and the next consists of mostly Japanese lessons (4 subjects a day with different hospital staff each session).

My room's also descended into an incredible mess already, hope no one pays me a surprise visit. Right now the floor is a mess of books, towels, cushions, clothing, boxes, empty plastic bags, random bits of rubbish, papers, documents, speakers, camera bits, some random boxes, random food, used wrappers, envelopes, remote controls, stray luggage, my bag and etc. I think I actually like it like this, makes the room an awful lot more cozy and welcoming - a lot more like a home if you know what I mean.

Trying to get photos back up, should be there by the time you're reading this, but who knows.

Archives: Japan, stuff

2006-09-09T19:52:00.000+09:00

I had a lot to say, but then it took so long to get on the net that I forgot almost everything.
So anyway, if I disappeared randomly on msn before, it's cause I ran out of 100 yen coins and the machine booted me with a 60 sec warning message that locked the computer pestering you to add more if you want to continue the session.
I need a mobile phone but getting one is a pain, using public phones is just as bad cause I have to dial a load of prefixes and it costs loads, I think 100 yen lasts for around 20 secs, 100 yen being around 50p.

I'm in Takayama at the moment, living in an apartment called the 'pink house' (quiet) cause of the colour of the apartment. It's fairly nice, has everything I need etc
I quite like it, it's small but feels like a home rather than a hotel room.

A lot of people mistake me for being Japanese, and while it's nice to fit in, I don't like how they give me "are you retarded" looks when they say something and I dunno how to reply

Weather's really hot and humid, but it's gradually getting cooler, looking forward to the heavy snow and such.
Dug up some snow gear in the cupboard, I wonder if it really gets that bad
There always seems to be a moody looking cluster of clouds around in the sky too, which is great as far as my photos are concerned, if I don't melt first
I'm taking 2-4 showers a day just cause the sun freakin cooks you when you go outside during the day
Night time isn't so bad

TV kinda sucks, most the shows are either really weird or really boring.
Cars here are tiny, it's just weird looking at these little box shaped things all over the place, and all of them are either white, black or red.
There are vending machines all over the place, some of them talk to you, and you can get by using nothing but vending machines.
They aren't too expensive and you can get everything from hot meals, iced coffee to batteries and towels.
We went to a lot of traditional bars and stuff, which are really cool. The attendants and barkeep are always really friendly and polite, and they actually use the traditional accents and such.
I can see myself going to the 100 yen shops often.

Hmm let's see... the journey to Takayama was pretty good, it was just a 5 hour coach ride but it was pretty scenic. Went round mountains, gorges, valleys, lakes, cliff edges and all sorts to get to where I am.
Takayama is awesome though, it's just the kind of place that I'd like.
They gave us a pair of bikes to go around on, and cycling around here is nice. There's random photos of the place on flickr, most of which were taken on my bike so they're probably pretty badly framed.
This place is huge, it's more of a big town than a city though. There aren't any skyscrapers whatsoever, and everything's really spread out and far apart.

The hospital staff are really nice and friendly, they took us out for a sorta welcome party thing, with an 8 course meal and lots of alcohol. They'll be taking us sightseeing and teaching us Japanese before I start work on the 25th.
Oh and my mobile phone has no signal here, so don't bother.

Me and my placement partner have to cook and buy food ourselves, wash up and clean etc, so we really are living by ourselves (well, apart from that we've agreed to share everything we have between us). It's kinda weird but I'm really loving the freedom. As long as I'm not working, I can do whatever the heck I want whenever I want to.
To be honest, I've never really had to do ALL of the cooking, cleaning, shopping, dishwashing, clothes washing, keeping things tidy etc. ALL of the time.
Call me spoilt, but I can't see myself being the same person when I get back. I dunno, I think I'll miss being lazy.

I was tempted to go ride off out of town, cause this place is surrounded by mountains, fields, rivers and such, and I could prolly get quite a few photos in. I'll probably do it at some point before it gets too cold.
Speaking of which, I think I'll buy a bike cause the one they supplied me with is kinda falling apart. It's not too bad but I don't think it's good for regular use - grocery shopping and whatever.
There are a few small department store style shopping centers dotted around, so at least I won't have a shortage of places to buy stuff I need. The 24hr convenience stores are useful, and the layout of the town makes it pretty easy to get around despite how big the place is.

I'm on my laptop at the moment, sorta huddled in the corner trying to make the most of this useless signal (yeah, I'm stealing someone else's internet, sue me).
I dunno how long I can leech off this network for, but for now I'm gonna end this entry cause I'm in an akward position.

Edit:
I think one problem that's already popping up is after my exploring, I've realised how little there is to do here.
My spare time will probably be spent on bike rides, TV or just sitting here listening to music or the sound of kids playing down the road for the next 6 months, with the occasional going out for drinks. There are night clubs and stuff, but neither of us are really interested (although I guess it's fine when you're drunk, and there are quite a few Japanese people that go to them - maybe later)
I wouldn't mind living here, but when I'm old, grumpy and half dead (fine, grumpier, and more dead), but right now it's way too idyllic for me.

Theres also a morning market every morning, where hundreds of people set up stalls along the river and sell their junk. Pretty good for gifts I think, might take a proper look down there when I can be bothered.

Todo list:
-Buy washing up liquid, cooking oil, fan, wifi signal booster
-Work out how to send mail back to the UK
-Exchange rest of my UK currency

I wonder how long my stolen internet will hold out, before they notice me
Photos may take a while to get back up, cause I keep losing my connection to the net halfway through uploading (cursed wifi signal, at least have a better transmitter so it's easier to steal access, darn Japanese people)

Archives: Japan, Tokyo

2006-09-08T11:26:00.000+09:00

Japan: Tokyo

Sep. 8th, 2006 | 03:26 am

This sucks, I'm typing with a keyboard where the apostophe is Shift + 7, and the spacebar is the same size as a normal letter key. Had trouble logging in cause my username had an underscore in it and it was like finding a needle in a haystack. Go figure.

Anyway as of now, this as of now is gonna have crap punctuation, cause i:m on a timer

Let:s start from the top

Leaving (god damn it can:t even find the damn hyphen) -

buggered off at 7;30 in the morning to head off to the airport
got there and was exhausted
what was waiting for me was the following;
- searching for my partner and checking in (time taken; 40mins)
- my hand luggage getting refused cause my camera was too big, so they gave me a carrier and i repacked (time taken; 20mins)
- requeuing up for check in (time taken; 30mins)
- queuing up for 1st security check (time taken; 50mins)
- finding people again (time taken; 10mins)
- boarding but getting stopped by more security and crap (time taken; 45mins)
- sitting on the plane like an idiot for the duration of the flight cause some dude had the need to turn his light on and off when it was sleeping period (time taken; 11 hours 20mins)
+ additionally, i almost died trying to eat the crap they were feeding us on the plane, and no one sat next to me on either side so i actually had room for once

- arrived in tokyo narita + security + etc + meeting up (time taken: 1 hour 30mins)

we headed off to the youth hostel in iidabashi in a coach, at which point i was about ready to collapse as i was tired by the time i arrived at heathrow and hadn:t actually slept since

guess what, it was 9am in tokyo and we had a full day ahead

check ins at youth hostel, running around, eating a crap lunch, going to akihabara and then collapsing was what followed

youth hostel was pretty nice though, all things considered
i mean, it:s still a youth hostel but hey
food sucks, beds suck but at least theres a really really good view as we:re on the 18th floor

just noticed that i have 4mins left and i:m out of 100 yen coins
curse you, you stupid machine that only takes 100yens

anyway today i went to uh shibuya, shinjuku, some meiji shrine, tokyo city etc
most of which i had to do alone cause my fellow volunteers like lazing around in the youth hostel
surprised i made it back considering how everything is overly complicated and large
oh and shibuya rocks, it:s like walking through up a pinball machine when you:re there at night, cause of all the lights
just minus the pinballs maybe

there was also this awesome traditional bar where it was very ... traditional
dunno how else to describe it but if you watch a lot of anime you:ll prolly know what i mean

weather blows, it:s hot and humid in tokyo like it was in hong kong
it:ll be a lot nicer at my placement apparently, but we:ll see

gah 1 min left, guess i:ll cut it off there for now
leaving for takayama at 8am tomorrow, 5 hour bus for takayama from shinjuku
i:ll see if i can get back on the net at some point

Archives: Return from HK

2006-08-25T20:33:00.000+09:00

So I'm back.

Yep, got in 6am this morning.

I was gonna do a quick summary of my trip but... instead, I'm going to moan about the flight home.

Well before the flight itself, there was that whole terrorist crap so we thought we weren't allowed hand luggage. Then we were told we weren't allowed eletronics, and in the end it turns out everything was actually normal for our flight.

Then on the actual flight, it was one of those fun overnight long haul trips where you're in a seat surrounded by kids.
The kids that have screeching contests all night long and mothers which gave up trying to keep them quiet and just sat there pretending they were asleep.
Not that anyone in the cabin was really asleep though, as you could hear the constant sighing and shuffling around in seats - and as if sleeping in a cramped chair wasn't bad enough, the crying and screaming made me wish at one point in the night that the plane would crash and put us all out of our misery.
To help things along though, the woman in the seat behind me liked getting out of her seat every hour for this 12 hour flight, and in the process she managed to eliminate any remaning chance of me falling asleep by elbowing the back of my head rest on the way out, sending my face fowards and dangerously close to slamming into the reclined chair infront, complete with hard tv screen.

But yeah, wasn't so bad.

Archives: Battle Royale (manga)

2006-05-02T01:22:00.000+09:00

Speaking of waf... zombies, I've been reading Battle Royale. Some good graphic (to the extreme) violence and hardcore sex, if you're into that kind of thing.
S'about a bunch of high school kids taken at random to participate in an illegal but well operated/kept under wraps survival show.

Not exactly like your reality TV show crap mind you, cause it's real. Not that the viewers know, or they'd probably spew while watching people get torn apart by various weapons.

The kids are shown wandering around a fairly large evacuated island with a randomly assigned weapon (ranges from forks and boomerangs to uzis and shotguns) trying to kill each other because, after 3 days, if more than one of them is found alive they all have to bite the dust.
To turn the heat up, various parts of the island are tagged offlimits every now and then, ie. students that wander into them have their neck collars explode taking their heads off with it.

Course there are those who play the game, killing their friends and classmates, and you have the few good guys who try to band together and find a way out of it through various intricate schemes which mostly, unfortunately fail for whatever reasons.
And then theres those that just plain snap and you get these wonderfully well drawn disturbing pictures and scenes of that happening.
Plenty of twists throughout though mind you, and while the ending is a good one, it's not as "happy" as you might like.

Before each person gets popped off as the body count rises, you're given a lengthy and well done background to the character, and certain main characters are very well developed. Nicely done to the extent you gain a certain affinity for them... till they bite the bullet that is. Certain spectacular individuals make things more interesting, with your martial artists and cold blooded genius' thrown into the mix along with some seductress that's not quite sane.

While insanity/death takes them one by one, you get various romances and friendships formed during the fight for survival. Morals and such go out the window and mistrust leads to killing the wrong people at times. All while you see the workings of the human mind unravel under the extreme pressure throughout.
Theres even this nice announcement every now and then, telling the remaining survivors which of their previous friends and classmates have been eliminated. Nice of them, no?

I'm not a fan of the style of artwork particularly, but it's detailed and well drawn enough for you to see the horror and emotion on each page.

All good stuff really, surprised I spent the 10 hours in a row reading all 15 volumes (yeah it does tend to grab you).

Archives: Ordering a Subway sub

2006-04-27T19:01:00.000+09:00

A guide brought to you by one hungry student.

So, if you're like me, and one of the only reasons you get up in the morning is for food, then you might head to Subway for lunch and get say... a 6" Italian BMT on hearty italian bread with pickles, olives, jalepenos and lettuce, with bbq and mayo sauces to finish off with and maybe double cheese if you're in the mood.
A grand total of £2.60 or £2.80 if you opted for the cheese (you fat bastard).

Well ordering all that is fairly straight forward, but the key thing is this; how much of the extra salads are you really getting?

After countless mornings/lunchtimes spent ordering sandwiches, I have come to realise there is one perfect way to get whoever is behind the counter to pile on a ton of whatever the hell you want on your sandwich besides the main filling.
This secretive but effective technique goes as follows.

Firstly, when you go in, make sure the queue is fairly small or non existant. This is so they don't overly rush your sandwich.

As you walk up to the counter, give them a nice warm smile (stop imagining me doing it. stop it right now.) and ask for the sandwich you want in a nice and friendly way while keeping it polite.
Next comes the salad bit, but the key here is making it appear you're in a rush.
Don't ask me how, figure that out for yourself, but the reasoning behind this is (and this is where the smiling/being polite comes in) if they're forced to rush your sandwich they're likely to either put too much or too little on.
Now we're aiming for the too much which is why it was important you made them like you when you were first walked in.
And there you have it, a slightly messy but hopefully rather well filled sandwich for the same price.

Course this might not work as well as it does if the local Subway here didn't go through new staff every week for some god unknown reason, but whatever.

Oh and guess what, someone hurt their arm glomping me (sucker).

Archives: Mai Otome

2006-04-12T19:50:00.000+09:00

It has to be said.
I really didn't want to watch Mai Otome because I wasn't exactly a fan of Mai Hime, but I got a bit bored recently and decided to obtain the whole series.
I mean, even if it was utter crap, at least the soundtrack was done by Yuki Kajiura (if you know me you'll know I'm a crazy fan of her work), and the music she did for Mai Hime was the one redeeming thing for the original series as far as I was concerned.

And the point? well, I have to admit I liked the series. A lot too.

Not because of their half assed attempt at fan service or the cheesy (to the extent of just plain stupid at times) fighting, but because of the characters, character development and the way the overall story wove together as the anime progressed.
Nothing original here, but it was done (extremely) well for a change and it was nice to see.

I won't do a synopsis cause it'd be hard without spoiling things, but basically it's a sequel to Mai Hime but in an alternate universe setting, so the characters are only the same in appearance (although they kept their major personality traits intact for the most part). The only reason I said it's a sequel is because you can tell you were meant to watch the original first to really appreciate a lot of the aspects in Otome.

For the record, it has the feel of a kid's show a lot of the time, and lot's of people think it was a terrible anime. Shoot me.

Archives: Why Zombies Suck

2006-03-24T06:39:00.000+09:00

Part I

To all the zombies out there; you guys suck.

What's probably worse than a zombie is a movie about zombies, or more to the point; people getting killed by them.

Let's get down to business:
How do you get yourself killed by the equivilent of a vertical slab of decomposing meat that's moving so slowly at you it might as well be going backwards (hitting/impaling yourself with one doesn't count).

I've seen legless donkeys blowing in the wind going faster then zombies.

What to do if you see a zombie coming after you -
1. Sprint in the opposite direction for a good 5 minutes and stop.
Chances are you can stay in that spot for the rest of your life and die of old age before the zombie catches up.
2. If it does manage to catch up to you without decomposing first (we're talking the Linford Christie of zombies here), just give it a good hard poke in the ribs. This will most likely cause the zombie to meet it's end through falling apart.

What not to do but always happens in movies -
1. Run in slow motion only to trip over that pesky thin air that came out of nowhere. Then proceed to stare in horror at the slab of meat moving at you until it gets to you and starts eating your brain.
This = death.

2. Run and successfully not fall on your face, but lock yourself into a car or basement or other immobile death trap. Now just sit around (for what's probably in reality a few days but typically a few minutes in movies; think teleporting zombies) and wait for your friendly neighbourhood ghouls to show up and start slamming their faces against the windows.
Now add in some panic and congrats genius, you've succeeded in slow painful suicide, or homicide, if you decided to bring the wife and kids with you.
Good going.

Basically, zombies = lame.

That means you Ben.

Meanwhile, amuse yourself trying to build a marshmallow gun here [link]
Defend yourself from those zombies today, all you need is a few tubes and some marshmallows.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part II

I'm sure you all remember my rant on zombies before? and surely enough the insanity continues.
Partially sparked by what I ate earlier while watching a Japanese zombie movie; while munching I had a brilliant idea:

Have you ever thought about the supposed domino effect of going back in time, modifying something tiny and insignificant and it having a major effect many decades later?

Well how about if someone went back in time and slapped the guy who invented the idea of zombies with a giant blueberry waffle.

Maybe then, we'd have movies like Dawn of the Waffles and Death Before Breakfast etc. instead of this zombie crap we have to put up with.

Sounds good to me, and besides, a vibrating waffle would prolly move quicker too, so you get less of the waiting and more of the action... whatever that might be.

And you know what else, instead of the common mix up between zombies and ghouls, you could instead have the savoury potato waffles versus the sweet dessert waffles.

Ahh life would be so much better.

Have a nice day.

*throws a waffle*

Archives: Random Quote Library

2006-03-13T12:40:00.000+09:00

A very outdated but still vaguely amusing list of quotes from yours truly, and recorded by me and my friends. As per requested.

----------------------------------------------------

[04:51:38] Yin: cant find any rabbits on there
[04:51:51] Yin: gonna die from lack of squashy looking rabbit syndrome

[19:22:59] Mei: well
[19:23:05] Mei: he has the green laser pen
[19:23:09] Yin: steal it
[19:23:12] Yin: blind him with it
[19:23:14] Yin: and then run like someone stuck a sharpened baguette into your behind

(20:05) Donut: dude you sound like a muffled ferret down a gutter being stabbed by a needle

[19:23:12] Yin: no really, stop before that chair gets revenge for you tripping over it
[19:23:16] Yin: chairs are lethal when provoked

[23:38:38] Bob Dole: lol u got owned donut
[23:38:42] Yin: owned like your face

[06:07:31] Tithe of Dep: omg hahah oh damn thats so ugly
[06:07:58] Tithe of Dep: hahahah
[06:09:24] Yin: joe i thought i told you to stop playing with that mirror
[06:09:29] Yin: you might hurt yourself

[01:55:12] Yin: run away
[01:55:15] Yin: before i strike you down with this used tissue

[07:05:34] Yin: you spiderman wannabe
[07:05:40] Tithe of Dep: hahahah
[07:05:51] Tithe of Dep: dont make me kill you with me webs
[07:06:06] Yin: joe thats a spoon
[07:06:13] Tithe of Dep: lies
[07:06:18] Yin: like your face
[07:06:43] Tithe of Dep: you called my face a spoon?
[07:06:49] Yin: that's not what your mom said
[07:06:50] Tithe of Dep: WTf is up with you nubcakes
[07:06:59] Yin: like a fox
[07:07:09] Tithe of Dep: WTF
[07:07:12] Yin: pwned
[07:07:19] Tithe of Dep: I swear you guys say anything
[07:07:32] Yin: that's a mirror
[07:07:50] Tithe of Dep: see like that
[07:07:54] Tithe of Dep: Randomness
[07:07:59] Yin: that's not what your face said
[07:09:21] Tithe of Dep: ok...you go play with yourself cause you and
mei get on that "I make no sense but its sense to me"
comebacks
[07:10:06] Yin: like your mom

[23:07:22] Yin: oh
[23:07:26] Yin: did you get to the part where
[23:07:30] Yin: that girl gets sliced up
[23:07:33] Yin: that was good
[23:07:53] The night sh: lol i just seen the fisrt couple of secs
[23:08:35] Yin: ohnoes my arm
[23:08:38] Yin: ohnoes my other arm
[23:08:40] Yin: ahh my leg
[23:08:42] Yin: noo my other leg
[23:08:43] The night sh: i still downloading it
[23:08:50] Yin: then she was still alive
[23:08:52] Yin: and survived somehow
[23:09:03] Yin: after just being this stump with a head

[00:19:30] Yin says:
*stands inside a fridge*

[23:45:48] The night sh: how dam you
[23:46:01] Yin: i rulez0rz teh intarweb
[23:46:13] Yin: lo0l!!!11!
[23:46:23] The night sh: lol
[23:46:23] Yin: ph33r my 1337ness
[23:46:46] The night sh: nope
[23:46:52] Yin: damnz0rz j00
[23:46:58] Yin: b3n

[19:26:59] Yin: oh
[19:27:05] Yin: brb while i die then

[21:35:19] Yin: heh not really, but there's enough butter in this shortbread biscuit to make anorexic people fat just by looking at it

[01:50:05] Yin: if you're bored, pretend your face is a hammer and hit it against a nail
[01:50:18] Yin: well, it worked for the last guy i spoke to at least
[01:50:25] Yin: never heard from him again

[20:24:23] Yin says:
your hedgehog looks like a foot rest