ELFINPIPER

221... B

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 07:40:07 GMT

On House Wiki, there is a list of the similarities and differences between House and Sherlock Holmes, and I just found "Sherlock would read the 'Agony' columns in the news paper" (note: newspaper as two words) listed as similar to "Greg usually watches 'General Hospital' or plays video games etc."

??? Obviously, whoever wrote that has no idea what an agony column is. The closest similarity I can find is, General Hospital pertains (albeit vaguely) to House's profession, like the agony column pertained to Holmes's profession. But even that's a stretch. GH is more about romance and tragedy than actual medicine anyway. HAH.

It's much closer to a difference, like "Sherlock hated popular lit and yellow-back novels" is different from "Greg usually watches 'General Hospital' or plays video games etc."

I also dislike "House has been considered a coward and doesn't really care" as a difference. Holmes and House are both very brave. I don't know where this person is coming from; House has down cowardly things, and has probably been called a coward by somebody, but he is brave.

Another quibble: Toby listed as Holmes's bloodhound. I believe he belonged to someone else and Holmes didn't own him. They certainly didn't keep him at 221B. But the similarity between Toby and Steve McQueen was actually well noted.

There's some interesting stuff there though.
Really looking forward to the Holmes movie!! The previews look great. Funny. Thrilling. Not even too much hinted on the romantic factor. Only a few weeks left!

帰りたくないのに

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 14:26:12 GMT

Guys, I'm coming home.

Bye bye, Miss American Pie

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 02:32:50 GMT

So in about six hours... I'm on my way to the airport to fly to Japan.

:O !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And yeah, I'm still sick. Nose running like a leaky faucet. -___-

But I managed to pack everything in one big suitcase (plus the carry-on), and it turns out flights to Japan give a very nice overcharge for checked luggage over 50 lbs. So it's all good.

I'm SO worried I'm forgetting something though. D:

Waking up at 4 am. G'night. Wish me luck.

because I haven't talked about Holmes and Watson in a while.

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 05:56:34 GMT

I wish Edward Hardwicke got more love :( I know he has fans, I just haven't heard much from them as of late. I see lots of David Burke fans - which is fine, I like Burke a lot too. But a lot of people seem to say they dislike Hardwicke because he looks "too old." He really, really doesn't. His hair is pretty gray, sure, as opposed to Burke's healthy brown, but his hair color certainly didn't impede his portrayal of the character, or Watson's energy and spirit.

Burke portrayed Watson as an optimistic, kind, naive, even gullible character. His Watson was, dare I say it, cute. He's basically the equivalent of Vitaly Solomin in the Russian series. I love watching him. He has a great smile and his relationship with Holmes is fun and enjoyable. The number one thing I disliked about Burke was very superficial - I hate his voice. There's something about it that turns me off. Partly it's how he draws out and over-enunciates every word, but that's not such a big deal. It turned me off from him for a while, but these days I really appreciate him as a great actor for Watson.

David Burke left the series to spend more time with his family. He was the one who recommended that Edward Hardwicke replace him. Hardwicke had appeared in the series previously, I forget as which minor character. It's always tough to come into a series taking the place of another well-liked actor, but Hardwicke did it marvelously.

Yes, he looks older. Does that affect his performance? Not a bit. If anything, it adds to his character. In comparison to Burke's, Hardwicke's Watson is wise, dignified, courteous, and much more in tune Holmes's moods. That's only natural considering his episodes come later in their relationship. (Burke's Watson had some great "tuned in" moments with Holmes too - I'm thinking of "The Dancing Men," when the two of them realize at once that Elsie Cubitt is in danger, and they both turn and dash for a hansom at the same time.) Hardwicke's Watson is much more of a realist. Sometimes, he's even more cynical than Holmes. (Which I actually think is more true to his character - Watson tended to prejudge, but he wasn't always idealistic about in his judgments.) He makes up for Holmes's improprieties, and he's got plenty of energy - chasing criminals, looking after clients, investigating on his own, etc. And he's playful. He's adorable in "The Cardboard Box" when he gleefully tries on that giant poncho-thing for bike-riding in the rain, which Holmes gave him for Christmas.

This is also a post-"Empty House" Watson. He's watched Holmes die. The person he thought most invulnerable in the world appeared to die, which caused his worldview to crumble a little. Sure, it turned out Holmes was alive and well the whole time, but that doesn't mean the damage was undone completely. I think Watson must have realized that as dependable as Holmes is, you never know what turn events may take, so you also have to be able to depend on yourself. That's why Hardwicke's Watson comes off as more of an independent party.

The relationship between this Watson and Holmes is sophisticated and grown-up. When Burke was with the show, Holmes and Watson were always on the move, a pair of daredevils, and poked humor at everything. When Hardwicke came along, the show took a darker turn overall. Part of this was because Jeremy Brett's disease progressed quite a bit, until by the Memoirs he was looking quite ill and his movements were limited (though what he accomplished was still impressive). That also contributes to how Hardwicke is portrayed to fans, because the mood is less playful and therefore harder to engage with.

But that doesn't make the later episodes bad. There are many moments which I love - gems that really dig into the characters of Holmes and Watson and their relationship. I'd say there are even more in these episodes. Which is actually canonically accurate - Holmes's stony exterior cracks just a little bit in the later adventures. We also see him struggle with a lack of energy much more often than in the earlier stories (if indeed he ever flagged for a minute in those early days!).

Bottom line - Hardwicke's Watson was very thoughtfully crafted, and portrayed expertly. He's my favorite of the two, much as I love David Burke's bright smiles and wit, and I wish other fans could appreciate him at least as much for his merits, which are different from Burke's but by no means inferior.

まだ１週。

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:03:49 GMT

来週、日本にいます。

キャアアアアアアアアアアァァ～！！！　Σ（￣Д￣;）

わくわくしている。（TTｖTT）　この夏休み、早く消えたって感じ。春学期が終わったばっかみたい。（そうね？）

やっぱ旅行は難しいんだな。飛行機嫌いなのに、１７時間旅行していく。　ｗ（；u；）ｗ　かばんは２つだけど、重そうだ。持ちたくないよ　（＾０＾；）

ところで、どっちの山に登る？決められない。岩手山は大きすぎるけど、日本に弱いことをしたくない。でも、９時間に登るから、それもしたくない。じゃ、姫神山がいいかな？それは４時間だけ。いいでしょう？

とにかく、ホストファミリにホントに会いたい。実は、かんなさんは弟の同じ年齢じゃない。最近１８歳になった。私と年齢が近いね！

．．．あぁあああ夏休み、終わらないでください！

あっ、思い出しました！美香さんのお友達が作った俳句です：

「夏休み
ああ、夏休み
夏休み」

いぃいいいでしょう？！　　♪(￣U￣*)

Writer's Block: I May Be Crazy

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 22:51:32 GMT

What does this Rorschach blot look like to you?

View 559 Answers

A crazed pug.

August 1st, 1999! 忘れないー忘れられない！

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 03:40:30 GMT

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, YOU GUYS. YOU MADE MY CHILDHOOD THE SWEET.

from http://michishirube.tobiiro.jp/ko/ma-003-12.html

>3

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:55:47 GMT

I just reaized I have to go through O'hare on both the departure and return trips. BAAAAAAAAAAAAW.

留学していく！

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 05:49:13 GMT

やった！ホーストファミリーについてのメールが来たんだ！うれしい～

ホーストのお父さんは力（つとむ）さん、医者として就職します！お母さんは敦子（あつこ）さん、ピアノ先生として就職します！そして姉妹は２人！大学生のつぐみさんは２０歳！（きゃあ、年齢が同じ！）高校生のかんなさんは１７歳で、大学に入るために、よく勉強しているらしい。

へんだね、私とつぐみさんは２０歳、そしてかんなさんと私の弟は１７歳。めずらしい！

ホーストファミリーは音楽が大好きだそうだ。ラッキー！つぐみさんの大学わ東京であるから、会うことはあまりないでしょう。そしてかんなさんは勉強しなきゃから、仲良くことは大変だと思う。ちょっと心配している。多分前の留学生は私より独立なタイプだから、私はうるさいやつになっちゃうかな？緊張してる。

だってがんばらなきゃ。大学の友達、会いたいわ。日本に行く前もう一度会えたらよかったな。残念。みんな、私のことを忘れないでね。

ホーストファミリーへの手紙を書かないと！挨拶をしよう！

lawl

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:54:31 GMT

... I went to that slogan generator, and generated on for Edward Elric. I got...

"Does the hard Edward Elric, so you don't have to"

... I died inside

仕事がなかった週、終わった。

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:09:11 GMT

もうすぐ日本に行きます。

今日、「Certificate of Eligibility」やVISAの指示が郵便局に来たんだ。（遅かったじゃない？）じゃ、月曜日にJapan ConsulateにVISAを送る。

ドキドキしてる。　（＾＿＾；）　ホーストファミリーはまだ何も知らない。子供がいる家族？年上のひとがいる家族？とても元気なタイプ？よく働いているの？

ホーストファミリーの写真を送ってくればいいと思ってます。

昨日、焼きうどんやおすしや餃子を食べた！お母さんが払ってくれた。おいしかった！そしてその前、指の爪を塗った。じゃ今は蛍光オレンジ爪　＝D　かわいいでしょう？後で絵をアップロードしていく。

…日本語って難しいよね　(T_T) 勉強を続けようううー

celebrities are messed up

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:00:26 GMT

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/us-magazine-megan-fox-bay.html

Pffft, I think they're both full of it.

And what kind of BS is that - "she's 23, what does she think she knows about acting?" She's an actress. LMAO. How dare a pretty young (grossly overhyped) actress have an opinion. Kids used to respect their elders' enormous egos.

It sounds like I'm defending Megan Fox but I couldn't care less about her... That "She's 23" comment just blew my mind.

obsolete dating tradition?

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:01:28 GMT

I guess these days it's still generally expected that men will pay for a woman's meal or movie ticket, etc., at least on the first (or first few) dates. I've also seen it suggested that whoever does the inviting to a date, should be the one to pay. That makes sense to me. Or, I mean, I could live with it. But it's still worthless if the other party doesn't want you to pick up the tab. It doesn't seem like a gentlemanly or ladylike thing to do, in my opinion, if it makes the other person feel uncomfortable.

The whole idea behind a man paying for a woman on a date comes from Ye Olde Rituals of Courtship, when a woman didn't always have her own income, or at the very least it paled in comparison to a man's wages. So yeah, it makes sense for a man to pay for a woman... she wouldn't be going out at all otherwise! It also proves that he can support himself and another person - definitely a great quality in a husband.

The issue is, these days, young people aren't necessarily dating with the intention of finding their spouse. They are probably dating for fun, and if they happen to get a spouse out of the deal, lucky them. And gender does not indicate who makes more money either. Women work equally to men now. In general, women make 80% of a man's pay for the same job. But if a woman who is an attorney dates a man who is a P.E. teacher, who do you think probably makes more money? Does that mean she should pay for him? There are probably relationships that work that way, which is great, just don't make it an obligation.

I've talked about this with my mom, and she says that men will feel like you've stripped their masculinity if you don't allow them to pay for the date after they've offered. I want to say, "Seriously?" But I guess plenty of guys must feel that way. Is it a leftover illusion from that obsolete tradition? Maybe it makes them feel like they're being gentlemanly, in which case I have to say they're darn cute. Even so.

If the girl wants to pay for herself, what is the big deal?

Obviously I'm not big on paying for your date. If I have to consider how he'll feel if I say no to his offer to pay for me, then he should also consider what reasons I may have to decline. If it makes him feel like a gentleman to pay for me, but I say no, then he should find another (better) way to seem gentlemanly. Because honestly I don't think paying for a meal or a movie ticket is really all that impressive.

I have an exception. If it were some kind of ritzy date that he's planned out on his own, then I would consider it gentlemanly if he paid for it. Because, since it's his plan, I'm not necessarily going into it prepared to shell out a lot of money. So if he picks up the tab, I'll be very grateful, and will have an easier time having fun that way.

But on a casual date, to a restaurant or to a movie, I don't have that expectation. If I go out with someone, if they ask me out and I've said yes, then that means I want to spend time with them just as much as they do with me. And I'm ready to pay for my half equally. In fact, I prefer it that way, especially in the first few dates. At that time, we're still two independent beings. I've made no commitment. We're testing the waters, and giving me money isn't going to do a thing to win my affection.

I'm not saying at all that this is how everyone should look at it, or that I don't understand why other people feel differently. Or that I don't appreciate it when a guy makes the offer, because it really is very sweet. I appreciate all of that. I just don't see why my opinion isn't just as valid. I want to pay for myself, and it makes me uncomfortable to be paid for. This isn't just restricted to dates either.

I guess when I think about a first date, I see it as a friendship with the potential of becoming a relationship. Even if I've only known the person for a short time, don't consider them more than an acquaintance, and the date is definitely a move in the direction of a romantic relationship. I still want to feel like I've got some freedom, some wiggle room, and I do that by paying for myself. Then it doesn't feel like I'm obligated to have a good time. I know that sounds awful. And I've never had a bad time on the date. Few as they are, they've been quite fun and I don't regret them at all (except for my own awkwardness, of course! ;) ). But if someone pays for me, then I'll feel bad if I don't end up liking them. So let it be a friendship until we're both convinced it's a good idea to take the next step.

When that happens, if one night he says, "Hey, how about I pick up the tab?" I'll say, "Thanks so much! And how about I pay for dessert?"

MOAR art!!!

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:05:36 GMT

This is the product of like two weeks of work... and the background is still crap beyond crap :( I have never seriously tried to paint a background. Will work harder. But, I still love it, if only because it took so long.

linkage

:D

on languages.

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:15:15 GMT

I'll never understand why, when someone writes something in a different language, people insist on plugging their comment into an online translator and then posting whatever crap the translator spits out in that language.

It never works. Online translators are so fallible, it's crazy. Yet I think most kids with an interest in a foreign language and access to the Internet are guilty of doing it.

It's hypocritical of me to say so, because I've also done it in the past.

Granted, I was a kid, and newly studying Japanese. But I would plug random words into a Japanese translator, with no background knowledge of grammar structure or anything, and then post something like 「これは私はを愛するだよね」 with no idea that it's just so funky-sounding. I didn't do it a lot a lot before I was seriously studying Japanese. After that, I only used online translators to do my best to confirm my own logic, which of course didn't often work anyway, but at least now I wasn't relying on them for answers. And every student of a foreign language wants to try to communicate in that language, even with deficient skills - because how else do you ever become fluent?

Nowadays, when I post in my journal in Japanese, I'm well aware that there are plenty of grammar errors. I may be an advanced-level student, but all that means is that now I understand better than before that Japanese is a complicated, really hard to learn language. I think only total immersion would help (too bad I can't study abroad for a whole year! It'll be such a shame if I ever switch my major to Japanese Studies and have already used up my study abroad opportunity >.<). But I'll continue to write in Japanese, here and elsewhere, because I'm practicing and people can only point out my mistakes if I make them in the first place.

But at least that's done with the intention of learning. At least that's more than just trying to give the impression of being "cool" because you know a "trendy" foreign language. Which is what I think people are often doing when they try to deceive people by using online translators. If you plug a phrase into Google Translate or some place, you'll get an intelligible translation, but most likely it's gonna be a really awkward read. The more complicated the phrase, the more errors there will be. I've seen people plug entire poems into these translators, and then publish them in the Foreign Language categories of fictionpress.com and elsewhere. Who on earth do you think you're fooling? A few kids will see a bunch of random characters and say "Wow, they know Japanese!" But anyone with even a remote knowledge of the language will be able to figure out you're faking. And then your respectability goes down the drain.

It's really not "impressive" to know a foreign language. Understanding a language you didn't grow up speaking is the result of many years of practice and dedication. It's so belittling to the people who have worked hard to get where they are when people treat languages like they're fads. Languages document a culture's history. If you observe the evolution of a language, you'll basically be able to follow a biography of that country. Things like art, music, and language all mark places where major events happened which resulted in a changed way of thinking, and therefore new priorities. This isn't just Japanese. It's every language - some more than others - English definitely included. Just think about this: Classic English novels are wordy, with a lot of exposition, and long texts of reflective narration. Modern novels use clipped sentences with a kind of spice or bite to them, move the plot along faster, and long Tolkien-esque paragraphs of description rarely ever win an editor's approval. Why the change? Maybe because, in the time of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Virginia Woolf, reading was the form of home entertainment. Nowadays we have TV, computers, video games. Sometimes it's hard to find a place to stick in reading a book. We're an "instant gratification" era. So books have to be pithy in order to fit in with our schedule. This is just one reason out of many, but you can clearly see the relationship between cultural evolution and language.

So when someone abuses online translators to make themselves seem "smart" because they "know" a foreign language, it shows an absurd ignorance to the effect language has on society. But I've admitted to doing it when I was a kid. And I think most people guilty of it also did it during childhood. The number one goal of most children is to be accepted and admired by their peers, who make up their whole world, regardless of how much they claim to understand that the world is much bigger than their school system. If being able to write all your friends' names is katakana makes you an interesting person, then why would you worry about how silly it'll all look to you when you're an old geezer of twenty?

It bothers me a lot to see this on the Internet, but there are a lot of things kids do on the Internet which bug me. Many of them I also did when I was a kid. It's just ridiculous to try to fathom why kids do what they do, or to hold them accountable for it. (Not for everything, but for these minor indiscretions; really, anyone could say I'm just being oversensitive.) Everyone's just trying to be accepted.

And, to be honest, if some kid from a country where English is not the spoken language were to comment on my blog, and say something like "This is as for me to love yes," I would be thrilled. I would want to encourage their interest in learning English. Assuming they actually have any and aren't just pretending to look "cool." But I would still be thrilled. So I guess there is a bit of a double standard. I wonder how much native speakers find it annoying when silly kids with no knowledge of their language inadvertantly abuse it. I've never had that experience. As English-speakers, we're really pampered. (Even though so many people complain about immigrants in the U.S. working jobs that require them to speak English which they don't know. I try to be understanding, out of empathy for how difficult it is to learn a language.)

But honestly, I would love to meet a kid who really wanted to learn English because s/he loves the language. Sometimes people ask me what reason I could possibly have for wanting to become fluent in Japanese. Is it for my career? Do I want to live in Japan? Well, if my career could involve Japanese, that would be grand. I don't particularly want to live there but it would be nice to be able to visit with ease. But neither of those are the reason. It's not to be able to understand anime/manga either, although every fandom groupie gets slapped with "weeaboo" the second they admit that not only do they love a certain anime/manga, but they're also learning Japanese. (Seriously guys, there doesn't have to be a connection.) And if that fandom groupie is using their learned Japanese to try to understand anime/manga, it doesn't make them a weeaboo either. It seems like a lot of the fandom world hasn't realized that as far as imported Japanese literature goes, manga's basically all there is. So if you want to practice your skills, that's what you have to do. Heck, even textbooks use manga-format to enhance reading comprehension.

But as I was saying, reading manga was not my reason either. I often tell people, when they ask, that my reason is I had a Japanese friend in third grade, Miho, who inspired my interest. That's kind of true; at that point I already loved languages, and was trying to teach myself Spanish. I switched my goal to Japanese by fifth grade. But it's still not the whole truth. The whole truth is I just love the Japanese language. It really is that simple. I love both the traditional and pop culture of Japan, its music, its fashion, its art - but all those things I learned about as a consequence of studying Japanese. I loved the language first. I really don't understand why people don't think that's a good enough reason. Why does anyone do anything?

Bottom line, if I'm oversensitive or pretentious, it's only because I love Japanese and it's been difficult getting even as far as I am. I still have a long way to go. I'm sick of seeing "weeaboo" and "japanophile" bandied about like anyone with an interest in cultural anthropology (because that's what it is!) is just in it for superficial reasons. There is some truth in the stereotype that kids learning Japanese are just anime fans half-assing it, because Japanese became the trendy language to learn after anime became really popular outside of Japan. The kids who are using online translators to fake their fluency are probably this type. But who cares where you got your inspiration? The people who really love the language will continue it, and those who don't, will give up. All the prejudices are so useless and annoying.

I really went on a rabbit trail, but in sum: Can't stop kids from being kids, or fandom groupies from being fandom groupies. The point is to do what you love in spite of what anyone says. Especially people on the Internet. Somehow being hidden behind a screen brings out the inner idiot in a lot of people, I'm convinced of that.

an anecdote and other things

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:15:15 GMT

Me: *finishes clearing the dinner table* omg my bladder~ *waddles to bathroom*

*door is closed* *knock*

Bro: *opens door* *stares* *raises eyebrows*

Me: *raises eyebrows*

Bro: *rolls eyes*

Me: Are you done?

Bro: *walks past and slams the door to his room*

:P Gotta love pissy little brothers.

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

FYI the quest to learn Korean has been going very very sloooowly. I can't figure out how to work IME Hangul. I can make characters, but they don't correspond with what I type. I've gotta figure that out before anything.

Last week was first week of camp. Most of my girls from last year came back again. (Sadly, not MyFav :< ) The weather was mostly awful. The kids swam and went on the playground in spite of the rain, and my boss got yelled at a little by parents for letting kids play in the rain. >__> (Even I thought a little rain never hurt anyone.) It's too bad we couldn't have had better weather, but largely it was fun anyway. We played lots of games during indoor time, and got to make papier mache pinatas, and color postcards which we later tied to balloons and let float away into the sky. The idea is that when they run out of air, they'll sink somewhere in the neighborhood and whoever finds them will mail them back. It's exciting for the kids. Unfortunately, one of my girls got her balloon stuck in a tree. (In hindsight, we counselors should have foreseen that the trees would be a problem, and moved elsewhere.) So I gave her mine to release as well. And that one also got stuck in the tree. XD So I told her that the wind would get the balloons out of the tree, but I don't think she believed me. (I don't believe me either :P)

On Thursday, one of the girls decided she wanted to pretend like she didn't like me, and kept it up right through Friday. I actually started to get worried that she wasn't just goofing around, but she wouldn't answer my questions. When I go back I'll hopefully be able to set things straight.

Speaking of going back, due to the stupid recession, we're stupidly overstaffed and underenrolled. So those of us who aren't unit leaders or specialists are working on a rotation. Basically, I work every other week, and another counselor works the weeks I don't. That SUCKS like whoa. If they'd told us this would happen earlier, I would have picked a different job. Anyway, the plan is to sell some stuff on craigslist, and see if I can't find a weekend job to supplement. Or if I'm lucky, enrollment will pick up and I'll be able to work every week again.

The little boys are so cute. Mowgli is back from last year and still so brazen and crazy. I was playing a game with a bunch of the first and second graders on the playground, and (I think he's 5?) started following me around and trying to make me go down the slide (he's so strong for a little kid!). Then there was the little boy with the LOOONG eyelashes. I don't remember what happened, but I was talking to him in the sandbox and he started grabbing my hair and pulling it across my face. :P I know little boys do that with their moms XD it's cute. Then there was Rye, who likes to sit under the playground set and stick his head out this little gap and pretend to own an ice cream shop. I spent like ten minutes buying ice cream from him one day. And then there's Blondie, who always cries for his mom. The first day, I saw him sitting by himself on the playground, and asked him if he was ok, which he said he was. Later, he came over to me and said "Can I tell you something? ... I miss my mom!" Awww. (He's 6 or 7.) So I tried to distract him, and it kinda worked. The next day, I did better. Since I knew what bothered him, I was able to come to him, and I got him playing in the sandbox. Found out he likes trains, so I got him to make a train on some train tracks out of sand. Unfortunately, that was the day I'd promised to play the game (when Mowgli started following me around), and my girls started harassing me to play with them. Blondie seemed okay by then, so I went to play the game, but I didn't see him when he left. Hopefully he was okay for the rest of day. :P This all happened during extended care; I stayed till 6 every day but Monday and it was pretty good, except for the rain.

hahaha so life is pretty good now :)

I got my tickets for Japan, it's gonna SUCK, I hated flying that long last time and I'll hate it again this time >3< But anything for Japan.

AND I GOT A TABLET!!! It's a Wacom Bamboo, pretty small, a standard package. It came with Photoshop Elements 6.0 (which doesn't seem like much of an improvement over 3.0, not that I'm complaining) and Corel Painter Essentials (which is okay... I think it'll be really fun to do digital art in, but it's not so great for combining traditional and digital art for me.) I guess I already talked about this, but it's lots of fun and I'm so happy ^__^ My biggest picture ever is almost done. I've learned that I really do absolutely fail at painting, and painting backgrounds. I tried to do a sunset beach scene and got confused on the lighting, so I changed it to day time, but the sun is still in sunset position and the ocean just looks plain weird. xP Obviously I still have a ton of work to do.

Dunno what I'm going to do with the week off. Bake cookies, make onigiri I guess. Draw, write, play Sims 3. Plan outings with friends. I really want to eat at a Japanese restaurant I haven't been to yet. And the 50s-style diner I haven't been to in probably two years...

I finished chapter 6 of ASB, YAY! go me. Gonna go write more now.

more art!

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:12:03 GMT

Something I've been working on. Old photo-ized 'cuz it's not done yet... The only one I have left to shade is Koushirou, and then do the bg ^_^

I got tablet!

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:08:36 GMT

So I got a Bamboo tablet <3 It's pretty cool. Came with Corel Painter Essentials. So I fiddled around with it and drew something. Nothing very good, it took me a while to get used to the tablet, but I really like it ^_^

Anyway, the finished piece.

I can't wait to have more time to play with it TT___TT

today is a sad day.

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 06:18:23 GMT

Hey!! Watching a guy die twice is worse than once! When you're talking about Jean Grey *sparkle twinkle* it becomes redundant after the 11th go'round, but that's the exception!

this goes for you too, Jamie Braddock! (although I should probably blame Claremont like a normal person)

What brought this on? It was Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, episode 10. DUN DUN DUNNNN.

I was all EXCITED because a new FMA series meant getting to see Hughes again. Eventually, yeah, we'd have to watch him DIE again. It's no fun to watch Hughes DIE. But at least we'd get to see him again.

It was a fun ten episodes. It was, really. They went by so fast. Oh HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGHES.

Yeah. He's dead already. :< Didn't even make it to the second OP. (As if they'll ever get rid of YUI's genius, lawls.)

So, obligatory RIP I MISS YOU HUUUUUGHES!!!! post. This happens, what, eight times a year from me? :< *sniff*

but let's face it. No cartoon man has ever made Weird!Beards! look THAT sexy.

RIP BRIG. GEN. MAES HUGHES. OUR LOVE FOR YOU KNOWS NO BOUNDS.

<(OMG I'M DEAD AGAIN!?)

(PS: Sherlock Holmes and Jean Grey *sparkle twinkle* are not amused to have another contender. Cosmic powers vs. Amazing intellect vs. WEIRD!BEARD!!! Who will win?!)

おろろ~

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:36:42 GMT

Aさん：ポケットに何があるの？

Bさん：あ、ただアンパンだけだ。

Aさん：食べていい？

Bさん：ーまあ、ちょっと汚れたけど。

Aさん：食べたい！食べたい食べたい！腹下手だぞ！

Bさん：本当に食べたいの？

Aさん：うん！

Bさん：じゃ、あげるよ。

Aさん：どうも！　あぁあああ、うまい！　随分うまい！　－だけど…　こんな味ってなに？

Bさん：甘い味だろう？

Aさん：いや、違うよ。ぜんぜん甘くない。

Bさん：じゃ、どんな味？

Aさん：…　ちょっと辛くて、靴下みたい。

Bさん：靴下を食べたことがある？

Aさん：ないよ、もちろん。

Bさん：じゃ、今は初めだろう。

Aさん：えっ！？　この味は靴下みたいと思うか？

Bさん：あ、違う違う。材料は靴下だから。

(errors abound. no questions kthnx.)

もらった成績などなど

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 02:21:16 GMT

I just checked for my grades. I'm pretty happy with them. I may not be able to groan about only getting a 3.9 (Rachel! *coughcough*) but a 3.5 is acceptable, ne? It's pretty much divided evenly at the moment between As and Bs. I know people say it's hard to change your GPA after freshman year, but I think I had a 3.3 in freshman year. Of course my freshman year spring semester grades haven't been added yet, but they were more or less the same as first semester so I'm not sure how that will affect the overall.

But I'm still happy. I got an A in Japanese <3 At one point during the semester, I had an 89.6 and I was like "I AM MAKING THIS A 90." I don't even know where A- starts, 89 or 90 or 91. But it's an A, so I don't care. I also scraped a B in Astro!! Yeah, I know, the rest of the world got As. But this is acceptable for me. I thought I had a C. I think there must have been a nice old grade curve, and the final was somehow the easiest test of the entire course, so I guess that's what saved me. I would really like to have seen my grade on the planetarium test, though. He told us where to find them, but it was too much trouble so I didn't look.

The strangest thing is that I got an A- in my Lit class this semester. Last semester I got a B-. The difference is that the A- was a 400-level class, and the B- was Intro to Lit. Now in the English department, there's a lot of jumping around, and Intro is technically a 300-level class so there's no real point in comparing classes based on level, I guess. But I definitely feel like the 400 level class was much harder than Intro. Besides critiquing literary texts, we also did some historical studies, so it was tough for me because I had no background knowledge. And the difference between an A- and a B- is... a whole letter grade. In Intro, I think I got As on every paper. So how did I get a B-? It must have been from lack of class participation. (I did my best to participate a lot this semester to rectify that, and I guess it worked.) And maybe my final paper was very bad. Lol. I don't know.

hahaha and I got an A in violin. :P Shyeah.

Enough about me. Let's talk about WICKED.

So last week I got reeeeally sick (what do you mean we're still talking about me? so impatient!) with the virus from hell. I'm still sick, technically. I've been popping Ibuprofen like candy. I felt like a Dr. House-wannabe lol. Even so, my mom and I went into the city on Sunday to see a matinee of Wicked.

We took the train and wandered through the city until we found the theater. Then we ate at some little cafe which was more like a cafeteria than anything, and we had strawberries, watermelon, and bad sushi which had far too much avocado. WHAT IS WITH THE AVOCADO PEOPLE. WHO LIKES AVOCADO. (Everyone except me.) They don't use avocado in Japan, do they!? I think I could stand any culinary horror as long as it doesn't have avocado.

The theater was pretty small, I thought. I was surprised at how sparsely (but beautifully) decorated the stage was. There wasn't much in the way of set for a lot of the first act. Galinda was hysterical and Elphaba had a magnificent voice, which was fairly low for a woman when she spoke, but she was actually far stronger singing in a high register than a low register. Dr. Dillamond was incredible, baaaa. I disliked the guy playing Fiyero at first, but he grew on me. The second act was fantastic - many more set changes, lots of action, etc. It was sooo much fun, and sooo funny. There were a few times I thought the scripting was weak, but for the most part it was a great story. But (BIG SPOILER) I did not expect Elphaba to survive! I was sure she would die for real. But instead she got to be with Fiyero and escape into a different world. Ah well. She got a big cheer when she turned up in one piece :D Also?? ('NOTHER BIG SPOILER!) Was sooo not expecting Elphaba to turn out to be the wizard's illegitimate daughter!! On the one hand, it's very cliche, and on the other - it just makes so much sense XD

The Wicked CD basically is the entire story. Especially the first act; there's not a whole lot of dialogue that's not part of a song or on the CD anyway. There are a couple Nessarose songs in the second act which didn't make it on the CD, and a lot more dialogue that is just spoken, so the ending is not obvious on the CD.

The play is extremely different from the book. I was expecting that, but WHOA. Not that it bothered me. It's all AU business anyway ;) I am trying to sludge through the last 60 or so pages of the book I have left, now. I finished up till that point ages ago, but then it got really boring... Elphaba just wandering around doing nothing, erg. And a bunch of random new characters narrating how dull everything is. But I'm determined to finish it. It's got to pick up again soon.

Anyway, the whole show was just awesome. Not that I'd expect anything less of Broadway. I was in a better mood afterward and didn't even mind that the Ibuprofen was wearing off. We ate dinner at Friendly's so I could get a milkshake (which I can't stop craving). It was an awesome day.

Soon I shall become imprisoned by small children out in the hot hot sun, but till then, my cold is almost gone, chapter six is almost finished, I have Law and Order: SVU on DVR, and I will hopefully see Kathryn again soon <3 So life is good.

Although I keep expecting something horrible to happen. Involving Japan, mostly. Like we'll be barred from going because of swine flu. Or I won't be able to participate because of some unforeseen incident. Or I'll pack badly and fail miserably once I get there. Haha. It's no good to stress now ^^; I need something chocolate.

笑って泣いて進んでゆく！

tread carefully when manga-shopping

Thu, 28 May 2009 03:36:20 GMT

I just found a manga about a boy who has never had a girlfriend. So he wishes (well, yells) that he wants a girlfriend no matter what. A mysterious voice says, "Really?" and then...

A GIRL SPROUTS ON HIS RIGHT ARM.

JAPAN YOU NEVER CEASE TO WEIRD ME OUT.

Seriously. She's on his arm. I didn't make it past the first half of the first chapter (DUH!) but I skipped ahead several chapters just to see if she remains on his arm and... she does.

D: D: D: DDDDDDD:

It's shonen, of course. Because, whether she's growing out of your arm or not, a girl is a girl, right!?!?

Apparently this girl had a normal life up until the day she found herself randomly stuck to this dude's arm. Which only makes it creepier.

I am scarred for life.

高石岳: The ambiguous

Wed, 27 May 2009 00:50:29 GMT

(also posted in writing journal)

I have never understood why Takeru's name has two written forms, both katakana and kanji. Why, pray tell? So I went to the Japanese Wikipedia entry on Digimon Adventure 2 characters to find out.

I once noted in my regular journal that Hiroaki and Natsuko's two sons being named Yamato and Takeru can't be a coincidence - it's too much like the Yamatotakeru, or this guy. But the kanji Takeru uses is 岳 which is different than the kanji in Yamatotakeru. (Not that it really matters; Yamato doesn't use kanji at all. And katakana names are very trendy these days.)

This kanji, 岳, is written on the board in Adventure 02 episode 1 when Takeru is introduced to his new class. SO. I would *assume* his name is supposed to be written in kanji. However, in every Digimon publication I've ever seen (aside from that episode), his name has always been written only in katakana: タケル. I came up with a couple theories about this:

1.) 岳 is a difficult kanji. It's a jouyou kanji, but it's listed as secondary-school level, and Digimon is a show geared at elementary schoolers (the main cast in each series, excluding Savers, features primarily 5th graders). Possibly the kanji was given to Takeru, but the producers of the show decided to write his name mostly in katakana so that younger kids wouldn't be confused. However, this doesn't make much sense to me because the kids would hear his name on TV and then learn the new kanji when they saw it. Also, going back and forth between kanji and katakana is kind of strange, isn't it?

2.) This one is a longshot. It could be that the American dub was written over the Chinese version. I've seen 岳 listed as the Chinese for Takeru's name - but I've also seen it listed as 武, which I think it more likely (due to some sites citing 阿武 as his nickname or something?). But if it is 岳, there's still no reason to think the American dub used footage from the Chinese dub rather than the Japanese. Along with that, I see 岳 marked as Takeru's kanji often on Japanese sites, including Wikipedia, and Chinese sites seem to deviate between three characters (岳、武、猛). The fact that 岳 is used so often on Japanese sites makes me think it must be unrelated to the Chinese version.

Obviously both of these theories have big holes in them. Let's look at the Japanese Wikipedia entry and see if we can find a better one.

I found this excerpt in the description of Takaishi Natsuko, Yamato and Takeru's mother:

高石奈津子:ヤマトとタケルの母親。別れた夫との関係も多少緩和し、02ではお台場に引っ越した。ただし大人になったタケルが、『高石岳』の名で本を出版していることから再婚までには至らなかったようだ（『高石岳』はペンネームとも考えられるが）。

I am by no means fluent in Japanese, but I think I've translated it correctly. If someone comes along with a better translation, I will certainly be glad to have it. Here is my tentative translation:

"Takaishi Natsuko: Yamato and Takeru's[Katakana] mother. Her relationship with the husband she separated from more or less (become relieved? as in calmed down I think?), and in 02 she moved to Odaiba. But when Takeru became an adult, he used the name 'Takaishi Takeru[Kanji]' when he published his book, so it seems like Natsuko had not remarried by then. (But 'Takaishi Takeru[Kanji]' may be a pen name)."

Breaking it down: The excerpt assumes that Natsuko would have remarried by the time Takeru is an adult. However, the fact that Takeru still uses the name Takaishi seems to suggest she doesn't. It doesn't seem to allow for her remarrying and Takeru just not taking on his stepfather's name, but I don't know how remarriage works in Japan - maybe children from previous marriages automatically take on their stepfather's family name? Takeru's situation is weird anyway because while his brother lives with their father and has their father's last name, Ishida, Takeru lives only with his mother and has her name, Takaishi. This shows up in manga and anime all the time. Is it that common a practice in Japan, for the parents to split up the children? Seems odd.

But I digress. The real issue here is that "Takeru" in that excerpt is written in katakana before it talks about Takeru as an adult. "Takeru became an adult" also uses katakana. However, when referring to the name Takeru used on the spine of his books, "Takeru" is written in kanji as 岳. The excerpt then goes on to say that Takeru may use the surname "Takaishi" as a penname (suggesting Natsuko could have remarried). This suggests to me that he also may be using the kanji 岳 as part of his surname. This is the best theory I have seen so far.

HOWEVER.

If 岳 is only his penname, and his real name only uses katakana, then WHY was it used in the first episode of season 2!?!?

THE MYSTERY REMAINS, PEOPLE. THE QUEST CONTINUES.

Of course, if anyone has any info or theories to add, please do leave me a note. Takeru, Takeru, why are you so ambiguous?

UPDATE 6/15!: I was just reading this site and found the section about Takeru. The author writes 「名前は漢字で「岳」と書く（第１話の黒板に書いてあった）」, meaning "His name in kanji is written 岳 (In the first episode this was written on the blackboard)". What I infer from this is that Takeru's name is written in kanji, but he himself chooses to write it mainly in katakana. Again, maybe for simplicity's sake? I have no idea if it's common for kids in Japan to deviate between spellings of their names, if it's trendy or something, but maybe that is what's taking place here.

えっ！？　何でまだ５月終わっていないのyo？！

Tue, 26 May 2009 21:47:25 GMT

Alright, job is finally all squared away. Not that there was ever any doubt, just a moment of panic when I couldn't reach my boss for weeks and they were moving offices over spring break ^^; But everything is hunky-dory, and orientation starts at the end of next week.

I've put down that I'm leaving work a week early to prepare for Japan. Which is kind of sad, because August is the best month at camp. In June, everyone's getting to know each other, no one's really friends yet. July brings the worst of the heat, squabbles, and a lot of stress. But August is so near the end, and everyone's been together five days a week for a couple months, and been through so much together. So we all get along a lot better, and the kids cry when you leave XD It's so cute.

Some other good things have happened to me too!!

I thought I had a truckload of debt from my old school, so I was planning on trying to graduate by '11, but when I got to the NEW school, I made a four-year-plan, and was like "Whoa, this is not going to be a picnic even if I graduate by '12!" Now, college is never a picnic, dur. (Intermittent picnics on the soccer field with friends and Arashi-in-a-boombox are acceptable though :)) And I'm sure plenty of people way smarter than me, like that girl who's never missed a day of school since kindergarten, could make it in three years. But since I'm 20 and *still* not sure what I want to major in, or what I want to do after undergrad, I figure it's best to bank on graduating in '12. I am not a great multi-tasker, nor do I work well under stress. I don't mind taking my time, even if it gets me out a little later, as long as the end result is something I can be proud of.

ANYWAY lol SO. I was very "Need to graduate!!!" and "No need to live in cardboard box on Times Square where at least I can't get run over (except by rickshaw?) until I pay back huuuge freaking load of debt!" And then my mom was like, "Why, whatever do you mean? Debt? What debt? You've got like $3000 left to pay to the old school!"

D: D: D: :D

How did I not know that??

Well, a.) I mixed up the amount of money the old school gave me with the amount of money I got from that one scholarship I always apply for, which is a substantially smaller amount. So I actually received a lot more money from the old school than I thought. And b.) my parents didn't tell me they'd done some equity-thing? which took care of a chunk of what was leftover. Plus there was money that my stepgramma left me, about $6000, which I hadn't calculated in anyway.

SO. YAY.

And then, and then! I went online to find out what amount of moolah O! holy FAFSA had decided to bestow upon me for the upcoming year. It's TWICE what I was getting last year!! So basically, at least half of next year's fees are goooooone. Paid for. Never to be repaid. WOOOHOOOO. I am certain that this is because I'm studying abroad, and my school is like, "You're gonna cough up so much money for plane tickets and mailing luggage, not to mention Japan is not exactly the cheapest place around (although Morioka =/= Tokyo, as I have to keep reminding people for some inexplicable reason), so it's not like you won't actually be paying more or less the same amount even with our help" XD

Whatev, dude. I'm not complaining. Cash is cash.

Part of me doesn't want summer to end and the other part wants to BE IN JAPAN ALREADY.

Speaking of Japan, my host sister from 12th grade introducted me to Otsuka Ai. The only song I ever heard of hers was "CHU-LIP." Which is adorable. But I didn't think she did my type of music. Then, I heard "Cherish". And it was gorgeous. Maybe more gorgeous than my favorite Hamasaki Ayumi song ("Daybreak") and at least on par with Utada Hikaru's "Blue," which is amaaazing. So then I went clicking around, and found Ai's song "Frienger." I have no idea what language that's supposed to be, but the song is so cute. ^_^ I guess I like her quite a bit.

What else have I listened to lately that is awesome and made of win? "Alone" by Heart. I like.

Also, this Sunday is Wicked!!! Yaaay. I haven't been to Broadway in... *gasp* four years, seriously!? Gah. I am soooo excited. As long as we don't catch swine flu in the audience >.> MAYBE I'LL PAINT MY FACE GREEEEEEN.

bzzzzzap

Fri, 22 May 2009 01:17:56 GMT

So, yesterday I watched three episodes of Grenada Sherlock Holmes, went to bed at 4. Couldn't sleep. Finally passed out around 7, after my brother had gone off and my parents had gone off; woke up again at 10ish because my mom was bringing my brother back from school for some reason, and tossed and turned until 3, when I finally said "Enough of this, I could have hiked to Mount Rushmore by now, instead I've only managed to cover my pillow in an inordinate amount of drool" and made myself get up.

Then I watched Star Trek for half an hour with the bro. Then I brushed teeth, showered, shaved, changed. Emptied dishwasher. Cut up strawberries. Started washing strawberries... that's when it got weird.

I felt light-headed, the world started to spin, I lost my peripheral vision. It was very Twilight Zone, I could practically hear the theremin in the background playing my swan song. I went and sat down and put my head on the table. When I felt a little better, I touched my face; it was all of a sudden drenched in sweat.

"OK," I said, "I guess this means I am either dehydrated or have just been possessed by an alien presence from the planet Reptar." (If it's not Yerks, it's always Reptar.) So I got a drink and finished washing my strawberries, went into the living room and ate, drank, and made merry with what little energy I had.

I feel fine now. I'm sure it was just dehydration, or the sudden heat spike. The reason my brother came home was because the same thing happened to him today at school. I've always thought we had a creepy sibling link. I hope the weather stops spazzing soon.