Is there a reason this song keeps coming up on Winamp? Not that I'm complaining, by any means -- I like it a lot. Better than your typical "action scene" BGM. In fact, I like the entire Noir soundtrack. A lot. *niko* People tell me that ADV dropped the show, too, which makes me happy.

I'm afraid I'm addicted to creamy chocolate Pocky. At least, that's what I think it is; it's a different package than regular chocolate, and says "kuriimii choko pokkii" on the label. It tastes different, it really does! Creamy chocolatey goodness ... My parents only bought two boxes when they went to Uwajimaya's, and I've finished one. I'm afraid I'll experience withdrawal before we get to go back. XD;;

I thought that, since I finished the Lost Universe anime, I'd be able to read fics. (Then I'd at least be able to provide feedback on some of neko-chan's fics, since I'm still only halfway through Trigun. ;_;) But many of the fics on the Net (of which there are a grand total of ... six? O_o) have spoilers for the manga. Rrgh. >_< (But I read Restart and liked it muchly, neko-chan -- did I tell you that?)

And that's all I have to say. o.o No one ever said blog entries had to be intelligent, hey? XD;;

Blah. I haven't done anything productive in forever. @_@ I should write my Soapbox, or more of From the Ashes, or something ... My Muse is to friggin' fickle. "Love this fic! Bored with the fic! Full of ideas but lacking in execution!" >_<

At the anime showing yesterday, I got to see eps. 5-8 of Fushigi Yuugi. I forgot how much I loved that show! ^_^* Sure, there's the cheesy/unlikely falling-in-love-with-everyone-you-see, but it's still an awesome show. The audience, surprisingly enough, likes it, too -- even the guys. Their favorite lines of the night were "Hentai o naosu!" (gotta love the Nyan-Nyans XD) and "Kocchi wa okama" (officially translated as, "This is some gay guy" XD;;). I was trying to explain to my friend the basic storyline (we were all at swing class when they showed the first four episodes), but I realized not only how complex the background story can seem, but also just how much character interaction there is in each episode. o.o But it's okay; I lent her the first tape to help catch her up.

And ... I'm out of things to say. Nothing exciting is happening in my life right now. Or in my head. XD;;

So I still haven't watched the DVD. n.n I thought we'd do that when my friends came over, but we spent most of the time playing video games. I haven't played video games this much since ... eighth grade, I believe. And that was more along the lines of MK2 button-mashing, wot? XD;; This time, it was Power Stone 2, Guilty Gear X, and a bit of DDR-sans pads. On Guilty Gear X there's a character named Baiken who is basically a female version of Kenshin: sword-wielding, red-haired ponytail -- heck, she even wears her shirt wide open like our rurouni! XP

I did get to skim through it a bit, before they arrived. Just so I could catch the silken strains of Yasuhara Yoshito's deep, deep voice. *_* And, just because I was feeling masochistic, I went back and switched it to English, and ... *whimpers* Nothing could sound as good as Yasuhara's velvety goodness, but this was just baaaaaad. He had the same typically villainous quality of Saitou's VA; I wouldn't have been surprised if they'd been the same person. (But Saitou is played by Sparky Thornton -- strangely enough, the same actor as Hotohori in the FushiYuu dub. o.o And Aoshi's VA, Terry Roberts, did Ferio in Rayearth. "o.o" once more.) I can just imagine him during the Megumi/Kanryuu arc, in lizard-like nefarious glory: "Yesss, I am here to ssssssslay you, Battousai. Sssssurrender now! *snatches fly from air with tongue*"

Or perhaps it should be, "I am here to slay you, Bat-TOE-sye"? In order to avenge the deaths of "HAN-nee-uh, Beh-SHIH-mee, Hee-oh-TOE-ko, and Shih-KEE-joe," of course. XD;; (I can't wait to hear one of the characters attempt to say "Aoiya." XP)

Hummm ... I do believe "nefarity" should be a word. XD;;

I liked the poem, neko-chan. Simple, but beautiful. ^_^

I'm sure I had something to say. But then I opened this window and forgot it. o.o Blank-paper syndrome, I tell ya.

Lili-chan, I think I've heard Shimatani Hitomi. I believe she was on Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ, singing "Papillon" -- it's a cover of a Janet Jackson song, is it not?

Talya-san's entry reminded me that I need to go back to Kino's; I only have up to tank 28 of RnH. Except every time I go over there, that confounded RuroKen video tempts me. >_< Che.

I could watch the new DVD now, or I could wait until my friends come over and watch it with them ... But I'd kind of like to watch it alone at least once, so I can swoon in peace. n.n

Maa. I need to fix my sleeping schedule. For some reason, I have now gotten in the habit of going to sleep at two and waking up at eleven. >_<

Ah, well. I am now the proud, *niko*-ing owner of the "Ice Blue Eyes" RuroKen DVD. XD Suncoast didn't have it, even though the updated release date was several days ago ... but we went to Software Etc. (now arbitrarily renamed GameStop.com or something like that) and found it there. Neechan, I miss you -- I just feel silly giggling over a DVD, when I'm by myself. XD;; Hanne doesn't know enough about it to swoon with me, and the guys would just make fun of me again. >.> But I get to hear Yasuhara Yoshito in all his sexy glory again! (Dare I listen to the dub? XO) Aoshi-sama, Aoshi-sama, Aoshi-sama, aauuuuuuuuu~~ <3<3<3

LILI-CHAAAAAAAANNN!!!! OKAERI!! XDXDXD Come on AIM and talk to me, 'cuz I missed you~~~ (And yes, tell me all about your sexy j-rock boyz. *nikoniko*)

I saw "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" yesterday, and it was a kickass movie. XD Even though you already saw it, too, and may likely see it again this weekend, I'd be happy to watch it with you when you come back (if it's still out, that is).

Obviously, the first thing you notice and last thing you remember is the animation. And it's definitely quality. I'm glad they went overbudget to make it as good as it was, because otherwise there would have been such a sense of wasted potential. Occasionally there were some awkward areas, in terms of the humans; facial expressions around the eyes and forehead tended to be limited (though there were several moments of inspired realism, as when Dr. Sid was addressing the Council), and movements (usually Aki's) sometimes fell into "video game" style. What I mean by that is it would look like someone was moving the person, rather than independent movement. However, there were again instances of more skilled handling, as when you saw Jane retrieving the fuel canisters near the end of the film. And personally, I thought their arms were bent a tad too much; people never rest their arms in a perfectly straight line, I know, but they should be close to the body, and not lifted. And then there's Aki's hair ... After all that moving around she does, it can not stay that smooth and full of body. >_>

All this is nitpicking, though. Most all of the movie is flat-out gorgeous, from the close-ups of Aki's insanely realistic eye to the breathtakingly gorgeous or horrifying landscapes to the little blemishes on people's skin. I personally loved how the Phantoms were done, in terms of plain coolness factor. And besides being technically advanced, the animation has some artistic touches, as well. Consider the flares Aki sets off at the beginning of the movie, to (I think) make any Phantoms present become visible. Then think of the end (red - down, blue - up).

The story is very much like an anime, and -- coming from a person who has heard about but not played the games -- many FF qualities. There was that whole McCaffrey-esque mixing of fantasy and fantastic technology, plus the RPG-like group of characters. (Neechan and I were talking about how Neil was like Zel. XD) It also has the anime aspects of incomplete heroism or villainy. General Hein, actually, was a bit disappointing as a villain; you can tell they tried to make him more human through his background, but somehow that got lost in the telling of it. But the Phantoms were classic anime "villains" -- by no means evil, yet still antagonistic. Gaia, too, is not really a "good" spirit, just the one that happens to have the same goal as the humans. I especially liked the ending (by which I mean both the final events of the story and the scene that actually ended the movie). Definitely like an anime.

A lot of critics are blasting the movie, though. Ebert and Roeper gave it two thumbs up, but a lot of other reviews criticized either the animation or the storyline. Reasons for the former were limited, but ranged from the aforementioned stiff expressions to the fact that these computer generated characters were played by celebrities. X_x Apparently, since the voices were recognizable, having the actors play characters that -- gasp! -- don't look like them was too much for one reviewer to handle. Good grief, isn't that the point of acting? To pretend to be something you're not? I don't get it; Cameron Diaz certainly didn't look like the human Fiona she played in "Shrek," but who complains about that? That, too, was a gorgeously made movie with occasional shortcomings (overly smooth skin, Farquaad's helmet-like hair, Fiona's dress not being as fluid as it could have been), but those were overlooked in the face of the overall astounding quality. As they should be. Why not in the case of "Final Fantasy"? Because it was aimed at an older crowd? I wonder if critics were naturally ambivalent toward an animated film that wasn't a "cartoon."

I can understand why some didn't like the story, though. It is anime-like, so it's obviously going to be different from what a lot of people expect. There's no Good and Bad, or a perfectly happy ending; and the action is exciting but doesn't rule the movie. I thought people would actually like that more; but maybe it was too startling a change.

Ah, well. I liked it, so that's all that counts. XD;;

The music was pretty good, though I wonder what it would've been like with Uematsu Nobuo. What I didn't like though, was that they played "The Dream Within" for the credits and stuck my Laruku at the end. And then the credits ended before the song, so it was abruptly cut off. XP

Interesting tidbit I caught while I was reading the credits: main character design was by Murase Shuko. S/he did work on Gundam Wing, so I thought that was pretty cool. ^_^ I also saw the "Spider-Man" trailer at the beginning, and that looks like a fun movie.

Busy couple of days. Well, not really. But stuff has happened. o.o;

First, I got my AP scores -- and. They. Were. Both. 5s. O.O! I don't know if I can express how indescribably happy I am to get that -- to know that all my extreme masochism and complete lack of anything resembling a life for nine months have actually paid off. I was concerned about the U.S. History exam because of the sheer volume of information we needed to know, and about the English Lang/Comp exam because -- well, we never learned anything. XP But, oh ...! The sweet feeling of earned success! XD;; And I realize that AP scores have less impact on my college viability than SAT scores (in which I was not so successful) ... but if you compare the amount of work and preparation that went into the AP exams (nine months) and the SATs (practice test the night before), I feel that the former are more justified and worth the pride. *niko*

As for the anime party -- it was all right, not the monster shindig I suppose they were planning, but fun nonetheless. We watched "Tales of Eternia" for the first hour, at which point the projector broke, and we had to leave for swing class anyhow. It's an all right show -- fun campy RPG stuff -- but I had trouble IDing the seiyuu. O_o I was right about Exushia being played by Mitsuishi Kotono; I recognized Maronne as Hayashibara-sama, but for some reason wasn't totally sure. Maybe it was because she was slightly deeper than usual. However, I had trouble with Keel and Rid -- I thought Rid was Hoshi Souichirou, but couldn't place Keel; turns out that Keel was played by Hoshi, and Rid by Ishida Akira. O_o It's very odd that I couldn't recognize Ishida, of all people. ^_^;

When we came back from the lesson, the party was separated into two places -- the game room, with DDR, Soul Caliber, etc., and the "dance" room -- which was the usual showing room, now with black lights and anime music, but which never actually contained more than a dozen or so people. ^_^;; Ah, well, it could have been worse. The guys were acting Oddly -- there are two girls in our little group, and the males were alternately picking us up, tickling us (and rather brutally, might I add XP), dancing with us, or trying to strangle us. O_o

After an hour or so, the dance was abandoned in favor of karaoke. Such gems were performed as the Trigun OP on air guitar, the ED of Jubei-chan (remember that, neechan? XD;;), and a ... erm, baritone rendition of "Duvet" from Lain. XD;; All the guys in our group eventually got up there, performing in various ways (but none actually sang a Japanese song >_>), but Hanne and I refused. Feeling a little "reckless" (XD;;) by the end, I was seriously considering it, but never got to ... ah, well. My favorite part was when Craig got through most of his Rammstein performance before realizing that the microphone was off. XD;;;

Yesterday I had an eye exam, which was oh so much fun. They gave me those numbing eyedrops to dilate my eyes, and wow, is that a crazy feeling. XD;; It's like you're trying to blink, but keep feeling as if there were something in the way, like extra eyelids. XD;; After that, we went to the library (even though I still couldn't quite read normally ^_^;;), where I tried to find books two and three of the Xanth series (the friend who lent me his books only had the first, and fourth through sixth, and me being the epitome of the Type A personality, I couldn't skip the ones in between XP). I only got the second one, "The Source of Magic," but also snagged Neil Gaiman's "Stardust." Like I don't have enough to read, what with AP summer reading ... but I couldn't resist. ^_^; The only non-comic book prose I've read of his was "The Dream Hunters," so I wanted to try some of his actual novels.

Wow. Do I blather on about boring details, or what? XD;; Today I'm doing something actually interesting -- seeing "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within." Expect a review of that either later today or tomorrow. Ebert and Roeper gave it "Two big thumbs up," but the local paper thought it could've been much better. I'm waiting to pass judgement ... what I'm hoping is that it'll be somewhat like the X-Men movie. That one had a similarly large franchise and established fan base (though much older and more well-known in America than FF). They, too, faced the double challenge of satisfying both the longtime fans (a challenge in and of itself, seeing as there would invariably be disagreements on whether it should be a classic or modern story, faithful to canon or adapted, include these characters or those ... hell, whether Hugh Jackman had enough animal magnetism to play Wolverine [hell yeah!] or not [WTF!?]) and attracting a mainstream audience. However, the final product they created was well-produced and entertaining, if not an utter masterpiece, did well at the box office, and generally satisfied fans. I'm hoping for the same with FF -- it's got Sakaguchi Hironobu as director, for the longtime fans, and popular Hollywood actors like Ming-na Wen and James Woods for the general crowd. Plus, it's got the killer CG that should be a draw on its own. *drools*

Just finished watching Noir ep. 5; one more episode, and then I can give the CDs back to my friend so he can lend them to someone else. He gave them to me something like two weeks ago. o.o; What can I say? I'm slow. I like the show, though; the storyline is very intriguing, though I'm sure that, like The X-Files, I miss half the references. ~_~ And the constant flashbacks and significant pauses can get a little tired sometimes. There's probably only about 12 minutes of actually new footage in each episode; one wonders if they spend too much upholding the quality of the animation and therefore have to be, shall we say, resourceful. n.n

I leave for the anime party in about an hour. My friends are going to make me do either karaoke or DDR, and I do not relish the idea of doing either, at least in a public setting. x_x

Congrats to neko-chan on her sugoi AP scores! ^o^ Omedetou gozaimasu! I wish much praise and happiness and Kane x Canal fics on you. ^_~;;

Uwaaaaa~~ I don't know what to wear tomorrow. o.o Instead of regular anime showing, it's a dance/party of sorts, so I suppose a little dressing up (down? ^_~;;) is in order. However, in the middle of the night, I have to leave for swing class, which rather obviously -- as it entails about an hour and a half of dancing -- requires comfortable clothing. So should I go all out for the shindig, and bring a change of clothes (and non-heeled shoes o.o) for class? Or attempt to reach a halfway point with my attire for the entire evening? I'm in a bit of a quandary here. XD;;

Yes, this is what I think about in my spare time. You can see how my thought processes advance when summer vacation hits. ^_^;

Did I say tomorrow? I meant Wednesday. o.o;

I've been busy. It helps to stave off the loneliness. ^_^;; Neechan left yesterday for Cali, so now none of my partners in crime are within easy reach. *sniff*

Luckily for me, my friends whisked me off for some mindless fun on Sunday afternoon, which consisted mainly of Super Smash Brothers and miniature golf -- and though I still suck at the former, I got second place at the latter. XD On a less happy note, I also found out about ADV's icky weekend licensing spree. They got NOIR! ARGH!! And Excel Saga ... And you just know they're going to sit on these titles for about ten years. XP

Anyhoo ... I saw "Moulin Rouge" today, and I liked it a lot. I think I can see how there's that whole love/hate response to it -- it is a musical after all, and you have to be able to appreciate that. I don't mean that it's only for special people like me or anything. o.o But if you aren't a fan of musicals, or aren't willing to put yourself in the mindset of watching people spontaneously break out into song and be serious about it, it's not going to work. Likewise, you have to be willing to mix near-slapstick comedy with tragedy ... It really is a spectacle, and overwhelming in many aspects. But pulled off quite skillfully. I really enjoyed the love story; I don't think there's such a thing as a "new" love story, but it was done in a refreshing manner so that it seemed original, Orphean though it was. Satine was a bit too weak-willed, at least until the end, but a flawed character was part of what made it interesting. John Leguizamo was entertaining as Toulouse, and so was the narcoleptic Argentinean. And, of course, there's Ewan McGregor. I've already mentioned how much I like his voice. And you all know about my voice fetish, yes? *niko*

... I've had this window open for far too long, now. ^_^; I'll be going now ... Look forward to my riveting account of the wild times I have at the anime party tomorrow. XD;;

Yesterday involved lots and lots of dancing. XD First, we spent several hours at Wunderland, alternately DDRing and trying to coax my friend into trying it (which she did, eventually -- but only for one song ^_^;). I myself finally won the thing -- granted, it was on basic 2-foot songs, and my overall score was a D, but still! I'm happy. XD;; Then, after dinner, we had an impromptu swing-dance session. For once, there were as many girls present as guys, so it worked out nicely. I still get freaked out by the lifts, but I'm working on that. ^_^;;

Neechan leaves tomorrow. ;_; I'm lucky in that I got to have her at home for a whole month, I know; but I was looking forward to spending the whole summer hanging out with her and my friends. I do realize that this internship is a good opportunity for her, and, if I really had to choose, I would "let" her go. But it's hard; I want to be in different places at once to be with all of my friends because, as it is, they're scattered across the country. It's not like I'll never see them again -- neechan is coming back for almost a month before she has to leave for college again, I will see neko-chan and Lili-chan again (even if it has to be next year ;_;), and my friends that live here will only be gone for short trips over the summer. I know I'm lucky to even have these dear people that I have the privilege to miss, and who miss me. But still ... that's not gonna keep me from whining and complaining when I don't get to be with them. ^_^;;

The Writer

Name: Sigel Phoenix
Gender: Female
Age: SSNBK >.>
Location: Pacific Northwest

The Fetishes

Anime: Rurouni Kenshin, Kodomo no Omocha, Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou
Fanfic: Hikaru's "And All the Trimmings"
Website: Radial Keratotamy and Other Philosophical Issues
Song: "Anata," L'arc~en~Ciel
Artist: L'arc~en~Ciel, Hamasaki Ayumi, Sakamoto Maaya
Quote: "Never point a gun at someone unless you're planning to shoot them."
(A friend's insightful dad)

The Layout

Image: Scan from Kenshinny's Homepage and Doujinshi Gallery of the doujinshi "Pure Girl," by K&K World
Quotes: "I Should Tell You," RENT
Viewed: 800x600+ res, MSIE 5.0+

The Stomping Grounds

The Phoenix Nest
Off the Wall

Partners in Crime

Valhalla
which way is up?
quirk of the day
Freely Will Do
LoveSealed
the bishounen diaries
Bishoujo Diaries
Riven's Blog
freetalk
the pillow book
Firedancer's Handbasket
Ayuru's Blog
Yaoiland

The Local Hangouts

Hits Against Hunger.Com
The Breast Cancer Site
The Child Survival Site
The Hunger Site
The Kids AIDS Site
The Landmine Site
The Rainforest Site

Follow the Trail

6/18/01 - 7/06/01
5/18/01 - 6/17/01
5/03/01 - 5/16/01
4/22/01 - 5/02/01
4/08/01 - 4/20/01
3/23/01 - 4/06/01
3/05/01 - 3/21/01
2/19/01 - 3/01/01
2/10/01 - 2/17/01
1/30/01 - 2/09/01

Pitas