So yeah.. ICO and Shadow of the Colossus coming out on the PS3.. I already have owned and played them many a time.. then I saw the new TRAILER for the HD remakes. Just hearing the music alone made me wet myself.. but then I saw the collector's box set at the end.. I don't think there are enough ways to say 'WANT THIS RIGHT NOW'. Though the screwed up part will be that we, in America, probably wont get the awsome uber-box set. But if we do.. I AM SO GETTING LIKE... 3 OF THEM!

Speaking of box sets... I don't know if I'm the only one that has seen this but those of you out there who know and love 'Revolutionary Girl Utena' as much as I do: Check these puppies out! Not only are these things gorgeous.. but if you order all three.. when you get the last box they send you THE ROSE SIGNET RING!! My jaw literally fell through my desk when I heard about this. Though I kind of wish they would have the option to get the Black Rose Ring or the White, but the fact they are making this happen is pretty great as is. I'm really impressed with how they did the box sets though.. this is how Utena deserves to be packaged.

I know several people on my f-list (me included!) are making plans to go to Japan at some point, so I wanted to point out this really lovely map!

The Japan National Tourism Organization just put out a map that points out some fun anime-related areas to check out for tourists! Also, it is in a great .pdf format!

I didn't even know that there was an amusement park that had a full scale model Evangelion! There are sites for older shows such as 'Sailor Moon', 'Crayon ShinChan', and 'Spirited Away'; then plenty of new favorites such as 'Lucky Star', 'Haruhi', and 'Summer Wars'.

Of course there is also a shout out to Sanrio Puroland, for those who love their Hello Kitty! 24/7.

Anyways- Here is the Link!

When I first heard about X-Men First Class I pretty much figured when I saw it (IF I saw it) that my discussion of it would be filled with rage and eye rolling.

I'm glad to say I was proven wrong. Now, it's no Dark Knight, but it was levels above the X-Men Trilogy. I think X-Men fans can hold their heads up a little higher. Also, I honestly would love to see a sequel that takes place during the '70s or '80s. The 1960s feel of First Class really made the X-Men classy again and I really liked some of the costumes. While some of the characters were pretty forgettable; I thought Charles, Erik, and Moira pretty much stole the show. And Kevin Bacon made a really creepy villain.

So overall, definitely worth checking out if you are a fan of the X-Men.

First off for those of you who don't know what a Vocaloid is.. go Wiki it. But if you just want the short form: Vocaloid is a computer software program that allows you to create vocal songs by simply typing in the lyrics and setting their melody. The program usually comes with a mascot (The most famous being Miku) who have become popular by fans through homemade videos and manga. So I guess it's like how 'Hello Kitty' started off as just a stationary mascot and then had TV shows and stuff.


Okay.. for those who havn't seen or heard about the Miku Hatsune Toyota Commercial I'd certainly check it out. I kinda was like "Wtf? Why would a car company use Vocaloids in America?" Even as an anime fan I've never been drawn into the Vocaloid craze. Also, most of the people I know who enjoy anime either 1) Don't know what Vocaloid is, or 2) Hate Vocaloids. I can see the reasons for both. It's kind of a niche thing.

Though I gotta say.. I'm pretty impressed by the concert! Yes. That is a LIVE concert. I actually think it looks really cool when the camera moves back and it really looks like a live person performing on stage. Whoever did the animation did an amazing job moving the character around and having it interact with the audience, etc. Plus, they are using a live band to back up the characters on stage. To say the least it's interesting.

I don't know I may be looked down upon for giving Vocaloids a nod, but to me this is a lot more impressive than say going to a 3D movie and having to sit and put on 3D glasses. I could also see how this could work for real performers to add to their stage shows. Oh yeah.. and there is going to be a Vocaloid concert like the one in the video in Los Angeles.

BTW.. Luka is WAAAYY more awsome than Miku. Her songs are better and I've always had a huge love of 'Just be Friends', the lyrics are actually pretty heart-breaking. But uh.. that's all I'll say on that note ^.^'

I can't wait to get THESE EARPHONES. Every time I go jogging/walking I am going to grin, get excited to put the ear pieces in, and then go and stomp around ready to kick some serious Angel ass!

Way to take 'getting healthy' seriously...

Before I start, let me say that I'm sure there are examples that stand out that don't fit these typical molds, but lately I feel like I'm running into the same three characters when ever I pick up one of King's novels. I know I recently discussed women in gaming, so I guess this will be the "special" forms of women in popular literature. I'm pretty much going to discuss three of the most popular writers who stick to stock-characterization of women: King, George R.R. Martin, and Koontz.

We'll start with King first. He tends to keep his women-folk to 3 types:

( Hysterical dames!Collapse )

George R.R. Martin tends to expand a little to 4 types, but there are similarities:

( Ball busters!Collapse )

Dean Koontz is pretty easily summed up to 2 types:
( Yeah.. that simpleCollapse )

Lastly, I gotta say for men who write horrific scenes, they seem the most childish when it comes to a woman's period. I just wanna scream: Hey! Guys! You just wrote about aliens eating a guy from the inside out/strangling thousands of puppies/serial murder, and the only things you can mention to explain a woman's period is her "woman pains" and "flowering"? Is a natural female function that frightening you have to use little code words? I'm not saying that we have to get "gory" here, but "woman pains"?

Anyways, like I said I am sure there are exceptions to these rules, but I was sure I wasn't the only one who noticed these consistencies.

Every year when spring comes around, due to my allergies my ears will stop up to the point I have difficult hearing. This would usually mean I either spent money on over the counter ear drops that made my ears greasy (gross!!) or try and spend an hour a week in the bathroom cleaning out my ears manually by flushing them out with a device called an 'Elephant Ear'.

Once again, a week ago, my ears began to stop up and I really dreaded going through the process once again. This time though, my mom suggested ear candling. We had a pack of them in the house and I was quite skeptical at first, but since I was having trouble hearing already I figured I would try it. I laid down on my side and placed a cool cloth on the side of my face (to avoid any burns/accidents), then placed the candle through a pie tin and then placed the tip in my ear and let my mother light the end of it. She of course stood by and watched. At first I didn't notice much and then felt the warm smoke kind of hiss in my ear. It actually became really relaxing and after two candles we checked and my ears were clear! I could hear again and we could actually see the wax that had been pulled out into the end of the candles. Since then I've had no troubles with my ear and it really has been a blessing since I've had so many problems in the past.

Now, of course since this isn't "FDA approved" there is a lot of criticism about it. A lot of people say they get burned by the wax so if you are going to do this PLEASE follow directions and have someone with you if you do this! You need to have a damp cloth on your face and have a tray to catch the drippings just in case. AKA: Don't be stupid! Also you should always see a doctor etc. etc. As well, this may not work for everyone. I just thought it was great that it helped my case.

I just wanted to say that this helped me so much and I know I'll be keeping a couple of candles around the house from now on.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/japan-stunned-damage-earthquake-tsunami/story?id=13111113

It's screwed up that I found out about this through deviantart of all places, but seriously... I don't know what to say about any of this and I'm not going to even pretend to know what to say.

This is horribly tragic and if you are able to send donations please do so to the support of your choice. I know not everyone has the money to do so and that is fine, but please keep these people in your thoughts and prayers.

A quick edit:

I'm not trying to start anything, but please try to send your money to another group besides the Red Cross, they have so much overhead that very little of your donation will go to those in need.

I was sent here: https://www.mercycorps.org/donate/japan

They state that 88% of your donation will reach those who need it. I just wanted to point this out to those who want to donate right away. I just want to make sure the money actually goes to those who need it the most.

Just some quick things:

I finished The Hunger Games series yesterday. Probably the most bitter-sweet ending I've read in quite some time. Like I told one person "So many bad things happen to these characters George R.R. Martin uses this book to whack off.." (If you've read any of the Song of Ice and Fire books you'll get that remark.) I was pretty okay until this one little point at the end and then pretty much sobbed. Collins does a good job of putting her main characters through post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Also while the book is very much a look at the horrors of war and violence in society I never felt like I was being preached to or beaten of the head. There were also some "we should be better to the earth" comments, but once again they weren't beating it into my skull. So overall.. I really enjoyed this series and am trying to get anyone I've shared two words with to read it. I'm too worried about the fandom to join, so definitely dying to foam with others over this series.

The more I read the articles from Blistered Thumbs, the more my eyes roll into my skull. I know the site is supposed to be new. I also realize that they are picking up critics and bloggers who are pretty much amateurs, but some of these guys are pathetic. I really feel like the overseers of the site aren't watching their content. Several of the articles are so chock-full of typos and basic grammar mistakes that I would think this wouldn't normally fly on other gaming news sites. I know I'm not Ms.Speak-N-Spell myself, but when it gets to the point I have to sit and retype the article so that I can understand it that is pretty pathetic. This shows me that the writers are having free reign and there are no editors looking over the content before it's posted and the writers are too full of themselves to get a beta/editor. Also, it shows me that the site's definition of "experienced writers" in the gaming industry basically equals: Joe Blow Off the Street Who has Too Much Free Time. Not only is their writing poor, but their opinions are super-bias and uneducated. They comment on some games as if they've played them, but I'm catching things that you can simply copy from Wikipedia. I don't mean to rag on this site because I enjoy the video bloggers on it and want them to succeed, but if they ever want to be taken seriously they need to up their standards.

Facebook sent me some email because I hadn't looked at it for six months and it was feeling neglected. So I went to check it and was quickly reminded of why I don't look at it. I started to explain this comment... but then I realized I don't really want to go into it. I'm just keeping the Facebook for the irony anyways.

Eesh! Sorry.. this turned out a bit more ranty than I meant it to be. Just stuff coming to mind I guess! Other than that everything is good so I guess I just wanted to get that off my chest. Also trying to blog a bit more again besides just silly things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S2p7AiNX9g&feature=player_embedded


My god.. I expect to see someone in Wal-Mart wearing this within the hour! I would be ashamed to be next to someone wearing this or to wear it myself. Nothing says lazy fat-ass like this does. Plus butt flaps... the hell! I don't want to imagine someone wearing one of these naked underneath!




*hugs ipod and Mac laptop to chest* What? Don't you judge me! They're pretty, that's why everyone likes Mac!