Ramblings of a Crowe

Talk Radio Rules!

I love THIS guy...

A fan's blog....

ALSO

The BBC has lost it...correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't this sort of reporting belong in the tabloids?

Brace yourselves...

It's about to begin....

What am I talking about?

Well...Anime Expo of course!

This weekend, masses of anime/manga fans and nutty otaku will swarm to the Aniheim Convention Center in attempt to sedate their fandom needs. They will come to see faces behind the scenes of their favorite shows and stories. People like Koichi Chigira, Yoko Ishida (vocalist), Tomokazu Seki, Myung-Jin Lee (Ragnarok), etc. Fans will flood the exhibitor's booths, hoping to catch wind of the latest license aquisitions, praying "their" series is finally getting it's much deserved US release. Cosplayers, both the elite of the elite and the rediculous of the rediculous will finally get to wear the costumes they've been slaving over for an entire year. Awards will be handed out, hopes will be realized, and some people will go home disappointed.

I wish I could go.

Alas, I cannot, so I will sit back and watch from the glaring screen of my computer, checking the updates daily to see what is new. I'll make my predictions from home and hold my breath for the announcement that Prince of Tennis or Naruto will finally be bound for the US (though I'm much more excited about the announcement made at E3 for Full Metal Alchemist TV series and PS2 game...not much else can beat that one in my book.)

I will also brace myself for the angry flurish of elitist otaku who will cry in outrage when the company not of their choosing gets their hands on a certain series. Which series? Well...otaku will cry when anyone from the US gets ahold of "their" show, that's just a fact of animefandom...but I foresee a huge uprising if/when Naruto is announced. I see another DBZOA movement in the making as Narutards everywhere throw a temper tantrum...especially if Funi or Viz gets a hold of the rights...which I believe is a HUGE possibility. As for 4Kids getting the aquistion, I have my doubts on that one, but it's not impossible...and I will be sad if that happens, just as I was when I heard about One Piece. However, there is not much I can do about it, save pray someone continues to fansub so I won't have to give any money to that abomination of a company. Of course, that is, unless 4Kids decides to allow Funi to distribute an uncut/subbed version like they've done for Shaman King and Yugioh. Hope is still there, my friends.

I'm not certain Naruto will be announced at this convention. It could be another year until someone finally aquires it. However, it is safe to say that Naruto is thee anime series people are waiting for. The popularity of this show is astounding, and for good reason. It's a great show. It's worth watching every weekend. It's worth paying good money to buy the dvd's when they're released. People want Naruto in the US. Check the downloads of animesuki if you don't believe me. I think the anime industry is well aware of the cash cow in the making we have here.

I love Naruto. I'm a huge fan of the show and manga. I watch it each weekend and I'm reading the manga as it comes out in Shonen Jump (Japan). I also collect the English version by Viz. I am saddened, how Naruto has attracted a fanbase of fools though. And even more disheartening is the fact that other people judge the show itself on its fanbase, assuming the series must be as stupid and immature as its watchers. How closed minded...but it's not my problem and quite frankly, it's those people's loss, not mine. If they want to miss out on something good because of something so trival, then they're really no better than the Narutards themselves...

But for the record, not all of us who watch Naruto are brats who clog forums with repetitive posts or bog down fansubbers with questions of "when's the next episode out?" (>_<) If your someone who does this sort of thing, KNOCK IT OFF! It's annoying...

At anyrate, I'm bracing myself of the backlash of whining and complaining that will start this weekend and probably last until the next big convention, Otakon. Then the cycle starts all over again. So, my fellow level-headed and realistic friends, you best be prepared too!

*****

My wish list for license aquisitions for 2004:

Naruto
Prince of Tennis
Peace Maker Kurogane (Licensed)
Full Metal Alchemist (Licensed)
Spiral (Licensed)

(I'm having a good year! (^-^))

Dear Dr. Laura

(this post is laced with harsh sarcasim)

For those of you who read this blog and are fairly grounded in your religion, you may want to by pass this blog entry. I'm not trying to offend anyone, but to put it bluntly, this is my blog, therefore I can put whatever I want here... For those who know me, I am not an atheist, I do believe in God and Heaven, but I do not support organized religion in any way, shape, or form. I respect those who go to church and participate in the congregation, just so long as they respect my choice NOT to participate. I do not need saving...my relationship with God is personal, and quite frankly, no body's business but my own...and, of course, God's. If you want to agrue with him about it, go right ahead.

I think I'd be more interested in church if I didn't find it so corrupt and morally degrading on the human level. I'm all for humanity. I'm all for loving my fellow man. I wish we could all live together peacefully, helping each other in a utopia of bliss. That's not going to happen, sadly. Humans are mean spirited by nature, and funny, most of the people I've ran into that are the worst kind of humans are those drowning in their faith...they pick and choose things from the Bible, applying it only to fit their selfish needs and beliefs. This pisses me off...If you're going to be a Christian Zealot, at least be a good one and follow the rules that are written in the Holy book....

This letter about sums it up for me...(I can't remember who orginally wrote it)

Dear Dr. Laura,

Your devoted disciple and adoring fan.

On that note...I HATE Dr. Laura and I HATE in your face, I'm better than you Christians. I can't stand them. I DON'T respect them. Have a good time in Hell, folks, cause you're not fooling anyone, especially not God.

Media just sucks...

and I'm to tired to get into it right now...I've got to be to work at 6:30 am tomorrow...Yuck...I'm so looking forward to lay off time again...

Anyway, I've become rather interested in the bloggers in Iraq, and I happen to find them far more insightful and interesting than the garbage we ("we" as in every person who lives in a nation with television) are fed day in and out. Propaganda, propaganda, propaganda...and it never ceases to amaze me how the US media loves to make the US look worse than it really is...we have problems, but Christ, things are always blown out of proportion here...I can't stand the news. And I NEVER let Hunter (my son) watch it...

Free speech is awesome, but I think the media in this country owes the people who are pouring money into them the honest, unbaised, and forthright truth. I don't think we're getting it. I don't want anything sugar coated either. If we've done something wrong, or if our government is floundering, I'd like to know....but I don't believe a WORD of what newspapers, tv, etc are telling me anymore...Good OR bad...

Anyway, here's a few links to some intellegent, interesting bloggers over in Iraq. After reading a few of these blogs, I think I've gained some perspective on the ME that I didn't have before. I'm glad to see Iraqi people speaking up. I get sick of seeing Americans, Canadians, French, etc speaking for them. These people have a voice, so lets shut up and hear from them for once...

Healing Iraq
Hammorabi
Iraq at a Glance
Iraq the Model
Road of a Nation
Big Pharoh(egyptian)
Kurdo's World

These are the ones I check with the most often, but there are others out there. I suggest reading them and perhaps gaining perspective for yourself.

Take care, everyone!

"On Writing" by Stephen King

I like to write stories. I like to create story boards. I like to draw comics. I'm absolutly fascinated with creating a world of my own, people of my own, and telling their stories as I see them. The sad thing is, I'm never sure how to go about doing it. I'm always telling myself "You don't know where to start, so why bother," or "You'll just suck at it anyway, so don't try." I do that with my art work as well...I lack any confidence in my abilities what so ever. Even the very insinuation that I even have any abilities sends me scurrying to hide under the covers...

I always did well in art classes. I know I'm a creative person, that's a certainty. However being a creative person with talent is very different. *laughs* Even when my art teacher would scold me for tearing up pictures or trying to draw everything perfect, I would get upset and fusterated...His favorite thing to say to me was "Shalaney, you're not a camara. Don't try so hard." It's the same with writing. I can't even count the stories I've abandoned because I feel utterly stupid writing them. I was never imaginative enough, wordy enough, descriptive enough, or they were repetivitive, dull, poorly thought out...I can go on and on and on...So I gave them all up and ignore the stories I want to tell because I feel like I can't do it...

And maybe I can't...but I want to try...

So how does one write a story? Honestly, I have no clue, but I found a nifty book the other day that I think everyone who likes to write should read. It's called "On Writing," by Stephen King. I heard about this book while surfing some websites and thought I'd give it a read. I was pleasantly surprised! I like to think of it as more of an "advice" book than a "teaching" book, though I think King has really nailed some of the more elusive elements of writing that are often bogged down by textbook lingo. When I read the pages, I feel inspired, confident, and challenged.

The book starts out as a memoir to his early days and how he became an author. He talks about his learning experiences and the things that shaped him into the novelist he is today. It's entertaing and quick witted, written in his own "Stephen King" style.

In later chapters, he starts to talk about elements of writing, beginning with grammer and then moving on to plot and character development as well as dialogue. It's not boring. Not in the least. His explanations are so clear it makes me wonder "Why didn't I see that before." It also makes me wonder why text books make things so difficult. Not that writing is easy, but everyone here has picked up a literature book or grammer book. We all know how tedious this tomes are to pick through. I think they make great door stoppers, personally.

Some of my favorite pieces of advice from King's book are:

"If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others:read and write a lot."

"The other piece of advice I want to give you is, adverbs are not your friend."

"The situation comes first. Characters, alway flat and unfeatured to begin with, come next. Once these things are fixed in my mind, I begin to narrate. I often have an idea of what the outcome may be, but I never demand a set of characters to do things my way. On the contrary, I want them to do things their way. In some instances, the outcome is what I visulized. In most cases, however, it's something I never expected."

"I distrust plot for two reasons: first, because our lives are largly plotless, even when you add in all our reasonable percautions and careful planning; second, because I believe plotting and the sponteniety of real creation aren't compatible. It's best I be as clear on this as I can-I want you to understand that my basic belief about the making of stories is that stories make themselves."

"Stories are relics, part of an undiscovered, pre-existing world. It's the writers job to use the tools in his/her toolbox to get as much of each one out of the ground intact as possible."

Honestly, this is just the tip of the ice berg. The information and helpful advice King gives through out this book is inspiring. He cleared up many of my questions on dialogue, plot, and character development. I realized than a large portion of my problem is I am a control freak, so afraid of making mistakes and being imperfect that I don't let things develop on their own. Hmmm, I believe that's exactly what my art teacher was telling me...*laughs* I understand more about description and and grammer usage. I feel a bit more liberated with my pen and more confident in my abilities, armed with this new knowledge.

Writers, I strongly recommend you to read this book. Even if you aren't a fan of Kings books (which I am not...I'm too chicken to read scary stories). It's incredibly helpful and encouraging!

ISBN: 0-671-02425-6

Finally, thank you Mr. King, for writing a book that teaches, advises, and inspires people instead of boring them to death or frightening them with long, tedious texts and rules!

************

On another note:

I'm having an issue with volume 3 of Get Backers....if anyone happens to know the orginal text from the Japanese novel in regards to Shido's comment about Kazuki being a "bitch" and "having HER fight Ginji", I'd like to see it...I'm half tempted to buy the orginal, just so I can see it....

At risk of sounding like one of the Otaku nutballs I loath so much (the word otaku here in the US, for those that don't know, has come to mean crazed, purist anime/manga fans who hate everything translated into English), I have a severe issue with Kazuki being called a girl...since Kazuki is, in fact, a guy, who looks just like a girl...Perhaps it is just a mis-interpretation or an accident...I'll give Tokyopop the benifit of the doubt, but the wording sounded completely deliberate, and I'll be pissed if they change Kazuki's character into a girl...majorly pissed...All jokes at Kazuki's effeminent expense will be rendered completely useless, not to mention, his "story" will make no sense what so ever if TP makes him a woman...If that happens, I'll be buying the JP volumes of this manga for sure.

I made it to 28!!!

Well, another year gone by...amazing how fast it all goes and how little it really matters. *laughs*

Today, I'm 28 years old...funny, I never pictured myself as 28 and I can clearly remember being a teenager and thinking, "Wow, 28 is old!" *laughs* I don't feel old. I don't feel any different than I did a few years ago. Perhaps I'm a bit wiser and I'm certainly more tolerant of certain things, but less tolerant of others. Time changes us all, or at least I hope it does...people who get stuck in the past and can't move forward are sad individuals, that's for sure.

I don't have any plans for today, really. I am thinking of going to see a movie with my best friend, but that's about it. Though I do think it's great that he'll sit through a horrible movie of my choosing, but perhaps I'll be nice and pick something we both will like! *laughs*

Really, my birthday has become a bigger deal for my son than it is for me. *laughs* Being 9, he thinks all birthdays should be about Chuck E. Cheese. He's not here today, but on Saturday he "took" me to see a movie, bought me a birthday cake with some flashy candles, and baked me some brownies. He's so sweet! He also bought me flowers and a T-Shirt. *laughs* I'm glad my birthday makes him so happy. It should be a happy day, and it is, since seeing him so excited makes me incredibly happy. Thank you, Hunter, for being such a wonderful son!

My grandma cooked me lunch yesterday and gave me some money, which she didn't have to do. My boss took me out to eat on Friday and bought me a great cup holder for my pop cans...*laughs* It says "Stupidity is not a crime, so you are free to go." My mom, bless her heart, is going to buy me a computer desk I so badly need! She doesn't have to do that for me, and I keep telling myself "It's just a birthday, they come and go", but it makes her happy so I won't protest. My mom likes to give things to people, and as kids, my sister and I were pretty spoiled. Honestly, at my age, and after all the things she and dad have done for me, I don't think I deserve a birthday gift...My other best friend wants to go out to eat at Toeshi's, my favorite (and sadly the only) Japanese resteraunt here in town. And my other co-worker/good friend is going to take me to see Spiderman 2 when it opens up.

I think, right now, the best thing about my birthday is realizing how many people care about me and are close to me. They don't have to do these things for me. I'm embarrassed that they want to, because somehow I feel selfish...but sometimes, as we live life, we take things like friends and family for granted...and just maybe, things like celebrating someone's birthday is a way for us to remind one another that we are never alone in this world and that there are people who are thinking about us...

Thank you to all my friends, family, my amazing son...I love you all so much!

IT'S HOT!!! （あついだよ！）

Yes folks....it's hot...it's too damn hot...and I'm going to bitch and moan about it all summer. I'm a total baby when it comes to the heat...I whine. I cry. I get cranky. I'm a complete and total wuss about it...I'll admit it. As a matter of fact, today it was only about 95 degrees out...which is a normal early summer day for around here...However, our weather people are predicting temps over 100 by Wednesday and I'm already complaining about 95 degree heat...

You think I'd be use to it considering I've lived in a desert all my life. I'm not talking like Sahara desert or anything like that, though we do have honeset to God sand dunes around here (like you see in the movies). Think more like those pictures of Arizona or southern Utah...Ah, now you're getting it...Sage brush and rocks...yup...that's where I live...Who ever called Washington State, "The Evergreen State," was a dumbass. Where I live, there are no evergreen trees and it's brown 95% of the year...I get the biggest kick out of those stupid highway signs that say "Keep Washington Green." Tell me, oh wise DOT, whenever was my Washington green? I'd certainly like to know. I think "Please Don't Burn My House Down" is far more appropriate for this neck of the woods. Range fires are a HUGE problem here...it's kinda scary sometimes, though thanks to the farms, my home is surrounded by a huge firebreak, so I have pleanty of time to evacuate if things get out of hand. Ha ha...at least I hope so...

Of course, the entire "Keep Washington Green" motto was created by the west side of the state, which is covered in forests. As every Washingtonian knows, us over here on the east side of the mountains don't count for anything...even though it's US who feed all the tree huggers and city dwellers...but what's a little food matter to people anyway, right? Just ask the director of the Environmental Agency ( forgot his name)...he'll tell you that nothing touches his plate comes from the Columbia Basin area. His lunches must be hell of expensive then, since one has to consider the amount of agriculture that contributes to our entire NATION from this area alone...Eat any apples lately? How about wine? Oh, and that lie about the Idaho potato...Washington out produces Idaho in potatoes with LESS ACERAGE. Image that...How about wheat or anything made from wheat? Sure the midwest has more acreage than us, but whose getting more per bushel? How about meat? Guess where mad cow first showed up? Heh, in a little town an hour from where I live...great stuff, eh (I will give Canada credit for sending it to us though...I think it's the first thing they've contributed to us in a while, besides supplying our drug dealers with pot...)? But ask the west side of the state, and we don't contribute anything to Washington because we aren't surrounded by Godly sky scrapers and over crowded roads...because our towns are less than several hundred thousand people, because we support the use of chemicals to feed people and think fish welfare should come after that of human beings...*sigh* And city folk think we're ignorant...

Anyway, I'm not going to bitch about east vs west...well, I just did, but that's okay...I was talking about how damn hot it is over here...

Honestly, I wish it could stay a nice, even 85 during the summer. That would be nice, I could live with that. And a little humidity from time to time would be nice. I'm not talking about the kind of humidty you get down south either. Nope. I hate that too. After spending a month in Oklahoma City visiting realitives several years ago, I'd had more than enough humidity to last my entire life time....it sucks...It does irk me, however, when people try to point out how their humid summers must be far worse than mine since we don't get all sticky and sweaty...Yeah, that's true...we just BAKE TO DEATH...but it's all good. Nothing beats stepping outside at 8am and it's already 80 degrees outside with little to almost no moisture in the air. I might as well shove myself in an oven and turn it on broil...I imagine that's about the same effect...I haven't tried it yet...Oh, and try breathing when it's 110 outside with no humidity...yeah, thats fun. Invest in lip balm and lots of bottled water...because you'll be a corn husk by dusk if you don't...

I remember vacationing in California with my family when I was young and listening to all the LA locals talk about the heat...Now I'm well aware that many area's of Southern Cal. get incredibly hot. A good friend of mine lived in Hemit for many years and she still talks about how bad the summers were there. I've got two cousins who can vouche for it too...but I was in LA, and it was like 95 there, which is hot...but back at home (here in Washington) it was 117 degrees outside...95 never sounded so good! Thankfully, I can't remember a time when it's been over 120, though some have said that out in the "area" as we call it here, the record is 124 degrees. ("The Area" is out in the middle of no where and is where they have the nuclear power plant...it's nothing but desert and sparse buildings).

I guess I'm just grumpy...this heat makes me irritable. It's hard to sleep. It's hard to think. Mom won't use the airconditioner until one of us passes out on the sidewalk. I've already complained and pleaded tonight...she got me a fan...how nice...*laughs* I already have one though, but it's the thought that counts, right? ;-) My poor lizard is stuck in her cage, and I'm refusing to turn on her heat lamp...she must think the apocolypse has come since the sun hasn't come out yet today...Poor Muffin...

And perhaps I'm also grouchy because Hunter has left me for six weeks and I miss him. He left yesterday, but still...I don't have anyone to play with...*laughs* I hope August 1st comes soon, so he can come home to me! Also, tomorrow is my birthday...but that doesn't bother me. I'm actually happy I made it another year! Yay for me! If i can last two more, I'll have reached the 30 mark! Simply amazing!

American Revolution vs War on Iraq

Okay, my cousin brought up an interesting bit of "thinking food" for me to chew on about the comparisons between the settlers and allies that fought for our nations freedom and our troops in Iraq helping the Iraqi's gain theirs. I really got to thinking about it and honestly, my reply soon turned itself into an entire blog worthy entry...*laughs*

I still see very little comparisons between the two parties, but perhaps there are some similarites I'm missing.

Firstly, the settlers that fought the for our independence from Britain were British Nationals. They were offered passage to the America's with the promise of religious freedom and various other things, which were stripped away through rediculous laws and taxes once Britain realized that the colonies could be self sufficant on their own. Even worse for the British, the colonies are soon competing with thier own goods trade and even more tariffs are put onto the colonists in order to protect Britains own industries. In 1696 the Naviagtion Act was passed, forcing all trade to be done via English built ships and also allowing trade commisioners rights to forceable entry and posting bonds on certain goods. In 1699 the Wool Act bans the export of all wool from the colonies. In 1750, the Iron Act is passed which limits the growth of the iron market in the colonies. A year later, the Currency Act is passed banning the use of paper money for the settlers. This act alone unifies farms across the colonies due to the fact that it threatens to utterly disable the entire colonial economic system. Perhaps the greatest of insults is the Stamp Act, which came in 1765. It placed taxes on all printed matierals, to pay for directly for the high cost of the British military (who happened to be a very busy military with all the war declarations going on at this time *laughs). The same year, the Quartering Act was passed, which forced families to house and feed British soliders.

The colonists fight back by boycotting all English goods and the British respond by imposing more taxes and laws. In 1768 it all starts to come to a head when a British ship answers a call from a trade commissioner being harrassed by angry Bostonians. England then begins to threaten to bring all colonists caught dodging taxes and such to England for trial, but the colonies continue to boycott and refuse to pay.

Violence erputs starting in 1770 between Bostonians and British soliders. Soon after the Boston Massacre occurs when soldiers fire into an angry crowd. The men are arrested, charged with murder, two were aquitted and the others released with a brand for manslaughter. In 1773, the Boston Tea party sees Bostionians dressed up as indians dumping cases of tea into the ocean in protest of the Tea Act. Britain replies by passing yet another act, Coercive Acts, which initially shuts down all commercial shipping until Boston pays for the tea (I find this very funny for some reason).

In 1775, the British destroy the colonist weapon depot and Paul Revere goes on his famous run. The revolution truely beings. In 1776, foriegn aide finally comes by the way of France and Spain. They offer money, but no troops and for the time being, the colonists are on their own. It isn't until 1777 the a 19 year old French aristocrat by the name of Layfette is sent to the colonies and is taken in as General Washingtons advisor. The foreign troops fighting the British is still small. However, in 1778 America and France sign a treaty and become allies. The British fire on French ships and the French then become the sole naval force for the new US colonies. Soon after, Spainish and Dutch help aide in the battle, fighting against their common enemy, Britain (best to note that Spain doesn't sign an allience with US Revolutionaries and I'm not sure about the Dutch). It has become a united force, and the British soon start employing Native Americans to attack townships and cities, killing everyone living there and burning them to the ground (oddly enough, the French did this to us too back before we started fighting with Britain...funny how that works, eh? Sort of sounds like something the US has done on several occasions...maybe it's not just us...). In 1781, Washington leads an army of 17,000 revolutionaries and allies to Yorktown, and the British surrender, pack their bags, and leave. In 1783, after peace talks are finished, Congress declairs the Revolutionary War officially over.

So, what's the point in this crash course of American History? Seriously, this is a watered down version, and I suggest reading about it in more detail, but I didn't want to make this a thesis paper or anything. I could go on and on about this, the Revolutionary War is incredibly interesting, and I honestly believe to understand the roots of America, people should read this chapter in history in depth, it answers a lot of questions about why we are the way we are...and I have great respect for those who fought in it. It takes a lot of balls to stand up to a powerful nation like Britain when your just a lowly little colonial piece of garbage. Could we have done it without help? No, and we should thank France who saw an opportunity and took it when they realized that Britain couldn't afford to fight with us in North American and them back at home. France had very little to gain from us at the time, and honestly, I doubt they could care less about our independence. They wanted to be a thorn in Britain side and took the chance. However, it was OUR people who held fast in the beginning and cared enough to fight for what they believed in. They were sick of being pissed on by the British, and after thinking about it, if England had treated us like every other Englishman back in the "homeland", I imagine most of us would be having afternoon tea everday right about now. (Well, not me, my ancestors were Frenchies and Irish...*laughs*) America earned their freedom through blood, sweat, and tears...and not just through the Revolutionary War. That was only the beginning. I won't get into the Civil War, nor the skrimishes between religions and other nationalities that went on during our growth, but this was the first step to becoming what we are today. That's why the US is so proud of our freedom. That's why we hold it in such high regard.

That's why I don't think freedom handed to you is worth a damn...how can you respect something so precious if you don't earn it yourself?

Do the Iraqi's deserve freedom? Of course they do. I think all human beings should be free.

Do I think they're ready for it? No. Because they don't seem willing to fight for it themselves, and that's one of the reasons I don't think the US has any business being over there. If they wanted to be free, if it was important enough to them, they'd find a way and rise above it. How many Iraq's hated Saddam, but yet they sat around in their homes muttering about him and doing nothing? Of course he was a murdering dictator. We saw what he as capable of. I'd fully support a war in Iraq if they'd actually ASKED us to come help them, we would have jumped at the chance too. As my cousin pointed out, we had help. We needed it. However, the difference is...We accepted it with open arms. We wanted to be free of Britian and we were willing to stand up and fight them. We would have fought for it regardless if we had help or not, even if it ment our demise.

The Iraq's don't want us there. They've made that obvious. We don't belong over there. And we have no business being there. If they want to live under another tyrannical dictator...let them. If they want to suffer and point fingers at everyone but themselves for their poverty, destitution, and terror....FINE...

It's also obvious that they, as a whole, aren't organized enough to function as a democracy. I'm fully expecting this whole "new president and elections" thing to fail miserably. They have to gain control of the religious zelots they allow to run rampet in their country first. They have to learn to get rid of their hatred. And most importantly, they have to learn to TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for their people. Stop wasting time dancing on cars, throwing rocks, and holding riots in the streets. Get off your asses and work for your freedom. It's obvious they have the energy and time, but yet they waste it all on complaining and fighting and finger pointing...gawd...the finger pointing...it's so unproductive....

America has done some crappy things in the past, I'll say that right now as I realized people are about to have a cow at my last comment. There are no excuses for us, or ANYONE ELSE who wrongs another country...People are always quick to point out the misdeeds of the US, yet let other countries slide by without a second glance(look no further than 9/11. How many people from other countries did I hear say "You guys deserved it?" Thousands of people "diserved" to die? How is that possible and who are these monsters who think that way? I guess those millions of Jews and Allies Hitler gassed diserved it too in some weird round about way, right?). I find it incredibly irritating. Let us not forget that even the noblest of countries have done some horrific things in the past (Britain, Germany, Russia, Japan, Spain...) I'm sure we'll screw up again, it's just inevitable, but hopefully next time, people won't being dying because of it.

If anything, the one thing I hope we've learned as a nation is to mind our own damn business. I'm sick of us being the self appointed "world police". I'm tired of people bitching about us. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if the US just closed the borders and said "enough". I honestly doubt that will happen, and I hope it won't, though sometimes I think that we need to start being less relaxed about the people we let into our country. More strict laws for visitors and immigrants, obviously passports and visa's aren't enough to keep our country safe...harsher patrols at the border of Canada and Mexico too...but is the US ready for that? Are we cabable of locking ourselves down, yet being fair at the same time? I don't know...and I'm not sure I want to find out....

Iraq perspective and Anti-Americanism

"It's not enough for the law to say we're all equal. If peoples hearts don't change, none of it means anything."
Rurouni Kenshin

I haven't talked at all about what's going on in Iraq. I try to stay away from the issue because it's so complicated on so many levels. Also, the entire fiasco just pisses me off to no end...Our soliders molest people, the Iraqi militants cut off people's heads, our President is a moron with ulterior agendas and it seems that no one knows their heads from their asses half the time...That pretty much sums up my veiw of the whole thing...

Anyway, I ran across a couple blogs of people who are actually inside Baghdad, and they offer an entirely new perspective. I won't say biased, because blogs are almost always biased...but it is interesting to see things from a different point of view. One interesting site is written by a family of native Iraqi's, and their opinions of what is going on is quite interesting. I can't say I always agree with the author, and I find her to be as ignorant as us Americans sometimes (making general assumptions of our country and government as we do with theirs), but it is a blog and everyone is entitled to thier own opinion on things, and she does give a decent discription of what life is like for her right now. Perhaps by talking with one another, we can understand each other better? Or maybe that's just wishful thinking....

Her latest post on 6/16 irked me somewhat...I honestly can't understand why people need to protest violently to get their point across? We aren't children throwing a tantrum, we are suppose to be adults...but the more I think about it, the more I have to believe that it is just a culture different than mine. If they want to jump on cars and scream angrily, so be it. Maybe that's how grown ups behave over there... However, I can't justify dragging the bodies of dead people through the streets to protest US occupation. From a HUMAN point of veiw, that is just sick and morbid. While I can grasp why the Iraqi's are so pissed at us for being there, I mean, I'm pissed we're over there...but my question is...if they are so ticked off about us blowing stuff up and killing innocent people, why aren't they pissed off at their own fellow countrymen who are just as bad as our soliders? Why aren't they protesting the militants and people who defile their religion by using its teachings to murder people? That pisses me off, and I'm not even muslim. Why is it that the Iraqi's can find a voice against the US, but they couldn't find one against Saddam, who even they admit was a sick, murdering, tryant, or against all these radical leaders who tie bombs to children and blow up street corners? To me, their silence condones this behavior. It's okay if its Iraqi's doing it, right?

I just don't understand, and I probably never will...Honestly, I believe that a freedom not earned with your own hands means nothing...I wish we could just leave, but even that wouldn't solve the mess Bush has gotten us into. Even if we did pull out of Iraq, it wouldn't be good enough for the world, who would undoubtably come back and say something like "Look, you destroyed their country and just left them there..." Even though it's obvious they no longer want us there, if we did that, we would still be the "bad guys." So, thanks Pres. Bush for putting us into a no win situation where lots of people have to die and the US gets her reputation utterly shattered. You will certainly be remembered in my head as the most idiotic, self centered president I've seen to date.

All the anti-americanisim bugs the hell out of me too. Everyone has an opinion of the US. Everyone is suddenly and expert on us...it's rediculous. Oh, I expect it, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. Not all of us Americans are carbon copies of Bush and his cronies. Not all of us are war mongers. Not all of us patriotic zealots. Do I love my country? Hell yeah. I'm happy I'm an American. What's so wrong with that? Do you think I had a choice where I was born? Or that I would want one? I see postings all over the web where my fellow countrymen are saying "I'm sad I'm an American" or "I wish I lived in another country"...or even better, they pass themselves off as Canadians while traveling abroad to places like Europe. This disgusts me...get the hell out if you hate it so much or have to run and hide when things get rough...I'm pissed at what our government has done too, but I'm still happy to be from the USA...

Are the people in the US ignorant? Yeah, we are. Are we conceited? Yeah, we are. Are we perfect? No, we aren't. And I wish the rest of the world would stop nitpicking at our downfalls and expecting us to be perfect...or claiming to understand how our society works and how our culture is. Someone once said that American's don't have a "culture"...that's so stupid...open your frickin eyes...there's culture in the US, mixed in with cultures from around the globe...you have to look for it, but it's there. That's what makes the US the US...or perhaps people have forgotten that the US was birthed on the backs of people trying to escape persicution from their homelands all across the world. You find our culture "strange" or "unorginal"? Please...what do you expect? Of course, it's much easier to just pass judgement based on what the media says. Apparently other nations media isn't full of propaganda or bias like ours is (this is sarcasim).

Seriously, we Americans are idiots when it comes to dealing with foreign countries, despite the fact we live shoulder to shoulder with immigrants from all over the world. A friend from overseas once told me, it broke her heart to see so many different people living side by side but not really making an effort to understand one another. I have to agree. We aren't taught anything more than the barest of world history in school. Foreign languages are taught as a joke here, with most schools only offering courses in Spanish, French, or German. It's like the education system doesn't expect the next generation to have any use for being bilingual. Why bother when everyone speaks English, right? (sarcasim) We aren't taught what modern Europe, Japan, Middle East, etc is like. Nobody explains cultural differences to us. We grow up thinking everyone must be like us...and that's pretty disheartening.

At anyrate, times like these are meant to try our patience. I expect people to be angry with the US government, but those of them claiming that all Americans are a like are even more ignorant, and only make themselves look like fools in the end. It's like me saying that all French people are snobs, all Iraqis are terrorists, all British have bad teeth, all Russians are theives, and everyone in Denmark does drugs....stop with the stereotyping please. It's stupid.

Maybe someday we'll be able to see beyond our nationalities and finally realize that we are all, indeed, humans. What a fantastic notion, eh?

Angels in Heaven...

"Love, which in gentle hearts flares rapidly, seized this one for my lovely body-how it was violently stripped away still injures me

Love led us to a single death"
Dante's Inferno

Angel Sanctuary.

This manga defies all aspects of morality and puts a spin on the inner workings of the celestial world we know as Heaven. Heaven is in chaos, God has disappeared, someone is trying to awaken the Inorganic Angel Roshiel, and Hell is in search of his powerful sister, Organic Angel Alexiel. A war is brewing, and the apocolypse is looming on the horizon. In the center stands a one young man, Setsuna Mudo.

Setsuna seems like your ordinary troubled 16 year old. His parents are divorced. His mother hates his guts because he's "strange". His dad spends more time with his misteress than with his children. And Setsuna is an outspoken young punk, constantly speaking his mind, which is frowned upon in Japan's social structure, so the poor boy is always in trouble and has very few friends.

Oh, did I mention he's also in love with his sister and he's the reincarnation of Organic Angel Alexiel? Yup, his mom knows something's up with him, and she's well aware of his affections to his sister Sara. She purposly split the siblings up after the divorce in order to protect her daughter from being dragged into hell with her brother. Setsuna knows his feelings are wrong, and he desperatley tries to push Sara away, and lying to himself that his love for her is nothing but raging adolecent hormones.

But what happens when she confesses her own true feelings? What if she tells him what he's feeling isn't a lie?

What if she tells him her love for him is so strong, she's willing to go to Hell with him and burn in their sin?

If it's true love, then why is it so wrong?

Because God says so....

...but God is missing. He's disappeared from Heaven and is nowhere to be found. Heaven is in a turmoil, wracked with deceit and treachery. Angels fight amongst each other, and are killing innocents to further their plans for rejuvinating their dying paridise. Hell is on the move too, searching for the fallen angel Alexiel to aide them in the war they know is coming.

Demons search the cities of the world and find themselves in Japan. Strange things have been happing as of late in Tokyo. Children are mysteriously dying left and right, and a young boy as caught their attention. It's soon revealed, to everyone's surprise, that Setsuna is indeed the reincarnation of Alexiel. Alexiel was one of the most powerful angels in Heaven, along with her twin brother, Rashiel. However, God favored Rashiel and spurned Alexiel, not even allowing her to live in the House of Creation. Alexiel began to harbor resentment to God, and turned away from him as she began to realize the hypocrisy what is Heaven. She led a revolt against Heaven and lost, finding herself sealed inside an angel crystal to await for the day she could atone for her sins. However, Alexiel didn't fall alone. She took her narcissitic brother, Rashiel with her, sealing him away as well.

Now, Rashiel is awake, searching for his fallen sister and his hell bent on making her respect him. He doesn't understand why she hates him, as everyone "loves" him, so should she. Rashiel is a dangerous angel, caring nothing about anyone other than himself. He uses the souls of mortals to feed his energy, creates slaves from the bodies of "lost" and "hopless" people by decieving them into a sense of worthiness. Not even fellow celestials are immune to his festering infatuation with his sister's scorn, and he uses them as well, as his disposable tool to flush Alexiel out of hiding.

Of course, this makes Setsuna's life even more miserable once Rashiel notices that his body is housing Alexiel's soul. Setsuna finds his latent powers are forced free as Rashiel attacks him and the people he cares about with relentless abandon. Setsuna wants nothing to do with the coming war or Rashiel's obessions, he just wants to make it through his miserable life, but once Sara becomes a prime target, he can't deny who or what he is any longer.

Angel Sanctuary is a fantastic series, but incredibly complicated. Kaori Yuki has created a version of Heaven and Hell, with Earth falling smack in the center of the brewing battle. In her world, not all angels are good, but many are evil, imperfect beings who are capable of even the worst of sins. Demons also range from good and bad, some fighting for the right to just exist in the realm of Hell, and confused to why God has turned them away. The hatred between angels and demons runs far deeper than just the age old story of Heaven vs Hell or good vs evil. Why do demons exist? Why does Hell exist? God created all, then why does he allow such things to remain and why where some damned to Hell, when many of the angels in Heaven are worse than demons?

So, as the story goes, our cursed hero Setsuna finds himself in the middle of a war and charged with preventing the apocolypse. A tall order for a boy who can barely handle is own problems, let alone that of all Heaven, Earth, and Hell.

Gravitation is a MUST!

(Please remember that these illustrations are read starting with the panel on the right- In other words, read right to left please)

There are many manga at the top of my "most fabulous" list. From Blade of the Immortal with it's beautiful artwork and fantastic story, to Rurouni Kenshin's epic tale and great characters. Stories like these are works of art, meant to go down in manga history as "the best". So how does a story like Gravitation still manage stay at the top of my "most fabulous" list? Why do I wait impatiently for the next graphic novel to come out every two months? Why is this probably one of the only manga I'm willing to pre-order and have it ship in two days? The art work is messy, if not downright confusing somtimes. The story is chaotic and completely insane with characters who are so spastic it's hard to keep up with them sometimes. It's a romance, but with very little romance.

So why?

Because if it was anything less, it wouldn't be Gravitation.

Shuichi Shindou is our hapless little protagonist. He's probably the most chaotic, hyperactive, ignorant, spazfastic character I've ever seen in a manga. He definitley gives Excel Excel from Excel Saga a serious run for her money...The artwork, the crazy characters, the weirdly spun story all are the embodiment of what Shuichi is...a freak. Point blank. It would be impossible to put someone like him in a normal environment and make it interesting. If that was done, we'd be reading another dull, cliche love story that would probably end in a suicide because Shuichi can't thrive without drama... However, Maki Murakami has done something wonderful. She's done something other romance manga-ka don't do. She's taken her hero and turned him upside down, then created a world that fits him...Gravitation is about Shuichi...it's about him living life, not life living him...A stroke of genius, if you ask me.

Nor is this the typical romance either. Nope...this isn't about going through the motions of falling in love, over coming obsticals with each other, then living happily ever after. Sure, Shuichi meets someone who is special to him, but the romance becomes the driving force behind Shuichi's drive to succeed. He want's to prove himself to his lover that he can be something...other than an idiot...the results are fantastically halarious. So, we see our hero fall in love, and then persue his dream of becoming Japan's number one rock and roll star with a new born fervor.

Of course, Shuichi doesn't know the meaning of the word simple. He falls in love with a bitter, moody romance novelist named Yuki Eiri....who really hates Shuichi's guts...at first. And when I say falls in love, I mean Shuichi makes stalkers look tame...the boy is obsessed...but his relentlessness pays off and somehow, he finds a nook in the cold, icy heart of Yuki. However, Yuki will never be the doting lover, and more often than not, we find Shuichi sitting on his front steps with a dresser cracked against his head...

Juggling a music career and a volitile boyfriend, Shuichi's life only gets more complicated as he trys to make his dreams come true. He discovers that the music business isn't what he thought it was. He learns that despite a natural talent for singing and an inborn trait for writing lyrics, music is more than just all that. He finds himself trying to sell records, appearing on third rate gameshows, trying to keep his guitarist from quitting over and over again, hiding from fans, trying to stay alive and appease his gun weilding, crazy American manager, dodging rivals who literally want to "take Shuichi" out of the picture, and avoiding conspiracies that seem to revolve around his simple-mindedeness.

This, of course is where the bedlam begins...and our story becomes a condundrum of chaos...

Why? Because our hero isn't much of a coper...he's more of a survivalist and 99.9 percent of that ability is sheer instinct...and luck... That's what makes Gravitation so damn funny. This series is HALARIOUS. I can read the novels over and over again and just laugh my head off at the absurdity. This material is truely funny...and anyone who likes a good story with a lot of humor is missing out by not reading Gravi.

My only complaint is I'd like to see more of Yuki. He's always there in spirit, but he gets very little "air" time, so to speak. The story focuses mainly Shuichi's obession with Yuki as while he works his way to the top of the charts, so our sour novelist makes limited apperences. Still, I am glad that this story isn't the typical "shonen-ai" story, with angsty characters (Yuki can be a little angsty, but he's damn funny too), explicit love scenes, and wimpy little boys who cry all the time. Okay, Shuichi does cry all the time, but it's funny when he cries because it's impossible to take him seriously...Nor is he a weak hearted wimp like most protagonists in shonen ai stories (Shuichi's crying is usually caused by a sensory overload). I like Shuichi because he has spunk, he has balls, and he's relentless...

(for those of you who don't know what shonen-ai is, it means boys loving boys)

At anyrate, Gravi is a great comedy. This manga will always hold a place in my heart as one of the most well written, well thought out, well illustrated series I've ever seen. Simply incredible.

Why I hate my neigbors...

(most of them, anyway...)

I've lived on the same street for almost 28 years. We moved into our house when I was 2 months old. I moved out for awhile when I grew up, but I find myself back there again, living with my parents, which is okay. I enjoy my mom and dad, despite all their irritating faults (thought I'd never hear myself say that *laughs*). My son loves living with my mom and dad too, and it's good for him being surrounded by so many people who love him. I never have to worry about him when he's with my mom or dad, and that's a relief, considering how many wierdo's there are out there (I won't leave him with a babysitter...no way in hell.) Occasionally I feel guilty about living at home at my age, but talking with my parents about it has put my mind at ease somewhat...in a strange way, we keep each other company, look out for each other, even keep each other in line. It's weird, but cool at the same time.

Anyway, when we moved in, there were only about 3 or 4 other houses in my neighborhood (we live in the sticks, mind you). It was such a quiet place, no traffic, no people, and the worse thing you had to worry about was the coyotes eating your cat. Not anymore...in the past two years, there has been about half a dozen new homes popping up alone, not to mention the two dozen or more that have appeared over the past 20 something years.

We use to be able to hear the coyotes calling each other on the game refuge which is less than a mile from my home. Pheasants lived in our back yard, toads, snakes, wood peckers, even skunks lived side by side with us. Occasionally a deer would pop up to eat breakfast with the horses in the pasture behind ours. But now it's rare to see any of these things. The huge owl (who's wing span was about the length of my height *5ft 7in*) no longer lives in our pine tree. The pheasants are gone because of the assholes who don't keep their dogs fenced in. The coyotes are rarely heard anymore...It's sad...

I love living in the country, because of how peaceful it is. I love how I could step outside and see all the animals going about their business. That's all gone now...which is to be expected, I suppose, since growth is the foundation of human kinds life. Still, it irks me to no end to watch my new neighbors speed down our little street and break neck speed, running over the squirrels and putting in their stupid half assed orchards then using "gun cannons" to scare away the birds. Yesterday, I listened all afternoon to the repeated "BOOM" of the cannon from the near by peach orchard...it pissed me off...despite me being an Agriculture major and understanding the necessity. Have those assholes every heard of netting? Honestly, cannons shouldn't be allowed within several miles of residential area's...

And my neighbors....Chriminy....I want to choke the life out of over half of them. Don't get me wrong, I have several neighbors who have known me since I was in diapers, and they are the coolest, most awesome people in the world. I love them to death and it's not uncommon to find Gary or Steve in my dad's garage using his stuff or vice versa. We don't care. Peggy and Mirian are always coming to visit and it's nice to sit down and talk with them. At Christmas time, we exchange gifts and if any of us need help, we are always extending a hand in any way we can.

However, the new neighbors...Ugh...have got to be some of the most incondisertate, ignorant idiots on the face of the earth. Not to mention arrogant and snotty, with their bible thumping values and "I go to the Mormon church therefore I am better than you ifedels" attitude. And, nothing against Mormons, since over 90 percent of my street is Mormon, but do they even bother to teach their kids manners? My street is crawling with lousy little heathen children who are nothing short of the devil's spawn...I mean, one family has five boys, who when they were small would stand on the side of the road and throw rocks at the cars as they passed by! This happened almost everyday, and even after another one of my neighbors brought it to the parents attention, the kids were STILL out there throwing rocks. Another family's little boy use to play at my house, but we stopped inviting him over when his mom would send all the younger brothers and younger sister over with him...and his younger sister got crap all over our bathroom and kept beating on my water dragons cage even after I asked her to stop...I physically removed her from my home that day. Plopped her stupid Mormon butt on my porch and told her to go home. As a matter of fact, yesterday I heard a noise outside, looked out my window, and saw that same little brat playing on Hunter's toys in our front yard...I WAS THE ONLY ONE HOME! My son was gone with my mom and my dad at work...no one asked her to come over, she just decided to come over and play...I was PISSED...And her brother...Ugh...Hunter isn't allowed to play with him anymore, since we caught the little creep trying to steal Hunter's Yugioh cards...I can understand kids being kids, but this wasn't the first time he'd tried to be sneaky about something, and thank goodness my son has been taught it's okay to tell people "no." A few years ago, another one of these family's kids hit our neighbors dog...intentionally...He was in highschool and was showing off with his friends in his pickup and hit their dog who was outside with Steve's daughter, Keri. The dog died in our front yard, and I had to stand there and watch Keri cry. I'd known that dog since it was a puppy as well, and they'd always kept her penned up, since my neighbor makes his living as a hunting guide and his dogs are his livelihood. The kid came back later and apologized, and I think Steve told him he could take sorry and shove it up his ass...The nerve, thinking that an apology was good enough to undo the evil he'd already done. I hope he burns in hell...

There are other stories as well, too many to recount, and somehow I feel angry everytime I look at these people's faces. It's difficult to go the neighborhood gatherings, since I refuse to be nice to any of them. I stay home, for the sake of my parents and sparing them the embarrassement of my short temper and low tolerence for stupid assholes like these people. People should be respectful of those living around them. People should teach their kids manners. People should learn that just because you go to chruch doesn't mean you have the right to behave like jackasses...I wish someone would thump my neighbors in the eye with this wisdom...

Over all, I like where I live. I don't plan on leaving any time soon...I was here first and that's all there is too it. *laughs*

RPG fans are WORSE than otaku...

Okay, let me start this off by saying I'm a huge RPG fan. I rarely play anything but RPG's, save the exceptional mindlessly entertaining action adventure *cough*devilmaycryandsamurai7*cough*. Xenosaga is by far my most favorite RPG to date. I absolutly love that game and one of these days I'll get around to writing a review of it...as soon I as I remember where I put the damn disk...Anyway, Final Fantasy series run a close second, with Star Ocean and Xenogears pulling in for third...I've played others as well, but those are the ones that stick in my head the most.

RPG fandom reminds me of anime fandom. There are the elitist morons who bash everything under the sun and then there are the laid back people who just like to enjoy the games for what they are...merely videogames...However, for some reason, I find that RPG fandom tends to be far more vicious than anime fandom, and that the peers of this group cannot hold an intellegent coverstation with each other for more than 2.5 seconds. Apparently, the word opinion doesn't mean anything to fans of RPG's because no one is allowed to have one and if you try to express one your immediatly crucified....

Final Fantasy fans are by far the most absurd.. I akin them to a bunch of starved dogs in a deep pit trying to rip each other's throats out...Hello, aren't you dumbasses fans of the same series, just different games? But once again, we're back to the whole, "Not allowed to have an opinion" thing...*sigh*

Things tend to get even hairier when Xenosaga fans and Final Fantasy fans mix...War erupts and the world nearly ends. Blood baths ensue. Valkaryies come down from the sky...it's bad... God forbid either side thinks that their game is the shiznit...*sigh* I'll go out on a limb here and say, personally, I find Xenosaga to be the better game (out of all the FF games I've played so far), but that's just me. However, I have some how miraculously been able to be a fan of BOTH *gasp* FF and Xenosaga...imagine that....WHY this capability eludes other gamers is beyond me.

If you hate FF games, don't go to FF boards. If you hate Xenosaga/gears don't go to Xenosaga/gears boards, etc. It's as simple as that. No one at those respecitive "boards" wants to hear why you think their favorite game sucks. Only then, will I agree your opinion becomes moot (since you veto it by being an utter moron)...RPG games can be very different, and it's those differences that appeal to different people...not everyone is going to like the same thing, so why not shut up and give it a rest already....*Sheesh*

One Piece is licensed....

It has been stated that One Piece, the spectacular anime series starring Luffy and his unique crew of pirates, has finally been licensed by 4Kids Entertainment. At the risk of sounding like the otaku whiners I loathe, I'm a little disheartened about this news, however, with the new news that Funimation is handling subbed/uncut releases of several of 4Kids other popular releases, I do remain hopeful that I will be able to buy the One Piece DVD's. *crosses fingers* Still, I am saddened by this news to some extent, perhaps because of 4Kids known track record of not releasing uncut or subbed versions after its mangling of these shows, *sigh* and I can't help but be a bit skeptical. However, I won't rant and rave, since I do see a little silver lining...let's hope 4Kids allows Funi to give One Piece the same treatment that Shaman King and Yugioh are going to receive in the near future.

ZERO I is complete!

Yay! I'm happy to announce that book one of Yamazaki Takako's ZERO series has finally been completely translated! I'm so happy! You can find it here. This was my first attempt at a project like this, so it's not very good. However, I'm looking forward to book two, since I'm more confident and have better skills with photoshop now. This experience has helped me greatly improve my Japanese (though I still suck at it *laugh*). Anyway, this is a great manga, and it's unfortunate it isn't popular, nor likely to see a US release.

A sad day for Smarty Jones

I just want to express how disheartened I was to watch as Smarty Jones lost his chance at the Triple Crown today. I nearly cried. Never before have I seen a nation rally around one horse for this event. The crowd was amazing, chanting Smarty over and over again as he made his way to the post. Smarty Jones recieved letters from children, his trainers receieved e-mails from people all over the country, wishing them the best of luck. It was truely a phenominal occurance which astounded the horse racing society. I only wish he would have won, breaking the 20 plus years of the elusive Triple Crown victory. I would like to commend the jockey, trainer, and owners of Smarty Jones for having faith in such a magnificent horse. And of course, to the noble horse, who raced an amazing race. He ran a brillant race to the very end.

Final Fantasy X

.......

I honestly don't know where to start. I suppose I should say right off the bat, I really disliked this game. A lot. For a Final Fantasy game, I honestly can say I was completely and utterly disappointed. While the graphics were amazingly beautiful, the music score incredible, and the new "sphere grid" system a fun change, the story and characters completely killed everything.

What a waste of time.

The charaters were bland and totally uninteresting. Tidus, the main character ceasless whining and irritating drivel was distracting. I often turned off the volume just so I wouldn't have to listen to him talk. His simpleness made it very hard for me to connect with him and his story, leaving totally unsympathetic to his plight. Yuna, the other main character was equally annoying, with her constant stuttering and breathy, emotionless voice. I pushed mute when she talked as well. Seriously, the only characters I actually enjoyed were Auron and Rikku. Auron was interesting, with his mysterious past and Rikku was enjoyably spunky. The rest of them, Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri all sort of faded into the back ground.

The story had potential. Had, being the operitive word here. However, it turned out to be flat, dull, and boring thanks to poor dialouge, weak characters, and less than spectacular writing.

So why did I waste fifty hours playing this game? Well to be honest, I've had the game since it first came out, but since I was on vacation, I decided to finish it now that I had the time. Not to mention, the new FF game will be out this fall, so I sort of felt guilty for not finishing this one. Thankfully, despite the bad story and stupid characters, I amused myself with the cool sphere grid and created my own game of leveling up my characters and aeons to be utterly unbeatable. That was the only redeeming quality of this FFX in my opinion. The nifty tools and the new leveling system were a stroke of genius, and a refreshing break from the norm.

As bad as this game was, I can forgive Square, since their history with FF games has been realitivly decent. There've been a few bad ones, FF8 comes to mind, but when the really to hit a winner, it's worth the money to spend on the disk. I certainly hope that this new game will be on calibur with FF7 (the best FF game IMO) or FF9. Those were both incredible entries to the FF world. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

Cleansing the World

That old saying shouldn't be "The strong shall live and the weak shall die." Instead, it should read, "The smart shall laugh while the stupid perish."

Truth about Tennis

Ever since my son convinced me to watch "Prince of Tennis," a popular Japanese cartoon, I've discovered a love for real tennis. A sport I once thought was dull and boring, much like golf, has now become a source of great entertainment. Of course, the cartoon version is incredibly exciting and utterly blown out of perportion, but that's what makes it so much fun to watch. On the other hand, I after watching several real tennis matches, I realized that tennis as a whole isn't the slow paced, monotonous game I thought it was. It's incredibly fast paced and wholly unpredictable. The mental capabilities of the players must be amazing, considering the speed at which they must judge their opponants shots and decided what the appropriate action should be. I never even considered tennis to be a such a complicated game of wits, strength, and skill.

This week, I've been glued to the television set, watching the French Open like a crack addict. I've seen amazing players, such as Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Gustavo Kuerten, Venus Williams, Tim Henman, etc. Even more incredilbe have been many of the matches, as I've watched outstanding players from all over the world clash head to head. I can't even count the times I've held my breath, shook my head, or yelped out loud. Tennis is truly an exciting sport.

So who says cartoons can't open your mind. *laughs*

The players in Prince of Tennis are phenominal Jr. Athletes, masters of moves that even the most seasoned players have difficulty executing, but considering it is, after all, just a cartoon, I can let it slide. However, I did get to wondering how many of the moves used in Prince of Tennis are indeed real, at least fundimentally. (Prince of Tennis will now be refered to as PoT). So, being naturally curious, I started to do some research.

Firstly, Ryoma Echizen, our 12 year old hero and genius player is by far the most outstanding player with the most outrageous techinques under his belt. His signature move is a powerful serve, the Twist Serve, that puts a massive top spin on the ball and causes it to bounce at an extreme angle. Suprisingly, this is indeed a true, and quite common move in tennis. Often called the Kick Serve, and is usually the main service style used by professionals. If you want to learn how to do it, here's a little help. Of course, a 12 year old, amadexterous Ryoma being able to master such a move so young (and with both hands), not to mention his knack for putting such an extreme spin on the ball makes this otherwise regular techinque look fantastic. Nothing wrong with that...

Pete Sampras's specialty shot, the Buggywhip Shot makes an apperence in Prince of Tennis as 14 year old Kaidoh Kaoru's devistating move, "The Snake." Named after its severe snaking like curve, the Buggywhip Shot is actually a topspin normally hit from the baseline. To gain the amount of curve necessary to achive the "snaking" curve of the ball, the player has to utilize a quick and accruate turn of the wrist. Consiquently, Kaidoh's other move, "The Boomerang Snake" is a combination of a hook shot and buggywhip shot, allowing the ball to curve around the outside of the net and inside the base line. However, this move is more like dumb luck than an actual specialty shot. The amount of power and spin needed to do something like the "Boomerang Snake" would be utterly impossible for a jr. player to accomplish.

In the 1970's a player emerged into the tennis world that disprupted the usual, aggressive plays of the slice and straight forward attack. These people were called "moonballers" and their game consisted of basically nothing other than high, deep topspins. The moonball is difficult to attack, since it usually throws the defender off gaurd and disrupts their comfortable attacking zone. The ball is hit so high, that an aggressive return is virtually unhittable, and incidently, the defender has more time to make an error. Today, in the real world of tennis, players have developed counter measures, so the moonball isn't widley used. However, in PoT, Oishi Syuichirou has developed the moonball technique into his "Moon Volley", an attack that utilizes the high topspin but with a twist. When the ball hits the baseline, it doesn't bounce. Instead, it spins in place, never giving the opponant a chance to return it.

Tezuka Kunimitsu, the captain of Seigaku Tennis Club is a powerful opponant, but not because of his hard hitting slice or his magnificent smashes. No, Tezuka is all about control and concise play, which is what makes his "Dropvolly" such a deadly weapon. In actual tennis, the drop shot is a devistating weapon that no player is immune to. Today, while watching the match between Kuerten and Nalbandian, I saw exactly how dangerous a well timed drop shot was, as Kuerten repeatedly sent Nalbandian scrambling to the net. Though a dropvolly is used best against players who are slow or don't care to approach the net, Nalbandian has astounding stamina, his consistant rush to return Kuertan's attack illustrated perfectly how a good drop shot should work. Tezuka's attack is a classic move, executed perfectly, with the ball actually rolling back to the net as a well performed dropvolly should. I'd have to say, out of all the moves in PoT, this one is the most true to its realistic counterpart.

It's actually difficult to make comparisons between PoT and the sport that created the cartoon. Both, in my opinion are uniquly sensational and undoubtably entertaining. I can watch PoT and disregard how outrageous the moves and players are. It is, after all, just a cartoon, and I do have to give credit to the creator who built this story around such a terrific sport. I would never have given tennis a second look, if I hadn't sat down and watched this fantastic series. You can be sure to find me plastered to the televison when Wimbledon gets under way this June.