Ramblings of a Crowe

Do not EVER buy an E-Machine

Well, you can say I'm an unhappy consumer and since their customer service department is worth about whatever floats in the bottom of my toilet bowl, I figured I'd write a small little rant on how absolutly worthless these things are to vent my fusteration.

Firstly, you can all say "I told you so". I know a couple of you are shaking your heads and asking "Why in the hell did you buy one of those." Okay, you've got me, and I ask myself that all the time. If I could go back in time, I'd never ever even look twice and one of these things again. EVER. However, at the time I was deserperate for my own computer, since I knew my mom was going to destroy hers in the near future. Plus, we were always fighting over computer time, and buying an E-machine was quick fix and the cheapest way to fix the problem.

I can't blame the spyware or viruses I've gotten on the comptuer. That crap happens in this day and age, even when you do take percautions. And though the computer runs decently for the most part, save the CD burner is going to hell in a handbasket (and it's only a year old), I can live with that. I expected it on some level, since I was told that these machines (even by the guy who sold it to me) aren't really all that great.

What has sinched my mind into never, ever dealing with this peice of hardware again is the HORRIBLE customer service people. I have never in my life talked to a more condensending, arrogant group of assholes in my life. They make me want to go to their offices and vomit on the CEO's shoes. I suppose the customer service mirror's the product...utter Crap...So I shouldn't be to surprised. Still, working in the serivce industry myself, I have a tendancey to become pretty upset when treated poorly by CSR (customer service reps). The man I spoke to talked down to me, like I was an idiot, despite the fact I was being super nice (yelling at CSR's doesn't get you anywhere...I know...I am one). He was snooty, rude, and tried to make me feel like some uncooth, stupid idiot. All I wanted to know was why I had to reinstall every program on my computer when only one was giving me trouble. His answer was, "We only cater to the most basic of homeowners. You have a CD burner and from the way you talk, you obviously should know how to use it, since you're so worried about losing the stuff on your computer." Nice try, genius, but this stupid CD burner comes with a catch...I have never ever been able to burn anything but music and movies. There's NOTHING on this machine that allows me to save data to CD. I've tried everything...it won't work...unless, of course, I go purchase another program that allows that added amenity. Great fun, huh?

So, my answer then was, "Oh, I see! E-machines creates crappy shit to sell to stupid homeowners so they can suck their money dry! You're right, I'm a sucker for not spending the extra 100-200 more on a computer that is worth a shit. I'll remember that in the near future, and when anyone askes me what type of PC to buy. I'll also let them know that the tech support isn't too hot either...apparently they hire cranky, bored old men who can't get a job doing something better with their lives."

*smiles sweetly*

Oh, the last jibe was unfair. Especially coming from someone who does pretty much the same thing, just in a different business. However, the difference between that asshole and me is that I bet he's never made an appointment to meet with a customer on their property personally. I imagine he doesn't even give a shit about the product they're selling or the people who pay his wages by dumping money into their crappy computers. I care about my customers and I'm genuinely concerned about their grievences. Sure, I bitch about the nasty people I have to deal with, but I never said I treat them poorly. Nor do I, as a customer myself, fly off the handle. I maintained a civil tone with Mr. Condensending and treated him as he was treating me.

This is just my opinion...I'm entitled to have one and I think it's important for people to be aware of just what they're dealing with when they decide to do business with the people at E-Machines. I wouldn't recommend buying one...Never in a million years...and the number one reason is their crappy customer service.

I'm looking at one of those Sony laptops. I'm seriously considering getting one next spring...I was hooked when J pointed one out to me one day...*heh* They're pretty spendy, but I've always had good luck with Sony products, and I'm fairly confident in putting my money into their computers.

Today, I'm going to whine...

For a little bit anyway. So, those uninterested in my little irritated rant, you will probably want to skip over this segment.

J...I know what you mean...and couldn't agree more....God forbid people come to live in the US and be expected to at least respect the American culture and her people. That post of yours spoke volumes...good job!

ALSO, before I forget...I've added a summary section for ZERO and I've updated J's weblog link. It was changed recently, but I have now fixed it. Oh, and one more thing, Maynard P., if you ever happen upon this silly little hobby of mine, send me an e-mail you big dumbass. It hasn't changed. You know who you are.

Ok...now for my ranting...

Mother is on a cleaning rampage. It's 7:30 in the evening. Who cleans their entire house at 7:30pm? I don't understand her logic sometimes. Nor do I like becoming an unwilling party to her silly whims. Actually, more like scapegoat...You see, somehow all the messes made in the house were created by me. Everything from the dirty dishes in the sink to the two tiny spots on the carpet in the hallway.

I'll admit, I'm a messy person, but since I moved home several years ago, I've learned to contain most of my mess making to my room, and clean up after myself else where (God forbid I give her any ammo against me). Contrary to my mom's beliefs, I actually do scrub my own dishes out when I'm done and I often do all the dishes while I'm in the kitchen. I don't care who put them there... My reasoning behind not putting them in the dishwasher is simple. I get yelled at because I am apparently not compitent enough to load a dishwasher correctly. So, I leave that job for the master.

What really got me irritated though was when the crazed woman bursts in my room, vaccuum cleaner in hand, and points to the floor in the hallway while stating I needed to grab a toothbrush and rag. I gave her this blank stare, though I dared not ask "why". She was gonna tell me anyway. Apparently, two mysterious spots, the size of pea's mind you, were discovered in the hallway. Since they were kind of in front of my door (my room is the first room you walk by when going down the hall...my son's room, my parent's room, and bathroom are all down there too) I was obviously the one who put them there.

I certainly wish I would have inherited my mother's obvious clairvoyant skills. I mean, it must come in handy KNOWING that I'm the source of all these mysterious messes and carpet spots that pop up now and again. Perhaps from now on she should just rub my nose in them like a bad dog or something? That would teach me...Maybe I'm some sort of sleepwalker mess-maker? Anything is possible these days...but what it all boils down to is that she KNOWS it's all me...

Think I'm exaggerating? Ha!

Let me tell you a little story... not for the squeamish

This happened about four years ago, shortly after I moved back home. My sister was still living with us too, she might remember this little story and can vouche for it. I was sitting at the computer, going through some e-mails and surfing the web. It was a weekend, I believe, because everyone was home (we all work different hours so the weekends are the only time we are all home at once). Anyway, my mom comes barreling down the hallway, cleaning rag in hand and barges into my room with this "I'm going to kill you" look on her face. I didn't pay much attention to her, I figured either my son, who was about five or my sister had done something to annoy her. I'd barely been awake an hour or two...hardly enough time for me to cause any trouble.

Boy was I wrong. She starts yelling at me about finding a booger...YES...a booger on the wall in the bathroom. Apparently it was mine and I was to go clean it up immediatly. I don't remember saying anything to her at first. I think I was too stunned. Maybe I'd heard her wrong...Maybe she meant to say "Hunter", and granted five year olds do that sort of thing. Being his mom, I'm inclined to clean that sort of stuff up, no matter how nasty it is...She couldn't possibly belive that I, a 24 year old young woman wasn't capable of blowing her nose on kleenex like a civilized person, could she?

Oh ho...but she COULD. My sister, bless her soul (I knew she was good for something) heard it all and got pissed. She yelled at my mom for being such a dumbass (she didn't call her that, of course) and told her Hunter was the obvious suspect, to which my mom replies, that I was the only person home.

Home when? How could she tell what age it was? I had to clean it up anyway, since we all knew it came from my little bundle of joy and how she noticed it is beyond me... How long does it take a five year old child to pick his nose and then wipe it on the wall? As a mom, I can tell you it takes a matter of seconds...You'd think my mom would know this too, since she had two children of her own...Why in the hell she thought it was me was just totally flabbergasting...It still pisses me off when I think about it...

Back then, I didn't fight back much. I felt bad because I had to return to my parents house and therefore wasn't inclined to stand up for myself. I just took it and did what I was told...However, a person can only take so much. I'm still blamed for a lot of stuff, by my mom keeps it to herself for the most part. She has her moments, like today, and you can bet I swiftly reminded her that she had no friggin clue if the spots on the carpet were mine or not and that I DID NOT appricate her jumping to conclusions...I told her to be quiet after that, then went and cleaned them up anyway so she would stop whining about it.

I love my mom. She can be a lot of fun, but one of the most annoying traits she has is the way she condems people without even thinking things through. Once and idea is in her head, forget about changing it. It's not just cleaning, but other things as well. Now that I'm older, I have little patience for this particular personality quirk, and I'm quick to bite back. I'd love to know why she's so quick to point fingers...I've always assumed that maybe she picks on me because it takes a lot to get me riled. Mom's not really the most aggressive person in the world and she hates confrontation, so I'd make the easiest target compared to my sister and dad who can get mad pretty quickly. Unfortunatly, mom never knows when to stop, and once I'm pissed, I have a really nasty temper.

*sigh*

Well, I feel a bit better...not to mention the vacuum cleaner has stopped. I have been ordered to clean the bathroom tub. Fair enough, but I think I'll do it tomorrow just to piss her off. Oh, and that windex she was looking for an hour ago...it's sitting nicely at my feet, but don't think I'll tell her where it went anytime soon... (^-^)

Summary 4 (ZERO)

Pg's 74-96
(ZERO can be accessed from the "link section" in the sidebar. Book 1 and 2 are availible, though Book 1 will be coming down in the near future)

Julia is having a hard time in the desert. It doesn't take long before she collapses in the desert, unable to go on. Lucky for her, Geo see's something strange and investigates, only to discover her on the brink of death. He checks her pulse, and finding her still alive, he gives her water. The other boys show up and ask him if he's found another dead body, to which he replies that it's not a dead person at all, and even more, it's a woman. Batsu, Agi, and Zatto immediatly perk up at this bit of information. Batsu shoves Geo out of the way. Geo tells them it's not nice to steal from the living, and the other's declare they're saving her, not stealing from her. Then they carry her off, leaving Geo to mutter something about being kidnappers.

Meanwhile, somewhere else, Minerva has decided to do some research on Geo. She's going through his files and stumbles upon some information pertaining to his father, Kageo Akira. Apparantly, Geo's dad was a well established doctor, with licenses in General Surgury, Brain Surgury, Dermatology, Internal Medicine, as well as part of the Research and Development team. She's astounded by the information, but something else even more surprising reveals itself. A thesis paper, documenting the research and development of a particular virus is found on a computer disk. Apparently, people infected with the virus are born genderless (neither male nor female), though this only occurs when exposure to radioactivity is high enough. These people are immune to all other viruses and also display a higher level of intellegence and sensitivity to stimuli. The report reeks of chemical weapondry, but, Minerva isn't sure what to make of it. She reads on to discover that Kageo Akira died at the age of 32 due to complications of several illnesses and over exposure to pluetonium. He had run from the Zoo sometime before that and only returned after he was found dead.

Julia wakes up to the sounds of the boy's converstation. They're laughing and teasing each other. Geo notices she's awake, and offers her some water. She drinks like six jugs while the group watches in astonishment. Refreshed she takes a minute to take in her surroundings and is panicked when she sees the group of young men staring at her. Geo asks if she has a name, but she pulls away, afraid to speak after remembering what her would be rapists had said "It's a woman's voice."

Geo and Batsu look at each other. Batsu think's she's crazy, but Geo continues to talk to her, asking her where she was from, if she knew where they were, etc. Julia perks up when she hears him mention that they are looking for Ogawa. He invites her to come along, telling her that traveling alone in the desert is a bad idea anyway. The other boys round up some extra clothes and send her off to the showers.

Of course, boys will be boys, and one by one they sneak out of bed and meet outside the bathroom door. They argue outside, yelling at Geo who has put the bathroom door back up (remember he's funny about stuff like that). Apparently, he's done such a good job, they can't even peek though the cracks and Batsu says that's not a problem, he'll just make his own. But Batsu being the overzealous young man that he is knocks the door completely down, spilling the voyures onto the bathroom floor where Julia is drying off. Julia just stares at them, a bit surprised, but it's the boys who are shocked. The woman they resuced has the chest of a man...literally.

They all leave, crying, while Geo puts the door back up and apologizes. When he tries to leave, Julia stops him. He tells her not to worry. Everyone will leave her alone, but she points to the shower head and then to him. She'd over heard that he'd not taken a shower. He says he'll do it later, and Julia changes into the clothes they'd given her. She motions that she'd wait while he showered, and Geo finally gives in, though he tries to tease her about peeping (which she doesn't find funny).

****for the record, I'll continue calling Julia "she".****

Inside the shower, Geo talks to Julia. He realizes she doesn't talk and thinks up a way to communicate by having her answer yes no questions with a knock. One knock for yes. Two for no. He asks her if she's hurt, and she answers "yes". He goes through about four or five body parts, to which she answers all "yes". Geo says no way, she couldn't be injured everywhere, and sums it up to muscle pains.

The next day, Batsu brings Julia a stick and asks if she can write, then asks her for her name. Julia thinks about her pet crow she left back at Admiral Batsu's home, and then writes the word "Karasu". (Japanese for "crow")

Geo notices the choker "Karasu" is wearing and asks her what it's for. She covers her neck and runs off. Batsu grabs Geo by the arm and tells him that's not a question he should ask. Collars are the mark of a slave. He believes that "Karasu" was kidnapped and somehow managed to escape. He suggests that they continue to help her, but Geo is still hung up on the slave bit. He gets upset, asking what kind of people would do that sort of thing. He wonders what they were thinking, putting collars on people, and then he remembers how he used to think the barcodes put into their ears back at the Zoo were bad...

A helicoptor appears and there's no place for them to run. Agi and Zatto start to panic, but the helicoptor surprisingly just turns and leaves. Geo and Batsu just watch with mild interest...However, Zatto starts yelling that Karasu has taken off, and Geo sees her running up a sand dune. He gives chase, shouting at her to stop. He tells her that she's going the wrong way and if they get lost, they'll all die. Karasu grabs him by the arm and yanks him up the dune. Below, they see the place they'd been looking for. Batsu is a bit miffed by Geo's poor choice in direction, and Agi and Zatto sing praises to Karasu, who is the hero of the day. Geo starts to wonder about Karasu's intuition and Batsu tells him not to worry about it.

They reach the buildings, only to find it abandoned. Even more odd, almost all of the Ogawa's belongings are still there and even the meal they last ate is still on the table. However, there's no one to be found anywhere. "Karasu" runs though the building, opening doors and looking in closets. Geo and Batsu watch her, and finally Geo mentions that he thinks "Karasu" might be Ogawa's missing Julia. Batsu ponders that Julia was a girl, but Geo has started thinking...

****
Next time:
Both Batsu and Geo recieve some surprising night time visits. A long lost friend returns as well, though the reunion isn't as pleasant as they all hoped. Things will start picking up after this latest chapter...

A bit about ZERO manga

I really hate it when people use "meh".

It makes me want to gouge their eyes out with a blunt object.

Anyway...

I watched episode 3 of Gankutsuou last night and all I can say is...Amazing...the show keeps getting better and better. This is a keeper folks, so if it's evern licensed in the States, pick it up. The adaptation from the orginal book "Count of Monte Cristo" is supurb. So far, it's paid great respect to such a wonderful tale and I have no complaints. Some people are upset that the didn't start out at the beginning, where the Count is thrown in prison. I'd like to point out this show is only like 24-26 episodes (I can't remember) long. Anyone who's read the book should understand that doing the entire story in detail would be impossilbe. The Count's days in prison will be revealed via flashback, that's enough to convey what has happened, so just enjoy this show for what is is, okay...Read the book if you want the full story (as I stated before).

I'll be putting up a few more pages of ZERO this weekend, and I have to figure out what to do with the first book. I don't have enough room to keep it posted on my MSN site...*sigh* For those who don't know exactly what ZERO is, it's a suburb manga that gets little to no attention. Honestly, I don't know why this gem hasn't become popular, it's such a wonderful story.

Zero, by Yamazaki Takako is a story that takes place in Japan after a terrible accident has left the country ravaged by a nuclear holocaust. It's not a mech manga, if that's what your thinking. No, instead it's about a group of boys who stumble on a horrific seceret regarding the events that have ruined their country. The story begins 17 years after the accident at a place called "ZOO". It's a military installation run by the US Government. Many young people live there, learning to work and live their lives admist a world that has come to depend on militarisim. Everything is orderly. Life has no spark or meaning.

Looking for some sort of excitment, some sort of relief from the monotony, the young people have turned to drugs, one in particular called ZERO. The rumor is it makes the user slip into a dream like state and witness the lives of their past. Through their sleep, people slip back to the beings the were before the accident and live lives as "normal" children did back in those days. However, what they don't realize is that using Zero has consiquences.

Our hero, Kageo Akatuki lives for his dreams. He's an addict and a wistful dreamer. A series of events gets him tagged as a murderer and thrown in prison with his arch nemisis, Eishi F. Batsu. Together, the two rivals manage to escape the Zoo and begin a journey across a radioactive wasteland that was once Japan.

Along the way, they stumble onto some astounding military operations and uncover several terrifying secerets about their lives. Soon, the government is after them and they are running for their lives.

Really, this is a horrible summary. Sorry, but I'm at work and rushed. *sigh* Zero is a confusing story, with so many plots, sub plots and little details that it can be difficult to keep up. However, this is one of the reasons I love this story so much. It's intreaguing. It's complicated. Not to mention very funny and incredibly heartbreaking at the same time. I highly recommending reading it if you can. I'm going to continue working on my horrible translations for as long as I can. Perhaps, someday, we'll see Zero on the shelves of bookstores here in the US.

Flu Shots, what's the big deal?

People are panicking because of the shortage of flu shots here in the US. It's all over the news, in the papers, on the radio. People are talking about it at work, on the street, via e-mail. It's like the flu is the next Black Plague and we're all doomed to die if we don't have our shot.

I don't get it.

What's the big deal? I mean, I understand that certain people should get a shot. The elderly, Health care and food workers, those who suffer from other illnesses that could be in danger if they happened to catch the flu, perhaps some small children (thought I'll get to that later), etc. Maybe these people should be getting the flu shot. It'll probably benifit them, but other than that, what the hell is the problem? When did coming down with the flu become such a big deal?

I have no idea when this new fad started, but I remember a time when there were no flu shots and everyone never paid such a simple sickness another glance. If you happened to get the flu, you stayed in bed and let it run it's course. Sure, some people get super sick and end up in the hospital, but that was rare. Has it become more common? Now that I think about it, I haven't had the flu in YEARS. I was in highschool the last time I got really sick with the flu and it was nothing compared to the bronchitis I had when I was 15 (which left my hearing damaged thanks to severe ear infections). Now people are running to Canada to get their precious flu shot because the US isn't providing enough vaccine for everyone here.

Do people even understand what the flu is? I can't help but wonder. In this day and age where sterilization is popular, I worry about things like this. I mean, think about it, we can buy all sorts of cleaning aids that kill germs (bleach, lysol, etc.), laws and rules keep our food and goods clean and realitivly germ free, new science lets us lead fairly germ free lives, immunizations keep us healthy, and medicines are availible to combat annoying bacterial diseases (which many doctors hand out like candy). Compared to our ancestors, we are fairly safe from dying due to bacteria and viruses, mainly because we have little to no contact with them.

This is a good thing, I'll be happy to admit. I like being able to clean my bathroom and kitchen with lysol. I like going to the doctor when I get really sick and having medicines to get rid of the infection. I like eating food and knowing that for the most part, it's safe to eat (though not totally and if you think it is, you're fooling yourself). However, I think perhaps, we've crossed a line and that maybe our hypochondria has gone a bit too far. So far, infact, that we've put ourselves in danger by NOT allowing ourselves to become in contact with certain bacteria and germs.

No, I'm not a quack and I don't think people should run out and start licking toilet bowls, but if you've taken even just a little bit of microbiology, you might understand what I'm talking about. Bacteria and viruses, many of them anyhow, are constantly changing. They can adjust to their environments just like living creatures do (though viruses aren't living, technically). It's a process known in science as adaptation. We are fools to think that we'll evade infection forever and by lowering our immune systems against the simplests of pathogens, we are putting ourselves in danger.

Case in point, let's talk about the anitbiotic craze. People rush to the doctor at the slightest sniffle and are given a handful of antibiotics, regardless of the diagnosis. Maybe it's Arithromicine, Zithromax, Penicillin, Bactogen, Amoxocillin, or whatever. They're all popular drugs used to treat everything from ear infections to pneumonia (antibiotics DO NOT help viral infections folks). I've taken them all at one point in time, thanks to a case of chronic bronchitis that has left me susceptiable to various lung ailments. However, I don't think I would have ever had such a problem if it wasn't for my mother, the queen of Hypochondria, who insisted that at every little fever and stuffy nose, I be put on antibiotics. By the time I was fifteen and came down with another case of bronchitis, the germs causing the problem had built up a resistance and none of the regular antibiotics seemed to work. A simple case of bronchitis soon grew out of hand and my ears, sinuses, eyes, etc were infected. I ended up with pnuemonia and my hearing was damaged due to ear infections. I was put on another antibiotic, a super drug they told me (one they give to AIDS patients...no, I don't have AIDS), and that worked like a charm. However, I was sick for over five months, and not only do I still have a loud ringing in both my ears, but I was left with a kind of asthma that appears when I am sick (though it's getting worse as I get older).

After talking with several doctors, I told them my history with antibiotics and they all agreed that my system, and the bacteria that are usually kept in check by my own immune system had become reisistant to certain drugs, creating a kind of "super germ". I'm often sick with various colds and upper respiratory infections, but I refuse to rush to the doctor until I've given my body time to fight off the infection on it's own. My antibiotic options are limited enough as it is, and I would hate for my "lung bugs" to up the ante by becoming even more resiliant.

My point is, antibiotics should always be a last resort instead of a first. The best means of fighting a cold or the flu is to let your body do the work first, then go to the doctor if things get out of hand. At the rate we're going, such common, easily controled germs like Strep and Staph will be our downfall (since they are EVERYWHERE). The flu will be the least of our worries.

My mother and I constantly fight about my son's health. I refuse to take him to the doctor for every little thing. She gets incredibly angry with me, since my son has hearing trouble as well, thanks to a constant plague of ear infections since the time he was born (he has a birth defect that doesn't allow fluid to drain from his ears properly, it's not antibiotic related). He's been on many antibiotics, and they were necessary. His ear infections were very real and untreatable without antibiotics. We've finally seemed to nip the problem though, with the aide of two suguries, though I don't think he'll ever hear as good as a normal person (his speech is just fine though). Still, I don't see any reason for him to be handfed antibiotics for a cold or flu...which are usually caused by viruses anyway. I won't have him being like me when he grows up, constantly sick and with few options left. I'll make him suffer through runny noses and coughs for his own sake. I'll make him get his necessary shots (though I won't make him get a flu shot. I didn't get one when I was a kid and I lived) and I'll only take him to the doctor if his colds only get worse and not better after a good bout of rest and fluids. That's what antibiotics and medicine was made to do. It should NEVER EVER be a subsititute for our own immune system, but somehow, that's the way things have become.

People are wimpy.

If you're one of these people like my mom, who rushes to the clinc at each little cough or runny nose, you might want to do a bit of research. You're doing yourself more harm than good in long run. You'll regret it. Buck up and stop being a baby. A little cold and flu is unpleasant, but so is a couple nights in the hospital hooked up to an IV drip because all the common antibiotics you can take no longer work. Think of the hospital bill! They aren't cheap you know!

****

Bleach: Episode 3

This episode begins back in Ichigo's room, where he questions Rukia about the Hollow's orgins. He knows it was Orihime's brother, but he demands to know why and how. Rukia gives a brief explination about how Hollows were once all humans and that they are nothing more than monsters once they become a Hollow. Ichigo tells Rukia he can't kill Orihime's brother to which she replies that if he DOESN'T slay him, Orihime's brother will never have a chance to be saved. At first, Rukia believes that the Hollow (knowns as Acidwire to us manga readers) is after Ichigo, but then she remembers Orihime's leg and starts to put things together. She tells Ichigo that it isn't him that's in danger, but Orihime
instead!

Over at Orihime's place, she and Tatsuki are chatting away and enjoying the evening. On the shelf sits her pink bear, Enraku. Enraku's face suddenly rips and he falls to the floor. Orihime goes to pick him up, noticing the tear. As she's asking how it could have happened, a loud banging can be heard in the distance.

Meanwhile, Ichigo carries Rukia on his back as they hurry to Orihime's place. She tells Ichigo more about how Hollows come to be and how they devour their families first. She reminds him or Orihime's legs.

Back at Orihme's house, she and Tatsuki are frightened, not understanding where the noise is coming from. Orihime feels something in her hand, and she realizes that her stuffed bear, Enraku is bleeding. A giant hand comes out of h is face and peirces her heart. Her body falls to the floor and Tatsuki yells at for her. Tatsuki is then knocked back, her arm torn open by some unseen force. She looks around and his tossed about some more, but can't fight back. Tatsuki can't see the Hollow looming infront of her and she is pinned to the ground, injured and confused.

In the corner, Orihime watches, also frightened and confused. She can see the Hollow perfectly. She can also see her body, laying several feet away. A chain attached to her chest and connects her to the body on the floor. She tugs at the chain, noticing it hurts her.

The Hollow starts to strangle Tatsuki. Orihime attacks the Hollow, throwing her body into his arm and freeing Tatsuki. Orihime tries to help Tatsuki, but she can't see either Orihime or the Hollow. She passes out as the Hollow explains this to Orihime, using her name. Orihime asks the Hollow how he knows her and he asks how she could forget his voice. Orihime tells him to stay away and this enrages him. He goes to strike, but Ichigo appears and cuts his hand, scaring him away.

Ichigo is startled when Orihime speaks his name. She's not suppose to be able to see him, but then he sees her body laying on the floor and remembers what Rukia told him. Shinigami can be seen only by other spirits, which means Orihime is dead. The Hollow comes back to confirm Ichigo's fears.

Ichigo attacks the Hollow in anger, but the Hollow goes around him and grabs Orihime's "Chain of Fate", pulling her off the ground. Ichigo strikes again, but can't pierce the snake scales and is thrown out the window. The Hollow holds Orihime in his hands, and tells Ichigo to stand down or else. Ichigo gets hit by the tail and eats concrete on the street. The Hollow disappears inside with Orihime and Rukia runs to Ichigo's side.

Inside, the Hollow asks his captive if she's really forgotten him. He lets her down and Orihime stares at his mask, perplexed. Suddenly, she says "Brother"... Outside, Rukia is still trying to get Ichigo up. He's not hurt too badly and Rukia reminds him that the Hollow is no longer Orihime's brother. He lacks a human heart and Ichigo must exterminate him.

Back in the apartment, Orihime asks if the Hollow is really her brother. She says her brother would never do such horrible things. He tells her that he was lonely, that he watched year after year as she slowly began to pray for him less. He watched her spend more and more time with her friends, and felt she no longer remembered him at all. He became so lonley and sad that he couldn't bear it. He then grabs Orihime and tells her if she even loves him but a little, he shouldn't betray him any longer. He tells her to do as he says, then goes to eat Ichigo. Orihime begs him to leave Ichigo alone and the Hollow grabs her, telling her to shut up. He says it's all her fault anyway and she will do as he says from now on or else he'll kill her first.

Ichigo has snuck back in and stabs the Hollows snake tail over and over again. The Hollow throws Orihime away from him, then lunges after her, but Ichigo intercepts him and cuts off his arm. He then asks the Hollow why big bothers are born first? Ichigo doesn't wait for an answer, and tells the Hollow that it's so they can protect the little brothers and sisters that come after. He also says that a true big brother would never say "I'm going to kill you" to a younger sibling.

The Hollow tells him to shut up, that Orihime belongs to him. He was the one who took care of her when their parents abandoned them. It was he who raised her on his own, even when he was a child himself. He then pleads to Orihime to come with him, that if she does, he'll let the others live. Rukia tells Orihime that it's a trap and the Hollow begins to reflect on some of his lingering memories. This seems to drive him mad, and her bashes his head into the wall, then screams that Orihime belongs to him.

The Hollow attacks Ichigo, but Ichigo blocks him with the Zanpakto (his sword). Ichigo tells the Hollow that Orihime belongs to Orihime and no one else. The Hollow goes outside and Ichigo follows, but is hurt when the Hollow spits acid out of his mouth and onto Ichigo's hand. Ichigo drops his sword and is helpless. The Hollow comes back around to take out Ichigo, but Orihime stops him with her body.

The Hollow has bitten Orihime's shoulder, but he doesn't kill her. She stands there, hugging him to her and they sink to the ground. Orihime apologizes to him, saying it was her fault. She begged him not to leave her the day he died and that's why he couldn't move on. She says she's always felt he was watching over her, and tells him she knows it was he who pulled her out of the way of the car the day before. She tells him that she felt that if she couldn't take care of herself, he would never rest peacefully, so she tried to show him she would be okay without him. She didn't realize it would make him so sad and lonely. She thought being happy would show him he didn't need to worry about her, but she only made him sad instead.

The Hollow starts to tell her "No, that's not it" but his mask begins to fade in and out and he begins to scream. Ichigo thinks he's going to attack again, but Rukia tells him that the Hollow is fighting with himself. She says he probably didn't become a Hollow on his own, that he was made into one. She says that stronger Hollows used him to come after Ichigo, but she's not sure why.

Suddenly, the mask breaks free and Orihime's brother stares down at everyone.
Orihime starts to cry, but passes out. Both Ichigo and her brother cry out and run to her, but Rukia tells them to calm down. The chain of fate is still attached so she can save her. Rukia beings to heal Orihime and the Hollow notices her hair pins. Ichigo asks what he's looking at, then goes on to tell him that Orihime wears them everyday, because they were a present from her older brother. Orihime's brother looks on, then turns away to pick up Ichigo's sword. He says if he stays, he'll only become a monster again and hurt people. He puts the sword to his neck, but Ichigo tries to stop him. Rukia tells him to let it be, that he won't die, he'll just go to the Soul Society. Though Shinigami exterminate Hollows, they do so by freeing them of their sins so they can pass on to the Society. Orihime's brother smiles and raises the sword, but Orihime comes to and asks him to wait. She says that on the day he gave her the hairpins, they had a fight and they didn't speak to each other as he left for work. They never had a final goodbye, so she wanted to take the chance to say it now. Orihime sits up and her brother looks down at her tearfully as she says "See you later, brother". He smiles at her and tells her, "Yeah, I'll see you later," then disappears as he runs the Zanpakto through himself. Orihime sobs on Rukia's shoulder.

The next day at school, Orihime is telling everyone that a gang of Yakuzua (mobsters) broke into her apartment and blew a hole in the wall with a gun. Everyone laughs at her and tells her she daydreams too much, but Tatsuki remembers the same thing. Ichigo and Rukia listen from afar and Ichigo gives Rukia a dumbounded look, then asks her "So, this is what you did last night?" Rukia says "Yup," and we see a flashback from the previous night. Ichigo turns to wrap things up, but Orihime tries to stop him, saying she's got a ton of questions. Rukia shoves this lighter looking duck thing in Orihime's face and it explodes. Orihime passes out while Ichigo screams in fear. She tells him not to worry and drags Tatsuki next to Orihime. She tells him that what she used is a memory modifier, and replaced tonights memories with something else. Ichigo asks with what, but Rukia doesn't know. The memories are totally random and they'd find out in the morning.

Back at school, Ichigo asks if that's what she used on his family when the Hollow put a hole in the side of their house. She replies "Yup." Ichigo is quiet for a long long time, and then he holds his hand out to Rukia. He tells her that he'd be happy to help her out with her "job" for a while, even though he doesn't know if he'd call himself prepared and he's not such a great person that he'd throw his life away for complete strangers. Rukia smiles and accepts his offer.

A Manatee comeback?

I'm bored.

That's kind of funny, when I think about it, there's all kinds of stuff I can be doing. I have projects to be worked on, but I don't have the motivation to work on them...Sad, isn't it?

I watched a couple Japanese movies with J today...*laughs* We always choose the winners, don't we? Really though, I do love Japanese movies. I wish I could find more DVD's here in town, but living in the sticks it's hard to find anything not "mainstream". *sigh* Thankgoodness for the internet I suppose...Anyway, the shows were watched were "Taboo", a Shinsengumi drama with a twist *laughs* and Suicide Club...Both were very, uh, interesting, to say the least.

After that, I watched the newest dvd of Texhnolyze...When I thought things couldn't get any more confusing...*sigh* Oh well, I love the show for its complexity and I'll admit, stuff got a whole hell of a lot more interesting. Besides, it's about damn time the main character actually DID something...*laughs*

Anyway, what was I talking about?

Oh, my boredom and projects...Yeah...

I've got all sorts of art projects laying about...I haven't touched them in months. Drawings go unfinished, sculpture lay around in my closet and in my car...A couple of half finished comic's I started are shoved in a drawer. What's the matter with me? I'm happiest when I'm making something, but I can't seem to pick myself up and get motivated. Everytime I start to draw something, I start to think "Why bother?" Then the entire "You suck anyway" gloom sinks in...*sigh* Then I shove what ever I was working on in my closet or under the bed. It's the same with any stories I happen to be writing too. I write them, but then crumple them up and throw them away...I know I'm a creative person, but I think I've somehow misplaced my "creativity" somewhere...I wish I could find it...

A faint spark of hope lightened my mood yesterday when I was talking with J. We started to discuss our old joint comic, "The Manatee". I don't know why I ever stopped working on it...it wasn't complicated to draw...it wasn't time consuming...and moreover, it was fun. We shared it with family members and friends, who hounded us for the weekly updates. My boss still has copies he printed off hanging on his office wall. *laughs*

When we came up with the idea, we did it for our own entertainment, which made it pretty stressfree. Our crazy ideas put onto paper for us to laugh at...our delusional, aburidities that only we understood right in front of us. It was great. Amazing, it seemed other people enjoyed our twisted humor too, though some of the stuff we had planned would surely shock them...*laughs* It never got that far, only ten panels in I quit working on it and it sort of faded away...It was sad. We got emails from people asking us what happened, and I feel sort of bad about not continuing...

Anyway, J and I were talking yesterday, and the Manatee came up. All of a sudden all these ideas came pouring out and it was decided. Billy and Tracy would make a come back, along with their heafty side kick, the ever friendly sea-cow. Today I recieved the old copies J had thankfully saved on his computer, and I'm hoping to start over by redrawing the first few panels and improving on them somewhat. He's also said he would host them on his website when finished. Though he gives me a lot of the credit, it's not true. Without J, there would be no "Manatee". He contributes greatly to the majority of the ideas and together we build a twisted world based on our sense of humor...*I can see people who know us shuddering in fear*

Perhaps, with the revival of "The Manatee", I'll regain some confidence and creativity I've since lost these past months. I really wish I could afford to go back to art school...but that's not going to happen anytime soon. I loved those classes. There are tons of art forums and such on the internet, but I avoid them at all costs. Many of the people there are rude and hardly helpful. The word "critque" apparently means to them "make other people feel bad about themselves". It wasn't like that in a classroom. People told you if they liked your work or if they disliked it. The pointed out mistakes and what could be improved. I liked having my stuff critiqued. It helped me out. Even when my projects were horrible, I didn't mind being told so. However, I suppose since the internet makes us faceless, it's okay to be ruthless...Though I'd never behave that way.

I haven't been to an artweb site in over a year...the last time I posted anything on the internet was here, a few months ago...and even then I was reluctant (but since this is my site, I figured I'll do what I want). Really, I shouldn't listen to what obnoxish and classless people like them say, but it's rough considering I'm hard enough on myself. I HATE everything I do...even the picture my class chose to be entered in the art show....one of five pieces from my class of 20...and you know what, I had it pulled. I didn't think it was good enough...I still don't, even though it hangs on my wall. Yet, I'm left wondering, "How would it have done if I'd allowed it to be entered?"

Stupid me for not even trying...

Well, even though I'd hardly call "The Manatee" a great peice of work, it might be enough to break my slump. I loved creating that little bit of absurdity. I loved not worrying about crappy artwork. I loved drawing Tracy and his persistantly scowling face (he's my favorite). I loved laughing so hard tears came to my eyes as J and I discussed the plans for the devious trio. Those were good times.

So, stay tuned. Hopefully, in the next few weeks, "The Manatee" will make it's come back.

The Wallflower

The other day, I picked up a manga out of sheer boredom, not knowing what I would find behind the pages. I was attracted to the pretty cover art, and the short synopsis on the back sounded entertaining enough. I had no idea what a gem I'd stumbled upon.

The manga is "The Wallflower" by Tomoko Hayakawa. The story is about four young men living in a large mansion together while the attend school. Their land-lady has made them a proposition. If they can change her socially inadept neice into a lady, they can live at the house rent free. The young hero's jump at the chance, not realizing how big a challenge they've taken on.

Enter the niece, Sunako Nakahara, a young girl who fancies the darkness of her room and has a serious obession with slasher flicks (she often talks to Jason when upset...) Her long black hair hangs in her face, hiding her from view of other people and obstructing her vision as well. She slithers about like Lurch, and scares the bejeezus out of the boys. Her only friends are an anotimical model named Hiroshi and a human skeleton named Josephine.

Needless to say, Sunako is a piece of work. She despises other human interaction, and sits in her room in the dark watching horror films all day long. Just getting her to go to school is a chore and it often requires some kicking and screaming, and occasionally a bit of bloodshed...Not only that, her physical apperance is a mess. She hasn't cut her hair in ages. She hasn't even seen her own face in TWO YEARS...She dresses like a homeless person and is in dire need of some sunlight.

However, Sunako wasn't always so anti-social. She was shot down by a popular young boy at school. He told her he didn't like ugly chicks and to go away. Ever since then, Sunako has faded into a world of "Dark and Light". Her deslusions have consumed her so much, that she refers to beautiful people as "Creatures of the Light", and is terrified that if one of these "light creatures" touches her, she'll melt like the wicked witch.

So, here the boys are with a delusional, emotionally scarred girl and free rend being dangled in their face. They try to be friendly, but to tell the truth, they're all terrified of her. She's so incredibly creepy and unfriendly that the entire house is jumpy at her just being there...However...they do TRY to make nice with the Sadako (chick from The Ring) look alike.

(boys...please don't do this if your trying to make friends with a girl...)

For awhile, it appears their efforts are in vain. Sunako slithers about the house, when she actually leaves her room that is...but after a series of events, she seems to warm up to them...though they aren't sure if it's exactly what they're looking for...

(aww, she's cooking for them!)

At school, she's become quite popular...much to her dismay. There's a bounty placed on her head for anyone who can get a picture of her face. And after Kyohei intervines to stop the relentless chasing, the "cool" girls decided that Sunako has over stepped her bounds. They try to bully her, but we then see another side of the quiet, reclusive Sunako...She's not exactly a push over...in fact...she's quite violent when cornered...

(Kyohei is in love...)

All seems pretty much hopeless, and our heros are about to give up. Sunako isn't just a social outcast, she's also violent, has decided she needs to kill Kyohei (who she seems to like the most), and just plain refuses to cooporate. However, when Kyohei is kidnapped by a sleazy outfit that wants him to star in their indecent productions, Sunako surprises everyone and mounts an effort to save him...however, her motives aren't so noble. Kyohei is her prey...only she can kill him.

Anyway, the remaining boys clean her up, since the club will only admit the most chic of the chic, and Sunako doesn't complain. They're surprised to find she is actually quite pretty, though her dark and terrifying personality are still there. Kyohei seems to be the only person she'll semi-listen to, and once they rescue him from the club, it's up to him to stop the chainsaw wielding domanaxtrix clad Sunako...

Alas, when all is said and done...Sunako goes back to her cave dwelling, Slasher loving ways and the boys are no posed with not only a slithering recluse, but also a violent, psychotic personality...It should make for a fun story...

That's a really bad summary I just wrote. I left a bunch of stuff out, but I didn't want to put in a ton of spoilers. I'm not sure how many volumes this series is, but I hope it goes on for a bit. I really, really enjoyed this title. It reminds me a lot "Graviation", but minuse the shonen-ai. The art work is also neater, but messy art work is what adds the the appeal of Gravi. It exemplifies the insanity. Wallflower is insane and nutty, but no where near as chaotic as Gravitation. However, it's the insanity that draws me to this manga. It's freaking halarious! The boys crack me up as they live in terror of Sunako. None of them are sure what to make of her. Kyohei is the only one who isn't totally petrified of her and the two of them just duke it out from time to time. It's so funny. Sunako is an awesome heroine! She's not wimpy, she's weird, she doesn't act like a stupid bimbo...she's perfect! It just kills me when she goes psycho on someone. She unstoppable, like the terminator!

Honestly, if you want to read a non-conventional shojo series, I think this one is the way to go. It's different. It's quirky. It's halarious. Check it out!

Okay, I'm off to bed again. I'm feeling better, but no much...being at work today at 7am didn't help me much....

What is scary?

The answer would be, me being sick again...

I feel like crap. I think I'm coming down with a stupid cold or something, which means I'll be going to the doctor once it becomes some sort of serious infection...Always happens...never a surprised. Hence, my not writing for a while. I've been too damn tired to write anything. I'm tired now, but I know if I go to bed too early, I'll wake up at like 2am and not go back to sleep....*sigh*

But that doesn't mean I haven't planned out a few trivial topics to talk about. I'll do a summary for Bleach 3 soon, another Japanese Sharing Lesson (ha ha), something about Gravitation #8 (the greatness of K will be discussed), and a review of a fantastic new manga I picked up the other day. But I'd rather write about that stuff when I'm feeling better...

Today I watched Hellboy, which was a good movie. I really liked it. I also watched Mean Girls, which was a typical "highschool chick flick". It wasn't bad, just cliche, which was to be expected. Yesterday, I watched Van Helsing, which was a huge let down (as J reviewed). I was sorely disappointed in this film...they didn't even try to make it remotly interesting...

Which got me to thinking...why is it that in almost every single vampire flick, are the vampires made up to be so damned horrific. Okay, that is an oxymoron, I guess, since vampires are suppose to be horrific, but what I means is, why are they always turned into some sort of ghoulish corpse with rotting eyeballs, or bat wings?

Why?

Hasn't the American film industry realized that perhaps beautiful and elegant can be more terrifying than freakish and grotesque? You know, some of the most splendidly beautiful things in nature and the most horrific. Look no further than certain butterflies, or the frogs of South America...perfect examples of creatures that appear harmless, but are infact, deadly. They use that beauty to kill, to attract prey, to protect themselves. Isn't that a frightening concept?

We are brought up learning to associate evil things with the freakish and grotesque, while beauty is the symbol of peace and goodness. Isn't it more frightening to have your visions twisted about? To know that there is maybe evil isn't so "black and white"? If you can't identify the danger, to me, that's terrifying.

So why is it that American horror films are so possessed with creating insanely hideous monsters and hacking people to pieces. Body count doesn't make the movie, folks. Sure, Alien was a great film and the aliens were fanastic, but I don't dwell on the movies. Preditor was another show that was entertaining, but once again, it doesn't really leave me shaking in my boots at night (then again, it was more an action film but still, it had a "monster" so I'm counting it). Freddy, Chucky, Jason, Hellraiser, Dracula 2000...Give me a break...None of them were scary. I got the biggest kick out of Freddy, as a matter of fact. He was funny. Anyway, to say it again, none of these movies left me with any memorable impressions. I don't think about them and shiver.

Why didn't they? Hmm...the monster factor...the bad guy factor...They were too visiable. You knew what they were up to. You knew they were bad just by looking at them...they were far too outrageous to be believable. They were too absurd.

Why movies stick with me then? Not many. I'm a tough nut to scare. However, Pet Semetary terrified me. It still does and I haven't watched it in 15 years (give or take). Why? The entire burying your dead and having them come back to life freaked me out. The mysticisim behind it. The evilness of the film. I mean, dead is dead for a reason. No human has any right to tinker with mother nature or God's domain. Not to mention, none of us know what happens when we die, so we are only left with our beliefs and our imaginations, both of which can devise anything more terrifying than any movie director. It was sad that the guy's kid died...but it should have stayed that way. "They never come back the same," he was told...

Another one? The Ring (Japanese version). Scared the hell out of me. I disliked the American version and not because I happen to enjoy Japanese films. Japanese make bad shows just like the US. However, at the end of the American Ring, they totally ruined the show by trying to incoorporated satanisim and hell into it. That just plain pissed me off. Why, someone tell me, did they think that would make the movie scarier than the orginal story? Sadako was scary enough as an evil spirit bent on cursing people to die. The devil didn't need to help her out...But what truely made that movie scary was the "bad guy" was a little girl. A regular girl who had horrible things happen to her. She wasn't a hideous monster....that we knew of...we didn't see much of her face...We didn't know what her motives really were either...other than she died a horrible death. Much of the movie was left up to the viewers imagination.

Those two stick out in my head the most. Yes, those two. Like I said, it's tough to scare me. Usually once I get a sight of the baddies, I can't watch the movie anymore. Case in point, "Signs" was scary, right up until they showed us the aliens. After that, I was really bent out of shape...all fear left me and I watched the end of the movie in complete boredom....

Please, American Movie Makers...stop creating dumbass horror baddies. Make films like Pet Semetary and The Ring (Japanese version) for those of us who want to be "really" scared. I'm not saying get rid of Freddy and Jason, they're a fun crew too, but they aren't scary.

Which brings me back to Vampires. Stop making them so hideous...Vampires have a long history throughout the world. The potential for them to frighten us is great, but if you keep making them look so damn stupid, these kings of horror and nothing but laughable, cliche, villians...Take a hint from Anne Rice or Laurell K. Hamilton. In thier books, they've created terrifying vampires, dangerous because of their ability to blend in, to attact humans with their beauty and grace, but at the same time, they can be horrendous monsters. Not always in shape, but in spirit as well. Read Bram Stokers "Dracula", you might learn something. Watch Vampire Hunter D and Hellsing too while your at it. If you decided to make another "Vampire/Monster Hunter movie" take some tips from these animated shows. They were cool.

Okay, I'm done ranting. I'm going back to bed.

I DID IT!

My Star Ocean marathon has ended! Tonight, I kicked Luthers ass, won three battle trophies for doing it, and got to see the endings I wanted to see. It took a couple weeks of preperation, but I did it ( I logged 60 hours on this game)! *laughs* Now, I'll work on clearing the bonus dungeons, but I'm in no hurry for that. Last week, I bought Shadow Hearts 2. I really liked the first game. I'm bummed it wasn't more popular, but hey, that's alright. I'm hoping the second one is just as good. Looks like most of the crew is back, including the main man, Yuri. Yay! I don't think I'll start playing it just yet. I may go out and buy another game this week and set them both aside for layoff season. Which reminds me, I need to pre-order my copy of Xenosaga 2. I'd also like to grab Resident Evil 4....though I'm not too great at those kind of games...

Anyway, enough about that. I figured I should write a bit of non-anime/non video game/non manga in this excerpt, for those who have no hell what I'm talking about....*laughs* I usually go in trends...I'll talk about cartoons and comics for a month or so, then drift off into something else...*shrug* It just seems that due to the new stuff coming out this fall, my main hobbies have taken a front seat. *laughs*

Work is slowly winding down, much to my relief. Spring and summers are hell for me and my co-workers. Come August, I'm ready for a good one or two months off, even if it means I have to be poor. Our parent branch sent us several workers to help clean up our loose ends and it looks like we'll be running out of work sooner than expected. I really don't care, one way or the other. But what was funny was that one of these "out of towners" got ill the second day he was here and stayed at the hotel instead of coming to work. He was the third guy to get sick and my boss and I were wondering what was going on....Well, I think we found the cause of the mysterious illness...You see, where these guys come from, there is no "irrigation" water...but here, it is totally common, if not expected. People water their lawns with either well water, city water, or irrigation water. These guys had no idea that there was "different" water here, so they were drinking right out of our customer's garden hoses! I laughed my ass off when I heard this. For those who don't know, drinking irrigation water is BAD!!!! Bad, bad, bad!!!! There's all sorts of crap in that water....no wonder they got so sick!

I think I might have arthritis...Or something...both my wrists hurt like an SOB. I don't know why, but it was just recently that I started waking up with aching pains in them...it lasts all day...Weird...

Speaking of sleeping...Why can't I ever have a normal dream? I mean...why am I always some comando blowing shit up and shooting things? *laughs* Seriously...I have the most F*^#ed up dreams...It's like GI Joe or something...and I don't even like war movies (or videogames)! I'm not a violent person...and in my dreams, I never kill people, but stuff like monsters or ghosts. Isn't that just stupid!? Mom says I'm watching to many cartoons. She may be right....*laughs* But I've had these kind of dreams for many, many years...J thinks I'm some sort of top seceret alien spy. He says I get beamed up at night for missions while I'm alseep...LMAO

I've been reading quite a bit lately too. I finished the new Laurell K. Hamilton book, Incubus Dreams a couple weeks ago. I just love her vampire slayer chronicals. I also read Anne Rices book, but I've forgotten the name about it. Apparently it's making some waves amongst Lestat fans. What a bunch of whiners...let the Chronicals die already. Blackwater Farm was a great book and so was this new one! I hate hard core fans...I guess they're the same no matter what fandom they're a part of. Friday, I finished Dante's Inferno. What a great read! It was a bit difficult at times, but luckily my copy had notes explaining some of the references. Now I'm working on "Othello" and "Grapes of Wrath". I love books! I read really fast, to the amazment of many people for some reason. An 800 page book in two days is my record...I found a book called "Spiral" which was written by the author of "The Ring". I think I may buy it, though it would be cool if I could buy the Japanese edition...but adult books are still over my head. *laughs* There is a translated version availble on Amazon.

Well, I think I'll go watch some TV and the try to talk myself out of cleaning my room tomorrow. It's a mess in here....*sigh*

Take care Everyone!

Gankutsuou ( 巌窟王 )

When I first saw Gankutsuou (Gonzo), I sat back at the end of the show and said "Wow..." It was so visually stunning and musically incredible, I could hardly believe what I'd just seen. I wasn't sure if what I'd just witnessed was a feature movie instead of an animated television series. I've seen many shows that are beautiful. Such shows as Samurai 7 (Gonzo), Peace Maker Kurogane (Gonzo), Texhnolyze (Genon) spring to mind first, but nothing I've watched compares to Gankutsuou. Gonzo has surely outdone it's self this time.

I'm not certain how to explain the visual effects, other than they are far removed from the norm of animation. Wild, clashing patters; loud, vibrant colors against monochrome, dark backgrounds; odd, 2-D effects on 3-D backgrounds and stunning CG animation are all combined to created a flowing, intreaguing animation style all its own. Of course, people who haven't seen the show are probably thinking, "God, how awful", but it's far from it. Somehow, through the wonders of art and creativity, the idea works wonderfully. I honestly don't think they'll be a "happy medium" for fans of this show. Either you'll watch it and hate it, or you'll fall in love with what they've done (Like I have).

Honestly, screencaps don't do this show justice. You have to see it in motion to understand how it all moves together. It's practically flawless. I say practically, because there are a few distractions due to the bold use of pattern and color. Sometimes the clothing and hair shading seems to "move" strangely as the characters go about their business. It looks odd at first, but after seeing it a few times, it blends into to "busy" tone just fine. As for the music, it's wonderful as well. Jean-Jacques Burnel gives us the opening theme "We were lovers" and the ending song "You Won't see me coming". I'm particularly fond of the ending song and the animation that goes with it.

As for the story, those of us who are familar with Alexandre Dumas's "The Count of Monte Cristo" will see the similarities immediatly. It's not the story to a "T" of course, and I know that there are a few people complaining about that already. Pishaw, I say to them. If you want the orginal, go read the book as many times as you like. The elements, so far, are the same. Love, jealousy, revenge...and the stage is being set, just as what went on in the book. It won't be exact, so don't expect it to be. This isn't "The Count of Monte Cristo". It's Genkutsuou. A futuristic adapataion of that incredible tale.

The story begins with Albert and Franz, son's of wealthy Parisian noblemen take a journey. They frequent a hotel while taking in a major Mardis Gras like carnival on a nearby planet. There they meet a mysterious Count. Albert becomes fascinated by the Count's lifestlye (he's incredibly wealthy) and a series of events leads Albert to invite the Count to Paris. However, what Albert doesn't know is that the Count has a terrible seceret. One that could mean the end of himself and his family.

Gankutsuou is only availible via fan sub in the States. I certainly hope that in the future it will make an apperence in DVD format in NA. You can bet I won't miss out on collecting this stunning series!

Bleach: Episode 2

This episode picks up at Ichigo's house. We see a huge hole in the side of the building and learn that everyone BUT Ichigo thinks a truck rammed into their house. Ichigo is confused, and then wonders where Rukia went off to.

At school, Ichigo literally runs into Orihime and Tatsuki, his friends. Orihime runs away, being her usual strange self and Tatsuki tells Ichigo he has a scary face. Inside the class room, Ichigo talks with his guy pals about the hole in his house, but is taken by surprise when a young woman (who talks like she's a hooker) addresses him. He see's Rukia and flips out, while his friends introduce themselves. She holds out her hand and on the plam is a note that says "Make a scene and die."

Outside, Rukia explains that Ichigo sucked nearly all her Shinigami powers and she's stuck in a fake body until she can figure out how to get them back. She tells Ichigo he has to do her job as a Shinigami until that happens. He tells her NO WAY, he only did it to save his family. This pisses Rukia off and she puts on "the glove" and knocks Ichigo's soul out of his body. He's now in Shinigami form. Angry, Ichigo asks Rukia what the hells she's doing and why the hell his body is lying in the dirt.

She takes him to a park and tells him that an order has come down. A Hollow will attack a young boy ghost soon. Sure enough, a loud scream is heard as the little boy ghost flees a spider looking Hollow. Ichigo jumps the gate to save him, but Rukia orders his to stop. She tells him he can't just pick and choose who he saves. If he won't save all ghosts, no matter where they are, then he shouldn't save the boy either. He has to be fair. Ichigo is stunned but when Ghost Boy falls to the ground, he chops off the Hollows leg, saving him. He then tells Rukia that's stupid. He saved the boy because he wanted to and that was it. He asks her if she's any different, then stabs the Hollow in the face. With the Hollow gone, Ichigo kneels by the boy and tells him if he doesn't want to be eaten by the monsters, he needs to go to Heaven. He then stamps the frightened boy on the head, and sends him to the Soul Society.

Later that evening, Orihime is studying by the window while from the rooftop a young man ghost watches her. When she shuts the window, he looks a bit sad. Suddenly, several Hollows appear and grab him, taking him to the place where Hollows dwell. There they surround him and devour him, turning him into a Hollow.

The next day, Ichigo and Rukia are walking down the street. Ichigo is annoyed that Rukia keeps following him and she tells him until he agree's to be a Shinigami, she'll keep following him. Up the street, Orihime gets hit by a car. Rukia and Ichigo run to her rescue, but she's okay, even though the driver didn't bother to stop. When Orihime trys to ask Rukia a question, Rukia asks her "Who the hell are you?" and Ichigo is astounded. He reminds her that they all go to the same school and Rukia then puts on her "nice face" and curtsies, yes, curtsies, her introduction to Orihime (who curtsies back). Rukia then notices a HUGE bruise on Orihime's leg and becomes concerned. She asks her where she got it, but Orihime looks surprised to see it too. She says it hurts just a little and then leaves, refusing Ichigo's offer to walk her home.

Rukia and Ichigo walk by the river, and Rukia asks if Ichigo is close to Orihime. Ichigo tells her no, not really. He remembers that three years ago, he first met Orihime when her brother was rushed to their clinic after an accident. He died there, leaving Orihime all alone. Rukia then asks what Ichigo's spiritual power was like back then, and he tells her it wasn't nearly as powerful as it is now. Irritated, Ichigo asks her what's with all the questions. Rukia says it's nothing and tells him she's going home. Ichigo asks her where home is, and Rukia asks him if he's curious. Ichigo tells her not particularly and Rukia tells him not to ask then.

Over at Orihime's house, Tatsuki shows up with beef stew made by her mom. They sit down to eat together, gossiping about Ichigo and the strange new girl, Rukia. On her shelf sits a bright pink teddy bear and a picture of her brother.

Ichigo is back at home and is little sister comes in wondering if he's seen her pajama's. She's also missing a dress. Ichigo tells her he has no clue where her clothes are and she says he's gotten mean since entering highschool. She leaves and he continues reading. Rukia is staring at the phone, and it begins to beep, signaling an order is coming. It's coming NOW...She leaps out of Ichigo's closet wearing his sisters pajama's and scaring him to death. She pulls the glove on and knocks his soul from his body just as a huge clawed hand crashes down on his bed.

The Hollow (the new Hollow we saw formed earlier) enters his room, smashing his bed and Ichigo attacks. The sword is too big and he hits the ceiling. The Hollow knocks him away with it's snake tail and attacks again, but this time Ichigo manages to swing towards it's head. Still, the Hollow catches the sword and tries to push Ichigo away. Ichigo manages to score a it, breaking the part of the mask away revealing a bit of the Hollow's face. He stands stunned and the Hollow runs away.

Rukia asks him what is the matter and Ichigo replies that the Hollow was Orihime's brother. She then tells him that all Hollows were once people, and Ichigo freaks. He thought they were monsters and Rukia then tells him that they ARE monsters. The fundimentals of killing Hollows is to hit them from behind so they'll never see the face, therefore, never will never know who the Hollow once was. She tells him souls become Hollows because they are bound by emotions of anger, sadness, confusion, etc. Left to wander, the eventuall become lost souls, or Hollows.

Over at Orihime's house, the two girls are still talking. Orihime goes into one of her "day dream spells" and Tatsuki just stares on in wonder. Suddenly, there's a loud, reapeated crashing outside the apartment and the girls huddle together, wondering what's going on. The pink bear falls to the floor, a large rip in it's face. An anguished roar echo's admist the noise.

So, What's the Difference?

So, all you geniuses out there, can you tell the difference between these two pictures? Hmmm?

Check it out!

Japanese: "i" adjectives

I must apologize for my delay in blogging. I really have no other excuse than I've been diligently trying to create The Boots of Prowess in order to receive my 30% attack bonus that will enable me to defeat Luther. I got my ass kicked the first round, and it won't happen this time by God!

Yes, I'm still playing Star Ocean: Till the End of Time.

Anyway, work has been incredibly boring as of late, so to pass the time, I sat down and studied some Japanese today and decided to write a blog about adjectives. Sounds like fun, right? *laughs* It's just a crash course, really. I don't plan on diving into too much detail here, so don't take this as a full lesson. I'm hardly qualified to give lessons. I'm just sharing some of the stuff I've learned (which so many other people find hard to do).

There are two types of adjectives in the Japanese language. You have "i" adjectives, which all end with the vowel "i". Check it out:

Omoshiroi (面白い): interesting
Ookii (大きい): big

( "い" is the hiragana for the letter "i" )

The other type of adjective are "na" ajectives. These words end with "na" so to speak. It's good to know that foreign words used as ajectives become "na'' adjectives in Japanese. Here are some "na" adjectives:

Anzen na (安全な): safe
Shizuka na (静かな): quiet

I'm not going to talk about "na" adjectives today, though I like them the best for some reason. Today, I'm going to focus on "i" adjectives, so this should be loads of fun.

"i" Adjectives

With "i" adjectives the final "i" is always preceeded by an a, i, u, or o. Never are the preceeded by an "e". Remember this. It's important.

"i" adjectives change their forms, meaning the conjugate, depending on the tense of the sentance or if they are negitive or affermative. It can be a bit tricky at first, but it's not that hard really...most of the time. *laughs*

Present Affirmative
In this form, the i-adjective is followed by desu. Desu is used as a copula (to be) for the most part, but unlike the copula desu, the one used with i-adjectives doesn't conjugate.

いいです。
ii desu.
It's good.

高いです。
takai desu.
It's expensive.

大きいです。
ookii desu.
It's big.

あの犬は大きいです。
Ano inu wa ookii desu.
That dog (over there) is big.

When used to modify a noun, the i-adjective precedes the noun. This is the same as in the English language.

大きい犬です。
ookii inu desu.
What a big dog.

面白い映画です。
Omoshiroi eiga desu.
It's an interesting movie.

Present Negitive
To negate the present form of i-adjectives, drop the final "i" and add "ku". This is called the "KU form". Add "arimasen" to the KU form so it looks like this ~ku arimasen.

面白いです present form
omoshiroi desu.
It's interesting.

面白くありません。 past present form
Omoshiroku arimasen.
It's not interesting.

この映画は面白くありません。
Kono eiga wa omoshiroku arimasen.

Past Tense
To create the past tense of i-adjectives, replace the final "i" with "katta" and add desu. It would look something like this:

寒いです。(present tense)
Samui desu.
It's cold.

寒かったです。
Samukatta desu.
It was cold.

昨日は寒かったです。
Kinou wa samukatta desu.
It was cold yesterday.

Past Negitive
To make the past negitive form of an i-adjective, add "deshita" to the present negitive form (the KU form, remember?).

寒くありません。 (present negitive)
Samuku arimasen.
It isn't cold.

寒くありませんでした。　(past negitive)
Samuku arimasen deshita.

There are several other forms that i-adjectives take as well, but like I said, this isn't a lesson and I recommend grabbing some books and doing some studying on your own. However, I'll give a few quick examples of these "other" forms.

Te form:
寒くて
Samukute
...cold and...

部屋が寒くて眠ることができません。
Heya ga samukute nemuru koto ga dekimasen.
It's cold in my room and I can't sleep.

Adverbial:
寒く
Samuku
to become cold

朝は天気が寒くなった。
Asa wa tenki ga samuku natta.
It got cold in the morning.

Conditional:
寒ければ
Samukereba
if it's cold...

寒ければ出かけません。
Samukereba dekemasen.
If it's cold, I won't go out.

Tara Form (conditional)
寒かったら
Samukattara
if it's cold...

寒かったらバスを乗っていく。
Samukattara basu wo notte iku.
If it's cold I'll ride the bus.

Tari Form
寒かったり
Samukattari
sometimes _____ is cold and sometimes it's ________.

春は寒かったり熱かったりする。
Haru wa samukattari atsukattari suru.
The spring is sometimes cold and sometimes hot.

Noun Form
寒さ
Samusa
coldness

厳しい寒さ。
kibishii samusa
severe coldness

So, that's about all I have to say regarding "i" adjectives. I suggest picking up books or taking classes yourself for a much more in depth explaination. I'm still learning myself and make mistakes, though I do try my best to research and check the stuff I do.

Have fun and play nice, everyone! Till next time!

"Drawn Together": The New Reality TV Show

Aren't you excited? Another reality TV show is set to hit the air waves on October 27th! You can catch it on Comedy Central right after the all new episodes of South Park!

Yeah, you heard me right! Comedy Central has their own totally orginal animated reality TV Show! Isn't that fantastic! This is the best idea someone's had since chocolate chip cookies!

Okay, I won't go that far...it's hard to beat Chocolate Chip cookies...but seriously, this series looks absolutly incredible. Well, not really, but it's a given that it'll be far more interesting that "Suvivor:Who the Hell Cares Where they are Now", "The Un-Real World" on MTV, and the plethora over other stupid "reality" shows polluting our televisions.

I laughed my head off when I heard about "Drawn Together". An "animated reality show". Isn't that brilliant? I thought so! You can see a clip on the comedy central web site. It looks pretty damn funny, with a handful of characters to fit the sterotypical "reality tv personalities" you see on those stupid shows.

Clara- typical spoiled white girl princess. She's sing and looks a hell of alot like Bell from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast". She's also a bigot.
Wooldor Sockbat- Ren and Stimpy wanna be. Annoying as all hell.
Foxy Love- Black woman with a gangster attitude. Oh, she's a muscian of course.
Toot- 20's style animated girl, think Betty Boop but fat.
Ling Ling- sociopathic Japanese animated pikachuu creature. Complete with electric abilitites.
Xander- gay video game character that resembles Link from Legend of Zelda.
Spanky Ham- Poor animated web gif with a foul mouth and worse manners.
Captain Hero- the superman rip off. He's all brawn, no brains.

This show is going to touch on everything wrong with reality TV. I can't wait! I have a feeling it'll be the best reality television show to date! Watch out Survivor! Watch out Real World!

*heh*

Bleach hits the air!

Yup! Yesterday, Bleach made its debut on Japanese television for the first time ever! It was a big day for us Bleach fans everywhere! I was incredibly happy to see they've kept the "retro" theme intact. And I mean "retro" as in back in the day when "funky" meant "funky" and not "bling bling" or "wicky wicky".

It veered a little bit off of the course of the manga, but not too so bad that the general prinicpals of the show were marred. I don't really mind manga adaptations, just so long as they aren't so far fetched them become stupid. Good example, Samurai Deeper Kyo. Bleach has a few minor adjustments, and that was all, really. For example, the scene with Ghost Girl was changed a bit, but it still followed the same concept. The humor was kept intact as well, which happens to be a big plus in my book. The jokes in Bleach are priceless, considering Ichigo has NO sense of humor what so ever. *laughs*

The first episode started off with typical character introductions. Ichigo confronts a group of thugs who have broken a vase of flowers with their skateboards. They try to bully him, but Ichigo isn't one to be bullied so easily and gives them the whatfor about being respectful of other people...including the dead. You see, Ichigo can see dead people. He sees them so well that they look like real humans to him. His spiritual powers are off the charts, though he's not sure why. His family is "fairly" normal, though his dad is a bit off his rocker at times.

At home, Ichigo fights with his father as his younger sisters each dinner. A new ghost shows up and attaches itself to Ichigo, sensing his high spiritual powers. His younger sister Karin explains to Yuzu (the other little sister) that she can't see ghosts because she refuses to believe in them (though she really can see them just as clear as Ichigo). Yuzu can't see them, though she senses them a little bit.

The next morning, Ichigo is watching TV and sees that something strange has gone on down town. While on his way to school, he meets his first "Hollow". Hollows are spirits that have become evil, and only devour the energy of other spirtis or people with high spiritual power. A black butterfly flies in front of his face and turns into a girl with a large sword. She quickly dispatches the Hollow and leaves without so much as a word.

That evening, Ichigo is thinking things over in his room when a the same girl steps through his wall and onto his desk. It takes him a moment to recover from the shock, then he kicks her in the back. Stunned and confused the girl lays on the floor, thens asks how Ichigo can see her. She's a shinigami. A soul reaper sent to find lost ghosts and send them to the other side. She also battles the Hollows. She explains this all to Ichigo, but he doesn't take her seriously. He pats her on the head and she then uses a seal to bind his arms and legs.The ghost that attached itself to Ichigo earlier shows up and she uses the hilt of her sword to send in over to the Soul Society. She then explains everything to him, using her own hand drawn illustrations of rabbits and bears, which Ichigo doesn't find very amusing.

Meanwhile, in town, the ghost girl from earlier is being chased by a Hollow. The Hollow nearly gets the ghost girl, but then catches whiff of something tastier. Ichigo senses something and tries to tell Rukia, the shiningami, but she just continues her explination. Only moments later does she sense what Ichigo sensed and can't believe it. How could a normal human surpass the spiritual energy of a Shinigami? A crash from downstairs send Rukia running and Ichigo is still bound on the floor. When Rukia opens the door, she's pressed back by a huge surge of spiritual power. It confuses her but Ichigo's little sister has made her way upstairs and begs Ichigo to help them before she passes out.

Rukia rushes downstairs and sees Karin, Ichigo's other little sister in the clutches of a Hollow. Ichigo makes his way down the stair too, much to Rukia's surprise. Seeing his sister in danger enrages Ichigo and he breaks the seal. Rukia can't believe it. No human should be able to do such a thing. Ichigo grabs a stool or crutch (I can't tell) and rushes to attack the Hollow. He gets nailed and Rukia chops off the Hollow's arm. Ichigo catches Karin and then Rukia tells him that the Hollow was attracted to his strong powers. This pisses Ichigo off and he rushes out to lure the Hollow away. However, the Hollow attacks him and Rukia throws herself infront of him.

Hurt, Rukia slumps next to a light pole. She can't fight any more and Ichigo is faced with a difficult decision. Does he become a Shinigami or let them all be eaten. Ichigo chooses to take Rukia's powers and fight the Hollow. Rukia stabs him with the sword and Ichigo chops off the arm of the Hollow. We see him standing under the street lamps, dressed in black samurai attire, weilding Rukia's sword. However, the sword is HUGE! Much, much bigger than when it was in her hands. It reacts to the spiritual power of the wielder and Rukia realizes that the pressing spiritual energy she was hit with when opening the door wasn't the Hollow's, but instead, Ichigo's.

Ichigo makes mince meat out of the Hollow and the credits being to role.

Welcome to the world of Bleach everyone! *claps* Looks like the next episode will introduce a few of Ichigo's friends and classmates! I enjoyed the first episode and am looking forward to the rest of this series. Bleach is a fun series. Pick up the manga if you have the chance, but it looks like this anime version will be a blast as well.

STAY TUNED FOR NEXT TUESDAY!!!!

*******

UPDATE:

Oh yes....the otaku idiots are having a field day with this one. As I predicted, many of the kiddies can't appriciate the music for Bleach...which is, extreamly fitting for the style of the series (but those silly otaku always know what's best, right?)

Oh, and the comparisons have already started. I saw where some idiot has compared Bleach to Full Metal Alchemist.

.............................Uh? Lay off the crack, genius.

Another otaku stroke of brilliance has called Bleach a Shaman King rip off. WTF!? Where do they come up with this crap? Lets see, ghosts, fighting, and magic powers = rip off of another show, right? *shakes head* That's about as similar as Bleach and Shaman King are gonna get...

I'll never understand otaku...I don't think I want to...

Even funnier, I happened upon another thread (I can't remember where it was, I think I got so disgusted I just closed the link), where some bozo was complaining about the fillers in Naruto...They hated the show because of the fillers...there were too many of them...

Um....okay...lets see...Naruto has JUST started the major portion of their filler episodes. Up until now, there was only a couple (and I mean a couple) that popped up, and they weren't bad at all. Other than that, Naruto has been following the manga practically VERBATUM....Of course, as the argument continued, some moron makes the brilliant statment that all anime adaptations of manga should be done like Full Metal Alchemist. Sure...I'll agree it was a good adaptation, however, for the sake of this argument I'd like to point out that Full Metal Alchemist DIDN'T FOLLOW THE MANGA AT ALL!

Why, why, why must otaku try and compare everything? Can't they just except a show for what it is? Everything becomes a pissing match with them. Even more annoying, most of them make these fly by the seat observations, not having even bothered to follow the manga of a particular series (EX: Bleach is Shaman King rip off).

*sigh* Oh well, I saw this coming, so it's too be expected...

New link added

I've added a link to ZERO in the "link" section. ZERO I will be coming down soon, though I might try to find a new place for it in the near future...we'll see. Normally, I wouldn't make the link so public, but I figued what the hell. My Japanese isn't the greatest, but I try very hard to do my best with the translations. There are mistakes. Sorry. Feel free to point them out, but be nice. I can't stand assholes who know shit and think they're better than someone because of it (one of the reasons I've kept ZERO pretty quiet). If you can't play nice, kiddies, don't bother talking to me.

The scans aren't the best either. Sorry, tough. I'm just one person, who does this not for "fame" or acknowledgement, but because I find it fun. It's a learning tool and a time killer, nothing more.

Other than that, enjoy the story. It's cool. It's different. It's a lot of fun!

So you want to go to Mt. Saint Helens...?

That's the plan my mom and Hunter are talking about for the weekend...Well, actually, I think they (my dad too) are going to see my sister's new house and take a peek at the rumbling mountain.

I'm not too keen on this idea. At first, I said no. There was no way in hell I was letting my kid get close to that ticking time bomb. Of course, this upset Hunter, who really wants to check out what all the hub-bub is about, and my mom just sort of thumbed her nose at me. I finally just shrugged my shoulders and said he could go with them if they didn't take him too close.

I'm still not happy about it, but perhaps I'm being a bit irrational.

It's not like volcano's are predictable or anything, right? (yes, this is sarcasam) I mean, in 1980, people laughed when they said she was going to erupt, and at that time there was a huge bulge in the side of the mountain, growing daily...Then she literally blew her stack, taking out entire side and acres and acres of forest...Oh, and the entire north face disappeared too...No one expected THAT to happen, if I remember right...However, our esteemed scientists assure us that nothing of that sort will happen this time...

Suuuure...

There's about a 70% chance she'll blow soon. Today, for anyone who has watched the news (CNN, MSNBC, etc), you'd know she burped a big ball of steam this afternoon and last night. The earthquakes are still coming too, which means there's magma still moving beneath the surface and the pressure is still rising.

I was stunned to find out that thousands of people were lining the roads, bbqing and hanging out in lawn chairs over the weekend. Some of them were 8 miles from the mountain. That's too close if you ask me...WAY too close...I don't think you could get me with in 20 miles of the thing right now...and I'm not too sure I want my son even that near...

*sigh*

But maybe I'm being paranoid...

But maybe I'm not...

"It's hard talking to someone who's been mean..."

That's what my son said today while talking with my mother about his "intervention" with his stepmother.

Last night, his dad finally called for the first time since July. If anyone remembers, Hunter decided to come home early from his month long stay at his dad's house. It was the first time in 9 years that he's ever made such a decision, and things since then have been tense. You see, every summer, Hunter spends about four or five weeks at his dad's house. It's normal for us and he usually looks forward to it, but now, he's starting to dread these visits. He's not being abused, he would tell me if something like that was going on. My son is very honest with me about that sort of stuff. Instead, I think he's just growing up and beginning to understand what myself and the rest of the adults in my family have known for a long time. His dad is irresponsible.

He loves his dad very, very much. However, during these summer visits, he's thrown into an entirely different family environment. His dad has to work, and his hours are not normal, 8-5 hours. Hunter doesn't see much of him on the weekends, and is left with his "step-grandma" while his dad and step mom are away at work. When his dad is home, they do chores and take care of things around the house. When they have time, they plan small family outings, like camping or trips to Silverwood. That's fun and all, but what his dad doesn't understand is Hunter doesn't want to go up there and visit his step-grandma or his step-brother and sister. He wants to see his dad. What's the point of being there when the one person you want to see isn't around...and when they are around, they are doing chores or sleeping? Not only that, Hunter has to compete with the two other kids and his step mom for his dad's attention....

My son is spoiled, but he's not a brat. He's spoiled in the fact that there is always someone at my house to play with him, take him to the classes and activities (tennis lessons and tae kwon do) he wants to do, spend money on him with toys and movies, etc. He's never bored here. The neighborhood we have is teeming with kids, many of who are his friends and share the same interests as him. His a good boy. He doesn't throw fits when he doesn't get his way (oh, he pouts, but that doesn't consititute a fit, contrary to those "non-parents" out there...you haven't lived until you've been with a kid who throws honest tantrums *cringe*), and he's usually content when you tell him "No" about something. But at his dad's house, things are very different. Both of them work (we all work here too, but our hours allow for someone to always be availible), there's the two other kids (one is ADHD times 10), and very little time...

I understand that...but I don't think it's an excuse for his father to not make time for his only blood related son. What Hunter's dad doesn't seem to get is that Hunter is a selfish 9 year old little boy. When I say selfish, he's just like anyother kid who wants their parents all to themselves. This is normal. It's to be expected. He doesn't want to ALWAYS share his dad with his step brother and sister. He wants his dad to pay attention to him and just him sometimes. He wants to bond with him like sons and dads do...but that's not happening....

Most of it is his dad's fault, but his stepmom has started to drive a wedge between them now. I've always been of the mind, since Hunter's dad and I split up, that the father son relationship between them is personal. I intervene very little...however, his wife has forced me to step in. She doesn't seem to see things the way I do. She's a harpy, never shutting up for a moments peace...At first, I just laughed it off while she pretended to be friends with me. I know she's insecure about her relationship with Hunter's dad. That's her problem, not mine...but she's taken her insecurites a step to far by taking them out on my son.

You see, when Hunter decided to come home in July, she apparently decided it was her right to tell him he was a selfish brat and was hurting his dad's feelings by leaving. Well, as far as I'm concerened, that's none of her damn business and she has no right in the furthest reaches of hell to call my son names. If Hunter's dad has issues with this, then it was HIS responsibility to talk to Hunter about it. Apparently he did, and Hunter still chose to come home. Did she think berating him into guilt would make him WANT to stay there? What a dumb woman. Later, Hunter told me she'd also made comments to him about her kids not liking him and things like that. I can see where Hunter might take something like that a bit too personal, if it was said jokingly, he's very sensitive. But on the other hand, she's an adult, and should know better than to say things like that to a little boy.

When I found out about it, I was PISSED...I don't even think that describes it actually...but I chose to wait until Hunter's dad called US. I wanted to see how long it would take, and give me sometime to think on how to work through this problem. I have a nasty temper. I knew that screaming at them like I wanted to wouldn't fix anything. Last night, I confronted Hunter's dad and he tried to make excuses for her. At first he said what Hunter told me couldn't be true, and if there's one thing I'd stake my life on, it's the fact my son isn't a lair. He's too honest sometimes...the boy always tells the truth, even if it gets him grounded for weeks...This set me off so I pulled off the gloves and just let him have it. I brought up all sorts of things Hunter has told me about their little family, their personal relationship (how they fight with each other when they think the kids can't hear them), how his wife has lied to me and my mom about certain things and I could back it all up, etc...

I wasn't trying to be mean. I like Hunter's dad. He's a good person, but not to smart. What I did was illustrate how Hunter might feel in their house and how his stupid wife might be taking out their problems on his son. There's enough proof, only a blind man or total dumbass wouldn't notice it. I made it VERY clear that he needed to talk to Hunter about things. He needed to hear how Hunter really felt, but that Hunter isn't comfortable talking with him at all. He wants to make his dad happy with him, and he'll say anything to do that, even if it means he has to suffer. It took a lot of guts for him to speak his mind to come home...I don't know if he'll ever feel comfortable talking with his dad again.

I don't think Hunter's dad believed me about how upset Hunter was at his wife...until he tried to get Hunter to talk to his her and Hunter burst into tears, throwing the phone at me and running to the bathroom...I had no clue what had happened...and boy was I friggin pissed when he told me he tried to get his wife and Hunter to talk things over. What kind of moron is he? *shakes head* He seemed to catch a clue when I told him Hunter had locked himself in the bathroom after sobbing on my mom's shoulder. He finally came out and talked to his dad, though he hasn't told me all of what he said. I explained again that this was between him and Hunter. It was HIS job to set his wife straight, not Hunter's.

Hunter's dad said he would talk with his wife...I bet that'll be fun...She's the kind of woman who stands behind him on the phone while we talk about plans that have been made regarding our son. It wouldn't be so bad, but she tries to talk OVER our conversation and on more than one occasion I've told him to tell her to shut up (or he's done it on his own). She's a harpy...that's all I can say. Sneaky, mean, and makes a lot of noise. She's also a liar. I really could care less who he's married to, but now that she's set her eyes on Hunter, I'm forced to be a bitch.

So of course, I get to be the bad guy...though Hunter doesn't think so, so that's all that matters. I'm not sure how to work this whole mess out totally. Hunter doesn't want to visit if his dad isn't going to be there. Who can blame him now? But Hunter needs to understand that his dad's life and ours is very different and he'll have to be tolerant. Hunter's dad needs to learn that as a parent, he has to give up some of his schedule to spend time with is son. If that means dragging his butt out of bed at 9am after working a late night to go play tennis for an hour, so be it. His wife needs to learn how to act like and adult and not but into things that aren't her business. She may have married him, but that doesn't mean she has the right to dictate his relationship with Hunter or I. It's none of her business. I've learned that standing by and just watching (minding my own business) isn't always the correct action in cases like these. I've always believed that kids figure stuff out on their own when it comes to "iffy" parents. I still believe that, but now I know I need to explain things to Hunter so he'll be better prepared for the disappointments his dad and stepmom have lined up for him....

What's sad is Hunter is the one to pay for us stupid adults in the end. I feel guilty, very guilty. Yet, there's nothing I can do about the way things worked out. Kids don't ask to be born and they're at our mercy until they are well over 18. I think we tend to forget that as adults...

Devil May Cry 3

I figured I'd start off October with a short blurb on the upcoming release of the third installment (english site here)of the Devil May Cry series. It's been making some serious news in various corners of the gaming world, and for us DMC fans, it's a ray of hope that Dante will recover from the tragity of the last game, which all I can say was awful.

I'm excited for this game. I loved DMC 1. It was fast. It was cool. It was HARD. DMC 1 was the first action game I played and enjoyed. Others I found boring and irritating. The stories were uninteresting, and nothing pisses me off more than having to run around and find ammo. I like having unlimited ammo. It means I can go along though the game without my mass slaughter being interrupted. Dante gets the job done. I don't want silly things such as Ebony and Ivory (his guns) running out of bullets in the middle of some complicated attack execution that took me several tries to figure out.

Many action gamers might shake their head and wonder where the challenge is in unlimited ammo. All I can say is...play the game. You'll understand. DMC is difficult. Even on easy mode. The first boss kicked my ass at least 12 times before I threw the controler on the floor, snarled a few explicitives, then stormed out of the room. I didn't play again for a week. The amount of bullets you pump into the bosses and the multitude of minions that pour out of portals at incredible speeds would make it nearly impossible to keep up with tracking down random ammo boxes and managing them accordingly. So, instead of the standard snatch and store, like other action games, DMC has implimented a points system based on style of attack, mission completion, and weapons upgrade based on the amount of red orbs you find and the your score at the end of each mission. It's incredibly challenging. Not for the weak at heart. (heh)

Unfortunatly, though DMC 1 was a hit, DMC 2 shattered our hopes when it hit the shelves. The game was horrible. There were a few good elements. Dante learned some cool new tricks and the over all speed of the game increased, making it very fast. For us speed junkies, who like to slashing up enemies at a break neck pace, this was awesome...however, besides that, everything else was just a flop.

First the story just flat out sucked. I give a little lee-way to action games. They don't have to have incredible stories like RPG's, but a little direction and initative is nice. I don't like being confused. I want to know the objective. I expect to learn a bit more about a character as mysterious and complicated as Dante. Instead, in DMC 2, the story never really took off, everything ended, and we were left going..."Huh? What was I doing again and why?" Honestly, actions games don't need a lot of story, but like I said before, DMC 1 had enough of one that warranted a sequel that would AT LEAST explain some things to us. DMC 2 failed miserably.

As I said before, DMC 2 gave Dante some cool new moves. He could jump higher, run up walls and back flip off while firing his guns, hang in the air using his guns to propel him upward even futher, somorsault with ease, and aim in two directions. Sadly, very few of these allowed you to earn extra style points. I mean, come on, nothing is cooler that sprinting up the side of a wall, leaping off and gaining some serious air time while firing upside down! I should get some serious points for a stunt like that! The leveling up and point system was made totally irrelevent by it's erradic distribution. It was confusing, irritating, and disappointing.

The weapons were dull as well. Dante starts off with a bland sword and his dual pistols (which I love the most). Eventually you find more weapons and better swords, but it all seems pretty trivial compared to the first game. At least the shotgun was back, since it was my second favorite weapon in the game.

Bosses...well, lets just say they hadn't earned that title. They were so incredibly easy it was pathetic. There was no stratigizing needed to beat them. In DMC 1, to beat a boss, you had to learn their patterns, when to attack when to back off. It was like a dance while fighting them. You got hurt, they got hurt (if you were lucky). Monsters of DMC 2 were disappointing, to say the least.

Though the game was bad player wise, Capcom did manage to carry over and improve on the stunning visuals and movement of characters. Looking at it, DMC 2 was a beautiful piece of work, just like DMC 1. The camara angles still sucked, which was also an extention of the first game and I wish they would have improved that aspect before some of the others, but it's a tiny complaint. I can get use to a camara angle.

DMC 2 is a renter. Don't buy it like I did. It doesn't have replay value like the first one, which I like to play again and again just for the sheer fact killing the baddies is a ton of fun. DMC 2 as a stand alone action game is okay, but as a sequal, is horrible. Incredibly horrible.

Which brings me to DMC 3. It rumor mill is running, now that we have seen the trailer and some screen caps. Sure, it's not enough to base a review on, but it's enough to give Dante fans everywhere some glimmer of hope.

Apparently, this sequal is actually a prequel. Dante is back, but he's younger and he's got a story to tell. Apparently, we are taken back to a time before Dante was aware of who or what he is. We will also learn that Dante has a brother, a twin, who also carries Sparda's (their father) demonic powers. Of course, neither of the twins like each other much and they are desitined to fight with one another. There is also another playable character, a demon hunter by the name of Lady, who has vowed to rid the world of all demons, including Dante. So, our young Dante, unaware of who or what he is, or that he even has fierce foes after him, sets out to confront his destiny.

From what I hear, Capcom has gone back to the roots of DMC1 for this game. Thank God. They've improved things, like the graphic's engine and now the cut scenes flow more easily. The other games were already pretty, but I can't wait to see it now! From the screen caps, everything looks a bit more solid and far less jaggy.

Game play has improved too. It's faster. Yup. Those lucky enough to demo this game already (in Japanese) have said Capcom has done the impossible and made an already incredibly fast game even faster. For us gamers who like fast games, this is incredibly exciting. The camara angles rotate around as you flip through the air, slicing and dicing a plethora of enemies that rush at you with the force of a frieght train. I've only seen one other game that moved like this, and that was Samurai 7. Nothing was better than making Natoe cut through enemy after enemy at a pace so fast you could barely keep up. It was a challenge to keep that speed, and with Dante's arsenal, I imagine it will be 100 times better than Natoe and his duel swords.

Which brings me to my next point. From what I've heard, DMC 3 is hard. Very hard. The speed and enemies make the game incredibly difficult, which is fine by me. I like hard games...but I hope they don't go over board and make it so difficult it's hard to enjoy the game. It would be a shame to see Capcom go from one extream (too easy) to another (too hard). DMC 1 was difficult. It was hard enough that it pissed you off, but you still could keep playing without being discouraged. I hope DMC 3 walks that line. I haven't heard any complaints about it yet...so perhaps that's a good sign. In fact, I hear that swapping weapons, evading, using sword and special abilities is almost effortless. Perhaps this is a trade off for the number of enemies you're forced to fight, and the cramped quarters you fight them in, but the game is still hard. It sounds like a blast!

A new exciting feature is the combat system. At the beginning of each mission, you'll be able to choose between several styles. Now, in mid-battle, you can use a single button for guns, sword, hand to hand, special abilities, etc! Yay! The carnage increases!

I'm excited for this game. It's due for a winter realease in Japan, and I've heard as early as Feb. here in the US. Though I could be mistaken. We all know how games tend to be pushed back (ehem...Star Ocean). From everything I've read and seen, it looks like Capcom has finally done justice to Dante by giving him a game that lives up to his badass name!