TILT and various and sundry things if I can remember them

[bigbad88]

WOO. It's Christmas Eve. While Yule is something I usually celebrate by myself, Christmas is a big family affair in my household. There is always alot of stress and pressure in the house to make sure it it looks nice and that everything is ready and for me, I always find myself at the last moment trying to find the right presents. I've probably expressed several times about how I usually feel like a big ball of fail when it comes to my family but, I always try to put a lot of thought and care into what they want considering what they already have, their personal tastes and sensitivities and even going so far as to ninja through internet bookmarks to see what they've been checking out. This year however I got done early and I'm quite pleased with what I got. The only gift that I'm feel kind of iffy about is I got pater monster a copy of Left4Dead for the XBOX 360. He wants to get on Live more now and that game is awesome when you can play it with other people. Also, he's seems to like FPS but I wanted to show him that there is more to that genre than Halo. The thing is he can't get down with most adventure or role playing games, doesn't like shooting people and doesn't like a lot of gore which rules most FPS out. I think I'm just going to return it and get Fallout 3 or Dante's Inferno (things I want).

Other things that are made of win this week:

• Finding out that my copy of Jet Set Radio Future will still work on the 360 - Jet Set Radio Future is one of the few XBOX games that I personally bought but never beat (the other is Ninja Gaiden Black which I really never see myself beating) but, the verson I bought was the combo version that you could get if you bought an XBOX in 2002 so I really wasn't sure it would work on the 360. Late last week on a whim, I decided to try it out and it WORKED! Now I can continue to release the soul of the street through rocket skates and graffiti!
• Still having a job - It was looking questionable for a while, but I've been kept on at Dollar Tree as a recovery person, so I go around straightening up things and making sure that there are no frozen waffles in the sock bin again. If only it didn't feel like such a futile thing especially right now with the Christmas season being in full swing. It seems like as soon as I clean something up, the customers are pulling it apart again. Oh well....
• MUSE is coming to the First Mariner Arena March 3rd - SO EXCITED WHO WANTS TO COME WITH?!?!
• Kuroshitsuji - I watched all 24 eps and the OVA over the past week and I just finished today. I liked it overall although it reminded me of a bizarre combination of the original Hellsing anime (bizarre crap just happens ex. Angela/Ash is totally Incognito, weird flow at times, the "Spiderman" music as the director called it) and what I would imagine an animated version of the Earl Cain series by Kaori Yuki (The Cain Saga and Godchild) would have been like (secret organizations, young earl with tragic family past, death all over the place, victorian london setting, the whole "Don't betray me" thing, shady butler with L33T skills, homoerotic subtext, rocks fall everyone dies ending, also Elizabeth reminds me of Merryweather). I'm not really sure how feel about the ending, I'm not sure about how I feel about the shouta subtext that I was picking up and I'm not sure about Grell but, I loved the Undertaker, the servants Bard, Finny and Maylene, Pluto, Madame Red and her whole story, Agni and Will, the Death God. I love tsundere characters more than I probably should. I didn't like some of the changes to the manga they made, but some scenes actually made more sense animated than they did in the manga. I really liked the OVA but, I really hope that they don't make a second season, which I've been hearing rumors of, mostly because the way it ends now is nice and conclusive and for the most part makes sense. They'd have to do too much explaining. I get the feeling that they are only making a sequel for the same reason why Sherlock Holmes was brought back from the dead. But, all in all it was good. I'd definitely suggest it to fans of Hellsing, Godchild (heck Kaori Yuki fans in general I think would like it), Moonphase, xXxHolic, and fans of anime with mystery, yoai subtext, the supernatural, that are set in London and/or men in suits. Oh and I personally think you should watch the show before reading the manga.
• Princess and the Frog - LOVED IT! I laughed, I cried, I got freaked out. The art was gorgeous, the characters were very likeable and at the end I found myself smiling. My only complaints would be that I really don't see any of the songs being the next "A Whole New World" or "Under the Sea", the pacing and the fact that they killed a main character. "Almost There", "Moi Belle Evangeline"  and"I've Got Friends on the Other Side" are quite catchy, the movie kind of rushed at the end and there were some plot loopholes that made me go "WAT?!" in the theater and I seriously hated Facilier after he killed this individual. All in all, I really really enjoyed it, I probably would have traumatized as a kid if I had seen it, but I'd see it again and I cannot wait to get it on DVD.
• Rammstein has a new album out - Might have to check that out along with the Tapping the Vein album that come out this year. I haven't bought any new cds in ages...
• Social outings that go well - Jenna had a shindig for her birthday over the weekend and normally I get really freaked out before her's (or anyone else's party for that matter) because I always feel like I don't fit in and I am still rather socially awkward. This time was really nice. It was a nice mix of folks and conversation topics and banjo playing and rats (I WANT ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *whines*) and I swear to God, j.Bee always has the most attractive male friends, it's not fair man...On a side note, I owe you a present Jenna!
• Lacrimosa by Kalafina - This is the second ending song for Kuroshitsuji. I actually heard about Kalafina a while ago (think someone recommended them to me because I'm an Ali Project, Kokushyoku Sumire and Kanon Wakeshima fan and all of their music I would probably put in the same category).

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• Seranade by Versailles - I want to say last week or so, Versailles released their first music video since the death of their bassist Jasmine You in August. The song is from their new album "JUBILEE" which comes out in January if I remember correctly and will be their first international release (I think they have a world tour coming up not long after that which you can bet I WILL be attending). This video made me cry so hard when I first saw it even if it is a little silly and over the top. Between Kamijo actually singing in his natural range (he always try to sing so much deeper for some reason), the subtle nods to Jasmine (the flowers on the pews...), the fact that it's just the four of them and ballads with violins just get me choked up for some reason. Also, Hizaki why are you so pretty....

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Well, that does it for now. I should probably go look into getting some nourishment for me and the pups. Have a happy Christmas Eve for those of you who celebrate. I plan on spending the rest of the night baking and hopefully watching The Muppets Christmas Carol, Nightmare Before Christmas, A Year Without a Santa Claus, and Belle's Enchanted Christmas (I know it's a Disney sequel but it's good ok?!) and maybe have some wassial (yum yum).