a thing of rags and patches
My watch's battery ran out last weekend, and as of yet I've been unable to replace it. Consequently I've been doing without for the past few days. I've gotten used to the lack of its familiar weight on my wrist, but I have to say that being deprived of your watch really changes the way you look at the world. Mostly because you're always wondering what the heck time it is.
Yeah, you thought I was going to say something profound, didn't you?
I uploaded the opening and ending singles for the Claymore anime for a friend of mine, so I might as well put them up here. I really like both songs. The anime itself is decent and worth watching, though I wouldn't say it's my favorite by a long shot. The art is great, and so is the score, and it's obvious that they've got one heckuva budget. Bagpipes always win with me. And the story is quite interesting, as well. It's greatest flaw, in my opinion, is that it takes itself far, far too seriously, and obviously thinks itself to be quite cool-- so of course I can't take it very seriously at all. I'm not a big fan of the main character or her big-eyed lackey, either, although my opinion of her has improved lately. My favorite character (the only one so far with a sense of humor) alas didn't last long.
Claymore OP Single
Claymore ED Single
It's nice to have so much good anime to watch, though. The subbers are finally starting to put up season two of Saiunkoku, which fills me with joy. Likewise, another episode of Shounen Onmyouji was released after a hiatus of some months-- and oh, but the wait was worth it, for there was awesome Rikugou! I just hope I don't have to wait another three months for episode 17. The American release is immanent, but I can't afford DVDs . . . and does it even occur to anyone that not all English-speaking people who watch anime are in America, or even in regions where American-region DVDs are standard? Those people are pretty much up the creek if the subs stop as soon as the American license goes through . . . Anyway, Seirei no Moribito is consistently awesome and has secured the number two slot in my current hierarchy. On a friend's recommendation I'm also looking into Ghost Hunt, the first two episodes of which I've seen and which are interesting if not stellar. majochan says that Darker than Black is worthwhile, so I'm going to look into that, and due to mutually favorable comparison with Saiunkoku I'm giving 12 Kingdoms a look . . .
And then on the live action front there's Dae Jang Guem to watch, lots and lots of it, and people keep telling me to watch Heroes. I should try to get my hands on the rest of Firefly, too, and my brother wants me to download ST: Deep Space Nine for him. And Ashley and I never did manage to finish Babylon 5 season 5, and I really should send those DVDs home if I can . . .
Am still reading Genji Monogatari, though great progress will not be possible until another week passes and summer vacation starts here. Then I can read at school and really make tracks. Meanwhile I've been plowing through Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and I will finish that blasted book this time, I swear it. Although I find it's more about certain trends in Western philosophical thought than Zen-- but still interesting. Picked up Lynn Flewelling's Luck in the Shadows last night, just for a break, and am finding it much easier going than I did the first time that I tried to read it. Now that I know something about the world from reading the Bone Doll's Twin and its series, the people, places, and history that it details are no longer a meaningless succession of strange-sounding words.
My soon-to-be-roommate has been reading Alice Walker's the Color Purple to me aloud-- no one's read to me in a very, very long time. I generally find people reading aloud to be somewhat frustrating, and thus I avoid audio books. I can read much faster than most people can speak, so the slow pace drives me nuts. However, if I have something else to do while the reading is going on, something mindless like sewing or sorting papers or playing with kittens that nonetheless needs to get done, my frustration is eased and I feel both productive and interested. And the Color Purple isn't the kind of book that I'd pick up on my own, but is certainly worth reading, so I'm grateful. Plus she does a pretty good impression of a southern accent, which makes it even more enjoyable. It's frighteningly catchy, too.
My father and sister will be bringing me Kawabata's Snow Country when they come in August, as well as my battered copies of the Black Jewels trilogy, by Anne Bishop. That one will be a re-read, but my interest is rekindled by the manic urge to write Saiunkoku characters into that world, because it would be AWESOME. Though it seems my co-conspirator has disappeared . . . alas and alack. I should also ask my sister to check and see if I have a copy of Catch-22 in my library, because I've been wanting to re-read that for a year now.
Of course I've plenty of books here that I need to get to . . . I'm still not caught up in George R.R. Martin's books (they're rather grim and depressing, so I need to take breaks from them fairly often), and I have more Katharine Kerr books to re-read before I can start on the new series she's put out in the past few years. Plus there's Tad Williams' Shadowplay in glorious hardcover sitting on my floor, now that I've finished re-reading Shadowmarch. The complete Riddle-Master Trilogy is likewise waiting for me, a series that I absolutely adored the first time I read it but haven't returned to since. My friend has promised me The Golden Pavilion when she's done with it, so that's on the list. subsiding_leaf recommended The Game of Kings to me, and I read the first part but haven't read the rest . . . it was well if oddly written, in a somewhat breathlessly ornate style, but I'm waiting for the main character to do something to deserve the author's obviously good (possibly worshipful) opinion of him. All he's done so far is engage in some roguery (that part was fun, I admit), rob his family, stab a clearly admirable and brave woman, and set fire to his family's castle. And quote things in French to show that he's smarter than I am. But the books have garnered high praise indeed, and the writing is good if hard to adjust to, so I'll certainly continue and give him a chance to prove himself.
All of this, you can imagine, makes me very happy indeed.
naominovik's new Temeraire novel is due out in October, and I'll have to pick up the compiled version of her first three novels as soon as it comes out. I also really need to read Robin Hobb's new trilogy, given how much I loved her other books. McKinley has a new book out, too, Dragonhaven, and if it's anything like Sunshine it's practically guaranteed awesome.
And lazy_as_a_cat gave me a fun book of pirate stories . . .
Never a dull moment, not for me. My hobbies are far too demanding to afford me luxuries like boredom. Not with Japanese to study, and my move coming up, and the trip to Tibet, and my family's visit, and writing to do, and video games calling my name with increasing insistency, and my apartment to clean and pack up, and camera pics to upload and post, and people to talk to, and the Gion Matsuri this weekend, and gods will it ever stop raining? Every day for a week now, morning until night, and I'm becoming increasingly tired of carrying my umbrella everywhere I go. I may be an ame-onna, but this is just ridiculous.
Yeah, you thought I was going to say something profound, didn't you?
I uploaded the opening and ending singles for the Claymore anime for a friend of mine, so I might as well put them up here. I really like both songs. The anime itself is decent and worth watching, though I wouldn't say it's my favorite by a long shot. The art is great, and so is the score, and it's obvious that they've got one heckuva budget. Bagpipes always win with me. And the story is quite interesting, as well. It's greatest flaw, in my opinion, is that it takes itself far, far too seriously, and obviously thinks itself to be quite cool-- so of course I can't take it very seriously at all. I'm not a big fan of the main character or her big-eyed lackey, either, although my opinion of her has improved lately. My favorite character (the only one so far with a sense of humor) alas didn't last long.
Claymore OP Single
Claymore ED Single
It's nice to have so much good anime to watch, though. The subbers are finally starting to put up season two of Saiunkoku, which fills me with joy. Likewise, another episode of Shounen Onmyouji was released after a hiatus of some months-- and oh, but the wait was worth it, for there was awesome Rikugou! I just hope I don't have to wait another three months for episode 17. The American release is immanent, but I can't afford DVDs . . . and does it even occur to anyone that not all English-speaking people who watch anime are in America, or even in regions where American-region DVDs are standard? Those people are pretty much up the creek if the subs stop as soon as the American license goes through . . . Anyway, Seirei no Moribito is consistently awesome and has secured the number two slot in my current hierarchy. On a friend's recommendation I'm also looking into Ghost Hunt, the first two episodes of which I've seen and which are interesting if not stellar. majochan says that Darker than Black is worthwhile, so I'm going to look into that, and due to mutually favorable comparison with Saiunkoku I'm giving 12 Kingdoms a look . . .
And then on the live action front there's Dae Jang Guem to watch, lots and lots of it, and people keep telling me to watch Heroes. I should try to get my hands on the rest of Firefly, too, and my brother wants me to download ST: Deep Space Nine for him. And Ashley and I never did manage to finish Babylon 5 season 5, and I really should send those DVDs home if I can . . .
Am still reading Genji Monogatari, though great progress will not be possible until another week passes and summer vacation starts here. Then I can read at school and really make tracks. Meanwhile I've been plowing through Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and I will finish that blasted book this time, I swear it. Although I find it's more about certain trends in Western philosophical thought than Zen-- but still interesting. Picked up Lynn Flewelling's Luck in the Shadows last night, just for a break, and am finding it much easier going than I did the first time that I tried to read it. Now that I know something about the world from reading the Bone Doll's Twin and its series, the people, places, and history that it details are no longer a meaningless succession of strange-sounding words.
My soon-to-be-roommate has been reading Alice Walker's the Color Purple to me aloud-- no one's read to me in a very, very long time. I generally find people reading aloud to be somewhat frustrating, and thus I avoid audio books. I can read much faster than most people can speak, so the slow pace drives me nuts. However, if I have something else to do while the reading is going on, something mindless like sewing or sorting papers or playing with kittens that nonetheless needs to get done, my frustration is eased and I feel both productive and interested. And the Color Purple isn't the kind of book that I'd pick up on my own, but is certainly worth reading, so I'm grateful. Plus she does a pretty good impression of a southern accent, which makes it even more enjoyable. It's frighteningly catchy, too.
My father and sister will be bringing me Kawabata's Snow Country when they come in August, as well as my battered copies of the Black Jewels trilogy, by Anne Bishop. That one will be a re-read, but my interest is rekindled by the manic urge to write Saiunkoku characters into that world, because it would be AWESOME. Though it seems my co-conspirator has disappeared . . . alas and alack. I should also ask my sister to check and see if I have a copy of Catch-22 in my library, because I've been wanting to re-read that for a year now.
Of course I've plenty of books here that I need to get to . . . I'm still not caught up in George R.R. Martin's books (they're rather grim and depressing, so I need to take breaks from them fairly often), and I have more Katharine Kerr books to re-read before I can start on the new series she's put out in the past few years. Plus there's Tad Williams' Shadowplay in glorious hardcover sitting on my floor, now that I've finished re-reading Shadowmarch. The complete Riddle-Master Trilogy is likewise waiting for me, a series that I absolutely adored the first time I read it but haven't returned to since. My friend has promised me The Golden Pavilion when she's done with it, so that's on the list. subsiding_leaf recommended The Game of Kings to me, and I read the first part but haven't read the rest . . . it was well if oddly written, in a somewhat breathlessly ornate style, but I'm waiting for the main character to do something to deserve the author's obviously good (possibly worshipful) opinion of him. All he's done so far is engage in some roguery (that part was fun, I admit), rob his family, stab a clearly admirable and brave woman, and set fire to his family's castle. And quote things in French to show that he's smarter than I am. But the books have garnered high praise indeed, and the writing is good if hard to adjust to, so I'll certainly continue and give him a chance to prove himself.
All of this, you can imagine, makes me very happy indeed.
naominovik's new Temeraire novel is due out in October, and I'll have to pick up the compiled version of her first three novels as soon as it comes out. I also really need to read Robin Hobb's new trilogy, given how much I loved her other books. McKinley has a new book out, too, Dragonhaven, and if it's anything like Sunshine it's practically guaranteed awesome.
And lazy_as_a_cat gave me a fun book of pirate stories . . .
Never a dull moment, not for me. My hobbies are far too demanding to afford me luxuries like boredom. Not with Japanese to study, and my move coming up, and the trip to Tibet, and my family's visit, and writing to do, and video games calling my name with increasing insistency, and my apartment to clean and pack up, and camera pics to upload and post, and people to talk to, and the Gion Matsuri this weekend, and gods will it ever stop raining? Every day for a week now, morning until night, and I'm becoming increasingly tired of carrying my umbrella everywhere I go. I may be an ame-onna, but this is just ridiculous.