Boy with a coin, he found in the weeds
Surprisingly, I think I managed to finish almost everything that I needed to finish yesterday. It's surprising, because, very specifically, I didn't shower until around one o'clock (which is extremely unlike me) because I was working on a project. In the middle, I ended up helping my father with finding a place to dye his leather jacket. Both my Mom and Dad's birthdays are coming up in the near future, then Thanksgiving, and then Christmas, which leaves me scrambling.
This is one of the last few weeks that I'm going to be able to get fresh [fall] vegetables. Since squash, cabbage and potatoes keep for a few months, I'm thinking of stocking up. I made wonderful baked potatoes last night by slicing them width-wise and sprinkling them with olive oil and chives from the garden. I need to make two pumpkin pies, one for Thanksgiving and then one for Christmas, I'm thinking of either (1) making two pies and freezing one or (2) making the pumpkin puree and freezing that. I also need a butternut squash and a few more sweet potato squash for muffins. The closing of Klein's also means that I don't get my local honey. This is also very distressing. It means doing a lot of stocking when I get off of work. Just in case anyone else wanted to make a pumpkin pie out of a real pumpkin for the upcoming holiday, here's the way I've been making pumpkin puree-
Pumpkin puree
From there you can use it for muffins, pies, pumpkin butter, and whatever else you'd use canned pumpkin puree for. There's also something magical about having a pumpkin pie with real pumpkin. Butternut squash puree is pretty much made in the same fashion, except butternut squash puree is nice and firm so it doesn't need to be drained. Pumpkin muffins are best with half pumpkin puree, half butternut squash.
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Spoilers for Avatar: the Last Airbender season three; episode six, The Avatar & The Fire Lord; episode seven, The Runaway; and episode eight, The Puppetmaster
I really never expected anything, anything like that. I've always thought, or at least married myself to the idea, that Zuko would one day join up with the Gaang eventually. This isn't just because of the pairings that I enjoy, but also because I love Zuko and Aang interaction. We see it once, when they're not battling, as Aang sits up on a tree branch and tells Zuko about his friend Kuzon, and how he hopes one day that they can be friends. Zuko replies with a blast of fire, chasing Aang away. The look he gave after that was something that I always remembered. Sad, or guilty, or a mixture. Now we have to wonder if something like that is linked to the story of Roku and Sozin.
In the season two finale, Zuko chooses his immediate family over his Uncle and the "right thing to do," which is something that I can't blame him for; but! was certainly the wrong thing to do. After Azula was humanized in The Beach, I can say that I'm fairly confident that she harbors some kind of familial feelings for Zuko, even though she never seems like she does. She also seems to have some kind of resentment(?) over Ursa's fondness of Zuko. Now, Zuko has a familial link to Aang. Something that Roku says, "transcends time;" just like the Avatar's link with Gyatso. There is a link between Zuko and Aang, and even though Zuko has constantly said that he feels that his "Destiny" is "capturing the Avatar," when in reality, he's drawn to Aang because yes, his Destiny does involve Aang, but not in the way he believes that it involves the Avatar at all. This is why he has such conflicting feelings, why he constantly works to please his father, and why he still feels unfulfilled, even though he has what he thinks he wants. It's really not what he wants at all.
We also see, through the last handful of episodes, and especially in The Puppetmaster, the dehumanization of the rest of the world, and the humanization of the Fire Nation. Sozin didn't want to conquer the world for the sake of conquering the world, Sozin wanted to bring peace and prosperity to the rest of the world because he believed the Fire Nation was superior in those aspects. He wanted people to be happy. Roku disagreed with him, and for pride's sake he was forced to continue. His conquest became tainted through a personal vendetta. Now the two that can mend that rift are Aang and Zuko, which is why Zuko was drawn to Aang in the first place. He needed to make things right, and how is he going to do that? By helping Aang, by teaching him firebending, and by creating balance by becoming the Fire Lord. The one that that stands in his way, more than his father at this point, is his younger sister; who also wants the Throne.
Lastly, I really want to touch on The Puppetmaster because that was such, such an interesting episode. As I said before, we have the humanization of the Fire Nation, and the dehumanization of others through war. Hama, who was captured, tortured and driven to madness, ultimately became what her aggressors were. She forced Katara into bloodbending, taught her how to drain water from living things, using waterbending as a form of destruction rather than life. Jeong Jeong, way back in the first season, told Katara after he watched her heal the burns on her hands, that he was always envious of those who could "give life" and "heal." Suddenly, water becomes means of destruction, just as fire is; so they're not opposites, as suspected, instead they both bring death in their own separate aspects. Aang says, at the end of The Avatar and the Fire Lord how being evil depends on the person, and can't be based on where they live.
At the end of The Avatar and the Fire Lord Zuko receives the crown of Prince, which, if anyone noticed, he never had. He finally has received a part of himself, and the confidence to make a decision because he now knows who he is, and that crown signifies a part of him that he feels like he's been missing. All of his anger and hatred toward himself is because of his indecisiveness and his confusion, and his inability to believe that he can make the right choice and still be the person that he wants to be. Because of that, he knows now.
Also, sparky-sparky boom man is A++
Thoughts on Tenjho Tenge one-hundred eight and one-hundred nine later. Maybe Gunnm vol. ten. Avatar episodes nine and ten (hopefully!!) later tomorrow or tonight depending on how coherent I am after I watch them, if I get to watch them at all.
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Mari (nagasama) and I are thinking about doing a little project on the side involving one-thousand paper cranes and helping survivors of Hiroshima. We're not sure exactly how we're going to pull it off, but as Mari said, "if there's a will, there's way." If you haven't already, please visit her current project. She has a post about forgiveness that I think everyone should read. The project will most definitely be an extension on that. Shh, yes, I have posted these already, I just want to catch everyone.
I also just realized that I haven't scanned in some of the Persona 3 manga from the magazine that Mari and I picked up at Mitsuwa. There's a few 4koma that need to be shared, as well as a few spreads from Guilty Gear 2 Overture. Mitsuwa still does not have UltraJump, even though I ask every time I go to the bookstore they say they have it, and they can never find it.
This is one of the last few weeks that I'm going to be able to get fresh [fall] vegetables. Since squash, cabbage and potatoes keep for a few months, I'm thinking of stocking up. I made wonderful baked potatoes last night by slicing them width-wise and sprinkling them with olive oil and chives from the garden. I need to make two pumpkin pies, one for Thanksgiving and then one for Christmas, I'm thinking of either (1) making two pies and freezing one or (2) making the pumpkin puree and freezing that. I also need a butternut squash and a few more sweet potato squash for muffins. The closing of Klein's also means that I don't get my local honey. This is also very distressing. It means doing a lot of stocking when I get off of work. Just in case anyone else wanted to make a pumpkin pie out of a real pumpkin for the upcoming holiday, here's the way I've been making pumpkin puree-
Pumpkin puree
- 1 small baking pumpkin (they usually have darker skins and are smaller than regular carving pumpkins)
From there you can use it for muffins, pies, pumpkin butter, and whatever else you'd use canned pumpkin puree for. There's also something magical about having a pumpkin pie with real pumpkin. Butternut squash puree is pretty much made in the same fashion, except butternut squash puree is nice and firm so it doesn't need to be drained. Pumpkin muffins are best with half pumpkin puree, half butternut squash.
-
Spoilers for Avatar: the Last Airbender season three; episode six, The Avatar & The Fire Lord; episode seven, The Runaway; and episode eight, The Puppetmaster
I really never expected anything, anything like that. I've always thought, or at least married myself to the idea, that Zuko would one day join up with the Gaang eventually. This isn't just because of the pairings that I enjoy, but also because I love Zuko and Aang interaction. We see it once, when they're not battling, as Aang sits up on a tree branch and tells Zuko about his friend Kuzon, and how he hopes one day that they can be friends. Zuko replies with a blast of fire, chasing Aang away. The look he gave after that was something that I always remembered. Sad, or guilty, or a mixture. Now we have to wonder if something like that is linked to the story of Roku and Sozin.
In the season two finale, Zuko chooses his immediate family over his Uncle and the "right thing to do," which is something that I can't blame him for; but! was certainly the wrong thing to do. After Azula was humanized in The Beach, I can say that I'm fairly confident that she harbors some kind of familial feelings for Zuko, even though she never seems like she does. She also seems to have some kind of resentment(?) over Ursa's fondness of Zuko. Now, Zuko has a familial link to Aang. Something that Roku says, "transcends time;" just like the Avatar's link with Gyatso. There is a link between Zuko and Aang, and even though Zuko has constantly said that he feels that his "Destiny" is "capturing the Avatar," when in reality, he's drawn to Aang because yes, his Destiny does involve Aang, but not in the way he believes that it involves the Avatar at all. This is why he has such conflicting feelings, why he constantly works to please his father, and why he still feels unfulfilled, even though he has what he thinks he wants. It's really not what he wants at all.
We also see, through the last handful of episodes, and especially in The Puppetmaster, the dehumanization of the rest of the world, and the humanization of the Fire Nation. Sozin didn't want to conquer the world for the sake of conquering the world, Sozin wanted to bring peace and prosperity to the rest of the world because he believed the Fire Nation was superior in those aspects. He wanted people to be happy. Roku disagreed with him, and for pride's sake he was forced to continue. His conquest became tainted through a personal vendetta. Now the two that can mend that rift are Aang and Zuko, which is why Zuko was drawn to Aang in the first place. He needed to make things right, and how is he going to do that? By helping Aang, by teaching him firebending, and by creating balance by becoming the Fire Lord. The one that that stands in his way, more than his father at this point, is his younger sister; who also wants the Throne.
Lastly, I really want to touch on The Puppetmaster because that was such, such an interesting episode. As I said before, we have the humanization of the Fire Nation, and the dehumanization of others through war. Hama, who was captured, tortured and driven to madness, ultimately became what her aggressors were. She forced Katara into bloodbending, taught her how to drain water from living things, using waterbending as a form of destruction rather than life. Jeong Jeong, way back in the first season, told Katara after he watched her heal the burns on her hands, that he was always envious of those who could "give life" and "heal." Suddenly, water becomes means of destruction, just as fire is; so they're not opposites, as suspected, instead they both bring death in their own separate aspects. Aang says, at the end of The Avatar and the Fire Lord how being evil depends on the person, and can't be based on where they live.
At the end of The Avatar and the Fire Lord Zuko receives the crown of Prince, which, if anyone noticed, he never had. He finally has received a part of himself, and the confidence to make a decision because he now knows who he is, and that crown signifies a part of him that he feels like he's been missing. All of his anger and hatred toward himself is because of his indecisiveness and his confusion, and his inability to believe that he can make the right choice and still be the person that he wants to be. Because of that, he knows now.
Also, sparky-sparky boom man is A++
Thoughts on Tenjho Tenge one-hundred eight and one-hundred nine later. Maybe Gunnm vol. ten. Avatar episodes nine and ten (hopefully!!) later tomorrow or tonight depending on how coherent I am after I watch them, if I get to watch them at all.
-
Mari (nagasama) and I are thinking about doing a little project on the side involving one-thousand paper cranes and helping survivors of Hiroshima. We're not sure exactly how we're going to pull it off, but as Mari said, "if there's a will, there's way." If you haven't already, please visit her current project. She has a post about forgiveness that I think everyone should read. The project will most definitely be an extension on that. Shh, yes, I have posted these already, I just want to catch everyone.
I also just realized that I haven't scanned in some of the Persona 3 manga from the magazine that Mari and I picked up at Mitsuwa. There's a few 4koma that need to be shared, as well as a few spreads from Guilty Gear 2 Overture. Mitsuwa still does not have UltraJump, even though I ask every time I go to the bookstore they say they have it, and they can never find it.