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I'm Peeling! My face is peeling. There are bits and pieces of skin on my face as it tries to heal from being sunburnt. I look quite hideous, but it's okay. I can keep myself locked up in my apartment until I find myself presentable again. And that's exactly what I've been doing. I've been spending a lot of time playing Kiminozo, the PS2 game. I put in about 8 hours last night and another 6 hours today. At first, I thought it was quite slow but then the drama kicked in and now I'm hooked. The best part is that this is only the beginning of the story. I'm not even done with the first half of the game, according to walkthroughs I've read online. On top of that, this game is the first step into the whole Kiminozo legacy. In order to enjoy it like how it was supposed to be enjoyed, i.e. chronologically, I'm going to play the game first, then listen to the drama CDs that were released before the anime, and then listen to the anime. Oh, I forgot about the second volume of the comic too. Exciting times ahead. Kiminozo is this year's series for me, with Ai yori being last year's and Love Hina being the year before's. As for the characters, I had my sights set on Mitsuki, but now with all that's happened, I would feel bad if I didn't take the story towards Haruka. One thing about these video games is that it takes a lot of brainpower to fully enjoy as I have to read text that could pretty much fill up a novel. But regardless, the brain pain is worth the enjoyment. I can also be seiyuu too by reading my lines and then hearing others react to what I say (c'mon, I gotta keep language learning fun, right?). Apparently, my Shonen and Young Magazine didn't arrive at my doorstep today. Maybe the UPS guy left it in the office downstairs. Ah well, don't have time for it anyway as I'm playing the game. As such, I'll probably hold off on manga for a while too. |
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ネギま！ ６月： 図書館探検部 (Negima! June: Library Exploration Club) CD Single
According to a few ranking charts, this CD is also a pretty good seller like the previous two. The format is the same with 3 music tracks; one karaoke, one regular and one remix. It also has a brief introduction and a mini-drama along with the cast talking. This CD is different in that rather than just having one character, it has the three characters from the Library Exploration Club, Nodoka, Yue, and Haruna. The first pressing includes a Nodoka tarot card. The drama in this CD is okay. The girls are searching for a cheerleading book at the request of Sakurako. They find some "sketchy" books and fall into the traps of the library. Not really exciting, but the voice actresses match their characters pretty well. One of my up and coming favorite seiyuu, 能登麻美子 (Mamiko Noto) plays Nodoka and 桑谷夏子 (Natsuko Kuwatani) plays Yue; she plays Kanako in Love Hina and has a really distinguishable voice. So I do have some bias. The vocal is different that what I expected. It's a really slow song, solemn-sounding tune and feels like something you can waltz to. The lyrics follow the theme of the 3 students, so overall, it's pretty good. The remix adds some more instruments making it sound more modern. Finally, the cast talk, the three girls talk about more about how they would confess their love, kinda like what Nodoka has to do. I prefer some "behind-the-scenes" talk like the previous two CDs though. |
Title: 魔法先生ネギま！ ６月： 図書館探検部 (Magic Teacher Negima! June: Library Exploration Club) |
My 9/11 I wrote this a while ago and is also posted on my pretty much defunct personal site. It's here since 'scribbles does actually get updated. ----- I woke up that morning, late as usual. I had my "Programming Languages & Translator" class at 8:40am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but woke up at 8:30am. My place is about a 20-30 minute commute by bus, but since it was the beginning of my first semester at Columbia, the only means of transportation I knew then was via the subways. I lived on 92nd on the Upper East Side and my subway route was from 86th Street south to Grand Central (42nd Street), then west to Times Square (also on 42nd street), and then north on the 1/9 train to Columbia on 116th. It made a "U" around Central Park. So, I left my place around 8:40am, no shower that morning, just the essentials. I was hoping to make it to class before it ended so at least I could sit in the lecture even for a just a few minutes. I got on the subway and proceeded to head to Grand Central. When I was almost to Grand Central, the subway stopped on the tracks between stops. I thought it was strange because it was the first time the subway had stopped on me before reaching a station (like I said, I was new in the city). So at that point, I kinda realized that I probably wouldn't make it on time for class to hear anything significant, so I planned to ditch class that morning and putz around until my next class at noon. The subway then started again, and I got to Grand Central and jumped on the "shuttle" subway to Times Square. In retrospect, if I had exited the subway station at Times Square, I would have saw what was happening in the southern tip of Manhattan on the large TV screens decorating Times Square, but instead, I just waited for the red subway going to Columbia (Note: this was about 9:15-9:30am). When I got 1/9 subway to go north, there was a African American there talking and had an audience in the subway car listening to him. I don't remember exactly what he said, but he was talking about and explosion and a fire at some building. Apparently, he didn't know how it happened, but he said he left (maybe asked to go or just fled) and was going home. My impression of it was that some apartment or building fire somewhere. No big deal, or so I thought. When I got to school, I decided to hit the library because it was already 9:40ish, and the class ends at 9:55. I had brought my laptop that day to use the school's public network connections and to also buy and install a wireless network card to use around campus (I didn't have my DSL at home until October). But before I went into the reading rooms where the ethernet connection was, I stopped by a public terminal and logged onto CNN.com because I hadn't read the morning news, which is usually CNN.com. The CNN.com site was moving very very slow though, and it seemed like the server was down. I kept on hitting refresh, and still, nothing showed up on screen. I then hopped to other news sites, like ABCNews.com, or whatnot, but none of them were working either. Something's fishy. I finally got a visual on the NYTimes.com page, and saw the picture of the holes in the WTC. Oh shit. I think it was also at this time that I read that G. Bush called it an act of terrorism. At first, I was cursing in my head at his statement because I never liked Bush, his decision for a missile defense system, and his stance on the threat of a war. I thought he was jumping to conclusions on this one, but I think I was the one who only had a few paragraphs from the NYTimes.com to read about the incident. I quickly went into the reading room and hooked up my computer to the network so I could scour the web for information to what has happened. The attempt was pretty futile with all the Internet traffic, so I packed up and walked around for a bit to collect my thoughts. The one thing I have to say is that you couldn't tell there was a disaster less than 5 miles south of where I was from looking at the campus. I then went to buy my wireless network card from the mini-J&R store on campus, as I had planned. While I usually would have been a little hesitant buying this piece of equipment (my conscience usually gets to me about spending so much money on non-vital computer equipment), I had no doubts then because that day was probably the best day to be wired to the constant flow of information from the Internet. I went into the store asking to purchase it and used my credit card to buy it. The clerk warned me that she didn't know if it would work because it contacted a bank somewhere in downtown Manhattan, but it did and I got my card. As I left the store (around 11am or so now), I called my parents back in California from my cell phone that I was okay. When I dialed, I could hear the special dial tone that indicated that I had a voice message, but I didn't bother checking it just then because having gone through emergencies before, I knew that the phone lines would be super-clogged and I just needed a minute's time to tell my parents were okay (later that day, I checked the message and sure enough, it was from my parents). After about 10 tries, I told them that I was safe and sound at school, which is a good ways away from the financial district (although still on Manhattan Island). The also told me that they were called by my relatives wondering if I was okay. After the conversation, I went back into the library to the same kiosk to read the news again. This time, my jaw dropped because the headline now said that the WTC were gone. I had to read that one several times just to make sure. Noon was quickly approaching and not knowing what I should do, I figured I should follow my routine of going to Japanese class. Outside the building, there were signs that said that classes were canceled, but I met with some of my classmates who knew how tough the language department was and wanted to check with the instructors directly. When we got to the office, the instructor didn't know that classes were canceled despite the tragedy so they went and checked with the main office of the Asian Languages department. Sure enough, class was canceled. As we were leaving the building, a classmate wondered whether we had homework and so we went back and checked. Some people are so paranoid (and no, we didn't have homework, just in case you're wondering)! At that point, I asked my classmates if they knew of a place on campus where there was a TV. None of them had a clue. So after some thinking, I figured that the business school must have TVs to watch stock tickers or something, like how it is at Cornell. Sure enough, they had it. I got a sandwich from the cafe there and sat in the TV room with a lot of other people watching the coverage on CNN. I think I sat in there for a total of 5 hours or so before I had returned home. About halfway through my stay, they brought in free pizza and sandwiches for us to eat. During my time there, I used my laptop and found a friend of mine, Eric, who was working in Midtown. He said he was okay, but didn't know if he was getting home since he lived in New Jersey. Anyway, I got home that night, just to sit in front of the tube watching CNN for another few hours until G. Bush's speech. The next morning, I got up nice and early to get a copy of the New York Times newspaper. While it's a respected paper, the coverage was pretty weak on the attacks. The New York Post had great articles and footage. In the days following Tuesday, I could tell that the city was in a state of sadness. The usually liveliness in the streets were gone and people on the subways were more somber than usual. I was starting to be affected by the mood. By Thursday night, the stench from the wreckage had come up to 92nd Street. At that point, I realized that I had to leave the city for the weekend and went back to Ithaca (Cornell) to escape. As a footnote, I was at the WTC on September 8th with friends John and Eric. They were showing me around the city and we had to go to the WTC to take the underwater subway to New Jersey where Eric lived. I took my digital camera along that day and was at the base of the WTC looking up and thinking "Wow, this would be an awesome picture." But it was a Saturday afternoon, and I didn't want to look like a tourist, so I thought, "I'll just come back next week, early in the morning. It's not like they're going to go anywhere in a week." Lesson: Don't let the fear of embarrassment or self-image stop you from doing what you want, because you'll never know if you are going to have that chance again. |
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Burned I think I'm getting too old and becoming too sheltered. I have a skier's/boarder's sunburn on my face. The only part that's not red is what was covered by my sunglasses. I grew up in a beach town, I've gone skiing one a many times during my college years, much more than just one day on the slope and never needed any sunscreen. That's why I didn't feel the need to put chemicals on my face this time, which turned out to be a mistake. Is it because I'm not exposing myself to harsher enviroments so my body isn't as resilient, or could it be global warming and ozone depletion that's given me an extra dose of UV? |
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Retired
Made about 10 runs.most of them were on the green and one blue. Despite the less difficulty, i was able to work on my left turns on the snowbard and carve the slopes. Yeah! |
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Tubing
It's about 60 some degrees out. Snow is great though. |
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A nice day to go skiing
Is it going to be mushy and icy? |
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Gone this weekend
Here i am at a little apartment at mammoth ski resort. No computers in sight. |
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A store specializing in nuts
With a sign beckoning people to try their's. |
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That's it for tonight After a few distractions, I managed to write up 5 reviews and of course, my weekly phonebook summaries. One little problem is that this week's Young Magazine is a bit too risque for me to put on the front page (frickin' Ms. J cup). So, in order for it to not show up here, but still be available under the manga catagory subsection, I've back-dated it to before it was published. I'll return the date once I know it won't appear on the front page anymore. 7 more reviews to go before I'm out of the woods. |
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恋風 (Koi Kaze) Vol. 1
Sometimes, even I need a break from all those boy/guy comics and get something with a real story rather than situational comedy. Koi Kaze fits that gap very well. Koi Kaze is going to be animated and is schedule to air next month, so I thought I'd get ahead and see if it's worth it or not. I've actually been interested in reading this book a few months ago when I saw it at Kinokuniya. There's no blurb on back, so I didn't know what it was. Plus, I had a backlog, so I couldn't really start a new manga unless there was some type of urgency (like having the anime show premiering). I like the artwork in here, but what gets me is the story. It's actually written for a more mature audience despite the pretty pictures. It takes a hard look at how love is supposed to be between a brother (late 20s) and a sister (teen), even though they've never really seen each other before. While the girl treats him as a brother, he has conflicting views of her, especially since he's been sexually deprived from having been dumped a few months ago. There are no bonuses in the comic. 1. 春、ふる (Spring, Wavering): 七夏 (Nanoka) has come to her dad's house waiting for her brother 耕四郎 (Koshiro). However, he doesn't come so Nanoka heads back to her mom's house. Meanwhile, Koshiro still can't get over being dumped. He sees Nanoka drop something and returns it to her. They have a freeze frame moment. The next day, he sees her again and invites her to the amusement park. Atop the ferris wheel, he breaks down in front of her from all the emotions he's been keeping. After they leave, their dad seems them and formally introduces them as brother and sister. 2. 目覚めの悪い朝 (The Terrible Morning When I Open My Eyes): Having made an ass of himself in front of his little sister, he runs away to his mom's house. He has a dinner and talks with his mom about why they've been separated and now suddenly reunited. It's because she's now in high school and the dad's house is closer. He comes home, finally, but still feels like an ass. 3. お兄ちゃん禁止 (Brother, Stop): Koshiro is still quite annoyed, so he doesn't treat Nanoka with much respect. After tolerating with it for a bit, she gives up and decides not to be so nice. Afterschool, she stays late out with her friends rather than coming home. However, it's dark and even though she's reluctant to call home for an escort, she does and Koshiro comes with his bike. 4. 「毎晩一緒に寝ようね」 ("Let's Sleep Together Every Night, Okay?"): Koshiro is still very disturbed by the fact that he had lusted over his little sister. He apparently has a black teddy bear that he has treasured since childhood. He washes it and hangs it up to dry, and Nanoka sees it hanging. He gives it to her, and in return, she returns to her mom's house and gets her white teddy and they do a bear exchange. Koshiro doesn't really like to play along, but Nanoka treasures the gift and sleeps with it. 5. 月が満ちるまで (Until It's a Full Moon): At school, Nanoka is exposed to romance and sees a couple kissing for the first time. That night, she takes a walk with Koshiro and explains her desire to see what kissing is like. The next morning, she leaves a note for Koshiro to do some shopping. He postpones it until late and when he heads out, he sees it's raining. He brings some umbrellas and meets up with Nanoka and they both walk home. Nanoka tells him that she's in no hurry for love (meaning, she's already got a nice brother). 6. 思春期 (Puberty): After work, he meets his ex, who spots him with his little sister. Nanoka goes home first and Koshiro and the ex go out for a drink where they talk about his new little sister and their relationship. He comes home, more frustrated than ever. He finds one of Nanoka's bras and uses that as sensual stimulation as he masturbates. Afterwards, he is terribly ashamed that he ever did such a thing. 7. 夏の午後はうたたね (The Summer Afternoons are for Naps): He explodes the next day after Nanoka emptied out the trash in his room. The bra was in there and he could have been caught red-handed. But later, he tries making it up to her, even though she doesn't know what's going on. |
Title: 恋風 (Koi Kaze) Vol. 1" |
いちご１００％ (Strawberry 100%) Vol. 9
This is my favorite series currently in publication and this issue is the latest, having been just released early this month (my other favorite, Narue no Sekai is also out now too). Such a shame that I don't subscribe to JUMP, but weeklies are expensive. In light of their new drama cd, the cd makes the story even better as I finally have their voices in my head. This volume mostly concerns Tsukasa, although it has a bit of Yui at the beginning. Satsuki and Aya are pretty much side characters for now, but that'll probably change as Junpei's wavering emotions change too. You gotta love romantic comedies where the guy just can't choose. There are two pages of bonus 4 panel comics at the back of the book and a summary page at the beginning. 72. 最後の夜 (The Last Night): At the end of last book, Yui ran away from home to Junpei's place. Junpei told her dad that he'd return her, but they end up staying a night at a hotel. 73. 唯の味方 (Yui's Hero): At the hotel, Yui confesses to Junpei about how she didn't want her parents to move away from the neighborhood 6 years ago and that she likes him. Rather than staying the night, Yui gets a call from her mom to return immediately as something terrible has happened, but it's a ploy. As soon as Junpei appears, Yui's dad for not bringing her home. When he comes around, Yui resolves to live by herself and not stay at Junpei's place anymore. 74. 水着で個人指導 (Private Lesson in Bathing Suits): Having been away from work due to Yui, he tries to make up to his boss. His boss says he has to get Tsukasa into a bikini for him. So Junpei asks Tsukasa if she wants to go swimming and they go to his boss's pool. However, Junpei can't swim, so he gets rescued by Tsukasa. 75. 誰よりも甘い男 (The Sweetest Man): On the street, Junpei is bothered by a few thugs and is saved by a tall and very handsome man who is especially nice to him. At home, he gets invited to Tsukasa's house to try out some of her new cake and also to have her help him on his homework (as she's the smarter one). At her house, Tsukasa gets a visitor who turns out to be none other than the tall, nice man. 76. 迷える子羊と拾う神 (The Mislead-able Lamb and the Pick-Up God): Junpei has his suspicious about their relationship but it all comes crashing down when he sees them embrace. He runs out of her house and meets Aya on the road. They talk for a bit, which makes him feel better (it's nice having a selection of girls, isn't it?) 77. 抱擁 (Embrace): The next day, Tsukasa is wondering why he just ran out. They meet by the bakery where she works and she explains to him that she had a knee-jerk reaction to seeing a roach in the kitchen and that the guy was her tutor. 78. 誕生日アゲイン (Birthday Again): It's Junpei's birthday and he manages to triple book himself with three of the girls, Aya, Tsukasa, and Satsuki. But in the end, they have a gathering of the drama club team at a karaoke bar where Hiroshi, Junpei's friend, reveals some costumes for the girls to wear on this special occasion. 79. BIRTHDAY PANIC: The girls dress into their black leather, Charlie's Angel styled outfit and sing the night away until an explosion in the first floor restaurant occurs. They have a minor panic, but are saved by firemen who see them in the outfits. 80. 思いでの校舎で (At the School Building of Memories): That night, Tsukasa invites out Junpei at midnight. They go back to their old middle school where they first met and Tsukasa sneaks in the school and asks Junpei to send the night with her in the nurses's office. |
Title: いちご１００％ (Strawberry 100%) Vol. 9 |
こいこい７ (Koi Koi 7) Vol. 1 LE
Another series by Morishige. How does the guy do it? He has two comics running at the same time. Must be a bunch of underlings. I like this series a little better than his other one. The intro, while it isn't meaningful, is quite eye-catching with the phrase "The Flowers are in Full Bloom!" (read the book to find out). If you can't do it the pure way... The character design is better in this series too, although I can't help but think that Yayoi is almost a complete copy of Kurumi with pink hair that wraps under her eyes. In comparison to other stories that feature super-powered girls saving the day, I have to say that this comes in near the middle of the pack. Even so, it's still enjoyable. There was a more expensive first edition with a more provocative cover and a calendar that I missed out on. In this book, there are a few pages of a club newsletter at the end and colors pages to start the story off. (7/24/04) Edit: I discovered the LE edition at a used bookstore (for cheaper too!). Cover has been replaced with the LE version. 1. 接触編 ('Contact' Chapter): 田中哲郎 (Tetsuro Tanaka) is a month late starting high school due to an accident. As he's finally able to go, he's almost hit by a truck, but is saved by a mysterious girl who wears the same pendant as the one that his school has. He finds out that he's the only boy in his class and is instantly hated by his classmates except for a few. One girl is 飛鳥ヤヨイ (Yayoi Asuka), whose name Tetsuro is familiar with as it's the same name as a girl he knew when he was little. A few more girls get introduced, one being 風祭サクヤ (Sakuya Kazamatsuri). Yayoi reveals that she has superpowers and she takes him to his dorm, which she is going to share with him along with Sakuya, 月読みミヤビ (Miyabi Tsukuyomi), 鈴鹿アキオ (Akio Suzuka), 蝶野オトメ (Otome Chouno), 猪飼ヒフミ (Hifumi Inokai), and finally his teacher, 花皇 (Kano). 2. 発動編 ('Into Action' Chapter): Tetsuro wants to transfer out after finding out that he's living with a bunch of girls with extra-ordinary powers. He confronts Yayoi saying that she scares him. This puts Yayoi in a tail-spin into self-destruction, but Tetsuro apologizes just in time. 3. 因果地平編 ('The Horizon of Cause and Effect' Chapter): Tetsuro is abducted and abused by the popular clique at the school. While he's being held captive, 7 girls (the girls from his house) appear calling themselves the "Koi Koi 7" and rescue him. 4. 真夜中狂騒曲 (The Tune of Midnight Mania): Sakuya has a secret life she leads as the leader of a group of female riders (of bicycles). Thinking that Sakuya is leaving at night by herself, Tetsuro insist that he accompany her, but ends up being dressed like a girl so he can join the clan. 5. 夢見れる機械 (The Machine that Can See Dreams): Otome is mostly a machine, but she occasionally has dreams about events she doesn't remember. She and Tetsuro spend a day together, but at night, she short circuits and when she wakes up, she remembers nothing. Those dreams are her lost memories. 6. 世界平和は踊る (The Peace on Earth Dances): Akio, who's ability is flying, gets Tetsuro to team up with her wearing jumpsuits and becoming the freedom fighters, "Koi Koi 7." They spend the day helping people and Akio reflects on her past when she was helpless, but now that's changed. |
Title: こいこい７ (Koi Koi 7) Vol. 1 |
花右京メイド隊 (Hanaukyou Maid Tai) Vol. 1
Thinking that I was going to get the new anime series, as Rie Tanaka is featured in it (and then work my way back to first season/ova), I decided to pick this up. It's okay, I guess. For a story to work for me, the first few pages are critical. I need to be sucked in really fast with a meaningful intro, even if the rest of the story is you're typical romantic comedy. Unfortunately, this series doesn't have such an introduction. It's not a bad thing, but it'll just take me longer to fully enjoy the story. There are no bonuses, not even a mention of when and where this comic was serialized. Bah. 1. ご主人様 (My Master): 花右京太郎 (Hanaukyo) moves to Tokyo with his grampa after his mother died. What he didn't expect was that his gramps lived in a huge mansion with an army of maid, the head maid being Mariel. Even worse, his gramps leaves the house and maids all to him. And so begins his life of being pampered by maids. 2. 太郎の学校 (Taro's School): At school, the maids help Taro with work when he's put on the spot in front of the class. They also make him the jock of the school by helping him play basketball, using wires and three maids pulling. 3. 花右京家の大惨事 (The Big Accident at the Hanaukyo's): イクヨ (Ikuyo), a maid, is physically weak, but excels at making machines, or so she thinks. She tries to make a weather machine, but it goes awry and explodes causing havoc at the mansion. However, it does make snow fall. 4. ライバル登場！？ (A Rival Appears!?): A member from a competing family, 慈悲王リュウカ (Ryuuka Jihiou), appears to scope out Taro. While she expects him to be an aristocrat, he actually just tries to be a regular guy, sweating out work with the maids. 5. マリエルのこと (About Mariel): Taro and some maids, including Mariel go to the beach. There, Taro takes with the question of whether he likes Mariel and vice-versa. She responds that she indeed likes him, but he gets the impression that she doesn't know what he really means by "like." 6. 新顔登場 (A New Face Appears): A maid, Konowe, returns. She's very much of the swordswoman type and tells Taro to stop helping out because he's the boss. While shopping, she seems him looking for presents. They have a sit-down talk, he fends off some attackers, and their relationship gets better. 7. 太郎の休日 (Taro's Day Off): Even though it's Sunday, the maids have him working like a horse with homework, physical training, bathing, etc. At night, he's all pooped out and sees Cynthia, a younger maid. They play some video games before the other maids find them and create a commotion. 8. 花右京家の頭脳 (The Brains of the Hanaukyo House): It turns out that Cynthia has two personalities, the other is Grace, a computer genius although a bit rambunctious. She and Cynthia switch personalities after each falls asleep. As hackers are attacking the main computer system, it's Cynthia who's currently away, so they try to make her fall asleep and Grace comes to save the day. |
Title: 花右京メイド隊 (Hanaukyou Maid Tai) Vol. 1 |
シュガ～ (Sugar) Vol. 1
While I try to keep with the natural progression of series, i.e. if the manga came out first, then I'll read the manga first before the anime, for this one, I went ahead and read the manga which is based off the anime series. I've only seen the first few episdoes of the anime (yet another case of having the whole season unwatched on my shelf), so I can't really comment on how it compares, but there are some things that are immediately noticeable. The artwork in the manga is just a little off. I like the character design in the anime, and the manga tries to follow, but there's just something a little different about how she is. Maybe it's her eyes, but it bugs me a bit. The story is cute from what I've seen and read in this first volume. I love the intro to the anime. No bonuses except for a few colors pages to being the story and a letter from the author after the first chapter おはなし１ シュガーが街にやってきた。。。 (Story 1, From the Streets Came Sugar): Saga, a punctual and very orderly girl whose mom has died, encounters a Snow Fairy, Sugar, almost passed out on the street. Much to the fairy's surprise, Saga can see her even though she's supposed to be invisible to people. Saga takes her home where Sugar reveals that she's looking for a "Twinkle" so she can be a full-powered Fairy. The two of them get in an argument after Sugar tries to help out one of Saga's friend's experiment. What angers Saga even more is that a plant has sprouted from her musical toy piano. おはなし２ シュガー「きらめき」を探す。。。 (Story 2, Sugar Searching for "Twinkles"): To try and alleviate Saga's anger, Sugar decides to hurry up her search for the "Twinkle." Along with two other fairies, Salt and Pepper. She gets herself trapped by a crow after seeing some twinkles from its nest. Meanwhile, Saga has cooled off a bit, so she comes out just in time to save Sugar. おはなし３ シュガー、家出をする。。。 (Story 3, Sugar Runs Away): Sugar is practicing her magical flute. She's not good at it so it disturbs Saga. On top of that, it beckons the crow back, this time into the music store where Saga's mother's piano resides. Saga gets annoyed again, so Sugar wants to write her an apology letter. Unfortunately, she chooses sheet music that Saga's mom worked on as the paper to write on, which is a big no no. Eventually, she comes to her senses, remembers the words her mother told her when she was writing music and she forgives Sugar. Salt and Pepper also explain the situation. おはなし４ 夢のカタチ。。。 (Story 4, The Shape of the Dream): Phil, Saga's experimenting friend, is trying to make a weather machine that will produce an aurora. Salt mocks this idea as he doesn't respect humans trying to do a fairy's work. However, in the end, he after talking to a fellow fairy who's also an artist, he helps out Phil in his experiment and makes it a huge success. |
Title: ちっちゃな雪使い シュガ〜 (Small Snow Fairy, Sugar) Vol. 1 |
Do not leave open cans around I just performed an act of stupidity. I had a can of Pepsi, half full that has been sitting out here for a week. I just opened up a new can from the fridge and placed it next to the old can that I was too lazy to throw out. Guess which one I drank from? So I went to the eye doctor and he told me that my better eye has gotten worse and that my worse eye has gotten better. My right eye is a terrible -3.00, now a -2.75. My better eye was a -.75, now a -1.25. I hate glasses, but this is a consequence of getting old. Reading books under inadequate lighting also does the job pretty well. Everything is going on pause tonight as I do catch-up work on writing up the books I've read. The plan was to read Kanon and Guardian Hearts, but no, have to write up reviews as I don't allow books to be placed on my bookshelf until I do them, and as it is now, I have a dozen or so books stacked on my desk. |
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I give in! I can't stand these allergies anymore. I'm wheezing, and blowing my nose every other minute. I don't have itchy eyes, which is a good thing since I wear contacts, but still, it sucks. I usually try to be as drug-free as possible. The body knows how to cure itself best. However, I'm not going to have a busted up nose (from tissues) just because I'm not willing to pop a few pills. I think OTC Claritin might be too strong for me. I just want the snot to stop. |
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No manga updates this weekend This weekend was a partial success, if success is measured by how closely I adhered to my planned schedule. The part I did accomplish was that I managed to read 6 more manga this weekend. The part I didn't accomplish was doing the reviews of them. On Saturday, I passed out on my bed during the time I was supposed to be doing the review. Today, I went out in search of the mysteriously difficult-to-find box matches, and I found them! I had to go to a more distant Vons to find them, but I bought two packages worth (10 boxes per package, $.99 a package). Whoot! Yet another reason I dislike auctions. So I was bidding for this out-of-print video game last night. Some guy (I suspect) placed a bid for $41 bucks since two days ago. I waited until an hour before the auction closed before placing my bid at $50. So I place my bid and I guess the other guy only bid $40 because it stopped at $42. Then I watched the auction until the very last minute. At 2 minutes before close, I see the guy tries to make a comeback by placing a $45 bid. Of course it automatically puts me at $46, but also extends the time of the auction by 10 minutes. So I wait another few minutes until the very last minute, when I see the price jump up to $49. At this point, I'm thinking "if he wants it that badly, just put $51 dollars." But he didn't, and I won the auction. |
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Matches I'm in the market for candles and have been ever since I got here. Every store, drug store, department store sells candles, but I'll be damned if I can find a place that sells box matches. You would think that people who stock items would realize that you need fire to light the wick. So far, I've been to all the drugstores and supermarkets in the area (just went to Ralphs and Vons today, feeling that it was finally safe to do so). But no matches. I could get a lighter, but I don't like using them. The fire's too close. There's also something intriguing about striking a match. Maybe it's the Neanderthal in me. Go Alabama! |
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I hate high voltages One thing I started noticing today is that power adapter on the Powerbook sparks when I plug it into a non-surge protected outlet. I don't know if I should complain about it, or is it just a warning to not plug it into non-protected outlets. Anyhow, it's not my computer, so I'm not overly concerned. I swear, all these computers in my apartment really heat up the place. I finally broke down and decided to turn on the air conditioning. I can't stand all the heat. I'm more of a cold temperature person given that I've spent 6 years on the east coast for college and grad school. This LA heat is really getting to me. |
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少年マガ (Shonen Magazine), '04 Vol 16 & ヤングマガ (Young Magazine), '04 Vol. 16
No women this week :(. Tokyuu is the special comic this week with a color page (probably the start of the second volume of the manga as it's volume 10). Negima: ４６時間目 総本山 燃ゆ！？ (46th Hour, Souhon Mountain in Flames!?): The only people left to fight are Negi and Setsuna, and then Asuna with Konoka. Asuna gets attacked first by the henchkid sent last chapter. She's defeated by being stripped naked and then tickled by watery hands (let your imagination run wild). Negi and Setsuna arrive too late and Konoka is taken away. They later find the Monkey Lady holding Konoka captive. When Negi and gang try to attack, she unleashes Konoka's power upon them. Suzuka: ＃５片鱗 (#5 A Glimpse): It's physical fitness test time and Yamato tries to impress. He jumps a whole 72.5cm which impresses Honoka, but Suzuka is not impressed as she got 84cm. The next event is the 100m dash to which Yamato is paired up with one of the fastest runners in school. As he is running, his eyes meet with Suzuka's, which gives him a little more push and he wins. The other people watching are extremely impressed and want him to join their respective clubs, however, Suzuka still doesn't show any excitement. Yamato's goal now is to make her think a little more highly of him. Hamanaka Ai: ０２８少女的救出劇 (Feminine Rescue Drama): The bathroom door at Masahiko's house is broken. During study period, Rinko accidentally drops a slice of cake on Ai and so she goes to the bathroom to wash up, but gets stuck inside. While Nakamura contemplates calling 911, Rinko, feeling guilty that she caused this, goes outside, rips the bars off the windows so that Ai can climb out. Tsubasa: ３８しあわせのカタチ (The Shape of Happiness): Fye and Kuro are at restaurant/club Clover where they meet with the singer there, named 織葉 (Oruha). She tells him that there are monsters that look just like a handsom young boy (and then there's a page that shows a dark figure standing outside the club). Back at the cafe where Sakura and Shaoran, and where Yuzuriha, Kusanagi, Souma, and Ryuuou are, they enjoy some treats before being attacked by monsters that seem more powerful than they should be. Futatsuki: ８口目／初戦の壁 (Eighth Taste/The Hurdle of the First Match): Even though it's the day that they have to compete, Futatsuki still makes some ramen at the store before he goes out. He perfects his ramen by adding gluten, to which Hina indulges in. They go to the competition and they find out that their competitor is from a very respected restuarant and the ramen they're supposed to make are for young kids/brats. The catch is that the kids are allergic to flour, so they can't use that ingredient.
There's Waka again. Cover girl is named インリンオブジョイトイ (Yinling of Joytoy). Umm...no. XXXholic: 43: Kimihiro and Doumeki are planning on a double date with the twins. The lively one seems to have fallen for Doumeki, the other twin, the one with a bad aura, seems to be out of it. And just to make Kimihiro feel worse, at school, Himawari seems to be taken more with Doumeki. At the movies, Doumeki's girl does what most (stereotypical manga) girls do at scary movies, the other girl starts bleeding from the forehead. Minamike: ３「おかしな事」 (3, Strange Things): Haruka came home late, so Kana is wondering if she did some "strange" things with her male head-of-class counterpart. Chiaki asks what's the "strange" thing, but the older girls refrain from telling her. So the next day at school when Chiaki's friends, boys and girls, ask if they want to study together, she asks if they're goint to do "strange things." |
Title: 少年マガジン (Shonen Magazine) Vol. 16
Title: ヤングマガジン (Young Magazine) Vol. 16 |
Playing with the Mac I finally got permission to take my new mac laptop home from work, and I've been playing with it ever since. I am still very impressed by what Apple has pulled off. I got two iSight cameras last week, one for my parents in Santa Cruz and the other for me down here. Both of us have DSL connections, but given my previous experience with web conferencing back Cornell with QuickCams, I was kinda skeptical about the quality. Iis mean, I had a full T1 connection back then and it was pretty mediocre. However, my experience tonight has been pretty amazing. The video quality is pretty good, the audio is awesome. I think the noise canceling microphone helps a lot. The only complaint I have is that this laptop heats up so much that I can't put it on my lap. Speaking of Cornell, a tragedy occurred today. Very very sad, indeed. |
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Nothing But Reviews I really need to get in the habit of doing things on time. I had 9 books piled up to write up on. I've been just reading away the past few days without bothering to record what I read (not a good thing given how forgetful I am). So, having to write these 4 up today was kind of a chore as I had to browse through them to remember what I had read. Not that bad since they were only a few days ago, but still, I forgot enough to doubt my own memory. Hence, it took me more than my usually alloted 20 minutes to write these up. Kutakuta da na. Let's see, anything interesting happen? Nope, well, besides work that is. I got my new Mac 15" Powerbook for work! Hooray! After some technical difficulties yesterday with getting it booted up (it had bad RAM), I'm off and running. Now I just have to wait to get clearance to bring it home. And then I'll finally get to play with it. Heh heh. |
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A.I.が止まらない (Love Won't Stop) Vol. 1
Title: A.I.が止まらない (Love Won't Stop) Vol. 1 This is, I believe the second manga series I started when I felt confident enough to read manga (the first was Love Hina). I really wasn't impressed with it as the artwork isn't as good as Ken Akamatsu's later work, so I stopped halfway and left this volume on my shelf. However, after two years of reading, I'm a more experienced now, having read a lot of less than stellar manga, so I guess I'll dive back into this one. I already bought a lot of the issues, but fortunately, most of them were $1 from Book-Off, which is an awesome price for readable books. I mean, hell, I could buy the entire series for the cost of just one volume of the translated version. Anyhow, the manga hasn't gotten any better the second time around. The story is pretty weak, the artwork isn't up to my expectations, but it does show a lot of where Ken Akamatsu comes from. Hopefully he'll add some more characters in the second volume. Since this is a re-release, there's a bunch of bonuses including newly drawn artwork pages (more Love Hina-like) and interviews with Ken Akamatsu himself. There's a mini-poster pull-out and the inside cover is a pencil drawing of the cover. 1. 呼ばれて、飛びでて、ジャンジャカジャ～ン (Calling, Flying, Jan Jaka Jan): The computer geek and otherwise loser, 神戸ひとし, has been played again by the popular girl he has a crush on, 麻生希美華 (Kimika Asou). On his way home, a thunderstorm arrives and as he's working at his computer, his house gets struck by lightning and the girl he's been programming, Thirty, comes to life. She "transfers" to Hitoshi's school and suddenly she's the talk around the schoolyard. Kimika obviously doesn't like the attention being diverted away from her, so she has a strong dislike for her, but can't surpass her because she's perfect in almost every way (as she's programmed to). One of her few flaws is that she can't cook. When Thirty and Hitoshi are talking in private about her condition and how she's a program, Kimika secretly records it and goes to broadcast it on the school's P.A. system. However, since Thirty is a computer program, she has complete access to the school's system, and averts a disaster by making a mockery of Kimika. 2. めざせ ホテル龍宮城 (Let's Go, to the Imperial Dragon Hotel): Hitoshi is studying all the dating books to program/teach Thirty more about human relationships. Unbeknownst to Hitoshi, Thirty obtains the book and executes the instructions exactly as it is written. To Hitoshi's surprise, she is the perfect date. And like all dates, they end up at a luxurious hotel, which is what Thirty coaxes Hitoshi to do. However, the book doesn't say what goes on at the hotel, so she just turns around, much to Hitoshi's dismay. 3. クラブでGO GO! (GO GO! at the Club): Hitoshi wants Thirty to join some of the clubs at school. She performs poorly at the cooking club, doesn't do well at the floral club, and plays too rough at the volleyball club. Since she's not much a team player (from volleyball), Hitoshi recommends she join the tennis club and tone down her game a bit. However, her first opponent is Kimika and with her lowered ability, she's being beaten pretty bad. Hitoshi then tells her to max out her ability at which she kills Kimika. 4. 私を海へつれてって (I Said I'm Taking You to the Ocean): They go to the beach only to find that it's polluted with cans in the sand and that there's a little brat who doesn't want them to be there. The reason is that the little kid thinks they're just going to pollute more. Moved by this, they offer to help, and with some of ingenuity on the part of Hitoshi and Thirty, they use Fleming's right hand rule to use electro-magnetism to pick up the trash (or something like that. I took physics sooo long ago). 5. 笑う侵入者 (The Laughing Intruder): Hitoshi is sick, so Thirty tries looking at a computer database for some cures. She executes a mysterious program which seems to give the computer a virus and eventually makes her weaker and weaker. At the end, the virus, a laughing clown, is revealed and it mentions that he has 64 minutes before Thirty is erased. 6. SAYONARA: As the time ticks down, Hitoshi tries to figure out where the virus is originating from. Since he has so many computers, it takes him a while to figure out that it's his little laptop. He unplugs the data cable and the virus is destroyed. 7. Moneyで大変！？ (A Problem with Money!?): Hitoshi is low on funds so Thirty tries to help. She first prints up some money, but they're definitely fake. She then alters his bank account, but he says it's wrong. So in order not to get caught, she hacks her way back into the bank's database. This journal takes her underwater to the island/database. She fixes his account, but is pursed by "guardians" and she narrowly escapes. |
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がぁ～でぃあん Hearts (Guardian Hearts) Vol. 2
I really have to say that I hate the pesky cat mascot, Daisy, in this series. She appears as the main focus of attention for at least half these chapters, and man, she's is so frickin' annoying. The story has toned down a bit with the number of girls not increasing as much (even though there are enemies). Still very episodic, but there are some connections between chapters which I hope is going to be expanded in the coming volumes. There's two bonus mini-comics at the end of the book. The front cover underneath the dust jacket has a sketch different from the cover, and the back has a message from the author, like the previous one. 8. 敵の名はBURN (The Name of the Enemy is 'BURN'): There is a new enemy faction in town called "BURN" and they're after Kazuya. The first henchwoman to go after him is 風の紫音 (Shion of the Wind). She tries to play the sympathy card, but he doesn't take notice. She gets more aggressive and eventually drugs him, but when faced with Hina (as a Guardian Angel), he's able to break out of the spell. 9. やすらぎ (At Ease): The girls and Kazuya go out hiking and Hina is feeling down because she feels like she can't help out. Using fireworks as the setting for his analogy, Kazuya cheers her up a bit. Later on, they find out that Kotono and Daisy are gone. Hina, using her special powers, saves them from a collapsed cave. 9. 決戦！文化祭（前編）忍びなれど。。。 (Showdown! Cultural Festival First Part, A Shinobi but...): Maya is acting strangely lately and becomes very flustered at the sight of Kazuya. During the camping trip, Kazuya saw her in the bath, in the nude, and that's what's bothering her as only her husband can see her nude. Not being able to live with it she decides to kill him, but Hina comes and saves the day, but not before her bomb explodes and destroys parts of the school which Hina has to repair. 10. 決戦！文化祭（後編）宿敵と現実 (Showdown! Cultural Festival Last Part, An Old Enemy and Reality): "Burn" has another henchwoman, this time named 静 (Shizu). At the festival, we find out that Kazuya's teacher is a huge fan of his mom because his mom was a such a cool person in school. Shizu and Maya scrap it out with Maya almost being defeated when Kazuya's mom unleashes Daisy to defeat Shizu. Apparently, Kazuya's mom isn't as normal as she looks and may have some special powers. 11. 夢見るデイジィ (Dreaming Daisy): This is a mini-chapter where the extended family of girls living in Kazuya's house discuss what they should do about Daisy's lodging as she doesn't have her own room. Kazuya's mom suggests that they build her a house, but it turns out to be a poorly made doghouse. 12. デイジィ大あれば キャッツカードは死の香り (If Daily Were Bigger, the Cat's Card is the Touch of Death): Kurusu is running out of uniforms and as such is losing powers fast. Kazuya is sick, but her nurse uniform doesn't cut it so with help from Daisy, she goes out to steal a very expensive nurse uniform. During their heist, Hina arrives to prevent the theft, but Daisy successfully prevents her from dispensing justice. 13. なくせない場所 (The Place that Can't Be Lost): Hina's boss gives her the duty of protecting an very important egg for a week and to prevent it from getting into enemies hands. At almost the end of the week, Shizu and Shion from "BURN" try to take it from her. Hina tries to transform, but she can't. The egg hatches and out pops a girl who gives Kazuya the power of the Guardian Angels. Hina's boss comes back to see what's happened and is puzzled by his ability to obtain that power. 15. こびず甘えず でもかまって欲しいぜよ (Unflattering and Not Nice, but I Want You to Take Notice): A mini-chapter where Daisy causes a fuss in Kazuya's room. Gawd, I hate that cat. |
Title: がぁ～でぃあん Hearts (Guardian Hearts) Vol. 2 |