|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
April 9, 04 | 07:45 p.m. | Feeling: Subversive.
Probably don't need to explain myself....
April 8, 04 | 03:58 p.m. | Feeling: Energized.
Darn, I made myself memorize some lines from various poems but was not able to use a single one for the test (except Wordsworth's stupid "poetry is the spontaneous overflow of feeling recollected in tranquility"). So frustrating. Anway, I think I did okay on that test. I got Prof. J to autograph my copy of her book (Marginalia); she's such a sweet lady! Hopefully she will agree to write me a reference letter for Grad school next year. Yeah, now I'm back to thinking about Grad school again. Forgive my caprice. You jade XP. Aki, if you need a host, I would be very happy to host you. I don't like the Bush administration, but I was impressed by what I saw of Condeleeza Rice's performance. Personally, I'd totally freak to be grilled by a bunch of Senators on national TV. This summer, I seriously need to improve on my public speaking skills.
April 8, 04 | 12:22 a.m. | Feeling: Stressed. Sort of.
Laetitia, I also have a Romantic Poets' test tomorrow. Don't you just hate Wordsworth? Congratulations to Jade who got into both Harvard and Yale. *worships*
April 5, 04 | 05:59 a.m. | Feeling: !#2ioF!!
Oh boy, ANOTHER all-nighter. My last essay (that horribly overdue one which made me consider running away to Japan) is almost handed in. Thank you very very much to everyone who took the time to advise me. I was surprised that you guys took my ESL teaching fantasy in stride. Very encouraging, actually. This is the last week of school before the Examination period starts. In fact, I have a final on Thursday which I seriously need to study for. If my mark drops in THAT class then I'm seriously f*cked for grad school. I'm in a bleak mood, having gone without regular sleep for a week, so if I sound bitter then attribute it to the sleep deprivation. Good news. I finished downloading all 44 episodes (minus Ep. 43) of Juuni Kokki. It is truly a wonderful series that seems like it's meant for girls, but is not typically "shoujo" in the least. I think the key to enjoying the series is to approach it knowing that it is a long series which demands patience and attention, and knowing that there isn't going to be any of that typical anime romance/slapstick comedy thing. Speaking of anime, I bought an Escaflowne DVD set from Amazon.com Marketplace. I don't think I read the seller's description very closely because I thought I was buying the official box set, but what I actually bought (as it turns out) is a 3 DVD set that SEEMS to be a bootleg. Well, I paid $40 CAN. for it, and the quality is v. good (dual language, music vids, etc.) so I'll keep it I guess. Speaking of Amazon, I sold my Hellsing Vol. 1 DVD (which I bought for $30!) for what I initially believed to be $16 on Amazon.ca Marketplace. However, the shipping (to a Quebe address) came to $7!!!!!! Gyahhh. I'm also trying to sell Angel Sanctuary and Lupin III: The Pursuit of Harimoa's Treature, so if you're interested in buying it from me directly, e-mail me and we'll work out a reasonable price. I would like to create an anime blog, since I watch so much of it and all that. Heh. Me bad. I'll have to figure out MT though, or some other fancy blogging programme. Lastly, Chapter 5 (the last one of Volume 1) of Peace Maker Kurogane is now available. Morrigan did a shockingly good job on the scanlation. I shall have to guard her jealously from Manga City, or the like ^^;;
March 29, 04 | 06:26 p.m. | Feeling: Lethargic
My Wacom Intuos2 Tablet (4"x5") arrived today. Whoohooo. It's pretty tiny, but then I have a small hand and a kid's room's desk. Horribly expensive, but it'll keep me occupied for the summer. Oh yeah, I have 1 way overdue essay that weighs so horribly on my mind that I am seriously considering eschewing grad school for teacher's college. I feel rather confused these days; I definitely want to get my Masters in English lit, but increasingly I've been thinking that phD is not for me. My friend got into a work-exchange programme via U of T called "JEP". He and his wife are going to go to Tokyo, Japan for a year to teach English after graduation. I have another friend who said that he wanted to go to South American in a similar programme. *scratches head* Hmm....rather tempting.... Peace Maker Kurogane, Volume 1 Chapter 4 is now available at Fifay.net!
March 20, 04 | 12:18 a.m. | Feeling: Loathing Spenser.
Something's rotten in the state of Taiwan. No matter how I look at it, I think there's something very, very odd about this breaking news. What kind of an assassin misses all the vital areas on both targets? President Chen was exposed, like, from head to waist, and the assassin shots at his stomach area? It's a very bizarre thing to happen, 24 hours before an election. I'm reminded of that Tim Robbins movie, Rob Roberts, in which the candidate stages an assassination in order to win votes.
March 12, 04 | 01:58 a.m. | Feeling: Frustre.
Gah, I've been downloading ep. 14-26 of 12 Kingdoms...for the past 3 days!! And I still have 50% to go!!! Bah ;_; Anyway, I gotta stop using anime as a distraction from my scarry essays.
March 10, 04 | 12:02 a.m. | Feeling: Brain...crashing.
'Kay, I feel really dumb right now. I got Vol. 1 of 12 Kingdoms months ago, and didn't get past the second episode. I rashly dismissed it as an insufferable magic-girl series. But recently, I watched the entire DVD and found that I want to see more. Here's the stupid part--my mom had d/l a large chunk of the fansub, but I told her to delete it. Now I wish I hadn't >_<;;. Anyway, I went on Amazon and bought the next DVD. The lesson once again is that "she who hesitates is lost". Oh, speaking of proverbs, I have some others which I've found rather neat: "To know that one has a secret is to know half the secret itself." ~ Duc de la Rochefoucault.
Louis 16: C'est un revolte? On being asked how he was able to conquer so many countries in his lifetime, Alexander the Great replied "By never wanting ... to delay." Nic, I hope that wasn't too didactic for ya!
March 8, 04 | 12:46 a.m. | Feeling: Writer's block.
The English-to-12-Year-Old-AOLer Translator turned this: To be or not to be that is the question. Whether tis nobler for the mind to suffer, the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or take arms against them.To THIS: 2 B OR NOT 2 B TAHT IS TEH QUASTION!11!1 WHETH3R TIS NOBLER FOR DA MIND 2 SUFER DA SLNGS AND AROWS OF OUTRAEGOUS FORTUNA OR TAEK ARMS AGANEST THAM!1!1 OMG WTF
March 1, 04 | 12:37 p.m. | Feeling: Meh.
Peace Maker 20 was another tension-filled, exciting episode. I was a little shocked that they actually animated a gritty torture scene. I could not help comparing the scene to The Passion which I saw on Sat. with my very religious (but non-preachy) friend. I didn't enjoy the Mel Gibson film very much; the torture scene there was horrendously graphic; the dragged-out violent torture scenes shocked me so much that the rest of the movie made little impression on me. As for the anti-semitic charge...well, I thought the Jewish priests came across as manipulative politicians, which is of course, one of the popular charges of the anti-semitic people. Satan is in the film--now there's a very creepy and fascinating character.
Feb, 24, 04 | 11:15 p.m. | Feeling: Tired & impatient.
It's funny how my last 4 entries begin with the phrase "I'm tired...". I'm not depressed, really, it's just that school is getting very stressful in terms of essays, tests and other methods of discrimination (by which I mean, grad school's method of distinguishing between the top 2%, 5%, 10% or 25%). I know that every girl claims to have issues with their fathers at one time or other. I'm no different. My Dad is depressing me because every time I talk to him, he projects a grim attitude towards my progress. Amy, thank goodness that you weren't hurt! Regarding Mel Gibson's Passion, hmm...yes. I was talking to a classics major and we both agreed that it would be interesting to see it, as the dialogue is conducted in Latin and Aramaic (sp?). Frankly, being an atheist, and one who is rather disturbed by the rising popularity of the Creationists, not to mention George W.'s fundamentalism (I rather see him as a C21st Crusader), I'm not sure what I can glean from watching such a movie. Well, maybe on DVD..... Lae, you're not alone. As one writes more academic essays, and delves more into the world of criticism, rather than fiction, one naturally looses the momentum of writing fiction. I didn't know until recently that you were taking English classes; perhaps that's one of the reasons why you're experiencing a writer's block. However, I am almost 100% sure that learning to dissect other writers, poets, dramatists' works will help one's own future endeavors in one way or another. The best novelists, poets or playwrights are also the most elucidated: Shelley, Tolstoy, and Atwood come to mind. My fav. fantasy writer, Sherwood Smith, got her masters in Renaissance history and lit; not surpringly, her fantasy world is much more complex than the usual fare. Shakespeare may not have been as well trained in Greek, etc. as Marlowe or Sidney, but he knew his Latin authors really well, as reflected in the plays. That being said though, one also has to pair that scholastic training with real-life experience. The latter is what worries me. Chinese girls, I believe, are generally more "sheltered" than our western counterparts. As you know, in the old days, a Chinese girl would only leave her family to live with that of her husband's. As immigrants, my parents are particularly keen on pointing out "The Way" to me. My Newfie friend says she envies the attention my parents pay towards my life, but sometimes, I wonder if it's not detrimental in the long run. I'm kind of spoiled. I'm very Leo. I think you've got a flare for the English language, and I envy you so much for your fluency in Chinese, not to mention your scientific training! The possiblities are endless. BTW, I'll seriously poke your eyes out if you tell me that you're also fluent in French. It's okay, just relax, the inspiration WILL come to you. Nic, I LOVE your Susumu gallery. After ep. 19, he became my favourite guy from PMK as well. While the rest of the cast are only slightly anachronistic in their characterization, Susumu always strikes me as one of those "angry, introverted young men" (a la James Dean) who decorate the 20th-21st century urban landscape. His black wife-beater shirt only strengthened the resemblance^^. Speaking of PMK, I just got another editor for the scanlation project! I was going to put an ad up for editors but never got around to it. Well, if anyone's interested in joining the project, and who has a graphics editor, feel free to e-mail me. BTW, I got a Live-Journal account. No need to accuse me of apostating 'cause I only got it to join in on the PMK Community. Whew, i didn't mean to ramble for so long. Gotta get back to my school work.
Feb. 18, 04 | 05:29 p.m. | Feeling: Blurry-eyed, but happy.
Holy shit! I actually finished an essay one month in advance. Granted I am trying to toggle 5 assignments (all due around end of March), but it's still kind of impressive for me (I procrastinate. A LOOOOOOT).
I made a simple wallpaper around 3 AM this morning, as encouragement to continue working. Hachi the Diaper Guy is my current anime boyfriend XP. If you haven't seen Planetes yet, why the hell not? Go go go. Oops, can't forget to link my friend's anti-blog blog. Or comment on Laetitia's cinnamontea new layout. Or wonder at the status of Trin and Maria-san's blog/Live-journals (where'd you guys go?).
Feb. 16, 04 | 12:55 a.m. | Feeling: Bone-tired.
I'm currently a bit bogged down with essays and other work. "Reading Week" means a lot of things for different people. While the first word implies hitting the books, most make their getaway. *sigh* I've just got too much work.... I rented Brotherhood of the Wolf, a French, semi-historical, kung-fu, horror flick. The cinematography is seriously stylin' (well, it's the French, duh), the actors are attractive, and the storyline is very unique. Rent it for the lite Angel Sanctuary-esque perversion, C18th politics, gore and nudity. Geez, I'm making it sound kind of nasty...though it's not.
Feb. 10, 04 | 12:55 a.m. | Feeling: Fatigued.
According to CNN, the optimal sleeping time is 7 hours. Cool, if I can finish blogging, set my alarm clock, and get ready for bed within the next 3 minutes, I might just make it. Then again maybe not. Wow, I was really surprised by the number of responses to my last post. I enjoyed reading about other people's views on sharing their blogs with their parents. I think my parents would probably be understanding if they ever read some of my older entries, in which I (on a few occasions) wrote some pretty candid stuff about my feelings towards them. First year of uni was a pretty horrid year in retrospect, and during the second, my relationship with Dad was--at times--rocky. I wasn't very interested in school, I didn't have a grasp on what I wanted to do for the next few years, and Dad was pretty frustrated with my lukewarm, wishy-washiness. I'm SO glad year II is over and done with, likewise, that I'm getting along so much better with my parents. One of the things I love about Last Exile is the fact that the series makes chess look COOL. They say chess is the game of kings, and the king of games; I can't think of another game that has the elegance and historical weight as chess. While I love living in a democracy, I like the idee romantique of kings, queens, knights and clergy. I'm also fond of chess because it's competitive, strategic, intimate and SO MUCH FUN. A. and I play a game every Friday at Starbucks. Huh, this is one tradition I can't do without. Anyway, LE really takes up the chess theme and employs it not only in the titles ("Positional Play," "Promotion Sophia," "Sicilian Defense," "Arbiter Attack," "Resign" etc.) but also in the very plot and characterization. Actually, now that I think about it, the Grand Stream which separates Dusis from Anatore could be analogous to the river which divides the Chinese chess board (man, Chinese chess is so funky, it's half checkers, half chess!). I just wish that Geneon (aka, Pioneer ~_~;;) would hurry up with the DVD releases! *yawn* G'night.
Feb, 5, 04 | 06:29 p.m. | Feeling: Sleepy.
As Cinderella looses her finery on the stroke of midnight, so my poor little blog has lost its (her? his?) img src-s. FifayNET's server is down, temporarily, big sorries to the hostees! Did you know that my Mom reads my blog? Hi Mommy! My Mom and I are very close which means that trying to keep a secret from her is ultimately futile. *sigh of resignition* Well, when it comes down to it, blogging would not be that much fun if I didn't have any visitors.
Feb. 1, 04 | 11:00 p.m. | Feeling: MAS (Monday Avoidance Syndrome)
A week of plays and I'm both broke and behind in my readings. BTW, the whole "going to see a play by myself is cool" is semi-bravado. The production was very well done (considering it was put on by Trinity College), but it would've been nice to be able to discuss it with someone afterwards. Oh well! Thanks for the feedback on the new layout! I was loathed to mess with the original art, which forced me to change my usual style. Usually, I (unfortunately), pile on the black grunge, but this time I went with a light and creamy look. This blog marathon has been good for exploring new design techniques. 5String, a blog marathon is a ... I am watching a new anime called Planetes. It's a space drama/comedy that reminds me of GTO-CB. Wow, I just talked to my Dad who had been visiting our family in Beijing. My cousins, with the exception of one, are apparently Very Screwed Up, their relationship with their parents is highly disfunctional, and their prospects, grim. This is distressing. My 4 first-cousins are like my siblings in a way, since none of us have siblings of our own. When I last saw them 5 years ago, their futures looked very bright, and their family bond was more or less cohesive. *sigh* The grimness of their situation puts my life in relief. Gee, I'm so glad my parents immigrated to Canada. The competition in China is much too fierce and destructive for a soft-brained person comme moi, and Chinese society, despite its supposed-modernizations, still stultifies creativity and quenches individuality. In fact, read this Time Asia article if you're curious about what's going on with Chinese youths these days.
Jan. 30, 04 | 11:12 p.m. | Feeling: Glad it's Friday.
I joined a blog marathon (for the first time). Layout #22 features art by John Jude Palencar. I recently bought Spectrum: Contemporary Fantasy Art #9 and 10, and the featured Palencar works blew my mind. His innate style is MUCH darker, and even more beautiful than his commissioned fantasy novel cover art. Incidentally, he drew the covers of the current Fantasy novels I'm reading, Lynn Flewelling's The Bone Doll's Twin and Hidden Warrior. See the side-panel for more info. Cold, dreary and constantly damp, I was feeling tres "blah" all week. I'm not alone here, that's the sad part. Nonetheless, I went to the U of T Drama Festival with T. which was so much fun! The first of the one-act plays was brutally dull though. Two vaguely existential-looking actors on a pseudo-surrealistic set conducted a fragmented dialogue that went something like this:
Girl: Pain. Later, I. wryly remarked, "that's what we were feeling." XP. Thankfully, plays #2 and 3 were much better. Tomorrow, I'm going to see another on-campus production, an abridged version of Ibsen's Ghosts. I'm going by myself this time, which is kinda cool actually. Amy's Valentine's layout is whoopee-pretty! |
MY DATA SHEET
Alias: Rem (ID: Penny)
TODAY'S LAYOUT
Layout based on art by John Jude Palencar, edited with PSP 7. MY FELLOW MARATHONERS
Jovah's Angel ~ Sharon Shinn (me) [[ FELLOW BLOGGERS ]]
5String @ Distorted Insomnia Aeka · Barbara · Blink · Celes · Christina · Daimira · Elphaba · Isabella · Jenna · Kachi · Kei · Ko · Lyn · Mada · Rady · Reins · Sarah-neko · JOINED
SS Forums ·
Animeforever
PASSING FANCIES
Current Anime: Gilgamesh, Peace Maker Kurogane, GTO, BOTI, Kaori Yuki
NOTABLE PAST LAYOUTS
CREDIT
Hosted by Pitas.com!
My blog has been
online since Aug. 30, 01. *wooo! -_-;*
|
|
I was cleaning out my HD when I found this screen cap from an episode of Samurai Deeper Kyo. The question is, do you see what I see? XP
