email: autumnriver@yahoo.com

This is an illustration from Berserk, a manga by Kentaro Miura.  It is the complex and often harsh story of a young swordsman making his way in the world.  The art is gorgeous, but some of the subject matter is not for the weak of stomach.  This image is taken from the Italian site Berserk Homepage and used with their permission.

My Passions
Manga: X, Berserk, CCS, Basara, KKJ, Rurouni Kenshin, Sensei!, Naruto, Juline, Suki Dakara Suki

TV: Buffy, WWF, Home & Garden Network,  Iron Chef, International Channel

Reading: Celtic Art: the methods of construction by George Bain

Biseinen:  Kusanagi (X), Fuuma (X), Touya (CCS), Gatts (Berserk), Itou (Sensei!), Kakashi (Naruto), The Red King (Basara), Cho (RK), All the CCD cuties (Clamp Campus Detectives, X) and most especially Bob (Husband)

Hobbies: Learning Japanese, Calligraphy, drawing, writing, hiking, touring old houses, collecting foxes.

Cat of the moment: Lily

    

Subterfuge: By the Firelight

BWAH-ha-ha-ha-ha!!

Classic moment at the video store:

We went in just to browse, but Bob found a DVD he wanted to buy. He went up to the counter, and the girl at the counter who was maybe 17 or 18 years old spoke to him.

GIRL: Excuse me, but were you in Vietnam?

BOB: Whaaat?

GIRL: I mean, did you fight in Vietnam?"

BOB: Er, I was a kid. Maybe seven when the war ended.

WIFELY EDITORIAL NOTE: (Hell, no, he was like thirteen!)

GIRL: *winces* Oh my God! I'm so sorry!

ME: *snickering* Hey, he was a Persian Gulf Veteran, if that helps.

Turns out it did. She was trying to finish up an extra-credit homework assignment with military terms from the Vietnam War. Bob knew most of them (they were fairly common military terms, many of them still in use). So Bob got several apologies and her eternal gratitude. I got a huge laugh, even though Bob is now depressed because he looks old.

Hee hee hee. Vietnam! Bwah-ha-ha-ha! Woo, that's funny!

BOB: IT'S NOT FUNNY!!!

ME: Of course not, sweetie. *giggle*

Wednesday, May 29, 2002 07:37 p.m.

Checking in

Sheesh, I'm only blogging about once a week now?! I've not been online much lately, I guess. Or on the computer! They say it takes three weeks to break a habit, and I was without access for three weeks..... Nah, I've just been busy!

I tried pulling a bow that was too heavy for me, then spent the next day doing aggressive yardwork. Now my left arm hurts like the devil. I'm taking some meds for it, but it sure is taking a long time to heal. I am quite annoyed!

X fandom sure seems quiet lately, although I see that Lika-chan wrote another story. Cool! Rachel was nice enough to send me a couple of buttons, featuring chibi versions of Kusanagi and Yuzuriha! The recent events concerning Nataku haven't seemed to be of much concern, although I'll admit she hasn't been one of my favorite characters. I'm just glad Karen escaped! Now, CLAMP ladies, do you think we can see some Kusanagi goodness again? It's been too long since we've seen him!

We went here on Memorial Day. It's just about an hour or so north of us. It's a nice little place, although the Memorial Day crowds were irritating (I should have known better--Iowans love their parks. Camping is extremely popular around here.) The scenic highway between Guttenberg and Dubuque (Hwy. 52 aka The Great River Road) is beautiful, but is also windy and curvy and an enemy to all folk prone to carsickness. Iowa really is pretty along the Mississippi, although you can't escape the neverending farms. It's true that you can drive for hours (especially in Northern Iowa) and see very little except farmland. For a city girl like myself, it's a little intimidating!

Wednesday, May 29, 2002 05:31 a.m.

Bleh

Midol(tm) has caffeine in it. Did you know that? I didn't know that. So I'm doing the cramp thing, popping Midol like crazy because of the pain, and I have this massive attack of the nerves that kept me up all night. Now I'm having something akin to a sugar crash. There's a reason the doc pulled me off caffeine a few years ago. Damn.

Ammie's back and we're gonna be in trouble, hey nonny nonny, my girl is back! Missed you, chica!

Just got the June issue of Betsuma Margaret yesterday. The Sensei! angst continues. Arrgh! Quit torturing your readers! I hope she resolves this plotline soon! Actually, I'd be happy to see some more Chigusa silliness again. Hibiki and Itou are sweet, but Chigusa just cracks me up. If ya'll have no clue what I'm talking about, go here and read Kristin's excellent translation of the first volume. She's also got scans up of the covers, so you can get an idea of the art. Go! Read! Come to the dark side of the Force!

*waves to Rachel* We went to see Attack of the Clones too. However, just as the big fight scene with all the Jedi in the arena gets started, the movie projector's engine dies and the film burns up. The theatre manager ended up giving us refund tickets so we could come back and watch the movie on another day. So I still don't know how the movie ended yet. And Bob went off to St. Louis for a business trip, so I've gotta wait another week until he gets back. What's sad is that it doesn't really bother me. The film was visually interesting, but emotionally flat. I honestly could care less what happens to those characters (except Obi-wan, but that's only because Ewan McGregor is such a hottie).

And Hickory just fell off the top of the computer onto my keyboard. A true sign that I need to close this entry on out. Later, folks!

Tuesday, May 21, 2002 07:15 a.m.

Home Sweet House

Bob, his folks and I went on an Old House Tour today that a local historical club organized. It was very cool, especially in that all these houses were within two blocks of where we live. These were much nicer houses than ours, though, with much nicer architectural elements. Our house is pretty plain, even if you overlook the fact it's been neglected and needs some work (IHATETHESIDING!!! IWANTNEWSIDINGDAMMIT!!!!!). However, a couple of those places were in rough shape when they were bought, so I guess there is hope for this little house yet. However, these people probably all make a heck of a lot more money than we do. Some of the places qualify as mansions, and are very formal and impressive. A couple were less formal--one was homey (it was a lot like ours, but had some nicer features--built-in cabinets, a sleeping porch) and one was eccentric (very, very interesting place--lots of woodwork and chinese paintings). Each place had extensive work done on it and a lot of antiques and fancy stuff, and to my amazement, a lot of really garish wallpaper. I mean, the look worked very well, but I'm not used to seeing wallpaper used like that! My brain hurts!

Well-decorated houses are like gardens to me: I absolutely love going through them, but can never seem to do it myself. I'm sure part of the problem is that we keep pulling up stakes and moving every couple of years. You get into a new place, you have to unpack and figure out where all your normal stuff goes, then if you have time, you think about how to cute the place up. And then, once you actually get a good start on decorating, it's time to move somewhere else. Then your furniture gets banged up in the move *grits teeth* or you find that your old art doesn't look right in your new space *tears hair*. And it costs money to decorate! Damn! I've got five prints (four fox prints and a neat one of some local Dubuque "Painted Lady" houses) and three needlework pieces that need framing. That's easily $600-$700 dollars. Plus drapes and curtains, which adds another $1500, since we have a lot of windows. And that's not including the work needed on the house: landscaping, fixing/replacing windows, updating the wiring, changing the god-awful steel siding. That's at least $20,000. And if we wanted to redo the kitchen or bathroom or flooring, that's even more!! Yeah, right, like we have that kind of cash. *snort*

Luckily, Bob and I are fairly antisocial, so few people outside of our family ever see inside our home (and nothing we do will ever impress them anyway). So we live our lives in our little old house that needs some work, and just try to keep the place clean and neat, albiet bland, sparsely decorated and a little too cluttered with books.

Two of the couples who owned these houses were about the same age as we are, which gave us an uncomfortable "what if" feeling, as in: What if we had taken a different path? What if we were sucessful yuppies, with an SUV, a minivan and 2.5 kids? What if we tried to fit into the social norm? What if we weren't such nerdy geeks? It's a bit unsettling to be reminded that, despite some endearing eccentricities, we will never, ever, ever be cool to people like that. OTOH, knowing that fact frees us from ever having to even try to be impressive to them, I guess. The people seemed quite nice, but it was like the popular kids in high school, who could be quite nice, but would never date you or invite you to their parties. It's been a long time since I've thought about social classes, and it's very uncomfortable to be reminded of it.

But, you know, even with all that, I sure liked looking at those houses. ;-D

Sunday, May 19, 2002 07:33 p.m.

*waves*

So I'm back. Comp place couldn't fix my harddrive so they replaced the entire computer. I'm not complaining! I did manage to save some things, but lost quite a bit as well. Grrr. So some quick social blogging:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Satsuki-chan!!!!!! I hope it was a good one!!

Lika-chan, good to see you back at the library job!

Ammie-chan, those wonderful thoughts of dandelions you sent me a while back...well, they're all growing in my front yard now. Like, well, weeds....;-D

Alison, the new layout is stellar! Interesting thought about Seishiro--one of the outstanding marks of a sociopath is "emotional shallowness".

Kerianne, another mighty rant! Also enjoyed your pictures from your trip, looks like it was lots of fun.

Kristin is working on Sensei! again! *does happy dance* You know, it your fault I got hooked on that series. I even ended up subscribing to Betsuma Margaret. And yeah, if Hibiki ends up with anyone other than Itou, there would be NO justice in the world.

Rachel! Are you back? How was the trip? And what goodies did you get?!

That's all for now. New layout coming in the next week or so, I think. Not sure on subject, yet. Now I gotta catch up on my email and such.

Saturday, May 11, 2002 09:50 p.m.

Gone fishing

Not really. Hard drive died. On a computer less than a year old. Go figure. Have warranty luckily, but must get dang thing fixed. Will not be around much until then (am now on borrowed comp). Have fun and be good while I'm gone, ya'll. ;-D

Wednesday, April 24, 2002 10:34 p.m.

Long S

Since you asked.

I quote from Medieval Calligraphy: Its History and Technique by Mark Drogin:
"Uncial, a majuscule script, consisted of capital or uppercase letter forms. Roman Half-Uncial, heavy with ascenders and descenders, and maintaining its cursive heritage, acquired Uncial characteristics that were altered in order to increase lettering speed. While many letters were still recognizable as Uncial in origin, the entire script acquired an appearance we recognize as the beginning of lowercase letters. A minuscule script because of its ascenders and descenders, it acquired even more minuscule characteristics. The top loop of B disappeared, to be replaced by the ascender-marked b; the rounded S became a flattened ascending and descending letter known as long S."

In plainer English, the S that looks like an f is in reality an lowercase s and should be used in that fashion. It first appeared in the Roman Half-Uncial alphabet, and did not disappear from use until the early 20th century. When you're using a nib (the flat steel point on the edge of calligraphy pens), it really is a lot quicker to write the long S than the round S--only one stroke as compared to three. The only rule regarding its use is that you can't use it as a capital letter. I haven't seen it used a lot in English at the beginning of words, but I have seen French and Italian documents that do so. It was also quite common to mix the long S and the round S in the same document, but usually not in the same word.

So now you know.

Wednesday, April 17, 2002 02:22 p.m.

Ah, Spring!

Ah, Iowa in the spring! And it's up in the mid-80's again today. Note to Iowa Weather Gods: Look, if I wanted hot spring weather, I'd have stayed in Texas, thank you. Save these temps for the summertime!

I've avoiding turning on the air conditioning so far, but I did have to buy a floor fan for the living room. What chaps my ass is that Bob and I had installed ceiling fans in every single room (including the porch!!) in our old house. This place has a few ceiling fans (upstairs bedrooms, kitchen, dining room), but not like what we once had.

ACen is this weekend...*weeps* I want to goooooooooo! *weeps more* Dammit. Well, at least, we're still on for AnimeIowa. Cedar Rapids is not nearly as expensive as Chicago, and AnimeIowa is usually a nice laid-back kind of con.

Rachel, I can certainly understand about tax returns. We were able to write-off most of the move and the points we had to pay on getting the mortgage for this house, so we did pretty well. However, the money is already spent: new scanner for Bob (damn WindowsXP and their funky drivers anyway!), a sleeper sofa and paying off the credit card. Dang it, if we hadn't had to replace the sofa, we could have probably afforded ACen, but as it is, we need the sofa and I have this thing about no debt if I can help it. So you're going to Japan again? Wow! I am soooo envious!!! What part of Japan are you going to?

Lika, you had me worried there for a sec. Please don't say you're going away again! I got the patterns done for the sewing, but I haven't cut into the cloth yet, mainly because I'm a big perfectionistic chicken who is afraid to screw things up.

Alison, everything okay? You've been quiet lately...busy time for you right now?

Sats-chan, I am eagerly awaiting that dusty, sweaty Kusanagi fanart! *giggle* It was really great chatting with you and Lika-chan the other day. I've not been online much lately because the computer has been acting up and I've spend most of my computer time backing up my files and clearing off the harddrive. So it's great when we finally have a chance to catch up! Oh, and I have copied that stuff for both of you, just need to make it down to the Post office to send it.

Ammie-chan, you hear from the bakery yet? Is it free muffins or no? I actually put in an application for a job here--accounts payable at a local college, which isn't as stressful as the commissions/financial reporting work I have been doing for the past few years. However, it's a Catholic college, and as I am not Catholic, I might get passed over. So, we'll see. Unfortunately, one of the things I've found here in Iowa is what I call "Ethnic prejudice". Iowans (especially here in the hinterlands) tend to be very suspicious of "outsiders". With my accent I stick out like a sore thumb. I try to tone it down a little, but then I get nervous and start drawling and twanging all over creation. The Iowans smile and are very polite, but I'm not one of them, nor will I ever be, and they'd rather hire one of their own.

Ya'll are going to be ashamed of me. No, it's true. After 5 years of swearing that I was keeping my maiden name, I turned in the Social Security paperwork to change my last name to match that of my husband. Yes, there were reasons. No, I won't go into them. Let's just say I'm resigned to the fact. And Bob is thrilled (I think he secretly thought I was going to leave him or something? Men!) I still think my maiden name is much cooler than his name, though! And no, I haven't changed my mind about children--ain't gonna happen, don't want none.

Well, that's enough rambling for now. Ya'll go out and enjoy the sunshine! I know I'm going to!

Tuesday, April 16, 2002 01:51 p.m.

Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund

Sats-chan, I love the German language. It is so poetic! Morgen + stund = (day)morninghour= dawn? Dawn has gold in her mouth? For more graceful English: Daylight is smiling? Instead, we English-speakers get "The early bird catches the worm." I don't know if that phrase came from England, but it sure sounds protestant-work-ethic American to me. Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund is far prettier.

Regarding this picture, yes, I'm a great fan of Mike Kaluta! I love this painting, also, especially his use of the muted greys and greens. And the pen work, too. There's almost a Pre-Raphaelite feel to his work, except that he's more spare. He used to draw horror stories for DC Comics, way back when. I really like his work, and obviously, his Tolkien art was a labor of love.

Lika, I hope you keep ranting about couples. I'm loving it. And your comments about UST were spot-on. After awhile, UST goes from being romantic to plain stupid. Everyone loves a romance (okay, not everyone, but you know what I mean), but the attraction phase is only the beginning and if things don't progress, then people start to feel like they've wasted their time watcing the show/reading the story/whatever.

Hee! Rachel got a blog! *waves* C'mon in! Water's fine!

:-P The Dream Police, they're coming to arrest me, oh noooooooooo! Actually, the song coming to my head is "Goodnight, my Someone" from The Music Man:
Goodnight, my someone
Goodnight, my love
Sleep tight, my someone
Sleep tight, my love
I wish I may
And I wish I might...
Now goodnight, my someone, goodnight.

Dang, that song makes me weepy each time I watch that movie.

Kerianne, Petshop of Horrors is one of those surprise gems. You read the title and think "Yeah, right." but then watch it and in the immortal words of my bud, Dave, "Dude, that's f*cked up." I admit to a crush on Count D and the manga's on my list of things to get once we have some money again. The twist on the horror stories reminds me a bit of Stephen King's work, before he got stale.

Kristin, missing your blog comments and recommendations. Hope all is well in the stomach-land. (Actually, the reference to being eaten, with the cute ponies flying around, has led to some pretty strange images. First, My Little Pony slashed, and now My Little Pony: True Crime Stories...) Brrrrrr.

Chica, that's a specialty of pets. You see, they get close to you, and they learn what your favorite clothes are. That's why, for example, Lily the cream-colored kitty will lay on the black sweater that I just washed, while Hickory the brown/black kitty plops down on the white t-shirts. Pets....veeeeery crafty. ;-D

As for me, I've been trying to sew again. Since Bob and I decided to try SCA again, we need garb. Bob's completely new, and most of my old stuff was ruined in a flood a couple of years ago. It wouldn't fit anyway, as I've gained weight. However, the usual T-tunic won't do the job--they're fine for people of small build, but they tend to be tight across the chest for anyone with large shoulders or big chests. So I stumbled across this site and decided to try that pattern instead. It's been kind of frustrating. I'm not very good at sewing (embroidery, yes, sewing, no), so everything takes longer and is more difficult than it should be. I want to finish this up before Bob goes out for training next week (so he can try it on), but at this rate, I'm not sure that's going to happen. I forgot what a pain it was to get started in the SCA--at least this time, I have a lot of the materials left over, so it's less money.

Galena, which is just over the river from us, is having a Civil War encampment next week. Inspired by that, I took a couple of days and read The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. I'm not a great Civil War buff, but that book was brilliant (which is probably why it won the Pulitzer). Evidently, there are a lot of Civil War reenactors in this area (General U.S. Grant lived in Galena, so there's a lot of interest) and someone even suggested that Bob and I try out the hobby, since we like historical stuff and all. However, it's not really appealing to us. I don't mind going to see the camps, or watching the reenacted battles--that's interesting. But there's not a lot of room in the hobby for experimentation. I used to think the SCA authenticity nuts were bad, but the Civil War people blow them away. I can see their point, but I'd like to learn as I go and not be chewed out just because I didn't use the right cloth or the right kind of button. Bob's not thrilled about the military aspect. Having spent 10 years in the military, he's not real keen on doing war games for a hobby (and no, he's not planning on fighting in the SCA, either). It's just too bad there aren't more SCA people in this area.


Thursday, April 11, 2002 08:47 a.m.