My Passions
Manga: X, CCS, Basara, KKJ, Rurouni Kenshin
TV: Buffy, Smallville, Home & Garden Network,  Iron Chef
Reading: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
Biography: Chyna
Biseinen:  Kusanagi (X), Fuuma (X), Touya (CCS), The Red King (Basara), Cho (RK), Bob (Husband)
Cat of the moment: Nabiki
Fanfic in progress: "The Other Woman" (X),  Untitled sequel to Wings of Desire (X), "Shinjuku" (X) RK story featuring Saito and Cho.

Where I go
Fortune's Fools
Dreams of Sakura
Sekai Seifuku
Elitist Bastards!
X Island
Anime on DVD
TheOneRing.net
Cyber Shrine
Vulpes.org
Cat-chi Cats (Japanese Bobtails)
Cyber Shrine
The Queen of Cups
Green Man Press (Charles Vess)
Kaluta Studios (Mike Kaluta)
Pitas.com

Who I know
Satsuki-chan +++ pointless +++
Lika Under Thlyali's Thrall
Ammie Castle of Briars
Alison Shinken
Kerianne The Space Between
Font of wisdom Subterfuge Archives
My Fanfiction Sedition

Working for Now
Okay, it looks like the internet connection was down for awhile today, but we were in Chicago anyway, spending waaaaay too much on manga. Things were back up when we got home tonight. However, it looks like my stuff on home.com (including the graphic for this page) is down/gone/something. I'll probably redesign blog later this week. Parents are coming by tomorrow, so no time tonight.
Saturday, December 1, 2001 06:12 p.m.

PLEASE READ
Just found out that Excite@home.com, the company that provides our internet access, has gotten authority from the bankruptcy court to cancel internet service as of late tonight. (Err..the internet provider is in bankruptcy, not us!) Whether they will do so or not is still be negotiated between a bunch of corporate lawyers and the FCC. However, if that does happen, I will NOT have internet access until the problem is cleared up. Send any mail to my autumnriver@yahoo.com address for now. Hopefully, we won't get cut off, but just in case!

Friday, November 30, 2001 11:22 p.m.

Every Which Way

Chicago--my kinda town. We're going tomorrow on a day-trip. Gonna hit the Japanese bookstore and maybe a comic shop, then drive back.

Thanks to everyone who's inquired about my seemingly-never-ending cold. I'm still hacking away. It might be bronchitis? If it doesn't clear up by Monday, I promise I'll haul my ass to the doctor. This has been going on almost 3 weeks now.

I'm now feeling very depressed. I was talking to a gal at work about George Harrison, and how I always thought he was the cutest of the Beatles (when they were younger, anyway), and she actually said that she had never really seen pictures of the Beatlesand didn't even know much of their music. Come on! I'm not THAT OLD!!!! Sheesh. Anyway, rest in peace, George. You deserve it.

Quick social blogging, cause I'm tired:

Happy birthday, Alison! Hope it was a good one! May you have many sweet dreams about a cute, violet-eyed, chocolate-covered boy and his favorite green-eyed onmyouji, who miraculously has grown a backbone and left behind his previous (and unworthy)lover!

Lika!!! Love the new blog design! Meta-chan sure is talented! And yes, I really would like to see a DOSakura Board dance party. Maybe we can do that when we all go to Tokyo Tower. Making allowances for Kamui, Fuuma, various shinken and the multitudes of souvenier booths.

Satsuki-chan, it'd be cool to see what pigments you come up with. The gal that taught me calligraphy and illumination used to mix her own pigments, too. I never had the patience for it (of course, part of that had to do with the fact I preferred to work on the calligraphy rather than the painting--even then, I was better with words than pictures!).

That was a mighty rant, chica. Loved it. I occasionally get emails from folks I don't know who've read this blog, and I wonder what they must think of me, because I'm usually posting on this thing when I'm dead tired and not very coherent! And I'm looking forward to your new fic!! (Kusa/Yuzu goodness anywhere? Maybe? *puppy-dog eyes*)

Dance, Ammie, dance! Dance, Ammie, dance! And just for fun: Daisuke? Good FUCK, yeah!

Anyway, that's it for now. Will be in Chicago tomorrow and cleaning house Sunday, as parents are stopping by on their way back to Indiana, so probably won't be around much.

Friday, November 30, 2001 10:28 p.m.

LOTR!!!
I agree, the LOTR preview looks amazing. I never thought they'd really be able to make that book into a live-action film. But Peter Jackson (the director) is extremely talented...go see THE FRIGHTENERS or HEAVENLY CREATURES. Brilliant work.

I can't believe you don't like LOTR! It seems right up your alley, especially the epic tone. It does drag in the middle (actually, the whole journey of Frodo and Sam to Mordor was not actually my favorite part), but the third book was fantastic, especially the battle for Minas Tirith! It's been a beloved favorite of mine since my cousin Rosa gave me a copy of the trilogy back when I was in the 7th grade. The only downside was that Tolkien didn't really like to write about women, so you're kinda stuck with Arwen, Eowyn (my fave, of course) and Galadriel. Oh, and Rosie, Sam's sweetheart. Women are so badly underrepresented in the story that Jackson actually beefed up Arwen's role, which has drawn some criticism.

Ammie-chan is lucky, living in New Zealand, which I'm sure will become a VERY popular vacation spot after the movie is out! I knew a fellow in college who went down under for a year to work on a sheep ranch. He was very complimentary about the scenery, but didn't have much good to say about the sheep!


Tuesday, November 27, 2001 03:28 p.m.

Brief update
As I am sick as a dog, fever and non-stop coughing. Spent much of day parked on recliner, covered with an old afghan my gram made and two bad kitties (Lily and Nabiki), watching the Iron Chef marathon. May I say that a certain American chef *coughBobbyFlaycough* is such an arrogant jerk? Morimoto-san should have cleaned up the floor with him, I tell you!

Lika, thank you for your kind comments. Your encouragement does me a world of good, I tell you. Good luck on your essays--I always thought Percy Shelley a bit overrated, myself. Oh, and got the package! Thank you!! Wow!

You like Percy, of all people? Can't get that one at all. Ron, now, is a different story. And Snape, of course. ;-D My favorite ADS character was probably Officer Manetti, although when it first starting coming out (and damn, don't THAT date me?), I had the biggest crush on Brent. *blinks* Hmm, I guess tastes change as you get older, huh?

Sora and Arashi!!! Finally!!! Although, Alison, that idea about Sei-chan and his mom....*shakes head* Although, I guess it follows logically. Gives new meaning to the term badass motherf***er. I can't believe I just said that. Here's hoping DarkSubaru will have more of a backbone than before--Kamui's too much of an innocent--he wouldn't have a clue where to start! Subby would definitely have to be the instigator!


Friday, November 23, 2001 10:40 p.m.

Turkey talk

Why, yes, we DID have turkey today. Not a whole one, we just got some sliced and cooked it up in gravy with mashed potatoes. It was really good.

Hey Lika! what happened to your blog? Is everything okay?

Oh, man , losing a harddrive sucks bigtime. I've had two computers die on me in the past year (my old one, then Bob's old one) and I lost a LOT of stuff, including a full year's financial records. Not pretty.

No progress at all on any of the fanfic. I've been feeling rather down lately. Not really liking the job too much, Bob's been distant, no friends nearby, problems with house repairs and I really hate the holidays. Feeling more than a little overwhelmed. Very few responses on Wings of Desire, which I worked very hard on. I just feel like I'm not reaching people with my writing.

Anyway, enough whining. Things could be much worse in times like these. But is it too much to want to be truly happy?

Oh, and that police guy singing the Star-Spangled Banner during the Macy's parade? Oh, I cried.


Thursday, November 22, 2001 04:21 p.m.

Blerging....errrr...Blogging
I'm gonna slap you upside the head, gal. You have GOT to stop putting yourself down and believe in your artwork. You have a rare and precious gift, and you have every chance of getting into art school if you try. But if you give up before you even start, it's not going to work. You gotta believe in yourself!

God, I sound like a parent. Someone shoot me.

Tuesday, November 20, 2001 09:16 p.m.

Ain't he delicious?

Positively inspired, I was. So much so that I actually updated the blog. And the tarot card was GORGEOUS!!

Satsuki-chan, thank you for your moral support as I struggled with my lack of web skills trying to do this little graphic. I so very much suck at web-stuff. Plus, I'm sick'n'whiny tonight, and you were so sweet. I am unworthy. And MAN, AIN'T KUSANAGI HOT????!!!!

Lika, I very much enjoyed your story. Will comment more coherently when not so stoned on cold medicine.

So, are like Ammie and I the only ones here now? It was so much fun earlier...

Alison, mucho obligato for putting up those scans of l'il Kamui and l'il Fuuma. Dang, they were just so cuuuuuute!

It's true. Colleen Doran IS a genius. I still favor Charles Vess and Alex Ross as my favorite artists who work in the comic-book medium, at least the American variety. Oh, and Hal Foster of Prince Valiant fame. I just love those. Maybe because I'm a sucker for tights and tunics?

Must gush more about Kusanagi!!! Oh, WHY can't they show him more often? Probably half the people who saw the card went "Neat. Now who the hell IS that?" It's so sad. He's so often ignored. *keeps fingers crossed for Kusa/Yuzu goodness soon*

Oh, my. WWF brought back Jerry the King Lawler. Yeah, he's a sexist pig, but I sorta missed him. Hope Stephanie isn't gone too long. I just love her. RVD looked like he took a mighty beating tonight, poor guy. The Dudleys get a little overenthusiastic sometimes. Yeah, I'm a wrestling mark. What of it?

Fighting horrid cold (again--this house is drafty!) and feeling right awful. Thank goodness this is a short week. Bob's getting sick, too, so we'll probably spend Thanksgiving in bed. Asleep. Except when we're fighting over the covers.


Monday, November 19, 2001 09:41 p.m.

Out and About
Bob and I were going to clean house and do all kinds of responsible, grown-up, sensible things today. But then we said what the hell, the weather is unseasonably warm and we should go outside and enjoy it. So we went here instead, which is down the hill from where we live. We spent four fun-filled hours walking around, drinking Irish tea (with "Irish"...quite a unique flavor!), listening to folk music at the coffee house and browsing all kinds of shops with a bunch of stuff we don't need. Oh, and we walked down 10 blocks to Mario's, a great Italian place which looks like a bar but has FANTASTIC food. Then we walked home and crashed. Yes, it was a day well spent.

Saturday, November 17, 2001 09:26 p.m.

Back against the Wall!
Well, that's what the movie theatre guy kept saying to all of us as we stood in line for Harry Potter. Just got back. Great movie, love Snape (Alan Rickman is a genius!), the Quidditch match was brilliant, Bob has now agreed to read the books. (He went in cold, without knowing anything about the story...he thought the movie's pacing was weird, but he figured they had cut out part of the book, which they did).

What I most enjoyed was that the movie gave a good visualization of Hogwarts, which I had a hard time "seeing" in the books. And Robbie Coltrane was just incredible as Hagrid. The two previews that got the most applause were Scooby Doo and Lord of the Rings. The next Star Wars movie barely stirred an interest. Lucas needs to fire whoever did that preview and get someone who can make the movie seem exciting.

Oooooh, I love your rant about Yuzuriha. That's really neat thinking. Wanna use that in a fanfic!

Chica, did my package to you show up YET? I'm getting concerned (especially considering what I spent on postage!). How's the drawing coming along?

And Lika, I want to be in Slytherin, too, if you're willing to share Snape w/me! Green is more my color anyway. ;-D


Saturday, November 17, 2001 01:57 a.m.