email: autumnriver@yahoo.com

One of my favorites, the angel Kohaku from Wish.  This picture is from the Wish Memorial Illustration Collection.  I've always loved characters with a happy outlook on life, and Kohaku is nothing if not optimistic!   No wonder Shuichiro can't help but fall in love!  All four volumes are now available in English, so please, do yourselves a favor and read this wonderful story!

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

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

Sewing:  black linen tunic for Aelfgeirr, purple Calontir tabards

Armoring: gorgets, pauldrons, elbow cops and vanbraces for Aelfgeirr and myself.

Writing: "Sins of the Fathers" (HP), "Here Be Dragons" (HP), "The Client" (X), "What Dreams May Come" (X)

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, making medieval stuff, collecting foxes.

Cat of the moment: Nabiki

Subterfuge: Hallelujah

My Life of Late


I am an overly sleepy kitt- **zZzZzZzZZZzZzzZzZzzZzZZzzZZZZzZZZZ...**

Which cute or possibly strange kitten are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Yep, that pretty much explains it all. Maybe I should go back to sleep now.

Wednesday, May 14, 2003 11:49 a.m.

Sell-out

Yep, that's me. I finally got a Livejournal. Mainly to keep up with my Elitist Bastard friends. Will I give up this page? Probably not. I like playing with the layout, and having all the things I like on one page. LJ is fun, but it's a trend, and trends come and go.

Stop the presses! Lika-chan posted! And what a subject! Yes, X2 rocked. Nightcrawler was probably my favorite: Alan Cummings was brilliant in the role. I still start when I see Cyclops--he's the spitting image of my brother-in-law, Russell (who's not married, btw! Ladies, take note!). The ending was terrific, and I can't wait to see X3! X2 made me remember why I got into comic books in the first place. There is no higher honor.

Rachel, are you back now? It sounds like you had a really good time on the trip. How was the PoT musical? The American Shonen Jump still hasn't said anything about adding your fave series, BUT Viz recently confirmed that they have got Rurouni Kenshin! They're not sure yet whether it'll go in Jump or just published as graphic novels, but FINALLY we're going to see Kenshin in English!

Yeah, yeah, I know, it's better in the original language, yadda, yadda. Sorry, as much as I enjoy slogging through the tankobans with my furigana dictionary and my sorry Japanese, there's nothing like being able to read a comic in your own language.

Satsuki-chan posted, too! I do prefer light 'n' fluffy stories myself, but every now and then, a dark story is a welcome change. I think the best dark stories are those with just a touch of darkness in a normal world. Complete angst just doesn't do it for me. Real life is sorrow enough. Any new art lately?

Ammie-chan is back! How were your holidays? What all did you do? I guess it must be autumn there now...what's that like? The only pictures I ever see from NZ are during the summer. Do you get the fall colors like we do?

Alison, you're right, Matrix Reload looks to be very cool. I still need to finish watching Matrix, actually. I keep falling asleep through the middle of it. Bob can't believe I haven't seen all of it yet. The special effects were incredible, but the story and characters didn't grab me at all, so I haven't made it a priority to finish watching the thing.

Rem, good luck on your exams!

Okay, socialness done. I want to write some today. I don't know what yet, but I definitely want to write.

Sunday, May 4, 2003 08:54 a.m.

Archangel

Sorry for the lack of updates lately--haven't been much near the computer lately. Will explain more later.

To answer your question: yep, I finished Archangel. I didn't find it too overly religious, but then, I grew up in the Bible Belt in an evangelical Baptist family, so it takes a lot. (I'm now Pagan, which shows how well that took!) I, too, enjoyed the prose, and thought that the writer built up the romance nicely. And I agree, the heroine was really annoying. Gabriel was too perfect himself.

However, give a try to Angelica. I broke down and bought it last week, and read it in one night (I hate when I just can't put a book down and end up reading all night!). The characters are more likable, and Shinn's prose actually improves. It's a better book than Archangel, although the plot is fairly similar. I just got the other two in via Inter-library loan, so I'm looking forward to seeing if they're as good as the others.

Shinn isn't perfect, though. I checked out her Heart of Gold in the hopes that it would be a decent read, and ended up not even finishing it. It was terrible. I'm going to try to get Jenna Starborn via inter-library loan and see if I like that one. Jane Eyre is a favorite book of mine from childhood (okay, it's a little overdone, but the story caught me, somehow).

I admit, I'm a sucker for a good romantic story, and Shinn's specialty is mixing science-fiction/fantasy with romance, in a very readable way. No, it's not Tolkien or Martin or Hobb or McKinley (to name a few of my personal favorites among fantasy authors), but the better of her books have proved a delightful way to spend a few afternoons.

I've been extremely busy--Riverwatch held a demo at Loras College yesterday. I wasn't the organizer, but I still had to prep two calligraphy classes, and put together a small tourney. We had a heck of a time getting fighters, due to many other SCA things going on that day, but fortunately, a few kind Calontiri souls came to our rescue. But I had a few bad hours there as I frantically called around and sent out emails trying to see if we could get more people to help out. I did some fighting last week as well, in borrowed armor, which is never fun because the stuff never fits right. I'm carrying some lovely bruises to prove it. Owie. However, I did okay, especially considering how out-of-practice I am.

The demo was a little disappointing, as we all worked so hard to provide something for the college, then very, very few people actually showed up to see us. But it was a good chance to us to see how we worked together as a group.

Bob was gone all last week to Oklahoma City (for work), so I was also busy with some things around the house. My office is now completely re-organized, with things moved around, bookshelves re-arranged, and my filing cabinets completely re-done into something actually resembling a system! It was very hard work, but needed quite badly to be done.

Still more to do, too! It never seems to end! I really need to look into a book on time-management, so all these projects can fit into my schedule!

The usual suspects seem to be pretty quiet lately, so no social blogging tonight. Hope everyone is doing great!


Sunday, April 27, 2003 08:53 p.m.

Rarr!

Well, fate intervened in the form of a really upset stomach and kept us from travelling to Des Moines this weekend. In some ways, I'm glad. Bob's folks have torn up their living room to re-do the ceiling (it needed it!), so it would not have been the most comfortable visit. And I hate travelling when I'm sick. We missed the Spring RUSH (Royal University of Scir Havoc), which is a weekend of classes on all kinds of subjects, but although I was really wanting to go to the class on tablet weaving, I'm also just as happy that we stayed home. I was feeling very stressed this weekend and we had a quiet, restful weekend instead. I read (a lot) and slept (a lot).

I'm trying to focus on other things in my life besides SCA right now. Partly because it's becoming like work and partly because of some toxicity between myself and another person. It's not all one person's fault: that person is the way that person is, and because of my past history with other similar people, I have no tolerance for the mental crap this person is throwing my way. I'm not leaving (especially a group that I helped to start), but I am going to limit my exposure. I have to, if I want to enjoy my hobby.

Fortunately, there's plenty to do around here. I've got some organizational projects I want to work on, plus my self-taught Japanese studies to keep up with, and my writing, of course. (Cheers from the readers!) Yeah, yeah, I know. For some reason, I've been in reading mode lately! I wonder if it's the meds: I've not been much inclined towards creativity since I started back on them. That was a side-effect the last time I was on them, too, come to think about it. But it's so nice to be able to actually sleep for an entire night!

I'm somewhat maudlin tonight, can't say why, just am.

Hmm, we've lost Kerianne to LiveJournal, it seems. Well, I can understand wanting to close a chapter in your life. Good luck, have fun, ta and all that.

Alison, the Spaniel sounds darling! Those are such nice dogs! You could call her Eowyn, I suppose? She was far cooler than Arwyn anyway! Or Charlotte (feminine version of Charles) might be a pretty name? Actually, I'm just saying that because I really like the name Charlotte for some reason. Not sure why, I've never met a Charlotte. Wait, maybe that's why! I love the Ranma 1/2 episode where Ryoga (in his piglet-form) is kidnapped by a cute little ice-skater chica who dubs him "Charlotte" and fights a duel with Akane over him. But I digress...;-D

Ammie-chan, I want to adopt your dad. He is just so cool! My dad would never fan-girl (or boy, whatever) over something like that with me! Even on things we both like...when he expresses an opinion, it's like he expects the sky to open up and a bright light shine down on him while he utters his Words of Wisdom. And heaven help you if you don't agree with him...! Bob, otoh, is wonderful to go into geek-mode with. Such an excellent husband, that man of mine. Oooh, now I'm being insufferable, aren't I? Sorry sorry.

Enough for now, bedtime and all that.

Sunday, April 13, 2003 10:25 p.m.

It's in the Mail

Satsuki-chan, Ammie and Rachel, I mailed your packages out today: keep an eye on your mailboxes! Not sure how long it will take with the overseas ones, but I did send them airmail. Satsuki-chan, I sent two packages to you and I apologize for the delay on one of them. I'm horrible about sending things out promptly: heck, my Xmas cards have yet to hit the mail! (Actually, I think I'll just send them out next Xmas).

Speaking of Xmas, Rachel, it sounds like Passover stresses you out about as much as Xmas stresses me! I don't really celebrate Xmas (or Easter) myself, but they're family holidays, so I'm almost expected to be social. While my family doesn't live close, Bob's is still within not-too-far driving distance, so we occasionally have to make an appearance. Like this weekend. Bleh.

Friday, April 11, 2003 03:29 p.m.

Vikings!

Bob and I went up to Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota last weekend to see Vikings: the North Atlantic Saga, a travelling exhibit that is now at the Science Museum of Minnesota. We headed out Friday night (we had made hotel reservations, and you get penalized if you don't show up). Just as we left Dubuque, an ice storm came in. Stupidly, we pressed on, thinking that it was a band of weather that didn't reach farther north. Heh. Eight and a half hours of snow-blinding travel later, we limped into the Hilton Garden Inn at Eagan, one of the Twin Cities many, many suburbs.

The hotel was nice and the staff was really friendly. If you're ever in the Twin Cities area, check it out. Eagan is an overbuilt poster-child for suburban sprawl. However, we certainly didn't have to drive far to get to anything. I hadn't realized how acclimated I had gotten to small-town Iowa life until I went up there. There were Yuppies everywhere you looked.

The exhibit was absolutely fantastic. They had some reenactors there from the Viking Age Club of Sons of Norway who were really good. It was so cool to actually see some of the artifacts that you read about in books. Bob was in Heaven--he's always been really interested in Vikings.

We ran into some SCA folk, Northshielders from Shattered Oak. I'd seen Wyndreth (sp?) sing at Bardic Madness a couple of months ago. She's quite distictive looking with white hair, and so when I saw her in the museum, I asked her if she was in the SCA. She laughed and said yes, and that I also looked familiar. Her husband, Vlad, was there, along with their friend Janine. We all had a nice conversation. It's fun when you run into SCAdians at mundane happenings.

After going through the exhibit (and the gift shop!), Bob and I headed for the Minnesota Zoo. I love animals and always try to see the zoos when I travel. Bob indulges me, the sweetie that he is. They didn't have as many animals as we thought, but it's a newer zoo. We didn't like the hidden fees they kept tacking on. I realize a zoo is expensive to run, but charging for parking? And charging extra for the monorail once you're in the park? That kinda sucks.

The animals were great, though. It must have been their feeding time, because most of them were out and about. It was a cold day, but that didn't bother us too much. They had a special exhibit of "farm babies"--lambs, calves, piglets and such--at the farm exhibit. I, of course, had to hang out with the sheep! Bob thinks they're weird-looking, but I like 'em!

The monorail was nice: it was a great way to see what was at the park before you went walking all over the place. We had to share our car with a woman and her rambuctious grandson, which was annoying(I have no patience with little kids), but the ride was worth it. We had a funny moment, though. We'd been looking out the other side at Mongolian wild horses, and I turned to look out the other window at the camels. I immediately started laughing, because one of the males was mounting a female and...er...humping her. Bob was laughing too. The grandmother took one look and pointed her grandson in the other direction "Honey, look at the horses, aren't they pretty?". Heh. And danged if the camel wasn't making the moves on another female when we walked by them later. What a stud!

We got to eat at Famous Dave's Barbeque, which is the only place where I've had decent BBQ since leaving Texas. Unfortunately, they don't have one in Dubuque. We also stopped by Half-Price Books (another chain not found at home), where I picked up a book on learning kanji and a historical survey of Far Eastern art.

We didn't make it to the Mall of America, which is a bloated tribute to America's affluenza, because another snowstorm was due and we didn't want a long drive through icky weather again. Bob was disappointed, since he wanted to at least see the Mall that he'd heard so much about, but he realized we couldn't see everything in one weekend. The drive back was much easier, and we did it in about six hours.

For those of you who made it through all that: Social Blogging!

Oh, Satsuki-chan, don't you know that The Secret Garden is one of my favorite musicals? Don't knock it 'til you've tried it! It came out in 1991, IIRC. I've seen it on stage three times and it is brilliant. In fact, my cat Lily is named after two songs in there "Lily's Eyes" and "I Heard Someone Crying". You'll love it, you will, trust me on this one! Get the original Broadway soundtrack: it's the best version.

Kawaiiiii! I love that new layout! Gorgeous! You made a now-archived comment about Bush ruining the American economy so that the out-of-work young men would join the military. There's a concept that the American military is made up of the poor and minorities. I come from a military family, and that's not really the case. There are a lot of minorities because the military is one of the best places to advance one's career, but there are all classes in our armed forces. The problems with the American economy are due to pure greed, aka affluenza. The biggest danger America faces isn't foreign terrorists or some rogue regime, it is the compounding expectations of what we are entitled to. Again, I can't comment about the war, except to say I don't agree with it. And yes, I vote, and I didn't vote for this current administration.

Rachel, Ammie and Satsuki-chan, could you please email me with your current snail-mail address? I have one for each of you, but I want to make sure they're right. I have a surprise....!

Beth, I'm glad to know that we're not the only ones dealing with snow! I should expect it, I suppose, the prairie is like that, and the news guy said we've had snow in Iowa five of the last seven Aprils! I used to think Laura Ingells Wilder was exaggerating about the late blizzards her family dealt with (I grew up in Texas, which doesn't get very cold very often), but I know better now!

Ack! Time for Lunch! Later, ya'll!

Tuesday, April 8, 2003 11:43 a.m.

S***!

Note to the Iowa Weather Gods: Please look again at your calenders. You will see that it is now April, not December or January. April is not the time to dump a foot of snow on Iowa. You may want to review the concept of "Seasons" and what is appropriate for each. I trust the matter will be seen to. Thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,

Maria

And it's still coming down...sheesh!

Monday, April 7, 2003 08:10 a.m.

Long-lost Friend

New layout, Wish this time. I really loved this series. Brilliant. One of CLAMP's best!

Feeling a little better. I'm having to take things slowly, but that's not always such a bad thing. Things that once upset me are still, well, upsetting me, but not as much! That has to be an improvement, right?

No one seems to be writing much, so not much to reply to this time. Pity. For once I have time, and everyone is either busy or has gotten themselves Livejournals. I admit, I've been tempted (a good percentage of the Elitist Bastards are now on LJ), but there seems to be little point. My life is complicated enough without keeping up two blogs, and while the whistles and bells on LJ are kinda fun, it's not essential. I hope my friends will continue to seek me out, as I seek them out. I've never been much into "wankage" I don't even track who links to me or how many hits I have on this page. The tools are available, it's just that I don't really care. I read the "Who I Know" blogs every day, and hit a few others on occasion. That's about it.

Yep, I'm dull. Cope.

I had the most incredible experience yesterday. Many years ago, when I was maybe 12, I read a trilogy of books set in ancient Britain, about a young woman who becomes a priestess for Stonehenge. I remember the books as being quite good, and they certainly made a huge impression on me, but I never saw them again after I left Junior High School.

Because of my recent illness, I've been revisiting some things in my life, and re-reading some of the books that I once loved. For many years, I've been haunting book stores and libraries, combing the aisles and wracking my brains, trying to remember the name of the books in that trilogy, or the name of the author. But not once did I ever find anything that would remind me of these books.

Finally, in a d'uh moment, I thought to ask the reference librian at the Dubuque Public Library. I was there picking up a book I'd gotten in interlibrary loan anyway, so I figured, what the heck. She pointed me to some resources that I'd never heard of before (well, they do go to school to learn stuff like that!), including a reference work on historical fiction. And damned if it didn't take me five minutes to find The Sacred Stones Trilogy,, that I've been searching for these past *coughtwenty-mumblecough* years! I have to wait until it comes in, though, since they didn't have it at our library.

I'm hoping it'll be as good as I remember. We'll see. It'll be fun to read it again, regardless.

Summers at Castle Auburn is proving quite a pleasant read. Not too taxing, but very fun and romantic. I'm liking it, enough that I picked up another book by the author, Sharon Shinn, called Archangel. Looks promising.

The evil that is Fruits Basket continues to draw me in. Dang, but the anime is just so cuuuute! Tohru is just darling, and I can't figure out who I like better, Yuki (who is nice) or Kyo (redhead! And passionate!). Or Shigure. Or Ayame. Heck, that Hatori is damn sexy. I love 'em all! I may have to order some manga. Bob is stonewalling me on this, but I'm very patient. And persistant. Of course, if there was any sign that it was being licensed in English, I might be persuaded to hold off, but I haven't seen nor heard of anything as yet. But then, I didn't think Berserk would ever get picked up for US distribution, and boy, was I wrong!. However, I'd be really surprised if it wasn't censored somehow (hell, I would censor it before trying to publish that in America!) and it only looks like they're bringing over the first three volumes? Big mistake, since the story doesn't get good until volume four, when our hero joins up with the Band of the Hawk. Anyway, I shall continue to yearn for Fruba goodness!

Alas, not much writing being done. I've spent most of the past two days spring cleaning. Not exciting, but necessary, and honestly, I do tend to write better after doing work like that, don't ask me why!

Wednesday, April 2, 2003 12:21 a.m.