Mood:
By Max Richter. He's a German-born British composer, and is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the last 10 years. Essentially spearheading the recent movement in neo-classical composition and he's been expanding the definitions of classical music ever since he started in the 90's. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in composition. He's written for stage, opera, ballet, screen, etc. music. This is from his 2010 album entitled Infra. It's an extension of his 25-minute score for a ballet. I haven't looked into the other pieces from the album, but I might in the future. This one's really beautiful.
Really draws you in. I might look into his other albums, too.
It's finally starting to warm up into our normal temps. Most of the week has been cold. (Well, cold for what's normal here.
) It's crazy about what's happened this week on the other side of the country. Especially in Buffalo, NY where I used to have family living there. Not sure if we do anymore, though.
I'm still going through the after effects of being sick. It apparently hit me hard.
But, despite that, I tried my best to get some walking in. Managed to get about 3 walks in this week. All ended up being about 1 1/2 miles long each time. Not too bad. The cold air made my throat and lungs feel like they froze over.
Been keeping up with the 10 sit-ups twice a day. And, I've kept relatively close to the way I want to eat. So, not bad after being sick for a while.
I might turn Fridays into cleaning days. (Kind of like to get ready for Shabbat as motivation.
) Yesterday I did my entire bathroom. The only thing I didn't get to was mopping the floor...
I haven't done pretty much everything in a long time. First time really using the vacuum cleaner to get things like cobwebs, dust that I can't reach, dead spiders, etc. It was actually a lot of fun.
There's all sorts of little attachments you can use, and I didn't really know how to empty it before. Now I do, and it ran amazingly afterwards. (It was rather full...
)
There was a rather big spider that for weeks was winding its webbing around the room. It was impressive, and I hate to destroy things that obviously was a lot of work for the little thing.
But, I needed to take back control of the room, and it needed to be cleaned. I also didn't like that I ended up sucking up that spider, and another small one that I didn't see until it was already too late. Kind of sad, but I'm hoping I put them out of their misery or something.
I also vacuumed the screen to my bathroom window. I was amazed at how much stuff was coming off of it.
(Didn't even realize there was anything there.) It looked so clear afterwards. There was so much webbing around the room and stuff on the screen that it clogged up the brush and some of the other attachments I was using. Had to 'clean' them out by taking them off and using other parts to help with vacuuming it off.
Also, got rid of a large vase that had a lot of ugly, in my opinion, fake flowers. It took up a good portion of my counter. I think it took me a while to get rid of, because Mom had given it to me and put it there. Kind of like a piece of her.
Came close to feeling guilty for not liking it, but I'm getting more in touch with how I feel about things and my preferences. It looks so open, bright, and free without it now.
Also, cleaned a few more small things that didn't have to do with my bathroom.
The room took a lot longer than I expected, and I had wanted to get to other rooms/areas, but it was too late. And, I was really tired out.
It's kind of a workout in itself. But, now it shines and looks really nice.
Went back to Amatsuki (Rainy Moon) and Ranma 1/2 this past week. Did it because I've finished up Time Spiral and ST. And, because the next drama season isn't until January. I only see 2 shows that look worthwhile to watch that season, too. That's Ouroboros and Pure White. Ouroboros' main characters are played by 2 of my fave actors, and the story sounds really interesting. Pure White seems to be about a corrupt hospital. Sounds interesting, too. I'll finish watching Senryokugai Sousakan this week. It's a 2-hour finale, though. Not sure if I'll break it up...
So, that'll free up another spot. Also, since I finished watching the first season of Hamatora, I went back to Kuroko no Basket to replace it. And, since I couldn't find much on Black Cat and Flower Shop, I replaced it with the second season of Hamatora. I'm back with watching more anime than dramas...
Plus, it looks like I'm close to the end of the other dramas I'm watching. Great...
I think my faves for the current anime season have been Gugure, Parasyte, and the second season of Log Horizon. These 3 have been amazing!
All in different ways. Gugure has been hilarious, touching at times, and each character stands apart.
Kiseijuu or Parasyte has its hilarity as well, although a bit more 'crude' or earthy. The story's really fascinating, and they make you feel for the parasites. Even if some seem to love killing other humans besides their host. Others seem fascinated by them, and love learning about them. Each parasite has a different personality, too. The main parasite, Migi (means 'right', as in the direction. He only was able to travel to Shinichi's right hand at the beginning, instead of to the brain), is likeable pretty quickly. He also has a wicked sense of humor, and seems to be very intelligent. More so than a lot of the other parasites they've encountered. There is quite a bit of gore, but not really overdone.
Log Horizon has been just as amazing as last season. The game world seems to be changing drastically, in ways the Adventurers couldn't have predicted. For example, the players who are playing characters of the opposite gender will experience qualities of that gender in themselves. One of the things that'll change for them is their voices will be more like their character's gender. (Girls with deeper voices, guys with softer ones, etc.) Girls will become more muscular, have more body hair, etc. Guys will have more of a 'figure', breasts, etc. Very fascinating, and might be scary for some of them. The cursed weapons have really become cursed. Now they eventually attack their wielders. We still don't know what's truly happening in the real world. Like, are their bodies being taken care of? Does the public know? Is anybody trying to bring them back? How much time has really elapsed? Sword Art Online was more open about that aspect.
Started reading Sougiya Riddle or Undertaker Riddle. Still not entirely sure if I like it.
It's pretty funny, and the story's been interesting. The only thing I don't like is there might be slight, ever so slight, hints of yaoi (essentially boys' love. The genre is usually written by women for women. An odd mix. Some gay men despise it too, since it usually portrays one of the characters in a rather feminine way). I'm not really interested in that.
Riddle is unusually friendly towards Hayato, the other main character. He's an interesting character, but I'm not really liking that. Hayato doesn't seem to feel that way towards him, at least.
If I decide to drop this one, the next one I might try is the manga version of Tegami Bachi or Letter Bee. I liked the anime, and the concept was interesting. I think the manga lasted much longer than the anime showed. So, there is a point in the story where it diverges. Not sure if the rest of the story towards the beginning is any different, though. It might be. If I don't want that, the next one on my 'to read' list is Makai Ouji or Hell Prince, which sounds interesting and would feel 'fresh' to me. I have 14 other possibilities on my list.
So, we'll see. Kind of like going on an adventure and discovering new stories.
Oh, and World Embryo is greenlit to have an anime version this coming anime season. I liked it for a while, then it got stale. But, seeing it animated might add a different 'dimension' to it.
It'll be interesting to hear what the characters will sound like, the music, seeing the 'flow' of it, etc. There was only one other manga I read before I watched the anime version, and that was Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge or The Severing Crime Edge. That was quite interesting. They followed it pretty closely, but ended it early. The manga's still going, so maybe sometime in the future they'll pick up the anime version again.
I kind of doubt it, though.
I was able to write more of the 12th chapter of my nightmare anthology, play my clarinet, color more of the drawing of my characters' (from Alliance) clothes and accessories (almost done with them), edited more of Junko (character from Alliance) from the exaggerated expressions meme, started the translating 'process' of that article in You Maga, practiced writing some sentences in Japanese, studied a kanji (found out one of the dictionaries I use has a mobile site version, which is pretty handy), practiced my Japanese on JapaneseClass' online site, and read some articles in Japanese on Asahi's mobile site (that was interesting) this past week, too. So, I've had pretty good week.
Mood:
I've always liked the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland.The creators of the holiday say they chose this day because there's a slip of paper in his hat that reads: "In this style 10/6." They knew it was really an order to make a hat in that style, that costs ten shillings sixpence. But, they said that everyone knows that time is money, and therefore money is time. The holiday started in 1986 in Boulder, CO. In 1988 it became a national holiday. It's supposed to be a day where people recognize the reality that is nonsense, and the silliness that is sane. It's also National Noodle Day. I love noodles!
Almost any kind. I'm a little weary of cellophane or glass noodles. They're like the only ones I know I don't like.
This is my wallpaper for October. It has the Undertaker from Kuroshitsuji (or Black Butler) dressed up as the Mad Hatter. I just realized Ciel's in it as the Dormouse sitting on the saucer the Undertaker is holding.I picked this before I knew there was a Mad Hatter Day this month. I just wanted something that looked Halloween-ish. Would have thought that there would be more of a selection like that for Kuroshitsuji wallpapers.It's a rather dark, psychological, and gruesome at times one. (Of course there's a lot of humor, too. Mostly dark humor, though...) The Undertaker is rather demented himself, so it's fitting that he'd be the Hatter. He's a rogue Grim Reaper or Shinigami, but most of the time there's only hints of this. Still haven't read or seen much about that. He's only known by his profession, and his face is never fully shown. He's an informant for Ciel. He finds Ciel amusing, and enjoys helping him out. But, has great disdain for the Queen. (Ciel works for the Queen. He's sometimes called the Queen's Watchdog.) He spends a lot of his time in coffins, too. Sometimes he asks for people to tell jokes or do something silly in order for him to give them info. (Much to Ciel's dismay, most of the time.) He also has a creepy laugh.
My Italy calendar features Florence this time. It's the capital city of the region of Tuscany, and the most populous city in Tuscany. There's a lot of history behind it that it's famous for. The main pic's of Michelangelo's David sculpture. It was placed in front of the Palazzo della Signoria in 1504. Apparently, it was replaced with a replica in 1873, and the original was moved to the Galleria dell'Accademia. For today's pic it's of a restaurant menu placed outside with tomatoes hanging in front of it.
My Jewish calendar's main pic for this month's of a painting called Show Box, Sukkot; by Martin Engelbrecht and Jeremias Wachsmuht. It's on paper; from Augsburg, Germany; 1750. An interesting painting. It has a bunch of sukkot or sukkahs lined in a couple of rows. There's not much light left in the sky, and the sukkot are casting shadows on the ground. They're apparently near a large body of water, with the waves in the distance. Each sukkah seems to be full of people. 2 people are just outside of 2 of them that face each other. One seems to be leaving, the other entering another one. Maybe they sneaked out or something? This is interesting too, because of how old it is. Everyone's wearing clothes that were 'normal' for that time period. They look pretty dressed up looking at it now. A sukkah is a 'booth' that's like a makeshift shelter we stay under during Sukkot (or the Feast of Booths). It's like a harvest festival that lasts for 8 days. Some people sleep in them during that time. But, most have their meals in them, invite people over, and sometimes just to sit there enjoying nature. (There's of course a short service to start it off in it.) That's coming up. In fact, it starts Wednesday night. The second pic's of a lulav holder, by Zelig Segal, made out of bronze, from Jerusalem; 1983. The lulav is a mix of a few plants that we combine and shake in all directions while we're in the sukkah. I don't think I've seen a holder like this one.
The month-long holidays are: National Apple Month, National Caramel Month, National Chili Month, National Cookie Month, National Dessert Month, National Pasta Month, National Pretzel Month, National Seafood Month, Bat Appreciation Month, German-American Heritage Month, Italian-American Heritage Month, LGBT History Month, National Book Month, National Cookbook Month, Polish-American Heritage Month, Spinach Lovers Month. Some are for important causes, some are to make you appreciate things you may take for granted, and some are just for fun. A lot of good food holidays, again! Bats are important, and should have some appreciation. I think they're awesome! I've never really been scared of them like some people are. I'm part German, so it's celebrating my heritage this month, too. The Italian-Americans and Polish-Americans should definitely celebrate their heritage, too. Good to at least bring awareness to LGBT history. Interesting how it's book and cookbook month. I love cookbooks! They're fun to just look through. Plus, making the recipes can feel like it teleports you to other countries.
Yom Kippur (or Day of Atonement) was Friday night through Saturday night. A lot more people showed up for this one than for Rosh Hashanah. Some people barely recognized me, since it had been at least a couple of years from the last time they saw me. The congregation seemed to really like that we were there. A couple of people already told me that we should go more often to their stuff. They're a lot nicer towards us than the other congregation. A lot more friendly, too.
I had an eye exam in between the last of the morning services and afternoon services. I had a new optometrist that looked at me. He gave off a very creepy vibe. He didn't say much at first, just directed me. When he was writing things down, he was humming something odd. I told him about how my eyes, especially the right one, sometimes feel like there are spikes going into them. It only lasts for a little while, but it's really painful. He didn't give me an explanation. But, he did move unusually close to my eyes to get a better look at them. Maybe he was confused by that, too? At one point, he asked me if he could use my lap as a desk...He also refused to let me put the sample contacts in my eye. He wanted to do it. He batted my hand away when I went to just lightly touch my eye through my eyelid.
He was very surprised by how much my right eye's prescription has changed. So, it's no wonder I was seeing blurred and sometimes double lines while watching TV or reading. After he gave me the sample ones with the new prescription, I've been seeing things much clearer.I don't have to squint or feel the need to rub anymore. Interestingly, the samples were from different brands for each eye.
Before going to my eye exam, we looked for someplace to have lunch. I'm exempt from fasting on Yom Kippur, because I have to take meds and food helps with balancing them in my system. (It's not just because one may upset my stomach if I have it without food.) Without these meds, it'd be essentially life threatening to me.So, they're very important. They do say if you have a medical condition, are pregnant, elderly, or a little kid it'd be a sin to not eat. To everyone else, it's a sin to eat during it. (I still feel odd eating during it, since for a good chunk of my life I was able to fast.) Anyways, we found one of the few restaurants, called Mongolian Grill, that were left in the food court of our local mall. My eye exam was also at the mall, so it made it pretty easy. The only other thing, I think, is Subway now. Which is sad, because until pretty recently we had a Cajun, Italian, Japanese, and a few other cuisine places.
Even Hale's Ales is gone...I got their Mongolian chicken with noodles. It was really good!
Although, I think the chicken could have been cooked a little longer. The sauce was good, but puddled underneath everything, so in order to really taste it you had to mix it up some more. There were lots of vegetables that stayed pretty crunchy, too. The noodles were really tasty, as well.
We grabbed some tabouli for the Break-the-Fast potluck. People seemed to like it. There was an interesting assortment of things there. Pizza, a couple of regular salad greens, tortellini, mac and cheese, other stuffed pasta (not sure what it was filled with, so I skipped over it) crackers and smoked salmon spread, 2 large homemade challahs (both circular, because of the High Holy Days. One had raisins, the other was plain), a few kugels (they're like casseroles. I hate the original sweet kind. I love the savory potato one, but didn't see it), a vegetable platter, coconut macaroons, bite-sized chunks of brownies (3 different kinds: regular, cinnamon, and powdered sugar), stale honey cake, lots of fruit, and several other things. Seemed more of a variety than other places I've been to.
The only thing I didn't like was the seating arrangement. They arranged it so pretty much no one could get out. The tables were closely packed together, and there wasn't much space to pull your chair out. I felt trapped when I wanted to go up a second time to pick over things (mainly to get dessert type things).
Many people ended up with this dilemma. People ended up standing up and folding their chairs up so others could squeeze by. Some people who have a hard time getting up and down couldn't move from where they were too well. So, I had to really squeeze through with them. Good thing I've lost so much weight. I think I would have gotten stuck somewhere if I still had it.There was still a little of the tabouli left when we went home. It's good with lunches and snacks. So, it's nice there was more. The next thing is to celebrate Sukkot on Sunday at one of the members' houses. There's a potluck lunch after a very short service. Sounds like it'd be nice to go to. We'll see.
Log Horizon is back!
One of my fave anime shows! It delivered on its promise for returning this Fall. This one was a bit confusing though. Shiroe needed help with financing Akihabara. The fees for running the facilities each month were way more than anyone could afford. So, he met with one of the leaders of a clan that's responsible for the game world's economy (they own the banks), are behind the ability to teleport between areas, and several other major roles. They are the ones that leave money after a monster has been defeated and treasure chests. So far, they can't borrow or lend money. (They keep saying that'll break an ancient treaty.) Shiroe found the clan's cache of coins in a huge lake inside a cave. He ended up challenging the clan's leader to get the money. They kept flashing between what happens in the future, and the present stuff. They ended the episode with Shiroe and Akatsuki saying they both had died. Kind of confusing. I know that they don't actually die when they 'die', they just lose memories of the outside world. Last season they did bring up the idea of what happens when you lose all your memories of the outside world? The in-game people do die, although Shiroe found a way to save them. The whole story is fascinating. There are so many layers to it.
Finished Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus. It was pretty good, and stuck closely to what was in the manga. I think they said they'll do the Book of Murder one next. It's based on the arc in the manga I just recently finished. It'll be cool to watch this one. They made you believe that Sebastian had died in this one. But, like I suspected, it was all for show. (He's a demon, I highly doubt he could be killed so easily.
) Also, helped with the investigation. (Freed up Sebastian to look more into it.) I think I liked this one even more than the circus one.
We recently got Apple TV, and it's pretty amazing! I was impressed by the iPhone as it was. Now I can project whatever I'm watching on my iPhone to our TV. Awesome!
So, I don't have to watch on a tiny screen. And, it's much bigger than my computer monitor too. I can watch most of my dramas and anime shows on the TV now.
Mood:
Yay for pecans! (This was yesterday.) One of my fave nuts!(The other one being walnuts.) They're amazing. Taste great, and are very nutritious. I like them by themselves or in something like pecan pie. Yesterday was also Waffle Day. Waffles are awesome too! Actually pecans and waffles tend to be great together. Interesting. It's Spinach Day today. I love spinach! There are so many different ways to eat it.
Well, I managed to do my evening sit-ups Monday night. Forgot about the morning ones for yesterday, but remembered to do the evening ones. Didn't go for a walk on Monday or Tuesday.So far today I've done my morning sit-ups and walk. Hopefully I can get my second walk in for the day in addition to my evening sit-ups!It felt good to do the morning 2-mile walk, even though it was drizzling outside. On Monday, I decided to launder all of my bedding including my normal stuff, so I had a bit more exercise than usual with that. It took a while to get everything done, so I went to bed later than I wanted to. Took a while to fall asleep, and since everything was clean, once I was asleep I was totally out like a light.
I barely noticed my alarm going off Tuesday morning. I only got up to turn it off and go to the bathroom, but came back and went to bed. I was kind of in a zombie-like state during that.So, I ended up sleeping in more than I wanted to, as well. Couldn't sleep very well last night, but managed to get up a bit earlier than yesterday.
Also, something someone said on facebook got to me. I know it had nothing to do with me, but it seemed awfully rude and condescending. She's someone that even in high school seemed to think she knew everything. (Especially everything to do with English grammar, music, and science.) She can be a nice person, but occasionally she pulls stuff like this. She said something to the effect of: "It's sad when people don't understand how to use *blank* properly in English." I don't even remember what kind of thing she referenced. But, it seemed kind of mocking and harsh.
(She even commented later in a joking manner about it.) I know she studied a bit of linguistics in college, but she could just help the person instead of air it on fb in kind of a weird way. There were a lot of other friends of hers who are writers who asked if it was them she was referring to. Plus, there's the thing about a writer's voice or artistic license that could invalidate what she said. Unless it was in someone's status or something, and even then...Anyways, I don't need that kind of negativity, even if it's not at me. So, I defriended her. She rarely posted stuff like that, but again I don't want to see that kind of thing again. You can have your own opinion about stuff, but if it's in a mocking or in a higher than thou attitude, I'm sorry I'm not sticking around for that.
Watched the season finale of Log Horizon on Monday. It didn't truly feel like a finale. In fact, it seemed like they were just starting a new story arc. They said at the very end after the credits that they'll be back for a 2nd season in fall 2014. That's a ways away, but at least they are letting us know that it will continue. Most shows leave that up in the air. It was a very good show. Drew me in within the first episode.
I'm actually thinking of dropping Tokyo Ravens, which is supposed to have its last episode today. I'm behind on it though. It seemed exciting at the beginning, but its kind of grown stale. The main character has yet to improve (although I do like his personality), Kon is cute but hasn't really done much, can't really tell anymore who's 'good' or 'evil' (in some shows that's a good thing, but it's weird in this one), etc. I might try one more episode before I drop it, though.
Watched the first 2 parts of a 5-part documentary called The Story of the Jews, last night. It was much better than I expected.It's not only about our history, but our religion and culture. Simon Schama, who's a historian and hosts/narrates it, is Jewish himself. (He also wrote the book with the same title.) So, it's good to see someone who is Jewish covering Jewish history and culture.It was a very personal 'journey' for him. I don't usually care too much for documentaries, but this was well done. Occasionally, the visuals were a bit trippy, but I'd rather have that than emptiness. He seemed very emotional by the end of the 2nd part. But, a lot of heavy stuff happened. Mainly, about the Spanish Inquisition and England expelling the Jews. (He's from England, so it also hits closer to home for him.) He also touched on one of the ghettos in Venice. Since he also has an art background, he made it a point to cover a lot of it, which was great. It was also kind of more about the Jewish identity itself. What makes us Jewish? Or, what does it mean to be a Jew? Both questions have been popular with various Jewish media outlets lately. (Mainly because of a recent national survey about Jews in America. Some were surprised by it, and think we need to rethink things.) He's been answering it very eloquently. Next Tuesday, they'll show the last 3 parts. 3 hours worth of it. Sounds a bit long...It's kind of fun to watch, though.
Yesterday, I wrote more of the 7th short story to my nightmare anthology. Not sure where it's going, but its been interesting. Played my clarinet. Did some Irish tunes. Felt good to play again. Wasn't very interested in playing it while I was sick, so its been a while.Sounded pretty good despite this.
Finished the drawing meme on exaggerated expressions. Not sure if I'm entirely happy with how Junko's expressions turned out, but they aren't bad. Next, I'll scan it and edit it a bit in Photoshop. Then, put the drawings to the meme itself, and post it to deviantART. It won't take very long. Kind of debating whether I should color it, though.Maybe after I'm done with it, I can make another one that's colored in. Should be interesting.
Yesterday I retook some of the kanji chapter tests on JapaneseClass' site. My overall grade is going up. Yay!Trying to get 100% on all of the tests. So far so good. I made it to the 6th spot for the top 20 rankings for the day. Not bad. Oh, and apparently with the oblivion lists it starts back up if you haven't covered some of the kanji/vocab in the last month. Unlike the 3 months I thought it was. So, my oblivion lists have picked up again...But, with going over the old tests, I'm covering the older kanji as well. So, they're being eliminated as I go through.
